American Jesus

How is American Jesus different than Biblical Jesus?

American Jesus is more than a religious teacher or a historical figure.  He is a cultural icon that is found in every corner of America and is a part of every generation.  In fact, he is the most popular American cultural icon of all time. 

There are as many variations of depictions of American Jesus as there are variations of ethnic groups in America. Even with these variations in skin color, hair color, and eye color, there is still enough consistency that American Jesus is instantly recognizable.  His motif may even come in colors like green or purple, but Americans still recognize American Jesus.

Americans love American Jesus, and he loves them.  In fact, the United States is his favorite place on the entire Earth.

American Jesus is sung about in every genre of music in America.  He is just alright with the drug culture musicians and the small-town alternative to drugs according to country musicians.

American Jesus spans the political spectrum.  He is a liberal to the liberals, a conservative to the conservatives and an independent to the independents.

American Jesus is a social justice warrior who demands change and the protector of the status quo.  He is the ultimate example of the best of humanity by the definition of every American.

American Jesus is too compassionate on women to be pro-life and too compassionate on the unborn to be pro-choice.  He is a peacenik who advocates peace at any cost and the unseen warrior that goes before the American military to win at any cost.

American Jesus is a Catholic, a Protestant, a Mormon, and a Universalist.  He is also a Muslim, a Hindu, and held in the highest regard by every religion in America – except one.

American Jesus is tolerated by some in Rabbinic Judaism as being good for other Americans.  He can be any kind of American except a Jewish American.  He can be any ethnicity except for Jewish.

American Jesus is a unifying enigma that transcends all boundaries.  He can be anything to everyone and do anything - except cause division between Americans.  He is in every way an inoffensive Jesus.

American Jesus seems so good to so many Americans.  It is not hard to understand why he is so popular with Americans.

However, is American Jesus the same as the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) found in the pages of the Book of Truth (The Bible)?  Which version of American Jesus most resembles him?  Are there any aspects of the Man of Truth are not shared by any version of American Jesus?

American Jesus was born on Christmas.

American Jesus was born on Christmas Day – December 25.  This was the date of Sol Invictus – the celebration of the Winter Solstice - on the Julian Calendar when it was first invented.

(Julius Caesar did not actually invent the Julian Calendar.  It was invented by Greek Astronomers but did not gain acceptance until Julius Caesar decreed it as the official calendar of the Roman Empire.  So, it was named after him due to his decree.)

Sol Invictus began on the evening of December 24-Christmas Eve - when Julius Caesar decreed that the Roman Empire would use the Julian Calendar in 45 BC.   It already had Sol Invictus during the day of December 25 at the time of his decree.

Sol Invictus was the day for celebrating the Roman Sun god – Sol- being born.  The idea was that night had been killing Sol and causing shorter days until the Winter Solstice – when Sol proved to be invincible by being reborn, and the days started to get longer.

It was also celebrated as the birthday of the Indian god Mithra that had been imported into the Roman Empire from India via the Persian Empire and then the Greek Empire.   Mithra was often paired with Sol in Roman religion since Mithra was the god of light that was born on the same day as Sol each year.

Both of these ultimately came from Tammuz in Babylon, whose birthday was also on the Winter Solstice.  He was killed by a boar that represented Shem the Lamenter in Babylonian mythology but was born through reincarnation on the next Winter Solstice.

After being born anew, he then killed the boar that had killed him and ate it.  So, the Romans would kill a pig and eat it on Sol Invictus to commemorate the birth of Tammuz.

Pliny the Elder dated the Winter Solstice as December 25 based on observable astronomical events about a hundred years later.  So, the Julian Calendar seemed to be staying in line with the solar year.

However, Sol Invictus kept getting farther and farther from the Winter Solstice on the Julian Calendar over the centuries.  Consequently, Christmas also did the same since they were the same celebration with two different names.

This is because the Julian Calendar was flawed in that it had leap year every four years without exception.  As a result the date of astronomical events like the Winter Solstice slipped backwards by 3.1 days every 400 years.

The Gregorian Calendar corrected this defect by not having Leap Day on years that ended in 00 but were not evenly divisible by 400.  For example, 1700, 1800, and 1900 did not have a Leap Day, but 2000 had a Leap Day.

So by the time of the Gregorian correction in 1582,  the Winter Solstice had shifted to December 11 the previous year.  After the correction, it was on December 22.   Still Christmas stayed on 25 December – just like Sol Invictus had done after it was no longer in sync with the Winter Solstice on the Julian Calendar.

By this time, the False Church of Rome had brought in many of the Nordic, German, and Celtic people into it by incorporating some of the traditions of their idolatry into Christmas.  This included the practice of cutting down a tree, placing it in the home, and putting presents under it.

Like the tradition of eating a pig on Christmas, this tradition also ultimately had its roots in Babylon.  It too was connected with celebrating the birth of Tammuz.

So, the birth of American Jesus is celebrated on December 25 each year with Christmas trees that people bowed down before when they placed gifts under them.  Americans then eat ham in his honor at Christmas dinner and finally bow down before the Christmas tree to pull out gifts from beneath it.

This celebration is not just an American phenomenon.  There is a global Christmas party that celebrates the birth of American Jesus.

How similar is this to the birth of the Man of Truth?

The first thing to consider is when was the Man of Truth born?  How close does a date of December 25 match with the facts of the Christmas story (as churches call it) in the Book of Truth?

A decree was given that everyone across the Roman Empire had to go to their home town to pay their taxes (Luke 2:1-3).  The Man of Truth was born in Bethlehem when Joseph (husband of Mary) was there to pay his taxes (Luke 2:4-6).

