Talk:Essay: Are there 73 or 66 Books in the Bible
A friend of mine encouraged me to purchase a New Revised Standard Version of the Bible that has the Apocrypha and make it the primary Bible that I read. He also recommended that I purchase a Bible case for it which I did. I never purchased a Bible cover before, but it makes a lot of sense if you purchase a Bible with a leather cover.
I still use the New American Standard Bible as my primary Bible because I like the giant print version that I purchased. But I plan on purchasing a giant print version the New Revised Standard Version.
I plan on researching the whole issue of the Apocrypha, but right now I have a lot of demands on my time due to some demanding goals that I recently set.
In the meantime, I started the good habit of reading 5 chapters of the Bible per day and I soon will be embarking on the practice of Bible memorization (I recently acquired the book How to Memorize the Bible by William Evans). Starting good habits can be exciting as the benefits accrue over time. Conservative (talk) 08:44, August 6, 2023 (EDT)
User: NishantXavier's response
Nice. Do Note that the Deuterocanonicals (1) are Canonized as part of the Bible Canon in the 4th Century Church Councils (2) Martin Luther had no authority to remove 7 Books (3) God showed this by his disorders of attacking/assailing 6 other Books (4) The 7 Deuterocanonicals, particularly the Book of Maccabees, settles most of the Doctrinal Issues between Catholics/Protestants (5) For e.g. it teaches the Saints in Heaven pray for us, showing just how ancient this Judeo-Christian belief is. (6) that we are to pray and offer Sacrifices for the sins of the faithful departed, which also helps us understand why the Blood of Christ on the Altar is the Real Presence, and remits the sins of the faithful departed, i.e. in Purgatory (7) When St. John the Apostle speaks of the Feast of Dedication in Jn 10, he is referencing this event.
Incidentally, Christ was indeed born on December 25th, as St. Augustine says, and that is connected to the Feast of the Dedication/Hannukah.
"Point Three: Our Lord was crucified (in our Christian calendar) on April 3, 33 A.D. at 3:00 P.M. We further know from the Gospel writers that Our Lord was crucified at 3:00 P.M.: “Matthew, Mark, and Luke each record that Jesus died about ‘the ninth hour’ (Matthew 27:45-50, Mark 15:34-37, Luke 23:44-46).”
With some historical calculations, we can see that Nisan 14 (the Jewish Passover date) fell on April 3 in 33 A.D. Therefore, the time of Our Lord’s crucifixion and death was April 3, 33 A.D. at 3:00 P.M. (ninth hour).
First Things has a similar calculation. Live Science considers also the earthquake St. Matthew (27:54) reports.
Similarly, with Our Lord’s crucifixion date fixed, we can work backward to see when Our Lord Jesus was born.
How? Since if Christ Our Lord was 30 around 29 or 30 A.D. and died in 33 A.D. after 30 years of life and a further three and a half years of ministry, it is evident He could not have been born in 4 B.C. or any time earlier, but only in 1 B.C. or 2 B.C. If He was 33 on Nisan 14, 33 A.D., as we have seen, He was born in 1 B.C. if born before April, or in 2 B.C. if born after April. Since He was born in December, as we will see, He was born in 2 B.C.
(Recall also that there is no year 0 B.C. 1 B.C. goes to 1 A.D. Being 33 in April, 33 A.D. requires a 2 B.C. birth.)
First Point: John the Baptist was conceived around late September of 3 B.C. near the Day of Atonement. A Hebrew calendar shows that the Day of Atonement (also called Yom Kippur) was on Sep. 19, 3 B.C. It is the contention of this article that the Baptist was conceived around this time, when St. Zachary was ministering in the Temple. In other words, the story of our salvation began on the ancient Day of Atonement commanded by God, which is fitting. It is here that the Gospel events recorded by St. Luke in chapter 1 really begin to take off.
1:5 “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth.”
As Dr. Marshall explains, a course of Abia occurs in September, and there is evidence in this passage to suggest that the time is around the Day of Atonement, when the high priest goes into the holy place, as we read in Ex. 30:10, Lev. 16:3, Heb. 9:7, etc.
Second Point: Jesus Christ Our Lord was conceived around six months after St. John the Baptist. Moreover, we know from the same chapter that Our Lady conceived Christ about six months after St. Elizabeth conceived the Baptist. For the Angel Gabriel says in Luk 1:36, “And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: [37] Because no word shall be impossible with God.”
Now, if the Baptist was conceived in late September, Christ the Lord would have been conceived in late March. Similarly, we can reasonably deduce that the Baptist would be born around late June, nine months after conception.
Third Point: Therefore, Christ Our Lord was conceived on March 25, 2 B.C. and born Dec. 25, 2 B.C. It is an interesting point that “the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, that is, the month of Kislev” (1 Mac. 4:22) was already held in honor as a Festival of Light. It is the Feast of Dedication in winter mentioned by St. John (10:22). The Hebrew calendar begins in March-April in Nisan, so its ninth month roughly comes to our twelfth month, December, in most years. It is highly fitting that the 25th day of the 12th month on the Christian calendar should have been set apart for Christ, “The Light of the World” (Jn. 8:12), to make His entrance into the world. The Baptist being born in late June, as shown in the Second Point, Christ Our Lord certainly would have been born around late December. The witness of Tradition, of very early historical Tradition, is clear on this point.
Bp. Theophilus (115–181 A.D.) stated: “We ought to celebrate the birthday of Our Lord on what day soever the 25th of December shall happen.”
Saint Hippolytus (170–240 A.D.) wrote: “The First Advent of our Lord in the flesh occurred when He was born in Bethlehem, was December 25th, a Wednesday, while Augustus was in his forty-second year, which is five thousand and five hundred years from Adam.”
St. Augustine finally confirms: “But He was born, according to Tradition, upon December the 25th.” In sum, Our Lord’s date of birth: Dec. 25, 2 B.C. Our Lord’s date of crucifixion: April 3, 33 A.D.
Therefore, the first Easter: April 5, 33 A.D. The 50th day, the first Pentecost: May 24, 33 A.D."
From: https://reasonstobechristian.com/f/yes-christ-was-born-on-christmas-day-and-true-easter-date NishantXavierFor Christ the King 09:22, August 6, 2023 (EDT)