He lives near Atlanta with his family. 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. 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. It should then not come as a surprise to us that Pliny, who scorned the idea of God and religion (cfNatural HistoryI, 5), would pass over in silence this world-portent now claimed by and associated with the Christian religion, which wasat that time he wrotea portent of a persecuted, criminal and maligned sect. An earthquake occurred in Bythinia and overthrew a great part of the city of Nica. Phlegon provides powerful confirmation, identifying the year and the exact time of day. 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.). Only the Nov. 24, AD 29 eclipse over Asia Minor can match that, and Joel's prophecy (Acts 2, 14-21) that ``the sun will be turned to darkness and moon to blood." Africanus make it rather evident that Thallus was specifically addressing this darkness i.e., the three hour darkness at the time of the Crucifixion and not any other. 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)? Originally written in Aramaic, it was intended for a Jewish audience. Someone shouted Show me a Bible miracle thats recorded in SECULAR history!!. 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!! If your sunset occurs later than sunset in Athens, the event may occur on . . AD 33 is too early for his crucifixion, surely. 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. (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 "However in the fourth year of the 202nd olympiad, an eclipse of the sun happened, greater and more excellent than any that had happened before it; at the sixth hour, day turned into dark night, so that the stars were seen in the sky, and an earthquake in Bithynia toppled many buildings of the city of Nicaea." Picking on Pliny That is a nearly impossible standard to meet. 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. 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? 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. On the Circumstances Connected with Our Saviours Passion and His Life-Giving Resurrection). Nisan was the month the Passover was celebrated, a very important time for the Jews commemorating their deliverance out of slavery in Egypt. 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. You can be sure that faith in God is not blind faith. 26:61, Matt. Among these is a very interesting quote below from a Christian scholar quoting an earlier Roman historian named Phlegon (first and second century). There are a variety of opinions on this question. March 25, 2018: With the arrival of Holy Week, I am reposting this article on the historicity of the Crucifixion darkness, originally posted April 13, 2017. 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. 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. You yourselves have the account of the world-portent still in your archives. (Tertullian, Apologia 21) (Emphasis added). 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. 4th year: Begins 32-06-27/28: Hekatombaion 29 Metageitnion 30 Boedromion 30 Puanepsion 29 Maimakterion 30 Poseideon 29 Poseideon-2 30 Gamelion 29 . The astronomical science tells us there was no solar eclipse over Bithynia in that year. 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. Between 3 PM and sunset the Jews had to prepare the body and get it into the tomb, because the Sabbath started Friday evening around sunset. The Historical Jesus, pp. (see Figure 2 below). Barton, Bill, This webpage quotes John Lightfoot explaining the "onah" concept. Moon phase and solar year events are shown on the day in Athens. . 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. Is there historical evidence for the darkness & earthquake at the crucifixion? There is only one period of darkness lasting for three hours in the history of the world. So the daylight part of a day (or any part thereof) is an onah and the evening is an onah and the entire dark period of the night is also an onah. Thirteen inches above the 31 B.C. According to NASA, there WAS an actual solar eclipse in the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/5MCSEmap/0001-0100/33-09-12.gif. 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. "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. mund. From this brief statement, the skeptic wants to declare victory and go home. A non-profit, 501(c)3 corporation. Is this a powerful confirmation of the events described in the New Testament? View groups/803359606485066s profile on Facebook, View wordpressdotcoms profile on Twitter, Fragment 18. How could the science not possibly confirm this level of coincidence? "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." The next piece of the puzzle is to determine if Jesus indeed was crucified on a Friday. 27:63, Mark 8:31, Mark 9:31, Mark 10:33-34, and John 2:19. The darkening of the sky I suspect was just a pure miracle, not caused by any natural phenomena. Thank You Father :). Well, Phlegon does mention this guy named Jesus. Now you may be asking yourself, why is this even relevant? Fr. !, The audience was rowdy now. 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. Phlegon would have had no way to misreport an actual earthquake that hit in the region, because the region has the history to confirm the account passed to him. Colin Humphreys estimates that Jesus' ministry began in 30 A.D. and this is shown by the historical account of Tiberius Caesar. Philopon, De. 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. Of all these verses, only Matt. Since Marks written gospel contains an account of the Crucifixion darkness, it follows that Peter included this event in his oral preaching. It cannot be denied that Pliny the Elder wrote on topics like eclipses of the sun. However, this is scientifically impossible. event bed is another distinctive mixed layer less than one inch thick. Again, modern science has corroborated that not only is the Persian Gulf was a seismically-active area, but that a major earthquake did hit the region between 26-36AD: source :http://www.deadseaquake.info/was-there-really-an-earthquake-on-the-day-that-jesus-died/. We believe that the event referred to by Phlegon is the same event that is recorded in the New Testament. Thus the New Moon is not visible. 