Our family recently attended a Sunday service at a vibrant young new church. We were surprised to find the church filled to capacity with many diverse college-aged men and women. The ratio of younger to older believers was inversely proportional to that commonly seen at many older churches.

Everything was fine until the young pastor began preaching from Hebrews 6, saying it was possible for God to use Scripture to harden your heart if you were disobedient, which could lead to losing your salvation – your eternal life with God.

I sat there shaking my head. It sounded very, very familiar. In fact, every single passage of Scripture he covered I had just thoroughly studied because a young new believer thought he had lost not only his hope in Christ, but his very soul. This young man knew he was continuing to sin (as we all do), and considered that as being disobedient to Christ. This line of thought spiraled him into severe depression. As it deepened, he interpreted the emotional flatness of depression as the departure of the Holy Spirit.

If you’ve never encountered this problem before, it’s very hard to discern between spiritual oppression and it’s consequences – spiritual depression. As I learned, the core of the problem for every new believer is an immature, often incomplete, identity in Christ. In a follow-up post I’ll discuss why we are commanded to “make disciples” and not merely preach the gospel, but first let’s address the primary issue:

Does the Word of God harden people’s hearts if they are disobedient after having accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, leading to the loss of God’s promise of eternal life?

The answer is no – yet many refer to passages in Hebrews (specifically Heb 6:4-6 and Heb 10:26-31) among others in the Old and New Testaments to substantiate their claim it’s possible to lose your salvation. There is a school of theology called the Arminians who believe this notion. You can draw such a conclusion if you make several common scriptural interpretation mistakes:

• take passages out of their full context
• filter God’s Word through emotions/feelings
• insert false ideas onto the text (eisegesis vs exegesis)
• use poor translations without researching primary language (Hebrew or Greek)
• apply faulty conclusions to other passages in the Bible (consider false premises as true, then test other conclusions against them – faulty cross-correlation)
• fail to logically consider the full scope of the author’s material
• fail to establish the historical context of Scripture and intended audience

If you’re thinking this is fertile ground for spiritual deception, you’re right. No doubt God uses such passages as testing grounds for teaching his children to differentiate between right and wrong.

The young pastor claimed this issue has been debated for centuries by scholarly men. Merely voicing that caveat indicated a lack of discernment of potential spiritual foul play when it came to preaching this issue. To me, that indicated a spiritual immaturity. Even the Aminians, who consider lost salvation possible, advocated deeper inquiry – for them the matter was unsettled.

What could go wrong?

There are very real and present dangers delivering such a message – if you’re in a fragile state of mind where you believe your identity in Christ has been forsaken, then having a pastor tell you it’s because God is hardening your heart due to either real (or imagined) disobedience can send you into a tailspin of severe depression, which can lead directly to uncontrolled psychosis with potential for homicide, suicide or both. In other words, it can trigger a very deadly feedback loop.

Preaching any gospel without full assurance of salvation despite disobedience takes the burden from Christ and puts it back on the adherent. It would require the adherent to know the full extent of right vs wrong, and make it practically impossible to maintain obedience. Such a gospel would be “void for vagueness”, a legal term which describes uncertainty when it comes to upholding a particular law or set of laws. One could never be certain of their salvation at all. Another way of putting it – which sin did Christ’s atoning death not cover? Would that be the unforgivable sin? As I found out with the troubled young man – he thought he was blaspheming the Holy Spirit!

Further, a non-assuring gospel focuses on punishment and not on grace. Adherence becomes an act of works, not the grace of salvation through Christ, received through faith. Ultimately such a promise is really no gospel at all. The Israelites had 613 commandments and the only one who could claim perfect obedience was Christ. Perfection is simply unattainable without God’s grace (which is His bestowing unmerited favor upon us), otherwise there would be no need for Christ’s work…I’m beginning to repeat scripture here.

The young pastor’s message completely lacked Hope and the full and absolute assurance Christ always provides.

If you think it’s possible to have eternal salvation but also lose it, then you are exactly in that doubled minded state found in James 1:7-8, which this young pastor referenced, without thinking it applied to himself!

He forgot to ask for wisdom, failed to discern the dangers of not believing in full assurance, then preached on the subject.

It all made perfect sense why we were there that Sunday. You could say his heart was in need of some softening compassion through truth and grace spoken with love. This softening was to be done using Scripture with a very personal testimony as to the dangers. I don’t say that with pride in my own sense of righteousness – I was only there to be a messenger for the Lord.

So what does Hebrews 6 actually say?

