In addition to this, there is a spike of abortions in this country during the month of December, this has been going on for along time. Those aware of the pagan practices and their views of life and human sacrifice have of course been aware of this, but as always Satan has his media hide it from main stream America, off of the news and off the presses. But Doctors are aware of it, abortion clinics have a drastic increase of patients in December. The reason ? The pagan religious belief system of Saturnalia which includes child sacrifice, the same as India, except here sex of the child does not mater. The main day of the celebration of Saturnalia is December 25

Deuteronomy 12:29-32 ESV / 6 helpful votes “When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

Christmas Decorations Christmas decorations are big business for retailers throughout the entire world, and those that sparkle with glitter will fly off the retail shelves this coming holiday. As the winter season approaches and holiday fan-fair arrives, that old holiday spirit will grow in anticipation of the celebrated season. These products are a large part of the festive traditions surrounding December 25th, and most homes across the American nation will have halls decked with holly and mistletoe atop doorways. The holiday just wouldn’t be the same without the green and red Christmas ornaments for the tree. Most Christians celebrating the season recognized as Christ’s birth have no idea how many of the original holiday traditions evolved. Interestingly, some Christmas decorations represent religious practices that are directly opposed to the Christian belief that Christ was born and died to save the world. Christians may want to know why their purchases could be symbols that do not glorify Christ. The tree decorated with Christmas ornaments is derived from a religious practice that dates back to before Christ’s birth. In Jeremiah 10:2-5, the prophet Jeremiah warns God’s people to not partake in a pagan ritual of cutting down a tree and decorating it with silver and gold. “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. They deck it with silver and with gold: they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not” (Jeremiah 10:3-4). It appears that decorating a tree is derived from a religious practice long before the birth of Christ and this practice has made its way to modern day Christmas ornaments. The original practice of cutting down and decorating a tree is found in the traditions of the pagan worship of the sun-god Nimrod. A log, known as a Yule-log, was placed on the fire in a home to symbolize the death of Nimrod, and a tree was resurrected in the home the next day to symbolize Nimrod’s “rising” again in his son, Tammus. The trees in the home were decorated with small red berries and other ornamental balls to symbolize the sun and the god of the sun they worshipped. Today, Christians place Christmas ornaments on green trees and Christmas decorations of red berries and balls are found throughout the home. And while most Christians innocently have no idea what these symbols mean, a study and examination of why we do what we do could help us focus more intently on Christ. There are many more holiday traditions based on religious practices that have roots in paganism and religion. Christians should evaluate their holiday traditions, including Christmas decorations, and what each truly stands for. As Christmas becomes more and more secularized across the nation, the opportunity to assess our reasons for the season are at hand.

Saturnalia and Christmas are the same holiday simply renamed by the Catholic Church, nothing else was ever changed. Inside the walls of some Catholic churches have been found the skeletal remains of hundreds of children. Brings to mind what Jesus said about the religious buildings of his day, ” Outside indeed they appear beautiful, but inside they are filled with dead men’s bones ” I said it before, the most horrible organization that earth has ever seen is Catholicism. You cannot celebrate the event, and then claim independence from it, if you celebrate it, you accept it and agree with it. If you celebrate Christmas in reality you are celebrating Saturnalia, part of that celebration then, and today, yes today it it still very much alive, you are actually participating and agreeing in the celebration of Child Sacrifice, are you absolutely certain that you want to do that. It would be disobedient to God to have any celebrations in His name that he did not instruct you do do. If you are going to invent a celebration, why not just make a celebration that has nothing to do with God. But to deliberately form and create a celebration surrounding and including everything he specifically told you that he hated is no way to win his favor. He does not create life, just to hand over to you to destroy.

Because child-sacrifice was a prominent feature of the worship of the Phenician Malik-Baal-Kronos, Moore (in Cheyne and Black, “Encyc. Bibl.”) seeks to prove that the worship of Moloch was introduced from Phenicia. The evidence of its existence in Phenicia and her colonies is especially strong. Diodorus Siculus (xx. 14) tells how the Carthaginians in a siege sacrificed two hundred boys to Kronos. Burning was an important feature of the rite. Bibliography: W. R. Smith, Rel. of Sem. 2d ed., pp. 372 et seq.; Bäthgen, Beiträge zur Semitischen Religionsgesch. 1888, pp. 237 et seq.; Moore, The Image of Moloch, in Jour. Bib. Lit. 1897, xvi. 161 et seq.; M. J. Lagrange, Etudes sur les Religions Sémitiques, 1903, pp. 99-109.

