The ACOGs Celebrate Christ’s Second Advent and Ignore the First One!
Lonnie Hendrix
The Armstrong Churches of God teach that traditional Christianity’s celebration of Christ’s first advent (Christmas) has no basis in Scripture and is actually rooted in paganism. They point out that Christians are commanded to celebrate Christ’s death (Eucharist/Passover) and are no where commanded to celebrate his birth. They are quick to point out that we don’t even know the actual date of that event, and that only pagans and sinners are noted as celebrating birthdays in Scripture. Instead, they focus on Christ’s second advent – his return to this earth to defeat the governments of this earth and establish the Kingdom of God (which they associate with the Torah festivals of Trumpets and Tabernacles). Never mind that Christ’s second coming would NOT have been possible without his first advent! Indeed, they completely ignore the fact that Scripture has just as much to say about that first advent as it does to say about the second one.
First, the assertion that the celebration of Christ’s first advent has no basis in Scripture is a falsehood pure and simple! In the Gospel of Luke, we read: “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” (Luke 2:8-20, ESV, here and throughout) I don’t know about you, but that sure sounds like a celebration of Christ’s birth to me!
Likewise, in the Gospel of Matthew, we read: “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him’…When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:1-2, 10-11) Once again, that sure sounds like a celebration to me! Sure, this celebration occurred after the event, but the context makes very plain that this was a celebration of his birth. Moreover, we all know that the passages quoted here are only a portion of the nativity narratives preserved in these two gospels! And, as we have already noted, there are a number of Old Testament prophecies specifically related to the birth of Jesus Christ (e.g., Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, 11:1, Micah 5:2).
Second, it is impossible to overestimate the importance and necessity of that first advent! Remember, the angel told Joseph that Jesus would “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Likewise, in the Gospel of John, we read: “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:9-14) Likewise, we cannot ignore that passage which is universally recognized among Christians as critical. I am, of course, speaking of the passage which quoted Jesus telling Nicodemus: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16-17)
In short, Christ’s birth was the essential precursor to everything that was to follow! We read in the epistle to the Hebrews: “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:14-18) Later, in the same epistle, we read: “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:24-28) In other words, that second coming is entirely dependent on the first one!
Finally, not only do the above referenced Scriptures underscore the lie that Scripture ignores and/or dismisses the importance of Christ’s nativity, they also disprove the Armstrongist narrative that Christ’s nativity was not celebrated by Christians for the first two or three hundred years of their history! Sure, history tells us that there wasn’t any day designated for celebration during that period, but that does NOT mean that Christians ever ignored Christ’s first advent. Indeed, in addition to the scriptures cited above, there are numerous references to Christ’s birth as an event worthy of celebration in early Christian writings. Ignatius of Antioch wrote to the saints at Ephesus about Christ’s first advent: “How, then, was He manifested to the world? A star shone forth in heaven above all the other stars, the light of Which was inexpressible, while its novelty struck men with astonishment. And all the rest of the stars, with the sun and moon, formed a chorus to this star, and its light was exceedingly great above them all. And there was agitation felt as to whence this new spectacle came, so unlike to everything else [in the heavens]. Hence every kind of magic was destroyed, and every bond of wickedness disappeared; ignorance was removed, and the old kingdom abolished, God Himself being manifested in human form for the renewal of eternal life.” Likewise, Justin Martyr wrote extensively about the importance of that first advent in the Second Century.
Hence, we have demonstrated that the Armstrongist narrative about traditional Christianity’s celebration of Christ’s first advent is not consistent with Scripture, history, or logic. The TRUTH is that Christians have always celebrated Christ’s first coming to this earth. It is NOT a late development, and it is obviously NOT derived from paganism!
