31°46′44″N 35°13′32″E, the coordinates of Jerusalem. Let's keep 31°46′44″N as it is.
3 hours = 1/8 of the nychthemeron (of the 24 hours).
365° / 8 = 182° 30' / 4 = 91° 15' / 2 = 45° 37' 30"
So, at the end of the three hours darkness, the Sun was at 10° 23' 58" W.
180° - 10° = 170° E
169° 60' - 23' = 169° 37' E
169° 36' 60" - 58" = 169° 36' 02" E.
That's South of Sakhalin, basically, that the Sun was in nadir at the end of the Cross Death.
However, it's below horizon 90° to either side of that.
79° 36' 02" E is pretty close to Qangzê, which historically is in Tibet, not China.
However, let's recall the beginning, at 12 noon. Then the Sun was 45° 37' 30" further East.
045° 37' 30"
079° 36' 02"
______________
124° 73' 32" = 125° 13' 32"
When the Sun went dark, the Sun was setting at a place a bit East of China, and the Jerusalem latitude is a bit South of Western Korean Peninsula.
So, supposing the Sun went dark at one specific time, in relation to any place not under the horizon, in China, it would have been observed as going dark a bit before normal sunset, which would have been at / near 6 PM.
How far East was Luoyang?
34°37′11″N 112°27′14″E
125° 13' 32"
112° 27′ 14″
___________________
012° 46' 18" (less than 15° = c. 1/24 of 365°)
So, grosso modo, in Luoyang, the time when Jesus was nailed to the Cross and the Sun went dark, 12:00 in Jerusalem, would have been 17:00 (or actually, less than an hour before sunset, later than astronomical 17:00).
More than 2 of the three hours would have been after sunset. What if Beijing had been the capital?
39°54′24″N 116°23′51″E
125° 13' 32"
116° 23′ 51″
__________________
008° 49' 41" (little more than 15° / 2)
That is just 8~9° West of the "sunset" meridian for noon in Jerusalem. In Beijing, one would have seen it for a little more than 30 minutes, not for 3 hours.
I've contacted Prof. Emer. Christopher Cullen, an expert on Ancient Chinese astronomy, we'll see if he answers.*
Hans Georg Lundahl
Paris
St. Matthias Apostle
24.II.2026
In Judaea natalis sancti Matthiae Apostoli, qui, post Ascensionem Domini ab Apostolis in Judae proditoris locum sorte electus, pro Evangelii praedicatione martyrium passus est.
I wonder if Laramie Hirsch permitted himself an April Fools joke on April 1 2021, even if it was Maundy Thursday that year, in the post Historical World Accounts of the Crucifixion’s Darkness The parts of Thallus and Julius Africanus is however genuine. But the citation from Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound apparently isn't from an F-search in ÆSCHYLUS' PROMETHEUS BOUND AND THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES.
PPS, wonder what time it was in Ulster (Emain Macha) when it was 12:00 in Jerusalem? 54°20′53″N 6°41′50″W
06° 41′ 50″ W
35° 13′ 32″ E
41° 54' 82" = 41° 55' 22", pretty close to 45° 37' 30"
It would have been from about 9 AM to 12 that the Sun went dark over Emain Macha./HGL
* I was referred to Quora:
Is there an ancient Chinese record of Jesus's death and resurrection?
https://www.quora.com/Is-there-an-ancient-Chinese-record-of-Jesuss-death-and-resurrection?top_ans=353431258
probably mostly:
Yugan Talovich answers: Did emperor Guangwu really mention Jesus' atonement? Is there any evidence for it's authenticity? (Christian answers please) Source: History of the Latter Han dynasty, Volume 1, Chronicles of emperor Guangwu, 7th year
https://www.quora.com/Did-emperor-Guangwu-really-mention-Jesus-atonement-Is-there-any-evidence-for-its-authenticity-Christian-answers-please-Source-History-of-the-Latter-Han-dynasty-Volume-1-Chronicles-of-emperor-Guangwu-7th-year/answer/Yugan-Talovich
3 comments:
Passion Plays.
Anciently dramas representing the passion of incarnate saviours, called Passion plays, were enacted upon the stage. The most celebrated of these divine tragedies, known as Prometheus Bound, and composed by the Greek poet Æschylus, was played at Athens 500 years before the beginning of the Christian era. To show that this sin-atoning saviour was not chained to a rock, while vultures preyed upon his vitals, as popularly taught, but was nailed to a tree; we quote front Potter's translation of the play, that passage which, readily recognized as the original of a Christian song, reads as follows:
"Lo, streaming from the fatal tree,
His all atoning blood:
Is this the infinite? 'Tis he—
Prometheus and a God.
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And veil his glories in,
When God the great Prometheus died
For man, the creature's sin."
The veiling of the sun, as represented in these plays, having reference to the imaginary sympathy expressed by God Sol for the sufferings of his incarnate son, was shown upon the stage by shading the lights. The monks of the Middle Ages enacted plays representing the passion of the Christian Saviour, and the Bavarian peasantry, perpetuating this custom, perform the play every tenth year."
That excerpt comes from a book titled "Astral Worship" by J. H. Hill, M. D., an 1895 book re-released in 2005. There are several translations of Prometheus Bound. (16 by my counting as of now).
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/8855/pg8855-images.html
I have even found some reviews of this book:
- Some good information but a lot of errors, such as the authors original biblical reference to the Sabbath edict. I wouldn't take the writer too seriously since most of his arguments are simply assertions.
- (translated from German): I promised myself more. Sources are very often missing. Information is better found in other books. Not researched very thoroughly. I can't really recommend it.
I do believe I've traced the source of this paragraph. I do not find it in any translation whatsoever. Hill is false in his attribution. I'll have to make an addendum to the article. Maybe tag that paragraph to the bottom with an explanation.
As for the sun going dark in Jerusalem and China simultaneously, I do not attribute this to a literal eclipse of the sun. I'm sorry if you've invested time into trying to square that one. I even make a point to demonstrate that the ancients were trying to explain away the darkness with astronomical claims. For example:
"It is certainly interesting to observe how even ancient man was trying to explain away supernatural events with natural ones—a hobby often taken up in our modern day."
"In our modern day, NASA and astronomers worldwide would solidify Valla’s position, pointing to the fact that no projection of the ancient past shows an eclipse at that time. And yet it happened. Ancient man was witnessing a global supernatural occurrence."
"King Conor realizes that this is all being caused by some sort of supernatural act, and he immediately attributes it to the pagan gods he is familiar with."
I'll only finish with this: that even with the guiding star for the Magi, I do not attribute it to actual heavenly bodies, but a literal light floating in the sky supernaturally.
I do know that God appears to like to work within the bounds and rules of the universe He created. But also, He can do whatever He wants with supernatural nature, and I believe the Crucifixion Darkness (and that Star of the Magi) are such examples.
"That excerpt comes from a book titled "Astral Worship" by J. H. Hill, M. D., an 1895 book re-released in 2005."
Would you consult Hislop as well?
You don't consult Hislop for an accurate Cuneiform text, and you don't consult, apparently, J. H. Hill for an accurate description of Greek tragedy or even an accurate text of one.
"As for the sun going dark in Jerusalem and China simultaneously, I do not attribute this to a literal eclipse of the sun."
Solar eclipse is excluded, but darkness situated in the Sun itself isn't.
Post a Comment