MY AFTER CHRISTMAS RAMBLINGS
 
I know that you all were wondering where my Christmas rantings were this year. It was a big disappointment for you, I’m sure. So I decided to do an after Christmas blog for your musing.
After much consideration I decided to concede. I have come to realize that most of you are not celebrating the hollow day of the Saturnalia with intent. I am appreciating your freedom to do as you desire. Your free will has been given to you by the Lord as a gift, and you are welcome to exercise it according to your own conscience. You have the right to do as you please, obey the Scriptures or not.

However, what you don’t have the right to do is put the Lord’s stamp of approval on it. In Leviticus 23, He has given us the Holy Feasts that are perpetual, prophetic, eternal, and given by the Lord as His appointments. Only the Messiah Himself could  keep these appointments.

Even though you might be totally unaware of the pagan roots of Christmas, I am sure you have no desire to carry on the traditions of the Scandinavian Nordic culture and honor Odin himself in your practices. Jeremiah 10 calls these practices evil.

1     Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of srael. 
2      Thus says the LORD,
      “Do not learn the way of the nations,
      And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens
      Although the nations are terrified by them; 
3     For the customs of the peoples are delusion;
      Because it is wood cut from the forest,
      The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. 
4     “They decorate it with silver and with gold;
      They fasten it with nails and with hammers
      So that it will not totter. 
5     “Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,
      And they cannot speak;
      They must be carried,
      Because they cannot walk!
      Do not fear them,
      For they can do no harm,
      Nor can they do any good.”
 
I have no doubt you are probably a person who loves the Lord and His Word and you have full intention of being obedient to passages like…

2 Cor 6:14-18
Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,
“I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 
Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
“And do not touch what is unclean;
And I will welcome you. 
And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.
 
Rav Shaul (Paul) is quoting from Isaiah 52:11, but I’m sure you knew that. Could Paul have referenced that passage because the Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever? Does what was said in the Tenach (Old Testament) mean the same when it is quoted in the Brit Hadasha (New Testament)? If so, I am sure you can agree that our association with the pagan world and their customs of worship should be avoided. But remember, you do have freedom.
 
Even though Deut. 7:1-6 says:
“When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, and when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show favor to them. Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve others gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire. For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”

Now, while we can’t go around smashing other people’s stuff in this society no matter how vile it is, shouldn’t we at least not be inviting those items or practices into our lives and homes? I’m sure you would agree.

With all due respect to your religious freedom, I just don’t see the Lord giving us permission to redeem their pagan symbols into our worship. Please allow me to elaborate my point with a few more Scriptures

Deut 12:20-32
“Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.
     When the LORD your God cuts you off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after thei gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
     Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.”
 
So please, correct me if I am wrong. Because I know you don’t want to incorporate paganism into your worshiping the Lord. I don’t seem to be hearing anything here about the freedom to co-opt pagan worship or practices into the worship of the Lord, do you? I realize that the immediate context of the passage is in relationship to the Jews entering the land of Israel; but isn’t there a spiritual principle here for us as well?
 
Didn’t the Lord reject King Saul for thinking he had a better plan than His?

1 Sam 15:10-11
Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night.
Call me naïve, but is the Lord willing to give deference to our good intentions, no matter how noble they might seem to us at the time?

I find it funny that the Lord Himself set up the Biblical feasts that all point to the Messiah in specific detail, yet we would rather spend our time, energy and devotion defending the traditions of men over the Word of the Lord. If you knew nothing else about Christmas, hopefully you at least know it was from co-opted paganism by the Catholic Church who sprinkled holy water on those traditions to give a concession to both pagans and the so-called Christians.

If Christmas were so important to the Lord, then why wasn’t it celebrated by the Apostles? Why won’t it be celebrated in the Millennial Kingdom like the Feast of Sukkot  (Tabernacles)?

Zech 14:16-19
Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

Christmas doesn’t even get an honorable mention.

Doesn’t it seem odd to you that the symbol most regarded by Christians and most defended in the public is the “right of Christians” to put up a creche in the public square. If you missed that, it was all over the news.

So what is a creche anyways? Well, simply stated, it is a nativity set filled with little idols of their version of baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. I don’t know about you, but in  the Scriptures I read I am forbidden to make a graven image of anything in Heaven above. earth below, or in the sea.

Ex 20:4-6
“You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep my commandments.”

If Yeshua is sitting at the right hand of the Father, then I would at least think that believers would have enough Biblical discernment to know that the creche is verboten. Where does that custom come from? The Catholic Church, of course!

