THE CELESTIAL PHENOMENON AT THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS OF NAZARETH

Too many “coincidences” surround the “Mystery Man” from Nazareth for Him to not be the promised Messiah. His story is written in the heavens, and the secret code to revealing its prophecies and images is to view them Christologically—to see that they are showing the timeline of Messiah’s coming, His sacrifice, His resurrection, and His return to establish the Kingdom of God. The record of

His star in Matthew 2, along with other Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled at that time, should be enough to validate this claim. Additionally, the book of Revelation reveals heavenly signs that point to His second coming, the coming of the Son of Man.

Although there are theologians and scholars who have acknowledged these truths, the celestial phenomenon that remains basically unnoticed and overlooked is the one that occurred at the time of His death upon the cross.   

As we look at this celestial occurrence during the crucifixion, we will see that it should be incredibly interesting to those who study God’s celestial Word because it is an astronomical phenomenon that defies normal scientific explanation. On Passover at the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, a three-hour solar eclipse occurred over all the face of the earth. That should have been enough to testify to the world that the Messiah had been killed.

The celestial phenomenon of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was a three-hour solar eclipse.

There are some serious questions to consider upon a closer examination of this celestial event—a solar eclipse of the ages—a very significant event indeed.

First, solar eclipses happen only on new moons. Passover is always on a full moon (14^th day of the first month, Leviticus 23:5).  On this day, which fell perhaps on the 28^th of April ad 28, there was a full moon. This scenario defies description from modern-day astronomy because solar eclipses are caused by the moon passing between the Sun and Earth and casting a shadow on the earth. On this day, the moon was exactly on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun and could in NO way have eclipsed the Sun.

Second, solar eclipses are normally a maximum of 7½ minutes long. Three Bible records, along with other secular records, agree that this particular solar eclipse lasted for three hours, which is impossible according to modern-day astronomical laws and understanding. Regardless, the biblical record states that it remained dark upon the whole earth for three hours.

Third, a conventional solar eclipse only sweeps across a small swath of the Earth, moving in a west-to-east direction. These same three biblical accounts report that the eclipse covered all the face of the Earth.

Therefore, this is a phenomenon—something that is way outside of the ordinary. Isn’t it amazing that God Almighty had this date and event in His mind before the creation of the world when He plotted out the courses of the planets, the Sun, and the Moon. He knew who the Messiah would be and marked Him by celestial signs at His birth and at His crucifixion.

Another issue at stake here is that in many people’s belief systems the Bible is infallible. So, if there is no plausible explanation, then science will fault the Bible. In this case, we have three different gospel accounts verified by three different sources. I’ve heard Bible teachers rant about three days and three nights; well, here is another rant: a three-hour solar eclipse happening on a full moon. Hello Houston, now we really have a problem. Call out the astronomers, astrophysicists, NASA scientists, including Dr. Folkner, and Pat Gleason (the mathematician, cyber engineer, and astronomer who designed our computer program). This is not possible! We are looking for answers.

In the mouth of two or three witnesses, truth is established (2 Corinthians 13:1); and in this case, three separate people describe this phenomenon and its impact.

Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!” ~Matthew 27:45, 51, and 54

Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” ~Mark 15:33 and 38–39

And it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!” ~Luke 23:44–45 and 47

The sixth hour is 12 noon, and the ninth hour is 3 pm.  So, the eclipse started at noon and ended at 3 pm. Notice also that in each account, there is seismic activity and a Roman centurion confessing Jesus as Messiah. Jesus died at 3 pm, precisely when the eclipse ended. This was an amazing event.

What Caused the Eclipse?

So, what caused this eclipse if it wasn’t the Moon? We have seen that all three biblical accounts record that there were earthquakes so powerful that the veil of the temple, which was about three feet thick, was torn from top to bottom.

In ratiocination (the practice of deductive logic), if you rule out all the possible causes, then there must exist other seemingly impossible reasons to explain the phenomenon. There appears to be no “normal” answer in our contemporary wisdom and knowledge of astronomy. We can rule out the moon causing the eclipse, because it was on the other side of the Earth and could not have caused it. Also, the time lapse of the eclipse was way too long for it to be caused by the Moon. Additionally, all three biblical testimonies declare that it covered “all the land” (one even states, “all the earth”). This was no ordinary eclipse, and there is an indication from this description that the Earth was in the shadow of something that passed between it and the Sun.

