Today some like myself see the real reason behind that persecution--the calendar had been changed to get more tax monies from those "less industrious", "always feasting" Hebrews.  Rome couldn't peacefully justify forcing any of their cultures of people to pay taxes during periods of time when that nation's "god" was mandating them to take that particular time off for festivals and feast days, etc.   even the Pagans would have found that to be unfair to the Hebrews it seems, and thereby politically a near suicide for any Caesar in office.   Therefore Julius Caesar summoned the great mathematician and astrologer, Sosigenes up from Egypt to offer advice on how to solve this problem with these pesky Hebrews.   Their expert simply suggested that the moon be taken out of the equation for the new calendation, and viola!  ...a whole new global system of pagan timekeeping was born!  Needless to say, the entire world's calendation system was then dramatically switched in 45 B.C. just before the Messianic era , and the Orhtodox Hebrews and new followers of the Messiah from Nazareth were refusing to switch to Rome's new "industrialized" (one world government) calendar plan.   These earlier, Scriptural folks were more dedicated than many believers of today might be, and they knew that if they disobeyed their Heavenly Father and had compliantly worshiped on any other day than when Scripture told them to worship, they'd lose their blessings and perhaps even their salvation, so we easily believe now that many of them chose to go to their deaths in the coliseums, etc, rather than fail their "YHWH" and King of kings in such serious areas of faith and obedience.  Evidence shows that this calendar struggle went on for generations, and traces of it can still be found in some of the extracurricular writings and tablets of the time.  It was after several hundred years of Rome trying to fully squash the Hebrew/Christian memories of their sacred calendar, that Constantine finally outlawed the last vestiges of it in the council of Nicea in 325 A.D., where the corrupt "Jews" of the time had eventually also obligingly adopted the "Hillel II" calendar as their own accompanying "Jewish" calendar (which they still somewhat use today).  Other pagan "holy days" like "Christmas" and "Easter" were also later added during the dark ages as well, and not so much for the pagan populus, but it seems more so for their secret society elite.   It now seems that some rare remnants like the Waldenses and the Albagenses managed to keep Father's true calendar alive for a good while afterwards, as there is evidence even as far forward as the year 1163 (see "Can the Gregorian Sabbath be seen as the Mark of the Beast" below) where they were carrying that calendar tradition for a good while in an underground fashion, but it eventually faded away from historic tracings from there.     er, ah......    til today, that is!

I trust that most of you who know my reputation in this area, would instinctively know that I would be one of the first to happily welcome the end-all-to-all-end-alls in someday soon actually receiving the specifics of these smaller calender mysteries, but nonetheless, in my also having been resolved to be somewhat of a peacemaker in such things at the same time, I would simply ask at this point that you hear me out in what I am about to present here.

Let me begin by laying out some of my related experiential credentials, if I may.

In my having: 

a.  discovered the truth about the biblical calendar and Sabbath some years back while simultaneously digging deeper and deeper into understanding the belly of the beast and its satanic spider web law system, 

b.  and having discovered how this vast interconnected system of the wicked so dramatically contrasts with the Father's much simpler law and justice system, and thereby how blasphemously this giant government/church system is now such an unmistakable part of satan's deception over us, 

c.  and having hosted many conferences and meetings on the subject of Father's law vs. man's Law, how such a contest is therefore directly intertwined with the Father's calendar authority vs. man's calendar authority and how both categories are inseparably tied together, 

d.  and having seen the passions on so many varying sides of the several sabbath/calendar and related issues regarding the details, the overall picture etc, etc, etc,... 

I am now absolutely convinced that (and at least for this amazing biblical moment in time anyway) we are to just head in the best general direction that we can see as an ecclesia of believers, and (for the most part of course) just accept that we are not to know the most intricate details of the Sabbath/calendar subject just yet, until  (and here's that part that many today are not going to want to face...)  until we have also "come out from among them" in all the other important areas, doing so with enough purity to have then earned the Father's further instruction for what we are to do next.   

