THE MYTH OF CHRISTMAS

We can do nothing against the truth but for the truth (2 Corinthians 13:8 KJV) Truth is truth and must be told no matter how hard it may be for some to accept. The fact that a lie has been in office for thousands of years does not make it the truth. Like the people of Berea, we must take time off to prove the scriptural basis of the things we have heard and been raised to practice. As believers, we must cultivate the habit of questioning every action by scripture. We should not follow along and practice a thing simply because of what we have heard or because it has been passed down for ages and assume that it is right. It is noble to question everything by scripture and search the scriptures to validate what you are taught in the faith. Thus, Paul, the Apostle, called the Bereans noble minded because they took time off to search the scriptures to find out whether the things that Paul said were true (Acts 17:10-11). If the Apostle, Paul, as in fallible as he, is scrutinized per what he says then no man of God or church affiliation is beyond same scrutiny. Christmas is a worldwide tradition involving pagan customs which many believe to be Christian. What is the origin of the Christmas tree with all its lights and colored balls? Was Jesus born on 25th December and must we celebrate his birth? How did Santa Claus become associated with the birth of Christ?

WAS JESUS BORN ON THE 25 TH OF DECEMBER? The annual worldwide celebration of Christmas on the 25th of December has nothing to do with the birth of Christ. Most Bible scholars are well aware of this fact because Jesus was not born on the 25th of December. First of all, the Biblical reports that the shepherds in the field tending their flock, in the season of the birth of Jesus; “And in that vicinity there were shepherds living [out under the open sky] in the field, watching [in shifts] over their flock by night.” (Luke 2:8 AMP). In the land of Jesus’ birth, Israel, December is a period of rain and snow. The book of Ezra expressly confirms this: “Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain…But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without…”(Ezra 10:9, 13). The ninth month is the month called “Chislev” according to the sacred calendar of the Jews. It corresponds to the months of November and December on the Gregorian calendar. The New Living Translation makes it clear “Within three days, all the people of Judah and Benjamin had gathered in Jerusalem. This took place on December 19, and all the people were sitting in the square before the Temple of God. They were trembling both because of the seriousness of the matter and because it was raining…And this is the rainy season, so we cannot stay out here much longer.”(NLT). Thus if Jesus’ birth is truly in December, then shepherds could not have been out at night in this season because it was time of rain and snow where nobody could stand outside. This defies the popular notion that Jesus was born in the month of December whilst shepherds watched their flock outside by night. The Bible again reports that Jesus was born in the season Caesar Augustus, Roman emperor, called for a census of the Roman Empire; “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” (Luke 2:1-7, NIV). It would have been very in appropriate for Caesar Augustus to call for a census in the middle of winter because people had to travel to their hometowns in order to be registered and they could not have done so in the winter season. History records that even Caesar’s soldiers avoided marching during the winter season. WHY WAS 25 TH DECEMBER THEN CHOSEN? It is not recorded anywhere in the scriptures that the apostles or any of the early church fathers celebrated the birthday of Jesus. They did not even venerate their own birthdays. Jesus told His disciples to remember Him only by partaking in the Holy Communion, but He was absolutely silent about remembering His birthday. Only pagan kings like Herod and Pharaoh were said to have kept their birthdays, and for each of them, evil things happened on those two days; people were beheaded. (Genesis 40:20-22 & Matthew 14:6-11). It was a common thing among pagans to venerate their day of birth and that of their gods and such days, were great festive occasions. One such festivity was Saturnalia. It was in honor of the sun god, Mithra, who was worshiped in nearly all pagan religions under the guise of many names. It was a nine-day celebration which began on the 17th to the 25th of December. The culmination on the 25th of December, which is the same day of the Christmas celebration, was known as Brumalia. The sun would have reached its lowest angle in the sky by December 21th and 25th December was the first observable day that it rose in the noon sky. Even before the birth of Jesus Christ, December 25th for centuries had been the day of the birth of the sun god. The Roans called the sun god “Sol Invictus”; the invincible or the unconquered sun. Sun worship has been a great rival of the kingdom of God right from the beginning. Under the leadership of Joshua, the Israelites encountered sun worship when they entered the Promised Land. Having associated themselves with sun worshippers, they practiced it themselves, against the will of God: “and they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.”(Judges 2:13). Baal is the Phoenician name of the sun god. This pagan form of worship thrived even till the days of Jesus. At the inception of the church, sun worship was already existent and 25th December was the day they had set aside for the celebration of the birth of the invincible sun. The traditions and customs of this idolatrous festival were introduced into the church of the 4th century by the church leaders. Constantine, an emperor of Rome in AD 325 enacted laws which merged the state with the church. These pagan practices associated with idol worship were so entrenched in the hearts of people that to win their hearts, the leaders of the early church inculcated the practice of the worship of the sun god in to the church but in the guise of celebrating the birthday of Jesus. History records that, Pope Julius I determined that the birth of Jesus should be kept on 25th December, the same day that the ancient Romans celebrated the feast of their sun god. Thus, on this day, all the pagan practices associated with the worship of the sun god were maintained but it was done under the pretense of celebrating the nativity of Jesus, which Jesus never commander in the first place! The time of the year and the ceremonies associated with the celebration of Christmas glaringly prove that it does not have biblical origins. As a matter of fact, Christmas traditions are an evolution from times that long predate the birth of Jesus Christ.

