In case you're not familiar with John Pratt, the Mormon astronomer who has some

fascinating and instructive studies on Bible Chronology on his website:

http://www.johnpratt.com/jpp.html

Who is John P. Pratt?

I love puzzles, science, math, calendars, and enjoy connecting ideas from a wide variety of
disciplines. I have degrees in physics and math from the U. of Utah, and a Ph.D. in astronomy
from the U. of Arizona. I taught astronomy at a state college and keep notes for that class on this
web site. I also do computer programming, have three software patents, and host a few websites
(and a page for my brother's very inexpensive and energy efficient homes).
Most of my publications have been about chronology, so you probably don't want to read them. I
have written a calendar conversion program to convert from our calendar to others.
I invented a pictorial periodic table which I hope might make chemistry more fun and can be used
as memory pegs for memorizing long lists of other items too.
If you like tough brain teasers, I think I have found a great logic puzzle in the Bible which you
might want to try.
There is a brief life sketch of me, of my wife, and of some of our ancestors in the genealogy
section of these pages.

Bible Chronology is a particularly engrossing, favourite topic of study for me. It is

astonishing what details one can find, secreted away in the Bible narrative, often lurking
among the begats which almost nobody ever suspected could contain anything of interest
or value. For those few studious sticklers amongst us, here are some thoughts that have
occupied me over many years, which I posed to John Pratt in early 2013, in response to
some of his published articles. After a prompt and positive acknowledgement of my email,
all has been disappointing silence since. Unfortunately there has been no response to any
of my points, whether yea or nay. That's a shame, as this amateur would appreciate some
professional comments on my conclusions. Even a heated tussle would be invigorating and
enlightening. Obviously the man is very busy. Perhaps my rejection of his Mormon
predilection for incorporating false religions into the scriptural picture, offended him.

Chronology will always separate Bible students into various camps, all imagining we are
correct. Well, at least that most others are wrong. (Tongue-in-cheek!) I hope I am not so
ungracious and dogmatic as to be unteachable. However, I have come across many
traditionally-held dogmatic points of view, glibly parroted by multitudes, which simply
cannot be reconciled with the scriptural chronology. Hence many years spent in pursuit of
some means of forming a cohesive, comprehensive Bible Chronology, incorporating all the
lengthy lists of begats.

For what it's worth, here is my threepenny-bit opinion tossed into the ring. (This study is
merely the tip of a ponderous iceberg, please be aware.)
January, 2013
Hello John,
I'd like to say how much I enjoy reading your articles, the ones expounding the Bible in
light of your astronomical knowledge. They have taught me a lot, challenged me to study
further, and pointed me in helpful directions. Being an enthusiastic puzzle-solver, but just
an amateur Bible chronologer and armchair astronomer, of course I often don't know
where to turn next in my studies. However I have found that prayer often turns up the next
link in the chain, and your papers have played their part in that.
First off though, I don't hold with all those extra-biblical sources (various sacred
calendars) you use. I believe that all the divine inspiration we need is in the Word of God.
Didn't the Lord say that we must not do as the nations do? Deuteronomy 18:14. So I have
no truck with any other religion's say-so when seeking confirmation of the Bible. The Bible,
being God's direct revelation to man, needs no confirmation from external religious
sources. I feel that at times in your enthusiasm for these sacred calendars, you have done
what you accuse others of, and moulded God's Word into the image of the heathen nations'
perceptions. So while bowing to your superior astronomical expertise, I basically ignore
those bits of your articles, and concentrate only on the scriptural content.
Thus I sometimes find that what stands out to me as clear scriptural proof for something,
is missed altogether in your papers in the pursuit of some other red herring. Here follow
some thoughts on what you appear to have missed, when calculating dates for Bible events.
Knowing that you are an accomplished astronomer, I wonder how these considerations
affect your conclusions? Perhaps Velikovsky was right after all, and the sky we see every
night appeared very different to Babylonian astronomers, a few thousand years ago.

