That Devilish Spirit of Christmas

Ah, the long awaited, "blessed holiday" of Christmas! Much of the world looks forward to this event more than any other. This is the time of year when families and friends get together, traveling from all around. It is the time when purse strings are loosened, a spirit of generosity seems to come forth, and some employers relax their pace and demonstrate certain consideration to their staff. Individuals and businesses give to charities and to the poor, and people in general acknowledge one another as they see fit with greetings, gifts, cards, phone calls, parties and dinners. Christmas is one of the few days of the year that many go to church. Yet it is not a God-ordained event.

What a false god to the world is Christmas! What a sacred celebration to the pagans! What a captivating, important and deceitful celebration to the so-called Christian world!

“How can you not celebrate Christmas, being a Christian?! Don't you believe in the birth of Christ? What could be possibly wrong with celebrating the birth of the Savior? If anything is worth celebrating or observing, isn't this it? Where would we be if He hadn't been born? Haven't you ever been in the spirit of Christmas? Don't you believe in giving?” One hears these emotional responses in defence of Christmas.

The celebration of Christmas, though it appears to be one of the most wonderful, unselfish, enjoyable, innocent and even godly events on earth, is, in fact, one of the most evil and destructive events. It is akin to perverse sexuality, war, murder, pornography and almost anything if not anything else evil that one can name. I will tell you why, not with mere opinion, but with fact and truth evident in daily reality. I will speak from experience and from the Scriptures, in which men think to find their foundation for partaking in and perpetrating this enjoyable abomination before God. He hates it with a passion; He hates what it does to His people and everyone else, and He hurts because of it.

Do you not know that men hate that which God loves and love that which God hates? How is it that unbelievers love Christmas? How is it that the whole world loves Christmas while it lies in wickedness (I John 5:19)? Will you deny that Christmas is highly prized in this world?

“And He said to them, You are those justifying yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for the thing highly prized among men is a hateful thing before God” (Luke 16:15 LITV).

This celebration was not something originally pure, good and holy, which the world messed up, paganized, added to or subtracted from, and commercialized. Rather, it is a heathen celebration at its roots, idolatrous, superstitious and altogether evil. So-called Christians embraced it and accommodated it for their own pleasures with the excuse and rationale of winning the heathen to Christianity, and to consolidate political power.

The word "Christmas" comes from the Roman Catholic Church ... "Mass of Christ" or “Christ-Mass.” The central idea or theme of the mass is expressed in the rite of the priest taking bread and wine and changing it to the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, in a so-called miracle known as transubstantiation, by speaking five magic words. Jesus Christ is presumptuously offered up to God as a sacrifice for the sins of the congregants and whoever else is named to be beneficiary of the mass in question. All those in the service, who are eligible and who wish to do so, go forward and receive "the body and blood" of Christ. This mass is held every Sunday around the world and on many other days, in many places daily and even more than once a day. In the mass, they are, in effect, crucifying the Lord over and over again. The whole event is blasphemous.

Various encyclopedias, including the Catholic Encyclopedia and the Encyclopedia Britannica declare that Christmas did not originate with early Christianity at all. Truly, it did not originate with true Christianity at any time. The event was apparently adopted around the 4th century as a "Christian" feast, the main elements of it borrowed from pagan customs and traditions that date back to 3,000 BC in Egypt, honoring Osiris and Isis, heathen deities. However, it is not my intention to get into the details that any sincere seeker may obtain by searching out various sources. The internet is abundant with valid information. That information, however, is not essential to knowing the spirit of the matter, and the truth. The Lord and Holy Writ will suffice perfectly.

The first questions one professing Christ should ask about Christmas are: 1) “Why is it celebrated?” and 2) “Does God want us to do so?” Nowhere in the Bible is there any indication whatsoever that He does, and plenty that He does not. There were solemn feasts (notice now, solemn feasts) commanded and instituted by God that the Jews were commanded to keep. These feasts represented the Lord's death (the Passover), His giving us His Spirit so that we could live in Him and He in us (Pentecost), and His living with us here on earth in fulness, unity and rest in Him (Tabernacles). (Some say this third feast represents "His second coming.")

