The Birth of Jesus Christ

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Miraculous Birth of Jesus

Maybe you are facing some insurmountable, impossibility and you wonder how you can carry out your mission in those circumstances. Maybe you feel like your life is too insignificant and unproductive for God to use. Let’s look at how God brought His own Son into the world in human form, and subsequently the church.

Genesis 25:
Now these are the records of the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham became the father of Isaac; and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is so, why then am I this way?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger." (Gen 25:19-23)

Observations from reading Genesis 25:

Rebekkah became pregnant in answer to her husband Isaac’s prayers, even though she was barren. There were many barren women in the Bible and God is the one who opened their wombs. He also closes wombs, as in the case of David’s wife Michael, who never had children until the day she died.
Not only did Rebekkah become pregnant, but she was carrying two nations inside of her! That’s pretty remarkable for a woman who was barren. These two babies inside of her would become the nation of Israel and the Arabic nation of people. Only God could do such an amazing miracle! They jostled each other in the womb and think of all the trouble in the world today because of the enmity between these two nations.
But that’s not all. Isaac’s mother was barren also. Sarah did not have any children until her old age by a miracle of God. She conceived of Isaac when she was in her 90’s, which is truly a medical wonder.
Jacob had both a barren mother and a barren grandmother!
All this so that God could have a people for Himself.

Genesis 30:
Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became jealous of her sister; and she said to Jacob, "Give me children, or else I die." (Gen 30:1)

Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb. So she conceived and bore a son and said, "God has taken away my reproach." She named him Joseph, saying, "May the LORD give me another son." (Gen 30:22-24)

Observations from reading Genesis 30:

One of Jacob’s two wives, Rachel, was also barren.
Rachel cried out to God for children whe she realized she was barren.
God opened her womb and she conceived.
She gave birth to Joseph.
Joseph grew up to be a type of Christ who saved all of his brothers, literally the entire nation of Israel, from extinction during famine.

Matthew 1:
“The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab), Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth), and Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David the king.” (Mat 1:1-6)

Observations from reading Matthew 1:

We know that Rahab, a harlot from Jericho, was the mother of Boaz. She was not a Jew. But she put her faith in the God of Israel and acted on her faith by hiding the Israelites who came to spy out Jericho before attacking and destroying the city where she lived. “However, Rahab the harlot and her father's household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.” (Jos 6:25)
Of Rahab, the New Testament Scriptures teach us she was saved by faith. “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.” (Heb 11:31). “In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?” (Jam 2:25)
Although the Israelites destroyed Jericho, they spared Rahab, because of her faith. That was a miracle, because if it had not been for her faith, she would have been destroyed along with all the others. But God saved her, and even blessed her by enabling her to become the mother of Boaz, the great grandfather of King David!
Rahab’s life is a story of mercy, saving grace, and faith in God. And the Lord gave her a prominent place in the family line of Jesus the Messiah.
Similarly, the wife of Rahab’s son, Boaz was Ruth, a Moabitess, not a Jew. She refused to stay in her homeland of Moab with her parents, when her mother-in-law, Naomi returned to Bethlehem. She refused to return to her people and her gods, but put her faith in the God of Israel instead. She told Naomi, “Where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.” (Rth 1:16).
The Lord blessed this Moabitess widow for her faith. And He gave her the honor of becoming the mother of Obed. Her child, Obed, would grow up to become the grandfather of a king – none other than Israel’s King David, a man after God’s own heart. And she, who had suffered such misfortune in the loss of her first husband, was privileged to enter into the royal family line and give birth to a child who would become an ancestor of the Son of David, Jesus the Messiah! It’s a miracle how the Lord took Ruth from such a fragile situation as a widow in a foreign land, and connected her in marriage with Boaz, the son of a harlot that had become a woman of God, and how the Lord brought forth from their union the child Obed in the little town of Bethlehem.

Putting it All Together

When we survey these wonderful things, we find that in order for the nation of Israel to come into existence as we know it today, a series of impossibilities needed to occur for a little baby named Jacob:

Jacob’s barren grandmother Sarah needed to conceive and give birth in her 90’s to his father Isaac.
His barren mother Rebekkah needed to conceive and give birth to him.
In spite of being born second in a pair of twins, he would still need to receive the blessing of the firstborn and his brother would need to serve him.
Because his brother wanted to kill him for “stealing” the birthright, he had to survive the very real threat of murder.

