Here is who is really receiving honor and glory on December 25th . The false god Mithra not the Son of G-D!

 

Is Christmas Christian?

1. Introduction

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.

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 "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!

Luke 1:

26: And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27: To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28: And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29: And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30: And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31: And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32: He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34: Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35: And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36: And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37: 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.

2. Authoritative Quatations

• "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) 
  

• 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!

4. Bible Festivals, What Are They?

• The Passover: This service commemorates the death of Jesus Christ, the Passover Lamb of God, who gave his life to purchase our salvation.
  
• The Feasts of Unleavened Bread which commemorate Israel's hurried departure from Egypt when they lived on unleavened bread. Unleavened Bread also foreshadows the time when the Almighty will totally rid His household - the Church - of the leaven of sin, hypocrisy and false doctrine.
  
• Pentecost: This festival commemorates the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit: not just the event that happened on the day of Pentecost in apostolic times (Acts 2), but also when the Most High will pour out His Spirit on His people in these last days, after we have been cleansed of every vestige of sin.
  
• Trumpets: This feast still awaits even partial fulfilment. It foreshadows the time when cleansed, Spirit-filled believers will proclaim the final warnings to mankind; warnings which will be preached when the terrifying events described in the book of Revelation are in progress.
  
• The Day of Atonement: This day of fasting prefigures a time of judgement and atonement when the church will finally be brought into the very presence of the Almighty and be at-one with Him.
  
• The Feast of Tabernacles: This festival commemorates Israel's 40 year stay in the wilderness in temporary dwellings (booths/tents). Tabernacles also commemorates the incarnation, when the Almighty God took up residence in the human body of His Son Yeshua!
  
• The Last Great Day: This feast prefigures eternity; when through the ages to come the ransomed will live with Yahweh the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and His Son Yeshua - our Redeemer!

5. What Now?

• Go along with the pagan festival of Christmas.
• Or obey the Almighty's commandments.

6. What About My Family?

Is it possible to stop keeping Christmas? Yes it is: tens of thousands of Christians the world over have already done so. What's more they are now keeping the Festivals of the God of Israel. Believe me, and I can speak from experience, their children and grandchildren are in no way deprived.

Summary

1. According to the Scriptures Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah was born in the autumn of the year; probably during the Week of Tabernacles. This extremely important Biblical festival commemorates and foreshadows two important events:
   • Israel's 40 year wanderings in the wilderness when the nation lived in temporary dwellings (booths/tents)
   • And the incarnation! when the Almighty God took up residence in the person of Yeshua the Messiah - the SON OF THE LIVING GOD!
2. The early apostolic Church did not celebrate Christmas. You may read the New Testament again and again and you will find this to be the case.
   
3. Only after several centuries did the Roman Church begin to celebrate Christmas: which was - and still is - a pagan festival commemorated in honour of the SUN god, variously known as Tammuz, Mithra, Saturn, Adonis and BAAL! In order to win converts to the Christian faith the Catholic Church adopted this pagan festival, renamed it Christmas and now celebrates it in honour of the SON of GOD! Alas! the whole Christian world, with the exception of a few believers, has followed suit. But Christmas is still a pagan festival through and through. Its change of name from Saturnalia, the birthday of the Sun god, to Christ's Mass has not altered its true character one iota: and the evil spirit behind its celebrations still produces the deception, debt, drunkenness, misrule and licentiousness that characterised the pagan revelries of bygone days.
   
4. The sacred festivals listed in the Bible (Leviticus chapter 23) are for Jewish as well as Gentile believers in the God of Israel. These divine festivals constitute the Signature (Sign) of Yahweh the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
   
5. True believers must give up celebrating the heathen festivals of Christmas, Easter, Ash-Wednesday etc. and begin keeping the Bible feasts listed in Leviticus chapter 23. There really is no other safe alternative.

Author: David B Loughran
Stewarton Bible School, Stewarton, Scotland

1997     ... Reformatted: December 1999

                

XMAS,
the diabolical paradox

Diabolical: Of, or pertaining to, the Devil, demoniacal, fiendish.

Paradox: A statement actually self-contradictory or false.

Christmas is purported to be a celebration honoring the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. By simply and honestly examining the history, the scriptures and the actual practices of Christmas, it may be easily seen that it is truly a work of Satan foisted on an unsuspecting and willingly gullible humanity.

