The true Christmas story: The place of December 25 in the Bible
Every year, December 25 is commemorated across the world; in homes, schools, churches and other public places. But hundreds of years on, some of the fallouts from the devastating pagan Yuletide celebrations that compromised Christmas have inevitably slipped from public memory. Here are the forgotten stories of December 25 that involve the Christian community.
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First and foremost, the date December 25 is not a colonial legacy or the Mark of the Beast as some have speculated. A word study on John 10:22-23 shows that the date December 25 is in the Bible. For 165 years before Christ was born, the December 25 date was celebrated among God's people, the Jews as "The Feast of the Dedication". The name of this godly ‘Feast of the Dedication’ was later changed to the ‘Festival of Lights.’
John 10:22-23 states, "And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch."
Now notice, "December 25 was the usual date for this celebration of the cleansing of the Temple", cited by The Living Bible footnotes "a" on top of John 10:22-23.
Further checks of the Hebrew date "Kislev Hanukkah" from other Jewish history books outside the Bible such as 1 Maccabees 4:52-59 and Josephus, 7.7.7; b. 12, Chapter 11:1, have also revealed that the Feast of the Dedication was not instituted by Moses, the founder of the Jewish nation, but by Judas Maccabaeus in 165 BC. In choosing this specific date of December 25 to restore the Temple service, Judas Maccabaeus wanted to impede, jettison and overthrow the obscene 25 December birthday celebrations of Zeus (the sun-god) which the invader of the Jewish state, Antiochus Epiphanies IV, the Syrian-based Greek King had for three years (BC. 167-165) established in Jerusalem in his desecration of the Temple of God.
Although the Jews have been celebrating this important religious holiday as part of their national history till today as Hanukkah, the date was not even written in the Jewish Bible, the Torah, but found only in the New Testament Bible. This I believe was designed on purpose and inspired by God for our celebration as well.
For a deeper understanding of the Jewish Festival of Lights you may Watch the YouTube Bible History Documentary on Maccabees: Revolution and Redemption - The story of Hanukkah.
Again, the passage of Scripture in John 10:22-23 shows that the strongest evidence yet presented in the Bible whether Christians should celebrate December 25 was offered by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself when He honoured the date with His physical presence at the Jewish Festival of Lights or, the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem.
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Much more importantly, by honouring the celebration of Lights of the people of God with His physical presence, the Lord Jesus Christ had effectively quashed and debunked every possible future theological argument of self-contradiction and inconsistency in His words and actions. Remember that in John 8:12, Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world." It is important to note that in the Old Testament scriptures the title "The Light of Israel" as in Isaiah 10:17, was the rights and prerogatives of God Himself. So then, if Jesus claimed "I am the Light of the world," necessarily, His actions must match His words to prove He is reliable.
Obviously, Jesus did not censure and reproach the Jews for celebrating this Festival which was of human origin. But rather, He personally graced it with His presence. Besides, nowhere in scripture did Jesus warn His disciples of the celebration of December 25 date as being sinful, unscriptural and idolatrous or being the mark of the Beast as some teach.
The John Wesley Bible Commentary on the Feast of the Dedication in John 10:22-23 states, "So our Lord observed festivals even of human appointment. Is it not, at least, innocent for us to do the same."
My understanding is that it is perfectly right for Christians to follow in the footsteps of Jesus in the celebration of the Christmas date. And, I daresay attempts to dilute or minimise the importance of this date on the Christian calendar are a gutted and bastardised version of the Christian history. In other words, The Christmas date itself is as crucial, relevant and most significant as the Celebration of Christmas in its entirety. And that is that! No date, No Christmas.