Christmas and the Tammuz Connection
By
Gary Primo
Dec. 26, 2015
No one who celebrates the ritual of Christmas seems to know or care about its pagan roots. They love their traditions above all else; therefore, let’s first examine what the Scriptures have to say concerning the traditions of man.
Matt.15: 1 - Then came to Yahushua scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2 - Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3 - But he answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of Elohim by your tradition?
4 - For Elohim commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curses father or mother, let him die the death.
5 - But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever you might be profited by me;
6 - And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have you made the commandment of Elohim of none effect by your tradition.
Mark 7:3-13 – pretty much the same as Matthew.
The Jews developed a number of traditions over the years, some of which had no authorization in the Torah; but came instead from their own Talmud. The Talmud is a collection of writings by various recognized and respected Rabbis, that attempt to interpret the word of Yahuwah, but in many cases come from the imaginations of men.
Col. 2:8 – Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after HaMashiyack.
This verse is not talking of Jewish traditions but the traditions and philosophy of the Greek Gentles. Philosophy was the pride and joy of the Greeks. It was not considered a religion (per say) but an intellectual understanding of the universe, that omitted the need for the existence of spiritual Creator. Of course there were also many Gentile converts who maintained belief in Greek Mythology and the traditions of that belief system. For some of the Greek converts to the Way of Yahuwah (which the apostles exclusively taught) it was a difficult task to separate themselves from their philosophy and traditions. This was the problem that Shaul (Paul) was addressing. However, this problem persisted long after the death of Shaul. A good number of the so-called Church Fathers studied at Greek universities where Philosophy was taught next to Jewish religious studies and often filtered the latter through the former. It was the only way the Greeks could understand the Jewish beliefs.
Many would not admit that philosophy is a religion. However, according to the dictionaries, it fits the interpretation.
[ri-lij-uh n]
Spell Syllables
· Examples
· Word Origin
noun
1.
a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of theuniverse, especially when considered as the creation of a superhumanagency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritualobservances, and often containing a moral code governing the conductof human affairs.
2.
a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects:
the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
3.
the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices:
a world council of religions.
4.
the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.:
to enter religion.
5.
the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.
6.
something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience:
to make a religion of fighting prejudice.
7.
religions, Archaic. religious rites:
According to this definition, Philosophy definitely fits into the realm of religion; and it is still taught in almost all Western colleges and universities.
When I was attending Fleming College in Peterborough, Ontario (Canada) i had a philosophy class with a native student who adhered deeply to the native religious beliefs and helped with the native pow-wows in the area. I asked him if he (like myself) felt that the college (in teaching philosophy) was trying to stuff someone else’s religion down our throats. He smiled at me and said that he most certainly did feel the same as I did.
[fi-los-uh-fee]
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noun, plural philosophies.
1.
the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct.
2.
any of the three branches, namely natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and metaphysical philosophy, that are accepted as composing this study.
3.
a particular system of thought based on such study or investigation:
the philosophy of Spinoza.
4.
the critical study of the basic principles and concepts of a particular branch of knowledge, especially with a view to improving or reconstituting them:
the philosophy of science.
5.
a system of principles for guidance in practical affairs.
6.
an attitude of rationality, patience, composure, and calm in the presence of troubles or annoyances.
I sub-contracted for a Greek contractor (doing his drywall and taping) some time back and we got into a discussion on religion (after I told him that I kept the Sabbath). He told me that his belief was not that “God” created man, but that man created “God”. In reference to pagan religions, this statement was most definitely true. However, it does not necessitate that Elohim does not exist; which, of course, was his contention. It merely means that man has no understanding of the True Creator and created their own “gods” which they used to control and manipulate the masses.
Philosophy quickly gained favour amongst the Greek intellectuals who prided themselves on being better educated and more knowledgeable than the common masses. Ergo, it continues to be taught in today’s colleges and universities where higher learning and the acquisition of greater knowledge is the common goal. No one thinks of it as a religion (a nasty word to intellectuals). Thus, it is more easily adopted by the general public, who are led to believe that philosophy is the gateway to knowledge and enlightenment.
However, these same intellectuals cling stubbornly to their age-old traditions (like Christmas, Easter, etc.) because their cultural identity demands it. Efforts to “remove Christ from Christmas” stem for the philosophical understanding of the universe. Instead, the giving of gifts and the temporary surge to a nation’s economy, have become the primary reasons for continuing the tradition.
