By Judith Niewiadomski
This year September 11th is the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America. Nearly three thousand Americans were murdered on that day by Islamist terrorists and thousands more innocent civilians and first responders died from the toxins released by jet fuel that burned for months. Research has shown that September 11 is the actual birthday of Jesus Christ, which in the year he was born, was Rosh Hashanah. Biblically known as the Feast of Trumpets, it was the beginning of the Jewish New Year and its holiest holidays.
The sad anniversary of the September 11th terrorist mass murder shows the level of evil men can be degraded to by listening to the ravings of other men. The birth of Jesus Christ reminds us that we have hope because God sent His only begotten son., the only perfect man to pay the price for our sins, redemption and healing, and to fulfill the law and bring us eternal life and the ability, once we are born again to live by the spirit of God which became available on Pentecost. Rosh Hashanah/the Feast of Trumpets is a time of celebration, feasting, and prayer for a sweet new year.
While there is no indication in the Bible that the early Christian church celebrated Jesus Christ’s birthday, his birth was the beginning of the fulfillment of promises that go back as far as Genesis 3:15. “One factor that helps us determine when Jesus Christ was born is the timing of the conception and birth of John the Baptist, whose birth preceded Jesus Christ’s by six months. Zacharias, … John the Baptist’s father, was a priest of the course of Abia (Luke 1:5), which meant that he was assigned to carry out certain duties in the Temple at Jerusalem for a specified week twice a year. By calculating with the aid of chronological tables, we learn that the priests of the course of Abia would have been in their first term of annual service (according to our months) in the last week of May in 4 B.C. It was during this time that John’s father found out that he was going to have a son (Luke 1:8-13)…..During Elisabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy (December, 4 B.C.), three months before John was born, God sent the angel Gabriel to tell Mary that she was also going to conceive and bear a child (Luke 1:26-31). Mary responded to the angel by saying, “…Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word…” (Luke 1:38). Perhaps it was at the moment she uttered these words that she conceived. Nine months from December of 4 B.C. sets Jesus’ birth in September of 3 B.C.”
“That Jesus was born in September, 3 B.C. is also supported by the Biblical record of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:1,4-6: And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world [a figurative reference to the Roman Empire] should be taxed [registered]. 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 [enrolled, registered] with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.”
“These verses indicate that Jesus was born during a registration that was conducted throughout the Roman Empire to record an official declaration of political allegiance to Caesar Augustus from all of his subjects. Historical evidence indicates this registration took place in 3 B.C., the year prior to Caesar’s twenty-fifth anniversary of supreme power, which was celebrated in 2 B.C. This historical evidence supports Jesus’ birth as taking place in 3 B.C. September was a logical time of the year for such a registration to take place because the weather was mild for travel, the crops had been harvested, and one Judean civil year was closing and another beginning”.
Luke 2:7: And she [Mary] brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
This verse tells us that after Mary brought forth her son, she laid him in a manger, which was normally used as a feeding trough, located in a stable or stall for animals. She did this because there was no more room at the inn…due to the influx of people into Bethlehem for the registration. In December, it would have been too cold to keep a newborn baby in a manger, but in September it would have been warm enough for this arrangement to work. This detail also provides support for September being the month of Jesus Christ’s birth in 3 B.C. Luke 2:8 gives additional detail that supports the idea that Jesus’ birth was not in December: “And there were in the same country [the same vicinity as Bethlehem] shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. “
“In Bible times in the late summer or early fall, farmers would often hire shepherds to keep their flocks in the farmers’ fields overnight so that the sheep’s manure would fertilize the fields. However, it was far too cold for sheep to graze at night from November through February. The presence of the shepherds is another indication that Jesus Christ could not have been born in December.”[1]
This year Rosh Hashanah/the Feast of Trumpets, which occurs on Tishri 1 in the Jewish calendar, coincides with our September 11th. Rosh Hashanah is far more spiritual than the world’s new year’s celebration, it is the beginning of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar, concluding with Yom Kippur, the day of Atonement, a day of fasting, prayer, and reflection to seek forgiveness from God and others, the holiest day of the year in Judaism. Jewish believers fast , pray, and spend much of the day in synagogue services. Jewish believers renew their commitment to God to do right and by His grace and mercy, be written in the Book of Life.
See here the spiritual contrast between the ideology that still butchers people, even those of their own religion, and the Judeo-Christian values of Western civilization where hundreds of first responders rushed into burning buildings trying to save the lives of strangers. Too many seem to have forgotten that is who we are, and this should be honored.
On September 11, 2001 President Bush said; “ Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. “ In this, President Bush was right because our nation is founded on Biblical principles. Jesus Christ articulated thoase principles when a power-hungry legalist, a Sadducee who did not believe what God’s Word says about the resurrections, tried to play gotcha He did not want to love and serve God and his neighbor, but wanted to destroy a man who did: “Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:35-40)
These principles are the foundation of America, though many have forsaken them or not yet come to know them. The sum of what GOD wants from us is to love Him and love our neighbor. These Biblical principles are why America has always been the most generous nation in the world, helping in every disaster—even those of our enemies, even rebuilding our enemies after wars, why we alone required government to protect the God-endowed rights of individuals to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. From early colonists on, individuals and privately organized groups have voluntarily helped the sick, the poor, have put together organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse, Cajun Navy, Mountain Mule Packers, and many others to help in disasters. We have Biblical groups laboring to bring the good news of God’s love, redemption, power, and healing to the world. We have volunteer firemen and volunteer responders. The brother of a murdered firefighter voluntarily runs Tunnels to Towers, which helps 9/11 victims and families, and has expanded to pay the mortgages of the families of other first responders who have died in the line of duty. We celebrate Thanksgiving as a national holiday because people who traveled an ocean for religious, freedom put aside time to thank God for surviving.
In the days following the worst terrorist attack on America, American were not forming roving bands to attack Muslims in the street, nor burning mosques and homes, evil acts that are typical responses in much of the world. There were no anti-Muslim riots. Instead, in America, volunteerism greatly increased. Not knowing what was to come, thousands of Americans trained for Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and in this area, a countywide first responder team, Westchester Emergency Volunteer Response (WEVR) to be ready to assist professional first responders should we be attacked again or face other disasters.
On this September 11, while we remember the victims of grievous evil, honor them by thanking God for the birth and ministry of Jesus Christ, the son of God, a rabbi who fulfilled the law and paid the price for our sins and the atonement that is memorialized on Yom Kippur. Because of his suffering service, we are twenty-five years closer to the resurrections and eternal reunion with our loved ones.
Other Resources:
Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed – Victor Paul Wierwille
ifcj.org jewfaq.org
Judith Niewiadomski, Yonkers
[1] https://thewayinternational.com/was-jesus-christ-born-in-December/