Excerpt from “The heavens declare the glory of God;
Okay, let us begin at the beginning, the date of Jesus’ birth. While it is possible that it really did fall on December 25 th, as we shall see there are many possibilities as to when it might have occurred. The first set of these is based on five clues: first, the beliefs of the early Christian Church; second, first-hand reports of the shepherds in Bethlehem; third, the seasons of taxation in Judea; fourth, eyewitness accounts linking Jesus’ birth to the Jewish New Year; and perhaps most esoterically important, the astronomy for the famous Star of Bethlehem. But let us take these one at a time. Other early Christians celebrated Jesus’ birthday in January, at the beginning of our traditional New Year. This fell on January 6 th, a date traditionally associated in the ancient world with the coming of the new world saviors, the “Lord of Light,” who arrived at the threshold of each new Aeon, and this date had long been sacred to the solar lords Mithra, Osiris and others.
Jewish customs around the Hebrew New Year reflect aspects to this same hermetic imagery, for on the day of Rosh Hashanah, or the Jewish New Year, it was said that all the inhabitants of the world must pass before the Creator to be judged, just as the sheep must pass before the shepherd.
The Birth of the Lords of Light All of this indicates just how much controversy surrounded the time of Jesus’ birth, even in the early decades of his own era. This was because those who believed that his birth meant the coming of a priest/king did all they could to cover his tracks, for as we shall see his life was in danger from the moment he was born, and in order to prepare for and complete his mission, he had to leave Palestine. “Even up until the fifth century after the life of Jesus, the matter (of his birthday) was still in dispute, but in that century, the community at Rome held one of its famous councils and made a definite decision by selecting December 25 th, or midnight of December 24 th, as the true time. In this decision we find a very beautiful and important mystical story.” Yet is it possible that Jesus’ birth really did occur on Christmas day? Actually, yes; as we shall see shortly, the shepherds who saw the Star of Bethlehem in the field describe the night as being chilly, arguing for a fall, winter or spring birth date. And there was one powerful astrological event that fell on this day, a subject we shall take up in the next chapter. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Finding the Year While many have long known that the day and month of Jesus’ birth can be questioned, most people do not realize that we do not even know the year. Some adamantly claim that Jesus was born as late as 3 or 4 B.C.E., while others argue that he may have been born as far back as 12 or 13 B.C.E. The consensus of many academics, however, seems to be between 6 and 8 B.C.E., and for the purposes of our timeline we have placed it in 6 B.C.E., the latest date possible given the time table of Herod’s death in April of 4 B.C.E., although in truth, it may well have been in 7 or 8 B.C.E., or even earlier. You may be asking yourself, how can even the year of Jesus’ birth be so unknown, when he is such a famous character? Because even in the Bible there are conflicting reports linked with the rulership dates of local kings. In the Book of Luke, for example, we are told that Jesus was born when Quirinius was governor of Syria, a period of only three years, from 4 B.C.E to 1 B.C.E. Quirinius did rule again in 6 C.E., but this doesn’t work out with the rest of history because Herod the Great had already died, so Luke must have been mistaken about Quirinius’ reign. We do know, through the gospels of both Matthew and Luke, that Jesus was born in the days of Herod the Great, also known as Herod Antipater. And Herod’s history is so interwoven with the nativity story that it cannot be tampered with. We know from historical records that Herod died in April of 4 B.C.E., just after a lunar eclipse, so Jesus had to have been born sometime prior to that date. Luke also mentions “the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar” as the time when John the Baptist began his ministry, preceding Jesus’ own. Since Tiberius didn’t begin his rule until 14 C.E., that means that Jesus could not have even begun to preach in Palestine until he was at least 36, 37 or 38-years-old, even if he was born as late as 5 B.C.E.! Thus we have assigned 6 B.C.E. as the conservative date of his birth, although it is quite likely that he was born as early as 7 or 8 or even 10 B.C.E., making him a few years older. In our graphic time line of Jesus’ life we have included all the known historical dates for Jesus and other established figures, filling in the missing years from documented reports of Jesus in other countries. Herod’s Eye Witness Accounts
