Oh Christmas tree and dendrolatry - Christmas in Detail 01 - video Dailymotion

God Honest Truth

In this teaching, we take an academic and theological examination of dendrolatry—the worship of trees, the veneration of trees, or the treatment of trees as sacred—and its place within the broader context of Scripture and history. This presentation will explore how ancient cultures practiced dendrolatry, how the prophets spoke against it, and how remnants of these practices can still be observed in modern traditions.  This video delves into the historical and cultural veneration of trees, tracing its roots from ancient pagan practices to its manifestations in various spiritual traditions. This teaching invites viewers to consider the spiritual consequences of syncretism and to pursue a deeper understanding of purity in worship according to the Word.  So join us as we consider the biblical response to dendrolatry and reaffirm the call to pure devotion to Yahweh alone. Come along with us, and learn the God Honest Truth about dendrolatry.  #Dendrolatry #Asherim #TreeWorship #Christmas #Christmas2025 #Idolatry #Messianic #ChristianTeaching #Yahweh #Yeshua #Theology #GodHonestTruth #ScriptureStudy #ChristianApologetics #TorahStudy  Video Chapters: 00:00 Teaching Introduction Teaching Trailmap Dendrolatry Defined Dendrolatry Down the Decades Scripture Regarding Dendrolatry Possible Push-Backs Christmas Trees: Thought Experiment Summary  Article Post: https://godhonesttruth.com/wp/2025/08/29/oh-christmas-tree-and-dendrolatry-christmas-in-detail-01-live-stream-08-29-2025/  God Honest Truth is a Messianic Ministry based in Western North Carolina. Our goal is to teach the truths of Yahweh’s word to anyone seeking to further their education and walk in faith. We believe in the inerrancy of scripture and that scripture alone, not any church decree or any word of man, can define what is and is not salvation. We will always strive to do Biblical things in Biblical ways instead of allowing the traditions of men to get in the way of scripture.  https://www.GodHonestTruth.com Team@GodHonestTruth.com  Donations: Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GodHonestTruth  Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/godhonesttruth  Social Media Links: https://godhonesttruth.com/wp/connect-socially/  Music: TheFatRat - Kingdom Come Watch the official music video: https://tinyurl.com/tfrkingdomcome Listen to Kingdom Come: https://thefatrat.ffm.to/warriorsongs Follow TheFatRat: https://ffm.bio/thefatrat  ######################################                                      Disclaimer ######################################  The information and content in this content is for documentary, educational, and entertainment purposes only. Imitation or the use of any acts depicted in this content is solely AT YOUR OWN RISK. We (including but not limited to YouTube, LBRY, Rumble, BitChute, etc) will not be held liable for any injury to yourself or damage that may occur resulting from attempting anything shown in any of our content. We do not endorse any specific product and this content is

Transcript

00:00:00The prophets thundered against it, but were they successful in getting rid of it?

00:00:07Surely mankind has outgrown and done away with the Asherah poles that are mentioned in scripture, right?

00:00:12But regrettably, no. The veneration of trees is still an ongoing issue.

00:00:19In this teaching, we're going to take a look at something you may have not considered before,

00:00:24and that is the subject of dendralletry, or the worship or veneration of trees.

00:00:30While it might seem like an ancient practice, it might surprise you to know that dendralletry is still going on in practice today.

00:00:37All throughout history, nations have lifted up trees as sacred and used them as objects of worship in their pagan rituals.

00:00:47In this teaching, we'll examine dendralletry in history, uncover what the Bible has to say about it,

00:00:53how the prophets warned against it, and why that still matters today.

00:00:58So get ready to learn the God-honest truth about Christmas and dendralletry, coming up next.

00:01:04Oh, Christmas tree and dendralletry, that is the subject of tonight, or this teaching,

00:01:30and we're going to be getting all into it, getting into some history, definitely some nerdy word stuff.

00:01:35So have your notes ready.

00:01:37And if you would like even more notes than what we've got here for you in this teaching,

00:01:41and trust me, there is a whole bunch more this time than what we were able to include in this teaching.

00:01:48It's already going to be long enough.

00:01:49It would have been even longer if we'd included the rest of it.

00:01:52But all those notes are available for you on our website at GodHonestTruth.com.

00:01:57Click on the post for this particular episode.

00:02:00You'll be taken to the article post where you'll be able to see the on-demand video.

00:02:04You'll be able to see the drosh slides that come up on the video,

00:02:08and you'll be able to go through those drosh slides at your own pace.

00:02:10You'll also be able to find the notes that we took for this episode,

00:02:16as well as our master notes that we've got for Christmas in general,

00:02:21and 13 new files that we've also, I guess you could say created,

00:02:28but we used AI to do in-depth academic research papers on the subject of dendralletry

00:02:35in three different time periods from before 1 CE and then from 1 CE to about 400 CE

00:02:43just during the Roman period, and then from 400 CE up until present day,

00:02:50especially within European cultures.

00:02:54And all that is also coming from three different AIs,

00:02:58Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Microsoft Copilot.

00:03:03So go check those out today.

00:03:04You've got our episodes for this drosh.

00:03:06You've got our master notes for the Christmas in general,

00:03:09and you've got 13 other files with dozens of pages in each of those

00:03:15and tons of notes and information.

00:03:18So if you want more information and you're a true student of education,

00:03:22this is definitely for you.

00:03:24Go check it out on our website at GodHonestTruth.com

00:03:27or go down below and click on the convenient link that we've placed for you down there,

00:03:31which will take you directly to that page.

00:03:33And that link should be down there in the description,

00:03:36whether you're watching on a video platform

00:03:39or listening to us on an audio podcasting platform.

00:03:42Now let's get into this teaching.

00:03:45Now, like I said, it's going to be all about dendralletry,

00:03:47and here is our objectives in our trail map

00:03:50for what we're going to go through during the course of this teaching.

00:03:54We're going to start out by defining dendralletry

00:03:57because that is an uncommon word that's hardly, if ever, used.

00:04:02In fact, I didn't really know this word until just two, maybe three years ago at the most.

00:04:09So it's rare that it's used, but you'll learn all about it, what it is,

00:04:13and then you'll become familiar with how it is associated

00:04:17or not associated with Christmas.

00:04:21We're going to examine dendralletry through history,

00:04:24and it's going to be very, very brief

00:04:26because there's a whole bunch of information,

00:04:28historical information on dendralletry,

00:04:30and this is stuff that you are not taught in school,

00:04:32and it's definitely stuff you are not taught in church.

00:04:36This is going to be a whole bunch of information for you,

00:04:38and there's a whole bunch more that we're not able to include here,

00:04:40but it's in our notes.

00:04:41So definitely, after you watch this teaching,

00:04:44go check out the notes for more information about dendralletry

00:04:48in various cultures and throughout history.

00:04:51After that, we're going to be looking at what these scriptures have to say about dendralletry

00:04:56because scriptures actually have a lot to say about this particular concept.

00:05:03Then we're going to look at some possible pushbacks from,

00:05:06well, I guess from just about anybody who celebrates the mainstream version of Christmas.

00:05:14We're going to be going through the various scriptures

00:05:16they might be able to or might bring up to push back against this whole teaching.

00:05:20So definitely stay tuned for that.

00:05:23And then we're going to get into some practical applications

00:05:25and brainstorming about dendralletry and the Christmas trees itself.

00:05:31So you definitely want to have your thinking caps on for that last segment.

00:05:36And finally, like always, we'll be wrapping up with a summary

00:05:39of what we have learned during this particular episode,

00:05:43just so you can have a refresher to leave off with.

00:05:48But like I said, we always do that anyway, so you're probably used to that already.

00:05:53Let's go ahead and dive right into this.

00:05:55Let's go ahead and define what is dendralletry,

00:05:59this word that's new and sometimes maybe scary

00:06:04because, I don't know, it's new and it sounds fancy and academic

00:06:08and it's really not, it's fairly simple.

00:06:12Dendralletry is defined according to Collins Dictionary,

00:06:16Wiktionary.com, Merriam-Webster, FreeDictionary.com, etc., etc.

00:06:20Dendralletry is defined as the worship or veneration of trees

00:06:26and or other greenery such as shrubs.

00:06:29Now, this doesn't always mean the same thing.

00:06:32Sometimes dendralletry can mean the physical worshiping of a tree as a god.

00:06:40But more commonly, it means the use of trees or shrubs

00:06:46in the worship of a pagan god.

