WEBVTT

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Greetings friends and brethren,
this is Dr. Bob Teel for the Continuing

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Church of God.

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Today I'd like to talk about birthdays,
Christianity, and December 25th.

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Now, a lot of people celebrate birthdays.

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Do they get it from the Bible?

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And if they don't get it from the Bible,
where does it come from?

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I'd like to go through some historical
information about the observance of

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birthdays, the celebration of birthdays.

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I'd like to look at what the Jews and
children of Israel used to do regarding

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it.

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We'll talk about early Christians and
Christianity.

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And we'll also look at when many started
to accept the idea of celebrating

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birthdays.

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And we'll talk about what's appropriate
for Christians along this line.

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I'd like to start off by reading something
from a book called The Lore of Birthdays.

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It goes a little bit into the origins.

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So let me start by reading this.

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I will be reading scriptures as well.

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But between history and the Bible,
by the time you're done watching this

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sermon, you should know more about the
history of birthdays, Christian views

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toward it, and what your view should be
toward the observance of birthdays,

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as well as the significance of December
25th.

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Again, this is from The Lore of Birthdays.

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Originally, the idea of birthday greetings
and wishes for happiness was rooted in

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magic.

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This is again from The Lore of Birthdays.

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The working of spells for good and evil is
the chief usage of witchcraft.

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One is especially susceptible to such
spells on his birthday as one's personal

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spirits are about at that time.

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At least that's what mythology says.

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Dreams dreamed on a birthday eve should be
remembered, for they are predictions of

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the future brought by the guardian
spirits, which hover over one's bed on the

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birthday eve.

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Well, I can tell you, you can look in this
book, and it doesn't say that there are

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guardian spirits above your bed on the day
of your birthday eve, before you're going

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to be born, or even after you've been
born.

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It's a subject for observance.

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Birthday greetings have power for good or
ill because one is closer to the spirit

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world on this day.

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God's spirit?

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No, the other spirit world.

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Good wishes bring fortune, but the reverse
is also true, so one should avoid enemies

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on one's birthday and be surrounded only
by well-wishers.

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Happy birthday and many happy returns of
the day are the traditional greetings.

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Now, the giving of birthday gifts was
associated with offerings, actually,

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for pagan gods on the birthdays of the
pagan gods.

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That's pretty much where it came from.

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And the Lord of Birthdays says,
the exchange of presents is associated

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with the importance of ingratiating good
and evil fairies on their or our

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birthdays.

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So what the Lord of Birthdays book is
saying is, the reason for giving presents

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was to get pagan deities, just as they're
calling them fairies, whether they're good

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or evil.

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We're talking about demons, if there's
anything truly spiritual about this stuff,

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it would be to demons.

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And that was why they had birthday gifts
originally.

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Now, traditional birthday cakes and
candles, they have their origin in ancient

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pagan idol worship.

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I've seen in Greco-Roman churches,
they've continued some of the practices

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associated with candles.

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Anyway, the ancients believed that fire of
candles had magical properties.

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They offered prayers and made wishes be
carried out to the gods and flame the

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candles.

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And I've seen this in many cathedrals
around the world.

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And as far as birthdays go, we see the
birthday custom of making a wish and

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blowing out candles.

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The Greeks celebrate the birthday of their
moon goddess Artemis with a cake with

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adorned candles.

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So the idea of having a birthday cake came
from worship of the pagan moon goddess

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Artemis.

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That's where it came from.

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It didn't come from the Bible.

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Please don't dismiss the sermon at this
stage if you do believe you should

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celebrate birthdays.

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Let me go through the scriptures.

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But again, I'm reading you from a book
called The Lore of Birthdays, as well as a

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related article associated with it,
and all those things I've written,

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which are actually at the cogwriter.com
website, an article about birthdays.

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I'd like to read something from Herodotus.

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Herodotus was a historian.

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This is from Persian Wars Book 2,
Chapter 82.

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The Egyptians discovered to which of their
gods each month and day is sacred,

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and found out from the day of a man's
birth what he will meet in the course of

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his life, and how he will end his days,
and what sort of man he will be.

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So from the time of Herodotus,
we've got this idea that your life is

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predetermined based on the time you are
born, which of course sounds a lot like

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astrology, and is certainly not something
from the Bible.

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The Lore of Birthdays said, Birthdays are
intimately linked with the stars,

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since without the calendar, no one could
tell when to celebrate his birthday.

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They are also indebted to the stars in
another way, for in early days,

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the chief importance of birthday records
was to enable the astrologers to chart

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horoscopes.

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We read that again.

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In early days, the chief importance of
birthday records was to enable the

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astrologers to chart horoscopes.

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That was a big reason why they did it.

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Getting back to Herodotus, there was this
footnote that says, Horoscopes were of

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very early use in Egypt.

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And Cicero speaks of the Egyptians and
Chaldeans predicting a man's destiny at

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his birth.

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So you've been predetermined, I mean
everything been determined based on the

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time that you were born?

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Not according to the Bible, but this is
one of the reasons that birthdays were

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important.

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Now we just simply don't see this in
scripture, but I'd like to read something

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else from the lore of birthdays.

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Now this particular one came out,
this came out in 1952.

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It said, the Greeks believed that everyone
had a protective spirit or demon who

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attended his birth and watched over him in
life.

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I was alluding to that earlier.

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This spirit had a mystic relation with the
god on whose birthday the individual was

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born.

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So there were so many gods, apparently had
gods just about every day, maybe every

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day.

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And whenever you were born, this demon
spirit had a relationship with that pagan

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deity.

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Anyway, it says the Romans also subscribed
to this idea.

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So we get this Greco-Roman idea about
spirits and birthdays and paganism here.

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The notion was carried down in human
belief and is reflected in the guardian

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angel, the fairy godmother, and the patron
saint, which afflicts some of the

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Greco-Roman churches.

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The custom of lighted candles on cakes
started with the Greeks, and I mentioned

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where that came from.

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Honey cakes round as the moon and lit with
tapers were placed on the altars of

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Artemis, and I mentioned that before.

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Birthday candles in folk belief are
endowed with special magic for granting

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wishes.

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Lighted tapers and sacrificial fires have
had a special mystic significance ever

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since man first started to set up altars
to his gods.

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Not to the god of the Bible, but to his
gods.

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The birthday candles are thus an honor and
tribute to the birthday child and bring

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good fortune.

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Well, birthdays had their origin in
mythology, pagan mysticism, and magic.

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And, you know, astrology is a big part of
this.

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The ancient Romans enthusiastically
celebrated birthdays with hedonistic

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parties and presents according to birthday
rituals, friends, patrons of Rome,

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in Roman poetry and cult in the book
called Classic Antiquity.

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You say, okay, but what about the Jews?

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What about the children of Israel?

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How do they view this?

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Because if you're a Christian,
you would believe this book and you

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realize that the first portion of the
book, as a matter of fact, most of the

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book, till somewhere around actually past
there.

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So somewhere in this region, just about
this much or so, it's called the Old

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Testament and this is the New Testament.

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I'll put some notes at the end.

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Okay, well, the children of Israel,
the Jews, claim to believe the Old

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Testament.

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So what was their attitude based on that?

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You know, the New Testament wasn't written
when Jesus was born.

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So what did the Old Testament say or at
least what did the Jews think the Old

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Testament said?

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I'd like to read something from the first
century Jewish historian called Josephus.

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And he said, nay, indeed, the law does not
permit us to make festivals at the birth

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of our children and thereby afford
occasion of drinking to excess.

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So according to their understanding of
this book, they're not allowed to

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celebrate birthdays and have birthday
parties where they go out and drink and

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such.

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Now, there's no specific command against
the celebration of birthdays directly in

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the Bible.

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Jewish customs associated with that
beliefs seem to be related to some

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negative consequences associated with
birthdays.

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Now, since the first Christians,
all the original Christians, pretty much

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were Jewish or Hebrew, this explains why
for them the celebration of birthdays was

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not a cultural custom.

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So I'd like to read a couple of things
about this.

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It says, there is no tradition in Judaism
of celebrating birthdays as holidays.

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Otherwise, we'd expect holidays to the
birthdays of Moses and Abraham amongst

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others, but there's no such thing.

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The Bible does not even record their
birthdays, just as the New Testament does

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not record the date of Yeshua's or Jesus's
birth.

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And here's something from the
Chabad-Luvitch Media Center called,

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Your Jewish Birthday.

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The interesting thing about birthday
celebrations is that for much of our

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history, they were not a very Jewish
custom.

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As a rule, Jews did not celebrate their
birthdays.

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Indeed, while the dates of passing of the
great figures of Jewish history are

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recorded, because when people died and
commemorated, the dates of their birth are

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mostly unknown.

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In an essay entitled, Birthdays Jewishly,
a couple people point out that the

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Encyclopedia Judaica is very blunt on the
subject.

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Quote, the celebration of birthdays is
unknown in traditional Jewish ritual.

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Now, the Center for Jewish Women and
Gender Studies reported the same thing.

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Says, it's a fact that the only birthday
party mentioned in the Bible is for

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Pharaoh.

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Well, that's in the Old Testament.

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There are some stuff in the New Testament.

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I'm going to get to that.

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Anyway, the Center for Jewish Women's and
Gender Studies also reported, the

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tradition also holds that your birth alone
is not as significant as the way you live

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your life.

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After all, King Solomon is thought to have
said, the day of death is better than the

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day of one's birth, Ecclesiastes 7.1.

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As Midrash explains, Midrash is a Jewish
traditional explanation of things,

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when a person is born, it's not known what
he'll be like when he's grown and what his

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deeds will be, whether good or wicked.

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Now, I'd like to go over some passages in
the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament,

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that the Jews tend to look at in order to
come up with their own conclusions.

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So, we're going to be in the Bible for a
little bit here.

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So, if you've got your Bibles,
you might want to go to Genesis chapter

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40.

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I'm going to start reading in verse 20
from Genesis 40.

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And this was alluded to in one of the
things I mentioned before.

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Now, it came to pass on the third day,
which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he,

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that's Pharaoh, made a feast for all the
servants.

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And he lifted up the head of the butler,
and of the chief baker among his servants.

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Then he restored the chief butler to his
butlership again, and he placed the cup in

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Pharaoh's hand.

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But he hanged the chief baker.

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So, the first birthday party that we are
told about, one person gets honored and

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someone else gets hung.

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Now, let's go to the book of Deuteronomy,
Deuteronomy chapter 18.

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We're going to start reading in verse 10.

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There shall not be found among you anyone
who makes his son or his daughter pass

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through the fire, or who practices
witchcraft.

