Introduction.
In his high priestly prayer, Jesus says of his disciples: They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world, (John 17:16). This applies equally to God’s faithful remnant in our time, and implicit in this is that we should not do as the world does. We must not imitate what the world and the fallen churches do. This blog is primarily aimed at those who are members of my own church, the SDA, secondly to those who belong to other churches, and finally to those who do not believe in God.
Unfortunately, there are many who call themselves Christians who do what the world does and indulge in the fallen churches and follow in every way everything that have nothing to do with biblical Christianity. Those who follow the world cannot by definition be called Christians, because being a Christian involves certain conditions. The Bible clearly tells us what is expected of us if we accept Jesus as our Savior. Just look at what Jesus says about this. In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, and in verse 27 He says: … … Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
As we see, this is one of the conditions for being able to call oneself a Christian. But what does it mean to love God? Jesus says in John 14:21 the following: He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. This means that whoever does not keep all of God’s ten commandments does not love God. This must be a frightening and disturbing thought for most of them that call themselves Christians.
The Bible also gives some characteristics of those whom God recognizes as His people. In Revelation 12:17 we read this: And the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. This verse needs a somewhat broader explanation. The dragon, who is a picture of Satan, was wroth with the woman, who is a picture of the church, and as we know, the church is divided into two groups for different reasons, and one of them is mentioned in the verse above. It says that Satan went to make war with the remnant of her seed. This means, as already said, that there are two groups of Christians, one group that Satan does not make war with, and the other group that is subject to Satan’s warfare. Then we can ask why the first group escapes Satan’s wrath. It is simply because he has already defeated them and has them in his palm, tight hand. The others, on the other hand, Satan makes war with because they keep the Ten Commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. What the testimony of Jesus Christ is we find in Revelation 19:10: … … for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
In Revelation 14:12 we find this description: Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Once again, it points to keeping God’s Ten Commandments—all of God’s Ten Commandments – and adds that this group, the rest of her seed, have the faith of Jesus! The faith that Jesus had brought Him to the cross where He gave His life for you and me.
The Bible is full of examples of what will happen if we follow the world or do the same as our “neighbours.” God’s people of old, the carnal descendants of Abraham, failed to follow God’s command not to mingle with the heathen, and their religious journey became a roller coaster with times when they followed God and times when they turned away from God and followed their neighbours instead. Here follows a small collection of verses where God exhorts His people to turn from their wicked ways and seek Him.
And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins, (Numbers 16:26).
My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD, (Jeremiah 51:45).
Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest [with] the daughter of Babylon, (Zechariah 2:11).
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you, (2 Corinthians 6:16-17).
These verses speak for themselves, but there is a common denominator here, and that is that God’s faithful remnant, both in ancient times and in our time, must distance themselves from that which has no biblical basis. In addition, there are many things that have been invented recently such as data and all these social platforms as a direct result of the development of data. This, and everything else that is out there in the world that draws our attention from what is important, the end-time message and the proclamation of the second coming of Jesus and the pending judgment of all people, we should be careful how we use.
All Bible texts are from King James Version 1611/1769 unless otherwise indicated.
Holidays that the church encourages us to participate in.
Not only does the church encourage us to participate in these celebrations, but it also even draws them into the church. It may seem trivial to participate in such as St. Valentine’s Day and All Saints’ Day, but where do these days come from, and what are we participating in if we celebrate these days? There are also two other major celebrations that the church wants us to participate in, and that is the Christmas celebration and the Easter celebration. This is something that most people participate in, and that with enthusiasm, but here too there is at least one question that we must address. Where does this come from, and what is it that we actually participate in by celebrating Christmas and Easter.
No, wait a minute, many will say, these are innocent celebrations, and we celebrate love, remember our dead, remember the birth of Jesus and remember his death and resurrection. What I wonder is whether these holidays are initially as innocent as they are presented as. Another thing that I would call a disease caused by the zeitgeist is tattooing, and the excessive use of social media. Many people make this a life’s work, and many of them look like a wandering mixture of street art and tagging, where they walk around with a mobile phone that has apparently taken root in their hands. Along with the tattoos, many have piercings in their ears, face, and wherever they find space for it, and look more like a living advertisement for building materials companies. And as soon as they approach an airport, the metal detectors start to howl something disgusting. Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but this is anything but pretty to look at.