In America, tax day is April 15 because that was when England collected taxes in it when it was part of the British Empire.  In England, taxes were collected in April because that is when the Romans collected taxes in it when it was part of the Roman Empire.

The Romans collected taxes in the month of April because that is when barley became ripe, and they needed to replenish their grain supply after Winter.  Therefore, the Man of Truth was born in April according to the Book of Truth.

The shepherds were also out with their flocks at night when the Man of Truth was born in an empty animal booth and placed in a feed trough (Luke 2:7-12).  They had no problem finding him because they were familiar with the empty animal booth (Luke 2:13-16).

Normally, sheep were kept in a sheepfold at night with the shepherd guarding the sheepfold (John 10:1-2).  The shepherd would then lead them to green pastures in the morning (John 10:3-4).

However, during lambing season the sheep had to be kept out and the shepherd had to watch them at night.  Otherwise, the sheep would step on and kill the newborn lambs if they were all packed together in a sheepfold.

The lambing season lasts for seventeen days in early Spring in the northern hemisphere.  It begins around the Spring Equinox in the area around Israel and ends around the first week of April.

Therefore, the Man of Truth was born during the first week of April according to the Book of Truth.  He certainly was not born on December 25 like American Jesus.

The Man of Truth certainly did not set a tree on a stand in his house and decorate it with gold and silver ornaments like idolators had done (Jeremiah 10:3-5).  He did not adorn it with blue and purple ribbons or garlands like these idol worshipers had done to their idols (Jeremiah 10:8-9).

The Man of Truth knew that the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) had commanded that the people of Israel to not carry out any practices that came from idol worship (Deuteronomy 12:30).  He knew they were never to be modify these practices to be used in worship of the Father of Truth (Deuteronomy 12:31-32).

The Man of Truth also certainly did not so much as touch the body of a dead pig – much less eat part of it (Leviticus 11:7-8).  He knew that the people of Isreal were not to do this to show that they were holy like the Father of Truth is holy (Leviticus 11:45-47).

Therefore, the Man of Truth did not celebrate his birthday by getting presents out from under a Christmas tree.  He also did not get a ham dinner for his birthday each year!

So, there are some similarities between the circumstance of the birth of American Jesus and the Man of Truth like his birthplace, but their birthdays are over three months apart!  There are absolutely no similarities in how their birthdays are celebrated!

American Jesus died on Good Friday and rose again on Easter Sunday.

This life of American Jesus is commemorated by Lent.  This season begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter Sunday.

The last week of the life of American Jesus is commemorated by “Holy Week”.  This begins after celebrating his triumphant entry on Palm Sunday.

In this commemoration, American Jesus died on Good Friday.  He then rose again on Easter Sunday.

Since Lent came from the False Church of Rome, many Americans do not observe most of Lent.  However, they agree that American Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, was crucified on Good Friday, and resurrected on Easter Sunday.

Many commemorate the triumphant entry of American Jesus with ceremonies using palm leaves in church services on Palm Sunday.  Some attend services to weep over his death on Good Friday.

However, most Americans celebrate his resurrection on Easter Sunday.  This is the day of the highest church attendance in America.

There are usually plays and ceremonies to mark the resurrection of American Jesus.  The girls are often dressed in the Easter dresses and the boys are dressed up in Easter suits.

For some, the celebration begins before dawn when they arrive to watch the Sun rise on Easter Sunday.  They typically sing songs of praises as it is rising.

After the service, the resurrection of American Jesus is celebrated with the Easter Game.  This game has several forms, but there is a common pattern among them.

In this game, the Easter Bunny has placed colored Easter Eggs outside for children to find.  Sometimes the Easter Eggs are all in plain sight in the grass but other times the Easter Eggs are hidden under bushes, among the Easter Lillies, or in hollow places in trees.

The children then scrabble to collect as many Easter Eggs as possible and place them in their traditionally wicker Easter Baskets.  There are prizes given to those who collected the most Easter Eggs and those who collected specially marked Easter Eggs.

The Easter Game that commemorates the resurrection of American Jesus is so popular that it is often played by American Muslims, Hindus, and Atheists.  This is because they know that American Jesus is accepting of people of all religions –  even those who claim to have no religion.

It does not seem to bother anyone that Easter is the name of the Germanic goddess of fertility that was worshipped also by the Celts and Norse under a similar name in their languages.  They continue to play the Easter Game that was created to honor this goddess to commemorate the resurrection of American Jesus.

Then they eat Easter Dinner to commemorate this event.  It usually features some sort of salad made from green vegetables that match the greenness of Spring and a main course.

Ham has been the traditional main course of this celebration of his resurrection.  However, American Jesus is inclusive to all religions,- so lamb, turkey and meat substitutes have become common as well.

The traditional treat is Easter Cakes.  These are traditionally small white cakes decorated with emblems of fertility like flowers and eggs in Spring colors.

They are named Easter Cakes because the Germanic, Celtic, and Norse people baked these cakes as a sacrifice to Easter – the Queen of Heaven.  They then ate these small cakes at a feast in honor of the Queen of Heaven.

Today, these cakes are eaten to commemorate the resurrection of American Jesus.  Apparently, no one saw a need to rename them to “Resurrection Cakes” instead of Easter Cakes.

How similar is this to the death and resurrection of the Man of Truth?

However, many of the American Children of Truth have rejected the association of the Man of Truth with Easter.  They simply do not see the traditions of Lent or Easter in the Book of Truth.  For this reason, they observe Resurrection Sunday instead of Easter Sunday.

However some of the traditions of Easter are in the Book of Truth.  They just have nothing to do with the resurrection of the Man of Truth.

The Jewish people worshiped the Queen of Heaven by baking and eating cakes in her honor (Jeremiah 7:17-18).  This caused confusion among them and angered the Father of Truth (Jeremiah 7:19).

