Meet the Real Jesus, part 3

The Birth of Yeshua

Yeshua and December 25th have nothing in common.  The date of Christmas has confused Jews as to the validity of Yeshua's jewishness (since it's also the day of celebrating Baal, Ra, Mithra, Saturn, and various false Sun deities).  Yeshua was really born around September / October of 3BC, during the hebrew month of Tishrei.  The truth of Yeshua's birth is gloriously layered with meaning and depth as only the All Wise Creator can plan and accomplish -->
Key times in the advent of Yeshua:
Yochanan (John) was conceived after Shavout (the remembrance of HaShem giving Torah on Mt. Sinai), in the month of Sivan (which means 'season' or 'time').  The mazaroth (constellation) of this time is Te'umim / Gemini / Twins -- significant because it tells us when the two tablets were given to Moshe (Moses).  And also when Yochanan, a 'twin' of Elijah spiritually (Mat 11:7-15), would be conceived with the purpose of calling Jews to repentance, turning them back to Torah!

Yeshua was conceived around Hanukkah (the Festival of Lights, the re-'Dedication' of the 2nd Temple), in the month of Kislev (from the root kesel meaning 'hope').  John alludes to this saying, "The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world," (John 1:9)  The night sky in Kislev is marked by Kashet / Sagittarius / the Archer- HaShem taking aim.  In Jewish circles we are encouraged to direct and propel the inspiration from Hanukkah into the future to encourage our hearts through the hard winter.  What are sons?  Arrows (Ps 127:4).

Yochanan was born around Pesach (Passover).  When the seder tradition is to leave a seat at the table for the prophet Elijah, the man born with the spirit of Elijah upon him came into the world (Mat 11:7-15)!  This is during the month of Nisan (meaning 'firstfruits').  But the Biblical name of the month is Aviv, which refers to the ripening of barley, and also has the meaning of 'spring', which is related to the early harvest.  The sign of this time is that of T'leh / Aries / Ram  when the ram was sacrificed and it's blood put on the doorposts of Israelite dwellings in Egypt to purchase the firstborn.   And later to mark the time when Yeshua would die as the Ram of God!

Yeshua is born in Tishrei (the Beginning), and likely during Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles according to nazarite tradition.  And so John was speaking with depth when he declared "the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us," (John 1:14).  Moznaim / Libra / Scales are in the night sky to remind us that this is the month of judgement, the beginning of mankind (as Adam was born on the 1st of Tishrei) If Yeshua was born on the 15th of Tishrei, the first of the seven days of Sukkot, then at last Shmini Atzeret (the eighth day completion after Sukkot, which has no explanation in Torah) finally makes sense!  In the context of Lev 23, the eighth day has no remembrance, but Yeshua was circumcised according to Torah on the eighth day (Luk 2:21).


How we know:

According to Luke 1:5, Zechariah served in the Temple in the division of Abijah.  This gives us a timeline for the birth of Yochanan (John the Immerser), and Yeshua as well.  Each of the 24 priestly divisions served an eight day period twice a year (1 Chr 24; 1 Chr 9:25).  In addition, all the divisions would serve in the weeks of the 3 pilgrim festivals (Deut 16:16).   The times for Abijah, the 8th Division, were in Sivan and Tammuz (hebrew calendar).  The feast of Shavout typically lands next to the 8th Divisions ministry in Sivan, so Zechariah would have been in Jerusalem for the first two weeks of Sivan.  And the result of this would be that after Zechariah's time at the Temple, he would have returned to his wife and consummated the promise of the angel in the last two weeks of Sivan (Lk 1:23). 

Luke 1:26; 36 tells us that Miriam (Mary) conceived Yeshua in Elizabeth's sixth month.  Counting six months from the later half of Sivan, we come to the final week's of Kislev, the season of Hanukkah.  Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the Temple in 165 BC, and mirrors in many ways the eight day celebration of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) and Shmini Azteret (the eighth day after Sukkot).

Continuing on in the counting of 40 weeks from the conception of Yochanan, we discover his birth would have been around Pesach (Passover)!  And six months later Yeshua was born around the festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles)!

Sign of the STAR:

First of all we understand the year of Yeshua's birth to be 3 or 2 BC from ancient sources.  They used a different calendar that we do, but linking dates and tracking back from a dozen ancient accounts becomes pretty accurate.  Who were those ancient accounts from? Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Africanus, Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus of Thebes, Origen, Eusebius, Epiphanius, Cassiodorus, Orosius and others.  So, what happened in the heavens in those years that might be the star that the magi saw?

In Matthew 2 we find magi, students of the heavens (Daniel was one in Babylon, by the way), have come to Jerusalem to find the newborn king. They saw something in the heavens which told them the prophesied King was born.  What was it?

On the first of Tishrei (during September of 3 BC on the gregorian calendar) they observed the planet Jupiter (known as 'the King's Planet') approach a conjunction with the star Regulus (the 'King's Star'.. Rex means 'king', the Chaldeans called it 'Sharu' which also means 'king').  Jupiter, being a planet in orbit, sometimes enters a strange motion when viewed from earth (which is also moving).  It seems to move backward (because we're moving).  This is called retrograde motion.  Jupiter's retrograde motion caused the King's Planet to circle the King's Star as if to coronet a King.  And it began on the day that the ancients coroneted earthly kings- the 1st of Tishrei!  Now understand this:  Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation of Ari / Leo / the Lion.  So then Yeshua, son of David, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, was born when the King's Planet entered conjunction with the King's Star in the sign of the Lion!

Jupiter ends up doing a triple pass, a triple conjunction of Regulus over the following months and 'led the way' to Bethlehem.  There's a lot more to that bit of astronomy.  I'll refer you to Bethlehem Star for a more detailed explanation.  Want to see what the ancient Magi saw?  A lot of planetariums will show this phenomenon from time to time, the convergence of Jupiter with Regulus in 3 BC.  But to really see and understand the months that made the Magi so excited, you'll need to set your viewpoint in ancient Babylon and Jerusalem to watch the unusual progression that lasted more than a year.  What's great about living in our day is that you can do just that with $50 software called Starry Night.