The fifth of Yahweh's (Jesus') annual holy days, the Day of Atonement is almost upon us. Read the brief amount written about it in Lev. 23. It's to be observed at the beginning of the 10th day of the seventh month, Tishri, from sunset until sunset (on the following evening). It is a day of fasting from all food and liquids for most who observe this day. This day, like the other annual holy days God gave to His people, Israel, many centuries ago is for His people today also! It's mentioned in Acts 27:9 where it's referred to as 'the fast'. It would not have been mentioned so casually by Luke if Christians were no longer observing it. I believe all true 1st century followers of Jesus' were observing this important annual Sabbath and so should His disciples in 2018! This day is packed with important meaning and symbolism that the vast majority of professing Christians are ignorant of.
You can read about the meaning of this day
here (1),
here (2),
here (3),
here (4)
and here (5).
Monday, September 17, 2018
Monday, September 10, 2018
The Feast of Trumpets
Today, Monday, September 10, is the Feast of Trumpets. In the Hebrew calendar, it is the 1st day of the 7th month of Tishri. So, Tishri 1 = Sept 10 2018.
This is one of the seven annual holy days God gave to His people, the children of Israel* in the wilderness, following their miraculous escape from Egypt.
[* The nation of Israel was the only people group God was working through and dealing with at that time in history. In Lev. 23, we read The Feast of Trumpets and the other annual Sabbaths were given to the Israelites to be observed throughout their generations. Since Israelites still exist today, they are still required to observe the annual holy days of: (Passover), Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. The meaning of these days can be found throughout the entire Bible! Very few understand what these days picture in full. One reason is God is not allowing most people to understand His Word and His wonderful plan of salvation at this time in human history! It can and should be an exciting life-long study for those who are being called by God now!
So, the skeptic says, "Aha. So God gave these days to the Israelites! Christians do not have to keep them - not now, not ever, since God gave them to Israelites only and no other people group."
Not so fast! In Galatians 3:26-28, Paul wrote: 'for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27. For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ. 28. There is neither Jew nor Greek [gentile]....for you are all one in Christ Jesus.' Note well, spiritually speaking, there is no distinction between Jew and non-Jew when it comes to how we live and obedience to God.
It's a myth to believe gentile Christians are under no obligation to observe the holy days God gave to the Israelites in the wilderness under Moses' leadership. To prove this, note what Paul the apostle to the gentiles wrote in 1 Cor 5:7, 'For Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed. 8. Let us therefore celebrate the festival (Unleavened Bread).....' Corinth was a city in modern Turkey. Almost certainly, most of the church would have been gentile believers. Paul was commanding them to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread right after the Passover, as we read in Lev. 23:4-8.
Many have tried to find excuses for not observing God's holy days. A popular one is: Jesus fulfilled the holy days in His life, death and resurrection. They part-wrongly believe: When Jesus died and rose up to Heaven, all the Old Covenant was fulfilled and therefore everything the Jews were commanded to do was 'nailed to the cross'. That is only partly right!
True, we no longer have to offer animal sacrifices to God in payment for our sins. Jesus did indeed fulfill that requirement through His death on Calvary.
Also, physical circumcision is no longer necessary as we are required to be spiritually circumcised as Paul made clear in Romans 2:29, 'But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter......' In vs.25-28, Paul explains that the one who is uncircumcised who keeps God's law will condemn the one is circumcised but who does not obey the law. To the circumcised one who breaks the law is counted by God as one who is uncircumcised. In v. 28, Paul states, 'For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. All disciples of Jesus are spiritual Jews who are obliged to keep the law of God.
Late in the first century, John, the apostle 'whom Jesus loved' (see John 13:23; 20:2; 21:7 & 20. John wrote of himself in the 3rd person), wrote, 'Sin is the transgression of the law' (1 Jn 3:4). It's nonsense to argue that Christians are free from obeying the Ten Commandments. Read Jesus' words of warning in Matt. 5:17-20.
People like to read and think of John 3:16 but they would do well to meditate Peter's words of warning in 2 Peter 3:15, 16! It's amazing how many deceivers muddy the waters and misinterpret Paul's teachings about God's law. Many who should know better teach (wrongly) with great certainty that Paul taught that Christians are no longer under the law (eg. Gal. 5:18), meaning they are not required to keep it. They claim incorrectly, that keeping the law is no longer an issue for anyone who is 'led by the Spirit' and who has accepted Jesus in their hearts as their personal Saviour but they are false teachers. They ignore Paul's teaching in Romans 6:23: 'For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord'. A major motive for teaching that God's law is no longer binding on Christians is their desire to reject and ignore the 7th day Sabbath that the 4th commandment teaches us about. Paul showed how all Jesus' disciples should accept and agree that we are spiritual Jews and should be true Sabbath-keepers, as well as people who want to observe the biblical holy days that the pre-incarnate Jesus gave to His people from Mount Sinai. Yes, for those who are unaware, Jesus was the God of the Old Testament, not God the Father. For proof, read here.
That's why Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments (John 14:15).
How sad! Untold millions of professing 'Christians' who are not Christians at all according to the Bible are going through life assuming they're right with God but they're not, simply because they have believed lies about God's law 'being nailed to the cross' which is a huge misunderstanding Bible 'experts' have repeated often enough to mislead M-a-n-y biblically uneducated professing Christians. They have been very careless at handling God's Word. They have failed to understand the Bible was not written with 21st century 'Westerners' in mind! To get the correct meaning from the Bible, it is absolutely necessary to read it from the writers point of view! What was the original writer trying to get across? What did he believe? Who was he writing to? You have to get inside the mind of the writer and, if possible, the individual or group he was writing to. The many Bible 'experts' and preachers misunderstand Paul's writings as a result of ignoring this vitally important principle! Re-read 2 Peter 3:15, 16.
Ultimately, the main reason why we are given years to live here on Earth after trusting in the blood of Jesus to save us is to give us time to become very familiar and knowledgeable of God's Word, the Holy Bible. We are wasting our time if we approach the Bible with our own pre-conceived ideas and beliefs in our heads. We should ask God to enable us to abandon our own ideas when proven to be false and honestly embrace what the Bible actually teaches.
We are to read out of the Bible what is in it (exegesis), NOT read into the Bible what we want it to say (eisegesis)! That is a vital principle of Bible study!
So, as we read and study the Bible, may God guide us to understanding more of His priceless Truth, eg. the need to keep His annual Sabbaths such as the Feast of Trumpets which I am observing today, for our spiritual good and the blessing that comes from obeying God.
My prayer is that by next year many more people here in Ireland and around the world will be observing all God's holy days listed in Lev. 23. They are, again: Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day.
We should seek the hidden gems of Truth concerning God's holy days and other precious doctrines that are scattered throughout the Bible, every day of our lives. It's so true, that the more one studies the Bible with a pure heart and motive, the more hidden Truth and understanding one discovers. Nothing else should be more important to us as individual Christians. God bless.
This is one of the seven annual holy days God gave to His people, the children of Israel* in the wilderness, following their miraculous escape from Egypt.
[* The nation of Israel was the only people group God was working through and dealing with at that time in history. In Lev. 23, we read The Feast of Trumpets and the other annual Sabbaths were given to the Israelites to be observed throughout their generations. Since Israelites still exist today, they are still required to observe the annual holy days of: (Passover), Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. The meaning of these days can be found throughout the entire Bible! Very few understand what these days picture in full. One reason is God is not allowing most people to understand His Word and His wonderful plan of salvation at this time in human history! It can and should be an exciting life-long study for those who are being called by God now!