Let’s try to find out where this comes from, what the background of the various celebrations is, and what is the real origin of the tattoos and piercings that everyone must have all over their body.
The day of love; St. Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day is originally a Catholic holiday, and this feast day was decided to be on February 14th. It is probably no coincidence that February 14 is the day of celebration of St. Valentine, who is the patron saint of love and romance.
The precursor to Valentine’s Day is the feast of the Roman goddess Juno, which was celebrated on February 14. The Romans honoured her as the queen of the Roman gods. Juno also represented women and marriage. In Imperial Rome, this was the official start of spring. The next day, February 15, the Lupercalia festival began, which was a fertility celebration of Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture.
The legends tell us that the Roman clergy lined up in front of a sacred cave where Romulus and Remus, who, according to legend, founded the city of Rome, were supposed to have been suckled by a she-wolf when they were infants. Here, the clergy sacrificed a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. Young Roman boys then cut the goatskin into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood, and ran out with it. Along the way, they slapped both the women and the fields with the bloody strips of leather. Far from being afraid, the Roman women welcomed the slaps, because it would make them more fertile in the coming year.
The legends also tell us that there was also a great love lottery. The women of the city put slips of paper with their names in a large urn, and the city’s bachelors were given the honor of taking a slip out of the urn. Legends say that this annual coupling between women and men often led to the couples falling in love and getting married, and in any case, children were born from it.
What does this story have to do with St. Valentine’s Day? The story goes that in the year 498, Pope Gelasius decided that February 14th would be St. Valentine’s Day. It is probably no coincidence that the date for St. Valentine was set at February 14th, when we consider what the celebration of Juno and Faunus contained in terms of sexual debauchery. Officially, the Roman Church distanced itself from this celebration, and instead wrapped it in a more «edible» form as St. Valentine’s Day. Although the Christian celebration of St. Valentine’s Day was originally a liturgical celebration in memory of one or more early Christian saints named Valentine or Valentinus, this day is undoubtedly strongly connected to the ancient pagan gods Janus and Faunus. Regardless of what one believes about this, St. Valentine’s Day is a celebration of an idol, whether it is St. Valentine, Janus or Faunus, and God tells us through Exodus 20:3: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
The day of the Dead; All Saints’ Day.
The rituals incorporated into the celebration of All Saints’ Day, or Halloween, have their roots back to the Druids, who were among the learned Celts who served as sacrificial priests, advisors to the king, and soothsayers who had contact with the spirit world. They never performed a sacrifice without an oak leaf being involved, hence the name druid, which comes from the Greek words drys, and dryade, meaning oak, and has given rise to the Old Irish word drui, meaning wizard.
In most countries in the world, Halloween (All Saints’ Eve) is celebrated on the last evening of October and is historically a night of horror. In earlier times, the custom on this night was that grotesque heads, often carved from pumpkins, were placed at some front doors, with candles made of human tallow. In other places, the front doors were sprinkled with human blood. This was done to protect and guard the homes against the restless spirits that roamed restlessly that night. This night was, according to the Celts, dedicated to Samhain, the lord of the dead.
In Latin America, they have another macabre tradition, All Hallows’ Eve, and the following night, and it is perhaps not surprising that this night has been seen as a night of horror. In the countries in question, those who have lost a family member prepare the person’s favourite dish, and together with the person’s favourite drink (liquor) they bring this to the cemetery where the person is buried. Then they party all night, dance on the graves, and have a violent orgy of eating, drinking and making a love orgy throughout the night.
This is perhaps the “Christianized” holiday that Satan has been most successful in seducing even the elect. I put Christianized in quotation marks because this is not a Christian holiday. Satan has almost the entire Christian family involved in this occult celebration, where Satan celebrates himself and his followers. Most cultures throughout the world have holidays commemorating the dead, and all are celebrated on or about the very day that the flood occurred according to the account in the book of Genesis, which was the seventeenth day of the second month. This corresponds to the end of October in our calendar. (The Worship of the Dead: J. Garnier.)
The Druids had the following tradition. It was said that on October 31st, Samhain (the lord of the dead) released the spirits of the dead so that they could mingle with the living. The Druids ran noisily through the streets with lanterns, and when they came to a house, they demanded money as an offering to Satan.
