Christ's Dismissal

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” ~ John 10:7-10 ESV

We are about to enter into the Christmas season, at least here in America. Christmas, as it has come to be known, is largely considered to be a Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, God the Son. But… there is another god that is celebrated on Christmas Day, and his name is Santa.

So, what does the word “Christmas” literally mean?

Well, the first part of the word is Christ, meaning the Anointed One, meaning Jesus Christ, the Son of God (See: Isaiah 61; Luke 4:18-19).

But, what about the word “mas”? What does that mean?

Well, it is generally held that the word “mas” means “dismissal.” Yet, whether you agree with that or not doesn’t really matter, for I believe we shall see here, by the evidence itself, that indeed that is what is intended.

Thieves and Robbers

The thieves and robbers Jesus Christ is talking about here are those who are false teachers or prophets who lead people to follow other gods and other religions, or another gospel. Or else they are the false gods themselves who, according to their prophets and teachers, promise people all sorts of things if they will only bow down and worship them, instead of the people worshiping the One and Only True God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

So, they are thieves and robbers because their goal is to steal the hearts of people away from the One and Only True God to follow after them and their false gods, instead. And, I believe that is the entire goal of the creation of the celebration of Christmas and of Santa Claus.

Satan and His Angels

From what I have been taught, and from what I understand, Satan used to be an angel in heaven, but he wanted to be God, and so he rebelled against God along with about a third of the angels, and so God cast them down to the earth (Is. 14:12-14; Lu. 10:18; Rev. 9:1; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 12:3-9).

“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’” Is. 14:12-14

Now, let’s think about Santa Claus for a moment. Where does he live? The North Pole. How does he deliver gifts to children all over the world in a single night? He rides on a reindeer-driven sleigh up in the sky, on the heights, or above the heights of the clouds.

And, what attributes is this false god given? He is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent, meaning he is present in all places at all times, he is all-knowing, all-seeing (like the all-seeing eye of Horus on our national seal), and he is all-powerful. And, what this means is that he has been given the attributes of Almighty God, because he, Santa/Satan, wants to be God.

Don’t believe me? Well, Santa knows when every child across the world is sleeping and when they are awake. He knows when they have been good or bad, too. He is also able to be in multiple department stores all across the world, all at the same time, holding children on his lap, promising them presents they will most likely never receive. And, he is able to magically deliver gifts to every child on the globe – that is the ones who have been good, so he says, and in a single night, too. So, he must be able to see all, know all, and be everywhere all at the same time, and be all-powerful, too.

The Christmas Deception

Ok, so we in America, at least, traditionally celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December. [My husband and I stopped celebrating in 2012.] For many of us, we were taught to celebrate this day from the time we were small children, and many of us were taught that this was the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, thus it is considered a sacred holiday. But, is it really?

What is the central focus of the celebration of Christmas, in reality? Is it not the buying of gifts, many of which people do not need, and many of which those buying them cannot afford? And, so many people go into massive debt just to be able to buy Christmas presents, and for all the people they feel obligated to buy them for, as well. And, then when they are given, often times they are returned for something better, in the eyes of the receivers, who are the ones who return them to the stores, because they reject them.

And, is it not all about Christmas trees and decorations which many people also cannot afford, but they do so to keep up with everyone else who is doing it, too? And, then there is all the baking of cookies, and the shopping, and the Christmas cards, and the new clothes and shoes and hats, and all the parties and games and some raunchy Christmas movies, too, etc.

So, what does any of that have to do with Jesus? Well, they say that Jesus was given gifts when he was born and thus we give each other gifts when we celebrate his birthday. But, does that even make sense? Some will say Jesus was our gift and thus we give each other gifts, but that doesn’t make sense, either. For the gift of Jesus is the gift of salvation from sin, so the gift we should give each other is the message of how we can all be forgiven our sins and be delivered from our bondage, and now walk in Christ’s holiness.

And, when we celebrate each other’s birthdays, who gets the gifts? The person with the birthday, right? So, if we are truly celebrating Jesus Christ, then should he not be the one to receive our gifts? And, what gift does he want from us? He wants are all on the altar of sacrifice laid, living lives holy and pleasing to him, no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but transformed in the renewing of our minds away from what is sinful to walking in Christ’s righteousness and holiness, in his power and strength.

Also, when we celebrate each other’s birthdays, does everyone in the room, besides the one with the birthday, all congregate together and give each other gifts, and then pass around pictures of what we looked like when we were helpless babies, while the one having the birthday is ignored? But, that is what we do, isn’t it, when we picture Jesus as a helpless baby in a manger, and we put a manger scene somewhere in our houses, and then we all gather together and give each other presents and play games and eat lots of food and watch movies, too.

Ok, so let’s go back to Santa, for he plays a huge role in this deception, too. For, while Jesus Christ is pictured as a helpless baby in a manger doing nothing but just lying there, Santa comes on the scene in all his glory. And, he promises to bring gifts to children and to ride through the sky on a sleigh and to deliver gifts across the globe on a single night. And, he asks children across the world to write him letters (like prayers) requesting what they want from him. And, children, who have long awaited his return, are anxiously anticipating his soon arrival (like Jesus’ return one day).

So, who has the hearts of children on Christmas? Jesus Christ? Or, Santa? And, who wanted to be God? And, who masquerades himself as an angel of light? Satan/Santa. And, what has the hearts of adults during the Christmas holidays? Shopping, presents, parties, food, games, fun, movies, etc. etc.

Know the Truth

The whole point of Christmas is to dismiss Jesus Christ in favor of Santa, a false god, who is truly Satan, who wanted to be God. It is to dismiss Jesus Christ in favor of gifts, commercialism, greed, worldliness, and idolatry, etc. Jesus is pictured as a helpless baby on purpose, while Santa, a false god, is given the attributes of Almighty God, and steals the hearts of children away from God; away from Jesus Christ, and the hearts of many adults, too.

So, don’t listen to these thieves and robbers who want to pull us away and our children away from pure devotion to Jesus Christ. Don’t give your hearts away to false gods and idolatry and commercialism and to ignoring Jesus.

If truly you want to celebrate Jesus Christ, then do it the way Jesus says. He says to remember him by remembering his blood that was shed on the cross for our sins, and by remembering his body which was given for us in death so that we can die to sin and live to righteousness. And, this remembering of him is not a mere formality or a mere ritual we go through, either.

For, when we remember him and what he did for us, we examine our own hearts to make certain that we are worthy to partake in his blood and his body via confession of sin, in true repentance, and in committing our lives to our Lord and to his service. For, what he wants from us are not our festivals and our parties, which he largely hates, in reality, but what he wants, again, is our all on the altar of sacrifice laid, our hearts thus the Spirit controls.

My Sheep

An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.



Thursday, December 6, 2018