The time from Friday 3 PM to sunset was counted as one day. This earthquake would have been massive to be felt in Israel and Turkey at the same timethink of the catastrophe! 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. View groups/803359606485066s profile on Facebook, View wordpressdotcoms profile on Twitter, Fragment 18. Clearly, Peter and his hearers had seen the sun darken. ", 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.". To home he may gobut, it must be with his tail between his legs. 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. One problem with AD 30 being the crucifixion is that it does not allow enough time for Jesus ministry. !, The audience was rowdy now. Remember then, especially on Good Friday between the hours of noon and 3 pm, that the Crucifixion darkness is a real, historical eventand pray for those who deny it. And calculation makes out that the period of 70 weeks, as noted in Daniel, is completed at this time. Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.1. Though historical data may be sketchy on some issues sometimes, regarding Christ's crucifixion, the evidence we have confirming the New Testament is I think very persuasive. Your email address will not be published. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Some Christian scholars argue Jesus was crucified on Thursday and some even hold to a Wednesday crucifixion. Have you ever heard of Phlegon of Karia? Thank You Father :). It is believed to be an 8.2-magnitude earthquake. The gospel of Luke mentions that John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Ceasar Tiberius (Luke 3:1-3). At His own free-will, He with a word dismissed from Him His spirit, anticipating the executioners work. Dont believe me? Colin Humphreys estimates that Jesus' ministry began in 30 A.D. 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. 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." Why has it been so difficult to determine the exact date of Jesus' death and the dates of the last week of his life? Then the other speaker, also a minister, stepped forward. We have no need to be dogmatic about precise numbers regarding His age at the time of His crucifixion. There were Jewish, Christian, and Roman writers from the first and second centuries that refer to Christ and the crucifixion. At New Moon, the Moon is positioned between the Sun and the Earth with the dark side of the Moon facing the Earth. He lives near Atlanta with his family. 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. "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. 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/. This firmly connects Jesus and the gospels to Roman history. And accurate. Fr. The 202nd Olympiad has been calculated to run from July AD 29 to June AD 33. 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 earthquake and RARE darkness for three hours couldn't be ignored by secular writers. Updated May 2013 Someone shouted Show me a Bible miracle thats recorded in SECULAR history!!. Within each olympiad, time was reckoned by referring to its 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year. The New Testament in Matthew 27:45 records that while Jesus was on the cross there was darkness over all the land for three hours. The first of the two speakers stepped forward again. Dont Panic! On the subject of unusually long eclipses of the sun, Pliny states the following: Eclipses of the sun also take place which are portentous and unusually long,such asoccurred when Csar the Dictator was slain, and in the war against Antony, the sun remained dim for almost a whole year(Pliny the Elder,Natural History,II, 30) [Italics added]. Now before the accusations fly about me ascribing random astronomical events to this writing, consider this: these are the only two solar eclipses that occur within the time frame reference by Phlegon, and from 20-40AD there are only 3 other eclipses that could even possibly have been seen by Rome or the Persian Gulf; one in 20AD and the other two occur after 36AD. The speaker continued The 53rd chapter of Isaiah, written over 700 years before the birth of Christ, describes the most important aspect of the ministry of Jesus Christ!! 12:40 mention three nights. The Biblical Astronomer, 8(84). There are a variety of opinions on this question. The Formal Correction is on the way! He said If I could prove to you that the Bible is a supernatural book, confirmed by both foretelling of the future and also by miracles, would you believe what the Bible says?. There too, nobody could give a plausible explanation. This comes from how Jewish scholars would interpret passages such as in Jonah where Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and also in Esther where Esther prayed and fasted for 3 days when she went to speak with King Xerxes. 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. "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 darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. He takes the Bible at face value rather than questioning the details in Scripture in some way, which I believe is the right approach. 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. 1996. p. 217. Now let us consider how he might have categorized the Crucifixion darkness. (Jerome) [4]. Or has it been changed and contaminated by ambitious Christian defenders? This research again confirms Phlegons writing. The onah concept applies to part "days" and whole "days" so that they counted the same. Even with the loss of the original writing, if the transposition of the original to the copy were to be altered, there would be significant doubt as to when the event occurred, or if, it even occurred. 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. 