Day 5 of 8 Days of Hanukkah

Rabbi Jonathan Cahn's video about Hanukkah

Click on the image above to access the video on You Tube

Rabbi Cahn shares shocking truths about the prophetic symbolism of Hanukkah in a 30-minute video.

** Keep in mind this interview is from 2012 and consider how things have progressed to today, 2023.  ** 

(DISCLAIMER: I believe the overall point Rabbi Cahn is making, although he doesn't state this directly, has to do primarily with the issue of spiritual warfare against Israel and God's People (Jews and Christians), which many verses in the Bible attest to.)

Below is my summary of his video so you have it for quick reference. Some of the material below was quoted from the video and is presented in a white color. And some is my paraphrasing or explanation presented in a gold color. Enjoy!

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He explains how it was the apostasy of Israel's religious leadership and the people that ALLOWED the evil, Greek king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, to invade Israel and desecrate the Temple. (Not all of the religious leadership or the people were in apostasy. But clearly, from the historical records of the books of Maccabees and historians, many were.)

In other words...

The failure of Israel’s ancient, Levitical priesthood and the people to be:

  • The light of the world,
  • A strong and united voice, and 
  • To turn back the tide of the evil spirit of the age in their day 

Gave space for an evil, foreign king to supplant himself at the spiritual epicenter of the earth (God’s Temple in Jerusalem) and proclaim his sovereignty over God’s.

“All it takes for evil to conquer is for good men to do nothing.” 

Edmund Burke (Irish statesman, economist, and philosopher [1729-1797])

The Church is compromising with the world by teaching self-development and prosperity more than the life-saving message that God offers.

 

The First Message – The First Warning – of Hanukkah...

Is for the people of God. The Antichrist cannot come unless the people of God are in apostasy. 

Just as the ancient nation of Israel turned away from God which allowed the Antichrist prototype (Antiochus IV) to come in, the (some of) modern Church and America and western Europe... have turned away which has already allowed the Antichrist spirit to take over the earth and this will eventually manifest until the Antichrist himself comes.”

 

Changing the Set Times and Seasons

Just as Antiochus IV sought to change the tradition and the known, natural order of life Israel knew when he invaded...

Likewise, the spirit of Antichrist (and he, himself, when he comes) will, as the Bible foretells, seek to “... change the set times and laws” (Daniel 7:25). And we see that today with the attack on marriage, the family, parenthood, childhood, sexual gender confusion, governments creating anti-biblical laws with cultures demanding them, the increasing cultural disdain for traditional, religious ideas and those who stand for them (Jews and Christians).

The spirit of Antichrist seeks to change everything from that which was once considered natural to things that are unnatural.

 

Establishing Wicked Leadership

In the time of Hanukkah, as God’s people abandoned their biblical-order of life, they put governmental leaders in place who approved of and propagated this apostasy. And we see that today in America and other places in the world. People who years ago would never be put in power are being put in power.

What used to be on the fringe has become mainstream; and what was mainstream has become fringe. Bad is being labeled as good, and good is bad.

And that is exactly what the Bible says will happen in the end times. It’s happening in America now. That’s what Antiochus IV did back then and it’s happening now.

The people who used to be on the fringe have now become the teachers in our schools, professors in our colleges, directors of our media, executives of our corporations, leaders in our governments, and role models in our society. And the Christians are now being dismissed as irrelevant. They’re depicted as idiots on TV and mocked by society.

This is all a set-up to make way for them to be labeled as haters and enemies of the people and the state. In a similar way the Jewish people were labeled and ostracized from society in Germany before the Holocaust.

The path this follows is: it becomes the culture, then it becomes law, then it becomes persecution. This was the pattern in the story of Hanukkah, and it is the pattern the Bible foretells about the end times, and it’s the pattern that is happening now.

 

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”  Isaiah 5:20

 

The idols in the ancient, Jewish Temple are like the idols in the hearts of God’s people today. What is unholy is put in the place of what should be holy. It happened in Hanukkah and it’s happening today. And what was once considered holy is now cast out. Modern culture says, "Don’t say there is a right way. Don’t bring up Jesus.”

 

Arrogance and Blasphemy of the Cultural, Antichrist Spirit

One of the parts of the spirit of Antichrist is arrogance. And blasphemy. The Bible states this is exactly what the Antichrist will do when he comes. And it’s happening today. What do we see today? We see things on TV that we never would have seen years ago: sex, explicit language, graphic violence...

In culture we see God mocked, Jesus-followers made fun of... we never would have seen that before. It's the spirit of Antichrist, the spirit of arrogance, the spirit of blasphemy. And it’s tolerated. And if you don’t like it, then you are intolerant. And the culture labels you as a blasphemer and a hater.

All this is setting the stage for the Antichrist.

 

One World Order

What else did Antiochus IV do? It’s written in 1 Maccabees...

“Then the king (Antiochus IV) wrote to his whole kingdom (all of his nation-states, that included Israel) that all should be one people.” 1 Maccabees 1:41

What else does the spirit of Antichrist do? The world will be a one-world system. It’s happening today. It’s happening economically, it’s happening culturally with the internet, and ultimately it will happen politically. A one world order.

Antiochus did this with the different nation-states of his kingdom, but what was the one place that didn’t fit in?

