Holidays Are "Holy"days
Ah the holidays...." 'tis the season" right? Many of the major holidays are just around the corner, so in an effort to educate and exhort my fellow Christians in the truth, this article is for you. As usual, the subjects I tackle on the Faith Page are highly controversial, and this subject is no exception. Therefore, dear reader, I ask you to please read this article in the spirit of truth (not bias) and in the spirit of love, in which it is intended.
I ask you dear reader– tell me truly - do you really know where our modern celebrations come from? Do you know the origins and purpose behind all the traditions and merriment of your favorite holidays? Well, wonder no more, because on this page I will tell you how you can find out. Perhaps some of you think you already know the answers to these questions, but you might be surprised by how little we are told about the true meanings of these holidays, I know I was.
If you are a person who likes your holidays the way they are, and you don't want to know the truth, then perhaps you should stop right here and venture no further, but I'm compelled to caution you. Jesus, the one you claim as being your Lord and Savior; he will judge you accordingly, not me. My question to you is: "Will he find you wanting in the area of righteousness and obedience?" While he is very merciful, he is also very formidable, so please take care by not being presumptuous upon his mercy. Sooner or later you will be confronted with the truth regarding this subject and you will have to make a decision, so it might as well be now. If you have the desire to worship God in spirit and in truth, then please proceed, but be prepared, because once you know the truth, then you will be required to make a decision for righteousness, or unrighteousness – there is no “Mr. In-Between”.
Proverbs 18:13
Before you can make a quality decision on any matter, I believe that one needs all the facts, so that is my purpose here, it's like Proverbs 18:13 says:
He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him, and then in verse 17 it reads: The first one to plead his case seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him.
So that is what we all must do - hear all the facts in order to properly study and show ourselves approved, and to see if what I say is so. I will be presenting information not only from the word of God, but also from sources from the other camp regarding this matter, in this cast it would be pagans. If occultists and pagans agree with Scripture that most holidays are indeed pagan holy-days, is that not a startling revelation? But I'm getting ahead of myself. Dear reader, as you read on and allow the facts to speak for themselves, then you will know the truth, and then you can decide to be obedient to the faith, or do what is right in your own eyes and go your own way. As Christians, or as people who name themselves after Jesus (the Son of God), we must ask, test, and examine ourselves as to whether or not we are worthy of the name that is above every name. Jesus himself said we are not to be of this world, even though we are (in fact) in it. So are you ready to seek the truth? Are you ready to make a life changing decision that will set you free? Let's find out.
He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him, and then in verse 17 it reads: The first one to plead his case seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him.
So that is what we all must do - hear all the facts in order to properly study and show ourselves approved, and to see if what I say is so. I will be presenting information not only from the word of God, but also from sources from the other camp regarding this matter, in this cast it would be pagans. If occultists and pagans agree with Scripture that most holidays are indeed pagan holy-days, is that not a startling revelation? But I'm getting ahead of myself. Dear reader, as you read on and allow the facts to speak for themselves, then you will know the truth, and then you can decide to be obedient to the faith, or do what is right in your own eyes and go your own way. As Christians, or as people who name themselves after Jesus (the Son of God), we must ask, test, and examine ourselves as to whether or not we are worthy of the name that is above every name. Jesus himself said we are not to be of this world, even though we are (in fact) in it. So are you ready to seek the truth? Are you ready to make a life changing decision that will set you free? Let's find out.
Defining Terms
I really, really - really like reading the dictionary -I know, it seems strange, even geeky huh? To be honest, I haven't done it in a while and my vocabulary has taken a bit of a dive. I wish my spelling was better due to my love of reading the dictionary, but alas I didn't get the “spelling” gene. Anyway, I looked up the word “holiday” in an etymology dictionary and the following is what I found.
“Holiday” comes from the 13th century O.E. (Old English) word “haligdaey” [halig=holy / daey= day] – holyday; 'Sabbath'. In the 1400's it meant both a religious festival and a day of recreation. Through the years words go through changes and now we call them “holidays”.
I would also like to define the words “festival” and “recreation”, since they both are related to “holiday”. To illustrate the changes word meanings take as they journey through time, I will define them as they were first used and how they are used now – I know, I know, this may be incredibly boring for some of you, but ground work must be laid before I get to the good stuff so please bear with me. The modern definition of “holiday” is as follows:
Holiday-(n.), Holy Day, a day on which one is exempt from work; specifically: a day marked by
a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event, chiefly
British:vacation-often used in the phrase “on holiday” – often used in plural
Mar./Web.
Festival-(n.) 1580's – from earlier adj. (14 c.), from O.Fr. [Old French]-festival, “suitable for a
feast, solemn, magnificent, joyful, happy” and directly from M.L.[Medieval Latin]
festivalis, “of a church holiday”.
Festival-(n.) :a time of celebration marked by special observances
: a feast – an elaborate and usually abundant meal often accompanied by
a ceremony or entertainment: Banquet. :an often periodic celebration
or program of events or entertainment having a specified focus <daffodil
festival>, <Greek festival> Mar./Web.
a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event, chiefly
British:vacation-often used in the phrase “on holiday” – often used in plural
Mar./Web.
Festival-(n.) 1580's – from earlier adj. (14 c.), from O.Fr. [Old French]-festival, “suitable for a
feast, solemn, magnificent, joyful, happy” and directly from M.L.[Medieval Latin]
festivalis, “of a church holiday”.
Festival-(n.) :a time of celebration marked by special observances
: a feast – an elaborate and usually abundant meal often accompanied by
a ceremony or entertainment: Banquet. :an often periodic celebration
or program of events or entertainment having a specified focus <daffodil
festival>, <Greek festival> Mar./Web.
Recreation- (n.) late 14c., “refreshment or curing of a person, refreshment by eating,
from: O.Fr. recreacion (13c.), from L. recreationem (nom. Recreatio) “recovery
from illness," noun of action from pp. Stem of recreare “to refresh, restore,” from
re-”again” + creare “create”. Meaning “refresh oneself by some amusement” is
first recorded c. 1400; abbreviated from “rec.” is attested from 1929. Verb
recreate “to refresh by physical influence” is attested from c.1560, but not now
used, probably from confusion with recreate.
Recreation – (n.) refreshment of strength and spirits after work; also: a means of
refreshment or diversion: hobby Mar./Web.
from: O.Fr. recreacion (13c.), from L. recreationem (nom. Recreatio) “recovery
from illness," noun of action from pp. Stem of recreare “to refresh, restore,” from
re-”again” + creare “create”. Meaning “refresh oneself by some amusement” is
first recorded c. 1400; abbreviated from “rec.” is attested from 1929. Verb
recreate “to refresh by physical influence” is attested from c.1560, but not now
used, probably from confusion with recreate.
Recreation – (n.) refreshment of strength and spirits after work; also: a means of
refreshment or diversion: hobby Mar./Web.
So by these definitions, holidays are indeed “holy”days in the ancient sense of the word, which means they are used to venerate and worship a deity, or celebrate a special event, or an important person, with feasting and other forms of merriment The importance of understanding that holidays are really “holy”days is because it brings the religious element of the event to bear - even though these events may lose their meaning over time, they can't really be separated from their original intent. That is why the subject of holidays is a very touchy one for many people, because we intuitively know they are linked to religion and faith. But whose religion and faith, that of pagans, or Christians? People claim that these holidays, especially Christmas and Easter, have lost their “Christian” roots, but are they are mistaken? As many a farmer knows, the roots of a plant are it's brains, or the roots determine what you will see above ground. So if the “Christian” holidays seem to be going toward secular, or pagan themes, then that must mean they are producing what their roots dictate, wouldn't it? Perhaps. Let's learn a little more before we decide.
