"THE CHRISTMAS TREE"
Have you ever just sat down and wondered why a tree set up in our house would have anything to do with Jesus, His birth, or His life? Why would we decorate a "TREE" with all its fancy balls and lights and ornaments and put it in our house for the sake of Jesus?? Why would we bow before it to lay down gifts? Let us now take a closer look and see just where this "tradition" came from.
Since the earliest of times, trees, especially green evergreens, were worshipped by the pagans. To them it represented life and freshness. Since it was EVER green, it always had life. The trees were worshipped as symbols of life, fertility, sexual potency and reproduction.
These pagan rituals of worship were then brought into the homes and set up as idols, with the belief that it would give men a heightened potency of sexual virility to procreate new life for their harvest god in the new year. The evergreen tree represented a "PHALLIC" symbol (the mans sexual organ of reproduction) set in an upright position.. Any wonder why people hang round balls on a tree? Please do not be offended. This pagan ritual was to say the least, very profane in the sight of God!
There are many scriptures that the Lord has warned us about in dealing with idols and those things the HEATHEN do, of which we are commanded to NEVER do or imitate. We are told by God to never bring into our homes those things that are practiced by the wickedness of the world. It is truly amazing at how much "Christianity" has embraced from the trenches of the world system. This is why it is time to again preach the Kingdom of God with all holiness and obedience. Please read the following scripture and know that God knew even in the days of Jeremiah the practices and ways of the heathen. For even then, Satan was the god of this world. Listen to what the scriptures say as we have been warned in Jeremiah 10:1-5 about this:
"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 ax. 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.
Please meditate upon what you just read. Learn NOT the ways of the HEATHEN which go into a forest and cut down a tree and then nail it so it stands upright. Just what do men do today with Christmas Trees? Would you not say this is more than coincidence? Then when the trees are brought to the lots, they are NAILED and HAMMERED to stand UPRIGHT!! And the blasphemy of it all is that they—The Christmas Trees—are nailed to a wooden cross on the lots where they are sold!! A wooden cross!! My Lord people, open your eyes and see!! They were then brought into homes and decked out with silver and gold. Sound like tinsel and ornaments? So much for Christmas trees being for Jesus. This was hundreds of years BEFORE Jesus was even born. LEARN NOT the ways of the heathen.
Everything, and I mean everything about Christmas has come to us by learning the ways of the Heathen. Sounds to me like millions and millions of so called Christians have done just that!! Some men and preachers today say this has absolutely NOTHING to do with Christmas trees in Jeremiah 10. I would say, they need healing for being so BLIND! That is spiritually blind. Then again, did not Jesus say the blind would lead the blind and they would go into the ditch?
What an abomination to the Lord. Even in the days of Jeremiah the pagans were doing this. Satan knows exactly what he is doing and sad to say, so many Christians have no idea. After these trees were brought into the houses, worshipped and set upright, then gifts are now brought before them and what must YOU do when setting a gift under the tree? You must bow down before it to lay your gift. How sad and how ignorant we have been. Thank God for opening our eyes to truth. This is no laughing matter. Paul said to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. I would pray this brings the fear of God into your lives and in repentance we ask God to forgive us for our ignorance and then Praise HIM for showing us truth.
Some would say, "But Brother, you do not understand. You are being legalistic. We do not worship the tree, for we know better as Born-Again Christians.
"The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire; thou SHALL Not desire the silver or the gold that is on them, NOR TAKE IT UNTO THEE, lest thou be snared therein, for it is an ABOMINATION to the Lord thy God. Neither shall thou bring an abomination INTO THINE HOUSE, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shall UTTERLY DETEST, and thou shall UTTERLY ABHOR it, for it is a cursed thing"—Deut.7:25-26
We are told in Deuteronomy 12:30-31, that we better TAKE HEED that we be not snared by following after the heathen and that we should not inquire after their gods and how they serve them. Nor should we do likewise unto our God by giving unto HIM, what they give unto their god!!
"TAKE HEED to thyself that thou inquire NOT after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? Even so will I do likewise. THOU SHALL NOT do so unto the Lord thy God!! For every abomination to the Lord which HE hateth, have they done unto their gods. Verse 32, "What thing soever I COMMAND you, observe to do it!! Thou shalt not add thereto nor diminish from it. Deuteronomy 12:30-31
As we finish, I would ask you again. Can we even think what a Christmas Tree with all its decorations and symbolism has to do with our Holy Lord Jesus coming to save humanity from sin? We now know where this thing has come from, and prayerfully for some of you, where it is going!!
