Philippians 2:9-11

• "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
• That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
• And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

The Christian world generally celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th of December, but it is highly unlikely that this is the actual date of His birth. I do not see where God has provided enough information in scripture where we could say with absolute certainty the specific day of Christ's birth. Nevertheless, if we would work it out from the Jewish Priestly courses in the biblical record, I believe we can justly conclude that Jesus was born in the fall of the year, sometime between September and October.

In truth, the actual day is insignificant in any Christian celebration of His birth because we are not commanded to do so, nor are we commanded against observing such a day. Those of us who do, choose to do this as a special remembrance of His birth as greatest gift bestowed upon man. While we indeed celebrate his birth on every day of the year, we can also choose to set aside a day for a special observance and celebration.

This brings us to the question, when was Jesus born and can we know the actual year of the Lord's birth? From my studies I conclude that we can know with relative (yet not absolute) certainty from the evidence in scripture, and make a very strong Biblical case that Christ was born in 7 B.C.   The circumstantial evidence in the scriptures also points to that year, and while not authoritative, the secular information also agrees favorably. When we examine the Scriptural record, there are some things that we can know with certainty. For one thing, the birth of Christ took place after Joseph and Mary went into nazareth of Judaea for a required census.

    Luke 2:1-5

• "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
• (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
• And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
• And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
• To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

    Matthew 2:1-5

• "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
• Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
• When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
• And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
• And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,"

    Mtthew 2:7-8

• "Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
• And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also."

    Matthew 2:12-14

• "And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
• And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
• When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:"

    Matthew 2:15-18

• "And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
• then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
• Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
• In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."

    Matthew 2:19-23

• "But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
• Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
• And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
• But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
• And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene."

    Luke 2:40-42

There is other Biblical data that also points to the year 7 B.C. as the likely year of Christ's birth. Not the least of which is that 7 B.C. was a Jubilee [yowbel] year, which commemorates the year of liberty by the blowing of the Ram's horn. We know that God uses Holy days as "types" which point to the reality, and so it would certainly be in line with prophetic scripture that God would bring such a momentous occasion as Christ's Birth to fulfillment, by denoting it in such a Holy Year as the Jubilee. The Year of Liberty personifies Christ, as He was born to proclaim liberty.

The Jubilee was the fiftieth year after seven sevens (or weeks of years) when the land was to experience a Sabbath of rest. What better year for our Lord (our Sabbath of rest) to come than in the Jubilee year. It is in Him that our work would cease.

Leviticus 25:9-12

• "than shall thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.

• and ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a Jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

• A Jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.

• for it is a Jubilee; it shall be Holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field."

The Holy days and the designated years instituted by God always point to something. And the jubilee year points to Christ as our Sabbath of Rest. He is the day wherein we are born into Christian liberty, that we cease from our works. In Him we find our rest. And what better year for Christ to be born than this year of Jubilee or Liberty. If we count every fifty years from their entrance into canaan in 1407 B.C., to the first 49 (7x7) plus the 50th (Jubilee Year) in 1357 B.C., to exactly 28 Jubilee years later, it brings us to 7 B.C. [see "The Biblical Time line" study], and 7 B.C. fits perfectly as the year of our Lord's Birth.

Another scripture which seems to point to a jubilee year as the time relating to the Lord's coming is the prophecy of the 70 weeks of Daniel 9.

Daniel 9:25

• "know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times."

When we compare scripture with scriptures the seven sevens (weeks) points us back to Leviticus and the seven sevens of the Jubilee year. The coming of Messiah is intimately identified with this Jubilee year of 7 B.C.

It is also interesting to note that 7 B.C. is exactly 2000 years from the year that Jacob (Israel) was born (2007 B.C.) and we know that Christ is the Israel of God! Therefore it follows (knowing that God does nothing by coincidence), that Christ would be born on this date. i.e., the birth of Israel.

We also note that 7 B.C. is exactly 1000 years after David ascended to the throne to reign in 1007 B.C., and we know that David is a "type" of Christ, who was born king of Israel.

Matthew 2:1-2

• "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

• Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him".

Christ is born king of Israel and exactly 1000 years after David ascended to the throne, which again brings us to 7 B.C.

In connection with John's birth (6 months prior to our Lord's) and the Priestly office of Zecharias, there is also a great deal of evidence which would lead us to believe that Jesus might have been born on the Day of atonement in the month of Tisri (Lev. 25:9), which was the ushering in of the Jubilee year of 7 B.C., or the feast of tabernacles. The Census would have drawn Joseph and Mary to be counted.

It's interesting that there had previously been some secular speculation that there was no census because no one could find any records. But Archaeological finds indeed showed that the scriptures are accurate (not that Christians doubted it) when they discovered that the Romans had a regular enrollment of taxpayers, and that Augustus Caesar began a census that took place every 14 years. A papyrus found in Egypt states:

"Because of the approaching census it is necessary that all those residing for any cause away from their home should at once prepare to return to their own governments in order that they may complete the family registration of the enrollment."

This of course would also explain why Mary and Joseph found no room in the Inn, as Jerusalem and the neighboring communities would have no doubt been inundated with Jews who would have come from all over Israel to celebrate the Jubilee and feast days of the seventh month.

God's Word is clear that God's Holy Days look forward to (are a shadow of) God's plan for our Salvation, through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It is therefore more than reasonable to surmise that as He fulfilled His holy days exactly on the dates of the Jewish calendar, He would also fulfil the Jubilee exactly on the dates of the Jewish calendar. In the 7th month, and perhaps even on the day of atonement.

Our conclusion therefore, based on all the Biblical evidence at hand, is that Jesus Christ was "likely" born in 7 B.C., and that a biblical case can be made that He was born sometime between September and October, near the month of Tishri.