In this article on the Birth of Jesus, "A Personal Revelation" author Eric Fugett examines key evidence in order to determine an exact date for the birth of Jesus. Let's begin in the book of Daniel.

According to Daniel 9:25-26, some decree will be issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Exactly sixty-nine "sevens" (69x7) or 483 years after this occurs, the Anointed One will come. The decree in question is the one issued by King Artaxerxes in 458 BCE (Ezra 7:11-26).

Ezra left Jerusalem in April and arrived in Jerusalem in August of that same year (Ezra 7:8-9). I believed that Ezra read the decree to the Israelites on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), which fell on September 11, in 458 BCE. In Ezra 8:35-36, we are told that several burnt offerings were made and that the king's decree was read thereafter. The Jewish historian Josephus records that these offerings were for the remission of sin (The Antiquities 11.5.2). This also coincides with the number of animal that were to be sacrificed for each tribe on the Day of Atonement (Numbers 29:7-11). Since most scholars agree that Ezra is when we should start counting, then 483 years from 458 BCE brings us to 26 CE.

Now if I am correct, Jesus began His ministry and was baptized on or near His 30th birthday (Luke 3:23) on The Day of Atonement in 26 CE. FYI, the Greek words used in Luke 3:23, which tell us that "Jesus was about 30 years of age when He began his ministry," should be translated, Jesus began (commenced) to be or, in other words, just turned 30 years of age when He began his ministry. Also, in John 2:13-20, when it was almost time for the Passover, the Jews told Jesus it had taken 46 years to build the temple up to its current state. The work on the Jewish temple began in 20 BCE, so 46 years from that time brings us to 27 CE (year 0 does not exist). Since this is the Passover that occurred just after Jesus’ baptism, we now have further assurance that it was in 26 CE that Jesus celebrated His 30th birthday, was baptized, and began his ministry.

Now, read the description of The Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16 and compare it to Matthew chapters three and four. You will see some very obvious similarities. In Leviticus 16, we find priests using water for purification, sacrifices being made for sin atonement, and a goat being sent into the desert carrying the sins of the people. In Matthew 3-4, we find people coming out to John for sin atonement through baptism, and Jesus being sent into the desert by the Holy Spirit.

As further proof that the date for Jesus’ birth is correct, I will also show you what I discovered concerning Herod’s death. If you check history, you will discover that Herod was born in 74/73 BCE. Josephus tells us that Herod was 25 in 48/47 BCE when he was made governor (Josephus, The Antiquities Book XVII, Chapter 9, Section 2 (Also see footnote)). Before he died, at the age 70, Herod killed a man named Matthias on a day that had a lunar eclipse (Josephus, The Antiquities Book XVII, Chapter 6, Sections 1-4). Herod died sometime after this event and just before a Passover occurred (Josephus, The Antiquities Book XVII, Chapter 9, Sections 3).

At the very beginning of The Wars Book II, Josephus also tells us that it was 69 years from the death of Herod to the coming of Vespasian. We know that Vespasian came to Jerusalem to lead the Roman armies against the Jews in the spring of 67 CE. Herod would have been 69 turning 70 in 4 BCE, and 70 turning 71 in 3 BCE. Tradition has it that Herod died either on November 25, 4 BCE or shortly thereafter (John Gill's Exposition of Matthew 2:19). If 4 BCE is truly when Herod died, then the 69^th Jewish year from Herod's death would have begun in September of 66 CE and ended in September of 67 CE.