The Truth About Christmas

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Ab#t Ch$%mas Where did it come from? Who sanctioned it?

Introduction When God gave the laws to the children of Israel, he told them to celebrate certain feasts and holy days each year God never left it up to personal choice or opinion, but

by COMMANDMENT, he instructed the children of Israel to keep specific feasts at specific times and to do so in specific manners Throughout the scriptures, Christmas is not mentioned in the bible So why is it that many churches of this world choose to keep Christmas but not the holy days that God appointed in the bible? Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Did the Law Change?

The law was never done away with as evident in both the “old” & “new” testaments ( Malachi 3: 6 & Matthew 5: 17-19) The same law that God commanded for the Jew, he also commanded for the Gentile (Numbers 15: 15-16) It is also mentioned in the bible that salvation is of the Jew but the Gentile was to be “grafted in” that same glorious family & doctrine that he gave to the children of Israel (Romans 11: 16-26) So, if God did not change the law, who did?

We also know that God said to learn not the ways of the heathen

& not to fear or worship gods (Jeremiah 10: 2-4 & Exodus 20: 2-6) ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

A Little Truth...A Lot of Lies The Catholic & Protestant faiths of this world proclaim their belief in Christ, often integrating his name in their self-made traditions (Isaiah 4: 1) Over the years, the word of God has been twisted, corrupted & perverted beyond its meaning And when you mix truth with lies, this will yield an abomination Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

History Reveals....

The Christian religion weakened & scattered after the death of the apostles & the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 As was prophesied, wolves indeed had crept into the church, yet the gospel continued to spread (Acts 20: 29-31) Because of the rebellion of the Jews against Rome, anti Jewish sentiments were at an all time high The Romans hated anything pertaining to the Jews, including their religious faith, tradition & customs Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

History Reveals....

The Roman people were also highly suspicious about the Christian religion An all out persecution of the Christian became policy, they were kicked out of their homes, their property confiscated & jailed and fed to the lions Despite this persecution, the gospel of Christ continued to spread & an ever growing schism threatened to divide the Roman empire

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Constantine the Great During the reign of Constantine the Great, the strong presence of Christians in Rome became a great political opportunity The Christians wouldn’t go away by force or persecution, and knowing that people unite best behind a religious belief or cause, he chose another way He joined the Christians and became the Bishop of the Church in Rome Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Constantine the Great Having supreme power over the government & over the growing church, he changed it from within, the very fabric & foundation of the Doctrine it was founded upon His words, “we will not Judaize,” legalized the removal of all things associated with the hated Jews & the addition of all the traditions of the heathen

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When Did Christmas Begin?

Christmas was adopted around the year of 350 AD It was formally set aside by the Church in Rome for the observance of Christ’s birth Its origin comes from several important pagan holidays The date was chosen because of the popularity of sun worship All pagan people worshipped the sun because it was considered the source of all light & life Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Sun Worship The temple of the sun in Rome honored not only the sun but the Emperor as well The Emperor himself became deified (or considered a god) by this association Constantine’s father was worshipped in this manner, so the worship of the sun was strongly encouraged December 25th became the birthday of the unconquered sun Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Mithraism Mithraism was an Eastern religion that spread from Persia throughout the Roman Empire They worshipped a god called Mithras who was identified with the unconquered sun The religion was more moral than the traditional Roman Olympic gods and became very popular with Roman soldiers The birthday of Mithras, who was referred to as the “Invincible One” was also on December 25 ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

More Pagan Holidays December 25th happened to occur very close to three Pagan holidays including Saturnalia, Kalends of January and Yule These three holidays were main influence in the way Christmas was kept

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Saturnalia November 17 - December 24th Saturn was the oldest god in ancient Italy and was said to reign during a Golden age, which was described at a time of plenty when all men were good When the Saturnalia came all work except cooking ceased The children did not go to school, war was not declared or was suspended The public places were decked with garlands of flowers, shrubs & greenery Gifts were exchanged & mirth, frolic & a spirit of brotherhood prevailed Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Kalends of January January 1- January 3 The Kalends was an equally important festival in the Roman Empire Gifts were given that represented good wishes for prosperity and happiness for the coming year The impulse to spread, for oneself and one’s fellow man seized every one The Kalends festival allowed them to give themselves up to total enjoyment and taught men not to hold too fast to money Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Yule Middle of November to the Middle of January There is disagreement as to what exactly the word ‘Yule’ meant At the end of the year the Barbarians would hold a a great feast of slaughtered animals because they had no knowledge of how to keep them alive over a long winter The slaughtered beast would be decorated with garlands of greenery and everyone would feast The Christmas feast descended from this tradition ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Merging Christianity with Paganism When the Roman church began to spread Christianity to the barbarian they found it hard to remove the people from their customs & festivities The people were more willing to abandon their gods than to change their habits & manners The church then adopted all of the ways of the heathens, including their various idol gods and changed their names to the name of Christ and their saints Some of these saints were named after the apostles and some the Catholic church created Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Origin of Christmas Customs Greenery & Mistletoe Ancients worshipped natural things, such as trees, with the thought that they had their own spirit Mistletoe was thought to be all healing

Christmas Tree Came from ancient tree worship The Persian and Romans decorated trees to honor their gods

Christmas Gifts Came from the Saturnalia and Kalends of January Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Origin of Christmas Customs Santa Clause Came from the name Saint Nicholas who was said to be a Bishop in the 4th century of Lycia He was very generous and gave gifts secretly to the poor The people so reverenced him that years later any anonymous gift was said to come from St. Nicholas The modern depiction of Santa Clause as a fat jolly man dressed in red with white fur trim and a white beard was invented

by Coca-Cola Company Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Origin of Christmas Customs Kris Kringle Came from the name Kris Kindlen or little christ child Became the most favored bearer of gifts in Protestant Germany The christ child or Kris Kringle comes every Christmas Eve, but is associated only by name with Christ He is drawn sometimes as an infant, other times as a fairy or a young girl with long flowing hair as well as their perceived image of Christ in his boyhood

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Current Day Today many of traditions of Christmas remain practically intact Christmas is socially and economically ingrained in the fibers of this country and the world The things that Christmas symbolizes, just as her ancient parents, appear to be goodness, happiness, peace and brotherhood Despite the pagan roots of this holiday, many people hold this holiday very dear and proclaim it to be the birthday of Christ Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Closing Remarks Though people state that Christmas is Christ’s birthday, NO ONE actually knows when His birthday is because the scriptures do not specify this fact Christmas is touted as being religious in nature but many of its customs including mistletoe, the Christmas tree and gifts have nothing to do with Christ and are instead based upon paganism Christ’s name was used to cover up the idolatry of this holiday but in doing this his name is being blasphemed & taken in vain Christ is holy & considers idolatry to be an abomination & a sin so how could he accept Christmas when it was founded upon idolatry (Exodus 20: 3-6) ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Special Thanks

This presentation was based the class written

by Evelyn C. Pointer entitled....

“Christmas”

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Questions

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