Hanukkah-Christmas-Epiphany

[jimmyaloha77]

this message was received by Dr Samuels from Jesus in 1963.

https://new-birth.net/samuels-messages/ ... -epiphany/

Chanukah, Christmas, Epiphany, the second observance, December 17 and 18; December 24 and 25; January 6.

August, 1963.
Received by Dr Samuels.
Washington D.C.

The Feast of the Dedication of the Temple, from the 12th to the 19th of December, comes very close to Christmas, celebrated annually December 25th, and I should like to include and combine both into a single festival. The Hebrew Feast was kept every year on the 25th day of Kislev (November-December) to commemorate the purification of the Temple of Jerusalem from idolatrous worship of the Seleucid King, Antiochus (surnamed Epiphanes, son of Antiochus IV) and its rededication by Judas Maccabeus in 165 B.C. (I Maccabees, Chapter 4, versus 56-59, and II Maccabees, Chapter 10, verses 1-8). On this Feast Day and on the following seven days the houses in Jerusalem and other places were illuminated and Josephus Flavius called the celebration the Feast of Lights. (John, Chapter 10, verses 22-39 and Antiquities of the Jews, Book 12, Chapter 7, verse 7.)
Unlike the great Hebrew annual feasts, it could be celebrated not only in the Temple at Jerusalem but in the Synagogues of all places. It was observed with manifestations of joy, such as accompanied the feast of Tabernacles during the celebration of which the dedication of the First Temple had taken place. Mourning and fasting were not permitted to begin. The Jews assembled in the Temple and Synagogues bearing branches of trees and palms and singing psalms; the Hallel, Psalms CXIII through CXVIII, being sung every day. The joyful character of the feast was also manifested by illumination, which may have been suggested by the “lighting of the lamps of the candlestick” when the Temple Service was restored (I Maccabees, Chapter 4, verses 50-51), or, according to very early Midrashim, by the miraculous burning throughout the celebration of the feast of a vial of oil found in the Temple.
The Minorah, or candlesticks, is found in Jewish homes. And each night one branch is lighted, so that on the last day all seven branches plus the Shammash, or largest, shed their glow. In some cases, this process is reversed, the celebration commencing with the full number and diminishing by one each night thereafter. The feast is now held on December 12th, but in my day it was movable. At the morning services a different portion of Numbers, Chapter VII, is read in the Synagogue.
In Numbers, Chapter VII, there is an account of the gifts which the twelve tribes of Israel presented to God’s Dwelling which Moses had erected, just as in the festival of Christmas, these are the twelve nights ending with Three Kings day, January 6th, and the bearing of gifts.
The Psalms called the Hallel begin with the word Hallelujah, and the first of these is a description of the good man, who reverences God, finds joy in His Commands, is generous, acts fairly and who, as a result, always possesses good fortune. Psalm 114 rejoices that God took Judah for His own, and made Israel His Domain. The next, which contains 20 verses, denounces futile idols of the pagans, whereas Israel trusts in the Eternal, its shield and help. Psalm 116, with 19 verses, is a song of thanksgiving that the Eternal has saved the worshipper from spiritual death. It goes on to declare (verses 15-16)
“Precious in the sight o f the Lord, is the death o f His devoted. Eternal One, I am indeed Thy servant; Thy retainer; Thou hast delivered me.”
Psalm 117 has two verses; the second praising God:
“For His Kind Love to us is vast, His loyalty will ever last.”
Greater rejoicing than in this festival of the Chanukah, wherein, for the Jew, the Shekinah, or the Presence of God, returned to dwell on earth in the purified Holy Temple in Jerusalem, can only be found among the Hebrew-Christian Feasts in Christmas, for this is the day in which the Church of the New Birth, especially, may rejoice in the knowledge that the Spiritual Temple of God, in the soul of the infant Jeshua ben Joseph (pronounced Yey-seph) came to earth not only with the righteousness of the Lord Himself, but already possessor of the Father”s Grace to bring the salvation of Eternal Life to mankind.
It need not matter here that the churches mistake the Holy Spirit to be the means of this salvation, instead of the Divine Love which filled, and still fills, the soul of the Messiah, and permeates every human soul who seeks this Love in earnest prayer. Every human soul that seeks the righteousness of the Father becomes as a Temple of God in purity, but every soul that seeks His Love becomes as a Temple filled with the Essence of God Himself. The Christian Holiday, therefore, in the rejoicing that the Savior was born, generates a tremendous atmosphere of praise to God, of peace on earth and good will towards man; an outpouring of love that for a brief time opens up the vista of a new horizon in man’s relationship to man in a spirit of brotherly love that gives a glimpse of future happiness for the soul of man in the higher realms of the Spirit World.
