MERRY CHRISTMAS
By Rev Alpha Moambi
Copyright © English Version
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to all the body of Christ around the world.
I also dedicate it especially to all teachers of the world of God for the perfection of the bride who is to be presented pure and blameless to the groom in the wedding day.
EB Pateguana and family, Rev Rajen Soobermoney, Elisha Mukendi and family, Simone Alves, Flora Dekker, Nomusa Ncgobo and all my expensive friends and supporters, this book is for you.
To you, Sonia Mate and Grace Chief Moambi, I dedicate this book with love for being present in my Ministry!
THANKS
1 Special thanks and gratitude to our dear brother Edmund Pateguane and family for their support, contribution and advises for the elaboration of this work.
2 Sincere and gratitude to Pastor Jacob Isaac who accepted to spend his precious time to go through this work to make it perfect. Thanks for your support.
May our mighty God bless you always!
NOTE: All the passages are taken from the New International Version except indicated.
INTRODUCTION.
Ephesians 5:27: “And to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”
We are living a very critical time that needs a clear sight and understanding. This is the beginning of the end of this corrupt system. The Lord is coming soon. This generation will never pass. He is coming soon. May the Lord give us understanding of his word.
We all know this verse and always read it in the bible in our meetings. We always like to apply it for couples in our congregations. Pastors and preachers use to jump at the altar when talking about this, exciting their believers to live a different and model life without compromising one each other.
But in other side we need to know that this word refers straight to the church of Christ. Listen to what says the bible: …to present her to him as a radiant church. The King James Version says a glorious church.
In the dictionary, radiant means splendid, dazzling. This word is from Latin ‘radiare’ as ‘radius’, which means to emit rays of light. Oh! How wonderful. The apostle wants to give us a clear picture of what the church is suppose to be that day for her to be accepted by the groom. The church must be dazzling, radiant. Jesus came in this polluted world. He lived here for almost 33 years. He was like anyone of us with the same sentiments but we have nowhere is reported his failure. He was always standard and spotless. He was pure till death. That’s why he wants us to be like him. PURE.
God knew that it will come a time in which people will have the desire and itch of doing and having pleasure of what the world is doing. People will say no problem, it’s right, let’s do it because everybody is doing it. In times like this we need to check this prophecy. Let’s not do things because others are doing, but let’s do what is the perfect will of our master, God.
Reason why today we all have the noble duty to search the scriptures to find out the issue of the famous Christmas at the light of the word of God. Families are separated today, debts have reached the highest point, the numbers of children with mono parents have sensitively increased, crimes and others uncountable problems are getting a high record. Through this study we would like to know either Christmas is convenient for the church of God or not. Please note that I do not open a debate with your belief but telling you only what the bible and the time tell us about this popular event. If you have any question or suggestion, please forward it to alfamuambi@gmail.com and you will be welcome.
CHAPITRE ONE: THE DATE 25 DECEMBER IN THE BIBLE.
When we read the bible, we find that only one place gives us exactly this famous and worldly known date. The second place as a reference of this very unique place has the 27th instead of 25th as in the first scripture. I do not like to waste time, let’s go right to the point and see what happened in the 25th December. Note that it’s in the Old Testament. Let’s read Jeremiah 52: 31-34: “In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah and freed him from prison on the twenty fifth day of the twelfth month. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table. Day by day the king of Babylon gave Jehoiachim a regular allowance as long as he lived, till the day of his death.”
The second reference is found in the book of 2 Kings 25:27-30. Only in this second passage the date is not 25th December, but 27th December and the rest of the content is the same as in Jeremiah. This was around 629 before Christ.
Personally I really like this passage. It is very significant in all Christian life. By the grace of the Lord, I prayed and the Lord gave me the revelation of this mystery that I want you to know also in this day.
I don’t need to go in historical area for now, let’s just limit ourselves on the scriptures. Let’s start by dividing our passage for the easiest understanding. What happened in the 25th December before Christ was born? Remember, this happened once off and not repeatedly. In that day, the 25th December:
1 The king Evil-Merodach released and freed Jehoiachin, king of Judah from prison
2 He, the king Evil-Merodach, spoke kindly to him, the released king
3 He, the king Evil-Merodach gave him a higher seat of honor
4 He put aside his prison clothes
5 He ate at the king’s table regularly for life
6 He had his provisional allowance for life.
Let’s analyze now point by point to see if it matches also with your life. We start with the point number one, the release. Remember that Jehoiachin became king of Judah when Judah was passing the very dark days. He did not please the lord because when he became king young again at 18 years old, he did evil as his father Jehoiachim. The foreign forces came and took possession of the city and inhabitants of the city became their slaves and captives. The one who was the king is then a captive in a foreign land. Nothing else he can do. He is limited, bordered, dominated and deprived of all liberty, freedom and right. Do you understand something? From the palace to the dust. His kingship became historical only. The verb to be could not anymore be conjugated at the present tense. Only at the past tense to be a little bit comfortable. The present tense hurts. Remember that at the beginning God created you and me for us reign and dominate over all creatures. He gave us authority, power and dominion. Let’s read that in the book of Genesis 1:27-28: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them: ‘be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground’.” What a dominion! At the creation, God gave us all power to dominate and rule over everything he created. Only because of the disobedience to the word of God, we, the humanity, have lost our identity, dominion and leadership. We have become now weaker than what we were supposed to be. We are now in trouble, victim of fear and weakness. We think to our former position and no one to bring us back to the former glory. We need someone to cool down our sorrow but there is no one able to do so. Our life now is full of pain, sorrow, tears, diseases, sickness, disappointments, crookedness, egoism, death, etc. In this situation, the heart pains even not willing. The opium can do nothing. Only the miracle from above can solve the problem. Read in my book entitled the mystery of the cross and you will realize what I mean. The trouble and weight of separation. It’s hard. Jehoiachin was a ruling king in his kingdom. Suddenly he is deprived of his power locked behind the bars. How painful! Praise be to the name of the Lord because he is always ready to rescue us from all danger if we recognize that we are in danger and need help. He is always ready. Even now, he is ready to solve that situation of yours which you that it is not possible to be solved. Let me tell you that God can. Just try him and you will see what he can do for you. He has done it before, he is doing it now, he will do it forever more and he is going to do it for you in your life right now if you believe. If you think that your situation is an unsolvable puzzle, note it today that God is the solution for it. Try. Look what he tells you in the book of Jeremiah 33:3: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” What a lovable father! He says call me. No matter how long you have suffered, no matter what you have done, no matter how people have forsaken you, no matter how people have denied, laughed, denigrated and did all evil to you, our heavenly father says: call me, don’t worry and be troubled. Call me and I will answer you.
