John Blundell of the Heritage Foundation questions:
Is the E.U. America's Friend or Foe?
It's great to see some are beginning to ask uncomfortable questions that few folks consider or want to know the answers to, preferring to believe that the Frankenstein Monster we've helped to create in Europe would never turn against us. Even Mr. Blundell believes the U.S. "unconditional backing" of the European experiment of political integration was thought to be in our own best interests; that an increasingly independent Europe could be relied upon for excellent trade opportunities and shared security responsibilities. Who would dare to suggest sinister motives were behind key players in this European project? Even treason.
Herbert W. Armstrong warned the American and British peoples for over 50 years that the German Nazis merely went underground and were adroitly winning the peace. His prophetic words have since been further confirmed by the revelation of a declassified U.S. intelligence document that exposes top Nazi German officials and German industrial leaders made a pact to secure positions and finances throughout the world for secret Nazis to bankroll, advance and forge Germany's Fourth Reich to spring upon an unsuspecting world. Blitzkrieg is the German way. Will we never learn?
Is Germany in danger of backsliding? Isn't it the responsibility of our government to consider every possibility to protect America's future? Many Euro-skeptics are already aware that the "European Union" is modeled after the grand design of the Nazis, and that even as Hitler went from failed putsch to abusing democracy to obtain his goals, isn't it possible that following the failure of WWII German wolves would dress themselves in sheep's clothing and follow the democratic pattern to power?
The German-Jesuit threat to world peace demands serious consideration. With Germany due to take the E.U. bull by the horns in January, with great expectations by the Bavarian pope, will Germany be Europe's miracle worker or simply bewitch the masses to bear the cross to ward off the evil of Islam and then backstab America?
David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Is The Plain Truth Too Strong?
Recently somebody who went by the name of "Refiner's Fire" (ironically) condemned my writing style as a stumbling block:
Did you plant the seed of "truth" in this person, or did you turn this person away with your words? Yes, I know people need to hear the "truth", but how can they, if they are getting nailed across the head with a 2x4 by your writing style?
Have you never read where Paul, like Yeshua, must have offended some? "Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16).
There are plenty of others who write in a more gentle style. That is their prerogative. I don't speak against their approach, since the Bible basically teaches "different strokes for different folks." After all, tough love is tough love.
Have you never read where Yeshua spoke of how some will make up any excuse under the sun regardless of the effort to reach them, whether we dance for them or mourn?
Luke 7:31-35
31"To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
" 'We played the flute for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry.' 33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' 34The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' 35But wisdom is proved right by all her children."
If somebody is of God, or being called by God, they can get good and angry like Herbert W. Armstrong did with his wife with her seventh day Sabbath "fanaticism" -- mad enough to check it out, which he did, and then he saw she was right! And he was humble enough to admit it and submit to it and turn from pagan Sunday to the holy Sabbath.
My responsibility is to share the plain truth of the Bible as God has given me to understand it. How folks respond to the plain truth is not my responsibility. It is between God and them. That being said, I believe the time of "soft spoken" ministers is about up, and that we need more refining fire ministers (not dying embers) or refining fire servants of God (not dying embers) willing to turn over a few tables and kick a few chairs and drive out some men and animals from the Temple courtyards with a whip in hand, turning heads and raising eyebrows, as necessary.
The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11 certainly won't speak in pretty platitudes and the whole world will hate their guts and wish them dead! Those who simply want to hear smooth things will continue to hear smooth things from their false prophets and lying ministers.
Isaiah 30:9-11
9 These are rebellious people, deceitful children [1 John 2:4],
children unwilling to listen to the LORD's instruction.
10 They say to the seers,
"See no more visions!"
and to the prophets,
"Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.
11 Leave this way,
get off this path,
and stop confronting us
with the Holy One of Israel!"[by replacing him with a Gentilized Jesus, a counterfeit gospel and a different spirit]
2 Timothy 4:3-4
3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths [like Christmas and Easter].
Since our countries are incurring the wrath of God, and soon will suffer divine punishment for our pagan holidays like Christmas pretending to be Christian -- part of our national idolatry and immorality we must confess and forsake to avert a nuclear holocaust -- it's time to love and obey God and:
Isaiah 58
1 "Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression [the Church and Synagogue], And the house of Jacob [the family of Israelite nations - all Twelve Tribes of Israel] their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God.
Folks who continue in their pagan ways and hollow days will be left without excuse. God won't go for the lame excuse, "Well, we didn't appreciate how folks like David Ben-Ariel came across." God will simply say, "Why weren't you like the noble Bereans and look and see if these things were so and act accordingly?"
Acts 17:11
11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Enough excuses!
Revelation 3:19
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.
Did you plant the seed of "truth" in this person, or did you turn this person away with your words? Yes, I know people need to hear the "truth", but how can they, if they are getting nailed across the head with a 2x4 by your writing style?
Have you never read where Paul, like Yeshua, must have offended some? "Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16).
There are plenty of others who write in a more gentle style. That is their prerogative. I don't speak against their approach, since the Bible basically teaches "different strokes for different folks." After all, tough love is tough love.
Have you never read where Yeshua spoke of how some will make up any excuse under the sun regardless of the effort to reach them, whether we dance for them or mourn?
Luke 7:31-35
31"To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:
" 'We played the flute for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
and you did not cry.' 33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' 34The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' 35But wisdom is proved right by all her children."
If somebody is of God, or being called by God, they can get good and angry like Herbert W. Armstrong did with his wife with her seventh day Sabbath "fanaticism" -- mad enough to check it out, which he did, and then he saw she was right! And he was humble enough to admit it and submit to it and turn from pagan Sunday to the holy Sabbath.
My responsibility is to share the plain truth of the Bible as God has given me to understand it. How folks respond to the plain truth is not my responsibility. It is between God and them. That being said, I believe the time of "soft spoken" ministers is about up, and that we need more refining fire ministers (not dying embers) or refining fire servants of God (not dying embers) willing to turn over a few tables and kick a few chairs and drive out some men and animals from the Temple courtyards with a whip in hand, turning heads and raising eyebrows, as necessary.
The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11 certainly won't speak in pretty platitudes and the whole world will hate their guts and wish them dead! Those who simply want to hear smooth things will continue to hear smooth things from their false prophets and lying ministers.
Isaiah 30:9-11
9 These are rebellious people, deceitful children [1 John 2:4],
children unwilling to listen to the LORD's instruction.
10 They say to the seers,
"See no more visions!"
and to the prophets,
"Give us no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things,
prophesy illusions.
11 Leave this way,
get off this path,
and stop confronting us
with the Holy One of Israel!"[by replacing him with a Gentilized Jesus, a counterfeit gospel and a different spirit]
2 Timothy 4:3-4
3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths [like Christmas and Easter].
Since our countries are incurring the wrath of God, and soon will suffer divine punishment for our pagan holidays like Christmas pretending to be Christian -- part of our national idolatry and immorality we must confess and forsake to avert a nuclear holocaust -- it's time to love and obey God and:
Isaiah 58
1 "Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression [the Church and Synagogue], And the house of Jacob [the family of Israelite nations - all Twelve Tribes of Israel] their sins. 2 Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God.
Folks who continue in their pagan ways and hollow days will be left without excuse. God won't go for the lame excuse, "Well, we didn't appreciate how folks like David Ben-Ariel came across." God will simply say, "Why weren't you like the noble Bereans and look and see if these things were so and act accordingly?"
