Jesus told His disciples, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore, be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves." In this episode, Bible Study Company will discuss the significance of these four animals and the lessons Jesus was imparting to His disciples before they set out. We will also explore how we can apply these characteristics to our lives for effective discipleship today.

Hey Community,

We came across some of these maps online and were amazed at the level of detail. The maps are done by Stephen Miller, whom I spoke to via email. The back story was that I was preaching a sermon at a local church and wanted a great map, and came across  https://www.casualenglishbible.com/

Here is a short YouTube video that shows the use of the maps. 

How can you use the maps? 

Stephen shared this with me: 

"From: Stephen Miller <steve@stephenmillerbooks.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 8, 2023 6:54 PM
To: Ric Joyner <rj@biblestudycompany.com>
Subject: map Casual English Bible

Hi Ric.

Take a look at the usage rights notice on this page: https://www.casualenglishbible.com/about/maps-for-publication/

Under the tab “Some maps are free to use,” so you get some good news:

Bible study groups of 20 or fewer, along with ministers preaching sermons that are not streamed or broadcast, may, at no cost, use the Casual English Bible® maps copied from our website or from atlas PDFs  and eBooks they purchased. 

But if you want to publish the maps online in digital products, social media, and elsewhere, you’ll need permission and licensing.

I got the request for the $10 license. Do you still need it after reading this?

Steve"

BSC highly recommends that if your organization can utilize Bible maps in your study group, along with his other products for studying the Bible, and there is a chance they will be made available online, please consider subscribing to the excellent maps and supporting Stephen Miller's Casual English Bible. Here is a link for that as well. Bible Map Store - Buy PDF, eBook, license/pub Bible maps | Casual English Bible -

Blessings to all. 

Passover is the point of the Easter Season. "First Fruits" of the Resurrection!

Loveisrael.org Team created terrific tools for anyone to participate in the Passover season. As I write this, we are in the middle of the Unleavened Bread part of Passover feast.

Easter, or what many call Resurrection Day, or to stay within the Passover feast series of events, the end of the feast is the priests waving a handful of barley, thanking God for His harvest, which is called "First Fruits." Spiritually, we are the Lord Jesus' harvest to eternal life, after Jesus paid the price for our sin and redeemed us from sin and death.

He was the first to rise from the dead, and He will raise us too if we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Passover Lamb. Baruch does a masterful job of showing the heart and intent of "trying" to keep the biblical Old Testament festivals. However, as non Jewish church going Christians, we need to know the Jewish context of scripture without trying to "keep" the law. We are to be led by the Holy Spirit. Understanding all the Biblical feasts and how they are linked to our Lord is key to good Bible Study. 

Here is the link for the tools. https://biblestudycompany.com/laravel-filemanager/files/121/Ideas_to_Keep_the_Passover_02.pdf

If you would like to have a passover meal as Jewish people do, Loveisrael.org created a booklet. https://biblestudycompany.com/laravel-filemanager/files/121/Passover-Booklet-2025-PRINT-1.pdf

Passover for kids resource: https://biblestudycompany.com/laravel-filemanager/files/121/Passover-Section-Two_for_kids.pdf

Here are the dates from LoveIsrael.org for Passover 2025

Festival DATES

PASSOVER: Nisan 14 (sunset Fri, April 11 to sunset Sat, April 12)

UNLEAVENED BREAD: Nisan 15-21 (after sunset Sat, April 12 to sunset on Sat, April 19)

FIRST FRUITS: Day after weekly Sabbath* (begins after sunset Sat, April 19 to sunset on Sun, April 20)

*according to Leviticus 23:15-16

"Why did the church diverge from Passover to Easter?" 

We wrote an article on the history of Easter and whether it has pagan origins. It discusses the history of "Easter." That article is here, and you can read it if you like. 

Passover started it all

God destroyed Egypt (the metaphor for the world) and rescued His people that were in bondage and created a Nation from slaves (as we are in sin and death Eph 2:1-4), and redeemed the Children of Israel and sent them to be focused on Him in a harsh wilderness that He sustained them supernaturally. The purpose of the wilderness is to learn to depend on God, and God used circumstances to grow their faith if they responded correctly to God. Exodus shows that they did not respond well, similar to what happened in Eden with Adam and Eve. Dr. Baruch told me, "Exodus is a picture of our Christian walk as well." Redeemed means to rescue by paying a price. 

The primary focus of Passover is the blood from the lamb on the doorposts. The primary focus of the cross is the Lamb of God, Who is God, who went and shed His blood on the cross for our sins, like the lamb in Exodus 12 showed. Loveisrael's material will help put you in the moment with those who lived the moments with your family by reading the scriptures. Here is a picture of how they applied the blood as commanded to avoid the Destroying Angel. They believed in God. They had a good start, leaving Egypt and believing in God's word! We all do when we first get saved, but life's hardships can either be used to grow our faith in the Lord by worshipping Him or choosing to rebel. Let's focus on obeying and worshipping instead, and let Him build our faith in His word. (Deut 8, Hebrews 3)

The main plan of God is this: 

The Lord Jesus’s blood on the cross AND resurrection (power over life and death) paid for our trespasses (sins) against God, instead of the continual sacrifices that the Jewish people endured, which were looking forward to the Messiah coming. He made a propitiation for our sins. A clean slate, once and for all, sacrifice as an offering to God, because He is the only Human (100% God and 100% man) left in the universe without sin. That was the point of the discussion with Nicodemus in John 3. We need a new nature as sinful creatures. Thus, we need to be born again by the Holy Spirit of God (Eph 2). As predicted, Christ came as the King rode on the donkey into Jerusalem (Zachariah 9.9). We can make Him king over our lives and hearts. (Romans 12:1-2)

HE CONQUERED SIN AND DEATH AND IS RISEN. HE IS FIRST FRUITS!!! All to rescue us by doing God's will. What Adam did not do. Glory to God!

