quote:
A lunar eclipse on April 3, A.D. 33, the day Jesus Christ died on the cross. Perfect timing by the God who ordained it all.
I don't see a reference in this thread to the 1983 article by Humphreys and Waddington ("Dating the Crucifixion,"
Nature v306, 22/29 Dec 1983), but I believe this is the original publication of these claims.
The authors interpreted the red moon of Joel's prophecy to be a lunar eclipse (a reasonable inference) and searched for lunar eclipses which would have been visible from Jerusalem between AD 26-26. They claim that there was only one eclipse in this period which occurred at Passover time, the one on 3 April AD 33. (This is not quite correct; the 25 April AD 31 eclipse also occurred at Passover, but this eclipse was only 35% complete versus a 60% eclipse in AD 33.) The AD 33 eclipse also occurred on a Friday, which is the traditional day for the crucifixion.
(A
solar eclipse at Passover time is impossible, of course. Passover must always occur at a full moon, but a solar eclipse can only occur at a new moon.)
Edited by kbertsche, : No reason given.