So, we can be certain that the Man of Truth had nothing to do with the Queen of Heaven.  He certainly would not want his resurrection associated with Easter.

However, these American Children of Truth that have rejected Easter often still say the Man of Truth came into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday, died on Good Friday, and rose on Resurrection Sunday.  Is this what the Book of Truth says?

We have to establish which day of the week the Man of Truth died on to establish when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and was met with people waving palm branches.  To establish which day of the week he died on, we have to first establish which day of the week the Man of Truth was resurrected on.

First we have to establish when a day begins, and when the Sabbath is in the Book of Truth.  A day does not begin at midnight like the Romans established and when the Sabbath is not on Sunday like the False Church of Rome established.

First there was darkness and then the Father of Truth brought forth light (Genesis 1:2-3).  So, each day starts with the time of darkness called night that begins in the evening followed by the time of light called day that begins in the morning (Genesis 1:4-5).

Both evening and morning are transition times that take about an hour around the time of the Spring Equinox.  Evening begins when the sun goes below the horizon (sunset) and ends when all sunlight is gone (nightfall).  Morning begins when the first sunlight appears and ends when the sun is fully risen.

The Father of Truth then rested on the seventh day and set it apart as a day for rest at the end of each week (Genesis 2:1-3).  So, the Sabbath (ceasing) is the name of the seventh day that ends each week (Exodus 20:9-11).

We can be certain when the Sabbath occurs because the Father of Truth commanded the Jewish people when to observe it (Exodus 16:23-27).  They have been observing it without fail ever since then (Exodus 31:16-17).

The Jewish people were still observing the Sabbath as the seventh day of the week from Friday evening until Saturday evening at the time of the Man of Truth.  The first day of the week began on Saturday evening and ended on Sunday evening.

The tomb was opened sunlight first began to appear – an hour before sunrise - on the first day of the week – Sunday (Matthew 28:1-2).  In fact, it was still dark when the women first arrived there on the first day of the week -Sunday (John 20:1).

However, this was not just any Sunday, but was the day of Firstfruits – when the barley sheaves were raised as the first fruits of the barley harvest (Leviticus 23:10-15).  The Man of Truth had to rise on this day to be the first fruits of those who rise from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

The day of Firstfruits always falls on the Sunday – the day after the weekly Sabbath - during the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6-11).  It was day one on the countdown to another special Sabbath that fell on the day after the seventh weekly Sabbath following it – also always a Sunday (Leviticus 23:15-16).

So, the Man of Truth indeed rose from the dead on a Sunday but about an hour before sunrise.  Also it was on Firstfruits and not Easter Sunday like American Jesus, so the Apostles of Truth would have said “Happy Firstfruits” instead of “Happy Easter” on the anniversary of his resurrection.

The spirit of the Man of Truth was in the heart of the earth after his death for three days and three nights (Matthew 12:39-40).  He did not rise again until after he had been dead for three whole days (Mark 8:31).

Even if you count partial nights as full nights and partial days as full days, there is no way to get three full days and three full nights with the Man of Truth dying on a Friday and rising on Sunday.  The only way to get three full days between his death and resurrection is if he died on a Wednesday.

On the fourteenth day of the first month of the Biblical Calendar, all of the people of Israel killed the Passover lamb at the same time as if they were all killing the same lamb (Exodus 12:2-6).  Then on the night that began with the evening that ended the fourteenth day they would eat it together (Exodus 12:8).

So, the evening after the lamb was killed on Passover also began the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread that was on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Biblical Calendar (Leviticus 23:5-6).  This day was also a special Sabbath like the regularly weekly Sabbath (Leviticus 23:7).

So, the Man of Truth died on the day of preparation at the time the Passover lamb was killed for the special Sabbath that began that evening (Mark 15:39-42).  His body was placed in the tomb before the special Sabbath – the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread – began (John 19:31-42).

So, the Man of Truth died on Passover – the day of preparation when the Passover lamb was killed -the fourteenth day of the first month on the Biblical Calendar.  He was buried just before the Feast of Unleavened Bread began on the fifteenth day of the first month.

Just like December 25 on the Gregorian Calendar, the fourteenth day of the first month on the Biblical Calendar could fall on any day of the week. However like Easter Sunday, the day of Firstfruits could only fall on a Sunday.

So, the Man of Truth did not die on Good Friday like American Jesus.  He died on Passover which fell on a Wednesday that year.

Six days before Passover – a Thursday since Passover fell on a Wednesday that year – Mary (the sister of Lazarus) anointed the feet of the Man of Truth for his upcoming burial (John 12:1-7).  The next day – a Friday – he rode into Jerusalem where people greeted him as the King of Israel with palm branches (John 12:12-15).

So, the Man of Truth did not make his triumphant entry on Palm Sunday like American Jesus.  He made it on the Friday before Passover.

So, the only thing in common between the death and resurrection story of American Jesus and that of the Man of Truth is the resurrection occurring on a Sunday.  Even then, American Jesus was resurrected about an hour later than the Man of Truth.

Does American Jesus and the Man of Truth celebrate the same holidays?

American Jesus is often included in celebrations of American holidays besides Easter and Christmas.  He is featured especially in patriotic holidays.

This is not hard to understand, for the Book of Truth was the rock that the America was founded upon as President Andrew Jackson said.  Since the Man of Truth is the central figure of the Book of Truth, it is only natural to honor him when observing these holidays.

For example, MLK day remembers Reverend Martin Luther King Junior who often quoted from the Book of Truth in his speeches.  He stressed that it did not matter which of the six shades of brown of skin color people had, but how much their character reflected that of the Man of Truth.

