Monthly Archives: April 2012

25 Wednesday Apr 2012

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The biblical pattern described in this entry is why neither a Mid-Trib nor a Post-Trib Rapture will be THE Rapture of the true Bride of Christ/CHURCH/Body of Believers. Actually, the Bible provides enough information that proves there is more than ONE last-days/end-time Rapture, but that point is not covered in this entry!

Gone Fishin'

Enoch Walked With God

And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him]. ~ Genesis 5:24, AMP

Because of faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For even before he was taken to heaven, he received testimony [still on record] that he had pleased and been satisfactory to God. ~ Hebrews 11:5, AMP

It was of these people, moreover, that Enoch in the seventh [generation] from Adam prophesied when he said, Behold, the Lord comes with His myriads of holy ones (ten thousands of His saints)  To execute judgment upon all and to convict all the impious (unholy ones) of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed [in such an] ungodly [way], and of all the severe (abusive, jarring) things…

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Olivet Discourse Timeline

23 Monday Apr 2012

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For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. ~ Titus 2:11-14, ESV

 

Parts of the Lord’s Olivet Discourse are recorded in The Gospels According to Saint Matthew, Saint Mark, and Saint Luke, which means the entire discourse is not in one particular synoptic gospel. Furthermore, it is important to note that in the Olivet Discourse the Lord is referring to two distinct events: the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and Jerusalem, both of which happened in 70 A.D. (cf. Luke 21:20-24); and His own eschatological Second Coming (Parousia or His bodily return).

Moreover, the Olivet Discourse starts with the backdrop of the Lord’s severely critical judgment/criticism of the Jewish religious leaders’ hypocrisy (cf. Matthew 23:1-36; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 20:45-47), with the unbelief He found in the Jewish people, as a whole (cf. Matthew 23:33-36), and with His lament over Jerusalem and curse on the Temple (cf. Matthew 23:37-29; Luke 13:34-35). Then, after Christ Jesus leaves the Temple area and Jerusalem and climbs to the top of the Mount of Olives, the Olivet Discourse proceeds to the prediction of the Temple’s destruction (cf. Matthew 24:1-2; Mark 13:1-2; Luke 21:5-6), the disciples’ questions (cf. Matthew 24:3; Mark 13:4; Luke 21:7), and the signs and time of the Lord’s Parousia or Second Coming (cf. Matthew 24:4-39; Mark 13:5-32; Luke 21:8-34).

Now most believers are not in agreement with where the Rapture happens on the Olivet Discourse’s timeline, and they disagree because too many believers fail to see that the Olivet Discourse is not completely sequential. These believers also disagree because too many of them fail to understand that the Olivet Discourse is more about the disciples’ questions and Christ Jesus’ answers to those questions—the Lord’s predicted signs and the time of the His Parousia! Put differently, one of the Olivet Discourse’s focal points is on the nation of Israel’s expectations, which are based on Old Testament prophecies, and another focal point is on God’s worldwide plan for the Earth. The Rapture of the CHURCH, which is the New Testament’s Body of Christ or Bride of Christ, is not a focal point of the Olivet Discourse!

Furthermore, because not one of the synoptic gospels’ portions of the Olivet Discourse unambiguously predicts the Rapture the way apostle Paul clearly reveals the Rapture’s mystery in 1 Corinthians 15:50-53 and again in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, this scriptural truth is the main reason why most believers interpret the Rapture as either Pre-Tribulational (generally speaking, Christians who make this interpretation of when the Rapture takes places believe that the Rapture is before the beginning of the final seven years of prophet Daniel’s 70th Week, which is commonly referred to as the Tribulation Period), or Mid-Tribulational (generally speaking, Christians who make this interpretation of when the Rapture takes place believe that the Rapture is around the mid-point of the seven year Tribulation Period), or Post-Tribulational (generally speaking, Christians who make this interpretation of when the Rapture takes place believe that the Rapture is after the beginning of the Great Tribulation or second half of the Tribulation Period’s suffering and persecution but before the Lord’s actual bodily return).

For the record, the Rapture is God’s escape plan, God’s “New Ark” that’s not built by human hands. The Lord, thus, snatches/raptures His true believers, His CHURCH not built by human hands, out of this world so that He can keep/save them from the hour (the time) of testing/trial, which is the wrath to come. The Rapture also is apostle Paul’s biblical prediction about Christ Jesus. This apostle declares that Christ Jesus will come back for His true CHURCH/BODY of BELIEVERS/BRIDE, and when He does He will resurrect those believers who have died in Him, translate those believers who still are living when He comes for them, and then suddenly change both the dead and alive in Christ believers’ bodies before His true CHURCH/BODY of BELIEVERS/BRIDE meets Him in the air. Then, together they will proceed to Heaven. Moreover, even though the Scriptures do not unequivocally refer to the commotion the true CHURCH/BODY of BELIEVERS/BRIDE’s departure will cause, there can be no doubt, given how curious many people are about the lives of celebrities, that this sudden disappearance of well-known, decidedly successful, and/or extremely affluent artistic, athletic, spiritual, and political leaders will trigger an abundance of questions!

