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
Thank you, Douglas. I'll be glad to post my thoughts on this subject. I'm sure it will stir up the hornet's nest.
[Matthew 28:1] In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. (verse 6) He is risen. King James Version
And in the end of the sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. Douay/Rheims
And on the eve of the sabbaths, at the dawn, toward the first of the sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. Young's Literal Translation
In all three examples this event is taking place on a Sabbath....and verse six in all three examples say, "He is risen"....past tense!
Here is the actual Greek: oye de sabbatwn th epifwskoush eiV mian sabbatwn hlqen maria h magdalhnh kai h allh maria qewrhsai ton tafon
If I were to translate this word for word it would be thus: The later of, and on the Sabbaths, at the dawn to the first of the Sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary to see the tomb.
Matthew is stating a simple fact. There were two Sabbaths crucifixion week and this one was the latter. It was known as the SABBATWN" (Sabbaths), plural.
Let's look at [John 19:31] oi oun ioudaioi ina mh meinh epi tou staurou ta swmata en tw sabbatw epei paraskeuh hn hn gar megalh h hmera ekeinou tou sabbatou hrwthsan ton pilaton ina kateagwsin autwn ta skelh kai arqwsin
And the English: The Jews, therefore, that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, since it was the preparation, (for that sabbath day was a great one,) asked of Pilate that their legs may be broken, and they taken away.
John writes the first Sabbath as a noun describing the type of Sabbath it was.... a SABBATW (singular). The second mention of Sabbath is an adjective describing the day itself A SABBATOU (Sabbath day).
The Greeks had no word in their language for Sabbath so the translation from Hebrew writers (Matthew and John) follow the pronunciation of the Hebrew fairly well. The Hebrew for a special Sabbath (one of God's seven throughout the year) is "Sabatwon" and a normal weekly Sabbath was usually called "ha Sabat". During crucifixion week the first Sabbath (Wednesday evening/Thursday daylight) was the First Day of Unleavened Bread [Leviticus 23:6] and the Apostle John confirms in [19:31] that it was a special Sabbath (SABBATW).
When the Israelites were told about Passover and Pentecost they were instructed to count fifty days from the day after the Sabbath [Leviticus 23:15-16] and thus arrive at Shavuot (Pentecost). This method of counting is in dispute among many Sabbatarians. I believe the first Sabbath was the First Day of Unleavened.....some still believe the Sabbath in question was the weekly Sabbath. Nevertheless, during the 50 day count seven weekly Sabbaths were encountered and the Israelites held these seven Sabbaths as special also....SABBATWN. This count is known as The Count of the Omer.
Consequently, when you see the word SABBATW (singular) or SABBATWN (plural) in scripture you will know that it is not your normal weekly Sabbath being discussed .....nor is it the "First Day of the Week" being referred to. If you look at the link you will see that all the resurrection passages refer to either SABBATW or SABBTWN as the day of resurrection. [Matthew 28:1][Mark 16:2][Luke 24:1][John 20:1].
During the year 30 A.D. now commonly accepted as the Crucifixion/Resurrection Year you will notice that Passover, the 14th [Leviticus 23:5] fell on a Wednesday and this was the date of Our Lord's sacrifice. The next day, the 15th [Leviticus 23:6] was The First Sabbath of Unleavened. The next day, the 16th was the day that began the count of the Omer. The following day.....the 17th, was the day of resurrection....The First SABBATW in the seven SABBATW count to Shavuot (Pentecost).
You AD 30 scenario you outlined doesn’t hold up as the one most likely. The most likely date is AD 33, which places Passover and the weekly sabbath on the same day, requiring no linguistist torture or historical speculation to the literal reading of the gospel accounts. You failed in your attempt with both myself and Diamond in defending this scenario.
***It does not say here that the seventh day was created as the Sabbath with all that it means to Israel. No evidence.
Who cares what it meant to Israel? The fact is that the sabbath day was created holy and is still holy for all of mankind.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. ***
Where does it say that the Gentiles have to observe the Sabbath? It was created for His Chosen People.
