I heard about a Christmas card that had this verse on it:
Revelation 11:10 — “Those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry; and they will send gifts to one another.”
This certainly seems like an appropriate verse for Christmas celebrations as long as you ignore the context.
The context is that during the tribulation God sends two prophets. These guys are extraordinary in many ways. Besides the fact that they can do miracles, they also carry out their ministry in Jerusalem for three and a half years without being killed. But at God’s appointed timing, he allows the Antichrist to kill them. For three and a half days, the world has a grand party, because they hated these prophets. They hated what they said and they hated what they did. But when they have been slain and the world sees their corpses lying in Zion Square on Ben Yehuda Street, it’s a happy day indeed. So much so that “those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry; and they will send gifts to one another.”
You might pick another verse for your Christmas card. I really liked one that was on a card we received yesterday.
Romans 15:12–13 — And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
I like that Romans verse too.