Nougat 1

Hi siblings

How does your culture deal with signs? It isn’t true for all of Jamaica, but there are folks who see signs in just about anything – not always negatively. And they often could explain the significance of them. I wonder what they’d have said/done, had they been around in the day off Y’shua’s crucifixion. More so if they’d been there to witness what happened in Today’s Holy Nougat

“By this time it was about noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭23‬:‭44‬-‭45‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Signs and Wonders

I’m sometimes naughtily inclined to think that when we see certain signs, they make us wonder. Hence the term signs and wonders. In this brief pericope (Bible segment), we see two significant signs:

– Supernatural Darkness

– Torn Temple Curtain

I can only imagine what my experts would have made of those!

In most contexts, if not all, midday is the time that carries the most sunlight. Thus, it would be most unnatural for the place to be as midnight in the middle of the day. I concur that during hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions this might be expected; but in the middle of the day. Unlikely. Especially since the only weather pattern at that time would have been the Full Moon, a requisite for the Passover Feast.

Or, it could have been an eclipse, which in those days might not have been predicted as precisely. For I suspect that a crucifixion might not have been planned to coincide with an eclipse. So much could accidentally happen in the darkness … and some apologetics argue that the timing was off as a total eclipse lasts for minutes not hours. They also suggest that the moon phase was incorrect.

In general, I have concluded that the weight of our sin was so great, and the pain YHWH encountered in that moment was such that for those 3 hours, YHWH – though present – could not beat to see what unfolded. At other times, I conclude that it is what Pure Evil looks like when given permission to run rampant. For, in that moment I have no doubt that God (YHWH), gave permission to the enemy of our souls to carry on with the Crucifixion. And, as my earlier argument holds, though YHWH was present, YHWH did not take over. This aligns with Y’shua’s cry ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me!’

But what if this was the fulfillment of prophecy? Some scholars suggest that it aligns with Amos 8:9-10, which states that the sun will go down at noon, the earth will be darkened, and the festivals will be turned into mourning … like a time of mourning for an only son! I never made that connection before, did you? This argument holds merit as it suggests that judgement was underway, and Y’shua took the fall for all humanity.

Thus the three hours of darkness would have been like a culmination of all our sins being borne by our Savior! Thanks be to God!

Whatever the full reason, we know that the wrath of God was satisfied, and we can live forever because He died. What’s your theory?

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May all we seek be found in Christ