Covenant House One

 | Home | Feature Articles |

Christmas, Our Winter Celebration

David Edlund

“I’m dreaming of a White Christmas, just like the ones I used to know”—and so goes the words of an all-time favorite song. When I think back to my childhood, I can remember the good times I had at Christmas. It brings back memories of joy and happiness.

In my family, Christmas was the most celebrated holiday of the year. It was a time when our family and relatives would get together and give gifts to each other, eat, drink, and be merry. Christmas eve and Christmas morning were the best times for me. I liked opening the presents best of all. Christmas eve we would gather at my grandmother’s house and exchange some of our gifts. My grandmother would make special treats like cakes, candies, and fudge just to name a few. Oh, how I liked her peanut-butter fudge!

Christmas morning we got up early and went back to my grandmother’s house where we ate Christmas dinner. My grandmother enjoyed cooking and I enjoyed eating. There was turkey and dressing, mashed-potatoes and gravy, salads of varying kinds, pies, cakes, and fudge.

Yes, there was a lot I liked about Christmas. I liked the Christmas trees adorned with their brightly colored lights, and all the gifts so nicely wrapped under them. I liked the Christmas music they played on the radio, and the decorations they put up downtown in the store windows. I liked looking through the Christmas catalogs for all the toys I wanted and wished I could have. I liked getting out of school for two weeks for Christmas vacation.

Yes, I liked Christmas. It is a cherished tradition that many peoples throughout the world celebrate. It is the season to be jolly, a time for family and friends to celebrate, a time for eating and drinking too much. It is a great festival and celebration, which we today call Christmas.

Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ, isn’t it? In our family it was just a time to enjoy giving and receiving gifts, a time for eating, drinking, and having a good time with family and friends. Very little thought, if any, was given to the birth of Jesus Christ and what that meant for all mankind.

Was Jesus really born in the winter on December 25th? Is that what the Bible says? Does the Bible say anything about an old fat man who always wears the same red suit, drives and eight reindeer powered sleigh, and comes down the chimney of your house on Christmas eve? Where do these ideas and customs come from? Does God, in the Bible, command us to do all these things, to celebrate this winter festival, or are these the ideas and doctrines of men? What is the truth about this cherished winter celebration we call Christmas?

The truth about Christmas is not difficult to find. All you have to do is take a trip to your local library and look up Christmas. That’s just what I did, and the results were astonishing. I want to share this information with you in hopes that you will want to worship God in spirit and truth, as He says we must in John 4:24. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Most of the information I give will be quotations from books I read at the library or from the pages of my Bible. Due to time and space limitations, only limited information on the subject will be presented here. More on the subject is available at your local library.

From the book All About American Holidays, p. 254, we read this—“The exact date of Christ’s birth is not known, and during the first two or three centuries, little note was taken of the anniversary, for church officials opposed such celebrations as savoring of paganism. Clement of Alexandria, Egypt, mentions the observance of the birth of Jesus by Christmas about 200 ad. Other sources state that this day was noted in scattered places on varying dates. During the fourth century, about 350 ad, the bishop of Rome set December 25th as Christ’s birth date. Western churches observed this day, but for some time the eastern ones celebrated it on January 6th. Some authorities claim that the choice of December 25th was made because it coincided with that of the Mithraic feast of the sun god; also that of the Roman Saturnalia. In addition, the Jews celebrated their feast of Chanukah or Hanukkah, about this same time, and the people of northern Europe observed their important Winter Solstice feast. So it appears that (old pagan customs) were given new meanings as church fathers turned such occasions to ‘the adoration of Christ the Lord.’”