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I mentioned before that basically
birthdays had to do with witchcraft.

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Or a soothsayer, or one who interprets
omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures

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spells, or a medium, or a spiritist,
or one who calls upon the dead.

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For all who do those these things are an
abomination to the eternal, to the Lord

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Yahweh.

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Now, let's go to the book of Isaiah 47,

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starting verse 13.

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It says, You are worried in a multitude of
your councils.

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Let now the astrologers, the stargazers,
the monthly prognosticators, stand up and

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save you from what shall come upon you.

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Behold, they shall be a stubble.

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Go ahead, go to your astrologers and
monthly prognosticators and all these

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stargazer types.

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They're going to be a stubble.

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You don't want to pay attention to them.

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The fire shall burn them.

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They shall not deliver themselves from the
power of the flame.

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So we see a negative statement there about
astrologers.

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Now let's go to the book of Job,
Job chapter 3.

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I'm going to start in verse 1.

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We're going to go also further back in
Job, but we'll start off with this

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particular passage in Job 3.

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After this, Job opened his mouth and
cursed the day of his birth.

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He's cursed the day of his birth,
so obviously it wasn't a day he was

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celebrating.

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And Job spoke and said, May the day perish
on which I was born and the night in which

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it was said a child is conceived.

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May that day be darkness.

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May God above not seek it.

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So he says it's not a day of celebration,
nor let the light shine upon it.

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So don't burn light candles for it.

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May darkness in the shadow of death claim
it.

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May a cloud settle on it.

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May the blackness of the day terrify it.

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So Job was saying he shouldn't celebrate
his birthday.

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He shouldn't observe it.

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It should be a dark day.

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Now let's go to Job 1 verse 13.

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Now there was a day when his, that's
Job's, sons and daughters were eating and

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drinking wine in their oldest brother's
house.

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And a messenger came to Job saying,
the oxen were plowing and a donkey

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speeding beside them when the civilians
raided them and took them away.

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Indeed they've killed the servants with
the edge of the sword and I alone appear

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to tell you.

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Now I've heard it said that this
particular day in Job was a birthday.

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And it's perhaps consistent with this in
Job 1 verses 4 and 5.

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It's not absolutely positive it was a
birthday celebration that they were doing,

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but it sounds like it certainly may have
been.

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And interesting in Job 8 verse 4 it says,
if your sons have sinned against you he

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casts them away for their transgression.

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Now it wasn't only Job who was not a fan
of birthdays, and of course the baker

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whose head was who was hanged on Pharaoh's
birthday.

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Let's go to the book of Jeremiah.

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I was reading Jeremiah this week.

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I'm going to go to the 20th chapter.

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We're going to start in verse 14.

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Jeremiah the prophet wrote, cursed be the
day in which I was born.

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Let the day not be blessed in which my
mother bore me.

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Let the man be cursed who brought news to
my father saying a male child has been

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born to you, making him very glad.

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Let the man be like the cities which the
eternal overthrew and did not relent.

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Let him hear the cry in the morning and
the shouting at noon because he did not

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kill me from the womb that my mother might
have been my grave and her womb always

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enlarge with me.

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Why they come forth from the womb to see
labor and sorrow that my day should be

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consumed with shame.

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So Jeremiah was not endorsed in the day of
his birth.

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Now the Hebrew calendar itself makes the
observance of birthdays a bit difficult

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when one tries to superimpose it on the
modern calendar, the Roman calendar that

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we do now.

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The reason for that is that the Hebrew
calendar is about 11 days shorter than the

18:44.930 --> 18:46.270
annual orbit around the sun.

18:47.550 --> 18:52.790
And so it needs a 13th month seven times
out of every 19 year time cycle.

18:53.650 --> 18:57.590
Thus one's birthday on a modern calendar,
if you use the Jewish calendar,

18:59.030 --> 19:00.670
would vary like 11 days a year.

19:01.590 --> 19:05.650
And the position of the constellations
would be to some degree different.

19:06.530 --> 19:13.350
So God didn't intentionally have people
use a Roman calendar type of a dating

19:13.350 --> 19:15.730
system in order to observe their
birthdays.

19:15.850 --> 19:18.590
Because again, if they actually observed
them based on a Hebrew calendar,

19:20.010 --> 19:25.190
let's say you were born on the fifth month
the day of Abib.

19:26.310 --> 19:31.810
Now that could be in late March some year,
could be mid-late April some year.

19:33.010 --> 19:35.130
But most of the time it's going to vary
about 11 days.

19:35.570 --> 19:39.430
So it wouldn't be the same constellation
as far as the astrologers are concerned.

19:41.830 --> 19:49.210
And so the observance of God's calendar
pretty much reduces the astrological

19:49.210 --> 19:51.150
portion of this, if you will.

19:51.510 --> 19:55.750
But the reality is Jews didn't keep their
birthdays, they didn't celebrate them.

19:57.210 --> 19:59.410
It was not a practice that they did.

19:59.630 --> 20:01.590
And again, God's calendar makes it more
difficult.

20:02.510 --> 20:07.410
I sometimes have wondered if perhaps one
of the reasons why circumcision was

20:07.410 --> 20:12.490
implemented by God to be done on the
eighth day, as opposed to the day of

20:12.490 --> 20:17.510
birth, which is how it's typically done in
Western cultures that circumcise.

20:17.570 --> 20:21.670
They typically will circumcise people in
the hospital or if they're born in a

20:21.670 --> 20:24.230
hospital on that same day.

20:24.830 --> 20:31.690
But the Bible, God said to do this on the
eighth day, Genesis 17, 12, it was

20:31.690 --> 20:32.650
supposed to be on the eighth day.

20:33.050 --> 20:37.610
And what happened then is that it was a
different day than your birthday.

20:38.170 --> 20:43.930
So it didn't make your birthday as
important, if you will, in that respect.

20:44.550 --> 20:50.970
Now, I should mention that although the
ancient Jews and early Christians,

20:51.090 --> 20:54.530
for that matter, didn't celebrate
birthdays, they did acknowledge years.

20:56.270 --> 21:01.250
For example, I was debating if I should go
here, but let's go to Leviticus 27.

21:01.950 --> 21:03.270
Leviticus chapter 27.

21:05.470 --> 21:09.490
We're going to Leviticus chapter 27 to
make a couple of points.

21:14.740 --> 21:18.220
And I'm going to start from the first
verse, even though it doesn't talk about

21:18.220 --> 21:18.960
years at first.

21:19.980 --> 21:24.160
Now, the eternal Yahweh spoke to Moses
saying, speak to the children of Israel

21:24.160 --> 21:28.340
and say to them, when a man consecrates a
vow concerning certain persons to the

21:28.340 --> 21:32.660
eternal according to the valuation,
if your valuation is of a male from 20

21:32.660 --> 21:37.260
years up to 60 years old, your valuation
will be 50 shekels according to the shekel

21:37.260 --> 21:37.820
of the sanctuary.

21:38.900 --> 21:42.740
So it says if somebody's between 20 and 60
years, it's going to be a particular

21:42.740 --> 21:43.840
amount if it's a male.

21:44.320 --> 21:46.760
If it's a female, then your valuation will
be 30 shekels.

21:46.780 --> 21:49.780
It'll be from five years old up to 20
years.

21:50.220 --> 21:55.940
Then your valuation for males should be 20
shekels or female 10 shekels.

21:56.340 --> 22:00.300
And if it's from a month old to a
five-year-old, then your valuation for

22:00.300 --> 22:03.620
male will be five shekels of silver and
for female valuation be three shekels of

22:03.620 --> 22:03.840
silver.

22:04.340 --> 22:07.960
And if from 60 years old and above,
if it's a male, your valuation will be 15

22:07.960 --> 22:10.240
shekels and for a female 10 shekels.

22:10.940 --> 22:16.020
It wasn't that women were less valuable,
but they tended to earn less money and so

22:16.020 --> 22:19.260
it was less because you can see in verse
8.

22:19.700 --> 22:22.500
If it's too poor to pay your valuation,
then they befriend themselves before the

22:22.500 --> 22:25.540
priest and the priest will set a value
with the ability to pay.

22:26.100 --> 22:31.740
But my point was not on that particular
payment, but mentioning it to show that

22:31.740 --> 22:34.620
yes, the children of Israel knew how old
they were.

22:35.800 --> 22:37.280
Now, how did they know how old they were?

22:38.380 --> 22:39.440
There's a couple different ways.

22:39.600 --> 22:43.000
One, they may have known or they likely
would have known what day in the Hebrew

22:43.000 --> 22:44.020
calendar they were born.

22:44.600 --> 22:45.640
That would be one way.

22:47.080 --> 22:51.600
If you look throughout scripture,
you just don't see the Bible telling us

22:51.600 --> 22:52.840
the day people were born.

22:53.040 --> 22:55.220
Oh, the Bible says all kinds of people
were born, especially in the Old

22:55.220 --> 23:00.200
Testament, but it doesn't say they were
born on the 10th day of the 7th month or

23:00.200 --> 23:02.840
the 14th day of the 6th month or something
like that.

23:02.920 --> 23:04.340
We just don't tend to see that.

23:04.440 --> 23:05.320
It's just not in scripture.

23:05.520 --> 23:09.800
And God wanted us to know, to celebrate,
let's say Moses's birthday or Abraham's or

23:09.800 --> 23:15.380
Isaac's or Jacob's or somebody's,
even Job, who cursed the day he was born.

23:16.380 --> 23:19.620
You'd think God would have let us know,
but he didn't.

23:20.740 --> 23:29.940
Now, in older times, it seems that Jews
basically determined their age based on

23:29.940 --> 23:33.200
the Feast of Trumpets and sometimes
perhaps Passover.

23:34.140 --> 23:36.380
Now, not for the first month or so they
were born.

23:37.700 --> 23:40.900
I'm going to read something from the
Jewish Federation of North America.

23:41.040 --> 23:43.180
This is called Rosh Hashanah Theology and
Themes.

23:44.620 --> 23:47.460
There is a view put forth by the rabbis in
the Talmud.

23:48.460 --> 23:53.740
The Talmud were writings that the children
of Israel did when they were in captivity

23:53.740 --> 23:55.260
associated with Babylon.

23:55.540 --> 23:56.480
This is not scripture.

23:57.180 --> 24:03.120
Okay, anyways, there's a view put forth by
the rabbis in the Talmud that the day of

24:03.120 --> 24:08.480
Rosh Hashanah, which we tend to call the
Feast of Trumpets, the term Rosh Hashanah

24:08.480 --> 24:13.080
does not come from the Bible, coincides
with the sixth day of creation when

24:13.080 --> 24:14.080
humanity was created.

