clarevmerry

#10 Escape to Egypt when Nile not in Flood

The delay in reaching Bethlehem could have been caused by the wise men being held up by Herod in Jerusalem, but was the delay beneficial in some way and therefore serving the purposes of God? The Magi were warned in a dream not to return to Jerusalem and report to Herod (Matt 2:12).. The MagiContinue reading “#10 Escape to Egypt when Nile not in Flood”

#9 Comets Point Down and Recede Away

The ability of comets to stop and point down to a town or city is explained in my article Was the Star of Bethlehem a Comet? (Article and blog posts posted on my website http://www.merryandtrue.com). Comets with tails have the tail streaming vertically upwards with the body of the comet pointing down to the earth justContinue reading “#9 Comets Point Down and Recede Away”

#8 Long Delay in Jerusalem for Wise Men

The wise men appear to have packed up and gone to Jerusalem in haste, but there is a long delay until they reach Bethlehem. Philo of Alexandria, a 1st century AD Jewish scholar stated that the scholar of astronomy perceives “timely signs of coming events” since “the stars were made for signs” (De Opificio Mundi,Continue reading “#8 Long Delay in Jerusalem for Wise Men”

#7 The Lamb of God

The Jews expected the Messiah to be born in Nisan, the first month of the year in the Jewish calendar. He was indeed born at this time. This month marks the season of the Exodus from Egypt and the Passover celebration of it. Lamb of God is the title given to Jesus by John theContinue reading “#7 The Lamb of God”

#6 Flocks in Fields at Night

The shepherds mentioned in Luke chapter 2 are watching their flocks at night when angels appear to them on the hills to say that a Saviour has been born. The angels encourage the shepherds to go and find the new born baby; as a sign they will find him lying in a manger. At thisContinue reading “#6 Flocks in Fields at Night”

#5 Passover and Census

Central to the recounting and depiction of the Christmas story is that Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger. There was no other accommodation available in Bethlehem when Joseph and Mary arrived. This has been attributed to there being a census, but more importantly, I believe, it was because it wasContinue reading “#5 Passover and Census”

#4 Passover 10 and 14 Nisan

We have now established that Jesus was born in March or April of 5 BC on the evidence of the appearance of a bright comet in 5 BC and the death of King Herod in 4 BC. Jesus was born in spring time of that year just before Passover. This was one of the pointsContinue reading “#4 Passover 10 and 14 Nisan”

#3 Herod the Great’s Reign 37-4 BC

Maybe you doubt that a comet recorded by the Han Dynasty in China for 5 BC was the sign of the Star of Bethlehem followed by the wise men from Persia to Bethlehem. Lets pursue another line of inquiry involving the Bible and Jewish history. Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the reign of HerodContinue reading “#3 Herod the Great’s Reign 37-4 BC”

#2 Bright Comet of 5 BC

In order to establish when Jesus was born in terms of month of the year, we first must know in which year he was born. The obvious answer is at the beginning of 1 AD, but this is not the correct answer. Two lines of evidence establish that Jesus was born several years before 1Continue reading “#2 Bright Comet of 5 BC”

#1 Jesus the Passover Lamb

Article written by Clare Merry October 2025 The 25th December We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th December. It is, however, generally agreed that Jesus was not actually born on this day. The first record of celebrating the birth of Christ is found in the Roman calendar of 354 AD. The newContinue reading “#1 Jesus the Passover Lamb”