New Testament History

The start of the public ministry of John the Baptist

John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius (Luke 3:1), i.e. in the year October 28 AD/September 29 AD (according to the Antiochean calendar reckoning from 1 October) or in the year Tishri 28 AD/Elul 29 AD (according to the Jewish calendar reckoning from 1 Tishri).[1] A.C.E. saw John receiving a revelation, constructing a baptism pool, and baptising himself on Sunday 29 April 1821[2] = Sunday 24 April 29 AD = 22 Nisan. His activity thus began immediately after the Festival of Passover (15-21 Nisan). On 26-28 June 1821, A.C.E. said that John had been baptising in public for about 2 weeks.[3] John began his public ministry some 3 months before the baptism of Christ (on Friday 23 September 29 AD),[4] in June 29 AD.

In John’s days, the ethnarch Antipas divorced his wife to live with Herodias, whom he met on a voyage to Rome in 29 AD.[5] On 22 Sivan 29 AD = Wednesday 22 June (the vision of Wednesday 27 June 1821), Antipas visited John out of curiosity.[6] Herodias did not yet live with Antipas at that time. On 25 Av 29 AD = Tuesday 23 August (the vision of Tuesday 28 August 1821), Antipas went to John together with Herodias and her daughter Salome, who both recently had joined Antipas in Jerusalem.[7] Antipas and Herodias thus united at the end of August 29 AD. Antipas wanted to receive John’s approval for this union because he had not received the Sanhedrin’s in Jerusalem.[8]

On 22 Elul 29 AD = Monday 19 September (the vision of Monday 24 September 1821), Christ proved on the basis of a (non-specified) prophet that the time of the Messiah had arrived since the predicted conflict had taken place 8 years before.[9] The prophet is Daniel, who is called a prophet by Christ (Matt 24:15). The expression “you are a man specially chosen” (the Hebrew kî ḥămûdôt ’āttâ, Dan 9:23, trans. NJB) corresponds to “you who enjoy God’s favour” (the Greek kecharitômenê, Luke 1:28, trans. NJB) and is used in the Bible only for Daniel (3 times: Dan 9:23; 10:11, 19) and the Holy Virgin.[10] Daniel’s prophecy of weeks (Dan 9:25-27) came to fulfilment at the time of the ministry of Christ.[11] After the prophecy of weeks (Dan 9:25-27), Dan 11 predicts the Judean history from the Persian Period until Herod the Great and Augustus, with the Battle of Actium (in 31 BC) and Augustus’s subsequent conquest of Egypt (in 30 BC)[12] being mentioned at the end, in Dan 11:40-43.[13] The latter two campaigns are the conflict intended in the vision of A.C.E.; they occurred 8 (weeks of) years = 8 x 7 = 56 years before the baptism of Christ (31/30 BC-29 AD = 60 years = 8.57 weeks of years). The last week of Daniel’s prophecy of weeks (Dan 9:27) began at the baptism (Tishri 29 AD-Tishri 36 AD).[14] At the half of that week (i.e. in Nisan 33 AD), Christ made an end to the sacrifices by His crucifixion (Dan 9:27).