Photo by Shashuna, Jerusalem Reporter for Destination Yisra'el
Yochanan (John) 10:22-30 – “Then came Hanukkah in Yerushalayim. It was winter, and Yeshua was walking around inside the Temple area, in Shlomo’s Colonnade. So the Judeans surrounded him and said to him, “How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us publicly!”
Yeshua answered them, “I have already told you, and you don’t trust me. The works I do in my Father’s name testify on my behalf, but the reason you don’t trust is that you are not included among my sheep. Me sheep listen to my voice, I recognize them, they follow me, and I give them eternal life. They will absolutely never be destroyed, and no one will snatch them from my hands. My Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all; and no one can snatch from the Father’s hands. I and the Father are one.”
Zacharias, meets Gabriel in the Temple
Standing before the altar of incense of the Lord during the week prior to Pentecost (Shavuot), sometime between 7 B.C.E and 5 B.C.E, was Zacharias, a Levite in the priestly lineage of Abijah. This was his spring, weekly tour of duty in the Temple, the seventh course (week), along with all the other members of the family of Abijah. No, it was not the seventh week since the beginning of the Levitical New Year, on Nisan 1 in the spring of the year.
All Levites were required to serve in the Temple during the spring and fall Festivals of Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot) and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth), in order to minister to immense crowds which came to Jerusalem as required by the Torah for all living male Israelites above the age of bar mitzvah. The eight day festival of Passover (Pesach) occurred in the third week, so now, seventh week course of Abijah, actually was the eighth week after Spring New Years.
Lots were cast, and Zacharias’ duty for the week was to sprinkle incense on the golden altar before the Temple of G-d. Below him, the Temple crowds were assembled in adoration and prayer before Adonai, the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yes, these crowds were getting larger as early arrivals to the upcoming Spring Festival of Pentecost (Shavuot), the following week on the sixth day of Sivan, were beginning to assemble. During the Pentecost celebration, the theme of the festival was focused on the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.
Suddenly, Zacharias, now a Levite priest of many years, met face to face with the awesome glory reflected by an other-dimensional being recognized as the Archangel Gabriel. Gabriel, the signet Archangel for Israel, was instructed to bring direct messages from the Almighty, sitting on His celestial throne envisioned by the mystic sages as the sixth heaven called Makon.
Whereas the Apostle Paul claimed he visited the third heaven in an out-of-body experience, according to the Torah sages, Gabriel resided in the second heavenly hall of Rakiyah also called the ‘firmament’. Here in the second heaven was where Tzaddiks, when in a state of spiritual purity were able to conversed and commune with the angels. It was here the ‘signs of heaven’ were revealed to the prophets. It was to this second heaven, divine messages were sent by the Almighty G-d (Hashem). The prophet would be brought up in ‘vision’ to meet G-d’s emissary. Here Elijah, Daniel and John the Revelator were taken in vision as they were revealed the ‘hidden messages’ of the Lord.

“Jerusalem Menorahs by Israeli Artists”– Photos by Shoshana, Destination Yisrael’s Jerusalem Reporter
Zacharias was informed that his barren wife, Elizabeth (Elisheva), the daughter of the High Priest Yeshua III, was to be blessed and have a son. He was stunned, incredulous and now speechless. The curse of being barren would be over; and not only that, this son would be specially chosen as a messenger of G-d, and given the ‘mantle’ of Elijah (Elias), the great Prophet of Israel. It would only be safe to presume that Zacharias wanted to rush to his home to be with Elizabeth. Did he not have a ‘holy mission’ to accomplish?
Unable to speak, Zacharias not only had to fulfill his priestly duties the remainder of the week, but he still had to remain in the Temple for another two days, until the Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) on Sivan 6 and 7, was completed. So, what was the first day that John the Baptist (Yohannan ben Zacharias) could have been conceived?
