Hail, O ever-blessed morn!
Hail, redemption's happy dawn!
Sing through all Jerusalem:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Posted on 12/25/2008 5:31:20 AM PST by Charles Henrickson
“The War on Christmas” (John 1:1-18)
Everybody loves Christmas. Santa Claus, gift-giving, time off from work, time spent with family, honey-baked ham, and the cheerful holiday spirit. Yes, everybody loves Christmas.
Or do they? Well, I guess it depends on which Christmas you’re talking about. Because there’s also that other Christmas, you know, the one that has to do with Christ. And that one isn’t all that popular with everyone. In fact, the anti-Christmas sentiment has become so common and so frequent that it can even be called a movement. And it has even been given a name: “The War on Christmas.” Let’s cite a few examples.
Item, Olympia, Washington: In the state capitol, right next to a nativity scene, the Freedom From Religion Foundation placed a sign that reads as follows: “At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” Apparently, not everybody loves Christmas.
Item, 520 Costco stores, nationwide: Costco says it will not use the word, “Christmas,” on its website or in its stores. A customer wrote to Costco and asked, “Does Costco use the word ‘Christmas’ in your store advertising or on any signs anywhere in your stores during the Christmas season?” Kory Rosacrans, staff manager for Costco, replied, “I guess the answer would be No.” No, Costco doesn’t love Christmas, either, although they do love your Christmas shopping money.
Item, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: At the Comcast Center, a huge multimedia show called “The Comcast Holiday Spectacular” features secular holiday songs, but religious Christmas songs are expressly prohibited. That’s just fine with Michael Muderick of Havertown, PA, who attended the show. “We don’t observe Christmas, so I appreciated that there were no religious references,” said Michael. “They managed to capture the holiday spirit in a very inclusive and unusual way.”
Item, Springfield, Missouri: At Missouri State University, a new rule explicitly bans nativity scenes from being displayed in common areas. The War on Christmas gains a victory right here in Missouri.
Item, Hattiesburg, Mississippi: A public school teacher marked down a poem written by eleven-year-old Andrew White because he used the word “Jesus” in it. The assignment, oddly enough, was to write a poem on the theme, “What Christmas Means to Me.” So, Andrew did the assignment. He wrote about what Christmas means to him, as follows: “The best Christmas ever is when everyone is there. It is when everyone is laughing here and there. That is the Christmas I want to share. Christmas is about Jesus’ birth. About peace on Earth. This is what Christmas is about. It is when He lay in a manger. And the three wise men come to see. That’s what it means to me.” Well, I guess the teacher didn’t really want Andrew to write about what Christmas means to him, since she doesn’t like the Christmas with Jesus in it.
These examples of the War on Christmas show that, no, not everybody loves Christmas. In fact, the world hates Christmas--the real Christmas, that is. But should that really surprise us? The War on Christmas has been going on for a very long time. St. John told us the world would not know or recognize or receive the Son of God when he came into the world: “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.”
Let’s ponder that a bit. Here is one called “the true light” coming into the world, and it says, “the world was made through him.” This is speaking of the Eternal Word, the Logos, the one who was in the beginning with God, even the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. “The world was made through him,” as is found in Genesis 1: “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’” and so on. “All things were made through him,” it says in John 1. The Eternal Son of God was active in the act of Creation. And so we confess in the Creed, concerning the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: “by whom all things were made,” virtually quoting John 1. The world was made through him.
And he is the true light. He is the source of light and life, the one through whom light and life came into existence. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
So you would think the world, the people of this world, would recognize their own Creator, the one who gives them life and light. But no. “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” Darkness, thick darkness, lies over this world like a shroud. It darkens men’s minds so they cannot see or recognize the truth. It is the darkness of sin and death. By nature, after the fall, men do not know or understand God. They reject God, hate him. That is the state of the world we live in. Men hate God. And therefore they hate Christmas--the true Christmas, that is--because it is God bringing his light and his truth too close for comfort.
You see, when the light of God shines, it exposes the darkness of men’s deeds, the things they would rather keep hidden--so they think--from God’s sight. Men’s self-centeredness, their greed, their hypocrisy, their lust for power and control, their lust for other people, treating them as objects to serve their desires--all the dark recesses of the human heart. Can’t have those exposed by the light of God’s scrutiny. So therefore, snuff out the light. Squash it. Kill it. The War on Christmas really is as old as the darkness of sin in the world.
