The Birth of Yeshua (Jesus)

This time of year the world is preparing to celebrate Christmas on December 25th. Most celebrate this holiday as a time for family gatherings, giving gifts, decorating, partying and the like. Christians celebrate this holiday as the birth of Christ. But is it?

Many years ago I remember discovering that if we are true to the birth narrative in the Gospels of Mathew and Luke, Yeshua (Jesus) was not born during the month of December.  The primary reasons given at the time were that shepherds would not have been pasturing their sheep in winter. In addition, there was no room at the Inn due to the large number of crowds supposedly in town to register with the Roman government.  It would not have been practical to ask the people to come to their town of origin to travel in the cold and snow. (Jerusalem is know for getting snow in the winter) It was far more likely, it was explained, that Yeshua was born in the spring or fall. "Oh!" I thought. Oh well, this is the traditional date we celebrate His birth. But I never asked myself "Why?" or "Then when?"

Then came the understanding that the Magi from the East did not show up the night of Yeshua's birth or even in the days that followed. It wasn't until Yeshua was between 1 1/2 or 2 years old that they came bearing gifts and presented them in their "house." The word child here is indicating a young child but not an infant. (Matthew 2:11) 

It wasn't until I began celebrating the 'Feasts of the Lord", specifically the Feast of Tabernacles, a seven day feast celebrated in late September or early October, that I discovered some remarkable information. Many scholars believe that Yeshua was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles and circumcised on the eighth day, both days being Sabbaths.

Hidden in "plain sight" in scripture, we are told when Yeshua was born! In Luke 1:35-37, Mary (Miriam) is told that she will conceive of the Holy Spirit and will be called the Son of God.
She is also told her kinswoman Elizabeth is pregnant as well and is in her sixth month. So we know that Yeshua will be born six months after John the Baptist. Do we know when John the Baptist was born? Yes! Knowing when Zacharia (John the Baptist's father) burns incense in the Temple sets the date for John's birth. (Luke 1:5-9)

Mark Biltz of El Shaddai ministries discussing the birth of Yeshua:

In addition, "The Feast's of Adonai" by Valerie Moody explains the following:

"Zacharia served  with the Abijah division of priests. King David had divided the priests into 24 divisions in 1 Chronicles 24. Abijah was the eighth division. Each division served for seven days beginning and ending on a Sabbath. (2 Chronicles 23:4-8) When they arrived in Jerusalem, they cast lots to determine their specific tasks.

Rabbis say that the 24 divisions served a week during the first half of the year, and a week during the second half, for a total of 48 weeks of service. In addition they all served for the three pilgrimage feasts, making 51 weeks of service. This is a full Hebrew (lunar) year. Their service began in the first month of Nisan (around April). Two weeks after the year started, all 24 divisions reported to Jerusalem for the first pilgrimage feast, the Feast of Unleavened Bread.(Following Passover). Seven weeks later they all returned for the second pilgrimage feat, the Feast of Weeks. (Shavuot/Pentecost) Consequently, the Abijah(eighth) division would not have served until the tenth week of the year.

The Abijah division was in Jerusalem in mid-Sivan or mid-June.  Zachariah drew the lot to burn incense. (Luke 1:8-9) The angle Gabriel appeared to him at the alter and told him his wife Elizabeth would give birth to a son named John and he would be the forerunner of Messiah. Elizabeth became pregnant when Zachariah returned home, after the third week of Sivan. John the baptist was born the following Passover. At Passover, people create a place for Elijah. because Elijah returns before Messiah comes. (Malachi 4:5) John the baptist, in the spirit of Elijah, prepared the people for Yeshua.
(Matthew 11:13-15, Luke 1:17)

Mary (Miriam) supernaturally conceived when Elizabeth was six months along, in mid to late Kislev. (December) she conceived the Light of the World as the Festival of Lights (Hanukkah) began! John was born at Passover in the middle of Nisan, the first month of the year. Yeshua was born at the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) in the middle of Tishri, the seventh month.

In Tishri, Mary and Joseph headed to Bethlehem to register in the Roman census. Jerusalem grew from 12,000 to over 2 million people at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles(Sukkot). All the inns were full. Scholars believe the Inn Keeper offered them lodging in his own sukkah, which he had erected for Tabernacles (or Sukkot) stocked with food on a tray. When Yeshua was born that night, Mary laid him on a food tray, not in an animal's feeding trough. Warm and dry on the sukkah's food tray lay our own Bread of Life (John 6:35)"

The Feast of Tabernacles is a seven day feast of rejoicing and thanksgiving. What greater event could bring our greatest joy?

Angles announced the birth to shepherds watching flocks at night. They were watching Temple flocks, destined for sacrifice for the Feast of Tabernacles. It was autumn, because the flocks were outdoors. During winter, they would have been indoors. (Dr. Alfred Edersheim and Mishna, Shekelim 7:4)

So how did the celebration of Yeshua's birth wind up on December 25th? Rome decided to celebrate Yeshua's birthday on the same day as the mass for Tammuz, the sun god, December 25th during the reign of Constantine. The worship of Tammuz dates back to Nimrod. Historical accounts say that Nimrod's wife, Queen Semiramis, conceived a child after he died. She told the public that she carried Nimrod's child by explaining that Nimrod had become the sun, and impregnated her. She was now the Queen of Heaven. (Jerimiah 44:17-22) Semiramis named her son Tammuz, and persuaded people that he was supernatural. She taught Tammuz to place a gift on a forest tree, in honor of Nimrod's birthday on December 25th. This practice evolved into cutting a tree and decorating it with silver and gold. The prohet Jeremiah soundly condmened this practice in Jeremiah 10:24.

Now that I understand when Yeshua was born, I can celebrated his true birthday during the Feast of Tabernalces. But this time of year, I can celebrate the Light of the World entering this world through the conception of the Holy Spirit during Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights!

John 1:14 says, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." The word "dwelt' is the same word for "tabernacle'. "The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us." It all fits together perfectly, doesn't it?

Blessings in Yeshua, the Light of the World