The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is dependent upon the Incarnation and the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Without Jesus having risen from the dead, there would be no Second Advent to consider. Therefore what we need to do is establish the validity of the date of Jesus’ death and resurrection in order to grasp the truth about the Second Coming. This way we are not skirting around events and falling into error. For us to understand the truth of Scripture, Jesus Christ has to be the central focus. (Remember the governing criterion has to be the Scriptures bearing witness to Jesus.) To begin talking about dates, we need first find out when Jesus died and rose from the dead. If we cannot do this, then we are grasping at straws. To do this, we will begin with the baptism of Jesus Christ at the river Jordan.
The
reason the baptism of Jesus is so important to understanding prophecy is we
have no other means of verifying any other event that may have occurred,
including His birth and resurrection. Jesus’ baptism by John was His
introduction to the public as the Lamb of God, who came to take away the sin of
the world. As it happens, the public introduction of Jesus to the world is
documented in the Bible with verifiable evidence.
Sin
of the World
Jesus
of Nazareth was introduced to the world by John the Baptist, who had been sent
to prepare the way of the Lord. John appeared in the fifteenth year of the
Emperor Tiberius’ reign, which means that he could not have been preaching or
baptizing more than twelve months before Jesus’ baptism in that same
year—probably for around nine months before baptizing Jesus. John the Baptist
proclaimed that the Son of God came to set the Universe (all of Creation) free
from the effects of sin, not just some people, as is taught by the false
teachers of predestination.
The
idea of Jesus setting the Universe free from the effects of sin is not
understood by those who limit the efficacy of His blood or believe in ETs.
The
word “world” is translated from the Greek κοσμου (kosmos) which means “orderly
arrangement” according to the King James Lexicon[i]—that
is, the Universe, which has been subjected to futility, because of sin.
The next day, he saw Jesus coming to
him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
(John 1:29)
Because the creature [Creation] itself
also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God. (Romans 8:21 KJV)
From
the two abovementioned texts, we can deduce that the whole Universe has been
taken into captivity by the Evil One and it has been held in bondage to
corruption (i.e. sin) since the time the violation occurred and sin entered
Creation. Essentially, sin is the violation of a righteous relationship and
nothing else. However, what the first act of sin has brought about is
corruption and lawlessness (1 John 3:4; 3:8; John 8.44; Ephesians 2:2). What we
read in the two texts above from John and Romans tells us that there is no
biological life in the material Universe outside of what is found on Earth.
There are no extra-terrestrials (ETs) either. The idea of life on other planets
is foreign to the Bible, and a propaganda exercise being perpetrated to prepare
the way for the introduction of humanistic global rule in the form of Zeus from
outer space, using Artificial Intelligence (to be discussed later).
Now,
this does not mean that no spiritual realm exists, wherein many creatures
infiltrate the minds of people and convince them that extraterrestrials (ETs)
live on other planets or have abducted individuals. The manifestation of beings
belonging to the spiritual realm is real, but not everyone is aware of this
when deceived by these beings. The existence of a spiritual realm is clearly
taught in the Bible, as is the concept of three heavens. The first is the one
we see during the day, which speaks of the grace of God. The second is the
night sky, known as the realm of the Heavenly Host (Luke 2:13 KJV) or the Army
of the Sky (Jeremiah 19:13), and they are not to be worshipped. The Third
Heaven is where God holds court (2 Corinthians 12:2) and maintains His purview
over the universe He created. Meanwhile, a war is taking place, with battles
being fought for every human soul. To bring about an end to this cosmic
conflict, the Son of God took it upon Himself to assume human form by entering
a baby born of a virgin, growing within a culture designed with rituals to
address the issues of righteousness, justice, and mercy. At His baptism, He was
made known to the public, with John the Baptist bearing witness.
Baptism
of Jesus
The
baptism of Jesus itself cannot be dated to the exact day. What we can do is get
an approximation—and a very close approximation at that—of when the event could
have occurred. In the book of Luke we
read:
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign
of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being
tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and
Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas
and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the
wilderness. He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the
baptism of repentance for remission of sins. (Luke 3:1-3)
When
we read this, we immediately think that we have the exact year, the fifteenth
year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. The problem is there are claims Tiberius
was given a co-regency of some four years prior to his actual appointment as
Caesar (AD 14) and this is when his reign began. With this in mind, there is a
period of four years in which Jesus could have been baptized by John.
Therefore, in our analysis we have to account for three tetrarchs (Herod,
Philip, Lysanias), the high priests Annas and Caiaphas. and Pontius Pilate.
All, except Pontius Pilate held positions of power between the time Tiberius
was appointed as a co-regent and during the fifteenth year (September 17, 28)[ii]
of his sole reign as Caesar. Pontius Pilate was made ruler in AD 26; although,
some claim that this began in AD 25. What this means is John could not have
been baptizing any earlier than the middle of AD 25 nor any later than September
17, AD 29. This gives us about a four-year period within which to place the
commission of John the Baptist. Fortunately, the British Museum[iii]
has coins that were minted AD 30-31, proclaiming this the seventeenth year of
Tiberius’ reign. This corroborates that the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s
reign in Judea (as mentioned by Luke) had to have been between September 17, AD
28 and September 17, AD 29, and no earlier, as many like to suppose.
Most
historians accept that Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea from AD 26-36.[iv]
Herod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee from 4 BC to AD 39. Philip Herod
was tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis from 4 BC to AD 34. Annas was High
Priest from AD 6-15, when he was removed from the official position by the
Romans; but, by Jewish Law, he held the position for life and was technically
still high priest. His son-in-law, Caiaphas, was the official High Priest from AD
18-36. These four individuals, who are also mentioned by Luke, do not pose a
problem to dating the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, as they merely
demonstrate the veracity of the historical record. Likewise, we need to
establish the validity of the scriptural witness concerning Jesus’ ministry,
death and resurrection.
Three
Days and Three Nights
Jesus
stated that he would spend three days and three nights in the heart of the
Earth (Matthew 12:40). Now if we take this literally (every Christian would if
they believe the Bible is the literal Word of God), then there is only one day
on which Jesus could have been crucified as the Passover Lamb. This is on a
Wednesday evening, as His tomb was discovered empty on the first day of the
week—Sunday—which, for the Jews, began Saturday evening, since their days begin
at sunset and finish when the sun goes down the following day. However, difficulties
arise in working out the date of Jesus’ crucifixion because there is more than
one calendar involved. Originally, the Israelites were commanded to kill and
begin eating the Passover lamb between sunset and dusk on the evening the angel
of death passed over; but what might have seemed straightforward over time
became complicated. Nevertheless, the following is the account of the
introduction of the first Passover:
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the
land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall
be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel
that on the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb according
to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household; and if the household is too
small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbor next to his house shall take
according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall
make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year
old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; and you shall keep it
until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. Then they shall
take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the
houses in which they eat them. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted;
with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it
raw or boiled with water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner
parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning, anything that
remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: your
loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you
shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s
Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will
smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all
the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a
sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will
pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite
the land of Egypt.
“This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a
feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an
ordinance for ever. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the first
day you shall put away leaven out of your houses, for if any one eats what is
leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut
off from Israel. On the first day you
shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly; no work
shall be done on those days; but what every one must eat, that only may be prepared by you. And you shall observe
the feast of unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of
the land of Egypt: therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your
generations, as an ordinance for ever. In
the first month, on the fourteenth day of
the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, and so until the twenty-first day of the month at
evening. (Exodus 12:1-18 RSV[v])
There are two salient points that need to be grasped from within this passage. The first point is the first Passover, which extends from the evening of the what we would call the 13th day to the evening of the 14th day, would be a Sabbath to the Lord God. This is because Jewish days are sunset to sunset and begin the previous evening. They do not begin and finish at midnight, as does the modern day. The second point is the following day after the Passover is a Sabbath, and a holy convocation and a day of assembling before the Lord. For seven days after the Passover, the Israelites have to eat unleavened bread. Leviticus 23:5-7 clarifies this:
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight [lit. between the two evenings], is the Lord's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work (ESV[vi]).
