JEWISH ORIGINS OF CHRISTMAS

1. Rorschach, A Soldier Of Jah, on December 26th, 2007 at 8:42 pm Said: (collected from various sources)

   There is no question that modern Christmas is riddled with Pagan traditions, however, the real roots and origin of Christmas is Jewish, not Pagan! It has been celebrated by Jews since 165BC as the “Festival of Dedication, or Festival of Lights” Christmas has been accepted as a celebration of Christ’s birthday by Christians since the 4th century, as decreed by the Roman Catholic Church. This is a Pagan adaptation. The real Jewish origen has nothing to do with a birthday, but with a rededication of the Temple, (details below), which in Jesus day was refurbished by evil King Herod. Jesus correctly predicted that that Temple would be torn down and desecrated by Pagans. He would replace that tempel and he is described as the “Chief Temple Cornerstone”.

   Eph 2: 20 and YOU have been built up upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone. 21 In union with him the whole building, being harmoniously joined together, is growing into a holy temple for Jehovah. 22 In union with him YOU, too, are being built up together into a place for God to inhabit by spirit.

   If we were to be true to the origins of the Jewish “Festival of Dedication”, we would not consider it a birthday, but a rededication of ourselves to the new spiritual tempel not made with hands, that Jehovah, the “Father of Lights” (James 1:17), provided through His son. Jesus himself celebrated this festival as shown in John 10: 22-23;
   22 At that time the festival of dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was wintertime, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple in the colonnade of Sol′o·mon.
   No doubt, the early Jewish Christians also celebrated this up to 70 CE. Though Christians today are not mandated to celebrate this or any Jewish festival, knowing the true roots of today’s “Christ mass” sheds a different slant on our perception of its significance, the pagan traditions not withstanding.

   FESTIVAL OF DEDICATION – {from the Watchtower Publication “Insight on the Scriptures” book}

   The observance of the Festival of Dedication (Heb., chanuk·kah′) commemorates the recovery of Jewish independence from Syro-Grecian domination and the rededication to Jehovah of the temple at Jerusalem, which had been desecrated by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who called himself The·os′ E·pi·pha·nes′ (“God Manifest”). He built an altar on top of the great altar on which the daily burnt offering had formerly been presented. (1 Maccabees 1:54-59, AT) On this occasion (Chislev 25, 168 B.C.E.), to show his hatred and contempt for Jehovah, the God of the Jews, and to defile His temple to the utmost, Antiochus sacrificed swine on the altar and had the broth he had made from some of its flesh sprinkled all over the temple. He also burned the temple gates, pulled down the priests’ chambers, and carried away the golden altar as well as the table of showbread and the golden lampstand. Later, the temple of Zerubbabel was rededicated to the pagan god Zeus of Olympus.

   Two years later Judas Maccabaeus recaptured the city and the temple. The sanctuary was desolate; weeds were growing in the temple courts. Judas tore down the old defiled altar and built a new altar of unhewn stones. Judas had temple vessels made and he brought the altar of incense, the table of showbread, and the lampstand into the temple. After the temple was purged of defilement the rededication took place on Chislev 25, 165 B.C.E., exactly three years to the day after Antiochus had made his sacrifice on the altar in worship of the pagan god. The daily or continual burnt offerings were renewed.—1 Maccabees 4:36-54; 2 Maccabees 10:1-9, AT.

   Festival Customs. The very nature of the festival made it a time of great rejoicing. There is some resemblance to the Festival of Booths in the manner of its observance. The celebration lasted eight days from Chislev 25 onward. (1 Maccabees 4:59) There was a great blaze of light in the courts of the temple, and all private dwellings were lighted up with decorative lamps. The Talmud refers to it as the “Feast of Illumination.” Later on, some had the practice of displaying eight lamps on the first night and reducing the number on each night by one, others starting with one and increasing to eight. The lamps were placed near doors leading to the street not only so that they would illuminate the house within but also so that all on the outside would see the light. Accompanying the lighting of the lamps was the singing of songs extolling God the Deliverer of Israel. Josephus says about the initiation of the festival: “So much pleasure did they find in the renewal of their customs and in unexpectedly obtaining the right to have their own service after so long a time, that they made a law that their descendants should celebrate the restoration of the temple service for eight days. And from that time to the present we observe this festival, which we call the festival of Lights, giving this name to it, I think, from the fact that the right to worship appeared to us at a time when we hardly dared hope for it.” (Jewish Antiquities, XII, 324, 325 [vii, 7]) Laborious work was allowed, as it was not considered a sabbath.

   There were two former temple dedications, that of the first temple by Solomon and of the second built by Zerubbabel, that were solemnly celebrated after the building work was completed. But there was no anniversary festival in commemoration afterward, as there was of this rededication of the second temple by Judas Maccabaeus. Unlike the three great festivals, which all males were obligated to attend at Jerusalem, the Festival of Dedication could be celebrated in their various cities, as was the case with the Festival of Purim. (Ex 23:14-17; Es 9:18-32) Throughout the land they assembled in their synagogues with singing and jubilation, carrying branches of trees, while the synagogues and the private homes were illuminated by the many lights. The Jews celebrate this festival to the present day.

   Significance for Christians. Jesus visited the temple at the time of the Festival of Dedication during the last winter of his ministry, in 32 C.E. The account reads: “At that time the festival of dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was wintertime, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the colonnade of Solomon.” (Joh 10:22, 23) Chislev, the ninth month, corresponds to November-December. It was, of course, common knowledge among the Jews that this festival occurred during wintertime. Consequently, the mention of winter here may have reference to the state of the weather rather than the season as a reason for Jesus’ choice of a sheltered place for his teaching, in “the colonnade of Solomon.” This covered colonnade was on the E side of the outer court of the Gentiles, where many people would gather.—Ac 3:11; 5:12.

   There is no direct statement in the inspired Scriptures that Jehovah gave Judas victory and directed his repair of the temple, its refurnishing, the making of utensils, and finally its rededication. Yet, for the prophecies regarding Jesus and his ministry to be fulfilled and for the Levitical sacrifices to continue until the great sacrifice of God’s Son would be accomplished, the temple had to be standing and its services in operation at the time of the Messiah’s appearance. (Joh 2:17; Da 9:27) Jehovah had used men of foreign nations, such as Cyrus, to carry out certain purposes as regards His worship. (Isa 45:1) How much more readily might he use a man of his dedicated people, the Jews.

   Whatever may be the case, the temple services were observed during the ministry of Jesus Christ. Zerubbabel’s temple had been rebuilt (replaced) more elaborately by Herod. For this reason and because of their dislike of Herod, the Jews usually make mention of only two temples, Solomon’s and Zerubbabel’s. Neither in the words of Jesus nor in any of the writings of his disciples do we find any condemnation of the Festival of Dedication.

   From “Ask a Question” Should a Christian celebrate Hanukkah:

   Chanukkah (or Hanukkah) is the Jewish Festival of Dedication, also known as the “Festival of Lights.” It is an eight-day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev, which typically falls in November or December on our calendar. Although this Jewish festival in not mentioned in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), it is referenced in the Talmud: “On the 25th of Kislev are the days of Chanukkah, which are eight… these were appointed a Festival with Hallel [prayers of praise] and thanksgiving.” (Shabbat 21b, Babylonian Talmud)

   Chanukkah is probably one of the best-known Jewish holidays, not because of any great religious significance, but because of its proximity to Christmas. Many non-Jews think of this holiday as the Jewish Christmas, adopting many of the Christmas customs, such as elaborate gift-giving and decoration. Because of this, it is ironic that this holiday, which has its roots in a revolution against assimilation and the suppression of Jewish religion and people, has become the most assimilated, secular holiday on the Jewish calendar.

   The holiday of Chanukkah celebrates the events which took place over 2,300 years ago in the land of Judea, which is now Israel. It begins in the reign of Alexander the Great, who conquered Syria, Egypt, and Palestine, but allowed the lands under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. Under this relatively benevolent rule, many Jews assimilated much of Hellenistic culture, adopting the language, the customs, and the dress of the Greeks, in much the same way that Jews in America today blend into the secular American society.

   More than 100 years after Alexander, Antiochus IV rose to power in the region. He began to oppress the Jews severely, placing a Hellenistic priest in the Temple, massacring Jews, prohibiting the practice of the Jewish religion, and desecrating the Temple by requiring the sacrifice of pigs (a non-kosher animal) on the altar. One of the groups which opposed Antiochus was led by Mattathias (Matitiyahu) the Hasmonean and his son Judah Maccabee (“The Hammer”).

   This small band of pious Jews led guerrilla warfare against the Syrian army. Antiochus sent thousands of well-armed troops to crush the rebellion, but the Maccabees succeeded in driving the foreigners from their land. According to historical accounts, Jewish fighters entered Jerusalem in December 164 BC. The Holy Temple, the Jewish religious center, was in shambles, defiled and desecrated by foreign soldiers.

   The Maccabees cleansed the Temple and re-dedicated it on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. When it came time to re-light the Menorah (the multi-branched lampstand), they searched the entire Temple, but only one small jar of oil bearing the pure seal of the High Priest could be found. Miraculously, the small jar of oil burned for eight days, until a new supply of oil could be brought. From then on, Jews everywhere have observed a holiday for eight days in honor of this historic victory and the miracle of the oil. The observance of Chanukah features the lighting of a special Chanukkah menorah with eight branches (plus a helper candle), adding one new candle each night.

   In the Brit Chadasha (The New Covenant), in the Gospel of John, we learn that Jesus the Jewish Messiah was at the Holy Temple during the “feast of dedication” or Chanukkah: “At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon” (John 10:22-23).

   During this great season of remembering miracles, Jesus pointed out to His listeners that the miracles He had done authenticated His claim that He was, indeed, the long-awaited Jewish Messiah (see John 10:37-38). His works and His true character clearly demonstrated who He was.

   Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12). The Lord Jesus gives all of us, Jew and Gentile, the “light of life.” And He commanded us to “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

   Should Christians celebrate Chanukkah today? First, be mindful of the fact that we are under no obligation or “law” to celebrate any of the Jewish festivals given to Israel in the Torah (Law of Moses). But to all true Believers in Jesus Christ, especially those who have a profound appreciation for the Hebraic roots of our Christian faith, celebrating the “true light” of this world only seeks to glorify our wonderful Lord and Savior.

   As Christians, we can celebrate the “Festival of Lights” as we “rededicate” our lives to Christ and acknowledge Him as the perfect and true light of this world. As Believers, when we celebrate Chanukkah it reminds us of God’s wonderful miracles on our behalf. It reminds us of God’s protection throughout our lives. It reminds us to remain true to God even when the world around us tries to force us into assimilation.

   Jesus told us that whoever follows Him will not have darkness, but the Light of Life. What a wonderful time of the year to remember and commemorate the great miracle that God has done for us, by giving us new light and new life.
   http://www.gotquestions.org/Hanukkah-Christian.html

Pagan Origins of Christmas

No one knows what day Jesus Christ was born on. From the biblical description, most historians believe that his birth probably occurred in September, approximately six months after Passover. One thing they agree on is that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born in December, since the bible records shepherds tending their sheep in the fields on that night. This is quite unlikely to have happened during a cold Judean winter. So why do we celebrate Christ’s birthday as Christmas, on December the 25th?

The answer lies in the pagan origins of Christmas. In ancient Babylon, the feast of the Son of Isis (Goddess of Nature) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast.

In Rome, the Winter Solstice was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ. The Romans called their winter holiday Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the God of Agriculture. In January, they observed the Kalends of January, which represented the triumph of life over death. This whole season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. The festival season was marked by much merrymaking. It is in ancient Rome that the tradition of the Mummers was born. The Mummers were groups of costumed singers and dancers who traveled from house to house entertaining their neighbors. From this, the Christmas tradition of caroling was born.In northern Europe, many other traditions that we now consider part of Christian worship were begun long before the participants had ever heard of Christ. The pagans of northern Europe celebrated the their own winter solstice, known as Yule. Yule was symbolic of the pagan Sun God, Mithras, being born, and was observed on the shortest day of the year. As the Sun God grew and matured, the days became longer and warmer. It was customary to light a candle to encourage Mithras, and the sun, to reappear next year.

Huge Yule logs were burned in honor of the sun. The word Yule itself means “wheel,” the wheel being a pagan symbol for the sun. Mistletoe was considered a sacred plant, and the custom of kissing under the mistletoe began as a fertility ritual. Hollyberries were thought to be a food of the gods.

The tree is the one symbol that unites almost all the northern European winter solstices. Live evergreen trees were often brought into homes during the harsh winters as a reminder to inhabitants that soon their crops would grow again. Evergreen boughs were sometimes carried as totems of good luck and were often present at weddings, representing fertility. The Druids used the tree as a religious symbol, holding their sacred ceremonies while surrounding and worshipping huge trees.

In 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is little doubt that he was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans (who remained a majority at that time) to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a bit easier, knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them.

Christmas (Christ-Mass) as we know it today, most historians agree, began in Germany, though Catholics and Lutherans still disagree about which church celebrated it first. The earliest record of an evergreen being decorated in a Christian celebration was in 1521 in the Alsace region of Germany. A prominent Lutheran minister of the day cried blasphemy: “Better that they should look to the true tree of life, Christ.”

The True Origin of CHRISTMAS

Where did Christmas originate? From the Bible or paganism? What is the real origin of Santa Claus—mistletoe—Christmas trees—holly wreaths—and the custom of exchanging gifts? Many are concerned about putting “Christ back into Christmas.” Was He ever there? Here are the stunning answers!

BY DAVID C. PACK

Every year after Thanksgiving, most people’s thoughts turn to Christmas. It is the time when professing Christians are supposed to focus on Jesus Christ. After all, it is the “Christ-mass” season!

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, holly wreaths, decorated trees, mistletoe, season’s greetings, seasonal music, “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” and Santa Claus are all associated with this holiday. These all bring warm feelings to those who celebrate it.

I grew up in a family that kept Christmas, and it was a very big event in our household every year. We left out none of the usual trimmings of this occasion. On December 24th, excitement grew with every passing minute. My parents even brewed black coffee for Santa just before sending us off to bed. I always wondered how they knew Santa liked his coffee black—just like my parents liked theirs. After going to bed on Christmas Eve, I could neither sleep nor wait to get up in the morning to see all that “Santa” had brought me.

Christmas is thought by most to be a wonderful time, focusing the participants on giving, family togetherness, beautiful music and decorations, feasting on special foods and singing Christmas carols throughout the neighborhood (as my family did every year). All of this is supposedly centered around the worship of Christ. Surely the Bible instructs us to do all this—right?

The answers will shock you!

Why do people think that Christmas is wonderful? It certainly felt wonderful to me. I trusted what my parents told me. I had no reason to doubt them. They were merely teaching me what their parents had taught them. I never questioned the true origin of Christmas!

Most never reflect on why they believe what they believe or do what they do. We live in a world filled with customs, but few ever seek to understand their origin. We generally accept them without question. Most people basically do what everyone else does—because it is easy and natural!