Pagan Is As Pagan Does
Mama always said, "Pagan is as pagan does."
Pagans are nature worshipers. That means they worship the creation, not the creator, well, not the Almighty, anyway. They also worship fruitfulness in the form of harvests and sex: fertility, reproduction, and the cycle of birth to death, and rebirth. They worship vegetation, water, air, fire, the stars, the seasons; all of there things are given significance in their worship. And they highly revere secret knowledge acquired by communing with spirits. They recognize the true meaning and purpose behind their “holy-days”, and they worship their gods in spirit and in “truth” --more like honesty - through them. If one is willing to see it, most holidays we celebrate contain many of these elements. For instance, Easter is in spring time, and so flowers and baby animals are used in celebratory celebrations and gifts. The same goes for Christmas. I used those two examples because they are the major holidays in question on the Christian calendar.
Now please understand that I don't mean to sound uppity when I say this dear reader, but I am constantly amazed by how many theologians, pastors, preachers, teachers, evangelists, and average saints there are who buckle under the pressure of taking a stand against Christians celebrating known pagan "holy-days". I know, I shouldn't be surprised, because Scripture warns that this will happen in the last days [1 Tim. 4:1-2], but then again, I celebrated these holy days until just recently. Even so, the leaders will be judged more harshly, and since they all proclaim from their pulpits, in their blogs, and other writings, that they are Bible believing and follow it implicitly, well, there really leaves them no excuse. Truly, God makes commandments and he expects us to obey them. He says what he means and means what he says, there are no gray areas according to him. It is Satan who deals in causing doubt and dabbles in the various shades of grey. So when God says, “Don't learn the ways of the heathen nor worship me in the way they worship their gods”, that is exactly what he means, and the includes no pagan holy-days, can it be any clearer?
But mysteriously, when it comes to pagan holidays that have been “Christianized” all of the sudden, sound exegesis principles no longer apply, and it is up to the person to decided for themselves to do what is right in their own eyes. Then, low and behold, pagan holidays are then boldly penned onto the compromising Christian's calendar, and holy day decorations are festooned at home and at church. Does God really have to say verbatim, “Do not celebrate: New Year's Eve, New Years Day, Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, May Day, Summer Solstice, July 4th, Halloween, and Christmas [Saturnalia]? While it may sound like I've joined the Jehovah's Witnesses, that is not the case. They actually got this right.
Now please understand that I don't mean to sound uppity when I say this dear reader, but I am constantly amazed by how many theologians, pastors, preachers, teachers, evangelists, and average saints there are who buckle under the pressure of taking a stand against Christians celebrating known pagan "holy-days". I know, I shouldn't be surprised, because Scripture warns that this will happen in the last days [1 Tim. 4:1-2], but then again, I celebrated these holy days until just recently. Even so, the leaders will be judged more harshly, and since they all proclaim from their pulpits, in their blogs, and other writings, that they are Bible believing and follow it implicitly, well, there really leaves them no excuse. Truly, God makes commandments and he expects us to obey them. He says what he means and means what he says, there are no gray areas according to him. It is Satan who deals in causing doubt and dabbles in the various shades of grey. So when God says, “Don't learn the ways of the heathen nor worship me in the way they worship their gods”, that is exactly what he means, and the includes no pagan holy-days, can it be any clearer?
But mysteriously, when it comes to pagan holidays that have been “Christianized” all of the sudden, sound exegesis principles no longer apply, and it is up to the person to decided for themselves to do what is right in their own eyes. Then, low and behold, pagan holidays are then boldly penned onto the compromising Christian's calendar, and holy day decorations are festooned at home and at church. Does God really have to say verbatim, “Do not celebrate: New Year's Eve, New Years Day, Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, May Day, Summer Solstice, July 4th, Halloween, and Christmas [Saturnalia]? While it may sound like I've joined the Jehovah's Witnesses, that is not the case. They actually got this right.
Why can't most of Christian denominations get it right? Don't they realize that God himself has a lot to say about this subject in the Old Testament, and the New Testament? The Puritans got it right. Did you know that Christmas was outlawed in America? Do some of your own research on that, Caryl Matrisciana has some good material on the subject and when you click on her name, you can watch her informative video. Let us not forget, that what God teaches in the Old Testament is to be an example to us - what to do and what not to do in the present time. The Old Testament also has many prophecies that have been fulfilled, and will continue to be upheld in the New Testament until their final
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fulfillment, because some commandments and prophecies have a longer shelf life than others, or they have a reoccurring cycle, until all has been fulfilled. That means we are not to completely disregard the Old Testament just because we are in the "modern" day. So then, what causes these supposedly Biblical based Christian apologists and leaders their consternation towards the holidays and their sudden need of a spiritual spine transplant? What is it about the world's holidays that so easily ensnares our hearts away from the truth of God's word? Why do we have such a hard time letting them fall by the wayside, where they belong, like everything else that is “of this world”? After the light of truth dawns in our hearts regarding them, it should be easy to let them go, but for many of us it is not. Why? Is it the jovial gathering of distant relatives one hardly sees throughout the year in order to participate corporately in the borderline debauchery they require, as well as the other “harmless” and temporary excesses they invoke? Perhaps.
After all, over eating is way better than sex orgies, human sacrifice and drunkenness – but even some Christians push the “sacramental wine” envelope – right? Why do we involve ourselves with slavish devotion to acquiring expensive trinkets we can't afford, only to suffer under the burden of debt they cause? And other stresses, like trudging through over crowded shops with many not so sincere holiday greetings escaping from waxen lips attached to frazzled faces.
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Every year the hollow promise of, “I'm not going to go all out like this again next year!”, is sworn through pursed lips – “because it's all about you Jeeesssusss!” And there in the temples of commerce, many stand for hours in long return lines full of screaming babies and whiny kids attached to the weary legs of their hungover parents. Does this sound remotely like your routine Christmas holiday? If so, that is not my idea of a relaxing and refreshing vacation. So, why do we try to make God okay with the Christianization of pagan feasts and "holy-days", when he clearly hates them and denounces these kind of justification practices? I'll tell you why - it's because our flesh is not yet totally devoid of sin, we are not home yet folks! We still can be pulled toward sin, and are susceptible to its seductive lure when we don't make a conscious and determined effort, by God's grace, to avoid living like the world, and in the flesh. But this fact shouldn't provide us with an excuse to indulge our sin nature, but rather it should serve as a warning.
Yes, it is true that many Christians gladly take the misguided advise of these compromising hirelings and pick and choose which holidays they will celebrate and which they will avoid, the obvious one to avoid being Halloween, as this should be a “no-brainer”, or is it? Christians really have no business worshiping Satan on his high and not-so-holy day, by dressing up as their favorite Bible Character, and they have no business offering a same day “alternative” like a harvest festival, but many do. This practice is claimed as a witnessing tool to bring in the unsuspecting candy hunter like an irresistible lure to a hungry fish. This practice passes as being fishers of men these days.
Did Paul or Peter or any of the other apostles use this method? Not to my knowledge. Those who use this practice justify it by saying – “it works”. Well - in the world of sport fishing – chumming works, but in some states, like California, it is illegal. Before I get nailed with a “legalism” charge, let me explain.
