The Christmas Message

Archived on December 9th, 2004

Christmas has been long celebrated on the 25th day of December as the acknowledgement of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately; Christians have forgotten the true date of Christmas and some 'scholars" even claim that there is no way of knowing the time that Christ was born. These "scholars" show their ignorance of the Word by this statement, because any one who has studied the Word a little can learn of the time of Christ and what December 25th is really associated with.

I hope to clear this up a little by driving you into the Word and finding clues that lead us to understanding the conception and birth of Jesus Christ, our Messiah. Let?s begin in the Gospel of Luke at the beginning: Luke 1:1
(1) Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
(2) Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
(3) It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
Here we start with Luke addressing those who would read this gospel. Theophilus was a common Roman name. It means: Beloved of God when translated. I think it should have been translated here instead of transliterated. Luke is setting in order for you and me, things that happened in his lifetime concerning Jesus and other prophecies that were about to be fulfilled.

(4) That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
(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.
Now here we come to our first clue of the time frame we are talking about so that you also might know the truth of these things in which you have or are being instructed. Luke begins to focus on Zacharias, a high priest and Zach?s wife, Elisabeth. The clue to help us learn what time we are talking about here is that he was of the course of Abia. This Abia is the same as Abijah in the Old Testament and to truly know where we are in the time frame we must take a trip to the Old Testament and learn what this course is all about.
Each priest was given a specific time to do their service to God in the temple. There were twenty four priests and they ?cast lots? to choose who would take each of the courses or terms.
1 Chronicles 24:5-10
(5) Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.
(6) And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar.
(7) Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah,
(8) The third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim,
(9) The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin,
(10) The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah,
So here we have it! Abijah had the eighth course or week of service, Each course was a one week period from Sabbath to Sabbath. So Abijah?s week was the eighth week of the temple service. Now the duties of the Priests begin on the ?religious? new year This Sacred year begins in the month of Nisan or Abib on the Jewish calendar. This coincides with the Passover Feast and is about halfway through April on the American calendar. So our time frame begins at about the third Friday of April. Now get a calendar handy and count eight weeks from the start of the religious year and you can establish our beginning time in the second or third week of Sivan(June), being the eighth week after the start of the Sacred Year. So Zacharias began his duties in the temple around the thirteenth of June or the second week of June. This puts us at around the 13th of June.

And now back to Luke, Chapter 1:
(6) And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
(7) And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
They were both very good folks, keeping the laws of God, staying in His Word. Like Abraham and Sarah, they did not have any children and they were pretty old folks.

(8) And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
(9) According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
(10) And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
(11) And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Zacharias is performing his duties in the temple when an angel appears to him.

(12) And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
(13) But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
(14) And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
(15) For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
(16) And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
(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 here is Zacharias, an old man doing his duties during the course of Abijah, suddenly the angel appears and ole Zach is afraid yet he is told not to fear and that he and his wife would have a son that they should call John. This of course is the heralding of the birth of the messenger, that was foretold in the Old testament, John the Baptist.

(18) And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.
(19) And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.
(20) And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
(21) And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
(22) And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.
(23) And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
We find out that this angel, this messenger is Gabriel. Zacharias doubts this one sent straight from the living God, so Zach?s mouth is shut, so that he cannot speak until his son is born. Now he continues his duties until that time in the temple was finished, which would be seven days from the beginning. So we were at around June thirteenth, Zacharias? duties in the temple would have ended on the 19th, that takes us to the next Sabbath, the twentieth of June. Since the course was from Sabbath to Sabbath, Zacharias wouldn?t have traveled on that twentieth day. he would have rested, so he didn?t leave Jerusalem until the twenty-first of June. Zacharias lived in the ?hill country of Juda? as we later learn in verse 39 below, when Mary goes to visit. This hill country is believed to be actual Juttah or Yatta, which lies south of Jerusalem. This was about 25 miles as the crow flies from Jerusalem. Since Zacharias was ?stricken in years? we can assume it took him at least two days to travel to his home, which is very likely for an older man. That puts our mark on the calendar at June twenty-third.

