Hanukkah begins Tomorrow in Israel!
Two historical coins just found in Israel
70 AD Temple Destruction and Hanukkah
Great Prophecies Of Daniel IN TWO COINS
Coins were found in theTemple Mount Rubble
One coin recalls the Great Revolt of 66 to 73 AD
One coin recalls the scenario leading to Hanukkah
Strange Both Were just Discovered Before Hanukkah
2010 to 2015 may see even greater prophetic Fulfillment
When Antichrist Of Daniel 7:24,25 Drives Israelis Into Negev!
ROMAN PRINCE TITUS DESTROYS JERUSALEM AND TEMPLE 70 AD
Daniel 9:26 – And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Titus Destroys the Temple)
JUDAS MACCABEUS CLEANSES THE DEFILED TEMPLE 165 BC
Daniel 8:13-14 – Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? [14] And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
(Maccabees cleanse sanctuary)
FUTURE ANTICHRIST DRIVES ISRAEL INTO NEGEV
Daniel 7:24,25 – And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. [25] And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Future Antichrist drives Israel into Negev Wilderness)
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God,
that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. (I believe attack likely to occur at some point in time between 2010 and 2015)
JEWISH CELEBRATION OF HANUKKAH AND DANIEL’S LITTLE HORN
December 20, 2008
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
In 600 B.C. Daniel predicted the event which the Jews celebrate as Hanukkah or the Feast of Lights – The event itself which they now celebrate was fulfilled in 165 B.C. when the Temple was cleansed from defilement by Antiochus Epiphanes by Judas Maccabeus. Daniel prophesied this some 400 years before it happened.
Hanukkah is the Jewish “Feast of Dedication” or Hanukkah, which is observed from the 24th of Chislev to Tevet 2nd. This year it begins on the night of December 21st and continues to December 29th. It is found in John 10:22,23,
John 10:22,23 – And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. [23] And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.
The Feast of Dedication was a Jewish festival observed for eight days from the 25th of Chislev in commemoration of the reconsecration (165 BC) of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, and especially of the altar of burnt offering, after they had been desecrated in the persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes (168 BC). The distinguishing features of the festival were the illumination of houses and synagogues, a custom probably taken over from the Feast of Tabernacles, and the recitation of Psalm 30:1-12.
Psalm 30:1-12 – A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David – I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. [2] O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. [3] O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. [4] Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. [5] For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. [6] And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. [7] Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. [8] I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. [9] What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise
thee? shall it declare thy truth? [10] Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord, be thou my helper.
[11] Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; [12] To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.
Hanukkah,” from the Hebrew word for “dedication” or “consecration”, marks the re-dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by the forces of Antiochus IV and commemorates the “miracle of the container of oil.” According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.
Hanukkah is also mentioned in the deuterocanonical books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees.
1 Maccabees states: “For eight days they celebrated the rededication of the altar. Then Judah and his brothers and the entire congregation of Israel decreed that the days of the rededication…should be observed…every year…for eight days. (1 Mac.4:56-59)” According to 2 Maccabees, “the Jews celebrated joyfully for eight days as on the feast of Booths.”
Daniel Predicted the Event Jews Celebrate as Hanukkah long before it Happened
Daniel 8:8 – Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
The great horn was Alexander the Great of Macedon. The four horns were his four generals, among whom Alexander’s great Macedonian Empire was divided after his untimely demise.
In 334 B.C., Alexander the Great, son of Phillip II of Macedon, began a military campaign that would quickly bring down the Persian Empire. He defeated Persian armies at the Battle of
the Granicus in the spring of that year. Moving eastward, Alexander defeated a much larger Persian army led by Darius III in 333 BC.
Alexander took the Macedonian Empire to its greatest heights in a very short amount of time. He was undefeated as a military commander, and “became exceedingly great “, conquering most of the known world of that time. However, the years of constant battle took its toll, and Alexander died in June of 323 B.C., at the tender age of 33. The cause of death is not quite known, but mentioned as possibilities are “malaria, poisoning, typhoid fever, viral encephalitis or the consequences of alcoholism”. His death would cause the kingdom to be divided among his four generals. In Daniel 7:6, the “beast had four heads” signifying the four generals who would each govern a part of the empire at Alexander’s untimely death at the age of 33. In Daniel 8:22 they represent horns who are four kingdoms.