From The Book of Christmas Folklore, p. 3, comes this—“Most of us, if we think about it all, have a vague idea that the celebration of Christmas began on December 25th, the year zero, when a star rose in the east and a Savior was born. Of course, such was hardly the case. The celebration of Christmas really began ‘circa 320 ad’ when the Catholic fathers in Rome decided to convert the ‘Mithraic birthday of the unconquered sun’ into a birthday more suited to their aims. Western Christmas had long harbored a belief that the day involved, the 25th, was the date, which Mary bore her son, but they hadn’t been able to settle on a month. For over three centuries they had no agreed upon time for the commemoration, and in many places it came during the Feast of Epiphany, January 6th, when Jesus was supposed to have manifested Himself to the Magi and so to the Gentiles. What’s more, the eastern half of the church had not gone along, preferring a moveable date, which they observed for nearly a century. Even after matters were stabilized on December 25th, there was little pretense that the date was historically accurate. It’s appeal lay in definitude and its ability to align Roman ritualism with the cause. The birthday of the unconquered sun was preceded in Rome by a seven-day tribute to the god of agriculture, Saturn, and followed by the Kalends of January. Descriptions and reports of these activities ring familiar to modern ears. Libanius, a fourth-century Greek, writes that: ‘the festival of the Kalends is celebrated everywhere as far as the limits of the Roman Empire extended. Everywhere may be seen carousals and well-laden tables; luxurious abundance is found in the house of the rich, but also in the houses of the poor; better food than usual is put upon the table. The impulse to spend seizes everyone. He who was accustomed and preferred to live poorly, now at this feast enjoys himself as much as his means will allow. People are not only generous towards themselves, but also towards their fellow man. A stream of presents pours itself out on all sides. The highroads and footpaths are covered with whole processions of laden men and beasts; it may justly be said that it is the fairest time of the year. The Kalends festival banishes all that is connected with toil, an allows men to give themselves up to undisturbed enjoyment.”

Now, from the book Christmas and Its Customs, p. 9, we get the following information. “When the new festival was instituted, the date had to be chosen arbitrarily, because no one knew for certain, nor does anyone know now on what day Christ was born. It was the policy of the early church to transform pagan festivals wherever possible instead of trying to abolish them. December 25th was already a sacred day for thousands of people throughout the Roman Empire. It was Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the birthday of the unconquered sun. It was the chief festival of the Phrygian god Attis, and also of Mithras, whose cult was carried to Britain and other lands by the Roman army. It fell between the weeklong feast of Saturnalia, which ushered in the new year; and it coincided more or less closely with all those midwinter festivals at which the primitive peoples of Europe and Asia had celebrated, from immemorial, the sun’s rebirth at the winter solstice.

Next we see in the in the book Christian Celebrations, p. 309, “The biblical narrative of the birth of Jesus contains no indication of the date that the event occurred. However, Luke’s report that the shepherds were ‘abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night’ suggests that Jesus may have been born in the summer or early fall. It is likely the shepherds would have sought shelter for their flocks at night. Prior to the celebration of Christmas, December 25th in the Roman world was the Natalis Solis Invicti, the birthday of the unconquerable sun. This feast, which took place just after the winter solstice of the Julian calendar, was in honor of the sun god Mithras, originally a Persian deity whose cult penetrated into the Roman world in the first century bc. By the year ad 274, the religion of Mithras had attained such popularity among the soldiery and such favor in the eyes of the emperors that Aurelian proclaimed the cult of Sol Invictus the Roman Empire’s official religion. Mithraism, then, became Christianity’s greatest threat, an for a time it was nip and tuck as to which religion would emerge victorius”. On page 310-311 it states, “Besides the Mithraic influence, other forces were at work. From the seventeenth of December until the twenty-third, Romans celebrated the ancient feast of Saturnalia, a period of merrymaking and jubilation. It was commemorative of the golden age of Saturn, the god of sowing and husbandry who brought the inhabitants of Italy peace and plenty under his wise rule.

From the book Christmas and Its Customs, p. 10, we ascertain that “Many of our Christmas customs have their roots in (pagan ceremonies) that were already hoary with age. By the fourth century ad our remote forefathers decorated their houses with evergreens at the winter solstice, and lit bonfires in high places to strengthen the reviving sun in his course. During the Saturnalia, candles and green wreaths were given as presents, and the streets were crowded with noisy processions of garlanded men and women carrying lighted tapers.      

Further, from the book The Religions of Mankind, p. 143, we note “Under the Empire, the trend towards the adoption of foreign gods gained ever greater strength. New oriental cults were introduced (such as) the cults of Isis, Serapis, Adonis, Atagatis of Hierapolis, and so on. Under Caligula the worship of Isis, which had come from Egypt around 160 bc, was adopted as a state cult and a temple to Isis was built on the field of Mars ad 58. The Persian sun cult of Mithras became the favorite religion of the Roman legionnaires. Caracalla (211-217) accorded equal rights to all gods of the Empire. Under emperors Elagabalus and Aurelian, the height of orientalization was reached in the state cult of Sol-Invictus-Mithras, for whom a gigantic temple was built on the field of Mars. This god’s festival was celebrated on December 25th.”

