Holidays; Holy and Pagan: Chanukah and Christmas

Chanukah (Feast of Dedication) and Christmas

Chanukah

Biblical Month: Kislev

Secular Month: November/December

 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, how long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. – John 10:22-24

Chanukah, to the misconception of almost everyone, like the Feasts of the LORD in Leviticus 23, Chanukah is for every Believer in Yeshua the Messiah.

Chanukah has a long history, longer than many people may think.  The majority of the people believe Chanukah was established and instituted between the 500 year gap of the writing of the Tanak (O.T.) and the Renewed Covenant (N.T.), during the time of the Levitical family of the Maccabees, when they took back the Temple from the Greco-Syrian invaders and rededicated it and got it back up and running again.  People think that since it has no connection to canonical Scripture, it has no relevance or place in their lives.  They think it’s purely a “Jewish thing”, when in reality King Solomon instituted it, the Maccabees re-instituted it  and made it what it is today, and Yeshua the Messiah celebrated it, and will re-institute it again when the 3^rd Temple is built! 

Chanukah is NOT the “Jewish Christmas”; it has NOTHING to do with Tammuz, Santa Clause, or the birth of Jesus.  The only commonalities between Christmas and Chanukah is that we exchange and give gifts, which is more of a modern institution in reactions to Christmas, and it steamed from the fact that Jews gave (Tzedakah) charity on Biblical and Jewish holidays.  Also sometimes greenery is hung, not because of the reasons people do it for Christmas, but because the Maccabees used Chanukah to also celebrate a late Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) which is a type of harvest festival in which greenery was hung as decoration.

In I Kings 8 and II Chronicles 7, it speaks of King Solomon fulfilling the lifelong dream of his father David and himself, of having built the Holy Temple of YHWH.  It says the he “Chanukah-ed” it, dedicated it, and had a 7 day festival and ended it on the 8^th day, hence 8 days of Chanukah, just as we have today.

In Ezra 6:16-17 it tells of the Babylonian exiles who have returned to Jerusalem and have built and Chanukah-ed the 2^nd Temple.  Verse 16 says that “The children of the captivity kept the “Chanukah” of this house of G-D with joy.”

In I Maccabees 4:52-59 and II Maccabees 10:1-8 it recounts the reason we celebrate Chanukah today.  After Yehudah (Judah) Maccabee recaptures the 2^nd Temple and began to cleanse it and restore the service of it, they were about to light the Holy Menorah when they discovered they only had enough oil for it to stay lit for one day.  It took 7 days to produce more, but they lit it anyway and a miracle occurred, the Menorah stayed lit a whole 7 days until more was made!

Apparently the dates for celebrating Chanukah have changed throughout the ages.  A new date for each time the Temple was built and dedicated, or cleansed and rededicated.  But to this day we keep the days set forth by the Maccabees in I Maccabees 4:59 and II Maccabees 10:8 because that was the last rededication until the Messiah returns to build the 3^rd Holy Temple.  Chanukah today commemorates the rededication of the Temple, the defeat of the Greco-Syrian invaders, affirms our Jewishness, and commemorates the miracle of the oil. 

Because of II Maccabees 10:8 commanding the Jewish people to keep the 25^th day of the month of Kislev and the 7 days that follow, we see Yeshua in John 10:22-23 keeping Chanukah!  If Messiah celebrated Chanukah, that’s good enough for me!  I want to do it to, I want to be as much like my Messiah as I possibly can, I want to do what He did, and experience what He experienced.

So what does Chanukah mean for Believers in Messiah Yeshua?

As mentioned before, the Temple is important to the Messiah, and He kept the Festival of Chanukah there.  But on a Spiritual level WE are the Temples of GOD (I Cor. 3:16; 6:15-20; II Cor. 6:15-18; Eph. 2:18-22) and every so often the invaders of Self and Sin desecrate that sacred place and we need to wage all-out war, kick out the invaders, cleanse and rededicate ourselves back to GOD and His Torah.  This is exactly what we do at Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:26-32), so I like to think of Chanukah as Yom Kippur part two!

Jews!  Stand up and be counted.  Rededicate yourself to GOD and His Torah.

Christians!  Toss out that Christmas tree (Jer. 10:3-4), and grab a Menorah!  The only “birthday” the Messiah celebrated at this time of the year wasn’t His own, but the Temples!  How could we not do likewise!?

Chanukah and Christmas

Once I received some snail mail by a Messianic evangelical missions group and the first words to greet my eyes in bold blue letters was “Merry Messiahmas!” I laughed at the idiocy and was annoyed by the ignorance and or blatant syncretism.  As if simply replacing the Greek word “Christ” for the Hebrew word “Messiah” makes the pagan holiday of Christmas okay for people to celebrate.  Breaking it down it’s,  “The mass of the Christ” which the Catholics instituted, that’s the Roman pagan roots, but taking it further back to its original roots in Babylon it’s, “Christ-Tammuz”, meaning, “The anointed one Tammuz”, which was Nimrod’s son, whom he had with his mother, who was eventually gored to death by a wild boar, in which people get that bore back for killing their god-man by eating the good ol’ Easter ham, and whom women mourn during Lent (Ezk. 8:14 ).

December 25^th was never, and will never be the birthday of Yeshua the Messiah.

1.    December 25^th is a solar date and We Jews go by the lunar calendar, the two do not coincide.

2.    It is claimed that no one knows for sure the exact date the Messiah was born.  However, we do know He was born on the first day of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles and circumcised the 8^th day of the Festival.  We were never commanded to celebrate His birth, but if you want to, please do it at the right time of the year, during Sukkot.

