Chanukah / Hanukah, what is it all about ?

Most people know the basic story of Chanukah.
How the small band of Jews, the Macabees, fought a three year battle with overwhelming odds, against the armies of the Syrian King, Antiochus. Unlike his father, Alexander, Antiochus was determined to ride the world once and for all of Jewish worship and commanded that all of his subjects worship Zeus.

Antiochus desecrated the alter in the Temple in Jerusalem by sacrificing a pig upon it and erected a statue of Zeus in the Temple. Furthermore, he proclaimed himself to be the embodiment of the sun god so that all should worship him as well as the statue of Zeus.

The Jews stubbornly resisted and eventually recaptured the Temple and restored and resanctified it. The oil which should have lasted one night miraculously lasted eight nights --- enough time for obtain more kosher oil for the menorah. Thus, Chanukah is celebrated for eight days. It is a righteous celebration of religious freedom for the Jews and it is a blessing to experience with your family.

During the month of December each year, the traditions of Christmas are thrust upon us from every direction --- from store windows, advertisements, Television shows, school programs, decorations, music on the radio and on and on. When our family first began to resist some of these influences, a sort of cultural “vacuum” was created, which was working against us.

We soon realized that in order to take out those parts of Christmas which we believed to be unscriptural, we would have to replace them with something else which was scriptural and righteous. This problem was solved more quickly than expected by a simple study of the Scriptures.

In John 10:22, it says that Yahshua faithfully observed the Feast of Dedication, a holiday which we nowadays call “Hanukah”. The significance of the Hanukah is even more meaningful to the Christian than it is to the Jew, and yet they have settled for second best with their Catholic, Christmas tradition.

It was on the first day of Chanukah that our Messiah was conceived in the womb of Mariam. Nine months later, on the first day of Sukkot, he was born, not in a “stable”, but in a Sukkah”. The word, “sukkah” means “a temporary dwelling”.

The Heavenly Father provided that His Son be born on Sukkot to reminds us that the Messiah gave up the glories of Heaven and took upon Himself a body of human flesh (a temporary dwelling) for our sakes. Isn’t that beautiful? The conception and the birth of the Messiah tie Chanukah and Sukkot together with the eternal cords of our Father’s purpose.

Thirty-three years later, on the eighth day (the last day) of Hanukah, when all the huge candles of the Temple were lit, our Redeemer stood on Solomon’s Porch in front of the lighted menorah and shouted out: “I am the light to the nations!” (this is usually translated: “ I am the light of the world”) The word for “nations” in Hebrew is the same word as “gentiles”. This was not a popular thing for him to say, but it was here that he clearly announced that his purpose was to save the gentiles too--- not just the Jews.

This event is even more significant when one realizes that in the book of Revelation, the symbol of the Messiah is the menorah (called the “lampstand”). With this glorious statement, Hanukah became a Gentile celebration as well as a Jewish one--- not to mention that if King Antiochus had been successful in ridding the world of the faith of the Jews, there would never have been a Christian religion at all.

Why can’t the Christian community rid themselves of the pagan Winter Solstice, the holly of the Druids, the round wreath of the sun worshippers, and the ashteroth (the Christmas tree) of Nimrod? The reason is anti-Semitism. Chanukah is just too Jewish. How sad---- what a waste.

taken from here

Yahshua & Taurat

Some say.. hukum Taurat sudah tidak berlaku lagi. Sudah digantikan oleh kasih karunia Tuhan.

Whoop.., siapa bilang??

Terus terang pernyataan ini sangat bertentangan dengan firman Tuhan dalam Mat 5:17 "Janganlah kamu menyangka, bahwa Aku datang untuk meniadakan hukum Taurat atau kitab para nabi. Aku datang bukan untuk meniadakannya, melainkan untuk menggenapinya."

Kedatangan Yahshua didunia ini merupakan wujud dari kasih karunia Bapa Yahweh. Dan memang benar, umat percaya sekarang hidup dibawah kasih karunia Tuhan. Tetapi dalam memelihara "kasih karunia" yang sudah diberikan itu, bukan berarti manusia bebas melakukan apa saja. Seperti melakukan kebiasaan-kebiasaan, adat-adat nenek moyang yang tidak ditetapkan dalam firman Tuhan. Melainkan tetap mengacu pada apa yang telah ditetapkan dan diperintahkan oleh Bapa Yahweh.

Mengenai hukum kasih, dalam Mat 22:37-40 tertulis
(37)Jawab Yahshua kepadanya: "Kasihilah Yahweh, Elohimmu, dengan segenap hatimu dan dengan segenap jiwamu dan dengan segenap akal budimu.
(38)Itulah hukum yang terutama dan yang pertama.
(39)Dan hukum yang kedua, yang sama dengan itu, ialah: Kasihilah sesamamu manusia seperti dirimu sendiri.
(40)Pada kedua hukum inilah tergantung seluruh hukum Taurat dan kitab para nabi."

Hukum kasih yang pertama merupakan rangkuman dari hukum Taurat (Kel 20:1-11) yang menjelaskan hubungan antara manusia dan Tuhan seperti dibawah ini:

1.Jangan ada padamu ilah lain di hadapan-Ku.

2.Jangan membuat bagimu patung yang menyerupai apapun yang ada di langit di atas, atau yang ada di bumi di bawah, atau yang ada di dalam air di bawah bumi.Jangan sujud menyembah kepadanya atau beribadah kepadanya...

3.Jangan menyebut nama Yahweh, Elohimmu, dengan sembarangan, sebab Yahweh akan memandang bersalah orang yang menyebut nama-Nya dengan sembarangan.

4.Ingatlah dan kuduskanlah hari Sabat...

Dan hukum kasih yang kedua merupakan rangkuman dari hukum Taurat (Kel 20:12-17) yang menjelaskan hubungan antara sesama manusia sebagai berikut:

5.Hormatilah ayahmu dan ibumu, supaya lanjut umurmu di tanah yang diberikan Yahweh, Elohimmu, kepadamu.

6.Jangan membunuh.

7.Jangan berzinah

8.Jangan mencuri

9.Jangan mengucapkan saksi dusta tentang sesamamu.

10.Jangan mengingini rumah sesamamu; jangan mengingini isterinya, atau hambanya laki-laki, atau hambanya perempuan, atau lembunya atau keledainya, atau apapun yang dipunyai sesamamu."

Jadi jelas, bahwa hukum Taurat dan bahkan kitab para nabi masih berlaku sampai dengan saat ini, sekalipun orang menyebutnya sebagai hukum kasih.

Tidak ada pembatalan sampai segala sesuatunya tergenapi.

Maka Aku berkata kepadamu: Jika hidup keagamaanmu tidak lebih benar dari pada hidup keagamaan ahli-ahli Taurat dan orang-orang Farisi, sesungguhnya kamu tidak akan masuk ke dalam Kerajaan Sorga. (Mat 5:20)

Yahweh Shalom...