The Meaning of Elul in the Life of the Believer

By Dr. Richard Booker

Sunday August 12 (beginning the previous evening), was the first day of the Biblical/Hebrew month of Elul. Elul has 29 days and is the sixth month on the sacred calendar and the last month on the civil calendar. It is a month of preparation leading up to the High Holy days of Rosh Hashanah (Yom Teruah–Trumpets) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).

According to the Jewish reckoning of time, it was the month of Elul when Moses ascended the second time to Mount Sinai to receive the second set of the Ten Commandments and intercede in repentance for the sin regarding the Golden Calf (Ex 32; 34:27-28). The traditional understanding is that Moses ascended on the eve of Elul and descended on Yom Kippur, a total of forty days.

As a result, observant Jews today seek God with more kavanah (focus and purpose) during the forty day period from the beginning of Elul to Yom Kippur. This is a special time of reflection, prayers, forgiveness and repentance when the people search their souls and seek God with their whole hearts in preparation for the High Holy Days.

In Hebrew, Elul is written with the Aleph, Lamed, Vav and Lamed. It is an acronym for the Hebrew phrase, Ani le dodi ve dodi li which means, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine” (Song of Solomon 6:3). In times past, many of us used to sing our love song to God, “I’m my Beloved’s and He is mine, His banner over me is love.”

Because the name Elul suggest a loving, intimate relationship with our Creator, Jewish sages have likened this forty day period when a king leaves his palace and throne and goes out into the fields to meet his people and relate to them on a personal basis. He is still king, but he has left his throne to be with his people. He is accessible to them and greets them with love and acceptance as one of their own in a way he could not do in his palace. But his presence is only for a short time and he returns to his palace where he is no longer accessible.

To prepare for the kings coming, in this case the presence of God, the shofar is blown on the first morning of Elul until the morning before Rosh HaShanah, except the shofar is not blown on the Sabbath. The Encyclopedia of Judaism says that the shofar, “calls upon sinners to repent, awakens thoughts of God’s sovereignty, justice, and redeeming power, and expresses the Jew’s hope that God will before long ‘sound the great shofar’ to herald deliverance and the ingathering of the exiles in the land of Israel.”

Rabbi Wayne Dosick comments that the sound of the shofar “serves as a warning to people to wake up out of their lethargy, to scrutinize their deeds, to improve their conduct, it serves as a prelude to God’s judgment; and it serves as a reminder that one day the Kingdom of God, the time of Messiah, will be announced to the whole world.”

Moses Maimonides, one of the greatest of Jewish sages wrote of the significance of the shofar, “Awake O you sleepers, awake from your sleep! Search your deeds and turn in repentance. … Look at your souls, and better your ways and actions. Let everyone of you abandon his evil ways and his wicked thoughts and return to God so that He may have mercy upon you.”

WOW – this is seriously seeking God. The good news is that the Lord has promised that He will reveal Himself to us if we will seek Him with our whole heart and soul (Deuteronomy 4:29). God makes this promise because He loves us and wants to have a personal relationship with us. But we must seek Him and want that love relationship with Him.

For those of us who acknowledge Yeshua/Jesus as our King, we recognize that God loves us so much that He left His palace and throne in heaven and came to the field of our planet to reveal Himself to us. He was still God in heaven but He prepared for Himself a body and entered the human race to be with us, to relate to us on a personal basis. He came out of Himself as one of our own. He was the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. We see a clear example of this when God appeared to Abraham in the form of a man in Genesis 18. The idea that God reveals Himself to us in ways we can relate to is seen throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. It is NOT an invention of the New Testament writers.

Through the person of Jesus of Nazareth, God became accessible to us on a personal and intimate basis that was not possible as long as He stayed in His palace in heaven. Yeshua/Jesus is our “King in the Field.” Everywhere Jesus went He greeted people with love and acceptance, except for the establishment of His day which refused to accept His announcement that the Kingdom of God, the time of Messiah had come. While the people loved and welcomed Jesus, the establishment crucified Him because He exposed their hate and hypocrisy. But even this was predicted by the prophets in such places as Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, Zechariah 12:10, etc.

Because Jesus was perfect without sin, death could not hold Him! After fulfilling the Sign of Jonah, Matthew 12:40, Jesus was resurrected and spent the next forty days teaching and showing Himself to His disciples. Did I say FORTY days? That’s right. The King in the Field spent forty days with His people. He then returned to His palace in heaven where He took His rightful place on the throne next to His Father as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Now if that is not enough, here is some more exciting news. Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave us a great promise. He said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17).

