Category: When was Jesus Born

When Was Jesus Born?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

In Conclusion . . .

Under the topic of “When Was Jesus Born?” I have evaluated biblical, historical, and astronomical evidence to confirm the actual birth date of Jesus from four specific sources, as detailed below.  These four sources represent four of the eight pieces of the puzzle for this topic and effectively disprove the traditional date of December 25, 1 BC as the birth date of the Messiah. When assembled, the pieces of the puzzle conclude that Jesus was born on Wednesday, Tishri 1 (September 11) of 3 BC – on the Feast of Trumpets (Hebrew: Yom Teruah; also called Rosh HaShanah).

I believe that the case presented is strong and that the birth date presented is, in fact, the actual birth date of Jesus.

Continue reading “Jesus’ Birth – Conclusion: When Was Jesus Born?”

When Was Jesus Born?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

Historical Events Related to the Birth of Jesus

This chapter offers a sequence of historical events around the time of Jesus’ birth and ministry, concluding with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD.  This sequence is the work of Paul Wierwille and Ernest Martin and includes many of the dates and events of historical importance which I have noted in the Posts associated with the topic “When Was Jesus Born?”

Continue reading “Jesus’ Birth – Sequence of Events”

When Was Jesus Born?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

Jesus’ Birth and the Start of His Ministry

In addition to Biblical, historical, and astronomical sources, there is yet another method we can employ to assist us in solving the puzzle of Christ’s birthdate. This method – our puzzle piece 8 – uses the Bible to obtain chronological information about the Jewish Sabbath Days, Sabbatical Years and Jubilee Years. The method can also be used to determine the proper chronology of other events in Jesus’ life – as reported in the New Testament – including the start of his ministry and the year of His crucifixion.

What is this key? It involves understanding the chronology of the Feasts of the Lord (Leviticus 23) during the ministry of Jesus, as well as the Jewish law related to the Sabbatical and Jubilee Years and cycles (Leviticus 25).

Continue reading “Jesus’ Birth – Sabbatical and Jubilee Years”

When Was Jesus Born?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

The Death of Herod – Matthew 2:14–23

 Aside from the accounts in Matthew which include the visit of the Magi to worship the Christ child and of the family’s subsequent escape to Egypt, there is very little in the Bible regarding the death of Herod and the early years of Jesus’ life.

Herod’s death is mentioned in three verses in the Gospel of Matthew:

“So he [Joseph] got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son’

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. . .

 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.’ So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’” (Matthew 2:14–16, 19-23 NIV)

From Matthew we can therefore see that Herod’s death most certainly occurred after the birth of Jesus, after the Magi’s visit, and after the family’s sojourn to Egypt.

Continue reading “Jesus’ Birth – The Death of Herod”

When Was Jesus Born?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

The “Dark Decade” in History – 6 BC to AD 4

I have established with near certainly in earlier Posts that September 11, 3 BC is the likely birth date of Jesus. Can this date be further confirmed from secular historical records? This is puzzle piece 6.

Although the answer is “Yes,” secular records are scarce from the Roman Empire during the years 6 BC to AD 4. Ernest Martin has stated that

“It is a common lament among Roman historians that this ten-year period (one of the most important in the history of western civilization) bristles with many historical and chronological difficulties because of garbled or imperfect records that have come down to us.”

This problem was echoed by Sir Ronald Syme in his work The Crisis of 2 BC (1974), in which he wrote about “. . . the hazards inherent in the obscure decade 6 B.C. – A.D. 4.”

And of the great first century historian Josephus, Ernest Martin wrote:

“One must exercise caution in the reading of Josephus—especially in chronological affairs from about 9 B.C. to A.D. 6. We do not know why Josephus in that period neglected to give cross-references to internationally recognized eras of time, but he was negligent! And this is precisely where our problem lies. Not only are the records from Roman historians very deficient at this period of time (it was when that dark decade was in effect), but Josephus himself fails us too when it comes to precise chronological indications. It is no wonder historians are confused regarding the time of Jesus’ birth.”

Continue reading “Jesus’ Birth – Roman History”

When Was Jesus Born?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

What Did the Magi See in the Sky?

Biblical Description of the Star

There are two verses in the Gospel of Matthew which mention the Star of Bethlehem that the Magi observed and followed:

“. . . Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east [or: when it rose] and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1b-2 NIV)

“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east [or: seen when it rose] went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” (Matthew 2:9-10 NIV)

From these verses we see that the star was defined by the Magi as “his star” and that it was seen when it rose while they were in Persia. Later, the star seemingly moved in the sky, heading in a southerly direction as the Magi traveled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The “star” then stopped any movement and was directly overhead when the Magi arrived at the place where Jesus was located in Bethlehem. These are all wonderful clues to help identify the “star.”                       

