Song of Solomon 2: Spring Invitation

Reading Song of Solomon is kind of like watching a period love story. I imagine if it were made into a movie, it would look like a Shakespearean play... The second section of Song of Solomon features a conversation between the young lovers that centers on enjoying a spring day together. Once again we see significance for our literal love lives, as well as, significance for our spiritual lives.

Introduction

The second section of Song of Solomon features a conversation between the young lovers that centers on enjoying a spring day together. Once again we see significance for our literal love lives, as well as, significance for our spiritual lives.
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The Excitement of Spring

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Andrea Reiman

Since it's currently winter, I related to the speaker's excitement about the return of Spring easily. While some people love Winter, many struggle with depression through the cold, rainy (or snowy), and bleak months. I am lucky to be living in South Florida, where it is green year-round, but when I lived in South Carolina, the trees would go bare and the grass would turn a little brown. It looked like the Earth had died. So during those days, I would wish for Spring because it brings back warmth and beauty.

The Biblical Significance of Spring

¹¹For, lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone;
¹²The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
¹³The fig tree putteth forth her green figs,
and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.Song of Songs 2:11-13 KJV

In the Western world, we consider the first of the year to be January 1. This is odd, because off the top of my head, January doesn't really have any celestial or religious significance. After doing some digging, I found out that January is named for the Roman god Janus (well, I kind of knew that, but I didn't know anything about Janus). Janus was said to be a two-faced god with one face looking back into the past, and one face looking forward to the future. The tradition of celebrating New Years on January 1 started with the adoption of the Julian calendar which is where the name of January was introduced.^[1][2] Astronomically, the beginning of January represents perhihelion, the point at which the Earth is closest to the Sun—not the Romans would have known that when they chose the date.^[3] Since January is in the dead of the winter, we technically experience winter twice each year, which is pretty depressing to me.

In contrast, the Israelite's religious calendar starts in the Spring. Their fist month of the year was Nissan, which is symbolic of their escape from Egypt. The year is counted from this month because this is the month they gained freedom and truly became a nation. Nissan begins either in what we call March or April,^[4] which is also when Spring begins. This time of the year symbolizes the beginning of Israel's relationship with God.

Spring as it's Related to Life

Spring has always been a symbol of new life, or rebirth. Many people are probably familiar with the phrases "April showers bring May flowers" and "spring chicken." Similarly, in pagan religions, spring time was associated with fertility goddesses. Why? Because the Earth comes to life in spring. Trees regrow their leaves, flowers bloom, and most animals (like chickens) give birth to their young during this time. Despite our tradition of making New Year's resolutions in January, Spring is the true symbol of renewal.

Spring Love

The speaker in Song of Solomon 2:11-13 is clearly excited for spring to come and asserts it to be some sort of beginning or renewal in the relationship. The transition from winter is explicitly stated and much of the above symbolism is referenced.

From the point of view of two lovers, it makes sense to plan a "date" in the spring. This would be the perfect time for a romantic walk or picnic. All though I'm sure that during Solomon's era marriages were arranged and there probably wasn't any dating, I imagine this would have been a prime season for courting once dating did become common.

It's also interesting from a spiritual point of view. The speaker is requesting that the lover arise and come away now that spring has come. Generally I associate "arise" with waking up, but really it is just a command to stir us to action. We see this with the request to "come away." When God delivered Israel from Egypt (in the Spring), He essentially say arise and come with me, just as the speaker says to their lover. Further, in the New Testament, we (the church, a.k.a the Bride of Christ), are commanded to come out (or come away) from Babylon.

Photocredit: Unsplash.com/Laura College

Animal References

Sometimes we compare people to animals, but the references in Song of Solomon make it clear that there's a generational and cultural difference between how we think today versus back then. Someone is compared to a roe or young hart, not once, but twice.

Let's start by defining "roe" and "hart," because if you're like me, you know they're animals but you aren't sure what they are specifically. There are several definitions of roe, but the most likely candidate given the context of it's usage here, is that it is synonymous with doe.^[5] A doe is typically thought to be female deer, but can refer to several animals in which the female is referred to as a doe and the male is referred to as a buck.^[6] A hart, on the other hand, is definitely a male deer.^[7]

It's not a typical comparison, but it did make me think.

First, by using a roe and a hart, we see an example of an equally yoked couple. Roe is likely referencing a female deer, which would naturally be the mate of a hart. In today's society, women are typically compared to things that are cute and fluffy like bunnies and kittens, while men are compared to more dominate animals. Solomon's comparison is more in line with God's description of man and woman in the Bible. If you research the origins of the word helpmeet—the word used to describe Eve at Creation—you learn that Eve was to be "directly corresponding to" Adam. In the New Testament, we are warned not to be unequally yoked or mismatched with our spouse. I think we an all agree that a male and female deer directly correspond to eat other and are more equally yoked than, say, a bunny and a bear.

Second, the imagery is actually quite nice. I've seen plenty of deer over my lifetime and while I've never tried to woo someone by comparing them to a deer, I can definitely see why it's a complement. Deer are beautiful creatures. They are graceful and elegant, but they are also fast and strong. The male deer have antlers which give them a look of power and might, but in general deer are very peaceful.

Mountains of Bether

The woman in the song places her lover—as a deer—on the mountains of Bether. Naturally, I asked the question: what's significant about Bether and it's mountains? Bether, actually means separated or divide.^[8][9] Why would she compare her love to a deer on a mountain meant to separate or divide? After reading an exposition by C.H. Spurgeon,^[10[ I realized this is once again both literal and spiritual.