When God gives his answer, he gives it at the right and desired time. In Egypt God saw the affliction of his people. He saw how they were persecuted, misused and oppressed by Egyptians. He stood up and said that enough is enough. I have come to solve and to free Israel my beloved people. God loves you as you are. You only need to come back to him. When we are desperate and without support in this world, God is able to establish us. You and me we are like this Jehoiachim who had lost his kingship and his reign to under captivity and really marginalized like a no one. He was really down and without hope for his life. Now look to what happened on 25th December of that dark time. The bible says that Mr. Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon and in his reign, he decides to free the former Judah king who was in prison. He decides to set him free. Freely without any cost he decides to release him and free him from prison. That’s the grace, favor, and amnesty. I really like this. The bible says that the Old Testament is the shadow of things to come and the reality is in Christ Jesus. This is typically what Jesus came to do in the world. He came, Jesus, with a special mission to save, free and look for those who were lost. He came to do willingly without claiming any price from us. He even sacrificed himself to die the shameful death at the cross just to take away your condemnation, shame, culpability and whatever was designed by the enemy against you. He took your place at the Calvary. Remember that day, when he was trained as lamb they are bringing to slot, a death sentenced criminal Barabbas was for life in the prison. But that day Jesus granted him life instead of programmed death for him. Jesus died and him was freed and that for life. He paid nothing. The salvation is next to you today. Open only the door of your heart for the king of kings to come in and set you free. Why are still struggling in the mare of your trouble and problems? Jesus is the solution to ALL your problems. Let’s come back to our issue.
The freedom of Jehoiachin came in 25th December of his time. He did not plan for it. It just happened. 25th December that time was not a special moment. It was just a day like all days. Only it happened that the freedom, the day for Jehoiachin to walk free from his prison was that day. A typical and living example is the release of the giant of freedom in 1994. They did not release him that specific day because it was a special day, no, but his release made that day so special that it is celebrated every from that year. 25th December was not the birth of the king but his release. For him this happened that day. When you are far away from God, imprisoned in the actual system of things without way out, and the day you receive the light of the Gospel in your life and become free, that the day of your release. Mine happened on 24th June 1997, when the Lord of lords and the King of kings freed me from all the power of darkness, which were locking me in the prison by being the practician of occult sciences and magic, alcohol, devil worshipper and messenger. I then became free from whatever were troubling and hunting me all nights. I always revere this 24th June for my salvation. I did not plan it to be on 24th June like my birthday on 22nd June, but Almighty God wanted me to be saved that day. From then I am free and I praise his holy name. Thank you Lord for saving my soul from the prison. You as well if you have believed already in Jesus, remember the day you received the light of the Gospel, believed in your heart and confessed with your month that Jesus Christ is your own Lord and Savior. That’s the biggest day you can never forget. Thank you Lord. In the bible the 25th December is the day of the freedom of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah. Out of this I have not found other place where the bible speaks about birth of someone.
Now let’s see what happened when he was set free and then you will understand.
1. He spoke with him kindly. When you believe in Jesus Christ, he will be always kind to you. Firstly he will forgive all your sins and trespasses. Remember that day at the cross he signed an amnesty for you and said: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” Luke 23:34. Since then God will look to you as a son. You are the sheep of his kraal. Read the vibrant story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 and you will see how much your celestial father loves you. He will treat you like a pearl.
2. He gave him a higher seat of honor. After he frees you, this will be your portion. The promotion. The bible says in 1Samuel 2:8: “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor…” see how God is good and merciful. He does not care about your background, your status, your studies, the social position or geographic position of your family. He will just do what he wants to do to you. He will make you a reference by showing the difference in your life and career. He will make you bigger than those around you. He will give a place of honor from your family to everybody around you wherever you pass. Remember the live example of Job, he suffered, lost everything, all the children died, all the businesses in failure, all the friends accused and mocked him. But himself trusted God in everything and said in Job 19:25: “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” KJV. He loves you. He will do what you were not expecting that could happen. We have seen his hand.
3. He will not stop there. But he will surprise you and everyone who can see you. He will put away your clothes of dust, shame and humiliation. He will give you a first-born tunic. A tunic different from the prison uniform. Let’s read his attitude toward you in the Gospel of Luke 15:22: “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet’.” What honor for whom decides to go to the father! This God does not do it to any type of people, but only to those who decide to renounce to the corrupted system of this world and abandon themselves in his tender arms of love. It does not matter what the devil or people who know you will say. But he will take care of you and show his love the way he humiliated the enemy who was busy accusing Joshua, the sacrificer. Let’s read in the book of Zechariah 3:1-4: “Then the Lord showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke you Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?’ Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes’. Then he said to Joshua, ‘See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you’.” The Lord will dress you with the garment of honor and all your enemies; people looking for something to accuse you will be disappointed. God is good. The bible tells us that the garment is good works of saints. Praise God. You are now a brand new creation. All old stain and dirty have gone. Now you are new. A Son of God. Read 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” Revised Standard Version. You are now new. More precious than gold.
4. He ate regularly at the king’s table. What a favor to eat with the king for the rest of his life! Our God is called Jehovah Jireh. God who provides. He will not do all the above things without him providing for your daily bread. Jesus taught his disciple to pray and to ask their daily bread to God. The bread is very necessary for the energy and the growth of the physical. When you believe in Jesus Christ, you will be delighted with the fresh bread he will provide for you daily to sustain your soul, spirit and body. That bread will be the pure word of God without mixture. Freshly from the revelation of the Holy Spirit. As for the growth the body needs physical or substantial food, the spirit requires the spiritual food as well. The spiritual food is the word of God preached at the right time. That’s really the responsibility of servant of God. The bible states in Matthew 24:45: “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?” The proper food at the proper time is very necessary for the growth. This is not time pastors, teachers and all ministers of the word of God have to mix things. The unbalanced diet can provoke serious problem to the stomach and health of people. Let’s desire to eat fresh bread at the table of the Lord then desiring the crumbs from the table already mixed with soil, the human source.
5. He received his allowance day by day till death. Fantastic. When you believe in Jesus Christ, the life gets other meaning than before. You become son. You do not worry any more about what you will eat, drink, dress etc. the Lord himself who knows that you need all these things will provide and supply all your needs. Let’s read what is said in Matthew 6:31-34: “So do not worry, saying, ‘what shall we eat?’ or ‘what shall we drink?’ or ‘what shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” And if we read in the Psalm 127:2: “It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of anxious toil- for He gives blessings to His beloved in sleep.” Amplified. You notice that there is no need for you to worry about what will happen tomorrow if you will get your daily bread or not. The Lord will provide enough bread for yourself and everybody in your household. Whosoever is next to you will never suffer from hunger. Our God is all-sufficient because he is the creator. I do not want to extravagant on this. In fact that is the revelation the Lord gave me about the date 25th December in the bible. I prayed and fasted and the Lord never told me anything similar to Christ’s birth in this date. I like to say what I know.
CHAPITRE 2: THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.
This is a serious topic, which can hurt many. Let’s not be fanatic of our religions or human doctrines, but let’s relay only on the word of God, as it is our light and lamp in our Christian way.
At least for those who believe in Christ, they know that he is the Messiah, the Savior of the whole world. There is no salvation in any other than in him. He is the one who came to save the humanity. He took our place of sinners at cross to free us from the code with its ordinances and regulations that was against us. Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross. He died surely and resurrected from death on the third day. Actually he is alive and sits at the right hand the father pleading for us. Hallelujah! Praise be his name forever more!
