Dec 26

Preserving the True Meaning of Christmas

Once again, Christmas in the United States has been under heavy assault.The Savior's birth has been marred by court challenges against everything from public nativity scenes to Christmas decorations and gift exchanges in public schools.

Even though Christmas is under attack, it remains very popular with the public. Nearly 92 percent of the population approves of Christmas. Another 6 percent has no problem with a holiday that honors Jesus Christ. The people who would categorize themselves as enemies of Christmas only amount to 1 percent of the population.

With such a small group of people in the opposition, it's a wonder Christmas is such a source of controversy. Unfortunately, Satan is the biggest Grinch of all. He hates everything associated with the coming of the Messiah, and he continuously works to degrade and distort the true meaning of Christmas.

The devil's main strategy has been to strive for a series of small victories that add up over time. For over a century, a series of incremental series of steps has been aimed at neutralizing Christmas.

One the earliest attacks on Christmas was the introduction of mythological figures that distract from the nativity story. When you really think about it, what on earth do Santa Claus, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, and Frosty the snowman have to do with the birth of a child in a desert environment?

The modern image of Santa Claus came from a Harper's Weekly cartoon by Thomas Nast in 1863. The Coca-Cola Company is credited for popularizing Santa Claus by showing the jolly fellow in its 1930s Christmas ads. The tale of Rudolph was written in 1939 by Robert L. May for the Montgomery Ward chain of department stores. "Frosty the Snowman" was written by Steve Rollins and Steve Nelson in 1950.

I wouldn't go as far as to suggest that Nast, Coca-Cola, May, Rollins and Nelson were part a satanic conspiracy. But I think when they came up with their ideas, they could have realized their creations were distractions from the traditional focus of Christmas.

The commercialization of Christmas was the next step. The joyful miracle of Jesus' birth had nothing to do with material wealth, and yet it has become the greatest gimmick for corporations to make billions in profits. Each December, people spend themselves silly just to buy the newest gadgets to come down the pike.

We're now at the point where all references to Jesus are being deleted for the sake of inclusivism. Under the guise of being fair to all religions, the word "Christmas" is often replaced with the neutral word "holiday." At one point, "Happy Holidays" covers Christmas and the New Year. It is now being made to apply to Hanukkah for Jews, Eid al-fitr for Muslims, Kwanzaa for African Americans, and the Winter Solstice for pagans.

The spirit of inclusivism has caused most radio stations to only air Christmas songs that focus on every topic but the King of Kings. There seems to be an abundance parodies of Christmas songs. Every year, I hear "The Twelve Days of Christmas" by Bob and Doug McKenzie and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" by Elmo and Patsy. Instead of those songs, I would love to hear something like "Angels and Shepherds":

Hark all ye shepherds, come join in our song.
Hark all ye shepherds, for Jesus is born.
Lo he is lying, born in a manger,
Jesus, anointed to be our Savior. Alleluia!

The people who preach inclusivism do not follow the most basic rule of logic. If they wanted to be fair, they would base the recognition of religious holidays on the percentage of the population that is identified with said religions. An overwhelming minority cannot be allowed to rule the greater society.

Christians are the ones to blame for allowing insignificant groups to set the rules. We have the ability and the numbers to demand that Christmas be represented as a holiday honoring our Lord and Savior.

A little more than 2000 years ago, one group of angels had no trouble publicly proclaiming their Christmas joy:

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:8-14).

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Diplomatic Protest for an Apocalyptic Aggression

The “civilized” world watches while a prophesied end-time aggression builds in the Middle East. The news these recent days are ripe with hatred welling against Israel, and the great powers of earth seem impotent to intervene.

Iran, which comprises much of the territory that was ancient Persia, threatens to one day soon possess the power to make a deadly nuclear assault on the Jews much of the Islamic leadership hates with passionate rage. The following news excerpt frames the growing threat:

“Confrontation rather than compromise has been brewing after declarations from Iran that the Holocaust is a myth and Israel should be wiped out, and a European Union accusation on Tuesday that Tehran has serially violated human rights at home.

The Islamic republic's increasingly vocal hostility toward the Jewish state and commitment to developing sensitive technology that could yield ingredients for nuclear weaponry have stoked Western concern about its atomic program.

Tehran says it aims only to generate more electricity for an energy-hungry economy. But it dodged U.N. nuclear inspectors for 18 years until 2003 and the West says its cooperation since has fallen short of what is needed to regain diplomatic confidence” ("EU-Iran nuclear dialogue to resume but hopes dim," by Mark Heinrich, Reuters, Dec. 20, 2005).

Not only might Iran be mere months away from developing nuclear explosives, but apparently it already has the means to deliver those explosives once they are ready.

“'Iran recently acquired 12 cruise missiles with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers, according to OC Intelligence Maj.-Gen. Aharon Ze'evi (Farkash) on Tuesday.' He noted the missiles had the ability to carry a nuclear warhead.

Speaking at the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for the last time before leaving his position, Ze'evi noted the missiles originated in a batch of 18 missiles shipped from Ukraine to Russia. Twelve of the missiles made their way to Iran, while the other six ended up in China” (Rapture Ready News, Dec. 21, 2005 'Iran obtained 12 long-range missiles').

Iran’s likely involvement in endtime aggresend-timeainst Israel is found in the words of God, given through the prophet Ezekiel. The Lord God foretold that He will draw Gog –the leader of the Magog forces (probably Russia)--toward the mountains of Israel. He also reveals the nations that will accompany this Russian leader: “And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet…” (Ezek. 38: 4-5).

Russia’s present close alliance with Iran (Persia) cannot be mere coincidence to the Ezekiel 38 and 39 Gog-Magog prophecy. When figured into the equation of the total end-time mix of signals this generation is experiencing, the evidence is overwhelming –at least in this observer’s mind—that Persia and Russia, spurred no doubt by the Prince of Persia with whom God’s angel struggled before delivering God’s prophetic word to Daniel, are preparing to fulfill their inglorious destinies on the mountains of Israel.

And, right on cue, the new world order, renamed “the international community,” is preparing to do what the prophecy says it will do. Nothing more than send a note of diplomatic protest. We can hear in the language of diplomatic double-speak just how such a protest will be framed as Russia, Iran, and the rest prepare to destroy tiny Israel.

"’It is up to the Iranians to adopt a constructive attitude (about its nuclear program) and take advantage of this window of opportunity that is open but which will not remain open forever,’ a French Foreign Ministry official said on Tuesday.

Some nuclear analysts believe that if dialogue runs aground again, the way would be cleared to an emergency IAEA board session and vote to put Iran in Security Council hands” ("EU-Iran nuclear dialogue to resume but hopes dim," by Mark Heinrich, Reuters, Dec. 20, 2005).

The prophecy about the international community’s response to the invasion is found in the following: “Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?” (Ezek. 38:13).

But, there will come from Almighty God a protest of a different sort. It is the only protest the evil of this fallen world understands: "And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured” (Ezek. 39:2-4).
--Terry