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
I can't help you have such a hard head... :-)
For the most part you're right. But you don't understand the context of the times. Paul frequently wrote about a heretical religious movement that seemed to be a blend of Judaism and gnosticism. It had elements of Judaism mixed with elements of paganism.
Galatians is aimed primarily at gentiles:
Gal 5:2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
Gal 5:3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law:
Gentiles. The uncircumcised. Keep that in mind.
Gal 4:8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods.
Gentiles, not jews, served those who by nature are not gods. They didn't know God.
Gal 4:9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
They weren't Jews. They were gentiles. Paul compares their situation to returning to the weak and beggarly elements they knew before.
Gal 4:10 You observe days and months and seasons and years.
Whatever these were, they were NOT God's holy days. In the new testament there a specific greek words that are always used to distinguish and identify God's holy days. The word used for a holy day is (transliterated) "heorte". This is used consistently. Sabbaton or its derivatives is used to refer to the sabbath. Neither of these words is present here. Paul wasn't talking about the holy days.
There was a sect of Judaism that was teaching that you needed to observe a bunch of man made regulations and commands to be "saved". Non-scriptural things.
The same thing was happening in Colossae. This heresy is more clear there.
For example:
Col 2:8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
Here it's clearer. Whatever Paul is describing has the characteristics of "tradition of men". "Basic principles of the world". "Not according to Christ.". Christ created the holy days. They are commands of God, not a tradition of man. They are basic principles of Godly worship, not of the world.
Col 2:20 Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—
Col 2:21 "Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,"
Col 2:22 which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men?
Again, Paul was smart enough to know that the Lord's holy days and commands were scriptural, not "commandments and doctrines of men." Likewise his audience.
So while there were certainly elements of Judaism, there were also strong elements of other beliefs mixed in.
Judaism itself was far off the tracks.
Paul and other early Christians rightly saw which elements were not scriptural and which were. For example, a big issue was that gentiles were considered "unclean" under Judaism. This is completely non-scriptural. It took a supernatural vision to convince even Peter of this.
I think you would be well served to study Judaism currently and at the time of Christ and see exactly how much of it is based on tradition and not scripture.
It would be safe to say the church at Galatia was primarily composed of gentiles.
Gentiles. The uncircumcised. Keep that in mind.
Well in mind. The act of circumcision belonged to what - gentile religion - or rather Judizers - keep that in mind.
Gentiles, not jews, served those who by nature are not gods. They didn't know God.
Gal 4:9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
They weren't Jews. They were gentiles. Paul compares their situation to returning to the weak and beggarly elements they knew before.
Here is where your train of logic derails. You are shifting the focus onto the believers in Galatia - Paul is focusing on the false teachers and what they were trying to sway them to - return to bondage under the ceremonial laws and customs of the Judazers. These false teachers were not trying to sway them back into idolatry.
Gal 4:10 You observe days and months and seasons and years.
Whatever these were, they were NOT God's holy days. In the new testament there a specific greek words that are always used to distinguish and identify God's holy days. The word used for a holy day is (transliterated) "heorte". This is used consistently. Sabbaton or its derivatives is used to refer to the sabbath. Neither of these words is present here. Paul wasn't talking about the holy days.
This is not hard Doug, but you make it so. Compare to Col 2:16. The days are the Jewish Sabbaths. The months are the new moons; the times are the Jewish festivals; the years are the Sabbatical years. In observing these there was legal bondage to an obsolete system. As you've said over and again, these were primarily gentiles - they would be relatively ignorant of Jewish customs and holy days. Paul objected to Gentiles taking to them as a means of salvation. This is a very appropriate means to describe the Jewish calendar related activities to a non-jew. Furthermore, the word heorte is not found in this verse. It is used in Col 2:16 in conjunction with a "holyday" (the only translated occurrence in teh NT) in context with sabbaton , and 26 other occurrences it is translated "feast". That is a very weak argument to base you doctrine upon.
