What Day Was Jesus Born?

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[DouglasKC]

On What Day Was Jesus Born?

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While much of the world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th of December, can the actual day of Jesus' birth be determined from scripture? This question will be explored in some detail, and will yield a result that is quite intriguing. The first passage we will consider begins with the father of John the Baptist, Zacharias:

Luke 1:5 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 1:8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, ...

Luke 1:23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
Luke 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, ...

The clue given to us here is that Zacharias was of the "course" of Abia.

The 24 Courses of the Temple Priesthood.

King David on God's instructions (1 Chr 28:11-13) had divided the sons of Aaron into 24 groups (1 Chr 24:1-4), to setup a schedule by which the Temple of the Lord could be staffed with priests all year round in an orderly manner. After the 24 groups of priests were established, lots were drawn to determine the sequence in which each group would serve in the Temple. (1 Chr 24: 7-19). That sequence is as follows:

1 Chr 24:7	1. Jehoiarib	2. Jedaiah
1 Chr 24:8	3. Harim	4. Seorim
1 Chr 24:9	5. Malchijah	6. Mijamin
1 Chr 24:10	7. Hakkoz	8. Abijah
1 Chr 24:11	9. Jeshuah	10. Shecaniah
1 Chr 24:12	11. Eliashib	12. Jakim
1 Chr 24:13	13. Huppah	14. Jeshebeab
1 Chr 24:14	15. Bilgah	16. Immer
1 Chr 24:15	17. Hezir	18. Aphses
1 Chr 24:16	19. Pethahiah	20. Jehezekel
1 Chr 24:17	21. Jachim	22. Gamul
1 Chr 24:18	23. Delaiah	24. Maaziah

1 Chr 24:19 These were the orderings of them in their service to come into the house of the LORD, according to their manner, under Aaron their father, as the LORD God of Israel had commanded him.

Now each one of the 24 "courses" of priests would begin and end their service in the Temple on the Sabbath, a tour of duty being for one week (2 Chr 23:8, 1 Chr 9:25). On three occasions during the year, all the men of Israel were required to travel to Jerusalem for festivals of the Lord, so on those occasions all the priests would be needed in the Temple to accommodate the crowds. Those three festivals were Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Deut 16:16).

The Yearly Cycle of Service in the Temple.

The Jewish calendar begins in the spring, during the month of Nisan, so the first "course" of priests, would be that of the family of Jehoiarib, who would serve for seven days. The second week would then be the responsibility of the family of Jedaiah. The third week would be the feast of Unleavened Bread, and all priests would be present for service. Then the schedule would resume with the third course of priests, the family of Harim. By this plan, when the 24th course was completed, the general cycle of courses would repeat. This schedule would cover 51 weeks or 357 days, enough for the lunar Jewish calendar (about 354 days). So, in a period of a year, each group of priests would serve in the Temple twice on their scheduled course, in addition to the 3 major festivals, for a total of about five weeks of duty.

The Conception of John the Baptist.

Now back to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.

Luke 1:23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
Luke 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, ...

Beginning with the first month, Nisan, in the spring (March-April), the schedule of the priest's courses would result with Zacharias serving during the 10th week of the year. This is because he was a member of the course of Abia (Abijah), the 8th course, and both the Feast of Unleavened Bread (15-21 Nisan) and Pentecost (6 Sivan) would have occurred before his scheduled duty. This places Zacharias' administration in the Temple as beginning on the second Sabbath of the third month, Sivan (May-June).

	1st Month	2nd Month	3rd Month
	Abib - Nisan (March - April)	Zif - Iyyar (April - May)	Sivan (May - June)
First Week	Jehoiarib (1)	Seorim (4)	All Priests (Pentecost)
Second Week	Jedaiah (2)	Malchijah (5)	Abijah (8)
Third Week	All Priests (Feast of Unleavened Bread)	Mijamin (6)	Jeshuah (9)
Fourth Week	Harim (3)	Hakkoz (7)	Shecaniah (10)

Having completed his Temple service on the third Sabbath of Sivan, Zacharias returned home and soon conceived his son John. So John the Baptist was probably conceived shortly after the third Sabbath of the month of Sivan.

The Conception of Jesus Christ.

Now the reason that the information about John is important, is because according to Luke, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the sixth month of Elisabeth's pregnancy:

Luke 1:24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
Luke 1:25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
Luke 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
Luke 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

Note that verse 26 above refers to the sixth month of Elisabeth's pregnancy, not Elul, the sixth month of the Hebrew calendar, and this is made plain by the context of verse 24 and again in verse 36:

Luke 1:36 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.

