1997: Revisionary material: Robert Eisenman, James The Brother of Jesus: Recovering the True History of Early Christianity. London, Faber, 1997. (Highly recommended - Ed)

1997: Revisionary material: And for a view on the very "origins" of Christianity...A. N. Wilson, Paul: The Mind of The Apostle. London, W. W. Norton and Co., 1997.

1996: Revisionary material: Laurence Gardner, The Bloodline of the Holy Grail: The Hidden Lineage of Jesus Revealed. Shaftesbury, Dorset, Element, 1996 or Brisbane, Jacaranda Wiley, 1996.

1996: Revisionary material: Scott Butler, et al, Jesus, Peter and the Keys. Santa Barbara, CA: Queenship Pub Co, 1996. (ISBN: 1882972546)

Revisionary material: J. C. O'Neill, Who Did Jesus Think He Was? Biblical Interpretation - Series II. Leiden Brill, 1995?

Revisionary material: Jack Miles, Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God. Heinemann, 2001. 281pp. (Miles is a one-time Jesuit priest)
See also, Jack Miles, God: A Biography. 1995.

Revisionary material: Jack Miles, Christ. Century, 2001. (Biography of Jesus Christ by Pulitzer-prize winning author of God: A History)

Revisionary material: Margaret Starbird, The Woman with the Alabaster Jar. 1993. (On the legend of Mary Magdalene)

1992:, Revisionary material: Holger Kersten and Elmar R. Gruber, The Jesus Conspiracy: The Turin Shroud and The Truth about The Resurrection. Brisbane, Queensland, Element, 1992.

1992: Revisionary material: Robert Lane Fox, The Unauthorized Version:Truth and Fiction in the Bible. Penguin, 1992 edn. (Publishers's blurb says, “The Bible is moving, inspirational and endlessly fascinating – but is it true?” Reviewer Frank Kermode in The Guardian said, “I don't know where one would turn for an account of the Bible so clear, so lively, and, in many respects, so just.”)

1992: Revisionary material: Barbara Thiering, Jesus the Man: A New Interpretation from the Dead Sea Scrolls. Sydney, Doubleday, 1992-1993. (Thiering being an Australian living in Sydney.)

1985-1991: Revisionary material: John Dominic Crossan, The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Peasant. North Blackburn, Victoria, Collins/Dove/HarperCollins, 1991. Noting differing pictures of Jesus developing in recent years, such as Daniel J. Harrington, 1986-1987; S. G. F. Brandon (1967) sees Jesus as a political revolutionary; Morton Smith 1978 sees Jesus as a magician; Geze Vermes (1981) sees Jesus as a Galilean charismatic; Bruce Chilton (1984) sees Jesus as a Galilean rabbi; Harvey Falk (1985) sees Jesus as an Essene; E. P. Sanders (1985) sees Jesus as an eschatological prophet.

1985: Revisionary material: Writer Michele Roberts produces novel, The Wild Girl, which sees Mary Magdalene as Jesus' lover and mother of his child. (See also, Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

1985: Revisionary material: Dr Hugh Schonfield and his book The Essene Odyssey. (From Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ) Schonfield also writes Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

1983-1984: Revisionary material: David Rolfe for London Weekend TV makes TV documentary, Jesus: The Evidence. (From Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

1983: Revisionary material: Barbara Thiering, The Qumran Origins of the Christian Church. Sydney, Australian and New Zealand Studies in Theology and Religion, 1983.

1983: Revisionary material: Dr. Robert Eisenman, Maccabees, Zadokites, Christians and Qumran. ??, 1983.

1982: Revisionary material: Alistair Kee, a lecturer on religion at University of Glasgow, produces new book, Constantine versus Christ. Where for Constantine, what is important is Sol Invictus, the sun god. (From Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

1979: Revisionary material: Elaine Pagels produces book The Gnostic Gospels - a study of the Nag Hammadi Scrolls discovered in Egypt in 1945. (The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947.) (From Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

1974: Revisionary material: Gerhard Steinhauser, Jesus Christ: Heir to the Astronauts. London, Abelard-Schuman, 1974.

nd?: Revisionary material: Karen Armstrong, a former nun, produces revisionary book on Saint Paul of Tarsus entitled, The First Christian. (From Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

1963: Revisionary material: Dr Hugh Schonfield and his book The Passover Plot, which argues that Jesus stages his own mock crucifixion, and does not die on the cross. Perhaps later arose Dr Morton Smith and his book, Jesus The Magician. (From Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

1961: First hard evidence arises proving the existence of Pontius Pilate when a slab bearing his name is discovered by an Italian dig at Caesarea in Israel.
1961: In Caesarea, Palestine, is found archaeological evidence that Pontius Pilate existed, an inscription styling Pilate as "prefect" rather than "procurator". (See also, Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

1954: Revisionary material: Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis writes novel The Last Temptation, later made into a movie, where Jesus does die on the Cross, but sees himself as married to Mary Magdalene, after whom he he has been lusting for some time. (See also, Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

1947: Revisionary material: Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls near Qumran in Israel, Essene documents surviving from about the time of Jesus, that is 30AD-75AD.

1946: Revisionary material: Poet Robert Graves publishes his fictional account of the life of Jesus, King Jesus, in which Jesus survives the ordeal of the Cross. (From Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

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1916: Revisionary material: Anglo-Irish novelist George Moore publishes his fictionalised account of the life of Jesus, The Brook Kerith, where Jesus is seen as surviving the Crucifixion. (From Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