The first potential date would have been the 8th day of Sivan, the date most equivalent to the end of May. There is no doubt those arthritic knees of Zacharias made great haste to his home. According to the Holy Writ, “soon after” (Luke 1:24), the sperm and egg were united and the cellular division of the ovum marked the conception of life of that mighty messenger of G-d who was to prepare the ‘way of the Lord’. From his birth (womb), he was “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:15) and his duty was to bring back many Israelites to the Lord their G-d…., to reconcile father and child, to convert the rebellious to the ways of the righteous, to prepare a people that shall be fit for the Lord.” (Luke 1:16-18)
During the first and second trimester, Elizabeth (Elisheva) lived in seclusion. For five months, she told no one, not even her family. Yet the sixth month after the conception of John the Baptist, near the end of October, Gabriel once again delivered a message from the celestial Throne of G-d in the sixth heaven. Once again, Gabriel penetrated the inter-dimensional veil of the first heaven called Vilon, this time bringing Mary, a young maiden about fourteen years of age, into the visionary world of pure spirit.
Miriam meets Gabriel in Nazareth
The Princess of David, Miriam), a young maiden living in Galilee in the town of Nazareth, was betrothed to the Prince of David, Joseph, a resident of the town of Bethlehem, of his forefather, King David from the tribe of Judah who was born and raised in Bethlehem. Miriam was a niece of Elizabeth (Elisheva); for her mother Anna (Hannah), Elizabeth (Elisheva), and Jane (JoAnna) were one of three daughters of the High Priest of Israel, Yehoshua III, a descendant of Aaron the High Priest of the tribe of Levi, through the appointed Dynasty of the High Priests, Zadok the High Priest of King David.
Miriam, as noted in the Lucian lineages of Yahshua (Jesus) was a Princess of the Royal Lineages of King’s David and Solomon through her father, “Heli”, known by the Jerusalem aristocracy as Prince Alexander III Helios. He was the heir to the Hasmonean Throne through his mother, Queen Alexandra II, the last of the Hasmonean rulers to rule over the Jews in Judea.
“The Lighting of the Chanukah Menorahs” – Photo by Shoshana, Destination Yisrael’s Jerusalem Reporter
Gabriel was now speaking to Mary (Miriam), in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s conception. This would place the date of this visit in the month of December. Let us look at the evidence: the month of Sivan would have been the middle of May to the middle to the end of June. Then we have Tamuz (1st month), Av (2nd month), Elul (3rd month), Tishri (4th month), Cheshvan (5th month), and Kislev (6th month), for Miriam’s visit would be in the six month after Shavuot (Pentecost) near the end of the Jewish month of Kislev the month most equivalent to the month of December in the Roman Julian calendar.
Yet it is important to note that Mary (Miriam) was not pregnant at the time of Gabriel’s visit, for it was stated by the Archangel,
Luke 1:30 - “Do not be afraid, Mary, for G-d has been gracious to you; you shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall give him the name Yahshua (Jesus).”
This prophecy given to Miriam by the angel Gabriel was before Yahshua was conceived, yet was later confirmed at the eighth day of Jesus’ birth when He was circumcised in the Temple, and His father Joseph’s gave Him His name.
Luke 2:21 - “He was given the name Yahshua, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.
It is this name, Yahshua, given in Aramaic, which is linguistically similar to Hebrew that Jesus was given by the archangel Gabriel. Then the Archangel said to Miriam;
Luke 1:28-35 - “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with G-d. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Yahshua. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and G-d (Hashem) will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob (All Israel) forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of G-d.”
To confirm this message, Gabriel said,
Luke 1:36-37 - “Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. “For with G-d nothing will be impossible.”
When the Fullness of Time has Come
“Artistic Stylization of a Chanukah Menorah” – Photo by Shoshana, Destination Yisrael’s Jerusalem Reporter
If the time for the first conceivable date for the conception of John was truly the 8th of Sivan, and the archangel Gabriel came to the Prince of David Miriam on the 6th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the 8th of Kislev, then given a latitude of about two weeks from this date for the moment in time when the “Power of the Highest” would “overshadow” Miriam, then the most appropriate time and the most appropriate Jewish celebration or festival for this miraculous conception in the womb of the Princess Miriam would have been the second day of Hanukkah, the evening of the 25th of Kislev, or the eve of the 26th day of Kislev (the month of December), which is celebrated as the “miracle of Light”.
