We form our personal beliefs, opinions and even ‘likes and dislikes’ because of what we have heard from our childhood, initially spoken by parents and other family members and then by teachers and various other people, among whom we grew up. Once we learnt to read, more things got inculcated in our minds from the text books in school and then from newspapers, magazines and other reading material. Today, many follow the media, main stream or social and come to various conclusions, at times devoid of any substantiated data.
YET, rarely do we take time to do some research in order to find out whether our ‘ideas and opinions’ are correct or NOT.
Some of those ideas and opinions change, as we grow up and get exposed to the world in general.
But SADLY, most hold onto various misconceptions regarding many subjects or topics, including the TENETS of their religions.
Consequently, many sincere Christians hold onto ‘beliefs’ that are un-Scriptural and at times even CONTRADICTORY to what the Bible TRULY SAYS.
As we are in the month of December now, it would be appropriate to start this SERIES with the topic, “Time of The Birth of Christ”. Some Preachers even say from the pulpit on the 25th of December, “We KNOW that Christ was NOT born IN December, BUT let us keep the tradition”.
Wonder whether they would like ‘their birthdays’ to be celebrated on a different day and month, year after year.
What is more astounding is the fact that anyone with the briefest knowledge of Scripture and common sense could easily DISCERN that Christ could NOT have been born in December or even in January.
Like to give just two Scriptural FACTS to prove that point. As per the Gospel of Luke [2:8-14], the FIRST people to hear about “His Birth” were the shepherds, who were watching their flocks, in the NIGHT.
In which country do the shepherds take their flocks OUT in the night during WINTER? In Israel winter comes at the same time as in the northern hemisphere and John 10:22 also records it.
Second point is the REASON WHY Joseph TRAVELLED from Galilee in the north, to Bethlehem south of Jerusalem, with Mary who was pregnant.
As recorded in Luke 2:1 – 5, it was BECAUSE of the DECREE issued by Augustus Caesar that a CENSUS should be taken of the entire Roman world.
Those days NO government official went from house to house ‘with a form’ to record the number of inhabitants, as is done in modern days.
THEN, people had to GO to their ‘native towns’ and hence Joseph HAD TO make that trip with Mary, though it would have been rather grueling to say the least.
There were NO transport facilities, as at present. Except for the rich and various officials, the people in general had to travel by foot carrying their bags and baggages. That meant, many would have to undergo unnecessary hardships.
Hence, let alone a wise ruler like Augustus Caesar, even a cruel one like Nero would NOT have decreed that a census be taken DURING WINTER.
All that clearly establish the FACT that Christ could NOT have been Born any time from November to February in the Gregorian calendar.
Some may wonder, “WHEN was Christ REALLY BORN then?” Let us look at the EVIDENCE in the BIBLE.
First we need to realize that GOD DOES NOT follow the Gregorian calendar which was only introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. Neither did GOD follow the Julian Calendar that the Roman world followed at the time of the Birth of Christ.
GOD HAS HIS OWN CALENDAR as Recorded in Exodus 12:1 & 2 and there HE States “WHEN HIS NEW YEAR BEGINS”.
As being done even at present, throughout the Middle East, then also they followed the ‘Lunar Calendar’, in which the months are calculated according to the rotation of the moon.
Those “lunar months” begin somewhere in the middle of the ‘solar months’ that most in the world are used to.
In Exodus Chapter 12 GOD Describes how the People of Israel were to keep the very First “Passover” which took place during the season of Spring. So the first month then named “Abib”, though now called “Nisan” was roughly from 16th of March to 15th of April in the solar calendar. Even at present times that is how the two calendars flow.
Luke Chapter 1 GIVES some very IMPORTANT INFORMATION that is sadly seems to be LOST on more than 90% of “Bible Believing Christians”.
Luke 1:5 states Zechariah, who was to be the father of “John the Baptist”, was of the “Priestly Division of Abijah”. Sadly in KJV it is NOT clear at all as it states “of the course of Abia”.
We all believe that The HOLY SPIRIT INSPIRED the Writers of the New Testament to RECORD ‘What they WROTE’. Hence it should have been IMPORTANT for The HOLY SPIRIT to INSPIRE Luke to Record THIS “Piece of Information” too.
But that ‘importance’ is LOST, IF one is NOT familiar with what is Recorded in 1st Chronicles Chapter 24. There it is recorded from Verse 3 onwards that King David with the assistance of his Priests Zadok and Ahimelech, “Set ion Order” to borrow a modern phrase, HOW the “24 Families of PRIESTS” were to “Minister in the Temple”, during the 12 months of the year. They were divided by ‘drawing lots’ [Verse 5] and the “Order in which each Family Division was to of Serve” is given from Verse 7 onwards.
Since there were 24 “Heads of Families” and only 12 months in the year, ‘each Family’ was to Serve “half a month”. That is the Family of Jehoiarib, to whom the ‘first lot fell’ would serve during the “First half of the month of Abib\Nisan” and the Family of Jedaiah during the “Second half” and so on.
BUT in the solar Calendar, the ‘Service of the First Family’ could BEGIN any day from the 16th of March to 15th of April. That has to be borne in mind, because THAT DAY VARIES in the solar calendar, from “year to year”.
For the record let us assume the ‘First Family’ Ministered during the latter half of March (16th to 31st), then the ‘Second Family’ would have Ministered during the first half of April (1st to the 15th) and so on.
Since multiple families descended from each “Head” as time went by, they had to cast lots to choose ‘which clan’ would Serve from the “Allocated Family”, during the respective time period, year after year. THAT is precisely WHAT, Luke 1: 8-10 Record REGARDING Zechariah.
1st Chronicles 24:10 states that the 8th Lot fell to “Abijah’s Family”. Luke 1:5 Records “Zechariah BELONGED THAT Family,” which is the important INFORMATION referred to above. By doing the necessary calculation, anyone can find out that Zechariah would have been Ministering during the month of JULY, either first or second half.
That means Elizabeth would have become pregnant during the month of July.
During the conversation Angel Gabriel had with Mary, she asked him, “How can she be ‘with child’, as she was a virgin?” [Luke 1:34].
That question indicates a very important TRUTH that she obviously understood. That is the “Fulfillment of the ‘Message’ would take place IMMEDIATELY”. Otherwise her response would have been something like, ‘You mean ONCE I am married to Joseph, the first child we will have, will be given the ‘Throne of David’ [Verse 32] by GOD?”
Instead she simply pointed out that she was STILL a VIRGIN. Similarly, Elizabeth also would have conceived ‘John’ (Hebrew ‘Yochanon’) immediately, meaning during the month of July.
In his reply to Mary (Miriam), Angel Gabriel tells her about her relative and goes onto state that Elizabeth is in her SIXTH month [Luke 1:36]. THAT means Gabriel was sent to Mary in the month of JANUARY, of the following year.
Therefore it becomes obvious that ‘Depending on HOW the lunar calendar coincided with the solar calendar of THAT year,’ CHRIST WOULD HAVE BEEN BORN DURING THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER OR THE LATEST, EARLY PART OF OCTOBER.
THAT is precisely when “The FEAST of TABERNACLES” is to be Celebrated, as per Leviticus 23:33-43.
Another interesting factor is that even though we are familiar with the translation of John 1:14 as “And the WORD was made flesh and ‘dwelt’ amongst us” in English, in Greek it states “Ho logos” (The word) became flesh and “Skaynosen” [TABERNACLED] among us.