We are not to suppose that Dionysius believed that Jesus was born on January 1, A. D. 1. lie wished to make the years of the Christian Era agree with the Julian. The church at Rome had been celebrating December 25th in honor of the nativity; and though this custom. probably decree.; by the Bishop or Pope Julius I (337-352 A. D.), had originally been adopted in further ance of the shrewd policy of the church to sub stitute great Christian festivals for great pagan ones. and so to put a festival of the nativity in place of the jolly Saturnalia of Rome, it natur ally led to the belief that Jesus was horn Decem ber 25th. The Greeks, not yet separated from the Romans, were in the time of Dionysius celebrat ing January 6th; his initial day of the new era fell between the two. I f we should judge from Luke ii:8, we should put the Dies Natalis in any other of the four seasons rather titan in the winter.
Dionysius certainly accepted the Roman tradi• thin, and must have believed that Jesus was born just a week before January t. A 1) t ; to wit, on Saturday, December 25, 13. C. t ; for there is no year zero. And if in accord with current opinion we date the event four years earlier we must say that Jesus was born December 25, B. C. 5.
(2) The Star of Bethlehem. Matthew tells us the story, unrecorded by the other evangelists, of the coming of the Magi or Wise Men of the East in obedience to the indications of a star, For we have seen his star in the east," or it may mean. "at its rising." It is more likely, how ever, that this locative phrase, "in the east," de noted the place of the seeing, as if "we in the cast saw this star." Why should they have come westward if the eastern rising of the star at tracted them? Great search has been made by astronomers for record of some remarkable ap pearance in the heavens about the year B. C. 4; but neither comet nor new upblazing star like the famous one that flashed up in 1572 in Cas siopeia, and shone for sixteen months before it vanished, is found. Kepler found that there was a notable conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars, in the constellation Pisces in B. C. 6: but that was not a star, and does not seem to have been noticed.
Prof. Elias Colbert has collated evidences of a widespread anticipation of the coming of some great one, such anticipation as is voiced in Vir gil's Eclogue IV, the "Pollio," written in B. C. 40, which foretells the golden age of peace to fol low the birth of a wonderful boy. Dr. Clarke gives similar prophecies from Jewish writers. Prof. Colbert finds some of these refer to a virgin mother. This directed his attention to the con stellation Virgo in the Zodiac, the emblem of harvest and plenty. Ile finds that in B. C. 4 the
star Spica, "Alpha Virginis," reached the celestial equator or equinoctial in its passage southward caused by the same movement that makes the pre cession of the equinoxes. Ile says that magian astronomers must have noticed this rare position of Spica; and that moved by the old prophecy they may have looked for the Divine boy.
But one verse (Matt. ii :9) puts aside all the as tronomers. When the magi left Jerusalem they saw the star in motion, going southward toward Bethlehem; they followed it until it "stood over where the young child was." Then the Star of Bethlehem was a miraculous vision granted to them only; as Dr. Clarke says. "a simple lumin ous meteor in a star-like form, and at a very short distance from the ground;" for if it had been high. it could not have pointed plainly to the house of the manger (Luke ii :7).
(3) Death of Herod. But the astronomers help us grandly on the next question. While in consequence of different ways of reckoning it is a little uncertain from what time to begin to reckon the years of Herod's reign as given by various and varying historians, all point to B. C. 3 or B C. 4 for his death. Joscphus relates that an eclipse of the moon occurred while Herod lay sick at Jericho with his fatal illness, and he just then re vived. Soon worse again he was carried to the baths of Callirrhoe; gaining nothing. he was brought again to Jericho, whither he summoned the principal men of the nation. intending to have them all slaughtered, that there might be mourn ing in the land at his death. Then the desired consent of Augustus to the execution of Anti pater, Ilerod's son, arrived, and the prince was killed. Five days later Herod died, and the Pass over was at hand when the week of the funeral was spent. The Passover of that year (B. C. 4) was on April 9th. The eclipses of that time visible in Palestine were on March 23, 13. C. 5, which al lows no time for the events, related: Sept. 15. B C. 5. which allows too much time, considering the mortal illness of the tyrant ; and March 12-13, It C. 4. which gives 18 days before the Passover. If this time be deemed ton short. we may count from the September eclipse; hut in either case the death was in March B. C. 4, (4) The Nativity. Now the story of Matthew requires us to allow before the death of Herod time enough for the flight of Joseph and Mary into Egypt, after the birth of Jesus; and if there were reasons for Herod's time limit of two years and under, we may put the birth of Jesus two years before Dec. 25th of B. C. 5, which was the Christmas next before Herod's death. The birth may have occurred then in B. C. 7, or B. C. 6, or B. C. 5, but not later if we depend upon these data.