Posted on 12/24/2018 4:50:15 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
Easter is tied to the spring equinox.
Sort of.
In 325AD the Council of Nicaea established that Easter would be held on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon occurring on or after the vernal equinox.
>> Only to jam Saturnalia. <<
What possesses so many Freepers to repeat that demon-inspired nonsense, invented by Satan-worshippers and atheists? Saturnalia ended on December 17.
We don’t know for CERTAIN what day Jesus was born, but Dec 25th is the day the Spirit of God returned to the Temple of God, and Jesus said he was the Temple of God... and observed that date, himself.
We also know from the book of Ezra that the feast of Sukkot was transferred to the Feast of the Dedication. And finally, if we mark the beginning of the world as 1 Nisan, then the first date Eve could conceive would be 14 Nisan, which is, not coincidentally, the feast of the first fruits, On Good Friday, that fell on March 25. 9 months after Good Friday would be Dec 25. (Although that year, the Feast of the Dedication would have fallen on Nov. 25, but of course Jesus wasn’t born that year.)
So even if the date of Jesus’ birth were lost to history, and there’s no reason to think it was, there would be plenty of biblical basis to celebrate it on Dec. 25.
Yeah, I never understood why perihelions aren’t closer to 365.2425 days apart.
Consider Dec 25 the official birthday celebration of the Lord similar to Queen Elizabeth II celebrating her official birthday in June when she was actually born in April.
There is no Biblical marking of the exact day of Jesus birth. If it were important there would be. All men are born. That is not remarkable. All men die. Dying on Passover isn’t all that remarkable, one in every 365.241 of us will.
Coming back from the dead? With the exception of Lazarus (who couldn’t have done it without Jesus!) The Resurrection is unique, and the exact date is recorded in the Bible! That exact date marks the very day the world was saved by His sacrifice. That’s the day the new world, a world of Salvation, replaced the world of Law (that no-one could live without breaking one or more of the 613 Commandments) with accepting Christ as your personal savior, something hundreds of millions have managed. That’s when the calendar should have started.
The Bible (Luke2:8) says shepherds were tending their flocks in the field when Christ was born. That wasn’t late December.
Works for me.
Still, it’s interesting! Was it actually on 1/1/1? That would be kewl!
Ya know? It the earth’s rotation was just a wee bit slower the year would be 360 days long...
Some people say a year once was 360 days before the Flood, and that’s why a circle is 360 degrees. Food for thought; leads to some intriguing research should you care to pursue it.
Scripture tells us Jesus was 6 months younger than John the Baptist(Luke 1:26). This makes the conception of John, 15 months before the birth of Jesus (6 mos. + 9 mos.= 15 mos.)
John the Baptist’ father, Zachariah, a priest, served in the priestly “division of Abijah.” (Luke 1:5) when he burned incense in the Holy Place in the Temple—and was told by the Angel Gabriel he would have a son. From the records of the Jews at the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, we can do a reasonable estimate back to the time of Jesus’ birth of the order of the divisions of priests—and when they would of served.
There are two possible festivals when the division of Abijah would of served. One of those festivals the Division of Abijah of priests would of served, is exactly 15 months before Dec. 25.
Hence there is plausible evidence from the scripture—working with other historic documentation—that the Church got the date of Christmas right all along.
That’s what would happen now, when sheep are raised simply for meat and wool. 2,000 years ago, however, near Jerusalem a permanent heard of sheep was kept—to supply the daily sacrifices in the Temple. There’s no bionic necessity that sheep could not be out in the field on a not-too-cold night in December in Palestine at that time.
Actually 3rd C. reckonning as to the date of Jesus’ birth did look to the date of His Resurrection (and death before), as a prophet, according to Jewish tradition of the day, would die either on the anniversary of his birth or conception. The traditional date of the conception of Jesus (Dec. 25 minus 9 months)(the Annunciation) is March 25, also very close to (or on, depending on the year) Easter.
Theologians have also suggested that Jesus was born in the spring, based on the biblical narrative that shepherds were watching over their flocks in the fields on the night of Jesus’ birth — something they would have done in the spring, not the winter.
https://www.livescience.com/42976-when-was-jesus-born.html
An 100-degree circle makes sense for base 10 people like ourselves. But the base-60 Babylonians came up with 360 degrees and we cling to their ways-4,400 years later.
-—Google source
Yes, I know. And theologians have been, and are, all over the map on any number of things. We don't do history in a vacuum, or in a room full of theologians with theories about shepherding. There's NEVER been any history of celebrating Jesus' birth in the spring--even from generations less than 200 years away in history from that birth. That's strong evidence those theologians have missed.
Also, the practice of shepherding though is different in Palestine now--since the Temple is gone, and there is no need for a constant supply of fresh lambs for daily sacrifices. Modern-day shepherds (and all those since AD 70, when the Temple was destroyed) will practice shepherding differently--without that huge supply of lambs to provide to Jerusalem.
Even today, it does not go below freezing every night in Dec. near Bethlehem. Point is....it's not entirely implausible that there could of been shepherds of the huge Temple flock out in the fields by night in the Dec. of Jesus' birth.
Somebody check my math!
Good points. Thanks!
Are lambs born year round?
If not, are lambs eligible for sacrifice for a longish time after they are born? (When does a lamb, worthy of sacrifice, become too old to be worthy?)
I grew up in a secular household, but Mom never let us kids forget ‘the reason for the season’. A couple of Christmases, we kids even built our own nativity scene in the front yard.
We enjoyed and sang the religious carols right along with secular Christmas songs.
I’ve always remembered and respected that Christmas is a celebration of Christ’s birth.
As to the proper date, I’ve got no dog in that fight.
Merry Christmas, Nully!
Who is we?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.