Lunar Eclipses and the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ
In this February 2017 blog post, we are featuring notable lunar eclipse activity on Feb. 10-11 in Leo, near Regulus, and Feb. 26th, in Pisces. On the eve of February 10-11, 2017, the full moon falls under the penumbral shadow of planet Earth. This penumbral lunar eclipse will be best seen from Northern Europe and Africa. Only a two hours following this lunar eclipse, Comet 45P makes it closest approach to Earth, about 7.4 million miles away according to NASA.1 We covered this comet back in our November 2016 blog, which has been visible after sunset the past couple of months. In the graphic below the comet’s path is traced through Hercules Feb. 9th-11th, Corona the Northern Crown Feb. 12th, and Bootes on Valentine’s Day.
Figure 1. Path of Comet 45P [Sky and Telescope; Feb. 2017] 2
About two weeks later the New Moon will eclipse the sun in an annular solar eclipse on February 26th. This event is highlighted by a narrow ring of sunlight surrounding the perimeter of the New Moon, primarily visible in southern South America, and South Africa.
Later this Summer an August 7th, a partial lunar eclipse will be seen from the eastern hemisphere. Then a much anticipated total solar eclipse over the United States on August 21st will take place. In light of the significance of this solar and lunar eclipse activity in 2017, it is key to realize it’s links to Biblical prophecy. This may seem like a redundant statement considering the amount of published material posted on this blog about the Blood Moon Tetrads, however there is a big assumption many have made here which should not be overlooked. Most recent Blood Moon literature has focused on end-times prophecy due to Joel’s Prophecy [Joel 2:28-32]. People have assumed that his prophecies applied only to 20th-21st century end-times, especially where Joel refers to the “Sun turning to darkness and the Moon turning to Blood,” while ignoring the context of his prophecy which refers to God “pouring out His spirit on all flesh.”
As the Apostle Peter quoted this prophecy from Joel in Acts 2:16-21, from his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, or the Birthday of the Church in 28 AD, he specifically refers to the events of this awesome day as the fulfilling of Joel’s prophecy with the words “this is that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel,” [Acts 2:16]. The 12 Apostles spoke in tongues for the first time in history, even as the rest of the 3000+ believers did-exhibiting the signal that they were born again, re-establishing the holy spirit connection with the Heavenly Father that was lost in the Garden of Eden. Through the finished work of the Messiah, and the salvation wholeness provided by the perfect sacrifice of the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the believers of the First Century Church and all those since have been rescued from the enemy.
There were 7 weeks of counting, that linked Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread with Pentecost. At the time of the first Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, Israel left the bondage of Egypt. A major transition point during the Exodus was the giving of the Law at Sinai, to which Pentecost became linked. As Passover is embodied in Jesus Christ, it symbolizes not only Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, but the Church’s Exodus from death and bondage to the OT Law. The Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015, marked the Passover feasts of both these years in the last Blood Moon Tetrad that will not be seen again on Hebrew feasts or holy days, for the next 500 years! Christ’s redeeming work led to Pentecost in 28 AD, when the new birth first became available, and the gift of holy spirit was poured out as Joel predicted [Joel 2:28-31], opening a new spiritual administration, the Age of Grace. Jesus Christ was resurrected at the first harvest during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, as the first-fruits from the dead. At Pentecost in 28 AD, the believers were made a harvest, manifesting the first-fruits of the holy spirit as they spoke in tongues for the first time; [Rom. 8:23]. Believer’s in the age of Grace having the first-fruits of the spirit, meet Christ in the air in his victorious return for his Saints, gathering us together, [I Thess. 4:14-17]. Christians during the current end times are warned by a series of Blood Moon Tetrads, among other heavenly signs, in the last days prior to our gathering together unto the Lord. The final, and complete harvest will be at the return of Christ with his Saints, when the enemies of God are vanquished, and the remnant of believers are resurrected. God’s Word describes this as the harvest at the end of the world.3 [Matt. 13:38-39]
But this was not the only part of Joel’s prophecy that was fulfilled. The references to the heavenly signs of the Sun and Moon were also fulfilled-since they were quoted by Peter in Acts 2, but the question is when? I believe the subtle error many have fallen into in all the Blood Moon media hype we have witnessed over the past few years, is related to the fact that people have only viewed Joel’s references to the Sun and Moon in a modern end-time context, instead of realizing the possibility of a dual fulfillment of these verses. This means that these heavenly signs at the start of the Age of Grace, seen here in the days of Christ’s suffering leading to the day of Pentecost, would be confirmed at the end of this age, which we are seeing in our day. This is the focus of February’s blog post. Obviously, our Biblical Blood Moon Calendar provides a historical context for the Blood Moon Tetrads, but this is separate from Joel’s Biblical prophetic context. So where do we look for the fulfillment of these heavenly signs in the local time frame of Peter’s Sermon on the day of Pentecost? One place to start is the events of Christ’s crucifixion where he finished the work to complete the salvation of humanity in the previous feasts of Unleavened Bread and Passover.
