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?”
Greetings Chris and thank you for reading and offering your comment. I presume your comment is directed to me and not to Paul, since he makes no mention of the 490 years beginning with a sacrifice. If I understand you correctly, you agree with the timeline of the final week of years of the prophecy and that it begins in 457 BC. What you don’t agree with or at least would like to see some proof for is that the actual date in 457 BC was the 1st day of the 7th month. I will proceed on the presumption that I’ve understood you correctly. :-)
Seven years from a specific date must always be that same date seven years hence. The 70 Weeks Prophecy is slightly different in that it divides the 7 year period up into 1260 days and 1290 days respectively, so, although this is 7 calendar years, it can begin and end on different dates, but it will be within the same month. In order to keep the Holy Days within their proper seasons an intercalary month was added from time to time within a seven year period. I presume we can agree thus far.
The problem is that nothing works out–at least not using the tools I’ve been using that shows Jesus’ crucifixion 1260 days after a certain date near the beginning of his ministry unless we begin in the autumn. If we **must** begin in the autumn, then the anniversary of the beginning of the 70 Weeks Prophecy is in the autumn, and we have the testimony of Joshua and Zerubbabel building up the Altar of God on the Temple mount on the 1st day of the 7th month. Using the Last Great Day of the Feast of Tabernacles as the beginning of the 1260 days will always put us on Nisan 14, 1260 days later, and this is Passover Day when Jesus was crucified.
Knowing the math works out for this configuration, what can we say about the beginning of the 70 Weeks Prophecy as found in the book of Ezra? First of all, we need to understand that by the time Ezra arrived in Jerusalem, the Temple had already been built (Cp. Ezra 6:16; 10:1). He arrived in time to dedicate the walls but that is all (Nehemiah 12:27, 36). Therefore, Ezra 6:7 is moot. There are errors in how chronology is configured. Many good intentions were built around configuring the 70 Weeks Prophecy from the decree of Artaxerxes, but all he did was agree a decree had already been made by Cyrus the Great who was the first to permit the Jews to return to their homeland. We know the Jews began to build the Temple on the 1st day of the 7th month of the year of their release (Ezra 3:1-6), and this is the first reference to time in the book. It began here!
What about the wording of the angel’s prophecy in Daniel 9, and does it allow for the time to begin when the first repairs were being made? I believe it does. The Hebrew word translated “going forth” in Daniel 9:24 does not only include the command from Cyrus’ lips or pen, but also the budding of that command or the first fruits of that command as we can see from the same word translated into “bud” in Job 38:27. The prophecy not only involves the command from Cyrus but the obedience of God’s children to obey that command. It is not in the mere saying that God is honored, but in the doing that he receives praise.
Hope this is clear and satisfies your question, but if not, say so and I’ll try to do better. Lord bless you,
Eddie
Hi Ed, my name is Mark. I am 61. It is 2:00 in the morning as I read this blog. I mention this so I can say that the older I get, the more time it seems I have for research and study on my favorite subject, the Holy Bible. I only wish I could have had as much time to do this when I was much younger. But, the internet was not available then, and study is much easier now. I stumbled across this blog in search of the answer to the question, “When was Stephen stoned?” I think it’s relevant to know the answer to this question in determining whether or not Paul’s audience in Rome would have been familiar with Paul’s identity. Most certainly there was a Jewish presence in Rome and the Christians in Antioch, Syria, certainly knew who he was. It was some twenty years later when he wrote his letter to the Romans. Do you think the Romans knew who Saul of Tarsus was and the story of his conversion? Also, you mention Theophilus as being High Priest when Paul began his ministry. Can you tell me if this is the same Theophilus to which Luke addressed his gospel and the book of Acts?
Mark, good morning! I understand your longing and your regrets concerning study. I often wish I knew enough to study more when I was young. Nevertheless, the Lord has a hold on both are hearts today and we can rejoice in that–without regret.:-)
Concerning how much Roman Jews knew of Paul, it seems evident some, but not all were familiar with him, but how much is difficult to say. When speaking with his Jewish audience at Rome, the Jews expressed only a cursory knowledge of the “Way” (as the faith was known at that time — cp. Acts 28:21-22). Speaking only for myself, I see these Jews probably knowing a rabbi named Saul/Paul was the (a?) leader of the Messianic sect called the “Way” by some. There seems to have been a number of believers in Rome, no doubt coming from Jerusalem where they heard the Gospel for the first time, while on a pilgrimage there, from Peter or one of the other Apostles. So, the Roman Jews **knew** something of the faith, but not enough to make a clear decision for or against Christ. Also, there is a thought to consider concerning why the Jews were banished from Rome during Claudius’ reign. It is recorded by Orosius that the Jews were fighting among themselves concerning one named Chirstus (see Claudius Expels the Jews from Rome). It is difficult to come up with a definitive answer concerning how much the Jews in Rome knew of Paul or the Way, but they weren’t entirely ignorant–that does seem clear.
Concerning Theophilus, I do believe this is the same Theophilus to whom Luke addressed his Gospel and the Acts. I believe it was necessary to offer the leadership a witness to the truth, just as was done in the Old Testament. Theophilus seems to have been the most open of the Annas clan, but he was no doubt ruled by his father. I don’t believe there was any conversion, but I do believe the witness of Luke’s Gospel frightened him enough to stop the open persecution of the saints in and around Judea. If you care to read it, I have written a blog about this and you may find it HERE.
Lord bless you, Mark.
Dan 9:26 says the Messiah would be cut off (killed) after 69 weeks and this article states Jesus did not die until 69.5 weeks.
Greetings Roger and thank you for reading and especially for taking the time to offer a comment / question. Daniel 9:26 does say Messiah would be cut off (killed) after 69 weeks. How long after? You presume immediately after, but is this truly the case? In the very next verse the text says he (the Messiah) will confirm the covenant for one week, but in the midst of the week (he will cause) the Daily Sacrifice will cease. The words “he will cause” are inserted into the text by the translator. 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…” Jesus is that Sacrifice and Drink Offering to God. He represents **all** sacrifices, actually. In this case, however, he is seen as the Sacrifice and Drink Offering, and it ceased or was taken away (i.e. was killed) 3 1/2 years into the 70th week of the prophecy.
Lord bless you, Roger.