Colin Humphreys estimates that Jesus' ministry began in 30 A.D. this objectionis something of a fallacious argument. 12:40 mention three nights. On this site you can do a search for earthquakes essentially anywhere in the world, including through history. The maximum duration for a total solar eclipse is seven minutes, not three hours, and at the latitude of Jerusalem the maximum duration is even less. Ten Years Ago: Benedict confirms I am no longer the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, Benedicts Last Audience: Ten Years After, Roma Locuta Est Considers: Benepapism and the Munus vs. Ministerium (EpisodeVI), Is the Culture of Death creating the Remnant? Thepoint is that thedestruction of the discovered earthquake had to be catastrophic in order to destroy buildings there, which leads to the conclusion that the big one that hit Jerusalem also hit Turkey along the fault line at the same time. 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. Last month: Next month: new 11:37 32/06/26 UTC : 1: 32-06-27/28: Noumenia kata Selene : 2: 32-06-28/29: Agathos Daimon : 3: 32-06-29/30: Athene : 4: 32- . It was recorded by a Pagan author who had no desire to promote Christianity yet he confirmed the Bible record! Ye men of Israel, hear these words:Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you, by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by him, in the midst of you,as you also know: This same being delivered up, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you by the hands of wicked men have crucified and slain. It is significant that Jesus be crucified on a Friday because that is the normal time when the passover lamb was sacrificed by the Jews. But what has an eclipse in common with an earthquake, the rending rocks, and the resurrection of the dead, and so great a perturbation throughout the universe? 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. This may seem hard to accept for some. The 202nd Olympiad. 9 Of course, they only thought an eclipse had occurred. The dramatic story recorded above is fictional but the facts presented, namely Bible prophecy, Phlegon and Thallius writings, etc., are very true. 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); Another writer, a Christian historian named Sextus Julius Africanus, also commented about Phlegon's writings which connect the above event to the the crucifixion: "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. Assume Jesus died Friday afternoon about 3 PM as we reckon time today. However, Eusebius, in book 2 of Chronicle (Chronicon, quoted by Jerome), actually quotes Phlegon, with no mention of Jesus or a three hour darkness. But consider how do we know anything about history? If your sunset occurs later than sunset in Athens, the event may occur on the previous day . In reply. So that means there has been at least some investigation of it by geologists though I do not know how much. We believe that the period of darkness referred to by Phlegon is the same period of darkness referred to in the New Testament, since the event is unique. In Rome,Peter spokeas he had to the Jews of Jerusalem (cf Acts 2:14-24)to an audience that hadpriorknowledge of the three hour darkness. However, we might venture to reasonably speculate why Plinyif he had known of the Crucifixion darknesschosenot to include it in his examples. Moon phase and solar year events are shown on the day in Athens. And accurate. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. (31 B.C. Volume 2 contains the quotes on this webpage. and this is shown by the historical account of Tiberius Caesar. Philopon, De. We only have fragments left to us of this monumental work and quotations of it from other writers. Regarding thissame2nd century historian, Africanus also wrote: Phlegon records that, in the time of Tiberius Caesar, 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(Sextus Africanus,Fragment 18. One day it occurred to me that there were physical events that were extraordinary that WOULD most likely be preserved in historyand here are some very awesome references. 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad. In light of themassobservation and notoriety of a three hour darkness, it would not have made any sense for the Apostlesin preaching or writing about the truth of Christ to believers and nonbelievers aliketo have mentioned this darkness if it had notreallyhappened. The evidence for Christ's resurrection is also historical evidence of a miracle. It would be absurd to think that Peter would have asserted that his hearers had witnessed the darkening of the sun if they in fact had not. The astronomical science tells us there was no solar eclipse over Bithynia in that year. 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. An unknown, massive astronomical body passing through the solar system or on long period orbit, transiting between the earth and sun? 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. Please note, I do not believe that this eclipse is connected with the crucifixion. At Fatima, the miracle was localized though still within many miles of the town. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. I have wondered if an astronomical body accounted for some aspects of the Deluge, such tidal effects on the waters. Let us, briefly, consider the case for the historicity of this event by first quoting the relevant gospel accounts. . Are you positive in regards to the source? Sect 257 f16, c, p. 1165. