However, these are all unlikely candidates as their timing is off from the Olympiad calendar. 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. 27:63, Mark 8:31, Mark 9:31, Mark 10:33-34, and John 2:19. . Earthquake and rocks split open And accurate. Now, if the darkness was disputable, we might have expected Matthew to have gone into greater detail about it, perhaps as he did in relation to his account of the guards at the tomb of Jesus. Change). 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. The astronomical science tells us there was no solar eclipse over Bithynia in that year. 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. 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. GO TO Mobile Home, http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/b-greek/2000-May/011873.html, http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/newton.html, http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2004/daniel.html, http://www.neverthirsty.org/pp/historical-secular-quotes-about-jesus/phlegon.html, http://www.ichthus.info/CaseForChrist/Archeology/intro.html. No, but again, it doesnt have to either. The New Testament records the three-hour darkness during Christs crucifixion (Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:4445). 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. Note that I am oversimplifying a number of calendar complications that are worked out in Humphrey's book. I will address that below as well. On this basis the Fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad would commence in July A.D.32 and finish in June A.D.33. 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). 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. 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/. The Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI: Now available through other book sellers, Roma Locuta Est Considers: Benepapism and the Munus vs. Ministerium (EpisodeII), Roma Locuta Est Considers: Introduction to Benepapism (Episode I). Or has it been changed and contaminated by ambitious Christian defenders? Los Angeles is approximately 380 miles from San Francisco, by comparison. 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. There too, nobody could give a plausible explanation. Properly working out the Jewish calendar shows this to work for AD 33 (see C. Humphreys). That is a nearly impossible standard to meet. The diagram below will help to clarify this. The 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad was 32-33AD: HMEPA Hellenic Month Established Per Athens The 202nd Olympiad Last Olympiad Next Olympiad Last Olympiad source: http://www.numachi.com/~ccount/hmepa/calendars/202.html Modern context of the calendar of ancient Olympics would put the 4 th year of the 202 nd Olympiad at July 32-33AD. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea." The Bible is a book that is a record of facts and not myths. The little known aspect of this is something that comes from a famous Jewish Rabbi from the first century, Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah. He wrote extensively about natural phenomena earthquakes and such. Many authors have suggested various means of resolving all the mysteries about the date of the crucifixion. Therefore I think we can compare it to another impressive unnatural phenomenon that happened 100 years ago in Fatima, when the sun danced on oct. 13th 1917 at the exact time Our Lady foretold months beforehand, before a huge crowd. I am not convinced by this even though I believe in the darkness over the land when Jesus was crucified. Each year of an Olympiad began on 1st July. The earthquake on the other hand was a natural process miraculously timed to occur at the crucifixion. 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. Pontius Pilate (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1968), p. 366. 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. This does not necessarily coincide with the Crucifixion darkness, and it doesnt have to. He has written apologetic articles and is working on a historical-adventure trilogy, set during the time of the Arian crisis. The evidence for Christ's resurrection is also historical evidence of a miracle. While Pliny tells us there have been unusually long eclipses, he then says such asindicating he means to giveexamplesandnota comprehensive list of them. 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. However, unlike the New Testament, of which there are 25,366 early copies, many of these ancient writer's manuscripts are fragmented. Since Passover took place in the Spring before the Olympics, I think the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad would be Summer 32 AD to Summer 33 AD. 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. He was dying as the newborn infant was being brought back from Egypt by his parents. Dont believe me? 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. [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!! 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. The Date by Deduction So, it is possible, if not probable, that Jesus was born on 31st March, 4BCE certainly in that March anyhow. The crucifixion darkness, even if a natural phenomena, would still be miraculous for its timing, ordained by God. Thirteen inches above the 31 B.C. He lives near Atlanta with his family. Jesus Christ's crucifixion is one of the most important events in the history of the world. The darkness during the crucifixion. We know that Jesus was crucified in the Spring, at the time of the Passover. Thus the darkening of the sky at the crucifixion is very extraordinary. I speak of the midday or Crucifixion darkness which the gospel accounts assert fell over the earth between noon and 3 pm. 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. 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. It was calculated in four-year intervals. How could the science not possibly confirm this level of coincidence? AD 33 is too early for his crucifixion, surely. To me it seems the place to start with deduction from all the available information is with John the Baptist. 1996. p. 217. Yet there has not been a good consensus among scholars about the exact date of the crucifixion. He was a Greek historian who lived in Asia Minor during the first century. Why has it been so difficult to determine the exact date of Jesus' death and the dates of the last week of his life? The above said, the skeptics objection appears strongest when they allege thatPliny the Elder an ancient Roman writer who penned a natural historywould surely have have mentioned the Crucifixion darkness. Moon phase and solar year events are shown on the day in Athens. The fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad was in 33 A.D.!!! I will follow the work of Cambridge professor Colin Humphreys based on his book, "The Mystery of the Last Supper," published in 2011 [1]. Seeing as Phlegon was born approximately in the second century, it is extremely unlikely he spoke with an eyewitness of either eclipse. Moon phase and solar year events are shown on the day in Athens. Pliny then proceeds and gives only two examples. The dramatic story recorded above is fictional but the facts presented, namely Bible prophecy, Phlegon and Thallius writings, etc., are very true. 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. It even mentions buildings collapsing in Nicea, which would be over 1,000 miles Northwest from Jerusalem by land. Here, the skeptics case isseeminglymore plausible on first glance. 26:61, Matt. Emma Southon: "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". It corresponds approximately to April in our modern Gregorian calendar. 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. 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! Retrieved November 30, 2006 from [2]. In the verses above, Peter cites a scripture which speaks of various signs which God did by Him, inclusive of thesun being darkenedand the moon turning red. This would include the April 33 AD date I have used above for the crucifixion. In fact, it is also quite impossible for a solar eclipse to last for 3 hours. The first quote below is unique to Origen. 