Circumcision
Observance of Jewish feasts and days of obligation as a condition of being a Christian
The nullification of the requirements placed upon gentile believers
So lets follow this through. 4:12-14 Paul reminds them that when he lived among them as a gentile, not as one under the Mosaic law. 4:21-31 Paul warns about the errors in following works over faith.
There was a sect of Judaism that was teaching that you needed to observe a bunch of man made regulations and commands to be "saved". Non-scriptural things.
Interesting that you choose to follow Paul's warning against Judiazers in Colossae, but ignore the same here in Galatians - very inconsistent - almost a pick and choose method of bible interpretation.
I think you would be well served to study Judaism currently and at the time of Christ and see exactly how much of it is based on tradition and not scripture.
I have done some reading on the Jewish customs and traditions at the time of Christ and the early church. Modern Judaism is removed from that era by thousands of years and the loss of the temple. Many bible commentators and scholars have done much more, and they unanimously recognize that the false teachers at Galatia were teaching that one had to become a Jew and follow ceremonial law and customs in order to be Christians. This is based upon a fuller study of Paul's writing, and in nearly every letter he warns about this. Something to keep in mind.
Bottom line here Doug, is that you erroneously interpret Galatians as Paul's letter by trying to have it focus on their behavior in gross contrast to what the book really addresses, and that is false teaching from Judiazers. Once you do that, you will see that your interpretation of that passage is flawed because you've taken it out of context. This is evident from the decision you are silent upon from Acts
Ac 21:25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
They were to be free from the obligations of Jewish ceremonial law and customs. Pretty simple and straightforward and saves taking a lot of good scripture out of context.
Surely. Judaism is a religion that rejects Christ and attempts to gain righteousness through adherence to law. While a good idea, they're doomed to failure because it's impossible to live up to a Godly standard with the indwelling of God's spirit.
Certainly. But the sabbath and the holy days have always belonged to God and not the Jews. They are His possessions: Lev 23:2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. *** Are you a child of Israel
I am and if you're a Christian under new covenant you had better be too because the new covenant is only for the children of Israel and Judah.
Heb 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
Heb 8:9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
But you embrace the OT practices which the NT Church of Jesus Christ has set aside.
I embrace the practices that the original disciples, the first Christians, embraced. Modern Christianity has "evolved" these practices away.
Biblically a Judaizer is one that wishes Christians to practice Jewish law; let’s be accurate.
To be accurate the religion of Judaism didn't exist when the Lord's holy days were instituted. The first holy day, the sabbath of the Lord, was created long before Abraham was born.
If you wish to worship the Lord on any day of the week, that does not make you non Christian; where are you headed with this train of thought?
Many seem to characterize those who obey the Lord and honor his holy days as Judaizers.
don’t reject teachers or tradition. Rightly, I reject teachers and traditions that teach error and apostasy.*** Then you would embrace Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Polycarp, Ignatius, Augustine, John Chrysostom, Francis of Assissi, Thomas More and Cardinal Newman, correct? And you would reject the Campbells pere et fils, Barton Stone, and especially the traitor Sydney Rigdon who left the Campbellites and went to the Latter Day Saints and wrote most of their theology. Right?
I'm going to bet that my ideas of heresy differ greatly from yours.
Exactly, and if there was that would also mean that ALL of mainstream Protestantism is a party to the conspiracy.
And let's not forget that the official language of the Catholic Church has NEVER been English or German (in the earliest days it was probably Greek and has been Latin for well over a thousand years).
Celebrations of Easter are taken directly from the Gospel and certainly predate the conversion of Germanic or Anglo-Saxon portions of the Roman Empire.
This doesn't say what you think it says. It says that Peter the Jew can company with Gentiles.
He says in the clause describing what God has shown him:
NOT CALL
Any Man
Common or Unclean
If you read the rest of my posts in this thread, I’m sure you and I are of similar thoughts.
