Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th?

Posted By: Daryl

Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/19/03 06:56 PM

Another December 25th is almost here, a day in which both the Christian religious and secular societies give special recognition to.

For both it is Christmas Day, however, that is as far as it goes.

For the secular, it's focus is basically Santa Claus.

For the Christian religious, its focus is both on Santa Claus and the birthday of Jesus Christ.

For some Christian groups, the focus is basically on the birth of Jesus Christ.

Was Jesus really born on December 25th?

Was He really even born in December at all?

I find an interesting parallel between the First Advent and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. It seems that we don't really know the day and hour of His First Advent in the same way we don't know the day and hour of His Second Advent. Another interesting parallel is that there were those who knew of the day, if not the hour, of His First Advent at the time it took place, in the same way that there will also be those who will know of His Second Advent at the time it will take place. Interesting!!!

Can we determine from the Bible and other sources when He wasn't born, and at the same time determine at what time or season of the year He may have been born?
Posted By: Will

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/20/03 07:39 AM

This is going to require some historical and reference material to find out the time and era this had occurred, or at least try to. The Bible gives indication as to the time, but what is very interesting is how the wise men knew exactly! God reveals the following in His Word.
quote:

Matthew 2:1
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king,

quote:

Matthew 2:22
22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither:

What does the term did reign in Judaea in the room of his father mean? This can also indicate as to the time.


God Bless,
Will
Posted By: Will

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/20/03 07:48 AM

I recall listening to a pastor talking about the date December 25th specifically and how it has to do with the birth of Tammuz, so the result is not really celebrating the birth of Christ since He was not born on the 25th, but the birth of Tammuz.
I am paraphrasing of cours,e but this is what I can remember. Can anyone go in depth on this?

God Bless,
Will
Posted By: Daryl

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/19/03 08:01 PM

And what about the following text?

quote:

Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

Can we pinpoint in history when this decree took place in relation to Caesar Augustus and Cyrenius?
Posted By: Will

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/19/03 08:14 PM

Ok after a bit of searching online I found the following which was my first guess, but here goes:
quote:

According to history books...

Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of Rome. He reigned from 27 B C to AD 14. Augustus ordered a tax census of the empire which was issued about 8 BC, but probably did not actually go into effect until 6 BC. Citizens were usually given a period of several months to comply with such a decree, once it went into effect.
Sulpicius Quirinius was twice governor of Syria. His first governorship was from 4 BC to AD 1.
Based on the historical facts given above, most Bible scholars agree that Jesus Christ was born in 4 BC or 5 BC.

******* I removed that link as it also links to doctrinal beliefs of another denomination. Feel free to quote any findings there in relation to this topic. - Daryl [Smile] ******

I will post more as I find some more info.
God Bless,
Will

[ December 20, 2003, 07:02 AM: Message edited by: Daryl Fawcett ]
Posted By: Daryl

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/20/03 12:17 AM

I came across a much better link than that which prompted this topic in the first place. [Smile]

As that site is a site of another denomination in which they state questionable doctrinal beliefs, I will not be posting that link here, however, it does contain a lot of interesting discussion material there. Instead, what I am doing it drawing from that site questions from which possible answers are expressed in that site, which I will also be sharing here.

To make this even more interesting, I want to see if anybody can find that site as part of the research given in this topic. If you do locate it though, please do not post the link to it here.

This is definitely not a SDA site, however, one interesting thing in that site are some relative quotes from Dr. Samuele B. [Smile]
Posted By: Daryl

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/20/03 12:47 AM

In reply to Will's post and quote, here is a quote from the site I came upon:

quote:

The census described by Luke
Other evidence arguing against a December birth of Jesus is the Roman census recorded by Luke. "And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered... So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem..., to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son..." (Luke 2:1-7).

The Roman and Judean rulers knew that taking a census in winter would have been impractical and unpopular. Generally a census would take place after the harvest season, around September or October, when it would not seriously affect the economy, the weather was good and the roads were still dry enough to allow easy travel. According to the normal dates for the census, this would probably be the season of Christ's birth.

One author states that this census "could hardly have been at that season [December 25], however, for such a time would surely not have been chosen by the authorities for a public enrollment, which necessitated the population's traveling from all parts to their natal districts, storms and rain making journeys both unsafe and unpleasant in winter, except in specially favorable years" ("Christmas at Bethlehem," Holy-Days and Holidays, Cunningham Geikie).

Luke's account of the census argues strongly against a December date for Christ's birth. For such an agrarian society, an autumn post-harvest census was much more likely.

The above quote makes sense, doesn't it?

Another interesting and related question: When were shepherds in the fields?
Posted By: Alpendave

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/20/03 01:27 AM

I believe that, for historical reasons, God chose to allow the general time to be deciphered. However, I think that Christmas, Easter, Halloween, and such, are really Satan's ploy, through the Catholic Church, to get people thinking about any "holy" day except the only true Holy Day -- the Sabbath.

I believe, with the exception of the Jewish Feasts, that God hasn't revealed the day of Christ's birth because He doesn't want people to attach themselves to it. What is important is that we keep the Sabbath and not get sentimental about times and seasons which are irrelevant to our salvation.

Dave
Posted By: John H.

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/20/03 01:46 AM

Agree with that Dave.

As for when the shepherds were in their fields, I read somewhere that with Israel's climate, they'd be out with their flocks in the late spring/summer/early fall. So December's definitely out. Jesus might have frozen to death outside in a manger!

In the sun-worshipping Roman empire, Dec. 25th was revered as the "birthday of the sun"; it being only a few days after the shortest day of the year. As the days got longer, the sun was "reborn", so they had a celebration.