24:14.440 --> 24:17.720
According to this view, Rosh Hashanah
becomes the birthday of all peoples.

24:18.020 --> 24:20.520
And of course, one celebrates a birthday.

24:21.160 --> 24:25.500
Well, people don't actually celebrate
birthdays on Rosh Hashanah, but the Jews

24:25.500 --> 24:26.920
call this the Jewish New Year.

24:27.600 --> 24:32.560
And one of the reasons was it would be
considered a new year of somebody's life.

24:32.680 --> 24:34.080
It's when they were counting.

24:34.720 --> 24:36.480
So they didn't do it from the day they
were born.

24:36.800 --> 24:40.360
According to this particular tradition,
they did it from one period of Rosh

24:40.360 --> 24:41.200
Hashanah to the other.

24:41.820 --> 24:46.080
Now, originally, or actually in the Bible,
that particular holy day is called,

24:46.660 --> 24:47.580
refers to as Trumpets.

24:48.140 --> 24:50.640
And this term Rosh Hashanah came from
Talmudic times.

24:51.580 --> 24:56.240
But this is saying, again, the Jews,
that's when they would observe a time and

24:56.240 --> 24:58.400
they had to keep the Feast of Trumpets.

24:58.480 --> 25:04.080
And it was everybody's, it was humanity's
birthday in a sense, but they weren't

25:04.080 --> 25:05.840
doing birthday parties and that kind of
stuff.

25:06.360 --> 25:08.700
Now I'd like to read from another Jewish
source.

25:09.900 --> 25:17.800
This is from actually the Babylonian
Talmud, book two, tracts Uriben Shekelim

25:17.800 --> 25:18.720
Rosh Hashanah.

25:20.440 --> 25:29.440
It says, we've learned in a Beritha,
Rabbi Eliezer says, whence do we know that

25:29.440 --> 25:30.760
the world was created in Tishri?

25:31.220 --> 25:35.560
Now Tishri is the seventh month of the
Hebrew calendar.

25:36.980 --> 25:40.420
And the first day of that month is Rosh
Hashanah, is what they call Rosh Hashanah,

25:40.420 --> 25:42.500
but we call the Feast of Trumpets.

25:44.380 --> 25:48.280
From the scriptural verse in which it's
written, Genesis 1-11, and God said,

25:48.680 --> 25:52.240
let the earth bring forth grass,
the herb yielding seed, and a fruit tree,

25:52.660 --> 25:52.980
etc.

25:53.220 --> 25:57.580
And what month does the earth bring forth
grass at the same time the trees are full

25:57.580 --> 25:57.980
of fruit?

25:58.580 --> 25:59.600
Let us say Tishri.

26:00.540 --> 26:04.620
And at that time of the year, mentioned
Genesis, was autumn, and the rain

26:04.620 --> 26:09.060
descended and the fruits flourished,
as it is written in Genesis 2-6.

26:09.460 --> 26:12.060
But there went up a mist from the earth,
etc.

26:12.660 --> 26:18.140
Rabbi Yehoshua says, whence do we know the
world was created in Nisan?

26:19.160 --> 26:20.260
Okay, so there's another view.

26:20.440 --> 26:22.680
So there's one view, it was around the
Feast of Trumpets.

26:22.740 --> 26:25.100
The other view, it's around Passover.

26:26.620 --> 26:30.140
From the scriptural verse in which it's
written, Genesis 1-12, and the earth

26:30.140 --> 26:33.620
brought forth grass yielding its seed,
and a tree yielding fruit.

26:33.820 --> 26:37.680
In which month is the earth covered with
grass, and at the same time trees bring

26:37.680 --> 26:38.240
forth fruit?

26:38.440 --> 26:40.820
Let us say Nisan, or the first month of
the year, Nisan.

26:42.140 --> 26:46.760
And at the time animals, domestic and
wild, and birds mate, as it's written,

26:46.900 --> 26:51.680
said in Psalm, let's see, that looks like
it's 65-14.

26:52.460 --> 26:54.760
The meadows are clothed with flocks,
etc.

26:55.220 --> 26:59.820
Further, says Rabbi Eliezer, whence we
know the patriarchs were born in Tishri?

27:00.720 --> 27:04.620
Okay, so now they're saying that people
like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were born

27:04.620 --> 27:05.020
in Tishri.

27:05.580 --> 27:10.700
From the passage in 1 Kings 8-2,
and all men of Israel assembled themselves

27:10.700 --> 27:15.040
unto King Solomon to feast in the month of
Ethanim.

27:15.420 --> 27:19.620
Ethanim is also the seventh month of the
year, or it was Tishri, which is the

27:19.620 --> 27:20.200
seventh month.

27:20.860 --> 27:23.100
And the strong ones of the earth,
the patriarchs, were born.

27:23.180 --> 27:24.500
How do we know the expression Ethan?

27:24.840 --> 27:29.220
Ethan means strength, because it's written
in Numbers 24-21.

27:29.960 --> 27:39.540
Ethan, Moshe, Heka, strong as a dwelling
place, as is written in Micah 4-2.

27:40.020 --> 27:44.820
Hero mountains, the Lord's controversy,
and ye strong foundations, etc.

27:45.320 --> 27:48.020
Now I'm going to continue, I've only got a
little bit more from the Jewish Talmud,

27:48.180 --> 27:54.240
and the Jewish Talmud isn't our criteria
here, but anyway, it says Rabbi Yehoshua,

27:54.480 --> 28:01.780
however, says, once we know the patriarchs
were born in Nisan, from 1 Kings 6-1,

28:02.040 --> 28:07.780
where it says the fourth year in the month
Ziv, glory, which is the second month,

28:08.040 --> 28:11.880
which means that in the month in which the
glorious ones on the earth, the patriarchs

28:11.880 --> 28:12.440
were already born.

28:14.260 --> 28:17.680
So there are different arguments in
Judaism as to when things happened,

28:18.600 --> 28:25.320
but for some time, people were saying that
all humanity was born in the month of

28:25.320 --> 28:30.520
Tishri or Ethan in the seventh month of
the year, and therefore, that's when they

28:30.520 --> 28:31.280
counted their years.

28:32.180 --> 28:37.980
So people knew how old they were,
pretty close at least, and some say it was

28:37.980 --> 28:43.580
counted around Passover, some say it was
counted at the Feast of Trumpets,

28:43.920 --> 28:45.440
which the Jews call Rosh Hashanah.

28:46.180 --> 28:50.300
But either way, the Jews were not having
birthday parties back then.

28:50.520 --> 28:51.740
It just was not their practice.

28:53.020 --> 29:00.680
Now, I'd like to read something from an
article called Happy Birthday from Rev.

29:01.020 --> 29:02.540
Shayem HaKoten.

29:04.140 --> 29:05.100
He's a Jewish writer.

29:05.240 --> 29:09.460
He says, in Jewish theology, much more
important to attach the day one dies,

29:10.620 --> 29:12.760
but little is mentioned about one's
birthday.

29:13.200 --> 29:20.560
Some Torah authorities, such as Rabbi
Yolish Teitelbaum from 1887-1979,

29:20.860 --> 29:24.260
are opposed to any such celebration of
one's birthday, while other authorities,

29:24.880 --> 29:33.320
such as Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schickenrin
from 1902-1994 and others, permit and

29:33.320 --> 29:36.520
encourage such celebration of one's
birthday as a means of inspiring

29:36.520 --> 29:38.140
self-reflection and introspection.

29:39.020 --> 29:40.540
Well, they didn't get that from the Bible.

29:41.240 --> 29:44.940
You should just examine your life.

29:46.480 --> 29:50.660
The Bible does tell you around Passover
time to examine one's life.

29:51.660 --> 29:55.540
Whether people do that on their birthdays
or not, that can be debated.

29:56.920 --> 29:59.040
But again, they're not getting it from
Scripture.

30:00.180 --> 30:04.460
Well, then they cite Solomon again,
who said a good name is better than good

30:04.460 --> 30:04.720
oil.

30:04.920 --> 30:06.760
The day of death is better than the day of
birth.

30:08.440 --> 30:17.620
So, the third reason for opposing birthday
parties is simply the fact that the Torah

30:17.620 --> 30:21.920
only mentions such a party in conjunction
with the Pharaoh celebrating his own

30:23.400 --> 30:24.000
birthday.

30:24.220 --> 30:28.400
This implies only morally degenerate
people, such as the sovereign of Egypt,

30:28.520 --> 30:32.460
would celebrate a birthday, but not Torah
true Jews.

30:34.580 --> 30:37.960
Cursing one's birthday is an expression of
one's dissatisfaction with one's

30:37.960 --> 30:38.720
situation.

30:39.800 --> 30:44.720
We see this, he says, from both Job and
Jeremiah, which I cited them.

30:45.800 --> 30:50.080
So, basically, Jews knew that the
observance of birthdays was simply not

30:50.080 --> 30:51.520
their practice.

30:53.020 --> 30:56.660
Now, some have felt because they've seen
certain scenes, they're supposed to be

30:56.660 --> 31:01.440
Christmas scenes of the Magi coming in,
the wise men from the east, they gave

31:01.440 --> 31:03.340
Jesus' presence on the day of his birth.

31:03.860 --> 31:05.300
But there's a few issues with that.

31:05.840 --> 31:09.760
Let's go over the book of Matthew,
Matthew chapter 2, starting verse 1.

31:14.300 --> 31:20.080
The Bible is clear that the Magi weren't,
the wise men weren't there on the day of

31:20.080 --> 31:20.740
Jesus' birth.

31:20.900 --> 31:22.040
They came after he was born.

31:23.960 --> 31:26.460
Look what says Matthew 2, verse 1.

31:26.520 --> 31:31.640
Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of
Judea in the days of Herod the king,

31:31.940 --> 31:35.840
behold, wise men from the east came to
Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has

31:35.840 --> 31:36.880
been born king of the Jews?

31:36.980 --> 31:38.860
Where he's seen a star in the east,
we've come to worship him.

31:39.980 --> 31:42.660
Notice they came to worship Jesus,
not celebrate his birthday.

31:43.500 --> 31:47.660
It was customary in that time,
and it still is these times, to give gifts

31:47.660 --> 31:48.100
to royalty.

31:49.280 --> 31:56.480
Thus, giving Jesus' presence then is not
saying you're supposed to give birthday

31:56.480 --> 31:56.760
presents.

31:56.860 --> 31:58.340
It simply wasn't, it wasn't the case.

