Headline News

The Amazing Story of Hanukkah And Miracle Of The Endless Oil

We begin the story of Hanukkah during the reign of the Greek king, Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Syria, Egypt and the Land of Israel and annexed them into his kingdom. He was a benevolent king who allowed the people in all of his lands to continue to observe their own religious beliefs and customs.

Published

10 years ago

December 7, 2015

Geoffrey Grider

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They began in the Temple, clearing it of all pagan idols and building a new altar. The golden Menorah has been stolen by the Syrians and Greeks so the Maccabees made a new one from what they could find.

“Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” Exodus 15:11 (KJV)

In the beginning. We begin the story of Hanukkah during the reign of the Greek king, Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Syria, Egypt and the Land of Israel and annexed them into his kingdom. He was a benevolent king who allowed the people in all of his lands to continue to observe their own religious beliefs and customs. Nevertheless, during this time of quiet, many Jews chose to assimilate into Greek culture. This group was termed Hellenistic Jews.

Alexander’s empire divided

When Alexander the Great died, his Empire was divided amongst his generals. The Land of Israel has given to Seleucus. For over 100 years the Jews were afforded much of the same privileges and rights as other citizens of the Empire. However, Antiochus III, the great-greatgrandson of Seleucus, was forced to fight a costly war against the Romans. As a result the Jewish people fell out of favor with Antiochus III and thus the beginning of the end of equality for the Jews in the Syrian-Greek Empire.

In 174 BCE Antiochus III’s son, Antiochus IV, began his reign over the Empire. He was a harsh and cruel king; a tyrant of reckless nature and contemptuous of religions and customs that were not his own.

Antiochus IV – the cruel king

Antiochus IV wanted to unite his kingdom under his religion, worship of the Greek idol Zeus. Within the Empire he stifled all Jewish Law. He removed the righteous High Priest Yochanan from the Temple in Jerusalem. Yochanan was replaced with his brother Joshua – a Hellenistic Jew who called himself by the Greek name Jason. Jason used his position as High Priest to infect the priesthood and the Jewish people with the traditions and religion of the Greeks. Jason was soon replaced by another named Menelaus who defiled the Temple with the worship of Greek idols.

ISRAEL’S National Anthem – HATIKVAH

Yochanan was outraged by his brother’s behavior and that of Menelaus. When Antiochus IV was away fighting a war against Egypt Yochanan began to rally the Jews to disobey the new customs and religion being forced on them. The Jewish people were afraid of Antiochus’ reprisals and mostly did nothing. However, when the Romans spread a rumor that Antiochus IV had been killed, the Jewish people rebelled against Menelaus causing him to flee.

Much to the horror of the Jews, Antiochus returned from battle alive and enraged by Roman meddling and Jewish rebellion. He ordered his army to strike out against the Jews killing thousands. Antiochus IV then ordered a series of extremely harsh decrees against the Jewish people and religion.

All Jewish worship was forbidden. All Scrolls of the Law were confiscated and burned. Observation of Shabbat, the Brit Milah, and abiding by Kashrut were all prohibited under penalty of death. As the soldiers went town to town ravaging the Land of Israel they forced Jewish inhabitants to worship their pagan idols and eat the flesh of pigs. Many complied, but some refused and died for their beliefs.

One day Antiochus’ soldiers arrived in a town called Modiin just outside Jerusalem. An old, great priest named Mattiyahu was an inhabitant of this town. The soidiers built an altar to their pagan idols in the center of town and ordered Mattiyahu to worship at it. Mattiyahu refused. A Hellenistic Jew approached the altar to offer a sacrifice. Mattiyahu took out his sword and killed him, and his sons and neighbors sprang on the Greek soldiers killing or chasing them away.

Mattiyahu knew when Antiochus IV heard of this rebellion there would be a heavy price to pay. He fled together with his sons and neighbors to the hills of Judah. Here they lived in the caves and encouraged all loyal and courageous Jews to join them. They formed legions and would carefully leave the caves to attach outposts of Greek and Syrian soldiers and destroy pagan altars.

