Who Wrote the Torah? What Does it Matter?

There are those who might say that it really does not matter who wrote the Torah, as long as we believe it and follow it. Why, they say, should we get involved into such intellectual pursuits when all that really counts is that we be “careful to observe all the words of this Torah which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome Name, YAHUAH your ELOHIYM” (Deuteronomy 28:58)?

The issue of the authorship of the Torah is important for at least this one reason: since the book claims to have been written by a certain writer, it is simply a matter of integrity that that claim is verified. If this claim to authorship is not substantiated, then why should we trust what that book says? 

In short, if the Torah claims to be written by Moshe, and we find that it is, in fact, not written by him, then there is no reason to trust whatever else the Torah may say — perhaps it is also deceiving us on other issues as well.

Before we proceed with examining the identity of the writer of the Torah, we need to make one important distinction. 

The real Author of the Torah is YAHUAH.

Because of this, we say that the Torah is the Word of YAH and, therefore, Divinely inspired. However, YAHUAH used human agents to inscribe His Word. 

In this study, we are using as our presupposition the fact that YAHUAH is the Author — that the Torah is from His very mouth. 

Our purpose, therefore, is not to debate the Divine inspiration of the Torah, but merely to examine who it was that YAHUAH used to inscribe HIS precious Words.

I. Soundly Defeated

Up to about 150 years ago, few reputable scholars doubted that Moshe inscribed the Torah. One notable exception is Barukh Spinoza, the famous Dutch Jewish philosopher. In a paper he published in 1670, he boldly asserted that Moshe could not have written the Torah. During the late 1700’s this note began to be sounded more and more.

Finally, the view that Moshe was not the inscriber of the Torah found its most popular expression in the writing of Julius Wellhausen, a German Biblical scholar of the 19th century. The theory that he popularized became known by three names: The Documentary Hypothesis, the JEDP Theory, and the Graf-Wellhausen Theory (because it contained many of the ideas of Karl Heinrich Graf.

Essentially, the JEDP theory asserts that the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) is an edition comprised of the careful and skillful blending of at least four different kinds of documents. The first kind of document is what Wellhausen referred to as “J” document. “J” was written about 850 BCE by an unknown writer from Judah. The main feature of this unknown Judean writer is that he frequently referred to ELOHIYM by His personal name, Jehovah (YHWH). The second document blended in to make the Torah is what is referred to as “E” document. “E”, say the adherents of the Documentary Hypothesis was written about 750 BCE by an unknown author from the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The distinguishing feature of this unknown author was his use of Elohim for the name of YAHUAH. Third, many of the followers of JEDP say that “D” document was most likely composed by Hilkiah, the High Priest under King Josiah of Judah in 621 BCE. “D” stands for Deuteronomy. Finally, “P,” referring to the sections of the Torah dealing with the Priests, was written in various stages from Ezekial to Ezra, “ ‘the ready scribe in the Law of Moses’ under whose guidance the latest priestly sections were added to the Torah.”i 

One cannot imagine how entrenched this JEDP or Documentary Hypothesis is among Biblical scholars the world over. It is the unquestioned presupposition of many of the Biblical departments not only among the universities in Israel, but in most of the well-known institutions of higher learning in most countries. Anyone who reads commentaries, listens to lectures on the Scriptures, or attends classes on the Scripture in places from Harvard, to Hebrew University is confronted with this theory of the composition of the Torah.

We do not have the time or space to refute all of the assumptions that JEDP asserts as truth. Nor it is necessary to re-invent the wheel, so to speak. 

Rather, The most thoroughgoing refutation of the Wellhausen hypothesis to appear at the end of the nineteenth century in America was furnished by William Henry Green of Princeton, in his Unity of the Book of Genesis (1895) and Higher Criticism of the Pentateuch (1896). With great erudition and skill he showed how inadequately the hypothesis explained the actual data of the Scriptural text, and upon what illogical and self-contradictory basis the critical criteria rested.ii 

Indeed, Green’s refutation should have been devastating for the Documentary Hypothesis. However, as already indicated above, it still remains the accepted theory (with some variations) of the composition of the Torah in most scholarly circles. Fortunately, we do not have to search very far for Green’s work. It is continually being republished. Moreover, almost every evangelical Old Testament Introduction book and scholarly Orthodox Jewish books on the Torah will provide sufficient information on how to refute the JEDP Theory. Thus, in addition to Green, we have, in the Jewish world, the writings of Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808–1888), Umberto Cassuto (1883–1951) and Yechezkel Kaufmann (1889–1963), all of which “demolished the theory, showing that Wellhausen’s observations contradicted his conclusion.”iii

Unfortunately, the JEDP Theory is not the only theory that asserts Moshe is not the inscriber of the Torah. Other ideas about the origin of the Torah abound. A good summary of most of these theories is found in Nathan T. Lopes Cardozo’s book The Written and Oral Torah: A Comprehensive Introduction (See the Bibliography).

II. The Testimony of the Text

If the Documentary Hypothesis is wrong, then how can we show that Moshe was the author of the Torah, as the Torah itself says he is?

That is the task that remains before us. In order to accomplish this task, our study will focus in on A) the testimony of the Torah itself, B) the witness of the rest of the Tanakh, C) what YAHUSHA said about the matter, D) any comments other writers of the Brit Hadasha, and finally E) we will look at other important evidence within the Scriptural text.

A. What the Torah Says

Who does the Torah say is the inscriber of its words? 

Without any doubt, the overwhelming evidence points to Moshe. Looking at Exodus, for example, we read in Exodus 17:14, “Then YAHUAH said to Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial, and recite it to Yahusha (Joshua), that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (emphasis mine). Again, in 24:4, it says, “And Moses wrote down all the words YAHUAH. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel” (emphasis mine).

Finally, from the Exodus, 34:27 reads, “Then YAHUAH said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel” (emphasis mine). 

In all three incidences, we are told that Moshe either wrote YAHUAH’s Words, or was commanded to do so by the SET-APART (Holy) One.

In Numbers we read similar passages. Thus, in Numbers 33:1,2, we are told that Moshe kept a written record of the wilderness journeys of the children of Israel: “These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by which they came out from the land of Egypt by their armies, under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. And Moses recorded their starting places according to their journeys by the command of YAHUAH, and these are their journeys according to their starting places.”

The book of Deuteronomy is not less clear about its author, as we see in such passages as Deuteronomy 31:9, where we read, “So Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi who carried the ark of the covenant of YAHUAH, and to all the elders of Israel” (emphasis mine), and again in 31:22 where we find that not only was the teaching in Deuteronomy written by Moshe, but also the song that he taught the children of Israel just before they entered Canaan. Thus, it says, “So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the sons of Israel” (emphasis mine).

The situation in Leviticus and Genesis is slightly different. We will deal with Genesis separately under a different heading. Leviticus is different from the rest of the Torah in that it does not specifically indicate that Moshe wrote the words that YAHUAH spoke.

Nevertheless, there are at least three lines of evidence for Mosaic authorship to consider.

First, at least 40 times we encounter the phrase, “YAHUAH spoke to Moshe…” This would indicate, at the very least, that the material found in Leviticus originated during the time of Moshe, and was given directly by him to Israel. Thus, while “nowhere does it state that Moses wrote down what he heard, everywhere Leviticus claims to record what YAHUAH revealed to Moses.”iv This is a far cry from the Documentary Hypotheses, which claims that the material in Leviticus originated among the priestly class in a much later period of Israel’s history that the late 1400’s.

