Was Y'shua Born During Sukkot?

I have been researching this 'assumption' for quite some time, and today I found the additional information needed to finally bring this to a satisfying conclusion:

Question: Was Y'shua born during the Feast of Sukkot?

Answer: No

😊

Matthew 2:1 tells us Y'shua was born in Bethlehem (City of David) during the time Herod was king. The Magi were known astronomers, originally taught by Daniel the prophet while in Babylon. They knew the signs to watch for, and had been traveling in order to witness the prophecy that was becoming a reality.

Luke 2:1 tells us a decree from Augustus Caesar went out that the names of all the people of his dominion should be written down. Everyone went to his own city to be registered. Joseph was from Bethlehem, from the house and clan of David which is why he took his bride, who was pregnant, there to be registered.

Luke 2:12 tells us a Messenger/Angel appeared to the shepherds in that region where they lodge and keep watch at night over their flocks. They were told of the birth of the savior that is Master YHWH the Mashiyach* in the City of David (Bethlehem). The shepherds went to see this miracle and spread the word.

Matthew 2:2 - Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

Through the course of this study I have not found in Scriptures any report that states, infers or alludes to Y'shua being born during the time of Sukkot. It seems it could have been a good idea for Herod to time the census along with one of the feasts that had all Israelites gathered in one location; but it would be unlikely that the followers of Yah would break the command to assemble in Jerusalem for Sukkot in order to gather at their own hometowns instead. Besides, only the males attended Sukkot and it was every 7th year that the entire household traveled to Jerusalem for this gathering.

Deuteronomy 16:16 -- Three times in a year all your males shall appear before YHWH your Elohim in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths (Sukkot)

The knowledge I have been lacking was in regards to astronomy: the 'signs' that are recorded as prophecy, which were taught by Daniel, the same signs the magi had been paying attention to.  Even an angel of Elohim saw fit to bring this to the attention of the shepherds.

Genesis 1:14 - Yah said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times - the days and the years; and they shall serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine  upon the earth... 

Jeremiah 23:5 - "The days are coming", declares Yahweh, "when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.

Isaiah 7:14 - Therefore YHWH Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

700 years later, John writes this:

Revelation 12:1 - And a great wonder was seen in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars. And, being with child, she cried and labored, and had the pangs of giving imminent birth.

Matthew 16:1 - And the Pharisees and the Sadducees drew near (Yahshua) tempting him and asking him for a sign from heaven to show them.  But he answered, "When it becomes evening you say 'It is clear, for the sky is red.'  And in the morning you say, 'Today it is winter for the sky is a gloomy red.' Hypocrites! You know how to observe the appearance of the sky. The signs of this time you do no know how to discern. An evil and adulterous generation request a sign and a sign will not be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. (Three days and three nights scenario)

What I have read (links provided below) suggests Y'shua was born a full two weeks before Sukkot, as reckoned with the 'signs' in heaven.  This would place his birth on Yom Teruah = Feast of Trumpets = first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar (Sept. on modern day calendars). 

Here are the links to the study of Scripture and astronomical events that preceded the birth of Y'shua, (a deep study which I am still reviewing, but felt compelled to share at this time) both the web page and the PDF:

Torah Calendar

Signs and the Birth of Mashiyach

(Also, the book, Wheel of Stars, by Andrew Gabriel Roth is worth adding to one's library for further study and reference.)

I think it is interesting to note that at the head of Bethula is the Lion constellation:


Is it the Crown of 12 Stars?  I will need to search that idea out some more.

Y'shua, the Lion of Judah, will be king and selected his 12 Apostles to be seated as judges when that day comes.

Genesis 49:8
Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down to you. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.…

Revelation 5:5
And one of the elders says to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome to open the scroll and its seven seals."

...:::```*```:::...

The other study I've been working on ties in with this timeline through the research of priests and their duties.  The one known as John the Baptist is our starting point.  Here's is what I have learned:

In the story leading up to Yahshua's inception, Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was six months pregnant with John. It is through this account, found in Luke, chapter 1, that we are able to more closely fix the date of the birth of Messiah.