An even greater miracle had to happen for Joseph to be born, so that he could fulfill God’s purpose for his life in saving the nation of Israel:

Joseph’s mother Rachel, his grandmother Rebekkah, and his great grandmother Sarah were all barren women!!! The odds of him ever being born are astronomical.
He had to survive the threat of murder from his own brothers and eventual exile as well as imprisonment.
If it were not for his life, the entire nation of Israel may have perished in a 7-year famine.

Now when we consider that Jesus was a descendant of Jacob, we know God brought about this series of miracles not just for the sake of creating a Jewish nation that He could call His own.
God also wanted Gentiles to become His adopted children, too. That could only happen through Jesus. In fact, there were two Gentile women in the family line of Jesus – Rahab and Ruth.
In order for Jesus to complete His mission on the cross to bring down the dividing wall separating Jews and Gentiles from God, a number of miracles had to occur. But one related to his conception was that Jesus needed to be born of a young virgin who had never known a man. The Holy Spirit supernaturally caused her to conceive of him in her womb.
Again when we put all of this together, we realize that a number of impossibilities needed to happen in order for Jesus to redeem the lost whom He was sent to save:

Sarah’s barren womb had to be opened to conceive of Isaac
Rebekkah’s barren womb needed to be opened to conceive of Jacob.
Rachel’s barren womb had to be opened to conceive of Joseph.
The harlotrous life of Rahab, a Gentile targeted for destruction, had to be saved, so that her womb could conceive of Boaz.
The childless womb of Ruth the Moabitess widow had to be redeemed by Boaz to conceive of Obed.
Mary’s virgin womb needed to be fertilized by the Holy Spirit to conceive of Jesus.

Considering all this, it’s truly a wonder Jesus was ever born.
Just consider all the people in such fragile situations who were so hopeless and helpless on their own, whom the Lord used in His Master plan to bring forth Jesus the Messiah into the world.
God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.
God could have simply prearranged it so that neither Sarah, Rebekkah, nor Rachel were barren. He could have allowed Rahab the harlot to be destroyed at Jericho, and used a Jewish woman, instead of her, in the family line of Christ. He could have prearranged to have Boaz marry a Jewish virgin – rather than a Gentile widow -- to bear the grandfather of King David, ancestor of Christ.
But he chose to work through such impossible circumstances, so that he could be glorified, just as he did when he allowed Lazarus to die, rather than heal him, so that he could raise him from the dead.

My former profession was project management, so I like to look at things as though they were a project. If the birth of Messiah into the world were a project being conducted by a human being, here is how it would be done. The project manager would take into consideration the final deliverable, the specifications and the deadline when the project was due. A Jewish male, who would save the world and become king, must be born in the fullness of time by set date.

Then he would determine the tasks necessary to produce the required outcome or deliverable. He would then select project members to perform specific tasks. He would need many women, who would give birth to children that would become ancestors of the Messiah. These would all need to be devout, Jewish women, who were fertile. The project manager would certainly not select any women who were barren, childless widows, Gentiles, prostitutes, or any others he considered project risks or "under producers." He would not select anyone he knew present a significant risk to the successful completion of the project.

Man looks at things from the perspective of probability and risk, because he doesn't know the future. If one option available to him has a 1% chance of success and the other has a 99% chance of success, he will select the one with 99%.

However, God doesn't do that. In fact, God prefers to work with the option that has a 1% chance of success. Better yet, He prefers to work with the option that has a 100% probability of failing, unless a miracle happens. It would be below His ability to do otherwise.

It's just like a professional craftsman on earth. Take a wood worker for example. If he is skilled with doing intricate woodwork with beautiful carvings, he would not be content to work at a sawmill, making trees into planks. Simply cutting large pieces of wood into little ones would be below his skill level. For God, it is below His skill level to work with situations that are easy or have a great probability for success based on their own merits. He prefers to work with impossibilities. The Bible is full of examples like this, many of which have been cited here in this blog.