31:59.040 --> 32:02.260
Now, there's been some speculation that
the wise men perhaps descended from the

32:02.260 --> 32:02.920
children of Israel.

32:04.200 --> 32:08.420
The book of James, chapter 1, verse 1,
James addressed his letter to the tribes

32:08.420 --> 32:09.520
which are scattered abroad.

32:10.200 --> 32:14.040
In the first century, Jewish historian
Josephus, who I mentioned before,

32:15.100 --> 32:20.820
said that some of the tribes of Israel
were beyond the Euphrates, which is east

32:20.820 --> 32:21.360
of Jerusalem.

32:22.320 --> 32:29.300
And that's one reason why that it's
possible that the wise men who came to see

32:29.300 --> 32:32.760
Jesus were descended from the children of
Israel.

32:34.400 --> 32:38.960
And they would be the ones who knew that
it said in Numbers 24, 17, a star will

32:38.960 --> 32:41.420
come out of Jacob, a scepter shall rise
out of Israel.

32:42.600 --> 32:45.780
So if they had access to Jewish
scriptures, that's why they would know.

32:47.480 --> 32:48.800
But what about Christians?

32:48.940 --> 32:50.840
I've talked about Jews, I've talked about
pagans.

32:52.100 --> 32:56.560
What about the practices of the non-Jewish
Christians, the early non-Jewish

32:56.560 --> 32:57.000
Christians?

32:57.660 --> 33:02.300
You know, the original Christians,
the disciples were of Israelite origin,

33:02.680 --> 33:06.940
so they didn't keep birthdays,
it just wasn't the case.

33:07.620 --> 33:11.640
Now, it's interesting, the New Testament
is clear about the specific time of

33:11.640 --> 33:18.940
certain holy days like Passover and
Pentecost, but it doesn't mention the date

33:18.940 --> 33:21.240
or even the month of Jesus' birth.

33:21.800 --> 33:27.260
And you can look at Matthew 1 or Luke 1 or
2, nor does it ever endorse the

33:27.260 --> 33:28.160
celebration of birthdays.

33:28.940 --> 33:31.180
It doesn't give the date anybody was born.

33:33.800 --> 33:38.500
Now, there is one birthday celebration
that's mentioned in the New Testament,

33:38.900 --> 33:39.880
and it wasn't a good one.

33:42.140 --> 33:45.520
And so why don't you go to Matthew chapter
14.

33:46.520 --> 33:50.860
While you're going there, I'm just going
to mention that there's a person in

33:50.860 --> 33:54.420
Matthew 11, Jesus called the greatest
among those born of women.

33:55.540 --> 34:00.300
And find out what happened to him on
Herod's birthday, or because of Herod's

34:00.300 --> 34:00.600
birthday.

34:00.920 --> 34:02.820
Matthew 14, starting verse 6.

34:03.360 --> 34:07.080
But when Herod's birthday was celebrated,
the daughter of Herodias danced before

34:07.080 --> 34:08.420
them and pleased Herod.

34:09.240 --> 34:12.780
Therefore he promised with an oath to give
her whatever she might ask.

34:13.480 --> 34:18.480
So she being prompted by her mother said,
give me John that baps his head here on on

34:18.480 --> 34:18.940
a platter.

34:20.020 --> 34:22.880
Again, Jesus said John was the greatest of
those born of women.

34:23.620 --> 34:24.340
And the king was sorry.

34:24.460 --> 34:27.300
Nevertheless, because of the oaths and
because of those who sat with him at his

34:27.300 --> 34:30.840
birthday party, he commanded to be given
to her.

34:31.340 --> 34:34.820
So he sent and had John beheaded in
prison, and his head was brought on a

34:34.820 --> 34:37.800
platter and given to the girl,
and she brought it to her mother.

34:38.320 --> 34:41.680
You can also read the same account in Mark
chapter 6 verses 21 to 28.

34:44.420 --> 34:50.620
Now originally, even as more and more
Gentiles became Christian, so even when

34:50.620 --> 34:57.720
they outnumbered those of Israelite
heritage, we do not see that they endorse

34:57.720 --> 34:58.800
the celebration of birthdays.

35:00.980 --> 35:05.880
Actually, there's no religious or church
writing I've seen from the second century.

35:06.680 --> 35:10.140
And as far as I know, I've read all those
that are, or most all those are available,

35:10.280 --> 35:11.580
at least those have been translated into
English.

35:12.280 --> 35:15.880
None of them seem to endorse or even
suggest the idea of celebrating birthdays.

35:16.820 --> 35:21.080
Although he wasn't in the church of God,
I'd like to quote Origin of Alexandria,

35:21.380 --> 35:27.040
because he's considered a great scholar,
theologian by the Protestants and other

35:27.040 --> 35:27.880
Greco-Roman faiths.

35:30.720 --> 35:35.340
And the Catholic encyclopedia says this,
Origin, glancing perhaps at the

35:35.340 --> 35:42.820
discernible Imperial Natalitia,
asserts that in the scriptures,

35:42.980 --> 35:45.300
sinners alone, not saints, celebrate their
birthdays.

35:46.800 --> 35:52.680
So he's talking of the Imperial Natal or
Natalitia.

35:56.840 --> 35:57.940
We'll get to that later.

35:58.320 --> 36:00.560
But let's read some of what Origin
actually himself wrote.

36:01.000 --> 36:04.280
He says, of all the holy people of
scriptures, no one is recorded to have

36:04.280 --> 36:06.400
kept a feast or great banquet on his
birthday.

36:06.720 --> 36:11.180
It's only sinners like Pharaoh and Herod
who make great rejoices over a day in

36:11.180 --> 36:13.620
which they were born into this world
below.

36:16.820 --> 36:22.160
Now there was a late third century
Catholic theologian by the name of

36:22.160 --> 36:29.700
Arnobius, and he shows even at that late
of time, the Catholics objected to the

36:29.700 --> 36:30.740
celebration of birthdays.

36:30.840 --> 36:31.740
Because here's what he wrote.

36:32.640 --> 36:34.960
This is a book called Against the Heathen,
book one.

36:35.760 --> 36:39.420
Your worship with couches, altars,
temples, and other services, and by

36:39.420 --> 36:43.980
celebrating their games and birthdays,
those whom it was fitting that you should

36:43.980 --> 36:45.620
assail with keenest hatred.

36:47.520 --> 36:54.380
So the celebration of God's leaders and
birthdays were still being condemned.

36:57.140 --> 37:00.960
Now another part that's kind of
interesting is, well, where did these

37:00.960 --> 37:03.340
birthday celebrations end up coming into
the West?

37:04.520 --> 37:11.000
Now I mentioned before that the Greeks in
their worship of the moon goddess Artemis

37:11.000 --> 37:14.860
had birthday candles or cakes and cakes
and such.

37:15.180 --> 37:19.420
As far as birthdays getting more involved
in the West, I'd like to read something.

37:19.640 --> 37:23.720
I don't know if it's still there anymore,
but Wikipedia had this back in 2007.

37:24.700 --> 37:26.560
Let me read this because you might find
this interesting.

37:27.300 --> 37:29.580
History of celebration of birthdays in the
West.

37:30.340 --> 37:36.240
It is thought that large-scale celebration
of birthdays in Europe began with the cult

37:36.240 --> 37:37.100
of Mithras.

37:37.880 --> 37:42.880
Mithras is a sun god who was allegedly
born December 25th, which originated in

37:42.880 --> 37:46.160
Persia but was spread by soldiers
throughout the Roman Empire.

37:47.220 --> 37:50.940
And this happened around the first century
BC.

37:52.500 --> 37:54.980
Before this, such celebrations were not
common.

37:55.360 --> 38:00.520
Hence practices from other contexts,
such as a Saturnalia, were adapted for

38:00.520 --> 38:01.060
birthdays.

38:01.880 --> 38:09.480
Saturnalia was a basically a sun
celebration, a time of darkness to

38:09.480 --> 38:10.780
celebrate the rebirth of the sun.

38:11.140 --> 38:15.780
Because many Roman soldiers took to
Mithraism, it had a wide distribution

38:15.780 --> 38:20.000
influence throughout the empire until it
was supplanted by, they said,

38:20.060 --> 38:20.520
Christianity.

38:20.620 --> 38:21.560
We'll get to that in a moment.

38:25.580 --> 38:30.860
Now, I mentioned that Mithra's birthday
was December 25th.

38:31.060 --> 38:35.840
Now, the Roman Emperor Constantine from
the fourth century, he was the first Roman

38:35.840 --> 38:38.600
Emperor to supposedly profess anything
about Christ.

38:39.120 --> 38:45.340
He was also the first one to make Sunday
laws, and he did that on March 7th,

38:45.380 --> 38:45.800
321.

38:46.220 --> 38:50.740
A few years later, he had a Council of
Nicaea convened and declared Sunday to be

38:50.740 --> 38:51.880
the Christian day of worship.

38:52.820 --> 38:59.560
But what's interesting is there's an
accusation about Constantine as to why he

38:59.560 --> 39:02.060
didn't want Passover celebrated on the
14th.

39:02.540 --> 39:04.900
Now, one of the reasons, of course,
is he was a sun god worshiper and he

39:04.900 --> 39:05.740
wanted it on a Sunday.

39:06.340 --> 39:07.960
But this other part was kind of
interesting.

39:08.140 --> 39:11.580
It was claimed, quote, Epiphanius wrote
this.

39:11.600 --> 39:13.840
This is a respected church historian.

39:15.300 --> 39:20.220
This is an accusation against Constantine,
or against the Greco-Roman churches,

39:20.420 --> 39:20.620
actually.

39:20.980 --> 39:24.380
He says, you changed the Passover to
Constantine's birthday.

39:25.840 --> 39:32.540
That was a charge that some have made
against why the day of Passover was

39:32.540 --> 39:32.980
changed.

39:34.680 --> 39:40.520
The reality is it was because of the
birthday of the sun that many ended up

39:40.520 --> 39:44.260
choosing a particular day to celebrate the
date of Jesus' birth.

39:46.940 --> 39:50.000
Now, let's go to the book of Deuteronomy
chapter 12.

39:57.820 --> 40:02.320
The Bible is clear that God doesn't want
people to make up additional days and tie

40:02.320 --> 40:03.600
them in to pagan days.

40:04.200 --> 40:08.760
Deuteronomy 12, starting verse 29,
says, when eternally your God cuts off

40:08.760 --> 40:13.940
from before you the nations which you go
to dispossess, and you displace them and

40:13.940 --> 40:16.280
dwell on their land, take heed yourself.