There is much confusion over the fact that the Passover falls on the 14th day[vii] but it is not considered a high Sabbath, rather a memorial day. The Jews were to begin their year on the first day of Nisan, which would have been the evening of last day of Adar. This means that the 14th day would have been the second Sabbath. As no person is to do any work on the Sabbath, there appears to be a problem if people were preparing their lambs to be cooked during the daylight hours on the 14th day to be consumed that evening, for it is the beginning of the fifteenth day; nevertheless the feasts override the weekly Sabbath, and on these occasions work pertaining to meeting worship obligations is permitted. However, the Sabbath was not instituted until the 15th day of the second month, when the Israelites were told to gather manna from Heaven for six days and then they were instructed to rest on the seventh day (Exodus 16:1-35).
Moreover, the Sabbath day, which should fall every seventh day, as in day seven (7), day fourteen (14), day twenty-one (21) and day twenty-eight (28) of the month, has gotten out of kilt with the sequence of four seven-day weeks coinciding with the length of the months. And a 365.25 day year (the time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun) does not correspond to a twelve-month year based on a twenty-eight-day calendar month. Instead of twenty-eight-day months, the Jewish month morphed into twenty-nine or thirty-day months and this has created difficulties when it comes to understanding the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. What is known as the “synodic month” is the time it takes the Moon to reach the same visual phase each month. This varies notably throughout the year, but averages around 29.53 days.[viii] The beginning of Nisan, the beginning of the Hebrew year, was determined by the visual phase of the moon, which has to do with the sighting of the new moon, and this does not agree with the moon’s orbit (every 27dys, 7hrs, 43m, 11.6s). The months, therefore, vary between twenty-nine and thirty-days, depending upon the position of the moon.
Essentially,
the Jews had two kinds of calendars:
1.
Civil Calendar: official calendar of kings,
childbirth, and contracts.
2.
Sacred Calendar: from which festivals were computed.
As is evident from the calendar (see fig. A4 p.398)
not only was there the Civil calendar but also the Hebrew calendar which
incorporated eight watches (fig. A5 p.398) during the day. The calendar that
developed was not that which was in operation during the Exodus. The original
Hebrew calendar appears to have been based on the moon, as was the Egyptian
calendar at the time of the Exodus in the fifteenth century BC. According to
the Encyclopedia Britannica, two hundred years later, in the thirteenth century
BC, the Egyptians appeared to have been using three calendars: one based on the
moon, another based on the sun and a third called a civil year, based on
365-day years that incorporated twelve 30-day months plus five extra days.[ix] The
civil year is similar to the Roman year which corresponds to Sabbath keeping.
The
fact that there are two calendars has created numerous difficulties for
pinpointing the death and resurrection of Lord Jesus. Moreover, this creates an
obstacle for people who are only half-hearted in seeking the truth of the
Scriptures.
Hence, the many doubters and scoffers deriding the gospels.
The
Significance Of The First Passover
The first Passover was a type that has more than one ramification for us today. This is because not only is the first Passover representative of the Crucifixion but also the Sabbath Rest. The Savior, who takes away the sin of the world, is the door to the Sabbath Rest.
He
said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:5)
Jesus
therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s
door. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t
listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and
will go in and go out, and will find pasture.” (John 10:7-9)
Come
to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart;
and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)
When Jesus was crucified, the scenario has been misconstrued, as per the following: the day of Preparation and the Passover occurred Friday; the high Sabbath was Saturday; the next day was the first day of the week—when the disciples found the tomb of Jesus empty. Tradition has been interpreting these days based upon the Gregorian Calendar or Julian Calendar, [x] where midnight is the pivot for the dates to change, and not on the sacred Jewish Calendar. And not only this, also interpreting the part days of Friday and Sunday as complete days.
However, even for the Jews, the Passover had changed along with the civil and sacred calendars. The 28-day month now had a varying cycle of 29-30 days. Instead of the original Sabbath, the Passover could fall on any day of the week. The cultural changes in the calendars were adopted by the Romans after the Mediterranean (including Judea) was largely influenced by Hellenization.[xi]
The weekly Jewish Sabbath changed in accordance with the Hellenized Saturday (and still is). The weekly Jewish Sabbath is not a high Sabbath. A high Sabbath is one of the three special days (Unleavened Bread, Pentecost and set aside for a feast. When Jesus had been crucified and his body taken down, Joseph of Arimathaea took His body and laid it in his tomb. Because it was now twilight and dusk was fast approaching, they only had time to lay linen cloth over the Son of God.
We are told that the day of the Crucifixion was the day of Preparation for the Passover was to begin at sunset. The day of preparation is when the sheep are slaughtered for the Passover, it occurs in the daylight hours of Nisan 13, to be roasted and eaten in the evening, which becomes Nisan 14 at sunset, a new day (see fig. A2 p.396).
Therefore the Jews, because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies wouldn’t remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special one), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. (John 19:31)
Behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their counsel and deed), from Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who was also waiting for God’s Kingdom: this man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus’ body. He took it down, and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was cut in stone, where no one had ever been laid. It was the day of the Preparation, and the Sabbath was drawing near.
(Luke 23:50-54)
Then because of the Jews’ Preparation Day (for the tomb was near at hand) they laid Jesus there. (John 19:42)
On the Sabbath, everybody rested. No burial preparations were carried out to anoint and embalm Jesus’ body. Only a linen cloth was used to wrap the body at dusk the evening of the day He was crucified. Once the spices and ointment for burial had been obtained, they needed to be prepared—something that could not have been done during the hours of darkness. Nor could this have been done for another two days after Jesus’ body had been laid in the tomb, because the Sabbath that fell on the fifteenth day was the day of Unleavened Bread, which began at sunset the following day, and finished Friday evening, the beginning of the weekly Sabbath that also was required to be observed.
The women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid. They returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they and some others came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.
(Luke 23:55-24:1)
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. (Mark 16:1-2)
The spices and ointment for embalming Jesus’ body would not have been purchased and prepared on the Friday (16th of Nisan), the day of Unleavened Bread (15-16th of Nisan) or the ordinary weekly Sabbath. The weekly Sabbath would have been observed on the 17th of Nisan during daylight hours.
At the close of the Sabbath, which was Saturday evening, and the beginning of the first day of the Jewish week, the women could have prepared the spices to anoint the body of Jesus. At daylight on the first day of the civil week (the 18th of Nisan), the women headed for the tomb where the body of Jesus had been laid.
Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men. The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying. Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” (Matthew 28:1-7)
While some of the women may still have been obtaining and preparing ointment for embalming purposes, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary may have arrived at the tomb, after three days, expecting Jesus to have been standing outside, instead of an angel. Jesus had said that after three days he would rise from the dead. This was common knowledge. The chief priests and the Pharisees also understood Jesus claimed that after three days He would rise from the dead (Matthew 27:62-28:1).
The way the account is written appears designed to dissuade those who are not genuine of heart and not desirous of the truth—if we know Lord Jesus Christ, our eyes are opened (see fig. A1 p.395).
Passover Nisan 14 is
a memorial day. During the daylight hours of Passover, there are no specific
work restrictions, but once sunset ends the day for Nisan 14, the Feast of
Unleavened Bread begins and those restrictions apply.
