The Day The Word Became Flesh
Probably one of the most difficult subjects to understand in all Scripture is the Incarnation. When we speak of the “Word”, naturally we are speaking of Yahweh. Many are somehow under the delusion, that in some way, Yahweh the Father had a son similar to the way a natural fleshly father would have a son. This is not at all what happened when the Word became flesh. John 1:14 says the following concerning all of this:
“And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us ... full of grace (favor) and truth.”
If you will notice very carefully, the words, “(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father)” are enclosed in parentheses. Immediately this should sound a warning signal, as the writer is referring to Isaiah 40:5 and quoting it out of context. Actually, someone only succeeded in causing confusion on the matter by adding these words in parentheses, for Yahshua was not the “only begotten of the Father”, at least, if what Luke 3:38 says is true, “Adam, which was the son of Yahweh.” As a matter of fact, Yahshua is rightly referred to as “the second Adam”, (Romans 5:14). While Yahshua is referred to as a second Adam, and both Adam and Yahshua were sons of Yahweh, with Yahshua it was in a different sense, for Yahshua was actually Yahweh Himself in the flesh and Adam wasn’t. It is important to see this difference between Yahshua and Adam, for Adam was not Yahweh in the flesh. It is very necessary we understand these important basic truths.
Up until the time of the Incarnation, Yahweh existed in His realm and Adam-man resided in his realm, for they were two entirely different entities up until that time. But with the Advent of Yahshua, Yahweh and Adam-man were united into one individual. The implications of this are so far-reaching in nature that all the resulting ramifications cannot be covered in this short article. The important principal we must take special effort to remember is: while Yahshua was the very Yahweh singular-Elohim, at the same time He was very Adam-man, and once this union with Yahweh and man had taken place, it has never since been separated, nor shall it ever be.
THE KEY IN JOHN 1:14 IS THE WORD, “DWELT”
The Believer’s Bible Commentary by William MacDonald, page 1468 comments as follows: “… He dwelt among us. It was not just a short appearance, about which there might be some mistake or misunderstanding. God actually came to this earth and lived here as Man among men. The word ‘dwelt’ means ‘tabernacled’ or ‘pitched His tent.’ His body was the tent in which He lived among men for thirty-three years.”
The Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, Abridged By Ralph Earle, page 898 says of the word, “dwelt”: “... And dwelt among us. ‘And tabernacled among us’, the human nature which He took of the Virgin being as the shrine, house, or temple in which His immaculate deity condescended to dwell ...”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown Commentary On The Whole Bible, page 1027 has this observation: “... and dwelt — tabernacled or pitched his tent; a word peculiar to John, who uses it four times, all in the sense of a permanent stay (Rev. 7:15; 12:12; 13:6; 21:3). Forever wedded to our ‘flesh’, He has entered this tabernacle to ‘go no more out’.”
TABERNACLE DESTROYED & REBUILT IN THREE DAYS
By the way, the Strong’s number for the word “dwelt”, in Greek, is 4637 and it means tent. As you may have noticed, Adam Clarke used the word temple. We will now go to John 2:19-21 for this phase of this narrative:
“19 Yahshua answered and said unto them (the Jews), Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body.”
You will notice here, He didn’t say spirit only, but His temple-body would be raised up in three days. This can be confirmed in Luke 24:39 where He said after His resurrection:
“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” (Also see John 20:20.)
Not only did Yahshua have a body of flesh after His resurrection, but we can be assured we will also have bodies of flesh like His after our resurrection. The point which I am trying to drive home at this juncture is: Yahweh is still dwelling in the flesh body He received as a result of the virgin birth, though He overcame death through it, which we will do also. When the Word became flesh, it was to be forever. Not only did He become flesh, but through that flesh, he became our kinsman. THE KINSMANSHIP IS ENTIRELY ESSENTIAL AND IMPERATIVE TO UNDERSTAND REDEMPTION!
YAHWEH MARRIES ISRAEL
We cannot understand the idea of “redemption” unless we understand that Yahweh married Israel. This wedding took place in Deuteronomy 26:17-18 as when both the people and Yahweh took their wedding vows:
“17 Thou hast avouched Yahweh this day to be thy singular-Elohim, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice: 18 And Yahweh hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments.”
