The Root of this Celebration
Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord (Genesis 10:9, King James Version). Nimrod is credited for building great cities such as Nineveh and Babylon. He was a rebel. He built the Tower of Babel. He tried to turn people away from the Almighty, YHWH. YHWH had to stop the construction of this tower. After the languages of men were confounded to end the Tower of Babel’s construction, the people were scattered to the four corners of the world (Genesis 11:9, King James Version).
After the death of Cush, Nimrod took his mother (Semiramis) as a wife. Nimrod soon died himself. His body was cut into pieces and scattered throughout his kingdoms. Semiramis taught the people that the only body part that remained missing was his male member, so he had gone to the sun. His name should now be called Baal, the sun god. She taught the people that Nimrod was the father of her unborn child, and the baby was conceived by him through rays of the sun.
For his presence and power to rein supreme, phallic symbols and fires should be lit to honor him. The supposed child of that union is Horus (Tammuz), the reincarnate of Nimrod (Standish, 1992). Semiramis claimed a full-grown evergreen tree sprang out of the roots of a dead tree stump. This symbolized the springing forth of new life for Nimrod. On the anniversary of Nimrod’s birth (December 25), she said that Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts under it. This is the genesis of the Christmas tree-the symbol of Nimrod. This equates to approximately nine months after Easter, or the date Ishtar became pregnant with Tammuz, Nimrod reincarnated (Perdue, 2013).
According to Tadzik Zdan in his book Only A Few, he writes, “for centuries Tammuz’s birthday was celebrated with feasts, revelry, and drunken orgies” (Zdan, 2009). After the myth of Nimrod was taught, his incarnations started showing up in a number of cultures around the world. For example, The Babylonians had many gods. Their chief god was Marduk (Merodach) (Jeremiah 50:2, King James Version). Marduk was known by the titles Bel, Baal, or Lord (Britannica, 2016). Baal, the sun god, is now everywhere.
Some scholars have also concluded that the Christmas tree may be a male phallic symbol of eternal life (Trimm, 2016). The erections of such symbolisms have been around for thousands of years. Ancient nations of Ethiopia and Egypt had an abundance of such phallic symbols; some are still standing there today. The ancients revered the sun. The obelisks were constructed to symbolize a frozen ray of sun. Even today, one can trek over to the nearest graveyard and see phallic symbols in abundance. This was a way to pay homage to the sun god. Today, the tallest obelisk in the world is not in the land of Ham, such as Egypt or Ethiopia, instead it is located in the capital of the United States. This monument, held in place at the top of a pyramid, stands an impressive 555 feet. It is called the Washington Monument. Did you know that some of the most powerful and influential men in history have phallic symbols dedicated to them?
The cutting down of the tree has significant meaning. This signifies the premature death of Tammuz. As a part of this custom, the people would cry and mourn for Tammuz. The star placed at the top of the tree most likely signifies the sun god, or fire god (Saturn, Moloch, Marduk, Rempham, etc). The star could also be a representation of Semiramis herself. One of her symbols was an eight-pointed star. The pagan worship of stars, the sun, the moon, and other planetary objects have been popular since ancient times.
Semiramis is known by many names around the world. Some of these names include mother of god, Ishtar (Easter), Ashtoreth, Athtart, Ashtaroth, Ashtart, Asherah, Inanna, and Isis. She is the goddess of fertility, love, war, sex, and power. Her symbols include eggs, owls, fish, doves, pole (tree stump), and the star (usually the eight-pointed star. In the Bible, she is described as the queen of heaven. The worship of her was something that the God of the Hebrews, YHWH, hated. This was preached at the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 44:17-19; Jeremiah 7:18; Jeremiah 44:25, King James Version). For example, Jeremiah 44:18 says, ”but since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.” Even King Solomon, it is written, followed this fertility goddess: “For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites” (1 Kings 11:5, King James Version). Nimrod too was represented by the same symbols as his mother-wife, Semiramis. These symbols include the fish, which is the fish god (Dagon). When the Hebrews went after other gods, this was considered whoredom (Jeremiah 3:8, King James Version).
Tree Worship
In ancient Europe and many pagan nations around the world, the worship of trees was very common. Trees played an important role in the spiritual lives of the people. The people had animistic beliefs. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, animism is “the belief that all plants, animals, and objects have spirits” (Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary, 2016).
In Rome, Ojibwa writes: “the sacred fig-tree of Romulus was found in the Forum. This tree was worshiped throughout the age of the Roman empire, and if a citizen thought that the tree was drooping, a hue-and-cry went out which was answered by citizens running with buckets of water as if they were putting out a fire” (Ojibwa, 2016).
In Northern Europe, the Germans tied fruit and attached candles to evergreen tree branches. This was done in honor of their god, Woden (Odin). The third day of the week, Wednesday, was named after this pagan god. These trees symbolized eternal life to them.
The Hebrews, we can read, committed abominations with the Asherah (groves) throughout scripture. There is usually a grove (Asherah) near an altar of Baal, or Bel. They would also decorate these abominations by making hangings for them (2 Kings 23:7, King James Version). That is because they represent Nimrod and his mother Semiramis. This is sun worship. This is idolatry. Even the decorations on the trees are nothing new. Ball (Baals) anyone? People hang from the trees these ornaments. In 2 Kings 23:7 we read, “And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.” In Judges, for example, we can see that YHWH commanded Gideon to:
“25.Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: 26. And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down (Judges 6:25-26, King James Version).
Punishment for the Hebrews
The Hebrews of old transgressed the commandments when they followed pagan gods. They were taking part in this Babylonian practice of worshipping idols when they cut trees down on the winter solstice and decorated them in honor of Tammuz. The Hebrews were routinely punished by YHWH when they committed whoredoms by following Pagan gods and profaned the Sabbath and other appointed dates. Jeremiah 10:2 – 10:5 reads:
2. Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3 For the customs of the people [are] vain: for [one] cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
5 They [are] upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also [is it] in them to do good.
Saturnalia, the Sun God Festival—The Romans
There were many midwinter celebrations throughout the Pagan world. They have not gone anywhere; they are still with us today. Some of the most influential religions and rituals of Pagan Europe have been absorbed into Christianity. The Roman Empire had a winter solstice celebration called Saturnalia. Saturnalia was their way to give thanks to their god, Saturn. This pagan god was truly influential. Even the day of the week that we call Saturday was named in honor of this Roman god. How about the planet Saturn? Yes, him.
By the time this winter celebration came around, all planting was complete. Saturnalia was originally celebrated from December 17 to December 24. This was a time of great merrymaking. Social order was inverted and the people indulged. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “Saturn’s great festival, the Saturnalia, became the most popular of Roman festivals” (Briatannica, 2016). December 25 was especially special; this day of climax became known as the Brumalia. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Brumalia was “a pagan festival held at the winter solstice from which some features of the celebration of Christmas seem to have originated.”
