A church council that met in the year 325 AD decided that the date December 25th would be the designated date for the celebration of the birth of the Son of God, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. This date conformed to the date marking the desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 BC on Kislev 25, Kislev being the Jewish month of December.
Interestingly, Kislev 25, December 25th, three years to the date after the Temple was desecrated, marks the time that the Temple was reconsecrated by the Macabees in Kislev 25 or December 25th, 165 BC. Finding a flask of oil it good for lighting the Menorah for only one day, it stayed lit for eight days, thus the Jewish holy day of Chanukkah, also known as the Feast of Dedication or the Feast of Lights. Jesus Christ celebrated the Jewish holy day Chanukkah in John 10:22 and as the Light of the world, John 8, 9, 11; the church council chose December 25th, the time for the Feast of Lights, as Christmas Day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News
Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day, December 25th, should remind us of Bible prophecy that has been fulfilled and is yet to be fulfilled. December 25th and Bible prophecy fulfilled: The prophet Daniel, 360 years before it happened, prophesied the desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem, Daniel 11:30-32. On December 25, 168 BC Antiochus Epiphanes committed the abomination of desolation, the desecration of the Temple fulfilling Daniel's prophecy.
December 25th and Bible prophecy yet to be fulfilled: the abomination of desolation in the Temple in Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes was the prototype of a future event in history. During the coming seven year period known as the Tribulation, in fact at the midway point of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will cause the sacrifice to cease in the Temple standing in Jerusalem as prophesied by Daniel 9:27.
The Antichrist, energized by Satan, will enter the Temple and claim to be the true God, thus the abomination of desolation.
Celebrating Christmas on December 25th reminds us of prophecy fulfilled two thousand years ago with the birth of Christ and prophecy yet to be fulfilled.