The apostle Paul wrote: "For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God." (1Co 1:26-29)

It's like people who want to recycle glass. They are looking for bottles, jars, and anything made of glass. You bring your used bottles to them, and receive cash back. It's not a bad deal to exchange dirty old bottles for money. Likewise, God is looking for impossibilities. You bring them to Him in exchange for something that's of worth. Except that what He produces with our impossible situations is not just some small coin. Rather He makes something lovely, rare, beautiful, precious, of great significance, and eternal value.

God is looking for your impossibility today. Will you bring it to Him in faith that He will make something beautiful with it?

Questions for meditation and reflection:

What does this teach us about the ways of God?
What are the implications of this for your life today?
What impossibilities had to be made possible so that you could be born into your earthly existence?
What impossibilities had to be made possible so that you could be born again by the spirit?
Is there some impossibility you need to overcome that only God can do?
Does God still open wombs in answer to prayer?
What are the implications for your life of God using in his grand plan a Gentile harlot who was targeted for destruction?
What are the implications for your life of God using a childless Gentile widow in His Master plan to bring forth the Savior of the world?
Could God use your insignificant and unproductive little life, once yielded completely to Him in faith, in order to rescue many people from eternal death and hell?
Why did Rachel pray, “Give me children, or else I die!”
What are the implications of these marvelous ways of God with regards to your having spiritual children, people that come to Christ because of your witness?
Could Rachel’s prayer, “Give me children, or else I die!” be a model for intercessor’s today, praying for spiritual children?

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I also recommend reading The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, In What Year Was Jesus Born?, The Son of Man, and On What Day Was Jesus Born?, as well as the other articles on the Home Page of this blog. You can also find my complete collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Why We No Longer Celebrate Christmas

If you are a disciple of Christ, questioning whether you should be celebrating Christmas, please allow me to share with you some biblical and historical facts to consider, which might help you make your decision.

I would like to share a letter I recently sent to a friend of ours, explaining why we no longer celebrate Christmas. I hope this will also be encouraging to the growing number of people who are feeling the same conviction in their heart that we have. The letter states:

"I want to mention something to you, since you have mentioned Christmas a couple times to me. It's not a problem with us if you want to celebrate Christmas, but we don't do so. So you're probably shocked and wondering, 'Why not?!' Well, in case you are thinking that, I want to share some of our reasons.

First of all, there is no place in Scripture where we are told explicitly, exactly what day Jesus was born on. And there is no place in Scripture where we are told to celebrate His birthday. Neither do we find any Scriptural record of the early Church celebrating His birthday. In fact, the date when the world celebrates Christmas is closer to the time when Jesus was conceived, rather than the time He was born. He was more likely born in the September-October time frame.

You can read more about this in my blog, called "The Birth of Jesus: On What Day was Jesus Born?" As you would have guessed, I have a blog about this topic, like so many other things the Lord has shown us from His Word. We believe in living as Jesus did and according to His Word, not man-made traditions or worldly customs.

Christmas is really an invention of the Roman Catholic Church. And it appears they chose it to fit into the time-frame of another festival that was celebrated by the pagans. They did this with many of the pagan deities and festivals, replacing them with Christian themes and names. All of the customs of Christmas pre-date (existed before) the birth of Jesus Christ. You can read more about that here.

Just like all the other man-made traditions of the Roman Catholic church, this one is not life giving. We just don't see the life in it. In fact, probably this holiday brings about more death than it does life. It places so many burdens on people, even in the world, that they have to go shopping and buy all these gifts and they have to have a "merry Christmas". Then if they don't have the money for the gifts or they cannot celebrate the holiday according to all the established customs, they feel very sad about it. It seems like this holiday drives people to copy the world and conform to the world, rather than be led by the Spirit and obey the Scriptures. This funny skit sums up what we mean.

To us, Christmas is just another day, and every day is alike. Paul wrote, 'One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.' (Rom 14:5-6). Paul shows here that those with weak faith, who observe certain days, do so for the Lord. And those who regard every day alike do so for the Lord.

So I realize that was a bit of a long explanation, but we knew you would probably ask, so this is the best way we can explain it to you. I hope you understand.

with love and blessings,
Len and Jennifer"

That's the end of the letter we wrote to our friend. Actually she wasn't shocked like I assumed she may be. Her reply said in part, "Yeah, I understand and I agree with this. It was cool though that you've written down for me these facts."

