The Day When Christ Was Born
On which day was Christ born? The news has been out for quite a while now that He wasn’t born on Christmas day. It has become known that that day came straight out of ancient paganism.
In the effort to worship Lucifer, the prince of rebellion, and also to worship nature and man’s great genius in science, the spring equinox in March was made a special day in honor of Venus, the Queen of Heaven, the Goddess of the Eastern Star. She was also known as Ishtar or Easter, and to worship her meant the celebration of sexuality; it was a day for priestly orgies, and general promiscuity among the people.
Then nine months later, the time of human gestation, was another big celebration in honor of the birth of her son, on the winter solstice. It was all about sun worship, praying that the sun would come back for another year of warmth and light. In good faith that all that would happen, the giving of gifts and merrymaking was made a large part of the ceremonies. It was a time of thanksgiving to the great god, Nimrod, who was supposedly born on that day to give life to the world. It was an opportunity to forget the miserable life here in this world of sin by becoming slushing drunken yet still be considered socially respectable.
This ritual, of course, was the father of Christmas and New Year’s Day. All this fun the early Catholic church adopted in order to gain proselytes into the faith. This practice of baptizing unholy holidays of the pagan world grew more and more bold through the 4th century to the end of the reign of the church of Rome. Today, Protestants give their homage to the apostatized mother church, by continuing the idolatrous festivals she sanctified from paganism—“holy days” that are only form, and empty of the true power of the gospel. The religion of following these holy days of the church of Rome is really a method of forgetting God which passes as a method of remembering Him. Christmas, the substitute birthday of Christ, is only a mockery of the true. And the devil is behind it all.
But the Bible shows us when Jesus was born. I’m glad a friend helped me see this. It’s actually very clearly documented in the Scriptures. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about this subject.
“In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.” (Lk. 1:5-7)
As the story continues, while Zechariah performed his duty of burning incense in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared. Gabriel informed Zechariah that his aged wife would have a son. (vs. 8-12)
Said Gabriel, “‘And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’” (vs. 8-17)
Zechariah worked in the temple during the fourth month of the ceremonial year. This is evident when looking at the order in which Abijah served in the temple. According to 1 Chronicles 24, the priestly order was divided up between Eleazer and Ithamar, two sons of Aaron. (1 Chron. 24:1-19). In verse 10 we see when Abijah’s turn came around during the year. Of the 24 scheduled courses of service, the seventh course was given “to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah….”
Here we see that the descendents from these two sons of Aaron, 24 in number, served in the temple throughout the year, each for about 2 weeks. Thus Hakkoz began his round at the beginning of the fourth month, and Abijah began half-way through that month and officiated until its end.
Upon finishing up his duties at the end of the fourth month, Zechariah returned home and Elizabeth conceived. “And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived.” (Lk. 1:23,24 KJV).
As we can see, the time periods concerning the births of John and Jesus, mentioned in Luke, are not based on the calendar year. The months mentioned start from the conception of John in Elizabeth.
Continuing the story, “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end.’” (vs. 26-33).
Now that we know that Mary conceived the Son of God in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, we have the starting point for counting down to the month Jesus was born. So let’s do some math.
Here is the sequence according to the monthly cycle of life with Elizabeth and Mary.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th
1. Elizabeth conceives John in her first month.
2. Mary conceives Jesus Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy.
3. John is born in the ninth month after his conception.
4. Jesus is born in the 15th month after John’s conception.
Referencing the Jewish ceremonial monthly calendar,
5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th
1. Elizabeth conceives John in the 5th month.
2. Mary conceives Jesus in the 10th month.
3. John is born in the 2nd month.
4. Jesus is born in the 7th month.
Thus we see that Christ was born close to the beginning of the 7th month of the Jewish calendar year. This equates to near the end of our October.
The timing of Christ’s birth was very significant. The seventh month was a very important month for Israel. It was called the Day of Atonement. It was the month of judgment, the end of the ceremonial year, when God determined whether or not to keep them as His favored people.