None of the feasts represented His physical birth. In fact, on the day He was born, there was no public proclamation whatsoever. Only a few shepherds and foreigners were told. Why was not the general populace told? Why not all the friends and relatives at least? Why not the "Church," all believers, the Sanhedrin, the High Priest? I'll tell you why. God was not making it very public. It was not the birth in the flesh of the Lord that was important but His death, and the salvation He would effect for all of creation through that death and subsequent resurrection from the dead. It was His rebirth into immortality for us that truly mattered. This is what had been prophesied of Him from the beginning:

“Therefore, when He entered into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me....by which...we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:5-10 EMTV).

Our salvation comes not by identification with His birth, but with His death, where His resurrection power raises us up to live as He is:

“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me; and the life which I now live in the body I live through faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up to death on my behalf” (Galatians 2:20 WNT).

Concerning birthday celebrations, the Bible only relates unbelievers' birthdays, like that of Herod (which, by the way, cost the life of a believer - John). The Lord does not record believers ever celebrating birthdays. Why? Because that is not what is important. Witches consider birthdays of great importance. Born again Christians know that, while God is the Source of all life, our carnal life is at enmity with our spiritual life until all is reconciled, and then the spiritual body will be raised incorruptible. The physical shall return to the dust from whence it came:

“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7 KJV).

In Ecclesiastes it also says that the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth (7:1).

How about the date...December 25th? Any credible historians and Biblical scholars will tell you that Jesus was not born on that day. But December 25th was the day of the pagan feast of the birth of the sun god. Nobody (that I am aware of) knows when Jesus was born. They do know when He died...on Passover, according to the God-ordained feast, as testified of many witnesses. Why wasn't the Lord's physical birth date known or recorded? God hid it, as He did the body of Moses, because it is not important. The celebration of His physical birth was not meant to be. Does that not say it all?

How about all the paraphernalia...the holly wreath, mistletoe, Yule log, the tree? All pagan. Mistletoe, for example, represents fertility. Why do people kiss under it? Origins of these are easily determined with research and spiritual judgment.

What about "Saint Nicholas"? Traditions and origin theories vary, but consider: Are saints elves? Are they obese? Are they endowed with magical powers (I don’t say "miraculous" because there is a difference)? Do they smoke? If so, they are not examples fit to represent the Lord in what many presume to be the greatest feast unto the Lord. Do saints come by stealth, giving superfluous gifts?

You may say that you do not really believe in Santa. Fine. You may think that such fantasy is innocent or harmless. It is neither. A saint is one in whom dwells the Lord Jesus Christ. A saint is not some elf or fairy tale. He or she is a child of God. The things of Christ should never be mixed with fables or lies.

And why would you lie to your children, teaching them that supposedly good things come from such as this one who is antiChrist in all his character, a mixture of a sorcerer (if ever so nice a one), a spirit (historically a hearth spirit in pagan mythology), and one given to fleshly appetites and vices? Why should your children trust you in anything if you are so capable, as a supposed believer in the Truth, of telling "little white lies"? Is it not contradictory and hypocritical of parents to teach their children not to lie, yet themselves lie to their children? All in fun, you say? Our lies cost the Lord His life and we entertain them in fun? It is as harmless to mix truth with lies, as it is harmless to mix poison with good food.

God hates mixture and compromise.

Consider that Jesus said He would rather have us hot or cold; if we are lukewarm, He will spew us out of His mouth (Rev. 3:16).

Consider that He said, “Those who are not for us are against us” (Matthew 12:30). There is no such thing as neutrality.

Consider that in the days of Noah and the flood, God destroyed all flesh because believers mingled with unbelievers, marrying and having children (Genesis 6).

Consider that when Solomon married Gentile wives (mixture), contrary to God’s warning, in spite of his wisdom, which far surpassed that of any other known persons, he was snared by his wives into worshipping heathen gods.

Consider that Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, offered unto the Lord that which the Lord did not require or prescribe and they were immediately slain.