3.    December 25^th however IS the birth date of the pagan gods; Tammuz, Mithra, and Saturnalias.

Christmas was instituted by the Emperor Constantine and the Catholic Church to try to make pagans feel comfortable and be more receptive to “Christianity”.  All they did was take a pagan holiday and slap a new name on it inside and out.

“Merry Messiahmas” is no different than what the Fox network’s primetime twenty something soap, “The O.C.” did years back by having the family on the show (who was at least part Jewish) combine Christmas and Channukah together and call it “Chrismukah.” Or a  cell phone commercial I once saw that blends all the holidays together and says, “Happy Christmaramahkwanzikkah (Christmas, Ramadan, Kwanza, and Chanukah).”  It is the Babel mentality that says, “We are all one, it’s all the same anyway, so let’s all love each other and get along.” 

Celebrating Christmas would be like being married, but celebrating your wife’s birthday on your X-girlfriends birthday!  Why?  After all we are the “Bride” of Messiah and He is our “Husband,” and that would be celebrating His birth on the day of a pagan god, our former lover!  Or it’s also like if I, a Jew, would take the Swastika and assign a new meaning to it, let’s say it is the cross of Messiah humbly bent, reaching out to all four corners of the earth!  That doesn’t fly does it?  Pretty sick, perverted and insensitive of me huh?  Well, how do you feel the Messiah himself thinks about Christmas?

Christians!  You claim you’re of the Messiah, if you are, then come out of Babylon and toss that tree (Jer. 10:3-4)!

Jews!  Stop the hellenization and assimilation, come out of Rome and Greece and be Jews!

I’m not saying grab a torch and pitchfork and hunt participants of Christmas down.  The majority of people simply doesn’t know or understand the pagan roots of Christmas.  To them it’s just the time of the year to be nice to everyone.  So if someone not knowing smiles and says to you, “Merry Christmas!” or even, “Merry Messiahmas!”  A kind, neutral, non-committal response would be, “Happy Holidays!”  That way you’re being kind, returning the sentiment without celebrating or endorsing a pagan day of a pagan god.  After all, it is the “Holiday Season,” and not only Christmas but Kwanza, Chanukah, and sometimes Ramadan fall around this time of year.  If and when the opportunity presents itself, in a loving, matter-of-fact way, expose the truth concerning the pagan roots of Christmas, the real time of the year Yeshua was born, and the truth about Chanukah and how it relates to the Believer.

Yeshua celebrated Chanukah; in John 10:22 we read that Yeshua was at the Temple at the “feast of the dedication,” this is the feast known as Chanukah. If Yeshua celebrated it, why shouldn’t we? If it was important to Him, why shouldn’t it be to us as well? Yeshua was Jewish and as believers in Messiah Yeshua we are grafted in to that tree (Romans 11).

Christmas

Whose Birthday is it Anyway?

Growing up in a Christian home, sure we had a tree, lights and decorations, but it was never about Santa Clause, it was always about the celebration of the birth of Christ. “Jesus is the reason for the season,” was the slogan in our household. I know for many people reading this book the same is true. And although I have not celebrated Christmas for about 20 years I will always have very warm and fond memories of the holiday. But once I learned about the true origins of the lights, candles, wreaths, and tree and whose birthday it really was, I could no longer in a clear conscious observe this holiday.

“The word "Christmas" itself reveals who married paganism to Christianity.

The word "Christmas" is a combination of the words "Christ" and "Mass.

The word "Mass" means death and was coined originally by the Roman Catholic Church, and belongs exclusively to the church of Rome.

The ritual of the Mass involves the death of Christ, and the distribution of the "Host", a word taken from the Latin word "hostiall" meaning victim!

In short, Christmas is strictly a Roman Catholic word.

A simple study of the tactics of the Romish Church reveals that in every case, the church absorbed the customs, traditions and general paganism of every tribe, culture and nation in their efforts to increase the number of people under their control.

In short, the Romish church told all of these pagan cultures, "Bring your gods, goddesses, rituals and rites, and we will assign Christian sounding titles and names to them.” - David Meyer, Last Trumpet Ministries International

It is also believed by some that the word Christmas is made up of two words, “Christ,” meaning “anointed” and “Tammuz (tmas),” referring to the pagan god Tammuz.

Yeshua was born as we have discussed earlier during the Feats of Tabernacles (Sukkot). So why was December 25^th chosen and who was born on that day?

First of all we must continue to remember that Sukkot and Christmas go by two opposite kinds of calendars. The date for Sukkot is based on the Lunar Hebraic calendar and Christmas set by the solar Gregorian calendar. So December 25^th is irrelevant to the Birth of Christ.

The supposed Christian Emperor Constantine instituted December 25^th as the Birth date of Christ and later Pope Julius the First officially declared it as Jesus’ birthday. But the real reason behind December 25 being chosen is because pagans in Constantine’s empire was already celebrating the Winter solstice festival to Saturnalia who was said to have been born on December 25^th along with other deities Mithra and Tammuz.

Celebrating Christmas would be like being married, but celebrating your spouse’s birthday on your ex-wife or ex-girlfriends birthday!  Why?  After all we are the “Bride” of Messiah and He is our “Husband,” and that would be celebrating His birth on the day of a pagan god, our former lover!  Or it’s also like if I, a Jew, would take the Swastika and assign a new meaning to it, let’s say it is the cross of Messiah humbly bent, reaching out to all four corners of the earth!  That doesn’t fly does it?  Pretty sick, perverted and insensitive of me huh?  Well, how do you feel the Messiah himself thinks about Christmas?