I'd also like to link to a similar letter that I just found online today by a sister in Christ, whom I have never heard of until now. It is excellent, and I highly recommend you read it. She is an Ethiopian lady now living in the States, and it's amazing to me how the Lord led her to say very similar things to her friend that the Holy Spirit led me to say to ours. I think it is just additional confirmation that the Spirit of the Lord has led us this way, in order to bring us into greater freedom. And the Lord used her letter to encourage us.

Since this holiday is so popular with the world, even among those who don't know Christ personally, anyone who does not celebrate it seems rather strange. But each person has to do for the Lord what they believe to be true and right. We're free in Christ to do so, and that's what we do. Therefore, if you have faith to celebrate Christmas for the Lord, just allow others, who love the Lord, the same freedom not to celebrate it.

This is our personal decision as a family. If you are considering whether you should celebrate Christmas, let me encourage you to read your Bible, learn the history behind the holiday, and seek the Lord in prayer about it. He will be faithful to guide you. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will lead you into all Truth, and the Truth will set you free. He whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

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Monday, December 27, 2010

Bearing Christ Within

Have you ever stopped to think about what it must have been like for Mary to carry Jesus Christ? She had the awesome privilege of carrying God’s Son, the Light of the World inside of her? She was also blessed to be able to carry the Lord of creation around in her arms as a baby. Imagine being able to pick up the Savior of the world and hold Him in your arms? It’s worth meditating on for a moment.

The Virgin Mary
This was no ordinary conception, since she was still a virgin. When the angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her she would conceive and bear a son whose name would be Jesus, she was surprised.

Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. (Luk 1:34-35).

The angel’s answer explains how this was possible. It was through the power of the Holy Spirit that she would conceive. Notice he said the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her. This was how the Lord Jesus would enter her womb without any man’s involvement.

Who is the Mother of Jesus?
But now I’d like you to consider something that Jesus said when He was an adult, during His ministry.

On one occasion, while Jesus was speaking to a crowd, “One of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.’ But He said, ‘On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.’” (Luk 11:27-28)

Do you see how Jesus responded when the woman tried to put the emphasis on Mary? He immediately contradicted her. He corrected her with the leading phrase, “On the contrary”. As Jesus saw it, those who are called blessed are those who hear God’s Word and do it.

Consider another occasion where Jesus spoke about His mother. "While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, 'Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.' But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, 'Who is My mother and who are My brothers?' And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, 'Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.' " (Mat 12:46-50)

Do you see how Jesus responded, when He was told His mother and brothers were outside? He said that whoever does the will of His Father in heaven is His mother and sister and brother.

Each and every person must have his or her own personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It goes beyond a human blood relationship, and it’s much deeper than that. When you repent of your sin and ask Jesus into your heart, you enter into a personal relationship with Him through His divine, sinless blood that was shed for you on the cross. When that happens, He takes up residence within you through the Holy Spirit. You become born all over again to a new life – a spiritual life that will never end.

And in this new life, you carry Jesus Christ around inside of you wherever you go. You don’t need to go to some building or shrine to visit Him. He’s right there inside of you. And the new heart He gives you will actually want to do the will of His Father in heaven. His Holy Spirit will enable you to do His will, whereas before it was impossible for you to do it.

Those who do the will of the heavenly Father like this can call Jesus their older brother. In fact, as Jesus put it, they are even His mothers – whether male or female -- in more than one way. First, a disciple of Christ is the mother of Jesus Christ in the sense that he or she carries Jesus within. When Jesus lives in your heart, you bear him inside your body wherever you go. The same awesome privilege that Mary had belongs to every true disciple of Christ. We get to bear Him inside of us.

Another aspect of being His mother is bringing Him forth into the world into the lives of others. If you know Jesus personally, and you do the will of His Father in heaven, you will want to see others come to know Him, too. You will pray for them and share the good news with them that they can know Him, too. As you do so, some will repent and invite Him into their hearts also. Another new birth takes place each time another person does so. So we have the privilege and honor of bringing forth Christ into the world!

Putting it All Together
So while Mary was the first person to be the mother of Jesus, she was not the only one to do so. Whenever anyone tried to put the focus on Mary, Jesus immediately corrected them. In fact, every true disciple is the mother of Jesus and bears Christ within. It all happens by the power of the Holy Spirit, just as it did for Mary.