Let’s carefully examine the roots of Christmas. Let’s look at why people follow the customs associated with it. Why is it kept on December 25th? Did the early New Testament Church keep it? This booklet is filled with facts from history that, when placed together, paint a complete picture. Let’s avoid all assumptions and only accept what can be proven!

Pagan Origin

In 1990, the Solon, Ohio (a Cleveland suburb) school board banned all nativity and other Christmas scenes on any school property because they felt it violated the separation of church and state. They were challenged in court when outraged parents opposed them, feeling that Christmas was being stolen from their children and the community. The board lost the case! The citizenry had contended that Christmas was a worldwide tradition that was not part of, and transcended, religion. It was deemed to be secular—a part of virtually all cultures worldwide.

The court decision affirmed that Christmas has no Christian roots! However, the court’s opinion also noted that Bible reading and prayer obviously are associated with Christianity—a remarkable admission! The court concluded that Christmas-keeping and manger scenes could remain because they are not really part of either Christianity or religion—but prayer and Bible reading, which are, must remain excluded from schools!

Nearly all aspects of Christmas observance have their roots in Roman custom and religion. Consider the following admission from a large American newspaper (The Buffalo News, Nov. 22, 1984): “The earliest reference to Christmas being marked on Dec. 25 comes from the second century after Jesus’ birth. It is considered likely the first Christmas celebrations were in reaction to the Roman Saturnalia, a harvest festival that marked the winter solstice—the return of the sun—and honored Saturn, the god of sowing. Saturnalia was a rowdy time, much opposed by the more austere leaders among the still-minority Christian sect. Christmas developed, one scholar says, as a means of replacing worship of the sun with worship of the Son. By 529 A.D., after Christianity had become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civic holiday. The celebration of Christmas reached its peak—some would say its worst moments—in the medieval period when it became a time for conspicuous consumption and unequaled revelry.”

Consider these quotes from the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, under “Christmas”: “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church…the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt.” Further, “Pagan customs centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas.” Under “Natal Day,” Origen, an early Catholic writer, admitted, “…In the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod) who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world” (emphasis mine).

The Encyclopedia Americana, 1956 edition, adds, “Christmas…was not observed in the first centuries of the Christian church, since the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth…a feast was established in memory of this event [Christ’s birth] in the fourth century. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered the feast to be celebrated forever on the day of the Mithraic rites of the birth of the sun and at the close of the Saturnalia, as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed.”

There is no mistaking the origin of the modern Christmas celebration. Many additional sources could be cited and we will return to this later. Let’s begin to tie some other facts together.

It was 300 years after Christ before the Roman church kept Christmas, and not until the fifth century that it was mandated to be kept throughout the empire as an official festival honoring “Christ.”

Can Christ be Honored by Christmas?

The most common justification that one will hear regarding Christmas is that people have replaced old pagan customs and intents by asserting that they are now “focusing on Christ.” I have heard many say that they are “honoring Christ” in their Christmas-keeping. The problem is that God does not say this is acceptable to Him! Actually, He plainly commands against it! Keeping Christmas dishonors Christ! He considers everything about it to be an abomination! We will soon see why.

Christ said, “But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9). Christmas is not a command of God—it is a tradition of men. Christ continued, “Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:9). Every year, throughout the world, on December 25th, hundreds of millions do just that!

We will see that God plainly commands, “Follow not the way of the heathen.” But most people do not fear God, and He allows them to make their own decisions. Human beings are free moral agents—free to obey or disobey God! But woe to those who ignore the plain Word of God!

Was Christ Born on December 25th?

Christ was born in the fall of the year. Many have mistakenly believed He was born around the beginning of winter—December 25th! They are wrong! Notice the Adam Clarke Commentary, volume 5, page 370, New York edition: “It was custom among Jews to send out their sheep to the deserts about the Passover [early spring], and bring them home at the commencement of the first rain.” The first rains began in early-to-mid fall. Continuing with this same quote: “During the time they were out, the shepherds watched them night and day. As…the first rain began early in the month of March-esvan, which answers to part of our October and November [begins sometime in October], we find that the sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole summer. And as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground, the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact…See the quotations from the Talmudists in Lightfoot.”

Luke 2:8 explains that when Christ was born, “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Note that they were “abiding” in the field. This never happened in December. Both Ezra 10:9-13 and the Song of Solomon 2:11 show that winter was the rainy season and shepherds could not stay on cold, open fields at night.

Numerous encyclopedias plainly state that Christ was not born on December 25th! The Catholic Encyclopedia directly confirms this. In all likelihood, Christ was born in the fall! A lengthy technical explanation would prove this point.

Since we now know that December 25th was nowhere near Christ’s actual birthdate, where did the festival associated with this date come from?

Now read this quote under “Christmas”: “In the Roman world, the Saturnalia (December 17) was a time of merrymaking and exchanging of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as the birthdate of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness. On the Roman New Year (January 1), houses were decorated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to children and the poor. To these observances were added the German and Celtic Yule rites when the Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul, Britain and central Europe. Food and good fellowship, the Yule log and Yule cakes, greenery and fir trees, gifts and greetings all commemorated different aspects of this festive season. Fires and lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, have always been associated with the winter festival, both pagan and Christian” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th Edit. Vol. II, p. 903).

A final quote about the selection of December 25th as the birthdate of Christ is necessary. Note an article in The Toronto Star, December 1984, by Alan Edmonds, entitled, “We owe a lot to Druids, Dutch”: “The Reformation cast a blight on Christmas. By then, of course, clever ecclesiastical politicians had adopted the Pagan mid-winter festival as the alleged birthdate of Jesus, of Nazareth, and thrown in a few other Pagan goodies to make their takeover more palatable.”

December 25th was not selected because it was the birth of Christ or because it was even near it. It was selected because it coincided with the idolatrous pagan festival Saturnalia—and this celebration must be carefully examined. In any event, we do not know the exact date of Christ’s birth. While God certainly could have made it known, He chose to hide it from the world’s eyes!

Who Was Saturn?

Previous quotes introduced the subject of the Saturnalia. Let’s carefully study just exactly who Saturn was. Consider the following quote from another large American newspaper, The Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, December 1984: “The Roman festival of Saturnalia, Dec. 17-24, moved citizens to decorate their homes with greens and lights and give gifts to children and the poor. The Dec. 25 festival of natalis solis invicti, the birth of the unconquered sun, was decreed by the emperor Aurelian in A.D. 274 as a Winter Solstice celebration, and sometime (later)…was Christianized as a date to celebrate the birth of the Son of Light.”

Dr. William Gutsch, chairman of the American Museum of Natural History—Hayden Planetarium, further confirmed the original name of Christmas with this quote on December 18, 1989, in a Westchester, New York, newspaper, The Reporter Dispatch:

“The early Romans were not celebrating Christmas but rather a pagan feast called the Saturnalia. It occurred each year around the beginning of winter, or the winter solstice. This was the time when the sun had taken its lowest path across the sky and the days were beginning to lengthen, thus assuring another season of growth.

“If many of the trappings of the Saturnalia, however, seem to parallel what so many of us do today, we can see where we borrowed…our holiday traditions. And indeed, it has been suggested that while Christ was most likely not born in late December, the early Christians—then still an outlawed sect—moved Christmas to the time of the Saturnalia to draw as little attention as possible to themselves while they celebrated their own holiday.”

The Saturnalia, of course, celebrated Saturn—the fire god. Saturn was the god of sowing (planting) because heat from the sun was required to allow for planting and growth of crops. He was also worshipped in this dead-of-winter festival so that he would come back (he was the “sun”) and warm the earth again so that spring planting could occur. The planet Saturn was later named after him because, among all of the planets, with its rings and bright red color, it best represented the god of fire!

Virtually every civilization has a fire/sun god. The Egyptians (and sometimes Romans) called him Vulcan. The Greeks named him Kronos, as did the Phoenicians—but they also called him Saturn. The Babylonians called him Tammuz (as Nimrod, resurrected in the person of his son), Molech or Baal (as did the Druids). These were all simply the various names for Nimrod. Nimrod was considered the father of all the Babylonian gods.

Child Sacrifice

Notice this horrible practice associated with the worship of the fire god (Nimrod, Saturn, Kronos, Molech and Baal) in the following quote from The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, page 231:

“Now, this is in exact accordance with the character of the Great Head of the system of fire-worship. Nimrod, as the representative of the devouring fire to which human victims, and especially children, were offered in sacrifice, was regarded as the great child-devourer…he was, of course, the actual father of all the Babylonian gods; and, therefore, in that character he was afterwards universally regarded. As the Father of the gods, he was, as we have seen, called Kronos; and every one knows that the classical story of Kronos was just this, that, ‘he devoured his sons as soon as they were born.’ (Lempriere Classical Dictionary, ‘Saturn.’)…This legend has a further and deeper meaning; but, as applied to Nimrod, or ‘The Horned One,’ it just refers to the fact, that, as the representative of Moloch or Baal, infants were the most acceptable offerings at his altar. We have ample and melancholy evidence on this subject from the records of antiquity. ‘The Phoenicians,’ says Eusebius, ‘every year sacrificed their beloved and only-begotten children to Kronos or Saturn.’”

But why was human sacrifice such a key to the worship of this terrible god? What possible good could human beings think they saw in slaughtering their own children? Continuing: “…he who approached the fire would receive a light from divinity” and “through divine fire all the stains produced by generations could be purged away.” Therefore, “children were made to pass through the fire unto Molech” (Jer. 32:35).

As incredible as it seems, deceived human beings actually believed they were pleasing their “god” by sacrificing their own innocent little children to him. They believed fire purified them from original sin. The pagan doctrine of spending time in purgatory to purge the soul from all sin derives from this belief!

Who Was Nimrod?

We must now look more closely at who this biblical figure, Nimrod, was. We have already seen him as one of history’s original false gods, but what else can be learned?

Genesis 10:9 says of Nimrod, “He was a mighty hunter before [in place of] the Lord.” He actually tried to replace God.

The famous Jewish historian, Josephus, records in Josephus Antiquities important evidence of Nimrod’s role in the post-flood world. Notice: “He also gradually changed the government into tyranny…He [Nimrod] also said he would be revenged on God, if He should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach…Now the multitude were very ready to follow the determination of Nimrod, and to esteem it a piece of cowardice to submit to God” (Bk. I, Ch. IV, sec. 2, 3).

Under many names, mankind’s earliest and perhaps greatest rebel has been worshipped throughout false religion. Ancient Israel kept falling into serving the many false gods that Nimrod represented.

Ezekiel 8:13-14 records a picture of the women of Israel “weeping for Tammuz.” This Tammuz (the god of fire) was considered to be Nimrod and the etymology of the word itself is fascinating. Tam means “to make perfect” and muz “fire.” The meaning is clear in light of what we have already learned. Incidentally, in the Iraqi-Kuwaiti Desert Storm War, Saddam Hussein even named one of his missiles the “Tammuz.” He certainly understood that its meaning included fire.

Burned to Molech

Let’s see how God’s people, Israel, worshipped Baal/Molech once they had departed from the true God: “And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into My mind, that they should do this abomination…” (Jer. 32:35).

Notice that God Himself says that such horrible abominations never even entered His mind: “They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spoke it, neither came it into My mind: Therefore, behold, the days come, says the Lord, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter” (Jer. 19:5). Verse 6 ties the valley of Tophet or Hinnom to this practice. Jeremiah 7:31 connects Tophet and Hinnom to child sacrifice. Tophet means “the drum.” Drums were played to drown the screams of victims in the flames.

Notice this quote from Paradise Lost, by John Milton, about the terrible god Molech: “First Moloch, horrid king besmear’d with blood Of human sacrifice, and parents tears, Though, for the noyse of Drums and Timbrels loud Their children’s cries unheard, that passed through fire To his grim Idol.” Of course, everyone will say that they do not sacrifice their children to Molech today, but read on.

In the New Testament, the martyr Stephen was stoned to death, at least partly, because he indicted his listeners for the worship of this evil idol (Acts 7:43).

When righteous King Josiah came to the throne, as king of Judah, he destroyed the altars in the Valley of Tophet (or Hinnom—the very same valley Christ likened to “gehenna” fire in Mark 9:43-49) soon after coming to power. He realized the great evil of the practices taking place there.

The Druids and Human Sacrifice

Many people have heard of the Druids. Few know who and what they were. We will refer to them later and tie them to other well-known Christmas practices. We must first establish their historic role in human sacrifice.

Julius Caesar is the best-known source of information about the Druids. This comes from the Encyclopedia Britannica. This quote, under “Druids,” clearly explains who they were: “Druids, the learned class among the ancient Celts, whose name means Knowing (or Finding) the Oak Tree. They seem to have frequented Oak forests and acted as priests, teachers and judges. The earliest known records of the Druids come from the 3rd century [B.C.]…Druids took charge of public and private sacrifices, and many young men went to them for instruction. They judged all public and private quarrels and decreed the penalty…The Druids principle doctrine was that the soul was immortal…(they) offered human victims for those who were gravely sick or in danger of death in battle. Huge wickerwork images were filled with living men and then burned; although the Druids chose criminals by preference, they sacrificed innocent victims if necessary.”

The Old Testament is filled with God’s condemnation of Israel for practicing the customs of the nations around them—and we are gathering important facts revealing a shocking picture.

The Role of Cannibalism

Another truth about the origin of Christmas springs from the modern word cannibal. This practice has its roots in a prime function of all priests of Baal. Keep in mind that the Hebrew word for priest is Cahn.

Consider the following quote from The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop, page 232: “And it was a principle of the Mosaic law, a principle no doubt derived from the patriarchal faith, that the priest must partake of whatever was offered as a sin-offering (Numbers xviii. 9, 10). Hence, the priests of Nimrod or Baal were necessarily required to eat of the human sacrifices; and thus it has come to pass that ‘Cahna-Bal,’ the ‘Priest of Baal,’ is the established word in our own tongue for a devourer of human flesh.”

The reality of this can be lost on no one! It is also true that most civilizations have a tradition that has involved cannibalism. Notice this statement from The New York Times, “What Is the Meaning of Cannibalism?” by Erik Eckholm: “Cannibalism has once fascinated and repelled virtually every known society, including those said to have practiced it.”

This same article went on to show that most civilizations also attached divine significance to its practice.

What About the Santa Myth?

Have you considered that you could also be burning, even sacrificing, your children today (though in a different way) in your practice of Christmas, while you may be trying to sincerely “focus on Christ”?

Parents reason that they owe the whole Christmas myth to their children! Christmas traditions are focused primarily on kids, and they are certainly the center of most of what happens. I know because I kept seventeen Christmases. My older sister and younger brother and I were the recipients of much and the givers of very little on that day—and it all started with the Santa Claus lie.

Some years ago, a priest in New Jersey told his Sunday school class that Santa was a myth. The outrage from parents and his supervisors was swift. He had “killed Santa!” He had “destroyed family tradition!” He had “usurped family authority,” the article continued. He was officially censored by his superiors for being “overzealous and insensitive.”

His crime? He told the truth!