Every year after Thanksgiving, most people’s thoughts turn to Christmas. It is the time when professing Christians are supposed to focus on Jesus Christ. After all, it is the “Christ-mass” season! Christmas is thought by most to be a wonderful time, focusing the participants on giving, family togetherness, beautiful music and decorations, feasting on special foods and singing Christmas carols throughout the neighborhood (as my family did every year). All of this is supposedly centered around the worship of Christ. Surely the Bible instructs us to do all this—right? The answers will shock you! Why do people think that Christmas is wonderful? Most never reflect on why they believe what they believe or do what they do. We live in a world filled with customs, but few ever seek to understand their origin. We generally accept them without question. Most people basically do what everyone else does—because it is easy and natural! Let’s carefully examine the roots of Christmas. Let’s look at why people follow the customs associated with it. Why is it kept on December 25th? Did the early New Testament Church keep it? This article is filled with facts from history that, when placed together, paint a complete picture. Let’s avoid all assumptions and only accept what can be PROVEN! Pagan Origin In 1990, the Solon, Ohio (a Cleveland suburb) school board banned all nativity and other Christmas scenes on any school property because they felt it violated the separation of church and state. They were challenged in court when outraged parents opposed them, feeling that Christmas was being stolen from their children and the community. The board lost the case! The citizenry had contended that Christmas was a worldwide tradition that was not part of, and transcended, religion. It was deemed to be secular—a part of virtually all cultures worldwide. The court decision affirmed that Christmas has no Christian roots! However, the court’s opinion also noted that bible reading and prayer obviously are associated with Christ-ianity—a remarkable admission! The court concluded that Christmas-keeping and manger scenes could remain because they are not really part of either Christianity or religion—but prayer and Bible reading, which are, must remain excluded from schools! Nearly all aspects of Christmas observance have their roots in Roman custom and religion. Consider the following admission from a large American newspaper (The Buffalo News, Nov. 22, 1984): “The earliest reference to Christmas being marked on Dec. 25 comes from the second century after Jesus’ birth. It is considered likely the first Christmas celebrations were in reaction to the Roman Saturnalia, a harvest festival that marked the winter solstice—the return of the sun—and honored Saturn, the god of sowing. Saturnalia was a rowdy time, much opposed by the more austere leaders among the still-minority Christian sect. Christmas developed, one scholar says, as a means of replacing worship of the sun with worship of the Son. By 529 A.D., after Christianity had become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civic holiday. The celebration of Christmas reached its peak—some would say its worst moments—in the medieval period when it became a time for conspicuous consumption and unequaled revelry.” Consider these quotes from the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, under “Christmas”: “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church…the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt.” Further, “Pagan customs centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas.” Under “Natal Day,” Origen, an early Catholic writer, admitted, “…In the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod) who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world” (emphasis mine). The Encyclopedia Americana, 1956 edition, adds, “Christmas…was not observed in the first centuries of the Christian church, since the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth…a feast was established in memory of this event [Christ’s birth] in the fourth century. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered the feast to be celebrated forever on the day of the Mithraic rites of the birth of the sun and at the close of the Saturnalia, as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed.” There is no mistaking the origin of the modern Christmas celebration. Many additional sources could be cited and we will return to this later. Let’s begin to tie some other facts together. It was 300 years after Christ before the Roman church kept Christmas, and not until the fifth century that it was mandated to be kept throughout the empire as an official festival honoring “Christ.” Can Christ Be Honored by Christmas? The most common justification that one will hear regarding Christmas is that people have replaced old pagan customs and intents by asserting that they are now “focusing on Christ.” I have heard many say that they are “honoring Christ” in their Christmas-keeping. The problem is that God does not say this is acceptable to Him! Actually, He plainly commands against it! Keeping Christmas dishonors Christ! He considers everything about it to be an abomination! We will soon see why. Christ said, “But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9). Christmas is not a command of God—it is a tradition of men. Christ continued, “Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:9). Every year, throughout the world, on December 25th, hundreds of millions do just that! We will see that God plainly commands, “Follow not the way of the heathen.” But most people do not fear God, and He allows them to make their own decisions. Human beings are free moral agents—free to obey or disobey God! But woe to those who ignore the plain Word of God! Was Christ Born on December 25th? Christ was born in the fall of the year. Many have mistakenly believed He was born around the beginning of winter—December 25th! They are wrong! Notice the Adam Clarke Commentary, volume 5, page 370, New York edition: “It was custom among Jews to send out their sheep to the deserts about the Passover [early spring], and bring them home at the commencement of the first rain.” The first rains began in early-to-mid fall. Continuing with this same quote: “During the time they were out, the shepherds watched them night and day. As…the first rain began early in the month of March-esvan, which answers to part of our October and November [begins sometime in October], we find that the sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole summer. And as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground, the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact…See the quotations from the Talmudists in Lightfoot.” Luke 2:8 explains that when Christ was born, “there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Note that they were “abiding” in the field. This never happened in December. Both Ezra 10:9-13 and the Song of Solomon 2:11 show that winter was the rainy season and shepherds could not stay on cold, open fields at night. Numerous encyclopedias plainly state that Christ was not born on December 25th! The Catholic Encyclopedia directly confirms this. In all likelihood, Christ was born in the fall! A lengthy technical explanation would prove this point. Since we now know that December 25th was nowhere near Christ’s actual birthdate, where did the festival associated with this date come from? Now read this quote under “Christmas”: “In the Roman world, the Saturnalia (December 17) was a time of merrymaking and exchanging of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as the birthdate of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness. On the Roman New Year (January 1), houses were decorated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to children and the poor. To these observances were added the German and Celtic Yule rites when the Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul, Britain and central Europe. Food and good fellowship, the Yule log and Yule cakes, greenery and fir trees, gifts and greetings all commemorated different aspects of this festive season. Fires and lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, have always been associated with the winter festival, both pagan and Christian” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed., vol. II, p. 903). A final quote about the selection of December 25th as the birthdate of Christ is necessary. Note an article in The Toronto Star, December 1984, by Alan Edmonds, entitled, “We owe a lot to Druids, Dutch”: “The Reformation cast a blight on Christmas. By then, of course, clever ecclesiastical politicians had adopted the Pagan mid-winter festival as the alleged birthdate of Jesus, of Nazareth, and thrown in a few other Pagan goodies to make their takeover more palatable.” December 25th was not selected because it was the birth of Christ or because it was even near it. It was selected because it coincided with the idolatrous pagan festival Saturnalia—and this celebration must be carefully examined. In any event, we do not know the exact date of Christ’s birth. While God certainly could have made it known, He chose to hide it from the world’s eyes! What About Santa Claus? Parents reason that they owe the whole Christmas myth to their children! Christmas traditions are focused primarily on kids, and they are certainly the center of most of what happens. I know because I kept seventeen Christmases. My older sister and younger brother and I were the recipients of much and the givers of very little on that day—and it all started with the Santa Claus lie. Some years ago, a priest in New Jersey told his Sunday school class that Santa was a myth. The outrage from parents and his supervisors was swift. He had “killed Santa!” He had “destroyed family tradition!” He had “usurped family authority,” the article continued. He was officially censored by his superiors for being “overzealous and insensitive.” His crime? He told the truth! According to Langer’s Encyclopedia of World History, (article “Santa”), “Santa” was a common name for Nimrod throughout Asia Minor. This was also the same fire god who came down the chimneys of the ancient pagans and the same fire god to whom infants were burned and eaten in human sacrifice among those who were once God’s people. Today Santa Claus comes from “Saint Nicholas.” Washington Irving, in 1809, is responsible for remaking the original old, stern bishop of this same name into the new “jolly St. Nick” in his Knickerbocker History of New York. (Most of the rest of America’s Christmas traditions are even more recent than this.) “Old Nick” has long been recognized as a term for the devil. In Revelation 2:6 and 15, we read about a “doctrine of the Nicolaitanes,” which Christ twice tells His Church “[He] hates.” Let’s analyze the word Nicolaitane. It means “follower of Nicholas.” Nikos means “conqueror, destroyer.” Laos means “people.” Nicolaitanes, then, are people who follow the conqueror or destroyer—Nimrod. If you have believed that following Christmas is an innocent Christian custom, let this truth sink in! Is It Scriptural to Exchange Gifts? Merchants regularly report that over 60% of their annual retail sales occur during the Christmas shopping season. This represents a tremendous amount of gift buying. Most today believe that gift-giving comes from the Bible example of the “three wise men” (the Bible gives no number) presenting gifts to Christ. Is this true? Where did exchanging gifts come from, and what does God’s Word say about it? The Bibliotheca Sacra states, “The interchange of presents between friends is a like characteristic of Christmas and the Saturnalia, and must have been adopted by Christians from the pagans, as the admonition of Tertullian plainly shows” (Vol. 12, pp. 153-155). Like every other aspect of Christmas, the shocking truth is that even this supposed Christian custom does not come from the Bible. It is an irony that people love to believe they are following the custom of the wise men giving to Christ, when actually they are giving almost exclusively to each other! What hypocrisy! Christ is completely forgotten. The Bible actually teaches that Christians should not keep birthdays. Numerous scriptures make this principle clear. (Read our article “Are Birthday Celebrations Christian?”) However, what if you went to a birthday party that had been prepared for you and everybody gave gifts to each other and you were left out? The idea is ridiculous! If this happened, you would say that people were being selfish and forgetting you. In fact, most people give to others on Christmas merely because they expect to receive gifts themselves! Let’s briefly return to the “wise men” who gave gifts to Christ. The scripture describing this is Matthew 2:1-11: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews?…And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” It is commonly supposed that these were birthday presents for “baby Jesus.” But is this what the Bible actually says? Absolutely not! First, it is important to note that they did give the gifts to Jesus. They did not stand in his presence and exchange gifts among themselves or give them to others. The gifts were “presented unto Him.” Also, they arrived well after his “birthday.” This is another reason these could not have been “birthday presents.” A long-standing, ancient custom of the East was to present gifts when coming before a king. These men understood they were in the presence of the “King of the Jews.” The Bible carries many examples of people sending gifts to kings or presenting them upon arrival into their presence. This custom is common today when ambassadors or others come into the presence of a world leader. Finally, notice what the Adam Clarke Commentary, volume 5, page 46, states about what really happened on this occasion: “Verse 11. They presented unto him gifts. The people of the east never approach the presence of kings and great personages, without a present in their hands. This custom is often noticed in the Old Testament, and still prevails in the east, and in some of the newly discovered South Seas Islands.” Gifts were customarily presented to kings. What could be more plain? Origin of the Christmas Tree No article about Christmas is complete without some explanation of the “Christmas tree.” We have touched on it without directly focusing on it. The modern Christmas tree originated in Germany. But the Germans got it from the Romans, who got it from the Babylonians and the Egyptians. The following demonstrates what the Babylonians believe about the origin of the Christmas tree: “An old Babylonish fable told of an evergreen tree which sprang out of a dead tree stump. The old stump symbolized the dead Nimrod, the new evergreen tree symbolized that Nimrod had come to life again in Tammuz! Among the Druids the oak was sacred, among the Egyptians it was the palm, and in Rome it was the fir, which was decorated with red berries during the Saturnalia!” (Walsh, Curiosities of Popular Customs, p. 242). Frederick J. Haskin’s Answers to Questions states, “The Christmas tree is from Egypt, and its origin dates from a period long anterior to the Christmas Era.” Did you know this—that the Christmas tree long preceded Christianity? Most aspects of Christmas are not referred to in the Bible. Of course, the reason is that they are not from God—they are not part of the way He wants people to worship Him. The Christmas tree, however, is directly mentioned in the Bible! Turn to Jeremiah 10:2-5, “Thus says the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen…For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. 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.” This plain description of the modern Christmas tree is clear. God directly refers to it as “the way of the heathen.” Just as directly, He commands His people to “learn not the way of the heathen,” calling these customs “vain.” Verse 23 adds a remarkable and powerful statement: “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct his [own] steps.” God must teach people how to live. Man simply cannot figure out God’s ways for himself. There is no room in Jeremiah 10 to believe, as some have tried to suggest, that because these trees are powerless of themselves, it is not really forbidden to have a Christmas tree. God condemns the putting up of pagan (Christmas) trees with this plain Bible command! The Source of Holly Wreaths, Yule Logs and Mistletoe The Encyclopedia Americana states, “The holly, the mistletoe, the Yule log…are relics of pre-Christian time.” In other words, paganism! The Yule log was commonly used in a rite of Teutonic nature worship. Frederick Haskin further states, “The use of Christmas wreaths is believed by authorities to be traceable to the pagan customs of decorating buildings and places of worship at the feast which took place at the same time as Christmas.” The Encyclopedia Britannica, under “Celastrales,” exposes the origin of the holly wreath: “European pagans brought holly sprays into their homes, offering them to the fairy people of the forests as refuge from the harsh winter weather. During the Saturnalia, the Roman winter festival, branches of holly were exchanged as tokens of friendship. The earliest Roman Christians apparently used holly as a decoration at the Christmas season.” There are dozens of different types of holly. Virtually all of them come in male and female varieties—such as “Blue Prince and Blue Princess” or “Blue Boy and Blue Girl” or “China Boy and China Girl.” Female holly plants cannot have berries unless a nearby male plant pollinates them. It is easy to see why the holly wreath found its way into pagan rituals as a token of friendship and fertility! Christmas is incomplete to many unless it involves “kissing under the mistletoe.” This pagan custom was natural on a night that involved much revelry done in the spirit of drunken orgies. Just like today, this “kissing” usually occurred at the beginning of any modern Saturnalia/Christmas celebration. I will never forget having to always kiss my friends’ mothers upon entering each of their houses every Christmas. It was the first thing that we did. I hated it—but it was something I “had to do”! Mistletoe was considered to have special powers of healing for those who “reveled” under it. The Encyclopedia Britannica, under “Santalales,” states, “The European mistletoe is thought to have had special ritual significance in Druidical ceremonies and lives in folklore today, its special status as the Christmas mistletoe having come from Anglo-Saxon times.” Mistletoe is a parasite that lives on oak trees. (Recall that the Druids worshipped in oak tree groves.) The ancient Celtics (associated with the Druids) used to give mistletoe as an herbal remedy to barren animals to make them fertile. It is still referred to as “all healer” in Celtic. Like mistletoe, holly berries were also thought to be sacred to the sun god. The original “sun log” came to be called the yule log. “Yule” simply means “wheel,” which has long been a pagan representation of the sun. No wonder people today commonly speak of the “sacred yule-tide season.” What Should You Do? Finally, let’s examine what God told His people they should do and the way they ought to teach their children. Human beings do not want to obey God (Rom. 8:7). They would rather follow their own “imagination.” They do not understand that God wants their lives to go “well.” He wants happiness, joy and blessings to flow into people’s lives. All these are the results of obeying Him. God inspired Moses to warn parents of the grave responsibility that they have in what and how they teach their children. Notice His instruction in Deuteronomy 6:1, 6-7, 20-21, 25: “Now these are the commandments…which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you go to possess it…And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart: And you shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up…And when your son asks you in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God has commanded you? Then you shall say unto your son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand…And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us.” God took Israel out of Egypt—out of the customs of the world around them and revealed His Law to them. He does not want His people going back to the traditions, customs and ways from which He has called them. When all of the interconnected traditions, filled with the symbolism of worshipping an ancient pagan, humanly devised god, are taught, this is not worshipping the true Creator.