***The 4th commandment also references this fact:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
God never “unblessed it” or “unhallowed” it. ***
And? Again, the Gentiles are not Israel.
***Jesus Christ affirmed that HE is the Lord who created the sabbath:
Mat 12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day
He didn’t say “I’m the Lord and I say you don’t have to honor the sabbath day”. He said he IS Lord of the sabbath. The sabbath that created for all mankind:***
All of Israel. The Gentiles were not a gleam in Jewish eyes when the 10 Commandments were handed down to - whom?
***Mar 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
The sabbath, as created by Christ, was meant to be a blessing, a delight. The Pharisees had corrupted it. CHANGED it. They made the blessing and the delight of no effect. They took away the sabbath of Christ away from the people and developed a bastardized version.***
Applause. The Church realized this and created the Sunday day of the Lord for Christians.
***What evidence do you have that Christ used the Septuagint?***
http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/bible_catholics_apocrypha.htm says that:
During Jesus’ time there were two Old Testament’s in use. There was the Palestinian canon (written in Hebrew) , which is identical to the Protestant Old Testament, and there was the Alexandrian canon (written in Greek) also known as the Septuagint, which is identical to the Catholic Old Testament. Comparisons of the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls indicates that an accurate “eyewitness” exists to the Septuagint. Jesus quotes the Septuagint in 80% of his Old Testament references. The Septuagint was the Scripture of Jesus’ time. It has the order of Bible books that we find in modern Bibles, the Palestinian canon has a completely different order. The NIV Bible use the Septuagint’s order of books, yet it leaves out some of the books (Deuterocanonical books) that we find there.
The Alexandrian and Palestinian canons were almost identical except the Septuagint contained the seven Deuterocanonical books, which Protestants call the Apocrypha. (”Canon” means the list of books) The Apostles and the early Church including the early Church fathers used the Septuagint. The African Synod’s of Hippo (393 AD) and Carthage (397 AD) also approved it.
Evangelicals favour the Palestinian canon because it is the one that the Jews ratified in 90 AD at the Jewish (non-Christian) Council of Jamnia. Catholics feel that this Jewish council was not binding by God because God’s authority was passed over to Christians at the Pentecost (Acts 2:1) sixty years earlier. Some people question if an actual council occurred at Jamnia but that does not change the premise. The Jews decided reviewed their canon books after the resurrection of our Lord, and those decisions are not at all binding on Christians.
Fairly convincing, yes?
***No, it usually means that either the question was ignored or else not answered directly. Shall I post some examples?
Go right ahead. But please believe what I say and don’t give me evil or devious intentions. ***
Okay.
***To be honest I think the conduct of yourself and brother Petronski has been rude, condescending and often hostile.***
Blandly attacking the Church and making unsupported statements regarding it and Christian theology is not admirable behaviour whatsoever.
I’ve been remarkably restrained and haven’t made any attacks on you personally. I have avoided characterizing you or your motives in any type of negative way. I am generally presenting what I am for.***
In our debate, you have generally presented the things that the Church has done that you perceive to be wrong, basing them mostly upon Jewish OT practices or snippets of Paul. The Gospel and NT references you have presented are short and often out of context (using Paul’s trial for heresy by the Jews to indicate it somehow validates a Judaizing Christian).
***If the theology I’m presenting is contrary to the theology that you believe then it is what it is. Being offended by my theology is no justification for bad behavior.***
The thing that most stands out is a lack of Gospel proofs; reliance on OT and Pauline proofs has been used by many pseudo Christians including the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Believing one’s theology is fine; to attack the Christian Church based upon OT beliefs is not.
***I have utmost respect for the church which is why I try to treat you and any other church member with dignity and respect.***
You have been remarkably candid as to its faults.
[Daniel 9:25] And thou dost know, and dost consider wisely, from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem till Messiah the Leader is seven weeks, and sixty and two weeks: the broad place hath been built again, and the rampart, even in the distress of the times.
