fourth year of the 202nd olympiadfourth year of the 202nd olympiad

Astronomical calculation will help with this, but we first need to answer the day of the week question. You yourselves have the account of the world-portent still in your archives. (Tertullian, Apologia 21) (Emphasis added). Just for reference, Nicea is in western Turkey, approximately where the city of Bursa is. It is improbable that he would have created such an event from his own imagination. However, such an explanation for the Crucifixion darkness is absurd because solar eclipses are counted in minutes, not hours. . The evidence for Christ's resurrection is also historical evidence of a miracle. Z's Blog - What Does The Prayer Really Say. In Phlegon's Olympiades we are told it happened in the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad which is AD 33. Jesus baptism was apparently not long after the beginning of John the Baptist's ministry. The skeptics objection is an argument from silencethat other writerswouldhave said something if the darkness had really happened. 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. 27:39-40, Matt. 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). 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. The fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad was in 33 A.D.!!! First, there are differences between the synoptic gospels in the New Testament and the gospel of John that have puzzled Bible scholars. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This is a text widget. Otto Keller, Rerum Naturalium Scriptores Graeci Minores, 1 (Leipzig Teurber, 1877), p. 101., 2 Julius Africanus, Extant Writings, XVIII in The AnteNicene Fathers, ed. 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad. Bursa is approximately 600 miles from Jerusalem. Zero as a mathematical number in the Greco-Roman world was a later invention. The answer is a resounding yes.Whether the darkness was witnessed throughout the empire or only in regions around Jerusalem is not clear. 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. The darkening of the sky I suspect was just a pure miracle, not caused by any natural phenomena. Assume Jesus died Friday afternoon about 3 PM as we reckon time today. 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 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.). A few verses later in Matthew 27:51 it is recorded that there was an earthquake at the exact moment that Jesus died. 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. If your sunset occurs later than sunset in Athens, the event may occur on the previous day . Is this a powerful confirmation of the events described in the New Testament? 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. I will go into more detail about this process below. There too, nobody could give a plausible explanation. That is a nearly impossible standard to meet. 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. Fr. 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). whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. The 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad is from July 32 to June 33 CE, which confirms the date of 3 April 33 CE. His boyish face was flush and confident now. Adding these figures up, we find that Jesus began proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of heaven when he was 33 years old. Africanus disputed an attempt by Thallus (a first century historian) to specifically explain the Crucifixion darkness in this way. by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1973), vol. Thus the darkening of the sky at the crucifixion is very extraordinary. It is important to readThallus comments to completely understand the issue. The Bible is Gods book of love and redemption. What about all the other earthquakes that have hit California in the first part of the 20th century? Conservative Christian speakers were a rarity on their campus and they wanted to make it rarer. . The time from Friday 3 PM to sunset was counted as one day. April 13, 2017 (Steven OReilly) Good Friday approaches. Properly working out the Jewish calendar shows this to work for AD 33 (see C. Humphreys). 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. Unfortunately, no one of those three pairs, that is, recorded event vs. eclipse, is a perfect fit or a harmonious pair. 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. And calculation makes out that the period of 70 weeks, as noted in Daniel, is completed at this time." There is much that can be brought into the discussion here about the Jewish calendar and Sabbath. The dramatic story recorded above is fictional but the facts presented, namely Bible prophecy, Phlegon and Thallius writings, etc., are very true. A non-profit, 501(c)3 corporation. The above said, we may venture still further in suggesting another reason for theseemingsilence. The reality is, Plinys statement is not evidence against the Crucifixion darkness. Change). The gospel of Luke mentions that John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Ceasar Tiberius (Luke 3:1-3). 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. He said, "A day and a night are an Onah, and the portion of an Onah is as the whole of it." The placement in time within the text is just too precise. 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. Pliny then proceeds and gives only two examples. 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. 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! 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. 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. The New Testament records the three-hour darkness during Christs crucifixion (Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:4445). 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. He asks for your prayers for his intentions. 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. The website for this is the National Geophysical Data Center (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov). This eliminates most of the years in the range from AD 26 to 36, leaving primarily just AD 30 and AD 33 as candidates. He was smartly dressed, flamboyant and gregarious. 26:61, Matt. Steven OReilly is a graduate of the University of Dallas and the Georgia Institute of Technology. One of the strengths of Humphrey's book is the way it clarifies calendar issues and the way the Jews counted months, days, and nights. On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. 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. 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. What constitutes good historical evidence? Historical Testimony Ten Years Ago: Benedict confirms I am no longer the Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, Benedicts Last Audience: Ten Years After, Roma Locuta Est Considers: Benepapism and the Munus vs. Ministerium (EpisodeVI), Is the Culture of Death creating the Remnant? This is the first of the gospels, written some time between38 and 45 A.D. Followon Twitter:@S_OReilly_USA. You can use a text widget to display text, links, images, HTML, or a combination of these. He can be contacted at StevenOReilly@AOL.com. I would say there are a couple oflines of argument that can be used to date the crucifixion. The audience began to show its disdain. The sedimentation rate puts this second earthquake about 65 years after the 31 B.C. XIV), wrote that Phlegon, in his Chronicles, mentions Jesus: "Now Phlegon, in the thirteenth or fourteenth book, I think, of his Chronicles, not only ascribed to Jesus a knowledge of future events (although falling into confusion about some things which refer to Peter, as if they referred to Jesus), but also testified that the result corresponded to His predictions." These historians even mention the darkening of the sky and the earthquake which the gospels describe at the time of the crucifixion. 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 facts were recorded in a historical account of Tiberius. Gary R. Habermas. 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. Luke clearly goes out of his way to be specific about when this year was, by relating it to six different important officials. 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. GO TO creationanswers.net (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. Jesus was born whilst Herod, the Great, was still alive; we know he died in BCE and on 1st April 4BCE. Early Christian writers, such as Origen, Africanus and Eusebius, also cited a 2nd century writer, Phlegon, as having written of the Crucifixion darkness. Every person needs to deal with the questions of who Jesus is and what his death means. 776 BC = Olympiad 1, not 0. Moon phase and solar year events are shown on the day in Athens. 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. It is impossible to have the Moon block the Sun at Full Moon, which is when Passover took place. Dont Panic! An earthquake occurred in Bythinia . Each year of an Olympiad began on 1st July. 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- . Is there historical evidence for the darkness & earthquake at the crucifixion? 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 . Barton, Bill, This webpage quotes John Lightfoot explaining the "onah" concept. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea.' Annular (ring) eclipse. Please note, I do not believe that this eclipse is connected with the crucifixion. Among these is a very interesting quote below from a Christian scholar quoting an earlier Roman historian named Phlegon (first and second century). (LogOut/ There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea." Now let us consider how he might have categorized the Crucifixion darkness. Retrieved November 30, 2006 from [2]. This does not necessarily coincide with the Crucifixion darkness, and it doesnt have to. As several of the early Fathers quoted Phlegon, there seems no reason to doubt his word. To recap, according to Eusebius' Chronicon tables, the 2nd year of the 202nd Olympiad is equated alongside the 16th year of Tiberius. The Text Widget allows you to add text or HTML to your sidebar. About two weeks after the New Moon is the Full Moon, which corresponds to Passover. /* Propane Torpedo Heater Won't Stay Lit, Larchmont Yacht Club Membership Cost, William And Mary Football Camp 2022, Cibecue Falls, Articles F