If you already know Jesus, let me ask you a question: Do you go about life with the awareness that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, lives inside of you? This is the only way to live as a disciple of Christ. We need to have a constant awareness of His presence within us.

Let me ask you another question: Are you bringing forth Christ into the world through your prayers, words, and actions? Through your life, others should be coming to know Him. This is evidence that you are His mother. Every disciple should be multiplying and reproducing disciples by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Here's my final question to you, my friend: Are you focusing on Mary and putting emphasis on her? If so, you need to heed the words of Jesus. You need to realize that the one who is blessed among women and the one who is blessed among men is the person who hears God’s Word and observes it.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Sunday, December 26, 2010

In What Year Was Jesus Born?

Do you know where the terms "B.C." and "A.D." come from? They are directly connected with the birth of Jesus Christ. We essentially determine the current year based on how many years it has been since the birth of Christ. So in what year was Christ born? It seems like it should be pretty simple to determine. If the year is 2010, then you would think he was born 2,010 years ago, right? Well, close, but not exactly. In order to know what year Christ was born, we need to better understand how the Gregorian calendar was developed.

The Original Idea
It began in the 6th century with a Scythian monk, Dionysius Exiguus, who resided in Italy. He first suggested in his Liber de Paschate ("Book of Easter") that we count the years starting from the time of Christ’s birth. Interestingly his system was not adopted until the 9th century.

Dating from the creation of Adam
Prior to that, people living in the Christian world counted years differently. They either counted according to the reign of the Roman emperor, or based on the biblically calculated time since Adam, known as Anno Mundi (AM). The AM system was derived from biblical passages. If you read Genesis 5 for example, you learn that Adam lived to be 930 years old. You will also see that Noah was 600 years old at the time of the flood. And he was born when his father Lamech was 182, which was 1056 years after Adam. Using genealogies and birth dates, as well as the reigns of kings, and the period of Jewish captivity, you can calculate how many years there were from the time Adam was created.

An interesting aspect of the AM calendar was that based on their calculations back at the time of Christ, they figured it was roughly 5,500 years since the creation of Adam, depending on who’s count you used. So this meant the world would come to an end around 500 AD. This was because of their interpretation of the Scripture which says a thousand years are as a day to God, and a day is as a thousand years. They also knew that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. So they believed that the seventh day (or seventh period of a thousand years) would begin immediately after the first six thousand years from the creation of Adam. The seventh millennium was considered by early Christians to be the “day of the Lord.”

Dating from the birth of Christ
Dionysius developed another calendar based on the historical information available to him at the time. He set the year 1 at Christ's incarnation. This is where the term Anno Domine comes from, which means "The Year of our Lord. These days we just abbreviate it as AD. In this calendar, everything before Christ is referred to as BC. An event that occurred one year before Christ was born was called 1 BC (there was no year “zero”). But he made a mistake when he determined the year of incarnation. He was about four years off. This mistake was discovered after he developed his new calendar, but he did not correct it. This error persisted when it was implemented 227 years later, and still remains to this day.

Based on well-documented historical events that occurred around the time of Christ’s birth, we can determine the year He was born with a fair degree of accuracy. We know that he was alive during the reign of Herod the Great, according to the biblical record. And we know that Herod was associated with people like his life-long friend, Mark Antony, who is a well-known and well-documented historical figure. Consequently the year of Herod’s death is fairly well-established historically, especially in the works of the Jewish historian, Josephus. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “After an unsuccessful attempt at suicide, Herod died at Jericho at the end of March or beginning of April in 4 BC.”

Dating from the founding of Rome
At the time of Herod the Great, the year was sometimes counted from the day when the city of Rome was founded. So each year would be considered anno urbis conditae (this is Latin for "in the year of the founded city" and is abbreviated AUC).

Marcus Terentius Varro introduced this method in the 1st century BC. Each year of this system of dating began on Founder's Day, which was April 21. It was rarely used in either the Roman or the Julian calendar. The predominant method of recording the date of events in those days was simply to name the two consuls that held office in a particular year.

But later around AD 400, this AUC system was used by the Iberian historian, Orosius. Then around AD 600, Pope Boniface IV also used it, in addition to the Anno Domini era (he reckoned AD 607 at AUC 1360).