THE YULE LOG: Ever read a card or hear "YULETIDE GREETINGS" at this time of season? Let us check this out also since it also has to do with Christmas. The Yule log tradition dates back to Scandinavian countries where their pagan sex and fertility god was called Jul, or Yule. He was honored in a twelve day celebration in the month of December. Interesting—12 days—when Israel had 12 tribes and Jesus had 12 Apostles.
Friends, do not be deceived or ignorant concerning spirituals—I Cor.12:1. Satan despises everything about our Heavenly Father, HIS son and the Kingdom. Satan will do anything to pervert and blaspheme the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is why all these things happen in the world, for Satan is the god of this world. Jesus said HIS Kingdom was NOT of this world—John 18:36 and for this cause, WE should NOT be of Christmas for it is come out of the world. I Jn.2:15, "Love not the world NOR the things of the world".
When this season began, a Yule Log was lit and put into the "fire place" (hell?) where the same log was used for all 12 days to keep the fire lit or to re-light it. Since Jul was the pagan god of sex and fertility, it does not take much to see what this also represented. You got it! The lit Yule Log represents again a "phallic" symbol, and being a log and lit, it represented a good omen for heightened sexuality for the coming year. It was the shadow and type of a burning lust of a man to fuel the fires of sexual potency to reproduce fertility. When one sends "YULETIDE GREETINGS", they are basically saying, "I greet you with this flaming log to fulfill a year of sexual virility.
How sick, blasphemous and perverted. So much for your Christmas season being holy and of Jesus!! There is NO WAY your Father in Heaven is glorified by your observance of this perversion. Explain it away. Do what you desire. Jesus is Lord and truth.
"There is a way that seemeth right unto man and the end thereof is death"—Prov.16:25
MISTLETOE: Just catch a girl under the sprig of mistletoe, and she must kiss you. Where in the name of Jesus Christ does this have to do with HIS holiness? And again, mistletoe, yule logs, Christmas trees are all a part of this season. Mistletoe was sacred to the druid priests and was worshipped by them to cast spells. If held over the head of a woman, she was powerless to resist, and any and all could have their way with her sexually. This is where our tradition of hanging it over a doorway to catch the unsuspecting girl comes in.
If the mistletoe had berries on it, then it was to make the sprig more potent and worth more, for the berries would represent the virginity of the woman that could be taken away and broken. Mistletoe, is also a living parasite and it eats into a tree to survive. Lust is also a living parasite which eats into us as trees of righteousness if we do not crucify our flesh daily. Mistletoe oil was used to anoint the foreheads of Druid Priests for service.
So far, we have shown you how every aspect of what it observed at Christmas time comes from the bowels of the earth. It is all sexually oriented, perverted, pagan and lascivious and we want to say "Jesus is the reason for the season"? How terribly sad!
HOLLY & IVY: Again, what in Jesus name does this have to do with HIM? The custom of hanging Holly and Ivy was to pay homage to the spirits that would bring life and fertility into the home. The red berries on the holly was for mans sexuality, the ivy for a woman around him. The green leaves represented the mans potency and the berries the life. In combination with the female ivy, it promised new life and fertility to the entire household for the year to come.
Now we are going to get into an area that must be seen as NOT being coincidental. If you can not have your eyes opened yet to see, I would pray that this will show you the incredible depth of the true "SPIRIT" that is behind Christmas.
SANTA CLAUS: This is probably the most innocent, jolly, little old man of the season. There he is all dressed up in his red clad suit, white collars, white beard and full of HO, HO, HO. I believe the Holy Spirit would be saying, WOE, WOE, WOE.
He is depicted as being truly supernatural, can cover the whole earth in one night, is attended by little elves, comes into your homes to bring gifts to the good and lives in the North Pole. He is depicted as omniscient and omnipresent. He is to know all and watches all. Innocent enough for you?
Let us now expose the most blasphemous creature of them all, for behind this mask lies SATAN himself. The depth of this one character alone is beyond belief, yet we will now see the real SPIRIT behind CHRISTMAS. Two figures were combined to create this being called Santa Claus.
