The RETURN Movement International
Petah Tikvah & Scriptural-Truths
Presents …
- YHVH, which is pronounced as YaHVaH or YaHWaH, also we
will use our Heavenly Father’s title, which is “Elohim” rather than “God.” We need to remember
that “Elohim” (God) is NOT a name but an attribute, a title! In
addition we also love to use the actual/real Name of our beloved “Messiah” in Greek written as “Christos”, but His
loving Name is 
- “Yahushua” or “Yeshua” in short, for this is our Saviours original Hebrew
Name as given to Him in Lukas - Luke 1:31. This was the only Name ever used
when He was on the earth by His family, disciples and His followers for
hundreds of years thereafter. However, it was changed to a foreign name by that
new Church, that later became known as “the greater
The Truth about Xmas - Christmas
The three levels of learning &
understanding of the blessed Word of
When we read and study the blessed Scriptures, the Word of YHVH Elohim as a believer in Yahushua (Yeshua) the Messiah, we should keep following three steps always in mind for they are a valuable guide and it will certainly provide us with guidance and illuminate the sheer beauty and the fullness of YHVH’s most blessed Word.
1. Who was YHVH Elohim, blessed be His Holy
Name speaking to?
2. When was it said?
3. How was His Word understood at the time
it was spoken/given?
I do believe that these three points are most relevant to our understanding of 1. What the Almighty is saying at the time – 2. As well as what it means to us today - and 3. Especially to you and me right now!
Ministry Elder & Teacher;
Founder; The RETURN Movement International – 1978.
“Scriptural
Truths” &
“Ha Davar Word Studies”
A fulltime Messianic Teaching Ministry.
Now let us
look at Christmas!
Beloved in Yahushua THE
Messiah (Yeshua), [also known as Jesus Christ], I am well aware that many who
will read this study will be somewhat shocked by its contents as it contains a
number of statements in regard to the customs that so many believers in the
Lord have upheld for so long and Christmas may certainly have left many happy
memories because of the family involvement. I fully understand this!
However, we need to consider this point very
carefully: What is more important to you – Doing the Lords will and be
with Him in the
Beloved it is my attention to bring us all closer to our beloved Lord and Saviour and not for us to be disillusioned, but, sadly, like myself when I was an Orthodox Jew, I blindly followed the customs and false traditions of my faith only to discover that so many of the laws that I had followed were man made and not from the Word of of Elohim and I had to get rid of them and get back to the ways of the Word, for the Word must come before the traditions of man, especially if they are from a pagan background!
The word ‘Christmas’ is derived
from ‘mass for
‘Christmas’ is not found among the
earliest festivals of the faithful in Messiah Yahushua, however, the first
evidence about the feast is from several sources: In ancient Babylon (the winter solstice),
the feast of the son of Isis (goddess of nature) was celebrated on December 25
and Israel is warned powerfully against this feast that was celebrated on that
very day in Jeremiah, yes, you read it right, Israel was warned against this
feast, the very feast that Christians celebrate every single year TODAY!
YHVH Elohim, blessed be He,
even describes the very thing that every christian has doing most of their
lives, but this is placed with this study, but I am sure that you will be
shocked and that you never realised that we were so clearly warned in the Word
of Elohim, thus why did the Church Fathers allow such a hideous pagan festival
to be celebrated! We all know well how the greater community love raucous
partying, gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving during Christmas,
which were the typical traditions of this pagan feast in ancient times.
In the Scriptures there is NOT record of anyone who have kept a feast, or held a great banquet in honour of our Saviour’s birthday, which certainly would not have been in December! In truth, only those who live in the flesh that make a great rejoicing over the day they were born into this world, for the Hebrew’s, Israel did not have the custom of celebrating their birthdays, this is another of the European customs which has become the norm.
