Merry

1. Merry Christmas? From our ‘s to yours...

2. Have you ever thought about why people celebrate a holiday called Christmas?  After all, the word "Christmas" is not found anywhere in the Bible.  Not only that, but there is also absolutely no mention of December 25th in the Bible. In fact, we know that Jesus was not even born during the winter since the shepherds were still out with their flocks at night when He was born. Luke 2:8 So where did this holiday come from?

3. The first Christians did not celebrate "Christmas".  In fact, "Christmas" did not become an official Christian holiday until the middle of thE 4th century.  But December 25th was celebrated as a major pagan holiday for centuries and centuries long before Jesus was ever born.  It was a very a dark occult festival that celebrated the birthday of the "sun god" in all his various forms.  Unfortunately, most Christians have never learned about the pagan origins of Christmas.  Most Christians seem to believe that the history of Christmas began when Jesus was born.  But that is not the truth at all.

4. God established an entirely different holy day (that you can find in the Bible) for the birthday of Jesus.  But instead, the Roman Catholic religion latched on to the birthday of the sun god and married it to the birth of Christ.  This birthday of the sun god can be traced all the way back to ancient Babylon.  In fact, most of our "modern Christmas traditions" can be traced all the way back to ancient Babylon.  Unfortunately, most Christians simply do not care.  Most Christians love Christmas and would never give it up no matter what they learned about it.  Most Christians are going to believe what they want to believe no matter what you tell them. If you are curious about the real history of Christmas, read on, but be warned - it may "spoil" the Christmas holiday YOU HOLD SO DEAR forever. But at least you will know the truth.

5. After the flood of Noah, the first great "world ruler" to arise once human civilization got rolling again was named Nimrod.  Nimrod was also known as Marduk and Gilgamesh and after his death he eventually came to be worshipped as Baal, Osiris, Apollo and many, many other "sun gods".  Nimrod was exceedingly wicked, and he even married his own mother.  Her name was Semiramis, and from her came virtually all of the "goddesses" of the ancient world including Isis, Ishtar, Ashtoreth, Asherah, Aphrodite, Venus and Diana.  Many of these "goddesses" came to be associated with the moon. After Nimrod died, Semiramis became pregnant.  The people were instructed to believe that Nimrod the "sun god" had been "reincarnated" and that he was coming back as the child that Semiramis was carrying.  The birth of her son, Tammuz, became associated with the rebirth of the sun.  This is the origin for all of the art throughout the ancient world that we see of a "goddess" holding her child.  It can all be traced back to Semiramis and Tammuz. Whether Tammuz was actually born on December 25th or not, the truth is that in the ancient world this date became associated with the "rebirth" of the sun god Nimrod in the person of Tammuz.

6. In fact, as a part of this winter solstice celebration in ancient Babylon, pagans believed that a heroic supernatural figure (the sun god Nimrod) would visit an evergreen tree and leave gifts on December 25th.  Now keep in mind that this was long, long before Jesus was ever born. From its early Babylonian roots, the celebration of the birth or "rebirth" of the sun god on December 25th came to be celebrated under various names all over the ancient world. Winter solstice occurs a few days before December 25th each year. Winter solstice is the day of the year when daylight is the shortest. In ancient times, December 25th was the day each year when the day started to become noticeably longer. Thus it was fitting for the early pagans to designate December 25th as the date of the birth or the "rebirth" of the sun god. The truth is that thousands of years before there was a "Santa Claus", there was another supernatural figure who would supposedly visit a tree and leave gifts every December 25th. His name was Nimrod. According to ancient Babylonian history, Semiramis claimed that after the untimely death of her son/husband Nimrod, a full grown evergreen tree sprang up overnight from a dead tree stump. Semiramis claimed that Nimrod would visit that evergreen tree and leave gifts each year on the anniversary of the birth of the sun god, which just happened to be on December 25th. This is the true origin of the Christmas tree.

