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PAASFEES EN KERSFEES EASTER AND CHRISTMAS PAAS (Easter)FEES EN KERS(Christmas)FEES
As kind kan ek onthou dat Kersfees en Paasfees altyd die twee hoogtepunte op die Christen se kalender was. Ons gesin, as ordentlike, sogenaamde Christene, het altyd op hierdie twee spesiale godsdienstige dae kerk toe gegaan. Ons het nooit daaraan gedink om die egtheid of oorsprong daarvan te bevraagteken nie, maar dit, net soos so baie ander opregte mense van die &quot;Christelike&quot; geloof, dit net eenvoudig aanvaar. Dit het gepaard gegaan met die aanvaarding dat die hasies, kuikens, &quot;hot cross buns&quot;, Kersbome, kersvader (dit is interessant om te sien , dat die Engelse &quot; Santa&quot; `n anagram is van Satan), &quot;mistletoe&quot; ens. deel was van ons Christelike erfenis en tradisie! Hoe min het ons geweet!! Dit was eers nadat ek my sondes bely en my hart aan Jesus gegee het, Hom as my Verlosser en Here aangeneem het en `n ware kind van God geword het, dat ek die Skrifte, die Heilige Woord van God begin ondersoek het aangaande hierdie twee feeste. Dit het my geweldig gepla, dat dit wou voorkom asof daar soveel vleeslikheid aan hierdie geleenthede gekoppel was. Kersfees was veral `n tyd waar daar `n dolle gejaag na geskenke was en die eindelose Kerspartytjies! Dit was asof die mense meegesleur is in die oormatige etery en drinkery en kopery (skuldmakery). Dit was asof die hele wêreld fees gevier het (ongeag hul kultuur of godsdiens), deur dronkenskap, vraatsug en ander vleeslike wellus. Baie mense vrees hierdie tyd van die jaar as gevolg van die oormatige gebruik van alkohol wat hartseer, dronk bestuur, spanning in verhoudings veroorsaak, asook oorspandering en ooretery. Vra jouself die vraag, hoe kan al hierdie dinge na Jesus, Verlosser van die wêreld verwys? Die meer vromes onder ons dring daarop aan dat &quot; Christus terug in Kersfees geplaas moet word&quot; : maar met my studie na die oorsprong van hierdie feeste, het ek gou besef dat Christus nooit IN Kersfees was nie, en ook só met die Paasfees. Dit is onmoontlik om Christus TERUG te plaas in iets waarin Hy nooit was nie! Die waarheid is dat beide hierdie feeste totale heidense(daarom die heidense optredes) feeste is, en NIKS te make het met Jesus Christus en God die Vader nie. Jy mag geskok wees, maar as jy graag die waarheid wil ken, wat jou sal bevry ­ lees verder! Ek weet dat dit van die uiterste belang is om die misleiding en leuens, wat ons geleer is aangaande Paasfees en Kersfees, te openbaar, sodat ons dit kan sien vir wat dit is en God toe te laat, om deur Sy Heilige Gees, ons in hierdie waarheid in te lei. God het aan ons baie duidelike bevele in Sy Woord gegee, en dit hang van onsself af of ons aan Hom gehoorsaam gaan wees. Sy Woord sê bv. vir ons om disippels te maak, om in water gedoop te word nadat ons gelowig geword het. In Matt. 29:1920 en Mark.16:1519, gee Hy aan ons die Groot Opdrag, om die siekes te genees, duiwels uit te dryf ens. Wanneer Hy ons gehoorsaamheid aan Sy bevele begeer aangaande enige faset van Sy Woord, beskryf Hy dit tot in die fynste besonderheid. As Hy wou hê dat ons Sy verjaarsdag moes vier, sou Hy dit in Sy Woord ingestel het en ons beveel het om dit te doen. Hy sou die presiese datum gegee het, sodat ons Sy bevele tot die fynste besonderheid kon uitvoer. Die feit is, dat Hy glad nie vir ons gesê het, om Sy verjaarsdag te onthou nie, net Sy dood, wat met Paasfees plaasgevind het ( die datum wat duidelik in Sy Woord aangegee word), omdat Hy ons Paaslam is. Sy dood, aan die kruis op Golgota, gedurende Paasfees, om ons sondes en siektes weg te neem, is die vervulling van profesie. Dit het `n Bybelse datum en het absoluut niks te doen met die heidense gebruik van Paasfees viering nie, wat `n vrugbaarheids viering is, en die godin Ishtar (Vandaar die kuikens en hase). Soos ons reeds gesê het, gee die Bybel geen spesifieke datum van Jesus se geboorte nie, wat ons wel weet, is dat Jesus se geboorte glad nie op die 25ste Desember kon wees nie. Dit is egter die presiese
