The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1910-12-23

Anot0ny a large sum. We are also
told by Josephus (Bk Ii S:1) that he
reigned after Antigonus' death,
thirty-four years and thirty,seyen
from the time he was appointed king,
that is, he died in the year $50 A. u.
c., four years earlier than the time OF
Christ's birth as fixed by Dionysius.
Herod was living when Christ was
born according to the passage here
in Matthew, hence Dlonyslus is at
least four years too late in his table.
In Joephus (Bk IL 6:4) we are
also informed that shortly before
Herod's death there was an eclipse
of the moon, and although he was
very sick that night he deprived
Matthias of the high-priesthood and
caused tie other Matthias with his
sedtious companions to be brunt
alive This eclipse has been astro-
nomically calculated as occurring
probably on September 15 749 A. u
c., or b. G. 8 We are further re-
minded that the Passover occurre1
just after Herods death, $50 A. U.
c., and that Archelaus, his son pro-
claimed seven days for general
hlOululuSs rIOlu Jlllo II ID dIBucu
that Herod died more than seven
days before that Passover. If this
lis so, since Christ was born before
Herod's death, therefore He was born
before the Passover of $50 A. u. G.
Again, in Luke 1923, we learn that
when Jesus began to teach he was
about 30 years of age. This was
the age at which he was baptized,
and when, as by Levitical custom,
He should enter on His ministry.
Now, if he was born in 75O A. u.
c., then He began His ministry in
7S0 A. u. c.; and if he were baptized
in January, as is generally believed,
then He would attend His first Pass
over after baptism in April 780 A. U.
G. 1t was at this first Passover in His
ministry that the Jews ridiculed His
answer to their demand for a sign as
to His authority for whipping the
! desecrators out of the temple. "De.
stroy," He told them, this temple
and in three days | will raise it up.
| They did not understand Him. They
thought He meant Herods temple.
Hence to convince Him of the impos-
slbility of such an undertaking, they
said to Him, Forty ana SIX years
was this temple in building and wilt
thou rear it up in three days?" The
temple was not then completed. Jo-
sephus tells us that the rebuilding
was begun by Herod in the eight
eenth year of his reign (Bk. 10 IL:
| y, that is in the year 734 A. u. c..
Now, If it We're in the 10th year since
the rebuilding began, II would be in
April, 7S0 A. u. c., when Christ drove
these desecrators out of the temple,
and spoke to his questioners as to
his ability to resurrect the temple
of His own body in three days. AS
He was then 30 years of age He was
born in $50 A. U. c. This is the same
result as when we made the death
Of Herod the basis of our calcula-
tions. These results give us an alb
sOlute terminus. Christ from these
data could not have been born later
than 700 A. U. O., or B. c. 4, and TAX
ing all intervening circumstances
into consideration, the earliest date
of his birth probably is 749 A. U, c.,
on B. c. 5.
The time of the year is a mys-
terry, the secret of which cannot be
satisfactorily fathomed Arbitrarily
fixing a date does not help matters
Doinysius fixed December 25th. How
did he arrive at his conclusion? He
had the traditional date of the west
em church before him, and to coin
eide with the church's idea he simp
ly made the miraculous conception
March 25 and December 25, of
course, would be the date of the
birth, If he was at least four years
wrong in fixing the year, we are
suspicious as to the correctness OF
his month and date.
Many attempts, however, have
been made to fix the month and date
with Luke 1:15 as datum, but the cal
culations are so complicated that the
result cannot be accepted without
grave suspicion as to it's accuracy.
We ere told in the passage that
Zacharias was Of the course of Abba.
This was the Sth Of the twenty-four
classes instituted by David for the
Temple service, each class serving
twice year. From the 1aIumud and
JOsepnuS jewish wars we learn that
at the destruction of the Temple by
Titus August 8, S23 A. U. c., the first
class had just begun its course. If we
take 749 A. U. C. as the earliest year
Of Christ's birth, the appearance TO
zacharias, telling him of Johns birth,
must be 74S A. U. c., and calulating
back from August 5, S29 A. u. c., the
course of Abba must have oficiated
from the 18th to the 23rd Of April
nnd frnr,a thn o,..l Il -. q