This is the Christmas Spirit, a flash of reality that springs from the deep, unconscious longing of the human soul for God’s Love, for the Peace and Happiness that man trusts will come to earth when His Will is done on earth as it is done in the Celestial Heavens, a reality made possible with the coming of the Christ, a reality, brief and ephemeral, at Yuletide, but which can be achieved by man on earth for all time by prayer to the Father for His Love, which I as the Christ made available with my coming.
Christmas was not always celebrated on December 25th nor was it one of the early festivals of the church. The early writers assigned the birth of the Savior to most any month of the year. Gradually the day became fixed at January 6th, 13 days after the winter solstice, but in some places like Cappadocia, the feast was observed on the 25th of December. In the West, Pope Julius, due to discussions with Cyril of Jerusalem, proclaimed the festival as the 25th of December. The reason for this winter period as being thought to represent the birth of the Messiah is found in the New Testament and is based on deduction. Here, in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 1, is the account of Zachariah, who as the high priest, entered the Temple on the Day of Atonement. Since, in this story, he received the announcement of John the Baptist’s conception (September), six months before the Messiah was conceived, it was deduced that John was born late in June and I six months later, in December. If, however, we know that Zachariah served the week of October 2-8 that year, as the eighth class of high priest, then my birth falls about the end of the first week of January, and this is usually when the Eastern churches celebrate Christmas. In the West, however, the church was very much influenced by the Roman Solar Feast called the Natalis Invictus, or the birth of the unconquerable sun, celebrated the 25th of December, and as the date of the holiday, which celebrates the returning power of the sun, was close to the December date of the church calculations, this was the date adopted by the church. Christmas did not originate with the celebration of the Messiah’s birth, this observance being marked only in Antioch, but emphasis was placed rather upon the Mass, called the Christ’s Mass, in some locations three masses being celebrated during that day. But when the Christmas date was set as December 25th, the “birth of the sun” festival was, I repeat, the deciding factor in causing the Christian feast to commemorate the birth of the Messiah. As for the date of the holiday in the Church of the New Birth, I see little valid reason for any change.
The festival of the Epiphany (Appearance) had its origin in the Eastern Churches, observed in some places the 11th and 15th of Tybi, in the Syrian calendar, or the 6th and the 10th of January. Epiphaneous declared that January 6th was the birth of Jesus, and in Jerusalem, on that day, a procession began the night before to Bethlehem, returning in the morning. This was repeated nightly for 8 days. This holiday came into being before the fixing of the date in the West and was introduced to the West afterwards. The Eastern Church has always felt, and rightly so, that the pagans of Rome who lit torches and candles to celebrate the sun festival on December 25th, prevailed upon the Western Church to fix Christmas on that date and to give to the later the holiday of the Epiphany or January 6th. This put emphasis on the appearance of the Magi, the 3 Kings, rather than upon the appearance of the Messiah, and the bringing of the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, as related in Matthew, Chapter II. In Catholic countries, in Europe and Latin America, children receive the holiday gifts on Three Kings Day, Jan. 6th, and not on Christmas Day, December 25th, as is customary in Protestant countries, where other influences and traditions of a Nordic character have merged with the festival and have remolded its character.
In reviewing these three holidays, which take place in your December and continue until January 6th of the following civil year, I should like to retain all for religious observance in the Church of the New Birth. I know that Gentiles cannot have the same feeling as do Jews for the Re-dedication of the Temple of God at Jerusalem, and its significance of purity and righteousness for the worshipper, but the singing of the Hallel, which I enjoyed very much while on earth, is a form of festivity which gladdens the heart of all believers in God, and these songs are familiar to Christians as Psalms, which are a favorite with Christians of all sects. They are significant, in that they show deliverance of the human personality after the physical death, as well as trust and conviction in God’s Love-we know this in our Church of the New Birth as the Divine Love and I quoted purposely from these Psalms with the view to making you aware of these convictions as I was, when I sang them. It may be possible to obtain the melodies of these Psalms from Hebrew Synagogues, but the words should be those of the vernacular. I should like to establish observance of the Chanukah, one week before Christmas, or the evening of the 17th and the 18th, just as there exists today the Christmas Eve commencement of the holiday. I should like to see a church gathering or service for these holidays, as well as the Epiphany, which more nearly corresponds to my actual birth date than does the traditional Christmas Day.
Jesus of the Bible and Master of the Celestial Heavens.

