Christ Mass (The Truth Behind Christmas)

Do you observe it?

If so why and on what basis?

Are you aware it is a feast not found in the Bible and no where are Christians told to celebrate the birth of Messiah?

The Lord has 7 Feasts which He tells us in Leviticus chapter 23 are His Feasts.

If we believe Jesus fulfilled the first four feasts in His ministry with a further 3 more festivals yet to be fulfilled in the end times, and even Rabbi Paul of Tarsus asks us to keep Passover for example with sincerity and truth, then why isn't the Church as a whole obeying this?

We have sadly not learnt from the history of Israel in that we too have mixed and matched other festivals and practices bringing strange fire before the Lord and that no where within the Gospels or the letters/Epistles or indeed within the Revelation of our Lord are we asked to by our Lord Jesus or His apostles to celebrate His birth.

There is therefore, not one verse that anyone can quote or point to in defending the Church trying to keep or celebrate Christmas.

We are though, asked to remember His death and resurrection until He comes and at the same time to celebrate His victory over sin and death as we meet together and take communion or the Lord's Supper.
The best position we can adopt though, is to see this season of Christmas as a time to evangelise the lost.

We need to understand that it was Mother Church who put a teaching or tradition of man as a covering over a Greek/Roman Festival which celebrated the birthday of Zeus on the 25th (December). However, the Bible teaches us that false leaven is to be removed and not just covered over!

Many are surprised to find out that the dates of Chanukah and Christmas are connected from the pages of history. Zeus was seen as the incarnation of the sun and together with his goddess mother Rhea (the Queen of Heaven) they formed the mother/child cult founded in Babylon.

Antiochus Epiphanes chose the 25th of the month to desecrate the Temple in Jerusalem with his pagan sacrifice because it was the birthday of Zeus. It was the winter solstice, when days began to lengthen and so Sun worshipping pagans would also celebrate on December 25th as the birthday of the new sun.

To the sun worshipping Romans, Zeus was known as Jupiter who was the son of Saturn and Ops. To them he was the supreme Roman deity and the father of all the pagan gods. December 17th through to the 24th was called Saturnalia in honour of Saturn and celebrated with unrestrained licence. It was then on the 25th December that the birthday of Zeus/Jupiter became known as:

'The Day of the Navitity of the Unconquered Sun' or in Latin we have the term - 'Dies Natalis Invicti Solis'. The typology or symbolism is all wrong!

In the fourth century AD the Roman Church chose December 25th as the day to celebrate Christ's Mass as a special mass in honour of Christ's birth. It was part of an effort to Christianize pagan rites so that all would come under Mother Church. This then was an effort to do away with a pagan festival date by covering it or replacing it with a new Christian festival. We must as always turn to the Scriptures for guidance and so no where within the Book of Acts do we see the early Church celebrating Christ’s birth on a special day simply because it was not known and the Lord has certainty kept this a secret. Why? Because people would want to celebrate and make it a holy day when the Lord obviously didn’t want it to be one. We are simply asked to remember and celebrate together around the Lord’s table and to partake of the elements till He comes.

So this is where the name CHRISTMAS came from and today so many Churches seem to be more grafted into the Christmas Tree than the Olive Tree and many of the flock know not the truth! Much of the Church is unaware of her Hebraic heritage having been subject to the doctrines of men.

For a period there was some light as Oliver Cromwell for 18 years put Christmas aside as the Puritans of that day tried to effect another reformation. After his death the people welcomed this feast time being taken up again through the work of William Winstanly, a writer who encouraged good cheer and merriment!

The rest is history as is the error of Easter, another pagan name and festival replacing Passover and Resurrection week-end, but we can be of great joy for the Lord is coming to put things right! Just one example is that the nations will all celebrate Tabernacles as a time of thanksgiving before the Lord who will rule on this earth from Jerusalem. The devil knows this more than some Christians and so this is why he has so many others trying to rule there, to divide God’s Land and His people. So Jerusalem is to be trampled down ‘until the times of the Gentiles’ are fulfilled.

When Jews see Christian festivals and anti-Semitism from within the Church we can now understand why the Church has partly failed in fulfilling Romans 11:11.

(Romans 11:11) I say then, have they (Israel) stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

What is rather sad is that a part of the Church doesn't even care about how erroneous they haven been. Even when presented with the truth they wish to continue with their time established traditions. The flesh can be very difficult to bring into submission! Those with a teachable spirit change for the better once they see error, for the remnant as always walks in the Truth and the Light of the Holy Scriptures.

Until He comes. Shalom and Maranatha.