datum waarop die heidene die winter sonstilstand vier. Die negende maand van die Joodse kalender (sien Esra 109) is Desember, die middel van die winter, en die tyd van die winter reën in Israel. Herders kon glad nie gedurende hierdie tyd van die jaar na hul kuddes in die veld omsien nie! Dit was te koud vir die skape. Die skape het in werklikheid, na die Paasfees tot in Oktober of hoogstens tot die begin van November, in die veld gebly. Dit is waarskynliker dat Jesus in die tyd van die Herfsoes gebore is. Lukas hoofstuk 2 beskryf aan ons dat dit gedurende die belasting invordering was, en dat daar geen plek in die herberg was nie. Hierdie feite bewys dat dit klaarblyklik ook die tyd van die fees van die invordering van die oes was, die Fees van Tabernakels, wat elke jaar in September/Oktober plaasvind. Laat ons die volgende drie stellings oorweeg: 1. Paasfees en Kersfees het baie populêr geraak onder beide die wêreld en nieChristene ­ jy kan dus verseker wees dat hulle baie min te doen het met Vader God, Sy Seun, Jesus en die waarhede in Sy Woord. Die viering van Kersfees op die 25ste Desember, en Paasfees met die tyd van Jesus se dood, is in werklikheid geen aanstoot vir enigeen nie, ongeag hul godsdiens, dit wil voorkom asof dit mense van verskillende gelowe eerder verenig ­ wat tot `n ekumeniese, een wêreld godsdiens lei! Ons het &quot; Merry Christmas&quot; en kers groete in winkels, hier in Stanger, wat aan Moslems en Hindoes behoort, gesien! Glo my, as Kersfees of die &quot;seisoen&quot; enigiets te doen gehad het met die verkondiging van die Ware Christus Jesus, sou dit nie gebeur het nie! Hierdie &quot;fees seisoen&quot; wys na die tyd van die Winter Sonstilstand viering op die 25ste. Dit is kommerwekkend, en het my aangespoor om die misleiding, wat die kern van hierdie sogenaamde &quot; Christen&quot; feeste is, te ontmasker. Die Bybel sê vir ons in Hos. 4:6: &quot; My volk gaan te gronde weens gebrek aan kennis&quot;, en in Openb. 22:1819 staan om niks by God se Woord te voeg, of weg te laat nie, anders sal jy die aaklige gevolge moet dra! Deut. 6:14 ­ 15 sê: &quot; Julle mag nie agter ander gode aan loop uit die gode van die volke rondom julle nie ­ want die Here jou God is `n jaloerse God by jou ­ sodat die toorn van die Here jou God nie teen jou ontvlam en Hy jou van die aarde verdelg nie.&quot; Lees ook Deut. 7 om te sien hoedat die Here die kinders van Israel waarsku, om nie betrokke te raak by die afgode van Kanaan nie. 2. Daar word geen melding in die Boek van Handelinge gemaak, dat die vroeë Kerk Paasfees of Kersfees gevier het nie, die Jode het die Paasfees ­ Pesach, feitlik dieselfde tyd as Paasfees gevier, maar Paasfees en Pesach val nie elke jaar noodwendig op dieselfde naweek nie. Onthou dat Paasfees NIE dieselfde as die Pesach(Paasfees) is nie! Dit is deel van die misleiding. In Matt. 28:19 sê die Here Jesus aan Sy dissipels: gaan dan heen, maak dissipels van al die nasies .... ... en leer hulle om ALLES te onderhou wat EK julle beveel het. Met dit in gedagte, lees ek nêrens in die Bybel dat Jesus Sy dissipels beveel het om Paasfees en Kersfees te vier nie. In Lev. 23 leer ons egter wel van die ware Feeste van die Here, wat deur Hom ingestel is, as feeste wat jaarliks herhaal word. Ons sou verseker eerder aan ons Hemelse Vader gehoorsaam wou wees, en Hom tevrede stel, as om die menslike tradisies te gehoorsaam, wat beslis nie vir God aanvaarbaar is nie! 3. Albei hierdie feeste het ontstaan uit Babiloniese wortels. Babilon, waar hierdie feeste ontstaan het, is die&quot; Groot Hoer&quot; wat in die Boek Openbaring genoem word. Die term &quot; hoer&quot; Babilon verwys na haar geestelike owerspel, of om agter ander gode aan te gaan. Na die sondvloed (Gen. 10) gee God aan die mens, dit is Noag en sy gesin, `n nuwe openbaring van Homself. Een van Noag se seuns, Gam, het egter heeltemal weggedraai van God se Lig af. Sy seun was Kus, wat beteken &quot;die Swart een:&quot;, dit verwys nie na sy velkleur nie maar na die donkerheid van sy gees! Hierdie benaming het te doen met die feit dat hy verder van God se openbaring, die Lig af beweeg het en meer en meer in geestelike duisternis verval het. Hy het so ver ooswaarts getrek as wat bekend was, om van God se lig, Sy openbaring af weg te kom, en sy eerste mensgemaakte humanisties/ekumenies georganiseerde godsdiens gestig ­ die mens wat uit eie krag probeer om by God uit te kom. Ons sien in die Bybel, dat God ontevrede was met die mens se eie pogings en verwarring gestuur het sodat die toring van Babel, wat deur Nimrod, die geweldige jagter (Gen.10:9), die seun van Kus, gebou is, vernietig is. Hy het die magtige ryk van Babel gestig en hy en sy volgelinge en nageslagte het geleidelik verder en verder van God se Lig af beweeg: fisies en geestelik.