34 comments:
It's OK to celebrate the birth, but in winter? I don't think Augustus decreed the world should be "taxed" that involves transportation, in winter. Luke writes: ...in the sixth the month...., not just "in the sixth month". Strong defines "month" as the lunar month. Counting from Nisan the 6th month is Elul and could be about the time Jesus was conceived. Then the birth was about nine months later, maybe the third month Sivan. About the time of Pentecost?, the feast of harvest of firstfruits. After all Jesus is referred to as the firstfruits - 1Cor 15:20.
Christmas is totally pagan. But how many "Christian teachers" will admit it? All those who do not must be considered baldfaced liars. In this day and age, the facts are all over the place, so ignorance of them cannot be considred a viable explanation.
Who conceals the pagan origins of Xmas? The haters of truth. They are no better that HWA, whom they despise.
As the wise men in Matthew's account celebrated Christ's birth several weeks or months after he was born, it appears that the timing of the celebration wasn't important.
All Christian denominations have known for hundreds of years that Xmas is pagan. But many of them, it seems, still won't preach that to the stooges in the pews.
Lonnie, the wise men saw the child two years after the shepherds. And, they brought gifts because that was the proper action when visiting a king. They were not birthday gifts, they were royalty gifts.
Wish you would be more accurate and not just present what seems to present your personal perspective, but the full story.
I believe that CGI, in its early days under Garner Ted Armstrong, celebrated Christ's birth on the 1st Day of the Feast of Tabernacles, although they no longer appear to do so now. This date was determined based on the priestly course of Abijah, and also the fact that if Christ was born then, he would have been circumcised of the 8th Day. They also sang some "Carols" as long as they were Biblically based such as "O come all ye Faithful". In some cases people exchanged gifts using their second tithe. I can see nothing wrong with this practice, but it was eventually withdrawn because CGI was accused of "keeping Christmas" which was considered an anasthema due to the teachings of HWA.
The other confusion is that there is a big difference between Christ's "incarnation", a term not found in the Bible, and his "nativity" or "conception", a term which is found in the Bible (Luke 1:31), and means to bring into existence, rather than to change from being a God to a being a man.
Of course Christmas is pagan. Go research it. Even if Jesus kept it himself, that would only prove that Jesus was a pagan and that the church started out pagan.
We need to celebrate Christ's birth. I know, lets do it on Satan's birthday, that should really please Him!
Lonnie is a full blown apostate who loves to push his Catholic/Protestantism on anyone that will listen.
The idea that the angel's announcement amounts to a christmas celebration is beyond absurd.
Notice how the defenders of the Armstrongist narrative about Christmas don't provide any counterpoints or cite any sources. They simply cannot let go of this narrative, because it is one of the things that makes them "TRUE" Christians and everyone else "so-called" Christians!
Most of them know that Hislop's "The Two Babylons" and Woodrow's "Babylonian Mystery Religion" have been thoroughly discredited by historical scholars. They also know that we would all laugh if they quoted Herbie's booklets on the subject. Moreover, most of them understand the superficial nature of citing encyclopedia articles or pop history websites out of context and without supporting evidence/documentation.
For those who are interested in an honest and objective evaluation of the available evidence, you may want to check out:
https://godcannotbecontained.blogspot.com/2022/12/a-refutation-of-hwas-plain-truth-about.html
https://godcannotbecontained.blogspot.com/2022/03/paganism-and-christianity.html
https://godcannotbecontained.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-plain-truth-about-christmas-trees.html
I see this as a denominational liturgical issue. It is about how people choose to worship God and Christ. The Armstrongists find no recurring, annual observation of the Advent of Christ in scripture. The observation that is commonly practiced in the Christian realm has some pagan associations. The observation also seems to be at the wrong time of year. Consequently, Armstrongists are abstainers from the Christian liturgical observation of the Advent. They do not ignore that value of the first coming of the Messiah, they just do not have a liturgical response to it. This does not ruffle my feathers. I abstain from Halloween. I don’t like its associations no matter what the larger society says about it being all in good fun. For me it is a matter of personal taste.
