Passover, Good Friday and The Sign of Jonah

Christianity has for many years taught that Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and arose early on the following Sunday morning (first day of the week).  However, Jesus said, "For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights."  (Matthew 12:40)

My problem with Good Friday is that Jesus could not have fulfilled the above prophecy because He was only in the grave for two nights and barely two days.  Many wonder why this is even important?  It's very important because Jesus based His claim to being the Messiah on this prophecy!  If He was unable to carry out this prophecy to the exact time, then that meant He was not Who He claimed to be - God Almighty - come in the flesh - the Messiah!

In answer to this century-long debate regarding Good Friday and the Crucifixion, I decided to "Do the Math" for myself.  Before we start "doing the math", we need to remember that from the beginnning of Creation, God set up our days to begin from sunset to sunset (not from morning to evening).  Given that fact, the first day of the week (Sunday) actually begins after sundown on Saturday night (which is the 7th day weekly
Sabbath Day).

To make this easier to understand, I'm going to do the math backwards - starting with the known fact that Jesus arose on "the first day of the week".  Beginning with Saturday night to Friday night (which is the weekly Sabbath day), we have one day that Jesus was in the grave.  Friday night to Thursday night counts as the second day, and Thursday night to Wednesday night makes the third day that Jesus was in the "belly of the earth".  (Matt. 12:40)  This explains the three days, but what about the three nights?

Doing the math backwards in the above paragraph, we now see that Wednesday night was the first night Jesus was in the grave.  That would mean that Jesus was crucified sometime on Wednesday.  If Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, by going forward we can figure that Wednesday night would be the first night, Thursday would be the second night, and Good Friday would be the third night He was in the grave.  This totally "fits" with the above prophecy!!

If you still aren't sure this math is correct, I found something else very interesting that definitely solves this age-old puzzle regarding Good Friday NOT being the day of Christ's crucifixion.  In Mark 16:1 it reads, "Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him."  Remember, the weekly Sabbath began from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night.  My question is:  How did the women go shopping "when the Sabbath was past?"  It was dark outside and shop owners would be getting ready to go to bed.  That made me wonder if there was another Sabbath in that week? 

Indeed, there was another sabbath in that week.  Leviticus 23:5-7 states:  On the 14th day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover.  And on the 15th day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.  On the first day (of this Feast), you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it."  That was a special sabbath day, a high sabbath day.  This was NOT the weekly 7th day Sabbath Day, which is what has confused people for so many centuries!

In other words, Christ was crucified on Passover (Wednesday).  The next day, Thursday, was the Feast of Unleavened Bread - a high sabbath day, on which no one was to do any work.  Shops were closed.  However, when THAT sabbath (Thursday) "was past" - they went shopping and "bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him."  The truth is:  Good Friday is the day the women went shopping.  It was NOT the day Christ was crucified! After they bought the spices, they rested on the 7th day Sabbath (Friday night to Saturday night).  Then "very early in the morning, on the first day of the week (Sunday), they came to the tomb..." (Mark 16:1) and of course, Christ was not there because He had already risen!

The "Sign of Jonah" was completed right down to the exact minute:  Three days and Three nights in the "heart of the earth".  It proves that Jesus Christ is Almighty God, the Creator God, the One Who is coming again to judge both the living and the dead. "Do the Math"!  Jesus is Who He claims to be: The Messiah!

The Apostasy: The Great Bible Cover-Up Revealed

The "Great Bible Cover-Up" originally began about 20 years ago or so when the first Bible carrier was produced. You know, the little cloth bag with cloth handles that people put their Bibles in to make it supposedly easier to carry back and forth to church. They are also convenient for keeping notebooks in as well so it's there whenever you want to take sermon notes, etc. But the biggest secret about these carriers is this: no one knows you have a Bible!!

Shortly after this, the desktop computers came into our homes.  It wasn't long before you could purchase software of the Bible to put on your computer.  This was really convenient because it allowed you to be able to read the Bible at work without having to carry the Bible with you to work. But the biggest secret about having Bible software is this:  no one knows you have a Bible!!