00:06:49And usually, most of the time, this includes the belief that a particular god resides,

00:06:57their presence resides in that particular tree or bush.

00:07:01But this does always have to mean the worship of that particular tree.

00:07:06It can be used in the worship of a pagan god as well.

00:07:11Dendralletry comes from two different Greek words.

00:07:13It comes from the Greek word dendron, meaning tree, and latreia, meaning worship.

00:07:19Both of these words are used in the Bible, in the scriptures,

00:07:24and they're used just like we define here as both tree and worship.

00:07:29Now, one important note to make here, too, about this latreia.

00:07:32You may have heard something similar to this back in our Godhead series

00:07:37when we went over the concept of worship.

00:07:40Now, divine worship that is only given to God,

00:07:44is only supposed to be given to God and no one else,

00:07:47is the word latreio.

00:07:49Now, this word here that we're looking at, latreia,

00:07:54comes from that word latreio, latreiu.

00:07:59And latreiu is only ever used of Yahweh in scriptures,

00:08:05never used of anyone else.

00:08:07There are other words like proskuneo and shaha in Hebrew,

00:08:12and these are, unfortunately, a lot of times translated into English as worship,

00:08:18so it makes it confusing and makes people misunderstand what it actually means.

00:08:22But proskuneo and shaha actually just means bowing down,

00:08:27or, how should I say, going prostrate on the ground

00:08:31as an act of respect towards someone who is your superior,

00:08:37a higher class, who is higher rank, things like that.

00:08:40But latreio, and by extension, latreia,

00:08:43latreia means divine, godlike worship

00:08:45that's only ever given to the true God, Yahweh.

00:08:51Hope that makes sense.

00:08:53This is the two words that dendrolatry comes from,

00:08:57dendron and latreia, meaning divine worship,

00:09:01the kind of worship that we think of nowadays

00:09:03when we think of the word worship.

00:09:05So that's dendrolatry defined.

00:09:07Let's go ahead and look at a brief history of dendrolatry

00:09:11down through the decades and down through history.

00:09:14We're going to start out way, way back when,

00:09:18way back in the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia,

00:09:22Babylon, Assyria, Acadia, things like that.

00:09:26But this comes from Janet Roberts and her work,

00:09:30Trees as Tribute in the Ancient Near East.

00:09:32It would seem natural to a civilization

00:09:37which worships the cosmological sacred tree

00:09:39that such a reverence for the tree

00:09:41developed out of ritualized worship of votive trees.

00:09:45The moon tree, the sap of which was regarded as an elixir,

00:09:49rested on a mountain.

00:09:50Associated with the god Assyria

00:09:52and with the concept of kingship,

00:09:54the moon god was considered the highest god

00:09:56in ancient Mesopotamia.

00:09:58Representation of a tree with sacred or astral meanings

00:10:01begins in the 4th millennium in ancient Mesopotamia.

00:10:05Rosette trees were associated with Inanna

00:10:07and grain stalks with her bridegroom, Damuzi,

00:10:11in the annual sacred marriage,

00:10:12ensuring the fertility of the land.

00:10:15End quote.

00:10:16So way back when, this is a practice,

00:10:18this whole dendrology thing,

00:10:20this whole worship of trees,

00:10:21it goes way back in history,

00:10:23almost to the very beginning of creation.

00:10:27All the way back to Mesopotamia and Acadia and Assyria,

00:10:30things like that.

00:10:31So it's very, very old practice,

00:10:34and it's something that is defined within just about all,

00:10:40well, most if not all,

00:10:42the pagan or non-true religions.

00:10:46And it's not just one particular tree,

00:10:49and you'll see that as we go through some of this history.

00:10:52Here in Mesopotamia,

00:10:53it talks about the moon tree and also the rosette tree.

00:10:56There's other trees as well, as we'll get into.

00:10:58There's the fir, there is the laurel,

00:11:01the oak, the pine, the cedar, etc., etc.

00:11:04All different kinds of trees.

00:11:06It all depends on which culture you're talking about

00:11:09and which particular god that particular culture is worshiping

00:11:13as to which trees they hold sacred.

00:11:17And they can have several different sacred trees

00:11:20that they use in their worship,

00:11:22even within the same culture,

00:11:24because they have multiple gods.

00:11:27But leaving Mesopotamia and going on now to Egypt,

00:11:31and here we've got the goddesses of the Egyptian tree cult

00:11:35by Marie-Louise Boulle,

00:11:38and it says, quote,

00:11:39Trees along the desert edge naturally took a prominent part in the tree cult,

00:11:44and the sycamore was one of the most important of all.

00:11:47It is not surprising that the Egyptians should have believed

00:11:49that a spirit or goddess lived in a leafy tree

00:11:52with a well of water at its foot,

00:11:55and the sycamore assumed a primary position

00:11:57in Egyptian mythology and eschatology, end quote.

00:12:01This is from, again,

00:12:03the goddesses of the Egyptian tree cult

00:12:05by Marie-Louise Boulle, quote,

00:12:07Hathor was identified with the tree goddess.

00:12:10She was called the mistress of the southern sycamore.

00:12:14The acacia is described as the tree sacred to Horus

00:12:18in pyramid texts, etc., etc.

00:12:21It's Horus who comes forth from the ancient acacia

00:12:23to whom it is commanded,

00:12:25beware of the lion, end quote.

00:12:28And finally, our last quote for Egypt,

00:12:30and once again from the goddesses of the Egyptian tree cult

00:12:33by Marie-Louise Boulle, quote,

00:12:36Among the Egyptian ideas of the hereafter

00:12:38was that of a sycamore located in the eastern horizon

00:12:42in the branches of which different deities were believed to dwell.

00:12:46It is associated in the mist with the sun god, end quote.

00:12:51So it didn't die out with Mesopotamia and Babylon.

00:12:56It went on and continued with the Egyptian culture.

00:13:01And here you can see there are various trees and various gods

00:13:05that are associated with various trees.

00:13:07You've got the sycamore with, who was it, Hathor.

00:13:11You've got the acacia, which was identified with Horus.

00:13:15You've got others as well that we didn't include here.

00:13:18Go check it out in the notes if you'd like some more information.

00:13:21But yeah, this dendronia tree or the use of trees in pagan worship

00:13:25was prevalent in more than just one culture,

00:13:28and it was widespread across the world and across history.

00:13:33Moving on now to Greece,

00:13:36because they're no different in this respect.

00:13:39This comes from the Sacred Tree in Ancient Greek Religion

00:13:42by Carolyn Smards.

00:13:44And this is actually a thesis paper for her master's thesis.

00:13:47And she says, quote,

00:13:49In later Greek mythology are to be found such stories

00:13:54as that of the metamorphosis of Daphne into the laurel

00:13:59as a defense against the amorous advances of the god Apollo.

00:14:03A similar story, this time about Pittus,

00:14:06accounts for the connection of Pan with the pine tree.

00:14:09The myth of Saperisus explains the association

00:14:13between Apollo and the cypress tree.

00:14:15For the boy Saperisus was transformed by the god into that tree

00:14:20so that he might eternally mourn his unwitting murder of his friend,

00:14:26the stag of Carthia, end quote.

00:14:28So once again, we've got dendronia tree, but with Greece.

00:14:33And here you've got various different gods

00:14:36and various different trees.

00:14:37And for this teaching,

00:14:41this is the first introduction of laurels.

00:14:43But a laurel tree was also considered to be sacred

00:14:47amongst the Greeks and also the Romans.

00:14:50But here also in the first time mentioned during this teaching

00:14:53is the concept of the sacred pine tree

00:14:58associated with the god Pan.

00:15:01Now keep that in mind because it's associated,

00:15:03it's like the rest of the trees,

00:15:04with different gods in different cultures at different times.

00:15:07So just keep that in mind and try not to mix them up if you can,

00:15:12but it gets confusing sometimes.

00:15:13Moving on to Rome.

00:15:16And this comes from Silvanus from the HellenicFaith.com.

00:15:20Quotes, I'm sorry, quote,

00:15:22Things commonly attributed to Silvanus are the phalx,

00:15:26which is a kind of sickle,

00:15:27the tree branch, a dog, and sometimes fruits,

00:15:30all symbols of rustic, homely well-being.

00:15:33His tree is either the pine or the cypress.

00:15:36In one myth, Silvanus fell in love with a young man named Syparasus

00:15:41who had a beautiful doe as a beloved pet.