A day of prophetic time is a year in actual time [Ezekiel 4:4-6][Numbers 14:34]. The total number of years from the decree to restore Jerusalem until Our Lord began his ministry is figured like this: 69 weeks x 7 (days in a week) is 483 prophetic days....or 483 years.That decree was issued by King Artaxerxes during the seventh year of his reign: [Ezra 7:8-11] And he cometh in to Jerusalem in the fifth month, that is in the seventh year of the king, for on the first of the month he hath founded the ascent from Babylon, and on the first of the fifth month he hath come in unto Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him, for Ezra hath prepared his heart to seek the law of Jehovah, and to do, and to teach in Israel statute and judgment. And this is a copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a scribe of the words of the commands of Jehovah, and of His statutes on Israel:
This decree established Jerusalem as capital city (Provincial) in the realm of the king. Xerxes....the father died in December of 465 B.C. and that would have been the ascension year for Artaxerxes. The ascension year did not necessarily have to be a complete year....only that it is counted as the first year. Therefore the seventh year for the king would have been 458 B.C. to sometime during 457 B.C. This can all be verified in "An Encyclopedia of World History" W.L. Langer; Babylonian Chronology, Brown University Press, page 17. The 483 years of Daniel's prophecy thereby would end at 26 A.D. and this was the year Our Lord began his ministry 26/27 A.D.
The prophecy includes another prophetic week making it a total of 70 weeks. It was prophesied that Our Lord would be cut off in the middle of the week....so seven years divided in two would be 3 1/2. Our Lord was born during Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) in the fall so by adding 3 1/2 years to 26 A.D. you come up with the spring of 30 A.D. at Passover.
Thanks for the ping.
The time of year was obviously during the fall Festivals for a host reasons that we won't bother with now.
King Herod is the key and his period of reign may be verified by secular history. Our Lord was born in the days of King Herod [Matthew 2:1] and we also know that it was near the time of Herod's death [Matthew 2:13-15].
Herod went Rome during the winter "And thus did this man receive the kingdom, having obtained it on the hundred and eighty fourth Olympiad, when Caius Domitus Calvinus was consul the second time and Caius Asinius Pollio (the first time)". [Josephus, Antiquities, 14:14:5]
Olympiads were four years and were figured from July to July. The 184th Olympiad was July 44 B.C. to July 40 B.C. and Calvinius and Pollio were consuls in the year 714 AUC, which would have been 40 B.C. (AUC means from the year of the founding of Rome...."Handbook of Biblical Chronology").
The calendar years for Consuls were reckoned from January to January and when you combine this data with the July to July length of the Olympiads you can then figure out exactly when this occurred......with in a 6 month margin of error. In addition we are told that Herod's reign in Jerusalem began when the rigor of winter was over....in his third year since he had been made king at Rome [Josephus, Antiquities, 14:15:14]
But.....Herod was unable to take the city of Jerusalem until the summer when Marcus Agrippa and Canninius Gallus were consuls of Rome, on the hundred eighty and fifth Olympiad....in the third month on the solemnity of the Fast. [Josephus, Antiquities, 14:16:2-4]. The 185th Olympiad was from July 40 B.C. to July 36 B.C. and Agrippa and Gallus were consuls in 717 AUC....or the year 37 B.C. The fast of the third month would have been Sivan 23 and Herod completed the conquest of the city in the summer of 37 B.C. When you put all these facts together this is what emerges.....Herod crowned in Rome January/March 40 B.C. and began reigning in Jerusalem a little over 3 1/3 years later (37 B.C.) Herod died having reigned since he had Antigonus put to death.....34 years , but 37 years since he had been declared King by the Romans [Josephus, Antiquities, 17:8:1] Josephus tells us that Antigonus was killed shortly after Herod took Jerusalem, [Antiquities 14:16:4] Herod began his reign in 40 B.C., reigned 37 years.......so, including the first year of his reign.....he would have died in 4 B.C
Our Lord was born in 5 B.C. and began His ministry (30 years of age) [Luke 3:23] during the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius [Luke 3:1]. This is confusing to many folks as they do not consider that Tiberius co-reigned with Augustus for two years. The key to this dispute is the Battle of Actium which took place during the 187th Olympiad in the seventh year of the reign of Herod [Antiquities 15:5:1-2]. This Olympiad would have been from July 32 B.C. to July 28 B.C. and Herod's 7th year was 31 B.C. to 30 B.C.
