by Jerry Golden
If you are one who celebrates Christmas for whatever the reason, who am I to tell you any different? Your reason may be, you like it, and it makes you feel good, it's a tradition, everyone else is doing it, and it is good to set this day aside to celebrate the Birth of Christ. Plus the kids really like it and we do speak some about the Messiah. Most people reading this have brought into one or more of the above. So why should I say "HUM-BUG".
But just in case anyone is interested I thought I'd tell you about the real birth-day of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Risen Messiah). But first we should take a quick look at how this all started. And where it came from.
To begin with you will not find this holiday in the Scriptures, simply because it is not one of God's Holiday's. Bible scholars as well as serious Bible students all agree that Yeshua was not born on Christmas "Saturnalia" but that He was born during the Feast of Tabernacles, which usually falls in September. But "Christians" keep making compromises for one reason or the other, so they will not be looked on as an odd ball or a party-pooper, or to avoid being rejected by others, or some just can't stand the criticism and then who wants to be persecuted for Christ sake these days.
In brief, this all came about through a man called Constantine, who is identified as the first Pope. His father was a Roman Emperor, and when he died Constantine took his army and marched against Rome. Constantine was a worshiper of Baal the sun god, and therefore had the support of the Pagans. There was one man that stood between him and the Throne of Rome he was Maxentius. And Constantine needed to gain the support of the Christians in order to have the victory he desired. We read in history that a sign was shown Constantine of a Cross and he had it put on the shield of his army. But this was not the Cross of Yeshua that represents the crucifixion of the Messiah. It was the cross of Ankh the symbol of the sun god. But he gained the support of the Christians of that day, and gained control of the Throne. He then professed to be a Christian, then he proceeded to sprinkle his soldiers with water making them instant Christians. There was of course no repentance required, not even a profession of faith in Yeshua as Messiah.
Constantine changed all the Feast days and took out anything that was Jewish. He made himself the head of the Church, but he was then and stayed a sun worshiper until he died, he was never born again and yet was able to change the whole face of Christianity to please the Devil while himself a pagan Babylonian sun worshiper.
The date of December 25th was the celebration of the birth of the Babylonian sun god. And it was in the 5th century that the Roman Catholic Church made this date December 25th the celebration of the birth of Christ. And the Sabbath (Saturday) of God was changed to the day of the sun god to Sunday. But I won't stop here I will go a step further and teach you about the true birthday of Messiah Yeshua.
This is obviously just a short lesson on this subject, but more than enough for you to do some serious research yourself. So it is for you to decide who you will serve this day. The god of Babylon or the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob.
The Feast of Tabernacles. "Booths" -- The birth of Yeshua?
Leviticus 23: 33-44 tells us the story of the Israelites and their journey out of Egypt and the following 40 years of wondering. We can find the name Sukkot in Gen. 33:17 "And Jacob journeyed to Succoth; and built for himself a house, and made booths for the livestock, therefore the place is named Sukkot." The Hebrew word Sukkot means "hut."
The Biblical name for Sukkot is The Feast of Tabernacles. There are three times the Lord commanded the Jews to assemble in the Temple in Jerusalem. On these three Holidays they were to present offerings to the Lord. Those three are Passover, Shavuot, (Pentecost) and Sukkot. Sukkot is the third and last of the three.
But in the month of Tishri, there are three major Holidays of the Feast of the Tabernacle of the Lord, which is God,s perfect timetable. The month of Tishri falls in September or October on the Christian Calendar. They are Rosh Hoshanna, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. These three are often called the Second Advent. The First Advent we have the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Passover and First Fruits. Yeshua died on Unleavened Bread, He was buried on Passover, and He rose on First Fruits, 50 days later he sent the Holy Spirit on the Following Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost). So we see here that God is setting up a pattern for us to look for. So we need to look at the remainder of the three Feasts to see the rest of the story, (sounds like Paul Harvey) something as important as the Birth of the Messiah would surely fit into this pattern.
You can purchase books everywhere that tell you about how to celebrate this Holiday so I will stay on subject, and only touch on a couple of things you may not find in some of your books. In general there is a two-fold meaning to this celebration in Israel and throughout the world. The first being the Fall Harvest Lev. 23: that teaches it is a time of bringing in the fall harvest and Thanksgiving. Many believe as I do, that the Puritan Colonists who landed in America who were great students of the Hebrew Scriptures based the first American Thanksgiving on Sukkot.
