Tag Archives: christmas

When did Jesus get born?

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Matthew 2:1-2

This December 24 and 25, the Christian church faces its greatest challenge of faith: Should I celebrate Christmas? Is it permissible for us to be involved in the dynamics of gifts, Christmas dinners, and Christmas services?

The situation is complicated, because it is not only a religious custom that was conventionally chosen as the date to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

It is a custom that was born within the pagan religiosity of the Roman Empire, and that for strategic convenience, government and territorial hegemony, the Roman Catholic Church adopted as an approved date for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

Why was the date of December 25th chosen? A fairly widespread explanation is that Christians chose the day because, since the year 274, December 25 was celebrated in Rome as the dies natalis Solis invicti, the day of the birth of the undefeated Sun, the victory of light over the longest night of the year. This explanation is based on the fact that the Christmas liturgy and the Fathers of the time establish a parallel between the birth of Jesus Christ and biblical expressions such as “sun of justice” (Matthew 4:2) and “light of the world” (John 1:4 ff.). However, there is no proof that this was the case and it seems difficult to imagine that the Christians of that time wanted to adapt pagan feasts to the liturgical calendar, especially when they had just experienced persecution. It is possible, however, that in the course of time the Christian feast was assimilated to the pagan feast.[1]

Accepting this date, and the celebration of what was based on a pagan, idolatrous custom, contaminates us and makes us vulnerable to the forces of darkness that seek to position themselves over entire regions.

The Bible warns us that accepting a pagan custom such as Christmas makes us allies of darkness and separates us from communion with God,

10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. 2nd. John 10-11

To accept Christmas and celebrate it as a religious holiday accepted by the Scriptures is to accept an apostate doctrine. It is a doctrine that numbs the discernment, that dissipates the senses, and that subjects us to the demonic hosts that operate in the heavenly regions.

It is a doctrinal conflict that disrupts the holiness of the call and faith in Jesus, and is not resolved by giving a light answer, that it does not matter the date, that what counts is the celebration of the birth of the Savior of the world; a celebration on a date that does not correspond means “moving” the cycles of Revelation, and consequently, opening spiritual doors through which darkness has access.

When was Jesus really born? Is it possible to know? What is the use of determining that?

Yes, it is possible to determine. The Bible presents us with a way to do it. Determining the date serves to denounce the evil of a pagan date that establishes spiritual rule over entire regions, and is the cause of the deterioration of many of our faith communities.

Jesus was born on the day of Yom Kippur, the 10th day of the seventh month in the Hebrew calendar, in a Jubilee year.

In general terms, this day is presented in the Scriptures as the day of atonement. We know it more as the day of remission of sin. The day when the High Priest entered the Most Holy Place and offered sacrifice for the sins of the entire nation.

And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. Leviticus 23:28

However, the one-year day of atonement corresponding to a Jubilee year had even greater spiritual value:

Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. Leviticus 25:9

The Jubilee year was a holy year, and the Day of Atonement had a unique spiritual value, repeated only every fifty years. It meant a day of forgiveness for sins. It was a day for proclaiming freedom to all its inhabitants. A day to recover pawned possessions. A day to regain freedom for those who had fallen into slavery. Day of remission of debts. Day of readjustment of prices. In general terms, the day of atonement for a Jubilee year meant a day to close cycles of disgrace.

If we compare all this meaning with the statement of the prophet Isaiah quoted by Jesus on the day He practically began His Messianic ministry, we will see that much of what the prophet pointed out prophetically is a summary of the meaning of the day of atonement,

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. Isaiah 61:1-3 (Luke 4:17-19)

If we look at the text of the Prophet Isaiah, the acceptable year of the Lord it is precisely the year of Jubilee, for it is the year in which the reason why God brought them out of Egypt becomes clear,

I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright. Leviticus 26:13

On that day, at the beginning of the day, that is, at sunset, the decree was issued that everyone would recover what had been lost: the slave would regain his freedom, the debtor would be forgiven his debt, and those who had given up their property because of poverty would get it back.

And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. Leviticus 25:10

Comparing this last text with the purpose of Jesus’ coming to earth, we notice that the establishment of the purpose of the day of atonement is the same purpose of Jesus’ presence on earth; the parallelism leads us to understand that Jesus’ birth took place precisely on the night that was proclaimed that every man return unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family,

For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. Matthew 18:11; Luke 19:10

All in Jesus return to the condition of Grace under which God constituted them as God’s image and likeness.

The Bible presents the following facts as evidence that the night of Jesus’ birth corresponded to the day of atonement,

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David) Luke 2:4

Compare this with the provisions of the Law on the recovery of estates,

And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. Leviticus 25:10

Jesus is born in Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary travel a great distance, from Nazareth of Galilee in the north to Bethlehem in the south, not so much because they are complying with the census edict of Augustus Caesar, but because spiritually they are obeying and fulfilling the stipulations of the Word of God, to return to their possession, and to their family.

