December 25
What
Really Happened On December 25?
by Wayne Blank
"And the angel said unto her, Fear
not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name
Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the
Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of his father David: And He shall reign
over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His Kingdom there shall be no
end."
"Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be,
seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy
Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
therefore also that Holy thing which shall be born of thee shall 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." (Luke 1:30-36
KJV)
When Was
Jesus Christ Actually Born?
The
date of the birth of Jesus
Christ is not recorded anywhere in The Holy Bible, or anywhere in secular
history.
No one knows the specific
date of Christ's birth on the Roman calendar, or on the Bible/Hebrew calendar,
or on any other calendar.
Theologians, whether
Protestant or Roman Catholic, and secular historians, do not dispute how, and
why, the December 25 date was arbitrarily chosen by the Roman church in the
fourth century (i.e. "Christmas" did not begin to be observed until
hundreds of years after Christ's birth).
For no other reason than to
attempt to supercede (even though a number of the same activities from the
pagan festival were adopted into the traditional Christmas observance that is
seen today, including yule logs, mistletoe, and the Christmas tree itself) a
centuries-old Roman pagan holiday, Sol Invictus ("the
invincible sun") that was held on that date to celebrate "the return
of the sun" (i.e. longer daylight) after the passing of the Winter
Solstice on December 21.
An excerpt from the highly
respected Encyclopedia
Britannica, 15th Edition, provides us with independent
documentation of this well-known truth:
"The
traditional customs connected with Christmas have developed from several
sources as a result of the coincidence of the celebration of the birth of
Christ with the pagan agricultural and solar observances at mid-winter.
“In the
Roman world, the Saturnalia, December 17, was a time of merry-making and
exchange of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as the birth date of the
Iranian mystery god Mithra, the ‘Sun of Righteousness.’
“On the
Roman New Year, January 1, houses were decorated with greenery and lights, and
gifts were given to children and the poor.
“To these
observances were added the German and Celtic rites when the Teutonic tribes
penetrated into Gaul, Britain and central Europe. Food and good fellowship, the
Yule log and Yule cakes, greenery and fir trees, gifts and greetings all
commemorated different aspects of this festive season.
“Fires and
lights, symbols of warmth and lasting life, have always been associated with
the winter festival, both pagan and Christian. Since the Middle Ages,
evergreens, as symbols of survival, have been associated with Christmas."
Biblical
Reality
All
things being equal, as a simple matter of probability, December 25 has a 1 out
of 365 (days of the year) chance of being the date of Christ's birth (if the
Roman festival that Christmas was intended to replace had been on, for example,
July 1, then Christmas would today be observed on July 1, and so on - December
25 was chosen simply because the pagan festival, that was observed long before
the birth of Christ, was observed on December 25).
But, as we shall see, based
on all available Biblical facts,
December 25 actually has a far less than
1 in 365 chance of being the right date.
If we can't know the specific
date of Christ's birth, can we at least know the season with
reasonable certainty? Answer, yes.
Ironically, one of the most
well-known "Christmas" verses of the Bible, quoted below, proves that
Christ was not born in the winter.
The land of Israel has a
relatively moderate climate, at least in comparison to many other places on
earth, but in winter it is commonly cold and wet (as lightly-clothed Christmas
tourists arriving in Bethlehem from other parts of the world have sometimes
been learning, the hard way, for centuries), with light snow also possible.
Good shepherds back then, and
now, do not leave their sheep, or themselves, out in the open country in
winter. The reality of the Scriptures make plain that
"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. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in
the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." (Luke 2:7-8
KJV)
For the same reason, the
famous census that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem would not have been
ordered to be done in winter. Having an entire population traveling, in the
open, on foot or on donkeys, during the worst weather of the year is
just plain foolish - and the Romans weren't fools. Brutes, yes, fools, no.
They were very practical and
methodical. They would have done the census when the weather, and the
agriculture-based society that the Romans were taxing (i.e.
they wouldn't want to do anything that would reduce the people's crops, and
thereby reduce tax revenue).
The Romans could best afford
the people to be away - in
the early autumn when
the harvests were mostly done, about the time of The Feast of Tabernacles (that
Jesus and His family always observed, e.g. John 7:14), when the people usually
travelled, not "home for the holidays," but "home for the Holy
Days," anyway.
"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out
a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And
this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. 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, unto 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. And so
it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should
be delivered. 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." (Luke 2:1-7 KJV)
Can we then also know, from
the Holy Scriptures, approximately what month the Messiah was born? Yes.
The
Bible plainly states that John the Baptist was born 6 months before Jesus
Christ, i.e. Elizabeth was "in her
sixth month" when Mary was herself just then with child: "thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in
her old age: and this is the sixth month with her" (Luke 1:36
KJV)
"And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill
country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of
Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it
came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe
leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake
out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is
the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord
should come to me?" (Luke 1:39-43 KJV)
But when was John the Baptist
born? Are there indications of that, based on the Bible? Yes.
John's father Zechariah was a
Levite priest. The priests served in regularly-scheduled groups, or courses, at
the Temple. (1
Chronicles 24:7-19.)
Zechariah, or Zacharias, was
in the course of Abijah, or Abia, which was the eighth course (1 Chronicles
24:10).
Numerous Christian and Jewish
researchers have calculated (which I have been unable to find any problems
with, and neither have thousands of others who have tried) that Zechariah's
course served in the month of Sivan, of the Hebrew calendar, which corresponds
roughly to June on the Roman calendar.
The Bible says that Elizabeth
conceived immediately after Zechariah's service was completed, therefore, in
June or July.
"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a
certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the
daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth" (Luke 1:5
KJV)
"And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his
ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those
days his wife Elisabeth conceived" (Luke 1:23-24
KJV)
With John the Baptist conceived in June or July, according to the
Scripture information provided, he would have been born 9 months later, in
March or April.
We already know that John was born 6 months before Jesus, so with John
born in March or April, Jesus would have been born in September or October.
That means that Jesus Christ was conceived, not
born, around December 25. The first paragraph of this study, which I repeat
below, very likely is what really happened around December 25
on the Roman calendar.
"And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou
hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and
bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the
throne of his father David: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for
ever; and of His Kingdom there shall be no end."
"Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be,
seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy
Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:
therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall 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." (Luke 1:30-36
KJV)
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Emmanuel Has Come.
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