Luke indicates that Elizabeth’s husband was Zechariah and a priest of the course of Abia. While on duty, as a priest, he was visited by an angel and informed his wife was to have a son to be named John. After his obligations to the ministry ended, he departed to his house. He and Elizabeth conceived a child.

In order to fix the time of conception, one must look to the time of Zacharias’ ministry. At that time, the priests were divided into 24 classes and it is known that each class officiated at the Temple in turn for a week. If it is known at which time any one of the courses officiated it is a simple matter to trace the times of the succession of courses backward or forward.

During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy (4th week of December), the angel Gabriel visited Mary and informed her that she was going to have a son to be named Yahshua. Mary goes to visit her cousin, and stayed with her about three months.

Using these facts: Zacharias’ ministry, Elizabeth’s pregnancy term and Mary’s visit at the start of Elizabeth's sixth month; we discover the conception of Y'shua would have been in the first part of the last week of December and his birth occurring sometime in September - not December 25th.

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I decided to keep the historical/political evidence I have been collecting when I first began my search to discover the month of the census.  I have yet to pinpoint the time frame but have learned some interesting facts nonetheless, so decided to keep this info intact for reference and further research.  This is time consuming for my pea-brain, but will be updated whence I get back to it.  Please feel free to leave any comments below that will help with the study of this time line.

In 27 B.C. the Senate voted Octavian the name Augustus. It also gave him legal power to direct Rome's religious, civil, and military affairs, with the Senate as an advisory body. Augustus Caesar ruled between 27 BC and 12 AD and commanded a census during the time that Qurinius/Cyrenius was governor of Persia (Iran/Afghanistan). Augustus died Aug. 19th 14 AD.

Cyrenius is Governor of Syria During the Census

Luke 2:1 And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. 

"So Archelaus's country was laid to the province of Syria; and Cyrenius, one that had been consul, was sent by Caesar to take account of people's effects in Syria. Cyrenius came himself into Judea, which was now added to the province of Syria, to take an account of their substance." - Josephus - Antiquities of the Jews - Book 18

"That had been consul" - This lends credibility to the fact of Cyrenius possibly ruling as governor of Syria on more than one occasion. See Judas of Galilee and Theudas - Acts 5

Herod the Great ruled between 37 BC and 4 BC until his death from his awful afflictions... he died 5 days after he ordered his son, Antipater who was in jail, to be slain. Herod began rule in Galilee in the 15th and 25th year of his age (research this more). When did he command the death of baby boys in and around Bethlehem which were 2 years old and younger, thinking to kill the prophesied king, Y'shua? Herod became sick when he was 70 years old. How long was he ill until his death? Yah tells Joseph and Mary to take the boy and flee to Egypt. They stay in Egypt until Herod dies. Yah tells them to return to Israel, to the land of Galilee, where they settled in Nasrath. How long did they stay in Egypt? (Matthew 2:14)

Matthias was High Priest during the end of Herod's life. Judas was Matthias' son. I have read that Herod had them burned alive for tearing down the golden eagle he had put above the entrance to the temple as a 'gift to god'. It is recorded that there was a lunar eclipse at that time. The date is said to be March 13th in the Julian year of 4710 -the 4th year before the 'christian era'. 

Judah Maccabee was the leader of the Jews in their struggle for independence in the 100's B.C. He was the son of a priest named Mattathias from the ancient city of Modin. His family is known as the Hasmoneans in the rabbinic texts. Judah's story is told in the Book of 1 Maccabees in the Apocrypha. 

At that time, the Jews were subjects of the Seleucid Empire, one of the states formed out of Alexander the Great's empire. The Seleucid king, Antiochus IV (called Epiphanes), wanted his subjects to adopt Greek culture and customs. Many Jews did this, almost to the point of abandoning their religion. But others resisted. 