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This kind of worldly tactic doesn't really produce lasting sincere Christians for the most part, because it is a dishonest worldly marketing ploy. Jesus never used these tactics, he openly preached the word of God and then healed people and performed other miracles to back up his gospel - food first, then dessert, so to speak. Okay - so he's God in the flesh, but still - he laid out a method for his disciples to copy and they did. Do the current methods involve openly preaching the gospel to these unsuspecting candy hunters? Do these "fishermen" bring their quarry to the saving knowledge of Jesus before they invite them to church, where the body of believers gather to worship God? No, I don't think so. Instead, they invite unsaved people to church using candy as bait, so the pastor can preach a light hearted, emotional comedy routine to them and hopefully get a few saps to the altar call, which is again not a scriptural practice, where they make an emotional decision without counting the cost of discipleship. This is what the modern church calls evangelism, or outreach.
Before any one gets too upset please understand, I was so guilty of this one myself. For years I participated in this evil holiday (Halloween) - suspecting its origins and purpose, but hoping my compromise would suffice for “holiness”, or God would forgive me for my “fear of friends and relatives” weakness. I have since repented of my folly thanks to the truth. It seems to me that if Christians absolutely have to celebrate “harvest” festivals, then why wouldn't they celebrate on God's sanctioned days as laid out in Scripture which are: First Fruits in Mar./April (spring barley harvest), Feast of Weeks in May/June (summer wheat harvest), and the Feast of Tabernacles in Sept. /Oct. (autumn grape/fruit harvests)? But this is not necessary, or required any longer, since Jesus is the fulfillment of these "shadows", besides, they can lead one toward, and down the slippery slope of Messianic Judaism, rather than the simplicity of Jesus' simple gospel. The holidays the Israelites were commanded to observe are as follows:
Before any one gets too upset please understand, I was so guilty of this one myself. For years I participated in this evil holiday (Halloween) - suspecting its origins and purpose, but hoping my compromise would suffice for “holiness”, or God would forgive me for my “fear of friends and relatives” weakness. I have since repented of my folly thanks to the truth. It seems to me that if Christians absolutely have to celebrate “harvest” festivals, then why wouldn't they celebrate on God's sanctioned days as laid out in Scripture which are: First Fruits in Mar./April (spring barley harvest), Feast of Weeks in May/June (summer wheat harvest), and the Feast of Tabernacles in Sept. /Oct. (autumn grape/fruit harvests)? But this is not necessary, or required any longer, since Jesus is the fulfillment of these "shadows", besides, they can lead one toward, and down the slippery slope of Messianic Judaism, rather than the simplicity of Jesus' simple gospel. The holidays the Israelites were commanded to observe are as follows:
First Fruits also involves Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. These Holy-days foretold of Jesus' sacrifice as the Lamb of God. The Hebrew people were to celebrate them as God prescribed, not to add or take away from them and certainly not to paganize them. This was to instructed them and make them familiar with Jesus' coming passion. He fulfilled these ordinances perfectly. This is the celebration of being liberated from sin, obtaining the grace of salvation, and living in sanctification.
Feast of Weeks took place 50 days after the spring feasts, this is also known as Pentecost. This is the Hebrew feast that commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. The word of God is "Spirit breathed", and Jesus is the word of God made into flesh. The link between this feast and the Feast of First Fruits is the omer of grain - an omer is a days worth of grain - hence, "our daily bread". So this celebration commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus. The Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the Hebrews camping the wilderness with God as their guide and protection on their way to the promised land, God dwelt with them. Also as, Jesus coming to earth and living among us partially fulfilled this feast. This feast will be completely fulfilled when Jesus and the Bride of Christ - the New Jerusalem comes out of heaven from God, and he will forever dwell with us, he will be our God and we will be his "sons" or children. |
Pagan holidays were never to be celebrated by the Children of Israel, God told them to not mix pagan worship with his holy worship. God's feasts were types and shadows of what was to be fulfilled by Jesus - something I intend to feature at a later time. It is true, that Gentiles are told in the New Testament that we must celebrate these “holy-days?" No, but they are far better than what the world has to offer. But, I must warn you dear reader, that even these Hebrew feasts have been tainted by paganism throughout the centuries. For instance, the modern celebration of Tabernacles (Sukkot) incorporates the use of the lulav (palm branch/male phallus) and the etrog (citrus fruit/female womb) in a waving ceremony.
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Many Jews admit that this is a pagan fertility rite, but they use it anyway and justify it by taking Lev. 23:40 and Neh.8:15 regarding the vegetation allowed for Sukkot booths out of context- in true Pharisaical style. The boughs of the mentioned leafy trees were to be used to make temporary shelters, not used to wave before the Lord. In my research regarding this pagan ritual, I ran across a blog by a young pagan, of Jewish ancestry. In her blog she tells of a ceremony where an "earthy/shamanistic rabbi" - named Elyse, combined Sukkot with a Native American peace pipe ritual and according to her, they are nearly identical and fit beautifully together-who knew? The peace pipe has both a long and round component to it like the lulav and etrog , and they are raised in the four directions as well as up for sky and down for earth - a hexagram - but the Jews shake their pagan fertility bough in the six directions. She went on to say how combining Judaism with Neopagan/Wicca was entirely doable and Rabbi Elyse told the worshipers how Judaism draws from a pagan past- she's got that right! God forbids this kind of pagan ritual mixing with his holy worship, and so Judaism is pagan in nature, and is not - I repeat - not, a holy Biblical religion. The faith of the Hebrew people in the Old Testament was not Judaism. See my article on Messianic Judaism for more information on this. Really, the only celebration we Christians(Jews first, and then Genitles) were instructed to partake of was, and is Communion, or the Lord's Supper. And even that was being polluted by pagan practices in the Corinthian church, something Paul had to correct post haste, since many of them were becoming sick and were even dying as a result of their carelessness. Therefore, I don't highly recommend celebrating the Jewish feasts as a "Gentile" Christian, but it doesn't hurt to study them, as they pertain to Jesus' fulfillment of them.
What Does the Bible Say?
The Bible does have a lot to say about this subject, that of holidays as in “holy-days”, you just have to be willing to search it out and willing to obey the commands, then you too can be free from the bondage of the world's “holy”days, and the consequences for participating in them. How? Does this mean you have to convert to a “cult”? No. Does this meant you have to join your local Messianic congregation to learn about and celebrate the “God approved “Holy-days”? No, not unless you want to, but I wouldn't advise it. I'd go to a Karaite synagogue if they'e let me, to learn these feasts before I'd go to an Orthodox or Messianic synagogue.
All you have to do is just stop celebrating the world's “holy-days”, it's that simple, yet many choose to make it hard. It is true we have freedom from the letter of the law, but what does this freedom entail? Freedom doesn't mean we have “legal license” to do what ever we want, as Paul says, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful, all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify” [1 Cor.10:23]. Does Paul mean it is lawful for him, but not helpful to commit adultery, or murder, after all he said - “all things” right? Of course not - we as Christians are still bound to obey Jesus' two great commandments, if you don't know them, then please find out what they are[see Matt.22:35-40]. No - what he is referring to here specifically are dietary laws and Sabbatical laws, because these are two of the top three things Jews and Gentiles in the church clashed on, the other being circumcision, as a supposed basis for salvation, more on that later on.
All you have to do is just stop celebrating the world's “holy-days”, it's that simple, yet many choose to make it hard. It is true we have freedom from the letter of the law, but what does this freedom entail? Freedom doesn't mean we have “legal license” to do what ever we want, as Paul says, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful, all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify” [1 Cor.10:23]. Does Paul mean it is lawful for him, but not helpful to commit adultery, or murder, after all he said - “all things” right? Of course not - we as Christians are still bound to obey Jesus' two great commandments, if you don't know them, then please find out what they are[see Matt.22:35-40]. No - what he is referring to here specifically are dietary laws and Sabbatical laws, because these are two of the top three things Jews and Gentiles in the church clashed on, the other being circumcision, as a supposed basis for salvation, more on that later on.
