🏳️‍🌈✝️🔻 Tis the Season for LIES and DECEPTION pt.1

The TRUTH on how Satan used FACT to create his own FICTION

By Rainbow Pastor David

11/22/2018

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Consider this if you will my friends; you have been duped by the greatest LIAR of ALL TIME, Satan himself!!! 

Satan is a murderer, he is a liar, and he is a half-truth spreader. Satan’s goal is to steal and kill and destroy and seek out those he may devour. John 8:44, John 10:10, 1 Peter 5:8 AMP

Satan even thought he was slick enough to get our Lord Jesus Christ to fall for his temptations in the wilderness where he was “ALLOWED by God” to tempt Jesus. Jesus was well grounded in the Word of God and knew the half truths spewing from the enemy’s mouth and was able to shut him down with the Word of God. Matthew 4:1-11 AMP

Satan HATES you my friend and still he HATES CHRIST JESUS even more. All throughout the ministry of Jesus we see many attempts by Satan to EXPOSE JESUS before His time, falsify healings and even used “RELIGIOUS” people to EXECUTE JESUS.

 

Before we get into the LIE of Santa Claus, Christmas and the LIE that Jesus was born near the end of December, let us look at a little history from the BIBLE about the ACTUAL birth of Jesus Christ. 

Winter in the land of Jesus’ birth is from November to April; the coldest time being the later part of December through February.  

In the late autumn or winter months, there are times when the shepherd can find no pasturage that is available for his flock, and then he must become responsible for feeding the animals himself. If the flock is small there may be times when it is stabled within the peasant house, and the family lives on a sort of mezzanine floor above it. At such seasons of the year the shepherd must provide the food. This is what Isaiah meant when he said: "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd" (Isaiah 40:11 AMP). In some sections of Syria, flocks are taken at this season to places in the mountain country, where the shepherd busies himself with the bushy trees, cutting down branches that have green leaves or tender twigs, that the sheep and goats can eat. Micah was probably speaking of this custom of providing food for the sheep, when he said: "Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage" (Micah 7:14 AMP). [Manners and Customs of Bible Lands] 

Luke 2:8-20 CJB

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:1-5 AMP Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem in Judaea, where Joseph’s family live (see 1 on Map 1). The journey takes four or five days as Nazareth is 65 miles / 105 km north of Jerusalem, while Bethlehem is a hilltop town situated on a ridge near the edge of the Judaean desert, 5 miles / 8km south of Jerusalem.

Map 1

The Roman Census

Luke, writing his gospel in 60-62AD for a Roman audience (see Luke 1:3 CJB), gives the census ordered by Augustus Caesar (who was emperor from 27BC to 14AD) as the reason why Mary and Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem before the birth of Jesus (see Luke 2:1-3 CJB and 1 on Map 1). He explains that, as men had to register at their home town (so they could be taxed by the Romans), Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem because Joseph was a descendant of King David and Joseph’s family came from Bethlehem (see Matthew 1:1 CJB & 1 Samuel 16:1,13 CJB). Luke states that the census took place when Quirinius was the Roman governor of Syria.

The Jewish historian Josephus confirms that a general taxation was indeed overseen by Cyrenius (Quirinius).  He notes, however, that Cyrenius was appointed as Governor of the province of Syria when the Romans deposed Archelaus (Herod the Great’s son) as ruler of Judaea in 6AD. Judaea was then taken under direct Roman rule and incorporated into the Roman province of Syria; which resulted in a revolt led by Judas of Gamala (‘Judas the Galilean’), a Jewish zealot (see Acts 5:37 CJB).

As Jesus was born in 6 or 5BC, this Roman census occurred eleven or twelve years after his birth. As Jesus was born while Herod the Great was King of Judaea, no Roman governor of Syria would have had the jurisdiction to organize a census and general taxation in Judaea at the time of Jesus’s birth.

It appears, therefore, that Luke was mistaken when giving this Roman census as the cause of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. Whatever the reason, Joseph made the decision to return to his family home in Bethlehem in time for his newly betrothed wife to give birth amongst his close relatives.