Acts 17:11
11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Enough excuses!
Revelation 3:19
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Push Hamburger Serves Food for Thought
Corrupt government, conspiracy, new world order, etc. all discussed at http://www.pushhamburger.com. Murray Einwohner, the site's owner, also graciously hosts articles I've written at The Lion Has Roared.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Pagan Trinity Concept is Condemned by Christians!
The pagan trinity concept was NEVER taught by the Sabbath-keeping Church of God. It stems from the Babylonian Mystery religion and continues today under the guise of traditional Christianity. The Sabbath-keeping Church of God knows that there are presently two unique divine beings in the One God Kingdom-Family and that we can be born again into such a divine royal family at the return of Yeshua and the first resurrection. The Holy Spirit is the power or essence of God, but it is nowhere addressed as God and Paul never greets it in his salutations.
Born Again: The Kingdom of God!
How Adam & Eve Reflect the Kingdom of God!
Man Questions Whether We'll Be Angelic Or Divine
Kingdom of God-Beings to Rule Earth from Jerusalem!
Born Again: The Kingdom of God!
How Adam & Eve Reflect the Kingdom of God!
Man Questions Whether We'll Be Angelic Or Divine
Kingdom of God-Beings to Rule Earth from Jerusalem!
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Israeli retreat from Bethlehem, DBA detained for praying
International Christian Embassy
starts drive to ensure rights to territories
by Liat Collins
The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem is beginning an international campaign to ensure Christian rights after IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) withdrawal from the territories.
On Sunday, some 1,200 Christians carrying banners proclaiming "Bethlehem will be Jewish Forever," attended a solidarity and prayer rally at Rachel's Tomb.
International Christian Embassy spokesman Jan van der Hoeven stressed the need to keep Bethlehem open to all faiths and spoke against the rise of Islamic extremism. He noted the growing number of Christian residents in Bethlehem who are asking the embassy's help in moving out of the city for fear of Moslem action against them once the IDF leaves.
The deadline for IDF evacuation has been brought forward to December 22.
Nearly all the participants at the rally were visiting for the International Christian Embassy's Feast of Tabernacles activities. Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, of Efrat, also addressed the crowd.
About 30 residents of Jerusalem's Gilo section attended the rally, noting the proximity between their neighborhood and Rachel's Tomb.
Yesterday, David Ben-Ariel, a Christian member of the Temple Mount Faithful, said he was harassed and detained by both Moslem Wakf guards and the police after he went up to the Mount to pray.
"It's not news that Jews can't pray there, even though everybody claims there is freedom for all faiths," he said. "But people don't realize that Christians can't pray there either," he said.
Ben-Ariel was wearing a shirt with the Temple Mount Faithful slogan on it at the time of his arrest.
(The Jerusalem Post, Tuesday, October 17, 1995)
A House of Prayer for All Peoples?
starts drive to ensure rights to territories
by Liat Collins
The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem is beginning an international campaign to ensure Christian rights after IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) withdrawal from the territories.
On Sunday, some 1,200 Christians carrying banners proclaiming "Bethlehem will be Jewish Forever," attended a solidarity and prayer rally at Rachel's Tomb.
International Christian Embassy spokesman Jan van der Hoeven stressed the need to keep Bethlehem open to all faiths and spoke against the rise of Islamic extremism. He noted the growing number of Christian residents in Bethlehem who are asking the embassy's help in moving out of the city for fear of Moslem action against them once the IDF leaves.
The deadline for IDF evacuation has been brought forward to December 22.
Nearly all the participants at the rally were visiting for the International Christian Embassy's Feast of Tabernacles activities. Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, of Efrat, also addressed the crowd.
About 30 residents of Jerusalem's Gilo section attended the rally, noting the proximity between their neighborhood and Rachel's Tomb.
Yesterday, David Ben-Ariel, a Christian member of the Temple Mount Faithful, said he was harassed and detained by both Moslem Wakf guards and the police after he went up to the Mount to pray.
"It's not news that Jews can't pray there, even though everybody claims there is freedom for all faiths," he said. "But people don't realize that Christians can't pray there either," he said.
Ben-Ariel was wearing a shirt with the Temple Mount Faithful slogan on it at the time of his arrest.
(The Jerusalem Post, Tuesday, October 17, 1995)
A House of Prayer for All Peoples?
Christmas and Lady-day by Alexander Hislop
The Two Babylons
by Alexander Hislop
Chapter III
Festivals
Section I: Christmas and Lady-day
How, then, did the Romish Church fix on December the 25th as Christmas-day? Why, thus: Long before the fourth century, and long before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen, at that precise time of the year, in honour of the birth of the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of the nominal adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church, giving it only the name of Christ. This tendency on the part of Christians to meet Paganism half-way was very early developed; and we find Tertullian, even in his day, about the year 230, bitterly lamenting the inconsistency of the disciples of Christ in this respect, and contrasting it with the strict fidelity of the Pagans to their own superstition. "By us," says he, "who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia, are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year's day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians." Upright men strive to stem the tide, but in spite of all their efforts, the apostacy went on, till the Church, with the exception of a small remnant, was submerged under Pagan superstition.
That Christmas was originally a Pagan festival, is beyond all doubt. The time of the year, and the ceremonies with which it is still celebrated, prove its origin. In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time, "about the time of the winter solstice." The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among ourselves--Yule-day --proves at once its Pagan and Babylonian origin. "Yule" is the Chaldee name for an "infant" or "little child"; * and as the 25th of December was called by our Pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors, "Yule-day," or the "Child's day," and the night that preceded it, "Mother-night," long before they came in contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character.
**********
Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas?
Do You Prefer TRADITION Over Truth?
Christmas is About Giving - SAYS WHO?
Why I No Longer Celebrate Christmas
by Alexander Hislop
Chapter III
Festivals
Section I: Christmas and Lady-day
How, then, did the Romish Church fix on December the 25th as Christmas-day? Why, thus: Long before the fourth century, and long before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen, at that precise time of the year, in honour of the birth of the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of the nominal adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church, giving it only the name of Christ. This tendency on the part of Christians to meet Paganism half-way was very early developed; and we find Tertullian, even in his day, about the year 230, bitterly lamenting the inconsistency of the disciples of Christ in this respect, and contrasting it with the strict fidelity of the Pagans to their own superstition. "By us," says he, "who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia, are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year's day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians." Upright men strive to stem the tide, but in spite of all their efforts, the apostacy went on, till the Church, with the exception of a small remnant, was submerged under Pagan superstition.
That Christmas was originally a Pagan festival, is beyond all doubt. The time of the year, and the ceremonies with which it is still celebrated, prove its origin. In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time, "about the time of the winter solstice." The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among ourselves--Yule-day --proves at once its Pagan and Babylonian origin. "Yule" is the Chaldee name for an "infant" or "little child"; * and as the 25th of December was called by our Pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors, "Yule-day," or the "Child's day," and the night that preceded it, "Mother-night," long before they came in contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character.
**********
Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas?
Do You Prefer TRADITION Over Truth?
Christmas is About Giving - SAYS WHO?
Why I No Longer Celebrate Christmas
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Christians cause confusion over Christmas!
