When Was Jesus Really Born?-- What Does the Bible Say?

Around this time of year millions of people celebrate Christmas. In the past, I have touched briefly on the origins behind the celebrations and customs associated with Christmas, and how their true origins are a far cry from anything related to Christ.

In this article I will solely discuss Jesus and his birth, showing you facts that are backed up by scripture as well as other sources so that you can see, without a doubt, that Jesus WAS NOT born on December 25th as many have believed for so long. In fact this date, December 25 has no basis in scripture at all.

First and foremost, I am not an Athiest. I am a Christian, and I believe in Jesus wholeheartedly, but I also believe what the Bible says about him, not the false doctrines that have been spread for so long, misleading the public.  

John "The Baptist"

So what does John "The Baptist" have to do with Jesus' birth? A lot, actually.


According to the Bible, Jesus was conceived while Mary's cousin, Elizabeth was already 6 months pregnant with John. At the time that Zachariah was notified by God's angel that his wife was to become pregnant, Zachariah was serving in God's temple in Jerusalem under the course of Abijah. Historical records prove that this took place around the month of June, according to the Jewish Calendar.

The Bible account at Luke goes on to state that upon Zachariah's return home days later (towards the end of June), that his wife became pregnant with John. Count 6 months from the end of June and you find the time that God caused Mary to conceive Jesus. Add another 9 months to that and you will find that the date falls around the end of September.

(Please read the account at Luke 1: 5-33)


Shepherds In The Fields

According to the Biblical story of Jesus' birth, the Shepherds were out  in the fields. Had it been December, the Shepherds would not be out in the fields overnight with their flocks because that is very cold season in Bethlehem.

By the month of Bul (Oct-Nov) the weather would have already become rainy and harsh for the flocks, thus they would not be kept outdoors in the night.  The next month, Chislev (Nov-Dec) was even worse, having the lowest temperatures of the year, and even sometimes snow in the highlands.

So, logic firmly tells us that given the fact that the Shepherds were out in the fields with their flocks at the time of Jesus' birth, it had to be around early Fall, the month of Ethanim, (Sept-Oct.) of the year 2 B.C.E., when Christ was born.

(Please read the account at Luke 2: 8-20)


Timing is Everything!

Jesus died when he was 33 1/2 years old. He was baptized at the age of 30 in 29 C.E., around the same time of the year as his birth. He died on Nisan 14, which was approximately 6 months (or half-way through the year) before the date of his birth, and also the anniversary of his baptism. Also note that Jesus' ministry only lasted 3 1/2 years because he died on Nisan 14, halfway through what would have been his 4th year of ministry.  Count back 6 months from Nisan 14, which is during the Spring and you will always end up around September.


The Census

According to Bible accounts, Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem for the census, ordered by Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus.  Census' were not done in the winter. Why would the Emperor force a people to travel during the worst conditions of the year just to register for the census? It doesn't make sense. The people would have been very likely to revolt against him, had he decreed they trek in below-freezing temperatures during the dead of winter.

Luke 2: 1-4 states: " Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Au·gus′tus for all the inhabited earth to be registered. 2  (This first registration took place when Qui·rin′i·us was governor of Syria.) 3  And all the people went to be registered, each one to his own city. 4  Of course, Joseph+ also went up from Gal′i·lee, from the city of Naz′a·reth, into Ju·de′a, to David’s city, which is called Beth′le·hem,+ because of his being a member of the house and family of David. "


Other Facts:

A Catholic Newspaper was quoted saying: 

"The real date of Jesus’ birth, from the historical viewpoint, lies concealed beneath a veil of uncertainty as regards Roman history, the imperial census of that time and research in the subsequent centuries. . . . The date of 25 December, as is well known, was chosen by the Church of Rome in the fourth century..This date in pagan Rome was dedicated to the Sun god . . . Although Christianity had already been affirmed in Rome by an Edict of Constantine, the myth of . . . the Sun god was still widespread, especially among soldiers. The above-mentioned festivities, centered on 25 December, were deeply rooted in popular tradition. This gave the Church of Rome the idea of impressing a Christian religious significance on the day by replacing the Sun god with the true Sun of Justice, Jesus Christ, choosing it as the day on which to celebrate his birth.”