1. The Lord prophesied in Isaiah 44:24 45:13 that it would be CYRUS, then unborn,
who would give the decree to rebuild not just the Temple, but also the city
of Jerusalem. Josephus confirms that Cyrus fulfilled both parts of this prophecy;
and the Cyrus Cylinder gives the wording of Cyrus' fulfilment, baked in clay for
posterity. Isaiah's prophecy even mocks those who say it ain't so, for they are
contradicting the Creator Himself.
2. The prophecy in Daniel 9:24,25 concerns the 69 Weeks or 483 years between the
going forth of that decree to rebuild Jerusalem, which means, when Cyrus spoke
it; and the coming of the Messiah, which was when He was born. Most people of
course choose one of various supposed decrees, and some arbitrary event in the life
of Christ, as the outer extremities of either the 483 or 490 years. But the fact is that
there is no decree to rebuild Jerusalem in Ezra 7, and Nehemiah only
obtained permission to repair the wall of Jerusalem, and build himself a
house. Nehemiah 2:8. If it weren't for nettlesome godless Ptolemy and his
inconvenient dates, all Christians would see this. But as it is, they are bound by
consensus to accept Ptolemy's chronology as infallible, rather than God's Word.
3. My conclusion has to be that the 69 Weeks spans the decree of Cyrus in his first
year, (Ezra 1:1-4) and the birth, which is logically the coming, of the Messiah. Of
course this gives just 483 years intervening, which leaves knowledgeable
astronomers aghast; but I can suggest 2 possible solutions which agree with the
following Bible facts. You may be able to think of more. Knowing how much you
enjoy doing battle with a good puzzle, I propose:
4. Ezra and Nehemiah both returned to Jerusalem in Year 1 Cyrus (Ez 2:2;
Neh 7:7; Neh 12:1), and officiated at the Feast of Tabernacles in the first
year of Return, which is undeniably correct according to hundreds of
corroborating scriptures. Tragically the vast majority do not bother to search for
them, because they fail to see the internal contradictions of their own theories.
When apprised of this, they find some limp excuse to support their bias for Ptolemy
over the authority of the Word of God, such as All early mentions of Ezra,
Mordecai and Nehemiah etc, are of their ancestors; the 'Ezra, Nehemiah and
Mordecai etc, families,' not the individuals themselves, who lived many years
later. I have written minutely detailed papers proving the following propositions,
with lengthy Tables comparing all the lists containing the hundreds of names from
Ezra and Nehemiah which provide internal rock-solid scriptural evidence; but at
this point, I will briefly state:
Ezra's father chief priest Seraiah (Ez 7:1-5; 1 Chr 6:3-14), died in
year 19 Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:18-21; Jeremiah 52:24-27). So Ezra
the priest and scribe was chief priest Jeshua's uncle; Ezra's older brother
Jehozadak was Jeshua's father. The Bible says that Ezra's brother Jehozadak
was taken into exile (1 Chron 6:14,15), but not that Ezra was. The very
youngest that Ezra could have been in Year 1 Cyrus, is 49 years, if his mother
was pregnant at the time of Seraiah's death. This confirms that Ezra could
not possibly have lived until years 7 and 20 Artaxerxes Longimanus when
he returned to Jerusalem, and led the procession around the repaired wall
(Neh 12:31-36). In that case, Ezra would have been a minimum of 142 years
old. Ludicrous. So Artaxerxes cannot have been Longimanus as so many
recklessly assume. However if Artaxerxes was the Great King Darius (since
'Artaxerxes' IS THE Greek and Latin form of the Persian title meaning 'Great
King'), then Ezra would have been a venerable 86 years or so, at the Wall
Dedication ceremony.
The Bible says that Mordecai was exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon
along with Jeconiah (Esther 2:5,6), and also that Mordecai returned
to Jerusalem in Year 1 Cyrus (Ez 2:2; Neh 7:7). If he was an infant when
taken into exile, then Mordecai must have been 61 years old at the very least
in year 1 Return. Therefore Ahasuerus who married Mordecai's niece
Esther and reigned at least 12 years (Esther 3:7), cannot possibly have been
Xerxes son of Darius, and could not have been Cyrus nor Cambyses who did
not reign as long as 12 years. Thus Ahasuerus (Hebrew form of Persian title
meaning Great King), can only have been Darius Hystaspes himself, who
was indeed the Great King who reigned over 127 provinces from India to
Ethiopia. Esther 1:1. Mordecai would then have been almost 90 when he
was made 2nd in rank to the king in his 12th year, which is well within the
bounds of possibility. Our Queen Elizabeth II is 90 (2017), still strong and
active, travelling the world, in the 65th year of her reign. Her equally active
husband is 95. The Queen Mother lived to 101.
Nehemiah describes the events during Year 1 Cyrus when both he and
Ezra led the Jews in worship at the Feast of Tabernacles in
Jerusalem. The crucial point which most people miss is that the entire
chunk of his book, Neh 7:5 Neh 12:9, is an interlude in his narrative
of year 20 Artaxerxes, in which he copies from the original lists of
returned exiles in Year 1 Return (Ezra 2), and also adds further clarifying
details of his own recollections of the events in the first year of Return. The
narrative is perfectly chronological.
Neh 7:73 is the 7th month of Year 1 Return;
Neh 8:1-18 tells us what happened in that 7th month. And they told Ezra
 the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had
commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the
assembly ... and Nehemiah, who was the Tirshatha, and Ezra the
priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the
people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God ... And day by day, from
the first day to the last day, {Ezra} read from the Book of the Law
of God. They kept the feast seven days.
Neh 9:1-38 is 24 Tisri, Year 1 Return, when they decide to make a
Covenant;
Neh 10:1-39 tells us who signed that Covenant on 24 Tisri in Year
1 Return;
Neh 11:1-36 lists the priests and other Temple servants, who were
assigned to live within Jerusalem in this first year;
Neh 12:1-26 lists the priests (including Ezra) who came to Jerusalem
with Jeshua and Zerubbabel,
and then lists the next generation (including Ezra's son Meshullam)
who served during the tenures of High Priest Jeshua's son Joiakim and
Nehemiah and Ezra the priest and scribe.
So both Nehemiah and Ezra returned to Jerusalem with Jeshua and
Zerubbabel in Year 1 Cyrus; they both outlived High Priest Jeshua, and also
served during his son Joiakim's high priesthood.
Neh 12:27 resumes the narrative of the Wall Dedication ceremony in Year 20
Artaxerxes, where Ezra and Nehemiah both officiated; this absolutely
cannot be during the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus! Since neither Cyrus
nor Cambyses nor Xerxes reigned as long as 32 years, obviously this
Artaxerxes (the Greek form of the Persian for Great King), can only have
been Darius Hystaspes, who reigned for 36 years.
5. Solution # 1: Daniel's prophecy, after all, does not terminate the 62 Weeks at
the Cross, not even at the baptism, but at the coming of the Messiah, which
indubitably occurred at the Nativity. (Ask the angel.) Daniel 9:26 groups the
Messiah's death or cutting off with the destruction of Jerusalem which as we
know occurred in 70 AD (long after Jesus died); and extends to our present time,
with continuing war and desolations. These events are both undated but placed
after the 62 Weeks (Dan 9:26), and therefore before the 70th Week (Dan 9:27). The
69th Week and 70th Week are thus dislocated from one another by a much-maligned
gap, an indeterminate period of time still unended, but thus far about 2,000 years
long. It is therefore possible that the 7 Weeks and the 62 Weeks were also separated
