not mine, I meet these fine folks, and found it on their website.
https://sites.google.com/a/philandpatti.com/www02/
they support/visit missionaries in Isreal, so they often have an insight that we do not, like an "Inn" at that time would have been a room in a family members house, and to say there was "no room at the Inn" could have meant the family members would not let them in, since she was heavy with child, and they were not married.
you can download it in WORD here, and it is much easier to read, this forum did not keep the italics:
Jesus and the Feast of Tabernacles
Much of the world celebrates the birth of Jesus on the 25th of December. Why? Is this the actual day of Jesus' birth? How do we know when to honor His birth? Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly when Jesus was born, but there are some clues, some puzzle pieces that we can put together that will give a better picture. Some of these puzzle pieces are found in the Bible and some are found in historical records and documentation.
God includes some of the puzzle pieces by giving us a few seemingly insignificant times and numbers. In order to place the date of Jesus’ birth, we need to first place the time of the birth of John the Baptist. We begin to put the puzzle together with a few pieces from the book of Luke and visit the priest Zechariah and his barren wife Elizabeth, a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Luke 1:5
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
Zechariah was of the Levitical division of Abijah. In the time of King David, the priests were separated into 24 turns or divisions for their appointed order of ministering. After the 24 groups of priests were established, lots were drawn to determine the sequence in which each group would serve in the temple. These turns began in the first month of the Jewish calendar, the month of Nisan.
1 Chr 24:19
This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the LORD, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their forefather Aaron, as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
The appointed order of turns for ministering rotated every week until they reached the end of the sixth month, when the cycle was repeated until the end of the year. This meant that Zechariah’s division served at the temple twice a year for their regular turn of service. They, along with all the other divisions would also be required to serve on special occasions during the three commanded festival days of the Lord. The three festival days of the Lord were Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Feast of Tabernacles.
Luke 1:8-9
Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
This account in Luke takes place when it was Zechariah’s division’s turn. There are two possible times for Zechariah’s regular time of service at the temple. The Bible does not specify which turn of service this one was. Beginning with the first month, Nisan, in the spring (March-April), the schedule of the priests’ turn of duty would result in Zechariah serving during the 10th week of the year because he was a member of the course of Abijah, the 8th course (1 Chr 24:10) and at this time both the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost would have already occurred. This places one of Zechariah’s turns in the temple beginning in the third month of the year during the month of Sivan (June). Regardless of which turn of service, Zechariah went home after his turn of service to his wife Elizabeth and she conceived. Due to laws of separation (Leviticus 12:5, 15:19, 25) two additional weeks must be counted, so most likely Elizabeth conceived John about two weeks after Zechariah’s return.
Let’s suppose Luke is recording the first turn of service which took place during the month of Sivan. Going forward nine months, this would place John’s birth in early spring,
at the time of the Jewish Passover. There are another couple of clues from Scripture that lets us know that this was Zechariah’s first turn of service. There are connections with the prophet Elijah, John, and Passover. The angel told Zechariah that John was to come “in the spirit and power of Elijah”. The Old Testament prophet Malachi tells us that God will send Elijah before the coming Messiah. (Malachi 3:1, 4:5-6) Even Jesus made the connection between John and Elijah.
Matt 17:10-13
The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?" Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
The Jews look for Elijah to return on the day of Passover. Still today, there is an empty chair and a table setting for Elijah whenever Passover is celebrated. Everything points to the birth of John the Baptist to take place at Passover.
Luke 1:10-17
And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-- to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Luke 1:23-24
When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
By the way, there were a great number of priests on duty during Zechariah’s turn so when “he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense” it was a rare high honor. No priest was allowed to serve in this capacity more than once in his lifetime. So, Zechariah had waited his entire life for this opportunity. Coincidence???
Placing the conception of John shortly after Zechariah returns from his temple service sometime in June (modern calendar) , let’s go forward six months to the month of December (modern calendar).
Luke records that Elizabeth was six months pregnant when the angel Gabriel visited Mary.
