Christmas Part 2 | The Fellowship of God's Covenant People

The Wake-Up Herald

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. Romans 13:11-14

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Robert McCurry, Editor & Publisher

December 15, 2011

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Christmas

Part Two

by Robert McCurry

Christmas enthralls the masses. But not everyone is enthralled. “Bah, Humbug!” some exclaim. "Bah, humbug" implies that Christmas is a bunch of silliness and nonsense. But there are some who are displeased, irritated, offended, repelled, repulsed, and weary of the whole Christmas thing for serious religious reasons. They say ‘Christmas’ and its rituals have a pagan origin. They are correct. History affirms this claim.

But the Incarnation, the Virgin Birth of Christ is not of pagan origin. It is not a fantasy. It is not a myth. It is not a fable. It is not an allegory. It is the cardinal truth of biblical Christianity. How sad it is that Satan and those who work in concert with him have hijacked and polluted, perverted and subverted the indisputable biblical truth of the Incarnation, the Virgin Birth of Christ—the Messiah—by commingling it with paganism. However, this commingling did not, has not, will not, and cannot cancel, annul, or invalidate this cardinal truth of biblical Christianity.

Before the New Testament scriptures were written, biblical truth was transmitted by Old Testament scriptures. Concerning the birth of Christ the prophet Isaiah declared, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). This prophesy is affirmed in the New Testament by Matthew:

“The angel of the LORD appeared unto Joseph in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. ²¹And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. ²²Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, ²³Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:20-23).

Biblical truth was transmitted orally before the New Testament was written. “And they [shepherds] came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they [shepherds] had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds” (Luke 2:16-18).

The birth of Christ was not a closeted secret. Evidently, news of His birth spread quickly far and wide even to the king’s palace. “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 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. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matt 2:1-3).

The wise men did not bring their findings to Herod as commanded. “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men” (Matt 2:16).

Just as Herod resorted to such extreme measures to remove Christ from the culture of his kingdom, Herod’s posterity lives on with an updated agenda to sanitize the Lord Jesus Christ—His Name—His Person—His Message—His Word from the public arena by atheists, the ADL, ACLU, B’nai B’rith, Muslims, judges, and courts who continue to aggressively pursue an unprecedented political, academic, and judicial agenda to eradicate the name of Jesus Christ from these arenas in particular and the public arena at large. It is undeniable that Satan and those who work in concert with him hate the Person of Christ, the Message of Christ, and the Name of Christ. The participants in these efforts do not know who Christ is, but Satan knows who Christ is—He is God.

Let the heathen rage! Jesus Christ is God! He lives today, not as a little baby in a manger, but as the sovereign, omnipotent, supreme Jehovah God on His Majestic Throne! Was Jesus born on December 25^th? No. This day is the invention of paganism and Romanism. There is neither biblical nor historical evidence of the month and day that Christ was born. It is an historical fact that the December 25^thdate—the alleged date of Jesus’ birth—was selected by Constantine to coincide with the long observed idolatrous pagan festival Saturnalia. Nearly all aspects of Christmas observance have their roots in pagan and Roman custom and religion. These facts notwithstanding, it is both an absolute, resolute biblical truth and historical fact that the Incarnation, Virgin Birth of Christ in Bethlehem of Judea two thousand years ago is both an absolute, resolute biblical truth and historical fact.

“And being found in fashion as a man, he [Christ] humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil 2:8-11

Jesus Christ is God! He lives today, not as a little baby in a manger, but as the sovereign, omnipotent, supreme Jehovah God on His Majestic Throne! Let the redeemed of the Lord herald this truth 365 days of the year!

“I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.”Psalm 145:1-4

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The Wake-Up Herald is published by Robert McCurry. The publication is designed to exalt the true God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, and inform, inspire, and challenge its readers regarding biblical truth and real-life issues. The contents are the sole responsibility of Robert McCurry and do not represent or speak for or on behalf of any other person or group. There is no subscription charge. The publication is a ministry of faith and dependent on the contributions of its readers. Contributions are not tax-deductible. Send all correspondence to: Robert McCurry,605 Moore Rd, Newnan, GA 30263 or herbap@aol.com Remove? Send reply with “remove” in Subject line.

The Biggest Error of Christian America

Most ministers call Abraham a “Jew” without justification or Scriptural evidence. Preachers refer to Moses and the ancient Israelites who came out of Egypt as “Jews.” Why? It is because they are taught to do so in their colleges and seminaries (controlled by jews). The book of Exodus calls them Israelites, the House of Jacob, Hebrews, Israel, and the children of Israel. Never are any of this race called “Jews.”