THE FIRST CHRISTMAS

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“…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, good will toward men.”

A day of rejoicing both in heaven and on earth at the birth of Jesus…God had provided in Jesus a Saviour of the world, that surely was something to rejoice about. Yet there are folk today, among the Christian community, that do not celebrate Christmas… I speak of the Jehovah Witnesses. They have a lot in common with the sullen Pharisees who wouldn’t join in the rejoicing when Jesus, in his adult life, entered the city of Jerusalem and the people rejoiced saying ” Hosanna: Blessed is the king of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord,” (John12:23) Jesus said to the jealous Pharisees that if the people remained silent the very stones would cry out…

And its like that today where Christmas is concerned. God has determined that once a year the entire world will acknowledge the presence of Jesus (though they may not actually celebrate the occasion) and rejoice during a public holiday.

At the close of the present world dispensation the New World Order will take its place. During the Millennium Reign of Christ, once a year, every nation will have to send a delegation to Jerusalem, at the feast of Tabernacles, to acknowledge the presence of Jesus as king of the world. Any nation failing to do this upon them there will be no rain (Zechariah 14:16-17) In the drought that will follow crops will fail and harvests will cease. Water to drink will be scarce, clothes will remain unlaundered, and in hot climates there will be water to shower in …. It will all prove a great inconvenience for those who ignore to obey the command of God…

That Jesus has power to lock up he heavens that it rains not has already been demonstrated. I call to mind the occasion when the disciples were caught in a violent storm while in their small boat on the lake of Galilee. Jesus was in the hinder part of the boat fast asleep (!) The disciples, fearing for their life awakened Jesus. Who making his way in the swaying bucking vessel to its prow stood there and commanded the storm “Peace, be still.” (Mark 4:37-39) Instantly the driving wind and rain ceased, the dark storm clouds rolled over the horizon, and the bright full moon shone forth in a clear sky!

It doesn’t surprise me that there are those who would do away with Christmas and all that it stands for. In fact every move of God has sought to be discredited by Satan and his minions. A classic example being Nicholasiam as mentioned in the Book of Revelation “which thing I hate” says God (Revelation 2:15) Let me explain. Nicolasiam is a Greek word which means “To conquer the laity.” The laity being the congregation of the church. Here is how that is done:-

Today we have the denominations of The Assemblies of God, and the Elim church, both of which were formed as a result of the great Welch Revival that swept the world early last century. There were countless miracle healings and the churches were packed to capacity with people that had experienced Salvation. The local Pubs’ and gambling dens, together with the nightclubs, went out of business and had to shut down. Everywhere people were interested only in the things of God….

In the midst of this great success there were those men who suggested that there ought to be District Councils to keep things in order, where as Godly pastors and their deacons were already ordained by God to fulfil that role in every church. It wasn’t long before District Councils were asserting their collective authority to justify their position and had the power to overrule the decisions of local church pastors… It was all a subtle move by Satan who now could control whole congregations of Gods people by influencing the dictates of the District Council members…

It was man now, no longer God, in control. And with the absence of God the miracles stopped. Those who were being Saved dwindled in number to a standstill, and the presence of the Holy Spirit ceased to be in meetings… The Revival came to an end…

Its all happening today. I can remember the occasion I preached the Word of God in a church in Nantwich. God really blessed the congregation that afternoon and his people were healed and inspired. The pastor wrote me a most encouraging letter in response…. Some months passed and I contacted the pastor for a return visit. Sadly he replied that his District Overseer would not permit him to receive my ministry because I was not a member of their church persuasion…

I received much the same treatment when in the city of New York a couple of years later. It took two hours by car to cross the busy city to attend the monthly meeting of the Assemblies of God ministers. I thought that if I were just given ten minutes to mention my ministry to the forty or so ministers present it would open some doors of opportunity. I approached with caution the District Overseer before the meeting started and politely mention my name and full time ministry. He shook my hand and said “Hollow Reverend Clapp, good bye Reverend Clapp.” That was it. I wasn’t given a minute to speak a few words to the other ministers present…

Let me tell you Beloved, that there is the One World Church on the horizon that will be the unification of all the denominations and lesser church structures that we have today. There will be simply no room for the Word of God or for God’s people. In fact the system will be so soaked in doctrinal error that no child of God will want to be in the One World Church…At its head will be the False Prophet, spoken of in Revelation 13:11-14, who will deceive the following at his disposal with lying miracles… Satan will have his man in place, always his master move to work through a few individualises, or better still, through one person…

Much the same Satanic manoeuvre is taking place among the European Union, also known as the Common Market, a handful of individuals (ten in number finally) will control world trade which concerns the job prospect of a multitude of workers and their families. The Devil has always desired world dominion to be in his hands and has tried to achieve this by controlling men like Napoleon, Hitler, and now the Common Market heads of state.

Satan has paid no price for his authority (as Jesus has done at Calvary for the power in his hands. ) Yet the Devil believes that he is going to rule the world… But his aspiration is doomed to utter failure, and worse still to his place in the Lake of Fire for eternity. (Revelation 20:10) And so will be the case of everyone that has assisted him, for example those in the European Union. They will receive the Mark of the Beast on their lives and will be tormented for ever. (Revelation 14:9-10)

Beloved, mankind is part of God’s creation and God has the divine right to do what he likes with that which is his…Moreover Jesus has, by his death at Calvary, secured the LEGAL right to do all that his kingdom stands for. It was the Apostle Peter who said “Save yourself from this untoward generation.” (Acts 2:40) That’s what we must do today by repenting of our sins, receiving God’s forgiveness, and thereafter living for him. Moreover we need to be fully assured that everything is safely in the hands of almighty God, and rejoice with his angels in heaven this Christmas season.