The newspaper USA Today writes in an article: All Hallows’ Eve is particularly dedicated to satanic rites, and is a religious holiday for the underworld, when Satanists make sacrifices, and witches quietly mark the day with prayer circles or meals for the dead. According to this article, male witch Bryan Jordan in Washington is said to have said: Christians don’t realize it, but they celebrate our holiday with us … … We like it.
Masks and costumes used in some countries in connection with Halloween, All Hallows’ Eve:
From The Tampa Tribune: The Celts set out food, drink and other treats for the spirits and tried to trick them into staying away by putting on masks and costumes and riding trains to the outskirts of the village … // … The bonfires were originally sacrificial fires where priests sought to appease the sun god by sacrificing animals and often people … // … The bloody rituals of the Druids live on through the strong interest of young people in ghosts and spirits.
From the Beaumont Enterprise. The Druids noted how the victims died and took omens for the future from this.
Halloween parties and the telling of scary stories also date back to the time of the Druids, when it was common belief that spirits roamed the land. The Christian, or rather Catholic All Saints’ Day, has the Latin name Festum Omnium Sanctorium. This is a celebration of all the saints whose names are not known. The «Christian» holiday, which in modern times is the first Sunday in November, is often marked by lighting candles on the graves of deceased relatives. The tradition of dressing up for Halloween, which comes from All Hallows Eve, is traced back to the Celtic Samhain. The Irish were the first large Catholic group to come to the United States, they brought with them the celebration of All Saints’ Day, and Halloween.
What is the original reason for lighting candles for the dead? Every time we are at a funeral, we see candles being lit for the deceased. We also see it in places where people have died in car accidents or have been killed as a result of an act of violence. Then candles are lit for days, and the reason is said to be that we should remember the dead. But that is not the case. Originally, candles were lit for the dead for a simple reason, and that was that the soul of the deceased should find its way to the next world.
As we can see, it is idolatry and nothing else that takes place during these two festivals, this is occultism and Satanism in a horrible mixture. That one can call such festivals “Christian” is a big mystery to me. Now we will see if the same applies to the other two festivals mentioned.
Jesus’ birthday; The annual Christmas celebration.
Christmas is an annual holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus, one of the greatest holidays in Christianity. However, this celebration is based on, and is a continuation of, the old pagan festival that in Northern Europe was called Jól.
In much of the world today, December 25 is the central date in the Christian Christmas celebration. In Norway, and some other countries, however, it is Christmas Eve (the evening of December 24) that is the highlight of the Christmas celebration.
The Christian celebration of Jesus’ birth is, as mentioned, nothing more than an attempt to Christianize the old pagan tradition of celebrating Jól, or the midwinter festival, and has some similarities with the pagan festival, such as feasting on festive food and sharing the name of the event Jól, or Christmas. In most of the world, this celebration has been given a Christian name: in English it is Christmas, in German Weihnachten, but in Scandinavia the holiday has retained its old Germanic name jul (jól). English has preserved Yuletide as an archaic form.
Early Christian times in Norway and Northern Europe.
The original Norse celebration of Jól or Jólablót was a celebration on the occasion of Midwinter. In the 10th century, the Norwegian king Håkon the Good ordered that Norway should celebrate Christmas on December 25, at the same time as the Christian holiday was celebrated throughout Europe. This was done in an attempt to stop the pagan ritual of sacrifice. Thus, the Christian holiday became the heir to the old name «Christmas».
Gulatingsloven, an old Norwegian law code, linked the pagan custom of «drinking Christmas» with the rule that «the beer shall be signed in thanks for Christ and the Holy Mary, for a good year and peace». Gulatingsloven’s older Christian law mandated beer brewing and beer drinking in connection with Christmas. Signing the beer was a highlight of the celebration.
There was also a belief that the dead were in motion during the darkest time of the year. Those who died in a normal way and were ritually buried (possibly in consecrated ground) protected farm and family. Those who died violently and prematurely were believed to have gone around in droves at Christmas. Such ghosts that haunted the living have been documented since the Middle Ages. These beliefs have pre-Christian origins.
