UPDATE: VIDEO ADDED AT THE END 4/2/23
April 2, 2023 is Palm Sunday as it is called by the Catholic Church. It marks the beginning of this year’s commemoration of the Passion of our Lord and Savior. This is a very important year. This may be THE MOST IMPORTANT TIME in our lives.
In honor of the occasion, I have put together some things that are IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE TO KNOW> Some you may already know. Some you may not. I pray that you will share them with your loved ones over the next week. They bear repeating for anyone who already knows them. They may bring salvation to those who don’t.
Obviously, we live in a world full of people who do not know the savior. We live in a time when KNOWING the Savior is the most important it has ever been. In truth, it is the ONLY THING that matters now.
Do not be shy or hesitant about sharing the TRUTH of the Gospel. Even if we only save ONE soul any cost cannot be too great.
Tomorrow we commemorate the day that Jesus Christ/Yahushua Ha Mashiach made his “Triumphal ride” into Jerusalem. He came knowing what awaited him there. He came representing the love of Our Heavenly Father. He came as the sacrificial lamb to be offered up as the final solution to our sin problem. He came to die, so that we could receive the POWER to live truly FREE.
The people of Jerusalem were shouting HOSANA/ SAVE US without even realizing that was EXACTLY what He came to do, but not in the way they expected. He had come to put an end to the need for sacrificial offerings. He came to pour out His blood on the Mercy Seat ONCE and FOR ALL. That was the symbolism in Striking the ROCK and why God was wrought with Moses for striking the ROCK TWICE. JESUS is the ROCK, JESUS God’s son. Came to die, His sacrifice was to be so horrific and so all encompassing, so violent, thankfully so TOTAL a work. It would FINISH the requirement.
Palm Sunday 2023 – Calendar Date
Apr 12, 2017
“They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:7-9
Let’s first look at the branches that were spread upon the road. In John 12:12, these branches are described as “palm branches”. The palm branches carry several meanings.
First of all, palm branches were often used in the celebration of victory and in King David’s time, they were used to honor royalty. This fact of the history of palm branches makes a perfect connection to the true identity of Jesus as the King of Kings.
Not only that, but palm branches also represent Jesus being worthy as the High Priest for all who believe. A palm tree takes 30 years to bear fruit and a man could not become a High Priest until he was 30 years old. The ministry of Jesus began when he was 30 years old.
Palm branches point to Jesus being King and High Priest but there was something else that was laid before Jesus that day that carries great meaning as well.
Peoples “cloaks” or other interpretations say “garments” were also spread out on the road for the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. This was more than just an act of honor, this was also an acknowledgment and declaration that Jesus was the King of Kings, the promised Messiah.
The word garment here is the “tallit” or “prayer shawl”, which was a seamless garment with four corners, with a tassel attached to each of the four corners to remind the Jewish people of all the commands of God.
Upon its collar, the Hebrew letters spell, “Lord of lords and King of kings” as a symbolic reminder of the promised Messiah. By laying their “tallit’s” down, the people were acknowledging Jesus as God’s promised Messiah. They were declaring that Jesus was the one worthy to be called the “Lord of lords and King of kings”.
Whether it was the palm branches or the tallit’s, it all pointed to Jesus being the Messiah, High Priest and King. I pray our lives are continually laid down before Him and that our response is continually a life of worship unto Him.
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Let’s look at the Palm Branches from another perspective.
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Q: #531. Why did the Jews wave palm branches when Jesus entered Jerusalem?
A: In the Bible, as well as from sources outside of the Bible, we see that the use of “palm branches” was often tied to “victory.” (In Pagan Practices) The Bible first shows us this in conjunction with the “Feast of Tabernacles.” As a part of this celebration, the Israelites were commanded by God to construct and live in “booths” (for 7 days), which were made from “the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook” (Lev 23:40)(also see: Neh 8:14-18). This was done to commemorate the way the Israelites lived after God gave them “victory,” and brought them out of Egypt. (where they wandered in the desert for 40years.)
