Resurrection of Jesus

This document (accepted by the Board of Ordained Ministry in 2020) includes some revisions, making it more accessible to the laity. In addition, it may provide some direction for certified candidates in the UMC seeking to be commissioned and ordained.

L'article est une invitation à se saisir tout à nouveau de la doctrine de la résurrection du corps dans notre enseignement biblique et notre pastorale. Partant du constat que la résurrection est bien souvent compris dans nos communautés comme une simple survivance de l'âme après la mort, Thomas Poëtte invite à une relecture des Ecritures quant à la sortie du tombeau du Seigneur d'abord, puis quant à notre propre résurrection. Fort de ces convictions bibliques renouvelées, l'auteur nous amène à saisir l'impact d'une telle doctrine pour l'accompagnement pastoral et l'éthique, avec illustration marquante : une erreur dans la destination entrée dans le GPS conduit nécessairement à prendre les mauvaises routes. Autrement dit, une espérance chrétienne confuse produit une éthique chrétienne confuse...

For my talks and debates on the resurrection of Jesus and other topics, see my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK7fMevhmEe8hR_S0aTsV1Q

"One of the best Analytic Philosophy ebooks of all time" - BookAuthority .
‘By the end of Andrew Loke’s excellent book, he concludes that the most rational viewpoint is that the original percipients saw Jesus himself…. Loke is to be commended for an accessible and systematic approach to the resurrection of Jesus that helps the reader understand the full range of available options in considering the epistemic warrants for believing in the foundational claim of the Christian faith.’ –The Journal of Theological Studies (Oxford University Press)

This book provides an original and comprehensive assessment of the hypotheses concerning the origin of resurrection Christology. It fills a gap in the literature by addressing these issues using a transdisciplinary approach involving historical-critical study of the New Testament, theology, analytic philosophy, psychology and comparative religion. Using a novel analytic framework, this book demonstrates that a logically exhaustive list of hypotheses concerning the claims of Jesus’ post-mortem appearances and the outcome of Jesus’ body can be formulated. It addresses these hypotheses in detail, including sophisticated combinations of hallucination hypothesis with cognitive dissonance; memory distortion; and confirmation bias. Addressing writings from both within and outside of Christianity, it also demonstrates how a comparative religion approach might further illuminate the origins of Christianity. This is a thorough study of arguably the key event in the formation of the Christian faith, and the basis of the Christian hope of eternal life.

The presented dissertation is focused on the work of New Testament
theologian Klaus Berger, as seen from the point of view of fundamental
theology.
The title of the thesis „The Criticism of contemporary New Testament
exegesis foundations in the work of Klaus Berger and its possible application in the fundamental theology“ intentionally involves certain
ambiguity. On one hand, the author of this dissertation focuses on the
criticism of contemporary New Testament exegesis foundations, as it
can be found in the comprehesive work of Klaus Berger. On the other
hand, the author attempts to depict and critically evaluate exegetic and
theological foundations of theologian Berger himself. Berger´s critical
arguments compared with contemporary exegesis and its application in
theology form the focus of attention, as well as Berger´s own exegetic
and theological foundations. The above-mentioned analysis and refl ection are presented in the fundamental theological perspectives which
are comprehensively illustrated in the first chapter of this dissertation,
including a brief view in the history of this discipline.
The first chapter continues the fundamental–theological model of
Salvador Pié-Ninot which is formed by four important moments: anthropological introduction, question of revelation (revelation), fundamental christology and fundamental ecclesiology. The exegetic – theological work of Klaus Berger, which is presented in the second chapter, is evaluated in the dissertation in view of these four moments. The third part illustrates contrasting approaches towards exegesis and theological method with regard to our author, as can be found in work of Gerd Theißen and Hansjürgen Verweyen. Two concrete examples of well-known theologians that partly explain reasons for Berger´s criticism of foundations of contemporary exegesis and theology are thus presented in this chapter.
The final chapter aims to present own evaluation of Klaus Berger´s
work from the pespective specified in the first chapter. Also, it tries to
find possible use of Berger´s critical and constructive research proposals for fundamental theology. The fourth chapter offers the following conclusions: foundations of Berger´s exegesis and theology notwithstanding indisputable innovative and positive aspects indicate some weak points and ambiguities. The Berger´s criticism of anthropological and sociological reduction in exegesis and theology appears to be justifiable to a certain extent. He also points out at the difficulties of inadequate philosophical comprehension and incorrect use of transcendental methods for theological work. However, Berger´s proper hermeneutic foundations sometimes lead to fundamentalizing exegesis since they demonstrate insufficient understanding of the pneumatological aspect of the revelation. Moreover, these foundations insufficiently evaluate the Tradition which anticipates the gospels.
Berger´s hermeneutics of foreignness as a whole is in tension with ecclesiastical hermeneutics of the Scriptures and theological gnoseology expressed in the triad Tradition-Scriptures-Magisterium.

