Passover Sky Events at the Crucifixion

Why the Sky Went Dark When Yahshua Died

Never has a major Heavenly event occurred, without a sky-event to herald it, or more deeply portray its meaning. We have seen this in the sky-events which announced the Saviour's Birth, affectionately dubbed the "Bethlehem Star". Not surprisingly, there was a significant sky-event which marked His Death as well.

Since today is Passover, the fourteenth day of the first Biblical month of the year, counting from the New Moon (day after the first visible sliver of the moon is sighted) of April 7, it seems appropriate to cast our gaze back to the time of our Saviour's Death. He, Who was Heaven's Passover Lamb (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7) was slain for our sins on this day (Passover) about 2000 years ago.

The first significant thing which took place in the heavens at the time of our Saviour's Death was a lengthy darkness, which the Gospel writers tell us lasted for about three hours.

Mark 15:33  "And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour." 

Matthew 27:45-46  "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Yahshua cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" 

Many scholars and Bible students have tried to determine the year of the Crucifixion based upon finding a year when there was a solar eclipse. This is because of the Bible record which tells us that there was darkness during the day of the Crucifixion. And the only explanation known to science for darkness happening during the day is a solar eclipse. But there was no solar eclipse when our Messiah died. 

As the following diagrams will show, a solar eclipse can only occur during the conjunction (dark phase) of the Moon. During conjunction, the Moon is positioned directly between the Earth and the Sun. This is why it visually appears dark, from the viewpoint of Earth. And only in this position (with the Moon between the Earth and the Sun) can a solar eclipse occur. 

Solar eclipses don't occur at every conjunction of the Moon, of course, because the Moon is not always perfectly positioned to cover the Sun. But the fact remains that a solar eclipse can only occur when the Moon is in its conjunction phase.

According to the Biblical calendar, the first sighting of the sliver of the Moon, following the conjunction is the New Moon Eve. The next day is the New Moon Day, beginning the next month. Passover, according to Leviticus 23:5, occurs on the fourteenth day of the Biblical month. In other words, it is fourteen days after the new moon sliver. Consider the following lunar phase calendar for this month:

On the above calendar, the date of the New Moon is marked as Friday, April 5. But, as I have explained in this blog, astronomy today considers the conjunction of the Moon to be the New Moon. However, this was not how it was done in Bible times. The New Moon sliver was sighted, and the next day was the New Moon day. Also, the first Biblical month of the year, counted from this New Moon Day, was called Abib. Bearing this in mind, notice that the first visible sliver (Biblical Day of the New Moon) is on April 7, having been first sighted on the night of April 6. 

Counting fourteen days to Passover, let us pay special attention to the Moon phases:

Biblical New Moon - Day 1 of Abib: April 7Waxing Crescent - Day 2 of Abib: April 8Waxing Crescent - Day 3 of Abib: April 9Waxing Crescent - Day 4 of Abib: April 10Waxing Crescent - Day 5 of Abib: April 11First Quarter - Day 6 of Abib: April 12Waxing Gibbous - Day 7 of Abib: April 13Waxing Gibbous - Day 8 of Abib: April 14Waxing Gibbous - Day 9 of Abib: April 15Waxing Gibbous - Day 10 of Abib: April 16Waxing Gibbous - Day 11 of Abib: April 17Waxing Gibbous - Day 12 of Abib: April 18Full Moon - Day 13 of Abib: April 19Waning Gibbous - Day 14 of Abib: April 20

As you can see from the above list, Passover, always falls just after the Full Moon - being at a time when the Moon still appears to be full. Now, on the diagram below, not the positioning of the Moon when it is at a Full Moon phase. Notice that the Full Moon only occurs when the Moon is on the other side of the Earth - not between the Earth and the Sun, as it must be in order for there to be a solar eclipse.

Because every Passover - in any year - is always the fourteenth day of the first month, counting from the New Moon, Passover always occurs when the Moon is full. Therefore, you can know beyond question that there could not have been a solar eclipse at the time of the Crucifixion. For Christ died on Passover (John 13:1; John 18:28; John 18:39; John 19:14) - the fourteenth day - a day on which the Moon is always full (just past).

Not only can a solar eclipse never occur on Passover, but also, it cannot account for three hours of darkness, which the Bible says happened on the Passover of the Crucifixion. Solar eclipses do not last so long. Since there is no other natural explanation for the three hours of darkness which took place on the Day of the Crucifixion, one can only conclude that God shrouded the Earth in darkness, by supernatural means. But why? 

Certainly, darkness was a sign of mourning. In fact, Scripture equates darkness as a symbol of Death itself - Job 10:21-22. Sin is Scripturally likened to spiritual darkness - John 3:19. Christ bore our spiritual darkness on the Cross. Darkness is also representative of the Wrath of Yah in Judgment - Zephaniah 1:15. Since we know that Yahshua took our place, accepting the Wrath of Judgment upon Himself, this too fits the picture.

But while all of these above explanations are likely part of why Yahweh supernaturally darkened the sky on the day of the Crucifixion, they are not the only reasons. There was also a powerful event going on in the sky, which it appears Yahweh intentionally turned out the sunlight to allow onlookers to see.

On Passover, during the time when Yahshua was hanging upon the Cross, the full Passover moon moved into the heel of the Strong Man, who is battling the serpent. The following is a screen-shot taken from my computer using Starry Night Pro (professional astronomy software) to reconstruct the sky over Jerusalem at the time of the Crucifixion.

What were the onlookers able to see in the sky, when God turned out the lights? The full Passover Moon was positioned in Yahshua's Heel (for Yahshua is the Strong Man) to show that at that moment, our Heavenly Strong Man was receiving the Serpent's deadly sting in His Heel - the very sting which Scripture and the constellations had foretold He would receive, on our behalves - Genesis 3:15. 

When you "Hide Daylight" in Starry Night Pro, on the afternoon on which our Saviour died, the above image shows exactly what would have been seen in the sky over Jerusalem. Wow! I don't think Heaven could have been any clearly if God had posted a flashing neon sign!

Yes, Yahshua, our ultimate Strong Man, did take it in the Heel, dying for our sins on that wonderful Passover nearly 2000 years ago. And as we commemorate His Sacrifice today, may we each thankfully claim it as our personal covering. In Him, may each of us find the blessing of the Promise which was carried out in the sky and on the ground that day. 

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." 

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