There is a very good reason why He said that the way which leads to His Truth is very narrow and “few there be that find it.” The Truth is not popular, it does not sell much in the way of the world’s products, and it doesn’t tickle the ears.
More and more people are seeking to be “like the Bereans”, and thus realize that Yahushua the Messiah was not born at Xmas, nor in the dead of winter at all. Scripture, of course, makes this clear, through multiple witnesses, to those with “eyes to see”. However, many people still note the high incidence of depression and suicides surrounding the “holi-day” and bemoan that the “reason for the season” is more than consumer sales figures.
Some of you may remember the “trauma” of discovering the awful truth as a child…that there is no Santa Claus! More of us, however, can — or perhaps WILL — remember the trauma of discovering the “Second Shocking Truth” about Xmas. There was NO ‘messiah’ born on December the 25th!
There is in fact a reason why the Adversary, and his commercialized minions and symbols — from ‘yule logs’ to ‘Satan Claws’ — have so been able to “twist” such a false ‘holy-day’: it was never His to begin with. Any encyclopedia will tell you whose birthday falls just after the winter solstice, and where each of the legion of pagan customs originated. But read Jeremiah 10:1-10, and the many other warnings in places like Deuteronomy 7:25-26, the story of Ezekiel 8 and 9, and most of Deuteronomy chapter 12 and 13. The real issue is NOT simply that He was not, and indeed could NOT have been, born in December*, much less on the winter solstice (on the same supposed day as Mithra, or Semiramis, or Sol Invictus, or Zeus, or whatever false pagan name for the same lie is substituted). The problem is that our Creator and King clearly says NOT to do such things, much less claim that they please Him in any way.
The REAL Messiah taught what was Written — even when it contradicted the traditions of men. Many folks were thus “offended” at what He taught. Enough to kill Him, in fact. But He loved all of us — them included — enough to stand up to their error, and their rejection, in SPITE of their offense at Him.
If He is in fact the Master, and we desire to be told “well done, good and faithful servant,” why do we so often persist in IGNORING what He says we SHOULD do, like keeping the REAL Appointed Times He specified that we were to “keep forever“, while instead doing things He says are abomination to Him, and then calling those pagan celebrations “holy-days”?
Breaking with our traditions…even one we learn is offensive to Him…is hard. Santa continues to serve the purpose for which his false master crafted that myth. But please consider something about this time of year: it is a great opportunity not only for teaching — ourselves and our families — but for practice at what it means to “come out” of Babylon as well!
Accepting the Truth of what the Bible says about money can really be hard. Most people who are “employed”, or need to shop at corporate stores for food, argue that to “come out of” the world’s economic system is difficult, if not impossible. This is by design, I contend, and is why the prophecy that we are heading toward a time when “no one may buy or sell” without some “mark” from that system of the Adversary is so important. After all, just saying “NO!” to “exposing the nakedness” of your wife or young daughter to the abuse of an oath-breaking minion of the TSA is too hard for most people to resist…especially if they have a plane to catch. Doing without the fiat “money” that ‘the world’ claims is a necessity is even harder.
Dealing with the ‘shock’ of leaving Christmas behind should be easy by comparison! Now that the solstice itself, and the hype surrounding the “reason for the season,” has passed, perhaps the Truth will be easier for some to handle.
Our Savior said many times that many people would be offended by Him, and his Word, but that those who are NOT would be blessed (Matt. 11:6). In the “Parable of the Sower” (Matt. 13:21), He even said that “when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word,” those who have no root in themselves would “immediately stumble“. There is no question the truth about “Xmas” is offensive to many. Paganism, especially when it is disguised in “Xtian wrappers” is a stumbling block to many more.
We live in a time of great deception. Given the advent of mass media and scientific propaganda, economic manipulation, and pervasive new technology for control of the masses, we may well be in the time of the greatest potential for widespread deception in all history. If we are to learn to “come out of her” (Rev. 18:4, of course) and “resist the devil” in spite of his expertise at the Big Lie, then coming to grips with the peer pressure, paganized family traditions, and even our own warm, fuzzy feelings surrounding Xmas may be a good place to start.
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* A bit of Bible research, associated with the birth of John/Yahuchanon “the Baptiser” supports the claim that the Messiah was actually born in the fall, almost certainly during the Feast of Sukkot (aka “Tabernacles”) — where all of His people traveled to Jerusalem, and stayed in a “sukkah” (a word coincidentally often translated into Olde English as “manger”).
