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!