GOD REDEEMED MANKIND THROUGH CHRIST JESUS! 

If you need God's grace and mercy this Easter and Passover season, reach out to the Lord Jesus Christ, put all your sins on Him by faith, and ask Him to save you. Ask Him to forgive you, and He will. All of your past sins, present, and into the future! Our God will then seal you with His Holy Spirit and cause you to be born again to Him. Read the chapter in Ephesians 2 to see the plan of God. If you are unfamiliar with prayer, no worries; we have suggested a prayer. A prayer to God will not save you, but a heart reaching out in faith will, by His grace and mercy. Put your complete trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the prayer.

https://biblestudycompany.com/blog/article/81

Blessings to you and your family for this sacred time of year. Let us know if you came to Christ in the comments or at info@biblestudycompany.com 

"Lord, please comfort those dealing with losses, sickness, and loneliness, and please encourage those not born again to respond to your invitation this Resurrection Day. 

We thank Loveisrael.org and their teams for these superb materials.

Enjoy! Remember to share the Gospel, the good news according to God's will that Jesus Christ came to redeem us from sin and death. We are grateful to the Lord!!!

Ric Joyner of Biblestudycompany.com  is not affiliated with Rick Joyner of Morningstar Mn. There is a significant age difference, and Rick is older than me if you are looking us up on line. 

We do not agree with his theological views, which fall into the hyper-Pentecostal/charismatic camp. If you have questions on our views, don't hesitate to get in touch with us info@biblestudycompany.com. We believe in the Gifts of the Spirit from Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. We believe God still heals, but don't believe in "healers." We believe there is a difference between biblical tongues (actual languages) and modern tongues from around Azusa Street in @1906. Biblical tongues are supernatural utterances according to Acts 2. We want to pray effective prayers in our native language to know what we are praying and seek to pray according to God's will.  

Rick Joyner is part of a movement called the NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION, and you can click the link to learn more about this part of Christianity. 

If anyone is born again, all believers have the Holy Spirit. We believe in yielding to the Holy Spirit to accomplish God's will rather than our will and desires, and by yielding to His will, we advance God's agenda. We strive to submit to God to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit to accomplish God's will in His word. 

Here is my full bio. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricjoyner/

I found Rick Joyner's bio. 

Folks, our latest podcast, Matthew 6:9, is the guideline the Lord gave the Apostles on praying and the hearers on the Mt of Beatitudes. We created a PDF at https://www.biblestudycompany.com/laravel-filemanager/files/shares/Binder1.pdf for this Bible Study in Matthew. 

We recommend going for a walk or spending time with the Lord to work through the outline, which teaches you how to pray for advancing God's Will in our lives and for those we need to pray for, their needs. 

For the audio, it is here: https://biblestudycompany.simplecast.com/episodes/matthew-6-part-2

Is Easter Pagan?

The purpose of this article is to prove that Easter cannot be traced back to pagan roots. Why is this important? The lengthy article discusses those facts.

If we are to be biblically sound, we need to have correct context, and history must be accurate. Here is a summary statement upfront. Passover week is a Jewish holiday given to the people of Israel as a sacred time of remembrance. Christians in the Western world typically only celebrate the day of the Resurrection. However, that day may not align with Passover, as it did in 2025. By not understanding the Jewish context of scripture, people will be robbed of rich truths. We don't want to miss these. 

What are they robbing themselves of? They are robbing themselves of the incredible richness of the Passover, the types and shadows of the Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice for the Jewish people and humanity. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the final end of the passover and the purpose of the Passover, should be our focus. Dr. Baruch of Loveisrael.org and his project coordinator, Aaron Treesh,  have created excellent tools for Christians who are not Jewish to learn about Passover from a scriptural perspective. https://biblestudycompany.com/laravel-filemanager/files/121/Ideas_to_Keep_the_Passover_02.pdf,

Well, Ric, then why did you write this article? Because there is much hype around saying Easter is pagan. I heard this for a long time, but never researched it myself. When I did, I was surprised that it was not. Now, if you don't like my research, I have many people who are listed as references. I want to ensure that I am accurate when communicating with others. I will state this upfront and confidently, there is no linkage to pagan holidays, or the word Easter is a god of some kind. The article shows my search. This is a time to share the Gospel. 

Warning: BSC does not advocate for the celebration of Easter over Passover. We understand that Easter, or as some prefer to call it, Resurrection Day, is part of the Passover week celebration, which will be explained in the article.  We believe that everyone should conduct their research. That helps in our Bible study. Being a good researcher is crucial to drawing accurate conclusions. We intend only to accept narratives that we have researched ourselves, and our purpose is never to offend. However, going against established narratives to uncover the truth can lead to offenses. We apologize in advance.

Not long ago, I was sitting with someone I respect at the Christian church we were attending. He said, “Easter is pagan." I inquired as to how he arrived at that knowledge, and he mentioned something about the goddess Ishtar and Easter being the same. I said Easter was a Germanic word for spring, so how could it be Ishtar?