The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the Lord by fire. Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people. I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. It is a Sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your Sabbath.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites: On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present offerings made to the Lord by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to the Lord by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work.’” (Lev. 23:23-36).
Jesus was born the Messiah, the Holy One, who was to be our atonement.” God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.” (Rom. 3:25 NIV) “For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.” (Heb. 2:17 NIV).” And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” (Rom. 5:11 KJV).
Atonement means reconciliation. Through the coming of the Son of God, we are able again to come to God and serve Him without fear of rejection. Jesus was the only perfect one, the only one in whom the Father was well pleased. He alone, could satisfy the infinitely high expectations of His Father, our Father. Because of sin, we were cut off from life from God. Without His loving care and protection, we are nothing and can accomplish nothing in this life.
Sin had devastated God. This was symbolized, in Revelation, by a book which was completely sealed up and impossible to open. “And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.” (Rev. 5:1-4). As much as He loved His sinful children, He cannot allow for sin. He cannot endanger the rest of His unfallen universe by contact with us. He could have and should have destroyed us with sin, and have been done with it. But He couldn’t live without us, either.
By Christ embodying that perfection and perfect love that satisfied the Ancient of Days, the only One who had the ultimate in perfect character, and then laying it all down to death, both Father and Son suffering together, can God be forever assured that His creation will be safe from sin, and that sin will not arise the second time. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all…. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.” (Is. 53:5,6,10,11).
“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (1 Cor. 5:18-21).
“By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Rom. 5:2). ”For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.” (Eph. 2:18). ”Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” (Heb. 6:19).
The atonement has been made. Sin has been dealt with. We have access to God once again. Reconciliation is possible. All we must do is accept it and let it transform us.
In the effort to worship Lucifer, the prince of rebellion, and also to worship nature and man’s great genius in science, the spring equinox in March was made a special day in honor of Venus, the Queen of Heaven, the Goddess of the Eastern Star. She was also known as Ishtar or Easter, and to worship her meant the celebration of sexuality; it was a day for priestly orgies, and general promiscuity among the people.
Then nine months later, the time of human gestation, was another big celebration in honor of the birth of her son, on the winter solstice. It was all about sun worship, praying that the sun would come back for another year of warmth and light. In good faith that all that would happen, the giving of gifts and merrymaking was made a large part of the ceremonies. It was a time of thanksgiving to the great god, Nimrod, who was supposedly born on that day to give life to the world. It was an opportunity to forget the miserable life here in this world of sin by becoming slushing drunken yet still be considered socially respectable.
This ritual, of course, was the father of Christmas and New Year’s Day. All this fun the early Catholic church adopted in order to gain proselytes into the faith. This practice of baptizing unholy holidays of the pagan world grew more and more bold through the 4th century to the end of the reign of the church of Rome. Today, Protestants give their homage to the apostatized mother church, by continuing the idolatrous festivals she sanctified from paganism—“holy days” that are only form, and empty of the true power of the gospel. The religion of following these holy days of the church of Rome is really a method of forgetting God which passes as a method of remembering Him. Christmas, the substitute birthday of Christ, is only a mockery of the true. And the devil is behind it all.
But the Bible shows us when Jesus was born. I’m glad a friend helped me see this. It’s actually very clearly documented in the Scriptures. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about this subject.
“In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.” (Lk. 1:5-7)
As the story continues, while Zechariah performed his duty of burning incense in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared. Gabriel informed Zechariah that his aged wife would have a son. (vs. 8-12)
Said Gabriel, “‘And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’” (vs. 8-17)
Zechariah worked in the temple during the fourth month of the ceremonial year. This is evident when looking at the order in which Abijah served in the temple. According to 1 Chronicles 24, the priestly order was divided up between Eleazer and Ithamar, two sons of Aaron. (1 Chron. 24:1-19). In verse 10 we see when Abijah’s turn came around during the year. Of the 24 scheduled courses of service, the seventh course was given “to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah….”