This essay argues that the center of Quaker Faith and Practice is the immediacy of Christ; connected to the center are convictions regarding authentic worship, universal ministry, incarnational sacramentology, nonviolent peacemaking, consensus decision making and a witness to simplicity.

INDICE




I. VIAGGIO IN INGHILTERRA (SHADOWLANDS)

II. LE «TERRE DELL’OMBRA

III. ANELITI DI RISURREZIONE NEI SALMI
III.1. La speranza di un dubbioso nel Dio della vita
A. «Ho invidiato i prepotenti, vedendo il successo dei malvagi»
B. «… finché non entrai nel santuario di Dio e compresi…
C. «Poi mi accoglierai nella gloria

III.2. La speranza di un convertito nel Dio della vita
A. «Il mio Signore sei tu, solo in te è il mio bene
B. «Nelle tue mani è la mia vita
C. «Non abbandonerai la mia vita negli inferi

IV. LA SPERANZA DI CRISTO DI RISORGERE DAI MORTI

V. LA SPERANZA DEI CRISTIANI DI RISORGERE DAI MORTI
V.1. La morte e la risurrezione «con» Cristo e «come» lui
A. La preghiera dei cristiani partecipa a quella di Cristo
B. Le esequie cristiane  e gli altri «esercizi di vita eterna
C. Il «corpo spirituale» di Cristo e dei cristiani

V.2. La preghiera non solo «per» i defunti, ma soprattutto «con» loro

V.3. L’unica creatura terrena capace di gesti dal valore eterno

NOTE

SUGGERIMENTI BIBLIOGRAFICI
1. Per pregare i salmi
2. Per riflettere sui salmi
3. Per riflettere sulla risurrezione e sulla vita eterna
4. Per riflettere sulla preghiera cristiana
5. Per riflettere su Dio e sul male

INDICE

British art historian Thomas de Wesselow, trained at Courtauld, claims that it was the image on the Turin Shroud that prompted Jesus' disciples to believe in the Resurrection. While appreciating the author's study of the relic, the review points out why exactly his point of view is wrong.

Many today are seeing the need and importance of teaching Christian apologetics in a variety of different settings. This is intended to help fulfill that need. Following Dr. Norman Geisler’s Twelve Points that Show Christianity is True, this Guide or curriculum is designed to help you prepare and teach Christian apologetics. This Guide contains what is required for instruction in a single resource to teach others successfully in apologetics. It is for the homeschool parent, Sunday school teacher, Christian school teacher, pastor, campus minister, leader in your church or anyone who wants to educate others in Christian apologetics. Dr. Norman Geisler developed the Twelve Points over many years of teaching and instruction at various levels and settings. They have proven to be an invaluable way to learn, communicate, teach and classify the steps of Christian apologetics in a systematic manner. The Twelve Points serve as domains of learning that are memorable, usable and practical. This Guide is intended to help any teacher educate students both young and old in Christian apologetics.

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This ebook is also available on Amazon in Kindle format.
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The tomb of Jesus has always given rise to wild speculation, archaeological disputes and theological discussions as to whether it had to be empty in order to believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Against the background of a veritable scientific thriller, a look at the New Testament is surprisingly sober and helpful.
Was the tomb of Jesus empty? And what significance does the tomb of Jesus have for the belief in the resurrection?

The Swoon Theory, or as it is sometimes called the Apparent-Death Theory asserts, that Christ did not die on the cross, but swooned or fell unconscious and was revived after being placed in the tomb. How this was achieved is under great speculation, even among the swoon theorists themselves, but with the historicity of Jesus’ crucifixion all but settled, they must claim that “Jesus’ reappearance wasn’t a miraculous resurrection but merely a fortuitous resuscitation.” 

