THE BIBLICAL TIMELINE

MAPPING THE TIMELINES

Having finished with the Hebrew kings, we now map our timeline onto the Gregorian calendar. So far we've developed a timeline, let's call it T1, that looks like this: T1: 0 1 2 3….

Nothing can go to the left of zero because the universe, therefore time itself, didn't exist.

With the proleptic Gregorian calendar we get a timeline, let's call it T2, that looks like this: T2: …-3 -2 -1 1 2 3….

Traveling left brings us to the birth of Christ at -7 (see December 21). Eleven thousand numbers further brings us to some x that matches 0 on T1.

Regardless of which calendar we look at, a year remains one and only one joyride around the sun. So to map T1 onto T2 we need only one point, x, on the latter to match with some point, y, on the former. Given the year of any Biblical event on T1, we could then determine the date on T2 and check that against the historical record. Before we proceed we might question the accuracy of the secular data. As we'd expect, it de- pends on how far back one goes. John Rea, faculty member of the Moody Bible Institute, writes:

The chronology of Israel in the first millennium B.C. has been quite accurately determined on the basis of its relationships with Assyrian history. For the chronology of Israel in the second mil- lennium B.C., however, comparison may best be made with Egyptian history, for which scholars have determined dates with the greatest degree of certainly of any nation in the Near East in that millennium. (Yet even Egyptologists differ with regard to their dates about ten or fifteen years for the period in which we are interested, so one cannot yet arrive at dates with absolute finality.)ⁱ

We can't use B.C. 587 and Zedekiah≡20Q = 10426 (see November 29), when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, because we couldn't determine Man- asseh≡14p with any certainty (see November 26). We approximated:   14p ≈ 10316 = Hezekiah≡13q(18) and based the following kings on that number.

In his Handbook of Biblical Chronology, Jack Finegan defines the last year of King Ahab's reign as 853 B.C.ⁱⁱ In that case, since we've already determined that 10160 = 8P_I≡Ahab on T1 (see November 10), we look at, x + 10160 = -853. So x = -11013 on T2 is point 0 on T1 and is the number we want to remember.

We now have to check if Manasseh≡14p = Hezekiah≡13q(18) corre- sponds to the secular data. Using Manasseh≡14p ≈ 10316 as a working number, we arrived at the date, Zedekiah≡20Q = 10426 (see November 29): the year Babylon destroyed Jerusalem.

If -11013 on T2 is the number 0 on T1, and if Manasseh≡14p = 10316, then |-11013 plus 20Q| should give us the correct date on T2 for the des- truction of Jerusalem.

So we look at |-11013 + 10426| = 587.

On the website, Israel Science and Technology, a "national database and directory of science and technology related sites in Israel" we read:

In 587 BCE, Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar's army captured Jeru- salem, destroyed the Temple, and exiled the Jews to Babylon (modern day Iraq).

The year 587 BCE marks a turning point in the history of the region. From this year onwards, the region was ruled or con- trolled by a succession of superpower empires of the time in the following order: Babylonian, Persian, Greek Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Empires, Islamic and Christian crusaders, Otto- man Empire, and the British Empire.ⁱⁱⁱ

So it looks like Manasseh≡14p = 10316 and Jerusalem was destroyed in 10426 (587 B.C.).

We now go further back and check out our Biblical data with what we know about the Exodus. Because this happened over 3450 years ago, the dates now get controversial.

At present among O.T. scholars there are two main views con- cerning the date of the Exodus. One is that the Israelites left Egypt during the 18th Dynasty around the middle of the 15th century B.C., and the other is that they did not leave until the 19th Dynasty during the 13th century.^iv

Some university professors like to argue that we have no written record of any great Hebrew population in Egypt; so we have no reason to believe in any Exodus. Jews and Christians argue back that because mere slaves so humiliated the mighty "Napoleon of Egypt"—Tuthmosis III—and his ar- my at the Red Sea, the Egyptian government destroyed all written re- cords of the event and pretended it never happened. Some say that Tuthmosis III wasn't the Pharaoh in question. But the date of his reign appears certain:

On the hieroglyphic paintings at Karnak, the fact of the heliacal rising of Sothis, the dog-star, is stated to have taken place during this reign, from which it appears that Thothmes III occupied the throne of Egypt about 1450 B.C. This is one of the few dates of Egyptian chronology that can be authenticated.^v

Weigall, in his …Guide to the Antiquities of Upper Egypt, quotes a description of the tomb of Tuthmosis III:

This tomb is excavated in a 'chimney' of rock at the southeast corner of the valley. From the custodian's house one walks south- wards, turning to the left at the junction of the paths, and thus leaving the tombs of Septah (47), Bay (13), and Tausert (14) on one's right. The path terminates in a fight of steps leading up to the 'chimney.' Ascending these, and crossing a platform of rock, one finds in the far corner the mouth of the tomb, which is ap- proached by a steep flight of steps. The situation is most impres- sive, and repays a visit; but the descent of the tomb is somewhat difficult. The coffin and mummy of the great Pharaoh, Ra-men-kheper Thothmes III (B.C. 1501 - 1447) were found at Ker el Bahri, where they had been hidden by the priests…The tomb has been left partly unfinished, as though the king, occupied by the administration of the great empire he had built up, had not both- ered to give much attention to his last resting place.^vi

We've already determined the date of the Exodus as 9566 on T1 (see October 18). So we look at (–11013 + 9566) = -1447 on T2. 1447 B.C. agrees with the above date, (B.C. 1501 - 1447), for the death of Thothmes III.

An untimely death, such as drowning in the Red Sea, could account for the indignity of a partly unfinished tomb for one of the mightiest of all Pharaohs. We read that,

Thothmes III was one of the greatest of Egyptian builders and pa- trons of art. The great temple of Ammon at Thebes was the spe- cial object of his fostering care…,^vii

Had he still been alive he certainly would have bothered to give much attention to his last resting place.

In his book, Petrie's History of Egypt, Petrie quotes from ancient Egyptian records the writing of an officer, Amenemheb, who served Menkheperra Thutmose III:

Behold the king had ended his time of existence of many good years of victory, power, and justification from the 1^st year to the 54^th year. In the 30^th of Phamenoth of the majesty of the king, Menkheperra deceased, he ascended to heaven and joined the sun's disc, the follower of the god met his maker.^viii

Ancient Egypt had more than one kind of calendar; but only their 5000-year-old lunar one with their 7th month, Phamenoth, interests us. They observed 12 months with a 13th one intercalated to conform to the helical rising of Sirius (Sopdet), which signaled the New Year.^ix Phamenoth is the Greek spelling for Rekh Neds and occurred in the season for planting and cultivation. The Hebrews also observed a lunar calendar and their first month Nisan or Abib, coincided with Phamenoth in the spring of the year.^x Their first Passover occurred on the 14th of Nisan (Leviticus 23:5) and the Hebrews left the next day (Numbers 33:3). About two weeks later, the 30^th of Phamenoth, they made their miraculous crossing before the waters covered the Egyptian army (see June 21).

We can make one last check regarding the number -11013 on T2. No one disputes the final year of Solomon: B.C. 931 B.C. (10082 on T1. See Oc- tober 22 & 25). The breakup of Israel into two nations left behind enough documentation; and 10082 – 11013 = -931

So we use -11013 on T2 as year 0 on T1. On December 3 we look again at the second great tribulation.

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ⁱ Grace Theological Journal 2.1 (Winter, 1961) 5-14

ⁱⁱ Jack Finegan, Handbook of Biblical Chronology, (Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1964) p. 196.

ⁱⁱⁱ http://www.science.co.il/Israel-history.asp  

^iv Grace Theological Journal 2.1 (Winter, 1961) 5-14

^v http://altreligion.about.com/library/texts/bl_wisdomegyptians8.htm  

^vi Arthus E. P. Weigall, A Guide to the Antiquities of Upper Egypt, (New York, N.Y: The MacMillan Co, 1910) pp. 219-20.

^vii http://altreligion.about.com/library/texts/bl_wisdomegyptians8.htm  

^viii W.M. Flinders Petrie, History of Egypt, (New York, N.Y: Charles Scribner & Sons, 1904) p. 125.

^ix http://www.inkemetic.org/Library/calnfest.htm  

^x Jack Finegan, Handbook of Biblical Chronology, (Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 1964)

THE SECOND GREAT TRIBULATION

To continue our timeline we look at the seventy years between 609 and 539 B.C. On November 26 we saw that 16q≡Josiah reigned 31 years; from 10373 to 10404 (=16Q); and from December 1 we know 10404 on T1 is -609 on T2; i.e., |-11013 + 10404| = 609. This date, B.C. 609, when Josiah died in battle, begins the second great tribulation. Recall there are three (see August 16 & 20). During the first one in 9136 (B.C. 1877), Ja- cob had to leave Canaan, the Promised Land and go into Egypt (see June 21 and October 18). During the second one, Judah lost its sovereignty, first to Pharaohnechoh, then to Nebuchadnezzar. In B.C. 587 or 10426, Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and took those alive into captivity (see November 29). The second great tribulation, as well as the first one, serves as a precedent for the third, when the church age comes to an end. Just as Jacob had to leave Canaan, and the Jews had to leave Jerusalem, we had to abandon the congregations (see August 4).

After the death of Josiah in 609 (see November 26), Jehoahaz reigned for three months, then ³³…Pharaohnechoh put him in bands at Riblah…that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a tribute of an hun- dred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. So now Judah has to pay trib- ute to Egypt. Pharaohnechoh then put Jehoiakim on the throne: ³⁵And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh (2 Kings 23).

Eventually Babylon put Egypt out of business: ⁷…the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt (2 Kings 24) And to the victor belong the spoils:

¹…Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he…rebelled against him.²And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moabites, and bands of the children of Ammon, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets. ³Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Ma- nasseh… (10316 – 10371; see November 26 and 2 Kings 24)

During the final eleven years of Judah ¹⁷…the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah (2 Kings 24; see November 29). Then in B.C. 587 Zedekiah rebelled. That did it. Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem and took those still alive into Babylon.

If we back up to the reign of Hezekiah (715 - 686) we find that God had prophesized through Isaiah what would happen in 587. ¹⁷Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD (2 Kings 20).

