Hosea's Christmas Tree - 119 Ministries

hello and welcome to another teaching by 119 ministries our ministry teaches that the whole Bible is true and applicable for our lives today if you would like to know more about what we believe in teach please visit us at test everything net we hope that you enjoy studying and testing the following teaching how does Yahweh view Christmas trees there are countless pieces of evidence that false gods were worshipped under every Green Tree searching green tree and any online Bible will yield a multitude of examples there also exists archaeological evidence of nations associating evergreens and the worship of their gods our Creator not only stated but he committed all in the faith to not worship Him using the traditions and symbolisms that the other nations used in the worship of their gods Deuteronomy chapter 12 take care that you be not ensnared to follow them after they have been destroyed before you and that you do not inquire about their God saying how did these nations serve their gods that I also may do the same you shall not worship Yahweh your God and that way for every a Bible thing that Yahweh hates they have done for their gods for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods however sometimes that is simply not convinced enough to some as evidence that we should not associate things such as Christmas trees in the worship of Yahweh one verse that is often raised in defense is found in hosea chapter 14 verse 8 I Yahweh am like an evergreen cypress from me comes your fruit in such a defense it is understood that Christmas trees cannot be bad to associate in our worship yahwah is likened unto such a tree it certainly sounds reasonable on the surface but there might be more to consider it is easy to get caught up in the trap thinking we can worship God in any way we choose God's people have been known to make that mistake over and over again the best example of this mentality is in the event of the golden calf yes believe it or not the Christmas tree can be compared to the event of the golden calf how many realize that the intent of the Israelites was not to worship a false God with the golden calf but associate the calf with the worship of Yahweh God and the story of the golden calf once again God's people started doing things and worshiping God their own way God does not appreciate his people worshiping him in any way that they choose there is a protocol that he is defined for us a way to worship Him and the ways not to worship Him he is the one being worshipped not us we need to understand how we are to worship or not worship Him we should not want to mess that up but that is what God's people do all too often and the golden calf is perhaps the most classic example of us trying to worship God in our own way and not his way it all starts in Exodus 32 here we find that Moses has gone up to the mountain but after some time the Israelites began to panic for they fear that Moses has died when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him up make us gods who shall go before us as for this Moses the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt we do not know what has become of him Moses was much more than simply a leader to them Moses was their only mediator between God and man Moses spoke to God on their behalf and God spoke to the Israelites through Moses Moses was the mediator between God and man this head role is now reserved for Yeshua alone and only Yeshua now functions as Moses however during the time of the Exodus Moses was the mediator here is their perceived problem they feared that they lost Moses they believed they needed to replace their mediator they were afraid that they were not going to be able to communicate with Yahweh any longer because their mediator Moses is missing or perhaps even dead since they were in Egypt they happened to learn a thing or two about Egyptian tradition of interacting with gods and their understanding you require a physical medium to silat ate such divine interaction they needed a mediator between them and God we know that this is what they are thinking because they instructed to Aaron make us gods who shall go before us and then what do we see it their reason for saying this as for this Moses the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt we do not know what has become of him so in their mind Yahweh through Moses brought them out of Egypt yet Moses is now missing and in their mind that's a big problem and big problems require urgent solutions so their solution was to make us gods but how would gods replace Moses and how would God be a good thing in their mind have they already forgotten who brought them out of Egypt and have they forgotten who just spoke to them down at the mountain before they became afraid and asked Moses to go get the commandments for them in the English this certainly sounds bad however the word here for God's in Hebrew is Elohim Elohim is a Hebrew word also translated as the one true God or it could also be translated as gods so nearly any time you see the word God in your English translations the Hebrew word is in fact Elohim despite the fact that Elohim is plural Elohim can refer to false gods or the one true God the context determines the correct understanding so we need to figure out if the Israelites were attempting to make a physical image of God as a mediator to reach God or were they trying to make gods as in false gods the Israelites as a solution to replace the perhaps dead Moses or to replace their mediator with God decided that they need to make God or really create that interface they believe they needed to have so they could talk with God to replace Moses who they feared was dead so often we have been taught that the Israelites were making a false God but in the English it says they wanted to make God's not God clearly they only made one God despite the fact that they used a plural form of L which is Elohim that suggests that they meant that they wanted to make the one true God Elohim not false gods otherwise they would have just made multiple gods just like the English translation suggests now that might not be enough to prove the point for you but there is much more to consider most already know that the Israelites chose to make a calf in fact they seemingly entertained no debate or discussion about it it simply seemed to be the understood form that Yahweh should take but why did they choose a calf Exodus 32 so Aaron said to them take off the rings of gold that are in your ears of your wives your sons and your daughters and bring them to me all the people took off their rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron and he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf if the Israelites were trying to make Yahweh in a physical form as a mediator to replace Moses it was certainly no accident that the Israelites chose a calf why why did they choose a calf to represent Yahweh in Scripture God is often likened to an ox even in the context of the Exodus for example numbers 24 God brings him out of Egypt he has strength like a wild ox just like Hosea 14 verse 8 likens yahweh to an evergreen tree numbers 24 verse 8 likens yahweh to an ox why though was yahweh likened unto an ox they knew this because they spoke and wrote ancient pictograph hebrew do you recall the hebrew word translated as God and English Bibles it is the Hebrew word Elohim there are two Hebrew words commonly translated as God Ehle and aloha when reading the Bible it is better to have an ancient Hebrew perception of God rather than our modern Western view the word L was originally written with two pictographs letters one being an ox head and the other being a shepherd's staff the Ox represented strength and the staff of the Shepherd represented Authority first the ancient Hebrews saw God as the strong one of authority the Shepherd's staff was also understood as a staff on the shoulders a yoke secondly the ancient Hebrews saw God as an ox and the yoke when plowing a field two oxen were placed in a yoke one was older and more experienced and the other younger and less experienced and the younger would learn from the older the Hebrews saw God as the older experienced ox and they as the younger who learns from him the plural form of Aloha is Elohim and is also often translated as God while English plurals only identify quantity as in mourn one the Hebrew plural can identify quantity as well as quality something that is of great size or stature can be written in the plural form and in this case God as the great strength and authority is frequently written in the plural form Elohim the two letters in these Hebrew words are the ox head representing strength and the Shepherd's staff representing Authority combined they mean the strong Authority as well as the ox with a staff the yoke is understood as a staff on the shoulders if you are interested you can learn more at the ancient Hebrew Research Center so the choosing of a calf to represent God was clearly intentional there is a logical reason that they did not choose a rabbit or a fish or anything else Elohim and the Hebrew gives us the word picture of the Ox and authority and guess what they said they were going to make Elohim make us Elohim who shall go before us remem elohim is this same Hebrew word that is translated as God in Scripture and Elohim as a word pitcher fits their interest in making a calf perfectly thus they were not interested in making God's so to speak they were interested in making God or Yahweh not so much as they are literally thought that they are making God but they are continuing in the Egyptian tradition and practice of making an image of God so you could connect and speak to him which of course is what Moses was but they feared that he was dead after the golden calf is presented Israel says something very interesting Exodus 32 verse 4 and he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf and they said these are your God's o Israel who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and the English it seems that they are presenting the golden calf as God's but that doesn't make any sense it's singular in reality he is saying to Israel here is your Elohim or if you will here is your God who brought you out of Egypt meaning the one true God now clearly in most English translations the usage of God's does not make any sense for multiple reasons Israel already declared Yahweh to be their only God why would Israel suddenly believe that a different God took them out of Egypt that would make no sense whatsoever in addition only one God took them out of Egypt and the Israelites knew this so why do English translators use the plural form gods as in false gods when that would make no sense Aaron is only presenting one golden calf not golden calves meaning singular not plural meaning this and this is important to understand the Israelites clearly never intended on making gods but instead making a representation of God as evidenced by the one singular God they made in the form of a calf which happens to be the exact same word picture that of the pictograph of elohim represents in hebrew and then they say that this golden calf brought them out of Egypt clearly they know this is not literally the case as Yahweh brought them out of Egypt so why do translations say gods and not God because of the nature of the Hebrew word Elohim Elohim can mean the plural form of false gods or the one true God this would mean that the Israelites believed that they produce an image of Yahweh as the calf they believed they created the image of the one true God who took them out of Egypt this should make much more sense because the ancient Hebrew pictograph of Elohim is an ox with authority so they were simply creating what they already understood about God in an effort to relieve their concerns about losing Moses as their mediator they in fact created an image of their understanding of Yahweh to worship and connect with him as their new mediator they were so worried that they lost Moses which was their mediator to connect to Yahweh that they believed they had to replace Moses with an object to be the new mediator between Israel and God so all these things clearly tell us that they were intending to worship Yahweh through the calf still don't believe it despite all the evidence do you still believe that the Israelites were trying to worship false gods instead of worshiping Yahweh in their own way there is still one more thing that solidifies this understanding and this is quite huge in the Hebrew we are told that Aaron actually dedicates a feast to Yahweh Exodus 32 verses 5 through 6 when Aaron saw this he built an altar before it and Aaron made it Proclamation and said tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh and they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings and the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play Aaron declares that the feast is for Yahweh and then he offers gifts to him unfortunately this is the way of Cain mentality to the extreme you might be thinking in my Bible it says Lord not Yahweh any time we see Lord in all capital letters and English Bibles we know that it is intentionally replacing the Tetragrammaton yo hey Bob hey or Yahweh as we pronounce it anyone