Tag Archives: Good Friday

Man-Made Holidays Aren’t YeHoVaH’s Moedim

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6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written,

‘This people honors Me with their lips
but their heart is far from Me.
7 And in vain they worship Me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

8 Having left behind the commandment of [YeHoVaH], you hold on to the tradition of men.” – Mark 7:6-8, TLV; the bracketed word is my emphasis

8 See that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men and the basic principles of the world rather than Messiah. – Colossians 2:8, TLV

As it was in biblical times so has it been in our Common Era. In fact, it would seem that religious leaders have always had a propensity for either inappropriately adding their man-made traditions to the Law of YeHoVaH or completely replacing His Commandments with their own. Moreover, each time they added their own traditions or replaced YeHoVaH’s Commandments, those new man-made customs and replacements made YeHoVaH’s Law of no effect. Now, it should be noted that the word traditions, as used in this blog entry, means that which has been handed down or passed on to others – whether by word of mouth or in writing.

The above-mentioned truth about added traditions of men making YeHoVaH’s Law of no effect have is why Yeshua knew full well that, if He disregarded the seemingly harmless traditions of the religious leaders in His day, His behavior would stir the Pharisees’ righteous indignation. Furthermore, Yeshua not only violated the man-made traditions of the experts in the Law but also taught that these religious leaders’ traditions were dangerous.

Today, believers in Yeshua can see the massive damage that man-made traditions have done to so-called Christians. Because of the often referred to as harmless man-made holidays – many of which have either added to or completely replaced YeHoVaH’s Moedim and other Holy Days (Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Day of First Fruits, Feast of Pentecost,  Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and the regular Sabbath) – and because of the additions of church programs (orders of worship), gimmicks, man-made holidays, and hierarchies that often are referred to as harmless customs, Christians have essentially developed a lack of personal holiness, an infrequent faith-walk, and a socially acceptable complacency, as well as have effectively blocked most of YeHoVaH’s intended way of life He has wanted His Children to live on earth.

Since this is the Christmas season, showing a sharp contrast between the Law of YeHoVaH and religious leaders’ traditions of men is necessary. Yeshua, Himself, declared that the Jewish religious leaders had “…left behind the commandment of [YeHoVaH]…” (Mark 7:8), had “..set aside the commands of [YeHoVaH], in order that [they] may validate [their] own tradition” (Mark 7:9), and were “making void the word of [YeHoVaH] with [their] tradition that [they’ve] handed down…” (Mark 7:13) by not keeping what “…Moses said…” (Mark 7:10).

Without a doubt, most modern-day Christian religious leaders have continued many of the old traditions of men started by the Roman Catholic Church. Most of those old traditions of men had completely replaced the Moedim (appointed times or holy days) of YeHoVaH with new religious seasons, sacred days, and holidays – like keeping Sunday holy instead of the Sabbath and celebrating Advent, Christmas, Epiphany (Feast of Three Kings), Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Good Friday, and Easter.

For centuries, men have been adding their oral traditions to the written Word of YeHoVaH. Beginning with the written Torah, as dictated by YeHoVaH to Moses who wrote it down and then shared YeHoVaH’s Law with the Israelites, this written Torah was significantly expanded with the oral Torah, which includes The Mishnah, the Talmud, the Tosefta, the Kabbala, and so on and so forth. Each one of these oral traditions became additions to the original written Law of YeHoVaH. They were humans’ interpretations – what men thought YeHoVaH intended to express in Scripture. My point here is that the Roman Bishops and other religious leaders in the early Roman Catholic Church were not the only ones who added to the Word of YeHoVaH.

The problem is that YeHoVaH has warned His Jewish people and, by extension, all of His Children who are saved through Yeshua, about altering His Word. He advised them, and us, about not adding to or subtracting from what He gave to them – and to us via surviving manuscripts. In spite of His clear biblical warning, adding to and subtracting from His Word is exactly what has happened.

