By Maria Merola אריאל
© Copyright Double Portion Inheritance, March 2022
Yahuwchanon (John) 5:1 After this, there was a feast of the Yahuwdiym (Jews), and Yahuwshuwa went up to Jerusalem.
What Feast Was This?
In John 2:13-23 and John 6:4, Messiah celebrated Passover, and this takes place fourteen days after the biblical New Year in the first Month of Abib (Exodus 12:2 & 13:4).
In John 4:45, Yahuwshuwa went to Jerusalem for a feast.
We know that this was the Feast of Tabernacles, because in verse 35 it says: “Do you not say, There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest? See, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and see the fields, for they are white unto harvest!”
He was speaking of the final wheat harvest in the agricultural year, which takes place at the Feast of Tabernacles, aka Sukkot. The Feast of Tabernacles is also referred to in Scripture, as “The Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year” (Exodus 23:16 & 34:22).
The Feast of Tabernacles is a prophetic shadow-picture of the final end-time harvest of souls, which will take place during the three Fall Feasts, at Messiah’s return.
The next feast that is mentioned after John 4:45, is John 5:1, which is called “A Feast of the Yahuwdiym (Jews).” The next feast after that, is in John 6:4:
Yahuwchanon (John) 6:4 And the Passover (Pesach), a feast of the Yahuwdiym (Jews), was near.
So then, what feast comes between the Feast of Tabernacles & Passover? John 5:1 is obviously describing a feast that comes between John 4:35-45 (Tabernacles) & John 6:4 (Passover).
Therefore, the only feasts that land between Tabernacles & Passover are Chanukkah & Purim!
Here is a chronological timeline of feasts mentioned in John’s gospel, that our Messiah kept during his earthly ministry:
Passover (Pesach) - John 2:13.
Tabernacles (Sukkot) - John 4:35 & 45.
Purim - John 5:1.
Passover (Pesach) - John 6:4.
Tabernacles (Sukkot) - John 7:1-2.
Chanukkah (Dedication) - John 10:22-23.
Passover - John 13:1.
Chanukkah is on the 24th day of the 9th Hebrew month of Kislev (Haggai 2:18-20). To learn more, see my blog: Is Chanukkah A Man-Made Festival?
Purim is on the 13th day of the 12th month of Adar (Esther 3:7, 3:13, 8:12 & 9:1). To learn more, see my blog: How Does Purim Point to Messiah?
However, since the Feast of Dedication (Chanukkah) was already identified in John 10:22-23, we can ascertain that the only other feast that Yahuwchanon (John) could have been referring to in John 5:1, is Purim!
But why would the Apostle John not give this feast a name? Why would he leave us guessing by calling it “A feast of the Jews?” The first thing that comes to mind, is the fact that the name “Esther” means “Hidden.”
Esther’s name also hints at the idea that she went into the Persian Empire under a “Hidden Identity & A Hidden Name!”
Additionally, our Creator’s name is literally “Hidden” in the Book of Esther at least 20 times!
This explains why the Apostle John kept the Feast of Purim “HIDDEN” from us!
What other reason would John have had not to give this feast in John 5:1 a name? Well, let’s think about this for a moment. During what time in history did the story of Queen Esther in Persia take place? It was around 483-482 B.CE. This was 26 years before Queen Esther’s husband (Ahasuerus) enforced the decree that was first given by King Cyrus 100 years earlier. King Ahasuerus’s Greek name is Artaxerxes, or simply Xerxes.
This is the same decree that is mentioned on Daniel 9:24-27:
Daniel 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
500 years earlier, (after King Solomon died) we read in 1st Kings chapter 12, that Ten Tribes of Yisra’el from the Northern Kingdom left the House of David, and they were later taken captive by the Assyrians.
Queen Esther was from the Tribe of Benjamin, and they were part of the Kingdom of Yahuwdah (Judah). Ten Tribes from the Northern Kingdom had already left the House of David 500 years earlier. Therefore, there were only two tribes left in the Kingdom of Judah, and they were Judah & Benjamin. The Levites were split, as some of then went to the Northern Kingdom, and some of them remained in the Southern Kingdom of Judah.
Therefore, when the Apostle John called it “A feast of the Jews,” this is because the only people whose lives were being threatened by Haman, were those from the Kingdom of Judah. In other words, the Yahuwdiym or Jews.
To this day, the Feast of Purim only matters to those from the Southern Kingdom of Yahuwdah (Judah). This is because the other Ten Tribes were not dwelling in the Kingdom of Persia with the Yahuwdiym (Jews).
Therefore, it makes sense that it was called “A feast of the Jews,” because the Book of Esther was not part of the Ten Tribes of Yisrael’s history. It was only part of the Two Southern Tribes of Judah’s history.