First, we have Saint Nicholas, a fourth century Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church who was a patron saint to sailors, pawnbrokers and children. Secondly, we have a Christmas spirit of a mischievous, medieval figure who encouraged merrymaking, dancing and drunkenness. But let us look even deeper. What you are about to see and hear is NOT COINCIDENCE OR CHANCE. It is too perfect for that. It is well conceived, planned and disguised and unknowing to the natural eye. Let us first look at the name of SANTA CLAUS:
SANTA—with just the changing and moving of one letter, you will have SATAN! That is right—Satan, the devil. Just move the "N" to the end and S A N T A becomes S A T A N…Is that unbelievable or what? Is this by chance or coincidence? Not after seeing everything you have read so far on "Christmas". And what does Santa travel in? A sleigh (slay) and where does he come into the house? DOWN a very dark and sooty place called a chimney, right into the FIRE!!!
CLAUS---in this name, by using the same letters, you have LUCAS concealed. Now Lucas is the root word for LUCIFER!! Now, in just this creatures name, and that is exactly what he is, you have SANTA CLAUS---SATAN—LUCIFER. Do you honestly want to try to explain this away?
Satan is the adversary of the Kingdom of God, and Lucifer's name meant "Lightbringer". Paul warned us to be NOT deceived, for Satan himself is transformed into an ANGEL of LIGHT. In Isaiah 14:12-17, we have the written account of the fall of Lucifer from Heaven. In his rebellion against the authority of God, he rebelled to the WORD OF GOD. Do you not think that this is his aim today? For he knows that rebellion to the Word of God is the act of eternal damnation, and this is why my beloved brethren, Christmas is SO DISGUISED.
You cannot drink the cup of devils and the cup of the Lord—I Cor.10:21. The cup of devils is SATURNALIA---CHRISTMAS, the cup of the Lord is HIS WORD!! In Isaiah 14, Lucifer said he would exalt HIS THRONE above that of God, and upon what does Santa Claus sit on in the malls and department stores? You got it, A THRONE!! Lucifer said, I will ascend and sit upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the NORTH. Where does Santa Claus come from? The NORTH Pole.
In Moses' Tabernacle, the shadow and type of the church in the wilderness—Acts 7:38, it was the TABLE OF SHEWBREAD, our place of holiest communion with the Lord, and this table was set in the far NORTH position of the Tabernacle. This position belongs to Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, the Holy Lamb of God and SATAN wants that position of authority!!
In the Scandinavian countries, Santa Claus is called "KRIS KRINGLE" which by interpretation means—"SON OF GOD". Come on saints!! How blasphemous can this get? How many of you are still going to put up with this onslaught of defamation to the Holy Character of our Lord Jesus Christ by explaining away why you still want to observe this filth.
Every year, SATAN has his place of being glorified as the Son of God in the spirit world, and by the way, the Scandinavian countries are the farthest NORTH in the World!! And you want your children's pictures taken with this spirit? We should detest this with all our heart and condemn the very nature of this holiday.
God help us for our ignorance and even more so now if people should still choose to honor this. To the carnal mind, this all means nothing. To the spiritual mind, this is an abomination. Let us awake unto righteousness.
As we finish on this very deceptive "spirit", we can see just how cunning and subtle Satan is. Genesis 3:1 says, "The serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field, and in II Cor.11:3, Paul said, "But this one thing I fear, that as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, he will also corrupt your minds from the simplicity that is in Christ".
Everything that Satan does is against the very authority of God and everything he does is blasphemous to the Holy Word of God. Satan's whole purpose is to trodden under foot the Holy blood of the Lamb. One last thing about Santa Claus, is his colors!! And please, do not say we do not believe in Santa Claus, so it is okay to observe this. You are missing the whole point if that is your mentality.
The colors: Red and White. Isaiah 1:18-19 "Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord: though your sins be SCARLET, they shall be as WHITE as snow; though they be RED like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: verse 20, but if you refuse and rebel ye shall be devoured by the sword"
What is it going to take to get people to understand the incredible deception and blasphemy that lies behind all this? What is it going to take for men of God to take a stand and teach the people truth? Remember what we are talking about here—THE "SPIRIT" behind Christmas! This is the true spirit behind Christmas and there is no way that any of us can take the roots of this demonic, ungodly, perverted, filthy order and change it to something clean, pure and holy.