As you can see, there is ample proof that December 25th is the day that man peoples celebrated their winter festival to the sun god Mithra, a false god, not the birthday of Jesus Christ the Son of God. It is a great sin to put Jesus Christ’s holy name on a completely pagan celebration. Woe be to those who follow the ways of this world.

Our next bit of information comes from a work entitled A Day in Old Rome, pp. 445-447. “The cult of Mithras: its relative nobility. Mithras is by origin the sun god of the Zoroastrian Persians. He is the (friend smiter); the beneficent light, which disperses mental as well as material darkness. Sol Invictus—the all conquering sun his votaries call him, but in statues and pictures he is commonly represented as a handsome youth, wearing the Phrygian cap and mantle, and kneeling upon a bull which has been thrown upon the ground, and whose throat the god is cutting. In the Mithras pictures there often appeared also the mysterious figures of a dog, a serpent, and a scorpion, all somehow connected with the ritual of the god. This cult first passed from the east to the hardy pirates of Cilicia, whom Pompey the Great subdued in the last years of the old Republic. Then gradually the western world began to learn about Mithras (chapels), about the seven grades of initiates, about solemn purifications from sin, and about an esoteric teaching which laid great stress on personal righteousness, condemned vicious pretense and claimed to reconcile man with god in a joyous and noble hereafter.”

In a footnote to the above we find that technically, “Mithras was the highest archangel under the one actual god Ahura Mazda, but the Persian magi soon attributed to him practical divinity. Mithras worship, furthermore, makes no pretense of being a cult for the masses. It is a blessing reserved for the proven and purified. All we know about it, however, convinces us that its ethics are noble, that it repudiates all coarse sensuality, and that it leaves its votaries genuinely better men and women, summoning them to be coadjutors of the Unconquerable Sun in his glorious war against spiritual darkness.

Notice this Mithras was said to be an archangel under the one actual god. Satan was an archangel under the true God, rebelled against Him, and became His enemy. Satan would be like the Most High, to be worshipped as God (Isa. 14:12-21). Now can you begin to see where our winter celebration and its customs and traditions came from? Christmas is not Christian at all, but pagan to the core. It was a celebration to worship false gods, to worship the creation instead of the Creator, the sun instead of the Son. Jesus Christ did not command His followers to remember His birthday, but He did command them to remember His death. Truly, Satan has deceived the whole world just as the Scriptures say. “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, {8} but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. {9} So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him (Rev. 12:7-9 NKJV).

What about this old fat man who always wears a red suit and drives a sleigh? Where did this false idea come from?

From the book on Christmas Symbols and Customs, pp. 113-114, we find “When the Dutch came to America and established the colony of New Amsterdam, their children enjoyed the traditional ‘visit of Saint Nicolas’ on December 5th, for the Dutch had kept this ancient (Catholic custom) even after the reformation. Later, when England took over the colony and it became New York, the kindly figure of ‘Sinter Klass,’ pronounced like Santa Claus, soon aroused among the English children the desire of having such a heavenly visitor come to their homes too. However, the figure of a Catholic saint and bishop was not acceptable in their eyes, especially since many of them were Presbyterians to whom a bishop was repugnant. On addition, they did not celebrate the feast of saints according to the ancient Catholic calendar. The dilemma was solved by transferring the visit of the mysterious man whom the Dutch called ‘Santa Claus’ from December 5th to Christmas, and by introducing a radical change in the figure itself. It was not merely a ‘disguise’, but the ancient saint was completely replaced by an entirely different character. Behind the name Santa Claus actually stands the figure of the pagan Germanic god (Thor) after whom Thursday is named. Some details about Thor from ancient German mythology will show the origin of the modern Santa Claus tale: Thor was the god of the peasants and the common people. He was represented as an elderly man, jovial and friendly, of heavy build, with a long white beard. His element was fire, his color red. The rumble and roar of thunder were said to be caused by the rolling of his chariot, for he alone among the gods rode on horseback, but drove in a chariot drawn by two white goats called Cracker and Gnasher. He was fighting the giants of ice and snow, and thus became the Yule-god. He was said to live in the ‘North Land’ where he had his place among the icebergs. By our pagan forefathers he was considered as a cheerful and friendly god, never harming the humans, but rather helping and protecting them. The (Fireplace) in every house was especially sacred to him, and he was said to come down the chimney into his element, the fire.”

