ISIS 5 YEAR CONQUEST PLAN

Transcription

1 ISIS 5 YEAR CONQUEST PLAN

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3 Welcome to the Global Watch Weekly Report Dear Global Watch Weekly Member Christmas is a popular December holiday celebrated by large numbers of people all around the world. It has long been known as the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, which occurred over 2,000 years ago. However, not all who celebrate the holiday do so with Jesus birth in mind. In fact, there are many traditions associated with Christmas that actually began as a part of pagan culture. The question then becomes, Since Christmas has its origins in pagan traditions, is it acceptable for Christians to celebrate it? Furthermore should we just forget Christmas and Easter because of their pagan origins? The other question for those who are against the idea of Christmas, is it right to be against Christmas yet you still celebrate Easter? In fact many Christians are not aware that the name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, ( CE), a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Yet this is the time Christians globally celebrate the resurrection. For Christians out there, we know that the word of God tells us the world is being deceived by Satan, and these occult manipulations of the holidays are a key example. However our recommendation is that every Christian should be aware of the pagan history of these holidays so that if specific holidays such as Easter and Christmas are being celebrated, it is being celebrated as testament to a great historical and spiritual truth about the Christian faith rather than celebration of the pagan event out of a lack of knowledge and ignorance. In this edition of the Global Watch Weekly we address the issue of the controversy of Christmas as well as the following question. Should we be referring to Jesus as Yeshua or Yahshua? Does it make any difference? Enjoy Rema Marketing Team

4 WAS JESUS REALLY BORN ON DEC. 25? Was Christ really born on Christmas Day? After all, the Bible nowhere tells us the day of His birth. In fact, most credible secular historical writings tell us that Christmas, more than 200 years after Jesus death, was considered sinful: As late as A.D. 245 [the early Catholic theologian] Origen repudiates as sinful the very idea of keeping the birthday of Christ ( Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, 1910, Vol. 6, p. 293, Christmas ). There is no biblical evidence that December 25 was Jesus birth date. In fact, the Bible record strongly shows that Jesus couldn t have been born then. For example, Luke tells us that the shepherds were keeping their sheep in the fields at night when Jesus was born. And she [Mary] brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night (Luke 2:7-8) But late December is Judea s cold and rainy season. Would shepherds actually keep their fragile flocks out in the open fields on a cold late- December night near Bethlehem? No responsible shepherd would subject his sheep to the elements at that time of year when cold rains, and occasional snow, are common in that region. The climate of Palestine is not so severe as the climate of this country [England]; but even there, though the heat of the day be considerable, the cold of the night, from December to February, is very piercing, and it was not the custom for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October (Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, 1959, p. 91). So where did the December 25th birthday idea originate. Well in the second century A.D., a Roman Christian historian named Sextus Julius Africanus calculated Jesus birthdate to be December 25 (nine months after Africanus believed Jesus was conceived). In spite of the assumptions made in Africanus s line of thinking, the date was widely accepted. At that time, Roman culture already celebrated a holiday on December 25: Saturnalia, the winter solstice. This tradition honored Saturn, the god of agriculture, and was celebrated with merriment, feasting, and gift giving. When Rome eventually instituted Christianity as the state religion in the fourth century, the Roman church converted Saturnalia to a Christian holiday in order to commemorate Jesus birth. Christians have celebrated it as such ever since. Tertullian, another theologian who lived at about the same time (ca ), referred to compromising Christians then beginning to join in the pagan midwinter festival celebrated in the Roman Empire, which eventually evolved into what is now Christmas: The Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year s day presents are made with din, and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians (Tertullian in De Idolatria, quoted by Hislop, p. 93). In time Catholic religious leaders added solemnity to this pre-christian holiday by adding to it the Mass of Christ, from which it eventually came to be known by its common name of Christmas. Luke also tells us that Jesus was born at the time of a census ordered by the Roman emperor (Luke 2:1-3). The Romans were brilliant administrators; they certainly would not have ordered people to journey to be registered at a time of year when roads would have been wet and muddy and traveling conditions miserable. Such a move would have been self-defeating on its face. 4

