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Keys to the Conception, Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, The Messiah
By A. T. Rolan, 12/4/2016
On December 25, most of the Christian world celebrates what they think is the birth date of Jesus. Many of them know that He was probably not born at this time of year. Some think he was born in the spring time and some even realize that He was probably born in the fall.
Each year since at least 2004, I have given at least one presentation about the true Birthdate for Jesus, the Christ / Messiah, our Redeemer and Savior. There are several “keys” to understanding the date of Jesus birth. These include (1) the conception, and birth of John the Baptist, (2) the date for Passover, (3) the Feast of Tabernacles, (4) the Feast of Dedication, (5) the Feast of Pentecost, and (6) the date of the crucifixion of Jesus and the “sign” of Jonah. (See Attachment 1- Excel Spread Sheet)
Every time I study this issue, I learn something new as can be seen from these “keys”, some of which I had not seen before. You might say, “Who cares, the important point is that He came to save us from our sins!” I believe that through this Bible study, you will begin to see why some of the apparently insignificant “pearls” of knowledge are scattered throughout the Bible for our edification.
As stated in Isaiah, “5 In that day the Lord of hosts will be For a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty To the remnant of His people, 6 For a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, And for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. 7 But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. 8 For all tables are full of vomit and filth; No place is clean. 9 "Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little." 11 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, 12 To whom He said, "This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest," And, "This is the refreshing"; Yet they would not hear. 13 But the word of the Lord was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little," That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught. 14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men, Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem, 15 Because you have said, "We have made a covenant with death, And with Sheol we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, It will not come to us, For we have made lies our refuge, And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves." (Isaiah 28:5-15 NKJV)
Today, I would like to go through some of the “keys” to understanding what I believe is the “Truth” about the birth of Jesus. I personally believe that the reason that there is not more clarity in the Bible about His exact birthday is because God never intended for us to celebrate that day in the way that many people do today.
Just look at all the things people do this time of year, that are inconsistent with the law of God. To name a few: Many people are caught up in the commercialism of this season, expressing more "wants" and "gets" than they "give". Can you see the 10th commandment, "Thou shall not covet", being broken here? What about the lie that many teach their children about "Santa Claus", can you see the 9th commandment, "Thou shall not bear false witness" being broken too? Even commandments #6, #7, and #8 are broken more at this time of year, when partying, drinking, stealing, and violence of all kinds are increased. I am sure you agree with me that there is no Christ in all of these activities. There are some well-meaning individuals who are blind to the truth about the birth of Jesus and deceived by the devil himself , when it comes to this pagan celebration we call Christmas.
We have a very good booklet by Tom Justus, titled "The Plain Truth About Christmas", which is available on our web site, booklet # 10 at ( ) if you have not already read it, that gives a very thorough explanation of how Christmas came to be celebrated. As Tom Justus states in his booklet, "The real origin of Christmas goes back to ancient Babylon. It is bound up in the organized apostasy with which Satan has gripped a deceived world for many centuries! ".
Richard Rives, President of Wyatt Archeological Research and author of “Too Long in the Sun” recently wrote, “ The Bible tells us that at the time of the end, knowledge shall increase. Today, we really have no excuse for ignorance. Many of us have our own sources of reference such as encyclopedias or internet access. Local libraries are easily accessed in both city and rural settings. …. In reference to Christmas, the Encyclopedia Britannica relates the following:
‘The traditional customs connected with Christmas have developed from several sources as a result of the coincidence of the celebration of the birth of Christ with the pagan agricultural and solar observations at midwinter. In the Roman world the Saturnalia," which was a festival commemorating the dedication of the Temple of Saturn in Rome" was a time of merry making and exchange of gifts. December 25th was also regarded as the birth of the Iranian mystery god Mithra...’ Just a coincidence that the birthday of Christ is celebrated along with the most notable pagan gods, on the same day of the year? Not a chance! Look it up for yourself. You will find that theologians are well aware of the fact that December 25th, never had anything to do with Jesus. Will we defend our beliefs based on what they have taught us? Or will we seek the truth and apply it? Each of us has to make that decision. ”
In the interest of time, I do not plan to go into the details about the origin of Christmas which you can read for yourself. But, most biblical scholars and preachers readily admit that they know Christ was not born on December 25th. However, they claim that this day is as good as any other to celebrate the birth of Jesus, despite the fact that it was originally a pagan celebration called Saturnalia, which commemorated the birth of the sun god.
