| (Copyright 2011) by John Jewell (London, England) |
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| It’s been threatening everyone for a number of weeks, in fact ever since the school summer holidays ended and the monthly bank statements arrived and now, instead of the cry “what are we going to do this summer?” it becomes “what am I going to get for Christmas” or “what can we get for your mother, uncle, aunt, etc Are we going to have a tree again this year? Then comes all the planning! Often encouraged by local councils putting up a large tree in the shopping area and intended to bring in as many as possible with its coloured lights and a local choir singing carols around it. The domestic planning is carried out mainly by wives and mothers, as they are inevitably the ones who carry the burden of providing the Christmas dinner and Christmas tea. They are the ones who hold the Christmas card list, buy the cards, and actually post the majority of them. The earlier cries of “I’ll be glad when it’s all over” or “I wish we didn’t have to keep Christmas!” now change to “that’s it for another 12 months”- then the nervous anticipation of the inevitable bank statement, or credit card account arriving and revealing some unpleasant truths. Why do so many people in the western world keep Christmas! Gifts become more and more expensive and in the case of the young teenagers more and more electronically complex. In the end the reality is that the ones who benefit most from Christmas are the Chinese manufacturers who make almost all the toys, decorations, and gifts. Who else makes all the coloured lights hanging in the shopping precincts? Or packed in boxes in local shops for the domestic tree! The Chinese indeed certainly celebrate Christmas! One British author said of Christmas, that it had become a grotesque orgy of consumption. And nothing has changed. You know, you don’t have to keep Christmas! Everyone has been conned into believing it’s a Christian holy day when it is no such thing. And in fact, has nothing to do with Jesus Christ in any way whatsoever! It has everything to do with pagan beliefs and practices. On Christmas Day and in the days leading up to it the usual Christmas carols will be sung, often by choirs in town centres, in church services, end of school terms or in a Christmas concert. The carols have catchy melodies and emotional words and are very effective in locking people into the practice of Christmas. But have you ever thought about those words. Most people can remember them and, as the saying goes, at the drop of a hat can render at least the first verse of Good King Wenceslas! How bad the night was when a poor man was out gathering scraps of wood in order to make a fire. Many can recall most of the words of the next two verses, but after that get completely lost. Wenceslas was the king of Bohemia in the 10th century. He was a Catholic and was assassinated by his brother Boleslaw and supporters. He has been accorded a Saint’s Day and is the Patron Saint of the Czech Republic. St. Stephen, mentioned in the first verse, is recognised by his feast day which is the 26th of December and so the song is sung as a Christmas carol. However, there are various reasons given for 25th December being chosen as Christmas Day. It certainly is not the day that Jesus Christ was born. It would appear that the decision to celebrate Christ’s birthday on 25th December was made by Constantine, the Roman Emperor together with the Council of Nicea in 325 AD and declared to be on the same day the Persian Sun god Mithras was born. However, the choice of 25th December would seem to go back to an event which took place some 300 years before the birth of Christ. This was the consecration of the ancient world’s largest sun god statue, the Colossus of Rhodes. This stood some 100 feet high and weighed roughly 200 tons. The date was chosen because the winter solstice occurred at about sunrise on 25th December. The facts, however, are, as usual to be found in the bible. In the gospel of Luke, chapter 2 It mentions how the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus decreed that the world should be taxed. It adds that this was when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. This then indicates that it was in early autumn just after the harvest. This would be the best time of the year for the taxing. The bible then says that all the citizens had to go back to the city they came from in order to be taxed. Joseph went with Mary his wife to the city he came from which was Bethlehem which was also known as the city of David. The bible says that Joseph was of the lineage of King David. It wouldn’t have been long after they arrived that Mary entered into labour and gave birth to Jesus. At the same time in the area shepherds were camped out in a field looking after their flock of sheep overnight. This is further evidence that the time of year was certainly not winter. Indeed, animals would not have been in the fields unless the weather was good and was settled. It was to those shepherds that the angels appeared to tell them of the birth of Christ and where he was. From the middle of October until the middle of March, the sheep would be kept inside stables or barns. There was otherwise too much rain and wind for the animals to be outside. There could even be frost and snow. A fact which is still true today. Why do we keep birthdays? They are not that important, we had nothing to do with our own birth! We had no choice over the matter, no input as to our parents. We have achieved nothing at the time of our birth. We do, however, get it right when it comes to death. We will recognise the anniversary of the death of someone who has died. The bible puts it very well when it says in Ecclesiastes that the day of death is better than the day of one’s birth. At the death of a person there is a personality which has developed over the years, there is a lifetime lived with its triumphs, its successes, achievements, and all too often some disasters, there is a real person who was loving and loved. Sometimes, however, a person would die prematurely and, of course, there will always be exceptions to the rule. The bible is speaking in general terms. It makes it clear that at the time of