I am therefore very confidently persuaded that we are presently just being called away from the beast system in general, and therefore being called only in the rough direction of our own time's "proving grounds" (our own time's Mt. Sinai if you will) whereupon we are (for now) to just follow the initial instruction of the "voice from heaven" to obediently "come out of her my people, (where we must take the first step, and why? ...) that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Rev 18:4; with one of the plagues being the loss of Father's Holy Spirit wisdom [see Bible study #9 this page]), where we would be leaving all of our present worldly securities behind, not unlike how Levi "left all, rose up, and followed Him"  in Luke 5:28, doing so by leaving everything of the world (and not just the easier things to leave such as the Sabbath/calendar issue as some might do in this case), where we all need to "come out from among" not just the pagan Gregorian calendar, but out of ALL of the beast system, to then clearly show that we are not fearful of leaving ALL of our present worldly securities  ...for His.  Because, as Yeshua said, "No man can serve two masters."  In so leaving the world's "bribery system" (which is what it really is), we are thereby openly showing the Father (and the world by the way) that we are not afraid to fully step away from the common cares and worries of this world (and its 'lord", satan), and we are instead fully respectful to our Savior and His system (and not just as a compromiser or one of the "lukewarm"), but as one who is fully willing to follow Him by faith.   "For by grace are ye saved through faith"

We are therefore being called in the general direction of salvation by first taking that age-old step of faith and unashamedly showing that we are breaking free from our satanic captors along with those who are doing the same and gathering with us (not unlike perhaps how the Israelites were gathering around Moses when they were readying themselves to leave the slavery of Egypt).  At the same time we should certainly know that we ought not to be found dragging any of our previous corrupt beast system baggage (or "ornaments") along behind us as we go, as it will not only slow the group down with such additional weight of pressures, worries, and faithlessness, but will also show the Messiah that there are those among us who are obviously not ready for the real meat and potatoes of such a trip of faith, where He may then not want to further lead such a group.  We therefore need to just let go of all of our worldly ties that might be causing friction between us and our heavenly Father (so we can all get along as we work on the other reforms that we are also being called to obey) and then just continue in evangelizing the rest of the world, teaching just the more soundly recognized basics of all these newly rediscovered reform/purity issues (more subjects mentioned in a moment) to those who might also follow, patiently waiting for either the Messiah's arrival or the Father's more conclusive Scriptural inspiration in revealing any further details of these controversial calendar issues for us.  In the meantime remember: the Israelites did not go straight to the promised land when coming out of Egypt; they had to prove their faith in the Father and His systems of law, justice, and provision first, did they not?  Are we passing such a test?

Our ministry also hosted a very exhaustive calendar conference some years ago and specifically just on the subject of these very same Sabbath issues that many today are yet debating (or 'arguing over' as some might see it), where myself being the host of this past conference I mentioned, I was excited that we had so many other well known names with us trying to iron these things out over such a long period of about four or five months, having ended up with roughly 200 hours of recordings discussing these calendar enigmas with a fine tooth comb.  At the end of it all, when we had exhausted all discoveries at the slowing of the conference, some of us had decided upon a standard that (for the most part) some of us would follow, which we are still following today, doing so in order to keep a wholesome brotherly harmony, and also as importantly, to then free us up to get back to learning, studying, and reforming some of the other similarly corrupt abominations that the Father is also (and perhaps foremost) calling us out of, doing so until such time as he reveals more of the finer details to us in the future.  

Having in recent decades, so surprisingly discovered that we have been following a completely false calendar system, is just one of several new previously unknown major areas that we, as a remnant, are discovering in our time that we have been "deceived into", and is therefore just one abomination of several major ones that we are to be urgently distancing ourselves from, where in fact, it seems now, that the Sabbath/calendar repair should be the capstone or crowning glory for YHWH's reforming remnant, but only once we get some of the other more difficult-to-face issues taken care of in our midst first, and now seeing that this ought to be done in a biblically sequential fashion as we are now also finding in Scripture, we (in this ministry's circle of friends) are therefore obediently doing so.   At present we feel that we are perhaps not ready or "worthy" to receive the greater details of this Sabbath/calendar discovery and are only to just do our best to "come out from among" the papal gregorian calendar for now until we have "come out from among them" in ALL the areas of much needed reform (especially with the seriously idolatrous ones; and to the Father's satisfaction of course), as I hope to show from just a few biblical examples in a brief overview here.

So here's just a tiny sampling of my more substantive reasons for why I now strongly feel that we are not yet worthy (as a nation or even a global remnant) to be graced with these finer details just yet.  In fact, perhaps it is even possible that we are even being found arrogantly "running ahead of the Father" in His eyes (especially once you see what I am about to show here) ourselves overconfidently feeling that we should even be worthy of such details without first having taken stock of ourselves and the other newly-discovered "deceptions" that many of us are still (either in an innocent ignorance or in a willfully ignorant sense) dangerously participating in on a daily or even hourly basis.    I am therefore with all love in my heart, presenting these gentle words of caution to the more passionate "calendar detail" folks that I have noticed over the years, and this based not just on the experiences I have had to this point but also with a humble understanding and resolve that comes mostly from both the way that I saw the passions in the hearts of some folks (and their differences) on our own very long Sabbath conference from some years back (and other gatherings since of course), and also from the readings of Scripture and the deeper meditations I've spent thinking it all over in the years that followed (including, but not shown here: Romans 14:1; Titus 3:9, among others). 