Later the papacy saw fit to change the day from the sun's birthday to the Son's birthday.
Posted By: Daryl

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/20/03 02:03 AM

What you are saying, John, agrees with the following quote from that web site:

quote:

When were shepherds in the fields?

Israeli meteorologists tracked December weather patterns for many years and concluded that the climate in Israel has been essentially constant for at least the last 2,000 years. The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible states that, "broadly speaking, weather phenomena and climatic conditions as pictured in the Bible correspond with conditions as observed today" (R.B.Y. Scott, Vol. 3, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1962, p. 625).

The temperature in the area of Bethlehem in December averages around 44 degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius) but can drop to well below freezing, especially at night. Describing the weather there, Sara Ruhin, chief of the Israeli weather service, noted in a 1990 press release that the area has three months of frost: December with 29 F. [minus 1.6 C.]; January with 30 F. [minus 1.1 C.] and February with 32 F. [0 C.].

Snow is common for two or three days in Jerusalem and nearby Bethlehem in December and January. These were the winter months of increased precipitation in Christ's time, when the roads became practically unusable and people stayed mostly indoors.


This is important evidence to disprove a December date for Christ's birth. Note that, at the time of Christ's birth, the shepherds tended their flocks in the fields at night. "Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields," wrote one Gospel writer, "keeping watch over their flock by night" (Luke 2:8). A common practice of shepherds was keeping their flocks in the field from April to October, but in the cold and rainy winter months they took their flocks back home and sheltered them.

One commentary admits that, "as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night.
On this very ground the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact, which casts considerable light upon this disputed point" (Adam Clarke's Commentary, Abingdon Press, Nashville, note on Luke 2:8).

Another study source agrees: "These humble pastoral folk are out in the field at night with their flock—a feature of the story which would argue against the birth [of Christ] occurring on Dec. 25 since the weather would not have permitted it" (The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1971, note on Luke 2:4-7).

The Companion Bible, Appendix 179 says:

Shepherds and their flocks would not be found "abiding" (Gr. agrauleo) in the open fields at night in December (Tebeth), for the paramount reason that there would be no pasturage at that time. It was the custom then (as now) to withdraw the flocks during the month Marchesven (Oct.-Nov.) from the open districts and house them for the winter.

I guess the above clearly does away with a December birth, and also questions His birth between October and November. I would also say that we can say that it wasn't January for the same reason that it obviously wasn't December. That leaves it being somewhere between February and September inclusive. Any thoughts on this?

=========

Typing error and formatting corrections only. - Daryl [Smile]

[ December 20, 2003, 07:28 PM: Message edited by: Daryl Fawcett ]
Posted By: Doug Meister

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/20/03 11:28 AM

Jesus birthday was 11 Sept 3 BC about 6:15pm - 7:49pm in Israel. Jesus was born in 3759 and 1999 was 5760 - Therefore on 11 Sept 2001 Jesus was 2003 years old at 11:15 am to 12:49 pm EDT in NYC.

Here is something I got from VOAF forum a while ago:
-------------start------
Exact Date Of Yeshua's Birth, by Roy A. Reinhold February 1, 2001
A few days before January 1, 2001, I decided to see if the Bible...could identify the exact day of Yeshua's birth (Jesus), since a ton of books and articles have been written forwarding different views and theories. The traditional day celebrated in the church is December 25, 1 BC, although that day wasn't designated until about 360 AD. All the ante-nicene church fathers did not specify in their writings, the exact day that Yeshua (Jesus) was born.

The following multi-part article complements the 2-part article on this website called, The Pagan Aspects of Christmas. In that article, there is evidence from the calculated possible birth date of John the baptist (Yochanan the Immerser), that he was born around Passover in the spring of the year. Since John the baptist was 6 months older than Yeshua (Jesus), that would place the birth of Yeshua in the fall of the year around Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), plus or minus 3 weeks.

This multi-part article will present ...scholarship to show that with a fair degree of certainty, we can specify the exact day the angel Gabriel visited Mary and announced that she would bear a child conceived by the Holy Spirit, the exact day Mary conceived the child, the exact day of the birth of Yeshua, and the exact day Mary and Joseph took the child to the Temple on the 8th day to dedicate the firstborn with the necessary sacrifice and perform the Brit Milah (circumcision).

In beginning the process, I was predisposed to believe that the Bible ...would show Yeshua's birth on a feast day. The fall feast days of Israel are as follows.

Rosh Hashanah (Yom Teruah, or Feast of Trumpets), occurs on 1 Tishri in the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), occurs on 10 Tishri in the Jewish calendar.Succot (Feast of Tabernacles), starts on 15 Tishri and runs for 7 days, where the 15th and 21st are annual Sabbath days.
Why was I predisposed to believe it would fall on a feast day of Israel? In the gospel of Luke, it states the following:

Luke 2:1-7Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem (actually, Beit Lechem), because he was of the house and family of David; in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and who was with child. And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger (feeding trough), because there was no room for them in the inn.

What I wanted you to see are 3 clues necessary to sort out this process of looking for exact date of Yeshua's birth. One, they left Nazareth and went to Bethlehem to register for the census, because both Mary and Joseph were descended from king David along different family lines. The birth took place in Bethlehem. Secondly, the days were completed for her to give birth, which tells us that the child was born at the correct gestation time. The Encyclopedia Brittanica shows that the average human gestation period for a female child is 266-267 days, and 270-271 days for a male child. That will come into play in pre-calculating the expected day of conception when Mary became pregnant. Thirdly, it states that there was no room at the inn.