In general, there will be division in relationships at some point. No matter how much you love each other, disagreements will arise. There will also be times when you are physically separated—perhaps one person has to go on a business trip. We should approach these situations gracefully, like a deer, and take time to reassess the situation (in the case of an argument). The author of Believer's Bible Commentary suggests that Song of Solomon 2:15 is actually spoken by the woman's brothers. Based on this, he paints a scene where the lover is essentially standing at her window seeking to see her only to be caught by her brothers and shooed away.^[11] While I can clearly see the scene play out the way they describe, I think it is adding to the word. There is no mention of the brothers nor is there any indication that the words spoken are from someone other than the man or woman of the couple.

Spiritually, it's interesting that the lover is a peaceful and gentle deer standing on a mountain meant to set boundaries and divide or separate countries. Similarly, when Jesus, who we think of as gentle, returns, He will be dividing. From the beginnings of Israel unto this day, God's people still argue about doctrine. These doctrines create dividings line in the church. When we speak the truth about God, whether to fellow believers who may not have accepted certain truths yet, or to non-believers, it often has the effect of causing a stir and dividing. Similarly, when we refuse to accept God's truth, we are separated from Him.

His and Hers

Possessiveness is not new to our generation. In Solomon 2:15, the woman in the song makes it clear that the man she loves is hers and she belongs to him. I don't think it's hard to parse out this statement, but I wanted to call attention to the spiritual parallels. Our relationship with God is the same way. He is our God and we are His people. We do well to remember this.

While I think Believer's Bible Commentary adds to the story in many instances, the author makes a point about the woman in Song of Solomon conveying her love as voluntary, spontaneous, and free. The issue the Israelites, and many of us today, think of loving God as required, religious, and structured. This is where we fail to understand the point, how we take things out of context, and why we find it hard to cultivate our relationship with God. Jesus constantly reminds us that love is the most important thing. Many people seem to old the belief that because we do what God commanded or because we go to church each week, we love God. However, the truth is that we do things to please God voluntarily because we love Him. It seems like such a minute changing of words but it really is a profound difference.

There was a man who was in love with a woman. They were married. When things in the relationship became strained, he decided to buy her flowers often to show his love. They still ended up in divorce court. When the judge dug into the issue, the woman complained that she had explained over and over that she didn't like flowers, she wanted time and thoughtfulness. The man thought that if followed a generic, preset script, without really trying to understand his wife, it was the same as loving her. This is the major difference that happens when we act out of love verses acting to imply love. In the first case we move because our lover (God) has told us what He wants and we want to please Him. In the latter, we do things hoping to please God without consulting Him, come up short, and are confused as to why the situation doesn't turn out the way we hoped.

References

1. "January". Time and Date; visited December 1, 2017
2. "45 B.C. New Year’s Day". This Day in History, via History. 2010
3. "Perihelion, Aphelion and the Solstices". Time and Date; visited December 1,2017
4. "The Jewish Months". Chabad.org; visited 2017
5. "Roe". Merriam Webster; visited December 1, 2017
6. "Doe". Merriam Webster; visited December 1, 2017
7. "Hart". Merriam Webster; visited December 1, 2017
8. Bether". Bible Hub; visited December 1, 2017
9. Andrew Robert Fausset. "Bether". via Bible History; visited December 1, 2017
10. C.H. Spurgeon. Over the Mountains". via Bible Bulletin Board; visited December 1, 2017
11. William MacDonald. Believer's Bible Commentary, pg. 923-924. 1995

Why, as a Christian, I Don't Celebrate Easter

It's Easter Sunday and millions of Christians are out celebrating the resurrection of Christ, except, Passover is still a month away. Why it matters that you're trying to mix God and paganism.

Introduction

Today is Easter (also called Resurrection Sunday), but the Passover is not until the night of Friday April 22. How can that be? There are many who recognize the pagan origins of Easter. A quick Google search will easily reveal the origin of the word Easter to be Ēastre. Some say this is from Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility.^[2][3] Others claim the origin is from Ishtar, a Babylonian goddess linked with Baal and Tammuz.^[1][4] In the further reading section, you will find articles on these pagan origins and I'll touch on them a little throughout the post, but what I really want to talk about is why it matters.
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Easter in the Bilbe

The Bible has sole authority concerning the ways of God. We know from several passages that anyone or anything that contradicts the Bible is not of God, and is a false doctrine.

¹Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; ²Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; ³Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. ⁴For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:1 Timothy 4:1-4 KJV

Another point I want to make on the above verses before moving on comes from verse 3. Meats that God created to be received with thanksgiving could refer to clean meats (God didn't create unclean meats to be received with thanksgiving...that's covered in another post) or to food in general (you will notice that meat is used to mean food/sustenance throughout the Bible). Now, what is Lent again? It originated with the Pope commanding Catholics to abstain from meat for 40 days,^[5] this is the same religion that forbids their priests to marry...

Back to the topic at hand, in the further reading section, many of the articles listed will cross reference God's commands not to mix pagan worship with worship for Him, but some people argue the use of the word Easter in Acts 12 proves that it is an ordained holiday. Let's look at these verses, too.