Nimrod het die stad Babel gebou en toe die toring &quot;waarvan die spits tot aan die hemel reik&quot; (Gen 11:4). Hy het `n eenheidstaat en godsdiensstelsel georganiseer: dit was `n plaasvervanger vir `n verhouding met die Lewende God. God se heilige toorn het teenoor dit ontvlam! Ek glo dat Sy heilige toorn in hierdie laaste dae sal ontvlam, teenoor diegene wat `n valse godsdienstige stelsel beoefen, wat voorgee dat hulle die Enigste Ware God aanbid met al die uiterlike tekens van die Christendom, maar wat `n totale misleiding is en beslis nie die Enigste Ware God en Jesus Christus Sy Seun verheerlik nie. Nimrod het getrou met `n vrou wat die naam Simêrimus of Sêmirimus gehad het. Sy het die profesie geken wat in Gen. 3:15 opgeteken is, nl. dat die saad van die vrou die slang se kop sal vermorsel ­ hy sal die Verlosser van die mensdom wees. Die duiwel het van die begin af geweet dat God Sy Seun as Verlosser van die mensdom, volgens Sy Goddelike tyd, sou stuur, maar hy het nie die presiese tyd geweet nie. Hy het die moederkind godsdiens van Simêrimus en haar seun as `n plaasvervanger ingestel om die mens te mislei. Simêrimus het toe hierdie belofte vir haarself en haar seun Tammus toegeëin en `n nuwe godsdiensstelsel daar gestel, waar sy die hoëpriesteres was en sy en haar seun aanbid moes word. Hier was nou die oorsprong van die figuur, van die moeder met die kind in haar arms, die simbool van die moederkindkultus. Die Babiloniese godsdiens het deur die jare gegroei en die Fenisiërs het die naam van Simêrimus verander na Asterot, maar die stelsel het presies dieselfde gebly. Hulle het die son bygevoeg as die simbool vir die seun, Tammus. Toe Babilonië oorweldig is, het die Romeinse Ryk, en veral Pergamus (Openb. 2) die sentrum geword van die moederkindkultus. Dit het toe oorgewaai na Egipte en Griekeland. Alhoewel die name van die moeder en kind van land tot land verander het, het die aanbidding steeds dieselfde gebly. Dit is `n feit, dat wanneer lande, in die ou dae, ingeneem is, die bevolking toegelaat is om elke jaar vir `n dag hul eie god te verheerlik, die res van die jaar moes hulle hul oorwinnaars se gode aanbid. Wanneer Rome nasies oorwin het het hulle die heidense feeste &quot; verchristelik&quot; ­ ons sien dit duidelik in die viering van Kersfees (die Winter sonstilstand) en Paasfees ( Eng. Easter)(Asterot). Die volgende is `n paar parallelle tussen hierdie kultus en vandag se Kerk: a. Simêrimus het verklaar dat sy die weg na God, die middelaar, is. Maria, die moeder van Jesus het haarself nie daar gestel nie, maar die Roomse kerk het haar in só `n posisie gestel tot hulle eie nadeel. Dit het gelei tot die aanbidding van Maria. b. Die beeld van die moederkind, het `n vaste godsdienstige tradisie geword. Die kind het nooit opgegroei nie ­ons sien dit vandag nog in prente, skilderye en kerskaarte. Die moeder word gesien as die een wat lewe gee  lewe het deur haar na die aarde gekom. Om Jesus gedurig as kind te sien, spoor `n persoon nie aan om `n toegewyde lewe aan God te leef nie. Jesus het nie `n kind gebly nie, maar opgegroei tot volwassenheid en die Man geword wat die godsdienstige leiers en mense van Sy tyd, uitgedaag het om hul ydel godsdienstige praktyke te laat staan en `n verhouding met hul Hemelse Vader te soek. c. Simêrimus het ook die titel aangeneem van &quot;koningin van die hemele.&quot; d. Sy het geleer dat redding deur haar geskied het, d.m.v. sekere sakramentele rituele: een van hierdie rituele was die besprinkeling met water ­ slegs priesters kon sondes vergewe. e. Die vagevuurkonsep van reiniging na die dood is ook deur Simêrimus ingestel. f. Sy het die fees van Ishtal (Easter) ingestel, wat `n herdenkingsfees vir die dood en opstanding van haar seun Tammus was, ná `n 40 dae lange vas en roubedryf, deur die tempelmaagde (jongvroue wat diens gedoen het in die tempel en nie getrou het nie). Simêrimus het `n storie versprei dat haar seun Tammus tydens `n jag doodgemaak is deur `n wilde beer. Sy het gesê dat niemand daarvan bewus was nie, maar nadat die tempelmaagde en sy 40 dae gevas en rou bedryf het oor Tammus, hy weer lewendig geword het. g. `n Nuwe en heilige simbool van hierdie fees was die eier. Gekleurde en versierde eiers is gedurende die fees van Ishtar uitgeruil, as `n simbool van lewe uit die dood.