The members of the Roman church spin They need to read and understand the plain meaning of the Word Membership in a corporation will not bring salvation to anyone. Amen ! brother.
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach
and impugn the Holy Word of Elohim.
or they will never know Yah'shua as their salvation.
***I would say, rather, that the worship of Christ and the practice of Christianity necessarily is different than Jewish worship practices.
Surely. Judaism is a religion that rejects Christ and attempts to gain righteousness through adherence to law. While a good idea, they’re doomed to failure because it’s impossible to live up to a Godly standard with the indwelling of God’s spirit.***
You mean ‘without’, surely.
Jews are still looking for the Messiah; they reject Jesus specifically.
***I am and if you’re a Christian under new covenant you had better be too because the new covenant is only for the children of Israel and Judah.
Heb 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
Heb 8:9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: **
Remember who Paul is speaking to. The Jewish converts and that is how he is writing. What does Paul say about the more general Church? Gal 3:
23
15 Before faith came, we were held in custody under law, confined for the faith that was to be revealed.
24
Consequently, the law was our disciplinarian 16 for Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian.
26
For through faith you are all children of God 17 in Christ Jesus.
27
18 19 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
The point is here that God has extended His promises to the entire world, not just the Jewish people in the new covenant given by Jesus.
***But you embrace the OT practices which the NT Church of Jesus Christ has set aside.
I embrace the practices that the original disciples, the first Christians, embraced. Modern Christianity has “evolved” these practices away.***
It is not for the individual to say what Christianity is; it is the prerogative and authority of the Church. I’m not sure who you are tagging ‘Modern Christian’ or what you mean by evolution of practices.
***Biblically a Judaizer is one that wishes Christians to practice Jewish law; let’s be accurate.
To be accurate the religion of Judaism didn’t exist when the Lord’s holy days were instituted. The first holy day, the sabbath of the Lord, was created long before Abraham was born. ***
Your point does not address mine whatsoever. Paul railed against the Judaizers many times, including 2 Co 11; in Gal 2, he says that:1
1 2 Then after fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.
2
I went up in accord with a revelation, 3 and I presented to them the gospel that I preach to the Gentiles—but privately to those of repute—so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain.
3
Moreover, not even 4 Titus, who was with me, although he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised,
4
but because of the false brothers 5 secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, that they might enslave us—
5
to them we did not submit even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel 6 might remain intact for you.
6
But from those who were reputed to be important (what they once were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those of repute made me add nothing.
7
7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter to the circumcised,
8
for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised worked also in me for the Gentiles,
9
and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me, James and Cephas and John, 8 who were reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
10
Only, we were to be mindful of the poor, 9 which is the very thing I was eager to do.
11
10 11 And when Kephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong.
12
For, until some people came from James, 12 he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised.
13
And the rest of the Jews 13 (also) acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
14
But when I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Kephas in front of all, “If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?” 14
Verse 13 specifically means those Jews who were just playing at being Christians.
Peter puts things to rest very quickly, though. Acts 15:
1
1 Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.” 2
2
Because there arose no little dissension and debate by Paul and Barnabas with them, it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and presbyters about this question.
3
They were sent on their journey by the church, and passed through Phoenicia and Samaria telling of the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.
4
When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, as well as by the apostles and the presbyters, and they reported what God had done with them.
5
But some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Mosaic law.”
6
3 The apostles and the presbyters met together to see about this matter.
7
4 After much debate had taken place, Peter got up and said to them, “My brothers, you are well aware that from early days God made his choice among you that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.
8
And God, who knows the heart, bore witness by granting them the holy Spirit just as he did us.
9
He made no distinction between us and them, for by faith he purified their hearts.
10
Why, then, are you now putting God to the test by placing on the shoulders of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?
11
On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they.” 5
This is the turning point, where the Church diverged from Jewish customs and practices and began its own.
***If you wish to worship the Lord on any day of the week, that does not make you non Christian; where are you headed with this train of thought?
