I want to begin by saying it is not my intention or the purpose of this post to offend anyone or cause strife in the midst of the Christian community. But I would just like to share some thoughts and insights I have in the hopes that we can worship our God in the fullness of His sovereignty, recognizing Truth. So, I approach you in love, and ask that you read these words I've written, taking them to the Lord and see what the Holy Spirit reveals to you.
Once again, we in the Twenty-first Century think our perspective on the world is the only true one; that we have the ultimate authority in determining what the truth is [and has been] about anything. Take Christmas, for instance. We decorate our trees, sing our Christmas carols, and exchange gifts ... declaring that we are celebrating the birth of our Savior. The exchanging of gifts honors the tradition of the Wise Men bringing their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The 25th of December is the day to acknowledge that the baby Jesus was born in a manger, in Bethlehem of Judah, and we honor our religious tradition by setting up nativity scenes in our homes and churches. It is a season of Good Tidings and Joy!
But there is so much more to the story. Yes, our Savior was born in a manger in Bethlehem -- God came in the flesh! -- to save, first, the lost sheep of Israel, (Matthew 15:24), whom He had chosen for this task, according to Old Testament prophecy. And then through the Jews, salvation would come to the Gentiles, so that all who believe in Him will be saved and delivered into the Kingdom of God (John 10:16). "And I have other sheep that are not of this fold (Israel). I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd".
BUT, there's a crucial component of our Christmas celebration missing from this narrative. Nowhere in the Bible does it confirm December 25th as Jesus's birth date. In fact, there is some evidence that there was a lack of consensus among early Christian groups as to his date of birth. (See this article). And then there are others that promote the idea that this date coincides with Emperor Constantine's worship of the Sun god Ra, and Ra's birthday on December 25th. One thing I know for sure, no one has been able to prove any verifiable evidence of either of these conjectures.
Maybe that's not important to you, and you desire to just celebrate the truth of the holiday -- that Jesus came to save us. That's fine and I totally understand the simplicity and truth of that belief. But I have long been bothered with the commercialization of Christmas, concerned that it leads into a tempting sentimentalism that obscures [and ignores] the harsh truth of the state of the world when God decided to send His Son -- a state that was anything but nostalgic and warm and fuzzy.
But before we get to that, I'd like to touch on just how our modern ideas of Christmas were marketed and came to be. As I noted in a 2015 blog post, in our early history as a nation, Christmas was celebrated in a far less extravagant manner than it is today. It was an understated family affair, and people chose to go to a church service, where the emphasis was on Luke 1 and 2, and the story of Jesus's conception and birth. Piles of gifts under a Christmas tree didn't come until later after the poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas", written in 1823 by Clement Clarke Moore for his family's entertainment, sparked the interest of canny entrepreneurs and businessmen to begin creating specific holiday traditions.
Popularity of the holiday grew after the Civil War when magazines like Harper's Weekly and Godey's Lady's Book published images and engravings of a family gathered around a small tree set atop a table, and the Christmas tree market soared. It wasn't long before F.W. Woolworth, a successful retail mogul, exploited this romantic sentimentalism about Santa Claus and the Christmas holiday, and saw the commercial possibilities of selling Christmas lights, Christmas cards, and an unlimited supply of creative Christmas decorations... none of which are Biblical, but enhanced the idea of "the spirit of Christmas". Sadly, too often the real spirit of Christmas has been secularized, or if Christ's birth is mentioned or celebrated, it is considered a right-wing holiday.
I will say that I am happy to see that the "War on Christmas" of a few years back -- when you couldn't even say "Merry Christmas", or display a nativity scene in the town square -- has subsided. But I fear the average American (let alone the average Christian) doesn't see that our desire for the nostalgic memories of Christmases past has distracted us from the truth which that momentous night in the stable represented ... As Russell Moore, Editor-at-Large at Christianity Today, wrote in a blog post, titled The Antichrist Hides in Plain Sight at Christmas: "Evil is in the backdrop of your Nativity set... the hope and fears of all the years are met in that manger [feeding trough] in Bethlehem. It's beast versus baby".
You see, I think when we ignore the efforts of the Enemy of God to distract us with the warm, fuzzy emotions about this holiday, we are in danger of missing the truth that the Bible does give us about what Christmas is really all about. We like to picture that scene of Christ's birth with a little drummer boy, docile animals gazing upon the Christ child, and Angels and the host of Heaven singing of the Glory of God. In reality, Roman soldiers and a violent, sadistic King Herod sought to have the Holy Child killed. We tend to think of the Bethlehem of the Bible as a safe little oasis, a sleepy, peaceful little town separated from the brutal conditions of living under Roman rule.
That scene comforts us during the Christmas season, when we are all trying to escape from what we think of the Bethlehem of today -- we see war, terrorism, threats of genocide, and pure hate. We think that our nostalgic idea of the Biblical Bethlehem, the scene of Jesus's birth, seems far more preferable to what we see on our TV screens. But nothing could be further from the truth!
