Archaeological evidence and the words of ancient historians have over the past few decades lent credibility to the theory that a small earthquake in Jerusalem on what we know today as what would have been April 3, 33 A. D....coinciding with a lunar eclipse later that day....not a solar eclipse....and a severe dust storm that was recorded in the city....explains what the writers of the synoptic gospels described in the accounts of the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The dust storm would have....and this is according to Oxford scientists....darkened the sun for a period of time....the earthquake....two were recorded within three days....would have been the reason for the rending of the temple curtain from top to bottom....and the partial lunar eclipse sunset of that day would have turned the moon somewhat red. For many centuries it was recorded that that lunar eclipse was not visible in Jerusalem....but as science advanced it was determined that that lunar eclipse was indeed visible in Jerusalem.So what does all this mean? Well as best as we can decipher it was almost exactly four thousand years from God creating Adam to the birth of Christ....and it appears that it will be almost exactly.....as best as we can decipher....two thousand years from the birth of Christ....to his Second Coming....or six thousand years total. Those large round numbers are reflective of the way God appears to have arranged lifespans and short time spans and eras throughout His Word. This alone doesn't really tell us that much other than this time that we live in would be a logical and complimentary time for the Second Coming.
If this scientific deciphering turns out to be evidence of the year of our Lord's death and resurrection....33 A.D....then 2033 would be exactly 2000 years.....but what does that mean? What would 30 A.D. mean....2000 years from the time that Jesus began His earthly ministry? What would the year 2000 mean....2000 years from His birth? All of this is speculation. Speculation can be....and often has been....egregiously horrific....with disastrous consequences....but then again we are literally commanded to speculate...on the evils of the age that we live....and on the number of the beast....and on our own lifespans in that they are short....and on many other things.
In my own religious tradition....we do not like to speculate at all....because we do not like to make mistakes....if we do not get the blessings....("Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near." Rev. 1:3 and "This calls for wisdom; let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666." Rev. 13:18)....so if we do not get the blessings so be it....but no mistakes are more important. There is a lot to be said for that practice....but it needs a touch of humility for we are not the only faithful tradition in the church.
As I type this post I can see on the bottom of a bookshelf across the room...a book lying face up....to give it prominence as it is displayed. It is a coffee table book titled....Ronald Reagan, American Hero. I have more prominently displayed a similar sized book titled....Billy Graham...God's Ambassador....and I also have a book displayed titled....Vincent Van Gogh....Masterworks....with one of his extraordinary impressionist painting on the cover....and I have a pictorial book on the fireplace mantel titled....The Puritan Path. What can I say....that's me....but back to the Reagan book....
It sold with a cover of sorts....a see-through....partially see-through....parchment type of paper.....so you can recognize that it is Reagan....but his face is seen as through a veil. Well folks....that is God's Word today on prophecy! We see through layers of veils....and those veils are one by one being taken off! Close your eyes if you do not want to see what is underneath!
