Click Here for Link to All the Chapters Read Aloud of The Book BABYLON MYSTERY RELIGION

The following video is not affiliated with The Plain Truth. We are showing this as a study of the paganism in the Catholic Church

Happy New Year! Today is God's New Year.

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 Life Sentence - Life Plus 99 Years Bob Barney talks about 'Small business prison'

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This is what is really important for you. It's important that you understand that God is talking to you through His Word, and through His very Word there is life to be found...eternal life and a godly life at that. - Bob Barney

The False Doctrine of the Immortal Soul

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Does it not at least bother you that we don't have a problem following ancient pagan customs, names for days and weeks and months, but we just don't seem to think it's important to follow the things that God wants us to do?

Why We Do What We Do --- Living in Today's World

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Have you ever wondered where the stories of Christmas come from? Are they rooted in our cherished family traditions? Surprisingly, many of the beloved customs surrounding this holiday were invented—yes, made up! In her fascinating book, Christmas: A Biography, critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author Judith Flanders dives deep into the history of Christmas, tracing its evolution from ancient festivals to the modern traditions we know today. Did you know Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has Chicago roots? The iconic character was created by Robert L. May in 1939 as part of a promotional campaign for Montgomery Ward. “In the mid-20th century, Montgomery Ward—a major department store chain—distributed a children’s book as a holiday gift for customers,” Flanders explains. “It was the story of Rudolph, which we now know so well.” But that’s not the end of the story...

 Best of Bob--- Misconceptions... Why You Believe What You Do......

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Have you ever wondered why the days of the week are named the way they are? Sunday and Monday are named after the sun and moon, which makes sense, but then we've also got Saturday, which is named after the Roman god Saturn. And then, just to shake things up, the remaining four days of the week are named after the Norse gods Tyr (Tuesday), Odin/Woden (Wednesday), Thor (Thursday), and Frigg/Freya (Friday). Just as many common phrases derive from outdated traditions, words associated with mythology are indelibly bound to our vocabulary. Here are some of the most intriguing examples.

In this video, we take a look at origins of the world's most popular holiday, from the first Christmas to the raucous Medieval Christmases, to the development of the modern holiday and its major traditions, and more.

Why We Do What We Do--- Christmas Calendar Days of the Week

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"...if you listen and read the plain truth and listen to the Plain Truth Today broadcast for the next week or so, you're going to find out some shocking details about what Christmas really means, where it really came from, and it has nothing to do with the Christian religion, and it has nothing to do with Jesus Christ..." - Bob Barney

Christmas and The Plain Truth Today with Bob Barney

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Turkey dinners, footballs and parades— these are the modern-day trappings of the holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November each year. But Thanksgiving is more than just a day of food and festivity. This new 1-hour special traces the history of the holiday, from its origins in the early American colonies through the family feasts Americans enjoy today. The Real Story of Thanksgiving gives viewers a new understanding of how this much-loved holiday has changed over time.

Do You Allow People To Throw their Garbage in Your House---in Your Living Room?

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If you have never seen an episode of Drive Thru History, you are in for a treat. Dave Stotts does a great job sharing the history of Labor Day as he takes us through the history of why we celebrate this holiday and takes us on a tour on some of the original sites for the Industrial Revolution in the early days of America!

Why Do We Celebrate Christmas? 

Was Jesus actually born on December 25th?  Why do we celebrate Christmas on the winter solstice? We are going to travel back in time over 4000 years and find out what history has to say about what the enemy is really trying to hide. 

This video is worth watching every second! The host does a great job presenting the facts and making sure it is scripture that is highlighted, not our feelings. The Plain Truth is about presenting the truths of God's Word and challenging our readership on the topic of Christmas. Is Jesus really supposed to be a part of it? Don't we want to be obedient to Christ? 

By Bob Barney

Most nations around the world hold that the New Year begins on January 1.  This wasn’t always the case. In fact, for centuries, other dates marked the start of the calendar, including March 21 (The spring Equinox- which, according to God's Calendar, is the true New Year's Day!) and December 25. So how did January 1 become New Year’s Day? Well, you can thank the pagan Romans first, and the equally pagan Catholic Church next!