¹Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. ²And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. ³And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) ⁴And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.Acts 12:1-4

Notice that both the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Easter are mentioned. If you read up on the Feast Days, you know that the Feast of Unleavened Bread directly follows the Passover. Thus we are talking about a year when Easter and the Passover were held in close proximity. Easter this year is 4 weeks off of the Passover. Notice also that it does not say that the disciples were celebrating Easter, actually, it implies King Herod was observing the holiday. He wanted to handle the situation after he celebrated Easter, if he was waiting on the Jews, he would have waited until after the Feast of Unleavened Bread and he would not have waited on the Christians because Christianity was illegal then. If Easter was a Christian holiday it would have been illegal, Herod wouldn't have waited for people to celebrate it to kill a Christian. Some sources refer to it as a mistranslation, suggesting that the original Greek word was pascha, which refers to the Passover.^[1]
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Resurrection Sunday

Photocredit: ShutterStock.com/CREATISTA

Many who know the pagan origins of Easter reject traditions such as egg hunts and Easter baskets, calling the holiday "Resurrection Sunday." Yet, on many occasions, like this year, this so called "Resurrection Sunday" does not coincide with the resurrection! Jesus died as our Passover Lamb, during Passover, which means Resurrection Sunday should occur during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It isn't difficult to determine when Passover begins, the Jews still celebrate the holy day and subsequent feast each year. A fascinating dive into how Jesus' sacrifice relates to the feast days can be found in my post Leviticus 23: Feasts. So, why do so many Christian churches still venerate the pagan Sunday of Easter?

Imagine that someone close to you has a very special day. Since we are the Bride of Christ, I'm going to say an anniversary. Let's pick an arbitrary date for you and this special someone's anniversary, say July 3^rd. You met, you fell in love, you married on July 3^rd. Now, that person has an arch nemesis who tried to take their glory, tried to steal all their friends, twists everything they say, and is out to bring them down. Their anniversary is July 15^th, and most of the people you know attend this big party that is thrown in honor of the arch nemesis' anniversary on July 15^th. Knowing this, you choose to celebrate your anniversary on July 15^th and attend this party, but claim you're there for your own anniversary. How does that sound? Do you think your spouse will mind? Passover is the anniversary of our (the Church, not us individually) relationship with Jesus, yet churches celebrate on a day that actually commemorates pagan goddesses, promotes commercialism, and doesn't align with anything He told us in The Word.

The Jesus who died to pay for our sins died during Passover, He rose from the grave that Sunday. Passover 2016 begins sunset Friday April 22, almost a month from today. My Jesus wasn't crucified last Friday (or Wednesday for those who believe in a Wednesday crucifixion, again another topic for another post), and He didn't rise before daylight this morning, because according to the Biblical timeline, He hasn't even gotten to Jerusalem yet. I will not dishonor Him by attaching His name and His glory to a pagan festival because it's "the norm." He sacrificed His life, was beaten, humiliated, and bled for me, so the least I can do is keep the facts straight about when He died for me and when He rose.

¹⁵Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. ¹⁶And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. ¹⁷Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. ¹⁸Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.Ezekiel 8:15-18 KJV

Further Reading

1. "The True Origin of Easter" — David C. Pack
2. "Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter" — April Holloway (2014)
3. "Easter" — History.com (2009)
4. "Why Do We Celebrate Easter: 5 Facts About This Holiday's Origins" — Kathryn Kattalia (2016)
5. "The Pagan Origin Of Easter" — David J. Meyer
6. "Where did “Easter” get its name? Where did the concept of an Easter egg and bunny originate?" — Paul S. Taylor
7. "The Plain Truth About Easter" — Herbert W. Armstrong (1973)

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References

1. Pack, David C. "The True Origin of Easter". The Restored Church of God. 2016
2. "Easter". History.com. 2009
3. Kattalia, Kathryn. "Why Do We Celebrate Easter: 5 Facts About This Holiday's Origins". Bustle. April 2016
4. Holloway, April. "Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter". Ancient Origins. April 2014
5. "FAQs About Lent". Catholic Online. 2016

The History of Christmas

How did the modern holiday and traditions come in to practice?

Introduction

Photocredit: FreeImages.com/aki_fukaki

Most people I speak with identify the first Christmas as the night Jesus was born; this is where we get songs like "The First Noel." Yet, early Christians didn't celebrate Christmas. The first mentioning of an attempt to pinpoint the date of Jesus' birth occurs in 200ad and each estimate is in the Spring. Somehow, by 300ad, Christians were celebrating Jesus' birth either on December 25^th (in Rome) or January 6^th (in Egypt). Over time, January 6^th became the Feast of Ephiphany, a holiday to celebrate the visit of the magi. The phrase "12 days of Christmas" actually refers to the time between December 25^th and January 6^th, not the days leading up to Christmas.^[1]
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History

The question is how did Christians go from condemning birthday celebrations as pagan to celebrating Jesus' birth on December 25, in what is quite possibly the biggest universal holiday in the world? Both believers and non-believers alike celebrate the holiday, which is probably a clue that something is not quite right...
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Birthdays in the Bible

Nowhere in the gospels, where the birth of Christ is recorded, or in the rest of the New Testament does God suggest we should keep Jesus' birthday as a holiday. God gives no instructions nor a date for when and how this holiday should be kept, despite giving exact dates and instructions for all holidays in the Old Testament. As Jesus grows up and begins His ministry, no where during His ministry does He stop to celebrate His birthday. In fact, the word birthday is found only 3 times in the Bible, once in reference to Pharaoh (pagan—Genesis 40:20) and twice in reference to King Herod (also pagan—Mark 6:21 and Matthew 14:6), but never in reference to one of God's people.