Luke 23:44-47 NIV
44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. 47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
These events were also prophesied in Amos 8:
Amos 8:8-10 NIV
8 “Will not the land tremble for this,
and all who live in it mourn?
The whole land will rise like the Nile;
it will be stirred up and then sink
like the river of Egypt.
9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,
“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 I will turn your religious festivals into
mourning and all your singing into weeping.
I will make all of you wear sackcloth and shave
your heads. I will make that time like
mourning for an only son and the
end of it like a bitter day.
This prophecy in Amos 8 is interesting because it includes four key elements present in the Crucifixion Darkness Gospel records. Verse 8 refers to the land trembling-or an earthquake, verse 9 states; the sun would darken at noon and darken the earth during daylight. Verse 10 refers to religious festivals-like Passover which Jesus fulfilled as the Passover Lamb sacrifice, and the end of the verse tells of mourning for an only Son-another reference to the death of Christ. These details confirm the fulfillment of this Messianic prophecy from Amos, during Christ’s crucifixion events at Golgotha in 28 AD.
The scope of Christ’s Crucifixion is world wide and universal for without Christ, all the world sits in darkness. He took all our sins to the cross making atonement for our forgiveness, and reconciliation to the Father. The darkness marking Christ’s crucifixion reinforced and symbolized the impact of the crucifixion, as the sins of men were cast upon the only begotten, sinless Son of God. Since the Son of God embodies the Sun as the light of the world, even as the Sun itself was darkened for three hours. So we see the stain and shadow of sin obscuring the Light of the World for three hours, on the day of Christ’s death. Matthew’s gospel provides more details.
Matthew 27: 45-46 NIV
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
In Matt. 27:45 above Joel’s Prophecy concerning the “Sun turning to darkness” would very well have been fulfilled here. All the requirements are fulfilled even though the cause for the darkness remains a mystery, perhaps beyond the ken of human science to explain. As was referenced in a previous blog, the cause for this darkness is often assumed to be the result of a Solar eclipse. In fact, the NEB, Moffat’s 20th Century New Testament, uses this term.4 Here many have all fallen into an obvious error. The Crucifixion at Passover, required a Full Moon, yet there cannot be an eclipse of the Sun at a Full Moon. Furthermore, the darkness is said to have continued for three hours, but the maximum time a Solar eclipse will last is about 7.5 minutes. Whatever the cause of the mysterious darkness, it certainly was not a Solar eclipse. Man always wants to discount the super-natural by providing scientific explanations whether they fit or not, as this example shows, further illustrated below.
This could also be the case with the Moon turning to blood as we will see presently. Whatever obstructed the sunlight from Earth’s view, whether irregular conditions of the atmosphere or supernatural causes may also have caused a Blood Red Moon. Thus any need to link Christ’s crucifixion date with a potential Blood Moon lunar eclipse evaporates. More on this later, first though lets take a closer look at the earthquake that took place.
Matt. 27:50-54
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
Only Matthew includes the earthquake [Amos 8:8] at the time the Veil in the Temple was rent; while Mark and Luke don’t cite the earthquake, or graves opening and the raising of the dead from their tombs, [Matt. 27:52 -53]. We know from Scripture [I Thess. 4:15-17, I Cor. 15:51-52] that God has resurrected no one to eternal life yet—except Christ. There is also uncertainty concerning the veracity of these two verses in [Matt. 27:52-53] due to numerous instances this section of [Matt. 27] is omitted by the Ante-Nicene Church Fathers, when they quoted [Matt. 27], casting a long shadow of doubt on these verses. However, if included it could only fit with God’s Word [I Cor. 15:22-23] if those raised from the grave were like Lazarus, to live out their natural lives thereafter. Those raised could not precede Christ in resurrection as the first fruits from the dead.
