I’ve been really hesitant to write this post, because I knew that it would arouse the anger of many. Our holidays are something that we all hold very dear to our hearts. We have wonderful memories of buckets full of candy on Halloween, presents around the Christmas tree and Easter egg hunts at our grandparents house. No one likes to hear that the events that they find comfort in could be out of the will of God (or sin) … not even me. But our flesh desperately seeks “the path of least resistance”. Our carnal nature would rather appease our flesh, justify our way of life, and quietly blend in with the world around us.
99% of us already know that all three of these holidays (namely Halloween, Christmas and Easter) have pagan roots, or were in some way birthed from the church’s desire to compromise with pagans (** For links to resources detailing the pagan roots of Halloween, Christmas and Easter, Click HERE). And yet, we still “religiously” continue these customs. Well, a few of us may blacklist Halloween as a “pagan holiday” because Jesus is not celebrated, but we still hold on very tightly to Christmas and Easter. If you attack those two holidays, well, you’ve gone too far! If you think about this mindset with an honest heart, it reeks of hypocrisy. “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” and “He Is Risen!” are common mantras we chant to comfort us in our compromise. After all … God knows our heart, right? I’ll address this later in the post.
No Scriptural Reason
The Truth is that I cannot find any scriptural reason why it is OK to celebrate these holidays. New Testament scriptures used by the church (which I will address in this post) to justify their involvements in these celebrations are cherry-picked and out of context. “It’s OK, as long as your heart is in the right place” is a weak excuse and does nothing to take away from the sinfulness of our actions.
Let’s take a look at some scriptures commonly used by the church to justify their position on the holidays. If you seek the Truth, you WILL find it … but it may not feel good to your flesh.
Galatians 4: You Observe Days and Months and Seasons and Years!
In my opinion, Galatians is probably THE most misunderstood book in the Bible. More false doctrine has come out of this book more than any other (with possibly Romans and Revelation coming in a VERY close second).
Galatians 4:8-11 “But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.”
Because of what our leaders taught us, and because it is our natural tendency to incorporate what we’ve been taught into our paradigm (our way of thinking), it is really easy to just focus on the verses that our leaders emphasized:
“how [is it that] you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.”
As our eyes gravitate to those verses (excluding the surrounding text), we gloss over the Truth of the Word and read our paradigm INTO the passage. We blindly proceed to the next verse, assuming that Paul was writing a chastisement to people who want to observe the “old Jewish holidays”, because somehow Jesus’ work on the cross did away with God’s commandments.
Not so, my friends.
We don’t think about WHO the epistle (letter) was written to. We don’t think about what was happening at the TIME the epistle (letter) was written. And we don’t think about the CULTURE of the people who received the epistle (letter).
We don’t study the Word for ourselves.
A careful analysis of the surrounding scripture will bring the Truth out.
Galatians 4:8-9 “But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how [is it that] you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?“
From the scripture above, we see that prior to coming to the faith, the Galatians did NOT KNOW GOD and SERVED OTHER GODS. They were pagans, not Jews or proselytes!
One error taught by those who teach Galatians is that, somehow, the church of Galatia used to be involved in Judaism, and that the debate is over whether or not they should go back to “the Law”. This sets the stage for an errant “Grace vs. Law” mindset whenever anyone reads this epistle.
If you don’t get the WHO right, you’re going to have a problem interpreting these verses (as well as the entire book of Galatians) correctly.
Galatians 4:10-11 “You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.”
So, if we know that the members of the Galatians church were pagans prior to their conversion, we must come to the conclusion that their celebrated “days and months and years” (the “weak and beggarly elements” that they were in “bondage” to) were pagan holidays, not “Jewish” holidays. On top of that, Paul was afraid that, since the Galatians were celebrating these pagan holidays, that he had “labored in vain”.
We can learn something here. Paul calls celebration of pagan holidays “bondage” … not “freedom”. What does that say about those who celebrate pagan holidays? … Selah. Let’s go on, there’s more!
