BUT CHRISTMAS IS PAGAN !
by Richard Merrell
PO Box 107 Wentworth Falls NSW Australia 2782
Allow me to commence by saying that the only thing Lord Yeshua/Jesus told us to do was to remember Him by partaking of the bread and wine in communion, His words were, 'This do in remembrance of me' Paul the Apostle reminds us that 'as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death 'till He COME' amen and hallelujah !! In an American magazine a writer has pointed out that, while Christmas comes with absolutley NO authority from the Scriptures, the Messiah himself was present in Jerusalem at the time when Hanukah was observed, and ( apparently ) kept the feast. We know that Christmas is supposed to commemorate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, born almost 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem of Judea, and named Yeshua. Apart from Scripture, secular history itself bears abundant testimony to this fact. For example, Tacitus, a Roman historian, who wrote about the year 61 C.E. said of the Christians: " They had their name from Christus, who was put to death as a criminal by the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius."
THE EXACT YEAR OF HIS BIRTH IS NOT KNOWN
But when was Yeshua born? It is believed that his birth has been set some years too late. We quote from Hadley's Bible Handbook: " A monk, Dionysus Exiguus, at the request of the Emperor Justinian, made a calendar, 526 A.D., reckoning from the birth of Christ... Long after the Christian calendar had replaced the Roman calendar, it was found that Dionysus had made a mistake in placing the birth of Christ in 753 from the founding of Rome. It should have been about 749 or a year or two earlier." This year, 1984, is really, therefore, anywhere from 1988 to perhaps 1991 for no one knows for sure how far we are from the birth of Messiah.
Nowhere in Scripture is the actual date given for Messiah's birth. In fact, although there can be no certainty on this point, it is generally agreed by Bible scholars that it is extremely unlikely that December 25th is the date of His birth. By that time of the year the nights were quite cold in Bethlehem in the Judean hills and it would have been very unlikely that shepherds and their sheep would have been then in the open fields. Luke 2:1,2 says. ' And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This first took place while Cyrenius was governing Syria.' God shows us here something that is beneficial to us if we care to take notice. Cyrenius the Greek form of the Latin Quirinius, his full name was Publius Sulpicius Quirinius. Now the 'first' mentioned in the text speaks of the 'first' of two census' that Cyrenius was in control of. This 'first' occurred during the days of the war with the Cilician hill tribe of the Homonadenes, an enrollment in the kingdom of Herod would thus be supervised by him, c. 5 B.C. The Romans would NOT have had the population dispersed during winter, Joseph had to 'go up' to his birthplace of Bethlehem from Nazareth, a climb of some 1,500 feet. the most likely time of the enrollment would have been in autumn 5 B.C. the Romans would have been actively keeping their Saturnalia feast on December 25 the winter solstice being the great birth of the unconquered Sun. The feast was apparently over five days, Caligula added two days. One of the themes was that servants put on a purple robe and became ruler for the day, thus you see the act of the Roman soldiers towards our Lord and Saviour, with the crown of thorns and purple robe, may have come from their practice at the Saturnalia ?
Note that : ( During the winter months in Israel the sheep were kept indoors at night )
KEEPING CHRISTMAS IS NOT SCRIPTUAL !
History seems to make it perfectly clear that the observance of Christmas Day comes not from Scripture, but from church tradition. The very word 'Christmas' is really 'Christ's Mass'! The origin of keeping Christmas from the way the Roman Church adapted the festivals of paganism and incorporated them into their practices. ie; the Saturnalia, (birth of the unconquered Sun) The "World Book" says "In 534 A.D. Bishop Liberius of Rome ordered the people to celebrate on December 25. He probably chose this day because the people of Rome already observed it as the Feast of Saturn, celebrating the birth of the sun" !! Far and wide in the pagan world, from Egypt to Babylonia and from India and Arabia to Britian and Scandinavia, pagan people observed the occasion, sometimes with riotous behaviour. But the Romish Church took it over, along with other pagan customs, ( Easter ) and called it a 'CHRISTIAN' festival. As early as about the year 230 C.E. a congregation 'father', Tertullian, lamemted this development; he wrote;"...the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brummalia and Matronalia are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro. New Year presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar...." ( The Two Babylons. Hislop. p. 93).
Hear what the SPIRIT is saying, The celebration of Christ-mass is the celebration of the birth of the FALSE MESSIAH, the hour and day of the birth of the TRUE MESSIAH are not known, the same as the hour and day of his return are not known, the reason is made plain ie. When the Lord entered the synagogue on the sabbath, the president of the meeting handed him the scroll of ISAIAH, the Lord found the appropriate place, but Jesus stopped reading Isaiah right in the middle of 61:2; this recorded in Luke 4:19.