According to Langer’s Encyclopedia of World History, (article “Santa”), “Santa” was a common name for Nimrod throughout Asia Minor. This was also the same fire god who came down the chimneys of the ancient pagans and the same fire god to whom infants were burned and eaten in human sacrifice among those who were once God’s people.

Today Santa Claus comes from “Saint Nicholas.” Washington Irving, in 1809, is responsible for remaking the original old, stern bishop of this same name into the new “jolly St. Nick” in his Knickerbocker History of New York. (Most of the rest of America’s Christmas traditions are even more recent than this.) “Old Nick” has long been recognized as a term for the devil.

In Revelation 2:6 and 15, we read about a “doctrine of the Nicolaitanes,” which Christ twice tells His Church “[He] hates.” Let’s analyze the word Nicolaitane. It means “follower of Nicholas.” Nikos means “conqueror, destroyer.” Laos means, “people.” Nicolaitanes, then, are people who follow the conqueror or destroyer—Nimrod. If you have believed that following Christmas is an innocent Christian custom, let this truth sink in!

Is It Scriptural to Exchange Gifts?

Merchants regularly report that over 60% of their annual retail sales occur during the Christmas shopping season. This represents a tremendous amount of gift buying. Most today believe that gift-giving comes from the Bible example of the “three wise men” (the Bible gives no number) presenting gifts to Christ. Is this true? Where did exchanging gifts come from, and what does God’s Word say about it?

The Bibliotheca Sacra states, “The interchange of presents between friends is a like characteristic of Christmas and the Saturnalia, and must have been adopted by Christians from the pagans, as the admonition of Tertullian plainly shows” (Vol. 12, pp. 153-155).

Like every other aspect of Christmas, the shocking truth is that even this supposed Christian custom does not come from the Bible. It is an irony that people love to believe they are following the custom of the wise men giving to Christ, when actually they are giving almost exclusively to each other! What hypocrisy! Christ is completely forgotten.

The Bible actually teaches that Christians should not keep birthdays. Numerous scriptures make this principle clear. (Read our article “Are Birthday Celebrations Christian?”) However, what if you went to a birthday party that had been prepared for you and everybody gave gifts to each other and you were left out? The idea is ridiculous! If this happened, you would say that people were being selfish and forgetting you. In fact, most people give to others on Christmas merely because they expect to receive gifts themselves!

Let’s briefly return to the “wise men” who gave gifts to Christ. The scripture describing this is Matthew 2:1-11: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews?…And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”

It is commonly supposed that these were birthday presents for “baby Jesus.” But is this what the Bible actually says? Absolutely not! First, it is important to note that they did give the gifts to Jesus. They did not stand in His presence and exchange gifts among themselves or give them to others. The gifts were “presented unto Him.” Also, they arrived well after His “birthday.” This is another reason these could not have been “birthday presents.”

A long-standing, ancient custom of the East was to present gifts when coming before a king. These men understood they were in the presence of the “King of the Jews.” The Bible carries many examples of people sending gifts to kings or presenting them upon arrival into their presence. This custom is common today when ambassadors or others come into the presence of a world leader.

Finally, notice what the Adam Clarke Commentary, volume 5, page 46, states about what really happened on this occasion: “Verse 11. They presented unto him gifts. The people of the east never approach the presence of kings and great personages, without a present in their hands. This custom is often noticed in the Old Testament, and still prevails in the east, and in some of the newly discovered South Seas Islands.” Gifts were customarily presented to kings.

What could be more plain?

The Origin of the Christmas Tree

No booklet about Christmas is complete without some explanation of the “Christmas tree.” We have touched on it without directly focusing on it. The modern Christmas tree originated in Germany. But the Germans got it from the Romans, who got it from the Babylonians and the Egyptians.

The following demonstrates what the Babylonians believe about the origin of the Christmas tree: “An old Babylonish fable told of an evergreen tree which sprang out of a dead tree stump. The old stump symbolized the dead Nimrod, the new evergreen tree symbolized that Nimrod had come to life again in Tammuz! Among the Druids the oak was sacred, among the Egyptians it was the palm, and in Rome it was the fir, which was decorated with red berries during the Saturnalia!” (Walsh, Curiosities of Popular Customs, p. 242).

Frederick J. Haskin’s Answers to Questions states, “The Christmas tree is from Egypt, and its origin dates from a period long anterior to the Christmas Era.” Did you know this—that the Christmas tree long preceded Christianity?

Most aspects of Christmas are not referred to in the Bible. Of course, the reason is that they are not from God—they are not part of the way He wants people to worship Him. The Christmas tree, however, is directly mentioned in the Bible! Turn to Jeremiah 10:2-5, “Thus says the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen…For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.”

This plain description of the modern Christmas tree is clear. God directly refers to it as “the way of the heathen.” Just as directly, He commands His people to “learn not the way of the heathen,” calling these customs “vain.” Verse 23 adds a remarkable and powerful statement: “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct his [own] steps.” God must teach people how to live. Man simply cannot figure out God’s ways for himself.

There is no room in Jeremiah 10 to believe, as some have tried to suggest, that because these trees are powerless of themselves, it is not really forbidden to have a Christmas tree. God condemns the putting up of pagan (Christmas) trees with this plain Bible command!

The Source of Holly Wreaths, Yule Logs and Mistletoe

The Encyclopedia Americana states, “The holly, the mistletoe, the Yule log…are relics of pre-Christian time.” In other words, paganism! The Yule log was commonly used in a rite of Teutonic nature worship.

Frederick Haskin further states, “The use of Christmas wreaths is believed by authorities to be traceable to the pagan customs of decorating buildings and places of worship at the feast which took place at the same time as Christmas.”

The Encyclopedia Britannica, under “Celastrales,” exposes the origin of the holly wreath: “European pagans brought holly sprays into their homes, offering them to the fairy people of the forests as refuge from the harsh winter weather. During the Saturnalia, the Roman winter festival, branches of holly were exchanged as tokens of friendship. The earliest Roman Christians apparently used holly as a decoration at the Christmas season.”

There are dozens of different types of holly. Virtually all of them come in male and female varieties—such as “Blue Prince and Blue Princess” or “Blue Boy and Blue Girl” or “China Boy and China Girl.” Female holly plants cannot have berries unless a nearby male plant pollinates them. It is easy to see why the holly wreath found its way into pagan rituals as a token of friendship and fertility!

Christmas is incomplete to many unless it involves “kissing under the mistletoe.” This pagan custom was natural on a night that involved much revelry done in the spirit of drunken orgies. Just like today, this “kissing” usually occurred at the beginning of any modern Saturnalia/Christmas celebration. I will never forget having to always kiss my friends’ mothers upon entering each of their houses every Christmas. It was the first thing that we did. I hated it—but it was something I “had to do”! Mistletoe was considered to have special powers of healing for those who “reveled” under it.

The Encyclopedia Britannica, under “Santalales,” states, “The European mistletoe is thought to have had special ritual significance in Druidical ceremonies and lives in folklore today, its special status as the Christmas mistletoe having come from Anglo-Saxon times.” Mistletoe is a parasite that lives on oak trees. (Recall that the Druids worshipped in oak tree groves.) The ancient Celtics (associated with the Druids) used to give mistletoe as an herbal remedy to barren animals to make them fertile. It is still referred to as “all healer” in Celtic.

Like mistletoe, holly berries were also thought to be sacred to the sun god. The original “sun log” came to be called the yule log. “Yule” simply means “wheel,” which has long been a pagan representation of the sun. No wonder people today commonly speak of the “sacred yule-tide season.”

Worship of the True God Mixed with False Practices

The modern term for merging false pagan customs with the worship of the true God is called syncretism. Anyone who did this in ancient Israel was put to death (Lev. 18:21, 29)! It was that serious!

A fascinating look into how Israel thought and believed, in their own minds, that they were worshipping God as an entire nation, comes from II Kings 17:33: “They feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from there.”

Did you grasp this? Yes, they feared the true God while serving other gods. No wonder the very next verse (34) states that they really “fear NOT the Lord” according to the way God commanded. This is how God views what people are doing today—no matter what these people copying ancient pagan practices might think of their own actions!

Verse 30 says that all this had been learned from contact with “the men of Babylon” (among others), whose chief god, we will recall, was Nimrod (Baal or Molech)—who we now know were one and the same.

Notice how specific was God’s warning to Israel in Deuteronomy 12:29-31, and why He warned them! “When the Lord your God shall cut off the nations from before you…and you succeed them, and dwell in their land; Take heed to yourself that you be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before you; and that you enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? Even so will I do likewise. You shall not do so unto the Lord your God: for every abomination to the Lord, which He hates, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters have they burnt in the fire to their gods.”

Many verses, similar to Deuteronomy 12, should be carefully studied. (See Exodus 34:10-17; 23:28-33; Leviticus 20:22-26; Deuteronomy 20:13-18, etc.) The true God knew that serving other gods always led to sacrificing children to them!

Deuteronomy 12:32 made clear that God does not want us to mix His ways with any false ways: “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.”

These are God’s plain words to all who say that they can mix the horrible customs of outright paganism with a supposed “focus on Christ.”

Ancient Israel’s Pagan Practices in Modern Customs

Deuteronomy 12:2-4 establishes an important context. God plainly says, “You shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which you shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: And you shall overthrow their altars…and burn their groves with fire…you shall not do so unto the Lord your God.”

Notice God’s references to “every green tree” and “their groves.” There are at least ten similar verses throughout the Old Testament referring to “green trees” and their association with idolatry. Historians hold that the reference to the term “green” refers to green year-round—evergreen trees!

Once again, let’s more closely examine the actual history and origins of some of the Saturnalia customs still practiced today. Notice the following chilling quote from the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, “Oscilla” 3rd edition, volume II: “…all ranks devoted themselves to feasting and mirth, presents were exchanged among friends, and crowds thronged the streets, shouting ‘Lo Saturnalia.’ An offering was made beneath a decorated evergreen tree, according to the pagan poet, Virgil. Figurines and masks—called ‘oscilla’—were hung on the tree, as are Christmas decorations today. History admits…there can be no doubt that we have in these ‘oscilla’ a relic of human sacrifice…”

Doesn’t all of this sound familiar? Presents, singing in the streets, evergreen trees, decorations, offerings under the tree, merrymaking, feasting? They may sound wonderful, but they represent things that are truly abominable.

Modern oscilla look like chubby little “angels” when hanging on a tree. I placed these little “angel babies” on our tree, myself, as a small child. At least I thought they were angel babies. How wrong I was! Do you think any of your friends realize what they really represent? Of course not—but that does not make it any less serious or less wrong in God’s eyes!

Outright Paganism Blended into the Church

One additional source demonstrates how this all came to be a heritage practiced so “innocently” by millions—yet far from innocent in God’s sight. Now read the following quote from Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition, volume 10, pages 1062-3: “Christianity…by a complex and gradual process…became the official religion of the [Roman] empire.

“For a time, coins and other monuments continued to link Christian doctrines with worship of the sun, to which Constantine had been addicted previously. But even when this phase came to an end, Roman paganism continued to exert other, permanent influences, great and small…The ecclesiastical calendar retains numerous remnants of pre-Christian festivals, notably Christmas, which blends elements including both the feast of the Saturnalia and the birthday of Mithra. But, most of all, the mainstream of Western Christianity owed ancient Rome the firm discipline that gave it stability and shape.”

An authority as reputable as the Encyclopedia Britannica actually acknowledges, for any willing to see, that the Saturnalia and ancient Rome are what defined the “discipline…stability and shape” of Western Christianity!

This is a truly stunning admission!

The next powerful quote reveals how this idolatrous, pagan festival slipped into the “Christian” world. It is from the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, under “Christmas”:

“How much the date of the festival depended upon the pagan Brumalia (December 25) following the Saturnalia (Dec. 17-24), and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the ‘new sun’…cannot be accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence…The pagan festival with its riot and merry-making was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner. Christian preachers of the West and the Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ’s birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia accused their Western brethren of idolatry and sun worship for adopting as Christian this pagan festival.”

One additional source reveals how the Roman church absorbed Christmas into an official celebration. The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1946 edition, states, “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the church…Certain Latins, as early as 354, may have transferred the birthday from January 6th to December 25, which was then a Mithraic feast…or birthday of the unconquered SUN…The Syrians and Armenians, who clung to January 6th, accused the Romans of sun worship and idolatry, contending…that the feast of December 25th, had been invented by disciples of Cerinthus…”

Thus, a pagan festival, celebrated long before Christ’s birth, found its way into recognized Christianity.

Did you know that even the seventeenth century Puritans of New England understood how wrong Christmas was? They actually banned its observance by law, in 1659, throughout the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Fines and imprisonment could result from being found keeping it. It was almost 200 years (1856) before people stopped working on Christmas in Boston. The Puritans knew its roots and labeled it “heathen, papist idolatry.”

Those Who “Change Times and Laws”

The prophet Daniel (7:8) speaks of a “little horn,” which (7:25) “shall speak great words against the Most High…and think to change times and laws.” This little horn is a great religious authority that attempts to superimpose its own view of dates and celebrations, on an unsuspecting world, in place of God’s plain instruction.

The Hebrew word translated “change” means to “transform, alter or set.” The word translated “times” means “appointed occasions, seasons or times.” The Hebrew word translated “laws” means “decrees or laws of God.” When put together, this phrase refers to an authority that attempts to “transform appointed occasions and seasons within the Law of God.” Certainly, Christmas is a great example of how this has been done. God’s instructions have been replaced with religious traditions of men.

The following quote reveals how this has happened. It also comes from the Encyclopedia Britannica, under “Christianity”: “Thus, the Easter liturgy has been developed more highly in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Christmas liturgy more highly in the Roman Catholic Church…The Christian calendar is the most widely disseminated Christian institution. The seven-day week and the rhythm of the Christian festivals have been accepted even by most of the non-Christian countries. Despite energetic attempts at the introduction of a sliding work week, the seven-day week with work-free Sunday could not be eliminated even in Communist states with an Atheist world view. Even in Atheistic circles and organizations throughout the world, Christian holidays enjoy an undisputed popularity as work-free days…especially Christmas.”

Truly, it has been the “ecclesiastical politicians,” referred to earlier, who have sought to impose the modern “Christian” calendar on an unknowing world. It is these leaders who have “thought to change times and laws.”

The Dangerous Power of Lies

One of Satan’s names is Destroyer (Rev. 9:11). Nimrod/Saturn/Molech/Baal, like Satan, is the fire god who destroys and devours little children.

The real Jesus Christ was never in and never will be in Christmas! He cannot be put back into where He has never been. But the “god of this world,” Satan (II Cor. 4:4), has always been in Christmas. He is its author!

The true God commands that we “must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). This does not mesh with the great Christmas and Santa Claus lies that all children so willingly believe.

I Timothy 4:2 warns of those “speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” Parents can “burn” their own children, to the point of searing them, with the Christmas deception and lie!

There is no “safety in numbers” in this world for those who keep Christmas, because Satan, who is called “the father of lies” and “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44), has “deceived the whole world” (Rev. 12:9)! Turn to this verse and read it. Then recognize that Christmas is certainly a testimony to that great deception.