Many seem to characterize those who obey the Lord and honor his holy days as Judaizers. ***
Many agree with the Church definition of what a Judaizer actually is.
***I’m going to bet that my ideas of heresy differ greatly from yours.***
My personal definition of heresy is as meaningless as the personal theologies of, say, Origen towards the end of his life. It is what the Church declares as heresy that is all important.
How autobiographical...
Thankfully, however, the faithful of the Catholic Church understand the Holy Word of God, the First Person of the Blessed Trinity.
According to the bible, the only "new covenant" is the one mentioned here. It's a reiteration of the promise of the new covenant given in Jeremiah:
Jer 31:31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
Jer 31:32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
Jer 31:33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
The last verse is a promise of the indwelling holy spirit. It is the Lord, the perfect expression of God's law, indwelling in Christians.
This is so fundamental that the Lord caused it to be recorded in the old testament and the new.
As Paul explains, Gentiles have access to this covenant by being grafted into Israel:
Rom 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,
Rom 11:18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
Rom 11:19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in."
Rom 11:20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
Rom 11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
Paul is describing how gentiles have been grafted into Israel. He compares cultivated olive trees, Israel, which God cultivated and groomed, to wild olive trees, gentiles. He says that branches from gentiles can be grafted onto the cultivated trees of Israel through Christ.
He brings up the same point in Ephesians:
Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— Eph 2:12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Again, the covenants and the commonwealth were and are Israels. God brought gentiles into these promises through Christ.
I can keep going. There's many other scriptures to support the Lords ideas here. But bottom line, yes anyone who IS a Christian IS a child of Israel.
We can examine scripture to see what how Paul answered heresy charges leveled at him by his church.
Act 24:13 Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.
Act 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
Paul, a 1st century Christian, the minister to the gentiles, the TEACHER of the gentiles, BELIEVED all things written in the law and the prophets.
Paul understood that Judaism at the time, like most of Christianity today, teaches non-biblical tradition and ideas as doctrine and truth. Paul's defense is to say that HE believes what is written in the only scripture he had, the books of the old testament, the law and the prophets.
The answer against heresy, no matter who defines it or what year it is, is to believe what is written in scripture.
St. Paul does not add to that "and nothing else."
***Remember who Paul is speaking to. The Jewish converts and that is how he is writing. What does Paul say about the more general Church? Gal 3:
According to the bible, the only “new covenant” is the one mentioned here. It’s a reiteration of the promise of the new covenant given in Jeremiah:***
Really? Does your Bible not contain the words of Jesus? Luke 22:
17
Then he took a cup, 6 gave thanks, and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves;
18
for I tell you (that) from this time on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19
7 Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.”
20
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.
Interpreting Jesus through the vague foreshadowing of the OT is not likely to lead one to accurate theology. In fact, those who do prove that point quite well.
***As Paul explains, Gentiles have access to this covenant by being grafted into Israel:
Rom 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,
Rom 11:18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. ***
Let us examine what you have left out in order to put things into context. Rom 11:
9
And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
10
let their eyes grow dim so that they may not see, and keep their backs bent forever.”
11
2 Hence I ask, did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not! But through their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous.
12
Now if their transgression is enrichment for the world, and if their diminished number is enrichment for the Gentiles, how much more their full number.
13
Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I glory in my ministry
14
in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them.
15
For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
16
3 If the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch of dough; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place and have come to share in the rich root of the olive tree,
18
do not boast against the branches. If you do boast, consider that you do not support the root; the root supports you.
19
Indeed you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”
20
That is so. They were broken off because of unbelief, but you are there because of faith. So do not become haughty, but stand in awe.
21
For if God did not spare the natural branches, (perhaps) he will not spare you either.
22
See, then, the kindness and severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but God’s kindness to you, provided you remain in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off.
23
And they also, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24
For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated one, how much more will they who belong to it by nature be grafted back into their own olive tree.