Luke 2:6-10 CJB Jesus is born in Bethlehem in 6 or 5BC. He is laid in a manger – an animal’s feeding trough – as there is no room for Mary and Joseph in the accommodation available.

Bethlehem

Traditional nativity stories usually feature an innkeeper turning Mary and Joseph away with the words, ‘No room in the inn’. Yet there is no mention of an inn in Luke’s account of Jesus’s birth. Luke actually tells us there was no place for them in the guest-room.  The Greek word usually translated inn is ‘kataluma’, but it actually means a guest-room (see Luke 2:7 CJB). It is precisely the same word that is used to describe the upper room or guest-room where Jesus and his disciples shared the Last Supper in Jerusalem on the night before Jesus was crucified (see Luke 22:11 CJB).

Many larger family houses in Jesus’s day had their family quarters on the ground floor and a guest-room (often added later) on the upper storey or on the roof. The family’s livestock would also be housed on the ground floor, or sometimes in an adjacent cave or underground cellar. 

 

Luke records that Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem because Joseph’s family came from Bethlehem. It is likely; therefore, that Mary and Joseph went to stay with their relatives in Bethlehem. While Romans and other foreign travelers often stayed in roadside hostelries or ‘inns’ (see Luke 10:30-35 CJB), Jews never stayed in 'inns'. For a start, the food wasn't kosher (it didn't meet Jewish food laws) (see Leviticus 11:1-47 CJB), and Jews were forbidden to eat with Gentiles (non-Jews) (see Acts 10:28 CJB). Instead, Jews always stayed in the homes of relatives or other Jews when travelling (see Luke 9:4 & 10:7 CJB).

Finding that there was no place for them in their family’s guest-room – maybe because Joseph’s elder brother and his wife were already there – they were probably asked to share the lower room where animals were normally kept. As a result, the newborn baby Jesus’s makeshift crib was a manger – the feeding trough for the animals

No one can be sure exactly where Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Hebrew, ‘Beit Lekhem’, meaning ‘house of bread’), but the Church of the Nativity marks the traditional site. The church, which can still be visited today, was erected by Helena, the Roman Emperor Constantine’s mother, at the spot where Christians in the 4^th century AD believed that Jesus was born. They told the Empress that, after Hadrian had expelled the Jews from Bethlehem in 135AD, he had planted a grove of trees sacred to the Roman god Thammuz (Adonis) here in order to destroy the site that was venerated by Jewish Christians in the first century AD. {This was another act of defiance by Satan to try and destroy the evidence of the existence of JESUS CHRIST!!!}

The church – started in 326AD and dedicated in 339AD – is the world’s oldest church that is still in regular use today, though the present church was extended and modified in 529AD by the Emperor Justinian. Ancient mosaics dating from Byzantine times (from the Eastern Roman Empire during the 5^th or 6^th century AD) can still be seen beneath the present floor level.

The main altar is built above a series of caves, one of which may have served as a stable at the time when Jesus was born. Descending the steep steps behind the altar, visitors are greeted by the site of the manger, and by a silver star nearby bearing the Latin inscription, ‘Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est’ (‘Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary’).

To the south east of the church, visitors can enter the ‘Milk Grotto’, a cave hewn out of white rock where it is believed by some that Mary nursed the infant Jesus before the family escaped to Egypt to flee King Herod’s wrath.

Matthew 1:22-23 CJB The gospel of Matthew, quoting the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14 CJB), says "All this happened to bring about what the LORD had said through the prophet: 'The young woman will be pregnant. She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel,' which means 'God is with us'." (Matthew 1:22-23 CJB)

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the radiant, shining presence of God re-appeared on earth again. God’s personal presence was shown by the glory of the Lord (Greek, ‘doxa’) appearing to the shepherds in the fields on the hillside outside Bethlehem. Today, sheep are still reared on the steep hillsides known as the Shepherds’ Fields outside the village of Beit Sahur near Bethlehem.

