The Third Temple  The Center for
Messianic Learning 

Unapologetically Pro-Torah
Unashamedly Pro-Israel
Irrevocably Zionist
ב״ה
“… out of Tziyon will go forth Torah, the word of ADONAI from Yerushalayim.”
(Isaiah 2:3)
Jew and Gentile (Synagogue and Church), one in Messiah. (Ephesians 2:14)
“For He is our peace, Who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, …”

If your life is not in jeopardy for what you believe, you’re probably on the wrong side!
“Indeed, all who want to live a godly life united with the Messiah Yeshua will be persecuted.” (2Tim 3:12)
It is what you actually believe that determines how you walk out your faith, “but avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, quarrels and fights about the Torah; because they are worthless and futile.” (Titus 3:9)

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Please Note: Absolutely nothing on this website should be taken as anti-Church. I am not anti-anything or anyone. I am only pro-Torah and pro-Truth (see “Philosophy”), but sometimes the Truth upsets our long-held beliefs. I know it certainly upset mine! For example, see “Why Isn’t My Theology Consistent Throughout the Website?”


A Few Reasons Why I Choose
to Not Celebrate Christ’s Mass

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First and foremost, there is neither Biblical command nor Biblical precedent for celebrating Messiah’s birth at all. In ancient Hebrew tradition, it is the anniversary of a person’s death that is commemorated, not that of their birth.

Second, God has established an entire annual cycle of feasts and festivals that He gave to all of His people to be celebrated forever. There is nothing in Scripture that suggests that God is pleased when His people seek to worship Him in ways of their own designing; in fact, the exact opposite is quite true.

Third, the God-ordained Festival that coincides with Yeshua’s birth is Sukkot [Tabernacles], which is the actual date of Messiah’ birth.[1]

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … The Word became flesh, and took up residence [literally, tabernacled[2]] among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1,14, HCSB[3])

Saturn prepares to slay an infant
Saturn prepares to
slay an infant
[10]
Fourth and finally, Christ Mass is totally pagan and has its deepest roots in the Babylon Mystery Religion in which “the Queen of Heaven” (Ishtar, a.k.a. Diana, Venus, Aphrodite, or Astarte) and her infant son (Nimrod, a.k.a. Tammuz, Zoroaster, or Zarathustra) were worshipped as deity. In the fourth century when Emperor Constantine created “Christianity” and made it the official state religion of the Roman Empire, he succeeded in creating a blend of pagan Roman polytheism and the Messiah-followers sect of Judaism known as “Ha Derek” or “The Way.” That paganized Roman religion has survived until today as “Christianity.” On December 25, the Romans celebrated a winter feast called Saturnalia in honor of their false god Saturn, which was celebrated by the giving and receiving of gifts. All that the apostate Roman church actually did was to continue the same pagan winter feast and give it a new “Bible-sounding” name: Christ-Mass.

The Roman Catholic Mass is, in their own words, “… a continuation and a re-offering of Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary” [see below]. Since the Christ Mass is rooted in paganism and is a festival in honor of the false god Saturn (according to Scripture, all false gods are really demons posing as deity), then any sacrifice that is rooted in that paganism would be the same as a sacrifice to a demon. The Bible says that all Gentile [non-Jewish] sacrifices are sacrifices to demons:

No, what I am saying is that the things which pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice not to God but to demons; and I don’t want you to become sharers of the demons! (1Cor. 10:20[4])

The Bible also teaches that the sacrifice of Yeshua haMashiach (“Jesus Christ”) was a once-for-all event that can never be repeated.

For the Messiah has entered a Holiest Place which is not man-made and merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, in order to appear now on our behalf in the very presence of God. Further, He did not enter heaven to offer Himself over and over again, like the cohen hagadol [high priest] who enters the Holiest Place year after year with blood that is not his own; for then He would have had to suffer death many times — from the founding of the universe on. But as it is, He has appeared once at the end of the ages in order to do away with sin through the sacrifice of Himself. Just as human beings have to die once, but after this comes judgment, so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to deliver those who are eagerly waiting for Him. (Hebrews 9:24-28)