Here, then, is the true origin of the old fat man in the red suit we call Santa Claus. He really is the old false god ‘Thor.’ Don’t you think its time to tell our children the truth? There is no Santa Claus! Dear Virginia, you have been lied to. There really is no Santa Claus! There are no flying reindeer that pull a sleigh through the sky on Christmas Eve. As you grow up Virginia, you will learn that many people like to tell lies, they tell stories that are not true. Just like Santa Claus, the Devil, the father of lies, Santa Claus is one of his lies.

What about the Christmas custom of kissing under the mistletoe? Where did this idea come from? It too came from ancient pagan ceremonies, as we shall see in the book Celebrations, pp. 337-338. “Mistletoe—this plant with its whitish berries has a past entirely out of keeping with its present affectionate symbolism. Mistletoe is the famous Golden Bough honored in Norse legend and worshipped by the Druids. A passage from Pliny the Elder, the Roman naturalist of the first century bc, describes it: In treating of this subject, the admiration in which the mistletoe is held throughout Gaul ought not to pass unnoticed. The Druids, for so they called their wizards, esteem nothing more sacred than the mistletoe and the tree on which it grows, provided only that the tree on which it grows is an Oak. For they believe that whatever grows on these trees is sent from heaven, and is a sign that the tree had been chosen by god himself. The mistletoe is rarely to be met with; but when it is found, they gather it with solemn ceremony. This they do above all on the sixth day of the moon. After due preparations have been made for a sacrifice and feast under the tree, they hail it as the universal healer and bring to the spot two bulls, whose horns have never been bound before. A priest clad in white robes climbs the tree and with a golden sickle cuts the mistletoe, which is caught, in a white cloth. Then they sacrifice the victims, praying that god may make his own gift prosper with those upon whom he has bestowed it. They believe that a potion prepared from mistletoe will make barren animals to bring forth, and that the plant is a remedy against all poison. The magical properties of this parasite plant included the curing of epilepsy and ulcers. It rendered poisons harmless, induced fertility in man and animals, banished evil spirits, and protected the house from thunder and lightning. In Scandinavia, mistletoe was the plant of peace; enemies who chanced to meet under it would not fight, but would lay down their arms and declare a truce for the day. So deeply imbedded was it in the pagan way of life that the early Christian leaders would not permit it in their churches. In England this is still the case. Its popular use could not be stopped however. The peacemaking qualities of mistletoe must have led to the custom of suspending it from a doorway, allowing license to a man to kiss any girl who is caught under it. The audacious young man derived the bough of a berry for each kiss he stole.

What about the Christmas tree? Where did this custom come from? It also comes from the ancient pagan worship of false gods.

From the book Celebrations, p. 331, we glean this—“There is little knowledge to explain how the fir tree and lights used in the ancient celebration of the Winter Solstice became the dazzling Christmas of today. Yet we can find enough instances of the use of trees, even decorated ones such as the pine tree on which images of the god Attis were hung amid rows of ribbons at a spring festival, to convince us of the ultimately pagan origins of our custom. Trees were often the habitations of gods, and divine quality would have been attributed, especially at this turning point of the year, to the fir trees, which weathered the bitterest storms without succumbing to the cold winter darkness.

From the book All About American Holidays, p. 262, we find information that “Some sources trace the origin of the Christmas tree to the Romans and Egyptians; others give Germany the credit. One story relates that in Germany during the eighteenth century the missionary St. Boniface urged the Germans to discontinue their bloody, pagan rites in the dark forests, and instead to carry fir trees into their homes at Yuletide. Martin Luther is said to have set up a tree lighted with candles for his children; and this idea spread through northern Europe, and then to the new world.

