When God says He wants you to live life abundantly (John 10:10 ), does that include celebrating a festive, seemingly harmless holiday like Valentine’s Day? The God who gives us everything—life, food, drink, the ability to think for ourselves, etc.—surely approves of St.Valentine’s Day, the holiday for lovers to exchange gifts—right?
Do not be so certain. Do not assume anything. Do not even take this article’s word for it. Go to history books and encyclopedias. Go to the Bible. Then you will know
the real truth behind St. Valentine’s Day. And you will know what God expects you to do about it!

Valentine’s Past
Like Christmas, Easter, New Year’s and other holidays of this world, St. Valentine’s Day is another attempt to “whitewash” perverted customs and observances of pagan gods and idols by “Christianizing” them.

As innocent and harmless as St. Valentine’s Day may appear, its traditions and customs originate from two of the most sexually perverted pagan festivals of ancient history: Lupercalia and the feast day of Juno Februata.
Celebrated on February 15, Lupercalia (known as the
“festival of sexual license”) was held by the ancient Romans in honor of Lupercus, god of fertility and husbandry, protector of herds and crops, and a mighty hunter—especially of wolves. The Romans believed that Lupercus would protect Rome from roving bands of wolves, which devoured livestock and people.
Assisted by Vestal Virgins, the Luperci (male priests)
conducted purification rites by sacrificing goats and a
dog in the Lupercal cave on Palatine Hill, where the
Romans believed the twins Romulus and Remus had
been sheltered and nursed by a she-wolf before they
eventually founded Rome. Clothed in loincloths made
from sacrificed goats and smeared in their blood, the
Luperci would run about Rome, striking women with
februa , thongs made from skins of the sacrificed goats.
The Luperci believed that the floggings purified women
and guaranteed their fertility and ease of childbirth.
February derives from februa or “means of purification.”
To the Romans, February was also sacred to Juno
Februata, the goddess of febris (“fever”) of love, and of
women and marriage. On February 14, billets (small
pieces of paper, each of which had the name of a teen-
aged girl written on it) were put into a container. Teen-
aged boys would then choose one billet at random. The
boy and the girl whose name was drawn would become
a “couple,” joining in erotic games at feasts and parties
celebrated throughout Rome. After the festival, they
would remain sexual partners for the rest of the year.
This custom was observed in the Roman Empire for
centuries.
Whitewashing Perversion
In A.D. 494, Pope Gelasius renamed the festival of Juno
Februata as the “Feast of the Purification of the Virgin
Mary.” The date of its observance was later changed
from February 14 to February 2, then changed back to
the 14. It is also known as Candlemas, the Presentation
of the Lord, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin and the
Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.
After Constantine had made the Roman church’s brand
of Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire
(A.D. 325), church leaders wanted to do away with the
pagan festivals of the people. Lupercalia was high on
their list. But the Roman citizens thought otherwise.
It was not until A.D. 496 that the church at Rome was
able to do anything about Lupercalia. Powerless to get
rid of it, Pope Gelasius instead changed it from February
15 to the 14th and called it St. Valentine’s Day. It was
named after one of that church’s saints, who, in A.D.
270, was executed by the emperor for his beliefs.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “At least three
different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are
mentioned in early martyrologies under the date of 14
February. One is described as a priest at Rome, another
as bishop of Interamna (modern Terni), and these two
seem both to have suffered in the second half of the
third century and to have been buried on the Flaminian
Way, but at different distances from the city…Of the
third Saint Valentine, who suffered in Africa with a
number of companions, nothing is further known.”
Several biographies of different men named Valentine
were merged into one “official” St. Valentine.
The church whitewashed Lupercalia even further.
Instead of putting the names of girls into a box, the
names of “saints” were drawn by both boys and girls. It
was then each person’s duty to emulate the life of the
saint whose name he or she had drawn. This was
Rome’s vain attempt to “whitewash” a pagan
observance by “Christianizing” it, which God has not
given man the power or authority to do. Though the
church at Rome had banned the sexual lottery, young
men still practiced a much toned-down version, sending
women whom they desired handwritten romantic
messages containing St. Valentine’s name.