00:15:45One day, Silvanus accidentally killed his pet

00:15:48and Syparasus, overcome with grief,

00:15:51transformed into a cypress tree.

00:15:54Like with the Greeks associating Pan with the pine tree,

00:15:59now we've got the Romans associating Silvanus with the pine tree.

00:16:03And a homosexual god associated with a pine tree at that, too.

00:16:09Here we've got both cypress and pine.

00:16:12Cypress is very similar to a pine, if you don't know.

00:16:15But, yeah, it's getting very, very interesting.

00:16:19Moving on now into Europe and moving on a little bit past the Roman times,

00:16:25but not much.

00:16:26And here we've got from the Celtic Sacred Trees from wikipedia.org,

00:16:30quote,

00:16:31The palm fruit and tree of the apple is celebrated in numerous functions

00:16:35in Celtic mythology, legend, and folklore.

00:16:38It is an emblem of fruitlessness, fruitfulness, and sometimes a means to immortality.

00:16:44Wands of druids were made from wood, either of the yew or of the apple, end quote.

00:16:49This is from the Sacred Groves of the Baltz by Vicintas Vatkavikas,

00:16:58quote,

00:16:58Separate trees like oaks, limes, firs, and especially pines are regarded as sacred, too.

00:17:05Sometimes the sacredness of a tree clearly depends on its location,

00:17:09as demonstrated by examples of trees growing near churches

00:17:12or on the territory of rural cemeteries, end quote.

00:17:16And then from 25 Sacred Trees in Pagan and North Mythology by Willow Thorne,

00:17:22quote,

00:17:23In Norse mythology, pine trees were associated with immortality and longevity.

00:17:29The Celts regarded pine as a symbol of fertility

00:17:32and were used in fire rituals to purify and renew, end quote.

00:17:38So here we've got all sorts of different trees,

00:17:40and that one quote right there you saw was referencing groves or a group of trees.

00:17:45And this is something I found out in the research as well.

00:17:48Before they had, like, temples and tabernacles and stuff like that,

00:17:52these pagans would go to these groves, these stands of trees,

00:17:56and that's where they would have their worship and their religious rituals at,

00:18:02within these groves of trees,

00:18:04or even at one particular tree that they held sacred.

00:18:08Now, eventually, these groves that they worshipped in,

00:18:14they eventually built temples there to worship their pagan gods,

00:18:18but they would be within these groves.

00:18:20Other times they would have temples and they would plant groves intentionally around the temples.

00:18:26Even though there were no trees there before,

00:18:28they would intentionally put the trees there to grow up around these pagan temples.

00:18:32So within paganism, trees were very, very prominent.

00:18:38And once again, this is not something you learn in school,

00:18:40and it's not something you learn in church,

00:18:42but I think it is very important to our understanding of the Christmas holiday.

00:18:46So hopefully all this is coming as beneficial to you.

00:18:52And if not, let us know.

00:18:53If there's something else we can do, let us know as well.

00:18:55But like I said, there's a ton more notes.

00:18:57Just go check it out on our website.

00:18:59And once again, some more information from the Europe or European region.

00:19:05And this comes from Sacred Trees and Groves in Germanic Paganism and Mythology from wikipedia.org.

00:19:12Quote,

00:19:12Scholars consider that reverence for and rights performed at individual trees

00:19:17are derived from the mythological role of the world tree, Yggdrasil.

00:19:23Monomastic and some historical evidence also connects individual deities

00:19:27to both groves and individual trees.

00:19:31Reverence for individual trees among the Germanic peoples

00:19:34is a common theme in medieval Christian denunciations of backsliding into paganism.

00:19:40In some cases, such as Doner's Oak,

00:19:42these were associated with particular gods,

00:19:44and the association of individual trees with saints

00:19:47can be seen as a continuation of the tradition into modern times.

00:19:52Scholars have proposed that publicly revered trees such as that at the temple in Uppsala

00:19:59were regarded as counterparts to the mythic world tree, Yggdrasil.

00:20:04End quote.

00:20:04Now, this is something that's very, very interesting

00:20:07because so far we've gotten the information and the evidence that we've seen for ourselves

00:20:13that all these pagan cultures and stuff throughout history

00:20:17have engaged in dendrolatry,

00:20:20the worship of trees or the use of trees and bushes in the worship of pagan gods.

00:20:25So we've seen them use it.

00:20:26But now we're also seeing some of the Christianity come into it.

00:20:31And here, the Christian priest and, I don't know,

00:20:37apologists or apostles that were going out into Europe and the Middle East and various things,

00:20:42they were denouncing the use of trees.

00:20:46They were denouncing dendrolatry as a backslide into paganism,

00:20:51as it says here in this quote,

00:20:53which is very, very interesting that they would denounce the use of trees

00:20:57or denounce the use of dendrolatry in worship practices.

00:21:03That was back then.

00:21:05As far as Christmas trees go,

00:21:07that didn't really become accepted until 1500, something like that.

00:21:12So in the grand scheme of things, it's actually still very recent.

00:21:17Yeah, there was a time, and I've even run across evidence,

00:21:20and I didn't have time to track it down,

00:21:21but I've come across some assertions that back in the very first century,

00:21:27before 300 A.D., before the fourth century,

00:21:30that some of the early church writers, the quote-unquote church fathers,

00:21:35wrote against the use of trees as well.

00:21:38But I'm going to have to track that down, so don't quote me yet.

00:21:41If you find it, hey, send it to us.

00:21:43Let us know so we can add it to our notes.

00:21:45But yeah, there was a time when Christianity denounced the use of trees,

00:21:52denounced dendrolatry.

00:21:55But as you know, somewhere along the line,

00:22:00that things changed,

00:22:02and we have things as they are nowadays.

00:22:07But moving on, let's look at the basis for what should be

00:22:11our foundation for our beliefs and our doctrines

00:22:17and what we believe and everything like that,

00:22:19and that is scripture itself.

00:22:20So what does scripture have to say about dendrolatry?

00:22:25So far, we've saw that the pagans, the nations,

00:22:28those who are outside of Yahweh's covenant,

00:22:32used dendrolatry.

00:22:33They used trees in their worship of their pagan gods,

00:22:37and they even worshiped trees at times,

00:22:39even though that particular aspect was very rare.

00:22:41Usually, it was just the use of trees in pagan worship.

00:22:45You probably already guessed what scripture has to say about dendrolatry,

00:22:48but let's look and see for ourselves.

00:22:51Exodus chapter 20, verses 3 through 6.

00:22:55You might remember this from our Ten Commandments series.

00:22:57But 3 through 6, quote,

00:22:59You have no other mighty ones against my face.

00:23:02You do not make for yourself a carved image

00:23:05or any likeness of that which is in the heavens above

00:23:07or which is in the earth beneath

00:23:10or which is in the waters under the earth.

00:23:13You do not bow down to them nor serve them.

00:23:18For I, Yahweh your Elohim, am a jealous Elb,

00:23:21visiting the crookedness of the fathers on the children

00:23:23to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me,

00:23:28but showing loving commitment to thousands,

00:23:30to those who love me and guard my commands, end quote.

00:23:34Now, two things I want to bring up real quick.

00:23:38Number one, remember right there where it says,

00:23:40You do not bow down to them.

00:23:43Remember that whole thing about bowing down

00:23:46because we'll get to that in just a moment.

00:23:49The second thing, it also says to not serve them.

00:23:52In Greek, this is where you use something like latreia or latreou,

00:23:58meaning divine worship or divine service

00:24:01that you would only give to Yahweh himself.

00:24:04So here, in this commandment,

00:24:07is part of one of the Ten Commandments, remember?

00:24:09It's telling you, do not make for yourself a carved image.

00:24:12Do not make for yourself an image

00:24:14which resembles that which is in the earth beneath,

00:24:17which is here with us.

00:24:20I think that might include trees.

00:24:22And then it also says,

00:24:23Do not bow down to them nor serve them.

00:24:27Going on, Deuteronomy chapter 12, verses 2 through 3.

00:24:30Completely destroy all the high places

00:24:33where the nations which you are dispossessing

00:24:36serve their mighty ones,

00:24:37on the high mountains and on the hills

00:24:39and under every green tree.

00:24:42And you shall break down their sauter places

00:24:44and smash their pillars

00:24:45and burn their asherim with fire.