Biblical History scholar Wes Huff shows clearly that Easter does not have pagan roots. https://youtu.be/q31k28_rdTg?si=uqNyQHH5ruFBbbqR

It's commonly asserted that many of our modern Easter traditions — including the name of the celebration itself — have pagan origins. This idea, although popular on the internet and in popular shows, when actually dug into (much like the accusation around the pagan origins of Christmas) really start to fall apart. "Why Christmas isn't pagan" -    • Christmas isn't pagan and here's why   Time stamps: 0:00 - Intro 0:29 - Origins of the name (Ishtar and Ostara) 4:44 - The Easter bunny 7:09 - Easter eggs

No, Easter is not pagan or has pagan roots. "Well, Ric, when I searched on Google for the origins of Easter, it showed that it had pagan roots." "Ah, the Internet," I said with a frustrated sigh. To be correct, we must dig deeper as researchers. Easter is not from a pagan goddess. Ishtar was a Babylonian goddess who "SOUNDS LIKE" Easter; however, there is no link in etymology (origin of words), as the article below will show.[1] 

Here is a humorous video from Lutheran Satire on this topic. 

This article explains the background of Easter from Baylor University. "Well, Ric, what about Easter bunnies and eggs? Aren't they pagan?" They are not pagan, and they are recent modern inventions. The article provides details.

https://news.web.baylor.edu/news/story/2016/why-easter-was-never-anything-christian-holiday 

After reading the article, we will continue to study why Christians celebrate Easter Sunday.

A Time for the Gospel

Those opposed to Easter and Christmas share the same talking points. "Christmas and Easter are pagan." The assumption is that a good Christian will not celebrate Easter at this time of the year because someone said it is pagan, or worse, someone who celebrates Easter is worshipping pagan deities. 

Worshipping pagan deities is a serious charge. When one worships a pagan god, there are several rituals of literal worship. Today, I had lunch with a friend who shared that his definition of "pagan" is consumerism, which he defined as buying Easter eggs, the stores marking up eggs in the store, and buying candy and toy bunnies. In Jeremiah, there are several instances of pagan worship. Jeremiah 7:18 For Easter and Christmas, we see no one worshipping deities as defined by pagans. People often associate consumerism with paganism, but this is not the case. Consumerism is a heart issue and cannot be judged from the outside. 

If these accusations are not true about Easter, is there a problem of laziness on our part due to a lack of research? Worse, if a group in our circle of influence believes this and we are unaware of why they think it is true, are we succumbing to a form of adult peer pressure? A passionate argument that Easter is pagan can stem from good motivation, but the person echoing this claim may not have conducted any research. The person does not want to offend God. Good idea. However, if proper research is done, we will find that the concerns are not valid in actual history. Why are people sharing about something they have not researched?

We can celebrate Easter in peace because Christ's resurrection has given us peace with God. What if the result is to focus on not celebrating Easter because it is pagan, and we lose an opportunity to share why we celebrate Easter and do not present the Gospel? Like Christmas, this time of year is a celebration of the Gospel.

Another close friend came to Christ just over a year ago and prayed for his family to go to the knowledge of salvation. His youngest sister shared with him that she had no idea Easter was about the Lord Jesus Christ, and she was not a churchgoer. My friend used the opportunity to share the Gospel, and she came to Christ! Three weeks later, she died of a heart attack! Christmas and Easter are times to focus on Christ and what He did for us on the cross, and share that truth with others who do not know why they are celebrating. Others believe Easter is pagan and tell us not to celebrate Easter for another reason: to celebrate the Jewish Passover.

And then learn about the Passover, and here are excellent resources from Loveisrael.org: https://biblestudycompany.com/blog/article/288

Should a Christian celebrate Passover (Jewish) or Easter (Christian)?

Now that we have settled that Easter is not pagan, we can move on to another problem. Our faith in Christ has its roots in Jewish tradition. The Jewish nation was founded on leaving Egypt as slaves to become a nation around their belief in God. To leave Egypt, they observed the Passover meal, which involved the sacrifice of a lamb. But first, those who believed in God were warned that the Destroyer would come and kill the firstborn children throughout the land. To prevent the Destroyer from visiting their homes, the Hebrews had to kill, eat, and sprinkle the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. Believing in God's word and acting on it caused the Destroyer to "Passover" the house. Therefore, between 1.5 and 2.5 million people left Egypt.[2] The Jews were to celebrate Passover every year. The feast is called “unleavened bread” because the Jews left Egypt quickly without leavening their bread. Our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on the Passover without sin, because He is God, and was designated as the Passover Lamb. Exodus 12.

Yet, for some reason, Christians celebrate Easter versus Passover. Why should that be? Simply because of calendars, the resurrection, and unleavened bread.

Christians view the first day of the week (Sunday) as the day Christ rose from the dead and therefore refer to it as "the Lord’s Day." The celebration of Easter is not tied to the Jewish calendar, but to a specific day. Sunday became the traditional day for worship for Christians (Jews and Gentiles in Christ), although many celebrated the Sabbath and still do. It was natural to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday. The resurrection symbolizes Christ's defeat of sin and death. We can find records of the early church celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday, the first day of the week. We can also find documents that both Jews and Gentiles kept the Sabbath and also worshipped on the Lord’s Day. Acts 20:7-12

Judaism celebrates Passover because they do not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Some Jewish people who believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah will still honor the Passover. "Remember, Ric, that Passover is not the end of the story," said Dr. Daniel Goepfrich. He paused and continued, "The resurrection is the end of the story, which is why we celebrate the resurrection." (paraphrase)

Jewish people also use a calendar based on the new moon, which can include Passover and unleavened bread during the week. In other words, Judaism is not tied to celebrating the Passover on any specific day, such as Sunday, but rather celebrates Passover on the 14th day of Nissan, which can fall on a different day of the week each year. Notice that Passover is a weeklong celebration, and Christianity instead focuses on the day of His resurrection.