A competent soldier and administrator, Herod was also a bully. Adrian Gilbert puts it nicely in his book Magi: “A terrifying mixture of Macbeth and Othello, he unlike the other monarchs in the region, had no hereditary legitimacy.” Thus, in order to gain power he persuaded the Roman general, Mark Anthony, to send an army under his command to besiege Jerusalem for five long months, then captured Jerusalem for himself in 37 B.C.E. Once in power, Herod beheaded the last reigning Jewish king, Antigonus, and installed himself as the new ruler. Then he turned to the Great Sanhedrin Council, the Jewish religious body that governed the country, and assassinated 45 of their 71 members, thereby eliminating all opposition to his reign. Perhaps because Herod had no legitimate rights to the throne, he hated all those who did; a hostility that extended to every member of the royal Jewish bloodline, including Jesus. Herod married Mariamme, a princess of the royal blood to gain legitimacy, and then had her brother, the high priest Aristobulus, drowned in a swimming pool in Jericho. As his reign continued, Herod was to methodically execute all remaining members of the known royal dynasty of Israel. And later, after having two sons with this very same wife, he murdered her and had both of his sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, strangled. A frightening man by any stretch of the imagination! Herod’s reign is primarily remembered for three important events: his association with Jesus of course; the rebuilding of the enormous Temple in Jerusalem that had been destroyed since the time of King Solomon; and the famous Massacre of the Innocents recorded in the Bible. Despite his impressive construction projects, he was hated and feared by the people of Palestine. Only those who worked with him survived, and it is perhaps indicative of his reign that his last order before he died was to burn to death two of the Pharisees whose supporters had torn down the Roman Eagle that had been placed upon the front wall of the Jewish Temple at Herod’s command. The Massacre of the Innocents & The Massacre of the Innocents was another act of desperation. It was of course, the order to execute all male children born within a two-year span in Bethlehem. This was to vanquish any male children (even a baby!) who might usurp his position and become the new “King of the Jews,” a role he saw exclusively for himself. Despite the immense paranoia that this act reveals, strangely enough it went unrecorded in the histories of Josephus, the Jewish historian who wrote Antiquities of the Jews. So once again we do not have a year attached to the killing of the innocents, which would have established a narrower parameter in our search for Jesus’ birth. Today historians believe that this omission in Josephus’ histories could have several reasons: not only were his books written over seventy years after these events took place, but Josephus himself was ensconced in luxury in the palace of the Roman Emperor Vespasian, and any of his writings that reflected badly on the Roman Empire would not have pleased his patron. Some have wondered whether the Massacre of the Innocents was simply inserted into the book of Matthew to mirror the hero myth legends of Moses in Egypt. However, as we shall shortly see, a letter written by Herod himself makes clear reference to these events, as he defends his actions around the slaughter of these newborns to the Roman Senate. Still, exaggerations do abound: the Byzantine liturgy, for example, says that 14,000 Innocents were killed in the massacre; an early Syrian list states that there were 64,000 children killed; and the Catholic Encyclopedia tells us that only six to twenty children were slaughtered, a figure that may be closer to the truth, since the town of Bethlehem was not large. Yet since it was all male children born within a two-year span, the truth may lie somewhere in the middle. Furthermore, we get an immediate insight into Herod’s personality, the politics of the time, and his relationship with the Jewish High Council. The letter has a feeling of complete presence about it, as if we are there with him, witnessing these strange and terrifying events. In the passage below, we pick up Herod’s story some way into the narrative, just as the Magi have entered his palace:
One of them said he was from Egypt. I asked, what was their business? He said they were in search of the babe that was born to rule the Jews. I told them that I ruled the Jews under Augustus Caesar. But he said this babe would rule when I was gone. I told him not unless he was born under the purple. I asked him how he knew of this babe. He said they had all had a dream the same night about it. I told them that the devil played with their brains when they were asleep. He drew a parchment roll from his bosom and read the Hebrew language; ‘Thou, Bethlehem, least among the kingdoms of the world, out of thee should come a man that should rule all people.’ I asked him who wrote that. He said the God of heaven. I asked him where he got that parchment. He said it was the law of the covenant of the Jews. He also said a star had traveled before them all the way to Jerusalem. I told him his God was mistaken; that Bethlehem was not a kingdom, neither was it the least in the kingdom of Judea. I told them that they were superstitious fanatics, and ordered them out of my presence.