Antiochus also wanted to get possession of the treasures in the Temple. In 168 or 167 B.C., angered by Jewish resistance to his policy, he entered Jerusalem, killed many of the people, and defiled the Temple by building an altar to a pagan god there. This is known as the Abomination of Desolation in the Gospels and in the Book of Daniel.

--::=::--

Y'shua's birthday wasn't even celebrated until the early 300s. This is a tradition and not one of Yah's set apart times for us to observe. No one is to celebrate birth days year after year.

The Fall Appointments

These are the set times of Yahweh to be celebrated as sacred occasions:

Leviticus 23:23-44

• On the first day of the 7th month sound the shofar;
• The 10th day of this month is The Day of Atonement; 
• On the 15th day of this 7th month begin the Feast of Booths
• Followed by the 8th Day, a solemn gathering

It has been noted that Yah's Set Apart times are also types and shadows of things to come, that those which occur during the spring have been fulfilled by the death and resurrection of Yahshua, and that the ones which occur in the fall (the 7th month) are yet to be fulfilled. These could be related to events recorded in Revelation:

The 7th Seal, which has yet to be opened...

The 7 Shofars, which have yet to sound....

The Gathering of Yah's Chosen People...

Yahshua as our king and High Priest

After 1,000 years Yah restores all things

Leviticus 23:23

Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, "Speak to the Israelite people thus: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts. You shall not work at your occupations and you shall bring an offering by fire to YHWH Elohim.

23:27

The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a sacred occasion for you: you shall practice self denial, and you shall bring an offering by fire to YHWH Elohim; you shall do no work throughout that day. It is a Day of Atonement on which expiation is made on your behalf before Yahweh your Elohim. Whoever does not practice self denial throughout that day will be cut off from his kin, and whoever does any work throughout that day, I will cause that person to perish from among his people. Do no work whatever; it is a law for all time, throughout the ages, in all your settlements. It shall be a sabbath of complete rest for you and you shall practice self denial; on the ninth day of the month from evening to evening, you shall observe this sabbath.

And again in Numbers 29 with more details:

In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations. You shall observe it as a day when the horn is sounded (a day of festivity). You shall present a burnt offering of pleasing odor to YHWH: one bull of the herd, one ram, and seven yearling lambs, without blemish. The meal offering with them - choice flour with oil mixed in - shall be 3/10 of a measure for a bull, 2/10 for a ram and 1/10 for each of the seven lambs. And there shall be one goat for a sin offering, to make expiation in your behalf in addition to the burnt offering of the new moon with its meal offering and the regular burnt offer with its meal offer each with its libation as prescribed, offerings by fire of pleasing odor to YHWH.

29:7

On the tenth day of the same seventh month you shall observe a scared occasion with you shall practice self denial. You shall do no work. You shall present to YHWH a burnt offering of pleasing odor: one bull of the herd, one ram, seven yearling lambs, without blemish. The meal offering with them - of choice flour with oil mixed in - shall be 3/10 of a measure for a bull, 2/10 for the ram, 1/10 for each of the seven lambs. And there shall be one goat for a sin offering of expiation and the regular burnt offering with its meal offering each with its libation.

New moons, regular offerings, blasts of the shofars, atonement, 7th month, days of the month... how do we apply these rules to our modern days? How do we know God's Calendar of Months? If the temple nor the the priesthood exist, how are we to make offerings? Did Y'shua fulfill all offerings? How do we observe these times without causing YHWH to become upset with us?

We can keep these days as sacred occasions and not work at our occupations. We can shout out to YHWH on the first day and practice self denial on the tenth day. We can live as examples of what it means to be Set Apart and study out the Word of Elohim to be familiar with these appointments He put in place for us. We should not substitute other behavior or traditions and think we are pleasing Him. 

A 'sacred occasion' is akin to a dignified ceremony; solemn; earnest. 'Self-denial' is akin to setting aside our own interests; restraining our own desires; being in control of our impulses as we refrain from indulging ourselves (turn off the TV, radio, computer, phones, etc...)

