Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?
IS IT ACCEPTABLE TO BLEND PAGANISM WITH CHRISTIANITY?
Below you will find a culmination of historic as well as Scriptural facts exposing the truth about the celebration of Christmas. I have decided to do this research because many have asked me over the years why I do not celebrate Christmas as the rest of the "Christian" world does.
In his book, "Too Long In The Sun," Richard Rives draws an appropriate parallel to the circumstances in Exodus 32, a Biblical precedent which provoked God nearly to the point of destroying the nation of Israel for their sin of blending pagan worship with His own: "…the golden calf was built and the celebration declared a 'feast to the Lord’....” The people had declared a celebration to honor God that He did not recognize as being in His honor." [Richard Rives, Too Long in the Sun, Partakers Pub, 1996, pp. 129-30]
"Hathor and Aphis, the cow and bull gods of Egypt, were representatives of sun worship. Their worship was just one stage in the long Egyptian history of solar veneration. The golden calf at Mount Sinai is more than sufficient evidence to prove that the feast proclaimed was related to sun worship. The event at Mount Sinai was just one episode in the Satanic apostasy which began at the tower of Babel. The celebration of December 25th, originally proclaimed in honor of the birth of the sun god Mithra, can only be one of the final events in the long continuing saga of Satanic sun worship." - Ibid, pp. 130-31.
"Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the Lord your God." - LEVITICUS 18:30
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." -2 Corinthians 5:17
"No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles." - Mark 2:21-22
"Abstain from all appearance of evil." -1 Thessalonians 5:22
THE NAME... CHRIST-MASS?
"The mass is the unbloody renewal of the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary's cross... Christ, through the ministry of the Roman Catholic priest, offers Himself to God in an unbloody manner under the appearances of bread and wine." 10 (Christ is thus crucified afresh, obviously indicating His death on Calvary was insufficient.) "The mass is the same sacrifice as the sacrifice of the cross because the Victim is the same. The purpose of the mass is, among other things, to satisfy the justice of God for the sins committed against Him." - Rev. John A. O'Brien, UNDERSTANDING THE CATHOLIC FAITH, Ave Maria Press, Nortre Dame, Ind, 1955, p. 212
"When the priest pronounces the tremendous words of consecration, he reaches up into the heavens and brings Christ down from His throne, and places Him upon the (Roman Catholic) altar to be offered up again as the victim for the sins of man... Christ became incarnate a single time, the priest brings Christ down from heaven and renders Him present on the (Roman Catholic) altar as the eternal Victim for the sins of man - not once but a thousand times! The priest speaks and lo! Christ, the eternal, omnipotent God, bows His head in humble obedience to the priest's command... No wonder that the name which spiritual writers are especially fond of applying to the priest is that of 'altar Christus.' For the priest is and should be another Christ." -Rev. John A. O'brien, FAITH OF MILLIONS, Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, Ind., 1938, pp. 243-244
To those who know the Savior and Lord of the Bible, Jesus Christ, the above quotations from official Roman Catholic publications are at once sickening and outrageous! Note the following from the Word of God.
"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." - HEBREWS 9:22
"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. " - HEBREWS 9:24-28
"Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering often times the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin." - Hebrews 10:5-18
THE DATE... DECEMBER 25TH?
"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." - LUKE 2:8
Are we to assume the shepherds kept sheep outside in the winter? Fact is the sheep were brought in under cover before mid-October to protect them from the cold rainy season that would follow. Another fact is the winter in the Judea is at the time characterized by cold, wet, rainy conditions!! Not conditions worthy of sheep. Nor will you find shepherds outside with their sheep this time of year. Therefore it would be impossible for them to actually "see" the Star in the Eastern sky because the Bible is plain here...
"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." - Luke 2:8-11
The key part of this passage that can easily put down the assumption that Jesus was born on December 25th is, "...there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night..." This would NOT have been done in the winter! This is absolutely impossible! According to the information we have about Palestine, the flocks were let out in the pastures in the month of March, and brought back in November, when the rainy season began.
"This proves plainly that the flocks were not yet brought home from their pastures, when the angels visited the shepherds. Some have the idea that there is no winter in Palestine, but that is a mistake, because sometimes it is very cold there, so that the lives of both men and beasts are in danger of the cold rain and hail storms of the winter."-- Horne's Introduction, Vol.II, pp. 23,24. Concerning this, Adam Clarke makes the following remark in his commentary: "It was a custom among the Jews to send out their sheep to the desert about the passover, and bring them home at the commencement of the first rain. [See also the book, The Two Babylons, pages 91,92. ]
The first rain occured around the Jewish month of Marchisvan. That is around Oct, Nov. to us. So you see the flocks were BROUGHT IN well before Dec. 25! If everyone on planet Earth that claims Jesus as Lord would place their faith in "Whatsoever saith the Lord" we would have a LOT less Pagan activities being practiced by Christians. All too often people get offended easily by the truth that can expose the lies they have been embracing for years. But I say, stop! Look! And listen! For you are not entirely at fault here. The devil is a cunning enemy, he has placed wolves in sheep's clothing before you masquerading as Christians, preachers, priests, and ministers to declare unto you the lie of Christmas. Why? So as to confuse the Truth that is held within the Word of God. And to get the entire world under his control by partaking in activities of the Pagan.
"The twenty-fifth of December is supposed to be the day of the birth of Jesus Christ, and its observance has become customary and popular. But yet there is no certainty that we are keeping the veritable day of our Saviour's birth. History gives us no certain assurance of this. The Bible does not give us the precise time. Had the Lord deemed this knowledge essential to our salvation, he would have spoken through his prophets and apostles, that we might know all about the matter. But the silence of the Scriptures upon this point evidences to us that it is hidden from us for the wisest purposes. In his wisdom, the Lord concealed the place where he buried Moses. God buried him, and God resurrected him, and took him to heaven. This secrecy was to prevent idolatry." - R&H 12-9-1884
"For the very same purpose he has concealed the precise day of Christ's birth; that the day should not receive the honour that should be given to Christ as the Redeemer of the world, - one to be received, to be trusted, to be relied on as he who could save to the uttermost all who come unto him. The soul's adoration should be given to Jesus as the Son of the infinite God.
"There is no divine sanctity resting upon the twenty-fifth of December; and it is not pleasing to God that anything that concerns the salvation of man through the infinite sacrifice made for them, should be so sadly perverted from its professed design. Christ should be the supreme object; but as Christmas has been observed, the glory is turned from him to mortal man, whose sinful, defective character made it necessary for him to come to our world." - R&H 12-9-1884
"For as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead." - ACTS 17:29-31
"Even Christmas, the day observed professedly in honour of the birthday of Christ, has been made a most effective means of turning the mind away from Christ, away from his glory." - R&H 12-9-1890
"Christmas: The supposed anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ, occurring on Dec. 25. No sufficient data … exist, for the determination of the month or the day of the event… There is no historical evidence that our Lord's birthday was celebrated during the apostolic or early postapostolic times. The uncertainty that existed at the beginning of the third century in the minds of Hippolytus and others -- Hippolytus earlier favored Jan. 2, Clement of Alexanderia (Strom., i. 21) "the 25th day of Pachon" (= May 20), while others, according to Clement, fixed upon Apr. 18 or 19 and Mar. 28 -- proves that no Christmas festival had been established much before the middle of the century. Jan. 6 was earlier fixed upon as the date of the baptism or spiritual birth of Christ, and the feast of Epiphany… was celebrated by the Basilidian Gnostics in the second century … and by catholic Christians by about the beginning of the fourth century. The earliest record of the recognition of Dec. 25 as a church festival is in the Philocalian Calendar (copied 354 but representing Roman practise in 336)." - A. H. Newman, "Christmas," The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. 3, p. 47. Copyright 1909 by Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York
"A star cult, sun-worship, became (in the third century A.D.) the dominant official creed, paving the road for the ultimate triumph of Judaeo-Christian monotheism. So strong was the belief in the Invincible Sun (Sol Invictus) that for example Constantine I (d. 337), himself at first a devotee of the sun cult, found it, indeed perfectly compatible with his pro-Christian sympathies to authorize his own portrayal as Helios. And in 354 the ascendant Christian church in the reign of his pious but unsavory son, Constantius II, found it prudent to change the celebration of the birth of Jesus from the traditional date (January 6) to December 25, in order to combat the pagan Sun god's popularity -- his "birthday" being December 25." - Frederick H. Cramer, Astrology in Roman Law and Politics, p. 4. Copyright 1954 by the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia.
"The reasons for celebrating our major feasts when we do are many and varied. In general, however, it is true that many of them have at least an indirect connection with the pre-Christian feasts celebrated about the same time of year -- feasts centering around the harvest, the rebirth of the sun at the winter solstice (now Dec. 21, but Dec. 25 in the old Julian calendar), the renewal of nature in spring, and so on." - The New Question Box - Catholic Life for the Nineties, copyright 1988 by John J. Dietzen, M.A., S.T.L., ISBN 0-940518-01-5 (paperback), published by Guildhall Publishers, Peoria Illinois, 61651., page 554.
DID EARLY CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS?
"Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church... the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt." "Pagan customs centering around the January calendars gravitated to Christmas." "...In the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on His [Jesus] birthday. It is only sinners who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world" - Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 Edition, published by the Roman Catholic Church
And to settle "some" minds out there that place no stock in any boast of Catholicism, the Roman Church is not the only one that understands this simple historic fact...