00:24:47And you shall cut down the carved images

00:24:49of their mighty ones

00:24:50and shall destroy their name out of that place.

00:24:55What have we got here?

00:24:56We've got here the mention of green trees

00:24:58because we've already saw from secular sources

00:25:02that trees were a prominent thing

00:25:06that pagans used in their worship of their pagan gods.

00:25:09And here, Scripture is telling us

00:25:11to destroy all that.

00:25:12Everything under every green tree.

00:25:14Do not do the dendrola tree that the pagans do.

00:25:17Even do away with the green trees.

00:25:20And it's talking about do away with the asherim as well.

00:25:23Well, what are the asherim?

00:25:24The asherim poles.

00:25:25What is that?

00:25:27Well, it could be one of two different things.

00:25:30Number one, it could be a carved pole

00:25:32that is set upright,

00:25:34almost like a, what do you call it, obelisk,

00:25:38sometimes as well.

00:25:40It could mean that.

00:25:41That's something that is worked,

00:25:43it is crafted, it is carved,

00:25:46it is, there's careful attention paid to it,

00:25:48stuff like that,

00:25:49because they revered this asherah pole,

00:25:53this asherim.

00:25:53Another way that asherim is used

00:25:57is also in the sense of a tree.

00:26:02And we can prove this by,

00:26:04I didn't put this in here and I should have.

00:26:06There is a verse in Scripture,

00:26:08oh my gosh, it's so embarrassing now.

00:26:10There's a verse in Scripture where it talks about

00:26:12planting, you shall not plant an asherah

00:26:14near the temple or near the tabernacle.

00:26:16And it's talking about planting an asherah.

00:26:20So asherah or asherim can mean either a pole

00:26:23that's been crafted for use in pagan worship,

00:26:27or it could be a tree that's used in pagan worship as well.

00:26:33Either one of those,

00:26:34but Scripture tells us,

00:26:36do not do that,

00:26:37in fact, do away with them,

00:26:38cut them down,

00:26:39burn them up,

00:26:40all that kind of stuff.

00:26:42Going on to Deuteronomy 12, verse 4.

00:26:46Do not worship the Lord your God

00:26:47in the way those nations worship their gods.

00:26:51Once again,

00:26:53Yahweh is telling us,

00:26:55do not worship Him

00:26:56in the way the pagans worship their gods.

00:27:00It's extremely disrespectful

00:27:01to Yahweh

00:27:03to bring in pagan practices

00:27:04in the worship of Yahweh.

00:27:08Deuteronomy 12, 29-30

00:27:11When Yahweh your Elohim

00:27:13does cut off from before you

00:27:14the nations

00:27:15which you go to dispossess

00:27:17and you dispossess them

00:27:18and dwell in their land,

00:27:20guard yourself

00:27:20that you are not ensnared

00:27:22to follow them.

00:27:24After they are destroyed from before you

00:27:26and that you do not inquire

00:27:27about their mighty ones

00:27:29or gods,

00:27:30saying,

00:27:31How did these nations

00:27:32serve their mighty ones

00:27:34and let me do so too?

00:27:38Once again,

00:27:39do not do as the pagans do.

00:27:42Do not follow their practices.

00:27:44Don't do it.

00:27:45Just eliminate them

00:27:47and let them be forgotten.

00:27:492 Kings 17, verses 6-17

00:27:52The children of Israel

00:27:55had sinned against Yahweh their Elohim

00:27:57who had brought them up

00:27:58out of the land of Mitzrayim

00:27:59from under the hand of Pharaoh

00:28:01sovereign of Mitzrayim

00:28:02and feared other mighty ones

00:28:04and walked in the laws

00:28:05of the nations

00:28:06or pagans

00:28:07or heathen

00:28:08or Gentiles.

00:28:10They built for themselves

00:28:11high places

00:28:12in all their cities

00:28:13and set up for themselves

00:28:14pillars and

00:28:15a sharem

00:28:16on every high hill

00:28:17and under

00:28:18every green

00:28:19tree

00:28:20and burned incense

00:28:22and burned incense there

00:28:22on all the high places

00:28:23like the nations.

00:28:24They left all the commands

00:28:25of Yahweh their Elohim

00:28:27and made for themselves

00:28:28a molded image

00:28:29two calves

00:28:30and made an asherah

00:28:31and bowed themselves

00:28:32to all the hosts

00:28:34of the heavens.

00:28:35This is part of the whole

00:28:37yo-yo cycle

00:28:39of Israel

00:28:40and the Hebrews

00:28:40back then.

00:28:41They would do good for a while

00:28:42then they would do

00:28:43very very bad for a while

00:28:44and slip into idolatry

00:28:45and here is another

00:28:46instance of where

00:28:48they had slipped

00:28:48into idolatry

00:28:50yet again

00:28:51by making

00:28:52a sharem

00:28:53these idols

00:28:54these images

00:28:55including

00:28:57like I said

00:28:57it would be either

00:28:58poles or trees

00:28:59and also

00:29:00they put these

00:29:01high places

00:29:01and they're sacred places

00:29:02under green trees.

00:29:05They were doing

00:29:07like the pagans

00:29:07they were

00:29:08respecting

00:29:09and revering

00:29:10and holding sacred

00:29:11these groves

00:29:12and these trees

00:29:13just like the pagans did.

00:29:16But never

00:29:17does scripture

00:29:18ever

00:29:19prescribe

00:29:21the use

00:29:22of trees

00:29:22in any sort

00:29:24of feast day

00:29:25or moedim

00:29:25or any

00:29:27sort

00:29:27of ritual.

00:29:29Some of you

00:29:30may be thinking of

00:29:31well

00:29:31maybe

00:29:32how about

00:29:32this

00:29:33we did that

00:29:33in just a minute

00:29:34but

00:29:34look at this

00:29:36right now

00:29:36do not

00:29:37use

00:29:38trees

00:29:38do not

00:29:38partake

00:29:39in dendrolatry

00:29:40and that

00:29:41is per

00:29:41scripture.

00:29:42Going on to

00:29:43Jeremiah chapter 2

00:29:44verses 19

00:29:45through 20

00:29:46your own evil

00:29:48instructs you

00:29:48and your

00:29:49backslidings

00:29:49reprove you

00:29:50know therefore

00:29:51and see

00:29:52that it is

00:29:52evil and bitter

00:29:53that you have

00:29:54forsaken

00:29:54Yahweh your

00:29:55Elohim

00:29:55and that my

00:29:56fear is not

00:29:57in you

00:29:58declares the

00:29:59master

00:29:59Yahweh of hosts

00:30:00for of old

00:30:01I have

00:30:02broken your

00:30:02yoke and

00:30:03torn off

00:30:03your

00:30:03chastisements

00:30:04and you

00:30:05said I

00:30:06am not

00:30:06serving you

00:30:07when on

00:30:08every high

00:30:08hill and

00:30:09under every

00:30:10green tree

00:30:12you lay down

00:30:14a hoard.

