Resisting Mind Manipulation, Lesson 19

Resisting Mind Manipulation, Lesson 19
Trinity Graduate Level Courses In Theology And Apologetics

Mind Manipulation In Celebration of Holidays and Religious Practices

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” (Hosea 4:6)

Holidays Christians Should Not Celebrate

“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 move 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)

Halloween

Let us begin with the obvious holiday Christians should not celebrate, which is Halloween. The history of Halloween traces back to the ancient religion of the Celtics. Those who carried out the rituals in the open air were the Celtic priests who were also known as the Druids. They were members of the pagan orders in Britain, Ireland and Gaul. Generally, these Druids performed rituals by offering sacrifices, using animals and humans in order to appease the god; ensuring that the sun would return after the winter and to frighten away evil spirits.

There were two main feasts the Celtics held, the Beltan on May 1st, which was the beginning of summer, and the Samhain on November 1st, which marked the end of summer. The end of the summer was believed to have been the time the division of thetwo worlds (natural and spiritual) became so thin (diaphanous) that apparitions and hostile supernatural forces were able to freely roam the earth.

Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween) was considered the supreme night of demonic jubilation. It was believed that October 31st was the night the spirits of the dead would rise out of their graves to return to their homes where they once lived in life. Modern day “trick or treat” stemmed from the Celtic’s fear of these spirits. The villagers would leave plates of fruits, nuts and other treats on their doorsteps in an effort to appease these hungry ghosts, out of fear that the ghosts may destroy their property. In addition, they wore masks to hid from the dead.

In great certainty, these practices sound very familiar. Is this not the Halloween tradition many of us Christians have been raised to participate in? Churches having harvest parties where the children get to dress up as nice characters and they receive treats for wearing a costume, is still the celebration of Halloween. A rose by any other name is still a rose. Continuing pagan traditions and calling it by another name does not change the wrong. If churches are throwing harvest parties for their youth on October 31st because the world celebrates Halloween, and you think the children will not understand; ask yourself what is more important, their souls or their little feelings? Now is the time to get it right and become God pleasers and not man pleasers. The children understand far more than what you give them credit for. Just as heathens and others who profess their wicked lifestyles, why not live a godly one and make it known.

When Christianity spread throughout Europe the Halloween customs also spread but with a Christian worldview. The Romans observed the holiday of Feralia, which intended to give rest and peace to the departed. On November 1st “All Saints Day” was introduced in the 7th century by Pope Boniface IV to replace the pagan festival of the dead. This was a day for the living to remember all the saints who had died. October 31st became “All Hallows Eve” (hallow meant saints) or the “Night of the Dead.” Naturally, this is how Halloween survived and merged in with Christianity. It is not a godly nor God reverenced holiday, therefore should not be celebrated by Christians.

The following are Halloween traditions and symbols to avoid and why. The bonfire represented the sun and was to aid the Druids in their fight with dark powers. The word bonfire derived from the words “bone” and “fire.” The bones of sacrificed animals and humans were piled up in a field along with timber and set on fire. Remember Jesus Christ was the final sacrifice which involved no fire or broken bones. Witches believe to be followers of an ancient religion called “Wicca.”

For witches, Halloween is a great festival of the dead and marks the end and the beginning of their year. Black cats are considered to be reincarnated beings with the ability to divine the future. Witchcraft and divination are abominable to God and we are to have absolutely nothing to do with them. Jack-o-lantern was originally a carved out turnip, but once the tradition was brought to America, turnips were scarce and pumpkins were plentiful, so pumpkins were used for the festival of lights for Halloween and the ancient symbol of a damned soul. People feared bats, owls and other nocturnal animals because they believed that these animals communicated with spirits of the dead. Information on Halloween was obtained through the Jeremiah Project, an informative Website about the origins and customs.

Lent

Coming from the Anglo-Saxon Lencten, meaning, “spring,” Lent is observed forty (40) days prior to Easter and is derived from the Babylonian system of mysteries. Ordinarily, before giving up personal sins and vices for the Lent season pagans would hold wild “anything goes” parties to make certain they indulge in their share of debaucheries and perversions. Today, this type of celebration is called Mardi Gras “Fat Tuesday.” Both Easter and Lent were introduced to the Roman church in 519 A.D. This was the same time of year heathens held the celebration of the Rape of Proserpine in which is culminated a period of unbridled lust, forty days of enforced abstinence in preparation of it. It is also observed by devil worshippers of Kurdistan (Dake, p.821).

