Wednesday, December 28, 2005

The Truth About NEW YEAR'S!

The Truth About NEW YEAR'S!



How did the celebration of New Year's Eve begin? Why is the beginning of a year placed in the middle of a dead winter? And where did the many customs surrounding it originate?

by William H. Ellis

MOST people carelessly assume that celebrating New Year's Eve is a Christian custom.

But did the practice of "waiting the old year out" really come from the Bible?

Is January 1 the true beginning of a new year? Who has the AUTHORITY to determine when a new year begins?

An Ancient Pagan Custom

New Year's is one of the oldest and most universal of all pagan TRADITIONS! The custom of celebrating it has remained essentially unchanged for 4,000 years!

"There is scarcely a people, ancient or modern, savage or civilized," writes Theodor H. Gaster, in his definitive book "New Year", "which has not observed it ... in one form or another. Yet no other festival has been celebrated on so many different dates or in so many seemingly different ways."

In ancient Babylon, New Year's festivals were closely bound to the pagan feast called "Christmas" today. The little-known connection of New Year's with Christmas is made clear in our free booklet, "The PLAIN TRUTH About CHRISTMAS!" If you haven't read it before, write for it immediately.

When and how did New Year's celebrations originate? Who began the custom?

Notice the proof of history.

"Mesopotamia," writes Earl W. Count, "is the very ancient Mother of Civilization. Christmas began there, OVER FOUR THOUSAND YEARS AGO, as the festival which renewed the world for another year. The 'twelve days' of Christmas; the bright fires and probably the Yule log; the giving of presents; the carnivals with their floats, their merrymakings and clownings, the mummers who sing and play from house to house; the feastings; the church processions with their lights and song -- all these and more began there centuries before Christ was born. And they celebrated THE ARRIVAL OF A NEW YEAR!" ("4000 Years of Christmas", pp. 20-21.)

That is how it began. The celebration of New Year's began in ancient Babylonia in Mesopotamia. It was a pagan custom of ancient sun-worship 2000 years before the birth of Jesus.

The celebration of New Year's is never once commanded in the Bible. Jesus and the apostles never observed it. Moses forbade it!

Don't say "it doesn't matter." It does matter to God whether we adopt the customs of the heathen. Your Bible says, "Learn not the way of the heathen" (Jeremiah 10:2).


PHOTO CAPTION: New York's famed Times Square at midnight, December 31, as thousands gather to usher in the pagan Roman New Year. The undampended spirits of the crowd bring to mind the ancient Roman Saturnalia. Probably not one in the crowd really understands how Christ will solve the troubles brought on this world by its foolish pagan traditions!

A Pagan Roman Feast

The New Year's festivities that had originated in Babylon found their way to Greece and finally to Rome. The Romans called it "Saturnalia" -- in honor of Saturn. Among them it was extremely popular -- a time of revelings, drinking bouts, orgies -- finally ending in HUMAN SACRIFICE!

"The first day of the Saturnalia shifted during the lifetime of Rome ... it began around the middle of December ... and continued until January first. In its midst was December twenty-fifth, the day, as the Romans calculated, when the sun was at its lowest ebb ...." (E. W. Count's "4000 Years of Christmas", page 28.)

It was Julius Caesar, Emperor of pagan Rome, who instituted the New Year's festival on January first. In 46 B. C., Caesar adopted the Julian calendar. He transferred to the first of January ALL of the licentious customs surrounding the Roman Saturnalia!

Accepted by "Church Fathers"

But how did such a thoroughly pagan day ever insinuate itself into our modern "Christian" calendar?

Read the answer from church history -- about 375 A.D. This is the period Emperor Constantine imposed "Christianity" on the Roman world.

"There were many immigrants into the ranks of the Christians by this time," writes Earl W. Count. "The Church Fathers discovered to their alarm that they were also facing an invasion of pagan customs. The habit of Saturnalia was too strong to be left behind. At first the Church forbade it, but in vain" (page 31).

Rather than resist the influence of pagan customs, the Catholic Church fathers compromised!

"The Church finally succeeded in taking the merriment, the greenery, the lights, and the gifts from Saturn and giving them to the Babe of Bethlehem .... The pagan Romans became Christians -- but the Saturnalia remained!" (E.W. Count, page 31.)

Modern Christians have gone A STEP FURTHER!

Rather than present a gift to Jesus Christ on the day they falsely assume to be His birthday, the world is busily trading presents among themselves! Christ has been not only forgotten at Christmas time, but is not so much as toasted amidst the partying of New Year's Eve!

During the Middle Ages many of the ancient Roman customs were maintained and augmented by the incoming heathen rites of the Teutonic peoples. It was during this period that the customary yule log and mistletoe were added to the popular New Year's festivities. The yule log is a carry-over from the bonfires of sun-worship, and mistletoe is a parasite used in Druid rites as a symbol of sex-worship!

As Teutonic customs were added, the date of New Year's celebrations was temporarily changed to March 25, to coincide with the Germanic spring rites of fertility.

Finally Pope Gregory re-instituted the ancient pagan Roman date of January first. He imposed it on the whole Western world in 1582 when his Gregorian calendar "reforms" were accepted. All Roman Catholic countries accepted this change AT ONCE! Sweden, Germany, Denmark and England, the strongholds of Druid customs, finally acquiesced to Rome in the 1700's!

The Modern Attitude of Compromise

Today, New Year's Eve has become a time for people to wallow in excesses of liquor! The modern attitude seems to be, "have a wild time on New Year's Eve, and turn over a new leaf on New Year's Day!"