by a gap of indeterminate length. This allows for 49 years from 1 Cyrus until the
completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple (which is in fact the
case); plus 62 Weeks beginning at some later obscure event, and terminating at the
birth of Christ. In this solution, more than 483 years elapsed between Cyrus' decree
and the coming of the Messiah. Why else would the 69 Weeks have been broken into
2 sets of 7 and 62 Weeks, if not to accommodate a gap which was irrelevant to the
prophecy?
6. Solution # 2: Some scientists are not convinced of the accuracy of Ptolemy's
data. There is a suspicion that, being sufficiently qualified astronomically, he did not
record documentary evidence of the eclipses noted in his work, but having
predetermined the dates when they were reputed to have occurred, he calculated
 the descriptions of suitable eclipses as described in his Almagest, to suit
those dates. Indeed, in my amateur capacity, I have determined that the mere 7
eclipses quoted by Ptolemy (from hundreds which he could theoretically have used
during the Persian kingdom), claimed as infallible proof for his Persian chronology,
are not strictly accurate. (I use the astronomy programs www.Cybersky.com and
PLSV from www.alcyone.de which give Julian dates pre-1582, just for awkwardness'
sake.)
7. In my amateur sleuthing, I have discovered a 47-year Lunar Eclipse Cycle,
which runs for thousands of years before finally winding down, whereby almost the
identical lunar eclipse occurs somewhere around the planet on the same lunar date
(+ 8 hours / 120o) every 47 years less 9 days. Perhaps this has some connection to
the combined 19-year Lunar Cycle and the 28-year Solar Cycle of the Hebrew
calendar? 19 + 28 being 47 years? I am of course aware of the Saros Cycle of 18y 11d
8h, but this cycle is different. I have not been able to find any record of the existence
of a 47-year Lunar Eclipse Cycle. Perhaps you are familiar with this phenomenon.
Anyway, this factor, applied to possible cheating by Ptolemy, allows for just 483
years to have elapsed between the Decree in 1 Cyrus and the birth of the Messiah,
because the (astonishingly few) eclipses dated by Ptolemy during the Persian
kingdom, can be explained by lunar eclipses which occurred 47 years later. e.g.
Instead of 1 Cyrus in ~ 537 - 535 BC, if we use a generally-accepted birthdate of
Christ in say 5 BC, and add 69 Weeks or 483 years then 1 Cyrus would be 488
BC. This is pretty close to 47 years; one 47-year lunar eclipse cycle from the
commonly accepted date for 1 Cyrus.
8. The Persians themselves do not claim their kingdom lasted as long as Ptolemy
calculated.
9. Josephus, the Apocrypha, other Jewish records, many ancient historians, as well as
the Bible, give a much more attenuated duration for the Persian kingdom than the
Canon of Kings.
10. The Artaxerxes in Ezra 7 and Nehemiah is not in fact Longimanus, but Darius
Hystaspes. This truism can be readily verified by study of all related scripture
passages. This however requires dogged determination, years of nitpicking study of
the neglected begats and superbly-honed powers of logical deduction which
sadly too few are prepared or able to apply. I know you are not one of those
logically-challenged wussies. I have published one of my detailed proofs of this here
http://www.scribd.com/doc/118925104/Artaxerxes-Longimanus-CANNOT-be-
Found-in-the-Bible. This fact, combined with the other fact that nobody has ever
been able to find any decree to rebuild Jerusalem in Ezra 7 anyway,
proves that this emperor is as threadbare as the day he was born. The 457 BC date
(supposedly the 7th regnal year in which Artaxerxes sent Ezra to Jerusalem) has
nothing to do with Daniel's prophecy. In my proposal, since the Temple was
completed in the 12th month of Year 6 Darius (Ezra 6:15), it makes perfect sense that
Darius in his 7th year, under his alter-ego Artaxerxes, would restore all the pillaged
Temple treasures and bestow great gifts upon it, in the next few months. Otherwise
there is the absurd gap of about 58 years from Year 6 Darius until Year 7
Longimanus, during which, we are expected to believe, the Temple was
understaffed, unfurnished and ill-equipped for its purpose.
11. The 2 Temples were reportedly both destroyed in Year 1 of the 7-year Shmita cycle.
If this Jewish record is correct (and why should it not be), then Nebuchadnezzar did
not burn Solomon's Temple in 587 BC. There must be an exact multiple of 7
years between the two dates, and the 656 years between 587 BC 70 AD
does not fit. The month of Av in 587 BC was Year 3 of the Shmita Cycle.
12. Various interpretations of Rabbi Jose's record exist, some opting for dual Sunday
Temple conflagrations after the Sabbath; and others saying in the end of
the Sabbath; that is, on the Sabbath afternoon when the weekly Priestly Courses
were changing over. In that case, Jehoiarib could have been either starting the week
of duty, or finishing up the week.
13. There must be an exact multiple of 24 Priestly Courses between the 2
destructions, plus or minus one week, if the Course of Jehoiarib happened to be
going off duty on one Sabbath and coming on duty on the other Sabbath.
14. I believe this must be the case, as there is no pair of dates which suits, for none of
them comes closer than a whole number of Priestly Courses plus 23 weeks. This
appears to prove that the Temples were burned on the Sabbath. No other day of the
week allows for overlap of incoming and outgoing Priestly Courses.
15. There must be an exact multiple of 7 days between the 2 dates of Temple
destruction, as they both occurred on the same day. Therefore the first event must
have fallen in a year when the same Jewish date fell on the same day of the week as
the second event.
16. Not to mention the problems with the various dates recorded 7 th (2 Kings 25:8);
8th, 9th (Rabbinic) & 10th (Josephus; Jer 52:12; Ezek 33:21) of Av. Also Rabbinic
calculation vs. the Karaite observation of first crescent method of beginning lunar
months. Possibly even the 364-day solar calendar may have been in use pre-Exile, if
the Dead Sea Scrolls are to be believed.
17. I am able to find only one year which satisfies all these criteria 540 BC for the
destruction of the first Temple.
18. 70 AD: First Lunar Visibility = 27 July so 1 AV = 28 July; 8 AV =
SABBATH 4 August 70 AD. This is Julian Date 1746841.
19. 540 BC: First Visibility = 9 Aug so 8 AV = SABBATH 17 Aug 540 BC
which is JD 1524416.
20.These are both YEAR 1 SHMITA, the year after a Land Sabbath.
21. 540 BC 70 AD = 609 years, which is exactly 87 x 7 years.
22. Julian Dates 1746841 1524416 = 222,425 days.
23. 222,425 days 7 = 31,775 weeks exactly.
24. 31,775 weeks 24 = 1,323 Priestly Courses + 23 weeks.
25. Jehoiarib was on duty in 70 AD.
26. So if Jehoiarib was coming on duty in 70 AD, they were going off duty in
540 BC. This gives an exact multiple of 1,324 x 24-week Priestly Courses
less 1 week.
27. This suggests Year 19 Nebuchadnezzar = 540 BC = 20 Exile (from Daniel's captivity
in 560 BC).
28.The only problem with this scheme is Ptolemy's chronology and bothersome
Babylonian astronomical records. But 587 BC is just impossible to reconcile
with Bible Chronology. These two Sabbaths are on 8 Av, both calculated from
the first visible lunar crescent. Several different dates are given in scripture as well
as extra-biblical records; the Temple burning lasted more than a single calendar
day. But all other aspects satisfy the scriptural & historical criteria.
29. If 540 BC is not the correct year, then the only other possible prospects
at intervals of 7 years, are:
 547 BC
554 BC
561 BC
568 BC Possible; similar results to 540 BC, except Sabbath is 7 AV
rather than 8 Av.
575 BC
582 BC
589 BC. Of these, only 568 BC has Jehoiarib on duty.
In 587 BC, the Priestly Course on duty on Sabbath 9 Av (29 July) was
HAKKOZ, # 7. 587 BC is Year 3 of the Shmita cycle.
