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Month 9:10, Week 2:2 (Shanee/Matzah), Year 5935:240 AM
Gregorian Calendar: Monday 5 December 2011
The Season of Advent
Shall We Light Trees in the Darkness?

      "So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table
      Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able
      Lighting trees in darkness, learning new ways from the old, and
      Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold"

      (Dar Williams) [1]

    You can't have failed to notice it, but the Christmas Season is already upon us. The Christmas trees are up in people's yards and in public places along with all the cheerful lighting. The Advent Season has begun. From the Latin adventus meaning 'coming', Advent is the Roman Catholic tradition of counting the days to Christmas, the four Sundays thereof holding special significance. In the Western Church (Catholic and Protestant) is begins on the Sunday nearest St.Andrew's day (30 November) and in the eastern Church (Orthodox, Coptic, etc.) it is observed as a penitential season in preparatoon for not only Christmas but also for the Second Coming of Christ. The first day of Advent begins the Ecclesiastical Year.

    How 'lovely' and how false. How totally unbiblical and out of scriptural tavnith (pattern). In fact there is so much falsehood in this season I hardly know where to begin. I will be talking about 'Christmas' or Brumalia (to use its proper pagan name) in another devotional quite soon - but today I want to focus on 'Advent'.

    Though strenuous attempts have been made by the Roman Church to connect Advent to the apostle Peter, its earliest record comes from about the middle of the 5th century AD when Maximus Taurinensis wrote a homily on it. Like the modern Christmas, Advent's orgins may be traced to Central Europe.

    The pagan Germans would bring their cart wheels indoors during the Winter in order to preserve this important tool of survival from the wet and the cold. The wheels were hung from the ceiling and used as impromptu chandeliers. As the days grew short and the nights lengthened, they would deck the wheels out with evergreens and candles and spin them as an incantation to their demon-gods, asking that the light be returned. They would also gather evergreen branches, weave them into wreaths and decorate them with lighted fires during the cold of Winter, hoping their gods would hasten Spring and the darkness of Winter would vanish. Lucia's Day, observed on 13 December, is also a relic of this pagan sun-worshipping past. In fact, all the religious feasts around the winter solstice are noted for their spiritual profanity, including the Talmudic Jewish festival of lights known as Hanukkah or the 'Jewish Christmas'.

    These Germanic traditions were adopted wholesale by the Roman Catholic Church and brought to its modern form by the Lutherans from whom they have passed to nearly all Protestant bodies, the Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists and even back to the Catholics who are always ready to absorb a bit more paganism. By the 16th century these symbols were a part of their Advent celebration. Christ simply replaced the pagan gods. The 'Advent Wreath', like the whole of Christmas and Easter experience, were simply redecorated 'Christanised pagan experiences', another example of religious syncretism, expressly forbidden by Yahweh in the Scriptures. The cardboard 'Advent Calendar', consisting of '24 stations', represented by doors or pockets that are opened - one for each day - is a North European tradition in Scandinavia in particular.

    It is a well known fact that Advent and Christmas were not among the earliest festivals of what came to be known as the 'Christian Church'. Indeed, the first theologians ridiculed them, and were quick to point out that in the Scriptures only sinners, not saints, celebrate their birthdays:

      "The very first evidence of the feast (Christmas) comes from Egypt in about 200 AD, and placed Christ's birthday on the equivalent of May 20 in the 28th year of the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. Only from the fourth century on did Western calendars make December 25 Christ's birthday, upon an order of Pope Julius I, perhaps in the hope of imbuing the long-held pagan rituals of winter solstice with Christian meaning" [2].

    There is, of course, no Christian meaning in any pagan rituals, and never can be. Yahweh has forbidden us to imitate the ways of the pagans in any way whatsoever (Jer.10:1) or serve "alien deities under every green tree" (Jer.3:13, NKJV). Christmas is simply the refurbished Natalis invicti that was observed by the pagan Romans on 25 December as a popular event in the cult of Mithra who has some superficial resemblances to the Messiah. By such syncretism Sun-worship was, and has been, preserved under a Christian veil, along with Sun-day - indeed, Natalis invicti was also known as Sol Invictus, 'the Unconquerable Sun'. And that is what the heart of Christmas, with its Advent pre-amble, really is, however much 'Christ' or Roman Catholic 'Mass' you might try to force into it.

    There is no commandment to celebrate the birth of Messiah. Perhaps Yahweh knew apostate believers would combine it with paganism just as Israel and Judah did in the past to justify observing a winter festival - there are no winter festivals in the Sacred Calendar.

    Moreover, it is our belief that the date of Yah'shua's (Jesus') birth and the date of His death were not only on the same day but on Pesach or Passover! And Passover, as we know, was in the Spring. Yah'shua's (Jesus') death, birth and resurrection (which took place on Yom haBikkurim of Day of Firstfruits) are all in the Spring, because Divine Chayim (Life) lead to Death and Resurrection leading to New and Everlasting Chayim (Life)!

    Most messianics believe Messiah was born in the autumn/fall - during Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. If you would like to know why we believe Messiah was born in the spring, please see our study: Why We Believe Messiah was Born on Passover: 25 December, 6 January, Tabernacles or Passover?

    There is no 'Christian Advent Season' - it is pure Catholicised pagan myth. We are not to be involved in sun-worship in any shape, size or form, or worship on Sun-day...or Satyr-day for that matter, no matter how pretty it all may look and no matter how many biblical sounding names, words, and songs are employed to sanitise it. The only 'lead-up' to the date of Messiah's birth - or 'Advent - in the Creation Calendar of Yahweh, is the 14 day count from Aviv 1, the first day of the sacred year and primary Rosh Chodesh or New Moon, in the spring. The Birth of Messiah was on Aviv 14 (Nisan 14 in the Babylonian/Talmudic system) which was on 16/17 April this Roman year 2011. On this day, though, we are commanded to celebrate Passover!

    There is no biblical 'Advent' - it is one of many pagan observances we need to drop forever and get back to the true sacred tavnith or pattern of Yahweh's Moedim (Appointments). So, no, we cannot accept Dar William's invitation to sit down together with pagans and find common ground in Advent or Christmas, or any other 'Christianised' pagan festival. These belong to the heathen, not to Yahweh's people. We can - and should - find common ground in other things, such as ethics, and work together to establish these in society, but there must be a clear dividing line between biblical religious observances that are set-apart to Yahweh and pagan religious observances that are set-apart to demons. Our worship must be neither muddled nor polluted, as our Heavenly Father demands - it must be plain and pure!

    Endnotes

    [1] Dar Williams, The Christians and the Pagans.

    Acknowledgements

    [1] Rachelle Mee-Chapman, A Simple Seasonal Practice for Christians, Pagans, and Those In Between
    [2] Pagan Roots Run Deep Beneath Our Christmas Rituals in ChristmasSpirit.wordpress.com

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