Let's get real: Messiah wasn't born on December 25th...
So, let's stop pretending it's his birthday!
Let's get real: Messiah wasn't born on December 25th...
So, let's stop pretending it's his birthday!
I personally love the sights and sounds and smells of Christmas. But I also know it's got nothing to do with God, and so I don't celebrate it. Why? Because it's a man-made holiday steeped in paganism, which is an offense to YHWH (Yahweh, God the Father) and His Divine Messiah - who was born on the first day of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles); NOT on December 25th. If you are ready to get serious about God and wish to start worshipping Him according to what the Bible says, then please read on....
As with Halloween, many people insist on justifying Christmas because "it's fun for the kids, and insist there's nothing wrong with celebrating it. Really? YHWH handed down one weekly seventh-day Sabbath REST, and seven yearly festivals for His people to celebrate - each of which foreshadows Yeshua ... who has so far fulfilled the first FOUR of the seven!
Where in the Bible can we find "Christmas" - a man-made holiday that originated as "Christ-masse" in the Catholic Church? Where are we told to chop down trees and decorate them? And why are we giving presents to each other? The "three Wise Men" gave presents to the baby Messiah, not each other!
For those who insist "we're doing it for Jesus" or "because it's fun for the kids," I posit that the sons of Aaron thought they were doing God a favor, too, when they decided to add incense to their sacrifice's smoke (Leviticus 10:1-2; Numbers 3:4; Numbers 26:61). (For those who don't know the story, God KILLED Aaron's sons on the spot!) Since YHWH is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), and since He TOLD us which Holy Days HE wanted us to keep, why would He be "tolerant" of our attempts to force man-made traditions on Him?
YHWH amply warned us against the incorporation of pagan concepts:
Deuteronomy 12: 28 Obey and pay attention to everything I am ordering you to do, so that things will go well with you and with your descendants after you forever, as you do what ADONAI sees as good and right. 29 "When ADONAI your God has cut off ahead of you the nations you are entering in order to dispossess, and when you have dispossessed them and are living in their land; 30 be careful, after they have been destroyed ahead of you, not to be trapped into following them; so that you inquire after their gods and ask, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I want to do the same.' 31 You must not do this to ADONAI your God! For they have done to their gods all the abominations that ADONAI hates! They even burn up their sons and daughters in the fire for their gods! 32 "Everything I am commanding you, you are to take care to do. Do not add to it or subtract from it. (CJB)
Jeremiah 10: 1 Hear the word Adonai speaks to you, house of Isra'el! 2 Here is what Adonai says: "Don't learn the way of the Goyim, don't be frightened by astrological signs, even if the Goyim are afraid of them; 3 for the customs of the peoples are nothing. They cut down a tree in the forest; a craftsman works it with his axe; 4 they deck it with silver and gold. They fix it with hammer and nails, so that it won't move. 5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch, it cannot speak. It has to be carried, because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of it - it can do nothing bad; likewise, it is unable to do anything good!"
While the above Scripture isn't talking about "Christmas trees" per se (it's in reference to carving idols from trees....gilding them with gold and silver and fixing them to the ground and worshiping them), we can certainly see the resemblance! We also need to remember that God used to put people to death for gross disobedience, or worshipping Him with "strange fire":
Leviticus 10: 1 But Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon, each took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered unauthorized fire before Adonai, something he had not ordered them to do. 2 At this, fire came forth from the presence of Adonai and consumed them, so that they died in the presence of Adonai.
The Prophet Daniel gave us an end time prophecy which reveals the seriousness of changing God's Word. Here he is speaking of what the "Antichrist" will do:
Daniel 7: He will speak words against the Most High and try to exhaust the holy ones of the Most High. He will attempt to alter the seasons and the law....
What are the "seasons and the law" that Daniel talking about? God's Torah, our Divine Instructions in Righteousness, and His Appointed Times: The Seventh Day Sabbath and the Feasts! And who is speaking words against the Most High today? Those who adhere to the erroneous idea that His Torah is a curse, and something that was "meant only for the Jews!" (See Numbers 15:13-16.)
Check out this scripture:
Revelation 11: 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
What's it got to do with our topic of Christmas? Well, the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over the death of the two witnesses and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. A future event? Possibly. But this illustrates the inspiration in our common age for the inhabitants of the earth to be exchanging gifts - which also happens to be a yearly ritual for "Christmas" - where everyone gives each other gifts!
Speaking of the "three wise men" - The Gospel of Matthew is the only one of the four Canonical gospels to mention the Magi. It reveals that they came "from the east" to worship the Mashiyach, "born King of the Jews." Although the account does not tell how many they were, the three gifts led to a widespread assumption that they were three men. In the East, the magi traditionally number twelve, but their identification as kings in later Christian writings is probably linked to Psalms 72:11, "May all kings fall down before him".
Another point is that those "three wise men" weren't even there when Yeshua was born - and they certainly didn't stand around a decorated tree to exchange presents; they brought them ONLY for the little Messiah – which didn’t happen until TWO YEARS later, when they finally reached him!
So, the question remains: Why are people giving presents to each other on a man-made holiday that represents the FALSE birthday of Messiah ... a day we're not even commanded to celebrate? A time where many go deeply into debt to buy those presents - which is yet ANOTHER thing that goes against Scripture - Romans 13:8, Psalm 37:21, Proverbs 28:8; Matthew 25:27, Leviticus 25:35-38).
The fact is, many have never bothered reading the "Old Testament" - much less, STUDY it. The first five Books are known as "Torah" (which contains YHWH's Divine instruction to mankind) without which we would have no blueprint for moral, holy living. Yet, Christianity - which pays more attention to the much-misunderstood writings of Paul than on what God commanded and what Jesus taught, totally dismisses the idea of Torah - which is a HUGE mistake!
In light of the above, what makes us think we today have the right to disobey YHWH's command to refrain from engaging in paganism? For those who believe that we have the right to worship God however we want, because "Jesus did away with the Law", please read all about Hebraic/Netzarim Faith, Why the Biblical feasts are so important and Torah put in simple terms, which is probably the most important article on this website.