Anyway, here are my evidences for seeking to reform ourselves by focusing from a more "well rounded" overall perspective, looking at the more serious offenses against Father first with a greater Scriptural guidance of priorities:

1. As I had above laid the ground work for in describing our own Sabbath discussions years ago, it was one of our own guests from Ohio that brought up his thoughts near the end of those lengthy conferences, where he felt that it seemed possible that the sanctuary cleansing process may not yet be complete and perhaps we were therefore not to proceed too far without having been shown that we are to be privy to such information just yet.  This sparked my initial interest that perhaps yes, we need to not only come to some terms of agreement in the details among ourselves (agreeing to some type of a standard on the finer details as we did) and then wait as we worked on other of the issues we had been deceived into over the centuries with similar fervor.  We have since successfully (and in a true brotherly way since by the way) stayed with that very same standard to this day in our ministry, where since then, I have also found yet more, even easier-to-see examples whereby we are being called to simply be patient in not yet knowing every little detail of this calendar subject, knowing as I myself do now, that we are not (as a nation that is just in its infancy of being led out of captivity) worthy to know these details just yet, and here's a smattering of some of the additional reasons I have found examples for in Scripture that this is the case:

2. In Exodus, as the Israelites were being led out of captivity, they were only (again) given a general direction of where they were heading (via the vagueness of a cloud by day and pillar of fire by night) until they arrived at their "proving grounds" (if you will) where the Father would "prove them" first. (ref Exodus 16:4).  They were to prove themselves that they were ready, faithful followers of just Him and His ways, where they (if they wanted the blessings of the Father to make it the rest of the way to the promised land) would need to let go of their...

A. "Golden Calf" [Ex 32:26] (Our "Golden Calf" in America = the U.S. Constitution and its many interconnected ties to the satanic "New World Order" beast system which are clearly hostile programs alternate the Father's Laws, Statutes, and judgments, and more)

B. "Ornaments" [Ex 33:5; see also the reiteration of this event in Ezekiel 20:7 and/or the commentary we did on this in Bible study #2 this page] (Our parallel to the "ornaments" of the ancient Israelites = The "benefits" of today's more serious beast imitations of YHWH's provision system [Social security, welfare, medicare, and all the other programs of false, worldly security])

  This is a very powerful argument that I more and more find to be hard to ignore, but the even greater indicator that I have now (hands down) found where we should be very careful not to daringly push the Father any further for the more intricate details on the calendar until we are more properly "proven", would be this very clear example:

3. We have also not "cut down their groves and high places" first.  YHWH seems to have almost always given instruction to His generations of wayward peoples that they were to tear down anything and everything that was in the least bit representative of their other gods (other lovers) and any remaining signs of these idolatrous systems BEFORE He would reward them by giving them any detailed instruction on how to more appropriately worship and/or follow Him.   See the examples of these random selections (where there are quite a few others throughout Scripture):

   A.  Exodus 34:13 - 18 (and thereabouts)  "But ye shall destroy their alters, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for YHWH, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."  

YHWH THEN begins in later verses to detail how to better worship and honor Him, once the message for His people to cut themselves off from all other gods was made and (expected to be) fully understood and carried out.   Notice also the emphasis that seems to be placed on the jealousy of the Father.  We'll discuss this further in a moment.

   B.  II Chronicles 31:1 - 2  Hezekiah breaks down all the groves and high places, THEN he delegates the more detailed instruction they were to follow in order to better worship and fellowship with The Father.

In fact and in addition, In Deuteronomy, they even cleanse the foreign lands first, and (again) THEN set up practices to worship the Father, where Father then approves of their purity in seeking the better worship of Him as He then destroys remaining enemies for them as well.

YHWH often makes statements along the lines of this one:  "Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases [idols and statues] of their kings far from me, (meaning: "after they do so, THEN...") I will dwell in the midst of them forever."  (ref. Ezekiel 43:9)

Items 2 & 3 are inseparably interwoven in many ways, where one must genuinely attempt to come clean of the whole mess to be found having "come out from among them" and thereby be properly "proven" (if you now see the parallel here).  