While not recorded in the Bible, history tells us that waving palm branches was done to celebrate kings and conquerors. We also know that in Greek athletic competitions, victors were often given a palm branch, which they would wave to celebrate their “victory.” (a wave offering to NIKE the goddess of victory)
However, what I found most interesting in studying this is a parallel to the Maccabean Revolt which occurred in 167 – 160 B.C., and in particular to Judas Maccabeus (a Jewish priest), who led that revolt. This was, and is, one of the key events in Jewish history. Fighting a war to regain Jerusalem from the Seleucid Empire, who had conquered it, and had desecrated God’s Temple, the forces of Judas Maccabeus prevailed in 164 B.C. (The war to regain more Jewish territory continued for a few more years, with Judas Maccabeus being killed near the end.) In the apocryphal book of Maccabees (still contained in the Catholic Bible), we see Judas Maccabeus being celebrated “with praise and palm branches” by the Jews as he entered Jerusalem (1 Macc 13:51). He was a conquering hero! He had set the Jews free from their conquerors and oppressors! He cleansed and rededicated the Temple! (Jews celebrate this event with Hanukkah, also known as the “Feast of Dedication” [see: Jn 10:22].)
Do you see the parallel to Jesus? I feel confident that the Jews had this event (and Hanukkah) in mind when they did exactly the same thing when Jesus came into Jerusalem. They were waving palm branches, and throwing them in front of Him to celebrate their “conquering hero,” who was going to set them free from Roman oppression.
Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, often called “The Triumphal Entry,” is recorded in each of the Gospels (Mt 21:1-11)(Mk 11:1-10)(Lk 19:28-44)(Jn 12:12-19). However, only John records “palm branches” being used in this celebration. Today, many Christians celebrate this day as “Palm Sunday,” the last Sunday before Jesus death on the cross the following Friday (celebrated by some as “Good Friday”). (Jesus arose from the dead the following Sunday.) (He did NOT die on Friday, nor did he Rise on Sunday)
As we see though, this celebration was short-lived. The same Jews who had waved palm branches to celebrate their king who would set them free, shouted out to “crucify Him” just a few days later (Mk 15:13-14)(Lk 23:21)(Jn 19:6). Jesus had indeed come to give the Jews “victory,” however, it was not “victory” over the Romans, but it was “victory” over sin. When the crowd cried out “Hosanna!” (Jn 12:13)(Mt 21:9), which means “God saves,” they did not realize that Jesus came to “save” them from “sin.” The Romans were not the problem, sin was the problem! Jesus was not the king, or Messiah, or liberator (like Judas Maccabeus) that the Jews expected, therefore they turned on Him.
Keeping all of the above in mind, it has gotten me to thinking about the Christian tradition of “Palm Sunday.” Since (most of) the Jews were waving palm branches, and throwing them in front of Jesus for the wrong reasons, and they likely would not have done this at all if they had known the real reason that Jesus had come to Jerusalem (to die), why do some Christians emulate this practice of the Jews on “Palm Sunday?” I am not necessarily condemning this practice, but studying the roots of it sure makes me think twice about using “palm branches” to celebrate it.
***Note: It is interesting to note that the Hebrew word for “palm” is “tamar.” This was the name of 4 women in the Old Testament, including the “widow of Er and Onan” (Gen ch. 38), and a “daughter of David” (2 Sam ch. 13).
Trivia: Jericho was also known as the “city of palm trees” (Deut 34:3)(2 Chr 28:15).
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For more information about Palm Trees and their symbolism and meaning please check out the following posts, if you have not already:
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PHOENIX PALMS RISE FROM THE GRAVE
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According to the Mosaic instructions on the observance of the Passover, the lamb was to be inspected by the High Priest and cohanim for four days before the Passover slaying of the lamb. For four days, Jesus was also inspected, interrogated, accosted, intimidated, and challenged by the Pharisees, scribes and lawyers.
From the 11th to the 14th of Nisan, the Passover lamb stood in the inner Temple arena and was scrutinized by the High Priest and Sadducees. On these same four days, Yahshua stood in the outer courts of the temple, ministering to the populous and repeatedly responding to the inspecting challenges by the rabbinic masters of law, halakhah, temple authority, and religious dogma, or eventually in the judgment hall of Pilate listening to the slanderous accusations against Him.
What was the Nature of these Challenges by the Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees, and Scribes
- The first challenge against Yahshua was on the authority of Jesus, and who gave Him his authority? (Matt 21:23-27, Mark, 11: 27-33, Luke 20:1-8)
- Jesus’ rebuttal was initiated by telling the parable of the landowner of the vineyard, whose tenants slew the land owner’s son. (Matt 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12, Luke 20:9-19)
- Yahshua then spoke a parable of the king preparing a wedding feast for his son, the heir apparent. The invitees to the feast either ignored the invitation or killed the servants who brought the invitation. A guest without a wedding garment is cast out. (Matt 22:1-14)
- The second challenge was concerning three questions by the Pharisees, Herodians, and scribes to Jesus and the one question by Jesus to His challengers.