After reading The ACLU Zealots' Christmas Mission by Bonnie Alba, I wrote her:
Christians who read and believe the Bible wage war against "Christmas" to
let the truth set folks free who choose to be.
The confusion in this country, first and foremost, is the fault of
Protestants keeping a Roman Catholic hollow day, the "mass of Christ,"
having failed to completely come out of BABYLON.
The confusion is the Roman Catholic Cult dressing up a pagan holiday (they stole) in Christian drag. Throw in atheists and it's all a mess that the God of the Bible and the real Jesus don't want their holy Family name associated with.
C. H. Spurgeon on Christmas
Spurgeon from a sermon preached by C. H. Spurgeon on Dec. 24, 1871:
We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas. First, because we do not believe in the mass at all, but abhor it, whether it be sung in Latin or in English. Secondly, because we find no Scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Savior; and consequently, its observance is a superstition, because not of divine authority. 'Superstition' has fixed most positively the day of our Savior's birth, although there is no possibility of discovering when it occurred. ... It was not till the middle of the third century that any part of the Church celebrated the nativity of our Lord; and it was not till very long after the Western Church had set the example, that the Eastern adopted it. ... Probably the fact is that the "holy" days were arranged to fit in with the heathen festivals. We venture to assert, that if there be any day in the year, of which we may be pretty sure that it was not the day on which the Savior was born, it is the 25th of December. ... Regarding not the day, let us, nevertheless, give God thanks for the gift of His dear Son.
**********************************
AMEN!!!
The Pilgrims also had enough biblical sense to reject the "mass of Christ" as pagan and Roman Catholic.
What doesn't traditional Christianity understand about such a simple command not to try and modify pagan holidays to worship the true God since He says He hates it and rejects them as abominations? Why do some professing Christians permit themselves to be ensnared, carried away with heathen customs and pagan practices?
Deuteronomy 12:30-31
30 take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ 31 You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way [not the pagan gods, but modified to try and worship God - but in vain] - for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods...
Jeremiah 10:2-3
2 Thus says the LORD:
Do not learn the way of the Gentiles
IF Jesus is Lord, then why do so many professing Christians refuse to love and obey Him? (Titus 1:16, 1 John 2:4).
1 Samuel 15:22-23
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices [lip service/sacrifices],
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD [for your own traditions],
He also has rejected you...
Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas?
Do You Prefer TRADITION Over Truth?
Christmas is About Giving - SAYS WHO?
Why I No Longer Celebrate Christmas
*******************************
Bonnie Alba responded:
Thank you for your comments and information. It might surprise you to know that I agree with your presentation. I am a long-time reader and admirer of C.H. Spurgeon. There are many Christians, regardless of sect, are turning away from the commercialization of Christmas. They are using Christmas to refocus their energies and faith into what God has called them to do---a personal relationship with Christ---all through the year and not just the "lip service" many are prone to. The Mass is only a Catholic rite. Protestants, the remnant who already have a distinct ongoing relationship with Jesus, take Christmas as a "reminder" of who He is and what He has done for us. The symbols (definitely not idols) are reminders also of our faith in Jesus (the Lord who saves).
Thank you for taking the time to write.
Bonnie
******
Good morning Bonnie and thank you for promptly responding.
I'm glad you're against the commercialization of the Name of Christ but those who have an ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ don't need any whitewashed pagan holiday to "remind" us of who He is and what He has done for us. We're to come out of BABYLON all the way, not look back with any sympathy upon Sodom, so help us God.
Christians must learn to hate hollow days that misrepresent God and Christ and love the biblical festivals that reveal His plan of salvation for all mankind. We should be offended at the Roman Catholic Cult for misappropriating the Name of Christ for their abominations, just like Simon Magus did. We should war against "the mass of Christ" for the fraud it is and let the light of truth expose their Babylonian Mystery religion's darkness.
Happy Hanukkah! (I don't officially keep it, but commemorate it as a Christian by reading at least parts of the Books of the Maccabees)
David Ben-Ariel
Friday, December 15, 2006
How does God celebrate Christmas?
How does God celebrate Christmas?
What are God's Christmas Memories?
Every year at Christmas time articles appear in various newspapers across the country about the origins of Christmas. They aren't meant to shock or discourage anyone from its celebration. To the contrary, the public finds the pagan origins quaintly interesting. The articles usually close with a local clergyman advocating less commercialism and stressing the need to put Christ back into Christmas.
Millions of people know that holidays like Christmas and Easter have pagan origins, but it doesn't really matter to them because they don't "celebrate it that way." As long as they are mainly celebrating the birth and resurrection of Jesus with only a little bit of Santa Claus or the Easter bunny "for the kids" then God understands.
These holidays are filled with years of sights, smells and sounds of good feelings going back to one's childhood. The good times at Grandma's house, the taste of eggnog and the lilt of carols all engender deep emotional feelings.
Been There, Felt That
While the Bible doesn't show the apostles celebrating any of these days, the holidays are authenticated and validated for most by the experience and our intuition. In other words, there's so much joy, love of family and praise to the Lord that God obviously approves these traditions to honor Him. Like the song says, "It can't be wrong when it feels so right...." Who cares about Nimrod, Ishtar, sun worshipers or Saturnalia when you've got Bing Crosby, Mom, apple pie and warm fuzzies. The reasoning is that God must feel good about Christmas and Easter because we feel good about them. We have fond memories, so God must have fond memories. Or does He?
The pagan origin of these days bears little significance to most people because there is no memory of paganism. Who or what is a Nimrod, and who cares? Pagan is a meaningless word, and nothing seems pagan today. Whatever can be remotely called pagan is usually referred to as a quaint native custom, and people like to take pictures of it while they're on a tour.
Our memories of December 25th may invoke thoughts of Grandma, the smell of evergreen and sounds of sleigh bells all over a backdrop of a 19th-century Charles Dickens or Currier & Ives setting. What about the thousands of years prior to the 19th century? What are God's memories?
God does have a memory, and it goes far beyond our own, for He "inhabits eternity" (Isa. 57:15). We need to expand our universe into His. For example, if I were to tell my 9-year-old daughter that we're going to choose December 7th to honor the Japanese, she might think that is wonderful. Should she announce this to her grandfather who fought in the Pacific during WWII, she would probably come back to me and ask what a day of infamy meant. Her universe would expand a little bit into Grandpa's, and in deference to Grandpa's feelings we would choose a different day to honor the Japanese. The same might be said for a little Japanese girl from Hiroshima wanting to honor Americans on August 6th.
To young children, WWII is like ancient history. Early events of this century are beyond the scope of their universe and memory. Event of that era are only read about or known in old black-and-white silent newsreels in which the people "walked kinda fast."
The Real Face of Civil War
Many of us a few years ago were very moved by the public-television special by Ken Burns on the American Civil War. It wasn't anything like the textbook memorization of our school days about who won the Battle of Bull Run. Instead, we saw faces of real people who looked like us and had feelings like we do. Through the narration of actual letters from the front, we wanted to know if the soldier ever made it back to his "beloved Sarah."
We barely touched the Civil War soldiers' experience from afar. God saw them all in living color. He heard the cannon's roar at Pickett's charge and the clash of steel on steel. He also knows the weight and texture of a Roman soldier's cloak. He knows what the apostle Paul's favorite food was, and He knows the ambient temperature inside a prison on the Isle of Patmos. History ("His story") is all very real to God, and to Him, to whom a thousand years is like a day (II Pet. 3:8), these events all happened only yesterday.
