Posted by: pastordiehl Tags: Bible
“On the fourth day of Christmas my True Love sent to me: Four Calling Birds.”
The four calling birds represent the four gospels communicating the grace-filled message of Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Matthew was written to the Jewish culture and revealed Jesus as the King of Kings. The Gospel of Mark was written to the Romans and revealed Christ as the Greatest Servant. The Gospel of Luke was written to the Greek culture and revealed Jesus as a human. These are known as the synoptic gospels, meaning they tell stories that run side by side.
The Gospel of John was written much later to the universal church, as all cultures were blending together into one church. It has been called the Gospel of Belief because it reveals Christ as God’s Son and emphasizes His deity.
When these four perspectives are put together, they present a full view of the life of Christ on this planet and the clear message they proclaim, or call out. The Four Calling Birds.
Posted by: pastordiehl Tags: Bible
“On the second day of Christmas my True Love sent to me: Two Turtle Doves“.
To the authors, the two turtle doves represented the Word of God, in two divisions: The Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament contains God’s desire of His chosen people, Israel. It contains the Books of the Law, the Historical Books, the Poetic Books and the Prophetic Books. It reveals God’s perfect will for man on the earth, but leads to a hopelessness for man who has fallen from perfection.
The New Testament contains the Gospels, History of the Early Church, the Epistles (letters) and the Book of Revelation, which is prophecy. The New Testament leads hopeless man into hope. Through the New Testament we learn how to effectively live as God instructed in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. Two Turtle Doves nestled together.
Today is the first Day of Christmas! Actually, the early church recognized 12 days of the Christmas season from Christmas Day (December 25) to Epiphany (January 5). The Greek Orthodox church had slightly different dates, but the concept was the same. During the 16th century there were some ugly holy wars going on in England between the Roman Catholic Church and its rival, the Episcopal Church. During that time many Christians had to go underground with their faith.
The song we know today as The Twelve Days of Christmas was an attempt to get children to learn scriptural concepts without exposing their faith. Or, an underground song with hidden meaning. Each day we’ll examine another verse in this song.
Day One: “On the first day of Christmas my True Love sent to me: A Partridge in a Pear Tree“. God is our True Love. He sent His Son, Jesus. Jesus was born on Christmas Day. He was like a valued partridge in a tree bearing fruit.
No greater gift has ever been given but one that sacrifices Himself for us. Let’s celebrate Jesus’ birth this Christmas.