The Mosaic feasts include the Feast of Unleavened Bread as part of the
Passover. The Feast of First Fruits is often confused with the Feast of Pentecost,
rather than being a feast that only occurs once: when the people went
into the Promised Land—a type of Jesus ascending into Heaven with those who had
been raised from the dead after His resurrection (Matthew 27:52-53). Pentecost was also a form of first
fruits, but is better known as the early fruits or the early harvest. This was
evidenced when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost; the start of
the Church Age.
The
feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, the Day of Atonement, and
Tabernacles were given to Moses as part of the commandments that
foretold
of God’s plan and purpose. Hanukkah (fig. A6 p.399) is the Feast of Dedication and
this feast was not instituted by God.
Hanukkah
commemorates the rebuilding of the Second Temple on the site in Jerusalem.
Likewise, the Feast of Purim was not part of what God gave Moses. The Feast of
Purim had to do with the victory Esther and Mordecai obtained for the Jews in
Persia (Esther 9:26-28).
The Feast of Purim, even today, is regarded with high honor and is exalted
among the Jews.
As
we can see from the NOAD chart (fig. A3 p.397), the Passover in AD 31 was on
Wednesday, April 25, accompanied by a lunar eclipse.[xii] For Jesus to be crucified, as the promised Lamb
of God, at the AD 31 Passover, this would place His baptism as having been
around late January, AD 29. We find this is actually the case because Jesus
attended two Passovers in Jerusalem after His baptism by John before He Himself
was crucified as the Passover Lamb on the third Passover. Once Jesus had been
baptized, He was taken for forty days into the wilderness, and this would have
brought him into the middle of March, which would have been the month of Adar.
The
evidence in the Gospel of John is only about four weeks expired after Jesus had
been tempted before the Passover occurred in the month of Nisan (Monday, April
18, 29—see NOAD chart, fig. A3 p.397). Evidence of this is found after Jesus
had returned from the wilderness. John the Baptist testified that Jesus was
standing among the crowd. A week later He went to Capernaum, where He stayed
for a few days before heading to the Passover festival at Jerusalem.
John answered them, “I baptize in water, but among you stands one whom you don’t know. He is the one who comes after me, who is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to loosen.” These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is preferred before me, for he was before me.’ I didn’t know him, but for this reason I came baptizing in water: that he would be revealed to Israel.” John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him. I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water, he said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Again, the next day, John
was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked,
and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and
they followed Jesus. Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them,
“What are you looking for?”
They said to him, “Rabbi”
(which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), “where are you staying?”
He said to them, “Come,
and see.”
They came and saw where he
was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour.
One of the two who heard John, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s
brother. He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found
the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ). He brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him, and said, “You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be
called Cephas” (which is by interpretation, Peter). On the next day, he was
determined to go out into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him,
“Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in
the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Nathanael said to him,
“Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come
and see.”
Jesus saw Nathanael coming
to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no
deceit!”
Nathanael said to him,
“How do you know me?”
Jesus answered him,
“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Nathanael answered him,
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!”
Jesus answered him, “Because I told you,
‘I saw you underneath the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater
things than these!” He said to him, “Most certainly, I tell you, hereafter you
will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the
Son of Man.”
The third day, there was a
marriage in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. Jesus also was invited,
with his disciples, to the marriage. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said
to him, “They have no wine.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman,
what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the
servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.” Now there were six water pots of
stone set there after the Jews’ way of purifying, containing [twenty or thirty
US gallons] apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” They
filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to
the ruler of the feast.” So they took it. When the ruler of the feast tasted
the water now become wine, and didn’t know where it came from (but the servants
who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom,
and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the guests have
drunk freely, then that which is worse. You have kept the good wine until now!”
This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his
glory; and his disciples believed in him. After this, he went down to
Capernaum, he, and his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they stayed
there a few days. The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem. (John 1:26-2:13)
It
is evident that there was not a lot of time between the day when Jesus came
back from the wilderness and the Passover. Because of this, we can confidently
say that this was the Passover of AD 29, which took place on April 18. There
was only one more Passover mentioned after this before the following one at
which Jesus Himself was crucified. This places Jesus death in AD 31. Had Jesus
been baptized after the AD 29 Passover and before August 19, AD 29, to indicate
a AD 32 crucifixion, then there would have been a much longer period required
than just a matter of a month between when Jesus returned from the wilderness
and his attendance at the following Passover. Since we know that Jesus had to
have been baptized in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s reign, this is
the only possible fit. Had Jesus been baptized on September 19, the last day of
the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s
reign, after coming out of the wilderness, there would have been over six
months of activity, instead of a few weeks as the Gospel of John records—a fact
that too many appear to purposely overlook.
Mistaken
AD 33 Crucifixion
Here
is one of the popular views that argues for an AD 33 crucifixion, which sees
this occurring in the middle of the final week of what is prophesied in the
book of Daniel regarding the seventy week prophecy (Daniel 9:25-27). Jesus’
baptism is calculated to have occurred at the end of the sixty-nine weeks of
years (one day to a year):
Christ’s personal ministry continued to
its fourth year. St. John (John 2:13; John 5:1; John 6:4; John 11:15;)
distinctly reckons four passovers; the first, AD 30, Feb. 15, and the first
year of his ministry; the second, AD 31; the third, AD 32; the fourth, AD 33.
The half year precedes the first Passover from his baptism. The first half week
of Daniel is from the beginning of Christ’s first preaching, Mark 1:15, Repent
ye, and believe the gospel, A. 30, to his death, April 3, A. 33; or rather, to
the Pentecost following, when all the Christian mysteries were completed. The
duration of Christ’s ministry is so ascertained by St. John; and is so suitable
to the great events of his life as well as to this prophecy, that, as it needs
not to be protracted, so it cannot be shortened with any degree of probability.
The second half week is from the feast of Pentecost, (when St. Peter with so
much energy converted three thousand of the Jews,) to the conversion of
Cornelius, and the first-fruits of the Gentiles, by the same apostle. The best
chronologers place the vision of St. Peter, and the conversion of Cornelius, in
the fourth year after the passion; and in the same year we may place the
foundation of the church of Antioch, where the disciples were first called
CHRISTIANS, Acts 11:26. Thus a prediction, which began with the happy event of
rebuilding the earthly Jerusalem, sublimely terminates with the structure of
the heavenly, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, JESUS
CHRIST himself being the chief corner-stone, Ephesians 2:20-22. The
confirmation of the Christian covenant in one week, or seven years, includes
its full effect, both in the conversion of many myriads of the Jews, and in the
first-fruits of the Gentile Church.
And in the MIDST of the
week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease — “The sacrifice
here specified, with its attendant bread-offering, was eucharistical, as well
as propitiatory, being a slain victim, on which the offerers feasted in token
of amity and reconciliation with God. When Christ, in the MIDST of the week,
offered his own body, that great sacrifice for the expiation of sin, to
reconcile sinners to God; by that most holy and acceptable victim, he completed
and abolished all the typical sacrifices of the law. The legal sacrifices,
indeed, continued to be offered at the temple, for thirty-six years after
Christ’s death; but, in effect, they ceased, at that instant their efficacy
was no more, after that Christ had given himself for us an offering and a
sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour, Ephesians 5:2. Hence forward the
Christian religion abrogated the Levitical sacrifices, as was accurately
foretold by the psalmist, Psalm 40:6, as commented by the inspired writer to
the Hebrews 10:5-10.”[xiii]
This
view not only includes four Passovers but also claims that midway through the
seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy, Jesus was the one who brought the
effectual (sin-nullifying) temple sacrifices to an end—after which they
continued ineffectual until AD 70. According to the preterist and partial
preterist views, the following three years and six months of the prophecy were
completed at the conversion of Cornelius, when the church became officially
Gentile. In effect, what we have here is a classic case of eisegesis, where
people attempt to use Scripture to fit the popular narrative rather than seeing
whether such views stand up to full scrutiny.