Israel.

And today, Israel never fits in. It doesn’t fit in with the United Nations. It doesn’t fit into the approval of the nations – we see that especially today with the anti-Israel and Pro-Palestinian protests  happening around the world because of the Israel-Hamas war.

And the Church is considered "spiritual Israel." The Jews don’t fit in because they’re Israel. The Christians don’t fit in because they’re spiritual Israel. The people of God don’t fit in the world’s ways. They’re the ones who stand out.

And in the end times it will be no different. The ones who will stand out are the people of God – the Jews and the Christians.

And today, at no other time in history except for the book of Acts, the Jews and the true Christians are standing together, and they’re standing for Israel while the world is turning against each of them.

And as America continues to turn away from God, we see it turning away from Israel.

 

A Culture Exalting Itself Above God in the Antichrist Spirit

Another way Antiochus IV foreshadows the Antichrist and the spirit of Antichrist working today is that although Antiochus set up an image of Zeus in the Temple, there is evidence suggesting the image had Antiochus’ face. Meaning he was exalting himself as God. Emperor-worship was an integral part of world culture at that time. That has continued to this day and can be seen in far east Asia (China). The Bible states that when the Antichrist comes, he will exalt himself as God.

And we see the spirit of that today: People say, "I can make my own rules. There is no one above me. I can define morality. I can redefine what is right. I can redefine what is wrong. I can redefine sexual identity. I can redefine marriage. I can redefine anything I want.”

That’s the spirit of Antichrist at work. Redefining things. Calling what is good, evil. And what is evil, good. As the Bible foretold. So when you start seeing that, you’re coming into the end times. You’re in the time of the coming of Antichrist. This has never happened before - where man just redefines the natural order.

 

The Woman Riding the Beast

There’s a myth about the Greek god Zeus. Zeus took the form of a bull, and he carried away this woman he was trying to seduce. So you have the picture of this woman riding a beast. This is from the time of Hanukkah. And in the book of Revelation we see a woman riding a beast

She’s called a prostitute. She’s an adulteress. She knew God, but she abandoned God and got seduced by the beast. In the Zeus myth, she was a princess and she was named "Europa." Which is where we get the word, "Europe," from.

We have this symbolic picture in Hanukkah of this anti-god image of Zeus in the Temple carrying away this woman, Europa (Europe, and America, the offspring of Europe) into apostasy and turning from God.

We see this in the book of Revelation. At the time of the Antichrist, we see a woman riding a beast. The woman represents the "Mystery Babylon system." It's an evil, anti-God, spiritual force that works through all spheres of society (economics, politics, society and culture, education, media, religion, etc.) to turn all rule and people away from God and his ways. It has appeared in various forms and empires throughout history, and it will rise again - indeed it has been rising for some time now - to its peak during the end times. It will be governing the earth when the Antichrist appears. The beast represents the Antichrist.

 

Defiance of the Antichrist and the Antichrist Spirit

And what else do we see in the end times? We see God’s people (Jews and Christians) who stand up and defy the Antichrist. Some become martyrs. Just like the Maccabees who said, "No! We will hold to God's ways and defy Antiochus even if it costs us our lives.”

 

The Antichrist Spirit Against Prayer and the Word of God

What else did Antiochus do? He ordered the burning of the sacred books. Having the word of God was illegal. You would be killed for it. They warred against the word of God and against prayer. What’s happening today? In the spirit of Antichrist you will see a war against God, against the word of God, and against prayer. The Bible was removed from the American school system in 1962. What’s in schools now? Sex education for grade-schoolers. History books are being rewritten to fit the anti-God agenda. Kids are being taught to self-identify with whatever gender they want. You can’t pray in schools. If you pray in public, people get offended.

 

God's "Maccabees" - Then and Today - Nobodies Who Become Priests and Kings

What else? In Hanukkah you see the "Maccabees." You have their priestly heritage, but you also have those other people who defied Antiochus and joined them. They were all hillbillies. They were nobody. But they trusted God, and even though many died they ultimately overcame Antiochus and later became the priests and leaders of Israel.

What things did they have that we need?

1. They decided not to compromise. They refused to along with sin. They chose God and his ways saying, "I’m going to stand up, face what’s happening, and become the person God wants me to be and fulfill my kingdom purpose." And God anointed them with victory.

2. They were the minority but didn’t care. They went with God, and they won. They never gave up hope. They didn’t look at their circumstances – they were way outnumbered – they looked to God.

3. They went against the spirit of the times. They refused to be politically correct. They did not bend the word of God to fit their circumstances. They bent their life and their circumstances to fit the word of God.

4. They separated themselves from the mainstream. Even the religious mainstream. They went to the hills. They refused to be part of "the system."

5. They became warriors. They trained themselves. They gave up things in their life to prepare for war and what they would face.

6. They used their adversity as the catalyst for breakthrough. book of Maccabees says Judas Maccabee fought with the sword of Apollonius, he was one of Antiochus’ generals. He used the enemy’s weapon – that which was meant for his harm – to turn things around for good, to become strong and defeat the enemy.

7. They fought their battle with joy. The book of Maccabees says they carried on the war with joy. They found joy in their difficulties by the strength of the Lord. It says David strengthened himself. We have to learn to do that. 

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