In other words, Israel was asked: “Do you take Yahweh this day to be your singular-Elohim?” And they answered: “We will.” Yahweh was asked: “Do you take this people Israel to be your peculiar people?” Yahweh answered and said: “I will.” Therefore, Israel became Yahweh’s own possession. With this there came a husband-wife relationship between Yahweh and Israel. We do not have any record where Yahweh ever covenanted or married any other people as He did Israel! There simply is no other! To verify that this was actually a wedding that took place between Him and His people, let’s consider some passages of Scripture which prove this was actually the case:
Jeremiah 3:14, 20: “14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith Yahweh; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion ... 20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith Yahweh.”
Jeremiah 31:32: “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith Yahweh.”
Once we understand this husband-wife relationship between Yahweh and Israel, then we can begin to understand what “Redemption” is all about. This husband-wife relationship went well at first, but, then Israel began to break her marriage vows by incorporating pagan religions and thus adulterating the true tenets of Yahweh. Because of this, it became necessary for Yahweh to divorce Israel for her unfaithfulness. Now let’s see some scriptures which confirm the reason for the divorce, and, that in actuality, Yahweh did divorce Israel:
Jeremiah 3:8 “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.”
Deuteronomy 24:1 “When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.”
Isaiah 50:1 “Thus saith Yahweh, Where is the bill of your mother’s divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.”
[Note added by author, September 12, 2006: Today in Israel Identity, there are many trying to do away entirely with the tribe of Judah. But you will notice that Yahweh also married Judah, otherwise Jeremiah at 3:8 couldn’t have said, “…yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.” It should be strikingly obvious that it would have been impossible for Judah to have “played the harlot” had not Yahweh married her also, nor could Judah be called Israel’s “sister” by Jeremiah! Those who are attempting to do away with the entire tribe of Judah haven’t yet discerned the difference between the good-figs of Judah and the bag-figs of Judah as explained by Jeremiah. And until they grasp the difference, they should learn to keep silent on the subject rather than to openly display their ignorance!]
Now that Yahweh had married and divorced Israel, where in this story does it bring us? Being divorced from Yahweh, Israel could no longer call herself by His name, therefore she became known by other names, Gentiles being one of them. At this stage of the game, things look hopeless as neither Yahweh nor Israel can legally marry again. The only way, by Law, that either can remarry is if one or the other’s spouse were to die. To verify this, we shall consider Romans 7:1-4:
“1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2 For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.”
Redemption is a very simple story then. Yahweh came Himself in the flesh to die so he could remarry Israel. By the death of Yahweh, the requirements of the Law were satisfied.
ONLY A KINSMAN CAN REDEEM
Now that we understand the divorce phase of this relationship, let’s go on to the remarriage part of it. It is very important, at this stage, that we understand it is only a near-kinsman in Israel who can lawfully redeem her. This is clearly set forth throughout the entire Bible, especially the New Testament, but let’s consider the law of “kinsman redemption” as found in Leviticus 25:47-49:
“47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family: 48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: 49 Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.”
At this stage of the story, we know that Yahweh enjoined Himself with Adam-man into one unified entity. We know, also, this was necessary in order to become our kinsman (Hebrews 2:11). We are also now aware of the necessity of this relationship and the sacrifice of His life needed in reconciling Israel as His bride.
Over the years we have all heard the story of His birth portrayed repeatedly, especially at Christmas time. We have heard these renditions reverberated continuously in Christmas carols. We have been thrilled, again and again, at the announcement of the angels to the shepherds in the fields of His birth. We have been mystified and intrigued concerning the wise men following the Star to Bethlehem. Our hearts have been melted by the manger scene coming alive and vivid in our minds. And as many times as we have heard the story, we still desire to hear it all over again. But as majestic as the story of His birth is, It Was Not The Time The Word Became Flesh!
