Church of God, New World Ministries

The Traditions Of Men

Very few people who claim to be Christian know why they observe the days and do the things they do. Why is it that mankind all over the world observes so many different days of worship, just so many foolish customs and traditions?

Just where did this world’s holidays come from? Did the Great Supreme God of the Universe give mankind all these days? If so, where in the Bible can we go to and find the authority to observe these many different holidays?

What about the holidays of modern Christianity? What about Easter, with its hot cross buns, bunnies, and Easter eggs? What about Halloween with its ghosts, witches and trick or treat?

One of modern Christianity holidays is Christmas, with its red-nosed reindeer, Santa Clause, and gift swapping; did God give Christians these days to be observed?

Why is it that so many professing Christians and even people who are not even religious, observing days which are nowhere commanded in the Bible, days that Jesus Christ or his apostles never kept. Christ Himself did not keep any of these days. Just how did these days become dignified by the name of Christian?

When we learn that God Almighty is the One that created time, it was mankind that has abused it. When God created the heavens and the earth the Creator said, “Let there be light in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years” (Gen. 1:14).

Now all of us know that the earth’s rotation regulates the length of a day. The lunar phase indicates the length of a month, and the orbit of the earth around the sun determines the length of a year. By calculating the relationship between these celestial bodies (in other words, God’s own master clock of the universe) mankind measures time.

Since God Almighty created time, then doesn’t it just make sense that He alone has the authority to set aside certain days for worship, to make them Holy? But the plain fact is; mankind does not look to God as One who has all authority.

Because mankind does not recognized God’s authority, all the tribes of the earth have come with all their holidays to worship their god. It seems to be in man’s nature to observe days to worship their god and their own customs and traditions. Paul tells us in Romans 1:21 “people once knew God,” but they soon rejected Him as their God.

So without God’s own instructions, mankind can’t know which days God Himself made Holy, The plain truth is: God has not left the worship of Himself to human beings. Mankind has no authority to establish or worship on certain days that humans have brought into existence. In fact, as hard as it may be to believe, God condemns human devised worship as vain. Matt. 15:9 “In vain to they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

Really what Christ is telling us, is that it is possible to worship the Great God, to venerate the name of Jesus Christ and still do it all in vain? Mark 7:7, 9, 13 “Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men (v. 9). Full well you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your own tradition (v. 13). Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which you have delivered (handed down) and many such like things do you.”

Just as Satan deceived men into pagan Sunday observance, instead of keeping God’s Sabbath day, Satan also instituted all these so-called Christians holidays to hide God’s Master Plan from the entire human race.

Now these holidays are made to appear happy at times, but in reality they are just pain killers, these holidays are designed to cover up the empty ritualism of today’s counterfeit Christianity.

Why is it that no ones seems to question Satan’s days? One reason is that they have become so customary or traditional; they just seem right and harmless. These days are assumed to be Christian, but these satanic pagan holidays are a diabolical scheme to plunge a deceived world down the broad road that leads to eternal death.

Satan has gotten mankind to believe that you can flaunt God’s commands and trample on His Holy Days and worship in whatever way you choose. The minister’s of Satan the Devil object to you keeping God’s Holy Days. They will say, it makes no difference which days you observe, Jesus’ death set us free from the law, now you can observe any day you want, they are all holy to God. Just go ahead and worship on whatever day that seems right to you.

The plain fact is: these lying ministers are Satan’s tools that he uses to deceive the peoples of this world. Let us make no mistake: God says you must choose whom you will serve. “If the Lord be God, serve Him, but if Baal, then follow him.”

In other words, if Satan is god, then keep Easter, Christmas, Halloween, but if the Eternal Creator is the Living God, then we had better keep holy the days that He made Holy. It does make a difference to God; in fact, it is a matter of eternal life or eternal death.

Down through the years, man has made his own religions that are almost completely different from what Jesus Christ preached and practiced. So they called their religion Christianity, just as if it were connected to Jesus Christ.