1st coming Fulfilled
The Word becomes flesh
Isaiah 61:1-2A; John 1:1-14
(Day and hour not known)
month might be reasoned out by scripture, ie. (Tishri, Rosh Hashanah)
Second coming to be fulfilled
The Lord coming in glory
Isaiah 61:2B-3; Matt 24; Mark 13
month might be reasoned out by scripture, ie. (Tishri, Rosh Hashanah)
Anyone with an ounce of insight can perceive that all the world is Roman, the days, the months, and the two church celebrations Easter and Christmas are Roman (pagan) what is pagan remains pagan what is Christian remains Christian, the same as what is flesh remains flesh and what is spirit remains spirit !! The two have no concord, God divided the light from the darkness. WHAT GOD HAS DIVIDED MAN MUST NOT JOIN !!!
HANUKAH (FESTIVAL OF DEDICATION)
Hanukah has the distinct advantage ( unlike Christmas ) of being mentioned in Scripture. It commerates one of the glorious victories achieved in Second Century B.C. Jewish history. Antiochus IV Epipahnes had captured Jerusalem and had entered the temple. He had mocked Israel, and Israel's God, by sacrificing on the altar a sow, and by erecting a statue of Zeus, the Greek god. The Syrians had also destroyed the oil from which the Menorah lights were lit. Antiochus was a forerunner of the ANTICHRIST to come; he is mentioned at Daniel 8:9; after the reign and death of Alexander the Great mentioned at 8:4-8. Antiochus is the little horn of Daniel 8:9. Alexander and Antiochus are again mentioned at Daniel 11. The so called 'silent years' between the Old and New Testament weren't silent at all, for those who care to listen God speaks louder than ever. Antiochus is tied into the Selucid Empire, even today the Syrians are avowed enemies of Israel! But Judas Maccabeus reconquered Jerusalem, he won battle after battle, ( for God delivered the wicked into his hand ) and they slayed them all. The sinners were destroyed and they never were allowed to get the upper hand.
Judas purified and re-dedicated the Temple. But when they came to re-light the Menorah, there was no oil! At last a single vase of oil which had apparently been overlooked by the Syrians was found. Miraculously it is said that vase of oil lasted for eight days until a fresh supply became available! At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned the Temple, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals. Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, not the 25th day of December, though some- times the two do coincide, for the 25th day of Chislev can fall any day during the month of December.
Hanukah continues for eight days, hallelujah, God is telling us something by this. REMEMBER that December 25th is the oldtime worship of Satan, called 'Saturnalia' the festival of mid-winter.The worship of nature, the trees, holly, ivy, the yule-log, feastings of pigs, all kinds of gluttony etc, you can dress it up as Christmas, but Saturnalia shines through. The Chaldean word STUR = 666, and represents Saturn (Satan). Note the name ANTIOCHUS means (withstander); the Latin VICARIUS is from the Greek ANTI, therefore the title of the Pope as VICARIUS CHRISTI means ANTI CHRIST !! VICARIUS also means substitute, so the Pope is a substitute for Christ !!
MYSTERY BABYLON WILL FALL, HALLELUJAH, AND AMEN
MESSIAH AND HANUKAH
But the important thing is that Messiah, too, was in Jerusalem at this festival and perhaps to observe it. He, as the Light of the world, spoke yet again of that eternal life which men may have by receiving Him as their Light and Lord. " And it was at Jerusalem the feast of dedication, and it was winter. And Yeshua walked in Solomon's porch."..." I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." ( John 10:22; 8:12 ) I'm not saying that Christians should keep Hanukah, but to understand how it pertains to the Lord Yeshua, and not heathen festivals like Easter and Christmas adapted to suit Christianity by the Roman church; therefore:
SCRIPTUAL - SPIRITUAL
Passover-Lord's Table/ Hanukah-Jesus the Light of the world
SATANIC - CARNAL
Estarte-Easter/ Saturnalia-Christ-Mass
Suggested reading
HOUSE OF SELEUCUS by Edwyn Robert Bevan, M.A.
chapter XXIV ANTIOCHUS THE GOD MANIFEST and chapter XXV ANTIOCHUS AND THE JEWS.
1 MACCABEES 1:1-17, 20-30, 41-53,56,57,62-64 (Antiochus Denies Religious Freedom to Israel)
1 MACCABEES 2;1-6,15-25,42-48 (Mattathias Resists the Oppression)
1 MACCABEES 3:1-3,13-27 (Judas takes Command)
1 MACCABEES 4:36,42,43,47,48,52,54-56,59 (The Temple is Rededicated)
All these things speak to us of the coming ANTICHRIST and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will cleanse the temple after defilement by the ANTICHRIST who will exalt himself above God and demand worship as God !!
It's only the ignorant who reject Maccabees
Richard Merrell 1984