So, the skeptic says, "Aha. So God gave these days to the Israelites! Christians do not have to keep them - not now, not ever, since God gave them to Israelites only and no other people group."
Not so fast! In Galatians 3:26-28, Paul wrote: 'for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27. For as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ. 28. There is neither Jew nor Greek [gentile]....for you are all one in Christ Jesus.' Note well, spiritually speaking, there is no distinction between Jew and non-Jew when it comes to how we live and obedience to God.
It's a myth to believe gentile Christians are under no obligation to observe the holy days God gave to the Israelites in the wilderness under Moses' leadership. To prove this, note what Paul the apostle to the gentiles wrote in 1 Cor 5:7, 'For Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed. 8. Let us therefore celebrate the festival (Unleavened Bread).....' Corinth was a city in modern Turkey. Almost certainly, most of the church would have been gentile believers. Paul was commanding them to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread right after the Passover, as we read in Lev. 23:4-8.
Many have tried to find excuses for not observing God's holy days. A popular one is: Jesus fulfilled the holy days in His life, death and resurrection. They part-wrongly believe: When Jesus died and rose up to Heaven, all the Old Covenant was fulfilled and therefore everything the Jews were commanded to do was 'nailed to the cross'. That is only partly right!
True, we no longer have to offer animal sacrifices to God in payment for our sins. Jesus did indeed fulfill that requirement through His death on Calvary.
Also, physical circumcision is no longer necessary as we are required to be spiritually circumcised as Paul made clear in Romans 2:29, 'But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter......' In vs.25-28, Paul explains that the one who is uncircumcised who keeps God's law will condemn the one is circumcised but who does not obey the law. To the circumcised one who breaks the law is counted by God as one who is uncircumcised. In v. 28, Paul states, 'For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. All disciples of Jesus are spiritual Jews who are obliged to keep the law of God.
Late in the first century, John, the apostle 'whom Jesus loved' (see John 13:23; 20:2; 21:7 & 20. John wrote of himself in the 3rd person), wrote, 'Sin is the transgression of the law' (1 Jn 3:4). It's nonsense to argue that Christians are free from obeying the Ten Commandments. Read Jesus' words of warning in Matt. 5:17-20.
People like to read and think of John 3:16 but they would do well to meditate Peter's words of warning in 2 Peter 3:15, 16! It's amazing how many deceivers muddy the waters and misinterpret Paul's teachings about God's law. Many who should know better teach (wrongly) with great certainty that Paul taught that Christians are no longer under the law (eg. Gal. 5:18), meaning they are not required to keep it. They claim incorrectly, that keeping the law is no longer an issue for anyone who is 'led by the Spirit' and who has accepted Jesus in their hearts as their personal Saviour but they are false teachers. They ignore Paul's teaching in Romans 6:23: 'For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord'. A major motive for teaching that God's law is no longer binding on Christians is their desire to reject and ignore the 7th day Sabbath that the 4th commandment teaches us about. Paul showed how all Jesus' disciples should accept and agree that we are spiritual Jews and should be true Sabbath-keepers, as well as people who want to observe the biblical holy days that the pre-incarnate Jesus gave to His people from Mount Sinai. Yes, for those who are unaware, Jesus was the God of the Old Testament, not God the Father. For proof, read here.
That's why Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments (John 14:15).
How sad! Untold millions of professing 'Christians' who are not Christians at all according to the Bible are going through life assuming they're right with God but they're not, simply because they have believed lies about God's law 'being nailed to the cross' which is a huge misunderstanding Bible 'experts' have repeated often enough to mislead M-a-n-y biblically uneducated professing Christians. They have been very careless at handling God's Word. They have failed to understand the Bible was not written with 21st century 'Westerners' in mind! To get the correct meaning from the Bible, it is absolutely necessary to read it from the writers point of view! What was the original writer trying to get across? What did he believe? Who was he writing to? You have to get inside the mind of the writer and, if possible, the individual or group he was writing to. The many Bible 'experts' and preachers misunderstand Paul's writings as a result of ignoring this vitally important principle! Re-read 2 Peter 3:15, 16.
Ultimately, the main reason why we are given years to live here on Earth after trusting in the blood of Jesus to save us is to give us time to become very familiar and knowledgeable of God's Word, the Holy Bible. We are wasting our time if we approach the Bible with our own pre-conceived ideas and beliefs in our heads. We should ask God to enable us to abandon our own ideas when proven to be false and honestly embrace what the Bible actually teaches.
We are to read out of the Bible what is in it (exegesis), NOT read into the Bible what we want it to say (eisegesis)! That is a vital principle of Bible study!
So, as we read and study the Bible, may God guide us to understanding more of His priceless Truth, eg. the need to keep His annual Sabbaths such as the Feast of Trumpets which I am observing today, for our spiritual good and the blessing that comes from obeying God.
My prayer is that by next year many more people here in Ireland and around the world will be observing all God's holy days listed in Lev. 23. They are, again: Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day.
We should seek the hidden gems of Truth concerning God's holy days and other precious doctrines that are scattered throughout the Bible, every day of our lives. It's so true, that the more one studies the Bible with a pure heart and motive, the more hidden Truth and understanding one discovers. Nothing else should be more important to us as individual Christians. God bless.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
My Christian / Biblical beliefs
Where I am in my Christian 'walk' at present:
I find myself without a church congregation where I can feel 'at home' doctrinally due to my deeply held beliefs that are almost unique to me. I have attended churches that I disagreed with because as a single man, I felt it was not healthy for me to be isolated from others who at least claimed to be Christians who believed the Bible. It was, at times, hard to continue attending such churches where they believed incorrect doctrines (as far as I was concerned). Some of the hymns and worship songs they sung contained words and ideas I disagreed with. I did not feel 'at home' in those places but I kept my peace. I frequently kept Hebrews 10:25 in mind. The only alternative was to study the Scriptures alone every 'Lord's Day' and not meet with people who were only partly like-minded to me. Not ideal but neither was hearing incorrect teachings taken for granted during sermons, songs, even announcements every week. There was a 'tipping point' some weeks ago when the public car park church members and attendees used was closed by the local authority and I felt that was the logical time for me to discontinue attending the church I had been going to for several years.
So, what do I believe that makes it so hard for me to find a congregation of Christians where I can feel 'at home'? This is a short list of some of the distinctive beliefs I have.
1. The Ten Commandments are still in force today. All God's people must believe and promote that fact. Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 15:15; 10). Jesus left us in no doubt that those who practice 'lawlessness' would not be saved (Matthew 7:21-23+). How many deceived preachers will be cursed on the 'last day' because they taught that the Law was nailed to the cross? Many! The only thing that was nailed to the cross of Christ was the 'handwriting of requirements' (NKJV), or the 'IOU' we all owed God for our sins. Jesus took all those sins upon Himself (Col 2:13, 14).
2. The true 'Lord's Day' is the seventh day, or the Sabbath; what we call sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. Biblically, every day begins and ends at sunset. The 4th commandment requires us to rest from our everyday activities (eg work, school/college, shopping, entertainment and other non-religious activities) and focus on our Creator and Saviour every 7th day. Christians should attend a worship service and perform spiritual duties every 7th day, if at all possible. (Christians are free to attend worship meetings, Bible studies, prayer meetings etc any day/evening of the week but such events are optional whereas keeping the entire 7th day holy unto God every week is a duty we are required to obey if we do not wish to sin. Remember this: perfect obedience of all of the Ten Commandments will not save anyone as we are saved by grace. Salvation is a priceless free gift; you cannot earn it, or it would no longer be a gift. Jesus shed blood is what saves people, not anything we do! Think of grace as: God's Riches At Christ's Expense.
