WATCHING YESHUA’S BIRTH BY NIGHT
One thing Yahweh did for us was to establish the natural, earthly, fleshly, Israelitish kingship of Yeshua through both of His parents, Joseph, His adoptive dad, and Mary, His natural birth mother. Both Joseph and Mary were heirs to the throne of Israel, being descended directly from King David! Matthew 1 describes Mary’s ancestry. Matthew 1:16 tells us, “And Jacob begot Joseph the husband [the Hebrew Matthew states father] of Mary, of whom was born Yeshua who is called Messiah.” Mary’s dad’s name was Joseph and she just happened to also marry a Joseph. Mary was one of the 14 generations spoken of in verse 17, “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Messiah are fourteen generations.” Without Mary being the 14th generation, there would only be 13 generations in the list, thus breaking Scripture. The truth of the Hebrew Matthew is borne out in comparing the father of the Joseph mentioned in Matthew 1 (Mary’s dad) with the father of Joseph in Luke 3 (Joseph’s dad). In Luke 3, Joseph’s father is identified as Heli, and in Matthew 1, that Joseph’s father is identified as Jacob. Therefore, Yeshua’s maternal grandfather was Joseph, father of His birth mother Mary, and His paternal grandfather was Heli, father of His adoptive dad, Joseph. In Luke 3 we find Joseph’s ancestry listed all the way back to Yahweh Himself as the Father of Adam!! Notice that in both lineages, Joseph and Mary each descend from the Patriarch Judah and from King David! Through Mary, Yeshua inherited David’s kingship naturally, unblemished by the cursed blood of Joseph. And through Joseph, Yeshua inherited David’s birthright legally, by adoption!! To see the generations more clearly in chart form, ask me for my 14 generations spreadsheet.
Now forward to the actual birth of Yeshua in Luke 2:8-12, “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And behold, an angel of Yahweh stood before them, and the glory of Yahweh shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Messiah the Master. 12And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.””
The only time shepherds would keep watch over their flocks at night would be during the lambing season, which is in the spring of the year in Israel, occuring from early to mid-March. For instance, Nisan 1, 3 BCE was on March 15 that year. The shepherds would watch their pregnant ewes 24/7 in case they needed assistance in the birth process. Notice the shepherds received a sign to identify baby Yeshua to them.
Exodus 12:1-6, “Now Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2“This month [Nisan or Abib] shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.”
In order to select a one year old male lamb for your Passover meal, the lamb must have been born about ONE YEAR AGO IN THE SPRING! And remember, Yeshua is the ultimate LAMB OF YAHWEH!
Matthew 2:1-2; 7, “Now after Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” . . . 7Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.”
For one thing, King Herod was still alive when Yeshua was born, as seen in the verses above. King Herod has been “proven” to have died in 4 BCE and in 1 BCE. Take your pick. 1 BCE fits the Scriptures better, because even I have “proven” that Yeshua was crucified in 30 CE. Messiah’s birth in 6 BCE would be too early and His birth in 1 BCE or later would be too late.
The wise men came in fulfillment of Isaiah 60. It is very possible that the wise men brought the wealth of Daniel back to his King! You can be sure they were well aware of Daniel’s prophecy in 9:24-27. The wise men had seen an astronomical sight (astrological sign to them) in the heavens over Babylon within the last couple years, to cause them to come looking for the new Jewish King. Matthew 2:16, “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.”
John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The words dwelt among us means Yeshua came to tabernacle with us at His incarnation.
Exodus 40:1-2, 17, “Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying: 2“On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. . . 17And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.”
The fact that Moses set up the Tabernacle on Nisan 1 is a good indicator that Yeshua may have been born on Nisan 1!! Get the picture, Yeshua, the Lamb of Yahweh, comes to tabernacle with His creation during the season when lambs are being born in Israel, possibly right on Nisan 1.
Luke 1:5, “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah.”
The division of the Hebrew priests known as Abijah served twice a year in the Temple, as did each of the 24 divisions, or courses. Abijah was the 8th course of King David’s division of the priests. Since we know from the shepherds in the fields watching their flock by night, we are dealing with the springtime when Yeshua was born. Let’s assume that John the Baptist was conceived shortly after Zacharias’ division of Abijah went home after his springtime service in the Temple, sometime around the end of the second month, Iyar, or beginning of the third month, Sivan. Since Yeshua was six months younger than John the Baptist, Yeshua would then have been conceived around Kislev 25, or on Chanukah, as the light of the world! Then Yeshua would have been born about nine months later around Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets!
I have believed for a couple years now that Yeshua was born on the Feast of Trumpets, the day the Kings of Israel were proclaimed before the people. Dr. Ernest Martin pretty much “proved” a Tishri 1 birth date for Yeshua, with his Star of Bethlehem research. But this is inconsistent with the shepherds watching their ewes lambing at night in the springtime!! Remember also, that Yeshua Himself told us that it was not time for Him to be the King of Israel. That was not His mission at the JESUS ADVENT 1.0. So a Tishri 1 birthdate does not fit with His first mission to earth, but a Nisan 1 date does. And notice in the birth of Messiah Scriptures, there is not one mention of a single trumpet blast, not even when the angels appeared to the shepherds! What we do know is that when Yeshua returns to earth on or near a future Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets, there will be plenty of trumpets blowing as we coronate Yeshua as our King forevermore!
So, it appears we have a problem with our assumption as to when John the Baptist was conceived. Therefore, let’s move our assumption forward six months to when Zacharias served a second time that year, in the fall, towards the end of the eighth month. See Luke 1:8-9, “So it was, that while he [Zacharias] was serving as priest before Yahweh in the order of his division, 9according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of Yahweh.” Then John the Baptist would have been conceived after the end of the eighth month, Chesvan, because the Abijah course served in the last week of the eighth month. John the Baptist was then conceived sometime in the ninth or tenth month. Then Yeshua would have been conceived by the Holy Spirit about six months later at the beginning of the third month, Sivan, of the next year, maybe right on the Feast of Shavuot, or Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit may have set a pattern for coming to earth, or possibly even at the beginning of the fourth month!! If Yeshua was conceived in the third month on Shavuot, then He would have been born nine months later in the twelfth month of Adar, or if the Holy Spirit held Him in the womb until the perfect moment, right at the beginning of the new year on Nisan 1!!!! Yeshua was the beginning of our New Covenant, born as the perfect Lamb of Yahweh, at the perfect moment in time, according to Yahweh’s calendar. And what was it John the Baptist said when He introduced Yeshua 30 years later in John 1:29 and 36, “Behold the Lamb of Yahweh!” He stated this twice over two days so we would get the connection! Think about that. John the Baptist and Jesus grew up together. It is very possible that John had been calling Jesus the Lamb of Yahweh since the moment he first learned to talk!! Could the date of Yeshua’s birth have had something to do with that?
Doesn’t it just make more sense that the Son of Yahweh, the Son of man, Yeshua, would be carried to term to the end of the last year of the Old Covenant and be born on Nisan 1, to begin a new year and a New Covenant as the sacrificial Lamb of Yahweh? We have a covenant of newness, Yeshua is new every morning!
Blessings,
Gene Benjamin II November 17, 2012 CE
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