Christmas Is Spiritual Idolatry

Much like ancient Israel,  today's New Covenant Believers ( aka Christians ) have changed the times & seasons and held themselves not guilty, assuming that it does not matter to Yahweh . God   Majority of  Christians believe that christmas is a christian festival ie, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ . Well for the record, the Bible does mention the birth of Jesus, but nowhere are we told to re-enact, observe or celebrate it the way it is done today.  God Himself through His Word, tells us to remember, not His birth, but His death (Luke 22:14-20; I Corinthians 11:23-26) Certainly His birth is important, but  His life would have accomplished nothing if not for His death and resurrection. Why then do  christians observe christmas if they are not told to? Some years ago I wrote to  my christian friends pointing out that its quite odd for us to celebrate christmas because it has nothing to do with Christianity.

christmas is spiritual idolatry

 One lady replied saying 'as long as my  pastor & church celebrates chirstmas, so will I '. What she is really implying is that  she is depending on the judgement of others for her beliefs, especially those who have formal theological training. The sad truth is, formal education does not insulate a man from error. The Bible itself warns us of false teachers and false teachings.   I have  obliged to this person's request, but as for me, it has become a  matter of conscience. After conducting several years of research on this subject, my conclusion is that this pre-Christian  pagan festival  is a great offence to Yahweh God. It makes a mockery of Christianity in a way so subtle that it even blinds the minds of many God loving Christian leaders.

How Did Christmas Come to Be Celebrated on December 25 th?

In the Roman world, the  winter month of December  was filled with celebrations to  honour  pagan gods and festivals such as Saturn &  Sol Invictis, the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun  . These Roman pagan feasts took place during the dark period of the winter solstice . During this time the days were shorter, until it seemed as though the earth was dying. With the return of the sun at the end of December resulting in longer days, the Romans celebrated the "Feast of the Sol Invictus" (Unconquerable Sun") on December 25th.    During this period, the Roman Saturnalia - a week long period of lawlessness was also celebrated between Dec 17 and ended on Dec 25.  Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the week long celebration of Saturnalia.  
  

The ancient Greek writer, poet and historian Lucian (in his dialogue entitled Saturnalia) describes the festival’s observance in his time :  In addition to human sacrifice, he mentions these customs: widespread intoxication; going from house to house while singing naked; & sexual license.  During this period, the  Catholic Church established by the Roman Emperor Constantine was the dominant faith and it was eager to convert the pagan Romans to Christianity. However,  they found it hard to convince the pagan converts to stop celebrating

About Emperor Constantine

their pagan customs . The Roman Catholic church then decided to allow the pagans who converted to Christianity to continue their celebration of  Saturnalia . The problem was that there was nothing intrinsically Christian about Saturnalia. To remedy this, the church  leaders named Saturnalia’s concluding day, December 25th, to be  the birthday of the ‘Son of God’ even though Yeshua ( Jesus ) was not born on that day. In  354 Ad,  Bishop Liberius of Rome ordered  all converts to the catholic faith to celebrate the birth of Jesus on Dec 25 . Liberius managed to get away with this since no one knew the exact date that Jesus was born ( although we are given clues to it ).  However, although the converts  began to celebrate  Christ's birth on Dec 25  they continued to celebrate it the way it had always been.  As a result, the earliest christmas holidays were celebrated by drinking, sexual indulgence, singing naked in the streets (a precursor of modern caroling), etc. Today, this supposedly Christian festival is celebrated throughout the whole world by christians including Singapore in the same way during the Roman era, by drinking, eating, gift giving and merry making . 

Ways of The Lord.  Jesus did NOT institute this festival  simply because this is not one of His Ways. Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  When we observe an event that is hostile to His ways, there is absolutely no gain of any kind in it. The very popularity of christmas should cause the Christian to question it. Anyone and everyone can celebrate Christmas without question, but if, in reality, December 25th were a date set by Yahweh God to remember the birth of Yeshua ( Jesus ), there is no doubt that the world would have NOTHING  to do with it. I mean, does the world celebrate the Lord's table ? The world loves christmas, but hates the Lord Jesus  (John 15:18, 23-25). It shuns anything pertaining to a true form of Christianity  . Shouldn't the Christian be just a little suspicious of a celebration in which the whole sinful world can join without qualms?

Money, not Jesus is the reason for this season. Christians may argue that they celebrate christmas the 'right way' or not as the world does by attending church services, singing carols, meeting up with families, or using this festival to reach out to unbelievers.. However,  the issue here is not about how we observe it, but rather, is there  a Biblical warrant for Christians to observe it?  Is the "spirit" that inspires us to celebrate this feast the  Spirit of God? Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God -1 John 4:4.  Did Jesus who  himself drove the merchants out of the temple initiate this festival where businesses &  merchants are the main beneficiaries? The truth is, money,  not Jesus is the reason for this season .

Unholy Communion

No wonder many believe that Jesus is also fake

Churches in Singapore today increasingly yoke themselves with merchants and associations ostensibly to share with others the 'true spirit' of christmas. The necessity for this alliance is quite puzzling. Throughout the year, churches reach out to the lost by conveying the message of  reconciliation through the Word of God  - without collaborating with the world, and rightly so, because there is no need to.  Heb 4:12 However, once a  year during December, churches somehow feel there is a need to collaborate with merchants & secular organizations  to proclaim  the good news  through a  festival of lights. All this is done  to share the 'true spirit' of christmas. No doubt this is done with sincere intentions, however,  this so called 'spirit' of christmas  causes many to behave in a manner that is totally out of harmony with the Word of God.  Many are  engaged in a mindless culture of spending, feasting and drinking. Merchants manufacture decor, figurines & symbols  which have no meaning for them, but for which both Christians and non Christians alike purchase and dump away after the festival.   Is our  God Yahweh behind this 'spirit' ? Why is there a need for churches to yoke with secular organizations once a year when we are told not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness?

