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
Passover, as set by the Lord, is Nisan 14. Modern Jews don't generally recognize this and instead (usually) observe it on Nisan 15. They also usually use the terms "Passover" and "the day of unleavened bread" interchangebly when in fact they are different biblically:
Lev 23:5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's passover.
Lev 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
Furthermore, the CONTEXT was your emphasis of sabbath worship - not celebration of passover.
The whole point of my posts was to show that that issue of observing the Lords' holy days still wasn't decided more than 300 years after the death of Christ.
As early as Act 20, believers were celebrating the Lord's supper on the Lords day (Acts 20:7).
It's not at all a given that this was a Sunday.
The Good News Translation:
(GNB) On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal. Paul spoke to the people and kept on speaking until midnight, since he was going to leave the next day
Modern King james: (MKJV) And on the first of the sabbaths, the disciples having been assembled to break bread, being about to depart on the morrow, Paul reasoned to them. And he continued his speech until midnight.
Most sabbath keepers would recognize this as a fellowship meal after sabbath services. A potluck.
Diego has done an excellent study on the "first of the sabbaths" or "one of the sabbaths". I'll ping him and let him explain further. But suffice to say that "break bread" doesn't always mean the Lords' supper.
In Revelation it is called the Lord's day by John.
The only day the Lord claims as his is the sabbath and the holy days:
Mar 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Complete Jewish Bible:(CJB) I came to be, in the Spirit, on the Day of the Lord; and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet,
International Standard Version: (ISV) I came to be in the Spirit on the Day of the Lord, when I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet,
John was transported in spirit to that time when Christ returns, the day of the Lord.
Isa 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Eze 13:5 Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.
Joe 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
The events in Revelation describe the time period known as the day of the Lord.
Spiritual application - yes. Mandating annual celebration of the Passover – no. Paul was relating to the celebration of the Lord’s supper – not Passover.
And no matter how you slice it, Paul is telling his congregation to observe the feast.
Lessee, 13 verses in this chapter Paul is dealing directly with sexual sin issues affecting the church. Of those 13, 2 are squeezed in the middle where Paul changes gears completely to Paul’s directing them out of the clear blue to observe the feast, then jumps back into sexual sins. No Doug, what we have here is you taking your knife and ripping these 2 verses out of context with the passage and the book as a whole. It fails the common sense test as well as integrity. The 2 verses are dealing with relationships and purity within the church – not the celebration of the Passover.
So to mark time by it means that they're still calculating Pentecost every year.
Just because they were marking time by the Jewish calendar does not mean they were continuing to celebrate those feasts. In fact, the passage is contrary to it as Pentecost was one of the special ones where they were required to go to Jerusalem. Now show us where this large influx of Gentile Christians are attending Pentecost in Jerusalem (crickets) Perhaps because they were not celebrating it.
Paul is Christian. Christians have a high priest in Christ. There's nothing in scripture to say that the holy days must be observed in Jerusalem.
Come on Doug, now you are being dishonest with the Jewish customs surrounding Pentecost? According to Ex. 34:18-26, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) is the second of the three festivals where all males are required to be at the temple. They are to bring to the temple "the first-fruits of wheat harvest," "the first-fruits of thy labors which thou hast sown in the field." These are not offerings definitely prescribed for the community; "but with a tribute of a free-will offering of thine hand . . . shalt thou [the individual] rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou and thy son and thy daughter, . . . the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow" (Deut. 16: 9-12). You require Christians to celebrate the holy days as outlined in the OT, not me.
These are the two great commandments:
Yes, the great moral laws. Mark includes the clause '. . . is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices' (Mark 12:33). Perhaps you’ve missed this passage in the NT as well
Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Imagine that Doug, the Law is fulfilled through love. That means that the laws of Moses have been redefined by Jesus – no longer requiring us to follow ceremonial laws and customs but as Paul also taught
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Performing obeying your feasts is walking after the flesh. Paul is clear here that the law is fulfilled for those who walk after the Spirit.
