Here is an email that I received today from one of my dear sisters in Christ, she doesn't belong to this forum, but she gave me permission to share this letter with you.
I have been reflecting on Micah lately, as many parts of it seem to parallel the times we are in. Today I was back in 4 and 5, where it introduces the Messiah coming from Bethlehem... describes how the Jewish people will still be lions even when they are spread out across the nations... brings up the competition over Jerusalem, and ways the tensions will be set up.
What kept standing out to me -- that the priests will teach for hire, and the prophets will take money for divining/prophesying.
How commonplace it has become, that ministers of the gospel make their livings on God's Word. So common, that something inside us wrestles with this verse -- but, but, but.
Many forum discussions on the incredible incomes of televangelists, have been squelched and argued over. But we have hardly brought up the likelihood of governments tying incentives in with churches, and I have heard evidence of it happening. Who knows, maybe ministers or churches are getting extra tax breaks or funding for running certain programs.
This week a TV (TBN?FOX?) show guest held up some booklets on environmentalism that contained pagan references, and said that churches and schools had been approached to use these -- I think for youth clubs.
After Katrina, many of us heard about the FEMA training in churches, where ministers were asked to promote submission in their congregations, and get rid of cowboy mentality that might lead individuals to take charge in emergencies.
There are probably other concrete clubs and incentives going on, that we are not yet aware of.
--Father, may these attempts to infiltrate and control be stopped before they take hold -- You are mightier than all of them, more powerful than anything man can do against us.--
Micah 4
Chapter 4
1
And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as1 [Lit on ] the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it.
2
Many nations will come and say, "Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
...
10
"Writhe and labor to give birth, Daughter of Zion, Like a woman in childbirth; For now you will go out of the city, Dwell in the field, And go to Babylon. There you will be rescued; There the Lord will redeem you From the hand of your enemies.
11
"And now many nations have been assembled against you Who say, 'Let her be polluted, And let our eyes gloat6 [Lit look on ] over Zion.'
12
"But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord , And they do not understand His purpose; For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
Micah 5
2
"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His4 [Or His appearances are from long ago, from days of old ] goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity."
(-: Like John 1, in the beginning was the Word)
4
And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the Lord , In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will remain5 [Or live in safety] , Because at6 [Lit now ] that time He will be great To the ends of the earth.
5
This One will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, When he tramples on our citadels7 [Or palaces ] , Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.
6
They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, The land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian When he attacks our land And when he tramples our territory.
7
Then the remnant of Jacob Will be among many peoples Like dew from the Lord , Like showers on vegetation Which do not wait for man Or delay for the sons of men.
8
The remnant of Jacob Will be among the nations, Among many peoples Like a lion among the beasts of the forest, Like a young lion among flocks of sheep, Which, if he passes through, Tramples down and tears, And there is none to rescue.
9
Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries, And all your enemies will be cut off.
10
"It will be in that day," declares the Lord , "That I will cut off your horses from among you And destroy your chariots.
11
"I will also cut off the cities of your land And tear down all your fortifications.
12
"I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you will have fortune-tellers no more.
13
"I will cut off your carved images And your sacred pillars from among you, So that you will no longer bow down To the work of your hands.
14
"I will root out your Asherim8 [I.e. wooden symbols of a female deity] from among you And destroy your cities.
15
"And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath On the nations which have not obeyed."
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 (10/20/2010), 8:48 a.m. I woke a little after
5 a.m. this morning with this song playing in my mind:
Silent Night / Joseph Mohr / Franz Gruber
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth"
I had not heard that song play, that I am aware of, for over a year, so it was strange that it would be in my mind this morning.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Zephaniah 1:
The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:
Warning of Coming Destruction
2 "I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,"
declares the LORD.
3 "I will sweep away both men and animals;
I will sweep away the birds of the air
and the fish of the sea.
The wicked will have only heaps of rubble
when I cut off man from the face of the earth,"
declares the LORD.
Against Judah
4 "I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal,
the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests-
5 those who bow down on the roofs
to worship the starry host,
those who bow down and swear by the LORD
and who also swear by Molech,
6 those who turn back from following the LORD
and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him.
7 Be silent before the Sovereign LORD,
for the day of the LORD is near.
The LORD has prepared a sacrifice;
he has consecrated those he has invited.
8 On the day of the LORD's sacrifice
I will punish the princes
and the king's sons
and all those clad
in foreign clothes.