No doubt, not all associations with the unbelieving  world is wrong.  What we are dealing with here is a peculiar kind of partnership that has a compromising nature because the  thinking and motivation of the secular and the christian world  are incompatible. Their goals and methods are not the same either. For the Christian to be joined together with secular organizations as equals pulling together in a common purpose is really a practical impossibility and is also detested by Yahweh God. 

Christmas is a MOCKERY of Christ: View more here.

Time to take Christ out of christmas There is a  growing cry today to 'put christ back into christmas'.  It's commendable that some want to do that - commendable but not scriptural because He was never there in the first place. The right cry should be to 'take Christ out of christmas'.   The information on this site in the form of  articles, videos and books provide overwhelming evidence that christmas is pagan in origin and is not a  festival related to the Christian faith. That is the message we want to convey to Christians and non-Christians alike. But don't take our word for it - do some research on your own. Go to libraries, credible sources and search for  'the origins of christmas'  or  'is chirstmas biblical'. The truth will disturb you, and it may take awhile for you to be totally convinced  that this festival  is  outright paganism blended into christianity. It took me a few years of research to unlearn what I believed in since I was a kid.

Light of the world To help you get started, read this powerful testimony and book by Pastor Richard B.W. Ing from Light Of The World Missions. Talking  about light, yes, we are called to be the light of the world - but it is through our lives & relationship with others that we share the love of  God - nowhere in the Word of God are we told to literally light up our houses, buildings and streets with light bulbs or other shimmerings! This type of practice is used by pagans to celebrate their important feasts ! All you have to do is to look aroud you  & observe the customs of the heathen ! These type of lights does nothing  to save lost souls or to minister to their  need.  People are attracted to  lights not to hear the Word of God but because it adds to the atmosphere of fun and merry making.

Biblical Feasts Of The Lord. Most Christians are not aware of these feasts let alone observe it. Please note that this is not the feast of  Jews or Christians, but 'of the Lord'. Lev 23 1:2. It is HIS feasts  and they are for us to commemorate and celebrate HIM. I have never heard of these feasts preached from the pulpit throughout my entire Christian life and came to know about it only as part of  my research on christmas.

More on Biblical Feasts of The Lord

An important thing to note is that the  Feasts Of The Lord  are not requirements.The festivals are typologically meaningful, and we must recognize that they are optional — traditions that may be used in worship, but not as requirements for salvation. They can be used as opportunities to preach the gospel and worship the Lord . There is a rich treasure house for us all to partake of in these Biblical holidays.  They are not just for the Jews only... no more than salvation is for the Jew only.   We enjoy a common heritage by faith as children of Abraham, not genetically, but definitely spiritually.  In this regard, we feel that celebrating these holidays are more "Christian" than celebrating the ones that the world has already blurred the definition of.  The FEASTS of the LORD have no such blurred distinction. They are HIS feasts, they are HIS holidays, and they are for us to commemorate and celebrate HIM.  Did Paul Keep The Feasts Of The Lord? Absolutely.

From historical church writings, it is clear that Paul and the  followers of Jesus continued to keep the Feasts of the Lord after He ascended to heaven, even into the 3rd and 4th century. In comparison, NONE of them ever kept or celebrated christmas - it was unthinkable of them to do so.  Paul praised the Corinthians in that "you remember me in all things and keep the traditions as I delivered them to you."  While we are cautioned about the traditions of men, especially when they conflict with the teachings of Scripture, we must conclude that God has established the Biblical Feasts which are for our benefit and instruction. It is to our detriment when we ignore that which God has established to keep His gospel in our hearts and minds.We recommend all Believers to at least acquaint themselves with these Biblical feasts.  There is information on this subject in the form of articles, books and videos and we will expand it as we receive more resources.

Dear Christian, The Shocking Truth About Christmas   is meant to make you think  about  your reasons for observing christmas. Just because the masses observe it, doesnt make it right.  This is a logical fallacy called argumentum ad numerum. This belief asserts that the more people who support or believe a proposition, the more likely it is that that proposition should be true. However, just as something true does not become untrue if no one believes in it, something that is not true will not become true if many  believed in it. Truth cannot be attained through the consensus of the majority. The Earth was never flat even if the whole world believed so.   

We hope that the resources available  here in the form of  articles, videos and books and the  final authority of scripture will resonate  into your life.  I encourage you to start your study simply by watching this powerful  video below. And think about this  : the christmas tree is arguably one of  the most prominent symbol of christmas, but the blunt truth is that these plastic trees are manufactured simply for commercial reasons. The Tree that has true meaning & of eternal value is our good Lord Jesus - the Tree of Life. May you be blessed by your study .- Joseph Lefort

Darris McNeely  (below) works at the United Church of God home office in Cincinnati, Ohio. He and his wife, Debbie, have served in the ministry for more than 39 years. They have two sons and four grandchildren. Darris is an Associate Media Producer for the Church. He also is a resident faculty member at the Ambassador Bible Center.