nor will I test the Lord!” 13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. 15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both her kings. 17 The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah.” Isaiah 7:  10 – 17 (NKJV)

“Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles.  2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy; they rejoice before You according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For You have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. 5 For every warrior’s sandal from the noisy battle, and garments rolled in blood, will be used for burning and fuel of fire. 6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:  1 – 7 (NKJV)

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” – Isaiah 7:14

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6

“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” – Luke 1:31-33

Powerful scriptures from God.

There is a reason for all things that the Early Church Fathers did regarding all our holidays but let’s just focus on Christmas for the moment. Satan mimics everything God does so if you look around every corner you will find satan twisting and perverting the traditions and celebrations of Christmas that God established for us to enjoy. I believe that the religious take special pride in puffing their chest out and interjecting their “knowledge” about Christmas into the atmosphere. Truth be known they have it partially right but not all right. What makes their viewpoint so obnoxious is the demeaning stare as they look down their noses at the rest of us who are just trying to reverence Jesus and celebrate the season with all the holy grace and honor that it deserves.

Did the Early Church Fathers know what they were doing? Yes, they were devout men who were led by the Holy Spirit. What they started was not an accident. Remember that these are the same men who were led by the Holy Spirit to put together the Bible.[i] If they were not following God with all their hearts nothing that they did would stand the test of time. The Bible has stood the test of time. Christmas has stood the test of time.

Look at what some of the Early Church Fathers said about Christmas.

1. “For there is no proper place for sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity. No one is kept from sharing in this happiness.” St. Leo the Great (400 – 10 November 461)

2. “This is our present Festival; it is this which we are celebrating today, the Coming of God to Man, that we might go forth, or rather (for this is the more proper expression) that we might go back to God – that putting off of the old man, we might put on the new; and that as we died in Adam, so we might live in Christ, being born with Christ and crucified with Him and buried with Him and rising with Him.” St. Gregory of Nazianzus (329 – 25 January 390)

3. “Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been ‘in planted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.” St. John Chrysostom (349 – 14 September 407)[ii] 

The Early Church Fathers believed in celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. At first It was called the “Feast of Nativity”. Their intention was to have believers reflect on what God did for them by causing them to remember that God sent His only begotten Son into this world through the virgin birth of Mary. The Feast if Nativity was celebrated in conjunction with the Feast of Epiphany on January 7. The Feast of Epiphany originally had four celebrations. The celebration of the baptism of the Jesus, the miracle of Jesus turning the water into wine, the Nativity of Jesus, and the visitation of the Wise Men to Jesus.[iii] 

The Feast of Nativity was the celebration of the revealing of Jesus with the Star of Bethlehem. We commonly read Isaiah 60, “Arise, shine; For your light has come...” to talk about the Glory of God but the Early Church Fathers believed and celebrated every part of the scripture and they believed that the light was the star over Bethlehem that revealed that Jesus had come into the world. There really is a reason for everything. We must remember that God knows what He is doing even when man does not. If you have been assaulted by the verbal haranguing’s of those bond by a religious do not let them steal our joy. Tis the season to be Jolly.

You would be surprised to know what God honors.

“But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness”, {I Timothy 4: 7 [NKJV]}.

“5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks”, {Romans 14: 5 – 7 [NKJV]}.

Here is a brief history of the Celebrations of Christmas, Easter & Halloween in the Church

“But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the scroll until the end of time. Many will go back and forth and search anxiously [through the scroll], and knowledge [of the purpose of God as revealed by His prophets] will [greatly] increase.” Daniel 12:  4 (Amp)

There are many traditions that have been passed down from the First Church to the Church of today. Some of those traditions are good and some of them are bad. Nonetheless we must look at the intent of the First Church and come into agreement that they sought the best for the Body of Christ with the “knowledge” that they had.

