Hanukkah is connected to Mithra/Shamash and the Winter Solstice

shamash

To everyone concerned, please let me apologize upfront if I hurt anyone’s feelings with the following information. My intent is not to hurt, but to simply inform. Please take the time to read all the information before jumping to any conclusions. I am simply a messenger trying to convey the Truth.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes ‘God Manifest’ c. 215 BC – 164 BC) ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. His original name was Mithridates(Named after Mithra); he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochus_IV_Epiphanes

Royal names incorporating Mithra’s (e.g., “Mithradates”) appear in the dynasties of Syria, Parthia, Armenia, Anatolia, Pontus and Cappadocia. Pagan royalty named themselves after the gods they worshipped.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithra

Mithra’s holiday was celebrated on December 25th or December 26th depending on the day of the winter solstice.
Vermaseren, M. J.. The Excavations in the Mithraeum of the Church of Santa Pricsa in Rome. Brill. pp. 238–. Retrieved 3 April 2011. “One should bear in mind that the Mithraic New Year began on Natalis Invicti, the birthday of their invincible god, i.e. December 25th, when the new light …… appears from the vault of heaven.”

In modern times the winter solstice can fall on either December 21st or December 22nd.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice

1 Maccabees 1
54 On the 15th day of the month of Kislev in the year 145(Seleucid Era),King Antiochus set up the Awful Horror on the altar of the Temple, and pagan altars were built in the towns throughout Judea.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 Maccabees+1&version=GNT

The year 145 of the Seleucid Era corresponds to October 168 B.C.E.-September 167 B.C.E.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucid_era

1 Maccabees 1
59 On the 25th day of Kislev, these same evil people offered sacrifices on the pagan altar erected on top of the altar in the Temple.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 Maccabees+1&version=GNT

In 168 B.C.E. the new moon of Kislev fell on December 1st and the 25th day of Kislev fell on December 25th ie. Mithra’s holiday when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed a swine in the Temple of Yahweh.
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases-0199.html

The book of Maccabees ADMITS that the first day of Hanukkah is on the EXACT SAME DAY as Antiochus Epiphanes kept Mithra’s holiday and sacrificed swine in the Temple of Yahweh. The only difference is that the lunar calendar does not always fall on the same day of the solar year.
1 Maccabees 4 :52-54

1 Maccabees 4
52-54 The 25th day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev, in the year 148(Seleucid Era) was THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAY THE GENTILES DESECRATED THE ALTAR. On that day a sacrifice was offered on the new altar in accordance with the Law of Moses. The new altar was dedicated and hymns were sung to the accompaniment of harps, lutes, and cymbals. 55 All the people bowed down with their faces to the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord for giving them victory.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 Maccabees+4&version=GNT

In Zoroastrian/Iranian tradition, Mithra became the divinity of the Sun. How, when or why this occurred is uncertain, but is attributed to a conflation with the Babylonian SHAMASH, who – in addition to being a Sun god – was a judicial figure like Mithra.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithra

Shamash was a native Mesopotamian deity and the sun god in the Akkadian, Assyrian, Canaanite, Hebrew, and Babylonian pantheons. Shamash was the god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamash

The Hanukkah festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to 8 on the final night. The typical Hanukiah consists of eight branches with an additional RAISED branch in the middle. The extra light is called the SHAMASH and is GIVEN A DISTINCT LOCATION, usually ABOVE the rest. The SHAMASH sun god candle is elevated above all the others.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah

In conclusion, the 25th of Kislev fell on December 25th in the year 168 B.C.E. when Antiochus Epiphanes aka. Mithradates worshipped Mithra aka. SHAMASH.

Sadly, today most Jews and Messianics celebrate this exact same day, Kislev 25, and also use the SHAMASH to celebrate it. Although Kislev 25 on the lunar calendar does not fall on the winter solstice every year, it did so in the year 168 B.C.E. when Antiochus Epiphanes sacrificed unto Mithra. True believers should not mix anything that is associated with a pagan holiday with the worship of Yahweh.

Please again forgive me, if I seem to come across wrong, but I just want you to be informed with the Truth. The Truth will make us free. Peace and Blessings to you and yours!

*The primary root word for SUN in the Hebrew is #8121 of the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. It is pronounced exactly the same in both the Hebrew and Chaldean/Babylonian, “SHEMESH.” The primary root word for SERVANT/ATTENDANT in the Hebrew is #5647 in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. It is pronounced exactly the same in both the Hebrew and Chaldean/Babylonian, “AWBAWD.” “Shamash” is the most popular transliteration used and that is why I chose it.

*Some things to take into consideration when calculating moon phases thousands of years ago is that it is not an exact science as NASA plainly admits on their website. “The last column of the phase table lists ΔT, the value used to convert Dynamical Time to Universal Time. The uncertainty in the value of ΔT grows large for dates in the distant past or future.” ” The uncertainty in the value of ΔT is of particular interest in the calculation of eclipse paths in the distant past and future. Unfortunately, estimating the standard error in ΔT prior to 1600 CE is a difficult problem. It depends on a number of factors which include the accuracy of determining ΔT from historical eclipse records and modeling the physical processes producing changes in Earth’s rotation.” The ΔT for the 168 B.C.E. is 3 hours and 27 minutes. Also, all the dates before 1582 C.E. are according to the Julian Calendar system. “The old style Julian calendar is used for dates prior to 1582, while the modern Gregorian calendar is used after that date.” A third thing to realize is that a visible crescent moon may be observed as early as 13.5 hours with lenses and 15.5 hours with the naked eye. http://moonsighting.com/faq_ms.html In 168 B.C.E. the new moon happened at 02:49 or 2:49a.m. on December 1st, 168 B.C.E. Being that it is possible to observe the new moon crescent in as little as 13.5-15.5 hours after the conjunction, then the new moon crescent could have been observed at sundown on December 1st, especially taking into consideration 3 hours and 27 minutes for ΔT. However, the new moon crescent would have definitely been observable on the following sundown on December 2nd being that it had at least 40 hours to mature after conjunction. This would place Kislev 25 on December 26 which is a viable candidate for the winter solstice and the Mithra holiday. Shalom!

