Category Archives: Easter

Good Friday

29 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by in Easter, Good Friday, Lilly Gayle, Passover, romance author

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On the day Jesus was crucified, darkness covered the land for hours—symbolic of the dark deed committed

against Christ. Christians believe the darkness was a miracle, fulfilling a prophecy. Non-believers and the scientific world believe an eclipse is responsible for the darkness. But why can’t it be both?

God doesn’t perform magic. He uses the science and laws of physics he created to perform miracles. Otherwise, it would be an almost unbelievable coincidence that an eclipse just happened to occur on the day Jesus was crucified, thus fulfilling a prophecy.

God created science and He can manipulate it. And scientist and astronomers can use science to help solve biblical mysteries.

If the crucifixion eclipse was either, a solar or a lunar eclipse, then based on details of the gospel, the Crucifixion of Jesus occurred on  a Friday. “There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.” KJV: John 19:42.

Two different groups estimate the year of the Crucifixion as AD 33,  although, Sir Isaac Newton—a scientist—estimated the date to be  AD 34 based on the differences between the Biblical and Julian calendars and the crescent of the moon. Using an astronomical approach based on a lunar eclipse model consistent with Apostle Peter: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come” KJV Acts 2:20, then, Friday, April 3, AD 33 is the date of the Crucifixion.

Give or take a year in either direction, Christ died around the age of 33 on a Friday—a day Christians call Good Friday to commemorate His sacrifice. Good Friday precedes Easter Sunday, the day Christians commemorate His resurrection and God’s promise of eternal life. Good Friday is observed during Holy Week and often coincides with the Jewish observance of Passover.

Passover commemorates the liberation of Jewish slaves in ancient Egypt and their birth as a nation under Moses’s leadership. The book of Exodus tells how God helped the Children of Israel escape from slavery by inflicting ten plagues on Egypt, which forced the Pharaoh to release them. The tenth plague was the death of the first-born.

So that the plague would pass over Jewish homes, the Israelites were instructed to mark their doorframes with the blood of a slaughtered lamb. No firstborn in any home with this mark died. Today, the event is celebrated on Passover.

Although it’s traditionally a Jewish holiday, Christians remember this day as well as Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter—all dates of significance during Holy Week.  And Easter is celebrated each year in the spring.

An explanation as to why we celebrate Easter on different days each year can be found on a previous blog post. http://lillygayleromance.blogspot.com/2011/04/when-is-easter-again.html

When is Easter Again?

24 Sunday Apr 2011

Posted by in Christmas, Easter, historical romance, Lilly Gayle, Religion, writing

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Easter coincides with the vernal equinox. According to the New Testament, Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection occurred about the same time as the Jewish Passover, which was celebrated  on the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Both those who believe in the Good Friday to Easter Sunday and the Wednesday to Saturday timeline for Christ’s death and resurrection do not argue this point. But, because of the differing phases of the moon, Christians celebrated Easter at different times and by the end of the second century, some churches celebrated on Passover and others celebrated the following Sunday.

The year I was born, Easter was on April 17th. The year I got married, it fell on April 6th, the day after my birthday. Easter was March 30th the year my oldest was born and March 26th the year my youngest was born. And this year, it lands on April 24th, which to me, seems like the latest Easter I can remember.

Going to http://www.timeanddate.com/ can show any calendar from any year to see when Easter fell in any given year. But  who sets the date for Easter and how do they decided? Why not celebrate on the day Christ was resurrected?

Well, for one thing, Christians, theologians, and scholars cannot agree on the day Christ was crucified or resurrected. Christians celebrate the Good Friday Crucifixion to Sunday morning resurrection timeline. But that’s not three days and three nights.  And according to Mathew 12:39-40, Christ was in the earth for three days and three nights.
Matthew 12:  39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

So, then, how could Christ be crucified on Friday and resurrected on Sunday. The math doesn’t add up. Then again, according to the Gregorian calendar, Sunday is the first day of the week and the sabbath falls on Saturday. And the Gregorian calendar is a continuation of the Julian calendar that started with the year Jesus was born. But most western religions who celebrate the birth and resurrection of Christ worship on Sunday. So, maybe that’s why Christians cling to the Good Friday to Easter Sunday time line.
But according to some- http://www.herealittletherealittle.net/index.cfm?page_name=Jesus-Resurrection -Christ was crucified between 9:00 a.m and 3:00 p.m. He was then placed in the grave. Although this isn’t a full 24 hours, it counts as the first day and first night in the grave. Thursday and Friday are days two and three and Christ arose on Saturday, the day then recognized as the Sabbath.
So, why don’t Christians follow this time line? And why do we celebrate on different days and even months?

How is Easter even determined?

Easter is determined by the equinox. Every year around March 21 and September 23, there is twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness. Day and night are equal. These two days are known as the vernal or spring equinox and the autumnal equinox.


In 325 AD, the Council of Nicaea established Easter as the first Sunday after the first full moon and dependant upon the ececclesiastical approximation of March 21 for the vernal equinox. But if the full moon falls on Sunday, Easter is delayed one week, which decreases the chances of it falling on the same day as the Jewish Passover.

So, if Easter is celebrated at different times of the month, does it really matter whether Christ died on a Friday and was ressurrected on Sunday. Or if he died on Wednesday and was ressurected on Saturday? What matters is that Christ was tortured, ridiculed, and crucified for our sins. He was buried in a tomb where he lay dead for three days before his ressurection on the third day. And because he died, we migh live and have eternal life.Believing and having faith is what counts.

In the words of Sturar Chase~  “For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don’t believe, no proof is possible.”