h. Nog `n simbool van die fees was die immergroenboom ( vandag se kersboom). Dit was weereens `n simbool van lewe en daarom van Tammus se geboorte. Hierdie boom is versier, geskenke is daarheen gebring en fees is rondom dit gevier. Lees Jer.10:15. In vers 34 staan: Want die insettinge van die volke is nietigheid want `n boom uit die bos kap hulle om, die handewerk van `n ambagsman met die byl. Hulle versier dit met silwer en goud... Simêrimus is aanbid deur `n offerhande wat bestaan het uit klein ronde koekies. Hierdie koekies (buns) was gemerk met die letter T vir Tammus. In die Babiloniese en Fenisiese alfabette, is die T `n X en so kry ons die &quot;Hot cross bun.&quot; Met die jaarlikse fees van Ishtar is hierdie koekies as `n offerhande gebring aan Simêrimus en Tammus Die beheptheid met hase tydens die Ishtarfeesvieringe is ook prominent, want die haas is ook `n simbool van vrugbaarheid en vrugbaarheid was ook baie belangrik vir die moederkindkultus. Alhoewel Abraham, Isak, Jakob en die Israelitiese leiers tot by koning Agab die Een ware God aanbid het, het koning Agab met Isébel, `n Feniciese prinses getrou, wat nie net die Babiloniese godsdiens aangehang het nie, maar dit ook weer in Israel ingevoer het. Ek haal Jer. 44:1519 hier aan om te wys in hoe `n groot mate die volk van Israel in Bybelse dae, beinvloed is deur die godsdiens van Babel. En al die manne wat geweet het dat hulle vroue vir ander gode rook laat opgaan, en al die vroue wat daar staan, `n groot menigte, en die hele volk wat in Egipteland, in Patros gewoon het, het Jeremia geantwoord en gesê: Aangaande die woord wat u ons in die Naam van die Here verkondig het ­ ons sal na u nie luister nie. Maar ons sal stellig alles doen wat uit ons mond uitgegaan het ­ om vir die hemelkoningin rook te laat opgaan en vir haar drankoffers uit te giet soos ons gedoen het, ons en ons vaders, ons konings en ons vorste, in die stede van Juda en op die strate van Jerusalem toe is ons met brood versadig en was gelukkig, en ons het geen onheil gesien nie. Maar vandat ons opgehou het om vir die hemelkoningin rook te laat opgaan en vir haar drankoffers uit te giet, het ons aan alles gebrek gehad en het ons deur die swaard en die hongersnood omgekom. En as ons vir die hemelkoningin rook laat opgaan en vir haar drankoffers uitgiet ­ is dit dan sonder ons mans dat ons vir haar koeke maak om haar af te beeld en drankoffers vir haar uitgiet? Daar was voortdurend hierdie stryd onder die Volk van God, omdat hulle die Enigste Ware God probeer aanbid het saam met die moederkindkultus. Daar was geen vrede nie, omdat hulle die Enigste Ware God nie aanbid het nie maar van Hom afgewyk het. Lees Eseg. 8:518, waar die verskillende aanbiddingsvoorwerpe binne Israel, met die moederkindkultus en die &quot;hemelkoningin&quot; verbind, beskryf word. Die keisers van Rome het altyd `n dubbele titel gedra ­ hulle het die kroon as regerings en godsdienshoof van die staat gedra. Daarom was die keiser ook die hoëpriester van die moederkind kultus en het die godsdiensstelsel beheer. Dit was nog voor Jesus Christus se geboorte dat al die volgende bedrywe alreeds op grootskaal beoefen is: die hou van &quot;Lent&quot; (40 dae vastyd), paas (Easter)eiers, &quot;hot cross buns&quot;, die kersfeesboom (die immergroen boom). In 312 n.C. het Keiser Konstantyn van Rome, besluit dat hy die vreedsame Christene in sy ryk gaan oorhaal om hom polities te ondersteun. Nadat hy `n visioen gehad het van `n vlag met `n kruis op, het hy geglo dat God vir hom, wat as hoëpriester van die Romeinse Ryk ook die reg gehad het om die godsdiens te verander, die Christengodsdiens as staatsgodsdiens ingestel. Deur hierdie besluit het `n groot en gruwelike vermenging van godsdienste plaasgevind. Vermening met die moederkindkultus, het in die Christelike kerk ontstaan, en die Ware Kerk is heeltemal besoedel. Heidense praktyke het plek gevind in die Christen Kerk, en so het die Babiloniese godsdiens voortbestaan tot vandag toe. Dis waarom ons, as Christene wat `n ernstige verhouding met die Lewende God het, en bewus is van die heidense oorsprong en ontstaan van &quot;Easter&quot; en kersfees, glad nie hierdie feeste behoort te vier nie. Wat Paasfees aanbetref, moet daar aandag gegee word aan die kruisiging en opstanding van ons Here Jesus, dieselfde tyd wanneer die Jode hulle Pesachfees vier, want Hy is die Ware Paaslam. Buitendien het ons Here Jesus SELF die Nagmaal ingestel waar Hy ons leer om dikwels, daagliks, sy dood in herinnering te bring. (Lees ons boekie DIE NAGMAAL EN GENESING).
Om tydens Desembermaand kersfees te vier en dan die Here Jesus se geboorte (Kersfees) te herdenk, is dwaas. Hy is nie in Desember gebore nie, maar gedurende die Fees van Tabernakels, in Oktober, en wat baie belangrik is, is dat Hy ons nie beveel het om dit te vier nie. Hy het wel beveel dat ons Sy dood moet onthou ­ dikwels! Laat ons eerder op die volgende bevele konsentreer wat Hy aan ons in Sy Woord gegee het! &quot;Easter&quot; is die benaming van `n ou Germaanse godin nl. &quot;Eostre&quot; wat vereer is tydens `n lentefees, en het direkte verband met Ishtar en Simêrimus. Ons, as die Bruid van Jesus Christus, wat Hy spoedig kom haal, moet dus nie betrokke wees by die heidense feeste nie, jy verstaan seker nou waarom ek aan die begin van die boek geskryf het dat jy nie Christus kan terugplaas in Kersfees nie: HY WAS NOOIT DAARIN NIE! As Christene moet ons mense na Christus toe lei, want dit is Hy en Hy alleen wat lewens verander. Sy Woord is aan ons gegee, wat die enigste waarheid is, en ons word regdeur die Bybel gewaarsku om nie mensgemaakte tradisies en valse gode te volg nie. Ons behoort met dankbaarheid te onthou wat Jesus aan die kruis vir ons gedoen het, en in gehoorsaamheid teenoor ons Hemelse Vader te leef, en aan Hom alleen al die eer en lof te gee. Die kersfeesgees (Christmasspirit) wat Desembermaande in die wêreld heers is heidens en boos. Dit gee mense die reg om ernstige sonde te pleeg met leë woorde soos &quot;dis net een keer `n jaar kersfees!