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea." We know that Jesus was crucified in the Spring, at the time of the Passover. We do however have important sections of Phelgon's work, which are critical in dating the Crucifixion. Part II: The Role of the Church, Roma Locuta Est Considers: Benepapism and the Munus vs. Ministerium (EpisodeV), Is the Culture of Death creating the Remnant: Part 1 Declining births and life expectancy, Roma Locuta Est Considers: Benepapism and the Munus vs. Ministerium (EpisodeIV), Roma Locuta Est Considers: Benepapism and the Munus vs. Ministerium (EpisodeIII), 10th Anniversary of Benedict XVIs Renunciation of the Papacy, A Rebuttal of Dr. Mazzas book on Pope Benedicts Resignation, Valid? The question is: should we accept the historicity of this Crucifixion darkness? We have already cited the Acts of the Apostles, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Tertullian, Africanus, the 1st century historian Thallus, and the 2nd century historian, Phlegon, and these sufficiently demonstrate the historicity of the Crucifixion darkness. 12:40, Matt. opif. "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." 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. At His own free-will, He with a word dismissed from Him His spirit, anticipating the executioners work. Phlegon would have had no way to misreport an actual earthquake that hit in the region, because the region has the history to confirm the account passed to him. 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. 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. But it is a challenging issue to unravel. Roman historical sources confirm that Jesus Christ lived on Earth and died by crucifixion. The 202nd Olympiad has been calculated to run from July AD 29 to June AD 33. Also, word of it would have spread from Jerusalem to Jewish communities in Rome and throughout the empire. The former says: "In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, there was an extraordinary eclipse of the sun: at the sixth hour, the day was turned into dark night, so that the stars in heaven were seen; and there was an earthquake in Bithynia, which overthrew many houses in the city of Nice." Those issues do not change the conclusion for various reasons. Every person needs to deal with the questions of who Jesus is and what his death means. Euse-bius, in his records of the year A.D. , quotes at length from Phlegon, who says that, in the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, there was a great and remarkable eclipse of the sun, above any that had happened before. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) keeps a database of what are called "significant" earthquakes. 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. Some evidence suggests that Jesus was born in 2 BC and Herod died shortly after. The darkness during the crucifixion. The onah concept applies to part "days" and whole "days" so that they counted the same. 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. Los Angeles is approximately 380 miles from San Francisco, by comparison. Since Marks written gospel contains an account of the Crucifixion darkness, it follows that Peter included this event in his oral preaching. This firmly connects Jesus and the gospels to Roman history. On this basis the Fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad would commence in July A.D.32 and finish in June A.D.33. Thank you, Ive just been looking for information about this Followon Twitter:@S_OReilly_USA. Since Passover took place in the Spring before the Olympics, I think the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad would be Summer 32 AD to Summer 33 AD. A solar eclipse supposedly occurred during a full moon. Africanus does this by noting that the eve of Passover falls on a date of a near full moon, i.e., when the moon is opposite the sun in relation to the earth. The dates of the Olympic Games, recorded in Phlegon's Olympiad In ancient Greece the Olympic Games were held in the July of the first year of each Olympiad, which was a 4 year period running from July to June of each succeeding year. There is only one period of darkness lasting for three hours in the history of the world. The fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad was in 33 A.D.!!! For the Hebrews celebrate the passover on the 14th day according to the moon, and the passion of our Saviour fails on the day before the passover; but an eclipse of the sun takes place only when the moon comes under the sun. "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. Even if there is speculation on whether this is the correct eclipse referenced, there is only one more that would have been visible by the Persian Gulf and Rome during the Olympiad: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/0001-0100/29-11-24.gif. GO TO Mobile Home, http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/b-greek/2000-May/011873.html, http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/newton.html, http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2004/daniel.html, http://www.neverthirsty.org/pp/historical-secular-quotes-about-jesus/phlegon.html, http://www.ichthus.info/CaseForChrist/Archeology/intro.html. 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. . This is a clear Bible prophecy foretelling that God would cause the punishment for our sins to fall upon Jesus. However, this is scientifically impossible. 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. This argument is sufficient to diffuse the skeptics argument with regard to Pliny. However, history provides a sufficient answer as to why such documentary evidence has not survived on these topics of great interest. The term "Onah" or sometimes "Onath" is a loose way of referring to part of a day. The Bible is Gods book of love and redemption. He dabbed the sweat from his pallid face and intoned Are you at peace with God? He wrote extensively about natural phenomena earthquakes and such. The last known Olympic celebration was held in the year 261 CE ( Common Era, also known as "AD" from the Latin Anno Domini which means In the Year of the Lord in English). The fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad was in 33 A.D.!!! I would not always agree with him on some interpretational points but he does well in analyzing the crucifixion date question. Two short works by him are extant. 