3. What is sin? 1 Jn 3:4 tells us sin is disobedience of (or 'transgression' of, KJV) God's moral law, the Ten Commandments. So, if you know it is right to observe the 7th-day Sabbath and you do not do so by, for example, attending a sports event instead of going to a worship service, that is a sin, James 4:17. Sin has been a curse to the human race from the beginning. It caused a total separation between humanity and God in the Garden of Eden. Sin is mentioned in Genesis 4:7. I believe God explained all about sin to our first parents. He must have since we read in Romans 5:19, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. The pre-incarnate Jesus would not have been fair if He had not explained the consequences of disobeying His laws to Adam and Eve. I take that as a given.
In Ps. 119:172, we read, 'all your commandments are righteousness'. According to 2 Peter 2:5, we read that Noah was a preacher of righteousness, so long before the (2nd) giving of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20 and Deut. 5), sin was a tragic reality among the human race.
The topic of sin is a big one and it takes much Bible study to understand fully how important it is but it is a subject every Christian should take the time to study.
4. God inspired His servant Paul to write Romans. In 6:23, we learn that the 'wages of sin is death' but in contrast, 'the gift of God is eternal life'. What is 'death', in this instance? It cannot be 'eternal life' is some place (eg. hell) or a state of separation from God since 'eternal life' is the reward of the saved. I think it is clear from the Scriptures that the wages of sin is loss of spiritual life or a state of non-existence. Malachi 4:3. Bear in mind only God has immortality, 1 Titus 6:15, 16. Also, note that immortality is something that Christians must 'seek', Rom. 2:7. Why would anyone need to 'seek' something s/he already possessed? Paul also spoke of 'putting on' immortality at some future time, 1 Cor 15:53. At this stage, I ask, What is the reward of the saved? Is it Heaven? NO! I will write a lot more about this universally misunderstood concept shortly but the biblical answer to this question is, The reward of the saved, in the short term is ruling over the Earth under King Jesus after He returns in power and glory and rules the entire world from Jerusalem. God speed that day! The time when the 'dead in Christ' receive their glorious reward will be at the time of the first resurrection at the 2nd Coming of Jesus, along with a vast army of angels who will all fight the armies of the world. They will number about 200,000,000 horsemen (Rev. 9:16).
A rewarding Bible study awaits those who put in the time to explore all that the Bible teaches about immortality. Truly, at present, only God is immortal, as we read already. No-one is immortal until s/he receives the gift of the Holy Spirit upon repentance and water baptism (Acts 2:38) and 'endures t o the end' (Matthew 10:22 & 24:13) and is fully 'born again' (John 3:3) and changed from mortal (ie. flesh and blood) to immortal (ie. spirit substance) at the time of the first resurrection (Rev. 20:6). Again, this is a vast topic and requires a lot of Bible study. It will not be time wasted! It needs to be said, those who are accounted worthy to be saved (Luke 21:36; 2 Thess. 1:5) will become in a sense members of the God family (Rev. 3:9). NB. Note what Jesus Himself said to the saints of the Philadelphia church, "indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you" Only God is worthy of worship. The saved saints of the church of Philadelphia would also be worthy of worship so they would be 'God beings' to a limited degree. Also, note what John wrote in 1 Jn 3:2, 'Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. This is a little-known Bible Truth that has been hidden from many believers for many centuries.
5. What is the nature of God? Is God one Being or two, or three? Is the Godhead made up of 3 Divine Beings in One, 3-in-1, a Trinity or two Beings? My belief is the latter. I believe John 1-3, 14 shows the Father ('God') and the Son ('the Word) make up the Godhead. So, where does the Holy Spirit fit in? I understand the Holy Spirit to be the mind, power and presence of the God. It is everything God is but it is not a Person or Being as God is! Let me be very clear, I believe Jesus is the Creator, the eternal God Who spoke the universe into existence. He had fellowship with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He was the God of the Old Testament, not God the Father! He was never identified as the archangel Michael! He created Michael and has always been infinitely superior to him.
Is God a Trinity?
6. The weekly Sabbath is a requirement for all God's people today in the 21st century. So too are the annual Sabbaths* God gave to His people, the children of Israel, under Moses' leadership in the wilderness.
Lev. 23 lists the annual Sabbaths His people were to continue to observe throughout their generations, or as long as their descendants existed on Earth. They still do exist, of course. The Jews make up only a small amount of the ancient 12 tribes of Israel and they are the only visible people-group that observe the annual Sabbaths today. Nevertheless, they make up only a minority of all real Israelites alive today scattered throughout the world.
The vast majority of Christians believe the holy days of God (not the Jews!) were fulfilled by Jesus' life and death and resurrection and therefore need not be observed by His people today or during the entire 'Church age'. Such is faulty reasoning, however. The annual Sabbaths 'the LORD' gave to the children of Israel were to be kept 'throughout their generations'. Since they still exist, God's holy days should be observed and as we learn in Gal 3:28, 'There is neither Jew nor Greek [gentile]....;for you are all one in Christ Jesus' so the days God gave the Jews (Israelites) to keep, all God's people are duty bound to keep - even in the 21st century. (I have yet to be convinced otherwise.)
The first of these days is the Passover, which is observed at the beginning (just after sunset) of the 14th day of the first month of the Hebrew (sacred) calendar during spring (March/April) in the northern hemisphere every year. It is not a holy day so it is called a festival but not a Sabbath. It is, of course, a required occasion for all Jews who take their religion even part-seriously.
The following day is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This is a seven-day festival. the first day and the last day are annual Sabbaths, also referred to as 'high Sabbaths.
The third annual Sabbath, the Day of Pentecost, also called, the Feast of Weeks. Pentecost means 50 and the method of calculating the day on which this Sabbath occurs is by counting 50 starting on the day after the weekly Sabbath during the festival of Unleavened Bread. Since Day 1 of the count is always on a Sunday, Pentecost always falls on a Sunday.
The fourth annual Sabbath falls during the 'Fall' (September.October, in the northern hemisphere) every year. This Sabbath is called the Feast of Trumpets [Mon. Sept 10, 2018] and it occurs on the first day of the seventh month of Tishri. (This day is celebrated as New Years Day by Jews since their main calendar starts of this date. This can cause confusion to those who are new to understanding the Hebrew calendar and the annual Sabbaths of the Lord.)
The fifth annual Sabbath is called the Day of Atonement [Wed. Sept 19, 2018] and it falls on the 10th day of Tishri. It, like all the other Sabbaths, weekly and annual, starts at sunset the previous day. It is a fast day when no food or liquid can be consumed unless a person has a medical condition and their health would be put at risk if they obeyed the letter of the Law. This is a very solemn day of reflection and re-commitment to the Lord.
The sixth annual Sabbath is the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles [Mon. Sept 24, 2018]. It falls on the 15th day of Tishri, the seventh month. This is a joyous seven-day festival that God's people look forward to all year. It pictures the wonderful peaceful happy world under Christ's rulership during the Millennium. Day seven of this festival occurs on the 21st Tishri.