40:16.380 --> 40:20.360
You're not ensnared to follow them after
they are destroyed before you.

40:20.740 --> 40:25.200
And then you don't inquire, saying,
how did these nations serve their gods?

40:25.900 --> 40:26.820
All do likewise.

40:27.820 --> 40:29.800
You shall not worship the eternal your God
that way.

40:29.940 --> 40:33.040
For every abomination of the Lord which he
hates have they done to their gods.

40:33.140 --> 40:36.820
They've burned, even during their sons and
daughters, the fire to their gods.

40:38.020 --> 40:41.560
Verse 32, whatever I command you,
be careful to observe it.

40:41.580 --> 40:43.480
You shall not add to it or take away from
it.

40:44.160 --> 40:47.500
Yet most people who profess Christ do the
opposite of God here.

40:47.780 --> 40:50.220
They celebrate days that are not biblical.

40:51.880 --> 40:54.520
They basically rename some pagan holidays.

40:56.640 --> 40:58.320
And now, people have heard this before.

40:58.400 --> 41:00.080
Let's go to Jeremiah 10 for just a moment.

41:00.760 --> 41:03.880
I'm going to read this from the Old King
James version, otherwise called the

41:03.880 --> 41:07.360
Authorized Version, starting in verse 2 of
Jeremiah chapter 10.

41:08.300 --> 41:12.000
It says, thus says the Eternal,
learn not the way of the heathen,

41:12.340 --> 41:13.840
and don't be dismayed at the signs of
heaven.

41:14.640 --> 41:16.000
For the heathen are dismayed at them.

41:16.840 --> 41:19.500
That's one of the reasons why they have
astrology with birthdays.

41:20.040 --> 41:21.320
For the customs of people are vain.

41:21.460 --> 41:24.220
For one cuts a tree out of the forest,
working the hands of the workman with an

41:24.220 --> 41:24.500
axe.

41:24.820 --> 41:25.900
They take it with silver and gold.

41:25.960 --> 41:28.260
They fasten it with nails and hammers that
it doesn't move.

41:29.100 --> 41:30.260
They're upright as a palm tree.

41:30.340 --> 41:30.940
They don't speak.

41:32.160 --> 41:33.860
They must need to be born.

41:33.940 --> 41:35.940
You got to carry them because they can't
go anywhere.

41:36.060 --> 41:36.860
But don't be afraid of them.

41:36.980 --> 41:37.440
They can't do evil.

41:37.500 --> 41:38.220
They can't do good.

41:38.680 --> 41:42.440
For as much as there's none like you,
O Eternal, you are great and your name is

41:42.440 --> 41:42.760
great.

41:43.020 --> 41:45.720
So we shouldn't imitate what the heathen
do.

41:47.720 --> 41:50.520
Now in Deuteronomy 32, you don't have to
go there.

41:50.580 --> 41:54.540
I'm going to read something that the
children of Israel did, starting verse 15.

41:55.820 --> 41:59.540
They provoked him, that's God,
to jealousy with foreign gods.

41:59.580 --> 42:01.380
With abominations they provoked him to
anger.

42:01.640 --> 42:03.780
They sacrificed to demons, not to God.

42:03.780 --> 42:07.660
To gods they did not know, to new gods,
new arrivals your fathers did not fear.

42:08.780 --> 42:14.300
The celebration of birthdays of various
heathen gods and rulers was very common

42:14.300 --> 42:14.980
for the pagans.

42:15.880 --> 42:18.120
And some of these practices are still
going on today.

42:18.560 --> 42:20.460
Now let's go to First Corinthians chapter
10.

42:24.620 --> 42:31.080
Some think it's okay to combine paganism
with Christianity and still think it's

42:31.080 --> 42:31.440
Christian.

42:32.920 --> 42:34.940
Well the Apostle Paul didn't seem to share
that.

42:35.080 --> 42:36.160
As a matter of fact, he didn't share that
view.

42:36.680 --> 42:38.840
First Corinthians 10, starting with verse
20.

42:41.140 --> 42:45.860
Rather, that the things which the Gentiles
sacrificed, they sacrificed to demons and

42:45.860 --> 42:46.840
not to God.

42:47.240 --> 42:49.060
And I don't want you to have fellowship
with demons.

42:49.400 --> 42:51.460
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord in
the cup of demons.

42:51.580 --> 42:54.160
You cannot partake of the Lord's table and
table of demons.

42:54.720 --> 42:56.640
Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?

42:56.780 --> 42:57.820
Are we stronger than he?

42:58.580 --> 43:05.700
Christians are not supposed to try to
provoke God by observing pagan practices.

43:07.260 --> 43:12.340
Birthday celebrations, including those
associated with December 25th,

43:12.380 --> 43:13.200
come from paganism.

43:14.140 --> 43:22.200
But back in 1969, somebody named Anton
Lavey wrote something called the Satanic

43:22.200 --> 43:22.480
Bible.

43:22.840 --> 43:26.460
Now some of the Satanists say it's not
that big of a deal, but I'd like to read

43:26.460 --> 43:30.560
something from page 96 of the 1976 version
of it.

43:32.180 --> 43:36.880
The highest of all holidays in the satanic
religion is the date of one's own birth.

43:38.420 --> 43:43.220
This is in direct contradiction to the
holy of holy days of other religions,

43:43.380 --> 43:48.240
which deify a particular God, which has
been created in anthropomorphic form for

43:48.240 --> 43:51.340
their own image, therefore showing that
the ego is not really buried.

43:51.740 --> 43:55.340
The Satanist feels, why not honor and be
honest?

43:55.740 --> 43:58.440
If you're going to create a God in your
image, might as well create that God as

43:58.440 --> 44:02.100
yourself, which is one of the reasons they
think you celebrate birthdays.

44:02.920 --> 44:06.160
Every man is a God if he chooses to
recognize himself as one, so the Satanist

44:06.160 --> 44:08.720
celebrates his own birthday as the most
important holiday of the year.

44:09.680 --> 44:13.780
After all, aren't you happier about the
fact that you were born than you are about

44:13.780 --> 44:15.400
the birth of someone you've never even
met?

44:15.820 --> 44:19.540
For that matter, aside from religious
holidays, why pay higher tribute to the

44:19.540 --> 44:23.160
birthday of a president or date of history
than we do the day we were brought into

44:23.160 --> 44:24.740
this greatest of all worlds?

44:25.940 --> 44:29.160
Despite the fact that some of us may have
not wanted to, or at least were not

44:29.160 --> 44:33.280
particularly planned, we're glad,
if no one else is, that we're here.

44:33.780 --> 44:36.760
You should give yourself a pat on the
back, buy yourself whatever you want,

44:36.840 --> 44:41.740
treat yourself like a king or god that you
are, and celebrate your birthday with such

44:41.740 --> 44:43.740
pomp and ceremony as possible.

44:44.800 --> 44:52.100
After one's birthday, the two major
satanic holidays are Walpurgis Night and

44:52.100 --> 44:52.520
Halloween.

44:54.100 --> 44:57.280
So they say the most important,
according to the satanic bible,

44:58.040 --> 44:59.840
for Satanists is to celebrate their
birthdays.

45:00.460 --> 45:04.580
The next one is Walpurgis Night,
which basically is Witches Night,

45:04.660 --> 45:10.120
that's celebrated I think April 30th each
year, and Halloween, which is December,

45:10.240 --> 45:12.160
excuse me, October 31st.

45:15.330 --> 45:20.390
I'd like to read something from a writer
by the name of Norm Schneider.

45:20.590 --> 45:24.070
This is from The Strange Origins of Our
Modern Birthday Customs.

45:24.730 --> 45:29.130
During a Christian era, the early
followers of Christ didn't believe in

45:29.130 --> 45:32.910
celebrating birthdays, preferring,
as was the case in earlier eras,

45:33.090 --> 45:34.290
honoring one's death.

45:34.670 --> 45:40.110
Their belief was only that in death was a
true deliverance worthy of honoring one's

45:40.110 --> 45:40.770
death day.

45:41.790 --> 45:45.170
They also believed that the Egyptian and
Greek birthday celebrations were pagan

45:45.170 --> 45:47.790
festivals and should not be duplicated.

45:48.170 --> 45:53.230
So early Christians did not think they
should duplicate the pagan festivals of

45:53.230 --> 45:55.030
celebrating birthdays, so they did not do
so.

45:56.850 --> 45:57.470
What about you?

46:00.290 --> 46:07.310
Anyway, he goes on and says, by the fourth
century some started to wonder about when

46:07.310 --> 46:08.310
Christ's birth was.

46:08.430 --> 46:09.450
They came up with some kind of deal.

46:09.510 --> 46:10.310
We're going to get to that.

46:13.810 --> 46:15.970
But was Jesus actually born then?

46:19.170 --> 46:23.810
Well, one thing we can be sure of is Jesus
was not born December 25th.

46:24.290 --> 46:25.330
Now, how do we know that?

46:25.670 --> 46:27.490
Well, we can go to Luke's gospel to find
out.

46:28.450 --> 46:31.070
Why don't you go to the book of Luke,

46:34.790 --> 46:39.250
Luke chapter 2, starting in verse 1.

46:40.910 --> 46:47.810
It came to pass in those days that a
decree went out from Caesar Augustus that

46:47.810 --> 46:49.170
all the world should be registered.

46:50.170 --> 46:53.930
And this census took place when Quirinius
was governing Syria.

46:54.330 --> 46:56.230
So they all went and everyone in his own
city.

46:57.490 --> 47:02.190
Verse 4, Joseph also went up from Galilee
out of the city of Nazareth into Judea,

47:02.350 --> 47:05.890
the city of David, which is called
Bethlehem, because he was of the house and

47:05.890 --> 47:09.970
lineage of David, to be registered with
Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with

47:09.970 --> 47:10.350
child.

47:10.890 --> 47:13.630
Once while they were there, the days were
completed for her to be delivered.

47:13.790 --> 47:16.550
She brought forth her firstborn son,
wrapped him in swaddling clothes,

47:16.710 --> 47:19.850
laid him in the manger, because there's no
room at the inn, per se.

47:20.190 --> 47:23.490
And there were in the same country
shepherds living out in the fields.

47:23.870 --> 47:25.010
Notice they were living out in the fields.

47:25.070 --> 47:28.430
They weren't just out in the field one
night, because it happened to be a really

47:28.430 --> 47:29.530
warm night that night.

47:29.610 --> 47:33.090
They were living out there, keeping watch
over their flock by night.