5 CAN A CHRISTIAN CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS? Is a Christian free to celebrate Christmas, a holiday that not only has pagan origins but also is used by the unbelieving world as a promotion of commercialism? When we turn to Scripture, we find that it says that we are "not to exceed what is written," (1 Corinthians 4:6). Obviously, the Scriptures are our guide. But when we look to the verses above about all things being lawful (1 Corinthians 6:12) and that Christians are to be convinced in their own minds (Romans 14:5), then celebrating Christmas becomes more of personal preference. In my opinion, it depends on the person and their convictions before God. First of all, we are to hold our standards of righteousness and devotion to God above everything else. We must seek to please God according to what we believe is consistent with Scripture. But, when we look at Scripture, we don't find any place that says to celebrate Christ's birth. But, on the other hand, the Bible says all things are lawful though not all things are profitable (1 Corinthians 6:12). In addition, we should be fully convinced in our own minds about days of worship and eating (Romans 14:1-12). This last reference supports the position that Christians have liberty and freedom to interpret Scripture and to celebrate Christmas. The Old Testament says that we are to worship God in truth according to the dictates that He has established (Exodus 20:1-4, 24:12-31:18). But, Christmas was not established by God. In addition, there are no records at all of the early church celebrating the birth of Christ. Yet, there is no Biblical prohibition about celebrating the birth of Christ. So, since it doesn't say that we can't do it, does it mean it's okay to go ahead and do it? This issue deals with the Regulative Principle. One version of it says that we can only do what the Scriptures expressly commands. The other says that we can do everything except with the Scriptures forbid. So, which is the right position? Also, consider this. In the Bible, in 1 Corinthians 10:23-33, Paul speaks about meat sacrificed to idols that was then later sold in the meat market place. The question arose, "Should a Christian each such meat?" Paul answers the question in verse 25 when he says, "Eat anything that is sold in the meat market, without asking questions for conscience' sake." Paul said that it was okay to eat the meat. Then in verses he says, "But if anyone should say to you, 'This is meat sacrificed to idols,' do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience' sake; 29 I mean not your own conscience, but the other man's; for why is my freedom judged by another's conscience?" Paul is saying that if you are with someone who might be negatively affected by your eating meat that was sacrificed to idols then don't eat it--not because of you but because of the other person. In other words, eating that meat won't affect you. The false gods are not real (Galatians 4:8-9). They have no power. 1 Corinthians 8:7-9 echoes this idea. It says, "However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. 8 But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. 9 But take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling block to the weak." Though this passage requires a bit more examination, it still carries the sense of freedom. And, Jesus has definitely set us free (John 8:32). So, celebrating Christmas is up to the conviction of the Christian. He is free to celebrate it. He is also free not to celebrate it. But, do not judge other Christians who celebrate it or don't celebrate it since they are free to act according to their conscience in this matter. 5

6 BUT CHRISTMAS ISNT IN THE BIBLE Concerning Christmas not being in the Bible, that is true as far as the name "Christmas" which means "Christ-Mass". The name is not in the Scriptures but the event that the name represents is definitely in the Scriptures. The story of the birth of Christ and the circumstances surrounding it is very much emphasized in the Bible. Mathew and Luke both go into detail describing Christ birth, including the shepherds and eventually the wise men giving gifts to Christ. That is all in the Bible. Without His birth, there is no salvation. Historical evidence shows conclusively that some of the feasts given to Israel by God through Moses were originally pagan agricultural festivals, which were filled with idolatrous imagery and practices. What God did, in effect, was to establish feasts which would replace the pagan festivals without adopting any of the idolatry or immorality associated with them. It would appear, then, that in principle there is nothing wrong with doing so in the case of Christmas. Someone might argue that since we are not commanded to celebrate Christmas we should ignore it. Well, we are not commanded to celebrate the resurrection as a holiday either, yet those who take issue with Christmas rarely talk about the need to give up that holiday simply because the name "Easter" is of pagan origin? Someone may argue against Christmas that it is a non-biblical holiday and since Christmas in not celebrated in the Bible, we should not celebrate it, either. First of all, the birth of Christ is biblical, so you cannot make a case by calling Christmas non-biblical, but I suppose you can say that Christmas is extra-biblical. That is, there is nothing in the Bible against it, and there are things in the holiday that is based on the Bible, but there is no command to celebrate the birth of Christ, so it is an extra-biblical holiday. HANUKKAH Jesus Himself celebrated an extra-biblical holiday that corresponds to Christmas. People are usually surprised to find this out. Yes, Jesus celebrated Hanukkah, and Hanukkah is not in the Old Testament. But what of the fact that December 25 was the date of a pagan festival? Does this not prove that Christmas is pagan? No, it does not. Instead, it proves that Christmas was established as a rival celebration to the pagan festival. That is, what Christians did was to say, "Rather than celebrate in immorality the birth of Mithra, a false god who was never really born and who cannot save you, let us celebrate in joyful righteousness the birth of Jesus, the true God incarnate who is the Savior of the world." Sometimes it is urged that to take a pagan festival and try to "Christianize" it is folly. However, God Himself did exactly that in the Old Testament. Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon s Colonnade. (John 10:22-23) There is no Old Testament Feast of Dedication. There are several feasts mentioned in the Bible, but not Dedication. What feast is Dedication? 6