[AlFike]

Interesting bit of information concerning Christmas. Hope we all have a good time and loving thoughts for this Christmas. Thanks for adding this Jimbeau . Much love........Al

[Geoff]

Dear bro,

This sort of content is what I DON'T like about Samuels. In my opinion this is his Jewish background asserting itself over the words Jesus might have used:

It may be possible to obtain the melodies of these Psalms from Hebrew Synagogues, but the words should be those of the vernacular. I should like to establish observance of the Chanukah, one week before Christmas, or the evening of the 17th and the 18th, just as there exists today the Christmas Eve commencement of the holiday. I should like to see a church gathering or service for these holidays, as well as the Epiphany, which more nearly corresponds to my actual birth date than does the traditional Christmas Day.

Contrast that with what Judas had to say:

Religious Festivals.
December 17th, 2001

Received by H.

Cuenca, Ecuador.



My dear H___ I would like to begin this message with a series of questions.

What does the Yom Kippur day mean to you?

H..: It is the Day of Forgiveness in the Jewish calendar.

It is the Repentance Day. Very well. And what does the Shavuoth feast mean to you?

H..: It is the Hebrew name for Pentecost.

Indeed. The word means “weeks,” because it is celebrated seven weeks after Passover. I am aware that you know the meaning of this feast for the Christian churches. But what was its original meaning for the Hebrews?

H..: It was some kind of thanksgiving for the harvest.

Exactly. But the Christian churches changed its meaning, using an established feast to overlay it with a new symbolism.

Then, I ask you, what does the Inti Raymi feast mean to you?

H..: It is a feast of the Incas of the Andes. It is celebrated on summer solstice, in June, when the sun stands highest on the firmament. It is a feast in honor of the sun god.

And do you know a similar feast in your native country?

H..: Well, there it is not so much about the summer solstice, but about the winter solstice. On December 21st people there prepare enormous bonfires to celebrate the fact that daylight will increase in the coming months. Boys jump through the fire to impress their girlfriends. It is in fact a social feast, held outdoors, in the cold, around the bonfire, with some liquor to warm them. One can see bonfires on all the mountains.

Very well. And to which of those feasts do you feel closer affinity?

H..: To Pentecost, in the Christian sense, or rather, in the knowledge that on that day the apostles received an enormous amount of Divine Love, demonstrating that this was possible for everybody. And also the feast of winter solstice, a very beautiful tradition.

Very well. So, we have here a series of Hebrew, pagan and Christian feasts, and you are able to express your affinity. Inti Raymi for you is perhaps something exotic, but it has nothing to do with your culture. As to Pentecost, the original feast is but a distant memory, and the traditional Christian meaning has been changed through the influence of Jesus’ teachings, as he transmitted them through Mr. Padgett.

Yom Kippur for you is just a word without sentimental reaction, and the pagan feast of winter solstice touches the fibers of your soul. This is because you come from a Germanic culture, and this feast forms part of that culture. If I had asked another person the same questions, the answers would surely have been somewhat different.

Each man comes from a culture very characteristic for him, which models largely his way of thinking, and which has a great sentimental effect on him. The primitive church took advantage of that and established its feasts on existing festival days, as in the example of Christmas. We have already commented once that the feast of Inti Raymi was transformed — without a 100% complete success — into Saint John’s feast in the Andes of South America.

Now, Christmas time is approaching once again, and I am aware that these moments always cause some tension amongst people who are on the Divine Love pathway, because they know that this feast, in fact, is not celebrated on Jesus’ birthday. Moreover they know that many of those “adornments” to this feast do not correspond to truth, and that at bottom there lies a pagan concept. Should they participate in the celebration of this feast — or of other feasts of similar characteristics — or should they not?