"A broad element of English Christianity still considered Christmas celebration a pagan blasphemy. The Puritans, Baptists, Quakers, Presbyterians, Calvinists and other denominations brought this opposition to early New England and strong opposition to the holiday lasted in America until the middle of the 18th century." - The Origins of Christmas," Rick Meisel, Dec. 19, 1993, p. 4.
"...Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the church...." - Encyclopedia Britannica, 1946 edition
"Christmas... It was, according to many authorities, not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian church, as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons [Eg. Communion - death of Christ] rather than their birth..." "...A feast was established in memory of this event [the birth of Jesus] in the fourth century. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever ON THE DAY OF THE OLD ROMAN FEAST OF THE BIRTH OF SOL [SUN], as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ's birth existed." Emphasis added. -Encyclopedia Americana, 1944 Edition
Since there is no evidence for the observance of Christmas in the Bible, the questions arise, What is its origin and when did its celebration begin? Lector P. Walsdenstrom says: "The custom to celebrate the birth of Christ in the last part of December began first in the fourth century. Before that the sixth of January was celebrated."-- Notes to Luke 2:8. "How much the date of the festival depended upon the pagan Brumalia (December 25th) following the Saturnalia (December 17th-24th), and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the 'new sun'... cannot be accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence... The pagan festival with it's riot and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner. Christian preachers of the West and the Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ's birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia ACCUSED THEIR WESTERN BRETHREN OF IDOLATRY AND SUN WORSHIP FOR ADOPTING AS CHRISTIAN THIS PAGAN FESTIVAL" Emphasis added. - The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
"...within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the third century, and... not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance. How, then, did the Romish Church fix on December 25th as Christmas-day? Why, thus: Long before the fourth century, and long before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen, at that precise time of the year, in honour of the birth of the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of nominal adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church, giving it the name of Christ." -The Two Babylons, p 93.
ORIGIN OF GIFT GIVING...
"The interchange of presents between friends is alike characteristic of Christmas and the Saturnalia, and MUST HAVE BEEN ADOPTED BY CHRISTIANS FROM THE PAGANS, as the admonition of Tertullian plainly shows." Emphasis added. - Bibliotheca Sacra (vol 12 pp 153-155)
What is the actual reason and purpose for this Pagan infiltration into Christianity? Ellen White puts it best... "This compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the development of "the man of sin" foretold in prophecy as opposing and exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of false religion is a masterpiece of Satan's power -- a monument of his efforts to seat himself upon the throne to rule the earth according to his will." -The Great Controversy, page 50, paragraph 1 -Chapter Title: An Era of Spiritual Darkness
The giving of the presents was a Roman custom. The yuletide and the yule log are remnants of old Teutonic nature worship." -- Schaff-Hersog Encyclopedia.
"From the first institution of this festival, the Western nations seem to have transferred to it many of the follies and censurable (XXX) practises which prevailed in the pagan festivals of the same season such as adorning the churches fantastically, mingling puppet-shows and dramas with worship, universal feasting and merrymaking, Christmas visits and salutations, Christmas presents and jocularity, and Christmas revelry and drunkenness... The Christmas holy days, which by a law of Tehodosius the Greek (emperor A.D. 383-395) were to comprise fourteen days, ...have borne so close a resemblance wherever they have been observed to the Roman Saturnalia, Sigillaria, etc., and to the yule feast of the ancient Goths, as to afford strong presumption of an unhappy alliance between them from the first." -- Ecclesiastical History, by Mosheim, Vol. 1, page 280.
"...The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among ourselves -- yule day -- proves at once its pagan and Babylonian origin. “Yule” is the Chaldee name for an 'infant' or 'little child;' and as the twenty-fifth of December was called by our pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors 'yule day', or the 'child's day,' and the night that preceded it 'mother night,' long before they came in contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character. Far and wide in the realms of paganism was this birthday observed." -- The Two Babylons, pages 93& 94. "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."
CHRISTMAS STEMS FROM SUN WORSHIP?
The author of "The Two Babylons" identifies also the child, whose birth was so universally celebrated, with Nimrod, who built the tower of Babel, and says that he was worshiped by the name Osiris in Egypt, and Tammuz (the same one as Adonis the famous hunter) in Phoenicia and Assyria. (See page 56.) This Tammuz is also mentioned by the holy prophet, Ezekiel, who in a vision saw the women of Judah weeping for him. He is there spoken of in company with sun-worship. "It was an essential principle of the Babylonian system that the sun, or Baal, was the one only god. (Notice, "BAAL?" As in Daniels day too?) When, therefore, Tammuz was worshiped as God incarnate, that implied also that he was an incarnation of the sun."-- Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, Loizeaux Brothers, page 96.
"This festival has been commonly believed to have had only an astronomical character, referring simply to the completion of the sun's yearly course, and the commencement of a new cycle. But there is indubitable evidence that the festival in question had a much higher influence than this -- that it commemorated not merely the figurative birthday of the sun in the renewal of its course, but the birth-day of the grand Deliverer... the Sun-God and great mediatorial divinity." - Ibid pp. 94, 97.
In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time, 'about the time of the winter solstice.' The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among ourselves - Yule day - proves at once its Pagan and Babylonian origin. 'Yule' is the Chaldee name for an 'infant' or 'little child' and as the 25th of December was called by our Pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors, 'Yule-day,' or the 'Child's day,' and the night which preceded it, 'Mother-night,' long before they came into contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character. Far and wide in the realms of paganism was this birth-day observed." - Ibid pp. 93, 94
In this way we trace sun-worship back to Nimrod, whose worship was universal in the old time. Again we have good reason to say: "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." Fact is people...
"The wassailing-bowl of Christmas had its precise counterpart in the 'Drunken Festival' of Babylon; The candles, in some parts of England, lighted at Christmas eve and used so long as the festive season lasts, were equally lighted by the pagans on the eve of the festival of the Babylonian god, to do honor to him, for it was one of the distinguishing peculiarities of his worship to have lighted candles on his alters. The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in pagan Rome and pagan Egypt. In Egypt that tree was the palm tree; in Rome it was the fir; the palm tree denoted the pagan Messiah, as Baal-Tamar; the fir referring to him as Baal-Berith... On Christmas day the continental Saxons offered a boar in sacrifice to the sun, to propitiate her. In Rome a similar observance had evidently existed; for a boar formed a great article of Saturn, as appears form the words form Martial, 'That boar will make you a good Saturnalia.' Hence the boar's head is still a standing dish in England at the Christmas dinner, when the reason of it is long since forgotten. Yea, the 'Christmas goose' and 'yule cake' were essential articles in the worship of the Babylonian Messiah, as that worship was practiced both in Egypt and at Rome." - Ibid., pages 97, 100, 101.
THE PAGAN CHRISTMAS TREE...
"The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt. In Egypt it was the palm tree; in Rome it was the fir; the palm-tree denoting the Pagan Messiah, as Baal-Tamar, the fir referring to him as Baal-Berith. The mother of Adonis, the Sun-God and great mediatorial divinity, was mystically said to have been changed into a tree, and when in that state to have brought forth her divine son. If the mother was a tree, the son must have been recognized as 'Man the Branch.' And this entirely accounts for putting the Yule Log into the fire on Christmas Eve and the appearance of the Christmas tree the next morning. As Zero-Ashta, 'The seed of the woman,' ...he has to enter the fire on 'Mother night,' that he may be born the next day out of it, as the 'Branch of God,' or the Tree that brings divine gifts to men." - The Two Babylons, p. 97.
"...the divine child born at the winter solstice was born as a new incarnation of the great god (after that god had been cut in pieces... on purpose to revenge his death upon his murderers.) Now the great god, cut off in the midst of his power and glory, was symbolised as a huge tree, stripped of all his branches, and cut down almost to the ground. But the great Serpent, the symbol of the life restoring Aesculapius, twists itself around the dead stock... and lo, at its side sprouts a young tree - a tree of an entirely different kind, that is never to be cut down by a hostile power ...and thus shadowed forth the perpetuity and everlasting nature of his power, how that after having fallen before his enemies, he has risen triumphant over them all. Therefore, the 25th of December, the day that was observed in Rome as the day when the victorious god reappeared on earth was held at the Natalis invicti solis, 'The birthday of the unconquered Sun." - The Two Babylons, p. 98.
Shall we have a Christmas tree? Will it not be like the world? We answer, you can make it like the world if you have a disposition to do so, or you can make it as unlike the world as possible. - R&H 12-11-1879
"Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the ways 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. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might." - JEREMIAH 10:1-6
YULE TIDE AND YULE LOG
"The Yule Log tradition comes to us from Scandinavia, where the pagan sex and fertility god Jul, or Jule (pronounced 'yule'), was honored in a twelve-day celebration in December. A large, single log (generally considered to have been a phallic idol) was kept with a fire against it for twelve days, a different sacrifice to Jul being offered in the fire on each of the twelve days." - Holidays and Holy Days, by Tom C. McKenney
"The Yule log was originally an entire tree, carefully chosen, and brought into the house with great ceremony. The butt end would be placed into the hearth while the rest of the tree stuck out into the room. The tree would be slowly fed into the fire and the entire process was carefully timed to last the entire Yule season." - The History of Christmas; http://www.ridgenet.org/Szaflik/history.htm
This is where the Twelve Days of Christmas originated, which are now counted as the twelve days between "Christmas" and Epiphany (January 12th).