As an addendum to items 2 & 3 we might also add this next one to send it home that we are to do just as the great reformers and the Puritans were doing and casting off every bit of man's law systems and thereby standing in faith, living completely under and in the advancement of the Kingdom: Father's Laws, statutes and judgments (there are many many passages on the importance of the Father calling us to keep all of His Laws, Statutes, and Judgments, and before He would return to rescue his people as well by the way):

4.  Have we fully obeyed Matthew 6:33 and the other verses where we are to "Seek ye first the kingdom(rule; reign; government; Laws statutes and judgments) of YHWH, and His righteousness; [where] all these things [blessings of deeper wisdom based on Acts 5:32, etc] shall be added unto you." ?

Is YHWH not also here being very frank and open to us that He is a jealous God?  Remember the second Commandment itself even unmistakably verifies this.  Are we to honestly believe that we, who are often very arrogant and sinful (and thereby hurtful), are not hurting Him and compounding this jealousy when we both say that we want Him as our God and yet at the same time we hold on to dear life to our other god's benefits and provisions for ourselves?  Would any one of you want to take back a cheating spouse after many years of infidelity, especially if that spouse yet continued to refuse to truly stop seeing and enjoying the intimacies of their other lover?  Have we "come out from among [our other lover to be] separate"?  If not, are we not then saying to the Father that we want BOTH loves?   ...arrogantly expecting to be allowed to keep both He and satan as providers?   [And those who know me also know my past whereupon I can relate to this specific issue as well, thereby being a credible 2nd witness to the pain this brings.]  Therefore, should the Father reward such split loyalties by then giving such people the most intimate aspects of His deeper knowledge?   Heaven forbid!

In myself not knowing the depths to which any of you may have studied the previously hidden aspects between man's law versus the Father's Law, I am only suggesting here that the many years that we ourselves had been somewhat of a more specialized type of ministry, and had thereby put a little more effort than most, into the deeper studies of all of man's systems in our quest to defend the Father's Law in our ministry, might then be of some greater credulity and value to some of you.  I also expect that some others on the other hand, will not easily want to do as an increasing number of us are doing lately in breaking clean of our beast system ties and benefits (as we show many Scriptural examples for doing so in our video Bible Study Series numbers 1 through 8 on this page), with many folks fearing that they might not be as comfortable, well provided for, etc, if they were to do as Levi did, and simply "leave all, rise up, and follow Him", but its still a test of our faith for all of us nonetheless as we've just shown.  And... its a test upon each and every one of us whether we like it or not.   And its not this preacher who is "calling us out" of course, but the Father.   Yet at the same time let me reassure any who might not have "come out from among them" yet, that its not so tough to come out for those who have such a true faith, myself as the witness, as the Father has been there with me every single time it looked bad.   ...and believe me if I can do it, anyone can !

Some folks (having not been taught any of the more needful law aspects that the system has also intentionally deprived them of in their schooling) don't yet understand the jurisdictional issues and the authority decisions that such compromises then lawfully allow satan to have over them, etc, where I would posit that just as the worshipers of the original golden calf at the foot of Sinai were not able to see their idolatry against the Father, so too, are many Americans who are not yet aware that they are almost identically worshiping a similar golden calf system, many being actual card-carrying members of the very same satanic beast system that they cry is slowly enslaving them--a system that is a complete diametric opposite to the Father's provision system, being the U.S. Constitution and its many subdivision "adhesion contracts", etc, (drivers licenses, birth certificates, social security, etc. [see our video "Purity Perfects Power" for explanation of our own willful submission to these anti-YHWH, anti-Christ contracts) 

Many of those who have yet to "come out from among them" might yet feel that they should be spending all of their time still digging for the hair splitting details that others of us will agree have not yet been conclusively revealed to us yet.  We have not yet been found "proven" as a faithful remnant that is presently worthy to receive such perfection of the Father's worship, if we haven't "come out from among them" by this point, where again, and just as we have shown above, I ask:  Are we really worthy?  Are we truly "pure" if (as I also mentioned above) some of us are still also literal card-carrying members of the various tentacles of what is so clearly now known to be satan's own imitation law, statute, judgement (and provision) system?

