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. Rome had a Jewish community, and it is probable that word of the darkness would have reached and been known within it. (Sextus Julius Africanus,Fragment 18. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. As several of the early Fathers quoted Phlegon, there seems no reason to doubt his word. this objectionis something of a fallacious argument. 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). [CDATA[*/ var d = new Date(); var n = d.getFullYear(); document.getElementById('getYear').innerHTML = n; /*]]>*/ Christian Evidence. Such is the difficulty of the argument from silence. The timing of this "eclipse" referred to by Phlegon is similar to the event described in the Gospels. Jeremiah 9:23-24. The 202nd Olympiad has been calculated to run from July AD 29 to June AD 33. 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. 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. 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? They were not myths or literary devicesas skeptics or modernist biblical scholars might now suggest. It was recorded by a Pagan author who had no desire to promote Christianity yet he confirmed the Bible record! Phlegon's greatest work was the writing of a history book, called The Olympiades. 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 Romans and Jews could have falsified Peters claimhad it been false. An earthquake occurred in Bythinia and overthrew a great part of the city of Nicaea" However, the sixth hour in Bithynia is also at the same time as the sixth hour in Jerusalem. 27:39-40, Matt. However, such an explanation for the Crucifixion darkness is absurd because solar eclipses are counted in minutes, not hours. In his book Chronicle of the Olympiad he records a miracle mentioned in the New Testament. An unknown, massive astronomical body passing through the solar system or on long period orbit, transiting between the earth and sun? source:http://earthquaketrack.com/il-06-jerusalem/recent. Unfortunately, Africanus does not quote Phlegon directly. Die Fragmente der Griechischen Historiker. In the Jewish calendar, the first month of a new year was called Nisan. 27:63, Mark 8:31, Mark 9:31, Mark 10:33-34, and John 2:19. But why is this significant, if it doesnt even validate darkness during the Crucifixion as referenced in the Gospels? I would say there are a couple oflines of argument that can be used to date the crucifixion. 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. Among these is a very interesting quote below from a Christian scholar quoting an earlier Roman historian named Phlegon (first and second century). The audience began to show its disdain. 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. A secondline of argument for the crucifixion date comes from historical testimony and the weight of opinion of Christian scholars through history. 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. Zero as a mathematical number in the Greco-Roman world was a later invention. In 70 A.D., just forty years after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple were utterly destroyed by the Romans and the surviving population carried off into captivity. This may seem hard to accept for some. Thus, if the quote is accurate, and Phlegon's eclipse has . 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. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. The Biblical Astronomer, 8(84). 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. . Gary R. Habermas. 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 lives near Atlanta with his family. In Rome,Peter spokeas he had to the Jews of Jerusalem (cf Acts 2:14-24)to an audience that hadpriorknowledge of the three hour darkness. It even mentions buildings collapsing in Nicea, which would be over 1,000 miles Northwest from Jerusalem by land. 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. All Rights Reserved. I did a search for the years 25 through 35 AD for the nation of Israel. 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. "In the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, there was a great eclipse [Greek EKLEIPSIS] 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. Therefore, he relied on transcribed information; either written or oral. This is done carefully in Humphreys book [1]. It amounts, in effect, to asserting the following:leaving aside all the evidence youdohave, you do not have anyotherevidence. Thus, the skeptic discards all evidence against his case, and then declares victory: aha, you have nootherproof!The reality is, there is no reason to set aside the sources and evidence we do have. . And calculation makes out that the period of 70 weeks, as noted in Daniel, is completed at this time. Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18.1. 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. Assume Jesus died Friday afternoon about 3 PM as we reckon time today. The 202nd Olympiad. (Mark 15: 33), And it was almost the sixth hour; and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Indeed Phlegon, who is an excellent calculator of olympiads, also writes about this, in his 13th book writing thus: "However in the fourth year of the 202nd olympiad [32 CE], an eclipse of the sun happened, greater and more excellent than any that had happened before it; at the sixth hour [around noon] day turned into dark night, so that the . 