To find out the precise point Jesus had passed away, an international team of geologists focused on a verse from the Gospel of Matthew, which describes the crucifixion of Jesus.

“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open,” the book says.

Scientists assumed the “the Earth shook” part referred to actual seismic activity in the Death Sea region that took place somewhere between 26 and 36 A.D., when the infamous Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea.

Jefferson Williams of Supersonic Geophysical, Markus Schwab and Achim Brauer of the German Research Center for Geosciences looked at three cores at a beach close to the Dead Sea.

They found that at least one earthquake large enough to affect the core had occurred during the time of Jesus.

By factoring in the common testimony of four biblical gospels that the crucifixion happened on Friday and Jesus died by nightfall, researchers concluded that April 3, 33 A.D. is the mostly likely candidate.

One of the authors, Jefferson Williams, is contemplating the possibility that the “darkness” reported in the gospel may have been caused by a dust storm.

However, researchers recognized the possibility that the earthquake record they found may not be the one mentioned in the Bible, noting the tremor in the Bible may just be allegorical.

This research was reported in the journal International Geology Review.

(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)