Here we see that the descendents from these two sons of Aaron, 24 in number, served in the temple throughout the year, each for about 2 weeks. Thus Hakkoz began his round at the beginning of the fourth month, and Abijah began half-way through that month and officiated until its end.
Upon finishing up his duties at the end of the fourth month, Zechariah returned home and Elizabeth conceived. “And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived.” (Lk. 1:23,24 KJV).
As we can see, the time periods concerning the births of John and Jesus, mentioned in Luke, are not based on the calendar year. The months mentioned start from the conception of John in Elizabeth.
Continuing the story, “In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.’ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end.’” (vs. 26-33).
Now that we know that Mary conceived the Son of God in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, we have the starting point for counting down to the month Jesus was born. So let’s do some math.
Here is the sequence according to the monthly cycle of life with Elizabeth and Mary.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th
1. Elizabeth conceives John in her first month.
2. Mary conceives Jesus Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy.
3. John is born in the ninth month after his conception.
4. Jesus is born in the 15th month after John’s conception.
Referencing the Jewish ceremonial monthly calendar,
5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th
1. Elizabeth conceives John in the 5th month.
2. Mary conceives Jesus in the 10th month.
3. John is born in the 2nd month.
4. Jesus is born in the 7th month.
Thus we see that Christ was born close to the beginning of the 7th month of the Jewish calendar year. This equates to near the end of our October.
The timing of Christ’s birth was very significant. The seventh month was a very important month for Israel. It was called the Day of Atonement. It was the month of judgment, the end of the ceremonial year, when God determined whether or not to keep them as His favored people.
The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the Lord by fire.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the Lord by fire. Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people. I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. It is a Sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your Sabbath.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites: On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present offerings made to the Lord by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to the Lord by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work.’” (Lev. 23:23-36).
Jesus was born the Messiah, the Holy One, who was to be our atonement.” God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.” (Rom. 3:25 NIV) “For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.” (Heb. 2:17 NIV).” And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” (Rom. 5:11 KJV).
Atonement means reconciliation. Through the coming of the Son of God, we are able again to come to God and serve Him without fear of rejection. Jesus was the only perfect one, the only one in whom the Father was well pleased. He alone, could satisfy the infinitely high expectations of His Father, our Father. Because of sin, we were cut off from life from God. Without His loving care and protection, we are nothing and can accomplish nothing in this life.
Sin had devastated God. This was symbolized, in Revelation, by a book which was completely sealed up and impossible to open. “And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.” (Rev. 5:1-4). As much as He loved His sinful children, He cannot allow for sin. He cannot endanger the rest of His unfallen universe by contact with us. He could have and should have destroyed us with sin, and have been done with it. But He couldn’t live without us, either.
By Christ embodying that perfection and perfect love that satisfied the Ancient of Days, the only One who had the ultimate in perfect character, and then laying it all down to death, both Father and Son suffering together, can God be forever assured that His creation will be safe from sin, and that sin will not arise the second time. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all…. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.” (Is. 53:5,6,10,11).
“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (1 Cor. 5:18-21).
“By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Rom. 5:2). ”For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.” (Eph. 2:18). ”Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” (Heb. 6:19).
The atonement has been made. Sin has been dealt with. We have access to God once again. Reconciliation is possible. All we must do is accept it and let it transform us.
posted by David | 4:20 AM
5 Comments:
Man, this is so legalistic, David. I never knew you saw things this way. Paul said that there was not to be a strict determination of which day one considers to be the sabbath, and that each person would determine that between him and God.
The day that Jesus was born doesn't matter. My understanding of church history is that Christmas was determined by choosing an appropriate day to celebrate by the ancient church. They chose pagan holidays as a way to make a substitute for believers so they wouldn't be tempted to take part in pagan things.
So, it was decided that Jesus' birth would be during the Winter Solstice and Jesus' death and resurrection would be during the Spring celebrations. Halloween is "hallowed eve" because Christians substituted the pagan holiday of trying to bring back the dea with a celebration of the dead saints (all saints day)
However, it is true that these also correlate with Jewish holidays that perfectly embody the hidden meaning that they held for so many years. This is because the pagan holidays ironically occur at the same time as significant Jewish holy days.
