Posted Dec 23, 2020 by Michael L. Brown

Matthew is the most Jewish of the four Gospels, beginning with these opening words: “This is the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah, son of David, son of Avraham” (Matthew 1:1; all quotations form the CJB). Yes, this is the story of the Messiah of Israel, the one promised centuries earlier in the pages of the Jewish Scriptures.

As for His birth, Matthew writes, “Here is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah took place. When his mother Miryam was engaged to Yosef, before they were married, she was found to be pregnant from the Ruach HaKodesh [meaning, Holy Spirit]” (Matthew 1:18).

Are these names sounding unfamiliar? Yeshua, Miryam, and Yosef?

That’s because we’re used to hearing them through the lens of the Greek language, transmitted into Latin, and then into English, where the names become Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. But in their day, in their hometown, these individuals would have been known as Yeshua, Miryam, and Yosef.

That’s how Matthew – or Mattityahu, in Hebrew – would have known them. And even though Matthew’s Gospel has only been preserved in Greek (there are traditions that suggest that part of it – or even all of it – may have first been written in Hebrew), the background is entirely Jewish.

As for the rest of the details of the Messiah’s birth, Luke, who may have been a Gentile, records this: “Around this time, Emperor Augustus issued an order for a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This registration, the first of its kind, took place when Quirinius was governing in Syria. Everyone went to be registered, each to his own town. So Yosef, because he was a descendant of David, went up from the town of Natzeret in the Galil to the town of David, called Beit-Lechem, in Y’hudah, to be registered, with Miryam, to whom he was engaged, and who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth; and she gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him in cloth and laid him down in a feeding trough, because there was no space for them in the living-quarters” (Luke 2:1-7).

The more we read, the more Jewish the story gets, with not only the names of the main players being very Jewish but the places as well, including Natzeret (Nazareth), the Galil (Galilee), Beit-Lechem (Bethlehem), and Y’hudah (Judah).

Yet it is Matthew, that most Jewish of the Gospels, who also includes the nations of the world in the opening chapters of his book.

Look first in chapter 1, verses 5-6: “Salmon was the father of Bo‘az (his mother was Rachav), Bo‘az was the father of ‘Oved (his mother was Rut), ‘Oved was the father of Yishai, Yishai was the father of David the king.”

Do you grasp the significance of this? Even though Matthew is tracing the genealogy of Jesus through His male ancestors, he goes out of his way to point to two women here, Rachav (Rahab) and Rut (Ruth). And why is this so important? It’s because both of them were Gentiles.

Yet here they are, playing a key role, not only in the Messiah’s ancestry but in the ancestry of King David as well. In the biblical picture, it doesn’t get any bigger than that.

Two Gentiles, both of them women, play a major role in bringing the Messiah into the world. There is surely a message here. Matthew doesn’t want us to miss it.

Going back over to Luke, who also emphasizes Yeshua’s mission to both Gentiles and women, he records a significant event that took place when the Messiah was born: “In the countryside nearby were some shepherds spending the night in the fields, guarding their flocks, when an angel of Adonai [the Lord] appeared to them, and the Sh’khinah of Adonai [the glory of the Lord] shone around them. They were terrified; but the angel said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid, because I am here announcing to you Good News that will bring great joy to all the people. This very day, in the town of David, there was born for you a Deliverer who is the Messiah, the Lord.’” (Luke 2:8-11)

So, an angel of the Lord announces to these Jewish shepherds that a Deliverer (or, Savior) has been born, the Messiah, the Lord.

Matthew, however, relates a different event, one that took place some time later: “After Yeshua was born in Beit-Lechem in the land of Y’hudah during the time when Herod was king, Magi from the east came to Yerushalayim and asked, ‘Where is the newborn King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.’” (Matthew 2:1-2)

What? Pagan astrologers were coming to worship the newborn King of the Jews? How could this be?