Having said that, for this blogger, who has a Pre-Tribulational interpretation of the Rapture, the Olivet Discourse Timeline is as follows: 

For more details, please read my following blog entries: Countdown to the Rapture; God’s Soon-To-Be Repeated Pattern: The Disappearance, The Sign, The Warning, and The Destruction; Jewish Menorah Mirrors 7 Feasts: Reflections Made On 2011’s Feast of Trumpets; Ready or Not, It’s Rapture Season; The Bridegroom Is Coming: God’s Ultimate Marriage Story; The Controversial MYSTERY: The Rapture; The Fall Feast of Trumpets’ Spiritual Realities; The Three Most Important Crops of Israel’s Seven Major Crops; and Who Is Rapture Ready?

Preventing The Shouting Matches

14 Saturday Apr 2012

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My dear children, you belong to God and have defeated them; because God’s Spirit, who is in you, is greater than the devil, who is in the world. ~ 1 John 4:4, NCV

 …No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God living within the human spirit; it creates an inner invincibility. …It is definitely a crime for a Christian to be weak in God’s strength. ~ from “Inner Invincibility,” a devotion by Oswald Chambers

God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control. ~ 2 Timothy 1:7, NCV

 

Yesterday, on my Google+ page, a self-proclaimed atheist called me names. His name-calling insults were in his replies to my one and only response to his initial comment. His first comment was in response to my Daily Christian Quote post, which reads:

By prayer, the ability is secured to feel the law of love, to speak according to the law of love, and to do everything in harmony with the law of love. ~ E.M. Bounds

He immediately responded to my comment by admitting that he had not read everything that I wrote. Well, it was obvious that he had not read my full response, because he posted his second comment in less than 20 seconds after my somewhat lengthy response posted! Then, he posted a third comment 2 seconds after posting his second one. Anyway, after telling me why he wasn’t going to read what I said, he then turned to verbal abuse. 

For some time after I flagged his venomous insults and then blocked him, I wondered if I flagged and blocked him because I feared this atheist’s blatant arrogance, aggression, and bullying. However, a few moments after the questioning of my motives began, God’s Holy Spirit helped me to see that by flagging and blocking this self-proclaimed atheist I stopped him from obtaining his sought after self-esteem, which he planned to get by repeatedly abusing me, verbally speaking.

His malicious insults, thus, were his attempts to enforce his power/control over me by intentionally hurting me, emotionally, with his arrogant, aggressive, and bullying behavior. The truth is that he never intended to listen to reason but rather he only wanted to put me in a position of believing about myself what he obviously believes about himself—he is emotionally insecure!

The bottom line is that the atheist who called me rude names is emotionally insecure, because he denies Christ Jesus as his personal Savior. As a result of his denial, which is spiritual suicide, he verbally abuses me, because he assumes ALL believers are ignorant Bible-thumping lunatics.

The truth of the matter is that his venomous insults, which are loud and clear, are primarily meant to hide his anxiety over his atheistic beliefs and his emotional insecurity. Put differently, because he is threatened by my strong, confident, and emotionally secure in Christ Jesus behavior, then in order for him to feel better about himself he first must slam me. Had I let him, there is no doubt that he would have continued slamming me, over and over and over again, until he believed he had succeeded in shaking my confidence in Christ Jesus by getting me to question my beliefs, and/or until he believed he had succeeded in pulling me into a shouting match.

But thanks to God, all true born again, saved (justified), and full of the Holy Spirit believers in Christ Jesus have this “inner invincibility” that Mr. Chambers speaks about in his above quotation. This “inner invincibility” is revealed through genuine believers’ expressions of the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit in them, especially through their demonstrations of the Holy Spirit’s power, love, and self-control (cf. 2 Timothy 1:7; see also Acts 1:8a; Galatians 5:22-23).