New Year's resolutions are empty and meaningless, usually trifling matters of jest! Few people make a lasting change.

Most people seem to have convinced themselves that God is out of the picture for good. That God is not concerned with their modern revelings, drunken parties, promiscuous behavior!

What does God have to say about New Year's? Does He condone observing a pagan festival? practicing pagan customs in the name of Christ?

God Labels New Year's "PAGAN"!

God Almighty does not compromise! Notice the Eternal's stern warning to Israel as they conquered the pagan nations of the promised land:

"Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou INQUIRE NOT AFTER THEIR GODS, saying 'How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.' THOU SHALT NOT DO SO UNTO THE ETERNAL THY GOD: for EVERY ABOMINATION to the Eternal, WHICH HE HATETH, have they done to their gods ...." (Deut. 12:30-31.)

What were the customs God hates and condemns in Deuteronomy? What are those pagan rites that are an ABOMINATION to Him?

These very rites and customs practiced in ancient Canaan and Syria included the NEW YEAR'S FESTIVALS! From the ancient Canaanites the Greeks learned the same rites.


Greek God of WINE!

Theodor H. Gaster writes concerning the familiar "New Year's babe":

"Actually the New Year babe is FAR OLDER than he looks. In ancient Greece, it was customary at the great festival of Dionysus to parade a babe cradled in a winnowing basket. This was taken to symbolize the annual (or periodic) rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility!" (New Year.)




Who was this Dionysus?

None other than Bacchus -- the god of wine! In his honor the Greeks held a festival called the "Festival of the Wine-Press" at the time which corresponds to our months of January-February!

Today more alcoholic beverages are consumed during the "holiday season" than at any other time of the year! New Year's Eve is noted for its licentious, wild, and wanton partying. People are deceived by riotous pagan holiday spirits -- for the most part emanating from liquor bottles -- all the while calling it "Christian"!

"Father Time"
Another symbol of New Year's celebrations is equally pagan! It is the familiar figure of a white-haired man carrying a scythe. What does he represent? The ancient Greek god Cronos. It is from the name "Cronos" we derive our "chronograph" which measures time.

Among the Greek gods, Cronos originally cut a swath of HUMAN SACRIFICE with his sharpened scythe! The "silent reaper" anciently "reaped" little children in horrible episodes of mythical CANNIBALISM! This Greek rite of human sacrifice was adopted by ancient Rome, where human sacrifice was practiced at least until 300 A. D.

No wonder God Almighty warns the pagan New Year's celebration is AN ABOMINATION to Him! See Deuteronomy 12:31.

Strange as it seems, the professing Christian world praises and practices customs and days of pagan origin -- thinly cloaking them in "Christian" sounding names! You too, may have accepted these vain traditions of men, never realizing they are PAGAN TO THE CORE!

"In VAIN do they worship me," said Jesus Christ, "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men!"

Jesus said it is possible to WORSHIP GOD -- to venerate the NAME of Christ -- and still do it ALL IN VAIN!

"Full well YE REJECT THE COMMANDMENT OF GOD, that ye may keep your own tradition," He continued, "... making the Word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered!" (Mark 7:7, 9, 13.)

Many people will confess, when forced to, the pagan origin of these days. But they stubbornly REFUSE to stop observing them! God is their Judge!

Don't you make this mistake!

When Does God Begin the New Year?

Remember! It is God Almighty who created the Universe. He set the heavenly bodies in their courses at Creation. It is by His "master-clock" that time is determined.

The earth's rotation regulates the length of a day -- the lunar phases indicate the length of a month. And the orbit of the earth around the sun dictates the length of a year!

But ONLY GOD has the AUTHORITY to set the date of the beginning of the new year!

God's sacred calendar year begins in the spring -- not in the middle of a dead winter! Notice Exodus 12:1-2, "And the Eternal spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the FIRST MONTH OF THE YEAR TO YOU."

The first month of God's sacred calendar is called, in the Bible, "Abib". It means the month of "green ears." Later, the Jews called it "Nisan" -- a Babylonian word having the same meaning.

It was in the month of Abib or Nisan that Israel came out of Egyptian captivity under Moses (Ex. 34:18). The Hebrew month Abib overlaps the months of March-April on the pagan Roman calendar in use today.

God placed the beginning of the sacred year in the early spring to mark the beginning of the seasonal harvests. The two annual harvests in Palestine foreshadowed God's Plan for the twofold SPIRITUAL harvest of souls to be born into His Kingdom.

Your Bible speaks of a great false religious system which will "think to change times and laws" (Dan. 7:25). This system has deliberately thought to change the beginning of God's calendar year in an attempt to hide God's Plan for the salvation of mankind! But man has no authority to change God's "master-clock."

Satan, however, has cleverly deceived the world into believing the new year begins on January first!

Why National Captivity?

The very same pagan practices God condemns in the Old Testament are being perpetuated in our modern world today!

The very same festivals of paganism adopted by ancient Israel have become an integral part of this modern society!

Read, in II Kings 17:15-18, the reason why God Almighty took ancient Israel into captivity: "And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them!"

What was the result of Israel following the customs of the heathen nations around them?

"Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight .... and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight .... SO WAS ISRAEL CARRIED AWAY OUT OF THEIR OWN LAND TO ASSYRIA UNTO THIS DAY!" (II Kings 17:18, 20, and 23.)

Israel NEVER returned as a nation to the land of Palestine!