There is no way we can explain away this wickedness and what a shame to put the name of Jesus Christ on it. We are called to EXPOSE the unfruitful works of darkness, not partake of them—Eph.5:1-10 and only when true Born-Again believers start to take a stand on obedience will we be able to get the world to take notice. Stop trying to cover this up and explain it away. Stop saying people like me and others are Pharisaic or legalistic. Since when is obedience to Holiness, legalistic? Please explain, I am open to hear.
Those who read this must now make a decision. Are you built spiritually upon that which men say?--Mt.16:1-13 Or are you going to build your spiritual life off of the TRUTH?
How sad that this December, churches will have Christmas trees on what is suppose to be a Holy Altar unto a Holy God. How sad there will be manger scenes and pageantry plays all depicting lies and false teachings. If fifteen men of God with the largest ministries in America said, "It is okay and all right people to keep honoring this holiday. There is no harm in it and do not let men like Kim C.Gossett rob you of your loving traditions, for we know who WE worship". Then I would have to say—
"Then the Lord said unto me, the prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart."—Jeremiah 14:14
Brethren, Christmas is a false vision and it is full of divination. Can you imagine all of this? Santa Claus—SATAN / LUCIFER. His rebellion to the sides of the north—Isaiah.14 and he comes from the North Pole. His colors of red and white blaspheme the Word of God and the redemptive role of Jesus.
Remember I Cor.2:14, "For the natural (carnal) man will not understand the things that be of God, for to him is will be foolishness, nor he can not discern them, for they are SPIRITUALLY discerned". You will NEVER find one truth in ALL of Christmas except one—It has absolutely nothing to do with the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit. No matter what you say or do, you will NEVER be able to change that. It is strange fire unto God!!
Do NOT let men intimidate you if you change. Many say what they say only in ignorance. That is why the truth is being spoken, and my prayer is that men of God who say they are called to ministry would truly represent Jesus Christ and share with the congregations this truth. I would be more than blessed to come to any church and minister this truth. I pray that men of God would be the ones who are to represent Jesus Christ and stand before the saints and say,
"My beloved, I have heard a truth today and as for me and my house and my family, we will never again partake of this heathen, pagan, deceptive holiday again."
"ITS ORIGIN AND FOUNDATIONAL ROOTS"
If Christmas was NEVER found in the Bible, NEVER observed in the Bible and NEVER acknowledged, then where did it come from? Always remember this; if something is NOT found in the Holy Word of God, then it comes NOT from God.
In Rome, over 300 years AFTER the resurrection of our Lord, there was a yearly feast celebrated by the Romans who worshipped the god Saturn. This time of celebration was always situated around the December 17th--24th time frame so it would coincide with the ending of the winter solstice, a time for seasonal pagan worship.
THE PAGAN YEAR: This is always a period of days, months and times that revolve around the seasonal changes of the earth and are usually in the winter, spring, summer and fall. The WINTER SOLSTICE is a day or period of days in the winter when the days are shortest (light) and the nights longest (darkness prevails). This is usually a time in their festivities of drunkenness, revelry and debauchery (perversion), and I must say, that spirit is no different in the world we live today.
The Pagan Romans called this celebration "The Feast of Saturnalia," in honor of their god Saturn. They celebrated the festival from the 17th to the 24th of December, usually exchanging "gifts" on the last two days from house to house. Then on the 25th of December, they began the new Celebration of "The birth of the unconquerable Sun," as the days of light would now begin to lengthen and the sun would now begin to regain its dominance.
During this time, the ancient pagans believed that the sun would die during the winter solstice and then RISE AGAIN from death as the solstice ended by the revolving of the earth in nature. Does this begin to sound a little familiar to the "SON" who died and rose again? Thus, every year these people would have their celebrations to serve their gods, of which we as Born-Again believers now know, and we know that Satan is the one behind them all.
When the Roman Catholic Church had now been born in Rome, they saw that during this time, there was no party or celebration for their Christian faith or their God. Since the 25th of December was the day when the gifts were given for the beginning of the Sun-god to rise again, they chose to take this pagan ritual and worship the Son of God. Since the heathen had the 25th of December as the day of the sun-god birthday, the Roman Catholic Church chose to have their Son-God Birthday. When the church saw the festival the pagans had with their god, they now realized there was nothing for their own belief.
Instead of rebuking, correcting and taking a stand on holiness and righteousness, they "INCORPORATED" the pagan ideologies into their Christianity. All Satan did was disguise a church in the name of our Lord and open the floodgates of paganism and heathenism to pollute truth. How sad!! Do you think the Apostle Paul would have ever compromised like this? Hardly!! Just read the Book of Acts and see how he stood out and condemned pagan rituals. But then again, we must remember where the Catholic Church came from. Even Jesus said in Revelation 2:13 that there would be a church where Satan's seat would be yet it would keep the name of Jesus and men would be martyred.
