Update : Chanukah : The Past is Present

I present the following with a spirit of urgency. As always, I present the following information for your prayerful consideration.

This is an update to the recent post, Chanukah : The Past is Present.

As I reviewed the data that formed the majority of the post, Chanukah : The Past is Present, research material that I had forgotten about came back to my attention today. I will do my best to present the following information in a concise and straight forward way. I believe that the following information adds to the concern that I, and others, currently have for the upcoming Chanukah festival.

This year the first day of Chanukah is December 9^th, though the festival begins on the 8^th at sundown.

December 9, 2012, is the 95^th anniversary of General Allenby leading the British troops into Jerusalem, taking control of Jerusalem from the Turkish Empire on December 9, 1917. It was in this same year that the Balfour Declaration began to pave the way for the establishment of the Jewish homeland.

December 8, 1917, was the feast of Chanukah, a night which commemorates the deliverance of Jerusalem by Judah Maccabaeus and as it would be, and the night in which a sudden panic fell upon the Turks defending against the British attempt to take control of Jerusalem. Hours later, early in the morning of December 9, 1917, the Turkish troops that had not fled during the night surrendered.

This event is obviously prophetic.

As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it. Isaiah 31:5

Allenby's success over the Turks and capture of Jerusalem was due in large part because of the air support the British had that the Turks did not. One Turkish officer was even quoted as calling the British attack, "like a flock of angry birds."

This is not the only Scripture that appears to be connected to Jerusalem being liberated at the time of the Chanukah celebration.

I would like to look at Haggai 2:10-23.

Three times in Haggai chapter two, the date four and twentieth day of the ninth month is given as a time to consider. I believe these three times may denote three periods, or three specific and unique periods of Chanukah.

The first verses, 10-14, appear to be connected to the Chanukah celebrated at the time of the Maccabee revolt and subsequent cleansing and rededication of the Second Temple, which had been defiled by Antiochus IV.

In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. Haggai 2:10-14

The second set of verses, 15-19, appear to be connected to the time Israel was dispersed throughout the nations and then re-gathered, which December 9, 1917, is a date that set in motion the modern era return and eventual establishment of the Jewish State on May 14, 1948.

And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD: Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty. I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD. Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid, consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you. Haggai 2:15-19

As a quick note, one of the greatest proofs of Israel's divinely orchestrated return to the Promised Land is the blooming of the desert. Since Israel has become a state, she is known round the world for her grapes, figs, pomegranates, and olives, a testament of the abundant blessing associated with Israel being in the land and seeking YHVH.

The final verses of Haggai chapter two appear to be future and thus the point of urgency for this post.

And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying,

Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts. Haggai 2:20-23

The Chanukah in these verses is one of terror and destruction.

I believe that there may be a witness once again in the heaven's that declares that the coming Chanukah will be a very pivotal period for Israel and the world.

A Hebrew calendar date falls over two Gregorian calendar dates. From sunset to sunset is one Hebrew date. I believe this part of the key needed to understand the 95^th anniversary of Allenby conquering Jerusalem on Kislev 24 in 1917 and its relationship to the coming Chanukah.

December 9, 1917, was Kislev 24 until sundown, at sundown it was still the 9^th of December, though it would be Kislev 25 on the Hebrew calendar. This is why the menorah is lit at sundown because it starts the beginning of the first day of observance. So sundown December 8^th to sundown December 9^th in 1917, was Kislev 24.

December 9, 2012, or the 95^th anniversary of Allenby conquering Jerusalem, is Kislev 25, though Kislev 25 falls on both December 8^th and 9^th. The start of Chanukah in 1917 is only half a day off from the start of Chanukah in 2012. I know this may seem confusing, but in 1917, the nighttime period of Kislev 24 fell in dark hours of December 8^th, while in 2012, the daytime period of Kislev 24 falls in the light hours of December 8^th. After sunset on December 8^th begins Kislev 25.

In 1917, on Kislev 24 (sunset Dec. 8^th - sunset Dec. 9^th) the moon was at a lunar day age of 24.7, a lunar month is 29.53 days long.

In 2012, on Kislev 24 (sunset Dec. 7^th - sunset Dec. 8^th) the moon will be at a lunar day age of 24.6, or almost identical to the lunar day age seen in 1917, on the same Hebrew calendar date. To the naked eye the moon phases would look identical and keep in mind, this doesn't happen as often as one might think, especially considering that December 8th, in both years are associated with Kislev 24, as is December 9th, with Kislev 25. This has only happened a few times over the past 95 years.

So it would appear that the Chanukah of 1917, appears to be connected to the upcoming one in the next few days. This seems to also be confirmed in the similar moon ages before both Chanukahs, similarly to the penumbral eclipse that took place on November 28, 2012, and the one that took place November 28, 1947, the only two in the past 430 years to fall on this calendar date and both took place before a critical vote on the land of Israel (or known in 1947 as Palestine).

The years, 1917, 1947, 1967, and 2012, all appear to share a prophetic relationship.

As I discussed in Chanukah : The Past is Present, there have been several trees that have fallen in Washington D.C., that appear to be connected to President Obama and the lighting of the National Christmas trees.

