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 22nd. Hanukkah starts on this
evening and ends 8 days later on December 30th, 2019.
This
year, the Winter Solstice falls on December 22nd 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.)
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
2019?
Pray
for the peace of Jerusalem!
Maranatha!
Chance
I
used the chabad calendar for days/dates.