The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem that night also fulfills the proclamation of freedom that the Law required for the Day of Atonement,

And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. Leviticus 25:10

That night the proclamation of freedom was declared in a very singular way, by the presence of the Angel of the Lord together with a heavenly choir proclaiming the coming of the lamb that takes away the sin of the world. Let us compare the events described in the gospel.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:8-11

The proclamation that the choir of angels established that night is similar to that set forth in the Law of Moses,

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:13-14

Shepherds and angels in a great manifestation of Glory and Power establish the proclamation of freedom, announcing the beginning of the Lord’s pleasant year, the acceptable time to come before Him and take stock.

6 but Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. 7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, 8 harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: Hebrews 3:6-8

The apostle John, describing the magnitude of the greatness of this fact, wrote

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:14

And later, he adds:

16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. John 1:16-17

Jesus born on the day of atonement, it was the day when the nation took from His fullness, and by the Grace of God sins were atoned for. Jesus testified that all these facts were written in the Old Testament,

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Luke 24:44

Jesus was born on the tenth day of the seventh month of a year dedicated as a jubilee year. A day dedicated to exalting the greatness of an Almighty God who cares for his people and removes everything that threatens their integrity.

Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. Deuteronomy 4:6

A people chosen and called to establish the Kingdom of God through the places to which they were sent,

And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them anymore, because of the children of Israel. Joshua 5:1

This is the faith challenge facing the church that confesses His name.

We cannot expect God to give us revelation if we are not first willing to let go, to abandon, to denounce, idolatry and institutional religious paganism.

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2nd. Corinthians 7:1

It is necessary to cleanse our faith, our beliefs, our proclamation in Christ from filth. The Spirit urges us to live by what the Word of God has established as the wisdom of our strength.

What are we to do? The time of definition has come.

Submit to pagan, idolatrous customs, clinging to them and seeking ways to make them holy, when they are not; or suffer for the sake of the Name, and live according to the purity of the Word?

every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 1st. Corinthians 3:13

The evil of the date of December 24th and 25th is revealed. The apostasy into which many Christian congregations and churches have entered is exposed. It is denounced the folly and vanity of many pastors who preach, teach and proclaim what God did not say, nor send them to preach, nor to establish.

But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: Titus 2:1

Would you like to collaborate with this ministry by helping us translate it into other languages?

All biblical quotations are taken from the King James Version.

Pastor Pedro Montoya

Twitter: @pastormontoya

WhatsApp 1 407 764 2699

https://earthenwarevessels.com

[1] http://opusdei.org.pr/es-pr/article/3-por-que-se-celebra-el-nacimiento-de-jesus-el-25-de-diciembre/

Why, if I am a son of light, must I be obedient to the spirit of this world?

And we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know what God has given us; 1st. Corinthians 2:12

As a start-up, what is the spirit of the world? Is it a real spirit, or is it just an idiomatic expression of the apostle’s style of writing?

If it is a writing style, the spirit of the world is nothing more than the influence of society, the philosophy of life of a community, or merely the religious expression of the pagan cults of the region. On the contrary, if it is a real spirit, the matter is more serious than we can imagine, because it is a demonic force that has and exercises government over entire communities.

It is clear that the apostle is not making use of a simple literary twist, because from the moment in which, in the writing, the apostle is comparing him with the Spirit that is from God: -we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God-, it is because the apostle is identifying a spiritual being.

It is not a personification. To say so would be the same thing as accepting the use of a literary twist, and we have already ruled out that the apostle is appealing to a literary style in his writing. On the other hand, Paul’s comparison demands that the elements compared be of the same genre, and equivalent among themselves.

In another of his epistles in which he writes in the same terms, he identifies him as a spirit that now operates in the sons of disobedience, and assures that he is a spiritual being, and names him prince of the power of the air.

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Ephesians 2:2

Other writers also refer to him showing his personal characteristic. James in his epistle presents him as an enemy of God:

Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. James 4:4

Only in the writing of James, the name of the spirit is implicit. It refers to the friendship of the world (with the spirit), it is enmity with God. James warns about the spiritual estrangement to which the spirit of the world leads believers, driving them away and turning them away from God.

Apostle John has also identified the personal characteristics of the spirit of the world. He writes in his first epistle:

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1st. John 2:15

As in the writing of the apostle James, the spirit of the world is implicit in the wording. It refers to:

Love not the (spirit of the) world, neither the things that are in the (spirit of the) world. If any man loves the (spirit of the) world, the love of the Father is not in him.

John denounces that the spirit of the world enchants their inhabitants and offers them benefits that dazzle them and lead them to aspire for them. It is observed in another section of the same letter: For all that is in the (spirit of the) world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the (spirit of the) world.  It is clearly visible that the spirit of the world immerses the inhabitants of the regions in a hypnotic magic where those who have fallen under its spell substitute God for the elements that dazzle them.

