Evidence of the Maccabees for Hanukkah

16 12 2022

Coins

These coins are 2,200 years old, from the time of the Jewish revolt against the Greeks. (link to 2min. video) The coins were discovered in a desert cave near the Dead Sea. The Greek King Antiochos IV Epiphanes (known as “the Wicked”) ruled the Seleucid Empire at that time. Epiphanes means: “God manifest”, which tells us he was worshipped as a god. No wonder the Jewish Maccabees would not submit to him. He had already defiled the Jewish Temple and would have destroyed it. When he was defeated in the revolt of the Jews, the Temple was saved. My wife, Doreen, wrote a children’s book explaining How Hanukkah Saved Christmas. The Messiah was prophesied to enter the Temple. If the Greeks had destroyed it, the prophecy could not have been fulfilled.

Archaeologists Find Silver Coins in Judean Desert; Evidence from Maccabean Revolt Era Coincides with Hanukkah Celebration – The Jewish Maccabean revolt against the Greek Seleucid Kingdom more than two thousand years ago is one of the most stirring events in Jewish history. The revolt and the miracle of the provision of oil in the Temple led to the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah, which is the festival celebrating the uprising against the Greek Seleucid kings and the restoration of the Jewish Temple. Last May, archaeologists discovered a wooden box containing 15 silver coins dating back 2,200 years to the time of the Hellenistic ruler Antiochus IV, who desecrated the Temple and persecuted the Jews.

The blasphemy of the Greek King, claiming to be a god, was a typical copycat example of Satan co-opting Yehovah’s plan for Jesus, who really was God in human form. The incarnation of Jesus was the real fulfillment of the prophecy of Immanuel, God with us! Isaiah saw it and Matthew reported it.

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”  Isaiah 7:14

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet,  saying:  “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”  Matthew 1:18-23

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas, overlapping this year. Hanukkah starts at sundown Sunday.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and pray for rain.

Les Lawrence, a voice of Christian Zionists                  (Read more)


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Real Miracle of Hanukka

2 12 2021

Dry Bones Hanukkah 2021

This cartoon sums it up. The miracle of Israel’s restoration is the story of the faithfulness of Yehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The supernatural blessing of God on Israel continues to this day. When the Maccabees defeated the Greco/Syrian dictator Antiochus, they thwarted his intention to destroy Jerusalem and Israel’s temple. My wife, Doreen, wrote a children’s book about it: How Hanukkah Saved Christmas.

If Antiochus had succeeded, the prophecies of the Messiah entering Jerusalem and the Temple could not have happened. Here is just one example of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem prophesied and fulfilled.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9

“The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: ​​​Hosanna! “​Blessed is He who comes in the name of Yehovah!” ​​The King of Israel!

​Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: ​​“Fear not, daughter of Zion; ​​Behold, your King is coming, ​​Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”​ Zechariah 12:12-15

The miracle of Israel’s survival through nearly 2,000 years of scattering among the nations is nothing less than the supernatural faithfulness of God. He has kept His promises to the forefathers in this wonderful time of restoration. After the great dispersion both Jews and Christians are eagerly looking for the Messiah to come. They are also now sharing persecution from the enemy. The wall that has separated Jews and Christians is coming down. We are seeing the promise of “one new man!”

“For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,” Ephesians 2:14-15

Bonus quote regarding the Covid panic: “The Delta and the Omicron are no match for the Alpha and Omega!”

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and for an abundant rainy season in Israel.

Les Lawrence, a voice of Christian Zionists                  (Read more)


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What Silent Years?

18 12 2017

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Scholars commonly speak of 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testaments. However, try telling that to the Maccabees and Simeon. Here are two proofs of profound prophetic activity during the so-called silent years.

  1. Maccabees – Doreen wrote a children’s series about the feasts of Yehovah, but started with the “unofficial” feast of dedication or Hanukkah, also known as the festival of lights. Her book title was: How Hanukkah Saved Christmas. Simply put, if the Maccabees had not defeated the Greeks and then restored and rededicated the Temple, Jesus could not have fulfilled the many Messianic prophesies of the Old Testament. That very prophetic event occurred about 150 years before Messiah Yeshua appeared as the Son of David. No Temple, no Messiah.
  2. Simeon – Do you remember the story of Simeon, the older believer who was led by the Holy Spirit into the Temple just as baby (or toddler) Jesus was being dedicated? He was looking for the Messiah, because God had told him he would not die until he saw the Messiah. I like to joke that he recognized Jesus from the other children because of the little halo. That fact is that the Holy Spirit supernaturally revealed it and then gave Simeon a profound prophetic utterance over the child. It would not be a stretch to think he may have been prophesying the Messiah for as much as 50 years. So if you subtract 50 years from the 400 “silent years”, and then allow for the Maccabees’ prophetic actions and declarations; I don’t think it was all that silent.
“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
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​​“Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.”
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“And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against.” 
Luke 2:25-34
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Notice the three underlined phrases. He held in his arms, Yeshua as Yehovah’s salvation in human form. He saw prophetically, the salvation of the Gentiles, which was unthinkable at that point in history. And finally, he saw Israel’s history as a fall and then rise. This was the opposite of all human history. Every nation rises and then falls, but he saw Israel falling which was completed by the Romans in 70 AD, and then the miraculous resurrection of Israel that we have witnessed in my lifetime! Praise God that He has always had a people and never keeps silent. We serve a living, active, Creator God who keeps His promises to a thousand generations. Hallelujah!
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Thank you for your prayers and financial support of our Elisha Vision Ministries. If you would like to make an end of year donation, just click on the “Donate” button on this site’s home page. Thank you again and may blessing and favor be yours in 2018.

Les & Doreen

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Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and pray for rain.
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Les Lawrence, Voice of Christian Zionists              (Read more)

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