Light, Glory and Tabernacle - What 25 December Really Signify

[Agape]

25 December: Why it is NOT pagan

As some of us are already aware, 25 December isn’t the birth date of Christ.
It is probable that the Feast of Tabernacles, instead, was His real birth date which is possible to conduce by tracing the conception and birth date of John the Baptist.
It would seem, however, beneficial for all of us to expand on this further and see that 25th December, after all, is related to Him in regards, perhaps, to His birth.

1) In John 1:14, Apostle John describes Christ’s Incarnation as

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Greek word corresponding to “dwelt” here is ἐσκήνωσεν (eskēnōsen) derived from σκηνή (skéné) meaning tent or tabernacle. ἐσκήνωσεν; therefore, means “tabernacled” or “fix tent” which undoubtedly reminds us of God coming to the tent/tabernacle (Exo 40:34-38, 2 Sam 7:6, 1 Chr 17:5). (This may have connections to Revelation 21:3.) The glory of God as mentioned in Exodus 40:34 is mirrored here too. Moreover, one of the reasons for celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles is to commemorate God’s guidance and presence for forty years of which was perceptible with the tabernacle.
I was indeed inspired that the light, tabernacle, and glory of God are intertwined (Matt 17:2-8 and parallels). (see below)


2) The Feast of Tabernacles is also thanksgiving (harvest/ingathering) in nature. Now our Lord is the first fruit (1 Cor 15:20, 23) and in Leviticus God commands the first fruits to be offered (Lev 2:12, 23:10, etc) which symbolises representativeness of the rest harvest by being offered/atoned on behalf of the rest (Exo 34:19). And so, our Lord, the Son of God and the Offering (Heb 10:10), to be born on this date would be fitted to its meaning. Of course the Feast of Tabernacles is the date He, as we assume here, was born, not offered. The Feast of First Fruits which fits to the above meaning more was fulfilled by Christ, after all, by Him resurrecting on the feast exactly.


3) The Feast of Tabernacles is kept for 7 days. The eighth day is called Shemini Atzeret (meaning: the eighth day of assembly) and or Simchat Torah (possibly kept on the ninth day out of Israel) and on this date, Deuteronomy 33-34 as well as the very beginning of Genesis 1 is read. Simchat Torah means ‘rejoicing of the Law’ and if Jesus was born on the first day of the feast and ‘officially’ received circumcision, to fulfil the Law as noted by John Parsons, as well as the name Yeshua {meaning God saves (from the sin)} on the eighth day (number eight symbolises ‘new beginning’), as per recorded, (Luke 2:21), it fits to the meaning of rejoicing of the Law as it truly gets fulfilled.


4) During the feast, in Jesus’ time, there were two important ceremonies. One is pouring the water from Siloam (Mayim Hayim – meaning ‘living water’) on the bowls built on the altar with drink offering, reading Isaiah 12:3, singing Hallel (Psalms 113-118), blowing Shofar, etc which were done, basically, in anticipation of Messiah. On the last day of the feast as the Mayim Hayim was poured for the seventh time, this is when, according to Alfred Edersheim, Jesus identified Himself as the 'living water' (John 7:37-39).
The other ceremony was, again in anticipation of the Messiah, Temple illumination. The first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Tishrei 15, is the first date, according to Jewish tradition, the God led Israelites by pillar of cloud in day and pillar of fire in the desert (Exo 40:34-38) (* Please note how God’s glory filled the tabernacle), when King Solomon dedicated the Temple and so on. On the eighth day (Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah), Jesus proclaimed that He is the Light of this world (John 8:12).
What is even more interesting, as it was noted, is how Jesus continues to talk about ‘light’ in John 9, 11 and 12, and John 10 is in reference to Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights. We need to end talking about the Feast of Tabernacle with, though Jesus could have been born on this Feast, He is yet to fulfil the meanings, especially the one on opening of Millennium Kingdom (this is why they celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles with Palm branch).

For more perusal, other insightful studies on Feast of Tabernacles and how this is related to the Christ please check:
Sukkot

Light, Glory, Tabernacle: What John 1:14 Really Encodes


Now recall how I mentioned the light, glory of God and tabernacle are intertwined and hinted Hanukkah may be related. To briefly, once again, expand on this, Hanukkah (Feast of Lights), celebrated on 25th of Kislev (December by our calendar) is eighth Feast and is not of the Law.