Let’s Review

Christians believe that the feast of unleavened bread, which removes sin in our lives because we exchange His righteousness for our sinfulness, was fulfilled in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who made atonement with His sinless blood for all mankind. Jesus is the Passover lamb. In Contrast, the Passover focuses on the Exodus of Egypt (a type and shadow of what the Lord Jesus Christ would fulfill), which now finds fulfillment in Christ's resurrection. Heb 7:26-8:5.[3] Christians focus on Easter Sunday because they recognize Christ as the Messiah, and Christ’s resurrection is on Sunday, the first day of the week. Mark 16:9

Why don't Christians celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread? The symbolism of yeast is sin. Therefore, in preparation for Passover, one must remove sin in one's life by cleaning one's house of all things touched, or that might have been touched by yeast (ovens, utensils, mixing bowls, etc.). If you have ever tried to go a week without yeast products, it is tough to accomplish. A person cannot work hard enough to have sin/yeast removed from their life. We are thankful for the Lord Jesus' sacrifice as the Passover Lamb to wash away our sins with His blood. Therefore, this feast is fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We ask the final question: Is Easter pagan? No. Should Christians celebrate Passover? We found that immersing ourselves in learning how Christ fulfilled most feasts is a beneficial experience. Seder meals, such as the Last Supper, are instructive for Christian believers to understand that Christianity is rooted in Judaism. The focus of Passover is the blood on the doorposts. The subject of Easter Sunday is the blood of Christ on the cross, which forgives our sins, and that He has risen from the dead, thereby canceling our sin debt to God, as Christ said on the cross. Christ rose from the dead and was witnessed by over 500 people; then, the Holy Spirit came, as promised in Acts 2, which is our assurance of eternal life. 1 Cor 15:6. No other person in history was raised from the dead. 1 Cor 15:13. Our God has risen!

We can focus on the Passover, which points to the lamb's blood in Egypt, or believers in Christ can celebrate the fulfillment of Passover on Easter Sunday, a day (rather than a week) of Christ's resurrection! And if you like, add Easter bunnies and cute eggs for kids that point them to new life in Christ as a teaching tool, as these are a modern invention.

Enjoy your holiday. People are open this season to know what Easter is about, so share the Good News! Christ has risen! And learn about all the Jewish festivals with BSC and Loveisrael.org.

Christmas: Celebrating the Birth of Our Savior, or is Christmas Pagan?

Introduction: We never infer that one should or should not celebrate Christmas. This article is for people to know Christmas's factual, researched historical background. The word Christmas was not invented until @1000 ad. This word is a Roman Catholic term and has no bearing on the birth of our Savior. The angels in heaven celebrated the birth of our Savior in Luke 2. This time of the year is about the Gospel for the lost. That was the point of Christ's coming. Has God supernaturally provided a time for people to hear the Gospel? We think so. When one hears that Christmas is pagan, this article should help you decide. Blessings. 

By Biblestudycompany.com Ric Joyner

We will state upfront that Christmas is not a biblical holiday. But it is not unbiblical to celebrate the birth of Christ. We should also not equalize materialistic Christmas with our Savior's advent (coming). The Old Testament prophesized the birth of the Savior to come. The current secular traditions of Santa, who has almost god-like qualities and manipulates kids to "further fantasize" a jolly old man who can give all children on earth toys or even an "elf on the shelf" that watches how they behave, is unbiblical. Still, some feel it is acceptable to create a myth around Santa Claus while children are young. We disagree. It is always best to be honest with children about Santa.

Giving presents at this time of the year is not wrong because the Magi gave Christ's family gifts in worship to the young boy Messiah. These gifts were providential because they provided money and helped the family flee to Egypt.

Consumerism and greed are wrong and sinful, but only the Holy Spirit can lead you to that truth, and He knows your heart. Grace-filled gifts that point people to a saving and loving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ can be a focus at this time of year. 

Frustration mounts as we approach this time of year in the Christmas season because of the Internet. Shouts of "Christmas is pagan" escalate into a crescendo with arguments against Christmas on social media and in discussions with your friends. But is it true that Christmas, or rather what we say, The birth of our Savior, is actual history?

But could these accusations be a veiled attack on the Gospel in the name of "we don't want to be idolators?" Therefore, is the theory that Christmas is pagan or from pagan sources accurate? Or is the reverse true? This article aims to provide the historical truth of our research. Don't accept what others teach without researching. I did my research, and you can verify it. We think there are ulterior motives to capture and captivate Christians into doing "other" holidays or even attacking people who do not believe Christmas is pagan. 

Let's take a look. Please reread these scriptures prayerfully as we begin our biblical study.