THE CHRISTMAS TREE “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.”(Jeremiah 10:2-4, KJV). During the celebration of this idolatrous feast as can be seen in the verse above, evergreen trees were brought home and decorated and decked with balls made of silver and gold. Gifts and food in honour of Mithra were placed under such decorated pieces. This is the origin of the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree was cut and was so decorated to signify sexual orgy in pagan worship. The tree was shaped as a phallic pole which signifies the male sexual organ, and balls depicting the male testes were hanged around to signify the degree of potency. A star, which is the symbol of the Queen of the Coast, popularly referred to as Our Lady, Star of the Sea, was placed at the peak of the tree, to signify sexual intercourse. Tinsels and shiny, glittery sparkly garlands, as well as flickering lights were placed on the tree to depict the extent of sexual excitement taking place between the phallic pole and the star. This is the origin and the practice of the saying during Christmas, “kissing under the mistletoe”, where young men kissed and had sexual affairs with women under the evergreen Christmas trees. This practice is an ancient one and expressly spoken of in Isaiah 57:5 and in Jeremiah 3:13 respectively: “You have sexual relations under every green tree to worship your gods. You kill children in the ravines and sacrifice them in the rocky places.”(NCV) “Just admit your guilt. Admit your God-defiance. Admit to your promiscuous life with casual partners, pulling strangers into the sex-and-religion groves while turning a deaf ear to me. God's Decree.”(MSG). In addition, the pagans placed gifts under these decorated trees as sacrifices in honor of the gods, Yet the word of God plainly speaks against such a practice in 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.” Whereas the word of God admonishes us to destroy such places, pathetically, a lot of churches rather decorate their altars with this evergreen tree during the Christmas season; some even place it in front of their pulpits, not understanding the significance of what they are doing. Is this not a defilement of the godly altars in so many of our churches? Plain sexual activity being displayed in church, right before our eyes. Leviticus 18:3 says, “After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.” You may want to ask, what such a tree is doing in your church and the scriptural backing behind such practices and the answer you would usually hear is we are just following tradition. The next question is, “what tradition?” Surely, this is not the tradition that the apostles left us. Ignorance is gone on rampage. Another custom today is the lie said to children that Santa Claus brought the gifts under the trees.

