From the miracle of the Maccabees' victory, an eight-day

celebration of Hanukkah has continued ever since

Since the November elections we have never seen so much despondency and despair. We're hearing from so many people who say they are depressed, see no way out, and are just giving up.

And, yes, things are looking worse than ever before.

Four more years of Barack Obama. More socialist politicians elected to Congress. Election fraud. Radicals running the government. Union thuggery and violence openly allowed, but pro-family protest suppressed. "Occupy" mobs allowed to take over areas of cities. The homosexual and transgender movements being celebrated in the White House and federal agencies. Religious beliefs being suppressed and even punished in businesses, government, public schools, and the courts. The Constitution being openly ignored. The media and popular culture on an aggressive cultural jihad against Christianity. The TSA groping travelers. Taxes going up to pay for bloated government. The massive deficit. The massive bailouts. The looming inflation and economic disasters. The ObamaCare nightmare descending on us. And on and on. And the "opposition" Republican leadership with no backbone or will to fight back.

"It's finished. America's done. I'm giving up." We're hearing that everywhere. People are feeling beaten and completely powerless.

We don't see things that way.

Hanukkah  - now more relevant than ever

Today is the 8th and final day of the Jewish holiday Hanukkah (or Chanukah). Most people (and sadly, most Jews) see Hanukkah as sort of a Jewish version of Christmas. They don't really understand what it's about and what it teaches us. It celebrates something very important about man and God.

Actually, Hanukkah is very relevant to what we're going through right now. It's about struggling against - and ultimately winning, with God's help - a seemingly unwinnable culture war against an oppressive government thoroughly dominated by pagan and godless forces determined to permanently change society.

 

Complete oppression

In the second century B.C., the powerful Syrian empire had conquered Israel. By around 170 BC they were ruthlessly forcing paganism on the country and banning traditional religious practice.

Pagan holidays, customs, and religious practices were harshly imposed on the citizens of Israel. Statues of pagan gods were erected throughout the country. People were required to bow down to idols and make sacrifices to them. If they refused they were tortured and killed.

No public acknowledgement of God was allowed anywhere. Sabbath observance, study of the Bible, and other Jewish customs and rituals were completely banned. (Bibles were destroyed where found.) People who did not comply were executed.

Sadly, many Jews embraced the pagan customs and willingly abandoned God. And most others simply complied and offered no resistance. (Does this sound familiar?) As a result, the anti-religious oppression continued unimpeded.

The battle

Finally, a small band of unyielding believers had had enough. Known as the Maccabees (from the Hebrew word for "hammer") they revolted in their village and then fled into the hills, formed a resistance movement, and gathered a guerilla army to continue fighting back. Such a thing was considered impossible against the powerful Syrian empire controlling the country. But they fought nevertheless.

They didn't give up. Their guerilla encounters got bolder and bolder. People came and joined them, and it began to yield incredible successes against the Syrian forces. It was shocking. And with God's help they finally won! Within three years they drove out the Syrians and took back the country. And they brought back God into Israel.

Hanukkah means "dedication"

Almost immediately, the Maccabees came to into Jerusalem to clean out and re-purify the Great Temple, which had been turned into a pagan shrine sacrificing pigs. But after cleaning it, they had only a one-day supply of holy oil to light the sacred lamps as they re-dedicated the Temple. That one-day supply miraculously lasted eight days - until more holy oil could be made. From that miracle, an eight-day celebration of Hanukkah (which means "dedication" in Hebrew) has continued ever since.

So thus, the holiday of Hanukkah – as traditionally understood – is about fighting and winning a war against oppressive and vicious state-forced paganism, overcoming near-impossible odds.

This ought to be an annual lesson to us. Even though the forces ruling us want to drastically change society and replace God in our lives with the secular State and ever more ruthlessly impose Godless secularism on us throughout society, do not give up. It's not lost. Seemingly impossible circumstances can and will be overcome with God's help.

History is full of seemingly hopeless situations that were overcome by people who refused to give up… The world saw how a few revolts by determined people spread and ultimately brought down the vast Soviet empire, which at that time no one thought was possible.

We believe there's yet another message to Hanukkah. You can't sit on the sidelines. It's necessary for people to leave their comfort zones and take action, if it's going to happen.

Lately, many people have been saying that they've decided to fight this battle by just praying and fasting. Well, praying and fasting are good things. But the message of Hanukkah is that that's not enough. People must be part of the fight.

It's the universal lesson about fighting against seemingly hopeless odds: If you do your part, God will do His.

America isn't over yet!

(Remnant Editor’s Note: We’re pleased to reproduce this slightly adapted version of today's excellent article from www.MassResistance.org . Offered here in The Remnant with the permission of its author, the article originally appeared under the title “Chanukah's lesson about America in 2012”.  Many thanks to Brian Camenker and his allies for their vital work in defense of Faith and family. MJM

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