I found this court just as sanguine as those strangers, and in fact, it was in everybody’s mouth; I thought I could discover already a sort of deriding and mocking spirit among the lower classes in regard to the Roman authority. Now, it is my opinion that the scene that occurred in Bethlehem was nothing more than a meteor traveling through the air, or the rising vapor from the foot of the mountains out of the low marsh ground, as is often the case. And as to the noise heard by (the high priest of Bethlehem) Melker and those shepherd-boys, it was only the echo of the night watch or scaring away the wolves from their flocks. But although this was nothing but a phenomenon of nature, and the whole thing a delusion, it did not better the condition I was in. A man will contend for a false faith stronger than he will a true one, from the fact that the truth defends itself, but a falsehood must be defended by its adherents: first to prove it to themselves and secondly, that they may appear right in the estimation of their friends. But the fact is, this case is about as follows: The Roman taxation was cutting off the support of the priests, and they were smarting under it. Again, the double taxing, that is, the tithes to the priests and the tax to the Romans, was bearing heavily on the common people, so that they could not stand it, and the priests saw that one of them would have to go unpaid; and as they saw the Romans were the stronger, they wrote these things in the Tosephta and read it daily in all their synagogues and temples, that the Jewish mind might be prepared for the event, knowing that they would magnify a mote into a mountain, when it came to anything outside the common laws of nature, and knowing that if they could get the common people to believe in the things, there would be no end to their fighting. And from all appearances the excitement was fast driving the people that way. It had already become a by-word with the children of Bethlehem and Jerusalem that the Jews had a new king, that neither Caesar nor Herod would reign anymore, that they would have to pay no more taxes to keep up the Roman government. Such talk and sayings were common among the poorer classes of society.
These are the grounds of my action in this matter. I am satisfied I did the best that could be done under the circumstances. As my motive was purely to do the best I could for my whole country, I hope you will consider it, and I submit this statement for your consideration, promising faithfulness and submission to your judgment. Signed, Herod Antipater To Continue Reading click on the Shepherd's LInk below ...
To Return to the BOOKS, TAPES & CD'S Footnotes Bethlehem means “House of Bread” and was the hereditary place of the family of David. January 6 th was also sacred to Kore, the Virgin goddess. REF: Adrian Gilbert, Magi, Ibid, pg. 229. Delores Cannon, Jesus and the Essenes (Gateway Books), 1992, pg. 197. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_New_Year#In_rabbinic_literature Richard Russell Cassaro, “The Osiris Connection,” Atlantis Rising Magazine, 2001. http://www.aelives.com/holidays.htm H. Spencer Lewis, Ph.D., The Mystical Life of Jesus (Rosicrucian Press), 1929, pg. 94. If we add 15 years with 14 years, we come up with 29 years from the Year 0. If Jesus was born in let’s say 5 B.C.E., that means he was at least 35 when he became his ministry. If he was born in 6 or 7 B.C.E., then he would have been 37 years old when he began teaching. Luke tells us that his ministry lasted three years, making him around 40 at the crucifixion. This actually makes far more sense on multiple levels; not only in regard to his extensive training, but also because we read in John 8:57 of those listening to Jesus who say to him: “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews Baigent, The Jesus Papers, Ibid, pg. 27. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_the_Innocents Reverend W.D. Mahan, The Acts of Pilate, (Impact Christian Books), 1991, pg. 126-130. |
Among some of the early Christian communities, the date of the nativity was celebrated with a great festival in April or May. Some early traditions state emphatically that Jesus was born on May 20 th, while other Church fathers insisted that it was April 19 th or 20 th, making him, in astrological terms, either a Gemini or a Taurus. While spring was the season of taxation, we must remember that it was not the paying of taxes that drew Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, but rather the registration for a new tax. Bethlehem or the City of David was the city where they had to register because of Joseph’s lineage, yet there is little other evidence to support this time of year. 