Lastly, as a child, I was taught that when someone says something rude or unpleasant to me that I should just leave the room, or wherever I am, to prevent the disagreement from turning into a shouting match. Therefore, this early teaching plus my “inner invincibility” would not let the atheist who maliciously insulted me succeed in getting me to fear that, as a Christian, I was too weak to handle his blatant arrogance, aggression, and bullying. Indeed, no  matter how hard this atheist tried to convince me that my faith is in an invisible fantasy god, by calling me a disgusting, crazy, foolish, ignorant, moronic, and delusional person, my “inner invincibility” would not let him succeed in getting me to doubt who my God is or who I am in Christ Jesus, which, after all, was the real goal of his arrogant, aggressive, and bullying behavior.

Resurrection Sunday (2012)

08 Sunday Apr 2012

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Christ The Lord Is Risen!

Christ Jesus’ Resurrection, according to Robert Lowry’s 1874 hymn, “Christ Arose”:

Up from the grave he arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives for ever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!                                                                                                                                                Hallelujah! Christ arose! ~ chorus

Christ Jesus’ Resurrection, according to the New Testament Scriptures:

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. ~ John 20:1-10, ESV

Why don’t more believers question the late day Good Friday crucifixion and early Sunday morning resurrection? Clearly, 72 hours cannot be crammed in between the Lord’s burial on Good Friday and His resurrection on Sunday morning. So why don’t more believers challenge the Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday belief with the only SIGN that Christ Jesus says He would give that would prove He is the promised Messiah? That sign is the Lord being in the grave three days and three nights (cf. Matthew 12:40). Now, based on ancient Jewish day calculations, there can be no doubt that Christ Jesus is saying in the above verse that He would be in the grave at least three 12-hour days and three 12-hour nights, or 72 full hours!

Be that as it may, there are several New Testament Scriptures that declare that Christ Jesus would arise on the third day (cf. Matthew 17:23, 20:19; Luke 9:22, 18:33, 24:7, 24:46; Acts 10:40; 1 Corinthians 15:4). Therefore, since Christ Jesus is Jewish, then there is no way that any of these, or other, “third day” references could pertain to the Gregorian calendar’s Friday through Sunday morning three-day period. Indeed, the “third day” that is mentioned in the Scriptures with reference to the Lord’s resurrection pertains to Him arising on the morning of 18 Nisan/Abib, which is the morning after the third day of the week of Unleavened Bread!

The point here is that the burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus are based on Jewish dates and NOT Gregorian calendar days! Then too, every Jewish day is from sunset to sunset, which means every Jewish holiday begins at sundown on the dates before the listed days on the Jewish calendar. For example, 14 Nisan/Abib begins during the night hours of 13 Nisan/Abib, and so forth! Lastly, every Jewish day consists of 12 hours of darkness, which in this case are the night hours before a Jewish holiday, and every Jewish day consists of 12 hours of light, which in this case are the day hours of every calendar listed Jewish holiday. Having said all of that, Christ Jesus’ burial and resurrection dates are as follows:

  • Passover Feast/Day of Preparation – This date is 14 Nisan/Abib. Christ Jesus died on this date, at the same time the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the Temple. His Jewish followers put Him in the tomb during the day hours of 14 Nisan/Abib, burying Christ Jesus right before sundown, right before the evening hours of the 1st day of the week of Unleavened Bread started.
  • 1st day of the week of Unleavened Bread – This date is 15 Nisan/Abib, and it also is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is the first of the annual High Sabbaths.  No work was permitted. The First full Day (1st full night and 1st full day in the grave);
  • 2nd day of the week of Unleavened Bread – This date is 16 Nisan/Abib, which today is celebrated as the Feast of First Fruits, but it was NOT the Day of First Fruits, when Christ Jesus arose. The Second Day (2nd night and 2nd day in the grave);
  • 3rd day of the week of Unleavened Bread – This date is 17 Nisan/Abib, and during the Passion Week this day is the weekly Sabbath (a regularly observed seventh-day Sabbath). No work was permitted. The Third Day (3rd night and 3rd day in the grave); traditionally, a Jewish harvester would pick the ripened firstfruits of Barley, bundle the ripened firstfruits into a sheaf, and then take the sheaf to the Temple priests so that they could wave that sheaf before the Lord on the Day of First Fruits.
  • 4th day of the week of Unleavened Bread – This date is 18 Nisan/Abib, and it is also Christ Jesus’ resurrection day. Some Christians believe He is resurrected at the same moment He was crucified on 14 Nisan/Abib, but since the morning of the Feast of First Fruits fell on 18 Nisan/Abib, the morning after the Passion Week’s weekly Sabbath, Christ Jesus could not have arisen from the dead at the same hour He was crucified on 14 Nisan/Abib. He arose way before the hour He was crucified, because John 20:1 says He arose on the first day of the week, while it was still dark! During Passion Week, 18 Nisan/Abib, thus, is the Sunday the Temple priests waved the firstfruits’ sheaf of Barley, as well as the date of the morning the women went to the tomb and found that the Messiah was already gone.

