Isaiah 65:11 and Christmas

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Subject: Isaiah 65:11 and Christmas
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From: Sidney Davis
To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
Subject: Isaiah 65 and Christmas

CHRISTMAS

By Sidney Davis

http://www.megsinet.net/~sidney/xmas.html

That Christmas was originally a pagan festival is beyond all doubt.
The time of the year and the traditional ceremonies connected with
it's celebration prove it's origin. Far and wide, in the realms of
Paganism was this festival observed. In the pagan religions of the
Persians, Arabians and the Oriental East was celebrated the birthday
of the Lord Moon on the 24th of December[1] His name was known as
MENI. That he was revered as a masculine deity is where we get the
idea "the man of the moon" from. This celebration was connected to
Mithraism which was the official pagan religion of the Roman Empire
under Constantine. The two Mithraic sacred days were Sunday called
"the venerable day of the sun" as Constantine called it in his edict
of 321, and also December 25, "dies natalis solis" or "the birthday of
the sun." [2] Thus the two celebrated deities of Mithra (December 25)
and Menai (December 24) were celebrated on the very days that
Christians called Xmas eve and Xmas day.

Mithras was worshipped as guardian of arms, and patron of soldiers and
armies. It may be of interest for you to know that the "handshake" was
developed by those who worshipped him as a token of friendship and as
a gesture to show that you were unarmed. When Mithras later became the
Roman god of contracts, the "handshake" gesture was imported
throughout the Mediterranean and Europe by Roman soldiers. [3]

In fact, if truth be known, the holiday of Christmas has always been
more Pagan than Christian, with it's associations of Nordic
divination, Celtic fertility rites, and Roman Mithraism. That is why
both Martin Luther and John Calvin abhorred it, why the Puritans of
New England refused to acknowledge it, much less celebrate it (to
them, no day of the year could be more holy than the Sabbath), and why
it was een made ILLEGAL in Boston! The holiday was already too closely
associated with the birth of older Pagan gods and heroes. And many of
them (like Oedipus, Theseus, Hercules, Perseus, Jason, Dionysus,
Apollo, Mithra, Horus and even Arthur) possessed a narrative of birth,
death, and resurrection that was uncomfortably close to that of Jesus.
And to make matters worse, many of them pre-dated the Christian
Savior.

What would you do if you knew that Yahuvah directly and specifically
forbad the celebration of what we call today Christmas Eve and
Christmas Day in Scripture?

Isayah 65:2-11--

2 I have spread out My hands all the day to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way which is not right, after their own thoughts;
devices; 3 A people who provoke me to anger continually to My
face; who sacrifice in gardens, and burn incense on altars of
brick; 4 Who assemble and spend the night keeping memorials for
the dead, who eat swine's flesh, and the broth of abominable
things; unclean foods, is in their vessels, 5 Who say; Stand by
yourself! Do not come near me, for I am holier than you! These
are a smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day. 6
Behold, it is written before Me; I will not keep silence, but
will recompense, even recompense into their bosom. 7 Your
iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together, says
Yahuvah: who have burned incense upon the mountains,and
blasphemed me upon the hills. Therefore I will measure their
former work into their bosom. 8 This is what Yahuvah says: As the
new wine is found in the cluster, and one says; Do not destroy
it, for a blessing is in it; so will I do for My servant's sake,
that I may not destroy them all. 9 And I will bring forth a seed
out of Yaaqob, and out of Yahudah an inheritor of My mountains;
and My elect will inherit it, and My servants will live there. 10
Sharon will be a fold of flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place
for herds to lie down, for My people who have sought Me. 11 But
YOU ARE THOSE WHO FORSAKE YAHUVAH, WHO FORGET MY HOLY MOUNTAIN,
WHO PREPARE A TABLE FOR THAT TROOP AND WHO FURNISH A DRINK
OFFERING FOR THAT NUMBER.

The word "Troop" is translated from the Hebrew word Gad, Unger's Bible
Dictionary, on page 415, shows us:

Gad, a Canaanite deity improperly rendered "troop" (Isa. 65:11),
was the god of good fortune, supposed to be the deified planet
Jupiter.

This star is called by the Arabs "the greater luck" as the star
of good fortune.