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for the last 3 months of her pregnancy, until the time that John was born.

Luke 1:56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
Luke 1:57 Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

Now working from the information about John's conception late in the third month, Sivan, and advancing six months, we arrive late in the 9th month of Kislev (Nov-Dec) for the time frame for the conception of Jesus. It is notable here that the first day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated on the 25th day of Kislev, and Jesus is called the light of the world (John 8:12, 9:5, 12:46). This does not appear to be a mere coincidence. In the book of John, Hanukkah is called the feast of dedication (John 10:22). Hanukkah is an eight day festival, celebrating the relighting of the menorah in the rededicated Temple, which according to the story, stayed lit miraculously for eight days on only one day's supply of oil.

The Birth of John the Baptist.

Based on a conception shortly after the third Sabbath of the month of Sivan, projecting forward an average term of about 10 lunar months (40 weeks), we arrive in the month of Nisan. It would appear that John the Baptist may have been born in the middle of the month, which would coincide with Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is interesting to note, that even today, it is customary for the Jews to set out a special goblet of wine during the Passover Seder meal, in anticipation of the arrival of Elijah that week, which is based on the prophecy of Malachi:

Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Jesus identified John as the "Elijah" that the Jews had expected:

Mat 17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
Mat 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
Mat 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
Mat 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

The angel that appeared to Zacharias in the temple also indicated that John would be the expected "Elias":

Luke 1:17 And he shall 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.

So then, the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the 15th day of the 1st month, Nisan, and this is a likely date for the birth of John the Baptist, the expected "Elijah".

The Birth of Jesus Christ.

Since Jesus was conceived six months after John the Baptist, and we have established a likely date for John's birth, we need only move six months farther down the Jewish calender to arrive at a likely date for the birth of Jesus. From the 15th day of the 1st month, Nisan, we go to the 15th day of the 7th month, Tishri. And what do we find on that date? It is the festival of Tabernacles! The 15th day of Tishri begins the third and last festival of the year to which all the men of Israel were to gather in Jerusalem for Temple services. (Lev 23:34)

Immanuel.

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Immanuel means "God with us". The Son of God had come to dwell with, or tabernacle on earth with His people.

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The word in the Hebrew for dwelt is succah and the name of the Feast of Tabernacles in Hebrew is Sukkot, a festival of rejoicing and celebration:

Luke 2:7 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 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luke 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Why was there no room at the inn? Bethlehem is only about 5 miles from Jerusalem, and all the men of Israel had come to attend the festival of Tabernacles as required by the law of Moses. Every room for miles around Jerusalem would have been already taken by pilgrims, so all that Mary and Joseph could find for shelter was a stable.

Also of note is the fact that the Feast of Tabernacles is an eight day feast (Lev 23:36, 39). Why eight days? It may be because an infant was dedicated to God by performing circumcision on the eighth day after birth:

Luke 2:21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

So the infant Jesus would have been circumcised on the eighth and last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, a Sabbath day. The Jews today consider this a separate festival from Tabernacles, and they call it Shemini Atzeret.

Conclusion

So, if you have followed the above reasoning, based on the scriptural evidence, a case can apparently be made that Jesus Christ was born on the 15th day of the month of Tishri, on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which corresponds to the September - October timeframe of our present calendar!

Jewish month	Begins the New moon of	John the Baptist	Jesus
1. Abib / Nisan	March-April	Birth of John 15 Nisan	4
2. Zif / Iyyar	April-May		5
3. Sivan	May-June	Conception of John after 3rd Sabbath	6
4. Tammuz	June-July	1	7
5. Ab / Av	July-August	2	8
6. Elul	August-September	3	9
7. Ethanim / Tishri	September-October	4	Birth of Jesus 15 Tishri
8. Bul / Marheshvan / Heshvan	October-November	5
9. Chisleu / Chislev / Kislev	November-December	6	Conception of Jesus 25 Kislev ?
10. Tebeth / Tevet	December-January	7	1
11. Shebat / Shevat	January-February	8	2
12. Adar	February-March	9	3

Tabernacles Future Fulfillment

It is also interesting to note the Tabernacles was a feast of ingathering of the Harvest (Exo 23:16 and 34:22). If Jesus' first coming was indeed on 15 Tishri, the first day of Tabernacles, then it is quite reasonable to presume that the harvest of this earth, the ingathering of the second coming of Jesus Christ, will also occur on precisely the same date. The unknown factor would be the year that this would happen.

[DouglasKC]

A good summary of how to determine biblically when Jesus was born. A little complex, but well worth the study.