(24) And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
(25) Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
So Elisabeth conceived John on or around the 23rd of Sivan(June), then she hid herself for five months. Count them...July..August..September...October..November. Now we are at November 23rd.

(26) And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
(27) To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
So here we are, the sixth month after Elisabeth?s conception, that brings us to December 23rd. Don?t let any man deceive you, this is not speaking of the actual sixth month it is a continuance of the ?counting? of the time from Zacharias to the conception of our Lord Jesus. This will be confirmed very shortly. There is no doubt here, the Word of God is as simple as we want to make it. The human mind makes everything complicated, but if we study the Word with the understanding of God and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us, we can be awakened to the truth and be free! Let?s continue...

(28) And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
(29) And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
Here Gabriel greets Mary, realize unlike Zacharias, Mary is not doubting here only wondering why this angel would greet her in such away. A very humble girl.

(30) And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
(31) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
(32) 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:
(33) And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Here is that great and wonderful prophecy in Isaiah coming to fruition. What a joyful occasion, when our Savior was conceived and that prophecy came to pass.

(34) Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
(35) 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.

Once again, she had no doubt, only curiosity, wondering how she could conceive a child when she had not a husband and had been with no man. It was by the Holy Spirit of course, a miracle and possible with God.

(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.
(37) For with God nothing shall be impossible.
(38) And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Here is that confirmation. Gabriel told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth had conceived and was in the sixth month of her pregnancy, so at this time of Gabriel?s appearance and Mary?s conception it was around December 23rd. Mary must have been very excited and curious as to what was going on and why God had chosen her for this reason. The angel left and Mary decides to go see her cousin. This happened at what we call Christmas, it was not His birth as some believe, but our Lord?s conception. There were no shepherd?s abiding in the field at this time, since the winter would have come on and the flocks would be in the barn. Yet; It is still a wonderful occasion and should be celebrated as such, because it is when God began dwelling with man. Emmanuel, ?God with us?, had come!

(39) And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
(40) And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

So here we have that confirmation of where Zacharias lived, Mary came in and said hello to Elisabeth.

(41) 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:
When Elisabeth hears the words of the Lord?s Mother, she is filled with the Holy spirit. THE Holy Spirit resides in Mary?s womb you see, dwelling with mankind. John must have given a big jump for joy when he felt that his Lord was so close to him. Elisabeth is about to prophesy a little bit.

(42) And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
(43) And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
(44) For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
(45) And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Oh what a joyful time for them both, that they had been chosen by the living God of their fathers to bear the two most important people who ever came through the womb!

(46) And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
(47) And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
(48) For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
(49) For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
(50) And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
(51) He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
(52) He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
(53) He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
(54) He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
(55) As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
(56) And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

Mary stayed with them around three months, start marking your calendar again. Three months from December is March. John was born around March 23rd. I am almost sure that Mary would have stayed with her cousin and helped her cousin during her pregnancy, and perhaps even helped in John?s delivery. Once this was completed, Mary returned to her home.

So Mary was now three months into her pregnancy, six months later she would have given birth to our Lord and Savior, Yahshua, Jesus the Christ. That puts us in September, around the 23rd or 24th. Now the shepherds would have been tending their flocks in the night. As that great and joyous day comes, Angels appear to them and herald the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. The most precious gift ever given to us by a loving God. This Son of God would free the world from the bonds of sin. The Lamb of God had arrived!

So Christmas is not about Christ's birth as most have been taught, it is about His conception, still a wonderful time of year. There isn?t a thing wrong with celebrating his conception and birth together in one holiday, do not let any one tell you that it?s a pagan holiday! It is the time when we as Christians should celebrate the manifestation of the Savior, the arrival of The Word in the flesh(John 1:1-14). Hallelujah! Emmanuel has come!

The rest is HIS Story.

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