Tag: Herod’s Temple

13-48 It’s Christmastime! Dating, Origins, History, and Biblical Accounts

13-48 It’s Christmastime! Dating, Origins, History, and Biblical Accounts

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Show 13-48 Summary: Christmastime is that time of year when you run into the Christmas downers who try to convince you “real Christians” shouldn’t celebrate Christmas because it has “pagan origins.” You doubtless see them popping up on social media and among your circle of friends. And they will arrogantly scoff at anyone who doesn’t echo their dismissive Christmas attitude. The modern-day Christmas downer is a lot like the downer Puritans before them: if they don’t approve it, then it’s just not Christian. For much of American history, the Puritans and other protestant offshoots banned Christmas celebrations — especially merrymaking. This week, find out why you shouldn’t let them steal your Christmas joy. We talk with Pastor Richard Peil about the origins and history of Christmas celebrations, its potential dating, and some exciting insights into the two Biblical accounts of the Nativity story.

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Original Air Dates: December 2nd & 3rd, 2023 | Guest: Pastor Richard Peil

This Week – It’s Christmastime!

For most people, Christmastime is a joyous time. Filled with traditions, family, joy, and memories and nostalgia about Christmases past. But not for everyone. Some are committed to being the Christmas downer. Why? Because they’ve gotten it in their head that Christmas has pagan origins. That it was originally a pagan holiday that the early Church co-opted Saturnalia. Or other pagan holidays. So they spend what should be a joyous time of year dragging others down and, Grinch-like, attempting to steal others’ joy and Christmas spirit.

Don’t let them.

And when they’re not pushing the Saturnalia angle, they’ll point out similarities between the Mithra religion. Yes, there are alleged similarities. But you know who’s the greatest imitator of God and what is holy? Satan. (Funny how they forget that.) They’ll say we don’t know when Jesus was born. And that’s largely true. And they’ll also say whenever he was born it was not on December 25th, in 1 A.D. Yes, that’s possible. After all, if your focus is to pick a day that something didn’t happen, you’ve got a 364 out 365 chance of being right.

Calendars and the Dating of Christmas Day

Over the millennia, calendars and dates have been tweaked and revised and reordered to an extent that it’s hard to say which day might have been the true Christmas Day. And it’s a moving date. At one time, most scholars thought Jesus was born in 4 B.C. based largely on Josephus. But better information came to light, including a better dating for the eclipse Josephus mentioned. And, drawing on other historical sources, it’s now reliably likely that Jesus was born in  2 B.C.

But which day of the year?

Well, here’s the thing: no one knows. But it’s not the date that’s important – it’s what happened that’s important. Regardless of the day of the year. That the war against Satan had started and his time holding power over this world was coming to an end. And, as with any life, it’s not “just” that you’re born but what you do with that life. The date it started doesn’t matter in the greater scheme of things.

Origins of Christmas

We welcome back Pastor Richard Peil who leads Victory Baptist Church in Bend, Oregon, to talk about Christmas, its early church origins and beliefs. In the early days of Christianity, which had many Jewish converts and followed Jewish heritage, most people did not celebrate birthdays at all. Instead, they celebrated the day when someone died. Which is rather odd from our modern standpoint. But tune in to hear other traditions and about two competing theories of why the early church thought Jesus was conceived on March 25th. And therefore must have been born on December 25th.

We also talk about Christmas time celebrations during America’s early days. Or not. Because in some colonies and states, not only was Christmas definitely not celebrated but was even banned from being celebrated.

And then we talk about the two Nativity stories in the Bible, from Matthew and Luke. Which tell the story of Jesus’s birth from two different viewpoints. And intended for two different audiences. Why does Matthew focus on the arrival of the Magi and Luke ignores it? Why does Luke focus on John the Baptist and the shepherds? And why does Matthew ignore those?

Watch the fascinating “Star of Bethlehem” 2007 documentary by Rick Larson
Try this link if you have Amazon Prime Video

Speaking of Magi, you’ll hear what some sources think their arrival was really like. And with some historical context, you’ll never think of the “Three Wise Men” the same ever again.

Christmastime Traditions and Today

Then we wrap up with some important discussions of Christmas in today’s day and age. Should Christians even celebrate? If so, why? What do non-believers need to see and to hear during Christmastime? And the same for Christians? What traditions does Pastor Peil’s family and church family celebrate and are important to them?

So when you run into the Christmas downer, spewing their Christmastime hate, remind them the date is not important. The Joy of Christmas is found in what happened that day, not the day on which it happened.