A second argument for Mosaic authorship of Leviticus is found in the fact that “there is nothing in Leviticus that could not date from the Mosaic period.”v In fact, because of archaeological discoveries, scholars have learned that the priestly nature of the material in Leviticus affords important evidence for its probable date. In antiquity, all forms of education were under the supervision of the priesthood, a tradition that was established by the Sumerians [not Sumaritans!] …

[Moreover]…The scribal practices of the ancient Near East point to a custom of preserving at an early age those sources of information or procedure that were of importance to the particular profession.vi

These arguments do not prove that Moses wrote Leviticus. However, they do point to the antiquity of the book. In addition, we are specifically told in Exodus and throughout Leviticus that it was Moshe who gave the priestly instruction, which presumably he wrote down, as described by the quote above.

This fact is best summarized by Leviticus 26:46, when it states, “These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which YAHUAH established between Himself and the sons of Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai.

Finally, note the similarity between the material found in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 27–29. Both contain blessings and curses, the results of covenant faithfulness and unfaithfulness respectfully. In both sections, the blessings appear before the curses. Moreover, many of the blessings and curses are almost identical in nature, . Thus, compare 26:4 with 27:12, 26:17 with 27:26 and 26:29 with 29:55, just for a few examples. Again, this does not prove Mosaic authorship.

After all, other scriptures written by different authors are sometimes similar to each other (for instance compare Isaiah 2 with Micah 4). But it strongly suggests that the same writer wrote both passages. Since the text confirms that Moshe write Deuteronomy, then consequently, it would also suggest that he wrote Leviticus.

B. The Testimony of the Tanakh

In addition to the evidence found within the text of the Torah itself, we also find that other places in the Tanakh testify to the Mosaic authorship of the Torah.

First, we see that Moshe’s disciple and successor, Yahusha (Joshua), was well aware that the Torah was written down, and that Moshe was the one who inscribed it. 

Accordingly, we read in Joshua 1:7–8, “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the Torah which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (emphasis ours).

Secondly, we also see that King David understood that Moshe wrote the Torah. 

When he was approaching the end of his life, David charged his son Solomon to “keep the charge of YAHUAH your ELOHIYM, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Torah of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn” (1 Kings 2:3). What was written by Moshe was to be Solomon’s rule for life.

Furthermore, the writer of 2 Kings also believed that Moshe inscribed the first five books of the Scripture. 

In fact, when he wrote about the evil king, Manasseh, we find that the writer of 2 Kings actually quoted a reminder spoken of by YAHUAH Himself to follow the Torah.

Accordingly, YAHUAH is quoted as saying, “And I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers, if only they will observe to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Torah that My servant Moses commanded them” (2 Kings 21:8).

About 500 years later, the people of YAHUAH still believed that Moshe wrote down the Torah of YAHUAH. This sentiment is expressed in Ezra 6:18-19, Nehemiah 13:1, and the last prophet of the Tanakh, Malachi 4:4. Malachi exhorts YAHUAH’s people to “Remember the Torah of Moses My servant, {even the} statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.” The phrase “Torah of Moshe” denotes, in this context, origin. The Torah of which Malachi spoke was the same one that Moshe wrote.

C. Messiah’s Witness

YAHUSHA ministered on the earth over 1400 years after Moshe inscribed the Torah. 

We can readily observe from His teaching that not only He, but also His contemporaries thought that the Torah was written down by Moshe. 

For example, on at least nine separate occasions, as recorded by the gospel writers, YAHUSHA attributed the first five books of the Scriptures, the Torah, to Moshe. 

Among these instances, YAHUSHA cited four specific teachings of the Torah, which He said originated from Moshe. For instance, Matthew 19:7ff records what Moshe taught about divorce. Again, Mark 1:44ff discusses what Moshe said about ritual cleansing. In addition, Mark 7:10ff records what the Torah (Moshe) teaches about honoring our fathers and mothers. Finally, we read in Mark 12:26 that YAHUSHA based one of his arguments for a resurrection on a teaching written by Moshe.

In addition to YAHUSHA citing specific quotations from the Moshe, there were other instances when He merely cited Moshe as the author of the Torah. 

Two similar passages, for example, that show this are Luke 16:29– 31 and Luke 24:44–45. In both of these passages, YAHUSHA alluded to the traditional three-fold division of the Hebrew Scriptures: the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. The point here is that in both passages (Luke 16:29–31 and Luke 24:44–45) YAHUSHA attributes the writing of the first division of Scripture to Moshe.

It has been said that when YAHUSHA cited Moshe as the inscriber of the Torah, He was merely alluding to the tradition of Torah authorship prevalent in His day and not necessarily stating it as a fact. There are several possible responses to this idea. Fore one thing, it is important to know that Mosaic authorship was common knowledge in YAHUSHA’s day, having been passed down from generation to generation in both written and oral form. It was so well attested to that few, if any, questioned its validity.

Second, that assertion might be true if YAHUSHA only said once or twice that Moshe was the author. However, there are several passages in which He indicated the Torah was of Moshe. Moreover, if Mosaic authorship was only a tradition, YAHUSHA would have indicated such—as He did on other occasions.

For instance, in Matthew 15 and Mark 7, YAHUSHA contrasted the traditions of some of the religious leaders with the truth of the written Scripture. That a tradition is contrasted with Scripture was intended by YAHUSHA is clearly brought out in the Greek used in both passages. The phrase in question is paradosin ton presbuteron— (paradosin twn presbuterwn). The word paradosin (paradosin) is a reference to something passed down from generation to generation as opposed to Scripture, which by the very nature of the word, is something written. We suggest that, based on what we know of the historical and religious background of both passages, this phrase is most likely a reference to the Oral Law rather than the written Torah.vii

In summary, it seems evident from the pages of the Gospels that YAHUSHA considered Moshe to be the inscriber of the Torah. In the words of Gleason L. Archer, Jr., “It is hard to see how anyone can embrace the Deuteronomy Theory (that Moses wrote not a word of the Law) without attributing either falsehood or error to [Messiah]…”viii

D. The Others in the Newer Covenant Scriptures

Following their Mentor, the followers of YAHUSHA (and their students) all attributed the writing of the Torah to Moshe. The evidence is too voluminous to cite it all. A few examples will suffice. 

First, we see in Acts 3:22ff that Peter, while preaching his famous sermon before his countrymen in Jerusalem, attributes the Torah to Moshe. 

Second, amidst his stirring message delivered just before he was put to death, Stephen also affirmed that Moshe wrote the Torah (Acts 7:20ff). 

In addition, from the very earliest moments of his ministry and scattered all throughout his writings, Saul of Tarsus said that Moshe wrote the Torah (beginning with Acts 13:16, then in Romans 9:15; Romans 10:19; 1 Corinthians 9:9; and 2 Corinthians 3:15). 

Furthermore, the writer to the Hebrews also asserted that Moshe wrote the Torah (see Hebrews 7:14 and 10:28). 

Finally, John, refers to the Song of Moshe in Revelation. This Song is most likely a reference to the song recorded in Exodus 15 which Moshe and the children of Israel sang following their miraculous emancipation from Egypt.