Prof. Craig Keener writes, “Without condoning astrology, Matthew’s narrative challenges his audience’s prejudice against outsiders to their faith (cf. also 8:5–13; 15:21–28): even the most pagan of pagans may respond to Jesus if given the opportunity (cf. Jonah 1:13–16; 3:6–4:1, 10–11). For one special event in history, the God who rules the heavens chose to reveal himself where pagans were looking” (The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, 100).

This is the wonderful news that this very Jewish story tells us for every nation on the planet. The Messiah of Israel is the Savior of the world. The one predicted in the Hebrew Bible, born to a Jewish virgin and raised in a Jewish society, will one day die for the sins of Jew and Gentile alike.

That’s why Matthew ends his account with these words from Yeshua Himself after He rose from the dead: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim [disciples] . . . .” (Matthew 28:18-19).

Yes, go and make disciples of the nations. Go and tell everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, that the Savior has come, that the Messiah has paid for their sins, that they must turn to God in repentance and receive forgiveness.

That’s why the Messiah’s birth was such big news, not just for the Jewish people but for the Gentiles as well.

Matthew wants to make sure his readers got that message right out of the gate. (And remember: his first, intended audience of readers was Jewish.)

Of course, there remains great debate as to the exact date when Yeshua was born. But whenever we remember His birth, we do well to remember this wonderful news. He is the Savior of Jew and Gentile alike. The very Jewish story of His birth is also great news for the whole world. Let the celebration begin!