Daniel 7:6 – After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
Daniel 8:22 – Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
The four generals and their kingdoms from the divided Macedonian Empire were:
1. Cassander – Macedonia
2. Lysimachus – Thrace and Asia Minor
3. Seleucus – Syria – Became known as King of the North in Middle East
4. Ptolemy – Egypt – Became known as King of the South in Middle East
Daniel 8:9-12 – And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. [10] And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. [11] Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. [12] And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.
The one dynasty that would emerge from the divided kingdom that would have great importance to the Hebrew people would be the Seleucid Dynasty.
In particular, the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes is prophesied here, with his attempts to wipe out the Jewish religion. “And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him”. The NKJV renders this phrase, “by him the daily sacrifices were taken away”.
Antiochus sought to destroy the Holy Scriptures, throwing “truth to the ground”. His actions prompted the Maccabean Revolt in 167 B.C.
Daniel 8:13,14 – Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? [14] And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
There are several different interpretations of the “2,300 days,” as most Bibles render this. It could very well be a literal time period in this instance. The literal meaning of the Hebrew phrase is “evenings and mornings”, and it likely refers to the number of sacrifices that would be missed before “the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”
The Temple Sanctuary was defiled by Antiochus in 168 B.C. and was restored to a rightful state by Judas Maccabeus in 165 B.C.
When the Temple was defiled the Greek Kingdom was in its 145th year, which would have been 168 B.C.
When the Temple sacrifice started again the Greek Kingdom was in its 148th year, which would have been 165 B.C.
I Maccabees 1:54 – Now on the fifteenth day of Chislev, in
the one hundred and forty-fifth year, they erected a desolating sacrilege on the altar of burnt-offering.
Daily sacrifices ended on the 15th of the 9th month of the 145th year (of the Kingdom of the Greeks) when Antiochus Epiphanes set up the idol of desolation on the altar of God.
I Maccabees 4:52,53 – And they arose before the morning of the 25th day of the 9th month of the 148th year (of the Kingdom of the Greeks), and they offered sacrifices according to the law on the altar of God.
Daily sacrifices were reinstated on the morning of the 25th day of the 9th month of the 148th year (of the Kingdom of the Greeks) on the altar of God.
THE GREEK CALENDAR IN USE AT THE TIME OF THE MACCABEES
The Greek calendar, like the Hebrew calendar, was 360 days in length
Every other year an intercalary month of 30 days was added
Using the Greek calendar according to Herodotus and assuming that the years 148 and 146 were intercalary years, we come up with the following calculation: 9-15-145 to 9-25-148, the dates given in Maccabees from the desecration to the cleansing, is three years and ten days. Thus, the math sentence following the Greek calendar which was in use at the time the prophecy was fulfilled would be: (3 X 360) + (2 X 30) + 10.
3 x 360 equals————————————1080 days
2 x 30 (2 intercalary months)———————60 days
From 15th to 25th equals————————–10 days
Total———————————————–1150 days
1150 x 2 sacrifices per day equals———— 2300 days
This is exactly the period which would accomplish exactly 2,300 sacrifices, one in the morning and one in the evening!
So it is not by accident this prophecy is referred to as “the vision of the evening and morning” in Daniel 8:26
Daniel 8:26 – And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
Using the Greek calendar is obviously the correct way to compute the number of days between the dates in Maccabees. Using that method arrives at the correct computation.
Do not lose sight of the fact that Daniel wrote this prophecy many years before it was fulfilled. The divine nature of the book of Daniel is validated by this prophecy. God’s messenger told Daniel there would be a period when a king, who would rise up out of one of four divisions of the coming Greek Empire, who would attack the Holy Land and stop the daily sacrifice for 2,300 times.
Daniel 8:23-25 – And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. [24] And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. [25] And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
Antiochus exalted himself as the god Zeus, seeking people to worship him, calling himself Theos Epiphanes, which means “the manifest God.”
The common, but less compelling interpretation, is that th
is latter day king refers to a future antichrist. However, in keeping with the original theme of the book, I am convinced that the best candidate for this latter day king is Antiochus Epiphanes. This was the view of John Gill as well.
The Apocryphal book of 1 Maccabees tells us:
I Maccabees 1:10 – And there came out of them a wicked root Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king, who had been an hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the hundred and thirty and seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks.