It is in connection with this will that we have been separated for God and made holy, once and for all, through the offering of Yeshua the Messiah’s body. Now every cohen [priest] stands every day doing his service, offering over and over the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But [Yeshua], after He had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, sat down at the right hand of God, from then on to wait until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by a single offering He has brought to the goal for all time those who are being set apart for God and made holy. And Ruach HaKodesh [the Holy Spirit] too bears witness to us; for after saying, “‘This is the covenant which I will make with them after those days,’ says Yehovah: ‘I will put my Torah on their hearts, and write it on their minds …,’” He then adds, “‘And their sins and their wickednesses I will remember no more.’” Now where there is forgiveness for these, an offering for sins is no longer needed. (Hebrews 10:10-18)

Therefore, I choose to not celebrate Christ Mass because:

… be careful that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from your presence, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ (Deut 12:30, NASB)

(1) it is a pagan practice honoring false gods, that we are commanded to not follow,

(2) it is considered a re-sacrifice of our true High Priest,

(3) the Scriptures consider it a sacrifice to demons, and therefore,

(4) for those of us who know the Truth, to participate in the pagan practice of Christ Mass would for us be a sin.

“So then, anyone who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it is committing a sin.” (James 4:17).

For more information see also:

• The Shocking Origin of Christmas

• Who is Santa Claus

• Paganism and Catholicism: Christmas

• Pagan Roots? 5 Surprising Facts About Christmas

• Ten Christmas Customs with Pagan Roots

• Christmas Traditions: Pagan or Christian?

• The History of Christmas


The Liturgy of the Eucharist[5]

The Priest receives these gifts [the offering] and says a blessing over them, offering them to God, the work and fruit of our hands, highlighting the great mystery that God will take food and drink we have made and transform them into a Heavenly Meal, the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus.

After blessing the gifts, the Priest prays that God will cleanse him of all iniquity and symbolically washes his fingers which will touch the Lord.

The People then pray that God will accept the Priest’s Sacrifice “for the Praise and Glory of His Name, for our good and the good of all His Church.”

The Mass has its beginning in the Last Supper when Our Lord first changed bread and wine into His Body and Blood. But it also has its links in the great events of Good Friday. Each Mass is a continuation and a re-offering of Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary. It takes the holocausts and burnt, bloody sacrifices of the Old Testament and transforms them into the Holy Sacrifice of the Lamb of God that redeemed all mankind.

After the Priest recites a short prayer of praise to God — the “Preface” — the People sing the Heavenly Chant of the “Sanctus” “with all the Angels and Saints:”

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord,
God of Power and Might,
Heaven and Earth are full of Your glory
Hosanna in the Highest!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord
Hosanna in the Highest!

The People then kneel in readiness for the moment when Jesus will become truly, physically present on the altar.[6]

The Priest begins to pray a great prayer of thanksgiving and supplication to God called the “Eucharistic Prayer.” There are a number of Eucharistic Prayers for the Priest to choose from:

The First Eucharistic Prayer is a translation of the Canon. The Canon was the only Eucharistic Prayer that was said in the Latin Rite from the time of the Counter-Reformation until Vatican II. It is rich in the history of the People of God, it calls on our Jewish heritage, it reminds us of our Heavenly goal, it calls on each of the Apostles and the Saints and the Martyrs of the Early Church, each by name, to intercede for us. (It is my personal favourite!)

The Second Eucharistic Prayer (one of the new ones introduced by Pope Paul VI after Vatican II) is based on the Eucharistic Prayers in use in the very early Church. It is beautiful in its simplicity and many appreciate how it links us to the prayer of the early Church. Many also appreciate that it is so much shorter than the others! (It is certainly the most often used, the “default” Eucharistic Prayer, if you like!)

The Third Eucharistic Prayer draws greatly on the liturgical traditions and imagery of the Eastern Church.

There is also a Fourth Eucharistic Prayer and a number written especially for Masses with Children.

The common elements of the Eucharistic Prayers are:

 • The Consecration — the moment when the Priest transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Our Lord by repeating the words of consecration:[7]

 • This is my Body (hic est enim corpus meum)
This is the cup of my Blood (hoc est calix sanguinis meus)

 • Prayer for the Church

 • Prayer for the Pope, the local Ordinary (Bishop), all priests and all the Faithful

 • Prayer for the Faithful Departed (those Faithful who have died)

 • Invocation of the Blessed Virgin, the Apostles and the Saints

 • Finally, the Doxology of Praise by the Priest followed by the People’s “Great Amen”: Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour are Yours, Almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen.