So, sermons of MLK that quote the Man of Truth are often preached on this holiday.  In like manner, quotes from the Man of Truth found in these sermons are also often quoted in sound bites taken from those sermons.

Thus, the Man of Truth is featured so much in American national holidays that Americans act like he is an American.  This is one reason that he became American Jesus in the minds of so many Americans.

However, the Man of Truth never celebrated a single American holiday.  He celebrated the Jewish holidays found in the Book of Truth instead.

The Man of Truth celebrated Jewish religious holidays like Pesach (Passover) each year (Luke 2:41).  He also celebrated Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) like other Jews (John 7:1-2).

The Man of Truth also celebrated Jewish national holidays like Purim (John 5:1).  This holiday occurs a month before Pesach (John 6:4).

The Man of Truth announced that he was the light of the world at the Festival of Lights (John 8:12).  He had went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish national holiday of Chanukah (The Feast of Dedication) in the Temple during the winter (John 10:22-23).

Americans sometimes refer to Chanukah as a Jewish Christmas because it occurs between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day each year, but it is very different.  The Man of Truth was not celebrating his birthday in a Jewish way at Chanukah.

Central to the celebration is the lighting of a nine candle Menorah called Chanukiah each night which people often placed in their windows.  So, it is also called the Festival of Lights due to the lights that appear everywhere during the eight-day celebration.

It is called Chanukah (dedication) because it remembers dedicating the Temple after it had been desecrated by Antiochus Epiphanes.  Without this dedication, the Man of Truth could have never brought salvation from the Temple.

This is the gift of the Maccabees.  It is how the Maccabees help spread the Gospel.

Chanukah remembers the faithful priest Matthias who decided that resistance is essential when most of the Jewish people were willing to be assimilated into Greek idolatry.  It remembers that the real miracle of Chanukah was those who did exploits through faith in the Father of Truth.

The Man of Truth was not celebrating some miracle where oil for one day burned for eight days made up by the Rabbis three hundred years after his death.  This story just shows that the Rabbis are liars and the source of Jewish trouble.

The Man of Truth knew that events of Chanukah were the story behind the story of his birth.  He knew that this story was told in the Book of Daniel hundreds of years before it occurred.

On one side in the Chanukah story are most of the Jews who forsook the Original Covenant and joined with Antiochus Epiphanes (the king of the northern Greek empire) in desecrating the Temple (Daniel 11:30-31).  On the other side is the remnant of the Jews who stayed loyal to the Father of Truth and some Greeks who helped them in resisting assimilation in a long war that ended with the Temple being dedicated again to the Father of Truth (Daniel 11:32-35).

So, how else is American Jesus different than the Man of Truth?

American Jesus has often been cast into the mold of any kind of American except a Jewish-American.  However, the Man of Truth was never any kind of American and he is a Jew.

The Man of Truth is more than just the savior of the Gentiles.  He is first and foremost the Messiah of Israel.

The Man of Truth only has the appearance of one ethnic group – the Jewish people (John 4:9-10).  He has a face that can get lost in a crowd of Jews from the Middle East (John 5:13).

The favorite place on the entire Earth of the Man of Truth is the land of Israel (Deuteronomy 11:9-12).  He will reign from the Jewish capital of Jerusalem – not the American capital of Washington D.C. (Matthew 5:35).

At the birth of the Man of Truth in Israel the Angels of Truth announced the desire of the Father of Truth to have peace on Earth and good will towards men (Luke 2:14-15).  He was sent as the means for people to have peace with the Father of Truth (Romans 5:1).

However, when the Man of Truth came into the world to bring this peace, he was not received even by his own people (John 1:10-11).  The world was unwilling to accept the conditions of peace that the Father of Truth required (John 3:17-20).

This is because the Man of Truth is not just alright with the drug culture and will destroy all of those who do not leave it (Galatians 5:19-21).  (The Greek word translated as “sorcery” is “pharmakeia” which includes hallucinogenic drugs that are used in sorcery.)

He is definitely against abortion as well.  The Father of Truth is the maker of every child while it is still in the womb (Psalm 139:13-14).  The Man of Truth said that drowning was too good for anyone who hurt a child (Luke 17:2).

More than that, the Man of Truth said that anyone who did not take care their parents in their old age should be executed (Matthew 15:3-4).  In fact, he demanded that people completely stop sinning (John 8:11).

The Man of Truth preached a gospel that demanded repentance from sin (Mark 1:14-15).  He said that a fate worse than death awaited for all who did not repent from sin (Mark 6:11-12).

The Man of Truth also called the Rabbis hypocrites who perverted the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) to teach their own commandments (Matthew 15:1-9).  He warned his followers to not allow others to call them “Rabbi” and not to act like the Rabbis who kept people from accepting the terms of peace offered by the Father of Truth (Matthew 23:7-13).

The Man of Truth also demands that the Gentiles to leave their worship of other gods or they too will be destroyed along with homosexuals, transgender people, adulterers , anyone who is having sex with anyone other than their spouse of the opposite sex, and those who got drunk on alcohol (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).  All of these as well those who commit murderer (including abortion) – Jew or Gentile – will be cast into the Lake of Fire to be tormented forever (Revelation 21:8).

So, whoever among the Jews who do not accept these terms of peace that the Father of Truth sent by the Man of Truth will be destroyed (Luke 21:22-24).  In like manner, all people who do not accept these terms of peace will be destroyed by the Man of Truth (Acts 17:30-31).

So, that all ethnic groups can have some saved, the Man of Truth has sent out the Children of Truth to bring these terms of peace to the Gentiles (Romans 10:13-17).  It is sweet smell of the life to those who accept these terms and the stench of death to those who reject them (2 Corinthians 2:14-16).

