The Feast Of The Pilgrims

What feast did the Pilgrims celebrate?

There have been many questions about the American holiday called "Thanksgiving". 

First, there is the question of when was the first Thanksgiving.

Although San Juan, Puerto Rico (a US territory) is the oldest city founded by Europeans inside any possession of the United States, there is no record of any type of religious or observation to give thanks to the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) when the headquarters of the False Church of Rome for the New World was established there in 1511, or when the city was founded in 1521 by colonists from a nearby failed Spanish colony.

There are claims that the first day for giving thanks to the Father of Truth was at Saint Augustine, Florida on its founding on 8 September 1565.  However, there was no day set aside for giving thanks to the Father of Truth on that day, but rather a normal mass of the False Church of Rome was held.

Next, there are claims that the first day for giving thanks to the Father of Truth was at San Elizario, Texas on 30 April 1598.  However, what was actually celebrated on that day was "La Toma" (Taking Possession) to celebrate claiming that part of Texas for King Philip II of Spain.

Jamestown was founded in Virginia in 1607 as the first English colony, but there are no indications that there were any celebrations other than the Eucharist (communion).  Indeed, these colonists were mostly interested in acquiring wealth and had little interest in spiritual matters.

However, a ship arrived in 1619 to establish an addition to Jamestown Colony called Berkely Hundred.  The London Company that sent the ship gave orders that the day the ship arrived was to be set aside for giving thanks to the Father of Truth as a yearly holiday.  So, the first annual yearly holiday called Thanksgiving in what became the United States was celebrated on December 4, 1619.

So, why are the Pilgrims remembered at Thanksgiving?

Though the Berkely Hundred Thanksgiving was first, it is not what is commemorated every year by Thanksgiving in the United States.  

Thanksgiving celebrates the legacy of the Pilgrims, even though they were not the first English colony, nor the most successful colony, nor the first to set aside a day for giving thanks to the Father of Truth.

The fact is that Thanksgiving as we know it was never celebrated by the Pilgrims.  It was created as a conglomeration of three different celebrations and religious observations that they held in two different years.

In 1621, apparently 25 September (Tuesday) through 27 September (Thursday), Wampanoags and Pilgrims celebrated together for three days.  This celebration was a time for giving thanks to the Father of Truth for a bountiful harvest.

There was no beer at this first Thanksgiving celebration.  There was a general lack of ingredients like barley, and the small barley crop was used for bread.  However, there was wine at this first Thanksgiving celebration in Plymouth Colony.

Wild Concord grapes grew in abundance around Plymouth Colony.  This first Thanksgiving was held at the time of their harvest.

In 1623, in July two more ships came to Plymouth Colony bringing in other colonists, most of whom were what the Pilgrims referred to as "The Strangers".

("Stranger" was applied to any European that was not a Pilgrim.  They got the term from the Book of Truth (The Bible).  A stranger was anyone who was not a descendant of Israel, but lived among the descendants of Israel (Exodus 12:49).)

There was a drought when the Strangers arrived.  

After that, a third ship arrived in late September looking for supplies, when the Pilgrims were observing a fast where they prayed for rain.  Rain came and a few days later, Pilgrims and Strangers joined together in a feast that lasted for over a week that ended in early October to give thanks to the Father of Truth for a bountiful harvest.  Again, there were grapes and wine, but no beer.

The third ship left for England a couple of days later.

The only single day religious observation among these three events was the one day fast for rain in late September.  The celebration of giving thanks with the Wampanoag lasted three days, and the holiday of giving thanks with the Strangers lasted over a week.  There was no one day holiday called "Thanksgiving".

For this reason, some have argued that the Pilgrims actually fasted on the first Thanksgiving.  However, that was not a day when they were giving thanks for a bountiful harvest, but rather one that was spent praying for their harvest to be saved.

Many aspects of these three different events have been combined to make a single day holiday called, "Thanksgiving".  

For example, the Pilgrims and their Native American friends went turkey hunting on the morning of the first day and killed enough for everyone to have turkey for a week.  This is the source of the tradition of eating turkey on Thanksgiving.

However, they also caught an abundance of fish and the Wampanoag gave them five deer that they had killed in a short hunting trip on the second day of this three day celebration.  This was more meat than they could eat before it spoiled, but the Wampanoag taught them how to smoke meat to make it last through the winter.

This holiday was mostly celebrated between mid September to mid October in various states after this, always on Thursday, the day of the week that they spent feasting on the meat they had gotten on the previous two days in 1621.  It often to coincide with the time of the ripening of wild Concord grapes in each local.

So, since the Pilgrims were not celebrating a single day holiday called Thanksgiving at the end of November, then what were they celebrating?

The answer to that question begins with understanding the religion of the Pilgrims.

There were many groups among the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) that disagreed with many of the teachings of the Church of England. These teachings were inherited from the False Church of Rome.  Some groups tried to purify the Church of England of these teachings from within.  They were called Puritans.

However, some Puritans gave up all hope of purifying the Church of England from these practices.  They advocated complete separation from the Church of England.  They were known as Separatists.

However, the Separatists were not all in agreement with each other.  Some were Calvinists, but others were not.

Most Separatists rejected celebrating the holidays of the False Church of Rome.  They wanted nothing to do with these holidays that came from idol worship.  In "The Mensch who killed Christmas", they would have been those who heeded the warnings of the Mensch.

Among those Separatists which were not Calvinists, was a group of Separatists who followed the teachings of Robert Browne.  They were known as Brownists.

Brownists took the Book of Truth as the final authority in all matters.  They not only did not observe the holidays of the False Church of Rome, but they took things a lot further in following the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) than other Separatists.  

Brownists observed the commandments of the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law), because the Man of Truth said that these commandments were still in effect as long as Heaven and Earth were still standing (Matthew 5:18).

So, Brownists asked the Father of Truth, "What's for dinner" and only ate what He said was food.  They also knew who changed the Sabbath, so they congregated on Saturday - the actual Sabbath.  

The holidays Brownists celebrated were those that form the acts of The Greatest Play Ever.  They knew that it's not just a Jewish thing to keep these holidays.  

Brownists knew that these were the holidays of the Father of Truth (Leviticus 23:1-4).  They knew when these holidays occurred, including the three that happened in the Fall (Leviticus 23:5-38).  They knew that these were not holidays created by Moses (Leviticus 23:44).  

Brownists knew that the Man of Truth kept these holidays, including the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) (John 7:2-10).  They knew that Paul the Jew kept these holidays with the Gentile Children of Truth (Acts 20:6).  They knew that Paul the Jew continue to observe holidays like The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), also called The Fast, because everyone fasted on that day (Acts 27:9).

Some Brownists took separation from the Church of England even further when they were persecuted by the English government for their observing different holidays than the rest of England.  They decided that they had to not just separate from the Church of England, but from England itself.  So, they fled to Leiden, Holland.

These Brownists were the Pilgrims.

The Pilgrims continued to publish books and tracts with their teachings in English from Leiden.  They  smuggled these books into England continually.  More and more people became Brownists.  The King of England was concerned that this would cause a civil war.  

The King of England could not send people to Holland to arrest the Pilgrims, because Holland had made it plain that such action would be a breach of its sovereignty.  Holland was the only ally of England at the time, since most of the rest of Europe was still under the control of the False Church of Rome.  

However, after living in Leiden for a while, the Pilgrims realized that Human Secularism was perhaps an even greater problem than the Church of England.  So, they decide that they needed to not just separate from England, but to separate from Europe.

So, when the Pilgrims sent a representative to the King of England asking for a charter for them to start an English colony in the New World, he was all too glad to grant it. It was a no lose proposition for him.

If the Pilgrims were successful, then England would have another colony in the New World.  If not, then they certainly would not be able to cause any more problems for England.  Also, their publishing books in Holland and smuggling them into England, which was leading to ever greater resentment of the Church of England in England, would come to an end.

So, that in the Fall of that first year in the New World, 1621, they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, which ran from 21 September to 28 September.  They simply invited the Wampanoag to join them for three days of that eight day feast - 25 September (Tuesday) thru 27 September (Thursday).

The first two days they hunted and fished with the Wampanoag.  On the third day, Thursday, they had a grand feast featuring the meat they got from hunting.  On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, 28 September (Friday), they took down their temporary shelters and congregated together.

(Note that England and its colonies did not adopt the Gregorian Calendar until 1752.  The Pilgrims and those Englishmen who encountered them were still using the dates given by the Julian calendar in their writings.  This means that 21 September 1621 fell on a Friday for the Pilgrims, while it fell on a Tuesday for most of Europe.)

Then in the Fall of their third year in the New World, 1623, they sought the Father of Truth for rain during a fast.  This was the Fast of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) that fell on 25 September 1623.  This was just after the arrival of the third ship.

This was a one day observance like Thanksgiving.

The Pilgrims then observed the Feast of Tabernacles from 30 September to 7 October.  This is the celebration joined in by those from the third ship that stopped by the colony to get supplies.

The rain that saved their crops ended a couple of days later, and the ship was able to return to England laden with supplies, including pumpkins. 

Thus began the association of pumpkins with Thanksgiving, instead of grapes.

The Pilgrims found it providential that there was such an abundance of wild Concord grapes in their colony.  The wild Concord grapes that were eaten and the wine that was made from them were associated with the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Feast of Tabernacles is also a harvest festival that occurs when the fruit has been gathered in (Leviticus 23:39-43). Everyone is to bring in part of their harvest for a feast and make sure that everyone, even Strangers, have plenty to eat (Deuteronomy 14:22-27).  The Feast of Tabernacles is the time to bring in the wine at the end of the grape harvest (Deuteronomy 16:13-15).

The grapes native to the land of Israel start ripening just before the start of Summer at the earliest and finish ripening a couple of days before the Fall Equinox at the latest.  So, the grapes native to the land of Israel are always finished ripening before the start of the Feast of Tabernacles.

However, the wild Concord grapes native to America do not start ripening until about the last week of August and do not finish ripening until the last week of November.  There have even been cases where clusters of wild Concord grapes have been harvested after cold weather set in and killed the vine that grew them.  