Ever since emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire in 380AD, Jesus’s birthday has been celebrated in late December (or early in January in the eastern Orthodox churches), but no-one knows precisely when he was actually born. Before Christmas Day replaced the Roman mid-winter festival of the ‘Unconquered Sun’ on 25^th December, the 3^rd century Christian historian, Sextus Julius Africanus, who devised one of the first Biblical chronologies, believed that Jesus was born on 25^th March.

Traditionally in Palestine, sheep were only kept out of doors overnight during the warmer months from March or April to November. The local sheep were not hardy enough to be left outside during the cold winter nights of December. So it’s more likely that Jesus was born between March and November. If the shepherds to whom the angels appeared were on their way to Jerusalem with sacrificial lambs for the Passover festival, then it’s quite possible that Jesus was actually born in March or April, just before the Jewish Passover festival. 

 

Let’s NOT forget the story of the THREE WISE MEN. These men were traveling with a band of foreign merchants {coming from ‘the east’ – probably from Babylonia or Persia} selling exotic goods {see 2 on Map 1} several months after the birth of Jesus, arriving in Jerusalem around 5 or 4BC.

Traditionally called the ‘wise men’, these 'magi' were astronomers who recorded the detailed movements of the stars, but were also astrologers who looked for ‘portents’ or ‘signs’ in the patterns and movements of the stars to predict the birth and death of kings. As Zoroastrians, they shared the Jewish belief in one God, and they also believed in a Messiah who would come down from heaven.

These “magi” {“wise men” who study the stars”} congratulate King Herod on his good fortune. They tell him they have seen a star indicating that they will find “the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews” {Matthew 2:2 CJB}. Hearing these men proclaim they have come to worship the NEW KING, King Herod becomes furious and intensely jealous as no child has recently been born his heir. 

Upon hearing this news, King Herod {who was NOT a Jew himself} consults with the Jewish chief priests over the prophesy concerning the Messiah or Christ {see Micah 5:2 CJB}, and sends the “wise men” to Bethlehem {5 miles / 8 kms south west of Jerusalem} to search for this “RIVAL” to his throne.

The 'magi' find the infant Jesus with his mother Mary in a house in Bethlehem – probably the house belonging to Joseph’s relatives (see Luke 2:7 CJB and the feature on Bethlehem above here). They bow before him and worship Jesus as the ‘King of the Jews’. They present him with symbolic gifts of precious gold (appropriate for a king), fragrant frankincense (burnt during worship in the Temple and signifying God’s presence) and costly myrrh (used for embalming and foretelling death), but they return home another way without informing Herod.

These wise men knew exactly what the evil intent of Herod was to be against Jesus and since they believed in Jesus there was no way there were going back to tell Herod anything. Praise God for those BRAVE MEN who would NOT give up their Savior to EVIL.

Now that we have covered the ACTUAL EVENTS surrounding the birth of our Savior Christ Jesus, let us move on to REVEAL how SATAN has caused a veil to be put on people’s eyes including the very SAINTS of GOD who celebrate the most PAGAN HOLIDAY of the year, Christmas. Christmas my friend has NOTHING to do with our Savior and EVERYTHING to do with PAGAN worship of the WINTER SOLSTICE. 

I pray you will continue on this journey to learn the TRUTH instead of the LIE perpetuated by Satan. SANTA CLAUS is a made up character that Satan has used to take all of mankind’s attention away from GOD by causing them to focus on gifts and holiday reveries and on God’s creation instead of God. Time to let the TRUTH SET YOU FREE from the BONDAGE of CHRISTMAS…

Father Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries for a figure associated with Christmas. A similar figure with the same name (in other languages) exists in several other countries, including France (Père Noël), Spain (Papá Noel, Pare Noel), almost all Hispanic South America (Papá Noel), Brazil (Papai Noel), Portugal (Pai Natal), Italy (Babbo Natale), Armenia (Kaghand Papik), India(Christmas Father), Andorra (Lord Quinto), Romania (Moş Crăciun) and Turkey (Noel Baba).