When old Mattiyahu was on his deathbed, he called his sons together. He encouraged them to defend God’s Torah. He asked that the tactical leader be Shimon the Wise and in battle the leader be Judah the Strong. Judah was known as Maccabee – a contraction for “Mi Kamocha Ba’eilim HaShem” translated as “Who is like you, O God.” This was sung to God by Moses and the Israelites after God parted the Red Sea giving them safe passage and destroying the Egyptians (Exodus 15:11).

Rise of the Maccabees, and the fall of Antiochus

Judah’s followers became known as “The Maccabees” and caused great havoc to the Empire. Eventually Antiochus sent one of his best generals to wipe out this little band of Jewish fighters. Even though the Empire’s army was much better equipped and greater in number, the Maccabees were triumphant in battle again and again.

Antiochus IV realized that he needed to put an end to this rebellion once and for all. He sent an army of 40,000 men in to the Judean hills. When Judah and the Maccabees heard the army coming they cried, “Let us fight to the death in defense of our souls and our Temple!” The Maccabees fought with God in their hearts and the honor of Judaism in their souls. They fought for their Torah and for their Temple. After a series of bloody battles, it was done. They had defeated the powerful army of Antiochus.

With their victory, the Maccabees climbed a mountain outside Jerusalem and looked upon the city. On the 25th of Kislev they descended the mountain to liberate Jerusalem and reclaim their Temple. As they marched into the Holy City they were distressed by what they saw – idols, impurity, and filth everywhere. They entered the Holy Temple and were shocked to see the same. Jerusalem and the the Temple needed to be made Holy again for God.

The miracle of the endless oil

They began in the Temple, clearing it of all pagan idols and building a new altar. The golden Menorah has been stolen by the Syrians and Greeks so the Maccabees made a new one from what they could find. They wanted in light the Menorah to rededicate the Temple to the One True God. They rummaged though the ruins seeking a flask of sanctified oil, but all had been defiled. Finally, they found a small jug in which the Kohen seal was still intact.

They carefully poured the oil into their makeshift Menorah even though they realized that there was only enough oil for one day. They also realized that it would take eight days to sanctify more oil for the Temple. Nevertheless, the Maccabees had faith and dedicated the Holy Temple and lit the Menorah.

Then a great miracle occurred. The oil burned through the first night an on to the second, then on to the third. The oil continued to burn for eight nights until more oil was ready for the Temple. This miracle proved that God was with the Maccabees all along. They fought for what they believed and held fast in face of death with God at their side. Their faith in God and the Torah never wavered and God showed them His Divine presence.

Donald Trump

Trump Finds Out That A 15% Tariff On The Whole World, Plans To Reveal ‘The Truth’ About Aliens And All-Out War With Iran Still Doesn’t Quash The Epstein Files

Published

2 days ago

February 21, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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Donald Trump is watching his presidency implode as he threatens war with Iran, the ‘truth’ about space aliens and a 15% tax on the entire world to distract from the Epstein Files

What we are watching now with sitting president Donald Trump is truly historic, something the American people have not witnessed under any other president. A 15% tariff on the whole world. Promises to unveil the truth about aliens. Escalating rhetoric toward a soon all-out war with Iran. And yet none of it is enough to silence the growing storm surrounding the Epstein files. The more power that is flexed, the less control appears to exist.

“Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.” Psalm 146:3 (KJB)

The American Right once crowned Donald Trump as the bulwark against cultural decay, global corruption, and deep-state tyranny. He was framed as the man who would save a nation drifting from God. But now, the façade has cracked, and what we see is not triumph—but a prophetic unraveling of the world’s most-powerful nation in the last days.

One of the most glaring examples of this unraveling is Trump’s Board of Peace — a self-styled global governance body that was supposed to be his legacy-defining achievement on the world stage. Instead, it is revealing strategic confusion, lack of coherent accomplishment, and diplomatic rejection. Trump’s Board of Peace was formally established with much fanfare as an international peace and reconstruction mechanism for war-torn Gaza and beyond. It has a charter and ambitious goals to restore stability, lawful governance, and peace in conflict zones. But the reality on the ground tells a far different story.