(Even cultivars derived from wild Concord grapes that have been introduced into the land of Israel do not finish ripening until November in the Golan Heights.)

This has led to confusion over when the Pilgrims had the three events that inspired Thanksgiving, with the first week of September being the earliest possible date and last week of November being the latest possible date.

However, pumpkins finished ripening right before the Feast of Tabernacles where the Pilgrims lived. So, pumpkins became a more reliable indicator of the time of the Feast of Tabernacles than wild Concord grapes for the Pilgrims.

Also, pumpkins were introduced to the Pilgrims by the Wampanoags and were definitely part of the feast in 1621.

Lastly, pumpkins are indigenous to the New Word, and most are grown in the northern United States where the Pilgrims held their observations of the Feast of Tabernacles.  Pumpkins are definitely more American than apple pie.

Pumpkins also play a part in answering another question:

Why is Thanksgiving observed in November? 

Answering this questions begins with clarifying some misconceptions about when the Pilgrims had their celebration for giving thanks for a bountiful harvest each year.

Some historians have suggested that the Pilgrims were celebrating Michaelmas, and it became transformed into Thanksgiving. 

Michaelmas was observed as a harvest festival in England on 29 September every year.  It was close to the time of the Feast of Tabernacles in 1621 and 1623. The Feast of Tabernacles in 1621 ended one day before Michaelmas and the Feast of Tabernacles in 1623 began one day after Michaelmas.

Michaelmas was a day devoted to the archangel Michael.  The Book of Truth warns against worshiping angels (Colossians 2:18-19).  

As Brownists, the Pilgrims certainly did not celebrate Michaelmas.  In fact, Michaelmas is the very kind of thing that they came to the New World to get away from!

Another source of confusion is how the Pilgrims made yearly proclamations of the time of their celebration.  Some years, they were celebrating in September and other years in October.  This is because the Feast of Tabernacles is based on a lunar calendar, which causes it to move around in a one month window on the Julian and Gregorian calendars for same reasons as Easter.

As more of the Strangers moved into Plymouth Colony, the nature of the celebration began to change.

Eventually, the Strangers had a one day civil celebration to commemorate the Thursday when Wampanoags and Pilgrims feasted together on the meat that they had gained hunting the previous two days.  So, they shrunk the eight day Feast of Tabernacles for giving thanks to the Father of Truth down to a single day observation like the Fast.  The date of this civil holiday was declared by the governor of the colony and varied from year to year.

For a while, it occurred on the last Thursday of the Feast of Tabernacles, which was still being observed by the ever shrinking percentage of Plymouth Colony who were Pilgrims.  This still placed it after the pumpkin harvest there.

As the Strangers moved out of Plymouth Colonies to other colonies, they took the tradition of setting aside a Thursday after the pumpkin harvest to give thanks to the Father of Truth.  

Governors of other colonies began making yearly declarations of a day of thanksgiving to the Father of Truth on a Thursday following the pumpkin harvest.  Many colonies eventually set this holiday of Thanksgiving to be the first Thursday after the latest possible date for the pumpkin harvest.

By the time of the American Revolution, all thirteen colonies were observing Thanksgiving.  Ironically, Plymouth Colony, where it had started, cease to exist and had been absorbed into Massachusetts Colony.

However, the time of the pumpkin harvest was not consistent from one colony to another.  So, in a northern colony like Vermont, Thanksgiving could be in September, while in a southern colony like Georgia, it could be in October.

So, in 1777, the Continental Congress proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving.  

Like the first and eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, this national day of thanksgiving was a day where people were to rest from their usual work and recreational activities to congregate together to give thanks to the Father of Truth for a bountiful harvest and other blessings throughout the year.

When George Washington became the first American President, he made a yearly proclamation of the date of this national day of thanksgiving.  Most American Presidents that came after him did the same, except for Thomas Jefferson.

However, this did not really bring any kind of uniformity among the states.  

The day proclaimed each year as a national day of thanksgiving could never coincide with the day observed by every state.  So, in some states people would observe the national day declared by the president, some would observe the day determined by their state, and some people would observe both.

So, in 1863, President Lincoln called for a nation day of thanksgiving for the bountiful prosperity of America despite the ravages of the Civil War that as raging.  Thanksgiving has been observed as a national holiday ever since that time.

President Lincoln set the date to be yearly on the last Thursday of November.  This date insured that the last pumpkin harvest in the United States, the second Florida pumpkin harvest, would always be over by Thanksgiving. 

(Florida has two pumpkin planting seasons, one in March and one in August.  Pumpkins are ready to harvest around 100 days after planting.  So the end of the second Florida pumpkin season is towards the end of November.)

This date also allowed Thanksgiving to replace Evacuation Day, a de facto national holiday on 25 November to commemorate the day the British finished evacuating at the end of the American Revolution.

So, how did Thanksgiving get moved to fourth Thursday of November?

Every American president after Lincoln continued to declare the last Thursday of November to be Thanksgiving Day until 1939. 

President Franklyn Roosevelt declared the fourth Thursday of November to be Thanksgiving Day, since 1939 had five Thursdays.  He did this at the request of the founder of the department store that became Macy's, so there would be a longer Christmas shopping season.  

(Most Americans refused to engage in Christmas shopping until after Thanksgiving, because they did not want any distractions from the importance of the purpose of Thanksgiving.)

He then declared the third Thursday of November to be Thanksgiving Day in 1940 and 1941, since it those years had four Thursdays and he wanted to extend the Christmas shopping season.

This led to the same confusion that President Lincoln had ended.  About half the states celebrated Thanksgiving on the day declared by President Roosevelt, about half celebrated Thanksgiving on the day established by President Lincoln, and a few celebrated both.

So in 1942, the American Congress passed a law setting Thanksgiving Day as the fourth Thursday of November every year, which was a compromise with President Roosevelt.  The date of Thanksgiving has been set at that every since then.

However, this began to move Thanksgiving away from its meaning.

This focusing on the pursuit of wealth over the pursuit of the Father of Truth has led to the disintegration of Thanksgiving.

For most Americans, Thanksgiving is no longer a day for putting aside pursuits of business and personal pleasure to spend giving thanks to the Father of Truth for every good thing in their life.  For them, it has became a day to eat too much food and pursue pleasure by doing things like watching football. 

For some of them, a few minutes of Thanksgiving are spent in giving thanks to the Father of Truth.  For the rest, there is not even the thought of giving thanks to the Father of Truth for anything.

For some, Thanksgiving has became just another opportunity to increase their wealth.

For many, Thanksgiving is nothing more than preparation day for the season of spending money that they do have to buy other people things that they do not need, so they can impress people that they do not like.  They are poised to jump into debt with no thought of escaping the Christmas Trap.  Like turkeys, Thanksgiving is not really a good thing for them. 

This change away from the original purpose of Thanksgiving came about through a subtle influence of the descendants of immigrants who did not come to America to worship the Father of Truth.  They have no connection to the Pilgrims or the Father of Truth, so they really have no connection to Thanksgiving.

It is not that different than how the Strangers and their descendants brought about Thanksgiving.

The Strangers were not Brownists like the Pilgrims.  They had no connection to the annual eight day camp meeting of the Pilgrims.  So, they created a one day religious holiday for giving thanks to the Father of Truth based on the different aspects of the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated by the Pilgrims.  

The Strangers especially focused on that Thursday in 1621 when Native Americans and European Americans feasted together as friends. 

(Since almost all of the Strangers were Separatists or Puritans, they still longed for the day when the Man of Truth would bring peace and cause all people to live in harmony with each other.  They too longed for his kingdom, where everyone would have plenty to eat.)

So, the Strangers had a civil authority declare the day of Thanksgiving each year, because their religious leaders could not agree on when to observe Thanksgiving.  This is because they did not understand why the Feast of the Pilgrims started on a different day in September or October every year.

So, the Strangers and their descendants created an American holiday called Thanksgiving that all of the American Children of Truth could celebrate together.

In the same way, the meaning of Thanksgiving has been changed to something completely different than the religious holiday that they intended.

So, now there are many in America who are against Thanksgiving altogether.

Some people are just party poopers.  They do not want to celebrate anything at anytime for any reason.

Some people see Thanksgiving as a yearly inconvenience to their endless pursuit of bigger, better, newer stuff.  

They loathe the one day interruption to their business.  They vainly imagine that everything they have that they got by their own hand.  They do not consider that the Father of Truth gave them their talents and health that allowed them to gain wealth.

Some people object to Thanksgiving because it is not a celebration commanded in the Law of Truth.  

They do not consider the whole counsel of the Father of Truth.  If they did, then they would understand that the Children of Truth were right to celebrate many other things in the Book of Truth.  They would know that the Man of Truth celebrated Chanukah and the Children of Truth threw a Purim Party every year.  They would know that it is right to set aside a day to give thanks to the Father of Truth.

Some people object to Thanksgiving due to mistreatment of Native Americans by European Americans since the time of the Pilgrims.  They point to things like the Great Removal of the Five Civilized Tribes.

For these reasons, they and many Native Americans see Thanksgiving as nothing more a celebration of Europeans invading their homeland to take their land.  They see the arrival of the Europeans as the arrival of sickness, famine, disease, and war that devastated their population.

So, they call Thanksgiving by other names like "Unthanksgiving" and "Thankstaking".  

Is there anything for the First Nations to be thankful for at Thanksgiving?

The truth is that there was sickness, famine, disease, and war devastating Native Americans long before the day when worlds collided.  

The archeological evidence shows that there were signs great civilizations that were gone before the first European ever showed up.  These include the ruins of cities like Mesa Verde.

Yet, by the time the first Spaniard showed up in the American Southwest, there was no visible evidence of any of these cities nor was there any memory of them among the Native Americans.  The Pueblo tribe alone seemed to remember the Anasazi, which means "the Ancient Ones", who built Mesa Verde.

There is much evidence that plagues of some sort as well as famines brought on by droughts contributed to the rapid depopulation of these cities.