We have to be honest and admit that they were stronger in their faith than we are. They believed God with much less evidence, factual proof, and information then we have today. The difference between the First Church and the Church today is that they had to totally rely upon the Spirit. We should be doing this, but we do not.  We have the Spirit and our “Head knowledge” and at times our “Head knowledge” over rules the Spirit. When this occurs, we all lose.

Whether you like it or not, the First Church celebrated holidays around what we “now” know today to be pagan festivals.  The dirty little secret is the First Church knew they were pagan festivals, and this was done for various reasons on purpose, one of which was to help save the lives of the members of the Church who were being persecuted for their beliefs.  Today’s Church with its “New knowledge” overlooks the historical context and sacrifices of the First Church and what they did to keep the Gospel spreading to the entire world. 

It's not at the front of our mind that the Gentile Church celebrates the Sabbath on Sunday.  Nor is at the front of our mind that the Jews celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday.  We often forget that the First Church faced persecution for their faith.  The Early Church Fathers made decisions with all the other Churches to hide our traditional Christian holidays around the solstices or pagan festivals.  It was done by agreement of the entire Gentile Church.  The world that they lived in operated off of the solar calendar.  The Gentile Church wanted to show a distinction between the Jewish Church and the Gentile Church, so they used the Gregorian Calendar (Solar) and kept the Sabbath on Sunday. 

Jesus was not born on December 25.  We agree.  However, the entire world has set the date and we cannot change it.  The First Church used December 25 based upon the knowledge they had at the time.  There was no evil intent or deception.  For today the “New knowledge” that Jesus was not born on December 25^th is an unnecessary source of contention.   We have more knowledge available to us.  This is what we have come to discover.  “Based on the Bible text and knowledge of the priestly courses, we can estimate that Jesus was born around the time of Tishri, which falls in mid to late September. This approximation is reached by starting at the conception of John the Baptist, which occurred in Sivan (June). Then, we count forward six months to arrive at Gabriel's announcement of the conception of Jesus, which happened in Kislev (December).

Finally, we count forward nine more months, which is the average time it takes for human gestation, to reach Tishri (September) when Jesus was born.” [iv]

The First Church would never dishonor God by committing idolatry with these pagan festivals.  They took God and honoring Him very seriously.  They believed in purity on every level of their walk and relationship with God.  Often you find throughout history a very strict observance of the scriptures.  With everything there are extremes that lead to stupidity and the religious spirit produced some rituals in the Church that made the Sadducees and Pharisees look like the perfect saints of God.   These extremes have existed throughout Church history and will continue until God completely purifies His Church.  This being said one of the Church controversies of our times is the “New knowledge” that has been found that Christmas, Easter & Halloween are pagan in nature.  This is partial truth and partial knowledge.  The First Church did not celebrate or participate in these pagan festivals.  Those with the “New knowledge“ would have you believe that they did.  The religious observances that were tied to the Birth of Christ, the Resurrection of Christ, and honoring the old Saints like Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John were the observances that the First Church established.  These observances were coordinated in conjunction with those festivals, but the First Church never did what the world did.

No one in the Church today who celebrates the Birth of Jesus Christ, and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ believes in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.  They may teach these aspects of this from our culture from a historical context and tradition but there is no real celebration in the Church tied to these traditions.   Are these traditions that have been passed down from the world in every culture throughout history? Yes! Because the Church celebrates the Birth of Jesus Christ and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ at their appointed times on the Gregorian calendar, we have been condemned to Hell for celebrating Christmas and Easter. It's very sad but this is where the folks in the Church with the “New knowledge” Choose to take us every year.

Often the Church is so Heavenly minded that it is no Earthly good.  Such is the case with our “New Knowledge” of the celebrations of Christmas, Easter & Halloween.  Christians celebrated the Birth of Christ at Christmas, the Resurrection of Christ at Easter, and All SAINTS Day at Halloween.  These pagan holidays were tied to major Christian observances.  Would you tell a Christian not to celebrate the Birth of Christ, the Resurrection of Christ, or show honor Saints of the Bible?  No!  Are there extremes and stupidities that are tied to all three of these Christian observances?  Yes.  Does this mean that we shut all of it down because of the extremes?  No!  We need to help our brother and sisters see the whole truth and not partial truth. 