The second is found in the command to dwell in Booths as a memory to Israel's 40 years of wondering in the wilderness. Another translation of the world Sukkot is "habitation" as we camp in booths today we need to remember that the same God is watching over us today. That He inhabits our lives with a care beyond our imagination. Sukkot is known also as "Zman Simkhatenu" (The Time of Rejoicing) the knowledge that God provided His habitation and lives with us, is certainly a time for rejoicing.
There are blessings said over the "Lulav" (palm branch), "Etrog" (citron, a fruit from Israel that looks like a large lemon) also the "Hadas" (Myrtle) and "Arava" (the youngest branch of the willow before it opens) These are called the four spices. The only reason I am spending some time on this is there is something very special here in Biblical teaching. First the Etrog, which taste sweet and has a delightful aroma, represents a person with knowledge or Torah and good deeds. The Lulav which comes from a Date Palm, a fruit that taste sweet but has no fragrance, meaning that some people have knowledge but no good deeds. The hadas is just opposite, having a nice fragrance yet no taste (good deeds without true knowledge) Arava has neither taste nor smell and speaks of the persons without knowledge or good deeds. James 2:17 sums this up by saying "Faith without works is dead."
Now lets move on to the birth of the Messiah. With the celebration of Sukkot having so many wonderful teaching in it for the Church today. You would think that the New Testament would have reference in it of Sukkot. We read in John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." It says, the Word not only was with God, but the Word was the very manifestation of God Himself.
Then we read in John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, and glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth". What the Word of God says is, "The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw His Shekinah, The Shekinah glory of the Father, only Son full of grace and Glory. But did you notice the word John used to described this event. He said "dwelt" among His people. This word dwelt come from a Greek word "skene" and the Greeks translated that from the Hebrew word "Tabernacle." What I am trying to get you to see is, John was describing the Holy Day of Sukkot, the Holy Day that celebrates the indwelling of God Himself. So the Word says: "And the Word was made flesh and Tabernacled among us..."
The celebration of December 25th as the birth of the Messiah is pagan, and comes from the Roman Empire. The early Church often "christianized" pagan days of celebration to accommodate the new converts. And December shows this very clearly. This date was an ancient feast that celebrated the return of the sun after the winter solatice. It has absolutely nothing to do with the birth of Yeshua. Believers began to say there was no real proof of the Messiah's birth date so this would do. What they didn't consider was John's description using the term "Tabernacle" or Booths or Sukkot. It is right there before us and so clear I can't understand how it has been so missed by so many who calls themselves Biblical scholars.
If the first Advent showed Yeshua's death on the cross on Unleavened Bread, buried on Passover, and resurrection of First Fruits, and the pouring out of His Holy Spirit on Shavuot (Pentecost). Do you think that God would let such an important event as the birth of His only begotten Son go unheralded?
Sukkot shows that God would dwell "Tabernacle" in the midst of His people, through the presence of the Messiah, Yeshua. There is much more evidence as well, since we know that Yeshua died on Passover and we also know His ministry lasted 33+ years we can backtrack and that puts us right at Sukkot as well. Nearly every serious Bible Theologian calculates that His birth was in the fall, that also is Sukkot.
One of the ceremonies of Sukkot is the pouring of water, and a time of prayer for water and rain in Israel. During the second Temple period a Priest would take a water pitcher down to the pool of shiloach (today called Siloam in the city of David) he would bring it back to the Temple. Crowds of people would follow him dancing and singing the Hellel, (Psalms 113-118) The highlight of this ceremony was when the Priest would pour this water at the altar of the Temple. It became known as "Simcha Bet-Ha-sho-evah" (The rejoicing of the House of Drawing Water)
The question is, why would there be so much rejoicing at this pouring of water? It has to be more than rejoicing of the future rain on Israel, as important as that might be. Because we read in Isaiah 12:3 "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation". (Salvation in Hebrew is Yeshua, the name of the Messiah) GLORY TO GOD.
It was much more than the pouring out of water at the Temple, or even for the rain. The Simcha Bet Ha-sho-evah pointed directly to the coming of the Messiah and the days of redemption when the water of the Holy Spirit would be poured out upon all Israel.