"Yuletide, meaning the turning of the sun or the winter solstice, has traditionally been a time of extreme importance in Scandinavia - a time when fortunes for the coming year were determined and when the dead were thought to walk the earth. For a long time, it was considered dangerous to sleep alone on Christmas Eve. The extended family, master and servant alike, would sleep together on a freshly spread bed of straw." - The History of Christmas
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS? What about them?
THE BIRTHDAY RITUAL The ritual of the cake, candles, wish, and presents serve to give thanks to sky luminaries for allowing the birthday celebrant to reach the annual cycle of their birth. The cake was baked for the Queen of Heaven. (Hot cross buns) It was decorated, and monogrammed with the celebrant's name. The candles symbolized the sacred fire, carefully numbered for each annual cycle completed. The prayer chant and all the ritual procedures are carefully preserved, and it is a religious occasion. Witches regard the day of one's birth the most significant event in a person's life. Astrologers base everything on it. If the celebrant can blow-out all the candles, then a secret wish made to a GENIE (or JUNO if the person is female) will be granted. The birthday itself was a time of great superstition to a Pagan, so they were surrounded by their friends and relatives for protection.
"In the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his [Christ's] birthday. It is only sinners [like Pharaoh or Herod] who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world." -- Catholic Encyclopedia, 11th ed., art: "Natal Day."
HANGING STOCKINGS
Stocking hanging comes from an English legend: "Father Christmas once dropped some gold coins while coming down the chimney. The coins would have fallen through the ash grate and been lost if they hadn't landed in a stocking that had been hung out to dry. Since that time children have continued to hang out stockings in hopes of finding them filled with gifts." - The History of Christmas
LIGHTED CANDLES
"Lighted candles are foreign to the worship of God in the church of the New Testament scriptures. Yet, they too had their place in the worship of the sun god of paganism and in Christmas today. " - Alexander Hislop, THE TWO BABYLONS, Loizeaux Bros., Neptune, N.J., 1959, p. 94 and 97
MISTLETOE
"Among the pre-Christian Druidic superstitions, derived from ancient Babylon, was the legend of the mistletoe. It was regarded as a divine branch which came down from heaven and grafted itself into an earthly tree. Thus the mistletoe became a token of reconciliation, the kiss being a symbol of pardon" -Ibid p. 9
A CATHOLIC ORDINANCE
Since there is no evidence for the observance of Christmas in the Bible, the questions arise, What is its origin? and when did its celebration begin? Lector P. Walsdenstrom says: "The custom to celebrate the birth of Christ in the last part of December began first in the fourth century. Before that the sixth of January was celebrated."-- Notes to Luke 2:8.
Another author says: "The third one of the great feasts of the church, Christmas, doesn't seem to be kept during the first three centuries. In contrast to it a memorial of Christ's baptism was celebrated in the Orient as a revelation of his Messiahship and glory of his divinity called Epiphania, the sixth of January. This festival was, in Egypt, also given the meaning as a memorial of Christ's birth, and in that way they had in a certain sense a substitute for Christmas, which had not yet begun."-- Ecclesiastical History, by C.A. Cornelius, part 1, page 139. Further on, the same author says, "It began first to be celebrated in the Roman Church about 360, and from there it spread to the Orient," After he has mentioned "Saturnalia," the Roman feast of joy, which began the seventeenth and ended the twenty-fourth of December with the "Sigillaria," he continues: "At last the so-called 'Brumalia,' or the winter solstice, was celebrated the twenty-fifth of December. It was also called 'deus natalis invicti solis' (the birth feast of the unconquered sun), because in that season when the short days are gone, the sun again comes forth victorious from the gloomy night to travel on its orbit like an unconquered hero."--Ibid, part 2, page 91.
This proves that the twenty-fifth of December was an annual feast celebrated in the honor of the sun. Frederick Neilsen, a Danish bishop, says, "During the first three centuries we find no trace of any feast for the birth of Christ."-- Ecclesiastical History, page 224.
The commentator, Adam Clarke, gives the following information: "The Latin church, supreme in power and infallible in judgment (?), placed it on the twenty-fifth of December, the very day in which the ancient Romans celebrated the feast of their goddess Bruma.... Pope Julius I was the person who made this alteration, and it appears to have been done for this reason: the sun now began his return toward the northern tropic, ending the winter, lengthening the days, and introducing the spring."-- Notes to Luke 2:8.
The valuable testimony of J. Murdock, D. D., is in harmony with the above: "It was Julius I (Bishop of Rome, A.D. 337-352) who first ascertained this to be the right day; and though his authority is not the best, yet it is generally admitted that the designation of the twenty-fifth of December for the festival was first made about the middle of the fourth century." -- Ecclesiastical History, by Mosheim, Vol. I, page 279.
From Johnson's Encyclopedia and other sources we also learn that Julius I, Bishop of Rome, appointed the twenty-fifth of December for the celebration of Christ's birth.
All these proves very plainly,
(1) that the birth of Christ was not universally celebrated by the Christians during the first three centuries;
(2) that it was the Latin church which first ordained it to be celebrated on the twenty-fifth of December;
(3) that it was Julius I, Bishop of Rome, who made the appointment;
(4) and that the customs at this old pagan festival were transferred to Christmas. This is truly surprising. Here are indeed reasons for a solemn search of heart, fervent prayer, and firmness of character for those who wish to be pure in the sight of God. - No Foundation in the Bible By, S. Mortensen
THE LIE OF SANTA CLAUS PARENTS TELL THEIR CHILDREN
Think about that for a moment. Parents all over the world have been telling bold face lies to their children since birth about a fat man in a red suit that comes down a chimney to place gifts underneath the tree. Now guess what happens when the child comes of age. The child realizes that mommy and daddy have been lying to him the whole time! And not only that, but this child realizes that IT WORKED!!! He actually realizes that his parents lied to him and HE BELIEVED THEM! So now he has concrete evidence that lying is a resourceful tool that he can use to his advantage. And his own parents taught him.
The fabled Santa Claus also deserves our attention. The Library of Universal Knowledge says: "Nicholas Saint (St. Claus), a highly popular saint of the Roman Catholic Church, and reverenced with still greater devotion by the Russian Church, which regards him as a special patron, was one of the early bishops of Mysia, in Lysia. The precise date of his episcopate is a subject of much controversy. Of his personal history hardly anything is certainly known, and the great popularity of the devotion to him wrought through his intercession. He is regarded in Catholic countries as a special patron of the young, and particularly of scholars. On the vigil of his feast, which is held on December 6, (My mom puts up her tree on this day calling it "St.Nicks" day) a person in the appearance and costume of a bishop assembles the children of a family or a school and distributes among them, to the good, gilt nuts, sweetmeats, and other little presents as the rewards of good conduct; to the naughty ones, the redoubtable punishment klanbauf. The supposed relics of St. Nicholas were conveyed from the East to Bari, in the kingdom of Naples, toward the close of the eleventh century." Thus the fable is a part of the old relic-worshiping traditions of a corrupt church. The nearness of his feast, in December, to the Christmas festival, led to associating the saint and the present-giving idea with the feast of December 25. We must admit, in the light of the Bible, that it is very foolish and wrong to teach little children the tales of Santa Claus. "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."
Ever noticed this?
SANTA CLAUS ~ STRANGELY COMPARED TO ~ JESUS CHRIST
1. Has white hair like wool 1. Revelation 1:14 - Daniel 7:9
2. Beard-curly and white 2. Isaiah 50:6 - Rev. 1:14
3. Comes from North Pole 3. Ez. 1:4; Ex.26:35 Psa.48:2
4. Omniscient - knows about all 4. Revelation 19:6
5. Ageless, eternal 5. Rev. 1:8,21:6; Hebrews 13:8
6. Makes List of Judgments 6. Rev.20:12; 14:7; 21:27; 2 Cor.5:10
7. Checks list twice 7. Dan. 8:14; Matt. 10:26, 1 Cor.5:10
8. Gifts given on basis of a list 8. Matt.25:21; Rev. 21:27; 22:14
9. Christmas rewards once yearly 9. Leviticus 23:26-32
10. Confess wrongs to Santa 10. I John 2:1, I Tim. 2:5
11. Promise to be better next year 11. John 14:15,21; 15:10; I Jn. 2:3
12. Asks children to obey parents 12. Eph. 6:1; Prov. 6:20; Col. 3:20
13. Hour of his coming a mystery 13. Luke 12:40; Mark 13:33; Matt.24:36
14. Rudolph's shining nose to guide 14. Matt. 2:2,7,9-10; Numbers 24:17
15. Calls all children to his knee 15. Matt. 19:14, Luke 18:16
16. Be good for goodness sake 16. Matt. 19:17; Col 1:29; Phil. 2:13
17. Has a twinkle in his eye 17. Rev. 1:14, 2:18
18. Swift visit to whole world in 1 day. 18. 2 Peter 3:8; Rev. 18:8, Isa. 47:9
19. Omnipresent-Found in every mall 19. Psa. 139:7-10; Eph. 4:6
20. Says "Ho,ho" 20. Zechariah 2:6
Like many of us, when I was a child, I was told that Santa Claus was "All Powerful" (He makes millions of toys and delivers them in one night). He defies the laws of nature by flying and jumping down narrow chimneys. With Santa all things are possible. He is by definition, Omnipotent. "...having unlimited power or authority; all powerful - the Omnipotent God." (Webster's New World Dictionary)
I was told that Good Ol' Saint Nick knows all things (At least he knows when every boy and girl is bad or good or how they behave throughout the year). He is by definition, Omniscient. "having infinite knowledge; knowing all things-the Omniscient God." Webster's New World Dictionary
The Lord demands more of us than of them, because we have come into existence in the age of wonderful research and discovery, when knowledge should increase (Dan. 12:4), and the Bible has been in our mother tongue several centuries. In the light of this situation, we would certainly deserve severe criticism for our ignorance if we should continue to honor old traditions or relic worship.
