The answer to the question of the bloody moon fixes the date of the crucifixion with precision. Beyond reasonable doubt, in fact, because a “blood moon” has a specific meaning. In ancient literature, not only the Bible, it means a lunar eclipse. Why bloody? Because when the moon is in eclipse it is in the Earth’s shadow. It receives no direct light from the sun, but is lit only by the dim light refracted and reddened by the Earth’s atmosphere. The moon in eclipse does glow a dull red, as you know if you have seen it.
This matters, because with Kepler’s equations we can determine exactly when historical eclipses occurred. Perhaps it will not surprise you to learn that only one Passover lunar eclipse was visible from Jerusalem while Pilate was in office (1). It occurred on April 3, 33 AD, the Day of the Cross.
That day followed a night of horrors predicted by the prophet Isaiah. In place of sleep for Jesus there were torch-lit hours of interrogation and mockery, spittle in the face and beatings, barbed lashes tearing flesh from his back and thorns pressed into his scalp. Isaiah wrote that the messiah would be beaten until “marred beyond human likeness” (2). And so, Jesus was brutalized during multiple “trials” and retrials before priests Annas and Caiaphas (3), King Herod (4) and Roman prefect Pontius Pilate (5). In the end, his fate was decided by a mob (6). He was marched to Golgotha, the “place of the skull,” and crucified. He would die within six hours.
The gospels tell the chronology. Hammers thudded spikes through Jesus and into the cross at 9 AM (7). He was raised up. At noon and for three hours the sky was darkened (8). In the Temple at Jerusalem, only priests were permitted to enter the presence of God—a thick curtain excluded common men. During the crucifixion, this veil was torn apart, top to bottom, as a shattering earthquake split rocks and broke open tombs (9). In the darkness and tumult of these signs, even the Roman guards regretted their part in the killing (10). Jesus died at 3 PM (11). He was removed from the cross before nightfall to preserve the sanctity of the impending Passover (12). But the signs and wonders did not end. When the moon rose that evening, it was blood red. We can imagine the wonder of those who were present through all of this, and their increasing dread as the signs kept coming.
But there is more which they could not see. Kepler’s equations indicate that the moon rose already in eclipse, already bloody, fulfilling Joel’s vision. Necessarily, this means that the eclipse commenced before moonrise. With software we can look below the horizon and see Earth’s shadow begin the eclipse. When we do, we find that at 3 PM, as Jesus was breathing his last on the cross, the moon was going to blood.
The sky at Christ’s birth can be viewed as a kind of visual poetry, with the new moon symbolically “birthed” at the foot of Virgo, the virgin. To complete that celestial poem, on the night of Jesus’ death the moon had returned to the foot of the virgin. But now it was a full moon. A life fully lived, blotted out in blood.
Footnotes:
- Colin J. Humphreys and W. G. Waddington, “Dating the Crucifixion,” Nature Magazine, Volume 306, December 22/29, 1983
- The Book of Isaiah, chapter 52:14 “Just as there were many who were appalled at him– his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness–”
- The Book of John, Chapter 18:13 “and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.”
And Chapter 18:24 “Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.”
- The Book of Luke, Chapter 23:11 “Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.”
- The Book of Luke, Chapter 23: “14 and said to them, ‘You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.’”
- The Book of Luke, Chapter 23: “18 With one voice they cried out, ‘Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!’ 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.) 20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21 But they kept shouting, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’.”
- The Book of Mark, Chapter 15:25 “It was the third hour when they crucified him.”
As mentioned earlier, the gospel of Mark reckons the 24-hour day on Gallilean time, begining at sunrise, traditionally 6AM. Thus, the third hour is 9AM.
- The Book of Mark, Chapter 15:33 “At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.”
As mentioned earlier, the gospel of Mark reckons the 24-hour day on Gaililean time, beginning at sunrise, traditionally 6AM. Thus, Mark is here reporting that the sun was darkened from noon until 3PM.
- The Book of Matthew, Chapter 27:51 “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.”
- The Book of Matthew, Chapter 27:54 “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!’.”
- The Book of Matthew, Chapter 27:46 “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ –which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.”