The TaNaK/Old Testament
Now, let's look at the O.T. Foundation where God lays out his commands of holy worship that are to be obeyed. This is what Paul refers to as being the example that the Children of Israel give us - they did not obey and follow God's commands, so we should learn from their mistake, not repeat it.
Exodus 20:5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them(false gods). For I, the LORD your
God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to
the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,
6 but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commad-
ments.
Exodus 32:24 “You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their
works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their
sacred pillars [oblisks, or phalluses].
25 “So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your
water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.
Exodus 34:14 “(for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a
jealous God),
15 “lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the
harlot with their gods and make sacrifices to their gods, and one of them
invites you and you eat of his sacrifice,
18 “The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat
unleavened bread, as I have commanded you, in the appointed time of the
month Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.
Lev. 18:3 According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do;and
according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not
do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances.
4 “You shall observe my judgments and keep my ordinances, to walk in them: I am
the LORD your God.
Lev. 19:19 “you shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your livestock breed with another
kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed
linen and wool come upon you.
The statue of the last verse was designed to teach the Israelites that God hates the mixing of what he calls “holy” with “unholy” practices. Do we really think we can “redefine” for God what he considers to be “holy” and “unholy” practices? Are we really that arrogant, or deceived? We are to worship God as he prescribes, in spirit and in truth, not how we want to worship him - in the flesh, and in compromises, and lies. However, concerning "mixing", Jesus told his disciples 7 parables concerning the kingdom of heaven in Matt. 13. When he asked them if they understood these parables and they said they did, Jesus then made a curious statement in Matt.13:52
Then he said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of
heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."
The Old and New Testament are Scripture, and are Holy Spirit breathed, or inspired -so the mixing of the Old and New Testament is certainly permissible unlike Judaism, which is based in Babylonian paganism, which is therefore not to be mixed with Scripture . But one needs to be an instructed scribe in order to do this mixing. This means one must be well versed in the written law to begin with, not the Talmud, or Pharisaical oral traditions. So, dear reader, if you so choose to celebrate the feasts of the Lord, that is your misguided choice, but don't learn how to celebrate them from any form of Judaism, learn how from the Bible - minus the animal sacrifices of course. But again, you don't need to celebrate these holidays any longer, unless you are a Jew who wants to keep her Hebrew heritage, which is perfectly allowable under the New Covenant. Now let's see what else the Old Testament has to say about pagan worship. This following passage in Deuteronomy pretty much says it all, and should leave no room for doubt. Please read it carefully, even several times, and let it sink in.
Deut. 12:2 “You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall
dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and
under every green tree.
3 “And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their
wooden images with fire, you shall cut down the carved images of their gods
and destroy their names from that place.
4 “You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things.
5 “But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your
tribe to put His name for his dwelling place; and there you shall go.
6 “There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave
offerings of your hand, your avowed offerings, your freewill offerings,
and the first-born of you herds and flocks.
7 “And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall
rejoice in all to which you put your hands, you and your households, in which
the LORD your God has blessed you.
8 “You shall not at all do as we are doing here today-every man doing
whatever is right in his own eyes-
9 “for as yet you have not come to the rest and inheritance which the LORD
your God is giving you.
13 “Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every
place that you see;
14 “but in the place which the LORD chooses, in one of your tribes, there
you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I
command you.
30 “take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them,
after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after
their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I
also will do likewise.'
31 “You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every
abomination to the LORD which he hates they have done to their gods; for
they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to
it nor take away from it.”
Wow! -- If we were honest and interested in absolute truth, then this should have struck us in the face and cut us to the heart. And this is only a fraction of what our LORD God has to say on this subject: not following the ways of the heathen in how they worship their gods. This of course includes pagan "holy-day" celebrations. God said that his people were not to mix or incorporate any of their pagan practices into worshiping him - Almighty God. You can read for yourselves what happened to the Children of Israel as a result of their disobedient hearts in 2 Kings 17:7-23 as just one of many passages regarding this subject.
Okay, we have read from the Old Testament regarding what God thought of pagan practices which includes "holy-days", and I didn't even mention Ezekiel 8, which partially deals with the worship of Tammuz, and Jeremiah chapters 7,10, and 44 which deals with Ishtar, or the Queen of Heaven. Those two are the pagan false gods of Easter. And now for the New Testament. I would like to remind you, dear reader, that the dispensation of grace is not to be considered as - “sloppy agape”. God's grace is precious and it was expensive to obtain, but thanks to God for Jesus' sacrifice, now he can freely give his grace to us, those who receive him as Savior and Lord by faith.
We can't earn this divinely acquired grace , because Jesus already did so, by perfectly pleasing the Father. Now remember, grace is a higher standard than the Law of Moses, not a lower standard, according to Jesus in Matthew chapter 5. And by this divine grace we are endowed with power from God to do what the truth demands of us-obedience to his two great commandments. Remember that people, like the 70% water we are made from, will naturally seek the path of least resistance. But unlike and actual soulless body of water, we try to justify and excuse our spiritual laziness with Scripture, and we are pretty good at it.
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So, if you really love the holidays and want to keep them, then you will be blinded to the truth being spoken here and elsewhere, because you will be compelled to defend your position, like the disobedient Israelites in Jeremiah 44:15-19 did. And like they went into captivity as a result, you dear reader will go through Tribulation like Jesus promises the churches of Pergamos and Thyatria in Rev. chapter 2, if you don't repent. Please I beg you, if you really love Jesus like you claim you do, then please be willing to hear what is being said, and search it out for yourself. Be teachable and open to correction, and don't be too proud to repent – because God resists the proud. Instead, be excellent like the Bereans. I tell you the truth, Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians chapters 8-10 have been wrested to help justify the Christians' desire to celebrate with the world, under the cleaver guise of “Christian liberty” and shamefully, even as “Paul's blessing”.
Did Paul Condone the Celebrating of Gentile "Holy-days"?
Peter's wife rises early Easter morning.
We need to read all passages of Scripture in their entirety and they must support the rest of Scripture in context for proper exegesis, we must be like the good householder. Think about it- would Paul really sanction and even encourage Christians to participate in pagan rituals and celebrations under the assumption that Jesus' blood cleansed and redeemed these holy-days? Did Paul and the rest of the disciples participate in the redeeming of Gentile pagan "holy-days"? Imagine this if you will, well you will have to imagine it, because this is not in the Bible: Matthew, Bartholomew and the other apostles are hiding Ishtar eggs around the upper room that the women colored the night before, so the children can hunt for them in the morning. As the bright hot sun slowly rises in the dark and cool eastern sky, Paul and the congregation welcome this amazing sight during his stirring sunrise sermon, where he links Jesus' resurrection with that of Tammuz's. Suddenly, the sound of women weeping can be heard in the background[Ezek 8:14]. Then after the service we see Peter's wife, Jesus' mother, and Mary Magdalene manning the “Queen of Heaven” hotcakes station as the children joyfully squeal and hop around hurriedly searching for the decorated fertility eggs to place in their colorful baskets along with their chocolate crosses, and marshmallow fertility bunnies.
Is this not a silly picture to imagine? It sure is. There are those "Christians" who will say that they are mature enough to know they aren't to worship false gods and they know that this holiday is pagan, so they celebrate "Resurrection Sunday" instead. Like I said, we are not to celebrate Easter no matter what you call it. Do you have "Resurrection baskets" too? Celebrate Passover or First Fruits, or the Feast of Unleavened Bread instead, if you have to celebrate at all- because Jesus didn't tell us to celebrate his Resurrection in this fashion - he instituted the Lord's Supper/Communion -- the simplified version of Passover.
