One in Messiah Congregation
קָּהָל
אֶחָד
בְּמָּשִׁיחַ
Part of the Congregation of Israel
עֲדַת
יִשְׂרָאֵל
Shabbat Shalom
שַׁבָּת
שָׁלוֹם
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Let’s pray
--------------------------------
Today we use the Gregorian calendar from Pope Gregory; from
the 1500’s,
December 13, 2014
December -- the tenth month (now the 12th month)
Middle English decembre
Old French decembre
Latin december "tenth month"
Latin decem "ten" + -ber (adj. suffix)
December had 30 days, until Numa when it had 29 days, until Julius
when it became 31 days long.
----------------------------------------------------
Yehovah has His own calendar
We are now in the 9th month called Chislev כִסְלֵו
19th day
Zech.7 [1] And it came to pass in the fourth
year of king Darius, that the word of
Yehovah came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu / Chislev
-------------------
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----------------
Remember, “tis the season to
be pagan”
Lies are all around us, beware!
Beware
of the false image of love and the false feelings and emotions that run wild.
False lights and music are everywhere.
These
feasts that are not scriptural bring on loneliness, depression and suicide and
oh yes, debt for years to come.
We
are commanded by God
Learn not the way of the heathen
Jer.10 [2] Thus saith Yehovah, Learn
not the way of the heathen , and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven;
for the heathen are dismayed at them. The customs of
the people are vain [3] For the
customs of the people are vain:
---------------------------------
Today's Topic:
I thought it appropriate to discuss
some "Pagan Feasts" in December.
Let’s begin, some dates change a
little each year
Saturnalia - In pagan Rome, the celebration of the Winter Solstice began on
December 17 with the feast of Saturn -- also called the Saturnalia. Through
December 23rd, the Roman world engaged in merrymaking and the exchanging of
gifts in honor of father sun and mother earth. The Saturnalia festival has an
astronomical character, referring to the completion of the suns yearly course,
and the commencement of a new cycle. Saturn, from whom we get the word for the
day of the week, Saturday, represented by the sun at its lowest aspect at the
winter solstice. The earth is cold, most plants are dead, and it was believed
that the sun might also be approaching death. Today winter solstice is around
December 21, but because of calendar changes, it was originally December 25th.
Saturnalia celebrated the sun overcoming the power of winter, with hope of
spring when life would be renewed.
In
Roman times, Bacchus, the god of wine, became the lord of these festivals.
--------------
Kwanzaa
-Ron Karenga (aka Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga) invented the seven-day feast (Dec.
26-Jan. 1) in 1966,
branding it a black alternative to Christmas. The idea was to celebrate
the end of what he considered the Christmas-season exploitation of African
Americans.
-------------
The Feast of the Immaculate Conception - A Roman Catholic Holy
Day of Obligation - December 8th.
-----------
On
Dec. 21, the Irish Cultural Center (ICC) will host its annual Winter Solstice Party. There will be live Celtic
music, poetry, food and drinks. In keeping with the traditions of Winter
Solstice, there will also be a vigil fire ceremony.
-------------
Winter Solstice is considered one of the oldest holidays. Many
of the traditions associated with Christmas originated from those of Winter
Solstice.
Winter
Solstice takes place on Dec. 21 this year and marks the shortest day of the
year in the Northern Hemisphere. The literal translation of the word solstice
is "sun standing still", as they say.
In
ancient societies, agriculture was of great importance. Consequently, the
seasons were a big part of these societies' celebrations. Spring and summer
were considered times of new life, whereas fall was the time of the Harvest.
Winter
was a dreaded time due to the lack of sunlight. Fearing the sun might never
return, people honored it, celebrating it with music, bonfires and feasts so
that it would return the next year.
The
Romans celebrated the Solstice by decorating the halls of their homes with
branches of laurel and evergreen trees.
Exchanging of fruits, cakes, jewelry and toys were also very common.
Another
made-up tradition that made its way into that of Christmas was the hanging of
mistletoe.
Mistletoe
was considered precious because it grew on the sacred oak trees. Thus, families
were given a spray of mistletoe to hang in their doorways for good luck.
To
the Celtic Druids, hanging mistletoe under a doorway or in a room was a sign of
goodwill towards ones visitors. Kissing someone under the mistletoe was also a
Winter Solstice tradition. The thought behind it was that it was a pledge of
friendship.