What if most of God's memory about December 25th or certain other holidays included the sounds of chanting before idols, human orgies and later the sight of Christians being persecuted? The wicked men who first selected these days to honor their gods or themselves and the Roman Christians who later accepted the same days for worshiping God were all real people. Their world was just as real to them as ours is to us. They had names, and so did those who died because they rejected the pagan world. Men may forget massacres and martyrdoms after a few generations, but God remembers. He still hears their voices under the altar crying out for justice (Rev. 6:9,10).
So in the panorama of human history what might be God's memory of "the holidays?" Again, since pagan festivals like the Saturnalia mean nothing to most people today, and historical names like Nimrod or Tammuz have no significance, I would like to tell a story. It's about something that never happened, and it employs a time-culture switch with the ancient world only to drive home a point.
Once Upon A Time
The year is 1937 in Nazi Germany, and the churches are in trouble. The Lutheran Church is losing young members of the Luther League who want to join the more flamboyant Hitler Youth. The Adventists are failing in business because they are seen to outwardly resemble the Jews in their Sabbath observance. Not all the churches are faltering, however, since some church leaders are advocating a few changes.
Some of the ministers reason that, to win the young people back to Christ, the church needs to make a few minor modifications. For example, Hitler's birthday falls on April 20, and there are celebrations throughout Germany on that day. Since nobody knows when Jesus was born, they select April 20 as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Also, by adding a few short nooks to the cross, it can now look strikingly like a swastika, only they will call it the cross of Christ.
The number of members coming back to church increases greatly with each change they make. Their families now march around the cross of Christ with their right arms fully extended to glorify the Lord. Sure, they look a lot like any other Nazi family down the street, but the church was now growing again. Celebrating the resurrection of the Lord will also happen to fall on the anniversary of the rise of the Third Reich. Needless to say, the churches which adapted to the new Germany thrive, while those that refuse to compromise are severely persecuted and scattered.
After the war, all of the customs and trappings of those days continue. Hundreds of years later people still celebrate the birth of Jesus on April 20. They set up the cross of Christ in their living room while the families extend their right hands to salute it.
It is a wonderful time. The children make little cookie people, the one's with the six-pointed star of Bethlehem on their chests, and bake them in their ovens. There is some mythology about the man with a funny mustache who knows if you've been naughty or nice, but mainly it is a religious holiday. Sometimes a lot of families get together and build a big bonfire. An honored family member carries the cross of Christ with all of its banners attached to the pole. Everyone marches around the bonfire to the tune of "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken" while their right arms are fully extended to salute the cross and praise the Lord Jesus.
One day a man comes to church and tries to tell them about the origin of their holidays. They don't seem shocked at all. To them terms like Nazi, holocaust and Hitler are meaningless. It doesn't matter what happened centuries before anyway, because they are worshiping the Lord. Their memories of past April 20s are filled with love and joy. Songs of gladness are sung as they bake the little cookie people in the ovens. Life is good, and God must be pleased.
Then the man posed a question to them: What are God's holiday memories?
Closer To Home
Would any Christian today doubt the need to tell the characters in the preceding story about the origins of their Christmas? How would God feel about choosing of all days the birth of Adolph Hitler to represent the birth of His son? How would God feel about the day symbolizing the resurrection of the Third Reich to represent Jesus' resurrection?
How about the cross that he bled on symbolized in a swastika or people giving it the Nazi salute? What about the little cookie people with the six-pointed star of Bethlehem on their chests that were baked in the ovens? Wouldn't people want to know how that custom got started?
Surprisingly, those in this story would probably give the same responses as to why it is okay to celebrate their April 20 Christmas as those do today who want to keep their December 25 Christmas: "We've always had Christmas on that date, and, besides, it doesn't really matter what day you choose." "It's good for the children." "We try to keep the commercialism down and emphasize the birth of Jesus." "God understands our hearts, and we get so much out of these days." "We just put a little cross of Christ in our home, nothing fancy or elaborate." "Mom would really be disappointed if we didn't appreciate all the work she put into this day."
Something Wrong with You
Try as you might to convince them otherwise, these hypothetical people would inhabit their own little universe. Every reason people give today to rationalize the celebration of December 25 would be thrown right back at you.
To those in the story, April 20 is absolutely wonderful. Christmas to them is almost magical in its beauty
"and no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (II Cor. 11:14).
To them the spirit of Christmas equates with the spirit of giving. To be against their Christmas is to be against giving, so there must be something wrong with you. You must not even care about the needy.
So powerful would be the allure of the April 20 Christmas that even millions of atheists would put up the lights to join the party or put "Heather" in the play. Try as you might, you could not convince them that all the Nazi origins of the day should keep them from celebrating now.
The only way people will see through all the tinsel of this economic piece of Babylon that literally drives the Western economies is to have their hearts turned toward God. Those who are Christ's will seek to look at things from His perspective and not their own. It doesn't matter that it looks good, smells good, tastes good, sounds good or that most of the world is celebrating it. It doesn't matter what Christmas means to me or my kids or my mom or my boss, for what it means to God is the most important opinion of all. His thoughts, memories and feelings don't revolve around mine.
In a Christian's life Jesus is real and has a daily impact on the decisions that are made. To most in this world Jesus is pictured either away in a manger, dead on a cross or dwelling "two stars to the right and straight on ‘til morning" in a heavenly never-never land. To most He is a God of convenience but not someone you actually serve or seek advice from. "He must like this holiday because I do, and my minister gives his approval. Surely all of these churches couldn't be wrong."
This holiday's broad appeal to this world should be a warning flag to a Christian. Jesus said,
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:13-14).
After warning about false prophets, Jesus also went on to say in verse 21:
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
Church Blending with Paganism
To the apostles, the will of God did not include Christmas or anything like it. This all came much later when the apostate church grew by blending in with the pagan Roman world. By placing the Lord's name on pagan practices, they deceived people into thinking they could keep their old ways and call it the Lord's will. Satan succeeded in deceiving virtually the whole world at that time into taking the broad way of doing things that are contrary to God's will (Rev. 12:9).
The will of God has to be the central point in how we worship Him. Jesus spoke about members of the religious community in His day who were in their own little universe and said they were worshiping Him, but all in vain, because of their manmade traditions (Mark 7:7-8). In John 4:23-24 Jesus said that
"the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (verses 23, 24).
Both those in the above story and those in the mainstream of Christianity today don't understand that Christmas is a lie or that Christ was never in it. The mind of Christ won't mix righteousness with unrighteousness or light with darkness (II Cor. 6:14-16).
"Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you" (verse 17).
God's people are to come out of Babylon. You can't take the customs of a day dedicated to a demon, sprinkle some holy water on it and now say it's dedicated to Jesus, or then centuries later say its origin doesn't really matter.
Less Abominable with Time?
Would that terrible act be an abomination only to the actual perpetrators, but in each succeeding generation become less and less terrible until God finally likes it? If 100 years from now the great-grand children of a Satanist learn that the portrait of Jesus above the mantle was really a portrait of Charles Manson, should they just shrug it off because they don't think of it that way, or it's good for the children, or Mom loved the painting?
God has a memory. Those who are His want to honor and worship Him in truth. According to His Word, how we choose to do so is important to Him. God tells us not to learn the ways of the heathen (Jer.10:2) or inquire about how pagan nations serve their gods.
