° 4 B.C. is widely assumed as the year of His birth
° However, it is based on a faulty conclusion derived from Josephus
° Josephus records an eclipse that was assumed to be on March 13, 4 B.C. "shortly before Herod died."
° That was more likely the eclipse that occured on December 29, 1 B.C.
° Irenaeus, born roughly a century after Jesus notes that The Lord was born in the 41st year of the reign of Augustus
° A lot of time had to elapse between Jesus' birth and Herod's death, because the family went to Egypt to escape Herod's edict and did not return until after Herod's death
See
→Matthew 2:15-22
° Herod died on January 14, 1 B.C. (Magillath Ta'anith, ancient Jewish scroll)
° What about the year 2 B.C.?
° Tertullian (born around 160 A.D.) 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. A.D., that would place Jesus' birth at 2 B.C. (there is no year zero)
° Tertullian also notes that Jesus was born 28 years after the death of Cleopatra in 30 B.C., again consistent with a 2 B.C. dating
° Since Augustus began his reign in the autumn of 43. B.C., this also is consistent with a 2 B.C. birth year
° Eusebius (264-340 A.D.) is know as the father of church history and ascribes it to the 42nd year of the reign of Augustus and the 28th year from the subjection of Egypt on the death of
Mark Anthony and CLeopatra
° The 42nd year of Augustus ran from the autumn of 2. B.C. to the autumn of 1 B.C.
° The subjection of Egypt into the Roman Empire occured in the autumn of 30 B.C.
° The 28th year extended from the autumn of 3 B.C. to the autumn of 2 B.C.
° The only date to meet both constraints is the autumn of 2 B.C.
See
→Luke 2:1-5
° The Roman administrator would not have required registration in the winter
° Judea is mostly impassable in the winter (that's why Jesus tells the Jews in Matthew 24:20 to pray their flight be not in the winter during the 70th week of Daniel; which is yet future;)
Matthew 24:20 —
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Luke 2:8 — And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
° The flocks were in open field which does not occur after October, it is too cold
° Shepherds also would not have stayed the night in he field if it were winter
See
→Micah 5:1-3
° There are two Bethlehem's in Israel
° Bethlehem of the Tribe of Judah & Bethlehem of the Tribe of Zebulun
° Mary never lived in Bethlehem Ephratah, so how would Jesus be born in that location? She lilved a 5-to-7-day journey north, but God moved Rome in such a way that they would end up there on time
° Jesus' goings forth have been from eternity!
° Joseph's hometown was Bethlehem Ephratah
° Rome was instituting a new tax and you had to go to your hometown to register for this new tax
° Joseph and Mary had to travel while Mary was pregnant at full term
° This is all from
Luke 2:1-5 that we just read
° Bethlehem of the Tribe of Judah is also known as:
- Bethlehemjudah
- Bethlehem of Juda
- Bethlehem of Judea
- Bethlehem-Ephratah
- Ephratah
- Ephrath
- and the City of David
° Situated in the hill country, it was originally called Ephratah/Ephrath, meaning "fruitful" (Genesis 35:16, 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11), and its citizens were called Ephrathites.
Genesis 35:16 — And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to com to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour.
Genesis 35:19 — And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which
is Bethlehem.
Genesis 48:7 — And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet
there was but a little
way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath, the same
is Bethlehem.
Ruth 4:11 — And all the people that
were in the gate, and the elders, said,
We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that
is
come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
° It is named Beth-lehem-judah
I Samuel 17:12 — Now David
was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose name
was Jesse; and he had eight sons:
and the man went among men
for an old man in the days of Saul.
° It is named Bethlehem-Ephratah
Micah 5:2 — But 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 going forth
have been from of old, from everlasting.
° It is named City of David
Luke 2:4 — And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the cit of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem;
(because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
° Bethlehem of the Tribe of Judah is first mentioned in Scripture as the place where Jacob/Israel's wife Rachel died and was buried directly to the north of the city
Genesis 35:19 — And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which
is Bethlehem.