------
In
other parts of the world, Winter Solstice was referred to as "Yule."
This was because Yule logs were burned and people drank, feasted and listened
to poetry around a bonfire.
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Another
made-up December holiday is the Buddhist holiday Jodo-E. On Dec.
31, the Haku-Un-Ji Zen
Center of Tempe will host a Jodo-E ceremony at 2 p.m.
Jodo-E is considered a "cleaning
day," said Sokai Osho,
a Zen Buddhist priest.
The
ceremony will consist of cleaning the temple, a
dinner served in traditional Japanese form and meditation.
---------
Mithras
Mithras
was the sun god of the Persians and subsequent
empires including the Roman Empire through the 4th century. During the 4th
century, Mithras "mysteriously" vanished and Roman "Christianity"
began, a Christianity not like that of the 1st century; but, a polluted,
corrupt "Christianity" lacking few Mithraic
rituals.
Mithras
was invoked in the inscriptions of the Biblical Artaxerxes,
king of Babylon: making Mithras one of the pagan gods that God had warned His
chosen people to beware of.
Messiah
had come and defeated Satan by personally paying repentant man’s death penalty
for the transgression of Gods laws - the penalty He, Himself, had established
at the time of creation.
And
yet, in the 4th century, by way of a Satanic deception, “if you can’t beat them
join them", a blend of the worship of God and the worship of pagan gods
was officially proclaimed as "Christianity" by the Roman Empire.
As
the gospel spread throughout the nations; and the persecution of true believers
proved to be ineffective, Satan, the author of confusion, began his final
assault on the truth - the truth that "sin is the transgression of the
law" and that the penalty is death.
The
celebrations including December 25th in honor of the rebirth of Mithras at the
winter solstice and Easter, the solar observance of the spring equinox,
attempted to void the 1st commandment in the name of "their Christianity".
The
graven images of the pagan deities, given "Christian" titles,
attempted to void the 2nd commandment. And the Sunday observance of "Deis Solis", the day of the sun attempted to void the
4th commandment, the Sabbath.
Messiah
had proclaimed "till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law."
---------------
Christmas
The following is a quote
from the Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume 11; page 390.
"During the later
periods of Roman history, sun worship gained in importance and ultimately led
to what has been called a 'solar monotheism.' Nearly all the gods of the period
were possessed of Solar qualities, and both their
Christ and Mithras acquired the traits of solar seities.
The feast of Sol and Victus (open unconquered Sun)
on December 25th was celebrated with great joy, and eventually this date
was taken over by the pseudo Christians as Christmas, the birthday of Messiah.
The pseudo Christians were
trying to get more converts so they adapted a pagan holiday to their worship to
appease the pagans in 336 AD
The Encyclopedia Britannica reports that "The traditional customs connected with Christmas
have developed from several sources as a result of the coincidence of the
celebration of the birth of Messiah with the pagan agricultural and solar
observations at midwinter. In the Roman world the Saturnalia (December 17) was
a time of merrymaking and exchange of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as
the birth date of the Iranian mystery god Mithras, the Sun of
Righteousness."
Colliers Encyclopedia agrees. Quote: "After the triumph of Constantine, the
church at Rome assigned December 25 as the date for the celebration of the
feast, possibly about A.D. 320 or 353. By the end of the fourth century the
whole pseudo Christian world was celebrating Christmas on that day, with the
exception of the Eastern churches, where it was celebrated on January 6. The
choice of December 25 was probably influenced by the fact that on this day the
Romans celebrated the Mithraic feast of the Sun-god (natalis solis invicti),
and that the Saturnalia also came at this time."
Both encyclopedias plainly reveal that the source of the
celebration of December 25 is the birthday of Mithras, the pagan sun god.
Sun
worshippers since the time of Babel recognized this time of year in honor of
their gods.
1st
century believers,
taught personally by the Messiah, did not celebrate His birthday.
2nd century theologians
condemned the thought.
Only after severe
persecution, destruction and inaccessibility of biblical scripture and the
blending of pagan doctrine with the worship of God was the Mithraic
celebration of December 25th proclaimed to be "Christian" in nature.
These
facts are well documented. They can be found in any encyclopedia. There is no
way to "Christianize" the birthday of the sun god.
Anyone
with access to a computer today or encyclopedia can know better than those with
theological degrees of yesteryear!