If we analyze the example of Easter, where some Christian groups hold Good Friday as the principal day, because on that day “Jesus’ blood washed away the sins of men,” and other congregations prefer Easter Sunday, because on that day “Jesus resuscitated from the dead, defeating death definitively,” we see that the difference between Jesus’ teachings, as transmitted through Mr. Padgett, and the traditional symbolism of this feast, is truly abysmal.

On the other hand, you know that there are Christian groups that reject traditional feasts, in the sense that their way of commemorating is very different. Their children don’t receive presents at Christmas, there is no such happiness at Easter as you knew it in your childhood, and although their children don’t admit this, they feel bad, observing how everybody is happy and receives presents, and they get nothing but some sermons.

We don’t want you to separate from society, we don’t want our religion to be a religion of privation and sadness. We don’t want new dogmas which distinguish you from the others. We don’t want anything of that. We want that it shall be God’s Love, manifested through you, which distinguishes you from the others. The rest is symbolism without relevance.

Dr. Samuels received some messages from Jesus’ referring to these feasts. These messages have suffered some criticism, because one may notice the great influence of the medium himself in these messages. And this is true. A Jewish medium receives a message and superimposes his own Jewish culture upon its contents. Many of you will not be attracted to the contents of these writings, but I want to underline the following phrase contained in one of the messages:

“The question of holidays to be observed by the Church of the New Birth is not one of instituting new festival days, but of clarifying the significance of those we do possess and reinterpreting in the light of the Divine Love, those we wish to retain for celebration.”

This is very clear and correct. But then, there comes a long discourse on some Hebrew feasts which are simply not your feasts, H___, they are Dr. Samuels’ feasts.

Follow the advice given in the above-mentioned sentence, reinterpreting the feasts which already exist. Christmas, then, is the feast when we commemorate that with Jesus’ coming God also re-established His great Gift of Divine Love, making It available for all humanity.

Easter will be the feast when you don’t celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, or that his blood “washed away all sins.” Instead commemorate the eleventh and most difficult commandment, which Jesus has given you, that is, to love your neighbor as Jesus loves you, with the Divine Love, this unconditional and absolute Love.

Pentecost will not be a feast celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit hovering over the disciples’ heads in form of a flame, but a time when you remember that the Holy Spirit brought Divine Love in great abundance, filling the apostles’ souls. Thus you remember a fact which happens daily on earth. Of course the quantity of Love transferred to the souls is not always necessarily as overwhelming as it was then, but the same principle of the bestowal of God’s Love is happening each and every day in the world.

The aim is to give an appropriate symbolism to what one already has, independent of the culture in the one that you live. The religion of the New Birth is a religion of happiness and freedom. So, keep up this happiness and take advantage of the freedom.

Maybe there is a feeling of guilt when celebrating Christmas because many messages say that Jesus does not like Christmas time. But remember, it is not Christmas that Jesus criticizes, but the fact that he, in that season, is presented as the “Child God,” attributing to him something that he is not and eclipsing the Father, putting the Creator of all things into the background, giving preference to Jesus, who in fact is only His creation. However there is nothing wrong in commemorating the Master’s birth, who brought us freedom and salvation through his teachings on the availability of God’s Love. Moreover, whether you celebrate this in December or January, does the date really matter?

This is all that I wanted to say. Jesus’ teachings should never cause fear, but rather hope and happiness, showing a safe road to the union with the Father. And He, God, wants you to be cheerful. Have fun!

Your brother in the spirit,

Judas, who wishes that the “spirit of Christmas” might be the spirit of every day.



© Copyright is asserted in this message by Geoff Cutler 2013

[Geoff]

The exact message that Judas was referring to is this one from Samuels:

Yom Kippur, Repentance Day, John the Baptist, First Observance, Last Saturday in September.
August 1963.

Received by Dr Samuels.

Washington D.C.



The question of holidays to be observed by the Church of the New Birth is not one of instituting new festival days, but of clarifying the significance of those we do possess and reinterpreting in the light of the Divine Love, those we wish to retain for celebration. There is also a question of dates, upon which I propose to express my thoughts and desires.