Notice that Christ Jesus arose after the Third Day had been completed. In other words, He was in the grave the full 72 hours—three 12 hours of darkness and three 12 hours of light (see blog entry April 6, 2012: Good Friday vs. Passover). Thus, if the sign the Lord gives the Jewish people in His day is three days and three nights in the grave, then being buried at the end of 14 Nisan/Abib and resurrected after the end of the Third Day (17 Nisan/Abib) of the week of Unleavened Bread, means this picture makes a better three-day scenario, which definitely includes a full 72 hours of being in the grave, than counting either the days or the hours He is in the grave from Good Friday to the morning of Resurrection Sunday! AMEN!

April 6, 2012: Good Friday vs. Passover

06 Friday Apr 2012

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Jacopo Tintoretto’s The Crucifixion of Christ

These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the Lord’s Passover. 

And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. But you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.’ ~ Leviticus 23:1-11, ESV; the underlining is this blogger’s emphasis

 

Despite the fact that America’s Good Friday (2012) falls on April 6th and Passover falls on April 7th, the first day of the Jewish first month (Abib/Nisan) traditionally has been the first day of the Jewish religious or festival year. This day, biblically speaking, is Abib/Nisan 14th, and this day is better known as the Passover Feast, which usually isn’t celebrated on a Sabbath. However, to be absolutely accurate, Passover could fall on any day of the week!

Furthermore, the Passover Feast, like all ancient Jewish festivals, always begins the evening before the date that it appears on American calendars. For example, as previously mentioned, American calendars note that Passover starts on April 7, 2012, so that would mean that, if this Passover were in keeping with the biblical Passover Feast, then it would begin on the evening of April 6, 2012, because a Jewish day traditionally has been from sunset to sunset (twilight to twilight). Then too, if this Passover were like the ancient Passover Feast, then it also would begin with the customary Jewish family dinner (the Passover Seder meal of lamb and unleavened bread, etc.).

Biblically and historically, the Passover Feast is both the meal and the ceremony (the commemoration of the biblical Israelites’ exodus or the time when they were freed from their slavery in Egypt). This Passover Feast immediately precedes the first annual Sabbath of seven annual Sabbaths (High Sabbaths) of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is celebrated on Abib/Nisan 15th. Then too, because the Passover Feast commemorates the Israelites’ exodus, this is the reason why no leavened bread is eaten during the week of Unleavened Bread.

Note: Feast of Unleavened Bread’s annual Sabbath is the first of seven annual Sabbaths or High Sabbaths, which are:

1.  The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread
2.  The last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread
3.  The day of Pentecost (Shavuot) which coincides with the beginning of The Feast of Weeks
4.  The Day of Trumpets (Yom Teruah)
5.  The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
6.  The first day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth or Sukkot)
7.  The Last Great Day (8th day, also on Succoth or Sukkot)

Furthermore, biblically speaking, Jewish individuals, especially all Jewish men in their early 20s, and older, are commanded to keep the Passover from generation to generation, which means forever (cf. Exodus 12:14 ). This God-appointed time (Passover) is why Christ Jesus is in the God-appointed place (Jerusalem), during His Passion Week. The author of The Gospel According to Saint Luke writes:

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.’~ Luke 22:7-8, ESV

What needs to be noted here is that Passover includes the Passover Feast and the week of Unleavened Bread’s Feasts of Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits (cf. Exodus 12:14, 16-18; Exodus 13:6-8; Leviticus 23:1-11; Deuteronomy 16:3-8; and Numbers 28:16-18). Moreover, depending on which day of the week Passover actually falls on in the month of Abib/Nisan, the God-appointed mo’edim (times of the Passover Feast, Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Feast of Firstfruits) could spread over a 7-9 day period.

During this 7-9 day period is the week of Unleavened Bread, which actually begins on Abib/Nisan 15th.  Abib/Nisan 15th also is known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Once again, Abib/Nisan 15th also is the first annual Sabbath. For this reason, the first day of the week of Unleavened Bread is celebrated by having a sacred Sabbath assembly (a Holy Convocation). Likewise, the seventh day of the week of Unleavened Bread also is celebrated with a sacred Sabbath assembly (a Holy Convocation)—the second yearly Sabbath.