For this reason the Man of Truth has caused people to fight each other throughout the Earth (Matthew 10:34).  He has divided families against each other all over the Earth (Luke 12:51-53).

The Man of Truth is the most divisive man in history.  Not only have families divided over the conditions of peace that his Father demands, but everything from best friends to businesses to empires have divided over him.

The Man of Truth is nothing like many versions of American Jesus who will go along with sin to get along with sinners.  Instead he has demonstrated how to lose friends and irritate people.

So, how did there come to be so many versions of American Jesus?

The Man of Truth was brought to America as part of the legacy of the Pilgrims.  In fact, Christmas was illegal in every state of the United States until Alabama legalized it in 1834.

American Jesus were made by later European immigrants who sought to change America through a subtle influence.  Since the Man of Truth was the center of American society, they sought to make another Jesus that did not require them to accept the terms of peace offered by the Father of Truth or perish.

Indeed the Father of Truth drew near to America when America was drawing near to Him and will do so again if America will repent (James 4:8-10).  This is the only way to make America great again.

However, if America will not once again accept His terms of peace, then the death of America is certain.  If the Father of Truth destroyed Israel when they rejected His peace offer, then He will certainly do the same with America (Romans 2:9-11).

So, America must return to walking in truth with the Man of Truth.  This means recognizing that American Jesus is from the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil), since all lies are from him (John 8:44).

When Americans are keeping the Law of Truth then they become a wise and understanding people (Deuteronomy 4:5-6).  Since most American Children of Truth (those who obeys The Father of Truth because they love Him) have not read even read it, they do foolish things like Israel did when they quit reading and obeying it (Deuteronomy 32:28).

These foolish things include celebrating the birthday of the Man of Truth at Christmas and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.  The Father of Truth knew that they and other Gentile Children of Truth would do foolish things like this but He blessed them anyways to provoke the Jewish people (Romans 10:19).

However, American Jesus is now cursed for calling evil what the Father of Truth calls good and calling good what He calls evil (Isaiah 5:20).  This means that American Jesus must die and never be resurrected.

The American Children of Truth can be like the mensch who killed Christmas.  They can be more like the Man of Truth and celebrate Chanukah instead of Christmas because it’s not just a Jewish thing.

In your own life, you can kill the counterfeit American Jesus found in America and start following the genuine Man of Truth found in the Book of Truth.  You can accept the terms of peace that the Father of Truth offers through the Man of Truth.

Those terms require you to do everything the Man of Truth says because you love him (John 14:15).  Accepting these terms will cause the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) will live in you so you can keep the commandments of the Law of Truth (Romans 8:6-11).

If you will continue to do what the Man of Truth says, then he will free you from the grip of American Jesus (John 8:31-32).  Your part is to be willing to obey him in everything because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

Come into the House of Truth!

The Trail Of Tears

Why did missionaries voluntarily walk The Trail of Tears?

The first thing to understanding the involvement of Christian missionaries in The Trail of Tears is understanding The Trail of Tears itself.  The term is misleading, because there was no single Trail of Tears walked by a single tribe to a single destination.

A Trail of Tears is a route that Native Americans were forced to travel when they were removed involuntarily from their homes.  There were more than thirty actual Trails of Tears used by at least nine different tribes.  Some of them were actually water routes.

The Ho-Chunk/Winnebago tribe was the first around 1830 AD, and the Ponca Tribe was the last in 1881 AD.  The Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, Muskogee (Creek)) were migrated in the interim period, between 1831 AD and 1858 AD.  The most terrible of these Trail of Tears was the one walked by the Cherokee in their final removal in 1838 AD.

The amazing thing is that many Christian missionaries voluntarily walked each Trail of Tears that the Five Civilized Tribes walked.  This includes the forced removal of the Cherokee in 1838 AD.

In fact, many of the European-American Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) had been advocates for the fair treatment of Native Americans like the Pilgrims.  They advocated living with the Native Americans in peace as brothers with like Wampanoags and Pilgrims had done.

So President George Washington treated the Cherokee and the other members of the Five Civilized Tribes as autonomous nations inside of the borders of the United States in 1795 AD.  Treaties were negotiated with each tribe as nations.  The Cherokee Nation, and the other four nations, were to be subject to only federal law and their own laws inside their own land.

The problem was the state governments, who did not have jurisdiction over the tribes that lived within the borders of their state.  The state governments constantly ignored the terms of these treaties. The worst of these by far was the government of Georgia, especially the treaties made with the Cherokee Nation.

The root of this problem was Thomas Jefferson.

In 1802 AD, he made a deal with the state of Georgia, for the federal government to aid Georgia in convincing the Cherokee to leave Georgia, in exchange for Georgia releasing its claims on the unorganized land to the west.

It was up to Georgia to negotiate with the Cherokee to buy their land.  However, the majority of the Cherokee Nation was not interested in selling their land.

So, in 1815 AD, the United States government set aside about a quarter of the modern state of Arkansas aside for the Cherokee settlement.  It was all of the land in Arkansaw Territory between the Arkansas River and the White River.

It stretched from the Mississippi River to the border of the modern state of Oklahoma.  The federal government offered incentives to the Cherokee to relocate there voluntarily in a treaty.

(Cherokee had been moving into this area on their own since 1780 AD.  They were the first of the Old Settler Cherokees.)

However, John Ross, the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, rejected the ridiculous offer of two-hundred thousand dollars for the Cherokee Nation to relocate to Arkansaw Territory.

Many of the Cherokee in Georgia wanted to be free from fighting with European Americans and the state militia, so the first group moved there with federal aid in 1818 AD.  This was the beginning of the Cherokee Nation (West) in Arkansaw Territory.

