NASA reveals 'exact day' Jesus died based on lunar eclipse
What's the story
A stunning find by NASA could put an end to the speculation about the exact date of Jesus Christ's death.
The space agency's astronomical models indicate that a lunar eclipse took place on Friday, April 3, 33 AD—a date many scholars link to Jesus's death.
The celestial event is said to have bathed the moon in a reddish hue, which would have been visible from Jerusalem shortly after sunset.
Social media buzz
This revelation has gained traction on TikTok
The NASA discovery, made in the 1990s, went viral on TikTok on Good Friday—a day observed by Christians as the day Jesus was crucified.
The space agency observed that "Christian texts mention that the Moon turned to blood after Jesus's crucifixion—potentially referring to a lunar eclipse, during which the Moon takes on a reddish hue."
The Bible verse about the moon is mentioned in Acts 2:20.
Scriptural references
Biblical verses about lunar eclipse
It reads, "The sun will be turned to darkness and...moon to blood before the arrival of the great and glorious day of the Lord."
According to biblical accounts, apostle Peter spoke these words 50 days after Jesus was crucified.
Some scholars believe Peter was recounting what he had seen during Jesus's crucifixion, while others interpret the verse as a prophecy about the second coming of Jesus.
This is because Peter was quoting another fire-and-brimstone forecast from the Old Testament.
Expert agreement
Biblical experts support NASA's findings
"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and awful day of the Lord approaches," Joel 2:28-31 warned.
Biblical experts Colin Humphreys and W Graeme Waddington of the University of Oxford, backed NASA's findings.
They argued that Peter was stating that Joel's prophecy had come true.
They found that the gospels' description of darkness falling over the region between 12-3:00pm when Jesus was on the cross closely matched the imagery in Joel's prophecy.