Maybe some will want to know why God didn’t warn us in the pages of the Bible that false ministers would change Christianity from worshipping on God’s Holy Days to the observance of pagan holidays. But the truth of the matter is that Jesus did! (Matt. 24:4-5; Mark 13:5-6; Luke 21:8 and Matt. 7:15).

Early in the New Testament times Paul had to deal with false teachers pretending to be Christians, some even calling themselves apostles: II Cor. 11:13-14 “For such are false apostles deceitful workers (or teachers), transforming themselves into apostles of Christ (v. 15) Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works.”

Question: How do these false ministers make themselves look like ministers of righteousness? Matt. 4:6 they will quote Scriptures, did not Satan do this to Jesus Christ, read it for yourself.

Here is what the apostle John wrote about the Church at Ephesus: Rev. 2:2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience and that you can’t bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, have found them liars.” What were the liars teaching? Verse 6, but this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.”

Who were these Nicolaitanes and what were their doctrines? They were the followers of Nicolas, the name Nicola is derived from the Greek words Niko and Laos. Niko means the conqueror or destroyer and Laos means people. The original Nicola was a conqueror or destroyer of the people. Nicolas was merely the Greek word for Nimrod, the original arch-rebel who conquered the people and founded man-made religions two centuries after the Flood of Noah. Gen. 10:8-9 “Cush begat Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. (v. 10) And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel.”

While Nimrod was alive he put himself in the place of God, by his dictorial rule, and when he died his admirers continued to worship him as a divine hero. They called him Baal; you will find this name throughout the Old Testament. Baal means master or lord.

But Baal was not Nimrod’s only name. In Babylonia he was known as Tammuz, in Syria and Greece it was Adonis which also means lord. In Egypt he was Osiris. The reason for so many names was to hide his true identity.

Another one of Nimrod’s names was Santa commonly used throughout Asia Minor. Now is there any connection between Nimrod who was called Santa in Asia Minor and Saint Nicolas of Asia Minor, Santa Claus. Santa Claus is but a shortened form of Santa Nicholas, or Saint Nicholas. Now the followers of St. Nicholas or Nimrod are termed Nicolaitanes in the New Testament. In the days of the apostle John, people were calling themselves Christians but were honoring Nimrod, just as they do today.

What were the doctrines of the Nicolaitanes taught by Nimrod? For one thing, Nimrod was opposed to God. The phase “a mighty hunter before the Lord”, in the Hebrew, indicates he had set himself in opposition to, and in the place of the Lord.

Here is what Josephus wrote about Nimrod: “Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God he actually changed the government into tyranny. Now the people were very ready to follow the determinations of Nimrod and to esteem it a piece of cowardice to submit to God.” Nimrod taught that it was wrong and it was cowardice to submit to God and His laws. This was the doctrines of the Nicolaitanes.

Now who does that today, telling us that God’s law are of none effect?

God labels this false religious system by the name of its origin. Rev. 17:5 “Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots, and the Abominations of the earth.”

Now what was the first city Nimrod built? Babel. It is hard to believe, but it is true, that this false system that Nimrod started not too long after the flood has been perpetuated down to our day, today.

Modern Christianity will not accept this as being true, but it is a fact. They will also not accept that Christmas was celebrated in Rome long before the birth of Jesus Christ, it was called Saturnalia.

These were the customs or traditions at that time, in private the day Saturnalia began with the sacrifice of a young pig, all ranks devoted themselves to feasting and mirth. Presents were exchanged between friends, and crowds thronged the streets shouting lo Saturnalia (today they say Merry Christmas).

Now this offering (a young pig) was made beneath a decorated tree. Virgil, the pagan poet, mentions a pine for evergreen tree. Figurines and masks called oscilla were hung on the tree, just as Christmas decorations are today. These oscilla were a relic of human sacrifices. Of all the pagan holidays, Saturnalia was the one at which human sacrifices were required. Later Imperial Rome adopted the name Christ and applied it to the existing pagan customs.