30.So Year 70 Exile would be 490 BC; Darius the Mede reigned almost 2 years; 1 Cyrus
is 488 BC when he gave the decree to rebuild Temple & Jerusalem; plus 483 years
(69 Weeks) to the coming (birth) of the Messiah gives 5 BC.
31. The angel announced that the Messiah had come at His birth:
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is
Christ the Lord.
32. In the YEAR of RELEASE, all slaves were freed. This was of more use to many
more slaves than only freeing them every 50th year as you have said, in which case
most would never live long enough to see liberty. Your assumptions about
Jeremiah's prophecy (ch 34) necessarily being a Jubilee year, are unfounded. I
thought so too at first and tried hard to make that work, but found it infeasible.
2Ki 19:29 / Isaiah 37:30 "And this shall be the sign for you:
this year eat what grows of itself, and
in the second year what springs of the same.
Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
These years of Release and Jubilee are described here:
Lev 25:3 For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall
prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, Lev 25:4 but in the 7th year there
shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD. You
shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. Lev 25:5 You shall not reap what
grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall
be a year of solemn rest for the land.
Lev 25:10 And you shall consecrate the 50th year, and proclaim liberty
throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when
each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his
clan.
Lev 25:11 That 50th year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither
sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines.
Lev 25:12 For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of
the field.
Lev 25:20 And if you say, 'What shall we eat in the 7th year, if we may not
sow or gather in our crop?' Lev 25:21 I will command my blessing on you
in the 6th year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years.
 Lev 25:22 When you sow in the 8th year, you will be eating some of the old crop; you
shall eat the old until the 9th year, when its crop arrives.
33. Year 15 Hezekiah was a JUBILEE, following a SABBATIC year. Both these
years are specified by the Lord, where He tells the ailing Hezekiah in his 14 th year,
that he will be healed; the sign (actually OTH, the same word used in the Dead
Sea Scrolls to designate the intercalated months in the lunar years; and the
singular of OTOT, the 294-year Essene calendar) of His promise is that in this
14th year and the following 15th year, the people may not sow, plant or reap; but that
in the 3rd year they can sow, plant and reap. This obviously describes a Sabbatic
year, a Jubilee year, and the 2nd year of the 7-year cycle. Possibly with an
intercalated month included or specified as the date when Hezekiah would go up to
the house of the Lord (Isaiah 38:22).
34. So, we do have one specific Jubilee year identified in scripture, but Year
10 Zedekiah is not it. The Jubilee is Year 15 Hezekiah. Year 15 Hezekiah is
49 years before Year 35 Manasseh (must be a Jubilee), and 98 years before Year
30 Josiah (which must be another Jubilee), which is 20 years before Year 10
Zedekiah. Therefore 10 Zedekiah must be the 3rd Sabbatic year (# 21) in the
Jubilee cycle.
35. 10 Zedekiah is indeed a Sabbatic year, rather than a Jubilee year as you suggest, but
you seem to have missed the clear scriptural reference for this. The Lord was very
specific that year 10 Zedekiah was the 7th year, a Year of Release:
Jer 34:8 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had
made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of
liberty to them,
Jer 34:9 that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female,
so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother.
Jer 34:10 And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into
the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that
they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free.
Jer 34:11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female
slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves.
Jer 34:12 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Jer 34:13 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I myself made a covenant
with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of
the house of bondage, saying,
Jer 34:14 'At the end of 7 years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who
has been sold to you and has served you 6 years; you must set him free
from your service.' But your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to
me.
Jer 34:15 You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by
proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbour, and you made a covenant before me
in the house that is called by my name,
Jer 34:16 but then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you
took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their
desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.
36. Another detail you seem to have missed if 10 Zedekiah had been a Jubilee
year, then 11 Zedekiah when the Temple was burned, would have been
 the second year of the Shmita cycle; but the Temple was destroyed in the first
year after a Sabbatic year. Therefore 10 Zedekiah cannot have been a Jubilee.
Nor does 587 BC fit into this scenario. If the Bible is true, then somehow
Ptolemy was wrong, and there must be another viable explanation for
the Babylonian astronomical records which appear to confirm the
Canon of Kings.
37. The Messiah was born several months before the death of Herod; Herod died a few
months after he burned the rebels alive; this was very shortly after the FAST DAY of
the Jews; and also on the day preceding a lunar eclipse. Assuming all this to be true
~ there is but one single contender for this date, and it cannot be 1 BC.
Now it happened, that during the time of the high priesthood of this Matthias,
there was another person made high priest for a single day, THAT VERY DAY
WHICH THE JEWS OBSERVED AS A FAST. The occasion was this: This
Matthias the high priest, on the night before THAT DAY WHEN THE FAST
WAS TO BE CELEBRATED ...
But Herod ... burnt the other Matthias, who had raised the sedition, with his
companions, alive. And THAT VERY NIGHT THERE WAS AN ECLIPSE OF
THE MOON.
That very day which the Jews observed as a Fast can only be the DAY of
ATONEMENT. Other fasts have been added by the Jews, but God gave only one
day of fasting and affliction to them 10 Tisri. There is only one lunar eclipse
which occurred within days of the Day of Atonement, and this was the spectacular
Total Eclipse on 15 September 5 BC, about 9:30 11 pm. This knocks the
relatively insignificant partial eclipse of 29 December 1 BC into a cocked hat. Also,
December is nowhere near the Day of Atonement. Nor did any other eclipse for
many years either side of 5 BC, even come close to 10 Tisri.
38. 15 September 5 BC turns out to be 12 Tisri; precisely 2 days after
the Day of Atonement. Surely this is the most conclusive proof for the date of
Herod's death being in 5 BC, and therefore the birth of Christ being either in 5 BC or
earlier. (But any earlier gets ridiculous at the other end of course remembering that
He was about 30 years old at the beginning of His ministry, and could not have been
more than 32 or 33 at the Cross). A Jewish document written during the lifetime of
Jesus, the Megillath Ta'anith, records that Herod died on 1 SHEVAT, which was 31
December in 5 BC thus allowing plenty of time for all the many events
described by Josephus to take place before his protracted funeral procession prior
to the 4 BC Passover.
39. Josephus tells us that Herod besieged Jerusalem in a Sabbatic year. This was the
year 38/37 BC, before the beginning of his reign.