° Ruth and Naomi — The valley to the east was the scene of the story of Ruth the Moabitess. In these fields, she gleaned with Naomi, and returned on a path to the town
° Birthplace of King David — This Bethlehem was David's birthplace, and where he was anointed as king by the Prophet Samuel
See
→I Samuel 16:4-13
° From a well in this Bethlehem three of David's heroes brought water for him at the risk of their lives when he took refuge in the cave of Adullam
See
→II Samuel 23:13-17
° This Bethlehem is distinguished above every other city as the birthplace of the One whose goings forth have been of old... notice that God choose the small to also confound the wise
I Corinthians 1:27 — But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
° Bethlehem of the Tribe Zebulun is also known as Bethlehem of Zebulun, Bethlehem of Galilee, the Galilean Bethlehem, and Beth Lehem Zoria
° This Bethlehem is mentioned in Joshua 19:15 and was part of the inheritance of the tribe of Zebulun
Joshua 19:15 — And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.
° The 10
th ruler/judge of Israel named Ibzan came from this Bethlehem and later died there with his family
° This city eventually became a Christian community, and much later became a ruined village called Beit-Lahm
° It is located about 6 miles northwest of Nazareth and is now a community for agriculture
° Elisabeth, John the Baptist's mother, was a cousin of Mary and the wife of a priest named Zacharias who was of the course of Abijah
See
→Luke 1:5-24
° Priest were divided into 24 courses; each course officiated in the temple for one week from sabbath to sabbath
° The course of Abijah was the 8th course
See
→I Chronicles 24:7-19
° The temple was destroyed by Titus on August 5, 70 A.D.
° The first course of priests had just taken office (Talmud & Josephus)
° Going backwards, Zacharias would have ended his officiating term on July 13, 3 B.C.
° If the birth of John took place 280 days later, it would have been April 19-20, 2 B.C. (ironically during the week of Passover that year)
° If John was born April 19-20, 2 B.C., his 30
th birthday would have been April 19-20, 29 A.D. (in the 15
th year of Tiberius)
° Again remember in dating there is no year zero
° The minimum age for the priesthood was 30
Numbers 4:3 — From thrity years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
° John began his ministry in the 15
th year of Tiberius Caesar, likely on his 30
th birthday
Luke 3:1 — NOW in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip
tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
° Augustus died on August 19, 14 A.D. which was the accession year for Tiberius
° This all seems to confirm the 2 B.C. dating
° Since John was 5 months older, this also would confirm an autumn birth date for our KING JESUS!
° Elisabeth hid herself for 5 months and the Gabriel announced to Mary both Elisabeth's condition and that she also would bear a son name Jesus!
° Mary went with hast to visit Elisabeth who was then in the 1
st week of her 6
th month, or the 4
th week of December, 3 B.C.
Luke 1:36 — And, 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.
° If Jesus was born 280 days later, it would place the date of His birth as September 29, 2 B.C.
° That date would fall on the Feast of Trumpets that year! That would also explain why there was no room at the inn because Judea would have likely had an additional million or more people journeying for the feast
Luke 2:7 — And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
Rosh Hashanan
See
→Leviticus 23:23-27
Numbers 29:1 — And 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 unto you.
See
→Luke 1:26-33
Isaiah 7:14 — Therefore the LORD himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6 — For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.
° The Child is born represents His humanity
° A son is given representing His divinity
° Jesus is the I AM!
° Some Jewish people say this "pivotal event of all human history to which the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) points is the Return of Christ"
° What if His descent into the air to gather His church is on the aniversary of His Birth!?!?