Among them was Sequoyah, where he invented the Cherokee syllabary.  Mount Sequoyah in Fayetteville, Arkansas is named after him.  (The early European American settlers said that he once had a cabin there.)

The Cherokee Nation (East) formally organized itself as a democracy with three branches of government in 1827 AD.  The capital was at New Echota, Georgia (near present-day Calhoun, Georgia).

Then President John Quincy Adams signed a treaty with the Cherokee Nation (West) to move from Arkansaw Territory to Indian Territory in 1828 AD.

(The federal government sent in agents asking the Cherokee, many who had intermarried European Americans, to self-identify, so they could be relocated from the farms they had created.  Many declined to do so, hid themselves, and remained in Arkansas, particularly in Northwest Arkansas.)

Soon after that, the rest of the Cherokee were forced to relocate as well.

When the Indian Removal act was signed into law in 1830 AD by President Andrew Jackson, one third of the Cherokee Nation in Georgia moved to Indian Territory reluctantly, since the Georgia state militia was constantly harassing them.  They also believed that Georgia was going to take their land without payment, if they waited.  They had no significant losses in their move.

So around 1832 AD, Principal Chief John Ross offered for the Cherokee land to broken into allotments, with members of the Cherokee Nations receiving the first allotments, the federal government receiving the rest of the land for five million dollars, and the members of Cherokee Nation becoming full citizens of the United States and the state of Georgia - with the same rights as all other citizens.  Both the United States and Georgia rejected the offer.

A year or so later, Chief Ross made another offer for the Cherokee Nation to move voluntarily to Indian Territory for a sum of twenty million dollars.  (This was half the price of the Seminole War that ended in 1842 AD.)  Again, the United States and Georgia rejected the offer.

Also, in 1833 AD, the Cherokee Nation (West) established a constitutional government modeled after the constitutional government of the Cherokee Nation (East).  The capital was at Tahlontiskee, Indian Territory (near present-day Gore, Oklahoma).

Some of the most educated among the Cherokee Nation (East) argued that the removal was inevitable, and the Cherokee Nation (East) should negotiate the best deal that it could get.  So, Chief Ross led the passage of a law in 1834 AD, which stated that anyone who negotiated a deal for removal - without consent of the national council - was guilty of treason and could be put to death.  He also cancelled elections for the national council to ensure that the party against removal remained in power.

Nevertheless, this group of highly educated members of the Cherokee Nation (East) formed the Treaty Party, and negotiated a treaty for removal in 1835 AD.  The New Echota Treaty gave the Cherokee Nation (East) three years to move to Indian Territory and five million dollars for their land in Georgia.

The Cherokee Nation (East) was outraged that the United States Senate ratified this treaty in 1836 AD - which was lacking the signature of their Principle Chief and the national council.  It was also contrary to the wishes of most of the Cherokee Nation (East).

Chief Ross and the national council urged the Cherokee Nation (East) to refuse to leave Georgia.  So, the Cherokee Nation (East) became determined to not be removed from the state of Georgia voluntarily on their own by the 1838 AD deadline.

However, many of the Cherokee Nation (East) began rethinking their position, realizing that removal was inevitable when Martin Van Buren, the Vice President of Andrew Jackson, was elected as President in 1836 AD.  So, about two-thousand two hundred members of the Cherokee Nation (East) took the assistance offered by the United States government and voluntarily relocated to Indian Territory before the 1838 AD deadline.  Less than thirty of them died on the journey.

The remainder of the Cherokee Nation, about sixteen thousand members, refused to leave Georgia.  However, their efforts were in vain.

Soon the removal of the Cherokee began.

In the spring of 1838 AD, the Cherokee Nation, mostly in neighboring states, were rounded up for removal.  However, about one thousand two hundred escaped to the mountains, or were exempted from removal, because they owned private land outside of the Cherokee Nation.

Still, the United States army managed to capture about two thousand eight hundred members of the Cherokee Nation, and conducted forced removals in 1838 AD.  About six hundred of those died on the journey.  It was such a disaster that the general put in charge of the operation, Winfield Scott, ordered for the operation to be stopped.

So, General Scott had the remaining twelve thousand members of the Cherokee Nation (East) put into eleven internment camps.  This allowed the Cherokee Nation (East) to both be controlled by his troops, and protected from some European Americans, who wanted to kill them.

The council of the Cherokee Nation (East) realized that removal was inevitable.  So, they asked General Scott for the removal to wait until cooler weather was set in.

Finally in September, Chief Ross finally conceded that removal was inevitable.  So, he requested that the Cherokee Council be able to handle the removal, instead of the United States army, and the army pay the expenses.

General Scott granted both requests - which outraged former President Andrew Jackson.  He then rewarded the contract to conduct the removal to Chief Ross with the approval of the Cherokee Council.

Chief Ross divided the Cherokee Nation (East) into twelve wagon trains.  He put his brother Lewis in charge of obtaining the provisions needed for the journey.

Then the remaining Cherokee began walking on the Trail of Tears.

Each wagon train was conducted by two members of the Cherokee Nation (East).  Each wagon train included physicians, interpreters, commissaries, managers, wagon masters, teamsters, and grave diggers. 

Each wagon train had between seven hundred and one thousand five hundred Cherokee Nation (East) members, averaging about one thousand per wagon train.  The wagon trains left different internment camps on different dates and took different routes to different destinations in Indian Territory.

The first wagon train left on October 6, 1838 AD and the last one left on November 6, 1838 AD.  By the time the last wagon train left, three hundred and fifty-three members of the Cherokee Nation (East) had died in the internment camps.

The first wagon train arrived in Indian Territory on January 4, 1839 AD and the last one arrived on 25 March, 1839 AD.