It is followed by the seventh and final annual Sabbath, called the Last Great Day [Mon. Oct 1, 2018]. This day, like all the annual Sabbaths, are packed with meaning for all Christians who love the Truth eg are all those who never heard the name of Jesus Christ lost? Are loved ones who never came to saving faith in Christ lost forever? The meaning of this day is all about answering such difficult questions. The Bible has answers and they are wonderful and give us reason to be full of hope. Incidentally, this is NOT the only day of salvation! This belief is based on a mistranslation. Compare Isa. 49:8, which reads, 'in a day of salvation' with 2 Cor. 6:2, where it reads, 'in the day of salvation'. This life is not the only day of salvation for most of mankind. I'm not talking about a 'second chance'. The fact is, the vast majority has never had any chance to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour. They lacked the spiritual software in their minds to understand what was at stake. Simply put, they were not called and therefore could not be saved during their first physical lives. Another way of putting it is, they were not predestined to be called during their (first) lives. Only God the Father can call a person to seek and desire salvation (John 6:44, 65). It is only by observing the annual Sabbaths that God enables believers to understand more about His wonderful plan of salvation for all of Adam's race! (Remember the saying, 'The proof of the pudding is in the eating.' God blesses those who are obedient to Him with more understanding of hidden spiritual knowledge and wisdom! It's His perocative who He reveals His Truth to and when!) What the Bible says about this Sabbath answers and makes clear all the many questions and 'loose ends' people have about their 'unsaved' loved ones and humanity in general. Another thing to bear in mind is, we should work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philipeans 2:12), not be preoccupied with anyone elses' salvation!
Apart from Pentecost, most of these annual Sabbaths can fall on the weekly Sabbath. Such days are called 'double Sabbaths'
Some resources for you to read, should you wish, while I update my blog:
God's Holy Days - Or Pagan Holidays?
Holidays Or Holy Days
Holy Day Calendar
I find myself without a church congregation where I can feel 'at home' doctrinally due to my deeply held beliefs that are almost unique to me. I have attended churches that I disagreed with because as a single man, I felt it was not healthy for me to be isolated from others who at least claimed to be Christians who believed the Bible. It was, at times, hard to continue attending such churches where they believed incorrect doctrines (as far as I was concerned). Some of the hymns and worship songs they sung contained words and ideas I disagreed with. I did not feel 'at home' in those places but I kept my peace. I frequently kept Hebrews 10:25 in mind. The only alternative was to study the Scriptures alone every 'Lord's Day' and not meet with people who were only partly like-minded to me. Not ideal but neither was hearing incorrect teachings taken for granted during sermons, songs, even announcements every week. There was a 'tipping point' some weeks ago when the public car park church members and attendees used was closed by the local authority and I felt that was the logical time for me to discontinue attending the church I had been going to for several years.
So, what do I believe that makes it so hard for me to find a congregation of Christians where I can feel 'at home'? This is a short list of some of the distinctive beliefs I have.
1. The Ten Commandments are still in force today. All God's people must believe and promote that fact. Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 15:15; 10). Jesus left us in no doubt that those who practice 'lawlessness' would not be saved (Matthew 7:21-23+). How many deceived preachers will be cursed on the 'last day' because they taught that the Law was nailed to the cross? Many! The only thing that was nailed to the cross of Christ was the 'handwriting of requirements' (NKJV), or the 'IOU' we all owed God for our sins. Jesus took all those sins upon Himself (Col 2:13, 14).
2. The true 'Lord's Day' is the seventh day, or the Sabbath; what we call sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. Biblically, every day begins and ends at sunset. The 4th commandment requires us to rest from our everyday activities (eg work, school/college, shopping, entertainment and other non-religious activities) and focus on our Creator and Saviour every 7th day. Christians should attend a worship service and perform spiritual duties every 7th day, if at all possible. (Christians are free to attend worship meetings, Bible studies, prayer meetings etc any day/evening of the week but such events are optional whereas keeping the entire 7th day holy unto God every week is a duty we are required to obey if we do not wish to sin. Remember this: perfect obedience of all of the Ten Commandments will not save anyone as we are saved by grace. Salvation is a priceless free gift; you cannot earn it, or it would no longer be a gift. Jesus shed blood is what saves people, not anything we do! Think of grace as: God's Riches At Christ's Expense.
3. What is sin? 1 Jn 3:4 tells us sin is disobedience of (or 'transgression' of, KJV) God's moral law, the Ten Commandments. So, if you know it is right to observe the 7th-day Sabbath and you do not do so by, for example, attending a sports event instead of going to a worship service, that is a sin, James 4:17. Sin has been a curse to the human race from the beginning. It caused a total separation between humanity and God in the Garden of Eden. Sin is mentioned in Genesis 4:7. I believe God explained all about sin to our first parents. He must have since we read in Romans 5:19, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. The pre-incarnate Jesus would not have been fair if He had not explained the consequences of disobeying His laws to Adam and Eve. I take that as a given.
In Ps. 119:172, we read, 'all your commandments are righteousness'. According to 2 Peter 2:5, we read that Noah was a preacher of righteousness, so long before the (2nd) giving of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20 and Deut. 5), sin was a tragic reality among the human race.
The topic of sin is a big one and it takes much Bible study to understand fully how important it is but it is a subject every Christian should take the time to study.
4. God inspired His servant Paul to write Romans. In 6:23, we learn that the 'wages of sin is death' but in contrast, 'the gift of God is eternal life'. What is 'death', in this instance? It cannot be 'eternal life' is some place (eg. hell) or a state of separation from God since 'eternal life' is the reward of the saved. I think it is clear from the Scriptures that the wages of sin is loss of spiritual life or a state of non-existence. Malachi 4:3. Bear in mind only God has immortality, 1 Titus 6:15, 16. Also, note that immortality is something that Christians must 'seek', Rom. 2:7. Why would anyone need to 'seek' something s/he already possessed? Paul also spoke of 'putting on' immortality at some future time, 1 Cor 15:53. At this stage, I ask, What is the reward of the saved? Is it Heaven? NO! I will write a lot more about this universally misunderstood concept shortly but the biblical answer to this question is, The reward of the saved, in the short term is ruling over the Earth under King Jesus after He returns in power and glory and rules the entire world from Jerusalem. God speed that day! The time when the 'dead in Christ' receive their glorious reward will be at the time of the first resurrection at the 2nd Coming of Jesus, along with a vast army of angels who will all fight the armies of the world. They will number about 200,000,000 horsemen (Rev. 9:16).
A rewarding Bible study awaits those who put in the time to explore all that the Bible teaches about immortality. Truly, at present, only God is immortal, as we read already. No-one is immortal until s/he receives the gift of the Holy Spirit upon repentance and water baptism (Acts 2:38) and 'endures t o the end' (Matthew 10:22 & 24:13) and is fully 'born again' (John 3:3) and changed from mortal (ie. flesh and blood) to immortal (ie. spirit substance) at the time of the first resurrection (Rev. 20:6). Again, this is a vast topic and requires a lot of Bible study. It will not be time wasted! It needs to be said, those who are accounted worthy to be saved (Luke 21:36; 2 Thess. 1:5) will become in a sense members of the God family (Rev. 3:9). NB. Note what Jesus Himself said to the saints of the Philadelphia church, "indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you" Only God is worthy of worship. The saved saints of the church of Philadelphia would also be worthy of worship so they would be 'God beings' to a limited degree. Also, note what John wrote in 1 Jn 3:2, 'Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. This is a little-known Bible Truth that has been hidden from many believers for many centuries.