Sorry, if one is to be truthful, Jesus is NOT the reason for the season, but Tammuz, Mithra and Saturnalia are.

Lights, Trees, Wreaths and Greenery

In Paganism, Christmas is around the time of Yule on its calendar; winter is the darkest time of the year. Ancient pagans would make evergreen wreaths and set candles in them as phallic symbols in attempt to sympathetically and magically give power to mother nature to “spring” back to life, to make Spring come quickly so that the greenery of new life can return and the sun can regain strength.

“The truth is that all of the customs of Christmas pre-date the birth of Jesus Christ, and a study of this would reveal that
Christmas in our day is a collection of traditions and practices taken from many cultures and nations.

The date of December 25th comes from Rome and was a celebration of the Italic god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god.

This was done long before the birth of Jesus.

It was noted by the pre-Christian Romans and other pagans, that daylight began to increase after December 22nd, when they assumed that the sun god died.

These ancients believed that the sun god rose from the dead three days later as the new-born and venerable sun.

Thus, they figured that to be the reason for increasing daylight.

This was a cause for much wild excitement and celebration. Gift giving and merriment filled the temples of ancient Rome, as sacred priests of Saturn, called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession.” – David Meyer, Last Trumpet Ministries International

“The origins of the Advent wreath are found in the folk practices of the pre-Christian Germanic peoples who, during the cold December darkness of Eastern Europe, gathered wreaths of evergreen and lighted fires as signs of hope in a coming spring and renewed light. Christians kept these popular traditions alive, and by the 16th century Catholics and Protestants throughout Germany used these symbols to celebrate their Advent hope in Christ, the everlasting Light. From Germany the use of the Advent wreath spread to other parts of the Christian world. Traditionally, the wreath is made of four candles in a circle of evergreens with a fifth candle in the middle. Three candles are violet and the fourth is rose, but four white candles or four violet candles can also be used. Each day at home, the candles are lighted, perhaps before the evening meal-- one candle the first week, and then another each succeeding week until December 25th. A short prayer may accompany the lighting of each candle. The last candle is the middle candle. The lighting of this candle takes place on Christmas Eve. It represents Jesus Christ being born.” - http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/trivia/wreaths.htm

And again we have the Catholic Church attempting to “sanitize” pagan rituals to other gods.

The same is to be said about the “Christ-Tammuz” tress, recall in our Easter section, that when Tammuz was gorged to death by a wild boar his blood spilled on some evergreen stumps and they grew into full trees overnight?

“Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.

In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return.

The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown (And is why sun disks are seen behind all catholic icons). At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.

Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called the Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs.

In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.

Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16^th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. -http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/trivia/trees.htm (italics mine)

“In Germany, the evergreen tree was used in worship and celebration of the yule god, also in observance of the resurrected sun god.

The evergreen tree was a symbol of the essence of life and was regarded as a phallic symbol in fertility worship.” - David Meyer, Last Trumpet Ministries International

Lights were used to keep the winter stag god away and to call back and give more strength to the sun. This is but one of the reasons for the Yule Log as well, which was to be kept burning for 12 days, corresponding to the 12 days of Christmas.

“In Northern Europe, Winter festivities were once considered to be a Feast of the Dead, complete with ceremonies full of spirits, devils, and the haunting presence of the Norse god, Odin, and his night riders. One particularly durable Solstice festival was "Jol" (also known as "Jule" and pronounced "Yule"), a feast celebrated throughout Northern Europe and particularly in Scandinavia to honor Jolnir, another name for Odin. Since Odin was the god of intoxicating drink and ecstasy, as well as the god of death, Yule customs varied greatly from region to region. Odin's sacrificial beer became the specially blessed Christmas ale mentioned in medieval lore, and fresh food and drink were left on tables after Christmas feasts to feed the roaming Yuletide ghosts. Even the bonfires of former ancient times survived in the tradition of the Yule Log, perhaps the most universal of all Christmas symbols.

The origins of the Yule Log can be traced back to the Midwinter festivals in which the Norsemen indulged...nights filled with feasting, "drinking Yule" and watching the fire leap around the log burning in the home hearth. The ceremonies and beliefs associated with the Yule Log's sacred origins are closely linked to representations of health, fruitfulness and productivity. In England, the Yule was cut and dragged home by oxen or horses as the people walked alongside and sang merry songs. It was often decorated with evergreens and sometimes sprinkled with grain or cider before it was finally set alight.” - http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/trivia/yulelog.htm

Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. – Jer. 10:1-4

Jeremiah 10:2 speaks of the pagans being dismayed at the signs of the heavens. This relates to the days becoming shorter and the sun losing its strength in winter. Verse 3 and 4 though it is dealing with making an idol, uncannily sound an awful lot like a Christmas tree. And if it is not symbolic of a phallic idol, then why do we set our gifts beneath it as a mock offering?

In relation to other greenery of the Christmas season, all of which was to coax the sun back in duration and strength so as to bring the greenery of Spring back to the earth. Mistletoe was sacred to the Norse and Druid peoples and was thought to possess healing powers and was able to ward off evil spirits and so was hung in doorway and above cribs.