But Christ refers to His Church as a “little flock” (Luke 12:32). Many other verses show this. This Church does not have the large numbers of the respected, established brands of the Christianity of this world.

“Another ­ Jesus”

There is another problem with the idea of “putting Christ back in Christmas”—and it is big! The “Jesus” that is the focus of this season is not the true Jesus Christ of the Bible!

Most have been taught that there is only one Jesus Christ. But God’s Word speaks of a counterfeit, and this substitute Christ is identifiable in history. The proof? The apostle Paul warned of “another Jesus.”

Grasp what is at stake ­ here!

First, consider Paul’s entire introduction as he sets the stage for the warning that follows: “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent [Satan] beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (II Cor. 11:3).

Now for the actual warning in the next verse: “For if he that comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him” (II Cor. 11:4). The Corinthians seemed to “bear with this” without much ­ resistance.

Paul, under inspiration of the true Jesus Christ of the Bible, was moved to record the peril of unwittingly following “another Jesus.” Consider. Most have probably never remotely considered the idea of a false Jesus for even a ­ moment—that ­ there is such a thing as a wrong, different and “false ­ Christ” (Matt. 24:23-24)—­ called “another Jesus.” In the past, this “Jesus” has even corrupted the thinking of true Christians. This much is plain. But the “subtilty” of how this can happen, and how it has occurred in history, is so ­ deceptive—­ so ­ seductive—­ that even true Christians can unknowingly slip into worshipping this ­ so-­ called Jesus. This is what was happening to the ­ Corinthians.

People can worship in ways that represent things that are far different than what they sincerely believe or intend. Bible “believers” today can think that they are worshipping the true Savior when they are really worshipping a false ­savior—­another Jesus! The entirety of traditional Christianity is actually worshipping Nimrod/Saturn/Molech/Baal. The modern mother/child “Mary/Jesus” emphasis, including the worshipful adoration of Mary by millions, is a parallel with Nimrod and his mother, Semiramis, that cannot be ­ missed.

Here is the point of what is being explained. Many speak of “putting Christ back into Christmas.” This is heard every year from thousands of pulpits and elsewhere. But the true Christ was never there! Just as a person cannot go back into a room that he had never entered, Jesus Christ cannot be “put back” into an event that He has never been in, and that He in fact hates! (Again, see Mark 7:7.) The Jesus that these preachers and religionists have in mind is another Christ, one with another gospel, another spirit—the Christmas spirit!—bringing totally different doctrines and teachings.

Can you see the connection?

What Should You Do?

Finally, let’s examine what God told His people they should do and the way they ought to teach their children.

Recall Jeremiah 7:31, where God condemned Israel for burning their children in the Valley of Tophet. Eight verses earlier (vs. 23-24), God had made plain what He requires: “But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people: and walk you in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not…but walked…in the imagination of their evil heart…”

Human beings do not want to obey God (Rom. 8:7). They would rather follow their own “imagination.” They do not understand that God wants their lives to go “well.” He wants happiness, joy and blessings to flow into people’s lives. All these are the results of obeying Him.

God inspired Moses to warn parents of the grave responsibility that they have in what and how they teach their children. Notice His instruction in Deuteronomy 6:1, 6-7, 20-21, 25: “Now these are the commandments…which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you go to possess it…And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart: And you shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up…And when your son asks you in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God has commanded you? Then you shall say unto your son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand…And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.”

God took Israel out of Egypt—from slavery—out of the customs of the world around them and revealed His Law to them. He does not want His people going back to the traditions, customs and ways from which He has called them.

When all of the interconnected traditions, filled with the symbolism of worshipping an ancient pagan, humanly devised god, are taught, this is not worshipping the true Creator.

We Have not Known that Christmas is of Babylon

Jesus said twice, in Matthew 7:16 and 20, that “you shall know them by their fruits.” Everything that people say or do, good or bad, has fruits. The fruits of Christmas are terrible. This season leads the entire year in adultery, loneliness, jealousy, drunkenness and drunk driving, family arguments (and worse), and accumulation of debt that often lasts until March. This problem is so significant that almost all churches typically report that their incomes—how ironic—drop during this period as people “recover” from all their spending!

The Real “Christmas Spirit”

The prophet Isaiah was inspired to write, “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression” (58:1). I have done this. Now that you have read the plain truth about the true origin of Christmas, what will you do?

The next quote comes from the booklet The Plain Truth About Christmas, by Herbert W. Armstrong. It summarizes the booklet you have just read:

“Christmas has become a commercial season. It’s sponsored, kept alive, by the heaviest retail advertising campaigns of the year. You see a masqueraded ‘Santa Claus’ in many stores. Ads keep us deluded and deceived about the ‘beautiful Christmas spirit.’ The newspapers, who sell the ads, print flowery editorials exalting and eulogizing the pagan season, and its ‘spirit.’ A gullible people has become so inoculated, many take offense when told the truth. But the ‘Christmas spirit’ is created each year, not to honor Christ, but to sell merchandise! Like all Satan’s delusions, it appears as an ‘angel of light,’ is made to appear good. Billions of dollars are spent in this merchandising spree every year, while the cause of Christ must suffer! It’s part of the economic system of Babylon!

“We have professed to be Christian nations, but we’re in Babylon, as Bible prophecy foretold, and we don’t know it! ‘Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues’—now soon to fall—is the warning of Revelation 18:4

Christmas & Easter

Is Christmas Christian?

Genesis 10:8-10 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

DO YOU REMEMBER THAT NOAH CURSED HIS SON HAM AND SAID THAT HAM’S DESCENDANTS WOULD BE SLAVES, BECAUSE OF HAM’S SIN AGAINST NOAH. HAM BEGAT CUSH. CUSH BEGAT NIMROD WHOSE NAME IN HEBREW MEANS “WE WILL REBEL”. THIS POINTS TO VIOLENT AND OPEN REBELLION AGAINST GOD. NO DOUBT HAM TOLD CUSH ABOUT THE CURSE, AND CUSH DIDN’T LIKE IT TO THE POINT HE NAMED HIS SON “WE WILL REBEL.” I BELIEVE WE BEGIN TO SEE THE SEEDS OF ANTICHRIST RIGHT HERE.

NIMROD BECAME A MIGHTY ONE IN THE EARTH BY BOLD AND DARING DEEDS. HIS DEEDS WERE TO HUNT MEN BY TYRANNY, FORCE, AND CONFUSION. HE BUILT BABEL AND HENCE, IN SCRIPTURE, BABYLON MEANS MORE THAN THE CAPITOL CITY OF CHALDEA. BABYLON MEANS TYRANNY AND CONFUSION AND OPEN REBELLION AGAINST GOD.

NIMROD WAS OBSESSED WITH RAGE AGAINST THE CURSE AND PROPHESY OF NOAH REGARDING HIM AND HIS GENERATIONS. HE WOULD NOT BE A SLAVE. HE WOULD HUNT SLAVES. HE LORDED IT OVER OTHERS, HUNTING AND DESTROYING ALL WHO OPPOSED HIM IN HIS TYRANNY. HE PERSUADED MEN, NOT TO ASCRIBE THEIR HAPPINESS TO GOD, BUT TO HIM. HE TAUGHT MEN TO CENTRALIZE AND OPENLY DEFIED GOD TO SEND ANOTHER FLOOD. HE ESTABLISHED THE FIRST KINGDOM AND ESTABLISHED THE FIRST GREAT UNIVERSAL RELIGION OPPOSING GOD SINCE THE FLOOD.

THIS WAS DONE OPENLY “before the Lord” IN OPEN DEFIANCE TO GOD. HIS WIFE SEMIRAMIS BECAME PREGNANT AFTER HIS DEATH AND WAS THE UNWED MOTHER OF TAMMUZ. THE ROOTS OF ALMOST ALL ANCIENT RELIGIONS, AND MANY MODERN ONES, INCLUDING THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT, CAN BE TRACED TO THESE THREE PEOPLE NIMROD, SEMIRAMIS, AND TAMMUZ. JUST A FEW ARE THE ANCIENT BABYLONIAN SUN GOD, AND HIS WIFE ISHTAR OR APHRODITE OR VENUS; OSIRIS AND ISIS OF THE EGYPTIANS, AS WELL AS THE HINDU GODS, ALL REINCARNATION RELIGIONS, BUDDHISTS, AND ALL OF THE OCCULT RELIGIONS, INCLUDING MOTHER EARTH OR NATURE WORSHIP, CAN TRACE THEIR ROOTS TO NIMROD.

THE WAY NIMROD WAS GOING, GOD HAD A REAL PROBLEM WITH WHAT WAS GOING ON IN NIMROD’S CROWN JEWEL CITY OF BABEL. THE WAY NIMROD WAS GOING, THE RIGHTEOUS GOD FEARING CHILDREN OF SHEM AND JAPHET DID NOT STAND A CHANCE UNLESS GOD SOMEHOW DIRECTLY INTERVENED ON THEIR BEHALF. WE SEE HERE A PICTURE OF HOW GOD WILL DIRECTLY INTERVENE WITH THE RETURN OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST TO DELIVER HIS SANITS FORM THE WAR WHICH ANTICHRIST WAGES ON THEM.

Ancient as well as modern paganism holds that origin and preservation of the universe, lay in the mystery of reproduction. Two energies or forces, one an active and generative, the other a feminine, passive, are thought to combine for creative purposes. Paganism and the occult beleive this to be the source of heaven and earth, sun, and moon, day and night. All paganism is nothing else but nature worship in some form or another, and in all such false religions the deepest and most awe-inspiring attribute of nature was it’s power of reproduction.

Nimrod, it was claimed, had taken possession of the sun. His wife, Semiramis, was the Queen of heaven, taking possession of the moon. Years after his death, the spirit of the sun, Nimrod, came to visit his wife, Semiramis, the spirit of the moon, who conceived and gave the world Tammuz, on the 25th day of December.

Tammuz was born in such a mysterious way through the great gods, the sun and the moon, so that the evergreen played its part to represent the wooden cross. The first letter T in his name is placed before its worshipers. So this Tammuz was the greatest son given to man.

Tammuz

Tammuz was considered as the son of the Sun. The first letter of his name T was ever afterwards considered the symbol of sun worship. Sun worshipers sacrificed their human offerings to the sun god, upon a wooden cross, the first letter T of the name Tammuz. Tammuz was a great hunter like his supposed father Nimrod. But while yet quite a young man he was killed by a wild boar, in the spring of the year. This caused much weeping throughout the whole kingdom.

The forty days before the time of the celebration for the moon were set apart days for weeping for Tammuz. Especially did the women take the lead in this weeping for Tammuz during these forty days.

Ezek 8:12 -14 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth. He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

The yearly lamenting for Tammuz was attended with infamous practices; and the worshippers of the sun described here in Ezekiel 8 are supposed to have been priests of the God of Israel. What an ABOMINATION. The Lord appeals to the prophet Ezekiel concerning the depravity, and debauchery of the crime.

SEMIRAMIS

Semiramis, is the wife of Nimrod, became a great queen. In order that the people would love her, she told them that she would take possession of the moon after she died, just as her husband Nimrod had taken possession of the sun.

Semiramis never married again after the death of Nimrod, but a few years after the death of her husband she gave birth to a son, on the 25th day of December. This son they called Tammuz.

This great queen Semiramis, claimed that the spirit of the sun, her husband Nimrod was the father of Tammuz.

The date of Christ’s birth was not known, so that God’s children would not practice idolatry upon that day. One thing that we do know, is that it was on the FEAST of Tabernacles. Emanuel means God with us. He is Emanuel, very God the Creator, who took upon Himself flesh, and tabernacled with us. The scripture is absolutely clear that Christ must have been born somewhere in the timeframe between mid September and October 20th, at the very latest. Luke’s Gospel tells us that there were shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flocks by night. ALL FLOCKS ARE IN FROM THE FIELDS BY MID OCTOBER.

Satan placed into the Christian Church the day of Tammuz, December 25, as the birthday of Christ, and the Bishops of the church accepted it, with all its Christmas presents and celebrations and bondage and and revelry and drunkenness. The giving of the presents was a heathen custom. The Yule-tree and the Yule-log are remains of the old Teutonic nature worship Jer. (10:1-5).

The Savior was not born on the 25th of December.

It is an old Pagan holiday celebrated many hundred years before His birth. The Christmas tree also is a relic of heathenism. “Hear ye the Word which the Lord speaketh unto you, Oh house of Israel. THUS SAITH THE LORD, learn not the way of the heathen….. for the CUSTOMS of the people are VAIN, for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with on axe” (vs. 1-3). They deck it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers that it move not” (vs.4).

Learn NOT the way of the heathen is the command. This Christmas custom of the people we are told here is vain. This all came from old Babylon, and was adopted in the church by the western so called “CHURCH FATHERS”, Eusebius, Jerome, Polycarp, Justan Martys, and others, while the Eastern church Fathers were opposed to all of these heathen customs, and they all strictly observed the true Sabbath, while the Western Bishops, called “Fathers”, were in the great falling away of which Paul wrote in II Thess. 2:3, which revealed the “Man of sin”, who is going to come into power again just before the end, AND EVEN NOW HAS BEEN REVEALED.

The command for the FAITHFUL “Remnant Church” concerning BABYLON, is “COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE”.

No church can encourage Christmas and its spirit without going to the rocks. It is a part of sun-worship and must be given up by the Faithful Remnant People of God.

Although the whole world celebrates Christmas as a “Christian” holiday, including millions of non-Christians, is Christmas really “Christian” at all? Consider this fact: Look at every word on every page of the Bible, and you will find not ONE WORD of “Christmas” being celebrated by any of God’s people! It is not even mentioned once! Neither Christ nor any of His apostles ever observed this holiday, nor the New Testament Church!

Yet on the other hand the pagan, heathen world observed this day for thousands of years before Christ was even born!

Where did the mysterious rites and ceremonies that surround this day come from? What about the “Christmas tree” and the “Yule log” and the mistletoe and Holly wreaths? Are ANY of these customs truly “Christian” in origin? And what about fat and jolly old “Saint Nick” — or Santa Claus?

It’s high time we addressed these questions, and took a new look at “Christmas.”

Is it wrong to celebrate “Christmas”? What is the truth about this popular and widespread holiday?

The Origin of Christmas

The following may be found in Werner Keller’s book The Bible as History

“December 25 is referred to in documents as Christmas Day in A.D. 324 for the first time. Under the Roman emperor Justinian [A.D. 527-565] it was recognized as an official holiday. An old Roman festival played a major part in the choice of this particular day. December 25 in ancient Rome was the ‘Dies Natali Invictus,’ ‘the birthday of the unconquered sun,’ the day of the winter solstice and at the same time, in Rome, the last day of the Saturnalia, which had long since degenerated into a week of unbridled carnival . . .” (p.331).