The People then stand to say the Lord’s Prayer together and to share the Kiss of Peace with each other (usually a handshake or a nod of the head!)

The Priest then breaks the Body of Christ while the People pray, “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.” (Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis).

The Priest then invites us again to acknowledge our unworthiness in the “Domine, non sum dignus”: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word, and I shall be healed.”

The Priest then eats and drinks the Body and Blood of the Lord before proceeding to distribute the Sacrament to each of the People in turn who wish and are able to receive communion.

This is the great pinnacle of the Mass, of the Christian Life, of the Church, the moment when Jesus, truly present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, enters into our very being, our bodies and souls, making us one together with Him and with each other, cleaving us to His Mystical Body, the Church.

Needless to say, a few moments’ quiet reflection and then a song of great joy and praise follow this blessed moment!

At this stage, a second collection is usually taken. The proceeds of this collection are for the needs of the parish (maintenance of the Church buildings, paying for the electricity, funds for the Parish School, etc.) and to provide for the priests.

After consuming any remaining Precious Blood and placing any remaining hosts in the Tabernacle, the Priest cleans and purifies the sacred vessels and then sits quietly for a time in reflection and thanksgiving.


Why Are HaShem’s Appointed Times Important?

In the Torah [Leviticus 23] God has decreed seven “appointed times” for all His people to appear before Him in corporate holy assembly: Shabbat, Pesach, Matzah, First Fruits, Shavuot, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.[8] He said that these are to be His “designated times of Yehovah that you are to proclaim as holy convocations” and that they are to be observed by all His people as “a permanent regulation, through all your generations.”

The Church argues that these days are “holidays of the Jews,” yet the Bible clearly calls them “the appointed feasts of Yehovah” (Lev. 23:2; 2Chron. 2:4). Daniel prophesied that the Antichrist “will speak words against the Most High and oppress the holy ones of the Most High. He will intend to change religious festivals and laws…” (Dan. 7:25). In the spirit of Antichrist, the Church has decided that what Yehovah has commanded is simply not important and refuses to honor the times of worship that He has designated; the Church presumes that He should be satisfied with their showing up uninvited on Sunday, Christmas, and Easter, all of which are totally pagan in origin (plus Wednesday night, which is of purely human origin). “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7, NASB).

For those who would argue, “But that isn’t our intention in celebrating Christmas; we just celebrate Jesus’ birthday” let me first remind that Yeshua was born in September, not in December,[9] so Christmas has absolutely nothing at all to do with His birthday. Then I would offer the following examples of those who violated HaShem’s instructions without having evil intention to do so.

In Eden, HaShem told Adam and Eve to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17). They had no evil intent when they disobeyed. Just the opposite, in fact. They considered that “the tree was good for food, that it had a pleasing appearance and that the tree was desirable for making one wise” (Gen. 3:6). Surely Father God would be pleased when He noticed how wise they had become. As a result of their good intention, death entered creation and they were expelled from Paradise.

To atone for (cover) their sin, HaShem “made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21). For reasons we will see in just a moment, it is not unrealistic to believe that HaShem instructed them in animal sacrifice and it was the skin of the sacrificial animal(s) from which he made their garments.

Some few years later Adam and Eve’s son Hevel [Abel] brought HaShem a sacrifice “from the firstborn of his sheep, including their fat” (Gen. 4:4). How could he have possibly even begun to conceive of the idea of an animal sacrifice unless he learned it from his father, who in turn learned in from HaShem? Abel’s brother Kayin [Cain], who had received the same instruction about sacrifice from his father, “brought an offering to Yehovah from the produce of the soil. … Yehovah accepted Hevel and his offering but did not accept Kayin and his offering. Kayin was very angry, and his face fell. Yehovah said to Kayin, ‘Why are you angry? Why so downcast? If you are doing what is good, shouldn't you hold your head high? And if you don't do what is good, sin is crouching at the door — it wants you, but you can rule over it.’” (Gen 4:3-7). Kayin wound up murdering his brother Havel, and as a result he was driven from the land and from the presence of Yehovah. We can safely surmise that Yehovah  rejected Kayin’s sacrifice because it was not the kind of sacrifice that Yehovah had specified.

