Ok. So When was Jesus born, supposedly? I always thought most Christian scholars would have said, 6 bc, because that’s when the census of Quirinius was, and Herod died in 4 BC.
And he was 30 when he was killed? Or 32? I’ve never been sure. If it was 30, then he would have been crucified in 25 AD, because there is no year zero. That would make this Easter the 2,000 anniversary of the resurrection.
So is that when we can expect him to return? I mean, sheesh, generations have come and gone since he promised to BRB.
Well, first of all, the Bible doesn't teach that there is a "second coming" other than the one in which Jesus was resurrected and appeared before his disciples. Jesus isn't going to physically appear.
From Revelation in Space - Atheist Study Bible:
Science and the Bible:
Historicity the following.
Josephus described Herod's painful death in vivid detail: "an intolerable itching of the whole skin, continuous pains in the intestines, tumors in the feet as in dropsy, inflammation of the abdomen and gangrene of the privy parts, engendering worms, in addition to asthma, with great difficulty in breathing, and convulsions in all his limbs" (Jewish Wars 1:656).
The dating of Herod's death poses a challenge for Biblical chronology, with some scholars placing it in 5 or 4 BCE based on Josephus' historical accounts. Josephus uses consular dating to pinpoint Herod's appointment as king by Rome to 40 BCE, while another historian, Appian, dates it to 39 BCE. Josephus also notes Herod's capture of Jerusalem in 37 BCE, but he also states this was 27 years after Pompey's capture of the city in 63 BCE (Jewish Antiquities 14:487), implying a date of 36 BCE. This discrepancy leads to different conclusions about the year of Herod's death; if calculated as 37 years after his appointment by Rome and 34 years after capturing Jerusalem, his death would be dated to 2 or 1 BCE (Jewish Antiquities 17:188).
Josephus might have used the accession year method for counting reigns, which was common for Judean kings from the line of David. If Herod was appointed in 40 BCE, his first regnal year would start from Nisan 39 to Nisan 38 BCE. If from the capture of Jerusalem in 37 or 36 BCE, it would begin from Nisan 36 or 35 BCE. Thus, counting back 37 years from his appointment and 34 years from Jerusalem's capture points to a death in 1 BCE.
W. E. Filmer in "The Journal of Theological Studies" (edited by H. Chadwick and H. Sparks, Oxford, 1966, Vol. XVII, p. 284) references Jewish tradition that Herod died on Shevat 2 (January-February). Josephus notes that Herod died shortly after a lunar eclipse and before Passover (Jewish Antiquities 17:164). A partial eclipse occurred on March 11, 4 BCE (Julian calendar March 13), leading some to conclude this was the one Josephus referred to. However, there was also a total eclipse on January 8, 1 BCE (Julian calendar January 10), 18 days before Shevat 2, and another partial eclipse on December 27, 1 BCE (Julian calendar December 29).
Most scholars advocate for a 4 BCE death date based on the March eclipse, but the January 1 BCE eclipse was more significant, lasting 1 hour and 41 minutes, and likely more noticeable (Solar and Lunar Eclipses of the Ancient Near East From 3000 BC to 0 With Maps, by M. Kudlek and E. H. Mickler; Neukirchen-Vluyn, Germany; 1971, Vol. I, p. 156). The December eclipse was less visible at twilight, making it less likely the one described by Josephus.
Josephus states Herod was around 70 at his death, appointed governor of Galilee at 15 (or possibly 25, considering potential textual errors), around 47 BCE, although his historical dating has inconsistencies. The Bible remains the most reliable source for this period's chronology.
Evidence suggests Herod's death in 1 BCE aligns with Luke's account that John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3:1-3), which would be from late 28 CE to late 29 CE after Augustus died on August 17, 14 CE, and Tiberius was named emperor on September 15. John, six months older than Jesus, started his ministry in the spring of 29 CE (Luke 1:35-36). Jesus, born in the fall, would have been about 30 when baptized in the fall of 29 CE (Luke 3:21-23), placing his birth in the fall of 2 BCE. This also matches Daniel's prophecy of "70 weeks" (Daniel 9:24-27), where from 455 BCE (Artaxerxes' order to rebuild Jerusalem's wall) to 29 CE (Jesus' baptism) is 483 years or 69 weeks.
Or is Trump the second coming?
Trump is just this guy, ya' know?