Putting it All Together
We know that Dionysius Exiguus reckoned Christ’s birth to have occurred in 754 AUC, making it equal to AD 1. However, as I already mentioned, Christ was born during the time of Herod the Great, who certainly died in 749 or 750 AUC. Therefore, we can prove that Christ's birth actually occurred no later than 750 AUC. Because of this mistake regarding the date of Christ's birth, our calendar is off by about four years. In other words, if Christ was born as late as 750 AUC, that would place the Nativity shortly before the year 4 BC. That means that if the current year is 2015, then it is actually 2019 or so.

Now consider the six millenniums and how the early church believed that the seventh millennium would usher in the day of the Lord. In 1658 an Anglican archbishop named James Ussher, who lived in what is now Northern Ireland, calculated the chronology of the Old Testament. He reckoned the creation of Adam to have been in 4004 BC-- exactly 4,000 years before the birth of Christ. This means the 6,000-year mark was reached in 1997. Everything after that is part of the seventh millennium since Adam. If you believe as the early Christians did that the seventh millennium will usher in the day of the Lord, then for those who are serving Jesus Christ, these are exciting days that we live in.

In John’s epistle, written during the first century, he said it was the last hour when he wrote: “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.” (1Jo 2:18). So the last days really began during the first century AD. And if we were in the last hour then, we know for certain that we are now in the final minute before Christ’s return.

Finally, the signs of the times indicate very clearly that we are very close to the return of our Lord Jesus. As Jesus told us to do, "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luk 21:28). It's later than you think!!

Update: This article was originally posted December 26, 2010 and on July 31, 2018, I made a new discovery that corroborated my conclusion in this article. I happened to see Sid Roth's interview with Roy Reinhold, in which he explained how hidden Bible codes reveal the future. I highly recommend watching it! It was so amazing to me that I went to his website and found his five-part article on the Birth of Yeshua (Jesus), which he published on February 1, 2001. I was even more amazed to find that through his research into Bible codes, he discovered that the Lord Jesus was born in the Jewish year 3759, which is the fall of 3 BC. I'd say that is amazingly close, considering my article had not been published yet when his was written, and I did not even know about his article when I wrote mine. I was off by only 2 years with respect to the year of his birth.

Here are the links to the five-part article by Roy Reinhold:

Exact Date Of Yeshua's Birth, part 1
Bible Code Matrix of Yeshua's Birth, part 2
Angelic Announcement to Mary & Yeshua's Conception, part 3
Brit Milah at the Temple on the 8th Day, part 4
Other Scholarship Proving the Exact Date of Birth of Yeshua (Jesus), part 5

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I also recommend reading On What Day Was Jesus Born?, Miraculous Birth of Jesus, and The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, as well as the other articles on the Home Page of this blog. You can also find my complete collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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On What Day Was Jesus Born?

While reading God's Word a couple days ago on December 24th, I came across the verse in Luke 1 that said the angel Gabriel came to Mary in the sixth month of the pregnancy of her cousin Elizabeth, who was expecting John the Baptist. I wanted to learn more about when Jesus was born. So I went online and found a very good article that explains when John the Baptist was conceived and born.

Since Jesus was conceived six months after John, we know when He was born. It is most probable that Jesus was conceived on the Feast of Lights, which is celebrated on the 25th day of the Jewish month known as Kislev (this occurs during the November-December timeframe). So Jesus was most likely born on the feast of Tabernacles on the 15th day of the month of Tishri (this occurs in the September-October timeframe).

On this holiday, all the Jewish people would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem from far away. Since Bethlehem was only 5 miles from Jerusalem, it’s reasonable to expect that all the inns in Jerusalem and Bethlehem would be full of visiting pilgrims attending the feast. This would explain why there was no room for Joseph and Mary in the inn and why she had to give birth to Jesus in a stable.

There is no place in Scripture where we are told explicitly, exactly what day Jesus was born on. And there is no place in Scripture where we are told to celebrate His birthday. Neither do we find any Scriptural record of the early Church celebrating His birthday. In fact, the date when the world celebrates Christmas is closer to the time when Jesus was conceived, rather than the time He was born.