About a thousand years later, humanity was still doing things their own way. Then “Yehovah saw that the people on earth were very wicked, that all the imaginings of their hearts were always of evil only. Yehovah regretted that he had made humankind on the earth; it grieved his heart. Yehovah said, ‘I will wipe out humankind, whom I have created, from the whole earth; and not only human beings, but animals, creeping things and birds in the air; for I regret that I ever made them’” (Gen. 6:5-7). So HaShem sent the Flood to wipe out all of humanity except for the eight people who were still doing things His way.

After the flood waters had receded, HaShem instructed Noah and his sons, “And you people, be fruitful, multiply, swarm on the earth and multiply on it” (Gen. 9:7). But instead of dispersing throughout the earth as HaShem had commanded, a few hundred years later, humanity (under the leadership of Nimrod, according to tradition) “used the same language, the same words. It came about that as they traveled from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shin'ar and lived there. They said to one another, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them in the fire.’ So they had bricks for building-stone and clay for mortar. Then they said, ‘Come, let’s build ourselves a city with a tower that has its top reaching up into heaven, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth’” (Gen. 11:1-4). The text of Genesis says, literally, “let us build ourselves a city with a tower, and at its top, the heavens.” It is well known by scholars that “the Babylon Mystery Religion” (as discussed at the very beginning of this paper) was born at Babel, along with one of its key components — the practice of astrology. Many believe that the phrase “at its top, the heavens” suggest strongly that the tower was dedicated as an observatory for astrology. Because humanity had continued to “have it their way” HaShem confounded their language and scattered them throughout the whole earth (Gen.11:7-9).

Fast forward another few hundred years, and we find HaShem making a promise to Avraham that he and his wife would have a son, and that he, Avraham, would become the father of a great nation. Avraham and Sarah became impatient and took matters into their own hands to have a son named Ishmael. They had absolutely no evil intent, but only wanted to see HaShem’s promise fulfilled — with their help. As a result, the descendants of Ishmael (the Arab Muslims) and the promised son Isaac (the Jews) have been at war for four thousand years, with no end in sight until Messiah returns to settle their differences.

About a thousand years later, HaShem has redeemed Israel — a great nation of perhaps as many as six to twelve million people out of Egypt and brought them to Mount Sinai where He literally took the nation as His bride. When Moshe [Moses] went up the mountain to receive the marriage contract (the Torah), the people became restless and concerned that Moshe had died on the mountain and was never going to return. With absolutely no evil intent, the people wanted to worship HaShem and felt it would be helpful if they had an object to help them focus their worship. “Aharon [Aaron] said to them, ‘Have your wives, sons and daughters strip off their gold earrings; and bring them to me.’ The people stripped off their gold earrings and brought them to Aharon. He received what they gave him, melted it down, and made it into the shape of a calf. They said, ‘Isra'el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’ On seeing this, Aharon built an altar in front of it and proclaimed, ‘Tomorrow is to be a feast for Yehovah.’ Early the next morning they got up and offered burnt offerings and presented peace offerings. Afterwards, the people sat down to eat and drink; then they got up to indulge in revelry” (Exod. 32:2-6, NASB).

There are a few things that it is critical to note about this narrative. They had absolutely no evil intent. There were not worshipping the golden calf; they were worshipping Yehovah but using the calf as a visible reminder of “your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” They were worshipping HaShem, but were doing it “their way.” As a result, the Levites were ordered, “‘Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.’ So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.” (Exod. 32:27,28, NASB)

Just a few years later, “Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon, each took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered unauthorized fire before Yehovah, something He had not ordered them to do. At this, fire came forth from the presence of Yehovah and consumed them, so that they died in the presence of Yehovah. Moshe said to Aharon, ‘This is what Yehovah said: “Through those who are near me I will be consecrated, and before all the people I will be glorified”’” (Lev 10:1-3). Nadav and Avihu were priests of Yehovah, serving Yehovah in the Tabernacle, and performing their assigned task of offering incense. However, Yehovah had prescribed the precise manner in which the incense was to be offered. With absolutely no evil intent, they chose to offer the incense in a manner other than that which He had ordered, and for that indiscretion their lives were immediately and violently forfeit.

In the Torah HaShem has decreed seven “appointed times” for all His people to appear before Him in corporate holy assembly: Shabbat, Pesach, Matzah, First Fruits, Shavuot, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. He said that these are to be His “designated times of ADONAI that you are to proclaim as holy convocations” and that they are to be observed by all His people (not only the Jews) as “a permanent regulation, generation after generation.” If you consider yourself as a person of God, the “permanent regulation” applies to you!