On this date, Syrian king Antiocus Ephiphanes attacks Jerusalem, kills pro-Ptolemy Jews, plunders the Temple, halts practices of the Law, erects status of Zeus in the Temple and defiles it with offering of pig so as to fulfil Daniel 11 & 12. Against these arose the brave Maccabees who fought for three years to recapture the temple. When they arrived at the temple to restore it, there was only enough Holy Oil to last for one day, yet it miraculously burned for 8 days, symbolising new beginning, and during this time they were able to cleanse the Temple and prepare extra supply of oil. Rededication of the Temple (8 days after) took place on 25 Kislev, the exact date that Antiochus defiled the temple three years ago. Now, I find this amazing, according to 2 Macabees 10:6-7, after the rededication of the Temple, the people kept the very first Hanukkah in combination with the Feast of Tabernacles for eight, to commemorate the miracle, days.

Now, then, let’s connect some puzzles. Hanukkah, depending on which year it falls, often coincides with 25 December. Even more, according to Eliott Hong, a documentary film “The Star of Bethlehem” reported that on 25 December in 2 BC, Jupiter, the king star, stopped over Bethlehem. Not only did it end there, but the Jupiter stopped mid-Virgo on the same date.
(There are other countless signs in the constellation when Jesus was conceived and born)
And according to Jack Kelley, this, however, I cannot verify, Mary’s response (Luke 1:38) to Gabriel who informed her of divine conception, is apparently an excerpt from Hanukkah prayer.

Recall that it’s probable the Christ, the true Light, was conceived on late December and His Name, when written in Greek, it comes out to be as 888 (for Greek alphabet has numeric value), isn’t it even more probable that our Lord was indeed conceived, by the Holy Spirit, on 25 December?

And yes, Jack Kelley is correct to observe that the Incarnation started from the very moment He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. After all, how could there be birth, work, crucifixion, resurrection and Second Coming altogether, if there wasn’t a conception in the very first place?


Love Before Knowledge


It is invalid to argue, therefore, that keeping 25 December is an abominable act to our faith.
For one, Christians who do not know that it coincides with pagan rituals, do not celebrate this day in worshipping demons and idols.
For the other, as 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 explain, idols aren’t real and, thus, is powerless, yet not everyone has that knowledge (v 7) and ‘weaker’ in faith often stumbles and defiles self-conscience for such.
But then again, quite often, whether ‘stronger’ or ‘weaker’ in faith, it’s in our tendency that we are too quick to judge a book by its cover (Romans 14:3) for the knowledge without love (1 Cor 8:1), in every cases, encourages so. And that is evil indeed for the recorded says:

[Romans 14:15]
Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.

So how should we conclude then? If I'm allowed to cite and apply 1 Corinthians 8 on this context:
Keeping 25 December does not commend us to God, for neither if we not keep are we the better, nor if we do keep are we the worse. (Col 2:16-17) Yet, as we have seen above, it is indeed meaningful and makes it worthwhile to celebrate, for it belongs to Christ. Of course, in doing so, pagan traditions such as putting mistletoe, Yule, Santa Clause etc should be abstained (if you do know what these mean). Again, my conscience is well aware these do not affect me in anyways. But now that I know what these mean, there isn’t any reason for me to practice. Substituting those, however, with stars, candle lights, etc instead would be wise and more meaningful. Of course, but even these, we have to be careful, and do it with love, not to offend our other brothers or sisters.


Incarnation of Christ, the true Light of the world, if it is so, marked the Feast of Lights that
no other events could have done it. Constellation marked, on this very same date, that He was the true star (2 Peter 1:19, Rev 22:16). And many of our beloved fellow brothers and sisters in Christ for whom Christ died, celebrate this day in joy for Him. Now then, must 25 December still remain as pagan?

Have a blessed Christmas!

-Agape-

[mattfivefour]

Thanks for the study, Agape. Very interesting. December 25 may remain pagan in the eyes of many, but to me it is a day which I and my house set aside to celebrate the gift of Messiah Jesus ... and, according to Romans 14, as such it is acceptable unto God. And, also in accordance with Romans 14 and the latter verses of 1 Corinthians 10, in observing the day we are careful not to engage in any activities that could cause someone to stumble.