It was reported that even Pope Benedict of the Catholic Church, claimed his doubts that Jesus was born on December 25th.  Remember, after Jesus and his apostles died, just as the Bible foretold, there would be a time when Christianity as a whole would fall away from true worship and plummet into a dark period. It was during such times that that Christianity became corrupted and diluted by outside sources. 

During the the 4th century the idea of Christmas, which derived from various pagan customs,  and other doctrines or beliefs were adopted by the Catholic Church, including forms of idolatry. It was at this time that the celebration of Jesus' birth became intertwined with the Winter Solstice and other pagan customs, as a means to invite pagans to convert. 

The answers have always been right here in the Bible. It just takes time to research and find it. Some people won't go through the trouble to find the answers. They would rather choose to continue believing what they were taught without a second thought. However, some will take the time to research and study the scriptures, in order to learn what the Bible says. Not just following blindly on what imperfect man wants us to believe.  Like I always say, if it isn't in the Bible, I am not going to believe it, plain and simple. 

This blog was to inform you of the historical accuracy of the Bible that coincide with other various historical evidence that Jesus was not born on December 25. I hope you have found the information I have provided to be informative, and maybe it will inspire you to look up these scriptures and information for yourself. If you choose to continue to believe that December 25th was the day of Christ's birth, that is up to you. No one can force you to believe or not believe, as we all have free will. 

(2014- Copyright- Origins What Does History Say?)

Idolatry- Ancient Times and Today

The Adoration of the Golden Calf by Nicolas Poussin:

 

Have you ever stopped and wondered what the true meaning of idolatry was? Where it's origins came from or even why it is considered wrong to many people? This article will touch on various answers to those questions.

Definition

The meaning of idolatry has become diluted and sometimes lost in translation over the centuries. What once was considered idolatrous in one religion’s eyes has now become something now naturally accepted as normal. Many people say idolatry is an ancient practice and has no relevance this day in age, or does it?

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, idolatry is defined as “the worship of idols,” or “blind or excessive devotion to something.” In fact, the Catechism of Catholic Church states: Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in the place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example Satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. "  

Also another publication states this, “An idol is an image, a representation of anything, or a symbol that is an object of passionate devotion, whether material or imagined.”-Insight on the Scriptures.  

So with that being said, it isn’t far fetched to say that the world we live today is encompassed with idolatry all around them, and perhaps they don’t even know it!

Idols of Today

Think about it, besides religious idols, which I will mention, there are other forms of idols all around us. When you turn on the television you are constantly bombarded with television shows about who will be the next superstar that the masses will “idolize” over. What about commercials telling you to be a certain way or to buy certain things in order to be happy?  Our thinking is in a constant state of being molded to be selfish in every aspect of our lives. We strive our entire lives searching for happiness in material things, thus we become the victims of idolatry- we idolize material possessions.

Now some of us may keep our eye simple, but what of those who may be overly interested with a certain genre of books, music or movies to the point we form an unhealthy obsession of it? It does happen, many times to younger ones such as young self impressionable girls becoming obsessed with the latest pop sensation on the airwaves or the hot guy in the latest blockbuster.

And what of the obsessed sports fan?  Those who decorate their entire house in their favorite team, never miss a game and would get into a fist fight with anyone who makes fun of their team….yes, you guessed it, another form of idolatry.

You could be radically obsessed with politics or even just putting your career before your family, by which you then become to worship what you do. I watched a woman on t.v. who spoke of her daughter who won an Olympic Gold Medal in an interview recently. She stated that her daughter’s event became her religion and that she sent her away for months at a time to perfect her sport in order to win. What did she win? She won a gold medal, the medal became the object of her worship.