"You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way" (Deut. 12:31).
The broad, easy path that this world loves is paved with good intentions but it leads to destruction. The decisions we make in life as Christians aren't to be based on how we feel or Mom feels but how God feels. That's what you do to truly honor the one you love above all others.
Written by: Lee Lisman
*******************************
Do You Prefer TRADITION Over Truth?
Why I No Longer Celebrate Christmas
Christmas is About Giving - SAYS WHO?
Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas?
What are God's Christmas Memories?
Every year at Christmas time articles appear in various newspapers across the country about the origins of Christmas. They aren't meant to shock or discourage anyone from its celebration. To the contrary, the public finds the pagan origins quaintly interesting. The articles usually close with a local clergyman advocating less commercialism and stressing the need to put Christ back into Christmas.
Millions of people know that holidays like Christmas and Easter have pagan origins, but it doesn't really matter to them because they don't "celebrate it that way." As long as they are mainly celebrating the birth and resurrection of Jesus with only a little bit of Santa Claus or the Easter bunny "for the kids" then God understands.
These holidays are filled with years of sights, smells and sounds of good feelings going back to one's childhood. The good times at Grandma's house, the taste of eggnog and the lilt of carols all engender deep emotional feelings.
Been There, Felt That
While the Bible doesn't show the apostles celebrating any of these days, the holidays are authenticated and validated for most by the experience and our intuition. In other words, there's so much joy, love of family and praise to the Lord that God obviously approves these traditions to honor Him. Like the song says, "It can't be wrong when it feels so right...." Who cares about Nimrod, Ishtar, sun worshipers or Saturnalia when you've got Bing Crosby, Mom, apple pie and warm fuzzies. The reasoning is that God must feel good about Christmas and Easter because we feel good about them. We have fond memories, so God must have fond memories. Or does He?
The pagan origin of these days bears little significance to most people because there is no memory of paganism. Who or what is a Nimrod, and who cares? Pagan is a meaningless word, and nothing seems pagan today. Whatever can be remotely called pagan is usually referred to as a quaint native custom, and people like to take pictures of it while they're on a tour.
Our memories of December 25th may invoke thoughts of Grandma, the smell of evergreen and sounds of sleigh bells all over a backdrop of a 19th-century Charles Dickens or Currier & Ives setting. What about the thousands of years prior to the 19th century? What are God's memories?
God does have a memory, and it goes far beyond our own, for He "inhabits eternity" (Isa. 57:15). We need to expand our universe into His. For example, if I were to tell my 9-year-old daughter that we're going to choose December 7th to honor the Japanese, she might think that is wonderful. Should she announce this to her grandfather who fought in the Pacific during WWII, she would probably come back to me and ask what a day of infamy meant. Her universe would expand a little bit into Grandpa's, and in deference to Grandpa's feelings we would choose a different day to honor the Japanese. The same might be said for a little Japanese girl from Hiroshima wanting to honor Americans on August 6th.
To young children, WWII is like ancient history. Early events of this century are beyond the scope of their universe and memory. Event of that era are only read about or known in old black-and-white silent newsreels in which the people "walked kinda fast."
The Real Face of Civil War
Many of us a few years ago were very moved by the public-television special by Ken Burns on the American Civil War. It wasn't anything like the textbook memorization of our school days about who won the Battle of Bull Run. Instead, we saw faces of real people who looked like us and had feelings like we do. Through the narration of actual letters from the front, we wanted to know if the soldier ever made it back to his "beloved Sarah."
We barely touched the Civil War soldiers' experience from afar. God saw them all in living color. He heard the cannon's roar at Pickett's charge and the clash of steel on steel. He also knows the weight and texture of a Roman soldier's cloak. He knows what the apostle Paul's favorite food was, and He knows the ambient temperature inside a prison on the Isle of Patmos. History ("His story") is all very real to God, and to Him, to whom a thousand years is like a day (II Pet. 3:8), these events all happened only yesterday.
What if most of God's memory about December 25th or certain other holidays included the sounds of chanting before idols, human orgies and later the sight of Christians being persecuted? The wicked men who first selected these days to honor their gods or themselves and the Roman Christians who later accepted the same days for worshiping God were all real people. Their world was just as real to them as ours is to us. They had names, and so did those who died because they rejected the pagan world. Men may forget massacres and martyrdoms after a few generations, but God remembers. He still hears their voices under the altar crying out for justice (Rev. 6:9,10).
So in the panorama of human history what might be God's memory of "the holidays?" Again, since pagan festivals like the Saturnalia mean nothing to most people today, and historical names like Nimrod or Tammuz have no significance, I would like to tell a story. It's about something that never happened, and it employs a time-culture switch with the ancient world only to drive home a point.
Once Upon A Time
The year is 1937 in Nazi Germany, and the churches are in trouble. The Lutheran Church is losing young members of the Luther League who want to join the more flamboyant Hitler Youth. The Adventists are failing in business because they are seen to outwardly resemble the Jews in their Sabbath observance. Not all the churches are faltering, however, since some church leaders are advocating a few changes.
Some of the ministers reason that, to win the young people back to Christ, the church needs to make a few minor modifications. For example, Hitler's birthday falls on April 20, and there are celebrations throughout Germany on that day. Since nobody knows when Jesus was born, they select April 20 as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Also, by adding a few short nooks to the cross, it can now look strikingly like a swastika, only they will call it the cross of Christ.
The number of members coming back to church increases greatly with each change they make. Their families now march around the cross of Christ with their right arms fully extended to glorify the Lord. Sure, they look a lot like any other Nazi family down the street, but the church was now growing again. Celebrating the resurrection of the Lord will also happen to fall on the anniversary of the rise of the Third Reich. Needless to say, the churches which adapted to the new Germany thrive, while those that refuse to compromise are severely persecuted and scattered.
After the war, all of the customs and trappings of those days continue. Hundreds of years later people still celebrate the birth of Jesus on April 20. They set up the cross of Christ in their living room while the families extend their right hands to salute it.
It is a wonderful time. The children make little cookie people, the one's with the six-pointed star of Bethlehem on their chests, and bake them in their ovens. There is some mythology about the man with a funny mustache who knows if you've been naughty or nice, but mainly it is a religious holiday. Sometimes a lot of families get together and build a big bonfire. An honored family member carries the cross of Christ with all of its banners attached to the pole. Everyone marches around the bonfire to the tune of "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken" while their right arms are fully extended to salute the cross and praise the Lord Jesus.
One day a man comes to church and tries to tell them about the origin of their holidays. They don't seem shocked at all. To them terms like Nazi, holocaust and Hitler are meaningless. It doesn't matter what happened centuries before anyway, because they are worshiping the Lord. Their memories of past April 20s are filled with love and joy. Songs of gladness are sung as they bake the little cookie people in the ovens. Life is good, and God must be pleased.
Then the man posed a question to them: What are God's holiday memories?
Closer To Home
Would any Christian today doubt the need to tell the characters in the preceding story about the origins of their Christmas? How would God feel about choosing of all days the birth of Adolph Hitler to represent the birth of His son? How would God feel about the day symbolizing the resurrection of the Third Reich to represent Jesus' resurrection?
How about the cross that he bled on symbolized in a swastika or people giving it the Nazi salute? What about the little cookie people with the six-pointed star of Bethlehem on their chests that were baked in the ovens? Wouldn't people want to know how that custom got started?