During this holiday, public gambling was permitted. Slaves were allowed to take part in the celebrations, and they did not have to work. Colorful dinner clothes were permitted in public. The Phrygian cap, or pileus (a felt cap normally worn by freed slaves) symbolized the freedom of the season in Rome. To symbolize this freedom, an innocent Roman citizen was selected to indulge in anything they so desire. This person was called the Lord of Misrule–a king for a day. The Lord of Misrule was sacrificed on the final day on the altar of Saturn. This dramatic end to his short rule was a way to end the period of social disorder and return to normality (Womack, 2003).
Sol Invicticus
Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, ‘birthday of the Unconquered Sun’, was another holiday that ancient Rome celebrated. This holiday was celebrated on December 25. The Roman Empire, as was their custom, frequently coopted the gods of the nations they conquered (Bricken, 2016). Mithras was no different. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Mithraism is the worship of Mithras, the Iranian god of the sun, justice, contract, and war in pre-Zoroastrian Iran. In the Roman Empire during the 2nd and 3rd centuries, this deity was honored as the patron of loyalty to the emperor” (Britannica, 2016).
The Romans saw Mithras as being identical to their Sun-god, Saturn. The widespread observance of Sunday as the “Lord’s Day” is seemingly derived from Mithraism. Mithraism was the final state religion before Christianity, in the form of Roman Catholism (Fingrut, 2016). Mithra’s birthday was celebrated on December 25. Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the “Invincible Sun” (Mithra). Romans who practiced Mithraism were of the upper-class and all men. In today’s terms, Mithraism would be considered a secret society because of the secret oaths and rituals that members engaged in. In addition, the elites of these societies dominated the membership. Constantine was raised in the religion of Sol Invicta, Mithraism. Today Iranians celebrate a day called Yalda. This holiday celebrates the winter solstice. This day is also known as Shab-e Chelleh. Both Yalda and Christmas are celebrated in a similar way; this involves feasting with friends and family, and staying up late (Mirrazavi, 2015).
The Growing Influence of Christmas
Undoubtedly, the worldwide celebration of Christmas today can be traced back to European domination of the world. Throughout Europe, various forms of similar winter solstice celebrations were held. In Greece, there was celebration held to honor Dionoysis. This god was identical to the Roman god Bacchus. Bacchus was the child of Jupiter (Zeus in Greek) according to Roman myths. Diónysos, the god of wine (grape harvest), and included parties, festivals, wild celebrations, madness, chaos, drunkenness, ecstasy and fertility. December 25 marks his birthday. This feast lasted for 12 days. These days of wild celebrations and excess reveling was called Bacchanalia. The days were marked with great feasts that included parades of naked women and public sex. This celebration has left footprints around the world in the form of carnival, bacchanal, or bacchanalia, and Mardi Gras.
In Finland, they had the Beiwe (Beaivi) Festival. They worshiped the sun-goddess of fertility and sanity, Beiwe. This pagan god is sometimes shown as a male figure. At the winter solstice, white animals, particularly white reindeer, were sacrificed to Beiwe. They also thought (think) that Beiwe rides a sleigh made of reindeer bones and was pulled by white reindeer (Kaldera & Krasskova, 2012).
Many Slavic people also celebrated Karachun. This pagan holiday is very similar to Samhain (Halloween). This holiday was held in honor of the black god, Chernoborg. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “the Black God survives in numerous Slavic curses and a White God (Belobog-god of light and sun), whose aid is sought to obtain protection or mercy in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Pomerania. This religious dualism of white and black gods is common to practically all the peoples of Eurasia” (Gasparini, 2016). In Russia, they celebrated the winter goddess, Rozhnitsa, at the winter solstice. She was the antlered goddess.
Yule
In Northern Europe, they celebrated Yule. This is where the majority of the Christmas traditions in the English Speaking world derived their Christmas traditions. This celebration lasted for twelve days. As a part of this festival, feasting and revelry were commonplace. Giant bonfires were also lit. The night before Yule was called Mōdraniht. Mōdraniht means Mother’s Night. During this night, the spirits of dead women and female deities were honored. This is called Desir.
Some of the traditions of Yule include the Yule tree, Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, and Yule singing, just to name a few.The Yule tree became the Christmas tree. This tree was decorated around the winter solstice. The men of the household would cut down evergreens from the forests and bring them into their homes. Families would light Yule logs, usually from the preceding year. They would eat, drink, and make merry until the logs burned out. If the log burned until midmorning, it was considered good omen (Pesznecker & Llewellyn , 2015). This celebration honored “father winter” and Skadi (“snow queen”) of whom the land of Scandinavia is thought to have been named after (Pesznecker & Llewellyn , 2015). It is believed that each spark of the log represents an animal, such a calf, or pig that would be born in the new year.
The Yule goat was one of the most popular aspects of Yule at its height. A remnant of this celebration is still held today in various countries across Europe. It was believed that the Nordic god, Thor, rode through the sky on a chariot pulled by two goats. The function of the Yule goat is not fixed. In some societies, the Yule goat represented an evil spirit that went around demanding gifts and punishing children who were bad that year (Hawkins, 2013). The Yule, or Christmas, goat is also known as Krampus. Krampus was the companion of Santa Claus. Krampus would spank misbehaving children, eat them, or carry them off to hell. The Yule ham is another abomination that is a major aspect of the pagan Yule, or Christmas of today.
The ham was important in Yule celebrations as a result of the pagan god Freyr. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Freyr is “the ruler of peace and fertility, rain, and sunshine and the son of the sea god Njörd” (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica, 2016). Freyr’s mother is his father’s sister. The pig was sacrificed to this pagan god. The pagan god Freyr is said to ride around on a boar by the name of Sónargǫltr, which means “atonement-boar.”
Other popular traditions of the winter solstice include holly, mistletoe, and nativity scenes. The holly was a sacred plant for the Romans to their god, Saturn. They also thought having the plant around brought them good luck. At this time of the year, the plant is at its greenest. They would tie this plant into a wreath and hang it at the front of their houses, as people do today. The mistletoe is one of the major symbols of Paganism. When Paganism was the dominant religion of Europe, people would hang the mistletoe in areas where they congregated. The belief was that this plant had magical powers. They thought that the plant, among other things, would protect them from evil spirits and bring them good luck. It was also a symbol of fertility, as it was thought that the plant made people and animals more fertile (Perry, 2016). Today, this plant is still viewed as sacred. Couples are expected to kiss, if they meet under the mistletoe. Having nativity scenes is nothing short of idolatry. An idol is a greatly loved or admired person, place, or thing that is used to bring to remembrance a god. The God of Heaven, the God of the Hebrews, YHWH, hates idols. YHWH through the second commandment told the Hebrews: do “not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:4, King James Version). In addition to that, those scenes go back to ancient times when scenes were created in honor of Nimrod, Seramesis, and Tammuz. The same scenes are replicated throughout the world to represent the god’s of various nations.