00:30:14so once

00:30:15again it's

00:30:16talking about

00:30:16the people

00:30:17sliding into

00:30:18idolatry

00:30:18sliding into

00:30:19paganism

00:30:20and one of

00:30:21the ways

00:30:21they're doing

00:30:22that especially

00:30:22here is by

00:30:24the use of

00:30:25trees in

00:30:26their religious

00:30:26worship

00:30:27and

00:30:28you know in

00:30:31one sense at

00:30:32least it wasn't

00:30:33using the use of

00:30:34trees and

00:30:34assigning it to

00:30:35the worship of

00:30:36Yahweh

00:30:36so at least

00:30:38there's that but

00:30:39it's still bad

00:30:39it's still going

00:30:40after other gods

00:30:41it's still using

00:30:42pagan practices

00:30:43like trees in

00:30:44the worship of

00:30:45these pagan gods

00:30:45yeah this

00:30:47at the end of

00:30:48the day it's

00:30:48still bad and

00:30:49sinful and

00:30:50don't do it

00:30:51then moving on

00:30:53to Jeremiah

00:30:53chapter 10

00:30:54verses 2

00:30:55through 4

00:30:56this is one of

00:30:57the most famous

00:30:57passages when it

00:30:58comes to

00:30:59Christmas that

00:31:00you'll ever see

00:31:01in all of

00:31:02scripture but

00:31:03here it is

00:31:03Jeremiah chapter

00:31:0410 verses 2

00:31:05through 4

00:31:05thus said

00:31:07Yahweh do not

00:31:08learn the way of

00:31:09the nations and

00:31:09do not be awed by

00:31:10the signs of the

00:31:11heavens for the

00:31:12nations are

00:31:13awed by them

00:31:13for the laws of

00:31:15these peoples are

00:31:15worthless for one

00:31:16cuts a tree from

00:31:18the forest work for

00:31:19the hands of a

00:31:19craftsman with a

00:31:20cutting tool they

00:31:21beautify it with

00:31:22silver and gold they

00:31:23strengthen it with

00:31:24nails and hammers so

00:31:25that it does not

00:31:26topple okay hopefully

00:31:29this particular passage

00:31:31from the word of

00:31:32God is obvious to

00:31:35you just from the

00:31:36reading of it but

00:31:38in this case it's

00:31:39not let's walk

00:31:40through it real

00:31:40quick here it says

00:31:42or Yahweh himself

00:31:44says do not

00:31:46learn the way of

00:31:47the nations do

00:31:48not learn the way

00:31:49of the heathens do

00:31:50not learn the way

00:31:51of the pagans do

00:31:51not learn the way

00:31:52of the Gentiles do

00:31:54not learn their

00:31:55ways do not be

00:31:57awed by the signs

00:31:58of the heavens for

00:31:58the nations are

00:31:59awed by them the

00:32:00laws of these

00:32:00peoples are worthless

00:32:01for one cuts a

00:32:02tree from the

00:32:04forest now why in

00:32:06the world would

00:32:07they go out and

00:32:07cut a tree from

00:32:09the forest well

00:32:10number one's

00:32:12talk about this

00:32:13real quick back

00:32:15during the pagan

00:32:16use of dendral

00:32:17tree and stuff

00:32:17like that most

00:32:19of the time when

00:32:21they held

00:32:22something as a

00:32:23sacred tree

00:32:24especially if it's

00:32:25like an individual

00:32:25tree they would

00:32:26protect it from

00:32:27any kind of

00:32:28damage even the

00:32:28cutting of limbs

00:32:29and stuff like

00:32:29that but not

00:32:31always sometimes

00:32:32they would take

00:32:32these trees they

00:32:33would cut them

00:32:34out and bring

00:32:35them home to a

00:32:36personal home

00:32:37shrine to

00:32:39whatever particular

00:32:39god they were

00:32:41worshipping and

00:32:42it would be

00:32:43through the use

00:32:43of these trees

00:32:44in their home

00:32:45personal home

00:32:46shrine they would

00:32:48put these trees

00:32:48up in order to

00:32:50build that

00:32:50particular shrine

00:32:51or altar so I

00:32:53believe this is

00:32:54what it's actually

00:32:54talking about here

00:32:55it's talking about

00:32:56the cutting the

00:32:56tree and then

00:32:57bringing it back

00:32:58with them now a

00:32:59lot of people

00:33:00would actually say

00:33:00that this is not

00:33:01actually referring to

00:33:03something similar to

00:33:04a Christmas tree but

00:33:05it's actually

00:33:05referring to a

00:33:06carved idol okay

00:33:08maybe but probably

00:33:09not because it

00:33:10doesn't say

00:33:11anything about

00:33:11carving it or

00:33:12whatnot and it

00:33:14says they cut it

00:33:15from the forest

00:33:16and that's it

00:33:17besides the

00:33:18decoration and it

00:33:19goes on to say

00:33:20they beautify it

00:33:21with silver and

00:33:22gold they decorate

00:33:24it they highly

00:33:24revere this tree

00:33:26they dress it up

00:33:28they take put a

00:33:30lot of time and

00:33:30effort and energy

00:33:31into making this

00:33:33particular tree that

00:33:34they cut and

00:33:34brought back and

00:33:35they put a lot of

00:33:36time and energy

00:33:37into making it

00:33:37look good and

00:33:38look beautiful

00:33:39and once it

00:33:43well we'll get

00:33:44into that in just

00:33:44a minute and

00:33:45then it says

00:33:45they strengthen it

00:33:46with nails and

00:33:47hammers so that

00:33:47it does not

00:33:48topple they want

00:33:48to cut it from

00:33:49the forest bring

00:33:50it back to their

00:33:51home with them

00:33:51and then secure

00:33:52it upright so

00:33:53that it doesn't

00:33:53fall over so it

00:33:54still looks like

00:33:55it's upright and

00:33:56still growing and

00:33:58decorate it and all

00:33:59this other stuff

00:33:59I mean seriously

00:34:02what in the world

00:34:03does that remind

00:34:05you of and

00:34:06scripture right

00:34:06here talking

00:34:07specifically about

00:34:08it and like I

00:34:09said some people

00:34:10will push back

00:34:11and say this is

00:34:12not referring to

00:34:13Christmas trees

00:34:14okay well I think

00:34:15it is but let's

00:34:16for the sake of

00:34:17conversation let's

00:34:18grant that to you

00:34:19for just a moment

00:34:20and think about

00:34:20that it's still

00:34:22talking about

00:34:23cutting a tree

00:34:24whether you carve

00:34:26it out or don't

00:34:26carve it out and

00:34:27then bringing it

00:34:27back beautifying

00:34:29it and hammering

00:34:31it down so it

00:34:31does not move

00:34:32so it's still

00:34:32upright like it

00:34:33was in back in

00:34:34the forest is

00:34:35still the use of

00:34:36a tree within

00:34:38your religious

00:34:38worship and it's

00:34:40still something

00:34:41that Yahweh

00:34:42condemns so

00:34:44either way you

00:34:45can call it a

00:34:45Christmas tree or

00:34:46if you want to

00:34:47somehow call it

00:34:47an idol a

00:34:48carved idol that's

00:34:49fine it's still

00:34:51prohibited it's

00:34:52still the use of

00:34:54a tree in

00:34:54religious worship

00:34:55and that is

00:34:56dendronauty and

00:34:57that is

00:34:58prohibited

00:34:58whichever way

00:35:00you go with

00:35:00it which will

00:35:01be kind of

00:35:02interesting to

00:35:02see for all of

00:35:04you watching the

00:35:04video right now

00:35:05you can go on

00:35:07to YouTube or

00:35:08BitChute or

00:35:09Rumble or

00:35:09wherever we

00:35:10host our

00:35:10videos at and

00:35:13go down below

00:35:13and let us know

00:35:15your opinion on

00:35:15this particular

00:35:16passage in the

00:35:17comments do you

00:35:18think this is

00:35:19referring to

00:35:19Christmas trees

00:35:20as we think of

00:35:21them nowadays or

00:35:22do you think this

00:35:23is referring to a

00:35:25carved idol that

00:35:26they might set

00:35:26up like a

00:35:27totem pole or

00:35:28something let us

00:35:29know down in the

00:35:29comments and if

00:35:30you have any

00:35:30reasoning go with

00:35:31your decision or

00:35:33your assertion

00:35:34include that as

00:35:35well so that we

00:35:36can all examine it

00:35:37and think about how

00:35:39you're thinking of

00:35:40this be interesting to

00:35:41see what the

00:35:42audience thinks about

00:35:43this particular

00:35:44passage that's not

00:35:46all the push I'm

00:35:47going to start not

00:35:48all the prohibitions

00:35:49against dendronauty in

00:35:50scripture this is a

00:35:51few examples go check

00:35:52out the notes for

00:35:53even more and

00:35:54you go do your

00:35:55own research you'll

00:35:55find probably even

00:35:56more than that I'm

00:35:57not going to claim to

00:35:58have an exhaustive

00:35:59list but there's a

00:36:00lot more than what

00:36:01we've just presented

00:36:02here so far so

00:36:04some possible

00:36:05possible pushbacks

00:36:06that people may

00:36:08come up with and

00:36:08this is examples

00:36:10from scripture

00:36:11itself so let's

00:36:13look at that real

00:36:14quick let's look

00:36:16at the example of

00:36:18creation we should

00:36:19say here we've got

00:36:21Genesis chapter 2

00:36:22verse 9 and out

00:36:24of the ground

00:36:25Yahweh Elohim made

00:36:26every tree grow that

00:36:27is pleasant to the

00:36:28sight and good for

00:36:28food with a tree of

00:36:30life in the midst of

00:36:31the garden and the

00:36:31tree of the knowledge

00:36:32of good and evil

00:36:33everyone knows this

00:36:35story there's two

00:36:36tree or two

