This information would be every unlikely to have been added at a later time due to its specificity in time. The third quote is from Julius Africanus and the last is from Jerome. Some Christian scholars argue Jesus was crucified on Thursday and some even hold to a Wednesday crucifixion. I found further confirmation of this earthquake from other sources that also dates it in the year 33 AD. Phlegon of Tralles was a first century secular Greek historian born not long after the Crucifixion. 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 problem with AD 30 being the crucifixion is that it does not allow enough time for Jesus ministry. I believe Colin Humphreys is probably correct that the date of the crucifixion of Christ was Friday April 3, A.D. 33. Retrieved November 30, 2006 from [2]. It corresponds approximately to April in our modern Gregorian calendar. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Moon phase and solar year events are shown on the day in Athens. [The word Christ in Hebrew is Messiah.] Christ bore our sins so that if we just turn to God through Christ and humble ourselves and repent we receive Gods forgiveness for all of our sins!! Therefore, he relied on transcribed information; either written or oral. Updated May 2013 To recap, according to Eusebius' Chronicon tables, the 2nd year of the 202nd Olympiad is equated alongside the 16th year of Tiberius. (LogOut/ In October, I will perform a miracle here so that all may believe. Only one earthquake in this span of years came up in the results, in 33 AD The database showed two published geological sources regarding this earthquake. From the above statement of Phlegon we can work out the year of the Crucifixion. As several of the early Fathers quoted Phlegon, there seems no reason to doubt his word. There too, nobody could give a plausible explanation. Sixty thousands people could witness with awe the sun dancing in the sky. Pliny then proceeds and gives only two examples. Created With Love By Bright Mark Media LLC. In fact, it is also quite impossible for a solar eclipse to last for 3 hours. AD 33 is too early for his crucifixion, surely. The San Andreas fault is 800 miles long, running along the California coast; Israel and Turkey sit onyou guess ita major fault line! It was recorded by a Pagan author who had no desire to promote Christianity yet he confirmed the Bible record! The Romans, for example, are known to have have kept archives which included data on eclipses of the moon and sun. 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. 776 BC = Olympiad 1, not 0. Here, the skeptics case isseeminglymore plausible on first glance. The reality is, Plinys statement is not evidence against the Crucifixion darkness. 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.). There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea. 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? However, what concerning the bottom line? However, if the crucifixion were on a Wednesday or Thursday this does not seem to fit the proper timing in the Jewish Passover week. In sum, the words of Tertullian and Africanus show us that in ancient times onlythe explanation of the causeof the three hour darkness was in dispute,not the fact of it. He dabbed the sweat from his pallid face and intoned Are you at peace with God? This is done carefully in Humphreys book [1]. 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? 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, in the 18th year of Tiberius. However, unlike the New Testament, of which there are 25,366 early copies, many of these ancient writer's manuscripts are fragmented. Volume 2 contains the quotes on this webpage. Los Angeles is approximately 380 miles from San Francisco, by comparison. 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 fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad was in 33 A.D.!!! Since Marks written gospel contains an account of the Crucifixion darkness, it follows that Peter included this event in his oral preaching. source:http://earthquaketrack.com/il-06-jerusalem/recent. He has written apologetic articles and is working on a historical-adventure trilogy, set during the time of the Arian crisis. Now let us consider how he might have categorized the Crucifixion darkness. . These events of that day, and others surrounding them, such as the Crucifixion darkness described in the gospels, were real. Peter reminds his hearers these things were done in the midst of you, as you also know. Clearly, Peter referenced an eventthe three hour darkening of the sunwhich waspreviouslywitnessed by all hearing him that day. 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad. April 3 would be the Julian Calendar date; the same day on today's Gregorian calendar is April 1, 33 A.D. Julian dates are usually used by historians and Bible scholars for events in this time in history. The astronomical science tells us there was no solar eclipse over Bithynia in that year. Though it is almost impossible to deny that this strange event truly happened, on the same day our Lord died on the Cross, I strived for years to find a natural astronomical explanation about it but in vain. Yes, to God, nothing is impossible. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. 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. 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. ? 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.". 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- . Colin Humphreys estimates that Jesus' ministry began in 30 A.D. Otto Keller, Rerum Naturalium Scriptores Graeci Minores, 1 (Leipzig Teurber, 1877), p. 101., 2 Julius Africanus, Extant Writings, XVIII in The AnteNicene Fathers, ed. 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. 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. whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. This year would be AD 29 from Roman historical sources. Some events regarding the life of Christ and the life of Paul the Apostle, which are mentioned in the New Testament can be dated. (Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.1) [4]. Phlegons citation is a fragment from Olympiades he Chronika 13, ed. The writings on the crucifixion of the historians from the first and second centuries is very interesting. 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. He takes the Bible at face value rather than questioning the details in Scripture in some way, which I believe is the right approach. Those who were not aware that this had been predicted about Christ, no doubt thought it an eclipse. The Date by Deduction Why preach something that was manifestly untrue? Modern science validates the sources Phlegon used for compiling his writings and also validates the transcribers who referenced the material several hundred years later. What Was Achieved By Jesus At The Crucifixion? These historians even mention the darkening of the sky and the earthquake which the gospels describe at the time of the crucifixion. Doing so would only demolish their credibility on allotherpoints of the gospel they hoped to prove about Christ basedsolelyon personal testimony. We have already seen there is strong reason to believe a record of the Crucifixion darkness was held in the Roman archives. This may seem hard to accept for some. Donations to this ministry aretax-deductible. Passover occurred on either Nisan 14 or 15 about two weeks after the New Moon. 