How the angel’s announcement broke the silence of the airwaves

As Advent nears, Christmas lights are already going up around us in defiance of the darkness of the times.

Two reviews ahead of Advent, including a Hebraic offering that might just change your Christmas.

Knowledge and wisdom in an age of deception and unreality.

The Roman Governor of Jerusalem’s iconic question, “What is truth?” has probably never been more apt than it is today in the 21^st Century AD. Whether Pilate was being sarcastic or he was genuinely seeking for truth has been debated by scholars for 2,000 years. In light of the spat between the leaders of Britain and the USA over the tweeting of video clips, it would be good if all those involved paused to ponder his question.

We live in an age when technology has delivered the tools to create deception, whether by airbrushing photos or by deliberately producing deceptive videos, distorting the truth and creating fake news.

It is certainly unfortunate that the President of the United States should have retweeted video clips that had come from a doubtful source. It shows a lack of wisdom and a willingness to use material from a campaigning group to vilify millions of people who belong to a particular religion.

But it is equally foolish for the British Prime Minister to use the same medium of communication to point out the unreliability of the clips. Surely the more sensible approach would have been to make a quiet phone call. At least that way would have maintained personal relationships and not caused a rift between two friendly nations.

Knowledge AND Wisdom

The trouble with our generation is that we have enormous knowledge but we lack the wisdom in how to use it. There is good reason why Paul, writing to the church in Corinth where there was a lot of squabbling and disunity, referred to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The first two of these he linked together as ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ (1 Cor 12:8).

Celestial truth cannot be understood by the normal processes of human reason – it requires divine revelation.

There is surely a very good reason for linking these two. We can acquire an enormous fund of knowledge in our media-saturated world, where we have the whole internet at our disposal. But without the wisdom of how to use this knowledge, we can create chaos and confusion rather than promote enlightenment.

Jesus is the Light of Truth

As we enter the season of Advent it would be good to ponder on the prologue of John’s Gospel where he focuses upon the theme of light and darkness - also the theme of Hanukkah and Diwali at this time of the year. The unique feature of Advent, according to John’s teaching, is that although the light of truth came into the world at the birth of Jesus, the world did not recognise him.

John says that through the coming of Jesus, God actually came and “made his dwelling among us” – literally – “he pitched his tent among us”, as foretold by the Prophet Zechariah (2:10). But our human reason cannot cope with this. Despite all the accumulated knowledge of centuries of human development, this celestial truth cannot be understood by the normal processes of the human brain. This kind of knowledge requires wisdom that is actually a spiritual gift which can only be received through divine revelation.

God actually has to do something to our human nature to enable us to receive this wisdom, which enables us to perceive truth that goes way beyond the realm of human reason. This is what Jesus had to explain to Rabbi Nicodemus who was a devout scholar, a highly educated man and a senior academic. But his whole mindset was limited to learning on the level of human reason. Only a spiritual revelation would enable him to perceive ‘Kingdom truth’.

It was like opening the curtains in a darkened room, bringing a flood of light that shows all the things that were in the room but previously hidden by the darkness – things that you could stumble over in the dark.

The trouble with our generation is that we have enormous knowledge but we lack the wisdom in how to use it.

Deceit is Easy

In our world today, millions of people are going about stumbling over fake news, half-truths and blatant lies. They are easily deceived because they don’t know the truth that sets them free from all the duplicity, deviousness and unscrupulous machinations of the crooked generation in which we live. They are trying to see in the dark; trying to discern falsehood without having ever known truth.

It should be a salutary wake-up call to us when the leaders of the nations are found peddling fake news. How can we expect our children to discern right from wrong and to be protected from the multiple dangers of the internet and social media, if our leaders shows so little discernment?

It is small wonder that our children peddle nonsense and vilify one another over their mobile phones, sometimes with devastating effects upon their mental health.

Season of Opportunity

During this season of Advent, we have the opportunity in very practical ways to spread the true message of Christmas – the true light that has come into our dark world.

But so much depends upon our relationships with others, and how we use the tools of communication society has given us. If Donald Trump and Theresa May had only spoken to each other instead of tweeting, an embarrassing international incident could have been avoided. Surely this is a lesson to us all.

Postscript

Last week there were comments left on the editorial, speaking of the need for greater interaction between authors and readers. I warmly respond to this - we want to make this site much more open to constructive and thoughtful correspondence. Our Editorial Board are grappling with this subject and we are open to suggestions from any of our readers as to how we can improve such interaction so that we can all learn from one another in our search for the truth.

As part of this, don’t forget that we have established a secure site for such discussion, in partnership with the team at Issachar Ministries. If you would like to use this (there is a fee for joining) please contact Jacqueline at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Clifford Denton discusses the probable date of Jesus' birth, how we got to 25 December and what that means for us today.

There is no known record from early Christian writers concerning the celebration of Christmas. For example, neither of the prominent writers Tertullian (c. AD 155-220) or Irenaeus (late 3^rd Century AD) included Christmas in their lists of Christian feasts. It is therefore generally considered that the Christian festival of Christmas began being celebrated officially sometime after AD 300. In terms of the date we use now, 25 December, the first recorded celebration was in Rome in AD 336.¹

The Pagan Roots of Christmas

Many Christians are now re-thinking the practices of the faith, being concerned to return faithfully to its Hebraic roots. They are concerned that what may have begun as a genuine remembrance of the birth of Jesus (possibly in the 1^st Century AD, incorporated into the biblical Feasts of the Lord) was moved to 25 December in an attempt to Christianise the pagan Roman festival of the sun god Sol Invictus, celebrating the 'birthday of the sun'. In the English language this allows an interesting play on words, but other than that it is not difficult to see that the marrying of the two celebrations is rather fragile.