9 On that day I will punish
all who avoid stepping on the threshold,
who fill the temple of their gods
with violence and deceit.
10 "On that day," declares the LORD,
"a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,
wailing from the New Quarter,
and a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail, you who live in the market district;
all your merchants will be wiped out,
all who trade with silver will be ruined.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who are complacent,
who are like wine left on its dregs,
who think, 'The LORD will do nothing,
either good or bad.'
13 Their wealth will be plundered,
their houses demolished.
They will build houses
but not live in them;
they will plant vineyards
but not drink the wine.
The Great Day of the Lord
14 "The great day of the LORD is near
near and coming quickly.
Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter,
the shouting of the warrior there.
15 That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.
17 I will bring distress on the people
and they will walk like blind men,
because they have sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their entrails like filth.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the LORD's wrath.
In the fire of his jealousy
the whole world will be consumed,
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live in the earth."
My Understanding: In v. 5, Gods indictment against his people was that they bowed down to worship him, but that they also swore by Molech, so I first of all wanted to understand who Molech was.
Origins of Molech and his Legend | Molech
This article suggests that Molech is associated closely with the Babylonian god of the sun and that he may be an incarnation of Nimrod, who built the tower of Babel. Nimrod was the great-grandson of Noah. Nimrod led his people to the worship of Baal.
In doing further research on Molech, I came across this link connecting the figure of Molech with Washington, D.C. and with the New World Order - Welcome to cremationofcare.com - You are currently within the 'The Illuminati' section.. Actually, Washington, D.C.
is loaded with symbols of false gods from the Obelisk (reference to sun god
Ra) of Washingtons monument to the temple and throne of Zeus that were replicated in the Lincoln Memorial, to the layout of the city streets and the buildings in D.C., to our Great Seal, to our money, etc. There is much information available on the internet connecting Washington, D.C. with idolatry, with the worship of false gods, with the occult and with Satanic worship.
I read in several places on Google, as well as in several Bible dictionaries that Molech means shameful king. Molech is associated with death and the underworld. Molech is also associated with child sacrifice. [Ref: Harpers Bible Dictionary & The New Bible Dictionary]
The Bible Knowledge Commentary on vv. 5-7: Second, Zephaniah mentioned those who attempted to combine the worship of Yahweh with the worship of Molech, a form of religious syncretism. Molech was the chief god of the Ammonites (1 Kings 11:33), a people east of the Dead Sea (cf. Zeph. 2:8-9).
Jeremiah, a contemporary of Zephaniah, said the Jews were sacrificing children to Molech (Jer. 32:35; cf. 2 Kings 16:3; 21:6). The Hebrew Malkām (Zeph. 1:5, niv marg.) is a variant spelling of Molech. To swear by a deity meant to pronounce an oath under the threat of punishment by that deity if one failed to carry out his oath. Third, the prophet spoke of others who were religiously indifferent and unconcerned about worshiping the true God (v. 6), though they may not have been worshiping other gods. 1:7.
After citing three types of idolatry in Judahthe overtly pagan, the syncretistic, and the religiously indifferentthe prophet called on all of them to be silent before God (cf. Hab. 2:20) because of the imminence of the day of the Lord.
Religious syncretism - Syncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate or contrary beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term literally means "growing together. ...
Syncretism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I believe, and the Lord has shown me this a hundred times over (or more), that the Lord sees the institutional church of America in a contractual relationship with the United States Government (via 501c3 non-profit status), and he also sees this as a syncretism, i.e. as this bowing down to worship Almighty God but also to swear (on oath) by Molech:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
I believe the Lord has been calling his people for a long time to come out of her, i.e. to come out from under her influence, to not be joined together with the government in partnership (501c3), to not bow to her (pledge allegiance), and to not look to her to be our savior (Republican, Democrat, Independent, Tea Party, etc.). Certainly we must abide by the laws of the land until those laws conflict with the laws of God, and then we must obey God rather than man. This worship on the roof tops had to do with it being public. I see so many people making public professions of faith in political parties and movements and in the flag, the government and the military of the U.S.A., yet few who will give such unadulterated devotion publicly to Almighty God. This is syncretism at its worst. God has been trying to tell us for some time that the U.S.A. is not a Christian nation but that it is founded on the worship of false gods, on idolatry, on Satanism, on the occult, and that our country is the birthplace of this New World Order which is the Beast of Revelation.
