The Dates of the Birth, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The Birth of Jesus Christ
NOTE: All Scriptures are from the Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) unless otherwise specified.
How could Jesus have been born on December 25th? The Bible says that shepherds were out in the fields with their flocks on the day of Christ's birth, but shepherds aren't out with their flocks in the field in the winter. The Jews were called to be taxed, and Mary went into labor. Why would the Jews be called to travel to be taxed in the dead of winter, when travel can be impossible? John the Baptist baptized Jesus on Jesus' 30th birthday. Why would John the Baptist be baptizing people outside, in a natural body of water, in the winter? The water would be WAY too cold.
The answer to all of the above is simple: Jesus wasn't born in the winter, and I know this from the Bible. Let's see when Jesus was born:
John the Baptist was born six months before Jesus:
"And Mary said unto the messenger, `How shall this be, seeing a husband I do not know?' And the messenger answering said to her, `The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also the holy-begotten thing shall be called Son of God; and lo, Elisabeth, thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her who was called barren; because nothing shall be impossible with God.'" -Luke 1:34-37
Elizabeth is John the Baptist's mother. John's father was Zachariah. Zachariah was a Levitical priest, who served the priestly course assigned him, in the temple, when it was his turn to serve. If we can deduce when John the Baptist was born, then we'll know that six months after that, Jesus was born. This is easy to do:
"And it came to pass, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he went away to his house, and after those days, his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying -- `Thus hath the Lord done to me, in days in which He looked upon [me], to take away my reproach among men.' And in the sixth month was the messenger Gabriel sent by God, to a city of Galilee, the name of which [is] Nazareth, to a virgin, betrothed to a man, whose name [is] Joseph, of the house of David, and the name of the virgin [is] Mary." -Luke 1:23-27
After Zachariah finished serving his turn in his assigned priestly course in the temple, Elizabeth conceived John the Baptist. Does the Bible tell us when Zachariah served his priestly course? YES:
"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest, by name Zacharias, of the course of Abijah, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elisabeth." -Luke 1:5
When was the course of Abijah? The Old Testament laid out the priestly courses:
"And the first
lot goeth out for Jehoiarib, for Jedaiah the second,for Harim the third, for
Seorim the fourth, for Malchijah the fifth, for Mijamin the sixth, for Hakkoz
the seventh, for Abijah the eighth, for Jeshuah the ninth, for Shecaniah
the tenth, for Eliashib the eleventh, for Jakim the twelfth, for Huppah the
thirteenth, for Jeshebeab the fourteenth, for Bilgah the fifteenth, for Immer
the sixteenth, for Hezir the seventeenth, for Aphses the eighteenth, for
Pethahiah the nineteenth, for Jehezekel the twentieth, for Jachin the one and
twentieth, for Gamul the two and twentieth, for Delaiah the three and
twentieth, for Maaziah the four and twentieth. These [are] their
appointments for their service, to come in to the house of Jehovah,
according to their ordinance by the hand of Aaron their father, as Jehovah God
of Israel, commanded them." -1 Chronicles 24:7-19
We saw in Luke that Zachariah served the course of Abijah. We see in the
above Chronicles scripture, that the course of Abijah is the eighth
course. There are 12 Hebrew (and Gregorian) months in the year.
There were two priest courses per month. In the below chart, I've lined
up the priestly courses along with the Hebrew and Gregorian months they
correspond with:
Course |
Hebrew Month |
Gregorian |
1)Jehoiarib, 2)Jedaiah |
Nissan |
March-April |
3)Harim, 4)Seorim |
Iyar |
April-May |
5)Malchijah, 6)Mijamin |
Sivan |
May-June |
7)Hakkoz, 8)Abijah |
Tammuz |
June-July |
9)Jeshuah, 10)Shecaniah |
Av |
July-August |
11)Eliashib, 12)Jakim |
Elul |
August-September |
13)Huppah, 14)Jeshebeab |
Tishri |
September-October |
15)Bilgah, 16)Immer |
Heshvan |
October-November |
17)Hezir, 18)Aphses |
Kislev |
November-December |
19)Pethahiah, 20)Jehezekel |
Tevet |
December-January |
21)Jachin, 22)Gamul |
Shevat |
January-February |
23)Delaiah, 24)Maaziah |
Adar |
February-March |
There is a second set of 24 priestly courses as well, and those are listed in the next chapter - 1 Chronicles 25, starting with verse 8. These 24 serving courses were decided by lot (like rolling dice). The year that 1 Chronicles 25 records, has the eighth course lot landing on the priest named Jeshaiah, as was recorded in 1 Chronicles 25:15. Each priest on who the lot landed, to serve for a course, was also to bring their sons and male relatives, so that in total, there were 12 people, and they were to serve in the temple, in the course their lot fell on.