Antiq. Bk 14:16:2. Now the Jews that were enclosed within the walls of the city
fought against Herod they persisted in this war to the very last; and this they did
while a mighty army lay round about them, and while they were distressed by
famine and the want of necessaries, for this happened to be a Sabbatic
year.

40.Josephus identifies a Sabbatic year followed by a Jubilee year during Herod's

reign. This was Years 13 / 14 /15 Herod, which happened to be 23/22 BC when
a disastrous famine occurred, exacerbated by the two consecutive years when the
Jews were forbidden to sow and reap:
1. Now on this very year, which was the 13th year of the reign of Herod, very
 great calamities came upon the country and this not only on that year, while
they had nothing for themselves left [at the end of it], but what seed they had sown
perished also, by reason of the ground not yielding its fruits on the second
year. Josephus, Antiq Bk 15 Ch 9.
41. As Year 14/15 Herod in 23/22 BC was a Jubilee, then 1 BC cannot have been a
Jubilee as you suggest.
42. 1 Maccabees 16:14-16 and Antiquities 13:8:1 tell us that in Seleucid year 177/178,
Simon the Hasmonean was murdered, and that Ptolemy escaped the siege after the
sabbatic year began. This was years 137/136 BC (year 6 Shmita) and 136/135 BC
(Land Sabbath).