Christmas is a celebration that was promoted by the Church.  Early Christians did not initially celebrate Christmas as we know it today.   The original celebrations were times of prayer and not gift giving.  They eventually gave gifts not because of a “Jolly Old Elf named Santa Claus but because the Magi brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the baby Jesus when He was born.  The observance of Christ’s birth as a distinct feast day emerged gradually over the first few centuries of Christianity.

The earliest Christmas observances were quite different from our modern celebrations.  They were solemn and liturgical in nature, centered around the Eucharist (Holy Communion) and prayer rather than gift giving or decorations. The season of advent as a time of spiritual preparation became associated with Christmas by the 6th century. One of the earliest Christmas traditions was the procession of prophets a dramatic reading of Old Testament prophecies about the coming of Christ. This would often be performed in Churches on Christmas Eve.

From the Very Beginning, There was a Price on Jesus’ Head.

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”  Matthew 2:  2 – 3 (Amp).

A great disturbance took place when Jesus came on the scene.  This disturbance affected everyone in proximity to Jesus. Herod was an agent of the enemy who went forth under the enemy’s influence seeking to kill Jesus.  Herod sent word throughout the land and via the Magi that he was looking for Jesus.  Herod made it seem like he was going to worship Jesus.  Herod’s real intent was to kill Jesus.

The Bible goes on to say that Herod put a contract out on all male children two years old and younger.  A slaughter commenced and every male baby two years and younger died.  It was sad but this event triggered one of the greatest miracles that came out of the birth of Jesus Christ.  We learned through this event about God's ability to hide Jesus and keep Him safe so that God’s purposes could be brought forth. 

Some in the Body of Christ become melancholy at the hint of a fight or a battle.  Often slipping into waves of self-pity and navel gazing.  During this Christmas season stop and consider this miracle that took place.  This miracle enabled the baby Jesus to survive.  All of Hell was sent after Him to find Him and kill Him.  Nevertheless, God kept Him safe until His appointed hour of death some thirty-three years later.  There was a price on Jesus’ head. 

The Bible does not expound on this but how many times did the enemy get close to Jesus and almost kill Him at different points throughout His life?  How many times did the angels set up ambushes against the forces of darkness that were trying to take Jesus out?  There were plots and conspiracies against Jesus every day of His life.  The enemy worked feverishly to try and stop the plan of God but the enemy did not succeed.  When all was said and done, God’s perfect will was made manifest and Jesus went on to complete His mission for God. 

Consider this.  There is a price on your head as well.  The enemy wants to stop you just like he wanted to stop Jesus.  It’s up to you to persevere, stick it out, and tough it out so that God’s purposes for your life can take place.  It doesn’t matter what the enemy does to try and stop you, God has your back and is performing the miracles that you need to survive. 

We are on the verge of seeing so many wonderful things.  It would be awful to get this far and not get to see the ‘Greater glory’ that has been promised to us because we became afraid of the threats of the enemy.  Nothing can happen to you unless God allows it.  Everyday you are experiencing the miracles of Christmas in the way that God provides for your safety and well-being.  You are blessed. 

As we celebrate this season, let’s celebrate the traditions of Christmas as they were intended. The Greek and Hebrew interpretations or lack thereof regarding this season are not worth bringing offense to each other. Just be Merry and Bright with the Light of Christ.

May you remember the many miracles that God did for the baby Jesus.  Merry Christmas!

[i] https://redstate.com/streiff/2017/12/25/church-fathers-awesomeness-christmas-n81873
[ii] https://redstate.com/streiff/2017/12/25/church-fathers-awesomeness-christmas-n81873
[iii] https://www.learnreligions.com/epiphany-of-our-lord-jesus-christ-542471
[iv] (notes from https://www.christianity.com/wiki/jesus-christ/when-was-jesus-born.html)

Selah,
Christopher & Kathryn