Post by Rev. Jim Cunningham on Nov 19, 2008 4:05:08 GMT -5
From: Cameron_Kyre (Original Message) Sent: 6/12/2006 9:58 PM
This is a topic that I feel is addressed less often than it should. I lead into it in another thread and I figured it might make a good base of discussion. I'm sure that most christians know that Jesus was not born on christmas, but then when? Aside from just the date, there is also the issue of Christians not having a holiday on his true birthday.
This is the accepted conclusion of most historians: The reason that we celebrate Christ's birthday on December 25th is simply because of the significance of the day itself. The day also takes place on Saternalia and the winter solstes. These were important pagan holidays for the Romans. And early christians used this day to celebrate Jesus's birthday to make the festival familiar. They had to wean the Romans in a slow conversion. It simply became a tradition by the time Rome assimilated into the Word of God.
But there are a number of reasons that Jesus could not have been born on Dec. 25. It is thought that Jesus was born on Decemeber 25 3/4 B.C.. However, his name is recorded on the Roman census taken in July. meaning he had to have been born before that. Also remember the Roman Empire was expansive, when I say he was in the Roman census that does not mean he was in Rome.
There are various sites speculating the true date of Christ's birth. And although I still have to cross-check this source, I think it is correct or at least not far off.
If anyone has additional or contradictory information they would like to share, please feel free to state it.
"The year of Jesus' birth is broadly accepted as 4 BC, primarily from erroneous conclusions derived from Josephus' recording of an eclipse, assumed to be on March 13, 4 BC, "shortly before Herod died." There are a number of problems with this in addition to the fact that it was more likely the eclipse occurred on December 29, 1 B.C. Considerable time elapsed between Jesus' birth and Herod's death since the family fled to Egypt to escape Herod's edict and they didn't return until after Herod's death. Furthermore, Herod died on January 14, 1 BC Tertullian (born about 160 AD) stated that Augustus began to rule 41 years before the birth of Jesus and died 15 years after that event. Augustus died on August 19, 14 AD, placing Jesus' birth at 2 BC. Tertullian also notes that Jesus was born 28 years after the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC, which is consistent with a date of 2 BC. Irenaeus, born about a century after Jesus, also notes that the Lord was born in the 41st year of the reign of Augustus. Since Augustus began his reign in the autumn of 43 BC, this also appears to substantiate the birth in 2 BC. Eusebius (264-340 AD), the "Father of Church History," ascribes it to the 42nd year of the reign of Augustus and the 28th from the subjection of Egypt on the death of Anthony and Cleopatra. The 42nd year of Augustus ran from the autumn of 2 BC to the autumn of 1 BC. The subjugation of Egypt into the Roman Empire occurred in the autumn of 30 BC. The 28th year extended from the autumn of 3 BC to the autumn of 2 BC. The only date that would meet both of these constraints would be the autumn of 2 BC.
Another approach in determining the date of Jesus' birth is from information about John the Baptist. Elisabeth, John's mother, was a cousin of Mary and the wife of a priest named Zacharias who was of the "course" of Abijah (Priests were divided into 24 courses and each course officiated in the Temple for one week, from Sabbath to Sabbath). When the Temple was destroyed by Titus on August 5, 70 AD, the first course of priests had just taken office. Since the course of Abijah was the eighth course, we can track backwards and determine that Zacharias would have ended his duties on July 13, 3 BC. If the birth of John took place 280 days later, it would have been on April 19-20, 2 BC (precisely on Passover of that year). John began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. The minimum age for the ministry was 30. As Augustus died on August 19, 14 AD, that was the accession year for Tiberius. If John was born on April 19-20, 2 BC, his 30th birthday would have been April 19-20, 29 AD, or the 15th year of Tiberius. This seems to confirm the 2 B.C. date and, since John was five months older, this also confirms the autumn birth date for Jesus.
Elisabeth hid herself for five months and then the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary both Elisabeth's condition and that Mary also would bear a son who would be called Jesus. Mary went "with haste" to visit Elisabeth, who was then in the first week of her sixth month, or the fourth week of December, 3 BC. If Jesus was born 280 days later it would place the date of his birth on September 29, 2 BC. If Jesus was born on September 29, 2 BC, it is interesting to note that it was also the First of Tishri, the day of the Feast of Trumpets"
This is a topic that I feel is addressed less often than it should. I lead into it in another thread and I figured it might make a good base of discussion. I'm sure that most christians know that Jesus was not born on christmas, but then when? Aside from just the date, there is also the issue of Christians not having a holiday on his true birthday.
