Posted on 04/10/2009 10:32:45 AM PDT by DouglasKC
Consider these important facts. First, Easter Sunday is traditionally revered as the day of Jesus' resurrection—although the Bible clearly states that He had already risen before Sunday dawned in the city of Jerusalem.
Second, even though Good Friday is generally observed as the traditional day of His crucifixion, Christ Himself told the disciples that He would be in the grave for all of three days and three nights. How can three days and three nights possibly fit between a Friday-afternoon crucifixion and a Sunday-morning resurrection?
Third, the word Easter is not found in the Greek New Testament. Nor is there biblical mention of or instruction to observe Lent.
Finally, unlike the specific instruction to commemorate Christ's death, there is absolutely no commandment in the New Testament to observe the date of Jesus' resurrection. Yet today's religious customs are so ingrained in the church calendar that many would consider it heretical to question them.
Most of the world is scarcely aware that the original apostles did not institute or keep these customs, nor were they observed by the early Christian Church. Try as you might to find them, Lent, Good Friday and Easter are not so much as mentioned in the original Greek wording of the New Testament. (The word Easter appears only once in the King James Version of the Bible—in Acts 12:4—where it is flagrantly mistranslated from the Greek word pascha, which should be translated "Passover," as most versions render it.)
The justification for the Lenten 40-day preparation for Easter is traditionally based on Jesus' 40-day wilderness fast before His temptation by Satan (Harper's Bible Dictionary, "Lent"; Matthew 4:1-2; Mark 1:13). The problem with this explanation is that this incident is not connected in any way with Jesus' supposed observance of Easter. The 40-day pre-Easter practice of fasting and penance did not originate in the Bible.
Many people still follow such practices, assuming that such activities honor God and are approved by Him. But, we should ask, how does God regard such extrabiblical customs? Consider God's instructions to those who would worship Him:
"Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:30-32, emphasis added throughout).
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia notes: "The term Easter was derived from the Anglo-Saxon 'Eostre,' the name of the goddess of spring. In her honor sacrifices were offered at the time of the vernal [spring] equinox" (1982, Vol. 2, "Easter").
Many battles were fought over its observance date, but the Council of Nicea finally fixed the date of Easter in A.D. 325 to fall on the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the vernal equinox (March 21).
Not generally known is that "the preparation for Easter season, beginning on Ash Wednesday and continuing for a week after Easter Day, was filled with pagan customs that had been revised in the light
of Christianity. Germanic nations, for example, set bonfires in spring. This custom was frowned on by the Church, which tried to suppress it . . . In the sixth and seventh centuries [monks] came to Germany, [bringing] their earlier pagan rites[,] and would bless bonfires outside the church building on Holy Saturday. The custom spread to France, and eventually it was incorporated into the Easter liturgy of Rome in the ninth century. Even today the blessing of the new fire is part of the Vigil of Easter.
"Medieval celebrations of Easter began at dawn. According to one old legend, the sun dances on Easter morning, or makes three jumps at the moment of its rising, in honor of Christ's resurrection. The rays of light penetrating the clouds were believed to be angels dancing for joy.
"Some Easter folk traditions that have survived today are the Easter egg, rabbit and lamb. During medieval times it was a tradition to give eggs at Easter to servants. King Edward I of England had 450 eggs boiled before Easter and dyed or covered with gold leaf. He then gave them to members of the royal household on Easter day. The egg was an earlier pagan symbol of rebirth and was presented at the spring equinox, the beginning of the pagan new year.
"The Easter rabbit is mentioned in a German book of 1572 and also was a pagan fertility symbol. The Easter lamb goes back to the Middle Ages; the lamb, holding a flag with a red cross on a white field, represented the resurrected Christ [rather than the sacrifice of His life, as a fulfillment of the Passover lamb, that paid for the sins of the world (John 1:29)]" (Anthony Mercatante, Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, 1988, "Easter").
Easter traditions are embraced by many who profess Christianity. Yet none of these practices are found in the Bible or the customs of the early Church. Jesus and His apostles did not establish or perpetuate such practices, which obscure the true biblical meanings and observances of this time of year. In fact, a fourth-century church historian, Socrates Scholasticus, wrote in his Ecclesiastical History that neither the apostles nor the Gospels taught the observance of Easter, nor did they or Jesus give a law requiring the keeping of this feast. Instead, "the observance originated not by legislation, but as a custom" (chapter 22, emphasis added).