President Trump banging a ‘fool’s gold’ gavel to end the Board of Peace meeting as the gay anthem “YMCA” begins to play. This whole thing is so deeply fraudulent and on so many levels. Truly the work of the Devil. pic.twitter.com/vQkJp3yOFd

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) February 20, 2026

On paper, Trump and his allies claimed billions in pledges and troop commitments to rebuild Gaza. In reality, despite announcements of $5-10 billion in pledges to rebuild, no reconstruction has yet begun. Gaza remains devastated, crushed under rubble and suffering without meaningful relief or transformation. Even the Vatican refused to join the Board, citing concern that it undermines the role of the United Nations — leaving Trump’s vision isolated on the world stage.

We have global tariffs slapped on the world economy — a geopolitical sledgehammer masquerading as economic policy. We have proclamations about revealing “alien truths” — a grand narrative diversion. We have escalating rhetoric toward confrontation with Iran — keeping the world on edge. And yet even these theatrics cannot bury the Epstein files, cannot stabilize Gaza, and cannot salvage Trump’s political momentum.

Donald Trump is not the Antichrist, but what he is is a political and religious deceiver sent to confuse and mislead the biblically-illiterate inhabitants of the last days Laodicean Church. pic.twitter.com/fw05IUpsyY

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) February 17, 2026

Is the presidency collapsing? Politically speaking, yes — Trump’s political capital and credibility are eroding under the weight of lies, contradictions and unmet promises. But what is truly collapsing is the myth that the next election, the next president, or the next political savior will save America. That belief has been shattered on the rocks of reality. America is lost, and there is none to save her. Donald Trump has become the Swamp and the Deep State embodied in a single person.

In the three weeks since the last release of the Epstein Files, a staggering amount of damage has been done. Hyatt Hotels heir Thomas Pritzker on Monday resigned his post as the executive chairman of the hotel company. Kathy Ruemmler announced last week that she was stepping down as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at the investment bank Goldman Sachs, effective June 30. DP World Limited, one of the largest logistics companies in the world, announced last week that its chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, had resigned, effective immediately. Peter Mandelson, a member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom, stepped down from the Labour Party earlier this month, after his name appeared in the newly released documents multiple times. And former prince of England Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on his 66th birthday. Haverford College students and alumni are calling on the school to remove Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s name from its library after revelations about Lutnick’s ties to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. All this is just the tip of the iceberg, something that the Trump Department of Justice seems to have absolutely zero interest in investigating. That by itself tells you everything you need to know.

The longer it goes on, the closer it all gets to Trump, and at some point he will realize that, short of starting WWIII, he is powerless to do anything about it. Everything about his presidency is fake, all of it illusion, and the house of cards he has built is about to meet the storm that can’t be stopped. Q drop that.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Headline News

I Am Watching In Shock As Baptist Churches Are Now ‘Observing The Season Of Lent’ That Comes Directly From The Roman Catholic Counterfeit Church

Published

3 days ago

February 20, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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There is no doctrine of Lent found anywhere in the Bible, it is purely a creation of the Roman Catholic counterfeit church

Every year, as winter fades into spring, millions of professing Roman Catholics line up to receive ashes on their foreheads and begin a 40-day religious observance called Lent. They fast, they abstain, they “give something up,” and they prepare for Easter through ritual and self-denial. But here is the question every Bible believer must ask: Where is Lent found in the King James Bible?

“Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,” Colossians 2:18 (KJB)

Historically, Lent developed centuries after the apostles were dead. It grew within the Roman Catholic system as biblical Christianity was merged with imperial power and pagan culture. The 40-day structure was patterned after Christ’s temptation in the wilderness — yet that event occurred before His earthly ministry began, not as preparation for celebrating His resurrection.

There is no biblical instruction to imitate Christ’s 40-day fast annually. Furthermore, Ash Wednesday — the ceremonial marking of foreheads — is nowhere commanded in the New Testament. It is ritualized symbolism borrowed from Old Testament mourning practices and institutionalized by Rome. The Roman Catholic Church would have you to believe that Lent is about fasting and repentance, but is really the pagan rite of Weeping for Tammuz.