Lastly, the final festival that occurs in the first month of the Jewish religious or festival year (Abib/Nisan) is the Feast of Firstfruits. This feast is celebrated, per Leviticus 23:9-11, after the weekly Sabbath that comes after the first annual Sabbath or Feast of Unleavened Bread. However, God is not saying that the Feast of Firstfruits always takes place on Abib/Nisan 16th. For sure, regardless of which days of the month of Abib/Nisan the Passover and Unleavened Bread Feasts fall on, the Feast of Firstfruits always was meant to fall on the day after the weekly Sabbath (Saturday rest day). In  other words, the Feast of Firstfruits always was meant to fall on the first day of the week or Sunday! 

For the record, a sacred annual Sabbath or High Sabbath, like all Sabbath days, is from sunset to sunset. However, unlike the weekly Sabbath days, the sacred yearly Sabbath is a memorial of God’s appointed time (mo’ed). In fact, the sacred yearly Sabbaths also are memorials of the great events scheduled on God’s Sacred Calendar, such as the prophetic dates fixed for the past fulfilled signs, as well as the prophetic dates fixed for the fulfillment of future signs. 

Then too, on every Sabbath, no matter if it is a yearly (High) or weekly (regular) Sabbath, there would not be any work, and work for the Jewish people would be sowing, plowing, reaping, binding sheaves, kneading, baking, cooking, slaughtering, and so forth (cf. Exodus 20:8-10). However, even though all Sabbaths are days of rest and spiritual enrichment, the sacred yearly or High Sabbath differs from the sacred weekly or regular Sabbath in that the sacred weekly or regular Sabbath always begins on Friday evenings around 6 p.m. and ends on Saturday evenings around 6 p.m. (from sunset to sunset). Additionally, the sacred weekly Sabbath is a memorial of God’s creation of the world. 

The point here is that Jesus the Christ did not die on Good Friday, because “the day of Preparation” mentioned in Mark 15:42, John 19:14 and 31 is the day before the yearly or High Sabbath. Now, traditionally, “the day of Preparation” for the Passover, which in the Hebrew language is called Erev Pesach (literally, Passover eve), begins on the evening of the Passover Feast, meaning it begins during the night hours of the Passover Feast. On Erev Pesach, Jewish people, in obedience to the biblical command and in order to prevent the accidental eating of leavened bread, would remove all leaven and leavened products from their homes (cf. Exodus 12:15).

This removal of leaven definitely had to be completed before the week of Unleavened Bread started, so by the evening of the Feast of Passover (Erev Pesach or Abib/Nisan 13th), the Jewish people had to have performed the Bedikat Chametz ritual, making sure to dispose of any remaining chametz (leaven). Only after this ritual had been completed could a Jewish home be considered chametz-free and ready for the Passover Feast and the week of Unleavened Bread.

It is important to note here that a Jewish hour occurring between sunset and sunrise is called a Jewish Night Hour. A Jewish hour occurring between sunrise and sunset is called a Jewish Day Hour.  Then again, as already mentioned, a Jewish day is from sunset to sunset (it begins at sunset on the night before the day listed on a Jewish calendar), which means a Jewish 24-hour day both ends AND begins at sunset, as well as means a Jewish holiday spans two days on the western or Gregorian calendar. For example, if Abib/Nisan 14th were listed as beginning at sunset on Thursday, then it actually would be observed after sundown on Abib/Nisan 13th (Wednesday) and during the daytime hours of Abib/Nisan 14th (Thursday).

Having said all that, it is time to look closer at Jesus the Christ’s Passion Week. During His Passion Week, “the day of Preparation” was the Passover Feast (Abib/Nisan 14th), which started during the Jewish night hours on Wednesday of the western or Gregorian calendar, and ended during Jewish day hours on Thursday of the western or Gregorian calendar. More important, it is at the 9th hour (3 p.m.) of “the day of Preparation”/Passover Feast (Abib/Nisan 14th) that Jesus died (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7).

The point here is that Christ Jesus had to have stayed in the grave for at least 72 hours or three 12-hour nights and three 12-hour days (cf. Matthew 12:40). For this statement to be true, the Lord had to have been buried some time before the end of the Passover Feast’s day hours, which means He had to have been in the grave for at least 1 or two day hours, or more, before the end of Abib/Nisan 14th day hours (sunrise to sunset), and He had to have remained in the grave from the 12 night hours of Abib/Nisan 15th through the 12 day hours of Abib/Nisan 15th (the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was/is a yearly Sabbath or High Sabbath); plus from the 12 night hours of Abib/Nisan 16th through the 12 day hours of Abib/Nisan 16th; plus from the 12 night hours of Abib/Nisan 17th through at least 10-11 day hours of Abib/Nisan 17th, which was a weekly Sabbath. These 3 days and three nights in the grave (72 hours) mean that it had to have been some time after sunrise on Abib/Nisan 18th (the first day of the week, Sunday, or the Firstfruits Feast; see Matthew 28:1 and/or Luke 24:1) yet way before sunset, that the Lord is resurrected. Remember, a whole Jewish day is from sunset to sunset! 