In this paper, I will focus on the physiological burden of the crucifixion on Christ’s body. I will appeal to historical, eye-witness accounts of the treatment of victims of crucifixions, modern medical examinations of the psychological and physiological effects of being crucified and examine the physical evidence that Christ was dead when he was removed from the cross.

Le sort de l’homme après la mort… Voilà donc un sujet sur lequel on s’interroge au moins une fois dans sa vie. Qu’est-ce qui attend l’homme après sa mort ? A-t-on vraiment tout imaginé ? L’homme tente-t-il de se donner bonne conscience ? A-t-on inventé l’histoire d’une vie après la mort dans l’objectif de mieux vivre son deuil avec l’espoir de revoir la personne que l’on a perdue dans un nouvel avenir ? Ou bien a-t-on nié l’existence d’une destination future dans l’espoir d’échapper aux conséquences de nos choix terrestres ?
L’Histoire de l’humanité est liée à la théologie de la même manière que l’histoire de la théologie est liée à celle de l’humanité. Voilà pourquoi certaines idées sont ancrées dans le patrimoine culturel ; et ainsi, que chacun le veuille ou non, il s’y trouve des concepts que la société ne peut effacer.
Voilà pourquoi la question du sort de l’homme après sa mort reste encore et toujours d’actualité. Nous comprenons qu’il est nécessaire de creuser la question, afin de discerner la pensée biblique de la tradition historique, et c’est dans ce brouillard informationnel que nous devons discerner l’esquisse de ce tableau biblique.
La question à laquelle ce travail de recherche veut répondre est celle-ci :
« Après des siècles d’histoire du christianisme, dans un monde en constante évolution, comment devons-nous comprendre la conception de la vie après la mort, suite à tous ces siècles d’histoires et d’influences de la part de l’Eglise sur la culture occidentale ? Que nous dit réellement la Bible finalement, quand nous faisons face à tant d’interprétations autant contradictoires les unes que les autres ? »

In logical terms and philosophical concept of causality, the effect is not possible without something causing it to happen unless for some phenomenal and/or supernatural cases. In other words, if there is no real death then there would also be no point of resurrection because resurrection happens only to the dead person.

In the same way, there will be no sense of Christianity without the evidence of Christ’s resurrection. It is the resurrection event that fuels Christianity to exist.

In addition, the roman soldier would be terrified just like in Acts 16:27 if indeed Jesus' body was stolen.

" The Gospel According to Luke " was meant to be read aloud to 1 st century Christians (1:1-4). This oral medium creates a dramatic dimension that is often lost on modern readers. Even a brief analysis of the literary conventions in Luke shows a perfect dramatic structure and masterful use of dramatic devices.

This book examines the relationship between the growth of Christianity in Greece and the belief in resurrection from the dead. Traditionally, Greek religion held a strong and enduring conviction that immorality always had to include both body and soul. Both mythical and historical persons were also believed to have been resurrected from the dead and become physically immortal. The Christian belief in the resurrection of the flesh evolved only gradually, beginning with Paul who simply denied it. But the more popular Christianity became among the Greeks, the stronger the emphasis became on the resurrection of the flesh; the more Christianity stressed physical incorruptibility, the more Greeks left their ancient beliefs for this new religion. As such, the success of Christianity may also be seen in connection with how it responded to the traditional Greek longing for immortal flesh.

This bibliography lists all 475 works cited in the footnotes of my book Jesus’ Resurrection and Joseph’s Visions: Examining the Foundations of Christianity and Mormonism (Tampa, FL: DeWard, 2020). Researchers interested in Historical Jesus or New Testament studies, Mormon origins, or both may find this bibliography useful.

In Christian literature, Jesus’ crucifixion is commonly (and for good reason) assigned to a Friday, and Jesus’ resurrection to a Sunday.  Jesus would, therefore, have spent (at most) three days and two nights in the grave.  Yet, in Matt. 12.39-41, Jesus describes himself as ‘a greater than Jonah’, and says he will spend “three days and three nights” in the heart of the earth.  That fact has prompted students of Scripture to make some unusual moves, e.g., to (re)date the crucifixion to a Thursday, or to treat Jesus’ reference to “the heart of the earth” as a reference to a location other than the grave.  But neither of these moves are (in my view) necessary, nor are they desirable.  Scripture does not speak in its own language, much less employ modern-day conventions.  Instead, it follows the conventions of its own time, which allow a three-day-and-two-night period to be referred to as “three days and three nights”.