A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.Ecclesiastes 7:1 KJV

Per Ecclesiastes 7:1, your death date is more important that your birthday; which makes sense when you think of Jesus specifically. Birthdays are not something God considered important; notice we are never given exact dates or even estimates for the birth of His people, though in some cases (like with Miriam in Numbers 20:1) we are given approximate dates of their death. If God wanted us to celebrate Jesus' birthday, don't you think he would have at least recorded the month of Jesus' birth?

Origen, who lived from 185 to 254ad and was a noted theologian of his time, wrote the following:^[2][3]

"...not one from all the saints is found to have celebrated a festive day or great feast on the day of his birth. No one is found to have had joy on the day of the birth of his son or daughter. Only sinners rejoice over this kind of birthday."

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Modeled After Pagans?

One theory for why the birth of Christ is celebrated on December 25^th is that the holiday is modeled after pagan holidays that centered around the winter solstice. Such holidays include Saturnalia, Sol Invictus, and the Yule. There are also rumors that the pagan god Tammuz, mentioned in Ezekiel 8, was born on December 25 (I have not been able to validate this as his associated birthday however).
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Saturnalia

Named for the Roman god Saturn, Saturnalia was a Roman holiday that consisted of a week long party coinciding with the winter solstice. Google's dictionary describes it as "the predecessor to Christmas."^[11] There were large public celebrations, but there were private parties and festivities honoring Saturn as well—much like the public plays/productions and private parties for Christmas. Another similarity, is a red hat, known as the freedman's hat, which was worn during the Saturnalia during the switching of roles. During the role switch, slaves were granted many freedman privileges and were served (to an extent) by their masters. Government offices were closed during Saturnalia and small gifts were exchanged at feasts and banquets. The phrase "deck the halls" likely stems from the tradition of adorning the halls of ones home with green boughs during this holiday. Caroling—nude caroling to be specific—was also part of the festivities.^[10][12]
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Sol Invictus

Another ancient holiday that takes place during the Christmas season is Sol Invictus. Sol Invictus actually takes place on December 25^th just like Christmas. There is debate as to whether Sol Invictus was created to suppress Christianity, or if Christianity was created to suppress Sol Invictus.^[13] Sol Invictus was a pagan holiday for sun worship. One writer tries to defend Christmas against accusations of paganism and copycat tendencies, by citing the uncertainty of whether Sol Invictus or the celebration of Jesus' birth came first and listing quotes from the early church where leaders wished to distance themselves from paganism.^[14] Interestingly, the author doesn't mention the traditions of Saturnalia and Yule that the church (specifically the Roman Catholic Church) adopted. Actions speak much louder than words, even today we have so-called Christian who spew hate and venom that is not of God. If the early Christians were so set on distancing themselves, why did they adopt the traditions of Saturnalia and Yule? Why is it that in Old English, the holiday was still called Yule and not reflective of Jesus (the first version of the word Christmas didn't occur until the latter days of old English approximately 900 years later)?^[15][16] Similarly, today, many preachers will condemn actions such as premarital sex and drinking, but members of the church commonly partake in these practices anyway.
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Yule

Yule took place in accordance with the winter solstice (around December 21^st)^[4] and is the namesake for the word "Yuletide."^[5][6] Yule was the popular name for the holiday before Christmas came into fashion.^[9] As a celebration to honor the sun, the primary traditions of the holiday included light (such as candles). The pagan Yule also included the decorating of a tree, wassailing (caroling), and the Yule log. After converting to Christianity, many didn't want to give up their pagan holidays so they incorporated the pagan traditions with their new faith. It is thought that the original Yule festivities celebrated the battle between the Oak and Holly Kings. The Oak King was said to be symbolic of the new year and light, with the Holly King representing darkness.^[4] In addition to the poinsettia, holly is also closely associated with the Christmas holiday today. This version of Yule is still celebrated by Wiccans today.
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Not Modeled After Pagans?

Some argue that the date of Christmas is not due to pagan influence, though I think the above section proves that many Christmas traditions are in fact pagan. One argument is the lack of discussion on co-opting the pagan holidays for Christianity in documents from the early church. I find this to be a flimsy argument. Not only could this matter easily be discussed verbally, the hijacking of a popular pagan holiday by a persecuted faith seems like a stealth mission. I imagine the reaction of the Romans upon learning Christians were going to be over Saturnalia would be akin to fans of Fifty Shades of Grey learning Disney was going to make the movie adaptation.