Over the centuries, St. Valentine’s Day cards became
popular, especially by the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries. These cards were painted with
pictures of Cupid and hearts, and meticulously decorated
with lace, silk or flowers.

First Man Called Valentine
But who was the original Valentine? What does the name
Valentine mean?
Valentine comes from the Latin Valentinus , which derives
from valens —“to be strong, powerful, mighty.” The Bible
describes a man with a similar title: “And Cush begat
Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He
was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is
said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the
LORD” ( Gen. 10:8-9 ). He was said to have hunted with
bow and arrow.
As mentioned, the Romans celebrated Lupercalia to
honor the hunter god Lupercus. To the Greeks, from
whom the Romans had copied most of their mythology,
Lupercus was known as Pan, the god of light. The
Phoenicians worshipped the same deity as Baal, the sun
god. Baal was one of many names or titles for Nimrod, a
mighty hunter, especially of wolves. He was also the
founder and first lord of Babel (Gen. 10:10-12 ). Defying
God, Nimrod was the originator of the Babylonian
Mystery Religion, whose mythologies have been copied
by the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans and a
multitude of other ancient peoples. Under different
names or titles—Pan, Lupercus, Saturn, Osiris—Nimrod
is the strong man and hunter-warrior god of the
ancients.
But what does the heart symbol have to do with a day
honoring Nimrod/Valentine?
The title Baal means “lord” or “master,” and is
mentioned throughout the Bible as the god of pagans.
God warned His people not to worship or even tolerate
the ways of Baal (Nimrod). In ancient Chaldean (the
language of the Babylonians), bal , which is similar to
Baal , meant, “heart.” This is where the Valentine heart
symbol originated.
Now notice the name Cupid . It comes from the Latin
verb cupere , meaning “to desire.” Cupid was the son of
Venus, Roman goddess of beauty and love. Also known
as Eros in ancient Greece, he was the son of Aphrodite.
According to myth, he was responsible for impregnating
numerous goddesses and mortals. Cupid was a child-
like archer (remember, Nimrod was a skilled archer).
Mythology describes Cupid as having both a cruel and
happy personality. He would use his invisible arrows,
tipped with gold, to strike unsuspecting men and
women, causing them to fall madly in love. He did not
do this for their benefit, but to drive them crazy with
intense passion, to make their lives miserable, and to
laugh at the results.
Many of the gods of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans,
Assyrians and others were modeled after one man—
Nimrod.
But what does this have to do with us today? Why
should we be concerned with what happened in the
past?
What God Thinks
Read what God commands His people concerning
pagan customs and traditions: “Learn not the way of the
heathen…For the customs of the people are vain” ( Jer.
10:2-3 ). Also notice Christ’s words in Matthew 15:9 : “…
in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men.”
Throughout the Bible, God describes “heathens” as
those who worship things that He had created (animals,
the sun, the moon, stars, trees, etc.), or man-made idols,
or anything but the one true God. He calls such people
and their practices pagan. True Christians understand
that God hates any customs, practices and traditions
that are rooted in paganism.
But just how serious is God about paganism?
When He rescued the twelve tribes of Israel from brutal
slavery and led them out of Egypt, He commanded them,
“After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein you dwelt,
shall you not do: and after the doings of the land of
Canaan, where I bring you, shall you not do: neither
shall you walk in their ordinances” ( Lev. 18:3 ). God
demanded the Israelites not to defile themselves with
the pagan practices and customs of surrounding nations
( vs. 24-29 ). “Therefore shall you keep Mine ordinance,
that you commit not any one of these abominable
customs, which were committed before you, and that
you defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your
God” ( vs. 30 ).
God cursed Egypt—a nation of nature-worshippers—with
ten plagues and freed Israel from slavery. He rescued
Israel from Pharaoh’s army by parting the Red Sea and
leading His people to safety. He fed the Israelites manna
—special bread made by God—from heaven. He
protected them from battle-tested Gentile armies,
delivered them into the Promised Land and drove out
their enemies.