2 Thes. 3:6 - Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Master Yahushua HaMashiyack, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
The apostles taught the Hebrew traditions rather than the worldly ones. They were commanded by Yahuwah and are still incorporated in the Way of Yahuwah. These are the keeping of the laws of Yahuwah, the Sabbath which He ordained and the yearly festivals. Yet (obviously), some of the Gentile Greeks still stuck stubbornly to their former traditions, which Shaul condemned. Traditions are the mark that identifies which religion one truly belongs to and which god” you worship. One can say they believe in Yahuwah all they want; but if they keep the pagan traditions, they are denying that claim by their actions.
1 Peter 1:18 - Forasmuch as ye know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
23 - Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of Elohim, which lives and abides forever.
In 1 Peter1:1 Peter is addressing 5 separate regions where groups of Gentile Believers had formed. Therefore, this problem cannot be merely one isolated one but common to most of the Gentile assemblies.
The traditions of Yahuwah lead one towards an incorruptible state. The traditions of man lead towards a corruptible state. Abandoning one’s former traditions to take on the traditions of Yahuwah is a vital stepping stone to gaining incorruption. It proved to be a difficult task for the apostles to get this through the heads of a number of Greek Gentiles. While earnestly desiring to convert, they balked at giving up their former traditions that were passed down through many generations.
Gal. 1:13 - For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of Elohim, and wasted it:
14 - And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
Before his conversion, Shaul stubbornly clung to the man-made traditions of the Jewish Rabbis. That is what caused him to persecute the followers of Yahushua. He valued his (Jewish) traditions above the Way of Yahuwah. The Roman and Greek authorities persecuted the Believers for the same reason – they taught against their treasured traditions.
According to Jewish tradition, the Messiah was supposed to arrive on the scene as a great military leader and rid the Jews of all who persecuted them. It was this tradition that caused most Jews to not believe that Yahushua was indeed the Messiah. If the Jews, at that time, had of been more focused on the Torah teachings as opposed to their traditional Talmud beliefs, they would have understood the true meaning and purpose of Yahushua’s first coming.
2 Thes. 2:15 - Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
These are, once again, the words of Shaul, the former persecutor of the faith. He now fully understood the difference between the traditions of Yahuwah and the traditions of man, and what a stumbling block the latter was to the adoption of true faith in Yahushua.
Now that we understand the dangers equated to the keeping of the traditions of man, let’s move on the more specific tradition of Christmas. Where and how did it originate?
Pagan religions, in general, all have one common denominator, the worship of the creation, rather than the worship of the Creator. Of course, HaSatan was the source of this deception. When he first appeared to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, his first task was to convince Eve that it was the Creator Elohim who was lying to them.
Gen. 1:1 - Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Yahuwah Elohim had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, has Elohim said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
2 - And the woman said unto the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 - But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, Elohim hath said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest ye die.”
4 - And the serpent said unto the woman, “You shall not surely die:
5 - For Elohim does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as Elohim, knowing good and evil.”
6 - And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 - And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
What HaSatan was actually telling them was that they were already elohim and already knew how to discern good from evil for themselves, apart from Yahuwah. And also, that they were already worthy of worship. And so, man began to worship the creation above the Creator
At that point, no creature had yet tasted death. Even HaSatan did/does not believe that he will ever taste death. For the humans (Adam and Eve) death did not come for almost 1,000 years. Likely, up until the day of their deaths, they continued to believe HaSatan. HaSatan will likely likewise believe in his immortality until the day of his death.
Ezek. 28:16 - By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of you with violence, and you hast sinned: therefore I will cast you as profane out of the mountain of Elohim: and I will destroy you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
18 - You have defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of you, it shall devour you, and I will bring you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold you.
Isa. 14:15 - Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
19 - But you art cast out of your grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
20 - You shall not be joined with them in burial, because you have destroyed your land, and slain your people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
And also:
Isa.14: 12 - How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how are you cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 - For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of Elohim: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 - I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 - Yet you shall be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 - They that see thee shall narrowly look upon you, and consider you, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 - That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
18 - All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, everyone in his own house.
19 - But you are cast out of your grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
20 - You shall not be joined with them in burial, because you hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
All of the above verses describe the eventual demise of HaSatan. Previously he may have thought that no spiritual being would ever taste death because no spiritual being had. He may have only realized the possibility when he witnessed the death and resurrection of Yahushua – the first and only spiritual being to taste death thus far. HaSatan then began his war against mankind and any efforts to seek out Yahuwah with even more earnestness. He wanted no other creature (especially man) to gain eternal life through resurrection from the dead.
And so, HaSatan developed many layers of deception to hide the truth from mankind. One of our most prominent goals following conversion to the Way of Yahuwah is to peel off layer after lay of the deceptions of HaSatan to come to a full understanding of the truth. This is no easy task, and we must be diligently and continuously researching to achieve any victory.