Christmas Ivy was symbolic of eternal life and the god of wine, Bacchus. Laurel on the other hand represented Apollos. Again, both of which were used to encourage Spring to arrive early.

Holly was sacred to the Druids but in Roman times it was used, along with mistletoe in the celebration of Saturnalia, and so as to avoid persecution Christians of the day would deck their home in this. The white berries of Holly were considered semen from the god and the red berries of mistletoe were said to be menstruation of the goddess Diana. Mistletoe and Holly were hung in pagan temples and was thought to promote fertility and thus kissing under the mistletoe became a thing. Wood from the Holly was often used to make magic wands.

Virtually all Christmas customs, rituals and traditions can be traced back to Babylon, Rome to the Celts or Norsemen.

Advent

Advent has its origins in the Babylonian religion, where women would weep and fast for Tammuz whose physical body was gored to death by a wild boar and his spirit ascended to help rule the heavens as a sun god.

God took and showed Ezekiel the detestable pagan Babylonian sun worship going on under the Temple precincts.

Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. – Ezk. 8:14

“One of the earliest references to Christmas being celebrated on December 25 appeared in Antioch in the middle of the second century. At that time, Christians were still persecuted. An official determination was made in the fourth century, when the Roman emperor Constantine embraced Christianity, thereby ensuring the legality of Christmas celebrations. The Council of Tours in 567 established the period of Advent as a time of fasting before Christmas. They also proclaimed the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany a sacred, festive season.” - http://www.thehistoryofchristmas.com/trivia/advent.htm

Again, Catholicism, stemming back to the days of Constantine just covered up blatant paganism and to unite a religiously divined empire.

“When Martin Luther started the reformation on October 31st, 1517, and other reformers followed his lead, all of them took with them the paganism that was so firmly imbedded in Rome. These reformers left Christmas intact.” – David Meyer, Last Trumpet Ministries International

Father Christmas, Santa Claus, Saint Nick

Father Christmas, also known as Lord Frost is none other than the Roman god Saturnalia. To the Vikings he is none other than the All Father, Odin.

Santa Claus and or Saint Nicholas was again, the Roman Catholic Church’s attempt to bring further validation for Christians to celebrate the pagan festival along with their neighbors.

December 6, the date of his death is known as, “Saint Nicholas Day.” Santa Claus is simply a contraction for Saint Nicholas. He was a bishop in 3^rd century Greece and famous for unexpected gift giving and later associated with the giving of presents during the season at the end of the year. He was quoted to say, “I am Nicholas, a sinner, Nicholas, servant of Christ Jesus.”

He was later imprisoned by Diocletian during the Christian persecution and later released by “Christian” Emperor Constantine. He also was said to have participated in the Council of Nicaea in 325.

Later this Popish saint evolved into a red suited jolly old man who snuck down people chimneys and left gifts for all.

Christmas Observance

Christmas was actually illegal to celebrate in America prior to the Civil War. The Puritans who came over from England saw the celebration as pagan and had nothing to do with true Christianity and or the birth of Christ.

“Henry the VIII may have suppressed St. Nicholas in 1542, but the Puritans tried to eliminate Christmas entirely in 1643. Shops were required to be open and churches closed, because of associations with "popery" and to stamp out the "misrule" that often led to drunkenness, excessive gambling and general licentiousness. Mince pies, mummers, holly and church services were all suppressed. This caused a lot of resistance that was expressed in a number of pamphlets being printed both for and against observing Christmas.” - http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/father-christmas/

“In England, as the authorized Bible became available to the common people by the decree of King James the II in 1611, people began to discover the pagan roots of Christmas, which are clearly revealed in Scripture.

The Puritans in England, and later in Massachusetts Colony, outlawed this holiday as witchcraft.” – David Meyer, Last Trumpet Ministries International

So you see, the celebration and observance of Christmas and all its traditions has nothing remotely at all to do with the birth of Christ, and one is just simply fooling themselves to think that it is. It is pagan to the core and Believers in Messiah Yeshua should have nothing to do with it in regards to its observance or celebration. If one truly wishes to honor and celebrate the birth of Christ, Sukkot is the perfect time to recognize it, and if that is ones true intentions, then it shouldn’t be a problem transferring that to its proper time, rather than to continue to celebrate it on December 25^th. One does not have to miss out on Winter holiday celebrations and festivities, as I mentioned earlier Chanukah is perfectly find for every believer in Messiah Yeshua to observe.

Holidays; Holy and Pagan: Purim and Halloween

Purim (Feast of Lots) and Halloween

Biblical Month: Adar

Secular Month: February/March

Purim is the Feast that was instituted by Mordechai, Hadassah’s (Esther’s) cousin and guardian after Haman’s plans to wipe out the Jewish people recoiled upon his own head. During this festival we dress up in disguises and costumes, have a lot of fun and even play some good natured tricks on people. Esther is a book of the Tanak that does not mention the name of God anywhere outright in the text. But it is interesting to note that God is disguised all throughout the book of Esther, not just in the events, but in the text itself! God participates in Purim by disguising Himself.

Esther 1:20 And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honor, both to great and small.

God’s name, “YHWH” is formed by the initial letters of the verse, but YHWH is spelled backwards because in this verse He was turning back the counsels of man.

Esther 5:4 And Esther answered, If it seem good unto the king, let the king and Haman come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him.

YHWH is spelled by the initial letters as HE is initiating action, and YHWH is spelled forward because the Almighty is ruling causing Esther to act.

Esther 5:13 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.