Yeshua/Jesus promised that He would give us the Holy Spirit who would live in our hearts. The presence of the King in the Field would be with us always. As believers, we do not have to wait for a special month or time of the year for the King to be in the field to greet us. He lives in the field of our heart. He is not just with us, He is in us and we are in Him. The two of us have become one in a spiritual union. In this way, we always have access to our King. But we must prepare the field of our heart everyday by turning away from sin and the cultural bread and circus that hinders our love relationship with our King.

To enjoy His manifest presence living in us we must hear the sound of the shofar of God, the voice of His Spirit, calling us to an ever deeper relationship with Him. May the King manifest His life, His love and His power every day in the field of your heart.

Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophecy against him” (Ezekiel 38:1-2).

Bible students know well Ezekiel’s prophecy (Ezekiel 38-39) that a confederation of nations from the North of Israel will invade Israel in the latter years before the coming of Messiah. The names Ezekiel mentions are people living in the region of Russia and Turkey and Iran (Persia). Bible students have interpreted Ezekiel’s prophecy to mean that Russia will lead this confederation. Russia is certainly stepping into this role with her active military presence in Syria. A conflict with Israel “in the air” is inevitable.

Syria is mentioned in Isaiah 17:1 where the prophet says that Damascus will be destroyed and no longer be inhabitable. Since Damascus is still in existence, obviously this prophecy has not been fulfilled in history. I believe we will soon see this prophecy fulfilled, which may bring Russia, Iran and Turkey to Syria’s aid. When we were recently in Israel staying at the Dead Sea, we heard, and some saw, five F15 planes flying low right past our hotel. WOW – was that an experience. We did not know until the next day that these were the planes that destroyed 50 Iranian missile sites in Syria. It was awesome to see Israeli pilots flying American made planes.

Turkey is also positioning itself to be a major part of this confederation that will definitely include Iran (Persia in 38:5-6). Here is why Turkey is fulfilling Bible prophecy.

On Sunday, June 24, Turkey stepped into its destiny to fulfill Bible Prophecy. Turkish President Recep Erdogan won a majority of the votes in their national elections with 52.5% of the votes. This win is a culmination of Erdogan’s 15-year effort to establish himself as dictator of Turkey. His victory gives Erdogan unprecedented power over all government agencies. He alone will dictate policy and direction for Turkey.

Erdogan is a radical Islamists who had transformed Turkey from being a pro-Western, secular democracy into, what will quickly become a radical Islamic state. In a failed coup in 2016, he murdered and jailed thousands of his critics. Now with this victory, those who stand against him must go underground or they will be arrested by “Erdogan’s goons.”

Erdogan supports the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas in Gaza. He compared Israel to Nazi Germany when the Israeli army defended its border against Hamas terrorists. He warned Austria of a war between the cross and the crescent after Austria closed seven mosques and expelled 60 radical imams from the country. Turkey will now reflect the vision of Erdogan which is to reestablish Turkey as the Islamic Caliph which ruled the Islamic world for 400 years before the fall of Turkey in WWI. This is a dangerous man who will drag the region into war.

It is said that a person is known by the company he or she keeps. The nations that sent Erdogan congratulations for his victory were Iran, Russia, Sudan, Venezuela, the terrorist group, Hamas, plus Islamists in the U.S.

Don’t be surprised or anxious when you see these prophetic events happening before our very eyes. Remember God told us all of this would happen in the Bible. So read your Bible, pray, live a godly life, help everyone you can and love your neighbor and the stranger as yourself. God has everything under control.

Politics, Presidents and Prophets

Today, April 21, 2018, I watched two very different funerals. The first funeral was for Barbara Bush. As the wife and mother of two former American presidents, she was part of a rich and famous and powerful political family that has served the country for several generations. It was very impressive.

The service was conducted at a beautiful Episcopalian church in Houston, TX. There was a big crowd of the rich and famous. The church sanctuary was the epitome of elegance and wealth. The grandeur of the magnificent organ rivaled any in the great cathedrals of the world. The professional choir, all decked out in their colorful robes, stirred the soul with their beautiful voices. People spoke from their hearts with polished, prepared text. The testimonies and stories about Barbara Bush warmed the heart.  Everything was perfect, decent and in order.