00:36:37particular trees that

00:36:38pointed out in the

00:36:39creation story and

00:36:39that's the tree of

00:36:40life and the tree of

00:36:41knowledge of good and

00:36:42evil isn't this a

00:36:44use of dendronauty

00:36:45no not at all this

00:36:48and keep this in mind

00:36:48as we go through the

00:36:49rest of these passages

00:36:50but this is a good

00:36:51example of scripture

00:36:53just referencing

00:36:54something and then

00:36:55that's it no more

00:36:59about the tree of

00:37:00knowledge of good and

00:37:00evil because it's done

00:37:01and over with after

00:37:03the they kicked out of

00:37:04creation or kicked out

00:37:06of the garden and

00:37:08this not ever used

00:37:09again in any kind of

00:37:10remembrance or any

00:37:11kind of holiday any

00:37:12kind of moedim

00:37:13anything like that

00:37:13it's just not used

00:37:14it's not even spoken

00:37:16of again the tree of

00:37:17life is again referenced

00:37:19in revelation about

00:37:20the end times but

00:37:21that itself is just

00:37:23mentioned and it's

00:37:24never celebrated it's

00:37:26never recreated in

00:37:28any kind of holiday or

00:37:30moedim or ritual or

00:37:32anything like that

00:37:33once again this is just

00:37:35scripture mentioning a

00:37:37tree no reverence or

00:37:40sacredness or

00:37:41continuation of the

00:37:42remembrance whatsoever

00:37:44in all of scripture

00:37:45moving on to some

00:37:48examples from the

00:37:49life of Abraham

00:37:51Genesis chapter 13

00:37:53verses 18 so

00:37:55Abraham moved his

00:37:56tent and went and

00:37:57dwelt by the

00:37:57terebinth trees of

00:37:59Mamre which are in

00:38:00Hebron and built a

00:38:01slaughter place there

00:38:02to Yahweh once again

00:38:05it just mentions where

00:38:06Abraham went or

00:38:08Abram at this point

00:38:09where Abram went and

00:38:10what he did but

00:38:11nothing further than

00:38:13that about the

00:38:14particular tree it

00:38:15was just that's

00:38:17where he was it's

00:38:17just a mention of

00:38:18trees this is

00:38:20chapter 18 verse 1

00:38:21and Yahweh appeared

00:38:23to him by the

00:38:24terebinth trees of

00:38:25Mamre same location

00:38:27while he was sitting

00:38:29in the tent door in

00:38:30the heat of the day

00:38:31so once again it's a

00:38:34mention of trees

00:38:36there's nothing

00:38:36special about it

00:38:37it just happened to

00:38:38be that's where

00:38:39Abram was and

00:38:41that's where Yahweh

00:38:43appeared to him

00:38:44it could have been

00:38:45on a mountaintop

00:38:46there's nothing

00:38:47special about the

00:38:48trees it just

00:38:49happened to be where

00:38:50he was and once

00:38:51again these trees are

00:38:52never mentioned again

00:38:53and never celebrated

00:38:55or remembered or

00:38:56anything like that

00:38:57in any ritual in any

00:38:59worship service in any

00:39:00Moedim or holiday or

00:39:01anything like that

00:39:02and then go on to

00:39:04Genesis chapter 21

00:39:05verse 33

00:39:06speaking of Abram or

00:39:08Abraham and he

00:39:09planted a tamarisk tree

00:39:10in Beersheba and

00:39:11there called on the

00:39:12name of Yahweh the

00:39:14everlasting elm

00:39:15once again you've

00:39:17probably catching on

00:39:17to the theme here

00:39:18it just tells what

00:39:20Abraham did and

00:39:21after that no more

00:39:23mention of the tree

00:39:23this is like you

00:39:25know so and so

00:39:27walked across or

00:39:29went to a

00:39:30particular place

00:39:31it's not that

00:39:32particular ground is

00:39:33therefore and

00:39:35forever sacred and

00:39:35holy and we should

00:39:36use it in our

00:39:37worship services no

00:39:38it's just a mention

00:39:39of something and

00:39:40here they're just

00:39:41simply mentioning

00:39:42Abraham planted a

00:39:44tree that's it

00:39:46done some other

00:39:49possible pushbacks

00:39:50let's look at

00:39:52Joshua Joshua 24 26

00:39:55then Yehoshua wrote

00:39:57these words in the

00:39:58book of the Torah of

00:39:59Elohim and he took

00:40:00a large stone and

00:40:02set it up there under

00:40:03the oak that was by

00:40:04the set apart place of

00:40:06Yahweh once again

00:40:08it's a different tree

00:40:09so it's not the same

00:40:12tree not a tamarisk

00:40:13tree or whatever

00:40:14had been mentioned

00:40:17before in any of the

00:40:18books of the Bible

00:40:18this is a go back

00:40:22oak tree yeah in this

00:40:25particular translation

00:40:25anyways it's just a

00:40:26mention it says

00:40:28Joshua or Joshua set up

00:40:30an altar there I'm

00:40:32sorry he put up a

00:40:33stone there I guess

00:40:35correct he put up a

00:40:36stone there at that

00:40:36tree and that's last

00:40:37mention of it there's

00:40:39no celebration of the

00:40:40tree there's no

00:40:40remembrance of the

00:40:41tree there's no

00:40:42recreation of the tree

00:40:43in future celebrations

00:40:44nothing like that

00:40:45let's go on look at

00:40:47Judges chapter 6 verse

00:40:4811 and the messenger

00:40:50of Yahweh came and

00:40:52sat under the

00:40:53terebinth tree which

00:40:55was in Ophrah which

00:40:56belonged to Yoash the

00:40:57Abbiezerite while his

00:41:00son Gidon threshed

00:41:02wheat in the wine

00:41:03press to hide it from

00:41:04the eyes of the

00:41:05Midianites so here

00:41:06once again it's just

00:41:08talking about the

00:41:08messenger of Yahweh or

00:41:10the angel of Yahweh who

00:41:11came and sat under a

00:41:13tree probably just

00:41:14cooling himself from the

00:41:15heat of the day but

00:41:17once again there's

00:41:18nothing special about

00:41:19the tree it's just

00:41:20mentioned in the

00:41:22particular story in a

00:41:23particular passage it's

00:41:24not celebrated again and

00:41:26again it's not

00:41:26recreated or decorated or

00:41:28anything like that it's

00:41:30just mentioned done

00:41:32that's it and finally let's

00:41:35look at one more

00:41:36example of maybe a

00:41:38pushback and this is

00:41:40something that's probably

00:41:41got the most weight as

00:41:43far as a pushback goes

00:41:44but when you really get

00:41:45into it it's not really a

00:41:48pushback let's look at

00:41:49that in Sukkot for those

00:41:52of you who don't know

00:41:52we'll be getting into this

00:41:53in our Sukkot teaching here

00:41:55in a couple weeks but

00:41:56spoiler alert for those of

00:41:58you don't know Sukkot

00:41:59the take the what they

00:42:01call it four species and

00:42:04we'll get to it just a

00:42:04moment but pay particular

00:42:07attention to how these

00:42:09are described and how

00:42:10they are used and what is

00:42:11to be used keep that in

00:42:13mind this comes from

00:42:14Leviticus chapter 23

00:42:16verses 39 to 41 and on

00:42:19the 15th day of the

00:42:21seventh new moon when you

00:42:22gather in the fruit of the

00:42:23land celebrate the

00:42:25festival of Yahweh for

00:42:26seven days on the first

00:42:28day is a rest and on the

00:42:29eighth day is a rest and

00:42:32you shall take for

00:42:32yourselves on the first

00:42:33day the fruit of good

00:42:34trees branches of palm

00:42:37trees twigs of leafy

00:42:38trees and willows of the

00:42:40stream and shall rejoice

00:42:42before Yahweh your

00:42:43Elohim for seven days

00:42:45and you shall celebrate it

00:42:47as a festival to Yahweh

00:42:49for seven days in the

00:42:50year a law forever in

00:42:52your generations celebrate

00:42:54it in the seventh new

00:42:55moon did you pay

00:42:57attention there when we

00:42:58read through that let's

00:43:00read over that particular

00:43:01section where it's talking

00:43:01about what to use real

00:43:03quick says here take for

00:43:05yourselves on the first

00:43:06day the fruit of good

00:43:08trees branches of palm

00:43:11trees twigs of leafy

00:43:15trees and willows of the

00:43:18stream those are the four

00:43:19different species that they

00:43:21refer to how is this a

00:43:23pushback or how is it not

00:43:24really a pushback at all

00:43:26well number one the

00:43:27branches of Sukkot that

00:43:29are prescribed that you

00:43:30just see here they're

00:43:31actually commanded and

00:43:32prescribed by Yahweh

00:43:34they're not made up by

00:43:35some pagan priest just

00:43:37going along and you know

00:43:39pulling it out of his

00:43:40rear end as they go

00:43:41through the day these are

00:43:43actually prescribed by the

00:43:45one true God the only God

00:43:47that's ever existed they're

00:43:48prescribed by Yahweh and

00:43:49they do not come from pagan

00:43:51sources so that's an

00:43:53important first thing to

00:43:55point out number two the

00:43:57whole tree is not used only

00:43:59the branches are used or

00:44:01the twigs are used but not

00:44:03the whole tree and this is

00:44:05stands in stark

00:44:06contradiction the way that

00:44:08the pagans used trees in the

00:44:10worship of their false gods

00:44:12number three the branches that

00:44:15are used are not decorated if

00:44:18you've ever been to a Sukkot