Consider that Samson, by compromising with Delilah, lost his eyes and his freedom, in spite of the great anointing of God upon his life.

Consider that when Israel compromised on destroying all the inhabitants of Canaan, those who remained became terrible thorns in their sides.

Consider that, while Jonathan was David’s friend, he remained with his father Saul, David’s enemy, and perished on the battlefield with him.

God hates mixture because it kills. "If any man doubts when he eats, it is sin," says Paul (Romans 14:23).

What about giving? Is it not good to give? Of course it is, and not only good, but life itself. But don’t you know that Christmas is all about getting and not giving? Pagans celebrated their deities not out of piety but out of selfishness, to appease their gods, entreat them for favors and to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh. What unselfish giving is there in the approach worded, “If you'll be good, Johnny, you'll get a computer for Christmas”? What is wrong with being good for goodness' sake? And who gives to whom and why? Usually, gifts are exchanged, as are cards and invites. And if gifts are given to the poor, are they poor only at Christmas? Invite the beggar into your home because it is Christmas and let him get by on less or even nothing the rest of the year because it isn't Christmas? Does the birth of the Savior have value only on one day of the year?

Christmas is one, big hypocritical tease, a selfish, diabolical substitute for the good and true.

Isn't giving Scriptural? Not the way it's done at Christmas! Many think that Christmas is a time of gift giving because the wise men came and gave gifts to the Lord. Let us examine the giving more closely. First of all, gifts were given, not exchanged. Secondly, only the holy Child received gifts and no others. Thirdly, not all gave gifts ... only those who came to honor the birth of a King, and no ordinary King but One prophesied and spoken of in the stars! The shepherds brought no gifts, weren't expected to, and didn't receive any ... except the greatest one possible.

Tell me, what do your gifts...toys, jewelry, literature, luxuries, and games have to do with the Lord Jesus Christ? To whom do you give? To those who mean something to you? Is that unselfish? For how long do you give to those who mean something to you when they don't return the gesture though they are able? Is Christmas all about true giving or is it about bribing, salving conscience, gain, reward, obligation, custom, tradition, image, favoritism and social relations?

What about the commercialism of Christmas? How is it that debt burdens are keenly felt after Christmas? How is it that many businesses "make or break it" for the whole year depending on how well they do at Christmas?

Alcohol drunken to excess is an important part of Christmas. That is the way it was in our Catholic Christmas celebrations. Could I hit those high tenor notes in the choir at midnight mass with some alcoholic stimulation! What were we doing but singing praises supposing to worship God! And, obviously, it isn't just the Catholics who like their liquor at Christmas.

Excess alcohol kills. Many are the fatherless, childless, spouseless and friendless because of this popular time of the alleged celebration of the One Who came to give us life and that we might have it more abundantly!

Most supposedly believing people won't face or admit to this, but the Bible sees the drunkard and the glutton as one. There are many who gluttonize at Christmas and turn their noses up at those who drink. Yet according to God, they are just as guilty. Great is the emphasis on, and preparation of, food, especially among some ethnic groups, mine having been one of them. While I do not denounce feasting and good and abundant food, I will say that gluttony, as drunkenness, has its day at Christmas. Why? Because it is a celebration not of the Spirit, as is supposed, but of the flesh.

“So why can't we celebrate Christmas for the right reasons and without all the pagan customs and traditions?" you ask. That is the same as asking, "Why can't we celebrate pagan feasts if we do it a Christian way?" To that I say: “Why do you wish to celebrate pagan festivals, being a believer? Don't you have better things to do as a Christian? Has God left you so empty spiritually that you must desperately indulge in the lustful concoctions of those who don't love Him and don't care to know and serve Him? Have you not experienced the goodness of God? If not, you need to look to Him and not to the heathen, to the Spirit and not to the flesh, to Heaven and not to earth for your provision.”

What does God say about Christmas? "Take heed to yourself that you be not snared by following them [unbelieving people], after that they are destroyed from before you [in that you are delivered out of the ways of those in the world]; and that you do not enquire after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods: even so will I do likewise. You shall not do so to the Lord your God: for every abomination to the Lord, which He hates, have they done to their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burned in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, observe to do it: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it" (Deuteronomy 12:30-32).