This all goes wrong when:
1. One denomination condemns the liturgical practice of another denomination and characterizes it as pagan.
2. Hand in hand with point one, one denomination takes pride in the purity of their liturgical practice and touts its acceptability to God.
Christmas is not a pagan holiday. No pagans ever systematically celebrated Christmas as a package. Some people have approached Christmas in the wrong spirit just as some Armstrongists have approached the Feast of Tabernacles in the wrong spirit. The pagan bit does not fly. Wedding rings have pagan associations and I know some Armstrongists that refuse to wear them. Christmas sales are just as much a part of the season as the main Christmas liturgy, yet I doubt there are any Armstrongist women who refrain for the sake of conscience. Ancient Canaanites had a Fall harvest festival that happened close to the Feast of Tabernacles. Simply, there is no consensus among Armstrongists about what is pagan and what is not. Nor has there been a comprehensive study to settle the issue.
It is appropriate to rejoice in the Advent as Miller points out. People are made smaller by the lack of it. The liturgy for rejoicing in the Advent is a denominational issue. Zealously ignoring Advent is not a solution in my opinion.
Scout
Anonymous Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 11:45:00 PM PST,
You need to read the entire second chapter of Matthew. Notice especially:
"7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah..."
As I said, the wise men's visit was inextricably associated with his birth. Their audience with - and presentation of gifts to - the child may have happened weeks or months after the event of his birth, NOT two years after it.
People who know xmas is pagan do not cite sources because anybody can find it easy and only a fool would waste his time debating with the likes of scout and jones who are posturing deceivers.
“Originally the idea [of birthday greetings and wishes for happiness] was rooted in magic. The working of spells for good and evil is the chief usage of witchcraft. One is especially susceptible to such spells on his birthday, as one’s personal spirits are about at that time. Dreams dreamed on the birthday eve should be remembered, for they are predictions of the future brought by the guardian spirits which hover over one’s bed on the birthday eve. Birthday greetings have power for good or ill because one is closer to the spirit world on this day. Good wishes bring good fortune, but the reverse is also true, so one should avoid enemies on one’s birthday and be surrounded only by well-wishers. “Happy birthday” and Many (more) happy returns of the day” are the traditional greetings”, -[The Lore of Birthdays, Linton, p. 20]…
Christopher Hitchens on the Jesus:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMo5R5pLPBE
Lonnie, you quoted: “ 16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah..."
Please notice why Herod chose two year olds and up… “ according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men”
The wise men saw him two years after the manger scene. Herod did not, according to this, kill children under two. There are certain things that were required to be done after birth that took time. Putting them all together shows clearly they first saw him after two years. There is a full explanation in one of the q&a sections of the GoodNews, check it out the proof is there.
Correction: I misstated myself, I meant to write Herod killed two years old and younger. Sorry about that. Herod chose two years based, again, on what he was told by the wisemen.
"People who know xmas is pagan do not cite sources because anybody can find it easy and only a fool would waste his time debating with the likes of scout and jones who are posturing deceivers."
In the presentation of alternative views in a high school debate forum, that statement would be characterized as an ad hominem attack and would be regarded as a concession, yield, or forfeit!
Definition of "pagan" from Oxford: (especially in historical contexts) a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main or recognized religions.
So an Armstrongist is pagan. They "hold" Christmas other than the main belief Christmas is OK, or whatever.
"Christmas is not a pagan holiday": meaning it's OK to observe/celebrate? "Of course Christmas is pagan": meaning it should not be observed/celebrated?
Meanwhile send in your money that you save from not observing Christmas to hindquarters.
If No2HWA will let all the comments come through you will find a pile of evidence against the usual Christian Jesus narrative. But anyone can find it on their own unless they refuse to look.
People think of Judean winters as if they are Canadian winters. December in Bethlehem will regularly have highs in the 60s and the average low overnight is around 50. This is not too cold for shepherds.