Now we can appreciate the Scripture that was recorded on one day in the Messiah,s life and that day was on a Sukkot. John 7:37-39 "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Yeshua stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spoke he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given: because Yeshua was not yet glorified.)" Think for a moment of the time and place of these words being proclaimed by Yeshua. It was Sukkot and it was the time of the pouring of the water. The crowds were filled with those who had expectation of the Messiah and the Holy Spirit He would bring. At the moment of the time of the pouring of the water the Messiah stood and made this bold proclamation. He was saying. I am the Messiah, do you truly want the living water of the spirit of God? If you truly want the Bet Ha-sho-evah, believe in me. I am the Messiah who will pour out the Holy Spirit on Israel.
Shalom, Jerry golden
Jerry Golden "REPORT"
PO Box 591
Bet Shemesh 99100 Israel
http://thegoldenreport.com
December 23, 2001
Moderator
Update:
The Feast of Tabernacles. "Booths" The birth of
Yeshua?
Leviticus 23: 33-44 tells us the story of the Israelites and their
journey out of Egypt and the following 40 years of wondering.
We can find the name Sukkot in Gen. 33:17 "And Jacob journeyed
to Succoth; and built for himself a house, and made booths for
the livestock, therefore the place is named Sukkot." The
Hebrew word Sukkot means "hut"
The Biblical name for Sukkot is "The Feast of Tabernacles".
There are three times the Lord commanded the Jews to assemble
in the Temple in Jerusalem. On these three Holidays they were
to present offerings to the Lord. Those three are Passover, Shavuot,
(Pentecost) and Sukkot. Sukkot is the third and last of the
three.
But in the month of Tishri, there are three major Holidays of
the Feast of the Tabernacle of the Lord, which is God's
perfect timetable. The month of Tishri falls in September or October
on the Christian Calendar. They are Rosh Hoshanna, Yom Kippur,
and Sukkot. These three are often called the Second Advent.
The First Advent we have the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Passover
and First Fruits. Yeshua died on Unleavened Bread, He was
buried on Passover, and He rose on First Fruits, 50 days later
he sent the Holy Spirit on the Following Feast of Shavuot
(Pentecost). So we see here that God is setting up a pattern for
us to look for. So we need to look at the remainder of the three
Feasts to see the rest of the story, (sounds like Paul Harvey)
something as important as the Birth of the Messiah would surely
fit into this pattern.
You can purchase books (Passover Hagadah's) everywhere
that tell you about how to celebrate this Holiday so I will stay
on subject, and only touch on a couple of things you may not find
in some of your books. In general there is a two-fold meaning
to this celebration in Israel and throughout the world. The first
being the Fall Harvest Lev. 23: that teaches it is a time of bringing
in the fall harvest and thanksgiving. Many believe as I do, that
the Puritan Colonists who landed in America who were great students
of the Hebrew Scriptures based the first American Thanksgiving
on Sukkot.
The second is found in the command to dwell in Booths as a memory
to Israel's 40 years of wondering in the wilderness. Another translation
of the world Sukkot is "habitation" as we camp in booths
today we need to remember that the same God is watching over us
today. That He inhabits our lives with a care beyond our imagination.
Sukkot is known also as "Zman Simkhatenu" (The Time
of Rejoicing) the knowledge that God provided His habitation
and lives with us, is certainly a time for rejoicing.
There are blessings said over the "Lulav" (palm branch),
"Etrog" (citron, a fruit from Israel that looks like
a large lemon) also the "Hadas" (Myrtle) and "Arava"
(the youngest branch of the willow before it opens) These are
called the four spices. The only reason I am spending some time
on this is there is something very special here in Biblical teaching.
First the Etrog, which taste sweet and has a delightful aroma,
represents a person with knowledge or Torah and good deeds.
The Lulav which comes from a Date Palm, a fruit that taste
sweet but has no fragrance, meaning that some people have knowledge
but no good deeds. The Hadas is just opposite, having a
nice fragrance yet no taste (good deeds without true knowledge)
Arava has neither taste nor smell and speaks of the persons
without knowledge or good deeds. James 2:17 sums this up by saying
"Faith without works is dead."