We know that the Jewish Feasts are types of Christ, and that Jesus was sacrificed as the paschal Lamb on the Jewish Passover feast. This is explicitly stated in Scripture. And it was no mere coincidence, but rather a fulfillment of the feast, in which a lamb was sacrificed and its blood upon the homes of God's people protected their first born children from the death angel who was passing over.

Likewise, it is reasonable to expect that Jesus was also conceived and born on Jewish feasts, as well. If He was conceived on the Feast of Lights, that would be appropriate, since He is the Light of the World, who came as a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory for God's people Israel (Lk 2:32). He came like the rising sun from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death (Lk 1:79). And if He was in fact born on the Feast of Tabernacles, what a perfect time it was, since it was a time of rejoicing and celebration of deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Leviticus 23:42-43)! Jesus has come to set us free from the bondage of slavery to sin. He has provided deliverance from hell, death and the grave for all who believe in Him!!!

Update: This article was originally posted December 26, 2010, and on July 31, 2018, I made a new discovery that corroborated my conclusion in this article. I happened to see Sid Roth's interview with Roy Reinhold, in which he explained how hidden Bible codes reveal the future. I highly recommend watching it! It was so amazing to me that I went to his website and found his five-part article on the Birth of Yeshua (Jesus), which he published on February 1, 2001. I was even more amazed to find that through his research into Bible codes, he discovered that the Lord Jesus was conceived on the first day of Hannukah or the Festival of Lights, just as I stated in this article. He states, "The matrix shows that as 24 Kislev was ending and 25 Kislev beginning, marking the beginning of Hanukkah, that the power of the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and she conceived."

Then he states, "The matrix shows...1 Tishri as the exact day of Yeshua's birth." 1 Tishri is the Jewish New Year's Day called Rosh Hashana, meaning literally "head of the year." Rosh Hashana is know in English as the Feast of Trumpets, and it is marked by the blowing of the Jewish shofar, or ram's horn, to commemorate the ram that God provided to Abraham in place of Isaac. This festival corresponds with going and telling the world that Yeshua Himself has become that ram and ultimately died in our place.

In 3 BC, 1 Tishri was on September 11. The center of the matrix that shows the Lord's birthday says, "Holiday of the Nativity" and "Sing (or Rejoice), My people." The complete matrix has many key words in it like "Yeshua (Jesus)," "Messiah," "Wonderful," "Counselor," "Son of Man," "born," "manger," "Beit (Bethlehem)," "Lekhem (Bethlehem)," "star," "angels," "shepherds," "Miryam (Mary)," and "Yosef (Joseph)." It also contains the words "Hakodesh (Holy)," "Ruach (Spirit)," "from heaven," and "to the earth," as well as many other key words that connect it with the biblical account of the nativity of Christ.

Reinhold goes on to state "Yeshua is the second Adam, and the rabbi's have long taught that Adam's birthdate was on 1 Tishri. So it is no coincidence that the second Adam has the same exact birth date." I had surmised that the Lord was born on 15 Tishri, and although he had also expected to find the same thing, he has discovered that it was actually 1 Tishri. I'd say that is amazingly close, considering my article had not been published yet when his was written, and I did not even know about his article when I wrote mine. I was off by 14 days from his findings with respect to the day of the Lord's birth.

Finally, his discoveries of the conception and birth dates of Christ in the Bible codes not only corroborated my conclusions, but he points out that "the conception of Mary was shown to be 271 days prior to the birth date," as would be expected, based on average gestation periods. And he discovered that the Brit Milah (dedication and circumcision) at the Temple--took place on 8 Tishri just as we would expect it to, according to Jewish custom that says it must be done on the 8th day. Glory to God!

Here are the links to the five-part article by Roy Reinhold (part 2 contains the above information):

Exact Date Of Yeshua's Birth, part 1
Bible Code Matrix of Yeshua's Birth, part 2
Angelic Announcement to Mary & Yeshua's Conception, part 3
Brit Milah at the Temple on the 8th Day, part 4
Other Scholarship Proving the Exact Date of Birth of Yeshua (Jesus), part 5

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I also recommend reading In What Year Was Jesus Born?, The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ and The Son of Man, as well as the other articles on the Home Page of this blog. You can also find my complete collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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