Aside from that, the song Silent Night is closely associated with the celebration of a holiday we call Christmas. It supposedly is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and yet it typifies this syncretism more than anything I know. Santa Claus is really the key figure on this day.
Notice how much Santa looks like Satan. And, look at his
characteristics:
* Knows when you are sleeping; knows when you are awake; knows when
youve been bad or good
* He can deliver presents to all the children of the world in a single
night
* He can answer all your requests for what you want just ask him
Now, compare those characteristics to the attributes of Almighty God:
* All knowing
* Present everywhere
* All powerful
Santa is an image of Satan who wants to be God, and the purpose of combining the celebration of Christs birth on the same day as the celebration of Santa is to blend Christianity with pagan and with worldly practices
(syncretism) and for the pagan and the worldly to overshadow the Christ. The same goes with Easter and the Easter Bunny, but not to the extent of the Santa figure who mimics the attributes of Almighty God and who steals the hearts (child sacrifice) of our children away from Almighty God to Satan and the world.
Then, there is the issue of how much the world and worldly philosophies have crept into and have been adopted by the church to where it is indistinguishable between the church and the world anymore. The church has just become a cleaned up version of what the world has to offer. We are attracting the world to the church by worldly means, so what we are attracting them to is more of the world. Instead, we are supposed to go out into the world and to be lights of the gospel in telling the world about Jesus Christ, about his death, his resurrection, his coming again, and about the sacrifice on the cross for our sins and of our need to repent of our sins of adultery, idolatry, witchcraft, etc. so that the world can come to know Jesus Christ in his fullness and can then be joined with the true church of Jesus Christ (the one not married to the federal government of the United States of America).
"Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
for her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes. [Revelation 18:4-5]
So, the Silent Night that God is referring to here, in this writing, is summarized well by the commentator (quoted above), so I will conclude with that quote:
After citing three types of idolatry in Judahthe overtly pagan, the syncretistic, and the religiously indifferentthe prophet called on all of them to be silent before God (cf. Hab. 2:20) because of the imminence of the day of the Lord.
But the LORD is in his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him." [Habakkuk 2:20]
Silent Night, Holy Night
I have been reflecting on Micah lately, as many parts of it seem to parallel the times we are in. Today I was back in 4 and 5, where it introduces the Messiah coming from Bethlehem... describes how the Jewish people will still be lions even when they are spread out across the nations... brings up the competition over Jerusalem, and ways the tensions will be set up.
What kept standing out to me -- that the priests will teach for hire, and the prophets will take money for divining/prophesying.
How commonplace it has become, that ministers of the gospel make their livings on God's Word. So common, that something inside us wrestles with this verse -- but, but, but.
Many forum discussions on the incredible incomes of televangelists, have been squelched and argued over. But we have hardly brought up the likelihood of governments tying incentives in with churches, and I have heard evidence of it happening. Who knows, maybe ministers or churches are getting extra tax breaks or funding for running certain programs.
This week a TV (TBN?FOX?) show guest held up some booklets on environmentalism that contained pagan references, and said that churches and schools had been approached to use these -- I think for youth clubs.
After Katrina, many of us heard about the FEMA training in churches, where ministers were asked to promote submission in their congregations, and get rid of cowboy mentality that might lead individuals to take charge in emergencies.
There are probably other concrete clubs and incentives going on, that we are not yet aware of.
--Father, may these attempts to infiltrate and control be stopped before they take hold -- You are mightier than all of them, more powerful than anything man can do against us.--
Micah 4
Chapter 4
1
And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as1 [Lit on ] the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it.
2
Many nations will come and say, "Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
...
10
"Writhe and labor to give birth, Daughter of Zion, Like a woman in childbirth; For now you will go out of the city, Dwell in the field, And go to Babylon. There you will be rescued; There the Lord will redeem you From the hand of your enemies.
11
"And now many nations have been assembled against you Who say, 'Let her be polluted, And let our eyes gloat6 [Lit look on ] over Zion.'
12
"But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord , And they do not understand His purpose; For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
Micah 5
2
"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His4 [Or His appearances are from long ago, from days of old ] goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity."
(-: Like John 1, in the beginning was the Word)
4
And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the Lord , In the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. And they will remain5 [Or live in safety] , Because at6 [Lit now ] that time He will be great To the ends of the earth.
5
This One will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, When he tramples on our citadels7 [Or palaces ] , Then we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight leaders of men.