7 That is Hanukkah. Hanukkah is a celebration of the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. It also commemorates the miracle of oil that burned for 8 days. This event took place after the last Old Testament prophet had written the scriptures. The scriptures were closed before this event, and thus, this Feast is extra-biblical. And Jesus was in the temple area where the feast was celebrated. He participated in Hanukkah. Christmas trees. Instead we put up large wooden craved stables with miniature characters such as Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men etc. We believe this is much more helpful especially to children as a reminder of what the birth of Christ is really about. The gifts are placed next to the stable as a reminder that we give gifts to one another in the same way that God gave the greatest gift to humanity in the form of his son. Today, Christmas is celebrated next to Hanukkah. So the question to those who refuse to celebrate Christmas is this: If Jesus celebrated a holiday that was not in the Bible, why can t you enjoy Christmas as well and give gifts just as the Jews today give many gifts during Hanukkah? THE CHRISTMAS TREE Others have complained that Christmas is really pagan because the Christmas tree is pagan. I ve heard people say that Jeremiah 10:3-5 is a reference to the Christmas tree: For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good." These people argue that the tree is adorned with silver and gold, a supposed reference to tinsel around a tree. But look carefully at the passage and it will be clear that Jeremiah referred to an idol made out of the tree. A craftsman shaped the tree out of the forest with a chisel. Who has ever seen a craftsman use a chisel to shape a tree into a Christmas tree? Of course not. This is a reference to craftsmen making idols that resembled man and animals, like a scarecrow. Yet Jeremiah says, "They cannot speak and walk." So obviously this is not a Christmas tree, for Christmas trees do not have mouths and legs. We believe this is much more relevant than a Christmas tree and will argue this case yet we see no reason to take issue if other families put up a Christmas tree in their house. As we have seen, there is no legitimate scriptural reason not to celebrate Christmas. At the same time, there is no biblical mandate to celebrate it, either. In the end, of course, whether or not to celebrate Christmas is a personal decision. Yet Christmas is probably the one event in the whole year that still brings a degenerate world face to face with the fact that there is saviour who was born into this world. Again the Christmas tree is something which is matter of personal choice. For instance most of us at Global Watch Weekly do not put up Emmanuel, God with us. 7

