True Heart of Worship
Church of God (Seventh Day) Independent
Church of God (Seventh Day) Independent
In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah (Luke 1:5 - NIV)
"King David had divided the descendants of the sons of Eleazar and Ithamar, the two sons of Aaron, into 24 groups
(courses) and set up a schedule for the priests (Kohanim) to service the Temple in an orderly manner throughout the year
(1 Chronicles 24:1-19; 28:12-13). Each course served for one week (2 Chr. 23:8, 1 Chr. 9:25), from Sabbath to Sabbath, twice
a year. A normal year on the present Hebrew calendar consists of 12-lunar months of 29 or 30 days, for a total of 354 days,
which is about 11 days fewer than a solar year (365.24 days). During a regular Jewish year, which occurs 12 times in a
19-year cycle, a total of 51 weeks would require Temple coverage (24
courses x 2 times per year + 3 weeks of Pilgrim Feasts weeks = 51 weeks coverage).
"Nisan 1 was the equivalent of our March 291, and the preceding Sabbath was March 24, making the week of the duties of the first priestly course from Sabbath noon, March 24, to Sabbath noon, March 31 (and the 2nd course from March 31 to April 7, etc.). The 3rd course (which started on our April 7) was interrupted by the Passover/Unleavened Bread week-long celebration, when all the priests officiated together; and this caused the 3rd course to extend its service until the Sabbath after Passover, which was April 21 in 4 BC.
"The period of service for the 8th course of Abijah, to which Zechariah belonged, was from May 19 to May 26.
"Because of his unbelief, he was struck dumb during his service in the Temple which immediately disqualified him from his priestly duties (Lev. 21:16-23). Therefore, he left for home. Sometime between May 26 and June 1, Elizabeth would have conceived. She later gave birth to John the Baptist near March 10 3 BC (after the gestation period of 9 months and 1.0 days, a total of 280 days). This would place the birth of Jesus six months later (Luke 1:26-38) in the first half of September, if she was expecting on the sixth month."2
The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). But it was not an official Roman state festival at that time.
December 25th might have also been chosen because the Winter Solstice and the ancient pagan Roman midwinter festivals called 'Saturnalia' and 'Dies Natalis Solis Invicti' took place in December around this date - so it was a time when people already celebrated things.
The Jewish festival of Lights, Hanukkah starts on the 25th of Kislev (the month in the Jewish calendar that occurs at about the same time as December). Hanukkah celebrates when the Jewish people were able to re-dedicate and worship in their Temple, in Jerusalem, again following many years of not being allowed to practice their religion.
"The idea of bringing the evergreen into the house represents fertility and new life in the darkness of winter, which was much more of the pagan themes," Dr Dominique Wilson from the University of Sydney said. "That's also where the ideas of the holly and the ivy and the mistletoe come from because they're the few flowering plants at winter so therefore they hold special significance. "So the idea of bringing evergreens into the house started there and eventually that evolved into the Christmas tree."
Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord,
"Do not learn the way of the nations,
And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens
Although the nations are terrified by them;
3 For the customs of the peoples are delusion;
Because it is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
4 "They decorate it with silver and with gold;
They fasten it with nails and with hammers
So that it will not totter.
5 "Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,
And they cannot speak;
They must be carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not fear them,
For they can do no harm,
Nor can they do any good."
6 There is none like You, O Lord;
You are great, and great is Your name in might.
7 Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
Indeed it is Your due!
For among all the wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
8 But they are altogether stupid and foolish
In their discipline of delusion - their idol is wood!
9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
And gold from Uphaz,
The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;
Violet and purple are their clothing;
They are all the work of skilled men.
10 But the Lord is the true God;
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth quakes,
And the nations cannot endure His indignation. (Jeremiah 10:1-10 - NASB)
And yet it is so easy to determine the death and resurrection of Christ.
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; (1 Peter 3:15 - NKJV)
Pastor Joe Corrales
1 The original author is speaking of a particular year. The Jewish calendar moves in relation to the Roman calendar. Therefore the 1st of Nisan can occur anywhere from March 6 to April 5.
2 Mysteries of Jesus' Life Revealed - Joseph Lenard