1900: On the writings of Gerald Massey: Gerald Massey (1828-1907) wrote on the Historical Jesus versus the Mythical Christ, publishing about 1900. His treatment ended up decidedly astrological in character (and differing markedly with Jungian views on astrology); various of Massey's significant dates differ from dates accepted later in the Twentieth Century. Before 1900, over decades, Massey wrote-up many lectures which he published privately in “a manuscript edition” about 1900. Some of Massey's lecture titles are: Historical Jesus: Paul the Gnostic [on Paul of Tarsus]; Devil of Darkness; Luniolatry: Moon Worship: Greek Mythology: Man in Search of His Soul: Seven Souls of Man: Gnostic and Historic Christianity: Logia of the Lord: Hebrew and Other Creations, Fundamentally Explained. Lectures in Reply to Professor A. H. Sayce: Ancient Egypt, The Light of the World [published in 1907, suggesting that Ancient Egypt stretched back 10,000 years into the past, that is, to 8000BC or so]: And apparently on a website, which Lost Worlds has not yet identified properly, one commentator believes, more from astrological than Christian reasons, that “Massey's work has, unfortunately, to be considered to be a long exercise in seeing patterns where none actually existed.” One of the key lectures seems to be, Paul the Gnostic: Opponent of Peter and Not an Apostle of Historic Christianity. Here, propositions on Paul's teachings include ideas that the appearance of the “literalized legend of Historic Christianity” had been connected with The Mysteries (seen as an underground cultural channel), which in turn had carried The Gnosis of Ancient Egypt. Paul of Tarsus was not in fact a follower of or a believer in any of the messages of the once-crucified man known as Jesus of Nazareth. Paul instead was a Jewish Gnostic who accepted old Egyptian ideas and was fundamentally opposed to the views of Peter, the other followers of Jesus, and of the members of Jesus' own family, hence his well-known conflicts with them (originally, the Church of Jerusalem). There are two voices speaking in the works known as Paul's Letters, one being his own voice, the other being the product of a later-made set of interpolations into his Letters, made by the follower's of Peter's view, once Paul had died and could no longer differ with his critics. That is, Paul's views on Christ as a Messianic figure (the Gnostic or Spiritual Christ) were hijacked by the followers of what was becoming, Historic Christianity (views centred on The Christ made flesh and later to be promoted by The Papacy). Paul was also agreed-with by the Gnostic Marcion, who believed in a more mystical Christ, not in any actual, historical figure. Marcion once tried to disentangle Paul's views from “Historic Christianity” in order to keep the two sets of views separated. Part of the explanation is that many of Paul's views arose during trance states. (Was Paul, perhaps, an epileptic?) Paul had no interest in the person known as Jesus of Nazareth, or any details of his life, his family, his miracles, his crucifixion or resurrection, or ascension, or any claim that Jesus might have been any kind of saviour of humanity. In this view, Paul had no interest in the four major Gospels, nor in Jesus' genealogy – he was interested in a wholly mystical Christ born nowhere else but in the mind of humanity. In turn, this vision of Christ grew from The Messianic Mystery, which had grown from the ways of life and spirituality in Egypt, and Egyptian respect for the phenomena of re-birth. (Paul's claimed view of Christ might even be synonymous with the Angel Metatron.) But with any of this, there is also, no attempt to explain the odd coincidence, that Paul's original “conversion”, being his “road to Damascus experience”, and what Paul interpreted it as meaning, had, or came to have, such remarkable similarity to what has been made of the meanings of life and death of the actual Jesus, right down to questions of vocabulary used to explain various meanings. The upshot of such discussions, anyway, is that Historic Christianity became a sadly debased form of Gnosticism because it is based so much on the literal facts of the life a rebel-preacher-prophet who tried to revise Jewish beliefs and culture during a stressful time of occupation by Romans.

1891: Revisionary material: Lewis Abramowich, An Essay on the genealogy of Jesus of Nazareth. 74pp. Sydney. 1891. (From Herbert Vickery bookseller)

Circa 1864: The Essenes: Ginsburg writes on Essenes in Jewish life and their influence on the early development of Christianity.

1863: Revisionary material: French writer Ernest Renan causes a major controversy with his bestseller, The Life of Jesus. His book influences the views of Albert Schweitzer, who later writes on The Historical Jesus. (See also Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revisions of the the story of Jesus Christ)

8 December 1834: Pope Pius IX declares that Mary, the mother of Jesus, had been without [original] sin from her birth (Immaculate Conception), and that belief in this is necessary for any Catholic to be a Catholic.

1744-1767: Revisionary material: Herman Samuel Reimarus, professor at Hamburg, argues that Jesus was a failed Jewish revolutionary, and his body was removed from his tomb by his followers/disciples. (From Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

Dates in development of Christianity

For considered scepticism on Gospel narratives, see website (link may be broken?): Six Hundred and Ten Gospel Contradictions: http://members.cox.net/galatians/tension.htm/

200AD: More to come

160AD: Writing of Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians. (Date from Crossan, p. 432)

120-150AD: Writing of Second Letter of Peter. (Date from Crossan, p. 432)

Circa 140AD: Writing of Letter of Polycarp to the Philippians. (Date from Crossan, p. 433)

Circa 150AD: Writing of Second Letter of Clement. (Date from Crossan, p. 433)

Circa 150AD: Probable translation of material known as Gospel of the Nazoreans. (Date from Crossan, p. 433)

Circa 150AD: Probable date for writing of Gospel of the Ebionites. (Date from Crossan, p. 433)

120-150AD: Writing of second edition of Gospel of John. (Date from Crossan, p. 432)

120-150AD: Writing of Acts of the Apostles. (Date from Crossan, p. 432)

120-150AD: Writing of Apocryphon of James. (Date from Crossan, p. 432)

After 120AD: Writing of First Letter to Timothy. (Date from Crossan, p. 433)

120-150AD: Writing of Second Letter to Timothy (Date from Crossan, p. 433)

112AD approx: Writing of First Letter of Peter. (Date from Crossan, p. 432)

110BC: Writing of Letter of Ignatius, Bishop of Syrian Antioch as he is taken to Rome to martyrdom. (Date from Crossan, p. 432)

100AD approx: Date for Writing of Revelation/Apocalypse of St John. (Date from Crossan, p. 431)

Circa 97AD: Writing of First Letter of Clement. (After time of persecution by Domitian. (Date from Crossan, p. 431)

Late 90sAD: Date for writing of Epistle of Barnabas. (Date from Crossan, p. 431)

100AD: Approx date for writing of Letter of James, probably in Syria. (Date from Crossan, p. 431)

100AD - early C2nd: Writing of Gospel of John. (Date from Crossan, p. 431)

Rome: Pliny the Younger thought the idea that Jesus was a god was "a perverse and extravagant superstition". Writer Celsus wrote, "Christians are like frogs holding a symposium round a swamp, debating which of them is most sinful". (Item from a December 1999 article published in Australia on the future of Christianity)

Circa 90AD: Writing of Gospel of Matthew. (Date from Crossan, p. 430)

Early90sAD: Date for writing of Gospel of Luke. (Date from Crossan, p. 431)