Luke 1:26-31
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
Luke 1:36
Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
The beginning of Elizabeth’s sixth month would have been in December during the celebration of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Dedication and the Festival of Lights. The conception of Jesus (the light of the world – John 8:12) would have taken place during Hanukkah. Incidentally, it was the custom in ancient Israel to count the years of one's age from the date of conception - in other words, when a child is born he is one year old until his first birthday (this is still a practice in some oriental cultures today). So Jesus’ conception, not His birth occurred in mid December.
************************************************************************
If Jesus’ conception occurred in mid December, then Jesus would have been born nine months later during the Jewish month of Tishri. This month corresponds with our month of September. However, this year 2008 is a Jewish leap year (occurs every seven years) in which there is an additional month. So this year the month of Tishri corresponds with our month of October. Is there documentation that Jesus was born during this time of year? Again we go to Scripture for additional puzzle pieces. This one is from Luke.
Luke 2:8
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
At the time that Jesus was born there were shepherds living in the fields. Shepherds lived in the open country during the months from spring until the rainy season, which began most often in early October. This would not have been mid December. There would have been no grass for the sheep to eat. It would have been sometime before the rainy season.
Earlier we established that John the Baptist was born during the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover) one of three main festival days of the Lord. We have established the month of Jesus’ conception as mid December which places His birth in mid September. Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated in the seventh month, the month of Tishri, corresponding with our months of September or October (according to whether or not it is leap year). Is there reason to believe that Jesus may have been born during the Feast of Tabernacles?
John gives us a piece of the puzzle.
John 1:14a
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
The “Word” is Jesus who was born a baby. He made His dwelling among us. The Greek word “dwelling” means “to encamp, to make a temporary residence, to tabernacle”
Jesus came to earth as a baby to “tabernacle” among us, to take up temporary residence with us.
The Feast of Tabernacles is an eight day festival. If Jesus was born on the first day of the feast, then he would have been circumcised on the eighth day of the feast.
Luke 2:21
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
So we can place the date of Jesus’ birth during the Feast of Tabernacles. Can we know the year? We again return to Scripture for that piece of the puzzle.
Matthew gives us the piece of that puzzle. After Jesus was born, Joseph was warned in a dream to take Jesus and His mother to Egypt until the death of Herod.
Matt 2:14-15
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled
Jesus was born while Herod was in power. Matthew tells us that wise men from the east appeared in Jerusalem and inquired of Herod concerning the birth of the “king of the Jews”. The possibility of another “king” in the midst angered Herod so much that he ordered the deaths of all baby boys aged two years and younger. Of course Joseph by this time had already taken Jesus safely to Egypt.
According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, Herod died in the spring of 4 B.C. This means that Jesus was born before 4 B.C. at least one to two years before, either 5 B.C or 6 B.C. A date of 5 B.C. fits with other Biblical data. Jesus was “about” 30 when He began His official teaching mission. (Luke 3:23). We know that Jesus was baptized in or around 27 AD based on the scripture account in Luke 3:1
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar-- when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene--
We say in or around 27 AD because Tiberius Caesar ruled prior to his “official” rule that began in 14 AD. Scripture tells us that Jesus started His ministry when He was about 30 years of age. We do not know for certain that He was baptized at the very beginning of His ministry. As a cross reference for date finding, we add three years to the date of 27 AD and arrive at 30 AD as the date of Jesus’ crucifixion. In looking at the Hebrew calendar we discover that all the Biblical days of Holy week exactly match the Hebrew calendar year 3790 (30 AD). None of the years immediately before or after 30 AD match the Biblical timeline. It is established by Biblical truth with calendar and scientific cross references. So the birth year of 5 B.C. fits with the date of crucifixion in 30 A.D.
We have placed the birth of Jesus during the Feast of Tabernacles in 5 B.C., using several Biblical and historical references. As a “cherry on the top”, ponder this.
Many times in Scripture darkness is associated with evil and Satan as the ruler of the darkness or the night. In Genesis 1:16a we read,
“God made two great lights-- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light (the moon) to govern the night”.