History of Christmas ...
where did it originate?

The Judean shepherds would not have been in the fields at the 25th of December, as they were at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 2:8), due to the cold weather in that area at that time of the year. ¹ Nor is it likely that Caesar would have required his subjects to travel to their home towns in the winter to be taxed as he did just before the birth of the Lord Jesus (Luke 2:1-3).

Nowhere in the word of God do we find anyone commemorating the birthday of the Lord Jesus, nor do we find any command to do so. Since God Almighty has told us that within the pages of His written word may be found all He would have us do to be perfect (mature) Christians before Him, and Christmas is not found there, it must not be a good work in the eyes of God.

II Timothy 3:16-17
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Obviously if the celebration of Christmas did not originate with God and the Bible, we will have to look to secular history for its origin. Prior to the celebration of Christmas, December 25th was celebrated as the Natalis Solis Invicti, the birthday of the Unconquerable Sun. ¹ The worship of this pagan deity, known by different names in different lands, penetrated the Roman world in the first century B.C.. Under Roman Catholicism, the celebration of the birthday of the Sun was adopted ² and changed to supposedly celebrate the birthday of the Son of God, retaining many of the pagan customs and festivities. ³ Some of the earliest settlers of the American colonies, the Puritans, outlawed the celebration of Christmas "because there was no biblical sanction" ⁴ for such an observance.

Origin of Christmas Customs

"Yuletide"

This common terminology for the Christmas season ⁵ has its origin deeply rooted in paganism far before the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. In paganism, the mother of the sun god and great mediatorial divinity, was said to have been mystically turned into a tree and in this condition gave birth to her son.

The birth day associated with December 25th was really a reincarnation of her son. He had been killed and was miraculously raised on December 25th. Thus the pagans would cast a "yule (child) log" on the fire the evening of December 24th. On the next morning, the reincarnated tree would appear. ⁶

"Christmas Tree"

This custom of the Christmas season was common in pagan Rome and Egypt. In Egypt they used a palm tree and in Rome a fir tree. See above for the significance of the tree on the morning of December 25th in the pagan festivals. ⁶ It may be that the reference to the tree in Jeremiah 10 had its roots in this pagan celebration.

"Candles"

Lighted candles are foreign to the worship of God in the church of the New Testament scriptures. Yet, they too had their place in the worship of the sun god of paganism ⁶ and in Christmas today.

"Santa Claus"

The origin of Santa Claus, or St. Nicholas, is well known. He was a Roman Catholic bishop in Asia Minor in the first half of the fourth century. ⁷ Various legends of his generosity are reported, especially toward children whom he supposedly would question to see if they had studied their catechism and behaved well before giving them treats. His bishop's robe, no doubt, evolved into the modern day red uniform of Santa Claus. ⁸ (The diabolical affect of this "harmless" fantasy of childhood will be considered later.)

"Mistletoe"

Among the pre-Christian Druidic superstitions, derived from ancient Babylon, was the legend of the mistletoe. It was regarded as a divine branch which came down from heaven and grafted itself into an earthly tree. Thus the mistletoe became a token of reconciliation, the kiss being a symbol of pardon. ⁹

At one time Babylon was the center of the civilized world and the origin of all paganism. As such it corrupted the truth of God through the "mysteries" of its religion and thus debased, carnalized and materialized it.

Christ-mass

In the Roman Catholic mass, the following anti-biblical, anti-Christ events are purported to take place:

"Unbloody Sacrifice"

"The mass is the unbloody renewal of the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary's cross...Christ, through the ministry of the Roman Catholic priest, offers Himself to God in an unbloody manner under the appearances of bread and wine." ¹⁰ (Christ is thus crucified afresh, obviously indicating His death on Calvary was insufficient.) "The mass is the same sacrifice as the sacrifice of the cross because the Victim is the same. The purpose of the mass is, among other things, to satisfy the justice of God for the sins committed against Him." ¹¹

"When the priest pronounces the tremendous words of consecration, he reaches up into the heavens and brings Christ down from His throne, and places Him upon the (Roman Catholic) altar to be offered up again as the victim for the sins of man...Christ became incarnate a single time, the priest brings Christ down from heaven and renders Him present on the (Roman Catholic) altar as the eternal Victim for the sins of man-not once but a thousand times! The priest speaks and lo! Christ, the eternal, omnipotent God, bows His head in humble obedience to the priest's command...No wonder that the name which spiritual writers are especially fond of applying to the priest is that of 'altar Christus.' For the priest is and should be another Christ." ¹²

To those who know the Savior and Lord of the Bible, Jesus Christ, the above quotations from official Roman Catholic publications are at once sickening and outrageous! Note the following from the word of God.

