It’s Time to Dump the Myths and Fables!

We are living in an age where knowledge and transportation abounds. The ability to research history and the religious practices of past societies is at our fingertips. We are more accountable than previous generations, who may not have known how mythology and fables infiltrated their worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Our Bible speaks against worshiping God in the same way the nations of the world worship their gods, called idols. It also warns against mixing worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with idolatry. The first, and most important, of the Ten Commandments is listed in Exodus 20:3:

• “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

God is literally saying to us, “You shall not place any man-made idols between my face and your face.” He defines idols for us in 1 Chronicles 15:6:

• “For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.”

MYTHOLOGY - FABLES

Today, myriads of people observe special holidays that have known historical ties to pagan gods and idolatry. They claim there is nothing wrong with having fun on these days while ignoring the rich, beautiful, spiritual days that God gave His people in Leviticus 23. His Holy Days identify us with Him and tell us about our Messiah’s first and second comings.

We know mythological stories associated with pagan gods are nothing more than man’s imagination, but we are not to give them a place or stronghold in our lives. They were introduced after God flooded the earth, when people once again turned away from worshiping the ONE true Creator.

Our English word “myth” is not found in most modern English Bibles. However, to our surprise, the New International Version (NIV) more accurately uses the word “myths,” instead of “fables.”

The majority of translators of the Apostolic Writings (New Covenant) translate the Greek word “Muthos (moo'-thos)” as “fable.” If we look at synonyms for the word “fable” in a thesaurus, we find:

• Tale

• Story

• Allegory

• Parable

• Legend

• Myth

The Greek word “Muthos (moo'-thos)” is defined in the KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon, Strong's Number: 3454, as:

• a speech, word, saying; a narrative, story; a true narrative; a fiction, a fable; an invention; a falsehood

The word “myth,” originates from this Greek word and is translated into English as "fables" in the following Apostolic Writings (KJV translation):

• 1 Tim 1:4, “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.”

• 1 Tim 4:7, “But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.”

• Titus 1:14, “Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.”

• 2 Peter 1:16, “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Yeshua Messiah but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”

Mythology existed during the days of Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) and His taught ones, His disciples. Greek and Roman worship of mythological “gods” was in the middle of Jerusalem and throughout all of Israel as seen by the artifacts discovered and structures still standing today. Belief in, and worship of, these mythological gods were everywhere among the nations of the world.

M. Servetus tells us in his article, “What is ‘Mythos’ and ‘Logos’?”:

• “The terms “mythos” and “logos” are used to describe the transition in ancient Greek thought from the stories of gods, goddesses, and heroes (mythos) to the gradual development of rational philosophy and logic (logos). …There were gods for natural phenomena such as the sun, the sea, thunder and lightning, and gods for human activities such as winemaking, war, and love…”

In “Mythology: Definition and Examples,” by Peter Kohler, he states:

• “The term ‘mythology’ is also often applied to the entire body of myths of a given culture; thus one may speak of Greek mythology or Polynesian mythology. Such mythologies usually, though not always, consist of a large number of interrelated stories involving a pantheon of gods and goddesses said to have lived ‘long ago’ and most often to have created the world and the first people to have ever lived…”

Over the past 2,000 years, the Greco-Roman Catholic church has been responsible for embedding pagan images and symbols of these gods into their theology and worship. They sent out missionaries who often incorporated local pagan deity worship but gave them different Catholic names, thus creating a blend of cultures. Most of these have trickled down to Protestant denominations, which are still being upheld today.

SOME EXAMPLES

Valentine’s Day (Source: Biblestudy.org):

• “Twenty-four years after the death of Emperor Anthemius, a "Christianized" form of the festival of Lupercalia was officially adopted by the church as a time to honor Saint Valentine…In 313 A.D., Roman Emperor Constantine the Great legalized Christianity and ended Rome's persecution of Christians. In 380 A.D., Christianity becomes the official state religion of the Roman Empire. These actions not only enabled the teachings of Christianity to spread unhindered within the empire, it encouraged non-Christians to convert to the once-persecuted religion…The pagans, however, who adopted Christianity as their religion did not entirely abandon the traditions and practices they held before their "conversion." One of these traditions brought into the church was the fertility celebration known as the Lupercalia, which eventually became the Valentine's holiday…

• After the conversion of the Imperial city (Rome), the Christians still continued, in the month of February, the annual celebration of the Lupercalia . . . " (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbons, Chapter 36, Part 3).

• The Lupercalia festival was partly in honor of Lupa, the she-wolf who (according to legend) nursed the infant orphans Romulus and Remus. Roman legend states that Romulus and Remus founded the city of Rome in 753 B.C. The pagan festival was also in honor of the Roman god Lupercus who was the god of shepherds. Lupercus was Rome's equivalent to the Greek god Pan.”

• Red roses were the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Red is also a color that signifies strong feelings.