I would have guessed that the day of birth of Yeshua was on one of the feast days, because there was no room at the inn. Bethlehem is only 3-5 miles south of Jerusalem, and during the fall feast days, Jewish people from all over the world would arrive ahead of time and overflow into the surrounding towns. According to the scriptures, all Israel was only required to appear before the Lord at the Temple 3 times a year (Passover, Shavuot or Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles). However, because they didn't have airplanes, trains, and cars then, Jewish people from other countries would arrive early and be there for Rosh Hashanah through Succot (a 3 week period). Therefore, it would have been difficult to find a room at the inn anytime during the fall feast days.

Specifically, John 1:14 led me to believe that the birth of Yeshua was probably on the15th of Tishri, the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles; where it says, "And the Wordbecame flesh and tabernacled among us." I believed that I would most likely find 15 Tishri going into this process, but that IS NOT the day of birth of Yeshua.

I should mention that if we were only looking for one date (the actual birth date of Yeshua), it would be very difficult to try and prove one date. However, since we know from the scriptures that we have 3 dates that all have to be shown and are related in a tight way, it is more conclusive. We know there is a date for the day Yeshua was born. From that date, we must see a date of conception exactly 270-271 days prior to the birth date. Finally, the scriptures say that the Brit Milah (dedication and circumcision) took place onthe 8th day following the birth. Since we have at least 3 specific dates that are inter-related, if all show up, then we have much more certainty that we have found the exact dates for all of them.

What it shows is that Yeshua (Jesus) was born on Rosh Hashanah (head of the year),which is also called Yom Teruah (day of blowing) and in English the Feast of Trumpets. It's also Rosh Khodesh which means the head of the month. Rosh Hashanah occurs on the 1st of Tishri every year in the Jewish calendar, and is in the fall of the year. The matrix shows that the birth occurred in the jewish year 3759, which is the fall of 3 BC. In 3 BC, the 1st of Tishri occurred on September 11, 3 BC. With the matrix showing Rosh Hashanah, Yom Teruah, Rosh Khodesh, and "on 1 Tishri", it is clearly showing 1 Tishri as the exact day of Yeshua's birth.

Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem and stayed in a succah, a stable. Yeshua the Messiah came from heaven, to the earth, and His name is Wonderful, and Counselor, and the Son of Man. The manger or feeding trough is mentioned where Mary laid the baby after the birth. The Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) was present and the shepherds came to pay homage. It mentions the angels who announced the birth to the shepherds, and the star in the sky announcing His birth.

All the details from the gospels are present. Have we proven that Yeshua was born exactly on September 11, 3 BC? No, because if the matrix doesn't have the conception 270-271 days prior to September 11, 3 BC, then it didn't meet the criteria showing all the aspects surrounding Yeshua's conception and birth. If we count up the days from January 1 to September 11 in 3 BC (a non leap year, because 4 AD is a leap year which would make 1 BC a leap year), then we get 254 days. That means 18 days backwards in December of 4 BC, should be the exact date of the conception (December has 31 days). Our target should then be December 13, 4 BC for the date of the conception based on a 271 day average human gestation period for male babies.

Is there scriptural support for Yeshua (Jesus) being born on the 1st of Tishri? Yes, in 1 Corinthians 15:45 it says in talking about Yeshua, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." In 1 Corinthians 15:22, it states, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ (the Messiah) all shall be made alive." Yeshua is the second Adam, and the rabbi's have long taught that Adam's birthdate was on 1 Tishri. So it is no coincidence that the second Adam has the same exact birth date.
We've gotten to the point where we are looking for corroberation for the 1 Tishri, 3759 birth date for Yeshua (September 11, 3 BC) by investigating whether the matrix also has the angelic announcement to Mary and the conception. The conception should be 270-271 days prior to the birth, or ~December 13, 4 BC.

It seems that the Angel Gabriel visited Mary on Kislev 22 in 3758 (December 11, 4 BC), and announced to her that she would conceive and bear a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. However, the conception didn't take place until Evening 1 of Hanukkah, which begins on the 25th of Kislev every year. Hanukkah is the Festival of Lights and commemorates the Maccabees victory over Antiochus Epiphanes and the Syrians. They liberated Jerusalem and the Temple Mount and lighted the menorah in the holy place of the Temple, with just enough oil for one day and it burned for 8 days. Hanukkah commemorates that miraculous cleansing of the Temple and the 8 days the menorah was lighted supernaturally.

As 24 Kislev was ending and 25 Kislev beginning, marking the beginning of Hanukkah, the power of the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and she conceived. That day was December 13, 4 BC, when Mary conceived and became pregnant with Yeshua.

Erev 1 of Hanukkah is more specific than just saying 25 Kislev, since it pinpoints the time to a few hours in the evening of December 13, 4 BC. Our criteria has been met now, where the conception of Mary was shown to be 271 days prior to the birth date. The bonus was in finding out the date that the angel made the announcement to Mary, which was a couple of days prior to the conception. What we'll need to look at now, is whether the Brit Milah (first-born dedication and circumcision) at the Temple was on the 8th day following the birth of Yeshua.

The events at the Temple on the 8th day following the birth of Yeshua in a succah (stable) in Bethlehem, are an important aspect to show with a high degree of certainty that the Bible ...shows the correct dating for all mentioned events. We have shown that the angel visited Mary and announced that she would conceive and bear a child by the power of the Holy Spirit. This event occurred on 22 Kislev 3758 (December 10/11, 4 BC).

Next, ...the conception took place at the very beginning of Kislev 25, the first day of Hanukkah, the festival of lights. That conception took place on December 13, 4 BC in the evening, which is exactly what we pre-calculated based on the 270-271 average human gestation for a male child.