Today families decorate their Christmas trees with figurines unwittingly perpetuating a custom of Roman human sacrifice. Now Christmas is passed off as a Christian holiday, with Jesus Christ’s name attached to it.

Numbers 25:1-3 “Now Israel remained in A Ka Sha and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods and the people ate and bowed to their gods. So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.”

Now what did God tell Moses to do with those who polluted themselves by worshipping Baal – Peor? Verses 4-5 “The Lord said to Moses take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord, out in the sun that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel. So Moses said to the judges of Israel every one of you kill the men who were joined to Baal-Peor.”

Now Baal-Peor was just another name for Nimrod. The compound name Baal-Peor had special significance to the Moabites who worshipped Nimrod as a child. Today, in mid-winter the sacred child is still worshipped. Is this not the theme today at Christmas, mother and child?

This cleverly disguised pagan mystery dates back to Nimrod and mother Semiramis. The New Year’s baby, once worshipped in ancient Greece as Adonis, the lord, is now welcome in the churches of modern Christianity.

Judges 2:8-13 Now Joshua the son of Num, the servant of the Lord, died (v. 10). When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers (died) another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baal’s (v. 13) they forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtoreth.” Baal the Canaanite god, Ashtoreth the Canaanite goddess.

This god and goddess were none other than Nimrod and Semiramis. In Greece Ashtoreth was called Venus and Astarte, (vs. 14-15 tells us how God punished them).

The book of Judges is a chronicle of the repeated rebellion of ancient Israel when they entered the land of Canaan. Each time they forgot God’s law, lost sight of His Holy Days and His plan they began to worship heathen gods on pagan holidays. This is what happened to the Old Worldwide Church of God.

Did Solomon forsake God’s law, and introduced pagan religion into Israel? God warned Solomon not to turn away from following Him, but did he heed God’s warning: I Kings 11: “But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh; women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, Hittites.”

God told Solomon not to do this, but why? “They will turn away your heart after their gods (v. 4) For is was so, when Solomon was old that his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God as was the heart of his father David, (v. 5) For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.” Remember Ashtoreth was Semiramis the mother-wife of Nimrod and Nimrod was call Milcom and Molech by the Ammonites.

Molech is derived from the Hebrew word melek which meant king. The heathen nations worshipped Nimrod as the king of kings, because he was the world’s first tyrant.

Ashtoreth or Semiramis was worshipped as the queen of heaven by the ancient pagan world. Today a queen of heaven and mother of God is worshipped by modern Christianity.

Israel’s idolatry continued for many years. Each succeeding king perpetuated pagan holidays for the people to keep in honor of pagan gods. Finally Israel’s sins cut them off from God’s protection, and they were carried away captive into Assyria. They have not returned as of yet to Israel. (Send for our series of DVD’s, “The Blessings of Abraham”.)

In II Kings 17:9 the house of Israel thought they could hide their sins from God. But what did God do? Verse 13 “Yet the Lord testified against Israel and against Judah by all of His prophets, every seer saying, turn from your evil ways, and keep My commandments and My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets.”

Today, God has promised to send His prophets or ministers in the spirit or power of Elijah (Mal. 4:5-6). It is not wrong for God’s ministers to show just how foolish the pagan customs of the false ministers of this world are. That is one of the reasons that God sends His ministers is to expose the evil of false religion in this world, so the people will know the difference and choose the good.

The holidays of this world are inseparably linked to the worship of Nimrod, and Nimrod to Sunday observance. All have been inspired by Satan the Devil. All these doctrines are espoused and promulgated by the Roman Catholic Church and her protestant daughters.

Anyone who accepts and observes these pagan holidays are linked to Satan’s Babylonian System and has accepted its mark. Will you obey God or accept the “traditions of men?” (Send for our FREE reprint article, “God’s Master Plan of Salvation” to learn the true holy days we should be observing, and why). It will give new meaning to why you were born and why mankind was put on this earth.

 
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