Gregory J. Rummo h0ds it backwards. The present is controlled by the future, not by the past. Without Christmas there would be no Hanukkah. The reason God preserved Israel was because of His Promise that Messiah would come. Israel must be preserved because of the Promise given to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David that the Seed of the Woman [Jesus Christ] would bruise the head of the Serpent.

Israel is rooted in the past. Christians in the future. There is no greater difference that could be stated than this. Israel rejected Christ because they lived in the past, "We be Abraham's children." Christians receive Christ because they look for His glorious appearing and the resurrection of the dead.

Rummo - 2003, December 19: "As Christians prepare to celebrate Christmas, Jews will celebrate Hanukkah. The two feasts have more in common than many realize and it is no stretch to say if it were not for Hanukkah, there would be no Christmas. "