Even as early as the close of the second century, the theologian Irenaeus bore witness in his letter to Victor, bishop of Rome, that some early Roman bishops forbade the observance of Passover on the 14th of Nisan. This was the date of the biblical observance practiced each spring by Jesus and the apostles. At the time that the Nisan 14 Passover observance was banned, ecclesiastical authorities introduced Lent and Easter into Christian practice.
A century later the Syriac Didascalia recorded the attempts of teachers in Rome to reconcile Jesus' words that He would be entombed "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40) with a Friday-afternoon crucifixion and a Sunday-morning resurrection. According to their reasoning, Jesus' sufferings were part of the three days and three nights of Scripture. Friday morning from 9 to noon was counted as the first day, and noon to 3 p.m. (which was darkened) was considered the first night. Three in the afternoon to sunset was reckoned as the second day, whereas Friday night to Saturday morning constituted the second night. The daylight part of Saturday was the third day, and the night portion to Sunday morning was the third night.
In other words, the three days and three nights in the grave that Jesus said would be the sign that He was indeed sent from God were transformed into a period of two days and two nights, or a total of no more than 48 hours. This has subsequently been reduced even further in modern times by figuring from late afternoon Friday to early Sunday morning, which takes away another 12 hours or more. Such reasoning has to discount or somehow explain away Jesus' clear promise that He would be entombed three days and three nights.
Easter and Lent are nonbiblical and were not observed by the apostles or the first-century Church. The biblical record shows, however, that the early Church diligently kept other observances, the New Testament Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, just as Jesus and the apostles had done (Matthew 26:17-19; Acts 20:6; 1 Corinthians 5:8; 11:23-26). These were supplanted in later years by the customs and practices of Easter and Lent.
Passover is an annual reminder of Jesus' sacrificial death to pay the penalty for our sins (Matthew 26:26-28). The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a celebration that focuses on a Christian's need to live in sincerity, truth and purity (1 Corinthians 5:8). The nonbiblical festivals of Lent and Easter, added decades after the time of Jesus Christ and the apostles, only cloud the true significance of Christ's life, death and resurrection and the purpose of His coming.
The Passover, instituted in Exodus 12, continues by Jesus Christ's example and command—but with a change of symbols. Jesus' death fulfilled the symbolism of the sacrificial Passover lamb (Matthew 26:17-28; John 1:29). However, the New Testament Passover has been improperly replaced as an annual memorial of the death of Christ by Easter. We are commanded to commemorate Christ's death, not His resurrection (1 Corinthians 11:23-28).
Jesus Christ's promise was fulfilled exactly as He said, a fact that is made clear when we study and compare the Gospel accounts. These records give a clear, logical explanation that is perfectly consistent with Christ's words. Let's focus on Jesus' last days on earth to gain the proper perspective and understanding of how and when these events occurred.
Jesus said that, like the prophet Jonah, He would be entombed three days and three nights and that He would be raised up the third day after His crucifixion and death (Matthew 12:39-40; 17:23; 20:19). Putting these scriptures together, we see that He was resurrected at the end of the third day after His death. Luke 23:44 shows that He died around the ninth hour (Jewish reckoning), or 3 p.m. He would have been buried within the next few hours so that His body could be entombed before the approaching Sabbath (John 19:31).
Jesus' resurrection could not have been
on a Sunday morning because John 20:1-2 shows that He had already risen before Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, arriving "while it was still dark." Therefore, neither could His death have occurred Friday afternoon, since that would not allow for His body to be in the grave three days and three nights. Clearly, the Good Friday-Easter Sunday explanation and tradition is without scriptural foundation.
Notice also that John 19:31 mentions that the Sabbath immediately after Jesus' death was "a high day"—not the weekly seventh-day Sabbath (from Friday evening to Saturday evening), but one of the annual Sabbaths, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (see Leviticus 23:6-7), which can fall on any day of the week.
In fact, two Sabbaths—first an annual Holy Day and then the regular weekly Sabbath—are mentioned in the Gospel accounts, a detail overlooked by most people. This can be proven by comparing Mark 16:1 with Luke 23:56.
Mark's account tells us, "Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him" (Mark 16:1). However, Luke's account describes how the women who followed Jesus saw how His body was laid in the tomb. "Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils" for the final preparation of the body. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56).
