John 10:22  And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.

We are currently in the midst of an important event for the Jewish people. It is an event that is actually mentioned in the Bible. We also know the date of this event because that too is recorded in history. The event is today known as Hanukkah.
In our text we see that it was called “the feast of dedication”. We also read that Jesus was in Jerusalem on this particular occasion. This was an important event for the Jews in Jesus’ time.
It was not established to commemorate the completion of Solomon’s temple. Solomon’s temple was completed in autumn, about September.

I Kings 8:2  And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.

It was also not established to commemorate the completion of the second temple. The second temple, was dedicated in spring, around February.

Ezra 6:15  And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

Those were important times in the history of the nation of Israel. However, the feast of the dedication was for a different very important time. The prophet Daniel described a man in chapter 8 and 11, who would set himself up as the ruler of the Greek empire, and he would declare himself a great man who would forbid the Jews from keeping the daily sacrifices in the temple. He would defile the temple and this would keep the Jews out of the temple. This man was a type of the antichrist. The Jews at that time, were not God-fearing people. The Greeks were in control of that entire region and the man Daniel spoke of was Antiochus Epiphanies. For background, after the death of Alexander the Great, the Greek empire was divided into four parts and Antiochus was in charge of one part, which included the land of Israel, but he had ambitions for more control. He was a staunch promoter of Greek culture and hated the Jews and their religion. At one point he slaughtered around 40,000 Jews and then defiled the temple. The result was that no Jew would enter into it and no sacrifices were offered in it by the Jews. The temple was not used by the Jews for about 3 years. A Jew named Judas Maccabaeus led a revolt around 165 B.C. at which time they were able to gain control of the temple area and cleanse the temple. After the cleansing of the temple, the Jews established a feast in honour of Judas Maccabaeus and the cleansing of the temple. This is the feast that we read of in John 10:22. The dedication was the time when the temple was cleansed and ready to be used as a Jewish temple once again.
We know from the birth of Jesus Christ, that when Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple to offer the necessary offering for Him, that Simeon and Anna were there to make their prophetic statements regarding Jesus Christ and Mary. There were some Jews who knew God and who walked in the fear of the Lord. We know that during Jesus’ public ministry, He needed to cleanse the temple on two different occasions. In both instances, the Pharisees and their friends had defiled the temple, by turning it into a house of merchandise, a den of thieves. They had defiled the temple with their corrupt practices. They saw themselves as self-righteous and everything they did was justified in their own eyes. Jesus showed the people that the temple was to be God’s house and used for His purposes, not as a money making racket.
Jesus Christ is the anti-type to the temple and all that was in it. At His death the vail in the temple was “rent in twain” from the top to the bottom. God showed the people that there was no longer a need for the animal sacrifices of the past and also no further need of the priesthood. Access was now granted to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. His shed blood had made the way possible for man to come directly to God through Him. He rose from the dead, proving further that He is the Messiah and Saviour. He is seated on the right hand of His Father in glory now, interceding for us to His Father.
The Jews, as a nation, of our time, still do not know the true God. There are Jews in Israel and outside Israel, who do know the true God, but they are few. The majority of the Jews are secular in their thinking. There is a small segment that would be considered orthodox and they follow certain traditions, but they are lost. They are like the Pharisees of old. They are into law keeping, but they do not know the God of the law.
Hanukkah is an event that is in memory of part of Jewish history that took place at the same time as the cleansing of the temple. There is some debate as to the legitimacy of the story behind Hanukkah, but for many Jews it is real. The story states that there was not enough oil prepared for the temple services of this particular time, and they state that God miraculously kept the fires in the lamps in the temple burning even though they should have died out due to lack of oil. There was a lack of oil because the person assigned to produce that oil had not prepared enough oil and it took 8 days for a new batch to be ready for use. Jewish tradition claims the oil that was in the lamps lasted for that entire time. As mentioned, it is not certain how much of the events of that account are true. Many Jews accept it as fact and many Jewish organizations also promote it as fact.
As we see from this event, which is highly promoted and practiced in our time, the Jews are religious, but lost. They hold on to things they believe to be important, but they do not believe in the God and Saviour Who alone can save them.
The significance of the lamps in the temple, is that they symbolized the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Light of the world. The Jews do not believe that, but they do keep Hanukkah as a special time in their history. During Hanukkah, the lighting of the menorah is important and various celebrations take place during this 8 day event. Gentiles are encouraged to light a candle or have an light in their window during this entire time.
However, it does not remind Jewish people of the Lord Jesus Christ being the Light of the world. The day will come when the nation will see Jesus Christ coming to this earth at the end of the Tribulation time. After the severe suffering the Jews will have faced for the previous 7 years at the hands of the antichrist, they will finally be ready to turn to the Lord in repentance and acknowledge Him as their Saviour and Messiah. He will usher in the Millennium at that time and the saved Jews will enter into the Millennium and submit to the Kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is important for born again Christians to remind Jews wherever we find them of the importance of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as the Light of the world.
Today is the first day of the week. It is the Lord’s Day. It is the day that we are given to gather together to learn of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an important day that should not be reduced to a social event. It should be the day when saints gather to fellowship with the Father and with the Son in a special way. We are privileged to be able to come together and study God’s Word and be reminded of the blessing of knowing Him and serving Him.
This week Hamas hung a banner on an overpass in Toronto. The banner states that ‘Jesus was a Palestinian’. The fact is that Jesus was not a Palestinian. The Bible makes it clear that He was a Jew and He is the eternal Son of God. Muslims claim that our Bible corrupts the facts and they claim their Koran is the truth. Strange since the Koran is a much more recent book than the Bible. It is a corrupt book written by men who hated God and sought to kill anyone who would not accept their corrupt religion. That is still their goal today. It is sad that so many people are choosing to walk in darkness and that our country is allowing this false religion to grow unimpeded, in our land. These terrorists are protected by law enforcement and Parliament. Yet the proclamation of the Gospel is being hindered. The ultimate goal is to silence the truth.
Those who are born again should be excited about the privilege we have to go into the house of the Lord on this day to exalt the true God. We should make much of the privilege to serve the true God and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lost people need to attend a true house of God to learn the truth and be saved.
God is warning us that time is running out. Soon it will be too late. The events in the Middle East are a constant reminder that the Lord’s return is soon. We do not know the day nor the hour, but we know it will not be long. We also know that death is certain for all of us. Without knowing the true God and Saviour, there is no hope. Ecumenism is a lie. All religions do not lead to the true God. Most religions lead to Rome, and that is the place of death.
Why not attend a true church today where the truth is proclaimed. Take the time to learn important lessons from the Word of God. Those who are saved, have the privilege of joining other born again Christians and rejoicing in God’s many blessings to us. Gentiles are not commanded to keep the feast of Dedication. We are told to be a light in this dark world. We need to be sure we are that particular light today and every day.
Pastor Bartel