A CHRISTMAS QUIZ FOR YOU WITH SOME SURPRISING ANSWERS!

A Christmas Quiz for our readers - and some of the answers might surprise you!

 It's that time of year again!  Here is a Christmas Quiz for all our readers.  See how many of these questions you can get right! 

1. How many wise men were there? 
2. Were they kings?
3. Was Jesus born on Dec 25th?
4. Was Jesus still a baby when the wise men saw Him?
5. How old was Jesus when they came?
6. Where did they find Jesus?
7. Was He in a stable when they arrived?
8. Was the angel floating in the air when the shepherds saw him?
9. Two birthdays are celebrated in the Bible – whose?
10. Does the Bible say anthing about decorating trees?
11. Is Bethlehem a holy site which deserves our reverence?
12. Did Jesus ever tell us to celebrate His birthday?
13. When was Jesus really born?
14. Did the early church celebrate Jesus' birthday?

Answers

      1.    We don’t know how many wise men; the Bible doesn’t give a number.  Matthew 2:1

2. No; they were magi, men who studied the stars. Matthew 2:1 ‘magoi’
3. No.  Dec 25th was the birthday of the sun god in paganism and the time of Saturnalia, the great feast of paganism.
4. No.  The wise men found the ‘child,’ not ‘the babe.’ Matthew 2:11
5. Jesus could have been nearly two years old by the time they arrived in Jerusalem.  The clue is that  when Herod asked them when the star had appeared, he then commanded that all boys under the age of two should be killed.  Matthew 2:16
6. They may have found him in Nazareth.  Joseph and Mary had no reason to stay in Bethlehem.  They went back to their home in Nazareth after baby Jesus was presented in the Temple.  Luke 2:39
7. The magi found Jesus in a house, not a stable.  Matthew 2:11
8. The angel was standing, not floating or flying.  Luke 2:9  But then the shepherds saw the heavenly host praising God (Luke 2:13), and they may have been in the air.  The text does not say.
9. The two birthdays in the Bible are:  Herod’s, celebrated by cutting off the head of John the Baptist  (Matthew 14:16) ; and Pharaoh, who celebrated by executing his chief baker (Genesis 40:22). 
10. Jeremiah 10:2-4  ‘Do not learn the way of the gentiles…one cuts a tree…they decorate it with silver and gold…’   
11. Modern Bethlehem is an Arab town a few miles from Jerusalem.  A massive concrete security wall there keeps terrorists in. Bethlehem is a dangerous place for a Jew, and Jesus is a Jew.
12. No.  He told us to remember His death.  (Luke 22:19 ‘This is My body which is given for you; do THIS in remembrance of Me.’ )
13. The Jewish Bible teachers we know believe that Jesus was most likely born at the time of the autumn Jewish feasts in Sept/Oct.
14. No, the church never celebrated Jesus' birthday at all.  Christmas started in about 300 AD when the Romans stopped persecuting the church and instead made Christianity the state religion. This is the time when suddenly everyone decided to call themselves Christian.  Jesus gave us the definition of a realChristian in John 3:3 - someone who is truly born again, born anew, given a new life by the Holy Spirit.  This only happens if you repent of your sins and put your total faith and trust in Jesus Christ.  You must believe in His death which pays the penalty for all our sins, his burial, and His resurrection from the dead on the third day.  That is the gospel, the good news. 

We hope  our little quiz has made you think, and that it inspires you to check things out at the source - the holy Bible.  The quizt highlights a few of the deceptive myths we have been fed.  We no longer celebrate Christmas.

As Jewish Bible teacher Jacob Prasch once said:  'I love the nativity; I hate Christmas.'   Jesus' birth was a wondrous thing, but it has been turned into  a monstrous thing.  And people love it so.

We hope that some reader out there will seriously look into these matters and put his or her trust in the Saviour of the world - born in Bethlehem, crucified at Jerusalem, and now seated at His Father's right hand in Heaven,  waiting for the time when He will return for the church, to take us back with Him as He promised in John 14.  He gave us many signs to watch for before His return, and they are all here now. 

Won't you put your faith in Jesus Christ today, ensuring your eternal salvation?  He said:  'If you believe in Me, you HAVE eternal life.'  John 6:47