&quot; Dit bring die slegste in mense na vore ­ dit is `n tyd van vraatsug, dronkenskap en te veel geld uitgee wat skuld veroorsaak. As kinders van God moet ons ons daarvan distansieer. Betrek jou kinders, hoe klein ookal, by jou standpunt. Verduidelik aan hulle waarom julle as Christengesin nie kersfees en &quot;Easter&quot; vier nie, en leer hulle van die WARE Feeste van die HERE in Lev. 23, wat deur God ingestel is en ons na Jesus toe wys. Terloops, daar is baie ander geleenthede om jou kinders te seën met geskenke en vakansies en &quot;lekker&quot; dinge ­ God wil hê ons moet fees vier, maar dan moet dit om die Waarheid van die Woord van God gaan. Mag God jou help en seën soos jy in heiligmaking, afsondering en toewyding aan Hom groei deur met die heidense en wêreldse feeste te breek. Die feeste wat deur die God van Abraham, Isak en Jakop ingestel is, en die &quot; Feeste van die Here&quot; genoem word, word in Lev. Hoofstuk 23 gevind en is die volgende: 1. Paasfees. (Maart/April). Dit het plaasgevind toe God die Israeliete uit slawerny gelei het en verwys na ons verlossing uit die slawerny van Satan en die wêreld, toe Jesus, die Paaslam van God vir ons sondes op Golgota betaal het. 2. Pinkster. (Mei/Junie). (Hebreeus: Shavuot). Dit het plaasgevind 50 dae na die Israeliete se verlossing uit Egipte, toe Moses God se Woord op kliptafels by Sinai ontvang het. Dit verwys ook na Pinkster (Hand. Hoofstuk 2). Nadat Jesus opgevaar het na die Hemel, 50 dae na Sy dood, begrafnis en opstanding, is die Heilige Gees uitgestort uit die Hemel, netsoos Jesus belowe het en God se Woord is op die harte van mense, wie Hom ontvang het, geskryf 3. Die Fees van Tabernakels. ( September/Oktober). Die Jode onthou God se voorsiening aan hulle in die wildernis, en dit wys ook na die terugkeer van Jesus Christus, as die Koning en Here. (Kry ons boek &quot;Die Feestye van die Here&quot;) Jesus is die kern van al hierdie bogenoemde Feeste, en hulle word met eerbied en dankbaarheid en harte vol blydskap teenoor God die Vader vir Sy wonderlike geskenke en voorsiening, gevier.
As a youngster, I remember Christmas en Easter always being the two highlights on the Christian calendar. Our family, respectable, `socalled' Christians never missed going to church on these two special religious occasions. We never thought to question their authenticity or their origin, they were
accepted at face value and we, as so many other sincere people of &quot;Christian&quot; belief went along with the hype of bunnies, chickens, hot cross buns, Christmas trees, &quot;father&quot; Christmas (Santa Clause ­ interesting to see that Santa is an anagram of Satan) and mistletoe etc., regarding them all as part of our Christian heritage and tradition! Little did we know!! It was only after I had repented of my sin and given my heart to Jesus, accepting Him as my Saviour and Lord and becoming a true child of God, that I began searching the Scriptures, the Holy Word of God concerning these two festivals. It worried me a great deal that there seemed to be so much carnality surrounding these occasions. Christmas especially was a time of frantic, rushing around for gifts for all, and the endless Christmas parties! People seemed to be caught up in the frenzy eating and drinking, making merry, and running up debt because of all the spending incurred. It seemed to be a time for the whole world to celebrate, (regardless of culture or religion) through drunkenness, gluttony and other lusts of the flesh. So many people dread this time of the year because of the excess of alcohol, which causes heartache, drunken driving and tension in relationships. Then there is the over spending and over indulging. Ask yourself this question, how could all this possibly point to Jesus, Saviour of the world? When the world goes mad with religious activity, then we need to take heed. When unbelieving worldly people back something that appears to be Godly, there has to be a deception somewhere. The very popularity of Christmas should cause the Christian to question it. Anyone and everyone can celebrate Christmas without question ­ outright pagans, nominal Christians, and even Buddhists and Hindus. If, in reality, December the 25th was a date set by God to remember the birth of Jesus, you could be sure that the world would have nothing to do with it. After all, God has commanded one day in seven ­ the Lord's Day to worship Him. Does the world observe if? Of course not. As expected, the world loves Christmas, but hates the Lord Christ (John 15:18, 2325). It shuns anything pertaining to true religion. Shouldn't the Christian be just a little suspicious of a celebration in which the whole sinful world can join without qualms? The more pious among us insist that &quot;Christ must be put back into Christmas: but as I studied the origin of these festivals, I soon discovered that Christ had never been IN Christmas in the first place. Nor was He ever IN Easter. It is impossible to put Christ BACK into something in which He never was at all! The truth is that the origins of both these feasts are totally heathen (hence the resulting pagan behaviour), and have NOTHING whatsoever to do with Jesus Christ and God the Father. This may shock you, but if you desire to know the truth that will make you free ­ read on! I know that it is of the utmost importance to expose the deception and lies we have been taught concerning Easter and Christmas, so that we can see them for what they really are, and allow God, by His Holy Spirit to lead us into His truth. Both Easter and Christmas came forth from Babylonian roots. Babylon, where these festivals originated is the &quot;great whore&quot; mentioned in the Bible, in Revelation. In fact, the term &quot;harlot&quot; Babylon speaks of her spiritual adultery, of going after false gods. As we look at the origins of Christmas and Easter, we find that they come from the festivals and practices associated with the Babylonian religion, which existed long before the birth