I have recently reread part of Sir Robert Anderson’s book “The Coming Prince”. The book includes his calculations on the date of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. Anderson’s work has been quoted extensively in the past by his fellow dispensationalists and others.
When considering the fulfillment of the 70 weeks of years of Daniel chapter 9, we need an accurate date to work with.
The copy of the book I used is a 10th edition from Kregel Books, reprinted in 1957.
Anderson used 69 years of 360 days (173,880 days) reckoned from the 14th of March B.C. 445, ending on 6th of April A.D. 32 to arrive at the day Christ rode the donkey into Jerusalem. According to Anderson his start date was the decree issued by Artaxerxes, King of Persia, in the month of Nisan in the 20th year of his reign, i.e. B.C. 445. (from Preface to the Tenth Edition, page 13)
In reviewing Anderson’s work and that of others there seem to be some tremendous problems with Anderson’s calculations.
The first is the use of 360 day years instead of a year closer to earth’s orbital year which is closer to 365.25 days. At first glance a difference of only 5.25 days seems small. However, in a period of only 35 years the seasons would have been reversed due to a difference of a half year. This means it would have been winter in summer and vice versa. It would also mean that the descendants of Jacob were the worst calendar makers in the history of civilization. 35years x 5.25 day difference = 184 days
In reading some other sources, I found that the Israelites had to make a correction every 2 to 3 years to compensate for this error. However, Anderson did not consider the corrections, but stuck to his 360 day year.
On page 69 of the book, Anderson discusses the Sabbath year when Israel was to let the land lie fallow. If they had stayed on his 360 day calendar, they would not have known when to plant their crops.
Modern archeology has revised the date of Herod’s death, which in turn has revised the date of Christ’s birth closer to 4 BC.
Some have used the decree of 457 BC (Ezra 7:1-27) to arrive at a date of 26 or 27 AD as the date of Christ’s baptism by John the Baptist.
The Question is should Sir Robert Anderson’s dates be ignored and what is the date of Christ’s baptism based on modern scholarship?
When considering the fulfillment of the 70 weeks of years of Daniel chapter 9, we need an accurate date to work with.
The copy of the book I used is a 10th edition from Kregel Books, reprinted in 1957.
Anderson used 69 years of 360 days (173,880 days) reckoned from the 14th of March B.C. 445, ending on 6th of April A.D. 32 to arrive at the day Christ rode the donkey into Jerusalem. According to Anderson his start date was the decree issued by Artaxerxes, King of Persia, in the month of Nisan in the 20th year of his reign, i.e. B.C. 445. (from Preface to the Tenth Edition, page 13)
In reviewing Anderson’s work and that of others there seem to be some tremendous problems with Anderson’s calculations.
The first is the use of 360 day years instead of a year closer to earth’s orbital year which is closer to 365.25 days. At first glance a difference of only 5.25 days seems small. However, in a period of only 35 years the seasons would have been reversed due to a difference of a half year. This means it would have been winter in summer and vice versa. It would also mean that the descendants of Jacob were the worst calendar makers in the history of civilization. 35years x 5.25 day difference = 184 days
In reading some other sources, I found that the Israelites had to make a correction every 2 to 3 years to compensate for this error. However, Anderson did not consider the corrections, but stuck to his 360 day year.
On page 69 of the book, Anderson discusses the Sabbath year when Israel was to let the land lie fallow. If they had stayed on his 360 day calendar, they would not have known when to plant their crops.
Modern archeology has revised the date of Herod’s death, which in turn has revised the date of Christ’s birth closer to 4 BC.
Some have used the decree of 457 BC (Ezra 7:1-27) to arrive at a date of 26 or 27 AD as the date of Christ’s baptism by John the Baptist.
The Question is should Sir Robert Anderson’s dates be ignored and what is the date of Christ’s baptism based on modern scholarship?
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from modern futurists who dont know where their theories come from, and yet, these calculations are the very basis of the 7-year endtime scenario. Darby and others dreamed up the doctrine, but Anderson supplied the calendrical 'proof.'
It certainly wasn't as late as 451 BC.