What is WRONG with this picture? Why does the so-called “Christian church” choose a day to celebrate Christ’s birth which was identified as the day of the birth of the unconquered sun, the day of the winter solstice, the “shortest day of the year,” when the sunlit part of the days start becoming longer again? What does this have to do with Christ, anyway? Was Jesus Christ born anywhere near December 25? Werner Keller continues:

“Meteorologists as well as historians and astronomers have something of importance to contribute to this question of fixing the date of the birth of Jesus. According to St. Luke: ‘And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night’ (Luke 2:8).

“Meteorologists have made exact recordings of the temperature at Hebron. This spot in the southern highlands of Judah exhibits the same climatic conditions as Bethlehem, which is not far distant. The temperature readings show over a period of three months that the incidence of frost is as follows: December — 2.8 degrees; January — 1.6 degrees; February —0.1 degrees. The first two months have also the greatest rainfall in the year: approximately 6 inches in December, and nearly 8 inches in January. According to all existing information the climate of Palestine has not changed appreciably in the last 2,000 years, consequently modern meteorological observations can be taken as a basis.

“At Christmas-time Bethlehem is in the grip of frost, and in the Promised Land no cattle would have been in the fields in that temperature. This fact is born out by a remark in the Talmud to the effect that in that neighborhood the flocks were put out to grass in March and brought in again in October. They remained out in the open for almost eight months.

“Around Christmas-time nowadays both animals and shepherds are under cover in Palestine.

“What St. Luke tells us points therefore to the birth of Jesus having taken place BEFORE the onset of winter . . .” (p.331-332).

The time for the birth of Christ is nowhere near December 25. Why does the Church go along with the world and choose to “celebrate” His “birthday” at the Number one pagan festival of drunken debauchery?

When Was Jesus Really BORN?

Millions of “nominal” Christians, who think they are followers of the religion of Jesus Christ, have been deceived. Not only have they foolishly embraced erroneous “traditions” as if they were “Christian,” but they have been lied to, by preachers, ministers, and priests. Most have ASSUMED that they were worshipping Christ! Yet Jesus Christ Himself warned: “Howbeit IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, teaching for doctrines THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye HOLD THE TRADITION OF MEN . . .” (Mark 7:7-8).

In the gospel of Matthew, we find Christ says, “Ye HYPOCRITES, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, ‘This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouths, and honoreth me with their lips; but THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME. But IN VAIN do they WORSHIP me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of MEN” (Matt.15:7-9).

What is the truth? What is the evidence regarding when Jesus Christ was born? Was it anywhere NEAR December 25? And if not, then why believe a lie, and practice and perform a lie?

The birth of Christ is not known for certain, but we can know the approximate time of year when He was born! In the book of Luke we read that the father of John the Baptist was Zacharias, and he was a priest who served at the temple in Jerusalem. He was “of the course of Abia” (Luke 1:5). While serving at the temple, he was informed by an angel that his wife was to have a son, who was to be named “John.” After this, Zacharias finished “the days of his ministration,” and “departed to his own house” (v.23). “And after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived . . .” (v.24).

The names of the different courses of priests that served at the Temple are given in I Chronicles 24:1-19. “Abia” or “Abijah” was the EIGHTH course. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, each one of these courses served at the Temple for one week, the first course serving the first week of Nisan, in the spring (compare I Chron.27:1-2), and then each course in its own order. All the priests served during the annual festivals (Passover in spring, Pentecost, and then Tabernacles in the fall). After six months, the order would be repeated, thus each “course” would serve two weeks during a year.

The course of Abijah, then, would have served the eighth week in the rotation. The eighth week from Nisan 1, leaving out the week of Passover, when all the priests served, would have been IYAR 27 TO SIVAN 5, the day just before Pentecost, which generally fell on Sivan 6. After serving a week in the Temple, Zacharias would have remained another week in Jerusalem, because of the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost that week. Therefore, he returned home shortly after this, and his wife then conceived. This would have been about the middle of June. If we add nine months to this date, the normal time for the gestation of a human baby in the womb, John the Baptist would have been born about the middle of March, in the spring, shortly before the Passover.

Jesus was conceived about six months after John (Luke 1:24-31, esp. verse 26). This would suggest that Jesus Christ was conceived about the middle of December. This would place His birth nine months, or 270 days, later — or the month of September!

Who WAS Born on December 25?

If Jesus Christ was not born on December 25, who was? In other words, whose birthday is the whole “Christian world” really celebrating on December 25, though they call it the birth of “Christ”? What “Christ” are they talking about? The word “Christ,” remember, is merely the translation of the Greek word Christos, which literally means “Anointed one” — it comes from the Hebrew word Moshiach, where we get the word “Messiah.” So what “anointed one” was born on December 25?

In the book History of Rome, by Michael Grant, we find this amazing revelation:

“Yet there was also another pagan belief during this same epoch, that much more nearly competed with Christ for the control of the Western world. This was the cult of the Sun, which was revered by millions of the inhabitants of the Roman Empire, and its religion for a time even became the state worship. . . .

“In Rome, the divinity of the Sun came very early on; and then, centuries afterwards, in the superb dome of Hadrian’s Pantheon, the central opening, surrounded by star-like rosettes, represented the solar orb. . . Before long, the emperor Aurelian established a massive temple of the Unconquerable Sun as the central and focal point of the entire religious system of the state (274). The birthday of the god was to be on DECEMBER 25, AND THIS, TRANSFORMED INTO CHRISTMAS DAY, WAS ONE OF THE HERITAGES THAT CHRISTIANITY OWED TO HIS CULT” (p.391- 392).

Notice! Christianity took over the birthday of the sun god, the cult of the sun, and transformed it into CHRISTMAS DAY, the “birthday” of Jesus Christ! It was in reality the birth day of the pagan sun god, worshipped by millions throughout the Roman Empire!

We read more about this novel and profound “plot” to turn paganism into “Christianity” in a book by historian Jack Finegan, Myth & Mystery: An Introduction to the Pagan Religions of the Biblical World. Finegan writes:

“. . . But the worship of the sun-god continued widely throughout the empire, and under Aurelian (A.D. 270-275) the cult was restored to its former high estate. In the year 274 Aurelian declared the god — now called Deus Sol Invictus — the official deity of the Roman Empire; he built a splendid temple of the sun in Rome . . . and set the sun’s birthday celebration (naturalis solis invicti) ON DECEMBER 25, the date then accepted for the winter solstice (also in his solar character the BIRTHDAY OF MITHRAS). In the time of Constantine the cult of Deus Sol Invictus was still at its height, and the portrait of the sun-god was on the coins of Constantine . . . . Likewise it must have been in this time and with the intent to transform the significance of AN EXISTING SACRED DATE that the birthday of Jesus, which had been celebrated in the East on January 6 . . . was placed in Rome ON DECEMBER 25, THE DATE OF THE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF SOL INVICTUS. This date appears in a list of dates probably compiled in A.D. 336 and published in the Roman city calendar, edited by Filocalus, for the year 354″ (Finegan, p.211-212).

Are we beginning to get the picture? This was in the fourth century AFTER Christ! At this time, the Church moved to incorporate the birthday of the sun god into the so-called “Christian” calendar, and converted the pagan sungod’s “birth day” into the birth day of CHRIST Himself! That which was distinctly and definitely pagan now was “baptized,” and by some act of “magic” was transformed into something “Christian”!

No matter how many Christians and non-Christians alike believe December 25th to be “Christian,” it is not in fact or in TRUTH. In fact, it remains an abomination to the ture God and what the bible over and over calls spiritual harlotry or whoredom. It may now be called “Christian.” But in truth, it still has a pagan heart and core!

The Influence of Constantine

When Constantine became Emperor of Rome, he sought to unite the empire by pretending to become a “Christian.” But being the head of a far-flung political Empire, he was concerned about the unity and coherence and stability of his Empire. As a sharp and crafty politician, he sought to reconcile and blend and weave pagan practices with “Christian” beliefs, to merge paganism with the Roman church. Constantine promulgated the “Edict of Toleration” in A.D. 313. He became emperor in A.D. 323, and “then Christianity was enthroned” (Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, The Story of the Christian Church, p.74).

Also UNDERSTAND the final world religion of the antichrist under the false prophet pope will be a religion of TOLERANCE. The only thing which will not be tolerated are those “NOT AUTHENTICALLY HUMAN” Jews and real Christians who would dare to say there is only ONE true God and/or that their God is any better than any other god.

DO YOU SEE WHY THE LAST DAYS ANTICHRIST WORLD RELIGION WILL BE A RELIGION OF TOLERANCE – THE ONLY THING WHICH WILL NOT BE TOLERATED ARE THOSE REAL CHRISTIANS AND JEWS. IT IS IN THE GLOBAL ETHIC AND THE UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE THAT ANYONE WHO WOULD DARE SAY THEIR GOD IS THE ONLY TRUE GOD OR THAT THEIR GOD IS ANY BETTER THAN ANY OTHER GOD IS “NOT AUTHENTICALLY HUMAN” AND WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN THE NEW WORLD ORDER RELIGION OF TOLERANCE.

From this time, for the next two hundred years, all persecutions of Christians of the Roman church, and its adherents, ceased. The sword of persecution was “not merely sheathed; it was buried” (ibid., p.75).

The fruit of Constantine making Christianity the state religion, free from all persecution, is sad fruit indeed. From that time, the state churches became totally subverted by politics and self-seeking opportunists. This sad fruit may be observed in the 501c3 churches, which are void of salt and light in this dark world of the last days.

“. . . the establishment of Christianity as the state religion became a CURSE.

“Everybody sought membership in the church, and nearly everybody was received. Both good and bad, sincere seekers after God and hypocritical seekers after gain, rushed into the communion. Ambitious, worldly, unscrupulous men sought office in the church for social and political influence. . . .

‘The services of worship increased in splendor, but were less spiritual and hearty than those of former times. The forms and ceremonies of PAGANISM GRADUALLY CREPT INTO THE WORSHIP. Some of the OLD HEATHEN FEASTS BECAME CHURCH FESTIVALS WITH CHANGE OF NAME AND OF WORSHIP” (Hurlbut, The Story of the Christian Church, p.79).

How did it happen? Will Durant, renowned historian, in his massive work The Story of Civilization, wrote in volume III, entitled Caesar and Christ, that in the new “church” that developed in the Roman Empire, the Jewishness of Jesus was lost or rejected, and replaced with Greek philosophy and thought; the “Law” of the Jews was rejected. Durant writes,

“. . . the god Christ was assimilated to the religious and philosophical traditions of the Hellenistic mind. Now the PAGAN WORLD — even the anti-Semitic world — could accept him as its own.

“CHRISTIANITY DID NOT DESTROY PAGANISM; IT ADOPTED IT. The Greek mind, dying, came to a transmigrated life in the theology and liturgy of the Church . . .the Greek mysteries passed down into the impressive mystery of the Mass. Other PAGAN cultures contributed to the syncrestic result. From Egypt came the adoration of the Mother and Child . . . From Phrygia came the worship of the Great Mother . . . The Mithraic ritual so closely resembled the eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass that Christian fathers charged the Devil with inventing these similarities to mislead frail minds. Christianity was the last great creation of the ancient PAGAN world” (p.595).

These historical observations ought to make us sit up and take notice! The ‘Christianity” that we see around us in the world today is but a “spin-off” of this ancient syncretism or ‘blending” and “merging” of PAGANISM into the professed Church of Jesus Christ. The compromised state church, lapsed into apostasy, debauchery, licentiousness, and impurity. The descendants of the once chaste and pure virgin of Christ, the New Testament Church, had seemingly become, for all intends and purposes, the religious WHORE of Babylon — a bejeweled and bedecked and bedeviled harlot, a “shady lady,” a spiritual PROSTITUTE!

“Paganism” was not defeated by the Church. It invaded the church, infiltrated it, and seduced it from within! The professing Christian Church became the “new face of paganism”! Only the “names” were changed. And in some cases — as in “Easter” Sunday — even the old pagan names were left in place!

H. G. Wells, in his Outline of History, discusses the transformation of the teachings of Christ into the pagan worship of the heathen, calling itself “Christian.” He notes:

“The observance of the Jewish Sabbath, again, TRANSFERRED TO THE MITHRAIC SUN-DAY, is an important feature of many Christian cults . . . He [Jesus] did not say a word about the worship of his mother Mary in the guise of ISIS, THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN. Much that is most characteristically ` Christian [so-called] in worship and usage, he ignored. Skeptical writers have had the temerity to deny that Jesus can be called a Christian at all” (p.445).

How did this happen? How did Mithraism, with its December 25 worship, and Sun-day worship, contribute these prominent “holidays” to the established “Christian” Church? How did paganism overtake, overcome, and subdue, the original teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ, and His apostles, and replace Biblical holy days with pagan “holy days”? Should all true Christians be concerned about this historic truth — this reality? Doesn’t it really matter?

What should these facts mean to us, today, who seek to obey God, and follow the Christ of the Bible, who seek to be TRUE followers of the Word of GOD?

The Seduction of the Church

“The exact date of Christ’s birth is not known. The early Christians did NOT celebrate His birth, because they considered the celebration of anyone’s birth to be a pagan custom. The first mention of the observance of Christ’s birthday appears about A.D. 200. For many years, several dates were used. December 25 was first mentioned in 336″ (article “Christmas”). Worldbook Encyclopedia

This common reference work acknowledges, “For many years, people observed Christmas as a religious festival only. But they GRADUALLY ADOPTED MORE AND MORE CUSTOMS UNRELATED TO THE CHURCH. Most of the customs originated in cultures that existed before Christianity. . . . In 1643, the Puritans, who regarded such celebrations as pagan, outlawed the observance of Christmas in England.” Colonists in New England followed the English laws and also outlawed Christmas. But immigrants to the New World brought Christmas customs from many lands and the old festivities where soon restored.

All of the popular customs and traditions surrounding Christmas actually were celebrated at pagan mid-winter festivals thousands of years before Christ was born. The Worldbook Encyclopedia goes on to say, “The custom of burning the Yule log began with the ancient Scandinavians, who once a year burned a huge log in honor of their god Thor. After the Scandinavians became Christians [sic], they made the Yule log an important part of their Christmas ceremonies.”

Where Did the Christmas Tree Come From?

One of the most pervasive customs of Christmas, today, is the bringing home and decorating of a “Christmas tree.” Where did this custom come from?

Coffin in The Book of Christmas Folklore tells us:

“Most people have heard that the Christmas tree originates in the tannenbaum and is some sort of vestige of Teutonic vegetation worship. THIS IS PARTIALLY TRUE. However, the custom of using pine and other evergreens ceremonially was well established at the ROMAN SATURNALIA, even earlier in Egypt” (p.209).

Writes Alexander Hislop in The Two Babylons,

“The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt. In Egypt that tree was the palm tree; in Rome it was the fir; the palm tree denoting the Pagan Messiah, as Baal-Tamar, the fir referring to him as Baal-Berith. The mother of Adonis, the Sun-God and great mediatorial divinity, was mystically said to have been changed into a tree, and when in that state to have brought forth her divine son. If the mother was a tree, the son must have been recognized as the ‘Man the branch.’ And this entirely accounts for the putting of the Yule Log into the fire on Christmas Eve, and the appearance of the Christmas tree the next morning” (page 97).