The Native Americans had no written language when Europeans encountered them, but archeological evidence shows that there were at least five written languages in their lands at one time.  This includes things like birch bark scrolls that contain a written language that no one has been able to decipher or even determine which tribe spoke that language.

They also lost technologies like smelting metal and the wheel.  

Metal artifacts with wooden handles that have been carbon dated before the arrival of the first European have been found in the American Southwest.  Yet, when the first Europeans came, the only metal objects among Native Americans were those made from copper, which is the only metal that exists naturally in a pure form.  

Also, Native Americans did not use wheels, despite a child's toy with wheels that was found, which was dated long before the arrival of the Europeans.

Native Americans were very adept at war before the Europeans showed up.  

When the Vikings tried to settle in North America around 1,000 AD, they were driven out by the Cree tribe.  Native Americans taught Europeans how to fight in their own style, which was crucial to the Americans winning independence from Britain.  Many of the tactics used by the American army were first developed by Native Americans.

Native Americans had became so adept from centuries of fighting each other before a single European set foot on any part of the New World.  Some tribes wiped out other tribes completely.

So, Native Americans, like all people, have always had sickness, famine, disease, and war devastating their populations.

In their case, according to the oral history of many tribes, there had been in a long decline in their numbers that started long before they ever saw a European.  

For example, the oral history of the Muskogee (Creek) Nation tells of a large empire they had, which traded as far away as Venezuela.  

This empire was destroyed by a massive civil war.  So, the descendants of the survivors from that war were confined to a much smaller area with a much smaller population by the time the first European encountered them.  

There is DNA, linguistic, and other evidence to support their oral history.

The cause of all misery experienced by Native Americans was being part of the human race.  Death - and everything that causes it - came from the sin that lived in the flesh that they inherited from the first man - Adam (Romans 5:12).

Like all people, the ancestors of Native Americans once knew the Father of Truth, but had turned away from him to worship things that He had created, instead of Him (Romans 1:21-23).  So, they began to do all kind of terrible things to each other (Romans 1:28-31).

So, Native Americans were alienated from the life that comes only from the Father of Truth (Ephesians 4:17-19).  They were cut off from the source of all good gifts (James 1:17).

Yet, even though they had forgotten the Father of Truth, He had not forgotten them.

Native Americans were lost and without hope - until Europeans like the Pilgrims were sent to tell them how they could come back to the Father of Truth (Ephesians 2:11-13).

Native Americans could not have ever heard the Good News, if Europeans like the Pilgrims had not been sent to tell them the Good News (Romans 10:14-15).  No one can believe the Gospel without first hearing the Word of Truth (Romans 10:16-17).

What some Europeans have meant for evil, the Father of Truth turned for good to the saving of many Native Americans (Genesis 50:20).  The Pilgrims were delivered by the Father of Truth from both English men and Native Americans to tell the Good News to the Native Americans that they were sent to (Acts 26:17-18).  The troubles that came upon Pilgrims in Europe brought about the Good News being taken further than it had ever been taken before - to Native Americans (Philippians 1:12).

In like manner, some European Americans have done some terrible things to Native Americans, but the Father of Truth has caused all things to work together for those Native Americans who have come into the House of Truth (Romans 8:28).  The temporary things that they have suffered cannot compare to the eternal things that they have gained (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

So, those Native Americans who have came into the House of Truth have been reconciled by the blood that the Man of Truth shed when he died a torturous death upon the cross, and are no longer alienated from the Father of Truth (Colossians 1:20-22).  They have been called out darkness to live in the marvelous light that comes from being part of the Children of Truth (1 Peter 2:9-10).

So, Native Americans really have more to be thankful for at Thanksgiving than anyone else. 

The Man of Truth is not just the hope of the Almodadi, but he is the hope of all people.

The Father of Truth so loved all people, that He gave the Man of Truth to die for all people (John 3:16).  He showed His love for all people by having the Man of Truth die for their sins while they were still His enemies, so they could be reconciled to Him (Romans 5:8-10).

The Father of Truth now commands all people to repentance, or they will suffer under the judgment that will come from the Man of Truth, whom He raised from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).  So, surrender control of your life to the Man of Truth (Romans 10:9).  Today, is your day to follow in the footsteps of the Pilgrims and experience the true meaning of Thanksgiving (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).

Come into the House of Truth!

The Legacy of The Pilgrims

Why are the Pilgrims remembered at Thanksgiving?

Every year on the fourth Thursday of November, America observes Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving commemorates a day when the Pilgrims gave thanks to the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) for their first harvest in Plymouth Colony.

It can seem odd that the Pilgrims are remembered above all other early colonists in America.

The Pilgrims were not the first European colony to have a harvest inside the borders of the United States of America.

The first attempt at a colony in the US was the San Miguel de Gualdape colony in Georgia.  It was created in 1526 AD and only lasted four months, so it probably did not have a harvest. 

However, Saint Augustine, Florida was founded in 1565 AD and is still thriving.  It had a harvest fifty-six years before the one in Plymouth Colony.

The Pilgrims were not even the first English colony to have a harvest inside the borders of the United States of America.

The two failed attempts at establishing an English Colony in 1585 AD and 1587 AD on Roanoke Island in North Carolina appear to have had a harvest.  It is certain that the James Town colony in Virginia had a harvest after it was founded in 1607 AD, some thirteen years before the Pilgrims arrived.

Plymouth Colony was not the most successful English colony in the US.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony, found seven year later in 1628 AD by the Puritans, eventually merged with Plymouth Colony in 1692 AD.  Plymouth Colony ceased to exist, the Pilgrims faded into history, while Massachusetts Bay Colony went on to become one of the original thirteen states of the United States.

So, it is obvious that the Pilgrims are not remembered for being first to reap a harvest in the US or for being the most successful in creating a colony in the US.

The reason that the Pilgrims are remembered with a national holiday is the legacy that they left behind.

Their legacy began before they ever set foot on the New World.

The Mayflower was blown off course by a storm causing the Pilgrims to land hundreds of miles north of their original destination.  They were too low on supplies to continue to their original destination, so they had no choice but start their colony where they had landed in the area of Cape Cod.

However, the land patent and charter that they had received did not apply to the area of Cape Cod.  So, they had no governing document for their colony.

In order to prevent anarchy and chaos from prevailing, which would have surely destroyed their colony with in a few months, they formed the Mayflower Compact.  The Mayflower Compact provided for self-governance of the colony as a democratic republic through voting among all free men.   It was signed by all forty-one free men on November 21, 1620 AD.

(The 28 women, and the 33 men that had not been granted free man status, were not allowed to vote or sign the Mayflower Compact.)

The Mayflower Compact allowed the creation of an executive branch in the form of the Plymouth Colony governor, and a legislative/judicial branch in the form of the General Court.  The Governor and the General Court were elected by all the free men.

The Governor had a cabinet of seven Assistants that were appointed by the General Court.  The Governor and Assistants then appointed a Constable to rule over each town.  They also appointed Messengers to carry out the rest of the duties of the executive branch like publishing announcements, conducting land surveys, and law enforcement.

The General Court created laws based on the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) and English Common Law by majority vote within the General Court.  These laws included the death penalty for the following crimes: murder, treason, witchcraft, arson, rape, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, and striking or cursing one's own parents.

Cruel and unusual punishment was prohibited, so the death penalty was carried out by hanging or firing squad.  Lesser crimes could be punished by flogging or shaming.  Shaming began with either the guilty being placed in the stocks or their clothing being marked to identify their crime.  After this, they would face public shame and humiliation for the duration of their sentence.

Jails only existed a places to hold the accused until their trial, or until their punishment was given, if they were found guilty.  There were no long term prisons.

In 1636 AD, The General Court created the first legal code in North America.  This legal code included a bill of rights that protected basic rights of all colonists, including the right to a trial before a jury of their peers.

In that same year, the General Court also created a disabled veterans fund to take care of veterans, who had became disabled during the time of their service. 

In 1641 AD, the General Court created a Body of Liberties to protect the rights of people, who were unable to perform public services.

The General Court also had the power to raise taxes as well as authorize and keep a registry of all real estate transactions.  The General Court divided all land in the colony into six mile by six mile townships to ensure that even the most rural areas had a local governing authority.

The General Court was also the top appeals court of the Colony.  There were local courts in each township, but the accused had the right to appeal to the General Court, if found guilty of a criminal charge, or if they lost a civil suit.  A jury of twelve freemen were selected to decide manners in the local court with a judge overseeing the trial.

The General Court could also call a Grand Enquist, composed of freemen, to see if there was enough sworn testimony to warrant a trial for very serious charges, similar to a Grand Jury.

So the contractual form of government between the governed and the governing became the basis for all modern democratic republics.  The ideas first instituted by the Pilgrims were soon copied in nearby Massachusetts Bay Colony and then the other English Colonies in North America.

The Mayflower Compact is the basis of the constitution of the United States and each state.  The Pilgrims also established the system of checks and balances provided by a three branch form of government.  They also established the hierarchy of government jurisdiction that went from the most rural township to the government over the entire political state.

So, the first legacy of the Pilgrims was the basic form of the government and laws of the United States.

The Pilgrims did not just create townships, but also the structure of those townships.  Each township was the community of a single congregation that met together in the same church building each week.  Each congregation was self-governing as well.

When a community began, there was absolutely no concept of the separation of church and state as people today might think.

The church building was the center of the township, often literally.  The same building was also the public school building during the week.  It was also the town hall where people met to discuss community affairs.  It also served the site of social functions like dances.  Lastly, it was also the place where all other community business was conducted such as voting.

Not only that, but the pastor of the congregation was usually also the school master during the week.  He also frequently appointed as the Constable of the township in rural communities.

For all intents and purposes, the most influence member of these communities was the local pastor.  School curriculum and government policy were largely shaped by his sermons.  He was consulted for advice on such matters.  Rarely were these things formulated without his approval.

Even when a community grew larger and started having separate buildings for different functions, the teachers, government officials, and all other members of the same community still attended the same congregation together.

When a community got too large to meet as a single congregation, then a second congregation would typically be started in the most populated portion of the township and another church building built.  People typically were members of the nearest congregation in these cases.  In effect, the township now contained two communities, not just one.

