THE BIRTH OF YESHUA ישע
THE BIRTH OF YESHUA ישע
Was Yhushua really born on December 25th, as the Western Christian Tradition maintains, or does Scripture allow us to infer a different time for His birth here on earth?
There are several reasons to believe that Yhushua was born during the Fall, in particular, during the feast of Sukkot("Taberna
Yhushua's cousin, Yochanan the Immerser (John the baptist), was conceived in mid Sivan (May/June) and born 40 weeks later on Nisan 15, the Passover.
-Yochanan's father (Zachariah) was a Levite who was assigned to serve in the temple during the course of "Abiyah," the 8th course of the year.
( Luke 1:5, 1 Chr 24:10)
-Since the cycle of service began on the first Shabbat of Nisan but both Passover and Shavu'ot require all priestly courses to serve, the actual time the 8th course would serve would be during the 10th week of the year. This places Zachariah service in the Temple as beginning on the second Sabbath of the month of Sivan (May/June).
- It is written that Yochanan was conceived shortly after this tour of duty
( Luke 1:23-4). Therefore, Yochanan the Immerser was probably conceived shortly after the third Sabbath of the month of Sivan (i.e., late Sivan).
- Therefore Yochanan the Immerser was born around Passover (Nisan/Abib 15). (Recall that Yhushua said that John the Baptist was a type of Elijah the prophet
( Matt 17:10-13, cp. Luke 1:17). Even today it is customary for Jews to set out a special cup of wine during the Passover Seder meal in anticipation of the arrival of Eliyah for the festival.)
Yhushua was conceived in Tevet ( Rosh Chodesh Tevet is likely the timing of his conception) and born 40 weeks later during Sukkot (i.e., Tabernacles).
- Yhushua was conceived six months after John the Baptist ( Luke 1:24-27, 36). Note that the "sixth" month refers to Elizabeth's pregnancy,not the month of Elul (cp. Luke 1:36).
- .Six months added to late Sivan is late Kislev, which is the time of the conception of Yhushua (note that the first day of the Jewish festival of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated on the 25th day of Kislev, and Yhushua is called the Light of the world ( John 8:12, 9:5, 12:46)).
- From the 15th day of Nisan (Yochanan's birthday), we add six months to arrive at the 15th day of the 7th month, Tishri - the first day of the festival of Sukkot. The Eighth Day
Eight days after the baby’s birth, Joseph circumcised the child. On that day, they gave him the name Gabriel announced to Mary at the time of the conception, the same name an angel revealed to Joseph in a dream.
The last day of the Sukkot is an additional festival day that the Torah calls “The Eighth Day” (Leviticus 23:36, 39). If Yeshua was born on the first day of the feast of Tabernacles, they must have circumcised him on the day called the “Eighth Day,” thereby literally fulfilling the scripture which says, “On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Leviticus 12:3).
If the day of his birth were the first day of Sukkot, the day of his circumcision would be the eighth day, Shemini Atzeret/
Circumstantial Evidences:
- John 1:14states that the "Word became flesh and "dwelt" with us. The Greek word "dwelt"[skeinao
- King Herod most likely would used the opportunity of the Festival of Sukkot (in Jerusalem) to perform the census (at leat likely not Chanukah, since he detested and feared the Hasmoneans).
- Shepherds would not be out with their sheep in the dead of winter in Israel.
The angel who appeared to the shepherds said, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news ofgreat joythat will be for all the people" (Luke 2:10). Since Sukkot was known as both a festival of joy and also as the "Festival of the Nations," the angel was actually giving them a greeting for the Festival of Sukkot. This is the only festival where the nations are positively encouraged to participate ( Zechariah 14:16-19).
- The Catholic church (in 336 AD) declared December 25th (on the Julian calendar) to be Yhushua's birthday in order to replace a pagan Roman holiday, Saturnalia. Ironically, December 25th was a celebration of the birthday of the sun god. The early church, in an attempt to get rid of the pagan holiday, declared December 25th to be the birthday of the Son of Elohim.
