is hannukah biblical, and if so where is it in the Bible?
492091
The word Chanukah comes from the Hebrew word Chanuk which means to dedicate. The Festival commemorates the miraculous victory of the Maccabean army over the pagan military forces that occupied Jerusalem.\n\nThis all dates back to the original "Abomination of Desolation" which the prophet Daniel wrote about (Daniel 11:31 and 12:11).  A pagan military leader and man of lawlessness named Antiochus Epiphanes entered into the holy Temple in Jerusalem on December 25th and erected an idol and burned a pig on the altar which defiled the Temple.\n\nThis Abomination of Desolation is still practiced by many today. They understand that that their body is a Temple of God (1 Corinthans 3:16) and therefore on December 25th they will make a point of eating ham. Why they want to commemorate the Abomination of Desolation in this way on that day is a mystery (2nd Thes 2:7)\n\nBut the story doesn't stop there. A small group of priests and Jewish warriors led by Judah Maccabee ("Judah the Hammer") conquered the pagans and drove them out. They cleansed the Temple and had to remove the pork grease from the walls, so they ran fire over the entire surface of the walls to burn off the contamination. And on Kislev 25th they rededicated the Temple. So for this reason, Kislev 25th is celebrated each year as the Feast of Dedication or Festival of Chanukah. It is a "Festival of Lights" in the time of the dark winter months. It is a time for personal reflection and dedication for our own lives. Just as the Maccabees burned out the contamination from the Temple with fire, so too the Fire of the Holy Spirit is important for burning out the impurities within our "Temple" (our body).\n\nAnd the Abomination of Desolation will occur again - as you will read in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14 - during the 4th year of the 7 years of Tribulation. It will again be a man of lawlessness who performs it. He will probably tell you that eating pig is okay, but don't be decieved.\n\nAnd just as that future Abomination of Desolation occurs in the "midst of the week", on the 4th "day", so too the original Abomination of Desolation occured on the "4th day".  To the Lord 1000 years is as a day. Day 1 was from Adam to Noah, Day 2 was from Noah to Abraham (Abraham is said to have been born in the year 1948 from creation). Day 3 is from Abraham to King David. Day 4 was from King David to Messiah and it was during that day that Antiochus committed the Abomination of Desolation. Another 2 days have now passed from the time of Messiah. We are ready to enter into the 7th 1000 year day -- the Sabbath Day -- the time when Messiah will reign over all the earth for 1000 years.  But first we have that 7 years of Tribulation, when even the Elect might be deceived. Study to show yourself approved and don't be deceived in that time.\n\nAs to where Chanukah is mentioned in the Bible, we find that Messiah travels to Jerusalem for this holiday in John 10:22 \n   "Then came the Feast of Dedication {That is, Hanukkah} at Jerusalem. It was winter," \n\n(The footnote in the middle of the verse is found in the NIV.)\n\n    So, yes, Chanukah is Biblical and is mentioned in the Bible, and in fact, has very important meaning for our understand of prophecy.
666135
Not true.   The Jewish religion believes that Jesus Christ was a great prophet, but not the Son of God.  The Bible says otherwise.
723935
Ok, i got 2 good ones. The story aboout Balaal and the talking donkey at Numbers 22; 28- 35\nAlso Absalom getting stuck in the tree from his hair at 2 Samuel 18; 9\n\nHere's some more doozies;  Jacob dressing up and getting hairy like Esau in Genesis 27; 15 - 40\nIsraelites disobeying Moses about the manna provision and getting worms in their food at Exodus 16; 19 and 20\nMy personal favorite is Exodus 32; 24 where Aaron is explaining to Moses how he took the jewelry from the people , threw it into the fire , and the golden calf happened to come out on its own. What he really did is mentioned at verse 4.
970423
The most references seem to be in Leviticus, but you'll also see references to mikveh in other books.\n\nHere's a link to references to them all:\n\nhttp://www.blueletterbible.org/tmp_dir/words/7/1163083102-6996.html\n\nPeace.
2327
A very sensitive question to be sure. Hanukkah means re-dedication and it is a time when present-day Jews re-dedicate their faith. As many people know it is certainly not as important of a holiday as Passover, Yom Kippur, Shavuot, and other Jewish holidays. Most of the over-importance heaped on Hanukkah is due to its timing when comparing the Hebrew calendar to the Roman calendar. I personally find it ironic that the 25th of Kislev (the Hebrew calendar date for the first night of Hanukkah) is associated with the 25th of December (the Roman calendar date for the observance of Christmas). \n\nSo on to your specific question. There is no good answer why Christians do not celebrate Hanukkah. In the spirit of global tolerance and of coming together Christians may want to light a menorah to usher in the holiday time. After all there are an increasing number of Christians that celebrate the Passover holiday; even if it is likened to Christ's Last Supper which was undoubtably a Seder. \n\nOne of the most poignant discussions on the significance and relevance of Hanukkah to Christians is from Reverend Ricky Hoyt. I have included it as source. \n\nHappy holidays!!
864783
They Have Hanukkah at the same time as Christmas .\nIf you notice every major christian holiday co-insides with their major holiday .\nThey had major holidays before the Christians .\nIf you remember Christ was supposedly at a Seder ?
517117
It's no mystery.  The old testament covers Jewish morality.  Start with the ten commandments, for example.  You know Jewish morality already, you just don't realize it.