Eventually, as a township became urbanized it might have many churches inside of it, but families still typically would be members of the nearest congregation.  Each of these congregations would be their own community.

Eventually, these urbanized townships would join together to form a single city.  However, inside that city, there would still be a number of communities.  Each of these community still centered around a congregation that met together each week in the same place of worship.

This congregationalist model was copied by other colonies as the main means to create new communities.  This pattern for creating communities established by the Pilgrims was used by pioneers as the United States continued to expand.

(For example, The Mountain View Church in Washington County, Arkansas, had also been the school.  Our pews had fold up desks on the back of them.  It was also the polling place and was where all governance of the Mountain View township had been conducted.)

So, the second legacy of the Pilgrims was the congregationalist model that became the standard for forming communities across the United States.

The Pilgrims were not just satisfied with creating Christian congregations for the European colonists, but were very active in efforts to bring Native Americans into the House of Truth.  They sought to show the goodness of the Father of Truth to them, with the belief that the Native Americans would come to repentance once they understood His goodness.

The Pilgrims soon got their chance to bring the Good News to a Native American in a rather unexpected way.

They had spent the winter in the Mayflower, since they had arrived too late to build adequate shelter ashore.  Not long after they began building their first settlement on the site of an abandoned Native American village, a Native American named Samoset boldly walked into their settlement and greeted them with, "Welcome, Englishmen!".  He then asked if he could have some beer.

Samoset had learned English from English fishermen.  He had traveled with them from his native land in modern Maine to Cape Cod.  He had come to meet with Massasoit, the Sachem of the Wampanoags.  When he learned about the Mayflower, he decided to meet the Pilgrims once they came onshore.

Samoset explained to the Pilgrims that the abandoned village had been named Patuxet.  He told them of how a great plague had killed everyone in Patuxet.  He then told them about Squanto (Tisquantum), the only survivor of the Patuxet.

Samoset spent the night with the Pilgrims and promised to return with Squanto as well as Massasoit,

Squanto and Massasoit were hesitant to meet the Pilgrims at first.  After all, their previous encounters with Englishmen had not gone well.  Still, Samoset was able to convince Squanto and Massasoit to meet with the Pilgrims.

When they arrived, Squanto spoke the Pilgrims in very good English.  He explained to them about how he had came to speak such good English and be so familiar with English customs.

Captain John Smith had to return to England with one of the fishing ships.  He left instructions for Captain Thomas Hunt to head to Spain to sell the dried fish, when the ship was full.  However, Captain Hunt decided to enslave some of the Native Americans and sell them as well.

So, Captain Hunt invited twenty of Patuxet villagers to his ship to discuss trade in 1614 AD.  Then kidnapped them.  Captain Hunt tried to sell them as slaves in Spain, but some Monks figured out what he had done and forced him to give the Native Americans to them for free.

The Monks then educated the Native Americans in Christianity (as they understood it) and helped them go to England, with the hope that they could find voyage back to their native land.  In England, Squanto learned English and eventually found voyage as a guide for Captain Robert Gorges.

When they arrived in area of Cape Cod, Massasoit avenged the earlier treachery of Captain Hunt by massacring the party sent by Captain Gorges.  He then brought Squanto back into his village in 1619 AD.

However, Squanto and Massasoit found the Pilgrims to be quite different from the other Englishmen that they had met. So, Wampanoags and Pilgrims soon formed a mutually beneficial treaty in 1621 AD.

Not long after that, Samoset boarded a north bound English fishing ship and returned to his native land in modern Maine.  He may came into the House of Truth later.

Squanto remained with the Pilgrims and taught them how to survive in the New World, while they taught him more about the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ).  He also acted as their translator to Wampanoags as well as their guide and advisor.  This helped the Pilgrims tell the Wampanoags the Good News in their own language.

Among those that heard the Good News translated by Squanto was Hobbamock.  He came to live among the Pilgrims not long after Squanto.

Squanto died about a year later in late November from disease, but expressed with his last words the expectation to go to meet the Father of Truth in Heaven.

Hobbamock continued to live with the Pilgrims until he died in 1642 AD.  During that time, he helped the Pilgrims tell the Good News to the Wampanoags in their own language.

Massasoit was still somewhat mistrustful of the Pilgrims until March of 1623 AD, when he became violently ill.

Edward Williams, who had became friends with Massasoit, and had learned to speak some of the language of the Wampanoags, came to Massasoit at once upon hearing of his illness.  Massasoit was blind from the illness.  He was so close to death, that both he and his people had given up all hope of recovery.  (Many of the Wampanoags and people from related tribes had died from this disease.)

When his friend Edward Williams arrived, Massasoit cried out that he would never again see him again.  However, this leader of Plymouth Colony prayed for wisdom and then comforted Massasoit.  He told Massasoit that he would see him again.

Williams then gave Massasoit a little bit of medicine, and scraped out some stuff from the inside of his mouth.  Within 30 minutes, Massasoit could see again.  Then Williams gave him chicken soup and nursed him back to health.

Massasoit was convinced that the Pilgrims were really his friends and loved him.  He allowed the Pilgrims to teach the children of Wampanoags English and other things that the Pilgrim children learned in their schools.  He soon came into the House of Truth.

Massasoit eventually had his sons Wamsutta and Metacomet given the names of Alexander and Philip, which came from the Book of Truth (The Bible).  He named his first daughter, "Amie", which means "friend" to signify his friendship with the Pilgrims.  He named his second daughter "Sarah", after the wife of Abraham (Abram) in the Book of Truth.

This program of the Pilgrims bringing medical help, education, and helping the Wampanoags come into the House of Truth continued until shortly after the death of Massasoit in 1661 AD.

All during this time, the Pilgrims did not try to force the Wampanoags to change their culture.  The Pilgrims had not came to preach English culture to the Native Americans, but the Good News about the Man of Truth.

The Wampanoags made their own changes to their culture. They changed what they learned was displeasing to the Father of Truth to what was pleasing to Him.  They adopted whatever from the Pilgrims that they found useful.  They retained everything else from their old culture that they found fitting and useful.

They came to live in the House of Truth as Wampanoags, not English people.

The Wampanoags were well prepared by the Pilgrims to come into the House of Truth in greater numbers by the time that Thomas Hooker arrived at the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629 AD.  He began making efforts to reach the Wampanoags as well, but was hindered by the language barrier.  However, he lead an effort to build upon the pattern that the Pilgrims had established in reaching the Native Americans.

He was soon joined by his former student John Eliot at the end of 1631 AD.

Eliot soon began expanding the efforts of Hooker to reach the Native Americans with even greater zeal, but also found the language barrier hard to overcome.  He longed to preach to the Native Americans in their own language and produce a translation of the Book of Truth in their own language for them to read for themselves.  Little did he know, that things were already being put in place for him to realize both of these dreams.
 
That same year Richard Callicott came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony as well.

Callicott began taking in orphaned Native American boys and raising them in his household, where he taught them about the Man of Truth.

Among those was John Sassamon (Wussausmon), who seems to have have already came into the House of Truth through the efforts of the Pilgrims.  Sassamon retained his Native American language as he learned English.

Soon Sassamon was teaching John Eliot his native language, while Eliot help Sassamon improve his English.  Eliot also taught Sassamon a much deeper understanding about the Man of Truth.

Soon, Sassamon was translating for Eliot when Eliot preached to the Wampanoags and related tribes.

By 1636 AD, Harvard College (today Harvard University) in Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded for the expressed purpose of raising up missionaries to teach the Good News to the Native Americans, and to provide them with an English education.

In 1637 AD, Cockenoe came into the house of Callicott after being orphaned at age seven during the Pequot War.  He became very proficient in both English and several related Native American languages.

Soon, he was helping Eliot translate the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, a few other verses, and some tracts that Eliot could read to the Native Americans.

In 1646 AD, Eliot made his first attempt to preach a sermon in the Wampanoag language himself.  Two of the listeners who came into the House of Truth under the preaching of Eliot was Job Nesuton and James Printer.

Soon, he began to establish praying towns for Wampanoags, Massachusetts, and other Native Americans that came into the House of Truth through his efforts.

He did this to protect them from the growing number of colonists that would not accept these Native Americans as equals.  He hoped that these Native Americans would be accepted as equals, if enough differences were removed.  He also recognized that Native Americans who had individual deeds to property, would have legal protection from losing that property to greedy colonists.

In most of these towns, these Native American Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) were eventually forced to adopt more and more of the Puritan customs by the Puritan authorities.  However, the Wampanoag on Martha's Vineyard continued to make their own changes to their culture as they saw fit.  Eliot was able to follow the pattern set by the Pilgrims there.

For the most part, this plan worked.  In time, the Native American children were sitting next to the Colonist children in the same schools. They both began to adapt to each other to begin forging a new identity as Americans.

Soon, with the help of Cockenoe, Sassamon, and Nesuton, John Eliot was able to create the Eliot Bible in the Massachusetts language.  James Printer did the actual printing using the first printing press in the United States at the Harvard Indian College.

By 1655 AD, they had printed the Gospel of Matthew, Genesis, and the Psalms in the Algonquin language.  By 1661 AD, they had printed the entire Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament).

By 1663 AD, they printed the entire Book of Truth.  One thousand copies were made and distributed to Native Americans and missionaries.

The Wampanoag and other tribes were now able to carry on the work of preaching the Good News to Native Americans and teaching each other how to live in line with the Book of Truth themselves.

In 1665 AD, Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, a Wampanoag from Martha's Vineyard who came into the House of Truth through the efforts of Eliot, became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard.

By the time that John Eliot died in 1690 AD, the majority of the Native Americans from the Wampanoags and related tribes in the area of Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony had come into the House of Truth.  Many of them became missionaries to other Native American tribes as well.

So, Hooker, Callicott, Eliot and their Native American brothers built upon the pattern for reaching Native Americans established by the Pilgrims.  They took in orphans and expanded education, to the point of Native Americans became equal to them in all matters.