You see, many of us have to admit that we at one point or another have fell victim to this enticing and yet very invisible vice, while we may not even realize it at the time.

Religious Relics and Worshiping Aides

Most people know the scripture within the Ten Commandments given to Moses in Exodus 20:4 which reads, “You must not make for yourself a carved image or a form like anything that is in the heavens above or that is on the earth underneath or that is in the waters under the earth.”  Another scripture in the Bible adamantly states that "idolaters would not enter into God's kingdom."

So, if Israelites and early Christians did not partake in idol worship or the aids of objects during worship, and the Bible adamantly states not to worship carved images, why then would idols be incorporated into everyday worship in mainstream religions such as Catholicism and Christianity?

Roman Papacy of the Catholic Church, wanting to convert pagans into their religion compromised the commandments within the Holy Scriptures and allowed pagan influence to creep in. 

The Cross was among the first of pagan relics that was adopted into the Catholic Church.

“The same sign of the cross that Rome now worships was used in the Babylonian Mysteries, was applied by Paganism to the same magic purposes, was honoured with the same honours. That which is now called the Christian cross was originally no Christian emblem at all, but was the mystic Tau of the Chaldeans and Egyptians--the true original form of the letter T--the initial of the name of Tammuz--which, in Hebrew, radically the same as ancient Chaldee, was

found on coins. That mystic Tau was marked in baptism on the foreheads of those initiated in the

Mysteries,  and was used in every variety of way as a most sacred symbol.”- The Two Babylons.

The Rosary was also a pagan idol symbol from ancient Chaldea. In fact, the Chaldean word “Ro” means “thought”, and “Shareh” meant “director.” They were also known in early Roman society as “remembrancers” being that you had to remember how many prayers you had to repeat in order for God to hear you. That totally goes against the very scriptures in the Bible that state for people to speak from the heart and not being repetitively speaking without meaning.

Amulets, crosses, statues of various gods, even ones of Jesus or Virgin Mary and Virgen de Guadalupe are all pagan and go against the very commandments in the Bible. Remember Jesus stated for his people to worship his father, the only true God. He told the people not to worship anyone or anything other than God, not even himself.

Whether you are a believer in the Bible or Christianity the facts within the Scriptures prove that idol worship did not originate with God, but with various pagan cultures that have infiltrated nearly every mainstream religion.

History shows that various cultures such as the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Sumerians and Chaldeans polytheistic beliefs and mythology all coincide with one another in their forms of idol worship and beliefs, based on their true origins dating back to Babylon. The Bible has always stood its ground that idolatry was not something to be practiced by a monotheistic believer. Various events and stories mentioned about acts of idolatry referred to in the Bible, were done by pagan groups who worshipped false gods,  and were revered as something detestable to God. Such practices of these pagan worshipers included ceremonial prostitution, child sacrifice, self- laceration to the point of blood flowing and even sexual orgies and drunkenness.

Recall a story in the Bible of when Moses came down the mountain with the Ten Commandments, and what did he find? The Israelites had fallen away from true worship of God and had melted down all their gold to worship a golden calf that had been cast.  It does not mention in that particular scripture the name of the god they were worshiping, although many scholars claim it could have been the lunar bull that was associated with the pagan Canaanite god, El.

In other stories of idol worship that was detestable in God’s eyes recorded in the Bible, names of the false god Ba’al (or Bel) was mentioned.  Ba’al or Bel was a god of the Babylonians, also referred to as Marduk, possibly Nimrod deified.  You see, many of these pagan gods we have learned about in mythology of various lands, could have quite possibly been your average human being who lived and died on this earth. It wasn’t until later on that others deified them to become ‘immortal.’

Where did this idol worship come from?