Mark tells us that the women bought the spices after the Sabbath, "when the Sabbath was past." Luke, however, tells us that they prepared the spices and oils, "and they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment." How could the women have bought spices after the Sabbath, yet then prepared them and rested on the same Sabbath?
That is obviously impossible—unless two Sabbaths are involved, with a day between them. Once we realize this, the two accounts become clear (see "The Chronology of Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection," p. 18). Christ died near 3 p.m. and was placed in the tomb near sunset that day—a Wednesday in the year 31. That evening began the "high day" Sabbath, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which fell on Thursday that year. The women rested on that day, then on Friday purchased and prepared the spices and oils for Jesus' body, which could not be done on either the Holy Day or the weekly Sabbath. They then rested again on the weekly Sabbath before going to the tomb before daybreak on Sunday morning, at which time they discovered that Christ had already been resurrected.
The fact that two Sabbaths are involved is confirmed by Matthew 28:1, where the women went to the tomb "after the Sabbath." The Sabbath mentioned here is actually plural in the original Greek and should be translated "Sabbaths." Some Bible versions, including Alfred Marshall's Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, Ferrar Fenton's translation, Green's Literal Translation and Young's Literal Translation, make this clear.
Once we realize that two Sabbaths were involved—first an annual Holy Day, which was observed from Wednesday evening until Thursday evening, and the normal weekly Sabbath from Friday evening to Saturday evening, the fulfillment of Christ's words becomes clear.
The Savior of all humanity died near 3 p.m. on Wednesday and was buried shortly before sunset that day. From Wednesday sunset to Thursday sunset is one day and one night; from then until Friday sunset is two days and two nights; and from then until Saturday sunset is three days and three nights. Jesus Christ was resurrected at the end of this three-day and three-night period, near sunset on Saturday. Thus He was already risen long before the women came to the tomb before daylight on Sunday morning.
Jesus Christ's words were thus perfectly fulfilled, as verified by the Gospel accounts. He was not crucified on Friday afternoon, nor was He resurrected on a Sunday morning. The biblical evidence shows the Good Friday-Easter Sunday tradition to be a fabrication.
A correct harmonization of all the facts demonstrates that Jesus died near 3 p.m. that Wednesday afternoon, was entombed near sunset and was resurrected near sunset on Saturday, exactly three days and three nights later—just as He had stated. These are the facts, the correct biblical chronology that verifies the identity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
The chart on page 18 gives a day-by-day chronology of these events as described in the Gospel accounts.
Actually, the principal festivals and holidays observed by mainstream Christendom are a poor and pale reflection of true biblical teachings. Easter and Lent are a poor substitute for the wondrous truths revealed by keeping God's feasts.
The New Testament Church continued to observe the annual Passover to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ, but used the new symbols of bread and wine that He instituted (1 Corinthians 11:23-28). Today the members of the United Church of God commemorate this eminently important event in the same manner, in accordance with Christ's instructions. Again, the Bible contains no record of the Church observing Easter or Lent during the time of the apostles, nor any biblical command to observe Good Friday or Easter Sunday, especially since Christ did not die on Good Friday and was not resurrected on Easter Sunday. Instead, the apostles faithfully followed Christ's instructions to observe the biblical Passover "in remembrance" of Him (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). GN
Where does this say that the Ten Commandments are eliminated?
If the entire Bible consisted of only these two verses you might have a point. And if men were angels no government would be necessary. Even so, the first verse you quote, verse 11, explicitly contradicts your claim later in your post that
[...]the Levitical sacrifices were not part of the original law that God wanted obeyed [Jeremiah 7:22-26].....they were added later because of the sins of the people [Galatians 3:19]. Paul says that the first Covenant was made obsolete by the new covenant [Hebrews 8:13] and then goes on to explain in the very next 10 verses what that first covenant was. Then in the very next 18 verses specifically pinpoints the Levitical sacrifices as the first covenant......that was changed.
Hebrew 7:11 says that under the Levitical priesthood the people received the law. You say they were "they were added later because of the sins of the people [Galatians 3:19]".
"They" [the Levitical sacrifices] were added later because of the sins of the people??? Galatians 3:19 does not say, "they", it says, referring to "the law", "it" was added later:
19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator.
If you are unrestrained by any Biblical hermeneutic then I guess you can just change the meaning of the text at whim with your own word substitutions and make it say anything you want it to say. But you contradict the very language of Scripture.
