THE JOT AND TITTLE OF THE KINGDOM
Each Greek equivalent of the English word “one” is used in connection with the “jot” and “tittle” of the Kingdom of God.
Jot [iota] is a word with a Hebrew, rather than a Greek origin. Iota is the tenth and smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is used only this
once in the New Testament and signifies smallness.
Tittle (keraia) is used only twice in the New Testament, here in Matthew and once again in Luke 16:18 (“It is easier for heaven and earth to pass,
than one tittle [keraia] of the law to fail”). Luke gives a different emphasis than Matthew.
Keraia means “a little horn” and relates to the extremity, apex, or point used by grammarians of the accents and diacritical points. Whereas
keraia is a technical grammatical term, the perceptive mind immediatedly recognizes the unmistakable prophetic allusion to Daniel’s “Little
Horn”.
The intentional use of separate, though coupled, Hebrew and Greek words (jot and tittle) suggests an Antichrist Messiah who is half Jew and half
Gentile.
Jesus Christ was Himself a type of the Antichrist. In Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus prophesied and magnified the role yet to play by the mysterious Small One
or Little Horn under the figures of the Jot and the Tittle.
In this context of this passage, Jesus affirmed that He Himself is not the Destroyer. “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets”. However, Jesus did recognize the lawful role of this latter Man of Sin to institute a universal change upon the premise that only after
the dissolution of the old life is a new life possible.
Although Hanukkah is not a biblical festival, the prophet Daniel did foretell the principal historic events it commemorates. These events, including
the cleansing of the sanctuary, are related in chapter 8 of his book. They were fulfilled by the Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, but only in part.
That this is fact is made clear by Jesus.
Jesus applied these prophecies to the future -- long after the time of Antiochus Epiphanes -- when He said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand
Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the
mountains”. Matthew 24:14-16.
Hanukkah commemorates a cleansing and rededication which will re-occur in these Last Days under the administration of the Antichrist. It is not in the
scope of this study to discuss the nature of this last cleansing and rededication.
DECEMBER 25 A UNIVERSAL CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY
Suffice it to say, however, that in a form true to the anticipations of Jesus for world renewal under the Antichrist, I believe that this latter will
institute December 25 as a universal Christmas holiday in recognition of the joining into one unity the works of the Christ and the works of the
Antichrist.
WHY IS THE TEACHING OF THE MENORAH IMPORTANT TODAY?
1. ITS MESSIANIC SIGNIFICANCE
As shown, the Menorah has messianic significance. The temple Menorah prefigures Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. The Hanukkah Menorah ultimately
prefigures the Antichrist, the Light of the world to come.
I have discussed the association of Antiochus Epiphanes with Hanukkah. Antiochus Epiphanes is a widely known type of the Antichrist. Even the number
of branches on the Hanukkah Menorah supports its ultimate association with the Antichrist.
According to the Talmud, when Zerubbabel’s temple was being restored, there was found only enough oil to last for one day; yet, by a miracle, the
oil lasted for eight days, which was long enough for a new batch to be prepared. The Hanukkah Menorah has nine candles, one of which always stands out
from the others, usually higher, or off to one side. The lamp which stands out is called the Shamash in Hebrew, or Shamus in Yiddish. The shamash is
lit first and used to light the remaining lamps, one for each day that the temple menorah miraculously stayed lit. Eight is also the number of the
Beast: “And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition”. Revelation 17:11.
2. ITS TIME SYMBOLISM
The articles of the temple act as visual representations of things to come.
The temple Menorah represents the 7,000 year period allotted to our current cycle of time. This interpretation is validated by the appearance of the
First Messiah, Jesus Christ, at the appointed time: “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden
candlesticks; And in the midst [mesos, meaning “middle”] of the seven candlesticks [luchnia, meaning “candelabrum”] one like unto the Son of
man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle”. Revelation 1:12, 13.
Each candlestick of the seven-branch Menorah represents 1,000 years. Jesus appeared on this earth “in the middle”, meaning four of seven
candlestick counts, or 4,000 years after Eden. The fourth candlestick is the one in the middle. Time has advanced another 2 branches, or 2,000 years,
for a total of 6,000 years. The last candlestick represents the Millennium, a sabbath of rest for the earth.
The temple Menorah teaches us all that we are on the edge of the Millennium.
The temple Menorah also teaches the vital lesson that God controls time. What is treated in popular theology as the origin of evil is not an
after-thought in the divine plan. God has always been in charge of His created order. He acts as opposed to reacts.
The biblical symbolism of this period of time is lost by the nine-branched Menorah of Hanukkah. Only the temple Menorah preserves this.
Fortunately, the seven-branched Menorah, depicted according to the carving on the Arch of Titus, has been adopted by Israel as a national
representation of its people. The Arch of Titus is a triumphal monument, constructed in Rome, to commemorate the capture and sack of Jerusalem in 70,
which terminated the Jewish War which had begun in 66. It was built shortly after the death of the emperor Titus, who died in the year 81.
The Menorah is also said to symbolize the burning bush, as seen by Moses. It is clarified in Acts 7:30 that the burning was caused by the presence of
an angel: “And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a
bush”.
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