fourth year of the 202nd olympiad

And I will shew wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood and fire, and vapour of smoke. Well, Phlegon does mention this guy named Jesus. At some time during that twelve months occurred the darkness over Asia in which lay Bithynia and Nicea to which Phlegon refers. this objectionis something of a fallacious argument. Thus the darkening of the sky at the crucifixion is very extraordinary. As explained, we believe that the darkness referred to by Phlegon is the same darkness referred to in Matthew 27:45. 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. No, but again, it doesnt have to either. The third quote is from Julius Africanus and the last is from Jerome. (LogOut/ Since Marks written gospel contains an account of the Crucifixion darkness, it follows that Peter included this event in his oral preaching. [CDATA[*/ var d = new Date(); var n = d.getFullYear(); document.getElementById('getYear').innerHTML = n; /*]]>*/ Christian Evidence. 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. This would include the April 33 AD date I have used above for the crucifixion. I wonder too, hypothetically, what might a natural cause include. 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. Even with the loss of the original writing, if the transposition of the original to the copy were to be altered, there would be significant doubt as to when the event occurred, or if, it even occurred. 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. The first Olympiad was conducted in 776 BC. (Jerome) [4]. I will go into more detail about this process below. Furthermore, the greatest number of Christian scholars through history have held to AD 33 as the year of the crucifixion, though they may have had various views on the exact date and day of week on which it happened. 12:40, Matt. 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. I will follow the work of Cambridge professor Colin Humphreys based on his book, "The Mystery of the Last Supper," published in 2011 [1]. So, these historical extrabiblical sources are also consistent with the AD 33 date. If your sunset occurs later than sunset in Athens, the event may occur on the previous day . Now you may be asking yourself, why is this even relevant? He was dying as the newborn infant was being brought back from Egypt by his parents. "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." 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad. The Historical Jesus, pp. Adding these figures up, we find that Jesus began proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of heaven when he was 33 years old. Within each olympiad, time was reckoned by referring to its 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year. AD 33 is too early for his crucifixion, surely. Retrieved November 30, 2006 from [2]. He wrote extensively about natural phenomena earthquakes and such. Clearly, Peter and his hearers had seen the sun darken. 1 Maier, Paul. I will not go through all the information in Colin Humphrey's book but I will try to summarize the evidence as I see it. Pratt, John, webpage by astronomer John Pratt on Isaac Newtons approach to determining the date of the crucifixion. In Wadi Zeelim, located above the southwestern shore of the modern Dead Sea exists an outcrop of laminated Dead Sea sediment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics#/media/File:Plates_tect2_en.svg. His chief work was the Olympiads, an historical compendium in sixteen books, from the 1st down to the 229th Olympiad (776 BC to AD 137), of which several chapters are preserved in Eusebius' Chronicle, Photius, and George Syncellus. Of all these verses, only Matt. Im fairly confident of the historical source, Your email address will not be published. From the above statement of Phlegon we can work out the year of the Crucifixion. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Age of Isaiah Scroll Scientifically Predates Jesus, Earliest Records of the Gospel Accounts of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Corroborate the Modern Text, http://www.numachi.com/~ccount/hmepa/calendars/202.html, http://www.deadseaquake.info/was-there-really-an-earthquake-on-the-day-that-jesus-died/, Mara Bar Serapion Confirms Early Reference to Jesus, Rome Confirms the Existence of Christianity, Phlegon of Tralles Scientifically Established as a Credible Source on Jesus. A non-profit, 501(c)3 corporation. As several of the early Fathers quoted Phlegon, there seems no reason to doubt his word. Created With Love By Bright Mark Media LLC. In October, I will perform a miracle here so that all may believe. The Crucifixion is widely reported by numerous ancient writers. 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. Read more . event bed is another distinctive mixed layer less than one inch thick. However, this is scientifically impossible. What Was Achieved By Jesus At The Crucifixion? 196-7, College Press Publishing Company, 1996., 4 Tertullian, Apologeticus, Chapter 21, 19 cited in Bouw, G. D. (1998, Spring). Here, too, we see an Apostle feared not to mention the event precisely because it was already widely known among his readers. That is a nearly impossible standard to meet. 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. opif. Jerome (4th century) is quoting Phlegon's 13th book which is a translation of a historical chronicle on the 202nd Olympiad by Eusebius. At Fatima, the miracle was localized though still within many miles of the town. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and manifest day of the Lord come. You can use a text widget to display text, links, images, HTML, or a combination of these. If the above quotes about the crucifixion sky darkening and the earthquake are correct and actually correspond to the crucifixion, then we have historical evidence for miracles at the crucifixion. Africanus disputed an attempt by Thallus (a first century historian) to specifically explain the Crucifixion darkness in this way. And accurate. 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? Eusebius' records of the Olympics were considered authoritative but were lost, though they are translated and preserved some in the writings of others. The fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad was in 33 A.D.!!! At His own free-will, He with a word dismissed from Him His spirit, anticipating the executioners work. and a seismic event that happened sometime between the years 26 and 36. Are you positive in regards to the source? Here, the skeptics case isseeminglymore plausible on first glance. 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/. They were not myths or literary devicesas skeptics or modernist biblical scholars might now suggest. Then the other speaker, also a minister, stepped forward. 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. . 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. 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. 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. On the Circumstances Connected with Our Saviours Passion and His Life-Giving Resurrection). I would say there are a couple oflines of argument that can be used to date the crucifixion. 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. We have no need to be dogmatic about precise numbers regarding His age at the time of His crucifixion. 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. 