There is a very good reason why He said that the way which leads to His Truth is very narrow and \u201cfew there be that find it.\u201d The Truth is not popular, it does not sell much in the way of the world\u2019s products, and it doesn\u2019t tickle the ears.<\/p>\n
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 \u201ceyes to see\u201d.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
Some of you may remember the “trauma” of discovering the awful truth as a child…that there is no Santa Claus! <\/strong><\/em>More of us, however, can — or perhaps WILL — remember the trauma of discovering the “Second Shocking Truth” about Xmas.\u00a0 There was NO ‘messiah’ born on December the 25th!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n There is in fact a reason why the Adversary, and his commercialized minions and symbols \u2014 from \u2018yule logs\u2019 to \u2018Satan Claws\u2019 \u2014 have so been able to \u201ctwist\u201d such a false \u2018holy-day\u2019: it was never His to begin with.\u00a0 Any encyclopedia will tell you whose birthday falls just after the winter solstice, and where each of the legion of pagan customs originated.\u00a0\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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\u00a0 (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.<\/p>\n The REAL Messiah taught what was Written \u2014 even when it contradicted the traditions of men. Many folks were thus \u201coffended<\/em>\u201d at what He taught. Enough to kill Him, in fact.\u00a0 But He loved all of us \u2014 them included \u2014 enough to stand up to their error, and their rejection, in SPITE of their offense at Him.<\/p>\n If He is in fact the Master, and we desire to be told \u201cwell done, good and faithful servant<\/em>,\u201d why do we so often persist in IGNORING what He says we SHOULD do, like keeping the REAL <\/em><\/strong>Appointed Times He specified that we were to \u201ckeep forever<\/em>\u201c, while instead doing things He says are abomination to Him, and then calling those pagan celebrations \u201choly-days\u201d?<\/p>\n Breaking with our traditions…even one we learn is offensive to Him…is hard.\u00a0 Santa continues to serve the purpose for which his false master crafted that myth.\u00a0 But please consider something about this time of year:\u00a0 it is a great opportunity not only for teaching — ourselves and our families — but for practice <\/strong><\/em>at what it means to “come out<\/em>” of Babylon as well!<\/p>\n Accepting the Truth of what the Bible says about money <\/em>can really be hard.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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<\/em>” without some “mark<\/em>” from that system of the Adversary is so important.\u00a0 After all, just saying “NO!” to “exposing the nakedness<\/em>” 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.\u00a0 Doing without the fiat “money” that ‘the world’ claims is a necessity is even harder.<\/p>\n Dealing with the ‘shock’ of leaving Christmas behind should be easy by comparison!\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n 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).\u00a0 In the “Parable of the Sower” (Matt. 13:21), He even said that “when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word<\/em>,” those who have no root in themselves would “immediately stumble<\/em>“.\u00a0 There is no question the truth about “Xmas” is offensive to many.\u00a0\u00a0 Paganism, especially when it is disguised in “Xtian wrappers”\u00a0 is a stumbling block to many more.<\/p>\n We live in a time of great deception.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 If we are to learn to “come out of her<\/em>”\u00a0 (Rev. 18:4, of course) and “resist the devil<\/em>” in spite of his expertise at the Big Lie, then coming to grips with the peer pressure,\u00a0 paganized family traditions, and\u00a0 even our own warm, fuzzy feelings surrounding Xmas may be a good place to start.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n *\u00a0 A bit of Bible research, associated with the birth of John\/Yahuchanon \u201cthe Baptiser\u201d supports the claim that the Messiah was actually born in the fall, almost certainly during the Feast of Sukkot (aka \u201cTabernacles\u201d) \u2014 where all of His people traveled to Jerusalem, and stayed in a \u201csukkah\u201d (a word coincidentally often translated into Olde English as \u201cmanger\u201d).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Now that the “holiday season” is over, and perhaps a bit of the emotion and nostalgia is past, it may be a good time to do a bit of retrospective. This an an article on the difference between ‘giving offense’ and using the opportunity to expose paganism that YHVH say He hates. Continue reading