Idolatry of gods and goddesses

If you search through any culture you will find mythology of gods and goddesses to which civilization’s  performed idol worship. The Aztecs, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Sumerians, Norse, Celts and even American Indians all believed in their individual gods and deities and worshipped them, also by carving amulets and even statues to honor them. They would make sacrifices in their gods name in order to appease them in hopes of being blessed. 

In these mythological stories you learn that most of them are actually very similar in stories besides the difference in names. Why is that?

It is because long before mankind spread throughout the earth making civilizations throughout the globe, they at one point were all from one place, thus the various stories all came from one place. Over the years and passed down from generation to generation embellishments and changes transformed one unified story into many individualized stories to which all the different cultures of the world have claimed as their own. Have you ever wondered why it was that every single culture has a story about the Deluge? That is because they all came from the descendants of the survivors of that Deluge.

“Not merely Egyptians, Chaldeans, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, but also the Hindus, the Buddhists of China and of Tibet, the Goths, Anglo-Saxons, Druids, Mexicans and Peruvians, the Aborigines of Australia, and even the savages of the South Sea Islands,  must have all derived their religious ideas from a common source and common centre. Everywhere we find the most startling coincidences in the rites, ceremonies, customs, traditions, and in the names and relations of their respective gods and goddesses.”- The Worship of the Dead, London, 1904, p.3.

What Does History Say?

The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563)

A man by the name of Nimrod (son of Cush, grandson of Ham, great-grandson of Noah) is the one who started post-deluvian idolatry. Nimrod (Hebrew: maradh’), meaning “rebel”, was the founder and king of the first empire to come into existence after the Deluge. Nimrod’s kingdom consisted of the cities of Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh in the land of Shinar. Nimrod himself deified himself as a god above mankind. It has been suggested that the Babylonian god Marduk (Merodach), who was regarded as the founder of Babylon, was in fact Nimrod deified.

“Why, then, was he called Nimrod? Because he stirred up the whole world to rebel (himrid) against his [God’s] sovereignty.”-Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation, by Menahem M. Kasher, Vol. II, 1955, p.79.

Under the direction of Nimrod, the building of the tower of Babel began.  Josephus wrote: “Nimrod little by little transformed the state of affairs into a tyranny, holding that the only way to detach men from the fear of God was by making them continuously dependent upon his own power. He threatened to have his revenge on God is he wished to inundate the earth again; for he would build a tower higher than the water could reach and avenge the destruction of their forefathers. The people were eager to follow this advice of Nimrod, deeming it slavery to submit to God; so they set out to build the tower…and it rose with a speed beyond all expectation.”-Jewish Antiquities, I, 114,115 (iv, 2, 3).

As the story goes, God was angered at Nimrod for the dishonor it brought him and the false worship to himself he was demanding of the people, so God frustrated the plans to complete the tower by confusing their language. In fact the word Babel means “confusion.” The scattered people then went throughout the earth and settled in various locations, taking with them not only their new language but also the the false religious beliefs and idolatry learned by Nimrod, with them. 

What about pre-deluvian times? Was there idolatry prior to the Deluge? Yes, by the time of Noah’s days nearly every person on the earth was considered to be full of badness, even to the point that God himself “felt regrets that he had made men in the earth, and he felt hurt at his heart.”- Genesis 6:6.  The earth had become so wicked and filled with corruption to the point that the earth needed to be wiped clean,  just as an eraser to a slate chalkboard. 

Where did the corruption start? Well, to be technical and accurate, we would have to go back even further in time to see that the true origin of idolatry did not come from earthly beings. No, it came from the spirit realm itself. If one is to believe the scriptures it was then when a spirit being (later known as Satan), developed a covetous desire to be worshipped like God, that his own idolatry caused the rebellion in the heavens. Then, Eve became the first human idolater by coveting the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden. Since then, only a small fraction of mankind have remained free from idolatry throughout the ages. 

 Are you part of that fraction of mankind?

 (Copyright- Origins-What Does History Say) 2012