​​Welcome  to    Joy By Surprise

No doubt as you read these lines you will be wandering: What do these things mean - for me? If all this about the Almighty's festivals is true, then why isn't the Christian church observing them? Why do most believers look upon Sunday as the weekly Shabbat and why does almost the whole of Christendom celebrate Christmas, Easter, Hallowe'en etc., festivals which are not sanctified or commanded in the Scriptures. Where did these festivals come from anyway?

The answer to these questions may surprise you, but, briefly here is the truth of the matter. The popular festivals of Christendom (Christmas, Easter, Hallowe'en, Ash Wednesday etc.) together with the weekly rest of Sunday are all of pagan origin. Their observance is not commanded in the Scriptures. Where did they come from? They were adopted by the Christian church several centuries after the Savior ascended to Heaven.

Christmas was brought into the Christian church by the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. This was done by order of Pontifex Maximus Constantine, Emperor of the Roman Empire. The reason for December 25 being set as the birthday of Christ was to appease the heavy influx of pagans into the Christian church during the years prior. The pagans celebrated the birthday of Sol Invictus, the birth of the sun god on December 25. The idea was political control of the population. Christianity had been declared the official state religion of the Roman Empire and everyone wanted to join Christianity for the political benefits afforded, thus the pagan influx. YaHuWaH did not command the observance of the birth of His Son YAHUSHUA. The intent and design of the observance of Christmas was political control and is man placing his authority over the authority of YaHuWaH, and therefore Antichrist in it's nature! It is also a political - religious union, spiritual fornication!

Easter, like Christmas, was brought into the christian church by the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. This was done by order of Pontifex Maximus Constantine, Emperor of the Roman Empire. The reason for Easter being set in place of Passover (which Christians had been keeping according to the command of YaHuWaH up until this time) was to appease the heavy influx of pagans into the Christian church during the years just prior to 325 A.D. The pagans celebrated the feast of Ishtar, honoring the fertility goddess Ishtar, on the first Sunday after the Spring equinox each year. The historian Herodotus remarked that the observance of 'Ishtar' came from Babylon and compelled every woman of the land to enter the temple of Aphrodite once in her life and lay with a stranger. Constantine's idea for the change from Passover to Easter for the State Christian church was political control of the population. Christianity had been declared the official state religion of the Roman Empire and everyone wanted to join Christianity for the political benefits afforded, thus the pagan influx. The intent and design of the observance of Easter was political control and is man placing his authority over the authority of YaHuWaH, and therefore Antichrist in nature! This political - religious union is spiritual fornication!

The prophet Jeremiah takes notice of this kind of offering when he says, "The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough to make cakes to the Queen of heaven." (Jer. 7:18)

The reader can visit any reference library and trace the origins of Christmas and Easter back to paganism. The facts are legion.

The question now is: Should a true believer in the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Israel celebrate Christmas and Easter? Is it acceptable to enter into these festivities and keep these pagan feasts now that their heathen origins have become widely known? And will the Holy One of Israel object to one of His followers, say, attending a Christmas dinner or party?

The Bible answer is absolutely clear on this point.

When a person celebrates Christmas, which was and still is motivated by the forces of evil, he/she is honoring the demons who conceived that pagan festival in the first place; demons who are totally opposed to the Holy Spirit of YaHuWaH ; and who go out of their way too prompt mankind into committing all kinds of evil at their winter festival. You may be sure that the so-called "spirit of Xmas" is not the Holy Spirit of YaHuWaH Elohim of the Bible. Greed, drunkenness, violence and debauchery are hallmarks of the Xmas season. Everyone is now aware of this. For more information see Is Christmas Christian?

This is a serious error and if the reader has not already done so he/she must read our article Is Sunday the Christian Shabbat? The article examines every text in the Bible which mentions the first day of the week, and proves beyond any doubt that nowhere in the Scriptures is Sunday observance called for. This amazing conclusion is also verified by learned writers of several major Christian denominations.

What then of the coming Spiritual Election? And what have the Sabbaths of the Almighty and the popular festivals of Christendom to do with an election? A great deal. Very soon all humanity will be compelled to choose between:

• The commandments of YaHuWaH on the one hand and the Traditions of Men on the other.
• Between YaHuWaH 's Shabbats, which over and over again He has commanded us to keep and the popular Pagan Substitutes which have somehow inveigled their way into the Christian church.
• Between the Signature of the Most High and that Satanic counterfeit the Mark of The Beast.

