Hi everybody, this is Jimmy DeYoung Jr. with Prophecy Today. The month of December is about Christmas, but it's also about the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. What should Christians know about Hanukkah? Paul Scharf of Friends of Israel will be here in one moment to give us more details on this story. It's time now for Prophecy Today, a look at current events in light of biblical prophecy. Now with the latest news update, here's Jimmy DeYoung. Well, this week we're starting the month of December, the time of Christmas, and it's also the time of the Jewish holiday of the Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah. And we thought we would get a head start on it this year, talking about Hanukkah and why it's important. And our good friend, Paul Scharf, he's coming to the program today. Paul, we've covered a lot during the Jewish holidays. You have some very important information to help us to understand why these events are important to us. Why do Christians know so little about Hanukkah? Oh, Jimmy, you know, it's interesting. Someone once told me, and I believe it, very much to be the truth, that in our sector of the Christian world, often our weakest area of knowledge is Church history compared to other things like the Old Testament and the New Testament and theology, and sadly, we're often even weaker in Church history compared to other brothers and sisters in Christ in other portions of the Christian world. But you know, if we're weak in Church history, I'd have to say our knowledge of intertestamental history What happened during those 400 silent years between the Old Testament and the New Testament, it's sort of like a black hole. I mean, we know almost nothing about a time that is so vitally important, Jimmy, and let me tell you why. It's the time in which God was working all things according to the counsel of his will, Ephesians 111. He was working all things together for good to those who love him, Romans 8, 28. He was working all those things to bring history to a point, to the fullness of time, when He would send forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, into that world that He was overseeing through those 400 silent years, a world that has implications that reverberate well into the New Testament Church era. So that when Jesus did come, all the world, all the people, Luke 3.15 tells us we're in expectation. And that's why it's so important for us to know about the events behind Hanukkah and this time of the intertestamental period. Wow, that is fantastic, Paul, and I love it. First of all, we're talking about those pages in our Bible, and a lot of times people don't understand this, but it's the pages from where Malachi ends and Matthew begins, and that's the black hole that you're talking about. 400 years. I love that verse that you use, Christ was brought forth in the fullness of time. That's Galatians 4.4, that God had a plan to bring his story, history, into fruition, to bring it about. And I love that. So is Hanukkah important for Christians? It absolutely is, Jimmy, just for all those reasons that I've listed and more. You know, there wouldn't be a Christmas without a Hanukkah. And that's so important. And yet, Jimmy, sometimes people say, well, boy, should we really be bringing Hanukkah into the Church? Should we really, as Christians, be thinking about Hanukkah? And I say, well, there's Hanukkah in the Old Testament, there's Hanukkah in the New Testament, there's Hanukkah in the prophetic future. So maybe we should be talking about Hanukkah. Remember, if you want more of the latest news out of the Middle East, go to our website at prophecytoday.com. There you will also find information for a better understanding of biblical prophecy as it relates to our world today. Our toll-free phone number is 8-PROPHECY-8. This is Jay Johnson inviting you to join us every Monday through Friday for Prophecy Today. Remember, the Lord Jesus is coming and it could be today, so let's keep looking up until... Bye.