A Voice In The Wilderness Sacred Calendar Booklet Index
The answer to these questions may surprise you, but briefly, here is the truth of the matter. The popular festivals of Christendom ( Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Ash Wednesday, etc. ) together with the weekly rest of Sunday are all of pagan origin. Their observance is not commanded in the Scriptures. Where did they come from? They were adopted by the Christian church several centuries after the Savior ascended to heaven. Here are a few authoritative statements to prove these amazing claims.
"There is no authoritative tradition as to the day or month of Christ's birth . . . The winter solstice was regarded as the birthday of the sun and at Rome a pagan festival of the nativity of "sol invictus" was introduced by the Emperor Aurelian on the 25th December 274. The church, unable to stamp out this popular festival, spiritualized it as the Feast of the Nativity of the Sun of Righteousness. When Christianity spread northwards it encountered a similar pagan festival also held at the winter solstice - the great Yule feast of the Norsemen. Once again Christians absorbed heathen customs. From the various sources came the Yule Log, the Christmas tree introduced into England from Germany and first mentioned in 1789." ( Chambers Encyclopaedia 1970 edition page 530 )
"Indeed, it is admitted by the most learned and candid of writers of all parties that the day of our Lord's birth cannot be determined and that within the Christian church no festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the 3rd century, and that not till the 4th century was far advanced did it gain much observance."
How then did the Romanish church fix on December 25th as Christmas day? Why, thus:
"Long before the fourth century and long before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen at the precise time of the year in honour of the Son of Babylonian Queen of Heaven: and it may fairly be assumed that in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of the nominal adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church giving it only the name of Christ. This tendency on part of the Christians to meet Paganism half-way was very early adopted ... upright men strove to stem the tide, but in spite of all their efforts the apostasy went on, 'till the church, with the exemption of a small remnant, was submerged under Pagan superstition.
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 proves 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 Two Babylons by Alexander Hyslop, pages 92 and 93 )
"Then look at Easter. What means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears the Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else but Ashtarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the Queen of Heaven.
The "buns", known too by that identical name were used in the worship of the queen of heaven, the goddess of Easter, as early as the days of Cecrops, the founder of Athens - that is 1500 years before the Christian era . . .
The prophet Jeremiah takes notice of this kind of offering when he says, "The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the Queen of heaven," ( Jer. 7:18 ).
The hot cross buns are not now offered, but eaten, on the festival of Astarte: but this leaves no doubt as to whence they have been derived. The origin of the Easter egg is just as clear. The ancient Druids bore an egg as a sacred emblem of their order . . .
In ancient times eggs were used in the religious rites of the Egyptians and the Greeks and were hung up for the mystic purposes in their temples. From Egypt these sacred eggs can be distinctly traced to the banks of the Euphrates. The classic poets are full of the fable of the mystic of the Babylonians; and thus its tale is told by Hyginus the Egyptian, the learned keeper of the Palatine library in Rome, in the time of Augustus, who was skilled in all the wisdom of his native country.
An egg of wondrous size is said to have fallen from heaven into the river Euphrates. The fish rolled it to the bank where the doves having settled upon it and hatched it - out came Venus who afterwards was called the Syrian Goddess - that is Astarte. Hence the egg became one of the of symbols of Astarte or Easter." ( The Two Babylons by Alexander Hyslop, pages 103, 108 &109 )
But enough of quotations, for the reader can visit any reference library and trace the origins of Christmas and Easter back to paganism. The facts are legion.
The question now is: Should a true believer in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel celebrate Christmas and Easter? Is it acceptable to enter into these festivities and keep these pagan feasts now that their heathen origins have become widely known? And will the Holy One of Israel object to one of His followers, say, attending a Christmas dinner or party?
The Bible answer is absolutely clear on this point and if you have the courage to read it turn to 1 Corinthians 10 and study verses 16-22 you will find this question, answered and it amounts to this:
| 1 Corinthians 10: | 20: But I say, that the things which the Gentiles
sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I
would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 21: Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. 22: Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? |
In other words, when a person celebrates Christmas, which was and still is motivated by the forces of evil, he/she is honouring the demons who conceived that pagan festival in the first place; demons who are totally opposed to the Holy Spirit of God; and who go out of their way too prompt mankind into committing all kinds of evil at their winter festival. You may be sure the so-called "spirit of Xmas" is not the Holy Spirit of the LORD God of the Bible. Greed, drunkenness, violence, and debauchery are hallmarks of the Xmas season. Everyone is now aware of this. For more information see Is Christmas Christian?
This is a serious error and if the reader has not already done so he/she must read our article Is Sunday the Christian Sabbath? The article examines every text in the Bible which mentions the first day of the week, and proves beyond any doubt nowhere in the Scriptures is Sunday observance called for. This amazing conclusion is also verified by learned writers of several major Christian denominations.