7. The celebration of Christmas historically goes back to this ancient Babylonian ruler. Genesis 10:8-12 tells us, Nimrod was basically the first great "world ruler" after the Flood.  According to history, he married his mother (Semiramis) and after Nimrod's death Semiramis had a child named Tammuz which was supposedly Nimrod "reborn". This story is the original source of the art all over the ancient world that depicts the "goddess" holding the holy child.  For example, the whole mythology of Isis giving birth to Horus after the death of Osiris is a good example of this. In fact, Osiris is a good example of a "god" that can be traced back to Nimrod.  In Genesis it tells us that Nimrod was the first great ruler of Assyria, which many scholars believe was originally pronounced "Osiria". The truth is that virtually all of the male deities of the ancient world can be traced back to Nimrod or his brother Tammuz.

8.  Even though Christianity adopted this pagan holiday and renamed it, that doesn't mean it isn’t still a pagan holiday—which it is. The truth is that the holiday known as "Yule" has been celebrated by the pagans of ancient Babylon from late December through early January since around 2000BC. Yule logs were also traditionally lit throughout northern Europe to honor the pagan god Thor. The festival would continue until the Yule log burned out - which could take up to twelve days. This is where we get the so-called "12 days of Christmas". In fact, Wiccans, neo-pagans and even many witches still celebrate Yule to this day. For many of them, it is one of the most important days of the year.  Many of them think that it is incredibly funny when Christians use the pagan word Yule.  Do YOU buy a Yule Log?

9. the word "Yule" can be traced all the way back to ancient Babylon. Alexander Hislop explains it in his book The Two Babylons (1853): "That Christmas was originally a Pagan festival is beyond all doubt. The time of the year, and the ceremonies, with which it is still celebrated, prove its origin. In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time, 'about the time of the winter solstice.' The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among us -- Yule-day -- proves at once its pagan and Babylonian origin. 'Yule' is the Chaldee name for an 'infant' or 'little child'; and as the 25th of December was called by our Pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors, 'Yule-day,' or the 'Child's-day,' and the night that preceded it, 'Mother-night,' long before they came in contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character. Far and wide, in the realms of Paganism, was this birthday observed." (Hislop, p. 93-94).

10. So where did the word "Christmas" come from? Well, the truth is that the word "Christmas" is not actually found anywhere in the entire Bible. In fact, the word "Christmas" was not even invented until about a thousand years after Jesus left this earth. The Catholic Encyclopedia even admits this.... "The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ, first found in 1038." Before it was called "Christmas", the December 25th holiday was referred to in England as "Yule". Considering the fact that "Yule" is the Babylonian word for "infant" that is a very disturbing fact. Yes, "Yule" celebrates the birth of an "infant", but that infant is not Jesus Christ.

11. So lets recap… Yule logs are traditionally lit to honor the pagan god Thor(Santa) The festival goes on as long as the log burns, about 12 days. Child sacrifice was made as an offering or gift to the pagan gods. Yule means Infant or Child Sacrifice is a Gift to the gods Yule gifts ARE Child Sacrifices So, when you give someone a gift during Christmas, YOU are symbolically offering YOUR child as a sacrifice to Baal. Whether you want to admit this or not, Satan appreciates your sacrifice to him. Thanks. love Satan

12. Did you know the Bible talks about Christmas trees? • Jeremiah • 2:20,34 • 3:6, • 10:1-8, • 17:1-2, • 19:3-5 • Judges 6:25 • Isaiah 44:11-21 Don’t take my word for it CHECK IT FOR YOURSELF!!!

13. In ancient times pagans would sacrifice their children to Molech and Baal, who are all Satan in disguise. today people sacrifice their children to Santa Clause. This occult ritual is a symbolic representation of the ancient practice.