For the folks that are doing this (getting the precision on the Sabbath and calendar issue, and at the same time are totally "signed up with" satan and his system of idolatry), It's sort of like stopping with exact preciseness at one's most favorite of the ten stop signs that might be in one's own town, a town in which such a person would like to be seen as one of the most respected and truly righteous citizens.  He might even go so far as getting out of his car to precisely measure for everybody just how far he stopped in relation to the painted lines on the pavement, etc, but yet not for one moment does that same person ever even slow down in the least for the other remaining 9 stop signs of that town's same law system, just barreling through them all, somehow expecting to yet be seen by the mayor, police chief, and the other townsfolk as one of the most perfect law abiding individuals in that town for the preciseness that he holds for that one stop sign that he has so precisely learned to stop at.  There are Ten Commandments, not just the 4th.  The 1st and 2nd Commandments are pretty serious my friends, where Idolatry brings about some of the Father's most heavy punishments.  Don't let satan keep you so absolutely distracted in the minute details of one area of your walk, where he can then laugh at you that you are so completely absorbed in such things, that you will gullibly be casting away any and all notice of how you might be ignoring (and thereby running the risk of being found willfully disobeying) any of the other important Commandments altogether.  (Remember James 2:10?)

Please understand having read this, that I now often wonder lately if the Father sees us as being somewhat arrogant in wanting to so determinedly (or even dogmatically perhaps) want to "solve" such detailed conclusiveness like so many challenging brain-teaser puzzles we've seen over the years, but to even feel that we also somehow have the authority in such grey areas to get overly vociferous on any particular vantage points with others, and to the point that we are thereby almost expecting to be "canonizing" or "officially authorizing" such intimate details into our assemblies as if we had the ability to "command-away" such gray areas all on our own).  It is then that I strongly suggest that we grow into all of the areas of reform with the utmost of care that we do not cause ourselves more wrath than mercies, Amen?

My overall point then is this to any new Sabbath/calendar/"Come out from among them" folks:  "Do your diligence to make sure to get the big picture first, then once you are sure you are following all of the more serious issues without the guilt of any major sin in your heart, then (and only then) work emphatically if you want on seeking the Father's graces in the less significant details." Does that not make better sense?   

[Please also note that there are other groups from some of the scholarly law circles that I know who are doing the inverse but similar, where they are themselves trying to get all the law issues of the Scriptures perfect, and yet at the same time are completely ignoring the Sabbath/calendar reforms for their lives, and again as is often the case with each individual, largely because he or she finds that that particular area will be hard for them to change, etc, and so they somewhat avoid those topics, crossing their fingers to some extent as well,  So I am not just picking on the Sabbath/calendar "enthusiasts", but the whole awakening remnant and its broader need for an overarching total reform, as I have been working in all circles trying to bring us all into one melodious harmony with all of these issues as a whole.]

In closing, I would hope that perhaps having never thought of these things, it might cause some new areas of reflection for those who's hearts want to make sure that they are covering all of the right bases, and while following the most Scriptural priorities as well, in "working out their own salvation with fear and trembling".  

In the purest of intentions to share what some of us have found our greater peace in,

dwaine moore

Biblical Correctness Ministries

www.bcmin.us

Just a note for the record on this topic for those who don't know much about me:

Years ago I did something very simple. I had sent in a notarized affidavit explaining that I, as an ambassador of YHWH, was in the shocked discovery process of finding that I had been deceived into their unbiblical system of slavery (thereby leaving lawful room in the event that I was not crossing enough of their t's and dotting enough of their i's with as much precision as their satanic "legal' system might be calling for, thereby leaving me whatever open areas I might need to later update the documents should I so choose to do so in the future, etc), and that I was fully rescinding my social[ist] security, birth certificate, driver's license, marriage license, etc., where I have also since never used a single one of them, numbers and data included.  It is now a matter of legal permanent court record that I am no longer accepting their lordship over me in matters of controversial edicts, and that my greater King of law is YHWH.  What the system then does with my most sincerely written, official proclamation to be free from their rule over me (from there on out) is its own problem.  I have therefore (and just as if it were a joyful form of baptism) formally and publicly stepped completely out of their system to show the death of their "strawman" image of me, and (to make a long story short) that I am made of flesh and blood, reborn under the Father's realm of authority now, with uncompromised loyalty to my Father in Heaven first and foremost. 

