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| Jesus died on Friday 31 AD April 27 at 3 pm [Nisan 14] |
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| Biblical Evidence |
| And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. … And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? … And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. [Mark 15:25-37 extracts]. |
| [3rd hour = 9 am; 6th hour = 12 noon and 9th hour = 3 pm which was the time for slaying the Passover sacrifice.] |
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| Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. [Matthew 27:50-53]. |
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| Spirit of Prophecy Evidence |
| Nature sympathized with the sufferings of its Author. The heaving earth, the rent rocks, and the terrific darkness, proclaimed that it was the Son of God that died. There was a mighty earthquake. The vail of the temple was rent in twain. Terror seized the executioners and spectators as they beheld the sun veiled in darkness, and felt the earth shake beneath them, and saw and heard the rending of the rocks. The mocking and jeering of the chief priests and elders was hushed as Christ commended his spirit into the hands of his Father. The astonished throng began to withdraw, and grope their way in the darkness to the city. They smote upon their breasts as they went, and in terror, speaking scarcely above a whisper, said among themselves, “It is an innocent person that has been murdered. What if, indeed, he is, as he asserted, the Son of God?” {ST, August 28, 1879 par. 3} |
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| As evening drew on, an unearthly stillness hung over Calvary. The crowd dispersed, and many returned to Jerusalem greatly changed in spirit from what they had been in the morning. Many had flocked to the crucifixion from curiosity, and not from hatred toward Christ. Still they believed the accusations of the priests, and looked upon Christ as a malefactor. Under an unnatural excitement they had united with the mob in railing against Him. But when the earth was wrapped in blackness, and they stood accused by their own consciences, they felt guilty of a great wrong. No jest or mocking laughter was heard in the midst of that fearful gloom; and when it was lifted, they made their way to their homes in solemn silence. They were convinced that the charges of the priests were false, that Jesus was no pretender; and a few weeks later, when Peter preached upon the day of Pentecost, they were among the thousands who became converts to Christ. {DA 770.3 1898} |
| But the Jewish leaders were unchanged by the events they had witnessed. Their hatred of Jesus had not abated. The darkness that had mantled the earth at the crucifixion was not more dense than that which still enveloped the minds of the priests and rulers. At His birth the star had known Christ, and had guided the wise men to the manger where He lay. The heavenly hosts had known Him, and had sung His praise over the plains of Bethlehem. The sea had known His voice, and had obeyed His command. Disease and death had recognized His authority, and had yielded to Him their prey. The sun had known Him, and at the sight of His dying anguish, had hidden its face of light. The rocks had known Him, and had shivered into fragments at His cry. Inanimate nature had known Christ, and had borne witness to His divinity. But the priests and rulers of Israel knew not the Son of God. {DA 770.4 1898} |
| Yet the priests and rulers were not at rest. They had carried out their purpose in putting Christ to death; but they did not feel the sense of victory they had expected. Even in the hour of their apparent triumph, they were harassed with doubts as to what would next take place. They had heard the cry, “It is finished.” “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.” John 19:30; Luke 23:46. They had seen the rocks rent, and had felt the mighty earthquake, and they were restless and uneasy. {DA 771.1 1898} |
| They had been jealous of Christ’s influence with the people when living; they were jealous of Him even in death. They dreaded the dead Christ more, far more, than they had ever feared the living Christ. They dreaded to have the attention of the people directed any further to the events attending His crucifixion. They feared the results of that day’s work. Not on any account would they have had His body remain on the cross during the Sabbath. The Sabbath was now drawing on, and it would be a violation of its sanctity for the bodies to hang upon the cross. So, using this as a pretext, the leading Jews requested Pilate that the death of the victims might be hastened, and their bodies be removed before the setting of the sun. {DA 771.2 1898} |
| Pilate was as unwilling as they for the body of Jesus to remain upon the cross. His consent having been obtained, the legs of the two thieves were broken to hasten their death; but Jesus was found to be already dead. The rude soldiers had been softened by what they had heard and seen of Christ, and they were restrained from breaking His limbs. Thus in the offering of the Lamb of God was fulfilled the law of the Passover, “They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it.” Numbers 9:12 {DA 771.3 1898} |