and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, we trace it back to after the great flood when Noah and his family were saved. God saved Noah and his family, and a breeding pair of all the animals so that He could start a fresh with a God fearing family and once again demonstrate His purpose for man as a Righteous God. He could not abide the wickedness, perversion and immorality that had existed amongst men, before the flood, and He brought judgement upon the earth and destroyed everything upon it. Ham, one of Noah's sons, chose however, to turn from God's ways and the light of His Truth. In fact, the name Ham means `dark' (names are of great significance in the Bible). Ham had a son called Cush, and the name Cush means `the black one', which referrs not to his skin colour, but to the darkness of his spirit. There are Biblical scholars who believe the meaning of the name Cush was an indication of the fact that his lineage moved towards darkness and away from God's light, both spiritually and physically. We see this revealed in Cush's son, whose name was Nimrod, and we read in the Bible, in Genesis chapter 10 and 11, that Nimrod is described as a `mighty hunter'. He was the fourth generation after the flood and the mighty tribe or nation that he established
was called a very powerful kingdom, according to the Bible. Babylon was one of the first centres of his kingdom. When we trace the direction in which Ham, Cush and Nimrod moved, we find that they went eastward until they came to a land called Shinar. Babylon was first known as Bab El (El means God), and Nimrod's kingdom originated in Bab El, which we call Babel. Bab El means the &quot;Gate of God.&quot; Nimrod had led his tribe further and further away from the &quot;place&quot; where God had made His covenant with Noah. He was in fact moving right away from the land where God had revealed Himself, away from the source of God's light and revelation. In the Old Testament, people understood the importance of worshipping God in the places where He had made Himself known by His provision and miracle working power. Nimrod and his tribe built religious places of worship, including a tower in Shinar. Babylon (Bab El) was a mighty city with huge walls and was practically indestructible. The tower of Babel, which they built was intended to reach Heaven, and was probably the origin of Humanism as we know it today. Humanism is man's way and intelligence used to find God. The Bible tells us that God, as He looked down upon what they were doing, was not pleased with their humanistic efforts. He consequently destroyed the tower and brought confusion into their midst, through introducing different languages and ending their unity. This was a defining moment for man as Nimrod had in fact introduced a new and unified religious system of humanism to the world and God had to destroy it. Nimrod had rejected the revelation of God, and was busy developing an organised, systemised religion to unify his nation. In Revelation 17 verse 5 we read of Babylon as being the `Mother of Harlots'. This does not refer to geographical Babylon, but to the false religious system, which Nimrod originally founded, and still exists today. A false religious system that pretends to be the worship of God and has all the outward trappings of the worship of God, but is at heart completely false, a total and absolute deception. I believe His holy anger will rise in these last days against those practising a false religious system, which pretends to worship the One True God with all the external signs of Christianity, but is thoroughly deceptive and definitely does not glorify the One True God and Jesus Christ His Son. Nimrod married a woman called Semarimus or Samiramus. They had a son named Tammuz. Semarimus was well acquainted with the prophecy contained in Gen. 3:15 that says that the Seed of the woman will bruise the serpent's head ­ and that He will be the Redeemer of mankind. She was determined that she was that women and took this promise for herself and her son Tammuz. She started a new religious system where she was the high priestess and where she and her son had to be worshipped. So here we find the origin of the motherwithchildinarms figure, the symbol of the &quot;motherchild&quot; cult. The devil always knew that God would send His Son as Redeemer of mankind in His Divine time, but did not know exactly when it would take place, so he set up the motherson religion of Semarimus and her son as a counterfeit to lead man astray and preempt the birth of Jesus, Saviour of man kind. This idolatrous woman claimed that she was the way to God. The Babylonian religion grew over the years and the Phoenicians changed the name of Semarimus to Ashteroth, but the system remained exactly the same. They added the sun as the symbol for the son, Tammuz, who was given the title `Adon', which means Lord and became `Adonis'. There are still picture and images in cathedrals of &quot;Jesus&quot; with a big golden, shining blazing sun behind him, which is supposed to be a halo. When we read of Baal and Baalim in the Old Testament, they are referred to as little gods ­ Ashtorah and Ashtorath. These are the same. When the Babylonian kingdom fell, the Roman Empire, and especially Pergamos (Rev. 2) became the centre of the motherchild cult, where they were known as Isis and Horum (Horis). In Greece the cult named the mother and child Aphrodite and Eros, in Rome, it was Venus and Cupid. It blew over to Egypt and Greece. The names of the mother and child changed from country to country, but the worship of these two never altered. Remember this was years before Jesus was even born. It is interesting that in he church at Nazareth in Israel, there are numerous icons of `mother and child' of different nationalities, thus proving this point. We know that the virgin Mary (Miriam) and her son Jesus (Yeshua) were Hebrew (Jewish). The religious system of Babylon being called the `Mother of Harlots', has clearly been fulfilled.