Just study history of the inquisition and see how many millions were killed at the hands of the Popes and Catholicism as heretics for taking a stand on the Word of God. Now to you men of God out there who stand before the children of God as faithful shepherds and Elders, this I ask. As a Born-Again, spirit-filled man of God, would you allow someone in your church to:
Pray the Rosary? I pray not—you would bring correction.
Would you allow someone to Pray to Mary? I pray not—you would bring correction.
Would you allow someone to Pray the dead OUT of Purgatory? I pray not—you would bring correction.
Would you allow someone to Pray to saints? I pray not—you would bring correction.
Would you allow someone to Pray to IDOLS? I pray not—you would bring correction.
Would you allow someone to lift up the Pope as the vicar of Christ in the earth? I pray not—you would bring correction.
WHY would you then allow someone to observe Christmas? It comes from the SAME church!! The SAME spirit!! The SAME roots as the Rosary, Mary worship, Purgatory, Idols. Why would you not allow all the others but EXPLAIN away Christmas? Think about it. Obedience is better than sacrifice. Do you fear men or God? Speak truth I pray, unto the saints and set them free. No more need be said on Catholicism at this time. Just know if you know the truth about that religion, you can now begin to see where Christmas came from and why it was NEVER in the Bible. Let us go on.
Now in competition with the pagan's holiday and the heathen superstition, the Catholic church started having a "MASS" for "CHRIST," which is now today's CHRIST—MASS or Christmas. Now, if any of you reading this were raised Catholic, and you are now Born-Again, then you MUST know that there is a very great difference in your life now that you are saved by the blood and filled with the Spirit of truth!! After you become Born-Again, do you still worship the mass? Do you still pray to Mary? Do you still pray the rosary? Do you still pray to saints? Do you still believe in purgatory? Of course NOT!! You have been set free.
But now I ask this. Since Christmas is an origin of the Catholic church with all its pagan rituals incorporated, then why would we want to celebrate it? Remember the roots of the trees. Bad roots, bad tree. We have a very bad tree here, and think about it. What does every home have in it at Christmas time? A TREE!! If you will take the time to research the "Encyclopedia Britannica", "Encyclopedia Americana "or the "World Book Encyclopedia", you will see each and every one of them give the historical beginning of Christmas. Let us first read from the World Book Encyclopedia about this god Saturn, Saturnalia and the history of Christmas origins.
"SATURN was the youngest son of Uranus (heaven) and Gaea(earth) in Roman Mythology. The name probably comes from the Latin verb "serere" which means "to sow". The Greeks called him Kronos (where we get time-chronology-from) and to the Romans, Saturn was the god of HARVEST. (Sound Familiar?) The festival called SATURNALIA was held in Rome every year from December 17th to the 23rd in his honor. During Saturnalia, the Golden Age was supposedly returned to the earth. The Greek word "chronos" means time. Kronos or Saturn is usually depicted as a bent old man with the scythe (sickle) in the one hand. In the other hand, he holds a serpent which bites its own tail. The story of Saturn's swallowing his own children is a way of showing that time creates and then it destroys its creations. World Book Encyclopedia
This is quite powerful, is it not? Look at this spiritually through the eyes of truth. This god, represented to them a god of time and a god of harvest. Does not the Bible say that no man will know the TIME of the HARVEST? Does not the Bible say the reapers (Angels) will come and put in the sickle for harvest?--Mark 4:29 Notice how in one hand is the sickle, representing harvest and in the other hand a serpent, thus Satan actually believes he can harvest the world, in his time, and this is what the people were celebrating each year—the god Saturn. Also it says that Saturn would devour his own children. Just like those of the World will end up devoured in hell. Satan is a master of deception and Satan is the SPIRIT behind Christmas.
Do you honestly think we can put the name Jesus on this pagan wickedness and expect our Heavenly Father to be pleased? So much for our saying that Jesus is the reason for the season. What a lie this truly is. Satan is the reason for this season. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord and put this wickedness far away. We are not close to being done, so please keep your soul at peace and continue to listen to the rest of this teaching as we expose the unfruitful works of darkness.