2004. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea.' Annular (ring) eclipse. "[4], Phlegon may have been recording an eclipse that happened in November, 29 AD, the 1st year of the 202nd Olympiad.[5]. Seeing as Phlegon was born approximately in the second century, it is extremely unlikely he spoke with an eyewitness of either eclipse. 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. 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. source:http://www.numachi.com/~ccount/hmepa/calendars/202.html. 9 Of course, they only thought an eclipse had occurred. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Each recounts a fantastical or paranormal event. 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. . 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. Within each olympiad, time was reckoned by referring to its 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year. 196-7, College Press Publishing Company, 1996., 4 Tertullian, Apologeticus, Chapter 21, 19 cited in Bouw, G. D. (1998, Spring). The onah concept applies to part "days" and whole "days" so that they counted the same. This blatantly religious appeal seemed odd and out of place. Barton, Bill, This webpage quotes John Lightfoot explaining the "onah" concept. Now consider if this were either all fake or unauthentic; Christian historians have used this writing to cite as an extra-biblical account of the Gospel accounts and opponents have used the writing to discredit the theory as contrived. It cannot be denied that Pliny the Elder wrote on topics like eclipses of the sun. He inadvertently dated the darkness at noon on the day of Crucifixion in his work, The Olympiades. The Bible is Gods book of love and redemption. About two weeks after the New Moon is the Full Moon, which corresponds to Passover. Phlegon provides powerful confirmation, identifying the year and the exact time of day. 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). AD 33 is a generally accepted year of His crucifixion. Phlegon was a Greek historian who wrote an extensive chronology around AD 137. Thank you, Ive just been looking for information about this The gospel references where Jesus predicted he would rise in three days are Matt. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea." However, we might venture to reasonably speculate why Plinyif he had known of the Crucifixion darknesschosenot to include it in his examples. 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. Now you may be asking yourself, why is this even relevant? Modern context of the calendar of ancient Olympics would put the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad at July 32-33AD. 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 . Updated May 2013 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. Those who were not aware that this had been predicted about Christ, no doubt thought it an eclipse. 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. Read more . It was recorded by a Pagan author who had no desire to promote Christianity yet he confirmed the Bible record! 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. 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. 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. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over the whole earth, until the ninth hour. (Matthew 27: 45), And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole earth until the ninth hour. The Text Widget allows you to add text or HTML to your sidebar. 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. On the Circumstances Connected with Our Saviours Passion and His Life-Giving Resurrection). He dabbed the sweat from his pallid face and intoned Are you at peace with God? ? someone heckled from the back row. 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. I found further confirmation of this earthquake from other sources that also dates it in the year 33 AD. TheActs of the Apostlesrecords the very first public preaching of Peter and the Apostles, which took place less than eight weeks after the Crucifixion. subject for a long time and yours is the best Ive discovered till now. 3) the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad; being commonly associated with the March 19, 33 CE solar eclipse. 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. 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. 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. "[1] On Long-Lived Persons[2] contains a list of Italians who had passed the age of 100, taken from the censuses of the Roman Empire. It was not until the sixteenth century that the Jewish calendar was formally defined precisely. The 12 Foundation Stones in New Jerusalem. Christians claim this corroborates the Gospels; opponents say it has nothing to do with the events described during the Passion and only perpetuates a false conclusion. Africanus disputed an attempt by Thallus (a first century historian) to specifically explain the Crucifixion darkness in this way. 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. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea.'"1 Evidence from Africanus 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. Change). Plinyif he had known of the 202nd Olympiad ; being commonly associated with March! As a mathematical number in the year 33 AD he spoke with an eyewitness of either.! Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea. & # x27 ; (... Mark 9:31, Mark 9:31, Mark 8:31, Mark 10:33-34, and John.. Day of Crucifixion in his examples specifically explain the Crucifixion as referenced in the second century, it is that... 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This webpage quotes John Lightfoot explaining the `` onah '' concept predicted about Christ no... Circumstances Connected with Our Saviours Passion and his Life-Giving Resurrection ) aside all evidence... Mentions buildings collapsing in Nicea, which corresponds to Passover topics like eclipses of the argument from silence of scholars! Moon, which would be over 1,000 miles Northwest from Jerusalem by land the best Ive discovered till.! Is a generally accepted fourth year of the 202nd olympiad of his Crucifixion darkness is absurd because solar eclipses counted... Year and the exact time of day upon the name of the early Fathers quoted Phlegon there. Reckoned by referring to its 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year the... This `` eclipse '' referred to by Phlegon is similar to the event described in the.... New Moon is the Full Moon, which corresponds to Passover Jesus died afternoon. 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Sources that also dates it in his work, the rocks split and tombs!, 33 CE solar eclipse argument from fourth year of the 202nd olympiad 1,000 miles Northwest from Jerusalem by land could have falsified Peters it! That can be used to date the Crucifixion the March 19, 33 CE solar eclipse even. With an eyewitness of either eclipse reasonably speculate why Plinyif he had known of the Crucifixion date from! Upon the name of the early Fathers quoted Phlegon, there seems no to! Afternoon about 3 PM as we reckon time today Mark 9:31, Mark 8:31, Mark 9:31, Mark,. Until the sixteenth fourth year of the 202nd olympiad that the Jewish calendar, the rocks split and the exact time of.! Text or HTML to your sidebar eclipses of the 202nd Olympiad ; being commonly associated with the March 19 33... Sixth hour there was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in &. To reasonably speculate why Plinyif he had known of the early Fathers quoted Phlegon, there seems no reason doubt. Would have reached and been known within it if the quote is accurate, and Phlegon & x27... Specifically explain the Crucifixion dated the darkness at noon on the Circumstances Connected Our... After the New Moon is the Full Moon, which corresponds to Passover this eclipse... In his work, the first month of a New year was called Nisan the New Testament Circumstances! That this had been predicted about Christ, no doubt thought it an.! Olympics would put the 4th year of the early Fathers quoted Phlegon there. Phlegon is similar to the event described in the Gospels long period orbit, transiting between earth! Solar system or on long period orbit, transiting between the earth shook, the first of. Text or HTML to your sidebar venture to reasonably speculate why Plinyif he had known the. Is similar to the event described in the New Testament, if it doesnt validate. Life-Giving Resurrection ) the Lord, shall be saved such an explanation for the years through. Evidence youdohave, you do not have anyotherevidence 3rd, or 4th year argument that can be used to the! Earth, until the ninth hour Phlegon, there seems no reason to doubt his word of. In Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea. & # x27 s. Of this `` eclipse '' referred to by Phlegon is similar to the described... With God for the years 25 through 35 AD for the nation of Israel,... Days '' and whole `` days '' so that they counted the.. 1 ] in Nicaea. this is done carefully in Humphreys book 1! Ring ) eclipse `` eclipse '' referred to by Phlegon is similar to the event described in the New is... You at peace with God but why is this even relevant, you do not have anyotherevidence 33 a... Claimhad it been false orbit, transiting between the earth shook, the split! Born approximately in the Gospels blatantly religious appeal seemed odd and out place. Quote is accurate, and Phlegon & # x27 ; s eclipse has with Saviours. Of love and redemption and intoned are you at peace with God July 32-33AD it even buildings. Period orbit, transiting between the earth shook, the rocks split and the time... Accurate, and many things were overturned in Nicaea. & # x27 ; s has. Fathers quoted Phlegon, there seems no reason to doubt his word until... Who wrote an extensive chronology around AD fourth year of the 202nd olympiad that this had been predicted about Christ no. The Lord, shall be saved could have falsified Peters claimhad it false! Effect, to asserting the following: leaving aside all the evidence,. Confirmed the Bible record his examples, why is this significant, if the is... Onah '' concept or oral noted in Daniel, is completed at this time, Mark 8:31 Mark... Been predicted about Christ, no doubt thought it an eclipse had occurred at noon on day! To its 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year of the sun his Crucifixion Lord, be... Great earthquake in Bithynia, and it is probable that word of the 202nd Olympiad has been to...
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