How did Israel treat God in return? “Our fathers
understood not Your wonders in Egypt; they remembered
not the multitude of Your mercies; but provoked Him at
the sea, even at the Red Sea…They soon forgot His
works; they waited not for His counsel: But lusted
exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the
desert…They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the
molten image. Thus they changed their glory into the
similitude of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their
Savior, which had done great things in Egypt; wondrous
works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red
Sea…they despised the pleasant land, they believed not
His word: But murmured in their tents, and hearkened
not unto the voice of the LORD …They joined themselves
also unto Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead.
Thus they provoked Him to anger with their
intentions” (Psa. 106:7 , 13-14 , 19-22 , 24-25 , 28-29 ).
God explicitly commanded Israel to cast out and utterly
destroy all nations that occupied the Promised Land
(Canaan). Above all, His people were not to make
political alliances with them or marry into their families
( Deut. 7:1-3 , 5, 16 ). “For they will turn away your sons
from following Me, that they may serve other gods” ( vs.
4 ).
But the Israelites thought they knew better than God.
They decided to do things their own way. “They did not
destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD
commanded them: But were mingled among the
heathen, and learned their works. And they served their
idols: which were a snare unto them. Yes, they sacrificed
their sons and their daughters unto devils [demons], and
shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of
their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of
Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. Thus
were they defiled with their own works, and went a
whoring with their own inventions” ( Psa. 106:34-39 ).
To wake them up and get them back on track as the
model nation He had originally intended, God gave Israel
over to their enemies. Israel repented and cried out to
God. God rescued them. With their bellies full and lives
protected, the Israelites went back to pursuing other
gods. God punished Israel again. Israel repented and
cried out to God.
And so went the deliverance-idolatry-punishment-
repentance cycle (vs. 40-46 ), until finally, God had no
other choice but to divorce unfaithful Israel (Jer.
3:6-11 ).
He used the Assyrians, one of the most brutal warrior
nations in history, to invade, conquer, enslave and
relocate the entire northern kingdom of Israel (II Kings
17 ). Having “disappeared” from history, the modern-day
descendants of those ten “lost” tribes are unaware of
their true identity even to this day.
Later, God sent the southern kingdom of Judah (mainly
the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi) into Babylonian
exile ( II Kings 24 and 25 ). Because they kept (at least
physically) the true Sabbath, which is a special sign that
identifies the one true God and His people ( Ex.
31:12-18 ), the Jews were able to retain their true
identity.
The Israelites were severely punished because they
lusted after pagan customs, rituals, traditions and
practices. As you can see, God does not take paganism
lightly.
Why Paganism Is Wrong
Just why does God hate anything that resembles pagan
customs? Is it possible to “whitewash” or “Christianize”
pagan practices and make them clean? Is it okay to
practice pagan customs as long as you “worship God”?
Notice what God says in Leviticus chapter 18 . After
rescuing Israel from slavery, God warned them not to
practice the customs they had picked up in Egypt, or
learn the ways, customs and traditions of the Gentile
nations that they would encounter in the Promised Land
( vs. 1-3 ). Instead, God commanded Israel to follow His
ways (vs. 4-5 ).
God then describes the pagan ways of these ungodly
nations in great detail. In verses 7-20 , He condemns all
kinds of heterosexual sex relations that fall outside the
holy boundaries of marriage—incest, fornication,
adultery, etc. In verses 22-23 , God condemns
homosexuality and bestiality. Together, these sins break
down and destroy the family unit that God had so
lovingly created and instituted.
Notice what God links to these perversions: “And you
shall not let any of your seed [children] pass through the
fire to Molech, neither shall you profane the name of
your God: I am the LORD” (vs. 21 ). God ties in the
perverse sexual practices of ungodly, pagan nations
with human sacrifices—parents offering the lives of their
children to pagan gods!
The Bible shows that Israel not only disobeyed God and
wholeheartedly embraced the sexual immorality of the
Gentiles, they even went a step further.