Hebrews 9:22
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Hebrews 9:24-28
For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Hebrews 10:5-18
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

The diabolical paradox

The celebration of Christmas is purported to be in commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In the mass celebrating His birth, the Roman Catholics claim to call Him down from His heavenly glory and crucify Him again, the same as on Calvary. This means they celebrate His birth by killing Him!!!

Shall we who know the Christ of the Bible follow the leading of these "other Christs" as they claim to accomplish such a terrible feat. Shall we to the tune of clinking glasses of alcohol shout "Merry Christ-Mass" or merry crucifixion of Christ again and again and again and again with those who do not love the Saviour! Shall we join with them in calling this unspeakable ungodliness "Christian" and make it the apex of the "Christian" holidays. If this is not a demoniacal contradiction then what is it?!!!

Can you not hear the similarity of the gleeful shouting of the two crowds? Modern day revelers, willfully ignorant of the grand Gift of the Son of God for their sins are shouting "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas!" While the Christ rejecting Jews at the cross shouted "Crucify Him, Crucify Him." They are the same!!! Surely Satan must roll with laughter at the spectacle of some of God's true children blindly joining with his ungodly followers to demean, disgrace and defame the Lord of glory!

The Gospel According to Saint Nicholas

The Bible clearly teaches the following gospel, or good news, regarding the way of salvation and forgiveness of sins:

Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Romans 4:5-8
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Now, as with the false doctrines of Roman Catholicism, let's compare the word of God with the words of man as ascribed to Santa Claus. "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (A well known and popular Christmas song).

"He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows whether you've been good or bad
So be good for goodness sake!

You'd better not cry, you'd better not pout.
You'd better not sigh, you'd better watch out.
Santa Claus is coming to town."

All are aware of the myth regarding Santa Clause. From his unseen north pole headquarters he is preparing gifts as he miraculously keeps records on the behavior of boys and girls the world over. Once a year he visits their homes on the 25th of December to deliver toys and treats to boys and girls who have earned them by their good works. This is diabolically opposed to the true gospel of salvation and forgiveness of sins without works! In addition, although Santa is supposed to fill the stockings of bad little boys and girls with ashes and leave them no presents, there is never such a child! This only teaches lies and hypocrisy to the minds of little children. It teaches that regardless of what is taught, all will really be rewarded in the end. This is NOT true!

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 3:7
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

John 8:24
I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

And finally, when the child reaches mid grammar school they discover their parents have been lying to them (while at the same time telling their children not to lie!). The children learn there really is no Santa Claus. He is a myth. This may cause a very serious difficulty when the child is told about the Son of God Who really does know their every thought and deed and to Whom they one day will give an account. The child may fear being deceived again and may find it hard to readily believe their parents about this One, to the damning of their souls. (See Psalms 106:24-40)

The Christ of Christmas is a Dummy

The baby Jesus of Christmas is a helpless infant either lying in a manger or held in his mother's arms. He does not speak. Like a dumb pagan idol, he simply lies there content to be placed wherever man may choose, accomplishing absolutely nothing. At the first advent of the real Christ the angels were commissioned to truthfully proclaim, "Peace on earth, good will toward men." They are no longer commissioned to speak thus to a world which has rejected God's offer of peace by nailing the "Prince of Peace" to a cross. To sing such songs now makes the christ of Christmas a powerless fraud! Meanwhile, the man size Santa reaps credit for giving sparkling delights to young and old alike, at least in the minds of children.

"and, whatsoever ye do in word or deed ..."

One of the earmarks of idolatry is that the "worshipers" tell their god what to do. They decide what pleases him. Their god's mouth is silent, like the christ of Christmas. However, the true child of God who really does want to please His Saviour and LORD is enjoined to obey this command:

Colossians 3:17
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Can such a child of God honestly join with the world in a non-biblical celebration which is characterized by alcoholism, sexual license and much wasting of finances on unneeded luxuries, and believe he is doing so "in the name of the Lord Jesus?" Remember, He is and was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners (Heb 7:26)." What does it mean to "take the name of the Lord in vain?"