64AD-67AD: The period covered by narratives in Acts of the Apostles begins somewhat after the Crucifixion and 64-67AD. The narrative itself seems to be composed between 70AD and 95AD. But does the production of Acts pre-date the production of the Gospels? (From Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

Early70sAD: Probable date for writing of Gospel of Mark. (Date from Crossan, p. 430)

62AD: Doubt cast on identity of "brother of Jesus": In October 2002 was discovered an ossuary (box of human bones), of "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus", according to an inscription in Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus. The inscription was translated by scholar Andre Lemaire, of the Sorbonne in Paris. Commentators now doubt the matter, though a Canadian documentary claims to have conducted scientific tests which vindicate believers in the implications of the translation. Linguists and antiquities experts have been debating issues, while a statistician (Camil Fuchs from Tel Aviv University) has estimated that the given combination of names could have come from only three families from the dates in question. Claims are also made of different "handwriting" for the inscription and that there are misspellings. The said James was leader of the Christians of Jerusalem after Jesus' death and is said to have been stoned to death in AD62. (Reported, 19 April 2003)

60sAD: Possible writing in Egypt of Gospel of the Egyptians. (Date from Crossan, p. 429)

Late 50AD: Writing of First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. (Date from Crossan, p. 427)

Winter 52-53AD Writing of Letter of Paul to the Galatians (Date from Crossan, p. 427)

Winter 53-54AD: Writing of First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. (Date from Crossan, p. 427)

55-56AD: Writing of Letter of Paul to the Romans. (Date from Crossan, p. 427)

50AD and after 62AD after the martyrdom of James, Writing of Gospel of Thomas. (Date from Crossan, p. 427)

50sAD: Probably writing of "The Egerton Gospel". (Date from Crossan, p. 428)

50sAD in Egypt: Probable writing of "Gospel of the Hebrews". (Date from Crossan, p. 428)

50sAD or earlier, Collection of Miracles of Jesus, later placed into the Gospels of Mark and John. (Date from Crossan, p. 428)

38AD: Riots break out amongst the Jews of Alexandria as they refuse to engage in emperor-worship and put any statue of him in their synagogues. Persecution of them is supported by the emperor and is led by the governor of Egypt. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

38AD: Paul goes to Jerusalem to visit James the brother of Jesus, and Peter, and is distrusted by the Jerusalem believers. Barnabas however welcomes Paul. Paul is involved in debates with Hellenist Jews and is obliged to leave the city. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

38-46AD: Paul preaches in Cilicia and Syria, and at the urging of Barnabas he becomes part of the Church of Antioch in Syria. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

37AD: An aristocratic/ priestly family in Jerusalem produces a new son, Josephus - Joseph ben Matthias. Amongst "Christians", the name Christian is first used for believers in Antioch. (Did the word arise from Roman officials in the city?) The Antioch church of Syria accepts many Gentiles. The new Christian church is now led by prophets and teachers from Palestine, Cyprus and Cyrene. (Acts 11:20; 13:1-2) (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

37AD: The Roman emperor Gauis Caligula gives the title of king and the territories that earlier belonged to Herod Philip to his close friend Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

36AD: Pontius Pilate is recalled from Palestine to Rome.
1961: In Caesarea, Palestine, is found archaeological evidence that Pontius Pilate existed, an inscription styling Pilate as "prefect" rather than "procurator". (Baigent/Leigh, Messianic Legacy, on revising the story of Jesus Christ)

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36AD: Samaritans bring complaints about Pilate to Vitellius, the Roman governor of Syria, and he sends Pilate to Rome for trial on charges of crimes in office. Pilate's later fate is unknown. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

35-38AD: Paul of Tarsus preaches in Damascus, then for three years in Arabia and Nabatea. When he returns to Damascus, an effort is made to arrest him, but he escapes by being let down a city wall in a basket. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

35AD: Pilate violently attacks a large gathering of Samaritans near Mount Gerizim. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

35AD: Philip, one of the seven leaders of the Hellenist Christians, preaches in Samaria, and converts a local magician named Simon. He also converts an Ethiopian official, earlier a Jewish worshipper, who later takes a new faith to the court of the Queen of Ethiopia. (Acts 8: 4-40) Philip settles in Caesarea, and his four daughters acts as prophets for believers. Peter is also in Caesarea and and teaches the new faith in the house of a Roman centurion named Cornelius, whose family is baptized. Peter is harshly criticized by believers in Jerusalem for so dealing with non-Jews. Saul of Tarsus meanwhile on the way to Damascus to suppress "The Way" followers, has a vision of Jesus which convinces him that Jesus is Messiah and Son of God. Saul/Paul embraces the new faith he has been suppressing. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

32AD: One death date for John the Baptist.

31AD: Jews are allowed to return/travel to Rome. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

31AD: Rome: Sejanus leads a reign of terror in the city. Emperor Tiberius, on the isle of Carpi, is warned that Sejanus wants to seize the throne and has him executed. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

30AD: After Pentecost: The first large community of Jesus followers is formed. They continue to worship as Jews do in the Temple of Jerusalem, but meet in houses for instruction, common meals and prayer. At some time, Peter and John are arrested by the Sadducees and high priests because they proclaim that Jesus is resurrected. Later, all apostles are arrested by the Sadducees but are saved from punishment as Gamaliel, the leading teacher of the Pharisees, urges a wait-and-see attitude. Later, dies Rabbi Shammai, one of the main leaders of the Pharisees, known for his strict interpretations of the law. As the new Christian community grows larger, tensions arise between the speakers of Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, and Greek-speakers (Hellenists). The community chooses seven men, active leaders and preachers, to deal with matters arising. One of the seven is Stephen, who debates on Jesus, the Jewish Law and the Temple, in the synagogues for the Greek-speaking Jews in Jerusalem. For this, Stephen is brought before a Jewish council and charged with blasphemy. He condemns his accusers with a fiery speech. Stephen is later taken to the city outskirts and stoned to death (the first Christian martyr). Acting at this violent scene is Saul of Tarsus a young pharisee (the later Christian St Paul). He has a Roman name, Paul, a Greek-speaking Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia. Saul sees the new sect of Christians (known as "The Way") as a threat to the Law, and takes steps to help suppress the new community. The Hellenist believers earlier led by Stephen flee to Judea, Samaria, Phoenicia, Syria, Cyprus, Cyrene, and possibly Italy and Egypt. Christian Churches grew in Damascus and Antioch. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