In the year that 1 Chronicles 25 records, Jeshaiah and his male relatives were to serve in the course of Abijah, as that's the eighth course.
Each course was two weeks. It is possible that the appointed priest and those who helped him would serve the first week of their course, and then the priest and his helpers, on whom the lot fell would then step in and take the second week. This is likely the order, since the assigned courses were mentioned first, in chapter 24, and the then courses by lot were mentioned second, in chapter 25.
If this be the case, then in the year 4BC, Zachariah served in the temple from July 10th until July 17th. Traditionally, it is believed that the one week service would be from Sabbath to Sabbath. If that is the case, then he may have served July 14th to July 21st, or July 7th to July 14th. If they served Sabbath to Sabbath, then courses would overlap, which is no problem. They just needed to make sure each course was always filled.
Since John the Baptist was conceived following Zachariah's course, this puts John being conceived somewhere around July 14th, 17th, or a bit after.
The Bible says Jesus was conceived when John was six months along in Elizabeth's womb. It doesn't say that it was 6 months to the day. It says "this is the sixth month to her." We therefore know she was around six months along, give or take a few days.
This puts Jesus being conceived in the month of Tevet. Nine months later shows Jesus being born in the seventh Jewish month of Tishri. That narrows down Jesus' birth to being in either the month September or October, as we see with the above chart.
We can use astronomy and the Jewish feasts to narrow down the day even more.
"The heavens [are] recounting the honour of God, And the work of His hands The expanse [is] declaring. Day to day uttereth speech, And night to night sheweth knowledge." -Psalm 19:1-2
"Let no one, then, judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths, which are a shadow of the coming things, and the body [is] of the Christ" -Colossians 2:16-17
Go to Stellarium.org, and download Stellarium program. It is free on desktop/laptop computers, and you can use it to view the stars and planets, etc, at any time. You can reverse the time, and take it back and see where the stars and planets were.
If you rewind Stellarium to the year -2, which is the same as 3BC, and take it to the date of September 10, you'll see what's quite possibly the Star of Bethlehem. Take a look in the below picture at the constellation Leo, and look at what's in his his heart (please ignore the circle and cross hairs. That was a pointer in the program):
Why are we looking at Leo? We are doing so, because one of the titles the Bible gives for Jesus, is a lion, such as we see in the below:
"and one of the elders saith to me, `Weep not; lo, overcome did the Lion, who is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, to open the scroll, and to loose the seven seals of it;" -Revelation 5:5
Right there in Leo the lion's heart is the possible Bethlehem star. We see that on September 10, 3BC (astronomical year -2) there was a very close conjunction of the planet Jupiter with the cardinal star of Leo, being Regulus. Regulus means "little king," and the planet Jupiter is known as the "king planet." The king star and the king planet lined closely together in the heart of the lion as the possible star of Bethlehem.
September 10, 3BC
was the Feast of Trumpets.
A trumpet is to get one's attention, or to form an announcement. The
Bethlehem star was a sign that the Messiah was come, thus this sign was given
on the Feast of Trumpets.
On September 19, 3BC, Jupiter started to visibly and noticeably move away from Regulus, leading the Magi towards Jerusalem.
September 19, 3BC
was the Day of Atonement.
The Messiah has come to atone for the sins of any who receive Him.
On September 29, 3BC, the planet Venus exited the womb of the constellation Virgo. Why is this significant? Well, Virgo is the virgin constellation, and Venus is well known as the morning star, and that's also a name of Jesus:
"`I, Jesus did send my messenger to testify to you these things concerning the assemblies; I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star!" -Revelation 22:16
The Bright and Morning Star left the womb of the Virgin on September 29, 3BC, after being heralded by the sign of the king star and king planet having a conjunction in the heart of the lion constellation.