In
the Gospel of John, chapter five begins:
After these things, there was a feast of
the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem (John 5:1).
Those
who long to justify a three year, six month ministry of Jesus to fit their
interpretation of Daniel, claim that this feast was a Passover.
Gill
is not so sure about the Passover claim and makes the point that this could
have been the feast of Tabernacles or Pentecost:
After this there was a feast of the
Jews,.... After Christ had been in Samaria, which was four months ago, John
4:35, and had been in Galilee for that time, and had cured the nobleman's son,
and had done other mighty works, the time came on for one of the three
festivals of the Jews; either the feast of Pentecost, as some think; or as
others, the feast of tabernacles; or rather, the feast of the passover, so
called, in John 4:45 since John is very particular, in giving an account of the
several passovers, in Christ's ministry.[xiv]
What
is overlooked is that this feast is not specified, as the Passover (John 2:13;
4:45—same feast) was that Jesus attended after His baptism. We read:
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the
Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name, observing his signs
which he did. (John 2:23).
The
feast of Purim is an extremely important feast for the Jews, but is overlooked
by most commentators (even by Gill, above). The feast of Purim is one month
before the Passover. The Passover is the feast mentioned closely following the
(Purim) feast, which is referred to in John chapter five, verse one; for we
read in John chapter six:
After these things, Jesus went away to the
other side of the sea of Galilee, which is also called the Sea of Tiberias. A
great multitude followed him, because they saw his signs which he did on those
who were sick. Jesus went up into the mountain, and he sat there with his
disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. (John 6:1-4).
John confuses matters by referring to the Passover as the feast of the Jews. By the time of his writing, the Passover had become known as the feast of the Jews because the true Paschal Lamb of God had been crucified.[xv] The type had been fulfilled and the feast that the Jews now kept was no longer God-ordained. However, the fact that the feast in chapter five is not identified as the Passover, but merely as a feast of the Jews, [xvi] strongly suggests that it would have been the feast of Purim. Not having the same significance as the Passover, it is fittingly referred to as a feast of the Jews, since Purim was definitely not one of the Mosaic feasts (see fig. A6). What is often overlooked is that the Jews have attributed greater significance to the feast of Purim than it merits, as the feast celebrates freedom from Babylonian captivity—when the Judahites truly became Jews, with the Pharisees subscribing to the Talmud and beginning to exalt it over the Torah.
Since the feast in question was not designated the Passover feast, whether this was the feast of Tabernacles that was held in October or the feast of Purim, held thirty days before the Passover, is of no consequence really. Jesus could have walked[xvii] to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, sat on a mountain with his disciples and comfortably returned to Jerusalem within ten days; for the walk from Jerusalem Temple to the Northern tip of the Sea of Galilee is a four-day walk. This would have given Jesus another twenty days. What we know for sure is the Bible clearly states that Jesus attended two Passover feasts, and was crucified at the third—and it is important that we keep to what the Bible actually states, if we are to arrive at the truth. Don’t you agree?
Fig
Tree Parable
The
parable of the fig tree is claimed to be evidence of Jesus’ three-and-half-year
ministry on Earth. Jesus said:
A certain man had a fig tree planted in
his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it, and found none. He said to the
vine dresser, ‘Behold, these three years I have come looking for fruit on this
fig tree, and found none. Cut it down. Why does it waste the soil?’ He
answered, ‘Lord, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it, and
fertilize it. If it bears fruit, fine; but if not, after that, you can cut it
down.’ (Luke 13:6-9)
The
combined time of John the Baptist preaching for nine months prior to Jesus’ baptism,
His wilderness experience and events, two years, three months after His
baptism, comes to three years. John the Baptist preached Jesus would usher in
the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of God. Jesus preached the
Kingdom of God was at hand. The fourth year brought fruit for the Kingdom from
Pentecost; thousands of souls were beginning to be saved as they became members
of the Kingdom of God.
Death
of Herod
Another
issue that appears to need resolving is that of Jesus’ birth. This is because
many think Herod died sometime in 4 BC and, if true, this would place Jesus
much older than around thirty at His baptism.
One thing we do know is Jesus was born before Herod died. We know this
because Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Egypt (Matthew 2:19) until Herod died. In
fact one of Herod’s sons, Archelaus was reigning over Judea in his stead, so when
Joseph found out, he decided to settle in Galilee (Matthew 2:22). Now if the
text said that Jesus was thirty years when He was baptized, and if Jesus was
born in 4 BC, at the latest, this would suggest that He had to be baptized
early AD 25. However, being about thirty does not mean that He was thirty years
old. Supposing Jesus had only turned twenty-nine years of age; He would have
still be about thirty years old. The same applies to Jesus having been
thirty-one years of age or even thirty-two at the time; this is still about
thirty years old. If Jesus were thirty-two years old and baptized in January, AD
29, this could place his year of birth in 4 BC. On the other hand, there is
evidence that Herod’s death occurred around 2 BC[xviii]—but
more likely 1 BC[xix]
Josephus
reported Herod died between a lunar eclipse and a Passover. Evidently,
according to the astronomical record, the best fit for Herod’s death is between
a lunar eclipse that occurred on January 10, 1 BC and the Passover on April 11
that year.[xx]
Only as far as we are concerned from a viewpoint of Scripture interpreting
Scripture—and every Scripture bearing witness to Jesus being valid—it does not
really matter to us that the Bible does not say when Herod died. This is
because Jesus was around thirty when He was baptized and we have established
that this was in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar’s rule, when Pontus
Pilate was the ruler of Judea. From this, we have been able to establish Jesus
died as the Passover Lamb in accordance with the Scriptures on Wednesday, April
25, 31. Jesus’ baptism by John places His birth sometime late 3 BC or early 2 BC—as
around thirty years old can refer to being 31 years of age and this would take
us into late 3 BC. The fact astronomy and other secular references now confirm
that Herod most likely died in 1 BC, merely corroborates the scriptural
position that Jesus was baptized in the fifteenth year of Tiberius no later
than the middle of August, 29. If we take into account that Herod ordered the
death of every male child two years and under (Matthew 2:16) before he himself
died; this definitely suggests a 2 BC birth, possibly September to comply with
the census (Luke 2:1-6).[xxi]
This means that Jesus was two years old in September 1 BC and three years old
the next year, AD 1 (there is no year 0
BC or year AD 0) and would have been thirty-one (31) years old, twenty-eight
years later, in September, AD 29, which means that Jesus was not quite
thirty-one years old when He was baptized. Luke stated that Jesus was about
thirty years old. The evidence we have on the table suggests that Jesus was no
more than thirty years and eleven months old at His baptism, but was nearer
30yrs 6mths, which is about thirty years old. For we read:
Now when all the people were baptized,
Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened, and the Holy
Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of
the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”
Jesus himself, when he began to teach,
was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son
of Heli. (Luke 3:21-23)
Seventy
Week Prophecy
One
more matter that needs to be addressed is the prophecy in Daniel that speaks of
the coming Messiah. This prophecy is known as the Seventy Weeks Prophecy.