47:33.470 --> 47:37.530
And behold, an angel of the Lord stood
before them, the glory of the Lord shone

47:37.530 --> 47:37.970
around them.

47:38.130 --> 47:39.070
They were greatly afraid.

47:39.390 --> 47:40.590
The angel said, Don't be afraid.

47:41.190 --> 47:44.250
I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which will be to all people.

47:44.350 --> 47:49.010
For there is born to you this day in the
city of David a Savior, who is Christ the

47:49.010 --> 47:49.210
Lord.

47:49.990 --> 47:50.890
This will be a sign for you.

47:50.910 --> 47:58.150
You'll find a babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger, and so this is

47:58.150 --> 47:58.670
what happened.

48:02.330 --> 48:05.710
Now notice this happened during the time
of a census.

48:06.170 --> 48:08.130
Now let me read something from the
Catholic Encyclopedia.

48:08.690 --> 48:12.110
It says the census would have been
impossible in the winter.

48:12.650 --> 48:16.310
The Catholic Encyclopedia says it's not
possible they could have a census then.

48:16.870 --> 48:23.650
And also, in that part of the world,
it was too cold for the shepherds to be

48:23.650 --> 48:26.050
living out in the fields at night.

48:26.170 --> 48:27.630
They weren't doing it that time of the
year.

48:28.510 --> 48:32.830
So for a couple of reasons, we know it's
not possible, as far as the Bible is

48:32.830 --> 48:36.390
concerned, that Jesus was born on December
25th.

48:37.190 --> 48:40.770
Now the Church of Rome originally did not
celebrate December 25th.

48:42.350 --> 48:48.230
Actually, one of the people they call the
father of Latin theology, one of their

48:48.230 --> 48:52.650
great Latin, or excuse me, early
historians who wrote in Latin,

48:53.030 --> 48:53.790
his name was Tertullian.

48:54.550 --> 48:58.950
He'd like to read something he wrote in
his document called On Idolatry.

48:59.370 --> 49:06.070
It says the Minervalia are just as much
Minerva, now Minerva is from paganism,

49:06.670 --> 49:12.170
and as the Saturnalia, Saturns,
which must be celebrated by even little

49:12.170 --> 49:13.570
slaves at the time of Saturnalia.

49:15.410 --> 49:19.670
And these things take place on idol's
birthday, and every pomp of the devil is

49:19.670 --> 49:20.150
frequented.

49:20.610 --> 49:24.670
Who will think that these things are
befitting a Christian master?

49:26.310 --> 49:29.850
He says Christians shouldn't be
celebrating the Saturnalia, which included

49:29.850 --> 49:31.870
the time of December 25th.

49:35.230 --> 49:42.010
But he said that later, this would be
chapter 14, I was reading from chapter 10

49:42.010 --> 49:49.150
from the same book, he says but this time
the majority of people associated with him

49:49.150 --> 49:53.390
have induced in belief in their mind that
it's pardonable if they do what the

49:53.390 --> 49:53.970
heathen do.

49:57.980 --> 50:02.280
They say to live as a heathen is lawful,
but to die with them is not.

50:03.420 --> 50:05.980
He says who can maintain or defend this?

50:08.740 --> 50:17.360
He says the pagans don't keep the
Passover, which is the Lord's Day or

50:17.360 --> 50:19.300
Pentecost, they don't do that.

50:19.420 --> 50:24.560
He says we shouldn't be keeping
Saturnalia, New Years, and all these

50:24.560 --> 50:24.940
things.

50:25.340 --> 50:26.840
But people did it anyway.

50:28.000 --> 50:31.860
Now the Catholic encyclopedia in this
article Christmas clearly says,

50:32.060 --> 50:34.920
quote, Christmas was not among the early
festivals of the church.

50:35.320 --> 50:36.200
And that's true.

50:38.700 --> 50:40.820
So why December 25th?

50:40.820 --> 50:42.700
There's a lot of different reasons for
this.

50:43.620 --> 50:47.060
The primary one is because it was the
birthday of the sun god Mithras.

50:47.640 --> 50:51.140
But I'm going to read an account that came
from around 600 A.D.

50:51.540 --> 50:56.080
from Ananias of Shirak, Armenia area
basically.

50:56.760 --> 51:00.160
So the festival of the holy birth of
Christ on the 12th day before the feast of

51:00.160 --> 51:04.500
baptism was not appointed by the holy
apostles nor their successors either,

51:04.720 --> 51:06.600
as is clear from the scriptures.

51:08.220 --> 51:14.680
But many years after fixing the canons,
this festival was invented by the

51:14.680 --> 51:19.560
disciples of the heretic Serinthes and was
accepted by the Greeks because they were

51:19.560 --> 51:22.060
truly fond of festivals and most fervent
in piety.

51:22.640 --> 51:24.140
And from there it spread around the world.

51:24.920 --> 51:30.200
So basically what it was saying is that
somebody who was a heretic as far as

51:30.200 --> 51:34.700
Christianity was concerned picked this
particular date.

51:37.040 --> 51:40.080
12 days before the December, should be
January 6th, they picked this December

51:40.080 --> 51:40.820
25th.

51:41.720 --> 51:43.780
Now what about this Serinthes person?

51:44.500 --> 51:46.200
I'd like to read an account about him.

51:46.480 --> 51:47.900
Araneas wrote the following.

51:49.540 --> 51:54.720
It says, there are also those who heard
from him that John, the disciple of the

51:54.720 --> 52:00.640
lord, going in to bathe at Ephesus and
perceiving Serinthes within, rushed out of

52:00.640 --> 52:06.120
the bath house without bathing and
exclaiming, let us fly lest even the bath

52:06.120 --> 52:09.260
house fall down because Serinthes,
the enemy of truth, is within.

52:10.800 --> 52:18.000
So the person who originally is believed
to try to incorporate Jesus's birthday on

52:18.000 --> 52:24.000
December 25th was a heretic that was so
apostate who was so bad that it's recorded

52:24.000 --> 52:27.200
that the Apostle John wouldn't be in the
same building with the guy at the same

52:27.200 --> 52:27.580
time.

52:30.560 --> 52:36.220
But now we have people who keep this date
of a person who was denounced by the

52:36.220 --> 52:36.920
Apostle John.

52:40.100 --> 52:43.420
Now Constantine, Emperor Constantine is
considered to be a saint by the Eastern

52:43.420 --> 52:43.740
Orthodox.

52:44.800 --> 52:48.440
I'd like to read though something that the
Catholic encyclopedia says about him.

52:48.920 --> 52:50.660
I'm going to read this from the Catholic
encyclopedia.

52:50.820 --> 52:55.540
It says, Constantine the Great,
Constantine can rightfully claim the title

52:55.540 --> 53:00.060
of great for he turned the history of the
world into a new course and made

53:00.060 --> 53:04.500
Christianity, well the Greco-Roman
version, the religion of the state.

53:04.920 --> 53:08.860
It's easy to understand that many of the
emperors yielded to the delusion that they

53:08.860 --> 53:14.720
could reunite all their subjects in the
adoration of one sun god, that's what

53:14.720 --> 53:19.500
Constantine wanted to do, who combined in
himself the father god of Christians and

53:19.500 --> 53:21.300
in much worshiped Mithras.

53:22.480 --> 53:26.580
Thus the emperor, the empire could be
founded anew on a unity of religion.

53:26.960 --> 53:30.260
Even Constantine cherished this mistaken
belief.

53:30.760 --> 53:32.580
And I'm reading from the Catholic
encyclopedia.

53:32.700 --> 53:36.600
So they know that Emperor Constantine's
plan was to get everybody behind that sun

53:36.600 --> 53:38.720
god of some kind to unite his empire.

53:40.640 --> 53:47.800
Could not the sole deus invictus,
that's Latin, for the unconquerable sun

53:47.800 --> 53:54.620
god, to whom even Constantine dedicated
his coins for a long time, by the way

53:54.620 --> 53:57.920
after supposedly he was Christian he still
had his coins dedicated to the sun god,

53:58.620 --> 54:05.880
or sole Mithras deus invictus,
the invincible sun god of Mithra,

54:06.960 --> 54:12.500
I still remember a little Latin,
venerated by Diocletian and Galerius,

54:12.640 --> 54:15.840
became the supreme god of the empire.

54:16.520 --> 54:22.080
Constantine may have pondered over this,
nor had he absolutely rejected the

54:22.080 --> 54:26.880
thought, even after a miraculous event had
strongly influenced in favor of the claim

54:26.880 --> 54:27.940
to be the god of the Christians.

54:28.520 --> 54:30.140
I added the claim part.

54:30.860 --> 54:35.280
It's true that believers in Mithras also
observed Sunday as well as Christmas.

54:36.140 --> 54:40.660
Consequently, Constantine speaks not of
the day of the Lord, but of the day of the

54:40.660 --> 54:42.280
everlasting sun.

54:43.560 --> 54:48.880
This is where December 21st, excuse me,
25th starts to get incorporated amongst

54:48.880 --> 54:51.540
the Greco-Roman faiths in a great degree.

54:52.180 --> 54:56.160
They were celebrated in different places,
different days, but this is where it

54:56.160 --> 54:57.140
partially comes from.

54:58.040 --> 55:02.180
Now I'd like to read from the Catholic
Encyclopedia from a different author.

55:02.340 --> 55:03.700
This is the article on Mithraism.

55:04.500 --> 55:09.020
Mithraism, a pagan religion consisting
mainly of the cult of the ancient

55:09.020 --> 55:11.580
Indo-Iranian sun god Mithra.

55:12.380 --> 55:16.060
It entered Europe from Asia Minor after
Alexander the Great's conquest,

55:16.560 --> 55:19.820
spread rapidly over the whole Roman Empire
at the beginning of our era.

55:20.640 --> 55:26.580
So basically, around the first century BC
it started to enter and then started to

55:26.580 --> 55:26.880
spread.

55:27.640 --> 55:33.060
Reached its zenith during the third
century AD and vanished under the

55:33.060 --> 55:35.740
oppressive regulation of Theodosius at the
end of the fourth century.

55:37.180 --> 55:39.100
Helios Mithras is one god.

55:39.580 --> 55:40.680
Helios is a word meaning sun.

55:41.540 --> 55:48.020
Sunday was kept holy in honor of Mithra
and the 16th of each month was sacred to

55:48.020 --> 55:49.360
him as mediator.

55:49.940 --> 55:55.360
The 25th December was observed as his
birthday, the Natalis Invicti,

55:55.620 --> 56:02.060
and I've read that before, the rebirth of
the winter sun unconquered by the rigors

56:02.060 --> 56:02.640
of the season.

