And I love my family.
And I did love Christmas. I loved the lights, the pretty ribbons and glass baubles, the music, the movies, and yes....the gift giving and receiving.
Until I read these words.....
“Tomorrow there will be a festival to YHWH.”
Sounds good right? Get together, worship god, have a grand time....
But God said, "Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them."
Why? What was He angry about???
To find out, you need to read the whole of Exodus 32. Most will be familiar with the basic story line.
Moses went up the mountain to talk to God.
People down below made a golden image, cavorted, feasted.
God was furious.
But the point most miss is that they were trying to worship God. They had seen the ways that the Egyptians worshipped their gods and tried those methods to please their God.
But it was detestable to Him.
What does this have to do with Christmas?
Christmas is built upon pagan deity worship and filled with pagan symbolism and practices.
Most Christians are aware of this, and dismiss it, rationalizing that it doesn't have 'that meaning' to them, so God won't care.
The nativity scene - Exodus 20:4
Santa Claus - http://www.wnd.com/2008/11/81784/
Deuteronomy 12:30-31
“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 even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
By researching Yule, you will find that the pagans keep this 'holiday' as well, with nearly exact trappings.
"Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”
The article that opened my eyes.... http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2011/11/why-weve-decided-to-stop-celebrating-christmas/
To learn more see….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8sKNOxyd8w&t=1s
Do you want to worship the Lord? Do you want to celebrate, feast, and revel in Him?
I suggest you look into HIS feasts and holy days. After all, He freed the Israelites from slavery to Egypt to worship Him. And He freed us from slavery to sin to worship Him. We just need to find out what 'worship' is pleasing to Him first.
An amazingly in depth article with several historical points and biblical points regarding this subject - Should A Christian Celebrate Christmas
ReplyDelete"On that day of judgment," says the LORD, "I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those following pagan customs." Zephaniah 1:8
ReplyDeleteThe Feast of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is one of the 12 Great Feasts of the Orthodox Christian Church ... the celebration of which is so much more meaningful than the typical celebrations of Christmas in today's secularized world. For 40 days prior to Christmas we prepare by fasting, prayer and almsgiving which ready our hearts for the Incarnation of the Lord in the flesh. It's a wonderful season of drawing closer to Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteHere are a couple of links that talk in more detail about the significance:
http://orthodoxwiki.org/Nativity
http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2011/12/orthodox-celebration-of-christmas.html
I understand that there are many christmas traditions. But that does not remove the fact that the root of this holiday is Saturnalia, worshipped by pagans for centuries before Christ came and still a revered day on their calendars.
ReplyDeleteJust as the Israelites tried to worship the Lord at Mt Sinai, many are trying to worship the Lord now. But when they do it with Pagan practices, rituals and props can it please Him?
Job 14:4 says, "Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one!"
Why has the church as a whole rejected the holy days and feasts given to us in the Bible and made up 'new' ones? Where did the Bible ever say that the holy days and feasts given through Jesus weren't anything but GOOD for us and our relationship with God? Why do so many quote the promises and blessings of the scriptures, at the same time ignoring the context that is clearly written around EACH of those promises?
“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
I may not be an Israelite, but being grafted in I WANT these blessings. And we cannot have them unless we follow what the word is really saying.
My passion for this subject is not meant to offend you, or come against you. I know that you seek the truth of God from the word, just as I do. I was seriously floored when I learned that the Israelites were worshipping YHWH at Mt Sinai
Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD." Exodus 32:5
I NEVER saw that before. I always thought they were worshipping a false god, the golden calf. They were worshipping the Lord. But God did not accept it.