Still other reports tell us that Jesus was born in the autumn, slightly after the Jewish New Year, which at that time fell in October. This would make him a Libra, or even a Scorpio, if it was late enough in the month. Libra is the symbol for the balanced scales, long associated with Osiris, the Lord of the Dead, who in his wisdom weighed one’s heart on the balance scales of life. This constellation stands just in front of Scorpio, marking almost exactly the center of the galaxy or the heart of our galactic version of the Great Central Sun. Before Libra stands Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, long associated with the mystical powers of healing. In his two hands he holds the serpent rope, symbols of the shaman/priest/king that had the power to see into the deepest levels of truth. Such an image would certainly have had associations with Thoth, who was known in South America as the great feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl, and with Moses who carried a staff with a serpent on it. The image of the balance scales was later adopted by the Catholic Church, and became the personal crest of St. Anthony, who you will notice also marked the three steps of initiation with the three stripes leading to the scales.
All of these images are highly reflective of Egyptian theology, for long before Jesus or even Moses was born, Osiris was called the shepherd of his people.
December 25th was the birth date of many of the past world saviors, including Mithra, Horus, Osiris, Adonis and Attis, all Lords of Light who at various times were called the “Sons of God” and who, in their age, changed world consciousness. The reason for this date is linked to the large astronomical cycles of the year. December 21 st or the Winter Solstice, is the shortest day and longest night of the year, perhaps a metaphor for the slumbering consciousness of man. But exactly four days after this event the Earth begins to turn back towards the Sun, marking the all important dates of December 24 th, 25 th, and 26 th as the return of the Lords of Light. In Egypt these three days and the two that followed were sacred days, the completion of 360 days plus five that make up our entire count of 365. 
We know from Roman records that Herod the Great ruled Judea from 41 B.C.E. to 4 B.C.E., a period of roughly 37 years. Powerful of personality, and forceful in his reactions, he was feared and loathed by his contemporaries. Herod was not native to Judea, but came from the southern region of Idumaea, and was a descendent of Isaac’s son Esau ( Edom), rather than Jacob ( Israel). 
This remarkable Vatican document is entitled “Herod Antipater’s Defense to the Roman Senate in Regard to His Conduct in Bethlehem” and was discovered in the late 1880’s by the Reverend W.D. Mahan. Mahan published several Vatican documents in a wonderful little book called The Acts of Pilate – a book that grew out of ten years of research at the Vatican. This research was conducted just prior to the decree made by Pope Leo XIII around 1903 to close the Vatican archives to all investigating scholars. Thus we owe a great debt of gratitude to this Reverend. Throughout this book we will be sharing excerpts from these amazing records, for they shed profound light on the events of Jesus’ life, and this is part of the history that has been concealed from the public eye. In this amazing account, Herod is telling the Senate about the arrival of the famous Magi at his court, the prophecy of Jesus’ birth, and his reasons for ordering the children’s deaths. We glean many wonderful facts from it, not the least of which was that one of the Magi came from Egypt, and that all of the “Wise Men” were dressed in ways that Herod found “fantastic.” 
As to this great excitement in Bethlehem, three strange, fantastic looking men called on my guards at the gate, and asked them, where was the babe born that was to be King of the Jews? My guards told me of it and I ordered the men to be brought into court. I asked them who they were. 
But the excitement grew until it became intense. I found nothing could control it. I called the Hillel (Jewish) court, which was the most learned body of talent in Jerusalem. They read out of their laws that Jesus was to be born of a virgin in Bethlehem; that he was to rule all nations, and all the kingdoms of the world were to be subject to him; and that his kingdom should never end, but his appointees should continue this rule forever.
So I saw an insurrection brewing fast and nothing but a most bloody war as the consequence. Now, under these circumstances, what was I to do? In my honest judgment it was best to pluck the undeveloped flower in its bud lest it should grow and strengthen, and finally burst, and shed its deadly poison over both nations, and impoverish and ruin them forever. My enemies can see I could have no malice towards the infants of Bethlehem. I took no delight in listening to the cries of innocent mothers. May all the gods forbid! No; I saw nothing but an insurrection and a bloody war were our doom, and in this the overthrow and downfall, to some extent, of our nation.