Every year after Thanksgiving, most people’s thoughts turn to Christmas. It is the time when professing Christians are supposed to focus on Jesus Christ. After all, it is the “Christ-mass” season! Christmas is thought by most to be a wonderful time, focusing the participants on giving, family togetherness, beautiful music and decorations, feasting on special foods and singing Christmas carols throughout the neighborhood (as my family did every year). All of this is supposedly centered around the worship of Christ. Surely the Bible instructs us to do all this—right? The answers will shock you! Why do people think that Christmas is wonderful? Most never reflect on why they believe what they believe or do what they do. We live in a world filled with customs, but few ever seek to understand their origin. We generally accept them without question. Most people basically do what everyone else does—because it is easy and natural! Let’s carefully examine the roots of Christmas. Let’s look at why people follow the customs associated with it. Why is it kept on December 25th? Did the early New Testament Church keep it? This article is filled with facts from history that, when placed together, paint a complete picture. Let’s avoid all assumptions and only accept what can be PROVEN! Pagan Origin In 1990, the Solon, Ohio (a Cleveland suburb) school board banned all nativity and other Christmas scenes on any school property because they felt it violated the separation of church and state. They were challenged in court when outraged parents opposed them, feeling that Christmas was being stolen from their children and the community. The board lost the case! The citizenry had contended that Christmas was a worldwide tradition that was not part of, and transcended, religion. It was deemed to be secular—a part of virtually all cultures worldwide. The court decision affirmed that Christmas has no Christian roots! However, the court’s opinion also noted that bible reading and prayer obviously are associated with Christ-ianity—a remarkable admission! The court concluded that Christmas-keeping and manger scenes could remain because they are not really part of either Christianity or religion—but prayer and Bible reading, which are, must remain excluded from schools! Nearly all aspects of Christmas observance have their roots in Roman custom and religion. Consider the following admission from a large American newspaper (The Buffalo News, Nov. 22, 1984): “The earliest reference to Christmas being marked on Dec. 25 comes from the second century after Jesus’ birth. It is considered likely the first Christmas celebrations were in reaction to the Roman Saturnalia, a harvest festival that marked the winter solstice—the return of the sun—and honored Saturn, the god of sowing. Saturnalia was a rowdy time, much opposed by the more austere leaders among the still-minority Christian sect. Christmas developed, one scholar says, as a means of replacing worship of the sun with worship of the Son. By 529 A.D., after Christianity had become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civic holiday. The celebration of Christmas reached its peak—some would say its worst moments—in the medieval period when it became a time for conspicuous consumption and unequaled revelry.” Consider these quotes from the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, under “Christmas”: “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church…the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt.” Further, “Pagan customs centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas.” Under “Natal Day,” Origen, an early Catholic writer, admitted, “…In the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners (like Pharaoh and Herod) who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world” (emphasis mine). The Encyclopedia Americana, 1956 edition, adds, “Christmas…was not observed in the first centuries of the Christian church, since the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth…a feast was established in memory of this event [Christ’s birth] in the fourth century. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered the feast to be celebrated forever on the day of the Mithraic rites of the birth of the sun and at the close of the Saturnalia, as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed.” There is no mistaking the origin of the modern Christmas celebration. Many additional sources could be cited and we will return to this later. Let’s begin to tie some other facts together. It was 300 years after Christ before the Roman church kept Christmas, and not until the fifth century that it was mandated to be kept throughout the empire as an official festival honoring “Christ.” Can Christ Be Honored by Christmas? The most common justification that one will hear regarding Christmas is that people have replaced old pagan customs and intents by asserting that they are now “focusing on Christ.” I have heard many say that they are “honoring Christ” in their Christmas-keeping. The problem is that God does not say this is acceptable to Him! Actually, He plainly commands against it! Keeping Christmas dishonors Christ! He considers everything about it to be an abomination! We will soon see why. Christ said, “But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9). Christmas is not a command of God—it is a tradition of men. Christ continued, “Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:9). Every year, throughout the world, on December 25th, hundreds of millions do just that! We will see that God plainly commands, “Follow not the way of the heathen.” But most people do not fear God, and He allows them to make their own decisions. Human beings are free moral agents—free to obey or disobey God! But woe to those who ignore the plain Word of God! Was Christ Born on December 25th? Christ was born in the fall of the year. Many have mistakenly believed He was born around the beginning of winter—December 25th! They are wrong! Notice the Adam Clarke Commentary, volume 5, page 370, New York edition: “It was custom among Jews to send out their sheep to the deserts about the Passover [early spring], and bring them home at the commencement of the first rain.” The first rains began in early-to-mid fall. Continuing with this same quote: “During the time they were out, the shepherds watched them night and day. As…the first rain began early in the month of March-esvan, which answers to part of our October and November [begins sometime in October], we find that the sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole summer. And as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground, the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact…See the quotations from the Talmudists in Lightfoot.” Luke 2:8 explains that when Christ was born, “there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Note that they were “abiding” in the field. This never happened in December. Both Ezra 10:9-13 and the Song of Solomon 2:11 show that winter was the rainy season and shepherds could not stay on cold, open fields at night. Numerous encyclopedias plainly state that Christ was not born on December 25th! The Catholic Encyclopedia directly confirms this. In all likelihood, Christ was born in the fall! A lengthy technical explanation would prove this point. Since we now know that December 25th was nowhere near Christ’s actual birthdate, where did the festival associated with this date come from? Now read this quote under “Christmas”: “In the Roman world, the Saturnalia (December 17) was a time of merrymaking and exchanging of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as the birthdate of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness. On the Roman New Year (January 1), houses were decorated with greenery and lights, and gifts were given to children and the poor. To these observances were added the German and Celtic Yule rites when the Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul, Britain and central Europe. Food and good fellowship, the Yule log and Yule cakes, greenery and fir trees, gifts and greetings all commemorated different aspects of this festive season. Fires and lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, have always been associated with the winter festival, both pagan and Christian” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed., vol. II, p. 903). A final quote about the selection of December 25th as the birthdate of Christ is necessary. Note an article in The Toronto Star, December 1984, by Alan Edmonds, entitled, “We owe a lot to Druids, Dutch”: “The Reformation cast a blight on Christmas. By then, of course, clever ecclesiastical politicians had adopted the Pagan mid-winter festival as the alleged birthdate of Jesus, of Nazareth, and thrown in a few other Pagan goodies to make their takeover more palatable.” December 25th was not selected because it was the birth of Christ or because it was even near it. It was selected because it coincided with the idolatrous pagan festival Saturnalia—and this celebration must be carefully examined. In any event, we do not know the exact date of Christ’s birth. While God certainly could have made it known, He chose to hide it from the world’s eyes! What About Santa Claus? Parents reason that they owe the whole Christmas myth to their children! Christmas traditions are focused primarily on kids, and they are certainly the center of most of what happens. I know because I kept seventeen Christmases. My older sister and younger brother and I were the recipients of much and the givers of very little on that day—and it all started with the Santa Claus lie. Some years ago, a priest in New Jersey told his Sunday school class that Santa was a myth. The outrage from parents and his supervisors was swift. He had “killed Santa!” He had “destroyed family tradition!” He had “usurped family authority,” the article continued. He was officially censored by his superiors for being “overzealous and insensitive.” His crime? He told the truth! According to Langer’s Encyclopedia of World History, (article “Santa”), “Santa” was a common name for Nimrod throughout Asia Minor. This was also the same fire god who came down the chimneys of the ancient pagans and the same fire god to whom infants were burned and eaten in human sacrifice among those who were once