What better way to illustrate that the birth of Jesus overshadowed the ruler of the night, than with a lunar eclipse? In 5 B.C. on September 15 in the nation of Israel there was a total lunar eclipse. September 15 of that year just “happened” to fall on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles! Coincidence???
************************************************************************
The birth of Jesus took place during the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall of the year and not on the traditional date of December 25. The Feast of Tabernacles was one of three great annual feasts of the Hebrew people: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
Each of these days listed in the Old Testament have the prophetic fulfillment in the New Testament beginning with the coming of the Messiah associated with the Feast of Tabernacles.
Col 2:17
These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Matt 5:17
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
When He came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem, Jesus fulfilled the Feast of Tabernacles. When Jesus suffered and died for our sins, He fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Passover, and the Day of Atonement. When He ascended into heaven and presented Himself to God, the Father, He fulfilled the Feast of First Fruits. When He sent the Holy Spirit He fulfilled Pentecost. In all the feasts and festivals the people of Israel remembered their past and renewed their faith in the Lord who created and sustained them. Should we as Christians celebrate these Holy Days today?
One thing we have learned in our study of God’s Word is that He makes things perfectly clear! We especially like how He has described life in the Millennium when it comes to honoring the festivals and feast days, His Holy Days.
While the people in the Millennium will celebrate all the appointed feasts, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Passover are specifically named.
Zechariah 14:16-17
Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain.
Deuteronomy 31:10-13
Then Moses commanded them: "At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. Assemble the people-- men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns-- so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."
(See also Nehemiah 8:14-18)
If honoring and celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles is required during the Millennium, shouldn’t we honor it today?
It is important for us as Christians to honor these Holy Days today, not in the way that was done before the Messiah came, but to honor Jesus as the fulfillment of those days. Part of honoring Him is to also remember our past as the people of Israel remembered their past. We have additional things to remember on this side of the cross. We remember Jesus’ birth, death, resurrection, and our salvation through Him.
Who we honor is far more important than when we honor Him. We praise Him that He came to “tabernacle” among us and He was and is "God with us."
Matt 1:23
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-- which means, "God with us."
https://sites.google.com/a/philandpatti.com/www02/
they support/visit missionaries in Isreal, so they often have an insight that we do not, like an "Inn" at that time would have been a room in a family members house, and to say there was "no room at the Inn" could have meant the family members would not let them in, since she was heavy with child, and they were not married.
you can download it in WORD here, and it is much easier to read, this forum did not keep the italics:
Jesus and the Feast of Tabernacles
Much of the world celebrates the birth of Jesus on the 25th of December. Why? Is this the actual day of Jesus' birth? How do we know when to honor His birth? Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly when Jesus was born, but there are some clues, some puzzle pieces that we can put together that will give a better picture. Some of these puzzle pieces are found in the Bible and some are found in historical records and documentation.
God includes some of the puzzle pieces by giving us a few seemingly insignificant times and numbers. In order to place the date of Jesus’ birth, we need to first place the time of the birth of John the Baptist. We begin to put the puzzle together with a few pieces from the book of Luke and visit the priest Zechariah and his barren wife Elizabeth, a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Luke 1:5
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
Zechariah was of the Levitical division of Abijah. In the time of King David, the priests were separated into 24 turns or divisions for their appointed order of ministering. After the 24 groups of priests were established, lots were drawn to determine the sequence in which each group would serve in the temple. These turns began in the first month of the Jewish calendar, the month of Nisan.
1 Chr 24:19
This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the temple of the LORD, according to the regulations prescribed for them by their forefather Aaron, as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded him.
The appointed order of turns for ministering rotated every week until they reached the end of the sixth month, when the cycle was repeated until the end of the year. This meant that Zechariah’s division served at the temple twice a year for their regular turn of service. They, along with all the other divisions would also be required to serve on special occasions during the three commanded festival days of the Lord. The three festival days of the Lord were Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Feast of Tabernacles.