- The first question was by the Pharisees and Herodians concerning paying taxes to Caesar. (Matthew 22: 15-22, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26)
- The second question was from the Sadducees concerning the resurrection (Matthew 22:23-33, Mark 12:18-27, Luke 20:27-38)
- The third question was from the scribes about the great commandment. (Matthew 2:34-40, Mark 12:28-43, Luke 20:39,40)
Yahshua then sent the challenge to the Pharisees, scribes and Herodians concerning the messiah’s ancestry. (Matthew 22:41-46, Mark 12:35-37, Luke 20:41-44) In a final rebuttal, Jesus proclaimed the “Woes” upon the Scribes and Pharisees. (Matt 23:1-39, Mark 12:38-40, Luke 20:45-47)
And so while the selected Pesach lamb was being examined by the temple authorities, during these same three days Yahshua was scrutinized on whether His teaching were according to the halakhah of the Torah. He was challenged on His spiritual and ancestral authority plus His civil responsibility as a dependant of Rome. Here He met face to face with His accusers which included the: the temple lawyers, the scribal codifiers of the law, the Pharisees of the House of Shammai who controlled the Synagogues in Judea in this era, the controlling Sadducean authorities of the House of Ananus and the Herodians who ruled parts of Judea as administrative representatives of Rome.
In the inner courts, the High Priest could find no fault with the selected Passover Lamb and on the 14th of Nisan, Passover, slew him on the altar of the Lord. On the outer courts of the Temple, the religious leaders and the civil governor could find no fault in Yahshua, and hung Him on one of two sites: the Mount of Olives at the site of where the “red heifer” was burnt and the ashes were collected or on Mount Moriah where Abraham slew the goat in substitution for his son, Isaac on the altar to the Lord.
by Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986)
1972
Was Jesus three days and three nights in the grave, as He said in Matthew 12:40? Can you figure three days and three nights between sunset “Good Friday” and sunrise Easter Sunday?
IT IS COMMONLY supposed today that Jesus was crucified on Friday, and that the resurrection occurred about sunrise on Easter Sunday morning.
Few professing Christians have ever thought to question or to prove this “Good-Friday-Easter” tradition. Yet the Bible tells us to prove (test) all things. And you will be literally astounded by this proof.
For proof there is but one dependable authority, a sole historical record—the Bible.
Tradition No Proof
There were no eye-witnesses to the resurrection. Even so-called “apostolic fathers” had no source of information save that record which is today available to us—the biblical revelation. Any tradition, then, which conflicts with God’s revelation must be dismissed.
What are the recorded facts?
The doubting Pharisees were asking Jesus for a sign—supernatural evidence—in proof of His Messiahship.
Jesus answered: “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS in the heart of the earth“ (Matthew 12:39-40).
Now consider, please, the tremendous import—the overwhelming significance—of Jesus’ statement.
He expressly declared that the only sign He would give to prove He was the Messiah was that He should be just three days and three nights in the rock-hewn sepulcher in “the heart of the earth.”
The Significance of the Sign
These Christ-rejecting Pharisees demanded proof. Jesus offered but one evidence. That evidence was not the fact of the resurrection itself. It was the length of time He would repose in His grave, before being resurrected.
Think what this means! Jesus staked His claim to being your Savior and mine upon remaining exactly three days and three nights in the tomb. If He remained just three days and three nights inside the earth, He would prove Himself the Savior—if He failed in this sign, He must be rejected as an impostor!
No wonder Satan has caused unbelievers to scoff at the story of Jonah and the “whale”!
| For more on the sign of Jonah, see the following post: spacerJONAH – God’s Message to this DYING WORLD! |
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No wonder the devil has set up a tradition that denies Jesus is the Messiah!
The Dilemma of the Higher Critics
This one and only supernatural PROOF ever given by Jesus for His Messiahship has greatly bothered the commentators and the higher critics. Their attempts to explain away this sole proof for Christ’s divinity (deity) are ludicrous in the extreme. For explain this away they must, or their “Good-Friday-Easter” tradition collapses.
