HHMI Newsgroup Archives
From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
Sent: Friday, May 30, 1997 6:54 AM
To: Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup
Subject: Celebrating Christmas & Easter
To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com
From: "The Historian's Gallery" <history@mindspring.com>
Subject: Christmas & Easter
Dear Eddie:
I just read your response to the man who had questions about salvation and
reward. As usual, your response was thorough and well presented. Still I
am interested to know about you opinions on celebrating Christmas and
Easter (I may just be slow on getting it, and I just got your book
yesterday so I haven't had a chance to read it yet). I see you speak about
it, but I want to learn more.
From Eddie:
***************
My opinion on celebrating Christmas and Easter ...
I can only give you a personal testimony of my life and what G-d has
done in my life.
Ever since I was a little boy, I have LOVED G-d and have had a
URGENT desire to please Him in ALL ways. I LOVE my Messiah and I
want to please Him in ALL I do. I LOVE that G-d loved me so much
that He sent Yeshua/Jesus to this earth and he was born, lived and
died for me so that I can have ETERNAL fellowship with Him in the age
to come.
Therefore, as I was growing up, Christmas and Easter were
special times for me. THIS is HOW I released my faith and EXPRESSED
my love and adoration for the G-d of Israel and His Messiah. I was
COMPLETELY IGNORANT of the origin of Christmas and Easter.
STILL G-d loved me, He answered my prayers and He led me in a
greater personal walk with Him as I was led by the Ruach HaKodesh.
By being led by the Ruach HaKodesh / Holy Spirit, He allowed
me to understand about the roots of my faith and about the Sabbath
and Biblical Festivals. When I learned the SPIRITUAL MEANINGS and
APPLICATIONS of the Sabbath and Biblical Festivals and when I
discovered that the SPIRITUAL THEMES of the Sabbath and Biblical
Festivals taught me in GREATER DETAIL about the Kingdom of G-d and
the Ways of His Kingdom and His redemptive plan to be
accomplished through the Messiah, I was STUNNED and AMAZED !!!
I first began to learn about the roots of my faith in 1989.
Because of what I learned, I had a HEART for OTHER BELIEVERS
to know and understand what G-d taught me by the leading of His
Ruach HaKodesh / Holy Spirit. Therefore, G-d put it upon my heart to
write my book, "The Seven Festivals of the Messiah" to more easily
share the AWESOME truths and spiritual insights of the Festivals to
other believers. I try to encourage the members of this newsgroup to
read this book and share it with others. I share with the newsgroup
the testimony of others who have read the book and have been blessed
by it. I pray that the book will be a blessing to you.
I remember thinking that when I began to appreciate and love the
Biblical Festivals that I could never practically
celebrate them with other believers because I didn't know hardly
anybody who understood like G-d showed me.
But, that all changed around 1993 when I began to meet
others in my community who had the same heart and we began to
fellowship together in homes and began to celebrate the keep the
Sabbath and Biblical Festivals.
After G-d but a THOROUGH witness in my heart that the
celebrating the Biblical Festivals was HIS HEART then I began to lose
all desire to celebrate Christmas and Easter. Therefore, several
years ago, I began to stop celebrating Christmas and Easter but
instead celebrate the Biblical festivals. But, this was a PROCESS of
LEARNING and STUDYING and THEN applying what I learned.
I also had a desire to TEACH other believers with COMPASSION
and LOVE wheat G-d by His GRACE taught me through His Ruach HaKodesh /
Holy Spirit. Therefore, G-d put it upon my heart to start this
ministry.
In the meantime, I have become exposed to some other
"Hebraic Roots" ministries that try to make the claim that if you
celebrate Christmas and Easter that you a part of the "deceived"
church and will not be saved.
Others like "B'nai Noah" and "Netzarim International" begin
to refer to those who believe that Jesus as Messiah as being from
the "Christian" church and begin to have an "anti-Christian"
mentality. Then, while correcting pointing out the fact that the
ORIGIN of Christmas and Easter is pagan they then begin to question
other foundation Biblical truths as being "pagan" also. This would
including denying that Jesus is G-d manifested in the flesh and the
living Word of G-d.
Furthermore, the "Netzarim" movement does not even accept
that the New Testament is inspired scripture.
Then, I have seen some Christians become so shocked that
the origin of Christmas and Easter is pagan and that the Sabbath and
the Biblical Festivals are eternally given by God that they want to
deny that Jesus in Messiah and convert to Rabbinical Judaism! They
would have been better off continuing to celebrate Christmas and Easter.
These are UNBALANCED responses to the fact that the origin of
Christmas and Easter are pagan and the Sabbath and Biblical Festivals
are ETERNALLY given by God.
The BALANCED response is to FIRST STUDY and THEN allow the
Ruach HaKodesh / Holy Spirit lead you in observing these truths. This
is what God did in my life.
In addition, the knowledge of keeping the Sabbath and
Biblical Festivals and that they are ETERNALLY given by G-d should
ENHANCE and INCREASE your EXISTING faith in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah
NOT replace it.
This does not mean that once G-d begins to reveal these
truths to His people that RESPONSIBILITY does not go with it. If we
LOVE GOD, we should seek to OBEY Him when He shows us Biblical truth.
This then becomes a OBEDIENCE and LORDSHIP issue NOT a salvation
issue. There are those who try to make this a salvation issue but
salvation is by the GRACE of God when you accept Yeshua/Jesus as
Messiah. It may affect your REWARDS in heaven but not your
salvation.
