DON'T LET ANYONE DETER YOU FROM CELEBRATING YAHSHUA'S INCARNATION!

Image Taken From My Article:
Yahshua's First Advent Ties to Chanukah and Christmas

October had arrived again, and even before the wickedness of Halloween had been unleashed on the world, the attacks on Christmas had already begun on Facebook and elsewhere. Not only that, but I knew that the attacks would soon escalate in intensity - not only from non-believers, but from misguided believers as well. But, contrary to what many Messianic Jews and legalistic Christians are teaching these days, my research has proven that many of the facts being circulated about the origins of Christmas are incorrect or incomplete. Furthermore, the facts that are deliberately being obscured or hidden prove that all the virulent hatred of the celebration of December 25th among large segments of humanity today is NOT OF GOD, but is of the Devil.

The image above was taken from one of my previous articles on this subject that is linked to at the end of this article, and - like this article - that article shows that Christians do not need to be ashamed of the traditional Christian Christmas holiday, but that it should continue to be celebrated. Unfortunately, however, this is becoming increasingly more difficult because of the sad truth that many deluded believers and apostates are joining the ranks of demon possessed, unsaved people who make it a calling to attack the non-Jewish Body of Christ using FALSIFIED or doctored and false historical information.

This altered or incomplete information can be found in many popular encyclopedias and text books that were created in the last fifty years by Liberal, Secular Scholars that hate Christ and anything to do with Him. Many of them are undoubtedly also Occultists that are unsaved and demonically controlled. These people generally despise Christians and Jews, and have been taught to believe that Pantheism, Paganism and Shamanism came before Monotheism or the belief in one Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent Creator God, which is absolutely not true. As a result, many of these scholars have adjusted the facts to be purposefully deceptive and misleading - leaving out key information that points to the Monotheistic truths I'm sharing here.

I have done extensive research on this subject, and - among many other facts supporting Christian holy days as reinterpretations of traditional Jewish Feasts - have discovered that, since Yahshua or Jesus our Messiah was most likely born in September of 3 BC based on the Signs in the Heavens at that time, He was most likely conceived at Chanukah in 4 BC. Furthermore, conception is when life truly begins! So this is when Yahshua truly came to be with us. Also interesting to note is the fact that Yahshua is the true Light of the World, and Chanukah is called the Festival of Lights, and it is associated with Divine llumination.

Not only that, but Chanukah begins on Kislev 25, the ninth Jewish month that always falls in late November through late December every year. As such, the month of Kislev is perfectly analogous to the 30 days between American Thanksgiving Day in late November, which is a Christian version of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles (when Yahshua was born), and Christmas Day on December 25th. It is therefore no coincidence that December 25th falls on the same numeric day and at the same time of year as the first day of Chanukah beginning on Kislev 25, when Yahshua was conceived.

In addition, there is a good indication - based on clues in the biblical narrative and in the Signs in the Heavens - that the Wise Men found Yahshua as a toddler in Bethlehem during Chanukah in 2 BC, when Yahshua was about 15 months old. The December 25th date for celebrating Yahshua's entire birth and infancy narrative therefore makes perfect sense.

Yahshua was truly incarnated as a man at Chanukah, although He was born around Yom Teruah or Sukkot. Furthermore, He was recognized as the true King of Israel at Chanukah by the Wise Men. If you listen to the words of Yahshua, He said that He came to fulfill the Law, not to abolish it. The Jewish Feast days each have something to teach us about the redemptive work of Yahshua. But I have discovered that - contrary to Hebrew Roots teachings - the Main Christian Feasts actually acknowledge this fact.

Easter Week, which falls between Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday, is connected to Passover Week because Easter Sunday almost always falls on the Sunday or first day of the week that the Firstfruits offering would have been made in the Jerusalem Temple during Passover Week. Not surprisingly, this was the very Sunday when Yahshua was presented to His Father in Heaven as the Firstfruits of the Resurrection into Everlasting Life. This exactly mimicked the way the firstfruits of the Barley harvest were presented before God in the Holy Place within the Temple to Yahweh. Yahshua was taken up secretly to be presented before His Father in Heaven just as the Barley sheaf was being waved in the Temple - on the day after the Sabbath, which is the Sunday on which Pesach, which means Passover, falls. Most of Europe calls Easter "Pesach" or "Pascha" because it celebrates the day of the Firstfruits Offering during Passover Week, and Yahshua rose from the dead on that day to become the Firstfruits of the Resurrection.

Christmas is also tied to its Jewish counterparts Chanukah or the Feast of Dedication and Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles in two ways. The first connection comes from the fact that the American Thanksgiving Day celebration has long been recognized as a Christian version of the Jewish Feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles, which is an Autumn Harvest Festival dedicated to thanking God for His goodness in the harvest. Autumn corresponds to the time when Yahshua would have most likely been born in Bethlehem - around the time of Sukkot. The second connection comes from the fact that Chanukah corresponds to the time when Yahshua was conceived in Israel nine months before His birth, during winter in Israel - just as Christmas is celebrated in the West.

Furthermore, the Jews have added two Feast Days to their Sacred Calendar that - although the Jews appear to be completely unaware of this - are prophetically tied directly to the Gentile believers in Yahshua as the Second House of Israel. These Feasts are Purim and Chanukah, and they are NOT God-ordained. But no one is pointing their fingers at these Feast Days and calling them evil because they clearly are celebrating great moments of Israelite deliverance from government oppression and evil in high places. Christmas is the same kind of Holy Day. It celebrates the great promise of deliverance from evil, sin and death that came with the birth of Yahshua, the Light of the World, in Bethlehem of Judea in 3 BC.