In the 4^th year of Jehoiakim (see November 26) God prophesized these events in Jeremiah 25: ⁹Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my ser- vant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them….¹⁰Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.¹¹And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. ¹²And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Baby- lon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations (Jeremiah 25).

In Jeremiah 25 God doesn't prophesy against Judah only, but against the congregations during the third great tribulation. Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon represents Satan and the destructive role God sets for him in the churches (see July 16 and July 23). Because Satan takes away the true Gospel, the light of the candle, God refers to him as my servant (Jeremiah 25:9; see July 23). Christ, the bridegroom, and the elect, the bride, no longer reside there (see July 21). Therefore the land shall be a desolation where we find only the abomination of desolation, of Matthew 24:15 (see July 26 & 28). So we can see how, through parabolic language, God simultaneously predicts the near future and events twenty-six hun- dred years later. Jeremiah never knew anything about churches. So, as history unfolds, God's revelation becomes a function of time, according to Daniel 12:⁴But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end…

To sum up: from the beginning of the second great tribulation in 609 until 587, when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, (see November 29), Judah had no sovereignty. In 10426 or 587 those still alive in Jerusalem had to go into captivity in Babylon. The only question now is, "For how long?"

In Jeremiah 25:11, 12 the Jews shall serve the king of Babylon for sev- enty years. So we look at 539 B.C. (= 609 – 70) and wonder what, if anything, happened then. At the time Cyrus the Great (559 – 530) of Persia invented the fun game of using evil to eliminate evil by conquering not just territories but the whole world. He'd then convert everybody to Zoroastrianism and we'd have no more wars. That somebody else with a different religion might copy his idea probably didn't occur to him.

In 539 BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire fell to Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, with an unprecedented military maneuver. The famed walls of Babylon were indeed impenetrable, with the only way into the city through one of its many gates or through the Euphrates, which ebbed beneath its thick walls. Metal gates at the river's in-flow and out-flow prevented underwater intruders, if one could hold one's breath to reach them. Cyrus (or his gen- erals) devised a plan to use the Euphrates as the mode of entry to the city, ordering large camps of troops at each point and in- structed them to wait for the signal. Awaiting an evening of a national feast among Babylonians (generally thought to refer to the feast of Belshazzar mentioned in Daniel V), Cyrus' troops di- verted the Euphrates river upstream, causing the Euphrates to drop to about 'mid thigh level on a man' or to dry up altogether. The soldiers marched under the walls through thigh-level water or as dry as mud. The Persian Army conquered the outlying areas of the city's interior while a majority of Babylonians at the city center were oblivious to the breach. The account was elaborated upon by Herodotus, and is also mentioned by passages in the Hebrew Bible. Cyrus claimed the city by walking through the gates of Babylon with little or no resistance from the drunken Babylonians. Cyrus later issued a decree permitting captive peo- ple, including the Jews to return to their own land (as explained in the Old Testament), to allow their temple to be rebuilt back in Jerusalem.ⁱ

This rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem during Darius I the Great (522 –  486) represents God building His eternal kingdom of all the elect. So its construction is of chief interest.

On June 16 we saw that while Nebuchadnezzar represents Satan, the Per- sian Empire represents God's kingdom. Therefore Persia taking over Bab- ylon sets the precedent for God's victory over Satan and the churches at the end of time. To continue our timeline on December 6, we look at the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia.

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ⁱhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon

REBUILDING THE TEMPLE

On our timeline the Achaemenid dynasty (550 to 330 B.C) in Persia ruled over Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, and parts of Asia Minor. Darius I (522 - 486 B.C.) extended their borders into India and Europe and founded their ceremonial capital, Persepolis, in today's southern Iran. Alexander the Great burnt Persepolis down in 331 B.C.

We have the following kings with those underlined of special interest:

Teispes
Cyrus I
Cambyses I (Kambiz)
Cyrus the Great, Start of Achaemenid Empire, 559BC -530BC
Cambyses or Kambiz II, 530BC - 522BC
Smerdis (the Magian), 522BC
Darius I the Great, 522BC - 486BC
Xerxes I (Khashyar), 486BC - 465BC
Artaxerxes I , 465BC – 425BC
Xerxes II, 425BC - 424BC (45 days)
Darius II, 423BC - 404BC
Artaxerxes II, 404BC - 359BC
Artaxerxes III, 359BC - 339BC
Arses, 338BC - 336BC
Darius III, 336BC - 330BC¹

Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes are not names but titles, meaning Great King, or Kingdom, and Scripture, such as Daniel 5:31, refers to Cyrus as Darius. As we now know, Babylon, a state in southern Mesopotamia, had dominated modern day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and, of course, Israel. In B.C. 539 forced exiles (such as the Jews) and a disaffected state party, most of them drunk and oblivious to attack, allowed the army of Cyrus to march in and take over (see June 16 and December 3). ³⁰In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. ³¹And Darius the Median took the kingdom… (Daniel 5).

Cyrus the Great (559 – 530), who started the Achaemenid Empire, con- sidered… Daniel (the prophet in the Book of Daniel) …above the pres- idents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king…set him over the whole realm (Daniel 6:3).

Daniel had probably showed Cyrus what God had to say about him 170 years before:²⁸…Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid (Isaiah 44).

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The prophecy begins to fulfill itself when ¹…in the first year of Cyrus…the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus…that he made a proclama- tion: Thus saith Cyrus…The LORD God…hath given me all the king- doms of the earth; and…hath charged me to build him an house at Je- rusalem, … (Ezra 1). So Cyrus sent Jews back to repair the walls and temple. After 70 years in Babylon many of them chose to remain in what they now considered home. But ⁶⁴The whole congregation (that returned) …was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore (Ezra 2).

Then ⁸…in the second year of their coming…at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel (their governor) …to set forward the work of the house of the LORD (Ezra 3). So in B.C. 537 in the Jewish month, lyyar, (April/May) they begin rebuilding.

The Jews have problems because ⁴…the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, ⁵And hired counsellors against them…all the days of Cyrus… even until…Darius (522 - 486).

These neighboring nations, especially those in Samaria, feared that the Hebrews had come back to dominate over them as in the past. So they watched in vexation as the Jews fortified their temple—what to the Sa- maritans must have looked more like a citadel.

Establishing a government for his empire kept Cyrus too busy to know what went on in Judah; and in August 530 he died fighting the Mas- sagetae, an ancient Iranian people. The governors of Syria and Phoenicia then figured rightly they could have their way with the next Persian king, Cambyses (529 - 522). They remind him of how the Jews had once ¹⁵…moved sedition…of old time: for which cause was this city (Jerusalem) destroyed (Ezra 4).

Cambyses (530 – 522) ordered: ²¹…these men (the Hebrews) to cease…that this city be not builded…²⁴Then ceased the work…at Jerusalem. …unto the second year of…Darius… (Ezra 4) So for about 9 years, while Cambyses conquers Egypt, the Jews are out of business. Then in B.C. 522 this Persian king dies in Damascus. Smerdis and the file Magi, members of the Zoroastrian priestly caste, govern for about a year and are slaugh- tered. Then Darius 1 rules from 522 to 485.

Then ¹In the second year of Darius (B.C. 521,) the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel… ⁸ Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I (God) will be glorified… (Haggai 1).

In 521 the Jews again begin construction and explain to their irate neigh- bors they're only obeying their God to rebuild. Besides, from the very beginning Cyrus (559 -530) had ordered them to this construction site.

To go from T2 to T1 (for definitions of T1 & T2 see December 1) we use the distance formula for any two points—a, b—on a line: i.e., D = |a – b|, where a = -11013. But because T1 has no point (or year) 0, we have to subtract 1 when going from B.C. to A.D.²  

Haggai 1:1, 8 → if Darius≡p = 10491 (= |-11013 – (-522)|) then the Jews begin again to rebuild Jerusalem either in p(2) = 10492 in the sixth month or in q(2) = 10492 in the sixth month (for definitions of p, p(n), q, q(n) see October 29).

Then ⁶Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shetharboznai… sent unto Darius the king (Ezra 5:6) a request that he check out the Hebrews' claim and order a ¹⁷…search …in the king's treasure house, …at Baby- lon, whether…a decree was made of Cyrus…to build this house… (Ezra 5:17) So Darius I (522 - 486) orders a search of the records, finds the order of Cyrus (559 -530) and issues the command to Sisinnes, governor of Syria, to ⁷Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place…. (Ezra 6)

Then ¹⁴…they builded, and finished it… ¹⁵And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius…(Ezra 6)

Haggai 1:1, 8 → Darius≡p = 10491 &

They began in p(2) in the 6^th month or they began in q(2) in the 6^th month.

Adar is the 12^th month of the Jewish calendar. Therefore Ezra 6:15 → they finished in p(6) of the 12^th month or q(6) of the 12^th month.

Suppose that in order to complete the temple, they worked for n years. More precisely, since they began on the 6^th month and finished on the 12^th month, their construction time ran for n years and six lunar months. So if they began in year x on the 6^th month, and worked n years and six months, then they finished at the end of year x + n. But the Hebrew cal- endar begins in March/April. Therefore their 6^th month, Elul, arrives in August/September and their 12^th month, Adar, in February/March of the following year. Therefore, when on the Gregorian calendar, if construc- tion takes n years and six months, and begins in August/September of year x^•, then x^• + n years + 6 months lands us not on year x^• + n but on year x^• + n + 1.

If -522 on T2 is p = 10491 (= |-11013 – (-522)| on T1 then q(6) = 10497 on T1 is -516 on T2.³ Adding the six months lands us in -515 and from B.C. 521 to B.C. 515 makes at most 7 years. In other words if they began construction in p(2) (according to Haggai 1:1) and finished in q(6) (ac- cording to Ezra 6:15) then years p(2) and q(2)...q(6) is 1 + 5 = 6 years; and the extra six months takes us into the following year (on the Gregor- ian), which makes 7. So they began building the temple in 521 B.C. and in 7 years, i.e., in 515, they finished.

Building the temple represents building the body of Christ, i.e., the elect, therefore signifies God saving all those he planned to save before time began. The number 7 in Scripture stands for perfection; in this case of God establishing His perfect Kingdom of the elect.