We know that there was no extra month of Adar II in the Jewish year 3758, because 1Tishri started the next year and it occurred on September 11 in 3 BC. If there had beenan extra month, then 1 Tishri would have been in early October for 3 BC. This is important for showing that the conception took place on the first evening of Hanukkah. The same sequence was repeated in the Jewish calendar a couple of years ago. In 1999, Rosh Hashanah occurred on September 11, 1999 (1 Tishri 5760). Any Jewish calendar you look at will show that going back 270-271 days takes you to December 13, 1998, which was evening 1 of Hanukkah on Kislev 25. You don't need to look at ancient events, but just compare the Jewish calendar in 1998 and 1999 and the dates were exactly the same in the civil calendar as in 4 BC and 3 BC.

Is there a Bible verse that would lead us to believe that we have the date correct for the conception? Perhaps there is an allusion to a prophecy in Haggai 2:18-19

Do consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (24 Kislev), from the day when the temple of the Lord was founded, consider: Is the seed yet in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.

Sometimes we wonder why the scriptures were so specific in citing day and month for an event. The prophet spoke, "Is the seed yet in the barn?" Perhaps this is an allusion to a future event when the true vine, the root of the olive tree, the heavenly fig tree, would be conceived as a human being. The seed in the barn can be an allusion to pregnancy. As the 24th of Kislev was ending and the 25th of Kislev beginning, Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. The seed was in the barn, and a blessing for the world was here from that day onwards.

1. Announcement to Mary--took place on 22 Kislev 3758, which was December 10/11, 4 BC.
2. Mary Conceived the Child by the Holy Spirit--took place on the end of 24 Kislev, beginning of 25 Kislev in the evening, in the year 3758, which was December 13, 4 BC. This was the beginning of Hanukkah.
3. Birth of Yeshua in Bethlehem--took place on 1 Tishri in 3759 (Rosh Hashanah), which was September 11, 3 BC.
4. Brit Milah at the Temple--took place on 8 Tishri in 3759, which was September 18, 3 BC.

Is there additional scholarship to support the above scenario? A friend wrote to me as I was working on it and suggested the work by Dr. Ernest L. Martin. I ordered his book, and in the last section of this multi-part article will relate what Dr. Martin shows in his book related to signs in the sky and the real date of death of king Herod. Needless to say, Dr. Martin's work agrees 100% with the scenario above.
Dr. Ernest L. Martin wrote a book called, The Star of Bethlehem: The Star that Astonished the World I became aware of this book as I was working on the Yeshua birth matrixes. His scholarship has withstood peer review and at least one aspect of the book is now in the latest edition of The Handbook of Biblical Chronology. We'll cover that shortly, but first his website is http://www.askelm.com and you can order his book directly bycalling 1-503-292-4352. His e-mail address is: askoffice@askelm.com
Dr. Ernest L. Martin shows in his book, that the signs in the sky shown in Revelation 12:1-3, occurred on only one day in 3 BC, and they occurred exactly on September 11, 3 BC between 6:15 pm and 7:49 pm. What are these celestial signs?

Revelation 12:1-3 And a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars; and she was with child, and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth. And another sign appeared in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon having seven heds and 10 horns, and on his heads were seven diadems.

Because the earth is rotating, there is apparent motion of the sun and moon, while the stars stay somewhat fixed in relation to the earth. The sun was mid-body along the ecliptic in Virgo the Virgin on September 11, 3 BC, and the moon was under her feet exactly from 6:15 to 7:49 pm on September 11, 3 BC. According to Dr. Martin, this great sign in the sky only occured on that one day in 3 BC.

While Dr. Martin's date for the birth of Yeshua (Jesus) agrees,... can we infer that the birth of Yeshua took place exactly between 6:15 to 7:49 pm on September 11, 3 BC? I believe that we can accept the time of birth as being 7 pm plus or minus an hour based on the exact sign in the sky.

What about the death of Herod as it relates to all this? After all, many scholars have said that king Herod died in 4 BC or 5 BC? Dr. Ernest L. Martin in his book, laboriously goes through each possibility for the death of king Herod and with a number of other scholars, proves that Herod died a couple of weeks after the total lunar eclipse of January 10, 1 BC. He pinpoints the date of death of Herod to about January 29, 1 BC plus or minus a couple of days.

Flavius Josephus wrote many details surrounding the death and burial of king Herod in his Jewish Antiquities. He writes that king Herod died shortly after a lunar eclipse. The lunar eclipses for that period of time in Israel were:

7 BC -- no lunar eclipse
6 BC -- no lunar eclipse
5 BC -- total lunar eclipse on March 23, time between eclipse and Passover was 29 days
5 BC -- total lunar eclipse on September 15, time between eclipse and Passover was 7 months
4 BC -- partial lunar eclipse on March 13, time between eclipse and Passover was 29 days
3 BC -- no lunar eclipse
2 BC -- no lunar eclipse
1 BC -- total lunar eclipse on January 10, time between eclipse and Passover was 12.5 weeks.

Dr. Martin and a number of other scholars have shown that given the details by Josephus and other historians of that time, that king Herod had to have died almost 3 weeks after the lunar eclipse. Then there were preparations for a royal burial and a 30-day period for the procession and burial. After that was over, the new king, Archelaus took care of many royal duties before Passover. Given all this, the two springtime lunar eclipses in 5 and 4 BC could not possibly be the lunar eclipse preceding king Herod's death. You'll have to read Dr. Martin's book to get all the details and other supporting information.