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. Sect 257 f16, c, p. 1165. In Wadi Zeelim, located above the southwestern shore of the modern Dead Sea exists an outcrop of laminated Dead Sea sediment. The ancient world still has historical buildings standing to this day built two millennium ago; wouldnt it be logical to build an extremely strong building that could withstand an earthquake in an earthquake-prone location? Africanus refutes the attempt of Thallus to explain away this darkness as being a regular solar eclipse. Copyright Like The Master Ministries. I will go into more detail about this process below. Note that I am oversimplifying a number of calendar complications that are worked out in Humphrey's book. 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. (Mark 15: 33), And it was almost the sixth hour; and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. VI, p. 130, as cited in Gary R. Habermas, The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ, (Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company), 1996., 3 Habermas, Gary. Among these is a very interesting quote below from a Christian scholar quoting an earlier Roman historian named Phlegon (first and second century). At Fatima, the miracle was localized though still within many miles of the town. . The darkening of the sky I suspect was just a pure miracle, not caused by any natural phenomena. The darkness and earthquake were evident not just in Jerusalem but also in Nicea which is over 300 miles away from Jerusalem! The above said, the skeptics objection appears strongest when they allege thatPliny the Elder an ancient Roman writer who penned a natural historywould surely have have mentioned the Crucifixion darkness. Why preach something that was manifestly untrue? However, what concerning the bottom line? Moon phase and solar year events are shown on the day in Athens. Modern science validates the sources Phlegon used for compiling his writings and also validates the transcribers who referenced the material several hundred years later. If his ministry was for 3 years, then he was crucified aged 36, and the darkness and earthquake would have occurred in that year of 36CE. Emma Southon: "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". Some events regarding the life of Christ and the life of Paul the Apostle, which are mentioned in the New Testament can be dated. TheActs of the Apostlesrecounts Peters words on Pentecost. We have already seen there is strong reason to believe a record of the Crucifixion darkness was held in the Roman archives. Tertullians statement certainly suggests he himself had seen the account of this world-portent. Otherwise, it would have been foolhardy of him to have made such a bold challenge to such sticklers for record keeping as the Romans, who could have proven him wrong. (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. In order to make it, the skeptic must demonstrate that the other surviving ancient sources we do havecertainlywould have mentioned the darkness if it had happenedandthat there is no sufficient reason why these sources excluded it. 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. That is a nearly impossible standard to meet. The audience began to show its disdain. Jeremiah 9:23-24. whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. I would not always agree with him on some interpretational points but he does well in analyzing the crucifixion date question. 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. The young minister was painfully uncomfortable standing in front of a largely secular group of college students. It was calculated in four-year intervals. The skeptics objection is an argument from silencethat other writerswouldhave said something if the darkness had really happened. In the Jewish calendar, the first month of a new year was called Nisan. This needs to be updated they just found evidence if quake from 26 to 36ad. If your sunset occurs later than sunset in Athens, the event may occur on . Also, word of it would have spread from Jerusalem to Jewish communities in Rome and throughout the empire. The 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad is from July 32 to June 33 CE, which confirms the date of 3 April 33 CE. However, this is scientifically impossible. Bursa is approximately 600 miles from Jerusalem. The Jews counted days and nights as if a portion counted like the whole, they did not think in terms of ellapsed time as we do today. It cannot be denied that Pliny the Elder wrote on topics like eclipses of the sun. 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. Phlegon of Tralles was a first century secular Greek historian born not long after the Crucifixion. We also know from the New Testament that at that time Caiaphas was the Jewish High Priest (Caiaphas is mentioned in Jewish writings) and Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. Jesus was born whilst Herod, the Great, was still alive; we know he died in BCE and on 1st April 4BCE. 12:40, Matt. The facts were recorded in a historical account of Tiberius. Edit them in the Widget section of the, Repost: The Historicity of the Crucifixion Darkness. 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. Well, Phlegon does mention this guy named Jesus. 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. When the Moon "lines up" with the Sun it is referred to by astronomers as being at conjunction (which is the New Moon). Some of the students had come just to harass the speakers. No one has ever met a literary device walking down the street or stubbed their toe on one, thus we should not expect that any early Christian would have suffered martyrdom for one. "In the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, there was a great eclipse [Greek EKLEIPSIS] 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. The New Testament records the three-hour darkness during Christs crucifixion (Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:4445). Rome had a Jewish community, and it is probable that word of the darkness would have reached and been known within it. So that means there has been at least some investigation of it by geologists though I do not know how much. To me it seems the place to start with deduction from all the available information is with John the Baptist. But why is this significant, if it doesnt even validate darkness during the Crucifixion as referenced in the Gospels? 