Repost: Ham on Easter

This was too perfect not to post. Our local newspaper, The Virginian-Pilot had the following in the paper some time ago:

"It's Easter Sunday. But before you dig into that succulent pig (remember Yeshua didn't eat pork added by BLJ), did you ever stop to wonder if more folks eat ham on Easter or Christmas (the answer is Christmas added by BLJ)?

Ishtar, also known as Semiramis, bore a son Tammuz, a hunter who was killed by a wild pig. In honor of Tammuz, Ishtar decreed a 40-day period each year during which no meat could be eaten. It concluded with a celebration on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Ishtar commanded that a pig be eaten then to remember the killer of her son."

Does that sound like Lent?

It is a real shame that a secular newspaper has more truth than most churches.

Repost: The Pagan Origin of Easter

Easter is this weekend. Churches are preparing for one of their biggest attendance days of the year. Activities are being planned for the children, choir rehearsals for special music, and pastors are preparing special messages celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, is Easter appropriate for followers of YHWH and His son Yeshua to celebrate? The short answer is, "No." Easter is a conspiracy plot against the true faith. This may be difficult to accept, but the truth must be told.

The first thing to be understood is that professing believers were not the only ones who celebrated a festival called "Easter.""Ishtar", which is pronounced "Easter" was a day that commemorated the resurrection of one of the pagan gods called "Tammuz", who was believed to be the only begotten son of the moon-goddess and the sun-god. In those ancient times, there was a man named Nimrod, who was the grandson of one of Noah's sons named Ham. Ham had a son named Cush who married a woman named Semiramis. Cush and Semiramis then had a son named him "Nimrod." After the death of his father, Nimrod married his own mother and became a powerful King. The Bible speaks of this man, Nimrod, in Genesis 10:8-10 as follows: "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before YHWH: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before YHWH. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad,and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." Nimrod became a god-man to the people and Semiramis, his wife and mother, became the powerful Queen of ancient Babylon. Nimrod was eventually killed by an enemy, and his body was cut in pieces and sent to various parts of his kingdom. Semiramis had all of the parts gathered, except for one part that could not be found. That missing part was his reproductive organ. Semiramis claimed that Nimrod could not come back to life without it and told the people of Babylon that Nimrod had ascended to the sun and was now to be called "Baal", the sun god. Queen Semiramis also proclaimed that Baal would be present on earth in the form of a flame, whether candle or lamp, when used in worship. Semiramis was creating a mystery religion, and with the help of Satan, she set herself up as a goddess. Semiramis claimed that she was immaculately conceived. She taught that the moon was a goddess that went through a 28 day cycle and ovulated when full. She further claimed that she came down from the moon in a giant moon egg that fell into the Euphrates River. This was to have happened at the time of the first full moon after the spring equinox. Semiramis became known as "Ishtar" which is pronounced "Easter", and her moon egg became known as "Ishtar's" egg." Ishtar soon became pregnant and claimed that it was the rays of the sun-god Baal that caused her to conceive. The son that she brought forth was named Tammuz. Tammuz was noted to be especially fond of rabbits, and they became sacred in the ancient religion, because Tammuz was believed to be the son of the sun-god, Baal. Tammuz, like his supposed father, became a hunter. The day came when Tammuz was killed by a wild pig. Queen Ishtar told the people that Tammuz was now ascended to his father, Baal, and that the two of them would be with the worshippers in the sacred candle or lamp flame as Father, Son and Spirit. Ishtar, who was now worshipped as the "Mother of God and Queen of Heaven", continued to build her mystery religion. The queen told the worshippers that when Tammuz was killed by the wild pig, some of his blood fell on the stump of an evergreen tree, and the stump grew into a full new tree overnight. This made the evergreen tree sacred by the blood of Tammuz. She also proclaimed a forty day period of time of sorrow each year prior to the anniversary of the death of Tammuz (Does this not sound like "Lent"?). During this time, no meat was to be eaten. Worshippers were to meditate upon the sacred mysteries of Baal and Tammuz, and to make the sign of the "T" in front of their hearts as they worshipped. They also ate sacred cakes with the marking of a "T" or cross on the top. Every year, on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, a celebration was made. It was Ishtar's Sunday and was celebrated with rabbits and eggs. Ishtar also proclaimed that because Tammuz was killed by a pig, that a pig must be eaten on that Sunday (Did you ever wonder why the traditional Easter meal for "Christians" is ham when Yeshua would never have eaten swine?). By now, the connection between Easter and paganism should be clear. Paganism has infiltrated the contemporary "Christian" churches. The truth is that Easter has nothing whatsoever to do with the resurrection of our Yeshua.

