When was Christ born and when was he baptized? The true dates revealed with Biblical proof!

In my previous video titled “Christ's Friday the 13th of Nisan crucifixion, Shabbat HaGadol, & Passover Sunday resurrection”, I showed that Christ was resurrected just before Sunday morning, on the day of Passover, and more specifically, during the exact time the Passover meal ought to be fully consumed and any leftover was to be burned.

In this video, I will be explaining why I also believe Christ was conceived by Mary on Nisan 15, or Passover day, and that Christ was born exactly 9 lunar months later, on Tevet 15 in the Hebrew calendar. And thus, it can be said of Christ, that he was conceived by his mother Mary on Passover day, and was resurrected by his heavenly Father also on the day of Passover.

Now the Hebrew month of Tevet, during which time I believe Christ was born, is a winter month that usually falls between December and January. And the biggest question and objection to a winter month for Christ’s birth was supposedly why would shepherds “living out in the fields, be keeping watch over their flocks at night” during winter.

Luke 2: 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

Moreover, I believe that Christ was born specifically on the month of January. And while it is true that January is the month in Israel that has the coldest average temperature, it is also the month that has the highest average rainfall throughout the year. Also, 3 months prior to January, that is, the period from October to December, was when rainfall starts to increase in Israel after having 5 months of lowest average rainfall starting from May until September.

And this means that by January, the hills have already become clothed with grass, and the shepherds, knowing this, take their sheep further to the fields and away from their towns. 

Now when these grassy fields are particularly far from their towns, instead of leading the sheep to and from the fields and the towns, shepherds would rather enfold their flock in nearby caves in the field and watch over their flock throughout the night. And this was especially true whenever the temperature was relatively warmer than the average temperature for January.

In my previous video titled “The Star of Bethlehem & the true location of Christ's nativity at Avshalom or  Soreq cave”, I mentioned that the Soreq cave, where I believe Christ was born, keeps the temperature and the humidity inside it constant year round. Thus, enfolding sheep inside caves in Israel during winter time actually poses no problem at all. 

Also, note that the coolest temperature during January in Israel is usually 39°F. And for precipitation to begin falling as snow from the clouds, the air temperature at the ground should be cooler than 32°F. Thus, only in very rare occasions when the lowest temperature during January is lower than normal, does it ever snow in Israel. 

 

Now I made 3 videos to prove that Herod’s death, which most historians date on 4 BC, was actually 3 years too early, and that his death should have been dated on 1 BC instead. These videos are: “Eclipse before Augustus' death & Midrash Rosh Hashana prove Herod the Great's death wasn't on 4 BC”, and “Faulty Olympiad calendar caused 1 year error in redating Herod's death from 1 BC to 4 BC”, and “Co-regency of Augustus and Tiberius  caused 2 years error in redating Herod's death from 1 BC to 4 BC”.

Also, in my video titled “The census of Quirinius and the unidentified Governor of Syria from 3 BC to 1 AD”, I showed that Quirinius, whom the gospel of Luke identified as the Governor of Syria at the time of Christ’s birth, was in fact the unidentified Governor of Syria whose term of office after applying a 1 year correction, was from 3 BC to 1 AD.

And this means, the year of Christ’s birth should be no earlier than 3 BC and no later than 1 AD as well to coincide with Quirinius’ term of office as Governor of Syria.

In that same video, I showed that the census Luke mentioned in his gospel was the census Augustus ordered that required all the people in the then Roman empire to make an oath of loyalty to him and to grant him the title of Pater Patriae, or "father of the country". And this was in celebration of the 25th anniversary of his titles as Augustus and Princeps which were granted to him by the Roman Senate on the corrected date January 16, 26 BC. 

The title of Pater Patriae was officially awarded to Augustus on the corrected date February 5, 1 BC, after the census was completed. And this means that Christ must have been born before February 5, 1 BC, because according to the gospels, Mary gave birth to Christ while they were registering for that census. Thus, the correct date for Christ’s birth should be no earlier than 3 BC and should also be sometime before February 5, 1 BC. Now the question is, is there a way to determine the exact year, month, and day of Christ’s birth?

