Part of the means by which Elohim identifies His true children is through their loyal obedience to His instruction to keep His Holy Days. The prophet Ezekiel explained that Sabbath-keeping is the sign that we acknowledge Elohim as our God, and do not heed the false religion of the sun god.

Having been designated by heaven as the sign, which demonstrates who we truly worship, what Holy Days we choose to observe becomes a critical issue. Just as Elohim set up Sabbaths for our blessing, Satan has counterfeited them with holidays, which, if observed, will demonstrate our loyalty to the Beast.

"The Catholic Church abolished, not only all the Sabbath, but all the other ‘Jewish’ festivals (annual Sabbaths)," wrote Father Enright, in June of 1905 (quoted in Signs of the Times, Nov. 4, 1919).

Not only were the true Holy Days "abolished" through the Papal power, but also pagan days were set up to take their places. These pagan days are so pervasively observed throughout the Christian world today, that many who keep the Seventh-day Sabbath, still acknowledge the authority of the Beast through observing the days the Dragon has set up.

To begin identifying the holy days, versus the holidays, let us compare the festivals held dear in modern society. We will then examine the origins of each to determine whether they are rooted in sun worship or in righteousness.

As it turns out, Easter is a day celebrating the moment when the Queen of Heaven, under the name of "Ishtar," "Asherah" or "Eastre," was impregnated by the sun god. Her unholy child was to be born nine months later on the day that happens to be December 25^th. The obelisk, as was mentioned previously, was anciently the center for Easter celebrations. Representing the physical impregnation of the earth, the obelisk became the site of ritual sex acts done in honor of the pagan deities.

In honor of the sexual nature of Easter, prolific procreators like rabbits became symbolic. Eggs were laid in fields in the belief that the earth would be more fruitful through these pagan offerings. But, what does Elohim have to say about His people painting eggs and celebrating Easter?

The name Halloween comes from the original Celtic term "All Hallowed’s Ev’n." But the ritual of Halloween is much older than the name. "The ritual we embrace as Haloween was originally called the Feast of the Dead, Samhain, and was held on November 1^st" (Fossilized Customs, p. 39).

Originally, Halloween was a ghastly occasion, as author Lew White explains:

The festival of the Samhain began the night before (November 1^st) in an evening (October 31^st) known as All Holloweds Eve. To this day, this evening is a sacred time for those who practice witchcraft and delve in the "black arts." It certainly brings no pleasure to Elohim to see His professed people getting in any way involved in such a celebration.

In the winter, the ancient heathen believed that the sun slowly died. Each day it rose further and further in the south. December twenty-five was the ancient world’s solstice (literally meaning "sun-stop"). At this time, the sun could be observed returning northward, and was said to be "reborn."

The rebirth of the sun came nine months after Easter. Thus, December 25^th was the birthday of the sun god’s sun. In earliest Babylon, the sun god was called Nimrod. Nimrod, the son of Cush, was the great-grandson of Noah through the line of Ham. The Bible calls him a "mighty hunter before YHWH." This is not the compliment it may at first seem to be. The word "before" is translated from the original Hebrew word paniym (Strong’s Concordance #6440), meaning "against (provoking to) anger, (causing) battle…" Thus, we see that Nimrod was not a man who pleased Elohim.

Nimrod was married to the woman who was later to be known as the Queen of Heaven. From ancient times the story has been told of how Nimrod, the mighty hunter and ruler of the kingdom of Babylon, set out to kill a wild boar. The hunter became the hunted, and the life of mighty Nimrod was ended. Samaramis, as she was then called, beyond grief when her husband’s lifeless body was returned to her, feared that ruling the mighty men of Babylon might prove hard without her barbaric husband at her side.

Always a canny one, Samaramis hit upon a plan. She determined to control this warrior race through playing upon their superstitions. When the sun began to "go away," Samaramis told the people a whopping story. She explained that Nimrod had not merely died; rather his mighty spirit had been lifted up to the sun. Now, this god-Nimrod was joined to the sun in the heavens and his eyes burned into the hearts of man. To prove this story true, Samaramis informed the people that she had been weeping for her lost husband in the forest. Instantly, in the very spot where her tears had fallen, a mighty pine tree grew straight and tall, pointing to the sky.

Samaramis then proclaimed that unless the barbaric Babylonians paid her proper tribute, their new sun god would be greatly displeased and would take away the sun permanently. Then Samaramis cut a pine tree, which she claimed was the very one which had grown so miraculously, and she placed it in the yard of her palace. Under the watchful eyes of the sun god, tribute was to be presented to Samaramis in the form of gold and silver, which was to be hung upon this tree and placed beneath it. From that moment on, pine trees were set up and decorated in honor of the sun god on December twenty-five.