The following two posts explain the algebra used in determining time intervals on T1 and T2; also how to use p(n) & q(n) on T2. (For links see endnotes.) 

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Endnotes

¹ Kings of Persia

²Caculating the destance between two points

³Using p(n) & q(n) on T2

CALCULATING THE YEARS BETWEEN TWO EVENTS

In calculating the years between two events we first consider the timeline (see December 1). Recall we have two: the first beginning with point 0 as the moment God began creating the world. This timeline looks like this:

T1: 0 1 2 3…

We also have the timeline corresponding to the proleptic Gregorian calen- dar. This timeline looks like this: T2: …-3 -2 -1 1 2 3…

To calculate the number of years, c, between two points, a and b, on T1 or T2, we need to define |d| where d = 0 ±1, ±2, ±3…

if d = 0 then |d| = 0

if d > 0 then |d| = d

if d < 0 then |d| = -d

We define the years, c, between points, a and b, on T1 as, |a – b| = c

We define the years, c, between any two points, a and b, on T2 as follows:

If both a, b > 0 or if both a, b, < 0 then

|a – b| = c

If a < 0 and b > 0 (or if a > 0 and b < 0) than

|a – b| – 1 = c

(We subtract the 1 because T2 has no year 0 when going from B.C. to A.D.)

If we want the inclusive number of years, e, between any two points a and b, on T1 or T2, we define e = c + 1. In other words the inclusive number of years includes point a as well as b.

Suppose we want to calculate the number of years, c, between 1 and 2 on T2 (or T1). Because both a, b > 0, we use the formula |a – b| = c

So we have, |2 – 1| = |1|.Because 1 > 0, |1| = 1 = c, which is what we would expect: counting one year from year 1 lands us on year 2.

If we want the inclusive number of years, e, between 1 and 2 on T2 (or T1) we use the formula, e = c + 1. Since c = 1, e = 1 + 1 = 2.

Suppose we want to calculate the number of years, c, between -2 and -1 on T2.

Because both -2 and -1 < 0, we use the formula |a – b| = c.

So we have |-2 – (-1)| = |-2 + 1| = |-1|.

Because -1< 0, |-1| = -(-1) = 1 = c, which is what we would expect: counting one year from -2 lands us on year -1.

If we want the inclusive number of years, e, between -2 and -1 we use the formula, e = c + 1. Since c = 1, e = 1 + 1 = 2.

Suppose we want to calculate the number of years, c, between -1 and 1 on T2.

Because -1 < 0 and 1 > 0, we use the formula |a – b| – 1 = c.

So we have |-1 – 1| – 1 = |-2| – 1.

Since -2 < 0, |-2| = - (-2) = 2.

Therefore |-1 – 1| – 1 = 2 – 1 = 1 = c, which is what we would expect: counting 1 year from -1 lands us on year 1 because there is no year 0.

If we want the inclusive number of years, e, between -1 and 1 we have,

e = 1 + 1 = 2.

When we research the 70 weeks of Daniel 9 we'll need to calculate the number of years, c, between -406 and 29.

Because -406 < 0 and 29 > 0, we use the formula |a – b| – 1 = c.

So we have |-406 – 29| – 1 = |-435| – 1.

Since -435 < 0, |-435| = -(-435) = 435.

So |-406 – 29| – 1= 435 – 1 = c = 434, which is what we would expect: counting 406 years from the year -406 puts us on year 1 because our timeline has no year 0. We then have 28 (= 434 – 406) more years to count from year 1 to total 434 years, so we land on year 29. And e = 435.

Using p(n) & q(n) on T2

On December 6 we added 6 years to -522 by first mapping -522 onto T2 to get p = 10491, then mapped q(6) = 10497 back onto T1 to get -516.  (For definitions of T1 and T2 see December 1.) Actually p(n) & q(n) work on T1, i.e., on integers less than 0, as long as we don’t go from B.C. to A.D. For n = 6 and p = -522, q(6) = -522 + 6 = -516. Therefore be- cause q(6) < 0, q(6) = -516 is correct.

But when going from B.C. to A.D. we have to add 1 to p(n) and q(n) be- cause T2 does not contain the number 0. Recall that the timeline on T2 looks like this: T2: …-3 -2 -1 1 2 3… Going from -1 to 1 is one year. So if p = -1, then q = 1. But q(1) = -1 + 1 = 0 ≠ 1. If p = -1 and n = 2 then p(2) should be 1, not -1 – 1 + 2 = 0. Therefore if p < 0 and p(n) or q(n) ≥ 0 we use (n + 1). So suppose p = -1 and n = 2; then since p(2) = -1 – 1 + 2 = 0, we use p(2 + 1) = -1 – 1 + 3 = 1. Similarly if p = -1 and n = 2 then since q(2) = -1 + 2 = 1, we use q(2 + 1) = -1 + 3 = 2.

Since p(n) + 1 = p(n + 1), we can write, if p < 0 and p(n) ≥ 0 then we add 1 to p(n). Similarly with q(n).

EZRA AND NEHEMIAH

On December 6 we left off at B.C. 515 and the reign of Darius I, (522 – 486). The Jews have finished rebuilding their temple, but because it no longer contains the ark, God in principle no longer dwells there. More- over they didn't have the money or knowledge to build anything re- splendent as Solomon's temple.

The book of Ezra 1- 6 covers this period from 539 to 515. To continue in Ezra 7 we need to know from December 6 the following Persian kings:

Xerxes I (Khashyar), 486BC - 465BC
Artaxerxes I, 465BC - 425BC

In Ezra 7 King Darius is dead. In the seventh year(Ezra 7:7) of another king, Ezra, a ready scribe in the law of Moses (Ezra 7:6) gets the com- mand to go to Jerusalem and reestablish God's law. Unlike Babylon, Persia respected Jewish beliefs. Their sacred writings would've been brought to Babylon in 587, then to Persia in 539, and the magi would've taken great interest in them.

…the Athenian author Xenophon (c.430-c.355), who visited the Achaemenid empire in 401, calls the Magians experts 'in every- thing religious' (Cyropaedia 8.3.11).ⁱ

In Ezra 1 a letter by Artaxerxes I and given to Ezra to take with him makes …a decree, that all they of...Israel, and of his priests and Le- vites...which are minded...to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee... ^14…23Whatsoever is commanded by...God...let it be done for the house of...God...²⁶And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment or to confiscation of goods, or to impris-onment. So off goes Ezra.

While the king commanded Ezra to depart, Nehemiah only had permis- sion to leave 13 years later. The book of Nehemiah begins in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year.  So we've jumped ahead at least 13 (= 20 – 7) years. 

The king in Shushan (Susa, a ruined city in southwest Iran), has made Nehemiah his cup bearer. That gives Nehemiah the honor of drinking first. If he drops dead from poison the king knows to order a different brew, as well as a new cup bearer. In Nehemiah 1 the king grants Nehe- miah permission to leave in the twentieth year on a reconstruction pro- ject. Any work on the temple/wall represents God's salvation program that in turn structures our timeline. So off goes Nehemiah.

But in order to derive the dates we have to identify the king(s). In Nehe- miah 5, Nehemiah writes, ¹⁴…from the time…I was appointed…from the twentieth year…unto the two and thirtieth (shelōshîm) year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years…

Recall that Artaxerxes and Xerxes designate titles, not names. Since Xer- xes I (486 – 465) reigned only 21 years, whereas Artaxerxes I (465 – 425) ruled for 40, we know Nehemiah refers to the latter king's 32^nd year. In Nehemiah 8 Ezra and Nehemiah celebrate the temple's reconstruction; therefore in Ezra 7 we know Artaxerxes I, (465 – 425), not Xerxes I (486 – 465), commanded Ezra to bring the law to Jerusalem. Otherwise we'd have a difference of (20 – 7) + 20 = 33 years between Ezra's departure and that of Nehemiah. Artaxerxes I sending both Ezra and Nehemiah leave a difference of only 13 years. While Ezra departs in 458 (465 – 7), Nehemiah 1:1 occurs in 445 (465 – 20). Seventy years (515 – 445) have gone by since they last rebuilt Jerusalem.

Some readers may object that we have two foul balls here, because only secular data rather than Scripture confirm the dates of Artaxerxes I (465BC – 425BC). These objections have merit, since the dates remain controversial. Some even argue that after a fiasco in Greece, Persia tried to cover up its humiliation by altering the historical timeline. Xerxes I (486BC – 465) faked his own death and continued to rule as Artaxerxes I (465 – 425), an alleged son. Of course that would mean he ruled for an incredible, even doubtful, 61 (486 – 425) years.

But regarding these foul balls: The onus lies on our timeline such that one incorrect date, like a weak link in a chain, must send our whole argument plummeting into incredibility. Without such numerical and transcendent intricacy we prove neither Divinity nor chronological accuracy for each and every date; rather only secularity or Scripture's misinterpretation. Therefore one can't object to our running with 458, not when it's our fu- neral, not anyone else's.

In Nehemiah 1: ¹…it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year…I was in Shushan the palace. Men arriving from Judah tell Nehemi- ah³…the wall of Jerusalem… is broken down (again), and the gates…are burned with fire. Later the king asks Nehemiah what's bugging him. ¹…in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king… Nehemi- ah tells him …the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates…are consumed with fire (Nehemiah 2:3). To Nehemiah's great relief, it pleased the king to send him to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:6).

While Nehemiah 1:1 mentions the king's 20th year in the month, Chisleu, Nehemiah 2:1 gives the king's 20th year in the month Nisan. Nisan, the first month of the Jewish calendar, has to come before Chisleu, but chronologically Nehemiah 1:1 occurs before Nehemiah 2:1. So we have to interpret the 20^th year in Nehemiah 1:1 as p(20) (see October 29) and that of Nehemiah 2:1 as q(20).ⁱⁱ Zechariah 7:1 defines Chisleu as the ninth month, i.e.,Kislev, which occurs in November/December, when Nehemiah 1 takes place. So it must have taken the king about four months, until March/April of B.C. 444, to realize something besides poison bugged his cup bearer.