I would like to illustrate another connection that I found today, one that I believe further indicates the possibility of yet another prophetic event taking place this Chanukah.

The duration of time that passed between the Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003, and the first tree to fall at the White House on June 25, 2006, is 1,240 days.

The duration of time that passed between the first White House tree falling on June 25, 2006, to the second White House tree falling on June 9, 2009, is 1,080 days.

The duration of time that passed between the second White House tree falling on June 9, 2009, to the National Christmas Tree falling on February 19, 2011, is 620 days, or exactly half of the duration of time that passed between the Columbia disaster and the first White House tree falling.

The duration of time that passed between the second White House tree falling on June 9, 2009, to the first night of Chanukah, December 1, 2010, is 540 days, or exactly half of the duration of time that passed between the first White House tree falling on June 25, 2006 and the second one that fell on June 9, 2009.

The first night of Chanukah in 2010, was observed on December 1, 2010. President Obama lit the National Christmas Tree eight days later on December 9, 2010. On the eighth night of Chanukah all of the candles are lit on the menorah.

On the following year, exactly 365 days later, Obama lit the National Christmas Tree on December 1^st, the same calendar date that Chanukah had been observed the previous year, ironically, on the eighth night after he lit the National Christmas Tree, he observed Chanukah at the White House 13 days early on Kislev 13, at which time he lit all of the lights of the menorah. He did this on December 8, 2011.

December 8, 2012, exactly one year after Obama erroneously observed Chanukah, is the first night of Chanukah, with December 9^th, being the first day of Chanukah and the 95^th anniversary of General Allenby's conquering of Jerusalem and surrender of the Turks on December 9, 1917.

I find it interesting that 95 years is 1140 months. When 1140 months is divided by pi (3.14159) the number is 362.873. When the number of days in a prophetic year (360) are added to the number of days it takes the earth to revolve around the sun (365.24) are added together (725.24) and then divided by 2 to find the mean, the result is 362.62, which is a difference of 0.25 between the months divided by pi and the average days between prophetic and tropical. It seems to indicate something prophetic coming together full circle. I could be wrong, but these two numbers are very close.

In closing, I would like to attempt to bring all of this together using the Scripture verses found in Haggai.

J.R. Church and Gary Stearman have an outstanding book called The Mystery of the Menorah. In it, these men describe and reveal several menorahs in Scripture, including menorahs that are hidden in the Torah and in the New Testament.

Starting from right to left, as Hebrew is read and the order in which the menorah is lit, the first day of creation would be the rightmost candle. Day one, the Shamash, or Jesus Christ, says Let there be Light! Followed by day two in the next holder, day three in the next, day four, which in a seven branched menorah is the middle branch, we find the creation of the Sun and the Moon. The sun is the Shamash of our solar system and the moon is the other witness to the light. Day five follows until we end on the Sabbath, or the final day of Creation, which would be the left most holder of the menorah.

This method can also be used to find other "menorahs" in Scripture. I don't want to rewrite the book, but I would like to apply this method to the final verses of Haggai because I believe it gives a division between the Chanukah of 1917 and the Chanukah of 2012.

I believe the first four verses speak of the state of Israel during Chanukah of 1917, with verse 19, or the Shamash, being the prophetic reality Israel has continued to fulfill since the Chanukah of 1917, to the present. The final four verses I believe speak of the devastation that will come upon the kingdoms that oppress Israel, which will lead to Israel being raised up out of the chaos and devastation that has come upon the heathen kingdoms as a signet.

Verse 15 would be the rightmost candle (#1) And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the LORD:

Verse 16 is candle (#2) Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.

Verse 17 is candle (#3) I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD.

Verse 18 is candle (#4) Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the LORD'S temple was laid, consider it.

Verse 19 is the middle candle or Shamash Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

Verse 20 is candle (#5) And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying,

Verse 21 is candle (#6) Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;

Verse 22 is candle (#7) And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

I am increasingly concerned that the coming Chanukah will bring with it a shaking like no other shaking, one that will devastate the strength of the kingdoms. As Syria, a nation associated with the first Chanukah, looks to be preparing chemical weapons, as Jerusalem appears to be coming once again under siege, and as the United States of America appears to be in the perfect position for destruction, I can't help but wonder if my own personal desire to observe Chanukah this year is something deeper than just a desire, but a urging of the HOLY SPIRIT to pay close attention to this coming period of time.

As I stated in my last post, I realize that there is more room for error than accuracy when attempting to interpret signs, but I would be remiss if I didn't share such things. I have faith in my KING, not in my interpretation. I do not long for the day the United States of America is judged, or the world for that matter, but I know it is a reality, one that I can only face when my face is looking towards JESUS CHRIST, our eternal Shamash.

When I look back at the seemingly foolish move by President Obama to light the menorah two weeks early in 2011, I can't help but now look at the event in a different light, one that seems to point to Chanukah of 2012.

Chanukah will be observed from December 8th-16th. I cannot say for sure that anything will in fact happen during these days to the United States of America, or modern day Babylon, but I have felt the need to present this information for the purpose of prayer.

Only Yeshua HaMashiach holds the keys and only HIS SPIRIT can give wisdom to understand the events before us.