YHWH is formed by the last or final letters of this verse because Haman’s end was fast approaching. YHWH is appears backwards in the text seeing as G-d was overruling Haman’s joy and turning back his counsel.

Esther 7:7 And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.

Again YHWH is spelled in this verse by using the final letters because Haman’s finality had come. Yet in the text YHWH is spelled forward because G-d was ruling and bringing about what He had determined.

Chuck Missler in his book, “Cosmic Codes: Hidden Messages from the Edge of Eternity” (pg. 83) has this to say about these for verses:

“The first two acrostics are a pair, having the name formed by the initial letters of the four words. The last two are a pair, having the name formed by the final letters of the four words.

The first and third acrostics are a pair having the name spelled backward. The second and the fourth are a pair, having the name spelled forward…

The first and third, in which the name is formed backward, are from the text spoken by Gentiles. The second and fourth, in which the name is formed forward, are from text spoken by Israelites.”

But this is not all. “I AM” is hidden in the final letters spelled backwards in Esther 7:5

Esther 7:5 Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?

The word Messiah or Moshiach is found hidden in the Hebrew text of Esther 1:3 by skipping eight letters. Eight being the number representing beginnings.

Esther 1:3 In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him:

Esther 4:17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him.

In this verse Yeshua’s name meaning Salvation is found by counting every eight letters.

El Shaddai (the Almighty) is found by counting every seven letters in Esther 4:2.

Esther 4:2 And came even before the king's gate: for none might enter into the king's gate clothed with sackcloth.

And as a divine punch line God has the phrase, “Haman and Satan stink” by counting every six letters ten times in Esther 3:11, 12.

Esther 3:11, 12 And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee. Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that were over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring.

So even before Purim was instituted we See God was already participating in all the disguise, jokes and festivities that we celebrate by tradition today.

On another note satan likes to play dress up too!

 II Cor. 11:14 “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”

Which means satan can make himself look pure, good, and holy on the surface, yet is pure and deadly evil just inches beneath.

At Purim we dress up in costumes, we hide our true identity because YHWH’s name is not mentioned in the book of Esther, He is hidden, yet we see He is all too present. It shows us that God and miracles often are disguised in the mundane every day.

Hadassah (Esther) hid her identity at the command of her cousin Mordechai in order to reveal her Jewishness at just the right time in order to save her people from total annihilation.

On the other hand satan too participated in Purim. He first came as wise serpent to Chavah (Eve), then in Hadassah’s day he disguised himself in Haman as a wise councilmen to birth a plan of genocide of the Jewish people. And later in Judas to betray and hand over the Messiah to be killed.

And today satan conceals himself in the guise of Enlightened and Free, Anti-Torah Christianity, and compromising and assimilating forms of Messianic Judaism, which all appear as pure, good, and well-intended, even enlightened and yet this is but one of the true threats to Jews, and the true remnant of believers today.

We must do our best when called upon to tactfully, yet boldly spread the light of Torah and Messiah to Christians and Messianics. Yet we must be careful so as not to fall into the soft and cuddly death trap of ecumenicalism that says, “We all serve the same G-d, we all serve the same Messiah.”

We must, whether we are at home, work, school or play, no matter what skin or place we are in, we must not compromise and we must stand tall and strong for Torah and Messiah in this dark perverted backwards world.

“In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar.” - Esther 3:7

“When the joy fell on Adar, Haman rejoiced greatly, for he said; ‘The lot has fallen on the month Moses died!’ He did not know that was the month Moses was born.” – Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 13b

“And he said unto them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the Lord hath said unto me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan… And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” Duet. 31:2; 34:7

We see from this that Moses dies on his birthday! Haman saw only one side of the coin. He only saw that Moses died in the month of Adar and seen it as a good omen for him to exterminate the Jews of Persia and a bad omen for the Persian Jews; that their God had turned against them and they were doomed to extermination. Little did Haman know Moses was also born on the same day as he died! Haman’s interpretation of the lots was just the opposite! It was a bad omen for him, for he and his house would perish in the same day (Esther 9:5, 10, 25). And it would represent the death of old captive, fleshly Israel and her rebirth into a new creation (II Cor. 5:17); which was right on the heels the month of Nisan (Abib/Aviv), which is the month of the Passover, the month of the Exodus from Egypt and when Israel was birthed as a nation in freedom in the wilderness!

Hallelujah! The lot is not man’s domain, but the LORD’s! HE IS IN CONTROL OVER ALL THINGS (Rom. 8:28)!

“The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.” – Prov. 16:33

It should also be noted that death, for the believer is a rebirth anyway, and a precious thing in God’s eyes (Psa. 116:15). Moses was born on the earth and born anew in heaven on the same day! So death in the eyes of His People is a moot point (Phil. 1:21)! No matter how you look at it, Israel was to be reborn, again! Haman didn’t have a chance and never saw it coming!

The LORD was not finished with the Persian Jews. He had a plan and purpose for them. The God of Israel and Israel declared as one:

“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.” –Psalm 118:17

Justice is at times diverted by a monetary bribe. Recall the Command of the Half Shekel which was announced on the 1^st of Adar in preparation to be due on the 1^st of Nisan (Abib/Aviv):

“When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the Lord.” Exodus 30:12-14

“Resh Lakish said; ‘The Creator of the world knew Haman would pay money (shekalim) to convince Ahasuerus to give him permission to destroy the Jews. So the Holy one made the Jews give their shekalim first. This is why the announcement of the shekalim must be made on the first of Adar.” – Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 13b

Each person, despite their economic standing was required to give a half shekel, no more and no less. It took two persons to make a whole shekel, representing unity and equality, and that we need each other. Haman’s shekelim drove people apart, the Half Shekel of the Jews brought people together. Haman’s money was seen as a bribe. Perhaps he even thought that because the Jews were exiled in Persia by their disobedience to Him (Deut. 27-28) that they no longer had the L-RD’s favor and thus Haman could bribe GOD with money and thus get a favorable lot when it was cast!  On the other hand we see that the Jews shekalim was seen as righteous tzedakah (charity), which delivers from death (Prov. 11:4).

