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Appendix to Chapter II of Christian Metaphysics and their Controversies

Vindicating the Western Calendar and Corroborating itwith Tradition

Further Evidence that Christ Died Friday April 3, AD 33 (Julian)by Steven S. Jones

RecapIn the book Christian Metaphysics and their

Controversies I made the argument that theTraditional record of Christs birth (~1 BC),death (April 3, AD 33 (Julian)), and resurrection,followed by the destruction of Jerusalem(August 5, AD 70 - Ab 9/10) is accurate. Vali-dating this claim are two items: 1) the rediscov-ery of the original Text of Josephus, correctingthe dates of Tiberius reign, bringing the date ofChrists birth within the traditional date of 1 BC1;and 2) the rediscovery of the Star of Bethlehemstar sequence/conjunction centered on HisStar, Astera, and the significance of these con-

junctions as a timing mechanism allowing an-cient astronomers to accurately date the comingbirth of God as revealed in Daniels weeks of

1 The dating of Christs birth has been problematic due to an often quoted mistranslation of Josephus

concerning the reign of Tiberius. The proper translation renders the traditional birth date of 1 BC birth ten-able and brings into play a completely different series of cosmological events around that same era. Italso solves the discrepancies in the weeks of years prophecy in Daniel. See, The Star that Astonishedthe World, Dr, Ernest L. Martin and my book Christian Metaphysics and their Controversies, chp. 2. In1995 David W. Beyer reported to the Society of Biblical literature his personal examination in the British

Museum of forty-six editions of Josephus Antiquities published before 1700 among which twenty-seventexts, all but three published before 1544, read twenty-second year of Tiberius, while not a single editionpublished prior to 1544 read the twentieth year of Tiberius. Likewise in the Library of Congress five more

editions read the twenty-second year, while none prior to 1544 records the twentieth year. Handbookof Biblical Chronology, Jack Finegan, p. 301

Esther accuses HamanGustave Dore


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years prophecy 2. The importance of this star sequence (as has been contended) is thatit puts a precise date on the coming of Christ and the fall of Jerusalem, dating it from asimilar conjunction/eclipse (predicted in several parts of the Bible) that occurred in the7th year reign of Artaxerxes I Longimanus (longhand) as the decree was sent forth3. Itwas this decree that released the Jews from their captivity in Persia. The technology to

accurately keep track of a near 500 year long prediction existed in Persia at that timeperiod in form of the Astrolabe, a scientific analog computer used by the Magi. Whilemuch of the ancient world had no accurate calendar, the heavens provided a perfectself-correcting clock to date such events, the Astrolabe is merely a mechanical modelof those same heavens. As all calendars are mere approximations of the heavens, byreturning to their method of keeping track of time it is now possible with modern com-puters to re-create the cosmic phenomena and the dates so derived. Recently, however,I have discovered another method of corroborating the dates bringing a startling seriesof events into play.

Controversies Surrounding the Book of Esther

It might be surprising to many that the the oldest surviving Biblical texts are not in He-brew, but are in Greek. This oldest text of the Old Testament is called the Septuagint.Yet, there is one book that does not survive in the Greek, for the most part, the Book ofEsther. The book contains the story of how Esther pleas with the Persian King (mosttoday contend to be Xerxes) and wins the freedom of the Jews from an impending holo-caust decreed by that King. The significant date in the story is the 7th year reign of that

2 Daniel 9:23-27; From the beginning of thy prayers the word came forth: and I am come to shew it tothee, because thou art a man of desires: therefore do thou mark the word, and understand the vision.

Seventy weeks [these are weeks of years, each 7th year was a sabbatical year making weeks of years acommon division of time. 7 years times 70 weeks equals 490 years] are shortened upon thy people, andupon thy holy city, that transgression may be finished, and sin may have an end, and iniquity may beabolished; and everlasting justice may be brought; and vision and prophecy may be fulfilled; and the saintof saints may be anointed. Know thou therefore, and take notice: that from the going forth of the word, to

build up Jerusalem again, unto Christ the prince, there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks [Christshall appear after 69 week/years, or 483 years from the decree going forth]: and the street shall be builtagain, and the walls in straitness of times. And after sixty-two weeks Christ shall be slain: and the peoplethat shall deny him shall not be his. And a people with their leader that shall come, shall destroy the city

and the sanctuary: and the end thereof shall be waste, and after the end of the war the appointed desola-tion. And he shall confirm the covenant with many, in one week: and in the half of the week the victim andthe sacrifice shall fall: and there shall be in the temple the abomination of desolation: and the desolation

shall continue even to the consummation, and to the end. See Christian Metaphysicsfor the dating.

3 Ezra 7:7-13; And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and

the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes theking. And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. For uponthe first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month

came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heartto seek the law of the LORD, and to do it , and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. Now this is the

copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the wordsof the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel. Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra thepriest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. I make a decree, that

all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their ownfreewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.