A short book dealing with the question: what do we know 'historically' about Jesus of Nazareth? Special focus on whether the gospels are reliable sources of factual information and on the historicity of Jesus' resurrection 'on the third day'.

The Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the most disputed and controversial events in all of history.  The New Testament claims throughout its books that Jesus was crucified, after three days rose from the dead, and was seen by many disciples.  Oceans of ink and countless keystrokes have been used trying to both defend and refute the Resurrection.  In the 21st century, there has also been an upsurge in the assertion that Jesus never even existed.  Most mainline scholars do not question Jesus’ existence.  He is, after all, mentioned in both Roman and Jewish sources.  But the question of the Resurrection continues to get a lot of attention in mainstream scholarship.  Traditional Christianity says that people who didn’t see Jesus after his death as some of the disciples did, have to rely on latter’s testimony, as well as faith, to accept that Jesus indeed rose from the dead, and was God as he and his disciples apparently claimed.  Skeptics offer explanations like mass hallucinations, the women went to the wrong tomb, or the body was stolen.
    I would like to approach this via a thought experiment.  The proposal in this experiment is to speculate what was the best means that God could have left to history as evidence that the Resurrection really happened.  In it, I’m going to assume that God exists, that Jesus existed, that he truly rose from the dead, and that God desires to use the Resurrection to bring people to Him by faith.  I will follow along those lines; therefore, whatever is deemed to be the best physical evidence of the Resurrection cannot be a knock-down proof, but require an element of faith.
    If we were somehow able to transport 21st century equipment back to Jerusalem in the 1st century to assist in discovering what occurred at the time of what we call the Resurrection, we would of course have an array of video and audio equipment, including night vision cameras, electromagnetic-reading equipment, etc.  But we can only use what was available in the 1st century, which limits things considerably.
    Now, even the disciples who claimed to have seen Jesus after his death didn’t actually witness the actual Resurrection, which according to reports happened in a darkened tomb that had a stone rolled in front of it.  The only items in the tomb were the burial clothes and spices, additional topics of controversy in biblical exegesis.  The Gospels use several different Greek terms to describe the burial clothes, including sindon, a long winding sheet.  It’s rather obvious that a long winding sheet would be capable of having a chemical or some other type of interaction between the sheet and the body being recorded on it.  If the imprints were clear enough, recorded the specific crucifixion wounds that Jesus suffered, but the image-forming process remained a mystery over hundreds of years, then it would easily become the best available tool for God to use to show that Jesus existed, and could also be a possible indicator of his Resurrection.

Why was an unknown man insisting he was Alexander the Great received with distinct deference by Roman officials and Bacchic celebration by hundreds of attendants around A.D. 221? Examining Dio Cassius's presentation in light of contemporary beliefs, one finds that the enthusiastic reception most probably was due to the conviction that Alexander had actually returned physically immortal and deified, either resurrected or never having died at all. The respectful awe of the officials was also most likely caused by either this belief or by their holding that this was the dead and disembodied hērōs of the famed conqueror.

At first sight the title must seem like a misunderstanding at best, at worst an intentional perversity. After all, the 'Prodigal Son' is not a person, but a character in a parable, a literary form where from the beginning both speaker and hearers are fully aware that it is not a story of fact, or even a mythos partly based on fact but exaggerated over countless retellings. A parable intends truth of a kind, but not factual truth, rather an archetypal truth (if that isn't too much of an anachronistic way of conceiving how parables were understood in Jesus' time, as well as how they're understood in contemporary readings).

However, the parable of the Prodigal Son has always seemed to me  to be uniquely parabolic in the sense that it is commonly the best remembered of the parables, yet the most unyielding to common understanding. The problem, not simply of why the father takes back the errant son, but even in his explanation to the brother appears to merely be mollifying the less favoured of the two sons, has barely been touched on in the theological literature I have been able to find. While this is problematic in itself, the usual touch-up on the parable fails to consider the rather obvious issue that the 'father' in the parable is highly unlikely to represent Jesus (who didn't call himself the Son of God, never mind refer to himself as the father).

