God continues to speak through the words of Daniel who states in 2:22 that God reveals deep and hidden things, knows what lies in darkness, and that light dwells with Him. This verse emphasizes God's omniscience, His ability to uncover mysteries beyond human comprehension, including the secrets of the heart, hidden plans, and divine purposes. The phrase "light dwells with Him" underscores God's nature as pure, truthful, and the source of all illumination, contrasting with darkness which symbolizes ignorance, evil, and uncertainty. This declaration is part of Daniel’s prayer of thanksgiving after God revealed the meaning of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, affirming that only God possesses such divine wisdom and revelation. God establishes the truth in Genesis 1: 2-4 that there are only two kingdoms—the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. It was His Spirit that moved to dispel darkness and chaos (tohu wabohu) which is a condition produced by divine judgment exposing the spiritual battle between good and evil in eternity past. (Isa. 45:18, Isa. 14:12, Ezek. 28:12) God’s Divine presence divided the light from the darkness. Darkness must submit to God’s light! “God saw the light, that it was good.” This act reveals the process of His generating life—His initial instrument for illuminating darkness—His inaugural act of shining light in the darkness. In 1 John 1:5 we read that “in Him there is no darkness” affirming that God is pure light and entirely free from any darkness. This scripture emphasizes that God’s absolute holiness, truth, and righteousness cannot coexist with sin, evil and ignorance. Light is associated with life and darkness with death. The announcement by Isaiah in 9:2 makes it clear: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” John reveals the purpose of God coming to earth as a human: “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4–5) Jesus Christ came to bring the light of God’s life into a spiritually dark and dying world foretold in Genesis 3:15. The life within Christ is the life of God: “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself.” (Jn. 5: 26) In John 8:12, Jesus proclaims to the people, “I am the Light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
Despite the presence of this Light, the world for the most part remains in unbelief and spiritual blindness and does not comprehend it. This failure is not due to a lack of evidence but rather stems from a willful rejection of truth and spiritual blindness as described in 2 Corinthians 4:4, where the god of this world blinds the minds of unbelievers. The light continues to shine, and darkness cannot extinguish it, affirming the enduring power of Divine truth. I believe that God is calling our attention to this reality in the world in which we live. Jesus warned his disciples in Mark 6:35 that “the hour is late and Jesus is at the door.” Jesus taught when certain signs appear, His return will be near stating, “When you see all these things, you can know My return is near. I’m right at the door.” (Mt. 24: 33) Various signs indicate the nearness of His coming: the reestablishment of Israel in the land, wars and rumors of war, the global spread of the Gospel, an increase in travel and knowledge, and a growing moral and spiritual decline within professing Christian communities. (Mt. 24:3-14) Jesus used the parable of the ten virgins to emphasize the urgency of spiritual readiness having the Light of life and truth in Matthew 25. The ten virgin bridesmaids await the coming of the bridegroom and the start of the wedding festivities—five of the bridesmaids were prepared with plenty of oil (symbol of the Holy Spirit) for their lamps but the other five bridesmaids were foolish and were not prepared with adequate oil for their lamps. The wise virgins entered the wedding banquet and the door was shut. When the foolish virgins returned, they found the door shut against them. Jesus’ point in the parable is stated in verse 13: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 emphasizes that Christ’s return will be unexpected and sudden, leaving no time for last-minute preparation. Therefore, believers are called to live in readiness, with our hearts prepared: now is the time to respond to the Light and to be salt and light to an unbelieving world walking in darkness.
It is no accident that God’s focus on His light that overcomes darkness comes at this season of the year of the celebration of Hanukkah, or Feast of Dedication that began at sundown on Sunday, December 14, and continues for eight days ending at nightfall Monday, December 22. This Jewish festival today is called the Festival of Lights. It is not one of the festivals or appointed times instituted by God through Moses as a part of the Law. The history of the Feast of Dedication goes back to the 400 years that separated the Old and New Testament known as the intertestamental period. Hanukkah is not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible but is recorded in the Books of the Maccabees, which are part of the Apocrypha. Most of the nation of Israel was dispersed throughout the Persian Empire, more as colonists than as captives. A remnant, chiefly of the tribe of Judah, with Zerubbabel, a prince of the Davidic family, and the surviving priests and Levites had returned to the land under the permissive decrees of Cyrus and his successors during the time of Daniel. They had reestablished Temple worship. The Feast of Dedication is about the darkness of persecution and the light of God that leads His people through the darkness of those nights with a promise of joy in the morning. (Ps. 30:5, 11) God impressed upon me to go back and read the account of the origin of the Feast of Dedication in the Book of Maccabees and to draw parallels with that time and where we are today—especially in light of the brutal attack upon the Jewish people in Australia as they celebrated Hanukkah. God’s people are still under attack from the kingdom of darkness today, but His kingdom of Light is still shining in the darkness and will prevail!