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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

Pastor Peil’s church is Victory Baptist Church. Their website is victoryforyou.church

The Problems Dating of Christmas

  • From Chuck Missler: When Was Jesus Born? (Koinonia House, Dec 1, 2020)
    • “We know that the flocks were in an open field (Luke 2:8). That means it was not after October, because it would have been too cold.”
    • 24 priestly courses
  • Jewish Calendar, 3BC and 2BC
  • Origins of April Fools Day (History.com)
    • “April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. …In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1.”
  • Roman calendar (via Fandom)
  • The Essenes Calendar (Bible Prophecy Information, via Rev210.net)
    • The Essenes (who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls) kept the traditional Jewish solar calendar, not the Pharisees’ lunar calendar
    • See our previous show with Dr. Ken Johnson for a fascinating look at the Essenes — the ancient Jewish sect, including their calendar-based prophecies of Jesus’s arrival and completion of his mission as The Messiah.
  • The First Recorded Celebration of Christmas (Christianity Today, Oct 23, 2020)
    • “In an old list of Roman bishops, compiled in A.D. 354 these words appear for A.D. 336: ‘25 Dec.: natus Christus in Betleem Judeae.’ Or, ‘December 25th, Christ born in Bethlehem, Judea.’ This… is the first recorded celebration of Christmas.”
  • Historians beware! Interesting discussion on Julian/Gregorian Calendars (University of Nottingham)
    • The Julian Calendar was the system of dating followed from 46BC onwards. It established a 365-¼ year. Except it was 11 minutes too long.
    • In 1582, the Gregorian calendar corrected the over-correction by eliminating ten days and adjusting leap years. But took nearly 400 years to be universally adopted!

The Magi, Other Christmastime

  • History of the Magi (Chuck Missler, December 1, 2021)
  • The fascinating “Star of Bethlehem” 2007 documentary by Rick Larson
  • The Origins of our Christmas Traditions (KHouse.org, Seasonal Favorites, Dec 2004)
    • “The first recorded mention of December 25th is in the Calendar of Philocalus (A.D. 354).”
  • The History of Christmas: Is It Pagan? (Koinonia House, Dec 13, 2011)
    • “Tertullian (AD 160-220), the early Church writer, noticed that the pagan religion [of Mithra] utilized baptism as well as bread and wine consecrated by priests. He considered Mithraism to have been inspired by the devil, who wanted to mock Christians and lead others to hell.”
  • John 1:14: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” The Greek word there for “dwelt” is  σκηνόω (pronounced, “skay-NAH-oh”) which means to tent or to encamp; which is why some translations use “tabernacled among us” instead of “dwelt among us.” See this link to Strong’s Concordance for more on σκηνόω.
  • What the Bible says about Feast of Tabernacles (BibleTools.org, No Date)
    • Required 189 animal sacrifices be made at the Feast of Tabernacles alone—more than all the other holy days combined.
  • Early Christmas (Britannica.com)
    • “During the first two centuries of Christianity there was strong opposition to recognizing birthdays of martyrs or, for that matter, of Jesus.”
  • The Christmas Story – Part 2 – Chuck Missler (Koinonia House, YouTube Channel, Dec 25, 2019)

 

 

Original location of the Jewish Temple. What if all the scholars are wrong?
The Real Location of the Jewish Temple

The Real Location of the Jewish Temple

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Show Summary: Tradition and preconceived notions are hard to overcome. And nowhere is this more true than Jerusalem and the location of the Jewish Temple — the one built by Solomon and later rebuilt and expanded by Herod. Scholars and centuries of tradition say the location of the Jewish Temple was the Temple Mount where the Dome of the Rock stands. What if they’re all wrong?

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Air Dates: April 8 & 9, 2017 | David Sielaff

We’re joined this week by David Sielaff, the Director of the  Associates for Scriptural Knowledge (ASK). They were founded by Dr. Ernest L Martin, who was one of the leading proponents of the true site of the Jewish Temple being located in the original City of David. Dr Martin was the author of The Temples that Jerusalem Forgot.



Whether it’s politics or or the media or academia or even religion, each of these have their “experts.” And the experts are right and everyone else is wrong. Or at least not as right. And there is an incredible amount of arrogance that comes with that puffed up sense of self, which in turn creates a mental roadblock that prevents experts from seeing alternate possibilities.

Location of the Jewish Temple: The rock under the Dome of the Rock
The rock under the Dome of the Rock. Does this look like a threshing floor to you?
The Bible says the location of the Jewish Temple was over a threshing floor. This is what a threshing floor looks like
An actual ancient threshing floor. What David bought would have looked something like this.

Take the original location of the Jewish Temple. The one built by Solomon and then later rebuilt and greatly expanded by Herod the Great. The Bible says that King David bought some property on which to build the Temple: the threshing floor floor of a Jebusite (the Jebusites had settled Jerusalem before David conquered it). Centuries of tradition place it on the so called “Temple Mount” where the Dome of the Rock now stands.

But threshing floors were flat. And smooth. Because farmers would use shovels and rakes to toss the grain up into the air to separate the grain from the chaff, you’d want a smooth surface to make the shoveling part easier. Look at the pictures here. Does the rock under the Dome look at all like it could have been a threshing floor?