Catholic Encyclopaedia, 1911 Edition, published by the Roman Catholic Church, states … “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1946 edition states … “Christmas. It was, according to many authorities, not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian Church, as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons (eg Communion - death of Christ) rather than their birth ... A feast was established in memory of this event [the birth of Jesus] in the fourth century. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever on the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of SOL (the SUN), as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ's birth existed."
Encyclopaedia
We need to understand that Christmas day falls on December 25th, which is near to the middle of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, including the State of Israel. The question we may ask ourselves was Yahushua born during the winter?
What do the Scriptures have to say?
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding (living) in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Luke 2:8.
Obviously, we would all be well aware that
shepherds would NOT be keeping their sheep in the fields during the Hebrew
month of Kishlev, being today’s December. For
all farm animals were always brought indoors and placed under cover from late
October to protect them from the cold rainy season that would follow. And this
is still done throughout
“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over (and) gone.” Song of Songs 2:11.
“Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin
gathered themselves together unto
The “ninth month” corresponds to
December today. In the Word, it is clearly characterised with winter rains in
Here is what the Adam Clarke Commentary (Vol 5, page 370,
"It was an ancient custom among Jews of those days to send out their sheep to the fields and deserts about the Passover (early spring), and bring them home at commencement of the first rain. During the time they were out, the shepherds watched them night and day. As the first rain began early in the month of Heshvan, around October and November, we find that the sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole summer. And, as these shepherds had not yet brought their flocks indoors, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have even been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground, the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact."
If you have been to
The exact date of our Lord’s birth is unknown, though evidently he was born sometime during September, being six months after the Passover.
If YHVH Elohim,t(he LORD our God), had intended us to celebrate the birthday of Yahushua, why did He not reveal the exact date to us in His Word? However, I should say here that I personally DO celebrate His birth, His coming and you may ask, “When do you do this?” - Every single day, when I wake! I praise the Living Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for sending His only begotten Son, who freely gave his life, He who is “the Passover sacrificed for us,” but He did this as a man, and not a baby, like when Elohim gave the provision of a RAM on the Mount to be sacrificed instead of Isaac! A man, not just a baby lamb! Our Lord, is typified as “HaSeh Elohim” – “The Lamb of God” but Yahushua died symbolically as a Ram of Elohim, without sin and blemish, for that was the miracle to be at that age and sinless!
Thus, how did Christmas get into the Church?
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge gives a clear explanation in the article on ‘Christmas.’
“How much the date of the festival
depended upon the pagan Brumalia (December 25th) following the Saturnalia
(December 17th-24th), and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the
‘new sun’... cannot be
accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply
entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence. The pagan
festival with its riot and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad
of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in
manner. Christian preachers of the West and the
The Roman Empire was entirely pagan, and
before the 4th century, the faithful in the Lord were few in number, and they
were persecuted by
It is also interesting to note that
The pagan Manichaeism identified the “Son of God” with the physical “Sun,” giving new ‘converts’ an excuse to call December 25th (re-birth, birthday of the SUN).
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, some Latin’s, as early as 354AD, may have transferred the birthday of Messiah from January 6th to December 25th, which was then a Mithraic feast or birthday of the unconquered Sun. The Syrians and Armenians who clung to January 6th accused the Romans of Sun worship and idolatry, claiming the December 25th festival was invented by the disciples of Cerinthus.
So where did it all begin?
The concept of Christmas originated in ancient
After the untimely death of
Then during the fourth and fifth century, the Romans under their new popular ‘Christianity’ popularised the ‘mother and child’ concept especially around Christmas time - from which we have many of the Christmas carols such as ‘Silent Night Holy Night’ with it's familiar ‘mother and child’ theme.
The concept of the Christmas tree originated
around 3000 BC in ancient
“Hear the word which YHVH speaks to you, O house of Yisroel. Thus said YHVH, Do not learn the way of the gentiles, and do not be awed by the signs of the heavens, for the gentiles are awed by them. For the prescribed customs of these peoples are worthless, for one cuts a tree from the forest, work for the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. They adorn it with silver and gold, they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it does not topple.” Yirmyahu (Jeremiah) 10:1-4.