3: 32-07-28/29: Athene : 4: 32- . Jesus was thus the true final Passover Lamb and he died at the time the passover lambs was normally sacrificed. Unfortunately for the skepticand a sign of his desperation as wellthe argument from silence is, perhaps, one of the most difficult types of arguments to make. There is little doubt that this information was passed from ancient source to ancient source before it reached Phlegon; however; its place in historical writings is scientifically confirmed nearly 2 millenia later. Thirteen inches above the 31 B.C. 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. Is there any evidence of global or regional darkness in 36CE? Required fields are marked *. This earthquake would have been massive to be felt in Israel and Turkey at the same timethink of the catastrophe! In the Jewish calendar, the first month of a new year was called Nisan. The Crucifixion is widely reported by numerous ancient writers. Trallianus, Olympiades: In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, [AD 32-33] a failure of the Sun took place greater than any previously known, and night came on at the sixth hour of the day [noon], so that stars actually appeared in the sky; and a great earthquake took place in Bithynia and overthrew the greater part of Niceaea," For example the first Olympiad happened in 776 and the second occurred in 772 BC. Next, let us consider the argument with regard to theGospel of Mark. Those who heard Peter preach in Rome would have previously known about this darkness in several ways, including: (1) having witnessed it firsthand in Rome if it had been a universal darkness; (2) hearing of it from travelers to Rome; and or (3) through letters or official reports received from the provinces, the latter of which were kept in the Roman archives. His chief work was the Olympiads, an historical compendium in sixteen books, from the 1st down to the 229th Olympiad (776 BC to AD 137), of which several chapters are preserved in Eusebius' Chronicle, Photius, and George Syncellus. I found further confirmation of this earthquake from other sources that also dates it in the year 33 AD. The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Last Olympiad: Next Olympiad: 1st year: Begins 29-07-01/02: Hekatombaion 29 Metageitnion 29 Boedromion 30 Puanepsion 29 Maimakterion 30 Poseideon . 26:61, Matt. The Crucifixion darknesswould have been observable to many hundreds of thousands of peopleif not millions. Emma Southon: "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". First, there are differences between the synoptic gospels in the New Testament and the gospel of John that have puzzled Bible scholars. Here, too, we see an Apostle feared not to mention the event precisely because it was already widely known among his readers. 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad. Phlegons citation is a fragment from Olympiades he Chronika 13, ed. We have no need to be dogmatic about precise numbers regarding His age at the time of His crucifixion. (Mark 15: 33), And it was almost the sixth hour; and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. The 202nd Olympiad has been calculated to run from July AD 29 to June AD 33. 1 Maier, Paul. ? someone heckled from the back row. Phlegon had specifically stated in his Olympiades: "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 6th hour the day was changed into night and the stars were seen in the heavens.". Unfortunately, no one of those three pairs, that is, recorded event vs. eclipse, is a perfect fit or a harmonious pair. The next piece of the puzzle is to determine if Jesus indeed was crucified on a Friday. And with regard to the eclipse in the time of Tiberius Caesar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place . . 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. Elsewhere in this same work, Origen wrote in relation to the Crucifixion darkness: And with regard to the eclipse in the time ofTiberius Csar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place, Phlegon too, I think, has written in the thirteenth or fourteenth book of his Chronicles (Contra Celsus II, 33). College Press Publishing Co. Joplin, Missouri. This information was considered reliable at the time because Origen (in 248 CE) quoted it to refute Celsus (Against Celsus II:14,33,59), a Greek philosopher very critical of Christianity but familiar with history. Little is known about Phlegon, but he made reference to Christ. Thus the New Moon is not visible. It is important to readThallus comments to completely understand the issue. There are a variety of opinions on this question. But what has an eclipse in common with an earthquake, the rending rocks, and the resurrection of the dead, and so great a perturbation throughout the universe? Thus, if the quote is accurate, and Phlegon's eclipse has . The evidence also shows it likely to have been a magnitude 5.5. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. From all the information above I believe there is a fairly strong convergence of evidence that Christ's crucifixion was in April of 33 AD. An earthquake occurred in Bythinia . However, unlike the New Testament, of which there are 25,366 early copies, many of these ancient writer's manuscripts are fragmented. 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. We will analyze from two perspectives: one that asserts both Phlegons writing to be uncompromised and authentic, and one that assumes Phlegon has been compromised and is unauthentic. 