Sorry to tell ya this Doug, but so far you have only been able to substantiate your point by taking scripture passages out of context and adding a great deal of subjective input. References to the holydays in the NT are more based upon the Jewish calendar linkage to the Resurrection than it is to celebrating those ‘feasts’. I have shown that in Galatians and Acts that the observance of those feasts were not required by the Jewish leadership of the early Church, nor taught by Paul – on the contrary Paul taught that they were no longer necessary for the Christian.
As early as Act 20, believers were celebrating the Lord's supper on the Lords day (Acts 20:7).
It's not at all a given that this was a Sunday.
The Good News Translation:
(GNB) On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal. Paul spoke to the people and kept on speaking until midnight, since he was going to leave the next day
Please be consistent here Doug, how were days reckoned? Sunset to sunset – therefore this was no longer the Sabbath but the next day. For it to have been the Sabbath, it would have required it to be Friday evening.
Modern King james: (MKJV) And on the first of the sabbaths, the disciples having been assembled to break bread, being about to depart on the morrow, Paul reasoned to them. And he continued his speech until midnight.
Most sabbath keepers would recognize this as a fellowship meal after sabbath services. A potluck.
Except this was not the “modern” era Doug, see reckoning the start of the Sabbath – Friday evening NOT Saturday evening. The phrase “first of the Sabbaths” is equivalent to the first day of the week (where the word here is the plural form sabbathow – indicating seven days)
Diego has done an excellent study on the "first of the sabbaths" or "one of the sabbaths". I'll ping him and let him explain further. But suffice to say that "break bread" doesn't always mean the Lords' supper.
Suffered through the gross twisting of scripture already, thanks. Suffice it to say his ‘explanation’ is seriously flawed and his premises built upon sand.
In Revelation it is called the Lord's day by John.
The only day the Lord claims as his is the sabbath and the holy days:
Sorry to break this to you again Doug, but your interpretation is not supported by the greek as well as usage throughout the bible. There is a significant difference between “the Lord’s Day” and “Day of the Lord” both in words and usage, and choosing a version that does not accurately translate the phrase only compounds your misunderstandings. In Revelation, John uses “kyriakos hēmera”. This is separate from the “Day of the Lord” -hemera tou kyriou which is a reference to the Judgement day. kyriake hemera is consistenly used in the NT to refer to Sunday, but there are no early witnesses to the use of kyriake hemera as a name for Sabbath. “kyriakos hēmera” is never used in reference to the day of judgment.
The events in Revelation describe the time period known as the day of the Lord.
“kyriakos hēmera, - the Lord’s day, not what has been erroneously translated as the Day of the Lord. A careful study of Revelation makes it clear that John did not want to get the two confused and besides, the phrase “Lord’s Day” was already in common use in the church by AD 90 as further indicated by the Didache (late 1st Century) and Justin.
Finally, Nicea (325 AD) was called to deal with Arianism and made no decisions regarding passover.
The Roman Office of the Pontifex Maximus began in 712 BC Later all Roman Emperors held the title Pontifex Maximus. Emperor Constantine held the title from 306 to 337 AD Constantine convened the Nicene Council in 325 AD and issued this edict: ON THE KEEPING OF EASTER. From the Letter of the Emperor to all those not present at the Council.
from DOCUMENTS FROM THE FIRST COUNCIL OF NICEA [THE FIRST ECUMENICAL COUNCIL] A.D. 325 Emperor Constantine, Emperor of the Roman Empire He had issued an Edict making Sunday the day of rest In 321 CE, while a Pagan sun-worshiper, the Emperor Constantine
They ruled: "Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday, but shall work on that day."
Constantine had a different view of the conference.