Augustus ruled 44 years from the victory at Actium...the last two....jointly with Tiberius. Thus the co rulership began in 12 A.D. and the 15th year of Tiberius would have been 26/27 A.D.
During the first Passover of His ministry the Jews stated that the temple had been 46 years in the building [John 2:20]. The first Passover would have been 27 A.D. [Josephus, Antiquities 15:11:1] says: "And now Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign (18 in Jerusalem...but 21 from his coronation in Rome) undertook a very great work, that is to build of himself the Temple of God". The 18th year of Herod's reign was 20 B.C./19 B.C. which was the first year of the building of the Temple. This means that the 46th year would have been 27 A.D.
Our Lord celebrated three Passovers in scripture [John 2:13][John 6:4] and [John 13:1] so it is assumed that He had a three and one half year ministry, being born during the fall Festivals and Crucified on Passover. The year according to my reckoning would be 30 A.D. and as you can see the Crucifixion on Nisan 14 (Passover) [Leviticus 23:5] would then allow a three day entombment with a Sabbath resurrection on Nisan 17 [Matthew 12:39-40]. .
He said:
1Co 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
"Keep the feast" is hereotazo. It means to "keep a feast day, celebrate a feast". It is derived from heortē, means feast day or holy days. This word is ALWAYS used in nt greek to denote on of the holy days or feast days of the Lord. Always. Yes, it has spiritual application, but whether you like it or not, Paul is issuing clear instructions to a predominantly gentile church to keep, to celebrate, one of the Lord's holy days. To believe otherwise is to throw away scripture.
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.
The new Christians were following scripture, not Jewish traditions. Show me in scripture where the Lord commanded that his holy days had to be observed in the temple in Jerusalem. I'll save you the trouble. It's not there. It was a man made rule.
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."
You're simply wrong. Those verses you quote say nothing about a requirement to celebrate the feast days in a temple OR at Jerusalem. There's no other way to say it than that you're mistaken.
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
Not traditions and customs of jews. Read closer:
Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Rom 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law
If one has true Godly love toward his neighbor then he will appear to be keeping perfectly the commandments of God physically and spiritually. That's the point Paul is making. Christians have the indwelling of Christ. If we let Christ LIVE through us, if we don't impede his spirit, perfect love will bloom. The result will be what is called the fruits of the spirit. But to an outsider it will APPEAR as is we are keeping God's commandments. But as Paul says:
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
The "faith" of the son of God means that Paul has faith enough to let Christ live through him and Christ full fills the law.
You're theorized this, but you've not shown it. I presented historical evidence that showed Christians still keeping the Lord's holy days and sabbaths more than 3 centuries after Christ died. I've showed you biblical evidence of Paul actually commanding followers to keep the holy days. I've showed biblical evidence of Paul observing other feast days. Even the first church was formed on one of God's holy days. Christ was killed on one of God's holy days.
And here's the kicker: God's holy days will be observed when the Lord returns to earth:
Zec 14:16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Zec 14:17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
Zec 14:18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Zec 14:19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
God's holy days are OUTSIDE of the covenant. They were given BEFORE the old covenant and they are observed AFTER the new covenant. They are guarded and celebrated today by those who wish to honor and obey the Lord.
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)
I trust you've already read Diego's excellent response to this.
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.
If "common use" means two references that don't actually say "kyriake hemera" then you're right. In the Didache the phrase "kyriake de kyriou" (Lord's of the Lord) is used. Some have latched onto this in order to mistranslate John.
When did Justin make the reference?
Thanks Chuck. The significance isn't that it's Sunday. There's nothing to biblically support the notion that "Sunday" was special. God's other feasts may occur on Thursday, Wednesday, or Tuesday, but this doesn't mean the day itself is significant other than it becomes so when the Lord's feasts fall on them.
Exactly.
Excellent as always. Thank you so much Diego.