Easter

Christians all over the world celebrate Easter as a day to honor the resurrection of Jesus Christ. On the contrary, Easter has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus Christ or His resurrection. However, it does have plenty to do with pagan practices and beliefs. In an On-line tract entitled The Pagan Origin Of Easter by David J. Meyer of Last Trumpet Ministries, he explains that “Ishtar,” pronounced “Easter” was a day that commemorated the resurrection of a pagan god called “Tammuz.” Tammuz was believed to have been the only begotten son of the moon-goddess and the sun god.

The history of this worldwide celebrated Holiday begins with the story of Nimrod, introduced to us in Genesis 10:8-10. Cush, the grandson of Noah, married a woman named Semiramis and they had a son named Nimrod. After the death of Nimrod’s father, he married his mother and became a powerful king. Nimrod was a mighty hunter and he was considered by the people to be a god-man or demigod. An enemy killed Nimrod, dismembered his body and sent his body parts to various sections of his kingdom. Semiramis became the powerful queen of ancient Babylon.

All of Nimrod’s body parts were collected except for his reproductive organ; Semiramis claimed that Nimrod could not return to life without the missing part. She told the people of Babylon that Nimrod had ascended to the sun and was now called “Baal” the sun god. Baal’s presence would be made on earth in the form of a flame used in worship, according to Queen Semiramis. Wicked Semiramis created a mystery religion, assisted by Satan and proclaimed herself to be the goddess of the moon. Immaculately conceived, Semiramis came down from the moon in a giant egg that fell into the Euphrates River. She became known as “Ishtar” (Easter) and her moon egg became known as “Ishtar’s egg.”

Supposedly impregnated by the rays of the sun god, Baal, she conceived and gave birth to a son whom she named Tammuz. Because Tammuz was fond of rabbits, they became sacred in the ancient religion. In the footsteps of his father, allegedly he too was a hunter; but apparently not a good one since a wild pig killed him. Naturally, Queen Ishtar informed the people that Tammuz was ascended to his father, Baal and that the two of them would be with the worshippers in the sacred candle or lamp flame as father, son and spirit. Ishtar was worshipped as the “Mother of God” and “Queen of Heaven.” Notice that Mary, the mother of Jesus was also named as the “Mother of God.” More will be explained about this coincidence in Paganism and Christianity, and discover that this is not a happenstance, but a compromise.

After the death of Tammuz, Ishtar told the people of Babylon that when Tammuz was killed, his blood fell on the stump of an evergreen tree and the stump grew into a new tree overnight. This made the evergreen tree sacred by the blood of Tammuz. (Have you ever wondered the significance of the evergreen tree in homes called the Christmas tree during the Christmas holiday? More will be shared about the Christmas tree in the next section.) Ishtar proclaimed a forty-day period of time of sorrow each year prior to the anniversary of the death of Tammuz (for the Catholic church, this is none as Lent).

During this forty-day period, worshippers were encouraged to meditate upon the sacred mysteries of Baal and Tammuz, and to make the sign of the “T” in front of their hearts as they worshiped (this is also what the Catholic Church does when they pray and refer to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit). On the first Sunday after the first full moon and after the spring equinox, a celebration was made, called “Ishtar’s Sunday” or Easter Sunday. Rabbits and eggs were part of the celebration, along with the tradition of eating ham. Remember a wild pig killed Tammuz, so the eating of the ham became significant, Tammuz was also fond of rabbit’s and let us not forget Ishtar’s egg. Other traditions included them eating sacred cakes with the marking of a “T” or cross on the top (like hot crossed buns).

In Ezekiel 8:13-14, God reveals to Ezekiel the abomination of the temple: “And He said to me, ‘Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.’ So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord’s house; and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.” Here is the only place in the Bible we see the name Tammuz. The notes on these two scriptures are explained as followed: “Tammuz was a fertility god.

The women were crying out to the idol because they had no children or because the crops were failing. In the sixth month, August-September, Tammuz was thought to “die” with the scorched land. Worshipers would wail over his death and cry for his resurgence.” Instead of worshipping the Lord in the temple, they worshipped idols and wailed for strange gods. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.” God commanded this in Exodus 20:2-3 and repeated this throughout the Bible. God does not change.

All of these practices did not and do not include Jesus Christ and His Resurrection. Participating in these practices are not godly and are not accepted by God. These are practices of ancient pagan religion of Mystery Babylon and works of the antichrist. In a nutshell, Meyer sums it up for us in this statement: “Satan is a master deceiver, and has filled the lives of well-meaning, professing Christians with idolatry. These things bring the wrath of God upon children of disobedience, who try to make pagan customs of Baal worship Christian. You must answer for your activities and for what you teach your children.” In addition, Meyer explains that these customs of Easter honor Baal, who is also Satan, and is still worshipped as the “Rising Sun” and his house is the “House of the Rising Sun.”