Galatians 4:12-16 “Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I [became] like you. You have not injured me at all. You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, [even] as Christ Jesus. What then was the blessing you [enjoyed]? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?“
In the midst of his infirmity, Paul came to the pagans of Galatia when it was against Jewish Law to do so (and by “Jewish Law”, I mean man-made “Jewish Law”/Talmud, not “God’s Law”/Torah). He came to them with the Good News of Jesus Christ, which resulted in an opportunity for the Gentiles to become part of “His People”. Contrary to what many teach in churches these days, the “Good News” ALWAYS started with the word “Repent.” Change your pagan ways, stop your pagan celebrations and take on God’s Ways. And, in case we forget, at this point the New Testament didn’t exist … people learned God’s Ways from “the Law and the Prophets” … Selah.
Galatians 4:17-18 “They zealously court you, [but] for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them.”
The “They” in this passage is referring to the Party of the Circumcision (read the entire epistle for context). From reading the book of Acts, and several other references in Paul’s epistles, it can be concluded that the Party of the Circumcision was a powerful and influential sect of the Pharisees. Many of them believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, but allowed their man-made doctrine to tarnish their faith. Early on, they were very militant about being separate from Gentiles (Acts 11:2-3), but after Peter’s dream they softened their stance a little, but then started preaching circumcision as a means of salvation (Acts 15 and the entire book of Galatians). It is apparent from scripture that the Party of the Circumcision followed Paul around …. “adding to” the Gospel after Paul passed through. From the verses above, we can see that they were very similar to modern day pastors and prophets, eager for a following.
Galatians 4:18-20 “But it is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you. My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone; for I have doubts about you.”
I’ve explained Galatians 4:8-20 for this purpose. Paul obviously did not want believers in Messiah to celebrate pagan holidays. Much like our modern day “salvation prayer converts,” the Gentile believers grasped a hold of a salvation by works mindset (saying “the prayer”), and reverted back to their old ways (celebrating their pagan holidays). Paul was calling them (again) to “Come Out” of the culture that they were a part of. If they failed in this area, Paul considered his efforts to be “in vain”.
Colossians 2: Let No One Judge You
Is your flesh feeling uncomfortable yet? Yeah … mine too. I really want to crucify this flesh, it keeps me from obeying God’s commands … but dying is never painless!
You’ve probably noticed that I use the phrase “cherry-picked” a lot when referring to scriptures taken out of context. Have you ever picked cherries before? It’s all about eating the nice looking cherries, and throwing away the rest, huh? Sure, the throwaways are “bad” cherries, but that’s where the metaphor ends with God’s Word … it’s ALL good! There are no bad scriptures!
Another scripture that frequently gets “cherry-picked” is:
Colossians 2:16-17 “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
But when you treat the letter to the church of Colosse for what it is ….an actual “letter” with a continuous thought process, the meaning of verses 16-17 is quite different! Let’s explore:
Colossians 2:6-7 “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”
Paul starts off encouraging the church of Colosse to walk “in Him” … being “rooted” and “established in the faith”.
Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”
Starting with the verse above, we can see that Paul is setting up a comparison. On one side we have “the tradition of men” and “the basic principles of the world” (a deceitful philosophy that will cheat it’s followers) and on the other side we have “according to Christ.” At this point, the lines are drawn. What is about to be discussed will fall on one side of the line or the other.
Colossians 2:9-12 “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”
You can clearly see, from the scriptures above, that Paul is describing the “righteous” side of this comparison. The side that is “according to Christ”. Thank God for what He has done! When we put off the body of the sins of the flesh (by crucifying it), we are taking part in the “circumcision made without hands.” Explaining this in detail is probably another post for another time, let’s move on.
Colossians 2:13-15 “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”
The Law of Sin and Death cursed those who disobeyed what was written in it (see Deuteronomy 28). Christ, through His Death and resurrection, did not abolish the Law (Matt. 5:17-19), but abolished the Curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13) that was upon those who lived in habitual disobedience to the Law. The Curse of the Law was “contrary to us”, but God’s Law was given to us “for our good” (Deuteronomy 6:24, 30:11-20). Again, this also is a more detailed post for another time.