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king. But the Book of Esther is not without its difficulties. The author lists several precisedates, yet they are protracted over a time period that does not seem to make sensechronologically. That these difficulties are real is further attested to by the fact that theoriginal Greek, the Vulgate, and the Douay-Rheims versions of the Bible all contain sixadded Greek chapters that seem to try to clarify the dates and provide further evidence

to the same events. Several significant things should be noted: 1) the added chaptersspecifically state that the king was not Xerxes, but his son Artaxerxes I - this is consis-tent with Jewish tradition, the records of Josephus and other legends of the event; 2)Esther states that she is of the fallen tribe of Israel (not Judah) the tribe that is continu-ally accused of following Baal in the Bible; 3) the actual decree of Artaxerxes givingfreedom to the Jews is produced4 - it should be noted that the events predicted byDaniels prophecy is dated from just such a decree that specifically is stated in the Bible

4 Esther Chapter 16, the Decree of Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) - The great king Artaxerxes, from India toEthiopia, to the governors and princes of a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, which obey our com-

mand, sendeth greeting. 2 Many have abused unto pride the goodness of princes, and the honour thathath been bestowed upon them: 3 And not only endeavour to oppress the kings subjects, but not bearing

the glory that is given them, take in hand, to practise also against them that gave it. 4 Neither are theycontent not to return thanks for benefits received, and to violate in themselves the laws of humanity, butthey think they can also escape the justice of God who seeth all things. 5 And they break out into so great

madness, as to endeavour to undermine by lies such as observe dil igently the offices committed to them,and do all things in such manner as to be worthy of all mens praise, 6 While with crafty fraud they de-

ceive the ears of princes that are well meaning, and judge of others by their own nature. 7 Now this isproved both from ancient histories, and by the things which are done daily, how the good designs of kings

are depraved by the evil suggestions of certain men. 8 Wherefore we must provide for the peace of allprovinces. 9 Neither must you think, if we command different things, that it cometh of the levity of ourmind, but that we give sentence according to the quality and necessity of times, as the profit of the com-

monwealth requireth. 10 Now that you may more plainly understand what we say, Aman [Haman] the sonof Amadathi, a Macedonian both in mind and country, and having nothing of the Persian blood, but with

his cruelty staining our goodness, was received being a stranger by us: 11 And found our humanity sogreat towards him, that he was called our father, and was worshipped by all as the next man after the

king: 12 But he was so far puffed up with arrogancy, as to go about to deprive us of our kingdom and life.13 For with certain new and unheard of devices he hath sought the destruction of Mardochai, by whosefidelity and good services our life was saved, and of Esther the partner of our kingdom with all their na-

tion: 14 Thinking that after they were slain, he might work treason against us left alone without friends,and might transfer the kingdom of the Persians to the Macedonians. 15 But we have found that the Jews,

who were by that most wicked man appointed to be slain, are in no fault at all, but contrariwise, use justlaws, 16 And are the children of the highest and the greatest, and the ever living God, by whose benefit

the kingdom was given both to our fathers and to us, and is kept unto this day. 17 Wherefore know ye thatthose letters which he sent in our name, are void and of no effect. 18 For which crime both he himself that

devised it, and all his kindred hang on gibbets, before the gates of this city Susan: not we, but God repay-ing him as he deserved. 19 But this edict, which we now send, shall be published in all cities, that theJews may freely follow their own laws. 20 And you shall aid them that they may kill those who had pre-

pared themselves to kill them, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is called Adar. 21 For thealmighty God hath turned this day of sadness and mourning into joy to them. 22 Wherefore you shall also

count this day among other festival days, and celebrate it with all joy, that it may be known also in times tocome, 23 That all they who faithfully obey the Persians, receive a worthy reward for their fidelity: but theythat are traitors to their kingdom, are destroyed for their wickedness. 24 And let every province and city,

that will not be partaker of this solemnity, perish by the sword and by fire, and be destroyed in such man-ner as to be made unpassable, both to men and beasts, for an example of contempt, and disobedience.


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as having occurred in the 7th year reign of Artaxerxes; 4) a holiday of Purim is estab-lished with a specific liturgy and feast day.

Briefly, the story of Esther is this: Esthers father, Mordecai, discovers a plot to assassi-nate Artaxerxes. The conspirators are the two sons of Artaxerxes Prime Minister, Ha-

man. The name Haman is significant. Linguistically, it can be shown that the name isrelated to the stone cutter. It is well known in Masonic lore and Egyptian theosophythat this is a common reference to the god Hermes/Thoth making Haman a priest in thecult of Hermes/Baal/Owanes (hamayun is related to the Persian illustrious and Baby-lonian god Humman - the god Hermes literally meaning stone - Hermes/Thoth in an-cient cult lore was the false good shepherd and the Hermetical son of God)5. Whenthe two assassins are caught, Haman, their father, becomes vindictive - he fabricatesstories about the evil intentions of the Jewscausing Artaxerxes to decree that theyshould all be massacred (the original holo-caust). Lots are cast to determine the exact

date that the Jews shall be murdered. Mor-decais daughter, Esther, who is married toArtaxerxes, goes to the King in the course ofthe night, and by telling several tales winsback the freedom of the Jews. (She isbrought to him initially in the tenth month ofthe 7th year of his reign) Ultimately, Hamanand his two sons are found out and crucifiedon the very cross intended for Mordecai. Ofparticular interest is that Esther is not evenher real name. It is Hadassah, the name

Esther actually being Persian for the stargazer. She wins the freedom of the Jewswhen she convinces Artaxerxes to grant herhis scepter (when the word scepter is usedin the Septuagint Genesis in Jacobs proph-ecy of Christ, it literally states the Greekword eclipse). Adding a peculiar validity tothe story is that the name Hadassah iscommonly believed to be derived from the

