By Maurice G. Dametz
Taken from Grace and Truth Magazine
One of the most loved facts of our faith is the fact that Christ died on the Cross for us. This fact stands out as the fundamental of fundamentals. The atoning, substitutionary death of Christ is the very pivot on which all of Christianity hinges. It is the warp and woof of the gospel. Christ and Him crucified stands out on every page of this blessed old Book. The Cross of Christ is also the pivot of history. It is the central point of time and eternity. It is the greatest fact of history. All history leads up to it, is affected by it, and the destiny of all humanity is decided by it. The Cross is central in God's plan. It is central to history. It is central to Christianity and the gospel message. It is central to Christian experience. It is the heart of the evangelical position and proclamation. The Wonders of the Cross never cease. It was done in a day but it is wondered at forever. The most remarkable event in connection with Christ's death was the three hours darkness. This event is recorded in the Synoptic Gospels:
The darkness was over all the land, according to Matthew and Mark. According to Luke, it was over all the earth. A great earthquake is also said to have taken place. No statements of God's Word are more clearly established than these. God has seen fit that there should be preserved an abundance of evidence to this fact — evidence that is incontestable and incontrovertible. It is enough to silence infidels and skeptics. It is sufficient to shut the mouths of objectors and cavillers in silence. The testimony is uniform and satisfying. THE TESTIMONY OF PHLEGON The first witness is Phlegon, a heathen writer who lived at the beginning of the second century.1 He was a Greek historian and chronologer. He gave himself to putting down the most remarkable things that ever happened. These were recorded in sixteen books called the "Olympiads." His second book dealt with such things as were extraordinary, or out of the common course of nature. The third book is a treatise on the longevity of man, giving a list of persons whose lives extended 100 years or more in length. In Phlegon's 13th book, which is a chronicle; in his 202nd Olympiad, he states: " In the fourth or last year of that Olympiad there was a greater eclipse of the sun than was ever known before. There was night at the sixth hour of the day, inasmuch as the stars were seen in the heavens. There was also a mighty earthquake which caused a great overthrow at Nice in Bithynia." The last year of Phlegon's 202nd Olympiad answers to the eighteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, which was the year of Christ's crucifixion. THE TESTIMONY OF THALLUS The second testimony comes from Thallus, a Grecian, who lived in the first century, and who wrote a history of Syria in five volumes. He is quoted frequently by the church fathers, who also quote Phlegon. The testimony of Thallus is joined with that of Phlegon. In his "Third Book of Syriac Histories," he speaks in a particular manner of the miraculous darkness at noonday, and of it so happening in the eighteenth year of Tiberius' reign. Let it be understood that both Phlegon and Thallus did not claim to be Christians. This makes their testimony all the more remarkable. THE TESTIMONY OF JULIUS AFRICANUS A third testimony is given by Julius Africanus, a Christian historian who flourished in the second century. He wrote a chronology of events and in it he remarks in the same manner as Phlegon and Thallus. He says that at the very time our Saviour suffered there was a universal darkness, putting the whole world under the greatest consternation. He goes on to quote both authors. Said he, quoting from Phlegon:
Again, Africanus quotes from the works of Thallus, saying:
It will be noticed that this is called an eclipse "without reason" — that is, on the fourteenth day of the moon. TESTIMONY FROM CHINA A fourth testimony comes from China, that great record-keeping nation and famous for astronomy. Greston in his history of China relates it. Couplet, Intorcetat and Rougemont say the same thing. Greston says:
THE WITNESS OF TERTULLIAN Among the church fathers was Tertullian, an apologist, living in the second century. H^ was a great master of history and was well versed in the Roman laws and annals. He speaks of this eclipse as being one of the greatest and most extraordinary events that ever happened, and that it was publicly proved by the Roman annals. He says:
It seems quite evident that this darkness occurred at the time of full moon. THE WITNESS OF FATHERS, HISTORIANS AND MARTYRS Clement of Rome, one of the Apostolic Fathers, who suffered martyrdom about 96 A.D., wrote in his "Recognitions" saying:
Arnobius, writing in the year 203 said:
Dionysius the Areopagite, who lived at the time of Christ's death, relates that he and Appolonius were at Heliopolis, and that they saw the moon when it was not time for a conjunction with the sun, from the sixth hour to the evening, standing in direct opposition to the sun. Dionysius is credited with the exclamation: "Either nature suffers, or else now sympathizes with Him that does so." Origen, a noted church father, apologist, and copious writer, in his work against the infidel Celsus, says:
Lucianus, a Roman martyr, dying in the year 310, said:
Another testimony comes from Philiponus, a historian, and evidently a Christian. This man may have had Phlegon's Olympiads before him when he wrote, for he refers to them. He says:
And nothing like it has ever occured since. Chrysostom, the Golden Mouth, the most notable preacher of the early church, says in commenting upon Matthew 27:45:
Orosius, a Roman historian, A.D. 416, says:
Alexander, 500 A.D., wrote a chronicle on the eighteenth year of Tiberius, and in his Chronicum he says:
These witnesses, separated by space and time, are all agreed as to this extraordinary event, as to when it happened, and that nothing like it had taken place before. THE TESTIMONY OF PONTIUS PILATE Perhaps the greatest testimony to the supernatural darkness comes from Pontius Pilate himself. It is contained in the "Acts Under Pontius Pilate" — it being a report of Pilate, Procureator of Judea, sent to Rome to Tiberius Caesar. It was a custom for the governors to signify to the emperors the new and extraordinary events which took place. Pilate made it his business to keep such acts and events in journals, and this particular event was mentioned to Tiberius, in the form of a letter. It reads:
Now these "Acts Under Pontius Pilate" are genuine and authentic as is demonstrated by the way the fathers quoted and referred to them. Justin Martyr (103-167), in his apology wrote:
Tertullian, a writer of the second and third centuries, says:
And now we see at one view and in a very narrow compass- the testimonies of ancient writers during the first 500 years. Some of the testimonies are from Greek writers; others, from Romans who lived in different parts of the Roman Empire. Much more testimony could be added to these. From these testimonies we conclude that:
The testimony is uniform. This is a fact that was greatly discussed during the first centuries, and by some historians as late as the eighteenth century. This fact has kept its ground, and the more it has been discussed the stronger it has grown. What think you of this unanswerable argument? Does it not demonstrate that the Word of God is an impregnable fortress and that the Death of Christ is the central fact of all history?
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1) This, and the following fourteen testimonies appear in "Dawson's Appeal," a book on Christian Evidences, written in the seventeenth century. 2) The Ante-Nicean Fathers 3) Ibid 4) Ibid
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