Today most of denominations celebrate 25th December as ‘Christmas’. I’d like us to analyze this fact. I was born on 22nd June, this date I logical call it my birthday and never my 'alphamas'. Before we come to analyze the word ‘Christmas’ let’s first to the bible and see what the word of God tells us about the birth of Christ.
a) The Annunciation
The Old Testament is full of prophecies that the Messiah will be born to deliver and save the humanity. All the readers of the bible are witness of that. In the New Testament, our beloved Doctor Luke is giving us all the details about this. Let us read the Gospel of Luke 1: 3-4: he says: “Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated every things from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” The accounts of Luke are trustworthy. Luke was an instructed person who could not write whatever. But he investigated first and orderly wrote. Let us read Luke 1 26-27: “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town of Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.” Let us note the time of the annunciation of the birth of Jesus. The bible says it was in the sixth moth. To avoid the useless discussion about which month is really the sixth month in our modern Gregorian calendar, I’d like to give both the Jew’s calendar and the roman’s calendar. In the Roman calendar, I will give first the Latino-roman calendar and then the Gregorian calendar, the one in use today around the word. I will give the names of the months with their equivalent in the actual calendar with some references from the bible. We can start:
No Jew’s month Reference Our calendar
1 Abib or Nisan Ex 13:4 April
2 Ziv 1Kings 6:1 May
3 Sivan Ester 8:9 June
4 Tammuz Jer 39:2, Zech 8:19 July
5 Ab Nu 33:38, Zech 7:3 August
6 Elud Neh 6:15 September
7 Tishri or Ethanim 1Kings 8:2 October
8 Bul 1Kings 6:38 November
9 Kislev or Chisleu Ezr 10:9 December
10 Tebeth Est 2:16 January
11 Shebat Zech 1:7 February
12 Adar Est 3:7 March
That is the Jew’s calendar. Now let us compare it with the sixth month we read in the Gospel of Luke 1:26. We find that the sixth month is September of our used calendar. Let’s compare also the Latino-roman calendar. The Latino-roman calendar had only ten full months. To form a year, they had ten months, one ‘mens intercalaris’ what is an intercalary month of thirty-one days to give a harmony to the solar year, plus twenty-eight days of ‘februarus’, which is the purification time to start a new year being pure. Therefore, March was the first month of the Latino-roman calendar, April was the second, May was the third, June was the fourth, July was the fifth, August the sixth, September the seventh, October the eighth, November the ninth and December was the tenth month. According to this calendar, the sixth month is August in our used calendar. According to my point of view, this was the right calendar. Check the last four months and study their prefix. We have septus, octus, novem and decem, which are seven, eight, nine and ten in Latin language. Then comes the in use calendar elaborated by Gregory. Raison why we call it Gregorian calendar. Gregory made it in such a way that a year has twelve months. It is not surprising if we will have a new calendar to be used by this modern world. We know that God is able of everything. But is it that he did for the baby Jesus to be born a premature? Admitting that will be an insult toward the creator. The Gospel of Luke 2:6 reports: “while they were there the time came for the baby to be born.” Jesus was born fully matured like all the normal babies after good nine months. Confirming that he was born on 25th December may be an abomination and a blaspheme toward God the creator.
Another very important fact is that when the angel Gabriel came to announce the birth of Jesus in the sixth month to Mary, her relative Elizabeth was already at her sixth month of miraculous pregnancy also. Then Mary went to visit her for about three months and Elizabeth delivered. Let’s read that in the Gospel of Luke 1:56: “Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.” This is very clear indeed.
b) SEASON AT JESUS’ BIRTH.
We all know the story that our Lord Jesus was born in the manger because there was no place for them in the inn. The bible says that clearly. Luke 2:8: “And in that vicinity there were shepherds living out under the open sky in the field, watching in shifts over their flock by night.” Amplified. So we understand that the manger was empty because shepherds went to watch over their flocks in the open-air bush. The bible confirms that it was under an open sky at night. From that we can understand also that our Lord Jesus was not born on December time, as December is wintertime in Middle East. Most of the times shepherds do not camp outside in winter. The open sky may probably be the summertime. The birth should have happened during summer or autumn. The bible does not give us an exact date, why should we forge our own date from our own mind? Let us keep quiet where the bible is quiet and speak where the bible speaks. Matthew chapter number two tells us also about the star that led the magi to the manger where the son Jesus was born. They could identify this special star among many others. The bible is a very complete book. Let us follow it as it is. The more you try to complete it with your thinking and understanding, the more you distort it and God the owner of that book, the one with the copyright will punish you one day for what and all unlawful things you are doing to his oeuvre. Look first his consent and then do it.
CHAPTER 3. CHRISTMAS.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
We read anywhere around in December. All our cities, towns, villages and countryside are more animated and alive the never. All the shops are really busy. Fireworks, even though they cause many accidents are sold like hot cake. It is a special moment of the year. People give gifts and receive gifts from others. Special meal, trips, friendly meetings, surprises- good or bad-, house decoration, wearing and so one make everybody busy. Leisure and tourism industry find themselves at zenith with the crowd going up and down. They even call that time peak time to double or triple prices of accommodation and other leisure facilities. All around the year, this is the time in which people spend more, get more indebted, divorce more, become more and more unfaithful to their partner, more juvenile inelegance, crimes, lies, rapes, accidents caused by drunkenness, negligence etc. When I consider what is happening in that day, I really see the principle of Karl Marx, the founder of the doctrine of Atheism, which is the brain child of evolution and disillusionment of “religionism”, a real revival of the Grecian schools of Epicureans and Stoics which after they had failed to discover God via and through reason, decided that ‘we should eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die, when we are, we are; when we are not, we are not’. What an unfortunate and deceptive disappointment as that happens in Christmas actually around the world where people are blinded by this evil spirit.
Congregations- I prefer to use this instead of church- organize fun sketch, theatres, plays and pastors teach and jump that Christ is born bring a special offering for him. This is the only day people offer like never before. Before I carry on with what happens that day or from that day, let me explain first the meaning of Christmas.
As we can see it this word is far away different from Christ’s birthday. Christmas is another thing than Christ’s birthday. In French they call it ‘Noël’. In Portuguese they call it ‘Natal’. In fact what is Christmas?
The word is formed with two words we can divide as follow:
Christ and Mas. The Concise Oxford dictionary tells us the meaning of Christmas as ‘the annual festival of Christ’s birth celebrated on 25th December’.
Now as I said that Christmas is a composed word, let’s analyze them. We have nothing to do with Christ because we all know him and the present issue is about him.
Let analyze only the word ‘mas’.
‘Mas’ is a word from Latin ‘Mass’. The English language has adopted it as it is. What says the Concise Oxford dictionary about mass? We read:
“Mass” means ‘Eucharist, especially in Roman Catholic Church and also a musical setting of part of this. The old English says ‘moesse’ via ecclesiastical Latin missa.