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach
(Found in Eusebius, Vita Const., Lib. iii., 18-20.) When the question relative to the sacred festival of Easter arose, it was
universally thought that it would be convenient that all should keep the
feast on one day; for what could be more beautiful and more desirable,
than to see this festival, through which we receive the hope of
immortality, celebrated by all with one accord, and in the same
manner? It was declared to be particularly unworthy for this, the
holiest of all festivals, to follow the custom [the calculation] of the
Jews, who had soiled their hands with the most fearful of crimes, and
whose minds were blinded. In rejecting their custom,(1) we may
transmit to our descendants the legitimate mode of celebrating Easter,
which we have observed from the time of the Saviour's Passion to the
present day[according to the day of the week]. We ought not,
therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews, for the Saviour
has shown us another way; our worship follows a more legitimate and
more convenient course(the order of the days of the week); and
consequently, in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire, dearest
brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the
Jews, for it is truly shameful for us to hear them boast that without
their direction we could not keep this feast. How can they be in the
right, they who, after the death of the Saviour, have no longer been led
by reason but by wild violence, as their delusion may urge them? They
do not possess the truth in this Easter question; for, in their blindness
and repugnance to all improvements, they frequently celebrate two
passovers in the same year. We could not imitate those who are openly
in error. How, then, could we follow these Jews, who are most
certainly blinded by error? for to celebrate the passover twice in one
year is totally inadmissible. But even if this were not so, it would still
be your duty not to tarnish your soul by communications with such
wicked people[the Jews]. Besides, consider well, that in such an
important matter, and on a subject of such great solemnity, there ought
not to be any division. Our Saviour has left us only one festal day of
our redemption, that is to say, of his holy passion, and he desired[to
establish] only one Catholic Church. Think, then, how unseemly it is,
that on the same day some should be fasting whilst others are seated
at a banquet; and that after Easter, some should be rejoicing at feasts,
whilst others are still observing a strict fast. For this reason, a Divine
Providence wills that this custom should be rectified and regulated in a
uniform way; and everyone, I hope, will agree upon this point. As, on
the one hand, it is our duty not to have anything in common with the
murderers of our Lord; and as, on the other, the custom now followed
by the Churches of the West, of the South, and of
the North, and by some of those of the East, is the most acceptable, it
has appeared good to all; and I have been guarantee for your consent,
that you would accept it with joy, as it is followed at Rome, in Africa,
in all Italy, Egypt, Spain, Gaul, Britain, Libya, in all Achaia, and in the
dioceses of Asia, of Pontus, and Cilicia. You should consider not only
that the number of churches in these provinces make a majority, but
also that it is right to demand what our reason approves, and that we
should have nothing in common with the Jews. To sum up in few
words: By the unanimous judgment of all, it has been decided that the
most holy festival of Easter should be everywhere celebrated on one
and the same day, and it is not seemly that in so holy a thing there
should be any division. As this is the state of the case, accept joyfully
the divine favour, and this truly divine command; for all which takes
place in assemblies of the bishops ought to be regarded as proceeding
from the will of God. Make known to your brethren what has been
decreed, keep this most holy day according to the prescribed mode; we
can thus celebrate this holy Easter day at the same time, if it is granted
me, as I desire, to unite myself with you; we can rejoice together,
seeing that the divine power has made use of our instrumentality for
destroying the evil designs of the devil, and thus causing faith, peace,
and unity to flourish amongst us. May God graciously protect you, my
beloved brethren.
This is the Decree from the first Pontiff of the Roman church to all the world.
declared that Sunday was to be a day of rest throughout the Roman Empire: "On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest,
Council of Laodicea circa 364 CE ordered that religious observances were
and let all workshops be closed. In the country however persons engaged in agriculture
may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits because it often happens that another day
is not suitable for gain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment
for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost."
to be conducted on Sunday, not Saturday. Sunday became the new Sabbath.
JM
First Fruits is the day following the Shabbat The Feast of Shavuot know in the Greek as Pentecost. As it is seven weeks plus a day after the feast of First Fruits.
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai
following the beginning of Pesach.
A Torah-observant Jew as was John Thus the L-rd's day would be Shabbat Review the Septuagint,
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai
YHvH is called L-rd in the Septuagint.
would be referring to YHvH as L-rd.
not the Pagan day of the sun.
Pentecost is seven weeks plus a day
Yes but for the wrong reason.
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai
following the Shabbat during Pesach
as outlined in Leviticus 23.
I caught my mistake after I hit the post button. 190 AD was the first of several decisions regarding easter. 190 dealt with celebrating easter on a weekday, rather than sunday ( Eusebius - Church History V.23). Nicea was the second decision point. A third occurred in 664 there was a dispute between Rome and British/Irish Christians on the date of celebration.