E. Other Important Evidence

The following lines of evidence do not prove that Moshe is the author of the Torah. But, taken together with the specific claims of Scripture as cited above, they can provide good corroborating evidence. Consider the following:ix

1. Eyewitness details appear in the account of the Exodus which suggest an actual participant in the event. For instance, in Exodus 16:27, the writer remembers the exact number of fountains and palm trees at Elim. Again, in Numbers 11:7–8, the writer tells us the specific taste of the manna. Details like these would not be known by someone writing centuries later than the actual events. Thy, however, would have been well-known by Moshe,

2. The writer of Genesis and Exodus exhibits an eyewitness acquaintance with Egypt, such as what Moshe would have had.. For example, we see a thorough familiarity with Egyptian names such as Heliopolis, Pithom, Potipohera, Asenath, and others. Second, the writer of the Torah uses a greater percentage of Egyptian words than anywhere else in the Tanakh. This would have been very consistent with someone like Moshe who was raised and educated in Egypt.

3. Similar to the previous argument, we can see that writer of the Torah writes as if he is a foreigner to Canaan. For instance, the seasons and weather are Egyptian oriented (cf. Exodus 9:31, 32). In addition, the plants and animals that are mentioned are Egyptian or Sinaitic rather than those found in Canaan (such as the lists of animals in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 include some animals peculiar to the Sinai, but none that are peculiar to Canaan. This, again, points to an author who was more Egyptian that other.

4. The writer of the Torah shows a geographical orientation and familiarity with the Sinai and Egypt rather than Canaan.

5. There are references in the book of Genesis to ancient customs which were common to the second millennium BCE but which did not continue a 1000 years later.

There are more such evidences. But time and space do not permit us to cite them. Since these observations were made by Gleason L. Archer, Jr.

Let us call upon him to summarize their significance to us. He writes, “All of these features are easily reconcilable with Mosaic authorship; they are virtually impossible to harmonize with the Wellhausen theory of stage-by- stage composition from the ninth to the fifth centuries.”x

IV. “The Toledot Theory”

It is apparent that there is more than enough evidence that Moshe inscribed the books of the Torah, at least from Exodus through Deuteronomy. But, who wrote Genesis? 

The events that transpired there happened before Moshe was born. How could he have been the author of such a book?

First, let us say that history books have been written for centuries by those who live, sometimes millennia, after the history took place. 

With thorough research and evidence, that is how most history books have been written. So, it should not be such a strange or outlandish assertion to claim that Moshe was also the author of Genesis, even though he lived centuries after those events took place. 

Moreover, for those of us who believe in Divine inspiration, it is not a problem to believe that the Holy One Himself could have revealed all of the information that He wished to pass on to us to Moshe who then inscribed it all perfectly.

However, all of this aside, we would like to propose an interesting and plausible theory about the composition of Genesis suggested by Biblical scholar R. K. Harrison. We will call this theory the “Toledot Theory.” That title is our invention. But the theory is Harrison’s. Let us explain.

At the core of this theory is the assumption that Genesis was, indeed, an edition of various documents as suggested by Wellhausen, However, the documents were not historical fabrications, divided according to the names of YAHUAH such as Elohim or Jehovah, or documents composed centuries after the historical events, like the Documentary Hypothesis asserts. Rather (in contrary to JEDP theorists) the documents are clearly revealed within the text of the book itself and are historical documents composed at the time or close to the time of the events about which they speak.

According to Harrison, the various “documents” that comprise Genesis are distinguished by the repeated use of the phrase “these are the generations of,” a translation of the Hebrew phrase, v’eleh toledot.

Harrison notes that the key to understanding the use of this phrase in Genesis lies in understanding the composition of many ancient cuneiform tablets. On such tablets, the title for the contents often consisted of the first few words of the tablet. At the end of the tablet was what is referred to as a colophon. This was a conclusion that contained the name of the scribe or owner of the tablet and some hint of its date, as well as a repetition of the title of the tablet.

The phrase “these are the generations of” (toledot), says Harrison (and others) forms such a colophon in the book of Genesis. However, in contrast to many other scholars, who say that the phrase is used to introduce a new section of Genesis, Harrison suggests that it is used as somewhat of a colophon. As such it serves to conclude a previous section, to contain the title of the material in that section, and to provide a hint of the author of that material.

“Accordingly, it is eminently possible to regard its incidence as indicating the presence of a genuine Scriptural source in the text.”xi

Simply stated, here is what Harrison (and we) are suggesting. When we see the oft-repeated phrase in Genesis, “these are the generations of,” we are not to understand these phrases as introducting a new section of the story. Rather, just like the composition of ancient clay tablets, we are to understand toledot as a summary of what just has previous been said with a hint of its authorship. Moreover, the best rendering of the Hebrew toledot is not necessarily “generation,” but “family history. Thus, for example, in Genesis 6:9 we have, “These are the family histories of Noah.” Noah’s family was chronicled between 5:3–6:9. Then after 6:9 a new episode in Noah’s family follows, which was recorded by Noah’s sons as indicated in 10:1 (“These are the generations of the sons of Noah.”)

Harrison cites 11 such uses of toledot in Genesis.

According to this theory, this could be an indication of the presence of 11 tablets used as references in the composition of Genesis by Moshe. The tablets could possibly have been written by Adam? (2:4 and 5:2), Noah, the sons of Noah, Shem (11:10), Terah (11:27), Ishmael (25:12), Isaac (25:19), Esau (36:1), and Jacob (37:2). These tablets form somewhat of a family collection of the history of the people of Israel and were passed on through the centuries from generation to generation. Harrison provides the conclusion and application of this theory by stating, If it is correct to assume that the major part of Genesis was transmitted by means of cuneiform tablets, it is comparatively easy to imagine the process by which it was ultimately complied… A person such as Moses would have been eminently suited to the task of assembling ancient records and transcribing them in edited form as a continuous record on a leather or papyrus roll.xii

This “Toledot Theory,” then provides a genuinely plausible explanation about how Genesis may have been written. It recognizes the antiquity of the material in the book, it utilizes the knowledge we have of ancient writing, and it leaves plenty of room for Mosaic authorship of the book. Divine inspiration comes into play when we recognize that Moshe recorded only what YAHUAH wanted recorded into the Sacred Book and he did so with 100% accuracy.

Conclusion

Who recorded YAHUAH’s Word into what is now the first five books of the Scripture, the Torah? 

If is clear from this treatment that we believe that the overwhelming evidence points to Moshe. Mosaic authorship is assumed by the text of the Torah itself, reiterated by the rest of the Tanakh, and affirmed by YAHUSHA and His followers. Moreover, we have seen that the internal evidence of the pages of the Torah clearly point at least to someone who was reared in Egypt and familiar with its geography, its language, and its customs. Indeed, there is nothing within the entire Torah—from Genesis to Deuteronomy—to detract against Mosaic authorship.

It was the Holy One Himself who testified that “Since then [the time of Moshe] no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom YAHUAH knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10). It is comforting to know that since the Torah is the basis upon which all of the rest of Scripture was built, the writer, Moshe, knew the Author of the Torah face to face—more than any other one until Messiah. 

What an assurance to realize that He who know YAHUAH face to face, was used by YAHUAH to perfectly and accurately reflect His SET-APART (Holy) face onto the leafs of a scroll that we call the Torah.

By Ariel Berkowitz 

Sources:

Bibliography 

Archer, Gleason L., Jr. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction. Chicago: Moody Press, 1964. 

Cardozo, Nathan T. Lopes. The Written and Oral Torah: A Comprehensive Introduction. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1997. 

Gaebelein, Frank E. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 1. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979. 

Harrison, R. K. Introduction to the Old Testament. Granb Rapids: Eerdmans, 1969. 

Lightfoot, John. Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica: Matthew—1 Corinthians, vol. 2, Matthew —Mark. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979, reprint from 1859 edition. 