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. An earthquake occurred in Bythinia . Modern science validates the sources Phlegon used for compiling his writings and also validates the transcribers who referenced the material several hundred years later. Little is known about Phlegon, but he made reference to Christ. Jesus was born whilst Herod, the Great, was still alive; we know he died in BCE and on 1st April 4BCE. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and manifest day of the Lord come. The Romans, for example, are known to have have kept archives which included data on eclipses of the moon and sun. This earthquake would have been massive to be felt in Israel and Turkey at the same timethink of the catastrophe! This information augments Phlegons credibility as a historian; citing sources that preceded his lifetime and were thus out of his control, as they would have recorded the event about a century before he was writing. "[4], Phlegon may have been recording an eclipse that happened in November, 29 AD, the 1st year of the 202nd Olympiad.[5]. Origen tells us in his work,Against Celsus(cf Contra Celsus II, 14), that Phlegon had some knowledge of Jesus. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) keeps a database of what are called "significant" earthquakes. 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. However, unlike the New Testament, of which there are 25,366 early copies, many of these ancient writer's manuscripts are fragmented. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Elsewhere in this same work, Origen wrote in relation to the Crucifixion darkness: And with regard to the eclipse in the time ofTiberius Csar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place, Phlegon too, I think, has written in the thirteenth or fourteenth book of his Chronicles (Contra Celsus II, 33). 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. Let us, briefly, consider the case for the historicity of this event by first quoting the relevant gospel accounts. However, these are all unlikely candidates as their timing is off from the Olympiad calendar. This is a clear Bible prophecy foretelling that God would cause the punishment for our sins to fall upon Jesus. What constitutes good historical evidence? We have already seen there is strong reason to believe a record of the Crucifixion darkness was held in the Roman archives. At His own free-will, He with a word dismissed from Him His spirit, anticipating the executioners work. 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. Yes, to God, nothing is impossible. Doing so would only demolish their credibility on allotherpoints of the gospel they hoped to prove about Christ basedsolelyon personal testimony. The darkness and earthquake were evident not just in Jerusalem but also in Nicea which is over 300 miles away from Jerusalem! April 13, 2017 (Steven OReilly) Good Friday approaches. 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. 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. Jerome (4th century) is quoting Phlegon's 13th book which is a translation of a historical chronicle on the 202nd Olympiad by Eusebius. Die Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker. When the Moon "lines up" with the Sun it is referred to by astronomers as being at conjunction (which is the New Moon). Here, too, we see an Apostle feared not to mention the event precisely because it was already widely known among his readers. Volume 2 contains the quotes on this webpage. I will go into more detail about this process below. First, is what I would call deduction from all available information. An earthquake occurred in Bythinia and overthrew a great part of the city of Nica. Historical Testimony Assume Jesus died Friday afternoon about 3 PM as we reckon time today. (Sextus Julius Africanus,Fragment 18. So, these historical extrabiblical sources are also consistent with the AD 33 date. He made a famous statement to explain how days were counted for certain ceremonial purposes. 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. And finally, if the crucifixion was on 3rd April AD 33 (Julian) then it is 490 years (70 . This Is A Perfect Picture Of The Gospel, The Crown Of Thorns, And The Mocking Of Jesus, The Wound Between The 5th And 6th Right Ribs, The Fulfilment Of Prophecy Concerning The Unbroken Bones, The Anatomical And Physiological Details Of Death By Crucifixion, The Rejection Experienced By Jesus On The Cross, The Discovery By Ron Wyatt In 1982 Of The Ark Of The Covenant, A Brief Overview Of The New Covenant In The Blood Of The Messiah, And The Biblical Support For The Blood On The Mercy Seat. Pliny then proceeds and gives only two examples. And accurate. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This is a text widget. There is little doubt that this information was passed from ancient source to ancient source before it reached Phlegon; however; its place in historical writings is scientifically confirmed nearly 2 millenia later. So how should we understand the statement about Jesus being dead three days and three nights? Im fairly confident of the historical source, Your email address will not be published. One problem with AD 30 being the crucifixion is that it does not allow enough time for Jesus ministry. But Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke to them: Ye men of Judea, and all you that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known to you, and with your ears receive my words. A secondline of argument for the crucifixion date comes from historical testimony and the weight of opinion of Christian scholars through history. 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. First, there are differences between the synoptic gospels in the New Testament and the gospel of John that have puzzled Bible scholars. In Wadi Zeelim, located above the southwestern shore of the modern Dead Sea exists an outcrop of laminated Dead Sea sediment. Being written within a dozen years of the Crucifixion, many of Matthews readers would have been witnesses to the three hour darkness which had fallen over the earth (cf Matthew 27: 45) years before. 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. This information would be every unlikely to have been added at a later time due to its specificity in time. So, it is possible, if not probable, that Jesus was born on 31st March, 4BCE certainly in that March anyhow. 