In that coming spiritual election the electorate will not be expected to enter a polling booth to put a mark against a candidate's name. Instead, the two spiritual candidates, (YaHuWaH, the Elohim of Abraham on the one hand: and Satan the Devil on the other), will set their signatures, (an inscription of their names) in the minds of the voters. In other words you will indicate your choice of Leader by accepting in your mind either the Signature of YaHuWaH the Elohim of Israel or the Mark of the Beast. The Leader whose signature you mentally accept and subsequently reflect in your actions, He will be the One of your choice. That is how you will vote, whether you fully realize the eternal implications of that choice or not.

This is where the Feast days of the Creator should concern you, for they are His Signature, His Sign on the human mind. When a believer remembers Almighty's Sabbaths, when he keeps them and bears them in mind, he is indeed declaring to the whole of society and the angelic host above, that YaHuWaH is his choice, his Elohim. We know that the Almighty's Shabbats constitute His SIGN (signature) from the following verses:

By way of contrast, one Mark of the Beast, the Signature of Satan, is the bogus weekly sabbath of Sunday and all those other heathen festivals which are currently posing as Christian holy days. (Christmas, Easter, Ash Wednesday, Hallowe'en etc.) These festivals are the offspring of paganism and true believers should have nothing to do with them. Like the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat they have been foolishly adopted by the church in place of the genuine Shabbats of the Almighty. Yes, the churches of Christendom are doing exactly what the ancient Israel did under King Jeroboam; they are celebrating unsanctified days in preference to the appointed festivals of the Most High. Jeroboam's example was the type, the figure, the local illustration of a tragic reality that we are witnessing on a world scale in our day.

The Antichrist has made a personal appearance on this Earth. (Rev. 17:8) With miracles and lying wonders he has seduced the inhabitants of the world. (Rev. 13:13-15) His hatred of truth has focused on YaHuWaH 's Torah and particularly on the Shabbat days in YaHuWaH 's Torah. Vainly has the Antichrist imagined that he is able to change and replace YaHuWaH 's Shabbats with days of his own choosing. The prophet Daniel has this to say about the Antichrist's activities:

What does "think to change times and laws." mean? It means that this power has vainly imagined that he can change the commandments in YaHuWaH 's Torah which deal with the element of time. That means he has sought to alter the Shabbat commandments; for they alone deal with the element of time. Oh what monstrous pride and self-delusion is here displayed; that anyone should dare to think he is able to change the laws of the Almighty Elohim! Listen to what the Savior has to say about the eternal nature of His Father's commandments:

The word "fulfill" means to do, to carry out, to perform, to execute, to comply with, to obey. And that is exactly what the Savior did. He carried out and obeyed His Father's commandments to the letter and in doing so set us a perfect example. (John 15:10)

And you dear reader are now being given the opportunity to choose:

• Between YaHuWaH 's Sign and the Antichrist's Mark
• Between the Truth and the Lie
• Between the 7th day Sabbath of the 4th commandment, and Sunday the Papacy ordained pagan counterfeit.
• Between the Feast Days of YaHuWaH, the Elohim of Israel, and the Papacy ordained Roman Catholic and Protestant apostate church festivals of Easter (from pagan 'Eostre, Ishtar'), Christmas (from pagan 'Sol Invictus'), Lent (from pagan 'weeping for Tammuz'), Halloween, etc.
• Between obedience and disobedience or sin (1 John 3:4)

The Apostle James tells us that faith without obedience is a dead thing, a spiritual corpse! (James 2:17-20). YaHuWaH expects His followers to demonstrate their faith in Him by endeavoring to keep His commandments. To remember the true Shabbat and Feast Days in YaHuWaH 's Torah is a vote for the Almighty; a proclamation to the community and the universe at large that YaHuWaH, the Father of our Lord and Savior YAHUSHUA the Messiah is your Elohim, your choice. It is standing up to be counted with YaHuWaH 's people. It is accepting the Father's Name in your forehead, your mind. Shabbat observance is a declaration of faith in the Creator of the mighty universe - the One who is Master of the Shabbat day. (John 1:1-3 & Matt 12:8)

How long you personally have before you make your choice and finalize your vote we cannot tell. But you may be sure the time is short and to delay is dangerous. Carefully consider your decision before you make it, for the issues at stake are momentous and the consequences of a wrong choice are too dreadful to even contemplate. Read Rev. 14:9-11 for your own safety.

If you decide to obey the Almighty you will be bountifully blessed; blessed and protected from the terrors which are about to tear our civilization apart. (Rev. 9:4) Yes, obedience will bring blessing.

If in the other hand, you reject YaHuWaH 's Sign (the sacred Shabbats detailed in His law) then you will only have yourself to blame when Abbadon's reign of terror begins; for you can never honestly say that you didn't know. We have warned you of the danger of accepting the Mark of the Beast, the bogus Sundays of Christendom.