25
4 I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not become wise (in) your own estimation: a hardening has come upon Israel in part, until the full number of the Gentiles comes in,
26
and thus all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come out of Zion, he will turn away godlessness from Jacob;
27
and this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
28
In respect to the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but in respect to election, they are beloved because of the patriarchs.
29
For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.
30
5 Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience,
31
so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may (now) receive mercy.
32
For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.
***Paul is describing how gentiles have been grafted into Israel. He compares cultivated olive trees, Israel, which God cultivated and groomed, to wild olive trees, gentiles. He says that branches from gentiles can be grafted onto the cultivated trees of Israel through Christ. ***
Paul is saying that the Gentiles were included to make Israel jealous and that the trees are those of God; nowhere does he say that they are Israel only.
***He brings up the same point in Ephesians:
Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— Eph 2:12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ***
Paul’s point is that Israel was the only people who knew God; now Jesus brings everyone to God. He does not say that they are now Jews.
***Again, the covenants and the commonwealth were and are Israels. God brought gentiles into these promises through Christ.
I can keep going. There’s many other scriptures to support the Lords ideas here. But bottom line, yes anyone who IS a Christian IS a child of Israel.***
No. He says that God’s promise is open to all men through the ministry of Jesus and then His Church, not that we are now Jews through Christ.
You're mixing some things up. Paul knew that the Levitical priesthood was no longer in effect (see Hebrews) so all of the functions of that priesthood outlined in scripture couldn't be performed. Paul knew that the sacrifice of Christ was sufficient so no more animal sacrifices had to be performed. Paul recognized that, as you said, the Jews had instituted many customs and traditions that were non-biblical. Jesus railed against these non-biblical customs. In many cases these ideas and customs had been incorporated from pagan religions and thought.
Jesus and his followers were basically trying to get back to the religion once delivered, worship of the Lord without all the Jewish and pagan influence. They didn't intend to completely create a new religion. They didn't intend for Christianity to jettison everything the Lord had already delivered. They knew that that certain things were changed under the new covenant. I'll keep saying this till I'm blue in the face, but these things are listed in Hebrews and they're very specific. Sacrifices and the Levitical priesthood are the primary changes brought about by the new covenant. However, the first Christians kept and preserved things such as the holy days and the food laws. Historically you can trace when traditional Christianity officially outlawed sabbath keeping and other so-called "Jewish" customs. Mostly it had to do with anti-semitism and from a desire not to resemble Jews.
******I’m going to bet that my ideas of heresy differ greatly from yours.*** My personal definition of heresy is as meaningless as the personal theologies of, say, Origen towards the end of his life. It is what the Church declares as heresy that is all important.
We can examine scripture to see what how Paul answered heresy charges leveled at him by his church.
Act 24:13 Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.
Act 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
Paul, a 1st century Christian, the minister to the gentiles, the TEACHER of the gentiles, BELIEVED all things written in the law and the prophets. ***
Paul jettisoned a lot of things, including the idea that the Gentiles had to follow the law. Hebrews 8:
13
5 When he speaks of a “new” covenant, he declares the first one obsolete. And what has become obsolete and has grown old is close to disappearing.
Obsolete. Disappearing. Jettisoned, according to Jesus and His Church.
Let us go back to Acts 15:
13
6 After they had fallen silent, James responded, “My brothers, listen to me.
14
Symeon 7 has described how God first concerned himself with acquiring from among the Gentiles a people for his name.
15
The words of the prophets agree with this, as is written:
16
‘After this I shall return and rebuild the fallen hut of David; from its ruins I shall rebuild it and raise it up again,
17
so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord, even all the Gentiles on whom my name is invoked. Thus says the Lord who accomplishes these things,
18
known from of old.’
19
It is my judgment, therefore, that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God,
20
but tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols, unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood.
21
For Moses, for generations now, has had those who proclaim him in every town, as he has been read in the synagogues every sabbath.”
