Chanukah and the Messianic Movement

As we come toward the end of Chanukah, I was thinking of an interesting connection between the events of Chanukah and the Messianic movement. Most people reading this blog are probably familiar about the story of Chanukah, in which the Jews defeated the Greeks to restore their freedom and lit the Menorah with oil that lasted for eight days. However, there is more to the Chanukah story.

You see, the Jews were actually fighting two battles. They were fighting the Greeks and also fighting the Hellenistic Jews. The Hellenistic Jews were Jews who adopted Greek belief and culture. They wanted the Jewish people to leave Judaism for the Greek religion and way of life. The Jews, led by the Hasmoneans (also known as the Maccabees), defeated both the Greeks and Hellenistic Jews, allowing Judaism to continue to exist in the Holy Land.

The Messianic movement is a modern day equivalent of the Hellenistic Jews. Messianic "Judaism" is an 1800's creation of the Church of England, which has since spread to many other Christian denominations. The movement involves many people who were born Jewish but who are now practicing Christianity. The Messianic movement seeks to convert other Jews to Christianity, dressing Christianity in "Jewish clothing." Today, the Jewish people are battling the Messianic movement just as the Hasmoneans battled the Hellenistic Jews, all in the name of preserving true Judaism.