The true light was coming into the world at Christmas, “yet the world did not know him.” But it wasn’t just the world. John continues, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” Not only did the sin-darkened world not recognize Christ, even God’s own people did not receive him. Well, OK, you say, but there we’re talking about the Jewish people, aren’t we, the Jews of the first century? Well, yes, that was the case. The people whom God had chosen, Israel, the people who had all the advantages of the patriarchs and the prophets, God’s revelation and blessing, the people who should know better--yes, even they rejected and did not receive the Messiah God sent to them. The people of God were acting like the world around them.
But that’s us, too, at least to some extent. At times, too many times, we the church, we the Christians, we the people of God act like the world around us. In the War on Christmas, sometimes we’re fighting on the wrong side. Let me cite a couple of examples.
Item, many Christians’ homes, today: Church members are staying home to be with family, rather than being in the Lord’s house, to be with Jesus. But keeping the Christ in Christmas also means keeping the Mass in Christmas, the Christ Mass. Keeping Christmas means being here for the Divine Service of Word and Sacrament, keeping the Feast on this High Festival Day. Skipping out on the Christ Mass is to go AWOL while the War on Christmas is going on.
Item, your home, later today: When you get home from church, will Christmas go with you, or will this be the end of it? I’m not talking about the big meal and the presents. I’m talking about the light of Christ, the life of Christ, going with you throughout the day and into the night. Will we walk in the light or surrender to the darkness? When we lose the love and the truth that the Christ Child brings, we are surrendering to the enemy, we’re fighting for the other side, in the War on Christmas.
What to do? Flee to the manger. Run to that little child, lying there. He is your only hope. He will receive you still, even when you have deserted him, time and time again. Christ can handle the attacks on him, the War on Christmas. Look, he endured the cross, didn’t he, and came out victorious on the other side. The war of the world on Christ, when even God’s people turned against him--that took place in climactic fashion when the people yelled “Crucify!” and Pilate said, “Go ahead.” God was at work there, though, recreating the world through the Son’s sacrifice. For that is why the true light came into the world at Christmas, to go to that cross in utter darkness. The darkness of sin and death, the darkness of the world not knowing and the people not receiving, the darkness of God’s silence and God’s no, falling on the Son instead of on you and me. But by taking the darkness and the death upon himself, the holy Son of God was recreating the world with light and life. The true light and the true life. Resurrection life. Light to walk in the way of God and to see the truth.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” You see, Christmas is not only about the birth of Christ, it is also about the birth of you. Your new birth, your second birth, your birth as a child of God. That is why Christ came. He came for you.
The War on Christmas is over, really, and Christmas won. You won. For think of all that Christ won for you: Light and life, grace and truth, grace upon grace, new birth, children of God. These are God’s Christmas presents to you today.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The War on Christmas is over, and Christmas won.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Hail, O ever-blessed morn!
Hail, redemption's happy dawn!
Sing through all Jerusalem:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem!"
Amen & Amen!
“But to as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:” (John 1:12)
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” (1 Peter 1:23)
“He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1John 5:12)
“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God: that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13)
That was the Jesus that came to earth, at that time. However, the Jesus who returns to earth to set up His Kingdom does not come “in peace” — no, He comes *in war* and He comes to kill millions upon millions of people on this earth in a bloody battle, in which He has blood splattered over His garments from this battle. And that’s how this “returning Jesus” is coming back to Jerusalem.
And when He sets foot back on the Mount of Olives, as the Bible says He will, He then sets up His world-wide Kingdom, where He rules and reigns in bodily form (the same way He left when He was resurrected and was seen by those 500 plus witnesses) — having destroyed the nations of the world, not to say anything about 4 billion people on this earth killed, at that time He returns.
This is not a Jesus of Peace and Goodwill, when He returns, but One of war and destruction and killing and judgement, when He returns... That’s the Jesus that people should be thinking about now...
I’m thinking that too many people are thinking about Jesus as the “baby in the manger” along with “... And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
WELL..., Jesus also said...
Luke 12:49-53
49 “I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!
51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.
52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three.
53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
And with that, I post the “Christmas message” that we should *really* be thinking about this Christmas Day, instead of “peace on earth”.... (which is not coming, first, according to the Bible...)
I think that the message of Christmas, these present days, should be made to be one of “Prepare for the Coming Judgement from Jesus Christ” — and not “Peace be Unto You Brother...”