God's Revelation warning

The last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, speaks of "Mystery Babylon." This will be the final religious system of the world before God returns in glory, not to "humbly bow His head" and take His place on the cross of Calvary again, but to take vengeance on them that know not God!

2 Thessalonians 1:8
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

The adherents to this anti-Christ final form of apostate Christendom will make the world "drunk," but not with wine. They will be drunk with the intoxication of human reasoning, sensual reveling and the blood of the true followers of Jesus Christ!

REV 17:1-3
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

In verse 9, the 7 heads are revealed to be 7 hills (the city of Rome!). We are told in verse 12, the 10 horns are ten kings (perhaps some form of the European Common Market). In verse 18, the woman is revealed to be the great city (Rome) which will be destroyed by Christ.

With these clear identifications of the religious system which will be prevalent in the last days being "Mystery Babylon" and the clear identification of the current Christmas celebration finding its roots in ancient Babylon, what should the response of the God fearing true child of God be but to heed God's command!

2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

¹ Robert J. Myers, CELEBRATIONS (Doubleday and Co., Garden City, N.Y.), p. 309
² Tertullian, a writer in 230AD lamented the inconsistency of supposed disciples of Christ who willingly compromised with paganism, while the heathen had stricter fidelity to their superstitions. "Oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion," he said, "who take care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians." See Alexander Hislop, THE TWO BABYLONS, Loizeaux Bros., Neptune, N.J., 1959, p. 93.
³ Ibid, p. 310
⁴ Robert J. Myers, CELEBRATIONS (Doubleday and Co., Garden City, N.Y.), p. 312
⁵ WEBSTER'S NEW COLLEGE DICTIONARY, p. 994
⁶ Alexander Hislop, THE TWO BABYLONS, Loizeaux Bros., Neptune, N.J., 1959, p. 94 and 97
⁷ Robert J. Myers, CELEBRATIONS (Doubleday and Co., Garden City, N.Y.), p. 318
⁸ See illustration of St. Nicholas attired in a mixture of Roman vestments and robe in THE BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE, Grolier Inc. N.Y., 1962, p. 922
⁹ Alexander Hislop, THE TWO BABYLONS, Loizeaux Bros., Neptune, N.J., 1959, p. 9
¹⁰ Rev. John A. O'Brien, UNDERSTANDING THE CATHOLIC FAITH, Ave Maria Press, Nortre Dame, Ind, 1955, p. 210
¹¹ Ibid, p. 212
¹² Rev. John A. O'brien, FAITH OF MILLIONS, Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, Ind., 1938, pp. 243-244

Our Christian friends are often quite surprised at how enthusiastically we Pagans celebrate the 'Christmas' season. Even though we prefer to use the word 'Yule', and our celebrations may peak a few days BEFORE the 25th, we nonetheless follow many of the traditional customs of the season: decorated trees, carolling, presents, Yule logs, and mistletoe. We might even go so far as putting up a  'Nativity set', though for us the three central characters are likely to be interpreted as Mother Nature,Father Time, and the Baby Sun-God. None of this will come as a surprise to anyone who knows the true history of the holiday, of course.

<>In fact, if truth be known, the holiday of Christmas has always been more Pagan than Christian, with it's associations of Nordic divination, Celtic fertility rites, and Roman Mithraism. That is why both Martin Luther and John Calvin abhorred it, why the Puritans refused to acknowledge it, much less celebrate it (to them, no day of the year could be more holy than the Sabbath), and why it was even made ILLEGAL in Boston! The holiday was already too closely associated with the birth of older Pagan gods and heroes. And many

of them (like Oedipus, Theseus, Hercules, Perseus, Jason, Dionysus, Apollo, Mithra, Horus and even Arthur) possessed a narrative of birth, death, and resurrection that was uncomfortably close to that of Jesus. And to make matters worse, many of them pre-dated the Christian Savior.