"SATURNALIA"—was the name of an ancient Roman festival given in honor of Saturn, the Roman harvest god. (My emphasis here, but notice how close the name and sound of SATAN and SATURN). The festival began on Dec.17th and lasted for seven days. On the first day, public religious ceremonies honoring Saturn took place. On the second day, many families offered sacrifices of young pigs. The SATURNALIA festival was a gay occasion. Schools closed and all public business stopped. Courts of law closed their doors, and no criminals could be punished. Families held their banquets and even slaves were free to attend the festival. The last days of the festival were spent visiting and EXCHANGING presents. Some of the gifts were little clay images called "sigillaria", which means small images (idols) World Book Encyclopedia
After reading this account, you can see, or least I should say you SHOULD see that everything that these pagan people did to worship their god of harvest, is identical to what people do today for Christmas—and of course—why not? This is where it all came from—Satan!! Notice how the exchanging of gifts to each other were the little graven images or idols. I pray you can see the picture coming together of this total blasphemy to the Kingdom of God. Let us go on now and see the history of Christmas and please remember—THE AXE IS TO BE LAID TO THE ROOT OF THE TREE!!!!
"TODAYS TRADITIONS"
When Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life", He meant just that. There is NO TRUTH outside of the Word of God, and that is why we are admonished over and over again by the Lord himself and our Heavenly Father, to PROVE ALL THINGS—I Thess.5:21. In this way, we can assure ourselves of fact, truth and protection from deception.
Even in Acts 17:11, the brethren in Berea were called more noble (well born, higher in rank) than those at Thessalonica, for they received the Word of God spoken by Paul and Silas with all readiness of mind. But what did they do to be commended by God this way? It says that they went and SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES to see if these things were so and THEN they believed. The word searched in the Greek means to literally SCRUTINIZE!! Should not we do the same today as "Disciples" of Jesus Christ?
God wants us to try things spoken and witnessed, so that we can prove them by the one and only true test—DOES IT LINE UP WITH THE WORD OF GOD? Not our emotions!! Not our feelings!! Not what we think!! NOT WHAT MEN, MEN, MEN SAY!! Not what the multitudes believe or do!! But what saith the scriptures?!!! We already know that the Lord is not interested in our traditions when we try to apply them to spiritual matters.
Jesus again said in Matthew 15 that our "TRADITIONS" transgress the Word of God. Did you get that in your spirit? How sad, that we as professing Born-Again children of God, go and make the Word of God of none effect. They transgress the Word of God and make it of NONE EFFECT. How can this be? By not observing the Word of God and proving all things.
The sons of Aaron—Nadab and Abihu, were slain in the temple for offering up "STRANGE FIRE" before the Holy Lord God—Nu.3:4 & 26:61. Strange fire is offering something to God that HE has not asked for, does not receive, does not observe and truly becomes DEAD WORKS.
Any wonder why the very first, I repeat, the very FIRST Doctrine of Christ is Repentance from Dead Works? Learn the Oracles of God my brethren and then you will spiritually mature the Bible says and then you will see issues like this totally in the eyes of God. Please note (I Peter 4:10-11 and Hebrew 5:8--6:2 KJV).
Let us now observe some of our traditional thinking here. Man says it is the observance of the Lord's Birthday.
• Lie #1, for the scriptures (by which we are Born-Again and saved) clearly indicate no such thing. In December it is the winter season, rainy and cold and the shepherds do NOT keep their flocks out at night grazing in the winter—Luke 2:8. It was customary for the shepherds to herd their flocks and take them in after Mid-October and release them in early spring. Thus the Luke 2 account of the birth of Jesus could not have been in December. FACT— no man knows when Jesus was born.
• Lie #2--there is NO RECORD in the Bible ever recorded, taught, or preached about people observing or worshipping Jesus because of his birth. Now please do not jump to soulish conclusions here. Listen carefully!! You say, but did not the Angels and Shepherd boys come and worship HIM? No, they did not. If you will read your Bible in Luke 2:13-20, you will see that when the Angels announced this to the shepherds—They (the Angels) glorified "GOD IN THE HIGHEST" in other words—the Heavenly Father, and when the Shepherds went to Bethlehem, they returned the Bible says, "GLORIFYING AND PRAISING GOD", for what they had seen.
Never in the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus, did HE ever glorify himself. In fact, when the rich young ruler came asking him about salvation and saying, "Good master, what must I do to be saved", Jesus first responded by saying, "why callest me good? There is one that is good—God." This is found in Matthew 19:17.