Israel was lost! Its true identity was concealed until modern times! Now there is proof that the lost ten tribes of ancient Israel migrated to Northwestern Europe. The chief peoples among them have become the United States and British Commonwealth today! (If you don't already have your copy of our free booklet, "The United States and the British Commonwealth in Prophecy", send for it immediately.)

Modern Paganism Will Be Punished!

Do you suppose God has changed His mind about compromising with paganism?

"For I am the LORD, I CHANGE NOT!" warns the Eternal in Malachi 3:6. This same reminder is repeated in Hebrews 13:8.

Speaking to the modern nations of Israel today, Almighty God says, "As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Eternal God; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols and thereafter also, if ye will not hearken unto me: but POLLUTE YE MY HOLY NAME NO MORE with your gifts and with your idols" (Ezek. 20:39).

In other words, God is saying, "Be pagan if you insist; but quit calling it Christian."

God continues to warn modern Israel against the holidays of paganism, in Hosea 2:11:

"I will also cause all her mirth to cease, HER feast days [days THE PEOPLE chose], HER new moons [marking the beginning of the pagan New Year], and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts." Notice that these were Israel's feast days -- those Israel had acquired from the pagan nations around them -- NOT those God had originally instituted through His Bible! "And I will visit upon her the DAYS OF BAALIM, wherein she burned incense to them ..." (verse 13)!

The very same punishment awaits any nation today that forsakes God's law as revealed in His Holy Bible, and turns to the customs of pagan nations -- observing pagan days of worship!

Does it make any difference if YOU continue observing pagan customs -- like New Year's? IT CERTAINLY DOES! God says so!

What You Should Do

God Almighty prophesies a final revival of Babylonian religion in great power just before He cuts short man's misrule of this earth. Read His warning in Revelation 18:

"And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he said mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen.


"Her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues!"

New Year's celebration began in Babylon 4,000 years ago. It is practiced today by almost every people on the face of the earth. Satan the Devil has indeed deceived the whole world! (Rev. 12:9.)

But God Almighty has sent His ministers to warn this world -- to cry aloud, and spare not, and SHOW HIS PEOPLE THEIR SINS (Isa. 58:1). Punishment will not be forever withheld!

May God help you to HEED THIS WARNING, and FORSAKE THE PAGAN PRACTICES of this modern world!


The Plain Truth - December, 1964

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Christ was NOT born on "Christmas day!"

One who stubbornly insists on staying addicted to the Catholic drug of "Christmas" spewed this RELIGIOUS LIE, a popular song:

God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing you
dismay
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas day

To save us all from Satan's power
When we had gone astray
Oh tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
Oh tidings of comfort and joy



Of course such misguided or deceitful folk are not saved from "Satan's power" as long as they perpetuate the RELIGIOUS LIE that Christ was "born on Christmas day." And such dishonest folks pretend to follow the Truth? Few are fooled. No wonder Jesus said, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not the things I say?" Such dishonest folk are certainly NOT following Yashua's example of upholding the Law and the Prophets which both condemn baptized paganism. Such dishonest folks prefer their idolatrous traditions over God's commandments (Mark 7:7). How sad.

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Christmas audio by Herbert W. Armstrong

Christmas audio by Herbert W. Armstrong

Christmas In 10 Minutes Or Less

Warning! The Following Editorial May Be Dangerous To Your View Of Christmas. The Following Comments Are Those Of The Writer And Do Not Reflect The Opinions Of The Vast Majority Of People Who Keep The Holiday.

Christmas In 10 Minutes Or Less
By Richard Markland, December 25, 2005


Well, Christmas is finally here. From Thanksgiving until today, the fast pace and frenzied spending habits of millions of people now brings us to the day so many have looked forward to. Today will pass by quickly, and 10 minutes is all it will take for many people to unwrap the gifts they receive and realize how quickly the day is over.

As I looked at my neighborhood from my living room window this morning, I wondered how many people had already opened their presents? A number of families would soon go to church and than on to a family gathering with relatives for lunch or dinner. There will be an abundance of ham or turkey, resulting in a few pounds gained. Presents will be piled high on a special table or under a tree. Hope reigns eternal on a day when the anticipation of what a person is going to "get" can cause a childlike giddiness in many adults, let alone children. I wonder, however, how many people really enjoy "giving" when they know their credit card bills will be coming in the mail within a matter of days? The companies who are mass producers of plastic used by so many shoppers have an over abundance of Christmas cheer when it comes to tallying up so much reckless spending. They are all too happy to remind consumers of how much they were needed. Few people have asked whether they should have spent so much on others. After all, it's Christmas. Shoppers reason it's best to worry about the cost later. Since this day only comes once a year, no one wants to appear as if they can't afford a nice gift, or two, or three, or four. Without the plastic in millions of wallets and purses, what would people do?

Just as so much time is invested in the making of a good home cooked meal, so it is with a holiday such as Christmas. Careful consideration was taken when buying just the right gift and the careful wrapping of each one with expensive paper. Within minutes, mounds of paper are strewn throughout the room and the actual celebration is over. I wonder how honest people are after "getting" what they have received? What if shadows could speak? Of course many people have let it be known what is desired ahead of time so they wont' be surprised and frustrated.

What has never ceased to amaze me about Christmas is how crowded the isles are at Wal-Mart because so many people take the time to talk to each other at the expense of those who simply want everyday items or who are also Christmas shopping. I never see individuals taking the time to chat during the rest of the year as I do during the 3-4 weeks before Christmas. Patience has been of paramount importance as I have had to move my cart around 3 or 4 people at a time because they have decided to catch up on the past or share a conversation about Christmas plans. I usually look at the isles of Wal-Mart as more than ample, but they seem so narrow in late November and December. Honestly, where is the friendliness the rest of the year? How quickly the isles will be easy to maneuver in and out of in the next week or two as the very same people who laughed and shared words for 10 or 15 minutes before Christmas will now avoid each other because of a massive holiday hangover--both physically and mentally.