I believe Christ’s 30th birthday started shortly before he performed his first ever miracle during a wedding at Cana, which was when he turned water into wine.

John 2: 1-11 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” 

They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

The “hour” which according to Christ hasn’t come yet, and was the reason why he should not perform the miracle his mother Mary was asking of him, was the hour when the day of his 30th birth anniversary starts. And since a Jewish day officially starts at sundown, Christ was actually telling Mary that before he performs his first ever public miracle, they should first wait for the hour when the sun is already down, so that he becomes officially 30 years old.

Now why was it so important for Christ to reach 30 years of age before he can perform his first ever miracle in public? 

The Bible tells us that God commanded Levites between 25 to 50 years old to serve in the work of the tabernacle:

Numbers 8: 23-26 The Lord said to Moses, “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites.”

 

Now of these Levites between 25 to 50 years old, God commanded Moses to count or make a census of only those that are between 30 years old and 50:

Numbers 4: 1-3, 21-23, 29-30 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: “Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families. Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting... The Lord said to Moses, “Take a census also of the Gershonites by their families and clans. Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting… “Count the Merarites by their clans and families. Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.

Now what is the difference between the Levites who are 30 upto 50 years old who serve in the work at the tent of meeting and were counted, and those Levites who are 25 and below 30 years old who also serve in the work at the tent of meeting but were not counted?

The book of Revelation associates those servants of God who were counted as also being sealed by the seal of the living God:

Revelation 7: 3-4  “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

 

Now in addition to the 144,000 servants of God who were counted and were sealed, the book of Revelation also tells us that there will be servants of God who will be countless and unsealed, and yet are all saved:

Revelation 7: 9-10 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Now a seal is something that is visible to the eyes of the public. Thus, although Christ was filled with the Holy Spirit at the time of his baptism when he was about 30 years old, Christ was not yet allowed to display the power of this anointing to the public until he first reaches 30 years old, which was also when Christ was officially sealed by the seal of the living God.

This was the reason why during the 40 days Christ fasted in the wilderness immediately after his baptism, and before he turned 30 years old, Christ resisted all temptations to use the power of his anointing by the Holy Spirit under any circumstance. And this was because Christ knew he was not yet allowed to do so.

Luke 4: 1-4, 9-12 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone...’” The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Now how many days expired between Christ’s baptism when he was just about 30 years old, and the wedding at Cana when Christ turned 30 years old after sundown of that wedding day?

The gospels of Matthew, Luke, and Mark narrated Christ’s baptism in parallel passages. While Christ’s 40 days fasting in the wilderness that followed his baptism was narrated by the gospels of Matthew and Luke. But it was only the gospel of John that narrated the events that happened immediately after Christ’s 40 days of fasting ended, until the wedding in Cana took place.

And according to John’s gospel, the wedding at Cana happened 5 days after Christ finished his 40 days fasting, which was also 45 days after his baptism.

 

The first time Jesus was seen in public after his 40 days fasting in the wilderness was recorded in the following verses in the gospel of John. And I believe this was immediately the day after these 40 days fast ended:

John 1: 29-34 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” 

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

Notice that in the just quoted verses, John the Baptist was already testifying that he saw the Holy Spirit come down and remain with Jesus, implying that Christ’s baptism must have already happened before that day when he testified. 

And since Christ went to the wilderness immediately after his baptism, and stayed there for 40 days, this also means that this encounter between Christ and John the Baptist, must have happened after Christ’s 40 days of fasting.

The next day, we are told in John 1: 35-42 that Jesus once again passed by John the Baptist who was with Andrew at that time. Andrew then brought his brother Simon Peter to Jesus.

And again in the following day, which was already 3 days after Christ finished his 40 days fast, we are told in John 1: 43-45 that Jesus decided to leave for Galilee where he met Philip and Nathanael on his first day there.

Now on the third day of Christ’s visit in Galilee, the wedding at Cana took place. And this was 2 days after Jesus met Philip and Nathanael, and thus, 5 days after Christ’s 40 days fast in the wilderness, which was also 45 days after his baptism:

John 2: 1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.