One commentator says, “Of course we know that Jesus was actually in the tomb only half as long as He thought He would be!” Some expositors impose upon our credulity to the extent of asking us to believe that “in the Greek language, in which the New Testament was written, the expression ‘three days and three nights’ means three periods, either of day or of night.”
Jesus, they say, was placed in the tomb shortly before sunset Friday, and rose at sunrise Sunday morning—two nights and one day.
The Bible Definition
But the Bible definition of the duration of “nights and days” is simple.
Even these same higher critics admit that in the Hebrew language, in which the book of Jonah was written, the expression “three days and three nights” means a period of 72 hours—three twelve-hour days and three twelve-hour nights.
Notice Jonah 1:17: “And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” This, they admit, was a period of 72 hours. And Jesus distinctly said that AS Jonah was three days and three nights in the great fish’s belly, so He would be the same length of time in His grave.
As Jonah was in the “grave” (see marginal reference, Jonah 2:2) 72 hours, after which he was supernaturally resurrected by God, by being vomited up, to become a savior to the people of Nineveh upon proclaiming the warning to them, so should Jesus be 72 hours in His grave, thereupon being resurrected by God to become the savior of the world.
Did Jesus know how much time was in a “day” and in a “night”? Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in a day . . . but if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth” (John 11:9-10).
Notice the Bible definition of the expression, “the third day.” Text after text tells us that Jesus rose the third day. Notice how the Bible defines the time required to fulfill “the third day.”
In Genesis 1:4 God “divided the light from darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening [darkness] and the morning [light] were the first day. . . . And the evening [darkness] and the morning [light] were the second day. . . . And the evening [now three periods of darkness called night—three nights] and the morning [now three periods of light called day—three days] were the third day“ (Gen. 1:4-13).
Here we have the only Bible definition which explains and counts up the amount of time involved in the expression “the third day.” It includes three dark periods called “night,” and three light periods called “day”—three days and three nights, and Jesus said they contained twelve hours for each period—a total of 72 hours.
That ought to be conclusive! Any seven-year-old, near the end of the second grade, could figure it easily.
What Is Wrong?
What is wrong with these plain, simple words of Jesus? How do these wise and prudent theologians know Jesus was crucified “Good Friday” and rose “Easter Sunday”?
The simple answer is, they do not know it—for it is not true! It is merely tradition, a tradition we have been taught from childhood and carelessly assumed! Jesus warns against “making the word of God of none effect through your tradition” (Mark 7:13).
We have examined two scriptural witnesses, in Matthew and in Jonah, both setting the duration of the body of Jesus in the tomb as three days and three nights, which the Scriptures plainly define as 72 hours of time. Now let us examine four other scriptural witnesses that prove the same thing.
Notice Mark 8:31. “And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and AFTER three days rise again.“
(Any young second grader can figure this.) If Jesus had been killed on Friday, and then after one day He had risen, the resurrection would have occurred on Saturday evening. If after two days, it would have occurred Sunday evening, and if after three days, it would have occurred Monday evening!
Examine this text carefully. You cannot, by any process of arithmetic, figure any less than a full 72 hours—three days and three nights—in a resurrection which occurred three days after the crucifixion. If Jesus was in the grave only from Friday sunset to Sunday sunrise, then this text too, must be torn out of your Bible or else you must reject Jesus Christ as an impostor! If He rose after three days, it might have been more than 72 hours, but it could not have been a second less.
Notice now Mark 9:31. “. . . They shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.” The duration expressed here must be between 48 and 72 hours. It could not be one second past 72 hours, and Jesus still rise the third day. And it could not be Friday sunset to Sunday sunrise, because that it only 36 hours, carrying us into the middle of the second day, after He was killed.
In Matthew 27:63 Jesus is quoted as saying, “After three days I will rise again.” This cannot possibly be figured as less than 72 full hours.
And in John 2:19-21, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and IN three days I will raise it up. . . . But he spake of the temple of his body.” To be raised up IN three days after being destroyed, or crucified and buried, could not be more than 72 hours.
If we are to accept all the testimony of the Bible, we must conclude that Jesus was exactly three days and three nights—three full 24-hour days—72 hours in the grave, or the only supernatural proof He gave must fail.
The Time of Day of Resurrection
Now notice carefully this fact: In order to be three days and three nights—72 hours—in the tomb, our Lord had to be resurrected at exactly the same time of day that His body was buried in the tomb.
Let us realize that very vital fact.
