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
"Headed by the Pope" being colloquial, as Christ is the head of the Catholic Church.
So then am I to understand that not everyone who is a member of the organization known as the Catholic church is truly a member of the body of Christ?
Sorry, I should have worded that differently.
Again, though, it is the Catholic Church.
Not to browbeat, but your answer isn't that clear and I want to make sure I understand your position and the position of your church.
Someone may belong to the organization known as the Catholic Church but may not really be a member of the body of Christ?
You’re just equivicating.
It is WRONG to wear blends? You say God’s law says so. So, is it WRONG to do so?
You wrote:
“So... what exactly did you mean by this then?”
I meant exactly what I asked. Notice I NEVER ONCE said my view was that scripture was invalid. You just completely made that up out of thin air.
I questioned someone else’s understanding of the law’s standing TODAY after the coming of Christ and the New Testament. That in no way, in NO WAY, means I question the validity of scripture. To question its validity would be to doubt its inspiration. I do not do that. I was questioning a person in this thread, not saying that scripture was invalid.
“You clearly intended to write those words for a reason. You went to the effort to darken those pages in the OLLLLD Testament.”
What? What are you babbling about here?
“Since I say I am misquoting you, maybe you can say what you MEANT by those words, if not to say that some Scriptures no longer have validity?”
At least you now admit that you were misquoting me. Since you have done that - which means I was right and you were wrong - the rest is unimportant. I did just explain what I was doing - and you missed it the first time around anyway.
You wrote:
“If it were rape she would have screamed.”
You’re proving my point - screaming proved it was rape. Silenece was taken as consent. We know now that silence does not mean consent. Silence means silence. Silence often meant fear.
‘Not to brow beat’ ... but you are, and I think you know it!
Of course it's wrong. But we don't know in what context God considered it wrong. Scripture doesn't record WHY it was wrong or in what circumstances. Some have defined God to mean that it's ALWAYS wrong. As I said, God had a reason for avoiding wool and linen blended clothing. It would be wise to follow what God says even if it's only for a reason of physical comfort, commerce or any other theory that's been advanced.
I'm honestly not. I'm genuinely curious about the answer. I would put the same question to an LDS if they were here. Their organizations apparently believe they represent and ARE the only church of God. If so then the question stands...is everyone that is a member of the Catholic church organization automatically a member of body of Christ?
You wrote:
“LOL. Words mean things, and I have heard words very much like yours for enough years to know precisely where they came from.”
They came from me, and they still don’t imply anything like you assumed. Clearly the problem is your assumption, not my words. You assumed something based upon your limited experiences and not in any way related to what I actually said.
“Funny, it is interesting to note that it does not appear that you are concerned that yours could have conveyed something that you did not intend.”
My words conveyed NOTHING that you assumed. Clearly the problem is yours and not mine. I do not worry about other person’s assumptions when I am speaking clearly. If someone assumes something so wildly incorrectly as you did, it is clearly a sign about him and says nothing about me.
You were wrong. And you still are.
***It would be wise to follow what God says even if it’s only for a reason of physical comfort, commerce or any other theory that’s been advanced.***
Let us go through Lev 19 and see what the Lord says there and let us examine ourselves to see if we have paid attention to these edicts:
5
“When you sacrifice your peace offering to the LORD, if you wish it to be acceptable,
6
it must be eaten on the very day of your sacrifice or on the following day. Whatever is left over until the third day shall be burned up in the fire.
7
If any of it is eaten on the third day, the sacrifice will be unacceptable as refuse;
8
whoever eats of it then shall pay the penalty for having profaned what is sacred to the LORD. Such a one shall be cut off from his people.
Freezing doesn’t count, right?
9
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not be so thorough that you reap the field to its very edge, nor shall you glean the stray ears of grain.
10
Likewise, you shall not pick your vineyard bare, nor gather up the grapes that have fallen. These things you shall leave for the poor and the alien. I, the LORD, am your God.
All you farmers; how much do you leave for the poor and alien as they pass through your fields?
19
“Keep my statutes: do not breed any of your domestic animals with others of a different species; do not sow a field of yours with two different kinds of seed; and do not put on a garment woven with two different kinds of thread.
