A First Word
We were NEVER told to
celebrate the birth of Jesus, but to remember His death and
resurrection.
The pagans celebrated the
birth of the sun god during the winter solstice festivals.
The fourth century Church “with a twist” began to celebrate
on December 25th
the “Son of God”
instead of the “sun god”.
The celebration of the
birth of Christ counteracted the pagan festival, much like
we do today with festivals
at church during Halloween or “All Hallows Eve”. (See NYOBS 5)
So for about 1700 years we
have celebrated the birthday of Jesus Christ on December 25th
and if we knew of a
different time, we still wouldn’t want to change.
Luke 22:19 – We are to remember His death
19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke
it, and gave unto them, saying; this is my body which is given for you: this
do in remembrance of me. KJV
1 Cor 11:26 – We proclaim His Death till He comes again.
26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this
cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. NIV
Methods of Determination
- We need to know what
year Jesus was born in order to know what month and day. – There are a
bunch of commentaries on the year that range from 7 B.C. to 2 B.C.
- Some of the methods
used to determine the year are; The death of Herod – The Reign
of Tiberius – The building of the Jerusalem Temple – The
death of John the Baptist – The Prefecture of Pontius Pilate – Paul’s
conversion – Astronomical analysis and the death of Christ.
– (The
- I have chosen; historical
events, comments from Josephus the Jewish Historian, Astrology and
scripture reference to systematically work backward through the years to
establish the conception and birth of Christ.
What Year
- When Jesus was born;
a Roman census was being taken and
at that SAME TIME Caesar
Augustus was given the title “Pater
Patriae” meaning "Father of the Country" or more literally, "Father of the
Fatherland". - An oath
of obedience to Caesar Augustus was required by everyone. - This oath
was documented as occurring in 3 B.C.
- By “tradition”
Augustus would humbly refuse “the title”, but would accept it later
in 2 B.C.
- Herod
Antipas,
the Tetrarch of Galilee was in power when Jesus was born and planed to
kill Jesus, but Joseph was warned and escaped with his family to
- Josephus says Herod
died shortly after a lunar
eclipse – On March 11, 4 B.C. there was a partial eclipse; but the
big one, the total eclipse occurred on December 29, 1 B.C. with Herod probably dying in
January of 1 A.D. thus tying in systematically with scripture. (There
was not a Zero B.C.) - So the birth year
is 3 B.C. – Next for us to unravel is the month.
Luke 2:1-5 Joseph went to Bethlehem
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a
decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
3 And everyone went to his own town to
register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth Galilee to Judea , to Bethlehem David
Matt 2:13 – Joseph escaped to Egypt
13 An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a
dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and
escape to Egypt
Matt 2:14 – Stayed in Egypt
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother
during the night and left for Egypt
The Mystery unravels - Zacharias
- To grasp the month of
the birth of Christ we have to go back and look at Zacharias the
father of John the Baptist; he
is the key that unlocks this door of time.
- Zacharias was an
aging Priest; he and his wife Elizabeth were too old to bare children.
- Both he and his wife were
descendents of the Priestly line of Aaron.
Luke 1:5-7 – Elizabeth
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea , a certain priest named Zacharias,
of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her
name was Elisabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking
in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth
was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. KJV
The Order of Abijah
- The Priests who were
descendents of Aaron were divided into 24 divisions and served in the
temple according to their division order.
- The
eighth division was named for Abijah;
- Zacharias was of this Priestly order.
- Zacharias was just
one of the 20,000 priests in the 24 divisions; so it was an honor for him
to be chosen “by lot” for the privilege of burning incense in the
1 Chron
24:7-10 – The eighth course was assigned to Abijah.
7 Now the first lot came forth to
Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,
9 The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,
10 The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,
KJV
Luke 1:8-9 Zacharias was in
the “order of his course”
8 And it came to pass, that while he executed
the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his
lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
Division of service
- Each of the 24
divisions or orders served two times during the year. – Once in the first
6 months and once in the second 6 months – In all this was a total of 48
weeks of service.
- All divisions served during the three
festival seasons; “Passover”
week which was followed by the week of “Feast of Unleavened Bread” (Pentecost) and then later
on was the week of the “Feast of
Tabernacles”, also called booths – Adding these three extra weeks
gives us a total of 51 weeks. (The year finally gets
corrected with 52 weeks, but it is not relevant here)
- The Hebrews year was
51 weeks with the priest serving a total of 5 weeks during the
year.
- Josephus
the Jewish historian writes:
A new day started at sundown - The service ministry began at
- Their first lunar
month of service was the springtime month of Nisan which occurs during the Julian calendar of April
– May. – Of the two courses, the first Sabbath would be known as the First First Sabbath. –
During the second cycle of service starting in the Month of Tishri One, the first
Sabbath would be known as the Second first Sabbath.
2 Chron 23:8 – The duty began
and ended on the Sabbath.