Other missionaries continued to follow the pattern established by the Pilgrims in dealing with Native Americans in other colonies.  These included Jonathan Edwards, George Duffield, Azariah Horton, and David Brainerd.

Jonathan Edwards, leader of the First Great Awakening, was instrumental in getting Azariah Horton and David Brainerd appointed as missionaries.  Many considered their zeal for preaching the Man of Truth - but not English culture - to the Native Americans to be extreme.

They thought that it was so extreme, that David Brainerd had been expelled from Yale for his views.  (Yale had also been started for the same reasons as Harvard by this time.)

David Brainerd then went an lived among the Delaware tribe that he preached to in 1742 AD.  In many ways, he adapted to their culture.  This was a radical departure from the path prescribed by the mainstream leadership, but it was right in line with the pattern established by the Pilgrims.

He kept a journal about his experience.  After he died in 1746 AD, Jonathan Edwards published his journal.  This set off a flurry of missionary activity that has spread across the world. 

This included missionaries to the Native Americans until the formation of the government of the United States in 1787 AD.  These missionaries include John Brainerd (brother of David), Jonathan Edwards (who had not previous worked as a missionary), George Duffield, Charles Beatty, Elihu Spencer, John Martin, William Richardson, and Samuel Kirkland.

Not only were European Americans inspired by the journal of David Brainerd, but also Native Americans like Samson Occom became missionaries as well.  This had always been the goal of the Pilgrims in their efforts.

The fulfillment by David Brainerd of the pattern established by the Pilgrims in reaching Native Americans became the basis of missionary work, not just for these Colonial American missionaries, but for missionaries around the world.

Many of these missionaries to Native Americans were very influential on George Washington.

Washington had been inspired by the sermons of Jonathan Edwards during the First Great Awakening.  Azariah Horton was pastor to the his Revolutionary Army when they were quartered near Bottle Hill.  Samuel Kirkland had helped Washington get the co-operation of the Iroquois against the British in the Revolutionary War.  George Duffield had served as a chaplain under Washington in the Revolutionary War.

Henry Knox, the first Secretary of War, was likewise influenced by the missionaries that followed the pattern for treatment of Native Americans first developed by the Pilgrims. 

Together, Washington and Knox worked out a six point plan for the United States government to send people to bring Native Americans into the House of Truth based on the pattern created by the Pilgrims.  They began implementing their plan with The Five Civilized Tribes.

So, the third legacy of the Pilgrims was creating the pattern used by Americans to perform missionary work.  This pattern is still being followed today.

So, the Pilgrims left behind a legacy of that shaped many of the things that has made America great - or even possible.  It is no wonder that they are remembered each year at Thanksgiving.

Unfortunately, the Pilgrims also left a fourth legacy.

The Pilgrims did not develop the skills needed to thrive as a colony on their own.  This forced them to allow the Strangers to join their colonies as well.

The Strangers were the worst kind of immigrants - Europeans!  Even though they came from the same continent as the Pilgrims, they did not have the same motivations as the Pilgrims in coming.

The Pilgrims worked hand in hand with the Native Americans to become something unique and different - Americans.  The Pilgrims left Europe to make America into some thing better than Europe.

The Pilgrims envisioned a country that would serve as a city on a hill that the entire world could look to as an example of how a society prospered when it lived by laws based on the Law of Truth.  They did not just come to escape persecution in Europe, but to escape the moral corruption in Europe that came from European thinking.

The Strangers on the other hand came to America to benefit from the efforts of the Pilgrims.  They sought to oppress the Native Americans, take their land, and in some cases, even exterminate them.  They wanted to make America into Europe.

The Strangers envision a country where they could do things in the same manner as Europeans did, but somehow still get the benefits that came from doing the things that Pilgrims did.  They did not come to escape persecution in Europe, but to spread the moral corruption to America that came from European thinking.

These Strangers did not just work in the commercial realm of Plymouth Colony, but became involved in the government, education, and even the religious realms as well.  Though they were the minority at first, they still had influence that created division.

The Strangers set the pattern followed by later European immigrants, who also came over for the wrong reasons.

These later European immigrants came here to get bigger, better, newer stuff.  They have sought to make America into Europe through a subtle influence.

Through their influence most Americans do not even really understand the meaning of liberty.  They do not know what they are celebrating on Independence Day.  Those following the pattern set by the Strangers have brought about the disintegration of Thanksgiving, so that Americans are no longer remembering the legacy of the Pilgrims!

So, Pilgrims and Strangers set a pattern of division that has defined so much of American history and American life.

It has caused there to be a political division into a two party system.

It has caused division over slavery that lead to the first American Civil War.  It caused division over the treatment of Native Americans, with one party making fair treaties with Native Americans, only to have those same treaties broken when the other party came into power.   It caused division over the treatment of African Americans, with one party working to give them the right to vote and civil rights, while the other party worked to deny African Americans these rights.  It caused division over the treatment of women, with one party seeking to give them the right to vote and equal pay for equal work, while the other party sought to deny them those things.  It caused division over the rights of unborn children, with one party seeking to give them the right to be born, while the other party sought to protect the serial killers, who viciously murdered them in the womb.  It has caused division over marriage, with one party seeking to define marriage as it is in the Book of Truth, while the other party works to make Americans live like they were married in Sodom.  It has caused a division over Israel, with one party working build up the Impossible Country as a blessing to the human race, while the other party works to tear down Israel as a curse to the human race.

One party wants to restore the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) as the American Spirit, while the other party is given over to the Spirit of Anti-Jewism and the Spirit of Anti-Christ.

Basically, there has been a continual struggle between those with an agenda to do the will of the Father of Truth and those with an agenda to do the will of the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil).  These two cannot exist in peace for long periods of time.

This division has lead to attempts to bridge the divide with compromise.  This compromise has lead so many Americans to fall for the Great Deception.  So, instead of answering the call of 911 with repentance, America experienced a loss of power since that time.

So, the fourth legacy of the Pilgrims is that they sowed the seeds that will eventually lead to the death of America.

The Pilgrims also left a legacy of taking action to resist evil, instead of living in compromise.  They recognized that they had reach a time for civil disobedience.  They showed the evidence of faith when they left behind every comfort of the Old World to face the hardships of starting over in the New World.

The Pilgrims then suffered much persecution to create a legacy that made America great.  Patriots who love America will in like manner will have to experience the refining fire that the Pilgrims experienced to make America great again.

That is the greatest legacy of the Pilgrims.

Those who follow the greatest legacy of the Pilgrims, will one day have their hunger and thirst for righteousness filled by the Father of Truth (Matthew 5:6).

Since they will suffer to follow the Man of Truth in this world, then they will reign with the Man of Truth in the world to come (2 Timothy 2:12).  They will reign as priests and kings on this Earth under the Man of Truth, to ensure that neither religion nor government can be corrupted with compromise (Revelation 5:8-10).  They will reign a thousand years on this Earth with the Man of Truth (Revelation 20:6).

After that, a Renewed Heaven and Earth, where only righteousness exists, will replace the current Heaven and Earth as they have longed for (2 Peter 3:10-13).  They will then have their hunger and thirst for righteousness filled as they reign with the Man of Truth forever (Revelation 22:3-5).

So, follow in the legacy of the Pilgrims by coming into the House of Truth.  Like the Pilgrims, you will suffer hardship for following the Man of Truth (2 Timothy 3:12).  Like the Pilgrims, that hardship is the price of admission for a new life in a new world (1 Peter 4:12-14).

However, like the Pilgrims, you will also leave a legacy to those who come after you (2 Corinthians 12:14).

You begin to create that legacy when you surrender control of your life to the Man of Truth, because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

Come into the House of Truth!

The Pilgrims

Why did the Pilgrims come to America?

In order to understand this then, we have to understand the whole story of the Pilgrims.

The story of the Pilgrims did not begin when they arrived in Plymouth Colony in 1620 AD.  The events, which lead to that fateful day, need to be examined to understand the Pilgrims.

The roots of the Pilgrims were the books that John Wycliffe wrote in 1374 AD, which challenged many of the doctrines of the False Church of Rome, that then held sway over England.  The commoners, who followed the teachings of John Wycliffe, but did not have his degree of formal education, were known as the Lollards.  Wycliffe then began translating the Book of Truth (The Bible) into English from Latin, and the version that bears his name was completed in 1388 AD.

Although, it soon became a death penalty crime to own a copy of an English translation of the Book of Truth in England, the Lollards produced them nonetheless, and the commoners read them.  As common people in England began to read the Book of Truth for themselves, they began to notice many of the same inconsistencies between it and the doctrine of the False Church of Rome as Wycliffe.  Soon, there was a grassroots movement among the commoners to break away from the False Church of Rome.  As this movement grew, so did persecution against the Lollards.

When the Czech kingdom broke off from the False Church of Rome in 1436 AD as the first Protestant country, then the movement to do the same grew hopeful in England.  This was bolstered as more illegal copies of English translations of the Book of Truth began being printed, sometime after Gutenberg began printing copies of the Latin translation in 1454 AD.

The migration path of the Pilgrims to America began in 1497 AD, just five years after the day when worlds collided.   John Cabot sailed to North America on behalf of King Henry VII that year, and found new land in the New World.   He named this new found land in North America, "Newfoundland".

Then Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation in 1517 AD, and the desire to break away from the False Church of Rome became even stronger in England, as it was now seen as a trend among the kingdoms of northern Europe.

In 1532 AD, the state persecution of the Lollards finally began to subside, after Thomas Harding was executed.  In 1534 AD, King Henry VIII and the parliament of England officially broke off from the False Church of Rome.  It was replaced with the Church of England.

Then the translation of the Book of Truth from original languages into English by William Tyndale was completed in 1535 AD.  The next year, King Henry VIII repealed the law making it a death penalty crime to own an English translation of the Book of Truth.  He then commissioned the Church of England to create an official English translation of the Book of Truth.

The Church of England took the Tyndale translation, made a few modifications, most notably replacing "congregation" with "church" in every occurrence.  This translation was called the Great Bible of the Church of England, that was made available to all of the people of England to read.