Grand Birthday Celebrations
Why is the birth of Jesus celebrated in such a grandiose way if there is no Biblical basis for it? The few examples of birthday celebrations in the Bible, especially the ones after the death of the Messiah, do not support the idol-filled celebrations of today. All those celebrations involved the enemies of the Hebrews. For example, in true heathen fashion, the head of John the Baptist was requested as a birthday present on Herod’s birthday to present to his daughter as a gift for her dance routine (Mark 6:21-24; Matthew 14:6-14:9, King James Version). Pharaoh had one of his servants hanged on a tree. The man was left there to be eaten by birds. This was on the same day Pharaoh had a great feast to celebrate his birth (Genesis 40:1-40:23). In the book of 2 Maccabees, we read that the Hebrews were compelled to partake in pagan traditions while they were under Greek occupation. During this occupation, it was illegal for Hebrews to keep the commandments, even the Sabbath. They were forced to celebrate their oppressor’s birth, every month. Some were forced, particularly elders and leaders, to eat pork at these feasts as a punishment (2 Maccabees 6) and as a way to encourage others to break the laws.
Conclusion
In closing, it is evident that winter solstice celebrations (Saturnalia, Koliada, Christmas, Yule, Karachun, etc) are all one of the same. When man was scattered from Babylon, the tradition of sun worship was exported around the world. It is one of the most pagan of celebrations on the yearly calendar. Nowhere in the Bible were Hebrews, such as the apostle Paul, seen celebrating the birth of a baby Messiah, or anyone for that matter. Nowhere in the scriptures can any righteous Hebrew be seen exchanging gifts left under a Christmas tree. Nowhere in the word can a righteous Hebrew be seen eating abominations such as ham. As we enter into the season of dark celebrations, it is important to know what you are truly celebrating. As the Hebrew scripture states, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6, King James Version). It is imperative for all peoples to get to the root of all things. It can be seen that despite the nation, there appears a common theme on the winter solstice: the celebration of light, fertility, and new beginnings in the dead of winter. Every aspect of mainstream Christmas traditions go all the way back to pagan roots; the exchanging of gifts, the feasting, the music, the decorations, and especially decking an evergreen in the middle of winter are as pagan as they come. The Jesus of the Bible (Yahushua) was never in Christmas.
References
Fox, S. (2016). Celebrating Winter Solstice. Retrieved from Circle Sanctuary: https://www.circlesanctuary.org/index.php/celebrating-the-seasons/celebrating-winter-solstice
Gasparini, E. (2016). Slavic religion. Retrieved 2016, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slavic-religion#ref533471
Hawkins, P. (2013). Bad Santas: Disquieting Winter Folk Tales for Grown-Ups. Simon & Schuster UK.
Hillerbrand, H. J. (2015, May 13). Christmas. Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christmas
Kaldera, R., & Krasskova, G. (2012). Neolithic Shamanism: Spirit Work in the Norse Tradition. Destiny Books.
Perdue, T. H. (2013). Mashiah Versus Anti-Mashiah. In T. H. Perdue, Mashiah Versus Anti-Mashiah. AuthorHouse.
Perry, L. P. (2016). MISTLETOE MYTHS AND MEDICINES. Retrieved 2016, from MISTLETOE MYTHS AND MEDICINES University of Vermont Extension: http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/mistlmyths.html
Pesznecker, S., & Llewellyn . (2015). Yule: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Winter Solstice (Llewellyn’s Sabbat Essentials). Llewellyn Publications.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (2016). Freyr: Norse Mythology. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Freyr
Trimm, J. (2016). WHAT IS A CHRISTMAS TREE? Retrieved from Fossilized Customs: http://www.fossilizedcustoms.com/christmastree.html
Womack, M. ( 2003). Sport as Symbol: Images of the Athlete in Art, Literature and Song. McFarland & Company.
Zdan, T. (2009). Only A Few. Xlibris Corporation .
All traditions of men, cults and demons have no place in Bible no matter how long practiced and embraced, no matter how the ages have drunken of this particular wine of fornication of the Great Whore of the Book of Revelation. Christianity is not Baal Worship.“With Paul all days are equal. And he said I should follow him even as he is the follower of Christ.
Let not the devil beguile you with dates and seasons. Seek you the Kingdom of God and its righteousness first. That is what matters. One faith, one foundation, one Church, one Lord and Jesus Christ that Lord! Brake away from all beguilement no matter how trapping!” No matter how luring I may add.
Two responses from that piece I wish to draw attention to. Whilst one of those two readers asked: “When then was Jesus Christ born?”, while the other said: “I agree with you. Now what shall we do?” Here, besides telling more about this fiendish and deadly thing called Christmas I hope to represent my replies to the duo in their enlarged versions here.
But first we must take it elementarily: Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Paul, Peter, John and others did not tell us the date Jesus Christ was born. Peter, Paul and others didn’t celebrate the date Jesus was born because it is irrelevant to our salvation. Nothing sacred about the date, only the birth is! There is enough that scriptures commands, and we have not been able to do them all yet, and so, we dare not add traditions of men, cults and demons. Yes!
All ‘these days’ they are celebrating here and there are of Babylon and Rome (of demons). Whilst so-called Christmas is a celebration of the aforesaid Babylonian god Baal (Tammuz) with Bacchus, Easter is the celebration of Semiramis ‘demonised’ by Satan as the goddess of Eastre also called Eastor, as Ishtar, Astarte, or queen of heaven so-called etc.
Babylonianism and Romanism want to give all the days in the year to the gods, and many of them are brought into the ‘church’ by Romanism or Roman Catholicism which is actually Baal worship. O how it pays to stay with and, indeed, in the Bible. Christianity is not about celebrations and traditions of men and demons. It is a life to be lived.
We recognise Jesus’ birth when we are born again; no better celebration! We recognise His birth everyday as Emmanuel, God with us; no better celebration! We ‘celebrate’ His birth if we not only know that the grace of God has appeared to all men, teaching us to deny ungodliness, worldly lust and to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world, but are also therefore living thus on a daily basis: No better way to celebrating the birth of the Grace which appeared to all men.
We ‘celebrate’ Jesus’ birth everyday as we live as light of the world, as salt of the earth, as living epistles read by all men and as example of the believers. Let your light so shine that all that sees this (your) light shine would glorify the Father Who is in heaven. That is how to ‘celebrate’ the birth of the Jesus that came from on high, gone on high, and coming soon from thence to take His people home! The pilgrim celebrates Jesus’ birth everyday by the life of heaven he lives here on earth. That is how to tell the world the
at God indeed became man and dwelt among us.
Just as the Holy Writ tells us nothing about where Moses was buried, so it tells us nothing about the date Jesus Christ was born, and it does not expect us to celebrate any day! Those who have sort out a day to celebrate have worked into satanic web. If God had told Israel where Moses was buried in Israel, all probability would have worshiped that place.
Here, Israel may even be praised for stopping where God stopped and for proving more righteous than this generation on this score. Whilst God didn’t tell us when Jesus was born Babylonian tradition of demons inherited by Rome and passed to the whole world is foisting a day on us, which day is actually when Tammuz (‘translated’ by Satan to Baal, the so-called sun- agriculture-fertility god and the equivalent of the Roman god, Saturn, the Greek god, Cronus, with many equivalents in both ancient and modern world) was born and a day he was celebrated in ancient times, even December 25.