Oh, Linton? What culture was he referring to?
Utter rubbish no they did not.
Very weak argument. The term first advent and second advent is a Catholic expression. Interesting.
Would you prefer "Parousia"?
Notice that Herod's calculation was based on "what time the star had appeared" to the wise men. The wise men would have had to travel to Judaea (we have to assume that that took some time - no internal combustion engines in those days). Moreover, according to this account, Joseph and Mary had not yet returned to Nazareth (they were still in Bethlehem). Notice too that after their audience with the child the wise men "being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way." Then, we read that an angel warned Joseph to take the child to Egypt. How long was it before Herod realized the wise men weren't coming back? We don't know. At any rate, Herod's calculation was based on when the star had first appeared to the wise men in their own country. Clearly, he wanted to make sure that he got rid of any baby boys who might have remotely fulfilled the prophecy. In other words, Herod's edict about who to slaughter tells us absolutely nothing about the actual age of Jesus (other than he almost certainly was almost certainly under two years of age when Herod issued his decree).
For the record, I am NOT a Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant Christian. I simply understand that some of the people within those traditions ARE Christians. The English word "advent" means "the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event" as in the first or second coming of Jesus Christ (Catholic usage of the term does NOT make it a "Catholic expression."
What is healing? How are people and things healed? It's through the birth, life, sacrifice, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I can think of no greater example of healing than the taking of pagan practices, and totally sublimating them, transforming their entire purpose, replacing bad with good. Saturnalia of course was pagan. Christians took it, and purified it, making it all about Jesus Christ. No Christian looks forward to all of the pagan things they get to do on Christmas! That was BC! Christians are thinking about and talking about Jesus
Christ. They aren't reading the autobiography of Anton LaVey, or wishing they could go to a pagan sex orgy, or bowing to the Sun on Christmas!
The people who want Christmas to be seen as still pagan are attempting to undo Jesus' triumph over sin, and his healing the earth of all the paganism. There was a man named Alexander who made up and published his slop about the Christian practices of his era, claiming that these were rooted in paganism. HWA made that slop one of the cornerstones of his evangelistic efforts, and used it in an attempt to prove that his own beliefs were real Christianity. Many of us who had been there and done that with HWA ended up having our hearts be smitten with the realization through the fruits that Sunday-keeping, Christmas-keeping Christians consistently exhibit, that they had put us all to shame. It's sad how our own culture viewed them with such disdain.
RSK you're a wolf that circles.
The expression first and second advent is indeed a Catholic loved expression.
Anon. 9:56 said, "Christmas is totally pagan. But how many "Christian teachers" will admit it? All those who do not must be considered baldfaced liars. In this day and age, the facts are all over the place, so ignorance of them cannot be considred a viable explanation."
Sure, the celebration is pagan in origin and not found in Scripture. Paul never said, "I want to get back to Jerusalem in time for Christmas". But just because something is pagan in origin doesn't make it evil.
When Moses was told to create a priesthood, animal sacrifices, temple, etc. were these ideas foreign to him? Egypt has pagan temples, priests, sacrifices, etc. God took pagan practices and attached new meaning to them. By doing so He sanitized them, so to speak. The church "Christianized" pagan practices, as God did Pagan ones. Pagans and Jews built temples. HWA built his temple in Pasadena, but he called it an auditorium. There he had his priests and members made their sacrifices of tithes and offering.
Pagan practices are evil only if they are used to worship a pagan God.
Boiling the Christmas celebration to the following:
1) the church setting a date to remember He was born.
2) the church gathering together to stir up love and good works for the community, friends and family.
3) the church rehearsing the biblical story of His birth, fulfilled prophecies and future coming.
4) partaking of the Lords Supper.
Pagan?
Been called worse, trust me.
Growing up Christmas was a wonderful and warm family time filled with thankfulness and a love for Immanuel. Then along came Armstrongism which does not understand the reconciling nature of Christ.
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