5

Various explanations have been offered to explain the name and designation of the would-be extermi-nator of the Jews. The names of both Haman and his father have been associated with haoma, a sacreddrink used in Mithraic worship, and with the Elamite god Humman. The name Haman has also been re-

lated to the Persian hamayun, 'illustrious', and to the Persian name Owanes.; Encyclopaedia Judaica:Volume 7, Encyclopaedia Judaica Jerusalem, The Macmillan Company (Under "Haman"), p. 1222. Oan-

nes is listed in Berosus as the god of mathematics, writing, and the building of temples. This is an obviousconnection to the Greek god Hermes (Mercury) messenger of the gods, the Egyptian god Thoth, andBaal/Beelzebub/Moloch of the Bible. See Hebrew is Greek, Joseph Yahuda, pp. 275, 304-308 for a com-plete connection between the god names. See also the occult Corpus Hermeticumfor references ofHermes/Thoth as the Good Shepherd and the Son of God.

Artaxerxes Grants Liberty to the JewsGustave Dore


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Persian equivalent Myrtle meaning bride. Hadassah in Persian is Shahrazd, or She-herazade whose Arab legend is nearly identical6. To commemorate these fortunes, theJews are commanded to celebrate the feast of Purim, the casting of Lots, on the 13th,14th and 15th of the month of Adar in walled/major cities (the feast day is one day priorin minor cities).

It should be noted that the concept assassins, according to most historians, does notoccur until AD 1090 when Hassan-i-Sabbah creates the cult of Islamic mercenaries/terrorists through the Doctrine of Intelligent Dissimulation7. Yet, Judas Iscariot is alsocommonly held to be an assassin (Iscariot being a misspelling of the term sicariotmeaning assassin) and here, in Esther, an event circa 463 BC, we also have assas-sins. If one investigates the cult of Hassan-i-Sabbah one will find a Ismailic religionbased on Hermetic/Neoplatomic mind control and theosophy8. To fuel this cult mentalityrequires the methodical destruction of the soul of the individual. These are some of thetechniques or secret truths used to inspire and rationalize the would-be assassin: 1)Taught is the Gnostic highest occult principle: that the minds of the universe are Her-

6 Persian tradition (in Firdousi) makes Princess I-aIomi the daughter and wife of Bahman Ardashir, i.e.Artaxerxes I. Longimanus. She is depicted as a great builder, a kind of Persian Semiramis, and is a half-mythical personage already mentioned in the Avesta, but her legend seems to be founded on the history

of Atossa and of Parysatis. Firdousi says that she was also called Shahrazad (Mohl v. II). This name andthat of Dinzad both occur in what Masdi tells of her. According to him, Shahrazad was Elomis mother (ii.

129), a Jewess (ii. 123). Bahman had married a Jewess (i. 118), who was instrumental in delivering hernation from captivity. In ii. 122 this Jewish maiden who did her people this service is called Dinzd, but the

accounts, says our author, vary. Plainly she is the Esther of Jewish story.; the Encyclopedia Britannica1911 Edition, article on the (Arabian) Thousand and One Nights

7 Hasan began to attract young men from the surrounding countryside, between the ages of twelve and

twenty: particularly those whom he marked out as possible material for the production of killers. Every dayhe held court, a reception at which he spoke of the delights of Paradise... "and at certain times he causeddraughts of soporific nature to be administered to ten or a dozen youths, and when half dead with sleep

he had them conveyed to the several palaces and apartments of the garden. Upon awakening from thisstate of lethargy their senses were struck by all the delightful objects, and each perceiving himself sur-

rounded by lovely damsels, singing, playing, and attracting his regards by the most fascinating caresses,serving him also with delicious viands and exquisite wines, until, intoxicated with excess and enjoyment,

amidst actual rivers of milk and wine, he believed himself assuredly in Paradise, and felt an unwillingnessto relinquish its delights. When four or five days had thus been passed, they were thrown once more intoa state of somnolency, and carried out of the garden. Upon being carried to his presence, and questioned

by him as to where they had been, their answer was 'in Paradise, through the favour of your highness';and then, before the whole court who listened to them with eager astonishment and curiosity, they gave a

circumstantial account of the scenes to which they had been witnesses. The chief thereupon addressing

them said: 'We have the assurance of our Prophet that he who defends his Lord shall inherit Paradise,and if you show yourselves to be devoted to the obedience of my orders, that happy lot awaits you'. . . 'Bymeans of these trusty servants I get rid of the enemies of our society.' from A History of Secret Societies,Arkon Daraul

8 "The heart of the Isma'ili haqa'iq, which consists in their denial of rationalism and forms the basis of their'heresy', lies in the denial that God is the first cause. For them, the first cause is the Order or Word ofGod, which became united with the Universal Intellect. Hence the idea of the Order is at the heart of their

esoteric doctrines, and achieves their synthesis of Neoplatonic philosophy and Islam.", The Assassins -Holy Killers of Islam, Edward Burman


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metically linked and, therefore, numerically one - God, represented by the number 0as a nothingness, causes the mental possession and unification of all the minds of theworld. Therefore, mans thoughts are not the result of his thinking, but of God, a mereword, causing him to think those thoughts. Because your beliefs arent your own, youare not responsible for them; 2) Complete obedience to cult authority is created through

the use of paradox as truth psychology, based on the tautology of circular reasoning.This induced skepticism of what is Truth causes the cult members to doubt all thoughtexcept the ideas of the cult leader, the only one who is honest enough to reveal suchsecrets; 3) Steps 1 and 2 combine to create a psychology of Nihilism in the cult mem-ber through the redefining of truth. Only once this is attained, is a true assassin created.