The letdown after December 25th is huge. If the stockmarket took a nosedive as severely as the mental state of people who have observed the holiday, there would be a major economic crisis in this country. Returning items is going to be a major undertaking for the next few days. Wrong sizes, colors, or simply a dislike for what has been received will prompt millions of people to make the arduous journey to exchange what they received. "After Christmas Specials" will be heavily advertised and more credit card spending will continue at a frenzied pace for the next week or two. Few people realize that the average middle class family in America is already $9,000.00 in debt to just credit cards alone, without taking into consideration the spending on Christmas items.

I look forward to the traffic flow and grumpiness of people when a return to normal comes on January 2nd. Of course New Year's Day is the next ordeal to face, but I've never found it as difficult as Christmas itself. I've come to appreciate being around "moody" people throughout the year because their attitudes are predictable and steady. I actually have a more positive attitude when being around people who are "normal" from January until late November. As I have watched people achieve an emotional high, due to the anticipation of Christmas and New Year's Day, so many have decided to put adulthood on hold. To be able to take on a childlike excitement for a few weeks is the mindset of many people. I hear more laughter everywhere and parking lots are noisier as people can't wait to get inside and spend money they don't have. Even though many people are a slave to stress because of over spending, somehow I am viewed as odd and strange because I don't keep Christmas. At least I know why I don't, but how many people can prove why they do and back it up with historical fact and research done by scholars?

Within the time I started this editorial, more presents have been opened and the letdown of the day continues. It is the beginning of the end of another holiday season. I've aged once again this year as a result of being around the spirit of the season when finding myself 8 to 10 carts away from the cashier with only 4 to 5 items of everyday essentials. The term "Express Lane" takes on a greater meaning this time of year.

Today, there is an overcast sky with fog and rain. Yes, there is snow on the ground for those who have desired a white Christmas, but how many people question why God would want His Son to be born during such a miserable time of the year? Few people realize Christ was born in late September or early October, instead of during the dead of winter. Few people ask why December 25th?

People don't realize why Joseph and Mary had such a difficult time finding a place to stay and had to end up in a manger. There simply wasn't a room available in Bethlehem because a census was taken for the purpose of collecting taxes. They were also on their way to keep a festival called The Feast Of Tabernacles. Many people who were in Bethlehem were on their way to observe the festival as well. Christ actually observed this festival during His life on the earth, but few Christians know it. Would it be recognized and acknowledged if it was understood?

Everyone observes their birthday on the date it happened, but the observance of Christ's birthday is celebrated approximately 3 months later than when it actually occurred. I don't know of anyone else's birthday observed on the wrong day and in the way it is. Could it be that Christ doesn't recognize Christmas, just as people wouldn't recognize it if their birthday was kept on the wrong day? This may rile people when asked such a question, but could it be true? Of course many people reason it doesn't make a bit of difference as long as they keep it in honor of Christ, but does it make a difference to Him? Are people speaking for Christ instead of allowing Him to speak for Himself?

The Christmas observance is a tradition handed down from generation to generation without question. Few people want to change the observance of the day because of the attraction and beauty of it, but what does God think? Is it important?

To many people, even the slightest hint that Christmas has its origin in paganism, and is the actual birthday of the "sun god", will cause the hair to raise on the back of the neck. Even though every facet of Christmas has a pagan origin, many people reason that surely the observance can't be wrong as long as we honor Christ? After all, isn't it true that God looks upon the heart of people, and if they are sincere, this is all that matters? If the Bible is the source for the answer to this question, far more is required.

The economic survival of countless businesses is at stake during Christmas. Without it, many would not survive. This is why the holiday will thrive until God reveals how He feels about a celebration that has nothing to do with the birth of His Son. When that day comes--and it will--people will be shocked. It's going to happen--and when it does--those who call themselves "Christian" will receive the wakeup call of their lives.

Even though gifts were given to Christ--and not to other people in the Bible--it makes little difference to those who insist this is a time to honor Christ. What I have written will not change the minds of the people who keep this day. I do want to clarify that I do not condemn people who keep Christmas, but I do condemn a holiday that has its root in paganism, but is disguised and giftwrapped as Christian.


(c) 2005 By Richard Markland
"A Christmas Of 10 Minutes Or Less."

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Traditional "Christians" try to force their religion on God!

Quoting "clubgitmo" from the Protest Warrior forum:

"Christmas and Easter pay tribute to the birth and death of Christ."

Yes, it is TRADITIONAL TRIBUTE that God hates and rejects and wants no part of in no uncertain terms. Why don't you believe Him?

"In the Bible it says to love God with all of your mind, your soul and your strength."

Yes, indeed, so why do you insist on hatefully rebelling against His holy commands that forbid any attempts to whitewash a pagan holiday to serve Him? No wonder Jesus said, "IF you love Me, keep my commandments," and "Why do you call me Lord, Lord and don't do what I say?" God rejects such rank hypocrisy of counterfeit Christians who would force their religion on God!

Xmas audio by Herbert W. Armstrong

Jesus didn't come to bring peace!

Michael wrote:

"In the spirit of the season, for what it is worth, peace to you. The Christmas we get (if we choose to) we deserve."