918725
Ah ...the soft-shoe routine you can get from people who believe in the "inerrant" Bible - when a text clearly states something so awful that it must be re-re-reinterpreted.\n\nSo .. a word from our sponsor:\nIsiah 45:7 "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and CREATE EVIL: I the LORD do all these things."\n\nAnd now let's hear the various (laughable) renditions of what "evil" means "in this context," or "the actual Hebrew means something totally different." - obviously it couldn't just mean "evil," .... could it? \n\nThere is no one answer to your question. Current theology, in a vain attempt at sidestepping the mystical trend that produced the citation above, holds that God did NOT do what He says He did, or that it's a "mystery to be revealed in the end to us all."
1124756
I agree\n\nso-called christians are not following the Bible..only traditions of man\nIf the date of Jesus birth were important, dont you think it would be recorded? Can anyone find a record of Jesus birth being celebrated in the Bible?....I dont think so.  \nThis is because God's people were aware of the pagan roots of birthday celebrations...\n\nWhat is most important concerning Christ and his redeeming mankind is his sacrificial death.\n\nCertainly there are records of that in  the Bible.  Jesus gave the command to remember him (Lu 22:19) this was a new celebration to replace the Passover of the old Mosaic Law\n (every Nisan 14..which falls 14 days after the new moon following the spring equinox--according to the lunar calendar used at that time)
116989
All I could find was info on \nARIEH:  \nMeans "lion" in Hebrew. This is the name of an officer of king Pekahiah in the Old Testament.
468643
Unlikely.  Judaism is not  as condemnatory of pre-marital sex and babies born out of wedlock as Christianity is.  In fact, strictly speaking their is no prohibition against pre-marital sex in the Torah, the ban was instituted by later Rabbis to prevent shame coming onto a woman or the appearance that she was a concubine or prostitute.\n\nSo the fact that Jesus was not Joseph's son would not have been viewed as a big deal at the time- the common assumption may well have been that the father was a Roman soldier since rape by Roman soldiers was a common occurence.
267392
Passover is coming.  That is where the Jews eat unlevened bread.  It's called Matzoh.  You can find boxes of it in any chain market.  It comes in large squares and is wavy like ruffles potato chips.\n\nForget all those other suggestions, they are not correct or authentic.\n\nI think 'BC' near the bottom reads more superficially than anyone here.  How can he quote a bib;e written by order of a king 1500 years after the event.\n\n\nTry and remember that Jews know their scrptures from the Jewish bible better than anyone else.  Jews were always taught to read so they could understabd the bible.  Gentiles at that time (which includes converts to Christianity) were never schooled, and had to be told what the writings said.  Gentiles did not have the education to think for themselves.  Sorry, guys, but these are the facts!\n\nTry to remmember that just because you find it on the Internet does not make it the truth!
776143
I am not Jewish-neither by blood or faith.\nSo I am not bound by Jewish law-period.\nHowever, I am bound by what God reveals to ME.\nJesus gave 2 commands--love God with your heart mind and soul and love each other. \nI keep those commands.\nI believe the Bible is a GUIDE but not the unchangable "WORD of GOD". Too many mortal fallible men have changed and manipulated the scriptures over the last 2,000 years. For example the scripture condemned women to silent docile domination by men.(1 Cor. 14:34-35) The scripture was written in a very different culture and time than our own. \n\nbut to answer your question with scripture....\n\nActs 15:19-20\n"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood."\n\n1 Corinthians 7:8-9\n"Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. BUT IF THEY CANNOT CONTROL THEMSELVES, THEY SHOULD MARRY, FOR IT IS BETTER TO MARRY THAN TO BURN WITH PASSION."\n\nLuke 12:56b-57\n"How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time? Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right"\n\nJohn 7:24\n"Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."\n\nRomans 4:13-15\n"It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring recieved the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no trangression."\n\n Luke 11:52\n"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who are entering."\n\nLuke 18:26-27\n"Those who heard this asked, 'WHO THEN CAN BE SAVED?' \nJesus replied, 'What is IMPOSSILBE WITH MEN IS POSSIBLE WITH GOD.' "\n\nActs 13:38-39\n"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. THROUGH HIM EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES IS JUSTIFIED FROM EVERYTHING YOU COULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED FROM BY THE LAW OF MOSES."\n\nJesus associated with the lowest of the low for His time-loose women tax collectors etc. He preached forgivenness and that we should not judge--that is God's job.\nWe each need to concern ourselves with our own personal relationship with God-instead of some one else's.\nI support EVERYONE'S right to walk with God-straight or not.\nWhat someone of faith does in their bedroom with their life partner is between them and God. It does not concern me or anyone else.\njust my opinion.
55392
You mean Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.  See links.
729569
Yes, I have. I think it's completely wrong to think that the Jews have to keep the law while we have to believe in Jesus. Jeremiah 31 says that God would make a completely new covenant with the Jews that would be different than the one he made when he brought them out of Egypt. Therefore, there is only one true covenant, and that's the New one --- Christianity.
19074
Chanukah, Hannukah, Hanukkah... I've seen quite a few spellings used - since the correct language for the word is Hebrew, it's hard to consider one spelling in English to be definitive.
735574
Traditional Judaism unquestionably believes in the World to Come, that is to say the afterlife with G-d.  There are numerous references to the idea throughout Jewish texts.  There is much less support for the concept of Hell, rather the punishment is to lose one's place in the World to Come.  \nJews and non-Jews can earn a place in the World to Come, Jews through the mitzvah system, while non-Jews are expected to observe the seven laws of Noah which were given to everyone. Not to worship idols, not to blaspheme G-d, not to kill, steal or commit incest or other serious sexual immorality, not to eat the flesh of a living animal, and to establish courts of law.\nSome of today's liberal Jewish thinkers have abandoned this belief, but not everyone.  It remains solidly part of Jewish thought.