Yeshua's Birth

Was Yeshua born in December? If not when was he born? And what year? What difference does it make, anyway?

Visit to Bethlehem in December just in time for Christmas. In late December of each year, thousands of tourists flock into the small town of Bethlehem in the Judean Hills south of Jerusalem to participate in annual Christmas celebrations there. Some make the 6-mile journey from Jerusalem on foot. Upon arrival, they crowd with silent awe into the paved expanse of Manger Square in front of the revered Church of the Nativity, built over the traditional site of Yeshua's birth.

Inevitably, some of these tourists arrive in Israel unprepared. They have not thoroughly studied the guidebooks. As they step off their plane, they receive a real shock! November through early March is winter in Israel! The weather gets cold, especially at night. Often it rains, or even snows! Yet many arrive in Israel carrying luggage bulging with summer attire, reasoning that it is always hot and arid in the Middle East. So they hurriedly purchase coats and sweaters in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem for their pilgrimage down to Bethlehem.

Nevertheless, most of those who stand in Manger Square on December 25 each year, prepared and unprepared alike, fail to perceive the message being proclaimed by the very weather around them! 

Notice this plain testimony of your Bible: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. LUK 2:8

The shepherds were living out in the open fields, tending their flock through the night. The point? Ask any biblical scholar, or any modern Israeli: This never could have occurred in Judea in the month of December nor even in November, or late October for that matter! In ancient times as today, shepherds brought their flocks in from the fields and penned them in shelters not later than the middle of October! This was necessary to protect them from the cold, rainy season that usually followed that date. The Bible itself makes it clear that winter in Palestine is a rainy season. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; SOL 2:11 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. LUK 2:8 This tells us that at the time of Yeshua's birth the shepherds were yet abiding in the fields by night, at that! They had not yet brought their flocks home to the sheepfold. Clearly the cold, rainy season had not yet commenced. this on the basis of Luke's testimony alone, we see that Yeshua could have been born no later than mid October when the weather is sill pleasant at Bethlehem. A December 25 nativity is too late! Keep in mind the Jewish Holy day, Yom Kippur, is always in late September or early October. Yom Kippur is `The Day of Atonement'. Yeshua is our atonement. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, by whom we have now received the atonement. ROM 5:11 

Additional biblical evidence lends further support to the foregoing conclusion. Luke 1:24-38 informs us that the Virgin Mary miraculously became pregnant with Yeshua when her cousin Elizabeth was six months pregnant with a child who would later be known as John the Baptist. Yeshua then would have been born six months after John. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, LUK 1:24 this hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in to her, and said, Hail, you that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art you among women.

And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary: for you hast found favor with God. And, behold, you will conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name Yeshua. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David: And he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end. 

Then said Mary to the angel, How will this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Ghost will come upon thee, and the power of the Highest will overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which will be born of thee will be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. LUK 1:25-38 If we could know the time of John's birth we could then simply add six months and know the time of Yeshua's birth. 

Notice: Elizabeth's husband Zacharias was a priest at the Temple in Jerusalem. Records that Zacharias was of the course of Abia (in Hebrew, Abijah) There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. LUK:1:5 In the days of King David of ancient Israel (10th century B.C.) the number of priests had so increased that they had to be divided into 24 courses or shifts, which would take turns in performing the priestly duties. Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. Each course served one week at a time beginning and ending on a weekly Sabbath day. 1CH 24:1 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the Sabbath, with them that were to go out on the Sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses). The course of Abijah was the eighth course or shift in the rotation. 2 CH 23:8 The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah. 1CH 24:10

The Talmud (collection of Jewish civil and religious laws and commentaries) records that the first course performed its duties in the first week of the month of the Hebrew calendar. This month (called Abib or Nisan) begins about the start of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The second course worked the second week. The third week being the annual festival season of Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread found all 24 courses serving together sharing the heavy duties of the special time. The third shift then took its turn during the fourth week of the year. Projecting forward, the eight courses, the course of Abijah, in which Zacharia served, worked the ninth week of the year. But Zacharias' course then stayed on at the Temple to serve the 10th week also the week of the annual Pentecost festival along with all the other courses.

