Jidayikbûna Mesîh û Noel
Christmas time is always a good time to straighten out the distorted facts of history concerning Christ’s Birth. The Scripture declared that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). And to Him give all the prophets witness (Acts 10:43).
Thus, His Birth was foretold over seven centuries ahead by the prophet Isaiah: Isaiah 7:14 the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Again, in Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Prophecy declared where Christ was to be born – Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting..
About five centuries before Christ’s birth, the Angel Gabriel revealed to Daniel the prophet that Christ (the Messiah) would appear on earth and would be killed in exactly 69 prophetic weeks (of seven years to a week for a total of 483 years) from the date of the declaration to rebuild and restore Jerusalem from its ruins (Daniel 9:25-26). From the date of that declaration in 445 BC to the Triumphant Entry of the Lord to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday AD 30 was exactly 483 years, using the Jewish year of 360 days!
When the time came for the fulfilment, it was Angel Gabriel again that announced the Incarnation to the virgin Mary (Luke 1:26 – 38).
Bûyîna Mesîh
Luke 2:6-14 And so it was, that … the days were accomplished that she (virgin Mary) should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
The Origin of Christmas: The Scriptures do not give the exact date of the Lord’s birth, but 4 BC is the generally accepted period.
After the Nicene Council, the medieval church merged with Catholicism. Constantine then changed the pagan worship or the feast of the sun god from December 21st to December 25th and called it the birthday of the Son of God. We are told that at the time of Christ’s Birth, there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night (Luke 2:8)
The shepherds could not have had their flock in the field by night on December 25th when it is winter in Bethlehem, and was probably snowing. Historians agree that Christ was born in the month of April when all other life comes forth.
It won’t be out of place that Christ, the Prince of Life (Acts 3:15) was born around that time.
The Star of the East: Matthew 2:1-2,11 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east,
and are come to worship Him. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshiped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Matthew 2:2 and Matthew 2:9 indicate that the wise men saw the Star at two different times, first in the east; and secondly when it went before them as they journeyed from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. Matthew 2:16 implies that their first sighting of the Star had been two years earlier. The inevitable conclusion is that there was some Intelligence behind the Star of Bethlehem! It was evidently a supernatural Star. It took more than a mere star to announce the arrival of God in Christ to save the race. God Himself, in the Star of the East did it: The following Scripture sets a precedence for such an act of God: Hebrews 6:13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He swear by Himself.
As the Pillar of Fire rose from the tabernacle and went before the children of Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 13:21-22; 40:36-38), even so the Star of the East went before the wise men and guided them to the place where Christ Child lay.
The Wise Men: The term translated “wise men” by King James version in Mathew 2:1 is from the Greek word “magos”, or “magi” in Latin, a word used for the Persian learned and priestly class. Thus, ancient historians believe that the wise men came from the region of Persia (Iran). As part of their religion, they paid particular attention to the stars, and specialized in interpreting dreams and supernatural visitations. Others say that they were kings, but this has no historical proof, although the prophet Isaiah may well have referred to them saying,
Isaiah 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
They could not have been Jews because they did not seem to have an intimate knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures. For when they reached Jerusalem, they had to inquire of the temple priests where Christ the King was to be born.
Nevertheless, we may be certain that these magi of the East, to whom the Star appeared, guiding them to Bethlehem, were devout seekers of the truth.
They were typical of the great multitudes of gentiles who were to believe on Christ. For Christ was said to be a Light to lighten the Gentiles (Luke 2:32). They appeared to know that Christ was more than a man, for they worshiped Him (Matthew 2:11).
One would think that if there is any injunction at all to celebrate the Birth of Christ, celebrants would do what the wise men did i.e., acknowledge the Deity of Christ, and worship Him. But Christmas celebration is more or less a commercial activity rather than truly worshiping Christ.
For anyone to truly worship Christ, he or she must be born again, even as Christ Himself stated:
John 3:3,7 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Dear reader, if you are not born again, you can!
Have a spiritual christmas.
165 – The Birth of Christ and Christmas