A Spiritual Rededication*

Today will begin the Feast of Dedication, also known as Hanukkah, commemorating the cleansing of the temple of God from the defilement of heathen occupiers, and the miraculous provision of oil for the Lamp of God in the temple. The candles of the menorah are lit to celebrate this miracle. Most Christians do not understand the meaning of this feast, and do not celebrate it. However, Jesus did observe this feast, as we will see: "And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believe not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand...If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him." (Jn. 10:23-38, excerpt). Jesus brought this saving revelation to them on the Feast of Dedication, in the Temple of God, but for these words, they sought to stone Jesus for blasphemy. They missed the significance of the connection between what Jesus said, and the fulfillment of the Feast of Dedication that they were observing. The Law is not to be followed in the flesh, but in the Spirit. The prophets wrote about the work of spiritual rededication that God would bring to His people: "Therefore say, Thus saith the LORD God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. (This was fulfilled in 1947.) And they shall come thither, ad they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God." (Ezek. 11:17-20). To walk in the statutes of God as He intended man to do, requires a new heart and spirit. The LORD also said to Ezekiel that for those who continued to walk in their detestable things and abominations instead, "...I will recompense their way upon their own heads..." (v. 21). The apostle Paul, who was thoroughly trained in the Law of Moses, also brought the same understanding between the carnal and spiritual: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." (1 Cor. 3:1, 16-17). We are the holy, Spirit-filled temple of God, not to be defiled. Our being the temple of the Holy Spirit does not preclude the building of an actual physical third temple in Jerusalem, of which the prophets wrote. Preparation for that planned third temple is being carried out now in Israel. Again, however, Paul wrote about the price paid by Christ for the presence of the Holy Spirit in the body of the believer: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Giving us an understanding of what Ezekiel wrote above, Paul taught that by the Holy Spirit, we are a living epistle, or letter, rather than the stone tablets of Law: "...ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves...but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." (2 Cor. 3:3-6). The Flesh profits nothing, but the Spirit brings inner life and grace to the eternal, unchangeable statutes of God. This is only made possible through Christ: "...be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Cor. 5:20-21). Although through the sacrifice of Christ we have received the grace gift of the righteousness of God, that grace does not justify continued sin. Jesus taught that the two great principles of the Law still apply: Loving God, which is reflected in the first five of the Ten Commandments, and loving our neighbor, which is reflected in the second five Commandments. Paul wrote that, because of this, we are not to commune or join ourselves with unrighteousness, darkness, or idolatry. He wrote of rededication: "...ye are the temple of the living God...as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them,; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Cor. 6:14-18, 7:1). The Book of Hebrews pointed out that the repeated sacrifices that had to be made yearly under the law, was but a shadow of the true and eternal sacrifice found in the blood of Christ offered for our sins. Of God's provision for sin, Paul wrote: "He taketh away the first (yearly offerings), that he may establish the second. By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all...For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us...'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days', saith the Lord, 'I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And that their sins and iniquities will I remember no more'. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin." (Heb. 10:9-18). There is only one way now that has been made available by God to cleanse us of sin, as the spiritual temple of the Holy Spirit of God: the one-time sacrifice fulfilled by His Son for us. Because of this cleansing sacrifice, Paul wrote: "By a new and living way, which he (Jesus) hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh...Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our hope without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;). (v. 19-23). The prophet Haggai wrote to the people of God during a time that he described as the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, regarding the temple of the LORD. The time mentioned lines up with today's date on our calendar. The promise of the LORD to His people, represented by the governmental leader, the spiritual leader and the rest of the people, is: "...be strong all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts....my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts." (Hag. 2:4-7). During this Feast of Dedication, the LORD desires to fill His house, His living temple, which we are, with His glory. Let us rededicate ourselves this season, having our lamps lit, and our hearts sprinkled with the cleansing sacrifice of Jesus. If you would like to read more details regarding the original cleansing and rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, you can read the account in the Apocrypha, in 1 Maccabees 4:36-46. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 12/18/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.

A Qualitatively New Ekklesia

 

Our 41st president, George H.W. Bush, whose passing this week is being closely followed by the beginning of Hanukkah, referred to "a thousand points of light" in his inaugural address. He used this expression to refer to American's good works and volunteerism.

This famous quote of President Bush comes to mind as we enter the season of Hanukkah, also called the Festival of Lights, and the Feast of Dedication. The source of this feast is a historical event recorded in Maccabees 4 of the extra-Biblical books known as the Apocrypha. This book records the Maccabean rebellion against the Syrians who had taken control of Jerusalem, including the Temple of God.