5. What is the nature of God? Is God one Being or two, or three? Is the Godhead made up of 3 Divine Beings in One, 3-in-1, a Trinity or two Beings? My belief is the latter. I believe John 1-3, 14 shows the Father ('God') and the Son ('the Word) make up the Godhead. So, where does the Holy Spirit fit in? I understand the Holy Spirit to be the mind, power and presence of the God. It is everything God is but it is not a Person or Being as God is! Let me be very clear, I believe Jesus is the Creator, the eternal God Who spoke the universe into existence. He had fellowship with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He was the God of the Old Testament, not God the Father! He was never identified as the archangel Michael! He created Michael and has always been infinitely superior to him.
Is God a Trinity?
6. The weekly Sabbath is a requirement for all God's people today in the 21st century. So too are the annual Sabbaths* God gave to His people, the children of Israel, under Moses' leadership in the wilderness.
Lev. 23 lists the annual Sabbaths His people were to continue to observe throughout their generations, or as long as their descendants existed on Earth. They still do exist, of course. The Jews make up only a small amount of the ancient 12 tribes of Israel and they are the only visible people-group that observe the annual Sabbaths today. Nevertheless, they make up only a minority of all real Israelites alive today scattered throughout the world.
The vast majority of Christians believe the holy days of God (not the Jews!) were fulfilled by Jesus' life and death and resurrection and therefore need not be observed by His people today or during the entire 'Church age'. Such is faulty reasoning, however. The annual Sabbaths 'the LORD' gave to the children of Israel were to be kept 'throughout their generations'. Since they still exist, God's holy days should be observed and as we learn in Gal 3:28, 'There is neither Jew nor Greek [gentile]....;for you are all one in Christ Jesus' so the days God gave the Jews (Israelites) to keep, all God's people are duty bound to keep - even in the 21st century. (I have yet to be convinced otherwise.)
The first of these days is the Passover, which is observed at the beginning (just after sunset) of the 14th day of the first month of the Hebrew (sacred) calendar during spring (March/April) in the northern hemisphere every year. It is not a holy day so it is called a festival but not a Sabbath. It is, of course, a required occasion for all Jews who take their religion even part-seriously.
The following day is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This is a seven-day festival. the first day and the last day are annual Sabbaths, also referred to as 'high Sabbaths.
The third annual Sabbath, the Day of Pentecost, also called, the Feast of Weeks. Pentecost means 50 and the method of calculating the day on which this Sabbath occurs is by counting 50 starting on the day after the weekly Sabbath during the festival of Unleavened Bread. Since Day 1 of the count is always on a Sunday, Pentecost always falls on a Sunday.
The fourth annual Sabbath falls during the 'Fall' (September.October, in the northern hemisphere) every year. This Sabbath is called the Feast of Trumpets [Mon. Sept 10, 2018] and it occurs on the first day of the seventh month of Tishri. (This day is celebrated as New Years Day by Jews since their main calendar starts of this date. This can cause confusion to those who are new to understanding the Hebrew calendar and the annual Sabbaths of the Lord.)
The fifth annual Sabbath is called the Day of Atonement [Wed. Sept 19, 2018] and it falls on the 10th day of Tishri. It, like all the other Sabbaths, weekly and annual, starts at sunset the previous day. It is a fast day when no food or liquid can be consumed unless a person has a medical condition and their health would be put at risk if they obeyed the letter of the Law. This is a very solemn day of reflection and re-commitment to the Lord.
The sixth annual Sabbath is the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles [Mon. Sept 24, 2018]. It falls on the 15th day of Tishri, the seventh month. This is a joyous seven-day festival that God's people look forward to all year. It pictures the wonderful peaceful happy world under Christ's rulership during the Millennium. Day seven of this festival occurs on the 21st Tishri.
It is followed by the seventh and final annual Sabbath, called the Last Great Day [Mon. Oct 1, 2018]. This day, like all the annual Sabbaths, are packed with meaning for all Christians who love the Truth eg are all those who never heard the name of Jesus Christ lost? Are loved ones who never came to saving faith in Christ lost forever? The meaning of this day is all about answering such difficult questions. The Bible has answers and they are wonderful and give us reason to be full of hope. Incidentally, this is NOT the only day of salvation! This belief is based on a mistranslation. Compare Isa. 49:8, which reads, 'in a day of salvation' with 2 Cor. 6:2, where it reads, 'in the day of salvation'. This life is not the only day of salvation for most of mankind. I'm not talking about a 'second chance'. The fact is, the vast majority has never had any chance to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour. They lacked the spiritual software in their minds to understand what was at stake. Simply put, they were not called and therefore could not be saved during their first physical lives. Another way of putting it is, they were not predestined to be called during their (first) lives. Only God the Father can call a person to seek and desire salvation (John 6:44, 65). It is only by observing the annual Sabbaths that God enables believers to understand more about His wonderful plan of salvation for all of Adam's race! (Remember the saying, 'The proof of the pudding is in the eating.' God blesses those who are obedient to Him with more understanding of hidden spiritual knowledge and wisdom! It's His perocative who He reveals His Truth to and when!) What the Bible says about this Sabbath answers and makes clear all the many questions and 'loose ends' people have about their 'unsaved' loved ones and humanity in general. Another thing to bear in mind is, we should work out our own salvation with fear and trembling (Philipeans 2:12), not be preoccupied with anyone elses' salvation!
Apart from Pentecost, most of these annual Sabbaths can fall on the weekly Sabbath. Such days are called 'double Sabbaths'
Some resources for you to read, should you wish, while I update my blog:
God's Holy Days - Or Pagan Holidays?
Holidays Or Holy Days
Holy Day Calendar
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Friday, 6th April, is a Biblical Holy Day!
The vast majority of Christians will go about their normal daily activities today, totally unaware it is an annual 'high day' Sabbath. Dismissed as an Old Testament 'holy day', 99% of professing Christians will neglect their biblical responsibilities and not give a thought about God's opinion on this matter. To give it its' biblical name, this holy day is 'the 7th, or last, day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:4-8). Read all 5 verses in this passage! It falls on the 22nd of the first month (Nisan/Abib) according to the Sacred God gave to His people. Notice, this and the other six holy days listed in Lev. 23 are called 'the feasts of the Lord' (v. 4), not the Jews' feasts or 'the Feasts of Israel'.
NB. God commanded His people to attend a worship meeting on this day and to avoid any 'servile' work during this holy day 'throughout your generations' (v. 21). True disciples of Jesus participated in the Passover ceremony on the night of Thursday, 29th March after sunset. According to the Sacred Hebrew calendar, this was the beginning of the 14th Nisan/Abib, the first month and it was the anniversary of Jesus 'last supper'and His betrayal in the garden of Gethsemane. This 7-day festival began at sunset on Friday, 30th March, the beginning of the 15th Nisan/Abib. This was a Saturday. This annual high day fell on the weekly Sabbath, making it a double Sabbath.
Today, 6th April, is the last of the seven days of the feast of Unleavened Bread during which all true disciples of Jesus are expected to avoid any food with raising agents in it eg. yeast. This is the feast Paul was referring to when he wrote to the mainly gentile church in Corinth (1 Cor. 5:8), 'Therefore, let us keep the feast'. Remember, this was written after the resurrection of Jesus so first century Christians, even gentile believers, were commanded to keep this meaningful festival, the feast of Unleavened Bread. In the Bible, leaven is compared to sin (1 Cor. 5:8; Matt. 16:6, 11; Lk. 12:1) and this festival is meant to remind us of the importance of avoiding/excluding sin from our lives every day. We are commanded to exclude sin from our lives 24/7/365.