Now lets move on to the birth of the Messiah. With the celebration
of Sukkot having so many wonderful teaching in it for the Church
today. You would think that the New Testament would have reference
in it of Sukkot. We read in John 1:1 "In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
It says, the Word not only was with God, but the Word was the
very manifestation of God Himself.
Then we read in John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, and glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth".
What the Word of God says is, "The Word became a human being
and lived with us, and we saw His Sh'kinah, The Sh'kinah glory
of the Father' only Son full of grace and Glory. But did you notice
the word John used to described this event. He said "dwelt"
among His people. This word dwelt come from a Greek word "skene"
and the Greeks translated that from the Hebrew word "Tabernacle".
What I am trying to get you to see is, John was describing the
Holy Day of Sukkot, the Holy Day that celebrates the indwelling
of God Himself. So the Word says: And the Word was made flesh
and Tabernacled among us,"
The celebration of December 25th as the birth of the Messiah is
pagan, and comes from the Roman Empire. The early Church often
"christianized" pagan days of celebration to accommodate
the new converts. And December shows this very clearly. This date
was an ancient feast that celebrated the return of the sun after
the winter solstice. It has absolutely nothing to do with the
birth of Yeshua. Believers began to say there was no real proof
of the Messiah's birth date so this would do. What they didn't
consider was John's description using the term "Tabernacle"
or Booths or Sukkot. It is right there before us and so clear
I can't understand how it has been so missed by so many who calls
themselves Biblical scholars.
If the first Advent showed Yeshua's death on the cross on Unleavened
Bread, buried on Passover, and resurrection of First Fruits, and
the pouring out of His Holy Spirit on Shavuot (Pentecost). Do
you think that God would let such an important event as the birth
of His only begotten Son go unheralded?
Sukkot shows that God would dwell "Tabernacle" in the
midst of His people, through the presence of the Messiah, Yeshua.
There is much more evidence as well, since we know that Yeshua
died on Passover and we also know His ministry lasted 3 years
we can backtrack and that puts us right at Sukkot as well. Nearly
every serious Bible Theologian calculates that His birth was in
the fall, that also is Sukkot.
One of the ceremonies of Sukkot is the pouring of water, and
a time of prayer for water and rain in Israel. During the second
Temple period a Priest would take a water pitcher down to the
pool of shiloach (today called Siloam in the city of David) he
would bring it back to the Temple. Crowds of people would follow
him dancing and singing the Hellel, (Psalms 113-118) The highlight
of this ceremony was when the Priest would pour this water at
the altar of the Temple. It became known as "Simcha Bet-Ha-sho-evah"
(The rejoicing of the House of Drawing Water)
The question is, why would there be so much rejoicing at this
pouring of water? It has to be more than rejoicing of the future
rain on Israel, as important as that might be. Because we read
in Isaiah 12:3 "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water
out of the wells of salvation". (Salvation in Hebrew
is Yeshua, the name of the Messiah) GLORY TO GOD.
It was much more than the pouring out of water at the Temple,
or even for the rain. The Simcha Bet Ha-sho-evah pointed directly
to the coming of the Messiah and the days of redemption when the
water of the Holy Spirit would be poured out upon all Israel.
Now we can appreciate the Scripture that was recorded on one day
in the Messiah's life and that day was on a Sukkot. John 7:37-39
"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Yeshua stood
and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and
drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out
of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spoke
he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive:
for the Holy Ghost was not yet given: because Yeshua was not yet
glorified.) Think for a moment of the time and place of these
words being proclaimed by Yeshua. It was Sukkot and it was the
time of the pouring of the water. The crowds were filled with
those who had expectation of the Messiah and the Holy Spirit He
would bring. At the moment of the time of the pouring of the water
the Messiah stood and made this bold proclamation. He was saying.
I am the Messiah, do you truly want the living water of the spirit
of God? If you truly want the Bet Ha-sho-evah, believe in me.
I am the Messiah who will pour out the Holy Spirit on Israel.
After eight days of Sukkot we will end this celebration, and
on the 8th day our Messiah was circumcised. And from here volumes
can be written over that event.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for our son Joel, and all the
IDF soldiers, for this Ministry and your part in it.
Shalom, jerry golden
October 17, 2005.