30AD: Pentecost morning, seven weeks after Passover, the disciples of Jesus hear a great wind and see apparent tongues of fire. They are filled with the Holy Spirit. Observers are sure that whatever language the disciples are speaking, everyone hears in their own tongue. Peter tells crowds that this event fulfills the prophecies of Joel. He calls for baptism and repentance, and 3000 are baptized. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

Shroud of Turin tests a boon to believers - (Based on story by Bruce Johnston in Sydney Morning Herald, 29-30 January 2005 from The Telegraph, London) The Shroud of Turin is far older than carbon dating suggests and may date to biblical times, as believers tend to claim, a new study has found. The findings may revive hopes that the cloth is not a medieval fake, but a miraculously-arising record of Jesus' face after the crucifixion. Raymond Rogers, of the University of California's Los Alamos Laboratory, argues that carbon dating tests made on the shroud in 1988 were invalid because they were performed on a replacement section rather than on any of the original linen. His own tests, most of them chemical analyses of fibres he says were taken from the original linen, instead reveal its age to be from 1300 to 3000 years old. Many Catholics believe the cloth bears the image of Jesus after it was used to wrap his body when he was taken from the cross. Researchers, working separately in Arizona, Cambridge and Zurich, carried out tests in the 1980s which concluded the shroud could be dated only to between AD1261 and 1390, and was therefore likely to be a deception devised in the Middle Ages. Even the then cardinal of Turin, Anastasio Alberto Ballestrero, was forced to concede that the garment was probably a hoax. But writing in Thermochimica Acta, Mr Rogers said fibres from the original linen showed no trace of a chemical called vanillin. Produced by the thermal decomposition of lignin, the compound is found in plant material such as flax. Levels of lignin in material such as linen fall over time. Had the shroud been produced in medieval times, it would still contain vanillin. Mr Rogers, a member of the original Shroud of Turin Research Project, wrote of his surprise at the findings of the radiocarbon dating a decade later. After re-examining the data, he concluded that the sample used for dating in 1988, and the other 32 samples he had taken of the linen fibre from all over the shroud, were not the same. Chemical kinetics, analytical chemistry and other tests proved the "radiocarbon sample was not part of the original cloth, and so was "invalid in determining the age of the shroud".

(Shroud Chronology: 1355: First known expositions of the shroud, in Lirey, France, allegedly obtained by a French knight in Constantinople. 1534: Damaged by fire in the Sainte Chapelle, Chambery. Nuns repair it, sewing on a backing cloth. 1578: Shroud arrives in Turin and stays there. 1976: First scientific examination. 1979: Shroud is claimed to be the work of a medieval artist who painted in iron oxide. 1988: Radio-carbon dating tests suggest it is a medieval fake. 2002: A second, faint image of a man's face on the reverse side is exposed during restoration. 2004: New study suggests the shroud is up to 3000 years old.)

33AD: One date given for death of Jesus Christ.

30AD: Before Pentecost, or less than seven weeks after Passover, the disciples choose Matthias to take the place of Judas Iscariot. About 120 followers including Jesus' mother and brothers, are gathered in Jerusalem. It is not clear in Christian tradition that these "brothers" of Jesus are other children of Mary, although tradition would suggest that Jesus is the first (of only one?) of any children she has. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

30AD: Spring, The Jewish month of Nisan or later, Jesus' disciples return to Galilee and Jesus appears before them on a mountain. Later, he appears before 500 disciples at a non-named location. Ten days before Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks, Jesus tells his disciples that they will be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. He is then lifted up into the air and a cloud covers him from sight (The Ascension). (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

30AD: Spring, The Jewish month of Nisan (the 25th or later), A week after his first appearance before his disciples, Jesus appears before them again, especially to Thomas (the Doubter). (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

30AD: Spring, The Jewish month of Nisan (the 18th), or Passover: Sunday, or later, Two lesser disciples of Jesus, none of the eleven, are travelling to a nearby town, Emmaus, when Jesus appears to them, though they take time to recognize him. They return to Jerusalem to report to the eleven disciples there, and Jesus appears before the entire group. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

Gospel version: After the resurrection of Jesus,.”spirits were raised”, and coming out of their tombs, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

30AD: Spring, The Jewish month of Nisan (the 18th), or Passover: Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and other women followers of Jesus go to his tomb, only to find the rock barring entry to it rolled away and the tomb empty. Two men (angels?) in dazzling clothes tell them that Jesus is risen, which they report to the eleven male disciples. The women are not believed, Peter and another run to the tomb, to find it empty. Jesus appears before Mary Magdalene. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

30AD: Spring, The Jewish month of Nisan (the 17th), or Passover: Saturday, the Sabbath, Jesus' disciples spent a day of uncertainty. grieving or lost in lost hopes. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

The death of Jesus – a discussion

(After collecting various newspaper articles, published due to enhanced public interest in the topics at the time, Lost Worlds in the late 1980s made a set of notes on the death of Jesus - which have long been mislaid. These notes were recently found and form the basis of the treatment below - of what is taken to be one of the world's most portentous events - The Death of The Son of God.)

Citations: Which are mostly lost by now. Cf., re Fr. Andrea Roesch, a parapsychological worker employed by the Catholic Church (?) Sheehan, a professor of philosophy and author of a newly-published book, The First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity – A writer, Murphy, argues that cultural contexts shaped Christology.

Of course, it was often suggested in the Twentieth Century that Jesus did not literally die n the cross; he was allegedly removed unconscious from the cross and somehow survived. There is one theory that he died at an advanced age in Kashmir, India.

Of course, there have been many films made on the life and death of Jesus, and today, particularly, the violent film recently produced by Mel Gibson, on the death of Jesus, has caused much controversy. In these films, various depictions are made of the death of Jesus. Except for the film by Mel Gibson, perhaps none of the films can show the results of the violence meted out to Jesus, as is taken to be shown by The Shroud of Turin, which is also controversial. Traditionally, The Shroud of Turin has been in the joint keeping of the Archbishop of Turin and the estate of Umberto II, former king of Italy. (Umberto II has been reported as the “legal owner” of The Shroud.). The Shroud is considered in the notes below.

During the 1950s, (Fox, p. 11), a German peasant girl, Teresa Neumann, intrigued people by describing the death of Jesus in great detail. She spoke also in a Hebrew dialect used in the First Century AD. She became regarded as a proper stigmatist.