We stoop so low when we elevate the traditions of men above the Word of the Lord. Yeshua spoke those same words to the Pharisees in Matt 15:1-3

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why to Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

So in conclusion, yes, you have the freedom to celebrate Christmas or any other man-made hollow day you please. Feel free to substitute the Biblical feasts for the traditions of men. Let your good intentions be known. Make sure folks know you are not celebrating the Saturnalia. But know this, Satan enjoys those hollow days also because they replace and invalidate the true Biblical feasts and appointments that were kept by Yeshua Himself. After all, it was the prophet Daniel who warned us of the Anti Messiah’s plan to do just that.
​
Dan 7:23-27
“Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings. He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’”

Alterations in the times and Law refers to the fact that he will change the Lev 23 times and seasons. How will he do that? He has already started by replacing the Biblical feasts with made up pagan events just like so many have tried to do before him. Everyone who follows him will do it with good intentions.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

TOLERANCE IS THE NEW MORALITY
 
According to Merriam Webster’s definition.

Definition of tolerance

1: capacity to endure pain or hardship: endurance, fortitude, stamina

2a : sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own
  b : the act of allowing something: toleration

3: the allowable deviation from a standard; especially: the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece

Unfortunately, today, it seems that the highest definition of morality is to be tolerant of every divergent opinion no matter what it is. The outcome of that behavior makes no difference; just as long as you tolerate it, you are deemed to be one of great moral standing.

There are classes in every school and industry on tolerance in the work place and in our educational institutions. But the problem is that everything in society has become so subjective that there is no definition of what is right and wrong. Whatever the individual deems to be appropriate must be so. After al,l what is truth for you is truth, and what is truth for me is truth, even if they are diametrically opposed. But that goes against the very definition of truth. As a society truth is thrown out for the higher standard of subjectivity and tolerance.

Thousands of years ago the most primitive societies were intelligent enough to know the difference between the sexes. They could clearly identify which one was which and what roles they played in society. They did this without debate or controversy. My, my look how far we have advanced. Now sexual identity is fluid. How enlightened and tolerant we have become. Thousands of years later, in our highly advanced civilization, the most educated idiots can’t tell the difference. The world refuses to look at facts or history in any objective manner whatsoever. Virtually everything they say is filtered through the lens of a revisionist viewpoint. The victims become the victimizers. The oppressed become the oppressors. 15 million Jews worldwide – 6 million of them who live in a country a bit smaller than NJ – are trying to take over the entire planet. Yet 1.8 billion Muslims, who make up approx 24% of the worlds population, are the victims of the evil, oppressive Zionist regime. Islam is the fastest growing religion on the planet, but the Jews are trying to take over the world. Islam, which is only approx 1,400 years old, makes claim not only to the entire city of Jerusalem, but also the entire land of Israel. This land, which has been occupied by the Jews for over 3,000 years, couldn’t possibly have any historical connection to those people. The Jews stole the land from the Muslims who never once mentioned it in the book the Koran. Has the world gone mad?!!!!!!! Rhetorical question, if you haven’t figured that out. YES! And again I say, yes! The United Nations Human Rights Council has made more resolutions against Israel since its creation in 2006 than any other nation or group on the planet. More sanctions and resolutions have been levied against Israel than Cuba, North Korea, Sudan, Venezuela, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Algeria, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah, The Muslim Brotherhood, Boca Haram, and Isis. Almost 50% of all resolutions against a nation are levied against Israel. I think you get the picture.

I, however, as a believer in the Messiah of Israel and the world, am under no obligation to be tolerant of evil, hateful, lying, immoral, ignorant, murderous language or behavior.

I take my standard from a much higher source. This source has been around for thousands of years and has proven itself to be the gold standard of behavior. When it is adhered to individuals and society prosper in ways that are incalculable. That standard is the Word of the Lord.

1. The Scriptures set the standard for the ethical treatment of all men and women.

          Eph 5:25, Lev 19:13, Lev 25:39-43, Deu 15:12-15, 24:14-15

1. The Scriptures establish the family unit with a father and mother as the heart of society.

          Eph 6:1-4, Col 3:21, Heb 12:9, Mt 19:5

1. The Scriptures establish courts of Law for justice to be administered in the land.

          Ex 23:6, Deu 10:18, 16:19, 24:17, 27:19

1. The Scriptures give us a code of moral behavior.

          Ex 20:1-17

1. From the Scriptures we get the idea of helping the widows, orphans, fatherless and strangers.

          Psa 68:5 146:9,

1. Standards of fare discipline to those who are unruly are established.

          Prov 3:11, 13:1, 15:5, Eph 6:4, Heb 12:5-11

1. Forgiveness is considered a trait of the highest moral behavior.

          Psa 86:5, Mt 6:12-15, 18:21-22 Luk 23:34, 1Jn 1:9

1. The redemption of mankind is the goal throughout the entire Biblical message.

          Luk 19:10, Tit 2:11-14

So, if you are a bit confused about the new definition of morality, then it is time to get back to the standard that is the true ruler and measures accurately. Stop being tossed to and fro with every new whim and fancy of men.

1Ti 4:1-2  But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron, 
Jas 1:5-8  But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,  being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.