The weakness that many teachers and preachers of The Word have had, around the theme, is that with “world” we have identified a social, religious, economic, financial and even political system. We have treated the theme as an embodiment of evil in things, and that has prompted us to select out of the world the things that are good from the things that are evil. Of course, the selection has been made whimsically, according to our own conveniences, and in doing so, we have unfortunately proliferated evil itself.

The spirit of the world is not an embodiment of evil in things, it is a spirit, a real spirit that dazzles, blinds and uses all things under heaven, created or invented, to alienate people from God. The first writers were clear that it was a spirit of wickedness in charge of subjecting the inhabitants under a hypnotic state, of magic, under a snare of the devil, as the apostle Paul assures us, captives at his will.

And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. 2nd. Timothy 2:26

How does the spirit of the world impose his authority upon their inhabitants?

The spirit of the world is present in almost all the day-to-day activities of the residents of a region. It is imposed and presented in the traditional, cultural and customary forms of their inhabitants. We obey him without realizing it every day.

Hasn’t a child of faith ever celebrated Valentine’s Day? Hasn’t a child of faith ever participated in Halloween? Hasn’t a child of faith ever celebrated Christmas, adorned a Christmas tree? Hasn’t he ever marveled at its splendour? All of them are pagan festivals, originated on the basis of religious, magical, Gnostic and esoteric rituals. Apostate rituals, by all means, that defiles the spirituality of the children of light.

It is the spirit of the world that has established rulership over entire generations of “born-again,” but they have not visualized the satanic web under which they have submitted themselves by practicing all these pagan traditions.

Consider, for example, the presence of Cupid on Valentine’s Day, the god of desire within Greco-Roman mythology. The observance of this date by a son of light allows the spirit of fornication that operates under this pagan god to enter into his marriage, or into his courtship.

The same thing happens with Christmas. A festivity that does not represent the real date of the birth of Jesus, but that imposes the presence of a shady tree under which gifts are placed that come from the tutelage of a magical personage. Both proscribed in the Scriptures:

He also sacrificed, and burned perfumes on the high places, and on the hills, and under every shady tree. II Kings 16:4

And statues and forests were set up on every high hill, and under every shady tree, II Kings 17:10

Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? Isaiah 57:5

When we become aware of our traditions and routines, we discover how swamped our lives are with the influence of the spirit of the world. The apostle John identifies the presence of the spirit of the world in all areas of human endeavor:

For all that is in the (spirit of the) world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  1st. john 2:16

The wisdom of a son of light is to discern how much of what we are required to do on a daily basis is influenced by the spirit of the world because although we have pointed out two popular festivals as an example, it is not the only pagan festivities we have to take care of.

Daily activities, folk expressions, business, can be contracts of defilement with the spirit of the world, and it can grant the legal right to the kingdom of darkness to trap and force a child of light to be subject to its jurisdiction.

Business-expression coined to emphasize an “idol-worship” product, is not only advertising slogans, or jingles, on the lips of a son of light are constituted in contracts of servitude and slavery.

Some may remember, some years ago, a cough syrup where the mom in front of her child in bed said to him: – (the mark of the syrup) and I, we take care of you. An ingenuous phrase perhaps, but lethal spiritually, because it diverts the attention from Who really takes care of a child of light.

TV or radio programs, variety shows, conversational interviews, and gossip that coin phrases that eventually become popular expressions; in a son of light these expressions can evoke the spirit that gave life to the program.

In Puerto Rico, it was popular the show SuperXclusivo that was maintained for 13 consecutive years, where its main character, a human doll, focused on ridiculing celebrities and popular figures, coined the expression: -throw it into the air, (something like, expose to the public opinion). People would be surprised how many children of light that had integrated that expression into their language, and even quote them within churches.

That expression evoked gossip, and gave rights to the spirit of the world to operate in its bosom. Now possibly we would understand the reason why within many congregations of faith there grew gossip and mocking the misfortunes of others.

Possibly even reading this publication there are those who believe, naively, that the approaches presented incur in religious fanaticism. There is a reality that we cannot ignore, the spirit of the world has taken hold within communities of faith, and this has caused a spiritual relaxation, leading many to classify the bad as good, and the good as bad.

It becomes necessary, urgent, imperative, that communities of faith awaken from spiritual lethargy, that we can see the sadness of our situation of estrangement and apostasy, that we return to the Word and live it, that we renounce the paganism of our customs and repent , so that the restoration predicted by the prophets of ancient times and preached by the first apostles may come in our time.

May the merciful God revive his work in us, make the enlightened shine, and from among the dry bones he may resurrect his army.

Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? 1st. John 5:5

 

 

 

 

Pastor Pedro Montoya

Tel Cell. (407) 764-2699

Twitter: @pastormontoya