Figure 2. The Temple and Golgotha
The timing of the opening of the Holy of Holies with the death of Jesus the High Priest points to the way of access back to the Almighty being opened not only for Israel, but ultimately all mankind resulting from the spiritual rebirth that Jesus made available. As far as physical and scientific evidence for the earthquake at the crucifixion of Christ goes, the following link records a widespread earthquake around Jerusalem in the year 31. Geological evidence is centered on this year with an accuracy of +/-5 years, covering 26-36 AD. This reference that the force of this earthquake was “sufficiently energetic to deform the sediments at Ein Gedi but not energetic enough to produce a still extant and extra-biblical historical record,” shows the geological evidence narrowing the earthquake activity between the years 26-36, but it is not possible to pinpoint an earthquake at the crucifixion of Christ using this geological data alone. Thus we are more dependent upon historical and Scriptural accounts to narrow down the accuracy of the accuracy of this record. 5
In support of this while analyzing earthquake activity in the region, geologist Jefferson Williams of Supersonic Geophysical and colleagues Markus Schwab and Achim Brauer of the German Research Center for Geo-sciences studied three cores from the beach of the Ein Gedi Spa adjacent to the Dead Sea. Varves, which are annual layers of deposition in the sediments, reveal that at least two major earthquakes affected the core: a widespread earthquake in 31 BC, and a seismic event that happened sometime between the years 26 and 36. The latter period occurred during “the years when Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea and when the earthquake of the Gospel of Matthew is historically constrained.” Although its not possible to prove which day an earthquake took place during this time from geological data alone, it seems possible using a combination of historical, geologic and scriptural data could disprove a 33 AD crucifixion date, while supporting a 28 AD date.
There has been a sway current of opinion in support of the April 3rd, 33 AD crucifixion date, I believe for at least two key reasons. First because of the Blood Moon that occurs here that could explain the “moon turning to blood” from Joel’s prophecy. Next because this fits in the time frame of Pilate’s rule from 26-36, and can conform to some of the other evidence and clues agreeing with a traditional 3+ year ministry of Christ. Part 2 of this study will show conclusively that the length of Christ’s ministry was 70 weeks-fitting into “the acceptable year of the Lord” [singular] that Jesus referenced when he opened his ministry in Luke 4, at his home Synagogue in Nazareth. The following Biblical evidence disproves any possibility of a 33 crucifixion date.
A key sticking point to the accurate determination of the day Jesus was crucified always seems to start with the proper understanding of the weekly Sabbaths versus a High Sabbath. This is precisely why scholars have landed on “Good Friday,” which cannot be true because it contradicts the 3 days and 3 nights that Jesus was in the heart of the earth [Matt. 12:40]. There is no possible way to squeeze 3 full days and nights in the time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday Morning! The key to avoid the error of those holding the crucifixion on “Good Friday,” is in separating the ANNUAL feast days, that were also Sabbath days, called HIGH holy days, from the weekly Sabbaths. These High Holy days also took precedence over the weekly Sabbaths, which is the origin of the tradition of a Friday crucifixion, because those holding to this idea have considered only a weekly Sabbath during Passover week. But, God’s Word shows a clear distinction in John 19:31 that this particular Sabbath/Annual feast day was Not a Weekly Sabbath day. In other words this particular Sabbath day-called a High Day, was the Feast of the first day of Unleavened Bread, Not the weekly Sabbath. John 19:31 also says that the Scribes and Pharisees did not want to crucify Jesus on this particular SABBATH day during a High Feast day of Unleavened Bread, where no manual labor was permitted.
John 19:31
31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
Figure 3. Jesus’ 3 Days and Nights in the Tomb
The chart above shows that Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, Nisan 14 when the Passover Lamb was normally chosen for sacrifice by the priests. Three days and nights later Jesus arose on Saturday the normal Sabbath day in Hebrew reckoning, not Sun-day when the heathens worshiped the Sun-god. Also according to the US Naval Observatory the only years between 26-36 AD where Passover fell on a Wednesday, was in the years 28 and 31. 7
The first Passover Jesus attended, in [Jn. 2:13-23] where he cleansed the temple the first time, is separate from the following year of his crucifixion. Obviously this “acceptable year of the Lord,” is 5 years short of the traditional dating of Christ’s crucifixion, prior to the Blood Moon Tetrad of 32-33 AD. Again scholars have stressed the crucifixion in 33 due to fitting with the Blood Moon that satisfies Joel’s Prophecy, but this approach of using the Blood Moon Tetrad to set the crucifixion day of Christ is not consistent with the truth of the Scripture narrative on this subject. Thus with all these historical and Biblical time markers in agreement established on Biblical truth, a strong case is presented against traditional crucifixion dates in 32-33, with a 3-year ministry of Jesus Christ.
Part 2 of this study will show the Biblical keys verifying the 70 weeks of the “Acceptable year of the Lord,” exploding the myth of the ministry of Jesus Christ in excess of 3 years.
Footnotes
1. Approach to Earth of Comet 45P, NASA
2. Sky and Telescope Feb. 10th 2017, Path of Comet 45P/H-M-P [Picture credit]
3. Previous blog post
4. Moffat’s 20th Century New Testament [Matt. 27:45-46]
5. [http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00206814.2011.639996]
6. Beyondtoday.tv [picture credit] Figure 3.
7. US Naval Observatory [http://www.judaismvschristianity.com/passover_dates.htm]
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