On the first day of the 7th month of Yah's Calendar we observe the Feast of Trumpets as a sabbath's day rest and do no work on this day. Shout praises unto Elohim, let Yahweh know you're here! Then on the 10th day of this 7th month, set it aside as a dignified ceremony wherein not only do we treat it as a sabbath of rest and do no work but also deny ourselves our usual activities. Go without eating regular meals this day, be in prayer about your life and where you stand in the Word and know Y'shua the Son of Elohim is making Atonement in our behalf. Let us be worthy of this friendship with the one who laid down his life that we could gain life eternal.

Sukkot = The Ingathering of Yah's People

This is one of the set times where the males traveled to Jerusalem, after the end of season harvest, to make the appropriate offerings at the temple, and they lived in huts or tents while there. Only during every 7th year did the entire household attend this Feast of Booths. We can treat the first day as a sabbath day of complete rest and do the same for the 8th day. If we want to 'camp out' in our own backyards, I don't see why not as long as we remember we do this so that we teach future generations that YHWH made His people live in booths when He brought them out of Egypt.

There are many groups who like to advertise a gathering place for folks to celebrate Sukkot, which seems like a good thing, when in reality Yah chose Jerusalem, the last place He attached His Name was there, so how can we think we are honoring him if we do it our own way, where ever we choose?  We should know enough by now not to make it up as we go along.

!!! HOLD EVERYTHING !!!

Here is one of the unforeseen benefits of studying topics such as this. I had recently read a post from folks already celebrating the First Day of the 7th Month, which I thought was aligned in October, not September, but I never followed that trail at the time. Right now while looking for a calendar to share I found out where that discrepancy came from... turns out to be a rabbinic error in adding a leap month when it was not necessary.  Here is a quote from The Refiner's Fire:

For 2016 our calendar and the traditional Jewish calendar are FAR off! The reason is, the traditional calendar applies a fixed cycle of leap years, so for 2016, the traditional calendar is a leap year when it should not be! It has Nisan a whole month late! Our calendar has Nisan falling at the correct date so Pesach (passover) falls just after the Vernal Equinox, i.e., Spring. Thus our calendar for 2016 differs from the rabbinic 2016 calendar for all dates after February 9th!

So let it be known - how can we please our Creator if we don't even know what day it is? and whose fault is that? and how do we remedy this?  I see another study on the horizon! Stay tuned! 

And I also see why YHWH Elohim said this:

Isaiah 7:11 What need have I of all your sacrifices... I have no delight that you come to appear before Me - trample My courts no more. Bringing your offerings is futile, incense is offensive to Me. New moon and sabbath you proclaim solemnities and assemble with wickedness I cannot tolerate. Your new moons (months) and your fixed seasons (man's traditions and substitutes for Yah's moedim) fill Me with loathing - they have become a burden to Me, no longer a joy. When you lift up your hands in false praise and worship I will turn My Eyes away from you.

More about Pagan Holidays

Halloween, christmas, easter, and others... even though I took part in these festivities (from my birth through the mid 90's) I have learned the difference the study of Scriptures.

My friends and family say any time is a good time to praise (Jesus)... but even by unknowingly taking part in pagan rituals, one is NOT bringing praise to YHWH nor His Son, but you make Satan feel pretty good. He loves deception as he is the father of lies.

This 'keep christ in christmas' and believe 'jesus is the reason for the season' are just wrong. Not because I don't believe in Y'shua, but because I DO believe AND understand what YHWH is telling us, as it is written in the Original script - Leviticus in particular.  YHWH gave His people specific times to keep and observe forever, to remember Him, His power and glory and how He has brought us to where we are today. These appointed times (moedim) are:

• Pesach/Passover
• Chag HaMatzah/Unleavened Bread
• Yom HaBikkurim/First Fruits
• Shavuot/Pentecost
• Yom Teruah/Feast of Trumpets
• Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement
• Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles and then the 8th Day which is
• The Last Great Day

All other man-made traditional holidays we've been taught and celebrated since birth are not of our Creator but are of pagan origins - Satan inspired to lead us away from our Elohim YHWH.