Ultimately, of course, the holiday is rooted deeply in the cycle of the year. It is the Winter Solstice that is being celebrated, seed-time of the year, the longest night and shortest day. It is the birthday of the new Sun King, the Son of God -- by whatever name you choose to call him. On this darkest of nights, the Goddess becomes the Great Mother and once again gives birth. And it makes perfect poetic sense that on the longest night of the winter, 'the dark night of our souls', there springs the new spark of hope, the Sacred Fire,the Light of the World, the Coel Coeth.

That is why Pagans have as much right to claim this holiday as Christians. Perhaps even more so, as the Christians were rather late in laying claim to it, and tried more than once to reject it. There had been a tradition in the West that Mary bore the child Jesus on the twenty-fifth day, but no one could seem to decide on the month. Finally, in 320 C.E., the Catholic Fathers in Rome decided to make it December, in an effort to co-opt the Mithraic celebration of the Romans and the Yule celebrations of the Celts and Saxons.

There was never much pretense that the date they finally chose was historically accurate. Shepherds just don't 'tend their flocks by night' in the high pastures in the dead of winter! But if one wishes to use the New Testament as historical evidence, this reference may point to sometime in the spring as the time of Jesus's birth. This is because the lambing season occurs in the spring and that is the only time when shepherds are likely to 'watch their flocks by night' -- to make sure the lambing goes well. Knowing this, the Eastern half of the Church continued to reject December 25, preferring a 'movable date' fixed by their astrologers according to the moon.

Thus, despite its shaky start (for over three centuries, no one knew when Jesus was supposed to have been born!), December 25 finally began to catch on. By 529, it was a civic holiday, and all work or public business (except that of cooks, bakers, or any that contributed to the delight of the holiday) was prohibited by the Emperor Justinian. In 563, the Council of Braga forbade fasting on Christmas Day, and four years later the Council of Tours proclaimed the twelve days from December 25 to Epiphany as a sacred, festive season. This last point is perhaps the hardest to impress upon the modern reader, who is lucky to get a single day off work. Christmas, in the Middle Ages, was not a SINGLE day, but rather a period of TWELVE days, from December 25 to January 6. The Twelve Days of Christmas, in fact. It is certainly lamentable that the modern world has abandoned this approach, along with the popular Twelfth Night celebrations.

Of course, the Christian version of the holiday spread to many countries no faster than Christianity itself, which means that 'Christmas' wasn't celebrated in Ireland until the late fifth century; in England, Switzerland, and Austria until the seventh; in Germany until the eighth; and in the Slavic lands until the ninth and tenth. Not that these countries lacked their own mid-winter celebrations of Yuletide. Long before the world had heard of Jesus, Pagans had been observing the season by bringing in the Yule log, wishing on it, and lighting it from the remains of last year's log. Riddles were posed and answered, magic and rituals were practiced, wild boars were sacrificed and consumed along with large quantities of liquor, corn dollies were carried from house to house while carolling, fertility rites were practiced (girls standing under a sprig of mistletoe were subject to a bit more than a kiss), and divinations were cast for the coming Spring. Many of these Pagan customs, in an appropriately watered-down form, have entered the mainstream of Christian celebration, though most celebrants do not realize (or do not mention it, if they do) their origins.

For modern Witches, Yule (from the Anglo-Saxon 'Yula', meaning 'wheel' of the year) is usually celebrated on the actual Winter Solstice, which may vary by a few days, though it usually occurs on or around December 21st. It is a Lesser Sabbat or Lower Holiday in the modern Pagan calendar, one of the four quarter-days of the year, but a very important one. This year (1997) it occurs on December 21st 12:08 PM PST. Pagan customs are still enthusiastically followed. Once, the Yule log had been the center of the celebration. It was lighted on the eve of the solstice (it should light on the first try) and must be kept burning for twelve hours, for good luck. It should be made of ash. Later, the Yule log was replaced by the Yule tree but, instead of burning it, burning candles were placed on it. In Christianity, Protestants might claim that Martin Luther invented the custom, and Catholics might grant St. Boniface the honor, but the custom can demonstrably be traced back through the Roman Saturnalia all the way to ancient Egypt. Needless to say, such a tree should be cut down rather than purchased, and should be disposed of by burning, the proper way to dispatch any sacred object.