Genuine truth is defined as this: conformity of mind to reality followed by a willingnessto act as if what one believed were, in fact, true. In contrast, the creed of the assassin isnothing is true/real, therefore, nothing is forbidden. Not only does the assassin becomean assassin of men, but of thought in society itself. By sacrificing his intellect to theOne, he learns a technique of relieving the burden of morality not only in himself, but in

society in general. This not only creates a fertile ground for obtaining more aspirants,but it is also a clever tool to create a weakened, skeptical society in which the assassincan thrive. Necessary to the training of assassins is the destruction of belief. This as-sassin doctrine, the end of law, enables him to mentally achieve the mind-set of theheartless killer. It is this lack of compassion in the assassin/terrorist that earns him theretribution of his victims should he be found out. It is this insidious mind-set that not onlyseems to be on trial in the story of Esther, but is fueling the passions on Good Friday:not only is it Christ who is handed over to the Romans by an assassin, but it is in Christthat the Jews symbolically perceive the Gnostic Haman/Baal/Hermes who once threat-ened the destruction of their nation through the destruction of truth.

The Liturgy of Purim, the Feast of EstherThe chronology of the events in Esther is troublesome, as it must have been for earlyscholars trying to make sense of them. It necessitated a textual clarification demandingthe added chapters found in some Bibles. Yet, these dates in Esther seem to hoparound the years of Artaxerxes reign. It is as if Esthers fallen tribe of Israel (as opposedto Judah who stayed true) is trying to borrow portions of legend from another culture tovalidate their claim as the legitimate saviors of the Jewish nation. Even the feast of Pu-rim is borrowed from the Persian feast of Phurim, when the gods were said to determinethe fate of men by casting lots. Therefore, we can disregard much of the details given tous in the story because much of it is questionable, if not contradictory in nature. Yet, thestory, in my belief, is undoubtedly based on a very real event - theres just too much cor-

respondence to other stories. What is significant is the Jewish traditions, which can besubstantiated, that came to be as a result of the story. These include: 1) the importanceto the salvation of their nation through the out-witting of their persecutors, and the win-ning of their freedom (the decree); 2) the attaching of that decree to the date of 7th yearreign of Artaxerxes; 3) the fact that Daniels prophecy specifies precisely when theJewish nation will end including the coming of Christ; but most importantly to us in this


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discussion is 4) the tradition of liturgy that develops over the years surrounding thecommemoration of the feast of Purim, the feast of Esther9.

The significant features of the Feast of Esther or Purim are these:

1) The Fast of Esther was honored10. A final, last supper was held on the nightof the 13th, the day of revenge, the eve of the 14th, to commemorate the impendingdoom and massacre of the nation of the Jews.

2) The waking of the next morning,the 14th, to find that they have been sparedand that the conspirators/assassins, Hamanand his two sons have been caught. Also,true to this feast day going back to the Per-sian celebration of Phurim, a condemnedscapegoat ritual is enacted where a com-mon criminal is led through the streets inprocession.11

3) To mock this change in fortunes,the crucifixion of Haman and his two sons isreenacted - Haman is crucified in the centerwith his sons being also crucified one oneither side as fellow criminals. While manyhistorians insist crucifixion is a uniquelyRoman form of execution, the Jewish text,Jewish tradition, and Josephus History ofthe Jewsall insist that it is an actual cruci-fixion, not a mere hanging, that is specified

9 2 Maccabees 15:33-37: He commanded also, that the tongue of the wicked Nicanor should be cut out,and given by pieces to birds, and the hand of the furious man to be hanged up over against the temple.

Then all blessed the Lord of heaven, saying: Blessed be he that hath kept his own place undefiled. Andhe hung up Nicanor's head in the top of the castle, that it might be an evident and manifest sign of the

help of God. And they all ordained by a common decree, by no means to let this day pass without solem-nity: But to celebrate the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, called in the Syrian language, the day beforeMardochias' day.

10 And Esther prayed to God after the manner of her country, by casting herself down upon the earth andputting on her mourning garments and bidding farewell to meat and drink and all delicacies, for threedays' time (Josephus); Comment : The Fast of Esther is now commemorated on the thirteenth of Adar.;

Esther: Her Point of View Josephus' Version with Commentary, G. J. Goldberg

11 The Babylonian new year was also known to feature a type of scapegoat ritual whereby a condemnedcriminal was led through the streets in a processional. Finally, there indeed was a custom of distributing

gifts at the new year, as there is today on Purim.: MyJewishLearning.com, Purim Origins, Rabbi RonaldH. Isaacs

The Darkness of the CrucifixionGustave Dore


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in Esther12 . It is this act made symbolic that is reenacted as part of Purim.

4) To illustrate the charitable nature of the Jews, Purim calls for a prisoner/criminal to be voted on and set free.

5) A casting of lots ritual is acted out, significant of the wheels of fortune (purimliterally means casting of lots).