Now as I discussed earlier, Christ’s 30th birth anniversary actually started after sundown of the wedding day at Cana, which according to the Jewish way of reckoning time, was also the start of the following day. Thus, based on the Hebrew calendar, Christ’s 30th birth anniversary was 46 days after his baptism.

 

And this means, if we know the exact date of Christ’s baptism, then we can also determine the exact date of Christ’s birth anniversary. So what do we know about the time of Christ’s baptism?

Luke 3: 1-3, 21-23 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 

He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.

According to Cassius Dio “Roman History”, Book 56, Chapter 29: 2, the death of Augustus, and therefore, the start of Tiberius’ solo reign, happened during the consulships of Sextus Apuleius and Sextus Pompeius, whose terms of office were dated by historians on 14 AD.

Also, Wikipedia, quoting Suetonius’ work, “The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius”, paragraphs 20-21, tells us that Tiberius had a coregency with Augustus 2 years before Augustus died, and this coregency was dated by historians on 12 AD.

Now in my video “Coregency of Augustus and Tiberius  caused 2 years error in redating Herod's death from 1 BC to 4 BC” and at 21:42 to 22:17 timestamp of the said video, I came to the conclusion that the years of office of Roman consuls starting from 6 AD onwards are all 3 years too early because of the combined errors due to the faulty Olympiad Calendar and the confusion over Tiberius’ co-rulership with Augustus. 

Thus, if we now apply a 3 year correction on the historical dates of Tiberius’ solo reign as well as Tiberius’ coregency with Augustus, we get 17 AD instead as the corrected year for the start of Tiberius’ solo reign, and 15 AD instead as the actual start of Tiberius’ coregency with Augustus.

Now going back to the discussion about Christ’s baptism, according to Luke, Christ was baptised “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar”.

There are two ways of reckoning this date, i.e., either it was in the 15th year after Tiberius’ solo reign that started on 17 AD, or it was in the 15th year after Tiberius’ coregency with Augustus that started on 15 AD.

If we first consider the start of Tiberius’ solo reign on 17 AD, then Tiberius’ 15th year will be between 31 AD until 32 AD. Now according to Luke “Jesus himself was about [Greek: ho-si'] thirty years old when he began his ministry”.

The Greek word “ho-si'” means “before a measure of time”, which means, Christ was before 30 years old when he was baptised. If Christ’s baptism occurred sometime 31 AD and 32 AD, then his birth must have been between 1 AD and 2 AD at the earliest, for Christ to be less than 30 years old at the time of his baptism.

And this is a big problem. If you still recall, I mentioned earlier that Christ must have been born before February 5, 1 BC since Mary gave birth to Christ while they were registering for the census that ended before the corrected date February 5, 1 BC; when the title of Pater Patriae, or "father of the country" was granted to Augustus by the Roman Senate.

And this means we only have one alternative left, and that is, Christ’s baptism occurred on the 15th year of Tiberius’ coregency with Augustus which started on 15 AD. Thus, Christ must have been baptised sometime between 29 AD and 30 AD. And correspondingly, Christ must have been born sometime between 2 BC and 1 BC, and before February 5, 1 BC at the latest.

Now Luke mentioned that during Christ’s baptism and “as he was praying, heaven was opened”. I believe the expression “heaven was opened” whenever used in the Bible, always refer to a time when a solar eclipse was taking place; and the stars that were hidden by the glare of the Sun becomes temporarily visible during the eclipse.

On Nov 24, 29 AD and at 2:15 in the afternoon Jerusalem time, a total solar eclipse occurred that was visible in Israel. Please notice how shortly before the eclipse, Venus was barely visible in the day sky, but as the eclipse reached its maximum, Venus became significantly brighter and quite visible. Thus, just as Luke described it, it was as though heaven was opened to reveal Venus as the bright morning star. And it was probably this event that made Christ to start associating himself with a morning star:

Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

For this reason, I believe Christ was baptised on November 24, 29 AD at exactly 2:15 in the afternoon, Jerusalem time. Now I mentioned earlier, that Christ’s 30th birth anniversary was 46 days after his baptism, and this means Christ turned 30 years old on January 9, 30 AD. 