Verses 9-15 shows us all of the things that Jesus did for us by His death and resurrection on the cross. They are most certainly the details that we must be aware of if we are to live a life “according to Christ.”
Colossians 2:16-17 “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
Once again, we come across the “cherry-picked” scripture that people read out of context. Let’s take a step back and think about what we are reading here and WHO it was meant for. The church of Colosse was located in the same region as Galatia, really close to Laodicea. While we don’t know for sure if the church was primarily made up of Gentile believers or a mixture of Jew and Gentile, it really doesn’t matter. They were a group of called out believers (ekklesia) in the middle of a pagan society.
Bringing the comparison in verse 8 forward, we can easily peg those who were judging someone for celebrating a festival, new moon and Sabbath as pagans who adhere to philosophy and empty deceit.
At this point, one could say … “Yes, but the substance is of Christ … so we don’t have to worry about celebrating those ‘Jewish’ holidays!” To which I would reply with a few questions:
- Then why would Paul tell the Colossians to not let anyone judge them? Why wouldn’t he say … “Well, it doesn’t really matter if you celebrate it or not”?
- Why did Paul himself place great value in God’s Holy Days? (Acts 18:21)
- Lastly, some of the “Jewish holidays” in Leviticus 23 pointed to events AFTER His Return. The events that The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement and The Feast of Tabernacles point to have YET to occur. Where do we divide them up? Do we celebrate some and not others?
Obviously this is a subject of great debate. Personally, I feel that when God said “it shall be a statute forever” in Leviticus 23, He meant what He said.
I apologize if that was a “rabbit trail”.
Regardless of your stance on God’s Holy Days, we can see from verses 16-17, that Paul is telling the believers of the church in Colosse that they shouldn’t let any pagan judge them just because they want to take part in a God-commanded feast. NOT taking part in the feasts would be caving in to a deceit-filled philosophy that would ROB them of a life “according to Christ”. Let’s go further:
Colossians 2:18-19 “Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in [false] humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase [that is] from God.”
Continuing the stream of thought from verse 8, we see Paul mentioning again a philosophy, spoken through people that would CHEAT us and disrupt our walk “according to Christ”. Not only that, but the context of these verses attributes “false humility”, “worship of angels”, and a “puffed-up fleshly mind” to the same people who would judge someone for celebrating a God-ordained holiday.
It’s “heavy stuff” to not hold fast to the Head.
Colossians 2:20-22 “Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as [though] living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations — Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle, which all concern things which perish with the using — according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, [false] humility, and neglect of the body, [but are] of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.”
When we “died with Christ”, we died to the “basic principles of the world”. I understand that you all have a wide range of beliefs and interpretations of how a believer should relate to the Law of God. Although that should not be, one thing must be True: God’s Law was NOT created by man, nor was it EVER a “basic principle of the world.” So to use the verse above to support the man-made philosophy that we no longer need to “subject ourselves” to God’s commands is dangerous ground (at best).
What the verse above is saying is to not subject yourselves to man-made doctrine. Analyze yourself a moment …. what kind of doctrines/regulations/traditions regarding Christmas and Easter do you subject yourself to?
Matters of the Heart
Besides scripture, many people have other “pat” responses as to why they think it’s OK to celebrate Christmas, Easter and Halloween. They usually sound similar to what you see below.
- God knows my heart
- We celebrate “Jesus” during the holidays, so He trumps the pagan holidays.
- Whatever you do, do ALL to the Glory of God
- People are more open to the Gospel during Christmas
- Satan doesn’t own any day, why should I give “pagan holidays” any credit in his behalf?
In light of scripture, these responses hold no weight. The Old Testament is FULL of scripture where God warns His people against idolatry and taking on the customs and practices of the nations. We can also see, from the content above, that God carries this command through to the New Testament. In fact, the very scriptures that people use to support their “right” to celebrate pagan holidays are actually found to mean the exact opposite!