March 1980: American “Shroud scientists” meet to discuss various findings on The Shroud. Their focus is on chemistry. McCrone provides a “red paint” hypothesis for the image, which is proved wrong. The problem remains, of finding out how the image had originally been registered, and what the passage of time had done to it in the interim. Serumk albumin is present on the edges of evidence of the scourge marks. (Was the image encoded with the aid of both acid and heat? See Heller's text).

Coins on the eyes of the deceased Jesus. It has been thought from inspection of the Shroud that as was Jewish custom with a burial, that coins (or, “small objects”) had been placed over the eyes. A certain Father Filas had published on this by June 1980. A “Filas coin” has been found, dated 29-31AD (?)

The image apparent on The Shroud of Turin is made of dehydrative acid oxidation of the linen, with a yellow carbonyl chromophore. But how did the images get on the cloth? No one knows. So it remains a mystery. In all, about 400 scientists have contributed to examination of The Shroud. See John H. Heller, Report on The Shroud of Turin, Boston, Massachusetts, Houghton Mifflin, 1978. In 1902 arose a hypothesis on the Shroud from one Paul Vignon. See J. H. Heller, article, Reader's Digest, April 1984, re points of the body closest to and furthest from the cloth as the image on the Shroud was somehow generated.

The image of The Shroud about 1977 was inspected by three scientists of the American Space Program, Drs. John P. Jackson, Eric Jumper and Bill Mottern. They constructed a three-dimensional image of the man on the Shroud with a VP8 Image Analyser. The Shroud seemed to throw up a perfect, that is, undistorted 3D image. (Small objects had been placed over the eyes.)

An earthquake? Gospel version: When the centurion and those who were with him keeping watch over [the body of] Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe, and said, “Truly, this was the Son of God.”

Note that at the point of death, many tombs were evidently disturbed, and that after the resurrection, according to Matthew, the saints rose from the dead and appeared to many in Jerusalem. How many other strange things happened in Jerusalem at this time?

Later, members of the burial party would return to do anything still needing to be done. See Fox, pp. 20Ff, on the Sunday morning following the Sabbath.

The Burial: If The Shroud of Turin is used as evidence, then in death, in the tomb, the thumb(s) of Jesus are turned across the palm, as once the nails had been driven in, the median nerve had been affected. The basic reaction would be for the thumbs to turn in. (Fox, pp. 10-12). Note that the cloth of the shroud would have been soaked or smeared with herbs and aloes, etc.

Should we discuss anomalies in Gospel accounts of the crucifixion scene, a public or a private space. Re Joseph of Arimathea. Was Golgotha, the place of the skull, a private or public area. How would Pilate permit such an event in a private area?

Then, the burial party had to find the shroud, linen bands, spices, and bring such items to the death-site at Calvary.

Jesus' body must have been laid on the right side once off the cross, as there is a trail of blood across the small of the back from the wound on his left side. Blood had flowed there when the body was horizontal, blood drained from the interior vena cava. The body must not have been placed on the shroud until most of the blood flow had stopped. The right hand is over the genitals, the body is still all apparently naked. The left hand is over the right hand. The fingers are very long. The knuckles seem abraded and raised. The area below the sternum seems unnaturally depressed. The pectoral muscles seem unnaturally high and pronounced, evidently from cramping. The face seems dolefully solemn.

Fox notes that Clovis' painting shows three men and three women at the wrapping in the shroud at the foot of the cross.

The Burial:: Jesus died about 3pm. At 6pm, all activity had to cease due to the Sabbath. So Joseph of Arimathea saw Pilate sometime between 3pm and 6pm about a burial. Pilate first fetched the Centurion from the crucifixion scene and interviewed him. Then permission for a burial was granted.

Time of Jesus' death: Note that the Gospel writers regarded it as very important that the temple veil was torn in two, from top to bottom, not bottom to top, As ? Of this event, Luke said, the veil was rent before he died. Matthew, after he died, Mark, after he died. John does not mention a temple veil event. Gospel version of moment of death (?).

The wound to the side

Wound to the side, half-inch wide at one point? What kind of weapon made the wound? Blood flowed down irregularly as the muscles were so cramped. (How was the body handled before rigor mortis set in? Fluid flowed, from the superior vena cava. Water from the pericardium. (See Fox, pp. 20-21.)

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness all over the land, until the ninth hour,. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ..... that is, ? My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me. And some of the bystanders hearing this, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” And one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come and save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit/breathed his last.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom, (Mark, 15:33ff).

And when the centurion, who had stood facing him, saw that he thus breathed his last, (or cried out), he said, “Truly, this man was the son of God, (or, a Son of God?). and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs were also opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep. (Matthew 27:48)

The last word from the cross

Then Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.” And all the multitudes who assembled to see the sight, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. (See Luke, 23:44.)

When Jesus laid down his life, he did so by allowing the cramping of his breathing muscles to asphyxiate him. If so, his chest would probably be locked at its fullest expansion. (Fox, pp. 19ff)

The moment of death. We note that after one of the words from the cross, John took Mary the mother of Jesus home to his house, which implies it was nearby. Was this his own house literally or metaphorically, where he was staying?

Now, Gospel version, When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the Day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the sabbath, for that sabbath was a high day, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at one there came out blood and water. John, 19:30ff. Do we know what time intervened between the death (or prior to death), and any request about the victims' legs being broken? Who asked Pilate? Note that so little is said of the two thieves crucified beside Jesus, except that it is implied that he had died before they had their legs broken. Presumably they would not have had their legs broken after they also had died, but beforehand. Jesus had died but their reaction is not recorded.

30AD: Spring, The Jewish month of Nisan (the 16th), or Passover: Friday, About 3pm, Jesus cries out, "My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?" Later he cries, "It is finished", and "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit", and dies. About 5pm, a soldier pierces his side with spear, under the heart, to ensure he is dead. A member of the judicial council who had been sympathetic to Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, is given care of the body of Jesus. Joseph wraps the body in a shroud and lays it in a rock-hewn tomb before sundown. A large stone is rolled in front of the tomb. At some point, Judas Iscariot has committed suicide. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

There seems little doubt or dispute that Jesus was nailed up with a sign saying, “This is the King of the Jews”, as a form of Roman derision about his claims.