The only explainable premise is that this shadow, or eclipse, had to be caused by an unidentified celestial object (UCO) that passed between the Sun and the Earth. The object would obviously be larger than the Earth since its shadow covered the whole Earth for three hours. Deductively, an object that large and that close to the Earth could certainly have caused a gravitational pull that was the impetus for the seismic activity.

Science does not provide an answer to this event, so either the Bible is wrong or we must look to the “impossible” solution—this was caused by a UCO. We could just explain it away by stating, “God put His hand over the Earth when this happened.” However, this is not Vacation Bible School—something caused it, just as something caused the parting of the Red Sea, the hail fire and brimstone of Sodom and Gomorrah, Joshua’s long day, and Hezekiah’s sundial moving backwards. Perhaps this was the personification of God’s hand over the Earth, but He caused it by natural phenomenon. Israel was almost immediately devastated and even now is struggling to recover the blow dealt them for killing His Son. There is a greater explanation to this than God putting His hand over the earth.

It is both—the UCO and the hand of God—sending a foreboding message, as the eclipse covered the whole earth, that His Son had been killed. In all likelihood, this UCO was a mysterious asteroid or planetoid system passing by.

This is of interest to us for three reasons.

First, this was the crucifixion of Yeshua of Nazareth, the Lord of Glory. God Almighty marked His death with a major celestial sign just as Messiah’s first birth was marked. These are indicators to help us accept the person who is the chosen Messiah and Redeemer of mankind. This should not be swept under the rug simply because we cannot explain it. It is another major sign marking the identity of the Messiah. 

Second, I know that within the Great Tribulation and the second coming of Messiah many celestial phenomena will occur too, and I am looking for His coming. The Bible reveals celestial, cosmic phenomena like the sky receding and every mountain and island being moved out of its place (Revelation 6:14), something that resembles a great flaming mountain being thrown into the sea, a third of the sea becoming blood, a third of the sea creatures dying, and a third of the ships being destroyed (Revelation 8:8), and a great burning star falling from heaven into a third of the rivers, affecting the springs of water (Revelation 8:10). This three-hour solar eclipse plausibly occurred at the death of Yeshua, and perhaps a similar signal will show us his second coming.

Third, I would be remiss if I did not at least mention the existence of another planet or system in our solar system. I have taught this in my Christological astronomy class for almost eight years. I know that there is activity happening in our solar system that is not confined to the Sun and Moon and our nine planets. I learned it from the Bible in questing for the Christology of the planets. Secular sources refer to this celestial phenomenon as Niburu or Planet X. I am greatly interested in it perhaps fulfilling Revelation 12 in the coming fall feasts, as the heavens move through their cycles and circles. This could be the answer to the three-hour solar eclipse and the celestial events of the Great Tribulation.

Deductively, the crucifixion of Yeshua of Nazareth was marked by a celestial sphere eclipsing the whole Earth for three hours. In other words, something came between the Earth and the Sun. These kind of rare happenings offer some other explanation for certain incidents in the Bible that science can’t explain—like hail fire and brimstone at Sodom and Gomorrah, or the parting of the Red Sea, or the Sun and Moon standing still for Joshua, or Hezekiah’s sundial going backward. And there are more. This account in Amos will take your breath away because it sounds exactly like what happened on the day of the crucifixion.

“And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight.” ~Amos 8:9

When I saw this verse recently, it stunned me because it typifies exactly what happened at the time of the crucifixion. Amos prophesied that the Sun would go dark at noon and the Earth would be darkened. Even in a total solar eclipse, which lasts at the most 7½ minutes, the Earth does not get fully darkened. Some believe that this prophecy was fulfilled at the earthquake that occurred during King Uzziah’s reign over Judah (Zechariah 14:5–6). If that were so, then there were two days when this occurred, making Yeshua’s crucifixion event a double fulfillment of this prophecy. I believe that Amos 8:9 is significant within the pattern of what long eclipses and earthquakes portend for Israel. It is not good news for them, but God brings judgment for the purpose of repentance and, ultimately, for reconciliation.

Sun and Moon Eclipsed Simultaneously

On the occasion of a three-hour solar eclipse, the Moon would not appear as having light, since it would not be able to reflect the Sun (regardless of its location). These incidents where neither the Sun nor the Moon have light are prophesied by Joel in 2:10, 31, and 3:15.

I was deeply interested in the tetrad eclipses of 2014 and 2015, and they were significant signs of the coming kingdom of Messiah on Earth, just as the signs in the fall of 2017 will be. Yet they did not fulfill the prophecies of Joel because the eclipses and darkenings of the Sun and Moon that Joel spoke of are simultaneous—just as what happened on the day of the crucifixion. So there was both a solar and a lunar eclipse on that day.