If folks didn't choose to remain clueless, they would know this artificial "Christmas" spirit is from Satan, and that this time of year is about WAGING WAR IN RIGHTEOUSNESS - not peace! - like the Maccabees reclaiming and purifying the Temple and Temple Mount in Jerusalem that Jesus celebrated and foretold as the LORD to the Prophet Daniel! See how Satan turns things upside down?

There can be no peace on Earth when mankind remains in a state of rebellion against God and His Word. "Christmas" and other religious lies are part of the proud and stubborn revolt against God, insisting on worshipping God their own way rather than submit Father knows best and avoid such hollow days of pagan origin like the Babylonian plague!

Matthew 10:34-37

34"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35For I have come to turn
" 'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law —
36a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'

37"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me....

May we love Jesus more than popular error and traditional darkness and serve God in spirit and in truth, rejecting the baptized paganism that God hates. Only then can we rest assured, according to the Word, that we are acceptable to the LORD:

2 Corinthians 6:17-18

17"Therefore come out from them
and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you."
18"I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

"Christmas" is bollox

Maverick78 wrote:
Quote DBA:
The REAL JESUS will wage war on "Christmas," "Easter" and every other pagan holiday when He reigns as the King of the Jews, the King of Israel in Jerusalem and will instead, contrary to counterfeit Christianity, command all nations to keep the biblical/Jewish festivals!

That's the plain truth of your Bible: believe it or not.

Let the Truth set you free so you don't get sent into national captivity!/


"You know what Dave I couldn't care less about all that bollox."


The bollox is whitewashed pagan holidays taking God's Name in vain. He clearly states He wants NO PART OF SUCH PAGAN PRACTICES OR HEATHEN CUSTOMS AND WORLDLY CELEBRATIONS - so the foolish folks clearly aren't worshipping God or Jesus, but serving the demons who have always enjoyed such religious revelry.

Quote:
While people come together for Christmas and Easter with kindness and generosity too each other and are doing nobody any harm, I think the worlds a better place for it isn't it?.


What part of God's Word don't you understand? God condemns holidays of pagan origin as ABOMINATIONS. For folks to stubbornly insist on keeping such hollow days is rebellion against God and rejection of Him as Father, choosing Satan and his dark ways that are disguised as "light and merry" but not fooling God, Jesus or true Christians. You can read about family gathering for religious reasons in Jeremiah and Ezekiel and see it didn't make their world a better place, touchy feely sentiments notwithstanding, but caused God's judgment to come upon them leading to their national family suffering destruction and deportation.

Quote:
On another note do you really believe the Jews are the 'chosen ones' the 'special ones' or something???


Anybody who reads and believes the Bible - God's Word - knows that the Twelve Tribes of Israel (that includes our Jewish brethren) have been drafted as God's Servant Nation and will ultimately become a light to all nations, serving as international teachers and instructors and by example.

Quote:
Absolute nonsense we are all equal on this planet and nobody has the virtue of being the 'chosen people' of god at all unless you or your 'people' are some sort of supremacists eh?


See how foolish mortals misunderstand? We're all equal in ultimate potential to enter God's Kingdom Family, but we're not all equal in God-given gifts and responsibilities. God has chosen the Twelve Tribes of Israel to be His FIRSTBORN among many nations, as is His prerogative. The Bible therefore is an ethnocentric Book that focuses on the Family of Jacob-Israel and only mentions other nations insomuch as they come into contact with our biblical people.

Did God discriminate against the rest of the world when He chose to send HIS SON to Judea? when Yashua chose Jewish males (not Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese, Indians or women) as His first and foundational disciples/students? Read and prayerfully consider The Suffering Servant and stop accusing God of being a supremacist because others have an inferiority complex and lack understanding of God's great plan of salvation for all mankind - all in God's good time.

Friday, December 23, 2005

A Sanitary Christmas

Essay: A Sanitary Christmas

The winter solstice has just passed, beginning the coldest three months of the year, and this means that Christmas is only days away. It used to be that the solstice and Christmas coincided—a remarkable coincidence (wink, wink)—but because of the inexactitude of our calendar, the solstice has crept forward a few days over the past few centuries. If we were to stick around long enough, we could witness Christmas celebrated in springtime! Come to think of it, a hefty percentage of the world's population already celebrates it as the heat of summer arrives—but for reasons altogether different!

Lately, Christmas-keeping Christians have been forced to stand up for Christmas. Atheists, agnostics, and the ACLU-crowd have been clamoring for the removal of religion from Christmas celebrations. They want advertisers to market the season without reference to "Christmas," instead using the innocuous "Holiday" moniker. They want businesses to ditch playing traditional Christmas carols over their in-store audio systems in favor of "winter music"—in other words, to play "Sleigh Bells" instead of "Away in a Manger." Countless courts have weighed in—some on one side, some on the other—concerning Christmas crèches on public property. Christian groups have had to file lawsuits to force school systems to allow their students to sing "Silent Night"—and not some wintry parody—during winter concerts!

This is all extremely ironic—even hilarious at times. Christmas-celebrating Christians rush to the barricades to defend this most sacred holiday from the godless hordes, all the while totally missing the fact that they are defending the indefensible! Where is their authority to keep the day in the first place? Rome? Probably. Jerusalem? Nope. Bethlehem? Hardly. The Bible. Not a chance!

In reality, by its materialism and syncretism, this world's Christianity has helped the modern, secular world sanitize—not Santa-ize—Christmas. This supposedly Christian holiday has been systematically disinfected of its biblical "taint" simply because it is fundamentally unbiblical! Its only scriptural basis is the Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus, and they prove that the traditional Christmas teaching sits on foundation of sand.