14. You have been deceived into celebrating a pagan festival Jesus was not born on December 25th. The reality is that it would have simply been far too cold for shepherds to be out with their sheep at night in Israel on December 25th. (Luke 2:8) So when was Jesus actually born? Well, using the clues given to us in the Scriptures and by following the chronology given in the gospel of Luke, we can determine that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles.  In fact, it seems most likely that He was born on the very first day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

15. So what was the Feast of Tabernacles? (Leviticus 23) Well, each year God would have His people gather in the city of Jerusalem and live in booths or tents. Now why in the world would God have His people do that? Well, it was a "prophetic picture story" of what would happen in the future. For centuries upon centuries in advance, God had His people gather in the area of the world where Jesus would be born (Bethlehem is just 5 miles away from Jerusalem), at the exact time of the year when Jesus would be born, and He had them live in temporary humble shelters to foreshadow exactly how Jesus would enter the world.

16. In the gospel of Luke there are clues that we can use to calculate the approximate time that Jesus was born. Starting with calculating the time of the year when John the Baptist's father served in the Temple, we can come up with a Scriptural timeline that ends in the birth of Christ. The truth is that God always does the "big things" on his high holy days. If Jesus was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles (which is a High Sabbath), then He would have been circumcised on the 8th day of the Feast of Tabernacles (which is also a High Sabbath).

17. In addition, it would better explain why there was no room for Mary and Joseph to stay anywhere. Bethlehem is only about 5 miles from Jerusalem, so the entire area around Jerusalem would have been absolutely packed with visitors who had come in for the festival. But perhaps the biggest clue is the festival itself. You see, during the Feast of Tabernacles, God had His people live in humble temporary shelters which perfectly foreshadowed how His Son would come into the world some day. In essence, God had His people go up to Jerusalem every year, at the exact time when His Son would be born and He had them live in humble temporary shelters ("manger scenes") in order to foreshadow the circumstances of the birth of the Messiah.

18. So why are Christiansstill not celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles today? Why are they celebrating "Christmas" instead? Well, in the centuries following the time of Jesus, there was a tremendous amount of anti-Semitism throughout the Roman Empire.  Jews came to be deeply hated, and anything associated with the Jews was looked down upon. Christian converts in areas of the Roman Empire outside of Israel started to find it very convenient to forget about anything that looked like "Jewish tradition" and many of them would even openly celebrate the pagan holidays that everyone else was celebrating just to "fit in".

19. By the time the Roman Empire legalized Christianity in the 4th century, most of the other religions in the empire were celebrating the birth of their sun gods on December 25th. Leading up to December 25th in ancient Rome, a festival known as Saturnalia was one of the biggest celebrations of the year. Saturnalia was a festival during which the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of their god Saturn. This holiday began on the 17th of December and it would last for an entire week until the 23rd of December. Saturnalia was typically characterized by gift-giving, feasting, singing and lots and lots of debauchery. The priests of Saturn would carry wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession throughout the pagan Roman temples.

20. Later on, the Romans also started holding a festival on December 25th called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, which means "the birthday of the unconquered sun." Basically it was a way for the empire to consolidate all of the December 25th "sun god" birthdays throughout the empire into one holiday. In the year 350 A.D., Pope Julius Ideclared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on December 25th from then on. It was obvious that Pope Julius was trying to make it “as painless as possible” for the pagan Romans to convert to Catholicism. However, the new holiday did not really take off with Christians at first. The widespread celebration of December 25th by Christians did not really get going until 378. It was apparently then dropped in 381 and then resurrected in 400.

21. But the truth is that December 25th was celebrated as the birthday of scores of pagan sun gods long before it was ever associated with Jesus. The celebration of December 25th goes all the way back to Nimrod (who eventually came to be worshipped as the sun god Baal). Baal worship spread throughout the known world and provided the basis for all other pagan religions. The following are just some of the pagan sun gods that had "birthdays" on December 25th.... Mithras Horus Attis Dionysus the son of Zeus Tammuz Hercules Osiris Perseus Helios Bacchus Apollo Jupiter Sol Invictus – (The "Unconquered Sun")

22. When the Roman Catholics decided to make December 25th a "Christian holiday" in the fourth century, they simply "adopted" a pagan holiday and kept most of the same pagan traditions. By adopting pagan holidays, the Catholic authorities hoped to make it easier for pagans to turn into "Christians". 