56:03.360 --> 56:11.320
So basically what they said was during
December, well actually from beginning of

56:11.320 --> 56:17.980
fall to winter solstice, the sun,
you see it less and less each day.

56:18.700 --> 56:24.720
But December 21st shows that the 25th
showed that it came back from that and it

56:24.720 --> 56:28.460
was unconquerable and it should be
celebrated that it has succeeded.

56:29.900 --> 56:35.080
Well the birthday of the sun god Mithras
is what Constantine wanted his followers

56:35.080 --> 56:36.940
to follow and they did.

56:39.140 --> 56:47.680
And to be sure it was followed in 354 AD,
over 300 years after Jesus died and was

56:47.680 --> 56:53.400
resurrected, the Roman bishop Liberius
ordered the people to celebrate on

56:53.400 --> 56:54.400
December 25th.

56:54.680 --> 56:58.120
He probably chose this date because the
people of Rome already observed it as a

56:58.120 --> 57:00.800
feast of Saturn celebrating the birthday
of the sun.

57:01.240 --> 57:04.020
This is from the World Book Encyclopedia
of 1966.

57:06.360 --> 57:11.040
Now it should be mentioned that some
believe that because of Constantine it was

57:11.040 --> 57:14.340
celebrated earlier and certainly
Constantine was celebrating December 25th

57:14.340 --> 57:17.520
and so a lot of the Greco-Romans started
to do that.

57:21.500 --> 57:26.180
I'd like to read something from the
Washington Times regarding this.

57:27.200 --> 57:36.140
It says, the church where the tradition of
celebrating December and 25th...

57:36.140 --> 57:44.080
on December 25 may have begun was built
near a pagan shrine as part of an effort

57:44.080 --> 57:46.920
to spread Christianity, a leading Italian
scholar says.

57:47.540 --> 57:54.140
Italian archaeologists back in 2007
revealed an underground grotto they

57:54.140 --> 57:59.140
believed ancient Romans revered as a place
where the wolf nursed Rome's legendary

57:59.140 --> 58:01.900
founder Romulus and his twin brother
Remus.

58:02.640 --> 58:09.060
A few feet from the grotto, the Lupercale,
the Emperor Constantine built the Basilica

58:09.060 --> 58:13.700
of Saint Anastasia where some believe
Christmas was first celebrated on December

58:13.700 --> 58:15.000
25th.

58:15.940 --> 58:21.080
It opted to mark Christmas then celebrated
at burying days on December 25 to coincide

58:21.080 --> 58:25.000
with the Roman festival celebrating the
birth of the sun god.

58:26.940 --> 58:33.520
Andrea Caradini, professor of archaeology
at Rome's La Sapienza University,

58:33.720 --> 58:35.040
told reporters.

58:36.380 --> 58:41.520
The Basilica of Saint Anastasia was built
as soon as a year after the Nicene

58:41.520 --> 58:41.960
Council.

58:42.480 --> 58:46.800
It was probably there that Christians
first marked December 25th part of broader

58:46.800 --> 58:51.380
efforts to link pagan practices to
Christian celebrations in the early days

58:51.380 --> 58:52.080
of the new religion.

58:52.540 --> 58:55.440
This is not the early days of the new
religion, this is centuries later.

58:57.200 --> 59:02.460
Mr. Cardini said, the church was built to
Christianize these pagan places of

59:02.460 --> 59:02.740
worship.

59:02.940 --> 59:05.980
It was normal to put a church near these
places to try to save them.

59:12.010 --> 59:20.770
And then Angelo Bottini said, this
hypothesis was evocative and coherent and

59:20.770 --> 59:24.830
helps us to understand the mechanisms of
the passage from paganism to Christianity.

59:26.110 --> 59:32.910
No, Christianity didn't start in the 4th
century, but in the 4th century more

59:32.910 --> 59:38.250
things associated with paganism called
themselves Christian is what happened.

59:41.930 --> 59:46.870
Now as far as the Eastern Orthodox,
let me read something from the Catholic

59:46.870 --> 59:47.490
Encyclopedia.

59:48.870 --> 59:53.490
It says, we may take it as certain that
the feast of Christ's Nativity was kept in

59:53.490 --> 59:57.790
Rome on December 25th, but it was,
and I told you about when that was.

59:58.010 --> 01:00:04.730
Then it says, it was introduced by their
Saint John Chrysostom, who was a hater of

01:00:04.730 --> 01:00:09.990
Jews and anti-Semite, into Constantinople
and definitively adopted in 395.

01:00:10.670 --> 01:00:16.730
So while the Eastern Orthodox consider
that Constantinople is somewhat their

01:00:16.730 --> 01:00:25.950
first among equals, they didn't adopt
December 25th until 395 AD, three and a

01:00:25.950 --> 01:00:28.270
half centuries after Jesus died and was
resurrected.

01:00:29.810 --> 01:00:32.610
So I'm going to read a few other things
the Catholic Encyclopedia says about

01:00:32.610 --> 01:00:33.030
Christmas.

01:00:33.810 --> 01:00:39.570
It says, Irenaeus and Tertullian admitted
from their list of festivals, Origen,

01:00:39.750 --> 01:00:47.370
glancing perhaps at the discredible
imperial Natalia, asserts that sinners

01:00:47.370 --> 01:00:48.870
alone, not saints, celebrate their
birthdays.

01:00:49.130 --> 01:00:54.910
And he was saying, don't celebrate this
day, the unconquerable day of the sun.

01:00:55.950 --> 01:00:57.070
But people now do it.

01:01:00.380 --> 01:01:02.640
Alexandria, this is a Catholic
Encyclopedia.

01:01:02.700 --> 01:01:08.620
The first evidence of the feast Christmas
is from Egypt around 200 AD.

01:01:08.900 --> 01:01:17.760
Certain Egyptian theologians were keeping
this day around May 20th.

01:01:18.020 --> 01:01:20.920
So that's when they were celebrating
Christmas in Alexandria.

01:01:21.080 --> 01:01:26.020
That's the first time we see more of
direct references, of direct reference,

01:01:26.280 --> 01:01:28.760
other than Cyrenthus.

01:01:29.860 --> 01:01:33.400
The Church of Rome considers that
Cyrenthus was an apostate, so they don't,

01:01:33.580 --> 01:01:36.840
they won't use him, but they considered
Alexandrians to be Christians.

01:01:36.900 --> 01:01:39.680
And it was around 200, they started to do
it, but they did it May 20th.

01:01:47.360 --> 01:01:50.660
Now here's something for the Catholic
Encyclopedia as well.

01:01:50.720 --> 01:01:51.300
The Gospels.

01:01:51.660 --> 01:01:54.340
Concerning the date of Christ's birth,
the Gospels give no help.

01:01:55.400 --> 01:01:58.000
Upon their data, contradictory arguments
are based.

01:01:58.100 --> 01:02:00.940
The census would have been impossible,
and our whole population couldn't be put

01:02:00.940 --> 01:02:01.320
in motion.

01:02:02.340 --> 01:02:07.940
Then it says, they say, Natalis Invicti,
the well-known solar feast, however,

01:02:08.600 --> 01:02:13.280
Natalis Invicti, celebrating 25 December,
has a strong claim on responsibility for

01:02:13.280 --> 01:02:14.340
our December date.

01:02:15.460 --> 01:02:19.460
For the history of the solar cult,
its position in the Roman Empire,

01:02:19.780 --> 01:02:25.600
the syncretism with Mithraism,
being syncretic means to incorporate pagan

01:02:25.600 --> 01:02:30.460
practices in, to try to make it more
normal, which the Church of Rome and some

01:02:30.460 --> 01:02:31.680
of its daughters have done.

01:02:35.390 --> 01:02:36.630
And cards and presents.

01:02:36.790 --> 01:02:41.590
Catholic Encyclopedia says, pagan customs
centering around January gravitated to

01:02:41.590 --> 01:02:41.930
Christmas.

01:02:44.070 --> 01:02:45.270
The Yule Log.

01:02:45.810 --> 01:02:50.210
The Callum fires were a scandal even to
Rome, and St. Boniface obtained from Pope

01:02:50.210 --> 01:02:51.430
Zachary their abolition.

01:02:52.470 --> 01:03:00.630
So it's clear that people were not
celebrating the date of Jesus's birth on

01:03:00.630 --> 01:03:01.490
December 25th.

01:03:01.550 --> 01:03:03.110
It simply wasn't happening.

01:03:03.770 --> 01:03:08.650
So what we do know is that early
Christians didn't keep December 25th.

01:03:08.710 --> 01:03:10.290
They didn't celebrate their birthdays.

01:03:12.290 --> 01:03:17.730
Somebody, the Apostle John, denounced and
wouldn't be in the same building with,

01:03:18.910 --> 01:03:22.250
supposedly, was the first one introduced
December 25th.

01:03:23.010 --> 01:03:29.230
First time a group that Rome seems to
acknowledge was celebrating Christmas at

01:03:29.230 --> 01:03:34.950
all, Jesus's birth, was the Alexandrians,
which I never considered to be Christians,

01:03:35.070 --> 01:03:36.410
at least most of the ones I've read about.

01:03:37.630 --> 01:03:44.370
That didn't happen until around 200 AD,
way after early Christianity, Christianity

01:03:44.370 --> 01:03:44.770
had formed.

01:03:45.470 --> 01:03:51.990
But after the sun god Mithra rose up,
and we had Emperor Constantine who was a

01:03:51.990 --> 01:03:57.910
worshiper of that sun god, December 25th
was adopted and is now adopted by Rome,

01:03:58.110 --> 01:04:00.830
as well as the Protestants and many
others.

01:04:01.970 --> 01:04:07.450
Now, billions of people today keep
Christmas as basically, they call it a

01:04:07.450 --> 01:04:08.510
birthday party for Christ.

01:04:08.610 --> 01:04:11.690
They think it's good to keep it for two
different reasons.

01:04:11.850 --> 01:04:15.950
One, people think, well, if they celebrate
their own birthday, they should celebrate

01:04:15.950 --> 01:04:16.890
Jesus's birthday.

01:04:17.710 --> 01:04:22.410
I think it's one way they rationalize
keeping their own birthday is to say,

01:04:22.590 --> 01:04:24.270
well, they celebrate Jesus's as well.

01:04:25.650 --> 01:04:29.590
But in the scripture, we don't see a
precedent for what happens in these

01:04:29.590 --> 01:04:30.590
Christmas parties.

01:04:31.550 --> 01:04:36.110
It was simply not something that early
Christians would do.

01:04:40.830 --> 01:04:42.130
But what about birthdays?