• Lie #3--But did not the three wise men come and worship Jesus in the manger? And did not the three wise men give gifts to HIM when he was born? FACT—There is not one record of there being three wise men! The Bible says in Matthew 2:1, there came wise men from the east. Verse 3 says that Herod and ALL Jerusalem were troubled and believe me my brethren, I do not think that three men on camels would turn one eye in Jerusalem, for the city of great size was daily filled with them. Wise men usually traveled in caravans of 40 or more in number and THIS would possibly cause a stir in the city, do you not think so?
The fact is that they brought three gifts—gold, frankincense and myrrh. (Gold for his "diety", Frankincense for the sweet aroma of his brokenness and sacrifice and myrrh for the bitterness of his death). Thus man's interjection again of changing the Bible says, there were three men.
Did they bring these gifts to the manger? You see the depiction in every Bible story, every city park, every church altar. Sad to say, we again do NOT know the truth!! The Bible clearly states and records in scripture in Matthew 2:7-16, that the wise men followed the star for two years and that is why the Bible says they presented the gifts to Jesus in HIS HOUSE as a young child. Jesus was two years old when the men finally arrived.
• Lie #4--The wise men came to worship the child. FACT—the scriptures say that as "WISE MEN" they came to worship the KING of the Jews as stated in Matthew 2:2 and isn't it interesting to note that in verse 8, Herod said that he wanted to worship "THE CHILD". The Bible says that WISE MEN will worship the KING, but men will worship the child!!! This is why Satan has so deceived people in this area. Satan wants the eyes of people on a baby and our Father wants our eyes on the resurrected Lord and King of a Kingdom with power and authority!!
Have you ever asked yourself again this question? From Acts 2, Pentacost, when men were filled with the Spirit of truth and Born-Again, until the end of the Bible, you will never read anywhere recorded in the Epistles or letters to worship HIS birth, birthday or Christmas. It is NEVER recorded! ONLY to know HIM through the power of the resurrection as the King of a Kingdom!! So why do we do it?
For one, no one studies their Bibles. No one studies the Holy Word of God to see what is truth. They just take things that men teach them and grow up learning lies and false doctrine, then they crucify those like us who speak truth. Is not that what the Pharisees, the religious men who said their father was God in Heaven did? They crucified the Son of God all in the name of God. This is deception my brethren and we must open our eyes. People today just believe lie after lie.
Secondly, Satan wants the emotions of a people on a little innocent child, and not on the resurrected lamb of glory with power and authority—The KING OF KINGS.
• Lie #5—(Please meditate on this one) Since there was no room in the Inn, they had to go and find a stable or manger with animals and straw and hay and a cradle to put Jesus in. FACT—there is once again no reference to this at all. First, this was Joseph's home town. Do you not think that relatives lived there?
Secondly, Luke 2:6-20 states that, "And so it was, that, WHILE they were there in Bethlehem, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered"—Luke 2:6. Now listen carefully. Do you not think that Joseph and Mary knew she was with child and due soon? They did not just show up in Bethlehem, go to an Inn, find no room and go to a dirty, animal shelter, where there was "unclean straw" (if you know what I mean) and have a baby.
The Bible clearly states that they had been there awhile and when the time was accomplished, or fulfilled, she gave birth to her firstborn son, THEN she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and THEN she laid him in a manger, for there was no room for them in the Inn. Notice, NOT AT an Inn, but in the Inn The no room for them in the Inn, was why she laid him in a manger.
Now in the days of Jesus, when a family was poor, the manger was a PART of their house where the families lived and it was the lower part or portion of the house which would represent his humbleness or humility when born into this earth. This manger was usually adjacent to the living quarters of the family and they would keep their domesticated animals there. The manger or trough was usually hewn out of rock (Bakers Encyclopedia of the Bible—Vol.2 page 1392).
"And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn"----Luke 2:7
Every year we have Christmas Plays, Pageants and productions in churches, which are called to be HOLY HOUSES OF GOD. We will fill the air with lies, deception and soulish emotions all fixated on something that has no truth in it. We have this fixed and clear picture in our minds of what "there was no room in the inn" may have meant. If we listen to the Greek text of Luke 2:7, we may see a different scenario for Jesus' birth. After all, is not our whole source of truth to be THE BIBLE and not the leaven, doctrines, dogma and teachings of men? Are we not called to be students of the Word of God like those in Berea in Acts 17? Let us look to the Spirit of truth..