Concerning the Passover Feast (Abib/Nisan 14th) also being “the day of Preparation”), which is the day before the yearly or High Sabbath, the Scriptures prove this truth. Also, as mentioned earlier, the term Passover stands for both the Passover Feast day and the week of Unleavened Bread, as indicated in Mark 15:42 and John 19:14. Additionally, apostle John writes:

Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness— his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth— that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken.’ And again another Scripture says, ‘They will look on him whom they have pierced.’ ~ John 19:31-37, ESV

It is because the Lord died on the Passover Feast that Christ Jesus is now every born again and saved believer’s symbolic PASSOVER. He, indeed, fulfilled God’s prophetic event that pertains to the Lord becoming the sacrificial lamb Who would take away the sins of the world (cf. Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29, 36; Acts 8:32; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:19), and He did so on God’s appointed time (mo’ed) of the Passover Feast, which is Abib/Nisan 14th.

Furthermore, Jesus the Christ did not arise on Easter Sunday. He arose from the dead as soon as 3 FULL 12-hour nights (3 FULL periods of darkness), and 3 FULL 12-hour days (3 full periods of daylight) were completed. 

Once again, a Jewish day ALWAYS begins at sunset or evening, and a Jewish 24-hour day runs from sunset to sunset. Therefore, during the week of Christ Jesus’ Passion, the Lord arose some time after the 72-hours ended, which back then was on Abib/Nisan 17th. In other words, around sunrise, while it was still dark and, therefore, long before the daylight hours of the first day of the week (Sunday, or the day of Firstfruits, Abib/Nisan 18th), which during the Passion Week followed the weekly or regular Sabbath), Christ Jesus arose from the grave. The Scriptures support this truth, for apostle John writes about the Lord’s resurrection, saying:

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. ~ John 20:1-3, ESV

Now, for some believers, this truth will not matter, because they will continue to commemorate a Good Friday crucifixion and an Easter Sunday resurrection. However, for other believers, this truth will cause them to want to get it right. Thus, they will want to commemorate their Lord’s death on the correct day, which is the Passover Feast (Abib/Nisan 14th), and they will want to commemorate their Lord’s resurrection on the correct day, which is the Feast of Firstfruits (whatever day in Abib/Nisan that might be, since God never established Abib/Nisan 16th as a FIXED date for His Firstfruits Feast)!

05 Thursday Apr 2012

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I first posted this entry on April 3, 2010.  As this 2012 Holy Week continues, I am Holy Spirit led to reblog this entry.  For sure, what I wrote back then is even more important today, because we are drawing ever-so close to the “in the twinkling of an eye” moment when the Rapture will take place.

Gone Fishin'

The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me. It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don’t deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God’s church right out of…

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05 Thursday Apr 2012

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I first posted this entry in April 2010. As this 2012 Holy Week continues, I am Holy Spirit led to reblog this entry. For sure, what I wrote back then is even more important today.

Gone Fishin'

Marriage Supper Invitation

And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which…

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Leading the World to Christ by Blogging

03 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Praises and Thanks

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…God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age. ~ Matthew 28:18b-20, MSG

Every born again, saved (justified), and being sanctified believer has an evangelistic mission. Each believer is responsible for reaching lost souls for Christ and then leading these souls to Christ. This missional responsibility first is met by taking the Good News of salvation (the Gospel) to the lost world, and secondly by explaining to the world’s unsaved people who Christ Jesus is, what He did for them (the price He paid for them), and why they need Him. There are many ways to carry out this responsibility, but first and foremost every believer has been given this command: “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God’s good news to one and all” (Mark 16:15, MSG).

Then, for the people who accept Christ Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, each evangelist’s mission changes from leading people to Christ, through the preaching of the Gospel (announcing the Message of God’s Good News), to teaching them how to live like Christ Jesus’ disciples, by witnessing to them (living the kind of life Christ Jesus lived), by equipping them for their service to the Lord, and by fellowshipping with them. Personally, this blogger literally has gone into the mission fields of Japan, South Korea, China, and America, and has stood in front of, or sat in the midst of, countless lost souls, while either preaching the Gospel to them, or witnessing to them, or equipping them, or fellowshipping with them.