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. The question is: should we accept the historicity of this Crucifixion darkness? The first Olympiad was conducted in 776 BC. Unfortunately, Africanus does not quote Phlegon directly. The Biblical Astronomer, 8(84). Sixty thousands people could witness with awe the sun dancing in the sky. As several of the early Fathers quoted Phlegon, there seems no reason to doubt his word. Martinus Nijhoff. These historians even mention the darkening of the sky and the earthquake which the gospels describe at the time of the crucifixion. The difficulty in this is that it mentions three nights as well as three days. This earthquake would have been massive to be felt in Israel and Turkey at the same timethink of the catastrophe! 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. He was, therefore, about 4 years old at the turn from BCE to CE. 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. Adding these figures up, we find that Jesus began proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of heaven when he was 33 years old. This is especially significant I think because no other significant earthquakes turned up in Israel for the entire range of years from 25 to 35 AD. A solar eclipse supposedly occurred during a full moon. This firmly connects Jesus and the gospels to Roman history. The darkness and earthquake were evident not just in Jerusalem but also in Nicea which is over 300 miles away from Jerusalem! 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?. This is the first of the gospels, written some time between38 and 45 A.D. "[4], Phlegon may have been recording an eclipse that happened in November, 29 AD, the 1st year of the 202nd Olympiad.[5]. 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. This historical puzzle shows the historical accuracy of the New Testament in a number of ways. Here, too, we see an Apostle feared not to mention the event precisely because it was already widely known among his readers. The ancient Olympic Games were held every four years for almost 1,100 years. 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," Volume 2 contains the quotes on this webpage. The young minister was painfully uncomfortable standing in front of a largely secular group of college students. 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. (LogOut/ From the work of Phlegon we can work out the date of the Crucifixion. Such is the difficulty of the argument from silence. While the actual words used by Thallus no longer survive, the response of Africanus (below) give us a sense of what he must have said: As to His (i.e., Jesus Christ) works severally, and His cures effected upon body and soul, and the mysteries of His doctrine, and the resurrection from the dead, these have been most authoritatively set forth by His disciples and apostles before us. Barton, Bill, This webpage quotes John Lightfoot explaining the "onah" concept. We have already seen there is strong reason to believe a record of the Crucifixion darkness was held in the Roman archives. Christ still changes lives like he did in the first century. The Text Widget allows you to add text or HTML to your sidebar. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea.'"1 Evidence from Africanus 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. Among these is a very interesting quote below from a Christian scholar quoting an earlier Roman historian named Phlegon (first and second century). Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. There are a variety of opinions on this question. 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. . The sun was darkened during Christs death from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm. From this brief statement, the skeptic wants to declare victory and go home. The skeptics objection is an argument from silencethat other writerswouldhave said something if the darkness had really happened. "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." This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. . 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. The second quote is recorded by Philopon. 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 found further confirmation of this earthquake from other sources that also dates it in the year 33 AD. I will also point out that the Roman historian Thallius also recorded these events. this objectionis something of a fallacious argument. Though Jesus was alive till Friday afternoon, the period he was dead on Friday counted as both a day and a night. Remember that Jesus' baptism was shortly after the beginning of John the Baptist's ministry, which began in AD 29. Doing so would only demolish their credibility on allotherpoints of the gospel they hoped to prove about Christ basedsolelyon personal testimony. 2. You can be sure that faith in God is not blind faith. This eliminates most of the years in the range from AD 26 to 36, leaving primarily just AD 30 and AD 33 as candidates. Thank You Father :). TheActs of the Apostlesrecounts Peters words on Pentecost. Phlegon was a Greek historian who wrote an extensive chronology around AD 137. Therefore, he relied on transcribed information; either written or oral. The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Steven OReilly is a graduate of the University of Dallas and the Georgia Institute of Technology. He stated that in the 19th year of Tiberius and the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad (i.e., AD 33), a large eclipse occurred which turned day to night around the sixth hour (noon), and an earthquake destroyed many houses in the city of Nicaea. 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad. The 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad is from July 32 to June 33 CE, which confirms the date of 3 April 33 CE. What miracles!!? Fr. And calculation makes out that the period of 70 weeks, as noted in Daniel, is completed at this time. Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.1. The website for this is the National Geophysical Data Center (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov). 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. And calculation makes out that the period of 70 weeks, as noted in Daniel, is completed at this time." 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. 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. Historical Testimony This is writing from an early Christian apologist named Jerome. [1] There are two books credited to his name:Chronicles and the Olympiads. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Ye men of Israel, hear these words:Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you, by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by him, in the midst of you,as you also know: This same being delivered up, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you by the hands of wicked men have crucified and slain. Phlegon provides powerful confirmation, identifying the year and the exact time of day. Someone shouted Show me a Bible miracle thats recorded in SECULAR history!!. 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]. What about all the other earthquakes that have hit California in the first part of the 20th century? 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. Phlegons 13th book quoted in Jeromes translation of Eusebius Chronicle, 202 Olympad. Phlegon's ``Olympiads" (2nd century) says that Christ's crucifixion was in the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad (AD 29-33), when a total solar eclipse occurred in the 6th hour. Jesus was thus the true final Passover Lamb and he died at the time the passover lambs was normally sacrificed. I believe Colin Humphreys is probably correct that the date of the crucifixion of Christ was Friday April 3, A.D. 33. In either case, many would have witnessed it. However, this is scientifically impossible. /*

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fourth year of the 202nd olympiad