So my plea to all of you that have come to hate Christmas and revile those who keep it, I would like to ask you to study my articles, and stop bashing the Christian celebration of Christ's Incarnation as a man in December! Because my articles repeatedly give research information that proves that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Christmas as a combined celebration of the full narrative of the chronological events surrounding Christ's Birth.

Image Taken From My Article:
A FASCINATING CONNECTION BETWEEN CHANUKAH AND PASSOVER

As a strengthening argument to heed my plea, think about this: if you count from the middle of the week of Chanukah in 4 BC to September of 3 BC, Yahshua's 280th day in His mother's womb - when labor was most likely to have begun at the perfect end of human gestation - would have been on Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, NOT on Yom Teruah or Sukkot. The image above was taken from one of my articles that is linked to at the end of this article, and it shows the connection between Chanukah and Passover through the events of Yahshua's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and His Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Before I continue, I want appeal to all those who despise Christmas and hate those who keep it by being so harsh and unforgiving towards them. Before you go on your next crusade to bash Christmas and Christian practices, please remember that Yahshua was incarnated as a human being at Chanukah, when He was conceived - and this is likely being recalled by the date of December 25th and its direct connection to Kislev 25 as the date most analogous to the Jewish Lunar Calendar on a Gentile Solar Calendar. In addition, Scripture reveals that Yahshua was a toddler when the Magi came to visit Him, and the presence of Jupiter or the Star of Bethlehem above the town of Bethlehem was most prominent between June and December of 2 BC, which was nearly a year, to over a year after Yahshua was born in September of 3 BC. For more information about this, please read my article entitled: "Yahshua's First Advent Ties to Chanukah and Christmas" by clicking on the title link in this paragraph, or using the link to it at the end of this article.

Now, since Christmas is connected to a godly Feast day associated with Christ for good reason, it will not earn you any brownie points with God to try and shame those who keep it. Please remember that adhering to the letter of the Law without embracing the mercy, sacrifice and love of God, which are part of His Grace, is a direct insult to Yahshua and His Spirit. After all, Grace or unmerited favor was given through the perfect Torah-true life that Yahshua lived, and the Blood Sacrifice of Yahshua Ha Mashiach on the Cross for our sins! Therefore, Yahshua - as the WORD OF GOD - IS the Torah! So please stop hating your brethren in Christ, and learn to truly follow HIM in love.

For the Torah-observant, I also have to ask the question: "Why are you choosing to believe that Rome and the Papacy had anything to do with choosing December 25th as the date when Yahshua’s incarnation as a man was celebrated? How do you know that it was not a practice of the Early Church, as I strongly suspect - because they realized that conception is when life begins, not birth? Why are you utilizing the erroneous research of others without consulting the Holy Spirit for wisdom concerning these matters?"

Finally, I have some tidbits to share with those who object to keeping Christmas because they think it was connected to Saturnalia, or the worship of the false god Saturn, who was seen as represented by the planet or wandering star called Saturn. First of all, the Roman Feast of Saturnalia did NOT coincide with December 25th at all. In fact, it was celebrated between December 17th and 23rd on the Julian Calendar, which means it ended two days before Christmas. Secondly, although wicked people associated the planet Saturn with Sorcery and Black Magic, it was created by God to have a godly purpose, as the following illustration hints at:

Saturn's  Rings and Hexagon Storm  = Avenger of Blood Yahshua's Crown 

Click Image To Enlarge

In ancient times, Saturn was associated with the sky and the sky god or gods connected to it. To the Jews, however, it had another meaning. This is because they saw Saturn as the seventh wandering star (i.e. planet), and as such, they connected it to the Sabbath or seventh day of the week. Saturn was therefore associated with God's rest by the Jews, as well as His blessings, goodness and mercy toward mankind. In fact, inside or outside of Israel, the wandering star Saturn did not have any association with black magic until medieval times, when it started to be used as a symbol connected to magic, and the other dark arts of the occult.

However, Saturn does have another ancient and mysterious role in its association with one of the sons of Jacob or Israel via Joseph's dream vision. In that dream, Joseph saw his mother and father as the Sun and Moon, and his 11 brothers as 11 wandering stars (i.e. planets or other large celestial bodies) circling the Sun. (See Genesis 37:1-11). Due to this, Joseph's dream serves as a strong clue that each planet or large celestial body in our Solar System has an allegorical connection to the Tribes of Israel, just as the Twelve Zodiac Signs, Sun Signs, or Signs of the Mazzaroth do. I'll share more on this a bit later - in reference to Judah, and his descendant Yahshua.

Saturn also may have a connection to the idea of God's all-seeing eye. This is because, when seen from a certain angle, Saturn bears an uncanny resemblance to a human eye, and Yahshua had two. I found this out first hand during one of my sky-watching forays, in the spring of 2002. At that time, Saturn was prominently situated in a planetary line-up spanning the signs of Taurus and Gemini, Furthermore, Saturn was at such an angle that its rings could clearly be seen without the aid of anything more powerful than a standard pair of binoculars. Furthermore, the angle made Saturn's rings look like a huge oval human eye shape with a white pupil consisting of the planet Saturn. When I saw this, I wondered if this symbolism was not lost on the ancients, who may have seen Saturn as the eye of God.

Fascinatingly, the planet Saturn has a raging hexagonal-shaped storm at its southern pole, and the hexagon has six sides that fit perfectly around the six-pointed star shape known as the Seal of Solomon or Star of David. This star symbol, which consisted of two intersecting triangles pointing up and down, was likely originally an ancient celestial symbol for the concept of Heaven and Earth being entwined together as God interacts with humanity. It also connects Saturn to Yahshua by the fact that humanity's most intimate interactions with God came through Yahshua, Who was also known prophetically as the Son of David, and the six-pointed star that can be associated with a hexagon is known as the Star of David. As our Messiah or Savior and Giver of Divine Wisdom through His Holy Spirit, Yahshua is the aspect of God that shares our human likeness, and even today, He still sees the world through human eyes because He was resurrected into a human form.