Just as many who come to the Messianic/Natsari faith take on new names to reflect ones new found faith; similarly when a conquering nation would submit a nation, the people of that vassal state would take on new names to reflect that the people are under “new management.” Also, this was done to symbolize the defeat of the defeated nation’s god(s), because back in the day, most names reflected the religion of that nation. For example; Daniel, Dan-El, meaning “God is my judge.” Or Eliyahu (Elijah) meaning, “Yahweh is my God.” It was not uncommon for a conquering nation to give new names to the people they captured, for Daniel and the Three Hebrew Children all were given pagan names and it is by those names we know the three Hebrew young men; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  Their Hebrew names were Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Daniel was given the name Belteshazzar (Dan. 1:7).

Did you know that Esther, the Heroine of Purim is not a Hebrew name? It is actually a derivative of the name of the pagan goddess Ishtar. Her real name was Hadassah.  Hadassah means myrtle tree. Myrtle branches are used in the lulav and etrog bouquet we wave unto the LORD during Sukkot. The Lulav and etrog represents the human body, each element a part of the body. The hadass leaves are shaped like eyes and represent the eyes. The four species of the lulav also represent a type of person. The hadass is and aromatic species and is representory of one who has good deeds. Indeed, Hadassah (Esther) had the eyes of the king, but she also had eyes to see the trouble around her and wisely took action by fasting and her good deed was risking her life to approach the king without being summoned.  What greater deed is there than self-sacrifice (John 15:13)!?

Ishtar, from where the name Esther derives, was the goddess of fertility, love and war. Esther won the love of King Ahauerus and was the catalyst that brought war to the kingdom, saving the Persian Jews, and allowing the Jewish people to survive and continue the perpetuation of their various lines as well as defeating Haman and bring his line to an end.  Esther’s actions fulfilled what her pagan name meant!

Names, whether pagan or Hebraic have prophetic meaning in a person’s life and their name will shape their life. For example Nabal was foolishly crass enough to snub David when he was on the run from King Saul and it cost Nabal his life, and indeed his name meant folly (I Sam. 25:25).  Solomon, means “son of Peace” and He was the peace child that brought back equilibrium between God and David as well as there was peace and prosperity during Solomon’s reign.

Ahasuerus, the king of our story, means “lion king,” which shows how he was seen by everyone and showed that he was a mighty conquering king not to be trifled with. And we see what happened to Haman when the king though Haman was trying to seduce Queen Esther right under his nose; he was hung (Esther 7:9-10). A lion, when attacking his prey to kill him immediately goes for the neck! Ahasuerus sure did live up to his name.

Haman was a descendant of Esau and Amalek, enemies of Israel. Israel was commanded to wipe out Amalek and his descendants but failed to do so and the Jewish people reaped the consequences of their disobedient as we read in the book of Esther (Deut. 25:19), for Haman, an Amalekite attempted to wipe out Israel!

Haman means magnificent, and indeed Haman was very vain and conceited and thought of himself so magnificent that everyone should bow in recognition of that magnificence. His name also means, “noisy tumult” and indeed he was always flapping his lips causing trouble where ever he went. And traditionally, during the reading of Esther, we make a noisy tumult in order to drown out his name.

Mordechai’s was named after the god Marduk, the god of war and order. Haman, meaning noisy tumult is symbolic of chaos and Mordechai/Marduk is all about order and hence the clash between the two! Also a warrior does not bow to someone just because one thinks there magnificent, the warrior will only bow to a superior, and Haman was anything but. Mordechai only bowed to the G-d of Israel, for He is supreme and worthy of a warriors worship and allegiance.

In Esther Rabbah 7:8 it says, “Haman said to the courtiers: ‘Tell him his ancestors bowed to my ancestor, for it says: ‘Joseph and Rachel… bowed down [to Esau].’’ Mordechai replied: ‘But Benjamin was not born.’”

Mordechai was a descendant of Benjamin, who was prophetically represented by a wolf, a warrior of the woods and seeing as when Joseph and Rachel bowed before Esau, Benjamin was not born yet and so Mordechai’s descendants never bowed to Esau and his line and he wasn’t about to start.

You see, even when one is conquered one is not defeated.  And in order to attempt to wipe out Hebrew life, religion and culture the Persians gave the Jews pagan names, yet that was their downfall because they failed to see the prophetic significance in a name. By giving Hadassah the name Esther and Mordechai the name Marduk, the Persians were actually christening them warlords of the Hebrew people! God truly does work everything out for the good (Rom. 8:28). 

Did Yeshua Celebrate Purim?

The Brit Chadasha is by far not an exhaustive commentary on the first century beliefs and practices of the Jewish believer; it is but a series of snap shots in time.