Seven is God's number that represents completion eg seven days make up a complete week. This festival is forever meaningful and should not be neglected by anyone who regards him- or herself a true believer in Jesus! Each day begins at sunset and so from sunset, Thursday, 5th April until Friday sunset, 6th April, this day is holy unto the Lord, Jesus Christ. He desires all His followers to attend a sacred assembly with like-minded believers wherever possible. As with the children of Israel in the wilderness, under Moses' leadership, on this day each year, 22nd Nisan/Abib, all God's people today, in the 21st century, are commanded to rest from work and focus on the spiritual aspects of life.
The incorrect interpretation of Col 2:16, 17 does not show the holy days listed in Lev. 23 are no longer to be observed by God's people today. I will elaborate more about this point in a future blog entry. Much in the Bible is misunderstood by the vast majority of professing believers today.
NB. God commanded His people to attend a worship meeting on this day and to avoid any 'servile' work during this holy day 'throughout your generations' (v. 21). True disciples of Jesus participated in the Passover ceremony on the night of Thursday, 29th March after sunset. According to the Sacred Hebrew calendar, this was the beginning of the 14th Nisan/Abib, the first month and it was the anniversary of Jesus 'last supper'and His betrayal in the garden of Gethsemane. This 7-day festival began at sunset on Friday, 30th March, the beginning of the 15th Nisan/Abib. This was a Saturday. This annual high day fell on the weekly Sabbath, making it a double Sabbath.
Today, 6th April, is the last of the seven days of the feast of Unleavened Bread during which all true disciples of Jesus are expected to avoid any food with raising agents in it eg. yeast. This is the feast Paul was referring to when he wrote to the mainly gentile church in Corinth (1 Cor. 5:8), 'Therefore, let us keep the feast'. Remember, this was written after the resurrection of Jesus so first century Christians, even gentile believers, were commanded to keep this meaningful festival, the feast of Unleavened Bread. In the Bible, leaven is compared to sin (1 Cor. 5:8; Matt. 16:6, 11; Lk. 12:1) and this festival is meant to remind us of the importance of avoiding/excluding sin from our lives every day. We are commanded to exclude sin from our lives 24/7/365.
Seven is God's number that represents completion eg seven days make up a complete week. This festival is forever meaningful and should not be neglected by anyone who regards him- or herself a true believer in Jesus! Each day begins at sunset and so from sunset, Thursday, 5th April until Friday sunset, 6th April, this day is holy unto the Lord, Jesus Christ. He desires all His followers to attend a sacred assembly with like-minded believers wherever possible. As with the children of Israel in the wilderness, under Moses' leadership, on this day each year, 22nd Nisan/Abib, all God's people today, in the 21st century, are commanded to rest from work and focus on the spiritual aspects of life.
The incorrect interpretation of Col 2:16, 17 does not show the holy days listed in Lev. 23 are no longer to be observed by God's people today. I will elaborate more about this point in a future blog entry. Much in the Bible is misunderstood by the vast majority of professing believers today.
Friday, March 30, 2018
My Position On Easter
This year 'Easter Sunday' fell on 1st April. However, I, for one, did not be treat it as a special day, even though I am a Bible-believing Christian! Why not? The Bible is silent about keeping any day to remember or celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! (Human reason almost demands that followers of Jesus celebrate the resurrection anyway but we are not at liberty to worship Him as we see fit. God has told us in His Word how He wants us to worship Him! The choice we have is to worship Him as He has commanded or re-write the Bible as we see fit.) Those who introduced 'Easter' to the Church calendar and the other 'special' days of 'Holy Week' added their own ideas to the Bible. They disobeyed Scripture! (Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Prov. 30:6; Rev. 22:19 etc.) That is a BIG mistake to make! This is no minor matter! This subject deserves your full attention!
The Bible tells us after Jesus was dead in the tomb for three days and three nights (ie. a period of 72 hours!), (Matt. 12:40), He rose to (eternal) L-I-F-E, not just the temporary physio-chemical existence we call life! There is a BIG difference! After He rose from the dead, Jesus' body changed into spirit. His earthly body disappeared and, as before His birth to the virgin Mary, He had a body composed of spirit, since He was again fully God and 'God is a spirit' (Jn. 4:24). We read He appeared to His disciples by just materializing in their midst in a shut room (Jn. 20:19-26)! Following His resurrection, He was a spirit being capable of becoming flesh and bone at will or if He desired, vanishing at will (Lk. 24:31).
Note, the majority who call themselves Christians think the resurrection itself was the sign that Jesus was the Messiah who was prophesied by the the Old Testament prophets - not so! Jesus Himself said, "An evil and an adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah..." (Matt 16:4; 12:39-40). What did Jesus mean by these words?
Jonah was the OT prophet who tried to run away from his mission of preaching a warning message to the fierce vast city of Nineveh. In the book named after him, Jonah ran away in the opposite direction because he 'knew that (You) are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love...' (Jonah 4:2). Jonah had a 'gut feeling' the people of Nineveh would indeed heed his warning message and repent and avoid the total destruction God had planned for this entire vast city. He was right but 'it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry' (4:1). In fact, Jonah was one of the only OT prophets who succeeded in his mission from God. Why he didn't want to succeed is a very interesting study in human nature. Check out the eye-opening article about Jonah by clicking on his name at the beginning of this paragraph. I'm sure you will find it very interesting and enlightening.
Back to the 'sign of Jonah' Jesus mentioned in Matt. 16:4 and 12:40. Jonah got on a ship sailing away from Nineveh so God punished him by causing him to be thrown overboard by the other people on the ship at his suggestion. God caused a huge sea creature to swallow Jonah and for 'three days and three nights' Jonah was in the belly of this creature until he was vomited up near? Nineveh (Jonah 2:1; 10-3:3). Obviously, Jesus regarded Jonah as a real historical person who was actually in a giant sea creatures' belly for 'three days and three nights'. The sign of Jonah was the length of time he was in 'the belly of the fish'! Jesus said, "Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish" His only sign proving He was the Messiah was that He would spend a similar amount of time in the 'heart of the earth' (ie. the grave) thereby fulfilling the 'sign of Jonah'. It is important to realise the fact of the resurrection itself is not proof of Jesus Messiahship, according to Jesus Himself! If Jesus did not spend three days and three nights in the grave, He must be rejected as the Messiah! It's that serious! Remember, the length of time He would be in the grave would be His only sign! notwithstanding all the other miracles He performed during His public ministry. Jesus did fulfill His sign by rising from the dead as He said (He would) (Matt 28:6; 1 Cor. 15:3-4)! Jesus provided the proof He promised to convince all open-minded seekers of Truth that He was, and is, the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel (eg. Isa. 12:6), very God (the Son/Word) (Jn. 1:1-3,14). So, if Jesus was not crucified on a Friday and did not rise from the dead on a Sunday, what days did He die and rise on? If we accept He was dead in the tomb for a full 72 hours, virtually to the second! which is my belief, we must check the Gospels to see if we can determine when He was laid in the grave following His six hours on Calvary's Cross, ie. from 9am until 3pm (Cp Matt. 27; Mk. 15:25, 33-37; Lk. 23, esp vs 44-46; Jn 19) on Passover Day, 14th Nisan. We read in John 19:31, the day on which Jesus was crucified 'was the day of preparation' for the Sabbath and 'that Sabbath was a high day'. This is very important information indeed! NB. Every year, according to the Sacred calendar, the Passover is followed by an annual 'high day' Sabbath (Lev. 23:5-7). The day following the crucifixion was the first of the seven annual Sabbaths, not just the weekly Sabbath, although sometimes annual 'high day' Sabbaths do fall on the weekly Sabbath. (Such days are called 'double Sabbaths' and are not too uncommon.) So, was the high day Sabbath that followed Jesus' crucifixion a weekly Sabbath or a weekday Sabbath? The vital clue that will help us answer that question can be found in Luke 23:54-56. We read in v. 54, 'It was the day of preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning' when Jesus body was laid in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever been laid' (v 53). So, Jesus' body was placed in the tomb as the preparation day of the high day Sabbath was drawing to its end as the sun was setting. (Throughout the Bible, a day ends and the next day begins at sunset.) Jesus was buried on the Passover Day and the following day, every year, in the spring, is an annual Sabbath called the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Cp. Lev. 23:4-7; 1 Cor 5:7b-8). In verse 8, Paul was clearly commanding the gentile Christian disciples to 'keep the Feast (of Unleavened Bread). ('Therefore, let us keep the Feast', 1 Cor. 5:8, KJV). Arguing otherwise is to do grave injustice to the inspired text, in my opinion. A careful study of the New Testament verifies all God's annual Sabbaths were observed by the first century disciples that made up the 'Church of God'! (The annual holy-days listed in Lev. 23 are called 'Feasts of the Lord', not 'Feasts of the Jews' or any other such thing! Consider Gal. 3:28-29.)
