|
SUBJECT: Course of Abijah (Abia)—Luke 1:5
QUESTION: We read in Luke 1:5 of the priestly course of
Abijah. Some say that this can be used to figure out the
birth year and month of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.
It is true? How does one do this?
ANSWER:
Most commentaries will tell you that there are 24 courses of
Abijah (Abia) lasting a week each. This means that each
course would appear twice in a given year, so using the
course of Abijah alone will not be enough.
Further, this course of Abijah is only a counting point and
therefore not the best evidence of anything, which is to say
that there is a lot of better evidence out there to confirm
when Jesus was born. Notice...
Luke 1:23-24
23 And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his
ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own
house.
24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and
hid herself five months, saying,
Note: We see Zechariah
coming off duty and getting his wife pregnant and she hides
herself 5 months. In verse 26, when she goes to Mary, she
is six months with child. Mary is made pregnant by the Holy
Spirit right after this. However, why use this as proof of
anything when we have better, more specific proof and that
proof can be used to prove in what month the course of
Abijah was.
Now, jumping ahead, I can tell you that Jesus was born on
the 29th of September in 4 BC, which happens to have been
the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles that year. We
can show this with absolute proof. If we have established
September as the birth month of Jesus, we need only go back
9 months to find the month God made Mary pregnant by the
Holy Spirit. This would be, December of 5 BC...the 25th of
December to be exact. We know that Elisabeth was 6 months
pregnant in the month Mary got pregnant and therefore John
the Baptist was born in March of 4 BC (middle to late
March). If we count back 9 months we come to the month of
June, 5 BC which must have contained the course of Abijah.
In our booklet, "Christmas, the Untold Story" ( https://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/christmas-the-untold-story/ ),
we see the following quote:
---begin quote---
"And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his
ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own
house" (Luke 1:5-23).
Zacharias served during the "course of Abia," or the EIGHTH
of the priestly courses (meaning their assigned times of
service) in the Temple (see I Chronicles 24:10). This took
place twice each year. Each time of service, or "course"
changed each week, commencing on the Sabbath. The reckoning
commenced on the 22nd day of Tisri or Tehanim,
which was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the
"Last Great Day."
Remember that the courses served together at the
three great feasts. The dates for the twice-yearly
ministrations of Abia fall on the 12th to the 18th
of Chisleu (our December 6th to the 12th),
and from the 12th to the 18th of
Sivan, or our June 13th to the 19th.
Therefore, the announcement about the CONCEPTION OF JOHN
occurred somewhere between our June 13th to the
19th in 5 BC!
Old Zacharias' course ended on the Sabbath, our June 20th,
which would have been a Sabbath. Therefore, he could not
have journeyed to his home on that day, but would have left
on the 21st, our Sunday. He lived "in the hill
country of Judaea," about 30 miles away. Easily, this was a
two day journey for an elderly man, putting him home late on
the 22nd of Sivan, or our June 23rd.
Therefore, the miraculous conception of John HAD TO TAKE
PLACE somewhere on June 23rd or 24th
of 5 BC!
---end quote---
We can see clearly that the course of Abijah was in June, 5
BC
We have a paper that discusses and shows proof for the
dates, months, days, years, hours and durations of the
birth, ministry, crucifixion, time in the tomb and the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have it posted on a hidden
page (no links) on the Internet. It is located at:
http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/bibleclassspecificstudies3.shtml
back to the top |