When people began reading the official English translation, they began noticing differences between the doctrine of the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament) and the Church of England.  They began to see that the Lollards were right in their desire for the Church of England to separate itself from many of the practices, which it had inherited from the False Church of Rome.

When King Edward VI took the throne in 1547 AD, he began making an effort to bring about many of the reforms that he also believed were needed.  So, he turned England into a place of refuge for Protestants all over Europe.  Finally, he had the forty-two articles issued in 1552 AD, that listed forty-two changes that the Church of England was to make to further remove practices inherited from the False Church of Rome.

However, when Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary) came to the throne in 1553 AD, she tried to bring England back into submission to the False Church of Rome.  As part of her efforts, she resumed state persecution of the Lollards in 1554 AD, that lead to the Marian persecutions, which killed hundreds of Lollards until she died in 1558 AD.  During this time period, about 800 of the Lollards fled England to Protestant countries in northern Europe, including the Netherlands, which had adopted a policy of religious tolerance.

When Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne that year, she put an immediate end to the persecution of the Lollards.  The Church of England again replaced the False Church of Rome in England.  Many of the exiled Lollards returned to England, and many were given positions to help bring about further reforms to remove practices inherited from the False Church of Rome.

In 1559 AD, a set of uniform practices for the Church of England were made into law, based on suggestions by the returning Lollards.  Yet, she still allowed certain practices inherited from the False Church of Rome that she saw as harmless, like the clergy wearing special clothing, and people kneeling during communion, to continue.  This was to avoid a war between the many members of the False Church of Rome and the Protestants, who lived in England. These reforms were enough to satisfy most of the Lollards, and they assimilated into the Church of England, where they sought to work for further reforms.

However, a policy of conformity with the Church of England was also part of the laws signed by Queen Elizabeth I.  Anyone, who did not attend all church services, had to pay fine equal to about the wages of half a day for a common laborer per missed service.  No one could preach without a license, which only about one in ten of the ministers of the Church of England were able to obtain.  Anyone, who taught any thing that did not conform to the teachings of the Church of England, was subject to more severe penalties than those for missing church services.

The Lollards had also influenced Scotland.

In 1560 AD, Scotland outlawed Christmas, and all other holidays celebrated by the False Church of Rome.  This gave reason for the Lollards to hope that England would soon do the same.

In 1563 AD, thirty-nine of the forty-two reforms that King Edward VI had advocated were restored to the Church of England by its leadership.  However, the former Lollards sought to have the three missing reforms, and some other reforms put into place as well, but were unable to do so.  So the former Lollards led others into a new movement to purify the Church of England from all vestiges of the doctrine and practices of the False Church of Rome.  These various groups became known as Puritans.

In 1564 AD, one of these Puritans, Thomas Cartwright, engaged in a debate to expound the Puritan position on further reforms needed by the Church of England before Queen Elizabeth I.  He continued to use his position in the Church of England to call for the Church of England to change practices that were contrary to those found in the Renewed Covenant.

By 1567 AD, the Puritans in the area of London began being facing constant fines and imprisonment for following the example of Cartwright.

Richard Greenham, another Puritan, took a position in Cambridge in 1570 AD.  Cartwright finally fled England that same year to escape persecution, even though Greenham, had plead on his behalf.

Cartwright briefly returned to England in 1572 AD to teach Hebrew at Cambridge, but then had to flee to the Netherlands to live among the former Lollards still there. Among those influenced by the teaching of Cartwright were Robert Harrison and Robert Browne.

Also that year, Nicholas Bownde came to Cambridge, where his uncle Richard Greenham persuaded him to become a Puritan.

In 1574 AD, Robert Harrison was removed from office at Norwich by the Church of England for his efforts to have a very minor reform made to the practice of infant baptism.  He then went to Cambridge to possibly take another position in the Church of England, but Robert Browne dissuaded him.  So, he returned to Norwich and became the head of the hospital there instead.

Browne took a position at Islington afterwards, but was soon dismissed for preaching against the doctrines and practices of the Church of England.  So, he went to live with Harrison in Norwich.  They spent their time together discussing how to best rid the practices of the False Church of Rome from England.

Brown returned to Cambridge in 1578 AD to take a position there.  While he was there, he had more discussions with Greenham about how to best rid the practices of the False Church of Rome from England.  He was soon dismissed from the Cambridge position for preaching against the doctrines and practices of the Church of England.  So, he returned to Norwich to live with Harrison.

By 1580 AD, Browne had persuaded Harrison of the hopelessness of purifying the Church of England from the doctrines and practices that it had inherited from the False Church of Rome.  So, they began a movement for the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) in England to completely separate themselves from the Church of England.  They soon started the first Separatist congregation in England at Norwich.

Also that year, John Penry left the False Church of Rome and came into the House of Truth.  Shortly after that, he became a Puritan.

In 1581 AD, Browne was arrested for illegally creating a congregation that was not part of the Church of England, but was soon released.  The entire congregation then moved to the Netherlands, to set up a congregation that did everything in the same way as the congregations in the Renewed Covenant.

Also that year, Henry Barrowe heard a sermon by Greenham while at Cambridge, and became a Puritan as well.

That same year John Greenwood and Francis Johnson became Puritans under the influence of Greenham, while they were at Cambridge.  After graduating, Greenwood used his position in the Church of England to begin calling for the Church of England to change practices that were contrary to those found in the Renewed Covenant.

In 1582 AD, Browne wrote two tracts in the Netherlands.  One explained that no one needed permission from the Church of England to worship the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) in the way shown in the Book of Truth.  The other explained how to create a Congregational church that was self-governing.  Harrison paid to have the tracts published and smuggled into England.

In 1583 AD, two men were arrested and hanged for distributing these tracts in England.  Harrison responded by writing two books explaining the Congregational church system in greater detail, and the doctrines found in the Renewed Covenant.  He then paid to have them published and smuggled into England.

Somewhere around 1584 AD, Greenwood came under the influence of Browne.  He had realized the futility of trying to reform the Church of England.  Greenwood renounced his ordination as a priest in the Church of England as contrary to the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law), and became a Separatist.  He was soon joined by Barrowe.

Also that year, William Brewster went to Cambridge, where he was exposed to the teaching of the Puritans, probably from Greenham.  Then he went to the Netherlands on diplomatic business, where he was persuaded to become a Puritan.

In 1585 AD, Cartwright returned to London, where he was immediately arrested for his reform efforts.  After he was released, he moved to Warwick, and became the head of a hospital there.

Also that year, the English tried to create a colony on Roanoke Island in North Carolina.

By 1586 AD, Greenwood became the leader of the Separatists in London.  Many Puritans there had also realized the futility of trying to reform the Church of England.  So, the movement grew quickly there, as many of the Puritans became Separatists.

In October of that year, Greenwood was arrested for preaching that separation from the Church of England was the only way to separate from the doctrines and practices of the False Church of Rome.  When Barrowe went to visit Greenwood in prison the next month, he was also arrested for his Separatists preaching.

Also that same year, Richard Clyfton became parson of the church in Babworth, which he soon turned into a Separatist congregation.  Lastly, Penry began preaching among the Welsh in his native tongue, because Welsh speakers were being neglected by the Church of England.

In 1587 AD, Greenwood and Barrowe were both indicted for refusing to attend the services of the Church of England.

Also that year, Brewster returned to England and moved to Scrooby to take another position with the government there.  While there, he began attending services lead by Clyfton in nearby Babworth and became a Separatist.

This was the same year, when the Roanoke Island colony was found destroyed, with only one skeleton remaining.  A second attempt was made at colonization of Roanoke Island at that time.

Finally that year, Penry wrote a tract that was a public appeal for the Church of England to do more reach the people of Wales.  The head of Church of England became angry at Penry for bringing the neglect of the people of Wales to the attention of the people of England, and Penry was arrested.

Greenwood and Barrowe were both released from prison in 1588 AD.  Greenwood resumed leading the Separatists in London, but Barrowe had to appear once again before a council for a private hearing of the court.  In this hearing, Barrowe continued to defend the Separatist cause.  He even called the practices of the Church of England "false worship", and leaders of the Church of England "oppressors and persecutors", in his hearing.

Penry became a Separatist after he was released from prison this year as well.  He proceeded to write, publish, and distribute books throughout Wales and England, that exposed the neglect of the people of Wales by the Church of England.  He also did the same with a number of tracts, that exposed the corruption of the leadership of the Church of England, and called for the bishops to be replaced with elected elders in each congregation.

Also that year, Spain amassed a huge armada of 130 ships, financed by wealth that it has acquired from Spanish colonies in the New World, and attempted to invade England.  It only failed because an unexpected storm at sea, which had worked in the favor the English and their Dutch allies.

In 1589 AD, Johnson was imprisoned for preaching that the Church of England should replace bishops appointed by the Church of England with elders elected by the congregation.  After being released from prison, he fled to the Netherlands.

That same year, the Church of England seized the printing press of Penry.

In 1590 AD, the leaders of the Church of England and the Puritans, met with Greenwood and Barrowe, to dissuade them from continuing to preach separation from the Church of England.

At the same time, the Church of England searched the house of Penry, and seized his papers.  However, Penry escaped to Scotland, where he wrote, published, and had smuggled into England, new tracts that called for people to separate from the Church of England.

Also that year, the people of the second Roanoke Island colony was found to be gone without a trace, except for the word "CROATOAN", the name of a nearby Native American tribe, carved in a fence post.

Greenwood and Barrowe were not dissuaded by their imprisonment, and responded by creating a Separatist congregation in London in 1592 AD.  Greenwood also elected as "The Teacher" of the Separatist movement that same year.  Penry moved to London and joined their congregation.

Then Johnson returned to England to visit Greenwood and Barrowe when they were imprisoned for their preaching.  He came to discuss their book that he had read in the Netherlands, which laid out the Separatist position.  He became a Separatist as well, and joined them in their preaching.

After the release of Greenwood and Barrowe, Johnson was arrested, and then released.  Then Greenwood and Johnson were arrested together.

That same year, Greenham wrote his tract calling for people to start treating the entire Sabbath day (Sunday in his mind) as a day of rest, and not just for attending church meetings in the morning.  Also that year, John Robinson came to Cambridge, where he became exposed to the teachings of Greenham, which eventually lead him to become a Puritan.