The Nativity—a fancy word for "birth"—of Jesus Christ is found in two of the Gospels, Matthew and Luke. Try as one might, a birth date for our Savior cannot be found in either, and in fact, honest, objective scholars and theologians admit that a winter date is perhaps the least likely time. December, as any biblical geographer will attest, is the beginning of the rainy season in Palestine, and shepherds would have stopped leaving their flocks in the fields at night a good month or two before then. Majority opinion places Jesus' birth in the autumn, probably on or near the fall festivals of Trumpets or Tabernacles.

Other aspects of the traditional Nativity also fail the test of biblical authenticity. For instance, the Gospels do not say that there were three wise men, nor are their names anywhere recorded in history. In this case, the number three has its source in the number of gifts the wise men gave to Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It is certainly possible that He received other gifts from them, but Matthew decided to highlight these particular three for symbolic reasons.

Many of the manger scenes even get details wrong, like the fact that when the wise men showed up, Jesus was no longer a newborn lying in a manger, but as Matthew writes, a "young Child" living in "a house" (Matthew 2:11). Traditional Christmas crèches also tend to combine Luke's account of the shepherds' arrival almost immediately after His birth with the coming of the wise men, which evidently occurred perhaps weeks or months later (see verse 16: Some contend that it could have been as long as two years later!). And, of course, none of the Nativity participants wore halos!

These few scenes are the extent of the Bible's information about Christ's birth. Neither Mark nor John saw fit to add to what Matthew and Luke had already written. Both Mark and John begin their narratives about the time of Jesus' baptism three decades later. Why? In the grand scheme of Jesus' life, His birth is of less importance than His ministry, death, and resurrection. Certainly, it was a wonderful day when God-in-the-flesh appeared among us, but it pales in meaning to what He taught, what He sacrificed for us, and what He now does for us as our living High Priest. Why dwell on His past, helpless infancy when we can rejoice in His present, powerful advocacy?

The Christmas controversy does not hinge on whether it is politically correct to wish someone "Merry Christmas!" but on a factor that is far more significant: truth. Is Christmas true? The biblical facts shout a resounding, "NO!" Then why celebrate a lie? Falsehood is never good, never beneficial, never right. Keeping a false holiday in dedication to Jesus is still a lie. Do we really think He feels honored by a lie, which is sin (check Exodus 20:16 and Revelation 21:8; 22:15)? He receives much more honor when we, instead, keep His commandments (John 14:15; 15:10).

We can only hope that today's swirl over this holiday wakes Christians up—not just to America's eroding Christian values, but to the sad fact that what most assume to be ever-so-Christian is nothing of the sort.


- Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Christmas is Spiritual Adultery

At least this Baptist Church understands the plain truth against "Christmas," even if they're still in the dark about the biblical Sabbath and biblical festivals true Christians observe (like Jesus and the early Church did) and soon the whole world will:

Christmas Is Spiritual Adultery



Taking an evergreen tree, putting it in your house, decorating it with lights, sitting in the dark, and adoring it to Christmas carols is spiritual adultery. You profess to love Jesus, but you do so with the mementos and techniques of other lovers – the world and pagan religion. You are not content with Christ's pure gospel – for it has no Mass of Christ. You have added the world's seductions to keep you happy in your marriage to Christ. He is highly offended at your whorish ways.

120 Reasons Against Christmas
There are many Bible reasons not to celebrate Christmas for those who esteem God's precepts concerning all things to be right and that hate every false way (Ps 119:128). The God of heaven has specified exactly how He wants to be worshipped. He does not accept inventions or modifications. And He seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). You are living in the perilous times of the last days - a time of great compromise by so-called Christians (II Tim 3:1 - 4:5 ). Where do you stand?

How to Stop Celebrating
When the Lord reveals the evil of pagan holy days, there are questions about informing others of the change in your life. Here are a few suggestions to be wise and righteous before God without being unduly antagonistic or offensive to those who cannot see (Rom 12:18; I Cor 7:15).

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays

Another article by Nathan Tabor that totally MISSES THE POINT or shamefully ignores it: Christmas is an abomination!

The REAL JESUS hates "Christmas" for the fraud it is, the pagan practice it perpetuates, all whitewashed as "Christian" by lying "Christians" who refuse to keep God's commandments against adopting or modifying pagan holidays to serve the biblical God who doesn't want any part of it!

What proud and stubborn, dishonest "Christians," trying to force THEIR baptized pagan holidays on God!

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Christmas, a Jewish holiday?

"Christmas, a Jewish holiday?

However, we all realize that the Christmas season brings to mind thoughts of peace and thoughts of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. It is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, and it's also an incredible time for introducing others to the greatest Jew who ever lived. "


Christmas isn't a Jewish holiday and it's not a Christian holiday: Christmas is a PAGAN HOLIDAY and folks who are IN DENIAL of this fact continue to shamefully misrepresent the real Jesus and true Christianity to the world. The biblical God rejects all their religious whitewash and condemns their Catholic "mass of Christ" as an ABOMINATION. Those who honestly follow the Truth acknowledge this fact and avoid such baptized paganism like the Babylonian plague!



The Two Babylons by Hislop (zip)

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

The Babylonian Mystery of "Christmas"

Someone wrote:

"I also am a Christian and a Zionist but I fully intend to celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th. You yourself enjoyed the mystery of Christmas as a child..."

How can you celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th when it's NOT His birthday? And He never told you to "celebrate" His birthday but to commemorate His death at PASSOVER. Do you observe that biblical memorial?