In past centuries, the English Father Christmas was also known as Old Father Christmas, Sir Christmas, and Lord Christmas. Father Christmas is said to wear (these days) a bright red suit, but in Victorian and Tudor times he wore a bright green suit.

Father Christmas typified the spirit of good cheer at Christmas, but was neither a gift bringer nor particularly associated with children. A traditional figure in English folklore, Father Christmas is identified with the old belief in the Old English god Woden.

In the English-speaking world, the character called “Father Christmas” influenced the development in the United States of Santa Claus, and in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, most people now consider them to be interchangeable. However, although “Father Christmas” and “Santa Claus” have for most practical purposes been merged, historically the characters have different origins and are not identical. Some authors such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien have insisted on the traditional form of Father Christmas in preference to Santa Claus.

Father Christmas is often said to reside at the North Pole or less commonly, in the mountains of Korvatunturi in Lapland, Finland.

History

The earliest English examples of the personification of Christmas are apparently those in carols of the 15th century. The manuscript Bodelian Library MS Arch. Selden b. 26,

which dates from circa 1458 AD, contains an anonymous Christmas carol (f. 8) which begins with the lyrics:

Goday, goday, my lord Sire Christëmas, goday!

Goday, Sire Christëmas, our king,
for ev’ry man, both old and ying,
is glad and blithe of your coming;
Goday!

Similarly, a carol attributed to Richard Smert (c. 1400–c. 1479) in British Additional MS 5665 (ff. 8v-9v), begins in dialog form:

Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell

Who is there that singeth so: Nowell, nowell, nowell?

I am here, Sire Christësmas.

Welcome, my lord, Sire Christëmas!

Welcome to us all, both more and less!

Come near, Nowell.

{Nowell is a masculine English given name derived from noel, meaning Christmas in French. In Irish, it is Nollaig. The actual feminine form is Noelle, but in English-speaking it is Nowell meaning Birth.}

Both songs then proceed to proclaim the birth of Christ in the present tense and elaborate upon the story of the nativity as occasion for rejoicing. The specific depiction of Christmas as a merry old man begins in the early 17th century, in the context of resistance to Puritan criticism of observation of the Christmas feast. He is “old” because of the antiquity of the feast itself, which its defenders saw as a good old Christian custom that should be kept. Allegory was popular at the time, so “old Christmas” was given a voice to protest his exclusion, along with the form of a rambunctious, jolly old man.

The earliest such was that in Ben Jonson’s creation in Christmas his Masque dating from December 1616, in which Christmas appears “attir’d in round Hose, long Stockings, a close Doublet, a high crownd Hat with a Broach, a long thin beard, a Truncheon, little Ruffes, white shoes, his Scarffes, and Garters tyed crosse”, and announces “Why Gentlemen, doe you know what you doe? Ha! Would you ha’kept me out? Christmas, old Christmas?”

Later, in a masque by Thomas Nabbes, The Springs Glorie produced in 1638, “Christmas” appears as “an old reverend gentleman in furred gown and cap”. The character continued to appear over the next 250 years, appearing as Sir Christmas, Lord Christmas or Father Christmas, the last becoming the most common. A book dating from the time of the Commonwealth, The Vindication of CHRISTMAS or, His Twelve Yeares’ Observations upon the Times (London, 1652), involved “Old Christmas” advocating a merry, alcoholic Christmas and casting aspersions on the charitable motives of the ruling Puritans. Father Christmas dates back at least as far as the 17th century in Britain, and pictures of him survive from that era, portraying him as a well-nourished bearded man dressed in a long 

green fur-lined robe. A writer in “Time’s Telescope” (1822) states that in Yorkshire at eight o’clock on Christmas Eve the bells greet “Old Father Christmas” with a merry peal, the children parade the streets with drums, trumpets, bells, (or in their absence, with the poker and shovel, taken from their humble cottage fire), the yule candle is lighted, and; “High on the cheerful fire. Is blazing seen th’ enormous Christmas brand.” Although originally associated with adult feasting and drinking, since the Victorian era, Father Christmas has gradually merged with the pre-modern gift giver St Nicholas (Dutch Sinterklaas, hence Santa Claus) and associated folklore. Nowadays he is often called Santa Claus but also often referred to in Britain as Father Christmas: the two names are synonyms. In Europe, Father Christmas/Santa Claus is often said to reside in the mountains of Korvatunturi in Lapland Province, Finland. 