September 24-30,
3BC was the week of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Tabernacle is synonymous with temple, or sanctuary. Jesus is our
tabernacle; the sanctuary:
"Jesus answered and said to them, `Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.' The Jews, therefore, said, `Forty and six years was this sanctuary building, and wilt thou in three days raise it up?' but he spake concerning the sanctuary of his body;" -John 2:19-21
"And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth." -John 1:14
Did you catch that? Jesus became flesh, and he tabernacled with us. Right there in the Scriptures, it’s basically telling us that Jesus was born on the Feast of Tabernacles. We see this was on September 29, 3BC. We see that this lines up with the Levitical course of Abijah, it lines up with the stars, and it lines up with the Jewish feasts.
Therefore, this should also line up with the death of Christ, and His resurrection; and it does.
The Death of Christ
When did Jesus die? He died on Passover:
"Cleanse out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, according as ye are unleavened, for also our passover for us was sacrificed -- Christ" -1 Corinthians 5:7
"And he said unto them, `With desire I did desire to eat this passover with you before my suffering, for I say to you, that no more may I eat of it till it may be fulfilled in the reign of God.'" -Luke 22:15-16
We read in Luke chapter 23 that Jesus died at around 3 in the afternoon (ninth hour) on Passover. Passover day would end just a few hours after that, when the sun set.
"And having cried with a loud voice, Jesus said, `Father, to Thy hands I commit my spirit;' and these things having said, he breathed forth the spirit." -Luke 23:46
The Dates of Jesus' Death and Resurrection
Jesus did not die three days before Easter, nor did Jesus resurrect on Easter. Easter is the modern spelling of Ishtar, which is pronounced the same as Easter. Easter/Ishtar is the name of a prevalent female false goddess in the Bible, as well as in Egyptian, Sumerian, and other ancient tablets. She's known under many names, depending on the locality, but in the Bible, she's mostly referred to as Ashtoreth. Ashtoreth is pronounced as Easter in English. She is also the goddess of the Wicca witchcraft religion, known under various names.
Easter is always on a Sunday, and to be celebrated at the sunrise on that SUNday. It's date of celebration was and is determined via the spring equinox and full moon. If the spring equinox has a full moon, then Easter was to be celebrated on the first Sunday after that spring equinox. If there was not a full moon on the spring equinox, then Easter was to be celebrated on the first Sunday that happens after the first full moon appears, after the spring equinox.
Check this for yourself. The year I'm writing this, 2023, the spring equinox lands on March 20. The first full moon that happens this year after March 20th isn't until Thursday, April 6. Therefore, Easter 2023 lands on the first Sunday after that full moon, which is April 9. Meanwhile, Passover this year (2023) is evening April 5 to evening April 6. This puts Resurrection day being April 10 for 2023.
This year, Easter and Resurrection day are close. Sometimes they can be weeks apart. Occasionally, Easter and Passover, or Easter and Resurrection Day can land on the same date. This is only because Easter is always near the spring equinox, and Passover and Resurrection Day are in the spring.
Since we have established the date and year of Christ's birth, we can get the year, date, day, and time of his death. We can also therefore get the date and day of His resurrection. We know the Scriptures are 100% clear that He died on Passover, and that He rose from the dead three days later. If we know the age that He died, then we'll have all the information we need.
People will say that the Bible doesn't tell us the age of Christ when He died, but that is incorrect. The Scriptures do tell us. Let's take a look:
"And it came to pass, in all the people being baptised, Jesus also being baptised, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit came down in a bodily appearance, as if a dove, upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, saying, `Thou art My Son -- the Beloved, in thee I did delight.' And Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, son of Joseph" -Luke 3:21-23
Above, we see Jesus, at age 30. Notice it says Jesus was BEGINNING to be about thirty. This means he was baptized on or shortly after his birthday. This shows us that He was baptized somewhere around September 29, 27AD. If He was baptized on this day, then He was baptized on the Feast of Trumpets, as that's when it was in 27AD. As a side note, the Feast of Trumpets is the likely day that the future middle tribulation rapture could happen on.
Notice How Jesus' birth, baptism, death, and more - all are on Jewish Feast Days. What's so significant about the Feast of Trumpets? The Trumpet would call for the people to prepare for later in the month, when the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies. We learn that now Jesus is our High Priest, and that upon His death, the curtain that blocked the way to the Holy of Holies ripped in half, because now through Christ's sacrifice on the cross, anyone who receives Him as their Saviour, has direct access to the Holy of Holies - where God the Father is.