On the evening of the 24th of Kislev, (the eve of the 25th day), in the year of 167 B.C., the menorah was lit in the newly cleansed Temple of G-d. This was one of the great moments in Jewish history for the forces of Antiochus Epiphanes IV of Syria had been driven from the land of Judea. It all began when the Hellenistic ruler used his imperial rule to force the inhabitants of his kingdom to convert to Hellenism, known as the Greek Metrology.
Many Jews found this to be a very civilized way of life. Yet the Torah observers and especially the Torah observing priests in the temple of Zerubabbel in Jerusalem refused to observe the Greek customs and to incorporate Hellenistic ways of worship. When the Torah observing Jews refused to quit worshipping on the Seventh-day Shabbat (Saturday/Sabbath), quit practicing circumcision and observing the kosher laws of clean meats, they were threatened with death, the temple was desecrated, and the vessels, the altar, the menorah were defiled by sacrificing a pig on the altar of the Lord. Then the worship to the Greek god Zeus was instituted. This was the “Abomination of Desolation”.
The rumor in the land was that a revolt was in the making and immediately Antiochus ordered his troops to the town of Modi’in, the home of the priest Mattathias and his five sons. There the family of Mattathias revolted, Mattathias was killed and under the leadership of Judah, nicknamed “Maccabee” or ‘The Hammer’, they killed the Syrian soldiers and a full scale guerrilla revolt began that eventually led to the expulsion of all the forces of Antiochus Epiphanes IV from the land of Judea.
“The Jewish Israeli Artistic Impressionism of the Chanukah Menorah” – Photo by Shoshana, Destination Yisrael’s Jerusalem Reporter
The temple was cleaned up, repaired and re-cleansed according to the commands of G-d given to Moses (Moshe). The golden menorah was ransacked from the temple and a new menorah had to be built from inferior metals, yet with great love and care, the temple was ready for its dedication. Yet there was a crisis. When the menorah in the temple was lit on that day of Dedication, only one day of the sacred lighting oil was available in the City of David, Jerusalem. It would take another eight days to prepare new oil. Even so, to celebrate the victory of their independence, they chose instead to light the menorah and let G-d provide the rest. By a miracle of the Divine, the menorah remained lit for eight days, burning only on one day’s worth of oil.
Therefore, the miracle of light occurred on the eve of the ‘second’ day or the 25th day of Kislev, as there was one days worth of oil, but none for the second day and beyond. The Feast of Dedication was celebrated throughout the land and Chanukah entered the festival cycle of the Jews.
The Evening of the 25th of Kislev – The Conception of Prince Yahshua (Jesus)
On the 25th day of Kislev, Elizabeth (Elisheva) would have entered her sixth month, third trimester, of pregnancy, from day 164th to the 172nd day after conception. If the sacred texts could be redacted on the meaning of the “Miracle of Light”, then on the 2nd day of Hanukkah, the young Princess of David Miriam was overshadowed by the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) and Yahshua (Jesus), the ‘Light of the World’ was conceived. So on this Jewish festival, the G-d of Israel imprinted within a non-Torah holiday celebration, the miraculous conception, not the birth, of Yahshua HaMaschiah (Jesus). The “Mystery of G-d” and the Incarnation was the infusion of the Ein Sof, within the World of the Divine by the YHVH manifested in the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) upon the ovum of that Davidian Princess. This was a Mystery which was not comprehensible to them or even by the modern genetic or gynecological scientists of today.
Luke 2:29-32 – “Now, Adonai, according to your word, your servant is at peace as you let him go; for I have seen with my own eyes your yeshu’ah (salvation), which you prepared in the presence of all peoples – a light that will bring revelation to the Goyim (Gentiles) and glory to your people Isra’el”
You might want to read the Complete Article on BibleSearchers – “Chanukah and the Conception of Yahshua (Jesus)”
To understand more about the Festival of the L-rd and the Jewish Messiah,
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