| The priests and rulers were amazed to find that Christ was dead. Death by the cross was a lingering process; it was difficult to determine when life had ceased. It was an unheard-of thing for one to die within six hours of crucifixion. The priests wished to make sure of the death of Jesus, and at their suggestion a soldier thrust a spear into the Saviour’s side. From the wound thus made, there flowed two copious and distinct streams, one of blood, the other of water. This was noted by all the beholders, and John states the occurrence very definitely. He says, “One of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of Him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” John 19:34-37. {DA 771.4 1898} |
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| An earthquake marked the hour when Christ laid down His life, and another earthquake witnessed the moment when He took it up in triumph. He who had vanquished death and the grave came forth from the tomb with the tread of a conqueror, amid the reeling of the earth, the flashing of lightning, and the roaring of thunder. When He shall come to the earth again, He will shake “not the earth only, but also heaven.” “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage.” “The heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll;” “the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” But “the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” Hebrews 12:26; Isaiah 24:20; 34:4; 2 Peter 3:10; Joel 3:16. {DA 780.1 1898} |
| At the death of Jesus the soldiers had beheld the earth wrapped in darkness at midday; but at the resurrection they saw the brightness of the angels illuminate the night, and heard the inhabitants of heaven singing with great joy and triumph: Thou hast vanquished Satan and the powers of darkness; Thou hast swallowed up death in victory! {DA 780.2 1898} |
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| The angelic commander laid hold of the great stone which had required many strong men to place it in position, rolled it away, and took his seat upon it, while his companion entered the sepulcher and unwound the wrappings from the face and head of Jesus. Then the mighty angel, with a voice that caused the earth to quake, was heard: Jesus, thou Son of God, thy Father calls thee! Then he who had earned the power to conquer death and the grave came forth, with the tread of a conqueror, from the sepulcher, amid the reeling of the earth, the flashing of lightning, and the roaring of thunder. An earthquake marked the hour when Christ laid down his life; and another earthquake signaled the moment when he took it up again in triumph. {3SP 192.1 1878} |
| Jesus was the first-fruits of them that slept. When he came forth from the tomb he called a multitude from the dead, thus settling forever the long-disputed question of the resurrection. In raising this multitude of captives from the dead, he gives evidence that there will be a final resurrection of those who sleep in Jesus. The believers in Christ thus receive the very light they want in regard to the future life of the pious dead. {3SP 192.2 1878} |
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| Existing Earthquake Records |
| Major earthquake in 31 BC with a Jordan Valley epicentre; 7 magnitude at least and among the largest in 2000 years. Josephus Flavius writes of 30,000 people killed. It damaged Emmaus and Caesarea in particular. |
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| Geological, Geophysical and Geoscientific Evidence |
| Investigations into earthquake activity around the Dead Sea have occurred at a point which is around 13 miles from Jerusalem. |
| This study took three cores [soil samples] from the beach of the Ein Gedi Spa adjacent to the Dead Sea. |
| The study found an outcrop of laminated Dead Sea sediment at Wadi Ze’elim above the south-western shore of the modern Dead Sea near the fortress of Masada. |
| From research into the deeper layers of the soil, two earthquakes were detected within the layers of annual built-up sediment. |
| In this sediment outcrop was found a distinctive one-foot thick “mixed layer” of sediment that is tied strongly to the Qumran earthquake’s onshore ground ruptures of 31 BC. |
| Thirteen inches above the 31 BC event bed was found another distinctive “mixed layer” less than one inch thick. |
| This confirmed that there had been another earthquake which, from sedimentation rate knowledge, had occurred about 65 years later. [i.e. about 34 AD]. |
| Through the direct physical evidence obtained via this thin layer of disturbed sediment from the Dead Sea we now know that there was a 5.5 magnitude earthquake which, together with our Biblical / Spirit of Prophecy knowledge, we can accurately date as occurring at the time of the death of Jesus in 31 AD. |
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| Jonah – A parallel in Scripture with Jesus |
| For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. [Matthew 12:40] |
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| “The case of Jonah was presented before me. God commanded him to go into Nineveh and deliver the message that he gave him. Jonah obeyed, and for the space of three days and nights the solemn cry was heard throughout the streets of the wicked city, ‘Yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ The city was a marvel of wealth and magnificence; yet the king believed the warning and humbled himself and his people before the Lord in fasting and sackcloth. {LS80 203.2 1880} |