You can easily research the truth of the above. I have taken a majority of the facts from a tract found on line. The real issue is, "What are you going to celebrate?" Will be Easter? Or, will you do what Yeshua always did and celebrate the Passover?

Lord, God, or Yahweh

The way the sacred Name of Yahweh has been handled throughout the centuries was prophesied in such passages as Jeremiah 23:27, which states: "Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal." (KJV) Baal means "Lord" according to Hebrew lexicons. You have forgotten my sacred Name for “LORD”, Yahweh spoke through the prophet. To call upon the “LORD” is to call on Baal. Now consider many of your “worship” songs.

"God" comes from Old English gheu(d), "to pour" (American Heritage Dictionary). According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, “god” means a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers and to require human worship; specifically: one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality. Sha’ul (Paul) says there are many lords and many gods. Do not disrespect Yahweh to just another common deity by replacing His Sacred Name with other titles. He speaks through the prophet in Isaiah 42:8, "I am Yahweh: that is my name: and my honor will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."

Yahweh established His Name in the Ten Commandments. It is spiritually very dangerous for man to substitute man’s names for His Sacred Name. That would be the equivalent of man making Yahweh into man’s image. He is not “LORD” or “god.” His Name is Yahweh. Why would you try to change it? Why would you want to?

Repost: Old Wineskins New Wineskins

Today, we look at a passage that is often misunderstood because it is taken out of context. Mark 2: 21-22 reads: And no man places a new patch onto an old garment and sews it, or else the new patch be taken away from the old and the tear becomes larger. And no man puts new wine into old wineskins or else the wine burst the wineskins, and the wineskins are destroyed and the wine is poured out. Rather, they put new wine into new wineskins. We must remember that Yeshua is a Jewish rabbi talking to Jewish listeners. The old garment is Judaism; the new patch is the coming Kingdom of Elohim through Yeshua. The point to be noticed is that Yeshua does not want the old garment destroyed. The first part of His teaching is that the old garment, i.e. Judaism, must not be destroyed. He is saying that the new patch is not to replace the garment. Think about it; have you ever seen a patch that covered a coat? No, the patch would be part of the garment. The new patch, i.e. the coming Kingdom will take place within Judaism.

However, the second part of the teaching explains that the new wine, i.e. the coming Kingdom of Elohim, cannot be put within the old wineskins of Judaism as it existed in the first century. Judaism in the first century were composed primarily four groups: Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots, and the Essenes. The Sadducees controlled the Temple and were the rich and the elite. They were in partnership with Roman oppression to enable them to continue to control the Temple and the profit that came with it. The Pharisees had allowed the traditions of men to dominate the teachings of Torah to create an unfair burden on the people. The Zealots wanted a military commander to win a war with Rome and remove them from Palestine. The Essenes were a separatist movement that had withdrawn from the other three groups and believed that only they had the truth. The old wineskin of Judaism was not the vehicle for the new Kingdom. The new Kingdom would have the Torah of Elohim written on the heart of man and not tablets of stone. This is the promise of Jeremiah 31, the Renewed Covenant.

Yeshua was teaching His disciples that repentance was the path to receive the new Kingdom. His intent was not to destroy Judaism; instead, He sought to bring a Kingdom to a people that had torn down their house to receive the new one. That was the new wineskin. Which do you reside in?

Which set of holidays do you observe?

Sanctifying Pagan Rituals?

Easter versus Passover: Which do you celebrate?