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yeshuais4me posted a comment · Dec 27, 2020
Luke describes events leading to the birth of the Messiah Luke Chapter 1 Now let us start with Luke chapter 1:1-4.  The first thing we notice is that Luke addresses the book of Luke to Theophilos who was most likely the brother of Jonathan and was High Priest of the temple around the time the Gospel of Luke was written by Luke which would be approximately 40 AD (information from “Josephus”)   Luke was passing information to Theophilos verifying who the Messiah was and what was truth by describing events leading to the birth of the Messiah. Luke 1:5-7 Introduction of the Priest Z`kharyah (Zechariah) and his wife Elisheva (Elisabeth) these verses also tell us that these were the days of King Herod or better known as “Herod the Great”.  Z`kharyah was in the eighth division also known as Aviyah division, see Chronicles 24:10.  King David established these divisions for the many priest that would take care of the duties to keep the temple in order.  The major events are Pesach (Passover), Shavu`ot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) which required all Priest to take part to keep the order required.  These major events are important because during the time of the Messiah, God commands that all come to Jerusalem to worship and celebrate these Appointed Times or feasts.  During Sukkot each family lived in a Sukkah which has other names like booth, tent, etc.  A Sukkah is a small structure that the followers of God lived in during the Appointed Time of Sukkot.  This is a reminder of how God’s people lived during the forty years of wandering in the land after leaving Egypt.  The number of people who attend these events has been estimated as high as 500,000?  So if you come from out of town, there would be a problem with getting a room at the Inn.  Also Luke 2.1 tell us about a census being taken in the Roman Empire.  A census of the empire would take years and the best time to count the number of Jews in Israel would be at one of the events where all are required to come, like Sukkot, that God commands that all go to Jerusalem. Luke 1:8-22 Here we read about Zkharyah being selected by lot to burn incense.  The burning of incense is the third lottery of the day, there are a total of four lotteries each day for the priests to preform; however, the third lottery is considered the most beloved part of the Temple services in God’s eyes; it was influential in subduing evil and its characteristic quality aided in amplifying the aspect of Divine mercy and benevolence in the world.  The Priest that is selected burning incense can only perform this service once in a life time.  Go to “temple institute.org” for more information than you will ever need concerning the temple during the time of the Messiah. Let us take a quick look at the Hebrew calendar during Zkharyah selection as the Priest to burn the incense.  He, Zkharyah, appears to burn the incense on Sivan 6 in the Hebrew Biblical year 3755 which is the first day of the tenth week of the year.  So if Zkharyah serves temple duty during the eight week how did he end up serving as Priest to burn the incense?  This happen due to two events, first Passover/Feast of unleavened bread or Feast of Matzah which is a feast that all attend including all Priest.  When these special feast occur time spent by Priest, etc. is inserted into the rotation of the divisions thus adding a week.  Meaning Zkharyah is serving his portion during the ninth week and not the eight week.  His service ended on the Sabbath around 3PM however since the next day was the first day of the week and also the Feast of Shavu`ot therefore Zkharyah did not return home after his weekly service.  We know by using God’s word to count the Omer that Shavu`ot was on the first day of this week.  Note this can be confusing since Leviticus 23 only identifies two Sabbaths.  The seventh day of the week which is a Sabbath for God and the 10th day of the seventh month which is Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement.  This is also considered a Sabbath for us.  Also Luke 1:10 is a clue when the different translations tell us that “All the people were outside (CJB), “and the whole multitude were there” (KJ), “and the whole crowd” (TLV).  Remember that there was a lottery to see which Priest would burn the incense.  After Zkharyah experience with the Angel that told him, he was to have a child and to name him Yochanan (meaning: God gives grace) in English “John the Immerser”.  The Angel also told him John would be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Therefore his next step was to head home to get ready for the Sabbath.  During this time it was a custom to believe that God blessed conception on the Sabbath during darkness and in this situation anytime after sundown on the twelfth of Sivan at the beginning of the Sabbath, which begins at sundown Friday night which appears to be the time of Elizabeth’s conception.  Meaning that the conception of John was 12 Sivan in the Hebrew Biblical year 3755.  The Hebrew Biblical year 3755 could be considered the beginning of the Messianic movement. Luke 1:23-to birth In the sixth month of Elizabeth being with child, the Angel Gabriel was sent by God to the city of Nazareth.  