At Yeshua’s First Coming, the traditions of men had become the Letter of the Law – completely taking over the Spirit of the Law. As a result, Yeshua repeatedly called the Pharisees hypocrites. Since then, many non-Jewish religious leaders have moved the masses of so-called Christians so far away from, for example, YeHoVaH’s Law, including His established eternal Moedim, by completely replacing them with many seemingly harmless oral traditions. As previously mentioned, the result has been that Christians have essentially developed a lack of personal holiness, an infrequent faith-walk, and a socially acceptable complacency, as well as have effectively blocked most of YeHoVaH’s intended way of life He has wanted His Children to live on earth.

It should be clear that no man-made tradition is better than YeHoVaH’s Law. Even so, the sad truth is that many Christians who keep breaking His Law by adding to or subtracting from YeHoVaH’s Word will hear Yeshua tell them to depart from Him because He knows them not. When Yeshua returns again for His Second Coming and finds left behind Christians continuing, for example, to keep Sunday holy instead of the Sabbath and/or continuing to celebrate Advent, Christmas, Epiphany (Feast of Three Kings), Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Good Friday, and Easter instead of observing YeHoVaH’s commanded Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Day of First Fruits, Feast of Pentecost,  Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and the regular Sabbath, Yeshua won’t just call these surviving or resurrected Christians hypocrites. He will cast them into the Lake of Fire.

A word to the wise should be sufficient. Shalom!

Stubborn As Mule

11 Wednesday Dec 2019

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I composed this poem on December 8, 2019, after seeing so many Christmas postings in my Facebook newsfeed that professed Christians posted. It is hard to believe that – in this twenty-first century – so many who declare they are Christians are still kicking against the goads (are still refusing to hear YeHoVah’s Voice about not following/not keeping the traditions of men). They have closed their souls and their ears to His Truth – choosing to be unfaithful to His Will and His Ways. Perhaps the real problem is that they are Christians instead of Netzarim (faithful servants/disciples/saints of Yeshua).

By stubbornly refusing to obey YeHoVaH, Christmas celebrators and believers are driving their individual goad in deeper and deeper. Choosing to be unfaithful to YeHoVaH’s Divine Truth, by rejecting the Holy Spirit’s teaching/revealing, causes the necessary pain that comes from His Discipline, which eventually will happen to them, if it hasn’t already begun. Selah . . . .

Why would you be so stubborn as to close your hearts and your ears to me? You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just like your forefathers! – Acts 7:51, TPT

Yeshua Never Died on a Good or a Black Friday

01 Sunday Dec 2019

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31 It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was Passover week). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. – John 19:31, NLT

In this blog article, I am doing what all saints of Yeshua should do. I am setting the record straight about the Black Friday graphic with Yeshua on the cross flanked by two criminals. Many versions of this graphic have been posted for years on Facebook, but, sadly, they all have been posted not only to confirm Yeshua died on a Good Friday but also to confirm that that Good Friday was a black Friday. The truth is that Yeshua never died on any Friday – neither good nor black or otherwise.

To start with, there were three days of preparation during the so-called Holy Week Yeshua was crucified. The one mentioned in the above Scripture was not on Friday – at least not the week Yeshua died.

During the Holy Week, there were two Sabbaths – a High Holy Sabbath and a regular Saturday Sabbath. The Jews prepared for both of these Sabbaths on the days before they took place.

Moreover, the  13th of Nisan – Tuesday – has been called the “preparation day” for the Passover, which included Passover and Unleavened Bread. On Nisan 13, all leaven was removed out of the Hebrews’ homes.

On this 13th day of Nisan, Yeshua had His Disciples prepare for His Passover meal. Yeshua’s Seder meal actually would be eaten after 6:00pm, which would be the beginning of Nisan 14 since, once again, a Jewish day has always been from sunset (evening) to sunset (evening).

Likewise, the 14th day of Nisan – Wednesday – has always been the day of Passover since the Israelites came out of Egypt. They also have always been allowed to work on this day.

During the week Yeshua died, Nisan 14 (Passover) also was the day that the Jewish religious leaders had the Temple’s guards drag Yeshua in front of Pilate’s (the Roman governor’s) residence around 6:00am (see Matthew 27:1-2; John 18:28-29). Additionally, it was on Passover, from noon (the sixth hour) until three in the afternoon (the ninth hour) that Yeshua was crucified. During these hours, darkness came over all the land. Lastly, it was on Passover that the Jewish people in Yeshua’s day prepared for the next day’s High Sabbath.

