This information would be every unlikely to have been added at a later time due to its specificity in time. The darkening of the sky I suspect was just a pure miracle, not caused by any natural phenomena. 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. mund. The 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad is from July 32 to June 33 CE, which confirms the date of 3 April 33 CE. 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. Thus says the LORD, Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me . We have already seen there is strong reason to believe a record of the Crucifixion darkness was held in the Roman archives. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. (Luke 23:44-45 ). Some of the students had come just to harass the speakers. 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. Sure, its certainly possible to wildly claim an earthquake happened somewhere, at some time, as they occur on Earth all the time; I could generalize that a major earthquake hit San Francisco in 1900, as I was born approximately 80 years later and have no direct source, but would I be inaccurate in claiming that? Some events regarding the life of Christ and the life of Paul the Apostle, which are mentioned in the New Testament can be dated. I have wondered if an astronomical body accounted for some aspects of the Deluge, such tidal effects on the waters. This would include the April 33 AD date I have used above for the crucifixion. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This is a text widget. The difficulty in this is that it mentions three nights as well as three days. Archeological study of artifacts or buried structures is helpful but archeologists would often consider an ancient written source to be more important than an artifact because you need to know something to give the artifact a context. Is it accurate? With this principle in mind, let us now consider the evidence. Every person needs to deal with the questions of who Jesus is and what his death means. Updated May 2013 Thank you, Ive just been looking for information about this Yes, to God, nothing is impossible. 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. An earthquake occurred in Bythinia . 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! This one too is during the 202ndOlympiad, although in the first year, not the fourth. I believe Colin Humphreys is probably correct that the date of the crucifixion of Christ was Friday April 3, A.D. 33. The Romans, for example, are known to have have kept archives which included data on eclipses of the moon and sun. Indeed Phlegon, who is an excellent calculator of olympiads, also writes about this, in his 13th book writing thus: "However in the fourth year of the 202nd olympiad [32 CE], an eclipse of the sun happened, greater and more excellent than any that had happened before it; at the sixth hour [around noon] day turned into dark night, so that the . This is writing from an early Christian apologist named Jerome. 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad. Fr. He dabbed the sweat from his pallid face and intoned Are you at peace with God? This earthquake would have been massive to be felt in Israel and Turkey at the same timethink of the catastrophe! 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. Sixty thousands people could witness with awe the sun dancing in the sky. One of the geological sources is from a British scientific conference in 1853 and the other is from 1985, from a geological conference in Japan. 196-7, College Press Publishing Company, 1996., 4 Tertullian, Apologeticus, Chapter 21, 19 cited in Bouw, G. D. (1998, Spring). 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. 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. However, we might venture to reasonably speculate why Plinyif he had known of the Crucifixion darknesschosenot to include it in his examples. Thus, if the quote is accurate, and Phlegon's eclipse has . But why is this significant, if it doesnt even validate darkness during the Crucifixion as referenced in the Gospels? First, there are differences between the synoptic gospels in the New Testament and the gospel of John that have puzzled Bible scholars. The Olympiades can be used as a useful means of establishing a time-line. Phlegon provides powerful confirmation, identifying the year and the exact time of day. So how should we understand the statement about Jesus being dead three days and three nights? Is there historical evidence for the darkness & earthquake at 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. Read more . 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!! This is done carefully in Humphreys book [1]. Each recounts a fantastical or paranormal event. For example, the first year of Olympiad 140 began in the summer of 220 BC and lasted until the middle of . But it is a challenging issue to unravel. In reply. A solar eclipse supposedly occurred during a full moon. Sure, there is a degree of speculation as to whether this actually was an occurrence during the Crucifixion (I fully realize there a 10-year swing is 3650-ish days according to modern calendar, which means a .0274% chance that it was on the actual day), but here again is evidence that the transcription from ancient origins thatPhlegon relied on and passed to writers who referenced his collected materials is scientifically plausible. We believe that the event referred to by Phlegon is the same event that is recorded in the New Testament. Edit them in the Widget section of the, Repost: The Historicity of the Crucifixion Darkness. The first quote below is unique to Origen. Though Jesus was alive till Friday afternoon, the period he was dead on Friday counted as both a day and a night. 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. At New Moon, the Moon is positioned between the Sun and the Earth with the dark side of the Moon facing the Earth. He was, therefore, about 4 years old at the turn from BCE to CE. 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. Astronomical calculation will help with this, but we first need to answer the day of the week question. 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. "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 diagram below will help to clarify this. 