If we can find the time of day of the burial, then we have found the time of day of the resurrection. If the burial, for instance, were at sunrise, then for the body to be left an even three days and three nights in the tomb, the resurrection likewise had to occur at sunrise, three days later. If the burial were at noon, the resurrection was at noon. If the burial were at sunset, the resurrection was at sunset, three days later.
The crucifixion day was called “the preparation,” or day before “the sabbath” (Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54). This day ended at sunset, according to Bible reckoning (Leviticus 23:32).
Jesus cried out soon after “the ninth hour” or three o’clock in the afternoon (Matthew 27:46-50; Mark 15:34-37; Luke 23:44-46).
Yet Jesus was buried before this same day ended—before sunset (Matthew 27:57; Luke 23:52-54; John 19:42). John adds, “There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day.” According to the laws observed by the Jews all dead bodies must be buried before the beginning of a Sabbath or feast day. Hence Jesus was buried before sunset on the same day He died. He died shortly after 3 p.m.
Therefore—notice carefully—the burial of Christ’s body was in the late afternoon! It was between 3 p.m. and sunset as these scriptures prove.
And since the resurrection had to occur at the same time of day, three days later, the resurrection of Christ occurred, not at sunrise, but in the late afternoon, near sunset. Startling as this fact may be, it is the plain Bible truth!
If Jesus rose at any other time of day, He could not have been three days and three nights in His grave. If He rose at any other time of day, He failed to prove, by the only sign He gave that He was the true Messiah, the Son of the living Creator. Either He rose near the END of a day near sunset, or else He is not the Christ! He staked His claim on that one and only sign.
So a time-honored tradition must be shattered.
What Sabbath Followed the Crucifixion?
Now we come to an objection some may raise, yet the very point which proves this truth. Perhaps you have noticed that the Scriptures say the day after the crucifixion was a Sabbath. Hence, for centuries, people have blindly assumed the crucifixion was on Friday.
Now we have shown by all four Gospels that the crucifixion day was called “the preparation.” The preparation day for the Sabbath. But for what Sabbath?
John’s Gospel gives the definite answer: “It was the preparation of the Passover.”
“For that sabbath day was an high day” (John 19:14, 31).
Just what is a “high day”? Ask any Jew! He will tell you it is one of the annual holy days, or feast days. The Israelites observed seven of these every year—every one called a Sabbath! Annual Sabbaths fall on certain annual calendar dates, and on different days of the week in different years, just like the Roman holidays now observed. These Sabbaths might fall on Monday, on Thursday, or on Sunday.
If you will notice the following texts, you will see these annual holy days were all called Sabbath days: Leviticus 16:31; 23:24, 26-32, 39.
Notice Matthew 26:2: “Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.” And if you will follow through this chapter you will see that Jesus was crucified on the Passover!
And what was the Passover? In the twelfth chapter of Exodus you will find the story of the original Passover. The children of Israel killed the lambs, and struck the blood over the doorposts and on the side posts of their houses, and wherever the blood had thus been applied the death angel passed over that house, sparing it from death. Following the Passover was a holy convocation or annual Sabbath.
Observe the dates: “And in the fourteenth day of the first month is THE PASSOVER of the Lord. And in the fifteenth day of this month is the FEAST” (Numbers 28:16-17).
The Passover lamb, killed every year on the 14th of the first month called “Abib,” was a type of Christ, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Christ is our Passover, sacrificed for us (I Corinthians 5:7).
Jesus was slain on the very same day the Passover had been slain every year. He was crucified on the 14th of Abib, the first Hebrew month of the year. And this day, the Passover, was the day before—and the preparation for—the Feast day, or annual high day Sabbath, which occurred on the 15th of Abib. This Sabbath might occur on any day of the week. Frequently it occurs, and is observed even today, on Thursday. For instance, this “high-day” Sabbath came on Thursday in 1972, 1975 and 1979, and will occur on Thursday in 1982, 1986 and 1989.
And the Hebrew calendar shows that in the year Jesus was crucified, the 14th of Abib, Passover day, the day Jesus was crucified, was Wednesday. And the annual Sabbath was Thursday. This was the Sabbath that drew on as Joseph of Arimathea hastened to bury the body of Jesus late that Wednesday afternoon. There were two separate Sabbaths that week!
What Day Was the Resurrection?
Now which day of the week was the resurrection day?
The first investigators, Mary Magdalene and her companions, came to the sepulcher on the first day of the week (Sunday) very early, while it was yet dark, as the sun was beginning to rise, at dawn (Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1).