The alternate hypothesis lies is the dating of Jesus' death. As the Passover Lamb, we know that Jesus died on Nisan 14 (possibly Nisan 15—but that's a discussion for another post) and according to Tertullian of Carthage, the Roman equivalent of Nisan 14 in the year Jesus died would have been March 25. This is interesting since scholars still can't agree on the exact year Jesus died. The same author who dismisses one theory because no one recorded an intent, suggests that even though these same people never recorded a year of death, they were able to calculate and convert the day of the Passover sacrifice during the year of Jesus' birth. He goes on to hypothesize that per the belief Jesus died and was conceived on the same day, March 25^th must be His conception date and exactly 9 months later would be December 25. Quotes from 4^th century Christians prove that at least some of them believed Jesus was conceived on the day He died, His death date was March 25^th, and that identified His birthday on December 25^th. The date of January 6^th was determined in the same fashion, however in the East Christians converted the 14^th of Nisan to April 6^th.^[1]

Why did the early Christians believe Jesus died on the day of His conception? Every explanation of this idea quotes the same source and suggests "it just feels right." To me that is synonymous with "I don't want to give up this pagan holiday, this sounds good enough so I'm going to roll with it." I don't remember anything in the Bible suggesting this connection. If I find anything during this read through, I'll come back and update this section.
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Etymology of the Holiday's Name

There are many recognizable words for the season: Christmas, Yuletide, Navidad, and Noël. In the section on pagan origins in Christmas above, I discussed the origin of Yuletide, but what about the others? Noël has French origins was born of the Latin natalis (dies), which means birthday.^[18] Navidad is the Spanish equivalent of Christmas, stemming from the Latin nativitas, which means nativity or birth.^[19] Christmas, the English name for the holiday, has stranger roots. It stems from two words: "Christ" and "mass." Obviously, Christ refers to Jesus Christ. Mass, on the other hand, comes from the old English word mæsse, which literally means dismissal.^[20][21] This word is also the namesake of the Catholic church service. Merry Christ dismisses? Merry dismissal of Christ? The second interpretation sounds accurate to how the holiday is celebrated today, but is definitely not something we want to say. Christ didn't really dismiss anything at His birth, if anything He called people to attention (like the magi). I guess a case could be made that Christ dismissed death, but He didn't do that until the resurrection, why would that be associated with His birth?

A Rebuttal to Catholic Apologetics states that mass actually means "death sacrifice" and quotes the Catholic Encyclopedia in a statement that defines this sacrifice as the "complete destruction of the victim." Who is the victim? The book suggests Christ as the victim, after all he is the one who sacrificed Himself for us. In addition, Christmas is essentially the same as Mass of Christ, which would by this definition mean death sacrifice of Christ or the complete destruction of Christ. That would mean when you say Merry Christmas, you are actually said "happy complete destruction of Christ."^[22] Of course Jesus isn't a victim, He's the Son of God and God in the flesh. All sites that quote this passage refer to the 1975 edition Catholic Encyclopedia, which I can't seem to find online. The version online does talk about sacrifices: "If then we combine the four constituent ideas in a definition, we may say: "Sacrifice is the external oblation to God by an authorized minister of a sense-perceptible object, either through its destruction or at least through its real transformation, in acknowledgement of God's supreme dominion and of the appeasing of His wrath." We shall demonstrate the applicability of this definition to the Mass in the section devoted to the nature of the sacrifice, after settling the question of its existence."^[23] To confirm this and understand the context of the quote used, I will have to locate a copy of this book (probably at the library) and do some reading. I will get back to you on this matter.

³⁶But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. ³⁷For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.Matthew 12:36-37 KJV

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Christmas in the U.S.

Christmas is without a doubt the most popular holiday in the United States. Not only is it a federal holiday, but almost everything in the country is closed for the holiday—even Walmart, the definition of a 24 hour store, is closed on Christmas day. In the first days of colonization, however, Christmas didn't exist in America. It was actually banned, as in against the law, in Boston from 1659-1681. When America separated from England, it also distanced itself from England's traditions (like Christmas). Christmas wasn't made a federal holiday until 1870 (that's 7 years after slavery was abolished). During the 1800's the upper class worked to reinvent the rowdy Saturnalia like festivities of England to the more peaceful, family-oriented, holiday of today. Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol helped to promote that image.^[17]
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A Biblical Estimate of Jesus' Birthday

Many suggestions have been made for the birthday of Christ, but during my research, I only came across one that seemed to have Biblical origins. Luke 1 begins with the foretelling of John the Baptist's birth, to his father Zacharias. Zacharias was married to Elisabeth, whom they believed to be barren. We are told that in the sixth month of Elisabeth's pregnancy, the angel appeared to Mary to announce her miraculous pregnancy. Thus, we know that John the Baptist was approximately six months older than Jesus. If we could pinpoint the date of John the Baptist's birth, we could also approximate Jesus' birth. Many cites work backwards, stating that since Jesus was born on December 25^th, John the Baptist was born around June 25^th.

However one researcher suggests using 1 Chronicles 24 to determine when the angel announced the coming of John the Baptist.^[24] 1 Chronicles 24 tells us about the division of priests by familial line as it relates to their service of the sanctuary. Each male Levite descendant was given a time, based on this division that they were responsible for the sanctuary. Since Zacharias was a priest preforming his duty at the sanctuary, we know that the angel appeared to him during his assigned time. Luke 1:15 tells us that Zacharias was of the lineage of Abia. In 1 Chronicles 24:10, Abia (or Abijah) is given the 8^th lot.