The Brit Chadasha was never written with the intent of becoming ‘Scripture.” The Besorah (Gospels) are mostly a historical, testimonial type of document as a witness to Yeshua that falls way short of the entirety of His life, activities, teachings and miracles. It has been said by one of the writers of the Besorah that all the libraries and books couldn’t contain such information (John 21:25). Other parts of the Brit Chadasha are instructional correspondence between a Sheliachim (an Apostle) and various synagogues.

Much of the Brit Chadasha is written in such a way that it is assumed the readers were Torah Obedient and knew about many of the customs and traditions of Judaism.

This being said, it is a given and obvious that Yeshua kept the Saturday Sabbath, went to synagogue (Luke 4:16), participated in the Feasts of Leviticus 23 and even celebrated a non-biblical feast called Chanukah (John 10). But what about Purim, it is mysteriously not mentioned in the Brit Chadasha just as God’s Name is not found in the text of the book of Esther. So did He observe it? I think it is safe to say He did because though it is not mentioned he did, Yeshua was a Torah Observant Jew even keeping many of the customs and traditions of His people which Purim was one of them (Esther 9:28). The reason it is not mentioned as being celebrated in the Brit Chadasha is because in the time of Yeshua, Rome occupied and ruled Israel and thus Purim was ban as a public festival out of fear it would insight rebellion among the Jews against Rome. However, the Meggillah was still permitted to be read and Purim was allowed to be observed in private. Wouldn’t Chanukah incite such rebellion too, why was it celebrated and not Purim? Great question, it is because Chanukah was all about the defeat of Rome’s enemy; the Greco-Syrians and encouraged the Jews to celebrate that fact by allowing Chanukah observance to continue.

Unless you make your own, the best time to get your costume for Purim is the day after Halloween when costumes are half off or lower.

Halloween

Of all the holidays, most everyone knows of the satanic and pagan origins of Halloween and the Catholic churches attempt to sanitize and “Christianize” it. However, it is the highest holy day on the satanic calendar. Satanic cults, covens, and neo-pagan religious groups preform human and animal sacrifices on this night amid other carnal and lurid practices. But who cares, right? That’s not what Halloween means today, it’s just a time for people to dress up, get candy and have fun. So what’s the harm in that!? Why be a party pooper and spoil all the fun?

One cannot ignore the pagan and satanic origins of this day. The western populace that participates in this celebration may not sacrifice animals or humans or participate in religious orgies and rituals as was done centuries before us, but what they do is imitate and rehearse them. Just as child who plays cops and robbers or war they are imitating what is real. It has roots and meanings one cannot escape from or tame into innocents. Play is a type of training and conditioning to one day do the real thing. Although people that celebrate Halloween would likely never participate in such rituals that they imitate, it is desensitizing and conditioning the soul to tolerate and accept such evil. Why would anyone want to imitate or reenact such things in the name of fun or just to satisfy a sweet tooth!?

“In ancient Britain and Ireland, the Celtic Festival of Samhain was observed on October 31, at the end of summer…. The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, goblins, black cats, fairies and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favorable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes.”  – Encyclopedia Britannica

Because of Americas Christian Heritage, Halloween was not widely celebrated until the 20^th century.

“Halloween has its origin in the British Isles about 1300 years ago. In those days, there were many men and women who practiced a so-called “nature religion” known as Wicca. (The word “Wicca” means “wise ones.” The word “witch” is derived from “Wicca.”)… The Wiccans were worshippers of the “Earth Mother”, the sun, the moon, and stars. Witches do not believe in Satan. The Wiccans or witches meet every Friday night at a gathering called an “esbat.” They draw a magic circle with a six-pointed star in it called a “hexagram”, from which we get the word “hex.” The coven of 13 stand “sky clad” or naked in the hexagram and work spells by chanting and doing rituals such as “drawing down the moon.” The full moon is sacred to witches, especially if it is on a Friday. It is considered to be even greater if the Friday is the 13th day of the month.

Eight times each year, the witches celebrated a sabat and the ritual work and spell casting was always done on the eve of the sabat. The sabats are Imbolc on February 2nd, the spring equinox on March 22nd, Beltaine on May 1st, the summer solstice on June 22nd, Lugnahsaid on July 31st, the fall equinox on September 22nd, Samhain on October 31st, and the winter solstice on December 22nd, which is also known as Yule.

Witches have special ways of celebrating for each sabat, and even though they do not believe in Satan, it is Satan who gives them the experiences they have and deceives them into thinking it is the forces of nature they are tapping into. Halloween is the most important of the eight sabats in witchcraft and is known to the witches by the Scotch-Gaelic word “Samhain”, which is pronounced “SOW-EEN.” It is believed that on that night, the barrier between this world and the next, known as the astral plane, becomes very thin. The witches believe that this allows spirits of departed ones to travel freely back and forth between the earth and the spirit realm. Thus, Halloween is the highest day in Wiccan witchcraft. On that night for many centuries, witches would work their magic and then have wild parties all through the darkness of that night. They would play games, such as bobbing for apples, because witches regard the apple as sacred. The witches would also tell stories from their personal diaries of spells known as their “book of shadows.” These ghost stories would start when the hosting High Priest or Priestess would say, “A witches’ tale and a cup of ale for the host of our guests unseen.” “ – David J. Meyer, Last Trumpet International Ministries.

Dressing up and Trick or Treating and The Jack-O-Lantern

Where did dressing up and soliciting candy door to door come from, where did this custom originate? And why do people hollow out and carve face in pumpkins and then set a candle inside?