While I was speaking, and praying, and
confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my
supplication before Yahweh my God for the holy mountain of my God; yes, while I
was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the
beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the
evening offering. He instructed me, and talked with me, and said, Daniel, I
have now come to give you wisdom and understanding. At the beginning of your
petitions the commandment went out, and I have come to tell you; for you are
greatly beloved: therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision. Seventy weeks are decreed on your people
and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and
to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness,
and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. Know
therefore and discern, that from the going out of the commandment to restore
and to build Jerusalem to the Anointed
One, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks: it shall be
built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times. After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One shall be cut off, and
shall have nothing: and the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary; and its end shall be with a flood, and even to the
end shall be war; desolations are determined. He shall make a firm covenant
with many for one week: and in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice
and the offering to cease; and on the wing of abominations shall come one who
makes desolate; and even to the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be
poured out on the desolate. (Daniel 9:20-27)
This
prophecy of Daniel has been said to have been written after the fact because of
its accuracy. However, we who have a personal relationship with Lord Jesus know
that this prophecy has not been written after the fact. We accept the truth of the Scriptures. We also
understand the significance of Daniel’s prophecy that refers to the desolating
sacrilege, because Jesus said:
But he who endures to the end, the same
will be saved. This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole
world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. When,
therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through
Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)….
(Matthew 24:13-15)
Since
the seventy weeks are associated with the prophecy of desolation, we know that
there is relevance for us today concerning this prophecy. The significance of this
prophecy is evident when we learn that it bears witness to Jesus, which is the
criterion by which we are to assess whatever we find in the Scriptures. Because
this prophecy bears witness to Jesus, we know it is truly the Word of God.
In
verse twenty-four of Daniel, chapter nine, we read:
1.
Seventy
weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city,
2.
to
finish disobedience,
3.
and
to make an end of sins,
4.
and
to make reconciliation for iniquity,
5.
and
to bring in everlasting righteousness,
6.
and
to seal up the vision and prophecy,
7.
and
to anoint the most holy.
These
seven facts all point to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ:
1.
To
establish the reign of God on Earth in the hearts of men.
2.
To
restrain the Devil and bind him up through the preaching of the Kingdom of God.
3.
To bring
an end to sin-offerings, once for all, by the body of Jesus.
4.
To
reconcile man to God by making an atonement for the iniquity of us all.
5.
To
bequeath the just requirements of the Ten Commandments and write them on the
hearts of men through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and baptism of
the Holy Spirit.
6.
To
fulfill that which the law and the prophets bear witness.
7.
To
declare that Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, is the Son of God and Lord of the
Sabbath—the Messiah.
Determining
Dates Using Jesus’ Death
Because
we accept what Jesus said in respect to the Bible bearing witness to Himself,
we can use Jesus as the focal point for interpreting the Scriptures. In this
case, we can work backwards, rather than forward, to see how the seventy weeks’
prophecy fits into what we have established about Jesus’ baptism and death.
In
Daniel’s prophecy above, we read that from the command to restore and to build Jerusalem to the time of the
Anointed One, who is the Prince, there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two
weeks; after which He shall be cut off. We can measure this prophecy backwards,
which is sixty-nine weeks of years (483 years). If we use the modern calendar,
this takes us back to the year 452 BC. However, according to historians this is
incorrect. Moreover, the Hebrew lunar calendar may have been referred to at the
time. This being the case, we convert the lunar years into modern-day Gregorian
years and we arrive at the following:
360
Day Prophetic Years
Using
the lunar years and subtracting 31 years 115 days (April 25, 31) from 475 years
132 days brings us to December 14, 445 BC.
1.
490
lunar years are not 490 Gregorian years
2.
One
lunar year equals 354.33 days
3.
490
lunar years equals 173,622 days
4.
One
Gregorian year equals 365.2422 days[xxii]
5.
173,622
days equals 475.36 Gregorian years
6.
0.36
of one Gregorian year equals 132 days
7. 490 lunar years equals 475 years and 132
days on the Gregorian calendar
(fig. 3)
While
close, this does not get us into the required month of Nissan in the year 445
BC. However, if we take the twelve hundred and sixty days mentioned in the book
of Revelation and divide them into a time, times and half a time, we discover
that a year could equal three hundred and sixty (360) days. We arrive at the
following:
1 year = 360 days
69 years x 7 = 483 years
converted to days 483 x 360 = 173880
converted to modern Gregorian calendar =
476 years 25 days
(fig. 4)
This
new period of 360 days is known as a “prophetic year”. Objections to this
prophetic year concept are raised because this seems like a case of finding a
fit rather than having a scientific rationale. Well, as much as atheists and
evolutionists and other interpreters hate this fact, all ancient calendars have
a 360 day year, and the Hydroplate Theory[xxiii]
that explains the flood, also includes a rationale as to why this is so. For
the Earth was once larger than it is now, and instead of revolving 365.2422
days every time the planet orbits around the Sun, it previously revolved on it
axis 360 days. To bring about the flood, subterranean waters exploded into
space and caused rain to last 40 days and 40 nights. The Bible informs us:
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s
life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day
all the fountains of the great deep were burst open, and the sky’s windows were
opened. It rained on the earth forty days and forty nights. (Genesis 7:11-12)
The
Hydroplate Theory explains how it is possible for rain to fall continuously for
forty days. All the other ideas that have been proffered as possibilities do
not provide a scientifically valid explanation as to how it was possible for
rain to last forty days, if this was atmospheric moisture alone, and also be
deep enough to cover every mountain. Moreover, the subterranean water rose for
another 110 days, before beginning to recede. The subterranean water explains
why prior to the flood, the people on the Earth recorded a year as 360 days. The
perimeter of the Earth’s surface, being further in distance before the flood,
took longer to complete a revolution than after the flood. Like a smaller gear
cog, the Earth being smaller in size than before the flood, now performs extra
revolutions that take the number of days completed each year, when orbiting the
sun, to 365 days 5 hours 49 minutes 12 seconds, instead of 360 revolutions
exactly (or 360 days). As Noah and his children did before the flood, they continued
to record a year as 360 days, and this appears to have been the standard
practice of all ancient civilizations. When people realized each year was some
5 days out, they discarded the 360-day calendar[xxiv]
and made the appropriate adjustments.[xxv]
The Julian Calendar of 365.25 days reflects this.
The
above calculation of prophetic years, which are really the days for the
original pre-flood years, brings us to March 31, 445 BC, which figures about
the time of the year that Nehemiah received the command to rebuild the city.
For we read:
In the month Nisan, in the twentieth
year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, I took up the wine, and
gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad before in his presence. The king
said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing else
but sorrow of heart.”
Then I was very much afraid. I said to
the king, “Let the king live forever! Why shouldn’t my face be sad, when the
city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates have been
consumed with fire?”
Then the king said to me, “For what do
you make request?”
So I prayed to the God of
heaven. I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has
found favor in your sight, that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my
fathers’ tombs, that I may build it.”....The king granted my requests, because
of the good hand of my God on me. Then I came to the governors beyond the
River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me captains
of the army and horsemen. .... Then went I up in the night by the brook, and
viewed the wall; and I turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so
returned. The rulers didn’t know where I went, or what I did; neither had I as
yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the
rulers, nor to the rest who did the work. Then I said to them, “You see the
evil case that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned
with fire. Come, let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we won’t be
disgraced.” I told them of the hand of my God which was good on me, as also of
the king’s words that he had spoken to me. They said, “Let’s rise up and
build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. (Nehemiah 2:1-18)
Keeping
To The Scripture
As
we can see, the command to build the
Temple occurred in the month of Nisan. However, there is no mention of any particular day within the month of Nisan. Also Daniel was told
that from the time of the going out of the commandment to restore, the days
were to be counted from. By using what is known as the Biblical prophetic
calendar of three hundred and sixty days to the year, the date of Jesus’ death,
on the Passover of Wednesday 25, AD 31, fits the prophecy. This we did by
taking 476 years 24 days and subtracting 31 years 115 days AD to give us 444 years 274 days BC. This
brought us to March 31/April 1, 445 BC, because the years count-down—not
up—prior to AD,
(now known as the Common Era).
