Monday, December 15, 2008

Merry Christmas


Anyway, 25th of December is not the birthday of Jesus Christ. This is actually the day when angel Gabriel visited Mary in Nazareth, a town in Galilee 2000 years ago. This is the day in the month of December that, virgin Mary was conceived through the Holy Spirit and would be giving birth to a Son by the name of Jesus. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

After the gestation period of nine months, i.e. on the month of September of the next year, Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. The town of Bethlehem was packed with people as the Jewish people start the celebration of the Fall Holidays thirty days prior to the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), which falls on the first day of their seventh month (September/October). For thirty days the Shofar is blown every morning in the Synagogue to remind the people that the holy days are approaching, and that they should prepare themselves. Their preparation consists of confessing their sins and seeking forgiveness, and going back to fix mistakes made during the year on the ten days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

Baby Jesus was believed to be born on the 11th day of September, after the Feast of Trumpets, in between the Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Trumpets is feast proclaiming the spiritual birthday of the world or creation, and is celebrated with blowing of the trumpets.

The Day of Atonement is the central holy day in the autumn season of Tabernacles. It is the most solemn day of the year and the Jewish people had to be prepared for Yom Kippur as it was the day of national cleansing and repentance and is also known to the Jews as the Day of Judgment.

Baby Jesus was born after the the Feast of Trumpets and between Yom Kippur and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) as He came to “tabernacle among us". He was born for the purpose of dying for this world and to be judged on the Cross on our behalf thirty three year later…

Well, by His grace I have learned the way God see thing. He sees the birth at the time of conception while men have to be convinced with seeing the physical birth…! He sees us in Heaven the moment we accepted His Darling Son as Savior while men have to see Heaven to be convinced that they are saved...!

3 comments:

  1. Alan, what a perfectly wonderful post!! Fascinating!! Thank you for this early gift; you have blessed us with much Truth.

    How apropos that Jesus was born during "Trumpets". We have been taught that the blowing of the shofar means the bringing of a clear message...the Good News: the Grace of God in Christ. By proclaiming the finished work of the cross, we're blowing the "ram's horn" and witnessing of God's great love for all.

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  2. Yes Alan, thank you for the wonderful truth of Christmas, Christ was born in Spirit.

    Yes, it takes a spiritual man like you to see the spiritual things of God. Praise God!

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  3. Merry Christmas! I look forward in faith to the day when I get to hear you preach in Canada! Much love and joy to you and your family.

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