God’s people. Today Santa Claus comes from “Saint Nicholas.” Washington Irving, in 1809, is responsible for remaking the original old, stern bishop of this same name into the new “jolly St. Nick” in his Knickerbocker History of New York. (Most of the rest of America’s Christmas traditions are even more recent than this.) “Old Nick” has long been recognized as a term for the devil. In Revelation 2:6 and 15, we read about a “doctrine of the Nicolaitanes,” which Christ twice tells His Church “[He] hates.” Let’s analyze the word Nicolaitane. It means “follower of Nicholas.” Nikos means “conqueror, destroyer.” Laos means “people.” Nicolaitanes, then, are people who follow the conqueror or destroyer—Nimrod. If you have believed that following Christmas is an innocent Christian custom, let this truth sink in! Is It Scriptural to Exchange Gifts? Merchants regularly report that over 60% of their annual retail sales occur during the Christmas shopping season. This represents a tremendous amount of gift buying. Most today believe that gift-giving comes from the Bible example of the “three wise men” (the Bible gives no number) presenting gifts to Christ. Is this true? Where did exchanging gifts come from, and what does God’s Word say about it? The Bibliotheca Sacra states, “The interchange of presents between friends is a like characteristic of Christmas and the Saturnalia, and must have been adopted by Christians from the pagans, as the admonition of Tertullian plainly shows” (Vol. 12, pp. 153-155). Like every other aspect of Christmas, the shocking truth is that even this supposed Christian custom does not come from the Bible. It is an irony that people love to believe they are following the custom of the wise men giving to Christ, when actually they are giving almost exclusively to each other! What hypocrisy! Christ is completely forgotten. The Bible actually teaches that Christians should not keep birthdays. Numerous scriptures make this principle clear. (Read our article “Are Birthday Celebrations Christian?”) However, what if you went to a birthday party that had been prepared for you and everybody gave gifts to each other and you were left out? The idea is ridiculous! If this happened, you would say that people were being selfish and forgetting you. In fact, most people give to others on Christmas merely because they expect to receive gifts themselves! Let’s briefly return to the “wise men” who gave gifts to Christ. The scripture describing this is Matthew 2:1-11: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews?…And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” It is commonly supposed that these were birthday presents for “baby Jesus.” But is this what the Bible actually says? Absolutely not! First, it is important to note that they did give the gifts to Jesus. They did not stand in his presence and exchange gifts among themselves or give them to others. The gifts were “presented unto Him.” Also, they arrived well after his “birthday.” This is another reason these could not have been “birthday presents.” A long-standing, ancient custom of the East was to present gifts when coming before a king. These men understood they were in the presence of the “King of the Jews.” The Bible carries many examples of people sending gifts to kings or presenting them upon arrival into their presence. This custom is common today when ambassadors or others come into the presence of a world leader. Finally, notice what the Adam Clarke Commentary, volume 5, page 46, states about what really happened on this occasion: “Verse 11. They presented unto him gifts. The people of the east never approach the presence of kings and great personages, without a present in their hands. This custom is often noticed in the Old Testament, and still prevails in the east, and in some of the newly discovered South Seas Islands.” Gifts were customarily presented to kings. What could be more plain? Origin of the Christmas Tree No article about Christmas is complete without some explanation of the “Christmas tree.” We have touched on it without directly focusing on it. The modern Christmas tree originated in Germany. But the Germans got it from the Romans, who got it from the Babylonians and the Egyptians. The following demonstrates what the Babylonians believe about the origin of the Christmas tree: “An old Babylonish fable told of an evergreen tree which sprang out of a dead tree stump. The old stump symbolized the dead Nimrod, the new evergreen tree symbolized that Nimrod had come to life again in Tammuz! Among the Druids the oak was sacred, among the Egyptians it was the palm, and in Rome it was the fir, which was decorated with red berries during the Saturnalia!” (Walsh, Curiosities of Popular Customs, p. 242). Frederick J. Haskin’s Answers to Questions states, “The Christmas tree is from Egypt, and its origin dates from a period long anterior to the Christmas Era.” Did you know this—that the Christmas tree long preceded Christianity? Most aspects of Christmas are not referred to in the Bible. Of course, the reason is that they are not from God—they are not part of the way He wants people to worship Him. The Christmas tree, however, is directly mentioned in the Bible! Turn to Jeremiah 10:2-5, “Thus says the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen…For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. 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.” This plain description of the modern Christmas tree is clear. God directly refers to it as “the way of the heathen.” Just as directly, He commands His people to “learn not the way of the heathen,” calling these customs “vain.” Verse 23 adds a remarkable and powerful statement: “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walks to direct his [own] steps.” God must teach people how to live. Man simply cannot figure out God’s ways for himself. There is no room in Jeremiah 10 to believe, as some have tried to suggest, that because these trees are powerless of themselves, it is not really forbidden to have a Christmas tree. God condemns the putting up of pagan (Christmas) trees with this plain Bible command! The Source of Holly Wreaths, Yule Logs and Mistletoe The Encyclopedia Americana states, “The holly, the mistletoe, the Yule log…are relics of pre-Christian time.” In other words, paganism! The Yule log was commonly used in a rite of Teutonic nature worship. Frederick Haskin further states, “The use of Christmas wreaths is believed by authorities to be traceable to the pagan customs of decorating buildings and places of worship at the feast which took place at the same time as Christmas.” The Encyclopedia Britannica, under “Celastrales,” exposes the origin of the holly wreath: “European pagans brought holly sprays into their homes, offering them to the fairy people of the forests as refuge from the harsh winter weather. During the Saturnalia, the Roman winter festival, branches of holly were exchanged as tokens of friendship. The earliest Roman Christians apparently used holly as a decoration at the Christmas season.” There are dozens of different types of holly. Virtually all of them come in male and female varieties—such as “Blue Prince and Blue Princess” or “Blue Boy and Blue Girl” or “China Boy and China Girl.” Female holly plants cannot have berries unless a nearby male plant pollinates them. It is easy to see why the holly wreath found its way into pagan rituals as a token of friendship and fertility! Christmas is incomplete to many unless it involves “kissing under the mistletoe.” This pagan custom was natural on a night that involved much revelry done in the spirit of drunken orgies. Just like today, this “kissing” usually occurred at the beginning of any modern Saturnalia/Christmas celebration. I will never forget having to always kiss my friends’ mothers upon entering each of their houses every Christmas. It was the first thing that we did. I hated it—but it was something I “had to do”! Mistletoe was considered to have special powers of healing for those who “reveled” under it. The Encyclopedia Britannica, under “Santalales,” states, “The European mistletoe is thought to have had special ritual significance in Druidical ceremonies and lives in folklore today, its special status as the Christmas mistletoe having come from Anglo-Saxon times.” Mistletoe is a parasite that lives on oak trees. (Recall that the Druids worshipped in oak tree groves.) The ancient Celtics (associated with the Druids) used to give mistletoe as an herbal remedy to barren animals to make them fertile. It is still referred to as “all healer” in Celtic. Like mistletoe, holly berries were also thought to be sacred to the sun god. The original “sun log” came to be called the yule log. “Yule” simply means “wheel,” which has long been a pagan representation of the sun. No wonder people today commonly speak of the “sacred yule-tide season.” What Should You Do? Finally, let’s examine what God told His people they should do and the way they ought to teach their children. Human beings do not want to obey God (Rom. 8:7). They would rather follow their own “imagination.” They do not understand that God wants their lives to go “well.” He wants happiness, joy and blessings to flow into people’s lives. All these are the results of obeying Him. God inspired Moses to warn parents of the grave responsibility that they have in what and how they teach their children. Notice His instruction in Deuteronomy 6:1, 6-7, 20-21, 25: “Now these are the commandments…which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you go to possess it…And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart: And you shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up…And when your son asks you in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God has commanded you? Then you shall say unto your son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand…And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us.” God took Israel out of Egypt—out of the customs of the world around them and revealed His Law to them. He does not want His people going back to the traditions, customs and ways from which He has called them. When all of the interconnected traditions, filled with the symbolism of worshipping an ancient pagan, humanly devised god, are taught, this is not worshipping the true Creator.