Tree worship was very common among the ancients. Says Festivals, Holy Days, and Saints’ Days,

“The Christmas tree . . . recapitulates the idea of tree worship. . . gilded nuts and balls symbolizing the sun . . . all the festivities of the [heathen] winter solstice have been absorbed into Christmas Day . . . the use of holly and mistletoe to the Druidic ceremonies; the Christmas tree to the honours paid to Odin’s sacred fir . . .” (p.236).

The following is from Coffins in Christmas Folklore:

“This idea of decorating homes on holidays is both worldwide and age-old. . . So the Saturnalian laurel, the Teutonic holly, the Celtic mistletoe, and the Mexican poinsettia have all attached themselves to this polyglot ceremony . . .

“Many of the plants used at Christmas are SYMBOLS OF FERTILITY. Certainly any evergreen (fir, yew, laurel) with its ability to return verdure in the barrens months is appropriate, but by far the most interesting are the holly, the ivy, and the mistletoe. Holly, with its pricking leaves, white flowers, and red berries symbolizes the male reproductive urge. In fact, in the English carols . . . the holly is the male and the ivy is the female. This use of the plants was most likely BORROWED by the Christians along with other customs of the ROMAN SATURNALIA” (p.22-23).

Ivy, holly’s mate, in ancient Grecian rites took its name from the girl who danced with such abandon and joy before Dionysius that she fell dead at his feet. The pagan god, moved by her dance, turned her into the ivy that she might entwine whatever is near. Dionysius, of course, was the Greek version of the god of wine and revelry, another form of Bacchus, Tammuz, or Nimrod!

Mistletoe, since the earliest of times, has been regarded as mysterious and sacred, the symbol of the sun, bestower of life, an aphrodisiac, and protector against disease and poison. The plant was especially sacred to the Celtic Druids who offered it in prayer to the gods. The mistletoe was referred to by pagans as the “golden bough.” The two great holidays when the pagans gathered mistletoe were Midsummer Day, the summer solstice, and December 25, the winter solstice. It was supposed to posses the power of revealing treasures in the earth, and was formed into a “divining rod.” It was also looked upon as the “seat of life” of the sacred oak, and as an emanation of the sun’s fire. Kissing under the mistletoe is a survival of Saturnalian sexual licentiousness and debauched immoral behavior, which was commonplace at the Saturnalia.

What about Dear Old “Santa Claus”?

Worldbook Encyclopedia,

“Some of Santa Claus’s characteristics date back many centuries. For example, the belief that Santa enters the house through the chimney developed from an old Norse legend. The Norse believed that the goddess Hertha appeared in the fireplace and brought good luck to the home.”

Although most people assume that the original “Santa Claus” was a bishop by the name of St. Nicholas of Asia Minor of the fourth century, this is not really true. Although some of this bishop’s deeds later came to be associated with “St. Nick,” the original “Nicholas” was once again Nimrod, the “mighty one against the Lord.” The word “Nicholas” means “mighty one, powerful.” We should also recall the Nicolatine spirit of priestcraft or control that Jesus says twice in Rev 2:6&15 that He HATES.

Traditions of a “god” who gave gifts under an evergreen tree antecede the Asian Minor bishop by thousands of years! Among the Scandinavians it was the god Odin or Woden who left special gifts during the Yuletide season under the evergreen tree, his sacred tree!

Tony van Renterghem writes in When Santa Was a Shaman: The Ancient Origins of Santa Claus & the Christmas Tree:

“In newly Christianized areas where the pagan Celtic and Germanic cults remained strong, legends of the god Wodan were blended with those of various Christian saints; Saint Nicholas was one of these. There were Christian areas where Saint Nicholas ruled alone; in other locations, he was assisted by the pagan Dark Helper (the slave he had inherited from the pagan god Wodan). In other remote areas . . . ancient pockets of the Olde Religion controlled traditions. Here the Dark Helper ruled alone, sometimes in a most confusing manner, using the cover name of Saint Nicholas or ‘Klaus,’ without in any way changing his threatening, Herne/Pan, fur-clad appearance. (This was the figure later used by the artist Nast as the model for the early American Santa Claus)” (page 96).

The Catholic Saint Nicholas also had a confusing past. According to van Renterghem, “He was a compilation of two separate saints (one from Myra in Asia Minor, the other from Pinora), both of whom were — as the Church nowadays admits — nothing more than Christianized water deities (possibly related to the Greco-Roman god Poseidon/Neptune)” (ibid.). In the 1970s, the Second Vatican Council formally stated that no Roman Catholic bishop by the name of Nicholas had ever existed! Vatican II further confessed that the legends attributed to this “saint” had no Christian origin, and probably came from pagan traditions!

Tony van Renterghem, wites:

“By absorbing such PAGAN FEASTS AND TRADITIONS, the Christian Church could subtly bring in its own theology: in this case, establishing the good Saint Nicholas, bringer of love and gifts, while grudgingly allowing the presence of the Olde Religion’s Herne/Pan, but only as a slave to Saint Nicholas. Thus, in parts of Europe, the Church turned Herne into Saint Nicholas’ captive, chained Dark Helper; none other than Satan, the Dark One, symbolic of all evil. . . .

“In Holland and several other European countries, the Saint Nicholas figure is still highly esteemed. He appears as a tall, dignified, bearded, white-haired old man, dressed as a Catholic bishop, complete with cloak, mytre, and pastoral staff, a seemingly genuine Catholic saint, but with a bizarre, quite unsaintly habit of riding through the skies on a white horse, followed by his Dark Helper. It seems that our Catholic saint inherited some of these customs from the pagan god Wodan, who had also been a BEARDED, WHITE- HAIRED OLD MAN, also dressed in a hat and cloak, carried a staff (or spear), rode a white horse, and dragged along the same dark slave/helper on a chain” (p.97).

So much for old “Santa Claus”! This mythological figure, also, is pagan to the core!

The Dutch “Sinterklaas” brings gifts to good children, while bad children are harrassed by the “Dark Helper,” called Zwarte Pier, or “Black Pete,” who brandishes a broom-like rod. Like Santa Claus, Sinterklaas also had the habit of entering homes through the chimney! His helper, “Black Pete,” is today, still horned, fur-clad, scary, and less than kind to children. Although portrayed as the slave helper of Saint Nicholas, the two are, in many villages, blended into one character, who often has the name Nikolaas or Klaus. Thus “Santa Claus” is blended with, and is none other than, that old enemy of mankind, Satan the devil!

“In Germany, Saint Nicholas’ Dark Helper is a swarthy, horned, frightening little man, always brandishing the besom [broom]. He is known by many names: Knecht Ruprecht (servant Ruprecht), or in Bavaria, Pelz Nickel, meaning ‘fur-clad Nick.’ In Tyrol, the picture is even clearer; there the Dark Helper is Kllaubau, a scarier version of the British Herne the Hunter, a chained, furry, black-faced horned creature” (p.103-105).

Who was this Odin, or Woden, the original “Santa Claus”? He was the chief god of Norse mythology, a fierce fighter who carried a spear as his special weapon. He was renown as a mighty hunter, and for his magical powers. This same author declares, further, of the connection between Odin/Wodan and Saint Nicholas:

“Wodan/Odin: The Germanic/Nordic sun god; man’s friend, the mysterious Schimmel rider. Dragging his dark and devilish slave Eckhart along on a chain, he rides through the stormy skies. He leads the Wild Hunt, eluding, and finally subjugating, the powers of evil. He also wears a broad-brimmed hat, a wide mantel, holds his spear, and rides through the skies (replace his hat with a bishop’s mytre and the spear with a crozier, and we have the Dutch Saint Nicholas)” (p.111).

In other words, Odin was another name for Nimrod, who, the Bible says, was “the mighty hunter before [the Hebrew word for "before" also means "against"] the LORD” (Genesis 10:9). Nimrod’s reputation as a mighty hunter was widespread.

Says Alexander Hislop, “The Wodan or Odin of Scandinavia can be proved to be the Adon of Babylon” (The Two Babylons, p.133-134). Nimrod, Adon, or Adonis, of Babylon was the great “war-god.” Odin was the same. Nimrod, in the character of Bacchus, was the god of wine. Odin was said to partake of no other food but wine. The name of one of Odin’s sons, Balder, indicates the meaning of Odin’s own name. Balder is a form of the Chaldee Baal-zer, “The seed of Baal.” The Hebrew “z” in the later Chaldee frequently became a “d.” Baal and Adon both signify “Lord.” Since Balder is the “son of Baal,” as well as the “son of Adon,” or “Odin,” then Baal, Adon, and Odin must be the same person — representative of Nimrod, the first human to be deified and proclaimed by the pagans as a “god” after the Deluge!

“Santa Claus,” then, is not so innocent and cherubic a figure after all! Why do parents take their young children, sit them on “Santa’s lap,” and insist on teaching them Santa Claus myths? The word “Santa,” rearranged, spells “S-A-T-A-N,” and “Claus” is reminiscent of “Claws” — in other words, “SATAN’S CLAWS”! Do you want Satan, the arch-enemy of mankind, to get his “claws” into your children? By teaching them Santa Claus myths, and taking them to “Christmas parties,” with “Santa Claus” handing out “gifts,” you are subtly teaching your children to worship Satan the devil, the great impostor!

The True Origin of “Christmas”

It is indeed strange that a day never mentioned or sanctioned in the Bible should become the chief so-called “Christian” holiday of the entire year — a day never celebrated by Jesus Christ, or His apostles, or the early New Testament Church of God!

What is the actual origin of the celebration of December 25? A careful look at the word “Christmas” itself ought to tell us something. Notice! It itself is a mixture. Though it includes the name of Christ, it also mentions the “mass.” Where did the “mass” — with its rituals, elaborate ceremony, pagan prayers for the dead, transubstantiation rites, etc. — come from?

Alexander Hislop in his remarkable book The Two Babylons, points out that the “mass” is something that definitely goes back to ancient PAGAN customs and rites! He declares in plain and clear language:

“Therefore we find the women of Judah represented as simply ‘burning incense, pouring out drink-offerings, and offering CAKES to the queen of heaven’ (Jer. 44:19). The cakes were the ‘unbloody sacrifice’ she required. . . . In the FOURTH CENTURY, when the queen of heaven, under the name of Mary, was beginning to be worshipped in the Christian Church, this ‘unbloody sacrifice’ also was brought in. Epiphanius states that the practice of offering and eating it began among `women of Arabia; and at that time it was well known to have been ADOPTED FROM THE PAGANS. The very shape of the unbloody sacrifice of Rome may indicate when it came. It is a small thin, round wafer; and on its roundness the Church of Rome lays so much stress . . . . The importance, however, which Rome attaches to the roundness of the wafer, must have a reason; and that reason will be found, if we look at the altars of EGYPT. ‘The thin, round cake,’ says Wilkinson, ‘occurs on all altars.’ Almost every jot or tittle in the Egyptian worship had a symbolical meaning. The round disk, so frequent in the sacred emblems of Egypt, symbolized the sun” (The Two Babylons, p.159-160).

The “sun-god” in ancient Egypt was Osiris. The round disk of the Egyptian “mass” symbolized the sun, and was an offering symbolizing the sun-god. He was considered the life and nourishment of the souls of men!

The “Christ-mass” therefore is nothing more than the celebration of the birth of the “sun-god” himself, the False Messiah, the False “Saviour” of the world, and the “mass” itself also represents the offering or “cakes” made to the queen of heaven, the “Mother” of the pagan Saviour, the “unbloody sacrifice”! Again, “Christ-mass” is proved to be PAGAN to the core!

It is a fact that December 25 was celebrated for thousands of years before the birth of Christ as the birth day of an ancient pagan god — THE SUN GOD! Alexander Hislop points out the truth in these shocking words — at least, they ought to be shocking to anybody with a clear, undefiled, and conscientious mind:

“Indeed, it is admitted by the most learned and candid writers of all parties that the day of our Lord’s birth cannot be determined, and that within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the third century, and that not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance. How, then, did the Romish Church fix on December the 25th as Christmas-day? Why, thus: Long before the fourth century, and long before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen, at that precise time of the year, in honour of the birth of the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of the nominal adherents of Christianity, the SAME FESTIVAL WAS ADOPTED by the Roman Church, giving it only the name of Christ. This tendency on the part of Christians to MEET PAGANISM HALF-WAY was very early developed. . . . Upright men strove to stem the tide, but in spite of all their efforts, the apostasy went on, till the Church, with the exception of a small remnant, was submerged under Pagan superstition” (p.93).

Hislop goes on,

“That Christmas was originally a Pagan festival, is beyond all doubt. The time of the year, and the ceremonies with which it is still celebrated, prove its origin. In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time, ‘about the time of the winter solstice.’ The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among ourselves — Yule-day — proves at once its Pagan and Babylonian origin. ‘Yule’ is the Chaldee name for an ‘infant’ or ‘little child;’ and as the 25th of December was called by our Pagan Anglo- Saxon ancestors, ‘Yule-day,’ or the “Child’s day,’ and the night that preceded it, ‘Mother-night,’ long BEFORE they came in contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character” (pp.93-94).

December 25th was observed far and wide among the ancient world. This day was “The birth-day of the unconquered Sun.” The Yule log represented the dead stock of the slain Nimrod, arch-apostate rebel against the Lord after the flood (see Genesis 10:8-10), and the Christmas-tree was supposedly Nimrod reborn — the slain god come to life again!

In Europe, the Saxons offered a boar in sacrifice to the sun, to propitiate the queen of heaven on Christmas day. The boar, in pagan mythology, was supposed to have slain the false pagan Messiah. The boar was also a major article of the feast of Saturn at Rome. The boar’s head is still a standing dish in England at Christmas dinner. Says Hislop: “There can be no doubt, then, that the Pagan festival at the winter solstice — in other words, Christmas — was held in honor of the birth of the Babylonian Messiah” (p.102).

The largest pagan religious cult which fostered sun worship in the Greek and Roman worlds on December 25 was the cult of Mithraism. They called it “the Nativity of the Sun.” Mithras, the sun-god, was supposed to have been born at this time, but so were Osiris, Horus, Tammuz, Hercules, Bacchus, Adonis, Jupiter — all the pagan Messiahs! This fact alone would seem to indicate that all these pagan sun-gods and deities trace their roots back to the original sun-god of ancient Babylon — Nimrod!

This popular winter festival became such an established custom that in pagan Rome and Greece, Egypt, and throughout Europe, the period of the winter solstice was a time of great revelry and festivity. In Rome it became known as the “Saturnalia,” in honor of the god Saturn, “the hidden one.” Saturn was another name for Nimrod, who late in his apostasy went into hiding from Shem, the son of Noah. The “feast of Saturn,” Hislop adds, “lasted five days; loose reins were given to drunkenness and revelry, slaves had a temporary emancipation, and used all manner of freedoms with their masters. This was precisely the way in which, according to Berosus, the drunken festival of the month Thebeth, answering to our December, in other words, the festival of Bacchus, was celebrated in Babylon” (p.96-97).

