However, such an explanation for the Crucifixion darkness is absurd because solar eclipses are counted in minutes, not hours. First, there are differences between the synoptic gospels in the New Testament and the gospel of John that have puzzled Bible scholars. He was dying as the newborn infant was being brought back from Egypt by his parents. Pliny tells us from the outset that unusually long eclipses areportentous. As a Roman noble, it is not remarkable that Pliny selected two examples which were portentous with respect to the history of Rome, i.e., the eclipses at the times of Caesars death and the war against Antony. Pliny then proceeds and gives only two examples. The Bible is indeed confirmed by science, archaeology and history. Being written within a dozen years of the Crucifixion, many of Matthews readers would have been witnesses to the three hour darkness which had fallen over the earth (cf Matthew 27: 45) years before. Sect 257 f16, c, p. 1165. Some events regarding the life of Christ and the life of Paul the Apostle, which are mentioned in the New Testament can be dated. From the work of Phlegon we can work out the date of the Crucifixion. From the direct quote above, it is clear Phlegons source is an observer in Bithynia (in modern day Turkey), which is well over 500 miles away from Jerusalem. In the verses above, Peter cites a scripture which speaks of various signs which God did by Him, inclusive of thesun being darkenedand the moon turning red. In either case, many would have witnessed it. So, these historical extrabiblical sources are also consistent with the AD 33 date. (Sextus Julius Africanus,Fragment 18. [The word Christ in Hebrew is Messiah.] Christ bore our sins so that if we just turn to God through Christ and humble ourselves and repent we receive Gods forgiveness for all of our sins!! Jesus Christ's crucifixion is one of the most important events in the history of the world. Even if the darkness had not been seen throughout the whole empire, word of it would have spread to Rome as the center of government and commerce. This one too is during the 202ndOlympiad, although in the first year, not the fourth. The Crucifixion darknesswould have been observable to many hundreds of thousands of peopleif not millions. The span of distance between Bythnia and Jerusalem would have put the earthquake in a cataclysmic category, and the evidence confirmed by science supports that conclusion. First, is what I would call deduction from all available information. This year would be AD 29 from Roman historical sources. Your email address will not be published. Solar eclipses during this time frame that were visible to that part of the world were rare, which puts obvious delimiters on when they occurred. II 21 [2], Phlegon records that, in the time of Tiberius Csar, at full moon, there was a full eclipse of the sun from the sixth hour to the ninth manifestly that one of which we speak. In the Jewish calendar, the first month of a new year was called Nisan. His boyish face was flush and confident now. Eusebius' records of the Olympics were considered authoritative but were lost, though they are translated and preserved some in the writings of others. But Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke to them: Ye men of Judea, and all you that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known to you, and with your ears receive my words. [1] There are two books credited to his name:Chronicles and the Olympiads. In chapter 28, Matthew provides an accountprobably sourced to either one of the guards and or a Jewish elderof how the guards were bribed, and the lie was spread that the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus (cf Matthew 28:1-15). All rights reserved. Thesestatements reveal several key things: 1. Even if there was an issue of corruption or inaccuratetranslation of the Phlegon writing, how could the science possibly have been faked when there would have been no way of faking it hundreds of years later without it being obviously exposed? It is important to readThallus comments to completely understand the issue. Ancient writers sometimes describe their Olympiads as lasting five years but do so by counting inclusively; in fact each comprised a four year period. To God nothing is impossible. The mention of three nights in this verse has prompted some to propose the crucifixion was on a Wednesday or a Thursday. He has written apologetic articles and is working on a historical-adventure trilogy, set during the time of the Arian crisis. In telling the story of the guards, Matthew takes into account what his Jewish audience would already knowi.e., there was aclaimbeing spread abroad that the body of Jesus had been stolenand then he proceeded to provide facts to explain the true origin of that lie. There are also complicated issues about various calendar systems in use at the time of Christ that create confusion. Julius Africanus quoted from the Olympiades a section no longer in existence which said this darkening if the sun happened at the time of the full moon. The Formal Correction is on the way! Retrieved November 30, 2006 from [2]. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day: But this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass, in the last days, (saith the Lord,) I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. The crucifixion darkness, even if a natural phenomena, would still be miraculous for its timing, ordained by God. Certainly, other ancient writers, most notably Pliny the Elder (23 79 AD), would have written of a three hour darkness had it really happened. The 202nd Olympiad has been calculated to run from July AD 29 to June AD 33. I believe Colin Humphreys is probably correct that the date of the crucifixion of Christ was Friday April 3, A.D. 33. Thus the New Moon is not visible. While the actual words used by Thallus no longer survive, the response of Africanus (below) give us a sense of what he must have said: As to His (i.e., Jesus Christ) works severally, and His cures effected upon body and soul, and the mysteries of His doctrine, and the resurrection from the dead, these have been most authoritatively set forth by His disciples and apostles before us. https://creation.com/darkness-at-the-crucifixion-metaphor-or-real-history, http://www.icr.org/article/greatest-earthquakes-bible/, http://www.nbcnews.com/id/47555983/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/quake-reveals-day-jesus-crucifixion-researchers-believe/#.Wiu9sUqWaUk, http://www.wall.org/~aron/blog/darkness-at-noon/. It is an important event to all Christians. At His own free-will, He with a word dismissed from Him His spirit, anticipating the executioners work. He inadvertently dated the darkness at noon on the day of Crucifixion in his work, The Olympiades. Therefore, the reason the apostles could confidently mention a three hour darkening of the sun is because it was an actual occurrencealready knownto many in their audiences either by firsthand experience or by word of mouth. Matthew 12:40 says that as Jonah was three days and three nights in the fish, Jesus would be dead three days and three nights. 