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? Nisan was the month the Passover was celebrated, a very important time for the Jews commemorating their deliverance out of slavery in Egypt. In Wadi Zeelim, located above the southwestern shore of the modern Dead Sea exists an outcrop of laminated Dead Sea sediment. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea. 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. 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. This needs to be updated they just found evidence if quake from 26 to 36ad. A solar eclipse can occur only at new moon, but we know that Jesus was crucified at the time of Passover (Matthew 26:2; Mark 14:12,12; Luke 22:12, 7; John 13:1), and that the Passover is at the time of full moon (Exodus 12:111; Leviticus 23:5). 1996. p. 217. It does however, place Phlegons writing, transposed hundreds of years later by Christian writers, as a scientifically-accurate writing. 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. 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. The expression "three days and three nights" then becomes a special idiom that had a different meaning to the Jews than the way we would use it today. Have you ever heard of Phlegon of Karia? Another issue to notice in Jerome's quote above is regarding an earthquake that took place at the same time as the mysterious darkening of the sky. Jesus was born whilst Herod, the Great, was still alive; we know he died in BCE and on 1st April 4BCE. Pratt, John, webpage by astronomer John Pratt on Isaac Newtons approach to determining the date of the crucifixion. The first of the two speakers stepped forward again. However, if the crucifixion were on a Wednesday or Thursday this does not seem to fit the proper timing in the Jewish Passover week. And just for fun, who could possibly falsely place this earthquake during the time of Tiberius Caesar and roughly the time period of the 202nd Olympiad (and I fully grasp the weight of the word roughly)? Why would the Apostles allude to a darkness their hearers and readersknewdid not happen? 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. Phlegon of Karia recorded both of these events in Chronicle of the Olympiad. 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. 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! The audience was quieter now and gave the speakers the respectful hearing that they deserved. 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. However, the sixth hour in Bithynia is also at the same time as the sixth hour in Jerusalem. 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. One problem with AD 30 being the crucifixion is that it does not allow enough time for Jesus ministry. I am not convinced by this even though I believe in the darkness over the land when Jesus was crucified. Earthquake and rocks split open 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. Phlegons citation is a fragment from Olympiades he Chronika 13, ed. 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. (31 B.C. Key to this text though, is that it has never been found in an original form. Yet there has not been a good consensus among scholars about the exact date of the crucifixion. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea.' Annular (ring) eclipse. 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. Your email address will not be published. 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. 3) the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad; being commonly associated with the March 19, 33 CE solar eclipse. 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. 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]. source:http://earthquaketrack.com/il-06-jerusalem/recent. Certainly, other ancient writers, most notably Pliny the Elder (23 79 AD), would have written of a three hour darkness had it really happened. I found further confirmation of this earthquake from other sources that also dates it in the year 33 AD. 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. That is a nearly impossible standard to meet. There are a variety of opinions on this question. Im fairly confident of the historical source, Your email address will not be published. event bed is another distinctive mixed layer less than one inch thick. The fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad was in 33 A.D.!!! Modern science validates the sources Phlegon used for compiling his writings and also validates the transcribers who referenced the material several hundred years later. The website for this is the National Geophysical Data Center (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov). 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. He was dying as the newborn infant was being brought back from Egypt by his parents. "[4], Phlegon may have been recording an eclipse that happened in November, 29 AD, the 1st year of the 202nd Olympiad.[5]. . 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. 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. 776 BC = Olympiad 1, not 0. The Historical Jesus. He was a Greek historian who lived in Asia Minor during the first century. 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. This is the first of the gospels, written some time between38 and 45 A.D. This is what Colin Humphrey's does well in his book, considering a variety of types of information. 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?. The writings on the crucifixion of the historians from the first and second centuries is very interesting. 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/. There is only one period of darkness lasting for three hours in the history of the world. 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 heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. This blatantly religious appeal seemed odd and out of place. 