What does this all mean? It means that Christmas is entirely pagan and is the continuation of the religious practices of ancient Babylon. Yeshua (Jesus) was born on September 11, 3 BC and was earlier conceived on December 13, 4 BC. There is nothing about Yeshua related to Christmas except man-made customs. Saturnalia was the celebration of the winter solstice from ancient Babylon and Semiramis gave birth to Tammuz on December 25. The Roman and Greek world worshipped the sun in a religion called Mithraism, and December 25 was the Nativity of the Sun (Sol the sun god). Tammuz was supposedly the rebirth of Nimrod who is also known as Baal. The yule log is from ancient Babylon symbolizing the stump for Nimrod or Baal. The green tree decorated with silver and gold and nailed down so that it would not totter was celebrated by ancient Israel as they apostasized (Jeremiah 10:3-4), and there are a number of references in the Old Testament to a green tree as an idol. It is the same Christmas tree customs which people use today for Christmas. The round sparklyballs represent the sun. The popes in about 350 AD deliberately renamed the birth of Sol the sun-god on December 25 as a Christian custom. That is recorded in the Roman writings of that time. All of these Christmascustoms were done by the pagans before the day was renamed as a Christian holiday. Isn't it interesting that there were ancient presentations of the woman and child thousands of years before Yeshua was born? These madonna and child representations were Semiramis and Tammuz from ancient Babylon.

So many Christians wonder when reading the Revelation, what Mystery Babylon could be in our modern time. It is partly the modern church, which has a mixture of the true teachings from the Bible, plus the most sacred Christian days being the old pagan Baal customs. All of these old pagan customs are part of the celebration of the rebirth of the sun on December 25. None of this is from God our Father. The Puritans in America forbade the celebration of Christmas because they knew and taught what has been presented here, that Christmas has nothing to do with Christ or the conception or birth of Yeshua. Actually the end-times Mystery Babylon is a religious Babylon, an economic Babylon, and a political Babylon. The religious Babylon is only part of Mystery Babylon.

I know, the first excuse usually given is, well we can do good on that day. Yes, you can do good on any day of the year. Why is it that you have to give gifts and put up a green tree in your house on December 25? Is it because everyone else does it? Secondly, pastors will say that they preach the gospel on that day and some get saved. Yes, that does occur, but isn't it the preaching of the Word of God and not the trappings of the pagan holiday that saves people. That too can occur any day of the year.

The fact is that believers need to repent that they perpetuated these pagan days and called them meaningful. You can make fun of ancient Israel when they adopted the customs of the pagans and were later expelled from the land for their faithlessness, but aren't we doing the same things? Please reconsider celebrating pagan holidays and calling them Christian.

======================end
http://www.askelm.com/books/book003.htm web site of book.
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Posted By: Daryl

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/21/03 02:33 AM

The site I am quoting from also has something to say about the year of Christ's birth:

quote:

The year of Christ's birth

Jesus wasn't born in A.D. 0 either. In 525 Pope John I commissioned the scholar Dionysius Exiguus to establish a feast calendar for the Church.. Dionysius also estimated the year of Christ's birth based upon the founding of the city of Rome. Unfortunately because of insufficient historical data he arrived at a date at least a few years later than the actual event.

The Gospels record Jesus' birth as occurring during the reign of Herod the Great. Herod's death is recorded by Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus, Book 17, Chpt. 8) and occurred in the spring of 4 B.C. (New Testament History, F.F. Bruce, Anchor Books, p.23). Therefore, Christ's birth had to take place at least four years before the traditional date!

Jesus was not born on December 25, A.D. 0. [Actually there is no such year as A.D. 0. Our calendar jumps from 1 B.C. to A.D. 1 with no intervening year of zero.]

Based on the above quote, what year then was Christ born, and how does this year compare with other Bible records that establishes the year in which Christ began His ministry and the year in which He was crucified, as it relates to the 70 week or 490 year prophecy?
Posted By: John H.

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/21/03 02:51 AM

Hmmm. Seems like there are a good number of assumptions and holes in the theory from VOAF, upon first examination. Some that jump right out:

(1) The Bethlehem star associated with Christ's birth wasn't the result of astronomical phenomena (stars, planets, moon etc.) --

"The wise men had seen a mysterious light in the heavens upon that night when the glory of God flooded the hills of Bethlehem. As the light faded, a luminous star appeared, and lingered in the sky. It was not a fixed star nor a planet, and the phenomenon excited the keenest interest. That star was a distant company of shining angels, but of this the wise men were ignorant." DA 60
(2) This theory seems to be going on the rabbinical Jewish calendar, which doesn't give an accurate depiction of Jewish chronology, according to the method set forth in the Bible. Only the Karaite reckoning does so. This has to do with when the barley ripens in Israel -- that determines when the new year starts, so it varies from year to year in Karaite reckoning.

http://www.pickle-publishing.com/papers/karaite-reckoning-1844.htm

(3) Couldn't it be that there was no room at the inn simply because many people had returned to Bethlehem to be taxed, like Joseph and Mary did? All the descendants of David returned to Bethlehem, and that surely was a lot more people than the inns in Bethlehem were normally prepared to handle. It doesn't seem obvious at all that the inns were full because it was during the time of a fall festival. That's possible, but not a demonstrated fact.
Posted By: Daryl

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/21/03 03:16 AM

John,

I agree with you re the quote from DA60, however, how then did the wise men from the east come into the picture?

quote:

Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Matthew 2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

When did the star first appear?

How did they discover this star?

How long did it take for the wise men to travel from the east to where the Christ child was located?
Posted By: Daryl

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 12/24/03 12:32 AM

John,

I guess you already answered my first two questions in the DA60 quote you posted, and I missed it until now. [Eek!]

The only question remaining is how long did it take for the wise men to travel to Jerusalem, and then to Bethlehem? Can we find an answer to this somewhere?
Posted By: John H.