“Yes we do and we have a good time. Just because something bad happened in the past, doesn’t mean we can’t reclaim the holiday as our own to celebrate with great joy and good tidings.” 14 hours ago · Like This comment by my dear friend, whom I love, pretty much sums up how the entire world feels about celebrating Holidays. The civil governments of the entire world make provisions for their celebrations by providing civil servants to decorate the streets and buildings with the decor required of each celebration. So the people of the world and the governments agree with her views. But I want to point out and underscore the comment. ” Just because something bad happened in the past, doesn’t mean we can’t reclaim the holiday as our own to celebrate with great joy and good tidings. ” When you celebrate these holidays, that is exactly what you are doing, you are reclaiming them as your own. I repeat myself to you, is the celebration of the slaughter and human sacrifice of innocent newborn babies, and then eating them, a cause for you to reclaim this celebration for yourselves and make it into your own celebration. Is the slaughter of innocent human lives, something you want to remember with great joy and good tidings. Take a moment to really think about this, because she is absolutely right, when you celebrate these holidays, you are making them your own, make sure that you really want to do that, because your creator, whom you are doing this in his name, is watching you, and reading the tablets of your heart, so go ahead, and drink up, the priest of old did. Blood of the babies, that is, perhaps they also did it with great joy and good tidings.

Awhile back I ended something that I wrote with the final comment that ” Holidays ( ” Holy Days ” ) are celebrations of oppression of the most brutal kinds. As expected I received some negative comments on my views. I welcome them because at least they read them. If anyone has read anything I offered yesterday, I cannot imagine that your view could be anything different than mine. The celebration of slaughtering children to a false god, and painting it any other color but the worst form of brutality, would be devoid of all reason and in want of heart. The celebration of Easter, is the second most horrible, holiday on calenders, topped only by it’s big sister, Christmas. There is nothing worse that a person could say or do to me that would be more offensive to me than to invite me to a celebration that honors human sacrifice to false gods. How is it, that, anyone could possibly participate in this form of idolatry where live human babies are slaughtered as a ritualistic sacrifice to a god made of stone. This has all the classic earmarks of the enemy of God and Man, Satan written all over it. There is no end to the pretty packages and window dressing and re-gifting that Satan offers up to all of us, to conceal, distract, deceive, disguise, his endless quest and goal of the leading to destruction of as many souls as he possibly can in the most horrific ways possible. Satan could come up with ways of snuffing out our lives in more human ways, but he never does that. He devises ways that are the most horrible and hideous imaginable. Take a look sometime at the tools the Catholic Church used in the inquisitions, they were not meant to be implements of administering a peaceful death just for owning a bible, they were meant to cause the most excruciating pain imaginable, until death was a welcome relief. The Churches of today, while they occupy different titles and different buildings, teach all of the doctrines of Catholicism, they are all Catholic, just re-packaged, the contents are identical. All of them, all of them, claim to be Christian, but are anything but. It is impossible to be a Christian, and celebrate the destruction of innocent lives to a rock. Hold your though if you are about to tell me that you are not doing that, save it, because in a different writing I will address the none participatory clause offered up as innocence to the crime of celebrating oppression and brutality just because you make the claim that that is not what the holiday means to you. If the holiday does not mean to you all of what history reviles it is, than why would anyone ever participate in it. If you feel the compulsion to celebrate something, than make a celebration of something that is truly worthy of celebrating. Giving Satan an “at ta boy”, and patting him on the back for a job well done, winks, smiles, gestures of approval, by attending his commemorative ceremonies, can never be construed by any observer as a display of your own person disapproval of the act being commemorated. If you show up at the party and drink the wine, and eat the food, and clap your hands in applause, bring guest and gifts, you are celebrating, who are you kidding, certainly not the one who is watching from above. And about oppressive brutality, I cannot image how horrible it must have been to live in a world where the State sponsored priest could come into your home, take your baby out of your arms, and throw it into a fire. Anyone who can defend their right to celebrate such brutality, has lost all reasoning ability. Right this moment, Muslims are still to this very day, hacking up children in Africa with machetes, while the rest of us sit on our sofas, and drink our beer, and watch a ball being bounced around in its various forms, and chuckle at sit com’s. A friend said, ” “Yes we do and we have a good time. Just because something bad happened in the past, doesn’t mean we can’t reclaim the holiday as our own to celebrate with great joy and good tidings.”  This comment by my dear friend, whom I love, pretty much sums up how the entire world feels about celebrating Holidays. The civil governments of the entire world make provisions for their celebrations by providing civil servants to decorate the streets and buildings with the decor required of each celebration. So the people of the world and the governments agree with her views. But I want to point out and underscore the comment. ” Just because something bad happened in the past, doesn’t mean we can’t reclaim the holiday as our own to celebrate with great joy and good tidings. ” When you celebrate these holidays, that is exactly what you are doing, you are reclaiming them as your own.

Yet for thousands of years before Christianity, people have observed a sunrise service on Easter morning and took the “bloodless sacrifice” of a round sun shaped wafer as part of Easter observance. On the wafer, then and now, exist three initials. They are I.H.S. These initials are still commonly used over the alter of many modern day churches and you would be told it stands for “Iesus Hominum Salvator,” or “Jesus, the Savior of Men.“ Ancient idolaters would have told you something quite different. They would have explained to you that their round, sun shaped wafers with the initials I. H. S., stood for “Isis, Horus, Seb” that is, “the mother, the child and the father of the gods,” or the Egyptian TRINITY. Another “trinity” is Astarte, Bel, and Baal. Another trinity is Semiramis, Nimrod and Tammuz.

This “Queen of heaven” was considered much “kinder and gentler” than her consort the Canaanite Baal. It was said that she “tempered judgment with mercy” and the people favored her over Baal. She did not require a bloody sacrifice of firstborn children during her festival like her husband, nor did she require the ritual cannibalism that went along with Baal worship. By the way, do you know where the word cannibal comes from? The word Cahna means “the priest of” and bal means “Baal.” According to Hislop, in “The Two Babylons,” the priests of Baal were “required to eat of the human sacrifices, and thus it has come to pass that Cahna-bal, the priest of baal is the established word in our own tongue for a devourer of human flesh.” Babylon is the source of cannibalism, sun worship and Satan worship.

Look up Easter in any Bible encyclopedia. Here’s a quote from Nelson’s Bible Dictionary, “Easter was originally a pagan festival…The only appearance of the word Easter in the Bible is a mistranslation of pascha, the ordinary Greek word for Passover.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says, “The term “Easter” is not of Christian origin.” The word Easter is nowhere mentioned in the Bible except as a mistranslation of Passover. Wouldn’t God have mentioned Easter somewhere in the Bible , at least once, if He had wanted people to keep it?

We know that “soft core” Baal worship minus the human sacrifice, was adopted by the Catholic and Protestant churches but there is scriptural evidence that hardcore pure Baal worship actually evolved into modern witchcraft. The Bible clearly states in I Corinthians 10:20, “the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.” “Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan…” Psalms 106:37-38 The Satanic Bible lists Baal and Moloch as two of the many names for Satan! “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD” Deut. 18:10-12 In fact, Satan worship, which is purported to sometimes include human sacrifice, is identical in every way to the purest, original form of Baal worship. some information about satanic sacrificial ritual requirements on December 24th and 25th. Why would people who call themselves Christian want to have anything in common with satanic religion? Some truly love that old time religion. What harm is it that the children are dressing up like witches and demons…but how does God feel about it? Have you ever wondered why there are six references in the book of Revelation to the word “Babylon”….all referring to it’s total destruction? Babylon represents Satan’s religion on this earth. It represents Satan’s alternative to God’s way. Speaking of Babylon in Revelation, there is a serious warning to “come out of her”, “that you receive not her plagues,” as there will be nothing left of this false religion when God gets finished with it. We shouldn’t cleave to it or desire it, because in effect, we would be siding with Satan against God. In Revelation, the Bible speaks of “MYSTERY, BABYLON, THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH…” (Rev.17:5) “For years, Protestant Christians have rightly understood the Great Whore to be the Catholic Church, which reigns on the seven hills of Rome (Rev.17:9). What Protestant Christians have altogether missed however is that the Whore (who is also called “the mother of harlots”) has daughters. Who are this harlot’s “daughters”? Who are the offspring of the Catholic Church, and where are these daughters today?” The protestant churches are the daughters of the Catholic church and they have followed her lead on Sunday worship and holidays…” Does it make any sense that most modern “Christian” churches keep the exact same holidays that Satanists and Pagans keep, with the only difference being that Pagans kept these holidays first? The Pagan “Wheel of the Year” outlines the movement of the sun over a year’s time, showcasing the most important holidays to a Satanist or Pagan…and amazingly you will find that Catholics and Protestants alike also keep these festivals. Of course, not by the same names! While Pagans observe Ostara, Samhain and Yule, churchgoers call them Easter, (held first Sunday after the spring equinox) Halloween (held exactly between the Solstice and Equinox) and Christmas! (held on the Winter Solstice) Yes, even December 25th is kept by the Satan worshipper, resplendent with all the trimmings and merriment, including the fir tree, gift giving, mistletoe, Yule logs, you name it! Don’t think for a minute that Satan worshippers or Pagans keep these holidays in reverence for God. They actually laugh at churches for keeping these ancient Pagan sun worshipping holidays and calling them Christian! Around three or four hundred years after the death of Christ, an apostate church “joined up” with Pagan religion. Some might say, “What’s so bad about that?” The answer is that keeping anything connected to this Babylonian system is a flagrant violation of the first commandment…“You shall have no other gods before me.” Baal’s sign was the cross, followers were promised that they would go to heaven for coming to the alter, and those who refused were threatened with eternal punishment in the nether world, there was an upright “steeple” (Asherah Pole) near each alter, they kept their dead near their places of worship…and that mankind still prefers Satan, and his form of religion. At some point, God wants every person to come out of this long-lived religious system that originated in Babylon. It is packaged so smartly that it is acceptable to church goers and Satan worshippers alike, with all the basic foundational tenants shared in common.

