“And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth
for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” — Matthew 24:14.
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” — John 3:16.
How wonderful it would be to belong to the group of people who lovingly try to exercise faith in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life. By nourishing ourselves daily with knowledge of our Heavenly Father and His beloved son Jesus through God’s written Word, we live a loving, happy, joyful, and blessed life. When we eventually die, we can hold on to God’s promise of being resurrected for everlasting life in paradise on earth. — Psalm 37:11, 37:29, 37:34, 115:16.
Someone who lives like that doesn’t need to fear death. For such a person, the answer to the great question “What happens to us after we die?” is very reassuring and even something to look forward to.
But why is there so much trouble on earth? Why are so many people unhappy, living their lives without considering the consequences (including the consequences beyond this present life) of their lifestyle choices?
There is a great enemy of God, an angel who was originally a righteous and perfect being but later became proud and sought to be worshipped instead of the Heavenly Father. He began his rebellion against God and became Satan, the Devil. If we look at Genesis 3, we can read about Adam and Eve being tempted by Satan to commit their first sin. He told Eve that God was a liar and did not have the best intentions for humanity - he doubted God’s sovereignty (Genesis 3:1-7).
In Job Chapter 1, we can read stories where Satan claimed that people wouldn’t need God—that they could manage without Him. He also asserted that anyone who faced difficulties would curse or blame God for it. — Job 1:10, 11. These Bible chapters reveal Satan’s intentions and give us an advantage in practising good behaviour — living in the way Jesus taught us. By recognising those false accusations and lies from Satan, we do our best not to fall for them.
Following Jesus’ teachings, we discover that all the blessings of faith come when we serve our Heavenly Father. The more we endeavour to do His will, the more blessings may shower upon us. This includes preaching the good news of the Kingdom to others, helping those in need, continually learning to know the Father and His beloved son, Jesus, and practising good behaviour — the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. These are excellent virtues to cultivate and enjoyable to experience. — Galatians 5:22-23.
So, to experience both love and happiness, we must practise living as Jesus taught us. We need to practise living in a manner that his Father in Heaven, who is also our Heavenly Father, approves of.
Jesus said: “Whoever does not love has not come to know God, because God is love.” — 1 John 4:8.
And: “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.” — Matthew 5:3.
God’s adversary, Satan the Devil, however, endeavours to do everything in his power to prevent people from attaining that perfect lifestyle. Satan, in the form of the purple-dressed prostitute (Revelation Chapter 17), attempts to seduce people into participating in worldly celebrations and rituals that are Satanic (also called pagan) in nature. Satan misguides the world to hinder worship of the Heavenly Father as He desires, and also to prevent people from receiving the beautiful blessings that come with proper worship of the Heavenly Father.
Therefore, Satan, with his lies and distractions, seeks to mislead us into a lifestyle where we — without even realising it — sign our own death certificate. He wants to destroy our lives and take away our hope of eternal life. He even makes deadly and destructive habits appear beautiful! In other words, Satan makes his false teachings and temptations seem so attractive and harmless that people don’t even realise they are signing their own death warrant. — 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.
That’s also why learning from God’s Word, the Bible, is so important — to gain more knowledge about the Truth, to learn and practise good behaviour, and to understand Satan and his ways to avoid cooperating with him and to learn how to live the beautiful lifestyle of True Christianity. By practising consistently, we will be better equipped to prevent Satan’s traps!
In Ephesians 6:17, God’s Word is called “the sword of the Spirit.” It offers us clear guidance and shields us from falsehoods spread by Satan’s false religions. It teaches us to make wise choices, thus safeguarding us from the misery that can result from unwise actions.
Hebrews 4:12 even describes God’s Word as “sharper than any two-edged sword.” God’s Word provides teachings that penetrate deeply into our inner being, as no human teaching can. While false teachings only cause confusion, poor behaviour, unwanted consequences, and psychological problems, God’s Word is the healthy source of “spiritual food.”
Just as the physical body needs healthy food regularly, our inner self also requires constant spiritual nourishment. While the body stays healthy through proper nutrition, our inner person needs uplifting truths to remain well. Neglecting our physical diet can lead to illness, just as ignoring spiritual nourishment weakens our inner self. Studying the Bible provides us with this vital spiritual food.