These dates, i.e., November 24, 29 AD for Christ’s baptism and January 9, 30 AD for Christ’s 30th birth anniversary, were all in Julian Calendar. Their corresponding dates in the Gregorian Calendar are November 22, 29 AD for Christ’s baptism and January 7, 30 AD for Christ’s 30th birth anniversary. Interestingly, Orthodox Christians in central and eastern Europe and other parts of the world celebrate Christmas on January 7. Was it a coincidence, or were the Orthodox Christians holding on to tradition passed on to them by the early followers of Christ?

Now what are the corresponding Hebrew dates for Christ’s baptism and birth? It is very tempting for some people to use online Hebrew calendars to convert Gregorian and Julian dates to their corresponding Hebrew dates, as it is without question the easiest way. However, one should keep in mind that these modern online Hebrew calendars no longer follow the original Biblical way of determining the correct Hebrew date. 

Wikipedia discussed the difference between the original Biblical method that was based on observation of natural agriculture-related events in ancient Israel, against the modern method that uses mathematical rules that are based on the Metonic cycle of 19 years, of which 12 are common (non-leap) years of 12 months and 7 are leap years of 13 months:

Wikepedia, Hebrew Calendar: The present Hebrew calendar is the product of evolution, including a Babylonian influence. Until the Tannaitic period (approximately 10–220 CE), the calendar employed a new crescent moon, with an additional month normally added every two or three years to correct for the difference between twelve lunar months and the solar year. The year in which it was added was based on observation of natural agriculture related events in ancient Israel. 

Through the Amoraic period (200–500 CE) and into the Geonic period, this system was gradually displaced by the mathematical rules used today. The principles and rules were fully codified by Maimonides in the Mishneh Torah in the 12th century.

I personally do not follow the modern method that uses mathematical rules that are based on the Metonic cycle of 19 years. Instead, to get the correct as well as the Biblical Hebrew date that corresponds to a given Julian or Gregorian date, I do the following steps:

First, I determine the date of the spring or vernal equinox immediately before the date I want to convert to the Hebrew calendar. This date is when the Sun is positioned at exactly 0h 0m 0s Right Ascension.

In the case of Christ’s baptism and Christ’s 30th birth anniversary, the spring equinox immediately before these events fell on March 22, 29 AD at approximately 7:50 p.m. UTC.

Next, I determine the first full Moon immediately after the spring equinox, and using the astropixel.com website, this full Moon was on Apr 17, 29 AD at 02:46 a.m. UTC.

The first night in Jerusalem when this full Moon was sighted was also the night when the Passover meal on Nisan 15 was observed that year. And in Jerusalem, this was after sundown on April 16, 29 AD and before sunrise on April 17, 29 AD.

Next, I determine the date of the astronomical new Moon with Moon age = 0 immediately before Passover day. To do this, I use the astropixel.com website once again, where it says the astronomical new Moon immediately before Passover day was on April  2, 29 AD at 5:30 p.m. UTC.

Next, I determine the date of the astronomical new Moon with Moon age = 0 immediately before the date I want to convert to Hebrew calendar. In the case of Christ’s baptism, which took place on November 24, 29 AD, Julian calendar, this astronomical new Moon happened on October 25, 29 AD at 9:57 p.m. UTC.

Next, I count the number of astronomical new Moons between and including both April 2, 29 AD, the astronomical new Moon immediately before Passover day, and October 25, 29 AD, the astronomical new Moon immediately before the date I want to convert to Hebrew calendar. The number I counted was 8, and this means Christ’s baptism occurred on the 8th Hebrew month starting from Nisan, namely Cheshvan (or Marcheshvan).

Next, I determine the Moon age in Jerusalem on the night immediately before Christ’s baptism on November 24, 29 AD. And using the Stellarium software, this Moon age was 29 days old. Thus, Christ’s baptism according to the Hebrew calendar, was on Cheshvan 29, 29 AD. 

Now let us do the same steps in the case of Christ’s 30th birth anniversary on January 9, 30 AD, Julian calendar. The date of the astronomical new Moon with Moon age = 0 immediately before this date was Dec 23, 29 AD at  9:52 p.m. UTC. 