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. In 70 A.D., just forty years after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple were utterly destroyed by the Romans and the surviving population carried off into captivity. The gospel references where Jesus predicted he would rise in three days are Matt. One problem with AD 30 being the crucifixion is that it does not allow enough time for Jesus ministry. The darkness and earthquake were evident not just in Jerusalem but also in Nicea which is over 300 miles away from Jerusalem! Jerusalem is another place where we might have expected there to be records of the events of Matthew 27, and to hope that individual residents of Jerusalemcontemporaneous to the eventsmight have commented on these wondrous happenings in personal records, etc. Read more . That is a nearly impossible standard to meet. "[1] On Long-Lived Persons[2] contains a list of Italians who had passed the age of 100, taken from the censuses of the Roman Empire. GO TO creationanswers.net 196-7, College Press Publishing Company, 1996., 4 Tertullian, Apologeticus, Chapter 21, 19 cited in Bouw, G. D. (1998, Spring). Z's Blog - What Does The Prayer Really Say. In fact, it is also quite impossible for a solar eclipse to last for 3 hours. (below) says it took place in the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, which was 33 A.D. - which can be verified by clicking on the link following Phlegon's quote in red below. ", Africanus quoted a section of Phlegon's work as follows: "During the time of Tiberius Csar an eclipse of the sun occurred during the Full Moon.". Well, Phlegon does mention this guy named Jesus. Rome had a Jewish community, and it is probable that word of the darkness would have reached and been known within it. This information would be every unlikely to have been added at a later time due to its specificity in time. 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. Among these is a very interesting quote below from a Christian scholar quoting an earlier Roman historian named Phlegon (first and second century). Are you sure that you will enter heaven to be with God in the afterlife? He has written apologetic articles and is working on a historical-adventure trilogy, set during the time of the Arian crisis. 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. Why has it been so difficult to determine the exact date of Jesus' death and the dates of the last week of his life? At the sixth hour the day was turned into the darkness of night, so that stars were seen in the heaven; and there was a . Note that I am oversimplifying a number of calendar complications that are worked out in Humphrey's book. The little known aspect of this is something that comes from a famous Jewish Rabbi from the first century, Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah. It is also interesting to note that Sextus Julius Africanus (160-240 A.D.), a Christian historian who had established a library in Rome for Emperor Severus Alexander, referred to the Crucifixion darkness as a portent of the world. Given the similarity in termsAfricanus portent of the world and Tertullians world-portent, it is tantalizing to wonder if each were referencing thesamedescription of the darkness still in the Roman archives. We pass over this speculation to consider Tertullians words, quoted earlier, which suggested that there were those who attempted to explain away the Crucifixion darkness as being a normal solar eclipse. 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. 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. April 13, 2017 (Steven OReilly) Good Friday approaches. While Pliny tells us there have been unusually long eclipses, he then says such asindicating he means to giveexamplesandnota comprehensive list of them. Historical Testimony Note that the path of this eclipse was over present-day Russia. 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. [CDATA[*/ var d = new Date(); var n = d.getFullYear(); document.getElementById('getYear').innerHTML = n; /*]]>*/ Christian Evidence. What constitutes good historical evidence? Bursa is approximately 600 miles from Jerusalem. Jesus was ABOUT 30 years old when He began His ministry. Within each olympiad, time was reckoned by referring to its 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year. Moon phase and solar year events are shown on the day in Athens. About two weeks after the New Moon is the Full Moon, which corresponds to Passover. TheActs of the Apostlesrecounts Peters words on Pentecost. The diagram below will help to clarify this. 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.). When the Moon "lines up" with the Sun it is referred to by astronomers as being at conjunction (which is the New Moon). Earthquake and rocks split open The darkness and earthquake were evident not just in Jerusalem but also in Nicea which is over 300 miles away from Jerusalem! For example a time-line can be established from his famous works called The Olympiades as follows: "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. whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, in the 18th year of Tiberius. Be that as it may, and even if the dating of Phlegon is not correct, this does not diminish the case made thus far for the historicity of the Crucifixion darkness. In either case, many would have witnessed it. An earthquake occurred in Bythinia and overthrew a great part of the city of Nicaea" . Nisan was the month the Passover was celebrated, a very important time for the Jews commemorating their deliverance out of slavery in Egypt. I will also point out that the Roman historian Thallius also recorded these events. This blatantly religious appeal seemed odd and out of place. Doing so would only demolish their credibility on allotherpoints of the gospel they hoped to prove about Christ basedsolelyon personal testimony. Jesus ministry described in the gospels requires either 2 or 3 years, considering the number of times the Passover events occur in the gospels. Eusebius of Caesarea (265-340) quoted Phlegon as follows (as translated by Jerome): However in the fourth year of the 202nd olympiad, 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. These things the aforementioned man (says). (Jerome, Chronicle (2005), 256/258, as found onwww.tertullian.org) (Emphasis added).

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