(Heller) 1981, continued: feet on the cross had been transfixed with a spike, and had bled, has dirt on soles of the feet. - Re Crucifixion, any driving of a nail through Destot's Space, a small gap in the bones between hand and wrist, allows the victim to bear more than the body's weight, if necessary. It might cause excruciating pain as the nail would damage the median nerve, the one controlling the fingers and running right up the arm. -The sole of the right foot becomes covered in blood. The right foot is possibly flat against the upright of the cross and fixed by a nail through the second intermetarsal space. The left foot is over the right foot, and are turned sideways, still, in death. Both feet are fixed with the same nail, it would appear. (See Fox, pp. 18Ff, see Gospel version).

Find a list of the seven words uttered from the Cross - as the order of the utterances is not immediately clear from the Gospel versions.

Now, re the method of crucifixion of the two thieves, crucifixion would cause terrible cramps of the muscles of the side, and arms. Later, the muscles allowing one to breathe would lock, so that one could breathe in but not breathe out, To avoid asphyxiation it is necessary for the victim to rise on the cross, exhaustion would occur in about three hours. (as a Nazi victim once died, so it is said). The one crucified could perhaps raise their legs a little, at cost of agony, and get some more freedom of air. There were two flows of blood from one hand wound. One such flow of blood nearer the arm corresponds to a position when the full weight of the body is on the hands. A flow nearer would be a flow appearing if the fingers are in a certain position when the legs are more straightened.

(The Gospel version of this is – more to come)

30AD: Spring, The Jewish month of Nisan (the 16th), or Passover: Friday, At 9am, after scourging, Jesus is led to outside Jerusalem to a place called Golgotha (Place of the Skull). He is crucified between two thieves/rebels. From noon, a strange darkness covers the land for three hours. Some of Jesus' family including his mother Mary, and some disciples (John) are also nearby the terrible scene. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

30AD: Spring, The Jewish month of Nisan (the 16th), or Passover: Friday, Pilate condemns Jesus to be scourged and crucified, though aware that he is guilt of no crime. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

30AD: Spring, The Jewish month of Nisan (the 16th), or Passover: Friday morning, daylight, Jesus is interrogated by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish judicial council. They decide to turn Jesus over the the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, for trial. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

30AD: Spring, The Jewish month of Nisan (the 16th), or Passover: Friday, Brought before Pilate, Jesus, said to be a descendant of King David, of royal lineage, is charged with claiming to be a king. Jesus is from Galilee, so Pilate sends him to stand before Herod Antipas, who is in Jerusalem for the Passover. Herod mocks Jesus and later sends him back to Pilate. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

30AD: Spring, The Jewish month of Nisan (the 16th), or Passover: Friday morning, Jesus is taken to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, for interrogation. Peter enters a courtyard, is recognized as a follower of Jesus, and denies this three times. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

The scourging

Given the violence, forensic matters to watch for include: dirty soles of his feet, serum albumin on edges of the scourge marks. Jesus was scourged with a flagrum back and front, had puncture wounds to scalp and forehead, lesions on nose, was beaten on face, had a cudgel hitting to his nose in the garden. Various treatment begins just after the Last Supper, before Jesus is arrested, before he begins his passion in the garden – all of which violence of course is so extreme it warrants consideration of the physiology involved... just one reason that The Shroud of Turin remains so intriguing

(The Gospel version of this is – more to come)

Scourging: dumb-bell-shaped marks, about two inches long. A flagrum is in a museum at Herculaneum, it has twin balls of lead set in the end of each of two thongs of hide. The two balls and the leather between them would cause contusions as noticed. Marks are on every part of his back. He had been stripped quite naked to be scourged. Angle of the stripes at a regular patterns. Horizontal on the lower back, marks fan upwards on the shoulders from either side, downwards on the legs from the right. He had been tied in an upright position, beaten by two men, one on each side, the one on the right choosing to lash legs as well as back. The centre from which the blows radiate on this side is a little higher than corresponding centre on the left. Man on the right is a little taller, and if the whips had two lashes each, then Jesus received at least sixty strokes. A scene where a taller torturer is giving lessons to a shorter but stockier one, of whom the first, on the right, is made fun of for his ineptitude by lashing the legs as well., using double strokes. Men often died under such scourging, as Pilate might have hoped would happen in this case? (Fox, p. 15; see John's Gospel account.)

The arrest

30AD: Spring, The Jewish month of Nisan (the 16th), or Passover: Friday morning, approx just after midnight of Thursday, following The Last Supper, a crowd led by Judas (Judas Iscariot) approaches Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas kisses Jesus as a greeting,, so identifying him, and the crowd seizes Jesus, angering Peter, who draws his sword to defend Jesus. Jesus tells Peter to put away his sword. (Item from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

The Agony in the Garden

Happening just after the Last Supper, before Jesus is arrested, before he begins his passion in the garden, which of course is so extreme it warrants consideration of the physiology involved...

The Last Supper

Where might Mary Magdalene have been while the Last Supper is being conducted.

First we need to ask, about when did Jesus die? Jesus's death is about 30AD. (By 1988, more has been written about Jesus in the past 20 years than in the previous 2000 years, it is said.)

Who viewed the drama?

On People viewing the drama:... Mary, the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus, is the wife of Clopas...

Jesus' view of himself?

Meanwhile the question of Jesus' self-understanding is elusive. One word he did use distinctively at all times is “Abba”, or, “father dear”, so personalising a relationship to God, which would not be surprising if it even been implied to him that he had a divine origin, by way of his mother's virgin birth.

Article by managing editor of Atlantic Monthly, Cullen Murphy, in Sydney Morning Herald 20 December 1986, Jesus Christ, a profile – Resurrection might not have been literal – He has had increasingly poor attendances at his sermons as time went on, so that the theme of Kingdom of God developed as the Romans drew closer. Jesus is sentenced not for blasphemy but contempt of court, that is,of the Sanhedrin. As a man baffled and intrigued by a destiny he may have begun to glimpse but of which he was not fully aware, thus in search of feedback he asked, “Who do you think I am?” of his followers, but in the long run, he asked it of himself. And if so, he declined to say. Did he go to his death confused about his identity?

Hint: Jesus had gone to Jerusalem knowing a confrontation had to happen, as he was rejected finally in Galilee.

