April 3, 33

Geologists have found an earthquake happened on April 3, 33. Many people believe Jesus was about 30 years old when he died, making this date probably the day Jesus died.

When geologist study earthquake activity, they look for layers of sediment in the rock that are disturbed.

There are four major types of earthquakes, and they are described here.  Just pay attention to letter B.  Don't worry about letter A.

Scientists are able to calculate the date when the earthquake happened by looking at the surrounding sediments and rock layers like you would look for rings on a tree trunk.  The older the rock layer, the further back in history that rock layer goes.

The author of the article above summarizes a paper written by Colin Humphreys and Graeme Waddington.

• All four gospels and Tacitus in Annals (XV,44) agree that the crucifixion occurred when Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea from 26-36 AD.
• All four gospels say the crucifixion occurred on a Friday.
• All four gospels agree that Jesus died a few hours before the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath (nightfall on a Friday).
• The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) indicate that Jesus died before nightfall on the 14th day of Nisan; right before the start of the Passover meal.
• John’s gospel differs from the synoptics; apparently indicating that Jesus died before nightfall on the 15th day of Nisan.

Since the calendar has changed several times since Jesus' time, these changes have been factored in and a highly possible date (in today's calendar) is April 3, 33.

This article briefly mentioned the fact that 3 gospels describe a darkness coming over the land after Jesus' death.  This makes me wonder if a volcano somewhere erupted.  Volcanos and earthquakes go hand in hand, as they both are features in the Tectonic Plate theory.  This theory states that the earth is covered is chunks of crust called "plates," and that these plates are not stationary.  When a volcano happens, an earthquake is bound to happen as well.  The area around the Pacific Ocean is called the "Ring Of Fire" because of the various collisions and sliding of the plates.

These plates slide against each other (San Andreas fault in California, where the "Big One" is suppose to happen), the collide with each other (Mount Everest, which is constantly growing taller), and pull away from each other (Mount St. Helen's).  See the picture above.  When plates pull away from each other, the magma underneath becomes exposed, and possibly becomes pressurized and gets released on the crust of the earth, creating a volcano.  The resulting ash and dust can cover a large area.  This dust and ash can be the darkness that is described in the gospels.