I highly recommend that simple celebration over the other Old Testament celebrations, but that's me.
Is this not a silly picture to imagine? It sure is. There are those "Christians" who will say that they are mature enough to know they aren't to worship false gods and they know that this holiday is pagan, so they celebrate "Resurrection Sunday" instead. Like I said, we are not to celebrate Easter no matter what you call it. Do you have "Resurrection baskets" too? Celebrate Passover or First Fruits, or the Feast of Unleavened Bread instead, if you have to celebrate at all- because Jesus didn't tell us to celebrate his Resurrection in this fashion - he instituted the Lord's Supper/Communion -- the simplified version of Passover.
I highly recommend that simple celebration over the other Old Testament celebrations, but that's me.
The truth is that Paul didn't support any form of paganism, especially since he spent so much time, ink, paper, and tears trying to educate the Gentiles against Gnosticism, pagan philosophies, and other harmful heresies that were prevalent at that time – things all harmful to the purity of Jesus' simple gospel and their souls. If he has supported pagan "holy-days" - well that
would have been counter productive not to mention hypocritical. So, instead of “blindly” listening to our clueless and compromising pastors, let us be Bereans, and be like those few saints in the churches of Thyatira and Sardis who were found worthy! Who, what, where, when, why, and how - these questioning and critical words should be employed at all times when we are examining Scripture. First the Old Testament and then the New should be searched for Scriptures regarding any teaching, and they should be consistent and definitive of each other. Who is writing to whom? What is being said? Where is the writer and where are the recipients of the letter geographically and spiritually? When did the writer pen his epistle, and why did
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he do so? How does the Old Testament and New Testament treat this question or subject, and was more information and corrections needed? All of these questions have answers and when properly sought and found, they help keep us from slipping into the deep, and crowded end of the eisegesis heresy pool.
Oh, and cultural significance, and idioms used during the time that the letters were written, are very helpful in getting the full meaning as well. However, ancient cultural practices are not to be used as an excuse to go beyond what was written by adding or taking away, nor to use mind reasoning such as: “well that was then, but this is now”, or “these are different times”, or “that only applied then, not now”, etc. etc. etc. Remember, there is another saying that goes: “The more things change, the more they stay the same” !
Oh, and cultural significance, and idioms used during the time that the letters were written, are very helpful in getting the full meaning as well. However, ancient cultural practices are not to be used as an excuse to go beyond what was written by adding or taking away, nor to use mind reasoning such as: “well that was then, but this is now”, or “these are different times”, or “that only applied then, not now”, etc. etc. etc. Remember, there is another saying that goes: “The more things change, the more they stay the same” !
The Apostle Paul and Romans 14
Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, but he had not yet personally set foot in Rome, nor set his eyes upon the body of believers there, but he had heard quite a bit about them and their obedient faith and felt compelled to write to them. He wrote to commend them on their faith, instruct them in the gospel he was not ashamed of, and even promised a future visit. Rome was and still is one of the leading pagan capitals of the world, and being good cultural recyclers, the ancient Romans borrowed heavily from the Greeks and Etruscans who came before them. The Etruscans - boy were they ever naughty people. No, actually they were down right evil. For example, they didn't see anything wrong with having sex in front of and with their children whenever the urge struck them – yuck! So here we have former pagans who have little to no schooling in God's righteousness, except for the synagogues in the city, where the Old Testament was read to the faithful Jews and converts, and anyone else who wanted to listen - those coming to faith in Jesus.
Now Paul begins to school them in the gospel of Jesus Christ, as being saved by grace thorough faith, not of works, or strict adherence to the letter of the law, but they must be adherents to the Spirit of the Law. What is the difference you might ask? The Spirit of the Law is inward, and of the heart, this is the law that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob held. Joseph demonstrates it beautifully - "how can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" was his reply to Potiphar's adulterous wife -this incident took place before the seventh commandment was given. So one must wonder how Joseph knew adultery was bad, if the law still hadn't come. He knew it was bad because he held to the Spirit of the Law that was written on his heart. The letter of the law is external, this is what Jesus addressed in Matthew 5. Just before we get to Romans 14 we read in chapter 13 that Paul encourages them to submit to the government regarding the State's moral laws and taxes. Then he says they are to love their neighbor according to the commandment of Jesus, and fulfill the law of love, and they were admonished to put on Christ and conduct themselves in moral purity, thus making no room for the lust of the flesh.
Now Paul begins to school them in the gospel of Jesus Christ, as being saved by grace thorough faith, not of works, or strict adherence to the letter of the law, but they must be adherents to the Spirit of the Law. What is the difference you might ask? The Spirit of the Law is inward, and of the heart, this is the law that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob held. Joseph demonstrates it beautifully - "how can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" was his reply to Potiphar's adulterous wife -this incident took place before the seventh commandment was given. So one must wonder how Joseph knew adultery was bad, if the law still hadn't come. He knew it was bad because he held to the Spirit of the Law that was written on his heart. The letter of the law is external, this is what Jesus addressed in Matthew 5. Just before we get to Romans 14 we read in chapter 13 that Paul encourages them to submit to the government regarding the State's moral laws and taxes. Then he says they are to love their neighbor according to the commandment of Jesus, and fulfill the law of love, and they were admonished to put on Christ and conduct themselves in moral purity, thus making no room for the lust of the flesh.
Did you know dear reader, that there were government sanctioned pagan "holy-days"? Even today we have government “holidays”. Do you think Paul knew this? Why would he tell the Roman Christians to obey their government knowing this -- was his motto "When in Rome do as the Romans do"? Even Peter said in 1 Pet. 2:13 to obey every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake – however like Paul, Peter warns the church in verse 16 of 1 Peter 2, that they were not to use their "liberty" as a cloak for vice, or wickedness. There are numerous justification that could be used here for
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someone who really wanted to transgress against the commandment to abstain from eating meat offered to idols, and committing sexual immorality, as humans are really good at that kind of thing. However, according to what Scripture clearly teaches, would you say worshiping a demon through the rites of an idolatrous "holy-day" is wickedness? I would. So, is there an apostolic contradiction here, or some hypocrisy going on in these Scriptures? Let's see.
The Law of Liberty-Not Liberal License
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law"
Now comes: The Law of Liberty! Satanism teaches - "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." That sounds liberal doesn't it? But according to Scripture, if you are in sin, then you are in bondage, or enslavement, and you aren't free at all. Where as Judaism teaches that you must eat only certain foods, and to fast and feast, and worship on certain days, but they mix God's written law with their man-made oral laws. For instance - the Jews don't mix meat and milk because God told the Hebrews not to boil a kid in it's mother's milk three times in the O.T. So, because he did say this, the Jews say that this is a "secret code." They claim that they are allowed to interpret Scripture how they see fit, which means to them that they are not to eat meat and milk products together, but in reality God told them not to do this act, because it is a Canaanite pagan fertility rite. That is not all, if you have ever studied Orthodox Judaism it is hard core bondage, man-made traditions galore! For the Hebrews eating foods offered to idols was indeed tantamount to being an idolater, but God even equated it to adultery. Also, observing the Sabbath and other feasts was rigidly kept, but with all of Judaism's added Pharisaical “kosher” rules. So what do you think would have happened in the Roman church if Paul had not written his letter that contained instructions regarding the Law of Liberty? The Christians who came from the sects of pagan Judaism would have been lording it over the Christians from Gentile nations, that they were not being holy enough, and the Gentile converts would most likely have been resentful of the “holier-than-thou” attitude of their brethren, resulting in divisive squabbles. Remember that the Jews are the “weaker” in faith here, because they would rather only eat vegetables like Daniel did, then eat meat sold in the market, that had been offered to deaf and dumb idols, which are nothing.