Missa is from the Latin verb ‘Mittere’. When you consider the primitive time of this verb, you will have ‘missum’ at past participle tense. If once you have been in one of the catholic Eucharistic celebration, you will definitively understand what I mean. At the end of the Eucharist, the father or the priest always dismisses the congregation with the expression ‘ite, missa est’ to mean go, you are dismissed. Several times I have participated in Latin Eucharistic celebrations and I loved it of course without knowing what it means. What a mess my God. Imagine now what it means to say Christmas! When we say Christmas, it consequently means in Latin, ‘Cristo missa (est)’ meaning that Christ you are dismissed. What fun! In Latin, the verb has no specific place in the sentence. It can stand at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the sentence. Referring to verb TO BE, it can appear or it can simply be omitted. Then we can say: Cristo missa or Cristo missa est.
The Webster’s New World Dictionary defines Christmas as follow: Christmas: (AS) Cristesmaesse, see Christ and mass (rite). That’s all.
Can you see and understand something so far? Let God open our eyes and understanding to see and understand! We are living in a dangerous period of time! Wake up Church!
Let’s see now the origin of this very Christmas.
ORIGINE OF CHRISTMAS.
Nowhere in the bible there is any reference talking about Christmas. So that let me hurt many by saying that Christmas is not a biblical event that Christians can observe. Basically it cannot even be celebrated or mentioned in the Christian area. I bless God because some people have understood that. For example in Mozambique, the 25th December is commonly known as ‘dia de natal’ but the government has ordained to be celebrated as a family day. I like that.
It is very important for us to know what is what and what do we celebrate and also why do we celebrate it?
The word Christmas is a custom of the Roman Catholic Church. That day, the 25th December, night and day they dedicate it to Saint Nicolas or Santa Claus. Santa Claus is a fat, white bearded, jolly old man in a red suit, who lives at the North Pole, makes toys for children and distributes gives gift Christmas time. That’s Saint Nicholas.
We all know that the Roman Catholic Church is or was the government church. It is too much involved in most of governmental problems and politics. One can call it the state religion. After the death of Alexander the great, the Greek empire was divided into two and was no more able to perform like when Alexander the Great was alive. Then came the Roman Empire who managed to defeat the Greeks and dominate over them. When the Roman Empire took over the world, they enriched more and more their culture, belief, art, politic, religions with the influence of some of the customs from people under their control. In extents, the Romans did not know the cross; they copied it from Cartage, actual Tunis. They took a lot from Greek people who were a very rich people in art, culture and religion. They were also polytheists like their sirs Romans. Greeks were people who liked life and leisure. They had in their culture a day they were celebrating the greatness of the sun. The famous god sun was the controller of the world and life. That day they could eat, drink, give and receive gifts, not sleeping and rejoicing over night. That was a funny day for all. A day to bring back the lost love. After the roman domination, they were very pleased with that custom. They took it and brought it to Roma, their home. All the habits and customs the Romans were taking abroad were conserved and practiced by the government religion.
Do you see how the religion is able to bring immorality in the church? 25 December is a day to Saint Claus. It is celebrated so in his honor. We have another date quite similar, the day in which immorality is allowed by the religion, it is the famous Saint Valentine, the 14th February, which is the day of lovers. Let me give you a brief and general account about this famous valentine day. How did the 14th February become a Valentine date? Although it is celebrated as a lovers’ holiday today, with the giving of candy, flowers and other gifts between couples and people in love, it originated in 5th century Rome as a tribute to Saint Valentine, a catholic bishop. For eight hundred years prior to the establishment of Valentine’s Day, the Romans had practiced a pagan celebration in mid-February commemorating young men’s rite of passage to the god Lupercus. The celebration featured a lottery in which young men would draw the names of teenage girls from the box. The girl assigned to each young man in the manner would be his sexual companion during the remaining year. So now in an effort to do away with the pagan festival, Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change in the lottery. Instead of the names of young women, the box would contain the names of ‘saints’. Both men and women were then allowed to draw from the box, and the game was to emulate the ways of saint they drew during the rest of the year. Needless to say, many of the young roman men were not too happy and pleased with the rule changes. Instead of the pagan god Lupercus, the religionized church looked for a suitable patron saint of love to take his place. They found an appropriate choice in Valentine, who, in 270 after Christ, had been beheaded by emperor Claudius. This Claudius had determined that married men made poor soldiers. So he banned marriage from his empire. But Bishop Valentine would secretly marry young men that came to him. Can you consider that immorality of a bishop? Homosexuality and lesbianism were common and are still current in these religions. When the emperor Claudius found out about the misbehavior of this so-called bishop, he first tried to convert him to paganism. But Valentine reversed the strategy, trying to convert Claudius. When he failed to convert the emperor, he was stoned and beheaded. During the day that Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. His lust love for her, and his ‘great faith’ managed ‘miraculously’ or strangely to heal her from her blindness before his death. Before he was taken to his death, he signed a farewell message to her, ‘From your Valentine’. This famous phrase has been used on his day ever since. Although the ‘church’ had banned the lottery for women, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of saint Valentine was still used by roman men to seek the affection of women. It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten message of affection, containing Valentine’s name. The very first Valentine card grew out of this sinful and pagan immoral practice. Charles, duke of Orleans, sent the first Valentine card in 1415 after the birth of Christ to his wife at least. He sent it when he was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time. Cupid, another symbol of the holiday, became associated with it because he was the son of Venus, the roman god of love and beauty. Reason why you will always notice that cupid appears on Valentine cards. Do you realize that the religion has intention to bring discretely the polytheism, immorality, misconduct and all the pagan behavior in the church today using the deceit of the devil? Can you see at least see it? Blessed be the name of the Lord Jesus Christ because he does not want his folk to perish by the deceit of the devil. Raison why he reveals all these things to church so that we may be ready to take our responsible decision. This is not time to be waved by the wind anyhow, but it is time to grow in the knowledge and the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus. This is not the time to let us to be taken easily by the devil and his strategies using the name of God, no Sir.
Realize and see what happen on 25th December, how the devil destroys lives and families violently and also check what happen on Saint Valentine’s day, how minor, married people and everybody behave that day and say if really it is from God. Let me tell you that the famous Valentine’s Day is not a lovers’ day and has nothing to do with love and relationship. It is only the commercial holiday to sell flowers, chocolates, sweets, postal cards, jewelry and other present items. I prefer to say it so because we need to be faithful to God. Once we try to be unfaithful, the devil is taking advantage of that to kill, destroy, and devour etc. check the virus of HIV-AIDS and other sexually transmissible diseases have took over in the world. Why? Because of the immorality. The devil is very intelligent and knows how catch the uninformed people. Whatever he presents to you is a poisonous gift. It is like the famous gift of the valentine day. The gift comes and asks for sex to see if really there is love. You see, you see it really. Is that a gift? Is she or he your covenant partner for sex? Sex out of bound of marriage is a SIN. What are you doing then? All this you are doing it in the name of God. Really sin, sin.
