fourth year of the 202nd olympiad

Among these is a very interesting quote below from a Christian scholar quoting an earlier Roman historian named Phlegon (first and second century). The website for this is the National Geophysical Data Center (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov). He inadvertently dated the darkness at noon on the day of Crucifixion in his work, The Olympiades. (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 You yourselves have the account of the world-portent still in your archives. (Tertullian, Apologia 21) (Emphasis added). The Crucifixion darknesswould have been observable to many hundreds of thousands of peopleif not millions. Passover occurred on either Nisan 14 or 15 about two weeks after the New Moon. 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. An earthquake occurred in Bythinia and overthrew a great part of the city of Nica. 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. Zero as a mathematical number in the Greco-Roman world was a later invention. I will follow the work of Cambridge professor Colin Humphreys based on his book, "The Mystery of the Last Supper," published in 2011 [1]. To God nothing is impossible. 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? Phlegon of Tralles (Ancient Greek: Flegon o Trallianos) was a Greek writer and freedman of the emperor Hadrian, who lived in the 2nd century AD. We believe that the period of darkness referred to by Phlegon is the same period of darkness referred to in the New Testament, since the event is unique. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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. Unfortunately, Africanus does not quote Phlegon directly. Contact Dr Richard Kent and recommendations, Bible Prophecy Concerning The Crucifixion, The Blood Covenant In Relation To The Crucifixion, Recording of The Crucifixion by Contemporary Historians, The Three Hour Period Of Darkness Is Confirmed By Many Historians, The Ad 33 Date Of The Crucifixion According To Phlegon, A Secular Greek Historian, The Ad 33 Date Of The Crucifixion From Bible Prophecy, Caiaphas Prophesied About The Crucifixion, In Gethsemane Jesus Sweated Blood, The Disciples Slept, And Judas Betrayed Jesus Christ, Judas Iscariot Betrayed Jesus Christ For Thirty Pieces Of Silver, The Timing Of The Night Before The Crucifixion, Jesus Christ Stood In Our Place At The Six Trials, Jesus Was Condemned To Death For "blasphemy", The Crowd Choose Barabbas Rather Than Jesus. There are a variety of opinions on this question. This needs to be updated they just found evidence if quake from 26 to 36ad. ", Africanus quoted a section of Phlegon's work as follows: "During the time of Tiberius Csar an eclipse of the sun occurred during the Full Moon.". Check it out for yourselfhttp://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEcat5/SE0001-0100.html. 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. The 12 Foundation Stones in New Jerusalem. 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. The little known aspect of this is something that comes from a famous Jewish Rabbi from the first century, Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah. In the Jewish calendar, the first month of a new year was called Nisan. From historical sources telling when these individuals were in office you can show that the possible range of years of the crucifixion to be from AD 26 to AD 36. Is this a powerful confirmation of the events described in the New Testament? (LogOut/ This earthquake would have been massive to be felt in Israel and Turkey at the same timethink of the catastrophe! 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. There are no surviving records after this date. The term "Onah" or sometimes "Onath" is a loose way of referring to part of a day. 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. 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. Unfortunately, no one of those three pairs, that is, recorded event vs. eclipse, is a perfect fit or a harmonious pair. However, unlike the New Testament, of which there are 25,366 early copies, many of these ancient writer's manuscripts are fragmented. This argument is sufficient to diffuse the skeptics argument with regard to Pliny. Phlegon of Tralles was a first century secular Greek historian born not long after the Crucifixion. And calculation makes out that the period of 70 weeks, as noted in Daniel, is completed at this time. Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.1. I am not convinced by this even though I believe in the darkness over the land when Jesus was crucified. It has only been referenced in Christian apologist books hundreds of years later. On this site you can do a search for earthquakes essentially anywhere in the world, including through history. Donations to this ministry aretax-deductible. 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. In Wadi Zeelim, located above the southwestern shore of the modern Dead Sea exists an outcrop of laminated Dead Sea sediment. 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. Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription. 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. 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, in the 18th year of Tiberius. "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." Even more fascinating is the mention of an earthquake. 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)? 