We know precious little what system of religion mankind followed before the flood. Everyone just seemed to go their own way and believe whatever they determined to be true. Thus began the worship of the creation (themselves) over the worship of Yahuwah.
Then came the fallen angels. Mankind then began to worship these fallen angels (still part of the creation) in place of Yahuwah. They, of course, taught mankind all sorts of evil, designed to lead them even further into worshiping the creation. These fallen angels mated with the women of earth and those unions created great giants upon the earth. These giants were greatly feared by the human populace. They, in fact, feared these giants more than they feared Yahuwah – that is, until the flood came.
Gen. 6:8 - But Noah found grace in the eyes of Yahuwah.
This one man of the entire population of the earth, found “grace” in the eyes of Yahuwah. The same is not said in regards to any of his three sons at that time; therefore, it can be said that they were saved on account of Noah, not by their own merit.
Later, of course, the same grace was found in Shem (Melchizadek) also, who took over for Noah as the King and High Priest of the entire earth.
Gen. 14:18 - And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the Most High Elohim.
Ps. 110:1 - Yahuwah said unto my Lord, Sit you at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.
2 - Yahuwah shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule you in the midst of your enemies.
3 – Your people shall be willing in the day of your power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: you have the dew of your youth.
4 - Yahuwah hath sworn, and will not repent, “Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
The order of Melchizadek was that of the eldest, living, human being set up as the King and High Priest over the entire human race before Yahuwah. He was not worshiped in place of Yahuwah, but led mankind in the worship of Yahuwah. Likewise, the firstborn (eldest male) of every family was dedicated to Yahuwah and considered the priest for that family.
Naturally, it was Yahushua (the Firstborn of the original creation) in His pre-incarnated state who was really the first and only King and High Priest before Yahuwah. However, following His becoming the Firstborn of the new creation He also fits this human requirement, and is therefore likened to Melchizadek (Shem) instead of the other way around.
Of course, it seems that every King has his nemesis. For the pre-incarnate Yahushua it was HaSatan. For Shem it was Nimrod. Shem was the grand-uncle of Nimrod. Following the passing of Noah and his two eldest brothers, Shem would have been the oldest living human being on the earth. Because he was also the most righteous, he was also the only legitimate heir to Noah and his title of King and High Priest of all the earth. Nimrod; however, (like HaSatan) challenged that authority.
Many people assume that Nimrod was the people’s champion because he was known as a great hunter and warrior; and he built great walled cities to protect the people from wild predators, as well as from marauding bands of evil men.
But there was another reason why Nimrod was chosen by the people above Shem. That reason is revealed in the Book of Jasher. It was that he possessed the “Mantle of Adam”, which was stolen from Noah by Nimrod’s father, Canaan, and passed onto him. Even though he illegally possessed the mantle, the people, nevertheless, honoured him because of it and thought that this mantle was responsible for Nimrod’s overwhelming victories over all his enemies. One of the legends surrounding the death of Nimrod was that he was killed by Shem.
The people worshiped Nimrod as a god even before his death. This is where the practice of emperor worship originates. The worship of Nimrod continued even after his death; so it can be said that Nimrod was the first post-flood, pagan deity. Following the Tower of Babel incident and the great scattering of the citizens of earth, his name underwent numerous changes; and so it came to be that he was worshiped as Osiris in Egypt and Zeus in Greece and Italy.
According to Greek mythology, all their pagan deities emerged from a watery chaos (i.e. Noah and his sons). Of course, any explicit knowledge of this has been lost to mankind over the thousands of years since they existed. Yet, by comparing secular history to that of the Scriptures, one can see the similarities. The rest is just common sense.
The story of Nimrod returning from the dead just long enough to father a son, Tammuz, was likely fabricated by Semiramis, who desired to remain in power forever. She too was later deified as the “Queen of Heaven” and the “mother of the gods” (Nimrod and Tammuz). Even though she was Nimrod’s wife, she was also his mother. Following his supposed resurrection and death (the circumstances of which no one knows) his spirit supposedly entered into the ever-living (Christmas) tree and was worshiped in the manner that Jeremiah described (Jer. 10:3-5)
When the Christian religion came along, which was/is really a clever make-over of the Babylonian Mystery Religion, Semiramis’ name was changed to Mary, who was the mother of the incarnated Yahushua, and who could legitimately called the mother of Elohim. And, of course, Mary is worshiped as the ”Queen of Heaven” and the “Mother of God” to this very day by the Roman Catholic Religion.