The first mention of using this date goes back to the Roman king Numa Pompilius. According to tradition, during his reign (c. 715–673 BC) Numa revised the Roman republican calendar so that January replaced March as the first month. Notice, even at this time, the entire world was still following Go's calendar, with March being the New Year!  It took the evolution of paganism (Satanism) to replace God's true calendar with that of pagan gods... It was a fitting choice, since January was named after Janus, the Roman god of all beginnings, March celebrated Mars, the god of war. (Some sources claim that Numa also created the month of January.) However, there is evidence that January 1 was not made the official start of the Roman year until 153 BC.

In 46 BC,  Julius Caesar introduced more changes, though the Julian calendar, as it became known, retained January 1 as the year’s opening date. With the expansion of the Roman Empire, the use of the Julian calendar also spread. However, following the fall of Rome in the 5th century CE, many Christian countries altered the calendar so that it was more reflective of their religion, and March 25 (the Feast of the Annunciation) and December 25 (Christmas) became common New Year’s Days. They chose March 25th, because that calendar was off by 4 days a year.  They had the equinox on March 25th, and the winter solstice (now Dec 21st) on December 25th.

In designing his new calendar, Caesar enlisted the aid of the Alexandrian astronomer, Sosigenes, who advised him to do away with the lunar calendar and follow the solar year, as did the Egyptians. The year was calculated to be 365 and 1/4 days, and Caesar added 67 days to 46 B.C., making 45 B.C. begin on January 1, rather than in March. He also decreed that every four years a day be added to February, thus theoretically keeping his calendar from falling out of step. Shortly after Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C., Mark Anthony changed the name of the month Quintilis to Julius (July) to honor him. Later, the month of Sextilis was renamed Augustus (August) after his successor.

The true Christian Church, that was founded by Jesus and the Apostles frowned upon these pagan rituals, and that church stayed with the TRUE CALENDAR ordained by God!  A great false Christian Church, which started in Rome, was a pagan church, originally worshippers of the God Mythra!  This false church created the ecclesiastical calendar that we follow today. Scholars know that Jesus wasn't born in December, even the Biblical account of shepherds watching over their flocks in the fields – which would not have happened in winter – make a winter birth unlikely. But celebrating Jesus' birth during the time of the existing pagan celebration of the solstice was convenient and the Church usurped the holiday.

It later became clear that the Julian calendar required additional changes due to a 4-day miscalculation concerning leap years. The cumulative effect of this error over the course of several centuries caused various events to take place in the wrong season. It also created problems when determining the date of pagan Easter. Thus, Pope Gregory XIII introduced a revised calendar in 1582. In addition to solving the issue with leap years, the Gregorian calendar restored January 1 as the start of the New Year. While Italy, France, and Spain were among the countries that immediately accepted the new calendar, Protestant and Orthodox nations were slow to adopt it. Great Britain and its American colonies did not begin following the Gregorian calendar until 1752. Before then they celebrated New Year’s Day on March 25.

Over time non-Christian countries also began to use the Gregorian calendar. China (1912) is a notable example, though it continued to celebrate the Chinese New Year according to a lunar calendar. In fact, many countries that follow the Gregorian calendar also have other traditional or religious calendars. Some nations never adopted the Gregorian calendar and thus start the year on dates other than January 1. Ethiopia, for example, celebrates its New Year (known as Enkutatash) in September.

So, this is why January 1 is the New Year!   Once again, the so-called modern world continues to follow the traditions of the pagan world of antiquity...think about that...

For more on the Pope and Paganism, Read This:

POPE EXCUSES IDOL CONTROVERSIES BY CLAIMING “PAUL BUILT A BRIDGE” WITH PAGANS

Nederlands: Sinterklaas tijdens het Het Feest van Sinterklaas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Christmas history in America: see also Santa Claus in America

In the early 17^th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday. 

The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.

After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America’s new constitution. Christmas wasn’t declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.

Washington Irving reinvents Christmas

Hannukah will begin next week, and you can search around and find numerous theories and thoughts surrounding the "Festival of Lights" as it relates to Jesus. As many know, this is also the celebration known as Hanukkah.