525 with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, marking the date of rememberance changed from the Jewish method.
While it may be correct that the Council of Laodicea in 364 standardized the weekly church service, there is considerable information from the NT and ANF to see that Sunday had been accepted as the day to worship God by Christian.
John was also a disciple of Jesus and a Christian, with all that involves, and the understanding that the law pointed towards Jesus as its fulfillment. I'm sorry if the use of Greek by John in Revelation - reflects the established usage in the NT is indicative of the First Day of the week. That the day of the week became known later as Sunday means little to a believer - because it is just a word. What makes it significant to Christians is that it is the day of the week Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And whether or not that day is named Sunday, mother goose or donaldday, the significance does not come from the name, but the event associated with the particular day of the week.
See Genesis 1:5 The L-rd rose on the day following Shabbat The day begins at sunset and ends at sunset on the day following.
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach Adonai
i.e. after sunset on the day know as Saturday.
The saints broke bread and collected money for Jerusalem
after sundown on Saturday, after Shabbat ended
as have Jews for thousands of years.
First, from the Epistle of Barnabas thought to be written in the first few centuries after the Resurrection of Jesus:
Therefore, children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, everything shall come to an end. And He rested on the seventh day. this He meaneth; when His Son shall come, and shall abolish the time of the Lawless One, and shall judge the ungodly, and shall change the sun and the moon and the stars, then shall he truly rest on the seventh day.
Yea and furthermore He saith; Thou shalt hallow it with pure hands and with a pure heart. If therefore a man is able now to hallow the day which God hallowed, though he be pure in heart, we have gone utterly astray. But if after all then and not till then shall we truly rest and hallow it, when we shall ourselves be able to do so after being justified and receiving the promise, when iniquity is no more and all things have been made new by the Lord, we shall be able to hallow it then, because we ourselves shall have been hallowed first.
Finally He saith to them; Your new moons and your Sabbaths I cannot away with. Ye see what is His meaning ; it is not your present Sabbaths that are acceptable [unto Me], but the Sabbath which I have made, in the which, when I have set all things at rest, I will make the beginning of the eighth day which is the beginning of another world.
Wherefore also we keep the eighth day for rejoicing, in the which also Jesus rose from the dead, and having been manifested ascended into the heavens. - chapter 15:3-9
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. – Revelation 21:1
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. – Mark 2:27-28
And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. – Genesis 5:5
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night. – Psalms 90:4
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. - 2 Peter 3:8
John was also a disciple of Jesus and a Christian, with all that involves, and the understanding that the law pointed towards Jesus as its fulfillment. I'm sorry if the use of Greek by John in Revelation - reflects the established usage in the NT is indicative of the First Day of the week. That the day of the week became known later as Sunday means little to a believer - because it is just a word. What makes it significant to Christians is that it is the day of the week Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And whether or not that day is named Sunday, mother goose or donaldday, the significance does not come from the name, but the event associated with the particular day of the week.
John in the book called Revelation is referring to the L-rd's day i.e. Shabbat. Yah'shua rose from the dead on the day following the Shabbat during Pesach In the world, days begin at midnight. In the Word of Elohim, days begin at sundown John was a Torah observant Jew who was a follower of the Messiah.
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach
the Feast of First Fruits.
and continue until the following sundown.
See Genesis 1:5 NAsbU Genesis 1:5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.
The first day of the week in the Word begins at sundown on the "day" called Saturday.
And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Correct. Christ rose
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach
on Sunday, sometime after 6pm Saturday our time.
Thus the Lord's day would be ShabbatNope.
not the Pagan day of the sun.
The Lord's day is Sunday,
not the Pagan day of saturn.
This is the Decree from the first Pontiff of the Roman church to all the world.
This garbage gets posted over and over and must be corrected over and over.
St. Constantine was never a pontiff of the Catholic Church.
In 321 CE, while a Pagan sun-worshiper, the Emperor ConstantineWrong again. Constantine converted to Christianity circa AD 313.
declared that Sunday was to be a day of rest throughout the Roman Empire:
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