Throughout my life I have heard the words, “If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and acts like a duck-it must be a duck” and in today's Bible study an astounding message was revealed to me! There are many churches pretending to be ducks! What do I mean by this? Let’s say for example that the duck in this story is the true word of God, the true church of God. Many churches, pastors, priests, and biblical teachers give the appearance of being “ducks” but in fact are teaching people half truths and false truths while steadily misleading them and teaching them pagan beliefs and traditions. Some of these teachers are very aware of what they are doing and are doing it intentionally to turn people astray, while other teachers never really study their Bibles and just use sermons someone else has written and still others refuse to teach God’s true words because they are afraid they will lose members, have confrontations with members and as a result lose tithe money. Churches rely on tithe monies to survive so the teachers can be influenced or even replaced by demanding members. As a result, even some well meaning teachers may want to teach the truth in the church but are silenced by members who want the church to remain as it has always been and want the traditions they have always observed upheld. Many of the very elect have already been deceived and are preaching and teaching it to unsuspecting people who do not study the Holy Bible. This deception is being taught daily in the churches, in the streets, on television, on radio and on the internet. 9 out of 10 so-called religious churches lie to their congregation regularly under the guise of Christianity religions. Yes! This is true and if you actually study your Bible you will know this is true. Jesus warned us to be wary of deception!

• Matthew 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
• Matthew 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
• Matthew 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
• Matthew 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Sadly, the misconceptions and deception have been going on for a very long time, long before most of us were ever born and these deceptions started in Biblical times and have been ongoing for so long our lives are literally steeping in pagan traditions and beliefs. We are surrounded by pagan and evil everywhere we look. The terrifying part of it is that most actually believe what we were taught by our parents, grandparents, relatives, friends, and our church. The churches taught pagan traditions and beliefs to our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents down through the generations under the guise of Christianity. What’s worse is that our ancestors believed them and taught it to us and we taught it to our children.A few examples of these deceptions are Pagan traditions which were represented as Christian celebrations of Christ’s birthday, and honoring Christ for rising from the dead (Christmas and Easter) both of these traditional holidays and others are portrayed as wonderful times for family get togethers by commercialism but hailed by the churches and days to honor Jesus Christ. Even a brief study of the Origin of Christmas or Origin of Easter will quickly reveal that just about everything associated with these traditions are inherently pagan, not only were they pagan rituals but were actually brutal rituals designed to worship satan and other false gods. Merging pagan beliefs with the Bible and representing it as true Godly instruction is a clear deception but the world has tied the pagan package up in ribbons, bows, and glitter so much so that people who refuse to hear the truth and even get angry at people who tell them the truths of the Bible, even when shown the verses in the Bible, they still refuse to give up their pagan traditions because someone down the line convinced them that the lies were Biblical truths. 

• Mark 7:6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
• Mark 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Many people pray but don’t even believe that God will answer their prayers and sadly, many believe in an impotent god who cannot perform miracles. The power to receive miracles from God comes from believing that He can do it. 
People need to draw close to God, especially in these, the End Times. Pray and study your Bible every day. It is so easy to say yes, I am going to pray and study my Bible every day, especially right after you are saved or have heard a particularly moving sermon but in a few days you end up skipping a day, then two…then you stop reading and studying the Bible, but you still pray every day ..if you remember too…..it creeps up on you and suddenly you are far from God and only call on Him when something goes wrong, you call on Him when there is nobody else to turn to for help and even if He answers your prayer…still you move away from Him and continue with pagan traditions and pretend that you are a good Christian. Joining a church won’t get you into heaven, observing pagan traditions sure won’t get you in either but believing that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again, getting saved, baptized, studying the Bible, praying and having faith in Him, staying close to Him surely will get you into heaven.

• I John 4:13 Hereby know that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

• I John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

• I John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

And yet, most people long for those holidays, save their money to buy presents, food, and decorations for these pagan originated holidays thinking that they are bringing their families happiness and most are actually believing that God is part of the holiday and they are teaching their family about God by observing them. In fact, many families observe the holidays with zero mention of Christ at all. Why? Because the new generation is hearing both sides of the story and is unsure what to believe so they pick and choose what they do on the holidays which usually results in them purchasing all the pagan frills and having a big dinner, with many even attending church in honor of the pagan traditions. Some people never even go to church except during the pagan holiday seasons. These pagan wolves who disguise themselves as sheep are so cunning they even time their pagan holidays during the same times as the real Holy Days are supposed to be observed. For example, Christmas is steeped in pagan rituals and is observed when the Biblical Hanukkah is supposed to be. Then there is the pagan Easter tradition which is observed during the time when the Lord told us to forever observe Passover and the feast of unleavened bread. Many people get their families together, dress up in their Easter outfits and go to church to take communion once a year on the pagan steeped Easter holiday while never realizing that if they take His body and blood communion falsely they will bring guilty damnation upon themselves which causes many people to be weak and sick, and sadly during the pagan Easter holiday communion many preachers, priests, and Biblical teachers often read scripture in I Corinthians chapter 11:1-26 and leave out the next few very important verses which tell what will happen if someone takes this communion unworthily in verses 27-30!

