From: Marilyn Agee, "Date of Jesus' Birth," part 2
Re: Steve Fink (22 Sep 2010) "The Date of Jesus' Birth"
> > If the above logic is correct Jesus was born on Tishri 15, 4 B.C.I have some more material on this subject you might be interested in.Tishri 15, 4 BC would make Jesus born after Herod died near Passover in 4 BC. It had to be before Herod died.Josephus said, "...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. (8)" (Ant. XVII.VII.4) That eclipse was March 13, 4 BC. Jesus had to be born before that.As you know, I think Jesus was born Tishri 1, 3757, Sept 4, 5 BC.There were lots of signs in the heavens, the greatest was a Nova in Capricorn. It helps to look up the dates of these signs.On Feb 25, 6 BC, in PISCES, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn came to within 8 degrees of each other. This only happens at 800-year intervals. I consider that a sign.THE BIG SIGN: A NOVA PRECEDED JESUS' BIRTH IN 5 BCIn March and April, 5 BC, before Jesus was born in September, there was HUGE SIGN, a NOVA, a NEW STAR IN THE NORTHERN PART OF CAPRICORN. It was said to have been visible for 70 days."Chinese astronomers recorded a nova in Capricorn that was visible during March-April, 5 BC. ("STAR OF BETHLEHEM," by Ronald E. Mickle: http://www.denverastrosociety.org/dfiles/mickle/StarofBethlehem.pdf)That dying goat and lively fish tell us that Jesus died and was resurrected.The Hebrew name of CAPRICORN is GEDI, meaning the kid and cut off. Jesus was cut off out of the land of the living (Isa. 53:8), then resurrected. The Greek word for fish, Icythus, forms the acrostic where the letters are taken to mean Jesus Christ God's Son Saviour.God named the stars to tell a story, called the Gospel in the Stars. Psa 147:4 says, "He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names."The brightest star in Capricorn is in Arabic AL GEDI, meaning the Goat, and the goat is dying. Another star is AL DABIH. In Arabic, it means THE SACRIFICE SLAIN. The second brightest star, DENEB AL GEDI, means in Arabic that THE LORD OR SACRIFICE COMETH. That tells us plainly that the Nova was a sign that THE LORD COMETH.The NOVA, sign of his coming, was in February, 5 BC. Therefore, I think Jesus was born after that, on Sept 4, 5 BC. Herod died after that, near Passover of 4 BC. Everything fits.HEROD'S REASON FOR KILLING BETHLEHEM'S MALES TWO YEARS OLD AND UNDERThe wise men could have told Herod that they saw the triple conjunctions two years ago. That would work out right. If they referred to the triple conjunction of 7 BC, Jesus would have been born in 5 BC.BC 4: THE FAST OF ESTHER PRECEDED THE LUNAR ECLIPSE AFTER WHICH HEROD DIED
In Ant. XVII. VI. 4 (also see Wars II:1:3), Josephus said of Herod, "he deprived Matthius of the high priesthood...and made Joazar...high priest in his stead. Now it happened, that during the time of the high priesthood of this Matthias, there was another person made high priest for a single day, THAT VERY DAY WHICH THE JEWS OBSERVE AS A FAST (THE FAST OF ESTHER, Adar 13, Esther 4:14)...But (the next day, Purim, Adar 14) 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."