Look up the Festival of Lights and you will find that people believe Jesus was conceived during this winter festival and it does fit a logical theory stemming from scripture that Jesus was born in autumn.  Then there are of course the masses that celebrate Christ's birth in late December as they believe He was born on the 25th, you can read more on this theory being debunked. More importantly speaking of Jesus' conception and birth, the exact date is just not known of either, the Bible does NOT specify. We know the Bible is the inspired Word of God, so not being given these details by Him, it must mean then that God really doesn’t want us to know. Human nature is to try to find resolve, but it just plainly and simply was not told to us. And guess what? That is OK, in fact, that is more than okay. God is so specific in what He reveals and what He does not reveal. 

With all of that said, good intentioned people can tend to miss what is most important and to those celebrating the Festival of Lights, are you maybe missing the Biblical message of who really is the TRUE LIGHT? 

Here is a short study on the true meaning of the Festival of Lights from Beyond Today.

Hanukkah, Christmas and Light

From UCG.org The Beyond Today Program

[Darris McNeely] The Jewish festival of Hanukkah is a very interesting festival - happening every year usually in December among the Jewish people. Hanukkah goes back - the story of Hanukkah goes back - to the 2nd century, the Jewish story, when the people in Judea threw off the Seleucid yoke and had the opportunity to go back into the temple and there, they we were going to reinstate all of their traditions and all of their ceremonies. They only found enough oil for one day of lighting the lamps in the temple, but a miracle was supposedly performed and there was enough oil for eight days.  And so the tradition and the celebration began around this has come down to the people today of Hanukkah being a season of lights. You have this menorah - which is an eight candled, eight branched menorah - used specifically for the Hanukkah season that relates to that whole festival of lights - which is an interesting period of time because we are also into the Christmas season.

[Steve Myers] Right, a lot of people feel that Hanukkah is the Jewish version of Christmas and they're really not connected in any way. Except there is an interesting connection and it has to do with the lights themselves. At Christmas time so many people put up lights all around their house. They set up their Christmas tree. They put lights on the Christmas tree as well. And of course, at Hanukkah we got the candles that are on the menorah, and they light those candles each day. In fact, some people have an advent candle that they light - for maybe many days before Christmas leading up to it. And so there is this connection of light but is it the kind of light that we should have?

[Darris McNeely]  And here in the darkest season of the year - in December. You have the Christmas celebration which is based upon an ancient period of the Saturnalia festivals in Rome. You have the Jewish tradition of Hanukkah and its lights. But both of them really miss the key scriptural teaching about light which is that of Jesus Christ. In John chapter 3 and in verse 19 it says, "...the Light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19). Jesus Christ is the true light of the world. And, still today people are not able to come to understand exactly what that light and the truth of Christ's teaching does mean. We love evil too much and we wrap the teaching about Jesus Christ around ideas, traditions and fables. Neither one of which really teach about Jesus.

[Steve Myers] That's right. Christ is left out. Commonly we hear that phrase "put Christ back in Christmas" - well He was never there. So, Christ is left out of Christmas, and He is left out of Hanukkah as well. And so the challenge is much like Ephesians 5:8 says. It says, "…you are the light in the Lord, walk as children in light." And so we have that challenge to walk in spirit and truth, and worship God in a way that pleases Him - one of light, that shines the evidence of Christ in our lives so clearly.

[Darris McNeely] So, with all these human traditions around us at this time of year - Christmas, Hanukkah and whatever the custom might be. Again, we challenge you to go back through all we have talked about in the various Beyond Today programs and really understand who is the true light - Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. Find and worship Him, in spirit and in truth.

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By David C Pack

Thanksgiving Day, as celebrated in North America, is a time to gather with family and friends to give thanks for the many blessings enjoyed by these nations and their citizens. However, to many people, its meaning is lost. It has become simply another day for huge meals, dinner parties, get-togethers or reunions. What does Thanksgiving mean to you?

Turkey dinners, cranberries, candied yams, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and family gatherings—these are all commonly associated with most Americans’ and Canadians’ yearly celebration of giving thanks—Thanksgiving Day!