Matthew Chapters 1-2 highlights

• Jesus Christ's genealogy to be the King of Israel
• Angel's perspective on why Joseph should marry Mary.
• Many Old Testament prophecies about the birth of Christ were fulfilled at His birth.
• Is the current Christmas season the actual time of arrival of the Messiah?
• Is Jeremiah 10 about a modern Christmas tree?
• Why did God's Son come? "To save the people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21) Paul defined the Gospel in 1 Cor 15:1-4. The Pharisees interpreted scripture as the Messiah coming and rescuing Israel from Rome's rule. The real problem was Adam's sin, which infected us, and God's intention in the first coming of Christ was to fix sin and death. God dealt with the eternal consequences for both Jews and Gentiles by people believing in the Gospel. We don't want to miss this distinction. 
• His name announced is "God with us." How interesting! Because in Judaism at this time (second temple), a man could rise in influence to become the Messiah (the Lord's anointed) but not be "God with us" in the form of a man. Simeon's prophecy in Luke 2:25-35 expresses the Gospel to us, and the Gospel begins here at the birth of Christ. Genesis 18 shows that an Angel came to Abraham as a man and accepted worship from Abraham. So God could put on the body of a man.

Let us start with Simeon's prophecy:

Simeon's prophecy Luke 2:30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel."

Luke Chapters 1 and 2. Pay attention to what the angels say a couple of times: "Good news," translated as the same word…Gospel. The birth of Christ was good news for Jews because their long-awaited Messiah was finally here, and the prophecy was being fulfilled. We write this paper 2,000 years later for Gentiles, grateful that the apostles preached the Gospel to us: Good news: Christ came as a child to break the back of sin and death and allowed us Gentiles an eternal "home" and become children of God! Gentiles are not part of the nation of Israel, but we are part of God's family! (Eph Chap 1-4) We celebrate the birth of Christ because of the Gospel!

Read John 1 for a view from heaven of why Christ came.

"9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the intention of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. We saw His glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."

Is Christmas pagan?

If it is, then are you a pagan for celebrating the day of Christ's birth on December 25th? The historical false proof that Christmas is pagan is thrown at you with overwhelming emotional force. Typically, a discussion of paganism will start in the Old Testament and then go into Christmas, which is pagan.  Is emotionalism based on biblical truth? How about historical facts? We know the origin of Christmas (birth of Christ) is biblical. The story of our Savior starts with His birth because the prophets mentioned He was coming. We suspect the anti-Christmas vehemence is agenda-driven. We ask this question because born-again believing Christians are not worshipping pagan deities by participating in the birth of Christ called Christmas today. Why weren't Christians committed to Christ worshipping pagan deities in early church times? Because most were fleeing for their lives from persecution.

I spoke to a Torah-keeping brother who said, "Yes, Christmas is pagan." I asked how that could be, and he shared, "When you put a present under the tree, you are 'bowing' down to the tree." I was stunned. The logic he displayed defied logic. Yeah, no. Worshipping a pagan deity requires one to engage the diety knowingly.

In our research, there were pagan celebrations that started around the time of 274 AD, but they appear to be in response to Christians in Rome celebrating the birth of Christ! We then ask what came first, the "chicken or the egg?" "However, it has also been argued that, on the contrary, Emperor Aurelian, who in 274 instituted the holiday of the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, did so partly as an attempt to give a pagan significance to a date already important for Christians in Rome.[76]

Did you catch that? As you will see, other historians show us that Christians were celebrating the birth of Christ (not in a modern sense), and the Romans had to create a holiday to counter their celebration, thus being anti-pagan. How interesting?

Is the nearness of a pagan holiday make Christmas pagan? When I sift through the concerns of 'Christmas is pagan,' people, did you know there was a pagan holiday at this time? We will deal with this later, but does that make celebrating the birth of Christ pagan today? Let's ask another question: Is Hanukkah pagan? The answer is no. Yet, Hanukkah is square in the middle of this pagan holiday called Saturnalia. Do you see how this is done? The proximity of time to another holiday makes the people celebrate a different holiday, equal to pagan practices. And we know that Hanukkah is not pagan. The true church pushed hard against these wicked holidays, and to assume born-again believers were participating in pagan festivals doesn't make much sense since Christians had to live outside of society for several hundred years because of severe persecution.

Calling Christmas pagan because of the nearness of the same period of a pagan holiday would be the same as calling Easter (the resurrection of Christ) and Passover pagan. The proximity does not work because a pagan spring festival may happen simultaneously.

Wess Huff, a biblical scholar, went through the history of Christmas. He discovered the same thing I did. The celebration of Christmas was not centered on a pagan holiday in Roman times. Still, Rome may have started a pagan holiday to CO-OP (replace or compete with) what Christians were already celebrating: the birth of the Savior. Remember, they were celebrating the birth of the Savior in Luke 2, not modern Christmas celebrations. https://youtu.be/5zcaQlBbk6s?si=pajb3K2Vh6NnZFWT

It's commonly asserted that Christmas has pagan origins. This idea, although popular on the internet and on History Channel (has HC really done any history in the last two decades or is it just all Ancient Aliens and Pawn Stars now?), the reality is that when you actually dig into the origin of these supposed pagan roots they really start to fall apart. Sol Invictus - 3:14 Saturnalia - 5:14 Brumalia - 6:18 Origin of Dec. 15th - 7:30 Christmas trees - 9:19 "It's not in the Bible so don't do it" - 15:31

We can confidently say that born-again believers would not have observed a pagan holiday and dishonored our Lord Jesus Christ, who rescued us from sin and death. Born-again believers do not participate in pagan rituals today, and Christmas is about the birth of Christ. We think it is grossly unfair to attribute pagan status to Christmas, especially in light of the historical facts. Looking back from our vantage point today, we see that being able to judge people of another time is arrogant indeed. There is a word for this, and it is presentism. 

When was the birth of Christ?