Now here are the texts most people have supposed stated the resurrection was at sunrise Sunday morning. But they do not say that!
When the women arrived, the tomb was already open! At that time Sunday morning while it was yet dark, Jesus was not there! Notice how the angel says, “He is not here, but is risen” (see Mark 16:6; Luke 24:6; Matthew 28:5-6).
Jesus was already risen at sunrise Sunday morning! Of course He was. He rose from the grave in the late afternoon, near sunset!
And since we know Christ was buried late Wednesday afternoon, and that the resurrection took place at the same time of day three days later, we now know the resurrection of Christ occurred late Saturday afternoon.
The Sabbath day ended at sunset. It was late on that day, before the beginning of the first day of the week. It was not, then, a Sunday resurrection at all. It was a Sabbath resurrection!
Did Christ Fulfill His Sign?
Now all this is based on the supposition that Jesus did fulfill His only sign of being three days and three nights in the grave. All our evidence is based on the claims of Jesus before His crucifixion. But some of the higher critics and doctors of divinity tell us that Jesus made a mistake—that He was only in the tomb half as long as He expected to be. Let us have proof as to whether He did spend the exact amount of time in the grave He said He would.
Notice that in Matthew 28:6, the angel of the Lord gives this testimony, which we now present as evidence. “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.” And He certainly did not rise AS He said unless He rose at the precise TIME that He had said! So we have the proof of the angel of the Lord, recorded in the sacred Word of God that Jesus did fulfill His sign—He was three days and three nights in the earth—He did rise Sabbath afternoon, and not on Sunday morning.
Another proof that Christ was in the grave the full length of time He expected to be is found in I Corinthians 15:3-4: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
His death and burial were according to the Scriptures—not contrary to them.
The third day following His Wednesday burial was the Sabbath; three full days spent in the grave ended Saturday afternoon just prior to sunset, not Sunday morning.
Which Day Was the Crucifixion?
Jesus was crucified on Wednesday, the middle day of the week. He died shortly after 3 p.m. that afternoon; was buried before sunset Wednesday evening. Now count the three days and three nights. His body was Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights in the grave—three nights. It also was there through the daylight part of Thursday, Friday and Saturday—three days. He rose Saturday the Sabbath—late afternoon, shortly before sunset, at the same time of day that He was buried!
It is significant that in Daniel’s prophecy of the “seventy weeks” (Daniel 9:24-27), Jesus was to be cut off “in the midst of the week.” While this prophecy has the application of a day for a year, so that this 70th week became a literal seven years, Christ being “cut off” after three-and-a-half years’ ministry, as He was, yet it is significant that He was also “cut off” on the middle day of a literal week.
Honest Objections Examined
Someone is sure to notice Mark 16:9, thinking this text says the resurrection was upon Sunday. But if you read the whole sentence, it does not say that at all. The expression “was risen” is in the perfect tense. What was Jesus’ condition early the first day of the week? Does it say He “was rising” or that He “did rise” from the grave? No, early the first day of the week, at the time He appeared to Mary Magdalene, He was risen. Of course He was! He had risen the late afternoon before, so naturally He was risen Sunday morning. The text does not in any way refute the other texts we have given.
Another passage that might confuse is Luke 24:21: “. . . And beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.” “These things” included all the events pertaining to the resurrection—the seizing of Jesus, delivering Him to be tried, the actual crucifixion, and, finally, the setting of the seal and the watch over the tomb the following day, or Thursday. Study verses 18-20, telling of “these things” and also Matthew 27:62-66. “These things” were not completed until the watch was set, Thursday. And the text says Sunday was the third day since these things were done. Sunday truly was the third day since Thursday. But it was not the third day since Friday, so this text could not prove a Friday crucifixion.
There is yet one final clinching proof of this truth.
A vital text proving that there were two Sabbaths in that week has been obscured by almost every translation into English. Only Ferrar Fenton’s version has this point correct.
Turn to Matthew 28:1. In the common versions it says, “In the end of the Sabbath,” or more correctly, “after the Sabbath.” Notice that both of these renderings use the singular—Sabbath. But in the original Greek the word is in the plural. Fenton renders it correctly by saying, “After the SABBATHS,” although the remaining part of the verse he has not translated quite correctly. In a footnote to this text, he says, “The Greek original is in the plural, ‘Sabbaths.'”
