Facing The Christmas Controversy: Where do we stand? #1

Dr. J Hernes Abante

The word "Christmas" does not appear in the Bible. It was a term invented by combining the sacred name of Jesus Christ with the word 'mass'. The term 'mass' refers to a Catholic sacramental celebration, particularly the Eucharist, in which bread and wine are consecrated by a priest and then consumed by the faithful as a memorial of Christ's sacrifice.

I see no harm in celebrating festivals. The Lord attended a a wedding at Cana, where He miraculously turned water into wine, demonstrating His acceptance of joyful communal gatherings. In the Old Testament, the Israelites observed numerous feasts, including the Passover, which commemorates their deliverance from Egypt.

Jesus likely observed Hanukkah, a major Jewish festival also known as the Feast of Dedication. In John 10:22-23, Jesus is recorded as being in the Temple during Hanukkah, suggesting He participated in or acknowledged the celebration.

To claim that Christmas, as a festival or celebration, should not be observed by Christians seems, in my view, absurd. I believe our gracious God is not so easily or hurt by such observances, especially when they honor the birth of the Savior.

Before anyone reacts with undue excitement or opposition, let me continue this saga.

From the beginning, Satan-the enemy and great deceiver-devised a plan to oppose God. He deceived Eve by tempting her with what God had created as perfect and good. Stan used this divine creation as a tool to distort God's original intent.

He employed the serpent, a creature once known for its beauty and cleverness, turning it into an instrument of fear and deception. He also preverted the symbolism of the tree and its fruit originally designed to reflect God's creative brilliance and moral significance-transforming them into tools for temptation driven by pride and selfishness, with the ultimate goal of destroying humanity, the pinnacle of God's creation, out of jealousy. Satan continues this destructive work to this day.

When sin entered the world through Adam and Eve's disobedience, Satan rejoiced, believing he had secured victory. He took pride in humanity's suffering-both physically and spiritually-aiming to bring about eternal death and utterly run God's perfect plan.

God could have prevented this fall; however, to reveal His moral attributes and divine authority to both His chosen people and unbelievers, He permitted these events to unfold. In His divine timing, God promised to restore all things perfectly and send a Redeemer to defeat Satan and his forces once and for all.

Satan also led a rebellion among a third of the heavenly angels, some of whom decided to interfere with God's creation by cohabiting with human daughters, producing giants—known as the Nephilim—who were part angelic, part human. These beings, considered to be outside God's perfect plan, multiplied through procreation, resulting in a race corrupted by evil.

This chaos contributed to the great flood, which was sent to purify the earth, sparing only Noah, his family, and pairs of clean and unclean animals in the Ark. This marked the beginning of what can be called the great reset. Humanity, through Noah and his descendants, was restored in its pure, but fallen state, still in need of God’s saving grace. God again commanded humanity to multiply and fill the earth. However, Satan continued with his evil plan. 

 (to be continued)