Worthy Brief - 12/19/2025
Friend, the remnant and the flame!
Revelation 12:11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Chanukah reveals a pattern written into the heart of God: He preserves His purposes through a remnant. When the Temple was defiled and the nation fractured, deliverance did not come through the many, the powerful, or the celebrated, but through a small company of faithful men who refused to bow.
While each year the legend of the miracle of the oil is remembered, the deeper testimony of Chanukah is the unwavering obedience of the Maccabees themselves. Outnumbered and outmatched, they stood against overwhelming odds, and what should have been extinguished endured—not because circumstances shifted, but because God was with those who would not surrender their allegiance.
Scripture consistently reveals this way of God. When Elijah believed he stood alone, the Lord declared that seven thousand had not bowed the knee to Baal—hidden, faithful, unrecognized by the world, yet fully known by heaven. In the same way, the Maccabean remnant was unimpressive by worldly standards, yet immovable in devotion. God has never required large numbers to fulfill eternal purposes—only consecrated hearts.
Yeshua (Jesus) carried this truth forward when He warned that the end of the age would be marked by endurance. He spoke of delay, pressure, and love growing cold, declaring that only those who endure to the end will stand. In the parable of the virgins, the Bridegroom tarried, and only those who had prepared endured the night. The difference was not visibility or zeal, but perseverance—faith guarded over time.
The remnant is defined not by size, but by loyalty. Their light is sustained not by hype or momentum, but by obedience in obscurity. Revelation declares that they overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, loving not their lives even unto death. This is faithfulness when deliverance is delayed and the night stretches long.
Friend, Chanukah speaks directly to this hour. The flame does not need to be loud—it must be alive. You were never called to be many, only faithful. The victory of Chanukah was won not by strength or strategy, but by consecration. A handful stood firm, and heaven answered. The same God who strengthened the Maccabees still sustains His people today. Stand your ground. Keep your allegiance pure. Hold your faith unshaken. The King is returning, and He is coming for those who remain faithful when the odds are against them.
Shabbat shalom, until Monday! Have a great weekend in the Lord!
Your family in the Lord with much agape love,
George & Baht Rivka (Mississippi)
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