God had this to say about appropriating pagan methods of worship and trying to honor Him with them:
DEUTERONOMY 12:28 -32- “28.Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God. 29 When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 30 take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' 31 "You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. 32 Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it. (NKJV)
Few know that there is a biblical way to determine when the Messiah was actually born. We can do this by relating the conception and birth of Jesus with the conception and birth of John the Baptist. Bryan T. Huie , discusses this in an article on the web page of, “Here a Little and There a Little” ( ) and Bullinger’s, “Companion Bible”, Appendix 179, both have studied this issue.
Let's begin our scriptural detective work in the 1st chapter of Luke:
LUKE 1:5-7. 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. (NKJV)
First, we need to understand "the division of Abijah." We find in 1 Chronicles 24:1-19 that the descendants of Aaron's 24 grandsons (the sons of Eleazer and Ithamar) were divided into 24 divisions or courses for the purpose of serving at the Temple. 1 Chronicles 24:10 tells us that the 8th division of service was assigned to Abijah's descendants.
Each of these divisions served at the Temple for an eight-day period (1 Chr. 9:25). The service began and ended on the weekly Sabbath (2 Chr. 23:8). In addition to their normal service, all 24 courses served at the Temple during the three holy seasons every year. The Jewish Mishnah indicates that each course served a week during the first half of the year, the three annual festival weeks, and a week during the last half of the year, for a total of five weeks during a normal year.
A normal year on the Hebrew calendar consists of twelve lunar months of 29 or 30 days, for a total of 354 days. This is about 11 days less than a solar year (365.24 days). During a regular Jewish year (which occurs 12 times in a 19-year cycle), 51 weeks of coverage would be needed to ensure that the Temple was cared for every week throughout the year.
24 weeks (first half of the year) + 3 (festival weeks – Unleavened Bread, Pentecost or Weeks, and Tabernacles) + 24weeks (second half of the year) = 51 weeks
Between the 1st and the 9th week of the year, two of the three festival times when all 24 courses served occurred. Therefore, the course of Abijah, the 8th course, would serve its first regular week during the 9th or 10th week of the year (depending on how the Feast of Weeks fell on the calendar).
For reference, here is an annotated Jewish calendar (Attachment 2) for the period of time under consideration. ( )
With that background, now let's review the conception of John the Baptist:
LUKE 1:8-25: 8 So it was, that while he [Zacharias] was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the Temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will also go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." 18 And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years." 19 And the angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. 20 But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time." 21 And the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he lingered so long in the Temple. 22 But when he came out, he could not speak to them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the Temple, for he beckoned to them and remained speechless. 23 And so it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. 24 Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying, 25 "Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people." (NKJV)
Zacharias' wife Elizabeth would have conceived John the Baptist shortly following the week of his service at the Temple. This would have been sometime in late Sivan or early Tamuz.
Now let's switch our focus and take a look at Elizabeth's young relative, Mary:
LUKE 1:26-38: 26 Now in the sixth month [of Elizabeth's pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. 33 And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible." 38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. (NKJV)
Keys to the Birth Date of Jesus
My first interest in this topic was sparked by a study of Appendix 179 in the “Companion Bible” by Bullinger. He concluded that the key to understanding the date of Jesus’s birth is directly related to the birth of John the Baptist and I agree that it is “one” of the keys to learning this truth. But Bullinger, in appendix 179, has a flaw in his analysis related to the assumption that there is a “zero” year between BC and AD calendar dating.
After my first presentation, Curtis reminded me about a web site for "A Perpetual Jewish/Civil Calendar at (http://www.uwm.edu/~corre/index.html)”. This Calendar was placed in the Public Domain, in 1997-2004 by Alan D. Corre, Emeritus Professor of Hebrew Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwauke, WI. I would recommend that you check it out if you have access to a computer. It is a little confusing at first, since it prints out both the Jewish Calendar related to the year of creation and the Civil year based on the Gregorian Calendar. But it can be used to look at any date, present, past, or future and determine what the date was under the Jewish calendar and what day of the week it occurs on. For example, Dec. 27, 2014 , in the Jewish calendar is Tevet 5, 5775.
As you may recall, previously, I discussed the conclusions from Bullinger's Companion Bible, Appendix 179, which explains that Jesus Christ was most likely born on or about the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles and that His conception by the power of the Holy Spirit .most likely occurred 9 months, 40 weeks, or 280 days, earlier, which Bullinger concluded was on or about December 25.
From the Bible, we know that Jesus was 33.5 years old when He was crucified. By using the Calendar program developed by Prof. Coire, I confirmed that there are only two years between 25 AD and 32 AD for which the 14th of Nisan, the preparation day for Passover, occurs on a Wednesday