The following is form T. G. Crippen in Christmas and Christmas Lore,

“Now in December and the beginning of January there were several festivals which were intimately associated with the daily life of the Roman people. First, from the 17th to the 21st December, was the Saturnalia, the great Roman holiday . . . One might call it the Feast of Topsy-turveydom; when slaves were allowed for a few days to enjoy the semblance of freedom, were waited upon by their masters, and chose from amongst themselves a mock king to preside over their revels. Next, on the 22nd, came Sigillaria, the Feast of Dolls, when a fair was held, and dolls and other toys, mostly of earthenware, were given to children. Then, on 25th, came Brumalia, other-wise Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, The Birthday of the Unconquered Sun, when the days began to lengthen after the solstice. . . . It is believed to have been instituted . . . by the emperor Aurelian, in honour of Mithras, the Persian sun-god . . .” (p.8-9).

Clearly, the pagan customs of Christmas had nothing remotely to do with Christ, or the Word of God. Clearly, they had nothing to offer to the Church of God, as they were the very opposite of true Christianity which is the occult realm of Satan! Yet, somehow, this ancient pagan festival wormed its way into the established “Christian” Church and became its most prominent holiday of the year! What a monstrous mystery!

The Catholic Church took the excitement which surrounded the Roman Saturnalia, with its excesses, delights, debauchery, and wantonness, and called them the celebration of the birth of the Son of God, Jesus. Most people today still think of December 25 as the birth day of Jesus, even though this is definitely not the case.

This pagan “bash” was transformed by the Catholic Church into the festivities of Christmas, in honor of the Madonna and Child. Thus the pagan Semiramis (Egyptian Isis) and Tammuz (Horus) were “transformed,” by sleight of hand, by the “magicians” of the Roman Church, into Mary and Jesus. In this manner, the pagan practices of the past centuries became outwardly “Christian” in name and character! For almost 300 years after the time of Jesus, the Church showed no concern for the date of Christ’s birth. The apostles and leaders of the New Testament Church never bothered to find out when Jesus was born, as the date was not important to them. It was not until the fourth century that Christmas began to be observed by the Roman Catholic Church.

“Christmas — it was according to many authorities not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian Church as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth. A feast was established in memory of the birth of the Saviour in the Fourth Century. In the Fifth Century the Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever on the day of the old Roman Feast of the birth of Sol.” Encyclopedia Americana:

That is how an ancient PAGAN CUSTOM became engrafted upon the unsuspected Christian world! But should true followers of Christ, the Messiah, participate in ANCIENT PAGAN CUSTOMS? Should true Christians celebrate “Christmas”?

The Puritans, who were Christians attempting to reform the Church during the 1600’s, did not believe Christmas should be observed. This “baptism” of pagan rites and festivals by the Roman Catholic and the vast majority of the Protestant Churches, was totally rejected by the Puritans. One of them, William Prynne, during the time of king Charles I, wrote:

“Our Christmas lords of Misrule, together with dancing, masques, mummeries, stage-players, and such other Christmas disorders, now in use with Christians, were derived from these Roman Saturnalia and Bacchanalian festivals; which should cause all pious Christians eternally to abominate them” (The Book of Christmas Folklore, p.8).

Because of his attitude toward Christmas and pagan rituals still observed by the professing Christian Church, William Prynne was punished, imprisoned and had his ears cut off.

Should Christians Observe “Christmas”?

Should Christians today celebrate this ancient festival? Many today may think it is all right, but the opinions of men are not our standard or authority. What does the Word of God itself say about this matter? It is a very serious question. Is it all right in the sight of God for men to take pagan customs and traditions, and to observe them, calling them “Christian”? Is it all right to merge and combine PAGAN practices with the truth of God?

According to the prophet Malachi, God does not change (Mal.3:8). His laws and commandments are eternal (Psa.111:7-8). Does God say it is all right to observe the traditions and customs of the pagans?

God commanded ancient Israel, “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the LORD your God.” (Lev.18:2-4).

God hates idolatry! He detests it with vehement passion. He tells us, “. . . Be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.’ YOU must NOT WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD IN THEIR WAY, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of DETESTABLE THINGS the LORD HATES” (Deut.12:29-31).

Because of pagan idolatrous practices, God cast the Canaanites out of the Promised Land. They were worshippers of Baal, or Nimrod, Tammuz, the sun god, the pagan Messiah, the god of wine and revelry. They worshipped the evergreen tree, and used it as a symbol of their god. They observed December 25, in worship of the waning sun, and their sun-god divinity. This whole religious system stemmed from ancient Babylon, the fount of all heresy and apostasy.

Their sensuality and gross lasciviousness was particularly displayed during the mid-winter festival, called the Saturnalia in Rome, with gift-giving, drunkenness, and sexual licentiousness. God says of such rites,

Lev 18:25 And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.

Lev 18:26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you:

Lev 18:27 (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;)

Lev 18:28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.

Lev 18:29 For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people.

Lev 18:30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

Even such idolatrous items as the “Christmas tree” are condemned in the Word of God! Jeremiah the prophet wrote:

Jer 10:1 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:

Jer 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

Jer 10:3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.

Jer 10:4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

Jer 10:5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

Even such idolatrous items as the “Christmas tree” are condemned in the Word of God! Jeremiah the prophet wrote:that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

Truly, the whole world has been deceived by Satan the devil and his clever masquerades and machinations (Rev.12:9).

“Wherefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye POLLUTED after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye WHOREDOM after the manner of THEIR ABOMINATIONS? . . . ye POLLUTE yourselves with all your IDOLS, even unto this day . . . . But as for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD: Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but POLLUTE YE MY HOLY NAME NO MORE with your gifts, and with your idols” (Ezek.20:30-39).

The very name “Christmas,” combining the holy name of Christ with the pagan mass, POLLUTES and PROFANES God’s holy name! The celebration of these ancient pagan festivals, calling them “Christian,” is an abomination in the sight of God! God will not accept such pagan, superstitious worship!

Jesus said to His disciples, “John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

YOU SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, and the truth will set you FREE” — free from the shackles of error, superstition, mythology, and pagan deception!

Christmas is pagan. There is no doubt about it. The question is: What are you going to do about it? May God help you to make the right decision, so you can inherit eternal life, and reign with the saints forever (Rev.2:26-27; 5:10; 20:4).

Should You Observe Easter

This spring, most of Christendom will observe the ancient rite of Easter, saying that it commemorates Messiah’s resurrection. Many who do so acknowledge that the name, Easter, and its seasonal observance long predate Christianity–in paganism! However, they reason that since it is now a widely accepted, traditional Christian practice, Messiah appreciates it.

But other people look in the Bible and come to a different conclusion. These Messianic Believers will observe the Messianic Passover as Yeshua originally ordained it and as the early Church originally observed it.

How did the Easter celebration come into Christianity? Do the Scriptures give us guidance about selecting religious traditions and practices for observance? To which did Messiah say we should keep a memorial–His sacrifice or His resurrection?

“Christianizing” the Festivals of Ancient Sex Goddesses?

The origins of pre-Messianic Easter festivals in pagan cultures are well-known in history. In the ancient world, some of the greatest female deities were the various incarnations of the great fertility goddesses known as Ishtar (Babylonian), Astarte (Phoenician), Atargatis (Philistine), Ashtoreth (Hebrew), Eastre(Anglo-Saxon), Ostara (German) and Aphrodite (Greek).

These goddesses are regarded as essentially the same deity due to the similarities of their names, mythologies, worship and festivals. These factors are what define a deity as its worship moves between cultures. The primary fertility festivals for these deities–and their associated male gods–were in the spring, a time of renewal and birth.

In The Myth of the Goddess, Anne Baring and Jules Cashford write, “Now we read everywhere of goddesses and gods who take their being from one Primordial Goddess who is the origin of all things…. She is single yet she marries; she is a virgin and mother; and sometimes her son becomes her consort. As before, she gives life and takes it away. The goddess has many names and many different tales are told about her, but one story is unvarying throughout the Near East. The goddess becomes separated from the one she loves, who dies or seems to die, and falls into a darkness called ‘the Underworld.’ This separation is reflected in nature as a loss of light and fertility. The goddess descends to overcome the darkness so that her loved one may return to the light, and life may continue.

“Aphrodite is primarily a descendant of the Mesopotamian Goddess Inanna-Ishtar, who became Astarte in Phoenicia and was called Atargatis by the Philistines, and Ashtoreth by the Hebrews. Inanna’s consort, Dumuzi, and Ishtar’s Tammuz became, in the Greek tradition, Aphrodite’s Adonis, the dying and resurrected son-lover of the goddess in a new form.

“The Greek goddess Aphrodite loses her lover, the beautiful Adonis…. Now the goddess no longer rescues him herself, but has to ask the g-d Zeus to allow him to return to life from spring to autumn, the fertile season of the earth. Finally, Yeshua, son of the Virgin Mother, Mary, dies…. Messiah is ‘rescued’ by his Father in Heaven, but, like the others, his return coincides with the date of the earth’s regeneration. Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox, so that Messiah’s resurrection, like those before him, also reflects the turning of winter into spring” (pp. 145-147, 359).

Another author, Joseph Campbell, drew the conclusion that the Messianic practice of Easter “occurs on the date of the annual resurrection of Adonis, which in the Messianic cult became Easter. In both the pagan cult and the Messianic, the resurrection is of a g-d” (Occidental Mythology, p. 138).

These authors are expressing a view commonly held among modern, secular historians that there was a significant continuity in “Christianized” Gentile cultures with their pagan past. They had a tendency, over time, to superimpose Messianic themes as a veneer over their existing pagan practices, which were already deeply ingrained in their societies and psyches. They are saying that in history, the Messianic version of Easter as a memorial to Messiah’s resurrection is essentially a modification of an earlier pagan resurrection festival. The practice did not originate in Christianity.

Unfortunately, when the Gentile churches reverted to the cultural rites that they were more comfortable with, they abandoned essential instructions from Messiah and the apostles. While it is true that most of Christendom observes Easter saying that it commemorates Messiah’s resurrection, the observance that the Bible actually ordains for Messiah is not a memorial specifically to His resurrection but, quite the opposite, a memorial to His sacrificial death.

It is important to remember that, as the above quotes show, by the time of Messiah and the early Messianic Church, the Gentile cultures of Asia Minor and the Mediterranean already had ancient cultural roots involving spring festivals associated with fertility, rebirth and resurrection. These fertility festivals occurred around the time of the Passover when the paschal lamb was sacrificed by Jews as a memorial of the Exodus. But when Messiah instructed His followers to keep the Passover with a new, Messianic meaning, it became a memorial to His sacrifice as the Lamb of G-d–not a memorial to His resurrection. Messiah avoided confusing the meaning of His memorial with the well-known pagan customs of His time and antiquity.

Actually, the time of the saints’ resurrection from the dead at the return of Yeshua Messiah (1 Cor. 15:12-20, 50-52) is pictured by the Feast of Trumpets, which takes place during the fall Holy Days (Lev. 23:24), not during the spring. As we shall see shortly, the practice and the meaning of the Messianic Passover are explicitly taught in the Bible and were taught by the first century, apostolic Church.

Yet, as Christianity spread into Gentile areas, with passing generations, some churches tended to gravitate back toward prior pagan cultural practices of their own societies and away from religious practices for which some in their societies held negative associations with Judaism.

As a result, the proper observance of Pasch, or Passover, was changed both in its time and meaning. Historians in orthodox Christianity acknowledge the transformation. The New Catholic Encyclopedia explains, “Not only was the significance of the Jewish feast changed by the Messianic Believers, but also the date. The Jewish method of fixing the date, the 14th of Nisan, did not confine it to any one [Roman calendar] day; at a very early time [Roman] Messianic Believers assigned their Pasch to the Sunday following the Jewish feast” (1967, vol. 5, p. 7). Pasch is Latin for Passover. But upon the change of date and meaning, this celebration is more appropriately identified by the English word ‘Easter.’

“The Asiatic practice in the 2d century of observing Easter [Pasch] on the day of the Jewish Passover conflicted with the Roman custom of celebrating Easter on Sunday, the day of the Resurrection…. Originally both observances were allowed, but gradually it was felt incongruous that Messianic Believers should celebrate Easter on a Jewish feast, and unity in celebrating the principal Messianic feast was called for” (p. 8).

“Quartodecimanism [the practice of observing Pasch or Passover on Nisan 14 of the Hebrew calendar], prevalent in Asia Minor and Syria in the 2d century, emphasized the death of Messiah, the true Paschal victim (John 18:28; 19:42), while Roman practice emphasized the observance of Sunday as the day of the Resurrection…. As Christianity separated from Judaism, Gentile Messianic Believers objected to observing the principal Messianic feast on the same day as the Jewish Passover” (vol. 12, p. 13).

Christianized Veneer or Solid Scriptural Practice?

It is clear that Easter is a Christianized pagan festival! While many who celebrate Easter acknowledge this, they argue that doing it in honor of Messiah makes it okay. But in His Word, G-d strongly condemns this kind of reasoning and practice. Notice how He instructed Israel:

“When the L-RD your G-d cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the L-RD your G-d in that way; for every abomination to the L-RD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it” (Deut. 12:29-32).

G-d clearly tells us to avoid recycling pagan religious customs for His worship. We are to worship G-d as He instructs, not as we might reason on our own. Keeping Easter certainly adds to what G-d instructed, and as we shall see, rejecting the Messianic Passover certainly takes away from what we are told to do as Messianic Believers.

Messiah said, “‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ For laying aside the commandment of G-d, you hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:6-8).

And Paul cautioned the Romans, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?” (Rom. 6:16).

The Gospels’ Witness About What to Do

Some people may be surprised to learn that the New Testament gospels have a lot to say about the actual practice that Yeshua and His disciples followed the night before Yeshua’ death: “And He sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat’… So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover…. When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, ‘With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of G-d.’

“Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of G-d comes.’ And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you’” (Luke 22:8, 13-20). Earlier, He had washed the disciples’ feet and instructed them to do the same for each other (John 13:1-15).

Messiah said that they were eating the Passover and that they should “do this in remembrance of Me.” He commanded them to keep that night as a memorial to Him, and He showed them the manner in which to keep it, using unleavened bread as a symbol of His body and wine as a symbol of His blood.

When Should This Paschal Worship Take Place?

Now notice on what day of the Hebrew calendar these events took place. It is important to note that by Israelite reckoning, a day begins at sunset and ends with sunset the next day.

The Jewish Passover, which is a high day and a Sabbath, falls on Nisan 15 of the Hebrew calendar and begins at the evening ending Nisan 14 (Lev. 23:5-6). In the time of Messiah, the Jews killed the Passover lamb the afternoon of Nisan 14 at about the hour Messiah, the Lamb of G-d, died at the hands of the Romans. Messiah’s last supper took place at the beginning of Nisan 14, on the evening before the crucifixion. That night He was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter and beaten before the high priest (Matt. 26:30-75; John 18:1-27).

