Christmas: A Pagan Holiday

   American holidays have always been and always will be a mixture of family tradition and history. Notice I omitted the word truth. Not to be misunderstood, there is truth in our holidays but I venture to say not many of those celebrating the holidays are naturally aware of its true heritage. Take for example our most recent mega holiday of Thanksgiving. How many people know the name of the native American  nation that broke bread with the pilgrims? If you don't know, which I'm certain most of you do not, it is because the Patuxent were destroyed. In modern days they are living on reservations the US government graciously provided them and are just now rediscovering their native language. If Thanksgiving is such a glorious holiday, why is it that it is such a one sided celebratory affair? It is because the truth is no longer as important to US citizens as are the family traditions. This is not a noble conclusion. Do not mistake my accusations. I too enjoy Thanksgiving because of the tradition of family it tends to bring about. I simply do not celebrate the holiday itself. I consider it unjust.
   Take for example our current holiday of Christmas. Rest assured I am not inclined to attack the nobility and spiritual connotations of this holiday; even I know better than that. Yet I would not be justified if I did not shed light on the true nature of this holiday's origin for its heritage is as pagan as the obscenity of Santa Clause.
   Yeshua was not born on December 25. Historians, both secular and religious agree on this. What was celebrated on December 25 was the Italic god Saturn and the rebirth of the sun god Ra. These pagan celebrations were in affect long before Jesus or Christmas was ever born. many Christians say the exact date of Jesus' birth does not matter. This could not be further from the truth. It is not just the concept that counts, our recognition of God's son coming to humanity and saving us from spiritual mortality. Yet if this event is so important, and it is, then I contend that the date does matter. For to omit the actual date and trade it instead for a different one, a date that was established by pagans long before the inception of Christianity, pledges the allegiance of Christians to elements of both secularism and paganism. Both the time and money of Christians on Christmas are fodder for the proliferation of Santa, his predecessor Saturn, and his predecessor, Ra. Make no mistake, the commercialization of Christmas is no different than its Pagan heritage for in commercialization, multiple gods and religions are inherited and recognized. Yet somehow, Christians feel they have some moral ground to protest the removal of Christ from Christmas. Why? The holiday never belonged to Christianity in the first place. This is why the true date of the birth of Yeshua matters absolutely.
   The great Roman Emperor Constantine understood this fact all too well and this is why he merged Christianity with Paganism by conceding the growing influence of Christianity and merging it with a fledgling Pagan hierarchy. A religion which heralds its belief in one God, was merged with a tradition of multiple Gods; out of which Catholicism was born. In one fell swoop he pacified the momentum of Christianity and cemented the tradition of Paganism by brilliantly merging both together. Without this unification, he would have never unified Rome. I cannot overstate that it is in fact this unification that Christians are celebrating when they unwrap their gifts under the Christmas tree. Not the birth of baby Jesus in a manger but the pluralism of Paganism and Christianity that occured under Constantine in 324 A.D. There was no vision of a cross in the sky, only the political savvy of a preemptive ruler who understood that his rival, Maxentius led a predominantly Christian army that was not seeing their beliefs acknowledged or permitted by their current ruler. By painting crosses on his troops' shields, Constantine sent a clear message to Maxentius' troops that he, unlike Maxentius would honor their beliefs, and so he won their allegiance before the battle of the Milvian Bridge was ever faught in 312 A.D.
   Perhaps it is this same inaccuracy of the date of Christmas that leads us also to the inaccuracy of the scene in which Yeshua was born. Understand I dispute nothing that is in the bible. Yet my conflict arrives at the way in which individuals interpret many events in the bible, in this case, the nativity scene under the pretense of a star the three wise men followed that is depicted as hovering over the stable pointing directly down on the manger in the public perception of our most daring imaginations. Yet where exactly, did this scene come from? The only biblical text which even mentions a star is in Matthew 2:1-12. Yet if you read the text you understand that no one involved in Yeshua's birth besides the three wise men are recorded as having ever seen this prolific star. Furthermore, there is simply no way that an actual star would be able to come close enough to earth to guide three individuals without incinerating the planet, #1, or throwing earth off its celestial course, #2. As close as the moon is to earth, even that is not close enough to guide us to any specific location. In order for a star to come as close to earth as depicted in nativity scenes it simply could not have been a star. Yet the bible specifically refers to an actual star. What then could be the explanation? I contend that the "star of Bethlehem" was not simply a star in individual form but a star that was part of a larger map of stars. For if you understand the heritage of the three wise men, you understand that they were more than mere travelers but men who had an educated understanding of the science, meaning, and implication of the stars. They were called magi in historical text; they are called astronomers and astrologers in modern times.
   Galatians 4:4 refers to Jesus' birth in the pretense "the fullness of time." This is not an empty statement. The "fullness of time" as it were, is a direct reference to astrology. There are 12 constellations in the heavens each distinguished by 30 degrees of separation which form the 360 degrees of our astrological calendar. Each constellation is represented by a zodiac symbol or sign. this sign, and its constellation dominates the heavens for a period of time referred to as an age. An age is estimated to consist of 2000 yrs. Or more accurately, 2150 yrs. You must understand that Jesus' birth coincided with the age of Pisces and the change of the zodiac calendar. Ever wonder why Christianity is represented by a Fish? Look up the zodiac calendar under Pisces and you will discover the truth.
   Now, Jesus Christ came in the "fullness of time." What does that mean? We know that Jesus was born of a virgin about 3 BC.² Whereas, our calendar begins in 1 AD, according to the best evidence, the star of Bethlehem did not appear that year. What made the event so important to the Magi, who were astrologers, was that it coincided with the beginning of a new age, the Age of Pisces. The birth of Jesus Christ coincided with the beginning of the Age of Pisces, the two fish, one pointing toward heaven and the other toward earth, which symbolized the propitiation of God and reconciliation of mankind to God through the offering of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
So, we know where Jesus Christ was born on the clock of time. And we also know that the zodiac begins with Virgo. It turns out that Pisces is directly opposite Virgo, which makes it half way round the zodiac. The dashed line drawn on the zodiac from Virgo to Pisces points to the middle of the clock, or the fullness of time. Now that is what the "fullness of time" means. It means not just the fullness of time in human history, but the fullness of time on the zodiac, which includes the section from Virgo to Cancer when time had not yet begun. The "fullness of time" not only refers to human history, but it also refers to the ages before time began. (biblenews1.com)
   Of course Christians are not supposed to believe astrology or study the zodiac. According to whom? Certainly not the bible. I refer you to the book of Job "Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with his cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens?" (Job 38:31-33).
   I believe the true power of faith is rooted in the truth. Biblically, the truth is always there, it simply gets distorted when we seek to explain and describe it. And the the truth for Christians is that Jesus was not born on December 25. Try somewhere around September. Understand why the truth about Christmas must be important for Christians. Because if you place so much importance on his birth, then you must also know that he promised to return. Not at the end of the world, but the end of the age. He just never told us which age he was referring to. Or did he?