It is futile to try knowing when Jesus Christ was born, deluding picking a date and satanic celebrating that date or celebrating Jesus birth ‘on a date set aside’, for they that do celebrate in this way, celebrate who they know not; but this unknown god, the evil behind the mask is Tammuz (‘demonised’ as Baal by Satan) being one of the threesome in an ancient family that Satan built his worship around, the others of that family being Nimrod of Babel infamy and Semiramis who is ‘demonised’ by Satan as Isthar, Astarte, Asthoreth, queen of heaven; the same is goddess of Eastre (also called Eastor) that, again, Roman Catholicism is making the world to worship during their Easter.
It was both Baal and Asthoreth that turned Israel of old against God and vice visa, both being extremely abhorrent to God. We must come away from all futility of trying to know the date Christ was born, come away from all delusions of date setting and all satanic celebrations! From glimpses from the Holy Writ and reality of climate of the Middle East, Jesus could have been born any month other than December, and so certainly He couldn’t have been born on December 25.
Until the very Anti-Christ comes all evil groups and personages (name it) are answerable to the Vatican, which today, anyway, leads the New World Order that would usher in the Anti-Christ. Come out from among them and ALL THEIR INVENTIONS MEANT TO POLLUTE THE WORD OF GOD AND ENSNARE UNTOLD MULTITUDE EN ROUTE ETERNAL DAMNATION.
If only you know a little about the wine of fornication of the Vatican (the wolf in sheep clothing) and how the nations, world leaders and kings, the religions and their leaders, sundry churches and what have you have drunken of that fountain of wicked wine of her fornication, then you would come out from all that proceeds from that city sitting on seven hills (Rome, and specifically the Vatican, which as we speak though part of a city, IS A NATION of its own; and you think it is ordinary)!
THE Christmas spirit is not Christian, because it did not originate with Christ. It predated the Christian era by many centuries. Shortly after the Flood the spirit and the whole celebration of Christmas had its beginning. It began with Nimrod, grandson of Ham the son of Noah, a wicked, ruthless dictator, responsible for the great organized worldly apostasy from God that continues to this day. In contempt for God and all decency Nimrod married his own mother, Semiramis. After his untimely death, his mother-wife, Semiramis, taught the lie that her husband-son was a spirit god. She claimed a full-grown evergreen tree sprang overnight from a dead tree stump, which symbolized the springing forth to new life of the dead Nimrod. She taught that on the anniversary of his birth, which was December 25, Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts upon it. The historian, Professor Hislop, says: “Now the Yule Log is the dead stock of Nimrod, deified as the sun-god, but cut down by his enemies; the Christmas-tree is Nimrod redivivus—the slain god come to life again.”—The Two Babylons,pages 97, 98.
This is the beginning of Christmas with its spirit. This is also the origin of the yule log, the Christmas tree, the celebrating of birthdays, the spirit of exchanging gifts, the spirit of feasting and merrymaking, visits and salutations, jocularity, revelry and drunkenness. All of this is an outgrowth of the first lie, nurtured by the spirit of Satan the Devil, who told it. In Eden to Eve he said: “You positively will not die. For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.” Like Eve, Semiramis believed Satan’s lie and proclaimed Nimrod as a spirit god. With this proclamation a wild celebration began on his birthday that has stuck down through the centuries to our day. In.the Western world it is called Christmas.—Gen. 3:4, 5, NW.
Nimrod became worshiped as the “divine son of heaven,” “the Messiah, son of Baal the sun-god.” Devil-worshiping pagans believed that life and immortality proceeded from Nimrod, and so they worshiped the never-dying sun in the heavens as the personification and representation of Nimrod’s “divinity.” Mother and child, Semiramis and Nimrod, became chief objects of worship. The pagan world idolized this combination. In Egypt they were worshiped as Isis and Osiris, in Asia as Cybele and Doius, in pagan Rome as Fortuna and Jupiter-puer. Even in China, Japan, Tibet and in other non-Christian lands is to be found the counterpart of the Madonna, held sacred in Christendom. Pagans adored these symbols long before the birth of Christ, yet Christendom hails these as Christian and adoringly speaks of them as “the beautiful spirit of Christmas.”
Jehovah God, on the other hand, commanded his people Israel: “Learn not the way of the heathen, . . . For the customs of the people are vain.” “You must not bow down to their gods or be induced to serve them, and you must not make anything like their works, but you will without fail throw them down and you will without fail break down their sacred pillars.” “You must not serve their gods, because that will be a snare to you.” Jehovah’s declaration against pagan gods has not changed, nor has his attitude toward pagan worship, because, says he: “For I, Jehovah, change not.”—Jer. 10:1-3; Ex. 23:24; Deut. 7:16, NW; Mal. 3:6, AS.
The Bible studiously avoids the recording of the date of anyone’s birthday, nor is there any record of birthday celebrations by Jehovah’s servants, either before or after Christ. The conspicuous silence of the Bible regarding birthdays is powerful testimony that the same were not kept, that they were frowned upon as pagan. Origen of Alexandria (A.D. 185-254) wisely discerned: “In the Scriptures sinners alone, not saints, celebrate their birthday.” The only birthday celebrations mentioned in the Bible are that of Pharaoh, when a man was hung, and that of the adulterous King Herod, whose step-daughter Salome danced to make the celebration “merry,” yes, merry by having the head of John the Baptist chopped off.
FROM PAGAN SATURNALIA TO “CHRISTIAN” CHRISTMAS
How, then, did these pagan customs become a part of the greatest “Christian” holiday, Christmas? That first-century Christians did not celebrate Christmas is borne out by early “Christian” writers. The Catholic Encyclopedia makes the following admission: “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their list of feasts.” When apostate Christians began to fall away to pagan practices, Tertullian complained: “By us, who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons and festivals, once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia [and other pagan feasts] are now frequented, gifts are carried to and fro, . . . and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar.”—Gal. 4:10, 11; Col. 2:8.
In an effort to gain pagan converts the Roman Catholic clergy in the fourth century after Christ took in this pagan Saturnalia on December 25 and sponsored it as the “mass of Christ” or “Christ-mass.” Christmas, therefore, is nothing more than a carbon copy of the pagan Saturnalia. This is generally admitted by historical and religious scholars. Says a world history, On the Road to Civilization, page 164: “The feast of Saturn, the Saturnalia, was a winter festival which lasted a week beginning on the twenty-fifth day of December, and was celebrated with dancing, the exchanging of gifts, and the burning of candles. The Saturnalia was later taken over by the Christians as their Christmas, and given a new significance.”
Elaborating on the customs of the Saturnalia, the New Americanized Encyclopedia Britannica, 1900, Vol. IX, page 5236, says: “Saturnalia . . . celebrated on the 19th . . . lasted seven days. The time was one of general joy and mirth. The woolen fetters were taken from the feet of the Image of Saturn, and each man offered a pig. During the festival schools were closed. . . . Gambling with dice, at other times illegal, was practiced. All classes exchanged gifts, the commonest being tapers and clay dolls. These dolls were especially given to children. Varro thought that these dolls represented original sacrifices of human beings (children to the ‘Infernal God’).”—Jer. 32:34, 35.
