The Feasts of Israel

An Excerpt from Chapter 9, Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights


by Bruce Scott
Additional PDF Resource: An overview of Hanukkah, including historical background, practices, songs, and recipes.

Prophecy and Hanukkah


Being a man-made holiday, the festival of Hanukkah has no prophetic import. The events surrounding the festival of Hanukkah, however, were predicted in Scripture long before they happened. In Daniel 11:21–35, the exploits of Antiochus Epiphanes and his ensuing campaign to wipe out biblical Judaism are outlined in great detail.

An interesting aspect of this text is found in Daniel 11:36, where the narrative still seems to be referring to Antiochus, and yet the description does not match any recorded historical events. Many prophetic scholars therefore think that Daniel 11:36–45 describes another individual commonly referred to as the Antichrist, who is yet to appear on the scene but is typified in the person of Antiochus Epiphanes.

As Antiochus beguiled Israel into false security, so too will the Antichrist (Dan. 9:27). As Antiochus thought himself to be God, so too will the Antichrist (Dan. 11:36–37; 2 Th. 2:4). As Antiochus persecuted the Jewish people (Dan. 11:33), so too will the Antichrist (Dan. 12:1; Mt. 24:21). As Antiochus abolished the practice of Judaism and set up the abomination of desolation (Dan. 11:31), so too will the Antichrist (Dan. 9:27; Mt. 24:15). Thus we see that although the holiday of Hanukkah is not emphasized in Scripture, the events that led up to the creation of the holiday are a part of Scripture. More so, they serve as a foreshadowing of another turbulent time in Israel’s history that is yet to come.

One passage in the Bible, John 10:22, does specifically mention the holiday of Hanukkah. The text reads, “And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication [Hanukkah], and it was winter.” On this occasion Jesus made a most startling declaration. While Jesus was walking in the Temple, the people demanded that He tell them plainly whether or not He was the Messiah. Jesus replied that He had already told them that He was the Messiah and that His miracles confirmed His messianic credentials. The problem was not His messianic claims. The problem was that some of the people did not believe Him. Some, however, did believe. These people He referred to as His sheep, to whom He gave eternal life and eternal security. No one could pluck them out of His hand, Jesus asserted, and no one could pluck them out of His heavenly Father’s hand.

Then, stunning the crowd, Jesus made a remarkable statement. He proclaimed, “I and my Father are one” (Jn. 10:30). In this statement, Jesus was declaring clearly that He and God the Father were of the same nature. He was saying that he was equal to God in all respects. The Shema (Dt. 6:4), the primary Jewish declaration of faith, proclaims that the Lord, Israel’s God, is one Lord: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.” The word for “one” in this verse, however, is often used in Scripture to describe a plurality in unity (i.e., Gen. 2:24). Therefore, here and in other Old Testament passages (i.e., Isa. 48:12–16), there is a hint of the triune nature of God that is more fully revealed in the New Testament. Jesus was simply affirming this truth. There is only one God, but He exists in a plurality of being. Jesus is part of that plurality. In simple terms, He, Jesus Christ, was pronouncing, “I am God in the flesh.”

The multitude that heard Him was taken aback. They understood exactly what Jesus meant. This can be seen by their reaction to His statement. They picked up stones to stone Him. “Many good works have I shown you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?” (Jn. 10:32), Jesus asked. “For a good work we stone thee not,” they answered, “but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God” (Jn. 10:33). The Jewish people considered it blasphemy for anyone to declare Himself to be God. They remembered how, almost two hundred years before, another man—Antiochus IV—made a similar claim when he chose to call himself Epiphanes (God Manifest). And on this occasion, during Hanukkah of all times, they were not about to let that same mistake happen again.

It was not an accident that Jesus chose Hanukkah as the time to proclaim His deity. He knew exactly what He was doing. Jesus answered the insulted throng by pointing to their own Scriptures. In Psalm 82:6 there is a precedent for calling someone the son of God. The psalmist wrote, “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High.” This must have been a familiar psalm to the people because it was sung by the Levites every Tuesday in the Temple. If even the psalmist, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, called human beings “gods,” Jesus asked, why then was He being accused of blasphemy when He had proven by His life and ministry that he was no mere human being? “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works, that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him” (Jn. 10:37–38).

Jesus’ final word to the people during Hanukkah was directed as a challenge. In effect He was saying, “You may not like what I say, but I back it up with my life. Take a look at what I have done. Inspect it, examine it, dissect it if you wish. But you will not be able to honestly get around the fact that I am who I say I am—the Son of God, the Messiah.”

This statement did nothing to dissuade the offended crowd. They attempted once more to apprehend Jesus, but He escaped from their midst (Jn. 10:39). Jesus made His point nonetheless. He was not a mere scholar, a simple rabbi, or just a good teacher of the law. He made it clear that He was different from all men. He was distinct. He was man, but He was also God.

How do we know this for sure? The answer is found in the empty tomb. The greatest reason for believing that Jesus was and is who He claimed to be is that He was not in the tomb. He had and is risen. As the Scripture says, “I will declare the decree: The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee” (Ps. 2:7). To which day was the psalmist referring? The Book of Acts reveals the answer. “And we declare unto you glad tidings, how the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee” (Acts 13:32–33).

On the day of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, God trumpeted the news to all of mankind: “This is my Son. This is my proof.” As the Apostle Paul explained, “Concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:3–4).

It is on this point, then, that the appearance of Jesus at the Feast of Dedication takes on meaning. Antiochus IV claimed to be God. So did Jesus. The difference between the two is that Antiochus IV was and is dead. Jesus Christ, however, is very much alive. Which one, therefore, was telling the truth?

As a final note to Hanukkah’s relationship to prophecy, it is not known if the holiday will be a part of the future Millennial Kingdom when Jesus reigns on the earth. Scripture is silent on the matter. Being a man-made festival, however, it is unlikely that it will be a part of the kingdom holidays.

Bruce Scott holds a B.A. in Bible from Grace College of the Bible, Omaha, Nebraska and a M.Div. from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Plymouth, Minnesota. He is a Bible teacher and preacher with The Friends of Israel in Minnesota.

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