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Saturday, December 20, 2008
Christmas: Truths and Myths
Is December 25th the day Jesus was born? After all, isn't this the over riding reason Christians
celebrate Christmas? Is December 25th, the true date of Christ's birth? The short answer is no, so how did we arrive at
this date for our annual celebration?
First lets do some research to see if December can be considered the correct month.
We'll use Gods word as our guide because it's the best commentary on His word and limits men's opinions.
Luke 1:26-27 says, "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God
to a city of Galilee named Nazereth to a virgin named Mary who was engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David".
The sixth month isn't according to our modern calendar but God's calendar. If you are unfamiliar with His time keeping
methods, pages 4-6 of this site are devoted to explaining His calendar and providing correct dates for His feast days. You'll
find 2 studies in the media player on page 3 with information on this topic, Gods' Time Piece Pts 1 and 2".
The first thing you'll discover; His calendar is based on a lunar month not the sun. A lunar year is 354 days not 365.
To even things up Jehovah commanded a special 13th month coinciding with the barley coming into a stage of ripeness called
aviv. In Exodus 12:2 Jehovah said the beginning of His year is the
month of Aviv: so named because the barley reaches the aviv stage just before harvest.
Continuing in Exodus 12,
the progression of God' first month is laid out for you. Notice the fourteenth day is Passover, important because Jesus
died on Passover, fixing the beginning of Gods year in the March/April time frame.
Using 2007 as our example, Aviv
1 occured March 19th. Counting forward 6 lunar months, (either 29 or 30 days depending on Lunar cycle) we find August 13th
to be the beginning of God's 6th month, the month Mary concieved.
At this point we are unable to determine
the exact date of conception. Assuming Gabriel visited Mary on the first day of the month and as soon as she agreed with Gabriel
she became pregnant. Lets also assume Mary's pregnancy was exactly nine months, bringing us to April 6th as the first
day of the ninth month. We don't know the exact day of His birth but it wasn't December 25th. The early church observed
His birth in the spring but many dates are possible.
How did we begin to use the 25th as the date of Nativity? Constantine
declared Christianity the official religion of the empire. In 325 AD he conviened the council of Nicaea where important standards
for the new religion were instituted. As with any political process compromise was used since Pagans were a major segment
of the population and needed to be satisfied as well.
December 25th was widely celebrated by Roman/Pagans
as saternalia, the rebirth of the sungod. This change, as far as the empire was concerned, allowed everyone to observe their
holiday without too many breaks, keeping revenues at their peak. Everyone came away with something!
As this change and
others became part of the fabric of the church the power of God withdrew and dead religion resulted. The things of God were
being mixed with the things of the world.
1Cor 6:14-18 "Don't
be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship has rightousness with lawlessness or what communion has light with
darkness? God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people.
THEREFORE come out from among them and be seperate, says the Lord. Do not
touch what is unclean, and I will recieve you. I will be a
Father to you and you shall be My sons and daughters, Says
the Lord Almighty."
We submit that the birth of the Messiah should rightfully be observed in the relative quiet
of spring, away from the materialism, myths and idolatry of December 25th. What say you? Let us know at don@globalrestorationnetwork.net.
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Christian News Service - Worthy News
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