Surprisingly, those in this story would probably give the same responses as to why it is okay to celebrate their April 20 Christmas as those do today who want to keep their December 25 Christmas: "We've always had Christmas on that date, and, besides, it doesn't really matter what day you choose." "It's good for the children." "We try to keep the commercialism down and emphasize the birth of Jesus." "God understands our hearts, and we get so much out of these days." "We just put a little cross of Christ in our home, nothing fancy or elaborate." "Mom would really be disappointed if we didn't appreciate all the work she put into this day."
Something Wrong with You
Try as you might to convince them otherwise, these hypothetical people would inhabit their own little universe. Every reason people give today to rationalize the celebration of December 25 would be thrown right back at you.
To those in the story, April 20 is absolutely wonderful. Christmas to them is almost magical in its beauty
"and no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" (II Cor. 11:14).
To them the spirit of Christmas equates with the spirit of giving. To be against their Christmas is to be against giving, so there must be something wrong with you. You must not even care about the needy.
So powerful would be the allure of the April 20 Christmas that even millions of atheists would put up the lights to join the party or put "Heather" in the play. Try as you might, you could not convince them that all the Nazi origins of the day should keep them from celebrating now.
The only way people will see through all the tinsel of this economic piece of Babylon that literally drives the Western economies is to have their hearts turned toward God. Those who are Christ's will seek to look at things from His perspective and not their own. It doesn't matter that it looks good, smells good, tastes good, sounds good or that most of the world is celebrating it. It doesn't matter what Christmas means to me or my kids or my mom or my boss, for what it means to God is the most important opinion of all. His thoughts, memories and feelings don't revolve around mine.
In a Christian's life Jesus is real and has a daily impact on the decisions that are made. To most in this world Jesus is pictured either away in a manger, dead on a cross or dwelling "two stars to the right and straight on ‘til morning" in a heavenly never-never land. To most He is a God of convenience but not someone you actually serve or seek advice from. "He must like this holiday because I do, and my minister gives his approval. Surely all of these churches couldn't be wrong."
This holiday's broad appeal to this world should be a warning flag to a Christian. Jesus said,
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:13-14).
After warning about false prophets, Jesus also went on to say in verse 21:
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
Church Blending with Paganism
To the apostles, the will of God did not include Christmas or anything like it. This all came much later when the apostate church grew by blending in with the pagan Roman world. By placing the Lord's name on pagan practices, they deceived people into thinking they could keep their old ways and call it the Lord's will. Satan succeeded in deceiving virtually the whole world at that time into taking the broad way of doing things that are contrary to God's will (Rev. 12:9).
The will of God has to be the central point in how we worship Him. Jesus spoke about members of the religious community in His day who were in their own little universe and said they were worshiping Him, but all in vain, because of their manmade traditions (Mark 7:7-8). In John 4:23-24 Jesus said that
"the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (verses 23, 24).
Both those in the above story and those in the mainstream of Christianity today don't understand that Christmas is a lie or that Christ was never in it. The mind of Christ won't mix righteousness with unrighteousness or light with darkness (II Cor. 6:14-16).
"Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you" (verse 17).
God's people are to come out of Babylon. You can't take the customs of a day dedicated to a demon, sprinkle some holy water on it and now say it's dedicated to Jesus, or then centuries later say its origin doesn't really matter.
Less Abominable with Time?
Would that terrible act be an abomination only to the actual perpetrators, but in each succeeding generation become less and less terrible until God finally likes it? If 100 years from now the great-grand children of a Satanist learn that the portrait of Jesus above the mantle was really a portrait of Charles Manson, should they just shrug it off because they don't think of it that way, or it's good for the children, or Mom loved the painting?
God has a memory. Those who are His want to honor and worship Him in truth. According to His Word, how we choose to do so is important to Him. God tells us not to learn the ways of the heathen (Jer.10:2) or inquire about how pagan nations serve their gods.
"You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way" (Deut. 12:31).
The broad, easy path that this world loves is paved with good intentions but it leads to destruction. The decisions we make in life as Christians aren't to be based on how we feel or Mom feels but how God feels. That's what you do to truly honor the one you love above all others.
Written by: Lee Lisman
*******************************
Do You Prefer TRADITION Over Truth?
Why I No Longer Celebrate Christmas
Christmas is About Giving - SAYS WHO?
Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas?
Thursday, December 14, 2006
CHANUKA - BETWEEN SEATTLE AND JERUSALEM!
BS"D
YESHIVAT HARA'AYON HAYEHUDI [Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea]
Jerusalem, Israel
HaRav Yehuda Kroizer SHLIT"A, Rosh Yeshiva
PARSHAT VAYESHEV/CHANUKA
25 Kislev 5767/15-16 December 2006
CHANUKA - BETWEEN SEATTLE AND JERUSALEM!
The ancient Greeks, in their quest to Hellenize the world, found very
little resistance as they conquered nation after nation, bringing their
"enlightment" to one and all. It was only by the Jewish nation, who sat in
Zion at the time, that they met resistance. The Greeks decided to break the
backbone of the Jews by decreeing three decrees against the Jewish people.
In this way, the Greeks figured that within the next generation the Jewish
people as they knew them would be no more.
With tremendous insight, the Greeks' three decrees were to forbid the
observance of Shabbat, to forbid the calculation of the new months, and to
forbid circumcision. What was it that the ancient Greeks saw by these three
mitzvot, that they reasoned that by banning them, this would end the Jewish
religion?
The common denominator that runs though these mitzvot are, of course,
the “chosenness” of the Jewish people. Havdala - separation - this is the
foundation upon which all rests. For without this concept, the Jewish people
would be just like all the other nations of the world. Without the
chosenness of the Jewish people - in which Hashem chose us to be a light
unto the nations - there would be no need for our existence and mission in
this world. We would be just like the other nations, and then, certainly
there would be no need at all for Creation. Still, Hashem, at the revelation
of Sinai, chose us from all the nations for His G-dly mission in this world.
The Greeks understood this well: Wipe out the chosenness of the Jewish
people, make them like all the other nations - and you destroy them and the
world with it. Unfortunately, many a Jew at the time fell victim to the
Greeks' plan and openly accepted the new and dark Greek culture.
A quick look at the three decrees will readily show the chosenness of
the Jewish people running throughout them. Shabbat, of course, is a sign
between G-d and the Jewish people, so unique to the Jews that if a non- Jew
keeps Shabbat, he is put to death. The same holds true for circumcision, a
sign between the Jewish people and G-d, as Hashem tells Abraham to
circumcize himself and his house for a sign between the Jewish people and
G-d for all generations. Calculating the month ensures that the Jewish
calendar with all of its holidays will be celebrated at their proper times,
once again showing the uniqueness of the Jewish nation.
For this, the Jews revolted in a bloody war that lasted three years, at
the cost of many thousands dead. But the end result was that the Jews who
stayed faithful continued the chosenness of the Jewish people and their holy
mission.
This past week we saw the unfolding drama of the Seattle airport’s right
to publicly place x-mas trees there, and under the theat of a lawsuit by a
Chabad Rabbi to place a large Menorah there, too, the trees were first
removed and later replaced. America, in spite of the many minorities who
live there with freedom for all, is still known as overwhelmingly an x-tian
nation. They had no problem offending rights of minorities - in this case
Jews - and there will be no Menorah in the airport, for unlike the Moslems,
the Jews do not want to make waves.