00:44:19celebration you'll see the

00:44:21four species you'll have the

00:44:23three different branches in

00:44:25usually in one bundle most

00:44:26of the time I've seen that

00:44:27way and then the etrog or the

00:44:29fruit separate from that but

00:44:32these branches that are used

00:44:34yeah they may be bundled up

00:44:36together but they're not

00:44:37decorated they don't have

00:44:38silver and gold around them

00:44:40they don't have little

00:44:41decorations hanging from them

00:44:42they're not dressed up they're

00:44:44not adorned like some idol

00:44:47though they are just there and

00:44:50that's it and that's what

00:44:52scripture tells you to do is to

00:44:53take these particular when we go

00:44:56over again these particular

00:44:57branches of palm trees twigs

00:44:58leafy trees and willows of the

00:45:00stream just take them and that's

00:45:01it no dressing up no adornment

00:45:04nothing like that

00:45:05number four another reason why

00:45:10this is not a valid pushback is

00:45:12that the branches used they do not

00:45:14have any praise songs sung to

00:45:17them now I did not in my

00:45:20research come up with any songs

00:45:22that were sung by the pagans to

00:45:24their particular trees but you can

00:45:25kind of understand that they

00:45:27probably would have and nowadays a

00:45:30particular tree has a song sung to

00:45:33it at the end of every year and

00:45:35we'll go over that in just a

00:45:36minute but these four species

00:45:38within Sukkot they do not have any

00:45:40praise songs sung to them number

00:45:44five the branches used are not

00:45:45placed in a prominent domineering

00:45:47location it's not like you got

00:45:49your house and then these four

00:45:52species just take up the entire

00:45:54view of a living room window they

00:45:57not take up an entire living room

00:45:59they do not you know they're not in

00:46:00a prominent domineering location

00:46:02like some other examples that we

00:46:04could give that you probably are

00:46:06already thinking about right now

00:46:07no these four species have you ever

00:46:10seen the lulav they are just used

00:46:13used they're waved and then they're

00:46:15put down put away that's it

00:46:17after you know the whole ceremony

00:46:21gets done people might come up and

00:46:22look at them and stuff like that

00:46:23but they're not they don't stand out

00:46:25and grab your attention when you just

00:46:27turn around nothing like that they're

00:46:29just there sometimes you have to

00:46:32specifically look for them to even

00:46:33find them they're not in a prominent

00:46:35or domineering location they do not

00:46:36immediately take up your visual space

00:46:39when you're walking into a room

00:46:40no one bows down to these branches

00:46:44and you may say well i don't bow down

00:46:47to this and that but we'll show you in

00:46:49just a minute how you you know they

00:46:51actually do bow down to particular

00:46:54things

00:46:54and finally the branches are not used

00:46:58respected or sought after outside of

00:47:01believers and jews and what i mean by

00:47:04that is that with christmas trees and

00:47:07whole christmas celebration that is

00:47:09something that is accepted and

00:47:10practiced by secular society by

00:47:14wiccans and pagans even by those

00:47:16outside of churchianity and outside of

00:47:20christianity stuff like that so it's

00:47:22widely accepted and this whole

00:47:25christmas tree and christmas thing is a

00:47:27wide road not a narrow road the

00:47:31branches for sukkot and sukkot itself

00:47:32is a narrow road get the reference

00:47:36so that's something else to point out

00:47:39as well as to why these this uh pushback

00:47:42of the sukkot for species is not a

00:47:45valid pushback so now let's get into a

00:47:48visual thought experiment a practical

00:47:51thought experiment regarding christmas

00:47:54trees now stay with me through this

00:47:56because i've put a decent amount of time

00:47:58into this whole presentation sections

00:48:00coming up

00:48:00think with me through this and if

00:48:03something's off or if i got something

00:48:05out of place or wrong then by all means

00:48:08let us know down in the comments which

00:48:10particular point that's wrong and why

00:48:13it's wrong

00:48:14and we'll examine that i'd love to have a

00:48:17conversation with you about it but let's

00:48:19go through this this is a practical

00:48:21thought experiment about christmas trees

00:48:24number one the christmas tree

00:48:27becomes a focal point of the holiday

00:48:30celebration you've got your normal everyday

00:48:35living room your house and stuff like

00:48:37that and then it comes around to that

00:48:40time of year and the christmas tree takes

00:48:42up a prominent focal point within your

00:48:46home both with in your own personal view

00:48:50space and usually in a window so that

00:48:52everybody outside can be automatically

00:48:54drawn to that christmas tree every year

00:48:58after it takes up a prominent

00:49:00domineering focal point within your home

00:49:04you then or most people who celebrate

00:49:07this then adorn it with lights and

00:49:09ornaments usually a star and they

00:49:12transform it into a revered object

00:49:16you'll see some

00:49:18some other examples here from other

00:49:21parts of the world too but we'll get into

00:49:23that in just a moment so after they get

00:49:25it's a prominent place in the home and

00:49:27where everybody can see it and they're

00:49:28automatically drawn to it they adorn it

00:49:30and they revere it and they make it

00:49:32extremely special with all these

00:49:36decorations after that is this tree

00:49:41after it's been beautified is presented

00:49:44with gifts gifts and offerings are placed

00:49:48underneath it and this is something so

00:49:52far that is reminiscent of other cultures

00:49:56around the world as well here is a

00:49:59picture of an altar a los muertos altar

00:50:03it's a like a day of the dead kind of

00:50:05thing these altars are built and they're

00:50:08decorated they're adorned they've got

00:50:10flowers and all kinds of colors and

00:50:13things like that they're presented with

00:50:15gifts of various statues and toys and

00:50:19pictures there's food that's presented

00:50:22to them and all this other stuff and

00:50:25this is a pagan celebration here this

00:50:28los muertos celebration and this is what

00:50:32a pagan altar looks like nowadays this

00:50:34still goes on in various parts of the

00:50:36world here's another los muertos altar

00:50:39again you can see how decorated and

00:50:43revered it is and all the gifts that has

00:50:45been presented to it the fruits and the

00:50:48pictures and the statues and various

00:50:51symbolic things presented to this

00:50:54particular altar and it's not just the

00:50:57los muertos celebration it's also other

00:51:04things around the world too like the

00:51:05hindu elephant shrine this is a some

00:51:09sort of hindu god i don't really care

00:51:11because they don't actually exist but it's

00:51:12a elephant god in the hindu religion and

00:51:16this is a shrine for this hindu elephant

00:51:19god and here i don't know if you can see

00:51:20it very well or not but up on that shrine

00:51:23there are offerings and decorations and

00:51:27that's presented with food a lot of times

00:51:29and oh my gosh and various gifts and these

00:51:33are i mean hindu is paganism let's just be

00:51:36real about it this pagan shrine this hindu

00:51:40elephant god is decorated it's adorned it's

00:51:43dressed up it's presented with gifts and food

00:51:46and all kinds of stuff

00:51:47yeah hey and i know this a lot of my

00:51:54friends and family out there this is gonna

00:51:56be hurtful for a lot of them to make this

00:51:58connection and as much as i don't want

00:52:01them to hurt this is the truth of the

00:52:03matter this is what's going on with

00:52:06dendrolatry in modern times even with

00:52:09church churchianity and the way mainstream

00:52:13christians do things sometimes

00:52:15and getting back to our subject let's get

00:52:18back on track here

00:52:19and just to recap the christmas tree takes

00:52:23a prominent domineering place within the

00:52:26home it's a door and it's dressed up

00:52:28it's beautified so it's revered as a

00:52:31special sacred object special sacred tree

00:52:36gifts are placed and offered to it and

00:52:41then people families gather around it

00:52:44it's a central point for people gather

00:52:47around most time at the end of the year

00:52:50there are songs sung to it the praises of

00:52:56this particular tree are sung just about

00:52:58every single year and for those of you who

00:53:02haven't looked up the words to the song

00:53:04oh christmas tree i looked it up and here

00:53:08are some of the more uh disturbing parts of

00:53:14that particular song and here it is just

00:53:19the disturbing parts it says oh christmas

00:53:21tree oh christmas tree how lovely are your

00:53:24branches of all the trees most lovely each