"Christmas" is no longer a mystery to me because I've grown up and face the reality that the Catholic concoction of the "mass of Christ," testified against by the two witnesses of the Bible and history, is nothing but a polluted part of the BABYLONIAN MYSTERY RELIGION that Yashua (as a Torah-observant Jew) rejects as unclean. Those chosen few and true Christians who honestly follow Him and don't resist the plain truth for tinsel traditions or crucify the messengers also avoid such baptized paganism like the Babylonian plagues!

You should teach your children the biblical festivals and celebrate those with God's blessing. They're what Yashua will command all nations to observe when He reigns in Jerusalem as the King of the Jews, the King of Israel. They're not foreign or strange to Him.

Monday, December 19, 2005

King Messiah will wage war on "Christmas!"

Regardless of human opinions, Jewish or otherwise, secular or professing Christian, the biblical God and the REAL JESUS and true Christians hate "Christmas" as an abomination and know it's an unclean festival of pagan origin and aren't in denial of these FACTS.

When King Messiah reigns from Jerusalem, He will wage war on "Christmas" and "Easter" and "Halloween" and other unscriptural hollow days and replace them with the biblical festivals that He kept and will command all nations to observe!

Sunday, December 18, 2005

You cannot have Christmas with Christ because He refuses to participate!

It's Not Polite to Use the "C" Word in Public by Nathan Tabor goes into all the diversionary tactics such articles usually employ, missing the whole point that the REAL JESUS hates "Christmas!"

Mr. Tabor contends you cannot have Christmas without Christ. Who said Christ ever wanted to be in some Catholic concoction that is clearly pagan in origin? The issue is not about the evil ACLU or how some religious folks strive to force a pagan holiday to get baptized, but the fact that folks are trying to force God to accept their worship that He clearly rejects and hates and says so in no uncertain terms!

WAKE UP!

You cannot have "Christmas" with the real Christ - because He refuses to have anything to do with such unclean practices and heathen customs.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Too many remain IN DENIAL!

"December 25 can therefore be acknowledged and celebrated by non-Christians
just as we acknowledge the birthdays of other major historical figures like
George Washington."

December 25 can only be "acknowledged" by those who remain IN DENIAL of historical and biblical facts.

Yashua, as a Torah-observant Jew, would hate the baptized paganism of "Christmas" as an abomination, just like the early Church would clearly avoid such unclean practices like the Babylonian plague, and honest Christians today have nothing to do with such Catholic idolatrous traditions.


Why I No Longer Celebrate Christmas
[News-and-Society:Religion] Should Christians celebrate Christmas? Can a pagan holiday be converted? Does it matter what God thinks?

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Christ was NEVER in "Christmas!"

Christ was NEVER in "Christmas" and hates it as a pagan abomination. Those who profess to follow the Truth should readily acknowledge this and avoid such baptized paganism like the Babylonian plague!

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Sheep to the slaughter...to the market they go

The sheeple continue to the slaughter....the fascist EU sharpens their nuclear sword....and God sighs because He's warned all that He hates the dark hollow daze and encourages all to enter His light and celebrate His festivals - not bloody Rome's!

Friday, December 09, 2005

Why be fooled by Christmas?

Who told you you're supposed to celebrate it? What serpent whispered that lie into your ear? Who said it doesn't make a difference that it's clearly pagan in origin? What wolf in sheep's clothing is preaching to you such religious lies? If your minister says God accepts such tainted worship, he's a LIAR (I John 2:4).

This subject of professing "Christian" holidays is dead serious to God and it should be to everybody who professes to be a Christian and who should walk in the light of the Word - not fall for popular error or get blinded by tinsel traditions.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Why do so many follow a CATHOLIC tradition?

The real Jesus Christ commands His People to confess and FORSAKE BABYLON or suffer the consequences. Those who truly are His People hear and heed His Command and avoid such baptized paganism, such whitewashed ways and hollow days.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Santa Claus or Jesus?

Who does your kid know more about? Which one do your children prefer? Do you go overboard on everybody else's birthday too? You do know that it's not Jesus' birthday, right? Have you ever wondered why you just go along with the crowd, never questioning anything? There's no time like the present to stop and think! Look into it seriously for once and may God's blessing be upon you as you do.

Monday, December 05, 2005

Dishonest Christians?

Why do so many professing Christians, folks who should love and embrace the truth, get hostile when the pagan origins of Christmas are exposed? Why do they love their tinsel traditions more than God whom they pretend to serve? Why are they so self-willed and rebellious against the Law of God? Is Satan their father, after all? Are they liars? (I John 2:4). God knows.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Conservative Voice

HO HO HO The Hypocrisy of it All

How can one say the word "Enough!" in a language that will not offend someone? Then again, how do you say it lovingly to the people who draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me" ? (Mat 15:8)

Perhaps some professed Christians should remember another very classic teaching by their Messiah. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. (Mat. 12:36)

Do they fall into the dreaded category:

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Mat. 7:22-23)

Are you as tired as I am of hearing about "keeping Christ" in a holiday that Messiah was never part of from the beginning?

I say unto such groups as the American Family Association and the Family Research Council: you do NOT represent my views on the Messiah. Furthermore, you do NOT represent the views of a growing number of people who understand the depth of commandment breaking and textbook idolatry that surrounds your false celebrations. Knock it off, in the Name of Messiah!

I consider joining forces with the ACLU every time I hear of a supposed "Christian" group fighting to keep "Christmas" in schools, public displays, and even in Wal-Mart and Lowes. The hypocracy of it all saddens me.

