4th year of the 202nd Olympiad. Your email address will not be published. This is done carefully in Humphreys book [1]. Edit them in the Widget section of the, Repost: The Historicity of the Crucifixion Darkness. earthquake! And calculation makes out that the period of 70 weeks, as noted in Daniel, is completed at this time. Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.1. 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. and a seismic event that happened sometime between the years 26 and 36. 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. 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. Required fields are marked *. April 13, 2017 (Steven OReilly) Good Friday approaches. 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. Thus, if the quote is accurate, and Phlegon's eclipse has . The facts were recorded in a historical account of Tiberius. Therefore the year of the crucifixion is A.D 33. We have no need to be dogmatic about precise numbers regarding His age at the time of His crucifixion. The dramatic story recorded above is fictional but the facts presented, namely Bible prophecy, Phlegon and Thallius writings, etc., are very true. !, The audience was rowdy now. 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. The darkening of the sky I suspect was just a pure miracle, not caused by any natural phenomena. 2. It is impossible to have the Moon block the Sun at Full Moon, which is when Passover took place. I will follow the work of Cambridge professor Colin Humphreys based on his book, "The Mystery of the Last Supper," published in 2011 [1]. I wonder too, hypothetically, what might a natural cause include. Jesus baptism was apparently not long after the beginning of John the Baptist's ministry. 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.". There were Jewish, Christian, and Roman writers from the first and second centuries that refer to Christ and the crucifixion. Read more . We do not know what other sources that Africanuswho established a library for Severus Alexander might have had at his disposal with regard to Phlegons writings. So, we have evidence as strong for these miracles at the crucifixion and resurrection as we have for many other events in history that no one ever questions. That is a nearly impossible standard to meet. Jesus was ABOUT 30 years old when He began His ministry. The reality is, Plinys statement is not evidence against the 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. 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. Jesus Christ's crucifixion is one of the most important events in the history of the world. On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the sorrows of hell, as it was impossible that he should be holden by it. (Acts 2: 14-24)[Emphasis and formatting added]. In his book Chronicle of the Olympiad he records a miracle mentioned in the New Testament. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) keeps a database of what are called "significant" earthquakes. 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. Are you sure that you will enter heaven to be with God in the afterlife? Early Christian writers, such as Origen, Africanus and Eusebius, also cited a 2nd century writer, Phlegon, as having written of the Crucifixion darkness. The young minister was painfully uncomfortable standing in front of a largely secular group of college students. (Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.1) [4]. 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. The question is: should we accept the historicity of this Crucifixion darkness? All rights reserved. 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 reader should note that Phlegons comment that an eclipse of the sun occurred during Jesus death was impossible (see Thallus) since the Jewish Passover occurs during a full moon. The difficulty in this is that it mentions three nights as well as three days. I believe Colin Humphreys is probably correct that the date of the crucifixion of Christ was Friday April 3, A.D. 33. (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 The above said, we may venture still further in suggesting another reason for theseemingsilence. To recap, according to Eusebius' Chronicon tables, the 2nd year of the 202nd Olympiad is equated alongside the 16th year of Tiberius. Or will you go to the place of separation from God in the afterlife? 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. The Text Widget allows you to add text or HTML to your sidebar. 1996. p. 217. In fact, it is also quite impossible for a solar eclipse to last for 3 hours. Also, word of it would have spread from Jerusalem to Jewish communities in Rome and throughout the empire. 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.). Tradition informs us that Marks gospel derives directly from Peters oral preaching in Rome (seehere). 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. Martinus Nijhoff. 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. 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 . Phlegon was a Greek historian who wrote an extensive chronology around AD 137. The audience began to show its disdain. This is a clear Bible prophecy foretelling that God would cause the punishment for our sins to fall upon Jesus. 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. 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. These events of that day, and others surrounding them, such as the Crucifixion darkness described in the gospels, were real. Created With Love By Bright Mark Media LLC. . This does not necessarily coincide with the Crucifixion darkness, and it doesnt have to. Clearly, Peter and his hearers had seen the sun darken. 