can look into any Hebrew concordance and see for themselves that Aaron literally dedicated the Feast to Yahweh the God that took them out of Egypt this proves without a doubt that the Israelites were simply trying to replace Moses and connect a Yahweh in a different way the Israelites were not trying to make guides so to speak but God Elohim they chose a kafir Yahweh because he is Elohim this is what is important to understand because this is what they did they chose to invent their own feast their own holiday to Yahweh instead of the feast outlined in Leviticus 23 they chose to worship God their own way instead of God's way they sincerely thought that they were doing the right thing they thought it was okay to make up their own holiday for Yahweh and worship Him however they chose but clearly despite the fact that the Israelites were sincerely attempting to worship God even dedicating the day to him giving gifts to him God did not see it that way they are worshiping God through the pagan practice of using things to worship God and declaring and putting into effect a false holiday they even made offerings to Yahweh they really thought that Yahweh would accept their worship just like Cain did likewise if we use Hosea chapter 14 verse 8 as a reason to bring an evergreen into our home just because Yahweh is likened unto a cypress tree why would the Israelites have been in error and making a calf just because Yahweh is likened unto an ox that is the main issue of the problem at hand because the Israelites decided to do things their own way instead of God's way they made themselves out to be their own gods though they fully and sincerely wanted to follow Yahweh they followed themselves and their own heart instead this is exactly what we do with Christmas and Easter we take the ways of man ways and days of false gods and then offer them all of the God and expect him to smile while we please ourselves in the process now we realize that might sound harsh and many will not want to hear it but we know it is the truth when we do these things our way instead of his way then who in our mind is God at that point do you see the problem from God's perspective we can still be claiming to be worshiping the one true God but if we abandon his way and we do it our own way we are actually worshipping false gods in the process sadly we are worshipping ourselves bowing down to ourselves and following ourselves we're following our own instructions instead of his how does he want us to worship Him John chapter 4 but the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth for the father is seeking such people to worship Him God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth how does he not want us to worship Him Deuteronomy 12 you must not worship Yahweh your God in their way what way should we not learn Jeremiah 10 learn not the way of the nations so in summary here's the main point Yahweh through pictograph and numbers 24 verse 8 also associated himself as a bull or a calf this led up to the Israelites setting up the golden calf as a representation of Yahweh and a day dedicated to him and worship of him if someone is using Hosea chapter 14 verse 8 to justify setting up an evergreen tree in their home because it represents an image of Yahweh and dedicating a day to him then there is no difference in application as with the event of the golden calf Hosea 14:8 highway am like an evergreen cypress from me comes your fruit Hosea 14 8 is used as justification to bring an image of Yahweh into your house to be associated with worship the Israelites did the same in creating an image of Yahweh as a golden calf and dedicating the day as a feast unto Yahweh to set up a piece of wood in your house as an image and representation of your God for a time of worship is the definition of an idol the person using Hosea 14:8 and this way are in more a dangerous place than those who simply say it is just a tree and they have no idea where the practice came from we pray that this was all worth your consideration and we hope that this teaching has blessed you and remember continue to test everything shilla you Christmas and Easter two days esteemed above most others and are observed by nearly one-third of the human population millions of believers worldwide celebrate these holidays to honor the birth death and resurrection of the Messiah these festivals take many cultural forms and shapes around the world but would you be alarmed to discover that these two seemingly innocent holidays are historically rooted in ancient occult practices which can be traced back to Babylon Babylonians Sun God worship has evolved throughout the centuries and has branched out into several major religions many professing believers have also adopted several of these pagan customs unaware even today all throughout Catholicism and daughter denominations there are still dozens of popular monuments and symbols that were at one time dedicated to various Sun gods what became this very same organization also instituted Christmas and Easter secular and Christian scholars alike all record that the Christmas tree wreaths boughs of holly and mistletoe were all objects used in pagan God for killing lights this of course begs the question what are they doing in the homes of believers today discover how Mithra and the north OD evolved into the imaginary same we know today as Nikolas and how he became the key figure in the celebration of Christmas in ancient folklore st. Nicholas was accompanied by a dark counterpart known as the Krampus and had a striking resemblance to other false deities the Easter Bunny and the dying of Easter eggs are also symbols of fertility connected to Ishtar biblically referenced as the Queen of Heaven long before the birth of our Messiah December 25th was a day used to celebrate the rebirth of the Sun God all of this and more has all been justified by man our hundreds of years but when was the last time we considered what our Creator had to say regarding all of this do we care should we care we reveal an opportunity and faith center challenge to worship and practice the faith as he stated he desires for all his people not according to us not according to men but instead according to his way according to his that is if you are ready to test everything to order this two-part teaching visit test everything dotnet are watching for free in our video section

Channel: 119Ministries

Views: 77,273

Rating: 4.8375845 out of 5

Keywords: moses, easter, sinai, 119 Ministries, Hosea 14:8, Deuteronomy 12

Id: VQDas_Zpj4w

Length: 24min 26sec (1466 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 06 2016