The Nativity

QUESTION TEN: “Dr. Martin, you make a great deal of fuss in your writings that Jesus was born just after sundown (at the beginning of the Hebrew day) on Rosh Ha-Shanah which was the Jewish New Year’s date in 3 B.C. You seem to hit hard against the guess that December 25th could have anything to do with His actual birth (though you point out in your book that the Magi, who were pagan priests, did in fact present their gifts to Christ some 15 months after His birth near that period). You also show that there were some early records that indicate that he was not an infant, but a toddler (and able to walk), when those Magi arrived at the Winter Solstice period. If this is the case, what difference does it make if the Christian today accepts the true September 11th date (on which Rosh Ha-Shanah occurred in 3 B.C.) or delays his celebration until the 25th of December? In a word, what difference does any day make?”

ANSWER TO QUESTION TEN. This is a good question and it needs an answer. The best way to approach this important (and highly significant) matter is to be reminded that the Bible speaks of an Antichrist to appear on the earth just before the Second Advent of Jesus Christ back to this earth. I have written numerous articles on the Antichrist and those research papers can be read on the ASK Web Page. Simply type in the word “Antichrist” in the Search Box on the ASK Home Page and you will be supplied with several articles to show that the real Antichrist will present himself to the world in a few years’ time ahead of us as one who has most of the outward credentials of the true Christ. He will look and do so much like the true Christ that Jesus said that even the very elect of Christ at the time will be close to accepting him as the true Christ (though he is in fact the False Antichrist). See Matthew 24:23-28. But Christ has given us some undeniable clues that will help all of us distinguish between the False Christ called the Antichrist, and the true Christ Jesus when He appears from heaven at the Second Advent.

Now, what people do not know (or the majority do not realize) is that for the 2000 years prior to Christ Jesus coming into the world in 3 B.C., and for three hundred years after His nativity, there were literally scores of false human beings that Satan the Devil allowed to appear on the earth that duplicated several of the characteristics of the true Christ when He would appear in the world. These identical features (at least in folktales some of these factors became associated with various false deities) were placed on these people by Satan (that God allowed). These outward characteristics could easily fool the unwise into believing those false individuals were the Messiah that the Jewish people had long looked for. But there are several factors that ALL these erroneous pagan personalities of the past DID NOT HAVE. None of them was depicted as being born on Rosh Ha-Shanah (the Day of Trumpets — a most significant symbolic day in the Jewish calendar, it being New Year’s Day near the Autumn) and that there were the outstanding celestial events occupying a period of 18 months from August 3 B.C. to January 10 in 1 B.C. associated with Jesus’ birth. These heavenly signs showed that God the Father was truly introducing His divine Son into the world PRECISELY AT THAT TIME. This is why the time factor of His birth is so important in identifying the true Messiah, and not the false ones that Satan has displayed from 2000 years before Christ to 300 years after Jesus was born. Only Jesus Christ had the significant Rosh Ha-Shanah identification and the prolific celestial signs that showed pageantry that could do nothing but cause astonishment to the world from 3 B.C. to 1 B.C. All the Jewish authorities believed that the Messiah would come into the world on outstanding Holy Days that were given by God to Moses and Israel. The Jews NEVER believed the Messiah would be associated with PAGAN DAYS that the world celebrated.

Yet note the following. ALL the other FALSE contenders in their attempt to be recognized as the Jewish Messiah HAD NONE of these important identifiers. Indeed, there were NO CELESTIAL SIGNS in the heavens AT ALL during their nativities like those that happened when Matthew said the STAR appeared in the heavens. I have catalogued all of the majestic celestial events involving the Sun, Moon, the planets and the fixed stars that came together in unison and precision at the very moment of Christ’s nativity and His ordination as a child. Everything associated with Christ in any time indication had to do with Hebrew Holy Days, NOT with PAGAN DAYS. It is most profound (and it is a key factor or deal point) that NONE of the early or later pagan “Christs” or “Messiahs” were reckoned to be born on September 11th in 3 B.C. which was the Holy period of God known as the Jewish New Year. God allowed only one person to share that time period as an identifying clue and sign that the individual was indeed the true Christ.