Semiramis died and was later deified, just as Nimrod had been. Some of the names used to worship this female fertility goddess are Astarte, Ashtaroth, Ishtar, Ostara, Eostre, Isis, etc…but modern churches prefer to use the word Easter! Her much beloved fertility symbols of eggs and bunny rabbits are still featured in the spring holiday of the same name, held at the time of the Spring Equinox. Look up Easter in any Bible encyclopedia. Here’s a quote from Nelson’s Bible Dictionary, “Easter was originally a pagan festival…The only appearance of the word Easter in the Bible is a mis-translation of pascha, the ordinary Greek word for Passover.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says, “The term “Easter” is not of Christian origin.” The word Easter is nowhere mentioned in the Bible except as a mis-translation of Passover. Wouldn’t God have mentioned Easter somewhere in the Bible , at least once, if He had wanted people to keep it? Yet for thousands of years before Christianity, people have observed a sunrise service on Easter morning and took the “bloodless sacrifice” of a round sun shaped wafer as part of Easter observance. On the wafer, then and now, exist three initials. They are I.H.S. These initials are still commonly used over the alter of many modern day churches and you would be told it stands for “Iesus Hominum Salvator,” or “Jesus, the Savior of Men.“ Ancient idolaters would have told you something quite different. They would have explained to you that their round, sun shaped wafers with the initials I. H. S., stood for “Isis, Horus, Seb” that is, “the mother, the child and the father of the gods,” or the Egyptian TRINITY. Another “trinity” is Astarte, Bel, and Baal. Another trinity is Semiramis, Nimrod and Tammuz. This “Queen of heaven” was considered much “kinder and gentler” than her consort the Canaanite Baal. It was said that she “tempered judgment with mercy” and the people favored her over Baal. She did not require a bloody sacrifice of firstborn children during her festival like her husband, nor did she require the ritual cannibalism that went along with Baal worship. By the way, do you know where the word cannibal comes from? The word Cahna means “the priest of” and bal means “Baal.” According to Hislop, in “The Two Babylons,” the priests of Baal were “required to eat of the human sacrifices, and thus it has come to pass that Cahna-bal, the priest of baal is the established word in our own tongue for a devour-er of human flesh.” Babylon is the source of cannibalism, sun worship and Satan worship.

The Cross symbol too??? It is interesting that the cross was the ancient symbol of the sun god. Baal’s symbol was the cross. In Hatzor, in Northern Israel, archaeologists have discovered an incense alter to Baal with the symbol of a cross on it. The article describes “a basalt offering table, pillar-shaped, with a carved symbol of the storm god Baal on its side. That symbol was a circle with a cross in the center” Just as Pagans always seem shocked that the Catholic Church practices so many of their customs…in the same vein, Catholics are always shocked to find Pagans “imitating” them. It is said that “Catholics were outraged to find that “their” cross was a sacred symbol to Native Americans.” “There is hardly a Pagan tribe where the cross has not been found.” In an article called Mesoamerican Symbology, we read “But what really surprised the conquistadors, or those few among them with eyes to see, was nothing less than the symbol of the cross, present everywhere… In fact, the symbol of which we are speaking is certainly Pre-Christian.” At a Tophet at Carthage, where Baal was worshiped, 20,000 cinerary urns were discovered with children’s ashes in them, and they found puzzling “cross motifs” at the site. Before the time of Jesus, the cross represented the sun god. “Crosses with arms of equal length were used frequently since time immemorial in pre-Columbian America, the Euphrates-Tigris region, and other parts of the world. That cross seems to have been associated with the sun and the powers that controlled the weather…..Sometime during the first centuries of the Western calendar the Latin cross was adopted by the Christian ideology. Still being associated with heavenly, and almighty lords both and even more so the sun god’s staff.” Speaking of the cross, Bullinger in The Companion Bible says, “crosses were used as symbols of the Babylonian sun-god…” “The evidence for its pagan origin is so convincing that The Catholic Encyclopedia even admits that “the sign of the cross, represented in its simplest form by a crossing of two lines at right angles, greatly antedates…the introduction of Christianity. It goes back to a very remote period of human civilization.”. I found some general information on the cross in several excerpts from the Companion Bible . The English word “cross” comes from the Latin word crux, which is not the word used in the Bible . The actual Greek words used in the Bible are “stauros or xulon”, which were incorrectly translated “cross” by Catholic translators. Bullinger states, “The Greek stauros no more means a crux than the word “stick” means a “crutch”. Homer, a Greek writer, uses the word stauros of an ordinary pole or stake, or a single piece of timber. And this is the meaning and usage of the word throughout the Greek classics….It never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle, but always of one piece alone. There is nothing in the Greek of the New Testament even to imply two pieces of timber.” “In the Greek New Testament two words are used for “the cross” on which the Lord was put to death.” “1. The word stauros; which denotes an upright pole or stake, to which the criminals were nailed for execution.” “2. The xulon, which generally denotes a piece of a dead log of wood, or timber, for fuel or for any other purpose…this latter word xulon is used for the former stauros, it shows us that the meaning of each is exactly the same. (The verb stauroõ means to drive stakes…”) “Christ” is never represented (in the catacombs at Rome) “hanging on a cross”…In the Egyptian churches the cross was a pagan symbol of life, borrowed by the Christians, and interpreted in the pagan manner… In his Letter from Rome, Dean Burgon says : “I question whether a cross occurs on any Christian monument of the first four centuries”….The evidence is thus complete, that the Lord was put to death upon an upright stake, and not on two piece of timber placed at any angle.” The Steeple and the Asherah Pole The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible tells us that an Asherah pole was always erected at the altar of Baal. In fact, absolutely every single alter of Baal had an Asherah pole beside it, which was an upright, denuded tree! This type of phallic pole has always been associated with sun worship. (Interestingly, nearly twenty different tribes of American Indians performed the “Sundance” around a “sun pole.”) There are many supposedly Christian traditions that have suspicious origins. Most people never consider where the tradition of having a steeple on top of a church comes from….Do churchgoers ever wonder why almost every church has a steeple on top of it? Read from The Customs of Mankind by Eichler, “There are still in existence today remarkable specimens of original phallic symbols… steeples on the churches …and obelisks …all show the influence of our phallus-worshiping ancestors.” Baal worship involved phallus worship, so it is no surprise that all of Baal’s churches would have a phallic steeple.. The stone obelisk was another phallic symbol. “The word ‘obelisk’ literally means ‘Baal’s shaft’ or Baal’s organ of reproduction’.” (Page 341 Masonic and occult symbols illustrated. Dr. Cathy Burns) “Baal was a very common name of the principal male god…Among the Babylonians, he was called Bel” The obelisk is associated with sun-worship. According to Babylon, Mystery Religion, The erect upright pointed column represents the phallus, the male sex organ, of Baal (Nimrod). God specifically told Israel not to put a phallic pole next to his alter. Deut 16:21 “Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the LORD your God…” God didn’t want it because this upright “steeple” tells you that you’ve just located an alter of Baal.

I will edit this comment tomorrow, but before I go to bed I want to leave this one comment. Celebrations are ok, parties , get together s, going to concerts, and movies and barn raising, and sharing happy times with our loved ones. But it is just not ok to participate in celebrations that God told us specifically not to do, and then ask him to join in with us in our direct disobedience. It is tantamount to Eve offering God a bite of the apple