Back to our timeline. We see that Jesus seems to have been Baptized on His 30th birthday, on September 29th, 27AD, which was also the Feast of Trumpets. Now we just need to trace the Passovers after that, up until we reach the Passover that Jesus died on.
The first Passover after Christ's baptism is in John 2:13:
"And the passover of the Jews was nigh, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem" -John 2:13
This was when Jesus said "make not the house of my Father a house of merchandise" as we see in verse 16. This Passover was Monday, April 26th, 28AD. Jesus was about 30 and 1/2 years old here.
We see the next Passover in John chapter 5:
"After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem" -John 5:1
Jesus healed a man at the Bethesda pool, and then sees him later, in the temple:
"After these things, Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said to him, `Lo, thou hast become whole; sin no more, lest something worse may happen to thee.'" -John 5:14
This was on Saturday, April 16, 29AD. Jesus was about 31 and a half years old.
Now we move on to the third Passover that occurred since after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist:
"And the passover was nigh, the feast of the Jews." -John 6:4
The next Passover was approaching. Shortly before then, Jesus fed the multitude. The Third Passover was on Wednesday, April 5, 30AD. Jesus was about 32 and a half years old at that time.
And then we come to the Passover that Jesus was killed on. The fourth Passover since after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist:
"On the morrow, a great multitude that came to the feast, having heard that Jesus doth come to Jerusalem" -John 12:12
"And there were certain Greeks out of those coming up that they may worship in the feast" -John 12:20
"And Jesus responded to them, saying, `The hour hath come that the Son of Man may be glorified" -John 12:23
This, the most important Passover in history, was on Wednesday, April 25th, 31AD.
All four Gospels give details in their accounts of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, occurring on this specific Passover.
So far we have established that Jesus was born on or very near to September 29, 3BC, and now we have traced Him through the Passovers that have occurred since He turned 30, and we land on His death being on Passover - April 25th, 31AD, with Jesus dying at around 33 and a half years old.
This means His ministry was about 3 and a half years long. This is no lucky incident. This coincides with many prophetic patterns in the Bible, including the middle tribulation rapture, which occurs three and half years into the tribulation.
The Date of Christ's Resurrection
The Bible is very clear that Jesus spent three days in the tomb. Tradition of man states that Jesus was three days in the tomb, but that He died on "Good Friday," and resurrected early Sunday morning. Anyone who can count to three can see this math doesn't add up.
Notice that there is no "Good Friday." As we see, Jesus didn't even die on a Friday. The Passover He died on was from our Tuesday evening, until our Wednesday evening. Keep in mind that Jewish days were counted from (sunset) evening to evening, not from midnight to midnight, like how we count our days. Therefore, Wednesday began for them on our Tuesday evening.
Tuesday evening, the beginning of the Jewish Wednesday, was the beginning of Passover that year. On Tuesday evening, Jesus and His 12 disciples had a Passover meal together. Later on Passover, HE was killed as the Passover Lamb, to pay for our sins:
"On the morrow John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, `Lo, the Lamb of God, who is taking away the sin of the world" -John 1:29
"Cleanse out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, according as ye are unleavened, for also our passover for us was sacrificed -- Christ" -1 Corinthians 5:7
The mock trial went all night, and the next day, which was still Wednesday (recall that Wednesday was from Tuesday evening until Wednesday evening). Then Jesus was crucified. We see that He died at around 3pm (Jewish ninth hour), Wednesday (Passover) afternoon:
"And from the sixth hour darkness came over all the land unto the ninth hour, and about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a great voice, saying, `Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' that is, `My God, my God, why didst Thou forsake me?' And certain of those standing there having heard, said -- `Elijah he doth call;' and immediately, one of them having run, and having taken a spunge, having filled [it] with vinegar, and having put [it] on a reed, was giving him to drink, but the rest said, `Let alone, let us see if Elijah doth come -- about to save him.' And Jesus having again cried with a great voice, yielded the spirit" -Matthew 27:45-50
As you see, there is no "Good Friday." Jesus died on Wednesday. Soon, evening was beginning. When the sun set, that would change the day to Thursday. Jesus needed to be entombed before the sun set:
"And evening having come, there came a rich man, from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was discipled to Jesus, he having gone near to Pilate, asked for himself the body of Jesus; then Pilate commanded the body to be given back. And having taken the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen, and laid it in his new tomb, that he hewed in the rock, and having rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, he went away" -Matthew 27:57-60
That Thursday was the first day of Unleavened Bread, and was a high Sabbath day - a day they weren't allowed to work on. This is why Jesus' body needed to be entombed before that Thursday began, at sunset, because they weren't allowed to bury bodies on holiday sabbaths, as well as not on weekly sabbaths.