As mentioned earlier, there are many ways that believers’ missional responsibility can be accomplished. Presently, God has sanctioned an additional way for this preacher to reach the world and then lead that world to Christ Jesus, and that way is through the cyberspace mission field. Thanks to 21st-century technology, there can be no doubt that there is now a great mission field in cyberspace, which means that currently the lost people in this world can be reached for Christ and led to Him mainly by the evangelistic tools of blogging, vlogging, and podcasting. Of these three, blogging is the evangelistic tool that this preacher prefers to use to take the Good News of salvation (the Gospel) to the cyberspace mission field.

Now, contrary to what the experts believe is the “best” length for bloggers’ posts, because of the topics I write about, my blog’s posts tend to be much longer! Then too, my goal is not the same as the goal of most bloggers who are getting paid to blog.

Despite the fact that I have longer blog entries, my blog stats still show that various people from numerous nations have clicked on many of my blog’s posts, and these visitors apparently have done so for assorted reasons. My stats also show that some days have heavier traffic than others, and that some entries/posts receive more comments than others.

Be that as it may. If only one lost soul takes advantage of the Good News my blog’s posts provide for him or her and, as a result, comes to learn about, know, and ultimately accept Christ Jesus as his or her Lord and Savior, then my mission has been successful! Furthermore, if only one saved soul takes advantage of the Good News my blog’s posts provide for him or her and, as a result, comes to understand fully about who he or she is in Christ, and then decides to surrender to Christ Jesus’ Lordship, as well as decides to be Holy Spirit driven, then my mission has been successful!

The bottom line is that I am so thankful to God for equipping me with His wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, and thankful to His Holy Spirit who leads me to blog something new. I also am thankful for my WordPress platform, which allows me to share the Gospel with the people of this world, and to do so free of charge!

The Triumphal Entry: Palm Sunday 2012

01 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in Faith and Wisdom

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Palm Branches

So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’ And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

‘Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!’ ~ John 12:13-15, ESV (cf. Psalm 118:25-26; Zechariah 9:9)

 

Today is the beginning of Holy Week or Passion Week, and it is so called because this week begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Resurrection Sunday. In other words, from this Sunday to next Sunday, Christian believers all over the world will be commemorating the suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

Additionally, Palm Sunday (or Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion) is Christian believers’ moveable feast (a religious holiday that falls on different dates in different years). This moveable feast, however, always falls on the Sunday before Resurrection Sunday.

According to the Holy Bible’s Passion narratives, several days before Christ Jesus’ Passion actually begins, the Lord, while riding on the back of a young donkey, makes His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Palm Sunday, for Christ Jesus, is the day He journeys from Bethany, down the Mount of Olives, and into Jerusalem. Palm Sunday also is the day on which the Lord’s trip to Jerusalem becomes a parade to beat all parades, because it ends up being a parade of pain! Indeed, of all of the New Testament’s accounts of the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, only the writer of the Gospel According to Saint Luke records that, as Christ Jesus draws nearer to the end of His journey, He weeps over Jerusalem and her citizens, and He weeps for His followers who would suffer for His sake and for the sake of His Gospel (cf. Luke 19:41-44).

On that Palm Sunday, nearly 2000 years ago, the Jewish people who went before Christ Jesus lined both sides of the trail ahead of the Lord, and some of them laid their garments on the ground, while others laid their palm leaves and branches in His way, so as to make the trail from Bethany to Jerusalem smoother for the Lord. Their actions, however, are examples of classic irony, especially since the palm leaves and branches they used symbolize a military victory. Put differently, the Lord’s Jewish brothers and sisters thought that His coming would gain a great military victory for them, one that would result in them being delivered from all of their oppressors, which is the main reason why these Jewish people were crying “Hosanna” or “save us.” Ironically, Christ Jesus’ First Coming is so that He would gain the victory over sin, but He achieves this victory by dying on the cross!

Despite the fact that the prophet Zechariah not only declares that Israel’s “King” is on His way but also describes the Lord’s triumphal entry, some five centuries before the birth of Christ Jesus (Zechariah prophesies around 520 B.C.; cf. Zechariah 1:1), both the crowd that went before the Lord, toward the city of Jerusalem, and the crowd that was behind Him (cf. Matthew 21:9; Mark 11:9), for the most part, saw Him as their promised military King who would defeat all of their enemies. However, what they didn’t take note of was the fact that, as prophet Zechariah specifically says, the Jewish King comes riding into the holy city on the back of a young donkey.