On the other hand, I can see God telling Satan (as He did when God instructed Satan that he could torment the patriarch Job as much as he wanted, but God put limits on Satan that he was NOT allowed to slay the patriarch Job). So it is now with Satan and ALL his False Messiahs. Satan was given power to duplicate many of the Messiah’s outward characteristics in the lives of ALL the False Messiahs (in order to confuse the world with these erroneous men), but Satan could not have ANY OF THOSE FALSE MESSIAHS born on Rosh Ha-Shanah at the time of the great and wondrous heavenly displays of the Sun, Moon, Planets and Stars in 3 B.C. when the real Christ was to be born into the world. That time period was reserved for the true Christ. See my book “The Star that Astonished the World” for details concerning this unique period for the introduction of the real Christ. This period was restricted solely for Jesus’ first advent into the world.

Thus, God prohibited Satan from duplicating that unique and outstanding period when Christ was actually born in order to avoid any confusion on this matter. Satan has been tethered. He is restricted to placing the nativity of HIS FALSE MESSIAHS at the Winter Solstice period when the Bible clearly would show this to be wrong. So, in almost all cases, when a day on the calendar was selected by the pagans to indicate the birth of their pagan Messiahs, they almost always selected December 25th. This is one of the main reasons why I [Ernest L. Martin] am so adamant against December 25th as the day indicating the Nativity of the true Savior into the world. This is because that is the very day that ALMOST ALL of the PAGAN CHRISTS (when Satan introduced them to the world) were selected to be born. This is when the PAGAN WORLD would have expected their Christ to be born. Satan normally selected such a date to please the heathen in their customary nature worship celebrations. And that is what has come down to us today.

But the true Christ was born on September 11th (Rosh Ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year) in 3 B.C. God would not allow Satan to place ANY of his False Christs on that significant date. NONE OF THE PAGAN CHRISTS like this date because none of the pagans ever saw any importance to it or its prime date on the Jewish calendar as having importance. Only the Jews reckoned such a date as important because they received their calendar from Moses. The pagans are different. They ALL admire (and MOST OF THE ACCOUNTS regarding these False Messiahs of the past DOGMATICALLY STATE) that the “pagan Christs” were almost all born on December 25th in the various years for the two thousand and more years of time that Satan introduced them into the world to deceive the world with Satan’s False Christs. These are well-known facts that all honest and capable historians understand and recognize.

Indeed, a book has recently been published that is highly critical of the story of Christ as shown in the Holy Scriptures. It is written by a man by the name of David Icke and it is called “Children of the Matrix.” In this book he singles out scores of False Christs that were introduced into the world from 2000 B.C. to 300 A.D. He was amazed that so many of the things that the Bible says the true Christ would possess as far as characteristics were concerned, these False Christs had acquired in some form. And some of those factors were indeed like those that the true Christ (Jesus Christ of Nazareth) showed to the world. But also, in ALMOST EVERY CASE, there were telltale signs that these scores of False Christs were simply that, THEY WERE FALSE CHRISTS. Why is this? It is because in ALMOST EVERY CASE, the essential signs of identification concerning their times of nativity were NOT sanctioned by God and they show that these individuals were FALSE CHRISTS.

What was one of the most significant signs that these early pagan deities were FALSE and COUNTER to the true Christ? The single factor deals with their births. ALMOST ALL OF THESE FALSE MESSIAHS were born on December 25th (like our False Christ with his beard and long-hair that the world worships today). That’s right. God has allowed us Christians of the End-Time to be able to recognize these FALSE CHRISTS because they were ALMOST ALWAYS born on December 25th. Let me quote two pages from this critical book of Christianity. You will notice that the man has painstakingly identified a Pandora’s Box of False Christs who can be proved to be FALSE CHRISTS because of their birthdays at the Winter Solstice of December 25th. This is why I have adamantly taught true Christians today to avoid this false date for the Nativity, because it identifies the FALSE CHRISTS OF THE WORLD (as history plainly shows) and NOT the true Christ who was born on September 11th in 3 B.C. on the Jewish holy day of Rosh Ha-Shanah. Let us note what the author of Children of the Matrix has to say. He singles out some of the most prominent of the PAGAN GODS that the apostles condemned and told Christians to avoid. Notice some gods.