A commentary on the Jewish Torah called the Mishnah is cited to suggest each lot served one week at the temple, in order, starting with the first Sabbath of Nisan. Since Nisan was the first month of the year, this makes sense. The author of this theory also provides commentary on how the feast days of the Passover, Feast of Weeks, and Feast of Tabernacles, in which everyone was required to journey to the temple, would require all of the priestly lineage for help. This also discusses the fact that in a 51 week year (per Hebrew tradition) the each of the 24 divisions could serve twice, totaling 48 weeks and leaving 3 "extra" weeks, the weeks of the previously mentioned feasts. Leap year would have 55 weeks, adding 4 more "extra" weeks. The author suggests that for each of the extra four weeks, one sixth of the divisions were responsible for the tabernacle; this would give each division equal time to serve.^[24][25]

Based on this school of though and the assumption of Jesus' birth in 6bc(which is debatable), the author calculates that Zacharias would have been at the temple to receive the angel's message between June 4^th and June 11^th. Elisabeth would have conceived sometime in June after he returned home, thus the sixth month of her pregnancy would have been in December, and John the Baptist would have been born sometime in March. This would place Jesus' birthday in September. The author guesses at dates to show that perhaps Jesus was born around the Feast of Tabernacles in 6bc.^[24]

I think this is an interesting theory, though not without it's flaws. One problem is that we don't know that Jesus was born in 6bc. Most estimate that He could have been born anywhere from 7bc to 4bc. Since the first Sabbath would not fall on the same day each year, the dates shift slightly within the Jewish calendar over the range of plausible years. Further, when we try to convert these dates to our current Georgian calendar, we have to account for even more (particular the leap years). Then of course, there is the fact that we cannot be sure how soon after Zacharias returned Elisabeth became pregnant—that night, that week, a month later? In addition, Mary might not have carried Jesus for exactly 9 months, He may have come a day early. Considering these limitations, I think this theory would place Jesus' birthday during the early fall or late summer.
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References

1. [1] McGowan, Andrew. "How December 25 Became Christmas". BIBLE REVIEW-WASHINGTON-. 18.6: pg. 46-48. 2002
   [2] Origen. The Fathers of the Church: Homilies on Leviticus 1-16". Translated by Gary Wayne Barkley. pg. 157. 1990
   [3] Moore, Edward. "Origen of Alexandria". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2015
   [4] Wigington, Patti. "History of Yule". About.com. 2015
   [5] Harper, Douglas. "Yuletide". Online Etymology Dictionary. 2015
   [6] Harper, Douglas. "Yule". Online Etymology Dictionary. 2015
   [7] Wigington, Patti. "How to Make a Yule Log". About.com. 2015
   [8] Wigington, Patti. "Go a-Wassailing". About.com. 2015
   [9] Hillerbrand, Hans J. "Christmas". Encycolpædia Britannica. 2015
   [10] "In Reference to Saturnalia". Encycolpædia Britannica. 2015
   [11] . "Saturnalia". Google. 2015
   [12] Wigington, Patti. "Saturnalia". About.com. 2015
   [13] Veith, Gene. "Chirstmas is NOT based on the feast of Sol Invictus". Patheos. December 2012
   [14] Sorensen, Jon. "Why December 25?". Catholic Anwsers. December 2013
   [15] Harper, Douglas. "Christmas". Online Etymology Dictionary. 2015
   [16] "Old English". Dictionary.com. 2015
   [17] A&E Television Networks. "History of Christmas". History.com. 2015
   [18] Harper, Douglass. "Noel". Online Etymology Dictionary. 2015
   [19] "Navidad". myEtymology.com. 2008
   [20] Harper, Douglass. "Christmas". Online Etymology Dictionary. 2015
   [21] Harper, Douglass. "Mass". Online Etymology Dictionary. 2015
   [22] Howard-Munro, Linda. "A Rebuttal to Catholic Apologetics. 2013
   [23] "Sacrifice of the Mass". Catholic Online. 2015
   [24] Turner, Gary. "When was John the Baptist born?". Christmas in September?. 2015
   [25] Turner, Gary. "Notes". Christmas in September?. 2015

Keep the Sabbath Holy

The fourth commandment is to keep the Sabbath Holy, but what exactly does that mean?

Introduction

References to the Sabbath are given throughout the Bible, with the first mentioning of the Sabbath (though not by the name Sabbath) in Genesis 2. While some conclude that at that point in time the Sabbath didn't exist yet, we are clearly told that this is when God sanctified it and made it holy. Thus, the Sabbath as a holy day was implemented during creation, as told in Genesis 2. This first Sabbath occurs on the 7th day of creation when God rests. Not surprisingly the Sabbath represents giving God approximately 10% of our week. (There are 168 hours in a week and 24 hours in the Sabbath. If you sleep for the recommended 8 hours a night, your Sabbath lasts 16 hours. 16 out of 168 hours represents 9.5%.)

It seems fairly straightforward, but there are varying views on this commandment. From what day actually constitutes the 7^th day to how we are supposed to observe the day and what makes it holy. In this post there are notes on denominational beliefs, Bible verses that discuss this particular commandment, and a discussion of interpretations.
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Commandment

⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.Exodus 20:8-11 KJV

In both Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, keeping the Sabbath day holy is listed as the 4^th commandment given to Moses by God after the Israelites escaped from Egypt. In Exodus 20:8 the word "remember" implies it was a tradition they already kept or had kept before being held captive in Egypt. It is possible that the Israelites had been keeping the Sabbath before their captivity and had simply forgotten or ceased the practice while in bondage.

