When Was Jesus Christ Born?

Red Sky at Morning

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From http://drmsh.com/september-11-happy-birthday-to-jesus/

Many readers will know that I believe the actual birthdate of Jesus was Sept 11, 3 BC. This isn’t based on any original research of my own (here’s a short YouTube video of me discussing the date). Rather, it is based on the work of E. L. Martin’s The Star that Astonished the World (which can be read for free). Most academics are unaware of Martin’s research because he wasn’t a member of the biblical studies guild. Others reject it out of hand because of Martin’s involvement with the old Worldwide Church of God. The quality of one’s research, however, doesn’t depend on having a PhD in biblical studies or whether one is doctrinally correct in all areas. I don’t buy Martin’s views on other things, but I find his work on the birth of the messiah persuasive (and it has a long history of endorsement in planetariums).
 
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TokiEl

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It is very likely that the wise men watched the king planet Jupiter crown (triple conjunction) the king star Regulus in the king constellation Leo.

And on June 17 2 BC Jupiter and Venus came into close conjunction as a brilliant evening star in the western sky.


When the wise men came to Jerusalem looking for the newborn King of the Jews... one whole year had already passed since Sept 11 3 BC... because king Herod killed all the boys born in and around Bethlehem who were up to two years old.

Therefore Jesus was born on or around the fall feasts of 2 BC... perhaps 15 Tishri the first day of Tabernacles.
 

elsbet

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It is very likely that the wise men watched the king planet Jupiter crown (triple conjunction) the king star Regulus in the king constellation Leo.

And on June 17 2 BC Jupiter and Venus came into close conjunction as a brilliant evening star in the western sky.


When the wise men came to Jerusalem looking for the newborn King of the Jews... one whole year had already passed since Sept 11 3 BC... because king Herod killed all the boys born in and around Bethlehem who were up to two years old.

Therefore Jesus was born on or around the fall feasts of 2 BC... perhaps 15 Tishri the first day of Tabernacles.
Only thing about Jupiter conjunct Venus... it would have had to maintain that conjunction for a pretty long time, and Venus is always within 60° of the Sun. The sun, moon and Mercury are the only planet / luminaries that move faster than Venus.

Unless it was in retrograde. :/ Then it would have to been in place a bit longer.
 

TokiEl

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Only thing about Jupiter conjunct Venus... it would have had to maintain that conjunction for a pretty long time, and Venus is always within 60° of the Sun. The sun, moon and Mercury are the only planet / luminaries that move faster than Venus.

Unless it was in retrograde. :/ Then it would have to been in place a bit longer.

Jacob's last words to his son Judah in Genesis 49 is probably the propecy which the wise men recognized when Jupiter crowned Regulus in Leo.


Genesis 49 8“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s children shall bow down before you.


9 Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?


10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people
."




The Jupiter-Venus conjunction is just a curiousity. But on Sept 11 3 BC Jupiter began to triple conjunct Regulus in Leo. The wise men must have told Herod about this over one year after that date... which explains why he killed the boys in Bethlehem up to two years old.

I suggest the wise men came to Jerusalem in early Dec 2 BC and set out to Bethlehem (7 miles south of Jerusalem) before dawn on a moonless night December 25 2 BC when Jupiter was clearly visible right above Bethlehem.

If Jesus was born on 15 Tishri the first day of Tabernacles (Sukkot/Manger) [Oct 13 2 BC] and the wise men rode the short route from Jerusalem to Bethlehem during the Feast of Dedication (Chanukah) [Dec 25 2 BC]... then He was 72 days old when the wise men came to worship Him.
 
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TokiEl

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I like the guesses.
The dating system of BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini) was devised in 525 by one Dionysius Exiguus but did not come into use before Bede wrote his Ecclesiastical History of the English People using this dating system.

Before that Julian calendar years were identified by naming the Roman consuls who held office that year. Or by the Olympiads or by the Julian Year etc etc.

But every early Church Father knew that JC was born in what was later known as the Anno Domini era 2 BC.


So shame on every scholar pastor preacher who don't know when Jesus was born as it is not a secret but recorded and proven. One more thing for all you sloppy researchers out there past present and future... we even know what time of year He was born. What word was translated as manger in the Gospels is also one place translated as booth. So He was born on the Feast of Booths !

He wasn't lying in a manger for Heaven's sake but in a booth as was the custom on the Feast of Booths.
 
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Red Sky at Morning

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The dating system of BC (Before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini) was devised in 525 by one Dionysius Exiguus but did not come into use before Bede wrote his Ecclesiastical History of the English People using this dating system.

Before that Julian calendar years were identified by naming the Roman consuls who held office that year. Or by the Olympiads or by the Julian Year etc etc.

But every early Church Father knew that JC was born in what was later known as the Anno Domini era 2 BC.


So shame on every scholar pastor preacher who don't know when Jesus was born as it is not a secret but recorded and proven. One more thing for all you sloppy researchers out there past present and future... we even know what time of year He was born. What word was translated as manger in the Gospels is also one place translated as booth. So He was born on the Feast of Booths !

He wasn't lying in a manger for Heaven's sake but in a booth as was the custom on the Feast of Booths.
Well, I don't often do this but rather than make a statement with the thread title I think it is more appropriate to ask the question. I knew the traditional date was set much later but I was also aware of astronomical signs and conjunctions around 3-2bc. Very interesting and a discussion worth having @TokiEl
 

TokiEl

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Well, I don't often do this but rather than make a statement with the thread title I think it is more appropriate to ask the question. I knew the traditional date was set much later but I was also aware of astronomical signs and conjunctions around 3-2bc. Very interesting and a discussion worth having @TokiEl
When i began to research this i thought that nobody knew when He was born... but turned out all the early Church Father knew very well when He was born. Therefore modern scholars are at best super sloppy or are perhaps obfuscating truths concerning Christ on purpose.
 
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