Many upright Christians in the past have taken part in the old festival to some extent, and such we will not criticize, because they did it in ignorance. But in this enlightened age it is indeed high time to inquire: "What concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" 2 Cor. 6:15, 16. But still many Christians, not only Catholics, but also Protestants, continue year by year at the Christmas festival to honor the old idol relics under a Christian garb. This is indeed very unfortunate, and it is going so far that entrance fee is demanded in many Protestant churches. O, what a dishonor to our dear Saviour, who has pointed out a distinct line between the holy and the profane!
I have noticed many downfalls to this Pagan Xmas season. I recall some years back when I lived in the Chicago area a man killed another man at a gas station holdup on Xmas eve. When asked why he did it he said, "I needed the money to buy Xmas gifts for my children." Is this what Jesus would have us do? Is this a 'blessed by Jesus' time of year? Or 'planned by Satan' time of year. I also recall a situation where a young boy committed suicide because his mommy and daddy didn't have enough money for his Xmas gifts. Again I ask, is this a season blessed by the Lord? What of all the elderly in nursing homes left abandoned by loved ones on Xmas day? Was this designed to occur by Jesus, or satan? I recall as a child being made fun of because I didn't get as many toys on Xmas as everyone else because we were poor. Is this an activity that a blessed season would encourage? Or is this designed to occur by a devil who invented the season to make situations like this pop up all over the place. What about all the drunks depressed and suicidal behind the wheels of their cars in your neighborhoods killing your loved ones during the Xmas season? Did you know that December 25th is consistently the highest recorded day of the year for suicide? Is this a season that the Lord God designed for His people? Or is this a day designed by the destroyer devil designed for his people?
WHERE DID WE GET THE RED AND GREEN COLORS AT XMAS?
Look what the Scriptures attribute to the colors, Red and Green...
Leviticus 14:33-39, "And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession; And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, it seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house: Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house: And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall; Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days: And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;"
By the way... Pagans and "Evergreen trees" go way back!
Deuteronomy 12:2, "Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:"
1 Kings 14:22-23, "And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree."
Psalms 37:35, "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree."
Isaiah 57:5, "Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the cliffs of the rocks?"
Jeremiah 3:6, "The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot."
Psalms 75:8, "For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them."
Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
Revelation 6:4, "And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword."
"By us... who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia, are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year's day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians." - The Two Babylons, p. 93.
WHO'S TO BLAME FOR ALL THIS PAGAN INFILTRATION?
So, who do we have to thank for all this Pagan infiltration in our lives? ROME! Now, don't take my word for it. Rome ADMITS this very fact...
Cardinal Newman admits in his book that; the "temples, incense, oil lamps, votive offerings, holy water, holidays, and seasons of devotion, processions, blessings of the fields, sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure (of priests, monks and nuns), images, and statues... are all of pagan origin." - The Development of the Christian Religion Cardinal Newman p.359
Such boldness! Such arrogance! It's as if the devil is puffing up his chest to proclaim to God Himself that, "Yes, they know it's against your will Lord! Yet they choose it over you anyway!!"
Notice the following list of Pagan rituals and symbols that Catholicism has introduced into Christianity. YOUR "so called" Protestant Church is taking part in many of these as well...
BAAL (PAGAN) WORSHIP ~VS~ CATHOLICISM
NOTE: (B) = Baal (C) = Catholicism
1. (B) The nativity of the sun, the birth of Tammuz is December 25
(C) The nativity of Jesus, Christmas December 25
2. (B) The midsummer festival held June 24th
(C) The nativity of St. John held June 24th
3. (B) The assumption of Semiramis who became the mother goddess
(C) The assumption of Mary who became the mother of God
4. (B) The mother goddess worshipped as the queen of heaven (Jer. 7:18)
(C) The virgin Mary worshipped as the queen of heaven
5. (B) Cakes dedicated to the goddess with a "T" drawn on it (Jer. 44:17, 19)
(C) Hot Cross Buns with a cross drawn on it
6. (B) 40 days of fasting for Tammuz
(C) 40 days of lent
7. (B) The festival of Easter (Ezekiel 8:16)
(C) The Festival of Easter
8. (B) The resurrection of Tammuz at Easter and the procession of graven images during holy week
(C) The procession of graven images of Jesus, Mary and Peter during holy week
9. (B) Veneration of graven images of Baal, Ishtar, Tammuz and lesser gods in the heavens
(C) Veneration of graven images of Jesus, Mary, Peter, and of saints
10. (B) The belief in immortality of the soul and burning place of torment
(C) The belief in immortality of the soul and burning place of torment
11. (B) The doctrine of purgatory
(C) The doctrine of purgatory
12. (B) The belief of the dead visiting the living. Feast held for in November (All souls day)
(C) The festival of all souls day held Nov. 2, all saints day held Nov. 1
13. (B) Burning of incense (Is. 1:13; Jer. 11:17; Ez. 8:11)
(C) The burning of incense and candles.
14. (B) Chants and repetitious prayers. (Matt. 6:6)
(C) The rosary, hail Mary.
15. (B) The symbol of the cross as a symbol of sun worship
(C) The crucifix
16. (B) Amulets and idols to scare away evil spirits
(C) The wearing of crucifixes and images displayed for protection
17. (B) The round disc wafer with IHS symbol eaten as food for the soul
(C) The wafer used in the eucharist is round with IHS engraved on it.
18. (B) Painting of the child and mother with the glory of the sun around their heads
(C) Paintings of the child Jesus and Mary with Halos or a glory of the sun around their heads
19. (B) Infant baptism and sprinkling holy water
(C) Infant baptism and sprinkling holy water
20. (B) Necromancy
(C) Mysticism
21. (B) The first day of the week Sunday, kept sacred to honour Baal.
(C) The change of the Sabbath to Sunday
22. (B) Pontifex Maximus name for chief head of the pagan babylonian system of idolatry
(C) Pontifex Maximus, one of the first names for the pope
23. (B) Janus and Cybele, holders of the keys to heaven and hell
(C) The Pope claims to have the keys of Peter
24. (B) The high priest kings carried on a throne to the temple of his god
(C) The Pope carried on a portable throne to the Basilica of St. Peter
25. (B) The pagan high priest king believed to be the incarnate of the sun god
(C) The Pope pretends to be Christ's vicar here on earth
26. (B) Offerings to appease the gods
(C) Penance, indulgences, salvation by works
27. (B) Houses for the virgin priestesses, to be employed at pagan temples
(C) Convents for Nuns
28. (B) Human sacrifices burned by fire as offering to appease the sun god
(C) Opposers of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church burned at the stake
"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, (Papacy) whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man hear, let him hear." - Revelation 13:8, 9
What day was Jesus born?
Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the Lord your God. - Leviticus 18:30
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:" - Exodus 19:5
"These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." - Revelation 14:4
Do you do as the rest of the world does? Do you embrace their festivities as did the people of Noah's day? Do you keep their customs and partake in their feasts that are looked upon as an abomination unto your God? Or are you a "peculiar treasure" unto the Lord God Creator? Does the ever faithful Groom look upon you as His virgin keeping His New Covenant not defiled by the customs and abominations shared by Rome to all the world? Does He see you as the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb?
I pray so...
Final thought...
Christmas has been designed by Rome so as to make it nearly impossible for you to give it up. Your family, friends, and everyone you meet that says "Merry Christmas" will look upon you as "strange, peculiar and odd" when you tell them that you do not celebrate Christmas. Your children, will cry out to you their disappointment when you inform them that you have decided to do as the Lord you worship would have you do. Your loved ones will be offended when you tell them you won't be giving them Christmas gifts anymore. Your boss, your friends, you co-workers, all of them have been programmed by Rome to look upon you as one that is strange and un-Christ-like when you inform them you cannot take part in the festivities they embrace so wholeheartedly. But rest assured, there is one that will look upon you as one worthy of His embrace when all the world hates you for His sake...
"And Jesus answered and said, verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first." - Mark 10:29-31
To follow Christ is to stop following the world.
Our battle cry stands... "Whatsoever saith the Lord!"
John Ranjith Paul thegladtidings@gmail.com
Last Sunday, a Pastor (holds Master Degree in Theology) announced in the pulpit that there should be at least 100 stars in the mango tree standing in front of the Church. [Blessings FOR SALE: 100 bucks per star] :)
IS IT ACCEPTABLE TO BLEND PAGANISM WITH CHRISTIANITY?
Below you will find a culmination of historic as well as Scriptural facts exposing the truth about the celebration of Christmas. I have decided to do this research because many have asked me over the years why I do not celebrate Christmas as the rest of the "Christian" world does.