Here’s the first hard passage:

4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. [Heb 6:4-8 NIV]

The spiritually immature tend to fixate on v4-6 considering those who have fallen away and can’t be brought back to repentance. Lacking a solid understanding of salvation, they swap the word repentance with salvation, then completely overlook very key portions of the passage.

In Greek, what does it mean to “fall-away”?

fall-away – parapipto (para: from close-beside + pipto: fall, collapse) fall from a position close/next to. Heb 6:4 is the only use of this word in the whole Bible, so that’s a little problematic. Notice, it’s unclear who the subject was close/next to. We will have to look for clues elsewhere about who.

What about “brought back to repentence”?

brought back – anakainizein (ana: up, complete process + kainizo: new in quality) renewal, make qualitatively new

repentance – metanoian (meta: with,among, after + nous: mind, thinking, understanding) change of mind, after-thought; change your mind after thinking about it.

Just looking closely at Heb 6:4 implies a moving away from someone who is very close, which makes it impossible to complete a renewal process of changing one’s mind.

I think it’s fair to conclude this verse is not about loss of salvation (being with the Lord), but most likely incompletion of sanctification. If you move away from the Holy Spirit, and pile up sin, He can’t complete sanctification – pointing out your disobedience and calling for repentance. In the eyes of the world, a disobedient believer appears to say it’s okay to crucify Christ, as opposed to humbly acknowledging his own sins lead to Christ hanging from the cross. This passage is about humility and submitting to the work of the Holy Spirit and not salvation. It’s similar to the message of Romans 12, specifically Romans 12:2.

That aspect of the fruit of the Spirit becomes clear in v7-8. God pours out rain on both good and evil, but only the good land (adamah in Hebrew) produces beneficial fruit. Disobedient believers become worthless in accomplishing God’s ongoing purposes here on earth, including transforming the culture around them. Another way of putting it – what exactly are you sowing if you’re disobedient?

So what about the danger of “being burned”? Look closely again at the passage. It’s not the land that is burned/consumed by fire – it’s the worthless produce on the land that is destroyed. The “works” (bad fruit) of the disobedient believer are unacceptable. Go read 1 Cor 3:9-15. For those unfamiliar with that passage, it’s a direct reference to Lot, and a familiar theme for the prophets of Israel.

Everyone, over a period of time, produces some sort of impact – “works”. Some impacts are much more fruitful/beneficial than others. And as James 2:20 makes clear “faith without works is dead”.

Hebrews 6 in the real world

Have you ever experienced an unrepentant disobedient believer in your congregation? If you have, you know how destructive that is for everyone. It’s near impossible to get them to repent and rejoin the congregation, and it’s more severe if it’s a ministry leader. Obedience and submission are critical to the lives of all believers, for very practical and visible reasons. This is the real key to the passage, but you have to understand it within the full context.

The writer of Hebrews was writing to a particular group of people, Messianic Jewish believers as well as non-believing Jews, who knew of God, and also knew of the sacrifices and offerings made through the Mosaic covenant. The target audience was not modern abstract-thinking Gentiles, with little experience with the books of Moses or the Prophets. Obedience, to the target audience, involved following the “Law” – meaning the written Torah. But all that changed with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

Did you notice the phrase in Heb 6:6 “crucifying…all over again” – there’s only two ways this can apply – either literally those being addressed participated in the call for the crucifixion of Christ, or there’s the understanding that the sins of everyone metaphorically crucify Christ. Christ dying for our sins as a better sacrifice weaves throughout the entire book of Hebrews, and His devotion to us in such a sacrifice is a work only God could do. In essence, only the eternal living God, who could never die, would have to incarnate – become flesh, in order to be a substitute, die a human death, so through faith every human could claim His death and resurrected life as our own. God alone is perfect. God with us (Immanuel – that is God AND us) was not perfect, due to our imperfections, until his ultimate sacrifice. This atoning (be at-one ) work required obedience to the Father.

The author of Hebrews 5:7-10 talks about Jesus going through the process of submitting himself in obedience in order to be made perfect as the source of eternal salvation. Then as such, being designated the high priest in the order of Melchizedek. Consider this a bookend, with the other found at Hebrews 6:20.

Everything in between those two points describes the relationship you have with God through the high priest and in fact, taken as a whole provides a completely opposite conclusion to the loss of salvation idea some derive from Hebrews 6:4-8.

Continue reading Hebrews 6 and you’ll find that fixating on verses 4-8 is to miss the wonderful promise of assurance God has made through Jesus Christ as the high priest who is always available to make atonement for you – granting you eternal salvation.

It’s not about you or the sacifices you make, your insufficiencies, but the righteousness that comes by faith in Christ Jesus.

