During the festival of lights that both Christmas and Hanukkah celebrate, the Spirit is speaking to the churches/congregations about walking in light and not in darkness; knowing, feeling, the difference between what is good and right from what is bad and wrong; knowing the difference between good and evil, and choosing the good, choosing the light.
Once again on a significant Jewish holiday – this time Hanukkah – enemies of YHVH God and of His chosen people carried out a terrorist attack on Bondi Beach against Jews in Australia celebrating a holiday which reminds us of the need to fight, with God’s help and for His glory, against the darkness and to fight for the faith once delivered to the people of God, especially for those who believe. This is so in every generation in history for those who believe in the Creator of the heavens and the Earth and the seas, and all that is in them. He alone decrees what is good and what is evil, and He separates the light from the darkness.
As believers in Yeshua as the Messiah and Son of the Living God, we, too, are to fight for the truth of the faith – to fight as children of light and not of the darkness; to fight for what is good against the evil that continues to try, even if always unsuccessfully, to extinguish the flame. Even here in Israel believers face opposition, sometimes violent, for our faith from those who do not even know why they oppose the truth of Yeshua. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for our weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every though captive to the obedience of Messiah ….”. (2Cor 10:3-5)
The hope of the Jewish people/the people of Israel, and of believers in Yeshua/Jesus is one: the return of the Lord to judge and to put away all of His enemies and the enemies of His people. These enemies are not only external, but also within and among His people, as was the situation at the time of the Maccabees and Hanukkah/the Feast of Dedication, and at the time of the birth of the Messiah/Christ. The Maccabees themselves failed to remain faithful to the true faith and way to worship YHVH God. Yeshua alone can, and will, save His people from our sins. This is the hope which Christmas, the celebration of His birth, gives to all mankind, and especially to those who believe. (Acts 26:2-11; Lk 2:13-14; 1Tim 4:10)
“Unto us a child is born, a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with justice and righteousness from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of YHVH of Hosts will perform this.” (Is 9:6-7)
Lk 1:67-75
“[John’s] father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show steadfast love to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”
This passage is one that is read out in many churches around the world for celebrating the birth of the Messiah, Yeshua, Lord at His birth. God was truly with us: Immanuel! The Father and the angels rejoiced at His birth, and sent the shepherds to share in the holy celebration. At a recent conference in Cyprus I read this as a text to show that God has not yet fulfilled this hope spoken of by the priest Zechariah, the father of John the Baptizer. In other words, God has not forgotten, nor replaced Israel. One pastor there thought that the prophecy was fulfilled at the birth of Yeshua. But, I told them, that the promise has not yet been realized, as we know from our own experience. I felt from the Holy Spirit that these pastors and teachers, when reading these verses in their churches, would be emboldened in the Holy Spirit to speak of the truth of the covenant promises to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.
The return of the Jewish people to the land in our generation is not the full-fillment of the promises, but only partial. Thank God for that! Yet God is fulfilling His promises through the present sovereign State of Israel for the Jewish people. There are wars over this, and it is for us to fight for the truth of God’s Word, and for the Jewish people to demonstrate faith in the promises of God according to the covenant He made with our fathers. But without confession and repentance regarding our sins against our own God and His Son, we will not succeed, despite our incredible successes as a nation, just as the Maccabees did not.
Replacement theology is not truth; otherwise, God promises, but does not fulfill. This is not to know YHVH for who He is – “the knowledge of God” — and does not give security to believers in Yeshua/Jesus that God will keep promises that He has made to the Body of Christ, or to any believer personally. If God is like us, then there is no reason to sing and praise Him with the many songs that we sing about His faithfulness to His Word. The Father is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth. Our hope is in the abiding truth of God’s Word. Our hope is secure knowing that our great High Priest Yeshua/Jesus, now in Heaven sitting at the Father’s right hand on His throne, is interceding for usas He did for Peter, to hold onto our faith to overcome the evil and its darkness. We are in the true light, and the darkness cannot overtake it. (Jn 1:5)
The attack in Sydney, with all the resolve of continuing to live as Jews and as Christians and to celebrate significant holidays, also led one of the leaders of the Jewish people in Australia to say that “this was an attack on the basic right of people to gather together “without fear”. This is exactly what the Holy Spirit inspired Zechariah to prophesy at the birth of his son John.
This prophecy of hope looks ahead to the Millennial Kingdom. Zechariah may not have understood that at the time. Peter wrote that the prophets did not understand always what they were prophesying, and that many of their prophecies were written for us living at the end of the age, and that our hope is in what is written about the grace that is coming at the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ/Yeshua the Messiah. Zechariah did understand by the Holy Spirit that his son John pointed to the One who would be the one to bring fulfillment of the hope of the promises of YHVH to His chosen people and nation Israel — and through them to all the world. And with the fulfillment, at long last there will be true righteousness and peace, and those whose God is YHVH will be truly happy and blessed to worship Him and serve Him without fear of any enemies. All who believe in Jesus and have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them have peace with God; but there are still enemies who seek to rob us of that peace. Do not give it to them! This spiritual war will continue until the return of the Lord. (1Pt 1:3-16; Rev 3:10-13)
Let’s finish with a couple of passages from the prophet Haggai and from the writer to the Hebrews, about what the Father began to put in action with the birth of the Messiah, the King of the Jews, and what will be completed when He returns.
Hag 2:20-22; Heb 12:25-29
“And again the Word of YHVH came to Haggai on the 24th of the [9th] month, saying: ‘Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying’: ‘I will shake the heavens and the Earth; I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms; I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them; the horses and their riders shall come down, everyone by the sword of his brother.’”
In the context of the chapter, God is saying that He will shake the world on the 24th of the 9th month. This is a messianic prophecy. What the Maccabees accomplished did not shake the Earth, much less the heavens. It did have a great, but short-lived effect in the land of Israel, and raised a battle cry against those who would pervert the way and life-style that YHVH gave and commanded His chosen people. A greater miracle was needed to begin to overthrow the Gentile powers and kingdoms.
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“See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on Earth, much more if we turn away from Him who speaks from Heaven, whose voice then shook the Earth; but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I shake not only the Earth, but also the heavens.’ Now this, ‘yet once more’, indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire!”
The Word of YHVH promises to “once more” shake not only the Earth, but also the heavens. When the Lord Yeshua/Jesus comes again in great power and glory, rending the heavens, the devil knows that he is finished, and all of the kingdoms of this world will be overthrown and shattered to pieces by the Stone coming down from Heaven; and they will become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah. (Dan 2; Rev 11:14-18). Both the heavens and the Earth will be shaken, that only that which is of God will remain. Because God is giving us the Kingdom, we do not need to take it by violence – “not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit”, declares the LORD!” We are to purify ourselves, and walking in His light, be a brighter light ourselves in the present darkness.
In this great and precious living hope let us celebrate our great God and Savior with pure hearts of thanksgiving and praise for the mighty works He has done, and still does and will do, for His people for the sanctification of His holy Name’s. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Let us celebrate our great God and Savior with pure hearts of thanksgiving and praise for the mighty works He has done, and still does and will do, for His people for the sanctification of His holy Name’s. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