As for the illegitimate heir to Nimrod’s throne, Tammuz, he went on to be worshiped as the son of god (Nimrod) as well as the “Sun God”. In opposition to the death and resurrection of Yahushua, which only happened once, Tammuz was supposedly killed and resurrected numerous times; which I would suppose made him somehow superior to the real Messiah in the eyes of pagan worshipers.
When the Roman Emperor, Constantine, came on the scene, there were numerous systems of worship within his empire; and they were always at odds with one another and causing problems. That, combined with the rapidly growing popularity of the Yahushua followers, created a nightmare for the new Emperor. Thus, he came up with the ingenious plan to unite all the religions within his realm into a one world religion – Christianity.
The one thing that Constantine knew for sure was that the various pagan religions would rather revolt than give up their traditions. So instead, he incorporated all of their most treasured traditions into the new, state-sponsored religion. It was not really a difficult task to convince the masses to switch deities as long as they were allowed to keep their traditions.
Christmas was long celebrated as the Saturnalia in Rome before the true Messiah came on the scene. It has nothing whatsoever to do with Yahushua and everything to do with the worship of Tammuz – the pagan deity which Constantine himself worshipped under the Latin name “Apollo” or “Sol Invictus”.
It was Rome who renamed the true Messiah as “Iesous Christos”, which was later anglicised to “Jesus Christ”. This was a name that honored their own “Father of the Gods”, Zeus, and dishonored Yahuwah. In creating this renamed messiah, they were attempting to blend the two messiahs, Yahushua and Tammuz, into one that the pagan religions could tolerate. None were anxious to follow after a Jewish messiah. Neither were the Jews anxious to have a massive influx of Gentiles following their religion. And, it is my belief that the Jews played a major part in creating this new Roman State Religion. Why else were they exempt from converting to it?
The proof of this is readily apparent upon entering any Roman Catholic Church. The symbols of sun worship are everywhere – from the small, round wafers offered in their communion rituals to the bold images of the sun on their walls and in their stained glass windows. Mostly all of the rituals observed in the RCC come directly from pagan, sun-worshiping cults.
As for their annual feasts, Christmas (Dec. 25th) was celebrated for thousands of years before Yahushua as the birth date of Tammuz. Easter was also celebrated for thousands of years as the resurrection date of Tammuz. The very fact that these dates and celebrations were transferred onto the true Messiah, Yahushua, along with the name change, points to a grand conspiracy on the part of the Tammuz worshipers. And, I would suppose it was no great feat to covert the uneducated and superstitious masses, who worshiped their traditions above their Creator.
Even the treasured “cross” which most Christians have in their homes and wear around their necks is a symbol for Tammuz. With “Jesus” it represents the cross he was crucified on. With Tammuz, it represented the letter “T”, the first letter of his name. Sometimes you will see a circle either intersecting the cross or at the top of it for the chain to pass through. Both represent sun worship and the worship of Tammuz.
The only thing the Scriptures condemn is the cutting of a tree, bringing it into the home and worshiping it. But, this represents the entire religious system, not only that tradition.
Jer. 10:3 - For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4 - They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
5 - They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
The ever-living tree represents Nimrod, and that is exactly who everyone that brings such a tree into their homes at Christmas time are worshiping. Then they go to Christmas mass and worship Tammuz. For many, Christmas and Easter are the only two times of the year that they even go to church – further proof that they worship their traditions more than the Creator.
As for the rest of the Christmas symbolism and their origins, I would refer the reader to Alexander Hyslop’s book “Two Babylons”, now available to read online at:
http://www.biblebelievers.com/babylon/
Mystery Babylon is definitely the one world religion of our day, just as it has always been from the ancient days of King Nimrod. It was basically the religion of every world ruling empire that has ever existed in one form or another. Even the Prophet, Mohammed, was mentored by a Roman Catholic Priest in his writing of the Koran. And, even though the Jews appear to stand alone against this global system of worship, they too have greatly corrupted their system of faith.
There stands only one true system of faith on the earth today, the Way of Yahuwah. This system strictly follows the Scriptures and the teachings of Yahushua. They do not worship in name only but in action also. They attempt to walk the walk of all the first century Believers, and respect only one teacher, Yahushua. These will be the firstborn of the Kingdom, following after Yahushua. There will be a great multitude converted during the final tribulation, but they will follow the firstborn into the Kingdom.
Naturally, there is much more info available out there – way too much to contain in this short study. I implore any who are still in doubt to follow the example of the noble Bereans and delve into a study of their own to prove if these words are true or not.
May Yahuwah bless and cause His light to shine on all who diligently seek after His truth!
G.P.