That eclipse was on March 13, 4 BC. NO OTHER ECLIPSE IS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE A FAST DAY DID NOT PRECEDE IT.HEROD DIED BETWEEN THAT LUNAR ECLIPSE AND PASSOVERJosephus mentioned the eclipse. He said, "And that very night there was an eclipse of the moon. But now Herod's distemper greatly increased..." (Ant. XVII. VI. 4,5). He told of Herod's death in Ant. XVII. VIII. 1 and mentioned the Passover in XVII. IX. 3, saying, "Now, upon the approach of that FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD, which the law of their fathers had appointed for the Jews at this time, which feast is called the PASSOVER..."Herod the Great (ruled 37 BCE - 4 BCE)
Herod Archelaus (ruled 4 BCE - 6 CE)
Herod Antipas (ruled 4 CE - 40 CE)
Herod Philip II (ruled 4 CE - 34 CE)In 5 BC, Cyrenius was a leader in Syria, probably a legate, a judge, who was put in charge of conducting a registration, or census, for taxation purposes. In 6 AD, after becoming governor of Syria, he conducted another registration, so the one in 5 BC was the first, and the one in 6 AD was the second."'We also know from an inscription called the “Lapis Venetus” (left) that Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, legate of the emperor in Syria, carried out a census for Augustus, although the date is not given'...Although it cannot be proved beyond all doubt, it seems reasonable that the census described in Lapis Venetus was the same one that was ordered by Augustus in 8 BC."It is also a safe assumption that Augustus Caesar ordered the census long before it was to be executed, perhaps several years, to allow the Imperial burocracy time to promulgate, plan and execute the census successfully in all corners of the Roman Empire, however distant."...
THERE WERE LOTS OF SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN, TOPPED OFF BY THE NOVA
"Notes on the Visibility of the 5BC Chinese Star" (http://www.astrosurf.com/comets/cometas/Star/Visibility_Star.pdf)
"The chronicle, the “Ch'ien-han-shu” states that: "In the second year of the period of Ch'ien-p'ing, second month, a hui-hsing appeared in Ch'ien-niu for more than 70 days...
"The chronicle gives a fixed position over two and a half months, not reasonable if the object really was a comet...
"Sometimes, “hui-hsing” was used to describe bright novae such as Tycho’s Star....
"Had the Magi set out for Bethlehem from Jerusalem at dawn around this date, the Star would have been directly in front of them on the road."
"Have Astronomers Found
the Star of Bethlehem?"
By Bruce Gerighttp://epistle.us/articles/star.html
"Kidger believes that the Star must have been a really bright nova, with special attention drawn to it by the striking heavenly signs that preceded it. The whole sequence included: (1) three conjunctions (pairings) of Jupiter and Saturn, in the zodiacal region of Pisces, in 7 B.C.; (2) Jupiter and Saturn then joined by Mars in Pisces, in early 6 B.C.; (3) two pairings in Pisces on February 20, 5 B.C., of Jupiter with the Moon and of Mars with Saturn; and finally (4) a bright, unexpected nova – the object observed by the Chinese and Koreans in Aquila/Capricornus in the spring of 5...B.C....
"The first sign was a triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, in 7 B.C. On May 29, the two planets passed a degree apart in the constellation of Pisces – a sight the Magi had seen many times before and so it probably was not too exciting. Nonetheless, they viewed Jupiter as a royal planet and Pisces as a constellation associated with the Jews. Then, on September 29, the two planets came together again in Pisces, moving in opposite directions but close by each other in the sky, separated by a distance a little larger than on May 29. A third time, on December 4, the planets converged again, separated by more than a degree from north to south. So three times in eight months, the royal planet and Saturn had met in the Jew's constellation. But what was the significance of Saturn? Herod was an old man now, hanging on to life; and perhaps Saturn, regarded as an evil planet, pointed to the demise of this detested puppet leader of Judea. The Magi must have pondered the significance of all this.20
The second sign was a massing of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars in Pisces, in February, 6 B.C. As Jupiter and Saturn slipped down in the evening sky toward the horizon in February, 6 B.C., the Maji noticed Mars entering the constellation of Pisces and coming toward Jupiter and Saturn, until it was separated by only 8 degrees in the sky."
"Kidger believes that the Star must have been a really bright nova, with special attention drawn to it by the striking heavenly signs that preceded it. The whole sequence included: (1) three conjunctions (pairings) of Jupiter and Saturn, in the zodiacal region of Pisces, in 7 B.C.; (2) Jupiter and Saturn then joined by Mars in Pisces, in early 6 B.C.; (3) two pairings in Pisces on February 20, 5 B.C., of Jupiter with the Moon and of Mars with Saturn; and finally (4) a bright, unexpected nova – the object observed by the Chinese and Koreans in Aquila/Capricornus in the spring of 5...B.C."