Murphy continued: Quotes E. P. Sanders, an Oxford historian. On Jesus and Judaism, Jesus was not the only charismatic Jewish preacher to be punished by the Romans, who feared disruption to public order.

But see an article in Sydney Morning Herald, 21 December 1985, surmising that Jesus was born late summer, early autumn of 12BC, the Star of Bethlehem in fact was Halley's Comet. See also re some Roman census dates, etc. See also re Dr Percy Seymour, a British astronomer, who says that the star guiding the three wise men was caused by an alignment of Saturn and Jupiter in the constellation of Pisces, which only happens each 179 years. Seymour prefers a birth date for Jesus as 15 September, 7BC. A medieval calendar error gave the wrong starting point for the Anno Domino (AD) system of date registration. Seymour had reconstructed the Bethlehem night sky in a planetarium in Plymouth, England, with the aid of computer work by Dr. David Hughes, an authority on the Star of Bethlehem mystery.(Stay in Touch Column, Sydney Morning Herald, 19-12-1984)

In 1968 in Jerusalem are found the remains of a man nailed to a cross, the only physical evidence of a crucifixion ever found, and examination tended to refute prevailing ideas of scholars on how a crucifixion was conducted. A recent study in 1985 by an anthropologist and anatomist concluded that the victim's arms were tied to the cross rather than nailed and that each leg was separately nailed to the wooded upright. Re Joseph Zias, Israeli Antiquities Dept. and Professor Eliezer Sekeles of the Anatomy Dept., Hadassah Medical School. Victim remains are found in 1968, and Prof N. Haas of Hebrew University Dept of Anatomy, dealt with two bones. Victim had been propped in a semi-crouching position, half-sitting on a small crossbar with knees drawn up together to one side, as if the purpose was to keep him alive longer and the agony thus prolonged. Re heel bones, ? Nail is 11.5 cm, not 17-18cm. Crucifixion was a punishment prolonging agony, as a public warning to others. Ref, article, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 September 1985, article by Abraham Rabinovich, a Herald correspondent.

The team uncovered the gate after sifting through a maze of walls and towers dating as far back as 700BC. All that remains of the gate is a broken support column and the stone blocks that served as an archway. Mr Chen said the gate, which the team found buried beneath four metres of dirt and rock, was built in 37BC and destroyed about 100 years later by the re-conquering Romans. The time period and the location of the gate along the southern edge of Mount Zion match biblical accounts of the Last Supper, said Mr Pixner, who is a priest at the Benedictine Abbey of Dormition.
"It can safely be presumed that Jesus used this gate on his way to and from the Last Supper," he said, pointing out the spot about 250 metres further up Mount Zion, where Christians believe Jesus met the apostles. "Everything we've found indicates that this is the place." The biblical account of the Last Supper says that Jesus, while staying in nearby Bethany, told the apostles to go to Jerusalem where a man carrying a water pitcher would lead them to their meeting place.
Mr Pixner said he believes Jesus and the apostles gathered at a guest house close to where archaeologists found the gate. (Associated Press report, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 October 1988)

32AD: Palmyra, A Syrian city on the caravan route to Euphrates; a temple to Baal dedicated in AD32.

Funding problems for curiosity
on Jesus' early years and his death

THE LIFE of Jesus continues to fascinate, and now in Israel his tomb is being re-examined along with the town of his youth, Nazareth.

Jesus' tomb is thought to have been near Golgotha, and a place of this name still exists near Jerusalem.

Now, the presumed tomb site is surmounted by one or several edicules (little houses), inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built by Emperor Constantine's engineers in the Fourth Century AD, with the consecration of the site witnessed by the Bishop of Caesarea, Eusbesius.

For any opening of Jesus' tomb, the floor of a rotunda may have to be dug up. In 1986, efforts for such a project were made by a British scholar, Dr. Greville Freeman-Greville. The present research is being guided by Prof. Martin Biddle, Professor of Medieval Archaeology at Oxford University.

January 1999 will see the publication in English of Biddle's book, The Tomb of Christ, following its earlier publication in German.

From reports, examination of the tomb seems to be poorly funded, while squabbles between some six major Christian denominations may also delay necessary negotiations.

Any restoration project would proceed in three stages, but researchers are confident they have the right area, since they are already familiar with eight other tombs nearby the presumed tomb of Jesus.

Meanwhile, archaeologist Mr Ross Joseph Voss has been promoting an ambitious project to construct (or reconstruct) an old part of Nazareth in Galilee, Israel, as a "living village" revealing the ways of life known to Jesus in his early years.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held in November, 1998 on an 8.1 hectare site for a "theme park", prior to the mounting of a drive to find some US$60 million required.

Already, 200 volunteers including local Muslims plus people drawn from various Christian denominations have helped clear the site.

The population of Nazareth in Jesus' time is thought to have been about 300. The Nazareth "theme park" will operate from 2000.

The project director is Michael Hostetler. Assisting fund-raising will be former US president, Jimmy Carter and US singer Pat Boone. Voss works with Mr Stephen Pfann, a director of an institute for the Study of Early Christianity in Jerusalem.
(Jesus' tomb, reported 26 September, 1998. Nazareth theme park, reported 2 November, 1998)

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29AD: Summer:: Jesus travels north into "Phoenicia", to Tyre and Sidon, to find his reputation has preceded him; then back to the area of the Sea of Galilee. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

28AD: Spring:: Jesus moves to the larger town of Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee. Later, John the Baptist is arrested by Herod Antipas. Jesus recruits disciples Peter and Andrew. In Summer 28, Jesus recruits disciple Matthew. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

"The Jesus Boat": The remains of a Galileean fishing vessel from the days of Jesus, has become subject of controversy since a plan arose to move it from Israel for a visit to Rome. Now being slowly restored, the small vessel has been preserved in lake mud until revealed by drought. Carbon dating reveals the vessel was probably sailing while Jesus was alive, so the proposition is that... he laid eyes on it. An Israeli antiquities authority wants to send the relic to the Vatican, but locals are appalled, partly as the boat now draws about 70,000 tourists per year. (Reported 31 January 1999)