To understand where religious traditions come from, and why people do what they do, we must go back to man’s early history and examine it with a fine tooth comb. Let’s start with the history of December 25th, and see what we can discover about this date, since it is perceived to be a Christian holiday yet it is also observed by Satan worshipers, Pagans, ancient Baal worshipers, by the Mayan and Inca Indians, the Pueblo, the Anasazi and other Indian tribes. Astoundingly all these groups and so many more revere December 25th. Bible scholars may not agree on everything but they all agree that Christ was definitely not born on December 25th. Just one simple proof of this is that at the time of Christ’s birth, there were shepherds in the fields with their flocks…and historically, they brought the sheep in around the end of October. Hislop states, “There is great unanimity among commentators on this point…that December 25th could not be the right time of our Lord’s nativity…Indeed, it is admitted by the most learned and candid writers of all parties that the day of our Lord’s birth cannot be determined, and that within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the third century, and that not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance.” “The choice of December 25 was made by the Pope Julius I in the fourth century AD because this coincided with the pagan rituals of Winter Solstice, or Return of the Sun.” Connection Between December 25th…and the origin of Human Sacrifice Astronomically, the winter solstice falls on or around December 21st, or 22nd, but the naked eye can’t discern the return of the sun until December 25th…. Thus, the 25th was considered the birthday of the sun to the ancients. Each year, as the sun seemingly halted in the sky, sun worshipers truly desired to entice the sun to come back. It “dismayed” them to see the sun “stall” in the sky. Human sacrifice began to be practiced with the belief that it “re-energized” the sun with life. One of the ancient European names of the December 25th holiday, we now call Christmas was Midvinterblot, meaning “midwinter blood” or “midwinter sacrifice”. In South America, “the Maya believed that the heavenly bodies needed human help, which was provided through rituals such as self-mutilation, torture, and human sacrifice. To the Maya, offering this help was simply the price to be paid for the continued survival of the universe.” “When Cortez arrived in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, in 1519, the natives were practicing human sacrifice. He was shown the spot where victims had waited in a line two miles long to be sacrificed at the dedication of the Temple of the Sun, and there were four lines!” “The Aztecs believed that it was necessary to feed the gods with human hearts in order to ensure that the sun would rise every day.” (That puts a new slant on the phrase “give your heart to the Lord.”) Catholic sources state that in just one high day, over 10,000 Aztec children were sacrificed at the temple of the Sun at Tenochtitlan. “The Aztec Emperors made a point of inviting foreign dignitaries to witness the mass sacrifices, which occurred at certain festivals, most particularly the solar ones.” (Ingham, 1984). Evidence is pretty clear that human sacrifice and the winter solstice go hand in hand. William Sansom, in “A Book of Christmas,” states that human sacrifice actually originated during the winter solstice, which we now call Christmas. “The giving of presents, particularly candles and dolls, called Sigillaria also derives from the insistent origin of human sacrifice at this time of year.” “Winter solstice” traditions included giving dolls to children. Scholars believe that the term doll is derived from the word idol and may specifically refer to the “dolls” or clay effigies that were placed under evergreen trees in the home, imitating the actual sacrifice of children made under a grove of evergreen trees. The winter solstice was celebrated with candles, which represented “energizing the sun with sacrificial fires.” So after all is said and done and every ritual examined closely… sun worship seems to be “the reason for the season”. But what does the Bible say about the subject of human sacrifice and sun worship? Amazingly, a lot. Most people do not begin to realize the extent of the worship of sun gods…even by the children of God in the very nation of Israel! The sun god worshiped by Israel and Judah according to Nave’s Topical Bible went by the name “Baal” or the plural “Baalim”. These two words are mentioned in the Bible over 80 times! THE GREEN TREE CONNECTION… Sun Worship, Baal and the Evergreen Tree What is the importance of evergreen trees to sun worship? One of Baal’s many names, interestingly enough, was “Baal-bereth,” meaning “Lord of the Fir tree”. The evergreen tree is without doubt connected to the worship of Baal the sun god. In Jeremiah 2:20-23 it says, “For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot… A verse or two down it says, “How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim?” They went after Baal and their descendants did too, and they forgot the true God and true religion. You can look from front to back but you won’t find any requirement for evergreen trees in God’s religion. Literally millions of them are cut down every year and placed devotedly in homes, yet where is this particular practice commanded by God in the Bible? Make a search my friend, but you won’t find it. Nor was all this harmless paganism. Thousands and thousands of firstborn children were sacrificed to Baal under evergreen trees. They were the “gifts under the tree.” If you keep this holiday, you are bowing before a false god. WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT GIFTS UNDER TREES… Christmas may not be mentioned by name in the Bible but the words “gifts” and “tree” are in the same context with the sacrifice of children and the worship of idols. Read the following passage to see what God has to say about “gifts and trees.” Ezekiel 20:26,28, 31 “I let them become defiled through their GIFTS—the sacrifice of every first-born…” vs. 28 “When I brought them into the land that I had sworn to give them and when they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices…” vs.31 “When you offer your GIFTS -the sacrifice of your sons in the fire, you continue to defile yourselves with all of your idols to this day…” In The New English Translation of the Bible , there is a notation about the phrase “every leafy tree”. They inform us that this expression refers to evergreens, “because they keep their leafy foliage throughout the year, providing apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan.” Anciently, the worship of Baal involved rites of human sacrifice of firstborn children up to the age of five by causing them to “pass through the fire to Molech.” “They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech…” Jeremiah 32:34-35 The word Molech simply means King. The idol Molech had the shape of a bull and in fact, the English word bull is a corruption of the Hebrew Bal or Baal. Read from the Mythology of all Religions, vol. 5. “Living infants and children were BURNED IN THE FIRE to the god Molech during this time. This was the time of the winter solstice (Dec. 25th) when those heathen were dismayed at the signs of heaven!” Let’s examine Baal worship in detail, since according to the Bible, it was the very cause of the rejection of both Israel and Judah. “And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree…and they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire…therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. II Kings 17:10, 16-20 Note that Baal’s places of worship were set up “in every high hill, and under every green tree” The two most important requirements for the alter of Baal were elevation and evergreen trees. If the land was flat, they would construct man made “high places” called stepped pyramids, Ziggurats or Sun Temples. And according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the “green tree” mentioned here wasn’t just any old tree. They state that it means “any kind of evergreen tree, in its native soil.” LEARN NOT THE WAY OF THE HEATHEN Jeremiah 10 certainly does sound like a description of the modern Christmas tree! But rather than commanding us to put a tree in our house, it says, “Thus says the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; (the winter solstice of December 25th) for the heathen are dismayed at them. 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. They deck it with silver and gold, they fasten it with nails and with hammers that it moves not….” Jeremiah 10:2-4 In fact, the whole book of Jeremiah mentions Baal or Baalim 13 times altogether and it is in connection with Baal worship that God is stating, “learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. (The signs of heaven that he alludes to is the December 25th winter solstice!) Sun worshipers were astronomers who clocked the movements of the sun, moon and stars as part of their religion. The winter solstice was fear provoking to them….. Ever wonder why would people hang gold and silver balls on a tree? An article on Origins of Christmas Traditions gives an eye opening explanation! “Since the earliest of times, the pagans worshiped trees, especially evergreens. To them it represented life and freshness. Since it was Ever-green, it always had life. The trees were worshiped as symbols of life, fertility, sexual potency, and reproduction. The evergreen tree represented a “PHALLIC” symbol (the man’s sexual organ of reproduction) set in an upright position. Any wonder why people hang round balls on a tree?” Jeremiah 2:23 “How can you say, ‘I am not polluted, I have not gone after the Baals’? …. (27) Saying to a tree, ‘You [are] my father,’ And to a stone, You gave birth to me.” It appears that the Christmas tree meant a whole lot more to them than we understand, vs. 27 infers that they felt this phallic symbol “was their father…. the author of their being, their god.” The Christmas tree must have represented Baal. Thus if the children were being sacrificed in honor of Baal, it makes sense that they would do it under the tree that represented him. It makes no sense, but false religion obviously has a connection to evergreen trees and stone images. The words “green tree” (evergreen tree) are used 10 different times in the Bible in connection with idolatrous worship and, in four cases, with child sacrifice. Baal worship required firstborn children to be burned alive by “passing through the fire to Molech” under a grove of evergreens. Can it be a coincidence that four different scriptures directly place child sacrifice and the evergreen tree in this same context? People who want to say that, yes Christmas may have pagan origins, but we have “Christianized it,” need to remember that it was a time of child sacrifice. That can never be sanitized or made acceptable! CHILD SACRIFICE AND EVERGREEN TREES 1. Isaiah 57:5 “En flaming yourselves with idols, under every green tree slaying the children in the valleys under the cliffs of the rocks…” The valley it is speaking of here is most likely The Valley of Ben Hinnom and according to Biblical Archaeology Review, this particular place of child sacrifice was near some overhanging cliffs. Molech was located there, which was a molten idol with a cow’s head at the top and a fire pit below. Outstretched arms held the victim. There was a pulley system that slowly raised the arms up to heaven and the child was dropped into the fire pit below! The sacrificial alter was located in a grove of evergreen trees. This scripture clearly depicts the act of child sacrifice. Most people would be appalled if they knew the origin of the tradition of “gifts” under evergreen trees. Then, even as now, this winter solstice holiday was perceived as a time of great “peace on earth”. Baal was supposedly satiated with these yearly sacrifices and all was well in the world. 2. II Kings 16:3,4 “he…made his son pass through the fire according to the abominations of the heathen…. and he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills and under every green tree.” 3. II Kings 17:10,16, 17 “and they set them up images and groves in every high hill and under every green tree.” “…and made them molten images, even two calves and made a grove (Asherah pole), and worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal.” “and they caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire…” 4. II Chronicles 28:3,4 “Moreover he burnt incense in the Valley of Hinnom and burnt his children in the fire….” “he sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.” What sort of powerful religious coercion could have persuaded mothers and fathers to sacrifice their own children? One reason for this unnatural act was something modern people understand very well…. simple peer pressure, but fear was the primary factor influencing the ancient mindset. They were taught that human sacrifice was required or the sun god would avenge his anger upon them catastrophically and no sun—-no crops—-no life! This was used like a whip and it was true “fear religion”. But for those sacrificing their children, the proverbial icing on the cake, which lured them to the alter, was that the belief that all who were sacrificed at the “gate” of the winter solstice bypassed the nether world and went straight to “heaven”. Imagine the poor reluctant parents standing before the alter of Baal. Can you see the priest of Baal striding before the alter, compelling the people to “come to the Lord”? Baal does means “lord” by the way. Can you see the priest soften his voice to remind parents of the immortal life their children would have, if they would just…come to the alter. Seeing the reluctant not coming forward, they gave a powerful hell-fire and brimstone speech threatening how the children would have to go to the nether world for eternal torture, if they refused to bring them to the alter. This was surely the original alter call. Loud music or drums were played to hide the sounds of dying children from their mothers. The drums also drowned out the terror filled cries of parents who tried to change their minds at the last minute.