Yeshua hung on the cross until right before the 15th of Nisan – Thursday – was about to begin. Nisan 15 has always been the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Yeshua was removed from the cross and then placed in a borrowed tomb right at the start of Nisan 15 – a day that otherwise would be very uneventful, except for the holy convocation.

The 16th day of Nisan – Friday – was called “the morrow after” the Sabbath (the day after Nisan 15th’s High Holy Sabbath). Nisan 16 was the day on which the firstfruits of the barley harvest were cut and bundled. During the week Yeshua died, Nisan 16 also was the day of preparation for the regular Saturday Sabbath.

The 17th day of Nisan – Saturday – in the year Yeshua was crucified was the regular 7th-day Sabbath. At the start of this day, Yeshua had been in the grave two nights and two days. By the start of Nisan 18 – Sunday, the first day of the week – Yeshua had fulfilled His prophesied three days and three nights in the grave. His resurrection also made Him the first fruits of the dead, because He rose on the day of First Fruits when the cut barley sheaves were waved before YeHoVaH.

Yeshua rose from the dead right when Sunday evening started. Sunday was the Day of First Fruits. Remember, a Jewish day is from sunset (evening) to sunset (evening). Without a doubt, the above timeline is consistent with Yeshua’s words that He would be dead and in the grave for three days and three nights.

Shalom . . . . .

Traditions of Men

01 Sunday Apr 2018

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Traditions Of Men

 

 

 

Jesus replied, “You are frauds and hypocrites! How accurately did Isaiah prophesy about you phonies when he said:

‘These people honor me with their words
while their hearts run far away from me!
Their worship is nothing more than a charade!
For they continue to insist
that their man-made traditions
are equal to the instructions of God.’

 “You abandon God’s commandments just to keep men’s rituals, such as ceremonially washing utensils, cups, and other things.”

Then he added, “How skillful you’ve become in rejecting God’s law in order to maintain your man-made set of rules. For example, Moses taught us:

‘Honor your father and your mother,’
and,
‘Whoever insults or mistreats his father or
mother must be put to death.’

“But your made-up rules allow a person to say to his parents, ‘I’ve decided to take the support you were counting on from me and make it my holy offering to God, and that will be your blessing instead.’ How convenient! The rules you teach exempt him from providing for his aged parents. Do you really think God will honor your traditions passed down to others, making up these rules that nullify God’s Word? And you’re doing many other things like that.” ~ Mark 7:6-13, TPT

 

Long before the time of Jesus, the Jewish religious leaders frequently added to the Law of Moses their own traditions—the traditions of men—that were their rules they made everyone follow. The reason they added their traditions was because these religious leaders wanted to make the Word of God more convenient to themselves. They also wanted to control the entire Jewish population—to control Israel—and they wanted to take the place of God.

Over the course of time, mostly after the Roman Empire destroyed the Jewish Temple in 70 AD, as well as after the deaths of Jesus Christ’s apostles, the Roman believers in Christ developed their own highly sophisticated theology and organizational structure that was controlled by the papacy. The papacy was nothing like the Ekklesia that began on the Day of Pentecost, which was right after Jesus Christ’s Ascension Day that happened forty days after His Resurrection.

By the way, Jesus Christ was raptured twice. He first was raptured on the Day of First Fruits, when He rose from the grave and then secretly went to Heaven where He was presented before Father God who accepted His Son as the firstfruits of the resurrected dead. Secondly, Jesus Christ was raptured when He ascended to Heaven right in front of His original disciples.

Now, although the Roman Catholic Church has claimed that it is the Church Christ died for, according to the New Testament, the real truth is that the Roman Catholic Church’s beginning was not based on the teachings of Jesus Christ or His original disciples who became apostles. Indeed, for the first 280 years after Jesus Christ established His Ekklesia on the day of Pentecost, the Roman Empire banned believers in Christ and His teachings.

In fact, it wasn’t until after the Roman Emperor Constantine’s alleged “conversion” that the Roman Catholic Church made “Christianity” the ONLY religion of the Roman Empire. As a result, the Roman Empire stopped persecuting and crucifying believers in Christ around 313 AD.