It teaches that Semarimus declared that she was the way to God, the mediator between God and man. Mary, the mother of Jesus, did not put herself in that position, but the Roman Catholic Church raised her up in such a position to their detriment. This resulted in the worship of Mary. The image of the motherchild has a very firm place in religious tradition. The child has never grown up ­ we see this in pictures, paintings, and Christmas Cards. The mother is seen as the lifegiver  life came to earth through her. Perceiving Jesus as a child continually, does not really challenge the individual to a life of dedication to God. Jesus did not remain a child, but grew to maturity and became a Man who challenged the religious leaders and people of His day to turn from their vain religious practices and seek a relationship with their Heavenly Father. a. Semarimus also accepted the title &quot;queen of heavens.&quot;
b. She taught that salvation came through her at the practising of certain sacramental rituals: one of these being the sprinkling with water ­ and that only priests could forgive one's sins. c. The purgatoryconcept: purging by fire after death was also instituted by Semarimus. d. She started the Feast of Ishtar (Easter) which was to commemorate the death and resurrection of her son, Tammuz, after the temple virgins kept a forty day fast and vigil for him. (these virgins were maidens who served in the temple and never married ­ nuns?) Simarimus spread a story that her son Tammuz was killed during a wild boarhunt. She stated that nobody knew of this, but after the fast and vigil kept by her and the temple virgins for 40 days, he became alive again. e. A new and holy symbol for this festival was the egg. Coloured and decorated eggs were exchanged during the festival of Ishtar as the symbol of life coming forth out of death. f. Another symbol of life celebrated by her followers was the evergreen tree (the present day Christmas tree)  this symbol of life served to celebrate Tammuz' birth. This tree was decorated, gifts were brought to it, and festivities went on around it. Read Jer. 10:15. verse 3 says: For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuteth a tree out of the forest, he work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold. Simarimus was worshipped by a sacrifice of small round cakes. These buns were marked with the letter T for Tammuz. In the Babylonian and Phoenician alphabets the T is an X, and this is how we arrived at the hot cross buns enjoyed by the world at Easter time. These buns were offered to Simarimus and Tammuz at the annual festival of Ishtar. The rabbit or bunny is also prominent at the Ishtar festivities, because it is a symbol of fertility, and fertility is an important aspect of the motherchild cult. Although Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the Israelite leaders right up to Ahab, worshipped only the One True God, Ahab married a Phoenician princess, Jezebel. She was an ardent Baal worshipper and imported this religion to Israel. I am quoting Jer. 44:1519 here to show you to what a great extent the people of Israel were influenced by this heathen religion in Bible days: Jer. 44:1519: Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and pour out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men? There was a continuous restlessness and inner battle amongst God's People because they were trying to worship the One True God at the same time as they were worshipping the mother and
child. There was no peace, and this lack of peace is always the result of deviating from worshipping the One True God. Read Ezek. 8:518, where the various objects of worship within Israel connected with the &quot;motherchild&quot; and the &quot;queen of heaven&quot; cults are described. God has given us very specific instructions in His Word, and it is up to us to be obedient to Him. For example, His Word tells us to make disciples, to be baptised in water when we have believed, and in Matt. 29:1920 and Mark 16:1519, He gives us the Great Commission, to heal the sick, cast out devils, etc. He goes into great detail when He desires our obedience to His instructions concerning any facet of His Word. If He had wanted us to celebrate His birthday, He would surely have instituted it in His Word, and commanded us to do so. He would have given us the exact date so that we could carry out His instructions to the letter. The fact is, He never told us to bring into remembrance His birthday, but only His death, which occurred at Passover (date well documented in the Word), as He is our Passover Lamb. His death, on the Cross of Calvary during Passover, to take away our sins and sicknesses, is the fulfilment of prophecy. It has its Biblical date, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the heathen custom of celebrating Easter, which is a celebration of fertility, and the goddess Ishtar. (Hence chickens and rabbits) As we have already said, the Bible does not give any specific date of the birth of Jesus, but this we do know, Jesus could never have been born on the 25th December, which is actually the very date heathens celebrated the winter solstice. The ninth month of the Jewish calendar (see Ezra 10:9) is December, the middle of Winter, and the time of the Winter rain in Israel. There is no way that shepherds could still have been in the field tending their flocks at this time of year! It was far too cold for the sheep. In fact the sheep stayed in the field from after Passover to October, or at the latest, early November. Jesus was more likely to have been born at the time of the Autumn harvest. Luke chapter 2 shows us that it was the time of gathering taxes, and that there was no room at the inn. These facts show that it was obviously also the time of the feast of the ingathering of the harvest, the Feast of Tabernacles, which takes place each year in September/October. Let us consider the following three issues: 1. Easter and Christmas have found tremendous popularity with the world and nonChristians alike  you can be quite sure then that they have very little to do with Father God, His Son, Jesus, and the Truth in His Word. In fact celebrating Christmas on the 25th December, and Easter at the time of the death of Jesus, doesn't really offend anyone, regardless of their religious beliefs, it seems to bring people of all religions together ­ leading to an ecumenical, compromising oneworld religion! We have seen &quot;Merry Christmas&quot; and seasons greetings in shops owned by Moslems and Hindus in Stanger! Believe me, if Christmas or the &quot;season&quot; had anything to do with proclaiming the True Christ, Jesus, this would not happen! This &quot;festive season&quot; points to the season of the Winter Solstice celebration, on the 25th. This fact is alarming, and has prompted me to expose the deception that is at the heart of these socalled &quot;Christian&quot; feasts. The Bible tells us in Hosea 4:6 that &quot;My people are destroyed through a lack of knowledge&quot;, and in Revelations chapter 22:1819 we are told to neither add nor subtract anything from the Word of God, or there will be dire consequences! Deut. 6:1415 says: &quot;Ye shall not go after other gods of the people which are round about you (for the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee and destroy thee from the face of the earth.&quot; Read also Deut. 7 to see how the Lord warns the children of Israel against getting involved with the idolatry of Canaan. 2. There is no record in the Book of Acts of the early Church celebrating Easter or Christmas, the Jews kept the feast of Passover ­ Pesach at much the same time as Easter, but Easter and Passover do not necessarily fall on the same weekend every year. Remember that Easter IS NOT the same as Passover!! That is part of the deception. In Matt. 28:1920: Jesus Christ said to His disciples: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, .... Teaching them to observe ALL things whatsoever I have commanded you ...