Wenham, G. J. The Book of Leviticus (The New International Commentary on the Old Testiment). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979. 

i Gleason Archer, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction. Archer quotes an unspecified author, 81. ii Ibid., 82. iii Nathan T. Lopes Cardozo, The Written and Oral Torah: A Comprehensive Introduction, 212 iv Wenham, G. J. The Book of Leviticus (NICOT), 8. 

v Ibid., 9. vi R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament, 592–593. vii We refer the reader to the discussion of John Lightfoot in his Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica: Matthew—1 Corinthians, vol. 2, Matthew —Mark, 222–223. viii Archer, Survey, 101. ix Most of these arguments are taken from Gleason Archer in his Old Testament Introduction, 101f. x Ibid., 108. xi Harrison, Introduction, 547. 

Source:

Click to access who_wrote_torah.pdf

DEFINE NECESSITY 

When People Trample Others For Cheap Goods Mere Hours After Being Thankful For What They Already Have. 

BLACK FRIDAY 

When People Trample Others For Cheap Goods Mere Hours After Being Thankful For What They Already Have. 

What’s the Real History of Black Friday?

BY SARAH PRUITT

It makes sense that the term “Black Friday” might refer to the single day of the year when retail companies finally go “into the black” (i.e. make a profit). The day after Thanksgiving is, of course, when crowds of turkey-stuffed shoppers descend on stores all over the country to take advantage of the season’s biggest holiday bargains. But the real story behind Black Friday is a bit more complicated—and darker—than that.

The first recorded use of the term “Black Friday” was applied not to holiday shopping but to financial crisis: specifically, the crash of the U.S. gold market on September 24, 1869. Two notoriously ruthless Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, worked together to buy up as much as they could of the nation’s gold, hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for astonishing profits. On that Friday in September, the conspiracy finally unraveled, sending the stock market into free-fall and bankrupting everyone from Wall Street barons to farmers.

The most commonly repeated story behind the post-Thanksgiving shopping-related Black Friday tradition links it to retailers. As the story goes, after an entire year of operating at a loss (“in the red”) stores would supposedly earn a profit (“went into the black”) on the day after Thanksgiving, because holiday shoppers blew so much money on discounted merchandise. Though it’s true that retail companies used to record losses in red and profits in black when doing their accounting, this version of Black Friday’s origin is the officially sanctioned—but inaccurate—story behind the tradition.

In recent years, another myth has surfaced that gives a particularly ugly twist to the tradition, claiming that back in the 1800s Southern plantation owners could buy slaves at a discount on the day after Thanksgiving. Though this version of Black Friday’s roots has understandably led some to call for a boycott of the retail holiday, it has no basis in fact.

The true story behind Black Friday, however, is not as sunny as retailers might have you believe. Back in the 1950s, police in the city of Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that ensued on the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of the big Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year. Not only would Philly cops not be able to take the day off, but they would have to work extra-long shifts dealing with the additional crowds and traffic. Shoplifters would also take advantage of the bedlam in stores to make off with merchandise, adding to the law enforcement headache.

By 1961, “Black Friday” had caught on in Philadelphia, to the extent that the city’s merchants and boosters tried unsuccessfully to change it to “Big Friday” in order to remove the negative connotations. The term didn’t spread to the rest of the country until much later, however, and as recently as 1985 it wasn’t in common use nationwide. Sometime in the late 1980s, however, retailers found a way to reinvent Black Friday and turn it into something that reflected positively, rather than negatively, on them and their customers. The result was the “red to black” concept of the holiday mentioned earlier, and the notion that the day after Thanksgiving marked the occasion when America’s stores finally turned a profit. (In fact, stores traditionally see bigger sales on the Saturday before Christmas.)

The Black Friday story stuck, and pretty soon the term’s darker roots in Philadelphia were largely forgotten. Since then, the one-day sales bonanza has morphed into a four-day event, and spawned other “retail holidays” such as Small Business Saturday/Sunday and Cyber Monday. Stores started opening earlier and earlier on that Friday, and now the most dedicated shoppers can head out right after their Thanksgiving meal. According to a pre-holiday survey this year by the National Retail Federation, an estimated 135.8 million Americans definitely plan to shop over the Thanksgiving weekend (58.7 percent of those surveyed), though even more (183.8 million, or 79.6 percent) said they would or might take advantage of the online deals offered on Cyber Monday.

Source:

http://www.history.com/news/whats-the-real-history-of-black-friday

What You Didn’t Know About Thanksgiving

TruthUnveiled777

The TRUTH About Thanksgiving REVEALED!

Thought it was just about turkey, stuffing, pumpkins, and giving thanks?

Here’s what you haven’t been taught in your textbooks…

AND AS ALWAYS, REMEMBER TO SEEK YAHUAH AND HIS TRUE SON YAHUSHA — SO THAT THE TRUTH WILL MAKE YOU FREE!!!

Learn More: Watch Video:

REVEALED! PAGAN origins of Thanksgiving Pt. 2 | Christian Holidays

If the widow of a Freemason, who made it her life’s mission to elevate the status of women, told you that Christians should participate in an ancient goddess / sacrificial ritual, would you?

Learn More: Watch Video:

Just what is Thanksgiving Day? 

Thanksgiving Day: The Church And Paganism.

Just what is Thanksgiving Day? 

The Church proclaims it a holiday (holy day), for the purpose of giving thanks to G-d for the many blessings they have received, especially agriculturally. Quoting a 6 year old, after hearing the last line, he said, ‘That’s what we do for the seven days of Sukkoth (the Feast of Tabernacles).’ Out of the mouth of babes. Why do we need another fall harvest festival?

YAHUAH has given us Sukkoth (Lev. 23:33-44). It seems apparent that to keep Sukkoth, and then to keep, only 30 or so days later, another harvest day of thanks to YAHUAH, is not only repetitious, but very strange. Thanksgiving Day is an outright copy of Sukkoth. albeit, a pale copy. The Counterfeiter has struck again. Did you ever wonder why the majority of YAHUAH’s people don’t keep the days He has designated as holy? The majority are deceived by Satan. The majority also keep Thanksgiving Day. For those of you whom He has called out of Babylon, but keep Thanksgiving Day, this ought to be cause for concern.

Most history books would like to convince us that Thanksgiving Day goes back to only Plymouth Rock in the 1600s. Plymouth Rock was not the first Thanksgiving Day though. Also, have you ever wondered why Canada has a Thanksgiving Day, but on a different date? This pagan feast, honoring the agricultural gods, goes back thousands of years, in one form or another:

‘Thanksgiving Day, in the United States and Canada, a day set apart for the giving of thanks to G-d for the blessings of the year. Originally, it was a harvest thanksgiving, and while the purpose has become less specific, the festival still takes place late in autumn, after the crops have been gathered.’ Indeed, it is probably an outgrowth of the Harvest- Home celebrations in England. Such celebrations are of very ancient origin, being nearly universal among primitive peoples.’

‘The first Thanksgiving in the New World however, was not merely a feast, there were prayers and sermons and songs of praise; and three days had gone by before the Indians returned to their forest and the colonists to their tasks.’

Notice the wording, not the first Thanksgiving, but just the ‘first Thanksgiving in the New World.’

‘In 1789…the Protestant Episcopal Church in America announced the first Thursday in November as a regular annual day for giving thanks.’

With that Thanksgiving Day on the first Thursday in November, it was very close to Sukkoth, which generally falls in October.

‘It was not until 1888 however, that the Roman Catholic Church formally recognized the day.’