One of the reasons that many Christians get excited about the Shroud of Turin, believed by numerous people to be the actual burial cloth of the historical Jesus of Nazareth, is that they believe that the Shroud provides physical evidence – some might even go so far as to say “proof” -- that the Resurrection of Jesus, the linchpin to the establishment of Christianity.  Of course, there are myriad hurdles that have to be navigated before getting to that point.  First of all, not everyone even accepts the notion that the Resurrection of Jesus happened.  In fact, some people deny that Jesus even existed.  And for people who accept that he existed, not all believe he actually died the way history records.  But most people, including most mainline historians, accept that:
*Jesus of Nazareth existed from c. 7 B.C. to c. 30 or 33 A.D.
*That he died by crucifixion
*That his apostles and disciples believe they saw him after his crucifixion
*That many of his followers died for their beliefs
    Of course, the link is not absolute.  There are some people who believe the Shroud is authentic but don’t necessarily believe that Jesus even rose from the dead.  But a majority of people probably, either consciously or unconsciously, probably feel there is a connection of some kind between the two.
    John Lennon was, no doubt, wrong when he said of the Beatles during the “we’re more popular than Jesus” flap in 1966 that Christianity would shrink and die.  The idea that he is wrong is due, in large part, due to the fact, that billions of Christians throughout history actually have believed that Jesus actually rose from the dead.  Shroud researcher Russ Breault says that people often ask him vis-à-vis the effort put into studying the Shroud, “What if the Shroud is not authentic?”  He says that people are asking the wrong question.  He poses the question:  “What if the Shroud is authentic, and we did nothing with it?”
    It’s a big “if,” of course.  But even for Christians that accept the four aforementioned bullet points and that the Shroud is authentic, the elephant in the room is the question of what role the Shroud should play in supporting or proving the Resurrection.  Some Christians will cite the passage from The Book of Hebrews (11:1) that "Now faith is the giving substance to what is hoped for, the testing of things not seen" to counter the idea that the Shroud could be used to bolster faith, but Christianity is an historical religion, based on events in a particular place and time.  Archaeology is used all the time to confirm events described in the Bible and the Shroud could be considered an archaeological object.  If the Shroud is authentic and God intentionally did leave it for the “Doubting Thomases,” one could also cite Jesus from The Gospel of John saying (14:11), “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me--or at least believe on account of the works themselves.”
    Despite the efforts of skeptics who try to convince others that Jesus never existed or if he was crucified he didn’t die, or if he died he wasn’t buried in a cloth like the Shroud, or that they have duplicated the Shroud using only 14th-century technology (I’m tempted to use an emoji here but I will refrain), the Shroud, like Christianity, will never go away.  The reason for that is, despite the improbability that the cloth that wrapped Jesus has survived to our own day, there is enough historical and scientific evidence that suggests that it did.  And this is despite the fact that the Shroud’s history is not clear before the 1350s, that it historically surfaced during a time of numerous fake relics, and that it was carbon-dated in 1988 to the very period in which its documented history begins.  But appearances can be deceiving.

This is the sequel to THE END TIMES PASSOVER [Etymological Challenges to Millenarian Doctrines]. The End Times Passover provided more than sufficient scriptural evidence that the church will not be caught up to Heaven when Jesus Returns, nor sooner than the 2nd Advent. This sequel explains why Christians will remain on earth until Jesus returns to establish His eternal reign on earth.

A detailed look at the archaeological, seismological, and biblical evidence for the earthquakes of the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Discussed are the importance of darkness in Jewish thought and the pagan and Jewish ideas about the voice of God at the outset of the First Jewish War (AD66-70), as well as the importance of Jewish apocalyptic literature and Matthew’s Gospel.

Croire que Jésus est ressuscité n'est pas chose facile. Même dans le cas où cela a bel et bien eu lieu, il n'est pas facile pour tous d'y croire, d'y croire vraiment. Pourquoi ? C'est ce que ce texte se propose d'élucider. Pour ce faire, nous avons convoqué trois approches en philosophie de la connaissance : l'évidentialisme, le présuppositionalisme, et l'épistémologie des vertus de R. Pouivet.

Voici la version révisée d'avril 2019.