"...the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law" proves the Scriptural unity of the law of Moses, and disproves your bifurcation of it. Btw, Verse 17 says WHEN "the law" was added; 430 years after Abraham, and it is very clear what law is being referred to.
[...] and then goes on to explain in the very next 10 verses what that first covenant was. Then in the very next 18 verses specifically pinpoints the Levitical sacrifices as the first covenant......that was changed.
Tell me, then, if you will, what "the tables of the covenant" in verse 4, means. What are "the tables of the covenant"?
Deuteronomy 4:13
So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.Deuteronomy 9:9-11
When I went up into the mountains to receive the tablets of stone, even the tablets of the covenant which the Lord had made with you...and the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God...the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, even the tablets of the covenant.Exodus 34:27,28
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant- -the Ten Commandments.Galatians 4:24,25
These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
[...]Now.....I've just stayed in John's writings because that was your stipulation. Don't you think the above verses qualify as the Ten Commandments?
Answered in 1,116 You never answered my previous question; Do you think that God has any commandments besides the Ten?
The Ten Commandments were in effect prior to Moses and Sinai and are still in effect today. They are eternal.
Answered in 1,133 and elsewhere throughout the thread.
What was the sign of the Old Covenant?
What is the sign of the New Covenant?
Cordially,
Exactly. It all boils down to whether the will of God revealed through his Son in the New Testament is higher authority than the Old Testament, or not. Are the commandments of the New Testament to be interpreted and administered as of the New Covenant or as of the Old Covenant? The idea of of interpreting commandments in light of the Covenant under which they are given seems to baffle them. They are like an applicant who goes into Probate Court expecting the Court to administer an Estate under an old will that has been revoked and superseded by a new will that has already been admitted, and they can't even understand why the framework they want to impose on the administration of the Estate is an absurdity. It doesn't matter how many of the provisions of the new will are similar to the provisions of the old, or different from it, the estate is still going to be administered under the new will, not the old. Their unwillingness to accept the obvious would at least account for what frequently appears as reckless indifference to hermeneutic consistency.
Cordially,
Indeed! Hermeneutic consistency (or rather the lack thereof) is a common source of erroneous doctrines.
Commandment 1: Paul said, "God, who made the world and everything in it...they should seek the Lord" (Acts 17:24,27). Paul also said, "I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law" (Acts 24:14). "And what agreement has the temple of God have with idols?" (II Cor 6:16). "you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God" (I The 1:9). "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 The 2:3-4).
Commandment 2: "we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols" (Acts 15:20). "Now while Paul waited for them in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols...Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said...'God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshipped with men's hands, as though He needed anything'" (Acts 17:16,22,24-25). "Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four footed animals and creeping things" (Rom 1:22-23). "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is...an idolater" (I Cor 5:11). "Neither... idolators...will inherit the kingdom of God" (I Cor 6:9-10). "And do not become idolaters as were some of them...Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry" (I Cor 10:7,14). "And what agreement has the temple of God have with idols?" (II Cor 6:16). "Now the works of the flesh are evident...idolatry" (Gal 5:19,20). "For this you know that no...idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God" (Eph 5:5). "Therefore put to death...covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col 3:5). "you turned to God from idols" (I The 1:9).
Commandment 3: "they are all under sin...Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness" (Rom 3:9,14). "Let all...evil speaking be put away from you" (Eph 4:31). "But now you yourselves are to put off all these:...blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth" (Col 3:8). "they may learn not to blaspheme" (I Tim 1:20). But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be...blasphemers" (II Tim 3:1,2).
Commandment 4: "Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures...And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks" (Acts 17:2;18:4 see also 13:14,27,42,44). "let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need" (Eph 4:28) and "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: 'If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat'" (II Thes 3:10); (recall that the requirement to work is also part of the Sabbath command, thus even that portion of the commandment is repeated in the New Testament.) "And to whom did He swear they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?" (Heb 3:18). "For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: 'And God rested on the seventh day from all His works'" (Heb 4:4). "There remains therefore a rest (literally sabbatismos, 'Sabbath rest') for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His" (Heb 4:9-10).
Commandment 5: "being filled with all unrighteousness ...disobedient to parents" (Rom 1:29,30). "Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother', which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth" (Eph 6:1-3). "the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience" (Col 3:6). "Children obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord" (Col 3:20). "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be...disobediant to parents" (II Tim 3:1,2).