6) On the 15th, the Jews rested and prepared for the Sabbath.While the story of Esther in the Bible seems to play out over several years, the traditionof Esther as practiced by the Jews seems to indicate an over-night episode. This short-ening is consistent with the story of Sheherazade where the episode occurs entirely onthe wedding night (indicated in Esther to be the 7th year of reign). Many Jews kept thefeast of Purim/Esther in just such a way until World War II when it was perceived thatthe burning of crosses in effigy prior to Easter was mocking Christianity. It was aban-doned because it was just such celebrations that rationalized the Nazi Holocaust. Even

the ancient Byzantine Church had records of just such celebrations forbidding the prac-tice once a Jew converted to Christianity13.

Why at Christs Crucifixion Are The Jews Celebrating The Feast Of Esther If It isPassover?What should be eerily apparent to any Christian is that the traditional celebration ofEsther are the same as the episodes of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, only gonefoul. But does not the Gospel indicate it was the Jewish Passover, not Purim a feast that

12 Josephus on the crucifixion of Haman: At this Haman was panic-stricken, and while he was still unable

to utter another sound, Sabuchadas the eunuch came in and accused Haman, saying that he had found across at his house that had been prepared for Mordecai (for the servant had told him so upon his inquirywhen he had come to call Haman to the banquet). He said further that the cross was fifty cubits high.

When the king heard this he decided that Haman should be punished in no other manner than that whichhad been devised by him against Mordecai, so he gave order immediately that Haman should be hung

upon that same cross until he was dead. Also, Though we are accustomed to imagine Haman and hissons as hanging on a gallows from a noose, that manner of execution was evidently unknown in antiquity.

The ancient Aramaic translations always render the word by the root tzalab, meaning "crucify." This ofcourse was a common Roman form of capital punishment, and originally had no uniquely Christian asso-ciation. However, for later generations all references to crucifixion were naturally associated with that of

Jesus, The Purim-Shpiel and the Passion Play, Sources, Eliezer Segal

13 It became customary to burn an effigy of Haman at the conclusion of the feast, and this was regarded

as in some ways an attack on Christianity and was therefore forbidden by the Theodosian code, XVI. viii.18. This prohibition may have been due to the fact mentioned by Socrates (Hist. eccles. vii.) that, in 416A.D., the Jews of Inmester, a town in Syria, ill treated a Christian child during some Purim pranks and

caused his death. It has even been suggested that this gave rise to the myth of the blood accusation inwhich Jews are alleged to sacrifice a Christian child, at Passover; but this is unlikely, since it has never

been suggested that this crime was committed in connection with Purim. But Jewish sources of the 10thcentury state that the custom of burning an effigy of Haman was still kept up at that time (L. Ginzberg,Geonica, ii.), and this is confirmed by Albiruni (Chronology, tr. Sachau, 273) and Makrizi and indeed the

custom was carried on down to the present century by Jewish children, who treated Haman as a sort oGuy Fawkes.; the Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 edition, article on Purim


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should occur a month prior? Technically, yes, but I think we have a weird anomaly here -it is apparent the Jews are using the liturgy of Purim on Good Friday and celebratingPassover at the same time! How is this possible? One must remember, all calendars inthat time period depended on the observations of the Moon and the Sun, months usu-ally being 27/28 days in length. Twelve months of 28 days equals 336 days, 29 days

short of a full year of 365 days. As it is to this day, the feast of Easter cannot be cele-brated until after the New Moon of the Spring Equinox (usually occurring on or afterMarch 21st). Our months equal 30 to 31 days with discrepancies corrected by LeapYears. However, the Jewish calendar made corrections by simply repeating the monthof Adar, as necessary, to fill in the gap until the New Year began. This means oftentimes celebrating the feast of Esther/Purim twice in a given year. Each city had an ap-pointed observer whose task it was to determine the beginning of each month and theNew Year through the observation of the New Moon and the Sun at Equinox. If it wascloudy, or the skill of the observer was wanting, errors could occur. This was not a hugeissue for their calendar was self-correcting. If it was necessary to repeat the month ofAdar, the first month of Adar Little Purim was celebrated, the second month, Ve-Adar,

Great Purim was celebrated14. Because the New Year was determined by observing theEquinox, any difficulty in observation could cause the calendars of different cities, ordifferent factions, to be out of synch. It is conceivable that different branches of Juda-ism, at Equinox, to be in different months making feasts that should be a month apartcelebrated on the same day15. This is what I believe is happening in the Passion narra-tive.