This
is further corroborated in that “Artaxerxes Longimanus ascended to the throne
of the Medo-Persian Empire in July 465 BC (Encyclopaedia
Britannica, 1990 ed.). The twentieth year of his reign would have begun in
July 446 BC. The decree occurred approximately nine months later in the month
of Nisan (March/April on our calendar).…The first day of Nisan in 445 BC
corresponds to the 14th day of March. These dates were confirmed through
astronomical calculations at the British Royal Observatory and reported by Sir
Robert Anderson (Robert Anderson, The
Coming Prince, Kregel. Reprinted in 1984).”[xxvi]
What is important to note is Nehemiah does not specify any
particular day of the month of Nisan. Regarding Ezra, we see that this is
not the case. The first day of the month is specified, as we can see in the
following passage from the book of Ezra:
There
went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites,
and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinim, to Jerusalem, in the
seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month,
which was in the seventh year of the king. For on the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon;
and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the
good hand of his God on him. (Ezra 7:7-9)
We
need to be aware that when it comes to dates and interpreting the Scriptures,
if we begin adding to the text what is not specified, then we can fall into
error. Many do fall into error because they make assumptions that Nehemiah
spoke to Artazerxes on the first day of Nisan, when the text says “in the month
of Nisan”. Furthermore, in order to get their dates to match, many interpreters
add another year—to make up for some mythical AD 0, —and this gives them the
date of Jesus’ death as being in AD 32, instead of occurring in AD 31, while
other interpreters remove a year, by claiming 1 BC and 1 AD are not two years
but one year, to arrive at a Friday crucifixion in AD 33. Whereas, according to
the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department, the Passover
for AD 33 fell on Monday, April 14 (See Figure A2 in the Appendix for a
full chart of Passover dates based on astronomical data.) and not on a Wednesday--which is required.
Another
reason for error when it comes to the crucifixion is people want to prove that
Jesus spent three-and-a-half years preaching the kingdom of God before He was
cut off, so that this would validate some dogma they feel the need to
establish, rather than letting the truth speak for itself. A passage of
Scripture that many believe refers to Jesus and His ministry is part of the
Daniel prophecy that refers to the seventieth week, which says:
He shall make a firm covenant with many
for one week: and in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and
the offering to cease; and on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes
desolate; and even to the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured
out on the desolate.
(Daniel. 9:27)
Regarding
this portion of Scripture, as noted earlier, Jesus made the point that we need
to be aware of the abomination that makes desolate; that is, the desolating
sacrilege. Preterists and some amillennialists claim that this occurred when
Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70. Other amillennialists say that this is what
happens when a Catholic priest pretends to convert the wafer of the Eucharist
into the actual body of Jesus Christ, and the wine into His actual blood, which
is known as transubstantiation. Many say that this is the office of the
Pope. However, to add seven years to AD 31 brings us to AD 38 only, and not
anywhere near AD 70. Hence, the last week of the prophecy has no reference to
the events of AD 70; besides, the sacrifice has to be cut off in the middle of
the week. Under these circumstances then, we can be sure that this particular
week refers to a future date and seems to correspond with what is written in
the book of Revelation regarding the forty-two months and the three hundred and
sixty days. The sixty-nine weeks clearly fits with the prophecy of Daniel and
the crucifixion of Jesus for the sins of the world.
Cessation
of Sacrifices
One
matter that needs addressing concerns the cessation of the sacrifices in the
middle of the week. Many interpret these sacrifices as being potent in some
way. The book of Hebrews says that the sacrifices were always impotent—ineffectual—unable
to take away sins. Besides this, the sacrifices were discontinued during the
Babylonian captivity. What is important to understand is the sacrifices
themselves could not do anything! We read:
Every priest indeed stands day by day
serving and often offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
(Hebrews 10:11)
The
argument many make is the covenant that is made in the middle of the week is
the New Covenant that Lord Jesus Christ made. But the text says that a prince
shall make a firm covenant with many for one week and, in the middle of the
week, he shall cause the sacrifices and offerings to cease. Where is there any
reference to Jesus making a firm covenant with many for one week of years—seven
years? There is none. But the claim is that Jesus preached for three-and-a-half
years and when he was crucified He caused the sacrifices to cease; that is, to no
longer have any merit. The sacrifices never had any merit, because they were ineffectual
(powerless) and unable to take away sin (Hebrews 10:4). However, as
demonstrated, the prima facie and corroborating evidence has Jesus only
preaching for around two years and only attending
two Passovers before the day on which He was crucified, unknowingly by His executioners,
as the Lamb of God.
What
becomes clear, the last week of Daniel’s prophecy is for a future time and
there is every indication that it will be in the last seven years before the
Second Coming of Jesus Christ—which many call Jacob’s Trouble. However, (as we
will see later) these seven years are really the Feast of Tabernacles. As for
the notion that Jacob’s Trouble is a seven-year period, there is no biblical
support for this idea. Jacob’s Trouble spans more than seven years (but this we
will discuss in another chapter).
There
was a time when the idea of Israel becoming a nation again was thought to be a
fantasy. Now that this has actually occurred, many people have sought to
justify this from the Scriptures, because they want to prove to people that
they can defend the integrity of the Bible (unless they are doing so for other
reasons). Surely, God can defend the integrity of the Bible, if it is His
written word to humankind. Likewise, as we need not defend the Bible, we do not
need to defend God. For if we are honest, we really need Almighty God to protect
and defend us. However, the Bible says that whoever speaks contrary to the Word
of God will be proven a liar. For we read in the book of Proverbs:
“Every word of God is flawless. He is a
shield to those who take refuge in him. Don’t you add to his words, lest he
reprove you, and you be found a liar. (Proverbs 30.5-6)
Indeed
it is a fearful thing to claim to speak on behalf of God and then be proven a
liar. What we are seeking to do is establish the truth of Scripture and what it
means for us today, once discovered.