Jesus' body was not fully prepared and anointed for burial, because there wasn't enough time. Thursday was a holiday Sabbath, so they couldn't work on His body that day:
"In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month, between the evenings, [is] the passover to Jehovah; and on the fifteenth day of this month [is] the feast of unleavened things to Jehovah; seven days unleavened things ye do eat; on the first day ye have a holy convocation, ye do no servile work" -Leviticus 23:5-7
Day One in the Tomb: Thursday
Friday was the weekly day of preparation. There was no time to go to the tomb to anoint Jesus' body, because the people were busy cleaning up from the Thursday holiday High Sabbath, and preparing food and making preparations the weekly Saturday Sabbath.
Day Two in the Tomb: Friday
They couldn't go to Jesus' body to anoint it on Saturday, because that was the weekly Sabbath, and that's not allowed to be done on sabbaths.
Day Three in the Tomb: Saturday
The earliest opportunity they had to anoint Jesus' body was Sunday - the first day of the week. As soon as it was light, the women gathered the stuff, and headed straight to the tomb:
"And very early on the first [day] of the week they come to the sepulchre, the sun having risen. And they said to one another, Who shall roll us away the stone out of the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they see that the stone has been rolled [away], for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right, clothed in a white robe, and they were amazed and alarmed; but he says to them, Be not alarmed. Ye seek Jesus, the Nazarene, the crucified one. He is risen, he is not here; behold the place where they had put him." -Mark 16:2-6 Darby Translation
Jesus rose from the dead on April 29, 31AD. This puts Jesus' death being about 30 days past His being 30.5 years old. If this is accurate, then those 30 days beyond three and a half years mean something. Perhaps this is reminding us of the extra 30 days in the Daniel prophecy in Daniel 12:11. There we see that after the second 3.5 years of the tribulation, there's an extra 30 days tacked on, but it doesn't tell us why, there. God does things in patterns. Perhaps this too is a pattern.
Let's look at one more thing, regarding the likely day of Christ's, resurrection. So far, all of these things - The Bethlehem star, Christ's birth, His death, and more - all happened on Jewish holy days. What about Christ's resurrection day? Yes, this one happened to be on a Feast Day, too. April 29, 31AD was the Feast of First Fruits! That's amazing, because the Bible confirms Christ's resurrection on First Fruits! Take a look:
And now, Christ hath risen out of the dead -- the first-fruits of those sleeping he became, for since through man [is] the death, also through man [is] a rising again of the dead, for even as in Adam all die, so also in the Christ all shall be made alive, and each in his proper order, a first-fruit Christ, afterwards those who are the Christ's, in his presence" -1 Corinthians 15:20-23
Timeline Overview
The Bethlehem star was at its brightest on Septembter 10, 3BC. This was
the Feast of Trumpets
Jupiter started to noticeably move away from the Regulus star, leading the Magi
towards Jerusalem on September 19, 3BC. This was the Day of Atonement
Venus exited Virgo's womb, and Jesus was born on September 29, 3BC. This
was during the Feast of Tabernacles
"And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we
beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and
truth." -John 1:14
Jesus was baptized on His 30th birthday, by John the Baptist - September 29,
27AD. This day landed on the Feast of Trumpets for that year
Jesus died on Wednesday, April 25th, 31AD. This was Passover
"Cleanse out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump,
according as ye are unleavened, for also our passover for us was sacrificed
-- Christ" -1 Corinthians 5:7
Jesus resurrected on April 29, 31AD. This was on The Feast of First
Fruits
And now, Christ hath risen out of the dead
-- the first-fruits of those sleeping he became, for since through man [is]
the death, also through man [is] a rising again of the dead, for even as in
Adam all die, so also in the Christ all shall be made alive, and each in his
proper order, a first-fruit Christ, afterwards those who are the
Christ's, in his presence" -1 Corinthians 15:20-23
Chart made by my
fabulous husband
How Does the Dates of the Birth, Death and Resurrection of Christ Affect Us?