That’s because the coming Jesus Christ (which is not too long from now, as we are in that time when He is returning) — He is going to be the One who comes as Conquering King and going to *war* with the enemies of God, killing millions and billions of people in the battle He directly engages in with the people on this earth.
Those enemies will be the enemies of Israel and the one who say they will kill all the Jews in the world (in their “last day” as they put it). This Jesus will be killing millions upon millions of Muslims — so much so that He returns to Jerusalem, after the battle, with blood splattered over His garments from this horrendously bloody fight.
This is the Jesus that one should be mentioning during this Christmas time, as we are very close to His coming again, to set up His Kingdom on this earth, ruling and reigning from Jerusalem, in His world-wide government and over all the people of the earth.
This is the Jesus that we should be thinking about now, because we are very close to that Jesus, as we think about this Christmas day, today...
—
We are now living in the time for which more is said in the Bible than the time when Jesus came the first time (about two times as much said about these times than the time when Jesus came the first time).
The time we are in, now, is when Jesus will be returning again, setting up His Kingdom on earth, ruling over the nations, from His world-wide government in Israel. We are in the time of the final fulfillment of prophecy.
Now is the time to shift from the focus of when Jesus was born, to the focus of — this is the time Jesus is returning. When He returns, he will be returning as a conquering King — and He will be righteously angry at the Muslims. When He returns, he will go into battle with those nations and peoples who have tried to destroy Israel, and upon returning from that battle, his garments will be splattered with the blood of the millions upon millions that He will have killed.
That’s when He returns to Israel and sets up the Kingdom, that world-wide government, in which He rules with a rod of iron.
I think we had better be thinking about the conquering King, going into battle and killing millions of people — instead of the baby Jesus, slumbering peacefully...
—
Isaiah 9:6-7
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.
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.
—
That peace comes only after 2/3 of the world’s population is killed in the judgements of God and only after Jesus goes to battle against the Muslims and those nations who wish to destroy Israel and kill all Jews.
Psalm 83
1 A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God!
2 For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head.
3 They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones.
4 They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”
5 For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You:
6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites;
7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. Selah
9 Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera, As with Jabin at the Brook Kishon,
10 Who perished at En Dor, Who became as refuse on the earth.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and like Zeeb, Yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12 Who said, “Let us take for ourselves The pastures of God for a possession.”
13 O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like the chaff before the wind!
14 As the fire burns the woods, And as the flame sets the mountains on fire,
15 So pursue them with Your tempest, And frighten them with Your storm.
16 Fill their faces with shame, That they may seek Your name, O Lord.
17 Let them be confounded and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be put to shame and perish,
18 That they may know that You, whose name alone is the Lord, Are the Most High over all the earth.
—
Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ “
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
—
Think about His coming again and coming to make war...
It is impossible for us to break the law; we can only break ourselves against the law. --Cecil B. DeMille
I wish you would not spam my thread with your millennialistic nonsense. Of course, Jesus is coming again, to judge the living and the dead, as the church confesses in the Creeds. But your other blather, claiming that there will be some earthly reign involving the nation of Israel—that is poppycock. What’s more, you do not preach the gospel rightly, the peace of God and the salvation that Christ does indeed bring. Finally, I do not wish to let you hijack this thread and take it off track, so go away, because I will not respond to you further.
Merry Christmas, Charles, and FReepers!
Thank you for sharing your sermon.
Rightfully there should be a war on Christmas. It’s a commercialized holiday built upon traditions and beliefs that predate Christ. But there shouldn’t be a war on Christ.
Well, it’s not nonsense, when it’s in the Bible..., and this is the day when we remember that Jesus did come for this reason, to set up His Kingdom on this earth...
The Lord’s prayer..., as He gave it to us...
Matthew 6:9, 10
9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
—
Revelation 20:1-10
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.
9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
—
That’s the beginning of the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. We see what happens towards the end of the 1,000 years, when Satan has been let loose upon this world again, after having been chained up and not allowed to deceive the nations throughout that 1,000 years. At that time, there is a rebellion that God puts down, for the final time, and then, after that comes the Great White Throne judgement (of the non-saved) and them being cast into the lake of fire, for eternal torment.
—
We also see that when Jesus returns to this earth, He has the judgement of the nations, in His hand.
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
—
The Bible says that Israel will be a nation forever, before God, and that Jesus will rule and reign on the Throne of David, in Jerusalem...
It would seem that you don’t believe that Jesus will be doing what the Bible says He will be doing... LOL..
Thank you as well and Happy Christmas
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