| “A merciful God accepted their repentance and lengthened the days of their probation. He turned away his fierce anger and awaited the fruits of Nineveh’s humiliation. But Jonah dreaded being called a false prophet. He murmured at the compassion of God in sparing the people whom he had warned of destruction by the mouth of his prophet. He could not bear the thought of standing before the people as a deceiver. He overlooked the great mercy of God toward the repentant city, in the personal humiliation of seeing his prophecy unfulfilled. {LS80 203.3 1880} |
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| Time Calculations from Daniel’s 70 weeks |
| Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make [it] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. [Daniel 9:24-27]. |
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| The burden of Christ’s preaching was, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Thus the gospel message, as given by the Saviour Himself, was based on the prophecies. The “time” which He declared to be fulfilled was the period made known by the angel Gabriel to Daniel. “Seventy weeks,” said the angel, “are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.” Daniel 9:24. A day in prophecy stands for a year. See Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6. The seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety days, represent four hundred and ninety years. A starting point for this period is given: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks,” sixty-nine weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years. Daniel 9:25. The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, as completed by the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus (see Ezra 6:14; 7:1, 9, margin), went into effect in the autumn of B. C. 457. From this time four hundred and eighty-three years extend to the autumn of A. D. 27. According to the prophecy, this period was to reach to the Messiah, the Anointed One. In A. D. 27, Jesus at His baptism received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and soon afterward began His ministry. Then the message was proclaimed. “The time is fulfilled.” {DA 233.1 1898} |
| Then, said the angel, “He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [seven years].” For seven years after the Saviour entered on His ministry, the gospel was to be preached especially to the Jews; for three and a half years by Christ Himself; and afterward by the apostles. “In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Daniel 9:27. In the spring of A. D. 31, Christ the true sacrifice was offered on Calvary. Then the veil of the temple was rent in twain, showing that the sacredness and significance of the sacrificial service had departed. The time had come for the earthly sacrifice and oblation to cease. {DA 233.2 1898} |
| The one week–seven years–ended in A. D. 34. Then by the stoning of Stephen the Jews finally sealed their rejection of the gospel; the disciples who were scattered abroad by persecution “went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4); and shortly after, Saul the persecutor was converted, and became Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. {DA 233.3 1898} |
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| Time Summary: |
| 457 BC Autumn – The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem |
| 483 years later = Remainder of year in 457 BC + 456 full years to end of BC era + 26 full years in AD era + Portion of year in 27 AD. |
| 27 AD Autumn – Jesus at His baptism received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and soon afterward began His ministry. |
| Gospel preached by Jesus for 3 ½ years = 27 AD Autumn + 3 ½ years = 31 AD Spring. |
| 31 AD Spring – Christ, the true sacrifice, dies for our sins on Calvary. |
| Gospel preached by the Apostles for 3 ½ years = 31 AD Spring + 3 ½ years = 34 AD Autumn. |
| 34 AD Autumn = The stoning of Stephen = Jews finally sealed their rejection of the gospel = Gospel taken to everyone. |
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| The above clearly dates the crucifixion time within 31 AD Spring. |
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| All four gospels say the crucifixion occurred on a Friday. |
| All four gospels agree that Jesus died a few hours before the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath [sunset on a Friday]. |
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| The Fridays during the Spring of 31 AD are: |
| February 16 |
| February 23 |
| March 2 |
| March 9 |
| March 16 |
| March 23 |
| March 30 |
| April 6 |
| April 13 |
| April 20 |
| April 27 |
| May 4 |
| May 11 |
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| The Biblical Calendar |
| The history of the Jewish calendar may be divided into three periods—the Biblical, the Talmudic, and the post-Talmudic. The first rested purely on the observation of the sun and the moon, the second on observation and reckoning, the third entirely on reckoning. |