And as the siege was drawn out into length by this means, that year on which the
Jews used to rest came on; for the Jews observe this rest every 7 th year,
as they do every 7th day; so that Ptolemy being for this cause released
from the war he fled to Zeno.
43. Judas Maccabeus besieged the Tower in Jerusalem in a Sabbatic year, which was
the 150th Seleucid year. This was 164/163 BC, 28 years or 4 Shmita cycles before
136/135 BC when Ptolemy fled. (1 Macc 6:18-20).
44. Seleucus began to reign in 312 BC, making this the first Seleucid year (ISBE info).
That again corresponds with Seleucid year 150 being 164/163 BC.
45. The 17th JUBILEE before the destruction of the first Temple: I think you
are being tricky here, in saying, The time during which Israel could "proclaim
liberty" in the Promised Land ended just after the 17th jubilee closed
(counting up until the autumn of 589 BC as completing the 50th year of
the 17th jubilee). Because what you are REALLY saying is, that this was the 18th
Jubilee in 589 BC, since you have claimed that their first year in the Land was the 1 st
Jubilee. If your Jubilee # 1 was 1422 BC, then 589 BC was your Jubilee # 18.
46.The 70th JUBILEE: My calculations differ somewhat from yours here as you have
seen, but I have provided lots of corroborating evidence. My best estimate is that the
70th Jubilee will occur in 2036 AD, on the Day of Atonement, October 1st. I
see your point about the 50th year also being the 1st year of the 49-year cycle but it
is also a fact that the Jubilee year must necessarily be the 50th year which
follows 49 previous years. Therefore, the first year of the Israelites in the Land
does not qualify as a 50th year. It can only be a first year. The first Jubilee has to
be their 50th year in the Land. From the date that the Israelites entered
the Promised Land (which in my Chronology was 1395 BC), the 70 th
Jubilee must fall in 2036 AD.
47. In your article JOSHUA'S 70th JUBILEE you acknowledge my point by stating
that the 70th Jubilee from the entry into the Promised Land would be (by your
calculation) 2009; however using your reckoning in your article JUBILEE
WITNESS, where you pretend that your 18th inclusive Jubilee from 1422 BC = 17
Jubilees before the Exile; then April 2009 would be your 71st Jubilee. This is
confused anyway, as the Jubilee is celebrated on the Day of Atonement, in
September / October, not April.
48.If Jesus was not born (as you suggest) in 1 BC in a Year of Jubilee, to fulfil Isaiah's
prophecy about proclaiming liberty (which He could not have done as a newborn
babe of course), then when did He fulfil it? When was liberty proclaimed
throughout the land to all its inhabitants? (Lev 25:10.) This is so obvious. Jesus
Himself tells us, Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
 Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And
as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to
read.
Luke 4:17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the
scroll and found the place where it was written,
Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to
proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the
captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are
oppressed,
Luke 4:19 to proclaim the YEAR of the Lord's favour."
Luke 4:20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat
down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
Luke 4:21 And he began to say to them, "TODAY this Scripture has been
fulfilled in your hearing."
49.This passage is highly significant. It gives us much information about exactly which
year this was. Jesus stated that this was the year of the Lord's favour. He said
that this year was the proclamation of liberty. Nothing in the New
Testament could be more specific as a statement that this was the Year of Jubilee,
which is never mentioned by name after Numbers 36:4. This was Sabbath day.
As it happens, 20 September in 27 AD, was Sabbath, 1 Tisri, the first day of the
29th Jubilee year. Was this perhaps the exact date on which Jesus
(having returned to his own town where he was brought up as required
in Jubilee year) read this passage from Isaiah, proclaiming liberty
throughout the land to all its inhabitants?
50.There is yet another clue however.
Lev 25:6 The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for
your male and female slaves and for your hired servant and the sojourner who lives
with you,
Lev 25:7 and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its
yield shall be for food."
Lev 25:11 That 50th year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow
nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines.
Lev 25:12 For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of
the field.
In both the Year of Release and the Jubilee, the Jews were forbidden to plough, sow,
plant or reap their land and crops. They still had to eat of course; every person,
native or foreigner, and every animal, was permitted to pick and eat whatever he
found growing in the fields and by the roadsides. This is exactly what we see the
disciples doing here:
Mat 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His
disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.
This indicates that this was either a Year of Release or a Jubilee. Jesus and His
disciples and followers were able to travel anywhere within the land of Israel with
no concerns about spending money for grain and fruits, for two entire years.
Everybody was entitled to feed himself from what he picked throughout the land in
those two years.
51. Here is more proof that the two years of Jesus' ministry included both a Year of
 Release and the Year of Jubilee.
Lev 25:10 And you shall consecrate the 50 th year, and proclaim liberty throughout
the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you
shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan Lev
25:13 "In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property."
The gospel of John is written in chronological order, whereas the synoptic gospels
are not. Comparing Matthew, Mark and Luke, we find that the same events are
placed in different orders. In Luke 4, we see a very condensed narrative of Jesus'
ministry, from His return from the Jordan through to His reading of Isaiah in
Nazareth. This could possibly span as much as 18 months. The clue to this is that
after He observed the first Passover and Tabernacles of His ministry in Jerusalem,
and had been preaching throughout Galilee and the surrounding country (Luke
4:14), Jesus returned to His home and family in Nazareth, which was
required of all Jews in the Year of Jubilee.
Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up.
To me, this is proof that the second year of Jesus' ministry was a Jubilee.
52. Another clue is that, at the Passover in this year, Jesus did not even travel to
Jerusalem for the Feast. He remained in Galilee, with His family, where
He had been brought up, as the Law required. Great crowds of other Galileans
also stayed at home, as we know from the account of the loaves and fishes which fed
the 5,000 men (plus women and children) during this Passover week. In every other
year, all the men were obliged to attend the Passover Feast in Jerusalem.
John 6:1 After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of
Galilee ...
John 6:2 And a large crowd was following him ...
John 6:4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.
53. Jesus spent all His time during this year between the Feast of Passover and the
Feast of Tabernacles, in Galilee.
John 7:1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee.
John 7:2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand.
54. After the end of this Jubilee year (in Tisri), Jesus finally left Galilee and went to
Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.
John 7:10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not
publicly but in private.
55. After this, Jesus did not return to Galilee again, but remained near Jerusalem (for
the Feast of Dedication in Kislev, John 10:22) or across the Jordan (John 10:40), or
in Bethany (John 11:1) or at Ephraim in the wilderness (John 11:54).
56. Have you ever wondered how it was that so many thousands of people had the spare
time to follow Jesus wherever He went during His ministry? In this agrarian society,
most people were fully employed in subsistence agriculture. Yet in the two years of
Jesus' ministry, people flocked after Jesus for extended periods of time, on every
occasion, in crowds of many thousands, as though they had nothing else to do. What
an appropriate provision the Lord had made for the people that their Messiah
should come to them, to proclaim liberty and the year of the Lord's favour,
during the two consecutive years when they were forbidden to work in
their fields! Thus, the greatest possible proportion of the population had perfect
liberty from labour to follow Jesus all over the country, listening to His words of
 wisdom, being healed of diseases, and delivered from evil spirits.
57. The Years of Release around the time of Jesus' ministry fell from:
September 19 AD September 20 AD;
September 26 AD September 27 AD;
September 33 AD September 34 AD.
20 AD is too early, and 34 AD is too late. The only Year of Release which fits
into Jesus' ministry is 26 27 AD.
58. If this is so, then the Year of Jubilee which also fell during Jesus' ministry,
when Jesus proclaimed liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants in the Year
of the Lord's favour, must have been 27 28 AD.
59. If there were 17 Jubilees in the Land before the Exile, which ended in 490 BC, then
27/28 AD was the 29th Jubilee.
60.The first Jubilee would have been in 1346 BC, after the first 49 years in the Land.
So the first year in the Land was 1395 BC, and the Exodus was 1435 BC.
61. Year 15 Hezekiah was Jubilee # 15.
62. Year 35 Manasseh was Jubilee # 16.
63. Year 30 Josiah was Jubilee # 17.
64.The 70th Jubilee will begin on 1 Tisri, 22 September, 2036 AD.
65. The Jubilee in year 14 Herod must have been 23/22 BC, following the Land Sabbath
year in 24/23 BC, when 2 years of famine plagued the country.
66.Herod must have begun to reign in 37/36 BC. (These dates are approximate, due to
the two recognised beginnings of Herod's reign; and the difference between the
regnal years and the Jubilee years.)
67. Herod began to rebuild the Temple in his 18th year, which was 20/19 BC.
68.The Temple was in its 46th year of rebuilding at the first Passover of Jesus' ministry
(John 2:20), which must have been April 27 AD.
69.Jesus was then 30 years old (Luke 3:23), and had begun His ministry in the
previous autumn, 26 AD, at the beginning of the Year of Release / Land Sabbath.
70. John the Baptist being a priest of 6 months older, had begun his ministry when he
turned 30 a few months before, and this was the 15th year of Tiberius (Luke 3:1). So