So... Please, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, always exercise caution regarding the information you receive (ingest). Information from God’s Word is always nourishing. Handle the sword of the Spirit to verify whether the information is true or false. — Ephesians 6:17.
Many religions on earth claim to be the Truth and “the only way to God”. However, many of them teach doctrines that are not found in God’s Word or even conflict with it. Clearly, when a particular religion teaches things that contradict God’s Word, they are the work of Satan himself, in the form of the purple-dressed prostitute. — Revelation Chapter 17.
Jesus said to him: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” — John 14:6.
That means that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Is it not unjustified when an organisation on earth calls itself “the truth”? Doesn’t that title of “being the truth” belong to Jesus Christ? And when an organisation on earth claims “to be the only way to God”, doesn’t that title belong to Jesus Christ?
When a religious organisation on earth, for biblically justified reasons, excludes members and says, “You are not a part of our organisation any more, and thus you have lost all hope of being saved and all hope of everlasting life!” ... Isn’t that unjustified? Isn’t it Jesus Christ who, from the Heavenly Father, received all authority in Heaven and on earth and was given the authority to judge humanity? — Matthew 28:18, John 5:27.
Perhaps those who were excluded have already repented, feeling sorry for their trespass and trying to improve their lives. God sees and knows everything. Jesus also understands the full situation and observes if someone is willing to change their lifestyle. And we, as human beings, can only see so much. Someone who has trespassed, repented, expressed remorse, and is striving to better their life... Are these the kind of people who are being judged? — Luke 23:39-43, Acts 24:15-16.
Please, brothers and sisters, do not underestimate Satan’s deceptive power! For millennia, he has had the power to lead humanity into accepting lies as truth. He is capable of causing people to embrace all kinds of satanic rituals and behaviours — even believing they are beautiful!
Let’s take Christmas as an example. Does our Heavenly Father take pleasure in birthday celebrations? No. Why not? Neither the first-century Christians nor Jesus himself celebrated birthdays. — Ecclesiastes 7:1. Only two birthday celebrations are mentioned in God’s Word — and both are connected to tragic events. One involves Pharaoh, who had his chief baker hanged, and the other involves King Herod, who had John the Baptist beheaded. — Genesis 40:20-22, Mark 6:21-29. Since no other birthdays are described in God’s Word and first-century Christians did not celebrate them either, we can conclude that God is not pleased with birthday celebrations.
The celebrations of the sun god Mithras and the Roman sun god Sol Invictus
In ancient times, people lacked a proper understanding of the summer and winter seasons. They did not yet know that the Earth rotates around the sun and is tilted on its axis, which causes the changing seasons. They feared that the sun god “Mithra” was angry with them and would abandon them, leading to shorter days and colder weather. A few months later, when they believed the sun god was once again favourable toward them, the days became longer and warmer again. To appease the sun god around the winter solstice (December 21-25), people held extravagant celebrations. They exchanged gifts with one another and performed pagan rituals. Northern European tribes later added the custom of hanging lights and greenery in evergreen trees to ward off evil spirits.
How did this pagan festival find its way into Christianity? In the fourth century, the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great decided to legalize Christianity and use it to unite his divided empire. To win over the pagan population more quickly, he merged pagan symbols with the faith. Shortly thereafter, around the year 336 C.E., church leader Pope Julius I formally approved this: he officially established December 25 as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus. In this way, a purely pagan sun festival was “Christianized.”
Is celebrating birthdays and honouring a pagan sun god under the guise of Jesus’ birth something our Heavenly Father would approve of? Absolutely not! Our Heavenly Father clearly commands us: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer share in common an unbeliever? And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For we are a temple of a living God, just as God said: ‘I will reside among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ ‘“Therefore, get out from among them, and separate yourselves,” says Jehovah, “and quit touching the unclean thing”’; ‘“and I will take you in.”’” — 2 Corinthians 6:14-17. And Jesus warned that the Father is looking for worshippers who worship Him in “spirit and truth.” — John 4:23-24.
