From: Marilyn Agee
Re: Donna Danna (1 Apr 2006): http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/apr2006/donnad414---"Looking For The Date of the Crucifixion, by J.R. Church"For several years, I have suggested that Jesus was probably born on September 11, 3 B.C....My confidence in this claim came from the work of Dr. Earnest Martin. In his book, "The Star that Astonished the World," Dr. Martin espoused the 3 B.C. date, and it seemed feasible to me at the time. Furthermore, moving forward 33 1/2 years would cause the date of crucifixion to be on April 15, A.D. 32....However, there is a fundamental flaw with that date. According to Starry Night Pro...the full moon of Passover would have been observed on Monday evening, April 14, A.D. 32, and the crucifixion would have been on Tuesday. Whoops! I’ve got a problem!So I went back to the first-century Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, to see if I could determine the date of the nativity. Somehow, I had overlooked a wealth of documentation....Herod was given the royal title in Rome in 40 B.C., three years before he established his rule. Herod conquered Jerusalem on Kislev 28 (January 1, 37 B.C.), during the "Sabbatical Year." Israel observed a Sabbatical Year, beginning on October 8, 38 B.C., and continuing until September 26, 37 B.C. (Antiq. XIV, xvi, 2). This is irrefutable proof that locks in the chronology....Herod conquered Jerusalem during the "185th Olympiad," when "Marcus Agrippa and Caninius Gallus were consuls at Rome." History agrees that these men came into office on January 1, 37 B.C. The 185th Olympiad began in July of 40 B.C., and continued for four years until July of 36 B.C. Josephus said that Herod’s victory over Jerusalem came on the same day on which Pompey had conquered Jerusalem "twenty-seven years" earlier. Pompey conquered Jerusalem on Kislev 28 (December 28, 63 B.C.), thus marking the beginning of Herod’s 34-year reign on January 1, 37 B.C. — in the 27th year (being 26 years) after Pompey conquered Jerusalem. Furthermore, Josephus said that Herod ended the rule of the Hasmoneans after 126 years. That dates from the year 163 B.C., when a peace treaty was struck between the Syrians and Judea (also a Sabbatical year), and Maccabeus was appointed to be the governor. Such facts are impossible to ignore. !The Lunar EclipseAccording to Josephus, a lunar eclipse occurred during the final months of his illness. Josephus reported that a group of young adult men were arrested while pulling down the golden eagle from above the door of Herod’s Temple. Their trial took place in Jericho. Herod was there to testify against them, but had to recline on a couch because he was too ill to stand up. His disease was growing increasingly worse. Joseph wrote that the men were condemned to be burned, along with the High Priest, Matthias:"Herod … burnt … Matthias, who had raised the sedition, with his companions, alive. And that very night there was an eclipse of the moon"... (Antiquities, XVII, vi, 4&5).Dr. Martin had suggested the date of a lunar eclipse on January 10, 1 B.C. However, most historians hold to an earlier lunar eclipse that occurred on March 13, 4 B.C. According to Starry Night Pro, the moon began to show the Earth’s shadow about 1:30 A.M., and finished around 6:30 A.M., with the darkest coverage being about 3:30 A.M., on the night of March 13, 4 B.C....Herod succumbed to his illness. Josephus wrote that he died "… having reigned 34 years; but since he had been declared king by the Romans, thirty-seven" (Antiq., XVII, viii, 1). This fixes Herod’s death in 4 B.C., some months after the lunar eclipse of March 13, 4 B.C.Josephus also records that Archelaus succeeded Herod as king, but was deposed after 10 years rule (Antiq., XVII, xiii, 2), and his kingdom was annexed to Syria, and placed under the jurisdiction of Cyrenius. This occurred in A.D. 6. Therefore, the date of Herod’s death had to be fixed in 4 B.C.The Birth of Christ...I learned that if the crucifixion occurred in A.D. 30, it would have been on Friday. The full moon of Passover was observed on THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 6. If this was the date, and if Jesus was 33 years and six months old when crucified, then HE WOULD HAVE BEEN BORN IN 5 B.C., POSSIBLY ON ROSH HASHANAH, TISHR 1 (October 3, 5 B.C.). If this is the case, then my elaborate theory about Jesus being born in 3 B.C., just "went down in flames"....The StarMatthew wrote that Herod"… enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared" (Matt. 2:7). Later, he ordered the deaths of the male children "… from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men" (Matt. 2:16). The Magi unwittingly told Herod about the time the star appeared, leading Herod to think that the Christ child could not be over two years old. This seems to point to the triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn that occurred in 7 B.C., in the constellation Pisces....---From: MarilynHi:Having previously accepted Ernest Martin's date, J.R. Church has changed his mind about the date that Jesus was born. I agree with his new date of Tishri 1 in 5 BC. However, I think Tishri 1 was Sept. 4, 5 BC. He thinks it was Oct. 3, 5 BC.I went to the Calendar Converter at: http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/calendar/It said that Tishri 1, 3757 was the Julian September 2, but YourSky at: http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/Yoursky shows that the Moon was not under Virgo's feet until September 4 (Rev. 12:1-5).> > I learned that if the crucifixion occurred in A.D. 30, it would have been on Friday. The full moon of Passover was observed on THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 6.I think the Crucifixion was on Thursday, April 6 (Nisan 13, the preparation of the Passover; John 19:14).Agape, Marilyn Agee