Luke 1:35 Comment Ha `Elyon (God Most High) gave His seed to Mary, the Angel told Mary that she will be with child and when the child entered this world give Mary would give Him the name Yeshua which means salvation.  Yeshua was conceived on the thirtieth day of Kislev, a Sabbath, in the year 3755 and was born in the Hebrew calendar year 3756 on the fifteenth day during the month of Tishri (seventh month during a Sh’mittah year) on the first day of Sukkot.  He was then given His name Yeshua eight days later on the twenty second day of Tishri.  Side note: Oral Torah which is written today believed Shabbat was thought of as a day of mystical union between the Hebrew people and God Reflecting the intimacy of this spiritual union, some medieval Jewish mystical texts speak of Shabbat as an especially propitious day for a husband and wife to be intimate with each other, as a symbolic union of God and the Hebrew people.  I believe that the Hebrew Biblical year 3755 starts the beginning of the Messianic age special days happened on the Sabbath.  The beginning of the Messianic age with the birth of “John the Immerser”, the birth of the Messiah and when He was given His name.  One could imply this is true; however, God’s Word does not directly say this.  Just about everything written by me came from God’s Word unless stated otherwise. I also wrote a summary of the death and resurrection of the Messiah for the fifth largest Catholic cathedral in America to use for a sky scape above their alter showing the location of the stars etc. during the night of the resurrection.  If you read Matthew 27:63 you will see that the Messiah was resurrected on the fourth day which make sense if He spent three days and three nights in the center of the earth using the Hebrew definition of what a day is.  You need to put everything into the Hebrew way of life to see these things since it appears that Luke is the only non Hebrew writer of God’s Word.  Another thing is that in Luke they say He rose on the third day which is possible using the Roman system of time where the new day starts at midnight and the new day for the Hebrews starts at sunset. Remember the following: “Matthew 5:17-18 “Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah — not until everything that must happen has happened.” “Luke 16:14-17 The P’rushim heard all this, and since they were money-lovers, they ridiculed him. 15 He said to them, “You people make yourselves look righteous to others, but God knows your hearts; what people regard highly is an abomination before God! 16 Up to the time of Yochanan there were the Torah and the Prophets. Since then the Good News of the Kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is pushing to get in. 17 However it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the Torah to become void. In the above the Gospels of Matthew and Luke are telling us that Torah will exist beyond heaven and earth.  If you do not know Torah I suggest that knowing Torah should become a priority. The point of all this is to understand who God is and know what He gives us and what He expects from us.  Understand that there are certain problems with translations of the Bible and interpretation.  If you are young, learn Hebrew which will greatly improve your understanding.   There are a lot of opinions about what certain verses mean the trick is to understand what God is telling you.  God is not trying to fool us or hide the meaning of His Word, this takes time and prayer to see what God is telling us. God wants all of His human creation to follow His Torah.  Though out His Torah we see God continuing to have the foreigner follow His Torah meaning directions. Exodus 22:20“  You must neither wrong nor oppress a foreigner living among you, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt. There are many other verses that tell us that God desires the foreigners to follow His directions
TwoSticksToOne posted a comment · Dec 26, 2020
I find it also amazing that Abraham who is the Father of our faith had other children who lived in the east in the East country who he gave gifts to and that these wise men who happen to be from the east brought gifts to the new born King. I find it fascinating that these two events bring up gifts considering the mentioning of gifts and who gave them and who received them. Just wanted to share with you, God bless... . ~~~>Genesis 25:1  Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2  And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. 3  And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. 4  And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5  And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. 6  But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country. 
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yeshuais4me posted a comment · Dec 25, 2020