Throughout the country, ‘but especially in New England, where the custom originated, the day is looked upon with great reverence.’

That sounds like a holy day or a day ‘set apart’ to YAHUSHA. This is also what happens for Christmas and Easter.

‘Thanksgiving Day in Canada. The Dominion too, has an annual Thanksgiving Day, which is celebrated in much the same way, with family reunions and religious services.’ (Note well: ‘religious services.’)

How can this be a religious day? Isn’t that the same as a holy day? Where does YAHUAH, in Scripture, tell us to celebrate it? 

‘It is proclaimed by the Governor General as a harvest festival, but although it is a public statutory holiday, it is not traditional in date. Usually, it falls on the last Monday in October, but if harvest is especially early, an earlier date may be appointed.’

World Book Encyclopedia, 1942 Edition, article entitled, Thanksgiving Day. 

‘When the corn crop was gathered in the fall of 1621, Governor Bradford decreed a day of Thanksgiving.’

‘Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks for the harvest and for other blessings of the past year…Gov. Bradford of Plymouth Colony ordered the day for feasting and thanks.’

‘Although we have nationalized Thanksgiving, celebrations were held in ancient times to give thanks for the bountiful harvest. The Greeks honored Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, with a 9 day celebration; the Romans honored Ceres, Anglo-Saxons rejoiced with a feast to celebrate the reaping of the harvest; and the Yahudiym (Jews) have given thanks for the bountiful harvest with their 8 day Feast of Tabernacles.’

‘Thanksgiving is a sports holiday…It is a religious holiday (it welcomes the Christmas season), as well as a civil holiday (most offices and shops are closed).’

It is a ‘religious holiday.’ Thanksgiving Day is a pagan day of giving thanks that Satan has set up.

‘Thanksgiving is…a giving of thanks for divine bounty. Churches of all denominations are open for services on this particular Thursday every year…Quite as important as worship on this day is the renewal of family ties.’

‘Pilgrims and Indians, turkey and pumpkin pie are so much a part of the American tradition that it is hard for us to realize that the beginnings of Thanksgiving go back not only to the Old World, but to the early world. The Pilgrims frowned on all the holidays of merry England and refused to celebrate even Christmas because they knew of its pagan origins.’

‘In proclaiming a day of Thanksgiving after the crops were gathered and before winter set in they certainly did not know that they were acting in a tradition which went back to the time when men first began to sow and reap. Long before the dwellers by the Nile learned to measure the year, or dreamed of building pyramids, all people who grew grain gave thanks at harvest time to the beings who had given them their daily bread.’

‘The Old Testament includes many references to harvest festivals…It is recorded that Moses gave instructions to the Hebrews for the celebrations of their harvest festival, which was called the Feast of Tabernacles.’

YAHUSHA, observed Sukkoth (Tabernacles) every year of His life,16 and with good reasons; YAHUAH gave it to the people Yashr’el (Israel) as a reminder of the food that He provided for Yashr’el (Israel) in the Wilderness, and also the ‘present’ harvest and the spiritual Harvest to come, when YAHUAH would feed His people from His Son.

We Gather Together: The Story of Thanksgiving by Ralph and Adeline Linton, 1949. 

 Devariym (Deuteronomy) 16:16: ‘Three times in a year shall all your males appear before YAHUAH your ELOHIYM in the place which he shall choose; in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles.’

Special Days: History, Folklore, and What Not by Sharon Cade, 1984. 

‘Even before Scriptural times the ancient people of the Mediterranean Basin held festivals at harvest time in honor of the earth mother. The goddess of the corn (‘corn’ being the European term for any grain; Indian corn [American corn], is called maize), was always one of the most important deities in the hierarchy of the gods, and her child was the young god of vegetation.’

‘The ancient Semites called the earth mother Astarte. The Phrygians called her Semele. The Minoans had an earth mother for each district. All these local deities were absorbed by the Greeks into the one great goddess, Demeter.’

Astarte and Semele are also known as the Queen of Heaven and are fertility goddesses. In different countries the name of the goddess would change, but her functions would remain similar, if not identical. ‘Thanksgiving Day’ was more than just filling a ‘horn of plenty,’ thanking the goddess, eating food and playing sports:

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‘Besides eating, feasting, etc. the married women practiced special rites. Under the cover of night, the women spent the next day bathing nude in the sea and dancing and playing games on the shore. Then they fasted, sang songs, then feasted, sang, and had general gaiety. All this lasted over a period of several days.’

‘The Roman harvest festival…was called the Cerelia, after Ceres, the Roman goddess of the corn.’

‘With the acceptance of Christianity as the official religion of Rome and the conversion of the barbarians who had invaded the crumbling Empire, these pagan rituals were frowned upon and even forbidden by law. However, the peasants clung to them with a tenacity which has made the word ‘pagan’ (originally meaning simply ‘a villager’), a synonym for ‘heathen.’ As late as the sixth century St. Benedict found the local peasantry worshiping Apollo in a sacred grove. Even after conversion, old habits and beliefs died hard, and the church was too busy to trouble with minor heresies.’

‘The benevolent earth mother blended with the equally benevolent mother of Christ.

Folk memory of local deities fused with the Christian tales of saints to provide patrons for villages, and the white robed goddess of grain lived on in various guises. To those who live close to the soil, the harvest has an emotional and religious significance their gratitude finds expression in rites in honor of the being who they feel is most closely related to fruitfulness; a being of warm earth, rather then cold heaven.’

‘Even today a half pagan belief in the corn mother still survives among the peasants in Cornucopia, or Horn of Plenty, is a symbolic, hollow horn filled with the inexhaustible gifts of celebratory fruits. In modern depictions, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped wicker basket filled with various kinds of festive fruit and vegetables. In most of North America the cornucopia has come to be associated with Thanksgiving and the harvest.

‘The Pilgrims undoubtedly brought memories of such English harvest home celebrations with them when they came to the new world. They had also witnessed ‘thanksgiving’ ceremonies during their sojourn in Holland. The Pilgrims themselves would have denied that the Thanksgiving feast in honor of their first harvest in 1621 was evoked by memories of the profane practices of the old world; however, all revolutionaries, political or religious, once their goal is accomplished, turn back to the patterns of the society in which they have been reared, and the Pilgrims, at the time of the first Thanksgiving, were no exception.’

Abraham Lincoln declared on Oct. 3, 1863, after Thanksgiving had become a national holiday, that all in the United States should ‘set apart’ and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

‘The day is fixed by proclamation of the president. It is an annual festival of thanks for the mercies of the closing year, celebrated by prayers and feasting.’

‘The earliest harvest Thanksgiving in this country was held by the Pilgrim fathers at Plymouth Colony in 1621. But long before the Pilgrims held their first Thanksgiving dinner, harvest festivals were observed in this country. Among the North Dakota tribes, the corn spirit was known as the ‘old woman who never dies.’

‘In Peru, the ancient Indians worshiped the ‘Mother of Maize’ and tried every year to persuade her to bring in another good harvest. In Europe, the Austrians also had a ‘Corn Mother’ doll, fashioned from the last sheaf of grain cut in the field and then brought home to the village in the last wagon.’

It’s interesting that YAHUAH uses the first sheaf to dedicate the forthcoming crop (Lev. 23:5-12), while Satan draws attention to the last sheaf for next year’s crop! Also, YAHUSHA is the First Fruits or First Sheaf of the Resurrection from the dead: ‘But now MASHIACH (Messiah) has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.’ (1st Corin. 15:20)

‘In Upper Burma, the friends of the household are invited to the barn for a feast when the rice has been piled in the husks on the threshing floor. After a prayer to the ‘father and mother’ for a good harvest next year, ‘then, much as we do, the entire party celebrates this year’s harvest with a feast.’