The Bethlehem, at Jesus's birth, is under the thumb of tyrannical Roman power. It is governed by King Herod, a pretender to the Jewish throne of David in Judah, and a vassal of Rome; his power is contingent on paying tribute and allegiance to his Roman overlord. With Jesus's birth, Bethlehem became the center of an epic battle between God and the AntiChrist spirit in the world. Our nostalgic version of the The Christmas Story doesn't reveal the whole truth.
No one loves the comfort, peace, and love of that Christmas Story, as much as I do. Luke 2 focuses on the joy of that version -- our Savior has come into the world, bringing the hope and promises of ancient prophecies: peace on earth, and good will towards men. But Matthew 2 also adds to the Christmas Story by revealing that King Herod knew of the prophet Micah's prediction that from Bethlehem of Judea, would come "a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel". Herod was unaware that an angel of the Lord had appeared to some shepherds, keeping watch over their flock by night, and proclaimed that Christ the Lord (the Messiah) had been born that night.
When the wise men (Magi) from the East appear in Jerusalem looking for the Christ child, whose star they had seen, Herod becomes frantic to keep his fraudulent power. He orders his soldiers to " put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that area who were two years old and under, according to the date which he had learned from the Magi". In response to this atrocity, God sends an angel of the Lord to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod intends to search for the Child in order to destroy Him" (Matthew 2:13).
Both Luke 2 and Matthew 2 give us this skeleton of the Christmas Story. But the Apostle John is given another version [by Jesus, Himself] in Revelation 12, where we get a picture of a woman who cries out in labor pains while giving birth to a baby who would rule the nations; and a dragon who sought to devour that child and chased Mary, Joseph, and the infant baby into the wilderness of Egypt. Immediately in 13, Jesus tells John that the dragon (Satan) appears on the scene bringing forth a "beast" to whom Satan gives his power and authority, along with another "beast" who "makes the earth and those who inhabit it worship the first beast".
These three passages [Luke 2, Matthew 2, Revelation 12-13] should expand our understanding of the Christmas Story. It is the fullness of what happens on that glorious night of Jesus's birth - the disclosure of God's plan to redeem the world through the birth of His Son - and the response by Satan to lock down the dominion Adam and Eve had conveyed to him in the Garden. God sent the King of the Universe, who is also Ruler of this world; and Satan established the beast(s) who were to become the authoritarian political power and the religious power -- both to be worshiped by the masses.
Can you see that part of Satan's plan to rule the world has been to introduce a softer version of the Christmas Story; a warm and fuzzy account, centered around a vulnerable baby, lying in a manger? And then, he adds distraction from the truth by introducing jolly old St. Nick; presents piled high; and glittery, shiny ornaments and decorations -- all with the plan to take our focus off the darker picture of slaughtered babies and beasts. These systems and powers have been working since Jesus's birth to thwart God's plans.
But, if we're honest with ourselves, we know we can't ignore the truth; that Satan has been lurking in the shadows of Christmas since the beginning. The reality of that night in Bethlehem when the Savior of the world was born, was not warm and fuzzy. It would lead to violence, death, and centuries of a spiritual war that is building to a crescendo. The Christmas Story is one of flesh and blood; God comes to us in the flesh and He pays the price for our salvation with His blood. Satan spills the blood of those precious infants in Bethlehem and in untold numbers through wars, murder, and fratricide through the centuries.
When you take a good, long look at the world, nothing has changed since that first Christmas Story ... while we see Satan's Evil towards the child in the manger and towards His followers today, we can also see the good tidings that the Light of the World is shining in the midst of our Enemy's darkness! Yes, there is darkness in the midst of the Christmas Story, but we must establish in our hearts the words of the Angel who spoke to the shepherds: Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (the Messiah".
You see, it doesn't matter to me the exact date of Jesus's birth. I will continue to praise my God for coming in the flesh to save me. I will honor His sacrifice and His victory over the evil forces of Satan -- the forces and power who have come against that vulnerable baby in the feeding trough, and yet have not been able to snuff out Christ's Light or His Love. The violent battle rages on, yet we have a reminder every year that we have been promised victory. I choose to embrace that victory and the nostalgia of Christmas -- past, present, and future.
But I'm also going to be vigilant to guard my Faith against the beasts that come to deceive and destroy. I praise You, Lord Jesus. I kneel before the manger in honor of your commitment to come save us and to establish Your Kingdom on earth. And I stand in obedience and allegiance to Your Throne in the earth, as it is in Heaven. So, I will delight in the warmth of the Christmas season, knowing that there is more beyond the superficial benefits marketed to the masses. And I acknowledge the hidden darkness in the history of its celebration, just as I express my gratitude for the knowledge that a precious baby will rule victorious over the beasts of hell. Rejoice and celebrate Christmas! The hope and fears of the generations are about to be met!
Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest [Heaven], and on earth, peace among men with whom He is well-pleased.
