When Was Christ Born: The Scriptural and Historical Evidence
Question:
In the Volume 1, Number 2 issue of Covenant Nations Magazine, two conflicting articles appear regarding the birth of Christ. One article states that the Great Pyramid gives 4 B.C. (p. 15), while another article in the same issue (p. 28) states 2 B.C. Which one is right?
Answer:
Historians and Bible scholars have debated this issue for centuries, and it has also been a source of contention through the years in the British-Israel movement. In the mid-twentieth century, two leading British-Israel scholars took opposite positions on this issue. David Davidson, author of a number of books on “pyramidology” (the study of the Great Pyramid) championed the 4 B.C. date. His great work entitled, “The Great Pyramid: Its Divine Message” was first published in 1924. (Now out of print) Yet another great British-Israel scholar was Dr. Adam Rutherford, author of the four-volume work, “Pyramidology.” In the second volume of his series, Rutherford gave a wealth of historical and biblical evidence for the accuracy of the 2 B.C. date and tied it into the measurements of the Great Pyramid with several clear charts and diagrams.
For quite a few years, words flew between the two scholarly men and their supporters. Finally in the mid-1950’s, the board of the British-Israel-World Federation commissioned a committee composed of some of the leading B.I. scholars of that era to investigate the issue and report their findings, which they did several months later. Their conclusion was that Rutherford’s dating of 2 B.C. was correct and that Davidson had made an error in his calculations which had produced the difference. Ironically, Davidson passed away a short time before the committee issued its findings. However, the 2 B.C. date has generally been followed by B.I.’s since that time, including such leading scholars as the late W.E. Filmer and the leading American Anglo-Israel scholar, Dr. E. Raymond Capt, author of 16 books. The eminent Dr. Capt provided me with much of the background information concerning this issue many years ago, and I verified it with him again in a recent telephone conversation.
Two excellent books are available on the subject of the Great Pyramid and Christ’s birth: Dr. Rutherford’s four volume series is still available in print from Artisan Sales, Box 1529, Muskogee, OK 74402 (Website: www.artisansales.com). The same source also sells Dr. Capt’s excellent book, “A Study In Pyramidology.” Incidentally, keep Dr. Capt in your prayers; he has recently been diagnosed with bone cancer at 93 years of age.
An excellent short study on “The Year Of Christ’s Birth” by the late B.I. scholar, W.E. Filmer, is available on our CBIA website at www.israelite.ca, where you will also find a related article on “The Seventy Weeks of Daniel” prophecy, which discusses the 490 year prophetic period ending with Christ’s crucifixion. We can also mail you a printed copy of either article if you contact our office. Patricia Bagwell, who wrote the article on the birth of Christ on pages 27 & 28 of the Covenant Nations Magazine mentioned above, is a former member of CBIA and was a featured guest speaker at one of our conventions a few years ago.