Elohim is not pleased when we continue to follow this ancient heathen practice. The prophet Jeremiah was inspired to inform all Israel, of which every child of Elohim is spiritually a part, that Christmas trees are "vain" (without eternal value, worthless, from the realm of sin and death). To follow this ancient custom is to "learn the way of the heathen," which Elohim clearly asks His people NOT to do.

December twenty-five was honored with yet another layer of recognizable tradition, when on the following year Samaramis gave birth to an illegitimate child, Tammuz. This child was conceived through an Easter orgy, but Samaramis claimed that the boy was from Nimrod. Tammuz was always depicted with the sun god as a disk behind his unholy head.

To honor the sun god for the gift of Tammuz, a boar was served at a special feast on December twenty-fifth. An apple was placed in its mouth, representing the heart of Nimrod which the boar had pierced. Supposedly, Nimrod’s demise enabled him to reach a higher plain of existence as the chief deity.

In actuality, our whole modern holiday calendar is based upon this ancient Babylonian system of sun worship. Still, some may be of the opinion that it doesn’t matter if they decorate a pine tree on December twenty-five, as Christians do it to honor the birth of Christ. "Just because it started out as a day to worship the sun doesn’t mean that it’s about sun worship today. After all, we worship Jesus on Christmas now!" many rationalize.

Perhaps we are inclined to celebrate holidays like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween because we are not as in tune with pleasing Elohim, as we like to believe. Perhaps, for a moment, we should consider our holiday selection from Elohim’s point of view. The Bible calls celebration of these modern holidays "vanity," and a form of spiritual "whoring."

Imagine, for a moment, that a father looses his precious son at the hands of a murderer. Now, imagine that as time goes by, the people who claim to have loved his son, decide to hold a special celebration in his honor. The catch is that the people are going to hold the celebration on the birthday of his worst enemy, the day on which the murderer was born. Will an earthly father appreciate this celebration, believing it to be an honor to his son? Of course not! Yet, in effect, this is exactly what we have done to Christ and YHWH!

The prophet Ezekiel was given a vision of Elohim’s proclaimed people. In the vision, Ezekiel was brought into YHWH’s temple. What he observed in Elohim’s church was called an "abomination" to Elohim. What did Ezekiel see that made Elohim so upset?

At the door of the gate to YHWH’s holy house, was a group of women weeping over Tammuz. Perhaps they had been asked to give up his birthday celebration and the idea brought them to tears. Whatever the source of their sympathy for the unholy child, Elohim was highly offended.

Now Ezekiel’s angel guide brought him into the inner courtyard of YHWH’s sanctuary. Here Ezekiel saw a group of men. Symbolizing their claim to belong to Elohim, they are in His house. But were these men worshipping Elohim? No! Ezekiel saw them worshipping the sun in the very house of YHWH! Through this vision, it was foretold that some of those who claimed to love Elohim, would displease Him terribly through practicing sun worship, while standing in His church.

With these pagan days already firmly in place from ancient times, Constantine-I decided to repackage them as blessed of heaven. No true Christian in 321 C.E. was fooled! They were highly offended, as we will address in the following chapter. Up until this time, all Christians kept Sabbath and honored the annual Sabbaths, as well.

Along came Constantine-I who had decided to unite the sacred with the profane, fulfilling one of the characteristics of the Beast. These days, that modern Christianity keeps, are rooted in paganism and hallowed only by the Beast, which thumbed its proverbial nose at heaven while turning the birth of Tammuz into the mass of Christ (Christmas).

After Constantine passed his first Sunday Law (in 321 C.E.), his next attack was directed against the first of the annual Sabbaths. He didn’t immediately replace Passover with Easter. Doing so would have brought the whole community down on him. Rather, Constantine began to erode the mo’edim of Elohim by merely placing Passover permanently on a Sunday.

Interestingly enough, this quotation reveals a great deal about the keeping of the annual Sabbaths during the early part of the 4^th century C.E. The annual Sabbaths of Elohim were kept by the members of the general council of Nicaea – none of which were Jewish! In other words, keeping the annual feasts was a Christian custom, taught by Christ and exemplified in the life of the apostles. Thus feast keeping was considered to be Christian, until Constantine came along.

Why have we acknowledged this earthly authority, over that of Elohim’s? Having completed our study thus far, there can be no doubt about which days bring eternal blessing. There can also be no doubt about which days belong to YHWH. For our heavenly Father specifically said:

The Torah, or the Law of Moses, as it is sometimes called, is Elohim’s holy Law. It includes the Commandments from Exodus chapter twenty and Deuteronomy chapter five. It also includes the statutes, which are dispersed from Genesis through Deuteronomy. Within these statutes, are contained the message of the feasts and annual holy days. Elohim has not left us without clear instruction. We may understand and obey His expressed will. Why, then, would we choose to follow the doctrines of the Beast rather than the teachings of the Torah?