Note: This is another argument over the date of Christ's birth. The logic that stems from this is that "Christ wasn't born on December 25, so we should not celebrate the birth of Christ on that day. But really, we should not celebrate it all anyway." That argument is like arguing over what we had for Thanksgiving dinner 10 years ago. The world is celebrating Dec 25 as the day we stop and celebrate Christ's birthday. That is a fact. We should use this to share the Gospel with those unfamiliar with Who Christ is. 

Let's go through some history anyway. 

• According to Luke, the shepherds were in the fields with their sheep, which some scholars say can happen twice yearly. Here are some clues.
  • No crops would be in the fields because sheep can devastate crops. Winter is likely due to cold and rain and is free of crops, but it can be miserable. According to Luke, the shepherds were staying in the fields. However, shepherds could still be in the areas during winter with good tents. I will link a video below of William Federer's excellent research, which I found just after writing this piece. It shows the shepherds were out most of the year because they raised sheep for the temple sacrifices. "Since Luke 2:8 says shepherds were in fields at Christ's birth, some assume Christ wasn't born in December. However, this objection is without merit as the Jewish Mishnah Seqal. 7:4 confirms flocks were kept in fields near Bethlehem, even in the winter. 1. Israel is not extremely cold, and snow is very unlikely due to the warm Mediterranean current, although it has occurred occasionally. Sheep wear natural wool that keeps them warm so that they can walk about even in Israel's rare snowfalls." source
  • Another time the shepherds may be in the fields is early summer after the wheat harvest, from late April to June.
  • Some speculate that Roman Caesar would not call for a worldwide census in the winter, thus making travel difficult. However, this is speculation only; there is much evidence that winter was indeed the time for travel, as farming or agriculture was on break. 
  • Dr. Baruch Korman of loveisrael.org indicates a definite break between verses in the Greek language in Luke 1:26. "In the sixth month" of the Jewish year, the angel Gabriel visited Mary. He has a video and believes the time of the Lord's birth is at the beginning of the summer. Baruch's view is that the sixth month of the Jewish year. He says that the 6th month is Elul and that Jesus was born in the month of Sivan (June into July). However, Judaism has two "firsts of the year" with different focuses; thus, there are two sixth months, and they can be either Adar (Feb into March) or Elul (August into September). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf0anBqse-w Start at 4:17 for Dr. Baruch's position.
  • Here is an article with historical evidence from Roman tax records showing that Mary and Joseph registered in Bethlehem on December 25. I am forwarding this to you for review. This article is from an anti-Jehovah's Witness site that seeks to show that JWs views on Christmas are incorrect. https://www.4jehovah.org/facts-jehovahs-witnesses-need-to-know-about-christmas/ (Note: I am "iffy" on these sources)
  • Our research from Jewish sites shows that the sixth month of the Jewish calendar is Adar, which corresponds to February and March of our calendar. The dates of March and February may be why early Christians thought December to early January was our Lord's birth date?
  • However, the plain reading of scripture in Luke 1:26 and beyond focuses on the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. The contextual reading also focuses on Mary's pregnancy. The conclusion may be why scholars say "we don't know" the date of birth of Christ. Dr. Daniel Goepfrich of Theology is for Everyone, a Greek professor, confirmed my study on this matter. And this makes sense since the whole concept is not about a date but a Who! We do not know when Christ was born or even when Dr. Baruch says it is. 
  • Before 400 AD and after, many early Christians viewed March 25 as Christ's conception date (in the month of Adar); thus, nine months later, it was December 25. Is December 25 the actual date? Are we focused on dates or the birth of Christ? Some anti-Christmas people concentrate on the dates because pagan holidays appeared around those dates in December, as stated earlier. Thus, they need to link the celebration of Christmas with pagan holidays to bolster their claims that Christmas is pagan and call you a pagan for celebrating Christmas. However, the logic derived from this is nothing more than agenda-driven, and at the heart of it is an anti-Christian church attitude with the goal that we can practice another form of religious tradition. 
• Are "near" dates of pagan holidays worshiping the return of the sun synonymous with the birth of Christ? No. Why? We are not pagans, and we are not celebrating pagan deities; we are celebrating the birth of Christ, and so were the early Christians. 
• There are several Roman holidays in December. If a religious holiday falls on any of those holidays, why are the other holidays not called pagan as well? Only Christmas?

Conclusion. We will focus on the birth of Christ currently and not conflate the past to today. 

"Certainly today, the mix of consumerism (AKA Santa Claus) can take people's eyes off Christ, but our job is to bring them back to the salvation message of the Gospel. Will you join us?" BSC. 

Christmas is a Roman Catholic tradition celebrated around the pagan holiday of Saturnalia; thus, It is pagan.

Note: In our extensive research, we stumbled upon a Wikipedia article. We usually would bypass Wikipedia as higher education frowns on its use; however, this article has stood the test of time (2001) and is updated continually, even in 2021. Once you dive into the article, you will see the extent and expanse of the research on Christmas. 

"Got you, Biblestudycompany…see, Christmas is pagan." Well, no, and not so fast. This Wikipedia article on Christmas is excellent and thorough, providing a balanced perspective.