SANTA CLAUS Santa Claus is a lie told to deceive children. The story told is that Santa is an old man in a red and white costume, who brings gifts to children through the chimneys of their houses during Christmas celebrations when they are asleep. Some claim that Santa Claus is in honor and remembrance of a bishop of the 4th century whose name was Saint Nicholas and he is said to be the reason for Santa Claus but this is not true. The truth behind this “kind figure” is not a pleasant one. Santa Claus is an evolution of the sun god from an ancient pagan worship. He is an old legend derived from child sacrifice in sun worship. This is the reason for which the entire festivity is principally centered on children. In actuality, Santa Claus is the modernized form of the ancient tyrant called Nimrod. In Genesis 10:9, he is said to be a mighty hunter before the Lord. The phrase “before the Lord” also means in opposition to the Lord or against the Lord. This is evident in the confusion of languages by God in the days of Nimrod, the tyrant. After the flood, he took on the name Baal, the deified fire god, which means Lord, still in defiance to the true Lord. You remember the three Hebrew boys refused to bow down to the image of Baal at the sound of loud music as he demanded Lordship: “Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?(Daniel 3:15). The place where such drumming and music took place was referred to in Hebrew as “Topheth” which means a place of fire. “Topheth” comes from the word “taphaph” which also means to drum or sound the timbrel and this was the place of burning fiery furnance as can be seen in the verses above and below: “And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, TO BURN THEIR SONS AND THEIR DAUGHTERS IN THE FIRE; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.” (Jeremiah 7:31). This Baal to whom infants were sacrificed in fire, was believed to come down chimneys of ancient pagans: “Then Josiah demolished the Topheth, the iron furnace griddle set up in the Valley of Ben Hinnom for sacrificing children in the fire. No longer could anyone burn son or daughter to the god Molech.” (2 Kings 23:10, MSG). The modernized form of this ancient custom is the very Santa Claus story of him going up through the fire place to bring gifts to children. This is the reason why the Christmas celebration is mostly centered on children. “You have sexual relations under EVERY GREEN TREE to worship your gods. YOU KILL CHILDREN IN THE RAVINES AND SACRIFICE THEM in the rocky place” (Isaiah 57:5, NCV). Do you see how the sacrifice of children connects with the evergreen Christmas tree in Isaiah? Allowing this myth of Santa Claus to linger in the minds of your children is a modern form of sacrificing them to the god of fire. The demand of blood in the dark world globally seen through the many tragedies that happen around this season. This has been an ancient way of the devil to demand human blood by heightened frequency of tragedies and accidents. This demand of blood was what led to human sacrifices around this festive period from ancient times till now and this has been proven in the scriptures already discussed. The evidence of the outpour of blood predominantly through lorry accidents in this season, empowers the dark world in their altar fortification towards the next year. Who can deny this? How can the season where most believers claim to be remembering Jesus, have the mark, plaque and plaque of inexplicable deaths. Why won’t the church see the spiritual reality that dawns and knock on their doors to fight off this dark cloud that hovers all over the globe in this season. The Apostle, Paul, says, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us; for are ignorant of his devices.” (2 Corinthians 2:11). The enemy however has gotten populous members in the church to be ignorant. No wonder we find many in Christ along with their loved ones becoming victims and sufferers of the plaques in this season. Jesus appeared to John and spoke of his displeasure on how the church was drifting into the celebration of such festivities. Revelation 2:6 and 15 talks about the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ explicitly tells His church that he hates: “But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate…So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate”. The Nicoliatans means followers of Nicholas. The name Nicholas in turn is from two Greek words: “Nikos” and “Laos”. “Nikos” means destroyer and “Laos” means people. Nicholas then is the destroyer of the people. His name corresponds to the name Baalam, which in the Hebrew also means destroyer of the people which equally corresponds to Nimrod the tyrant. The word Baalam is a combination of two Hebrew words: “Balah” which means to corrupt, destroy or decay and “Am” which also means people. Revelation 2:14 shows Jesus saying. “But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the DOCTRINE OF BALAAM, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” Hence in the first century, the doctrine of Baalam is the same as the doctrine of the Nicoliatans, and according to scripture, it led people to commit fornication and to eat food offered to idols and consequently idolatrous worship. One would realize that this doctrine of Balaam centers on three things, namely: food offered to idols, fornication and idol worship and such practices were found in the church, which thing Jesus said he hates. Hence the admonishing of Jesus to the Church was that, they should repent or else he would fight them with the sword of his mouth which of the word of God. (Revelation 2:16). Pathetically, this same thing happens yet today in Christmas celebrations all over the world. Thus Balaamites or Nicoliatans, that is, corrupters of the people are that caucus of people in the church who question nothing by the word of God but hold on to what they find satisfying to their own souls. Remember also that Baal is the same old name of the sun god worshipeda in all ancient pagan lands. Conclusively, Santa Claus is an evolution of the sun god from ancient pagan worship and hence no man of God should dress in that red and white apparel in any day, under the ignorance of being benevolent or altruistic or worse off, an extension of the gift of God to the world.