But these are not the things that impressed me. I was impressed by the fact that Barbara Bush, a member of an elite American family, openly professed her faith and love for Jesus which the ministers and family members clearly acknowledged. I was impressed by the grace and dignity and love and humility of her life. I was impressed by the uplifting Christian music, the God-honoring prayers and the messages of hope for those who put their trust in the Lord. I was impressed by the service ending with the choir singing “The Holy City.” Now Episcopalian don’t do this but it made you want to shout! Now that’s impressive.

I did not know Barbara Bush personally but after watching her funeral service, I came to love her as a valiant woman (Proverbs 31), a loyal and faithful wife, a wise and devoted mother and a “sister in the Lord.”

Then there was the other funeral. It was also impressive. This was the funeral of a friend of mine; Don Nori Sr. Don was the founder of Destiny Image, a Christian publishing company in Pennsylvania. I have been an author with Don and his company for over thirty years.

Don’s funeral was in Shippensburg, PA. It was not in a beautiful, ornate church building. It was in a modest non-denominational facility. There was not a big crowd but mainly family and friends and people whose lives had been touched by Don’s ministry.

None of those attending the funeral were rich and famous. There was no magnificent organ or professional choir with beautiful robes and harmonies. There was a simple, but anointed praise team with a keyboard, a guitar, a base and drums with one or two singers. People spoke from their hearts without well-prepared notes. Those in the audience lifted their hands to the Lord in spontaneous vocal praise. Not everything was perfect as there were technical difficulties with the microphones.

But these are not the things that impressed me. I was impressed by the fact that Don knew and loved the same Jesus that Barbara Bush knew and loved. Don was not born in a privileged family. He was not part of an elite American family. He did not have wealth, prestige and influence. He had a very modest job selling advertising for a local newspaper. No one knew Don but his family and friends. But Don had an encounter with God.

In 1982, while driving home from a meeting with an advertising client, the Spirit of God filled Don’s car with His presence. Don was so overwhelmed and shaken by the presence of God that he had to maneuver his car off the freeway to control himself and pray.

For the next four hours, Don had a life-changing visitation from God who gave Don a vision of a Christian publishing house that would “publish the prophets.” Don was to give a publishing voice to those that God had called to speak His prophetic words to a generation of Christians that had grown cold, complacent and comfortable in their walk with God. These were men and women who had a heart for God and a word from God but could not get published because the Christian publishing houses did not think their books would sell.

Don had no money, no financial backing, no brilliant business plan, and no famous people of prestige, power and influence to help him. But he had a word from God. Don, along with his wife Cathy, founded Destiny Image Publishers in the living room of their small home in Pennsylvania. Since then, the company has grown to an internationally respected publishing house represented in every country of the world with books translated into many different languages and millions of copies distributed. The books Don published have dramatically changed the lives of tens of millions of people around the world and will continue to touch millions more in the future. This is what impressed me.

Barbara Bush and Don Nori came from completely different worlds. But they both knew and loved the same Jesus. They both read and believed the same Bible that says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

God is no respecter of persons. He loves the rich and famous and the poor and unknown. He loves those who have privilege and those who have nothing. His love, His forgiveness, His salvation, and His hope for eternal life extends to all people of all color and culture, male and female, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, people living in the west and in the east, in Africa, Arabia, Central and South America, in the islands of the world and the most remote jungles.

The Creator of the universe loves us so much that He became one of us to show us the Father. He was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life and died on a cross as the innocent substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. Because He was without sin, death could not hold Him. He rose from the dead, and ascended back to heaven where He has taken His rightful place sitting next to His Father. And He will return to Jerusalem along with Barbara and Don and the great cloud of witnesses in heaven to rule over Israel and the nations as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now that is impressive.

Dr. Richard Booker

shofarprb@aol.com

The US Taxpayer and the UNRWA

 For decades the US Taxpayer has been funding one of the greatest scams of our times. Hopefully that time is coming to an end. What am I talking about?

Under the direction of President Trump, and with the encouragement of US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, the US State Department announced that it is withholding $65 million of a planned $125 million funding it has budgeted for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The State Department said it was releasing the remaining $60 million to keep the UNRWA from completely shutting own.

The US taxpayer is UNWRA’s largest donor, supplying nearly 30 percent of its budget. I understand that Ambassador Haley wanted to completely defund this fraudulent organization but President Trump agreed to the lesser action. What is this all about and what is the UNRWA?

The Real Refugees

Let’s put this in its historical context. When Israel became a state, 800,000 Jewish refugees fled from the Arab states to Israel. These are the real refugees of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Their land and money was confiscated by the Arabs as they fled for their lives with nothing but the clothes on their backs. While it took tremendous sacrifice on the part of the new nation, these refugees were assimilated in the fledging new state and became productive citizens of Israel. The growing Arab population was not as fortunate.