• In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, affection, and erotic love. Cupid today appears shooting his bow to inspire romantic love.”

Halloween (Source: Historicmysteries.com)

• The history of Halloween is rooted in a celebration from ancient Ireland that may be as old as 5,000 years…. The origin of Halloween is based in the ancient Celtic tradition of Samhain…celebrations began on October 31. The purpose of the celebration was to ensure the appeasement of the gods in order to stay safe during the upcoming hard winter, to honor the dead, and to help the souls of recently deceased villagers’ transition to the other side… At these gatherings, animals and foods were sacrificed to keep destructive forces at bay and protect the herds and people throughout winter. The Druids foretold the future and recited Celtic folk stories… In order to keep hungry ghosts and faeries from entering their homes, the Celts also placed food offerings in front of their doorways… The origin of Halloween had pagan and polytheistic roots… The Celtic villagers wore masks to hide from ghosts. And the Celtic Druids wore animal skins and heads while performing ceremonies at Samhain. This was so they could absorb the power of the animal.”

Easter (Source: ancient-origins.net, The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter)

• “Most historians, including Biblical scholars, agree that Easter was originally a pagan festival. According to the New Unger’s Bible Dictionary says: “The word Easter is of Saxon origin, Eastra, the goddess of spring, in whose honour sacrifices were offered about Passover time each year. By the eighth century Anglo–Saxons had adopted the name to designate the celebration of Christ’s resurrection.” However, even among those who maintain that Easter has pagan roots, there is some disagreement over which pagan tradition the festival emerged from… The Sumerian goddess Inanna is known outside of Mesopotamia by her Babylonian name, "Ishtar". In ancient Canaan Ishtar is known as Astarte, and her counterparts in the Greek and Roman pantheons are known as Aphrodite and Venus. In the 4th Century, when Christians identified the exact site in Jerusalem where the empty tomb of Jesus had been located, they selected the spot where a temple of Aphrodite (Astarte/Ishtar/Inanna) stood. The temple was torn down and the so Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built, the holiest church in the Christian world.”

Christmas – NOT the birthday of Messiah (Source: Hope-of-Israel.org)

• “The Bible as History” by Werner Keller: "December 25 is referred to in documents as Christmas Day in A.D. 324 for the first time. Under the Roman emperor Justinian [A.D. 527-565] it was recognized as an official holiday. An old Roman festival played a major part in the choice of this particular day. December 25 in ancient Rome was the 'Dies Natali Invictus,' 'the birthday of the unconquered,' the day of the winter solstice and at the same time, in Rome, the last day of the Saturnalia, which had long since degenerated into a week of unbridled carnival..." (p. 331).

• “Myth & Mystery: An Introduction to the Pagan Religions of the Biblical World” by Jack Finegan: "...But the worship of the sun-god continued widely throughout the empire, and under Aurelian (A.D. 270-275) the cult was restored to its former high estate. In the year 274 Aurelian declared the god -- now called Deus Sol Invictus -- the official deity of the Roman Empire; he built a splendid temple of the sun in Rome...and set the sun's birthday celebration (naturalis solis invicti) on December 25, the date then accepted for the winter solstice (also in his solar character the Birthday of Mithras). In the time of Constantine the cult of Deus Sol Invictus was still at its height, and the portrait of the sun-god was on the coins of Constantine....the birthday of Jesus, which had been celebrated in the East on January 6...was placed in Rome on December 25, the date of the birthday celebration of Sol Invictus…" (p. 211-212).

CONCLUDING

We have an example of God’s reaction to Israel mixing pagan worship with the worship of Him at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 32:7-10:

• “And the Lord said to Moses, "Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!' " And the Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”

Today, many will say they do not worship a golden calf or make idols and worship them. However, after a little research, we find that the birthday of this golden calf that originated in Egypt as "Apis" then later called “Mithra,’ a sun god, was celebrated on December 25th. Virtually all Christmas traditions have their roots in pagan mythology. We believe Messiah was born in the fall during the Feast of Tabernacles, on the Hebrew calendar.

The truth will set us free from the idolatry that we did not know existed in our midst. We feel this greatly matters to God because He tells us in Lev. 19:4:

• “Do not turn to idols, nor make for yourselves molded gods: I am the Lord your God.”

The Apostolic Writings are not silent concerning idolatry. Paul understood the importance of God-Fearers putting away former cultural practices that were associated with other gods. He expressed frustration over some in the assembly at Galatia who were returning to their previous pagan ways. In Galatians 4:9-11, Paul states:

• “But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.”

Again, to the Corinthian assembly, Paul wrote in 1 Cor 10:14:

• “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”

The Apostle John had the same plea when he said in 1 John 5:21:

• “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”

When Yeshua returns, He will put an end to ALL idolatry. In the meantime, it is up to us to spend our time learning about and observing His special days. This is where the blessings will be, now, and in the future kingdom.