Jesus Christ Was Not Born On 'Christmas Day' -; Femi aribisala

Hmmmm this is something new under the sun o

Interesting piece by Femi Aribisala... Read
below...
Jesus was born on the Feast of Tabernacles. He
was not born on ''Christmas Day.''
Jesus was not born on December 25. That is the
date of a pagan festival of the sun god Tammuz
merged with Christianity under Constantine.
However, the evidence is overwhelming that
Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles.
Coming of Elijah
Zachariah, John the Baptist’s father, was
ministering in the Temple when an angel told
him he would have a son. He belonged to ''the
priestly group of Abijah.'' (Luke 1:5). Abijah was
eighth in line according to the Jewish time-table
for priests ministering in the Temple: ''The first
lot fell to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, the
third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, the fifth to
Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, the seventh to
Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah.'' (1 Chronicles
24:7-10).
That means Zechariah would have been
ministering in the Temple in June, when it was
officially the turn of Abijah. If his wife therefore
conceived in June, John the Baptist would have
been born around March the next year during the
Passover. It is the Jewish tradition to reserve a
special glass of wine for Elijah during the
Passover meal, in expectation of his attendance.
So it makes sense for John the Baptist to be
born during the Passover.
The angel told Zachariah John the Baptist would
come ''in the spirit and power of Elijah.'' (Luke
1:17). Indeed, Jesus confirms that John the
Baptist is the expected Elijah. He told the
disciples: ''Elijah has already come, and they did
not recognize him, but did to him whatever they
pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly
suffer at their hands.'' Then the disciples
understood that he was speaking to them of
John the Baptist.'' (Matthew 17:11-13).
Birth of the Messiah..
If John the Baptist was born during the
Passover, then Jesus must have been born
during the Feast of Tabernacles. There are six
months between both feasts, and we are told
Mary became pregnant six months after John’s
mother, Elizabeth:
''(Zechariah's) wife was expecting a baby, and
for five months she did not leave the house. She
said to herself, 'What the Lord has done for me
will keep people from looking down on me.' One
month later God sent the angel Gabriel to the
town of Nazareth in Galilee with a message for
a virgin named Mary.'' (Luke 1:24-27).
''Your relative Elizabeth is also going to have a
son, even though she is old. No one thought she
could ever have a baby, but in three months she
will have a son.'' (Luke 1:36).
Think about it. Does it not make perfect sense
that ''the light of the world'' should be born
during the ''Festival of Lights'', when lamps
illuminate the entire city of Jerusalem? That is
the Feast of Tabernacles. It is also known as
''the Season of our Joy;'' so it makes sense for
the angel to tell the shepherds he brings ''good
tidings of great joy'' concerning Jesus' birth
during the joyful season of the Feast of
Tabernacles:
The angel said: ''Behold, I give to you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For to you is born today, in the city of David, a
Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'' (Luke 2:10-11).
International feast
Quite appropriately, the Feast of Tabernacles is
the only Jewish festival which is for ''all people'',
both Jews and non-Jews. It is for all the
families of the earth:
''It shall be, everyone who is left of all the
nations which came up against Jerusalem shall
go up from year to year to worship the King,
Jehovah of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of
Tabernacles. And it shall be, whoever will not
come up from all the families of the earth to
Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of
Hosts, even on them shall be no
rain.'' (Zechariah 14:16-19).
The Feast of Tabernacles is also known as ''the
Festival of the Nations;'' showing it is not
exclusively for the Jewish nation. All the men of
Israel are required to come to Jerusalem to
observe the Feast of Tabernacles: ''Three times
in a year shall all your males appear before
Jehovah your God in the place which He shall
choose: in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in
the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of
Tabernacles.'' (Deuteronomy 16:16).
This means Jerusalem becomes filled up with
visitors during the festival, and they spill over
into the surrounding regions including
Bethlehem, which is only about five miles away.
As a result, there is likely to be a shortage of
guest-houses in Bethlehem; accounting for the
difficulty of Mary and Joseph in finding suitable
accommodation.
Tabernacle of God..
In writing about the incarnation of Jesus, John
employs the terminology of tabernacles. He says
the Word became flesh and ''tabernacled'' among
us. (John 1:14). Indeed, one of Jesus' spiritual
names means ''God with us:'' ''A virgin will have
a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel',
which means 'God is with us.'' (Matthew
1:22-23).
It therefore makes sense that God would
choose to come down to earth in the person of
Jesus Christ to tabernacle with men during the
Feast of Tabernacles.
It is also quite conceivable that the wise men
from the east were Jewish rabbis, anticipating
the coming of the Messiah according to Daniel’s
prophecy. (Daniel 9:24). At the time of Jesus'
birth, the largest Jewish population was not in
Palestine but in Babylon, where they had been
carried into exile by Nebuchadnezzar.
Babylon is east of Palestine; and a ''magi'' or
wise man is another expression for a “rabbi.”
Daniel for example, who was named
Belteshazzar, was regarded as one of the magi
of his time. (Daniel 4:9).
Star of Bethlehem
During the seven-days of the Feast of
Tabernacles, Jewish families live in booths built
with branches of trees. It is customary to leave
a hole in the roof so as to be able to look at the
stars at night.
Therefore, the Feast of Tabernacles is the
perfect time for Jewish magi east of Palestine to
notice the appearance of the star of Bethlehem.
That is why it is important to note that the magi
did not get to Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’
birth, as erroneously portrayed on Christmas
cards. By the time they arrived, Jesus was
already a young child: ''When they had heard the
king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they
saw in the east, went before them, till it came
and stood over where the young child
was.'' (Matthew 2:9).
It must have taken them up to two years to get
there, which is why, in the bid to kill Jesus,
Herod killed all the children in Bethlehem from
two years old and under: ''When Herod found out
that the wise men from the east had tricked him,
he was very angry. He gave orders for his men
to kill all the boys who lived in or near
Bethlehem and were two years old and younger.
This was based on what he had learned from
the wise men.'' (Matthew 2:16).

All this point to one thing. Jesus was born on
the Feast of Tabernacles. He was not born on
''Christmas Day.''