So why do good, “Christian” people celebrate these holidays?
To be honest, it’s really difficult to break with years of tradition, the expectations of our loved ones, and our own wicked desires.
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”
The Truth is that our hearts are wicked and no one can know (be intimately acquainted with) it. We don’t even know ourselves … how can we know the hidden desires of our own hearts?
We can’t … but GOD can!
Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
Keep in mind that the above verse was referring to the Old Testament as the New Testament wasn’t even written (or it was just starting to be written) at that time.
Time and space doesn’t permit me to go into a huge study on how God judges the human heart, but I would encourage you to dig deep into your bibles for the answer! If you do, you will find that the condition of your heart is directly related to your obedience to the commands of God.
In Closing
Kevin Kleint
Contrary to what you may think, I didn’t write this post to be the proverbial “Scrooge” that wants to take away your holiday cheer. I have a passion for the Word of God, finding the Ultimate Truth that lies within it, and doing my best to Obey accordingly.
We’re at a point within the “Church Era” where we are finding out that our “Game Plan” isn’t working. You have to be in a serious state of denial to think that the Church is going forward … just look around you!
Our struggle to “Stay Relevant” is futile, and has run its course … ending in confusion and apostasy.
Let’s get One Thing in our heads:
“The True Church will NEVER be relevant to a carnally-minded society. It will either STAND on the Word of God, or CAVE to the pressure of syncretism.”
The Call to “Come Out from Among them” has never been stronger.
May God bless you with Truth this Season ….
For the Love of the Search,
Kevin Kleint
Email: kevin@honorofkings.org
** A Little Bit About Christmas, Easter and Halloween:
- Celebrating Halloween
- Easter ~ The Fertility of it all
- The Truth About Christmas and Easter
- Halloween is from Hell – Here’s Why
- Should a Christian Celebrate Christmas?
- The True Origin of Christmas
- The History of Christmas
Note: The links above are sources to some good information … that doesn’t mean that I 100% endorse what they teach (with the exception of my own articles, haha).
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Sorry I forgot to add – you really sound like a Jehovah Witness in your view of Christmas. How do you feel about celebrating birthdays in general? I’m asking because birthdays were not celebrated in the Bible. What about other “days” celebrating our nation such as July 4 or Memorial Day? Should we really honor the dead considering not all deceased military were Christians? See it’s a slippery slope to “attack” one “American” holiday (including Christmas) as others could follow. Just sayin’
Hi Kathy, I’m not a JW, so no worries there.
This isn’t about identifying with a certain “movement” or a certain “cult” … it’s about taking God at His Word and obeying it. There is overwhelming evidence in both the NT and the OT to not celebrate these pagan holidays, and if one really wants to obey God, you will obey His Word. In fact, the very definition of your Love for God can be measured by your obedience to His commandments (1 John 5:3).
From your own comment, you said that you would rather stick with your “traditions”. Do a study on the traditions of man in the bible, especially in comparison to obeying God’s commands.
In that Day, we’ll all give an account for the commands that we chose to disobey because it was inconvenient for us to change our ways (repent) and follow Him.
Submitted humbly by a former bacon lover who still celebrates birthdays.
I attended a church which went the way of the “Toronto blessing” and “Hebrews roots” at the same time. I found it very repulsive that we were being told we could NOT eat pork, shellfish, etc., we HAD to celebrate these Jewish feasts that no one really had any knowledge of and we had to roll on the floor laughing to boot! I even had the guts to ask the pastor if he was going to go into the men’s restroom and check if all the men were circumcised to which re replied “if I have to”. We left VERY soon after all this went down. Sorry but I will stick to my “traditions” of Christmas, sure they aren’t all Scriptural but I don’t see how they can be classified as “sin”. We don’t bow down and worship a tree, we worship the One who was crucified on a tree. Tone of voice is non-argumentative. Love ya in Jesus. (I will say this much, I’m not so sure Jesus is the “Reason for the Season” as much as the almighty dollar is the real “reason for the season”. I’m just glad people are more open to Him in December).