In his book, "Too Long In The Sun," Richard Rives draws an appropriate parallel to the circumstances in Exodus 32, a Biblical precedent which provoked God nearly to the point of destroying the nation of Israel for their sin of blending pagan worship with His own: "…the golden calf was built and the celebration declared a 'feast to the Lord’....” The people had declared a celebration to honor God that He did not recognize as being in His honor." [Richard Rives, Too Long in the Sun, Partakers Pub, 1996, pp. 129-30]
"Hathor and Aphis, the cow and bull gods of Egypt, were representatives of sun worship. Their worship was just one stage in the long Egyptian history of solar veneration. The golden calf at Mount Sinai is more than sufficient evidence to prove that the feast proclaimed was related to sun worship. The event at Mount Sinai was just one episode in the Satanic apostasy which began at the tower of Babel. The celebration of December 25th, originally proclaimed in honor of the birth of the sun god Mithra, can only be one of the final events in the long continuing saga of Satanic sun worship." - Ibid, pp. 130-31.
"Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the Lord your God." - LEVITICUS 18:30
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." -2 Corinthians 5:17
"No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles." - Mark 2:21-22
"Abstain from all appearance of evil." -1 Thessalonians 5:22
THE NAME... CHRIST-MASS?
"The mass is the unbloody renewal of the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary's cross... Christ, through the ministry of the Roman Catholic priest, offers Himself to God in an unbloody manner under the appearances of bread and wine." 10 (Christ is thus crucified afresh, obviously indicating His death on Calvary was insufficient.) "The mass is the same sacrifice as the sacrifice of the cross because the Victim is the same. The purpose of the mass is, among other things, to satisfy the justice of God for the sins committed against Him." - Rev. John A. O'Brien, UNDERSTANDING THE CATHOLIC FAITH, Ave Maria Press, Nortre Dame, Ind, 1955, p. 212
"When the priest pronounces the tremendous words of consecration, he reaches up into the heavens and brings Christ down from His throne, and places Him upon the (Roman Catholic) altar to be offered up again as the victim for the sins of man... Christ became incarnate a single time, the priest brings Christ down from heaven and renders Him present on the (Roman Catholic) altar as the eternal Victim for the sins of man - not once but a thousand times! The priest speaks and lo! Christ, the eternal, omnipotent God, bows His head in humble obedience to the priest's command... No wonder that the name which spiritual writers are especially fond of applying to the priest is that of 'altar Christus.' For the priest is and should be another Christ." -Rev. John A. O'brien, FAITH OF MILLIONS, Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, Ind., 1938, pp. 243-244
To those who know the Savior and Lord of the Bible, Jesus Christ, the above quotations from official Roman Catholic publications are at once sickening and outrageous! Note the following from the Word of God.
"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." - HEBREWS 9:22
"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. " - HEBREWS 9:24-28
"Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering often times the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin." - Hebrews 10:5-18
THE DATE... DECEMBER 25TH?
"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." - LUKE 2:8
Are we to assume the shepherds kept sheep outside in the winter? Fact is the sheep were brought in under cover before mid-October to protect them from the cold rainy season that would follow. Another fact is the winter in the Judea is at the time characterized by cold, wet, rainy conditions!! Not conditions worthy of sheep. Nor will you find shepherds outside with their sheep this time of year. Therefore it would be impossible for them to actually "see" the Star in the Eastern sky because the Bible is plain here...
"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." - Luke 2:8-11
The key part of this passage that can easily put down the assumption that Jesus was born on December 25th is, "...there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night..." This would NOT have been done in the winter! This is absolutely impossible! According to the information we have about Palestine, the flocks were let out in the pastures in the month of March, and brought back in November, when the rainy season began.
"This proves plainly that the flocks were not yet brought home from their pastures, when the angels visited the shepherds. Some have the idea that there is no winter in Palestine, but that is a mistake, because sometimes it is very cold there, so that the lives of both men and beasts are in danger of the cold rain and hail storms of the winter."-- Horne's Introduction, Vol.II, pp. 23,24. Concerning this, Adam Clarke makes the following remark in his commentary: "It was a custom among the Jews to send out their sheep to the desert about the passover, and bring them home at the commencement of the first rain. [See also the book, The Two Babylons, pages 91,92. ]
The first rain occured around the Jewish month of Marchisvan. That is around Oct, Nov. to us. So you see the flocks were BROUGHT IN well before Dec. 25! If everyone on planet Earth that claims Jesus as Lord would place their faith in "Whatsoever saith the Lord" we would have a LOT less Pagan activities being practiced by Christians. All too often people get offended easily by the truth that can expose the lies they have been embracing for years. But I say, stop! Look! And listen! For you are not entirely at fault here. The devil is a cunning enemy, he has placed wolves in sheep's clothing before you masquerading as Christians, preachers, priests, and ministers to declare unto you the lie of Christmas. Why? So as to confuse the Truth that is held within the Word of God. And to get the entire world under his control by partaking in activities of the Pagan.
"The twenty-fifth of December is supposed to be the day of the birth of Jesus Christ, and its observance has become customary and popular. But yet there is no certainty that we are keeping the veritable day of our Saviour's birth. History gives us no certain assurance of this. The Bible does not give us the precise time. Had the Lord deemed this knowledge essential to our salvation, he would have spoken through his prophets and apostles, that we might know all about the matter. But the silence of the Scriptures upon this point evidences to us that it is hidden from us for the wisest purposes. In his wisdom, the Lord concealed the place where he buried Moses. God buried him, and God resurrected him, and took him to heaven. This secrecy was to prevent idolatry." - R&H 12-9-1884
"For the very same purpose he has concealed the precise day of Christ's birth; that the day should not receive the honour that should be given to Christ as the Redeemer of the world, - one to be received, to be trusted, to be relied on as he who could save to the uttermost all who come unto him. The soul's adoration should be given to Jesus as the Son of the infinite God.
"There is no divine sanctity resting upon the twenty-fifth of December; and it is not pleasing to God that anything that concerns the salvation of man through the infinite sacrifice made for them, should be so sadly perverted from its professed design. Christ should be the supreme object; but as Christmas has been observed, the glory is turned from him to mortal man, whose sinful, defective character made it necessary for him to come to our world." - R&H 12-9-1884
"For as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead." - ACTS 17:29-31
"Even Christmas, the day observed professedly in honour of the birthday of Christ, has been made a most effective means of turning the mind away from Christ, away from his glory." - R&H 12-9-1890
"Christmas: The supposed anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ, occurring on Dec. 25. No sufficient data … exist, for the determination of the month or the day of the event… There is no historical evidence that our Lord's birthday was celebrated during the apostolic or early postapostolic times. The uncertainty that existed at the beginning of the third century in the minds of Hippolytus and others -- Hippolytus earlier favored Jan. 2, Clement of Alexanderia (Strom., i. 21) "the 25th day of Pachon" (= May 20), while others, according to Clement, fixed upon Apr. 18 or 19 and Mar. 28 -- proves that no Christmas festival had been established much before the middle of the century. Jan. 6 was earlier fixed upon as the date of the baptism or spiritual birth of Christ, and the feast of Epiphany… was celebrated by the Basilidian Gnostics in the second century … and by catholic Christians by about the beginning of the fourth century. The earliest record of the recognition of Dec. 25 as a church festival is in the Philocalian Calendar (copied 354 but representing Roman practise in 336)." - A. H. Newman, "Christmas," The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. 3, p. 47. Copyright 1909 by Funk & Wagnalls Company, New York
"A star cult, sun-worship, became (in the third century A.D.) the dominant official creed, paving the road for the ultimate triumph of Judaeo-Christian monotheism. So strong was the belief in the Invincible Sun (Sol Invictus) that for example Constantine I (d. 337), himself at first a devotee of the sun cult, found it, indeed perfectly compatible with his pro-Christian sympathies to authorize his own portrayal as Helios. And in 354 the ascendant Christian church in the reign of his pious but unsavory son, Constantius II, found it prudent to change the celebration of the birth of Jesus from the traditional date (January 6) to December 25, in order to combat the pagan Sun god's popularity -- his "birthday" being December 25." - Frederick H. Cramer, Astrology in Roman Law and Politics, p. 4. Copyright 1954 by the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia.
"The reasons for celebrating our major feasts when we do are many and varied. In general, however, it is true that many of them have at least an indirect connection with the pre-Christian feasts celebrated about the same time of year -- feasts centering around the harvest, the rebirth of the sun at the winter solstice (now Dec. 21, but Dec. 25 in the old Julian calendar), the renewal of nature in spring, and so on." - The New Question Box - Catholic Life for the Nineties, copyright 1988 by John J. Dietzen, M.A., S.T.L., ISBN 0-940518-01-5 (paperback), published by Guildhall Publishers, Peoria Illinois, 61651., page 554.
DID EARLY CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS?
"Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church... the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt." "Pagan customs centering around the January calendars gravitated to Christmas." "...In the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on His [Jesus] birthday. It is only sinners who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world" - Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 Edition, published by the Roman Catholic Church
And to settle "some" minds out there that place no stock in any boast of Catholicism, the Roman Church is not the only one that understands this simple historic fact...