- We know that Yhushua was about 30 years old when He started His ministry (Luke 3:23), and, assuming (as many Bible scholars do) that He ministered for 3 1/2 years, we can count backwards from the crucifixion. (during Passover in Nisan) 6 months to discover his birthday in Tishri.
Since Zachariah served during the tenth week and Elizabeth conceived shortly thereafter, we can place the date of Yhushua's birth during the festival of Sukkot.
In addition, the narrative indicates that it was shepherds to whom the angels delivered their message, which is interesting in that for thousands of years Jewish literature ascribes a tradition known as "Ushpizin", only to Succot, and it is practiced even to this day.
After entering the Succah, and reciting certain prayers, the ceremony of Ushpizin bids us to partake in the privilege of inviting and welcoming the "Sh'kinah" ) Elohim's Presence) and the seven "faithful shepherds" who enter the succah with us as exalted guests. These guests come to observe how their descendants FULFILL the mitzvah (commandment) of the Succah, in which they dwell under Elohim's protection, in accordance with what Elohim had promised in the Torah. These seven faithful shepherds of Israel are: Avraham, Yitzchak, Ya'acov, Yosef, Moshe, Aharon, and Melech (King) David. Back in the Luke narrative, though the text does not specify "seven" shepherds who went to visit Meriam, there seems to be a hint, when one reads between the lines. Moreover, the purpose of their visit is recorded to be very similar with that of the Ushpizin, in which the text states that it was to "see this thing that had happened, which YHWH has told us about." (Luke 2:15).
A medieval collection of anti-Christian Jewish folklore titled "The Story about Shim’on Kefa(Aggadta DeShim’on Kefa,אגדתא דשמען כיפא "( preserves Jewish traditions about the early Jewish believers and early Christians. Aggadta DeShim’on Kefais similar to other fictional, Jewish apologetic legends like "Toldedot Yeshu" which contain anti-Christian legends that originated in the early days of Jewish-Christia
In the story,the notable sages of the day are distressed by the number of Nazarenes among the Jewish people, and they are eager to find a way to easily distinguish between believers in Yeshua and other Jews. The story is set in the mid-apostolic era (circa 60 CE), but in reality, it better reflects second- and third-century interactions between Jewish believers and the larger Jewish community. In the story, the sages use the influence of a sage named Shim’on Kefa (Simon Peter) to help push Jewish believers away from Torah observance and Jewish identity. Their goal is to separate the believers from the rest of Judaism. With Simon Peter’s help, the sages encourage the Jewish believers to abandon Sabbath observance and circumcision, and they prescribe a new liturgical calendar for the Jewish believers.
This important and fascinating legend offers a glimpse of the sect of the Nazarenes from the perspective of mainstream Judaism. It attests to a collective, community memory of the Nazarene believers as Torah-keeping Jews who, at one time, were virtually indistinguishab
The Three Pilgrimage Festivals
In the legend, Simon Peter and the sages try to steer the believers away from keeping the three pilgrimage festivals: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Chag HaMatzot, Shavuot, and Sukkot) in the same manner as the rest of the Jewish community. They accomplish this by assigning Messianic significance to each festival connected with Yeshua of Nazareth:
You will not celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot) but instead celebrate the day of his death. And in the place of the festival of Shavuot, celebrate the forty days from his execution until after his ascension to the firmament. And in the place of the festival of Sukkot, you will celebrate the day of his birth, and on the eighth day from his birth, you will celebrate his circumcision. (Aggadta DeShim’on Kefa)
The fictitious story attempts to credit the leadership of the Jewish community with the creation of Christianity, but what kind of Christianity is this? Church history tells us that second-century Christians (the so called Quartodecimans)
The source text behindAggadta DeShim’on Kefaseems to reflect an era before the Christian custom of celebrating his birth in conjunction with the winter solstice. The legendary story remembers a time when believers still kept the biblical festivals but attached Messianic significance to their observance of the Jewish holy days. Since the believers in the story are Jewish, the legend may provide us a glimpse of the early Jewish believers celebrating the Master’s birth at the festival of Sukkot. If so, it offers some justification for reviving that lost tradition in the Nazarene Jewish movement.