According to Mark 16:1, Mary Magdalene and her companions did not buy their spices to anoint the body of Jesus until after the Sabbath was past. They could not prepare them until after this—yet after preparing the spices they rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment (Luke 23:56)!
Study these two texts carefully.
There is only one possible explanation: After the annual high-day Sabbath, the feast day of the days of Unleavened Bread—which was Thursday—these women purchased and prepared their spices on Friday, and then they rested on the weekly Sabbath, Saturday, according to the commandment (Exodus 20:8-11).
A comparison of these two texts proves there were TWO Sabbaths that week, with a day in between. Otherwise, these texts contradict themselves.
For proof of the pagan origin of such long-cherished days as Easter and Christmas, request our free booklets on those two subjects. The shocking truth is that nowhere can you find sanctions for those two holidays in the Bible. It is time we discovered the source of our religious beliefs and found out whether we ought to observe them.
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What the Bible says about Pagan Sunrise Service
(From Forerunner Commentary)
In verse 14, Ezekiel expresses his “dismay” at yet a greater abomination: “women . . . weeping for Tammuz.” This is another pagan practice, a very sexual one involving ritual prostitution. Ezekiel saw them involved in a rite in which they were mourning the death of a Mesopotamian god whose myth said he was resurrected to new life, a mockery of the redeeming death and life-giving resurrection of the true Son of God. This vision reveals that paganism had deeply affected the women in Israelite society as well.
In verse 16, the prophet sees a fourth vision in the inner court of the Temple—”about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple and their faces toward the east, and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.” This is obviously some sort of pagan sunrise service, in which they honor the sun more highly than God, to whom they contemptuously show their backsides.
Each abomination is described as being greater in wickedness than the one before. In verse 17, God asks, “Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit abominations which they commit here [in the Temple!]? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger.”
These leaders displayed no social responsibility whatsoever. They led their society to become one of rape and rapine, murder and violence in every quarter. Yet these hypocritical leaders dared to return to God’s Temple, retiring furtively to its inner rooms to practice their pagan rites “in the dark” (verse 12).
Charles Whitaker (1944-2021)
The Torment of the Godly (Part One)
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John 20:1
Many claim that this time-marker points to when Jesus was resurrected, but the text itself refers only to Mary Magdalene coming to the tomb at that time. The stone must have been rolled away at some earlier time. Besides, the verse even says that she came to the tomb “while it was still dark,” and Jesus was already gone! Yet, every burgh in Christendom features a sunrise service on Easter morning.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
In the Heart of the Earth
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THOSE WHO LOVE GOD, DO NOT CELEBRATE EASTER!! EOSTER is a PAGAN GODDESS. Look it up. Have nothing to do with bunnies and colored eggs. Do not call on the name of a Pagan Goddess at God’s most Holy Season. The Holiday is one of God’s appointed feasts. It is the Lord’s PASOVER, the FEAST of Unleavened Bread, the Passion of Christ/Mashiach and RESURRECTION SUNDAY.
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Why Believers Should NOT Celebrate EASTER!!
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I want to address the period that leads up to the Holy Season. STRICTLY because Christians have been deceived. There is nothing about LENT in the bible. The LENTEN Season was made up by the Roman Catholic Church. There is NOTHING in the bible about ASH WEDNESDAY and certainly NOTHING about SHROVE TUESDAY. I have heard people say that CARNIVAL/MARDIS GRAS is a “CHRISTIAN CELEBRATION’ THAT is a LIE RIGHT OUT OF THE PIT OF HELL.
Carnival is a TOTALLY PAGAN celebration. It has nothing to do with the Holy Season. It is celebrated all over the world by every pagan religion and was being celebrated long before Christ/Yahushua was born. I would say long before there was a Roman Church, but I am not so sure about that. The pagans that served the Roman Gods, served other pagan gods before there was a ROME. But, their traditions, their gods and goddess have been here throughout history.
Joyful abandonment and ecstatic revelry can be considered a proper reaction to an annual celebration of the rhythms of nature and the succession of the seasons.The rhythm of Egyptian life was the rhythm of the Nile where the royal lineage, the authority to govern, religion and science were intrinsically interwoven in Ancient Egypt during its eleven thousand years of existence. Each year there were three New Year’s Festival opening each season but the most important was in July, marked by the annual rising of the star Sirius at sunrise and took place during the 5 days outside of normal time and space completing the 360 day year. This five day festival of ritual pageantry was soon followed by the festival of drunkenness presided over by Bast the cat, creator, nurturer and destroyer or a triple goddess.