Traditionally, Father Christmas comes down the chimney to put presents under the Christmas tree or in children’s rooms, in their stockings. Some families leave a glass of sherry or mulled wine, mince pies, biscuits, or chocolate and a carrot for his reindeer near the stocking(s) as a present for him. In modern homes without chimneys he uses alternative 21st century electronic devices to enter the home. In some homes children write Christmas lists (of wished-for presents) and send them up the chimney or post them.

Satan continues to take jabs at the birth of Christ through these songs and the many songs that followed that represent “The Most Wonderful Time of The Year” for RETAIL MERCHANTS.


While Christmas in America predates the Revolution Santa did not make a splash in America until 1810. He arrived, as many Americans do, in New York City.

A local merchant and leader of a local historical society by the name of John Pintard objected to the roughness of Christmas as it was celebrated in the early 19th century and proposed a solution to New York City leaders. Drawing on New York City’s Dutch origins, he promoted Saint Nicholas as the city’s patron saint – having a pamphlet printed in 1810 that is the earliest known American image of Santa and suggested that the celebrations should be private and family-oriented rather than public and brawling. 

It is interesting to note the role of the American media over the course of time in shaping the image of Santa.

Like the Christmas tree, Santa Claus was a novelty of the mid-19th century. He captured the imagination of the public as his image was honed by popular music of the time. 



Up on the Housetop was written in 1864 in Benjamin Handby, who was the first to advance the idea that Santa landed on the roof of homes to go down the chimney.


The influence of Santa on popular culture was best showcased by President Abraham Lincoln, who advanced the idea during the Civil War that Santa was on the side of the Union. So effective was his efforts that Southern Mothers declared to their children that not even Santa could get past Yankee blockades. In the late 19th century Santa portrayers widely started to work in American department stores, giving attention to children and fueling the newly American acquired taste for accumulation and gift giving during the holiday season. 
 
Such widespread exposure of Santa led many children to adopt Santa as an American hero. Adults were taken to him too. Even today, the famed letter of 8 year old Virginia O’Hanlon – who asked in a letter to the editor if Santa Claus was real – and the famous response penned by editor Francis Church in 1897 moves hearts in their consideration of Santa in nearly sacred terms.
 


It is important to note that Santa does not have a history in America that is totally commercial. He was widely portrayed as a symbol of giving to the needy at Christmas time and could be seen on the streets of large cities in America collecting money, clothes and food for the poor. This tradition comes in thanks to volunteers working for the Salvation Army, many of whom pioneered the red kettle campaign dressed as Santa Claus in the 1890s. 

The most popular mass media of the early 20th century was still in the form of books and in 1902 a new children’s book written by L. Frank Baum titled The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus popularized the image of Santa working exclusively for the happiness of children through his work as a toymaker and a deliverer of Christmas cheer in a sleigh powered by reindeer.
With modern media engines of radio, television and expanded print erupting in the 1930s, 40s and 50s the evolution of Santa Claus was turbo charged. Coca Cola likely did the most to further Santa’s image through their iconic advertisements of the 1930s that today remain collector’s items. 

Artists such as Norman Rockwell and writers such as Robert May, who brought us Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, combined to make Santa as American as baseball and apple pie. Santa was given his social voice through stories like Rudolph and his legend grew in songs such as Jolly Old Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. 
 


Santa Claus in the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s still carried a large focus on children but as time passed Santa took on more adult themes in modern American culture. In the 1947 classic film, Miracle on 34th Street, the very existence of Santa Claus was debated in a famous court scene.


Tis the Season for LIES and DECEPTION pt. 2