Here are some highlights:

• What does the name Christmas mean? For example, we celebrate Christ's birth, which is our focus. However, some insist on focusing on Christmas as a Roman Catholic tradition, but is it? This article and Wikipedia is about the origins of the name Christmas:

"Christmas" is a shortened form of "Christ's mass." The word was recorded as Crīstesmæsse in 1038 and Cristes-messe in 1131.[22] Crīst (genitive Crīstes) is from Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ), "Messiah," meaning "anointed";[23][24] and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist.[25]”

• Is celebrating birthdays pagan? No. Many ancient cultures did not celebrate birthdays, but many did. And no, celebrating birthdays is not pagan. We are honoring a person. Where are the deities? Christmas is about Jesus Christ's birth. Let's keep about Him and share the Gospel with the world. Christians celebrated Christ's birth long before the Roman Catholic Church formally began. However, for the first few hundred years after Christ rose from the dead and the church started, Christians did not celebrate birthdays of any kind, and thus, the logic goes that they would not have celebrated Christ's birth. The first record is from Saint Augustine around 400 A.D.

"December 25 was the winter solstice date in the Roman calendar.[16][53] A late fourth-century sermon by Saint Augustine explains why this was a fitting day to celebrate Christ's nativity: "Hence it is that He was born on the Day which is the shortest in our earthly reckoning and from which subsequent days begin to increase in length. He, therefore, who bent low and lifted us chose the shortest Day, yet the one whence Light begins to increase." [54]

(Please note that Augustine allegorized Scripture, and we can see it here, which is not a good approach)

We conclude by the historical facts that the Roman Catholic Church did not exist at the beginning of Christian recognition of the birth of Christ.

• When was the Roman Catholic Church founded? Why do we ask? One argument against Christmas is that Christmas is Roman Catholic, and our research shows this is incorrect. Several sources agree with this website.

"The Roman Emperor Constantine established himself as the head of the church around 313 A.D., which made this new "Christianity" the Roman Empire's official religion. The first actual Pope in Rome was probably Leo I (440-461 A.D.), although some claim that Gregory I was the first (Pope) (590-604 A.D.). This ungodly system eventually ushered in the darkest period known to man, called the "Dark Ages" (500-1500 A.D.). Through popes, bishops, and priests, Satan ruled Europe, and Biblical Christianity became illegal."

Conclusion: Catholicism was not the leading purveyor of Christmas traditions.

1. A thorough reading of the Wikipedia article, which is well-sourced, shows many conflicting beginnings for Christmas celebrations. A prominent theme in the report is the worldwide trajectory of celebrations of Christmas. Today, the traditions hobbled and wobbled through history; today, they are celebrated in their current form. We marvel at the sticking power of the Gospel in Christ's birth to a predominantly gentile world. Is this God ordained for the opportunity to share the Gospel with the lost and religious? We think so. Or are some who focus on getting people not to celebrate the birth of Christ missing an opportunity for the Gospel? Yes.
2. Atheist countries tried to "stomp" out Christmas—the current attacks by believers on Christmas as pagans remind us of atheist countries. We wonder about the agenda of those who attack the Christmas celebration, and we think there is an anti-church and anti-Gospel sentiment buried within.
3. What about the "Christmas tree is pagan"? No. Some will point to Jeremiah 10 as proof that Christmas trees are pagan. However, a contextual reading of scripture shows this is false, and one must "read into" the scripture that the Christmas tree is pagan. Besides, the Christmas tree is relatively recent in its current form. Jeremiah 10 is about the making of an idol and then worshipping wood. We are serious about interpreting scripture correctly instead of twisting scripture.
4. Are we celebrating a pagan holiday today? No. Regardless of historical narratives by anti-Christmas, anti-birth of Christ people, they need to present the history correctly. The nearness of the celebration of the birth of Christ to ancient pagan holidays has no bearing on our celebration today or then.
5. Didn't the pagans use mistletoe, yule log, etc.? But what about today? Are they used to worship deities? No. Valentine's Day was a horrible pagan festival, and the Christians turned it into a worldwide romance day. Believe me; if I find a mistletoe and my wife is under it, she will get kissed!
6. Could the celebration of Christmas give us the one-month opportunity each year to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and what He has done for all of humanity because it is a conversation opener? We think so. Santa Claus) can take people's eyes off Christ, but our job is to bring them back to the salvation message of the Gospel. Will you join us?
7. William Federer's video has an excellent history of Christmas traditions from ancient times to today.

Christmas is not a biblical holiday.

"And therefore, we should not celebrate the birth of Christ." We would say, "Tell that to the angels engaging the shepherds because heaven celebrated the birth of God's Son!" Luke 2:2-14

"And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

Note: the words Good News are translated from Greek

Original word: εὐαγγελίζω

Transliteration: euaggelizó

Definition (short): preach

Description (complete): to announce good news

I think this comment that "we were never commanded to celebrate Christmas" is a logical fallacy. There are many events in the Bible that people acknowledge and celebrate that we are not commanded. 

But the main issue is what we will do with this time of the year.

Yep, evangelize during Christmas. There are hurting hearts at this time of the year, and many blindly celebrate a holiday not connected to Christ's birth. Let us help people relate it to Christ, our Savior.

If not Christmas, what should we celebrate instead? Some in Torah-keeping groups and Hebrew roots say we should celebrate Hanukkah instead to return to our Jewish roots. Hanukkah was not part of the Gospel, and the birth of Christ IS part of the Gospel. 

We encourage everyone everywhere to ask God whether one should participate in the celebration of the birth of Christ. We say YES! We can confidently push back on anti-Christmas and  Christmas is pagan with correct historical and biblical facts. You may want to tell Children there is no Santa Claus so they know the truth. We are blessing them with presents as a reminder that the Lord Jesus Christ is a gift of grace to us who were lost and now found.

Acts 26:18 gives us the motivation behind the Gospel by the Lord when he was talking to Paul on the road to Damascus. The Lord Jesus said; "to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.'" 