Our Heavenly Father and His beloved son Jesus Christ are very clear about how they view these matters. Who, then, wants us to celebrate these types of pagan festivals? Satan the Devil himself. This celebration is fundamentally a deceptive trap, brought forth by the false religion described in the Bible as the ‘purple-dressed prostitute.’ — Revelation 17:4-5. God’s Word describes how Satan keeps disguising himself as an angel of light. Satan is a master of deception. He is capable of packaging something terrible to make it appear beautiful and harmless, and he has been doing so for thousands of years!
“And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps disguising himself as an angel of light.” — 2 Corinthians 11:14.
What did Jesus say about who will receive everlasting life? Is it those who participate in pagan and satanic rituals, or those who exercise faith in Jesus Christ and strictly adhere to his teachings? — John 3:36, Matthew 7:21-23. Many people will say: “But I am not celebrating the satanic festival of the sun god on December 25; I am celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ!” But that is precisely the subtle trap that Satan has set for humanity. People who choose to celebrate pagan festivals and engage in satanic rituals have not chosen their Protector and Life-Giver, Almighty God, but have instead chosen the liar and bringer of death: Satan the Devil. This example of Christmas is just one of many pagan celebrations through which the world unknowingly incurs God’s wrath.
Therefore, dear friends, please be discerning! Our loving Heavenly Father cares deeply for us. In His great love, He went so far as to send His only-begotten son to Earth to die for us, for the forgiveness of our sins, so that we may gain everlasting life!
More extensive information about the other rituals and celebrations is already available.
But in summary:
- Image worship is strictly forbidden — Isaiah 42:8, Exodus 20:4-5, 2 Corinthians 6:16-17.
- Cross worship, the idea that Jesus died on the cross is not true; it was a simple vertical torture stake. Jewellery in the shape of a cross, or the cross as a religious symbol, is not only untrue but also part of image worship.
- New Year, the honouring of the god Janus, the false god of gates, doors, new beginnings, and endings.
- Happy New Year wishes relate to spiritualism.
- The idea that “the universe” will provide or offer help is linked to pledging yourself to Satan and demons. It is dangerous, and people can face significant trouble from it.
- The modern idea of “follow your heart” or “listen to your heart” is contrasted by God’s Word, which describes the heart as treacherous and states that only God knows the human heart, not the physical heart, but the inner person. — Jeremiah 17:9-10.
- Lighting fireworks at New Year’s, a tradition to ward off evil spirits for the coming year.
- Easter, a pagan fertility ritual honouring the false goddess “Astarte”, has been Christianised by the church as a replacement for the religious Holy service “Jesus’ Memorial”. The bunny (rabbit species) symbolises fertility, as do eggs. Painting eggs was believed to transfer magical powers to them to increase libido and fertility further.
- Pentecost, a celebration of the harvest. Since Jesus’s arrival on earth, it is no longer an obligation to celebrate — but if you choose to do so, ensure it is done precisely according to the guidelines given by the Heavenly Father.
- Birthday celebration — God disapproves of birthdays.
- Happy birthday wishes, which are rooted in spiritualism.
- Mother’s Day: a celebration of the false goddess Cybele (or Rhea), “the mother of the gods”.
- Carnival, a celebration of the Catholic Church to “go wild” before the period of fasting begins.
- Thanksgiving, based on ancient harvest festivities that honoured various gods.
- Voting for earthly political parties or governments is considered practising adultery with the seven-headed ten-horned beast*. — Revelation Chapter 13.
*Note: God wants us to be obedient to authorities, but always more obedient to God and His Kingdom. — Acts 5:29, Romans 13:1-2, Titus 3:1, 1 Peter 2:13-14, John 19:10-11.
*Note 2: Reference work can be found at: Reasoning-From-the-Scriptures/Holidays
“We know that we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” — 1 John 5:19.
See? We need to be very careful about what we celebrate and which world habits or rituals we take part in. To keep our hope for everlasting life, we must make sure not to mingle with what Satan’s world offers or its wicked rituals and behaviours it has grown accustomed to.
Lastly, when these things sound confronting, be joyful. Jesus taught us all these lessons so we may have life. Before learning about them, we did not know. But be glad and joyful now that you are hearing these truths! They are given to help you choose your Heavenly Father and His beloved son Jesus over the ways of the world — to gain not just life, but everlasting life!
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