"A broad element of English Christianity still considered Christmas celebration a pagan blasphemy. The Puritans, Baptists, Quakers, Presbyterians, Calvinists and other denominations brought this opposition to early New England and strong opposition to the holiday lasted in America until the middle of the 18th century." - The Origins of Christmas," Rick Meisel, Dec. 19, 1993, p. 4.
"...Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the church...." - Encyclopedia Britannica, 1946 edition
"Christmas... It was, according to many authorities, not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian church, as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons [Eg. Communion - death of Christ] rather than their birth..." "...A feast was established in memory of this event [the birth of Jesus] in the fourth century. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever ON THE DAY OF THE OLD ROMAN FEAST OF THE BIRTH OF SOL [SUN], as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ's birth existed." Emphasis added. -Encyclopedia Americana, 1944 Edition
Since there is no evidence for the observance of Christmas in the Bible, the questions arise, What is its origin and when did its celebration begin? Lector P. Walsdenstrom says: "The custom to celebrate the birth of Christ in the last part of December began first in the fourth century. Before that the sixth of January was celebrated."-- Notes to Luke 2:8. "How much the date of the festival depended upon the pagan Brumalia (December 25th) following the Saturnalia (December 17th-24th), and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the 'new sun'... cannot be accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence... The pagan festival with it's riot and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner. Christian preachers of the West and the Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ's birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia ACCUSED THEIR WESTERN BRETHREN OF IDOLATRY AND SUN WORSHIP FOR ADOPTING AS CHRISTIAN THIS PAGAN FESTIVAL" Emphasis added. - The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
"...within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the third century, and... not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance. How, then, did the Romish Church fix on December 25th as Christmas-day? Why, thus: Long before the fourth century, and long before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen, at that precise time of the year, in honour of the birth of the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of nominal adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church, giving it the name of Christ." -The Two Babylons, p 93.
ORIGIN OF GIFT GIVING...
"The interchange of presents between friends is alike characteristic of Christmas and the Saturnalia, and MUST HAVE BEEN ADOPTED BY CHRISTIANS FROM THE PAGANS, as the admonition of Tertullian plainly shows." Emphasis added. - Bibliotheca Sacra (vol 12 pp 153-155)
What is the actual reason and purpose for this Pagan infiltration into Christianity? Ellen White puts it best... "This compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the development of "the man of sin" foretold in prophecy as opposing and exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of false religion is a masterpiece of Satan's power -- a monument of his efforts to seat himself upon the throne to rule the earth according to his will." -The Great Controversy, page 50, paragraph 1 -Chapter Title: An Era of Spiritual Darkness
The giving of the presents was a Roman custom. The yuletide and the yule log are remnants of old Teutonic nature worship." -- Schaff-Hersog Encyclopedia.
"From the first institution of this festival, the Western nations seem to have transferred to it many of the follies and censurable (XXX) practises which prevailed in the pagan festivals of the same season such as adorning the churches fantastically, mingling puppet-shows and dramas with worship, universal feasting and merrymaking, Christmas visits and salutations, Christmas presents and jocularity, and Christmas revelry and drunkenness... The Christmas holy days, which by a law of Tehodosius the Greek (emperor A.D. 383-395) were to comprise fourteen days, ...have borne so close a resemblance wherever they have been observed to the Roman Saturnalia, Sigillaria, etc., and to the yule feast of the ancient Goths, as to afford strong presumption of an unhappy alliance between them from the first." -- Ecclesiastical History, by Mosheim, Vol. 1, page 280.
"...The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among ourselves -- yule day -- proves at once its pagan and Babylonian origin. “Yule” is the Chaldee name for an 'infant' or 'little child;' and as the twenty-fifth of December was called by our pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors 'yule day', or the 'child's day,' and the night that preceded it 'mother night,' long before they came in contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character. Far and wide in the realms of paganism was this birthday observed." -- The Two Babylons, pages 93& 94. "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."
CHRISTMAS STEMS FROM SUN WORSHIP?
The author of "The Two Babylons" identifies also the child, whose birth was so universally celebrated, with Nimrod, who built the tower of Babel, and says that he was worshiped by the name Osiris in Egypt, and Tammuz (the same one as Adonis the famous hunter) in Phoenicia and Assyria. (See page 56.) This Tammuz is also mentioned by the holy prophet, Ezekiel, who in a vision saw the women of Judah weeping for him. He is there spoken of in company with sun-worship. "It was an essential principle of the Babylonian system that the sun, or Baal, was the one only god. (Notice, "BAAL?" As in Daniels day too?) When, therefore, Tammuz was worshiped as God incarnate, that implied also that he was an incarnation of the sun."-- Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, Loizeaux Brothers, page 96.
"This festival has been commonly believed to have had only an astronomical character, referring simply to the completion of the sun's yearly course, and the commencement of a new cycle. But there is indubitable evidence that the festival in question had a much higher influence than this -- that it commemorated not merely the figurative birthday of the sun in the renewal of its course, but the birth-day of the grand Deliverer... the Sun-God and great mediatorial divinity." - Ibid pp. 94, 97.
In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time, 'about the time of the winter solstice.' The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among ourselves - Yule day - proves at once its Pagan and Babylonian origin. 'Yule' is the Chaldee name for an 'infant' or 'little child' and as the 25th of December was called by our Pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors, 'Yule-day,' or the 'Child's day,' and the night which preceded it, 'Mother-night,' long before they came into contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character. Far and wide in the realms of paganism was this birth-day observed." - Ibid pp. 93, 94
In this way we trace sun-worship back to Nimrod, whose worship was universal in the old time. Again we have good reason to say: "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." Fact is people...
"The wassailing-bowl of Christmas had its precise counterpart in the 'Drunken Festival' of Babylon; The candles, in some parts of England, lighted at Christmas eve and used so long as the festive season lasts, were equally lighted by the pagans on the eve of the festival of the Babylonian god, to do honor to him, for it was one of the distinguishing peculiarities of his worship to have lighted candles on his alters. The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in pagan Rome and pagan Egypt. In Egypt that tree was the palm tree; in Rome it was the fir; the palm tree denoted the pagan Messiah, as Baal-Tamar; the fir referring to him as Baal-Berith... On Christmas day the continental Saxons offered a boar in sacrifice to the sun, to propitiate her. In Rome a similar observance had evidently existed; for a boar formed a great article of Saturn, as appears form the words form Martial, 'That boar will make you a good Saturnalia.' Hence the boar's head is still a standing dish in England at the Christmas dinner, when the reason of it is long since forgotten. Yea, the 'Christmas goose' and 'yule cake' were essential articles in the worship of the Babylonian Messiah, as that worship was practiced both in Egypt and at Rome." - Ibid., pages 97, 100, 101.
THE PAGAN CHRISTMAS TREE...
"The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt. In Egypt it was the palm tree; in Rome it was the fir; the palm-tree denoting the Pagan Messiah, as Baal-Tamar, the fir referring to him as Baal-Berith. The mother of Adonis, the Sun-God and great mediatorial divinity, was mystically said to have been changed into a tree, and when in that state to have brought forth her divine son. If the mother was a tree, the son must have been recognized as 'Man the Branch.' And this entirely accounts for putting the Yule Log into the fire on Christmas Eve and the appearance of the Christmas tree the next morning. As Zero-Ashta, 'The seed of the woman,' ...he has to enter the fire on 'Mother night,' that he may be born the next day out of it, as the 'Branch of God,' or the Tree that brings divine gifts to men." - The Two Babylons, p. 97.
"...the divine child born at the winter solstice was born as a new incarnation of the great god (after that god had been cut in pieces... on purpose to revenge his death upon his murderers.) Now the great god, cut off in the midst of his power and glory, was symbolised as a huge tree, stripped of all his branches, and cut down almost to the ground. But the great Serpent, the symbol of the life restoring Aesculapius, twists itself around the dead stock... and lo, at its side sprouts a young tree - a tree of an entirely different kind, that is never to be cut down by a hostile power ...and thus shadowed forth the perpetuity and everlasting nature of his power, how that after having fallen before his enemies, he has risen triumphant over them all. Therefore, the 25th of December, the day that was observed in Rome as the day when the victorious god reappeared on earth was held at the Natalis invicti solis, 'The birthday of the unconquered Sun." - The Two Babylons, p. 98.
Shall we have a Christmas tree? Will it not be like the world? We answer, you can make it like the world if you have a disposition to do so, or you can make it as unlike the world as possible. - R&H 12-11-1879
"Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the ways 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. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might." - JEREMIAH 10:1-6
YULE TIDE AND YULE LOG
"The Yule Log tradition comes to us from Scandinavia, where the pagan sex and fertility god Jul, or Jule (pronounced 'yule'), was honored in a twelve-day celebration in December. A large, single log (generally considered to have been a phallic idol) was kept with a fire against it for twelve days, a different sacrifice to Jul being offered in the fire on each of the twelve days." - Holidays and Holy Days, by Tom C. McKenney
"The Yule log was originally an entire tree, carefully chosen, and brought into the house with great ceremony. The butt end would be placed into the hearth while the rest of the tree stuck out into the room. The tree would be slowly fed into the fire and the entire process was carefully timed to last the entire Yule season." - The History of Christmas; http://www.ridgenet.org/Szaflik/history.htm
This is where the Twelve Days of Christmas originated, which are now counted as the twelve days between "Christmas" and Epiphany (January 12th).