Last December, “Rev.” A. E. Palmer of Holy Trinity Church was reported by the Examiner to have said: “‘Why choose December 25 as the date of the sacred festival? Wouldn’t any other public holiday do just as well for this jollification?’ There was no evidence, he said, that Jesus was born on December 25 but the Church took over a great many of the ancient pagan festivals and gave them Christian meaning. On December 25 was celebrated the return of the sun, with the days becoming longer, and the Church chose this as being symbolic of the light that shone through the darkness. Christmas without Christ, he said, was nothing but a pagan festival.”
James M. Gillis, C. S. P., editor of the Catholic World (December 2, 1945), makes this candid confession: “It is a well-known fact that the popes and councils in the early Church deliberately placed a Christian festival on or near the day of a previously existing pagan carnival, with the purpose of ousting the heathenish and generally licentious celebration.” Like Haman of old, the Catholic Church became ensnared with her own scheme.—Esther 7:10.
Behind its newly, loosely fitted “Christian” mask Christmas was and is nothing more than the ancient pagan Saturnalia. And it is the spirit of this pagan holiday that is hailed as “the beautiful spirit of Christmas.” What is so beautiful about a pagan holiday that dishonors God? What is so beautiful about a festival that is kept in defiance of God’s commands? What is so beautiful about a celebration that has perpetuated a lie? That makes hypocrites out of its participants? That has blinded men to truth and righteousness? What is beautiful about a “disgusting” thing?
IDENTIFYING THE “SPIRITS”
The spirit of God that produces fruits of “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control” is not identified in the Saturnalia borrowed from the pagans. As the well-known Biblical and historical authority, James Murdock, reports in a footnote in his translation of Mosheim’s Institutes of Ecclesiastical History: “From the first institution of this [Christmas] festival the Western nations seem to have transferred to it many of the follies and censurable practices which prevailed in the pagan festivals of the same season, such as adorning the churches fantastically, mingling puppet shows and dramas with worship, universal feasting and merry-making, visits and salutations, presents and jocularity, revelry and drunkenness.”—Gal. 5:22-25, NW.
Instead of converting pagans to “Christianity” the apostate Christians fell victim to their own passions and desires and were swept out to sea by pagan practices. This God foretold: “You must not serve their gods, because that will be a snare to you.”—Deut. 7:16, NW.
The campaign that is now being waged to “put Jesus Christ back in Christmas” is an open admission that Christ is not in its celebration. And, as “Rev.” Palmer stated, “Christmas without Christ is nothing but a pagan festival.” So it is. Christ was never in Christmas, nor was Christmas ever in Christ. More apropos and in line with Christian principle would be the slogan: “Away from Christmas and back to Christ.” Simply to label the pagan Saturnalia as Christian does not make it so. A wolf does not become a lamb simply because we call it such. No, nor does Christmas become Christian because professing Christians take part in its celebration. Its celebration by certain religious organizations does not make it Christian, any more than bingo games, lotteries or card parties in religious parish houses or parish schools are for that reason Christian.
Is the spirit of God to be found in the practice of exchange handed down by demon-worshiping pagans? Is the spirit of God found in the annual $50-million Christmas-tree business that commemorates the lie of human immortality? Is it found in the glittering balls of gold that pay homage to Balder, god of the ever-mystical sun? Is the spirit of God found in the millions of toy soldiers and tanks, guns and planes that glorify war and not “peace on earth, good will toward men”? Is it found in the gluttony, the drunkenness, lasciviousness and murder committed on this day called “Christmas”?
Hardly. “Do not be misled,” says the inspired Paul. “God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap; because he who is sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but he who is sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit.” The Christmas spirit is well described for us by apostles Paul and Peter at Galatians 5:19-21 and; 1 Peter 4:1-4. By these fruits we know her.—Gal. 6:7, 8, NW.
IDENTIFYING FRUITS OF “CHRISTMAS TREE”
The Christmas spirit is supposed to be one of good will toward men. After fifteen hundred years of Christmas celebrating, how much good will is there in the world today? How much good will is practiced during the holiday season itself? How Christlike are the people during this “most sacred festival”? Read and decide for yourself what spirit predominates.
According to a report by Gerhard J. Falf, University of Pennsylvania sociologist, “more murders are committed on Christmas day than on any other one day of the year.” Is this the Christian spirit? A chief detective of a department store declares: shoplifters and pickpockets “increase in numbers” when Christmas arrives. Is this spirit Christian? Last year, in Detroit, Michigan, Carl Ross tried to defend his truckload of trees from a crowd. An unidentified man “grabbed a stake from the truck and beat him unconscious with it. As he lay there while the crowd looted his trees, someone stole $400, his day’s receipts, from his pocket. His father finally got the truck in motion and fled for his life with about a third of his load.” Another man complained that a dealer had beaten him when he offered him fifty cents for his last tree. “An unusual number of persons reported that their front lawn evergreens had been cut down during the night,” the Detroit News announced. Is this the spirit of Christianity?
In the spirit of Christmas “a Santa Claus bandit who said ‘my kid is going to have a real Christmas,’ robbed a Brooklyn toy store of $900.” As “jolly good fellows” during this carnival of self-indulgence 1,200 drunks were gathered off the streets of Los Angeles alone. “I’ve never seen anything like it!” exclaimed a bewildered policeman. “They’re stacked up here like cordwood.” A tabloid headline noted breezily, “Los Angeles Staggering into Christmas.”
As Jesus accurately said: “This people honors me with their lips, yet their hearts are far removed from me. It is in vain that they keep paying respect to me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.” This was true in Jesus’ day, and it is true regarding Christendom today. It is true regarding all her feasts and practices, Christmas not excluded.—Matt. 15:8, 9, NW.
ABOMINATION IN GOD’S SIGHT
The Christmas festival is held high among men of the world. But, as Jesus stated: “You are those who declare yourselves righteous before men, but God knows your hearts; because what is lofty among men is a disgusting thing in God’s sight.” While church bells ring out and men make a pretense at prayer on this day, yet God views their festivities as a disgusting pagan celebration. To Christians that fell away to similar practices Paul said: “You are scrupulously observing days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that somehow I have toiled to no purpose respecting you.” From these things men were made free by Christ, but Christendom has returned to them. She has become as disgusting to God as a dog that “has turned back to its own vomit, and the sow that was bathed to rolling in the mire.”—Luke 16:15; Gal. 4:10, 11; 2 Pet. 2:22, NW.
What, then, is the spirit of Christmas? It is “earthly, animal, demonic.” It is the spirit of paganism parading in Christian garb. It is the spirit of the Devil that has intoxicated the whole world. The keeping of Christmas cannot pass as innocent fun for children, because the name and worship of God are involved. The festivities and decorations are demonic, because they glorify paganism, which is demonism. The associating of God’s name and Word with pagan customs is desecrating that name, taking it in a worthless way. One of the Ten Commandments is: “You must not take up the name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way, for Jehovah will not leave the one unpunished who takes up his name in a worthless way.”—Jas. 3:15; Ex. 20:7, NW.