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. Why has it been so difficult to determine the exact date of Jesus' death and the dates of the last week of his life? 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. The time from Friday 3 PM to sunset was counted as one day. However, unlike the New Testament, of which there are 25,366 early copies, many of these ancient writer's manuscripts are fragmented. I did a search for the years 25 through 35 AD for the nation of Israel. With this principle in mind, let us now consider the evidence. It also gives a link to download Lightfoot's entire New Testament commentaries in four volumes as free PDF files. GO TO creationanswers.net Phlegon provides powerful confirmation, identifying the year and the exact time of day. First, is what I would call deduction from all available information. Thank You Father :). Copyright Like The Master Ministries. Martinus Nijhoff. Your email address will not be published. . This argument is sufficient to diffuse the skeptics argument with regard to Pliny. (LogOut/ It has only been referenced in Christian apologist books hundreds of years later. The evidence also shows it likely to have been a magnitude 5.5. From the work of Phlegon we can work out the date of the Crucifixion. 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 was recorded by a Pagan author who had no desire to promote Christianity yet he confirmed the Bible record! Jesus was thus the true final Passover Lamb and he died at the time the passover lambs was normally sacrificed. Each year of an Olympiad began on 1st July. This is done carefully in Humphreys book [1]. This historical puzzle shows the historical accuracy of the New Testament in a number of ways. On the Circumstances Connected with Our Saviours Passion and His Life-Giving Resurrection). The above said, we may venture still further in suggesting another reason for theseemingsilence. 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. The crucifixion darkness, even if a natural phenomena, would still be miraculous for its timing, ordained by God. . Unfortunately, Africanus does not quote Phlegon directly. All Rights Reserved. 4th year: Begins 32-06-27/28: Hekatombaion 29 Metageitnion 30 Boedromion 30 Puanepsion 29 Maimakterion 30 Poseideon 29 Poseideon-2 30 Gamelion 29 . On Marvels consists of "anecdotes culled from sources as diverse as the Greek poet Hesiod and the Roman natural historian Pliny the Elder. He referred to a description by Phlegon of an eclipse accompanied by earthquakes during the reign of Tiberius: that 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 was smartly dressed, flamboyant and gregarious. 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. It does however, place Phlegons writing, transposed hundreds of years later by Christian writers, as a scientifically-accurate writing. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea.'"1 Evidence from Africanus This was quoted in Colin Humphreys book and it sounded so odd to me that I decided to see if I could find another source to confirm it. 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.". On this basis the Fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad would commence in July A.D.32 and finish in June A.D.33. We do however have important sections of Phelgon's work, which are critical in dating the Crucifixion. The maximum duration for a total solar eclipse is seven minutes, not three hours, and at the latitude of Jerusalem the maximum duration is even less. Even more fascinating is the mention of an earthquake. 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]. The first quote below is unique to Origen. Let us, briefly, consider the case for the historicity of this event by first quoting the relevant gospel accounts. There were Jewish, Christian, and Roman writers from the first and second centuries that refer to Christ and the crucifixion. There is much that can be brought into the discussion here about the Jewish calendar and Sabbath. Suffice it to say that the Jewish Sabbath was on Saturday and remember that the Jews considered a 24 hour day cycle to begin at sunset in the evening. Some evidence suggests that Jesus was born in 2 BC and Herod died shortly after. If your sunset occurs later than sunset in Athens, the event may occur on . 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, in the 18th year of Tiberius. 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. 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). Also, word of it would have spread from Jerusalem to Jewish communities in Rome and throughout the empire. Barton, Bill, This webpage quotes John Lightfoot explaining the "onah" concept. 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. The 202nd Olympiad has been calculated to run from July AD 29 to June AD 33. [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!! Last Olympiad: Next Olympiad: 1st year: Begins 29-07-01/02: Hekatombaion 29 Metageitnion 29 Boedromion 30 Puanepsion 29 Maimakterion 30 Poseideon . The facts were recorded in a historical account of Tiberius. In light of themassobservation and notoriety of a three hour darkness, it would not have made any sense for the Apostlesin preaching or writing about the truth of Christ to believers and nonbelievers aliketo have mentioned this darkness if it had notreallyhappened. I would not always agree with him on some interpretational points but he does well in analyzing the crucifixion date question. Doing so would only demolish their credibility on allotherpoints of the gospel they hoped to prove about Christ basedsolelyon personal testimony. (Mark 15: 33), And it was almost the sixth hour; and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Phlegons citation is a fragment from Olympiades he Chronika 13, ed. An earthquake occurred in Bythinia . This needs to be updated they just found evidence if quake from 26 to 36ad. Or has it been changed and contaminated by ambitious Christian defenders? 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. 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. 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. In either case, many would have witnessed it. "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 astronomical science tells us there was no solar eclipse over Bithynia in that year. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. 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? 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. 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. The dramatic story recorded above is fictional but the facts presented, namely Bible prophecy, Phlegon and Thallius writings, etc., are very true. I speak of the midday or Crucifixion darkness which the gospel accounts assert fell over the earth between noon and 3 pm. Pliny then proceeds and gives only two examples. Die Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker. 2. 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. The New Testament records the three-hour darkness during Christs crucifixion (Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:4445). 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. Followon Twitter:@S_OReilly_USA. by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973), vol. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea. /*

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