Christ died in his 33rd year. If our calendar is correct, AD 33 should be a curious year.The date of 14 Adar (the date prescribed by Esther for the crucifixion of Haman) shouldoccur on a Friday (the day of Christs crucifixion) - as should 14 Nisan, the date ofpreparation for Passover. If we check the records, in order for Passover to occur on

Nisan 15 in the year 33 (a full Moon), Nisan 1 (a new Moon) must occur on March 19,but that is two days before the necessary Equinox - a new year should start after theEquinox. Allowing for the fact that different Jews might have made the observations dif-ferently, and the particular difficulty in making observations in that time period withprimitive instruments when the Equinox is close to the beginning of the month, it is pos-sible, if not probable that both feasts were celebrated concurrently by different factions.Imagine the surprise of the Jews when an actual person, Christ, claiming to be the Sonof God and Truth itself, was produced by the Romans just in time for Purim! An ironicreplacement for an intended effigy representing the soulless, blasphemous assassins of

14 When the feast occurred in an intercalary year it was celebrated twice: on 15 Adar (Little Purim) and

on 15 Ve-adar (Great Purim).; the Catholic Encyclopedia, article on Purim

15 Even the fact that this latter was celebrated on the first of Nisan, or a fortnight after the Jewish date for

Purim, is confirmed by the Book of Esther itself, which states, that In the first month, which is the monthNisan, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman (Esther iii. 7, ix. 26). The change of date may have

been made in order not to conflict with the Passover on the I5th of Nisan., the Encyclopedia Britannica,1911 edition, article on Purim. In the first month (which is called Nisan) [in the twelfth year of the reign ofAssuerus[Artaxerxes], the lot was cast into an urn, which in Hebrew is called Phur, before Aman[Haman],on what day and what month the nation of the Jews should be destroyed: and there came out the twelfthmonth, which is called Adar.]


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their nation. Using computer modeling, we find that the year AD 33 does provide all thenecessary dates: (Ve-)Adar/Nisan 14 does fall on a Friday; the Spring Equinox does fallon a cusp making it difficult to determine the correct month, some assuming the fol-lowing month to be a 2nd Adar, others certain it was Nisan. While we can be certain thatthe Bible says it was the season of Passover, the actual Passion narrative indicates the

events unmistakably as Purim, the feast of Esther. What we call Easter is actually thedrama of Esther played out with Christ as the Paschal victim. One of the arguments thathas divided the Eastern and Western Church is just this dispute: is the commemorationof Christs resurrection properly Easter or Pascha? The answer is that it was both, theterm Easter not being derived from the pagan celebration of Oester (as commonlyheld), but from the Feast of Esther. Therefore, our calendar (and tradition) is correct asis the Eastern Church in calling the feast Pascha and the Western Church in calling itthe Feast of Easter (Esther). If one checks all the surrounding dates of the variouspossible years as to Christs death, one will find that the only possible year is AD 33: the14th of Adar/Nisan is on a Friday, the night the full Moon turned blood red due to andeclipse. It is only through the redating of Christs birth c. 1 BC that finally allows this later

date. This vindicates the tradition of the Church and its calendar. It also upholds thefundamental accuracy of the Bible.

That the Term Easter is not Derived from the Pagan Oestre but from the

Biblical EstherEaster is perhaps the most important feast of the entire Christian liturgical year. How-

ever, most of Christianity, outside of those that are English speaking, use the term Pas-cha. The term Easter has commonly been held to be of dubious origin. Most modernscholars believe it to be derived from the term Oestre, an Old English pagan femaledeity, the goddess of spring. Oestre is supposedly connected with the pagan rites ofspring rituals celebrated during her feast days. From her is derived the term estrus

having to do with natural female cycles of the body (estrogen, menstrual cycles, etc).Many use this word association to validate a more syncretistic if not pagan basis of theHoly Day essentially this means that the true celebration of Easter should be basedin worshipping the life force particularly as revealed through woman. Attempts to clarifythis issue usually result in controversy: those who, on one hand, want to protect this pa-gan association, and those on the other hand, who want to protect the scholarship of along held belief.

1) The only reference to the term Easter having been derived from Old English paganlegend is from the Venerable Bede (c. 672 - 735) who claims such etymology in hishistory of the English Church. Yet, no one outside of Bede has yet found evidence

of such an ancient English goddess or festival16. It is well known that Bedes His-

16 Eostre ("Easter") is the name of a putative goddess of the Anglo-Saxons. The Venerable Bede de-scribed her worship as something which had already died out by the time he began writing the first signifi-

cant history of the Anglo-Saxons. In recent years some historians have suggested that Bede may havemade her up because there are no known references to her preceding his work. Others point out thatBede is known as "the Father of English history" precisely because he has long been the source for most

of what little we know about pre-Christian English history, which, of course, does not make him infallible. From the Wikipedia article on Eostre


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tory of the English people is somewhat of a propaganda text. Rome has long held that itis the true basis of Christianity, that other branches of Christianity are less legitimate.Bede was a Roman Christian. Most history books today list Christianity in England hav-ing been founded by the Roman Catholic Church, yet there are (Orthodox) Christiansalready there by Bedes own account. Other evidence that Christianity proceeded Rome

in England is numerous: The Stowe Missal is a Celtic Christian missal which dates be-fore Bede; Constantine predates Bede, is of English descent (his mother was a Chris-tian), rescued Christian Rome from the Barbarian assault, and also established Con-stantinople as the center of Christianity. One of the main litmus tests of the period as toauthentic Christian pedigree was the calculations as to the proper date of Easter. Be-des text oddly ends in a proof that the Roman calculation for Easter is the correct oneand that The English calculation is in error (Synod of Whitby). This leads one to believethat the purpose of his text is to undermine the authenticity of the then English Churchby associating their celebration of Easter with a pagan deity if the English Easter is ofPagan origin then to be legitimate it should properly be Romanized. Yet, the people inBedes own account are hardly pagans, if anything they are Orthodox. One can find a

similar argument going on in the Council of Nicaea, yet there the Orthodox position issupported. It is ultimately this argument over the proper Easter/Pascha date that beganto erode the union of the Eastern and Western Church. Bede is trying to connect theterm Easter and Eoster to substantiate his case but no such connection can be made17.The term Easter must be derived from another tradition.

