Why was Christ born in BC 3 or BC 2?

Jesus was not born in "BC" anything since "BC" is BEFORE CHRIST!!!

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha h aha ha haha ha aha aha ha hahahah ha aha!

 

Thanks for this... but why does it matter?

 

Actually, Jim, yes He was. There is no year "0", first of all. Secondly, BC and AD did not even exist until 527 AD, when Diionysius Exiguus made major changes in the calendar. He misfigured the birth of Christ and we have been stuck with his calendar 'reform' ever since.

 

You obviously missed my point and the humor of it.

Jesus could NOT have been born BC anything since BC is BEFORE CHRIST. Christ always has been, is and always will be, therefore He was not born BC. Impossible. Ask a Chinese person who has not been exposed to the Julian calender what BC means.

And you have refuted your own point since BC AD did not even EXIST before 527 AD according to you.

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha hahahah

 

When we figure the command by Caesar Augustus concerning the registration which was taken in 3 BC and then the death of Herod in 1 BC (remembering that he ordered the deaths of babies 2 years and less), we keep coming up with an autumn of 3 BC date for the birth of Christ. There are other evidences for that time, but those are the two fastest.

 

Actually, Jesus was born a little earlier than that. He was born while Quirinius was governor. He had come to the area in 6 BC to deal with a rebelling tribe called the Homanadensians. He dealt with them successfully at the negotiating table, making them allies of Rome rather than rebels, and remained in the area until 3 BC. At that time, he was de facto ruler of the area, as he was the military commander. (Roman soldiers served as 'police'.)

Also, it's well-established that Herod The Great died in early 4 BC. And Matthew said that the 'wise men' had first seen the star 2 years earlier. So according to Scripture combined with secular history, He couldn'ta been born earlier than 6 BC nor later than early 4 BC.

Quirinius had absolutely nothing to do with Jewish affairs save the tax he exacted in Augustus' name during his military rulership. This was done to pay his army. Although Quirinius returned in 6 AD as actual governor of the area, when Herod's son Archelaus was deposed by Augustus, and levied another tax upon the order of Augustus, again, he had nothing to do with Jewish affairs.

It appears Luke mentions Quirinius, who was well-known to the entire population of Judea, to establish the general time of Jesus' birth.

AV1611 Jim, we must remain a little dubious about the exact dates of Cyrus' decree, as the Medes/Persians didn't keep documents nearly as extensively as the Romans did, and the Jewish sources could only guess at the dates because of the time it took such a decree to be borne from Cyrus to the Jewish leadership. And the Jews were scattered throughout several provinces of the Empire, so it took yet more time for "the word' to reach all of them.

 

Cause 9 months was the longest Mary was going to carry Jesus!

also, the actual date probably isn't as important as the actual event

merry Christmas

 

Here -- I found and cut and pasted a couple of other posts I did earlier on this same subject here:

Luke pinpoints for us the registration required by Augustus in concert with the first time Quirinius (also known as Cyrenius) was governor of Syria (he was governor twice, once from 6-1 BC. Then he was appointed Advosor to Gaius Caesar, and was governor again from 6-7 AD).

In February of 2 BC, Caesar Augustus was given the title of Pater Patriae, or Father of the Country. He had refused that title until Roman citizens from all over the empire had agreed to it. Thus, the registration of 3 BC, taken in the late summer and autumn of that year was not only a registration of allegience to Caesar (done once every five years), but also the approval of this new title for him. Since he accepted the title in early 2 BC, we know that the registration was finished by then.

We know from historical records that the registration took place in the late summer and early autumn of 3 BC. Luke tells us that Mary was heavy with child when they arrived in Bethlehem, which means, at the very least, that she was in her third trimester. We know she did not arrive months early, for 'there was no room in the "kataluma"', often mistranslated 'inn.' Kataluma is 'guest room' which every house had. In other words, Bethlehem was already crowded to overflowing.

We can use these evidences and others, both biblical and extra-biblical to pinpoint Jesus' birth not only to the autumn of 3 BC, but to sometime between September 10 and 25 of that month. If He was born on the 14 of that month in that year, and circumcised eight days later, then, interestingly, He shed His first blood on that year's Day of Atonement.


The Jewish celebration of Herod's death was January 24.

Josephus tells us Herod died after an eclipse of the moon and was buried with all the rituals involved before Passover. Shortly before Herod died, he ordered the execution of a number of rabbis. It was written by Josephus that the moon was 'red with the blood of the murdered rabbis.' This means it was a full eclipse and not a partial eclipse, for you do not get a 'red moon' with a partial eclipse. Thus, the eclipse in March of 4 BC, being a partial eclipse, would not have been a red moon. In addition, there was so much pomp and circumstance to do with Herod's burial, a March death would not have left time for all of the burial procedures before Passover.

Only one eclipse fits the requirement. There was a full eclipse of the moon on January 9 of 1 BC.

This fits perfectly with the timing of the Wise Men, the astronomical events in the skies in 3 and 2 BC, and the dates of Jesus' and John's births.

The registration, when Mary was heavy with child, was in the late summer and autumn of 3 BC. The Magoi visited the Child in December of 2 BC, when He was about 15 months old. Herod had asked them when the star first appeared. We do not have their answer, but Herod ordered children two and under to be slaughtered, trying to get rid of a pretender to his throne. Herod died in January of 1 BC. If we backtrack from the last possible date Herod could have seen the Magoi (which would have been January of 1 BC), we again run into 3 BC again as the year of Christ's birth.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, but again, why does it matter?

 

My thoughts exactly, Joshua.

The important thing is that He WAS born, period.

 

I don't think it's important to know, but that's just me.

As far as the endtimes, if you get your life right, you don't have to worry when. Spend the time that remains getting ready, and telling the Gospel to others who don't know it. I think there's a reason that God says no one but He knows when Christ is coming.

 

There is also a reason that He gave us prophecy and the book of Revelation, and it is not so that we could ignore them.

MR

 

Mel, you asked for further information.
I was reading a commentary on Luke this morning and came across this tidbit that helps to approximate the calendar date for Jesus' birth (the year is in question here).

Hope it helps.

Rob

 

The following is quoted from James Ussher's The Annals of the World. I pray it adds to this discussion.

I ignored the difficulties raised by chronologers, who are occupied by the love of contention, as Basil noted. Hence, I deduce that the time from the creation until midnight, January 1, 1 AD was 4003 years, seventy days and six hours. Also, based on the death of Herod the Great, I concluded that the birth of our Saviour was four full years before January 1, 1 AD. According to our calculations, the building of Solomon's temple was finished in the 3000th year of the world. In the 4000th year of the world, Mary gave birth to Christ (of whom the temple was a type). Hence, Christ was born in the fall of 5 BC not 1 AD.

4000a AM, 4709 JP, 5 BC
6059 Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born of the most blessed virgin Mary at Bethlehem in the fulness of time. Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the inn.

AM = Years of the world from creation
JP = Julian Year starting at January 1, 4713 BC
BC = Years before the Christian Era​