¹²Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. ¹³Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: ¹⁴But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. ¹⁵And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.Deuteronomy 5:12-15 KJV

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Bible Verses

1. Genesis 2:3
2. Exodus 16:23-30
3. Exodus 20:8-11
4. Exodus 31:13-17
5. Exodus 35:2-3
6. Leviticus 19:3
7. Leviticus 19:30
8. Leviticus 23:3
9. Deuteronomy 5:12-15
10. Nehemiah 10:31
11. Nehemiah 13:15-22
12. Isaiah 56:2-6
13. Isaiah 58:13-14
14. Jeremiah 17:21-27
15. Matthew 12:1-13
16. Mark 2:23-27
17. Mark 3:1-6
18. Luke 6:1-11
19. John 7:23

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Denominations on the Sabbath

Exodus 20:8-11 KJV

Despite the common knowledge that the Sabbath of the Bible corresponds to the day we call Saturday and the less common knowledge that Biblical days were counted from sunset to sunset (as opposed to from midnight to midnight), thus making the Biblical Sabbath from Friday after sunset until sunset Saturday, the majority of Christian denominations recognize Sunday as the Sabbath (I'll get in to this more in the discussion section below).

The most well known denomination that observes the Biblical Sabbath is Seventh Day Adventist, however there are several other denominations that adhere to the Biblical definition of this commandment as well. Some of these denominations include Seventh Day Baptists and United Church of God. There are many other smaller denominations that keep the Biblical Sabbath, as well. One site has compiled a list of Sabbath keeping churches; you can view that list here.
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Discussion

The Sabbath is a full day that is set aside as holy in God's commandments. To actually understand this commandment, we must understand what and when the Sabbath is, as well as, what it means to keep this day holy. To do this we must consider what the Bible tells us, and put this in perspective based on history.
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When is the Sabbath?

The first issue we should discus, is when the Sabbath should occur. Yes, the seventh day of the week, but which day is the 7th day? The seventh day is undisputed, and is universally known to be Saturday by both scholars and theologians. In many languages, the word for Saturday is not rooted in the name of the Roman god Saturn, but God's holy Sabbath. Take the following as a sampling.

Langauge	Word For Saturday
Hebrew	יום שבת (Shabat)
Aramaic	yum Shabto (Syriac) shvat kudsha (Targumic)[1]
Arabic	السبت (al-Sabt)
Armenian	շաբաթ (Shabat)
Spanish, Filipino, Portuguese	Sábado
Greek	Σαββατο (Sabbato)
Russian, Serbian	суббота (Subbota)

Armenian, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek are all in the top 10 oldest languages^[2] and all of them have a word for Saturday that stems from the Hebrew (and Biblical) word Shabat, which we call Sabbath in English. Saturday, with the reference to the Roman god Saturn, is used in languages that came into existence after the height of the Roman empire, and in the languages of countries that were colonized by countries speaking those languages (e.g. Igbo, Yoruba).

So, why do Christians rest on the first day of the week (Sunday), as apposed to the Sabbath? Some Adventists (those who keep Saturday) will argue that Constantine instigated the change of worship from the Sabbath to Sunday—in fact Constantine made Sunday a civil holiday in 321ad,^[3] while others point to the Catholic Church (an article on Catholic.com, essentially admits they changed the Sabbath).^[4] The closest thing to an official declaration can be seen in the Council of Laodicea.^[7] Defenders of Sunday worship will try to refute these claims and attempt to prove that it was changed by the apostles.^[5] The question is who is right?

Regardless of whether Constantine, a pope, or some other human was the culprit of the change only God can change God's word. For the purpose of discussing which day should be kept as the Sabbath it doesn't matter so much as to "who" changed the date; it matters more whether that person was human or whether God instituted the change. Let's look at some of the scriptures people use to "prove" God changed the Sabbath to Sunday.
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Acts 20:7

And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.Acts 20:7 KJV

Acts 20:7 comes up a lot in this debate. People who invoke this quote argue that Paul and the apostles gathered on the first day of the week and thus the Sabbath had been moved during apostolic times. However, Christians gather together for many reasons; one such reason that includes "preaching" would be Bible Study, typically held on Wednesday. I have seen some churches that have different Bible Studies for different groups (e.g. women, teens, young adults, etc.), thus having multiple sessions through out the week. Also note that in Acts 13:42, 17:2, and 18:4 we see Paul preaching on the sabbath. Nowhere in Acts 20:7 does it say they recognized this as the "new" Sabbath. By definition the Sabbath is the 7th day, thus by pointing out it was the first day, the author is telling us it was not the Sabbath. Christians (or Jews for that matter) are not limited to worshiping and seeing each other on one day of the week. Simply because they chose to meet on this particular Sunday to break bread does not mean that they stopped resting on the Sabbath and began resting on Sunday. Also note, in God's command to keep the Sabbath holy, He never mentions breaking bread, so absolutely nothing in Acts 20:7 alludes to God's commandment on keeping the Sabbath holy. There is no reason to believe that this meeting was meant to replace Sabbath worship other than you want it to (which is not a valid reason when talking about God's word). Think about this, in the Old Testament, not only did God explicitly say keep the Sabbath holy, but it is repeated throughout scripture; would not a change to this be just as explicit and repeated? I would think we would have seen something along the lines of "On the first day Jesus rose from the dead, so God transferred the sanctity of the Sabbath to the first day"— Nowhere in God's word is anything like this mentioned.