From Luke 23, we learn Jesus' body was laid in the tomb at the close of the Passover as the sun set. The high day Sabbath began at sunset as soon as Jesus body was placed in the tomb. This was a mid-week Sabbath, not the weekly 'Lord's Day'! We can see this from vs. 55-56. After Jesus' body was placed in the tomb, 'The women who had come with Him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how His body was laid (v. 55). 'Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments' (to put on Messiah's body after that high day Sabbath. Of necessity, they must have had to wait until after that Sabbath to buy and prepare the spices and ointments. This may have taken them several hours. Then, 'On the (weekly) Sabbath they rested according to the commandment (v. 56). This of course was the weekly Sabbath, sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, which all Jews kept as it was the 4th of the Ten Commandments God gave to His people, the children of Israel, under Moses in the wilderness, following their miraculous release from Egypt (Ex. 1-19; 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15).
So, we see that Jesus was crucified on the Passover; His body was placed in the new tomb at the close of the Passover as the high day Sabbath following it began at sunset. The day after the annual holy day, the women who were Jesus' faithful companions went out and bought spices and ointments and prepared them to put on Jesus' body to preserve it from decay for as long as possible. The following day was the weekly Sabbath, ie. sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. All righteous Jews' rested on this day also. This shows there were two Sabbaths during the week of Jesus' crucifixion! The following day, 'toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb' (Matt 28:1). By the time they arrived, it was already empty. Verse 5, 'But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. Verse 6, He is not here, for He has risen, as He said".....' So, Jesus was risen before sunrise on Sunday morning ('toward the dawn', v. 1) or 'on the first day of the week, at early dawn..., Lk. 24:1) or 'on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb' (Jn. 20:1). Jesus had been resurrected before sunrise on Sunday morning. So, now we can see that Jesus did indeed spend 72 hours in His tomb. The Passover must have been on Wednesday. Jesus' body laid in the tomb from sunset at the end of that day. His body was in the tomb Wednesday night, Thursday night and Friday night and daylight hours Thursday, Friday and Saturday so He did indeed spend three days and three nights in the hearth of the earth, just as He said He would. He fulfilled the only sign He gave that He was the Messiah of all those who would believe in Him (Jn. 3:16). He died on a Wednesday and rose from the dead 72 hours later very late Saturday as the sun set. So, the Good Friday-Easter Sunday tradition is unbiblical and a lie! Those who believe it do not follow the Truth.
That resurrection of Jesus Christ indeed is wonderful news but isn't it strange the Bible does not tell us to keep this day special every year? Instead, Jesus, God in the flesh (Jn. 1:1-14; 20:28), commanded His disciples to remember His death every year on the anniversary of His last Passover supper (Matt. 26:17-19; Mk. 14:14) and His betrayal soon afterwards in the Garden of Gethsemane (Lk. 22:19b). Jesus, as Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament inspired Solomon to write, 'A good name is better than than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth (Eccl. 7:1). That's why He inspired King David, a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22) to write, 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints' (Ps. 116:15). This is just one example of how our ways are not God's ways (Isa. 55:9). God is not very interested in the day of our birth; He is much more concerned with the day of our death whereas we are preoccupied with our birthdays and try not to think of the day on which we will die. This brings to mind the saying, It's not where you begin but where you end that counts.
In conclusion, I only observe days the Scriptures commands us to keep. God does not command us to observe nearly all the days religious people keep. God does not require or want His people to observe 'Ash Wednesday', 'Lent', 'Palm Sunday', 'Good Friday', 'Easter Sunday' and others besides. They are not commanded to be observed in the Bible. Therefore, we are adding to Scripture if we decide to keep them without God's instructions. Rest assured, He did not forget to command us to keep any of them! There is enough we are commanded to observe in God's Word; we don't need to add more so-called 'holy days' that God hasn't commanded us to keep! Our duty is to observe the days (and laws) He has commanded us to keep. That is why, every spring, I observe the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, treating the 1st and 7th days as holy annual high-day Sabbaths.
Much of what you have just read above may be very new to you. Hopefully, you will want to do more reading and research on this important subject. I enclose some useful links that will help you see where the vast majority of Christians have gone astray from the Bible.
was Jesus executed on good friday or a wednesday?
read this about easter
resurrection connection
true origin of easter
resurrection not on sunday
The Bible tells us after Jesus was dead in the tomb for three days and three nights (ie. a period of 72 hours!), (Matt. 12:40), He rose to (eternal) L-I-F-E, not just the temporary physio-chemical existence we call life! There is a BIG difference! After He rose from the dead, Jesus' body changed into spirit. His earthly body disappeared and, as before His birth to the virgin Mary, He had a body composed of spirit, since He was again fully God and 'God is a spirit' (Jn. 4:24). We read He appeared to His disciples by just materializing in their midst in a shut room (Jn. 20:19-26)! Following His resurrection, He was a spirit being capable of becoming flesh and bone at will or if He desired, vanishing at will (Lk. 24:31).
Note, the majority who call themselves Christians think the resurrection itself was the sign that Jesus was the Messiah who was prophesied by the the Old Testament prophets - not so! Jesus Himself said, "An evil and an adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah..." (Matt 16:4; 12:39-40). What did Jesus mean by these words?
Jonah was the OT prophet who tried to run away from his mission of preaching a warning message to the fierce vast city of Nineveh. In the book named after him, Jonah ran away in the opposite direction because he 'knew that (You) are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love...' (Jonah 4:2). Jonah had a 'gut feeling' the people of Nineveh would indeed heed his warning message and repent and avoid the total destruction God had planned for this entire vast city. He was right but 'it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry' (4:1). In fact, Jonah was one of the only OT prophets who succeeded in his mission from God. Why he didn't want to succeed is a very interesting study in human nature. Check out the eye-opening article about Jonah by clicking on his name at the beginning of this paragraph. I'm sure you will find it very interesting and enlightening.