• 1 Corinthians 11:20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.
• 1 Corinthians 11:21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
• 1 Corinthians 11:22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
• 1 Corinthians 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
• 1 Corinthians 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
• 1 Corinthians 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
• 1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
• 1 Corinthians 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
• 1 Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
• 1 Corinthians 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
• 1 Corinthians 11:30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

For many who cannot afford these holiday frills, gifts, and expensive meals the holidays become a depressing time. More suicides occur on holidays seasons than any other time of the year…you don’t hear much about that on the news. Many families get together for the holidays and end up in huge family arguments, some family and friends get drunk and cause problems or fights…but they continue to pursue the pagan days every year, thinking they are doing something good for their families and for God..but in fact, it is not the true Abba, God of Israel, the Father who created the earth, Yeshua Jesus Christ the true Son of God they are honoring but in fact..it is satan. We cannot as true followers of our Lord follow the pagan traditions of men and pretend they are of God. Any church or religion that does so is a pagan church or pagan religion, doesn’t matter what they pretend they are. If they follow man’s traditions and not God’s traditions, they are pagan. It’s a fact. If it looks like a duck, talks like a duck but doesn’t walk and lives like a duck then it is not a duck! You cannot be a duck just because you identify as a duck, in retrospect you can’t be a true follower of Christ if you are observing pagan traditions.

• Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
• Mark 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

So why, after people are told or read or heard the true word of God do they still observe pagan traditions and do evil things God will never accept? They do it because they say it makes them feel good, but how many feel sad after watching Christmas and other holiday shows which always have a great miracle ending? Not only do they feel sad but some are even depressed knowing that no miracle holiday will happen for them. Some continue to observe these pagan traditions because it has been a family tradition for so long they are afraid to take a stand and try to change it. Some are afraid of the possible rejection from family and friends because they believe the truth which is different from what the majority of people believe and do. If you read the first few words of a book does that mean you know everything that is in the book? If you hear the first words in a song you have never heard before does that mean you know all the words to the whole song? Wake up people! The truth is in the Holy Bible and the Holy Spirit teaches us all things. The truth will set you free and you will be free indeed-free from satan’s lies and deceptions, free from evil and harm. Free to receive God’s merciful kindness and love.
The Lord will lead you and teach you the truth-listen and wait for Him

• Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Psalms 25:4
• Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. Psalms 25:5
• For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. Praise the Lord Psalms 117:2
• These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates. Zech 8:16
• And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I  hate, saith the Lord. Zech. 8:17

You will know the truth and the truth will make you free

• And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32

Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life
There is no other way to get to God the Father except through Jesus Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life.

• Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

Most people do not know that there are real Biblical Holy Days that are observed where families get together for meals or assemblies and actually enjoy each others company..notice these Holy Days are only taught in most churches as something from the past even though a brief Bible study on Biblical Holy Days will clearly show that the Lord told people to observe His Holy Days forever..yes, that’s right..forever. A few examples are Sabbath day, Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Feast of the Harvest. These are not revocable or changeable and yet the churches have changed them into pagan holidays. Most Jewish religions still observe the traditional Holy Days and yet..many churches and religions do not teach these truths which is very disturbing. Yes, they appear to have a form of godliness but  deny the power of God, making people think that God has no real power, the truth is not in them.

• 2 Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
• 2 Timothy 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
• 2 Timothy 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
• 2 Timothy 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
• 2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
• 2 Timothy 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
• 2 Timothy 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
• 2 Timothy 3:8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist. the truth: men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the faith.
• 2 Timothy 3:9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.

So what it boils down to is this…
If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck and acts like a duck is it really a duck? In other words, let's just say the duck is a true follower of Abba (God the Father, the God of Israel) and of Yeshua, Yahweh (Jesus Christ) and let's take a closer look at this duck.
Looks and talks like a duck: If a church has a form of godliness because they talk about the Bible and perform religious teachings, and pray, most people will assume the person or persons teaching in the church are honest and telling them the truth without ever actually studying the Bible themselves, they take the teachings at face value and so often they have been deceived.
Okay, so many churches look  and sounds like a duck but If the church is not teaching what the Bible actually says and if the church is teaching people it is okay to steep themselves and their families in pagan traditions and teaching it as if it is Biblical…well then it is quite obvious it is not walking or living like a duck so therefore..it is not a duck! This means it is a pagan church teaching pagan rituals to unlearned people who are being deceived because of their lack of knowledge!

• Hosea 4:5 Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
• Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
• Hosea 4:7 As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
• Hosea 4:8 They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
• Hosea 4:9 And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.
• Hosea 4:10 For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
  

Why are people so easily deceived? Because they do not dig into the Bible, read and study it, compare it to the early Hebrew versions, read the missing books of the Bible, delve into the Bible and pray for a spirit of discernment. People will believe almost everything they see on social media and in the process of scrolling through social websites their attention spans have grown shorter and shorter which makes it somewhat difficult to sit down and read the Bible and even harder to do a bit of research to find out what some things may mean in the Bible. We live in a world where people seek instant gratification. Nobody seems to want to sit down and really find out what the truth is. Why? Because they don’t want to to take the time out of their day to study and they don’t want change what they have known all their lives, they don’t want to believe the truth for fear of change and rejection but if you really consider this, even if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck if it’s not really a duck it will drown because it cannot swim like a duck which means, follow God’s words, laws, and instructions, study to show yourself approved and to make sure you are not being deceived because the last thing you want to do when the Lord returns is to go to Him thinking you were a good person so therefore you have earned a place in heaven just to have Him look at you and say, “Who are you? I never knew you!”.

• Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
• Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name have done many wonderful works?
• Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

In closing dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray that you will seek the truth, seek the Lord and you will find Him! He is a loving, forgiving and merciful God who is waiting and willing to be all that you need.

Related Topics

Biblical Holy Days

Free Bible Studies

End Times

Origin of Christmas

Origin of Easter

What the Bible Says About Horoscopes