8 Each one took his men-those who were going on duty
on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty. NIV
2 Chron 5:11 – They did not wait by course during the Festivals.
11 And it came to pass, when the priests were come
out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were
sanctified, and did not then wait by course: KJV
Luke 6:1 – The Second First
Sabbath
1 And it came to pass on the second Sabbath
after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples
plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. KJV
What Month - Which course; 1st
or 2nd
- Since we are hanging
the birth month of Jesus on when Zacharias served in the temple; we have
to ask the question; which of the two normal weeks or which of the three
special weeks of festivals was Zacharias serving?
- I have to walk
backward using what was going on at the time of the birth of Jesus to
establish when Zacharias was serving. – The Hebrew month was considered as 30 days.
- Jesus’ birth was
during a census.
- The normal time for a Roman census was after the crops had been
harvested, during summer or early autumn; from August to October avoiding
the rainy and winter seasons.
- The
census required every male to go “to his own city”.
- However, by law all Jewish men MUST be in Jerusalem during
the three festivals – So the birth of Jesus could NOT have happened during
the three festivals, but only during the 1st or 2nd
course of priestly service in the temple.
- In the year 4 B.C. (a year before the birth of Jesus in 3
B.C.) the month of Nisan began in the Julian calendar on March 29th.
- The first first
Sabbath would always be the Sabbath just before the first day of Nisan.
1.
First course; the Sabbath would start at noon March 24th and
go through March 31st noon .
2.
Second course March31st noon till April 7th
noon .
3.
Third course April 7th till April 14th –
But continued on with ALL the other 20,000 priest for
14 more days celebrating the week of Passover
and the following week of the Feast
of Unleavened Bread which ended at noon on April 21st.
4.
Fourth course noon April 21st to noon April 28th
5.
Fifth course April 28th till May 5th
6.
Sixth course May 5th till May 12th
7.
Seventh course May 12th till May 19th
8.
The Eighth course of service for Zacharias
was May 19th to May 26th; SUMMER.
- The SECOND eighth
course would have been 6 months later during the WINTER, to late for a census.
Luke 2:1-6 – Joseph and
Mary registered in a Census
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a
decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
2 (This was the first census that took place while
Quirinius was governor of Syria
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth Galilee to Judea , to Bethlehem David
5 He went there to register with Mary, who
was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
6 While they were there, the time came for the
baby to be born,
Setting the stage
- The Angel Gabriel
appears to Zacharias during his normal course of service in the temple and
tells him he will have a son whose name will be John. - Zacharias being
past the age to father children doubts
Gabriel’s announcement and is struck speechless and deaf until the
birth of the child who would later be known as John The Baptist.
- Zacharias now
speechless is considered “with defect” and is moved outside finishing his tour of duty in the temple
and with about two days journey on May 28th he arrives home and sleeps with Elizabeth
his wife and she becomes pregnant. – The conception is around June 1st Elizabeth his wife
goes into seclusion for five months, till about – November 1st.
Luke 1:5 – Zachariah was
of the priestly division of Abijah.
5 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. NIV
Luke 1:11 – Gabriel
appears to Zacharias
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him,
standing at the right side of the altar of incense. NIV
Luke 1:13 – Gabriel delivers the announcement
13 But the angel said to him: "Do not be
afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear
you a son, and you are to give him the name John. NIV
Luke 1:18 – Zechariah challenges Gabriel’s announcement
18 Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I
be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."
NIV
Luke 1:19-20 – John is
struck dumb – He cannot speak
19 The angel answered, "I am Gabriel. I stand
in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you
this good news.
20 And now you will be silent and not able to
speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, NIV
Lev 21:21 – A Priest with a defect cannot come near
21 No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any
defect is to come near to present the offerings made to the LORD by fire. He
has a defect; he must not come near to offer the food of his God.
NIV
Luke 1:23-25 – Elizabeth
23 When his time of service was completed, he
returned home.
24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant
and for five months remained in seclusion.
25 "The Lord has done this for me," she
said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace
among the people."
NIV
The Sixth Month of John
- In John’s sixth month or December Gabriel appears to
Mary who is about 20 years of age and tells her she will conceive a son
named Jesus and that her barren Cousin
or Aunt Elizabeth who is about 60 is also pregnant - Mary
immediately goes and tells
- The baby “John” leaps
in the womb of
- After nine months and
10 days or after 280 days of normal gestation; in September of 3 B.C. Jesus is born to
Joseph and Mary - both have also completed the census and oaths.
- In September the shepherds
are still living outside and tending their sheep in the field. – It’s not
winter yet. - Interestingly; during the mild winter season, only the
- So the conception was
on December 1st and the birth month was in September of 3 B.C.
Luke 1:26-28 - In the 6th
month – Gabriel goes to the Virgin Mary
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel
Gabriel to Nazareth Galilee ,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a
man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said,
"Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." NIV
Luke 1:36 -37 – Gabriel tells Mary that Eliz is 6 month pregnant
36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to
have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her
sixth month.
