Bophuthatswana Passion of Christ FDC, Fourth Set
Bophuthatswana, Bethanie · 1984-03-23
Official first day cover (FDC) · South African philately
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front
This cover is postmarked on 23-03-1984 in Bethanie. It carries the fourth set of Bophuthatswana's Passion series, moving the narrative from Christ's entry into Jerusalem to the cleansing of the temple and the cursing of the fig tree. The set was illustrated by Johan van Niekerk and the text compiled with Professor A. B. du Toit. This is one of several Easter themed sets Bophuthatswana issued through Bethanie over the course of the 1980s.
Description of the Cachet
The jeweled cross returns here in a slightly different colour palette, set with deep red stones against gold scrollwork. The Alpha and Omega letters sit beneath the cross in the same gold tone, and a numbered leopard logo marks this as the fourth release in the Passion series. The four stamps, illustrated by Johan van Niekerk, depict the temple cleansing and the withered fig tree in bold, painterly style quite different from the earlier Nowers and McBride artwork. The Bethanie postmark, again shaped around a small cross, overlaps the centre stamps. This set moves the series forward chronologically from the entry into Jerusalem to the temple confrontation. The visual continuity of the cross cachet ties it clearly to the earlier third set.
Information Card
THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST Fourth set of the series The four stamps in the fourth set of the Easter Stamp Series on the Passion of Jesus Christ depicts the events following directly on the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. 10c stamp Mark 11:11 Mark relates that Jesus went to the temple immediately after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In the spacious court of the gentiles He came upon large-scale buying and selling. Since only animals and birds without blemish could be offered, and the temple tax could only be paid in certain prescribed coins, a profitable trade had developed from which some religious leaders acquired large personal gains. 20c stamp Mark 11:15 This stamp portrays the scene were Jesus prophetically drove the traders from the temple and overturned the tables of the money-changers. Jesus did this because the temple of the Lord was meant to be a place of worship, not a trading store where people could exercise selfish profiteering under the pretext of piety. 25c stamp Matthew 21:19 Jesus and his disciples spent the night in Bethany. On their return to Jerusalem, the next morning, Jesus noticed a fig tree in leaf at the roadside. Being hungry, He went to see if He could find any figs on it. 40c stamp Matthew 21:19 Jesus found nothing but leaves on the tree. Matthew reports that Jesus then condemned the tree and that it withered away at once. Jesus used the fig tree as a prophetic sign of God's coming judgement of Israel, because Israel had failed to yield the spiritual fruit God expected from his covenant people. This stamp depicts Jesus' act of judgement and the astonishment of the disciples at the withering of the tree. (Text compiled with the kind co-operation of Prof. A. B. du Toit.) N.W.
Theme: Other
Condition: FineGood condition. Minor wear or small imperfections, but overall well-presented.
Addressed: No
Signed: No
Estimated value: ~US$0.1
This is a high-level, subjective estimate only, not a professional appraisal.
This first day cover (FDC) is part of Southern Covers, a private collection of 220 first day covers documenting the postal history and philately of South Africa and the homeland states. New to first day cover collecting? Read the guide to learn about cachets, postmarks, and stamp collecting terms, or browse the whole collection of Southern African FDCs.