Beer drinking have pre-Christian origins in Norway. In pre-Christian times, the drink offerings were dedicated to the gods Odin, Frey, Njord and Thor. The offering was given to árs, which was a wish for a good year and for crops and fishing, and to friðar, which means harmony between friends. Beer drinking is the only thing that is known for certain about pre-Christian Christmas celebrations. It is possible that elements of pre-Christian Christmas celebrations were preserved in medieval Christian Christmas celebrations and mixed with elements of other origins.
As late as the 1950s and 1960s, beer was brewed in thousands of homes in Norway, and my mother brewed Christmas beer according to a traditional recipe and in accordance with the purity law.
Why has December 25 become Jesus’ birthday?
The following is taken from https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julaften#Bakgrunn In the 4th century, the bishop of Rome established December 25 as Jesus’ birthday and then made the Roman celebration of the winter solstice a Christian holiday.
When the church was new, Satan tried to kill all Christians, but without success. Because the blood of every Christian who was killed was like a seed, this led many to accept Jesus when they saw how the Christians remained calm until the flames killed them or the wild animals tore them to pieces. Therefore, there were always many more new Christians than those who were killed. Then Satan changed tactics. He infiltrated the church. The next thing he did was to influence Emperor Constantine to make Christianity one of the many state religions of the Roman Empire. This led to paganism starting to flood into the church like a tidal wave. This is part of the cosmic conflict between God and Satan. Satan does not want anyone to worship God in the way He has prescribed and uses any means to achieve this goal.
After Emperor Constantine had done his thing, Satan chose the Bishop of Rome to continue his infiltration, and more and more pagan traditions were “Christianized.” Since the Bible is silent about Jesus’ birthday, the Bishop of Rome decided that the date would be December 25th. However, there is no evidence that Jesus was born at the end of December. The reason is that God does not want us to make a big deal out of such things. That does not mean that we should not celebrate our birthdays, but to make Jesus’ birthday a holiday is to set up an idol. This is what we see in our time, but the lavish and insane gluttony in gifts and food around the winter solstice.
The date chosen by the Bishop of Rome is also no coincidence. This date, December 25th, has a long, long pagan history. First of all, it was on this day that it was possible to establish with certainty that the sun had turned and began to rise in the sky again in the northern hemisphere. In all pagan religions, they have a touch of sun worship, be it in the old Norse pantheon, Native American or anywhere in the world. Secondly, this is completely in line with what the Catholic Church stands for, that they set the birthday of Jesus on December 25th. If we look at the old pagan religions that have this mother-child constellation, we find Semiramis and Tammuz, Isis and Horus, Venus and Jupiter, Cyblee and Deoius. What these boys have in common is that they were all born on the same date, namely December 25th.
In other words, the Christmas celebration we carry out every year has to do with sun worship and idolatry. It is as useless to say that December 25 has been made a Christian holiday as it is to believe that if you wrap a kilo of horse dung in the finest, lavishly decorated package, the contents of the package will change. It does not change the contents at all, and it is and will remain horse dung inside the package. This day is rooted all the way back to Babel and has absorbed all forms of wickedness. In addition, sun worship is also lurking in connection with this date. What is actually celebrated is then both Sol Invictus and the old pagan mother-child religions.
What do we know about the birth of Jesus?
As I said, we know nothing about the birth of Jesus, but according to the Bible, Jesus was 33 and a half years old when He died on the cross in the spring of the year 31. How can I claim this? Well, there are many things that prove this, including the prophecy of the 70 weeks of years in Daniel chapter 9, the list of all the government officials we find in the Bible, and the fact that all the “masters” or “teachers” of that time began their ministry when they turned 30. In Jesus’ case, this was the fall of the year 27. Jesus was not born in the year we call 1 AD but, in the year, we call 3 BC. We also know, as already stated, that Jesus died in the spring, after His mission had lasted three and a half years. This means that Jesus was baptized in the fall of the year he turned 30. Jesus must therefore have been born in the fall, not in the winter as the Catholic Church assumes.
Another argument that Jesus could not have been born in the winter is that the mountains around Bethlehem are relatively cold in December, and it is unnatural for the shepherds to be sitting outside in the cold. It often happens that snow falls in these areas in December.
What do we know about December 25?