Easter is a celebration of the rising of the sun, just not the rising of the Son of God. Coincidently, the Passover, around the actual time Christ was crucified and resurrected, coincides with the pagan celebration of Easter, but not always. In 2005, Easter Sunday falls on March 27th and Passover is Sunday April 24th. Also, have you tried to count three days and three nights from Good Friday and come up with Sunday? It is impossible.

Christmas

In my research, I found many websites willing to tell the plain truth about Christmas. If so many know about the truth, why are Christians still celebrating the holiday? Looking at the elementary facts about Christmas it literally has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ. In fact, many of the customs and traditions of Christmas pre-date our Lord and Savior and the celebration in itself was taken from many cultures and nations. The most obvious truth is that Jesus was not born on December 25th and if God wanted the birth of Christ to be commemorated, He would have made mention of Jesus’ birth date. Actually, there are no places recorded in the Bible that the people of God celebrated or even acknowledged anyone’s birthday. In fact, it was the death of a great person that was usually celebrated, hence “Communion.” We are instructed by Christ in Luke 22:19, to eat of the body (bread) and drink of the blood (wine) in remembrance of Him, commemorating His death and not His birth. Only heathens like Pharaoh and Herod rejoiced over their birthdays (Armstrong & Keyser, The Plain Truth About Christmas, p. 2).

Evidently, Jesus Christ was not even born in the winter. The Bible portrays a much more milder time of year for the birth of Christ, a season that permit shepherds to spend their nights in the field: “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night” Luke 2:8 (NKJV). December would have been far too cold and rainy in Judea for the shepherds and the flock. In examining Ezra 10:9 and verse 13 we discover this to be absolutely true, v.9: “So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem with three days. It was the ninth month (November-December, Chislev by Jewish Calendar), on the twentieth of the month; and all the people sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of this matter of heavy rain” and v.13: “But there are many people; it is the season for heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside.” It is believed that Jesus’ birth was no later than September.

If the Messiah, Jesus the Christ was not born on December 25th, whose birthday is being celebrated and why? The origin of Christmas dates back as far as ancient Babylon. “It is bound up in the organized apostasy which has gripped a deceived world these many centuries!” (Armstrong & Keyser, p. 6). It is believed that Nimrod, the son/husband of Semiramis the Babylonian queen, who was also named the Queen of Heaven, was born on December 25th. Semiramis claimed that a full-grown evergreen tree sprang overnight from a dead stump, which symbolized the springing forth unto new life of the dead Nimrod. The new life was presumed to be Tammuz. On the anniversary of Nimrod’s birth Semiramis claimed that Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts. Placing gifts under the evergreen is the origin of the contemporary Christmas tree. In Rome a fir was decorated with berries during Saturnalia (Pack, p.7).

The word Christmas does not appear anywhere in the Bible nor does it have any Christian roots. According to David C. Pack, the writer of The True Origin of Christmas, nearly all aspects of Christmas observance have their roots in Roman customs and religion. “Considering the following admission from a large American newspaper (The Buffalo News, Nov. 22, 1984): ‘The earliest reference to Christmas being marked on Dec. 25 comes from the second century after Jesus’ birth. It is considered likely the first Christmas celebrations were in reaction to the Roman Saturnalia, a harvest festival that marked the winter solstice- the return of the sun- and honored Saturn, the god of sowing.

Saturnalia was a rowdy time, much opposed by the more austere leaders among the still-minority Christian sect. Christmas developed, one scholar says, as a means of replacing worship of the sun with the worship of the Son. By 529 A.D., after Christianity had become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civic holiday.’” In addition, Pack asks his readers to consider the following quotes from the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, under “Christmas.” It states “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church…the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt.” Further, “Pagan customs centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas” (p. 2). From December 17-24 marked the Roman Festival of Saturnalia, this was a time of celebration and gift exchanging. Saturnalia was the celebration of the fire god. “Saturn was the god of sowing (planting) because heat from the sun was required to allow for planting and growth of crops. He was also worshipped in the dead-of-winter festival so that he could come back (he was the “sun”) and warm the earth again so that spring planting could occur. The planet Saturn was later named after him because, among all the planets, with its rings and bright red color, it best represent the god of fire!” (Pack, p. 3).