***
Charts
Figure A1: Passion Week Timeline (Nisan 12–17)
Events for Passover to Sunday morning
according to the Jewish Calendar
|
Day |
Hebrew Date |
Time Segment |
Event |
|
Day
1 |
Nisan
12 |
Daylight
(Tuesday daytime) |
Disciples prepare the room for Jesus’
final meal. |
|
Day
2 |
Nisan
13 |
Evening
(Tuesday night) Night
to early morning Daylight
(Wednesday daytime) Late
afternoon |
Jesus
eats the early Passover with
His disciples. (Luke 22:15), no lamb mentioned just the bread and wine. The
truth being He was the Passover Lamb and they ate the bread of His Body. Arrested
in Gethsemane; tried before Caiaphas and Pilate. Jesus crucified at the
3rd hour (9 a.m.); dies at the
9th hour (3 p.m.). A couple of hours later He is pierced in his side: blood and water
flow out, He taken down from the cross near sunset. |
|
Day
3 |
Nisan
14 |
Evening
(Wednesday night) Daylight
(Thursday daytime) |
Jesus is buried beginning of twilight while
Passover lamb is about to be eaten (by the
nation). Tomb sealed by chief priests (Matthew
27:62-66). |
|
Day
4 |
Nisan
15 |
Evening
(Thursday night) Daylight
(Friday daytime) |
High Sabbath rest
begins (Feast of Unleavened Bread). Women rest per the Sabbath commandment
(Luke 23:56);. |
|
Day
5 |
Nisan
16 |
Evening
(Friday night) |
Weekly
Sabbath begins; |
|
Day
6 |
Nisan
17 |
Evening
(Saturday night) |
Jesus rises just after sunset (Mark
5:31). Tomb
discovered already empty by
the women (Matthew 28:1-6). |
Figure
A2 Crucifixion Chronology Table
|
Nisan Date |
Gregorian Day |
Sunset-to-Sunset Range |
Key Events |
|
Nisan
13 |
Tuesday |
Tuesday
sunset → Wednesday sunset |
Passover
meal (evening); Jesus arrested and crucified during daylight; died at 9th
hour |
|
Nisan
14 |
Wednesday |
Wednesday
sunset → Thursday sunset |
Jesus
buried at twilight (start of Nisan 14); memorial day (not a Sabbath); lambs
eaten |
|
Nisan
15 |
Thursday |
Thursday
sunset → Friday sunset |
High
Sabbath begins at sunset (no work); ends at Friday sunset |
|
Nisan
16 |
Friday |
Friday
sunset → Saturday sunset |
Weekly
Sabbath begins at sunset (Nisan 16); no work permitted |
|
Nisan
17 |
Saturday |
Saturday
sunset → Sunday sunset |
Weekly
Sabbath ends at sunset; resurrection occurs just after sunset |
Figure A3: Passover Dates (AD 26–34) with Astronomical Data
|
Passover
dates 26-34 A.D |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
The astronomical data in the first three
columns below was obtained from the U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical
Applications Department (NOAD) and have been converted into the dates of
Nisan.[1] |
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
Year |
Vernal Equinox |
Astronomical New Moon |
First evening of visible crescent |
Date of the first of Nisan |
14th day of Nisan (Passover) |
|
|
|
(Near or first after vernal Equinox) |
(Gregorian calendar. Midnight to midnight) |
(Beginning at sundown the evening before) |
(Beginning at sundown the evening before.) |
|
AD 26 |
Fri. Mar. 22, 0* |
Sat. Apr. 6, 7
a.m. |
Sun. Apr. 7 |
Mon. Apr. 8 |
Sun. Apr. 21 |
|
AD 27 |
Sun. Mar. 23, 6 a.m. |
Wed. Mar. 26, 7 p.m.** |
Fri. Mar. 28 |
Sat. Mar. 29 |
Fri. Apr. 11 |
|
AD 28 |
Mon. Mar. 22, noon |
Tues. Apr. 13, 2 p.m. |
Wed. Apr. 14 |
Thurs. Apr.15 |
Wed. Apr. 28 |
|
AD 29 |
Tues. Mar. 22, 6 p.m. |
Sat. Apr. 2, 7
p.m.** |
Mon. Apr. 4 |
Tues. Apr. 5 |
Mon. Apr. 18 |
|
AD 30 |
Wed. Mar. 22, 0* |
Wed. Mar. 22, 8 p.m. |
Fri. Mar. 24 |
Sat. Mar. 25 |
Fri. Apr. 7 |
|
AD
31 |
Fri.
Mar. 23, 5 a.m. |
Tues.
Apr. 10, 2 p.m. |
Wed.
Apr. 11 |
Thurs.
Apr.12 |
Wed. Apr.
25 |
|
AD 32 |
Sat. Mar. 22, 11 a.m. |
Sat. Mar. 29, 10 p.m.** |
Mon. Mar. 31 |
Tues. Apr. 1 |
Mon. Apr. 14 |
|
AD 33 |
Sun. Mar. 22, 5 p.m. |
Fri. Mar. 20, 9 a.m. |
Sat. Mar. 21 |
Sun. Mar. 22 |
Sat.
Apr. 4 |
|
AD 34 |
Mon. Mar. 22,11 p.m. |
Wed. Apr. 7, 2 p.m. |
Thurs. Apr. 8 |
Fri. Apr. 9 |
Thurs. Apr. 22 |
* Midnight at
the end of the given day. ** Conjunction
occurs too late in the day for crescent to be seen from Jerusalem the next
evening. [2]
Figure A4: Jewish
Calendar Overview
|
The Jewish Calendar |
||||
|
Names
of |
Corresponds |
No.
of |
Month
of |
Month
of |
|
Months |
with |
Days |
Civil
Year |
Sacred
Year |
|
Tishri |
Sept-Oct |
30 |
1st |
7th |
|
Heshvan |
Oct-Nov |
29
or 30 |
2nd |
8th |
|
Chislev |
Nov-Dec |
29
or 30 |
3rd |
9th |
|
Tebeth |
Dec-Jan |
29 |
4th |
10th |
|
Shebat |
Jan-Feb |
30 |
5th |
11th |
|
Adar |
Feb-Mar |
29
or 30 |
6th |
12th |
|
Nisan |
Mar-Apr |
30 |
7th |
1st |
|
Iyar |
Apr-May |
29 |
8th |
2nd |
|
Sivan |
May-June |
30 |
9th |
3rd |
|
Tammuz |
June-July |
29 |
10th |
4th |
|
Ab |
July-Aug |
30 |
11th |
5th |
|
*
Elul |
Aug-Sept |
29 |
12th |
6th |
|
*
Hebrew months were alternately 30 and 29 days long. |
||||
|
Their
year, shorter than ours, had 354 days. Therefore, |
||||
|
about
every 3 years (7 times in 19 years) an extra 29-day- |
||||
|
month,
VEADAR, was added between ADAR and NISAN. |
||||
Figure A5: Jewish
Day and Watch System
|
The Jewish Day
was from sunset to sunset in eight parts |
|||||
|
First Watch |
Sunset to 9 pm |
||||
|
Second Watch |
9 pm to Midnight |
||||
|
Third Watch |
Midnight to 3 am |
||||
|
Fourth Watch |
3 am to Sunrise |
||||
|
First Watch |
Sunrise to 9 am |
||||
|
Second Watch |
9 am to Noon |
||||
|
Third Watch |
Noon to 3 pm |
||||
|
Fourth Watch |
3 pm to Sunset |
||||
Figure A6: Jewish Feasts
|
Jewish Feasts |
||||
|
Feast of |
Jewish Calendar |
Day |
Month |
Ref |
|
Month |
||||
|
* PASSOVER |
Nisan
Nisan |
14
15-21 |
Mar-Apr
Mar-Apr |
Ex.12:43-13:10 |
|
UNLEAVENED BREAD |
Matt 26:17-20 |
|||
|
* PENTECOST (First Fruits or Weeks) |
Sivan
|
6 (50 days |
May-June |
Deut 16:9-12 |
|
after Passover) |
Acts 2:1 |
|||
|
TRUMPETS |
Tishri
|
1
|
Sept-Oct
Sept-Oct |
Num. 29:1-6 |
|
Rosh Hashanah |
||||
|
DAY OF ATONEMENT |
Tishri
|
10
|
Sept-Oct |
Lev 23:26-32 |
|
Yom Kippur |
Heb 9:7 |
|||
|
* TABERNACLES |
Tishri
|
15-22 |
Sept-Oct |
Neh 8:13-18 |
|
(Booths or Ingathering) |
John 7:2 |
|||
|
…………………………… NON-MOSAIC FEASTS |
Chislev |
25 (8 days) |
Nov-Dec |
John 10:22 |
|
Hanukkah |
||||
|
Purim (Lots) |
Adar |
14,15 |
Feb-Mar |
Esth 9:18-32 |
* The three major feasts for which all males of Israel were
required to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem (Ex. 23:14-19)
[1] Scott Nelson,
"Passover Dates Comparison," accessed June 2, 2014,
http://www.judaismvschristianity.com/passover_dates.htm.
[2] This information was
obtained at "Spring Phenomena
Archive," United States Naval
Observatory, accessed June 2, 2014,
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/SpringPhenom.php. The United States Naval
Observatory site where the pertinent file is located may be accessed on the
Internet at http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/SpringPhenom.php.
[i] kosmos kos'-mos:
orderly arrangement, i.e. decoration; by implication, the world (in a
wide or narrow sense, including its inhabitants, literally or figuratively
(morally)—adorning, world. “John 1:29 – King James Lexicon,” Bible Hub, accessed July
15, 2017, http://biblehub.com/lexicon/john/1-29.htm.