Location of the Jewish Temple

The Jews would like to rebuild their Temple. But the Dome blocks them from doing so because the Dome of the Rock is the third holiest site in Islam and tearing it down would start the third world war.

But what if all those experts are wrong? What if the original location of the Jewish temple wasn’t on the Dome of the Rock at all?

Tune in this week to find out why all those “experts” could be incredibly wrong—and just think what that means for the Jewish people.

Links Mentioned

  • David Sielaff’s organization: Associates for Scriptural Knowledge – askelm.com. There is a ton of good information here not only on the location of the Jewish Temple but lots more on the intertwining of history, science, and scripture

Books

Arguments supporting original location of the Jewish Temple (not on so-called “Temple Mount”)

Academics’ Advocate

Just for Fun

 

 

This week on I Spy Radio - The True Location of Solomon's Temple
True Location of Solomon’s Temple

True Location of Solomon’s Temple

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Summary: For generations, Jews and Christians alike have believed that the true location of Solomon’s Temple was located on top of what is currently called, the Temple Mount, where the Muslim Dome of the Rock currently is. Some even believe the Holy of Holies was located on the very rock under the Dome. Since retaking Jerusalem, the Jews have prayed at the Western Wall, which they believe is the outer court and foundations of the Jewish Temple. But what if the experts have it all wrong? We talk to Dr. Bob Cornuke, who’s been called “a modern-day Indiana Jones” as he reveals the clues that reveal the true location of Solomon’s Temple.

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Air Dates: Mar. 19 (11a PT) & 20 (7p PT), 2016 | Dr. Bob Cornuke

Are the experts wrong? What if the true location of Solomon's Temple is south of the Temple Mount in the City of David.
The current Temple Mount, facing north. Note the empty area south of it.

If you close your eyes and envision Jerusalem, like most people you probably see the big iconic golden dome known as the “Dome of the Rock.”  It is on top of the highest hill in Jerusalem and surrounded by walls. In that same complex, just south of the golden dome is the al-Aqsa Mosque, and the hill and entire complex is collectively referred to as “the Temple Mount.”

The Temple Mount area is also what nearly everyone believes is the previous site of Solomon’s Temple—and where Herod rebuilt the magnificent temple that was the center of Jewish life at the time of Jesus. Christians believe t was in this temple on this spot where he taught and prayed. Where he overthrew the merchants’ tables, where he stood at trial before Caiaphas the High Priest. And it was the veil of this temple that was torn top to bottom after he died on the cross within site of the Temple.

But Herod’s Temple was completely destroyed during the Jewish Wars, which began in 66 A.D. All that remains of the original Temple—according to Biblical archaeology experts and generations of belief—is the area known as Western Wall or Wailing Wall.

Rebuilding the Temple

The Jewish people would love to rebuild their holy temple there but the Jews aren’t even allowed on the Temple Mount. Instead, they’re confined to pray outside the temple complex at the Western Wall. To rebuild the Temple, it must be rebuilt on the original, true location of Solomon’s Temple. But to do that, they would have to destroy the Dome of the Rock (or the al-Aqsa Mosque, depending on which expert you talk to). Needless to say, this would probably set off World War III since it is considered the third holiest site in Islam.

Rebuilding the Temple on the true location of Solomon’s Temple has importance to Christians as well. Because many believe that before Jesus returns, the temple must be rebuilt.

But what if all the experts are wrong? What if the original, true location of Solomon’s Temple is not on the “Temple Mount” at all?

Finding the True Location of Solomon’s Temple

All too often, whether in politics or academia, the “elite” or “establishment” have one way of thinking and it may take an outsider to shake things up.  But what if — when it comes to the Temple Mount and the true original site of Solomon’s Temple — what if the “establishment experts” have it all wrong?  What if the Jewish people could rebuild their temple right now?  And all that needs to happen is to awaken people to the truth in order to overcome generations of perception and establishment thinking.

On this week’s show we talk with Dr. Bob Cornuke about the evidence that disproves the experts. Using his experience as a former police investigator, he walks us through the clues and evidence from Biblical, historical, and eyewitness accounts that would indicate the original site of Solomon’s Temple was south of the Temple Mount, in the City of David.

An illustration showing the true location of Solomon's Temple along with Fortress Antonia
Click to enlarge

Dr. Bob Cornuke is a biblical investigator, an international explorer with over 50 expeditions around the world searching for lost locations described in the Bible. These include the search for Noah’s Ark (with Apollo XV astronaut, James Irwin), the real Mount Sinai, St. Paul’s shipwreck, and even the Ark of the Covenant. In addition to his exploits, Bob holds a PhD in Bible and Theology from Louisiana Baptist University and is the President of the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration (BASE) Institute located in Colorado Springs, CO. He is also the author of nine books, his latest is Temple: Amazing New Discoveries that Change Everything about the Location of Solomon’s Temple.

Links Mentioned (plus lots more)

Articles on the True Location

Videos on the True Location of Solomon’s Temple