So, my advice is:
Have an open heart and examine the truth and then let the
Ruach HaKodesh / Holy Spirit lead you and guide you in how you begin
to apply these things to your life. Then, teach other believers what
God has graciously showed you and in LOVE encourage them to express
their faith in God and in Yeshua / Jesus as Messiah by keeping these
things also.
>
>Once I heard about their origins (just a few months ago, actually), it made
>me feel uncomfortable. Consequently, I've asked several people for their
>thoughts.
>
TODAY, I just put NEW articles on my Web Site showing the
ORIGIN and background of Christmas and Easter and comparing and
contrasting this to the Biblical Festivals. I would encourage all
members to revisit my Web Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/2175/sab_fest.html
and read these NEW articles.
>
>Most argue that because we have changed the meaning of those
>"festivals" to a worship and celebration of God, they are no longer pagan.
>
This is a somewhat normal response among believers because
TRADITIONS are HARD to change ESPECIALLY religious traditions.
PART of what I show in my new book, "Who is the Bride of
Christ?" when I examine this issue in that the Bible tells us that
this is the EXACT SAME THING that the children of Israel did.
Christmas and Easter is a type of "golden calf" system of
worship. What is the "golden calf" system of worship? It is MIXING
paganism with the worship of the G-d of Israel and calling this
worship the worship of the G-d of Israel.
In Exodus 32:4-6 it is written:
"And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving
tool and after he had made it a MOLTED CALF: and they said, THESE BE
THY GOD O ISRAEL, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And
when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it and Aaron (a type of
church leader) made proclomation and said: 'Tomorrow is a FEAST TO
THE LORD. And they rose up early on the morning and offered BURNT
OFFERINGS and brought PEACE OFFERINGS and the people sat down to eat
and to drink and rose up to play"
Burnt offering and peace offerings and feast to the L-rd is
how the G-d of Israel commanded His people to worship Him but they
EXPRESSED that worship with a "golden calf".
Jeroboam, the leader of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (a
type of Christianity) did the same thing in I Kings 12.28-32 as it is
written:
"Whereupon the king took counsel and made two calves of gold and said
unto them, It is TOO MUCH for you to go to Jerusalem (as G-d
commanded in Deuteronomy 16:16): behold thy GODS O ISRAEL, which
brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in
Bethel and the other put he in Dan"
This is prophetic because "Bethel" means "house of God".
Dan comes from Hebrew word, "Din" which means "judgment". The people
called it "The house of G-d" but G-d referred to it as "Dan/Din" or
judgment. Ultimately, G-d judged the Northern Kingdom and dispersed
them into the nations and they REAPED what the SOWED which was
ASSIMULATION or MIXING.
The reason for G-d's judgment upon this system is given
in II Kings 17:9-14 as it is written:
"And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not
right against the L-rd their G-d and they built them high places in
all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.
And they set up images and GROVES (Asherah ... from which we get the
custom of the Christmas tree ... Jeremiah 10:1-4) in every high hill
and under every green tree. Adn there they burnt incense (a type of
false worship) in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the
L-rd carried away before them: and wrought wicked things to provoke
the L-rd to anger. For they served idols whereof the L-rd had said
unto them, Ye shall not do this thing. Yet the L-rd testified against
Israel and against Judah by all the prophets and by all the seers
saying, Turn ye from your evil ways and KEEP MY COMMANDEMENTS and my
statues according to all the TORAH which I commanded your fathers adn
which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. Notwithstanding they
would not hear, but hardened their necks, like the neck of their
fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God"
The worship SYSTEM of the people was in THEIR MINDS
the worship of the G-d of Israel. When G-d sent His messengers to the
people and told them "you don't have it quite right" they rejected
the messengers because they viewed that they were worshipping the G-d
of Israel and they had a covenant with Him and who are you to judge
my faith in G-d?
You get a similiar response from Christians. They
feel offended because they believe in Jesus as Messiah and EXPRESS
this worship through Christmas and Easter.
When you try to tell them that YES, Yeshua/Jesus IS
MESSIAH and this is not a salvation issue but a WORSHIP issue they
still find it hard to accept. The children of Israel responded in a
similiar way. See, many Christians view themselves as being better
than ancient Israel and all the sins that they committed because they
believe they CORRECTLY believe that Yeshua/Jesus is Messiah but IN
TRUTH, historical Christianity has committed the SAME SINS !!!!
>
>In the same way they say that celebrating the Lord's Supper takes the place
>of the Seder, baptism takes the place of circumcision.
>
The "Lord's Supper" was a SEDER! Baptism is a
"Christianized" term for the Jewish practice of "Mikvah or
Immersion". Christianity at large is much like the religious leaders
in the days of Yeshua/Jesus, they CLING to TRADITION rather than
repent of the sins of our "church fathers" in departing from the
roots of our faith which is Jewish.
>
>Another argument
>could be that because I am not a Jew, then my practicing these "festivals"
>instead of the original Jewish versions has no bearing on the reward part
>of "the life everlasting".
>
It may not affect your salvation but it may affects your
REWARDS! There is RESPONSIBLITY to STUDY and then to live it.
>
>Eddie,I understand quite well that this has nothing to do with salvation,
>but I still want to worship God in a proper way, and I am wrestling with
>these concepts. What's your opinion?
>
>
>Best regards.
>
>Rob
>
I hope that I have answered your question.
Eddie Chumney
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