Cannot Christians celebrate Christmas out of a pure heart to the honor of Jehovah God? God himself answers through his Word: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever? And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? . . . ‘Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,’ says Jehovah, ‘and quit touching the unclean thing,’ ‘and I will take you in.’ ‘And I shall be a father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me,’ says Jehovah the Almighty.” So it is a choice of accepting Christmas with its spirit and losing God, or accepting God and receiving his spirit and favor and losing Christmas. The right choice should not be hard to make.—2 Cor. 6:14-18, NW.
Satan's Great Deception - Part 5:
And the Christmas Tree? What about today's Christmas tree? The Christmas tree in Egypt was the palm; in Rome it was the fir. The mother (Semiramis) of Adonis the Sun-God (Grecian name of Nimrod) was mystically said to have been changed into a tree — the Christmas tree. While in this state she was said to have brought forth her so-called 'divine' son (Ovid's, Metain, lib. XV 500-513). Hislop, on p. 97, indicates that if the mother was the tree, the son must have been the counterfeit "Man of the branch." But Christ is the true "Branch" (Jer. 23:5). This is another pagan duality.
This, he states, accounts for putting the Yule Log into the fire on Christmas eve and the appearance of the Christmas tree next morning — the tree that supposedly brings all divine gifts to men. When people use the Christmas tree in their celebrations, they pay homage to Semiramis, the mother (and giver) of the false "Savior." Who then do they thus acknowledge as their savior? NIMROD — the very man who "saved" mankind from following God at the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:6).
What does God say about the Christmas tree? "Learn not the way of the heathen...for one cutteth a tree...They deck it with silver and with gold; fasten it...that it move not...they are altogether brutish and foolish" (Jer. 10:1-8). God commands us to commemorate Christ's death (Mark 14:22-24) — not His birth, which occurred before winter (Luke 2:8).
Christ's Conception Counterfeited
Is there a counterfeit for the miraculous conception of Christ? Yes! Lady Day, celebrated each March 25th — 9 months before the supposed "Savior" was born. This day was observed long before Christ's time in honor of the Babylonian "Messiah" (Ammianus Marcellinus, book 23, ch. 3, p. 355). How clear it is becoming that the Devil supervised the fashioning of these counterfeits. They not only could be used in deceiving mankind then, as to the True way to salvation, but also could be used in deceiving people after the real Savior came! So we see that, THOSE WHO KEEP CHRISTMAS TODAY MARK THEMSELVES AS WORSHIPPERS OF THE SUN, SATAN, NIMROD, HORUS, AND SEMIRAMIS — the apostate heroes who founded civilization after the Flood in defiance of the way of God. What a group for a modern "Christian" to be worshipping!
And Semiramis? Does she have a day? Yes, she has a day reserved for herself also — Lady Day — and the people here and in other countries are dutifully keeping it! After all, had it not been for her, the MYSTERIES (II Thes. 2:7) which deceive the earth today would never have been formulated and the pagans would never have had a false "savior."
The name of Semiramis found on Assyrian monuments is "Ishtar." This corresponds to one of the titles of the Babylonian Beltes (Semiramis) — called Astarte in the Bible. So, the very word "Easter" shows that this festival originated in Babylon (Layard's Nineveh and Babylon, p. 629).
What does this day commemorate?
Origin of Easter Observance
To discover the origin of Easter we have to go back to Semiramis and her Mysteries again! Notice what Hislop admits on page 110: "As everything that was good...to mankind was represented in the Chaldean (Babylonian) mysteries, as in some way connected with the Babylonian goddess (Semiramis), so the greatest blessing to the human race which the ark contained...was held to be Astarte...the great civilizer and benefactor of the world...It was easy for her worshippers to be made to believe that in a previous incarnation she had lived in the Antediluvian world."
The words for "egg" and "house" in the Hebrew and Chaldean are very similar. So the house or ark of Noah floating on the waters, became the "Egg." "An egg of wondrous size is said to have fallen from heaven into the river Euphrates...out came Venus, who afterward became the Assyrian goddess" (Hyginus' Fabulae, pp. 148, 149) — that is, Astarte. The pagan classic poems are full of fables of the Mystic egg of the Babylonians.
The event that the "Ishtar egg" or Easter egg first commemorated was the "arrival" (birth) of the future mother of the Sun-god on this earth after the Flood! So we see Easter commemorates Semiramis' birthday — not Christ's resurrection!
Easter worship is actually sun-goddess worship!
What does God say about observing Easter? "Trust ye not in lying words...the women...make cakes to the queen of heaven [This world today is doing the same thing!]...walk ye in all the ways I have commanded...But they hearkened not . . ."
And what happens to those who continue to disobey? — "The carcasses of this people shall be meat for the fowls of heaven" (Jer. 7:1-33). This is the result of Easter keeping — of following the Devil's deceptive Mysteries!
Jesus knew that men would attach His name to pagan practices, claiming to worship Him. He shouted the warning: "Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46).
Let us now notice one more of these deceptions that masquerade as Christian — but are actually pagan.
The Counterfeit Cross
Is the cross which took Christ's life a thing to be proud of and adored? Or has the Devil deceived us here also? Our sins and the Devil's deception killed Christ. Satan was to bruise the heel of the seed of woman (Gen 3:15) — Satan was to kill Christ. How did he do this?
Satan deceived us into sinning and OUR sins killed Christ. Should we parade OUR INSTRUMENT OF DEATH, which took Christ's life, before the world and be proud of it? But notice even more about the practice of parading the cross.
The true original form of the Chaldean (Babylonian) alphabet letter "T" is made like like the CROSS CHURCHES USE TODAY — and WAS THE INITIAL OF TAMMUZ, the sun-god. "This was marked on the foreheads of those initiated into the Mysteries; the Vestal virgins of pagan (not modern) Rome wore it suspended off their necklaces as nuns do now. There is hardly a pagan tribe where a cross has not been found...the X which in itself was not an unnatural symbol of Christ, and which was once regarded as such, was allowed to go entirely into disuse and the Tau cross, the sign of Tammuz, the false messiah, was everywhere substituted in its stead" (Hislop, The Two Babylons, p. 119).
People and churches nowadays are even going to great lengths to identify themselves with the symbol of the Sun-god! The great display of this symbol today is an outward sign of how blinded the world is to the truth of God.
Origin of God's Week
When did God's week originate? What was this week like, which He has given to the world to use forever? Notice! When God remade our earth, He said of the first evening and morning, "The evening and the morning were the FIRST day" (Gen. 1:5). Then followed the SECOND day (verse 8), the THIRD day (verse 13), the FOURTH day (verse 19), and so on until the day following the sixth. He not only gave that day a number — He gave it a name — the Sabbath!
