Greetings everyone, thanks for following along. When you visit the site, I'm more in the mood to blog. Over the past month, I have been reading some of the 3rd century Church Fathers. Their work is very interesting at times, sometimes far fetched, often full of calendar errors, and inspiring because many died during times of great persecution. One in particular has recently caught my attention. He is St. Cyprian’s (ca. 200–ca. 258). His early life remains a mystery. He was born a pagan into a wealthy Berber (Roman African) family of Carthage. He converted to Christianity later in life, giving away a large part of his wealth to the poor of Carthage. Apparently, he possessed great vigor and charisma, which enabled him to become an excellent administrator and famous orator.
This African becomes an important part to the integral existence theory not because of something he wrote, but because of something attributed to him. This work is today known as the De Pascha Computus. Written around 243, the work was either an expansion of the Paschal tables of Hippolytus or based off of the same source material. Which is to some extent impressive since Hippolytus was based in Rome during times of great Christian persecution. The aforementioned persecutions led to both men’s martyrdoms.
The De Pascha Computus is an important primary source for the birth of Jesus, and the only one linking it to the creation account in Genesis. Although Passover is not mentioned by name in it, the Torah indicates that its seven days are on the same dates as the seven days of creation. According to the De Pascha Computus, the anniversary of creation, which coincides with the spring equinox, is also the time of the Nativity. At the time this was March 22 in the Julian calendar (thank you US Navy for this info); the Church Fathers at that time believed this was March 25. But, Jesus is not born on March 25 in this analogy. He is born on March 28, the fourth day of creation/Passover and the day God created the Sun. This may have also led later to the call for a Christmas date that was based on a solar phenomenon. The passage reads:
O the splendid and divine providence of the Lord, that on that day, even the very day on which the sun was made, the 28 March, a Wednesday, Christ should be born. For this reason Malachi the prophet, speaking about him to the people, fittingly said, “Unto you shall the sun of righteousness arise, and healing is in his wings.
Alright, is there a Passover that falls on the spring equinox, March 22? Here are the following Full-Moon phases dates for 7BCE to 1BCE (thank you NASA for this info), the possible years for the birth of Jesus. Remember that sometimes Passover begins the day before the Full-Moon. I think it is clear what year the author of the Pseudo-Cyprian De Pascha Computus was reaching for.
7 BCE- Apr 14
6 BCE- Apr 4
5 BCE- Mar 23 <<<<<<< hint, hint
4 BCE- Apr 11
3 BCE- Mar 31
2 BCE- Apr 19<<<<<<<< way off
1 BCE- Apr 7
Therefore, this is what was happening during Passover of 5 BCE, one year before the death of Herod; a comet was reported by the Chinese (a primary source), a total lunar eclipse occurred, something that both the Magi and Jews feared (historic fact), and a spring equinox, the traditional start for God’s creation was occurring. There are many false prophets that are promoting different theories for the year and date of the birth of Jesus. Their research is sloppy, they don’t use primary sources or basic known historic facts. They claim to be able to interpret things from astronomy (impossible to know because the Magi included weather in their horoscopes, and did not do horoscopes for unborn/unknown people-- no evidence), or they use Bible verses that only the author or God knows for sure (Revelation or Isaiah for example). If a verse can be interpreted seven different ways don't use it! If you do not have an ancient primary source, not modern computer software, that tells of a potential Star of Bethlehem, don't use it! Jesus was born during the month of Nissan 5 BCE, as told in the Talmud, during the Passover week and he also died during the Passover week, as told in the Gospels. Time for Christians and Jews to wake up and accept this. For more on this and other important tidbits read The Essence of Perfection. Until the next post, GO WITH GOD!
90 Susan Roll, Toward the Origins of Christmas, 82. The verse reference is from Mal 3:20.
15 years ago I became interested in the date that Jesus was born. This led to several years of research, I quickly realized that there was no valid information that provided any real answers to this question. Since this website is getting some interest, I will post from time to time some of the information I learned during this quest.