Nehemiah goes to Judah and sets everyone to work. But when ⁷…the Arabians …the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls…were made up they were…wroth, ⁸And conspired …to fight against Jeru- salem (Sound familiar? If not see December 6), and to hinder it. And so the Hebrews, ^9…18…the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded (Nehemiah 4). 

Despite plots to kill Nehemiah in chapter 6: ¹⁵…the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul (the sixth month occurring in August/September of 444 B.C.) in fifty and two days. These dates be- come important later on as we tie together the temple's completion with the Rapture and end of the world.

On December 17 We look at the book of Ester.

_________________________________________________________

Endnotes

  ⁱ Kings of Persia

ⁱⁱ See Introduction to the Hebrew Kings for definitions of p(n) & q(n).

THE BOOK OF ESTHER

To determine the king for Esther we need to know from December 6 the following rulers of Persia:

Artaxerxes I , 465BC – 425BC
Xerxes II, 425BC - 424BC (45 days) 
Darius II, 423BC - 404BC 
Artaxerxes II, 404BC - 359BC

The language and content in the Book of Esther rule out the king of Ezra 7 and Nehemiah. The two kings who follow Artaxerxes I are Xerxes II (425 - 424) and Darius II (423 - 404). Xerxes II survived only 45 days so we can scratch him out. Darius II was too busy making himself unpop- ular and quelling revolts in Syria, Lydia (413), and Media (modern Iran) for the happy party-guy of Esther. As an encore he lost his kingdom’s breadbasket, Egypt, in 410.

The next king, Artaxerxes II (404 - 359)

…was ruled by the will of his wife and mother
and relied heavily on his officials.

Might that description fit the Ahasuerus of Esther? (Yeah, I know Darius II a.k.a. Darius Nothus (the bastard) was also dependent on his wife, Parysatis. They were all weak, as a matter of fact, even Artaxerxes I. That’s how they kept anyone from killing them: by letting others tell them what to do.)

Consider Artaxerxes II (404 – 359): the setting is Shushan the palace. King Ahasuerus wants to show off his wife, Vashti, before his partygoers; but she refuses to come to him. Now Ahasuerus is highly incensed, but a Petruchio he is not. Instead he asks ¹³… the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the king's manner toward all that knew law and judg- ment…) ¹⁵ What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king…?

The wise men worry that other wives might get the same idea and say, “No,” to their husbands. Things might get out of hand. So one of them, Memucan, tells Ahasuerus to dump Vashti and get himself another queen; hopefully one a little more docile. The king obeys; and after taking sev- eral women out on a test drive, he chooses Esther.

Ealier in the story Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, saved the king’s life and his kingdom—so far without even a thank-you note. But now, unbeknown to the king, Mordecai refuses to bow to Haman, who as top dog rules over everybody except the king himself. Such disrespect from Mordecai hurts Haman’s feelings; consequently he throws a prolonged temper tantrum by trying to wipe out not just Mordecai but a whole race of people.

He tells the king,⁸...There is a certain people (the Jews) scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy kingdom; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws: therefore it is not for the king's profit to suffer them. ⁹If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed: and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to bring it into the king's treasuries. ¹⁰And the king took his ring from his hand, and gave it unto Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews' enemy. ¹¹And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee (Chapter 3).

Had the king coaxed a few more details out of Haman, he would have realized the scumbag had set him up to kill his own Jewish wife.

Reluctantly Queen Esther intervenes. She exposes Haman as the nice guy he is in a way even the king can understand. Now Haman has ten sons, but they don’t do anything in particular, good or bad. Maybe Esther just got tired of so many problems, but anyway she gets the king to string up not only Haman but his ten already-dead sons as well. While she’s at it she gets the king to okay the slaughtering of 500 in Shushan alone, then 300 the next day and 75,500 in the provinces. Admittedly these enemies had wanted to kill off Esther’s people, but many of them had had a change of heart after seeing Haman stung up and Mordecai put in power.

The Bible doesn’t say anything about the king’s relationship with his mother, but we can well imagine. In any case I think we can now describe this king as someone who …was ruled by the will of his wife and mother and relied heavily on his officials.

In Esther 1: ³In the third year of his reign, he made a feast… Artaxerxes II ruled from 404 to 359. So we begin the book of Esther in 401. In Esther 3 Haman shoots dice to determine when to wipe out the Jews. ⁷In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar (Esther 3). Adar falls around March, so the 12th month in the 12th year would be 391 (= 404 – 13) B.C. when Haman planned this massacre.

Haman constructs a gallows fifty cubits high in which to hang Mordecai. (Esther 5:14). But in chapter 9, after Esther exposes Haman as lowlife, ²⁵…the king… commanded…his (Haman’s) wicked device which he devised against the Jews, should return upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Esther 3:7 defines “Pur” as casting the lot. In Esther 9: ³²…the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book.

Unless we can find some other source describing the feast of Purim, we can only assume this book is the Bible, since that’s where we read about this event. The “Esther fast” during the Purim festival occurs on the 13th of Adar. As far as I know, the spring of 391 B.C. is this last date in the O.T. So we can now begin with the N.T. The dates since December 3 have been listed here.

On Sunday, December 21, 9 p.m. we look at the birth date of Christ.

From B.C. 539 to B.C. 391

10474..........Medes and Persians conquer Babylon:

                    end of the Great Tribulation............................. 539

10474..........The Jews return home to rebuild the temple.....537

10492..........They cease working but then continue..............521

                    They complete the temple.................................515

10555..........Artaxerxes 1 commands Esra to Jerusalem.......458

10568..........Artaxerxes I grants Nehemiah permission

                    to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem.........................445

10568..........Nehemiah governs over Judah..........................445 

10580..........for 12 years........................................................433

10569..........They begin rebuilding the wall

                    and finish in 52 days, in Elul.............................444

10569..........Ezra brings the law to the congregation

                     on the fist day of Tishri....................................444

10609..........Artaxerxes II (Ahasuerus).................................404

10654..........of Esther regins..................................................359

10622..........Last date of the O.T...........................................391

         

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST

Due to errors in calculating the birth of Christ on December 21 of 2008, I've deleted the post as of October 11, 2009 and began afresh. The fol- lowing six posts, including this one, cover the event. Though I arrive at a different year and date than in 2008, the month (of Tishri, seventh Jewish month) remains the same. The most likely days for the birth are Tishri 1 or Tishri 10 (Yom Kippur), the day of atonement. On December 24 we show how astronomical events point to Tishri 1, the Jewish New Year and a Jubilee Day.

Though controversy has always surrounded Christ's birth, this new date looks promising. Unfortunately it's not a function of some other date already derived, which would end all argument. It seems everybody has their own version that falls anywhere between B.C. 12 and A.D. 1. Con- sider this small sample:

Antipas puts the birth in 4 B.C. In order to do that, they assume that

King Herod was dead within 3 weeks of Messiah's birth, by very late October, 4 BC, dated according to mostly Roman records.ⁱ

Phil Greetham at another website (no longer operable) proclaims:

If we want to synthesize a date for Christ's Birth then given all the information with all the guesswork and uncertainties we would have very precarious a date of 4th October 7BC.

Jeffrey G. Elias Dorrance writes,

One of the first great Christian historians, Dionysius Exiguus was a Roman monk who wrote in the year 532. He examined all the historical evidence from which to calculate the exact year of the Birth of Jesus Christ. He established that Christ was born in the flesh in A.D. 1, a view which was not contradicted until some centuries later.ⁱⁱ

And so it goes. While early scholars put the date after B.C. 4, modern ones, with one known exception, put it beforehand.

The good news is that we have no reason to remain dogmatic about any particular year in so far that it threatens our overall timeline. No other significant date depends on the birth date, as for example Jesus' baptism relies on the day of Pentecost in A.D. 33 (see January 26), which in turn depends on the date of the Crucifixion (see January 10, 12). That is we added seven Sabbaths (Leviticus 23:15) from the Crucifixion to arrive at the first Pentecost, then subtracted the 1335 days of Daniel 12:12 from the date of Pentecost to arrive at the day of Baptism. Any error in the date of the Crucifixion would have disqualified the other two. But fortu- nately, as we attempt to recalculate the birth date, we don't have to worry that the results put our timeline into question.

We know Christ wouldn't come at any old time He got around to it. ¹To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Ecclesiastes 3). ⁴But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law (Galatians 4). We now determine how God defines the fulness of the time.

Since B.C. 391 and the completion of the O.T. God left off all commun- ication with the world. Around 4 B.C. God appears to break this silence in the form of a vision to Zacharias, a high priest in the temple (see De- cember 23). Before God completed the Bible He communicated to the world via the stars. On August 12, 3 B.C.E. the wise men see the con-junction of the two brightest planets, Jupiter and Venus, rising in the pre- dawn sky (see December 25). They mention this star to Herod in Mat-thew 2: ¹…in the days of Herod the king…there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, ²saying where is he that is born king of the jews? for we have seen his star in east…

We find different theories as to the identity of these men. From info- please we have the Three Kings of Cologne, owing to the great shrine dedicated to them in their cathedral; or the mathematicians, astrologers and Chaldeans who had been observing the skies for centuries.ⁱⁱⁱ The Antipas Foundation define the wise men as ethnic Hebrew Rabbis from Babylon; or the Magian, members of the Zoroastrian priestly caste and second level ruling party in Persia.^iv These Magi began as one of the six tribes of the Medes.^v They must've come to Jerusalem in a multitude—not just three as depicted in Christmas cards or carols. Only a great num- ber could travel safely for hundreds of miles. Only many inquires of some king of the Jews would've shook up Herod. The royal house would've written off only a few as the heresy of crackpots or conmen. But they would've paid the highest respect to the Magi for their astute astronomical and astrological knowledge.

Scripture gives evidence that God could've communicated to the Magi via a natural star: Revelation 22 defines Christ as ¹⁶…the bright and morning star; also Revelation 2:28 refers to Christ as the morning star. Of course Revelation had not been written yet for these wise men to read. But by B.C. 1407 God had written in Numbers 24: ¹⁷I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel... So God foretold of the Messiah hun- dreds of years earlier by referring to him as a Star out of Israel. Also ³…the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising (Isaiah 60). And the wise men could have read of Christ in Isaiah 35.