However, even though the Roman Catholic Church has claimed it is the Church Jesus Christ established, nowhere in the New Testament are there any mentions of a papacy; the confession of sin to a Catholic priest for his absolution; the immaculate conception of Mary, the mother of Jesus; the worship of Mary, the mother of Jesus; purgatory; infant baptisms; the petitioning of saints in Heaven for their prayers; calling priests “fathers”; the rosary and its string of prayer beads; Lent; and so many more of the Roman Catholic Church’s traditions of men.

Like the Jewish religious leaders who added their own traditions to the Law of Moses, the Roman Catholic Church added its own traditions to the teachings of Jesus Christ and His disciples—to the New Testament. The Roman Catholic Church did this because it wanted to make the Word of God more convenient to its papacy and the religious leaders under the Pope, and it wanted to combine and control the “Christian” and pagan populations. Moreover, the Roman Catholic Church’s early religious leaders wanted to control the world, to take the place of God, and to give absolute POWER to the Roman Catholic Church. Indeed, even the Roman Catholic Church’s history confirms that many Popes, Bishops, and other religious leaders were wicked, power hungry, and greedy for monetary gain. This description also applies to many of the Jewish High Priests, Pharisees, and Sadducees.

Most important, because the Roman Empire was massive, sprawling, and diverse, the Roman Catholic Church’s religious leaders not only wanted to distance themselves from the Jewish communities that were still celebrating God’s appointed seven annual feasts but also these religious leaders wanted to absorb the pagan feasts, beliefs, and rituals of their non-Christian citizens—feasts, beliefs, and rituals the Roman Emperor Constantine also continued to practice. Thus, the Roman Catholic Church’s religious leaders at the time of Emperor Constantine wanted to absorb the existing paganism so that these religious leaders could get all Roman citizens to embrace the Roman Catholic Church’s religious brand—“Christianity.”

Long story short, it is the Roman Catholic Church’s traditions of men that became the law and the customs the entire Empire had to follow as soon as said religious leaders during Emperor Constantine’s reign “Christianized” their existing pagan rituals and feasts. These traditions of men became the law and customs that most of the world, Protestant believers included, still follow today. A few of these traditions of men are the celebration of Christ’s birth (the annual Christmas holiday), the celebration of Good Friday (the annual celebration of Christ’s death), and the celebration of Easter (the annual celebration of Christ’s resurrection).

The uncomfortable truth is that there is nowhere in the entire Word of God—the Old and the New Testaments—that Father God instructs His Children to celebrate His Son’s birth. Christmas, therefore, is not an annual God-appointed feast day. It is just one of the many pagan feast days and rituals that the Roman Catholic Church absorbed and Christianized.

Likewise, there is nowhere in the entire Word of God that Good Friday is presented as a God-appointed feast (annual holiday). Good Friday is the Roman Catholic Church religious leaders’ attempt at getting rid of Passover—the annual God-appointed feast day that is in the Word of God. Passover is the day of preparation for the Jewish High Sabbath (a sacred day), and Passover is the day the Roman soldiers crucified the Messiah on the Cross.

Then too, there is nowhere in the entire Word of God that Easter is presented as a God-appointed feast (annual holiday). Easter, however, is the Roman Catholic Church religious leaders’ additional attempt at getting rid of Passover, which they did by making Easter fall on the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurred on or after the spring or vernal equinox. These same religious leaders also changed Passover’s name to Good Friday, changed First Fruits’ name to Easter, changed Passover’s significance—Jesus Christ’s crucifixion day—and changed First Fruits’ significance, which was Jesus Christ’s resurrection day. By changing Passover and First Fruits’ dates, names, and significances, the Roman Catholic Church’s religious leaders were able to get rid of three Jewish feasts—Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. These were Jewish Feast days that many of the Roman Catholic Church’s “Christians” were observing. Having Roman Catholic “Christians” who also celebrated these Jewish Feasts days was causing a big problem in the Empire. Even so, the truths these early Roman Catholic Church religious leaders tried to bury were the Holy Bible’s annual God-appointed feast days of Passover and First Fruits, which were the days when Jesus Christ died and rose from the grave—not Good Friday and Easter.