As we all know, long ego before the historical records began, the Latin tribes of the central west coast of Italy believed in a great number of impersonal spirits and ‘numina’ – supernatural forces. Numina dwelled in particular places and things that were for one reason or another mysterious or sacred (for instance, in woods and thickets, in streams and in the home). The Latin used various rites to ward off the evil that emanated from spirits and numina or to promote their good influences. With the growth of Rome from about the sixth century before Christ, the numina and spirits developed the attributes of personal gods – notably the great sky-god Jupiter, Mars -originally a vegetation spirit - is now a god of war, Juno – Jupiter’s consort and like the Greek Hera, much concerned with the women affairs, and Minerva of Etruscan origin and associated with the arts and crafts as well as, like Mars, with war.
From the fourth century before Christ, Latin religion developed along two lines – one among the farmers and another in the fast-growing city of Rome. The farmers continued with animistic cults (spirits and numina); in the city the polytheistic state religion assumed a special importance. Take divination for instance, which derived partly from Etruscan practices. People believed that the gods revealed their will through bird cries, lightning, dreams, animal entrails, oracles etc. the priests had the task of divining such signs; and no civic leader would make an important decision without obtaining a favorable divination about the consent or the gods’ will.
By the end of the third century before Christ, another force came at work: Rome conquered southern part of Italy, where the Greek cultural influence was very strong. Greek gods were then equated with those of Rome: Poseidon with Neptune, Demeter with Ceres, Hermes with Mercury, Zeus with Jupiter, and so on. This confirmed and accentuated the tendency of the spirit and numina to develop into personal gods with human attributes.
That’s the brief report of the antique culture of these famous people. You will realize that Romans had a serious influence from the Greek culture. Greek were the very good innocents pagans, the bible identify us like them by calling us ‘gentiles’ or pagans before we had received the word of God.
Oh my God! How worldly it is this Christmas!!! This celebration has a spirit in it. Look around you and be objective about what happens and say if really a spirit of God is there.
If not why carrying on with it? STOP! STOP! One day in one of those big and respected churches happened a scandal. Young people organized nice, fun and pleasant play in which one beautiful girl is Mary and one handsome boy to be Joseph. They played and everybody in the church was very happy and pleased with a very talented sketch of these young people. After Christmas, the Joseph player followed the Mary player. Joseph –in the play- says, come, be with me, you must sleep with me, I am Joseph your husband. The girl says no, that was just a play. The boy says oh yes, it was a play, and everybody knows that I am your husband. Now let us be truly Mary and Joseph, because we are. The girl has no more comments, she had to give up and lay with her Joseph. Before next Christmas, they ready to go and play with their own jesus, as they are Mary and Joseph. The girl’s parents report the case to the leader of the congregation; the leader jumps and decides to excommunicate the famous Joseph. I looked and laugh. Is that a solution? Not at all because this year we will have a new Joseph and the scenario will always repeat. Check how Christmas is destroying families.
Another very sensitive problem is at the spiritual level. Check and see the number of death during Christmas time comparatively to other time of the year. It is a pity that people have eyes but they cannot see. When we speak about Christmas time that simply means the time the world dismisses Christ. Look now what happens? As Christ, our protection is dismissed, who then can protect us against any danger during that time? No one. That’s why we become as weak as worms. We die like flies. Why? Let’s read the bible. Jeremiah 50:6-7: “My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place. Whoever found them devoured them; their enemies said, ‘we are not guilty, for they sinned against the lord, their true pasture, the Lord, the hope of their fathers’.” This is the defense of the enemy. The bible says our enemy, the Satan, is roaring like a lion looking for whom he can devour. This very Christmas time is like a successful and very well played game. This very time, everybody, big, small, rich or poor is in mood of ‘christmas’. This is a break time, a leave with God and as consequence, the devil is taking over to kill, destroy and swim in the rivers of blood. God is merciful. When he sees his children who were destined to life dying like flies, he is concerned with the fact. He asks the killer, what are you doing? The killer replies proudly that I am killing them because they have gone astray, forget their resting place which is you their God and lastly they have sinned against thee. What can God say again? He looks down he sees everybody in mood of party. Others innocently say: it is Christmas today, let’s drink and enjoy at least today. People really forget God in that day. Is that the birth of Christ’s celebration or Papa Noel’s celebration? The devil is very clever. He knows what the humanity really needs to deceive them. The devil most of the times uses parties to deceive and destroy the people of God and especially those who do not have an attentive ear to listen what the father says or wants. The useful power the devil uses during ‘Christmas’ time is witchcraft. This the satanic powerful weapon he uses for the people of God who become more and more busy and preoccupied with the ‘Christmas’ issue than praying and staying in the presence of God. During Christmas every things seem to be allowed. Cheating, crocking, raping, drunkenness, gluttony, anarchy, doing whatever comes in mind…
Witchcraft is very strong power the devil uses for all the children of God who disobey their father for a while. Witchcraft is powerful but it can never work upon someone with the power of God or walking in constant obedience with God. God has shown us all the strategies of the enemy and what says when he kills us. We read it above as he tells God that he (devil) is not guilty, he is not wrong. He has done it because we have forsaken our God, the hope of our fathers and the great tower for our refuge. Oh please God help us to understand this. Better for me to not celebrate and to be in perfect relationship with God. We have to know that witchcraft uses all the strategically and powerful system such those used in modern and advanced technology today. They have a very sophisticated system of communication, where they operate with satellite and radar system; they have a very advanced networking with an impeccable coordination. They have a very advanced system of transportation but which cannot stand to the power and fire of sharp prayers of saints. Witchcraft has no relatives or friends. They kill whoever has forsaken God. Whoever has dismissed Christ is in trouble with witchcraft. Witchcraft does not mind either you are rich, poor, big, and small or what, they just kill.
The bible says in the Gospel of John 10:10: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it abundantly”. KJV. There is no way you can escape the net of witchcraft if it is not trusting and obeying God only. This is a sine quo none condition. Note yourself the number of accidents, death, incidents, and problems occurring during Christmas time and if you have the intelligence you will be able to realize what I am telling you. I am telling you what I know. I have seen it that is why I speaking out. All the witch reading this book know and can testify what I say. The only way to escape is the Lord Jesus Christ. Witchcraft works more and more during Christmas days because they are days in which Christians are in break. They are in feast mood. They do not mind what says the bible or the will of their father. The church must understand today what is the will of God. God does not want his people to die in ignorance. Reason why he reveals everything to his children so that they may not be under the shadow of ignorance. Oh what a fatherly love!
At one moment, I was slave of the kingdom of darkness. Each and every day I was obliged to do the invocation funny called ‘prayers’ to the ‘saint patron’ at night. This was a rule and an obligation. Every midnight you must wake up, how tired you are, how sweet your sleep is, how hot or cold is that night, you must wake and fulfill what you have to do. In case you do not do it, you receive some funny warnings. When you are at that stage, you think it is all right and you get used to it. Your mind is really used and taken captive by this spirit ruling you. You can never be free.
But the day I received the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, he revealed his love and compassion to me, instead of all the sins I committed,
Those who know me can testify this. We are the ‘nobody’ that the Lord has made ‘somebody’ only by his grace and his favor. It is only Jesus Christ who can give a sense to a life. Reason why even for you, do not be disappointed and down because there is still hope as long as you live. Trust only Jesus!!!
CHAPTER 4. WHAT IS THE CHURCH?
