“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.” St Matthew 12:43-45
Summary: Now since the Lord has been extremely kind to us and spared us from all harm, you and I need to go about our Father’s business.
You have heard it every year that Jesus is the reason for this season. There are widespread efforts to ‘put Christ back in the Christmas.” This presumes the Christmas season was originally intended for Christ but somehow over time, Christ was taken out. To put back means to ‘restore to an original condition.’ But have you paused and prayerfully asked the question: Is He really the reason for the season? And what was the original intent of the season? To answer these questions we will consider the following examination:
The Date: December 25th
We may all agree that no one knows the exact date when Christ was born but we know what time of the year the angel Gabriel visited Mary to announce the birth of Jesus Christ. It was in the sixth month.
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. St Luke 1:26-31
But can we know with certainty around what time Mary conceived? The scripture says ‘in those days’, that is around the sixth month:
And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. St Luke 1:39-40.
And during those days, when Mary visited Elisabeth, the scripture clearly speaks of Mary having in her womb, “the Lord” as Elisabeth filled with the Holy Ghost, not only mentions the fruit of Mary’s womb, but calls her, ‘the mother of my Lord.”
And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? St Luke 1:41-43.
Believing that Jesus was born in the likeness of sinful flesh, the miracle of his birth being the conception and not the duration of the pregnancy, counting from ‘those days’ does not take one to Jesus being born in December. Whether one uses the biblical reckoning of days and moths, or the Gregorian calendar, December 25th does not come close to the birth of Jesus Christ.
So why December 25th? Why not November, August, or any other month? Was the date a random selection or it was a calculated selection?
The answer can be found in the history of Christmas, which records that Christmas evolved out of a pagan festival, called Saturnalia. This festivity was marked by revelry and intoxication, with people moving from house to house singing as well as indulging in immorality. The Roman leaders who ‘converted’ to Christianity, having assured the pagans that they would still continue celebrating Saturnalia, won the pagans in large numbers. Because nothing is Saturnalia had anything to do with Christ, the leaders changed its name to Christmas. Therefore what was once known in paganism as Saturnalia was imported into the church and given a new name, Christmas. However Christmas retained many of the saturnalia practices, for example the Christmas carols.
But how about the Christmas tree? Is it wrong for the believers in Christ to have a tree and honor the Lord with it?
The answer is in the scriptures which chronicle the use of the decorated tree which people put in their houses as a pagan tradition which does not honor God:
Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. Jeremiah 10:1-4
Someone may say, what is wrong with cutting a tree, bringing it in the house and decorating it? The answer is that because God condemned the practice and told his people not to worship him according the customs of the heathens:
Because God condemns it, He admonishes His people not to bring into their houses that which He has condemned:
Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing. Deuteronomy 7:26
What about Santa Claus? What does he have to do with the birth of Jesus Christ?
The most outright evidence of a variance between Santa Claus and Christ is Truth. Jesus is, “The Way, The Truth, and The Life…”. But with Santa Claus, there are many falsehoods involved. Firstly, Santa Claus is given the powers which are only in the prerogative of God. Remember the song “…he knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you are awake, he knows when you have been bad or good…” This gives Santa Claus the omnipotence and omnipresence powers of God (to be all powerful and everywhere at once). If Santa Claus is given all those powers, we may need to ask the question who really is Santa Claus? An obvious answer is that he is a god and God says to have no other gods before Him.
Have you wondered about the eight reindeer which are associated with Santa Claus? Why reindeer, why eight, and why are they said to come from the North Pole? Reindeer were revered as sacred gods in ancient times by the Celtics, who worshipped Herne, ‘the horned one’. Therefore the reindeer were used to represent this deity in the Celtic religion. This god was celebrated during yuletide, another name for the event which is famously known as Christmas. The number 8 is an occult symbol of infinity. Put horizontally, the number eight become the symbol for infinity ( )
Everything that Santa Claus is said to do, ranging from his powers to bringing in gifts through the chimney is not the Truth and God condemns speaking lies one to another.
Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Ephesians 4:25.
Even concerning children’s inquiries about celebrations, God instructs his people to tell their children the truth:
And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. Exodus 12:26-27.
Have you ever wondered about the scene of the three wisemen who came to visit Jesus Christ after his birth? Were they three wisemen? Is there any truth in the Nativity Scene which assumes there were three wisemen? Let us read again the scriptures:
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, St Matthew 2:1
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. St Matthew 2:11.
The number three refers to the different kinds of gifts that these wisemen brought to Jesus Christ but does not necessarily mean three wisemen because the bible never mentions how many the wisemen were.
Finally may God help his church to flee from Babylon and have life in Christ.
Scripture: And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. Revelation 18:4
