When was Jesus born?

[Clean1]

When WAS Jesus born? I think of Christmas Day being Jesus's birthday but my dad told me otherwise. He said that December 25 was set as christmas day by the Catholics. Just a question I was curious about.

 

[Johnv]

Jesus would have been born in either mid spring or mid fall (mid fall being the more likely). Jesus' actual year of birth was somewhere between roughly 4 and 7 BCE.

The exact year, month, and day of Jesus' birth is unknown. And to some extent, is unimportant. That we remember his birth in our hearts, however, is very important.

 

[Ed Edwards]

Two hours after this thread goes to page 2 of the index
we have this new thread to replace it?

http://www.baptistboard.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/10/5749.html

I gave yesterday.

 

[Ed Edwards]

Amen, Brother JohnV - you are Right On!

The Dividing of Time into
AD = Anno Dommini (Year of the Lord) and
BC = Before Christ
shows that Jesus was born on 25 Dec 0001BC.

Check Luke 2:21 (HCSB):
When the eight days were completed for
His circumcision, He was named JESUS - the
name given by the angel before He was conceived.

The events of Luke 2:22-39 were performed that
selfsame day: 1 January 0001AD.

Starting the count with '1' as many non-nerds do
(computer nerds start counting with '0'):

25 Dec 0001BC - day 1
26 Dec 0001BC - day 2
27 Dec 0001BC - day 3
28 Dec 0001BC - day 4
29 Dec 0001BC - day 5
30 Dec 0001BC - day 6
31 Dec 0001BC - day 7
01 Jan 0001AD - day 8

The Dividing of Time into
AD = Anno Dommini (Year of the Lord) and
BC = Before Christ
shows that Jesus was born on 25 Dec 0001BC.

So my house and I will be celebrating The Birth of
Our Blessed Lord and Savior: Messiah Yeshua (Hebrew)
Jesus (17th-21st Century English) Iesus (16th Century English)

BTW#1: there being no YEAR ZERO, the First
Millinnium started on 01 Jan 0001AD and the last day
was 31 Dec 1000AD.
The second Millinnium started on 01 Jan 1001AD
and the last day was 31 Dec 2000AD.
The third Millinnium started on 01 Jan 1 2001AD
and the last day will be 31 Dec 3000AD.
So you guys who celebrated the dawning of the
Third Millinnium on 1 Jan 2000 were a year early [Smile]

BTW#2: In the 21st Century (which started 1 Jan 2001 also
but will end 31 dec 2100AD) we capatilize the pronouns
referring to our Triune God: "Jesus, He is God".
We capatilize such pronouns even if they are NOT the first
word in a sentence. This capatalization of pronouns is
a mark of honor to our Truine God and all that He stands for.

 

[KJV4JJ]

well said John! It is important to let people know that December 25 is not the actual day though, as live in a world where everything is so materialized and wordly that our kids grow up with no idea what to believe.

My main concern is the teaching of fictional characters (i.e. Santa, easter bunny, tooth fairy, etc.) to our children, ecspecially in Christian homes, tends to allow room for doubt when we start to try to teach our children about Christ.

 

[robycop3]

I believe Doc Cassidy had found some evidence leaning toward a Dec. 25 date. As was said above, we cannot affirm nor deny any date now.

 

[Hope of Glory]

Actually, based on scriptural evidence, we can deny December 25th, but we cannot confirm and exact date. However, knowing that God doesn't do things halfway, I do think that the September 25th date can be strongly supported. I think it's a bit silly to think that God did things on a Gregorian or Julian calendar, especially knowing why the Catholic church picked out the December 25th date.

However, just because we know that December 25th cannot be the correct date does not mean that you cannot properly celebrate the birth of Jesus on that date. In fact, in certain ways, knowing that it's the incorrect date, makes you think about it a little more distinctly and thoroughly.

 

[Johnv]

Originally posted by robycop3:
I believe Doc Cassidy had found some evidence leaning toward a Dec. 25 date. As was said above, we cannot affirm nor deny any date now.

That would be impossible. The winters in the area we know today as Israel are incredibly harsh and bitter. Severe winds, bitter blizzards, snowfall, and biting temparatures are the norm during the winter months. It would have been impossible for Mary and Joseph to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem in such conditions, let alone everyone else travelling for the census. In Joseph and Mary's time intra-provincial travel would have been nearly impossible from late November to early March.