Almost all civilizations had a fire and/or sun god: the Egyptians (and sometimes Romans) called him Vulcan; the Greeks named him Kronos and the Phoenicians called him Kronos as well as Saturn. The Babylonians called their sun god Tammuz (as Nimrod, resurrected in the person of his son) Nimrod was also called Baal and Molech. Nimrod was also considered the father of all the Babylonian gods (pp. 3-4). In association with the worship of the sun/fire god, followed some heinous practices. One in particular was the human sacrifice, mainly children which is described in Jeremiah 32:35, “And they built the high places of Baal which are in the valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech (Nimrod), which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.” It was the pagan belief that the fire purified them from their original sin. Their doctrine of spending time in purgatory to purge the soul from all sin derives from this belief (p. 4). Other practices such as the Christmas tree, the holly, the mistletoe and the Yule log have nothing to do with Christ or Christianity, in actuality they date long before Christianity and are utterly pagan practices.

Pack reveals the modern term for mixing the true God with false practices as syncretism. “Anyone who did this in ancient Israel was put to death (Lev. 18:21, 29)! It was that serious!” (p. 8). And many Christians today wonder why they are living a cursed life, surrounded by dead things: death in relationships, dying hopes and dreams; dead end jobs and so on. God’s Word was true then and remains true today for God is not a man that He should life or a son of man that He should repent. If He said it He will make it good (Numbers 23:19). For His word cannot return unto Him void (Isaiah 55:11). There will be more on this matter in the final section.

Other Holidays

St. Valentine’s Day has both Roman and Catholic roots, but is no longer officially honored by the Catholic Church because of the confusion of its origin, according to www.AmericanCatholic.org. In one possibility a priest in the Roman Empire who helped persecuted Christians during the reign of Claudius II, was believed to be thrown in Jail and later beheaded on February 14th. The second possibility discussed is a Catholic bishop who was beheaded, also during the reign of Claudius II. The third possibility according to American Catholic is that someone who secretly married couples when marriage was forbidden, or suffered in Africa, or wrote letters to his jailer’s daughter, and was probably beheaded.

Unfortunately, like the prior holidays explained, St. Valentines Day has a perverted origin and is not heroic as described on the American Catholic Website. The world’s beloved holiday of love, sweets, cards and flowers is another attempt to Christianize pagan celebrations. In Ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno Februata, the goddess of febris “fever” of love, and of women and marriage. Also celebrated was the Lupercalia (known as the “festival of sexual license”) held in honor of

Lupercus, god of fertility and husbandry, protector of herds and crops. Once again we are led back to Nimrod and the Babylonian Mystery Religion. Nimrod was known as Baal, Pan (god of light), Saturn, Osiris and Valentine. Defined by Pack in his tract entitled The Truth Behind St. Valentine’s Day, “Valentine comes from the Latin Valentinus, which derives from valens–to, to be strong, powerful, might” as described of Nimrod in Genesis 10:8-9. (p. 2). The symbol of the heart originated from ancient Chaldean (the language of the Babylonians), the word “bal” meaning “heart” was similar to Baal.

Finally, remember cute Cupid? You will not find him too cute to know that his name means desire in Latin and he was the son of Venus, the Roman goddess of beauty and love. Cupid, also known as Eros in ancient Greece, he was the son of Aphrodite. According to myths, he was responsible for impregnating numerous goddesses and mortals. Cupid was and archer with a jovial but sinister personality. By using an invisible arrow dipped in gold, Cupid would strike unsuspecting men and women, causing them to fall in love with uncontrollable passion. Producing misery and pain for the couple and laughter and pleasure for evil Cupid (Pack, p.2). So much more can be said about St. Valentine’s Day, but the point is that it is another pagan holiday that the world celebrates and Christians should not participate in.

Happy Birthday to You!

Surprise! Another holiday that should be avoided by Christians is the celebration of birthdays, only because it is a practice done by heathens. The Bible does not tell us to or not to celebrate them, but when we examine the Bible, there are only three places

where birthdays are mentioned (Genesis 40:1-23, Matthew 14:3-11 and in Job 1:4) and all three are followed by disasters. Not a single scripture describes a birthday celebration for any of God’s righteous servants. In spite of what some Christians believe, not even baby Jesus had a birthday celebration. Many Christians have been duped to believe that the three wise men immediately brought gifts to Jesus while He was still an infant. The myth is viewed in the “Christmas Nativity” scene that displays Mary and her husband Joseph, the Baby Jesus, shepherds and the three wise men from the East. But this portrait is inaccurate. According to Matthew 2, Jesus was a young child of about two years old, as we read of the massacre of innocent boys of 2 years and younger, Herod intended to destroy Jesus Christ the King of the Jews, “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men” (Matthew 2:16).

