Previously I have discussed astronomical and non-astronomical aspects of claims that at the time of Christ’s crucifixion there was a total solar eclipse and thus the Sun went dark for 3 hours, agreeing with scripture. But any solar eclipse is only in total darkness (umbra) for a maximum of about 7 minutes, generally much less. Besides Christ was crucified at the Passover, which must have occurred at a full moon and that puts the Earth between the Sun and the Moon, meaning the Moon was in the wrong position astronomically, making a solar eclipse impossible.
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth. That is when a new Moon occurs; the Moon is in darkness. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon. That is when a full Moon occurs.
The following video I have listened to on the issue of these 3 hours of darkness at the time of the crucifixion. I found the presentation by an AI very clear and informative and I agree with the thesis.
The AI in the video explains the hidden meaning of the three hours of darkness at the crucifixion of Jesus, and what the midday darkness in Matthew, Mark, and Luke meant to a first-century Jewish audience.
The darkness that covered the land from the sixth hour to the ninth hour is usually treated as atmosphere. This study argues it works as a deliberate quotation of three earlier moments in Scripture:
- the ninth plague on Egypt in Exodus 10,
- the Day of the LORD announced by Amos, and
- the covenant ceremony of Genesis 15.
The video examines the Greek and Hebrew text, the manuscript variant in Luke 23:45 (the sun was darkened), and the non-Christian sources often cited as corroboration.
What’s covered in this video:
The crucifixion timeline is reconstructed from Mark 15:25 and Mark 15:33, placing Jesus on the cross from the third hour to the ninth hour, the last three in darkness.
The Greek phrase in Matthew 27:45, epi pasan tēn gēn, is examined, and gē is shown to permit either “over all the land” or “over all the earth.”
The manuscript variant in Luke 23:45 is explained, where most Greek manuscripts read eskotisthē while the earliest read tou hēliou eklipontos, built on the verb ekleipō.
Thus translated as “the sun’s light failed” or “the sun was darkened” reflecting the earliest textual evidence while acknowledging the contextual impossibility of a literal solar eclipse.
The solar eclipse explanation is ruled out astronomically, since Passover falls on the fourteenth of Nisan at a full Moon and a total eclipse lasts about seven minutes rather than three hours.
I note that early Christian writers, including Tertullian, argued that the event was a supernatural darkness lasting three hours, distinct from the momentary duration of a natural eclipse.
Thallus is assessed as a lost source surviving only through Julius Africanus, while Phlegon of Tralles, quoted by Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome on the 202nd Olympiad, describes an earthquake at Nicaea in Bithynia rather than anything in Judea.
The ninth plague in Exodus 10 is examined through the Hebrew word choshek, distinguished from layil, the normal word for night, and described as darkness that could be felt.
The Egyptian sequence of darkness, death of the firstborn, blood of the lamb, and deliverance repeats at Golgotha, with Colossians 1:15 and Exodus 4:22 supplying the language of firstborn sonship.
The pattern inverts, since Israel had light in Goshen while Egypt went dark, but at Golgotha the darkness settles over Jerusalem and the Son is inside it.
Amos 8:9 and 8:10 are read against the crucifixion, including the Sun going down at noon and feasts turned to mourning, delivered by a herdsman from Tekoa.
The Hebrew word yachid, translated “only son” in Amos 8:10, is linked to its use in Genesis 22:2 concerning Isaac and the land of Moriah.
The Day of the LORD pattern is traced through Joel 2:31, Zephaniah 1:15, and Isaiah, then set against Isaiah 53:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Genesis 15 is explained as a self-maledictory oath, with eimah chashekah gedolah rooted in the same word as Egypt’s darkness, and the smoking oven passing between the pieces while Abram sleeps.
The cry at the ninth hour is identified as a quotation of Psalm 22:1, with the Aramaic sabachthani explained and Matthew’s Eli against Mark’s Eloi accounting for the confusion with Elijah.
46 And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a great voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani; that is, “My God, My God, why did You forsake Me?” Matthew 27:46 KJ3
The ninth hour is set against the evening tamid [daily communal] sacrifice using Josephus and the Mishnah, with the variation between those sources stated rather than smoothed.
A widely repeated claim that the high priest said “It is finished” while killing the Passover lamb at the same moment Jesus is on the cross is shown to have no historical basis, not from the Mishnah, Josephus, or Philo. It is a modern invention.
Jesus died at the hour of sacrifice, at about the nineth hour, that is a fact. But also what happened in the darkness, God tore the veil of the temple open, exposing the holy of holies to all.
The tearing of the temple veil in Matthew 27:51 is placed in sequence after the darkness (Matthew 27:45), which had a fixed beginning and a fixed end. From the sixth hour to the nineth hour.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was torn into two from above as far as below. And the earth quaked, and the rocks were sheared! Matthew 27:51 KJ3
The meaning is revealed by these 3 events.
Watch and listen to this video for the explanation.
[God the Father] 13 who delivered us out of the authority of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins; 15 who is the image of the invisible God, the First-begotten of all creation. Colossians 1:13-15 KJ3
Mentioned in this video: Jesus, Jerusalem, Golgotha, Passover, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Moses, Pharaoh, Abram, Abraham, Isaac, Amos, Tekoa, Joel, Zephaniah, Isaiah, Elijah, Thallus, Julius Africanus, Phlegon of Tralles, Origen, Eusebius, Jerome, Josephus, Philo, the Mishnah, Nicaea, Bithynia, Egypt, Goshen, Moriah, Nisan, the New King James Version, the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth hour, skotos, epi pasan tēn gēn, eskotisthē, tou hēliou eklipontos, ekleipō, choshek, layil, chashekah, yachid, sabachthani, Exodus 10, Exodus 4:22, Genesis 15, Genesis 22:2, Psalm 22, Amos 8:9, Joel 2:31, Zephaniah 1:15, Isaiah 53:10, Matthew 27:45, 51, Luke 23:45.
It was made with AI and published by this website:
https://www.discernmentmadeclear.com
I have also now listened to several other bible studies from this YouTube site https://www.youtube.com/@discernmentmadeclear. I have found that all those I have heard so far are biblically sound. But I cannot vouch for all. You can listened to them and make up your own mind. In the Comments let me know what you find.
Related Reading
- Is Modern Israel a Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecies?
- Will Jesus Return Literally in the Clouds?
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