Arab leaders from the neighboring countries declared war against Israel. They instructed the Arab Palestinians to flee the Jewish state until the Jews were annihilated. They could then return and possess the land. Unfortunately for those who fled, things did not work out as they were told.

While there is no doubt that Jewish fighters drove some Arabs away, it happens in war, you know, the Jewish leaders policy was to encourage the Arabs to stay. The great majority of Arabs were not expelled but left without ever seen an Israeli soldier.

An Arab sponsored Institute for Palestine Studies in Beirut reported in 1948 that the majority of the Arab refugees were not expelled and sixty-eight percent left without seeing an Israeli Soldier. This is clearly a different story than the Arab myth that the Jews caused the Arab refugee problem. The hated “Jewish-Zionists” did not force the Arab Palestinians to leave. Their own leaders forced them to leave the land. This created the Arab Palestinian problem.

The UNRWA

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was formed and given the humane responsibility of administering the “refugee problem”. The billions of dollars given the UNRWA to assist the “refugees” have come primarily from the American taxpayer.

While it is normal to consider a refugee a person who had domicile in a residence for many years, there were relatively few Palestinian Arabs who lived a long time in the land. To compensate for the myth, the United Nations changed the definition of an Arab refugee as one who had lived only two years in the land before Israel became a state in 1948. With this all-inclusive definition, it is estimated that there were between 400,000-600,000 Palestinian Arabs who fled their homes. No one could give an accurate number because of fraud.

The UNRWA says the number of refugees with their descendants now number in the millions. Over time, many of these “refugees” found the good life living outside the refugee camps while all the while collecting their “refugee compensation” from the rest of us who have to work for a living. We not only support them but also all of their cousins who were born in some other country. If the American taxpayer understood how their hard-earned money was wasted on these “pretend refugees” they would be outraged.

As the entire world knows, the Arab countries have refused to assimilate the Arab Palestinians and care for their needs. Instead, they continue to use them as political pawns in their struggle against Israel. Ignorant of their own history, all the refugees know is that “the Jews stole their land which was their ancestors from time immemorial.” They have believed the ‘big lie’ and are filled with hate for the Jews who stole their land.

King Hussein said in 1960, “Since 1948 Arab leaders have approached the Palestine problem in an irresponsible manner. … They have used the Palestine people for selfish political purposes. This is ridiculous and, I could say, even criminal.”

If the UNRWA ever had any credibility it has certainly lost it. For example, do you know that UNRWA officials are a part of the leadership of HAMAS in Gaza? UNRWA schools funded with US taxpayer money deny the legitimacy of the State of Israel and allow HAMAS to build terror tunnels into Israel under UNRWA facilities such as schools and hospitals putting children, the sick and the elderly at risk. When they are exposed they pretend to be shocked and bewildered as to how this could happen. The UNRWA has become nothing more than a front for anti-Israel hate organizations.

The refugee problem is a huge business with thousands profiting from it. Regardless of the public rhetoric to the contrary, only the most naïve and misguided connected with the refugees has any interest in ending the plight of the displaced Arab Palestinians. It is just another anti-American, anti-Israel UN hate organization using the American taxpayer as their personal ATM machine. It is time to completely defund the UNRWA.  If you agree, say, “AMEN!”

As the whole world knows, on December 21, 2017 the United Nations (stands for Usually Nothing) voted to “null and void” the US acknowledgment of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Now really, who cares, right? The non-binding vote was 128-9 against the US with 35 wise nations abstaining and 21 cowardly nations not even showing up to vote.

Our courageous US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley warned them before the vote with these words, “The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the General Assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation. We will remember it when we are called upon to once again make the world’s largest contribution to the United Nations. And we will remember it when so many countries come calling on us, as they so often do, to pay even more and to use our influence for their benefit. America will put our embassy in Jerusalem. That is what the American people want us to do, and it is the right thing to do. No vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that.”

She went on to warn them that “she was taking names.” A few days later she cut the US contribution to the UN by $285 million. Don’t you just love it when someone stands up for themselves. By-the-way, I believe you have just heard from the next Secretary of State and the first female President of the United States of America.

The nations that voted in support of the US were Israel, Guatemala, Togo, Honduras, Micronesia, Nauru, the Marshall Islands and Palau. Now we can all go snorkeling at Micronesia because God will surely bless their reefs with lots of fish. And with the tax break just passed you actually may be able to afford a plane ticket to Micronesia.