The Gentile world was, and is not, set up like the “Kosher” world of the Hebrew people, so many Gentiles worked on the Hebrew Sabbath day, as is the case today. So Paul, a skilled scribe and householder in the kingdom of heaven, had to bring out his treasures new and old, and present them to the body of Christ in order to keep the peace. Food was and is just food, it goes in one end and out the other, even if it was offered to an idol the day before. Because the Christian was not there participating in the worship at its altar or table, as far as they were concerned, it was only a chunk of meat they wanted to buy and roast for dinner. Besides the Christian will now say grace, or thank God for the food that he made, before it is consumed. As for “the “day of observance, which is the Sabbath, likewise could be any day as long as it was before the end of the week. This is the freedom Paul speaks of, a bit more freedom in God's law, but not a complete abolition of them. God did in fact make everything in his universe, he made even the days and the lights that govern them. He only numbered the days, he didn't give them their pagan names honoring pagan gods, men did that. God didn't ordain any days on his calendar for pagan idol worship, so any special observance to a pagan god is forbidden by his first four commandments. If you love God you will keep his two most important commandments.
The Gentile world was, and is not, set up like the “Kosher” world of the Hebrew people, so many Gentiles worked on the Hebrew Sabbath day, as is the case today. So Paul, a skilled scribe and householder in the kingdom of heaven, had to bring out his treasures new and old, and present them to the body of Christ in order to keep the peace. Food was and is just food, it goes in one end and out the other, even if it was offered to an idol the day before. Because the Christian was not there participating in the worship at its altar or table, as far as they were concerned, it was only a chunk of meat they wanted to buy and roast for dinner. Besides the Christian will now say grace, or thank God for the food that he made, before it is consumed. As for “the “day of observance, which is the Sabbath, likewise could be any day as long as it was before the end of the week. This is the freedom Paul speaks of, a bit more freedom in God's law, but not a complete abolition of them. God did in fact make everything in his universe, he made even the days and the lights that govern them. He only numbered the days, he didn't give them their pagan names honoring pagan gods, men did that. God didn't ordain any days on his calendar for pagan idol worship, so any special observance to a pagan god is forbidden by his first four commandments. If you love God you will keep his two most important commandments.
Now comes the more important Law, the Law of Love. Liberty and knowledge should always take a back seat to love. Liberty in your observance of God's laws pertaining to food, and the Sabbath, and other “doubtful things” are secondary. Doubtful things are things not pertaining to morality, and they involve mind reasoning, or justification, or what is falsely called knowledge. If we would rather hurt a weaker brother to keep our “freedom to consume pagan meat", than defer to
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a weaker brother's conscience, then we are not walking in love, and we are now in grave danger of contributing to the shipwreck of another brother's faith – that is bad, it is a sin. So, Paul said that those who are weak in faith regarding types of foods i.e., kosher versus non-kosher, and observance of Sabbath days, needed to chill, and give the “Sabbath breaking” pork eaters a break. Also the food savvy, “any day is good” Sabbath keeping Gentiles need to be kind and patient toward the weaker
"letter of the law" keepers. Jesus himself dealt with these things to a degree. The Pharisees-the father's of Judaism, heckled him and his disciples for not keeping their Sabbath rules and for not ceremonially washing their hands before they ate. Jesus informed them that he was the Lord over the Sabbath, and the Sabbath was made for man and not the other way around. Jesus also taught them that it was not unclean hands or the food that defiled a man, because food goes into the tummy, and comes out the other end, but it is what comes out of a person's heart through his mouth that
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reveals whether or not he is defiled. The Pharisees were in essence complaining that Jesus didn't perform their ritualistic man-made prayer while washing his hands in a ritualistic fashion – they were not really interested in clean hands or clean hearts.
The Apostle Paul and 1 Cor. 8-10
Now let's move to 1 Corinthians chapters 8 through 10. Isn't there a saying that goes - “Seasons change, but people rarely do"? Well if there isn't one, then there should be, because human nature is fairly consistent through the ages. Here Paul is writing to the Corinthian church, which seems to have given him the most grief besides the church in Galatia. Corinth was a hot bed of pagan activity, and Gnostic false teachings ran rampant, and so many attempts were made to meld them with Christ's true pure gospel – so not much has changed since the garden of Eden. And once again, we have some obstinate believers contending over meat offered to idols and Sabbath days. The Greeks prided themselves on their philosophical knowledge they were brought up with, in their own eyes, they were the “know-it-alls” of the civilized world. And as Paul says – knowledge tends to puff up, or make one prideful, because some people know more things than others. He also said that when you think you "know" something, as it turns out, in reality - you don't.
Incidentally, Freemasonry and other Mystery Religions, are based on secret knowledge, giving a person power over others - this is where the saying - "knowledge is power" comes from. So we have prideful Greeks, and prideful Jews who were knowledgeable in the letter of the Law, butting heads full of “knowledge” over an act that is not in and of itself a life or death moral issue- food consumption. Remember that the Jews are the “weaker” brother here, they are still clinging to their reliance on the outward letter of the law, which can tend toward “works based salvation”, so Paul reminds them that even though their ancestors ate God's spiritual manna and water that came from the rock [an reference to Jesus] in the desert, they still rebelled against him - because the spiritual food and drink didn't make them spiritually obedient, or holy. And then we add to the mix, the Greeks, who are flaunting their Christian "liberty", which if
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not carefully used can lead to a false grace gospel that claims - "the more I sin, the more God is glorified". Each ones so-called“knowledge” was guilty of breaking Jesus' “law of love” commandment. Jesus said that it would be better for a millstone to be hung around your neck and you be thrown into the sea, rather than you be responsible for causing one of God's children to sin. They were both to be blamed, so we need to take heed of this. Paul was warning the Greeks not to hurt their Hebrew brethren with their food liberty,
because a little self denial was better than causing a weaker brother to be emboldened to commit idolatry. He then went on to remind them that the Hebrews were taught by God that if one ate from the altar of a pagan god, then they were fornicating with the demon that received their worship by proxy - this is spiritual adultery. To do this means you are physically participating
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in the worship rites of that deity - such as Baal, Ashtorath, Zeus etc. Paul rightly taught that you can't eat and drink sacrifices from a pagan altar, or table, and the sacrifices from God's altar, or table too, thus provoking God to jealousy, are we “stronger than he?”, or can we withstand his righteous judgment regarding idolatry? No, we can't. So Paul was basically telling them not to eat food offered to idols within their temples, because that would give the impression, true or not, that they were indeed worshiping that idol.
“Holy-days" – They Involve The Whole Village
The tabernacle at Shilo
In the Old Testament, the whole nation of Israel participated in the worship of God during feast days and Sabbaths. They all traveled to where ever God put his name, or his presence - that place was the tabernacle at Shilo, or temple in Jerusalem. We are now the temple of God in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, depending on what feast day was being celebrated, that would determine the amount of days to celebrate, what kind of sacrifices were to be offered, and who was allowed to attend. Israel's "holy-days" involved the whole nation to partake of certain portions of God's altar or table. This is true of pagan "holy-days" also. I don't know where the meat markets of ancient Corinth were situated in relation to the temples, for there were many temples, but according to Paul, people must have been eating the sacrificed meat in the temples themselves, like a restaurant. So the rest of the meat was apparently taken to the market which was outside those temples. On a side note, I am often amazed by how much more reverent pagans are of their false gods then we Christians are of our true Almighty God. I read an account from a former Satanist where they were taught to never be late to their worship services as it was disrespectful to Satan, and no one even considered leaving during worship either, out of reverence, and to be honest, also to avoid severe punishment - all satanic worshipers dutifully complied-amazing!