Church Christmas Tab writes: December was the most important pagan festival month, and December 25 was the day when the winter festivities culminated, says a church newspaper. Some believe that the Bishop of Rome chose December 25 as the birthday of Christ in order to ‘sanctify’ the pagan festivities. The result was a strange mixture of the pagan and the Christian holiday that is now called Christmas. This article admits: The word ‘Christmas’ does not appear in the Bible. And the Bible does not command us to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
It is not surprising that theologian Tertullian lamented: We, strangers to Sabbaths and New Moons and festivals once acceptable to God, now celebrate Saturnalia and other pagan festivals, giving and receiving gifts … … and participating in noisy sporting events and feasts.
Saturnalia was a Roman festival named after the god Saturn, and it was originally celebrated on December 17, but it was so popular that it eventually extended for a week, until December 23. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia by feasting, drinking, eating well, and giving gifts to one another. Homes were decorated with garlands and other greenery. Slaves were given time off from their usual duties to participate in the festivities. In some places they were given a place of honor at the table while the lords served them, and later Pope Gregory I continued this pagan custom.
Natural History writes about this: The pope’s instructions were to use the customs and beliefs of the people instead of trying to eliminate them. If a group of people worshipped a tree, they were not to cut it down, but to dedicate it to Christ and let them continue their worship. But it all stems from sun worship, for when Saturnalia was celebrated, it was really the birthday of the invincible sun that was being celebrated.
What about the symbols we associate with Christmas?
The Christmas tree has very little to do with a Christian holiday, but a lot to do with pagan rites of winter light and rebirth, rites that have survived for thousands of years, (The Boston Herald).
Trees hung with ornaments have been part of pagan celebrations for centuries. (Church Christmas Tab).
In the Bible we find this sequence: Thus saith the LORD, learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people [are] vain: for [one] cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it moves not. They [are] upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also [is it] in them to do good, (Jeremiah 10:2-5).
This is a strong warning not to bring a Christmas tree into your house, because this is one of the customs of the heathen. Yet we see Christmas trees being carried into churches all over the world, and in my own church there are pastors and other leaders who are enthusiastic about it and are bringing it into the church. In my opinion, this is completely wrong.
Ilex aquifolium (Christmas holly) was used by the Celts to keep house elves in order at the winter solstice. Ilex aquifoliumcould ward off evil, stimulate dream interpretation and protect a house from lightning. (Beautiful British Columbia Magazine).
Mistletoe comes from the Druids in England who used it for strange worship in connection with demonic and occult powers. (Church Christmas Tab).
December 25 was the day Mithra worshipers celebrated Mithra’s birth. There is absolutely no biblical basis for assuming that Jesus was born on December 25. (Isaac Asimov).
Gift-giving was part of Saturnalia. It was expected that one would give all one’s friends a gift at this festival. (Ancient Italy and Modern Religion).
The star at the top of the tree was worshipped in the East as a symbol of purity, goodness and peace long before Christ was born. (United Church Herald).
The use of candles does not come from the Christian sanctuary. We have taken this from a much earlier altar, the Druid altar. (United Church Herald).
Santa Claus was stolen from ancient Germanic mythology: Thor was an old man, jovial and friendly, stout and with a long white beard. He drove a wagon, and it was said that he lived in the country to the north. His element was fire, his colour red. The fireplace in every home was sacred to him, and it was said that he came down into it through the chimney. (United Church Herald).
Before Jesus saved me from my sins, when I was still living in the darkness as an atheist, I celebrated Christmas, and all the customs and traditions described above I followed. I somehow could not imagine the end of the year without a real Christmas celebration. I had a large Christmas tree, decorated according to all the rules of art with a shining star at the top of the tree. Christmas holly was hung in several places in the house, and mistletoe was put up. An abundance of gifts was given to my children, and as long as I had small children, I had a neighbour come as Santa Claus and give them the presents on Christmas Eve. On December 25th there was always a family gathering with gluttony in food and drink, and candles were set out everywhere, which were lit every day of Christmas.
It is both thought-provoking and frightening what was once said: If a group of people worshipped a tree, they were not to cut it down, but to dedicate it to Christ and let them continue their worship. That such a statement comes from the head of the Catholic Church is, to put it mildly, astonishing. Is it any wonder that this church is called Babylon?