This argument is sufficient to diffuse the skeptics argument with regard to Pliny. Between 3 PM and sunset the Jews had to prepare the body and get it into the tomb, because the Sabbath started Friday evening around sunset. Thus, the Christian apologist Tertullian (155-240 A.D) could still say to the Romans in the late second century A.D. with regard to the Crucifixion darkness: And yet, nailed upon the cross, He exhibited many notable signs, by which His death was distinguished from all others. On this day, Christians recall especially that part of the Creed in which we affirm of Jesus Christ: for our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered, died and was buried. These things we affirm to be historical facts. It is improbable that he would have created such an event from his own imagination. Even more fascinating is the mention of an earthquake. A secondline of argument for the crucifixion date comes from historical testimony and the weight of opinion of Christian scholars through history. At New Moon, the Moon is positioned between the Sun and the Earth with the dark side of the Moon facing the Earth. So that means there has been at least some investigation of it by geologists though I do not know how much. In the fourth year, however, of Olympiad 202, an eclipse of the sun happened, greater and more excellent than any that had happened before it; at the sixth hour, day turned into dark night, so that the stars were seen in the sky, and an earthquake in Bithynia toppled many buildings of the city of Nicaea. Phlegons 13th book quoted in Jeromes translation of Eusebius Chronicle, 202 Olympad. Bugnolan Conclave in surprise move, elects Bergoglio! earthquake! Using the above information we can work out that the period of darkness occurred in 33 AD. The source from Jerome above is interesting in that it dates the unusual darkening of the sky by the Olympiad numbering system. Is there any evidence of global or regional darkness in 36CE? 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. For from Nehemiah, who was sent by Artaxerxes to resettle Jerusalem in the 115 th year of the Persian empire, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, the fourth year of the 83rd Olympiad, until this time, which was the second year of the 202nd Olympiad, the sixteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, there is a total of 475 years. So, we know that when Jesus was crucified had to be a year between AD 26 and 36 in which Nisan 14 or Nisan 15 occurred on a Friday. (LogOut/ Rome had a Jewish community, and it is probable that word of the darkness would have reached and been known within it. Jesus was ABOUT 30 years old when He began His ministry. The Biblical Astronomer, 8(84). He wrote extensively about natural phenomena earthquakes and such. 9 Of course, they only thought an eclipse had occurred. 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. There are writings from Roman, Jewish, and Christian writers all known as good historians who mention Jesus Christ in some way, often as they write about Christians. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. Origen tells us in his work,Against Celsus(cf Contra Celsus II, 14), that Phlegon had some knowledge of Jesus. Your email address will not be published. Among these is a very interesting quote below from a Christian scholar quoting an earlier Roman historian named Phlegon (first and second century). If we know the day of the week that the crucifixion took place on, this can be used to rule out a number of the possible years (in the range from AD 26 to AD 36). In sum, the words of Tertullian and Africanus show us that in ancient times onlythe explanation of the causeof the three hour darkness was in dispute,not the fact of it. Are you positive in regards to the source? [CDATA[*/ var d = new Date(); var n = d.getFullYear(); document.getElementById('getYear').innerHTML = n; /*]]>*/ Christian Evidence. It was not until the sixteenth century that the Jewish calendar was formally defined precisely. However, such an explanation for the Crucifixion darkness is absurd because solar eclipses are counted in minutes, not hours. Therefore, it is possible Phlegons source witnessed the Crucifixion darkness from there at the same hoursuggesting the darkness and earthquakes reached far beyond the region around Jerusalem. Therefore the year of the crucifixion is A.D 33. This would include the April 33 AD date I have used above for the crucifixion. event bed is another distinctive mixed layer less than one inch thick. Suffice it to say that the Jewish Sabbath was on Saturday and remember that the Jews considered a 24 hour day cycle to begin at sunset in the evening. 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. . We do however have important sections of Phelgon's work, which are critical in dating the Crucifixion. In the same hour, too, the light of day was withdrawn, when the sun at the very time was in his meridian blaze. Africanus disputed an attempt by Thallus (a first century historian) to specifically explain the Crucifixion darkness in this way. The little known aspect of this is something that comes from a famous Jewish Rabbi from the first century, Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah. The onah concept applies to part "days" and whole "days" so that they counted the same. . Thus, in their mindset, Jesus could say "three days and three nights" and the Jews would not have understood that this had to be a full 72 hours. The fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad was in 33 A.D.!!! He was smartly dressed, flamboyant and gregarious. From Friday evening at sunset to Saturday evening at sunset was an entire 24 hour day cycle, so it also counted as a day and a night. However, what concerning the bottom line? It is important to note that 1) an eclipse of the sun cannot occur during a full moon since the moon would be on the opposite side of the earth and 2) that Jesus died on Passover during a full moon. 27:39-40, Matt. 