And over here in the Holy Land, on my way home from work the other day,
I was appalled to see in the showcase of the Jerusalem City Hall next to a
Menorah, a display of the birth of baby Yeshky in Bethlehem, so as not to
insult the x-tian community, which barely exists here in Israel. Not that I
have a problem with giving other cultures their due, but in City Hall of the
Holy City of Jerusalem, which is supposed to represent the return of the
Jewish people after a 2000-year exile and Jewish sovereignty, it is a shame.
Here, in the Land of Israel, the descendants of the mighty Maccabees who
fought and gave their lives to keep alive the chosenness and separation from
the nations, are trying to walk the fence on both sides. Jerusalem’s City
Hall, representing the Jewish people, is not the place for it! Where is our
pride, and why are we embarrassed to tell the world that we are the Chosen
People. This is what Chanuka should be all about: Now is the time to move
forward, with the flag of the Maccabees telling a world of sick culture that
we reject it - and in its stead, we will bring Light to the world!
With love of Israel,
Levi Chazen
**************************************
Today we all know that Rabbi Kahane was right! Help spread the Jewish Idea -
Join the Jewish Idea's E-mail list and spread the word!
jidea@netvision.net.il
***************************************
Levi,
The Sabbath was given to ALL mankind at Creation. They forgot it and God restored it through all Twelve Tribes of Israel, now specifically through the Jews since the Israelites became "lost" and Gentilized. When King Messiah Yeshua returns and reigns, He will command ALL nations to keep the biblical Sabbath and biblical festivals, the "Jewish Holidays."
As for Jews in America, in their self-imposed exile, always praying "NEXT year in Jerusalem," let them move to Israel where they belong.
As for the pagan "mass of Christ," I am a Christian and, like the early Church of God for over 300 years, have absolutely nothing to do with pagan holidays dressed in Christian drag. We're not fooled by the Roman wolves in sheep's clothing.
Chag Hanukkah Sameach,
David Ben-Ariel
CAPAI Christians Against Proselytizing Among Israel
Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas?
Israel and Judah Must Get House in Order Before King Messiah Arrives
Jews Should Follow Judaism to Israel!
A Jewish Homeland
YESHIVAT HARA'AYON HAYEHUDI [Yeshiva of the Jewish Idea]
Jerusalem, Israel
HaRav Yehuda Kroizer SHLIT"A, Rosh Yeshiva
PARSHAT VAYESHEV/CHANUKA
25 Kislev 5767/15-16 December 2006
CHANUKA - BETWEEN SEATTLE AND JERUSALEM!
The ancient Greeks, in their quest to Hellenize the world, found very
little resistance as they conquered nation after nation, bringing their
"enlightment" to one and all. It was only by the Jewish nation, who sat in
Zion at the time, that they met resistance. The Greeks decided to break the
backbone of the Jews by decreeing three decrees against the Jewish people.
In this way, the Greeks figured that within the next generation the Jewish
people as they knew them would be no more.
With tremendous insight, the Greeks' three decrees were to forbid the
observance of Shabbat, to forbid the calculation of the new months, and to
forbid circumcision. What was it that the ancient Greeks saw by these three
mitzvot, that they reasoned that by banning them, this would end the Jewish
religion?
The common denominator that runs though these mitzvot are, of course,
the “chosenness” of the Jewish people. Havdala - separation - this is the
foundation upon which all rests. For without this concept, the Jewish people
would be just like all the other nations of the world. Without the
chosenness of the Jewish people - in which Hashem chose us to be a light
unto the nations - there would be no need for our existence and mission in
this world. We would be just like the other nations, and then, certainly
there would be no need at all for Creation. Still, Hashem, at the revelation
of Sinai, chose us from all the nations for His G-dly mission in this world.
The Greeks understood this well: Wipe out the chosenness of the Jewish
people, make them like all the other nations - and you destroy them and the
world with it. Unfortunately, many a Jew at the time fell victim to the
Greeks' plan and openly accepted the new and dark Greek culture.
A quick look at the three decrees will readily show the chosenness of
the Jewish people running throughout them. Shabbat, of course, is a sign
between G-d and the Jewish people, so unique to the Jews that if a non- Jew
keeps Shabbat, he is put to death. The same holds true for circumcision, a
sign between the Jewish people and G-d, as Hashem tells Abraham to
circumcize himself and his house for a sign between the Jewish people and
G-d for all generations. Calculating the month ensures that the Jewish
calendar with all of its holidays will be celebrated at their proper times,
once again showing the uniqueness of the Jewish nation.
For this, the Jews revolted in a bloody war that lasted three years, at
the cost of many thousands dead. But the end result was that the Jews who
stayed faithful continued the chosenness of the Jewish people and their holy
mission.
This past week we saw the unfolding drama of the Seattle airport’s right
to publicly place x-mas trees there, and under the theat of a lawsuit by a
Chabad Rabbi to place a large Menorah there, too, the trees were first
removed and later replaced. America, in spite of the many minorities who
live there with freedom for all, is still known as overwhelmingly an x-tian
nation. They had no problem offending rights of minorities - in this case
Jews - and there will be no Menorah in the airport, for unlike the Moslems,
the Jews do not want to make waves.
And over here in the Holy Land, on my way home from work the other day,
I was appalled to see in the showcase of the Jerusalem City Hall next to a
Menorah, a display of the birth of baby Yeshky in Bethlehem, so as not to
insult the x-tian community, which barely exists here in Israel. Not that I
have a problem with giving other cultures their due, but in City Hall of the
Holy City of Jerusalem, which is supposed to represent the return of the
Jewish people after a 2000-year exile and Jewish sovereignty, it is a shame.
Here, in the Land of Israel, the descendants of the mighty Maccabees who
fought and gave their lives to keep alive the chosenness and separation from
the nations, are trying to walk the fence on both sides. Jerusalem’s City
Hall, representing the Jewish people, is not the place for it! Where is our
pride, and why are we embarrassed to tell the world that we are the Chosen
People. This is what Chanuka should be all about: Now is the time to move
forward, with the flag of the Maccabees telling a world of sick culture that
we reject it - and in its stead, we will bring Light to the world!
With love of Israel,
Levi Chazen
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Levi,
The Sabbath was given to ALL mankind at Creation. They forgot it and God restored it through all Twelve Tribes of Israel, now specifically through the Jews since the Israelites became "lost" and Gentilized. When King Messiah Yeshua returns and reigns, He will command ALL nations to keep the biblical Sabbath and biblical festivals, the "Jewish Holidays."
As for Jews in America, in their self-imposed exile, always praying "NEXT year in Jerusalem," let them move to Israel where they belong.
As for the pagan "mass of Christ," I am a Christian and, like the early Church of God for over 300 years, have absolutely nothing to do with pagan holidays dressed in Christian drag. We're not fooled by the Roman wolves in sheep's clothing.
Chag Hanukkah Sameach,
David Ben-Ariel
CAPAI Christians Against Proselytizing Among Israel
Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas?
Israel and Judah Must Get House in Order Before King Messiah Arrives
Jews Should Follow Judaism to Israel!
A Jewish Homeland
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Woe to Ariel! (Jerusalem to suffer EU occupation)
Woe to Ariel! (Jerusalem to suffer EU occupation)
by David Ben-Ariel
Isaiah 29:1
Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt!