To many, today, the idea of an Old English heritage to Easter has the air of truthiness.The fact is that what many consider the language Old English is not English at all, butmiddle English derived from French, etc. - the language and time period is wrong forthe Easter is Old English tradition argument.

The original language of England was not Old English, but closer to Welsh. AncientWelsh is curiously similar to ancient Hebrew. The Biblical phrase The Lord has swal-lowed up all the tabernacles of Jacob, in ancient Welsh becomes By-llwng Adon-ydhholl neuodh Jago. In Hebrew, phonetically, it is, Byllang Adonai cal neoth Jangeob.Similarly, the phrase, My shield is from God, becomes, Meigen-i hwyl Elyo. The He-brew version, Mageni ngal Eloim.18 The true language of ancient Britain must thenhave an Eastern origin.

According to Geoffrey of Monmouth (History of the King of Britain) Britain was foundedby the Greek Spartans and their leader Brutus in 1240 BC after the battle of Troy.Geoffrey claims to have derived his text from sources older than Bede the story

Geoffrey tells casts early Christianity in England in an entirely different light than Bede.His account shows a people far more civilized than Bede. While his record seems to

17 The word oestrogen is sometimes incorrectly believed to have been derived from Eostre. A train ofthought to this conclusion might involve the hormone oestrogen, human egg cells, Easter eggs and fertil-

ity. However, oestrogen actually derives directly from the word oestrus. See Etymology in Oestrus.Wikipedia article on Eostre.

18 Celtic Druids, Godfrey Higgins, p. 63


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also be dubious a times, his early chronology is consistent with other sources and maybe merely the British (Welsh) side of the story (as opposed to the Roman/Norman). Ifthe British are truly Greek/Spartans, then this means any ancient British pagan ritualscould not have been derived from indigenous, backward people, but from the sameEastern people as the Hebrew legend of Esther. While the story of Esther (c. 463 BC)

is later than the Battle of Troy, if Geoffrey is correct, then any pagan Easter celebrationwould have an Eastern connection due to the peoples continued contact with theEast, not local or Roman customs. According to Geoffrey, Britain was the foe of Romeand only capitulated to Rome in times of need. Consistent with other records, ancientBritain never totally trusted Rome due to an ongoing dispute over autonomy. Furtherevidence of this Hebrew/Spartan/Greek connection is the Bible itself:

And we have commanded them to go also to you, and to salute you, and to deliver you our let-ters, concerning the renewing of our brotherhood. And now you shall do well to give us an an-swer hereto. And this is the copy of the letter which he had sent to Onias: Arius king of theSpartans to Onias the high priest, greeting. It is found in writing concerning the Spartans, andthe Jews, that they are brethren, and that they are of the stock of Abraham. 1 Maccabees

12:17-21 DRB

2) Being that Bedes account of Oestre is questionable we must look elsewhere. Theonly other etymology that makes sense by ALL normal accounts is that the term Easteris derived from the Germanic term Ostara. Easter, it has been conjectured, is not de-rived from the spring concept of eostral cycles, as Bede claims, but from a Persianversion of Ostara meaning Star/Goddess in the East19. Another ancient spelling ofOstara or star is Ishtar, it is commonly known that Ishtar is the Persian version of Es-ther - if Easter is Ostara, and Ostara is Ishtar, then Easter is derived fromEsther.20 Easter is not connected to the false legend Oestre, if anything both Oestre

19 Etymologically, Ostara probably shares a common root with the word "east", the direction in which

dawn rises. It is mistakenly thought by some to be related to the words "estrogen" and "estrus". Wikipediaarticle on Ostara. Many linguists agree[1] that Eostre and Ostara are derived from the Old Teutonic root

'aew-s', 'illuminate, especially of daybreak' and closely related to (a)wes-ter- 'dawn servant', the morningstar Venus and *austrn-, meaning "dawn". Wikipedia on Eostre.http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE29.html - ENTRY: aus- DEFINITION: To shine. Derivatives include

east, Easter, and aurora. 1a. east, from Old English ast, east (< the direction of the sunrise); b. ostmark,from Old High German stan, east. Both a and b from Germanic *aust-. 2a. eastern, from Old English ast-

erne, eastern; b. Ostrogoth, from Late Latin ostro-, eastern. Both a and b from Germanic *austra-. 3.

Easter, from Old English astre, Easter, from Germanic *austrn-, dawn. 4. Possibly in Latin auster, thesouth wind, formally identical to the Germanic forms in 2 and 3, but the semantics are unclear: Austro-1.5. Probably suffixed form *auss-, dawn, also Indo-European goddess of the dawn. a. aurora, from Latinaurra, dawn; b. eo-, Eos; eosin, from Greek s, dawn. (Pokorny aes- 86.)

20 The name Eostre also bears some resemblance to the name Ishtar, a Babylonian goddess. Other vari-ants on Ishtar include Astarte and Ashtoreth. This resemblance has resulted in some Neopagans andChristians opposed to Easter believing that Easter is Ishtar's festival. (Fokelore is often constructed to

support such speculative continuities.) There is, however, no evidence that Ishtar was ever worshipped inEurope, nor any strong evidence that the myths of the two goddesses were related. Ibid.