[kerryusama04]

Masocist

[DouglasKC]

You're just jealous that you didn't do it first...:-)

[kerryusama04]

Guilty as charged :)

[AnnaZ]

I attend a Messianic Jewish synagogue and that's their position as well.

Which is not to say that in our house we won't celebrate Christmas.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Don't they think the year was about 4 BC?

[DManA]

I'm a little ashamed I couldn't do it.

[T. P. Pole]

So, this whole thing is calculated on the date Zacharias severed at the temple. But they only calculated from one of the dates this could have happened. After all, "each group of priests would serve in the Temple twice on their scheduled course." Why wouldn't we consider the second date for his scheduled course. That would give us a March/April date, more in line with when lambs are born.

[DouglasKC]

I attend a Messianic Jewish synagogue and that's their position as well.
Which is not to say that in our house we won't celebrate Christmas.

It's amazing how often prophetic events line up with the holy days God created. One glaring example is the pouring out of God's spirit Pentecost. It's almost as if God had a purpose for asking his followers to observe his holy days. :-)

[A_perfect_lady]

But Kris Kristofferson says Jesus was a Capricorn!! Man, he's going to have to rewrite that whole song now...

[Cvengr]

On what day was Jesus born?

That's easy,...on his birth-day!

[A CA Guy]

Who cares about the exact day, just thank God He got here for us!

When was the first bingo?

[Mercat]

So I'm confused, in our current calendar, what's Jesus's birthday?

[DManA]

This seems to contradict Luke 2:

Why was there no room at the inn? Bethlehem is only about 5 miles from Jerusalem, and all the men of Israel had come to attend the festival of Tabernacles as required by the law of Moses.

Luke 2

The Birth of Jesus

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

[AnnaZ]

It's almost as if God had a purpose for asking his followers to observe his holy days. :-)

Simply put, it's miraculous. Which is why I've settled on the "denomination" that I have. "I love it when a plan comes together."

;^)

[big'ol_freeper]

but well worth the study

Um, no. It totally matters not.

[DManA]

It's kind of interesting. Good excuse to open up the Bible.

Um, no. It totally matters not.

[Matchett-PI]

For those who care, this thread was posted by one who, like Herbert W. Armstrong's cult, rejects the Trinity, the bodily resurrection, and other core doctrines ("of first importance") of the historic Christian religion.

[Tax-chick]

Tuesday.

[Uri’el-2012]

It's amazing how often prophetic events line up with the holy days God created.
One glaring example is the pouring out of God's spirit Pentecost.
It's almost as if God had a purpose for asking his followers to observe his holy days. :-)

9 posted on 11/25/2006 10:14:06 AM MST by DouglasKC

But Pentecost is the mandatory feast of the L-rd :

It was not a surprise for the followers of the haMashiach known as Y'shua.

They would have stayed up all night studying the Holy Word of G-d i.e.the Torah.

They were required to be in Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot,
which is a mandatory feast of the L-rd to be celebrated Jerusalem.

Shavuot is seven weeks and one day hence fifty days
following the L-rd's Feast of First Fruits.

The L-rd's Feast of First Fruits is the day following the shabbat
following Passover, hence the first day of the week(Sunday).

Shavuot is the end of the counting of the Omer( First Fruits)

Shavuot also celebrates the giving of the Torah to Moses by YHvH
at Mount Sinai and they became a people consecrated to YHvH.

The Book of Ruth is read by all during this feast.
The story of Ruth is about a gentile woman who
becomes the bride of the kinsman-redeemer and returns
the disowned widow to the land (Bethlehem)which had been her birthright.

Ruth (gentile bride) and Boaz (Kinsman-Redeemer) are ancestors of Y'shua.

b'shem Y'shua

[napscoordinator]

25 December is good enough for me. Why do we want the truth? This just makes people question the whole bible and starts to question whether anything is true. You of all people would be worried about this. I don't agree with questioning the Bible because that will open up a whole can of worms...ie. Was Jesus married? Who cares.

[Uri’el-2012]

Bless you for posting this study.

I pray that it will bring blessings to those who have always followed the traditions of man.

This study shows that the Word of G-d is always clearer than the traditions of man for those who have eyes to see.

b'shem Y'shua

[caseinpoint]

I agree with you. Although I believe He was born in April, it really doesn't matter that much as far as I am concerned. I do believe that Christians who celebrate the birth of Christ in December help bring many souls to Christ by their strong reminder of the Savior during this holiday period. So, even if we were to discover the proper day of His birth, our celebration of it on that date instead of December probably wouldn't have the effect on others that it has now with its Christmas specials, inspirational music and art, and many other influences that bring souls to Him. And I think He would rather we bring His children to Him than declare "our" Christmas chronologically accurate but obscure.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Yawn. E.W. Bullinger had this figured out over a century ago. See his Companion Bible Appendix for details.