I think you're not understanding the distinction between Jewish practices and scriptural practices. Jews have built up tradition and put it on par with scripture.
or snippets of Paul. The Gospel and NT references you have presented are short and often out of context (using Paul’s trial for heresy by the Jews to indicate it somehow validates a Judaizing Christian).
You're characterization. I simply quoted what Paul said. That he believes everything in scripture. The Jews were mad at him because he DIDN'T believe in much of the tradition that had built up in the religion of Judaism. The Jews couldn't separate their unscriptural, unbiblical tradition from what God inspired in the law and prophets.
The thing that most stands out is a lack of Gospel proofs; reliance on OT and Pauline proofs has been used by many pseudo Christians including the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Believing one’s theology is fine; to attack the Christian Church based upon OT beliefs is not.
I haven't attacked the Christian church at all. I've pointed out that some organizations are relying on incorrect tradition to build theology. This is entirely consistent with Christianity:
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
Christ himself constantly used scripture to point out the faults in the doctrine of the Jews:
Joh 5:45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust.
Joh 5:46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.
Joh 5:47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?
but I've not attacked one single member of the body of Christ.
Therefore the seventh year for the king would have been 458 B.C. to sometime during 457 B.C. This can all be verified in "An Encyclopedia of World History" W.L. Langer; Babylonian Chronology, Brown University Press, page 17. The 483 years of Daniel's prophecy thereby would end at 26 A.D. and this was the year Our Lord began his ministry 26/27 A.D.
Key to Daniel's prophecy is Christ presenting Himself to Israel as its King. This did not occur in AD 26/27, but 32/33 as documented by Luke
Luke 19: 41 ¶ And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
Based upon other archaeological finds such as the Elephantine papyri, and other documents, the date of the decree is March 16, 445 BC. Provided you do the math correctly (btw, a prophetic year is 360 days) brings one to AD32
* 360 days for a prophetic year
* 365.242199 days per standard year
* 7*7+62*7 prophetic years from the order to restore Jerusalem
* Artaxerxes gave the order to restore Jerusalem to Nehemiah in 444 BC
* There is no 0 BC year, 1 BC jumps to 1 AD in 1 year of time.
Therefore, the messiah shows up, as per Daniel 9 in:
-444+1+(7*7+62*7)*(360 prophetic days/yr)/(365.242199 day/yr) = 33 AD
The accounts line up in many ways with Jesus dying in 33 AD, before the Passover feast's 1st day (or "high day", which was also on the Sabbath), and on the same day as the Passover lambs were being slaughtered that year. There is no other year where the accounts all align.
How are you certain he was quoting the Septuagint and not the Palestinian canon, or ancient scrolls that are no longer existing?
Third, the word Easter is not found in the Greek New Testament. Nor is there biblical mention of or instruction to observe Lent.What more needs to be said? Maroons think "Easter" is the Word. Folks with ANY degree of sophistication get that the Paschal Feast is not called 'Easter' anywhere but in english speaking lands. The Pasch is though found almost everywhere else. What a series of odd strawmen set here.
It seems to me that Easter should be the first Sunday after Passover.
The words of jesus first and foremost:
Mar 2:27 And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.
The word translated man means "mankind". All of man. Man in general. Not jews in specific. Not Israel in specific. Man in general. Which makes sense since the sabbath was created at the beginning of creation.
And when God re-educated Israel about his sabbath, he made sure to include "strangers", gentiles:
Exo 20:10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
Gentiles have ALWAYS been invited to partake in God's sabbath. AND:
Isa 56:3 Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the LORD Speak, saying, "The LORD has utterly separated me from His people"; Nor let the eunuch say, "Here I am, a dry tree."
Isa 56:4 For thus says the LORD: "To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant,
Isa 56:5 Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off.
Isa 56:6 "Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants— Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant—
Isa 56:7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."
These are powerful words from the Lord God that show that foreigners, non-Israelites, can have the blessing of God's sabbaths. This was done through the new covenant through the sacrifice of Christ.
If you read a little deeper the article points out that the biblical Passover is the scripturally commanded observance and that God commanded it to be observed on a certain day. Easter, or whatever name you call it, isn't this day.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.