Christ as the Alpha and Omega, or Aleph and Bet

In my studies of Saturn, it is interesting to note that the early Church associated halos, which are reminiscent of the rings of Saturn, with the holy family, the apostles, and the saints. For example, in the 4th century catacombs of Commodilla in Rome, a wall fresco of Yahshua's face and torso is surrounded by a halo, as shown in the adjacent photo taken from Wikimedia Commons. That it is a depiction of Yahshua is obvious due to the Greek letters Alpha and Omega on either side of the figure. These letters are attributed to Christ in the Bible due to His role in Creation, which makes Him the Beginning and the End of all things, and the First and the Last in regard to all things. Due to its importance as an attribute of Yahshua as our Creator, the Book of Revelation refers to Yahshua as the Alpha and Omega, or the Aleph and the Tav three times, in Revelation 1:10-11, Revelation 21:5-6 and Revelation 22:12-14.

Now, looking at the fact that Saturn is a giant ringed planet crowned with a giant hexagonal-shaped hurricane-like storm at its southern pole, I feel that it has a definite allegorical connection to the concept of an angry, vengeful king crowned with a circle of light. In this regard, it serves as a perfect allegory of Yahshua, Who is our spiritual and literal Avenger of Blood. In ancient Israel, the Kinsmen Redeemer and Avenger of Blood was usually the senior-most male family member and head of a tribe or clan that was called on to serve as the family's judge and counselor, as well as the person who was called on to avenge crimes against his extended Israelite family. Likewise, as the head of all the Tribes of Israel, Yahshua is the Kings of kings, and the Righteous Judge of Humanity that is coming to avenge the blood of all His spiritual family members that have been martyred or wronged in this wicked world.

Fascinatingly, Yahshua created Saturn using His Father's design. So I am sure it was God the Father's plan for Saturn to have allegorical connections to a halo or crown and a human eye. In that regard, it may serve as a symbol for Judah, who was considered to be the king among his brothers, and who was seen as a wandering star in Joseph's Dream (See Genesis 37:1-11; Genesis 49:8-10; 1 Chronicles 5:2. However, since Satan is the god of this wicked world system, it is easy to see why occult practitioners have re-appropriated the planet Saturn, the hexagon, and the hexagonal star for their own wicked uses. Sadly, their ploy of turning good to evil has worked marvelously today, and many people have been duped by their subterfuge.

Other scholars try to connect Christmas to the Ancient Roman celebration of Sol Invictus, or worship of the “Invincible Sun”, which was the day that the Romans worshiped the birth of the Sun God Apollo. However, there is good reason to believe that, since Sol Invictus was not made an official holiday in Rome until the 5th Century, that it was celebrated on December 25th in direct affront to the Christian worship of Yahshua’s birth on that day, which had likely started long before the Pagans in Rome re-appropriated and tried to eclipse the Christian holiday.

An interesting thing to note here is that Sol Invictus was supposedly associated with the Winter Solstice, or shortest day of the year also, and - as previously stated - the Winter Solstice did not fall on December 25th in Ancient Roman times. So there seems to be a discrepancy in the historical records as to when Sol Invictus was actually celebrated, as opposed to when it should have been celebrated. This supports my view that the Romans chose to celebrate Sol Invictus on December 25th in opposition to the Christian celebration of Yahshua’s birth on that day, rather than on the actual Winter Solstice, which fell around December 22nd or 23rd in Ancient Rome.

In an uncanny way, the fact that Easter and the Firstfruits offering day are connected to Sunday, which the Pagans dedicated to their Sun god, and the fact that Christmas may have been connected to the Pagan worship of the birth of the Sun God has a way of sanctifying both days for the worship of Yahshua as well. Now, before getting upset by my preceding statement and proclaiming that I am a heretic due to it, please consider the fact that there is sound biblical proof that Yahshua, Who is fully God, is directly connected with the symbolism of our Sun. The proof is in Malachi 4:2, where Yahshua is prophetically called the Sun of Righteousness! This means that our Sun can allegorically represent our Risen Messiah, just as the planet Jupiter represents Him in His incarnation as a mortal man, and the planet Saturn may signify Him in his role as the Crowned King of kings. So, by this analogy, who would you say is the REAL Sun God? I say it is God the Father and His Son Yahshua, that’s Who!

Beit Alfa Synagogue Mosaic Floor Depicting King David in place of
Apollo in the center of a Zodiac Wheel depicting the 12 Tribes of Israel

The Jews of Yahshua’s Day seemed to fully acknowledge this fact, actually depicting King David - who led Israel by God’s command - in the same fashion as the Roman Sun God Apollo. They did so by placing an image of David in a chariot being pulled by four horses in the center of a Zodiacal Wheel of all Twelve Zodiac Signs, which the Jews allegorically connected to the Twelve Tribes of Israel. This can be seen in the floor of Beit Alfa, an Ancient Jewish Synagogue that was found in Northern Israel, as shown above. There are several other similar ancient depictions that have been found in Israel, so this was not an isolated anomaly.

Although some scholars have attributed these synagogue mosaics to the Samaritans, whose religion was considered to be a mixture of Jewish and Pagan ideas, Yahshua never condemned the Samaritan woman, who had been married five times, or her supposedly “heretical” religious beliefs, but actually acknowledged the Jewish and Samaritan belief in a coming Messiah as fulfilled with His actual bodily presence before her, and His prophetic ability (See all of the Gospel of John, Chapter 4). In fact, it was her testimony in her city about Yahshua that made her fellow Samaritans come out to meet Him at Jacob’s Well.