6
They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, The land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will deliver us from the Assyrian When he attacks our land And when he tramples our territory.
7
Then the remnant of Jacob Will be among many peoples Like dew from the Lord , Like showers on vegetation Which do not wait for man Or delay for the sons of men.
8
The remnant of Jacob Will be among the nations, Among many peoples Like a lion among the beasts of the forest, Like a young lion among flocks of sheep, Which, if he passes through, Tramples down and tears, And there is none to rescue.
9
Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries, And all your enemies will be cut off.
10
"It will be in that day," declares the Lord , "That I will cut off your horses from among you And destroy your chariots.
11
"I will also cut off the cities of your land And tear down all your fortifications.
12
"I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you will have fortune-tellers no more.
13
"I will cut off your carved images And your sacred pillars from among you, So that you will no longer bow down To the work of your hands.
14
"I will root out your Asherim8 [I.e. wooden symbols of a female deity] from among you And destroy your cities.
15
"And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath On the nations which have not obeyed."
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 (10/20/2010), 8:48 a.m. I woke a little after
5 a.m. this morning with this song playing in my mind:
Silent Night / Joseph Mohr / Franz Gruber
Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born
Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth"
I had not heard that song play, that I am aware of, for over a year, so it was strange that it would be in my mind this morning.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Zephaniah 1:
The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:
Warning of Coming Destruction
2 "I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,"
declares the LORD.
3 "I will sweep away both men and animals;
I will sweep away the birds of the air
and the fish of the sea.
The wicked will have only heaps of rubble
when I cut off man from the face of the earth,"
declares the LORD.
Against Judah
4 "I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal,
the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests-
5 those who bow down on the roofs
to worship the starry host,
those who bow down and swear by the LORD
and who also swear by Molech,
6 those who turn back from following the LORD
and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him.
7 Be silent before the Sovereign LORD,
for the day of the LORD is near.
The LORD has prepared a sacrifice;
he has consecrated those he has invited.
8 On the day of the LORD's sacrifice
I will punish the princes
and the king's sons
and all those clad
in foreign clothes.
9 On that day I will punish
all who avoid stepping on the threshold,
who fill the temple of their gods
with violence and deceit.
10 "On that day," declares the LORD,
"a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,
wailing from the New Quarter,
and a loud crash from the hills.
11 Wail, you who live in the market district;
all your merchants will be wiped out,
all who trade with silver will be ruined.
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who are complacent,
who are like wine left on its dregs,
who think, 'The LORD will do nothing,
either good or bad.'
13 Their wealth will be plundered,
their houses demolished.
They will build houses
but not live in them;
they will plant vineyards
but not drink the wine.
The Great Day of the Lord
14 "The great day of the LORD is near
near and coming quickly.
Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter,
the shouting of the warrior there.
15 That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.
17 I will bring distress on the people
and they will walk like blind men,
because they have sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their entrails like filth.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the LORD's wrath.
In the fire of his jealousy
the whole world will be consumed,
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live in the earth."
My Understanding: In v. 5, Gods indictment against his people was that they bowed down to worship him, but that they also swore by Molech, so I first of all wanted to understand who Molech was.
Origins of Molech and his Legend | Molech
This article suggests that Molech is associated closely with the Babylonian god of the sun and that he may be an incarnation of Nimrod, who built the tower of Babel. Nimrod was the great-grandson of Noah. Nimrod led his people to the worship of Baal.
In doing further research on Molech, I came across this link connecting the figure of Molech with Washington, D.C. and with the New World Order - Welcome to cremationofcare.com - You are currently within the 'The Illuminati' section.. Actually, Washington, D.C.
is loaded with symbols of false gods from the Obelisk (reference to sun god
Ra) of Washingtons monument to the temple and throne of Zeus that were replicated in the Lincoln Memorial, to the layout of the city streets and the buildings in D.C., to our Great Seal, to our money, etc. There is much information available on the internet connecting Washington, D.C. with idolatry, with the worship of false gods, with the occult and with Satanic worship.
I read in several places on Google, as well as in several Bible dictionaries that Molech means shameful king. Molech is associated with death and the underworld. Molech is also associated with child sacrifice. [Ref: Harpers Bible Dictionary & The New Bible Dictionary]
The Bible Knowledge Commentary on vv. 5-7: Second, Zephaniah mentioned those who attempted to combine the worship of Yahweh with the worship of Molech, a form of religious syncretism. Molech was the chief god of the Ammonites (1 Kings 11:33), a people east of the Dead Sea (cf. Zeph. 2:8-9).
