Christmas versus the birth of Christ
By: James Linders
For centuries Christians AROUND the globe have been celebrating the birth of Christ on December 25. THIS commemoration has been passed on from generation to generation; parent to child WITHOUT question since 316 AD.
As children we were made to believe that Christmas was about receiving presents, eating until your stomach hurts, singing Christmas carols and a man dressed in red and white clothes with a red and white cap on his head, who delivered presents under the Christmas tree. A distinctive feature was his long white beard and his strange habit of entering the house through the chimney.
When WE became parents we passed this tradition on to OUR children, WITHOUT understanding the TRUE meaning of Christ's birth. In fact, we were NEVER taught that Christmas was a pagan tradition introduced by pagan emperor, Constantine the Great of Rome . HE was the FIRST person to celebrate this event which we as Christians came to know as CHRISTMAS. HE was the person who fabricated December 25, as the day on which Christ was born. And believe it or not, the Church of Rome; a church who practiced the teachings of Christ, in combination with pagan traditions, bought into this date as the official date on which Christ was born. One thing led to the other and December 25, officially ended up on the Roman church calendar .
The question that MANY of us could raise now, after the facts are layed bear, is whether Christ was EVER born or whether we should NOT just discontinue this fabricated date and distance our selves from this lie which the Church of Rome has fed us through the centuries.
Yes my brothers and sisters in Christ, I was just as shocked as you are when I discovered the truth. But let me ASSURE you, according to biblical events Christ was INDEED born around 4BC. This event is confirmed by the New Testament Gospels, and prophesied by the Old Testament prophets. One of these prophets was among others Isaiah, who prophesied about the child that would be born to reconcile fallen man unto God the Father by His suffering and death on the cross (Isaiah 59: 5).
According to John 3:16 Christ's birth was a gift of grace from God the Father to ALL who believed in Him, so that they should not perish but have EVERLASTING life.
At this point we could pose yet ANOTHER question: "Who WAS this man who would be born to die for the sins of the world? According to John 1:1-5 He was the WORD who was WITH God and who WAS God."
To us as humans with an INFERIOR mentality in comparison to GOD'S thoughts, the latter is non sensical and IMPOSSIBLE. HOW could the ALMIGHTY God die on the cross or adopt a HUMAN body? If it WAS possible for God to reach a point where He COULD die, the universe and heaven would self-destruct because EVERYTHING that was created came from God's essence. Yes, this is what COULD happen from an inferior human perspective. But with God ALL things are possible because: "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:7)
In order to UNDERSTAND God's ways we have to adopt a stance of faith, because WITHOUT faith we can NOT please God (Hebrews 11:6). Faith makes EVERYTHING possible that's IMPOSSIBLE. It is for this VERY reason that God was born from a woman to acquire a human body that would be sacrificed for the sins of the world. Unlike a normal human baby that is born with a sinful nature, this baby Y'shua, would have NO inherited sin from His parents . He would be sinless, perfect God and perfect man, accommodating both the immortal spirit of God and the mortal spirit of man.
We are spot-on when we argue that God can NOT die and that death has NO power OR dominion over the Creator. For this VERY reason God's spirit HAD to leave Y'shua's body in the ninth hour, JUST before He died, and as God spirit did so our savior shouted with a LOUD voice: "My God my God WHY have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). He died as a human being and NOT as God. He surrendered His sinless human essence and spirit into God's hands; fulfilling the purpose of His birth...to die and NOT to live as a human being on earth. On the third day the spirit of God returned to His body again and rose Him from the grave.
.Nevertheless, whether we WANT to honor Him by celebrating His birth or not, is OUR choice and democratic right. But we HAVE to bear in mind that the early church did NOT celebrate Christ's birth because THEY believed that it was a pagan tradition. Secondly we should have a CLEAR understanding about the purpose of His birth; He was born to be killed on a cross to reconcile us unto God...nothing REALLY to celebrate...IS there? Because our Lord DIED on the cross. We should really MOURN His birth. But if we WANT to celebrate His birth, we should celebrate it because His death SAVED us from the fires of hell and eternal condemnation!
In conclusion I want to use the following example to prove just how GREAT our lack of knowledge and understanding of the true meaning of Christ's birth has been through the centuries since the early forth century.
As I was passing a advertisement at the entrance of a photo copy shop at our ZEVENWACHT shopping mall a few days ago, these words sent a cold shiver through my body: "Celebrate your family on Christmas Day with one of these gifts." There was something seriously amiss with the phrasing of the advert. The question that came to mind was: " WHY would I have the need to celebrate my family if CHRIST died for MY sins AND theirs! This was a CLEAR reflection on how the world perceived Christmas and the ignorance and lack of knowledge on the subject (Hosea 4:6).
Christmas was NOT to praise God for sending us His ONLY begotten Son. It was rather ALL about commercialization and making profits. Even the church was pulled into THIS web of deception.
The time has come that we should move the focus AWAY from Christmas celebrations (pagan tradition) and place it on Easter Sunday (The fulfillment of Christ's mission to earth and victory over sin and death). Christ's death broke the bondage of sin but it was His resurrection that reconciled us unto God and restored the lost spiritual frequency between man and God.
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