Four major Hebrew holidays take place in the month of Tishri, (September-October) the beginning of the civil New Year; Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simhot Torah, and that is the reason I have decided to begin my sermons on the holidays with your Autumn Season. The Rosh Hashanah was observed from antiquity, as seen by Exodus, Chapter 23, verses 16-33, with gladness of heart and a feast, in that a New Year had been bestowed upon man, by the grace of God, the creator of the Universe. The comings and goings of the months and the seasons could never be viewed by the Jews as a mere physical event; the hand of God was behind, and represented, the moving force in the succession of days. After the Yom Kippur, which I shall treat in detail at the end, came Sukkot, or Tabernacles, or even the Feast of Booths, as it was also called, making its advent in your late September or early October, and representing the in-gathering of the harvest, especially the oil and wine, so that the Jews rejoiced in the assurance of God’s bounty and the shelter He provided against the days of the more inclement season to come.

The Repentance of Yom Kippur and John, for the Hebrew, the annual fast day and day of expiation for the sins of the Hebrew Nation, took place on Yom Kippur, when priests offered sacrifices as an atonement for himself, the priesthood and all the people. On the 10th day of the seventh sacred month, or first civil month, and 5 days before the Feast of Tabernacles, Israel celebrated its reconciliation with God. (Leviticus, Chapter 16, verses 23-26 and 32, and Numbers, Chapter 29, verses 7-11). All work was forbidden and the entire nation was required to observe a strict fast.

On this day the high priest laid aside his official robes and put on the simple white garment of a priest. He sacrificed a bullock as sin-offering for himself and the priesthood, and a he-goat as the sin-offering for the people, in each case sprinkling some blood from the Kapporah, or propitiatory, on it and on the ground before the Altar. Then the high priest took the he-goat for Azazel, laid both hands on its head, and pronounced upon it all the transgressions of Israel. Thus laden with the sins of the nation, it was driven into the desert. The people also gave a ram as a burnt offering. (Leviticus, Chapter 16, verses 8-10-16). On this day is recited the Yiskor (Hebrew, “he shall remember”), the memorial prayer for the dead in the synogagues.

Although this day is not mentioned by name in the New Testament and is implied once in Acts, Chapter 27, verse 9 simply as "the fast" yet the writer of Hebrews, supposed to be Paul, saw in its ritual analogies to the Christ’s redemption, as the doctrine developed later towards the end of the first century.

According to this writer, this holiday was considered a type of atonement accomplished by the Messiah for the sins of the whole World. (Hebrews, Chapter 9, verses 7-10). The high priest of the Old Testament who entered into the Holy of Holies with the blood of sin offerings, is a vague type of the Christ, who by the supposed virtue of his own shed blood entered the Holy of Holies of Heaven to present to His Father his blood as the price of redemption of mankind. (Hebrews, Chapter 9, verse 12) . The high priest had to atone year after year for his own sins as well as for those of the entire nation, but the Christ, as the so-called high priest of the New Testament, has effected atonement, not for himself, but for mankind, forever (Hebrews, Chapter 9, verse 11). Furthermore, declared the writer, the flesh of the sin offering was burned outside the city and thus the Messiah also suffered outside the gate of Jerusalem.

I can only say that it is repugnant to find statements that the blood of a human being, regardless of his piety or soul condition could be viewed as being presented in the purely spiritual sphere of God's Heavenly Abode, and to God Himself, as the price which God demanded to redeem the souls of men on earth and in the Spirit World from their transgressions, instead of having these souls turn to God and seek the Father’s Love as the help in transforming these souls from evil and hatred to new souls filled with kindness and love. You may rest assured that Hebrews was not written by Paul, who had entered the Spirit World many years before this epistle had been written, but by a Greek supporter of the Hellenistic turn Christianity had taken after Titus’ destruction of Jerusalem.

My interest in the Yom Kippur is not, therefore, in the sacrifice of animals as a means of expiating individual or national sins, and certainly less in the church interpretation, which is abhorrent to me, making of me a perpetual victim in a bloody ritual, one which I wish now to most emphatically repudiate as I have in the past in my messages through Mr. Padgett; nor am I interested in any rite or ceremony which purports to effect conciliation between God and man, but let me repeat that my interest in the Yom Kippur lies in my concern for the state of man’s mind and heart which turns him from sins and transgressions to seek God and righteousness through repentance and the exercise of the natural love, as found among Jews and present day Christians, as well as all people; or better yet, through the outpouring of the Father’s Love upon those who may seek it in earnest prayer.