“And they have turned unto Me the back, and not the
face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching
them, yet they have not hearkened to receive
instruction. But they set their abominations in the house
[the temple at Jerusalem], which is called by My name,
to defile it. And they built the high places of Baal, which
are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their
sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto
Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it
into My mind, that they should do this abomination, to
cause Judah to sin” ( Jer. 32:33-35 )
Imagine. Israel committed a sin so vile, so disgusting,
that it even shocked God!
But that was then. What about today? Surely, parents do
not sacrifice their children to pagan gods today—or do
they?
Do not be so certain. Perhaps their lives are not being
sacrificed—but what about their innocence ?
Parents today expect their little ones to “fall in love” and
have boyfriends and girlfriends. They think it is “cute”
when little boys and girls hold hands and act like a
couple, sneaking a kiss or two when no one is watching.
Some parents get worried when their kids do not show
romantic interest in the opposite sex. They constantly
ask them, “Do you have a boyfriend yet?” or “Who’s your
girlfriend?”
Yet these same parents are surprised when their teen-
aged “little girl” gets pregnant. Or catches a sexually
transmitted disease. Or gets an abortion behind their
back.
St. Valentine’s Day is just one of many tools the “god of
this world” (II Cor. 4:4 ) uses to get parents to sacrifice
the innocence of their children .
When little boys and girls draw each other’s names in a
lottery and send Valentine cards and gifts to each other,
declaring their “love,” they are learning the first stages of
intimate relations that the Creator God designed
specifically for emotionally mature adults. Instead of
embracing the carefree innocence of youth, growing up
without the headaches and heartaches of adulthood
(finding a job, paying bills, marriage, raising a family,
etc.), children today are taught to lust after each other.
They are caught up in a daily drama of “If-you-loved-
me-you’d-sleep-with-me; I’m-pregnant; It’s-not-mine,
she-had-an-abortion.” By the time they reach adulthood,
virtually every shred of innocence, sincerity and moral
decency has been stripped from them. Emotionally
drained, they have world-weary, “been there, done that”
attitudes. And their lives are just beginning.
This is why we live in a world where a teen-aged virgin
is a rare find. Where what used to be called “shacking
up” and “living in sin” is now simply “living together.”
Where sex is nothing more than meaningless physical
recreation—no emotional attachments, no cares, no
concerns. Where people change sex partners as
conveniently as they change clothes. Where unmarried
twenty- or thirty-somethings have had at least five
sexual partners—and that is considered a low number,
especially in the United States. Where men are not
referred to as “my husband,” or “my fiancé,” but as “my
second baby’s father.”
How pathetic!
Satan has deceived the whole world (Rev. 12:9 ) in
multiple ways—especially when it comes to intimate
relationships. St. Valentine’s Day is just one of his tools
for deception.
“Come Out of Her, My People”
Concerning the near future, when man’s Satan-
influenced world is about to collapse, God declares,
“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the
habitation of devils [demons], and the hold of every foul
spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For
all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed
fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are
waxed [increased] rich through the abundance of her
delicacies” (Rev. 18:2-3 ).
Concerning this pagan, satanic system, God commands
true Christians,“Come out of her, My people, that you be
not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her
plagues” ( vs. 4 ).


St. Valentine’s Day originates from the ancient
paganism of this Satan-influenced world. It is designed
to deceive mankind by appealing to fleshly, carnal
desires—or, as the Bible calls them, the works of the
flesh . “Now the works of the flesh are manifest [made
obvious], which are these; Adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry…drunkenness,
revellings, and such like” (Gal. 5:19-21 ). Do any of these
sound like Lupercalia to you?
Ultimately, “they which do such things shall not inherit
the kingdom of God.” A true Christian is focused on
God’s soon-coming kingdom ( Matt. 6:33 ) and the world
to come—not on the fleshly cravings of this world. A true
Christian must strive to “put off the old man” and actively imitate the perfect, righteous example of Jesus Christ.
A Christian knows that he must actively come out of this world, out of its pagan-infested customs,
practices and traditions.

Christians do not celebrate St. Valentine’s Day!