 

[Mexdeaf]

He was born at the RIGHT TIME-

(Gal. 4:4- But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

 

[Terry_Herrington]

Originally posted by robycop3:
I believe Doc Cassidy had found some evidence leaning toward a Dec. 25 date. As was said above, we cannot affirm nor deny any date now.

Many years ago I heard a chapel speaker say the same thing while at Tennessee Temple University. Makes me wonder.

 

[tinytim]

Originally posted by Mexdeaf:
He was born at the RIGHT TIME-

(Gal. 4:4- But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

I Like that answer!!

I had always believed the way Johnv does about this until I read the following article. It makes a lot of sense.

http://www.swordofthelord.com/archives/JesusBornDecember25.htm

So does Ed.

So now I'm confused. Oh well, it was the right time.

 

[Clean1]

Im sorry. I didn't know that this topic had been previously posted. I haven't been scanning the BB very recently... algebra problems at school (whoever invented algebra should be put in a straight jacket and locked away forever in a funny farm). anyway... was just curious and I agree with all the comments here. God sent Jesus when the time was right in His plan. I was just curious. sorry for "re-posting" a topic.

 

[Boanerges]

Originally posted by Johnv:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by robycop3:
I believe Doc Cassidy had found some evidence leaning toward a Dec. 25 date. As was said above, we cannot affirm nor deny any date now.

That would be impossible. The winters in the area we know today as Israel are incredibly harsh and bitter. Severe winds, bitter blizzards, snowfall, and biting temparatures are the norm during the winter months. It would have been impossible for Mary and Joseph to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem in such conditions, let alone everyone else travelling for the census. In Joseph and Mary's time intra-provincial travel would have been nearly impossible from late November to early March. </font>[/QUOTE]John...think about what you are saying. Is anything impossible for God Almighty? I usually don't get involved in these kinds of discussions, because for the most part, the Bible is silent on this.

So when was the Eternal Everlasting before the foundation of the world God born?

 

[Hope of Glory]

It's possible for God to set the date whenever he wants. However, after the fact, we can look back and see that it was impossible that the date he chose was December 25th. Using the "Anything is possible" argument for something that has already happened is like arguing that Pearl Harbor day could be June 16th because anything is possible.

 

[Ed Edwards]

JohnV: //The winters in the area we know today as Israel are incredibly harsh and bitter. Severe winds, bitter blizzards, snowfall, and biting temparatures are the norm during the winter months.//

No.

5 of 7 December 25ths in Bethlehem are MILD enough for
sheep to be in the fields. Consult data freely available
on the Internet.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/local/ISXX0010?x=7&lswe=Jerusalem&lswa=WeatherLocalUndeclared&y=9
low tonight, early 6 Dec 2005 - 51
high tomorrow 6 Dec 2005 - 67
Quite nice for sleeping OUTSIDE with a couple of sheep.

[ December 06, 2005, 12:35 AM: Message edited by: Ed Edwards ]

 

[Helen]

My husband did a study on this and we have received a number of emails from other astronomers agreeing with him. There are enough clues in the Bible and in Josephus to be able to pinpoint the date rather closely.
http://www.setterfield.org/star.htm

 

[Hope of Glory]

5 of 7 December 25ths in Bethlehem are MILD enough for sheep to be in the fields.

And it's going to be 47 here in Alaska tomorrow. So what? The average weather at that time is treacherous enough that a census would not be held at that time.

 

[HankD]

It's possible for God to set the date whenever he wants. However, after the fact, we can look back and see that it was impossible that the date he chose was December 25th. Using the "Anything is possible" argument for something that has already happened is like arguing that Pearl Harbor day could be June 16th because anything is possible

God protected Noah and family while the storm ravaged the world but He couldn't bring a warm spell in December to protect the human family of the Lord?

HankD

 

[Hope of Glory]

He could, but we know that he didn't. The weather during the time of the census is only a small part of it. We know when John was born, and we can estimate when Jesus was born. We know evidences in the world that line up with Scripture, and we can tell, based on the Jewish calendar when he was born, and convert that calendars that we currently use. While I don't think it's a problem to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th, why try to force events to fit that date when it conflicts with both Scripture and the world?

 

[cojosh]

Hope of Glory____________________________________________
He could, but we know that he didn't. The weather during the time of the census is only a small part of it. We know when John was born, and we can estimate when Jesus was born. We know evidences in the world that line up with Scripture, and we can tell, based on the Jewish calendar when he was born, and convert that calendars that we currently use. While I don't think it's a problem to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th, why try to force events to fit that date when it conflicts with both Scripture and the world? *********


I agree!!