| The Talmudic period did not start until late in the second century. This means the time of Christ was clearly in the Biblical period of the Jewish calendar and its construction “rested purely on the observation of the sun and the moon.“ |
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| Hence the Jews used a visual sighting for the waxing crescent of the moon to determine the first day of their calendar month. |
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| When the Sun and Moon are aligned on the same side of the Earth, the moon is “new”, and the side of the Moon facing Earth is not illuminated by the Sun. As the moon waxes (the amount of illuminated surface as seen from Earth is increasing), the lunar phases progress through new moon, waxing crescent moon, first-quarter moon, gibbous moon, and full moon. The moon is then said to wane as it passes through the gibbous moon, third-quarter moon, waning crescent moon and back to new moon. The terms “old moon” and “new moon” are not interchangeable. The “old moon” is a waning sliver (which eventually becomes undetectable to the naked eye) until the moment it aligns with the sun and begins to wax, at which point it becomes new again. |
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| The Jewish year was not a simple lunar year; for while the Jewish festivals no doubt were fixed on given days of lunar months, they also had a dependence on the position of the sun. Thus the Passover Feast was to be celebrated in the month of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Tabernacles, also called, took place in the fall. Sometimes the feasts are mentioned as taking place in certain lunar months [Leviticus 23; Numbers 28, 29], and at other times they are fixed in accordance with certain crops; that is, with the solar year. |
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| From before the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD certain rules were in existence. The new moon could not occur before a lapse of 29½ days and ? of an hour. If the moon could not be exactly determined, one month was to have 30 days and the next 29. The full months were not to be less than 4 nor more than 8, so that the year was not less than 352 days nor more than 356. |
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| What was the significance of the new moon in Bible times? |
| The significance of the new moon in Bible times is that it marked the beginning of a new month (the Hebrew calendar is lunar-based), and it was a time when the Israelites were to bring an offering to God. The beginning of the month was known not by astronomical calculations but by the testimony of messengers appointed to watch for the first visible appearance of the new moon. As soon as the first sliver was seen, the fact was announced throughout the whole country by signal fires on the mountaintops and the blowing of trumpets. The Hebrew word for “month” (hodesh) literally means “new moon.” |
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| In Numbers 28:11, the New Moon offering is commanded for the first time: “On the first of every month, present to the Lord a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.” Each of the animal sacrifices was to be accompanied by a grain offering and a drink offering [Numbers 28:12–14]. In addition to burnt offerings, a goat was to be sacrificed to the Lord as a sin offering [verse 15]. The New Moon festival marked the consecration to God of each new month in the year. New Moon festivals were marked by sacrifices, the blowing of trumpets over the sacrifices [Numbers 10:10], the suspension of all labour and trade [Nehemiah 10:31], and social or family feasts [1 Samuel 20:5]. |
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| At the time of the new moon a sacred festival was celebrated in Israel: |
| Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. For this [was] a statute for Israel, [and] a law of the God of Jacob. [Psalm 81:3-4]. |
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| God teaches us that we should assemble in his house to cultivate the attributes of perfect love. This will fit the dwellers of earth for the mansions Christ has gone to prepare for those who love him, where, from Sabbath to Sabbath, from one new moon to another, they will assemble in the sanctuary to unite in loftier strains of song, in thanksgiving and praise to him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever. {RH, October 24, 1899 par. 6} |
| For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. [Isaiah 66:22, 23]. |
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| After the dark moon, the thin waxing crescent moon is the first appearance observed as the moon reflects to us light from the rising of the sun. |
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| When was there a waxing crescent moon during the Spring of 31 AD? |
| The beginning of the dark phase of the moon occurred on Sunday 25 March and then on Tuesday 24 April. |
| The waxing crescent of the moon occurred on Tuesday 28 March and then on Friday 27 April. |
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| Nisan 14 [the Passover Preparation Day – Luke 23:54 – 24:1], was Friday 27 April 31 AD – the day upon which Jesus was crucified. |
| Nisan 15 was the Sabbath Day [“that sabbath day was an high day” – John 19:31] and (until Nisan 21) the start of the Passover [Luke 22:1]; it was also the Feast of Unleavened Bread [Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:1]. |