Of course – that leads to another question – what is “saving faith”? That will have to be another post.

Beliefs eternal life, Jesus Christ, preaching, salvation

A first look through Genesis, well actually all of Torah (first 5 books of the Holy Bible) often astounds the reader with a collection of names, such as: Hamites, Japhethites, Caananites, Jebusites, Hittites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Sinites, Arvadites, Hamathites, Zemarites, Perrizites, etc.

They all end with the suffix ‘ites’. What does this suffix mean?

The first two names I listed above (Hamites, and Japhethites) come from Noah’s sons. Japheth was oldest, followed by Shem, and then Ham – his youngest. It’s also pretty easy to see Caanan in there – the son of Ham. How is this suffix related to these people? Well it turns out – that’s what ‘ites’ is all about.

Lately, I’ve been studying Ancient Hebrew over at http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/.

The origin of so many words is fascinating. And the more you understand the root words of Hebrew, and the origin of the Aleph-Bet the more amazing the Bible becomes. The hint for the meaning of ‘ites’ (properly pronounced ‘eet’) comes from this page on the Hebrews.

A good translation is “people of “, along the lines of descendants, or people groups. The root name is a primary node in terms of the branch of a tree, and identifies your clan-relationship – your people.

As for the people of Shem – they are shemyt – semites.

Beliefs

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”



Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:8-20

May you all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas, and may the Light of the world shine in your life.

Image from The Nativity Story.

Beliefs Christmas, Jesus Christ

John 15:1-8 is a troubling passage; many find the references to vines, branches and fruitfulness confusing and the implications frightful. Recently our pastor, Dave Gadoury, shared the key to understanding this passage, which requires knowing how grapes grow and vines are pruned.

Here’s the first four verses in the NIV:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

Since Y’shua is obedient to the Father, those who do God’s will through Y’shua will be productive. God trains the vine and prunes the branches.

Verse 2 is problematic. If you believe the NIV (and most commentary) pruned branches are “cut-off”, implying unfruitful believers are lopped off, later to be tossed into the fire.

So does no fruit in verse 2 mean no salvation?  My pastor didn’t think so and I agree.

The Greek keyword for “cut-off” is (k149) airo (ah’-ee-ro) – take-up or take away. The most common use is to take up, lift up, even raise up.  (knnn indicates Kohlenberger dictionary numbering while Snnn indicates Strong’s numbers.)

As a contrast, (k554) apairo combines (k608) ap -out of + (k149) airo – take up. Clearly, if God removed unfruitful believers, the better Greek word apairo would have been used. Also the Greek word (S1571) ekkathairo (ek-kath-ah’-ee-ro) found in 1 Corinthians 5:7 referring to purging old leaven would have indicated removal of unwanted branches. Ekkathairo literally means: take away out of, to purify. It means removal of impurities. Notice it includes the word airo. The word used in verse 2 regarding the fruitful branches God prunes is kathairo, which implies purity, but lacks the “ek” prefix (”out of” or “away from”).

So unfruitful believers are taken up, while fruitful believers are taken up and purified. Would God remove someone who was in Christ?

Verse 3 holds the key, but the meaning of airo must be understood within the context of grape vine pruning.

When studying Scripture it’s important to avoid getting micro-focused on words or specific verses but to also consider where dialog and events occur because the environment may establish an important context for the verse.

In John 14:31 Y’shua says “Come now; let us leave”, meaning the group is departing the Upper Room where the Pesach Seder was held. However, the journey is not finished until we read John 18:1:

When he had finished praying, Y’shua left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.

Chapters 15, 16 and 17 contain an almost continuous sequence of discussion and prayer by Y’shua. But if we believe John 14:31, this occurred neither in the Upper Room or in Gethsemane. The Synoptic gospels leave out this detail. It’s unlikely Y’shua would say, “Come now; let us leave”, then speak and pray for another 20 minutes or so in the Upper Room.

For what it’s worth, I believe on their journey to Gethsemane the group stopped in a vineyard. In ancient Jerusalem vineyards would have been everywhere, including the house garden where the Seder was held. A vineyard would allow Y’shua to teach direct object lessons, reinforcing what he taught during the Seder, while also creating a memorable context for events unfolding in the coming hours. He could point directly at the vines while speaking.

Like many kinds of fruit trees, new shoots from old growth vines do not produce fruit the first year. The cane has to winter-over, then be pruned the next season so it will produce fruit. The cane should be kept off the soil though, because if covered, it will root and grow on it’s own, drawing nourishment from the soil instead of the vine. So new canes are lifted and tied up. They receive more sunlight which stimulates greater growth.