an individual’s birth he or she has done nothing other than be born and they had no part in that. This was true even of Jesus Christ although in his case he did have an existence before he was born as a human being. A fact which is made abundantly clear in the New Testament and is, so it would appear, studiously ignored by almost everyone in theological circles today. The gospel of John in your New Testament tells us clearly in the very first verses that Christ was the Word and that he was with God and that the work of creation was carried out by him. He was, to use a modern term, the executive arm of the Godhead. He it was who made it possible for mankind to have a future. In the first chapter of John, it clearly says that he was made flesh and dwelt among us. He lived the human experience and showed us that one can live according to God’s word and law, can come to know the true God, can have a future life following death and resurrection. Jesus Christ knew what it was to be a young boy, but additionally he knew of his life before being born as a human being. In the gospel of Luke in chapter 2 at the age of 12 he was in the company of the doctors of law, the religious law, and it says they were amazed at his understanding and his answers. Little did they know they were in the company of their creator! In the same passage he says to his mother, Mary, that he had to be about his Father’s business. She kept these things to herself however, she knew he was different, that he was special. In chapter 1 of Luke, we can read how Mary was told what was going to happen and that of his kingdom there would be no end. It would be a very unusual young boy today who could join in deep conversation with such people. Christ however, as a 12 year old, had wisdom and didn’t pursue the issue until the time was right for the gospel to be preached. And for it to be made possible, by his death and the manner of his death, for human beings to enter into that spirit life which is part of the great reality of human life on earth. That we are here by way of a preparation for the future. We have been given a period of time for us to learn the basic lessons, lessons as to how incapable we human beings are of living the happy, positive, productive life without God. How even our apparently highly intelligent, leaders know so little of the truth. The Daily Telegraph some years ago quoted the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams as he dismissed chapter 2 of the gospel of Matthew as legend! This writes of how three wise men had seen a particular star in the east and so became aware of the birth of one who was to be King of the Jews and would rule over Israel. He said “It works quite well as legend.” He added “Christmas was when it was because it fitted well with the winter festival.” That Christ was born nowhere near December is ignored. With such leadership and instruction, it is no wonder that today the western world gives lip service to God and Jesus Christ and ignores the great realities and the truth concerning who Jesus Christ really was, when he lived, what he said and what the future and purpose is for this world and for Mankind as a whole. However, is there any harm in having a celebration in the middle of winter. It’s cold and overcast and it’s nice to have a celebration, whatever it is, to brighten things up a bit. But we must realise that virtually everything surrounding the celebration of Christmas is of pagan origin. Let me quote from the bible once again. Jeremiah chapter 10:2 “Thus says 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 cuts 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….” So who are we going to take notice of? An archbishop who understands little of true Christianity. And would not appear to know his bible Or do we want to conform to the rest of society? Or is it more important that we obey the true God, our Creator? You answer the question! |
| Iron Sharpening Iron In regard to: An Annual Confidence Trick? Article by John Jewell Comments by Ray Daly (Lincoln, North Dakota) and Laura Lee (Bismarck, North Dakota) |
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| Ray writes: Regarding the comments made about x-mas. First, observing x-mas began in Babylon in the early 600’s BC. At the time, Babylon and Assyria both worshipped Baal, and observed Sunday. But, as mentioned, in the early 600’s BC, Babylon changed their day of worship to the seventh day, and they changed their worshipping of Baal to worshipping of “Bel”. The story goes as follows. In the early 600’s BC, an individual came along preaching a different message than that of Baal. He had a ministry identical to that of Jesus in the 1st century AD. He healed people, had a following of disciples, and preached a message. About the time of Persia’s conquering Babylon, this religion was carried throughout the 127 provinces of the Persian empire. The disciple’s name was “Zoroaster” (sp). One can read of what the message of “Bel” was by going to Wikipedia, and looking up the Persian name for Bel, “Mithra(-s)”. I realize that researching this by the readers will likely not take place. But the answer to whom Bel was is the OT “Immanuel”. Take it any way you wish. But it is almost certain that Immanuel and his mother were among the Judah captives taken by Rezin, king of Syria/Aram. Whom later were taken by the Assyrians and settled in Babylon. Laura writes: Bel was not the old testament Immanuel, Bel was a pagan god and so was Mithra. It would be helpful if you would put links to what you send so people can read what you have found in your research. I did not find a connection between Bel and Mithra on Wikipedia, but I did find it on other websites. Why are you trying to make pagan gods look like God and Christ? Is there a reason for that because I see no good reason for this. You are proposing evil things when you do that. If you spent even half as much time reading your bible as you spend reading all this pagan god garbage, you would be a really smart bible guy by now. Jer 51:44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon shall fall. Strongs H1078 bêl bale By contraction for H1168; Bel, the Baal of the Babylonians: – Bel. |
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