We get the following from The Story of Santa Claus, pp. 63, 65-68—“Now get clearly into your head one very important fact. Although at the time when Augustine visited England the date of Christmas had been fixed upon as December 25th, there is no biblical reason why this should be so. The Gospels say nothing about the season of the year when Christ was born. On the other hand they do tell us that shepherds were then guarding their flocks in the open air. Hence, many of the fathers of the early church considered it most likely that the Nativity took place either in the late summer or early Fall. The point was of no great moment to them, as the early church made more full over the death day of a great or holy person that over his birthday. The birthday is only the day when man is born into mortality; the death day chronicles his birth into immortality. The important fact, then, which I have asked you to get clearly into your head, is that the fixing of the date as December 25th was a compromise with paganism.

For countless centuries before the Christian era pagan Europe, through all its various tribes and peoples, had been accustomed to celebrate its chief festival at the time of the Winter Solstice, the turning point when winter, having reached it apogee, has also reached the point when it must begin to decline again towards spring. The last sentence requires further explanation. I shall try to put it into words as simple as possible. You must be aware of the fact that the shortest day in the year is December 21st. Therefore, that is the day when winter reaches its height. It was on or about December 21st that the ancient Greeks celebrated what are known to us as the Bacchanalia or festivities in honor of Bacchus, the god of wine. In these festivities the people gave themselves up to songs, dances and other revels, which frequently passed the limits of decency and order. In ancient Rome, the Saturnalia, or festivals in honor of Saturn, the god of time, began on December 17th and continued for seven days. These also often ended in rioting and disorder. Hence, the word Bacchanalia and Saturnalia acquired an evil reputation in later times. We are most interested in the festivals of the ancient Teutonic (or German) tribes because they are most closely linked with Christmas as we ourselves celebrate it.

The pagan feast of the Twelve Nights was religiously kept by them from December 25th to January 6th, the latter day being known, as it is still known to their descendants as Twelfth Night. The Teutonic mind personified the active forces of nature; that is to say it pictured them as living beings. The conflicts between these forces were represented as battles between gods and giants. Winter, for example, was the Ice-giant, cruel, boisterous, unruly, the destroyer of life, the enemy alike of gods and men. Riding on his steed, the all-stiffening North Wind, he built up for himself great castles of ice. Darkness and death followed in his wake. But the sun god and the South Wind, symbols of light and life, gave battle to the Ice-giant. At last Thor, the god of the thunderstorm, riding on the wings of the air, hurled his thunderbolt at the winter castle, and demolished it. Then Freija, the goddess of fruits and flowers, resumed her former sway. All of which is only a poetical way of saying that after the Ice-giant had conquered in winter he was in his turn overthrown by the sun god in spring.

Now the twenty-first day of December, the depth of winter, marked the period when the Ice-giant was in full flesh of his triumph and also marked the beginning of his overthrow. It was the turning point in the conflict of natural forces. The sun god having reached the goal of winter solstice now wheeled around his fiery steeds and became the sure herald of the coming victory of light and life over darkness and death of spring over winter.

A thousand indications point to the fact that Christmas has incorporated into itself all these festivals, Greek, Roman and German, and given them new meaning. The wild revels of the Bacchanalia, the Saturnalia, and the Twelve Nights survive in a milder form in the merriment and jollity, which mark the season of Christmas today. Christmas gifts themselves remind us of the presents that were exchanged in Rome during the Saturnalia. In Rome, it might be added, the presents usually took the form of wax tapers and dolls, the latter being in their turn a survival of human sacrifices once offered to Saturn. It’s a queer thought that in our Christmas presents we are preserving under another form one of the most savage customs of our barbarian ancestors! The shouts of “Bona Saturnalia!” which Roman peoples exchanged among themselves are precursors of our “Merry Christmas!” The decorations and illuminations of our Christian churches recall the temples of Saturn, radiant with burning tapers and resplendent with garlands. The masks and mummeries which still survive here and there, even in the America of today, and which were especially prominent in the Middle Ages, were prominent also in Saturnalian revels. And a large number of the legends, superstitions and ceremonials which have crystallized around the Christian festival on Europe and America are more or less distorted reminiscences of the legends, superstitions and ceremonials of the Twelve Nights of ancient Germany.