Chanukkah & Purim are feasts that commemorate times in history when the Kingdom of Judah faced complete annihilation, but YaHuWaH saved them as a nation. And, if they had not been saved as a nation, the Lion of the Tribe of Yahuwdah (Judah) could not have been born to us!
This is why I personally believe in memorializing the Feasts of Chanukkah & Purim. I also believe that these two feasts were important to our Messiah, because they commemorate the fact his ancestors would have become extinct as a people, if YaHuWaH had not intervened.
Some have falsely claimed that the Book of Esther should not be in the Bible, because they claim that the Father’s name is not mentioned there.
However, I have discovered at least 20 times where the name “HaYaH” (I AM) is “HIDDEN” in the Book of Esther! See my blog entitled: The Hidden Gospel in the Book of Esther
Why Would YaHuWaH Hide His Name in the Book of Esther?
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Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of Elohiym to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
Esther’s husband, King Ahasuerus, symbolizes our Messiah, because he “searched for” an obedient wife, and he found her!
In Esther 9:21, Queen Esther issued a decree to the Kingdom of Judah, where it says that we should “Keep the 14th & 15th day of the 12th month of Adar,” (Purim).
But there is something fascinating about this verse: It is written with the name HaYaH (I AM) right there, IN FRONT OF THE WORD KEEP!
This means that “The Days of Puwriym” (Purim) are DECREED that we should remember them, because YaHuWaH, (I AM) has PLACED HIS NAME THERE!
Did you know that the name “Esther” also means “HIDDEN?”
And, even though Esther is a Babylonian name---having it’s roots in the pagan goddess “Ishtar” (Easter), it was ordained of YaHuWaH that Hadassah would go into the Persian Empire INCOGNITO!
*Note: The same thing happened when Joseph’s real name was “HIDDEN” in Egypt as “Zaphnath-paaneah.”
The same thing happened when our Messiah’s name (Yahuwshuwa) was “HIDDEN” in the nations as “Jesus!”
Queen Esther’s real name was eventually revealed, as “Hadassah,” but her cousin Mordechai instructed her to use a “HIDDEN IDENTITY,” so that she would not be killed!
Therefore, it stands to reason that even YaHuWaH allowed his name to be “HIDDEN” in the book of Esther, because our Messiah’s name has been “HIDDEN” in the nations for these past 2,000 years, until only recently, when Yisra’el was reborn in 1948.
Now, that we are living in the final generation from when the FIG TREE HAS BLOSSOMED, the true name of the Father & Son has come to light!
See my blog: The Fig Tree Prophecy
Here are 20 places where the name “I AM” (HaYaH) is found in the Book of Esther.
It is #1961 in the Hebrew Concordance, and you can easily find it on the KJV+ on esword.
20 Times the Book of Esther Contains the Name “I AM,” or in Hebrew “HaYaH,” which is #1961 in the Concordance:
Esther 1:1 Now it came to pass [I AM #1961] in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)
Esther 1:22 For he sent letters into all the king’s provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that [I AM #1961] every man should bear [I AM #1961] rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people.
Esther 2:5 Now in Shushan the palace there was [I AM, #1961] a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite;
Esther 2:7 And [I AM #1961] he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter.
Esther 2:8 So it came to pass, [I AM, #1961] when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together unto Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was brought also unto the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
Esther 2:12 Now when every maid’s turn was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after that [I AM #1961] she had been [I AM #1961] twelve months, according to the manner of the women, (for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, to wit, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odours, and with other things for the purifying of the women;)
Esther 2:15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And [I AM #1961] Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her.
Esther 2:20 Esther had not yet shewed her kindred nor her people; as Mordecai had charged her: for Esther did the commandment of Mordecai, like as when she was [I AM #1961] brought up with him.
Esther 3:4 Now it came to pass, [I AM #1961] when they spake daily unto him, and he hearkened not unto them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s matters would stand: for he had told them that he was a Jew.
Esther 3:14 The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be [I AM #1961] ready against that day.
Esther 5:1 Now it came to pass [I AM #1961] on the third day, that Esther put on her royal apparel, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, over against the king’s house: and the king sat upon his royal throne in the royal house, over against the gate of the house.
Esther 5:2 And it was so, [I AM, #1961] when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.
Esther 6:1 On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were [I AM #1961] read before the king.
Esther 8:13 The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, and that [I AM, #1961] the Jews should be [I AM, #1961] ready against that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
Esther 8:16 The Jews had [I AM, #1961] light, and gladness, and joy, and honour.
Esther 9:21 To stablish this among them, that they should [I AM #1961] keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly.
Esther 9:27 The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, that they would [I AM #1961] keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year.
Therefore, the number seven represents “covenant,” which is why we are commanded to keep every Seventh Day (Shabbat) holy, and to cease from our own works.
We are also commanded to celebrate Seven Feasts as part of our Marriage Covenant with YaHuWaH.