22
Then the apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole church, decided to choose representatives and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
23
This is the letter delivered by them: “The apostles and the presbyters, your brothers, to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia of Gentile origin: greetings.
24
Since we have heard that some of our number (who went out) without any mandate from us have upset you with their teachings and disturbed your peace of mind,
25
we have with one accord decided to choose representatives and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26
who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27
So we are sending Judas and Silas who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
28
‘It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
29
namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.’”
30
And so they were sent on their journey. Upon their arrival in Antioch they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
31
When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.
32
Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, exhorted and strengthened the brothers with many words.
33
After they had spent some time there, they were sent off with greetings of peace from the brothers to those who had commissioned them.
The Church of Jesus Christ uses its authority to make theological and religious practice pronouncements.
***We can examine scripture to see what how Paul answered heresy charges leveled at him by his church.
Act 24:13 Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.
Act 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets: ***
This is a false claim. The heresy charges were by the Jews against Paul; this obviously has no importance here, because Paul at this time was not Jewish. He was Christian. Let us see what you have left out. Acts 24:
1
Five days later the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an advocate, a certain Tertullus, and they presented formal charges against Paul to the governor.
2
When he was called, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, “Since we have attained much peace through you, and reforms have been accomplished in this nation through your provident care,
3
we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, with all gratitude.
4
But in order not to detain you further, I ask you to give us a brief hearing with your customary graciousness.
5
We found this man to be a pest; he creates dissension among Jews all over the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazoreans. 1
6
He even tried to desecrate our temple, but we arrested him.
7
2
8
If you examine him you will be able to learn from him for yourself about everything of which we are accusing him.”
9
The Jews also joined in the attack and asserted that these things were so.
10
3 Then the governor motioned to him to speak and Paul replied, “I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years and so I am pleased to make my defense before you.
11
As you can verify, not more than twelve days have passed since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.
12
Neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor anywhere in the city did they find me arguing with anyone or instigating a riot among the people.
13
Nor can they prove to you the accusations they are now making against me.
14
But this I do admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors and I believe everything that is in accordance with the law and written in the prophets.
15
I have the same hope in God as they themselves have that there will be a resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous.
16
Because of this, I always strive to keep my conscience clear before God and man.
17
After many years, I came to bring alms for my nation and offerings.
18
While I was so engaged, they found me, after my purification, in the temple without a crowd or disturbance.
19
But some Jews from the province of Asia, who should be here before you to make whatever accusation they might have against me—
20
or let these men themselves state what crime they discovered when I stood before the Sanhedrin,
21
unless it was my one outcry as I stood among them, that ‘I am on trial before you today for the resurrection of the dead.’”
There. Paul admits his heresy right here. It is not heresy against Christ, but against Judaism.
***The answer against heresy, no matter who defines it or what year it is, is to believe what is written in scripture.***
What is Scripture? Who wrote it and who approved it? The answer can be found in Matt 16:
15
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16
11 Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood 12 has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
18
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, 13 and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
19
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. 14 Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
The keys. The authority of the king given to his chief steward when the king was away for an extended period of time. The authority given to Peter by Christ. Not the assumed authority of Luther’s every milkmaid to determine her own theology.
***Paul’s defense is to say that HE believes what is written in the only scripture he had, the books of the old testament, the law and the prophets.
St. Paul does not add to that “and nothing else.”***
St. Paul also has no clue that some of his letters and other attributed to him will wind up as Scripture as a decision by the Church 250 years later.
May we bless YHvH for sending His Lamb to be sacrificedshalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach
as a blood covering for all of our sins forever.We are blessed that Yah'shua rose on the Feast of First Fruits
as an example of offering to YHvH the first and best of the
harvest of salvation for all who will call on His NAME.
It is absolutely breathtaking how some will reject
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach
the role of the Ru'ach HaKodesh and the
words of Yah'shua and attribute all pride and glory
to men lead by a Pagan.
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