Commandment 6: "being filled with all unrighteousness ...murder" (Rom 1:29). "You shall not murder" (Rom 13:9). "Now the works of the flesh are evident...murders" (Gal 5:19,21). "the lawless and insubordinate...murders...manslayers" (I Tim 1:9).
Commandment 7: "being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality" (Rom 1:29). "So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress" (Rom 7:3). "You shall not commit adultery" (Rom 13:9). "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral" (I Cor 5:11). "Neither... adulterers, nor homosexuals...will inherit the kingdom of God" (I Cor 6:9-10)."Nor let us commit sexual immorality as some of them did" (I Cor 10:8). "Now the works of the flesh are evident...adultery, fornication" (Gal 5:19). "For this you know that no fornicator...has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God" (Eph 5:5). "the lawless and insubordinate...fornicators...sodomites" (I Tim 1:9,10). "fornicators and adulterers God will judge" (Heb 13:4).
Commandment 8: "You shall not steal" (Rom 13:9). "nor thieves...will inherit the kingdom of God" (I Cor 6:10). "I have been...in perils of robbers" (II Cor 11:25-26). "Let him who stole, steal no longer" (Eph 4:28).
Commandment 9: "You shall not bear false witness" (Rom 13:9). "Therefore, putting away lying" (Eph 4:25). "Do not lie to one another" (Col 3:9). "the lawless and insubordinate...liars...perjurers" (I Tim 1:9,10). "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy" (I Tim 4:1-2). "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be...slanderers" (II Tim 3:1,3). "God, who cannot lie" (Ti 1:2). "it is impossible for God to lie" (Heb 6:18).
Commandment 10: "being filled with all unrighteousness...covetousness" (Rom 1:29)."You shall not covet" (Rom 7:7). "You shall not covet" (Rom 13:9). "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is...covetous" (I Cor 5:11). "nor covetous...will inherit the kingdom of God" (I Cor 6:10). "we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted" (I Cor 10:6). "you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal 5:16). "For this you know that no fornicator...nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God" (Eph 5:5). "Therefore put to death...covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col 3:5). "For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness" (I The 2:5). "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have" (Heb 13:5).
Don't you see how silly this position is....to say that the Ten Commandments are no longer in effect when Our Lord and The Apostles continued to teach their observance all throughout the New Testament?
I have really never encountered someone who is so wrapped up in the idea that God's Law has been abolished. I certainly hope that you are able to come to the truth someday.......soon.
You can have the last word, my FRiend.
Your silence on critical points of contention combined with your hurling of elephants on points already stipulated and agreed to makes me wonder sometimes whether you even read my posts. After I took your own 'proof' texts (Hebrews 7:11-12; 8:13-9:28) and showed you three instances where the explicit language of those texts refutes your claim that the Levitical sacrifices constituted the entire Old Covenant that was abolished, what is your response here? Here once again you fail to advance any argument or evidence to support your artificial bifurcation of the Old Covenant. I provided three examples from your citations; first with respect to the comparison of the Old Covenant to a last will and testament (Hebrew 9:16-22), second in relation to The Tables of the Covenant (Hebrew 9:4) and third, with respect to under the Levitical priesthood the people received the law, which explictly contradicts your baseless claim that the Levitical sacrifices were not part of the original law and were added later because of the sins of the people.
What is your specific response to my examples? Absolute, deafening silence. You simply ignore these examples and repeat your original claim, as if that constituted a specific counter argument or response. You say nothing in response about
a last will and testament (Hebrew 9:16-22),
The Tables of the Covenant (Hebrew 9:4)
under the Levitical priesthood the people received the law. (Hebrews 7:11) .
Since you are the one who brought up the passages in the first place, doesn't it occur to you that merely repeating your original claim and making no counter argument regarding regarding the specific language of the texts that you yourself quoted is completely unresponsive? I can only take this to mean that you are apparently uninterested or unable to provide a substantive, specific response. I understand why. You cannot even bring yourself to admit out loud what The Tables of the Covenant from the passage that you quoted (Hebrew 9) means or refers to, for example, even though you know that it refers to the Ten Commandments, because to admit the obvious destroys your artificial and imaginary bifurcation of the Old Covenant. So what do you do? You pass by The Tables of the Covenant in complete silence and instead post lists of commandments from the New Testament that we already agree are binding, the exception of course being the absence of a sabbath keeping commandment for Christians, which is the bone of contention. You have nothing to say about how plainly and how repeatedly the Ten Commandments are called "the Covenant", which God gave at Sinai to Israel when he brought them out of Egypt.