The Jews in their Temple and Synagogues on this day beat their breasts in their liturgy, confessing to evils which they had done or may have done during the year and pleaded with God to grant them forgiveness from their sins as, contrite with the knowledge of their transgressions, they endeavored not to repeat these evils because they knew they were evils and an accusation before the throne of their righteous God. The more pious ones studied the Torah and the prophets, and developed sects emphasizing repentance and purity from sin. And when John the Baptist appeared on the scene in Palestine, his mission consisted in a call to repentance, a turning from sin in heart and mind, to make the soul the more disposed to seek the new covenant of the Father’s Love, which would be made available to mankind with my coming. The Christians of the early church were very much aware of John the Baptist's importance as the Herald of the New Birth, turning mankind to a repentance for true redemption and they observed three holidays in his honor; his nativity, June 24th, the beheading, August 29th, and Conception of the Precursor, September 24th. In view of his mission, announcing that the Kingdom, or the New Birth, was at hand, and also his steadfastness in carrying out the Father's Will, I cannot conceive of a holiday for our Church of the New Birth without including one which gives due recognition to John the Baptist as part of God’s plan in the realization of the Divine Love for mankind. And since the last of his holidays is also in Tishri, and close to the Hebrew Day of Atonement, I should like to proclaim a holiday in this month which combines both the Yom Kippur and John’s precursorship; namely the last Saturday in September.

This festival need not be a fast, for I am not returning to the Hebrew dispensation, but should be a time dedicated to thankfulness that God, ever loving and merciful to His creatures, provided a day of atonement to re-orientate the soul away from the transient things of the flesh and that happiness in the Spirit World, the permanent abode of the soul, lies in a purified soul for a home in Paradise as the Hebrews knew it, and a Divine Soul, filled with God’s Love, in a home in the Celestial Heavens, of which I am the Master.

Now in reviewing the cycle of holidays in Tishri, and comparing the Hebrew and Christian attitudes, I find that, while the New Year's Day of your calendar is civil and based on the Roman two-headed Janus, (looking back and forward) there is no feeling of a religious nature attached to it; no feeling that, through cosmic development and change, God is the prime mover of the event. This represents a stirring in the heart of the Hebrew, especially in his own land, Israel, and a longing on the part of those of the diaspora, but this does not extend to Gentile lands or people, who may feel the love of their land in a quite different way, and I would not, therefore, wish to impose upon them what would be in effect an alien attitude, and I am therefore eliminating the Rosh Hashanah from the list of holidays to be observed by the Church of the New Birth, and this shall also include the Tabernacles, on virtually the same considerations, as well as the festival of Purim in February, as nationalistic only and pertaining to the limited area of -the Hebrew historical scene.

As for the Simhat Torah, or Rejoicing in the Law (23rd of Tishri, September-October), I also feel that observances of this purely Hebrew Festival can hardly be considered appropriate to peoples whose religious feelings stem from sources entirely distinct from the Hebrew, and who simply take for granted the Books of the Bible dealing with the laws governing human conduct-they consider this an accomplished legacy, and cannot be moved by a fact of which they were riot a part; on the other hand, the Jews witnessed the formation, development and perfection of these books from the Ten Commandments, experienced in actual life, from trial and error, to spiritual growth and insight, the slow and painful progress of the Pentateuch, steeped in the life-blood, culture and civilization of the people down to Deuteronomy, the Reform of Josiah and Jeremiah’s love for this humanitarian work. Observance of this holiday event must be emotional, a rejoicing-and I fail to see how an intellectual, and indeed, respectful, approach to this holiday can do justice either to our Gentile members, and they will far outnumber the Jews, or to the holiday itself. I would suggest that one evening a week, when convenient, be set aside to study the Hebraic laws, not for any doctrinal reason, but to understand the humanistic spirit of the Hebrews, for whom reverence for life as a God-given gift, and social and individual justice, were the essence of our religious insight.

Jesus of the Bible and Master of the Celestial Heavens.



Editors Note. The influence of the medium is obvious on these messages, and this has been confirmed in this message.

[PlenaryGrace]

I agree with Geoff on this point. These messages don't ring true for me.

This does: Enjoy the happiness and appreciate the freedom [that come with Divine Love].

My familiar Christmas traditions have shifted, due to understanding Divine Love. I enJOY the holiday in a more authentic way. The Jewish traditions do not call to me...and I'll not answer. Others clearly feel differently, and that is their own precious gift from our Heavenly Creator. Theirs to embrace.