Obviously this speaks the of days when non
believers in YHVH Elohim who worshipped pagan gods and were “awed”
or worshipping heavenly signs, such as the winter solstice, which just happened
to be on, what we now know in this pagan calendar as December 25. For this
occasion they would travel, often far away into a suitable forest and cut down
a suitable tree, the most holy being the “fir’ tree, and they would
fasten it to the floor inside the dwellings and they would “adorn it with
silver and gold.” Does this sound familiar to you? Remember this is
Beloved, believe what YHVH Elohim and His Son Yahushua have so clearly stated, you will be a sinner if you follow the way of the world and uphold any part of these feasts, be it “Christmas” or “Easter” (a feast to Estra the goddess) for you will NOT have a place in the “Kingdom of Elohim” unless you repent and totally remove yourself from everything that has anything to do with these evil festivals, including your children, regardless of the circumstances!
The pagan tradition continued and the early Roman Catholic Church loved paganism for it was the way they could easily convert people into their circle of evil, for men are far more inclined to worship stone gods, and pagan festival, having worshipped such all their lives. These new ones just had new name, that’s all! The early Romans and the later church trimmed their trees with trinkets and toys at that time of year, whilst the Druids tied gilded apples to tree branches. For many, a tree decorated with orbs and fruit-like object symbolised the tree of life.
During the Middle Ages the Germans believed that evergreen trees were especially imbued with life since they remained green throughout all of winter. Greenery was prominent in pagan winter celebrations in honour of the tree spirit or spirit of fertility.
Mistletoe.
The mistletoe was used at the festival of the winter solstice by ancient pagans because it was considered sacred to the sun. The mistletoe supposedly had miraculous healing powers, probably due to the fact that not only the plant remained green throughout winter but it actually bore fruit during this time, a type for fertility spirits!! Druidic belief that the “mistletoe” was an aphrodisiac, since it’s waxen-white berries are always present in the winter the mistletoe is hung over entrances and doorways as well as light fixtures and ceilings, in order that if one encounters one's neighbour’s wife “under the mistletoe,” (according to tradition) it is mandatory to kiss her or any woman they would came across and this would usually occur early in the night of revelry and drunken debauchery, celebrating the death of the ‘old sun’ and birth of the ‘new sun’ at the solstice. These days it is still used as an excuse to kiss a lady by men and women in this world of equality and “free love.”
The burning of the Yule log originated with the Druids and their ritual burning of a carefully chosen log during the winter. The word ‘Yule’ is derived from the old Anglo-Saxon word ‘weol’ which means ‘wheel,’ a pagan symbol of the sun. Indeed the ‘Yule Log’ is in fact the ‘Sun log."
The lighting of candles, bonfires, the Yule log and originates from the pagan custom of lighting fires and candles during the solstice season, to encourage the waning sun-god as he reached the lowest point in the southern skies.
The modern practice of decorating trees and buildings with flashing electric lights seems to be a logical extension of the lighting of candles and bonfires at Christmas time.
Santa, who is he?
Also known as ‘Father Christmas,’ the myths and legends surrounding Santa Claus are a mixture of pagan customs from differing regions. ‘Santa Claus is a corruption of the name ‘Saint Nicholas,’ a Roman Catholic Bishop who lived in the 4th century. He was a saint honoured by the Greeks and Latin’s on December 6th, for the legendary bestowal of dowries on the three daughters of an impoverished citizen, said to originate the custom of giving gifts in secret on the eve of St. Nicholas (December 6th), later transferred to Christmas day.
The legend of Santa Claus entering the house through the chimney, and the hanging of socks and stockings by the fireplace, relates to the ancient superstitions around hearth spirits. The Chinese and others would traditionally sweep and scour the house in preparation for the visit by the hearth spirit. Dressed in a pointed red cap and red jacket, this fire god travelled from the heavens above, visiting homes to distribute favours or punishments.