00:53:28year you bring to us delight we learn from

00:53:32all your beauty your bright green leaves with

00:53:34festive cheer give hope and strength

00:53:36throughout the year

00:53:38how does that strike you does that strike

00:53:43you as oh that's great that's you know

00:53:45jesus-oriented or does that strike you as

00:53:50some sort of dendrolatry a worship and

00:53:52praise of a tree no that is plain and

00:53:57simple the worship and praise of a tree

00:53:59talking about how beautiful and lovely this

00:54:02particular tree is it talks about how this

00:54:05tree brings them delight and happiness

00:54:08it talks about how this tree teaches them

00:54:12things through its beauty

00:54:14and it talks about how this tree gives the

00:54:22particular person singing it how this tree

00:54:24gives them hope and strength all year long

00:54:28how is that not praise of a tree that is praise

00:54:35of a tree and i would highly invite you to go

00:54:37look up the lyrics for this particular song

00:54:40oh christmas tree because in these lyrics

00:54:43there is not one single reference to the

00:54:48nativity

00:54:48now christmas time is supposed to be all

00:54:53about the birth of jesus right that's what

00:54:55we're told that's how it's sold to us

00:54:58we're told that the christmas tree is just a

00:55:03part of the decorations of christmas that the

00:55:06triangular shape is supposed to represent

00:55:08trinity the ornaments etc etc but yet there's

00:55:14nothing positive in scripture about the use of

00:55:18trees in religious worship or religious

00:55:21ceremonies and in the praise song that we've got

00:55:26presented here oh christmas tree that praise

00:55:29song has nothing in it about the nativity or jesus or

00:55:34anything like that

00:55:34in fact this song i looked up a little bit of the

00:55:39history on the song and the song oh christmas tree

00:55:42originally it was written by a guy who was making

00:55:47reference metaphorically speaking to a faithless lover and he was talking

00:55:53about how the christmas tree was more faithful than his faithless lover

00:55:57because the christmas there the tree this pine tree stayed green all year

00:56:02long meaning you know he was making reference to how the christ the tree

00:56:06would be faithful all the time just as it stayed green all the time but then it got

00:56:10changed and their lyrics were adapted but still there's nothing in the lyrics

00:56:15nowadays about jesus or nativity or christmas or anything like that it's

00:56:20just about the praises of a tree

00:56:24this hearkens back to the vendrolatist practices of the pagans who revered and

00:56:35worshiped sacred trees nowhere in scripture do you find anything like this

00:56:43allowed it's all prohibited by scripture

00:56:47but remember earlier how we were talking about

00:56:53the commandment that we read said you do not bow down to them

00:56:57now some people would say well we don't bow down to it we don't worship it things like

00:57:01that okay people do bow down to the christmas tree and it's usually

00:57:08not all the time but usually children who do so they kneel down bow down to the tree

00:57:18now granted they're probably going after the presents but they're still

00:57:22bowing in front of this tree i know you've probably seen it before

00:57:27it's a bow and like i said before the most of the words the translated in

00:57:35scripture as the english word worship mean either bow down or show respect

00:57:42so in that sense it really is the worship of the tree because you're bowing down to

00:57:48it you're kneeling down to it

00:57:49in scripture speak you're showing reverence and respect to this tree

00:57:56and in that regard you are holding it sacred you are engaging in dendrolatry

00:58:02once again if any of these steps i just went through this past section if any of those are wrong

00:58:10or if you happen to disagree with them or have a different viewpoint let us know down in the

00:58:14comments we'd love to have a conversation about this and like i said try to get into specifics

00:58:20about what you mean and how you're reasoning and things like that but we'd love to hear your

00:58:24opinion and like i said we'd love to have a conversation with you about it and another

00:58:29thing to point out every year whether you engage in christmas or you know people who do or you just

00:58:35go out in public there's christmas trees everywhere but when you see a christmas tree the average person

00:58:42doesn't automatically think of jesus they don't automatically think of yeshua or yahweh or anything

00:58:47like that they just see a tree decorated up and they usually think about how much time was put

00:58:53into decorating it or how tall it is or how short it is or how many presents are underneath it it

00:58:58doesn't automatically make the mind think of jesus because there's nothing there that links back to our

00:59:05messiah there's nothing there that connects to it people try to make it fit but it doesn't because

00:59:11there's nothing there in scripture about it there's nothing there that's symbolic of it of jesus

00:59:16so there's the christmas tree does not remind anyone of the nativity now that you know about dendrology

00:59:25and some of the history now you know what it actually connects to and it's not the nativity

00:59:31in fact a lot of times every single year people put in more time going to get the tree and bring it

00:59:40back hauling it carrying it decorating it setting it up protecting it cleaning up after it they spend

00:59:47all this time during usually the month of december they spend more time doing this stuff for a tree

00:59:54than they do in reading their bible throughout the year

00:59:58and that's just the god honest truth i mean think about it how many people you know celebrate christmas

01:00:04spend more time with fussing with their tree their christmas tree than they do actually reading the

01:00:11bible some examples from my life i of course i'm of the messianic mindset so i eat kosher right i eat

01:00:19the way that yahweh told us to eat or at least the best of my abilities right i'm still learning like

01:00:26everyone else but i know not to eat pork and shellfish and bear and squirrel and critter and stuff like

01:00:32that right but i'll tell people you know i only eat kosher and these are people who claim to be

01:00:38bible believing bible reading church going christians right i'll tell them i eat kosher

01:00:43they're like well what does that mean what can you eat what can you not eat

01:00:46and it's all i can do to not be sarcastic and not be a smart aleck but i just want to ask them like

01:00:55don't you read your bible don't you know what it says not to eat

01:00:58and that's the point i'm getting to that more people spend more time busting with their christmas

01:01:06tree in one month than they do in reading their entire bible all year and that's just sad you can

01:01:14see how these particular practices have come in they have replaced the rules and the precepts and the

01:01:23commands of yahweh just like yeshua told the pharisees

01:01:28okay let's get off the soapbox and let's wrap this up real quick because i pretty much think

01:01:37you've gotten the gist of it and you've uh understood where we're going with this and the

01:01:42evidence where it's leading but in summary just go over what we've learned during this teaching

01:01:48dendrotry is defined as the worship or the veneration of trees holding trees sacred and

01:01:53either worshiping the trees directly as a god or using trees in the worship of a pagan god

01:02:01dendrotry comes from the greek words dendron meaning tree and latreia meaning worship scripture time and

01:02:09time again condemns the use of trees in religious worship in addition to every other form of pagan

01:02:17practice nowhere in scripture are trees or bushes ever used as part of worship most if not all

01:02:26face outside of the true faith practice dendrotry in some form at some point in history even in today's

01:02:36day and age and finally christmas trees are not scriptural but instead are a continuation of pagan

01:02:45dendrotry practices and that's just the god honest truth so thank you for joining us for this particular

01:02:56teaching on dendrotry we really do hope that you got something out of it and we know this can be upsetting

01:03:03and disturbing for those of you who are hearing it for the first time we uh we want you to go forth from here and do

01:03:09your own study and look into the information and the evidence for yourself once again we like we said

01:03:15at the beginning of this teaching we have a notes page that you can go and watch the on-demand video

01:03:22you can see the draw slide that you saw here on your screen you can see the notes that we took for this

01:03:28particular episode and about 13 or 14 other notes files that can aid you in your study of this particular

01:03:36subject so go check that out on our website at god honest truth.com or click on the link down below

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Oh Christmas tree and dendrolatry - Christmas in Detail 01

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