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. It was calculated in four-year intervals. Tertullian, Apologeticus, Chapter 21, 19, Christian Evidence was created to enable Christians to defend their faith, and to open their eyes up to the overwhelming evidence for Christianity. 27:39-40, Matt. The madness of the skeptic is such that they would have us believe sources which are silent, over those which speak. Is there any evidence of global or regional darkness in 36CE? 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. Phlegon of Tralles was a first century secular Greek historian born not long after the Crucifixion. This is writing from an early Christian apologist named Jerome. At some time during that twelve months occurred the darkness over Asia in which lay Bithynia and Nicea to which Phlegon refers. These historians even mention the darkening of the sky and the earthquake which the gospels describe at the time of the crucifixion. mund. To me it seems the place to start with deduction from all the available information is with John the Baptist. A secondline of argument for the crucifixion date comes from historical testimony and the weight of opinion of Christian scholars through history. 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. This needs to be updated they just found evidence if quake from 26 to 36ad. There are also complicated issues about various calendar systems in use at the time of Christ that create confusion. 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. I am a follower of Jesus Christ, the One who saved me, and my goal is to spread the gospel and all the evidence for Christianity! Such is the difficulty of the argument from silence. 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. The first Olympiad was conducted in 776 BC. Julius Africanus elsewhere makes the point that what was sometimes referred to as an eclipse of the Sun by Roman writers could not possibly be a solar eclipse because it happened at the wrong time of the month [5]. And accurate. He was dying as the newborn infant was being brought back from Egypt by his parents. 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. 3) the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad; being commonly associated with the March 19, 33 CE solar eclipse. The Crucifixion is widely reported by numerous ancient writers. But consider how do we know anything about history? When the Moon "lines up" with the Sun it is referred to by astronomers as being at conjunction (which is the New Moon). He was, therefore, about 4 years old at the turn from BCE to CE. The Crucifixion darkness could certainly have been one of these excluded eclipses. However, whether there was or was not a Crucifixion darkness, it can not be proven from Pliny. From historical sources telling when these individuals were in office you can show that the possible range of years of the crucifixion to be from AD 26 to AD 36. 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. Check Huffpost. Thirteen inches above the 31 B.C. Otto Keller, Rerum Naturalium Scriptores Graeci Minores, 1 (Leipzig Teurber, 1877), p. 101., 2 Julius Africanus, Extant Writings, XVIII in The AnteNicene Fathers, ed. It also gives a link to download Lightfoot's entire New Testament commentaries in four volumes as free PDF files. He inadvertently dated the darkness at noon on the day of Crucifixion in his work, The Olympiades. (Jerome) [4]. These historians attempt to interpret the darkness as a direct effect of a solar eclipse which we know is scientifically not possible - but they wouldn't have known that in their time. 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. However, if the crucifixion were on a Wednesday or Thursday this does not seem to fit the proper timing in the Jewish Passover week. Thus the darkening of the sky at the crucifixion is very extraordinary. However, we might venture to reasonably speculate why Plinyif he had known of the Crucifixion darknesschosenot to include it in his examples. We only have fragments left to us of this monumental work and quotations of it from other writers. Why preach something that was manifestly untrue? 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. Conservative Christian speakers were a rarity on their campus and they wanted to make it rarer. So how should we understand the statement about Jesus being dead three days and three nights? 12:40 mention three nights. At New Moon, the Moon is positioned between the Sun and the Earth with the dark side of the Moon facing the Earth. Some of the students had come just to harass the speakers. Furthermore, the greatest number of Christian scholars through history have held to AD 33 as the year of the crucifixion, though they may have had various views on the exact date and day of week on which it happened. 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). And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. (Luke 23:44-45 ). 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. Second, though the Passover week celebrations of the Jews are well understood, no written records exist regarding the calendar and New Moon from the time of Christ, as the Jews used them. Time during that twelve months occurred the darkness over Asia in which lay Bithynia and Nicea which. Painfully uncomfortable standing in front of a largely secular group of college students out that the date of the i. And others surrounding them, such as the Crucifixion darkness could certainly have been one of argument. Numbers regarding his age at the Crucifixion is very extraordinary about various calendar systems in use the. The empire your sidebar not a Crucifixion darkness veil of the Crucifixion is A.D 33 at... 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