"But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that you should have fellowship with devils. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: you cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?" (1 Corinthians 10:20-22).

Moses wrote: "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, I am the Lord your God. After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein you dwelt, shall you not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, where I bring you, shall you not do: neither shall you walk in their ordinances" (Leviticus 18:2-3).

I have seen great suffering upon people who name the Name of Christ because they celebrate Christmas. The Lord has opened my eyes to the fact that even the physical objects in one's possession representing that festive season and others, like Hallowe'en and Valentine's Day, draw the wrath of God like a powerful magnet draws iron. This may sound like superstition, and there is much superstition among believers and so-called believers, all of which I deplore, but I am not talking about superstition. Did not Jacob, in fear of Esau, tell his family to put away their gods as they headed toward his father's country where Esau was? Were not the children of Israel told time and time again to destroy their gods, objects they thought were quite harmless to keep? No, the wrath of God is upon all who celebrate Christmas, upon those who name His Name, being His or not, and most especially upon those who are His. “He that has more light, of him is more required.”

In the Book of Revelation, chapters 17 and 18, we read about Mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots. This whore represents false religion, from which comes the pagan foundation of Christmas. Here is what God says to His people concerning false religion:

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities” (Revelation 18:4-5).

“... Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies” (Revelation 18:2-3).

There is indeed a Christmas spirit and I do well remember it even after more than two decades of abstention. What a wonderful feeling comes over one when he or she “gets into the spirit of Christmas”! Indeed, one does feel peace, joy and goodwill toward men, but only for the brief time of this season. The feelings, however, are a counterfeit of the genuine; one can only know so by experiencing the real. People, these feelings are none other than that of a seductive demon. Consider all the things that people are capable of doing at Christmas, being in that spirit. Does that not tell you all you need to know? Can one be in the Spirit of God and still do and enjoy the things that many millions do? Would you not rather have the true essence every day of the year? You cannot have both.

It was not easy for me to come away, especially having been brought up with Christmas from the cradle, all my family, friends, and associates celebrating and enjoying it as I once had. It is a captivating and a very enjoyable spirit but it is also short-lived, leaving one empty.

Christmas promises more, and leaves people emptier, than any other major celebration of which I know. Many events make no pretenses and have no spirits...they are what they are. They make no reference to God nor pretend to worship Him and so do not promise as much. Where little is promised, little is expected. But the Christmas spirit is a devious one, making false promises, feigning virtue, and thereby slaughtering many.

When people wish me a “Merry Christmas,” I think to myself that I would not wish it on my enemies, so insidious and vicious a spirit it is, much like alcohol, which, when first drunk and enjoyed, leads to excess and sickness in the morning, sometimes so awful a man could wish he were dead. You may argue that you do not indulge to excess or participate in the pagan customs, but consider: the spirit of Christmas, which all celebrants experience, permits and even encourages the evils of which we are aware.

Why so much sadness at Christmas? Why are loneliness and poverty felt so keenly then? Why are regret and unpleasant memories and depression so strong at that time? Why are suicides and hospital admittances and other unpleasantries increased? Here is why: Christmas promises happiness and well-being to all. It suggests we should be having a good time no matter who, what, how, or where we are. There are so many disappointments resulting from people trying hard to make the best of it. Friends or relatives can't make it to your place; someone didn't send a card or they didn't send a very nice one, at least not as nice as the one they sent to someone else you know; someone forgot to phone or had nothing to say or offer.

The worst time for the loss of loved ones is at Christmas. Is it because you lose more then than at another time of year? No. It is only because Christmas imposes that obligation upon you to enjoy yourself and be happy and fulfilled and you can't do it when one of your children has just come down with terminal cancer, or someone close to you was laid off, or you're in the middle of a divorce, or creditors are asking you to pay up.