What you folks do from here on out in your own lives is of course also up to you as well, but I would remind folks that the success of the Puritans was not based on how well they were able to compromise with the Romish/British/European tyranny system of their day, but in how passionately determined they were to have completely stepped out in faith, making sure they were far and away from any such compromising tyrannical systems in then starting this once great nation for us.  Remember:  the compromisers started the Catholic church, whereas Yeshua's true followers risked imprisonment, torture, and death going fully under the radar in faith.  Which ones did YHWH reward with the greater depth of His truth in that era, the Catholics, or the ones that went underground such as the Albegensies, the Waldenses, (that most of you were never taught about in your churches and schools), etc?   We now know that the latter mentioned folks that went underground successfully kept the calendar and Sabbath going the right way for many centuries to come, and this, even hundreds of years after Constantine made it unlawful to follow it, but only by first bravely staying completely out of such Romish-type systems as the Father had always commanded.  The Catholic Church and its many compromising believers at the same time had very quickly stepped right into idolatry by beginning to worship Mary, the saints, and thereby themselves (man), with some of those Catholics/Jesuits/Freemasons even eventually coming to the shores of America and worshiping the "We the People" gods (hint hint).  What gods do we proclaim our allegiance to today?  Do we have YHWH's cards in our pockets?  Or satan's beast system cards?  Who do we pledge our allegiance to?  a silly meaningless flag?   ...or YHWH?  Is the Constitution your most trusted law document for everything in your life?  or is the Bible that most trusted and sacred writing?  Yet some who claim that the Bible is their sole book of instruction, (and whether innocently or otherwise) still endlessly wrestle and sometimes even lose friends over the much smaller things instead like: "is it evening to evening, or morning to morning", as if those were the true salvation-deciding issues rather than who they actually bow down to in a lordship sense.  

Think harder my friends.  Who are you really bowing down to if you are burning incense unto (or being a card-carrying member of) Caesar and his satanic system? (Remember also that there is no neutral ground between YHWH and satan, nor is there any such thing as a so-called "neutral" government. You either obey YHWH or you don't.)

Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.  I myself don't want to become a part of any new version or new subdivision of their present global Catholic system due to fear, I'd rather be a permanent part of YHWH's system forever, by faith, where we can then, after our resurrection is locked in, later look back and more comfortably squabble over how well we had the details "just right", doesn't that sound like a safer way to go about it than risk not making the cut in the first place ?

print out a document copy of this article "An Important Caution... " here

Lent:

Prior to Easter, most churches observe a period of forty days which they call "Lent." Where did this forty day period of abstinence come from? Is it Christian in origin?

What is the truth about Lent?

The festival of the Passover, observed by the early New Testament Church of YEHOVAH God, was preceded by no Lent. Where, then, did Lent come from?

You will be shocked to know the answer:

"It ought to be known," said Cassianus, the monk of Marseilles, writing in the fifth century, and contrasting the primitive Church with the Church in his day, "that the observance of the forty days had no existence, so long as the perfection of that primitive Church remained inviolate." Whence, then, came this observance? The forty days' abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent of forty days, "in the spring of the year," is still observed by the Yezidis or Pagan Devil-worshippers of Koordistan, who have inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians. Such a Lent of forty days was held in Spring by the Pagan Mexicans, for thus we read in Humboldt, where he gives account of Mexican observances: "Three days after the vernal equinox...began a solemn fast of forty days in honour of the sun." Such a Lent of forty days was observed in Egypt, as may be seen on consulting Wilkinson's Egyptians. This Egyptian Lent of forty days, we are informed by Landseer, in his Sabean Researches, was held expressly in commemoration of Adonis or Osiris, the great mediatorial god (The Two Babylons, Hislop, pp. 104-105).

Writes Alexander Hislop:

Among the Pagans this Lent seems to have been an indispensable preliminary to the great annual festival in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz, which was celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing, and which, in many countries, was considerably later than the Christian festival, being observed in Palestine

and Assyria in June, therefore called the "month of Tammuz;" in Egypt, about the middle of May, and in Britain, some time in April. To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and Pagan festivals amalgamated, and, by a complicated but skillful adjustment of the calendar, it was found no difficult matter, in general, to get Paganism and Christianity -- now far sunk in idolatry -- in this as in so many other things, to shake hands (ibid.).

Says Hislop, "This change of the calendar in regard to Easter was attended with momentous consequences. It brought into the Church the grossest corruption and the rankest superstition in connection with the abstinence of Lent." He declares:

That Christians should ever think of introducing the Pagan abstinence of Lent was a sign of evil; it showed how low they had sunk, and it was also a cause of evil; it inevitably led to deeper degradation. Originally, even in Rome, Lent, with the preceding revelries of the Carnival, was entirely unknown...