9 Of course, they only thought an eclipse had occurred. However, we might venture to reasonably speculate why Plinyif he had known of the Crucifixion darknesschosenot to include it in his examples. His boyish face was flush and confident now. Of all these verses, only Matt. An unknown, massive astronomical body passing through the solar system or on long period orbit, transiting between the earth and sun? However, history provides a sufficient answer as to why such documentary evidence has not survived on these topics of great interest. Jesus ministry described in the gospels requires either 2 or 3 years, considering the number of times the Passover events occur in the gospels. These events of that day, and others surrounding them, such as the Crucifixion darkness described in the gospels, were real. Thus, a solar eclipse, which happens when the moon passes between the earth and sun cannot be a valid explanation for the Crucifixion darkness. To recap, according to Eusebius' Chronicon tables, the 2nd year of the 202nd Olympiad is equated alongside the 16th year of Tiberius. Bursa is approximately 600 miles from Jerusalem. 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. Then the other speaker, also a minister, stepped forward. 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). In telling the story of the guards, Matthew takes into account what his Jewish audience would already knowi.e., there was aclaimbeing spread abroad that the body of Jesus had been stolenand then he proceeded to provide facts to explain the true origin of that lie. The gospel of Luke mentions that John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Ceasar Tiberius (Luke 3:1-3). 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. Please note, I do not believe that this eclipse is connected with the crucifixion. And finally, if the crucifixion was on 3rd April AD 33 (Julian) then it is 490 years (70 . Yet there has not been a good consensus among scholars about the exact date of the crucifixion. We can therefore calculate with great accuracy that the three hour period of darkness, and also the Crucifixion, had to be in the Spring of A.D. 33. Phlegon of Tralles, a Greek historian who lived in the second century, has been referenced by Christian apologists for over a thousand years now as confirmation of the events surrounding the Crucifixion. Every person needs to deal with the questions of who Jesus is and what his death means. Tertullian, Apologeticus, Chapter 21, 19, Christian Evidence was created to enable Christians to defend their faith, and to open their eyes up to the overwhelming evidence for Christianity. With this principle in mind, let us now consider the evidence. Die Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker. We do not know what other sources that Africanuswho established a library for Severus Alexander might have had at his disposal with regard to Phlegons writings. and a seismic event that happened sometime between the years 26 and 36. These historians attempt to interpret the darkness as a direct effect of a solar eclipse which we know is scientifically not possible - but they wouldn't have known that in their time. Since Marks written gospel contains an account of the Crucifixion darkness, it follows that Peter included this event in his oral preaching. 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. When the Moon "lines up" with the Sun it is referred to by astronomers as being at conjunction (which is the New Moon). However, the sixth hour in Bithynia is also at the same time as the sixth hour in Jerusalem. In October, I will perform a miracle here so that all may believe. 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. In his book Chronicle of the Olympiad he records a miracle mentioned in the New Testament. 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. Barton, Bill, This webpage quotes John Lightfoot explaining the "onah" concept. sfnp error: no target: CITEREFRobertsDonaldsonCoxe1896 (, Learn how and when to remove this template message, https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_chronicle_03_part2.htm, http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEsearch/SEsearchmap.php?Ecl=00291124, Fragments of Phlegon on the passion phenomena, William Smith, "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology" (1870) v. 3, page 336, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phlegon_of_Tralles&oldid=1125623921, Articles needing additional references from April 2019, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2022, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from May 2013, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 1911 Encyclopdia Britannica, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 5 December 2022, at 00:29. 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. Unfortunately for the skepticand a sign of his desperation as wellthe argument from silence is, perhaps, one of the most difficult types of arguments to make. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. (Luke 23:44-45 ). The darkness during the crucifixion. Roman historical sources confirm that Jesus Christ lived on Earth and died by crucifixion. And it cannot happen at any other time but in the interval between the first day of the new moon and the last of the old, that is, at their junction: how then should an eclipse be supposed to happen when the moon is almost diametrically opposite the sun? Thus geological data seem to confirm the 33 AD date. 