With this in mind, I do not read anywhere in the Bible that Jesus instructed His disciples to celebrate Easter or Christmas. In Leviticus chapter 23, however, we do learn about the real feasts of the Lord, which He tells us are feasts ordained by Him, as perpetual feasts. Surely we would rather be obedient to our Heavenly Father, and please Him, than to obey the traditions of man, which are definitely not pleasing to God! The emperors of Rome always carried a double title  they wore the crown as the governmental head of state, but also as the religious head of state. Therefore, the emperor was also the high priest of the &quot;motherchild&quot; cult and had control of the religious system. Even before the birth of Jesus Christ the following practices were in full swing: the keeping of Lent (40 day fast), Easter eggs, hot cross buns, the Christmas tree (evergreen Tree). In 312 A.D. the emperor Constantine of Rome decided that he would like to have the political support of the peace loving Christians in his empire, and he was determined to get this support. After having a vision of a flag with a cross on it, he believed that God wanted him to declare the Christian religion to be the state religion, and seeing that he was the high priest of the Roman Empire, he had the authority to do so. Due to this decision of his, a great and terrible mixing of religions took place, mixing the &quot;mother child&quot; cult into the Christian church, sadly polluting the latter. Heathen practices which came into the Christian Church then, are still being practices, and thus the Babylonian religion carries on to this day. It is a fact that when countries were conquered in days of old, the defeated people were allowed one day a year to celebrate their own god, the rest of the time they had to worship the god's of their conquerors. When nations were conquered by Rome, the Romans &quot;christianised&quot; the pagan festivals ­ and we see this clearly in the celebration of Christmas (the Winter solstice) and Easter (Ishtar). That is why we, as Christians who have a serious relationship with the Living God, and who know about the origin of Easter and Christmas, should not take part at all in these festivals, or keep them in any way. At Passover, attention must be given to the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ at the same time that the Jews celebrate Pesach, because He is the True Passover Lamb. And Jesus Christ Himself instituted the Lord's Table (Holy Communion), which He taught us to keep, and in this way we honour Him by bringing to remembrance with thanksgiving His death, often! (Read our book &quot;THE LORD'S TABLE AND HEALING&quot;) As we have said before, it is unwise to celebrate the Lord Jesus' birth (Christmas) in December, as His birth did not take place in December, but during the Feast of Tabernacles, in October. It is significant that He never instructed us to celebrate His birthday, but He did however, instruct us to remember His death ­ often!! We read in 1 Cor. 11 verses 2426: ...and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, Take, eat this is My body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of Me.&quot; In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, &quot;This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.&quot; For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. We have seen that Easter, which comes from the name of an ancient German goddess, &quot;Eastre&quot;, who was worshipped during a spring Festival, and is directly connected with Ishtar and Simarimus. We, as the Bride of Jesus Christ, should not be involved in heathen feasts of any kind. Jesus is coming for a Bride without spot and wrinkle, and He is coming soon. I am sure that you now understand why I state at the beginning of this book that you cannot possibly put Christ back into Christmas because HE WAS NEVER IN IT FROM THE START. In fact, we should be taking Christ out of Christmas altogether, as He does not belong in a pagan festival. As Christians, we are here to lead people to Christ, because it is He, and He alone, who changes lives. We have been given His Word, which is the only truth, and we are warned throughout the Bible not to follow after traditions of man and false gods. It is for us to remember with gratitude what
Jesus did for us on the cross, and to live lives of obedience to our Heavenly Father, giving Him all the honour and glory due to Him alone. The &quot;Christmas spirit&quot;, which reigns over this world during December, is heathen and evil. It gives man the license to commit terrible sins and console himself with the phrase: &quot;it is after all only Christmas once a year!&quot; It brings out the worst in people ­ it is a time of gluttony, drunkenness and overspending which leads to debt. As Children of God, we must distance ourselves from these practices, and involve your children in the truth of God's Word, no matter how small they may be. Explain to your children why you, as a Christian family do not celebrate Christmas and Easter, and teach them about the TRUE Feasts of the LORD in Lev. 23, which were instituted by God and point us to Jesus. There are many other opportunities to bless our children with gifts and holidays and things that are fun ­ God wants us to be joyous and celebrate, but our celebrations must be centred around the Truth of the Word of God. May God help you and bless you as you grow in holiness, separation and dedication to Him by breaking with heathen and worldly feasts. The feasts ordained by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and called the &quot;Feasts of the Lord&quot; are found in Leviticus chapter 23, and are as follows: 1. Passover. (March/April) This took place when God delivered the Israelites out of bondage and points to our deliverance from the bondage of Satan and the world when Jesus, the Passover Lamb of God paid for our sins at Calvary. 2. Pentecost. (May/June) (Hebrew Shavuot) This took place 50 days after the Israelites deliverance out of Egypt when Moses received God's Word on tablets of stone at Mount Sinai. This points to Pentecost (Acts chapter 2). After Jesus had ascended into Heaven, 50 days after His death, burial and resurrection, the Holy Spirit was poured out from Heaven just as Jesus had promised and God's Word was written on the hearts of men who received Him. 3. The Feast of Tabernacles. (September/October) The Jews remember God's provision for them during their time in the Wilderness, and it points to the return of Jesus Christ, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus is at the heart of all of these above feasts, and they are celebrated in reverence and thanksgiving to God the Father for His wonderful gifts and provision with hearts of rejoicing and gladness.