One important question in connection with the resurrection of Jesus asks how the resurrection of Jesus can be different from any other instance of a person coming back to life. For certain, there are numerable cases of people being resuscitated by medical means and cases of those who were raised from the dead supernaturally. The Bible also records cases of people who were raised from the dead: the son of the widow of Zarapeth, raised by Elijah in 1 Kings 17:7-24; Jairus’s daughter in Matthew 9:18-26, the son of the widow of Nain in Luke 7:11-17, and Lazarus in John 11:38-44, raised by Jesus; Tabitha in Acts 9:40 by Peter, and Eutychus by Paul in Acts 20:7-12.

In this work, J. D. Atkins employs a combination of reception-history analysis and redaction criticism to challenge modern theories that Luke 24 and John 20 are apologetic responses to incipient docetism. He subjects second-century parallels used to support these theories to the same redaction-critical scrutiny as the Gospels and finds that the editorial and apologetic concerns of the evangelists differ fundamentally from those of antidocetic writers: neither Luke nor John aims to prove the physicality of the resurrection. Both instead draw attention to the fulfillment of prophecy. The author also argues that the apostles' doubt was not an apologetic device and that the bodily demonstrations of touching and eating predate docetism. Early docetists appeal to the Gospels as apostolic testimony but insist on a non-literal hermeneutic in which Christ performs physical actions "in appearance only."

Archaeology has not yet uncovered a large number of artifacts to directly support Jesus’s resurrection. However, though few, the sites and artifacts uncovered by archaeology are rich in meaning and significance. This paper will discuss seven archaeological discoveries and sites related to the resurrection of Jesus Christ: (1) the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, (2) the Garden Tomb, (3) the rolling-stone tombs of the first century AD, (4) the remains of Jehohanan son of HGQWL, (5) the Alexamenos graffito, (6) the Megiddo Mosaic Inscription, and (7) the Nazareth Inscription. Taken together, these archaeological finds (minus the Garden Tomb) are indirect evidences which build a cumulative case supporting the biblical account of Jesus’s resurrection.

In this article we will examine biblical usage of Hades as Sheol terminology in association with the afterlife. We will also compare the differences of soul to spirit meanings. Each of these terms have unique life and death relationships within our living realm and in the realm of the dead.

We will examine literal interpretations and figurative renderings of the Bible in terms of life and death in our present condition compared to life and death descriptions in the afterlife. Our language used in the earthly realm often needs to be figurative in order to describe something literal in another realm.

After we consider these relationships, we will be better able to understand complex scenarios such as death in the afterlife (i.e. the death of life that the Bible states as the second death).

Please download the PDF file for use of hyperlinks to references.

In his discussion of the nature of the resurrection body in 1 Cor 15:35–49, Paul employs the metaphor of God’s sowing of the natural/earthly body and the raising of the spiritual/heavenly body, distinct bodies fit for their respective habitats. In order to demonstrate this, Paul enumerates a list of the creatures who inhabit the earth followed by those who inhabit the heavens, the resurrection body being likened to the later. Scholars have generally understood the background of this list to be found in the creatures from Genesis 1, even though they do not follow the same order. Some suggest the reason for this discrepancy is that the list simply evokes the cosmology of popular Greek philosophy. This article seeks to propose an alternate answer to this problem. The enumeration of terrestrial and celestial creatures here in 1 Cor 15:39–42 follows the same order as the aniconic discourse of Deut 4:15–19. If this is the text to which Paul alludes, he is likely drawing on an exegetical tradition in the Second Temple period. This tradition reads Deut 4:15–19 as part of a wider Deuteronomic scriptural matrix employed to describe the nature of the cosmos, constructed and administered by God, having appointed the celestial bodies as divine or angelic delegates in his cosmic polis (e.g. Philo, Spec. Laws 1.13–19). This reading not only supplies a strong argument for Paul’s particular enumeration of creatures, but also provides a more robust account of the passage in its wider context, connecting the language of the abolishing of the principalities and powers (1 Cor 15:24) with his earlier discussion regarding the judgment of the cosmos and the angels (1 Cor 6:2–3).

The Birth of Jesus in 12 B.C. concluded that Jesus of Nazareth was born either during, or near to, the first two weeks in October, 12 B.C.  This date is more than eleven years earlier than the traditional date, and it implies his death was earlier than 30 A.D.  Since Jesus reached nearly 30 years of age, he would have died about 19 A.D.  Surprisingly, historical information has been found to verify these criteria and to support the conclusion that Jesus was crucified on April 7, 19 A.D.