Each Christmas time today, children are told the lie about Santa Claus coming down the chimney to distribute gifts to them if they behaved themselves!! Sooner or later, the children learn of the myth, many becoming disillusioned. Such disillusions are easily transferred to the belief in the Almighty Elohim (God) and our Lord and Saviour, for if Santa Claus does not exist, then Elohim and Yahushua also may not exist! The Scriptures plainly state, “You shall not bear false witness.” Also, the idea that Santa is all knowing, and we all know that only YHVH our Elohim knows all!
Far from adding to the ‘joy of
Christmas, the Santa
Now, let’s see what the Bibliotheca
Sacra (vol 12 pp 153-155) says about the exchanging
of gifts at Christmas ... “The interchange of presents between friends is
alike characteristic of Christmas and the saturnalia, and must have been
adopted by Christians from the pagans, as the admonition of
The exchanging of gifts does not honour Messiah. Suppose it is your birthday and yet at your party, your friends and relatives exchange gifts among themselves and almost completely ignore you! This is exactly what happens at Christmas, Christians and non-Christians, exchange gifts among themselves. Anyway, it is not Yahushua’ birthday. He was either born in during the Feast of the Blowing of the Shofar (Trumpets) around September, which I tend to believe. However, it must be said that the date is not known.
As I said earlier beloved, I wake each morning and I praise and thank YHVH Elohim (the LORD God) for giving me one more day to proclaim His Word, and for sending His anointed one, Yahushua THE Messiah, who gave his life in order that through faith and repentance, we might have life eternal!
Giving of gifts.
The question might be asked, “What about the giving of gifts to the infant Yahushua by the wise men?”
Consider what the Scriptures say ...
“Now when Yahushua was born in Bethlehem
of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the
east to
Notice here, the wise men gave Yahushua gifts because He was a KING of the Judeans, it was not because it was his birthday. It was customary to give gifts to someone who is a King, just as it is so in many cultures today. And remember, the wise men did not give these gifts to Him until quite some time after his birth.
In Verse 11, we see that they presented to him gifts. The people of the east never approached the presence of kings and great personages, without a gift, the custom is often spoken of in the OLD Testament, and this custom still prevails in the east. The exchanging of gifts among friends and relatives is not found in the Scriptures or from amongst the Hebrew customs in general as birthdays were not celebrated.
Okay! So, Christmas (and yes Easter, but that is another study) is a Pagan feast. But, what if we just honour Messiah and do not take part in any of these Pagan customs? Beloved let the Scriptures speak for themselves.
“ … be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.’ You must not worship YHVH your Elohim in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things YHVH hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.” Deut 12:30-31.
"Remember them, O my Elohim, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. Thus cleansed I them from all strangers [of everything pagan], and appointed the words of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business;" Nehemiah 13:29-30
The Scriptures declares, “Elohim is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:24.
Worshipping Messiah Yahushua, Jesus the Messiah by honouring his birthday on a day, which is NOT his birthday, and borrowing pagan customs is NOT giving honour to Him, or His Father “in Spirit and in Truth.”
Celebrating a Festival to YHWH.
What about the view that as long as we are
celebrating a feast or festival to the Lord our Elohim, it is acceptable, even
if it is not Elohim ordained? Beloved, we should look back at the shameful
golden calf incident for a Biblical example of people doing this very thing,
when the Children of Israel grew weary of waiting for Moses to return from the
Mount and they took off their gold earrings and jewelry
and gave them to Aaron who used the gold to make an idol in the shape of a
calf.
Truth or Lie?
Another serious argument along this line that we need to examine is the issue of Truth. The more we walk in truth, the more we are walking in the light. Inversely, the more we walk in a lie, the more we are covered with and by darkness. We know who the Father of lies is and the deceiver for he comes to steal, kill, and destroy; but Yahushua came to bring us out of darkness into the light. I believe that as much as the Holy Spirit reveals to us, that we need to walk in light and in truth, casting off any shadow of darkness or lie. If December 25`x' is not the truth, then why should we persist in walking in this falsehood?