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 01/02/04 09:16 AM

(I meant to post this days ago.)

===

EGW says the wise men had a long journey:

"As by faith Abraham went forth at the call of God, "not knowing whither he went" (Heb. 11:8); as by faith Israel followed the pillar of cloud to the Promised Land, so did these Gentiles go forth to find the promised Saviour. The Eastern country abounded in precious things, and the magi did not set out empty-handed. It was the custom to offer presents as an act of homage to princes or other personages of rank, and the richest gifts the land afforded were borne as an offering to Him in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed. It was necessary to journey by night in order to keep the star in view; but the travelers beguiled the hours by repeating traditional sayings and prophetic utterances concerning the One they sought. At every pause for rest they searched the prophecies; and the conviction deepened that they were divinely guided. While they had the star before them as an outward sign, they had also the inward evidence of the Holy Spirit, which was impressing their hearts, and inspiring them with hope. The journey, though long, was a happy one to them." DA 60
I'm no expert on light and distance, but it would seem that the wise men couldn't have been *too* far away, or they couldn't have seen the angels' light when they appeared to the shepherds, as EGW says they did. No more than a few hundred miles, maybe?

"These wise men had seen the heavens illuminated with light, which enshrouded the heavenly host who heralded the advent of Christ to the humble shepherds. And after the angels returned to Heaven, a luminous star appeared, and lingered in the heavens. This light was a distant cluster of flaming angels, which appeared like a luminous star. The unusual appearance of the large, bright star which they had never seen before, hanging as a sign in the heavens, attracted their attention. They were not privileged to hear the proclamation of the angels to the shepherds. But the Spirit of God moved them out to seek this heavenly Visitor to a fallen world. The wise men directed their course where the star seemed to lead them....." RH 12-24-72
Then in the following passage she indicates that it was very soon after the angels appeared to the shepherds, that Herod hatched his plan to kill all the Hebrew babies in Bethlehem -- which occurred after the wise men visited him:

"The city of Jerusalem was thrown into great excitement by the sayings of the wise men. The news was immediately carried to Herod. He was exceedingly troubled, yet disguised the discomfiture, and received the men with apparent courtesy. . . .
The glory of God attending the angelic host had scarcely disappeared from the plains of Bethlehem when the malice of envious Herod was aroused in opposition to the infant Saviour." RH 12-24-72
So, though it was called a "long" journey, it couldn't have been thousands of miles; for the wise men saw the light attending the angels who appeared to the shepherds; and Herod's wrath was kindled shortly after that.

I couldn't find any more passages that would give more information than this; maybe someone else can.
Posted By: Daryl

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 01/03/04 12:50 AM

Here is some interesting information from the web site I came across:

quote:

Magi from the east
The Scriptures tell us that there were wise men (scholars) who came from the east looking for the birth of the Messiah, saying "we have seen his star in the east". Who were these scholars from the east? Why were they looking for a Jewish Messiah?

My question is, where in the east were these scholars from?

This web site states the following:

quote:

Babylon was known as "the land to the east." At the time of the birth of Jesus, the largest Jewish population was actually in Babylon, not in Palestine. Nearly five hundred years earlier, the entire nation of Judah had been carried away captive into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Only a small colony of Jews returned to Palestine after sixty-three years of captivity. The greater number of them remained where they had established homes in the land of Babylon.

The Greek for "wise men" is magoi. Daniel was referred to by this same title (Daniel 4:9). The word is equivalent to the Jewish term rabbi. It is very likely that the wise men from the east were Jewish rabbis who had been anticipating the coming of the Messiah because of Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy [Daniel 9:24]. They had spotted a new star in the sky and took it to be a sign of the coming of the Messiah.

At the very least, even if the wise men were not Jewish, they would have been influenced by Daniel's writings. At an earlier time, Daniel had been in charge of all of the wise men in Babylon (Daniel 2:48; 4:9; 5:11).

We know from the SOP that they were Gentiles and not Jewish rabbis, however, I find the rest of the above quote interesting.

I can see where the influence of Daniel could have been a factor in the interest and voyage of these wisemen.

If they did come from Babylon, and seeing that the star first appeared the night Jesus Christ was born, then how long would it have taken them to arrive at Jerusalem, and then from there to Bethlehem?
Posted By: John H.

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 01/03/04 11:30 PM

Nice find there Daryl, interesting is right.

As for how long it took the wise men to travel from their home to Jerusalem, that would depend on several variables.

• When they set out, what time of year, would determine how many hours of nightly travel time they had each day. In late spring and early fall there might be 10½-11 hours of night; in mid-summer there'd only be about 10 hours, with the longer days.

• What kind of animals they used to travel. I'd assume they used Arabian camels, the baggage-carrying kind --
quote:
"The name 'Dromedary' is properly reserved for the Arabian racing camel such as those used in the various military camel corps. These camels can travel 80 to 120 miles per day carrying a rider. Arabian baggage camels have a heavier build and are capable of carrying a 200 kg [441 lb] load up to 40 miles per day."
( http://www.oaklandzoo.org/atoz/azcamel.html )

So maybe they could have managed 50 miles a day with a lighter load? Again, also depending on how many nighttime hours they had available.

• Just how far away they were. If they came from Babylon itself, that's about 520 miles from Jerusalem as the crow flies. Of course a land trip would be more miles than that, maybe 550 or even 600 depending on how the roads were laid out.

Or they might have started out west of there, closer to Israel. We don't really know.

At any rate, it appears that they would have taken something like a week to ten days for such a trip; no more than two weeks. Then once they reached Jerusalem it would have taken only an hour or two to get to Bethlehem.
Posted By: Daryl

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 03/14/04 06:55 AM

That would explain why Jesus was still in Bethlehem.

