When the ancient Israelites were preparing to enter Canaan, God issued a sober warning through Moses about idolatry – one that Christians should not ignore today. Deuteronomy 12:30 says not to become ensnared by false gods. Anyone who was caught enticing a person to worship idols was swiftly stoned to death, even if he was a close and dear relative. God's people were not to pity nor spare him.
The Jewish commentary in the ArtScroll Chumash adds, "The Torah takes great pains to stress that an enticer has forfeited every claim to mercy, even the kind that is normally extended to all criminals. Although Jews are commanded to love one another, he is an exception. And although the court is normally required to seek extenuating circumstances that would permit it to save a transgressor from the death penalty, this one is an exception."
That is stunning – a merciful God denying mercy, except to warn the person. Most Christians probably are unaware that the traditions they hold dear – Christmas and Easter – are rooted in paganism and represent false gods. December 25 is the birthday of virtually every sun deity (Messiah Yeshua was born in the fall) and Easter stands for Eostre or Ishtar, a spring fertility goddess. Whatever name you call them, they are the same gods that enticed the Israelites and drew the ire of the Most High. Yeshua's death and resurrection were meant to be observed during Passover, which begins tonight. Christians who indulge in bunnies, colored eggs and sunrise services miss the Hebraic fullness and richness of God's redemptive plan for mankind.
Yeshua was the Lamb of God who allowed His blood to be shed for the remission of sins. His atonement saved us from God's wrath, just as the Hebrews in Egypt were spared by applying lamb's blood to their doorposts. The first Passover was a foreshadowing of a greater redemption to come. The Israelites were to take a year-old male lamb without defect on the 10th of Nisan and keep it until the 14th day of the month. This would allow time for each family member to become attached to the lamb and impress upon them the costly nature of the sacrifice – an innocent one was to die in their place. Yeshua was crucified at the exact same time the lambs were being slaughtered in Jerusalem for Passover. The word "Easter" in Acts 12:4 of the King James Version is a mistranslation of the Greek "pascha." Other Bible translations have rendered it correctly as "Passover." Paul understood the symbology of the Biblical feasts and declared in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, "For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
Because the Lord changes not (Malachi 3:6), we must assume that God views these Christian "holy days," which were birthed from ancient sun worship, as abominations. And if He didn't extend mercy to the Hebrews who served other gods, why would He do it now for Christians who disregard the paganism in their church history? I'm not saying we go out and stone people. But every believer should seek God diligently, read His Word and carefully weigh these warnings. Deuteronomy 13:4 says, "You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him."
Addendum – Easter has come and gone, but a verse caught my attention the other day, and it fits well with the theme above. Joshua 23:11 says, "Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God." The Hebrew word for "careful" means diligently or speedily. "Heed" means to guard, protect, to look narrowly. In other words, Joshua was exhorting Israel to press in, to draw close to the Lord – and to be very focused. God still expects that level of loyalty today. Just as the Israelites were to "look narrowly," Yeshua tells us in Matthew 7:13 to enter by the narrow gate.
Posted by Jeff King at April 5, 2004 09:55 AMNICE work, Jeff!! I was especially excited about the Commentary on the "enticer." I don't recall having read that before. Seems like it would be a good thing to implement in these days in which we now live, eh?:-)
Posted by: Anna Robinson at April 5, 2004 01:16 PMAnna, when I read those passages in Deuteronomy and looked further in the Chumash commentary, it really shook me. I knew that the paganism of Christmas and Easter was offensive to God, but this understanding made me realize it's more serious than that – mercy is withheld from the idolator when he or she spurns a warning. Christians need to consider what is at stake.
Posted by: Jeff King at April 5, 2004 06:12 PMwhy do you think that "we must assume that God sees these Christian 'holy days' [Christmas & Easter] which were birthed from ancient sun worship, as abominations"? why would the observation of a holiday have to be synonymous with serving other gods?
real honor is a heart thing, is it not? why would the circumstances of the outer events have to be so condemning when the inner man is celebrating rightly?
not trying to be contrary, but seeking to learn... just curious :)
Posted by: rick at April 8, 2004 10:18 AMHello Rick. That is an excellent question. I agree that honor comes from the heart, but not all honor is acceptable in God's eyes. Our idea of honor is not always His. In other words, when we observe Messiah's birthday, death and resurrection in a total pagan package, how could that be pleasing to a holy God? The Lord would never use a lie to reveal Himself. In Ezekiel 8, the Lord shows the prophet a great abomination as Jewish women at the Temple weep for Tammuz, the Christmas god. He and all the sun deities were born Dec. 25. Of course, Christmas and Easter are sacred cows in Christianity, but Scripture is clear that any form of paganism is an abomination, regardless of our heart's intent. If our hearts are right with God, we would shun all darkness. The apostle Paul was raised in Tarsus, a hotbed for Mithraism, or sun worship. He was well aware of Ishtar (Easter) and the Roman festival of Saturnalia, which later became Christmas under Constantine. Paul warned converts even in his day not to assimilate paganism into the Way. Easter bunnies and eggs are fertility symbols and make a mockery of Yeshua's sacrifice. But Passover – as well as all the Biblical feasts – provide a beautiful picture of God's redemptive plan for mankind. It's not just a Jewish thing. Remember, we wild branches are grafted into the commonwealth of Israel, and not the Greek system. Unfortunately, most Christians I know would rather please themselves than God by holding fast to the traditions of men. God bless you and thank you for responding.
Posted by: Jeff King at April 8, 2004 12:28 PMDon't mean to jump in the middle here, so just a quick word.
We may feel or think, internally, that what we are doing is pleasing to the Lord, but how do we know for sure? We cannot know, not entirely, based on what we feel or think alone. Our hearts often deceive us. As Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"
Instead, we need to turn to the Word of God in order to discover what pleases Him. And if our main intent is indeed to please the Lord, then we will naturally want to search for the truth, which, again, is found in His Word.
Posted by: Patrick Chan at April 9, 2004 02:52 PM