The word "Gad" is word #1408 a variable of word #1409 which comes
from word #1464 in Strong's Hebrew Dictionary and means:

01408 Gad {gad}
a variation of 01409; TWOT - 313e; n pr m
AV - non translated variant 1; 1
Gad = "god of fortune"
1) a Babylonian deity

01409 gad {gawd}
from 01464 (in the sense of distributing); TWOT - 313d; n m
AV - troop 2; 2
1) fortune, good fortune

01464 guwd {goode}
a primitive root [akin to 01413]; TWOT - 325; v
AV - overcome 2, invade with troops 1; 3
1) to invade, attack
1a) (Qal) to attack

One will find from cursory research that this deity was one easily
associated with the pagan military and found it's pagan expression in
the Roman pantheon in the worship of Mithras - the god of Constantine
the Great.

The word Number in the text comes from the Hebrew word Meni. Unger's
Bible Dictionary, page 416, tells us:

Me'ni (me'ni; Heb. meni, destiny or fate ). Name of the god of
destiny or fortune worshiped by the ancient Hebrews in time of
apostasy (Isa. 65:11): ``But you who forsook the Lord, who forget
my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of
mixed wine for Destiny'' R. S. V. Fortune is ``Gad'' (q. v.) and
Destiny is ``Meni.'' M. F. U.

Strong's Hebrew Dictionary gives us this definition of the word
Meni,

04507 Maniy {men-ee'}
from 04487;; n pr m
AV - number 1; 1
Meni = "fate" or "fortune"
1) god of fate who the Jews worshipped in Babylonia

The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop, 1959, notes on page 94,

"In the authorised version Gad is rendered "that troop," and Meni,
"that number;' but the most learned admit that this is incorrect, and
that the words are proper names."

What were these condemned people doing when Isayahu prophesied against
them? They were celebrating the days of what we call Christmas Eve and
Christmas Day!

The Two Babylons, pages 94-96:

"'On the 24th of the 10th month' that is December, according to
our reckoning, `the Arabians celebrated the BIRTHDAY OF THE LORD--that is
the Moon...that Lord Moon, according to them was born on the 24th of
December...The name of the Lord Moon in the East seems to have been
Meni...Gad refers to the sun god...Meni, or Manai, signifies 'The
Numberer,'...The name of the 'Man of the Moon," or the god who
presided over the luminaries among the Saxons, was Mane... this `Lord
Moon' in the East...Babylonians, Chaldeans and among the Canaanites...
was Meni--the numberer.''

According to Hislop, Gad refers to the Sun--God, and Meni the
Moon--God. The people were offering to these Gods in Isa 65:11. Isa
65 is regarded by many Bible students as a prophecy pertaining
especially to the LAST DAYS.

Mene was the god of Babylon whose worshipped was being celebrated by
King Belshazzar at his infamous drunken feast who dared to mixed the
holy with the profane by using the holy vessels of the Temple with His
pagan worship as recorded in the Book of Daniel.[see note 6]

"Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the
temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and
his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them." Daniel 5:3

Upon Belshazar and his festival gathering God pronounced, "Mene,
Mene, Tekel, Upharisin" which means literally, "The
numberer is numbered." Belshazzar died on the very night of the feast
of Mene, what the Gentile Christians call "Christmas Eve".

The attachment of the Mass to Christ is the same as the attachment of
the profane with the Holy. This principle is forbidden in the word of
God and the Testimony of His Spirit.

Eze 22:26 - Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine
holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane,
neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean,
and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among
them.

Eze 44:23 - And they shall teach my people the difference between the
holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and
the clean.

"Our only safety is in being joined to the Lord Jesus Christ. We can
afford to lose the friendship of worldly men. Those who join
themselves to worldly men, that they may carry out their unsanctified
purposes, make a fearful mistake; for they forfeit the favor and
blessing of God. I am to urge upon the attention of our people that
the Lord Himself has placed a wall of separation between the world and
that which He has established on the earth. God's people are to serve
Him, for Christ has called them out of the world, and sanctified and
refined them, that they may do His service. . . . There is no such
thing as maintaining concord between the profane and the holy. There
can be no concord between Christ and Belial. But "the Lord hath set
apart him that is godly for himself" (Ps. 4:3). And this consecration
to the Lord, this separation from the world, is plainly declared and
positively enjoined in both the Old and the New Testaments." --Letter
329, Dec. 11, 1905, to J. A. Burden, manager of the Loma Linda
Sanitarium. (also This Day with God, page 354)