The book of 1 Maccabees also tells us of Antiochus destroying many mighty men and defeating Ptolemy, conquering Egypt (Verses 16-19). “He shed much blood, and spoke with great arrogance” (verse 24). “According to the decree, they put to death the women who had their children circumcised, and their families and those who circumcised them; and they hung the infants from their mothers’ necks. But many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. Very great wrath came upon Israel.” (verses 60-64).
“And he shall be broken–but by no human hand”, alludes to his being a horn; it is expressive of his death, and the manner of it; that he should not die by the hand of an enemy in battle, nor be assassinated by the hand of a man, but be cut off by the immediate hand of God. Jacchiades says, that by the providence of God he fell ill of a bad disease, and at the cry of one of his elephants his chariot was overturned, and he fell on the ground, and his bones were broken. Of his death, and the manner of it, in the Apocrypha: “Now when the king heard these words, he was astonished and sore moved: whereupon he laid him down upon his bed, and fell sick for grief, because it had not befallen him as he looked for.” (1 Maccabees 6:8)
“But the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, smote him with an incurable and invisible plague: or as soon as he had spoken these words, a pain of the bowels that was remediless came upon him, and sore torments of the inner parts;” (2 Maccabees 9:5)
“So that the worms rose up out of the body of this wicked man, and whiles he lived in sorrow and pain, his flesh fell away, and the filthiness of his smell was noisome to all his army.” (2 Maccabees 9:9)”
So Antiochus fulfills the entire prophecy, and does so in the time frame given.
Daniel 8:26 – And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
The fulfillment of this prophecy would take some 400 years, and would bring about the final world kingdom that would usher in the First Advent of our Lord.
I used a lot of quotes from a lot of material and different sources while researching and putting this article together.
Begin Antiochus Epiphanes Coin Excerpt from Jerusalem Post
Rubble yields silver Temple ‘tax’ half-shekel
December 18, 2008
Etgar Lefkovits , THE JERUSALEM POST
Two ancient coins, one used to pay the Temple tax and another minted by the Greek leader the Jews fought in the story of Hanukka, have been uncovered amid debris from Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, an Israeli archeologist said Thursday.
The two coins were recently found in rubble discarded by Islamic officials from the Temple Mount.
It is carefully being sifted by two archeologists and a team of volunteers at a Jerusalem national park.
The first coin, a silver half-shekel, was apparently minted on the Temple Mount itself by Temple authorities in the first year of the Great Revolt against the Romans in 66-67 CE, said Bar-Ilan University Professor Gabriel Barkay, who is leading the sifting operation.
One side of the coin, which was found by a 14-year-old volunteer, shows a branch with three pomegranates, and the inscription “Holy Jerusalem”; the other side bears a chalice from the First Temple and says “Half-Shekel.”
In the Bible, Jews are commanded to contribute half a shekel each for maintaining the Temple in Jerusalem. At the time of the Temple’s construction in the sixth century BCE, every Jew was ordered to make an obligatory symbolic donation of a half-shekel. This consistent yet small payment allowed all Jews, irrespective of socioeconomic position, to participate in building the Temple.
After the construction was completed, the tax continued to be collected for the purchase of public sacrifices and for maintaining the Temple’s furnishings.
The coin uncovered shows signs of fire damage, most likely by the fires that destroyed the Second Temple when it was invaded by the Romans in 70 CE, Barkay said.
Although similar coins have been discovered at various locations throughout Jerusalem – including one found at the ancient City of David earlier this year – this is the first time such a coin has been discovered in rubble from the Temple Mount itself, he said.
No archeological excavations are carried out on the Temple Mount, in keeping with the religious sensitivities of both Muslims and Jews.
The second coin discovered in the rubble was minted by, and bears a portrait of, the Greek leader Antiochus Epiphanes IV, who ruled from 175-163 BCE. During that time, he looted t
he Temple of its treasures and erected a statue in the sanctuary.
The Hasmonean rebellion was directed against his actions. The rebellion, the Hasmoneans’ liberation of the Temple, and the events surrounding the Hanukka story took place on the Temple Mount.
The sifting operation began four years ago, after Islamic officials discarded truckloads of rubble from the Temple Mount in the Kidron valley following illegal Wakf construction work on the ancient compound – work that caused irreparable archeological damage to Judaism’s holiest site.
The operation under way at the Jerusalem park, which is funded by the City of David Foundation, has retrieved more than 3,500 ancient coins that range from the Persian Period to the Ottoman Period.
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