"Yuletide, meaning the turning of the sun or the winter solstice, has traditionally been a time of extreme importance in Scandinavia - a time when fortunes for the coming year were determined and when the dead were thought to walk the earth. For a long time, it was considered dangerous to sleep alone on Christmas Eve. The extended family, master and servant alike, would sleep together on a freshly spread bed of straw." - The History of Christmas
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS? What about them?
THE BIRTHDAY RITUAL The ritual of the cake, candles, wish, and presents serve to give thanks to sky luminaries for allowing the birthday celebrant to reach the annual cycle of their birth. The cake was baked for the Queen of Heaven. (Hot cross buns) It was decorated, and monogrammed with the celebrant's name. The candles symbolized the sacred fire, carefully numbered for each annual cycle completed. The prayer chant and all the ritual procedures are carefully preserved, and it is a religious occasion. Witches regard the day of one's birth the most significant event in a person's life. Astrologers base everything on it. If the celebrant can blow-out all the candles, then a secret wish made to a GENIE (or JUNO if the person is female) will be granted. The birthday itself was a time of great superstition to a Pagan, so they were surrounded by their friends and relatives for protection.
"In the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his [Christ's] birthday. It is only sinners [like Pharaoh or Herod] who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world." -- Catholic Encyclopedia, 11th ed., art: "Natal Day."
HANGING STOCKINGS
Stocking hanging comes from an English legend: "Father Christmas once dropped some gold coins while coming down the chimney. The coins would have fallen through the ash grate and been lost if they hadn't landed in a stocking that had been hung out to dry. Since that time children have continued to hang out stockings in hopes of finding them filled with gifts." - The History of Christmas
LIGHTED CANDLES
"Lighted candles are foreign to the worship of God in the church of the New Testament scriptures. Yet, they too had their place in the worship of the sun god of paganism and in Christmas today. " - Alexander Hislop, THE TWO BABYLONS, Loizeaux Bros., Neptune, N.J., 1959, p. 94 and 97
MISTLETOE
"Among the pre-Christian Druidic superstitions, derived from ancient Babylon, was the legend of the mistletoe. It was regarded as a divine branch which came down from heaven and grafted itself into an earthly tree. Thus the mistletoe became a token of reconciliation, the kiss being a symbol of pardon" -Ibid p. 9
A CATHOLIC ORDINANCE
Since there is no evidence for the observance of Christmas in the Bible, the questions arise, What is its origin? and when did its celebration begin? Lector P. Walsdenstrom says: "The custom to celebrate the birth of Christ in the last part of December began first in the fourth century. Before that the sixth of January was celebrated."-- Notes to Luke 2:8.
Another author says: "The third one of the great feasts of the church, Christmas, doesn't seem to be kept during the first three centuries. In contrast to it a memorial of Christ's baptism was celebrated in the Orient as a revelation of his Messiahship and glory of his divinity called Epiphania, the sixth of January. This festival was, in Egypt, also given the meaning as a memorial of Christ's birth, and in that way they had in a certain sense a substitute for Christmas, which had not yet begun."-- Ecclesiastical History, by C.A. Cornelius, part 1, page 139. Further on, the same author says, "It began first to be celebrated in the Roman Church about 360, and from there it spread to the Orient," After he has mentioned "Saturnalia," the Roman feast of joy, which began the seventeenth and ended the twenty-fourth of December with the "Sigillaria," he continues: "At last the so-called 'Brumalia,' or the winter solstice, was celebrated the twenty-fifth of December. It was also called 'deus natalis invicti solis' (the birth feast of the unconquered sun), because in that season when the short days are gone, the sun again comes forth victorious from the gloomy night to travel on its orbit like an unconquered hero."--Ibid, part 2, page 91.
This proves that the twenty-fifth of December was an annual feast celebrated in the honor of the sun. Frederick Neilsen, a Danish bishop, says, "During the first three centuries we find no trace of any feast for the birth of Christ."-- Ecclesiastical History, page 224.
The commentator, Adam Clarke, gives the following information: "The Latin church, supreme in power and infallible in judgment (?), placed it on the twenty-fifth of December, the very day in which the ancient Romans celebrated the feast of their goddess Bruma.... Pope Julius I was the person who made this alteration, and it appears to have been done for this reason: the sun now began his return toward the northern tropic, ending the winter, lengthening the days, and introducing the spring."-- Notes to Luke 2:8.
The valuable testimony of J. Murdock, D. D., is in harmony with the above: "It was Julius I (Bishop of Rome, A.D. 337-352) who first ascertained this to be the right day; and though his authority is not the best, yet it is generally admitted that the designation of the twenty-fifth of December for the festival was first made about the middle of the fourth century." -- Ecclesiastical History, by Mosheim, Vol. I, page 279.
From Johnson's Encyclopedia and other sources we also learn that Julius I, Bishop of Rome, appointed the twenty-fifth of December for the celebration of Christ's birth.
All these proves very plainly,
(1) that the birth of Christ was not universally celebrated by the Christians during the first three centuries;
(2) that it was the Latin church which first ordained it to be celebrated on the twenty-fifth of December;
(3) that it was Julius I, Bishop of Rome, who made the appointment;
(4) and that the customs at this old pagan festival were transferred to Christmas. This is truly surprising. Here are indeed reasons for a solemn search of heart, fervent prayer, and firmness of character for those who wish to be pure in the sight of God. - No Foundation in the Bible By, S. Mortensen
THE LIE OF SANTA CLAUS PARENTS TELL THEIR CHILDREN
Think about that for a moment. Parents all over the world have been telling bold face lies to their children since birth about a fat man in a red suit that comes down a chimney to place gifts underneath the tree. Now guess what happens when the child comes of age. The child realizes that mommy and daddy have been lying to him the whole time! And not only that, but this child realizes that IT WORKED!!! He actually realizes that his parents lied to him and HE BELIEVED THEM! So now he has concrete evidence that lying is a resourceful tool that he can use to his advantage. And his own parents taught him.
The fabled Santa Claus also deserves our attention. The Library of Universal Knowledge says: "Nicholas Saint (St. Claus), a highly popular saint of the Roman Catholic Church, and reverenced with still greater devotion by the Russian Church, which regards him as a special patron, was one of the early bishops of Mysia, in Lysia. The precise date of his episcopate is a subject of much controversy. Of his personal history hardly anything is certainly known, and the great popularity of the devotion to him wrought through his intercession. He is regarded in Catholic countries as a special patron of the young, and particularly of scholars. On the vigil of his feast, which is held on December 6, (My mom puts up her tree on this day calling it "St.Nicks" day) a person in the appearance and costume of a bishop assembles the children of a family or a school and distributes among them, to the good, gilt nuts, sweetmeats, and other little presents as the rewards of good conduct; to the naughty ones, the redoubtable punishment klanbauf. The supposed relics of St. Nicholas were conveyed from the East to Bari, in the kingdom of Naples, toward the close of the eleventh century." Thus the fable is a part of the old relic-worshiping traditions of a corrupt church. The nearness of his feast, in December, to the Christmas festival, led to associating the saint and the present-giving idea with the feast of December 25. We must admit, in the light of the Bible, that it is very foolish and wrong to teach little children the tales of Santa Claus. "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."
Ever noticed this?
SANTA CLAUS ~ STRANGELY COMPARED TO ~ JESUS CHRIST
1. Has white hair like wool 1. Revelation 1:14 - Daniel 7:9
2. Beard-curly and white 2. Isaiah 50:6 - Rev. 1:14
3. Comes from North Pole 3. Ez. 1:4; Ex.26:35 Psa.48:2
4. Omniscient - knows about all 4. Revelation 19:6
5. Ageless, eternal 5. Rev. 1:8,21:6; Hebrews 13:8
6. Makes List of Judgments 6. Rev.20:12; 14:7; 21:27; 2 Cor.5:10
7. Checks list twice 7. Dan. 8:14; Matt. 10:26, 1 Cor.5:10
8. Gifts given on basis of a list 8. Matt.25:21; Rev. 21:27; 22:14
9. Christmas rewards once yearly 9. Leviticus 23:26-32
10. Confess wrongs to Santa 10. I John 2:1, I Tim. 2:5
11. Promise to be better next year 11. John 14:15,21; 15:10; I Jn. 2:3
12. Asks children to obey parents 12. Eph. 6:1; Prov. 6:20; Col. 3:20
13. Hour of his coming a mystery 13. Luke 12:40; Mark 13:33; Matt.24:36
14. Rudolph's shining nose to guide 14. Matt. 2:2,7,9-10; Numbers 24:17
15. Calls all children to his knee 15. Matt. 19:14, Luke 18:16
16. Be good for goodness sake 16. Matt. 19:17; Col 1:29; Phil. 2:13
17. Has a twinkle in his eye 17. Rev. 1:14, 2:18
18. Swift visit to whole world in 1 day. 18. 2 Peter 3:8; Rev. 18:8, Isa. 47:9
19. Omnipresent-Found in every mall 19. Psa. 139:7-10; Eph. 4:6
20. Says "Ho,ho" 20. Zechariah 2:6
Like many of us, when I was a child, I was told that Santa Claus was "All Powerful" (He makes millions of toys and delivers them in one night). He defies the laws of nature by flying and jumping down narrow chimneys. With Santa all things are possible. He is by definition, Omnipotent. "...having unlimited power or authority; all powerful - the Omnipotent God." (Webster's New World Dictionary)
I was told that Good Ol' Saint Nick knows all things (At least he knows when every boy and girl is bad or good or how they behave throughout the year). He is by definition, Omniscient. "having infinite knowledge; knowing all things-the Omniscient God." Webster's New World Dictionary
The Lord demands more of us than of them, because we have come into existence in the age of wonderful research and discovery, when knowledge should increase (Dan. 12:4), and the Bible has been in our mother tongue several centuries. In the light of this situation, we would certainly deserve severe criticism for our ignorance if we should continue to honor old traditions or relic worship.