Subsequently, Yahshua decided to stay in Samaria for two days, and speak to the Samaritans about Who He is, and why He had come. During His stay, Yahshua converted many Samaritans to belief in Him, and they were saved! So, unlike the majority of Jews that did not believe in Him, many Samaritans had no trouble seeing the greatness of the teachings of this godly man before them, and His divine purpose and prophetic calling. They could also see His resemblance to King David as a man of God, and a Sun of Righteousness, for He was shedding spiritual light like David had in his Psalms, and in the example that David has tried to set for his people when he was King of Israel. Below, I’ve shared Malachi 4:1 through 3 to show its direct connection to Christ as our Sun of Righteousness, and our only true Light of the World:

~*~ Malachi 4:1-3 ~ *~

~*~ A PROPHECY FOR OUR TIME! ~*~

“For behold, the day is coming,

Burning like an oven,

And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.

And the day which is coming shall burn them up,”

Says the Lord of hosts,

“That will leave them neither root nor branch.

2 But to you who fear My name

The Sun of Righteousness shall arise

With healing in His wings;

And you shall go out

And grow fat like stall-fed calves.

3 You shall trample the wicked,

For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet

On the day that I do this,”

Says the Lord of hosts.”

AMEN and Hallelu-Yah!

In another article I wrote defending a believer's right to keep Christmas as the Gentile version of Chanukah and Sukkot combined, I address both of the false claims made about several verses in  Jeremiah Chapter 10 and Isaiah Chapter 44, which are primarily used to bash the use of Christmas Trees and Nativity Sets as evil and idolatrous Pagan customs. Sadly, however, these verses have been grossly misinterpreted and misapplied, and say nothing of the sort. The Title and Link to that illuminating article appears next. Please share this article with those who try to use those Scriptures to ruin your enjoyment of Christmas!

Yahshua’s First Advent 
Ties to Chanukah and Christmas

http://pillarofenoch.blogspot.com/2010/12/yahshuas-first-advent-ties-to-chanukah.html

For more of my research into the reason why keeping Christmas and Easter or Pesach as they are kept among Christians is NOT Pagan or evil, please read the articles I've linked to below:

Easter and Its Connection to 
Passover and Firstfruits

http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/Yahshua_Our_Passover_And_Firstfruits.html   

Where Is Christ In Christmas? - 
Rethinking A Secularized Christian 
Holiday From A Messianic Perspective

http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/Christ-In-Christmas.html   

A FASCINATING CONNECTION
BETWEEN CHANUKAH AND PASSOVER
http://pillarofenoch.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-fascinating-connection-between.html   

Blessings To You All in Yahshua, and 
Merry Christmas! :-)

Helena Lehman of the
Pillar of Enoch Ministry
Ministry Web Site: http://pillar-of-enoch.com

IMPORTANT NOTE: This Article in Defense of Christmas is now available as a PDF download that can be printed or read on a digital file reading device. The direct link to it is below. Click on it to open it in a new browser window, or right click on it to download it to your PC or reading device and open it there:

PDF VERSION: DON'T LET ANYONE DETER YOU
FROM CELEBRATING YAHSHUA'S INCARNATION!

http://pillar-of-enoch.com/archive/DONT-LET-ANYONE-DETER-YOU-FROM-CELEBRATING-YAHSHUAS-INCARNATION.pdf   

NOTE: To order the books listed in this article, or to 

find out more about them, click on the link embedded

into the Titles of the books above, or visit the following link:

http://pillar-of-enoch.com/language_series/index.html   

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PILLAR OF ENOCH MINISTRY NEEDS YOUR HELP!  
If every one of the 15 thousand plus believers that my ministry has touched over the years since I began publishing books and articles in 2004 sent just $5.00 USD to me in the mail this Holiday Season, I would have enough money to pay my past due bills and keep my ministry going for a year without having to ask for more help. Just think about that before you buy your next $5 cup of Starbucks coffee. And if you decide to forego the coffee to help a sister in need, you have my sincerest thanks, and I know that God will bless you for it. To help, PayPal and Go Fund Me links - as well as my street address and e-mail address - can be found on the page at the link below. God bless you, and may our Father God and His Son and Spirit bless you as you have blessed me. Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah!! ~ Helena Lehman

Contact the Pillar of Enoch Ministry:

http://pillar-of-enoch.com/contact.html  

Thank You For Your Love, Prayers and Support! 

~~****~~****~~****~~

Yahshua’s First Advent Ties to Chanukah and Christmas

By Helena Lehman
Pillar of Enoch Ministry (POEM)
http://pillar-of-enoch.com

Originally Published on 12-19-2010, Updated on  10-23-2012, 11-11-2015, 11-22-2015, & 12-11-2016

NOTE: No Protestant Christian ever worshipped
A Nativity Scene. This is meant to be a
Memorial of a Miracle, NOT a set of Idols.

In this illustrated and detailed article, my desire as a Messianic Believer is to show that both Christmas, and the traditions associated with it such as Christmas trees and wreaths are not evil or forbidden under the New Covenant. In addition, I will show why the holiday season that starts on Thanksgiving Day in Canada and the United States, and goes through to after Christmas Day is the Christian Expression of the season of Jewish Feasts that stretches from the week of Sukkot or Tabernacles to the week of Chanukah or the Festival of Lights.

In a similar vein, I have previously shown that Pascha or Easter is the Christian expression of the day of the First-fruits Offering that was done on Sunday, the day after the regular Sabbath, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Click the following embedded link to read my Blog article about this: “Easter Not Pagan, But A Celebration of Firstfruits!”