I know the Truth of this: "God, wants you to be cheerful. Have fun!" (quote from Judas)

As long as it's good, clean fun with nothing of sin or error in it, this is LIFE!

Hugs,

Catherine

[jimmyaloha77]

I appreciate the discussion and posts in response to my post on the Hanukkah -Christmas-Epiphany Holy Day Observances received by Dr Samuel's from Jesus. Although not all the Holy Days resonate with me personally I love the attempt by Jesus to connect the holy days he observed while on earth as a Jew, to the teachings he gave to us regarding the New Birth through the receiving of God's love; and certainly the Hanukkah-Christmas-Epiphany Holy Day Observances and Celebrations. They certainly provide a historical and religious context for how he came to teach what he did as Messiah.
If Samuel's was influenced by his being a Jew does that mean we should apply dismissing what he received overall as in error, or at the very least, as being over influenced by his Jewishness? Was not Padgett influenced by his Methodist Christian beliefs? I suspect most Divine Love followers do not know enough about Judaism or the Hebrew traditions to be able to decipher which part of any of the messages that Samuels' received should be considered accurate. And, yes, I am aware that there are some instances where he appears to have received things that were less than 100% accurate and that this is also true for some of what Padgett received. Does this suggest that we should dismiss the vast majority of what either man received? I think not. We also know that Hans is a scholar as well and it would be fair to say that this may have influenced what he received from Judas. I find the message from Judas about whether or not to celebrate or connect the old holy days with the new to be somewhat incomplete and rather inconclusive.
I realize that we are not a group that demands from others what or what not to do in terms of personal practice. Yet I would suggest that only Terry Adler is qualified to give a response based on her own personal and religious upbringing and now Divine Love path. I thank everyone for weighing on this and certainly respect your right to observe whatever Holy Days you wish celebrate in whatever way resonates with your soul. With highest regards to all in God's love, Jimbeau

[Geoff]

If Samuel's was influenced by his being a Jew does that mean we should apply dismissing what he received overall as in error, or at the very least, as being over influenced by his Jewishness?

Dear Jimbeau,

I think the messages that should be challenged are very obvious. In the other places, his Jewishness helps I believe, particularly the Sermons. But he had a whole bunch of "business meetings" where he has Jesus trying to turn FCNB into a little Jewish church. Oy vey.

Was not Padgett influenced by his Methodist Christian beliefs? I suspect most Divine Love followers do not know enough about Judaism or the Hebrew traditions to be able to decipher which part of any of the messages that Samuels' received should be considered accurate.

People say that. I came from a Catholic background and people also say he was anti-Catholic. I have never perceived it. I never perceived any specific creedal influence, but I totally reacted to his messages from Amon and Aman. My soul was very upset with those.

hugs
Geoff

[Eva]

I believe that no medium is able to transmit messages perfectly every time and not be influenced by their own beliefs and convictions some of the time. It is each of our responsibility to discern and embrace what resonates with us and dismiss, or perhaps hold in balance for the time being, what doesn't. At the same time we need to respect the views and practices of others, even if we disagree with them.

As shown in The Old Testament Sermons mediated by Dr. Samuels, the Old Testament, aka Hebrew scriptures that Jesus would have been familiar with, presents in physical or spiritual type things that were to be fulfilled at a higher spiritual level under the New Covenant dispensation after Jesus introduced and lived the Divine Love transformation of the soul. I have studied this and wrote it up in this small book available from my website, http://universal-spirituality.net/wp-co ... -Types.pdf, for those who are interested.

Love,
Eva

[Greg]

We know Dr. Samuaels was acting as a medium for the FCNB in the same light as James Padgett in receiving the messages on the Holidays. Even thought not perfect like anything on Earth, yet I believe substantially true and worthy of consideration.

“The question of holidays to be observed by the Church of the New Birth is not one of instituting new festival days, but of clarifying the significance of those we do possess and reinterpreting in the light of the Divine Love, those we wish to retain for celebration.” Jesus of the Bible and Master of the Celestial Heavens Received by: D.G.S. 1963

I believe these messages about the Holidays are something that could be studied and clarified and utilized to bring people together to fulfill the mission of Jesus and the foundation churches of the New Birth who seek to follow him.

It seems that some confusion lies in a message received by Received by H.