Whooo. All those who bred mules are gonna die horribly right? Mixing seeds in a field will get you Pharaoh’s fate? And polyester/cotton blends will put you in the lake of fire?
20
2 “If a man has carnal relations with a female slave who has already been living with another man but has not yet been redeemed or given her freedom, they shall be punished but not put to death, because she is not free.
Get out your slaves! Just remember to screw your own slave, and leave the slaves of others alone.
3 “When you come into the land and plant any fruit tree there, first look upon its fruit as if it were uncircumcised. For three years, while its fruit remains uncircumcised, it may not be eaten.
24
In the fourth year, however, all of its fruit shall be sacred to the LORD as a thanksgiving feast to him.
25
Not until the fifth year may you eat its fruit. Thus it will continue its yield for you. I, the LORD, am your God.
Anybody, but anybody practice this? Come on Doug, if you plant a fruit tree, do you let the first three years fall to the ground, sacrifice the fourth year’s fruits to God and then munch down thereafter?
26
“Do not eat meat with the blood still in it. Do not practice divination or soothsaying.
I am going to hell - my steaks are all medium rare. I don’t even read horoscopes though, do you?
27
4 Do not clip your hair at the temples, nor trim the edges of your beard.
I get a regular haircut and wear a goatee. Am I damned?
28
Do not lacerate your bodies for the dead, and do not tattoo yourselves. I am the LORD.
I’m off the hook here. I have no ink and no more holes in me than I was born with. You tattooed in any way?
31
“Do not go to mediums or consult fortune-tellers, for you will be defiled by them. I, the LORD, am your God.
No fortune tellers here - I don’t even have a Magic 8-ball.
32
“Stand up in the presence of the aged, and show respect for the old; thus shall you fear your God. I am the LORD.
You do this all the time?
Here is the context of God. How do you measure up?
That being said we all fail horribly at living up to a Godly standard. But as you know Christ died so we could be forgiven our sins. But why NOT let the spirit of Christ live through us and try to live up to these things that you listed? What's the harm in respecting the aged? What's the harm in not getting a tattoo or a piercing? What's the harm in donating food to the poor??
I'm not going to question the wisdom of the Lord.
***I know you’ve served up a healthy dose of sarcasm in the post. ***
Fair enough.
***For example, many of the items were prohibited because they were common practices of some of the pagan peoples that surrounded the nation of Israel. These included piercings and tattoos to name a couple. God wanted his established nation to be set apart, different, an example, to those nations that surrounded them.***
Unless the reasons are given, who is the individual that can interpret God’s pronouncements? God specifically proscribed tattoos, for example. Period. With no further explanation. Unless the Church can explicitly alter such pronouncement, it stands.
***That being said we all fail horribly at living up to a Godly standard. But as you know Christ died so we could be forgiven our sins. But why NOT let the spirit of Christ live through us and try to live up to these things that you listed? What’s the harm in respecting the aged?***
No harm. I learned much of what I know from my grandparents.
***What’s the harm in not getting a tattoo or a piercing? ***
The absence of something is not something. It is not virtuous to point to the absence of something.
***What’s the harm in donating food to the poor??
I’m not going to question the wisdom of the Lord.***
Sarcasm aside, I notice that you have not answered my questions or statements from the last post.
But I did. I said WE all fail miserably to live up to a Godly standard. If you want me to specify how I fail physically and spiritually on that list I'll be glad to. But what is your purpose?
To prove that I'm a sinner? I certainly am, no question there.
To prove that God doesn't know he what was talking about in scripture and that's there's nothing wrong with ignoring these things?
What exactly is your point?
As much as we’d like to think that “Easter” is some ancient worship of teutonic or babylonian gods, it is not.
In all but the germanic languages, it goes by the name of “passover.” It is only in German and English that it goes by “Easter.”
And that is probably because “sun” and “son” are similar in both languages. The Son Rises at Easter is a play on words in both languages. East is the direction of the Rising Son....it is an Easterly direction.
Check it in French, Italian, Spanish, etc. It’s called the same word as is found for “the passover of the Jews.” It’s some variation of “pascha=passover”.
So, there was no Roman Catholic conspiracy about “Easter/Ishtar” and all that garbage. If so, they forgot to mention it to most of Roman Catholic Europe.
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