Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John · Isaac Newton
CHAP. XI.
By this computation therefore the year 32 is absolutely excluded, because the Passion cannot fall on friday without making it five days after the full moon, or two days before it; whereas it ought to be upon the day of the full moon, or the next day. For the same reason the years 31 and 35 are excluded, because in them the Passion cannot fall on friday, without making it three days after the full moon, or four days before it: errors so enormous, that they would be very conspicuous in the heavens to every vulgar eye. The year 36 is contended for by few or none, and both this and the year 35 may be thus excluded. _Tiberius_ in the beginning of his reign made _Valerius Gratus_ President of _Judea_; and after 11 years, substituted _Pontius Pilate_, who governed 10 years. Then _Vitellius_, newly made President of _Syria_, deprived him of his honour, substituting _Marcellus_, and at length sent him to _Rome_: but, by reason of delays, _Tiberius_ died before _Pilate_ got thither. In the mean time _Vitellius_, after he had deposed _Pilate_, came to _Jerusalem_ in the time of the Passover, to visit that Province as well as others in the beginning of his office; and in the place of _Caiaphas_, then High Priest, created _Jonathas_ the son of _Ananus_, or _Annas_ as he is called in scripture. Afterwards, when _Vitellius_ was returned to _Antioch_, he received letters from _Tiberius_, to make peace with _Artabanus_ king of the _Parthians_. At the same time the _Alans_, by the sollicitation of _Tiberius_, invaded the kingdom of _Artabanus_; and his subjects also, by the procurement of _Vitellius_, soon after rebelled: for _Tiberius_ thought that _Artabanus_, thus pressed with difficulties, would more readily accept the conditions of peace. _Artabanus_ therefore straightway gathering a greater army, opprest the rebels; and then meeting _Vitellius_ at _Euphrates_, made a league with the _Romans_. After this _Tiberius_ commanded _Vitellius_ to make war upon _Aretas_ King of _Arabia_.
He therefore leading his army against _Aretas_, went together with _Herod_ to _Jerusalem_, to sacrifice at the publick feast which was then to be celebrated. Where being received honourably, he stayed three days, and in the mean while translated the high Priesthood from _Jonathas_ to his brother _Theophilus_: and the fourth day, receiving letters of the death of _Tiberius_, made the people swear allegiance to _Caius_ the new Emperor; and recalling his army, sent them into quarters. All this is related by _Josephus_ _Antiq._ _lib._ 18. _c._ 6, 7. Now _Tiberius_ reigned 22 years and 7 months, and died _March_ 16, in the beginning of the year of _Christ_ 37; and the feast of the Passover fell on _April_ 20 following, that is, 35 days after the death of _Tiberius_: so that there were about 36 or 38 days, for the news of his death to come from _Rome_ to _Vitellius_ at _Jerusalem_; which being a convenient time for that message, confirms that the feast which _Vitellius_ and _Herod_ now went up to was the Passover. For had it been the Pentecost, as is usually supposed, _Vitellius_ would have continued three months ignorant of the Emperor's death: which is not to be supposed.
However, the things done between this feast and the Passover which _Vitellius_ was at before, namely, the stirring up a sedition in _Parthia_, the quieting that sedition, the making a league after that with the _Parthians_, the sending news of that league to _Rome_, the receiving new orders from thence to go against the _Arabians_, and the putting those orders in execution; required much more time than the fifty days between the Passover and Pentecost of the same year: and therefore the Passover which _Vitellius_ first went up to, was in the year before. Therefore _Pilate_ was deposed before the Passover A.C. 36, and by consequence the passion of _Christ_ was before that Passover: for he suffered not under _Vitellius_, nor under _Vitellius_ and _Pilate_ together, but under _Pilate_ alone.
Now it is observable that the high Priesthood was at this time become an annual office, and the Passover was the time of making a new high Priest. For _Gratus_ the predecessor of _Pilate_, saith _Josephus_, made _Ismael_ high Priest after _Ananus_; and a while after, suppose a year, deposed him, and substituted _Eleazar_, and a year after _Simon_, and after another year _Caiaphas_; and then gave way to _Pilate_. So _Vitellius_ at one Passover made _Jonathas_ successor to _Caiaphas_, and at the next _Theophilus_ to _Jonathas_. Hence _Luke_ tells us, that in the 15th year of _Tiberius_, _Annas_ and _Caiaphas_ were high Priests, that is, _Annas_ till the Passover, and _Caiaphas_ afterwards. Accordingly _John_ speaks of the high Priesthood as an annual office: for he tells us again and again, in the last year of _Christ_'s preaching, that _Caiaphas_ was high Priest for that year, _John_ xi. 49, 51. xviii. 13. And the next year _Luke_ tells you, that _Annas_ was high Priest, _Acts_ iv. 6. _Theophilus_ was therefore made high Priest in the first year of _Caius_, _Jonathas_ in the 22d year of _Tiberius_, and _Caiaphas_ in the 21st year of the same Emperor: and therefore, allotting a year to each, the Passion, when _Annas_ succeeded _Caiaphas_, could not be later than the 20th year of _Tiberius_, A.C. 34.
