Fay noticed something very important about the Hanukkah events long ago. Thank you Fay! They happened in the period about 160 years before The First Coming of the Messiah, like 40 years times 4. It was a period between the Covenant Writings (Old Testament) and the Renewed/New Covenant (New Testament Writings). It was a period of 160 years to PREPARE THE WAY for The First Coming of the Messiah of Israel. The spiritual arc, the timeframe of preparation, for the Second Coming has been much longer. Divide 2000 years by 40 year periods to get 50 periods rather than 4. There have been more than 750,00 days since The Ascension to Prepare the Way, build up the Ecclesia: the bride,body, family of the Redeemed of the Messiah of Israel, Christ the Lord. As I have noted, the Hanukkah stories, at their core and essence have been about the necessity to Prepare the Way for The First Coming. Therein lies their beauty and intrinsic meaning, more than the preservation of members of the House of Israel/ the 12 Tribes/ the seed of Isaac. Spiritually, it is about much more than ethnic identity and pride in ancestry, in lineage.
 
   The Messiah has asked a profound question about His return at the Second Coming. When He returns, will there be faith in the Son of Man? Where is the fervent expectation, the passionate longing for His return now? Today? One of my favorite scenes in films made about Christ is a marvelous scene from a film made by American George Stevens. He was a man with faith in Christ who researched the period for several years before he and a friend wrote the screenplay. There a scene of images with people suffering. Some are like tableau. Prople are being beaten, or in chains, sitting in dirt streets with puddles of muddy water. Desperation, anguish, suffering, anger, listlessness, despair. To accent what? Spiritual values of expectation, hope, and longing .For whom? Their Savior. Then we see a high overhead crane view of the Second Temple at Jerusalem and the exterior of the Holy of Holies below. A dove is hovering in the air, fluttering its wings, near the camera. Peace. Shalom. The image begins to dissolve to an image of the Judean wilderness. We hear the booming and soaring stage trained voice of Charlton Heston as John the Baptist, the cousin of the Messiah. "REPENT! COME NEAR!"
 
   We are in period 50, of 40 years each, since The First Coming. The annual Hanukkah Season reminds us of an earlier period of constant expectation, and avid longing, for the coming of the Messiah. A fervent and passionate time, for the many. Christ the Lord has been, for 2000 years, our Redeemer, Beloved, Groom, Best Friend, Teacher, Good Shepherd, Priest, King, and Judge. PREPARE THE WAY! REPENT! COME NEAR!
 
 
With Love and Shalom,
Jean