A few things we need to know about our God (it is best to know everything about God) Exodus 34:14 because you are not to bow down to any other god; since Adonai — whose very name is Jealous — is a jealous God. Numbers 23:19 “God is not a human who lies or a mortal who changes his mind. When he says something, he will do it; when he makes a promise, he will fulfill it. Deuteronomy 17:3 “by going and serving other gods and worshipping them, the sun, the moon, or anything in the sky — something I (Adonai/God) have forbidden.” God gave us Torah (His instructions) and the Messiah tells us in Matthew 5 that He did not come to abolish Torah (First five books of instructions given to Moses) which is translated as the word “law” in most English translations when in fact Torah can mean “target” or “instruction”.  The Messiah continued to tell us in Matthew 5 that not one stroke or Hebrew letter will be changed until heaven and earth pass away.  So is God in the flesh telling us that Torah is valid even after heaven and earth pass away?  This thought of Torah existing beyond Heaven and Earth is repeated in Luke 16:17 “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in Torah to become void.” Some of my life experiences First, my experience during the Six Day War showed me that there is a God of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Patriarchs.  A classmate died in this war and was buried as a Vietnam veteran which later was corrected.  Next know that I never went to a divinity school which from what I have learned was in some ways a blessing meaning my only source is God’s Word and not man’s words or traditions.  When I found a problem I could not solve, I went to friends who knew Hebrew which included a Rabbi, Cohen, etc. some live in Israel.  I am a goy also called a gentile.  Due to the involvement of the Evil One in the world we live in, things are very complex.  The goal of the Evil One is to separate us from God by distorting truth.  The pagan history tells us that they worshipped objects in the sky, the Roman’s major objects in the sky were the sun and Constantine’s vision of the cross at Milvian Bridge which distorts how God words are viewed . In the beginning pagans only worshipped things that they could see, animals, man, sun, moon, stars, etc. which most all were God’s creations.  However, many times God tells us only worship the Creator and not His creations.  As to the worship of spirits it is very hard to have an exact date when the pagans worshipped a spirit.  So how did we end up saying the Messiah was born December 25th when God tells us the Messiah will be born in the seventh month (Tishri) on the fifteenth day and the Gospel Luke chapter 1 telling us the Messiah was born during the seventh month on the fifteenth day in a Sh'mittah year. Approximately 1500 BC most nations worshiped the sun god.  By using sun dials they could tell when days were getting shorter and then longer.  Calendars were all over the place and each nation seem to have their own ideas to determining what day it was without a standardization of hours in a day or number of days in a month, etc.   This actions by men made it easier for the Adversary to confuse things.  One of the most popular calendars came from the Romans who gave us the Julian calendar at the time of Julius Cesar.  Rome appeared to have one thing in common with a lot of other nations which was the celebration of the sun god which normally happened four days after the winter solstice which is December 21 using today’s Gregorian calendar .  Four days later is December 25.  Later December 25 was the day Julius Cesar was declared a god.   First we must understand that the Romans had a very strong dislike for those who followed the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  We see this when reading the writings of Josephus, especially Chapter 18.3.1 of “The Antiquities of the Jews.  This chapter tells us that Pilate, the procurator of Judea, who removed an army from Cesarea to Jerusalem to take their winter quarters there in order to abolish God’s Torah, known in most english translations as law.  This is the same Pilate who ruled over the trial of the Messiah.   The Romans being in control of their known world were very prideful in their ways and of their worldly knowledge.  When the Romans saw that the God of Israel had a very different view of how God’s creation should live their life, conflict began.  If you read the history of God’s chosen people you will see that there was conflict from the beginning of man between good and evil with short periods of peace.  Today, looking back seemed simple that when the followers of God follow His instruction, Torah, there was peace.  However, peace disappeared when God’s instructions were not followed.  Our Creator gave His human creation “free will” to chose “good” by following God’s directions (Torah) or to chose “evil” the opposite of good which separates us from God.  I remember many years ago a talk show host told the audience that “all go to heaven” when the Messiah tells us few enter the kingdom, which is more likely.  Remember that the Messiah tells us how important God’s instructions (Torah) are if you want to have a relationship with the God of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob: The Roman Empire started out and continues to follow pagan traditions like most of the world population.  They celebrated the sun and provided many names for this god as did other pagan nations.  The celebration of the sun god started when the people could tell that the daylight was getting shorter and then longer.  It became consistent that four days after the winter solstice (December 21), which is when winter normally began, man could tell the days were getting longer and it became common to celebrate on December 25 as the coming of warmer days.   