Jesus was circumcised and probably also dedicated in the temple prior to the visit of the Wisemen.
Posted By: whitlie

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 03/17/04 01:28 AM

This is always an amusing subject. Simple biology has always been over looked. Anyone who understands the basic facts of life, like how long does it take for a child to be developed inorder to be born.

The Law staes a man cannot become a priest until his thirtieth year. Jesus thus began his ministry when he turned thirty. We are taught his ministry was three and one half years.

If his ministry took him to his thirty three and one half year, and he was crucified at Passover week, Then simple logic says count back six months and you will have the time of his birth. In this case his birth took place at, or about the time of the feast of Tablernacles in the Fall. This would have made his birth date about the time of the 7th month, 16th day or 7 days after the day of atonement, in the time of Herod the Great, which according to Usshers Chronology which we use today, about the forth year before the common era.

Further because Conception was considered the sign of a free man, His period of conception fell about the time of Channucha, or rather the feast of Dedication the preveious year. (see John 10:22)

Our acceptance of birthdates under the worlds reckoning make us slaves and not freemen. However when we take Christ as our Saviour and go back to the Biblical way of thinking, then we put away birthdates and become acknoweledged Freeman in Christ.

Whitlie
Henry
Posted By: Daryl

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 03/17/04 11:41 PM

quote:

The Law states a man cannot become a priest until his thirtieth year. Jesus thus began his ministry when he turned thirty. We are taught his ministry was three and one half years.

If his ministry took him to his thirty three and one half year, and he was crucified at Passover week, Then simple logic says count back six months and you will have the time of his birth. In this case his birth took place at, or about the time of the feast of Tablernacles in the Fall. This would have made his birth date about the time of the 7th month, 16th day or 7 days after the day of atonement, in the time of Herod the Great, which according to Usshers Chronology which we use today, about the forth year before the common era.

Further because Conception was considered the sign of a free man, His period of conception fell about the time of Channucha, or rather the feast of Dedication the preveious year. (see John 10:22)

Would this be the 7th month of our present calendar?
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 01/07/06 04:18 PM

Hi,

I know this is a "late" comment to this topic. But I want to add a couple factors here. I just checked the average seasonal temperatures for Jerusalem. The night time average for near end of December is about 40F. It is unlikely that shepherds would be lying around at night in such cold. The average night time temp around September is about 60F, much more suitable. Also, Romans would be fools to tax people in middle of winter. It was more likely done after harvest time around September when people had more means. So I think that Reinhold's calculation may not be far off.
Posted By: rhammen

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 01/07/06 06:43 PM

I think the question is interesting, but a better and more practical question is, what are we going to do with the most popular Christian festival? Are we going to fight it, tell the world they are worshipping b4 a pagan tree and celebrating the birht of the Sun?

3ABN had many EGW quotations and what a difference. Just she mention the pagan aspects of Christmas? She mentions that it's a time to think of others, to give gifts to the poor and for evangelism.

It's like a Feast of Tabernacles a couple of months late.

In my church we had 3 Sabbath schools in a row with people talking against Christmas. I wish their same energy would be directed toward evangelizing instead of being SDA Jehovah witnesses.

r
Posted By: Will

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 01/07/06 11:30 PM

It is an excellent time to witness to others, and be able to share the Good News about Jesus Christ.
Why was the 25th chosen, and by whom who knows, but does it still represent the birth of Jesus Christ today? Not really, in fact its all marketing, and how much money can be made with sales, and hot promotional items.
The thirst for knowing about Jesus and who He is is but a small factor, unless you go into the streets where the poor people are, and that intself is a different story, where they are actually more receptive to know about Christ.
God Bless,
Will
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 01/08/06 11:33 AM

I agree. We can use the occasion to witness when possible. Just like apostle Paul did in Corinth with their honoring an "unknown god". But otherwise, personally myself I do not observe the holiday, nor Easter nor Halloween, etc. If we believe that someday the issue of Sunday observance will come up, those devoutly observing Christmas will have a difficult time refusing to observe Sunday. In fact Sunday is more biblical than December 25. We know the Savior rose on Sunday. We know that collections were taken on Sunday.... I have Jehovah Witness neighbors across he road. They also do not observe Christmas and are probably somewhat relieved that their neighbor does not put up Christmas house decorations. Real nice people they are
Posted By: Kevin H

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 01/09/06 07:15 AM

Jesus was probably not born on Dec 25. We got that date through either pagan or Jewish mythology (depending on if you want to follow the historians of the Dark Ages, who did the best with the material they had to work with, or modern scholars who have more information and evidence to work with).

While it is a good event to cellebrate, and since God did not give us an exact time to cellebrate it, we cellebrate when others in our culture celebrate.

Once again, the scholars say that it was probably in the spring or fall due to shephards being in the fields and more specifically (and I have not really looked at the evidence) probably the fall during the Feast of Tabernacales.

It is interesting that in the ministry of Jesus, in the book of John, Jesus did signs connected with temple feasts. With the exception of redemtion and the resurection, the greatest sign that Jesus gave was NOT connected to an Old Testament Feast, but to an intertestamental feast, Hannukkah who's context John ties the raising of Lazarus. We need to keep this in mind when we wish to snub the holidays that developed after the days that God commanded in the Old Testament.
Posted By: Darius

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 10/11/06 09:16 PM

After all these years on earth I am yet to see someone struck down dead for being wrong about the date of Jesus' birth. Why is is still an issue for Christians?
Posted By: the1888message

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 10/14/06 11:09 PM

From the study of the Prophecies of Daniel we find that Christ was to be killed in the middle of the week. We know that Christ was slain in March or April, depending upon the Jewish religious calendar, not our modern calendar. Well, if we talk six months away from March or April we have September or October as a general guideline as to the birth of Christ. As far as the day, who knows it is not important.
So why is December 25 the accepted birth of Christ? Because the pagan religion was brought into the “catholic” church and they and almost every “Christian” worships this day, which is a pagan deities birthday as if it were Christ day of birth.
It does not change the historical fact that that day is a pagan holiday by placing a “Christian” name to it.
Does the Bible ever teach us to worship the birth of Christ?