Most likely the Magi from Babylon and Persia who spoke to Herod would've had access to Numbers 24 and Isaiah 35, 60. Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem in B.C. 587 and brought the holy books to Babylon; then Darius of the Medes and Persians slew Belshazzar, king of Babylon, in 539 and gained access to his library. At the time the prophet Daniel could've shown the Magi the prophecies concerning Christ.

Though Herod had his own astrologers, he wanted to hear what the wise men had to say. In Matthew 2:3 we read that ³When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

When Herod ⁴…gathered all the chief priests and scribes..., he demanded of them where Christ should be born.⁵And they said…In Bethlehem of Judaea: …it is written by the prophet…, (Matthew 2).

These priests must have referred to Micah 5: ²But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Herod didn't like sharing his kingdom with anyone. Modern scholars agree he suffered throughout his lifetime from depression and paranoia.^vi  Wanting to know where to send his soldiers to kill Jesus, Herod tells the wise men, ⁸Go…search…for the…child; and when ye have found him, bring me word…that I may…worship him also (Matthew 2).

When the wise men depart from Herod, ⁹…the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was (Matthew 2). We show on December 24 and 25 that computer models of the skies do show configurations that the Magi could have taken as a sign of the Messiah.

Going home by a different route, the wise men never return (Matthew 2:12). ¹⁶Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. This ancient massacre probably got many children close to three years old killed as well.

On December 22 we look at the lunar eclipse of Josephus, which serves as a benchmark for the death of Herod and the birth of Jesus.


____________________
ⁱ Antipas Foundation.
ⁱⁱ Jeffrey G. Elias Dorrance
ⁱⁱⁱ infoplease
^iv Antipas Foundation
^v Herodotus, I.101; Pliny, Natural History, V.29
^viAntipas Foundation.

THE LUNAR ECLIPSE OF FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS

Flavius Josephus (circa 37 – 100 A.D.), a Jewish historian and apologist, interests us in so far that his lunar eclipse marks Herod's death and the birth of Christ. He began writing first century history after becoming a Roman citizen around A.D. 70 and for hundreds of years remained the most widely read. His major contribution depicts Jewish life before and during the Jewish uprising in 66 – 70 A.D.

Though the causes for the war are many and complex, he needed to show his appreciation for Roman citizenship, a prize commodity, therefore he made heroes out of his Roman benefactors: Vespasian, emperor of the Roman world (69-79), and his son, Titus.ⁱ So he blames the war on the violent nationalists such as the Zealots and a splinter group, the Sicarii (Jewish assassins), though in the beginning he'd joined the former after they'd killed off a Roman garrison in Jerusalem. Actually the two groups did play a large part in provoking the war and the Sicarii continued even after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.

Because Josephus couldn't remain alive and not please the Romans, he left serious omissions during the period that most concerns us (4 B.C. to 6 A.D.). His dating regarding events before his time has also been found contradictory. But needless to say his mention of an eclipse is innocuous and trustworthy. However in order to determine which one he refers to we need to know his account of events seventy years prior to the war and unfortunately before his time. In particular we need to look at what hap- pened between the eclipse and Herod's internment before the following Passover.

Dennis McCallum (his site no longer operable) in his Chronological Study of the Life of Christ, tells us:

Shortly before the death of Herod, Josephus (a Jewish historian: A.D. 37 –A.D. 95) says there was an eclipse of the Moon. This is the only mention that Josephus makes of an eclipse in his entire volume of History (thus demonstrating that he was not fanciful about omens in this area like other historians of the period). Through astronomical calculations we find that a lunar eclipse occurred on Mar.l2/l3, 4 BC. We also know that no lunar or solar eclipse occurred in either 3 or 2 BC. Shortly after his death the Jewish Passover occurred (which in that year should have occur- red on April 11, according to astronomical calculations). There- fore, Herod's death occurred between March l2 and April 11, in 4 BC.

Although an eclipse indeed did happen just before Herod's death, there wasn't enough time for all the events to unfold between March 12, 4 and the Passover on April 11, 4 (see December 22). For that reason and others we must reject the eclipse of March 12/13, 4. This syzygy men- tioned by Josephus reads as follows:

But Herod deprived this Matthias of the high priesthood, and burnt the other Matthias, who had raised the sedition, with his companions, alive. And that very night there was an eclipse of the moon.ⁱⁱ

We show on December 23 that Herod died about 18/19 days after this eclipse. From that time we can approximate the birth of Christ.

These two condemned rabbis, Judas and Matthias, had incited their students to tear down what they considered an idolatrous golden eagle Herod had erected over the eastern gate of the temple. Herod moved their trial to Jericho, found them guilty and probably timed their execution to the day of the eclipse. That way he could tell the superstitious that via this darkening of the moon God would show His displeasure with the two rabbis and His approval of their execution.

Along with Dennis McCallum and others I assumed in December of 2008 that Josephus meant the eclipse on March 13, 4 B.C. After choosing the Day of Atonement, Tishri 10, for the birth of Christ, I derived the date of October 2, 7 B.C.E. However three other eclipses occurred over Palestine and the East that I failed to check out (I know I should have). I along with others now have reason to believe that Josephus referred to an eclipse that occurred in B.C. 1.

Astronomers can calculate past eclipses with great accuracy, even within a few minutes. But we need to know which one Josephus refers to. Be- tween 7 and 1 B.C.E. there were four, as seen from Palestine and Meso- potamia: a total one on March 23, 5; another total one on September 15, 5; a partial one on March 12/13, 4; and a total eclipse on January 10, 1.ⁱⁱⁱ On December 22 we show that the eclipse of March 13, 4 and March 23, 5 does not allow enough time for all the events mentioned by Josephus to unfold. That limits the choices to September 15, 5 and January 10, 1. Sep- tember 15, 5 poses problems with too much time between it and the Pass- over, leaving only January 10, 1. On December 24 and 25 we show how astronomical data support January 10, 1 B.C.E.


_________________________
ⁱ Josephus 
ⁱⁱ Antiquities 17:6:4
ⁱⁱⁱ E. Martin, The Star that Astonished the world, Chapter 8. 

THE ECLIPSE OF MARCH 13, 4 B.C. VS. JANUARY 10, 1 B.C.

Recall from December 21 that just before Herod's death and a Passover, a lunar eclipse occurred right after the execution of two rabbis.

But Herod deprived this Matthias of the high priesthood, and burnt the other Matthias, who had raised the sedition, with his companions, alive. And that very night there was an eclipse of the moon.ⁱ

This eclipse marks the death of Herod and points to the birth date of Jesus. But we have to determine which eclipse Josephus refers to. There exists four in question: a partial one on March 13:4 and a total one on September 15, 5, March 23, 5 and January 10, 1. If we go to our cal- endar converter, click the third radio button down and type in March, 4 B.C. we see that 3/13/-4 falls on Adar 15. The days of Purim fall on Adar 14 and Adar 15.ⁱⁱ Recall from the book of Esther that during Purim the Jews celebrate their release from Gentile domination and the fall of Haman the Agagite. He had attempted to kill off all the Jews (see De- cember 17). Herod would never have executed the two Rabbis during Purim because of the resulting outrage. Though Herod trampled on Jew- ish sensibilities, burning to death the two rabbis while the Jews burnt effigies of Hayman would've probably caused a riot.ⁱⁱⁱ The Hebrews would've connected Hayman and Herod as two of a kind. Both of them came from Edomite and Canaanite stock and had ten sons. As it was, during the following Passover following the eclipse a revolt did occur over the death of the rabbis.^iv

There was also an eclipse on March 23, 5 B.C. But that date falls on Ni- san 15 when all the Jews would've been in Jerusalem for the Passover. News of burning to death the two rabbis would've caused an outrage and more trouble for Herod then had he waited until afterwards.

An eclipse, such as the one on B.C. March 13, 4 (or March 23, 5 B.C.), can only occur during a full moon. The following Nisan 1, 4 B.C. showed the first new moon. Nisan 1 falls in March or April. The Passover on Ni- san 14 signaled the next full moon and therefore occurred 29 days after the eclipse. As we'll show, Herod died about 18 days afterwards. In chapter 8 of his book, The Star that Astonished the World, Dr. Martin argues convincingly that we can't squeeze all the events surrounding Herod and his burial rites into that 29 day interval. Therefore the eclipse mentioned by Josephus could not have been the one on March 13, 4 B.C. (or the one on March 23, 5.B.C. for the same reasons).

If one were conservative in estimating the interval of time between the lunar eclipse (which occurred just after the two rabbis were executed) and the arrival of the springtime Passover, one has to allow (at a bare minimum) ten weeks.^v

Indeed we have to allow 30 days alone for the customary period of mourning (Sheloshim) over Herod's death in accordance with Numbers 20:29 and Deuteronomy 34:8. After the burial a seven day mourning period followed for the immediate family.^vi The Jews mourned Aaron and Moses for thirty days and in Genesis 50:3 the embalming process took 40 days for Jacob. Only after those forty days did the Jews begin a thirty-day morning (Sheloshim). ³And forty days were fulfilled for him (Jacob); for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days (Genesis 50). Herod, who thought most highly of himself, would've demanded the same fuss made over his own funeral.

Though his illness became worse, Herod didn't die right after the eclipse. The physicians attempted a few remedies before advising him to go to the Dead Sea about 25 miles southeast of Jericho.^vii There in Callirrhoe he bathed in the warm mineral baths before returning. So prior to the 30 and 40 days of mourning and embalming we add a couple of weeks: one for treatment by the court physicians and another for the trip to Callirrhoe. Herod also had his son, Antipater, slain five days before his death.^viii So we have the death occurring about 18/19 days after the eclipse.

To show Herod's concern over how the Jews would react to his death, consider: He knew his demise would set the Hebrews to celebrating. So after returning from Callirrhoe he had all the prominent Jews rounded up for execution on the day he passed away. That ensured the Hebrews would mourn after Herod's death rather than dance in the street.^ix (I nev- er said he wasn't crazy.) Bringing all those Jews together in the hippo- drome would've taken at least a week. (The Jews were released and sent home after Herod's death.)