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. 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. . He made a famous statement to explain how days were counted for certain ceremonial purposes. Created With Love By Bright Mark Media LLC. 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.). Martinus Nijhoff. The evidence for Christ's resurrection is also historical evidence of a miracle. What miracles!!? 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. The second quote is recorded by Philopon. Fr. 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. This blatantly religious appeal seemed odd and out of place. The third quote is from Julius Africanus and the last is from Jerome. 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. AWESOME I had read so many "time lines" and prophetic explanations. And I will shew wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth beneath: blood and fire, and vapour of smoke. The Biblical Astronomer, 8(84). Modern context of the calendar of ancient Olympics would put the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad at July 32-33AD. This one too is during the 202ndOlympiad, although in the first year, not the fourth. Rome had a Jewish community, and it is probable that word of the darkness would have reached and been known within it. and this is shown by the historical account of Tiberius Caesar. Philopon, De. It was calculated in four-year intervals. He lived up to the death of the emperor Augustus in 14CE and we know from Luke that his ministry began in the 15th year of Augustus successor, Tiberius. 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. Ancient writers sometimes describe their Olympiads as lasting five years but do so by counting inclusively; in fact each comprised a four year period. 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. There are also complicated issues about various calendar systems in use at the time of Christ that create confusion. He quotes Phlegon as stating it was the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, conflicting with Africanus who quotes Phlegon as stating it was the 2nd year; He asserts this occurred at the Passover both in the 18th year of Tiberius (spring 32AD) and in Olympiad 202.4 (spring 33AD); The darkness and earthquake were evident not just in Jerusalem but also in Nicea which is over 300 miles away from Jerusalem! Africanus refutes the attempt of Thallus to explain away this darkness as being a regular solar eclipse. 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. The sun was darkened during Christs death from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm. The evidence also shows it likely to have been a magnitude 5.5. 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. Jesus was born whilst Herod, the Great, was still alive; we know he died in BCE and on 1st April 4BCE. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. These historians even mention the darkening of the sky and the earthquake which the gospels describe at the time of the crucifixion. 3) the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad; being commonly associated with the March 19, 33 CE solar eclipse. 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. No one has ever met a literary device walking down the street or stubbed their toe on one, thus we should not expect that any early Christian would have suffered martyrdom for one. The New Testament records the three-hour darkness during Christs crucifixion (Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:4445). Thesestatements reveal several key things: 1. 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. 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. 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/. 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. 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. The 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad is from July 32 to June 33 CE, which confirms the date of 3 April 33 CE. 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. Thankfully we have a more detailed fragment from Phlegon's Olympiades: We know from the Bible that on the day of Crucifixion the Sun was darkened for three hours, and there was a great earthquake. Eusebius of Caesarea (265-340) quoted Phlegon as follows (as translated by Jerome): 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. These things the aforementioned man (says). (Jerome, Chronicle (2005), 256/258, as found onwww.tertullian.org) (Emphasis added). The darkening of the sky I suspect was just a pure miracle, not caused by any natural phenomena. While Pliny tells us there have been unusually long eclipses, he then says such asindicating he means to giveexamplesandnota comprehensive list of them. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. Eusebius' records of the Olympics were considered authoritative but were lost, though they are translated and preserved some in the writings of others. Therefore, it is possible Phlegons source witnessed the Crucifixion darkness from there at the same hoursuggesting the darkness and earthquakes reached far beyond the region around Jerusalem. So that means there has been at least some investigation of it by geologists though I do not know how much. Christ still changes lives like he did in the first century. 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. /*

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