We looked into the pagan roots of Christmas back in the late seventies. Many things have pagan roots, the wedding ring being one of them. Mother’s Day? Father’s Day? Armistice Day? We didn’t really celebrate Christmas for years, but we were on the mission field and it was not a big deal in those days. Returning to Canada, we began to do more. I decorate, we have a turkey dinner, buy some presents (not tons) and bake cookies. Have not ever gone back to the tree, but that is my husband’s thing more than mine. The carols of Christmas time are filled with glorious lyrics. Everyone hears them at this time of year! God could breathe on those words and people could be saved. It is a great time to reach out to the lonely among us. We can invite them for Christmas or a meal, give them something….I send out *Jesus is born* type cards, although almost the whole world knows He was not born then, but in the fall. I love Christmas and believe that God can use it for His glory, if we look to Him. Some celebrate, and some see every day as the same as every other day…..just not a big deal to me. There is so much more to concern ourselves with, like sin and the condition of our hearts!
http://porcelain-ponderings.blogspot.com/2012/04/but-thats-not-what-it-means-to-me.html
In 1989, as I read Jeremiah 10:4 the memory returned of Christmas 1980 where I had tied my tree to a large nail to keep it from falling over. That was the first the LORD dealt with me about the tree and the traditions. A few years later our pastor basically made fun of people who didn’t have a tree. On the way home, my kids told me I was wrong. When they left home four out of my six children put up trees. Now a fifth child said that a historian spoke at her church and she is thinking of getting a tree. Even tho I’ve ‘taught’ them the pagan truths about Christmas, they have rejected them. I wrote the blog, “But that’s not what it means to me.” keeping it short hoping that more people would read it and at least take it as a matte of prayer to GOD.
Thank you for what you have written. It was so encouraging. I don’t feel all alone right now.
Thanks for this, Kevin. The Lord delivered me from Xmas several years ago. It was a gradual process, no tree, no decorations etc, then finally when I discovered that it was not the date of our Messiahs birth but totally pagan, that was it. I announced to all my friends that I would not be celebrating it any more. The same went for easter. Since then I have found out more about the Babylonian roots of our vain traditions, received from our forefathers, from which Peter says we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Peter also gives a comforting word to those who reject these pagan revelries in 1Peter 4:3-4: “For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that you run not to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you.”
But as verse 5 goes on to say, they, and we, shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.
The call to leave Babylon, as you rightly say, is ever louder in these days; but it has always been the heart cry of the Lord from Genesis 12, when Abram was called out, through to Revelation 18.
As this post-modern world rejects the things of God in its attempt to establish itself as post-christian, people are taking the Christ out of christmas. But the truth is He never really was there in the first place. God is just allowing these festivals to be seen for what they really are – pagan revelries. The separation will become more evident in the end times as evil men and seducers wax worse and worse.
I pray that more believers hear the call to come out and take a bold stand for truth.
The Lord bless you and you wife and children abundantly, (and thanks also for the Dragon Flood series)
In Christ
Melanie
The Lord bless you and your family Kevin. There are not many yet, who will declare the whole counsel of the Word of God. Press on with His work of getting the truth out in a day when darkness appears to get darker, but truth brings a great awakening to those who know the truth. Keep pushing onward brother.
Do you mind if I re-blog this in it’s entirety with your name and a link to your page?I think it’s a very important post. Unfortunately, I have a friend who took all this too far and ONLY looked at the holidays part but discarded the rest. She is now Hebrew Roots of sorts, belonging to Israel of God church (it’s a nation wide church) and they uphold all the Jewish feasts and dietary laws and all those Old Covenant laws. It breaks my heart! When I got out of the charismatic movement she tried real hard to recruit me to that, thank God He was looking out for me
Sure! All content on this blog is copyright free. But don’t be brokenhearted … Jesus didn’t come to do away with the Law. Study it out …. God bless!
The Eternal Law of God – Can You Handle the Truth?