Easter happens when the Jews remember the lamb sacrifice and the exodus from Egypt. Within this ancient ritual there is a shadow of the messiah to come.
I once was very legalistic and worried about pagan holidays and that we were celebrating those, but learned to abandon that. Christmas is a time for families. it is a time to honor others in your life for their love and friendship, and to give gifts. It is about giving, a godly concept. It is not so materialistic because it forces people to part with their money, not hoard it.
Every Christmas I struggle with the giving, and the sacrificing of my funds.
We need to look for the good in things, not the evil.
Christmas is also a time when true believers think on Jesus' birth. That is also godly, not pagan. I just think you need to lighten up.
Hello, my sister. The Bible says that the man that doesn't offend in word or tongue is a perfect man. And boy, am I far from perfection. I don't want to offend, but I do want to inform. Jesus said, "In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Could this apply to us today? "All scripture is profitable..." If Christ's words are applicable, then how? When we look at how far the professed true religion fell away from God during the Old Testament days, it should make us perk up our eyes and ears for something similar today, since we are just as likely to fall into sin like they did.
Of course, usually when someone tries to raise the standard or bring the standard back, he gets labeled a legalist. When I was in the Navy I gotcalled this all the time for trying to uphold the military standards or the command's goals. I was a troublemaker and a whistleblower, a stick in the mud and just wanted to ruin all the fun. "Nobody does it that way anyway," was a typical response from the guys. And they were correct, everybody was doing it wrong and got away with it until someone got hurt. Then there was a big command or worse, a squadron investigation, and everything wrong was righted with egg on a lot of people's faces.
The church of Rome was doing it all wrong for centuries, and everyone was afraid to stand up for the Bible truth for fear of being burnt or hanged or drowned by the loving and merciful church. After 150 million deaths through the centuries, now a big investigation is going on. Jesus is coming and His reward is with Him, (hence an investigation that must be happening prior to His second advent.)
Pretty soon there will be egg on everyone's face who just want to go along with the crowd, just because "everyone else is doing it."
Thank you for your input, Gabrielle Eden. I hope I haven't offended you further. God bless, sister. You know I love you.
I agree with Gabrielles. And while you are casting stones, I am willing to wager that your church is not perfect either. While you are acusing Rome of her crimes, understand that much more recently a Seventhday pastor and principle of university in Africa assisted in the slaughter of thousands on the very campus of Seventhdays and is now serving jail time. No church or religion is perfect, sadly not even yours.
In the big scheme of things it doesnt matter a hill of beans when christmas day began or who ordained it. Just because something isnt given in the bible its not a sin. Human origin and pagan beginnings are two different thing and worth considering. Its actually a popular thing in christendom to condemn christmas.
I see you. You want to be right. That matter more to you than anything else. This blog is about establishing that you are right and everyones else is wrong. I am a smart guy but I cant follow half of what you write here. Relax. You will not get to heaven for all your correctness. The best gift ever given? The gift of god is eternal life.
Anonymous brother,
I appreciate your comment. It is true as you say, that my denomination isn't perfect. And if it is true that a Seventh Day Adventist committed heinous crimes or even small crimes, that person deserves punishment. As Jesus said, "That servant, which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to His will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." (Lk. 12:47,48)
But the faultiness of men is not what determines truth. We must look into the Bible and dig and search in order to find Jesus and His truth. Then we must judge life and the actions of men by that truth.
Regarding your advice to relax, Paul never relaxed from speaking the truth, and of Jesus it was written, "The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up." (Jn. 2:17).
We need to hear the truth. We need a standard that is higher than the voice of the group. Following group standards is what created the apostasy of the church of Rome at her beginning and also her unrepentant claim of infallibility in the face of known grievous sins against God.
Take care, brother. I hope to meet you in eternity.
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