THE CRITICAL TIME
The very instant at which the Word became flesh is when the very first DNA of Yahweh began to intertwine with the very first DNA of Adam-man uniting in the very first living cell to begin the birth process. This process then continued until every single cell in Immanuel’s body was united in this way. The very first cell to unite in this way was the identical time when the Word became flesh, and this all happened at what we would consider conception. This is called the Incarnation. There are some who believe that, in some way, Mary became pregnant by the sperm of Yahweh and He had a son by her. This presents problems. If this were true, Yahshua would not represent the one to whom Israel was previously married. The Scripture says that Yahweh Himself became flesh, therefore the sperm theory cannot be true. Science knows today that each single cell of the human body has two sets of 23 chromosomes, or a total of 46. I will now quote The World Book Encyclopedia, volume 9, page 192d:
“Every human body cell contains two sets of 23 chromosomes. These two sets look very much alike. Each chromosome in one set can be matched with a particular chromosome in the other set. Egg cells and sperm cells have only one set of 23 chromosomes. These cells are formed in a special way, and end up with only half the number of chromosomes found in body cells. As a result, when an egg and a sperm come together, the fertilized egg cell will contain the 46 chromosomes of a normal body cell. Half of the chromosomes come from the mother, and half from the father”.
With this in mind, we know then, that Mary supplied 23 chromosomes from her egg cell and Yahweh supplied the other 23 chromosomes from Himself without having normal sexual intercourse. If the scriptures are true, the same Yahweh who created the entire universe, which is infinite thousands of light-years in all directions, condensed His entire being into 23 chromosomes which then was united with Mary’s egg and its 23 chromosomes. Yahweh’s power, which is called His Holy Spirit, brought all of this into play.
FINDING THE TIME OF THE INCARNATION
This is a rather simple thing to figure out if we can once find the correct birth date. The most common method is to count 280 days backward from the birth at which one would determine the onset of the last regular menstrual period of the woman. While this would give a fairly accurate prediction for a birth, it does not take into account the normal period of time for ovulation to take place. Usually ovulation takes place from twelve to sixteen days from the onset of the last menstrual period. Therefore we would normally subtract about 14 days from the 280 days to have an estimate of the time for conception, or 266 days before final birth. Although in the case of the virgin Mary this rule probably would not apply as she did not require the usual fertilizing of the sperm of a male. Yet, Yahweh would not likely alter the natural timing of these events. I believe we can safely figure conception took place 266 days before Yahshua’s birth. Also there are serious laws concerning a woman while she is considered unclean. It is doubtful that even the Holy Spirit would violate such laws.
ESTABLISHING THE TIME OF BIRTH
I will be gathering most of my information from The Companion Bible, appendix 179 and The Birth Of Christ Recalculated by Ernest L. Martin. To start with, we can be very sure Yahshua’s birth did not happen at the Christmas season as generally believed. Most all who have studied the subject seem to agree generally that Yahshua was born near the feast of Tabernacles about 3 or 4 B.C. There were some very unusual things happening during this period which should serve as markers to help us calculate the proper time. From The Birth Of Christ Recalculated by Ernest L. Martin we get the following on page 90:
“The year 2 B.C. was one of the most important in the career of Augustus. It was the Silver Jubilee of his supreme rule over the Empire and the year in which the Senate awarded him the country’s highest decoration ... There was no year like it for celebration in Rome, and since the significance of the festivities involved the entirety of the Empire, there can be little doubt that similar anniversary ceremonies were ordained by Augustus and the Senate for all the provinces.”
If you will but remember the bicentennial of the United States in 1976, it will give you some idea of what was going on throughout the Roman Empire in 2 B.C. If you will check any encyclopedia or history book, it will tell you Augustus (Octavian) became the very first Roman Emperor in 27 B.C. A footnote on page 90 from this same book says:
“The year in which Augustus was granted the title Pater Patriae was of real significance to all in the Roman Empire. This year was the culminating point in the career of Augustus.” (27 B.C. plus 25 years = 2 B.C.)
With such an important year coming up, we can see why Caesar Augustus would decree a census of registration to find out how many people were subject to him, Luke 2:1. Naturally, the census would take place during the year just prior to the Silver Jubilee celebration, or 3 B.C.
The Companion Bible, appendix 179, places Yahshua’s birth at September 29, 4 B.C. This cannot be correct. The Birth Of Christ Recalculated by Ernest L. Martin, page 33 states:
“However, we know from astronomical calculation that Passover in 4 B.C. was on 11 April.”