--------------
Hanukkah
The First Book of the Maccabees was written in Hebrew around the time of the
events that it describes. The Second Book of the Maccabees
was written about sixty years after the events that took place. The book was
written in Greek for the Jews who lived in Alexandria and other parts of the
Greek Empire. Both books discuss the same events, but from different
perspectives. These books were not included in the Hebrew Bible, but they are
part of the Apocrypha, a group of Jewish writing from this period that was preserved
by the Christian Church. (Catholic)
Praying
for the dead is a Catholic belief.
2 Machabees 12 44 (For if he had not hoped that they
that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to
pray for the dead,)
2 Machabees 12 46 It is therefore a holy and wholesome
thought to pray for
the dead , that they may be loosed
from sins.
2 Machabees 12 43 And making a gathering, he sent twelve
thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead ,
thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection, 44 (For if he
had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed
superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,) 45
And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had
great grace laid up for them. 46 It is therefore a holy and wholesome
thought to pray for the dead ,
that they may be loosed from sins.
You think Yeshua or Daniel quoted from this book? Never!
Below
in not Antiochus IV Epiphanes (notice he is not at
the end of days) when Alexander the Great empire broke
up, it resolved into four major kingdoms.
Seleucid
was one of Alexander's generals, and came to control the Syrian portion of the
empire. Syria was one of the two dominant divisions of the empire, and
continued through twenty kings. Antiochus IV was the eighth of these twenty
Seleucid kings. He ruled from 175 - 164 BC.
Approximately 200 years afte Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Yeshua said pertaining to the time of the end by quoting Daniel which was
approximately in 600 BC: (ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire)
Yeshua
said:
Matt 24 [15]
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him understand
:)
Mark 13 [14]
But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the
prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth
understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
Dan. 8 [1]
In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me,
even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
[2] And I saw in a
vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan
in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I
was by the river of Ulai.
[3] Then I lifted
up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which
had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other,
and the higher came up last.
[4
] I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that
no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out
of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.
[5] And as I was
considering, behold, a he goat came from the west on the face of the whole
earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his
eyes.
[6] And he came to
the ram that had two horns, which I had there seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the
fury of his power.
[7] And I saw him
come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote
the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand
before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there
was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
[8] Therefore the
he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken;
and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
[9] And out of
one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the
south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
[10]
And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the
host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
[11]
Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily
sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
[12]
And a host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of
transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
[13] Then I heard
one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake,
How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the
transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be
trodden under foot?
[14] And he said
unto me, unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
cleansed.
[15] And it came to
pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning,
then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
[16] And I heard a
man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called,
and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
[17] So he came
near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but
he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall
be the vision.
[18] Now as he was
speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he
touched me, and set me upright.
[19 ]
And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of
the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
[20] The ram which
thou saw having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
[21] And the rough
goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that
is between his eyes is the first king.
[22] Now that being
broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the
nation, but not in his power.
[23] And in the latter time of their kingdom,
when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of
fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
[24] And his power
shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully,
and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy
people.
[25] And through
his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall
magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also
stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
[26] And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told
is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for
many days.
[27
] And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain
days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was
astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
---------------
*** Think - Antiochus IV Epiphanes - his reigned
was 175-163 BC.
He was neither in the time of the end nor in the last end of the indignation
or in the latter time, or end of the world. Get it?
--------------
The
Feast of the Dedication mentioned below is not talking about the story in the
book of Maccabees.
Scripture
says:
John 10 [22] And it was at Jerusalem the feast
of the dedication, and it was winter (around
Feb.) [23] And Yeshua walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
Remember these points:
Chanukah
in Hebrew means dedication pertaining to the Temple
There
is no Temple now to celebrate (destroyed in 70 AD )
Wrong
month, should be Adar which is Feb. (Ezra 6:15 )
No
8 days of oil mentioned in the Maccabees
No
8 or 9 candlestick menorah in Scripture (only 7 and very important)
They
played Dreidel - A German Gambling Game? I don’t think
so...
----------
Chanukah is a Hebrew word meaning dedication.
In
the scriptures above, pertaining to Chanukah or dedication, John was talking
about Solomon's temple that Ezra help rebuild. (1
Kings 8:2; 2 Chr. 5:3)
Also
please read the scriptures below in Ezra, chapter 6.
