The Truth—pt 2 What does God require?

Is God concerned with the way in which men wor-

Tammuz is believed to have died every fall, when
the grass turns brown. The people believed that
every Spring, before the sun reached the vernal
ship Him?
Why did Cain killed Abel in Genesis 4: 1-16?
Abel presented an acceptable sacrifice unto God. Cain,
Where can
we find
on the other hand, did not present what God required
equinox, they had 40 days of weeping and afflict-
and by presenting his ‘own’ sacrifice, the Lord did not
ing their soul for Tammuz (Ezekiel 8:14).
accept Cain’s offering and Cain became “very wroth”.

Christ in
This attitude caused him to take the life of his own
Lent coincides perfectly with the early pagan wor-
brother, as he was enraged by jealousy. How could God
ship of Tammuz.
have accepted Abel’s offering yet rejected his? Did they
not spend a great deal of time and effort to present this
So, what will you give up for lent?
Alcohol?
offering? Indeed, they did. However, as we see through
scripture, God makes known to His people what he re-
quires. By failing to honour God and His requirements
Easter &
Lent?
Parties?
and replacing them with what we thing is right, we will,
Going to church more frequently?
likewise, be rejected.
Have we found Christ in the practice of lent or But in vain they worship me, teaching for doctrine the
Easter? commandments of men. (Matthew 15: 9 KJV)
There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the God is a spirit: and they that worship
end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14: 12 Him must worship Him in Spirit and in
KJV) truth. (John 4: 24 KVJ)
Did Cain present this offering out of ignorance?
No! God himself gave instructions concerning the sacri-
fice that He required. However, throughout time, men
have chosen to worship in a way which is not connected
to the worship of the one true living God.

So how can we know the truth?

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not be ashamed , rightly dividing the word
of truth. (2 Timothy 2: 15 KJV)

What does this mean for how we worship God? Can we

perpetuate practices that are rooted in paganism or have
anything to do with God?

Source:
 KJV Bible Such practices will not be accepted by God.
 Forerunner Bible tools
 Kenneth Cox ministries
 History of Lent, Catholic Education Resource Centre
 Jamaicans.com
 What are we told?
What is Easter?
Easter is festival or holiday, which celebrates the
resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Most Chris-
tians celebrate Easter.. Easter is celebrated the first
Sunday after the full moon occurs on or just about
after the vernal equinox.
Things associated with Easter?
All around the world, various symbols and tradi-
tions are attached to Easter. In many parts of the
world, a bunny and Easter eggs mark this tradition.
Even the White House in the United States of
America has an annual Egg Roll which features a
bunny and painted eggs.
Pastel colours are also associated with Easter, East-
er baskets and who can leave out our very own,
bun and cheese here in Jamaica. But what does this
have to do with Easter?
What is lent?
Lent is the period of time used by Christians in the
preparation for Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday
and lasts for a period of 40 days, excluding Sun-
days. It is a period associated with some form of
fasting, not only from food but also from some ac-
tivities, in order to prepare spiritually for Easter.
Lent has been practiced in the early Christian
church but varied vastly between followers. It was
not until the Council of Niece (325 A.D.) that it
became standardized to 40 days. (Early History of
Lent by Nicholas V. Russo).
Is this truly the origin of these practices?
Setting the foundation
A brief history of paganism.
Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord and the first
Leader of Babel, which was later known as Babylon.
(Genesis 10:8-10). The tower of Babel is a well known
known fixture for those who chose to build a tower so
high that they would not be destroyed if the Lord had
so desired to send another flood. (Gen 11:1-9) This is
one of the most distinct passages in scripture that
shows the beginning of paganism.
Quick facts:
Upon Nimrod’s death, Semiramis, his widow, promot-
ed him to be the sun god or Baal, just to name a few.
Semiramis also gave birth to Tammuz, which she said
was the son of the sun god, he was worshiped as a god
of the stars.
After Nimrod died and Babylon was under siege, Se-
miramis killed herself but before she died, she told the
people that she would got to the moon. She is known
today as Diana, Ishtar and Venus, just to name a few.
(Acts 19: 34-35)
These three are known as the perverted trinity.
People, who once served the true and living God turned
to worship Baal. An example of this is seen in Israel
under the leadership of Ahab.
And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the
Lord above all that were before him. And it came to
pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in
the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to
wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zido-
nians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
(1 King 16: 30-31)
Other example of pagan worship– Ezekiel 8: 1-14
Those who once served God, now began worshipping
Baal or god of the sun.
The Truth—pt 1
Nimrod has been worshiped long before the birth of
Jesus and there are a number of Christian festivals or
celebrations that surround him, his wife and his al-
leged son, the false trinity.
Semiramis claimed to have seen a tree spring from a
dead stump, springing forth new life for Nimrod. In
celebration of this, on each anniversary of Nimrod’s
birthday, she would visit the tree and leave presents
for him. His birthday was December 25th.
How do we explain these Easter symbols if they
are linked to Christ?
Rabbit– This is a distortion of the sacredness of the
life of Jesus. The rabbit is used as it found that a rab-
bit can reproduce without losing its virginity, likened
to the virgin birth of Jesus by Mary. Also, another
reference is that of the popular to the three hares mo-
tif in the churches of Devon, England, which has been
associated with the ‘Holy Trinity’.
Much earlier in history, however, Venus, the god of
fertility, has been associated with the per iod of
time, paying homage to her birth of Tammuz by the
sun god. Later, the bunny became a more accepted
symbol representing the fertility for Easter.
Easter eggs—This is also used as a symbol of fertili-
ty.
Bun and cheese—Dating back to ancient Babylon,
hot cross buns were offered to Ishtar, the pagan queen
of Babylon. Similar cakes were made to honour the
moon god by the Greek. Later, this was adopted by
the church and consumed on good Friday with the
symbol of the cross being used to commemorate the
crucifixion. Although used today mainly for taste, this
is one practice deeply rooted in paganism.