This can now be verified by computers. If we take April 11, 4 B.C. as a starting point and subtract 14 days to arrive at Nisan 1, it would be equivalent to March 28, 4 B.C. Then if we add 177 days (six moons) we will arrive at September 21, 4 B.C. or Tishri 1. By adding another 15 days, we arrive at Tishri 15 which would be the Feast of Tabernacles or October 6, 4 B.C. If, as, The Companion Bible claims, Yahshua was born the first day of Tabernacles, the date couldn’t have been September 29, 4 B.C.
The Companion Bible then counts backward 280 days and arrives at December 25th as the date of conception. This would also be in error, as 280 days would bring one to the time of the beginning of Mary’s last menstrual period rather than the conception. If one would count back 266 days from September 29, 4 B.C., that would make the potential conception January 6, 4 B.C., not December 25, 5 B.C.
AUGUSTUS’ SILVER CELEBRATION NOT THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN
Not only was 2 B.C. the Silver Jubilee for Augustus, but it was also Rome’s 750th birthday. I will pick this up from a footnote on pages 90-91:
The Birth Of Christ Recalculated: “And to cap it off, 2 B.C. was also the 750th anniversary of the founding of Rome! Professor E. J. Bickerman calls attention to the fact that the Fasti Capitolini (the list of magistrates of the Republic compiled under Augustus) reckoned the founding of Rome to 752 B.C.” We now see a double reason for Augustus declaring a census. Maybe that is why the word census is used in the plural.”
THERE IS A DECEMBER 25th CONNECTION
Again, The Birth Of Christ Recalculated, page 159:
“Then on December 25, 2 B.C., when the king planet Jupiter came to its stationary point in mid-Virgo the Virgin, it would have been seen ‘stopped over Bethlehem’ as viewed from Jerusalem. The Magi then went to Bethlehem and gave the child (now a paidion [child], not a brephos [infant, as in Luke] the gifts they brought from the East!”
This is not to be confused with the pagan Christmas which is celebrated today. It would appear, if we want to commemorate this season, it would be well to limit it to the wise men and the Star over Bethlehem scene without the manger on greeting cards and displays, and delete the term “Christmas.” Should we observe it on today’s calendar or the old Hebrew calendar? At the time of the Incarnation and birth of Yahshua, Judea was under two calendars, Julian and Hebrew.
MOST LIKELY TIME OF BIRTH
The time of the birth of Yahshua is hidden in Scripture at Revelation 12:1-5. It speaks in these verses: “... clothed with the sun ... moon under her feet.” Quoting excerpts from The Birth Of Christ Recalculated, pages 145-149:
“...it could well be that John intended the Woman to represent a constellation that the two primary luminaries transverse. Recall that astronomical signs dominated the thinking of most people in the first century ... she could be in a symbolic way, a constellation located within the normal paths of the Sun and Moon. The only sign of a woman which exists along the ecliptic ... is that of Virgo the Virgin ... In the period of Christ’s birth, the Sun entered the head-position of the Woman about August 13, and exited from her feet about October 2. But the apostle John saw the scene when the Sun ‘clothes’ or ‘adorns’ the Woman ... located somewhere mid-bodied of the Woman ... This ‘clothing’ of the Woman by the Sun occurs for a 20-day period each year ... The position of the Moon in John’s vision could pinpoint the nativity to within a day — perhaps to an hour period or less. This may seem absurd, but it is entirely possible. The key is the Moon. The apostle said it was located ‘under her feet’ ... Since the feet of Virgo the Virgin represent the last 7 degrees of the constellation ... the Moon has to be positioned somewhere under that 7 degree ark. But the Moon also has to be in that exact location when the Sun is mid-bodied to Virgo. In the year 3 B.C., these two factors came to precise agreement for less than two hours, as observed from Palestine or Patmos, on September 11. The relationship began about 6:15 p.m. (sunset), and lasted until around 7:45 p.m. (moonset). This is the only day in the whole year that this could have taken place ... The apostle John said this heavenly relationship occurred at the time of Christ’s birth. And in 3 B.C. this exact combination of celestial factors happened just after sunset only on one day — on September 11th. It could not have occurred at any other time of the year! (Indeed, even one day before — on September 10 — the moon was still located above the feet of the Virgin, while one day beyond — on September 12 — the Moon had moved so far beyond the feet of the Virgin that it was positioned at least 25 diameters of the Moon to the East of her feet. Thus, only one day will do, and that time was just after sunset on September 11.”
