A Jehovah Witness Christmas
by Chuck Brooke
Reaching the lost ...
The Watchtower takes special care to separate people from the happy family gatherings of Christmas. The magazines target our Christmas celebrations with ridicule and disdain. Then the Kingdom Halls urge the poor Witnesses to take this message of criticism and gloom from door to door.
Through my own door-to-door visitation in British Columbia with my faithful deacon, Harry, we discovered many Jehovah's Witnesses. Characteristically, they would have you take their literature but they fear ours. Sound familiar? The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has such a powerful control over their minds. How sad when precious people give their lives to a lie -- facing eternal sorrow without the Friend of sinners, the Jesus of the manger, the Savior of the cross, the Lord over the empty tomb and King of eternity! Jesus was sent to "preach good tidings unto the meek ... to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound" Isaiah 61:1. We are and will be forever thankful for our Lord's boundless compassion!
So what can we do to help those held in Satan's grip and to expose his deception? Here is a suggestion that may be a blessing to your outreach as it was to mine. It's a ministry of love, going back to people the second time, and taking one more step to reach the brokenhearted and to set the captive free! I made a Christmas card and took it to the Jehovah's Witness doors - those doors without any sign of the joy of Christmas! Somewhere (under the doormat, around the mailbox, or in the edge of the door), I left Christmas cheer and the good news about the Savior of the world. I believe that through their curiosity and the quietness of their homes, the Spirit of God will use His truth to give someone hope and to set a captive free! Maybe, friend, the Lord will give you such an opportunity to spread the real message about the Son of God through this new Christmas season! Being winners in seeking souls is not purely accidental. Let's PLAN TO BE EFFECTIVE and do what we can to tell the whole world about Jesus Christ!
The inside of our JW Christmas card read much like this:
NO CHRISTMAS AT THE KINGDOM HALL! (The Watchtower was exactly right!)
"Since the celebration of our Lord's birth is not a matter of divine appointment or injunction, but merely a tribute of respect to him, it is not necessary for us to quibble particularly about the date. We may as well join with the civilized world in celebrating the grand event on the day which the majority celebrate -- 'Christmas day.''" -- a Watchtower quote from Dec. 1, 1904, p. 364.
Today Jehovah's Witnesses say, "We are to remember Jesus' death not His birth." Does God's Word forbid celebrating Jesus' birth? No. We find in the Scriptures that the opposition came from whom? King Herod and Satan's kingdom! The inhabitants of Heaven set the true precedent for earth! Luke 2:8-14 shows how Jehovah approves of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ! We read about "the glory of the Lord" and "great joy!" For who? "All people!" "A multitude of heavenly host" was joyous with celebration and praise! How would the shepherds on earth respond? Maybe saying, "Oh, I just can't see what all those angels are excited about"? No! They were not rebellious towards God; they pleased Him as they joined Heaven in this glorious celebration of Jesus' birth!
Was Jesus born on December 25th? Who can be sure? Yet the Watchtower put it well in 1926, saying, "The event is so important that it is always appropriate to call it to the minds of the people, regardless of the date" (Watchtower--Dec. 15, 1926, p. 371). People today often celebrate birthdays on different days. For example, Lincoln's birthday may be celebrated on a Monday. The real importance is not based on the date. Every day is a good day to praise the Lord! Jesus commended the children, saying the stones would cry out if they stopped praising Him (Luke 19:37-40). When was the last time you heard someone from the Kingdom Hall giving praise to the Lord Jesus Christ? Scripturally, if Jesus does not receive worshipful honor equal to the Father's, your honor of the Father is unacceptable to God (John 5:23).
Why worship Jesus? Isaiah called the Christ child the "Mighty God" (Isaiah 9:6), then clarified His identity in context saying the "Mighty God" is Jehovah (Isaiah 10:20). From the beginning people did not worship "him and her," as Roman Catholicism worships Mary. But they "worshipped him" (Matthew 3:11). The original language shows how the Son receives the exact "worship" as the Father. Was Jesus worshiped or does the Watchtower Bible properly suggest otherwise? Comparing Watchtower Bibles clears up these issues. Compare the 1950, 1953, 1960, and 1970 editions with the current NWT in Hebrews 1:6. Or test the Watchtower's inconsistency through the renderings given in the Greek interlinear in (Rev. 22:8 with Mark 2:2), (Rev. 5:14 with Mat. 2:11; 14:33; 28:9,17), and (Heb. 11:21 with Mark 5:6 and John 9:38).
What about the pagan origins of Christmas? Do born- again Christians attach pagan meanings to lights? No, lights remind God's people about Jesus, the Light of the world. Consider the pagan origin of the word "December," for example. Isn't December written on the front of every Watchtower and Awake magazine this month? Would you think the organization is apostate, solely for mixing a word of pagan origin with it's religion? Or do such pagan meanings from the past mean something different to people today?
What about the Old Testament references about ungodly people decorating a tree (Isaiah 44)? Read the context; the person was making an idol to worship. To say people worship the Christmas tree, or that everyone who enjoys Christmas celebrates Santa Claus, simply is not honest! Fantasy and commercialism are the true problems, distracting people from celebrating the Lord Jesus Christ.
What about gift giving? Good-will to all men is certainly commended! Judge Rutherford, the second Watchtower president, was very excited about his "numerous Christmas presents." Watchtower--January 15, 1919, page 31. If giving gifts is acceptable on any other day of the year (and it is to Jehovah's Witnesses), logically why shouldn't it be allowed on December 25th?
Dear one, the best gift you can give to Jesus Christ is yourself; and He offers the wonder of salvation as His gift to you! "For by grace are ye saved through faith (context - faith in Jesus); and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" Ephesians 2:8-9. Those who are givers understand that gifts are always FREE! No one runs for a purse to pay the giver or offers to work for the gift. What an insult that would be! You simply receive gifts with thanksgiving (Romans 4:4; 11:6; Galatians 3:24). Could we say the gift of God is a reward? The Watchtower teaches about, "Working hard for the reward of eternal life." April 15, 1972, page 491. A reward is something a person earns. The Bible tells about eternal life as being God's gift! "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" Romans 6:23b. You, dear one, can have God's wonderful gift by receiving Jesus Christ! "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" John 1:12. How can a sincere person receive Him? "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!" Romans 10:13." (Note the "Jehovah" of verse 13 in the NWT is the same as the Jesus of verse 10, connected in thought and person by the word "for" in every connecting verse.) Calling upon God is calling upon Jesus (See Interlinear in Acts 7:59-60). Jesus invited, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" Matthew 11:28. Yes, He includes you in this invitation! He is waiting for you to come to Him ... even now!
May this be the greatest December to you and your beloved family, including the finest blessings that you have ever known in your life! We experience the victory that determines our own destinies and we become right with God through trusting Jesus Christ alone to set us free!