Then there was the Roman Emperor Aurelian, who is known for promoting the worship of the ‘god of the Unconquered Sun’, creating an official priesthood as well as building a temple to the sun god.  Aurelian’s proclamation happened in the year 274 CE on December 25. The pagans continued to worship the sun as their biggest celebration of the year until Constantine became ruler of the entire Roman Empire and called his Empire a Christian empire.  Then Constantine changed the name of the celebration from Sol Invictus to Christ Mas which we know today as Christmas.  December 25 is still celebrated today.  I hope most people understand that December 25 is a tradition and not command from God.  However, you will see that worship of the seventh month and 15th day is a command from God.  As far as worshipping the sun, the date kind of makes sense since the winter solstice normally happens on the 21 of December and after four days man could tell that the days were getting longer thus giving man a reason to celebrate that longer and warmer days are ahead.  The Romans were very pagan before the beginning of their nation and continued the tradition of celebrating on December 25 to the sun god, Sol Invictus.  However when Constantine came to power and Constantine wanted the Roman Empire to be a Christian nation which became a problem.  Becoming a Christian nation was mainly due to the influence of Constantine’s mother.  Of course at this time there were a lot of problems with this conversion since most of Rome followed the pagan traditions and also had little or no education of God’s Word among the majority of citizens to know the difference.  Also remember that when the Latin Vulgate was printed very few had access to this translation of God’s words.  Also most were not allowed to have access to the Latin Vulgate. The monk, Dionysius Exiguus better known as “Dennis the Small” created a split in the calendar by creating BC and AD around the year 500 AD.  At the time of the calendar split there were those that believed Dennis made an error in his calculations of the birth of the Messiah and the empire continued the tradition of celebrating on December 25 by saying the Messiah was born December 25 which appears to be a political opinion to follow tradition. Then the Julian calendar created by Julius Caesar had to be replaced due to dates that normally predicted or tell us the seasons, drifted apart from their assigned time.  By the time the Julian calendar was replaced with the Gregorian calendar. The actual winter solstice was December 31 drifting ten days when using the Julian calendar.  From this worship of the sun god we have progressed to the tradition of worshipping the birth of the Messiah on December 25 that has lasted more than 1500 years.  We know from God’s Words that the birth of the Messiah on December 25th is a lie from the Evil One. The birth of the Messiah Let us start with God’s words related to the the Messiah during the end of days: Genesis 49:8-12 (CJB) 8 “Y’hudah, your brothers will acknowledge you, your hand will be on the neck of your enemies, your father’s sons will bow down before you. 9 Y’hudah is a lion’s cub; my son, you stand over the prey. He crouches down and stretches like a lion; like a lioness, who dares to provoke him? 10 The scepter will not pass from Y’hudah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his legs, until he comes to whom [obedience] belongs; and it is he whom the peoples will obey. 11 Tying his donkey to the vine, his donkey’s colt to the choice grapevine, he washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk. Comment: This is telling us that during the “end of days” the king of this world will be from the tribe of Judah and with the history of what has happened we can see that the return of our Messiah is very near since Jerusalem has been restored to the land of Israel. Exodus 23:10-17 (CJB) 10 “For six years, you are to sow your land with seed and gather in its harvest. 11 But the seventh year (Sh’mittah), you are to let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people can eat; and what they leave, the wild animals in the countryside can eat. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove. 12 “For six days, you are to work. But on the seventh day, you are to rest, so that your ox and donkey can rest, and your slave-girl’s son and the foreigner be renewed. 13 “Pay attention to everything I have said to you; do not invoke the names of other gods or even let them be heard crossing your lips. 14 “Three times a year, you are to observe a festival for me. 15 Keep the festival of matzah: for seven days, as I ordered you, you are to eat matzah at the time determined in the month of Aviv; for it was in that month that you left Egypt. No one is to appear before me empty-handed. 16 Next, the festival of harvest, the firstfruits of your efforts sowing in the field; and last, the festival of ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather in from the fields the results of your efforts. 17 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Lord, Adonai. Comment:  This time all of God’s “Appointed Times” are identified together.  More details follow in the remaining books of Torah.  What you see above is God’s seven year cycle and then the seven day cycle with brief descriptions.  We will only deal with those things that involve the birth of the Messiah. Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), years one to six Leviticus 23:33-38 (CJB)  33 Adonai said to Moshe, 34 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of Sukkot for seven days to Adonai. 35 On the first day there is to be a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work. 36 For seven days you are to bring an offering made by fire to Adonai; on the eighth day you are to have a holy convocation and bring an offering made by fire to Adonai ; it is a day of public assembly; do not do any kind of ordinary work.  37 These are the designated times of Adonai that you are to proclaim as holy convocations and bring a fire made to Adonai - a burnt offering, a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offering, each on its own day - 38 besides the Shabbats of Adonai, your gifts, all your vows and all your voluntary offerings that you give to Adonai.  Sukkot, year seven known as Sh’mittah or year of release The year 2020 is a Sh’mittah year Leviticus 23:39-43 (CJB)  39 “‘But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to observe the festival of Adonai seven days; the first day is to be a complete rest (Sabbath) and the eighth day is to be a complete rest (Sabbath). 40 On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river-willows, and celebrate in the presence of Adonai your God for seven days. 41 You are to observe it as a feast to Adonai seven days in the year; it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month. 42 You are to live in sukkot for seven days; every citizen of Isra’el is to live in a sukkah, 43 so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Isra’el live in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am Adonai your God.’” Comments:  There are two ways that Sukkot is celebrated.  The first group of verses is for years one through six which is Leviticus 23: 33-38.  Some of the differences are noted in blue.  The second group is how to celebrate year seven, the Sh’mittah year.  This is Leviticus 23: 39-43 with some of the word differences being in red.  Two things that are important to note.  First, during the seventh year the month of Sukkot will always be in the seventh month as God has commanded.  Also the 1st day of Sukkot will be in the seventh month, on day fifteen which will be a Shabbat or seventh day of the week.  The last day of Sukkot will be day 21 of Tishri.  Know that Tishri is a very special month in the Hebrew year 3756 (Sh’mittah year), day 15 was the birth of the Messiah and day 22 which is a continuation of the celebration of Sukkot called Shemini Atzeret which was the day the Messiah was given His name, Yeshua (Salvation) and He also was circumsized.  See above Leviticus 23:39.  To have a better understanding of the Sh’mittah year read Deuteronomy chapter 15. 2 Smauel 7: 11-14 ………..”Moreover, Adonai tells you that Adonai will make you a house.  12 When your days come to an end and you sleep with your ancestors, I will establish one of your descendants to succeed you, one of your own flesh and blood; and I will set us his rulership. 13 He will build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. 14 I will be a father for him, and he will be a son for me……” Comment:  This can be confusing since Solomon was made king while David was still alive.  Therefore Adonai is not talking about Solomon as being king forever. I Kings chapter 13   “2 And by the word from Adonai he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar, here is what Adonai says: ‘A son will be born to the house of David; his name will be Yoshiyahu; and on you he will sacrifice the cohanim of the high places who burn incense on you! They will burn human bones on you!’” Comment:  To fully understand this verse you need to know the history of the split of the ten tribes from Judah and Benjamin.  This King, Yarov’am (Jeroboam), of the ten tribes did not want to follow God’s Torah.  One of the bigger mistakes the king of the ten tribes made was to move the celebration of Sukkot from the seventh month to the eighth month when God commands during the Sh’mittah year Sukkot will always be in the seventh month. Leviticus 23:41, Read I Kings to understand the how God punished the ten tribes. If God would punish the ten tribes for moving the date of Sukkot from the seventh month to eight month during the Sh’mittah year how would God punish those who changed the birth of the Messiah from the Hebrew year 3756, seventh month, fifteenth day to December 25 of any year? You need to know that when God gives a person a name, the name describes a person’s charter.  Here are some examples:  Genesis 32:28-29(CJB) 28 (27) The man asked, “What is your name?” and he answered, “Ya‘akov (Jacob).” 29 (28) Then the man said, “From now on, you will no longer be called Ya‘akov, but Isra’el “struggles with God”; because you have shown your strength to both God and men and have prevailed.”  Here is a nane from the Gospel, Yochanan also known as John the Immerser.  Yochanan means “God gives grace”.  Yoshiyahu translated in English is Josiah which means Yahweh (God) supports, etc. The thing we need to understand is that if God gives a name, which God has done very few times, it is to identify their charter.  He knows us completely including our motives why we do certain things.  