Back to the 'sign of Jonah' Jesus mentioned in Matt. 16:4 and 12:40. Jonah got on a ship sailing away from Nineveh so God punished him by causing him to be thrown overboard by the other people on the ship at his suggestion. God caused a huge sea creature to swallow Jonah and for 'three days and three nights' Jonah was in the belly of this creature until he was vomited up near? Nineveh (Jonah 2:1; 10-3:3). Obviously, Jesus regarded Jonah as a real historical person who was actually in a giant sea creatures' belly for 'three days and three nights'. The sign of Jonah was the length of time he was in 'the belly of the fish'! Jesus said, "Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish" His only sign proving He was the Messiah was that He would spend a similar amount of time in the 'heart of the earth' (ie. the grave) thereby fulfilling the 'sign of Jonah'. It is important to realise the fact of the resurrection itself is not proof of Jesus Messiahship, according to Jesus Himself! If Jesus did not spend three days and three nights in the grave, He must be rejected as the Messiah! It's that serious! Remember, the length of time He would be in the grave would be His only sign! notwithstanding all the other miracles He performed during His public ministry. Jesus did fulfill His sign by rising from the dead as He said (He would) (Matt 28:6; 1 Cor. 15:3-4)! Jesus provided the proof He promised to convince all open-minded seekers of Truth that He was, and is, the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel (eg. Isa. 12:6), very God (the Son/Word) (Jn. 1:1-3,14). So, if Jesus was not crucified on a Friday and did not rise from the dead on a Sunday, what days did He die and rise on? If we accept He was dead in the tomb for a full 72 hours, virtually to the second! which is my belief, we must check the Gospels to see if we can determine when He was laid in the grave following His six hours on Calvary's Cross, ie. from 9am until 3pm (Cp Matt. 27; Mk. 15:25, 33-37; Lk. 23, esp vs 44-46; Jn 19) on Passover Day, 14th Nisan. We read in John 19:31, the day on which Jesus was crucified 'was the day of preparation' for the Sabbath and 'that Sabbath was a high day'. This is very important information indeed! NB. Every year, according to the Sacred calendar, the Passover is followed by an annual 'high day' Sabbath (Lev. 23:5-7). The day following the crucifixion was the first of the seven annual Sabbaths, not just the weekly Sabbath, although sometimes annual 'high day' Sabbaths do fall on the weekly Sabbath. (Such days are called 'double Sabbaths' and are not too uncommon.) So, was the high day Sabbath that followed Jesus' crucifixion a weekly Sabbath or a weekday Sabbath? The vital clue that will help us answer that question can be found in Luke 23:54-56. We read in v. 54, 'It was the day of preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning' when Jesus body was laid in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever been laid' (v 53). So, Jesus' body was placed in the tomb as the preparation day of the high day Sabbath was drawing to its end as the sun was setting. (Throughout the Bible, a day ends and the next day begins at sunset.) Jesus was buried on the Passover Day and the following day, every year, in the spring, is an annual Sabbath called the First Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Cp. Lev. 23:4-7; 1 Cor 5:7b-8). In verse 8, Paul was clearly commanding the gentile Christian disciples to 'keep the Feast (of Unleavened Bread). ('Therefore, let us keep the Feast', 1 Cor. 5:8, KJV). Arguing otherwise is to do grave injustice to the inspired text, in my opinion. A careful study of the New Testament verifies all God's annual Sabbaths were observed by the first century disciples that made up the 'Church of God'! (The annual holy-days listed in Lev. 23 are called 'Feasts of the Lord', not 'Feasts of the Jews' or any other such thing! Consider Gal. 3:28-29.)
From Luke 23, we learn Jesus' body was laid in the tomb at the close of the Passover as the sun set. The high day Sabbath began at sunset as soon as Jesus body was placed in the tomb. This was a mid-week Sabbath, not the weekly 'Lord's Day'! We can see this from vs. 55-56. After Jesus' body was placed in the tomb, 'The women who had come with Him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how His body was laid (v. 55). 'Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments' (to put on Messiah's body after that high day Sabbath. Of necessity, they must have had to wait until after that Sabbath to buy and prepare the spices and ointments. This may have taken them several hours. Then, 'On the (weekly) Sabbath they rested according to the commandment (v. 56). This of course was the weekly Sabbath, sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, which all Jews kept as it was the 4th of the Ten Commandments God gave to His people, the children of Israel, under Moses in the wilderness, following their miraculous release from Egypt (Ex. 1-19; 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15).
So, we see that Jesus was crucified on the Passover; His body was placed in the new tomb at the close of the Passover as the high day Sabbath following it began at sunset. The day after the annual holy day, the women who were Jesus' faithful companions went out and bought spices and ointments and prepared them to put on Jesus' body to preserve it from decay for as long as possible. The following day was the weekly Sabbath, ie. sunset Friday to sunset Saturday. All righteous Jews' rested on this day also. This shows there were two Sabbaths during the week of Jesus' crucifixion! The following day, 'toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb' (Matt 28:1). By the time they arrived, it was already empty. Verse 5, 'But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. Verse 6, He is not here, for He has risen, as He said".....' So, Jesus was risen before sunrise on Sunday morning ('toward the dawn', v. 1) or 'on the first day of the week, at early dawn..., Lk. 24:1) or 'on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb' (Jn. 20:1). Jesus had been resurrected before sunrise on Sunday morning. So, now we can see that Jesus did indeed spend 72 hours in His tomb. The Passover must have been on Wednesday. Jesus' body laid in the tomb from sunset at the end of that day. His body was in the tomb Wednesday night, Thursday night and Friday night and daylight hours Thursday, Friday and Saturday so He did indeed spend three days and three nights in the hearth of the earth, just as He said He would. He fulfilled the only sign He gave that He was the Messiah of all those who would believe in Him (Jn. 3:16). He died on a Wednesday and rose from the dead 72 hours later very late Saturday as the sun set. So, the Good Friday-Easter Sunday tradition is unbiblical and a lie! Those who believe it do not follow the Truth.
That resurrection of Jesus Christ indeed is wonderful news but isn't it strange the Bible does not tell us to keep this day special every year? Instead, Jesus, God in the flesh (Jn. 1:1-14; 20:28), commanded His disciples to remember His death every year on the anniversary of His last Passover supper (Matt. 26:17-19; Mk. 14:14) and His betrayal soon afterwards in the Garden of Gethsemane (Lk. 22:19b). Jesus, as Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament inspired Solomon to write, 'A good name is better than than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth (Eccl. 7:1). That's why He inspired King David, a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22) to write, 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints' (Ps. 116:15). This is just one example of how our ways are not God's ways (Isa. 55:9). God is not very interested in the day of our birth; He is much more concerned with the day of our death whereas we are preoccupied with our birthdays and try not to think of the day on which we will die. This brings to mind the saying, It's not where you begin but where you end that counts.
In conclusion, I only observe days the Scriptures commands us to keep. God does not command us to observe nearly all the days religious people keep. God does not require or want His people to observe 'Ash Wednesday', 'Lent', 'Palm Sunday', 'Good Friday', 'Easter Sunday' and others besides. They are not commanded to be observed in the Bible. Therefore, we are adding to Scripture if we decide to keep them without God's instructions. Rest assured, He did not forget to command us to keep any of them! There is enough we are commanded to observe in God's Word; we don't need to add more so-called 'holy days' that God hasn't commanded us to keep! Our duty is to observe the days (and laws) He has commanded us to keep. That is why, every spring, I observe the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, treating the 1st and 7th days as holy annual high-day Sabbaths.
Much of what you have just read above may be very new to you. Hopefully, you will want to do more reading and research on this important subject. I enclose some useful links that will help you see where the vast majority of Christians have gone astray from the Bible.
was Jesus executed on good friday or a wednesday?
read this about easter
resurrection connection
true origin of easter
resurrection not on sunday
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