The Yahshua KEPT Hanukkah MYTH

The Brit Chadasha (New Testament) does not say that Yahshua KEPT the feast of Hanukkah.

Lets look at the KJV to see where all the confusion is. John 10 22And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. 23And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.

You can see that this text does not say that Yahshua KEPT anything, but simply says that he “walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch.”

Also, do some research and you will find that the words “the feast of” do not actually appear in the Greek text from which this verse is translated.

Here is an actual word for word translation of the Greek text: John 10:22-23 And occurred the dedication in Jerusalem and it was winter. And walked Yahshua in the temple in the porch of Solomon.

People assume that this dedication is the Feast of Hanukkah, but as the text indicates this was not a feast.

The Tanakh lists several dedications, none of which are the Feast of Hanukkah. See Numbers 7:84-88, 2 Chronicles 7:9, Ezra 6:16-17 and Nehemiah 12:27.

We have 2 clues to help us discover which dedication is being referred to in John 10:22-23. The first clue is that the text tells us that it was WINTER. The second clue is in the next chapter in John 11:55 when it tells us that “PASSOVER was nigh at hand.”

With these 2 clues we can now narrow this DEDICATION down to the one referred to in Ezra Chapter 6 when the Second Temple was dedicated: Ezra 6 15And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar (WINTER), which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. 16And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the DEDICATION of this house of God with joy.    17And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.    18And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.    19And the children of the captivity kept the PASSOVER upon the fourteenth day of the first month.    20For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.    21And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat,    22And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Also, Herod had his Dedication in the same month, Adar, as Ezra did:

 

Adar 12 marks the dedication of Herod’s renovations on the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 11 BCE. Herod was king of Judea in the first century BCE who constructed grand projects like the fortresses at Masada and Herodium, the city of Caesarea, and fortifications around the old city of Jerusalem. The most ambitious of Herod’s projects was the re-building of the Temple, which was in disrepair after standing over 300 years. Herod’s renovations included a huge man-made platform that remains today the largest man-made platform in the world. It took 10,000 men 10 years just to build the retaining walls around the Temple Mount; the Western Wall that we know today is part of that retaining wall. The Temple itself was a phenomenal site, covered in gold and marble. As the Talmud says, “He who has not seen Herod’s building, has never in his life seen a truly grand building.”

May Yahweh bless your understanding.

Brought to you by Yahweh is Truth.

Hanukkah and Christmas are 2 Branches of the Same Saturnalia Tree

 Hanukkah Harry

It is sad to see so many believers jump out of the pan of Christian Tradition just to land in the pot of Jewish Tradition and vice versa.

QUESTION: What festival is known as the feast of lights, also known as the feast of dedication, lasts 8 days, time of gift giving, time of playing games, time for eating pancakes and a goose, time for taking off from work, time for gathering with friends and family, an ancient  man-made tradition, time for lighting candles, time for gambling, time for drinking alcoholic beverages, time for decorating homes, time for feasting, time for singing carols, happens in December, time for giving alms, time for role reversing, uses a bush or a tree, and has a tradition of putting candles on the outside of the home?

ANSWER: This festival was originally called Saturnalia, but now we call it Hanukkah and Christmas.

Brothers and sisters please hear me and wake from the deception.

Read the following articles for more information:

Hanukkah – Truth or Tradition?

http://newsletter.followersofyah.com/read/2013/12/hanukkah-truth-or-tradition/

Hanukkah and Christmas

http://www.nccg.org/mlt/sermons/3_234.html

Hanukkah Reconsidered

http://www.nazareneisrael.org/books/torah-calendar/hanukkah-reconsidered/

The Legend of Hanukkah

http://www.seekgod.ca/legend.htm

Chanukah: Festival of Dedication or Pagan Fire Festival?

http://www.karaitejudaism.org/talks/Channukah.pdf

Heathen Roots of the Hanukkah Bush
http://www.christianmediaresearch.com/Hanukkah.html

Chanukah and Its Pagan Traditions

http://www.sightedmoon.com/?page_id=324

Hanukkah and Yeshua

http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/judaism/hanukkah.html

Hocking a Hanukah Hair Ball

http://www.sightedmoonnl.com/?page_id=758

Why Yahshuah Refused to Celebrate Hanukkah

http://www.robertroberg.com/writings/hanukkah.html

Attractive Deception Hanukkah The Jewish Saturnalia

http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative/2015/02/attractive-deception-hanukkah-the-jewish-saturnalia-3110446.html?currentSplittedPage=0

Chanukah: Some Disturbing Things You May not Know

https://m.facebook.com/notes/kendra-daniels/chanukah-some-disturbing-things-you-may-not-know/1716822975037035/

Should Chanukkah be Celebrated?

https://yahuahissalvation.com/should-chanukkah-be-celebrated/

Should we Celebrate Chanukkah part two?

https://yahuahissalvation.com/should-chanukkah-be-celebrated/should-we-celebrate-chanukkah-part-two/

Is Hanukkah Just the Jewish Christmas?

https://www.alephbeta.org/course/lecture/chanukah-5777-2016

 

I do not endorse everything these articles suggest, but provide them for one to further their study into this important topic.

May Yahweh bless your understanding.