The Origins of Thought. John V Spillman

into the apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 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. (2^nd Corinthians 11:13-15)

      How do they deny the Lord? Titus wrote

      ¹⁵ They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate. (Titus 1:16)

      Satan loves it when Christians celebrate pagan holidays (holy days) like Easter and Christmas because he gets the glory, not God. When you worship on Sunday, you are worshiping Satan. It’s his day of worship, not God’s!

      You hear many excuses for celebrating Easter. The main ones is it celebrates Christ’s resurrection. However, it is instead paying homage to the goddess of fertility – Ishtar! The “Sunrise Services” that take place around the country and around the world on “Ishtar” Sunday is a good example of an ancient pagan ritual.

      Many of the pagan customs associated with the celebration of spring at one time were practiced alongside Christian Easter traditions and eventually were absorbed within Christianity as symbols of the resurrection of Jesus. The First Council of Nicaea (325_AD) established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the March equinox.

      The same can be said about Christmas. It is a pagan holiday, designed to worship the birth of the pagan gods and goddesses born around the 25th. There are about twelve listed in Scripture. It was originally a pagan festival to celebrate the winter solstice that occurs on the 23^rd of December and to worship their pagan gods and goddesses.

      You hear many excuses why the Christian community celebrates Christmas. Most people were raised with the notion that Christmas holiday celebrates the birth of Christ. They do not question why we celebrate Christmas – over time it has become a tradition – a tradition of men.

      The Corruption of

      God’s Word

      God’s Word had been modified to suit the needs and traditions of men.

      One example that makes it clear the Scriptures have been altered is where Jesus said, “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias speak of you and your forefathers, saying, This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, for in vain do they worship Me, teaching for divine doctrines the commandments of men in my name but to satisfy their own lusts.”

      You will find these passages in Matthew and Mark, but no mention of the part that is underlined.

      ⁷ Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, ⁸ This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. (Matthew 15:7, 8)

      ⁶ He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. (Mark 7:6)

      One such tradition was the blood sacrifices. The scribes translating the text, either through their own belief or pressure from the ruling Pharisees, removed and altered the lesson Jesus taught regarding the blood sacrifices. The Pharisees in the time of Jesus was still offering blood sacrifices. Saul preached that Jesus came as a blood sacrifice to redeem mankind from their sins. As a Pharisee, He vehemently protected the longstanding blood covenant in Exodus 24 which also coincided with the blood sacrifices and rituals found in Exodus 29. Historical records make it very clear Pharisee Saul had been directly responsible for the imprisonment and/or death of untold numbers of Jesus’ followers.

      Jesus taught just the opposite. He restated the steps His Father had originally given to mankind through the Holy Spirit - the steps a soul must follow and obey to achieve the purification required to enter into the Kingdom of Light, also known as the Kingdom of Heaven. Daniel reported this and Jesus fulfilled it.

      ¹¹ Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. (Daniel 8:11)

      ²⁷ And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Daniel 9:27)

      In the verse in Matthew 1:21 the phrase “whosoever shall repent and obey HIS Law.” was omitted from the subsequent transcribing and translation of the original writing.

      There are many other examples I can provide, but the underlying question is why? Proverbs 25:2 explains it well:

      ² It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. (Proverbs 25:2)

      This means if you want the truth, and seek it with all your heart, mind and spirit; you will find it with the able assistance of the Holy Spirit.

      Many people and scholars alike admit the Bible is a difficult book to read and understand. This is why you must be guided by the Holy Spirit to discern the truth from the fiction. Jesus knew that His teachings would be altered and even some omitted to be more in line with the teachings of the Pharisees.

      The Emperor Constantine in 325_AD, at the Council of Nicaea had many of the known Christian writings omitted and only allowed what he considered as Gospel and those that favored the paganisms to be included in the “New” series of writings with the help of the Bishops from the Roman Catholic Church. This aided the Church to more easily incorporate the pagan beliefs into the Christian beliefs. It “Christianized” the pagan beliefs and practices and allowed the pagans to continue to worship their idols.

      To search out a matter as mentioned in Proverbs 25:2, the Holy Spirit is the only guide you have to discern the truth. The Holy Spirit will lead, guide and direct you with love through the falsehoods and minefield of lies to show you the truth. In order to do that, you need to be able to hear and discern the voice of the Holy Spirit and obey it.

      Keep one thing uppermost in mind, the accuser, the devil, is all bad all the time, and God is good all the time.