After the desktop computer, came the Palm Pilot, and now more recently we have the iPods, the iPhones, and the iPads.  All of these items really make it convenient for carrying the Bible with you wherever you go.  But the biggest secret about these is this:  no one knows you have a Bible!!

The other day I went to a Christian bookstore to buy a Bible to put on my car's dashboard.  Boy, was I ever in for a surprise!!  I found that most of the Bibles are now "embossed" but not "imprinted" with ink.  This means the words "Holy Bible" on the front or spine of the Bible barely stand out.  Well, I guess just in case someone, like me, should want an "old-fashioned" Bible - the "Great Bible Cover-Up" is going to make it look like an ordinary book by removing the actual title - The Holy Bible!

Is this what we as Christians should be supporting or "buying into"??  Where are the Christians today who are not ashamed to be called Christians and to show they are Christians by carrying their Bibles out in the open where everyone around them can see them??

Also, how do you know the preachers on T.V. who wave their arm around with an iPad attached really have God's Word open in it?  Our children are watching them preach from an iPad - not from the open book called, The Holy Bible! Shame on us for letting this world conform us into its mold!  (Rom. 12:2)

Jesus gave this warning in Mark 8:38:  "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

Jesus also said in Matthew 5:14-16:  "You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

Search your hearts carefully and see if the REAL reason you are taking part in this "Great Bible Cover-Up" is because you are ashamed to be seen carrying God's holy Word?  Are you letting this world conform you into its image - instead of obeying God's Word to come out from among them and be separate and holy?

The Daniel Diet: Obesity in Today's Church

Have you taken a look at the Christians sitting around you in restaurants after church on Sunday mornings?  We have often wondered how they can claim the Name of Jesus Christ - and still eat the same kind of food and the same amount of food that the world eats.  Daniel was living in a pagan society, not much different than the pagan world around us today.  He viewed the food offered to him from the king's table as defiled "pagan delicacies".  The pagans in his day over-ate and were practicing gluttony as our world does today. 

Why do Christians today think it is all right to practice gluttony and treat God's Temple (our bodies) with contempt as though it's OK that they are making God's Temple into a "pagan temple" by eating the pagan food around them?  In I Corinthians 3:16, and 17 it says: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God...If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him.  For the temple of God is holy - which temple you are!"

First things first:  The greatest Commandment says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength."  "Self Control" is a Fruit of the Spirit.  (See Galatians 5:23)  Obviously, the world around us is unable to practice this virture.  So if you don't have this "fruit" in your life,  then you need be examining yourself if you are a true Christian, and asking yourself why you are no different than the world around you.  God expects you to "Say No" to the pagan food that surrounds you in today's society, and eat the foods that please Him and your body.

As a Christian, we are part of God's body, called the Church.  The word "Church" in Greek means "Called Out Ones".  As Christians, we are also "Sanctified", which means "Set Apart".  2 Corinthians 6:17; 7:1 says, "Therefore, come out from among them and be separated, says the Lord.  Do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you."  Romans 12:2 says we are not to be conformed to the pattern of this world around us, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  That means as Christians, we are to be thinking differently than the pagans.  Philippians 3:19 says "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose god is their belly, ... who set their mind on earthly things."

Jesus is asking you as He asked Peter in John 21:15:  "Do you love Me more than these?"  If you don't, you are breaking another one of God's commandments:  "You shall have no other gods before Me."  "You shall not bow down to them or serve them."  (Ex. 20: 3-5).   I John 5:21 says, "My little children, keep yourselves from idols."  Jesus said, "If you love Me, you WILL keep (obey) My commandments."  (John 14:15)  How about it?  Will you now make a commitment to deny yourself for Your Lord and begin to live a life separated from the world, holy and pleasing to Him?

Black Friday: The Ultimate Coveting!