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and Ostara are derived from the same Eastern legend of Easter, or Esther.21 Whilethere is some dispute as to which legend is the older, Esther or Ishtar, (and which is de-rived from which) if we are to believe the trustworthiness of the Bible at all we mustmaintain that Esther is essentially a true story. It is even conceivable that Esther (theBible lists Esthers real name as Hadassah) acquired her nickname in honor of Ishtar

due to a similarity in their lives and trials. While this Easter/Esther connection is not apopular notion, I am not the only one to make it - in fact I am trying to build further evi-dence that this is the case by showing that it is the Jewish celebration of Purim, thefeast of Esther, that is behind the very episodes of Easter in the Bible. I believe the feastof Esther as being celebrated concurrently with passover has been missed by scholars,a fact that seems only too obvious. The fact many scholars say the term Easter didntarise until the 7th century only supports the case that Bede made up the connection tocast doubt on the English Church and was haphazardly trying to explain away a customhe little understood 22. The term must have come from somewhere and the legend ofBede, the only other explanation, is not a possibility. Yet, the feast of Esther was appar-ently celebrated world-wide in many cultures. It is also my conjecture that the term in

the Bible referring to the Star of Bethlehem (His Star) in the Greek is actually Astera(the term actually used in the Bible for Star in the East) of which there is an actual starremembered and derived from the same legend. Modern conjecture is that this was Ve-nus. Yet (referring to my book Christian Metaphysics and Controversies) His Star refersto a star in the lost constellation Christ and the Virgin as listed by the Islamic Astrono-

21 The myth will have come, through a Persian medium, inasmuch as there are a number of Persian traits

in the story as we now have it. (See especially Siegfreid, Ezra, Nehemia und Esther, pp.137 ff. (1901).)Jastrow agrees with Jensen, and holds that the Babylonian myth was "transformed in such a manner by

the Jewish author of the book of Esther as to make it the basis of an elaborate festal legend to justify theadoption of a 'foreign' festival into the Jewish calendar", adding that "the one link missing in the chain ofevidence connecting Purim with the period of merry-making in honour of Marduk and Ishtar is evidence of

a celebration in Babylonia or Persia in the middle of Adar - just before the New Year's season proper twoweeks later." (In Hastings' Enc. of Rel., and Ethics, x.505b, 506a. The Babylonian New Year festival was

called the Sacraea, the Roman equivalent of which was the Saturnalia.) Thus, the book of Esther affordsan illustration of external influence on the Jews, inasmuch as they adapted a heathen festival to their own

use. (See the interesting article of Krappe, "Solomon and Ashmondai," in The American Journal of Philol-ogy, liv. 3, pp.269 ff. (1933).) from AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENTby W. O. E. OESTERLEY, D.D., LITT.D., & THEODORE H. ROBINSON, D.D., LITT.D. Hon. D.D. (Aber-

deen), Hon. D.Th.

22 Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum ("Ecclesiastic History of the English People") contains a

letter from Pope Gregory I to Saint Mellitus, who was then on his way to England to conduct missionarywork among the heathen Anglo-Saxons. The Pope suggests that converting heathens is easier if they areallowed to retain the outward forms of their traditional pagan practices and traditions, while recasting

those traditions spiritually towards Christianity instead of to their indigenous gods (whom the Pope refersto as "devils"), "to the end that, whilst some gratifications are outwardly permitted them, they may the

more easily consent to the inward consolations of the grace of God". The Pope sanctioned such conver-sion tactics as biblically acceptable, pointing out that God did much the same thing with the ancient Israel-ites and their pagan sacrifices. This practice might explain the incorporation of Eostre traditions into the

Christian holiday. Wikipedia article on Easter. Seehttp://www.englishheathenism.homestead.com/popesletter.html


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mer Albumazar.23 My argument is precisely this: what Bede passes off as an EnglishPagan (Wiccan) holiday is actually a continuation of this feast of Esther/Ostara/Ishtar inanother culture. Further, several Christian texts (such as the Exsultet) refer to Christ asthe new day-star, a real God as a replacement for the old pagan legends - the connec-tions abound.

3) Easter, then, is not derived from Bedes Oestre, but from Ostara (of whichOestre is perhaps another spelling), which itself is derived from Ishtar/Astera, which is

just another version of Esther, literally meaning the star gazer. Christian Easter, then,is a defeat of this pagan holiday, not a continuation of it. One could claim that the Chris-tian Easter is just a continuation of a Pagan religion if it were not for the fact that Christis not the honored deity of an Oestre celebration, but the fallen victim of that same cele-bration over which he triumphs!

23 There arises in the First Decan, as the Persians, Chaldeans, and Egyptians, the two Hermes, and As-

calius teach, a young woman, whose Persian name translated into Arabic is Adrenedefa, a pure and im-maculate virgin, holding in the hand two ears of corn, sitting on a throne, nourishing an infant, in the act offeeding him, who has a Hebrew name (the boy, I say), by some nations named Ihesu, with the significa-

tion Ieza, which we in Greek call Christ." Ieza is evidently the Hebrew verb "yesha," from Albumazar asreferred to in Mazzaroth, Frances Rolleston

vindicating tradition 2

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