CHRISTMAS IN THE ORIENT

Scriptural Insight Into Christmas

What do we learn from such historical background and developments? if a shirt or blouse is buttoned unevenly from the start, the only way to correct the situation is to begin again. Is that not true? Despite that truth, some argue that notwithstanding its pagan roots in sun worship, Christmas has been accepted by Christendom. So they feel that the holiday has been sanctified as the birthday of Christ and imbued with new significance.

We can learn a valuable lesson from a historical event that took place In ancient Judah. In 612 B.C.E., the Judeans introduced pagan worship of the sun into the temple in Jerusalem. Was such pagan worship sanctified by being carried on in the place devoted to clean worship of Jehovah God? The Bible writer Ezekiel wrote of the sun worship practiced at Jerusalem's temple: "Look! At the entrance of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, there were about twenty-five men with . . . their faces to the east, and they were bowing down to the east, to the sun. And he went on to say to me: 'Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it such a light thing to the house of Judah to do the detestable things that they have done here, that they have to fill the land with violence and that they should offend me again, and here they are thrusting out the shoot to my nose?' " -Ezekiel 8:16, 17.

Yes, rather than being sanctified, that pagan form of worship put the whole temple in jeopardy. Such practices permeated Judah and contributed to the prevalence of violence and moral degradation in that land. It is similar in Christendom, where practices rooted in the sun worship of Saturnalia come to the fore at Christmas. Significantly, a few years after Ezekiel received that vision, Jerusalem experienced God's judgment -it met destruction at the hands of the Babylonians. -2 Chronicles 36:15-20.

You might have found the description of the young Jesus by a Korean scholar, related in the preceding article, amusing. But the fact is that coming from a person without an accurate knowledge of Christ, the reaction has considerable validity. It might make people who celebrate Christmas think seriously. Why? Because Christmas falls far short of representing Christ correctly. Christ was born when the shepherds kept their animals outside when it was warm, not in December as everyone was led to believe by all the false prophets in this world There were also in that same country shepherds living out of doors and keeping watches in the night over their flocks. (Luke 2:8) In fact, it obscures his true standing now. Jesus is no longer a babe in the manger.

Over and over, the Bible highlights that Jesus is now the Messiah, the powerful King of God's heavenly Kingdom. (Revelation 11:15) He is ready to put an end to the poverty and misery that some people have not forgotten during the Christmas season as they give to charity.



Frankly, Christmas has benefited neither the lands of Christendom nor other countries, including those in the Orient. Rather, it has diverted attention from the true Christian message about the Kingdom of God and the end of the present wicked system. (Matthew 24:14) We invite you to inquire of Jehovah's Witnesses about how that end will come. And you can learn from them about the lasting blessings that then will follow on earth, under the direction of God's Kingdom and the reigning King, Jesus Christ. -Revelation 21:3,4.


Note: Also, birthdays are not to be celebrated either. Christ never celebrated his birthday; But those who did, ended up in death.

Next time:MAY WE NEVER SHRINK BACK TO DESTRUCTION!

Watchtower, 1999