The forty-days for embalming and thirty days for mourning for Herod probably did not overlap completely. So we have at most some 18 + 30 + 40 = 88 days. That period would cover Herod's therapy, his death, his embalming and trip to his burial site in Herodian about eight miles south of Jerusalem. We have to add 7 days after the burial for the family mourning, which leaves 95 days.^x We'd also have to consider the prepar- atory time needed to assemble the cortege for the trip to the Herodian and Herod's internment.

After this was over, they prepared for his funeral, it being Archelaus's care that the procession to his father's sepulcher should be very sumptuous. ^xi

They didn't have e-mail in those days. The family would've had to send couriers to all the military elite and dignitaries throughout Judah and assemble them in Jericho. They would've needed the army to guard the procession. We still haven't considered how long the body may have remained in Jerusalem before proceeding on.

All the above events occurred before the Passover.^xii So we have to allow about 10 to 12 weeks between the eclipse and Herod's internment. As anyone can see our 29 days won't do at all for March 13, 4 or March 23, 5. However the eclipse on January 10, 1 B.C. allows a twelve week period before Nisan 14.

After Herod's death the Jews demanded Herod's son, Archelaus, to avenge the execution of the two rabbis.^xiii Though the new king honored the Jews in other ways, he first desired Caesar's approval of his reign before doing anything about the rabbis' death. That meant a trip to Rome. Archelaus probably didn't wish to deal with the problematic execution at all. Or at least he hoped that by the time he got back, the people would have calmed down. While preparing to go to the port city of Caesarea, he sent his general to explain to the Jews that the rabbis had been executed according to law approved by the Sanhedrin (The Jewish Supreme Court). During the Passover, with Archelaus still in town, sedition broke out over the conflict. An army sent by Archelaus slew three thousand Jews in the temple precincts, which precipitated a Jewish-Roman war the following summer and autumn.^xiv

To account for all these events after the eclipse, without squeezing them into twenty-nine days, some theologians place this slaughter of the 3000 Jews in the following year. However a careful reading of Antiquities 17:9:2-3 points to the immediate Passover following Herod's demise. The people wanted amends right away, not 13 months later. Archelaus wished to establish his reign as soon as possible. He wanted to leave "immedi-ately" and wouldn't have waited over a year to go to Rome.^xv So the eclipse of March 13, 4 and March 23, 5 B.C. pose unresolved problems.

We're now left with January 10, 1 B.C. and September 15, 5 B.C. for the eclipse of Josephus. On our calendar converter September 15 in 5 B.C. falls on Tishri 14. Herod would not have risked a Jewish rebellion by having the rabbis executed just before the feast of tabernacles that begun on the 15^th, not with everybody in Jerusalem. Besides, the ensuing seven months till the Passover is too long for the above events to occur.

The eclipse of January 10, 1 B.C. gives us better agreement with Luke 3: ¹Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius (14 to 37 A.D.) Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee,²³And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age…

The fifteenth year of Tiberius (14 to 37 A.D.) puts us in 28 or 29 A.D. If we put the birth of Christ in the year B.C. 3 during Tishri then He would have just turned 30 in 28 A.D. So we're forced to go with January 10, 1 B.C. for the eclipse that marks Herod's death.

On December 23 we calculate Christ's birth from the eclipse of January 10, 1 B.C.


_______________________________
ENDNOTES

ⁱAntiquities 17:6:4,
ⁱⁱ Esther 9:26, 32
ⁱⁱⁱ Ernest Martin, The Star that Astonished the Word; chapter 9
^vi Antiquities 17:9:3
^v Ernest Martin, The Star that Astonished the World; chapter 8
^vi Antiquities 17:8:4 and Numbers 19:14
^vii Antiquities 17:6:5
^viii Ibid. 17: 8:1
^xi Ibid. 17:8:4 and Numbers 19:14
^x Ibid. 17:8:3
^xi Ibid. 17:6:5
^xii Ibid. 17:9:3-4
^xiii Ibid. 17:9:1
^xiv Ibid. 17:9:3
^xv Ibid. 17:9:1

CALCULATING CHRIST’S BIRTH FROM THE ECLIPSE

In Luke 1:5-20, while alone burning incense in Herod's temple, Zacharias, a high priest, beholds a messenger of God. This messenger informs Zacharias that his wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a child called John (the Baptist). Most likely we could deem this event the first communica- tion from God after the O.T. We find the only clue as to when God breaks this silence in Luke 1: ⁵There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

We find the name, Abia, used twice: in Luke 1:5 and Matthew 1: ⁷And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa. Immediately we recognize Roboam as the first king of Judah after Sol- omon and Asa as the third. Since Matthew 1 gives the kingly lineage of Judah, Abia must be Abijah, the second king. The Strong's Concordance informs us that the name, Abia, has a Hebrew origin and we find it spelled as Abijah 20 times in the O.T.

We find the word, course, (ephēmeria, from ephemeros) only twice in the N.T: (Luke 1: 5, 8). The Strong's Dictionary defines the word as the quo- tidian rotation or class of the Jewish priests' service at the Temple, as dis- tributed by families (of Levi).

In 1 Chronicles 23:6 we read that, ⁶...David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ^7…13The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever (1 Chronicles 23:13).

Zacharias was a descendent of Amram and Aaron because in Luke 5 it was ⁹…his lot…to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. In 1 Chronicles 24 we find David dividing the sons of Levi by lot into 24 divisions or orders. In respect to the sons of Aaron, ³…David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service. Then we read, ⁷…the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib…^8…10 The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah… In Luke 1:5 Zacharias is of the course of Abia.

We conclude Zacharias was of the eighth course. Now we need to know when the first course began. Around the first of Nisan seems the most likely.

In 1 Chronicles 27 we read about ¹…officers that served the king in any matter of the course, which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year… ²Over the first course for the first month was… ^3…5The third captain of the host for the third month was…

We conclude that the first course for the priests of 1 Chronicles 24 did begin in the first month. Now with 24 courses we need to determine how long each course lasted.

⁸So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that were to go out on the sabbath: for Jeho- iada the priest dismissed not the courses (2 Chronicles 23).

⁵And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house (2 Kings 11).

We conclude that each course lasted one week, from Sabbath to Sabbath, for 24 weeks (courses). Then another 24 weeks followed for a total of 48. Each course, separated by about 6 months, would've served at two dif- ferent times during the year. The Jews followed a lunar calendar of 51 weeks per year. On some years they added an extra month, about seven within a nineteen year period, to keep in tune with the earth's rotation around the sun. Two courses served per year totals 48 weeks with three remaining for the feast days: Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. During those three weeks no priest alone would serve, rather all of them worked together. ¹¹And it came to pass (during Tabernacles), when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course (2 Chronicles 5). The same verse in the Robert Young's translation (YLT) reads: ¹¹And it cometh to pass, in the going out of the priests from the sanctuary—for all the priests who are present have sanctified themselves, there is none to watch by courses (2 Chronicles 5 (YLT)). In other words they all served together during the feast days.

Now we can understand Luke 6:1 (YLT) that reads, ¹…it came to pass, on the second-first sabbath… The second-first sabbath refers to the first week in the second yearly cycle or tenure commencing in Tishri, i.e., about six months after the first-first Sabbath began in Nisan. The second-second Sabbath would then follow the second-first one. The second-third Sabbath would not begin until after the feast of tabernacles. At that time all the priests would've served together beginning Tishri 15 and ending Tishri 22-23. The following weekly Sabbath would begin the normal course for the second-third Sabbath. The cycle would then end with the second-twenty-fourth Sabbath. A new cycle with the first-first Sabbath would begin on or just before Nisan 1. Scripture refers to the weekly Sabbaths within Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles as "between Sabbaths."

In Luke 1: ²³…it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his minis- tration were accomplished, he (Zacharias) departed to his own house. ²⁴And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived…

In Luke 1:26-38 this same messenger of God informs Mary that she will conceive and bear a son (Jesus): ³⁶…behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. This indeed was a miracle baby.

Then ³⁹Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda (near Hebron; see Joshua 21:11). ⁴⁰And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. ^41...56And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house. Most likely Mary remained until Elisabeth gave birth to John. We can assume Elisabeth gave birth after 280 days, the normal period of gestation. ⁵⁷…Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

Zacharias was of the eighth course. We'll assume temporarily that he received the visitation on the first-eighth Sabbath week. We now use the January 10, 1 B.C.E. eclipse of Josephus as the benchmark for Herod's death (see December 22). We add a couple of years and put the birth of Jesus in Tishri of 3 B.C.E., thus in 4 B.C. Zacharias received the visita- tion. According to our Calendar Converter Nisan 1 fell on March 28. Beginning with and including the week with Nisan 1, we count 8 Sab-baths, but skip the one during Passover (April 10-18). We land on May 19-25 as the eighth week (or first-eighth Sabbath). After having been struck dumb in the temple, Zacharias would've been dismissed before the week ended (Leviticus 21:16–23). We now assume that Elizabeth con- ceived around June 1, 4 B.C.
    30 (days in June)
    31 (days in July)
    31 (days in August)
    30 (days in September)
    31 (days in October)
    30 (days in November)
    31 (days in December)
    31 (days in January)
    28 (days in February)
     7 (days in March)    
280 total days

Two hundred and eighty days lands us on March 7, 3 B.C. for the birth of John the Baptist. Luke 1 doesn't tell us when in Elizabeth's sixth month Mary received her visitation. So we assume Mary conceived the first of Elizabeth's seventh month. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and thus has six months to go after John's birth. About six more months for Mary lands us somewhere in September and Tishri 1 falls on Septem- ber 11 for 3 B.C. The assumption of 3 B.C. puts us in the correct Jewish month.

If we had added the months from Zachariah's second-eighth course then Jesus would have been born six months later in March. This conclusion becomes problematic. Caesar Augustus would have ordered the con- sensus (that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem; see Luke 2:1-6) in August and September, not during the late winter.ⁱ

The most likely days for Christ's birth would be Tishri 10 (Yom Kippur) or Tishri 1. Tishri 1 brings in the Jewish New Year and is a Jubilee Day. Tishri 10 was the Day of Atonement. That's when the high priest, arrayed in linen garments, went into the holy of holies that contained the Ark of the Covenant. Only during this time could he enter in to sprinkle blood on the mercy seat (see Supplement July 31 for more on the Day of Atone-ment.) The great Day of Atonement refers to the cross in 33 A.D.

