The dedication of the Temple

The Immaculate Conception occurred at the close of a religious feast in the Temple.[1] The festival was the dedication of the Temple.[2] Herod the Great dedicated the Temple on Saturday factual Julian 18 November 18 BC.[3] Joachim went to the Temple in the morning[4] or in the late afternoon,[5] after the celebration had ended. He entered the Holy of Holies, where an angel gave him the Blessing that was hidden in the Tabernacle. The entering into the Holy of Holies on a day other than 10 Tishri (the Day of Atonement; Lev 16) was an exception.[6] Subsequently, some priests led Joachim to the entrance of the passageway under the Temple, at which spot he met Anne.[7] Since the Holy Virgin is the Temple of the body of Christ, the Immaculate Conception took place at the moment that Herod dedicated the Temple.[8]

In ancient times the Feast of Tabernacles (15-22 Tishri) was extended by a feast of seven days in commemoration of Solomon’s dedication of the First Temple (23-29 Tishri, 1 Kgs 8:65-66; Josephus, A.J. 8.123).[9] At the Feast of Tabernacles, 13 bulls are offered on 15 Tishri (Num 29:13), 12 bulls on 16 Tishri (Num 29:17), 11 bulls on 17 Tishri (Num 29:20), 10 bulls on 18 Tishri (Num 29:23), 9 bulls on 19 Tishri (Num 29:26), 8 bulls on 20 Tishri (Num 29:29), and 7 bulls on 21 Tishri (Num 29:32; Josephus, A.J. 3.246). At the close of the festival on 22 Tishri, 1 bull is offered (Num 29:35-36; Josephus, A.J. 3.247). At Herod’s Temple dedication, 300 bulls were sacrificed (Josephus, A.J. 15.422), which implies 24 days: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 + 16 + 17 + 18 + 19 + 20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + 24 = 300. The 24 days probably begin after Solomon’s festival (23-29 Tishri),[10] on 30 Tishri, and exclude Saturdays because the Sabbath obligations interrupt the festival offerings. Following the decreasing numbers during the Festival of Tabernacles (and possibly during the Festival of Solomon’s Dedication), the number of sacrificed bulls was now probably increasing. If so, 21 bulls (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6) were sacrificed in the period of Sunday 30 Tishri-Friday 5 Heshvan (with two bulls sacrificed on Monday 1 Heshvan, conform to the two bulls offered at the Festival of the New Moon: Num 28:11; Josephus, A.J. 3.238); 57 bulls (7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12) in the period of Sunday 7 Heshvan-Friday 12 Heshvan; 93 bulls (13 + 14 + 15 + 16 + 17 + 18) in the period of Sunday 14 Heshvan-Friday 19 Heshvan; and 129 bulls (19 + 20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + 24) in the period of Sunday 21 Heshvan-Friday 26 Heshvan. On the Sabbath of 27 Heshvan = Saturday factual Julian 18 November 18 BC, the Temple dedication reached its summit.

Given that the month of Tishri in the year 18 BC had 30 days, the Festival of the New Moon lasted for two days: Sunday 30 Tishri 18 BC and Monday 1 Heshvan 18 BC.

Since in 18 BC there was a continuous festival lasting from the Feast of Tabernacles (15-22 Tishri) until the final dedication on 27 Heshvan, the Feast of Tabernacles and the dedication festival are an entity. Hence, in addition to the references to the Temple dedication, A.C.E. also says that, on the occasion of the Immaculate Conception, Joachim and Anne went to Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles.[11] They both arrived on the fourth day of the festival (of Tabernacles),[12] on 18 Tishri 18 BC = Tuesday factual Julian 10 October. They met immediately after the close of the dedication festival, on Monday factual Julian 20 November 18 BC.

[1] A.C.E., Mary, 32.

[2] A.C.E., Visionen Dezember 1820, 79: “das Fest der Herstellung oder Weihe des Tempels”; A.C.E., Mary, 72.

[3] Mahieu 2012: 147-158.

[4] A.C.E., Visionen August 1821, 199: “Ich sah, wie Joachim gegen Morgen nach dem Tempel kam.”

[5] A.C.E., Visionen Dezember 1820, 67: “Ich sah ihn dann gegen Abend zum Tempel ziehen.”

[6] A.C.E., Visionen August 1821, 205-206: “Daß Joachim in das Allerheiligste gebracht wurde, wohin der Hohepriester nur und zwar selten kam, war eine ausdrückliche Mitteilung Gottes an die Priester.”

[7] A.C.E., Mary, 40.

[8] At the first Passover during the ministry of Christ (John 2:13, 23, in Nisan 30 AD), the Temple had stood for 46 years (John 2:20): November 18 BC-Nisan 30 AD (Mahieu 2012: 465-468). This refers not only to Herod’s Temple dedication but also to the creation of the body of the Holy Virgin (cf. John 2:21).

[9] A.C.E., Life, 2:401.

[10] The sacrifices may have continued during the feast of Solomon’s Temple dedication, with 6 bulls on 23 Tishri, 5 bulls on 24 Tishri, 4 bulls on 25 Tishri, 3 bulls on 26 Tishri, 2 bulls on 27 Tishri, and 1 bull on 28 Tishri. If so, as with the Feast of Tabernacles, the decreasing number halted one day (21 Tishri and 28 Tishri, respectively) before the end of the festival (22 Tishri and 29 Tishri, respectively).

[11] A.C.E., Mary, 29, 32.

[12] A.C.E., Mary, 32.

The life of the Holy Virgin

The dedication of the Temple