The bottom line is as follows: If the Roman Catholic Church started with Jesus Christ and His disciples it certainly has done everything in its power to change or remove the Lord and His disciples’ teachings by either altering or replacing them all together with their own traditions of men, all for their own convenience. Out of their own disdain for the Jewish festivals’ traditions that line up with the entire Word of God, and because of their own life of compromise—mixing Christianized pagan feasts and rituals with their “Christianity”—the early Roman Catholic Church’s religious leaders ended up leaving behind an unholy legacy.

Tragically, today’s believers in Christ have inherited from these early Roman religious leaders the same life of compromise and the same disdain for God’s appointed seven annual feast days that begin with Passover and end with Tabernacles. Consequently, way too many of today’s believers in Christ—Roman Catholics and Protestants—still religiously celebrate Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter. They do so as believers in Christ who are ignorant of the following fact: By continuing to celebrate these nonbiblical feasts, they are saying that the Roman Catholic Church’s attempt to change Father God’s prophetic calendar was ordained by God when it wasn’t.

It is evident that Father God foresaw this unfortunate example of the blind leading the blind—not only in the Roman Catholic Church’s celebrations of the wrong feasts but also in ALL the Hebrew and Roman religious leaders’ other traditions of men that have been added to the Word of God. Sadly, every followed tradition of men is why so many believers in Christ who will be living right before the Tribulation Period begins will be so unprepared and unalert that they—carnal believers and natural men and women (unbelievers – Jews and Gentiles)—will miss the Rapture and end up suffering during the Tribulation Period.

May the Lord help them see the errors of their ways before it is too late. Amen.

The True Holy Week

22 Tuesday Mar 2016

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The Real Holy Week

 

It is scary how so many professed Christians think God’s Holy Week is from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday—with a Good Friday thrown in there. That week is not holy to God, because He never establishes any week that consists of a Good Friday and an Easter Sunday.

The week that begins with God’s beloved Son entering Jerusalem—riding on a donkey—is indeed a holy week, even though the palm branches do NOT symbolize victory, or peace, or love. Ironically, those palm branches symbolize Jewish nationalism—a desire for political freedom. The only problem with desiring this political freedom at that time is that Christ does not come as the Jewish people’s long-awaited King who is to deliver them from the Romans. Christ comes as the Lamb who takes away the sins of the entire world—the sins of Hebrews and Gentiles.

Now the biblical truth is that it is Palm Sunday to First Fruits that creates the holy week. This week is holy because of the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits or Resurrection Day. These holidays or feast days and the holy convocations or Holy Days are God’s appointed feasts and Holy Days He says have to be observed forever.

God’s appointed feast days are the reasons why, for the Jewish people, there are no such days as a Good Friday and Easter Sunday. In fact, neither Good Friday nor Easter Sunday is found in the Scriptures. Emperor Constantine and his bishops are the creators of Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday holidays. Erasing the Jewish feast days and customs off the Church calendar is the main reason for these man-made holidays.

God’s true Holy Week goes like this: The Lord enters Jerusalem on the day that we call Palm Sunday, dies as the sacrificial Lamb on Passover, and is in the grave the first three days and three nights of the Unleavened Bread Feast. He arises on Feast of First Fruits, which is the first day of the week, after the regular weekly Sabbath. Shalom.

“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.” ~ Lev. 23:5-8

Keep it real…Live it out…Watch it work!

 

~ a devotion from my book – Keeping It Real: Daily Renewing the Mind

 

NOTE: The holiday of Pesach, or Passover, falls on the Hebrew calendar dates of Nissan 15-22. Passover 2016 actually begins at sunset on Nissan 14. Gentiles’ coinciding secular dates for Passover Week (Holy Week) 2016 are as follows:

April 22-30

Passover Week or Holy Week actually has three sacred Feasts in it: Passover day (when Christ was crucified), days of Unleavened Bread (the first day is when Christ was buried), and the day of First Fruits (or Resurrection Sunday, when Christ arose).

[All I can do is share the truth with people who say they are believers in Christ. The rest is up to them—that is—whether or not they want to believe the truth and act accordingly. Selah!]

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)!