Kislev 5783

Begins at sunset 11/24/22 and ends at sunset 12/24/22. This year the first day of Kislev begins on Thanksgiving and the last day ends on Christmas Eve! Isn’t that amazing?

1 Chronicles 29:14, “Everything we have has come from You, God, and we give You only what You first gave us!” Since the first night of Kislev begins on the holiday of Thanksgiving, I wanted to release this scripture and also encourage you to read Psalm 100, known as a psalm of thanksgiving.

Now, welcome to the new Hebrew month of Kislev! It is the 3rd month on the civil calendar and the 9th month of God’s spiritual calendar. One of the keys to walking in God’s blessings, is to walk with an understanding of God’s calendar. He designed a calendar to help us stay in step with Him as we move through time. Each month is a prophetic season. Therefore, the goal is to live in sync with God’s timing so we can prosper.

The word Kislev means trust, hope, and security. Which leads us right into the letter associated with Kislev, Samech. Samech means to trust, support, and come full circle! The pictograph of Samech looks like womb. A womb certainly encapsulates the essence of trust, hope, security, and coming full circle! In the natural, this month is the darkest time of the year because the days are shorter. Many biblical scholars believe that during this darkest month, Jesus (The Light of the world) was conceived! John 1:4, “And this light never fails to shine through the darkness……Light that darkness could not overcome!” Psalm 78:7, “So each generation should set it’s HOPE anew on God, not forgetting His glorious miracles and obeying His commands.” God wants you to enter into new levels of trust this month. So spend time in your secret or hidden place and ask Holy Spirit to help you break out of old patterns of mistrust that hinder your walk with the Lord. Then, come full circle and praise God for a victorious deliverance of anything that separated you from Him!

Kislev is the month of dreams. Many dreams are found throughout scripture. The book of Job chapter 33, describes sleep as a state in which God can open the ears of men to His voice. Psalm 127:2 says, “God can provide for His devoted lovers even while they sleep.” Throughout the year the Lord has been pouring things into you and He can release the revelation of those things through your dreams. Let God use your dreams to transition you into your future. Ask God to illuminate and give insight to the important areas of your dreams as you sleep. Be like Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:10 - (while asleep) the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.”

The tribe associated with Kislev is Benjamin. Benjamin was the second son of Rachel, the twelfth and final son of Jacob. He was the only son born in The Promised Land. The tribe of Benjamin were skilled warriors, especially with the bow. The “bow” reminds us of when God placed His “bow” in the sky—— it’s covenant, it’s promise. Therefore, Benjamin knew how to grab hold of the promise and war with it!! Genesis 49:27 states, “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.” During the day, do the work the Lord has called you to; but as you sleep, ask God to download warfare strategies through your dreams.

The constellation linked with Kislev is Sagittarius the archer. It is the picture of our Messiah as a man of war on a horse and his arrow is pointed directly at the heart of Scorpio. Revelation 6:2, says, “And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.” A bow and arrow prophetically represent deliverance. Sagittarius is the prophetic promise that our redeemer will win the ultimate war upon our behalf and bring forth true deliverance!

I cannot end this writing without mentioning Hanukkah. This year Hanukkah runs from Kislev 25th to Tevet 2nd, which is from sundown 12/18/22 and ends at nightfall 12/26/22. Hanukkah is worth celebrating because it is the “set up” or preparation for Christmas. Let me explain without getting into too much detail……

Hanukkah occurred between the ending of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. If we look back at Daniel chapters 2 and 11 we see it was prophesied the Greek empire would rule over Israel. Many Israelites freely assimilated to the Greek culture, but here was a remnant of God’s people who did not. The Greek ruler Antiochus Epiphanes was a madman who despised the Jewish race, outlawed all worship of The One True God, and took over the temple in Jerusalem. On the 25th of Kislev, 168 BC, he sacrificed a pig on the altar of God, installed an idol of Zeus there, and desecrated the temple. The keeping of all Hebraic holidays, the Torah, circumcision, and sabbath

were punishable by death. But there was a righteous remnant, known as the Maccabees, that did not conform to this one world order and chose to fight back! God delivered the Greek military into the hands of this small group of freedom fighters, and exactly 3years later, on the 25th of Kislev, 165 BC they took back the temple in Jerusalem! As the temple was being REDEDICATED, they chose to light the menorah with only one days worth of consecrated oil and God performed another miracle by multiplying the oil, and it lasted 8 days instead of one!

In John 10:22 we see Jesus celebrating Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, because He is THE LIGHT! In most translations it says “Feast of Dedication”; Hanukkah is the Hebrew word for DEDICATION!! So, you see, if God had not enabled the Maccabees to overthrow Antiochus, the Jewish race may very well have been destroyed. If the Jewish people had been destroyed, then the birth of OUR Savior could never have taken place! And this is how Hanukkah prepares the way for Christmas! Beloved, I hope you truly celebrate Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas this year with fresh revelation of the mercy and goodness of God! Capture the impact of this miraculous season and move from glory to glory with Holy Spirit! Shalom Blessings! -Stacey Cain Woodley