Carl Sandburg, an American writer warned: "If America forgets where she came from...if she listens to the deniers and mockers, then will begin the rot and dissolution." The same principle applies to our Jewish brethren in Israel.
The most merciful God of Jacob-Israel resurrected the nation of Israel from the graveyard of history and offered us a new opportunity to fulfill our unique calling to become a model nation, a kingdom of priests, a light to all nations, based upon the Law and the Prophets. Yet secular Jews, Hellenist Jews, UNJews, have divorced themselves from the Bible and have sought to make Israel just like all the other nations. And the corrupt Chief Rabbinate and blind religious leaders have woefully neglected (and forfeited by default) Judaism's most holy site: the Temple Mount.
Despite the faithlessness of many of Israel's leaders, the Great God of the Universe liberated areas of Judea and Samaria and restored Judaism's holiest site (supposedly) - the Temple Mount - into Jewish hands. Did Israel immediately invite the God of history to return with our exiles (now making aliyah) by building the Third Temple? Did they honor the God of our fathers by creating an Embassy for the Eternal upon the Temple Mount?
No! Instead Israelis despised their most sacred inheritance, the crown jewel of Jerusalem, and permitted militant Muslims to continue their abominable occupation. The foreign foxes terrorize faithful Jews and Christian Zionists who attempt to worship upon the Temple Mount and illegally refuse to let them pray or read the Bible. Israel has failed to uphold religious rights for non-Muslims (that are trampled daily) and has failed to guarantee "freedom of access." The biblical solution is to build the House of Prayer for All Peoples spoken of by the Prophets.
Queen Victoria said: "I think it very unwise to give up what we hold," referring to territories of the British-Israelite empire. Judah has been "very unwise" to surrender holy land to the enemies of God and Israel in the name of a lying peace. The accursed and treacherous Oslo accords, like a murderous cancer, continue to eat away at the very foundations of the Jewish state and the Jews have only themselves to blame.
Does someone have to be a prophet to recognize prophetic trends and to be grieved about them? Or to perceive that divine judgment is surely coming upon our beloved nations? Can't we just be like righteous King Josiah who HEARD AND BELIEVED the inspired words of the PROPHETS? (2 Chron. 34:15-33). He took God's "ancient" warning seriously and then did everything he could to avert national disaster! God respected him for it.
Yet the American, British and Jewish peoples today despise those who dare come forth, teaching and preaching the Word of God, encouraging repentance to spare our people from the unprecedented "Time of Jacob's Trouble," "the Great Tribulation" (Jer. 30:7, Matt. 24:21). At least, when they're temporarily crushed under the heels of a German-led Europe, when the Jewish Quarter is made Judenrein and the Temple Mount seized and occupied by Vatican forces that are intent on ripping the heart out of Israel for their pagan purposes (Dan. 11:45, Zech. 14:2), they will remember that they had been warned by a loving God, and hopefully will then have a change of heart and attitude that will hasten the process of redemption and welcome home the Messiah whom Two Witnesses will announce to the cities of Judah and proclaim to the world (Zech. 12:10).
by David Ben-Ariel
Isaiah 29:1
Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt!
Carl Sandburg, an American writer warned: "If America forgets where she came from...if she listens to the deniers and mockers, then will begin the rot and dissolution." The same principle applies to our Jewish brethren in Israel.
The most merciful God of Jacob-Israel resurrected the nation of Israel from the graveyard of history and offered us a new opportunity to fulfill our unique calling to become a model nation, a kingdom of priests, a light to all nations, based upon the Law and the Prophets. Yet secular Jews, Hellenist Jews, UNJews, have divorced themselves from the Bible and have sought to make Israel just like all the other nations. And the corrupt Chief Rabbinate and blind religious leaders have woefully neglected (and forfeited by default) Judaism's most holy site: the Temple Mount.
Despite the faithlessness of many of Israel's leaders, the Great God of the Universe liberated areas of Judea and Samaria and restored Judaism's holiest site (supposedly) - the Temple Mount - into Jewish hands. Did Israel immediately invite the God of history to return with our exiles (now making aliyah) by building the Third Temple? Did they honor the God of our fathers by creating an Embassy for the Eternal upon the Temple Mount?
No! Instead Israelis despised their most sacred inheritance, the crown jewel of Jerusalem, and permitted militant Muslims to continue their abominable occupation. The foreign foxes terrorize faithful Jews and Christian Zionists who attempt to worship upon the Temple Mount and illegally refuse to let them pray or read the Bible. Israel has failed to uphold religious rights for non-Muslims (that are trampled daily) and has failed to guarantee "freedom of access." The biblical solution is to build the House of Prayer for All Peoples spoken of by the Prophets.
Queen Victoria said: "I think it very unwise to give up what we hold," referring to territories of the British-Israelite empire. Judah has been "very unwise" to surrender holy land to the enemies of God and Israel in the name of a lying peace. The accursed and treacherous Oslo accords, like a murderous cancer, continue to eat away at the very foundations of the Jewish state and the Jews have only themselves to blame.
Does someone have to be a prophet to recognize prophetic trends and to be grieved about them? Or to perceive that divine judgment is surely coming upon our beloved nations? Can't we just be like righteous King Josiah who HEARD AND BELIEVED the inspired words of the PROPHETS? (2 Chron. 34:15-33). He took God's "ancient" warning seriously and then did everything he could to avert national disaster! God respected him for it.
Yet the American, British and Jewish peoples today despise those who dare come forth, teaching and preaching the Word of God, encouraging repentance to spare our people from the unprecedented "Time of Jacob's Trouble," "the Great Tribulation" (Jer. 30:7, Matt. 24:21). At least, when they're temporarily crushed under the heels of a German-led Europe, when the Jewish Quarter is made Judenrein and the Temple Mount seized and occupied by Vatican forces that are intent on ripping the heart out of Israel for their pagan purposes (Dan. 11:45, Zech. 14:2), they will remember that they had been warned by a loving God, and hopefully will then have a change of heart and attitude that will hasten the process of redemption and welcome home the Messiah whom Two Witnesses will announce to the cities of Judah and proclaim to the world (Zech. 12:10).
Friday, December 08, 2006
Church of God woefully neglects the Jews, ignores teaching of Herbert W. Armstrong
Stephen Flurry and The Philadelphia Church of God pretend to follow Herbert W. Armstrong as he followed Jesus Christ. Yet the great commission Herbert W. Armstrong saw must yet be fulfilled among the Jews is WOEFULLY NEGLECTED by Gerald and Stephen Flurry and other Church of God "leaders."
The Great Mideast Commission: Reaching the Cities of Judah
The PCG is going in circles, doing their own thing rather than the Work of God.
The Work of God Must Go Forward!
Time grows short and the PCG leaves the world without having received a strong warning message about what the German-dominated Europe is about to do, undoubtedly in rapid response to Iran.
PCG: Carrying on "Business as Usual"
The Great Mideast Commission: Reaching the Cities of Judah
The PCG is going in circles, doing their own thing rather than the Work of God.
The Work of God Must Go Forward!
Time grows short and the PCG leaves the world without having received a strong warning message about what the German-dominated Europe is about to do, undoubtedly in rapid response to Iran.
PCG: Carrying on "Business as Usual"
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