“A substantial portion of our ancestors came from England in 1621. Looking into English history we can determine why they celebrated this feast. ‘Thanksgiving for the harvest is one of the oldest and the most joyous festivals that man has created.’”

‘However innocuous harvest rites are today, they are a relic of the great drama of the season when the fruits of the earth were collected and the means of life ensured for another year, and the thankfulness had a hidden stratum of cruelty.’

‘The leading role in the drama was taken by Ceres, the Roman Corn goddess. In Britain she was later known by several names: the Maiden, the Harvest Queen, the Kern or Corn Baby, the Kern Doll, the Ivy Girl, the Neck and the Mare. Sometimes she was simply the stalks of corn and sometimes she was represented by a sheaf dressed in many colored clothes, which were decorated with flowing ribbons and the finest lace. Whatever her form, she dominated the banquets, harvest suppers, and merry making of early times.

‘The Kern Baby was made either from the last of the corn left standing…or from the biggest and ripest ears to be found in the fields. The spirit herself dwelt in the corn, and mere mortals shirked the responsibility of cutting her down. So, often the act was left to chance. All those present, threw their sickles at the lone sheaf from a respectable distance and thus no one could be said to have deliberately performed the act. In the depths of folk memory, there was still the awareness of the death and resurrection cycle. The vegetation deity of the remote past needed to be propitiated by a human sacrifice.’

‘When the feast was over, the Kern Baby was taken to the farm house and kept there until the next harvest supper. The symbol of the previous years’ harvest was ceremoniously burned in the farm yard.’

‘The Kern Baby is by no means extinct, and can be seen in some churches as part of the harvest festival decorations, though she has been divested of her divine powers. At Little Walthem in Essex and Whalton in North Umberland for example, Kern Babies are attached to one of the pews, ‘the custom of crying the neck,’ once prevalent in the west of England, is still observed here and there, though now it is incorporated in the harvest festival held in the church. The origin of the word ‘Neck’ or ‘Nack’ is obscure. It may come from an old Norse word for sheaf or corn or it may have a connection with ‘Nix’, a water spirit that is supposed to be from where we get Old Nick, one of the Devil’s names.’

“Crying the neck: while the laborers were reaping the last field of wheat, one of them went to each group of sheaves and selected the best of the ears, which he then tied up neatly, ‘plaiting and arranging the straws most tastefully.’ When the laborer’s work was done and the last of the wheat cut, the entire company of reapers, binders and gleaners would form a circle round the man with the neck. He then stooped down, grasped the neck with both hands and held it near to the earth. The people surrounding him removed their hats and held them downwards too, a gesture of homage to the soil which had nurtured the crops.’”

‘Most countries had their own special way of celebrating the ‘ingathering,’ but they all sprang from the same pre-Christian impulse; the act of sacrifice which had to be performed at the end of the harvest. The cries when the neck was held up were originally the wails of death, and the shouting and dancing which followed captured the joy of resurrection.’

Of course, most American Christians do not follow the rituals described above. Yet, does that make Thanksgiving Day right for them to observe? Is it acceptable for Christians to celebrate Christmas as long as they don’t have a tree or yule log? Of course not.

YAHUAH would not have His people to cling to any vestiges of practices that portray gods or spirits in food to be worshiped. We, who are coming out of worshiping YAHUAH in the ways of Babylon, do not need to cling to a poor copy of what our ELOHIYM has given us in Sukkoth. Our need to thank YAHUAH for His Provision has already been ordained by YAHUAH in the Feast of Tabernacles. Alexander Hislop writes that the Druids of the British Isles (the priests of their times), had their ‘Midsummer fires and sacrifices’ which were intended ‘to obtain a blessing on the fruits of the earth’ whether for May Day (the first day of May), or for ‘those of the last of October…a thanksgiving for finishing the harvest.’

Does Man have the right or the authority to ordain holy days of thanks to YAHUAH, especially when YAHUAH has provided holy days for giving thanks to Him? YAHUAH answers whether or not Man can make his own religious days, in counter distinction to His, whether in ignorance or rebellion, when we see that the first king of the northern Kingdom of Yashar’el (Israel), set up a day of festivity in the 8th month, the 15th day (approximately about the time Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the United States). The Feast of Tabernacles occurs in the 7th month on the 15th day and lasts for eight days. It generally falls around October. In the book of 1st Kings 12:26–13:5 Scripture records that Jeroboam set up a feast to rival the Feast of Tabernacles, which was held in Jerusalem:

‘And Jeroboam said in his heart, ‘Now shall the kingdom return to the House of David. If this people go up to sacrifice in the House of YAHUAH at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their ELOHIYM, even unto Rehoboam, King of Judah, and they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam, King of Judah.’

“Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem! Behold your elohiym’s, Oh Yashar’el (Israel), which brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’”

‘And he set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan, and this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.’

‘And he made shrines on every high place, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the Sons of Levi.’

‘And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered sacrifice upon the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made, and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places, which he had made. So he offered sacrifice upon the altar, which he had made in Bethel, the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart, and ordained a feast unto the Sons of Yashar’el (Israel), and he offered sacrifice upon the altar, and burnt incense.’

‘And, behold, there came a man of YAHUAH out of Yahudah (Judah) by the Word of YAHUAH unto Bethel, as Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the Word of YAHUAH, and said, ‘Oh altar, altar, thus says YAHUAH! Behold, a child shall be born unto the House of David, Josiah by name, and upon you shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon you, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon you!’

“And he gave a sign the same day, saying, ‘This is the sign which YAHUAH has spoken; 

Behold, the altar shall be torn, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.’ And it came to pass, when King Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of YAHUAH, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, ‘Lay hold on him!’ And his hand, which he put forth against the prophet, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to himself.”

‘The altar also was torn, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of YAHUAH had given by the Word of YAHUAH.’

Jeroboam not only set up golden calves to be worshiped in place of YAHUAH, and ordained ordinary men to the priesthood (the Levites having left the northern kingdom, not wanting to take part in the idolatry), but please note well the wording of the Scriptures in relating how the new feast came to be:

Jeroboam set up a feast in ‘the month which he had devised of his own heart.’ (KJV)

Jeroboam set up a feast in ‘a month of his own choosing.’ (NIV)

Jeroboam instituted a feast ‘like the festival held in Judah’ (1st Kings 12:32), and YAHUAH was angry with him for doing this.

The picture is very clear. Jeroboam set up a substitute festival to rival what YAHUAH had already set up. Jeroboam’s ‘Thanksgiving Day’ was a replacement for the Feast of Tabernacles.

Jeroboam had lived in Egypt in the days of King Solomon and had come in contact with the pagan celebrations of the people in Egypt (1st Kings 11:40). It’s very possible that he ‘borrowed’ his holy day from the Egyptians, seeing how the Egyptians worshipped the calf. (This was what the Sons of Yashar’el (Israel) reverted back to when they were in the Wilderness—the Gold Calf; Ex. 32.)

Satan copies the days and ways of YAHUAH, but perverts them, with the intent of leading YAHUAH’s people astray. ‘What harm is there in it if we worship YAHUSHA this way?’ The Prophet Daniel spoke of Satan changing the ‘times and the Law’ in Daniel 7:25:

‘And he (the Pope) shall speak blasphemous words against the Most High YAHUAH ELOHIYM! He shall wear out the saints of the Most High YAHUAH ELOHIYM, and shall intend to change times (Sabbath and Feasts of Yashar’el (Israel) and (Mosaic) law, and the saints shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.’