Where was Jesus baptized?: Efforts are being made to establish he was baptized on the Jordani, not the Israeli side of the River Jordan. But is this claim a ploy to capture the expenditure of the estimated two million tourists interested in pilgrimage to the spot? Some say that Jesus was baptized near Jericho, on the West Bank of the Jordan as controlled by Israel since the 1967 war, and still under military control, rarely opened. The Jordan argument is that the baptism happened near Bethany, on the Jordanian side. Tradition seems to side with those who believe that Jesus stepped from the river's eastern bank. (Reported in newspapers, 24 April 1999)

More to come (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

27AD, Autumn: John preaches and baptizes by the River Jordan. Jesus arrives, to be baptized by John. It is taken that the Holy Spirit settles on Jesus and that this begins his own period of ministry. He then goes into the desert for 40 days of solitude, and undergoes strenuous temptations. He emerges with renewed determination and power, and soon (by winter) makes first contact with some of John's disciples or associates. Included in Jesus' circle are brothers Peter and Andrew, plus Philip and Nathanael. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

27AD, Autumn: John the Baptist appears as a long prophet urging repentance in the Judean wilderness. His form of baptism is taken as a sign not just of repentance, but a sign that one has changed one's life in preparation for the Kingdom of God to come. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

26AD-36AD: Pontius Pilate is Roman governor of Judea. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

20AD: Saul of Tarus comes to Jerusalem to study with the great rabbi, Gamaliel. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

18AD-36AD: Joseph Caiaphas, son-in-law of Annas, is appointed high priest by Gratus. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

17AD-18AD: Simon, son of Camithus, is appointed high priest by Gratus. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

16BC-17BC: Eleazar, son of Annas, is appointed high priest by Gratus. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

15AD-16AD: Ismael, son of Phiabi, is appointed high priest by Gratus. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

15AD-26AD: Valerius Gratus is Roman governor of Judea. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

12AD-15AD: Annius Rufus is Roman governor of Judea. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

9AD-12AD: Marcus Ambibulus is Roman governor of Judea. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

6AD-9AD: Coponius is Roman governor (prefect?) of Judea. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

6AD-15AD: Annas, son of Sethi, is high priest in Jerusalem, the first high priest appointed by a Roman governor of Syria. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

6AD: At Passover, Jesus (aged 12?) comes with Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem, but when his parents leave, Jesus goes to the Temple to debate with elders, and is found to be uncommonly wise. His parents find him after three days. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

5AD: Paul of Tarsus: Saul of Tarsus is born, the later St Paul, to a devout Jewish family in the Greek city of Tarsus in Cilicia. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

3BC: Joseph, Mary and Jesus return from Egypt to Nazareth of Galilee. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

4BC: King Herod dies, and emperor Augustus divides Herod's kingdom among his three surviving sons, but makes none of them a king. In Jerusalem, Archelaus appoints Eleazar, the son of Boethus, as high priest of the Jews. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

5BC: Three wise men from the East, the Magi, arrive in Jerusalem to ask about the birth of a king of the Jews. Scribes indicate that the birthplace was probably Bethlehem. King Herod is troubled by the inquiry and begins to brood jealously on possible rivals. The wise men follow a moving star to the house of Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, and give gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Later, Herod orders make infants in Bethlehem be killed. Joseph is warned by a dream and takes Jesus and Mary to Egypt. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

5BC or 6BC?: Christmas, did you know? The Armenians begin the season on 19 December. The Catholics on 25 December. The Greek Orthodox and Coptic Churches on 7 January. Perhaps the best guesstimate of Jesus' birth is 29 September, 5BC. (See websites below.) St Francis of Assisi is credited with creating the first Nativity Scene in 1224, and with singing the first Christmas Carols.

The hyperlinks below will prove interesting:
http://claus.com/santashome/traditions.shtml/ (broken link?)
> Customs - Christmas
A date for Christmas? When was Jesus born? (broken link?)
http://www.new-life.net/chrtms10.htm/
(Link broken?) http://www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm/

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6BC: When a month old, Jesus is brought to the Temple in Jerusalem. Two old people of the Temple, Simeon and Anna, recognise the infant as the fulfilment of God's wishes. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

6BC: Mary and Joseph visit Bethlehem for tax registration (or a census for Rome, which some say was never taken), but find no place to stay. Robinson says in 6BC, Archelaus is banished and Rome rules Judea and Samaria. The Roman governor of Syria is Quirinius, who orders a tax census in order to govern his territory. Jews revolt, and rebels suggest that Jews should not pay taxes to any master, as God is their master. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

7BC: A bright star appears in the heavens, due to a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter. Was this the Star of Bethlehem? (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

7BC: After John is born to Elizabeth, Mary, pregnant, returns home to find Joseph thinking of ending his betrothal to her. But he has a dream indicating his wife is pregnant due to "the Holy Spirit". (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

7BC: The Annunciation: The angel Gabriel appears to Mary in Nazareth, to announce that she will bear a son to be named Jesus. Mary shortly visits Elizabeth the wife of priest Zecariah, and Elizabeth recognises Mary as "the mother of my Lord". Mary stays for three months, till it is time for Elizabeth to give birth. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

7BC: Herod executes his two sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, for treason. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

8BC: An old priest, Zechariah, sees the angel Gabriel in a vision and finds that his wife Elizabeth will have a son to be named John (who becomes, The Baptist). (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

8BC: Mary and Joseph are betrothed (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

6BC-15BC: Annas: Annas, son of Sethi, is first Jewish high priest appointed by the Roman governor of Syria. There are other high priests, but in 16-17AD, Eleazar, son of Annas, is appointed high priest by Gratus; later, Joseph Caiaphas, son-in-law of Annas, is appointed high priest by Gratus. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

6BC: Jewish revolt: A Jewish revolt breaks out against the Roman census. Jesus goes to Jerusalem. (Date from Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

37BC-4BC: Herod (The Great) rules in Israel/Palestine 37BC-4BC.

6BC: One date given for the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus meets the Magi in 5BC, and in 5BC Herod orders male children killed, so in 5BC Joseph and Mary escape to Egypt. Jesus is returned to Galilee in 3BC. (The 6BC year-of birth is agreed to in Thomas Robinson, The Bible Timeline)

16BC: Roman colony founded at Heliopolis, or Baalbeck, on an ancient Arabian religious site in Syria. Remains of temple of Jupiter Hadad.

22BC-9BC: King Herod the Great builds large harbour of Caesarea Maritima in Israel, said to be larger than the port at Athens. A researcher of the remains was Dr Avner Raban.

Ends

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