It’s that time of year again when people start talking about when the Messiah really was born. Most theologians will agree that the December 25th date is not accurate, but there are still disagreements trying to settle on a new date. Some will argue that since the actual birth date cannot be determined, we should just leave it alone. Those that want to distance the birth from the Christmas season will still debate whether the birth happened in the spring or the fall. But does any of this matter?
I’m going to cut to the chase and answer in the negative. No, it doesn’t really matter. This is not a salvation issue. The evidence points to either spring or fall and not to Christmas, but there is no reason to break fellowship with someone if they come to a different conclusion than you. Whether or not a believer should have anything to do with Christmas is outside of the purview of this post, so you can debate that elsewhere. And since I’ve let the cat out of the bag and answered the question already, I’m going to spend the rest of the post sharing some insights that helped me come to my current belief on the matter. I reserve the right to change my position in the future as new information becomes available. In fact, I just changed my mind a few years ago on the timing of the birth. So let’s get to that first.
One of the most popular theories of when the birth took place is that it happened on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles with the child being circumcised on the 8th day, the last day of the feast. I held this belief for some time. The main reason behind this theory comes from John 1:14 where it says, “And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us,…” (YLT). Couple that with Tabernacles being the only Feast that is eight days long and circumcision being on the eighth day, and the theory just fits really nicely with something we just want to be true. Unfortunately, Sukkot (Tabernacles) is one of the Feasts that is to take place in Jerusalem. The Messiah was born in Bethlehem because the census had the Jews going to their ancestral homes to be counted. If this took place at the time of Sukkot, there would have been an uproar from the Jews such that it would have been documented somewhere. Josephus wrote a lot of information about this period, and there is no mention of a census taking place at the time of Sukkot. For that reason alone, I had to abandon this theory and find another plausible day/date.
I’ll start at the beginning and try to keep this short, which means it will be light on details. For starters, Luke records that Zechariah was a priest in the course of Abijah. That would be the eighth course, which means it would take place from sabbath to sabbath in either the ninth or tenth week from the beginning of the year and from the beginning of the seventh month. Those are the two times a year that the course of Abijah served.
For clarity, I’m going to explain that. The Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles both take place on the third week of the first and seventh months, respectively. All of the priests served during those feasts, which is why the course of Abijah is not in the eighth week. And just as this month begins on a Monday night, the first course of priests wouldn’t start their cycle until the following sabbath, which would be the fifth of the month. Five days of the first week would already be passed when the first course started, which is why the course of Abijah could be the ninth or tenth week. Moving along.
Elizabeth got pregnant after Zechariah got home, and John was born nine months later. The Messiah was born six months after that. The possible times for the Messiah’s birth would be the beginning of the first or seventh months. So let’s narrow that down.
The shepherds are used a lot in determining the date, but both spring and fall are times they would be out in the fields, so that’s no help. The biggest determining factor that settled my conclusions comes from the King’s star. I call it that because of the words of the Magi in Matthew 2:2, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw HIS STAR when it rose and have come to worship him.” I know there is a lot of speculation about what the star really could be, but what I have found really connects a lot of puzzle pieces that are especially intriguing. Have a look.
The star is nothing more than a conjunction of planets coupled with constellations that were read by the wise men of the east. I won’t even go into all the other theories because astronomy has been the source for reading the times for millennia. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” It’s as simple as that. He created the sun, moon, and stars and said, “let them be for SIGNS and for seasons, and for days and years.” (Gen. 1:14). This was a sign from God that only a few people noticed because they were the only ones reading the stars. And there were a lot of signs in one particular year, 3 BC.
I won’t go through all of them because there are a lot. I’ll just say that the King’s star was a conjunction of Jupiter (the king star) with other planets in the constellations of Leo (Judah) and Virgo (virgin). The sun is in Leo in July and August and in Virgo in August and September. The Magi probably saw the conjunction of planets in Leo indicating that the King of the Jews was to be born. The first of the seventh month that year was September 10th, when the sun was in Virgo, meaning He was born or a virgin, though the story doesn’t indicate that they saw it that way but just that the king of the Jews was born.
Now, we know that the Magi didn’t make it to Judea until the child was almost two years old, and this is where it gets really interesting. The conjunction of Jupiter and other planets appeared again in the fall of 2 BC and went in retrograde in late December, meaning that it appeared to stand still for several days.
It appears that the time of the birth is lining up with the fall rather than the spring. So let me lay everything out in order.
In 4 BC, the course of Abijah would have been the first week of the third month. Incidentally, the very next day was Shavuot (Pentecost). John the Baptizer could have been conceived on Shavuot. The Messiah was conceived approximately six months later which happens to be the time of Hannukah. John would have been born three months later around the end of the twelfth month or the beginning of the first month. Sometime before Passover anyway. Then, six months later the Messiah would have been born around the first of the seventh month, or the Feast of Trumpets. I lean heavily on this day simply because the trumpet blast on this day is to indicate the coming of something. Wouldn’t it be interesting if while the trumpets were blasting in Jerusalem, the angels would blasting their praise to God in front of the shepherds in Bethlehem. Speculation, I know, but seems to fit with the timing.
Anyway, let’s continue. The Magi arrived in Jerusalem and inquire of the birthplace and are sent to Bethlehem, where the star appears to stand still when Jupiter enters retrograde around the time of Hannukah that year. Coincidence?
Joseph is told to go to Egypt, and he waits there until he hears that Herod is dead. Originally, it was determined that Herod died in 1 BC but was later changed to 4 BC, which throws the 3 BC date for the birth and the 2 BC visit of the Magi out the window. The year was changed because of Josephus writing that Herod died after a lunar eclipse and before the Passover. However, Josephus also wrote that the lunar eclipse happened after a fast day of the Jews. The eclipse of 5 BC didn’t happen near a fast day, but an eclipse in 1 BC did. The fast on the 10th of the tenth month that year was three days before a total lunar eclipse and three months before the Passover. We don’t know when Joseph returned from Egypt, but he could have brought the family back in less than four months and could have been back in Judea in time for the Passover.
No one knows for sure when the birth took place, and it’s nothing to fight over, though it is fun to have these discussions. But if you look at the number of times that the scenario presented here has significant events coinciding with the appointed times of God, it’s uncanny. It lines up with historical and astronomical events, and nothing comes close if you move it six months to line up with a spring birth. For that reason, I celebrate the birth of the Messiah on the Feast of Trumpets!
Blow the Trumpet and proclaim His Name!!! And prepare yourselves for His second coming. It could also happen on the Feast of Trumpets, the only of God’s appointed times where no one knows the day or the hour.
Shalom!