Christians keeping pagan days ‘to MASHIACH (Messiah)’ doesn’t surprise YAHUAH. He knew it was going to happen, but it is offensive to Him and sin for Christians because it’s not only a pagan way of worshipping the ELOHIYM  of Yashar’el (Israel), but also, Christians don’t worship Him in the days that YAHUAH has ordained; in this case, the Feast of Tabernacles. Thanksgiving Day was not acceptable to YAHUAH 3,000 years ago. How could it be different today?

Yahusha (Joshua) was instructed to keep all the instructions (i.e. Mosaic Law) that YAHUAH gave to Yashar’e (Israel), so that he and his sons after him would be blessed by YAHUAH forever, doing what was good and right in the Eyes of YAHUAH his ELOHIYM:

‘When YAHUAH your ELOHIYM has annihilated in front of you the nations that you are to dispossess, and when you have dispossessed them and made your home in their country, be careful you are not caught in a trap. Do not imitate them once they have been destroyed in front of you, or go inquiring after their elohiym’s (gods) saying, ‘How did these nations worship their elohiym’s (gods)? I will go and do the same.’”

‘This is not the way for you to behave towards YAHUAH your ELOHIYM. For YAHUAH detests all this and hates what they have done for their elohiym’s (gods); even burning their sons and daughters in the fire for their elohiyms (gods). Whatever I command you, you must be careful to do. You shall not add to, nor take away from it’ (Deuteronomy 12:28-32).

Thanksgiving Day originated in the darkness of the ancient past, and falls into the same category as two other pagan-Christian holy days: Easter and Xmas. Thanksgiving is not a day to thank YAHUSHA for all the blessings He has given to us. The Church is oblivious to its marriage with paganism because it thinks it can baptize those pagan days, ‘in the name of Jesus,’ and everything is alright then, but it’s not alright with YAHUAH.

Following Messiah YAHUSHA means that He wants to change us, from the inside-out. We all come to Him with many things we learned growing up, like Thanksgiving Day, but there comes a time when we hear the Truth and need to separate from those ways and choose His Way. Christians who want to know and walk in YAHUAH’s Truth must separate themselves from all pagan days and ways and walk in the Light of the ELOHIYM of Yashar’el (Israel), for He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous Light (1st Peter 2:9-10).40 We must follow Him, not a sanitized form of paganism. When we celebrate YAHUAH’s holy days we reflect to ourselves and the world the true ELOHIYM who provides for our every need, including our food. He has provided holy days of thanksgiving for us.41 When Christians celebrate Satan’s pagan holy days, ‘in honor of Jesus,’ they not only sin against YAHUSHA, but present a distorted and perverted picture of the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).42

Edited by GWT

Source:

Click to access Thanksgiving-Day-Pagan.pdf

The Unvarnished Origin Of Thanksgiving 

Believe it or not, Thanksgiving is as pagan as they come. Read on. 

If we are going to observe holidays, national or otherwise, it would be well to make sure that they have a pure origin. 

If we wish to honor the Creator then we need to make sure that we do not create our own ways of doing so. 

Are you interested in learning the historical facts about Thanksgiving? 

Let’s not assume that we have no need for further enlightenment or no need to advance beyond our present condition.

When we first began observing the Creators feasts (appointed times), it was easy to see the pagan underpinnings of Easter, Halloween and Christmas. We figured that our National holidays (July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, etc.) were all safe. 

Were we ever wrong! 

After learning the truth behind Thanksgiving, it too has been jettisoned along with the other pagan holidays. The following information is an excerpt from a chapter in an up-and-coming book of our friend, Catherine Sinclair.

Thanksgiving for the annual harvest is one of the oldest holidays known to man though celebrate do on different dates. 

The Chinese and Hindus are said to have celebrated harvest feasts thousands of years ago.

The Israelites were instructed to keep the feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth) a celebration, a holy convocation that was to last eight days. 

The Old Testament is replete with commands to gather harvest and rejoice. The most well known are found in Deut. 16:14 and Lev. 23:10.

The ancient Greek harvest festival was called Thesmophora and celebrated Demeter, the founder and goddess of the harvests.

The symbols of Demeter were poppies and ears of corn, a basket of fruit and a little pig.

The Roman goddess of the harvest, Ceres (from whom we get our word cereal) had a festival, which occurred on October 4th and was called the Cerelia.

SYMBOLS OF THANKSGIVING
OR SYMBOLS OF THE FRUITFUL GODDESS AND HER FERTILITY RITES

Cornucopias- In Greek Mythology, the horn of Amalthea (the name of the goat who suckled Zeus) became known as the cornucopia or horn of plenty. 

ISIS (the Egyptian faithful wife, mother, and goddess) was identified with Hathor, the HORNED COW Goddess. Horns are still used in pagan festivals today.

Harvest Queen- A name given to Ceres the Roman goddess of agriculture and crops or to a young woman chosen from among the reapers to whom was given a post of honor at the harvest home. 

Also the 1948 edition of The Universal World Reference Encyclopedia tells us, “Demeter, the Greek version of the Egyptian goddess Isis and Roman version of Ceres, is one of the principle Grecian deities, the great mother goddess, the nourishing and fertilizing principles of nature.”

Corn – represents Ceres, the corn goddess (agriculture and crops) or Xilonen -goddess of the new corn.

Poppies – Ceres corresponds with Isis of the Egyptians and Demeter of the Greeks. She is represented with a garland of ears of grain on her head, holding in one hand a lighted torch and in the other a poppy, which was sacred to her.

Piglet (Sow)- Demeter was presented with a cow and a sow as well as honey, poppies, corn and fruit indicating thanksgiving for a land of plenty. 

[Swine are an abomination to YAHUAH, see Isaiah 65:3-4.]

Thanksgiving – a holiday, or holy day?

Remember YAHUAH has given, through His Holy Scriptures His holy days. YAUAH tells His people to keep His feasts in Leviticus 23. He says these are signs for His people. The Feast of Tabernacles is the only feast to be celebrated as the feast of ingathering for His people.

In England, the autumnal feast was called Harvest Home and was derived from the druidical harvest feast. [The druids are the most openly Satanic in their form of worship.] This three-day feast began with a special service at the village church, which had been decorated for the occasion with fruit and flowers, afterwards followed a communal dinner. 

In America the celebration of Thanksgiving sprang up haphazardly and was celebrated, if at all, on different days in different parts of the country.

Here in America, the Puritans originally shunned the Harvest Home (Thanksgiving). All Saint’s days were swept off the calendar as well as Christmas and Easter, on the grounds that these mixed “popish” rituals with pagan customs. 

Their religious beliefs as well as the austerity and difficulty of their lives in the rather primitive settlement, did not permit them the luxury of gay and merry holidays. Their severe living conditions required discipline and sacrifice.

Later, Thanksgiving, a holiday thanking The Almighty for the harvest enabling them to survive the winter, seemed to them to be a more fitting celebration than the other more established feasts of the church. But was it the right decision? 

Now let’s take a closer look at our Thanksgiving holiday, today, celebrated by nearly all in the United States, and in different countries throughout the world. 

In 1620, as the story goes, the small band of Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony braved the perilous North Atlantic in quest of religious freedom. 