Armed with much research and the Ruach Ha Kodesh (i.e. Holy Spirit), our Father Yahweh God has made something perfectly clear to me: Saturnalia HAS NOTHING TO DO with Christmas, and Christmas Trees are NOT evil! I proved this in an article entitled “DON'T LET ANYONE DETER YOU FROM CELEBRATING YAHSHUA'S INCARNATION!””, which reports my findings when doing a study concerning the dates of the Pagan feasts that fell around Christmas. In that study, I discovered that none of the Pagan feasts in ancient times coincided with December 25th until the 5th Century, and the Roman cult followers of Sol Invictus likely tried to tie their Pagan feast to the Christian one that had already been celebrated at that time for centuries in order to win Christian converts to their false religion surrounding the worship of the Sun.

Let me show you some other facts surrounding this assertion. First of all, Christmas is likely a Solar Calendar date that was made for Grafted-In Gentile Believers in ancient times to celebrate the Feast of Chanukah. The reasoning behind this date is as follows: the Solar Twelfth month of December is the first month of Winter on the Solar Calendar, just as the Jewish Ninth Month of Kislev is the first month of Winter on their Lunar Calendar. Furthermore, though the 1st Century Apostles did not celebrate Christmas as it is conceptualized by Christians today, the Apostles did celebrate Chanukah, which begins on Kislev 25. This date on the Jewish Lunar Calendar is analogous to the Gentile Solar Calendar date of December 25th.

Now, it is important to remember that Christ's Apostles were Jews who must have understand Chanukah's connection to Christ's entire Nativity story via their baptism with the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the Apostle Paul and others in the Church realized that Gentile believers were not expected to follow a Lunar calendar in their society, and Solar calendar equivalents needed to be found from them to keep the three major Feasts of Yahweh, which are Passover or Easter, Pentecost or Shavuot, and Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles. However, due to Yahshua's Nativity having a direct connection to Chanukah as the time of His conception and true entry into human life, and the fact that Chanukah is considered to be a secondary celebration of Sukkot among many Jews. Christmas or Chanukah counts as the Christian celebration of that Feast.

Part of the reason Chanukah or Christmas should be very important to believers is because Yahshua was likely conceived at Chanukah, and was most likely discovered by the Magi at Chanukah. That is why the early Christians likely chose to celebrate His coming then. After all, His conception in Miriam’s womb was His first moment as a mortal man, not His birth! If you check the encyclopedias for the history of Saturnalia and other Pagan feasts, you will find that NONE of these feasts held anywhere in the Roman Empire fell on December 25th until four hundred years after Yahshua was conceived and born. Furthermore, the Winter Solstice occurred around December 23rd in the centuries before and after Yahshua’s proposed conception during Chanukah in December of 4 BC, and the Pagan feasts associated with the Winter Solstice were not connected to December 25th either since the Winter Solstice fell on December 22nd or 23rd in ancient times.

The truth is that ALL the encyclopedias, historical books and sites with ANY information about the celebration of Christmas completely ignore the fact that no Pagan feasts were celebrated on that date until the 5th Century AD, but the Roman Calendar date of December 25th can be directly connected to Kislev 25, the first day of the Jewish Feast of Chanukah. Furthermore, the majority of the historical sources of information that the West relies on have been written by scholars with a vested interest in keeping Christianity and Judaism completely separate and antagonistic, and by those who are determined to promote Paganism or Atheism over Judeo-Christianity.

This leaves only ONE conclusion as to why the Apostles or Early Church Fathers may have chosen that date for the celebration of Yahshua’s entrance into the world, and that is the fact that Kislev 25 and December 25th have an obvious connection to Chanukah, and it is conception and NOT birth that is the official beginning of human life. It’s therefore time someone started decrying all the misinformed and brainwashed Christmas-bashers in the Church and the Messianic movement with the REAL facts surrounding Christmas, not the manufactured ones meant to destroy Christian holy traditions. What should be clear to every believer, but unfortunately is not, is that the constant attacks on Christmas these days are also attacks on Christians and Christianity. It is therefore not being done for the sake of righteousness, but to advance Satan’s kingdom of wickedness!

December 25th was likely picked as the day to celebrate Yahshua’s entrance into the world via conception (as the calculated date of the fetus’ conception in the womb is everyone’s TRUE birthday!) by the Apostles for the Gentile believers living under Roman rule for several important and valid religious reasons. First of all, as already mentioned, December 25th jives well with the Kislev 25 date for the beginning of Chanukah. Secondly, the 9th Jewish Lunar month of Kislev almost always falls in December. Thirdly, if Yahshua was born in September of 3 BC, as I have virtually proven in my books and articles, then the shepherds likely found the infant Yahshua in a Sukkot booth, NOT in a smelly barn or animal pen. Nonetheless, Yahshua’s real FIRST ADVENT would NOT have been during the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot, but sometime during the week of Chanukah, when He was conceived by the Ruach Ha Kodesh, or Holy Spirit.

This can be logically proven. For example, there are about 270 to 280 days or 9 months (+ or - 3 to 10 days) in the average cycle of human gestation. Furthermore, the Sign in the Heavens announcing Yahshua’s imminent birth described in Revelation 12:1-2 of the Woman Clothed with the Sun is an allegorical reference to the Sun being in the center of the sign of Virgo, which partly represents Yahshua’s mother Miriam, as well as the True Church. Fascinatingly, about 270 days after Chanukah in 4 BC, the sign of the Woman Clothed with the Sun (Virgo with the Sun positioned in her belly region) appeared on the horizon on September 11th, 3 BC, which was the Feast of Trumpets that year. At the same time, the Messiah planet Jupiter was in conjunction with the king star Regulus in the sign of Leo, the Lion of Judah, and the thin sliver of the New Moon was at her feet. Since this was a clear sign of Yahshua’s imminent birth as described in Revelation 12, He was likely born shortly thereafter.