Guatemala has already declared they are moving their embassy to Jerusalem. The main reason given is because the President of Guatemala is an evangelical Christians as is thirty to forty percent of the population of Guatemala. We can expect several other Central America countries to do the same. Christians, Jews and Israel standing together – it’s about time.

The UN and Zechariah

These 128 “against folk” are so incredibly ignorant I am sure they have no ideas they are fulfilling Bible prophecy and bringing God’s judgment on themselves and their nations. Fulfilling Bible prophecy – really? That dusty old book that God-haters have tried to destroy for centuries – you know; the book many of our politicians, media and educators despise and are afraid your children might read.
Maybe they are afraid they might read something written by a guy name Zechariah. Zechariah was a prophet of the One True God – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God gave Zechariah a prophetic vision about events that are actually happening in our times. He wrote down the vision about 2500 years ago. This should not be hard to for us to believe since God, who is outside of time and knows the end from the beginning, can share some of his future secrets with His spokespersons. Can you just imagine Zechariah speaking to our ignorant press journalist at the briefing from the steps of the “God House-Temple Mount in Jerusalem.”

Here is what he said, “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness [reeling] to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah [West Bank] and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone [boundary marker] for all peoples; all who would heave it away [remove Jerusalem from Israeli sovereignty and its eternal capital] will surely be cut in pieces [a covenant term meaning destroyed], though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:2-3, 9).

WOW – can you imagine how the “fake news” journalists would have reported that press briefing? If you are not familiar with Zechariah, I urge you to read Zechariah 12 right away because we are living in Zechariah 12 today. Please take the time to do this. You can pray and declare the words written in this chapter over events taking place in our world. This is how you partner with God to bring His will from heaven to earth.

When you finish reading Zechariah 12, immediately read Psalm 2. You can lay Psalm 2 right on top of Zechariah 12 as they are speaking about the same events and the same time in history, the time in which we are living.

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

While we will have many challenges in 2018 including wars and rumors of wars and shaking of the established order, both domestic and foreign, both good and bad, do not fear these things. Do not look at the messy micro of man (evening news) but look at the mighty macro of God (His Word).
The Word of God promises “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD. And all the families of the nations shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD’s and He rules over the nations” (Psalm 22:27-28). You can bet your life on it.

Beloved Ones – the King-Messiah is coming for His people.
Are you prepared to meet Him face-to-face?

While the New Testament records the birth of Jesus, it does not record the specific date of His birth. Unlike modern times, people in Bible times, and for the first three centuries, did not celebrate birthdays because that was a pagan custom. So how did we decide on the birth date of Jesus?

When Antiochus desecrated the Temple by offering a swine on the holy altar of God in 167BC, he chose December 25 as the date because this was the birthday of Zeus. Zeus was the high god of Greece and considered the incarnation of the sun. Together with his goddess-mother, Rhea (the Queen of Heaven), they represented the Greek version of the mother/child cult of Babylon.

December 25th was the winter solstice, when days began to lengthen. In view of this, the ancient world of pagan sun-worshippers celebrated December 25 as the birthday of the sun. For example, to the Romans, Zeus was known as Jupiter. He was the Roman high god of the sun. The Romans celebrated December 25th (the birthday of Zeus/Jupiter) as Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, “the Day of the Nativity of the Unconquered Sun.”

In the fourth century of our era, after Constantine “Christianized” Rome, he chose December 25 as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus so that the pagan Romans would accept the new Christian religion of Rome. Constantine, himself a sun-worshipper, may have believed Jesus to be an incarnation of Jupiter, the sun god. Because of the obvious pagan origins, many segments of Christianity condemned the observance of December 25 due to its connection to sun worship. In fact, our Pilgrim Fathers did not celebrate Christmas knowing that is was a pagan holiday that Rome had Christianized.

So when was Jesus born? It is likely that Jesus was conceived during Hanukkah. According to Luke 1:5, Zacharias was a priest of the division of Abijah. Luke 1:8 says that Gabriel appeared to Zacharias when he was serving as a priest in the temple. Based on Rabbinic writings and 1 Chronicles 24:10, the division of Abijah served as priests during the second half of the fourth month on the Jewish religious calendar. This was late June when Elizabeth conceived John the Baptist. This would mean that John the Baptist was born the next year around Passover.

According to Luke 1:24-26, Mary conceived Jesus in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. This means that Jesus was conceived during the latter part of the Jewish month of Kislev, or late December on the Gentile calendar. Jesus was born nine months later, most likely at the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Teruah or at Tabernacles (Succot).