The Origin Of Easter[edit] Easter is an event that is honored by nearly all of contemporary Christianity as the resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah. This tradition is so well established that it is believed to have begun with the resurrection of our Saviour and instituted by His apostles in the first century in commemoration of that event. However, the celebration of Easter has a long history going back to the time after the Flood. Ham, the grandson of Noah had a son named Cush who married a woman named Semiramis. Cush and Semiramis then had a son and named him “Nimrod.” After the death of his father, Nimrod married his own mother and became a powerful King. The Bible tells of this man, Nimrod, in Genesis 10:8-10. Nimrod became a god-man to the people and Semiramis, his wife and mother, became the powerful Queen of ancient Babylon. They developed what became the mystery religion of Babylon. The Mystery Religion[edit] Nimrod was killed because of his violence and iniquity against the true and living God and his body was cut in pieces and sent to various parts of his kingdom. His wife/mother told the people of Babylon that Nimrod had ascended to the sun and was now to be called “Baal”, the sun god. Semiramis was creating a mystery religion, and with the help of Satan, she set herself up as a goddess. Semiramis claimed that she was immaculately conceived. She taught that the moon was a goddess that went through a 28 day cycle and ovulated when full and that she had come down from the moon in a giant moon egg that fell into the Euphrates River at sunrise at the time of the first full moon after the spring equinox, on a Sunday. Semiramis became known as “Ishtar” which is pronounced “Easter” referred to as Ashtoreth in scripture, and her moon egg became known as “Ishtar’s” egg.” One of her titles was the Queen of Heaven, and two of her fertility symbols were the rabbit and the egg. She soon became pregnant and claimed that it was the rays of the sun-god Baal (the ascended Nimrod) that caused her to conceive. The son that she brought forth was named Tammuz. Tammuz was believed to be the son of the sun-god, Baal. Tammuz, like his supposed father, became a hunter. The day came when Tammuz was killed by a wild pig. Queen Ishtar told the people that Tammuz was now ascended to his father, Baal, and that the two of them would be with the worshipers in the sacred candle or lamp flame as Father, Son and Spirit. Ishtar, who was now worshiped as the “Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven”, continued to build her mystery religion. The queen told the worshipers that when Tammuz was killed by the wild pig, some of his blood fell on the stump of an evergreen tree, and the stump grew into a full new tree overnight. This made the evergreen tree sacred by the blood of Tammuz. She also proclaimed a forty day period of time of sorrow for each year prior to the anniversary of the death of Tammuz. During this time, no meat was to be eaten – this is what became known as Lent” in Roman Catholic tradition. Worshipers were to meditate upon the sacred mysteries of Baal and Tammuz, and to make the sign of the “Tau” (a cross) in front of their hearts as they worshiped. They also ate sacred cakes with the marking of a “T” or a cross, on the top. Every year, on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, a celebration was made. It was Ishtar’s Sunday and was celebrated with rabbits and eggs. Ishtar also proclaimed that because Tammuz was killed by a pig, that a pig must be eaten on that Sunday. Ishtar, (Semiramis, widow of Nimrod, mother of Tammuz) came to be represented as the bare breasted pagan fertility goddess of the east. The original pagan festival of “Easter” was a sex orgy that celebrated the return of life via the fertility of Ishtar’s conception of Tammuz. Worshipers of the Babylonian religion celebrated the conception of Tammuz on the first Sunday after the Full Moon that followed the Spring Equinox. They celebrated it by baking cakes to Ishtar, getting drunk, engaging in sex orgies and prostitution in the temple of Ishtar. Women were required to celebrate the conception of Tammuz by lying down in the temple and having sex with whoever entered. The man was required to leave her money. Babies were sacrificed in the honor of these pagan gods and their blood was consumed by the worshipers. The priest of Easter would sacrifice infants (human babies) and take the eggs of Easter/Ishtar, as symbols of fertility, and die them in the blood of the sacrificed infants (human babies). The Easter eggs would hatch on December 25th (nine months later), the same day her son Tammuz the reincarnate sun-god would be born. This is where the practice of coloring “easter eggs” came from. Many babies would be born around Dec 25 from the sex orgies that began on the feast of Ishtar in the Spring and many of these babies would be sacrificed the following Easter/Ishtar feast . It was also common for pagans to bake cakes to offer to her (the Queen of heaven) on the Friday before the Easter festival. This is where we gained the custom of ‘hot cross buns’, with the “cross” symbol indicating the female (the Babylonian symbol for the “female” was, and is, a circle with a crux/cross beneath). The cross also indicated the Equinox, when the Earth’s orbit “crossed” the celestial equator. Jeremiah spoke against this practice and pronounced God’s judgment against them for these practices (Jeremiah 7:17-19; 44:19-29). Ezekiel also speaks against the celebration of the rites of Ishtar which were taking place in the temple and the weeping for Tammuz (Ezek. 8:14) refers to the mourning process of the death/resurrection symbolism of Easter, Ishtar weeping for the death of her son Tammuz which the women were obliged to emulate. The fertility rites were extended to agricultural processes and to ensure a prosperous growing season, Pagans rolled eggs decorated with the bright colors of Spring in their fields, hoping to imbue fertility. These eggs were then hidden from “evil spirits” in rabbits’ nests, another symbol of fertility. The Easter or Ishtar symbolism of the Sunday resurrection of the spring fertility cult (Easter, the Anglo-Saxon form of Ishtar), is a pagan system of worship that first penetrated Christianity in the second century. The symbolism stems from the death of Tammuz (or Dumuzi) on Friday and his resurrection on Sunday. This mirrors the grain and new shoot symbolism of the corn harvest which occurred at this time of the year. The 40 days of Lent were picked as one day for each year of his life since he died at age 40. The rest of the traditions of Easter were “Christianized” into the story of the death and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah.

The Easter Bunny seems to have it origins in ancient Babylon, too. the god, Tammuz was noted to be especially fond of rabbits, and they became sacred in the ancient religion. Because Tammuz was believed to be the son of the sun-god, Baal. Tammuz, like his father, became a hunter and his favorite prey was the Ishtar Bunny.

What if something really really bad happened to you and your family. Something more horrible than any words could ever describe, and what if those things were still going on, right before your eyes, and not only that, but these horrible things that were going on were also going on in front of everyone, everyone could be and is witnesses to the horrible things that are happening to you, they have never stopped, since they started they have remained perpetual. I am speaking of things so bad, and so horrible, that thoughts of them are unthinkable, scaring you for life, just the thought of them. at any moment, you could be next, and so could your children. Atrocities that are far beyond atrocious, things so bad, so horrible, that these descriptions seem complimentary. Imagine being a parent, and having this beautiful child that you have raised, and devoted your life to mold and shape them. Imagine that child being ripped from your arms one day and then violated in the most brutal of ways, then strapped to a rack and pulled apart limb by limb. How about being tied to a pole and watching as your beautiful wife has her skin stripped off of her body. If you happen to give birth to a perfect child, that is female, the elders punch a hole in the child’s head right in front of you and your husband. A group of men come to your home one day and decide that your husband would make a very nice street lamp, so they stick a pole up his rectum, cover him in tar and light him on fire along with dozens more to line the city streets for the festival, we certainly wouldn’t want the city leaders to stumble on the walkway now would we. The kings pets are hungry, there must be some tender young children we can throw to them, to make sure they are well nourished. Things so awful they would make steven king throw up. You might think I have a horrible imagination, but these things are taken from the pages of history. Multiply these my hundreds of millions and still it would not begin to account for their numbers, the horrible hideous things that have been done to humans, by humans, not God, but by humans. One hundred million in one setting alone died in the most horrible of ways. . When I first began to learn about the bible, the person who was helping me told me that the most difficult thing I would ever do in my life is try to explain something I knew to be a fact, that involved those that I love, and try to make them understand. I am fairly good with words, but his words are true, this is the most difficult thing I have ever done. So much of it leaves me speechless, and I struggle with finding the words to make others understand what I know to be true. Saying things as they are, that is easy, anyone can do that. But to impart understanding to effect change, that is the most difficult thing I have ever tried. As many words as I have written over the years, I cannot recall one mind that I have been able to redirect.  Few things get under my skin more than the defense of oppression. But when anyone tries to justify oppression, it immediately causes my temper to flare. Holidays are a celebration of oppression of the most barbaric kinds.