Resisting Mind Manipulation, Lesson 19
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19 Comments on "Resisting Mind Manipulation, Lesson 19"

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  1. Lucia Harry says:

    very powerfull lesson

  2. Lucia Harry says:

    It is also good to know that in some countrie the nine day celebration is also done by christians
    All saint day and Carnaval
    Also all the roman catholic holy day’s

  3. Lisa Watson says:

    thank you so much for this study were can i find some of the books metioned

  4. Price %9 says:

    the Internet is such a great medium and resource and I thank you for taking the time out to write, it is always a pleasure to read.

  5. Very powerful and mind blowing.

  6. janet says:

    I found the discussion of halloween particularly interesting.

  7. Sandra says:

    Very interesting and informative lesson.

  8. As ordained minister of Christ indeed had few surprises as well.

  9. Harold Whaley says:

    I found many questionable comments in this lesson. An example would be the last part about Jesus age when the wise men came. He was not 2 years old or Herod would only have had the 2 year old children slain. To MAKE SURE that Jesus would be slain he ordered ALL male children up to the age of 2 years old to be slain. Herod was certain that Jesus was less than 2 years old.

  10. George t. Nermal says:

    It is always nice to know the truth, the hard part is putting what has been learned of into practice especially when the vast majority just don’t care and participate in practicing it. The majorities thinking is controlled by the theory — “If it is practiced by almost every body,then it may/must be right!” Sad but it’s whats happening.

  11. Halloween is a sensless holiday. Some say that it’s just fun for the kids. Kids go trick or treat and ask for candy. Our Jewish friends celebrate Purim and pass out candy and foods people in need or nieghbors. There is nothing evil about October 30th as scripture says ” This is the day that the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it”‘It’s best not to do what the world does but thank God and praise Him for every day He gives us.

  12. Neil Wells says:

    Thank you you have far as I am concerned you have just hit the bullseye dead center in lesson 19.
    But you left out Father christmass.ST nickols & Santa Claus I beleive these shuld have been mentioned.
    {Most} of what you have mentioned I already knew
    you just reafermed it.
    Thank you from the bottom of
    my heart.
    Yours in Christ Neil Wells Elder of ST.Louis bible
    Fellowship ST.Louis MO

  13. David Cruz says:

    Extremely interesting read! but I am left with the question: What days (or in what days) should Christians celebrate (anything)?
    – ‘can’t celebrate anything on a ‘Sun’-day lest pagans think we are worshiping the sun-god along with them. Not on a ‘Satur’-day, nor ‘Fri’-day or ‘Thurs’-day and so on…which are all days named to remember pagan gods.
    – If we do not celebrate or recognize birthdays…can we at least do the death anniversaries of our loved ones (or is it a pagan practice already?).
    – I agree that holidays such as Christmas and Easter should have not been sanctioned by the early ‘church’ to coincide-with/substitute-for the above mentioned pagan holidays but we lose great opportunities of witnessing to non-believers if we don’t celebrate these.
    – My (current)view Re. these holidays or days of celebration is kinda like Paul’s approach with the Greeks when he used the idol to the unknown god as a jumping point (or opportunity) of witness. He did not advocate the worship of that idol or any idol but he used it as reminder that there is a God that is above all gods. We (mature Christians)know that Christianity is not about days we celebrate, nor food, or dress codes. It’s about knowing God personally and sharing Christ in whatever ways we can -be it by celebration of Christ’s birth on a most likely wrong date, or by using a stone idol (like Paul) to introduce the living and true God. We have to make use of ‘all opportunities’ like Christmas, Easter, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.. In fact, we should even invent more opportunities if possible.
    Is it OK to say, “Happy New Year!” to everybody?

  14. Rahaingonjanahary Rodolphe says:

    I would like to get further information about doctoral theology by distance learning

  15. Rahaingonjanahary Rodolphe says:

    What should I do if I want to register in doctoral study programm?

  16. james says:

    God will give more as you help us to study in your programmes free.

  17. What is an abomination to the Lord waarzeggery,sterrenwichelary borrow from omens.casts spells,talking to the spirit of the dead.These things are happening in Babylon.
    Wrong currents:newage,wicca,buddhism etc.

  18. Paul Macharia Gathogo says:

    I have understand that Christians should not cerebrate these holidays. is there any problem when they meet together and share the word of God during these days because they are available without practicing what pagans do?

  19. Pastor Dennis Mudzinganyama says:

    I have been enlightened so much on the vices the devil can use to deceive the church & Christians, some of the holidays celebrated by Christians are not biblical and does not exist in the bible. Thanks for the good work.

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