When God looks at us we have no excuses. see above verse Leviticus 23:41 to understand the problem of changing the month of Sukkot from the seventh month to the eight month which is against God’s word. The thing about dates When the monk Dionysius Exiguus better known as “Dennis the Small” split the calendar into BC and AD there were those that knew Dennis was in error; however, those in power continued with Dennis making the death of the Messiah in 33 AD.  The Romans knew that the Messiah lived 33 years and six months, so a lot of the Roman history was based on the Messiah’s death being 33 AD.  Both the Babylonian Talmud (Yoma 39B) and Josephus tell us that there are forty years between the resurrection of the Messiah and the destruction of the temple. The Messiah was born in the seventh month in the year of the Hebrew Biblical year 3756 (Sh’mittah, year of release) on the 15th day.  Count from this day to the Hebrew Biblical year 3790 in the first month (Aviv) 15th day is when the Messiah entered the center of the earth.  and you should have a total of 33 years and six months.  The resurrection was the 18th day during the month of Aviv, the first day of the week.  Also know that Josephus tells us that the Messiah was a Rabbi for approximately three years.  You can also read the New Testament and come up with the different places the Messiah, as a Rabbi,  was during Pesach (Passover).  In the year 2001 author James Carroll wrote Constantine’s Sword.  At the back of this book there is a chronology of the birth and death of the Messiah.  Carroll seem to have the correct years, born 4 BC and died 30 AD.  There are those in the church who know that December 25 is not the day the Messiah was born.  However it appears that most churches do not want to go against tradition.  The book “Jesus of Nazareth” is the writing on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ by Pope Benedict XVI, published in three volumes.  It was published by Doubleday in 2007.  One thing that stood out was Pope Benedict XVI telling us that the birth of the Messiah was between 2 BC and 7BC once again saying that Dennis the Small was wrong in his calculation of when the Messiah was born.  Know from the above that God tells us when the Messiah was born. The Maccabees Something that is overlooked are the books of the Maccabees.  For certain prophecies to be fulfill by the coming Messiah God’s chosen people had to have a certain amount of control over Jerusalem and the surrounding land by those who followed Torah.  There are many prophecies that involve the people and the Land during the time the Messiah is on earth.  The Maccabees led by Judas Maccabeus (The Hammer) around 148 BC captured and restored the Temple that King Antiochus defiled.  Judas led the people back to their Jewish roots by returning them to Torah, etc.  It would help if you read 1 Maccabees.  An interesting point is that 1 Maccabees refers to the  temple being on Mount Zion?  Something to think about: 2 Kings 19:31 “for a remnant will go out from Yerushalayim, those escaping will go out from Mount Tziyon. The zeal of Adonai-Tzva’ot will accomplish this.’” If you read Luke 1 with understanding of Hebrew customs you should see that the Messiah was born in the Hebrew year 3756 which is a Sh’mittah year, during the seventh month on the fifteenth day. Remember that the “Evil One” is the ruler of our world and our protection comes from the Holy Sprit.  Also the Evil One is the master of lies.  Read John 14 which tells us about the coming of the ruler of our world that we live in and I John 5:19.  Also know the meaning of verse Matthew 15:24 “He (Messiah) said I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. This means that the Messiah was only sent to the people of Israel, the twelve tribes of Jacob, who were lost due to the Torah teachers, P’rushim (Pharisees), Tz’dukim (Sadducees), etc. gave the people a lot of thoughts that came from man and not God. Chronology of the birth, life and death of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah! Conceived 30 Kislen in the Hebrew Biblical year 3755 during what we call today Hanukkah.  The word Hanukkah is not found in Hebrew writings until sometime after 2 AD.  Some say that the Maccabees after restoring the temple were celebrating the Sukkot feast they missed during the restoration of the temple?  Born 15 Tishri in the Hebrew Biblical year 3756 Started His ministry in the Hebrew Biblical year late 3786 sometime after Sukkot. Was crucified late in the day 14 Nisan 3790 Was in the center of the Earth starting 15 Nisan 3790-Matthew 12:40. Resurrected at the beginning of the day 18 Nisan 3790, the first day of the week-Matthew 27:63 4th day of the Hebrew calendar. First time after the resurrection that the Yom Kippur sin offering was rejected by God which would be in the Hebrew Biblical year 3790 during the seventh month on the tenth day.  The Yom Kippur sin offering continued to be rejected by God for 39 more years.  The Babylonia Talmud Yoma 39B and writings of Josephus both confirm a 40 year period between the resurrection of the Messiah and the destruction of the Temple. Remember that a Hebrew day starts at sundown (Genesis 1).  Also Luke 1 gives us the day the Messiah was born if you understand the customs of God’s human creation who follow His directions known as Torah during the time of the Messiah.