"God [is] a spirit; and they who worship him must worship [him] in spirit and truth." -John 4:24 Darby Translation
Do you claim to worship and love the One, True God? Then you are to worship Him in TRUTH. December 25th is an ancient, pagan holiday that was celebrated long before Christ was born. It was in celebration of the birth of the sun god Baal, thus the date. Winter Solstice occurs around December 21-25. By the 25th, it is clear to observers that the days (daylight) were starting to get longer again, instead of continuing to getting shorter and shorter. This was interpreted as the rebirth of the sun.
"Christmas"/Saturnalia/Parentalia (calling us back to the Amorites), was about the continuity of life. The people used to cut an evergreen tree from the forest, put it in a tree stand, and decorate the tree. God forbids this in such places as Jeremiah chapter 10.
As we established earlier, Easter is NOT resurrection day. It is also a pagan holiday that was celebrated before Christ's birth and death. Easter is the English pronunciation of Ashtoreth. If you read your Bible, then you are familiar with Ashtoreth, and her son Baal. Easter celebrated the rebirth of nature, and fertility. This is why it was celebrated on the first SUNday after the first full moon after the spring/vernal equinox. In 31AD, the year of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, Easter was four weeks before Christ's resurrection. The vernal equinox that year was on March 23. The first full moon after March 23, was on March 27. The first Sunday after March 27 was, get this, on April 1. April Fools Day. Who said God doesn't have a sense of humor?
Bunnies were fertility symbols. Rabbits can produce a lot of kits. At Easter Sunday sunrise services, virgins were raped on an altar, with the intent of impregnation. Afterwards, the babies that resulted from the previous year's altar rapes were brought forward, and slaughtered as sacrifices to Ashtoreth and her son Baal, in remembrance of her husband's death, who was "given" back to her in the form of her son she birthed. After the slaughter of the infants, young children would gleefully run forward, and color eggs (fertility symbol) in the spilled blood of the murdered babies.
People will say that even though Christmas and Easter are actually pagan, and have nothing to do with God, it's about what we make it mean to us. That is horrendous! That's how the house of Israel received judgment, and went into the Assyrian captivity! Their king Jeroboam decided that it was too much trouble for them to make regular pilgrimages to the temple of God in Jerusalem, so he instated worship places and shrines on hills for the people to go to instead, and to worship God however they saw fit.
Did God honor that it was "what they made it mean?" No! They were given warnings by multiple prophets sent by God to stop this, but they ignored the prophets, and continued doing what they felt was right in their deceptive, sinful, little hearts, and they received judgment.
Recall our above John 4:24 passage, in that we are to worship God in TRUTH. Those who don't are destroyed, for where truth lacks, so does knowledge lack:
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; for thou hast rejected knowledge, and I will reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children." -Hosea 4:6 Darby Translation
If you are a true follower of Jesus, then you are literally a follower of the TRUTH:
"Jesus saith to him, `I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one doth come unto the Father, if not through me" -John 14:6
We are not to follow the traditions of man, when it's against the truth of God:
"See that no one shall be carrying you away as spoil through the philosophy and vain deceit, according to the deliverance of men, according to the rudiments of the world, and not according to Christ" -Colossians 2:8
"Setting aside the word of God for your tradition that ye delivered; and many such like things ye do." -Mark 7:13 Darby Translation
Christ is the TRUTH, God wants us to worship Him in TRUTH. Christmas and Easter are not truth, they are deliverances/traditions of men.
Solomon eventually abandoned truth, and partook in the predecessors of Christmas and Easter:
"And Solomon goeth after Ashtoreth goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom (the Ammonite form of Baal) the abomination of the Ammonites" -1 Kings 11:5
Make your choice. Are you going to follow the traditions of those who went before you, or are you going to follow TRUTH?
"`And now, fear ye Jehovah, and serve Him, in perfection and in truth, and turn aside the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve ye Jehovah; and if wrong in your eyes to serve Jehovah -- choose for you to-day whom ye do serve; -- whether the gods whom your fathers served, which [are] beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorite in whose land ye are dwelling; and I and my house -- we serve Jehovah.'" -Joshua 24:14-15
You can't choose both. Those who try to choose both are the people that make Jesus want to throw up:
"I have known thy works, that neither cold art thou nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. So -- because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to vomit thee out of my mouth" -Revelation 3:15-16
Follow the truth, not the fables:
"And indeed, from the truth the hearing they shall turn away, and to the fables they shall be turned aside." -2 Timothy 4:4