This is the accepted conclusion of most historians: The reason that we celebrate Christ's birthday on December 25th is simply because of the significance of the day itself. The day also takes place on Saternalia and the winter solstes. These were important pagan holidays for the Romans. And early christians used this day to celebrate Jesus's birthday to make the festival familiar. They had to wean the Romans in a slow conversion. It simply became a tradition by the time Rome assimilated into the Word of God.
But there are a number of reasons that Jesus could not have been born on Dec. 25. It is thought that Jesus was born on Decemeber 25 3/4 B.C.. However, his name is recorded on the Roman census taken in July. meaning he had to have been born before that. Also remember the Roman Empire was expansive, when I say he was in the Roman census that does not mean he was in Rome.
There are various sites speculating the true date of Christ's birth. And although I still have to cross-check this source, I think it is correct or at least not far off.
If anyone has additional or contradictory information they would like to share, please feel free to state it.
"The year of Jesus' birth is broadly accepted as 4 BC, primarily from erroneous conclusions derived from Josephus' recording of an eclipse, assumed to be on March 13, 4 BC, "shortly before Herod died." There are a number of problems with this in addition to the fact that it was more likely the eclipse occurred on December 29, 1 B.C. Considerable time elapsed between Jesus' birth and Herod's death since the family fled to Egypt to escape Herod's edict and they didn't return until after Herod's death. Furthermore, Herod died on January 14, 1 BC Tertullian (born about 160 AD) stated that Augustus began to rule 41 years before the birth of Jesus and died 15 years after that event. Augustus died on August 19, 14 AD, placing Jesus' birth at 2 BC. Tertullian also notes that Jesus was born 28 years after the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC, which is consistent with a date of 2 BC. Irenaeus, born about a century after Jesus, also notes that the Lord was born in the 41st year of the reign of Augustus. Since Augustus began his reign in the autumn of 43 BC, this also appears to substantiate the birth in 2 BC. Eusebius (264-340 AD), the "Father of Church History," ascribes it to the 42nd year of the reign of Augustus and the 28th from the subjection of Egypt on the death of Anthony and Cleopatra. The 42nd year of Augustus ran from the autumn of 2 BC to the autumn of 1 BC. The subjugation of Egypt into the Roman Empire occurred in the autumn of 30 BC. The 28th year extended from the autumn of 3 BC to the autumn of 2 BC. The only date that would meet both of these constraints would be the autumn of 2 BC.
Another approach in determining the date of Jesus' birth is from information about John the Baptist. Elisabeth, John's mother, was a cousin of Mary and the wife of a priest named Zacharias who was of the "course" of Abijah (Priests were divided into 24 courses and each course officiated in the Temple for one week, from Sabbath to Sabbath). When the Temple was destroyed by Titus on August 5, 70 AD, the first course of priests had just taken office. Since the course of Abijah was the eighth course, we can track backwards and determine that Zacharias would have ended his duties on July 13, 3 BC. If the birth of John took place 280 days later, it would have been on April 19-20, 2 BC (precisely on Passover of that year). John began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. The minimum age for the ministry was 30. As Augustus died on August 19, 14 AD, that was the accession year for Tiberius. If John was born on April 19-20, 2 BC, his 30th birthday would have been April 19-20, 29 AD, or the 15th year of Tiberius. This seems to confirm the 2 B.C. date and, since John was five months older, this also confirms the autumn birth date for Jesus.
Elisabeth hid herself for five months and then the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary both Elisabeth's condition and that Mary also would bear a son who would be called Jesus. Mary went "with haste" to visit Elisabeth, who was then in the first week of her sixth month, or the fourth week of December, 3 BC. If Jesus was born 280 days later it would place the date of his birth on September 29, 2 BC. If Jesus was born on September 29, 2 BC, it is interesting to note that it was also the First of Tishri, the day of the Feast of Trumpets"