In the pagan vs. Christian world of Paul's day, being seen as a participant in the many false gods “Holy-days" at the pagan god's temple would be the same as seeing your pastor go into the local Satanic church during Halloween. So, what is involved when one eats from a demon's altar or table? Well, you have to go to where that god resides, or has his name, that means in his temple, then you have to bring a sacrifice and participate in the rites and rituals, and eat what was offered there. I realize that God doesn't live in a temple made by human hands, but his temple was where he commanded Israel to worship him and feast, but now we are his temple. Paul says that sacrificing to demons is having fellowship with them, or partnering with them, just like having sex with a prostitute is becoming one flesh with her. When do pagans sacrifice to demons? Was their worship performed only on special occasions a few times during the year, or was this done everyday? The answer is both. Pagans not only had main deities they worshiped through out the year, but they also had lesser gods and household gods they offered food and drink to daily. I read a list of Roman pagan holidays and I tell you it gave new meaning to the movie “Roman Holiday.” I kid you not, no more than 7 days went by without a pagan god being honored by some "holy-day"! Did these people ever work? No wonder they needed a lot of slaves! From the pagan god Janus in January to the evil Mithras in December, the pagan calendar was chuck full of "holy-days", so would Corinth be any different? I don't think so.
Buying meat in a meat market that sells used temple meat is entirely different than being in a pagan temple participating in their worship, or celebrating in a pagan festival wouldn't you agree? God's restrictions on who could and couldn't participate in his feasts was to be obeyed, not everyone could participate and eat from his altar. The worship of any god, even ours, is prescribed by the deity and must be followed by the faithful. If anyone was present at the literal pagan temple altar, or even one that was in their home and made a sacrifice, then they partook of the demon's table. Paul said that if a believer was invited to dinner at an unbeliever's house and wanted to go, then they were allowed to go, but he warned them not to ask if the meat being served was offered to an idol. If the Christian was present during the religious ceremony, then would they have to ask that question? No. So obviously, the Christian was not present at the time of the offering.
Again notice Paul didn't say, “If you want to participate in the religious service of an unbeliever and his idol, then by all means go ahead. Paul even puts a limit on a believer's “freedom” by saying if someone informs you that the meat was previously offered to an idol, then pass on the meat dish out of love for your weaker brother who pointed it out to you, will it kill you to do so? Paul never mentions it is okay to participate in any pagan religious, "holy-day" revelry, public, or private. Pagan "holy-days" were either major come one come all kind of affairs, as it involved the whole populace, or they were minor specialized affairs tailored to a minority of that particular god's adherents. For major "holy-days", businesses shut down for the duration of the "holy-days", and temple sacrifices were performed be they animal or sexual in nature. There was decorating, feasting, drinking, carousing, pranks, gift giving, perverse sexual acts and fertility rites, and all other forms of debauchery. Many websites that give information such as when these holy-days were celebrated and who they honored, don't really get into the details of the revelry. Why? Because many times they performed what we would consider to be morally disgusting acts - that even in our permissive day and age would hopefully make many of us cringe.
Many Scriptures tell the Gentile believers they are to forsake their former ways of dissipation which means all forms of physical indulges be they:drunkenness, gluttony, all forms of sexual immorality, and they were told to flee idolatry.
In the pagan vs. Christian world of Paul's day, being seen as a participant in the many false gods “Holy-days" at the pagan god's temple would be the same as seeing your pastor go into the local Satanic church during Halloween. So, what is involved when one eats from a demon's altar or table? Well, you have to go to where that god resides, or has his name, that means in his temple, then you have to bring a sacrifice and participate in the rites and rituals, and eat what was offered there. I realize that God doesn't live in a temple made by human hands, but his temple was where he commanded Israel to worship him and feast, but now we are his temple. Paul says that sacrificing to demons is having fellowship with them, or partnering with them, just like having sex with a prostitute is becoming one flesh with her. When do pagans sacrifice to demons? Was their worship performed only on special occasions a few times during the year, or was this done everyday? The answer is both. Pagans not only had main deities they worshiped through out the year, but they also had lesser gods and household gods they offered food and drink to daily. I read a list of Roman pagan holidays and I tell you it gave new meaning to the movie “Roman Holiday.” I kid you not, no more than 7 days went by without a pagan god being honored by some "holy-day"! Did these people ever work? No wonder they needed a lot of slaves! From the pagan god Janus in January to the evil Mithras in December, the pagan calendar was chuck full of "holy-days", so would Corinth be any different? I don't think so.
Buying meat in a meat market that sells used temple meat is entirely different than being in a pagan temple participating in their worship, or celebrating in a pagan festival wouldn't you agree? God's restrictions on who could and couldn't participate in his feasts was to be obeyed, not everyone could participate and eat from his altar. The worship of any god, even ours, is prescribed by the deity and must be followed by the faithful. If anyone was present at the literal pagan temple altar, or even one that was in their home and made a sacrifice, then they partook of the demon's table. Paul said that if a believer was invited to dinner at an unbeliever's house and wanted to go, then they were allowed to go, but he warned them not to ask if the meat being served was offered to an idol. If the Christian was present during the religious ceremony, then would they have to ask that question? No. So obviously, the Christian was not present at the time of the offering.
Again notice Paul didn't say, “If you want to participate in the religious service of an unbeliever and his idol, then by all means go ahead. Paul even puts a limit on a believer's “freedom” by saying if someone informs you that the meat was previously offered to an idol, then pass on the meat dish out of love for your weaker brother who pointed it out to you, will it kill you to do so? Paul never mentions it is okay to participate in any pagan religious, "holy-day" revelry, public, or private. Pagan "holy-days" were either major come one come all kind of affairs, as it involved the whole populace, or they were minor specialized affairs tailored to a minority of that particular god's adherents. For major "holy-days", businesses shut down for the duration of the "holy-days", and temple sacrifices were performed be they animal or sexual in nature. There was decorating, feasting, drinking, carousing, pranks, gift giving, perverse sexual acts and fertility rites, and all other forms of debauchery. Many websites that give information such as when these holy-days were celebrated and who they honored, don't really get into the details of the revelry. Why? Because many times they performed what we would consider to be morally disgusting acts - that even in our permissive day and age would hopefully make many of us cringe.
Many Scriptures tell the Gentile believers they are to forsake their former ways of dissipation which means all forms of physical indulges be they:drunkenness, gluttony, all forms of sexual immorality, and they were told to flee idolatry.
What Do You Say, Jesus?
Now we come to the really important Scriptures in Revelation in relation to holy-day celebrations. If Paul was indeed saying it was alright to celebrate pagan holy-days as unto Jesus, then why does Jesus himself condemn the eating of things offered to idols within his churches in Revelation 2:14 and 2:20? In these verses Jesus attaches something else to the eating of things offered to idols, and that something is: committing sexual immorality! In Scripture, God equates sexual immorality with idol worship, it is all over the Old Testament. In Rev. 2:14 Jesus says the church in Pergamos was guilty of having those who hold the doctrine (teachings)of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Balaam told Balak to have the Midianite women come into the Israelite camp and seduce the men into sacrificing to their pagan gods during a wild party, thus they cursed themselves, and God had to punish them. In Rev. 2:20 Jesus says it is “Jezebel” within the church of Thyatira, who calls herself a prophetess, and she is the one who teaches and seduces Jesus' servants to commit these lewd acts. Jesus said he gave her time to repent, but she didn't, so those who commit adultery with her will be thrown into a sick bed with her and suffer great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. Jezebel worshiped Asteroth a.k.a. Ishtar/Semiramis and Baal, a.k.a Nimrod/Tammuz.