It was during that two-week period of work near the end of spring that the announcement by the archangel Gabriel came to Zacharias regarding his wife's imminent conception. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth will bear thee a son, and you will call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and will drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he will be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel will he turn to the Lord their God. And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, 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. And Zacharias said to the angel, Whereby will I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. And the angel answering said to him, I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak to thee, and to show thee these glad tidings. And, behold, you will be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things will be performed, because you believe not my words, which will be fulfilled in their season). LUK 1:8-20 When his two weeks' services was completed. Zacharias and Elizabeth went back to their home and Elizabeth conceived sometime in late June or early July. The rest is a matter of biology and arithmetic. Elizabeth's sixth month of pregnancy would have been in December. She would have given birth three months later in late March or early April of the following year. Six month after that Yeshua would have been born, in late September or early October, before the sheep were brought in from the fields as we have seen!
Clearly Yeshua was not born in December.

Late September or early October was also the time of year that taxes were customarily paid, In the fall, at the end of the harvest. Joseph and Mary, it will be remembered, had journeyed to Bethlehem to be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. LUK 2:3-8 The fact that there was no room for them in the inn (LUK 2:7) also suggests the time of the autumn harvest, because the annual fall festivals occurring at that time attracted multitudes of Jews to Jerusalem and nearby towns, filling all available accommodations. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. LUK 2:7

Yeshua Born before Christ?

This immediately brings up a preliminary question, How could Yeshua have been born in a year B.C. Before the Messiah as most authorities suggest? It would seem to be a contradiction in terms! First, understand that the manner of reckoning time according to B.C. and A.D. was devised hundreds of years after Yeshua's birth. It was invented in the sixth century A.D. by a monk in Italy named Dionysuis Exiguous. This Dionysus misunderstood the time of the reign of Herod the Great king of Judea. So he reckoned the birth of Yeshua to have 
occurred in December of the year 753 AUC (ab urbe condita-from the foundation of the city of Rome). In past ages, time was often reckoned using the founding of Rome as the starting point for counting.

Thus, in Dionysus' new system, January 1,754 AUC, became January 1 A.D. (anno Domini, in the year of the Lord). That is he assumed Yeshua was born on December 25, just a week before January 1 A.D 1. Later it was discovered that Dionysus had been incorrect in his reckoning of the reign of Herod and hence of the commencement of the Christian era. Yeshua had been born some years earlier than Dionysus had thought. But by then, the new chronology was in general use and it was too late to change! It has continued in use throughout 
most of the world to the present day. 

With that understanding we can now proceed to determine the year of Yeshua's birth. There are several ways of doing so. Daniel's Prophecy Notice, first this ancient prophecy from the book of Daniel: Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to the Messiah the Prince will be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street will be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. DAN 9:25

The commandment or decree to restore and build Jerusalem was made in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes I, king of the ancient Persia, according to the autumn reckoning of the Jews, in 457 B.C. The archangel Gabriel told Daniel that there would be a total of 69 prophetic weeks from that time until the appearance of the Messiah. And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. EZR 7:8

The commandment or decree to restore and build Jerusalem was made in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes I, king of the ancient Persia, according to the autumn reckoning of the Jews, in 457 B.C. The archangel Gabriel told Daniel that there would be a total of 69 prophetic weeks from that time until the appearance of the Messiah. And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. EZR 7:8

Sixty-nine weeks is equivalent to 483 days. A day of prophetic fulfillment is a year in actual time.

After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, will ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye will know my breach of promise. NUM 14:34 And when you hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and you will bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year. EZE 4:6 So 483 prophetic days is 483 years.

Simple arithmetic now takes over. 483 years from 457 B.C. (the year of the decree) brings us to A.D. 27- the year when Yeshua began his public ministry. (In calculating this you must add 1 year because there is no year 0) Now consider further: It is generally understood that Yeshua entered into his Ministry in the autumn of the year, immediately after his Baptism. (His ministry lasted 3&1/2 years ending in the spring at the time of Passover). And Yeshua himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli. LUK 3:23 Since Yeshua was about 30 years old when he began his Ministry in the autumn of A.D. 27 he must have been born in the end of the summer or the early autumn, of the year 4 B.C. 
Further Proof

Students of the Bible (Disciples) recognize that Yeshua was born before the death of Herod the Great. And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. MAT 2:15 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. MAT 2:19

The first century A.D. Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, in Antiquities of the Jews (book XVII, chap. vi), tells of an eclipse of the moon late in Herod's reign. The book Solar and Lunar Eclipses of the Ancient Near East by Kudlek and Mickler, reveals a lunar eclipse in March 4 B.C. Sometime after the eclipse, Herod was afflicted with a painful and loathsome disease. He went to the hot springs past the river Jordan to bath himself. He was unsuccessful. His condition worsened and he returned to Jericho. 

