Christ was born in the year B.C.2. In support of this announcement we do not propose to give a table of dates, setting forth the ideas of the Christian Fathers who wrote prior to the 5th century. Nor those of Dionysius Exiguus, of the Venerable Bede, or of Roger Bacon, all of whom wrote between the 5th and the 14th centuries. Neither shall we give those of Archbishops Usher and Lloyd in the 17th century, nor those of Dr. Hales and of Sir Isaac Newton in the 18th century, nor those of Prideaux and of the talented chronologist H.Fynes Clinton in the 19th century. We find our authority in Eusebius the “father of ecclesiastical history” [A.D.325] and give with it a 20th century Chart in proof of the accuracy of his statement.

Of course back of Eusebius lay Jewish tradition, which in modern times has found expression in the “Jewish Calendar” of E.H. Lindo; London,1838. Under the title of the “Book of the Generations,” that noted chronologist states that the Christian Era began with the year A.M.3760, in other words with the 30th day of August B.C.2 as shown in the diagram.

Eusebius, who as Bishop of Caesarea, spent most of his life in Judea, possessed rare opportunities for verifying Jewish tradition. It is very significant that his scholarly research led him to accept and endorse a date for the commencement of the Christian Era, which is identically the same as that preserved by the Jews.

The New Testament plainly declares that Christ was born shortly prior to the death of Herod the Great. The most perfect history we possess of Herod’s life is found in the works of Flavius Josephus, who acknowledged indebtedness to the “Commentaries of King Herod,” and to the works of “Nicolaus of Damascus, the historiographer of Herod.” It should be remembered that for his facts Josephus depended entirely on others, because Herod died almost 40years before Josephus was born and therefore, however accurate Josephus might be individually, he was liable to be mistaken by the error of others. Let us turn to the XIVth book of his “Antiquities,” because it contains a statement of more than ordinary precision which bears directly on the date of Herod’s death and may rightly be regarded as the corner stone of Josephus’ calculations regarding Herod’s reign. It is there recorded that Hyrcanus began to rule in the “3d year of the 177th olympiad” [B.C.⁷⁰/₆₉]. At first sight, one cannot help being pleased, that in so important a matter, Josephus took special pains to be exact, for nowhere else in all his writings does he give the year of any olympiad. It was his custom simply to announce the olympiad and leave the reader to guess in which one of four years the event took place. However, in this one instance he gave the year and left nothing to be supplied. This apparent accuracy has led many readers astray, for they have lost sight of the fact that his statement is not historically correct.

It is a well-established fact that Pompey took Jerusalem on the 24th day of May, B.C.63, that he deposed Aristobulus and made Hyrcanus monarch. According to this, the brothers reigned about 6¾years. Josephus, however, states that one reigned 3years and 6months [XIV.6.1], and the other reigned only 3months [XV.6.4], making a total of 3¾years instead of 6¾years. Here, then, we have discovered a huge gap of about 3years in the reckoning of Josephus. We believe this is the first time that public attention has been directed to this grave error: we say grave, because it has led the Christian world astray and fostered the belief that Christ was born in B.C.5 instead of the year B.C.2. Happily, Eusebius escaped this pitfall.

It is evident from the chart, that in the case of 6reigns Josephus STRETCHED HIS FIGURES and made them occupy 103years instead of 100years. This proves that his figures, in part, were matters of calculation and not rigid statements of historical facts. No notice can be taken of the joint-rule exercised by Augustus and Tiberius between A.D.11 and14, because that mode of reckoning is unnatural. The day of one’s death is the natural dividing line between reigns, and as Augustus Caesar died on the 19th day of August, A.D.14 Tiberius Caesar began to reign on the same day. Besides, to admit a joint-rule would hopelessly add another 3years to Josephus’ error and put him in the light of having carried his process for STRETCHING FIGURES 6points instead of 3points. What he did do in that line is bad enough, without making matters worse.

It will be observed that the work of contracting Josephus’ figures has been accomplished in part on the second line, but the final rectification appears on the last line. These results maintain the integrity of all that Josephus said about the following olympiads, viz: the 179th, 184th, 185th, 187th, and 192nd.—They also accord with the discovery of Zumpt regarding a double term in the governorship of Cyrenius. We reach a solid ground on the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar and arrive at last at the first Easter Sunday, viz: April5, A.D.33, the end of the SEVENTY WEEKS of the Prophet Daniel.

In conclusion we observe, that the life of Christ on earth covered a period of 33½years, and that

CHRIST WAS BORN IN THE FALL OF B.C.2.