23. Even the "Christmas tree" can be traced back to ancient pagan traditions.  For example, the ancient Babylonian "Christmas tree" came to be seen as a symbol of fertility throughout the ancient world. The pole, balls, and tinsel (phallus, testes, semen) represented various aspects of male fertility, while wreaths were always fashioned in a circle to represent female fertility.

24. In the Scriptures, God solemnly warns us not to adopt the practices of those who worship other gods. Deuteronomy 12:29-31: 29When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land; 30Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

25. The Puritans understood this. It comes as a surprise to most Americans to learn that the Puritans once banned Christmas in the United States because it was considered so pagan. According to ancient Babylonian tradition, the springtime fertility festival of Ishtar (Easter) was a time when the "Queen of Heaven" was believed to become impregnated. Nine months later the sun god would be "born" or "reborn". To the ancient Babylonians, these holiday trees eventually came to be worshipped as the "Queen of Heaven", and gifts were brought to the "groves" of trees that had been grown in her honor and placed beneath them as offerings. The Babylonians also used wreaths to represent the nativity of the sun, since they were objects that depicted the "womb" of the Earth mother. Early Christians completely rejected these traditions. Semiramis “Queen of Heaven” with her son Tammuz

26. The truth is, the celebration of December 25th and most of the accompanying traditions have always been pagan. But many Christians will protest and say that it is okay for them to celebrate December 25th because to them it is all about Jesus. That was the same excuse that Aaron used when he and most of the rest of the people of Israel worshipped the golden calf while Moses was up on the mountain getting the Law of God. Aaron actually said that the worship of the golden calf was being done to the Lord as we read in Exodus 32:5.... When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.“ But we know how that turned out. God was not pleased at all. In fact, He was beyond furious. In the same way, God is not pleased when we celebrate pagan holidays and keep traditions that have been pagan for thousands of years.

27. Do you really want to be celebrating the birthday of Nimrod? Do you really think that it is appropriate for Christians to be indulging in deeply pagan practices?  Just because we have slapped the name of "Jesus" on them does that make them okay? It is time for Christians to wake up and to learn the real history of Christmas. The truth is that no Christian should be celebrating this deeply pagan holiday. Until now you’ve had an excuse because nobody has ever taught you these things. But now you know

28. Merry PAGAN Christmas www.theologyoftruth.com

29. This presentation was created by www.Theology of Truth.com Biblical History provided by Richard Mathewson Research and Designed by Allie Mathewson Book Research Information provided by: The Holy Bible Tyndale’s Bible (the most accurate) The Two Babylons –Hislop Pagan Christianity- Viola The Reason for the Season – Hunt Occult holidays or God’s Holy-days- which? – Coulter The Annals of the world – Ussher The timetables of history – Grun Zondervan handbook to the history of Christianity –Hill Idioms of the Bible – Lamsa The oxford history of the Bible world – Coogan Web research information provided by: http://shofarhorn.com/archives/pagan-christmas http://yahushua.net/santa.htm http://dancingfromgenesis.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/roman-emperor-constantine-started-established-christmas-celebration-with-pagan-festivals-of-mediterranean-osirian-sarturnalia-and-rites-of-persian-mithra-sun-fire-god-worship-merged-with-christmas-cel/ http://christmasxmas.xanga.com/682535672/item/ http://holidaysvsholydays.com/St--Nikolaus-Legend-.php http://krampus.xanga.com/717833653/item/ http://christmasxmas.xanga.com/686395113/item/ http://lang-8.com/73510/journals/741445/How-Odin-Became-Santa-Claus%3A-Symbolism-and-Pagan-Origins-of-a-Gift-Giving-Saint-! http://www.kriss-kringle.com/kringle_origins.htm http://krampus.com/who-is-krampus.php http://doubleportioninheritance.blogspot.com/2011/11/santa-claus-or-satan-claws.html http://www.novareinna.com/festive/oft.html May YHWH bless you and give you peace.