A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, she gave birth to a Son!

The Prophet Haggai gives us a prophesy concerning the date of conception of Messiah Jesus. But it is John the revelator who gives us the description of the signs in the heavens that appeared at the time Jesus was born.

"And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth... And she gave birth to a Son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne" (Revelation 12:1-2, 5).

On the fourth day of creation, "God made two great lights, the greater light to govern the day (the Sun), and the lesser light to govern the night (the Moon); He made stars also" (Genesis 1:16).

"God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them (the Sun, Moon and stars) be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years" (Genesis 1:14).

The Sun, Moon, and stars are to be for signs and seasons. The Hebrew word here for signs is a sign as to an appearing or a coming. While the Hebrew word for seasons means an appointed time. So the Sun, Moon and stars are for signs of an appearing or coming at an appointed time.

Hence, "When the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman" (Galatians 4:4). The Lord has revealed these signs of His birth hidden in the Book of Revelation. Let walk through the signs described by John and then answer the question of when did this sign take place?

First, it is a sign that appeared in heaven, the second heaven which holds the Sun, Moon, and stars. The sign is a woman clothed with the sun. We know this set of stars as Virgo the virgin. The virgin is holding a branch in one hand and an ear of corn in the other. The LORD put a picture of the virgin Mary in the heavens. The brightest star in the constellation Virgo is Al Zimach or Tsemech in the Hebrew both hold the meaning of the branch.

[As a side note: the Hebrew word Tsemech (Strong's number 6780) appears four different times in the Old Testament each in reference to Messiah the Branch. (Isaiah 4:2 the Branch of the LORD; Jeremiah 23:5 the Branch will reign as King; Zechariah 3:8 My servant the Branch; Zechariah 6:2 A man whose name is Branch) Each of these point to the four gospels; Matthew, Messiah is King; Mark; Messiah the servant; Luke, Messiah the man; John, Messiah is God.]

This great sign of a woman clothed with the sun happens once a year during the Hebrew month of Tishri or on our calendars between latter part of August and the first half of September. We know from Isaiah 40:26 that the Lord knows each of these stars by name and not one of these stars or constellations is out of place.

Secondly, the moon is at the feet of the woman while she is clothed with the Sun. This happen only one day a year. The sign would take place as the sun sets below the horizon and a crescent moon appears. The sighting of the new crescent moon would begin a new month and in this month a new year. The 1st of Tishri is celebrated as the "Feast of Trumpets" or Rosh Hashanah the Head of the Year.

Rosh Hashanah is celebrated with the blowing of trumpets which were also used to herald a new king. This is also by Jewish tradition the anniversary of the date that the first adam was created. So isn't it fitting that the last adam would be born on the same date.

"So also it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became a living soul.' The last Adam became a life-giving spirit... The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven" (1 Corinthians 15:45, 47).

Although Rosh Hashanah is celebrated as the Head of the Year, it is actually the seventh month on the Hebrew calendar. Meaning that conception took place, according to Haggai on the ninth month and the twenty-fourth day and birth some 271 days later on the first day of the seventh month.

Amazingly the Hebrew word for pregnancy or conception, Herayown, has a gematria of 271. (Gematria just means the numberical value which each Hebrew letter has added together to a total.) In this case, Herayown (Strongs Number 2032), is spelled in Hebrew, Hey, Resh, Yod, Vav, Nun each having numerical values of 5, 200, 10, 6, and 50 respectively, which add up to 271. The conception of the Hebrew Messiah on the 24th of Kislev until His birth on the 1st of Tishri, 271 days later on the Hebrew calendar which 271 is the Gematria of the Hebrew word for conception or pregnancy (probably not a coincidence),

Next time, I will add the signs described in Matthew to those of Haggai and John to come up with a day and year of this great sign, because, remember these signs in the sun, moon and stars are for signs as to an appearing and for seasons as to an appointed time and for days and years (Genesis 1:14).