This is a very critical question we need to face to know what really is a church. Today everybody speaks about church. Those pertaining to any order or group say we are in the church. To give the direction the church is most used. When you reach the church, church, and church. What is the church? The word church when we read in the bible, it appears for the very first time in the Gospel of Matthew 16:18: “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” KJV. All the Old Testament does not report the literal word ‘church’, but uses assembly, congregation etc.
Today in the world we see the very nice and gigantesque building for worshipping whatever people believe ‘god’. They go even as far as wherever they meet for their devotion; they call it ‘church’. But look at the authentic power of the church. The bible reports the speech of Jesus to Peter and says: you are Peter, Petros, and upon this rock, Petra, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. According to Jesus Christ, his church is the powerful church, not because of the riches of it, not because of its frequent programs on televisions and radios, not because of the social standard of life of people members of it, not because of its geographical area or emplacement. But it is the stronghold for those in it because all the doors of hell have no power to prevail against it. Praise the Lord!
The church of Christ is not a religion. It is very far different from that. There is no way we can take a religion as a church. No sir.
While biblical church is not, in essence, a religion at all, but Himself, the only Way to God, the center and circumference of the absolute Truth and the Eternal Life; the religionized church with its religionized Christianity, including all its sects and related cults, are only classified as ‘Christian religion’. Like all other religions, religionized churches and Christians have also the ‘holy wars’ to win the throne and scepter of power and control over other people’s lives and ultimate destinies.
A contemporary example is the raging ‘holy war’ between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism in the Northern Ireland. Raison why we can say that the Neo-Protestantism is also a religionism.
The biblical church is an ORGANISM of believers who constitute or form the body of Christ; while the religionized church is an ORGANIZATION, which governed by the registered constitutions and own doctrines.
Like all other religions, the religionized church is a commercialized religio-political system, which manifests religious trappings of searching God. I have in mind such trappings as liturgical repertoires, singing of sonorous incantations, dramatic performance of pious stunts, burning of candles and incense and also the wearing of symbolic regalia. In biblical church, it is God searching for man and finding him in and through Jesus Christ while in religionized church they emphasize on the mind of creativity for discovery. The biblical church emphasizes on the dynamic faith in the living and indwelling person, Jesus Christ, where the convert is cataclysmically changed or ‘born again’ and endowed with a supra-sensory perception by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but in a religionized church a convert joins the order I can call ‘the churchianity’ proud to tell you how he is Catholic, Protestant, Methodist, Pentecost, …100% but unfortunately without fruits.
The church of Christ is dynamite in the world. Where the devil has no power to do whatever. If today we see the devil and the witch comfort in the church, then we understand that that is not the authentic church of Christ. There is something wrong. The word church is from Greek ‘ecclesia’ what is the convocation of people out of their residences to an authority. I can say it is an exodus from where you were to the one calling you out. The caller is bigger than the called or the convoked. The church is not the temple we build to protect ourselves against the weather. It is more than that.
Let us read something from the book of 1Peter 2:9: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Can you see that? The church is a royal priesthood, a kingdom. When I look to the church, I see the representation of God on earth, the embassy of God in the world. The apostle Paul understood that revelation when he wrote to the church of Corinth in 2Corinthians 5:20 saying: “So we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making his appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ’s personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God.” Amplified. The church is the vehicle of expression of God to the humanity. The church is the only authorized agent to carry the word of God to the nations. The church is the mouth, eye and ear of God. The church is not only that, but also the hand of God in the world. Through the church we see the power of God, we hear the voice of God. God is great. Can you see that? The church is the body of Christ where you and I abide as members of this body. What a wonderful thing to be a member of the body of Christ! As a member of the body of Christ, the devil and his witchcraft have no power upon us. But if you disconnect yourself from the body of Christ for Christmas sake, you are like a branch retrenched from the tree; it can never live. It will dry and be useless.
Oh Lord help us to never ‘dismiss Christ’ in our lives. I want to be forever connected to Christ all days of my life.
The church is not only that. The church is not a religion as I said before. The church is a Kingdom. The kingdom has not a dictatorial system. The kingdom has no a democratic system. But the kingdom has the lordship system. A president, democratic or socialist, is never a lord. There is no expression lord in the republic. The lord is the king. Lord means owner. In the kingdom, everything and everybody is a private possession of the king. It means that the king is the owner and has a ‘main mise’ over them. It is his right. I can give a small example for you to understand what I mean. If you do not possess a house in a city, you need to rent one. The owner of the house you will rent you will call him the landlord. Why? Because he is the owner. The church is a kingdom as well and everybody in it is a possession of the ‘Church Lord’. Reason why that day some of disciples asked him in the Gospel of Matthew 8:19-20: “Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of Man has no place to lay his head’.” Have you once got that? Jesus, in quality of the King says that foxes have their physical addresses, even the birds of air have their headquarters, what about me? I cannot worry because everything is mine. People today can fight for lands, principalities of air have their headquarters that they can transfer anytime at any place, but the kingdom of the creator will be forever and ever more. The church is a kingdom ruled by a universal and unique constitution of the king. The constitution shows the way to everybody living in this kingdom. The constitution is the word of God – Bible -. All the information you need about the function and the codes of the kingdom are found in there. That is the church. Where there is an atmosphere and the constant presence of God. The place where you come in KO and you go out absolutely OK without any condition. The church is a place of the redeemed of God. No one among the impure has access there. It is the gathering of the first-born. The ‘ayant droits’ by the grace of the Lord. The church is a waiting room where the bride is waiting and being prepared to meet the groom. It is an ‘atelier’ where the bride is prepared to finally meet the groom without blame, but radiant and pure for the day of the big wedding. In that wedding, the groom will be with his beautiful and fully prepared bride, the angels will be there singing for the weds and the invited, - those who walked right with God in the ancient time like Moses, Elijah, Elisa, Enoch and all these people of the old time, - will be there to assist and congratulate. It will be a day you can pray to never miss. To be in you need a pass. Our pass to reach there is for free. It is noted in the Epistle of the apostle Paul to Romans 10:8-13: “But what does it say? The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, this is the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the scripture says, anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile- the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for everyone who calls the name of the Lord will be saved.” How easy our master has softened things. You just believe in the master and it is done. You are saved, justified and qualify to inherit his blessings.
From what we have said you will find that the purpose of God by setting the church was to dominate and reign. He gave all authority to the church. He said in Matthew 16:19: “ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you will loose on earth will be loosed on heaven”.
I really like this. Absolute authority from the king. I said that the church is a representation of God on earth. This is like an embassy of heaven on earth. There is no way you can go out of your country to a foreign country without contacting the embassy or a diplomatic representative of that country in your home country for the formalities of visa or permit. The church was to show the power and the glory of God in the world.