“Attis, the Son of God of Phrygia
He was bom on December 25th to a virgin mother. He was called a “saviour”, the only begotten son, and died to save humanity. He was crucified on a Friday -”Black Friday” - and his blood was spilled to redeem the Earth. He suffered death “with nails and stakes”. He was the Father and Son combined in an earthly body. He was put in a tomb, went down into the underworld, but three days later, on March 25th, his body was found to have disappeared from the tomb and he was resurrected as the “Most High God”. His body was symbolised as bread and eaten by those who worshipped him.

Krishna (Christ), the Son of God of India
He was born to a virgin mother on December 25th and his father was a carpenter. A star marked his birthplace, and angels and shepherds attended. The ruler slaughtered thousands of infants in an effort to kill him, but he survived and went on to perform miracles and heal the sick, including lepers, the blind, and the deaf. He died at about the age of 30 and some traditions say he was crucified on a tree. He was also portrayed on a cross, rose from the dead, and was considered the saviour. His followers apparently knew him as “Jezeus” or “Jeseus”, which means “pure essence”. It is said that he will return on a white horse to judge the dead and fight the “Prince of Evil.”

Dionysus or Bacchus, the Son of God of Greece
He was born to a virgin mother on December 25th and put in a manger and swaddling clothes. He was a teacher who travelled, performing miracles. He turned water into wine (like the Sun) and rode in triumph on an ass (so did the Egyptian deity, Set). He was the ram or the lamb, God of the Vine, God of Gods and King of Kings, Only Begotten Son, bearer of sins, Redeemer, Anointed One (Christos), Alpha and Omega. He was hung and crucified on a tree, but rose from the dead on March 25th. During the 1st century BC, the Hebrews in Jerusalem also worshipped this deity. J.M. Roberts writes in Antiquity Unveiled (Health Research, 1970) that “IES, the Phoenician name for Bacchus, offers the origin to Jesus”. He says IES can be broken up into “I” (the one) and “es” (fire and light). Taken as one word, “ies” means the one light. He goes on: “This is none other than the light of St John’s gospel; and this name is to be found everywhere on Christian altars, both protestant and catholic, thus clearly showing that the Christian religion is but a modification of Oriental Sun Worship, attributed to Zoroaster. The Christians read the same letters ‘IHS’ in the Greek text as ‘Jes’ and the Roman Christian priesthood added the terminus ‘us’.”

The author, David Icke, continues: “Here are some of the other pre-Christian deities of whom the “Jesus” story was told: Apollo, Hercules, and Zeus of Greece; Adad and Marduk of Assyria; Buddha Sakia and Indra of India and Tibet; Salivahana of southern India and Bermuda; Osiris and Horus of Egypt; Odin, Balder, and Frey of Scandinavia; Crite of Chaldea; Zoroaster of Persia; Baal (Bel) and Taut of Phoenicia; Bali of Afghanistan; Jao of Nepal; Wittoba of Bilingonese; Xamobds of Thrace; Zoar of the Bonzes; Chu Chulainn of Ireland; Deva Tat, Codom, and Sammonocadam of Siam; Alcides of Thebes; Mikado of the Sintoos; Beddru of Japan; Hesus or Eros, and Bremrillaham of the Druids; Thor, son of Odin, of Gauls; Cadmus of Greece; Hil and Feta of Mandaites; Gentaut and Quetzalcoatl of Mexico; Universal Monarch of the Sibyls; Ischy of Formosa; Divine Teacher of Plato; Holy One of Xaca; Fohi, Ieo, Lao-Kium, Chiang-Ti, and Tien of China; Ixion and Quirnus of Rome; Prometheus of the Caucasus; Mohammed or Mahomet of Arabia, Dahzbog of the Slavs; Jupiter, Jove, and Quirinius of Rome; Mithra of Persia, India, and Rome."