This Jewish record appears to be confirmed by an early writing attributed to the apostles which is a part of the canon of the Ethiopic Orthodox Church. The writing titled Ethiopic Didascalia states that the birth of HaMashiach should be celebrated on the 25th of the 9th month. While some have argued that this is a possible reference to the hebrew month of Kislev and hence the first day of Chanukkah . An alternative literal reading of this passage indicates that it was the very day of Yhushua's birth on the Roman calendar being given- the 25th of September - which in the year of his birth 3BC falls on the first day of Sukkoth.
There are indications that point to 3BC as the year of his birth. For details on compelling reasons for this conclusion see the following article - http://
The Astronomical sign of Revelation 12
It is fitting that HaMashiach would be born close to the symbolic signs we're given in the book of Revelation 12 (Some in fact do make a case for him being born on this very day, September 11th 3BC, which was the date of the feast of trumpets that year) , since YHWH was announcing his son into the world as the Malkiy-Tzedeq in Hebrew, “King of
Righteousness.”
While we may not agree with him on the exact date, we affirm as well that he was at least born close to this period- our position based on current understanding is that he was born exactly 2 weeks from this time, that Melek HaMashiach Yhushua was born on Wednesday evening , September 25th in 3 B.C. on “the Full moon of sukkoth” In his book entitled “The Star That Astonished the World,” Dr. Ernest L. Martin shows that the planetary alignment which occurred that year when Yhushua was born was from the prophecy in
Revelation 12.
This planetary alignment was seen on September
11 th in 3 BC, with the subsequent full moon occurring on the 25th of September (the 15th of Tishrei) . The Hebrew word for “virgin” is “Bethulah” which is what this constellation is named after. The
pagans renamed these constellations after pagan deities, and they assimilated this “virgin” to their false mother goddesses, but it’s origin has always
pointed to only one “mother” which is Jerusalem “the mother of us all.”
The constellation was renamed in Latin as “Virgo the Virgin” and she had 12 stars around her head (for the twelve tribes of Yisra’el), and the moon was under her
feet. The sun was “mid-body” and so she was “clothed with the sun.” She was also giving birth to “Ariel,” the Lion of the Tribe of Yehudah (Judah). The planet Jupiter was also seen inside this constellation which is called Malkiy-Tzedeq (King of
Righteousness) or Melchizedek. The pagans renamed this planet after the pagan deity from Greece (Zeus) or Jupiter (Roman).
This is the astronomical signs described in Revelation 12 and there is sufficient reason to believe that this refers to the timing of HaMashiach' s birth.
So far we have considered, the birth of Yhushua as it relates to the hebraic lunar calendar, however the ancient Israelites also observed the priestly solar calendar alongside the lunar. in fact this was the official feast calendar of the ancient essenes as opposed to the lunar calendar. Yhushua's family also appeared to have been linked to the essenes, considering that his cousin Yochanan the immerser 's ministry was patterned after that of the essenes.
What we find is that not only do we find support for this date of Yhushua's birth on the lunar calendar but also according to the solar calendar observed by the essenes. September 25th 3BC was the 1st day of the 7th month according to the solar calendar which means at the time the mainstream Jewish people were celebrating sukkoth, the essenes were celebrating Yom Teruah, and Melek HaMashiach Yhushua was born on this very day. Melek HaMashiach Yhushua essentially fulfilled the symbolism associated with both of these feast days in his birth as Mashiach Ben Yosef- Just as Yom Teruah in particular has been associated with his return as Mashiach Ben Dawid.
As YHWH is perfect in his works not only does the conception of Yeshua occur during Chanukkah on the lunar calendar based on this timing but according to the solar calendar as well, his conception/
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