Continue reading “Jesus’ Birth – The Star of Bethlehem”

When Was Jesus Born?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

Who Were the Magi?

 Biblical Description of the Magi from Matthew 2:1-12

The account of the story of the birth of Jesus and of the visit of the Magi is forever etched in the minds of most people. They see the Magi in most manger scenes related to the traditional celebration of Christmas.

Let’s look more closely at this visit of the Magi to discover who they actually were and when they actually came to worship Jesus.

The Gospel of Matthew is the only Gospel that tells us about the visit of the Magi, who came from the east to visit Jesus in Bethlehem. As Brent Landau states in the Introduction to his recent translation of a forgotten ancient manuscript, Revelation of the Magi – The Lost Tale of the Wise Men’s Journey to Bethlehem (2010):

“The Magi – usually known as the ‘Three Wise Men’ or ‘Three Kings’ – are easily the most famous of the visitors who appear at Jesus’ birth . . . Whether or not one is a churchgoer, practically everyone has heard of them.”

Continue reading “Jesus’ Birth – The Wise Men (Magi)”

When Was Jesus Born?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

Evidence for the Birthdate of Jesus Being on the Feast of Trumpets

In Revelation 12:1-6 the Apostle John is presenting something of great significance in a symbolic way. The date of September 11, 3 BC was Tishri 1 on the Jewish calendar in 3 BC.  Tishri 1 is, of course, the 1st day of the first Jewish month. This date is also called Yom Teruah: The Day of Trumpets; the Feast of Trumpets; and Rosh Hashanah: Head of the Year, or Feast of the New Year.

From the proper astronomical interpretation of Revelation 12:1-6 (see previous Post: Jesus’ Birth – Astrological/Zodiacal References in Scripture), the only day in 3 BC which meets the astronomical confluences discussed is September 11, 3 BC, during the period of sunset to moonset, 6:18 pm to 7:39 pm. The close proximity of the positions of the sun and the moon as described in Revelation indicate a new moon time frame, which is exactly the situation which exists on the first day of a Jewish lunar month, as on Tishri 1, the Feast of Trumpets. Jesus must have been born on the Feast of Trumpets, as no other day of the year in 3 BC could astronomically meet the specific requirements detailed in Revelation.

We can then also conclude that Jesus’ birth was not on the Feast of Tabernacles or on Passover, as others have proposed.  Both the Feast of Tabernacles and Passover occur in the middle of lunar months; therefore, there can be no new moon, as required by Revelation 12:1-6.

Continue reading “Jesus’ Birth – The Feast of Trumpets”

When Was Jesus Born?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death,  Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

Background of “Signs” and the Biblical Zodiac

Signs in the Heavens

In this discussion we will find that even the stars and planets in the heavens point us to the actual date of Jesus’ birth.  This astronomical/zodiacal evidence is our puzzle piece #2 in solving the “puzzle” of the birth date of Jesus.

Who has not looked up into the sky on a clear night and marveled at the vastness of the universe and wondered about the God who created all things? In Genesis, God explains His purpose for creating all those lights in the universe. He said,

“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years; And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so” (Genesis 1:14 KJV)

It is interesting that God created the stars, planets and other objects in the universe as “signs”, among the other reasons stated. Certainly, the Magi who came seeking the Jewish Messiah saw some kind of “sign” or “signs” in the heavens. The Bible calls our attention to starry objects, and the Psalmist gives us context in a poetic style, as the King James Version captures so well in its translation:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun . . .” (Psalm 19:1-4 KJV).

The heavens are for His glory, and they are there to teach us. It is wonderful that there is a reason for all these things we see. God has said so. Remember that He named each star (Isaiah 40:26) in spite of their vast number.

Continue reading “Jesus’ Birth – Astronomical/Zodiacal References”

When Was Jesus Born?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

Zechariah – Priestly Order of Abijah

When considering the birth date of Jesus, it is easy to eliminate any proposed date that does not occur in the fall of the year. Although some have speculated that Jesus was born in the springtime – even during Passover – a birthdate in the spring is not reasonable, due principally to the biblical method of calculating the month of Jesus’ birth.

The biblical method of calculating the birthday of Jesus involves figuring the birthdate of John the Baptist and then applying other information in Luke’s Gospel regarding the time difference between their births. This clearly places Jesus’ birthdate in the fall of the year.

The Gospel of Luke covers the birth of John the Baptist before giving details of the birth of Jesus. There is a reason for this: The two are inseparably linked in the chronology of their births as well as in their ministries.

Determining the birth date of John the Baptist is the first puzzle piece in our process of assembling the “puzzle” of Jesus’ birth.

Continue reading “Jesus’ Birth – Birth of John the Baptist”