Along with the evergreen, the holly and the ivy and the mistletoe were important plants of the season, all symbolizing fertility and everlasting life. Mistletoe was especially venerated by the Celtic Druids, who cut it with a golden sickle on the sixth night of the moon, and believed it to be an aphrodisiac. (Magically -- not medicinally! It's highly toxic!) But aphrodisiacs must have been the smallest part of the Yuletide menu in ancient times, as contemporary reports indicate that the tables fairly creaked under the strain of every type of good food. And drink! The most popular of which was the 'wassail cup' deriving its name from the Anglo-Saxon term 'waes hael' (be whole or hale).

Medieval Christmas folklore seems endless: that animals will all kneel down as the Holy Night arrives, that bees hum the '100th psalm' on Christmas Eve, that a windy Christmas will bring good luck, that a person born on Christmas Day can see the Little People, that a cricket on the hearth brings good luck, that if one opens all the doors of the house at midnight all the evil spirits will depart, that you will have one lucky month for each Christmas pudding you sample, that the tree must be taken down by Twelfth Night or bad luck is sure to follow, that 'if Christmas on a Sunday be, a windy winter we shall see', that 'hours of sun on Christmas Day, so many frosts in the month of May', that one can use the Twelve Days of Christmas to predict the weather for each of the twelve months of the coming year, and so on.

Remembering that most Christmas customs are ultimately based upon older Pagan customs, it only remains for modern Pagans to reclaim their lost traditions. In doing so, we can share many common customs with our Christian friends, albeit with a slightly different interpretation. And thus we all share in the beauty of this most magical of seasons, when the Mother Goddess once again gives birth to the baby Sun-God and sets the wheel in motion again. To conclude with a long-overdue paraphrase, 'Goddess bless us, every one!'
           (THIS WAS TAKEN FROM A WICCAN (WITCHES) WEBSITE)   If they are siding with mainstream Christianity about Christmas , then this should cause one to think about this pagan holiday. Should you be observing it?

                    I ask you, should a believer continue in celebrating the abomination called Christmas?  I think not.  Yeshua never had anything to do with Christmas and never will.  I pray many will see the truth of this pagan celebration.

                                                 CHRIST'S  MASS
                                         History Reveals  the Truth

   Why does one celebrate Christmas?  Do you honestly believe that Christmas celebrates the day of Yeshua's birth?  Or is it because of tradition?  Let us examine further.

                         December 25th  Whose Birthday?   Whose tradition?

   When was Yeshua born?  Neither the Bible nor any know writings claim to record His true birthdate.  All available information supports an earlier time of the year for His birth.  So why do we celebrate December 25th ? 
     This date was the first officially recognized on  Roman calendars about  336 A.D. having been decreed by Pope Sylvester in 320 A.D. to coincide with the sun-god feast, Saturnalia.  Indeed, Rome was originally called "Saturnia" city of Saturn, after the god Saturn in Rome and Shamash the Babylonian sun god.
   The Romans did not invent the festival.  December 25th was celebrated worldwide for thousands of years before Yeshua was born under various names, all commemorating variations of the false trinity consisting of a father, mother and child. 
The mother is the queen of heaven while the child is the false messiah.  Can you honestly say that Catholics do not worship idols or other gods?  Mary is also called the queen of heaven.

      Various stories in myth are based on historical fact. It began in ancient Babylon    where Semiramis, the mother and wife of Nimrod (the rebel) , tried to retain her power after his death by marrying another later born son Tammuz , and declaring him to be the reincarnated Nimrod.  Through migration , due to the scattering at the tower of Babelthroughout the world.  Father is also know as Baal, Osiris, Orion, Molech, Saturn, Odin,Cupid, Seb, etc. and is symbolized by a yule log  which is a phallic symbol.  The mother is also called  Ishtar, Astarte, Venus, Diana , Aurora ,Aphrodite, Isis, Mary ,etc. and is symbolized by the mother holding the infant child.  The child is the moon god, Lord of misrule, Bacchus, Thor, Lord of the fir-tree, and Horus. 
    Isn't it interesting that Lucifer is referred to as the son of the morning?  Isaiah 14:12

    December 25th is not the birthday of Yeshua or is a Chrisitan traditon. It has been decreed to be a Roman Catholic holiday.  Cardinal Newman , in his book admits that all holidays, seasons of devotion and images are of pagan origin.  Christmas was adopted frome the worldwide celebration of the re-birth of the sun-god.