Luke must have counted Tiberius' first year as 12 AD, when he commenced the co-
regency with his incompetent stepfather.
71. Only John mentions more than one Passover during Jesus' ministry, and he
specifically mentions just 3 Passovers. This is the Passovers of
1. 27 AD in Jerusalem (Sabbatic Year);
2. 28 AD in Galilee (Jubilee Year) and
3. the Crucifixion Passover in 29 AD.
72. If the Cross was in 29 AD, then it is not beyond the realms of possibility, depending
on the ripeness of the barley, for it to have occurred at the early date of Friday 18
March (13 Nisan), since for example the Rabbinic 14 Nisan of 56 AD was 19 March.
In this case, the 14th of the month in 29 AD would have fallen on Sabbath; thus
pushing the killing of the lambs forward one day to Friday, and making Sabbath 14
Nisan the High Day (John 19:31), or Shabbat Hagadol, which only occurs during
 the week of Unleavened Bread in years when the 14 th of Nisan falls on the Sabbath.
73. Further support for this early date for the Passover in 29 AD, is the necessity, after 2
years when no crops could be harvested, of reaping the new barley crop at the very
earliest opportunity. The much-needed harvest could only begin after the Wave-
sheaf of new barley was presented during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The
modern annual Karaite Aviv Barley Searches confirm that barley in Israel ripens
sufficiently at the beginning of March, to allow for this.
74. Rabbinic tradition states that a Sabbatic year was never intercalated, for the reason
that this would give 13 months when no crops could be sown or harvested in such a
year.
A Sabbatical year could not be a leap-year, but that preceding it was always such.
Sometimes two, but never three, leap-years succeeded each other. Alfred
Edersheim, The Temple, Its Ministry and Service.
The same prohibition applied of course to the Jubilee year, even more so as time
was of the essence for gathering the new crops after two years without any harvests.
Today's Rabbinic calendar, extrapolated back to 29 AD, gives a second Adar
intercalated in March which would have been over-ridden in the agrarian society
of Jesus' time in that year after a Sabbatic and Jubilee year, by the need for food and
fodder for the human and animal populations.
75. Another line of proof is found in the fig tree which Jesus cursed shortly before the
final Passover, as it bore no figs, Matt 21:19. The earliest tiny green figs, which are
sometimes eaten by hungry passers-by, develop in the new leaf axils in early April in
Israel. This tree bore only leaves a testimony to the earliness of the season of that
Passover. He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs, Mark
11:13. Had Passover fallen in April, there would surely have been some unripe figs
for Jesus to eat, as He well knew.
76. Having determined from Josephus' account, that Herod's death came a few months
after the lunar eclipse on 15 September 5 BC which closely followed the Day of
Atonement on 10 Tisri, it is clear that 1 Tisri was 4 th September. This places 1 Nisan
on 10th March 5 BC. The Vernal Equinox was 22nd March. 14 Nisan then was also
very early in 5 BC, on 24th March. This is confirmation from Josephus the Jewish
priest that the barley must have been aviv in the first week of March 5 BC, or else
the new year beginning in Nisan would not have been announced until the following
lunar month. So Passover could indeed fall as early as the week of the Vernal
Equinox.
77. Also there is the fact that the Sun must be in the sign of the Vernal Equinox, Aries,
during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Josephus; Philo; Aristobulus) which is
only the case if the earlier date (March rather than April 29 AD) is selected. Aries
being a small constellation, the sun moves through it in less than one lunar month
and the April date given for the Rabbinic Passover in that year, means that the sun
leaves Aries on 15th of that lunar month, with ULB falling entirely in the following
sign, Taurus. However if Passover was in March, then Nisan 17 21 Nisan fall on or
after the Vernal Equinox; and Nisan 19, 20 & 21 do at least fall when the sun is in
Aries.
78. The Full Moon during ULB must be at or beyond the Autumnal Equinoctial Point
(Aristobulus, ~ 200 BC). If April is selected for the Passover in 29 AD, then the Full
Moon on the night of 16 / 17 April was well advanced into the constellation of
LIBRA, far beyond the Equinoctial Point. However if the 29 AD Passover was in
March, then the Full Moon on 18 / 19 March was directly above the Equinoctial
Point in VIRGO.
79. If there is a fourth unmentioned Passover as some suppose, then the Cross would
have fallen in 30 AD. This does seem to tie in with the Mishnaic accounts of various
portentous miraculous events occurring around the Temple and the Mount of
Olives, for the 40 years prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. {On the
other hand, some Rabbis insist that Jerusalem was destroyed in 69 AD. This is
indeed 40 years after 29 AD but opens a whole new can of worms re the Shmita
Cycle.}
80.Also, 14 Nisan in 30 AD fell on a Wednesday rather than Paraskeue, the Day of
Preparation (Friday), therefore this could not have been the year of the Cross.
81. The following text circumvents the apparent difficulty of 41 years between the Cross
and the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The fig tree of course, is a euphemism
for the nation of Israel in scripture. Jesus told this parable on His final trip from
Galilee to Jerusalem, thus in the 3rd year of His ministry :
Luk 13:6 And he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard,
and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Luk 13:7 And he said to the
vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree,
and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' Luk 13:8 And he
answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on
manure. Luk 13:9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if
not, you can cut it down.'"
This text delays the beginning of God's 40 years of judgement against Israel,
signified by 40 years of miraculous portents preceding the Temple's destruction, for
a further year, beyond the year of the Cross. Three years now was the 3 years of
Jesus' ministry; 26/27 AD; 27/28 AD; 28/29 AD. This year also would be
29/30 AD. The Holy Spirit was poured out at the Feast of Weeks, 7 weeks after the
Resurrection in 29 AD, on which date 3,000 Jews repented and believed in the
Messiah. This was the heavenly fertiliser applied to the fig tree of Israel. The 40
years of disfavour would not begin until the following year, beginning Tisri 30 AD.
Every year from then on for 40 years, 30 AD 69 AD, on the Day of Atonement, the
scarlet thread did not turn white, signifying that Israel's sins were not forgiven. For
40 consecutive years, the High Priest drew out a black stone rather than a white
one, portending a malign prospect for Israel in the following year.
82.Date of John the Baptist's birth: If he was conceived at the earliest possible
date after Zechariah completed his duty during the Priestly Course of Abijah then
travelled home in the following week then his conception would be during the 9 th
course of JESHUA. Gestation = 38 weeks. Therefore his earliest birth date would
be 38 weeks later, in Priestly Course # 23, DELAIAH, Yah Has Delivered. But
you have arbitrarily placed his birth 3 weeks later, in Priestly Course # 2, JEDAIAH.
That is a gestation of 41 weeks which is fully 3 weeks too long.
83.Date of Christ's Birth: He was apparently conceived during the 6th month of
Elizabeth's pregnancy, so Jesus was up to 6 months; that is, more than 23 but
less than 26 weeks, younger than his cousin John.
Luke 1:24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for 5 months she
kept herself hidden ...
Luke 1:26 In the 6th month the angel Gabriel was sent from God ...
Luke 1:27 to a virgin ...
Luke 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you
shall call his name Jesus ...
Luke 1:36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a
son, and this is the 6th month with her ...
 It seems appropriate that He was conceived 24 weeks after John, in the 9 th Priestly
Course of Jeshua (He Will Save), since this was the name given to Him by the
announcing angel, who said,
You shall call His name Yeshua, for He will save His people from their sins.
(Matt 1:21).
In that case, Jesus would have been born 38 weeks later, in Course 23, DELAIAH
(Yah has Delivered).
In 1 BC, your selected date for the Nativity, this Course falls in February, not
April. Certainly not at Passover as you suggest. Of course, we can only speculate;
we do not have specific dates to guide us. But there are certain things we can rule
out such as 41-week gestations. I am certain that the Son of God arrived precisely
on time, in 38 weeks from conception.
84.Caesar Augustus' 28th Year : There are numerous historical records of the year
of the birth of Jesus Christ, as recorded by the Roman Government of Caesar
Augustus. Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement, Julius Africanus, and Eusebius
all testify that Jesus was born during the 28th (Sole) or 41st (Joint) regnal
year of Augustus. It is stated that these official records were still extant in the
City of Rome, for the perusal of anybody who cared to check for himself. This is the
very Census taken by Augustus recorded by Luke :
Luke 2:1-7 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world
should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of
Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up
from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is
called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered
with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time
came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son.
The years of Augustus' reign can be fixed between an 80% obscured Lunar Eclipse
which occurred during the Battle of Actium that was counted as both the 13 th joint
year of his co-regency with Cleopatra, and the first year of his sole reign after she
died; and the year of his death, in which there was a Total Lunar Eclipse. These
years were 31 BC and AD 14 respectively. As 31 BC was his 13th / 1st year, his 41st /
28th year was Roman year 4 BC. Of course the January December Roman year
overlapped the two Hebrew years either side of it, which were counted from Nisan
Adar (Vernal Equinox). Depending on whether Roman or Hebrew reckoning was
used, both 5/4 BC and 4/3 BC could be contenders for Christ's birth in Augustus'
28th year. However, Josephus' testimony of Herod's death a few months following
the lunar eclipse immediately after the Day of Atonement, clinches Hebrew Year 5/4
BC as the nativity.