“This is very clear and correct. But then, there comes a long discourse on some Hebrew feasts which are simply not your feasts, H___, they are Dr. Samuels’ feast. “ Received by H. 2001


Eva sheds some light on the subject in her book “Fulfillments of Old Testament Types” ;

“It also needs to be remembered that Jesus was born into Judaism, and the early church was entirely Jewish and initially regarded as another sect of Judiasm rather than as a new religion.”

So actually for the most part they are Jewish Holy Days that have been celebrated for thousands of years. This message that H. received was perhaps more personal to H. in this regard. Which is great, and we all need to get our own messages and guidance and activate our own souls perceptions about these things as we prayerfully seek the truth and choose our path.

I guess H. is not Jewish, neither am I. I am a white guy raised by a religious Mormon, Christian mother. Which I appreciate, that is my roots. Although Ive had a lot of Jewish friends I have never participated in any of their holy days or feasts until this season.

Lately though, I have been having conversations with a friend who is a practicing religious Jew. Through that influence, I m beginning to have a deeper understanding of who Jesus was as a young man celebrated these holy days every year with his family. I m beginning to see how these holy days including the Sabbath, shaped him. Before this season, I had never considered how the holidays would have affected and nurtured the soul of the messiah to be.

This past Chanukah Melinda shared her Menorah lighting and meditation on the light at her home with a few other Jewish friends of hers and I. This is what I experienced in her candle lighting meditation.

She led us through some traditional songs and prayers and in a reverent atmosphere the lighting of the candles, then we meditated quietly and prayed both silently and out loud. I felt the presence of the Love and the Holy Spirit. As we meditated on the candlelight I began to think and feel that this is a ritual that Jesus would have participated in throughout his life as well as did many of his followers. I began to realize in small part how Jesus could have felt in his soul as he prayed for Divine Love which glowed in his heart as the candle lights danced and glowed in the dark.

Participating in a holy ritual which Jesus did and the Jews have been practicing for thousands of years. Linking him and us to our roots from Abraham, David, Moses, Jesus and now we have the second coming of the truth of Jesus’s mission through Padgett. The Holy Days are to unite the people in this Love. Not divide them with the letter of the law but unite us in our common heritage the mercy of Divine, unconditional Love.

The lighting of the Menorah, representing of the Divine Love -lighting the soul of the Messiah - Jesus, with a new flame, and a new heart. The flame of the Holy Spirit dancing in his soul and his light helped lite those around him like the rays of the sun.

Turning the lights off and lighting candles for our prayer circles is nothing new. Its something we have done for a long, long time. It seems to help set the mood. I have a deep appreciation for the energy I feel when I pray and meditate under the light of the candle that is dancing in the center of a prayer circle. It somehow evokes a quietness and a soul sense.

Before this season, I had never thought about lighting the Menorah. But now I am inspired to go deeper into understanding these holidays because now I see they are a core part of the foundation of my religion of the New Birth.

Theses rituals are of course not the essence of the truth, however they are something visual like art that represents the high truths which are the very roots of our brotherhood formed by our friend and brother the Jew named Jesus.

I feel the experience I had was only a drop in the bucket to what is to come, yet it has really deepened my connection to Jesus and the Father.
Because I see the light of the candle represents the Light and Love of God and how we are all candles so to speak, children of God, dancing and rising upward like the soul who is dancing toward the Divine.

And it all began with the first candle being lite and then from that candlelight the other candles were lite, one by one.

This season I personally experienced this holiday in a new way, thanks to my friend Melinda who is a practicing religious Jew and has written and spoken about it in her books and talks. www.kabbalahoftheheart.com

I believe these holidays are meant to bring people together! Not only our small group of Divine Love Christians but also Jews, Muslims, New Agers, Buddahists, Christians, etc. and even Pagens (lol), to celebrate the Light of Divine Love and our common roots.

[AlFike]

Thanks Greg. When ritual brings deep connection with God, then it is a gift to the soul. Unfortunately many people go through these rituals with no soulful connection, just rote learned from childhood or other sources. Pealing an apple can bring profound spiritual insight given the right circumstances. Whatever inspires a soul to be open to God is something an individual should entertain. For me, prayer is the key. Its simple, requires no special time or occasion and it opens my soul. Some may want to liven it up with candles etc., yet at its heart is a prayer to God to receive His Love. Thank you God for making it so simple to receive this benediction to my soul. With love ........Al