The most important point, though, is the actual significance of this date. It seems that we would have enough reasons to abandon the celebration of December 25'x' as a `festival of our own choosing or as a festival to the YHVH, if it had just been chosen at random. However, there exists a sinister and evil root to this date that must be revealed. And remember, this celebration also hides a Scriptural Feast, the one recorded in the Word of Elohim …
“Then came the Feast of Dedication at
“The Feast of Dedication” was celebrated by all believers in the first few hundred years, for in this feast as in the “Seven Feasts of YHVH” The Lord, it contains a prophecy of our Lord and Saviour! In this one the most significant one is His own statement:
“I AM the LIGHT of the World”
In Conclusion.
HaSatan the evil one is the great
counterfeiter and the arch deceiver,
who will go to any lengths to deceive and mislead Elohim’s people. He
knows the old adage, “a miss is as good as a mile.” Did you know that
the word for “sin” means “to miss the mark?” Just one
tiny slash of a knife across the “smile” of the
For decades, I have been sharing how HaSatan
has concealed the real truth about the Passover (Pesach) with the pagan substitution
of a feast called “Easter,” or “
Beloved, uphold the Word of Elohim, and follow no one, and certainly no other god than our beloved Creator of heaven and earth - YHVH Elohim, and Yahushua His beloved Messiah, our blessed Saviour! Learn how to give yourself an honest answer to the question “What would Yahushua do?”
Hereby we do KNOW that we KNOW Him, IF we keep his commandments and keep His ways we shall abide in Him!
“And by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commands. The one who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.’” 1 John 2:2-3.
I believe that observing Christmas is not part of a Holy life in Messiah! Need to re read “Truth or Lie”?
A brand new study is now online, entitled – “When was Messiah Yahushua really Born?”
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Additional item worth reading
An excerpt from my Book
“Dutch Tzedakah”
“Hip, Hip, Hurrah.”
…. in countries like
The Jew was generally hated in so many places in one way or another, and is still today, to the point that even sayings have invaded every day speech, such as; “I don't know him from a bar of soap.” It may seem innocent, but, this saying obtained a whole new meaning during the war, as Nazis used the body fat from cremated Jews to make soap, commenting, “Now you can't tell these Jews from a bar of soap.”
The following is another that has it’s origins from the Romans and the evil Roman Catholic Church who instituted so many anti-Semitic statements and lies!
As we will all know the following
is a common and a joyful party cheer that is used at most happy occasions, be
it a wedding, birthday, or anniversary. It is the joyful cheer, “Hip, hip, hurrah.” This
little happy call has an extremely evil origin. It was born in 69 AD when
HIP comes
from the Latin, “HEP” which
stands for …
H = HIEROSOLMA, meaning
E = EST, meaning IS.
P = PERDITA = DESTROYED.
Thus, it says, “
Later each Crusader was charged to murder at least one Jew anywhere in Europe before they reached the “Holy Land”, around 1000 AD, and they continued their so called christian evil ways whilst in Palestine, they joyfully shouted; “Hep Hep Hurrah” – “Jerusalem is destroyed, death to the Jews.”
Jews were continually being
slaughtered throughout Europe and in
Today many well-meaning people throughout the world use this cheer joyfully not knowing its full implication, and sadly when some are told they do not even care, but, as the Jewish people hear it they shudder!
Shalom in Messiah - Yahushua.
May YHVH Elohim bless and keep you in the palm of His hand always, in
Messiah Yahushua’s loving Name!
Ministry Elder/teacher:
UNITE MY HEART TO FEAR YOUR NAME!”
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Yahushua said; “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent
Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the
Prophets: They will all be taught by Elohim. Everyone who listens to the Father
and learns from Him comes to Me. No one has seen the
Father except the One who is from Elohim; only He has seen the Father. I tell
you the truth he who believes has everlasting life.”
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