 Under the rulership of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Jewish religion was forbidden, and the Temple was defiled with the sacrifices of pigs. After the Maccabean revolt and victory, the Temple was once again in Jewish hands, but had to be cleansed of the pagan defilement. During this eight day cleansing, or rededication, God miraculously kept the Menorah in the Temple burning, when only a single day's supply of oil was available. "Hanukkah" is the Hebrew word meaning "dedication", and even "inaugural". In the New Testament, the Greek word which is the equivalent means renewal, or to make new. The number "8" in Hebrew, which is the length of days that the menorah remained lighted, also signifies new beginnings.

This dedication and renewal of the natural Temple in Jerusalem also has a corresponding spiritual importance to us. We are the living temple of God. It is time for our temples to be rededicated, cleansed, and renewed in Christ. It is time for the Ekklesia (Church) to be qualitatively renewed, meaning to replace everything that needs replacing until it is in "like new" condition. Let's see how we can begin.

Jesus observed the winter Feast of Dedication (Jn. 10:22-25), where He was asked by the religious leaders to identify Himself outright as the Christ. He said that He had already told them, but they refused to believe, and that His miraculous works identified Him clearly with His heavenly Father, which works they also did not believe. It is time for the Church to decide if it believes.

Like the miraculous Menorah of the Dedication, Jesus clearly identified Himself with light:

"...I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darknss, but shall have the light of life."  Jn. 8:12

Not only was Jesus light, but He expected His followers to stop walking in darkness, and share be that same light:

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."  Mt. 5:14-16

The nature of light is to be openly displayed in order to repel darkness. Is the Church shining the light of Christ, or hiding it? Have we conformed to the darkness of this world rather than the light of the unchanging way, truth and life of Jesus?

As Jesus said above, His light is also the life of men. It is written regarding Him:

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not."   Jn. 1:4-5

The darkness cannot receive the light. Do we have any part of us that embraces darkness, that refuses to receive light? Jesus said, "If ... the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness?" (Mt. 6:22-23). And, "...less darkness come upon you (seizes you)...While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light." (Jn. 12:34-36). Afterwards, Jesus purposefully hid Himself from them. Those who sought His truth had to search Him out. Are we continuing to search out Jesus, and the light and renewal that He offers? Or have we stopped seeking Him?
This special feast of Hanukkah, or dedication, tells us that it is time for rededication, and qualitative renewal for the Church as a whole, and each one individually, the living temples of God, who are His chosen, royal, holy, peculiar people who should show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of the darkness of sin and the world, and into His marvelous light: who did not have mercy, but now have obtained mercy (1 Pet. 2:9-10). We are not to be partakers of the darkness with the children of disobedience as we used to, but reproving those works of darkness, because now we are light in the Lord, walking as children of light (Eph. 5:6-11). It is that very darkness that will cause people to be overtaken on the soon coming day of the Lord. However, we are not of that darkness and night, but children of light and day (1 Thess. 5:4-5). On the contrary, in these last days, we are to shine in wisdom and light like the stars in the firmament, because we are ones whose names have been written in the book (of life) by the blood of Christ (Dan. 12:1-3, Rev. 13:8).

How can we seek this qualitative renewal, this rededication, Hanukkah, and purifying needed in our lives? Like the light of life, it is also found in Christ for those who will seek it, and He has promised that if we will seek Him, we will find Him:

"Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are past away; behold all things are become new."  2 Cor. 5:17

Hanukkah, with its miraculous light and new beginning, is the perfect time of year to remind us of this glorious and eternal promise in Jesus. As we see the lights of the menorah, we can take the opportunity to dedicate ourselves anew in Him.

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Prayer of Salvation for all who desire to receive Jesus as their Savior: Lord Jesus, I desire to know You, and to know Your salvation. I believe that You died for me, and that You were resurrected for me. Forgive me of my sins. Come into my heart, change me, fill me with Your righteousness. Inscribe my name in the Lamb's book of life. Baptize me in Your Holy Spirit, so that I can learn the truth of Your Word and ways, and be strengthened in my walk all the days of my life. You are the hope of my life, and You are my eternal life. I place my trust in You, Lord, for myself, and my whole household. Use me to do the will of the heavenly Father, Who sent You, in Whose name You came. In Your name, and in thanks and praise I pray, Amen.