Your claims that the Ten Commandments (as such) were taught by Our Savior during His ministry here on Earth, were continued by the Apostles after His death, and were in force prior to Sinai are either not dispositive of the issue and/or, particularly with regard the the sabbath commandment, have already been refuted specifically in previous posts.
Don't you see how silly this position is....to say that the Ten Commandments are no longer in effect when Our Lord and The Apostles continued to teach their observance all throughout the New Testament?
I have really never encountered someone who is so wrapped up in the idea that God's Law has been abolished. I certainly hope that you are able to come to the truth someday.......soon.
We are not Antinomians, if that's what you're trying to intimate. We are under the law of Christ. 1 Corinthians 9:21, Galatians 6:2. "Fulfill the law of Christ." But you use the phrase, "God's Law", applying it to the Ten Commandments alone as if "God's Law" were just the Ten Commandments and nothing more. That is the cause of much of your error. Scripture never once calls the Ten Commandments alone "God's Law". And you never answered whether God has any other commandments besides ten.
I will simply add here again with your examples of Jesus, he himself was born under the law, lived his life under it perfectly, and his instructions at that time were to those still under the law. To the cleansed leper he said, "go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." (Matthew 8:4) Do you apply this to Christians now and conclude that we must offer gifts according to Moses? When Christ said, "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. Do you do that? Or do you practice circumcision because Jesus was circumcised?
Paul shaved his head and engaged in purification rites and made offerings ( (Acts 21:20-26). Do you practice those things? Paul was circumcised. He had Timothy circumcised. Do you practice those requirements of the law? If you don't, is it ok to accuse you of lawlessness, or would that be silly?
One final point. Do you really think that if the Sabbath were a really a binding requirement on Christians, that Paul would have left a Divine Commandment such as that up to individual conscience, as he did in Colossians 2:16?
Cordially,
I ran across this thread some time ago and found it immensely helpful.
I thought it might be a good idea to resurrect it, so to speak, for this Easter season.
I’ve been asked by atheists and skeptics how to reconcile the three days and three nights that Jesus said He would spend in the tomb and based on our calendar and timeline for celebrating Easter, there was no good reasonable explanation.
This article provides it.
So, for your consideration......
Thanks!
do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way;
I find this verse mentioned in the article very interesting. I was just reading this verse in my Bible in bed the other night. So many folks incorporate pagan rituals, dates and symbols into their worship of God and I am sure it is not pleasing to Him, especially since He said specifically NOT to do such things...
I guess I never caught on that special festival and feast days were considered sabbath’s as well.
Of course, every knows what the Sabbath is, the seventh day, the day of rest.
It’s good to have this in your apologetics arsenal for next time some smarmy atheist challenges you on it as if they found some inconsistency which renders Christianity invalid.
*hugs*
“14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. 16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. 17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. 18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.”
God sent a series of prophets to the nation of Israel in an attempt to warn them of the impending consequences of adopting the idolatrous religious practices of their neighbors. Isaiah was instructed to write: "Your appointed feasts My soul hates" (Isaiah 1:14–15). Amos recorded: "I hate, I despise your feast days, and I do not savor your sacred assemblies" (Amos 5:21–23). Hosea warned Israel: "I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her New Moons, her Sabbaths—all her appointed feasts" (Hosea 2:11). God told Ezekiel to explain to the elders of Israel that they were punished by God and went into national captivity because "they rebelled against Me and would not obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations which are before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt… they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments… and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths" (Ezekiel 20:8, 13). One idolatrous practice that God called an abomination involved women weeping for Tammuz (one source of Lenten customs) and "worshipping the sun towards the east" (Ezekiel 8:14–20)—a practice that continues in Easter sunrise services today.
The celebration of Easter is and abomination to God.
HERE is the problem!
You know, that was the only logical conclusion I could come to.
This article deals with it the best I’ve seen yet.
Oh?
I'd bet that most would say it's SUNDAY!
Good Screen name!
Thanks for the ping!
That’s what makes me investigate and make sure I know the truth. Anyone who knows pagan history makes fun of the Christians who celebrate Easter knowing they are performing pagan rituals. God admonishes us many times in scripture about adapting pagan practices. The Israelites were punished many times because of it. I’m not willing to take that chance.
Thanks for resurrecting this article....it is a keeper for sure.
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