On December 24 we show why Tishri 1 is preferable.

___________________
ⁱ William F. Ramsay, Born at Bethlehem, 193.

A SIGN OF CHRIST’S BIRTH IN VIRGO

 

Matthew 2:2 tells us a "star" led the Magi westward to Jerusalem (Mat- thew 2:2). We assume at first that a natural "star" led them rather than anything supernatural. The same applies to what stood over Bethlehem (Matthew 2:9). After all the "star" didn't point out the house; it merely stood over where the young child was. God orchestrated the "star" in a way that brought the Magi from hundreds of miles away. Therefore other astrological occurrences divinely ordained could've also confirmed Christ's birth. They didn't have the whole Bible back then and God could have used other methods to communicate. For example during a short period God sent messages via people speaking in tongues in the church at Corinth. So why not use stars and constellations as well? From God's point of view man's belief in astrology would've proved most accom- modating. As long as Revelation 22:18-19 hadn't been written yet (circa A.D. 95), such a supposition does not contradict Scripture (see June 11).

 

The Magi who trekked to Jerusalem would've been aware of Genesis 1:14 as well as Isaiah 7:14: ¹⁴And God said, Let there be lights in the firma- ment of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years. Isaiah 7:14 gets more specific, referring to a sign of Christ ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

 

When we search Scripture for any more information regarding starry signs we note in Revelation 12: ¹And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: ²And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

 

Today most of us wouldn't interpret Revelation 12:1-2 as an astrological sign. Instead we would just say the woman represents either the true believers or Mary or ancient Israel that gave birth to Christ. When she flees into the wilderness in verse 6 she represents the churches in the wilderness (the world for 1955 years). The thousand two hundred and threescore days reflects the forty years the Israelites spent in the wilder- ness. The child of course is Christ or the true believers. The moon is the law of God that no longer holds the true believers accountable; therefore the moon is under her feet. Malachi 4:2 refers to God as the Sun of righteousness. God, the sun, clothes the true believers with His right- eousness so that they no longer stand naked before God with all their sins exposed. The twelve stars could represent the twelve tribes of Israel that in turn represent the kingdom of God.

 

But from man's point of view the Bible evolves with new meanings like the rings of a tree. How would people understand Revelation 12:1-2 when first written circa 95 A.D? They would have interpreted it according to Genesis 1:14 and Isaiah 7:14, i.e., as an astrological sign pointing to the birth of a king. Heaven in the Bible can refer to three different spheres: (1) to the immediate level near the ground where birds and planes fly; (2) to the sun, moon and stars; (3) or heaven can mean where God resides outside the universe. In Revelation 12:1-2 heaven refers to outer space. The Magi who came to Jerusalem and spoke to Herod were well versed in astrological interpretation. Dr. Martin speaks from the Magi's point of view when he writes,

 

There can be no doubt that this (Revelation 12:1-2) was an astronomical symbol showing the time of Jesus' birth.ⁱ Astro- logical matters at this time in history were reckoned by most people as being first-class scientific indicators to present and future events.ⁱⁱ Historical documents show how serious people were in regard to what they called the science of astrology…ⁱⁱⁱ

 

The Jews interpreted the stars differently than the Gentiles. While the latter considered the celestial pageantry of 3-2 B.C. to concern Rome and Caesar Augustus, the former interpreted it as a sign pointing to the king of the Jews, as did the Magi. The Jews didn't attribute prognosticating power to the stars but rather thought God arranged the heavens for purposes of communication, particularly the Messiah's birth. Although Herod had his own astrologers, he wanted the Magi's (Gentile's) side of the story re- garding what they saw in the east. It not only prompted the wise men to come to Jerusalem but put Herod up to killing all infants in the area.

 

Two thousand years ago people wanted to believe that the stars foretold events, particularly the birth of kings. God condescended to them: He gave them the star the Magi followed to Jerusalem and Revelation 12:1-2 to pinpoint Christ's birth. People in those days would assume that Reve- lation 12:1-2 referred to Virgo the Virgin, the only one such constellation in the ecliptic (the yearly path of the sun from earth's point of view).

 

The constellation Bethulah (Hebrew for Virgo) herself is seen rising in the early evening sky during Passover/Unleavened Bread. She is at zenith and highest in the early evening sky during Pentecost, and setting above the western horizon in the early evening sky at Tabernacles. Bethulah is then not seen again in the early evening sky until the following Passover/Week of Unleavened Bread. This constellation clearly portrays Israel and the Feasts of YHVH.^iv

 

There are twelve stars around the head of Virgo according to Revelation 12:1. Those six in the southern hemisphere: (1) Pi, (2) Nu, (3) Beta (near the ecliptic), (4) Sigma, (5) Chi, (6) Iota. Those in the northern hemi- sphere: (7) Theta, (8) Star 60, (9) Delta, (10) Star 93, (11) Beta, (12) Omicron.^v

 

Now we have to verify Revelation 1:1-2 by showing that this astrological sign actually did occur at the appropriate time. On December 23 we approximated that Jesus was born sometime in September of 3 B.C.E. On December 21, 2008 (post deleted) we said that Tishri 10 marked a rea- sonable day for Christ's birth. However Tishri 1 (Rosh ha-Shanah), the Jewish New Year, becomes a more likely possibility.

 

Within the last twenty years they've programmed computer models to show what the sky looked like thousands of years ago. In Tropic astrology the system as defined by Ptolemy in the 2nd century is fixed to the sea- sons, i.e. the orientation of the Earth relative to the solar system. In 3 B.C.E. the Sun is in the constellation of Virgo the Virgin from August 24 to September 22.^vi But to satisfy Revelation 12:1-2 the sun must cloth the virgin, i.e., must reside mid-bodied to her, which narrows the interval down from August 27 to September 15, a period of twenty days. This period satisfies what we got when counting to the eighth course of Zacharias on December 23. But to satisfy Revelation 12:1-2 completely the moon must reside beneath the virgin's feet. The only date in 3 B.C.E. that the sun resides inside the constellation of Virgo and the moon under her feet is September 11. This configuration, as seen from Palestine, took place between 6:15 p.m. (sunset) and about 7:45 p.m. (moonset). That date and time would satisfy Revelation 12:1-2 and could only occur in one day out of the year.^vii

 

At the moment of sunset on September 11, 3 B.C.E. the moon, as seen from Jerusalem and scheduled to set at 6:35, lays just beneath the virgin's feet at an altitude of eight degrees. It is twenty-two degrees left of the sun's azimuth which is at 277°. The head, left shoulder and arm of the constellation reside beneath the horizon. The sun, in the middle of the constellation, sinks just out of sight at 5:53 P.M. The brightest star, Spica (Latin), is at an altitude of 3 degrees and sets at 6:12 P.M. The word Spica means an ear of corn for what she holds in her left hand. The name of the star in Arabic, Al Zimach, means the branch. Zechariah 3:7 prophe- sizes Christ as The Branch, also Zechariah 6:12. In John 12:24 we read, ²⁴Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. That the star Spica fall(s) into the ground at 6:12 P.M. could arguably mark the moment of Christ's birth.^viii

 

From our calendar calculator September 11, 3 B.C.E. falls on Tishri 1, (YOM TERUAH, as referred to in the Torah) on a new moon and most appropriate day for Christ's birth.^ix The KJV calls Tishri 1 the "day of trumpets." (Actually they blew the ram's horn. Every other first of the month they blew the trumpet.) Tishri 1, a Jubilee day in a Jubilee month, ushers in a new moon, the Jewish New Year and a most holy day (Le- viticus 23:23–26). In Numbers 29: ¹…in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets (ram's horn or shôpār) unto you. That September 11, 3 B.C.E. falls on Tishri 1 adds one more "coincidence" among all the others listed on February 23, 25, that when taken together defies all probability.

 

It so happens that those living in 3-2 B.C. witnessed even more celestial pageantry then September 11, 3 B.C.E. Other starry signs included the star of Bethlehem and pointed to the birth of Christ, which we look at on December 25.

________________________

ⁱ Ernest Martin, The Star that Astonished the World, Chapter 3 

ⁱⁱ Ibid. Chapter 1 

ⁱⁱⁱ Ibid.

^iv Biblical Astronomy September/October 2007

^v Keystone Christian Reading Room.

^vi Wikipedia 

^vii Keystone Christian Reading Room.

^viii The Birth of יהושע the Messiah The Sign of Revelation 12:1-2

^ix Ernest Martin, The Star that Astonished the World. Chapter 5 

THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM

Since the late 1960s astronomers have been zeroing in on the most likely and long-sought-after "star" of Bethlehem. That this star fits into our timeline for the birth of Christ (September 11, 3 B.C.E. see December 24) makes it important. Actually the whole astrological pageantry between May of 3 B.C.E. and December of 2 B.C.E. supports our claims for Di- vinity and points to September 11, 3 B.C.E. for the birth date.

Recall that for centuries the Magi had been studying astronomy, astrology and religion. After 539 B.C.E Genesis 1:14 would have struck them as most interesting: ¹⁴And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: Astrological events of any signifi- cance would've been anticipated and monitored for weeks in advance.

Thirty days before the birth date and about an hour and twenty minutes before sunrise on August 12, 3 B.C.E., the two brightest planets, Venus and Jupiter rose in the eastern sky in conjunction with each other. Jupiter often was associated with the birth of kings and therefore called the King planet.ⁱ

This conjoining occurred in the zodiacal sign of Cancer, the concluding sign for interpreting the astrological year. The sun, moon and Mercury resided in the constellation of Leo the lion, the sign of Judah and the beginning one for the astrological year. So we have the ending of one period and the beginning of another.

The mergence of Jupiter and Venus in the eastern sky on August 12, 3 B.C.E. may well have been the star in Matthew 2: ²Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. The King James translation of this verse sug- gests the Magi may have seen this star while in the east. But the trans- lation of Matthew 2:2 in "God's Word" has …his star rising… and the Mace New Translation translates the verse as a ...rising star… Also the New English Bible translates the verse as the rising of his star. We can understand Matthew 2:2 (KJV) to read …we have seen his star (rising) in the east.