Instead of landing in spring and further south as planned, they landed in the winter months (November) and faced a harsh winter with meager supplies. Those meager supplies dwindled rapidly, leaving only 55 of the original 102 to survive till spring. 

Because the summer was blessed with sunshine and rain and the autumn harvest was bountiful, the Pilgrim colony, appropriately grateful established a three-day feast of Thanksgiving. 

Today, being taught this understanding of Thanksgiving, nearly all Americans celebrate this holiday believing it pure and holy, a day thought to be closer to really pleasing and praising God with thanksgiving than any other. 

However … is it?

THANKSGIVING VENEER EXPOSED

The first veneer layer (liar): The Plymouth Colony was not the first English Colony to land in America, nor were they the first to offer thanks.

The second layer: The first Thanksgiving was held August 9, 1607, by colonists en route to found the short lived Popham Colony at what is now Phippsburg, Maine.

After their two ships had reached one of the George’s Islands off the Maine Coast, they gave “God” thanks for their “happy meeting and safe arrival into the country.” The first permanent English settlement in America was founded at Jamestown, VA 1607. As early as December 4, 1619 the settlers set aside a day to give thanks for the survival of their small company. Their day of thanks continued to be observed on December 4, until 1622, when a conflict with Indians almost devastated the colony.

The third layer: The historical official pilgrim Thanksgiving Day, was not even a day completely given to thanks and praise to The Almighty as some believe we do today. This day was a show of military power for the Indians as seen in the following article:

“The first autumn, an ample harvest insured that the colony would have food for the winter months. Governor Bradford, with one eye on the divine Providence, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to God, and with the other eye on the local political situation, extended an invitation to neighboring Indians to share in the harvest feast. In order to guarantee that the feast served to cement a peaceful relationship, the three-day long feast was punctuated by displays of the power of English muskets for the benefit of suitably impressed Indian guests.” Thanksgiving, an American Holiday, an American History by Diana Karter Applebaum

Fourth Veneer layer: As much as we’d like to think of Thanksgiving as a pure and holy holiday begun by the Pilgrims in Plymouth in 1621 it is not the truth. On the contrary, the Pagan harvest festival can be traced to the land of Ancient Babylon and the worship of the Great Mother (whore).

“The Christians took over the Roman holiday and it became well established in England, where some of the Roman customs and rituals for this day were observed long after the Old Political Roman Empire had disappeared.

“In England the “harvest home” has been observed continuously for centuries.

The custom was to select a harvest queen for this holiday. She was decorated with the grain of their fields and the fruit of their trees. On Thanksgiving Day she was paraded throughout the streets in a carriage drawn by white horses.

This was a remnant of the Roman ceremonies in honor of Ceres. But the English no longer thought of Ceres or cared much about her. 

They went to church on this day and sang their Thanksgiving songs.” Our Wonderful World by Grolier Incorporated, New York, 1966, Vol. 17, pp. 220.

The Primitive Fertility Religions have been portrayed through “cute” stories which effectively HID the VILE, HIDEOUS MEANING behind them. This WORSHIP during the day of “Thanksgiving” is emphatically the Ancient Fertility Rites merely veneered with the so called “respectability” of Christianity! The fact remains, that it is still the Ancient Fertility Worship.

“But,” you say, “Weren’t our Pilgrim Father’s righteous?” 

The Pilgrims only served YAHUAH as far as they would. 

Definitely, the Pilgrims worshipped on Sunday and they definitely did not keep the Holy Feast Days as ordained in Leviticus23. They did not keep the clean and unclean food laws as listed in Leviticus11 and Deut.14.

As the Pilgrims studied the Bibles they had, they would have read of the Sabbath, Holy Feast Days and about the clean and unclean food laws for themselves. I ask you now, “Why did they not obey YAHUAH by doing what he commanded in Ex 20, Lev. 11 & 23 and Deut. 14?”

Like so many Christian churches and denominations today, the Pilgrims wanted to do it their way and not YAHUAH’s way. 

Is it any wonder then, that the Pilgrims would be just as deceived as the churches and assemblies of today–chasing after Baptized Paganism?

However, there has always been an advocate for the TRUTH through out all ages, not all our early fathers were deceived. As for me and my house we shall serve YAHUAH, says Joshua the successor of Moses. 

Can we say that with conviction? 

May our Father in Heaven have great mercy on us as we continue to study the origins of these holidays which have sought to usurp the authority, praise and worship of our Heavenly Father, Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, Revelation 14:7. 

Source:

http://creationcalendar.com/StatuteFeastInfo/7-Thanksgiving.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1JLBqUYc944veDWXrTCuzOqOFQHaWyDoYQX_S919j8zk6BhhCuq2O7TV8

The Eagle and The Crow

The only bird that dares to peck an eagle is the crow. It sits on its back and bites the eagle’s neck. However, the eagle does not respond nor fight with the crow, it spends no time on the crow instead the eagle opens its wing and soar higher to the heavens. The higher the flight the tougher it is for the crow to breathe then the crow fails down from the lack of energy.

It simply means that once a person moves towards their goals, They are faced with obstacles and challenges but when they keep pushing themselves forward every other unnecessary thing will fall off by itself.

So, keep soaring higher and overcome every obstacle with ease and not be distracted from your purpose.

Learn More @ The Truthers Journal

Source:

https://priderockjoy.medium.com/the-eagle-and-the-crow-7fbb1d9a34e9

Trunk or Treat / Trick or Treat 

Christianizing Satanism

Trunk or Treat / Trick or Treat 

Which, by the way, is impossible. But true, blood bought, born again Believers in Messiah understand this.

Then we have this other group of folks. A group of people who would define themselves as Christians, yet rationalize the mingling of darkness with light.

So, in the quest to uncover the pagan day of Samhain (pronounced sow-en), which celebrates death, demons, ghosts, goblins, witches, werewolves, vampires, sacrifices, and all other things ungodly, I thought to look no further than Anton LaVey.

Anton LaVey is best known as the founder of the Church of Satan, creating LaVeyan Satanism, and of course, writing The Satanic Bible, which caused a storm of controversy, as well as more book sales.

In The Satanic Bible, LaVey writes, “the two main Satanic holidays (after one’s birthday), are Walpurgisnacht and Halloween.”

The Satanic Bible Page 96 BIRTHDAYS

THE highest of all holidays in the Satanic religion is the date of one’s own birth.

DID YOU GET THAT?

According to America’s most well known satanist, Halloween is considered the THIRD HIGHEST day on the satanic calendar. When you research Samhain, you will understand why.

Not only can we not ‘Christianize’ satanism, no true Believer in Messiah would attempt such a thing. All lost souls need YAHUSHA The Messiah for salvation, and I abhor the wickedness of these folks and their practices, but I have more respect for those who call darkness, darkness. 

At least with them I know where I stand. I have no respect and great concern for those who call darkness, light.

What does that say to those who claim Messiah, yet want to participate in satanic celebrations? 

Can we have it both ways? 

Not according to the Word of YAHUAH.

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Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion has light with darkness? 

And what concord has YAHUSHA HAMASHIACH with Beliya’al? or what part has he that believes with an infidel? 

And what agreement has the Temple of YAHUAH with idols? for ye are the Temple of the living YAH; as YAHUAH has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their ELOHIYM, and they shall be my people. 

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, says YAHUAH, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, says YAHUAH TSEVA’OTH.  

QORINTIYM SHENIY (2 CORINTHIANS) 6:14-18

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Tell me again how you can serve two masters?

Trick Or Treat or Trunk Or Treat It’s The Same Satanic Celebration for your information.