There can be no misunderstanding that the young donkey that prophet Zechariah predicts the Jewish King will ride symbolizes the peace mission this King would be fulfilling. Yet, it is obvious that so many of the Lord’s Jewish people’s eyes are closed to His true identity and to His God-given mission (cf. John 1:11). For sure, this spiritual blindness is mainly why the people in the two Palm Sunday crowds only want Christ Jesus to be the One who has come to fight their battles so that, as previously mentioned, they once and for all would be saved/delivered from their oppressors!

Therefore, because the crowd that is before Christ Jesus is spreading palm leaves and branches, and because both crowds are shouting “Hosanna,” yet they purposely are paying very little attention to the fact that Christ Jesus isn’t entering Jerusalem on a horse’s back, especially since a horse symbolizes war, it is evident that these two crowds’ love and respect shown to Christ Jesus via their palm leaves and branches, as well as their “Hosanna” shouts, only prove that both crowds are more concerned about who and what they expect the Lord to be and do, instead of proving that these crowds are certain about who Christ Jesus truly is and what He specifically has come to do.

Proof positive of this last statement comes some four days later. After the people in these two crowds collectively see that their desired and expected King and Savior has been brutally beaten beyond recognition, this united crowd’s Palm Sunday mood changes from adulation and affection to the Crucifixion Day’s disparagement and loathing. This now angry mob is showing Christ Jesus how much they detest and disrespect Him, especially when they repeatedly cry out in Luke 23:21: “Crucify him! Crucify Him!”

For all of the above reasons, we Christian believers who, beginning on this Palm Sunday and ending on Resurrection Sunday, will be commemorating our Lord’s suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection need to remember that, like the two combined Palm Sunday crowds in Jesus the Christ’s day, too many of us often only are showing the Lord we love and respect Him, primarily because we expect Him to do what we want Him to do for us. That’s why we need to remember that on Palm Sunday 2012, if we do not humbly serve our Lord, because we long to know and willingly obey God’s Will for our lives and His Will for our world, but instead serve Him because we are seeking Him for our own selfish desires, then there is no doubt that on 2012’s Resurrection Sunday we will continue to see our resurrected Christ Jesus as our personal supernatural genie, rather than revere Him as our only Lord and Savior!

In other words, without a genuine display of humility and without an unselfish display of our love and respect for our Lord’s atoning sacrifice, our compassion for His cruel suffering and merciless crucifixion will never measure up to the compassion Christ Jesus showed the world, when He fulfilled the prophecy about the Lord being the One pierced for our rebellions, crushed for our habitual sins, and punished just so that we could have peace and forgiveness  (cf. Isaiah 53:5). Put differently, whenever we are too busy thinking about ourselves and what we can get from Christ Jesus, we NEVER will be truly moved by our knowledge and understanding of the pain and suffering that were ahead for Christ Jesus, nor will we be moved by the sorrow our Lord demonstrated for the pain and suffering that were ahead for those who loved and followed Him. For these reasons, our “fake” compassion NEVER will measure up to our Lord’s compassion!

Once again, only our genuine humility, our unselfish desire to display love and respect for Christ Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, AND our public acknowledgment of Christ Jesus being our Lord and Savior to whom we have surrendered totally to His Desires and to His Lordship will cause the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and His victory over death, Hell, and the grave on Resurrection Sunday, to manifest an authentic deliverance in our lives! That’s why, like Christ Jesus, on this Palm Sunday, and every day, we need to be more concerned about the pain and suffering of others, as well as intensely empathetic and extraordinarily compassionate about Christ Jesus’ pain and suffering. Anything less will make our Palm Sunday’s welcomes and shouts for Christ Jesus just as superficial as were the welcomes and shouts for Him that the crowds on our Lord’s Palm Sunday displayed.

The bottom line is that, when Christ Jesus’ Passion does not move us, this result only can be because we, who were once habitual sinners, have forgotten that we are the ones who have inflicted this suffering on Christ Jesus. For this reason, we never should be a part of any crowd that ONLY can put on an impressive demonstration of humility, obedience, total surrender, love, and respect for Christ Jesus, while we are in a worship service, but then once we are outside the “church” doors we join forces with the kind of crowd that swiftly abandons Him!

So that we never move from being faithful followers of our Lord to being His fickle friends, who with alacrity welcome Christ Jesus with palm leaves and branches and shouts of Hosanna, but then turn against Him just as quickly as we supported Him, we, therefore, must remain His faithful followers by intentionally spending this Holy Week or Passion Week meditating on Christ Jesus’ Passion. Additionally, we indisputably must live a voluntarily obedient and a totally committed to Christ Jesus life, 24/7!