The king Salomon had once the revelation of the church. After building a magnificent temple in honor of Yahweh, the bible says he did a prayer to desire the presence of God in that building. Let us read that in the book of 2Chronicles 6: 18-41. For now we will read only verses 18, 19, 32, 41 and 42 “But will God really dwell on earth with me? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, o lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence. As for foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your out stretched arm, when he comes and prays toward this temple, now arise, o Lord God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, o Lord God, be clothed with salvation, may your saints rejoice in your goodness. O Lord God, do not reject your anointed one, remember the great love promised to David your servant.” That is the revelation of the church to the wisest man ever existed in the world. He foreknew that God does not live in the human building. It is too small for him. The heaven and the heaven of heavens are not able to contain him. When he sits there, his feet come up the earth and the earth serves him of foot stand. How marvelous it is to be in God’s prescience. Salomon taught well to build a house, which can be a place of worship, but he knew that the place is too small. The church is a kingdom. It cannot fit in here. The church is not a building. The church is a body, a kingdom. May God help the humanity to understand the real sense of the church.
There is a significant difference between the church and religion. The church is a kingdom, spiritually set and led. The church is the vehicle of expression of God to the humanity as I said before. But the religion is all about the human mind. Rites, habits, customs and all feed by the carnal and corrupt knowledge of man from his philosophy, stoicism, eschatology and all other sciences and –isms doctrines which are the pursuit of wind. The religion is deceitful. It can never strength the broken heart. It is full of question without answer and always has a very ephemeral life. René Descartes (1596-1650) has gone very far with his famous dualism, a theory of two substances derived from Plato and earlier Greek thinkers, in which he tries to convince his contemporaneous, the difference between his body and his mind about what he wrote in his sixth meditation of the mind as a kind of bodiless consciousness and of the body as an extended, that is, occupying the space. He wrote: ‘ I have a body closely bound up with myself; but at the same time I have, on the one hand, a clear and distinct idea of myself taken simply as a conscious, not an extended, being; and, on the other hand, a distinct idea of body, taken simply as an extended, not a conscious, being; so it is certain that I am really distinct from my body, and could exist without it.’ But never explained the interaction between the two, as he should conclude that he could live without his body. If the essence of the mind was only thinking as he said, what can happen when this stops or ceases to think, will and feel? Oh! That’s the religion.
All theories about the religion and its beginnings are bound to be guesswork. Archeological evidence about the beliefs of prehistoric men is slight; we can only suggest similarities between their beliefs and those of present-day peoples with a primitive way of life. Some scholars, influenced by the evolutionary theory, have tried to reconstruct stages in religious life so as to explain the emergence of the historical religion. Some have sought sociological and psychological explanations of religion. Whatever its earliest form, religion is the expression of man’s sense of the sacred, which he comes to express through myths, rituals, symbols and philosophy. Moreover, this sense of the sacred has always been closely bound up with the moral values and structures of the society he lives in.
Praise God! This is religion. The devil has helped and promoted too much the actual system for the religion foundation.
Oh Lord, have mercy for all the religions founded in your name. We are at the time of the dispensation of grace. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the sweet fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with all those who are lost in the worldly religions. Let us be in the church, the kingdom of selected first-born and not in religion. The religion is a very good place of and for ‘toyi toyi’ and ‘tohu bohu’, where one will say something and another will stand only to contradict what the first has said. There is no authenticity there. All go around of what this or that has said.
Oh! May God have mercy for this so called modern time! Let’s not try to modernize the church by bringing dirty in it. Let’s stand with the word. Let the word of God be lamp on our path. At the beginning it was not like this!
Let’s be back to our reason!
CHAPTER 5 HYBRIDIZATION
We surely have understood what the church is and the difference between the church and the religion. At the moment, I’d like to speak about what is making the church weak and not strong as the owner Jesus wanted it to be. People say today that the church is the place of disorder, trouble and confusion. Is that really true?
Reason why now we need to speak about the hybridization in the church. Before we proceed, let us understand what a hybridization is. The hybridization is the fact of crossbreeding to produce a hybrid. A hybrid is the offspring of two plants or animals of different species or varieties. This can be also for a person of mixed racial or cultural origin. It is a thing composed of incongruous elements, example a word with parts taken from different languages. Biologically, it is a heterogeneous product. That is what I call hybridization. That mixture of cultures, traditions, rites, beliefs and so on. The dismissal of the authentic vision of the church to embrace the worldly culture and tradition; finding a refuge and consolation in it.
Let us now study what happened in the very first embassy of God in the republic of earth, in the city of Eden. The bible says the Lord had prepared everything and then he decided to create a man to have dominion over all the creation. God needed the man to be on top, to lead, to guide, to dominate and to have absolute power on earth where he was planted as an ambassador. We all know it well that no one can go to any foreign country without passing by the embassy or the diplomatic representative of the country he wish to visit in his home country. Let us read the mission and the appointment of the man in the Garden embassy.
Genesis1: 26: “Then God said: ‘let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground’.” Genesis2: 8: “Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.”
Note the plan and the purpose of God for his ambassador in the Garden. The bible says God wanted the man he made wonderfully like him to rule. To rule means to have dominion, to govern, make a law, to have authority. Let us compare it with the solemn declaration of Jesus in Matthew 16:19 about the church. You will realize that it was the same aim. To dominate. When the church is pure, without any mixture, it is powerful like the primitive church. Miracles, wonders and signs are the common thing in the church while the church grabs on the authentic laws and principles of the owner. When the man in the garden was according to the will of God, there were never any sorrow, trouble, diseases, sickness, worry, stress, aches and so on. But the day man has allowed specie to be mixed with the original he had, and then started problems, worry about mode attire, and trouble about the economic situation, stress and lack of peace of mind, confusion and death. I said that the church is the vehicle of the expression of God to the humanity and people in the church are the valuable vessels, the recipients of miracles of God. They are the very useful instruments in the might hand of God to demonstrate the power of God to the entire humanity. They are the eye of God that they can see visions and dreams, the ear of God so that they can hear the fresh and pure word of revelation from God, the hand of God so that miracles, signs and wonders are made by their hands, in brief they are all for God almighty in the world.
When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came in the world, he did not want us to be ignorant of the powerful and strong vision of his holy church. When we read in the gospel of Matthew 17: 1-8: “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters –one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah’. While he was speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. ‘Get up’, he said. ‘Don’t be afraid’. When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.”
This is the powerful account of the transfiguration. But listen; there is more than that. Let us travel together with our Lord Jesus Christ at the glorious mountain where we will meet the glory of Omnipotent Jehovah Shammah. At the mountain we see the face of Jesus changing and becoming whiter. It does not stop there. We then see Jesus in between too strange people, Moses and Elijah. The time of Moses, he was the carrier of the ‘Torah’, the law of God to Israel. Moses played a capital role in his life to free and liberate Israel from slavery in Egypt. Realize then his end. He just disappeared at the Mont Nebo and till now no one knows where his body was laid. At the mountain. From the mountain he went to receive the regulations for the good administration of the embassy. It was from the mountain. Oh God of the mountains! Whenever Moses wanted fast solution to any type of problem, when he was in between of life dilemmas, he was rushing fast to the mountain, and there he could come and none in the congregation were able to face him because his face was brightly shinning as light. How marvelous! The other side we see the prophet of fire, Elijah. Elijah was a man who made his own story in his time. A fearless reformer, he was capable to reproach even the king. One day at the mountain, he defied the prophets of Baal, his refuge and power was at the mountain. I pray the Lord to give you also the revelation of the mountain. His end also was not like the end of any single person. Like Moses, no one saw his dead body. The bible says in the book of 2Kings chapter two that he was taken by a chariot of fire from heaven to heaven in the presence of his successor Elisha. A success without a successor is a deception. If the young Elisha was not around how could we know what happened to this giant man of God? Prepare also your successor. People, the students in the colleges and theology institutes and university of Jericho said: no, that’s not possible, may be the spirit of God has lifted him up and dropped him somewhere in the mountains. – Maybe because he was the man of mountains, that is why they thought so. They went to look for him all around mountains for good three days and did not find him there. I hope we are still together about this people of mountains. Lastly we see Jesus who went with some of his friends to witness the fact. Jesus also, in most cases, the bible says he was going to the mountain. He was really the friend of the mountain.