Ezra 6 :[14] And the elders of the
Jews builded, and they prospered through the
prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.
And they builded, and finished it, according to the
commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus,
and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
[15]
And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, the 12th month
(our Feb. - cold - not December which is Chislev, the
9th month in the Hebrew Bible), which was in the sixth year of the reign of
Darius the king.
[16] And the children of
Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the
captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,
[17] And offered at the
dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four
hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats,
according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
Esth. 3 [7]
In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that
is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar, (Feb. not Dec.)
Chanukah is a Hebrew word meaning dedication because this observance
marks the rededication and building of the Temple after it had been desecrated.
Also remember: The first dedication was in the 7th month, Ethanim, 1Kings. 8:2 (Sept. - Oct.) not December:
1Kgs.8:[2] And all the men of Israel
assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
Also, this is not New Year as some falsely report, it is the
seventh month.
[63]
And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto Yehovah,
two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the
king and all the children of Israel "dedicated" the house of Yehovah.
-----------------------------------
There are many others made up holidays
I did not mention
None are the "Feasts of Yehovah"
in Lev. 23
----------------
Sad to say, not many people celebrate or even know about the
"Feasts of Yehovah".
The fall Feast of Yehovah is in the 7th month Ethanim
not Tishri, (Sept.)
1 Kgs.8 [2] And all the men of Israel assembled
themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh
month.
These
feasts and holy convocations, we believe represent the Second Coming of the
Messiah in someone's lifetime.
---------------
Fall Feasts of Yehovah and Holy days
in the 7th month
A memorial Blowing of the Trumpets
Lev.23: [24] Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, In the seventh month,
in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy
convocation.
------------------
A Day of Atonement
[27] Also on the tenth day of this seventh month
there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be a
holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an
offering made by fire unto Yehovah.
-------------------
The Feast of Tabernacles
[34] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, the
fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the
feast of tabernacles for seven days unto Yehovah.
[39]
Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month,
when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto Yehovah
seven days: on the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be
a Sabbath.
[41]
And ye shall keep it a feast unto Yehovah seven days in the year. It shall be a
statute forever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh
month.
[37] These are the feasts of Yehovah, which ye shall
proclaim to be holy convocations…
[44] And
Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of Yehovah.
-----------------
Please teach the children from this generation,
until the Messiah returns,
"lest we
forget"
as most people
before us and today forgot
Pss. 9 [17] The wicked
shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that
forget God .
---
Pss. 50
[1] The
mighty God, even Yehovah, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of
the sun unto the going down thereof.
[2] Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
[3] Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour
before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
[4] He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he
may judge his people.
[5] Gather my saints together unto me; those
that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
[6] And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge
himself. Selah.
[7] Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel,
and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy
God.
[8] I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings,
to have been continually before me.
[9] I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy
folds.
[10]
For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle
upon a thousand hills.
[11] I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field
are mine.
[12] If I were
hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
[13]
Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
[14] Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows
unto the most High:
[15] And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will
deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
[16]
But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to
declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
[17] Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.
[18] When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with
adulterers.
[19] Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy
tongue frameth deceit.
[20] Thou sittest and speakest
against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own
mother's son.
[21] These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an
one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine
eyes.
[22] Now
consider this, ye that forget God , lest I tear you in
pieces, and there be none to deliver.
[23]
Whoso offereth praise glorifieth
me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright
will I shew the salvation of God.
Pss. 78
[1] Give
ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
[2] I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
[3] Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
[4] We will not hide them from their children,
shewing to the generation to come the praises of Yehovah,
and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
[5] For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in
Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to
their children:
[6] That the generation to come might know them, even
the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to
their children:
[7] That they might set their hope in God, and not
forget the works of God, but keep his
commandments:
[8] And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and
rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose
spirit was not steadfast with God.
Pss.119
[16 ] I will delight myself in thy statutes : I will not forget thy word .
[83 ] For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget thy statutes .
[93 ] I will never forget
thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
[109 ] My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law .
[141 ] I am small and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts .
[153 ] Consider mine affliction, and deliver me: for I do not forget thy law .
[176 ] I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy
servant; for I do not forget thy commandments .
----
Teach the truth
---------
Matt.
28 [19] Yeshua said - Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
[20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded You:
and, lo,
I am with you alway,
even unto the end
of the world.
Amen
Shabbat Shalom