The Seven-Branch Menorah also represents the Seven Assemblies in the Book of Revelation.
The Hebrew word for “two” (shanayim) represents “Two Witnesses.” There are also Two Minor Feasts that represent the Two Witnesses in Scripture (Torah & Prophets).
“Chanukkah” means “Dedication,” and it celebrates the cleansing of YaHuWaH’s holy Temple. It also celebrates the conception of our Messiah in the womb (Haggai 2:18-20; Revelation 21:22).
If there had been no Dedication (Chanukkah) of the Temple, there would not have been a nation for our Messiah to be born into!
“Puriym” means “To cast lots, to crush,” and it represents the casting of the lots for Yom Kippur. The High Priests on Yom Kippur were commanded to cast two lots. One lot was for the sacrificial goat who was to be killed; and the other is for the scapegoat, who goes free.
In the Book of Esther, Satan wanted to kill the Yahuwdiym (Jews), which is the tribe into which our Messiah was destined to be born. Haman casted lots, but the Yahuwdiym (Jews) in Persia went free (like the scapegoat). Conversely, the ones who wanted to kill the Yahuwdiym (Jews) were slain (like the sacrificial goat).
Genesis 3:15 tells us that the woman’s “SEED” would “CRUSH” the head of the Serpent!
If Queen Esther had not been used by YaHuWaH to help “crush the enemy,” our Messiah (the seed) would not have been born into the world, to crush the head of the serpent!
Therefore, Chanukkah & Puwriym are TWO WITNESSES in history, that YaHuWaH has preserved his covenant people, Yisra’el.
These two feasts testify to the fact that YaHuWaH has sent his Promised Seed!
Without Chanukkah & Puwriym, there would be no Messiah, and no salvation for humanity!
I used to believe that the 9-branched Chanukkiah was unbiblical, until YaHuWaH began to open up my eyes! In Yahuwchanon (John) 15:5, our Messiah called his followers “branches” when he declared the following:
“I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.”
As I began to ponder his words, I remembered that there are seven branches on the Temple menorah, and these correspond to the seven feasts that are commanded in the Towrah (Leviticus 23).
However, in the prophets, we are commanded to observe two more festivals that had not yet been revealed when the Towrah was first given by Moses! These two minor feasts are Chanukkah & Puwriym (Purim).
The Seven Torah Feasts outlined in Leviticus 23 teach us how to be faithful to the marriage covenant.
The Two Prophetic Feasts (Chanukkah & Puwriym) teach us how to become a warrior bride, and to fight against the beast!
We keep the Seven Feasts from the 1st through the 7th month of the year.
In the 9th through the 12th month of the year, we remember the victory over Antiochus Epiphanes IV & Haman.
Therefore, Chanukkah & Puwriym each commemorate victory over an Antichrist Leader!
It was the revelation of these two prophetic feasts that caused me to see why Yah has allowed there to be two more branches added to the Chanukiah. Yah showed me from Zechariah 4:2-12 & Revelation 11:4, that there is a witness for the nine branches in the end of days, pointing us to the Two Witnesses & the Seven Assemblies in the Book of Revelation.
Even though we are all aware of the fact that Judaism has added many vain traditions, YaHuWaH often reminds me that he has ordained that the Yahuwdiym (Jews) would be given the “scepter” or authority to rule over the other tribes (Genesis 49:10).
In Romans 3:1-2, the Apostle Shaul (Paul) wrote that “Unto the Yahuwdiym/Jewshave been entrusted with the contents of the oracles of Elohiym.”
The word “oracles” means “The contents of the Towrah.” Now, I do not mean to suggest that we should adhere to the vain traditions that Judaism often devises, because our Messiah often rebuked the religious leaders of his day for adding and subtracting from Towrah (Deuteronomy 4:2 & Proverbs 30:6).
However, I will explain further as we progress, why the nine-branched menorah is used during Chanukkah. I personally use the seven-branched menorah with two individual candlesticks on either side, because it represents THE SEVEN ASSEMBLIES & THE TWO WITNESSES in the book of Revelation.
Chanukkah & Puwyrim (Purim) are both commanded in Scripture, because we are told in 2nd Timothy 3:16:
“All scripture is given by inspiration of Elohiym, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
If “ALL SCRIPTURE” includes the Books the of Maccabees, (which were originally part of the 1611 King James Bible), and if “ALL SCRIPTURE” also includes the Book of Esther. How can we ignore the commandments that are given to us in the Prophets?
*Disclaimer: I do not regard all the books of the Apocrypha as inspired Scripture, because some of these books contain heretical doctrines about praying to the saints, and to the dead. However, I do regard Maccabees as an accurate historical account, not to be taken lightly.
See my other blog: Why Are There 66 Books in the Bible?