In this day, Jesus wanted his friend to have a clear picture of his embassy church on earth, the one pure and blameless, the one without mixture. What happened at the mountain? The apparition of the two celebrant men. One on the right and on other on the left. The perspicacious Peter says oh Lord, if you wish; we can put and dress three tents here. One will be for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. Let our God be praised forever and ever!
This is the vision of the world of seeing the church. Actually in the world, we have three types of churches: The church of Christ, the church of Moses and the church of Elijah. Today people need what please to them. They want to know what they have done with their conscious. They have the itch of what is agreeable and what sound sweet to their ears. They do not care about the authenticity of the church. They use the church as a cover to fit and cover their business and also to provide for their retirement period. We have different types of ‘churches’ those I prefer to call denominations. Each and every one has got his own doctrine, belief and taught. But in general they are called church. It is the matter for the leader to find a beautiful name to give it and it’s done. The church of Moses, they mock the New Testament, they say God is only God of Torah, the Mosaic Law. Whatever you tell them from the New Testament is funny. They form their own doctrine and law in accordance to their ignorance. They attract a good number of weak and innocent ignorant people behind them. They abuse and misuse others in the name of the law of their beliefs. They are very good impressionists of others. In the hand we have the so-called ‘eagles’. You will find that in the church all of them are prophets. Whatever they are doing, -even sin- is prophetic. They destroy families; violate people’s wives, rape girls, all prophetically. Oh God have mercy. What a deceitful anointing? They crock, rob, lie, and do all the evil in the name of the prophetic anointing. They are full of lust and very well trained hypocrites. Most of their prophecies are family based. Always you have a problem; it is your uncle, cousin, mother, grandpa, … who is doing that to you. They cannot point to Satan because they are his sons. Reason why they deviate to tell you about people you know so that the causative of your trouble will remain doing again and again in peace. Holiness is not their portion of life. They live exactly like healthy pigs. They prophesize even trees along the road where they pass just to attract people to them. They can imagine and think speedy to what they can do to lie and rob. You will notice that these days, people like such places. If they come in a place they find order and the fresh bread from heaven, they are not happy at all. They say it is boring. We wished the preacher would be telling us our problems. You see that these people have their problems they know well but they are expecting the preacher to come to tell them these very problems like a ‘sangoma’ to guess what they have done. What a ‘betise’? If you have done what your conscious accuses you with, do not delay and waste time, just repent and the Lord is full of mercy; he is waiting for you to be forgiven. This is exactly what the bible reports to us in the book of the messianic prophet Isaiah 4:1: “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, ‘we will eat our own food and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by your name, to take away our reproach’.” NKJV. Have you ever study carefully this verse? I do not want to go deep with this. The seven ladies know what they want. They do not care be out of bound of marriage. They only need to be like married. They say to take away our reproach, our shame, we need to bear only your name. The remaining of things will be up to us. We will eat our own food, - not yours, we will put on our own attire, not yours. We only need your name. As you it well, one can be identified through his attire. Here in Africa, we recognize a Swazi from his attire; a West African is known from him his attire. The way people dress in America is very different from the way they dress in Europe. The type of food and the mode of preparation are likely different. An authentic African, wherever he is will always think to his favorite ‘pap or nshima’. A popular say states: tell me what you dress and eat and I will tell who you are.
The third is the tent of Christ, the original one that will never pass. Jesus’ friends were maybe surprised to notice that after the glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ, there were no other except Jesus alone. It was marvelous really. Listen the sky, the world, the law, the prophecy, the religion, the politics, the moral, the philosophy, the theology and all knowledge WILL PASS but the word of God, which is the kingdom of the elected will never and never pass. Look and decide how to position yourself. Where do you want to be? The bible tells us that large is the way bringing to the perdition and so many are already engaged in it while the confined the way of salvation, few are those finding it. Actually the gospel is preached to all by all means possible. When the church mix the word of God with any other thing from the human being to satisfy his desire, passion and lust, there will come only confusion and deception. The word of God is enough to teach, correct, instruct and guide us in all truth. Why looking for other tanks and hewn yourselves cisterns, - broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
I’d like to do the table of hybridization to see how deceitful it is.
X a b
A Aa Ab
B Ba Bb
Notice that in the table you have Aa; which is the pure race, while in the last column you have Ab; which is the hybrid of the mixture of A and b. this race in pure at all. It is a ‘fifty fifty’ product. That dangerous especially when we mix the Christianity with the culture of the place and area. When racism, tribalism, geo-politic is intromitted in the church, there is death and not life. May God have mercy and help us to come out of all this confusion and shame, for us to be able to praise him and present ourselves to him as an offering of a nice smell to him in a holy and blameless worship.
Let us therefore reason together about this famous Christmas, do we really want to celebrate it as a religious habit or we can drop it if we want to please God? I know, it is not easy for people or those rubbing their hands on it because the day of great gifts and presents but dismissing the King Jesus? It was good when you had no knowledge of this as now.
Christmas ↔ Cristo missa est ↔ Christ you are dismissed.
Let us have a look to what happened in the first church on earth, the first God’s embassy in the Eden. Note that when everything was new without any mixture, the man was enjoying being in the presence of God, to speak with him, to converse and walk with him. But the day the mixture came in, oh, everything changed. The man could then avoid God, avoid to be in the presence of God, he was then preoccupied with things of this system, stressed and worried. Why? Because there were in him a hybrid product. The truth of God plus the truth from the devil were the hybridization bringing only death and not life.
Check now and decide which truth do you want? God’s or evil’s truth?
Do not lie to yourself my brother and sister, wherever there is hybridization, there is shame, trouble, stress, confusion, disappointment, and all the other negative things that can follow. There is no way we can mix the word of God or the truth with any semi truth and live, never. Our God is authentic and enjoys to be worshipped so. All the fruits of human mind which needs to associate God with their philosophy, thinking, deception and whatever are only deceptive and source of complete death.
Let us seek the face of God and himself will reveal his nature and his will to us if we seek him with humility and sincerity of hearts.
The bible says he is standing at the door of our hearts and he is knocking, if anyone can hear his voice and open, he will get in and sit at the table with you for supper together. What a privilege to sit and eat together with the King of kings, the Lord of all creation.
