THE DAY JESUS WAS
BORN
By Bong Zason
“It’s all in
the beginning. When there were chaos, turmoil and spiritual void, and moral darkness
covered the face of the whole earth- the Spirit of God hovered over it… and in
that depth of darkness something was conceived – the light to rule over the
darkness”
Matthew 1:21 She will bear
a son, and you shall call his name Yeshua, for he will save his people from their sins."
Jesus was not born on December 25th. Most people knew
about this - even the Catholic believers.
But few believers know that there is a way to determine
when Yeshua (Jesus) was actually born. There are three ways we can prove,
validate and establish the correct date of His conception and birth: Biblical, Historical, and Scientific.
Some people say that Jesus was born on the Sukkot
Festival and John the Baptist was born on the day of the Passover. Their historical
and biblical proofs although very convincing yet was lacking in astronomical or
scientific proof.
At the outset here is our date.
The birth date of Jesus is most probably on the 14thday Nisan.
It is on the day of Passover.
In fact His birthday is also the day of His death.
You may find that this is shocking and unbelievable but I
will tell you to just continue reading and we are going to prove to you that
what we claim is a much reliable assertion than the rests.
HISTORICAL/BIBLICAL PROOF OF JESUS’ BIRTH:
We can do this by using a correlation between the
conception and birth of Jesus (Yeshua) with the conception and birth of
John the Baptist.
Let us begin to examine the FIRST proof: The Bible tell us in LUKE 1:5
“There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named
Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of
Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before
God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord
blameless. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and
they were both well advanced in years.” (NKJV)
So what is "the division of Abijah."?
I Chronicles 24 lists the courses, divisions or shifts of
the priesthood
that served in the Temple throughout the year. Verse 1 states, "These are
the divisions of the sons of Aaron." Among the sons of Eleazar were
sixteen heads of their father's house, while among the sons of Ithamar were
eight additional heads of house, making twenty-four courses (verse 4).
These courses of priests were divided by lot to be
officials of the sanctuary and of the house of God (verse 5).
Beginning on
Nisan 1, these courses rotated throughout the year, serving in the Temple for
one week apiece.
THE COURSE OF ABIJAH
The course of Abijah, the course during which Zacharias was
responsible to work, was the eighth shift (verse 10).
Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian—who was, by
the way, of the priestly lineage of the course of Jehoiarib, the first
course—supplies further information about the priestly courses.
"He [David] divided them also into courses: and when
he had separated the priests from them, he found of these priests twenty-four
courses, sixteen of the house of Eleazar and eight of that of Ithamar; and he
ordained that one course should minister to God [during] eight days, from
[noon] Sabbath to [noon on the
following] Sabbath. And thus were the courses distributed by lot, in the
presence of David, and Zadok and Abiathar the high priest, and of all the
rulers: and that course which came up first was written down as the first, and
accordingly the second, and so on to the twenty-fourth; and this partition hath
remained to this day" (Antiquities of the Jews, 7:14.7).
These courses were strictly followed until the Temple was
destroyed in AD 70.
Each of these groups has to serve at the Temple for an eight-day period (1 Chr. 9:25).
The service has to begin and end on the weekly Sabbath (2 Chr. 23:8).
1 Chronicles 24:10 tells us that the 8th division of
service was assigned to Abijah's descendants of whom Zechariah belonged.
In addition to their normal service, all 24 groups served
at the Temple during the three holy seasons every year.
These are the Passover,
Pentecost and the
Feast of weeks
(Chanukah).
In a normal year on the Hebrew calendar the year is
divided into 12 lunar months.
The number of days in these months are not the
same. Some months have 30 days, others have 29 days.
These three phenomena are independent of each other, so there is no direct correlation between them. On average, the moon revolves around the Earth in about 29½ days. The Earth revolves around the sun in about 365¼ days, that is, about 12.4 lunar months.
During a regular Jewish year (which occurs 12 times in a
19-year cycle), 51 weeks of coverage would be needed to ensure that the Temple
was cared for every week throughout the year.
24 (first half of the year) + 3 (festival weeks) + 24
(second half of the year) = 51 weeks
The course of Abijah, the 8th course, normally will serve
twice in a year.
One in the early summer and one in autumn.
Let us illustrate this schedule using the month of Nisan which
is the first month in the Hebrew calendar. We will use the year 6 BCE as shown
below.
So the first group or course will start on day 1 which is
Nisan 1 up to Nisan 8 which are both Sabbath days (green color week).
See chart below.
The second course will start
on the 8th and ends on the 15th (blue color week).
On the
third week is a Passover Holiday (brown color), so all the priests will attend
and serve the people.
The third group (gray color week) will therefore serve
the following week which is the fourth week, and so on and so forth.
ניסן
Nisan 3755 |
Sun
|
Mon
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Tue
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Wed
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Thu
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Fri
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Sab
|
Sun
|
Mon
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Tue
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Wed
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Thu
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Fri
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Sat
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Mar. 6 BCE
Apr.