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. The difficulty in this is that it mentions three nights as well as three days. The diagram below will help to clarify this. There are few historical records that are actually from the time of Christ but there are some records from historians from the second century AD. There is more historical evidence to support the three hour period of darkness, and therefore of the Crucifixion, in 33 AD than almost any other ancient event in history! Therefore I think we can compare it to another impressive unnatural phenomenon that happened 100 years ago in Fatima, when the sun danced on oct. 13th 1917 at the exact time Our Lady foretold months beforehand, before a huge crowd. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. Thus, his statement taken in whole does not exclude that there may have been other unusually long eclipses of the sun of which he was awareperhapsmanymorebut regarding which he did not elaborate. A solar eclipse supposedly occurred during a full moon. 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? 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.). One such quotation is 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. This argument is sufficient to diffuse the skeptics argument with regard to Pliny. On Marvels consists of "anecdotes culled from sources as diverse as the Greek poet Hesiod and the Roman natural historian Pliny the Elder. . 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. He was dying as the newborn infant was being brought back from Egypt by his parents. 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. Jesus Christ's crucifixion is one of the most important events in the history of the world. . 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. From this brief statement, the skeptic wants to declare victory and go home. Die Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker. Since Marks written gospel contains an account of the Crucifixion darkness, it follows that Peter included this event in his oral preaching. Christians claim this corroborates the Gospels; opponents say it has nothing to do with the events described during the Passion and only perpetuates a false conclusion. First, there are differences between the synoptic gospels in the New Testament and the gospel of John that have puzzled Bible scholars. 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. You yourselves have the account of the world-portent still in your archives. (Tertullian, Apologia 21) (Emphasis added). And finally, if the crucifixion was on 3rd April AD 33 (Julian) then it is 490 years (70 . The Text Widget allows you to add text or HTML to your sidebar. This blatantly religious appeal seemed odd and out of place. He stated that in the 19th year of Tiberius and the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (i.e., AD 33), a large eclipse occurred which turned day to night around the sixth hour (noon), and an earthquake destroyed many houses in the city of Nicaea. 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. 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. Is there historical evidence for the darkness & earthquake at the crucifixion? Certainly, other ancient writers, most notably Pliny the Elder (23 79 AD), would have written of a three hour darkness had it really happened. It is an important event to all Christians. source:http://earthquaketrack.com/il-06-jerusalem/recent. By the time he wrote hisNatural History(73 A.D.), the Christians had already been claiming for the prior forty years that the Crucifixion darkness was a sign worked by their God. You can be sure that faith in God is not blind faith. For example, the first year of Olympiad 140 began in the summer of 220 BC and lasted until the middle of . Then from Saturday evening after sunset till early in the morning on Sunday was a portion of a 24 hour cycle so it also counted as a day and a night, even though Jesus apparently resurrected before Sunrise. An earthquake occurred in Bythinia and overthrew a great part of the city of Nica. It was recorded by a Pagan author who had no desire to promote Christianity yet he confirmed the Bible record! Ancient writers sometimes describe their Olympiads as lasting five years but do so by counting inclusively; in fact each comprised a four year period. 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. 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. This one too is during the 202ndOlympiad, although in the first year, not the fourth. You can use a text widget to display text, links, images, HTML, or a combination of these. Im fairly confident of the historical source, Your email address will not be published. Tradition informs us that Marks gospel derives directly from Peters oral preaching in Rome (seehere). An earthquake occurred in Bythinia and overthrew a great part of the city of Nicaea" Volume 2 contains the quotes on this webpage. 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. "[4], Phlegon may have been recording an eclipse that happened in November, 29 AD, the 1st year of the 202nd Olympiad.[5]. 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. Thus the New Moon is not visible. I will address that below as well. The astronomical science tells us there was no solar eclipse over Bithynia in that year. 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. Phlegon of Tralles, a Greek historian who lived in the second century, has been referenced by Christian apologists for over a thousand years now as confirmation of the events surrounding the Crucifixion. 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. Phlegon's greatest work was the writing of a history book, called The Olympiades. Phlegon was a Greek historian who wrote an extensive chronology around AD 137. He wrote that during the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad there was a period of unexplained darkness and there was an earthquake that collapsed buildings in Nicea in northern Asia Minor. /*