Put Christ Back in Christmas

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Jesus is the Reason
Put Christ Back in Christmas
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Many conservative evangelical Christians at this
time of year want to Put Christ back in
Christmas and insist that Jesus is the Reason
for the Season. Unfortunately, you dont
have much of a case. It is a Pagan Festival
Thus says most of the secular propaganda
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    Christmas is the continuationof a pagan
ritual!!
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Christians took over the Decemer 25th Roman
holiday of Natalis Solis Invicti, festival of
the birth of the invincible sun, as well as
Saturnalia. Christians took over German
mid-winter festival celebrations which used
evergreen trees and holly as symbols of eternal
life. Where is Christ in all of this? How is
Jesus the reason for the season of mid-winter
festivals that pre-date Christianity?
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Natalis Solis Invicti,
Deus Sol Invictus ("the undefeated sun god") was
a religious title applied to at least three
distinct divinities during the later Roman
Empire El Gabal, Mithras, and Sol.
The Sol Invictus festival ran from December 22
through December 25.
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MERRY SATURNALIA                                  
                              
the festival of the shortest day of the year
which took place on 17 December
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Early church never celebrated Christmas
We dont know the birthday of Jesus
Bible does not tell us the birthday of Jesus
Christmas is a Pagan Practice
Most Christians Agree!!
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but Dr. Luke disagrees
Zachariah Mary
John the Baptist
Jesus
Luke 1
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Luk 13 it seemed good to me also, having traced
the course of all things accurately from the
first, to write unto thee in order, most
excellent Theophilus Luk 14 that thou
mightest know the certainty concerning the things
Zachariah the Priest
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Zachariah's Temple Ministry
Angel appears
Elizabeth conceives
Sixth month
Annunciation of Mary
Birth of John the Baptist
Birth of Jesus
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Luke 18 Once when Zechariah's division was on
duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9
he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of
the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord
and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the
burning of incense came, all the assembled
worshipers were praying outside.11 Then an angel
of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the
right side of the altar of incense.
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Inside the Holy of Holies
Lev 1615
Then he shall kill the goat of the sin
offering, which is for the people, bring its
blood inside the veil
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Inside the Holy of Holies
Assembly
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This happens only once a year on Yom Kippur
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Yom Kippur
According to the Bible Calendar, the tenth day
of the seventh month (Tishri) is the Day of
Atonement. The Jews call it Yom Kippur. We know
this date for certain. It comes once a year only
Yom Kippur will occur on the following days of
the Gregorian calendar Jewish Year 5766
sunset October 12, 2005 - nightfall October 13,
2005 Jewish Year 5767 sunset October 1, 2006 -
nightfall October 2, 2006 Jewish Year 5768
sunset September 21, 2007 - nightfall September
22, 2007 Jewish Year 5769 sunset October 8,
2008 - nightfall October 9, 2008 Jewish Year
5770 sunset September 27, 2009 - nightfall
September 28, 2009
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Hebrew Calendar
Our Calendar
New Year
22nd
15th
Sept - Oct
10th
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7 days?
Zachariah's Temple Ministry
Angel appears
Elizabeth conceives
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Luke 126-33 On the sixth month (of Civil
Calendar Elizabeths pregnancy) God sent the
angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, To
a virgin pledged to be married to a man named
Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name
was Mary. The angel went to her and said,
"Greetings, .... You will be with child and give
birth to a son, and you are to give him the name
Jesus.
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Annunciation Of Mary
7
6
8
5
4
9
Birth of John the Baptist Tammuz 3 June third
week
3
2
Zachariah goes Home
1
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On the sixth month would then well be "on the
sixth month i.e. Adar " which is also the
"sixth month of pregnancy of Elizabeth." From
23rd Tishri adding 280 days of gestation period
we arrive at (73029302930293029303)
Tammmuz 3 June 20Birth of John the Baptist
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Tammmuz 3 Birth of John the Baptist Adding 6
more months we arrive at Teveth 3 which is
around December end or early January every
year
7 days
_
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Annunciation Of Mary
1
2
Birth of Jesus
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Birth of John the Baptist Tammuz 3 June third
week
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9
5
8
6
7
25
7 days
10 Tishri Second half of September
7 days?
In BC 6 using Gregorian Calendar it falls exactly
on Dec 25th
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What about the Shepherds?
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Choir
Served at the Holy of Holies
The Levites
were also
Keepers of Sacrificial Lambs
Ark carriers
After the return of Judah from captivity, the
Levites provided the certified sacrificial lambs
to the Jewish pilgrims from the nations.
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And in that region there were shepherds out in
the field, keeping watch over their flock by
night.
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"For unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD"
(Luke 211).
Good News! The Perfect Lamb
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"For unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD"
(Luke 211).
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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
among men with whom he is pleased!"
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What about Saturnalia?
Out of a million pagan gods
and their festivals
Give me a day when Jesus could be born
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Eastern Church celebrated the Nativity on
January 6th.