[Diego1618]

For those who care, this thread was posted by one who, like Herbert W. Armstrong's cult, rejects the Trinity, the bodily resurrection, and other core doctrines ("of first importance") of the historic Christian religion.

Can you show me some scripture references that will enlighten me about the trinity?

I don't quite understand your "bodily resurrection" comment either. If you get a chance can you give me an explanation here also?

Core doctrines????? What are these?

Mary Christmas!

[Diego1618]

Why wouldn't we consider the second date for his scheduled course. That would give us a March/April date, more in line with when lambs are born.

A good answer to this question has always been "(Greek/English Interlinear (tr) NT) John 1:14 kai <2532> {AND} o <3588> {THE} logoV <3056> {WORD} sarx <4561> {FLESH} egeneto <1096> (5633) {BECAME,} kai <2532> {AND} eskhnwsen <4637> (5656) {TABERNACLED} en <1722> {AMONG} hmin <2254> {US,} .......The key word word of course shows the season to be the Fall....not the Spring.

[Campion]

I pray that it will bring blessings to those who have always followed the traditions of man.

The notion that the anniversary of Christ's birth ought to be celebrated, or commemorated, or is any way more important than any other day of the year is itself a "tradition of man".

As usual, you folks cherry-pick which traditions you like, and which you discard.

[He Rides A White Horse]

He came before Elijah; we can start there.

[Campion]

By this plan, when the 24th course was completed, the general cycle of courses would repeat. This schedule would cover 51 weeks or 357 days, enough for the lunar Jewish calendar (about 354 days).

But if Zacharias had his encounter with the angel during his second course of the year, that would fall in the late October or November timeframe (roughly 5 months after May-June). The angel doesn't speak of the conception of John in the future, so Elizabeth could easily have been in an early stage of pregnancy by that time.

And an October conception for John makes him six months along in late March, and nine months from March puts you in December.

[cgk]

^

[DouglasKC]

After all, "each group of priests would serve in the Temple twice on their scheduled course." Why wouldn't we consider the second date for his scheduled course. That would give us a March/April date, more in line with when lambs are born.

Well it could. But as diego pointed out, other scripture elsewhere makes tabernacles the most likely date. For example, literally translated John 1:14 is:

John 1:14(ISV) The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father's unique Son, full of grace and truth.

Also, major events in the bible concerning Christ occur on God's holy days. For example, he was killed on Passover, one of God's festivals. The church was established on Pentecost, one of God's festivals. Christ is prophesized to return "at the last trumpet", a reference to the 7 angel of revelation sounding, but which very well could be a reference to the feast of trumpets, one of God's festivals.

I think the preponderance of biblical evidence supports the birth of Christ during the feast of taberncales.

[DouglasKC]

Don't they think the year was about 4 BC?

I think a large number of scholars believe that, yes.

[DouglasKC]

Who cares about the exact day, just thank God He got here for us!
When was the first bingo?

Shortly after the first potluck...:-)

[DouglasKC]

So I'm confused, in our current calendar, what's Jesus's birthday?

Well IF we were commanded to observe his birth then if it fell on the first day of the feast of tabernacles then it would "move" around on the Roman calendar. For example, this year the first day of the feast of tabernacles began on the evening of October 6 and lasted until the evening of October 7 (days begin at sunset on the biblical calendar). Next year it will begin on the evening of September 26th and last until the evening of the 27th. So it moves according to when the feast of tabernacles falls.

[DouglasKC]

This seems to contradict Luke 2:
Why was there no room at the inn? Bethlehem is only about 5 miles from Jerusalem, and all the men of Israel had come to attend the festival of Tabernacles as required by the law of Moses. Luke 2 The Birth of Jesus 1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register. 4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

You're right, he didn't make this too clear in the article. But I think the consensus is that he planned to take the census during the fall feast period because nearly every citizen of Judea would already be on the move, or at least on the way, to Jersualem and would have an opportunity to stop by their census location.

[DouglasKC]

Simply put, it's miraculous. Which is why I've settled on the "denomination" that I have. "I love it when a plan comes together."

I hear ya....:-)

[Mercat]

OK, thanks. I realize that the year is unknown and I knew that the feasts move based upon the moon.