In 1593 AD, Greenwood and Barrowe were arrested writing, publishing, and distributing books, which called for complete separation from the Church of England.  They were found guilty and hanged.

That same year, Johnson and Penry moved to Islington.  Both were soon arrested.  Penry tried on false charges of sedition, found guilty, and hanged.

In 1594, Johnson was released from prison, after his new wife paid a huge bail payment.  He continued his preaching in private homes.

In 1595 AD, Bownde was inspired by the tract of Greenham, and wrote a book showing from the Book of Truth, that one day out of each week belonged to the Father of Truth.  His book called for all activities other than those for worship, particularly sports, be banned by the government on the Sabbath day (Sunday in his mind).  Many of the Puritans adopted this position, and were arrested for preaching it.  Yet the teaching spread, and more Puritans became Separatists, who had been teaching similar things since their founding.

In 1597 AD, Johnson and three other Separatists joined an expedition to start a colony near Newfoundland on two ships, the Hopewell and Chancewell.  However, the Chancewell wrecked on the voyage to Newfoundland.  So the colony was never started.  All four fled to the Netherlands after returning to England.

In 1602 AD, William Bradford, at the age of 12 came to the congregation led by Clyfton in Babworth with a friend.  He became a Separatist on that day, and began a friendship with Brewster as well.

In 1603 AD, King James I took the throne.  Since he was already king of Scotland as well, the Puritans hoped that he would move the Church of England to be more like the Church of Scotland, which was much further separated from the practices of the False Church of Rome.

So, the Puritans petitioned him for some modest reforms in practices to further separate the Church of England from the False Church of Rome.  They also asked that the ministers of all congregations be allowed to preach, instead of the one in ten that were licensed to do so.  They sought that conformity to the Church of England be defined as adhering to the thirty-nine articles of reform that Queen Elizabeth I had adopted, with freedom for each congregation to do as it saw fit in other matters.  They also sought for an updated English translation of the Book of Truth be commissioned to replace the Great Bible of the Church of England.  Finally, they asked for a change in government of each congregation, that replaced bishops appointed by the Church of England with elders appointed by the congregation. This governance was the same as the congregation that King James I had attended in Scotland, before he became king.

The leaders of the Church of England were adamantly opposed to all everything in the petition, and demanded a hearing before the king made a decision.

So in 1604 AD, King James I held a conference to hear both sides.  The representatives of the Church of England asserted that, if the governance of the congregations was changed to replace bishops appointed by the Church of England, with elders elected by the congregation, then the authority of the king to rule would be undermined.  This lead the king to declare "No Bishop, No King!".  So, he rejected all of the reforms sought by the Puritans, except for a few minor changes in practices.  He did however, agree to their request for an updated English translation of the Book of Truth, and commissioned the Puritans to create what came to be known as the King James Bible.

King James I decided after the conference to maintain the status quo in hopes of quieting the unrest that had developed between various religious factions in England.  So, he made a law against bringing any more petitions for reform in the Church of England to him.  He also decided greater conformity was needed in the practices of the Church of England.  In order to do so, he expelled about ninety Puritan ministers from the Church of England, who had called for the greatest reform.  This caused many more Puritans to become Separatists.

These changes prompted Robinson to move to Norwich that year, where he started hearing the teachings of the Separatists.

Lastly in that year, the leaders of the Church of England tried to create a new canon of law to give themselves greater power over the populace, but Parliament insisted that they alone had the authority to change the canon of law in these matters.  The Puritans took the side of Parliament over the Church of England for the first time ever.  King James eventually was compelled to allow Parliament to decide what changes would be made to the canon of law.  Parliament decided to not allow any changes, due to the great influence of the Puritans on Parliament.

This new law caused Robinson to leave his position, because by the end of the year, he had became a Separatist.  He then attempt to become the head of the hospital in Norwich, but he was unsuccessful.

In 1605 AD, Clyfton was removed from his position as parson in Babworth, as the Church of England sought to purify itself of everyone, who did not meet the conformity set out by King James I.  Robinson move back to his home near from Scrooby that year, and began preaching in small home congregations of Separatists, whenever he could.

So in 1606 AD, Clyfton became the leader of a congregation of Separatist in Scrooby.  This congregation met in the home of Brewster.  Robinson soon joined as associate pastor.  Bradford was among the congregants.

By 1607 AD, the Separatist congregation in Scrooby learned that the Separatists in London had been imprisoned, and left there to starve to death.  Also, a heavy fine was levied against Brewster for hosting the congregation in his home.  Finally, the Church of England took away the license of Clyfton to preach.

So they realized, that the only way that they were going to be able to completely separate from the practices of the False Church of Rome that remained in England, was to separate themselves from the land of England.  So they started immigrating out of England, which had been made illegal.  They were betrayed by the captain of the ship, who kept their passage payment, causing their first attempt to fail.  Most of them were imprisoned.

Also that year, England made two more attempts at colonizing North America, one in Jamestown, Virginia, and one in Popham, Maine.  England had not manage to successfully create a colony since it had sent the first voyage over a hundred years early.  All it had been able to successfully do, was send out fishing expeditions.  At the same time, the main rivals of England, France and Spain, had enjoyed many years of success, which were filling their coffers with money that could be used to launch another attempt to invade England.  So, establishing successful colonies in North America was vital.

In 1608 AD, Brewster had managed to use his diplomatic skills and political connections to get the Scrooby congregants released.  This time they migrated to the east coast of northern England, and then escaped via the Humber tidal estuary to the North Sea.  Most of the congregation then completed their immigration to the Netherlands.  Later, Brewster, Clyfton, and Robinson, came in a third attempt with those who could not make it on second attempt.  So their entire Separatist congregation, including Bradford, relocated to the Netherlands.

Also that year, the Jamestown colony had lost eighty percent of the colonists, by the time that a second wave of colonists arrived, but it survived.  However, the Popham colony had to be abandoned.

In 1609 AD, the Scrooby congregation moved to the city of Lieden.  They had great difficulty finding work that could provide them with enough money to live on, after they arrived.  The congregation moved to the poorest part of the city called Stink Alley.

Around that same time, John Carver became a Separatist and moved to the Netherlands.

In 1610 AD, Robinson began publishing essays that were smuggled into England.  Some of these essays expounded upon the practices of the False Church of Rome that the Church of England continued.  Some expounded on why these practices were contrary to the Renewed Covenant.  Others pointed out the futility of trying to reform the Church of England. The rest were written to persuade people to become Separatists.  Many people became first Puritans, and then Separatists after reading these essays.

Around this time, Carver joined the congregation of Robinson.

In 1611 AD, the Puritans finished their updated English translation that came to be known as the King James Bible, since King James I had authorized it to replace the Great Bible as the authorized English translation.

Also that year, John Traske was also arrested in London for preaching without a license.  He had no formal training, had only read the King James Bible, and put what he read into action.  He was eventually given a license, despite his lack of ordination by the Church of England.  He had taken up the cause of setting apart the Sabbath (Sunday in his mind at the time) as holy by banning all leisurely activities on the Sabbath, which he continued to preach.

In 1615 AD, Traske became a Puritan.  The movement to ban sports on the Sabbath (Sunday in their minds) grows stronger as more and more Puritans are convinced by him.

In 1616 AD, Traske comes to the realization the False Church of Rome changed the Sabbath to Sunday, but it was still on Saturday in the Renewed Covenant.  He probably was convinced by Separatists visiting from the Netherlands.  Many of the Children of Truth, including many Separatists, had been observing the actual Sabbath (Saturday) for over one hundred years there by this time, because they knew who changed the Sabbath.  He became a Separatist, and began preaching that Saturday is the Sabbath.

Also that year, William Bradford started writing and distributing books calling for people to forsake every practice that had came from the False Church of Rome, and replace them with the practices found in the Renewed Covenant.  These books were sold illegally in England in great numbers, and as well as legally in the Netherlands.

In 1617 AD, King James I issued the Book of Sports, which banned some sports that were commercial in nature on Sunday, but allows others that were recreational in nature.  This caused deeper division in England, with Puritans and Separatists on one side, and everyone else on the other side.

This same year, Edward Winslow became a Separatist and moved to the Netherlands, where he started helping Brewster in his printing operations.

By this time, the Pilgrims had found problems with living in the Netherlands as well.  In particular, their children were adopting many of the Dutch customs, including language.  They might have been willing to assimilate into Dutch society, if it had not been becoming more and more dominated by Humanists.  So, the congregants from Scrooby, and the other Separatists that joined them in the Netherlands, found themselves without a place to call home.

So, these Separatists decided that the only way they could be totally separated from the practices of the False Church of Rome, and the influence of Human Secularists, was to start their own colony in America.   Bradford called these English Separatists, who had decided to separate from the land of England to escape the practices and doctrines of the False Church of Rome that remained in England, Pilgrims.

The Pilgrims also wanted to go to America because of the opportunity for missionary work among the Native Americans.  There were practically no opportunities in Europe for taking the Gospel to those who had not heard, but there was nothing but opportunity in America.

So, they sent a party of negotiators led by Carver to London, to negotiate with the Virginia company for a land grant patent in the North America.

This was a daring plan made by desperate people.  There were reasons, why England had so much trouble getting anyone to volunteer to set up an English colony in America.

Spain had already conquered the Aztec and Incan Empires.  However, almost no colonies north of Florida along the east coast of North America had survived.  The French, English, and Dutch had exactly one each.  The death rate in these three colonies during their first year had been over sixty percent.

There were many reasons for this.  The weather was horrendous.  The area had some of the most fierce tribes in the New World.  Some of these tribes had even managed to drive out the Vikings before Columbus came to the New World.  Setting up a colony on the east coast of North America was virtually a suicide mission.