Some scholars believe that Yahshua was actually born during the Feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles, beginning on the night of September 25th in 3 BC. However, I believe that Yahshua may have been born nearer to Yom Kippur that year, though it could have been on Yom Teruah as well. However, I believe that Yahshua was conceived around December 19th in 4 BC, which was the fifth day of Chanukah that year - the day that is tied to the Servant Lamp associated with the Messiah in a Chanukiah style, nine-branched menorah. Therefore, since conception is the TRUE beginning of life, NOT birth, Yahshua our “Immanuel” or “God With Us” truly came to be with us during the Feast of Chanukah or the “Festival of Lights”, not during the Feast of Sukkot/Tabernacles 15 days later. Interestingly though, there is a Jewish tradition that Chanukah is like a second Feast of Tabernacles. So, in that sense, Yahshua's coming is connected to Tabernacles twice!

When carefully read, the Scriptures coupled with Sacred Astronomy also make it clear that there is a double tie-in with Yahshua’s birth narratives and Chanukah. This is because the Apostle Matthew clearly said that the Wise Men or Magi found Yahshua in Bethlehem living in a house with his earthly mother and father when he was a young child or toddler in Matthew Chapter 2. There, in verse 9, the Greek word “paidion” meaning “toddler” was translated as “young child”. This strongly suggests that the Magi arrived in Bethlehem to see Yahshua at least a year after he was born. For proof of this, I've reproduced the salient portion of Matthew Chapter 2 below. This excerpt contains the lovely story of Yahshua's presentation to the Wise Men or Magi - who followed the wandering star that we know as the planet Jupiter, the Messiah Planet - to Jerusalem, and then onward to Bethlehem:

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~*~ Matthew 2:1-12 ~*~ “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying,

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ (Micah 5:2)

7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

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The Wise Men who found Yahshua or Jesus in Bethlehem by following His Star in the heavens were wealthy and well-educated members of the elite where they resided in Parthia, and they would have traveled with a large entourage of guards and servants, especially since they carried such valuable items as gold, frankincense and myrrh, which were costly gifts ordinarily given to royalty. As educated men, the Magi knew much more about the movements of the stars and their spiritual meanings than anyone else of their age, and they were viewed with great respect because of what they knew. So when they followed this star to Jerusalem and onward, the Wise Men were not just following any star. It had to have had a direct spiritual meaning tied to the people of Israel and their King.

Jupiter: a  Fitting Symbol for our Messiah

As such, the planet Jupiter fulfills that criteria as the fourth wandering star, and fifth celestial body from the Sun. This gives it a direct connection to Yahshua as the fourth or Servant Lamp on a seven-branched traditional Menorah, as well as the fifth Servant Lamp branch on a nine-branched Chanukah Menorah. There are also many other reasons why Jupiter serves the criteria as a representation of Christ. From my research into the timing of Yahshua's conception and birth, coupled with my research into the heavenly signs that accompanied His first advent entrance into human history, I have come to the strong conclusion that the Star of Bethlehem was the Messiah planet Jupiter. This is not only because Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System that is second only to Venus in brilliance, but also because its atmosphere consists of horizontal stripes of reddish and whitish clouds that physically resemble the skin of a scourged, light-skinned man, as seen in the illustration attached to this paragraph.

Illustration: Star of Bethlehem
Sign # 1 in Leo on June 17th, 2 BC

Among the Signs in the Heavens that may have alerted the Wise Men to leave Parthia, the Planet Jupiter was considered to be a wandering star in ancient times, and it was prominent in the sky above Jerusalem and Bethlehem at night in the highly significant constellations of Leo and Virgo between June and December of 2 BC, which was nearly a year, to over a year after Yahshua's proposed birth in September of 3 BC. The first of these signs that the Magi may have found of particular importance was the conjunction of the Messiah Planet Jupiter with the Morning Star Venus on June 14th, 2 BC, as shown in the illustration above this paragraph.

Jupiter next appeared in a spectacular conjunction with Mars, Mercury and the Morning Star Venus between the Zodiac signs of Leo and Virgo on August 27th, 2 BC. Fascinatingly, Virgo was considered to be the first sign of the Zodiac in ancient times, not Aries, thereby making Leo the last sign of the Zodiac. This means that any conjunction between these two signs is suggestive of Yahshua as the First (Virgo) and the Last (Leo), the Alpha (Aleph) and the Omega (Tav), and the Beginning and the End, just as Yahshua is called three times in the Book of Revelation (See Rev. 1:11; Rev. 2:8, and Rev. 22:13). Therefore, as shown in the illustration below, this August 27th, 2 BC conjunction may have been the final heavenly sign among many preceding signs that triggered the Magi, who were Sacred Astronomers, to leave Persia (which was called Parthia at the time), and travel to Judea.

Illustration: Star of Bethlehem
Sign # 2 in Leo - Major Conjunction of
Sun, Moon, Planets on August 27th, 2 BC

The journey between Judea and Persia took about three months on average by caravan, and this would have placed the Magi in Bethlehem in mid December of 2 BC. Fascinatingly, December 25th was the second day of Chanukah that year according to Jewish records and Astronomy, since the Moon was on the 26th day of its cycle on December 25th on the Julian calendar, which also made it the 25th of Kislev that year by Jewish reckoning.

Interestingly, the nine days of Chanukah always begin on the 25th of Kislev, while the twelve days of Christmas always begin on December 25th, and Kislev usually always falls in December. So it would have been natural for Paul and the other Apostles and disciples attempting to lead the many Gentile saints within the Greco-Roman culture to associate Yahshua’s birth narrative stories with December 25th, the Greco-Roman date most closely meshing with the 25th of Kislev beginning of Chanukah. After all, these converts to Christianity were not becoming Torah-observant Jews when they accepted Yahshua. They were entering into a New Covenant of Grace similar to, but better than the Covenant that God unconditionally made with Abraham, who was a Gentile who loved Yahweh God, and followed Him before any Jews even existed.