[DouglasKC]

25 December is good enough for me. Why do we want the truth? This just makes people question the whole bible and starts to question whether anything is true.
You of all people would be worried about this. I don't agree with questioning the Bible because that will open up a whole can of worms...ie. Was Jesus married? Who cares.

I don't think it's questioning the bible, but rather questioning the tradition that surrounds the birth of Christ. As noted, I think there's much more biblical evidence that he was born during the fall rather during the winter and no biblical evidence at all that he was born on December 25th.

[DouglasKC]

Bless you for posting this study. I pray that it will bring blessings to those who have always followed the traditions of man. This study shows that the Word of G-d is always clearer than the traditions of man for those who have eyes to see.

Thanks Chuck, blessings to you too...

[DouglasKC]

Yawn. E.W. Bullinger had this figured out over a century ago. See his Companion Bible Appendix for details.

I have a copy of the Companion Bible and didn't realize this until I posted the article. I think much of the article is based upon Bullinger's insights. The Companion Bible is a massive work and I'm impressed by Bullingers work.

[DouglasKC]

The notion that the anniversary of Christ's birth ought to be celebrated, or commemorated, or is any way more important than any other day of the year is itself a "tradition of man".

I agree with you. The bible agrees with you.

As usual, you folks cherry-pick which traditions you like, and which you discard.

I don't think the intent of the article was to show that we should be celebrating the birth of Christ at the feast of tabernacles. I think the intent was to show that celebrating the birth of Christ as being on December 25th is on shaky ground biblically.

[Diego1618]

As usual, you folks cherry pick which traditions you like, and which you discard.

Yup! We observe the Biblical ones....not the invented ones.

I'll give you $7.35 for your tag line.

[Uri’el-2012]

C>As usual, you folks cherry pick which traditions you like, and which you discard.

Yup! We observe the Biblical ones....not the invented ones.

I'll give you $7.35 for your tag line.

42 posted on 11/25/2006 7:40:18 PM MST by Diego1618

To know G-d, I look in His Word.

Men's tradition particularly when it voids the word of G-d is wrong.

b'shem Y'shua

[Uri’el-2012]

Based on this study, we know that the "Light of the World"
entered the world on the 25th of Kislev: Hanukah !

b'shem Y'shua

[ThomasThomas]

I was never taught that Dec 25 is Christ birthday but that it was the day the early church could celebrate his birth.

[Diego1618]

I was never taught that Dec 25 is Christ birthday but that it was the day the early church could celebrate his birth.

The reason the "early" church chose this specific time of year had to do with the existing habits of the pagan populace. Many folks already celebrated a winter festival which included the burning of yule logs, decorating of evergreen trees, kissing under mistletoe, exchanging of gifts and general merrymaking. These customs were pagan, centered on the "Saturnalia" Festival which honored the final days of the "Sun's" decline and "Rebirth". Roman Saturnalia

These folks, even at this early period of history, were able to discern the ending of the day's shortening....if even by only a few. The Solstice of December 22 ended the Sun's daily decline and by the 25th it was very apparent the days were becoming longer again. To Sun worshipers this was a great cause for celebration. The prevailing religion in Pagan Greco-Roman culture was Sun worship.

When the "early" church wanted to increase it's membership and influence, an easy way was to allow folks to bring in their already pagan customs and call them "Christian". They still allow this to this day.

You'll find that scripture gives a fairly good indication that Our Saviour was born at the time of the Fall Festivals and most reference works will bear out the pagan beginnings of Christmas.

[Campion]

We observe the Biblical ones....not the invented ones.

Specify the Biblical grounds for believing that the anniversary of Christ's birth is important in any way whatsoever. Chapter and verse.

[Campion]

When the "early" church wanted to increase it's membership and influence, an easy way was to allow folks to bring in their already pagan customs and call them "Christian".

The early church didn't run screaming and hollering away from December 25th because it was "tainted" by paganism. They quite wisely replaced the "Birthday of the Invincible Sun" with the "Birthday of the Invincible Son", because they knew that all good things belong to the True God, and ought to be dedicated to him. And there is nothing more fitting than re-dedicating to the true God a day which pagans had stolen and perverted to their own use.

And I notice that none of you have responded to my post above, where I describe precisely how Zecharias' membership in the course of Abijah is consistent with a December 25th date for the Nativity of Our Lord.

[Diego1618]

Specify the Biblical grounds for believing that the anniversary of Christ's birth is important in any way whatsoever. Chapter and verse.

There isn't any....never said there was! $7.50????

[Maeve]

I thank you, Campion. And my mother, Siobhan, thanks you as well.