As mentioned earlier, the day was reckoned by hours, starting at 6AM. Matthew is telling us that Jesus passed at about 3PM.
- The Book of John, Chapter 19:31 ”Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.”
Do the calculations and dates take into account the “slippage” of the calendar across the centuries after Julius Caesar’s calendar began in 45 B.C. until it was eventually corrected by Pope Gregory in A.D.1582. Apart from adjusting leap years to keep the calendar on track in the future, Pope Gregory’s correction reset the calendar back to the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325 by eliminating 10 days in 1582 (in that year 4th October was followed by 15th October). To have reset the calendar back to the time of Julius Caesar, the Pope would have had to have eliminated 13 days. For this reason, the solstices and equinoxes are now 3 or 4 days earlier than in the time of Julius Caesar: for example, the solstice on 25 December in 45 B.C. is now (since A.D. 1582) on 21st December.
Yes, the software accounts for the change to the Gregorian calendar.
There appears to be a problem with the eclipses. Do I understand that the full moon rose that day already in eclipse, and yet in the afternoon at the time of our Lord’s death, there was a solar eclipse?
A solar eclipse cannot occur on the day of a lunar eclipse. Please check the FAQ in the About menu.
Good points hereto sup[port your theory
Hi Folks
May be of interest… may be not… None the less… John speaks of the “Jew’s Passover”, but why the “Jew’s Passover”? The Passover is not of the Jews, it is the Lord’s Passover and Messiah is the true Passover. It is figured in the first of the seven flames of the candle stick. Messiah says that He greatly desired to eat this Passover with his disciples. But let us freeze frame here a moment. They eat “passover” then they depart to the garden and Messiah is arrested around midnight. Most seem to agree that He was crucified on the “preparation day” of the Passover however, He eats His passover before the Jews Passover as it is written, “I greatly desire to eat this Passover with you”.
The Passover referred to in the Gospels and its associated with the preparation day is “the Jews Passover” they were a day out. Messiah eats and is the true Passover with His disciples and rests on the Passover Sabbath as it is written “it is finished”. Passover is done and made complete. The true Passover was rejected and a false one was installed. Imagine the stories at the time… He was supposed to the be the Messiah, but He ate the Passover on the wrong night i.e. Tuesday night the Jews preparation for their Passover. As it is written, “to an adulterous and perverse generation no sign shall be given except the sign of Jonah, as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so the Son of Man will spend thee days and three nights in the belly of the earth.
The three days of the sign are measured by the Jews Passover not His the true Passover. He was taken from the stake (no cross here) late Wednesday afternoon before the Shabbat of the Jews Passover. Once the door of the houses were closed at sunset on Preparation day, the Shabbat had begun until the sunset of the next following day. The blood moon and the darkness occurred on the true Passover Shabbat i.e. Jews preparation day. They had murdered the Son of God on a Shabbat of true rest and did dot enter the rest of Yahweh. Counting from preparation day of the Jews Passover; 1 Wednesday night; 1a Thursday (first night first day) ; 2 Thursday night; 2a Friday (second night second day) ; 3 Friday night 3a Saturday (third night third day). Three days and three nights and the resurrection occurs some time after sunset on Saturday. It was long week end in Jerusalem in those days, two Shabbats had coincided according to the Jews passover; Thursday (1a) was the Passover Shabbat. At sunset on Friday (2a) the weekly Shabbat has begun at Sunset Friday.
Regards to all in Messiah
RJ
Please see the several entries in the FAQ concerning the sign of Jonah, High Sabbath, et cetera.
Hi. I was just wondering if there is a scripture in the bible that states that there was a blood moon on the day of Jesus death, like the earthquake and the veil tearing? Or if it is just from your study of the stars that you have found that it occurred. Thank you.
Yes, the verses from Acts where Peter quotes from the prophet Joel and tells his audience that they have seen Joel’s signs, one of which was a blood moon.
Mr. Larson, you have caught my attention. Love the video and love the way you speak about the concepts. Great work. And I’m so glad you are using Blog software so I can ask this question – really great!
The one thing that I’m wrestling with. I also read the Lunar/Solar Eclipse content in the About FAQ.