37 For nothing is impossible with God." NIV
Luke 1:39-41 – Mary goes
to see Elizabeth
39 Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the
hill country of Judea ,
40 where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted
Elizabeth
41 When Elizabeth Elizabeth
Luke 2:8-9 – The shepherds
were in the fields with their flock.
8 And there were shepherds living out in
the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. NIV
Astronomy – The Day
- Looking at the book
of Revelation, John the revelator speaks of a celestial display in the
heavens that is a sign.
– It’s a woman clothed with the
sun with the moon under
her feet. – She is holding a branch in her right hand. – The
branch is symbolic of the Lord. See NYOBS 19
- Using the Zodiac; the
woman is known as “Virgo the Virgin”. – Running time back we see
that in the year 3 B.C. the sun crosses the virgin’s body for 20
days from August 27th till September 15th, however during the 20 days of
the sun crossing; the moon is only directly under her feet on the date of September
11th between the hours of 6:15 pm till 7:45 pm. – In the Gospel of
Luke we are told that the birth of Christ was at night.
- So utilizing scripture
and the stars of the Zodiac, we can know that Christ was born on
- This event in the
stars could not have occurred at any other time during this year.
Rev 12:1-5 – Clothed with
the sun – Moon under her feet.
1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in
heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet
and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant
2 and cried out in pain as she was about to give
birth.
5 She gave birth to a son, a male child,
who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. Her child was snatched up
to God to his throne.
NIV
Zech 3:8 – Christ is the
Branch
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy
fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will
bring forth my servant the BRANCH.
KJV
Luke 2:8-11 – Jesus was
born at night.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the
fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at NIGHT.
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the
glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. .
11 Today in the town of David
Un-believable – Rosh ha-Shanan
- Want some more –
- NOTE: Christ’s
conception was 180 days or 9 months and 10 days prior on DECEMBER 1st.
Lev 23:23 -24 – The Jewish New Year – The Day of Trumpets
23 The LORD said to Moses,
24 "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.
NIV
Incredible – The Bethlehem
- There are two kinds
of stars; those that are “fixed”
and those that seem to “Wander”.
They are called wandering stars because they move slowly in a
predictable orbit reversing in time to start all over again. – The Magi
saw the star rising in the East and it endured.
- NOTE: Comets
and Shooting stars don’t
rise nor do they endure over time.
- In September of 3
B.C. the star Regulus
known as “The King’s Star”
rises in the East in an elliptical orbit and seemingly forms a conjunction
with Jupiter. - Stacked together, but separate, they form
a very bright star in the heavens, - Regulus
is the brightest
star in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest
stars in the night sky - Jupiter is usually the fourth
brightest object in the sky (after the Sun, the Moon and Venus).
- With the earth also moving,
these two stars seem to wander in the heavens then STOP as they reach the
end of their orbit.
- This stacked
conjunction occurred on
Isa 40:26 – God created
the stars
26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who
created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and
calls them by name
Job 9:9 – He calls them by
name
9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. NIV
Ps 147:4 – God numbered
the stars
4 He determines the number of the stars and
calls them each by name. NIV
Acts 2:19 – Wonders in the heavens.
19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and
signs on the earth below, NIV
Matt 2:2 – His star was
seen rising in the East
2 "Where is He who has been born King of the
Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship
Him. NKJV
Mic 5:2 – A ruler will
come out of Bethlehem
2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for
me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times NIV
Christ’s conception by the Holy Spirit occurred on
December 1st, 4 B.C. and
His Birth was on September
11, 3 B.C.
in the evening at 6:45 pm – give or take 30
minutes.
The Magi would arrive in Bethlehem
on December 25th, 2 B.C.
The Magi thought that King Herod had a newborn child
king.
Herod was upset and commanded that all male
children under the age of two be killed.
Herod would die shortly after a lunar eclipse a
year later; the last of 1 B.C. or the first of 1 A.D.
Matt 2:16 – Kill all males two and under
16 Herod gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem
To me, such a notion as
naming the date when Christ was born is laughable,
until I studied His Word.
In the multitude of counselors,
there is wisdom.
Prov 11:14
I am grateful for those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical information, and scripture verses. Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further than I otherwise ever could have.
Antiquities of the Jews – Flavius Josephus; Jewish Historian
Anointed with the Spirit and Power - John D. Harvey
A.S.K. – Associates for Scriptural knowledge –
BlueLetterBible.Org
Holy Spirit; The – Billy Graham
Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s
King James Version Bible - KJV
New International Version of the Bible - NIV
Person and work of the Holy Spirit; The – R. A. Torrey
Sabbath.Org
Victor Journey through the Bible; The – V. Gilbert Beers.
VictoryBibleBaptist.Org
Wikipedia – Chronology of Jesus
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