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| The lightnings that appear before the earthquake |
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| The lightnings fills the soldiers with terror |
At
the moment Jesus expired, there was an earthquake which produced a deep chasm at Calvary and did much damage in
different parts of Palestine, but its effects were even more fatal in
Jerusalem.
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| The earthquake tearing apart the temple |
watch how the earthquke occured
And then Christ ordered several of the souls in Limbo to re-enter the bodies in which they once dwelt, in order that the sight might fill sinners with a salutary terror, and that these souls might render a solemn testimony to his divinity. Panic was increased by the sudden appearance ofthese dead
persons, confronting the trembling miscreants who were flying to hide
themselves, and addressing them in the most severe and reproachful language.
The
priests were endeavouring to continue the sacrifices, when suddenly an
unexpected and most appalling pause ensued; for in the midst of the multitude
there suddenly appeared persons who had been dead and buried for many years!
These persons looked at them sternly, and reproved them most severely for the
crime they had committed that day, in bringing about the death of ‘the just
man,’ and calling down his blood upon their heads.
The
two columns which were placed at the entrance of their Holy of Holies, and to
which a magnificent curtain was appended, were shaken to the very foundations;
the column on the left side fell down in a southerly, and that on the right
side in a northerly direction, thus rending the veil in two from the top to the
bottom with a fearful sound, and exposing the Holy of Holies uncovered to the
public gaze.
An apparition of the High Priest Zacharias, who was slain between the porch and
the altar, was seen in the sanctuary. (The
Zacharias here referred to was the father of John the Baptist who was tortured
and afterwards put to death by Herod, because he would not betray John into the
hands of the tyrant. He was buried by his friends within the precincts of the
Temple.) and some other prophets
made their appearance in the part usually occupied by the doctors of the law;
they also spoke in terrific terms of the deaths of the prophets, of the
sacrifice of the old law which was now about to cease, and they exhorted all
present to be converted, and to embrace the doctrines which had been preached
by him whom they had crucified. The prophet Jeremiah likewise appeared; he
stood near the altar, and proclaimed, in a menacing tone, that the ancient sacrifice was at an end, and that a new one had
commenced.
These
prodigies were followed by others still more extraordinary. The doors of the
sanctuary flew open of themselves, and a voice was heard to utter these words: ‘Let us leave this place;’ all the
angels of the Lord instantly leave the Temple.
More
than a hundred persons who had died at different epochs re-entered the bodies
they had occupied when on earth, made their appearance in different parts of
Jerusalem, and filled the
inhabitants with inexpressible consternation. Those
souls which had been released by Jesus from
Limbo uncovered their faces and wandered to and fro in the streets, and
although their bodies were the same as those which they had animated when on
earth, yet these bodies did not appear to touch the ground as they walked.
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| the souls glide through the air without moving their feet |
They
entered the houses of their descendants, proclaimed the innocence of Jesus, and
reproved those who had taken part in his death most severely. They were
passing through the principal streets; they were generally in couples, and
appeared to glide through the air without moving their feet. The countenances
of some were pale; others of a yellow tint; their beards were long, and
their voices sounded strange and sepulchral. Their grave-clothes were such as
it was customary in use at the period of their decease. When they reached the place where sentence of death was
proclaimed on Jesus before the procession started for Calvary, they paused for a moment, and
exclaimed in a loud voice: ‘Glory be to Jesus forever and ever, and destruction
to his enemies!’ Towards four o’clock all the dead returned to their graves and
then later coming out of the graves finally after the resurrection of Christ. This
is which the scripture says concerning these events:
“[50]And
Jesus again crying with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
[51] And
behold the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom,
and the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent. [52] And
the graves were opened: and many bodies of the saints that had slept arose, [53] And
coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, came into the holy city, and
appeared to many. [54] Now
the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus, having seen the
earthquake, and the things that were done, were sore afraid, saying: Indeed
this was the Son of God. [55] And
there were there many women afar off, who had followed Jesus from Galilee,
ministering unto him:”(Matthew 27:50-55)