God's people are called out from the world in order to teach the world
to not blaspheme God in the mixing of the profane and holy in their
sanctity of Sunday. But we continue to sanction the celebration of a
pagan holy day by saying "Let's keep Christ in Christmas"![4]

What we say in defending the celebration by Christians of Christmas
can be said of the Christian celebration of Sunday as the Sabbath. Yet
those who seek to bring these things to the attention of the church
are looked upon like Elijah [Eliyahu] as "he that troubleth Israel".
Those who seek to guard the commandments statutes and commandments "as
jealously as the ark was guarded by ancient Israel"[5] are instead
seen as "more concerned with winning theological arguments than with
simply spreading the good news.."[see note 4] But the Spirit saith:

"The truth and the glory of God are inseparable; it is impossible for
us, with the Bible within our reach, to honor God by erroneous
opinions." The Great Controversy, page 597

What does the Holy Ghost say to those who pay homage to this new
modeled pagan festival of Isa 65:11 we call Christmas - the so-called
memorial of the birth of Christ and the Roman celebration of His Mass?
He says in Isa 65:12

12 Therefore will I NUMBER YOU TO THE SWORD, and ye shall all BOW
DOWN TO THE SLAUGHTER: because when I called, ye did not answer; when
I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did
choose that wherein I delighted not. 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord
GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my
servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants
shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: 14 Behold, my servants shall
sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall
howl for vexation of spirit. 15 And ye shall leave your name for a
curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD SHALL SLAY THEE, and call his
servants by another name: 16 That he who blesseth himself in the
earth shall bless himself in the GOD OF TRUTH; and he that sweareth in
the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles
are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

Has anyone read the ninth chapter of Ezekiel lately? Brethren the
Angel with the writer's inkhorn will not place His seal upon anyone
worshipping the Beast or his Image. Christmas is not just Christmas,
it is BEASTMAS!

The charge and the punishment made against those who sanctify "the
birthday of the sun" Christmas is the same charge and punishment
against those who sanctify "the venerable day of the sun" Sunday.

Now brethren, this is what I just cannot understand, we will
rationalize and cavil our way into giving homage to false worship in
the name of Yahushua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ) justifying it by
various means and stop short of giving it the same honor that the rest
of Gentile Christianity gives it and on the other hand we stop short
and halt and stumble over the sanctity and relevancy of the Holy Days
in Scripture.

"HOW LONG HALT YE BETWEEN TWO OPINIONS? if the LORD be God, follow
him: but if Baal, then follow him."

Season Greetings,
Sidney Davis

NOTES
[1] The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, page 94
[2] SDA Bible Commentary Source Book, art.1092 Mithraism, p. 663 [3]
http://www.tao.ca/~hermes3/mithras.htm [4] Review and Herald, December
11, 1997 article "Let's Keep the X in Xmas" [5]Testimonies for the
Church Volume Seven, page 192, [6] Belshazzar's feast mixing the holy
and the profane:

"Admitted to a share in kingly authority and power at fifteen years of
age, Belshazzar gloried in his power, and lifted up his heart against
the God of heaven. He despised the One who is above all rulers,the
General of all the armies of heaven. "Belshazzar the king made a great
feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand"
(Daniel 5:1). The profane orgies of royal mirth were attended by men
of genius and education, by masters of architecture. On this occasion
there was music and banqueting and wine drinking. Decorated women with
their enchantments were among the revelers. Exalted by wine, and
blinded by delusion, the king himself took the lead in the riotous
blasphemy. His reason was gone, and his lower impulses and passions
were in the ascendancy. His kingdom was strong and apparently
invincible, and he would show that he thought nothing too sacred for
his hands to handle and profane. To show his contempt for sacred
things, he desecrated the holy vessels taken from the temple of the
Lord at its destruction." --Letter 51a, 1897, pp. 3-4. (To Dear
Friends, July 8, 1897; See Prophets and Kings , pp. 523-4.) White
Estate Washington, D. C. October 24, 1980

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Sidney L. Davis, Jr.
P.O. Box 88-6052
Great Lakes, IL 60088
Phone (847) 785-0315

Email: sidneydavis@megsinet.net

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