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); (Jerome) [4]. If your sunset occurs later than sunset in Athens, the event may occur on the previous day . Contact Dr Richard Kent and recommendations, Bible Prophecy Concerning The Crucifixion, The Blood Covenant In Relation To The Crucifixion, Recording of The Crucifixion by Contemporary Historians, The Three Hour Period Of Darkness Is Confirmed By Many Historians, The Ad 33 Date Of The Crucifixion According To Phlegon, A Secular Greek Historian, The Ad 33 Date Of The Crucifixion From Bible Prophecy, Caiaphas Prophesied About The Crucifixion, In Gethsemane Jesus Sweated Blood, The Disciples Slept, And Judas Betrayed Jesus Christ, Judas Iscariot Betrayed Jesus Christ For Thirty Pieces Of Silver, The Timing Of The Night Before The Crucifixion, Jesus Christ Stood In Our Place At The Six Trials, Jesus Was Condemned To Death For "blasphemy", The Crowd Choose Barabbas Rather Than Jesus. Z's Blog - What Does The Prayer Really Say. opif. and a seismic event that happened sometime between the years 26 and 36. 1996. p. 217. In addition, he writes of an earthquake accompanying the darkness, which is specifically recorded in Matthews Gospel (Matthew 27:51): Secular Geologist, Jefferson Williams of Supersonic Geophysical, and colleagues Markus Schwab and Achim Brauer of the German Research Center for Geosciences, researched the Dead Sea and revealed that at least two major earthquakes occurred: A widespread earthquake in 31 B.C. It also gives a link to download Lightfoot's entire New Testament commentaries in four volumes as free PDF files. (see Figure 2 below). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This is a text widget. First, there are differences between the synoptic gospels in the New Testament and the gospel of John that have puzzled Bible scholars. 1 Maier, Paul. [1] There are two books credited to his name:Chronicles and the Olympiads. Does this necessarily mean that Phlegon was referencing the seismic activity, if you dare to call it that, that occurred during the Crucifixion in the Gospel accounts? Now let us consider how he might have categorized the Crucifixion darkness. The Bible is indeed confirmed by science, archaeology and history. Or has it been changed and contaminated by ambitious Christian defenders? Why has it been so difficult to determine the exact date of Jesus' death and the dates of the last week of his life? Though it is almost impossible to deny that this strange event truly happened, on the same day our Lord died on the Cross, I strived for years to find a natural astronomical explanation about it but in vain. Last month: Next month: new 18:49 33/01/19 UTC : 1: 33-01-20/21: Noumenia kata Selene : 2: 33-01-21/22: Agathos Daimon : 3: 33-01-22/23: Athene : 4: 33- . I am more concerned in determining the year than the exact date and day of the week, but it seems you cannot really determine the year confidently without figuring out the exact day and day of the week. In Wadi Zeelim, located above the southwestern shore of the modern Dead Sea exists an outcrop of laminated Dead Sea sediment. He made a famous statement to explain how days were counted for certain ceremonial purposes. To me it seems the place to start with deduction from all the available information is with John the Baptist. It even mentions buildings collapsing in Nicea, which would be over 1,000 miles Northwest from Jerusalem by land. First, is what I would call deduction from all available information. When they could see the new crescent Moon in the evening (only visible for a short time in the early evening) they would send runners to announce that the new month had begun. The placement in time within the text is just too precise. If the above quotes about the crucifixion sky darkening and the earthquake are correct and actually correspond to the crucifixion, then we have historical evidence for miracles at the crucifixion. Having provided an argument for the historicity of a three hour darkness based on historical sources and reason, we may now address the objection made to it by skeptics, which may be stated as follows. The first of the two speakers stepped forward again. The written testimony from outside the Bible confirms some of the main events, people, and places mentioned in the New Testament. (The Olympics began in 776 B.C., and by counting every fourth year you come to the 202 nd Olympiad, and the fourth year of same is 33 A.D.) Most Only the Nov. 24, AD 29 eclipse over Asia Minor can match that, and Joel's prophecy (Acts 2, 14-21) that ``the sun will be turned to darkness and moon to blood." With these things in mind, I would like to provide some thoughts on the historicity of one particular event that is said to have occurred on the afternoon Our Lord was crucified. But in the Jewish calendar the Jews would recognize the start of the new month by watching for when the new crescent Moon appeared in the evening, which would be after the conjunction. It was calculated in four-year intervals. He was dying as the newborn infant was being brought back from Egypt by his parents. This earthquake did not center near Jerusalem exactly but it was strong enough to be very noticable in effects at Jerusalem if it did damage in Nicea. We know that Jesus was crucified in the Spring, at the time of the Passover. 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