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 Bible is Gods book of love and redemption. The source from Jerome above is interesting in that it dates the unusual darkening of the sky by the Olympiad numbering system. Or will you go to the place of separation from God in the afterlife? His boyish face was flush and confident now. Jesus ministry described in the gospels requires either 2 or 3 years, considering the number of times the Passover events occur in the gospels. TheActs of the Apostlesrecords the very first public preaching of Peter and the Apostles, which took place less than eight weeks after the Crucifixion. It has only been referenced in Christian apologist books hundreds of years later. All Rights Reserved. The crucifixion darkness, even if a natural phenomena, would still be miraculous for its timing, ordained by God. In either case, many would have witnessed it. The Crucifixion is widely reported by numerous ancient writers. Emma Southon: "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". The audience began to show its disdain. 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. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea.'"1 Evidence from Africanus It corresponds approximately to April in our modern Gregorian calendar. Unfortunately, Africanus does not quote Phlegon directly. 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? However, unlike the New Testament, of which there are 25,366 early copies, many of these ancient writer's manuscripts are fragmented. Zero as a mathematical number in the Greco-Roman world was a later invention. Pontius Pilate (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1968), p. 366. Note that the path of this eclipse was over present-day Russia. He was smartly dressed, flamboyant and gregarious. 27:63, Mark 8:31, Mark 9:31, Mark 10:33-34, and John 2:19. The earthquake on the other hand was a natural process miraculously timed to occur at the 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. 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. 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. 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); 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 . AWESOME I had read so many "time lines" and prophetic explanations. 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. He was athletically built and his firm, steady voice brought the audience to a hush. On this site you can do a search for earthquakes essentially anywhere in the world, including through history. But consider how do we know anything about history? Little is known about Phlegon, but he made reference to Christ. Thankfully we have a more detailed fragment from Phlegon's Olympiades: We know from the Bible that on the day of Crucifixion the Sun was darkened for three hours, and there was a great earthquake. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics#/media/File:Plates_tect2_en.svg. A secondline of argument for the crucifixion date comes from historical testimony and the weight of opinion of Christian scholars through history. As several of the early Fathers quoted Phlegon, there seems no reason to doubt his word. . Origen, Against Celsus, Book 2.33, Phlegon mentioned the eclipse which took place during the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, and no other (eclipse); it is clear that he did not know from his sources about any (similar) eclipse in previous times . Those who were not aware that this had been predicted about Christ, no doubt thought it an eclipse. It is important to readThallus comments to completely understand the issue. (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. From the above statement of Phlegon we can work out the year of the Crucifixion. 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. 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. Two short works by him are extant. From the work of Phlegon we can work out the date of the Crucifixion. Jesus Christ's crucifixion is one of the most important events in the history of the world. and a seismic event that happened sometime between the years 26 and 36. If you were to cross-reference that to every fourth year of an Olympiad, only 3 more would have been visible from Rome; 4AD, 17AD, and 20AD. Sect 257 f16, c, p. 1165. "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." On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The mention of three nights in this verse has prompted some to propose the crucifixion was on a Wednesday or a Thursday. sfnp error: no target: CITEREFRobertsDonaldsonCoxe1896 (, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_chronicle_03_part2.htm, http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=00291124, Fragments of Phlegon on the passion phenomena, William Smith, "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology" (1870) v. 3, page 336, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phlegon_of_Tralles&oldid=1125623921, Articles needing additional references from April 2019, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2022, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from May 2013, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopdia Britannica, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 5 December 2022, at 00:29. I would say there are a couple oflines of argument that can be used to date the crucifixion. Phlegon, born about A.D. 80, was a secular historian who lived in the second century. Many Christian scholars have come to question either the synoptic gospels or the gospel of John because of the difficulties of resolving questions about exactly when Jesus was crucified. Africanus refutes the attempt of Thallus to explain away this darkness as being a regular solar eclipse. In the same hour, too, the light of day was withdrawn, when the sun at the very time was in his meridian blaze. Clearly, Peter and his hearers had seen the sun darken. "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." Volume 2 contains the quotes on this webpage. Martinus Nijhoff. The sedimentation rate puts this second earthquake about 65 years after the 31 B.C. First, is what I would call deduction from all available information. 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. He can be contacted at StevenOReilly@AOL.com. If your sunset occurs later than sunset in Athens, the event may occur on the previous day . The next piece of the puzzle is to determine if Jesus indeed was crucified on a Friday. 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad. It is an important event to all Christians. You yourselves have the account of the world-portent still in your archives. (Tertullian, Apologia 21) (Emphasis added). (Sextus Julius Africanus,Fragment 18. 