Once again dear reader, you cannot separate pagan idols from their "holy-days", they are symbiotic in nature, and so you can't have one without the other. Jesus is Lord and Head of his church, not Paul. If Paul seems to give the “oki-doki” to pagan idol "holy-day" celebrations that have been “Christianized”, then he is grossly in error and would be the first one to admit it. But seriously, do we really think Paul would be in gross error concerning this issue? I do not. Like Peter said, scoffers in the last days will be walking according to their own lusts, they will mock Jesus' second coming, and they will wrest Scriptures and Paul's difficult and sometimes hard to understand sayings, as they do the rest of Scriptures, because they are untaught and unstable in their ways. They do this to their hurt and to the hurt of those who follow them, and they will be lead away into the error of the wicked. They do this today as they did back then!
Are You Convinced?
So dear reader, have I convinced you that all of the “Gentile holidays” we have been taught to celebrate by Balaam and Jezebel are really pagan "holy-days" dressed in thin fleece? Are you even willing to search this out to see if it is so? If not I would ask you -Who do you love more, the world and its "holy-days", or Jesus, the one you call Lord? There are those who already know the truth, but for them the allure of the "holy-days" are just too much for them, so they compromise and formulate justifications, and they even find and wrest Scriptures to support their desire to continue celebrating them - they use their liberty as a license for immorality. Sure they have "Christianized" them and use them to "witness" to the unsaved, but do they really think Jesus is fooled, or pleased? The pagans aren't fooled, they mock and scoff at the foolish and clueless Christians that
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celebrate their pagan "holy-days" and some are really ticked off about it. According to Revelation, Jesus is not fooled for one minute. And so, by not wanting to make that hard decision, the one that would make them stand out from their friends and family, or worse yet, give the impression that they now belong to the Jehovah's witness cult, they instead would rather be of the world, then to not be of it.
It is to be understood that all Gentile holidays are really pagan "holy-days" that honor some false god, which is really a demon who receives their worship by proxy. Think carefully about that. If you celebrate Christmas and Easter, you are not worshiping Jesus, you are really worshiping Satan! Christmas when studied, never had Jesus as its center of worship, but instead a myriad of different “sun and moon gods” from many cultures, which when fully researched is Nimrod and Semiramis, but in reality, it is Satan himself, the head fallen angel, who receives their worship. Remember Jesus said that the world hates him. So why would the world celebrate Jesus' birth if that is really what Christmas is about? Why would the world celebrate his death, burial and Resurrection if that is what Easter was all about? They wouldn't. So for those Christians who want to put “Christ” back into “Christmas” and Easter, they are wasting their time and making a mockery of Jesus' birth, and Resurrection.
Break up the word Christmas and you get “Christ” and “Mass”. The Catholic mass is an abomination unto God because during the mass they murder Jesus again and eat his flesh and drink his blood via transubstantiation, which is a very big word that means the elements literally become Jesus' actual body and blood when eaten. Jesus' birthday is never mentioned in Scripture for a reason. As wonderful as his birth was, it is his death and resurrection that are more important. And even then, those specific days are not given in Scripture. Why not? Because his exact numerical birthday, day of death and resurrection are not important, only that they happened! If it is carefully studied out, the time of his birth is somewhere between the fall months of September and October, around the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, which commemorates “God with us” or “Immanuel” – as in - “his name shall be called Immanuel” or “God with us” - makes sense huh? December in Israel is winter time, and no shepherd in his right mind would be caught out in the fields by night with his sheep in the dead of winter. The last week of December is the winter solstice in which pagans the world over use to honor their local sun god, not the Son of God.
As for Jesus' death and resurrection, we know it was during the feast of Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits, and is not to be celebrated in conjunction with Easter, a day which is figured out by using astrology. And it is not to be mixed with Ishtar's bunny egg hunts, chocolate crosses, and her queen of heaven pancake breakfasts during Tammuz's sunrise services. How many verses do we need regarding the mixing of pagan idolatry and worship with God's "holy-days" before we understand God hates being associated with pagan gods and their celebrations? He abhors the practice of syncretism, he doesn't support it. Should we reform idolatry like the Catholics tried to do? No way Jose! They only succeeded in making a sickening lukewarm pagan “stone soup”, that makes Jesus want to vomit.
Speaking of vomit, perhaps a modern and rather gross illustration is in order to drive home the importance of this matter. Would you dear reader, buy a box of “kitty poo cookie mix” for you and your family to enjoy? All you have to do is pick out the real kitty poo chunks and add “Christian” candy sprinkles, or “Holy” chocolate chips. Would there be any takers? I don't think so. Yet this is what many people do spiritually. They take a well known pagan holiday and take
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out the big chunks of "yucky" pagan stuff [kitty poo], things like child sacrifices, and vile sex acts. But the littler pieces like the pagan green tree of fornication they pass off as the cross of Christ, and worship of the sun, as the worship of Jesus himself. Dear reader, Satan is called Beelzebub or “the Lord of the flies” for many reasons. One is that he restlessly roams to and fro, like a fly does, and flies are associated with poo poo, and other disgusting things. God even tells the pagan priests trying to pass themselves off as his holy priests in Malachi, that he would smear poo poo on their faces, because they sacrificed to their poo poo gods in his name. The odor of the poo poo would attract the files (demons)they worshiped and being so defiled they would be carried away to the dung pile to be burned, which is how Jesus is currently suffering, according to Jewish rabbis, he's boiling in hot excriment.
Pagan "Holy-day" Research
Rather than me reinventing the pagan "holy-day" wheel - so to speak, there are many Christian and Pagan websites, blogs, and web-pages dedicated to this subject - that discuss where these "holy-days" came from, who they really worship, and what their symbols really mean, and how “Christians” have robbed pagan temples [Rom. 2:22] and tried to sanitize them over the centuries. I beg you dear reader to explore these claims from both sides. It is so easy to do these days with the Internet, just use your favorite search engine and go to work. Should you decide to cut yourself off from these wicked "holy-days", good for you, for you have chosen to go down the narrow path toward life and godliness. However, it will not be easy, just like Jesus said it would not be easy to follow him. You will have to face the ridicule of both “Christian” and non-Christian friends and family, because they may or may not understand or support your decision, but some might. Besides, this is the proper Christian witness we are to give to others, and who are we to obey, man or Jesus? Admittedly, this part was not easy for me and my family, but we did it.
We, my family and I, no longer celebrate any "holy-days." We have said, “So long, farewell, adios and good-riddens” to, Nimrod/Tammuz, and Semiramis! We don't even celebrate our nations “birthday”, we just don't celebrate it, and amazingly we haven't been ousted from our families, and we don't fell deprived in the least, actually, we feel free! I don't need Feb. 14th to tell my husband I love him, nor do I need their days of birth to make them feel
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special and wanted, because there are 365 days in a year to do just that. Think of that...365 days to celebrate my God, and my family, 365 days to say, “I love you”, and “your are special to me”. I can't tell you how freeing that is - gone are the burdens of pagan "holy-days" and the misery they cause, no more money spent that we don't have to support demonic idols – thanks be unto Jesus, our great God and Savior! I encourage you, dear reader, to do the same, seek the truth and you will find it. Let Jesus' Holy Spirit, and his godly commandments free you and your family from this heavy yolk of wickedness and bondage parading as one of light, you will be so glad you did. Remember, once you know the truth, you must accept it, or reject it, but if you reject it, then what hope do you have of being saved from the lie? To whom much is given, much is required! Choose you this day whom you will serve - choose wisely – Amen!
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