The number of astronomical new Moons between and including both April 2, 29 AD and Dec 23, 29 AD was 10, and this means Christ’s 30th birth anniversary occurred on the 10th Hebrew month starting from Nisan, which is the month of Tevet.

Using the Stellarium software, we can see that the Moon age in Jerusalem on the night immediately before Christ’s 30th birth anniversary on January 9, 30 AD, was 15 days old. Thus, Christ’s 30th birth anniversary according to the Hebrew calendar, was on Tevet 15, 30 AD. 

And this also means that Christ must have been born on Tevet 15, 1 BC for him to be about, or less than, 30 years old when he was baptized on Cheshvan 29, 29 AD. Also, exactly 9 lunar months before Christ’s birth must have been when Mary conceived Jesus, and this means Christ’s human incarnation occurred on Nisan 15, 2 BC, which just happened to be Passover day that year.

Now what are the corresponding Julian and Gregorian dates for Tevet 15, 1 BC? To determine this, we have to repeat the entire process I just made a while ago.

The spring equinox immediately before Tevet 15, 1 BC happened on March 23, 2 BC at approximately 1:25 p.m. UTC. And the first full Moon immediately after this spring equinox was on April 19, 2 BC at 10:19 a.m. UTC.

The first night in Jerusalem when this full Moon was sighted was also the night when the Passover meal on Nisan 15 was observed that year. And in Jerusalem, this was after sundown on April 19, 2 BC and before sunrise on April 20, 2 BC, both according to the Julian calendar. In the Gregorian calendar, this was after sundown on Saturday, April 17, 2 BC and before sunrise on Sunday, April 18, 2 BC. It is during this Passover night when I believe Mary conceived Jesus. 

Please note that in my previous video titled “Christ's Friday the 13th of Nisan crucifixion, Shabbat HaGadol, & Passover Sunday resurrection”, I said that Christ was resurrected just before sunrise on Sunday, also on the day of Passover. Thus it can be said of Christ, that he was conceived by his mother Mary just before sunrise on Passover Sunday, and was resurrected by his heavenly Father, also just before sunrise on Passover Sunday.

The date of the astronomical new Moon with Moon age = 0 immediately before Passover day on 2 BC was Apr 4, 2 BC at 8:44 p.m. UTC. This was the astronomical new Moon just before the first Hebrew month of Nisan, on the Biblical or Ecclesiastical year.

Now the Hebrew month Tevet is the 10th month after the first Hebrew month of Nisan, and the 10th astronomical new Moon with Moon age = 0, after the astronomical new Moon on Apr 4, 2 BC, was on Dec 26, 2 BC at 3:58 p.m. UTC. This was the astronomical new Moon just before the tenth Hebrew month of Tevet, on the Biblical or Ecclesiastical year.

Now Tevet 15, the Hebrew date when I believe Christ was born, started on the night of the month of Tevet when the full Moon was sighted in Israel. And according to the Stellarium software, this happened after sundown on Friday, January 9, 1 BC and before sunrise on Saturday, January 10, 1 BC. Thus, according to the Hebrew calendar, in which a day starts from sundown of the previous day and ends just before sundown of that day, Christ was born on Saturday, or the Jewish Sabbath day.

And this explains further why the shepherds who visited Christ on the night of his birth were camping out in the fields and watching over their flocks at night. These shepherds were observing the Sabbath rest after sundown and they refused to lead their sheep back to their town coming from the grassy fields. Instead, they chose to enfold their flocks in a nearby cave in the fields where the temperature and humidity inside remains constant year round, and watch over their flock while they are resting outside at night. 

Now after sundown on January 9, 1 BC and before sunrise on January 10, 1 BC, were both reckoned using the Julian calendar. Using the Gregorian calendar instead, Christ’s birth should be dated after sundown on January 7, 1 BC and before sunrise on January 8, 1 BC. And as I already mentioned earlier, Orthodox Christians in central and eastern Europe and other parts of the world do celebrate the old Christmas day, or Christ’s birth, on January 7. 

Now having determined both the exact location and the exact time of Christ’s birth, I am now in the position to determine correctly the identity of the Star of Bethlehem. And I will be doing exactly just that in my next video.