The rising of a star or planet just before sunrise was particularly significant in interpreting events relating to important people.ⁱⁱ The New Testament…clearly shows that the Magi observed an ordinary star (or planet) ascending above the eastern horizon which they interpreted as the sign that a Jewish king was now within his nativity period.ⁱⁱⁱ

In Revelation 22:16 Christ refers to Himself as a morning star: ¹⁶…I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And 2 Peter 1:19 mentions Christ as a day star. ¹⁹We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Also the Magi would have had access to Isaiah 60: ³And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

We now jump ahead to twelve days before the birth date. Nineteen days after August 12, i.e., on August 31, 3 B.C.E., Mercury, the gods' mes- senger, left the sun and Virgo, the virgin, to conjoin with Venus. Jesus was born of a virgin represented by Virgo. Venus, the goddess of fertility, was in Leo. The constellation of Leo represents a lion. Christ came from the tribe of Judah, which is associated with a lion. ⁹Judah is a lion's whelp. (Genesis 49). Mercury symbolized the messenger of the gods and John the Baptist, the messenger of God, announced Christ of Judah. ²…Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee (Mark 1). Jupiter, the "King Star," and "Father of the gods," was also entering Leo. The constellation of Leo was the chief or head sign of the Zodiac both in the secular and the biblical Zodiac. This sign was especially important in astrological circles.^iv The sun, the Sun of righteousness (Malachi 4:2) and Supreme Father that, according to as- trologers, ruled the heavens, resided in Virgo when Mercury left the con- stellation to enter Leo. Though the Magi would not have had access to Mark 1, the other two verses (Genesis 49:9 and Malachi 4:2) along with these starry configurations would've suggested the birth of a great king.

Eleven days later, i.e., on September 11, 3 B.C. (Tishri 1), from 6:15 to 7:45 P.M. the sun clothed Virgo with the new moon under her feet (as explained on December 24). Twelve stars cover her head. This agrees with Revelation 12:1-2 and points to the time of the birth of Christ. ¹And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: ²And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be de- livered.

For the summer of 3 B.C. Augustus, the first emperor of Rome had made a decree: peoples of the Empire must register, granting Augustus the title of Pater Patriae or "Father of the Country."^v That would explain the "consensus" demanded of Joseph and Mary. Joseph had descended from a kingly line (Matthew 1:1-17), which meant Mary conceivably could give birth to a king. So both of them would've had to swear allegiance to Augustus. The Romans no doubt figured the celestial pageantry listed here pointed to Augustus and the Roman Empire. But a year later the Magi chose to go to Jerusalem instead of Rome. Perhaps the prophet Daniel, who prophesied Christ in Daniel 9 (see January 12), had enlight- ened the Magi about the coming Messiah. In Daniel 5:11 Daniel had been …made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; At any rate, …scholars today are able to see that there was a great deal of mingling of beliefs between the Jews and the Magi at this period of time. This was because of their connections with one another since the 6^th century B.C.E.^vi 

On September 14, 3 B.C., with the sun still in Virgo, Jupiter the "King planet" conjoined with Regulus, the "Royal Star" in the "Royal Con- stellation" of Leo. Located nearly on the ecliptic, Regulus had the attri- butes of greatness and power.^vii  Jupiter had just united with Venus (Au- gust 12) and now twenty-eight days later was uniting with the King Star, three days after Christ's birth. On December 1 Jupiter stopped its normal motion and began its retrogression back towards Regulus. On February 17, 2 B.C.E. Jupiter and Regulus meet again with the moon between them. Jupiter continued its retrograde motion until March 29, 2 B.C.E. before assuming normal motion back towards Regulus. On May 8, 2 B.C.E. in the western sky Jupiter met for the third time with Regulus, the King, with the moon again between them. These three conjunctions, all within Leo, would have been seen as a circling motion of Jupiter around the king star. The Magi could've interpreted this event as the crowning of a great king out of Judah.

To see that Regulus is the king star note that in Numbers 24: ¹⁷I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel…^18…19Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that re- maineth of the city. Note we have the Star associated with the Sceptre and dominion and with Jacob, which is associated with the lion and Judah (Genesis 49:9). This Star is Regulus, the King Star in Leo. In Genesis 49: ¹⁰The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet… Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, resides between the forefeet of the constellation.

Those in Rome would've thought these three conjunctions pointed to Caesar Augustus (23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14). It was the 25^th year of his reign and the 750^th priestly anniversary of Rome. It was a time of peace and prosperity. The people and Senate of Rome had just given Augustus his supreme title as the Father of the Country. But note the first of these three conjunctions (September 14, 3 B.C.E.) occurred only three days after September 11, 3 B.C.E., the birth date of Jesus

Ten months after Jupiter and Venus merged in the eastern sky (August 12, 3 B.C.E), the same two planets on June 17, 2 B.C.E. conjoined again; this time in the western sky and in the constellation of Leo.^viii Jesus would now be 9 months and 6 days old.

During this conjunction a full moon set the eastern sky aglow, allowing further interpretations in Rome. In Mesopotamia during the evening they would've looked towards Palestine and seen this conjunction as a single "star" brighter than all others. In his book, The Planet that Wasn't, Asimov asks "Is the fact that the unusual 'star' was seen in the direction of Judaea enough to make them think of a Messiah?"^ix 

The Magi, meaning astrologers, would've attributed divine significance to this convergence. It was probably the star of Bethlehem.^x They would've had access to Numbers 24: ¹⁷There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel and would've anticipated a star regarding the Messiah. They also had access to Numbers 14: ¹⁷I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel… They thus could have trav- eled west towards this star and come to Jerusalem. Recall that Jacob is associated with a lion. Leo, the "Royal Constellation" began the year for interpretation of coming events. While the conjoining of these two planets occurred twice, the one on August 12, 3 B.C.E. took place in Cancer, the ending of the astrological year. People back then would've interpreted these two events as the closing of one era and the beginning of another. These astrological configurations could not have occurred centuries be- fore or after June 17, 2 B.C.E.^xi 

Forty days later, on August 27, 2 B.C., a massing of four planets occurred in the constellation of Leo: Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Venus. The moon was entering Leo and the Sun was entering Virgo. This grouping signaled to astrologers a common interest or purpose, possibly beginning with a war (with Mars involved) before a new beginning opened up by a king of Judah.^xii

In the early morning of December 25, 2 B.C.E. (29 Tevet), Jupiter be- came stationary on the meridian over Bethlehem, as seen from Jerusalem. ⁹When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was (Matthew 2 KJV) The Magi would've followed Jupi- ter westward to Jerusalem, then camped there to gossip with Herod be- fore leaving for Bethlehem. They then saw the star of Matthew 2:9 over Bethlehem. The verbal phrase, having come, in Matthew 2:9 in Young's Literal Translation (YLT) makes more sense than that of the King James. Compare: ⁹And they, having heard the king, departed, and lo, the star, that they did see in the east, did go before them, till, having come, it stood over where the child was (Matthew 2 YLT). The planet didn't travel from north to south; rather after having come (as the Magi talked to Herod), Jupiter stood over Bethlehem just before dawn, when the wise men got ready to leave Jerusalem.

Jupiter not only stopped over Bethlehem, as seen from Jerusalem, but it stood still right in the middle of the constellation of Virgo, the Virgin. And, of course, Jesus was born of a virgin. The planet remained sta- tionary for about six days.^xiii If Jesus had been born on September 11, 3, He'd be at 1 year, 3 months and 14-20 days. From the Jewish perspective December 25 (Hanukkah) would've been the most appropriate time for the Magi to give their gifts to Jesus.

To understand how Jupiter could appear to stand still we first have to understand that earth is the third planet from the sun, Jupiter the fifth, and both travel counterclockwise around the sun. A silver dollar could represent earth's orbit placed atop a pancake for the path of Jupiter. As earth, the faster planet, approaches Jupiter, the latter appears to travel eastward through the stars in progression. As the earth, due to its faster speed, gets closer to this massive planet the latter appears to slow down and stop. Jupiter then seems to reverse its direction (in retrogression) and travel westward, like a slower moving car on the highway that, as seen from a faster vehicle, appears to be backing up. Between December 1, 3 B.C.E. and March 29, 2 B.C.E. the retrogression lasted for four months.

Note that December 25 occurs during the Winter Solstice, when the sun stops its southern route over the tropic of Capricorn and starts back north. The Gentiles considered this time the birth of the new sun. Psalms 84:11 compares Christ to the sun: ¹¹For the LORD God is a sun… The Winter Solstice …was celebrated in most areas of the world as the nativity of the "Ruler" of the heavens.^xiv 

A study of these starry configurations shows how precise God timed each astrological event to coincide with the historical and vice versa. That fact illustrates how God must have created His timeline with utmost precision.

In conclusion Jesus was born on September 11, 3 B.C.E. The Magi would've probably left for Jerusalem after the Jupiter-Venus conjunction on June 17, 2 B.C.E. They would've left for Bethlehem around December 25, 2 B.C.E. and Jesus is at about 15 months. Herod then had all children two years and younger executed (Matthew 2:16). He then died around January 28, 1 B.C.E.

On December 10 we begin with the crucifixion.
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ⁱ Hendriksen, The Gospel of Matthew, 153.
ⁱⁱ Ernest Martin, The Star that Astonished the World, Chapter 4
ⁱⁱⁱ Ibid. Chapter 1
^iv Ibid.
^v T. Lewin, Fasti Sacri, 135.
^vi Ibid. Chapter 2
^vii Ibid. Chapter 4
^viii Christianity Today, "The Celestial Pageantry Dating Christ's Birth," 1976, by Ernest Martin.
^ix Isaac Asimov, The Planet that Wasn't 222
^x Roger W. Sinnott, Sky and Telescope, December, 1968, 384–386. Sinnott's results make the Star of Bethlehem more plausible astronomically than it has seemed heretofore. (C.A. Federer, Sky and Telescope 36 {December 1968}, referencing the article in that same issue, by Roger W. Sinnott, "Thoughts on the Star of Bethlehem," p 384.)
^xi Dr. E Martin, The Star that Astonished the World. Chapter 1
^xii Ibid.
^xiii Ibid. Chapter 4
^xiv Ibid.