Note: this article represents the author's personal opinions. John does not claim to be an expert. This article is partially based on information at < http://www.mazes.com/NewMillennium.html>.

Nobody can tell you the exact date that Jesus was born. Many years ago, a Monk created the Julian Calendar after studying the Bible and calculating how many years had gone by between the birth of Jesus and that particular time. Unfortunately, the monk made some mistakes.

Even though we know that Jesus was born more than 2000 years ago, some ministers will still tell you that Jesus was born just a few days before the beginning of what we call "1 A.D.". A.D. is the abbreviation for the Latin phrase "Anno Domini" which roughly translates to "In the Year of our Lord". "1 A.D." would translate to "In the First Year of Our Lord".

Though I cannot tell you the exact date that Jesus was born, I can tell you that the LATEST possible date that Jesus of Nazereth could have been born was the year we presently call 4 B.C.

Roman Historical documents prove that King Herod died in the year that we now call 4 B.C. Since Herod plays an integral role in the story of Jesus's birth, we know that Herod must have been alive when Jesus was born. Since the Bible doesn't tell us how many months passed between the birth of Jesus and the time that Herod ordered the death of all the infants, we can easily guess that it could have been 5, 6 or even 7 B.C. when Jesus was born.

Some (many) scholars believe that Jesus was born in the Spring. I don't remember how this detail was decided.

Where did the date of December 25 come from?

We could say that December 25 was sort-of picked out of a hat. I think that, at one point in the past, December 25 was the shortest night of the year. Some ethnic groups held non-religious celebrations around this time, so December 25 may have been chosen because it was already a celebration date in Germany.

So, based on everything that I've stated above, I know, with 100% personal certainty (see "opinion disclaimer" above) that the latest Jesus could have been born was Spring of the year 4 B.C.

What would the date be now if Jesus was born in Spring 4 B.C. with that date being Spring 1 A.D. in our present calendar? Since 4 B.C. is four years before 1 A.D. (there was no year zero), we would now be in the year 2003 (I'm writing this page in 1999).

So, if you want to base the new millennium on the actual date of Jesus's birth, then the third millennium started on OR BEFORE May 24, 1997 (picking a date out of the air).

By the way, mathematically and scientifically, the third millennium will start on January 1, 2001. You can read exactly how that is determined by visiting: < http://www.mazes.com/NewMillennium.html>.

And, if you'd like to read a version of the Lord's Prayer that is OLDER than Jesus, visit < http://www.mazes.com/LordsPrayer.html>.

Please visit my web pages and enjoy over a thousand different puzzles.
Web sites you might enjoy include:
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