My husband and I were discussing why today is called "Black Friday". When we thought about the word, "black", it made us think of darkness. As Christians when we think of darkness, we think of sin or the Prince of Darkness - Satan.

So, let's take a minute today and think about Satan's description. He comes to "lie, steal and destroy." Satan's first assault on us is to get us to doubt God's Word. In Genesis 3:1, he approached Eve with the thought, "Did God indeed say?" So today, Black Friday, he comes to us and asks us "Did God indeed say - 'Thou shall not covet'?" Then he proceeds to put in front of our eyes all the things that the world goes after for their source of happiness in life. We fall for this lie by thinking that God does love us and He certainly wants "good things" for us, etc. Just like Eve, before you know it - we have rationalized away God's Word on our lives!

Satan's next characteristic is to steal. How many millions of Americans are out in the stores today spending money that they don't have by putting it on credit cards? I was taught when I was young that if I didn't have money to pay for something and I took it anyways - I was stealing it!! If you've got the money tucked away to pay off that credit card immediately, then I wouldn't call that stealing. But if you are getting something, KNOWING you don't have the money for it and probably don't have the money to pay off your credit card - that is called "stealing" and it is breaking another one of God's Ten Commandments!

Satan's ultimate purpose in life is to destroy YOU! So, he is lying to people today, he is stealing from people today, and when this is all over with - he will have destroyed many lives today because of the debt they have just added to the already heavy economic load they are trying to carry.

As Christians, God has called us "OUT of the darkness, into His marvelous light"! (I Peter 2:9)Hear what God has to say about "Black Friday" in 2 Corinthians 6:14-17: "What fellowship has light with darkness? .....What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For YOU are the temple of the living God. .....Therefore, Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you."

We are called by God to be the "light of the world" (Matt. 5:14) Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven." (Matt. 5:16) Letting our lights shine in today's darkness, means being bold enough to take a stand and to be different from the world around us. Don't "turn off" your light by joining the darkness around you and living in disobedience to your God and His Word!

"Not Under Law But Under Grace"

This title is taken from Romans 6:14 which says, "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."  Many of our preachers are falsely teaching that this means we no longer have to "Keep the Sabbath Day Holy".  However, as far as the other 9 commandments - somehow they still want us to keep them.  You know, the ones that say "Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, etc."

I John 3:4 states that "...sin is lawlessness." We can re-state the above verse to say, "For lawlessness will not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." As Christians, we are now expected to be law-keepers instead of being law-breakers!

About a month ago, my husband and I took a trip back to Ohio to visit our relatives.  On the way, we stopped at a rest area.  In a glass box on a wall were posted the "Rules of this Rest Area".  There were about 20 rules that were listed.  Do you think that my husband and I took the time to stand there and read all 20 rules to make sure we weren't breaking any of them?  Of course not!  Why?  Because we are "law-keepers" and not "law-breakers".  We believe in obeying the law and that means we are no longer "under it".  In a way, we are actually ABOVE the law when we become law-keepers!  We don't have to worry about stopping at stop signs, red lights, vandelizing rest areas, etc. etc.  We automatically do it because we want to obey the law.  

However, the ones who are "law-breakers" and who don't want to obey the law - they are the ones who are "under the law".  They are the lawless ones who need to worry about those 20 rules listed at that rest area, and they are the ones who need to worry about running the red lights, not stopping at stop signs, breaking the 10 Commandments, etc.

Obeying God's laws - the 10 commandments, will never give us eternal life.  That only comes by turning our lives over to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  At that time, His grace saves us.  However, something is very wrong if as a Christian - we don't love the Lord enough to desire to walk in obedience to ALL of HIS laws, which also includes keeping HIS Sabbath Day (Saturday - the 7th day) holy and set apart from the world. Something is also wrong, if Christians continue to debate and try to find reasons to NOT be obedient to His Laws!  Let us never forget that Christ gave His all for us.  How can we not give our all for Him?