Bible believers do not borrow doctrine from a system that:

Teaches sacramental salvation
Maintains a priesthood distinct from the believer
Claims authority equal to Scripture
Persecutes Bible believers throughout history

We are not Protestants protesting Rome. We are Bible believers standing on the Book. At least, that’s what we’re supposed to be doing, but it’s not stopping Baptist churches like First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, from jumping on the Lent bandwagon. In a recent YouTube video entitled ‘Why Lent Matters’, they had this to say about Lent.

“Lent is a season that invites us to slow down and recalibrate our hearts before Easter. It reminds us of a hard but necessary truth—we are dust: finite, sinful, and deeply in need of God’s grace. Yet this season does not leave us in sorrow; it leads us to the cross, where we see both the seriousness of our sin and the overwhelming love of Christ, who bore judgment so we could receive mercy. As we reflect, repent, and turn back to God, Lent trains us to live in hope, fixing our eyes on the resurrection. From dust to glory, it tells the whole gospel story and prepares us to rejoice in the victory of Jesus.”

First of all, Christians should not be celebrating the pagan Easter holiday, another Roman Catholic invention plucked from ancient Babylon. Christians celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on the third day according to the scripture, that’s our focus. Secondly, to say that “Lent is a season that invites us to…” is pure surrender to the Roman Catholic Church, the inventors of Lent. I am not accepting any invitations to pray to the saints, eat the Eucharist, burn incense, put an ash cross on my forehead or get in the box with a priest. Please have me excused from all of it.

On the surface to the average person, Lent appears harmless. It feels ‘spiritual’. It creates community, and it carries emotional weight. But so does every religious tradition that replaces Bible authority with institutional custom. The early Church did not observe Lent, the apostles did not command Lent, Paul did not teach Lent. Rome developed it at the Council of Nicea, their tradition preserved it, Pope Gregory I added the ashes, and many evangelicals and Baptists now imitate it. Bible believers should reject it across the board.

If a Christian chooses to fast privately before the Lord, that is between them and God, as it should be. But submitting to a Roman system of seasonal ritual complete with ashes, imposed abstinence, and church calendar obligation is not New Testament Christianity. We are not called to ritual, we are called to a risen Saviour, Jesus the Christ.

“And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” Colossians 2:10 (KJB)

Complete means complete, and Bible believers do not need a Roman Catholic Lent to finish what Jesus Christ has already finished.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Free Bible Program

Chaplain Farwell Of The Elmira Correctional Facility In Upstate New York Writes To Tell Us Of The ‘Desperate Need’ Of Their Inmates For Copies Of The Word Of God

Published

4 days ago

February 19, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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The Elmira Correctional Facility in update New York has an urgent need for hundreds of copies of God’s preserved word

Elmira Correctional is a maximum ‘A facility’ in upstate NY, writes Chap Farwell. He says “We house between 1500 – 1600 incarcerated men. Approximately 600 are in our Reception Center either as parole violators, recidivists, or first time offenders awaiting classification that will send them to another correctional facility to serve their sentences and to be enrolled into a program designed to correct their behavior. Most don’t have any faith life at all even though their families may have. However, when the reality of being incarcerated hits them they reach out in desperation, which is where we as chaplains come in.” Chaplain Farwell is serving on the front lines, and Bibles Behind Bars is keeping his supply lines open.

“But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” Genesis 39:21 (KJB)

Chap went on to say “Most ask for Bibles and for many it is their first one. As chaplains, we direct them to scripture and let them know that God loves them and quite possibly this is God’s plan for them. This is where they can encounter God, but they have to come to know God and the Bible helps them to do their part. We give these Bibles freely in the hope that they will give God a chance to speak to them and they can speak to God. We are constantly seeking Bibles and if you can be a source to provide them we would be most grateful. We especially need large print. Whatever you can do would be most appreciated. God bless you for your work.” Christian, God has called us to stand in the gap for the ‘least of these’ and to give them a copy of God’s preserved word. Come help us to do that, we need you!

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

If God has prospered you, please take a moment to click on the donate button to help us in this monumental task of providing King James Bibles, New Testaments, scripture portions, gospel tracts as well as Spanish Bibles to inmates in jails and prisons from Florida to Alaska, and every state in between. We need your prayers, we need your generous financial support, and we need you to stand with us in the closing days of the Church Age. Thank you so very much, TO THE FIGHT!!!

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