THE TWISTED CHRISTMAS STORY “Three wise men visited Jesus in a manger”. This is the familiar lie that has been in office for many years. The wise men did not visit Jesus in a manger. Firstly, it was shepherds who visited Jesus when he was in the manger: “And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” When Jesus was born, the Bible states that angels appeared to shepherds in a field, who after their encounter, found him at Bethlehem in a manger, the wise men never went there. Secondly, the Bible simply said wise men from the east: “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2). The Bible never quantified their number. Having seen the star of Jesus in the east, the wise men in search which brought them to Jerusalem. These wise men, who saw the star of Jesus in the east, arrived to worship Him after a couple of years and not on the day he was born. Discovering that He was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea, they followed the star which led them to find Jesus. By the time they came into contact with Jesus, He was no more in a manger, but in a house and he had grown into a young child, and was no more a baby: “AND WHEN THEY WERE COME INTO THE HOUSE, they saw THE YOUNG CHILD with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11). The Greek word used for young child is “paidion” which means an infant or half-grown boy or girl. It is never used for babies which in the Greek is “brephos”. Thus, in luke 2:16, where the shepherds found the new born babe in the manger, the Greek word s=used is “brephos”. This truth is further proven by looking at stipulated age range of children Herod commanded to be murdered in his bid to kill Jesus, when he realized that he had been mocked by the wise men: “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.” (Matthew 2:16) Why would he order children of two years and under to be killed if at that time Jesus was but just a day grown? The Christmas story widely propagated is a twisted one.

In the whole Bible, we see only one time where there ever was such a practice. This is found in Revelation 11: 10 which says, “And there will be a worldwide holiday—people everywhere will rejoice and give presents to each other and throw parties to celebrate the death of the two prophets who had tormented them so much!” (TLB). We see here, a worldwide holiday and the exchange of presents being practiced by pagans who fought and killed the two witnesses of Jesus Christ. The word of God however says to “Let brotherly love continue.” (Hebrew 13:1). We must not necessarily wait to give gifts in a certain season of the year. Brotherly love must continue and not seasonally. Our expression of love must continue unrestrained especially toward our children. It is unfortunate, to say the least that most kids only receive presents from their parents only in this season, to the extent that some children tag their best clothes as Christmas clothes. In addition, the word of God speaks against the giving of gifts to those who can give to us in return. In Luke 6:33, Jesus said, “And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? For sinners also do even the same”. We practically see Muslims do this even in their festivities. We are not to do good to people expecting for them to do good to us too. Most of these exchange of gifts center on giving to each other and appallingly, used clothes and things people have no use for are what most organizations beckon to be gathered and given to the less privileged. This betrays the extent of true love such people claim to be expressing. However, this is not to speak against the spirit of giving to anybody, be it to children or parents, at any point in time in one’s life. The essence of this communication is the negative attitude of waiting to express your love in only this season. Mark 7:9 and 13 says, “and he said to them: “And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! ... Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” (NIV). The reality is that Jesus spoke emphatically of how he should be remembered and he never made mention of Christmas as a means of doing this. It does not matter how wise you are. You cannot decide on how Jesus should be remembered by your own human traditions. Such an error has been the way of many a mass of people and this has been an ancient tactic of the devil to sway many sincere worshipers of God. One may say that they go to church for Christmas celebrations with Jesus as their focus and no idol. This happened in the life of Cain. He as well had God as his focus of worship but God rejected his worship because he brought what God never asked for as part of his worship. So the question is “Could one be worshiping God and yet, be serving idols?” 2 Kings 17:41 declares, “Even while these people were worshiping the LORD, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.” (NIV). Interestingly, the Bible said this has

been the way of men since ancient times till this day. Beloved, there is nothing like remembering Jesus’ birth specifically stated anywhere in the Bible. Jesus simply told his disciples to remember him and he specified the exact way he should be remembered. He said we should take the communion to remember him: “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). He also said we should remember him often not only once or twice a year: “After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:25). It is the spirit of Cain that offers what he thinks in his opinion, God must receive as worship. It is a form of idolatry. God’s counsel to Cain was that: “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:7, NIV). This is not a message of condemnation but rather, a way of showing the church of God today to do right, just as God told Cain to do. Jesus should not be put or forced into that box of Christmas. He has never been there. The whole world lies in deception. Awaken to reality! Shalom! Christ Cosmopolitan Incorporated – Shofar December Edition.