The Watchtower Society and John and Morton Edgar - A2Z.org

It is important to notice that in their elaboratoreligious system, the idea of repentance never enteredthe minds of the Egyptians. With them the commissionof sin was regarded merely as a breach ofthe ritual law of the community, and could be atonedfor by certain payments, after which the law-breakerconsidered himself free from all obligation, real ormoral. In the Coptic, which is the nearest to theancient lang,;iage of Egypt, there is no word for" repentance ; the translators were obliged to transferthe Greek word itself into the Coptic version of theNew Testament. As all heathen religions are essentiallythe same, this manifests a vital difference betweenthem and the true religion; for repentance from sins isthe Arst step in the work of salvation, as declared bythe Apostle Peter when he addressed the assembledIsraelites in the temple :" Repent ye therefore, and beconverted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts3:19). The Papal Church follows the lead of itsancient type in disannuling the need for repentancefrom sins, and atonement by the blood, by instituting" indulgences " and the " sacrifices of the mass."Orlgln of the Yule Log and theChristmas Tree.One of the titles of the false Messiah was Baal-berith.which means "Lord of the Covenant," and as such heis referred to in Judges 8:33--"And it came to pass,as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children ofIsrael turned again . . . and made Baal-berith theirgod." It is now recognised that the 25th day ofDecember, although called " Christmas-day," is not thetrue day of the birth of our Lord Jesus. The beginningof October is more nearly correct for his birthas a man, and April for his birth as a new creature.