The following morning–still Nisan 14–He was tried by Pilate, condemned, scourged and crucified (Matt. 27; John 18:28-40). Notice in John 19:31 that Messiah had to be buried before evening “because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day).” These scriptures show conclusively that the Passover memorial that Messiah ordained was on the evening that began Nisan 14. This was the evening before the Jewish Passover celebration, which was held in the evening beginning Nisan 15.

The Meaning Behind the Symbols

We now have seen what Messiah instructed His followers to observe as a memorial to Him, and when they were to keep it. But why did He say to do this? The Apostle John preserved Yeshua’ explanation of the why of the Passover bread and wine in his gospel: “‘I am the bread of life…. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.’ The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?’ Then Yeshua said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day’” (John 6:48, 51-54).

Messiah is Our Passover

The events described in the book of Exodus prefigured the death and purpose of the true Passover Lamb. The Israelites were instructed to take a lamb to be slain. “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year…. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day… the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night…. For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn…. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you” (12:5-8, 12-13).

The events of the Exodus pictured what would be fulfilled later in Yeshua Messiah. Yeshua Messiah, the Lamb of G-d, is our Passover sacrifice. As the Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians, “For indeed Messiah, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7).

Messiah’s sacrifice is absolutely essential for our salvation, because without it our sins cannot be forgiven. The Bible teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of G-d” (Rom. 3:23), and that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of G-d is eternal life through Yeshua Messiah our L-rd” (Rom. 6:23). Through the blood of the Lamb of G-d (John 1:29), our sins are forgiven–passed over–and we are reconciled with the Father.

We cannot give ourselves eternal life. Good works and repentance from sin are the results of our living faith, but all the good works in the world cannot save us, because our works do not justify our past sins. Only the blood of Yeshua Messiah does that, and only G-d has eternal life to give. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of G-d, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).

Notice how Paul explained it in Romans 5:8-9: “G-d demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Messiah died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood…” Paul reveals that by Messiah’s sacrifice we are now cleansed from our past sins. Continuing, he said, “We shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to G-d through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (vv. 9-10).

We have a living, resurrected Savior, and our hope for eternal life is by resurrection through Him. Yeshua Messiah’s resurrection is of great importance to Messianic Believers, but we were not given a spring festival to commemorate it.

The Apostle Paul’s Teaching

What did the Apostolic Church teach and practice? When instructing the Church at Corinth, Paul wrote, “For I received from the L-rd that which I also delivered to you: that the L-rd Yeshua on the same night in which He was betrayed [the evening of the beginning of Nisan 14] took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the L-rd’s death till He comes” (1 Cor. 11:23-26).

This is an explicit instruction from Paul for the Church to keep the Passover as a memorial–at the very same time, in the same manner and with the same meaning that Messiah instructed His disciples.

Whereas the Messianic Passover pictures the forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of the Lamb of G-d, the Days of Unleavened Bread–the week following the Passover–also have great meaning for Messianic Believers. During the Days of Unleavened Bread, the Israelites were to have put all leavening out of their homes (Deut. 16:3-4). Leavening is a biblical symbol for sin, and the removal of leavening foreshadowed the cleansing of Messianic Believers, from sin and also prefigured the ongoing repentance from the sin that takes place after an individual accepts Yeshua as L-rd and Savior.

The Apostle Paul commanded the Corinthians, “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Messiah, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:7-8).

In the Bible, we have clear instructions from the Apostle Paul and Yeshua Messiah concerning the time, manner and meaning of the observance of the Messianic Passover. While it is clear that this was the teaching and practice of Paul and the Corinthian Church, it is also interesting to note that this doctrine continued into the second, third and fourth centuries A.D. in the churches in Asia Minor, which were raised up by Paul and frequented by the Apostle John in his old age.

The Roman church, which advocated the observance of Easter, labeled those who continued the practice of observing a Messianic Passover on Nisan 14 as “Quartodecimans”–from the Latin for “four and ten.” The eastern or Asiatic churches, however, insisted on continuing in the faith delivered to them by the apostles.

Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John and Bishop of Smyrna, debated the issue (c. 155 A.D.) and asserted that he had been personally taught the proper observance by the Apostle John.

Later, “an attempt in 189-198 A.D. to impose Roman usage [Easter] proved unsuccessful in the face of a determined opposition led by Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus [a church founded by the Apostle Paul]…. All accepted the Roman practice except the Asiatic bishops. When Victor attempted coercion by excommunication, St. Iranaeus of Lyons intervened to restore peace (Eusebius, History Ecclesiastical, 5. 23-25). During the 3rd century Quartodecimanism waned; it persisted in some Asiatic communities down to the 5th century” (New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, vol. 5, p. 8; vol. 12, p. 13).

The fact that this practice dropped out of sight is not surprising. The Messianic Believers who continued Quartodecimanism were excommunicated and made anathema by the Roman church in the fourth century, and many suffered terrible persecution. It is clear that the Asiatic churches considered the keeping of the Passover on Nisan 14 to be an extremely important doctrine!

Actually, the practice of observing the Messianic Passover did not die out, but continues today as a faithful observance by the Global Church of G-d and other churches every spring on the evening beginning Nisan 14.

The Bible teaches that it is important for us to worship G-d as He commands–and to commemorate Messiah as He taught. We should not borrow religious practices from pagan cultures! This spring, most of Christendom will keep Easter, but some Messianic Believers, who faithfully follow Yeshua’ instructions and the examples of the Apostles Paul and John, will joyfully continue the observance of the Messianic Passover. What about you?

http://www.dccsa.com/greatjoy/C&E.htm 

Is Christmas Christian?

1. Introduction

‘What a strange question,’ you may exclaim. ‘Of course Christmas is Christian: it commemorates the birth of the Saviour of the world – Jesus Christ – the Son of God!’ Stunning as the following facts may appear, it is essential to bring them to your notice.

• Christmas is a PAGAN not a Christian festival.
• The 25th December was celebrated in ancient days as the birthday of the unconquerable SUN god, (variously know as Tammuz, Mithra, Saturn, Adonis or BAAL) centuries before Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.
• Nowhere in the Bible are believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob required to celebrate Christmas.
• The early Christian church did not celebrate Christmas. Instead it celebrated the sacred festivals mentioned in the Bible, in Leviticus chapter 23.
• In order to win Gentile converts to the Christian faith, the Roman Church, centuries after the apostolic era, adopted this ancient pagan winter festival of the SUN god and renamed it ‘Christmas’ mistakenly thinking that it would honour the SON of God.
• Scholars have for centuries known these facts. They can be confirmed in any reference library.

This article will first answer the question: When, according to Scripture, was Jesus Christ born? It will then go on to quote various historians who wrote concerning Christmas, then list the scriptural alternatives to Christmas, Easter, All Saints day etc. and the customs associated with them. It will end with a challenging question which all true believers – of whatever faith – must answer.To begin with let me plainly state that the Scriptures do not give the precise date of the Saviour’s birth. However, by close examination of various passages in the Bible we are able to conclude that most certainly he was not born on the 25th December (mid-winter in the northern hemisphere) but at some time in the autumn of the year. Here is how we arrive at that opinion.

2. Scriptural Evidence

The story of the Saviour’s birth is well known; but for those who do not have Bibles here it is.

This passage tells us that the angel Gabriel visited Zacharias during the course of Abia. What is meant by “the course of Abia?”The “course of Abia” (Abijah in Hebrew) we learn from 1 Chronicles 24:7-10, was the 8th of 24 courses during a 12 month year. Each group of priests (all except the most senior who were on duty more often) officiated in the Temple for two weeks every year. Zacharias’ turn of duty came when the 8th group (Abijah’s) attended; which was during weeks 15 and 16 after the start of the year.

A year in the sacred calendar begins with the new moon nearest the spring equinox. Consequently the new year starts in March or very early April. For the purpose of this study we will work with the equinox date of 20th March. Fifteen weeks (105 days) after the 20th March bring us to early July. In other words, in early July the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that his aged wife Elisabeth would conceive and bear a son, whose name was to be John. Six months into Elisabeth’s pregnancy, that is in early January, Gabriel informed the virgin Mary that she also was to conceive and bring forth a son, the Son of the Highest – the Messiah! When Mary said that this was not possible as she had never had sexual intercourse with a man, Gabriel told her that the aged Elisabeth, who had been barren for many, many years, was already six months pregnant – another apparent impossibility with man, but not with God. For with God nothing shall be impossible!

From the above passages we learn, amongst other things, three vital facts:

• Elisabeth conceived in early July.
• Mary conceived some 6 months after Elisabeth, in early January.
• Therefore Jesus was born just over 9 months later; which brings us to an autumn date in late September/early October.

From the above scriptural evidence it is certain that Jesus Christ was not born on the 25th December but in the autumn of the year. Now this is an amazing fact because late September/early October coincides with the Week of Tabernacles, the most sacred week in the sacred calendar. (Leviticus 23:23-44) The Week of Tabernacles is a memorial of Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness when the nation lived in ‘tabernacles’ (booths or tents) and when Jehovah took up residence in a ‘tabernacle’ which was pitched in the centre of the camp. That is the low-level memorial of Tabernacles. The high-level reality of Tabernacles was when Yeshua the Son of the Highest, the Messiah, GOD INCARNATE, took up residence in a frail human body. In other words, God ‘tabernacled’ with mankind in the person of His Son – Jesus Christ!

2. Authoritative Quatations

Now that we know that the Saviour was not born on the 25th December but in the autumn of the year, probably during the Week of Tabernacles, let us consider what various historians say about how the 25th December came to be celebrated as the Saviour’s birth.

• “The festivals of Rome are innumerable; but five of the most important may be singled out for elucidation -viz., Christmas-day, Lady-day, Easter, the nativity of St. John, and the Feast of the Assumption. Each and all of these can be proved to be Babylonian.” (The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hyslop, page 91)
• “… within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the third century, and that not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance. How, then, did the Roman Church fix on December 25th as Christmas-day? Why, thus: Long before the fourth century, and long before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen, at that precise time of the year, in honour of the birth of the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of the nominal adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church, giving it only the name of Christ. This tendency on the part of the Christians to meet Paganism half-way was very early developed … Upright men strove to stem the tide, but in spite of all their efforts, the apostasy went on, till the Church, with the exception of a small remnant, was submerged under Pagan superstition. That Christmas was originally a Pagan festival, is beyond all doubt. The time of the year, the ceremonies with which it is still celebrated, prove its origin. In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time, ‘about the time of the winter solstice.’” (Ibid. page 93)
• “Even where the sun was the favourite object of worship, as in Babylon itself and elsewhere, at this festival he was worshipped not merely as the orb of day, but as God incarnate. It was an essential principle of the Babylonian system, that the Sun or Baal was the one only God. When, therefore Tammuz was worshipped as God incarnate, that implied also that he was an incarnation of the Sun. In the Hindoo mythology, which is admitted to be essentially Babylonian, this comes out very distinctly. There, Surya, or the Sun, is represented as being incarnate, and born for the purpose of subduing the enemies of the gods, who, without such a birth, could not have been subdued. “It was no mere astronomical festival, then, that the Pagans celebrated at the winter solstice. That festival at Rome was called the feast of Saturn, and the mode in which it was celebrated there, showed whence it had been derived. The feast as regulated by Caligula, lasted five days; loose reins were given to drunkenness and revelry, slaves had temporary emancipation and used all manner of freedoms with their masters. This was precisely the way in which, according to Berosus, the drunken festival of the month Thebeth, answering to our December, in other words , the festival of Bacchus, was celebrated in Babylon… The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in pagan Rome and pagan Egypt. In Egypt that tree was the palm-tree; in Rome it was the fir; the palm tree denoting the pagan Messiah, as Baal-Tamar, the fir referring to him as Baal-Berith.” (Ibid. 96-97)
• “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the church … the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt.” (Catholic Encyclopaedia 1911 edition)
• “Christmas customs are an evolution from times that long antedated the Christmas period – a descent from seasonal, pagan, religious and national practices, hedged about with legend and tradition… In the beginning many of the earth’s inhabitants were sun worshippers because the course of their lives depended on its yearly round in the heavens, and feasts were held at its return from distant wanderings. In the south of Europe, in Egypt and Persia the sun-gods were worshipped with elaborate ceremonies at the season of the winter solstice, as a fitting time to pay tribute to the god of plenty, while in Rome the Saturnalia reigned for a week…The exact day and year of Christ’s birth have never been satisfactorily settled, but when the fathers of the church in A.D. 340 chose the day of the winter solstice which was firmly fixed in the minds of the people and which was their most important festival.” (Encylopaedia Britannica article Christmas page 642)
• “In a famous letter to Augustine, Pope Gregory directs the great missionary to accommodate the ceremonies of the Christian worship as much as possible to those of the heathen, that the people might not be startled at the change, and in particular the Pope advised Augustine to allow converts to kill and eat at the Christmas festival a great number of oxen to the glory of God, as they had formerly done to the Devil.” (The Story of Christmas by Michael Harrison, page 28)
• “It is nevertheless almost certain that the 25th of December cannot be the nativity of the Saviour, for it is then the height of the rainy season in Judaea, and shepherds could hardly be watching their flocks by night in the plains … Not casually or arbitrarily was the festival of the nativity celebrated on the 25th of December. One of the principal causes that co-operated in fixing this period was that almost all the heathen nations regarded the winter solstice as the turning point of the year – the beginning of the renewed life and activity of the powers of nature, and of the gods who were merely the symbolic personifications of these. In more northern countries this fact must have made itself peculiarly palpable – hence the Celts and Germans, from the oldest times, celebrated the season with the greatest festivities. At the winter solstice the Norsemen held their great Yule-feast in commemoration of the fiery sun-wheel, and believed that during the twelve nights from the 25th December to the 6th January they could trace the personal movements and interferences on earth of their great deities, Odin, Beretha, etc. Many of the beliefs and usages of the old Germans, and also of the Romans, relating to this period, passed over from heathenism to Christianity, and have partly survived to the present day.“ (Chambers Encyclopaedia 1908 Edition Vol.111 page 222, article Christmas)
• “There is no authoritative tradition as to the day or month of Christ’s birth … The winter solstice was regarded as the birthday of the sun and at Rome a pagan festival of the nativity of ’sol invictus’ was introduced by the Emperor Aurelian on 25th December 274. The church, unable to stamp out this popular festival, spiritualised it as the feast of the Nativity of the Sun of Righteousness. When Christianity spread northwards it encountered a similar pagan festival also held at the winter solstice – the great Yule feast of the Norsemen. Once again Christmas absorbed heathen customs. From the various sources came the Yule log, the Christmas tree introduced into England from Germany and first mentioned in 1789.” (Chambers Encyclopaedia 1970, page 538, article Christmas)

Pause a while and consider the stunning truths you have just read. Here are famous scholars and historians revealing amazing facts:

• That each year on the 25th December the pagans held a festival in honour of the SUN god.
• And that centuries after the Saviour’s birth in Bethlehem this selfsame festival of the SUN god was adopted by the Christian Church, given the name Christmas and thereafter celebrated as the birthday of the SON OF GOD!

These are truly eye-opening facts. Remember them.