Expert: Brenda Martin - 3/12/2004

Question
Hello,
I was wondering if it is documented that after Jesus died on the cross if the actual stone temple did split.  If the storm happened in this way, then there is no way anyone can argue that Jesus isn't who he said he was.  I did hear of a possible "eclipse theory" and even that would or may be more than a coincedence.  
I am glad i found this web site, your bio sounds interesting...
I would also love to hear your thoughts on the "ape" theory.  I study biology and they only teach us "one way" although i don't believe what they tell me 100%
thanks!


Answer
Hi there Joe, you asked--"STONE TEMPLE SPLIT, STORM HAPPENED?"

The curtain that separated the Holy from the Most Holy pictured Jesus' fleshly body. (Hebrews 10:19, 20) It was the barrier that kept Jesus from entering into his Father's presence while he was a man on earth. (1 Corinthians 15:50) At the time of Jesus' death, “the curtain of the sanctuary was rent in two, from top to bottom.” (Matthew 27:51) This dramatically indicated that the barrier preventing Jesus' entry into heaven had now been removed.

“The earth quaked, and the rock-masses were split. (Matthew 27:51-53)  The upheaval at Jesus' death opened tombs, tossing lifeless bodies into the open. Such occurrences during earthquakes were reported in the second century C.E. by Greek writer Aelius Aristides and more recently, in 1962, in Colombia.

The day Jesus was fastened to a torture stake, from the sixth hour (11:00 a.m. to 12 noon) until the ninth hour (2:00 to 3:00 p.m.) a darkness fell over all the land. (Mt 27:45; Mr 15:33) Luke's account adds that the darkness fell “because the sunlight failed.” (Lu 23:44, 45)

On the day of Jesus' death, about three o'clock in the afternoon, an earthquake took place, splitting rock-masses open, causing the memorial tombs to be opened, and causing dead bodies to be thrown from their graves. The curtain of the sanctuary in the temple rebuilt by Herod was torn in two, from top to bottom. Prior to this, darkness had fallen over the land. Some think that volcanic action was involved, for often volcanoes belch out smoke and dust that blacken the sky. But there is no real evidence that there was any volcanic action connected with this earthquake. (Mt 27:45, 51-54; Lu 23:44, 45)

On one occasion, when the Jews demanded a sign from Jesus, he replied: “Break down this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews thought he was speaking of the temple building, but the apostle John explains: “He was talking about the temple of his body.” When he was resurrected by his Father on the third day of his death, the disciples recalled and understood this saying and believed it. (Joh 2:18-22; Mt 27:40)

"ECLIPSE THEORY?"

This could not have been due to an eclipse of the sun by the moon, as some think, for the darkness occurred at Passover time, which was always the time of full moon. It is about two weeks later that the moon is new, that is, in the same direction as the sun from the earth (the time when solar eclipses occur).

"APE THEORY?"

On Apes:
 “Unfortunately, the fossil record which would enable us to trace the emergence of the apes is still hopelessly incomplete.”—The Primates

 “Modern apes, for instance, seem to have sprung out of nowhere. They have no yesterday, no fossil record.”—Science Digest

From Ape to Man:
 “No fossil or other physical evidence directly connects man to ape.”—Science Digest

 “The human family does not consist of a solitary line of descent leading from an apelike form to our species.”—The New Evolutionary Timetable

Are “ape-men” our ancestors? Evolutionary scientists claim that they are and yet today's living world has nothing in it to support the idea.

There is an enormous gulf between humans and any animals existing today, including the ape family. Hence, since the living world does not provide a link between man and ape, it was hoped that the fossil record would.
From the standpoint of evolution, the obvious gulf between man and ape today is strange. Evolutionary theory holds that as animals progressed up the evolutionary scale, they became more capable of surviving. Why, then, is the “inferior” ape family still in existence, but not a single one of the presumed intermediate forms, which were supposed to be more advanced in evolution? Today we see chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans, but no “ape-men.” Does it seem likely that every one of the more recent and supposedly more advanced “links” between apelike creatures and modern man should have become extinct, but not the lower apes?

After more than a century of searching, how much fossil evidence is there of “ape-men”? Richard Leakey stated: “Those working in this field have so little evidence upon which to base their conclusions that it is necessary for them frequently to change their conclusions.”

New Scientist commented: “Judged by the amount of evidence upon which it is based, the study of fossil man hardly deserves to be more than a sub-discipline of palaeontology or anthropology. . . . the collection is so tantalisingly incomplete, and the specimens themselves often so fragmentary and inconclusive.”

“All men living today belong to a single species, Homo sapiens, and are derived from a common stock. . . . Biological differences between human beings are due to differences in hereditary constitution and to the influence of the environment on this genetic potential. In most cases, those differences are due to the interaction of these two sets of factors. . . . Differences between individuals within a race or within a population are often greater than the average differences between races or populations.”—An international body of scientists convened by UNESCO, quoted in Statement on Race (New York, 1972, third ed.), Ashley Montagu, pp. 149, 150.


“The Bible story of Adam and Eve, father and mother of the whole human race, told centuries ago the same truth that science has shown today: that all the peoples of the earth are a single family and have a common origin.”—The Races of Mankind (New York, 1978), Ruth Benedict and Gene Weltfish, p. 3.

Acts 17:26: “[God] made out of one man every nation of men, to dwell upon the entire surface of the earth.”

I look forward to hearing from you again,

All the best , Brenda