                  Was  Christmas "Christianized" by Church adoption?

      No!  Neither the apostles nor the early church celebrated the birth.  In 245 A.D. it was declared  to be a sin even to think of keeping December 25th.  The Reformation Protestants did not, Puritans and Pilgrims even outlawed it in the 1600's.  As late as 1855  Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists refused  to recognize it as a holiday.   Because of its heathen roots , Easter itself was dismissed as a pagan holiday by the nations founding Puritans and did not begin to be widely accepted and observed until after the Civil War era coinciding with the spread of Roman Catholicism.  Christmas did not even begin to be a legal holiday in the United States until the late 19th century.    In fact , as late as 1913 many states still would not recognize Christmas as a holiday.   But because of the influx of Roman Catholics into the U.S., the practice spread and gained acceptance by all but a small remnant.  As is the case to this very day.

        THE LYING SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

       The reason for the season is the deceiving, lying, spirit of Christmas and that spirit emanates as truth from HaSatan, the devil, the father of all deception and lying, John 8:44, Eph. 2:2.  HaSatan impersonates himself as the "messiah of Christmas," with an emanating, lying, spirit, and this is what people are really acknowledging and worshipping at Christmas. This merry-making, lying, spirit originated from past, pagan, idolatrous "sun worship." It's celebrations today continues to be set in the same sun-worship, idolatrous customs, but with the additional lie that Christmas is the time of Yeshua’s unknown birthday, which preachers teach "christianizes" this unholy, pagan day. Instead of churches speaking out against this lying spirit, they promote this spirit in it's idolatrous setting, by depicting scenes and church plays of more erroneous facts concerning Yeshua's unknown birthday; which was in reality around the time of Succot. The actual day is not known for certain. But the season is.  Churches prostitute themselves with HaSatan's society,  join in with this friendship of the world, and become willing tools of HaSatan in fabricating this lie and illusion at Christmas. Study these scriptures to help prove to you these statements, James 4:4,  Rev. 22:15, Eph. 6:12, Eph. 2:2-3.

    It would stand to reason, that since all denominations love and embrace "Christ-Mass", that December 25th is the great homecoming day, when all of the “Protestants” become Catholic .  It would seem that all of the so-called "wayward daughters" of the Romish church return to their mother, the scarlet harlot.  Thus, all of the so-called Protestant churches could sing to the Pope that popular song "I'll be home for Christmas."

  The word "Mass" in religious usage means a "death sacrifice."  The impact of this fact is horrifying and shocking; for when the millions of people are saying, "Merry Christmas", they are literally saying "Merry death of Christ!"  Furthermore, when the fat man in the red suit laughs boisterously  and says, "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas", he is mocking and laughing at the suffering and bleeding Saviour, who died for our sins.  He does this while parents place their little children into his waiting arms to hear his false promises of gifts that he says he will give them.  Consider what people are saying when they say "Merry Christmas."

       Is this lying spirit of Christmas a good, wholesome, and clean spirit to get and have at this season?  Does the child pleasing, gift giving, merry-making pleasure of getting this spirit justify the means? The whole Christmas season puts down, belittles, makes light of all that the real Yeshua HaMoshiach of the Bible stands for. The lying spirit of Christmas does not bear the fruit of Elohim's Ruach HaKodesh, but produces a way that seems good and right, but will produce death, not life, Pro. 14:12. Why? Because it teaches lying and idolatry, and these are sins Yeshua's sacrifice will not justify and cover unless they are confessed and repented with a heart that desires to change to obedience of YHVH’s commandments.   Yeshua’s  grace was not given to be that amazing, to over look His Torah, to forgive sins without confession and repentance! The fruit of Elohim’s Ruach is love, which is the keeping of YHVH's Ten Commandments, not the breaking of them, I John 5:3. Out of the six things Elohim says He hates in Proverbs 6:16-19, three of them are  about deception and lying and are involved with Christmas!