Micah 4:8 says that King-Messiah will be born in Bethlehem at the Tower of the Flock where sacrificial Passover lambs were born and wrapped in swaddling clothes and put in a manger (limestone rock). Think about that. But this is another subject.

By-the-way, John the Baptist was not a Baptist, Mary was not a Catholic and Jesus was not a Christian. THEY WERE ALL JEWS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I am writing his blog on December 11, a date that will live in infamy as you will soon discover.

This year, the eight days of Hanukkah are celebrated on December 13-20 (beginning the eve of Dec. 12). While Hanukkah has always been considered a Jewish holiday, Christians should also celebrate Hanukkah to commemorate the great victory of the Jews over Antiochus Epiphanes in 164 as recorded in First Maccabaeus. Without that victory the Jews would have perished and Jesus would not have been born.

Three years earlier (167), Antiochus desecrated the holy altar of God at the Temple in Jerusalem by offering a pig as a sacrifice to Zeus. This was on December 25, the birthday of Zeus, who was the Greek high god and thought to be the incarnation of the sun. This was also the supposed birthday of many ancient pagan gods which is why Rome decreed it to be the birthday of Jesus. For this reason, our Pilgrim Fathers did not celebrate Christmas.

Antiochus forbade the Jewish people to practice their religion. They could not practice circumcision, observe the Sabbath, celebrate the feasts, keep the dietary laws, study the Torah, or in any way, worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those who disobeyed were either tortured or killed or both. Their bodies were mutilated, and while still alive and breathing, they were crucified. The wives and sons whom they had circumcised were strangled. They were then crucified with the dead bodies of their children made to hang around their parent’s necks.

Although greatly outnumbered, and fighting the superpower of their time, God gave the Maccabaeus a great victory. They liberated Jerusalem, tore down the pagan altar, cleansed the Temple and reestablished their religious practices. Traditional writings tell us that when the Jews rededicated the altar to God they only had enough oil to burn the menorah for one day. But after the menorah was kindled, it miraculously burned for eight days, thus, the eight days of Hanukkah.

Hanukkah is called the Feast of Dedication and the Feast of Lights. Jesus celebrated this feast (John 10:22), which certainly makes it “kosher” for Christians. In fact, Jesus was probably conceived in Mary (Miriam) by the Holy Spirit at Hanukkah and born during the Feast of Trumpets or Tabernacles.   

The central focus in celebrating Hanukkah is lighting the eight-branched menorah called a hanukkiah. The hanukkiah has a ninth candle called a Shamash. This word means servant. The servant candle is used to light the other eight. May we all be filled with the light of God’s love and be His living hanukkiah servants to a very dark world. And may we have the faith and courage to fight against the darkness that would distinguish our light.

General Edmund Allenby

Now let’s fast forward from the time of the Maccabaeus to 1917 when another in the spirit of the Maccabaeus liberated Jerusalem. Turkey has ruled over Jerusalem for 400 years from 1517. But just as in the time of Antiochus, God had a plan to overthrow Turkey and liberate Jerusalem so that one day the Jews would be able to return to their ancient capital. The man he chose was General Edmund Allenby.

General Allenby was a God fearing Christian general in the British army. He led the liberation of Jerusalem from the Turks that would bring an end to four hundred years of Muslim control of Jerusalem. The Turks surrendered to Allenby on December 9 and he entered in triumphant on December 11. Before entering Jerusalem, Allenby dismounted from his horse and walked in because he said that only the Messiah should ride in triumphant in the final liberation and redemption of Jerusalem.

Now get this! As a Christian boy in England, his mother taught young Edmund to end his bedtime prayers with these words, “And, O Lord, we would not forget your ancient people, Israel. Hasten the day when Israel shall again be your people and shall be restored to your favor and to their land.” Allenby said, “I never knew God would give me the privilege of answering my own childhood prayer.”

Was it just a coincidence that Allenby was the man who liberated Jerusalem or was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob orchestrating these events? Was it just a coincidence that Allenby, the Christian General Maccabean of WWI, liberated Jerusalem DURING THE FEAST OF HANUKKAH or was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob orchestrating these events? Is it just a coincidence that it is during the approaching season of Hanukkah that the President of the USA has publicly recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of history. He declares the end from the beginning. His counsel shall stand and none shall stay His hand (Isaiah 46:9-10).

HAPPY HANUKKAH!