Posted on 12/07/2017 8:36:38 AM PST by rhett october
On December 25, Christians around the world will gather to celebrate Jesus birth. Joyful carols, special liturgies, brightly wrapped gifts, festive foodsthese all characterize the feast today, at least in the northern hemisphere. But just how did the Christmas festival originate? How did December 25 come to be associated with Jesus birthday?
The Bible offers few clues: Celebrations of Jesus Nativity are not mentioned in the Gospels or Acts; the date is not given, not even the time of year. The biblical reference to shepherds tending their flocks at night when they hear the news of Jesus birth (Luke 2:8) might suggest the spring lambing season; in the cold month of December, on the other hand, sheep might well have been corralled. Yet most scholars would urge caution about extracting such a precise but incidental detail from a narrative whose focus is theological rather than calendrical.
The extrabiblical evidence from the first and second century is equally spare: There is no mention of birth celebrations in the writings of early Christian writers such as Irenaeus (c. 130200) or Tertullian (c. 160225). Origen of Alexandria (c. 165264) goes so far as to mock Roman celebrations of birth anniversaries, dismissing them as pagan practicesa strong indication that Jesus birth was not marked with similar festivities at that place and time.1 As far as we can tell, Christmas was not celebrated at all at this point.
(Excerpt) Read more at gracecentered.com ...
No, it does not but if you want it to represent the date of conception then for you it does.
It depends on your frame of reference.
Most people and societies use the Gregorian. Orthodox except for Greek Orthodox celebrate the Nativity on January 7 under the Gregorian.
Luke is the one that set the time line. He has the most credibility.
I don’t care what you say. I’m pulling out the Festivus pole this weekend, and then the Airing of Grievances and Feats of Strength will begin soon afterward.
The most important thing is Christ’s birth is remembered.
No doubt. When I was shown the scriptural timeline, I had no problem tossing the man made timeline aside. Same with the “Christmas” tree. It so thoroughly resembles the description found in Jeremiah 10:1-5.
It’s interesting that God would command his people to not learn the ways of the heathen, and then people go right out and do it anyway. Folks will use any excuse to justify the tree, even concerned that somebody’s feelings might be hurt.
Does God have feelings? Duh!
My daughter in law’s parents invited my wife and I for Thanksgiving last year. The next day they asked us to tag along while they picked out a tree. We went three places, trying to find the least “flawed” tree. The husband, knowing that we don’t bother with one, whispered to me, “y’all are lucky that you don’t have to do all this”. I just said, “Godliness with contentment is great gain”. (He had never read, or even heard of the passage in Jeremiah.)
The tree is to help people feel religious. God has already made his feelings known.
No, they celebrate it on December 25th as well. We just don't all agree what day December 25th is.
Usually Tabernacles is in September-October.
You'll notice the largest bloc is post-Pentecost--the spreading of the Gospel and the winning of souls for the Lord.
Every Christian should spend some time studying the Leviticus 23 Feast days. God starts out saying "These are My days". He uses Hebrew words saying these are dress rehearsals at appointed times. First Fruits is NOT Easter. They are as much as 2-3 weeks apart. Christmas is as much as 2 moths off. These days come from about 400 some odd AD. The church married the world instead of marrying Jesus when Constantine required everyone to be Christian. The state and religion combined. In Spiritual terms, God considers this adultery or fornication. The RCC changed the calendar, changed the Sabbath, and ditched the days God required His people to celebrate. Instead, the church observed pagan days to make the locals happy. These practices go all the way back to Nimrod and Babylon. Nimrod married his mother, Semiramis. She had a son and told everyone he was the resurrected Nimrod. She called herself the Madonna and child and the queen of Heaven.She went outside to find an evergreen tree growing out of as stump and claimed it was evidence of her husband coming back from the dead. This story, or one very close, is used in almost all early myths in idolatry. Semiramis had a daughter. Her name was Thyatira. Read about her in Revelation in the 4th letter to the churches. The Bible names a Harlot from Babylon. She is drunk with the blood of the saints. What church has killed more Christians than even the Romans and Muslims combined?
It's not too late for them. They are asked to "Come out of her" in Revelation 18:4 to avoid the punishment of the non believers. It behooves them to figure this out before the Tribulation. If they can overcome, they will join the church of Philadelphia and be Raptured on the Day of Trumpets. All the others will be left behind as the foolish virgins were to "buy and sell".
15 Tishri 3757 - Sukkot / Birth of Yeshua
September 14, -4
15 Nisan 3790 - (30 C.E.) Pesach / Crucifixion of Yeshua
Calendar converter
http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/
Shepherds do not watch over their flocks by night, in winter! Sukkot, late summer, a pilgrimage festival, three times a year all males go up to Jerusalem, that's why there was no room at the inn(s).
There were no rooms at the inns because the out of town Bethlehemites had to come back for the census.
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