Thus there remain only the years 33 and 34 to be considered; and the year 33 I exclude by this argument. In the Passover two years before the Passion, when _Christ_ went thro' the corn, and his disciples pluckt the ears, and rubbed them with their hands to eat; this ripeness of the corn shews that the Passover then fell late: and so did the Passover A.C. 32, _April 14_, but the Passover A.C. 31, _March 28th_, fell very early. It was not therefore two years after the year 31, but two years after 32 that _Christ_ suffered. Thus all the characters of the Passion agree to the year 34; and that is the only year to which they all agree. Notes to Chap. XI. [1] I observe, that _Christ_ and his forerunner _John_ in their parabolical discourses were wont to allude to things present. The old Prophets, when they would describe things emphatically, did not only draw parables from things which offered themselves, as from the rent of a garment, 1 _Sam._ xv. from the sabbatic year, _Isa._ xxxvii. from the vessels of a Potter, _Jer._ xviii, &c. but also when such fit objects were wanting, they supplied them by their own actions, as by rending a garment, 1 _Kings_ xi. by shooting, 2 _Kings_ xiii. by making bare their body, _Isa._ xx. by imposing significant names to their sons, _Isa._ viii. _Hos._ i. by hiding a girdle in the bank of _Euphrates_, _Jer._ xiii. by breaking a potter's vessel, _Jer._ xix. by putting on fetters and yokes, _Jer._ xxvii. by binding a book to a stone, and casting them both into _Euphrates_, _Jer._ li. by besieging a painted city, _Ezek._ iv. by dividing hair into three parts, _Ezek._ v. by making a chain, _Ezek._ vii. by carrying out houshold stuff like a captive and trembling, _Ezek._ xii, &c. By such kind of types the Prophets loved to speak.
And _Christ_ being endued with a nobler prophetic spirit than the rest, excelled also in this kind of speaking, yet so as not to speak by his own actions, that was less grave and decent, but to turn into parables such things as offered themselves. On occasion of the harvest approaching, he admonishes his disciples once and again of the spiritual harvest, _John_ iv. 35. _Matth._ ix. 37. Seeing the lilies of the field, he admonishes his disciples about gay clothing, _Matth._ vi. 28. In allusion to the present season of fruits, he admonishes his disciples about knowing men by their fruits, _Matth._ vii. 16. In the time of the Passover, when trees put forth leaves, he bids his disciples _learn a parable from the fig tree: when its branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh_, &c. _Matth._ xxiv. 32. _Luke_ xxi. 29. The same day, alluding both to the season of the year and to his passion, which was to be two days after, he formed a parable of the time of fruits approaching, and the murdering of the heir, _Matth._ xxi.
33. Alluding at the same time, both to the money-changers whom he had newly driven out of the Temple, and to his passion at hand; he made a parable of a Noble-man going into a far country to receive a kingdom and return, and delivering his goods to his servants, and at his return condemning the slothful servant because he put not his money to the exchangers, _Matth._ xxv. 14. _Luke_ xix. 12. Being near the Temple where sheep were kept in folds to be sold for the sacrifices, he spake many things parabolically of sheep, of the shepherd, and of the door of the sheepfold; and discovers that he alluded to the sheepfolds which were to be hired in the market-place, by speaking of such folds as a thief could not enter by the door, nor the shepherd himself open, but a porter opened to the shepherd, _John_ x. 1, 3. Being in the mount of _Olives_, _Matth._ xxxvi. 30. _John_ xiv. 31. a place so fertile that it could not want vines, he spake many things mystically of the Husbandman, and of the vine and its branches, _John_ xv. Meeting a blind man, he admonished of spiritual blindness, _John_ ix.
39. At the sight of little children, he described once and again the innocence of the elect, _Matth._ xviii. 2. xix. 13. Knowing that _Lazarus_ was dead and should be raised again, he discoursed of the resurrection and life eternal, _John_ xi. 25, 26. Hearing of the slaughter of some whom _Pilate_ had slain, he admonished of eternal death, _Luke_ xiii. 1. To his fishermen he spake of fishers of men, _Matth._ iv. 10. and composed another parable about fishes. _Matth._ xiii. 47. Being by the Temple, he spake of the Temple of his body, _John_ ii. 19. At supper he spake a parable about the mystical supper to come in the kingdom of heaven, _Luke_ xiv. On occasion of temporal food, he admonished his disciples of spiritual food, and of eating his flesh and drinking his blood mystically, _John_ vi. 27, 53. When his disciples wanted bread, he bad them beware of the leven of the Pharisees, _Matth._ xvi. 6. Being desired to eat, he answered that he had other meat, _John_ iv. 31. In the great day of the feast of Tabernacles, when the _Jews_, as their custom was, brought a great quantity of waters from the river _Shiloah_ into the Temple, _Christ_ stood and cried, saying, _If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink.
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