The Feast of the Dedication, also called Hanukkah, is mentioned in the New Testament, and it is something Christians absolutely should give importance to today. We know that Yeshua (Jesus) celebrated this festival Himself because the New Testament says, “At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon” (John 10:22–23).[1] Obviously, Yeshua was risking His life to be there at that time, but He must have felt it was worth it to show His recognition of this celebration.

The Feast of Dedication deals with the complete wickedness of satan coming through human vessels to attempt to change the tide of history—and if possible, to destroy all flesh. When Yeshua walked through the Temple, He would have known the history of the Maccabean Revolt and of the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes who instituted the worship of Zeus in the Temple and had swine burned in sacrifice on the altars. Through his actions the Temple was absolutely polluted by this horribly wicked king who held himself up to be God. It was another moment in history where satan was able to break through and manifest himself in the earth through a human vessel. And that is what Israel is facing today. It is the satanic spirit behind the massacre of innocent men, women, and children. This is very much a spirit.

After the Jews took back the Temple, they had to cleanse the Temple by relighting the menorah. Since the priests could only find one day’s worth of kosher oil, they lighted the menorah with what they had. The miracle of Hanukkah is that the menorah never went out; the oil burned for eight days, which gave them time to purify more oil. You may ask, “Well, isn’t that just folklore?” I think Yeshua believed in miracles. In John 10, Christ celebrated the miracle of that first Hanukkah. He recognized that during that time of absolute devastation, destruction, and massacre, God came through for His people. God showed Himself alive and stood up to be the absolute opposite of what was reflected through Antiochus in his pollution of the Temple. God showed Himself to be the power and anointing that was the opposite of what the Jews had previously experienced.

Oil always represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and the flame represents the light and life that comes from that anointing. God wants to fill us with the anointing of His Holy Spirit and make us the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). He puts His sanctified anointing oil in you and makes you the light of the world. He makes you the counterforce that overcomes the darkness of evil. God is in the business of making good come out of wickedness. Pure evil exists in the earth, but there is also a pure God. We need to call upon God who is the pure opposite of the evil we have seen manifested.

This year Hanukkah and Christmas overlap. It is a time when people are looking for goodness. They are looking for love, family, joy, and happiness. So it is a perfect time for you to be the light of the world. Light the oil in your heart and believe God that it will be more than enough. We are the reflection of His goodness, love, and righteousness to the world. There is only one solution for this age and that is you with your light burning brightly by the anointing of His Holy Spirit.

[1] All Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995).