The Julian Calendar
The system of numbering years A.D. ( "Anno
Domini") was instituted in about the year 527
A.D. by the Roman abbot Dionysius Exiguus,
Correction to calendar
Gregorian Dec 25
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The celebration of the Nativity on 6 January is
the oldest practice, followed by the Early
Church, and for Eastern Christians today that is
still Christmas day. This timing was based on a
reference by the early Greek scholar, Clement
of Alexandria (150 - 215 AD).
In his Stromateis (I, xxi, 45), he wrote about
the even earlier Greek teacher, Basilides,
(100-140 AD)
And there are those who have determined not only
the year of our Lord's birth, but also the
day... And the followers of Basilides hold the
day of his baptism as a festival And they say
that it was the fifteenth day of the month Tubi
and some that it was the eleventh of the same
month.
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Sextus Julius Africanus (160-240)
in Chronographiai (AD 221),
an early reference book for
Christians.
It is both nine months after the Festival of
Annunciation (March 25) as well as the date that
the Romans marked as the winter solstice, which
they called bruma.
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Tertullian 160 -250 AD
The Creation The Fall The incarnation All were on
Dec 25
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"Only sinners, not saints, celebrate their
birthdays
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Calendar of Filocalus, an illuminated manuscript
compiled in Rome in 354. Celebration of Christmas
350 360 370 380 390 400
360 indicates that Christmas was well-established
in Rome by that time
Constantinople in 379
Antioch about 380
John Chrysostom about 400.
Alexandria about 430.
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Jesus
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Problem 2
Christmas Tree
Kaavu?
Bringing an evergreen tree into the house is
another pagan tradition relating to the worship
of evergreen plants as symbols of fertility, life
and reproduction. The pagans decorated their
trees with fruit, and placed other foods
underneath it as offerings to the tree.
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In spite of the many attempts on the part of some
historians to trace the origin of the Christmas
tree to mythology, the custom and the symbolism
are completely Christian. The Christmas tree
resulted from a combination of the medieval
Paradise tree and the Christmas candle.
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Paradise Play
One of the most popular of the medieval German
mystery plays was the Paradise play, representing
the creation of man, the sin of Adam and Eve and
their expulsion from Paradise. This play became
a favorite for Advent because it usually ended
with the consoling promise of a Savior. As a
matter of fact, the closing scenes led directly
to the story of Bethlehem.
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Morality Play
an allegorical drama popular in Europe especially
during the 15th and 16th centuries, in which the
characters personify moral qualities (such as
charity or vice) or abstractions (as death or
youth) and in which moral lessons are taught.
Miracle Play
The mystery plays, usually representing biblical
subjects, developed from plays presented in Latin
by churchmen on church premises and depicted such
subjects as the Creation, Adam and Eve, the
murder of Abel, and the Last Judgment.
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In this play, the Garden of Eden was represented
by a large tree symbolizing the "Tree of
Discernment of Good and Evil." The Paradise tree
was usually surrounded by lighted candles and the
play enacted within the circle of lights
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Problem 3
How Did Santa Get Into Christmas?
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Nicholas Bishop of Turkey 300 AD
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Born in Patara in Turkey (Lysa, Asia Minor)
Bishop of Myra
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St.Nicholas Day December 19
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Leviticus 23  1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak
to the Israelites and say to them 'These are my
appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of
the LORD, which you are to proclaim as sacred
assemblies.
Deu 1425 then you shall turn it into money, and
bind up the money in your hand, and go to the
place which the LORD your God chooses, Deu 1426
and spend the money for whatever you desire,
oxen, or sheep, or wine or strong drink, whatever
your appetite craves and you shall eat there
before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and
your household.
Lev 109 "Drink no wine nor strong drink, you
nor your sons with you, when you go into the tent
of meeting, lest you die it shall be a statute
for ever throughout your generations.
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and the widow, who are within your towns,
shall come and eat and be filled that the
LORD your God may bless you in all the work of
your hands that you do.
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God so loved the wold that He gave
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God so loved the wold that He gave you
Will you give it back to the world?
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God so loved the wold that He gave you
Will you give it back to the world?
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Deu 1428 "At the end of every three years you
shall bring forth all the tithe of your produce
in the same year, and lay it up within your
towns Deu 1429 and the Levite, (those who
serve you in your spiritual matters) because he
has no portion or inheritance with you.
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and the sojourner (Those who have just come into
your area),
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the fatherless,
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Why do we celebrate Christmas?
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Rites of Intensification
rituals intended either to bolster a natural
process necessary to survival or to reaffirm the
society's commitment to a particular set of
values and beliefs and means of communication.
Picnics
Sunday Services
Prayer meetings
Communion
fasting prayer
Easter
Conventions
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Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you
eat or drink, or with regard to a religious
festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath
day. These are a shadow of the things that were
to come the reality, however, is found in
Christ. Colossians 216-17
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Put Christ Back in Christmas
and you shall eat there before the LORD your God
and rejoice, you and your household.
The Reason for the Season is Jesus
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