Inscriptions discovered by Sir William Ramsay show he was "governor" in Syria both before and after the birth of Jesus. The eminent archaeologist Jerry Vandeman found a coin with the name of Quirinius on it in small writing. This coin places him as proconsul of Syria and Cilicia from 11 BC until the death of Herod. The census would have taken place under the reign of Quirinius."The NOVA appeared in the east several hours before sunrise. This could be the star that caused the wise men to travel to Jerusalem. It winked out, however, before the wise men arrived in Jerusalem.
That trip probably took about 4 months. The wise men would have seen the star only part of the time. This could help us understand why they asked Herod where he that was born King of the Jews was located.
The star that went before them to Bethlehem and stood over the exact house seems to have been God's miracle, like the Shekinah Glory that led the Israelites in the wilderness. I don't see how any star far up in the sky could point out one house among many.In "Bethlehem and the Tax Census" (http://members.aol.com/JAlw/tax_census.html), Joseph Alward said that "an inscription found on a stone (the Lapis Tiburtinus)...refers to someone who was a governor, AGAIN, of Syria.
After review, I still think Jesus was born Tishri 1, 3757, September 4, 5 BC. I see no way around it. He was baptized near Tishri 1 in 26 AD, when he was about 30 (Luke 3:23). The temple had been under construction 46 years at the first passover of his ministry in 27 AD. He was crucified on the preparation day for the 4th Passover, Thursday, Nisan 13, 3790, April 6, 30 AD.TISHRI 1, BECAUSE THE MOON WAS UNDER VIRGO'S FEETRev 12:1-5 tells us how the sky looked on Tishri 1. It says, "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman (Virgo) clothed with the sun, and the MOON UNDER HER FEET, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (Corona Borealis): And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman (Virgo) which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child (the seed of the woman) as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child (Jesus), who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God (on Ascension Day), and to his throne."CALENDAR CONVERTERSCalendar Converters are not accurate that far back, but we can use them to get something close, then go to the Astronomy Programs to zero in on a date when the Moon was under Virgo's feet. In those days, the Hebrew Calendar Tishri 1 was set by sighting the new Crescent Moon.CALENDAR PROGRAM BALLPARK DATESTishri 1, 3755, Sept 13, 7 BC, Mon (Julian)Tishri 1, 3756, Sept 24, 6 BC. Thur (Julian)Tishri 1, 3757, Sept 8, 5 BC, Sat (Julian)YOURSKY DATES WHEN THE NEW CRESCENT MOON WAS UNDER VIRGO'S FEETAstronomy programs insert a zero year for ease of calculating, so we have to set them for -4 when we want 5 BC, etc.I have pictures of these from YourSky, and will post them on my next Pro and Con. The Sun shone on Virgo, and the new Crescent Moon was under her feet in all three dates listed below.Sky above Jerusalem Fri -6 (=7 BC) Sep 25 15:30 UTCSky above Jerusalem Wed -5 (=6 BC) Sep 15 15:40 UTCSky above Jerusalem Mon -4 (=5 BC) Sep 4 15:55 UTCHowever, the more I look into it, the more convinced I am that the Sept. 4, 5 BC date is correct. Saturn was a morning star on all three dates, but on Sept 4, 5 BC, it was mid-sky at midnight, so it was not only up all night, but it was a bright and morning star. In Rev. 22, Jesus said he was the bright and morning star. On YourSky charts, notice that the sign for Saturn is a beautifully scripted "h" for heaven. God doesn't miss a chance to plant a clue.Hope this helps. To me, it is a fascinating subject. We are to have signs in the Sun, Moon and stars too. I think those started when Jupiter was hit by the String of Pearls. We have had some enormous GRBs too, and the tetrad of eclipses in 2014 and 15 are prophetic. I have hopes that the Rapture will be Cheshvan 17, Oct 25, 2010. That is when the Lord shut Noah into the Ark.