The word "inn" in Luke 2:7 [kataluma], is used again by Luke in 22:11: [7] And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 [11] And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? Luke 22:11 kataluma, Greek 2646, Strong's kataluma, kat-al'-oo-mah; from Greek 2647 (kataluo); properly a dissolution (breaking up of a journey), i.e. (by implication) a lodging- place :- guestchamber, inn.
The INN (kataluma) is the same exact word as "guestchamber" in Luke 22:11. The very next verse describes this kataluma as "a large room upstairs." [12] And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. [13] And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. Luke 22:12-13 Now please understand. The guestchamber was the upper room of a house for guests. At the time that the Lord Jesus was to be brought forth, this guestchamber, upstairs, was full, most likely with all of the family relatives. With NO ROOM IN THE INN, Mary had to go down to the "manger" in the lower part of the house and it was here that she put her child who was wrapped in swaddling clothes.
A manger usually hewn out of rock would truly be scripturally based, for our Lord Jesus is the ROCK of our salvation and we are to build our HOUSE on the ROCK for this is where he was laid!! Oh my, Lord bless us with your wisdom.
Knowing that Joseph was returning to his home town of Bethlehem to be counted with his family in the Roman census--Luke 2:1-2, it had to have been Joseph's intention to stay with his family. Since many out-of-town family members would have been arriving at the same time, the guest room [kataluma], upstairs on the roof of the house, was already full. Mary and Joseph found space in the area that comprised the first floor of the house—the manger. Here it was usually warm and would have been comfortable for the birthing. And even though used for domesticated animals and shelter, it would have been clean.
My friends, our Father in Heaven is an orderly and decent Father. If Mary had to wait until AFTER her purification to bring Jesus into the temple to present him to the Father—Luke 2:22, then what makes you think that HE would allow her to give birth in an unclean, dirty, filthy, straw dunged stable? Our Father does NOT break order!! Once again, our modern day "Manger Scene" with animals, hay and straw, three wise men, Joseph, Mary, shepherds and a star over a stable all come from St. Francis of Assisi—A Catholic Monk. Let us all again give thanks to the Catholic church for allowing this lie to enter in.
Perhaps "no room in the inn" was not really a rejection of Jesus Christ but a gracious accommodation in the best circumstances the family could provide. How interesting, also, that in Luke's gospel, while there was "no room in the kataluma" for Jesus on his first night on earth, that is exactly where he spent his last night on earth with his disciples before going to Gethsemane to shed blood for our sin and then to Calvary to shed blood for our sins. He came into the earth lowly and humbled and finished his work high and exalted!! Hallelujah!!
The birthing of a baby was done in all cleanness when possible, and to take a newborn baby and lay him in straw or hay would be extremely dangerous, for the cut straw or hay could get into the face, eyes or body and it was very sharp. Today's depiction is this: An animal stall, hay or straw, animals, Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus in a straw laden crib, Three wise men bowing down and giving gifts with a star hanging over. The truth? NONE OF IT. Amazing isn't it? Can you believe what we depict and believe as truth because of what men say?
Did not Jesus warn his disciples in Matthew 16 about the leaven or teachings of men and the Pharisees? Now can you see why we are called to PROVE ALL THINGS? Believe me, if my baby was being born, there would be no animals or soiled straw present. Well, now that HE is born, we do not know the date, and we have shown you the manger scene and all surrounding untruths. Is your foundation of Christmas beginning to sound confusing? It is because truth is setting you free (prayerfully) and on a straight course. Sometimes our souls do not like being weaned from the doctrines of men, especially when we have believed something for so long.
The question now is what will you men of God do about this? Still set up the pageantry of lies? At least the truth is being spoken and we can now rejoice. As we get into the next area, please do not be offended, for the truth will be spoken and there are just some things WE MUST deal with in the speaking of truth. Let us now begin to look at ALL the particulars of our Season called Christmas.
First, remember where its roots are. In Paganism and all the things they did. We will now see what the pagans worshipped and why. We will also see how that by allowing their rituals into the church belief, the deplorable and wicked spirits came with them. We will see just how much we have been deceived by not knowing truth, but Praise the Lord we are learning. I pray you will come to know that Jesus IS NOT the reason for this season—Satan is! And that is truth!!