When they arrived in Indian Territory, there was about nine thousand six hundred Cherokee left out of about eleven thousand eight hundred, who came in the wagon trains.  This was a loss of about two thousand four hundred Cherokees.

However, it is not certain how many actually died.  In the records kept by some of the conductors, more people were added to the wagon trains, as the United States armies caught Cherokees and other members of the Five Civilized Tribes that had previously escaped capture.

However, about an equal number of Cherokees deserted the wagon trains.  Also, there were some births on the journey as well.  So, probably about two thousand two hundred Cherokees died on the journey, when all things are considered.

So altogether, the Cherokee Nation (East) lost about three thousand, one hundred, and fifty members out of the sixteen thousand - who had refused to go to Indian Nation on their own.  They also lost about another one thousand, two hundred members - who escaped to the mountains instead of going to Indian Nation.

This makes about four thousand, three hundred and fifty members out of sixteen thousand counted in 1835 AD, that did not make it to Indian territory in 1839 AD. This is over a quarter of the Cherokee Nation (East).

This mismanaged reluctant removal is usually what the Cherokee mean when they say, "The Trail Of Tears".

However, not all of the Cherokee suffered on the Trail of Tears.

Chief Ross, and the rest of the Cherokee Nation (East) government officials, along with their families did not travel in these wagon trains.  Instead, Chief Ross bought a river boat, the Victoria.  These two hundred and nineteen members of the Cherokee Nation (East) Council used this river boat to travel to Indian Territory in comfort.

Those in the wagon trains walked as much as two thousand two hundred miles in the winter, due to the late departure caused by Chief Ross. He had resisted relocation until the rest of the Cherokee Nation gave him no choice but to leave - and he was sure that his position as undisputed leader was assured. 

Some of the wagon trains went as far north as southern Illinois in blizzards.  They could have followed a shorter route in the south with much better weather - if Chief Ross and the Cherokee National Council had walked with them instead of riding in a river boat.

(Half as many would have died on the Trail of Tears, if they had left in September instead of November.  Perhaps only a quarter as many would have died, if they had all taken the more direct land route to Arkansas that was half as long.)

The wife of Chief Ross was the only recorded death on the Victoria.  In fact, there were fifteen more people on the river boat at the end of the journey than at the beginning, mostly due to births.

Also, Chief Ross, who was billing the United States army on a per person basis, showed about one thousand six hundred more people than the officers in charge counted at both the departure point and arrival point.  The records kept by the wagon train conductors agreed with the counts of the United States army.

So President Van Buren refused to pay Chief Ross the extra half a million dollars for these fraudulent claims.  However, the next president of the United States, Tyler, gave the money to him.

Yet, a group of European Americans suffered on the Trail of Tears.

Even though, Chief Ross and the Cherokee Council did not walk the Trail of Tears, there were European American missionaries who did so.  They chose suffering with the Cherokee Nation (East) over the comfortable life that they could have enjoyed.

They refused any special treatment but suffered with those they walked with.  Some of them died, some of their wives died, and some of their children died on the Trail of Tears.

This was not a hasty symbolic act of defiance again social injustice.  This was a continuation of a pattern of suffering on behalf the Cherokee tribe that began more than a hundred years before the final removal of the Cherokee Nation (East) to Indian Territory.

Even before the Trail of Tears, European American Missionaries had walked the Trail of Brotherly Love.  They had suffered persecution for years due to their efforts to prevent the removal of the Cherokee and other Native Americans from their land.

They made sure that Native Americans were not the forgotten people.  They knew that the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) was the hope of the Almodadi.

One of these was Daniel Sabin Butrick.  His decision to champion bringing the Good News to the Cherokee over the political advocacy of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) cost him dearly.

The newer commissioners that ran the ABCFM were more interested in continuing to receive government funding than the work that its founders had created it for.  They did not want any of their missionaries do anything that might upset the ruling Democratic Party that was Pro-Removal.

America was deeply divided over the issue of removing Native Americans to the point of almost going into a civil war over the matter – twice!  Daniel Butrick worked effortlessly with John Howard Paine to make the injustices done to the Cherokee and other Native Americans known across the United States.

So, the ABCFM cut off his funding for doing the work that he had been sent there to do in 1818.  Still, Daniel Butrick persisted right up until the time of the Trail of Tears.

So, in 1838 Daniel Butrick and his wife Elizabeth Proctor Butrick walked the Trail of Tears to continue that work with no support from the ABCFM in Indian Territory.  They saw the Children of Truth among the Cherokee as their brothers and sisters that they would not abandon in their darkest hour.

Samuel Worcestor and Elizur Butler were also tireless advocates for the Cherokee.  They were arrested and sentenced to four years of hard labor by the state of Georgia for their actions.

They were offered a pardon if they agreed to stop their advocacy but they refused the pardon so the case of the Cherokee could be heard by the US Supreme Court.  They won their case in 1832, but it soon became clear that the Georgia and the surrounding states along with many European Americans were not going to abide by the rule of law.

The state of Georgia also continued to keep them imprisoned illegally for another year until the next governor had them released to quell civil unrest from their wrongful imprisonment.  After this, they both stood with the Cherokee until their arrival in Indian Territory in 1839.

Samuel Worcestor and his wife Ann realized that removal was inevitable, so they left for Indian Territory with their seven children in 1835.  They lost almost all of their possessions on the journey, and Ann almost died from a fever on the journey.  They might have lost at least one of their children on their voluntary trail of tears before they arrived in 1836.

They immediately began working with the Cherokee Nation (West) to prepare for the arrival of the Cherokee Nation (East).  Their tireless efforts took their toll on Ann Worcestor, and she died from exhaustion around the time that the Cherokee Nation (East) reached the end of the Trail of Tears in 1839.

