Most scholarship, I believe, puts the stoning of Stephen in 34 or 35 AD. Is there reason within the Scriptures to substantiate this claim? Yes, I believe there is! However, such substantiation comes from prophecy in both Old and New Testaments, but the understanding of these very prophecies is clouded by the interpretation of most scholarship, which puts the fulfillment of them at the second coming of Jesus.
I have written similar posts which had to do with Stephen’s death back in November of 2009. However, I think I should be clearer on this matter in order to have a better understanding of the timeline of early Acts with a particular interest in the placement of the High Priests for Stephen’s death, Paul’s persecution of the Jewish believers in Jesus in Acts 9:1, and when the “peace” occurred in Acts 9:31.
The Seventy Weeks Prophecy of Daniel 9 was supposed to offer the believer the identity of the Messiah by showing the exact time in which he would appear. The 70 Weeks Prophecy begins with the first sacrifice offered on the rebuilt altar on the Temple mount when Joshua, the High Priest, and Zerubbabel returned from the captivity. The Jews began to make daily offerings to God from the first day of the seventh month upon their return from captivity (Ezra 3:6). This is a very important date, as it represents the first time in decades that worship of the God of Israel was offered from the Temple mount, and it represents the “firstfruits” of the decree of the emperor, which I believe is implied in the prophecy. So, the date of the decree itself is not important, but date of the firstfruits of that decree is the important part of the prophecy in terms of when it begins. The Messiah was to come at the beginning of the 70th week or 483 years after the first sacrifice was offered by the returning captives.
No matter which year one chooses to begin the 70 Weeks Prophecy, the 484th year must begin in the fall and on the Feast of Trumpets. I submit that from Luke 4:16 and up to Luke 6:49 Luke shows Jesus beginning his ministry on the Feast of Trumpets (Luke 4:16) and each Sabbath mentioned thereafter is either an annual Holy Day or a seventh day Sabbath. The odd “second Sabbath after the first” in Luke 6:1 is the seventh day Sabbath which occurred in that year back to back with the annual Day of Atonement, a fast day, which is why the Apostles were hungry and began to take some grain from the fields on the Sabbath day, rubbing it in their hands and eating the kernels.
Anyway, long-story-short, 3 ½ years later Jesus was crucified, and the 70 Weeks prophecy foretold the Messiah would be ‘cut’ (offered for the covenant) in the midst or the middle of the prophetic week (Daniel 9:26-27). The 70th week comprises 7 years, 3 ½ of which represented Jesus public ministry culminating in his crucifixion and resurrection. Notice in Luke 10:18 that Jesus said he beheld Satan like lightning fall from heaven. This is shown in Revelation 12:7-10 where Michael/Jesus makes war with Satan. Now I am not saying Jesus is an angelic being, but I am saying Michel is Jesus—the Angel of the LORD who is God in the Old Testament. Anyway, Jesus with his disciples were waging spiritual warfare against Satan’s kingdom (cf. Luke 10:17). The angels in Revelation 12 represent the messengers of Jesus and Satan respectively. In the Gospels they are Jesus’ disciples waging war against Satan or the Pharisees and high priests who fought against Jesus and his disciples. The woman (the Jewish believers) had a place of safety for 1260 days (Revelation 12:6). This is the first part of the 70th prophetic week and represents Jesus care for his disciples—they were safe, and he lost no one.
In the second part of the week the disciples were also safe according to Revelation 12:14. The believers were spiritually nourished for a time (1) + times (2) and half a time (1/2) or 3 ½ years. Daniel refers to this time as the 1290 days.
Formerly, I had believed the 1290 days began on the day of Jesus’ resurrection, which if it did, the days would have culminated on the Day of Atonement in 34 AD. However, had they done this, it would have indicated national repentance, which didn’t occur, and the proof of this is Stephen’s death, which occurred on that day. Thus, the 1260 days ended in blood (the crucifixion), but the 1290 days were intended to end in repentance, but instead Stephen was stoned. Therefore the fulfillment of the 1290 days were delayed. There is a gap between the 1260 days and the 1290 days of nearly 40 years due to unbelief, and is typified by Israel’s wandering in the wilderness for 40 year due to their unbelief. The 1290 days begin when the Roman general, Cestius, surrounded Jerusalem with his armies (cf. Luke 21:20), tore down the northern wall of Jerusalem, but for no good reason retreated, allowing Jesus’ disciples to flee (Luke 21:21). They end, when Titus, the Roman general and son of the Emperor, surrounded Jerusalem with his armies, broke down the northern wall (that was repaired) and encamped inside the walls of Jerusalem. Thus the city fell.[1]
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[1] See my study, The Seventy Weeks Prophecy and the 1290 Days, which details this.