Jeremiah, a contemporary of Zephaniah, said the Jews were sacrificing children to Molech (Jer. 32:35; cf. 2 Kings 16:3; 21:6). The Hebrew Malkām (Zeph. 1:5, niv marg.) is a variant spelling of Molech. To swear by a deity meant to pronounce an oath under the threat of punishment by that deity if one failed to carry out his oath. Third, the prophet spoke of others who were religiously indifferent and unconcerned about worshiping the true God (v. 6), though they may not have been worshiping other gods. 1:7.
After citing three types of idolatry in Judahthe overtly pagan, the syncretistic, and the religiously indifferentthe prophet called on all of them to be silent before God (cf. Hab. 2:20) because of the imminence of the day of the Lord.
Religious syncretism - Syncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate or contrary beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term literally means "growing together. ...
Syncretism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I believe, and the Lord has shown me this a hundred times over (or more), that the Lord sees the institutional church of America in a contractual relationship with the United States Government (via 501c3 non-profit status), and he also sees this as a syncretism, i.e. as this bowing down to worship Almighty God but also to swear (on oath) by Molech:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
I believe the Lord has been calling his people for a long time to come out of her, i.e. to come out from under her influence, to not be joined together with the government in partnership (501c3), to not bow to her (pledge allegiance), and to not look to her to be our savior (Republican, Democrat, Independent, Tea Party, etc.). Certainly we must abide by the laws of the land until those laws conflict with the laws of God, and then we must obey God rather than man. This worship on the roof tops had to do with it being public. I see so many people making public professions of faith in political parties and movements and in the flag, the government and the military of the U.S.A., yet few who will give such unadulterated devotion publicly to Almighty God. This is syncretism at its worst. God has been trying to tell us for some time that the U.S.A. is not a Christian nation but that it is founded on the worship of false gods, on idolatry, on Satanism, on the occult, and that our country is the birthplace of this New World Order which is the Beast of Revelation.
Aside from that, the song Silent Night is closely associated with the celebration of a holiday we call Christmas. It supposedly is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and yet it typifies this syncretism more than anything I know. Santa Claus is really the key figure on this day.
Notice how much Santa looks like Satan. And, look at his
characteristics:
* Knows when you are sleeping; knows when you are awake; knows when
youve been bad or good
* He can deliver presents to all the children of the world in a single
night
* He can answer all your requests for what you want just ask him
Now, compare those characteristics to the attributes of Almighty God:
* All knowing
* Present everywhere
* All powerful
Santa is an image of Satan who wants to be God, and the purpose of combining the celebration of Christs birth on the same day as the celebration of Santa is to blend Christianity with pagan and with worldly practices
(syncretism) and for the pagan and the worldly to overshadow the Christ. The same goes with Easter and the Easter Bunny, but not to the extent of the Santa figure who mimics the attributes of Almighty God and who steals the hearts (child sacrifice) of our children away from Almighty God to Satan and the world.
Then, there is the issue of how much the world and worldly philosophies have crept into and have been adopted by the church to where it is indistinguishable between the church and the world anymore. The church has just become a cleaned up version of what the world has to offer. We are attracting the world to the church by worldly means, so what we are attracting them to is more of the world. Instead, we are supposed to go out into the world and to be lights of the gospel in telling the world about Jesus Christ, about his death, his resurrection, his coming again, and about the sacrifice on the cross for our sins and of our need to repent of our sins of adultery, idolatry, witchcraft, etc. so that the world can come to know Jesus Christ in his fullness and can then be joined with the true church of Jesus Christ (the one not married to the federal government of the United States of America).
"Come out of her, my people,
so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
for her sins are piled up to heaven,
and God has remembered her crimes. [Revelation 18:4-5]
So, the Silent Night that God is referring to here, in this writing, is summarized well by the commentator (quoted above), so I will conclude with that quote:
After citing three types of idolatry in Judahthe overtly pagan, the syncretistic, and the religiously indifferentthe prophet called on all of them to be silent before God (cf. Hab. 2:20) because of the imminence of the day of the Lord.
But the LORD is in his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him." [Habakkuk 2:20]
Silent Night, Holy Night
Okay, it was on my list, but no where near the top! It's amazing how many things are such blessings! Take the time this year and make a list and present it to God! We now watch a dog show every year and then there is football.