Our Messiah has made it abundantly clear in Matthew 5:17-19, that it is not enough to obey the five books of Moses, which are called “Towrah.” We are also commanded to obey the rest of Scripture, which includes the prophets!
In Revelation 1:20, our Messiah likened the seven-branched menorah to the seven assemblies in the first three chapters of Revelation. Our Messiah commended the ones who “Keep the commandments, and have the testimony of Yahuwshuwa” (Revelation 19:10).
See my blog: What is the Testimony of Messiah?
Those who keep the seventh-day Sabbath, and the seven feasts outlined in Leviticus 23 are the ones who have the testimony of our Messiah!
These are the branches that are filled with the olive oil from the Two Olive Trees, which are BOTH HOUSES OF YISRA’EL! (see Ezekiel 37:15-20; Zechariah 4:1-14; Romans 11:17-25; Revelation 11:4-6).
Yah also showed me that out of those Seven Assemblies, there are only TWO OVERCOMERS: Philadelphia & Smyrna! (see Revelation 1:20).
Therefore, we have the SEVEN BRANCHES, which represent “COVENANT” & TWO BRANCHES, which represent the “TWO WITNESSES” of scripture (Towrah & Prophets, Moses & Elijah).
*Chanukkah & Purim are like the Two Witnesses in Revelation 11:6.
*Judah Maccabee operated in the Moses anointing (Towrah), while Queen Esther operated in the Elijah anointing (Prophets).
In Revelation 11:6, we are shown that the Two Witnesses do the same exploits of Moses & Elijah!
Chazown (Revelation) 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
*The Elijah anointing - he prayed that it would not rain during his 3.5 years of ministry, therefore, he had the power to shut heavens, that it should not rain during the tribulation (1st Kings 17:1, James 5:17 & Luke 4:25-27). Elijah also prayed for the widow’s son three times, and he was resurrected.
*The Esther anointing - she fasted and prayed for three days and three nights and won favor to save her people from annihilation in the Persian Empire.
*The Moses anointing - he commanded all the plagues to come upon Egypt, as YaHuWaH instructed him, and as a result, he was used to defeat the Egyptian Empire, as they drowned in the Red Sea (Exodus 9:14; Revelation 9:20; 15:1, 6, 8; 16:9; 18:4, 8).
*The Maccabees anointing - he and his army fought against the evil Antiochus and as a result, they defeated the wicked Seleucid Empire.
Chanukkah was all about obedience to the Towrah, because the Maccabees were Levites who were zealous for our Father’s house, just like our Messiah was. They obeyed the Towrah by cleansing the Temple and rededicating it back to YaHuWaH as the Towrah commands. Therefore, Chanukkah represents the Moses anointing in Revelation 11:6.
But Esther was used mightily in the same way that the prophet Eliyahuw (Elijah) was, when he exposed the 450 prophets of Ba’al. Esther did the same thing when she exposed Haman and his wicked plot. Right after Eliyahuw (Elijah) did that miracle on Mount Carmel, the people of Yisra’el rose up and killed 450 prophets of Baal.
The same thing happened with Esther. She exposed Haman, and that’s when he and his 10 sons were slaughtered on the same gallows they had intended to use to kill Mordechai.
Therefore, we are seeing a pattern!
*The Maccabees were carrying the Moses anointing from Revelation 11:6!
*Mordechai & Queen Esther carried the Elijah anointing from Revelation 11:6!
Both Haman & Queen Jezebel were of the same spirit!
Haman threatened to kill the Yahuwdiym (Jews) in Persia, and Queen Jezebel threatened to kill Eliyahuw (Elijah). However the same wicked plot that Haman forged against the Yahuwdiym (Jews) was used to destroy him. We see in this illustration, the prophet Elijah calling down judgement on the wicked King Ahab and his wife, Queen Jezebel. We also see Queen Esther calling down judgement on Haman!
Similarly, the same wicked plot that Queen Jezebel had forged against the prophet Eliyahuw (Elijah) ended up happening to her when she was thrown from her high tower and then trampled by Captain Yahuw’s (Jehu’s) horse and then her body was eaten by dogs (1st Kings 21:23).
*Esther & Elijah’s names both begin with the Hebrew letter Aleph!
Moses, Mordechai & Maccabee’s names begin with the Hebrew letter Mem!
*Queen Jezebel was a wicked queen who manipulated her husband into doing evil.
*Queen Esther was a righteous queen, who won her husband’s favor by her obedience and humility.
*Moses, Mordechai & the Maccabees were used to influence three kings:
*Moses dealt with Pharaoh.
*Mordechai dealt with King Ahasuerus.
*The Maccabees dealt with Antiochus IV.
*Moses, Mordechai & the Maccabees all refused to bow down to Antichrist leaders:
*Moses refused to bow to Pharaoh.
*Mordechai refused to bow to Haman.
*Maccabees refused to bow to Antiochus.
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