8 DID THE WORD JESUS COME FROM ZEUS There are several strange and misleading teachings that make their rounds concerning the name of God and of Jesus Christ; one such false doctrine is the idea that the name of Jesus actually means Hail, Zeus. Promoters of this bizarre concept claim that anyone who uses the name Jesus is offering praise to a false god and is not saved. They go so far as to say a person must use only the Hebrew name for Jesus, since there is only one name by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12). First, we will explain the Jesus-means-hail-Zeus theory, the best we can. Then we will look at what the truth of the matter from a biblical perspective. Those who teach that the name Jesus means Hail, Zeus usually start with the name of God, YAH (see Isaiah 26:4, NET). From that name of God, they take the Messiah s name to be YAHSHUA, which they say means YAH Is Salvation. They contend that is the name used by the apostles and by the Messiah Himself; however, after the apostles were dead and gone, the Roman Church took over Christianity. In order to make their brand of religion more palatable to the pagans, the Roman leaders changed the name of the Messiah into a Greek/ Latin hybrid, Iésous, which (supposedly) means Hail, Zeus. Since Zeus (or Jupiter) was the chief god in the Greco-Roman pantheon, the pagans had little trouble accepting this new demigod. By changing the Savior s name, Christianity had been effectively stripped of its Hebrew roots, and the melding with paganism was a success. The Greeks savior could still be Zeus. In time, the word Iésous was further corrupted into Jesus in English. As proof for their conspiracy theory that Jesus means Hail, Zeus, advocates point to the fact that the second syllable of Jesus (-sus) sounds similar to the name of the chief Greek god. Especially when Jesus is pronounced in Spanish, it becomes evident that people are actually saying Hey, Zeus. Added to these proofs is the fact that ancient sculptures of Zeus show him with a beard just like modern-day pictures of Jesus! What can we say to such far-fetched nonsense? First, not everyone who has a beard is trying to take the place of Jesus. Second, just because a certain word or word part sounds like another word is no proof of commonality. Basing theories of word origin on pronunciation is preposterous. Humorous sounds exactly like humerus, but there s nothing particularly funny about the bone that goes from the shoulder to the elbow. JESUS, YESHUA, YAHSHUA OR ALL The Hebrew name Yeshua translates into Greek as Iésous. This is the name that the angel Gabriel commanded Joseph to name Mary s child: You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). The name Jesus is a simply a Greek form of Joshua, a common name among Jews. The same verse also alludes to the meaning of the name: the Lord was to be named Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. The name Jesus means The Lord Saves or The Lord Is Salvation. Whether you spell it Jesus or Jesu or Joshua or Yeshua, the meaning stays the same, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with Zeus. Names can and do translate. Changing a name from one language to another does not change the meaning of the name, nor does it change the character or identity of the person. Elizabeth becomes Elixabete, Isabella, Zsoka, or Eliska, depending on the language. But she remains the same girl. A man named Stephen can be called Stephanos, Stefan, Estevao, Teppo, or Estebe, depending on where in the world he is. But he is the same person, regardless of what we call him. Similarly, Jesus and Yeshua refer to the same Person and it s not Zeus. We use the name Jesus, an Anglicized transliteration of the Greek, because Greek is the language that Matthew and Mark and Luke and John wrote their Gospels in and because English is the language we speak. The best translation of Iésous into modern English is Jesus. 8

9 A lot of people, including some Messianic Jews (Jews who believe Jesus is the Messiah), will call Jesus by a different name: Yeshua (Hebrew Theyי ש וע ). say that Yeshua is the Jewish name that Jesus would have been called by those who knew Him. Some messianics and other groups say that Yeshua is Jesus' real name and that the name "Jesus" is wrong. Others say that it is okay to use either one. But then again, there are those who say that the word, "Jesus," is pagan in origin and should not be used at all. With all these possibilities is there a real answer to what was the Messiah's real name? Yes, there is. It is found in the New Testament. The New Testament was written in Greek. If there were any original documents of the New Testament written in Hebrew, we don't have them. At best, some theorize that there might have been a Gospel or two written in Hebrew. If that is the case, there is no way to know. The fact is we don't have any Hebrew manuscripts. We only have Greek ones from that period of time. Since what we do have is the Greek Manuscripts, it is from them that we need to find out what the Apostles wrote about Jesus. In other words, we need to make a case out of what we do have--not what we don't have. Doing a computer search in the Greek New Testament, the word, "Jesus," occurs over 900 times. Following is a chart that lays this out. The Greek word for Jesus is Iησοῦς. It is pronounced as "eeaysoos." When "eeaysoos" was transliterated into the English long ago, it became Jesus--the term we use in English today. Some say that if we don't pronounce Jesus' name properly (either as Yeshua and or Eeaysoos), then we are in sin and serving a false god but that accusation cannot be made from Scripture. It is not the pronunciation of a word that makes us Christian or not. It is receiving the Messiah, God in flesh, by faith that makes us a Christian. Likewise, must we say "theos" when saying "God" since that is how the word is pronounced in Greek? Or what about when we call Jesus the "Savior" as in Phil. 3:20, must we pronounce the word as it is in Greek (sotare), or is it okay to use the English word "savior?" The entire New Testament was written in Greek, and the word Jesus is the word that is used. It is not the Hebrew whichי ש וע is Yeshua. So, it is simple. Jesus is properly called Jesus. Matt. 1:21, "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins." Mark 1:1, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Acts 4:10-12, "let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very corner stone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." Rom. 1:1, "Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God." Heb. 2:9, "But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." Rev. 1:1, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John." 9