“One possibility is from the notion that ancient witches had to steal the materials needed for their festivals. The Druids may have believed that witches held this day to be special, something clearly true for modern witches.

The idea of trick-or-treating is further related to the ghosts of the dead in pagan, and even Catholic, history. For example, among the ancient Druids, “The ghosts that were thought to throng about the houses of the living were greeted with a banquet-laden table. At the end of the feast, masked and costumed villagers representing the souls of the dead paraded to the outskirts of town leading the ghosts away.”

As already noted, Halloween was thought to be a night when mischievous and evil spirits roamed freely. As in modern poltergeist lore, mischievous spirits could play tricks on the living—so it was advantageous to “hide” from them by wearing costumes. Masks and costumes were worn to either scare away the ghosts or to keep from being recognized by them.” - The Facts on Halloween by Harvest House Publishers, 2008

Another source says:

“In those early days in England, there was another kind of witchcraft known as Druidism. The Druids were called “men of the oaks” and were a strange clan of men who dressed in white robes. The Druids worshipped Cernnunos, the “horned hunter of the night. “Halloween was sacred to the Druids because their sun-god receded to the underworld on October 31st, which is why darkness increased and light decreased according to their reckoning.

As darkness set in on October 31st, the clan of Druids would put on their white robes and hoods. They would carry sickles and Celtic crosses as they began a torchlight procession. At the beginning of the procession, a male slave was killed and dragged by a rope fastened to his left ankle. The Druids would walk until they came to a house or a village where they shouted the equivalent of “trick or treat.” The treat was a slave girl or any female to be given to the Druids. If the people refused to a girl as a “treat”, blood was taken from the dead slave and used to draw a hexagram or six-pointed star on the door or wall of the village. Spirits of the “horned hunter of the night” were invoked by the Druids to kill someone in that house or village by fear that night.

If the house or village gave a girl as a “treat”, the Druids put a pumpkin with a face carved in it in front of the door or gate of that place. Inside the pumpkin was a candle made of human tallow to keep evil spirits away. Thus, the Jack-O-Lantern was and is a sign that you have cooperated with Satan.

The treats or female victims were taken to Stonehenge where they were raped and killed and then sacrificed on the sacred bonefire until only glowing embers were left. The “bonefire” is the origin of the modern day bonfire. As a matter of luck for winter survival, all villagers were expected to use the glowing embers of the bonefire to light their hearths.”  – David Meyer, Last Trumpet International Ministries

Another reason for the Jack-O-Lantern is that this custom mimics the skulls illuminated by candles that the witches and warlocks used in and to light their rituals and sacrifices that they performed.

It was also believed that dressing up you could fool spirits that were after you, but it was also held that you absorbed the power and took on the traits of whatever you dressed up as. If you donned a wolf pelt, you were believed to have the power and characteristics of the wolf, thereby being able to fend off any evil spirits that may come to torment you.

Costumes were also worn to disguise ones identity so as to participate anonymously is lurid carnal pagan rites such as orgies or sacrifices.

All Saints Day

The Celts and the Druid’s began their New Year on November 1^st. This marked the beginning of their winter. On October 31^st, the night before their New Year and the last day of the old year, they believed that Samhain gathered the souls of the evil dead who had been condemned to enter the bodies of animals. He then decided what animal form they would take for the next year. On the other hand, the souls of the good dead were reincarnated as humans. The Druids attempted to help the fate of the evil dead by offering sacrifices, prayers, and gifts to Samhain. It was on this night Samhain allowed the spirits of those who died in the past year to return to earth to their former places of habitation for a few hours to associate once again with their living relatives and loved ones, or to finish unfinished business. People would light bonfires in order to keep the spirits of the dead away from haunting them as well as to give more power to the sun, as it was weakening during this time of year.

In A.D. 835, Pope Gregory IV designated November 1 as All Saints’ Day, or All Hallows’ Day (the term hallow refers to saints). This was designed to “Christianize” a pagan holiday so as to draw pagan into converting to Catholicism. This day was a day of the dead in paganism, but the Catholic Church deemed it as a day to remember and honor the martyrs of the Faith and the saints who passed on before us. Elliot Watson said, “Christians attempted to co-opt the holiday by celebrating the lives of faithful Christian saints the day before Halloween.” The night before November 1^st, October 31^st, was known as All Hallows’ Evening. How did we get the term Halloween? Look at the name, “All Hallows’ Evening.” If we drop the word “all,” and the “s” on Hallows’, as well as the “v” and the “ing” on evening, the result spells, Halloween. 

I concur with David Meyer,

“As we can clearly see, Halloween is not harmless. Satan has people in our modern era mimicking the witches and Druids of old. All of this is cursed of God… Halloween is no joke and is not harmless fun! This evil holiday has no part in the life of a Christian. The Roman Catholic Church borrowed Halloween from the witches, which shows how blind they are.” – David Meyer, Last Trumpet Ministries International

Sadly, many Christians and Churches have tried to make Halloween okay by having, “Harvest Festival” parties and allowing the kids to dress up as Bible characters. But this is just swapping names and keeping the exact same traditions.

I do agree that one should attempt to educate folks about the true origins of Halloween and evangelize during this time by handing out tracts with the candy or organizing what has been known as “Judgement Houses,” an alternative to Haunted Houses that is a walk through drama that shares the gospel.

I do pray you will have the boldness to oppose such a holiday by refusing to participate in it and instead celebrate a Godly holiday like Purim that glorifies God and causes us to remember His Faithfulness and His Word.