This, then, is when God's week originated. Note that it was composed of seven days, SIX OF THEM BEARING NUMBERS, and ONE OF THEM — the last, THE SEVENTH, BEARING A NAME (see Ex. 16:23).
GOD'S Week Corrupted Early
In the library of Asshur-bani-pal of Assyria (a country which lay just north of ancient Babylonia), many clay tablets have been found relating the epic of creation. One of these tablets reads: "On the seventh day He appointed a holy day, and to cease from all business He commanded" (Henry H. Halley Pocket Bible Handbook, p. 64 [EDITOR'S NOTE: p. 62, 24th ed., 1996]).
Here is absolute PROOF from the ancient records collected by this Assyrian King, that long before the time of Moses, Babylonia knew of God's seven day week.
But recall that Babylon was the place which Nimrod and his Assyrian wife, Semiramis — called the "queen of heaven" in the Bible — ruled. It was the country in which Satan started his perversions.
Would Satan leave God's simple calendar intact? Or would he pervert it and thus try to "change times and laws"? (Daniel 7:25).
Here is what happened. In ancient Babylon "evil days," which were observed on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th days of the month, were gradually set apart (Webster's Rest Days, p. 230). The seventh day of each Babylonian week was called a SHABATTUM — the pagan corruption of the SABBATH. Thus the sabbaths of God — times when man might enjoy spiritual pursuits — were soon changed into periods of "ill omens" or "Evil Days" (Webster's Rest Days, p. 232).
On these "Evil Days" the pagans had to afflict themselves — they had to do penance. They could not eat flesh cooked upon coals, nor change garments, nor could the physician lay hand upon the patient. At night, the king was to bring his gift before the images of Marduk (Nimrod) and Ishtar (the "Queen of Heaven," Semiramis) and offer sacrifice (Rest Days, p. 232).
The point is that even then, Satan was having other gods — Nimrod and his wife — worshipped on this crude imitation of God's Sabbath day. SATAN HAD CORRUPTED THE SABBATH AND THEREBY THE TRUE WEEK OF GOD. Did he establish a COUNTERFEIT WEEK OF HIS OWN? Yes!
Satan Produces His Own Week — Today's Week
How did the pagans, under Satan's influence, formulate the week — the planetary or astrological week WHICH THE WORLD STILL RETAINS TODAY? Here is the answer: "The planetary week presents itself as a curious amalgam [or mixture] of ideas derived from different sources. BABYLONIA, THE MOTHERLAND OF DIVINATION, PROVIDED THE DOCTRINE of the influence of the stars upon human destinies: Greece furnished the mathematical astronomy which grouped the planets according to their distance from the earth...upon these foundations astrologers of the Hellenistic (Greek) era, familiar with the cult of seven and with the division of days into twenty-four hours, built up what was, at the outset, an entirely PAGAN INSTITUTION."
Notice the origin of our week — a pagan institution!
Continuing, "This seven day week, in its astrological form...probably first appeared...[in] Syria, certainly not before the 2nd century B.C. had passed...thence to Alexandria (Egypt)...and about the age of Augustus (31 B.C. - 14 A.D.)...into the Occidental (Roman) lands" (Webster's Rest Days, pp. 218, 219). Today's week was born from mother Babylon!!
Names of the Days
How did the pagans, under the guidance of Satan, name the days of this week — today's week? As we have seen, old Babylonia provided the doctrine of the influence of the stars on human destinies. Remember the "Queen of Heaven," Semiramis, had identified herself with the planet Venus. Also we have seen, she identified her dead husband, Nimrod, with Saturn, and then with the SUN, ultimately making him the SUN-god. Guided by these Babylonian influences, the pagans of a later time named the days of this new planetary week for these ancient heroes who became honored as gods: Sunday was at first set apart for the "god of this world" — Satan, the Sun-god — but was later associated with Nimrod after his supposed "Sunday" resurrection. Monday was set apart for the moon (Cush, the first husband of Semiramis, the "Queen of Heaven"); Friday for Venus or Frigga (Semiramis); and Saturday for Saturn (Nimrod, when he was associated with the planet Saturn as the hidden god — the pagan "Savior" who was hid in the grave on Saturday after being killed on Friday). Nimrod's fabled "Sunday" resurrection led the pagans into honoring him on Sunday as the Sun-god.
The other days of the week received their names in similar fashion. Each received its name from a heavenly body which had been associated with some old Babylonian god or goddess which the "Queen of Heaven" — Semiramis — had named in honor of herself and her husband, and of Ham, Cush, Horus, and Asshur — the first apostates!
Is this the week that God gave us — a week with its seventh day, only, bearing a name — the Sabbath, and its other days bearing only numbers? No!
HERE IS A STRANGE WEEK. Here is a week whose days bear the NAMES of pagan gods. The Sabbath day nowhere appears in this week. But Sunday, the Day of the Sun — the SUN AROUND WHICH THE PAGANS SYMBOLICALLY ENTWINED THE SERPENT — the DEVIL — does appear! It is the one day which is most observed by all the earth TODAY !
This new planetary week which the world uses today is a part of our present Roman calender.
God's weekly cycle with its Sabbath on the seventh day has, of course, never been altered. But SUNday was made to come on the first day of God's true week. SUNday WAS PLACED NEXT TO GOD'S SABBATH! This proximity causes confusion!
Why Was Sunday Created?
The world after the Flood knew and understood that a Savior was to come (Gen. 3:15). So did Satan! What did he do about it?
Satan, as we have seen, inspired Nimrod to become the priest of the SUN, whose worship he initiated and furthered after the Flood. At Nimrod's death, his wife Semiramis, for purposes of prestige, contrived to convince the people that one of her illegitimate sons was miraculously conceived of her by the SUN — her god-husband up in the sky. She claimed this son was the son of the SUN-god. Notice that this event was actually patterned after the future birth of Christ.
What connection have these events which occurred 4000 years ago, to do with the day of the SUN — SUNday of our time? A great deal! Let us examine!
In Egypt shortly before 2000 B.C., (the very time when the "Queen of Heaven" — Semiramis — was most active in having her dead husband Nimrod worshipped as the SUN-god) worship of the sun became completely dominant. Sun worship became associated with almost every god which had not received a clear cosmic function at an earlier time (Gray's Mythology of All Races, vol. XII, p. 28).
Now it can be understood why the PAGANS, about three hundred years before Christ's coming, came forward with the week that is used by the world today — a week which CONTAINS THE DAY OF THE SUN — SUNday — A DAY ON WHICH THEY WORSHIPPED THEIR GOD THE SUN!
Satan was again inspiring his agents. Satan was influencing them to set apart a day — SUNday — on which he, through the dead Nimrod, the SUN-god, could be worshipped instead of God. The serpent, Satan, was (symbolically) entwined around the SUN!
Sunday — The "Lord's Day" — Enters Early Church
When did the churches adopt the practice of keeping SUNday, which the pagans who joined their congregations brought with them? When was the planetary week — the week the world uses today — adopted by the early church in place of the week which God commanded at creation?
Here is the answer!