In the second year, right around Pesach, while vines are still dormant, the gardener will look for signs of vitality then prunes off about 85-90% of the top of each cane – he doesn’t take the whole branch! This not only encourages growth, but also produces fruit. As for those branches that were fruitful the prior season, they need to be cut back to what’s called renewal buds. Season after season canes are cut back to renewal buds which stem higher on the branch while the branch below grows thick and woody. So pruning strengthens the branch base while stimulating production of fruit. You can see this branch structure and fruit in the photo above. The thick portion down the bottom is the vine’s arm. The branch is the woody vertical part and the cane is the green branch with the fruit hanging off.

Careful tending and pruning of old established grape vines is critical to the quantity and quality of the wine produced.

Until Roman occupation, the Israelites let their grapevines sprawl on the ground in tangled masses. Rome’s success in wine production came from using trellises to lift the canes and fruit off the ground, keeping them from problems such as fungus, pooling water and overcrowded branches.

Given the overall context of the passage, it’s possible Y’shua was preparing the disciples for their own deaths – as branches from the vine hoisted up onto Roman trellises (crosses) to yield fruit for his kingdom, and to be cut off from life, to yield more fruit season after season. All of disciples present expect John died as martyrs. They were all quite fruitful for God. And it turns out 12 branches per vine is considered optimal for fruit production!

Let’s return to verse 3 where Y’shua makes it clear he’s expecting the disciples to be fruitful:

3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

The disciples have been pruned because the keyword used is (k2754) katharos – clean pure, clear of responsibility, innocent, and they are in the vine. The non-productive part of their lives has been removed.

Most people forget that as Jesus is speaking these words, Judas is not present. He’s away arranging the betrayal. So Judas is not included in all the promises and prayers since John 13:30. Remaining true to Christ is not a matter of producing fruit but being willfully obedient as a sign of your unconditional love. This becomes even more clear when we consider verse 4:

4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

John, as the only disciple who knew Judas was betraying Christ that night [John 13:26], would be sensitive to the imagery conveyed, and the points Jesus was making in the vineyard. Here’s the critical piece – sometimes branches emerge from the root and threaten the productivity of the whole vine. They are not “in” the vine, and will not be fruitful. Like Judas, some may mistakenly reject Y’shua’s claim of Messiahship to return to their “roots”, religious or otherwise, missing Y’shua’s point that the vine is critical to fruitfulness. Verses 5-6 emphasizes this:

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

Those who aren’t in Christ, but want to look like Christ – be the vine, when they are merely branches. Like Judas, they aren’t fruitful for the Kingdom of God. They wither the life out of the kingdom, and so are pruned off and discarded into the fire. But if you are in Christ, look at the promise he makes if you remain faithful and true:

7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

God is the Master Gardener, he wants the abundant fruit of our lives for His glory. It may take some yearly painful pruning, but in the end the promised fruit will be glorious and eternal!

Reference How to prune a grape vine.
Grapevine Pruning
History of the Grapevine in the Holy Land
Growing Grapes

Beliefs fruit-of-spirit, study

I awoke with this crystal clear realization this morning.  (It seems obvious, but bear with me for a moment.)

While it’s easy to grasp, this principle is incredibly hard to live out in our lives with others. Expectations and wrong doing have to be set aside, if love is to be.

It is also a profound fundamental truth which our identity as human beings is based upon: who we are – not how we function.

That’s a very simple, but elegant argument for the humanity of the unborn based on our understanding of love.

Beliefs abortion, love

Chanukah begins tonight, and I wish all my Jewish friends Happy Chanukah!

Several years ago, I had a little exchange with the Velveteen Rabbi.  Obviously our world-views clashed, (she’s socially liberal, I’m conservative… etc.) but it lead to some very interesting insights, which I share below. Please let me know what you think.

—
As Chanukah approached, I was preparing a Bible study lesson for a Messianic study group, consisting of Jewish and Gentile believers, to deliver on the first night of Chanukah. The focus was – should believers celebrate Chanukah?  If so, what was the significance of the holiday?

Previously, I read of the possibility of Jesus conception/Incarnation occurring at the time of Chanukah, with his birth occuring during the following Feast of Sukkot.  But the first Chanukah was a delayed Sukkot because of the war, and after prayerfully considering it, I decided this wasn’t a direction I wanted to go.  The idea of ‘when’ wasn’t as important as the fact that God was among us – Emmanuel. The Incarnation was most important.

Christians celebrating Chanukah might reignite feelings of assimilation among Jews – indeed Chanukah in part, was a celebration of the rejection of the Greek conquerors. So there’s this clash/confrontation that’s always present, and it struck me as strangely repetitive.