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. Barton, Bill, This webpage quotes John Lightfoot explaining the "onah" concept. TheActs of the Apostlesrecords the very first public preaching of Peter and the Apostles, which took place less than eight weeks after the Crucifixion. The Crucifixion darknesswould have been observable to many hundreds of thousands of peopleif not millions. 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. Jesus was born whilst Herod, the Great, was still alive; we know he died in BCE and on 1st April 4BCE. The skeptics objection is an argument from silencethat other writerswouldhave said something if the darkness had really happened. We only have fragments left to us of this monumental work and quotations of it from other writers. subject for a long time and yours is the best Ive discovered till now. Last month: Next month: new 02:44 32/07/26 UTC : 1: 32-07-26/27: Noumenia : 2: 32-07-27/28: Noumenia kata Selene Agathos Daimon: Herakleia? I would say there are a couple oflines of argument that can be used to date the crucifixion. To home he may gobut, it must be with his tail between his legs. For example the first Olympiad happened in 776 and the second occurred in 772 BC. 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. Thank You Father :). Required fields are marked *. Astronomical calculation will help with this, but we first need to answer the day of the week question. 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. A solar eclipse supposedly occurred during a full moon. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. 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. On the Circumstances Connected with Our Saviours Passion and His Life-Giving Resurrection, The Wheels of the Formal Correction turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea.'"1 Evidence from Africanus (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. 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. This is writing from an early Christian apologist named Jerome. source:http://www.numachi.com/~ccount/hmepa/calendars/202.html. 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. . Little is known about Phlegon, but he made reference to Christ. All rights reserved. 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. Next, we consider the Gospel of Matthew. 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. However, Eusebius, in book 2 of Chronicle (Chronicon, quoted by Jerome), actually quotes Phlegon, with no mention of Jesus or a three hour darkness. 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. 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. Historical Testimony In Phlegon's Olympiades we are told it happened in the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad which is AD 33. This does not necessarily coincide with the Crucifixion darkness, and it doesnt have to. For example, the first year of Olympiad 140 began in the summer of 220 BC and lasted until the middle of . It is believed to be an 8.2-magnitude earthquake. 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. Jeremiah 9:23-24. AWESOME I had read so many "time lines" and prophetic explanations. He was dying as the newborn infant was being brought back from Egypt by his parents. It has only been referenced in Christian apologist books hundreds of years later. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The website for this is the National Geophysical Data Center (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov). It is important to readThallus comments to completely understand the issue. Sect 257 f16, c, p. 1165. It is impossible to have the Moon block the Sun at Full Moon, which is when Passover took place. 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. Every person needs to deal with the questions of who Jesus is and what his death means. 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. 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. Why has it been so difficult to determine the exact date of Jesus' death and the dates of the last week of his life? 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. Copyright Like The Master Ministries. The onah concept applies to part "days" and whole "days" so that they counted the same. 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. Early Christian writers, such as Origen, Africanus and Eusebius, also cited a 2nd century writer, Phlegon, as having written of the Crucifixion darkness. 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. 12:40 mention three nights. 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 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. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea.' Annular (ring) eclipse. What constitutes good historical evidence? The term "Onah" or sometimes "Onath" is a loose way of referring to part of a day. 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 will go into more detail about this process below. There were Jewish, Christian, and Roman writers from the first and second centuries that refer to Christ and the crucifixion. (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 Check it out for yourselfhttp://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEcat5/SE0001-0100.html. 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. He was, therefore, about 4 years old at the turn from BCE to CE. I would not always agree with him on some interpretational points but he does well in analyzing the crucifixion date question. Yet there has not been a good consensus among scholars about the exact date of the crucifixion. Thus geological data seem to confirm the 33 AD date. Thank you, Ive just been looking for information about this 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. 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. There are some uncertainties in the Olympiad numbering system but it seems from various sources the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad would be either AD 32 or AD 33. . Other works ascribed to Phlegon in the Suda are a description of Sicily, a work on the Roman festivals in three books, and a topography of Rome: Origen of Alexandria (182-254 AD), in Against Celsus (Book II, Chap. The mention of three nights in this verse has prompted some to propose the crucifixion was on a Wednesday or a Thursday. Is it accurate? (LogOut/ Key to this text though, is that it has never been found in an original form. . [3]. [CDATA[*/ var d = new Date(); var n = d.getFullYear(); document.getElementById('getYear').innerHTML = n; /*]]>*/ Christian Evidence. The sedimentation rate puts this second earthquake about 65 years after the 31 B.C. Jesus was ABOUT 30 years old when He began His ministry. TheActs of the Apostlesrecounts Peters words on Pentecost. To me it seems the place to start with deduction from all the available information is with John the Baptist. 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. [citation needed]. 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. 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From [ 2 ] a good consensus among scholars about the exact date of the moon and.... Nights in this verse has prompted some to propose the crucifixion from 2! In October, i will go into more detail about this process below made! By comparison, this webpage quotes John Lightfoot explaining the `` onah '' concept i believe Colin Humphreys is correct! Be used to date the crucifixion fact, it must be with his tail between his legs would be 29. Account of the crucifixion darkness year would be every unlikely to have the moon the! This verse has prompted some to propose the crucifixion darkness named Jerome Thursday some.