"The early Christians had at first adopted the seven-day week [God's] with its numbered weekdays, but by the close of the 3rd century A.D., this began to give way to the planetary week [Satan's]. The use of planetary names [Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.] attests to the GROWING influence of astrological speculations introduced by the converts from paganism" (Webster's Rest Days, p. 252).
THE USE OF THE PLANETARY WEEK BY THE EARLY CHRISTIANS WAS A YARDSTICK WHICH MEASURED HOW MUCH THEY WERE BEING AFFECTED BY PAGANISM.
But what about the "LORD'S DAY" which we hear so much of today? By many it is said to be Sunday. And right they are!
St. Augustine, one of the early "church fathers" (the "fathers" being a group of men who formulated the teachings of the churches after the days of the apostles), said that the "Lord's Day" was DECLARED NOT TO THE JEWS — which it should have been if it had been declared to Christ or the apostles, as they were Jews — but to the "Christians" (the newly "converted" PAGANS) by the resurrection of "the Lord" (from the Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, vol. 2, under "Lord's Day").
St. Augustine here declares the "Lord's Day" is the day of the week on which the "Lord" was resurrected. Could this "Lord" be Christ? No!
Christ was cut off "in the midst of the week" (Dan. 9:24-27) — Wednesday — and, after being three days and three nights in the tomb (Matt. 12:38-40), WAS RESURRECTED — ON SATURDAY!
THE "LORD" REFERRED TO BY AUGUSTINE WAS NOT CHRIST! SUNday CANNOT BE OBSERVED AS THE DAY OF HIS RESURRECTION!
Then whose day was it?
"Lord's Day" Among Pagans
The "LORD'S DAY" EXISTED BEFORE CHRIST CAME! Who then is "The Lord" that the people worship today when they observe Sunday — the "Lord's Day"? The whole world today has been deceived by this surprising counterfeit!
THE PAGANS WHO FLOCKED INTO CHRISTIANITY WERE CARRYING IN MIND THEIR "LORD" NIMROD, THE FIRST GREAT LORD OR BAAL OF THIS EARTH. The word "baal" means a LORD or master. You probably never understood this before.
It was Nimrod's wife, Semiramis (counterfeit of Mary), who, after her husband's death, misled the ancient pagans to believe that THE "LORD" NIMROD HAD BEEN RESURRECTED! It was he who was supposedly "resurrected" on SUNday!
Nimrod, according to this, was the first of Satan's (the Sun's) created beings, just as Christ is the first-fruits of God's created spirit-created beings. What does this mean? It means that if we observe Sunday, we serve Satan instead of God, as the Creator and Giver of Eternal Life, and show our obedience to Satan and not to God!
Why Sunday Worship Is Widespread Today
But what was responsible for the later widespread rise of SUNday or "Day of the Lord" worship which prevails today? Constantine, a civil — not ecclesiastical — ruler of the Roman Empire, had the most to do with the ascendancy of Sunday as the day of worship. "Constantine's famous edict (321 A.D.) definitely enrolled Sunday among the holidays of the Roman state religion. The change from Saturn's day to Sunday must have further commended the planetary week in Christian circles, where the Lord's Day...beginning the week, had long been observed as the day on which Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, rose from the dead. Thus a pagan institution was engrafted in Christianity " (Webster's Rest Days, p. 222).
Do you grasp this? A human civil ruler — not God, established the custom of observing Sunday as a time of "Christian" worship.
What was Constantine's own religion? Gibbon, the authoritative historian, in his Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire, vol. 1, pp. 636-638, tells us: "Constantine...persevered till he was near forty years of age in the practice of the established religion (paganism)...But the devotion of Constantine was more peculiarly directed to the genius of the Sun ...The Sun was universally celebrated as the invincible guide and protector of Constantine."
Notice that Constantine became a "Christian" after he was about forty years of age. But, it was also after he was about forty that he, by his legislation, brought his Sun-god — the "lord" — and Sun-day into the "Christian" Church to stay. Today, the vast majority of "Christians" are still following in his footsteps.
What were the words of Constantine's famous edict of 321 A.D.? "On the venerable day of the sun let all magistrates and people...rest." (Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, article "Sunday Legislation").
Satan wants, as always, to be God! He has substituted his week and his day — Sunday. He, Satan, wants to be known as the Creator of all things — including time — and Giver of Eternal Life. Yes, Satan has been successful in this deception. The earth today has adopted his pagan week and Sunday worship!
Vain Repetition of Prayers
Jesus commands, "WHEN YE PRAY, USE NOT VAIN REPETITIONS, AS THE HEATHEN DO: FOR THEY THINK THAT THEY SHALL BE HEARD FOR THEIR MUCH SPEAKING" (Matt. 6:7). Where does this mechanical repetition and telling of prayers upon beads come from then, if it is not commanded of God?
The rosary (the instrument containing beads on which prayers are counted) was used as a sacred instrument among the ancient Mexicans (Humboldt's Mexican Researches, vol. ii, p. 29), also among the Brahmins. Hindu sacred books refer to it often. It was used by the heathen of ancient Tibet, China, and Greece, and ancient Rome (Rome before the time of Christ!). The name "Rosary" itself seems to be from the Chaldee (Babylonian) 'Ro', 'thought', and 'Shareh', 'director' " (Hislop, p. 188). The very present name — Ro-sar-y — indicates that this method came from Babylon.
The Rosary allows people to think they are worshipping God but to overlook the great fact that God wants above all things that prayer should be from the heart.
As regards the Rosary of the Sacred Heart, the "Heart" was one of the sacred symbols of Osiris (the Egyptian Tammuz or Nimrod), when he was supposedly born again as the infant divinity, and carried in the arms of his mother Isis (the Egyptian Semiramis). Dryden's Aeneid, book i, pp. 937-940, shows why the heart was Osiris' symbol when he was born-again: Venus (a Grecian name for Semiramis), speaking to the boy-god, her son, said, "My Son, my might...To thee thy much afflicted mother flies." The son was called "the Strength" of his mother. "Thus the boy-god came to be regarded as the "god of the heart," or cupid, or god of love.
In this Rosary of the Sacred Heart, therefore, it is Tammuz, the Sun-god, who is venerated — and in our day!
St. Valentine's Heart
Christ said: "I am the light of the world. He that followeth Me shall...have the light of life" (John 8:12). Through Christ's WORDS, LIGHT was shed to the people on how to attain eternal life. Did Satan have counterfeits formulated to correspond to this part of Christ's character? Let us see.
Nimrod being reborn as the incarnation of the SUN (the light-bringer), the "sacred heart" was frequently represented as being aflame. It became an emblem of the incarnate Son. "To be represented as a heart on fire, required also that burning lamps and lighted candles should form part of the worship of that Son" (Hislop's The Two Babylons, p. 191).
The Savior is spoken of as the "Messiah which is...Christ" (John 1:41). The word "Messiah," according to Peloubet's Bible Dictionary, means one who is anointed with Holy oil. Kings of Israel were called "anointed" from this mode of consecration. The Saviour was the Messiah, the anointed one consecrated by God.
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