Unusual Worldwide Focus on Christ

During this time of the year, people are open to the Gospel for nearly one month, meaning the world is focused on the "holidays." Can their sensitivity or openness be supernatural? We think so. Do we let this opportunity slide through our fingers to share the gift of salvation? In Matthew 28, our commission is to go and make disciples. To make a disciple, we must present the Gospel first. Will we waste our time arguing over the birth of Christ, whether it is pagan or not? To this, we say that people saying Christmas or the celebration of the birth of Christ is pagan are avoiding the Gospel! Why? Let us ask this question: Who in the spiritual realm attacks the Gospel and wants it destroyed? Satan. Think about this tidbit. Imagine a worldwide focus on Christmas, even in Buddhist countries. Why not present the Gospel at this time of the year? As Paul said, his focus was on getting people reconciled to God. (2Cor 5:18-21)

Think critically: False teachers attempt to get Christians (those who believe in Christ as their Savior) away from biblical foundations onto another system of thinking. We think this is precisely what is going on here. One area we know this is as we studied the history of Christmas, we discovered that virtually none of their view of historical facts stand up to scrutiny. That was a big surprise to me. In my graduate degrees, we learn and are trained in proper research. My career was researching specific tax guidance and helping people understand how the original writer of the tax code wrote the regulation and how to apply that for the best effect. I went where the history and facts led. I can't sugarcoat or bring an ideology to bear on the historical facts. And when we pointed this out...we were attacked. That is how we know this is a false history that Christmas is pagan. Typically, a video will start with Christmas being pagan by calling people who celebrate Christmas that they are pagans. This is called the logical fallacy of the straw man argument.   God promised by the first prophecy in Genesis 3:15 that a Savior would come. We are celebrating this prophecy:

"15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." The Accuser is bound and determined to use people, even with good intentions, to stop the message of the Gospel of Salvation. We use the word accusation intentionally because people who celebrate traditional Christmas are called pagans. It was a severe charge but, fortunately, untrue.

God is a God of prophecy. He wants us to know what is coming. He answered His word and has "healing in His wings" to "reconcile us to God." There are no other holy books that contain prophetic words fulfilled!

Let's celebrate the Birth of Christ and spread the Gospel this season!

Every Christmas season is a literal miracle that this holiday is focused worldwide on Jesus Christ, our Savior. Even the Wikipedia article acknowledges this undeniable fact.

Therefore, let us turn aside from agenda-driven history as supposed "facts" and focus on the birth of Christ and sharing the Good news of His coming to rescue us from our sin and eternal death, thus giving us eternal life works in the blood of Christ! Anyone who teaches the Bible should want the facts and present them in a manner worthy of sound scholarship. 

What can you and your family do to share the love of Christ with a hurting world this Christmas season? Here is one video that touches our hearts because it makes my point that people are celebrating with family and friends but may not know the real reason for Christmas—salvation. You can see this young woman become emotional as she learns that she has broken God's laws and needs a savior—the very holiday she is celebrating but not knowing why! 

Feel free to share the resources.

Bibliography

Melton, James. "The Plain Truth about the Roman Catholic Church." biblebelievers.com. Bible Baptist Publications, 1998. https://biblebelievers.com/jmelton/Catholic.html.

Wikipedia Contributors. "Christmas." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 31, 2001. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas.

———. "Christmas." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 31, 2001. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas

Playlist  of videos that will go step by step

Article on how to study the Bible from BSC step by step

Article by Dr. Baruch on how to study the Bible

Article on how numbers play a role in Bible Study

Blog article and podcast on how we learned to study the Bible with Dr. Baruch

This prayer is a guide and biblically based. All a person needs to do is cry out to God in their own words. If you're unsure about how to pray, please use this prayer as a guide only. No prayer will save you but your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for you on the cross.

To have a relationship with God, rather than a relationship with religion, pray this prayer sincerely in your own words. 

Dear Heavenly Father, (Matt. 6:9) I want a relationship with You...not a religion. I come to You and open my heart. (John 3:16) I will be honest and sincere with You. (John 4) I am running my life and need Your help. (Matt. 6:10) I am made in Your image (Gen 1:26, 27), and I won't be happy until I am in a relationship with you. (Gen. 3) Most of my behavior does not please You. (Romans 3:23) I know I am a sinner, so please forgive my sins because of Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who came to die for my sins. (John 3:16) His death on the cross is the punishment I should receive, but You were gracious to die in my place through Christ. By faith, I place all of my past, present, and future sins on Christ. I believe Jesus Christ is my Savior, and salvation is a free gift! I know I cannot earn my way to heaven by being good through good works. (Eph. 2:8) You did this so I can be in a relationship with You on earth and for all eternity. (Romans 10:9-13) And I will forgive those who have sinned or hurt me because you have forgiven me. Take away any bitterness or resentment I carry toward You or other people. (Matt. 6:13-14) Please show and teach me how to live a praiseworthy life on earth to You starting today. (Matt. 6:33, Acts 9 and 10) I ask you to be in my heart, as Paul said in Ephesians 3:17. I know that You love me, Father, and I want to love You, and that You have a purpose and plan for my life. I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Lord, because You gave me breath in my lungs, and Savior, because You paid my sin debt. Please teach me to pray. (Matt. 6:9) Thank You, Jesus, for saving me to Yourself (Ex. 19:1-8) and making me a new person! (2 Cor. 5:17) In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen! 

 Learn to grow at www.biblestudycompany.com