Peace and Grace
David
Posted By: the1888message

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 10/14/06 11:11 PM

Originally Posted By: Darius
After all these years on earth I am yet to see someone struck down dead for being wrong about the date of Jesus' birth. Why is is still an issue for Christians?


Because worshiping anything that is PAGAN is evil.

Peace and Grace
David
Posted By: Rosangela

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 10/15/06 04:12 PM

We do not worship the date nor observe the day of Christ's birth, but there is no evil in remembering the event of His birth in that date.
Posted By: vastergotland

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 10/15/06 04:56 PM

Maybe David used to worship the day? Or maybe he knows people who worship days rather than God?
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 10/15/06 07:38 PM

I wonder what David defines as worship.
Posted By: Daryl

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 10/15/06 08:29 PM

In Canada we have a holiday known as Victoria Day in honour of the Queen's birthday.

It is interesting that it isn't even the Queen's birthday.

In like manner, Christ's birth is being celebrated on December 25th. If I correctly read what EGW had to say about that, there isn't anything wrong with doing that.
Posted By: Kevin H

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 10/23/06 11:19 AM

Getting to be that time of the year again... Once again I encourage people to look for the Bible Review (Published by the Biblical Archaeological Society) of 2003 or 2002 which has quite an impressive article. Although Jesus most likely was not born on December 25, the church cellebrated it as the birth of Jesus a century earlier than our tradition and older histories said it was first kept, and was based on a second century tradition that came from intertestamental Judiasm.

The traditional understanding was that the church began celebrating Christmas in the 4th century after Constintine made the church leagle and there was compromise with Paganism which had a major holiday on December 25.

However Bible Review points out that although this is the popular understanding, from historys which was good for the information availble to them, that it is now known by scholars that December 25 was cellebrated from the third century, at a time the church was hiding in the catacomes and wanted nothing to do with paganism.

And in the Second Century AD, 100 years before December 25 was celebrated as the birth of Jesus and 200 years before Constintine and the dates that most of us think the church started celebrating Dec 25, the church celebrated the feast of the anounciation on March 25.

Bible Review points out that durring the intertestamental period the Jews developed a tradition that the conception of Isaac was on what was to latter become Passover (I'm saying later to be Passover because Isaac was born before the Exodus, however, according to some of the archaeology classes I've had at AUC, the Seminary and in some books I've had to read decades ago in college and Seminary, and in some of the defences of Mrs. White from the Walter Rea criticizisms, Passover was a major Baal festival that pre-dates Abraham.) and that Isaac was born in the winter. Not only did they teach that Isaac was conceved on Passover, but that when Abraham took Isaac to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice him and God provided the lamb also took place on Passover.

The Jewish calender varies compaired to ours so based the celebration of the conception of Isaac at Issac, the Jews celebrated the birth of Isaac around the time of our December 25, depending how the Jewish calander lined up.

Until 135 AD Christians were a subgroup of Judaism. In 135 AD Christianity and Judaism became two sepperate religions. It was similar to a divorce with sadness as well as anger and hurts on both sides. In this painful time Christians began to say that they were better than the Jews because Isaac was only conseved on Passover, Jesus was like Isaac by their mothers becoming pregnant on Passover, but Jesus died on Passover, making him even greater than Isaac as Jesus was the lamb that God provided in Isaac's place. Around this time Passover occured on March 25, with the sepperation the church stopped using the Jewish calender and started using the Roman calender and instead of addapting passover and the celebration of the conception of Isaac and Jesus with the Jewish calender, the church began celebrating the annunciation to Mary on March 25 every year.

The feast of the annunciation was celebrated on March 25 for about 100 years, then they added 9 months to the feast of the annunciation and came up with December 25 that they started to celebrate as the birth of Jesus. It was a a taking over of the Jewish traditon of the birth of Issac and applied it to Jesus.

I know when I post this there are a few who say "No, everyone knows that Christmas did not come into the church before Constitine in the 4th century." but how do you expalin why December 25 was celebrated 100 years earlier than the date you want to defend as it's start.
Posted By: Kevin H

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 10/23/06 11:33 AM

P. S. If you feel uncomfortable celebrating the birth of Jesus around December 25, the Bible, in the Book of John does give you something to celebrate durring that season... Although the event was probably in February (sometime between Hanukkah and Passover) John ties the raising of Lazarus to Hannukkah and was expecting us to think about Lazarus and look forward to the resurection every year durring Hannukkah. Since my beloved Grandmother died in December 1993, then learning about the connection between Hannukkah and Lazarus early in 1994, Lazarus and looking forward to the Second Coming and the resurection of our loved ones has become as much a part of the Holiday celebration as any other aspect. I wish that more people would include the story of Lazarus and celebrate Jesus, the Resurection and the Life during this season.
Posted By: Darius

Re: Was Jesus Really Born on December 25th? - 10/31/06 10:49 PM

The fact that we are still worrying about whether to celebrate the Savior's birthday in this earth should be the least of our problems. Why are we not concerned about the fact that the church is doing nothing to ensure that the Savior can establish His kingdom of glory on earth? This is another case of fiddling while Rome burns.
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