Kevin I didn’t see the links to the rest of those entries. Kevin you tell me not to be broken hearted over a friend of mine who has fallen into legalism, is that right? Either I misunderstood you and your entry, or you are somewhat into that Hebrew Roots movement yourself. I am hoping I am wrong. I HAVE studied it, we are NOT under the Law, not in the sense where the HR folks take it to. Celebrating Passover or Feast of Tabernacles is not a requirement for today’s church, either is not eating pork or keeping the Law like the HR claim! Paul even said that NO ONE has ever kept the Law (except for Jesus), Paul said if we walk in the spirit then we’re not under the Law. The law-keepers always say “well you’re taking Paul’s words out of context!” no, he plainly says it. If we’re walking in the spirit then our hearts desire IS to obey the Lord. But legalism is nothing short of religion.
Hi Sarah, this isn’t the correct post/venue to get into a huge debate over what’s invalid/valid in the OT. There are extreme elements in Hebrew Roots, just like there are in any other denomination/sect/christian “movement”. So, it’s important not to assume everyone in one sect (for lack of a better term) has the same view. The Hebrew Roots movement sources that I’ve studied never put obedience to the Law, nor celebration of the Feasts, dietary laws, etc as a prerequisite for salvation. That would fly in the face of being saved by Grace.
The purpose behind most of the posts on this site is to get people to study the Word. To shed mindsets and thinking that would be detrimental to our walk with God and walk in purity — according to the Word. If, in the process of learning God’s Word and Will for us, we end up giving up our Ways and taking on His Ways … I’m all for that.
I did not mean to come across argumentative (I am told at times in my written responses that I come across that way but I truly don’t mean to). That said, I wasn’t trying to debate, and I speak really from not only just seeing my friend fall into this church/movement -where I have seen with my own eyes those teachers/pastors preaching that if “we eat pork we’re gonna burn in the lake of fire”, I constitute that as legalism. But I have also known two people, via facebook friends I was in constant communication at one time, two people who had no affiliation whatsoever, start to subtly embrace a “mild” sect of HR, as time went on they both -during different times- are now submerged in the law keeping doctrine. I’m convinced its a spirit, just like calvinism, the core doctrines are in line with the scriptures but they’re veered off the path somehow. I am not against someone who may wanna add a-little Messianic traditions here and there if thats their heart, but when it starts getting dogmatic and legalistic then there is a problem. Again I sincerely am not trying to debate, my point is only that its a heart issue. One can do all the feasts they desire, abstain from all the “unclean” foods they choose, but it still doesn’t make them anymore righteous or saved or “good” in the eyes of the Father than someone who doesn’t keep all feasts etc. but yet still loves Him with all their heart. Anyway I am sorry for seeming rude that was not my intent. I digress. God bless.
No! You weren’t rude or argumentative at all. I just know that, once a discussion goes down the “grace vs law” path, things can go absolutely crazy, hehe. I agree with you as far as what you experienced with the teachers/pastors you heard … that was out of line w/scripture (meaning they were out of line, not you). But I also know that our God doesn’t change …. ever. And dispensational thinking has robbed us our understanding of scripture …. so we owe it to ourselves to go back to the OT and really dig in, while not forgetting the NT at all. Anyhow…. God bless, it’s all good sis!
The false religious system has overtaken this earth as prophesied in the word. Many adherents to it cry out ‘Lord, Lord’ , without doing as he commands. With so many hirelings (pastors, priests) available to comfort these indolent souls and their ‘delightfully’ self deceptive ways, they continue on to their destruction. If not for Emanuel’s words telling me that, when I see such abominations and the torments coming upon this earth To “Rejoice, to lift up my head and to stand up straight”, I would be overwhelmed and bummed out over it all. So, in obedience to Christ, I rejoice and awaken (without even trying) from rest, with a song in my heart in spite of living on this infected planet. I never feel alone or discouraged (for over a decade now), for I know that Our Father walks beside me each step of the way. Remember how wrong Elijah was when He stated to Our Father that he was alone, and felt he was the only one. Talk about being bummed out! But he was corrected in his thinking by Our Father. This site bears witness to the fact that none of us are alone, that the elect are still on this planet, that sons and daughters of Yahweh still walk on this very earth in these very days. May we rejoice together in the fact that we are not alone on this earth, that we have each other, and that our redemption draws near.