[Agape]

Thank you Mattfivefour for insightful comment and I cannot agree more.

If I'm to clarify on what I wrote, keeping Christmas and in doing so, not to offend or stumble my other brother or sister in Christ in love as you and I have pointed out, is true yet complex.
It is complex as there seems to be two groups of people that we need to consider.

One - who have thought it as pagan after finding out how some pagan rituals/traditions merged/intended for Christmas who could be, as I noted above, likened to people mentioned
in 1 Cor 8:7.
However, it is also true that majority of our brothers or sisters are neither aware that Christmas is indeed related to Christ nor it could be pagan as some argue, for they have been celebrating in ways they used to and "take it granted".

Here, then, is the problem - What happens when those who have thought it was pagan starts to teach these majority that it's pagan & abominable (which is after all incorrect) and by doing so, causes them to stumble and defile their consciences as result?
In summary, we cannot cause our brothers or sisters to stumble for it is sin, and just as much so, it is true there will always be people who will self-defile their conscience (Rom 14:14 & 20) and this cannot be helped unless the time does it. But it's also true such self-defilation in conscience should be confined to themselves, not others who could be affected/offended.

So that's why I pointed out, to make long words short and to address complexity,
knowledge without, or before, love is evil, and it applies to everyone of us (Rom 14:3).

Thank you once again and have a blessed Christmas!

[MikeD]

For many years, I've heard and studied myself as to the actual beginnings of these so-called Christmas celebrations. Some of the "realities" of where some of these customes began are quite startling to be truthful. Yet, to me, Christmas is, and always has been, such a special time of the year. Yes, we share gifts, have the big meals, and all that but, mostly, it's a time to remember WHY we are celebrating. We read the Christmas story every year. My sons say the reading of the scripture is such a tradition in our home, even tho' they have ther own homes now, it wouldn't be the same without it. The reading of the Christmas Story, as they call it, that is.

I still contend, and will always, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! Plain and simple. I honestly don't know of ANYONE I've ever "offended" celebrating Christmas the way we do. Do I put up lights and all that? You bet I do! In the neighborhood I live in I'm sure there would be many neighbors asking, why no lights? All the neighbors have come to LOVE the way my wife and I put up our lights, celebrate Jesus, and just enjoy time in the neighborhood with friends, relatives, and anyone else who might stop by.

So, yes, the "origins" of Christmas may be what they are. But, I know what the season is in our homes and it's a simple time of celebrating the meaning of WHY Jesus came as a child, His eventual death on the cross, and the FINAL VICTORY He gives to all that would receive Him as Lord and Savior. So, for this reason, I still celebrat Christmas and probably will until the Lord calls us home. Then, WHAT A CELEBRATION THAT WILL BE!!

[anath]

You betcha I put lights up as well and a beautiful wreath. Also hubby and I have been making candies (pralines, fudge and divinity) nonstop for 2 weeks. On Christmas Eve, walk around the hood, knocking on doors passing out our tins of candy as gifts, saying Merry Christmas to each neighbor. Since we began,no one has ever turned down our gifts and most reciprocate the Merry Christmas greeting. And this year two other neighbors joined together with us to pass out their little gifts too!

MikeD.... My neighbors would also come to check on us if we missed our annual neighborly gift giving! No bones about it, they all know just who Mike and I are & they especially know we love the Lord and we celebrate Christmas.

[Everlasting Life]

I really appreciate this original post! I grew up with a family that did not celebrate Christmas because of pagan aspects (parents were involved in a cult like church that was very steeped in Old Testament and Jewish holidays). When having kids, I was really faced with a dilema....I knew too much about the pagan stuff and struggled with how to negotiate what I knew with a newly budding relationship with Christ and finally understanding the New Testament.

We do lights, presents and talk about Christ....and sometimes I still struggle a little bit inside. My kids know there's no Santa, and we don't do the tree. Our family is careful not to make anyone else feel uncomfortable about what they do or don't do....it's simply where we are at with our consciences.

Reading more about Hanukkah in the original post and also some of the symbolism of the Feast of Tabernacles is very helpful to me, puts my heart at ease a bit.