776 BC = Olympiad 1, not 0. You yourselves have the account of the world-portent still in your archives. (Tertullian, Apologia 21) (Emphasis added). The source from Jerome above is interesting in that it dates the unusual darkening of the sky by the Olympiad numbering system. Well, for starters, it places a high degree of scientific precision for a writing that could considered to be hearsay or speculative because of its inference from another source. The 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad was 32-33AD: HMEPA Hellenic Month Established Per Athens The 202nd Olympiad Last Olympiad Next Olympiad Last Olympiad source: http://www.numachi.com/~ccount/hmepa/calendars/202.html Modern context of the calendar of ancient Olympics would put the 4 th year of the 202 nd Olympiad at July 32-33AD. Here, the skeptics case isseeminglymore plausible on first glance. Why preach something that was manifestly untrue? Last month: Next month: new 02:44 32/07/26 UTC : 1: 32-07-26/27: Noumenia : 2: 32-07-27/28: Noumenia kata Selene Agathos Daimon: Herakleia? The 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad is from July 32 to June 33 CE, which confirms the date of 3 April 33 CE. Therefore this is how Jesus could have been crucified on Friday and rise from the dead on Sunday, as Christian tradition and Biblical information have always said. This may seem hard to accept for some. The year given by Phlegon for this eclipse is the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (i.e., 33 A.D.), which is consistent with one of the possible dates of the Crucifixion (i.e., April 3, 33 A.D.). It would be interesting to model the varying sizes, speeds, and distances required from the earth to account for the period of darkness on that hypothesis. Therefore the year of the crucifixion is A.D 33. The Cancellation Of The Curse Of Death, And The Free Gift Of Eternal Life, The Cancellation Of The Curse Of Sickness, And The Availability Of Supernatural Health, The Cancellation Of The Curse Of Poverty, And The Availability Of Gods Supernatural Abundance, Victory Over Satan Won At The Crucifixion, Accreditation, Acknowledgements and Legal notices for Crucifixion, Contact Dr Richard Kent and Recommendation. "In the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, there was a great eclipse of the Sun, greater than had ever been known before, for at the sixth hour the day was changed into night, and the stars were seen in the heavens. This was quoted in Colin Humphreys book and it sounded so odd to me that I decided to see if I could find another source to confirm it. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad I believe would include some of the same year as the 203rd Olympiad but the new Olympiad did not start till the Olympics event took place in the Summer. These aspects of the problem are critical and it shows the Jewish mindset about the calendar and counting days was quite different than our modern mindset. To me it seems the place to start with deduction from all the available information is with John the Baptist. Otto Keller, Rerum Naturalium Scriptores Graeci Minores, 1 (Leipzig Teurber, 1877), p. 101., 2 Julius Africanus, Extant Writings, XVIII in The AnteNicene Fathers, ed. He lives near Atlanta with his family. 9 Of course, they only thought an eclipse had occurred. The time from Friday 3 PM to sunset was counted as one day. He referred to a description by Phlegon of an eclipse accompanied by earthquakes during the reign of Tiberius: that there was "the greatest eclipse of the sun" and that "it became night in the sixth hour of the day [i. e., noon] so that stars even appeared in the heavens. From this brief statement, the skeptic wants to declare victory and go home. So a 24 hour daily cycle was from sunset to sunset. The Bible is Gods book of love and redemption. I will not go through all the information in Colin Humphrey's book but I will try to summarize the evidence as I see it. Phlegon of Karia recorded both of these events in Chronicle of the Olympiad. I will also point out that the Roman historian Thallius also recorded these events. This is what Colin Humphrey's does well in his book, considering a variety of types of information. Only one earthquake in this span of years came up in the results, in 33 AD The database showed two published geological sources regarding this earthquake. The evidence for Christ's resurrection is also historical evidence of a miracle. We have no need to be dogmatic about precise numbers regarding His age at the time of His crucifixion. Thus, upon closer examination, theforce of the skeptics objection inevitably dissolves away into nothingness as we examine the works of other ancient writers who the skeptic would cite as asilentwitness for their case. Phlegon was a Greek historian who wrote an extensive chronology around AD 137. He quotes Phlegon as stating it was the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, conflicting with Africanus who quotes Phlegon as stating it was the 2nd year; He asserts this occurred at the Passover both in the 18th year of Tiberius (spring 32AD) and in Olympiad 202.4 (spring 33AD); I will follow the work of Cambridge professor Colin Humphreys based on his book, "The Mystery of the Last Supper," published in 2011 [1]. In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (i.e., AD 33) there was 'the greatest eclipse of the sun' and that 'it became night in the sixth hour of the day [i.e., noon] so that stars even appeared in the heavens. Unfortunately, Africanus does not quote Phlegon directly. Phlegon Darkness occurred when Christ was crucified, an eclipse of the sun cannot occur during a full moon since the moon would be on the opposite side of the earth. We can therefore calculate with great accuracy that the three hour period of darkness, and also the Crucifixion, had to be in the Spring of A.D. 33. 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