Herod's death occurred sometime before the spring Passover the following year. Thirteen months after the eclipse, April of 3 B.C. This confirms the birth date of Yeshua in 4 B.C. Josephus also records, at Herod's death, he had reigned 37 years. That occurred in 40 B.C. a fact that Dionysus overlooked. Herod's death therefore must have occurred late in 4 B.C., shortly after Yeshua birth in the Autumn.

The Star of Bethlehem

Scholars have tried for centuries to pinpoint Yeshua birth date by means of astronomical calculations related to the appearance of the mysterious star. Dozens of theories exist trying to explain what this star was and when it appeared. To one who believes the Bible to be the truth, must take the word at face value. The account of the star in the book of Matthew has only one explanation, it had to be a supernatural occurrence, a miracle.

What other explanation could there be for a star that guided men from afar and stopped precisely over the place where Yeshua lay. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented to him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. MAT 2:9-11

It is quite possible that this star was an Angel sent from God. The Bible often uses stars to signify angels. When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? JOB 38:7 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks, which you saw, are the seven churches. REV 1:20 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven to the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. REV 9:1 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. REV 12:4
 
So What?

We have seen that proof that Yeshua was born in the late summer or early autumn, not in the winter! But isn't it the thought that counts? What is wrong with celebrating a day-any day in honor of Yeshua's birth? You should be aware of the Scriptures that describe this particular abomination in the eyes of the Lord. 

Satan's greatest Snare a Mixture

We must not take for granted our worship of the Lord. Two Priests were slain by the Lord, because they were careless about their temple service. And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. LEV 10:1-2

God has always forbidden the worship of false gods, and even the worship of the true God on a false alter. The righteous leaders of Israel always destroyed the alters of false religions, and did not permit their people to worship on them. 

But ye will destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: The Israelites were not to do after their works, even to do them to the Lord. EXO 34:13 You will not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but you will utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. EXO 23:24

God no longer winks at ignorance, so it is essential that we know what he requires of us. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. COL 2:8

This is the blasphemous record of Babylon. Pagan Babylon gave us the first T-Mas celebration. Over the years, the identities of these deities were disguised, historical truth suppressed, and a spiritual darkness covered the religious world.

And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker. ACT 14:11-12 As we read here, Paul and his companion were mistaken for these false gods of religions of years before. They were so upset they tore their clothes to make sure they people understood they were not these Gods. This was the first time we have record of this misunderstanding, but not the last.


325 years later the Roman Emperor, Constantine, renamed pagan holidays with Christian names. This was truly an act motivated by politics. Trying to please everybody a little he took the T-mass, which was Tammuz birthday, and renamed it Christ-mass.

Now we have a problem: We know you shouldn't worship God on a false idols birthday with a false idols symbols, such as Christmas trees, songs etc. But our children feel terrible because everyone else is receiving gifts this time of year. We don't want Satan to end up with a victory after all, so what do you do? Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. PRO 22:6 Take a day near the traditional Christmas and call it something like Family day.

 The final truth about Constantine is he remained a pagan until on his deathbed and then he hedged his bet and requested baptism. In the end he accepted salvation.

So What Days Do We Observe?

As we discussed before, Yom Kippur is always in late September or early October. Yom Kippur is `The Day of Atonement'. Yeshua is our Atonement. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, by whom we have now received the atonement. ROM 5:11 Celebrating our Saviors birthday is not important. Keeping the Holy days is one of the Ten Commandments and therefore we must decide what days are important to us as His faithful flock. There are many Jewish holidays but besides the Sabbath from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday four Holy days should be kept.

Passover, which we should keep as it was the day our Savior was given up to suffer and die is the Most important day. The third day after Passover should be Easter not the Pagan Spring festival day we now celebrate. 

The Jewish New Year, which keeps an accurate count of the exact years since man changes the beginning date from time to time. We now know the beginning date is anywhere from 4 to 6 years off. When they calculated the restarting of time many centuries after His resurrection they missed it by 4 to 6 years more than they figured. 

Following is Yom Kippur, which before Yeshua was the Day of Atonement for the Jews and now that we know Yeshua is our Atonement and most likely born on that date we should keep it as well as a remembrance of his sacrifice. To the orthodox Jews it is a day of fasting and prayer. Since Yeshua fasted and prayed and encouraged us to do so, this day should be a day of fasting and prayer.