This particular day just happened to be Tishri 1, 3 B.C. or “the blowing of the trumpets”, a yearly Sabbath. It is only reasonable that Yahshua was born on such a day. Being born on this day would give 15 days for His cleansing time after birth before being presented openly at His first Feast of Tabernacles with His people. It is doubtful that Yahweh would have used the Feast of Tabernacles for an event of uncleanness. (This is not the only implication of Revelation 12:1-5, but I will not get into that here.)
Now that we have found the probable date of Yahshua’s birth (even to within an hour), let us figure just when He would have been conceived. If His birth was September 11, 3 B.C., and we subtract 266 days, this would make the Incarnation December 19, 4 B.C. The onset of Mary’s last menstrual period before the conception would have been 280 days before the birth, or December 5, 4 B.C. If all of this is true, we should celebrate the Incarnation on Tishri 1 which is a yearly Sabbath Israelites should be observing anyway. Tishri 1 would be a fitting day for Yahshua’s birth as the number “one” stands for “beginning”, and that was a new start for us with Yahweh. As it works out from Tishri 1 to the Day of Atonement is ten days (Tishri 10), with an additional 5 days to the Feast of Tabernacles. In Hebrew, the 10th letter is Yod, and the 5th Hebrew letter is Hey which makes up the ineffable Name. The “Jews”, not wanting to use the sacred name, chose to use the numbers 9 + 6 in its place to represent the number 15 which has no significance whatever. (Numbers in Scripture, Bullinger, p. 257)
THE ANNUNCIATION
The following quote is taken from The World Book Encyclopedia, volume 1, page 481:
“Annunciation Day is observed on March 25 in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox churches. It honors the occasion when Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary, and should not be confused with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception [doctrine, Mary was without sin]. Annunciation Day was celebrated as early as the 400’s, and was given its date so as to be exactly nine months before December 25, the day chosen to honor Christ’s birth.”
It is not hard to see from this, someone back in the early centuries A.D. was tampering with the dates, for the Annunciation should have taken place sometime in the month of December 4 B.C. This is a long way from March 25. Not only did they change this date, they changed the dates for the conception and birth of John the Baptist. We know, according to Luke 1:36, that Elisabeth was in her sixth month when Gabriel announced to Mary the conception and birth of Yahshua. If all this is true, John’s approximate birth date would have been somewhere near March 18, 3 B.C., his conception near June 25, 4 B.C., but as Elisabeth was well stricken in years, (i.e., in menopause), she was not having regular menstrual periods as Mary.
THE INCARNATION A MYSTERY
Throughout history, the Incarnation has remained a mystery. Theologians have grappled and argued over this issue since the time of the birth of Yahshua. At the first Ecumenical or General Council of Nicaea, A.D. 325, this became one of the main controversies to be solved, so they thought. From that time on, creed after creed was written to state the exact position of the church fathers. Some of them were very lengthy and in intricate detail. It seemed that no one could adequately put it into words. The Council of Nicaea did give it a valiant try. Quoting now from the History of the Church by G. E. Hageman, page 60 as follows:
“We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten of the Father, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father ... , by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate, and was made man; he suffered, and the third day he rose again, and ascended into heaven; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. — And in the Holy Ghost. — And those who say there was a time when he (the Son) was not; and he was made out of nothing, or out of another substance or thing, or that the Son of God is created, or changeable, or alterable; — they are condemned by the holy catholic and apostolic Church.”
It is regrettable they didn’t know about chromosomes in their day or they could have made a better “Nicaean Creed.” They did quite well under the circumstances, though, especially where they state, being of one substance with the Father. Had they known more about the chromosomes of the “substance”, they would have understood the process much better. Even though they stated this very important truth, they still leaned toward three separate deities. At the time of this council, there was a controversy about the Arian heresy. The Arian view was that Yahshua was inferior to Yahweh (or Christ was inferior to God). Arianism supposedly believed in one “God”, but yet it taught that “Jesus” was inferior to the “Father”, thus believing in two separate deities. And so the controversy continues to this very day.