If the Sun goes dark, and covers all the face of the Earth for three hours, at night time on the other side of the earth, the Moon will be eclipsed and appear blood-red because of the shadow of Earth’s atmosphere. Look at what Joel says about this.

The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. ~Joel 2:10

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. ~Joel 2:31

A solar and lunar eclipse happened simultaneously at the crucifixion. You would think that a three-hour solar eclipse would have been enough of a sign, but Yahweh made sure that the people on the other side of Earth would see it too through the eclipsing of the Moon. These simultaneous solar and lunar eclipse have happened before, and they will happen again.

I am deducing that the sign of the coming of the Son of Man (Luke 21:25–27) will be another simultaneous eclipse of the Sun and Moon. Furthermore, the prophecies of Revelation 12:1-4 indicate that this sign may occur in the fall of 2017.

What Did the Eclipse Say When He Was Crucified?

An eclipse was visible around the world, either solar or lunar—sending out a message for all to see. It was a sad day. The world had rejected and killed the Redeemer, the promised Messiah, and God’s Son. Earthquakes shook the ground and events of such a degree that the Roman centurion accepted Yeshua as the Son of God.

This is how the heavens would have appeared that day of Passover ad 28.

On Passover, in April of the supposed year of ad 28, the Sun was located firmly in the very heart of Taurus, the sacrificial bull. (This occurred before the precession of the equinox took place and moved the placement of the constellations. Within the last 2,000 years, the Sun has been positioned in Aries during April.) This was a strong message for those with eyes to see. From Jerusalem, the site of the crucifixion, the eclipse began at 12 noon and ended at 3 pm.

With the darkness from the solar eclipse, the heavens would have been visible. The whole show was in Taurus, the sacrificial bull who was being slain—simultaneously.

When an eclipse occurs, what is being covered up in the heavens is significant and should be noted. In this instance, not only was the Sun located in the constellation of Taurus, the sacrificial bull, it was also eclipsing the Pleiades cluster of stars, often call the Seven Sisters. These are huge Christological messages.

In Christological astronomy, the Pleiades means the accumulation or congregation of the saints.  It is commonly known as the Seven Sisters located in the shoulder of Taurus but symbolically means the place of the accumulated, departed, righteous dead. At the time that Yeshua was being crucified, the saints in Abraham’s bosom were about to get transported to paradise and this is what the eclipse was saying. The blood of the bull was shed for the forgiveness of sins of the priesthood (Exodus 29:10) and his sacrifice was being announced to the whole world by the eclipsing residing in the constellation of Taurus. And it was a sign of the redemption being paid to release all the souls in hell in Abraham’s bosom that were being taken out of hell, which is where Abraham’s bosom was, and being transported into paradise.

For years, I’ve wondered about the verses in Matthew 27 about many getting out of their graves. Now I know—it was the validation of the solar eclipse’s message to righteous Israel: they would be saved if they embraced the Messiah. The raising of the dead out of Abraham’s bosom was a great accomplishment for the Lord and one of the main reasons He came to Earth.

And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. ~Matthew 27:52–53

As the Sun was also eclipsing the Pleiades, the message was being broadcast around the world that Jesus was going into hell to rescues His brethren. Ephesians 4:8–10 tells us what Jesus did.

Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” (Now this, “He ascended” --  what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) ~Ephesians 4:8–10

So, the three-hour simultaneous solar/lunar eclipse signified Messiah’s death and also told the story of redemption. Jesus did not die only to save those of us who would come in the future—He also came to rescue those who were in Abraham’s bosom and take them to Paradise.

This is the beautiful, redemptive message of the three-hour solar eclipse.  

Conclusion

This amazing truth has been in the Bible waiting to be discovered. The fact remains, according to biblical and historical dating of earthquakes and other geophysical happenings at that time, that there was a celestial phenomenon that caused the solar eclipse on the Passover of the crucifixion. Even though this blog has focused on the cause of that eclipse, the greater significance lies within the message that it communicated to the whole world.

God Almighty marked Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah by signs in the heavens—in His birth and in His death; and He will do the same in His second coming. What an amazing truth to realize that God so publicly identified the Messiah within His celestial cathedral. Now that an additional sign of the solar eclipse has been added, we should all conclude that Yeshua of Nazareth is the Messiah and Savior of the world.  He is the light of the world and we are looking for His coming and the sign of the coming of the Son of Man.

Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near. ~Luke 21:27–28