Oh FINALLY! I have felt like I am in a desert! I read Jill Shannon’s book Biblical Feasts and really realized the lies we are holding on to. Christ was born during the Feast of Trumpets, the year he was born, in the Jewish calendar would have been in September that year. The feasts are a foreshadow of things to come. Christmas and Easter and PAGAN! They are not from GOD!
Christ and the disciples all followed the feasts. God’s son celebrated them! Shouldn’t we? I have not been able to put up a Christmas tree, or buy presents or wish anyone a merry Xmas, let alone Easter. Now just try and get someone to learn about the feasts of the Lord with me! It’s a lonely place.
Thanks for putting the truth out there Kevin! you are encouraging me! bless you!
Good on you guys! Firstly for Kevin’s courage and then for the pat’s positive comment.
We are living in a religiously confused world where god of this age is nothing but Lucifer who turned to be Satan. I believe that we are truly living in the last days of the present age that will end in the near future. That I will say with 100% certainty based on God’s word.
We don’t have to go that far to convince the world what is correct and what is right. Just by looking at the number 144,000 in Revelation who are sealed by Jesus to reign on the God’s Kingdom in the tomorrow’s world will tell you what it means to be in that number for all humanity from the day of Adam and Eve to the end of this age.
God bless you all for God’s grace in opening your minds.
Thanks
Pat,
I know how you feel. I have been celebrating the feasts of YHVH going on my full first year and I do feel alone in the process. By whom?! Why my fellow Christians. Many non-believers are attracted to the zeal, appreciate my authenticity, and are interested in true Christianity that I do my best to daily display; on the other hand, it is many other Christians who think I am “taking things to far” or “too zealous”. How can zeal for the Lord’s house EVER be “too” much?! They are trapped into giving demons, archons, and principalities power by worshiping Ishtar, Ashtaroth, Sol, and Helios. I feel very alone, but I know that is a good thing because we are aliens (1 Peter 2:11) and otherworldly. Our citizenship is in heaven! I bless you and pray you find solid believers to celebrate the feasts and commune with. I also am looking for such believers. These last days are winding down. Soon we will see him face to face as he is. Maranatha! Love in Christ,
Brent
Hey Guys/Gals,
I’m with you. This is actually the second year that my family and I have “abstained” from the idolatry. It is a lonely road, but think of the good side … you are becoming more and more like Him! Before He went to the cross, He said (paraphrased) “The enemy has NOTHING in me.”
IMHO, the less ground I give to the enemy, the better. You can NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER be too extreme in your love for the Word and your zeal for obedience! All those who say otherwise are looking for an “out”. They may stress listening to the Holy Spirit, which is AWESOME … but if they are hearing things that conflict with the Word, I’m not buying it. And neither should you!
Many blessings to you.
Kevin
To anyone who says I’m into legalism for not doing Christmas and Easter etc…I tell them that there is nothing legalistic about being obedient to the scriptures. Legalism is following the TRADITIONS OF MEN!
To me … legalism is doing “stuff” in order to be saved. Salvation is “by grace through faith”. Once you are saved, however, obedience is a MUST in order to maintain your walk with God. If obedience is “legalism”, then Jesus was the most legalistic person ever born! He followed God’s Law PERFECTLY. And we are to walk as He walked …. so.
Love Redefined: What a Legalistic Friend We Have in Jesus!
ABSOLUTELY! I agree completely–salvation is by grace alone, and if we are truly His followers we will DESIRE to be like Him. Once we are saved, we should want to change and be obedient. We desire to study the word and spend time in fellowship with Him. If there is no evidence of being different than the world, then we are still the world. Faith without works is dead.
I need to implement better Facebook functionality into this blog, so I can “Like” your comment!