1. The Darkness that Defies Astronomy
"Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour." (Matthew 27:45)
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the fulcrum of history. At its center lies a strange and terrifying phenomenon: a supernatural darkness that blanketed the land for three hours in the middle of the day. This darkness was not a solar eclipse. It could not have been. Passover always occurs during a full moon, when the moon is opposite the sun—astronomically ruling out any solar eclipse. Furthermore, eclipses last minutes, not hours. The Gospels record a three-hour event.
This darkness was not natural; it was divine and demonic. It was the hour Jesus spoke of: "This is your hour, and the power of darkness" (Luke 22:53). It was the moment Satan's fury was unleashed, and the Son of God entered the heart of the Earth to conquer sin and death.
2. The Baptism and the Beginning: Luke's Precision
The key to unlocking the prophetic timeline is not speculation, but Scripture. Luke 3:1-3 provides historical anchor points:
"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar... the word of God came to John... Jesus also had been baptized" (Luke 3:1, 21).
Tiberius became co-regent with Augustus around AD 11, but his sole reign began on September 17, AD 14, after Augustus' death. Therefore, the fifteenth year of Tiberius ran from September 17, AD 28 to September 17, AD 29.
Jesus was baptized during this time. Luke tells us Jesus was "about thirty" (Luke 3:23). If He was baptized before September 17, AD 29, then He must have been born sometime around spring 2 BC, aligning with the birth season of lambs—a fitting time for the arrival of the Lamb of God.
Roman coinage further confirms this. A bronze coin of Pontius Pilate dated to the 17th year of Tiberius (AD 30/31) is cataloged in the British Museum (C&M no. C27p259.72). Pilate was in office from AD 26 to 36, aligning perfectly with the Gospel accounts.
3. The Crucifixion: Wednesday, April 25, AD 31
Daniel's 70 Weeks prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27) predicted 69 "weeks" (483 prophetic years) from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah would be "cut off". Using the 360-day prophetic year:
483 years × 360 days = 173,880 days
173,880 days from March 14, 445 BC (Artaxerxes' decree) lands on April 25, AD 31
Astronomical data from the U.S. Naval Observatory confirms this date as Passover, the 14th of Nisan, on a Wednesday.
This Wednesday crucifixion resolves the tension in Jesus' prophecy:
"For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40).
Wednesday night (Nisan 15): Night 1
Thursday (Nisan 15): Day 1
Thursday night: Night 2
Friday: Day 2
Friday night: Night 3
Saturday (weekly Sabbath): Day 3
Jesus rose at the end of Sabbath, before dawn on the first day of the week (Sunday)
4. The Darkness: Spiritual Warfare and Cosmic Mourning
This supernatural darkness is echoed in Amos 8:9:
"And on that day, declares the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight."
Jesus was being "swallowed up" by the powers of darkness. Like Jonah, He descended into the abyss, into the place of the dead. Satan's hour had come. Yet, in what seemed like victory, he sealed his doom.
Colossians 2:15 proclaims:
"He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in the cross."
5. Typological Fulfillment: Joshua, Jonah, and Firstfruits
Joshua (Hebrew: Yeshua) led Israel into the Promised Land after the wilderness. Jesus (same name) leads the faithful into eternal life.
Jonah spent three days in the belly of the fish; Jesus in the heart of the Earth.
After crossing the Jordan, Israel celebrated Firstfruits. Jesus, as Paul says, is the Firstfruits of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20).
Hebrews wandered 40 years. Jesus fasted 40 days. The number symbolizes testing, transition, and divine fulfillment.
6. Conclusion: The Pinnacle of Time
Jesus’ death is not only the center of human history—it is the pinnacle of time. All prophecy bends around the cross. To miss its timing is to misunderstand everything else.
From the coins of Tiberius, to the prophetic calendar of Daniel, from Jonah’s descent to Joshua’s conquest, from the lunar calculations of NASA to the Sabbaths of Israel—every witness cries out in unison:
Jesus is Lord of time, space, prophecy, and resurrection.
He entered the darkness to bring us into the light. Let the timelines align, the feasts declare, and the heavens bear witness: the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world died precisely when foretold—and rose again, exactly as promised.
"Truly, this was the Son of God." (Matthew 27:54)
No comments:
Post a Comment