[ii] Augustus died 15th
August, 14. Tiberius was not officially Caesar until 17th
September,14. “Tiberius,” Encyclopedia
Britannica, accessed July 10, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tiberius.
[iii]
Bronze
coin of Pontius Pilate Procurator of Judaea. British Museum.
Associated
names Named in inscription: Tiberius • Date 30-31 (Yr 17) • Purchased from: Leo Hamburger • Acquisition date 1908 • Registration no.
1908,0110.530 •
C&M
Catalogue no. C27p259.72 “Pontius Pilate Coin,” British Museum Collection Online,
object no. 1908,0110.530, accessed March 23, 2017, http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1311228&partId=1.
Bronze coin of Pontius
Pilate. The
coin designs of the procurators were in general anodyne: the three first
incumbents chose neutral symbols such as ears of barley, palm-trees and
cornucopias; none placed their own names on the coins, merely the name of the
ruling Roman emperor and the year of his reign. The designs of Pilate's issues
strayed from the norm. On the front of his coins appear items of Roman cultic
paraphernalia: the simpulum (a form of ladle) and, as on this issue, the lituus
(an augural staff). The reverse of the coin carries the regnal year 17 of
emperor Tiberius (this is the year AD 30/1). - British Museum. “Pontius Pilate Coin Designs,” Former Things, accessed
March 3, 2017, http://formerthings.com/pontius.htm.
[iv] “Pontius Pilate,” Encyclopedia Britannica,
accessed May 21, 2014, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pontius-Pilate.
[v] Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and
1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.
[vi] The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[vii] If the evening is meant to be the evening at the beginning of the 15th
day, this is not clear from the reading of this text. The ambiguity leaves the
impression that the beginning of the Sabbath Day is when salvation is to begin,
for we are to enter God’s rest from His labors of Creation (Hebrews 4:1-11).
Jesus is the door to this Sabbath Rest (John 10:1-16).
[viii] “Lunar Periods,” Wikipedia, last modified April 9, 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit_of_the_Moon#Lunar_periods.
[ix] “Ancient and
Religious Calendar Systems,” Encyclopedia
Britannica, accessed June 14, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/science/calendar/Ancient-and-religious-calendar-systems#ref313450.
[x] The Julian calendar,
first proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 BCE, adopted by the Roman Empire in
26,…constructed with three hundred sixty-five days in common years and three
hundred sixty-six days in leap years, every four years, has an average length
of 3651/4 days per year. –“Some Secrets of the Jewish Calendar,” JewishWebsight, accessed June 24, 2025,
https://jewishwebsite.com/featured/some-secrets-of-the-jewish-calendar/45995/
[xi] “Ancient and
Religious Calendar Systems,” Encyclopedia
Britannica, accessed June 14, 2017, https://www.britannica.com/science/calendar/Ancient-and-religious-calendar-systems#ref313450.
[xii]
“NASA
Eclipse Catalog,” NASA
Eclipse Web Site, accessed June 2, 2017, https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEcat5/LE0001-0100.html.
[xiii] Joseph Benson, Commentary on Daniel 9:27, in Joseph Benson’s
Commentary,
1857.
[xiv] John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible,
modernized by Larry Pierce, Online
Bible Software, n.d.
[xv] Commentators overlook
that John was writing this Gospel after Jesus had been crucified and now what
feasts the Jews held were no longer ordained by God. They had become redundant
Jewish feasts that were performed in vain—even if they were ineffectual
beforehand, at least they were in accordance to the will of God. Hence, the
Jewish Feast of the Passover, rather than, say, the Mosaic Feast of the
Passover or simply the “Feast of Passover”.
Also, the Jews were known internationally by
the peculiar significance they attached to the Feast of the Passover, which was
regarded as more important than the other feasts, even the day of Atonement.
After all, the Passover was celebrated the night before the people left Egypt
and began their trek to become a nation singled out by God to possess the
Promised Land.
[xvi] The term feast of the
Jews is used in John 6.4 but is identified as the Passover and in John 7:2 when
identified as the feast of booths. These are Mosaic feasts, even if they are
also feasts
Jews held. Purim was the Jewish feast that originated from days of Esther, when
the Jews were delivered from persecution (Ester 8:15-9:19).
[xvii] Amazingly, people
also overlook the fact that Jesus could have simply teleported to Jerusalem, if
he so desired.
[xviii] John P. Pratt, “Yet
Another Eclipse for Herod,” The
Planetarian 19, no. 4 (December 1990): 8–14, http://www.johnpratt.com.
[xix] Murrel Selden, “The
Date of Herod’s Death: The Errors Corrected,” 1995, http://home.comcast.net/~murrellg/Herod.htm.
[xx] http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/jesus-birth-and-when-herod-the-great-really-died/#ixzz33aiQmsQr—retrieved June 2,
2014.
[xxi] Professor
Sherwin-White of Oxford University said that it was customary for provincial
Romans to have their citizenships “checked” or to renew imperial privileges at
certain cities to which citizens politically belonged. The normal thing for
Roman provincials was to “be registered at his native city.” A. N.
Sherwin-White, Roman Society
and Roman Law in the New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963),
148.
In
Asia Minor there were “archive cities” throughout the area where Roman imperial
records were deposited. Many Roman provincials could prove their citizenship
status by reference to those records. If the “oath” in Paphlagonia was the same
as the “oath” that Josephus said took place in Judaea, and if both “oaths” were
a part of the “census” mentioned by Luke, then perhaps Luke’s remark that
“everyone went into his own city” (Luke 2:3) might make sense for Roman
provincials as well as non-Romans. This fits in well chronologically because
all people periodically (and normally it was every five years) had to have
their legal privileges or limitations checked at the “archive cities.” And 3
BCE. was an exact five year period from the last Roman census. This would help
to show that this particular year was indeed a year in which a “census” or a
“registration” would have occurred even under ordinary circumstances. Ernest L.
Martin, The Star That
Astonished the World, chapter 2, “The Census of Quintilius Varus,”
accessed July 6, 2014, http://www.askelm.com/star/star014.htm.
Moreover
there was a period of global warming that would have allowed for Jesus to have
been born in the winter months and these could have been extremely mild. Summary: A sudden
warming of climate lasting several centuries took place in equatorial Africa
some 2,000 years ago, according to a new study reported by a Weizmann Institute
of Science-led team in the August 14 issue of Science.
“Sudden
Warming in Equatorial Africa,” ScienceDaily,
August 19, 1998, accessed March 23, 2017, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/08/980819081321.htm.
[xxii] The Gregorian Year is
actually 365.242189 days but calculated at 365.25 there is a difference.
[xxiii]The Hydroplate Theory
is the revelation of Walter Brown who has demonstrated how the Earth was larger
than it is today, and explains why it took 360 days to circle the sun; as well
as providing a comprehensive explanation as to why the continents have come
about from one land mass.
[xxiv] “Before the flood,
the Moon would have had to revolve 390° around the Earth to make one complete
lunar cycle, and the synodic period (SP) would have been 30,000 days which is
what people on the Earth would have used to determine the length of a month
before the flood.” Walt Brown, “Technical Notes to the Hydroplate Theory,” Creation Science, accessed
July 20, 2017, http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/TechnicalNotes15.html.
[xxv]“Ancient Calendars,” Exhibits.org, accessed
June 19, 2016, http://www.exhibits.org/calendars/calendar-ancient.html.
[xxvi]Mark Eastman, M.D.,
and Chuck Missler, The
Creator Beyond Space and Time (Costa Mesa, CA: The Word For Today,
1996), 138–141, http://xwalk.ca/king2.html.
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