The video seems to portray a solar eclipse – the arching shadow moving across the earth. And yet the video also specifically points out the lunar eclipse and the Blood Moon.
As you indicate above, since these events can’t happen on the same day, why does the video attribute the darkening of ‘The day of the cross’ to a solar eclipse?
Thanks so much. Terrific video, research, everything.
I am working on the darkness at noon. Please pray that He will reveal something that I can share.
Blessings!
R
Got it. On it.
Professor Larson, I am of the opinion that the darkness at noon was a symbolic sign
from God that the “Light of the World” Yeshua/Jesus was taken and darkness descended.
upon all mankind . When the works of sin is complete, it brings forth death. Darkness on
the earth showed a result of completion of a work of sin. Since the blood red color of the
Moon reflected the blood pf Christ, the sacrifice, an astronomical event causing the
darkness would have to be tied symbolically with sin, darkness, evil or a dark veil or be
descriptive in this fashion as would be known by astroknowledgists of the time. It should
posess a jewish context of symbolism and understanding. The veil in the temple was rent
and the holy lights went out inside the temple at this moment. This happening on earth
with a corresponding heavenly set of events. Have you considered “on earth as it is in
Heaven” aspect in your astronomical queries? A menorah and a veil being rent or seemingly split causig the darkness. The menorah in the stars may have had a disappearance of the middle light or servant lamp. Surely, these important symbols are
represented in the jewish knowledge of astronomy-astrology. What say you? Am I of any
help on this?
I also wanted to add that another in temple significance is that the Shekinah of God
left along with the menorah lights going out, representing the removal of the Greater
Light and a lesser light, simultaneously. God removed His presence from the Holy of
Holies the moment Yeshua/Jesus left His body. Remember, the body is also a
temple. These events happened in pairs and would likely be reflected astronomically
as a marker for interpretation. While Jesus said it is finished, the High Priest said the
same words with regards to the sacrificial lamb. These things would be inscribed in
the Heavens as a third witness. The sacrificial lamb would have to be interpretable
astronomically by jews and later christians as well. It appears that your findings are
the third witness, and need further developement. I hope my remarks are helpful
in providing parameters of search for you. It appears that there is a built-in set of
rules to go by and refine your studies. Thank you for sharing your findings and I look
forward to where your quest for truth leads you. God bless you and yours! I’ll await
your reply. Love!
On “Peter’s Argument” page you state, “Phlegon Trallianus records in his history, Olympiades (4): In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, [AD 32–33] a failure of the Sun took place greater than any previously known, and night came on at the sixth hour of the day [noon], so that stars actually appeared in the sky; and a great earthquake took place in Bithynia and overthrew the greater part of Niceaea,”
In your FAQ regarding the darkness at noon, you suggest “one possible explanation of the darkness is a plume of volcanic ash, which would be consistent with these factual clues. However, until we can develop historical evidence of a candidate eruption, volcanism remains an interesting hypothesis which is not ready for prime time.”
Obviously, if volcanic ash was the cause of the darkness, then stars could not have actually appeared in the sky as they, too, would have been blotted out by the ash.
I applaud your statement that it’s a “hypothesis which is not ready for prime time.” I wonder if there are any other historical documents that support the appearance of stars in the sky that day.
Working on it, Nancy!
Please check out christquake.com, and help make the movie!
Dear Mr. Larson:
Wow! I just watched your video about the Star of Bethlehem! Absolutely fascinating! Jesus is so amazing!! Thank you for letting HIm use you to proclaim His message! I absolutely loved the part about what happened on the day of Christ’s death as well. But I was just curious: have you happened to do any research about what happened in the skies on the day of Christ’s resurrection? If so, where could I find it? Thanks sooo much for all the hard work you have done! Merry Christmas!
God Bless!
Katie
Mr. Larson,
I too enjoyed watching your DVD and have since purchased a copy. My question has to do with the lunar eclipse on April 3, 33 AD. NASA has a five millennium Canon of lunar eclipses from 2000 BC to 3000 AD on their website. The Eclipse in question is identified as a partial eclipse in their canon. I’m curious if you know what percentage of the moon was covered with the earth’s shadow, and what percentage of coverage is required for the reddish coloration to appear. Thank you for your work.