| Nisan 16 was the First Day [ commenced at sunset] and the day upon which Jesus was resurrected. |
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| He had said, “Destroy this temple [speaking of the temple of his body], and in three days I will raise it up.” On the cross he received the wounds that will mark his form through the ceaseless ages of eternity; but those very wounds will be his glory, the insignia of his triumph over him who bruised his heel; for he shall bruise the serpent’s head. On the cross he cried, “It is finished,” and bowed his head and died. He descended into the grave; but after three days a mighty angel, clothed with the panoply of heaven, parted the darkness from his track, and caused the Roman guard to fall as dead men at his feet. The angel rolled back the stone from the sepulcher, and the Roman seal was broken, and Christ came forth from the prison of death, and, over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, proclaimed himself “the resurrection and the life.” Through him it was announced that every son and daughter of Adam might be emancipated from their bondage to Satan, to sin and transgression; for, as man’s substitute and surety, Jesus had won the victory. The world and its inhabitants were his inheritance, purchased at infinite cost, and every soul who believed in his name, might be an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ. When Christ rose from the dead, the victory was proclaimed in triumph by the loftiest order of heavenly intelligence, and joy, inexpressible joy, filled the courts of God. {ST, March 26, 1894 par. 10} |
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| On 17 separate occasions, Jesus or His friends spoke of the timetable involving His death and resurrection. |
| 10 times it was specified that the resurrection would take place on the “third day” [Mat.16:21; 17:23; 20:19; Mark 9:31; 10:34, Luke 9:22; 13:32; 18:33; 24:7,46]. |
| On 5 occasions they said, “in three days” [Matthew 26:61; 27:40, Mark 15:29, John 2:19-20]. |
| On 2 occasions they used the phrase, “after three days” [Matthew 27:63, Mark 8:31]. |
| On 1 occasion Jesus spoke of His death as “three days and three nights” [Matthew 12:40]. |
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| Inclusive Reckoning |
| The only way we can harmonize all of these apparently contradictory statements of Jesus is to understand them in the light of inclusive reckoning of time. This was the method used throughout the scripture and we must apply the same method now. |
| The Hebrew form of speech and language implied that any small part of a day was reckoned as an entire 24 hour period. |
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| Jesus born 3 BC September 11 and died 31 AD April 27. |
| Jesus was 11916 days old when He died. |
| Prime factorization of 11916 = 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 × 331. |
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| In Gematria: |
| 2 = Union – Division / Divide (break) – Separation – Witnessing – A Difference – Double Portion – Duality – Contrary (light/dark, good/evil) or Complimentary (spiritual/material; divine/human). |
| 3 =Godhead(3 Powers) – Divine Completeness / Perfection / Holiness – Resurrection – Holy Spirit – Completion of Divine Will – Wholeness / Inner Sanctity – Binding (Spirit of God) |
| 331 = The Lord is My Strength. |
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| The numbers 2 and 3 being repeated imply that their meaning is amplified [raised to a higher power]. |
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| Additional Note |
| And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was [the son] of Heli, [Luke 3:23]. |
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| 27 AD Autumn – Jesus at His baptism received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and soon afterward began His ministry. |
| With His 3 BC September 11 birth, the age of Jesus was 29 years at this point. |
| But with life beginning at conception then this becomes 29 ¾ years. |
| “soon afterward” could easily imply ¼ year giving 30 years of age when He began His ministry. |
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| And Joseph [was] thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. [Genesis 41:46]. |
| 30 was the age at which the Levites entered into the work; the age when it was lawful for scribes to teach. |
| From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. [Numbers 4:3]. |
| David [was] thirty years old when he began to reign, [and] he reigned forty years. [2 Samuel 5:4]. |
| 30 is the age of spiritual maturity in scripture and in the Judaic culture of Jesus’ day, 30 was the age at which a man would be fully recognized as a rabbi. |
| 30 is the age when the Jewish community felt like individuals were ripe for leadership. |
| Conclusion: Jesus followed the law, as stated in Matthew 5:17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” |
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| In Gematria: |
| 30 = Adoption – Blood of Christ – Blood (children) – Dedication – Consecration – Maturity for Ministry. |
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