Some Thoughts about “Christmas”
October 22nd, 2010 | Uncategorized | 3 Comments »For four hundred years Israel waited for a deliverer that would bring them out of the land of Egypt. And when he did, he did it with such power that all the nations spoke of their deliverance for centuries to come. Then after their deliverer had fasted for forty days and forty nights having the testimony of God written with God’s own hand Moses was shocked to see what he saw. He saw the very ones God delivered dancing and playing around a golden calf and celebrating in a feast, not to the God’s of Egypt, and not only for their own lust, but an idolatrous celebration TO THE LORD! Consider the disgust that Moses, the meekest man on earth, must have had against this feast to cast down in anger the commandments of God at Mt. Sinai. But one may say, “but if it was to the LORD then God should have been pleased.” No, God has never been please with idolatry, least of all idolatry done in his name. Such a feast only added blasphemy to their sin. But there were other blasphemies to come.
Through out the Old Testament the bible records God’s continual fight against the sin of idolatry of his own people.
After Israel was given their land they again took the god’s of the land, Baal, and mixed it with the worship of Jehovah. But God made this promise by the prophet Hosea.
And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.
For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.
(Hosea 2:16-17)
What would make a nation who had seen the mercy of God so many times repeatedly turn their back on him? The scripture gives us a clue to their thinking. In Proverbs 30:20 the bible says
Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.
God repeatedly called Israel a strange woman and Proverbs 7 reveals her mind. I think the answer to the earlier question lies in verse 14 where she seduces a young man by saying “I have peace offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows.” The strange woman deceives her heart to think that she can be at peace with God while seducing others to sin. This is exactly what Israel was doing. She overlooked the sin of her Idolatry by saying in heart “I have done no wickedness” and then used that idolatry as a means to serve the LORD. (This is why there were groves in the temple.)
Now let’s bring things back to our day. Today God has given us a new name, Jesus Christ. He set aside his own people for their unbelief and set up his Son as the corner stone of his church. The deliverance of Israel from Egypt at the hand of Moses was only a picture of the great deliverance of sin by Jesus Christ. But is it possible that the Lord himself will see a sight as Moses did when he returns? Will he see his own children honoring the God’s of this world in the name of Jesus Christ the very one who delivered them from their sin?
When God had Israel clean out the land he said.
And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God (Deuteronomy 12:3-4)
When God delivered Egypt he did it through 10 plagues that mocked the 10 gods of Egypt. And when he gave them the promise land he made it adamantly clear that they were not to worship him in the manner that the pagans honored their gods. God hated idolatry then and he hates it now. So why then do Christians think that they can honor Christ through pagan customs?
The mercy God showed to Israel when he delivered them from Egypt was great indeed. But what deliverance can compare to the deliverance God did through Jesus Christ when he took the sins of all man kind on himself on the cross. Yet also amazing is the depth of hardness of the hearts of those very ones whom Christ has delivered to take the blessed name of Christ and mix it with a pagan festival. To “honor” the birth of Christ, which he never commanded, on the very day the pagans have honored the birth of the Sun God on December 25th. To celebrate the birth of Christ in the same way the children of darkness has celebrated their pagan gods. To pervert the scripture to find excuses so they can keep all their old pagan practices in the name of Christ. And instead of being transformed by the renewing of their mind they transform Christ to be a pagan idol. When God showed Ezekiel how the elders in Israel all faced east to greet the rising Sun and then said how they put the branch to the nose. Who would have thought that three thousand years later the blood washed saints of God would be practicing Sun rise services in the spring equinox and then not just put a branch to the nose but putting a whole tree in their house in the winter solstice. Of course they say “We are doing this to honor the birth of Christ and his resurrection!” Well that’s interesting that they honor the birth of Christ on the same day their pagan fore fathers honored the birth of Attis, the birth of Mithra, the birth of Tamuz, … etc. And wouldn’t you know it they honor the resurrection of Christ on Easter, which was a day set a side to annually honor Eostre, Ishtar, or Astoroth for the resurrection of Tamuz or Attis. In fact the pagan integration into Christianity is so thick that many believe that Christianity originated from paganism. If you doubt this is true then just do a quick search on the internet on “Jesus and Mithra” or “Jesus and Attis”. Usually those who want to show that Jesus is a modern day Mithra, Tamuz, and/or Attis will start with December 25. And why shouldn’t they? If we honor Christ the same way pagans have honored their false deities for years then why shouldn’t they think that Jesus is just another false deity? If parents lie to their children about Santa or the Manger scene then why shouldn’t children think that the rest of the story of salvation is a lie as well?
The Lord described this present state of the church very well when he said
“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15-16)
Christians today seem to hold their bibles in their left hand while holding their old Catholic traditions in their right. I would think it would be evident by now that the Christ of the Catholic Church is NOT the Christ of the bible. It is one thing for the RCC to mock Christ by making him into a pagan God. But it is an entirely different matter for professing “bible believers” to mock him in the same manner. I know, I know, they are only using it as a means to win souls. But which Christ are you winning them to? The Christ of the bible or the Christ of the Catholic church? Do not think you are winning them to the Christ of the bible if his birth is based on a lie.
So what should bible believers do about this compromise? We should do the same thing that Moses did when he saw the golden calf. We should do the same thing that Jeremiah and the other prophets did when God showed them the idolatry of his people. And we should do the same thing that Paul commanded the Corinthian church to do when fornication was discovered in their church. They must be rebuked and then we must fast and pray for the mercy of God. It grieves my soul that the name of God is blasphemed among the unbelievers through us.
Before God judged the old world he was grieved over the fall of the sons of God. Before God raised up Babylon he was grieved to see his temple defiled with their compromised sacrifices and abominations. And before he judges this earth with fire it will grieve him to have to spew this apostate church out of his mouth.
Will you also grieve his Spirit? Or will you grieve with him for his church?
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