Luke 1:8-9
Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
This account in Luke takes place when it was Zechariah’s division’s turn. There are two possible times for Zechariah’s regular time of service at the temple. The Bible does not specify which turn of service this one was. Beginning with the first month, Nisan, in the spring (March-April), the schedule of the priests’ turn of duty would result in Zechariah serving during the 10th week of the year because he was a member of the course of Abijah, the 8th course (1 Chr 24:10) and at this time both the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost would have already occurred. This places one of Zechariah’s turns in the temple beginning in the third month of the year during the month of Sivan (June). Regardless of which turn of service, Zechariah went home after his turn of service to his wife Elizabeth and she conceived. Due to laws of separation (Leviticus 12:5, 15:19, 25) two additional weeks must be counted, so most likely Elizabeth conceived John about two weeks after Zechariah’s return.
Let’s suppose Luke is recording the first turn of service which took place during the month of Sivan. Going forward nine months, this would place John’s birth in early spring,
at the time of the Jewish Passover. There are another couple of clues from Scripture that lets us know that this was Zechariah’s first turn of service. There are connections with the prophet Elijah, John, and Passover. The angel told Zechariah that John was to come “in the spirit and power of Elijah”. The Old Testament prophet Malachi tells us that God will send Elijah before the coming Messiah. (Malachi 3:1, 4:5-6) Even Jesus made the connection between John and Elijah.
Matt 17:10-13
The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?" Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
The Jews look for Elijah to return on the day of Passover. Still today, there is an empty chair and a table setting for Elijah whenever Passover is celebrated. Everything points to the birth of John the Baptist to take place at Passover.
Luke 1:10-17
And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous-- to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Luke 1:23-24
When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
By the way, there were a great number of priests on duty during Zechariah’s turn so when “he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense” it was a rare high honor. No priest was allowed to serve in this capacity more than once in his lifetime. So, Zechariah had waited his entire life for this opportunity. Coincidence???
Placing the conception of John shortly after Zechariah returns from his temple service sometime in June (modern calendar) , let’s go forward six months to the month of December (modern calendar).
Luke records that Elizabeth was six months pregnant when the angel Gabriel visited Mary.
Luke 1:26-31
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
Luke 1:36
Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
The beginning of Elizabeth’s sixth month would have been in December during the celebration of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Dedication and the Festival of Lights. The conception of Jesus (the light of the world – John 8:12) would have taken place during Hanukkah. Incidentally, it was the custom in ancient Israel to count the years of one's age from the date of conception - in other words, when a child is born he is one year old until his first birthday (this is still a practice in some oriental cultures today). So Jesus’ conception, not His birth occurred in mid December.
************************************************************************
If Jesus’ conception occurred in mid December, then Jesus would have been born nine months later during the Jewish month of Tishri. This month corresponds with our month of September. However, this year 2008 is a Jewish leap year (occurs every seven years) in which there is an additional month. So this year the month of Tishri corresponds with our month of October. Is there documentation that Jesus was born during this time of year? Again we go to Scripture for additional puzzle pieces. This one is from Luke.
Luke 2:8
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
At the time that Jesus was born there were shepherds living in the fields. Shepherds lived in the open country during the months from spring until the rainy season, which began most often in early October. This would not have been mid December. There would have been no grass for the sheep to eat. It would have been sometime before the rainy season.
Earlier we established that John the Baptist was born during the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover) one of three main festival days of the Lord. We have established the month of Jesus’ conception as mid December which places His birth in mid September. Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated in the seventh month, the month of Tishri, corresponding with our months of September or October (according to whether or not it is leap year). Is there reason to believe that Jesus may have been born during the Feast of Tabernacles?
John gives us a piece of the puzzle.
John 1:14a
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
The “Word” is Jesus who was born a baby. He made His dwelling among us. The Greek word “dwelling” means “to encamp, to make a temporary residence, to tabernacle”
Jesus came to earth as a baby to “tabernacle” among us, to take up temporary residence with us.
The Feast of Tabernacles is an eight day festival. If Jesus was born on the first day of the feast, then he would have been circumcised on the eighth day of the feast.
Luke 2:21
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
So we can place the date of Jesus’ birth during the Feast of Tabernacles. Can we know the year? We again return to Scripture for that piece of the puzzle.