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Colossians 2:16

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:Colossians 2:16 KJV

One site^[5] suggests that Colossians 2:16 abolishes the Sabbath all together (as well as the other laws of the Old Testament). Obviously Paul is telling the Colossians not to let a man judge them (Jesus Himself says "let he who is without sin cast the first stone"), does this mean the action is correct? If we start reading from Colossians 2:13 (so as to get the context of the verse), we see that Paul tells them they are "dead in [their] sins and the uncircumcision of [their] flesh." Paul says Jesus forgave them of all their sins, blotted out the ordinances that were against them, and nailed them to the cross. Paul reminds them that Jesus triumphed over all, then he tells them to let no man judge them. A more in depth discussion on this verse can be found in my post on the law specifically, but for now let's focus on the Sabbath.

Notice that Paul mentions sabbath days—plural. Why didn't Paul say the Sabbath day? Notice that meat, drink, holyday and new moon don't seem to have anything to do with the 7^th day Sabbath... Why does Paul mention these specific things culminating in sabbath days? The sabbath days in question are the holydays set aside during the annual feasts God instructed the Israelites to keep (see my post Feast Days for more on the specifics). These days were determined by the new moon in the sense that they were set on specific days of the month and the first day of the month was determined by the moon. These feasts required specific meat and drink sacrifices. Furthermore, these feasts predict Jesus' first and second coming. Paul furthers this point by telling us those things were a shadow of what was to come (hence why it didn't matter if they were celebrated or not).^[9] Paul was not ending the 7^th day sabbath, he was telling us not to worry about the annual sabbaths.
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Additional Info on When

The Sabbath is clearly defined to be the Saturday, but the western method of identifying days is different than the Bible's. Ever wonder why one day has 2 nights (or rather why the wee hours of the morning are dark)? The Bible defines a day as and evening then a day. The first occurrence of this definition is in Genesis 1:5. As such, the beginning of the 7^th day starts the evening of the day we call Friday. Therefore the Bible's exact definition is from sun down Friday to sun down Saturday. I will discuss why it is so important to observe the Sabbath as God defined in a separate post.
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What Does It Mean to Keep the Sabbath Holy?

Once you determine when you should observe the Sabbath, the natural question is what does observance look like? Most passages discussing the Sabbath use the term "rest" or command us not to do work, but what does that mean? Is God telling us to sleep all day? Is swimming in a pool or watching TV all day resting? What constitutes work? If you look at some of the traditional things people refrained from on the Sabbath, things like washing clothes or cooking have significantly changed since Biblical times. To cook a meal in Jesus' day you had to get wood, build a fire, and fetch water. Now you could cook something like spaghetti or soup by simply collecting water from the faucet, then turning a dial on the stove. Before you have to fetch water and scrub your clothes to wash them; now you can simply dump them in a washing machine. The amount of work required is greatly reduced! As a child I often asked if that meant it was now ok to perform such tasks.

¹³If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: ¹⁴Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.Isaiah 58:13-14

Isaiah 58:13-14 tells us part of God's expectation of us on the Sabbath. He expects us to refrain from doing our own pleasure and to consider the day a delight. Isaiah tells us that we should not be doing our own thing and speaking our own words on this day, but delighting in the Lord's day. To me, this tells us that our focus on the Sabbath should be on God. In Genesis, when He rested, He took the time to admire His creation. The Sabbath was given to us so that we too may wonder at God and His creation.

In the Old Testament, certain things are explicitly forbidden. Jeremiah 17 tells us not to carry a burden (this would refer to lifting objects, moving things, delivering packages, etc.) on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:3 says that we should not kindle a fire. Selling and thus buying (how can you buy without requiring someone to sell?) is prohibited in Nehemiah 10:31 and Nehemiah 13:15-22.

In the New Testament, Jesus addresses the question of work on the Sabbath when He and the disciples are caught picking corn on the Sabbath^[8]. Jesus points out that in times of great need, when worshiping, and when performing an act of kindness, it is ok to break the Sabbath. Is it not work for the preacher to preach, or the choir to sing, or even in those days for the congregation to walk to the gathering? Should not a doctor see about an ailing patient regardless of the day? From Jesus' example it is clear that sometimes the Sabbath may need to be broken. This is not to say that Sabbath is done away with, but that there is a middle ground between leaving your sheep in the ditch and picking corn every Sabbath. A classic example in my own life is that I will notice Friday afternoon that I have dishes in the sink, instead of sitting down to watch TV and leaving the dishes to be washed on the Sabbath, I wash them at that moment. This is an example something that is not important and can be fit into my schedule prior to observing the Sabbath. I plan to rest and to study God's Word on the Sabbath, however, should something important come up, I must see to those matters. For instance, a mother cannot ignore her crying or sick baby. If you are sick, you wouldn't leave vomit on the floor would you? These are situations you can't predict but must deal with when they come. Essentially Jesus is saying to us that there will be times when need trumps the Sabbath, however, we should not carelessly put off what can be done on Friday until the Sabbath (i.e. playing video games with your friends all afternoon Friday, only to have rake the yard on Saturday when you could have done that on Friday).
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References

1. Days of the week in Aramaic. Learn Aramaic. August 2012
2. "Top 10 Oldest Languages in the World". World Blaze. January 2015
3. Zerubavel, Eviatar (1989). The Seven Day Circle: The History and Meaning of the Week. University of Chicago Press. p. 45. ISBN 9780226981659
4. "Who Changed the Sabbath to Sunday". The Church of God International. 2015
5. "Neither the Pope nor Constantine Changed the Sabbath". Bible.ca. 2015
6. "Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes". Jewish Virtual Library. 2015
7. "Which Day is the Sabbath?". United Church of God. February 2011
8. Matthew 12
9. Hebrews 10:1

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