Acts 17:11 — These were more noble than those in Thessaloica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
See
→I Thessalonians 4:15-18
See
→I Corinthians 15:51-53
° Most assume there were three magi since three gifts are presented to Jesus
° However, the Bible does not number them
Mathew 2:11 — And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts;
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
° They are called "magi" from the Latin form of the Greek word magoi, translated from the Persian for a select sect of priests
° The ancient magi were a hereditary priesthood of the Medes
° They proved to be expert in the interpretation of dreams, and thus Darius the Great established them over the state religion of Persia
° The magi became the supreme priestly caste of the Persian Empire (the empire that conquered Babylon)
° One of the titles given to Daniel was Rab-mag (the Chief of the Magi)
° He became the prime administrator in two world empires (Babylon and Persia)
° Darius appointed him (a Jew) over the previously hereditary Median priesthood, the resulting repercussions resulted in schemes to take him out (like the lion's den)
° Daniel apparently entrusted a messianic vision (to be announced in due time by a "star") to a secret sect of the Magi for its eventual fulfillment
° Since the days of Daniel, the fortunes of both the Persian and the Jewish nations had been closel connected
° Both nations had fallen under Seleucid (Greek) domination in the wake of Alexander's donquests (Alexander the Great)
° Subsequently both had regained their independence: the Jews under Maccabean leadership, and the Persians as the dominating ruling group within the Parthian Empire
° Pompey, the first Roman conqueror of Jerusalem, attacked the Armenian outpost of Parthia in 63 B.C.
° In 55 B.C. Carssus led Roman legions in taking out Jerusalme and, in a subsequent attack, Parthia proper
° The Romans were conclusively defeated at the battle of Carrhae and the Parthians counterattacked with an invasion of Syria, Armenia, and Israel
° Nominal Roman rule was reestablished under Antipater, the father of Herod, who retreated before another Parthian invasion in 40 B.C.
° Mark Anthony reestablished Roman sovereignty in 37 B.C., but also embarked on an hapless Parthian campaign
° His disastrous retreat was followed by another wave of invading Parthians, which swept out all Roman opposition (including Herod himself, who fled to Alexandria and then to Rome)
° With Parthian cooperation, Jewish sovereignty was restore, and Jerusalem was fortified with a Jewis garrison
° Herod was given the title "King of the Jews" from Augustus Ceasar
° However, it was not for three yeas (including a five-month siege by Roman troops) that he was able to occupy his own capital city, Jerusalem
° Herod had thus gained the throne of a rebellious buffer state (Israel) which was situated between two contending empires
° At any time, his own subjects might conspire in bringing the Parthans to their aid and destoying him completely
° In Jerusalem, the sudden appearance of the Magi was disturbing and shocked the entire city, as a huge military caravan entered the city
° Understand the tensions in those days between Rome and Parthia, war could happen any moment
° The Magi traveled in force with a cavalry escort to insure their safe arrival into a Roman territory (Israel)
° It certainly alarmed Herod and the populace of Jerusalem
Matthew 2:3 — When Herod the king had heard
these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
° Their request of Herod regarding the one "who has been born King of the Jews was an intentional insult to hiim, a non-Jew Edomite appointed by Rome"
Matthew 2:2 — Saying, 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.
° Consulting his scribes, Herod discovered from the prophecies in the Old Testament that the Promised One, would be born in Bethlehem Ephratah
Micah 5:2 — But 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.
° After finding Jesus and presenting their prophetic gifts, the Magi are warned in a dream not to go back to Herod
° Remember they were dream interpreters starting all the way back to Daniel
° Thus, they depart to their own country, ignoring Herod's request to tell him the location of Jesus
° The enemy always seeks to kill a move of God in its infancy (typically within the first two years as well)
° They brought gold for His Kingship, frankincense for His priesthood, and myrrh prophesying His death (it only releases its aroma when crushed!)
° In the millennium Jesus is only brought gold and frankincense becasue His death is behind Him
Isaiah 60:6 — The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.
See
→Matthew 2:12
° Do you really know and worship him?
Go to
Who Is Jesus