10 Changing the language of a word does not affect the meaning of the word. We call a bound and covered set of pages a book. In German, it becomes a buch. In Spanish, it is a libro; in French, a livre. The language changes, but the object itself does not. As Shakespeare said, That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet (Romeo and Juliet, II:i). language over another, and it gives no indication that we must resort to Hebrew when addressing the Lord. The command is to call on the name of the Lord, with the promise that we shall be saved (Acts 2:21; Joel 2:32). Whether we call on Him in English, Korean, Hindi, or Hebrew, the result is the same: the Lord is salvation. In the same way, we can refer to Jesus as Jesus, Yeshua, or YehSou (Cantonese) or Yahshua without changing His nature. In any language, His name means The Lord Is Salvation. As for the controversy over the letter J, it is much ado about nothing. It is true that the languages in which the Bible was written had no letter J. But that doesn t mean the Bible never refers to Jerusalem. And it doesn t mean we cannot use the spelling Jesus. If a person speaks and reads English, it is acceptable for him to spell things in an English fashion. Spellings can change even within a language: Americans write Savior, while the British write Saviour. The addition of a u (or its subtraction, depending on your point of view) has nothing to do with whom we re talking about. Jesus is the Savior, and He is the Saviour. Jesus and Yeshuah and Iesus are all referring to the same Person. The Bible nowhere commands us to only speak or write His name in Hebrew or Greek. It never even hints at such an idea. Rather, when the message of the gospel was being proclaimed on the Day of Pentecost, the apostles spoke in the languages of the Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene (Acts 2:9 10). In the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was made known to every language group in a way they could readily understand. Spelling did not matter. We refer to Him as Jesus because, as Englishspeaking people, we know of Him through English translations of the Greek New Testament. Scripture does not value one In his article The Messiah's Hebrew Name: "Yeshua" Or "Yahshua"? Dr. Daniel Botkin, author of Gates of Eden explains about the Hebrew linguistics of the names "Yeshua" and "Yahshua" and how "Yahshua" is actually a mistransliteration by Sacred Name advocates to fit an erroneous interpretation of John 5:43 and how "Yeshua" is far more accurate. He also clearly establishes the fact that the English name "Jesus" has absolutely no pagan connection and is simply a derivation of "Yesous," the Greek transliteration of "Yeshua." Most important, Dr. Botkin addresses that slander and criticism surrounding the name controversy in entirely non-scriptural and not glorifying to the Holy One of Israel. Sometimes we do refer to Jesus as Yeshua but that is out of our emphasis on his Jewishness, especially when much of our work is also aimed at enlightening Jews about the end times. However to use the term Yeshua or Yahshua for that matter, as a means to beat down people who use the name Jesus is simply a mechanism by which one is distracted by the fact that all the names whether in Hebrew, Greek or English point to one fact. That the messiah who came is the Lord of salvation or salvation himself. 10

11 The Bible doesn t give instruction to favor one language or translation over another. We are not commanded to call upon the name of the Lord in Hebrew only. Acts 2:21 says, But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. God knows who calls upon His name, whether they do so in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Hebrew or any other language. He is still the same Lord and Savior. Below is a list of how the name Jesus is pronounced in other languages: Arabic = Issa Chinese (Catonese) = YeshSou Chinese (Han) = 耶稣 = Ye Su Ay Wo Dutch = Jezus French = Jésus German = Jesus Hebrew = Yeshua Hindi = yīśu Italian = Gesu Japanese = イエス キリスト = zheh-sü Korean = 예수 = Yesu Portuguese = Jyesus Russian = Иисус Spanish = Jesus Regardless of which name is used, Yeshua (Jesus) hears the prayers of those who pray from their heart and who truly seek Him, He is the same yesterday, today and forever and just like his Father, He has several names and titles. Other names and titles by which Yeshua is known are: Emmanuel which means God is with us. The Christ which is derived from the Greek word Christos which means Anointed One or Messiah, which is Mashiach or Moshiach in Hebrew. So Yeshua Mashiach and Jesus Christ are one and the same. The Word, The Living Word, The Word of Life The Son of God is used in a Heavenly context.* The Son of Man is used in a Jewish context.* The Lamb of God representing the ultimate, final, perfect sacrifice of Yeshua laying down His life for the sins or the world, that whoever should believe would not perish, but have everlasting life. The New Man, Second Adam or Last Adam. The name Adam in Hebrew means man. Yeshua was raised from the dead as a new, immortal, incorruptible man. The Light of the World, The Bread of Life The King of the Jews, Rabbi or Rabboni, which means teacher. Savior The I AM, which is the name God attributed to Himself in Exodus 3:14 And the High Priest 11