Chapter 2.4
When was Jesus Born?
What does John the Baptist have to do with it?
What does the Angel Gabriel have to do with it?
How does the Zodiac fit into the picture?
What is the Order of Abijah?
First
Word
We were NEVER
told
to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but to remember His death and resurrection.[1] 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”.
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.
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
Bethlehem star was a miracle; the Shekinah Glory of God)
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….[2] 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 planned to kill Jesus, but
Joseph was warned and escaped with his family to Egypt and stayed there for a
year till Herod died.[3] 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.[4]
(There
was not a Zero B.C.) So the birth year is 3 B.C. Next
for us to unravel is the month.
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.[5] Both he and
his wife were descendants of the Priestly line of Aaron.
The Order
of Abijah
The
Priests who were descendants of Aaron were divided into 24 divisions
and served in the temple according to their division order. The eighth division was named for Abijah;[6] 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 Holy Place. This was usually only a once in a lifetime
experience.
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 12 noon on the Sabbath which was Saturday and ended the
following Sabbath at 12 noon. Josephus the
Historian was a member of the
first Priestly course called Jehoiarib.
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.[7]
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.[8] 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
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; too late for a census.
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.[9] 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.[10]
Zacharias now speechless is considered “with defect” and is moved outside finishing his tour of duty in the temple[11]
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.[12]
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[13]
and that her barren Cousin or Aunt
Elizabeth who is about 60 is also pregnant. Mary immediately goes and tells Elizabeth the
good news. The baby “John” leaps in the
womb of Elizabeth. Mary hangs out with
Elizabeth for three months and leaves her just before John is born.[14]
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.[15] It’s not winter yet. Interestingly; during the mild winter season,
only the Temple Shepherds might have sheep in the field.
So the conception was on
December 1st and the birth month was in September of 3 B.C.
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.[16] She is
holding a BRANCH in her right
hand. The branch is symbolic of the
Lord.[17] 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.[18] This event in the stars could not have
occurred at any other time during this year.
So utilizing scripture and the stars of the Zodiac, we can know that
Christ was born on
September 11th, 3 B.C. just after
sunset around 6:45 pm; give or take 30 minutes.
Un-believable – Rosh ha-Shanan
Want
some more; September 11th 3 B.C. would be “Tishri One” on the Jewish
calendar. Tishri
One is the first day that Tiberius
began his rule. This was the Jewish New
Year, Rosh ha-Shanan, called the “The Day of Trumpets” an
important two days, but not a feast day.
The
shofar (rams horn) is blown in long, short and staccato blasts that follow a
set sequence.[19] I can almost hear the shofar trumpeting the
arrival of the Messiah.
NOTE: Christ’s conception
was 180 days or 9 months and 10 days prior on DECEMBER 1st.
Incredible – The Bethlehem Star
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.
On September of 3 B.C. the star Regulus known as “The King’s Star” rises in the East[20]
in an elliptical orbit and seemingly forms a conjunction with Jupiter.[21] 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.[22]
This
stacked conjunction occurred on December 25th, 2 B.C. giving
us the first Christmas.
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 about a
year and four months after the birth of Jesus 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.[23] Herod would die shortly after a lunar eclipse
a year later; the last of 1 B.C. or the first of 1 A.D.
To me, such a
notion as naming the date when Christ was born was laughable,
until I studied
His Word.
IT’S IN THE BOOK
[1] Luke 22:19 – We are to
remember His death -- 1 Corinthians 11:26 – We proclaim His Death till He comes
again
[2] Luke 2:1-5 Joseph went to
Bethlehem to register in the Census
[3] Matthew 2:13 – Joseph
escaped to Egypt with his family
[4] Matthew 2:14 – Stayed in
Egypt till Herod died.
[5] Luke 1:5-7 – Elizabeth
was barren and too old to bare children.
[6] 1 Chronicles 24:7-10 –
The eighth course was assigned to Abijah. - Luke 1:8-9 Zacharias was in the
“order of his course
[7] 2 Chronicles 23:8 – The
duty began and ended on the Sabbath. -- 2 Chronicles 5:11 – They did NOT wait by course during the
Festivals; they all served. -- Luke 6:1
– The Second First Sabbath was the second cycle of service
[8] Luke 2:1-6 – Joseph and
Mary registered in a Census
[9] Luke 1:5 – Zachariah was
of the priestly division of Abijah. -- Luke 1:11 – Gabriel appears to Zacharias
while he is serving in the Temple -- Luke 1:13 – Gabriel delivers the
announcement to Zacharias
[10] Luke 1:18 – Zechariah
challenges Gabriel’s announcement -- Luke 1:19-20 – Zechariah is struck dumb –
He cannot speak --
[11] Leviticus 21:21 – A
Priest with a defect cannot come near
[12] Luke 1:23-25 – Elizabeth
goes into seclusion for 5 months.
[13] Luke 1:26-28 - In the 6th
month – Gabriel goes to the Virgin Mary -- Luke 1:36-37 – Gabriel tells Mary
that Elizabeth is 6 month pregnant
[14] Luke 1:39-41 – Mary goes
to see Elizabeth
[15] Luke 2:8-9 – The
shepherds were in the fields with their flock.
[16] Revelation 12:1-5 – A
Woman clothed with the Sun and the Moon under her feet. -- Luke 2:8-11 – Jesus
was born at night while the shepherds were watching their flocks.
[17] Zechariah 3:8 – The
Branch is Christ
[18] Luke 2:8-11 – Jesus was
born at night while the shepherds were watching their flocks.
[19] Leviticus 23:23-24 – The
Jewish New Year – The Day of Trumpets
[20] Matthew 2:2 – His star
was seen rising in the East -- Micah 5:2 – A ruler will come out of Bethlehem.
[21] Isaiah 40:26 – God
created the stars -- Psalms 147:4 – God numbered the stars and named them --
Job 9:9 – He calls them by name
[22] Acts 2:19 – Wonders in
the heavens.
[23] Matthew 2:16 – Kill all
of the male Hebrew children two and under
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