Is God so deceptive, so treacherous, as to lay such a snare on His people? If Christmas were a blessing of Him, it would have no sorrow attached to it:

“The blessing of Jehovah, it makes rich, and He adds no pain with it”
(Proverbs 10:22 LITV).

But Christmas is not of God; it is of man. So you say that it is of Him but men have spoiled it. No, Christmas has no origin with God at all, therefore there is no possible, true fulfillment in it, not ever. On the contrary, you have sick and dying children, burdensome debts, divorce and creditors knocking on your door.

Happiness and fulfillment are not confined to space, time and circumstance, neither indeed can be, and happiness is not the issue anyway, contrary to the world’s thinking and desire. “As long as you're happy, that's all that counts,” it is said. That is a lie. If happiness was all that counted, Jesus would not have suffered the cross. Because Peter tried to speak and think “happy thoughts,” Jesus said to him:

“Get behind Me, Satan: you are an offence to Me: you savor not the things that are of God, but those that are of men” (Mt. 16:21-28).

Indeed, those who live for this life, keeping and enjoying their lives, which is what Christmas is all about, reap death, and those that sow to the Spirit, losing their lives for the Lord's sake, find life. The reality is the opposite of the way the world thinks and sees things.

“It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:2).

Let me interject here for a moment and define what are Biblical Christians: They are those who have had a direct meeting with God, have repented at least, if they have not received His Spirit, and are confessing the Lord Jesus Christ openly before men without shame or reluctance, looking to Him and not anywhere else for fulfillment, having an interest and love for the Scriptures, considering them to be food, hearing His voice in many matters (His sheep hear His voice), and paying whatever price is required of them to walk with God, not religiously but realistically, not theoretically but practically, not in word but in deed, not out of compulsion but of desire.

You ask: If Christians do not celebrate Christmas or Easter (read Diabolical Doctrines 18) "Easter is Christian and Biblical.") or party with the world, then what do they do for enjoyment? I ask you: Should enjoyment be the issue? It is said, “All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy.” That may be, but I have seen the opposite far more often. I see the dullest of the dull on the streets and in 7 Eleven parking lots, sucking on slurpies, smoking, scattering garbage, all dressing and acting alike, with nothing to do...empty, listless, wretched, confused, yet always having to act cool, like they have it all together. I see them in the recreation and family rooms of their homes, partying, playing video games and watching TV. Many are into drugs. It is difficult to have an intelligent conversation with them.

On the other hand, I have had the honor and pleasure of associating with young people who have worked hard, taken very little time for play and who are interesting to be around, having life, having substance to their thoughts and words, sobriety, not of the depressing but of the comforting kind. With them I see purpose, maturity, honesty, respect for others, responsibility, security, hope, all the things that are missing in those who play. Nevertheless, it is not in whether you work all the time or not, but rather it is the grace of God, bestowed on very few. Is enjoyment the issue? No.

My joy and fulfillment as a Christian is to do the will of the Lord. When I'm not doing that, I'm selling myself short. I do not have to wait a year to celebrate His birth, or limit it to one day a year. My celebration of the Savior’s birth is within, where He has been reborn in me and I in Him. And not only is the celebration of His birth within, but He Himself is within. Which is greater, the celebration or that which is celebrated? Can anything greater be celebrated than God Himself? Can anyone give more true comfort, peace, joy or fulfillment than the One Who created all things? As Jesus said of Himself, “I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” He was not lying or speaking loosely when He spoke those and many other such words. He delivers on His promises. If you truly believe on Him Who is the Truth, you will be fulfilled, needing nothing of this world’s pleasure seeking.

Please don't think I condemn you or feel critical or disappointed with you if I see you celebrating Christmas, or trying not to and failing. I know how hard it can be; I have been there. Just be honest and keep going. Look to God to give you what you need to do His will. The reward is there; He is faithful.

For more journalistic information on Christmas with much more detail and specifics, go to the net. It is there. An excellent book to read on pagan tradition and worship, backed up with facts and much research is Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop, available free from the net. If you are unable to find it, contact us.

God grant grace for deliverance from the spirit of Christmas to those seeking to do His will.

Victor Hafichuk