6 BCE |
|
1
|
18
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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19
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20
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21
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22
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23
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24
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25
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|||
9
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10
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11
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12
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13
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14
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15
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26
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27
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28
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29
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30
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31
|
1
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|||
16
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17
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18
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19
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20
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21
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22
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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|||
23
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24
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25
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26
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27
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28
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29
|
9
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10
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11
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12
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13
|
14
|
15
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|||
30
|
16
|
LUKE 1:8 So it was, that while he [Zacharias] was serving as priest before
God in the order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood,
his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the Temple of the Lord.
10
And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of
incense. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the
right side of the altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was
troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not
be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will
bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14 And you will have
joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be
great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong
drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his
mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the
Lord their God.
17 He will also go before him in the spirit and power of
Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the
Lord."
18 And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know
this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in
years."
19 And the angel answered and said to him, "I am
Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and
bring you these glad tidings.
20 But behold, you will be mute and not
able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not
believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time."
21 And
the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the
Temple. 22 But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived
that he had seen a vision in the Temple, for he beckoned to them and remained
speechless.
23 And so it was, as soon as the days of his service were
completed, that he departed to his own house.
24 Now after those days his
wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 25
"Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to
take away my reproach among people." (NKJV)
EXPLANATION OF THE PASSAGES:
Zacharias' wife Elizabeth would have conceived John the
Baptist following the week of his service at the Temple. However, we must
add few weeks as he first needs to reconcile his thoughts and to recoup himself
about the vision and the pathetic state of his being speechless. Plus there may
be some preparations if Jewish holidays are nearing.
Now the real question is what time of the year did
Zechariah do his service – was it in the early summer as many have advocated? Or
was it the autumn?
Let me rephrase the question which is the crux of the matter - Did the Angel of the Lord visited Zechariah in the early summer service or in the autumn priestly service?
Let me rephrase the question which is the crux of the matter - Did the Angel of the Lord visited Zechariah in the early summer service or in the autumn priestly service?
We believe it was the autumn service of 7BCE and not the summer service as most of our dear brethren and bible expositors believe. If one believes that Zachariah's encounter with the angel took place in the early summer, then you would come out with John's birthday on the day of the Passover and Jesus would have been born on the Feast of the Tabernacles in the year 3 or 2 BCE. This belief will have no choice but to deny Herod the Great as one who ordered the massacre of the innocent children.
We firmly believe that the encounter took place in the autumn service. With this time frame we can give an undeniable astronomical support to our thesis.
We firmly believe that the encounter took place in the autumn service. With this time frame we can give an undeniable astronomical support to our thesis.
See the chart here.
In this chart, John the Baptist was
conceived during the festival of Chanukah.
Elizabeth would probably have conceived John sometime
from Kislev 25 to Tevet 4.
Kislev 25 is the
beginning of the Feast of Chanukah, also known as the Festival of
Lights. This eight-day feast continues to Tevet 2.
JOHN 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This
man came for a witness, to bear witness of the light that all through him might
believe. 8 He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that
light. 9 That was the true light which gives light to every man coming
into the world. (NKJV)
Now let's us take a look at another vision which happened
in a far city where Elizabeth's young relative, Mary lived:
LUKE 1:26 Now in the sixth month [of Elizabeth's pregnancy] the angel
Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin
betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The
virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her,
"Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among
women!" 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and
considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to
her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall
call his name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of
the Highest; and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father
David. 33 And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his
kingdom there will be no end." 34 Then Mary said to the angel,
"How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 35 And the angel
answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is
to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your
relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth
month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be
impossible." 38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the
Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel
departed from her. (NKJV)
EXPLANATION:
If John the Baptist was conceived in the weeks during the
Chanukah, Jesus would have been conceived about six months later, sometime during
the middle of the Hebrew month of Tammuz.
Why would Jesus be conceived in the month of Tammuz?
The month of Tammuz is the month in history when the
Jewish people spiraled down deep into spiritual chaos, idolatry and immorality.
It is at this very moment that a savior is needed to be conceived.
Tammuz is the month of the sin of the golden calf, which
resulted in the breaking of the Tablets. On that very day, the 17th of Tamuz,
begins the three week period (ending on the 9th of Av) which commemorates the
destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Ezekiel 8:14 Then he
brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and
behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
The month of Tammuz is a month of paradox. The life of
Jesus is a paradox. He was conceived to save but was born to die.
“This month of Tammuz is a bridge time when we cross over
from one season to another: all the preparation for sowing are complete and we
cross over and see a new season. It is a time for each of us to cross over
after seeing the prophetic promises sown into our lives, as seeds of faith.” - TAMMUZ: CROSS OVER
| Prophetic Mandates
Jesus was conceived to bridge the old and the new. He came
to mediate between God and mankind.
If we are able to “see the son” then we can crossover to
spiritual rest. If you cannot see Him, one must need to rectify the eyes – else
he perish in the way.
Tammuz is connected to Reuben, Leah’s first born son.
Reuben means “See a Son!”
Thus the first three sons of Leah would meant:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi = See a Son, hear him and be
attached to him!
Psalm 2:7 I will
declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Psalm 2:12 Kiss (attach to) the Son, otherwise he be angry,
and you perish from the way, when his
wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are
all they that put their trust in him.
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