Your tradition is vanity in the eyes of the Creator, and your words are poison to your children. Teaching them to "covet" and make lists of all their covetous desires is total, blatant and embarrassing sinfulness, and shows clearly the depravity of mankind ˆ especially many of those who call on His Holy name. Giving that list to a fictious fat man in a red suit is more idolatry personified.

Have you noticed the number of depression-related suicides and other crimes at "Christmas time?" Ever sit back and wonder why? If mankind, in their folly, would not put high expectations on gold under pine trees, perhaps husbands and children alike would focus more on the Messiah all year long!

Going into debt with credit cards and building false hopes, lies and error into our children ˆ HELLO! Anyone home? Shame on you!

But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? (Mat. 15:3)

And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. (Mark 7:9)

Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. (Mark 7:13)
Even if it appears to be a 1700 year long tradition ˆ it is time for "Christians" to knock it off. No wonder the Jews sit back and laugh at the silly goyim!

The very word "Christmas" is a contraction of "Christ" and "Mass." "Mass" means "death" and is a by-product of anti-Semitic, Constantinan Catholicism, circa 325 AD. Worse, the Protestants have adopted this holi-nonsense as though the pope was their friend.

The "mass rituals" were imported into the Roman Church by the conquerors of Western Europe (as they tried to appease those practicing assorted Celtic witchcraft doctrines). The "mass" ritual actually imports some of the death (not birth) attributes of the "masses" derived from witchcraft. On its very face, therefore, the concept of "Christ-mass" is 180 degrees backwards of what it is perceived in the eyes of most Christians to be.

So are you celebrating his birth, or death?

Obviously the time (December 25) as it is on the current popish (Gregorian) Calendar can be neither ˆ for the timing would be dead wrong (pardon the pun) in EITHER case.

Bible scholars and historians have nearly universally accepted the time of Christ‚s birth as at the time of Sukkot (Feast of Booths/Tabernacles). This is based on numerous historically verifiable facts and clues left in the scriptures. Indeed, based on new advances in astronomy, some sources have even narrowed the time down to within two hours on a date in Sukkot, and in what we now think of as the year 3 B.C.

He became our Passover. That has nothing to do with the pagan fertility festival known as "Easter" either. Oi vey you crazy goy!

St. Nikolaus, the bishop of Myra in Asia Minor died on December 6, 343 AD. In German speaking nations (home to this element of our current tradition) December 6 is the "children‚‚s festival" and Dec 5 is when the "stockings are hung."

It was Clement Clarke Moore of Troy, NY who wrote "The 12 Days of Christmas" in 1822. He brought the reindeer into the picture. Political cartoonist Thomas Nast caricatured a combination of Moore‚s "jolly old elf" with his native Bavarian Palatinate, the art for which appeared in Harper‚s Weekly.

The "Yule" holiday has a much different origin. The "lesser" Pagan Sabbat of Winter Solstice (Yule) actually occurs on December 21 (the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere). The ancients believed the sun god died on that day, and begins rebirth as of the 25th.

December 25 is the birth date of Mithras, the Persian Sun god of light; and Saturn, the Italian sun god.

So like it or not, the "birthday" you are celebrating has more to do with our star (sun ˆ not "Son") worship than anything pertaining to Christ.

Not until the 4th Century (again, because of Roman Church juxtaposition of doctrine) did "Christmas" become something of significance to Christianity. Puritans in America (Massachusetts) and England actually outlawed Christmas observations as witchcraft!

In the United States, Christmas in the past century has become more about the profit and loss columns of major retailers than anything about Christ. The popularity of Christmas is a rather recent trend in Americaˆˆexcept in those areas where the religious influence of certain beliefs were imported with European settlers.

The cutting down of trees to bring into the home was a European tradition, and was done to give warm residence to wood spirts. Evergreen trees were a phallic fertility symbol, and in Germany, they were used in worship of the yule god for the solstice festival and Wicca sabbat.

Holly wood was used by witches to make wands. White berries of mistletoe represented semen droplets of the sun god. The red berries of the holly represented the menstrual blood of Diana, queen of heaven.

Gift giving in the temples of Rome was done by dendrophori (priests of Saturn) on December 25, and some Biblical research lends credibility to the mystic Magi bringing gifts to the Christ Child on December 25 (who was then a "child" not an "infant").

There is no commandment to celebrate Christ‚s birth, and if there were, it would need to be placed at the time of Sukkot. But there IS a commandment not to partake of strange gods (the very First Commandment), and not to join in idolatry where it is found.

And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. (Deut. 28:14)

So prior to compelling secular retailers, schools, etc. to "put Christ back in Christmas," perhaps the, feel-good, apostate, pagan-tradition-keeping, luke-warm, Laodicean-mimicing "Twistians" should go back and study the origins of this "holiday."

One famous American, Benjamin Franklin, once stated that it is better to be thought a fool and remain silent, than to speak and remove all doubt. For those who promote "Christmas" as something biblical, where do you really fit in that picture?

And for the record, NO, I am not a Jehovah Witness, nor an "orthodox Jew." I never have been. This information is available just as easily by searching Wiccan high sabbats as it can be found in the records of the Early Church, Ante-Nicene Fathers, History of Massachusetts, and many other locations.

Love your "tradition," or love your Father in Heaven. The choice is rather clear.

Josh. 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Friday, December 02, 2005

May God bless our military

May God bless our Marines and every branch of our military devoted to our defense, but sentiments aside, Christmas remains an
ABOMINATION.

May we let the truth set us free so we don't go into
NATIONAL CAPTIVITY.