Well, I hope you have followed me so far. If for no other purpose than to disagree with the
conclusions I have drawn after many years of study. I do enjoy a good discussion, and I
have spent a lot of time studying your points of view. I do believe I have made some
excellent points which bear deep consideration. This however has only scratched the
surface!

I would certainly welcome some professional suggestions which might explain possibly
erroneous interpretations of the Babylonian astronomical records, from someone as astute
as yourself. I wonder whether for example, some of those ancient astronomical diaries may
have been translated to correspond with predetermined chronological bias rather than
with a view to obtaining unprejudiced results. Was Ptolemy's Chronology used as a sort of
Rosetta Stone to assist in deciphering the Babylonian astronomical tablets? This could
certainly have skewed the results.
I simply cannot make the Bible agree with the uninspired Ptolemy. If Ptolemy was correct,
then Isaiah and Daniel were false prophets. And if Velikovsky was correct, then Babylonian
astronomical data have little correlation with current astronomical positions.

Especially I hope that I have provoked you to abandon some of those seemingly-
convenient but away-with-the-fairies sacred calendars from pagan religions, in favour of
delving more thoroughly into the Bible for God's solutions to its own calendrical dilemmas.
There is surely enough material in the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures to occupy and satisfy
the scientific mind, without touting for improbable theories from pagan religions? It is
time to analyse scripture against its own testimony rather than against human cunning.

Eph 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and
teachers,
Eph 4:12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
Eph 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
Eph 4:14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried
about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Sincerely,

Jerushah.