- The Three Wise Men were Babylonian astronomers and priests. Persia was one of the first parts of the world to make observations of the stars and seek the meaning of these phenomena.
- The Star of Bethlehem was a comet that appeared in 5 BC. Comets are seen to travel across the sky in different directions depending on where they came from.
- The Magi went first to Jerusalem and were detained by Herod the Great who ruled over Judea. Herod died in 4 BC. Jesus was born about a year before this date so Jesus was born in 5 BC.
- Colin Humphreys of Christians in Science shows in his article ‘The Star of Bethlehem’ published in Science & Christian Belief Vol. 5 1995 that Chinese records of comets record an exceptionally bright comet for 5 BC.
- The 5 BC comet appeared in March or April that year, just before the Passover feast in Jerusalem. It’s appearance marked the birth of a great king.
- The ‘Lamb of God’ was born just before Passover during the days that the Passover lambs were being chosen and prepared that year.
- The details given in the gospels, such as the story of the visit of the Magi following a star, though sounding unlikely at first, actually make perfect sense when understood.
It is known that it was decided by the Church to celebrate Christmas, the birth of Christ, in December to replace the Pagan festival of the winter soltice popular in Europe. It was thought mistakenly that the soltice occurred on the 25th December rather than on the 21st December so this date was chosen.
Actual evidence shows that Jesus was born just before the Jewish Passover festival of 5 BC and was crucified at the Passover festival of 33 AD in Jerusalem aged 37.
Merry and True 