However, Samuel Worcester was joined by his old cellmate that year in helping the Cherokee in Indian Territory.  Elizur Butler had gone back to living among the Cherokee and then walked the Trail of Tears with them.

There were other missionaries from the Baptists, Methodist, Presbyterians, and Moravians who also walked the Trail of Tears with the Cherokee.  Some of them died, some of their wives died, and some of their children died on the Trail of Tears.

Among those was Evan Jones, who had been missionary to the Cherokee since 1822.  His love for the Cherokee was so obvious and sincere that he was chosen to lead one of the wagon trains on the Trail of Tears by Chief Ross.

So, Evan Jones and his family walked the Trail of Tears instead of riding in the riverboat with Chief Ross.  His group experienced only 71 deaths on the trail – the lowest of any wagon train - due to his refusal to be treated differently by the US Army than the Cherokee.

This forced the US Army to treat the entire wagon train with extra care.  Evan Jones was well known as an advocate for the Cherokee and his death on the Trail of Tears could have been the spark that set off a civil war in an America that was already deeply divided over the Great Removal.

This willingness of these European American missionaries to lay down their lives for the good of the Cherokee inspired the Cherokee Children of Truth to do the same.  Those Cherokee that had signed the New Echota Treaty did so knowing that it would cost them their lives but would also keep the Cherokee from being almost completely wiped out by the Georgia militia and other European Americans.

John Ridge said, "I have signed my death warrant" when he signed the New Echota Treaty.  He signed it because he was willing to lay down his life for the preservation of his people.

He and the other signers were persecuted until they were murdered for their signatures.  They walked their own trail of tears to save their people.

So, what inspired these people to walk a trail of tears to save others?

They were following the example of the Man of Truth.  He had walked his own trail of tears to save other people.

Like the missionaries, the Man of Truth gave up a life of comfort to live among people who needed salvation (Philippians 2:5-7).  Like them, he experienced every hardship of life (Hebrews 4:14-15).

Like the missionaries, the efforts of the Man of Truth to save others often left him homeless (Luke 9:56-58).  Like them, he served the needs of others in the midst of his persecution (Luke 22:27-28).

Like the signers of the New Echota Treaty, his enemies plotted to put the Man of Truth to death without causing a civil war (Mark 14:1-2).  Like them, he was sentenced to death by the national council before having a trial (John 11:53-54).

Like the signers of the New Echota Treaty, he earnestly sought for a way that did not require walking on the trail of tears (Mark 14:34-35).  Like the missionaries, he voluntarily walked on the trail of tears when it was the only way to save people (Hebrews 5:7-9).

Like the signers of the New Echota Treaty, the Man of Truth also had false witness brought against him when he was tried because the national council was determined to put him to death (Matthew 26:59).  Like them, the council appealed to the nation that ruled over their nation to authorize his execution (John 18:31).

Like the signers of the New Echota Treaty, the Man of Truth was betrayed by a friend who collected a bounty from the national council (Matthew 26:14-16).  Like them, the ruling nation allowed him to be unjustly put to death to avoid a civil war (Matthew 27:24).

Like the missionaries, the Man of Truth was beaten by those who were in charge of carrying out the sentence (Matthew 27:26).  Like them, he was mocked and spit upon as he was led to the place of his unjust punishment (Matthew 27:27-31).

Like the missionaries, the Man of Truth was surrounded by the sound of weeping women as he walked the trail of tears (Luke 23:26-27).  Like the children of the missionaries, his mother watched him suffer on the trail of tears (John 19:25).

Like the missionaries, the Man of Truth refused any special favor to lessen his suffering on the trail of tears (Mark 15:23).  Like them, he died among those he was sent to save on the trail of tears (John 19:32-34).

Like the missionaries, even those who forced him to walk the trail of tears could see that he was a righteous man (Luke 23:46-47).  Like them, there were many people weeping over his death on the trail of tears (Luke 23:48).

Like the missionaries, his body was given to those he walked among after he died on the trail of tears (Mark 15:43-45).  Like them, he was hastily buried near the trail of tears (Mark 15:46).

However, his death on the trail of tears was not the end of the Man of Truth for the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) raised him back to life (Acts 13:29-30).  He was then given great reward because he walked the trail of tears until the end (Philippians 2:9-11).

So, will you walk the trail of tears with the Man of Truth?

Like John Ridge, the Man of Truth signed his own death warrant to save others (Matthew 26:28).  Like the signers of the New Echota Treaty, his signature made it possible for others to have peace (Romans 5:1).

Through this treaty, all people can be saved from destruction (Romans 5:6-9).  Through it, they can cease to be enemies of the Father of Truth (Romans 5:10-11).

Through this treaty, all people can be reconciled to the Father of Truth (2 Corinthians 5:19-21).  Through it, all people can be reconciled with each other (Ephesians 2:11-17).

However if we accept this treaty, then we will made to walk the trail of tears by those who reject it (John 15:20-21).  We cannot follow the Man of Truth without walking the trail of tears (2 Timothy 3:12).

We must stay on the trail of tears until we reach the end– even it means being removed involuntarily from our homes (Matthew 10:22-23).  However, our suffering on the trail of tears cannot compare to what awaits us at the end (Romans 8:17-18).

We will not get that reward if we stop walking on the trail of tears (2 Timothy 2:12).  We cannot be saved if we stop walking on the trail of tears with the Man of Truth (Hebrews 10:38-39).

So, you can start walking on the trail of tears with the Man of Truth if you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).  You will be able to walk it to the end because he will never leave your side as you walk the trail of tears (Hebrews 13:5-6).

Come into the House of Truth!