Now, regarding Christmas Trees and Evergreen Wreaths, I want to make it clear that the only evil that comes from utilizing these symbols of the beauty and creative promise of everlasting life in eternity comes from those who spend countless hours trying to convince others that these symbols are innately evil! They do this by misquoting Scriptures that we will examine in a moment such as Jeremiah Chapter 10, which is clearly referring to idols that are worshiped, not to evergreen trees, garlands and wreaths that are purely used as decorations at Christmas without any ritual religious significance. Indeed, since evergreens are fragrant and lovely, and stay green throughout long, cold winters, they are a perfect symbol for the beautiful fragrance of enduring faith as an act of worship, and for the promise of everlasting life in the world to come.

Eden's Garden Oils Are Wonderful!
www.edensgarden.com

Fascinatingly, evergreens have always been used at Christmas to freshen and beautify homes because they are the only plants that remain vibrantly alive during the winter, and the oils from their leaves smell wonderful and have many therapeutic properties. For example, all essential oils that are derived from evergreens can be used topically in a carrier oil to promote healing. They can serve as powerful antiseptics, great respiratory aides, or topical analgesics. For this reason, they were once heavily used to freshen homes all winter in temperate climates. Dried sprigs of evergreens like Juniper, Rosemary, Pine, Cedar, Spruce and Balsam Firs were often dried and hung from rafters, and strewn on floors to keep homes smelling fresh, to disinfect the air, and to ward off sickness. So the insistence of Hebrew Roots proponents and other Christmas-bashers that the ancients used evergreen trees, boughs and shrubs into garlands or wreaths as a part of Pagan worship are overlooking the fact that virtually everyone that lived in ancient times used evergreens to freshen and beautify their homes, and to act as healing agents, regardless of their faith, or lack thereof.

Christmas Tree Lights Seen as a Reflection of God's Truth

Since evergreens stay green throughout long, cold winters and all year long, and they can aid in healing, they are an excellent and fitting symbol for everlasting life through Yahshua or Jesus, the Great Physician - Who heals all who love Him from sickness, sin and death, and Who is the true subject of our worship at Christmas and Chanukah. This means that believers can and should reclaim the symbolism of evergreens for the purposes that they were originally designed to have by our Creator. To do this is NOT mimicking Pagan behavior, but serves to do the exact OPPOSITE! In addition, as I have stated in previous articles and in my books, many symbols that took on Pagan meanings originally started out as godly symbols for concepts, ideas and events that are revealed in God’s Word - both His written Word as given to us by Moses and the Israelites - and God’s Heavenly Tablets, which are also known as the Gospel in the Stars.

It is a terrible shame that there are several Christian Cults, and some teachers in the Hebrew Roots Movement that ignore the fact that God created evergreens for a godly purpose, and have a personal vendetta against traditional Christmas celebrations and decorations, especially Christmas Trees, Nativity Scenes, and homes decorated with lighted trees, garlands and wreaths. They falsely claim that Jeremiah Chapter 10, verses 1 through 8 prohibits cutting down and decorating trees as part of any religious observance. However, a careful reading of the text reveals that Jeremiah is voicing Yahweh’s prohibition against making idols of wood that are plated with silver and/or gold, and then worshiped.

Let Your Light Shine On Chanukah, And Christmas

In a similar passage in Isaiah, Chapter 44, verses 9 through 20, the prophet Isaiah spoke of the folly of idol-worshipers who cut down a tree, burnt part of it in the fire to warm themselves, and then used the other part to fashion an idol, which they then bowed down to in worship. This passage has also been erroneously used as a weapon against the use of trees as decorative symbols at Christmas. But, since believers do not bow down before Christmas trees, carve them into idols, or pray to them, these passages cannot apply to Christmas trees. Nativity Scenes aren’t really idolatrous images either since we are not commanded to bow down and worship or pray to the figures in these re-enactment scenes. They are meant to be a source of artistic beauty, and are only meant to remind us of the premiere moment that God became a man and dwelt among us as Emmanuel, or “God With Us”.

Sadly, the worst of these attacks aren’t just coming from Atheists or Occult followers, but from deceived and legalistic believers in Yahweh and Yahshua! Part of the problem is that all of the histories and encyclopedias available today that these Christmas-bashers are relying on have been written by rabidly Anti-Semitic or Antichristian professors and scholars who have zero interest in stating the truth. These historical revisionists have done everything in their power to deceive the world into thinking that many of the customs associated with Christianity are based on Pagan thought and ritual, when they are actually based on Judaic religious rituals and symbols, and also on Pre-Israelite religious teachings that were approved by God.

These Pre-Israelite religious teachings can be traced back to the righteous followers of Yahweh prior to the Flood, especially to Enoch the Sethite. This man was translated into Heaven without seeing death because of his righteousness, and one of the most complete records of what he taught and believed can be found in the Book of 1 Enoch, a canonized book that was discovered intact within the Bible used by the Ethiopian Church. In that book, it is revealed that the holy angel Uriel taught Enoch the science of Sacred Astronomy, and how to understand the Gospel in the Stars, which Enoch called the heavenly tablets.

These heavenly tablets are written using the starry constellations and planets that are representations of Yahweh’s allegorical language of symbols. In my Language of God Series Books, I delve into this symbolism in the heavens as part of the Language of God. This language of heavenly signs was always part of Yahweh God’s method of communicating His will to mankind. But wicked men and fallen angels later corrupted and bastardized this symbolic record so badly that it led to the many Pagan religions of the past and present.