To claim to honor Elohim, while practicing the pagan rituals "sanctified" by the Beast, is the epitome of spiritual hypocrisy. In His own words, Christ proclaimed Elohim’s view on those who follow the traditions of men rather than the commandments of Elohim:

For any who truly desire to please Elohim, the choice of holy days they keep will reflect this desire. Elohim’s Bride is not going to allow herself to be "defiled" with the false teachings of the woman riding upon the Beast. (See Revelation 14:4.)

Because it demonstrates our loyalty to Elohim, in the end of time, the Sabbath issue will play an even more pivotal role than may be perceived at this time. Through the observance of holy days, we will clearly display our allegiance to either Elohim or the Beast. Because the Sabbaths have been such an attacked part of the holy Law, keeping the days that Elohim has sanctified and blessed is the sign heaven looks for in identifying its own.

Through the prophet Ezekiel, we find that polluting the holy days will be a big factor in receiving the "fury" of Elohim, as will be poured out in the last plagues. This concept is presented even more clearly through a study over the Armageddon issue. The Bible teaches that the last battle between Christ and Satan, the battle known as Armageddon, will be over the issue of the holy days! Let us study this issue next.

To begin, the Battle of Armageddon is prophesied to occur just prior to Christ’s Second Coming, upon the final fulfillment of the Day of Atonement:

The last great battle between the forces of good and evil is only referred to as Armageddon this one time in the Bible. The issue of this war, while hinted at in the above verse (as the plagues will be poured out upon Babylon for her diabolical mixing of that which is sacred with the profane), is made plain through a study of the original meaning of this word. According to the Strong’s Concordance, it comes from the Greek word Har-Megiddon (#717).

Further research will reveal the meaning behind the two parts of this original word. The Greek word Har means "mountain." The word Mageddon, which is from Megiddo, has two meanings: 1) an ancient city, 2) comes from the Hebrew word mo’ed, meaning feasts or congregations of YHWH." Just as one does when using a dictionary, the meaning that most logically applies is used. Since there is no physical ancient city with this name, the word Armageddon means "mount of the mo’edim."

From this meaning, one more use of this term can be located in Scripture. It is found again in Isaiah, the fourteenth chapter. Here, it is simply translated as the "mount of the congregation." However, as it comes from the same original source, it is most accurately worded as the "mount of the feasts (or holy days)." This mo’edim mountain is what Satan, then still called Lucifer, determined to desecrate by sitting upon it.

Some have wondered whether or not Sabbath-keeping is really a big deal to Elohim. Such ones wish to minimize its importance, believing that so long as they worship Elohim, the day upon which they do so does not matter. But the Biblical truth is that the Sabbath issue is vital! So important an expression of loyalty is Sabbath observance, that the battle lines of Armageddon are drawn over this issue. Those who stand on YHWH’s side in this final conflict will be those who have followed His word and have kept His holy days.

In light of this information, we must be careful not to rationalize ourselves into doing that which displeases our Maker. Keeping Christmas instead of Tabernacles, because we rationalize that December twenty-five now focuses upon Christ’s birth, is comparable to the mental gymnastics exemplified by Cain. Offering a sacrifice of fruit rather than a lamb, as Elohim had commanded, Cain argued that an offering of fruit was as good as a lamb, so long as he was presenting a sacrifice.

Does it matter if we obey the explicit instructions YHWH has given? Does keeping the Seventh-day and annual Sabbaths really matter? To those who wish to be acceptable unto Elohim, it does. To those who wish to live in a manner that pleases Elohim, it does. To those who wish to demonstrate true loyalty to Elohim, it does. To those who accept the message of the fourth angel, it does. To those who would not receive the plagues to come upon the Beast, it does.

Upon Cain’s sacrifice of fruit, no fire of heavenly acceptance fell. In the same way, those who refuse to render obedience to the expressed will of Elohim, choosing rather to honor their own convenience and the will of the Beast, will not be accepted by heaven.

• Elohim has set up holy days and commanded us to keep them. They are: the Seventh-day Sabbath, Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
• The Beast has set up counterfeit holy days. They are: Sunday, Easter, Lent, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and Christmas.
• Whose authority we accept will be demonstrated by the holy days we keep.
• The Battle of Armageddon is over whose feasts we keep and whose authority we ultimately acknowledge.