When the Ark of the Covenant was constructed, HaShem instructed Moshe: “When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is to set out, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them, so that they will not touch the holy objects and die. These are the things in the tent of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry. … But do this to them that they may live and not die when they approach the most holy objects: Aaron and his sons shall go in and assign each of them to his work and to his load; but they shall not go in to see the holy objects even for a moment, or they will die.” (Num. 4:15,19-20, NASB).

About a thousand years later, as David and his men were bringing the Ark of the Covenant up to Baale-judah on an ox-drawn cart, “Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the new cart. So they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark. … But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. And the anger of the Yehovah burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God” (2Sam. 6:3-7). With absolutely no evil intent, but with every possible good intent Uzza reached out and touched a holy thing of God’s with the intent of protecting it from harm, and God struck him down for “his irreverence.”

Likewise, King Saul became impatient waiting for Samuel to come offer the burnt offerings and peace offerings prior to engaging the Philistines in battle, so he took it upon himself to offer the sacrifices when HaShem had not instructed him to do so, and for his arrogance, HaShem took the kingdom from him and gave it to David. (1Sam 13:1-14)

Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Yehovah your God, which He commanded you, for now the Yehovah would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Yehovah has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Yehovah has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Yehovah commanded you.” (1Sam 13:13-14)

With absolutely no evil intent, the Church has unilaterally decided that HaShem’s seven “appointed times” are not important, and so they offer Christmas, Easter, Sunday morning and evening, and Wednesday evening as the Church’s “appointed times,” and they expect the Creator and Emperor of the Universe to bend to their will, show up at their appointed times, and be pleased with their worship. Is this not the very definition of irreverence and arrogance? Is that not exactly what Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Nimrod and his priests at Babel, Aaron and those who fell down before the golden calf, Nadav and Avihu, and King Saul did? If HaShem struck down Uzzah for his unintentional irreverence, why should the Church assume that He will be pleased with their collective intentional irreverence?

So by all means, if it seems good in your sight to ignore “the appointed times of HaShem” and expect him to honor your worship at “the appointed times of the Church,” by all means, feel free to do so.

If it seems bad to you to serve Adonai, then choose today whom you are going to serve! Will it be the gods your ancestors served beyond the River? or the gods of the Emori, in whose land you are living? As for me and my household, we will serve Yehovah! (Josh. 24:15)

____________

  1. See “Yeshua’s Birthday:Biblical Dates for the Birth of Yochanan the Immerser and for the Conception and Birth of Yeshua HaMashiach.” [BACK]

  2 The Greek word that is used here is σκηνόω (skenoo), to fix one’s tabernacle, have one’s tabernacle, abide (or live) in a tabernacle (or tent), tabernacle; to dwell. [BACK]

  3. Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [BACK]

  4. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture references are taken from the Complete Jewish Bible, © Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission. [BACK]

  5. The following description of the mass is taken from “A Tour of the New Mass” at catholic-pages.com/mass/newmass.asp. It is not my intention to engage in “Catholic-bashing.” I merely present this information for your careful consideration. You need to decide for yourself whether this is something in which you are comfortable participating (all emphasis added). [BACK]

  6. It is critically important to understand that in Roman Catholic belief, the Eucharist is not merely symbolic of the body and blood of Christ. After having been blessed by the priest, the bread literally becomes His flesh and the wine literally becomes His blood. This is literally cannibalism! [BACK]

  7. This is nothing less than the practice of witchcraft; the priest manipulates physical reality through the incantation of “magic words.” [BACK]

  8. See “The Moadim: God’s Appointed Times.” [BACK]

  9.  See “Yeshua’s Birthday” for details. [BACK]

10. Image obtained from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and is tagged as being in the public domain. [BACK]

Total re-write Thursday 08 June 2017 01:30 PM
Revised Saturday 26 December 2015 10:55 AM
Revised Sunday 06 December 2015 02:55 PM

Page last updated on Thursday, 09 March 2023 01:53 PM
(Updates are generally minor formatting or editorial changes.
Major content changes are identified as "Revisions”)

Anxiously awaiting Mashiach’s return
ANXIOUSLY WATCHING FOR MASHIACH’S RETURN,
SPEEDILY AND IN OUR DAY. MARANA, TA!

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