When the truths hidden in the symbols interwoven throughout the heavenly tablets are reclaimed by Messianics and Christians, and the Parables of Yahshua are also called into play, there is really no problem with Christmas or Christmas traditions as they are kept in traditional Protestant Christianity. There is, however, a BIG problem with the persistent lies and misinformation being used to attack Christmas. Please be forewarned and forearmed with the knowledge in this article when you are called to witness to the truth among rabidly Anti-Christian Messianics, and misled Christians. These misinformed believers may mean well, but they either really don’t know ALL the facts, or are being presented with the incorrect facts and then passing on the lies that they have been taught to believe as truth, when nothing could be further from the truth!

In this article, I have shown that many Judaizers have been teaching lies. Many who have sold out to Judaism are either too stubborn, proud or hateful of all things Christian to read my work, and to pray about it, and ask the Ruach to reveal the truth. Too many have been taught to love being Jewish, and hate being Christian. Too many have been taught that this war on Christmas is a holy war, but it is NOT. It is evil. Also, in the process of waging this war, many have thrown out Love, Grace and the FREEDOM/Liberty given to us by the power of the Holy Spirit/Ruach. Instead, they have embraced the Curse of the Law that Yahshua mercifully set us free from by fulfilling the Law perfectly for us. They have become the Synagogue of Satan spoken of in the Book of Revelation, and they are too deaf, dumb and blind to see it. I feel very sorry for all those who spread such hatred, and fight so wretchedly during what should still be one of the holiest times of the year for all believers.

As for the traditional name of this holy day, which is a contraction of the phrase “Christ Mass”, I don’t condone the “Sacrament” of the Mass, and I don’t believe in Transubstantiation. The way the Catholics do this, it’s like a form of witchcraft. It is also disturbing that the Roman Catholic Church focuses on Yahshua’s death rather than His life and resurrection. Though it was Yahshua’s death and shed blood, not His conception, birth or resurrection that saved us all from sin and death, it is more in keeping with the triumph and victory over the Devil that Christ won for us on the Cross to focus in His life, ministry, and resurrection, as well as His death and shed blood, rather than on His death alone.

None of the Protestant Churches, or the Messianic congregations that love their Christian brethren believe in Transubstantiation, or focus on Yahshua’s death instead of His resurrection. That is why the word “Christmas” or “Christ-Mass” has an entirely different connotation for Protestants than it does for Catholics, and it therefore contains no offensive meaning. Armed with this truth, I have no problem saying MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone who shares my love of Christ at this time of year. Likewise, I have no trouble wishing everyone a HAPPY CHANUKAH, nor do I have trouble telling others that the week long Feast of Chanukah has a direct connection with the twelve days of the Christmas Season.

To make my point even further, here are introductory paragraphs and links to several articles I’ve written and published at my POEM Web Site that explain how I came to understand that December 25th is truly holy unto Yahweh God and His Son, and not a Pagan feast at all:

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The Prophetic Ties Between Yahshua’s Fetal Development And The Jewish Feasts - Excerpt: My study of the connection between the Jewish Feast Days, human gestation and Yahshua’s gestation led me to synchronize the events of Yahshua’s life, which fell on major Jewish Feast Days, with the developmental stages in human gestation. Fascinatingly, through my current review of this study to write this article, I just realized that the nine branches of the Chanukiah can also depict the nine months between human conception and birth! The chart I created below shows the amazing connection between human gestation and the Jewish Feasts, and Yahshua’s gestation and the same Jewish Feasts in reverse order (This article was written in October of 2012, and added to this article in October of 2013).

POEM Blog: The Prophetic Ties Between
Yahshua’s Fetal Development and The Jewish Feasts:
http://pillarofenoch.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-prophetic-ties-between-yahshuas.html

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Where is Christ in Christmas? - In this essay, Helena carefully shows how many Christmas symbols are not truly Pagan at all, and how these symbols can be reclaimed for Christ. Helena also shows that, though Christmas has an undeniable connection to the autumn Feast of Sukkot or Tabernacles, it also celebrates Chanukah, which always begins on the 25th of Kislev, and Yahshua was likely conceived and hence truly came to be with us during Chanukah of 4 BC. Kislev 25 has a natural connection to December 25th that can’t be denied, and it is likely that the Wise Men discovered the already toddler-aged Yahshua in a house in Bethlehem on that very day, which was also the second day of Chanukah in 2 BC. Therefore, this article shows that, for a Christian to celebrate Christmas in the traditional manner, they are not forsaking Christ for a lie! Instead, they are keeping a tradition with Biblical and Sacred Astronomical support:
http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/index.html#Xmas

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Excerpt from “The Language of God in the Universe” -
The Divine Timing Of The Celestial Signs At Christ’s Birth and
Their Ties to Sukkot, Tabernacles, Chanukah and Christmas
Though this supplement is now included in all editions of “The Language of God in the Universe” printed after January 2008, it compliments and enhances the information shared in older editions, and offers a sizable peek into the amazing contents of this book. This supplement discusses the heavenly signs at Christ’s Birth in much greater detail than the original book, as well as the origin of the Magi, and their purpose for visiting Christ. It also shows Zodiac tie-ins of the heavenly signs at Christ’s birth with several major Jewish Feast Days, and contains new illustrations not shown in the book prior to 2008: http://pillar-of-enoch.com/essays/index.html#Birth

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Please read the illustrated, heavily researched articles that I linked to above to learn that those attacking Christmas are doing so with subtle, as well as blatant lies rather than the truth, which is not meant to enslave us but to set us free to be true disciples of the Messiah.

Thank you for reading this article. I hope that you are deeply blessed and edified by it. Please share it with everyone you know and love. In the meantime, may our Father God Yahweh bless you, and May Yahshua His Son and our Messiah shower you all with Christmas and Chanukah blessings!

Yahshua is coming SOON! Maranatha!

To Give A Financial Gift to POEM: http://pillar-of-enoch.com/contact.html

To Purchase My Language of God Series Books: http://pillar-of-enoch.com/bookstore
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