01:04:42.390 --> 01:04:44.710
If you're a Christian, do you ignore your
birthday?

01:04:45.690 --> 01:04:46.590
What's appropriate?

01:04:46.730 --> 01:04:47.470
What's not appropriate?

01:04:48.790 --> 01:04:53.630
Well, biblically, we don't see people
making a big deal about their birthdays,

01:04:54.950 --> 01:04:58.750
except for, let's say, Pharaoh and Herod.

01:05:00.250 --> 01:05:05.830
And we see Job and Jeremiah who denounced
their own birthdays.

01:05:06.670 --> 01:05:08.770
So we don't see it as a big deal of
celebrations.

01:05:08.930 --> 01:05:09.950
It simply wasn't the case.

01:05:10.610 --> 01:05:17.390
We do know that the use of candles and
cakes, etc., for this comes from the

01:05:17.390 --> 01:05:18.410
worship of pagan gods.

01:05:19.510 --> 01:05:20.410
That's where it comes from.

01:05:21.610 --> 01:05:25.010
We know that early Christians didn't want
anything to do with birthday parties.

01:05:25.150 --> 01:05:28.130
They felt there was too much drinking
involved, and they felt it was

01:05:28.130 --> 01:05:31.110
inappropriate, and they simply didn't do
it.

01:05:33.290 --> 01:05:38.550
Now, birthdays seem to have originated
with mythology and with magic.

01:05:39.690 --> 01:05:45.790
We know that the early followers of Mithra
celebrated December 25th and birthdays,

01:05:46.010 --> 01:05:46.770
and various ones.

01:05:47.270 --> 01:05:51.010
The pagans celebrated the birthdays of the
various false gods.

01:05:51.370 --> 01:05:57.130
We know the Bible says not to enjoy the
worship of the true God with those of the

01:05:57.130 --> 01:05:59.390
false gods, and to put all those practices
together.

01:05:59.930 --> 01:06:01.730
Yet we see some of that in terms of
birthdays.

01:06:02.550 --> 01:06:04.470
Now, is it wrong to know what day you were
born?

01:06:04.690 --> 01:06:05.010
No.

01:06:07.230 --> 01:06:12.330
Is it wrong, let's say, if you want to
measure the height of your children every

01:06:12.330 --> 01:06:15.350
year on their birthday to have an idea of
their progress?

01:06:15.970 --> 01:06:16.190
No.

01:06:18.310 --> 01:06:21.270
There's nothing wrong with acknowledging
that you were born a particular day and

01:06:21.270 --> 01:06:22.150
keeping track of the years.

01:06:22.310 --> 01:06:26.730
The Bible in Leviticus 27, which I read
earlier, shows that they knew how old

01:06:26.730 --> 01:06:28.790
people were, so they obviously were doing
that.

01:06:30.130 --> 01:06:34.810
Now, I also am not saying that Christians
are supposed to do what some of the Jews

01:06:34.810 --> 01:06:40.430
did, which is decide their birthday has to
be the first day of the seventh month of

01:06:40.430 --> 01:06:43.610
the Hebrew calendar, or sometime in the
first month of the Hebrew calendar.

01:06:44.610 --> 01:06:46.150
That's simply not in the Bible.

01:06:46.350 --> 01:06:47.910
It's more of a tradition that they were
doing.

01:06:49.930 --> 01:06:52.310
But let's go to the book of Colossians.

01:06:52.350 --> 01:06:55.870
I'd like to read a couple things from the
New Testament.

01:06:55.990 --> 01:06:57.690
Let's go to Colossians chapter 2,
verse 8.

01:07:05.380 --> 01:07:11.360
As I mentioned, birthdays came from magic
and mythology, and they were traditionally

01:07:11.360 --> 01:07:13.040
celebrated by the heathen.

01:07:15.500 --> 01:07:20.180
But listen to Colossians here,
what the Apostle Paul wrote.

01:07:21.560 --> 01:07:27.460
He says, Beware, lest anyone cheat you
through philosophy and empty deceit

01:07:27.460 --> 01:07:30.840
according to the tradition of men,
according to the basic principles of the

01:07:30.840 --> 01:07:32.000
world, and not according to Christ.

01:07:32.680 --> 01:07:35.380
Well, the basic principles of the world,
their traditions are to celebrate

01:07:35.380 --> 01:07:38.580
birthdays, have birthday parties.

01:07:38.860 --> 01:07:40.720
It's simply not from the Bible.

01:07:40.860 --> 01:07:42.500
This is not, shouldn't be done.

01:07:43.240 --> 01:07:47.420
Now let's go to the book of Matthew,
Matthew chapter 15.

01:07:48.740 --> 01:07:52.000
I'd like to read some things that Jesus
mentioned regarding traditions,

01:07:52.080 --> 01:07:55.200
because you know, I realize for a lot of
people, tradition are why they keep

01:07:55.200 --> 01:07:55.620
birthdays.

01:08:05.500 --> 01:08:11.440
Okay, starting in verse 3, it says,
He answered and said to them, Why do you

01:08:11.440 --> 01:08:14.200
also transgress the commandment of God
because of your tradition?

01:08:14.560 --> 01:08:18.140
Well, I read some of God's commands about
not mixing things with heathenism,

01:08:18.240 --> 01:08:19.100
including from the New Testament.

01:08:19.680 --> 01:08:21.020
Verse 7, skip down there.

01:08:21.740 --> 01:08:26.840
Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about
you, saying, These people draw near to me

01:08:26.840 --> 01:08:29.800
with their mouth, and they honor me with
their lips, but their heart's far from me.

01:08:30.100 --> 01:08:33.240
In vain they worship me, teaching as
doctrines the commandments of men.

01:08:34.940 --> 01:08:39.180
Birthday celebrations are not a biblical
tradition.

01:08:40.820 --> 01:08:42.680
But acknowledging age is.

01:08:43.380 --> 01:08:48.460
It was in the fourth century that we
started to see people who profess Christ

01:08:48.460 --> 01:08:50.860
start to go more toward birthdays.

01:08:51.500 --> 01:08:55.540
Origin of Alexandria, one of the great
theologians as far as the Greco-Romans was

01:08:55.540 --> 01:08:56.780
concerned, was opposed to this.

01:08:57.420 --> 01:09:01.800
Tertullian seemed to be opposed to this,
one of the so-called father of Latin

01:09:01.800 --> 01:09:02.300
theology.

01:09:03.400 --> 01:09:06.660
And Arnobius in the third century also
wrote against it.

01:09:06.920 --> 01:09:10.560
It was simply not part of the original
faith.

01:09:11.400 --> 01:09:15.620
In Jude, verse 3, it says, to contend
earnestly for the faith which was once for

01:09:15.620 --> 01:09:16.780
all delivered to the saints.

01:09:17.880 --> 01:09:21.840
Well, that original faith did not include
the celebration of birthdays.

01:09:23.240 --> 01:09:25.900
I'd like to read John 4, verse 24.

01:09:26.580 --> 01:09:29.640
I'd like to read this from the New
Jerusalem Bible.

01:09:29.640 --> 01:09:34.040
It's a Roman Catholic translation of the
Bible into English.

01:09:35.560 --> 01:09:41.800
It says, God is spirit, and those who
worship must worship in spirit and truth.

01:09:42.080 --> 01:09:47.100
Those who worship God are supposed to
worship God in spirit and in truth.

01:09:48.200 --> 01:09:54.360
The truth is, birthdays were not something
that Christians did.

01:09:54.920 --> 01:09:55.740
They were pagan.

01:09:56.280 --> 01:09:58.140
They came from paganism.

01:09:58.920 --> 01:10:01.860
And they were not part of what early
Christians did.

01:10:02.600 --> 01:10:03.680
It's not from the Bible.

01:10:04.320 --> 01:10:06.860
It's not one of the things that God tells
people to celebrate.

01:10:07.420 --> 01:10:11.740
Consider, if God wanted people to
celebrate Jesus's birth, which is one of

01:10:11.740 --> 01:10:16.040
the biggest holidays in the world this
year, it probably is the biggest,

01:10:17.080 --> 01:10:22.220
don't you think that perhaps God would
have said what day Jesus was born?

01:10:23.180 --> 01:10:28.480
He didn't even give the day in the Hebrew
calendar which day Jesus was born.

01:10:29.420 --> 01:10:33.640
Yet people act like it's very important to
celebrate Christmas on December 25th.

01:10:34.260 --> 01:10:38.120
Now, I realize that some think,
oh, well, we don't care about all that.

01:10:38.660 --> 01:10:41.780
What we like about December 25th is that
Jesus gets to be mentioned.

01:10:43.700 --> 01:10:49.280
Jesus said, in vain do they worship the
teaching traditions of men as doctrines of

01:10:49.280 --> 01:10:49.560
God.

01:10:50.740 --> 01:10:55.480
And Jesus wanted people to obey the Bible
and what he said.

01:10:56.500 --> 01:11:02.600
If you're confused about Christianity,
I would suggest that you consider looking

01:11:02.600 --> 01:11:04.060
at a couple of booklets that we have.

01:11:04.280 --> 01:11:07.100
We've got one called The Continuing
History of the Church of God.

01:11:07.480 --> 01:11:10.920
So you can find out what the original
faith was throughout history, and what

01:11:10.920 --> 01:11:15.260
days actually were celebrated by
Christians, as well as another one,

01:11:15.340 --> 01:11:16.640
Where is the True Christian Church Today?

01:11:17.620 --> 01:11:22.900
These referenced booklets, which are free,
you can find them at ccog.org website,

01:11:24.040 --> 01:11:26.860
will answer a lot of questions you may
have about Christianity.

01:11:27.340 --> 01:11:33.840
As far as the Bible goes, again,
in Christians and birthdays, the Bible

01:11:33.840 --> 01:11:35.460
doesn't say to celebrate birthdays.

01:11:35.680 --> 01:11:38.640
Birthday parties were simply something
that Christians didn't do, but

01:11:38.640 --> 01:11:41.420
acknowledging the date of one's birth was.

01:11:42.160 --> 01:11:44.500
I hope this helps, answers your question.

01:11:44.600 --> 01:11:47.520
We went over the origin of birthdays,
and even explained how important they are

01:11:47.520 --> 01:11:48.160
to Satanists.

01:11:49.560 --> 01:11:53.040
But for God, God is spirit.

01:11:53.160 --> 01:11:55.200
We're supposed to worship him in spirit
and truth.

01:11:56.300 --> 01:11:59.340
This is Dr. Bob Teel for The Continuing
Church of God.