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105 responses to “When Was Stephen Stoned?”
Luke 3 has John the Baptist beginning his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius. John baptized Jesus, and the context seems to imply Jesus began his ministry not long afterwards.
If you are a Hebrew scholar, I would have to give your opinion much weight, however, if you are not a scholar, by what authority do you claim Daniel 9:27 is a mistranslation?
The Septuagint does translate verse 27 differently, but both translations are within the bounds of the Hebrew and the Greek. The Septuagint has it: “And one week shall establish the covenant with many. And in the midst of the week my sacrifice and drink offering shall be taken away: and on the temple shall be the abomination of desolations; and at the end of the time an end shall be put to the desolation. (Daniel 9:27 LXX)
NO the context doesn’t, Paul said John completed his Course. Jesus turned in 29-30 AD
http://midseventiethweekrapture.blogspot.com/2015/02/i-think-jesus-was-born-near-december-25.html
Greetings Jared. You don’t seem to want to discuss anything. You simply deny or ignore what I claim and make a statement of your own, and off you go until I respond once more. Well, I’ll try one more time to inspire discussion. I read your blog-post linked above, but I found the study skewed. The late testimonies I reject outright, since Constantine virtually made Christianity the state religion and pagans began joining the church in vast numbers. Many were illiterate and had to be taught the Gospel in some way. For better or worse the church used the pagan holidays and “Christianized” them in a manner that preached the Gospel to the illiterate. Whether one agrees with the method or not, it at least taught illiterate folks about Christ. For other instances you seem to accept early Christian literature if it fits your theory and poo-poo the parts that don’t, saying that the ancients were close and only a little off the mark. Of course, your understanding is “on target” and that’s always nice! :-)
You say that John’s Gospel isn’t chronological and that helps your theory, because then you can deny that Tabernacles in John 7, 8 & 9 comes after the Passover mentioned in John 6. It’s really great when you can use scripture that way, but I am bound by conscience to treat it more fairly. I hope you understand. So, unless you come up with something that invites discussion, I’ll bid you good-bye here and now. Lord bless you in your studies as you yield to his Spirit that is in you.
P.S. I’ll approve any response you make here and/or in the other two places you are leaving comments, whether or not I reply to you after this (which isn’t likely).
When the Sypoptics mention the same event John 6 depicts it depicted it as approaching the Passover of his Death.
OR… your understanding of the Synoptics is wrong and John shows there are at least three Passovers in Jesus’ public ministry.
John 6:25-59 represents not one discourse but a series of teaching sessions that Jesus gave at the synagogue at Capernaum (John 6:59). In the intervening sessions he healed at Gennesaret (Matthew 14:34-36; Mark 6:53-56), ministered in Tyre and Sidon (Mark 7:24-30), healed and fed 4000 at the Decapolis (Matthew 14:29-39; Mark 7:31-37; Mark 8:1-10), and preached at Dalmanutha in Magdala (cp. Matthew 15:39-16:1-12 with Mark 8:10-26). The theme is the same in all. Jesus said that he alone is able to satisfy man’s inner hunger (John 6:35-40). Elsewhere, he taught that man’s inner life is already defiled and cannot be cured using outside methods (Matthew 15:1-14; Mark 7:1-13). The healing of the gentile woman’s daughter was an inner healing (Mark 7:29-30); the 4000 were fed and their inner hunger was satisfied. Throughout it all, the Pharisees, cognizant only of an outer realm, were continually asking for a sign (Matthew 16:1-4; Mark 8:11-13; cp. John 6:30). Jesus pointed to the scriptures that spoke of himself (John 6:45) and said that inner life comes only by him (John 6:53-58), but no one understood (John 6:52, 60).
All this is going on when scripture is compared with scripture, but you seem to want to erase it all by forcing John into a mold that does injustice to word of God. How can you do this and claim you believe the Bible is God’s word?
It John 6 occurs about the time of the Passover, then Jesus would have had to hurry to Jerusalem. The text doesn’t show him or the disciples doing that. Instead, after the feeding of the 5000 he ministered to all those places mentioned above and still had time to go up to Caesarea Philippi. I don’t see how you can justify your claims.