The festivals of Ancient Egypt were intended to attune the celebrants with the cycles of nature and the universe through the symbology of myth and the sacred act of ritual. In doing so the participants became aware of their own connection with the divine and their place in the universe.
Today we still commemorate the New year and the seasons with drunken revelry but we no longer know our myths. The Egyptian myths contained symbols which connected the tribe to the universe, a forward thinking concept even today as we try to think of ourselves as one earth family. For the Egytians, Egypt included the star constellations where Osirus body part were hidden.
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Was it a “carnival”?
The answer to the question of presence or absence in Egyptian literature, religion, and culture
in general of such a phenomenon as carnivalization depends largely on what is considered
carnival. Using the Bakhtinian formula, we will assume that the carnival is primarily what gives
us a picture of an inverted out-of-carnival world, the “world inside out” (Bakhtin 2009 [1968]:
11). Therefore, for example, the war of cats and mice, in which the weaker win, is undoubtedly
a carnival.
Camilla Di Biase-Dyson offers an interesting view of the problem of the carnival. The
researcher considers the history of Apophis and Seqenenre as one of the examples of
carnivalization.
“The Taking of Joppa,” as a model of social criticism (or social commentary),
which, ridiculing high-ranking persons and thus remaining in the framework of the Bakhtin’s
carnival, could be produced not only by the lower class, but also by the educated elite (Di
Biase-Dyson 2013: 232, 255).
The finale of “The Contendings of Horus and Seth” is indicative. As it was mentioned, at
the end of the story, the heavenly Horus becomes the earthly ruler and the chthonic Seth
ascends to heaven. There is undoubtedly something from the carnival in this final inversion.
Perhaps the rendering of such “honour” to the murderer of Osiris is due to the attitude towards
the god transformed by the Ramessides (he was directly connected with the King’s authority)
or to his positive role as the defender of the sun barque in the daily journey of the god Ra (Seth
himself reminds us of this fact in the fairy tale).
Ccarnivalization (precisely in the Bakhtinian sense) is manifested at all levels of the ancient Egyptian text: in the ideological-semantic, subjective, and language planes.
Even if there is an assimilation of the heroes of the fairy tale with Ramesses V and
Ramesses VI, an uncle and a nephew, “The Contendings of Horus and Seth” was still not a
satire in its generally accepted meaning of ridicule, which deals with allegory (what is depicted
is not what is implied).
The most sacred was ridiculed and something similar was put in its place, precisely
because the genuine needed concealment and protection. Olga Freidenberg brilliantly showed
that, once, in effective parodies, the gods played the main role, that the mockery appealed to
them, and that its role was sacred (Freidenberg 2006: 239). The solution could be the
phenomenon of carnivalization discovered by Bakhtin: penetrating the myth, folk religion, and
humour could give to Horus the features of Ramesses, although, of course, god himself was
meant.
“In the folklore of primitive peoples, coupled with the cults
which were serious in tone and organization were other, comic cults which laughed and scoffed
at the deity (‘ritual laughter’); coupled with serious myths were comic and abusive ones;
coupled with heroes were their parodies and doublets” (Bakhtin 2009 [1968]: 6). The meaning
of these stories is clarified by
A. Kozintsev: the heroes of trickster myths inhabit “‘third world
of reference,’ which, in effect, is a world of nonreference” (Kozintsev 2010: 139). And
therefore: “Jokes ‘about Chapaev’ are not about Chapaev, just as jokes ‘about Stalin’ are not
about Stalin” (Kozintsev 2010: 140). The same can be said about the comic in the ancient
Egyptian tale.
the work of the sophisticated humour of Egyptian scribes, which
means the “tricksterization” of the deities in it is the result of refolklorization and deliberate
decline by returning to the folk roots of the myth
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Do you agree with my verdict that this is the most disrespectful Brazil Carnival Float of 2023? Rio de Janeiro’s Brazil Carnival 2023 is being googled by many Christians and people around the world, after many spiritual floats were created and paraded by the people of Brasil. Joe Kirby from Off the Kirb Ministries ranks the worst floats from the Brazilian Carnival in 2023. Wanna know more about Neymar’s faith? Watch this: 
• Neymar Paid $5,50… #brasil #carnival2023
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