       This lying spirit of Christmas is the mind, power and influence of HaSatan, Eph. 2:2, centered around the lie of a Santa Claus idol, bringing gifts to children on Christmas eve night. This YHVH-hated lie of deception and betrayal is what parents and society puts on children and teaches as truth every Christmas, and is encouraged by "churches", II Cor. 11:13-15. WHAT A TRAVESTY! PAY UP DAY FOR SINS IS VERY SOON! Does the Ruach HaKodesh of Adonai  teach deception, lies and betrayal,  to open minded, humble, naive, small children? ABSOLUTELY NOT! But what  is it that does teach these things,  is the mind, power and influence of HaSatan, the father of all lying, John 8:44, Acts 13:10. YHVH says in Rev. 21:8, "All liars shall have their part in the lake of fire." YHVH's Word also says, "He who loves to make a lie (getting the lying spirit of Christmas), will not be in that eternal City of YHVH," Rev. 22:14-15. People even after experiencing The Great Tribulation-the Day of the Lord, will continue their merry making and gift exchanging in celebration of the death of Elohim's Ruach-filled prophets, at the end of their 3 1/2 years preaching, Rev. 11:9-12.

       The lying spirit of Christmas produces not joy, but a drugging effect and a yoke of bondage on people. The lying Christmas spirit produces a HaSatan induced, high, emotional feeling, like drugs and alcohol, and after the high feeling wears off, then there is the day after. It produces, like all of Satan's deceptions, depression, not joy, futility, not success, debt and ill health, not prosperity and good health, III John 2-4. The joy of YHVH comes from obeying His Ten Commandments, not following a pagan idolatrous custom that leads man to break God's commandments, John 15:10-11. HaSatan, the father of lust and lying, John 8:44, causes all the glitter--Christmas lights, Santa Claus, tree decorations and gift buying, to accomplish his purpose of keeping man in darkness to his sins of lying, lusting, idolatry, and breaking all of YHVH's commandments, II Cor. 4:4, Eph.. 2:2,  and away from the light of Yeshua our Messiah .

      When the evil of Christmas and exposing the lying spirit of Christmas is preached, HaSatan's loyalist, his ministers, have many justifying arguments, one of which is, "what about all the love of gift giving to children, charities, and feeding the homeless?"  Surely all of this justifies these sins of lying, idolatry, and taking YHVH's name in vain in celebrating this unholy Christmas celebration! First of all, man does not know what is real love and thinks his definition of love will justify the breaking of YHVH's  10 commandments. Only Eloa, through His Word, can define real G-dly love. Adonai  in John 15:10 and I John 5:2-3, plainly says, "His love is the keeping of His Ten Commandments, and   we know that we love YHVH's children when we love YHVH and keep His Ten Commandments."          -----------Secondly, justification of sin is not by man's works of giving of his money, time, and sacrifice and his "love". Thirdly, YHVH says in I Cor. 13:3, that a person can give all he has to his family, to the poor and homeless, to charities, and even give his life also, and still not have YHVH's love. One other thing about this righteousness of Christmas that they display,  is that most of the time it is done to be seen by others, which is sin. Adonai says our righteousness is nothing but a bunch of filthy rags, meaning our righteousness  is dead works without Messiah and His sacrifice and our repenting of breaking His Torah-His  Ten Commandments,  and is without any value and worth in one's life, and will not be  received into YHVH's Kingdom.

       HaSatan, in the very beginning told man he would not die if he partook of the forbidden fruit, that was pleasing to his eyes and much to be desired, Gen. 3:4-6, Pro. 14:12.  But YHVH said, if you live by HaSatan's suggestions instead of what He Commanded, it would reap sure death unless there is repentance, and man takes of the tree of life, Gen. 3:22, Rev. 22:14-15. The lying spirit of Christmas produces a burden and a yoke and the only way it can be lifted is by the conditions laid out by the True Messiah, not the "antinomian christ of Christmas," Acts 3:18-20. TAKE HEED AND EXAMINE WHAT IS WRITTEN!!!!! II Cor. 13:5-8, Mat. 19:17, Luke 5:32.

   In essence, the Mass is the ceremonial slaying of Yeshua over and over again, followed by the eating of his flesh and the drinking of his blood.  The Mass is the death sacrifice, and the "Host" is the victim.  This is official Roman Catholic doctrine, and "Christmas" is a word that they invented.  Again, I ask, what is so merry about the pain, bleeding, suffering and death of Yeshua ? Satan has done quite a good job of getting millions of "Christians" to blaspheme.  What a deceiver he is.
          Now you know the true meaning of the word "Christmas" or Mass of Christ. Yeshua is not the Christ in Christmas!