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. 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. Next, we consider the Gospel of Matthew. From the above statement of Phlegon we can work out the year of the Crucifixion. 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.). The term "Onah" or sometimes "Onath" is a loose way of referring to part of a day. Roman historical sources confirm that Jesus Christ lived on Earth and died by crucifixion. 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. Dont believe me? He was, therefore, about 4 years old at the turn from BCE to CE. Your email address will not be published. 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. About two weeks after the New Moon is the Full Moon, which corresponds to Passover. Key to this text though, is that it has never been found in an original form. The little known aspect of this is something that comes from a famous Jewish Rabbi from the first century, Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah. The first of the two speakers stepped forward again. Early Christian writers, such as Origen, Africanus and Eusebius, also cited a 2nd century writer, Phlegon, as having written of the Crucifixion darkness. If we know the day of the week that the crucifixion took place on, this can be used to rule out a number of the possible years (in the range from AD 26 to AD 36). source:http://earthquaketrack.com/il-06-jerusalem/recent. 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/. The Biblical Astronomer, 8(84). The 202nd Olympiad has been calculated to run from July AD 29 to June AD 33. Does this necessarily mean that Phlegon was referencing the seismic activity, if you dare to call it that, that occurred during the Crucifixion in the Gospel accounts? 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. A great earthquake occurred during Christs death. 2004. 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. For from Nehemiah, who was sent by Artaxerxes to resettle Jerusalem in the 115 th year of the Persian empire, the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, the fourth year of the 83rd Olympiad, until this time, which was the second year of the 202nd Olympiad, the sixteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, there is a total of 475 years. Edit them in the Widget section of the, Repost: The Historicity of the Crucifixion Darkness. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. They were not myths or literary devicesas skeptics or modernist biblical scholars might now suggest. Africanus refutes the attempt of Thallus to explain away this darkness as being a regular solar eclipse. The first Olympiad was conducted in 776 BC. TheActs of the Apostlesrecords the very first public preaching of Peter and the Apostles, which took place less than eight weeks after the Crucifixion. A few verses later in Matthew 27:51 it is recorded that there was an earthquake at the exact moment that Jesus died. Gary R. Habermas. An unknown, massive astronomical body passing through the solar system or on long period orbit, transiting between the earth and sun? I would not always agree with him on some interpretational points but he does well in analyzing the crucifixion date question. The gospel of Luke mentions that John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Ceasar Tiberius (Luke 3:1-3). This eliminates most of the years in the range from AD 26 to 36, leaving primarily just AD 30 and AD 33 as candidates. The third quote is from Julius Africanus and the last is from Jerome. . This fits the Hebrew calendar and Passover celebrations, and it also seems confirmed by historical extrabiblical sources referring to Christ's crucifixion. Read more . 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. 1996. p. 217. The written testimony from outside the Bible confirms some of the main events, people, and places mentioned in the New Testament. Jeremiah 9:23-24. 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. 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. On Marvels consists of "anecdotes culled from sources as diverse as the Greek poet Hesiod and the Roman natural historian Pliny the Elder. The Romans and Jews could have falsified Peters claimhad it been false. The 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad is from July 32 to June 33 CE, which confirms the date of 3 April 33 CE. (31 B.C. In chapter 28, Matthew provides an accountprobably sourced to either one of the guards and or a Jewish elderof how the guards were bribed, and the lie was spread that the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus (cf Matthew 28:1-15). Have you ever heard of Phlegon of Karia? 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. 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. Jesus was ABOUT 30 years old when He began His ministry. From the work of Phlegon we can work out the date of the Crucifixion. Sect 257 f16, c, p. 1165. 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. What about all the other earthquakes that have hit California in the first part of the 20th century? 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. Such is the difficulty of the argument from silence. 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. We only have fragments left to us of this monumental work and quotations of it from other writers. 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. Thus geological data seem to confirm the 33 AD date. To God nothing is impossible. Phlegons citation is a fragment from Olympiades he Chronika 13, ed. Steven OReilly is a graduate of the University of Dallas and the Georgia Institute of Technology. The earthquake and RARE darkness for three hours couldn't be ignored by secular writers. All rights reserved. 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," 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. He was smartly dressed, flamboyant and gregarious. It was not until the sixteenth century that the Jewish calendar was formally defined precisely. Next, let us consider the argument with regard to theGospel of Mark. As explained, we believe that the darkness referred to by Phlegon is the same darkness referred to in Matthew 27:45. /*