1. Luke 2:1 mentions that Christ’s birth was during the reign of Augustus Caesar. Augustus Caesar reigned from 44 BC to his death in 15 AD The method of measuring time in the ancient Roman world was based on the reigns of the Emperors. Thus the early Church fathers dated the birth of Christ according to the accepted method used by the Romans, Arriving at the following figures:

• Irenius: states that it was in the 41st year of Augustus’s reign, which would place it at 4/3 BC depending on how you date the beginning of Augustus’s reign.
• Clement of Alexandria: dates it Nov. 18, 3 BC
• Tertullian: 3/2 BC
• Julius Africanus: 3/2 BC
• Eusebius of Caesarea: 3/2 BC
• Hypolotus of Rome: 3/2
• Epiphanius: 3/2 BC

However all of these people are wrong – see Matthew 2:1

1. Matthew 2:1 says that Christ’s birth was in the time of King Herod the Great…