And in conclusion David Icke states: “The cult of Mithra originates thousands of years before “Jesus” and yet again tells the later Christian story in fine detail. It is even said that gold, frankincense, and myrrh, were offered to him [ELM comment: these items the Mithraic priests got from the Gospel account and not from pagan tradition]. By the time that Jesus was invented by the Anunnaki priesthood, the Mithra rites and religion were widespread throughout the Roman Empire. When they founded Christianity in Rome, they used the symbols and myths of the Mithric rituals. Mithra’s sacred day was Sunday because he was, like Jesus, symbolic of the Sun. Mithra worshippers called this the “Lord’s Day” and they celebrated the main Mithra festival during what is now Easter. Mithra initiations were held in caves adorned with the signs of Capricorn and Cancer, symbolic of the winter and summer solstices” (David Icke, Children of the Matrix, chapter eleven, pp.207,208). In a word, David Icke thinks this proves that all Christianity is false.

David Icke is expressing real nonsense on his part. There is, however, a common denominator that is found in all these False Messiahs which is diameterically opposite from the real Christ of the Holy Scriptures (and he and other scholars should have had enough sense to figure it out). ALL THESE FALSE CHRIST’S HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON. They ALL teach that in their nativities of the PAGAN MESSIAHS (as far as can be determined, and David Icke would agree with this) their celebrants have selected December 25th for their BIRTHDAYS! They also chose the Vernal Equinox for their false resurrections, whereas the true Christ Jesus was resurrected at least 15 days AFTER the Equinox as the Bible plainly proves. This means that the true time period of the Nativity and Resurrection of the Messiah become important identifying signs of the true Christ, while ALL THE PAGAN MESSIAHS are almost always associated with the Spring Equinox (March 25th for their supposed resurrections) and the Winter Solstice (December 25th for their Nativities). If any of the teachings of these mimickers of Christ mention the day of the birth or resurrection of their FALSE MESSIAHS, they almost always select the Winter Solstice or the Spring Equinox. While in many, many other ways there are similar outward characteristics of the true Christ.

What this means in clear language is this: the WORLD is still selecting the PAGAN DAYS THAT IDENTIFY ALL THE FALSE CHRISTS OF THE WORLD, while the true dates as given the Holy Scriptures for showing who is the real Christ identify only ONE INDIVIDUAL in all the history of the world. That single personage is the true Christ (Jesus Christ) who was born on September 11th in 3 B.C. and died about 15 days after the Spring Equinox as my research on early New Testament Chronology proves. If people want to continue with the so-called December 25th (which most consider an “innocent” mistake and of no consequence), then they have picked the day that has identified ALL THE PAGAN MESSIAHS over the millenniums. They are worshipping and honoring the False Christ of the heathen. But, if they abandon the day (and all its false celebrations), they can IDENTIFY with the true Christ of the Holy Scriptures who is soon coming to rule this world in righteousness and in truth. Jesus Christ of the Bible is the real Son of God. The proper credentials that prove him are biblical, NOT pagan equinox and solstice periods that all the heathen world accepts.

As a matter of fact, people can have God the Father's blessing now as being those who put the truth ahead of PAGAN FALSEHOODS. Where do you stand in all of this? You have the privilege of selecting either period to honor. You can pick the false period (December 25) or the true one of the Holy Scriptures (Rosh Ha-Shanah on the Hebrew calendar). Most people accept the false period that identifies ALL the PAGAN MESSIAHS, and only a few accept the true period that the Bible provides.

I hope that you will join with me and my wife and avoid the festivities of the FALSE PAGAN CHRISTS and return to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures and honoring the true periods associated SOLELY with Christ Jesus. So, the day of December 25th for Christ’s birthday is NOT as innocent as people may think. It identifies the worship of the Antichrist and is a central identifier of the PAGAN MESSIAHS of the world. And remember, you can’t put the real Christ Jesus back into Christmas (like some Protestants cleverly state) because Christ was never in Christmas in the first place. 

Ernest L. Martin, Ph.D.