However, there can be no doubt that God has brought much blessing to families and communities, and immense opportunities to proclaim the Gospel, during the Christmas season. The birth of Jesus is recorded in Scripture and it is something to celebrate every day. Indeed, if we were able to establish the correct date for his birth then Christian ethics of love and sharing and many of the wonderful carols we sing at Christmas could transfer seamlessly to that date or season.

So let us not be too harsh in our judgment as we celebrate this Advent season once more - but let us get our focus clear. Once more we will surely know the blessing of God; yet we might also consider whether he is gradually seeking to re-focus us - and why.

Christians desiring to recover the Hebraic roots of the faith often become concerned that the remembrance of the birth of Jesus was moved to 25 December.

When Was Jesus Really Born?

When, then, was Jesus actually born? We have no clear conclusion from Scripture, but it does give us clues to develop a compelling argument that it was during the Feast of Tabernacles.

Let us begin in Luke 1:5, where we discover that Zacharias was a priest from the division of Abijah. The divisions of the priests were established by King David (1 Chron 24) who appointed 24 Levitical families in a certain order for ministering in the Temple. We discover (verse 10) that Abijah was the seventh division, which would place his priestly responsibility in the first half of the fourth month. If the counting of the Jewish year began at Passover (the beginning of the biblical year – Exodus 12:2), the fourth month after Passover would be Tammuz (around June/July).² We can then estimate when John the Baptist was conceived, i.e. after Zacharias returned home in the middle of the fourth month (Luke 1:23-24).

We know, by reading on in Luke 1, that it was after six more months that Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. All this has some approximation, but in putting the clues together there is a strong suggestion that John the Baptist would be born nine months on from the second half of Tammuz: in the middle of the first month (Nissan) of the following year. Jesus would be born six months later, in the middle of the seventh month (Tishrei, around September/October).

Bearing in mind that the Feast of Tabernacles begins on the 14^th day of the seventh month (Lev 23:34), the calculation may be exact to that date. If not exact, the strong implication is that Jesus was born (i.e. came to earth to dwell/tabernacle amongst us) during the season of the latter feasts, which includes both the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles, a feast announced with the blowing of Trumpets.

All this makes much more sense than 25 December, especially when it also brings to mind his Second Coming, which will also be announced by the blowing of a trumpet (1 Thess 4:16)!

So What?

So, what does this mean for us who are already well into another traditional Advent season? I have, for many years, been among those who have desired and encouraged a return to the biblical roots of our faith. Yet, I have also known the blessings of a traditional Western Christian Christmas, especially as a child in the 1940s and 1950s in post-World War II Britain, when family bonds were strong and when community Christmases centred on remembering the birth of Jesus.

I know that some of those who strongly promote the Jewish roots of Christianity would be quick to argue against any Christmas emphasis, but personally I am uneasy about over-reacting in this. Is our Father in Heaven, whilst increasingly warning us of the pagan roots of the celebrations around 25 December, nevertheless encouraging us to get our priorities straight rather than acting in haste? The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath!

The implication of Scripture is that Jesus was born on the Feast of Tabernacles - or at least during the season of the latter feasts.

Priorities in Our Remembering

Jesus told us to remember his death until he comes (cf. his birth), through the sharing of the bread and wine of Passover. Yet, in balance, we must also remember his birth as the Son of Man.

It could well be that he was born on the Feast of Tabernacles. Those shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem were most likely those who cared for the flocks of lambs prepared for slaughter at the Feasts. How appropriate that they were among the first to see the Lamb of God, who had come to take away the sins of the world. And if it was the time of this Feast, then it is little wonder that the inn in Bethlehem was so full of pilgrims. How differently we understand the Christmas story when taken in context.

As to the exact date, even though it is not known for sure, we are surely to understand that the Feast of Tabernacles will be fulfilled through the Second Coming of Jesus. If we divert our attentions away from this truth, we will end up unprepared for his arrival. Conversely, recalling his First Coming at the Feast of Tabernacles will help us to prepare for his Second Coming, through concentrating on the priorities of that Feast. If Passover helps us look back and remember his death, then Tabernacles helps us recall his birth and, more importantly in the context of our age, look forward to his return.

Look Up!

As we celebrate this year, let us do so whole-heartedly, as our Thought for the Week this week encourages us to do. Surely, God will still bless us as we sing carols, witness in the world and share love together in community and family. But let us not be foolish with the worldly trappings that divert us from the prime focus of the season. And let us not look down overmuch at the troubles of this world, nor concentrate our attention too exclusively on a now-empty manger.

In the coming days it is my hope that we will gradually adjust our perspective on what we call Christmas, to re-home it among the biblical Feasts of the Lord (especially in relation to Tabernacles). Perhaps our attraction to the tinsel of Christmas will fade away! But whatever happens, let us look up, for he will come back when the world least expects him. Indeed, is it now time to concentrate more on his Second Coming than on his First? Are you ready for Christmas?

Is it time to focus more on Jesus's Second Coming than on his First?

Notes

1 See Wikipedia's page on the origins of Christmas.

2 Ezra, after the Babylonian captivity, led Judah back to the biblical pattern of worship. It is a reasonable assumption that the order of the priesthood would be according to the pre-captivity order, but it is an assumption.