What then of the coming Spiritual Election? And what have the Sabbaths of the Almighty and the popular festivals of Christendom to do with an election? A great deal. Very soon all humanity will be compelled to choose between:
In that coming spiritual election the electorate will not be expected to enter a polling booth to put a mark against a candidate's name. Instead, the two spiritual candidates, ( Jehovah, the God of Abraham on the one hand and Satan the Devil on the other ), will set their signatures, ( an inscription of their names ) in the minds of the voters. In other words, you will indicate your choice of Leader by accepting in your mind either the Signature of Yahweh the God of Israel or the Mark of the Beast. The Leader whose signature you mentally accept and subsequently reflect in your actions, He will be the One of your choice. That is how you will vote, whether you fully realize the eternal implications of that choice or not.
| Ezekiel 20: | 12: Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths to be a SIGN between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD, that sanctify them. |
| Ezekiel 20: | 20: And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a SIGN between me and you that ye may know that I am the LORD your God. |
| Exodus 31: | 12: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 13: Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a SIGN between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. 16: Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 17: It is a SIGN between me and the children of Israel for ever: ... |
Where does the Almighty place His Sign, His signature? He inscribes it in the human mind and actions, figuratively referred to as "between the eyes" ( in the forehead ), and "in the hand".
| Exodus 13: | 9: And it ( The Feast of Unleavened Bread ) shall be a sign unto thee upon thine hand and for a memorial between thine eyes ( in the forehead ), that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth: ... |
| Deuteronomy 6: | 6: And these words, which I command thee this day,
shall be in thine heart: 7: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8: And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. |
Turn to Revelation 7:1-4 and 14:1 and you will see 144,000 believers receive the Father's name "in their foreheads". The Almighty prophesied concerning this New Covenant work of inscribing His law in the willing believer's mind when He said:
| Hebrews 8: | 8: ... Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and
with the house of Judah: 10. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. |
| Hebrews 10: | 16: This is the covenant that I will make with them after those
days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts,
and in their minds will I write them; 17. And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. |
And there you have it. Yahweh's Sign, His Signature is the Sabbath days in His law and in the New Covenant that law is inscribed on the true believer's mind. So do not let anyone tell you in the New Covenant the Law of the Almighty is done away with. These texts plainly tell us in the New Covenant the Almighty writes His Law on the true believer's mind! Obedience to divine Law, in other words, is a vote for the Creator, the Holy One of Israel.
Just before the end of this age, the Antichrist is scheduled to make a personal appearance on this earth ( 2 Thess. 2:7-8, Rev. 17:8 ). With breathtaking miracles and lying wonders, he will seduce the inhabitants of the world into worshipping Him ( Rev. 13:13-15 ). His hatred of truth will focus on Yahweh's Law and particularly on the Sabbath days in His law. Vainly will the Antichrist imagine that he is able to change and replace God's Sabbaths with days of his own choosing. The prophet Daniel has this to say about the Antichrist's activities:
| Daniel 7: | 25: And he shall speak great words against the Most High, ... and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. |
What does "He will think to change times and laws" mean? It means that this power will vainly imagine he can change the commandments in God's law which deal with the element of time. That means he will seek to alter the Sabbath commandments; for they alone deal with the element of time. Oh, what monstrous pride and self-delusion is here displayed; that anyone should dare to think he is able to change the Laws of the Almighty God! Listen to what the Savior has to say about the eternal nature of His Father's commandments:
| Matthew 5: | 17: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18: For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. |
The word "fulfil" means to do, to carry out, to perform, to execute, to comply with, to obey. And that is exactly what the Savior did. He carried out and obeyed His Father's commandments to the letter and in doing so set us a perfect example ( John 15:10 ).
And you dear reader are now being given the opportunity to choose between:
| 1 John 2: | 3: And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His
commandments. 4: He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. |
The Apostle James tells us faith without obedience is a dead thing, a spiritual corpse!
| James 2: | 17: Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18: Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19: Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20: But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? |
Yahweh expects His followers to demonstrate their faith in Him by endeavouring to keep His commandments. To remember the true Sabbath and Feast Days in God's Law is a vote for the Almighty; a proclamation to the community and the universe at large that Yahweh, the Father of our Lord and Savior Yeshua the Messiah ( Jesus Christ ) is your God, your choice. It is standing up to be counted with God's people. It is accepting the Father's Name in your forehead, your mind. Sabbath observance is a declaration of faith in the Creator of the mighty universe - the One who is LORD of the Sabbath day.
| John 1: | 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. 2: The same was in the beginning with God. 3: All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. |
| Matt 12: | 8: For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. |
How long you personally have before you make your choice and finalize your vote we cannot tell. But you may be sure the time is short and to delay is dangerous. Carefully consider your decision before you make it, for the issues at stake are momentous and the consequences of a wrong choice are too dreadful to even contemplate. Read Revelation 14:9-11 for your own safety.
To help you further understand this matter, AVITW - USA has produced a lesson entitled The Mark of the Beast. It contains information of great importance, so read it today if you have not already done so.
If you decide to obey the Almighty you will be bountifully blessed; blessed and protected from the terrors of Abaddon's regime which is about to tear our civilization apart ( Rev. 9:4 ). Yes, obedience will bring blessing.
| Revelation 22: | 14: Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. |
If on the other hand, you reject Yahweh's Sign ( the sacred Sabbaths detailed in His law ) then you will only have yourself to blame when Abbadon's reign of terror begins; for you can never honestly say you didn't know. AVITW - USA has warned you of the danger of accepting the Mark of the Beast, the bogus sabbaths of Christendom. To help you decide your future course of action we will summarize this study and end this section.
A Voice In The Wilderness Sacred Calendar Booklet Index