Let’s explore the details of the dark days of persecution of God’s people that led to Hanukkah. There was a cabal of leaders that caused many evils. The chief among them was the sinful root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king who had been a hostage in Rome. “In those days lawless men came forth from Israel, and misled many, saying, ‘Let s go and make a covenant with the Gentiles round about us, for since we separated from them many evils have come upon us.” This proposal pleased them and the king authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles. They departed from God’s commands and “removed the marks of circumcision and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.” Antiochus who saw that his kingdom was established, invaded and plundered the land of Egypt, and went up against Israel and came to Jerusalem with a strong force. He arrogantly entered the sanctuary and took the golden altar; the lampstand for the light, and all its utensils. He also took the table for the bread of the Presence, the cups for drink offerings, the bowls, the golden censors, the curtain, the crowns, and the gold decoration on the front of the Temple; he stripped it all off. He took silver and gold, and the costly vessels; he took also the hidden treasures which he found. Taking them all, he departed to his own land. He committed deeds of murder and spoke with great arrogance. Israel mourned deeply in every community, rulers and elders groaned, maidens and young men became faint, the beauty of women faded. Even the land shook for its inhabitants, and all the house of Jacob was clothed with shame. The king sent to the cities of Judah a chief collector of tribute, and he came to Jerusalem with a large force. “Deceitfully he spoke peaceable words to them, and they believed him; but he suddenly fell upon the city, dealt it a sever blow, and destroyed many people of Israel.” He plundered the city, burned it with fire, tore down its houses and its surrounding walls, took captive the women and children, and seized the cattle. He stationed a sinful people and lawless men over Jerusalem. They shed innocent blood and defiled the sanctuary. The residents fled from Jerusalem; her sanctuary became desolate; her feasts were turned into mourning, her sabbaths into a reproach. The king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should accept and adopt his religion that sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath. The sanctuary and the priests were defiled and altars were built to sacrifice swine and unclean animals. They were to forget the law and change all the ordinances and whoever did not obey the king’s commands would die. In 168 BC Antiochus offered a sow upon the great altar and erected an altar to Jupiter. This is the desolation of Daniel 8:13. Temple worship was forbidden; the people were condemned to eat swine’s flesh. As you read these details, did you recognize similarities of how American has been incrementally infiltrated by the enemy of darkness that destroys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!
Like Daniel, many in Israel stood firm and were resolved in their hearts not to eat unclean food. They chose to die rather than to be defiled by food or to profane the holy covenant; and unlike Daniel they did die. In response, a Jewish priest named Mattathias and his five sons, including Judas known in history as Maccabeus, assisted by four brothers led a rebellion against and overthrew the Seleucids in 165 BC, regained possession of Jerusalem and purified and rededicated the Temple. Upon reclaiming the Temple, the Maccabees sought to rededicate it and relight the eternal flame, which symbolized God’s perpetual presence. The Maccabees were unable to celebrate the Feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles (an 8-day celebration) at its proper time due to the Temple’s desecration so they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days and there was great gladness among the people. Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with gladness and joy for eight days, beginning on the twenty-fifth day of the Hebrew month of Chislev. It is celebrated to commemorate the meaningful event in Jewish history of the victory of God’s people over the powers of darkness! Today public menorah lightings have become common in cities worldwide, symbolizing the holiday’s enduring message of light, hope, and resilience. LIGHT WINS!
The Feast of Dedication is mentioned by name in the Gospel of John; “Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.” (Jn. 10: 22-23) This is the scene in which Jesus claims oneness with the Father, for which the unbelieving Jews try to apprehend and stone Him. (vv. 24-39) Jesus declared that those who believe in the light become sons and daughters of the light. (Jn. 12: 36) According to the apostle Paul, Christians have passed from darkness into light: “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!” (Eph. 5:8) By loving one another, believers shine light into the darkness: “Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.” (1 John 2:8–11) Jesus is the giver of life and bearer of light. The Son of God continues to shine His light to humankind through His church, the body of Christ (Phil. 2:15). Whoever believes in Him receives eternal life. (John 3:15; Psalm 112:4)
It is written in 2 Corinthians 4:6 that the Same God who said “Let there be light” is now at work similarly in our life—in the work of His new creation. And as in the beginning, so too, now, God brings about His creation, through the speaking of His Word. The problem is this—now, unlike then, there are a lot of other voices in the world—voices of doubt, of the flesh, of the past, of the world, and many more. We must daily pray that God will bind the voice of the enemy and bind anything in our mind that is our will and not His. God’s light dispels darkness when we, ‘Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you…Hate the evil, and love the good, establish judgment in the gate; it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto thy remnant.” (Amos 5: 14-16) May God open our eyes and turn us from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that we may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith in Christ. (Acts 26: 18) We are sons and daughters of light! May Jesus shine through us!