Many upright Christians in the past have taken part in the old festival to some extent, and such we will not criticize, because they did it in ignorance. But in this enlightened age it is indeed high time to inquire: "What concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" 2 Cor. 6:15, 16. But still many Christians, not only Catholics, but also Protestants, continue year by year at the Christmas festival to honor the old idol relics under a Christian garb. This is indeed very unfortunate, and it is going so far that entrance fee is demanded in many Protestant churches. O, what a dishonor to our dear Saviour, who has pointed out a distinct line between the holy and the profane!
I have noticed many downfalls to this Pagan Xmas season. I recall some years back when I lived in the Chicago area a man killed another man at a gas station holdup on Xmas eve. When asked why he did it he said, "I needed the money to buy Xmas gifts for my children." Is this what Jesus would have us do? Is this a 'blessed by Jesus' time of year? Or 'planned by Satan' time of year. I also recall a situation where a young boy committed suicide because his mommy and daddy didn't have enough money for his Xmas gifts. Again I ask, is this a season blessed by the Lord? What of all the elderly in nursing homes left abandoned by loved ones on Xmas day? Was this designed to occur by Jesus, or satan? I recall as a child being made fun of because I didn't get as many toys on Xmas as everyone else because we were poor. Is this an activity that a blessed season would encourage? Or is this designed to occur by a devil who invented the season to make situations like this pop up all over the place. What about all the drunks depressed and suicidal behind the wheels of their cars in your neighborhoods killing your loved ones during the Xmas season? Did you know that December 25th is consistently the highest recorded day of the year for suicide? Is this a season that the Lord God designed for His people? Or is this a day designed by the destroyer devil designed for his people?
WHERE DID WE GET THE RED AND GREEN COLORS AT XMAS?
Look what the Scriptures attribute to the colors, Red and Green...
Leviticus 14:33-39, "And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession; And he that owneth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, it seemeth to me there is as it were a plague in the house: Then the priest shall command that they empty the house, before the priest go into it to see the plague, that all that is in the house be not made unclean: and afterward the priest shall go in to see the house: And he shall look on the plague, and, behold, if the plague be in the walls of the house with hollow strakes, greenish or reddish, which in sight are lower than the wall; Then the priest shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and shut up the house seven days: And the priest shall come again the seventh day, and shall look: and, behold, if the plague be spread in the walls of the house;"
By the way... Pagans and "Evergreen trees" go way back!
Deuteronomy 12:2, "Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:"
1 Kings 14:22-23, "And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree."
Psalms 37:35, "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree."
Isaiah 57:5, "Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the cliffs of the rocks?"
Jeremiah 3:6, "The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot."
Psalms 75:8, "For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them."
Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
Revelation 6:4, "And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword."
"By us... who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia, are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year's day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians." - The Two Babylons, p. 93.
WHO'S TO BLAME FOR ALL THIS PAGAN INFILTRATION?
So, who do we have to thank for all this Pagan infiltration in our lives? ROME! Now, don't take my word for it. Rome ADMITS this very fact...
Cardinal Newman admits in his book that; the "temples, incense, oil lamps, votive offerings, holy water, holidays, and seasons of devotion, processions, blessings of the fields, sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure (of priests, monks and nuns), images, and statues... are all of pagan origin." - The Development of the Christian Religion Cardinal Newman p.359
Such boldness! Such arrogance! It's as if the devil is puffing up his chest to proclaim to God Himself that, "Yes, they know it's against your will Lord! Yet they choose it over you anyway!!"
Notice the following list of Pagan rituals and symbols that Catholicism has introduced into Christianity. YOUR "so called" Protestant Church is taking part in many of these as well...
BAAL (PAGAN) WORSHIP ~VS~ CATHOLICISM
NOTE: (B) = Baal (C) = Catholicism
1. (B) The nativity of the sun, the birth of Tammuz is December 25
(C) The nativity of Jesus, Christmas December 25
2. (B) The midsummer festival held June 24th
(C) The nativity of St. John held June 24th
3. (B) The assumption of Semiramis who became the mother goddess
(C) The assumption of Mary who became the mother of God
4. (B) The mother goddess worshipped as the queen of heaven (Jer. 7:18)
(C) The virgin Mary worshipped as the queen of heaven
5. (B) Cakes dedicated to the goddess with a "T" drawn on it (Jer. 44:17, 19)
(C) Hot Cross Buns with a cross drawn on it
6. (B) 40 days of fasting for Tammuz
(C) 40 days of lent
7. (B) The festival of Easter (Ezekiel 8:16)
(C) The Festival of Easter
8. (B) The resurrection of Tammuz at Easter and the procession of graven images during holy week
(C) The procession of graven images of Jesus, Mary and Peter during holy week
9. (B) Veneration of graven images of Baal, Ishtar, Tammuz and lesser gods in the heavens
(C) Veneration of graven images of Jesus, Mary, Peter, and of saints
10. (B) The belief in immortality of the soul and burning place of torment
(C) The belief in immortality of the soul and burning place of torment
11. (B) The doctrine of purgatory
(C) The doctrine of purgatory
12. (B) The belief of the dead visiting the living. Feast held for in November (All souls day)
(C) The festival of all souls day held Nov. 2, all saints day held Nov. 1
13. (B) Burning of incense (Is. 1:13; Jer. 11:17; Ez. 8:11)
(C) The burning of incense and candles.
14. (B) Chants and repetitious prayers. (Matt. 6:6)
(C) The rosary, hail Mary.
15. (B) The symbol of the cross as a symbol of sun worship
(C) The crucifix
16. (B) Amulets and idols to scare away evil spirits
(C) The wearing of crucifixes and images displayed for protection
17. (B) The round disc wafer with IHS symbol eaten as food for the soul
(C) The wafer used in the eucharist is round with IHS engraved on it.
18. (B) Painting of the child and mother with the glory of the sun around their heads
(C) Paintings of the child Jesus and Mary with Halos or a glory of the sun around their heads
19. (B) Infant baptism and sprinkling holy water
(C) Infant baptism and sprinkling holy water
20. (B) Necromancy
(C) Mysticism
21. (B) The first day of the week Sunday, kept sacred to honour Baal.
(C) The change of the Sabbath to Sunday
22. (B) Pontifex Maximus name for chief head of the pagan babylonian system of idolatry
(C) Pontifex Maximus, one of the first names for the pope
23. (B) Janus and Cybele, holders of the keys to heaven and hell
(C) The Pope claims to have the keys of Peter
24. (B) The high priest kings carried on a throne to the temple of his god
(C) The Pope carried on a portable throne to the Basilica of St. Peter
25. (B) The pagan high priest king believed to be the incarnate of the sun god
(C) The Pope pretends to be Christ's vicar here on earth
26. (B) Offerings to appease the gods
(C) Penance, indulgences, salvation by works
27. (B) Houses for the virgin priestesses, to be employed at pagan temples
(C) Convents for Nuns
28. (B) Human sacrifices burned by fire as offering to appease the sun god
(C) Opposers of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church burned at the stake
"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, (Papacy) whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man hear, let him hear." - Revelation 13:8, 9
What day was Jesus born?
Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the Lord your God. - Leviticus 18:30
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:" - Exodus 19:5
"These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb." - Revelation 14:4
Do you do as the rest of the world does? Do you embrace their festivities as did the people of Noah's day? Do you keep their customs and partake in their feasts that are looked upon as an abomination unto your God? Or are you a "peculiar treasure" unto the Lord God Creator? Does the ever faithful Groom look upon you as His virgin keeping His New Covenant not defiled by the customs and abominations shared by Rome to all the world? Does He see you as the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb?
I pray so...
Final thought...
Christmas has been designed by Rome so as to make it nearly impossible for you to give it up. Your family, friends, and everyone you meet that says "Merry Christmas" will look upon you as "strange, peculiar and odd" when you tell them that you do not celebrate Christmas. Your children, will cry out to you their disappointment when you inform them that you have decided to do as the Lord you worship would have you do. Your loved ones will be offended when you tell them you won't be giving them Christmas gifts anymore. Your boss, your friends, you co-workers, all of them have been programmed by Rome to look upon you as one that is strange and un-Christ-like when you inform them you cannot take part in the festivities they embrace so wholeheartedly. But rest assured, there is one that will look upon you as one worthy of His embrace when all the world hates you for His sake...
"And Jesus answered and said, verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first." - Mark 10:29-31
To follow Christ is to stop following the world.
Our battle cry stands... "Whatsoever saith the Lord!"
John Ranjith Paul thegladtidings@gmail.com
Last Sunday, a Pastor (holds Master Degree in Theology) announced in the pulpit that there should be at least 100 stars in the mango tree standing in front of the Church. [Blessings FOR SALE: 100 bucks per star] :)
