Why does God hate Christmas? For the same reason He hates everything heathen. “Christmas” and “heathen” are synonymous. A short history lesson will reveal why.

The Roman Government, at the behest of the Catholic Church, established a holiday in memory of Jesus in the fourth century–some 300 years after the Church of God was founded. For those first 300 years the Body of Christ did not observe such a day. The church designated Jesus’ birthday on the same day as that of Tammuz and called it Christmas. Later, the Western church came to celebrate Christmas on that date–December 25th. History reveals that the birth or celebrations of no less than five pagan gods are commemorated on that date. God did not commanded a celebration of Christ’s birth. He did, however, command His Church to celebrate His death–Passover–not His resurrection. The apostate church defies God (Jer. 10:1-5) by celebrating Christmas and rejects Passover (1 Cor. 5:7,8) while substituting a heathen holiday dedicated to the goddess of fertility whose English name is “Easter.” More on Easter in a later posting.

God’s people have always known His attitude toward Christmas and everything else that mixes the holy (Jesus) with the profane (Easter, New Years, Halloween, the Sunday Sabbath, etc.). Such mixing is prohibited in Ezekiel 22:26. Due to the Lord’s commands concerning heathenism, among the Puritans there raged a furious debate concerning the observance of Christmas for several years following their arrival on American shores. Some members of the clergy argued that, after a year of strict obedience to God’s written Will, the church needed a season of excess and reckless abandonment which could be legitimized by attaching the word “Christian” to it. Others argued that all vestiges of heathenism had to be kept out of the church. Initially, God’s people ruled the day. In 1659 Christmas was outlawed in Mas- sachusetts. Between 1659 and 1681 Puritans in the New England strictly refused to observe the pagan holiday. However, once Satan has planted a seed, it is virtually impossible to kill it. Over time the abandonment and excess group won out. The spirit of Antichrist had gained a foothold in the church in the New World–Satan’s leaven soon leavened the whole loaf. Only a tiny group refused to go along with the majority. Nothing has changed.

Because “That’s the way we’ve always done it,” today’s churchman believes that Christmas and all the other heathen observances practiced by the church are decreed by God. The only negative aspect of the season is the commercialization of the day. “They’ve taken Christ out of Christmas,” is the annual cry. Fact is, Christ was never in Christmas. By attaching His name to it the church makes the Lord her “minister of sin” (Gal. 2:17).

Jesus was not born on December 25th. His early church did not observe the day or any of the other  heathen holidays memorialized by the Counterfeit Church. December 25th was chosen by Catholics to coincide with the Roman Saturnalia and Brumalia–the annual season in which heathen societies paid homage to their sun god. Most “Christian” customs–decorating evergreen trees in the home, the use of mistletoe, the exchanging of gifts, Santa Claus–come not from the Bible, but from the world of heathen religion. Being thoroughly heathenized, the false church routinely combines the holy with the profane, thereby profaning God (Eze. 22:26).

If the Lord had ordained a celebration of Jesus’ birth He would not have chosen December 25th. A study of Luke 2:8 and a knowledge of Middle Eastern herding practices and weather patterns reveal that Jesus could not have been born in December. In this passage shepherds were still in the fields with their sheep. Middle Eastern shepherds bring their flocks in for the winter in late September or early October due to the harsh weather and lack of grass.

The winter solstice season (Dec. 21-27) is important to the heathen because it closely follows the time during which the sun is at its lowest light and heat production. Beginning with the winter solstice the sun begins to climb higher and higher in the sky and to produce more heat–its “birth day.” Tammuz was one such god. He supposedly visited his followers’ homes on the night of December 24th to leave gifts under a tree. Ra, an Egyptian sun god, supposedly castrated himself. For this reason people made red, gold and silver balls to hang on their trees. Zeus was a Greek god who was also born on Dec. 25th, along with Chemosh of the Moabites. Another god with the same birth date was the Roman god Mithra. The Romans honored him by constructing a hollow metal statue with outstrethed arms. On Dec. 25th the statue was heated until it glowed red. Then the people would sacrifice their babies on his outstretched arms. Today, red-garbed Mithra vicars sit and allow parents to spiritually sacrifice their children on his lap.

Another carryover from heathenism is the use of mistletoe which was believed to possess sexual powers. Kissing under mistletoe marked the beginning of a week of hedonistic activities which included sexual and alcoholic indulgences which went on throughout the final week of the year.

Yule logs were popular among the heathen. Fire has always been a chosen means by which to worship the sun god. Placed in a circle and set afire the logs represented the sun’s light and heat. Today, string lights and candles have replaced yule logs.

What is God’s response to the Christmas, Easter, New Years, Halloween, Sunday Sabbath question? “Therefore, come ye out from among them (the heathen) and be ye separate … touch not the unclean thing (the church) and (only) then I will receive you. Therefore … let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit (heathen holiday observances), perfecting holiness in the fear of God. For what agreement has light with darkness, righteousness with evil, a believer with and unbeliever. What agreement has the temple of God (His church) with idols” (2 Cor. 6:14-18/7:1)? And what is the penalty for participating in heathen observances? “… for the wages of sin is death” (Rom.6:23).

For anyone who wishes, I would appreciate hearing from you. Most people who hear me or read my writings reject what I have to say. This does not bother me. Most people rejected what Jesus and His apostles had to say, which is why they killed them. Whether you agree or disagree, I would like to hear from you. You can contact me at LPJ4142@gmail.com or P.O. Box 2352 Athens, TX 75751 U.S.A. or (903) 677-5642. English only. I will not personally contact you unless you ask me to do so. Larry Jaques