What does the Bible say about the worship of God? Can we worship the true God any way we want to? Is that really acceptable to God? Let’s look in His word and see what he says. “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, {2} has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds . . .”

When God brought his people Israel out of Egypt, He spoke to them through the prophet Moses. In the book of Deuteronomy we read this “These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the Lord your god of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations, which you shall dispossess, served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall not worship the Lord your God with such things.” Verse 8 says, “You shall not at all do as we are doing here today—every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes.” Also in this same chapter, in verses 29-32, we read this “When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess and you displace them and dwell in their land. Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods saying, How did these nations serve their gods. I also will do likewise. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord, which He hates, they have done to their gods; for they burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it not take away from it (Deut. 12:1-4, 8, 29-32).

In the book of Jeremiah, we read this, “Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. {2}Thus says the LORD: "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them. {3} For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. {4}They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple. {5}They are upright, like a palm tree, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, For they cannot do evil, Nor can they do any good" (Jer. 10:1-5).

Now can you see how God feels about using pagan customs to worship Him? Today, God speaks to mankind through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus taught the same principle; you cannot use the doctrines and customs of men to worship Him. “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. {9} And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:8-9). Jesus said you can worship Him and do it all in vain, to no avail. You can sing songs about Him, praise His name, and call Him Lord, and do it all in vain. Everyone, yes, this means you also need to repent and quit following the false teachings and customs of this world, and believe the truth that Jesus and His servants the apostles taught. You must begin to obey the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus said this “But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say” (Lk. 6:46)?

Christmas is the doctrine of men, not the teachings of God. Nowhere in the Bible does Jesus tell us to worship Him by celebrating His birthday. In fact, the Bible does not tell us the day or season when Christ was born. Maybe God just forgot to tell us. Do you think He did? You can read the Gospel accounts of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament, and you will not find them celebrating this ancient winter festival. The word of God tells us to remember His death, not His birth. It’s His death and resurrection that are the most important events for all mankind, and that’s what He wants us to remember and observe, and in the way He wants us to observe them.

Christmas causes people to think of Jesus as a little, helpless baby boy lying in a manger. Do you remember the song? “Away in a manger, no crib for his bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head.” Well, believe it or not, Jesus is no longer a helpless little baby in a manger. He is now sitting at the right hand of God in heaven, waiting for the time when He will return to this earth. He is returning as a conquering King, to judge and make war (Rev. 19: 11-12).

I hope now that you can see the truth about this winter celebration we call Christmas. Truly, it is a celebration of ancient traditions and customs that many peoples did to worship their false gods. True Christians should not be a part of this winter festival and celebration. December 25th is the birthday of the false god Mithra, and other festivals honoring other false gods such as Saturn (Saturnalia) and Bacchus (Bacchanalia), the god of wine.

Christmas teaches lies for we all know there is no Santa Claus who drives an eight reindeer powered sleigh, and comes down the chimney giving gifts to all inside. Do you really think it is good to lie to your children? Did you know that God hates lying? Did you know that God is going to destroy all liars who do not repent and quit their lying? Let’s read what God says in His word, the Bible. “These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: {17} A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, {18} A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, {19} A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren” (Prov. 6:16-19). Also, in the book of revelation we read this. “And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. {7}"He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. {8}"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:6-8).

Where do you stand? Will you be one of those who overcome and inherit all things, and become a son or daughter of God? Or will you be among the unbelieving who follow after lies, and the false teachings of this world? The choice is yours. God commands everyone everywhere to repent, believe and obey His words, the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles. It is time for you, yes you, to quit following the false teachings of this world and follow the true teachings of Jesus Christ. He loves you and wants you to repent. He is calling you out of this dying world and its false teachings. He wants to adopt you as his child, son or daughter. He wants to give you an inheritance in His kingdom, which will never pass away, to give you the gift of eternal life. I plead with you to repent and believe the teachings of Jesus Christ and his apostles, the things that are written in the Bible.

There are many false teachings in the world today. Christmas is just one of them. Now you have been given the truth about this winter celebration we call Christmas. The question is, “What will you do with this truth?” I truly hope you see the truth and will come out of this world’s false teachings. The word of God says this to us, “And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4).

May God give you the eyes to see, the ears to hear, and a heart to follow after Him.

| Home | Back | Top of Page |