Hello John and Doves,How did Hanukkah come about?
When Alexander the Great died, his empire was divided among his four generals. The Holy Land area came under the control of General Seleucus - forming what became known as the Seleucid Dynasty.
These Greek overlords became increasingly intolerant of Judaism - the Jewish festivals were prohibited, along with circumcision and owning a copy of the Torah. The Jews were ordered upon death to worship Greek gods.
Things got much worse for the Jewish people under King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. He added "Epiphanes" to his name - "God Manifest". He slaughtered Jewish leaders, men, women, children, babies. The Jews renamed him "Epimanes" - "The Mad One".He placed a statue of Zeus in the Holy of Holies and proclaimed himself Zeus' representative on earth. This act occurred on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in 167 BC.The Jewish people started their rebellion that lasted 3 years to the day. The priest Mattathias and his son Judah the Maccabee, called "The Hammer", carried out brilliant attacks on the Greek army. On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in 164 BC the Greeks were driven out of Jerusalem. The Temple was freed! The Jewish people rededicated and cleansed the Temple.
For the rededication they had found one bottle of consecrated oil which they used to light the Temple Menorah. This one day supply ended up lasting eight days! This miraculous occurrence was commemorated into the annual cycle of Jewish holidays as Hanukkah, The Feast of Dedication, The Festival of Lights.
In The Prophecy Watcher December, 2019 magazine, Gary Stearman wrote an article titled: "The Remarkable Winter Prophecies of Haggai".In his article, Gary tells the story of an amazing miracle concerning the liberation of Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire in 1917.On November 2, 1917, Lord Arthur James Balfour made a declaration that His Majesty's Government had approved the establishment in Palestine of a home for the Jewish people, and would mount a campaign to liberate Palestine from the Ottoman Empire.
General Allenby, who was known as a "brilliant Christian general", led the campaign. He knew it would be difficult to free Jerusalem from the Turkish army as the Turks had fortified Jerusalem as "an almost impregnable fortress'. It was reported that he "hated the thought of shedding blood in the city of the Lord, or of damaging the walls." These things caused him to analyze his position and method of attack over and over before moving on Jerusalem.As his army moved on Jerusalem from the south, the Turkish army fled to the north! His army marched into Jerusalem without a shot being fired!Quoting from this article: "As he marched up to the city, one of the most amazing miracles of all history took place. A rumor had reached the Turks that a strong army was approaching. It was said to be led by one whose name was "Allenby". But to Turkish ears, the name came out as "Allah Bey", which means "the prophet of God." A terrifying conviction fell upon their ranks. Because of their adversary's name, they felt that God was against them. They fled, and Allenby's forces literally walked into Jerusalem without a shot being fired."This took place on December 9, 1917 - the Eve of Hanukkah - the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month!! The ninth month is Kislev. On this day the Holy City, Jerusalem, was freed from captivity!
On this day, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, Jewish soldiers in the British Army, celebrated Hanukkah at the Western Wall. (The Turks had only allowed Jews to visit The Wall on Fridays before the Sabbath.)Gary Stearman wrote about this miraculous victory of Allenby's forces in reference to Haggai's prophecy. Four times in the 2nd chapter of the Book of Haggai, the Lord refers to ONE specific day. The twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. The Lord says "But from this day on, I will bless you."The twenty-fourth day of the ninth month is the 24th of Kislev, the Eve of Hanukkah. This year, the Eve of Hanukkah is December 10th. Hanukkah starts on this evening and ends 8 days later on December 18th, 2020.This year, the Winter Solstice falls on December 21st in Jerusalem. "The darkest day of the year." Being 10 hours and 4 minutes and 28 seconds long. Winter Solstice Sunrise is 0635; Winter Solstice Sunset is 0440 PM Jerusalem time. (The shortest period of daylight and the longest night of the year for the Northern Hemisphere.)https://www.drikpanchang.com/seasons/season-winter-solstice-timings.html?geoname-id=281184
2020 Winter Solstice | December Solstice date and time for Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
This is not the end of Haggai's prophecies for the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month! There is much more to come for Jerusalem and for the whole world!
Will we see these prophecies fulfilled on THIS Eve of Hanukkah 2020?
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!Maranatha!ChanceI used the chabad calendar for days/dates.copied from my 2019 letter with dates for 2020