Also that year, Traske was arrested by the Church of England for teaching that the Children of Truth should not only separate from everything associated with the False Church of Rome, but they should instead do everything that the congregations in the Renewed Covenant did.  He taught that this included observing the actual Sabbath (Saturday), keeping the Feasts of Truth given in the Book of Truth, and abstaining from eating what the Father of Truth literally calls filth in the Book of Truth.  (Many of the Separatists in the Netherlands, including the Pilgrims, had started doing this a well.)

In 1618 AD, King James I (he is also king of Scotland) began an effort to force the Church of Scotland to make the changes given in the Five Articles of Perth, including observing holidays from the False Church of Rome like Christmas.  This only deepened the division over religion in England and Scotland.

That same year, Traske was brutally punished for "Judaising" the people of England by being flogged mercilessly, branded on the forehead with a hot iron, and having an awl ran through his ear.

So, Brewster and Winslow published a tract that exposed the extent of the persecution of King James and the Church of England against Puritans and Separatists.  The tract caused many more people to become Puritans, and many Puritans to become Separatists.

Even so, the Carver party was able to confirm a land grant patent with the Virginia Company in London.

In 1619 AD, the Pilgrims began making preparations to create their own colony in America.  However, as they were trying to arrange this, King James I sent officials to the Netherlands to arrest Brewster and Winslow.

Brewster escaped and went into hiding, but Winslow was arrested.  Since the English officials had no authority to do so in the Netherlands, they were forced to let him go.  They were not willing to risk offending the only ally that England had against Spain and France over Winslow.  However, they did take the printing plates, which ended the printing operation of the Pilgrims.  This also took away one of their main sources of income.

With Brewster in hiding, and unable to go to England, the Pilgrims had to change their strategy.  Winslow took the position of Brewster in the leadership of the Pilgrims, until Brewster could come out of hiding.

However, Brewster did manage to make it to Scotland, where he published and distributed tracts opposing the Five Articles of Perth.  People who read these tracts, began taking action to prevent the passage of the Five Articles of Perth.  King James I sent to have him arrested, but he escaped again.

Even so, the Carver party soon partnered with a group of investors called The Plymouth Council for New England to finance the trip.  (This was the same group which had attempted to create a colony at Popham twelve years earlier.)  This council was able to secure a charter to do so from King James I, on the condition that the Separatist religion of the Pilgrims not receive official recognition.

For King James I there was no downside to this proposition.

The kings of England had persecuted the Lollards, but England ended up separating from the False Church of Rome as they had desired.  Despite the persecution of the Puritans, the Church of England ended up making many of the reforms they had sought.  The persecution of the Separatists had only led to even greater numbers of people leaving the Church of England.  The Pilgrims, despite their harsh conditions, had managed to bring even more challenges to the status quo in England from the Netherlands.

In fact, the Puritans by this time controlled Parliament, which alone had the power to levy taxes and declare war.  England was on the verge of civil war over these religious matters.

King James I had not been able to stop the Pilgrims from resuming their publishing books in the Netherlands, and then having them smuggled into England.  These books called for people to leave the Church of England, and even England.  They called for the holidays of England to be changed to those found in the Book of Truth.  They even called for the Sabbath in England to be changed back to Saturday.  As far as King James I was concerned, the Pilgrims were certified trouble makers.

However, by letting the Pilgrims start a colony in the New World for England, these troublemakers would be far away from England, and unable to continue to disrupt the status quo.   If the colony of the Pilgrims failed like Roanoke had, then England would be rid of them permanently.  If the colony of the Pilgrims succeeded like Jamestown, then England would have a second colony on the east coast of North America, that would make further colonization easier.

So in 1620 AD, the Pilgrims were granted a charter to create an English colony at a location near the mouth of the Hudson River.  The new area of their colony would be called New England, and independent of the Virginia government.

When Brewster heard of the deal, he came out of hiding. and rejoined the Scrooby congregation in the Netherlands.

It was not possible for the entire congregation in the Netherlands, which had grown considerably, to go on the first voyage.  So, it was decided that thirty-five of the Pilgrims would go on the first wave, and the rest would follow in subsequent waves.  This first wave include Brewster, as the spiritual leader of the Pilgrims in the New World.  Bradford was selected to be the governor of the new colony.  Carver went, while his business partner stayed behind.  Winslow also went, but Robinson stayed behind to lead the rest of the congregation in the Netherlands.  The original Pilgrims left the Netherlands on the Speedwell.

When they arrived in England on the Speedwell, they were joined with the Mayflower, and picked up sixty-seven more colonists near London.  However, the Speedwell developed leaks and was not able to make the trip.  (The crew might have caused the leaks, since they did not want to make the dangerous voyage.)  So at Plymouth, all of the colonists were transferred to the Mayflower, and it set sail for North America.

The majority of the new colonists were obviously Separatists, as who had been influenced by the illegal writings of the Pilgrims.  These Separatists became Pilgrims as well.

However, not all of the colonists were Pilgrims.  The Virginia Company had insisted that other people be part of the colony.  These other people had skills that would be necessary for the colony to survive and prosper, but the Pilgrims lacked.  The Pilgrims called these people, The Strangers.

It is certain that the Pilgrims were the majority, since virtually everything was voted on about the colony while the Mayflower was at sea, and the original Pilgrims consistently won almost all of the votes. The original Pilgrims obviously would have been losing most of the votes, if the Pilgrims were the minority among the colonists.  The Strangers were plainly the minority.

The only vote the original Pilgrims are known to have lost, was to observe the Sabbath on Saturday, instead of Sunday. (The Pilgrims had originally negotiated for two days off a week to avoid this conflict, but the Carver party lost one day off a week in the negotiations with the Virginia Company.  The rest of the original Pilgrims did not learn this until they were at sea.  The new Pilgrims picked up in England voted for Sunday, while the original Pilgrims from the Netherlands voted for Saturday.)

So, after a month at sea, a tremendous storm caused great damage to the Mayflower and almost sunk it, but the Pilgrims decided to press on to North America.  About a month later, land was spotted, but the ship had been blown north of the Hudson River by the storm, and was at Cape Cod.  The winds would not allow the Mayflower to travel south to the Hudson River, where their land grant was, so they appeared stuck.

The Pilgrims and Strangers determined that they would have to create a their own government and laws, since the laws of the patent only covered the land grant area.  They formed the Mayflower Compact after a vote of 41 to 32 for ratification. (Only adult male colonists were allowed to vote.)  Carver was elected as the governor instead of Bradford.

After being on the Mayflower for about another month, the Pilgrims had selected a site for New Plymouth, and began building Plymouth Colony as the first colony in New England.

By the time of the feast in 1621 AD commemorated by Thanksgiving, exactly half of the colonists had died, including Carver.  Bradford had been elected as the new governor.  A mutually beneficial relationship between Wampanoags and Pilgrims had already began.  The Pilgrims had already started doing what they came to America to do, and were determined to not let their colony die.

While there is no doubt that the Pilgrims had came to America to escape persecution in England, that is not the only reason that they came to America.  They also came to America to escape the growing influence of Humanists in the Netherlands.  They came to escape the influence of the False Church of Rome that remained in Europe.

Even more important than what the Pilgrims came to America to escape, is what they came to accomplish.

The Pilgrims came to create a place that was free from the practices of the False Church of Rome, similar to Celtic Christianity in its original form that Saint Patrick had practiced.  Like The Mench Who Killed Christmas, they came to create a place that outlawed all such similar holidays from the False Church of Rome.  They came to create a place that did not allow any holidays that came from the Druids, like Halloween.  They came to create a place where people could be free to celebrate the Feasts of Truth that form The Greatest Play Ever.

The Pilgrims came to carry out the Great Commission, first by reaching out to the First Nations, telling them about the Hope of the Almodadi.  They came to use America as a base for bringing the Good News to all the world through missionaries.

The Pilgrims came to create a haven in America for persecuted Jews in Europe that was free from the Spirit of Anti-Jewism.  They came to create a base of operations for their descendants to help carry out the Impossible Dream of Christian Zionists, like themselves, to help the real Jews in Europe create the Impossible Country some day.

In short, the Pilgrims came to America to carry out the will of the Father of Truth unhindered by anyone else.

It is not just the Pilgrims who should take great risks to carry out the will of the Father of Truth on this Earth, but all of the Children of Truth.

This is what the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) taught them to pray for (Matthew 6:9-10).  They are to seek after this above all else (Matthew 6:31-33).

The Man of Truth was a certified trouble maker (Matthew 10:34-36).  He publicly challenged the status quo, because it contradicted the Book of Truth (Matthew 15:1-9).   He kept doing this until the religious leaders plotted to kill him (Matthew 26:3-4).  The political leaders eventually wanted to kill him for his constantly exposing the corruption of the religious leaders (Luke 13:28-31).

The Children of Truth are to fearlessly proclaim the Word of Truth (Matthew 10:26-28). They are to tell others about the the Man of Truth at all times (Matthew 10:32-33).  Therefore, they are never to just go along with anything that is contrary to the Book of Truth, in order to get along with those around them (Matthew 10:37-39).

The Children of Truth are endure persecution to do what the Father of Truth says is right, because they belong to His kingdom like the Prophets of Truth (Matthew 5:10-12).  They are to continue to do so through all tribulations, so they can enter the kingdom of the Father of Truth (Acts 14:22).

These tribulations and persecutions mark them as belonging to His kingdom (2 Thessalonians 1:4-5).  Everyone who does what the Father of Truth says is right, will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).

All of the Children of Truth are Pilgrims, because they are hated for not being part to this world (John 15:18-20).  They are Pilgrims, because they have chosen the Word of Truth over being part of this world (John 17:14-16).  They are Pilgrims, because they seek another country, where they may carry out all of the will of the Father of Truth (Hebrews 11:13-16).

These Pilgrims will be rewarded for their troubles, when they are ruling over the Earth with the Man of Truth (2 Timothy 2:10-12).  They will live in the country that they have always desired (2 Peter 3:10-13).

It is not too late to become a Pilgrim.  The journey of every Pilgrim begins by coming into the House of Truth (1 Peter 2:9-12).

You come into the House of Truth, when you make the Man of Truth your king, because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).  You will no longer belong to this world, after you come into the House of Truth (1 John 3:1-3).

Come into the House of Truth!