I don’t know the percentage. But just estimating from the appearance within Starry Night I would say 70%. Certainly sufficient to allow for the blood Moon reported by Peter.
Just watched a recording of your show on EWTN (twice), and came to your site to check out in more detail. All I can say, is….
W O W !!!!!
I’m litterally vibrating. Obviously the holy spirit wanted you to do this research at a time now where the technology exists to do so. Thank you on behalf of all of us who want to know the true God. I believe that your work will help convert many. May God bless you.
PS Wikipedia’s Star of Bethlehem entry needs to be updated with this new information!
Ancient Greeks observed Pleiades as having seven stars, somewhere in time the brightest star faded into nothingness. The menorah, I mentioned above also had
It’s servant candle extinguished. I do not own a starry nights program but I would think
that the time the star faded or completely went out could well possibly be within the
timeframes you are working. what do you think?
I bought and watched your video and love it. I want to be able to replicate your findings myself, so I downloaded Stellarium and was wondering if there is a “cheat sheet” or “star of bethlehem for dummies” that I could get that would show me how to setup the software (long/lat, exact date/time) for each point you made. For example, I was able to see the eclipse from the moon but it didn’t turn out exactly like yours. I am suspecting I am not at the right long/lat on the moon. I also couldn’t see the blood moon, but I am a novice.
Craig
Actually, there is a cheat sheet. However, it was not written by me, and I don’t have a copy. I need to correct that, and post it somewhere for people in your situation. It was written by Allan Johnson, an occasional visitor to Facebook.com/bethlehemstar You might watch that page, to see if he has dropped by. I know he would be happy to help. His photo shows him with a white fishing hat. I just did a search on Facebook, and he came right up. So you might try that.
I’ve been studying apologetics for 20 years and have never read or seen a more powerful and moving presentation. Outstanding discovery!!! I do have one question however. I’m not sure why we need to find a natural explanation for the darkness. Could not God have done this without it having an actual physical cause? For example the miracle of the sun At Fatima in 1917 was witnessed by 100000 people. The miracle lasted for 12 minutes and was seen by believer and unbeliever alike, yet there was no unusual activity recorded by the astronomical community. God bless your future research !!
I do not believe that external evidences are essential to faith. Many persons have come to faith without much knowledge of physical evidence. However, should God choose to reveal such evidence, I think we should pay attention!
Just watched your film …well done!!! … in your documentary, you mentioned you were looking for a shout out RE some of the Revelation figures, especially the 10 horns / seven heads … have you read Scott Hahn’s book, Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God? (Image Books, 2001; I’m looking at the paperback version. Recommend especially, pp. 54, ff. Highly recommend you read …)
… for example, Hahn says, “We know from chapter 7 of the book of Daniel that in prophecy, such beasts [ referring to the beast with ten horns and seven heads] usually represent dynasties. Horns, for example, are a common symbol of dynastic power.
“We should ask ourselves, then: in the first century, which dynasty was most threatened by the rise of the messianic king from David’s line? Matthew’s gospel (chapter 2) makes that clear: it was the dynasty of Herod, the Herodians … This first of the Herods murdered … all the infants of Bethlehem …
“… Seven Herods ruled in the line of the founding father, Antipater, and there were ten Caesars in Rome’s imperial line from Julius to Vespatian. The Beast with ten horns and seven heads corresponds rather curiously to the seven crowned Herods who drew their power to rule from the dynasty of the ten Caesars …
“… John’s vision, [ie, Revelation] though rich in symbolism, also describes real history and real people, though from a heavenly perspective.” (Hahn, pp. 57-58). hope that whets your appetite!
Many Marian ramifications to what you have identified in your film! The poem of the stars you’ve identified fits amazingly well with Hahn’s presentation of the role of the Woman, who is the Mother of God! Hope you get a chance to read his book … would love to hear your thoughts (email me if you want).
Good info. Lucky me I ran across your siote by chance (stumbleupon).
I have bookmarked iit for later!
Does anyone have any sort of prediction of when the profound occurrence will happen again?
Could It possibly signify the end of the world?