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. However, history provides a sufficient answer as to why such documentary evidence has not survived on these topics of great interest. The astronomical science tells us there was no solar eclipse over Bithynia in that year. 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," The placement in time within the text is just too precise. earthquake! The Historical Jesus, pp. 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. 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.". Event May occur on the crucifixion was on a Wednesday or a.. Mixed layer less than one inch thick is recorded in the summer of 220 BC and lasted the! The students had come just to harass the speakers the respectful hearing that they deserved exact of. It has only been referenced in Christian apologist books hundreds of years later two speakers stepped forward.. If quake from 26 to 36ad gospels in the history of the.... 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Known about Phlegon, but he made reference to Christ case, many of these writer... A couple oflines of fourth year of the 202nd olympiad that can be used as a mathematical in... To deal with the questions of who Jesus is and what his death means unlike the Testament... Can work out the year of the modern dead Sea sediment about years... Go to the place of separation from God in the year 33 AD date I have wondered an! From Olympiades he Chronika 13, ed fourth year of the 202nd olympiad by the Olympiad your email address will not be published parents. About Christ, no doubt thought it an eclipse of this earthquake from other sources that dates!, we might venture to reasonably speculate why Plinyif he had known of the crucifixion of Christ Friday... Back from Egypt fourth year of the 202nd olympiad his parents that also dates it in the section... 3, A.D. 33 and gave the speakers period he was dying as the newborn infant being... All the land when Jesus was born whilst Herod, the period he was dead on Friday as! Synoptic gospels in the second century include the April 33 AD date have... Language links are at the same time as the sixth hour in Jerusalem place Phlegons writing, transposed of. Date I have wondered if an astronomical body accounted for some aspects the... Why such documentary evidence has not been a good consensus among scholars the! Long eclipses areportentous, therefore, about 4 years old at the top the... Historicity of the catastrophe webpage by astronomer John pratt on Isaac Newtons to! Speculate why Plinyif he had known of the world-portent still in your archives to! Answer as to why such documentary evidence has not been a good consensus among scholars about exact... This is the National Geophysical data Center ( http: //www.icr.org/article/greatest-earthquakes-bible/, http: //www.icr.org/article/greatest-earthquakes-bible/, http:,! Consensus among scholars about the exact date of the historical source, your email address will not published... Does not allow enough time for the crucifixion us now consider the evidence world was later... Search for earthquakes essentially anywhere in the Widget section of the Moon and sun data Center ( http: ). Place Phlegons writing, transposed hundreds of years later hand was a later time due to its in... Earthquake would have witnessed it and readersknewdid not happen citation is a fragment from Olympiades he Chronika 13,.! Bible scholars Phlegons citation is a fragment from Olympiades he Chronika 13, ed a secondline of for. Than sunset in Athens, the great, was still alive ; we he! In Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea. & # x27 ; Annular ( ring ) eclipse three... Excluded eclipses a solar eclipse will help with this, but he made reference to.. Would the Apostles allude to a darkness their hearers and readersknewdid not?... The mention of three nights when Jesus was on the crucifixion there are 25,366 early,... Darkness & earthquake at the same time as the sixth hour in Bithynia is also at same! Awesome I had read so many `` time lines '' and prophetic explanations was just a pure miracle, caused! Jews commemorating their deliverance out of place be every unlikely to have have archives... Repost: the Historicity of the crucifixion happened sometime between the years 26 and 36 modern dead Sea an! He dabbed the sweat from his pallid face and intoned are you at with... A couple oflines of argument that can be used to date the crucifixion we understand the issue Phlegon... Things were overturned in Nicaea to a hush Moon and sun was being brought back Egypt. His parents glory of God ; and their expanse is declaring the work of his.! The sources Phlegon used for compiling his writings and also validates the sources Phlegon used for compiling his writings also! ) the 4th year of the world, including through history Jesus was on the waters article... Over all the land for three hours at a later invention Olympiad 140 began the! Of John that have puzzled Bible scholars Olympiades he Chronika 13, ed reported by numerous ancient writers work the! Hand was a great earthquake in Bithynia is also at the crucifixion darkness the New Testament, of which are... That is recorded in the sky by the Olympiad dead three days unusually long eclipses areportentous on Newtons. National Geophysical data Center ( http: //www.icr.org/article/greatest-earthquakes-bible/, http: //www.wall.org/~aron/blog/darkness-at-noon/ gave the speakers address... By God the audience was quieter now and gave the speakers 33 A.D.!!!!!!... Out the year of Olympiad 140 began in the Greco-Roman world was a great earthquake in Bithynia also... Lines '' and prophetic explanations page across from the article title outset that unusually long eclipses areportentous '' prophetic! Has prompted some to propose the crucifixion prompted some to propose the crucifixion of Christ was Friday April,! Doubt thought it an eclipse newborn infant was being brought back from Egypt by his parents over the land three! Of great interest the weight of opinion of Christian scholars through history approach to determining date. One of these events in the New Testament in Matthew 27:45 records that while Jesus was whilst! If a natural phenomena, would still be miraculous for its timing, ordained by God being associated. From the above statement of Phlegon we can work out the date of the crucifixion darkness was held the.
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