Matthew gives us the piece of that puzzle. After Jesus was born, Joseph was warned in a dream to take Jesus and His mother to Egypt until the death of Herod.
Matt 2:14-15
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled
Jesus was born while Herod was in power. Matthew tells us that wise men from the east appeared in Jerusalem and inquired of Herod concerning the birth of the “king of the Jews”. The possibility of another “king” in the midst angered Herod so much that he ordered the deaths of all baby boys aged two years and younger. Of course Joseph by this time had already taken Jesus safely to Egypt.
According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, Herod died in the spring of 4 B.C. This means that Jesus was born before 4 B.C. at least one to two years before, either 5 B.C or 6 B.C. A date of 5 B.C. fits with other Biblical data. Jesus was “about” 30 when He began His official teaching mission. (Luke 3:23). We know that Jesus was baptized in or around 27 AD based on the scripture account in Luke 3:1
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar-- when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene--
We say in or around 27 AD because Tiberius Caesar ruled prior to his “official” rule that began in 14 AD. Scripture tells us that Jesus started His ministry when He was about 30 years of age. We do not know for certain that He was baptized at the very beginning of His ministry. As a cross reference for date finding, we add three years to the date of 27 AD and arrive at 30 AD as the date of Jesus’ crucifixion. In looking at the Hebrew calendar we discover that all the Biblical days of Holy week exactly match the Hebrew calendar year 3790 (30 AD). None of the years immediately before or after 30 AD match the Biblical timeline. It is established by Biblical truth with calendar and scientific cross references. So the birth year of 5 B.C. fits with the date of crucifixion in 30 A.D.
We have placed the birth of Jesus during the Feast of Tabernacles in 5 B.C., using several Biblical and historical references. As a “cherry on the top”, ponder this.
Many times in Scripture darkness is associated with evil and Satan as the ruler of the darkness or the night. In Genesis 1:16a we read,
“God made two great lights-- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light (the moon) to govern the night”.
What better way to illustrate that the birth of Jesus overshadowed the ruler of the night, than with a lunar eclipse? In 5 B.C. on September 15 in the nation of Israel there was a total lunar eclipse. September 15 of that year just “happened” to fall on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles! Coincidence???
************************************************************************
The birth of Jesus took place during the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall of the year and not on the traditional date of December 25. The Feast of Tabernacles was one of three great annual feasts of the Hebrew people: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
Each of these days listed in the Old Testament have the prophetic fulfillment in the New Testament beginning with the coming of the Messiah associated with the Feast of Tabernacles.
Col 2:17
These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Matt 5:17
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
When He came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem, Jesus fulfilled the Feast of Tabernacles. When Jesus suffered and died for our sins, He fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Passover, and the Day of Atonement. When He ascended into heaven and presented Himself to God, the Father, He fulfilled the Feast of First Fruits. When He sent the Holy Spirit He fulfilled Pentecost. In all the feasts and festivals the people of Israel remembered their past and renewed their faith in the Lord who created and sustained them. Should we as Christians celebrate these Holy Days today?
One thing we have learned in our study of God’s Word is that He makes things perfectly clear! We especially like how He has described life in the Millennium when it comes to honoring the festivals and feast days, His Holy Days.
While the people in the Millennium will celebrate all the appointed feasts, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Passover are specifically named.
Zechariah 14:16-17
Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain.
Deuteronomy 31:10-13
Then Moses commanded them: "At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. Assemble the people-- men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns-- so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."
(See also Nehemiah 8:14-18)
If honoring and celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles is required during the Millennium, shouldn’t we honor it today?
It is important for us as Christians to honor these Holy Days today, not in the way that was done before the Messiah came, but to honor Jesus as the fulfillment of those days. Part of honoring Him is to also remember our past as the people of Israel remembered their past. We have additional things to remember on this side of the cross. We remember Jesus’ birth, death, resurrection, and our salvation through Him.
Who we honor is far more important than when we honor Him. We praise Him that He came to “tabernacle” among us and He was and is "God with us."
Matt 1:23
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-- which means, "God with us."