In leading a Bible study, my greatest desire is to remain true to God. Any exploration needed to be grounded on accepted Scripture, otherwise I could become doctrinally untethered as I believed had happened to the Pharisees. It was a struggle to come up with the lesson.

Chanukah is actually mentioned in the New Testament: John 10:22.  Here the theme of being a light in the darkness pits the beliefs of the Jewish leaders against their own Scriptures, and the promise of Messiah.  In other words, the Jewish leaders went further than just rejecting the outward trappings of Hellenization, they also insulated themselves from considering the possibility that God may appear to them outside of their expectations. They simply didn’t understand the Incarnation. And this too struck me as strangely repetitive – but still I was unable to put my finger on it, it was though I was in a cloud.

The time came for the Bible study and all I had was an unfinished lesson. I simply trusted God with the outcome, knowing He might have different plans. 

When the Chanukiah was lit before the study it felt wrong, but I still couldn’t say why. In preparation, the Holy Spirit had prompted me with a couple of references to the shekinah cloud. (Exodus 19:9-24, 1 Kings 8:12).  I compared the cloud – Shekinah, with Y’shua. The shekinah cloud believed to be the presence of God, yet Y’shua was rejected for being a ‘mere man’ – what were they expecting as the Messiah?

The lesson wasn’t particularly clear about the relationship between the shekinah and Chanukah. Before going to sleep that night, I reread John 10:22-38 once more. In the morning, it was clear: the shekinah cloud shielded the light, for when the cloud descended on the Tabernacle and Temple, no one could explain what was inside. The light inside wasn’t ready to be shown fully to the world at that time. (Looking at the cloud doesn’t really tell us the source, and without entering it we’re unlikely to come face to face with His Presence.) You must have faith.

The pillar of fire – that was another matter – it was the light that shone above all of Israel, in the darkness of an escape from captivity.

Light and the source of that light was exactly what the Feast of Dedication was all about.

The Jewish leaders ask Y’shua – “Are you Messiah?”

He had already told them at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 8:12).

The Jewish leaders seem sincere, but also guarded – there is a dark cloud of mystery around Y’shua. They don’t know, but are unwilling to really investigate His claims. They will not enter.

He gives them another chance. Look, seek, believe me by reading the Scriptures. But they don’t go read. They have no faith that the Holy Scriptures will explain who is before them, yet they embrace the authority of the Scriptures for their own purposes.

Y’shua is pleading for them to open their eyes.  Even though they are like sheep, a reference to David, to Scripture (Psalm 23!), to Messiah. No one can snatch them from my hand should have immediately brought to mind Deuteronomy 31:8 – walking into that valley of the shadow of death. Jesus claims he is God.

They wish to stone him, thinking he is committing blasphemy, claiming deity.

He tells them – If the Scriptures cannot be broken – (and you use them as the basis of your authority) and even in your sinful state, you are called ‘sons of God’ (Psalm 82), how can you reject my saying I am the Son of God (2 Samuel 7:11-16)?

In the season of light, they meet the Light of the World, Y’shua, Messiah, and reject him, convinced that their light – their understanding, is sufficient.  But Y’shua doesn’t give up on them. He provides another chance, another way of thinking about it – “If you don’t believe in me, at least believe in the miracles I have done.” Surely, in this season of celebrating miracles, the miracles speak of who He is, what God is doing.

No – they reject him again.

Can you see what is happening? Every year we have Chanukah and Christmas coinciding. The Incarnation vs the Rabbis.  Every year, this passage is re-enacted.

The death and bloodshed of the cross have hidden God’s presence like a dark cloud for many, but has become a beacon of light and hope for others. Just like the shekinah, the Incarnation – Jesus Christ is the manifestation of God on earth.

There are those who believe in the “miracle of the oil”, but do not believe in the miracles that Y’shua, Jesus, the Light of the World, Messiah brings to the earth. The healing of millions. The tikkun ‘olam. Who can deny this?

I’m reluctant to celebrate Chanukah in the rabbinical sense, because it means the miracle of the oil is more important than the miracle of healed lives through Christ, which isn’t true.  Who provided the sacred oil is more important than the oil. Rededication of a temple building is less important than dedicating the temple of your body to God.  
 
A candle cannot be lit without the flame being ignited.  We cannot be godly without the Spirit of God.

Jesus, the “Light of the World”, is the everlasting shamash, the servant that would spread light to the whole world.

And God lit up the world through Christ – Read Acts 2.

So I celebrate Chanukah whenever I share that Light with others, and they too accept the Light of the World.

Beliefs Chanukah, Light of the world, study