The Resurrection Shell Game

THE RESURRECTION SHELL GAME

The resurrection was celebrated on 4 April in 2010; in 2011 it will be celebrated on the 24th. In 2012 it will be celebrated 8 April. Who created this shell game? Everyone likes to blame the Catholics, is this another instance? Or are the Jews to blame? Who? When we lay anyone else in the grave, it's on an exact date. We put on their headstones the exact date of birth and the exact date of their demise. While we believe that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the grave, we also believe that He was put in the grave on an exact date. Why is it that this shell game has come to pass, and we just blindly accept all as is and not question why His resurrection and death move around on the calendar much like chessmen on their board? Shall we investigate the history of what many call Easter, and some, Resurrection Sunday?

It is written in Matthew's gospel, " Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour (Jews during the time of Christ reckoned time from 6 AM to 6 PM, hence, the ninth hour is 3 PM). And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, 'Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?' That is to say, 'My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?' Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, 'This man calleth for Elias.' And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink. The rest said, 'Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save Him.' Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost." (Matt. 27:45 - 50) Here it gives evidence that He died shortly after the ninth hour.

Then Matthew's gospel says this: "When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying, 'Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while He was yet alive, "After three days I will rise again." Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night, and steal Him away, and say unto the people, "He is risen from the dead": so the last error shall be worse than the first.' Pilate said unto them, 'Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.' So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, 'Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and, behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him: lo, I have told you." (Matt. 27:57 - 66, 28:1 - 7) This is a complicated reading, because it appears to many that He rose on Sunday by the way it was written, that an earthquake happened early Sunday morning and an angel of the Lord decended at that moment and rolled the stone away. Others will say that He had already risen on Saturday evening, at the end of the Sabbath. Let us further complicate the matter, shall we? We Gentiles view one day as from 12 Midnight to 12 Midnight = one day, but the Jews see it differently. Let's go back to Genesis, shall we? "And God said, 'Let there be light': and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." (Gen. 1:3 - 5) So from night to morning is one day, while we have calibrated a day to mean every 24 hours.

Our study bibles say Jesus died in 30 A.D. Is that Gregorian calendar, or Jewish calendar? For the sake of present day intervention, let us say that is Gregorian. Now we know that it was right after Jesus celebrated the Passover that we know as the Last Supper that He was taken, accused, beaten, crucified and risen, so it will be right after the Passover of 30 A.D. This is why the Gregorian calendar bounces the date of the resurrection of our Savior all over, because the Passover is the indicator of which week we celebrate His resurrection. Remember how Matt. 27:45 tells of darkness covering the land? That was a vernal equinox. Christ died on the day after the first night with a full moon following the vernal equinox day. This darkness that covered the land was a solar eclipse that occurred during crucifixion of Jesus Christ. That only could've happened, according to Romanian astronomers, the second time this combination repeated, which was April 3, 33 A.D. Since the Bible also mentions a solar eclipse that occurred during crucifixion of Jesus Christ. According to astronomy records, a partial solar eclipse was registered only in 33 A.D. So, this is how the scientists determined the exact dates of Christ's death and resurrection. They have determined that His death on the cross was April 3rd, and His resurrection April 5th, 33 A.D. But if He was in the ground according to the bible 3 nights and three days, and Genesis determines a day as night and day = one day, and the night of Apr. 3rd is one day the night of Apr. 4th is the 2nd day, and the night of Apr. 5th is the 3rd day, then He had to have arose on Monday, and not Saturday or Sunday, as just about everybody says. If it is proven that the only solar eclipse coinciding with His crucifixion and resurrection after the Passover is this Friday in 33 A.D. and dark and light = one day according to Genesis, it is then irrefutable. If they had recorded His life dates on His tombstone as we do today, it would've read that He died 4.3.33. Since nobody accepts that He rose on Monday, we obviously have a defect in the Romanian calculations!

Now we still have a calendar problem. There's a Julian Calendar, Gregorian calendar, and Jewish calendar. There are lunar calendars, solar calendars... There are unChristian calendars, such as Islamic, Hindu, Chinese, Malayalam, Bahai...such confusion! Here's a chart just showing the difference between the Jewish, or Hebrew calendar, and the Gregorian calendar:



Name of Month Month Number Length of Month Gregorian Equivalent

Nissan (Abib) 1 30 days March-April

Iyar 2 29 days April-May

Sivan 3 30 days May-June

Tammuz 4 29 days June-July

Av 5 30 days July-August

Elul 6 29 days August-September

Tishrei 7 30 days September-October

Cheshvan 8 29 or 30 days October-November

Kislev 9 29 or 30 days November-December

Tevet 10 29 days December-January

Shevat 11 30 days January-February

Adar 12 29 or 30 days (30 in leap year) February-March

Adar II 13 29 days March-April

Notice that the days are fixed from the first month of Nissan to the seventh month of Tishri? The fact is, from the first major Jewish holiday to the final major Jewish holiday in the Hebrew calendar the number of days are the same, meaning that the time from Passover in the month of Nissan - the first major Jewish holiday - to the final major Jewish holiday - the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishri - is always the same, regardless of calendar calculations based on the moon.

According to the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible, there was a civil Hebrew calendar from Gen. 1:1 (Creation) until Exod. 12:1. In Exod. 12:2, God said to Moses that because of the Passover event, the month that Passover occurred shall be the "head month", or first month of the Hebrew calendar, so since Passover occurred in the Springtime, the month name that was later assigned by Ezra and identified with the Passover event was the month of Nissan, which was first named Abib in Deut. 16:1. So to further complicate things, the Jewish people also have two calendars, a civil calendar that starts with October, and a religious calendar that starts with the spring.

So if we Gentiles had used the Hebrew Calendar, His death and resurrection would come on the same date every year, but because we typically use the Gregorian calendar, this is why His resurrection plays hopscotch on our calendar. This is why America accepts this annual shell game of His resurrection. And now, as Paul Harvey would say, you know the rest of the story...let us simply thank God that He came and did what He did!

HELLO? GOD CALLING...

If God was calling you, would you know what He was calling you to do? Would He be calling you to go somewhere, and would you go? Would you even realize it was Him calling? Maybe He is calling you to do something, or be someone you normally wouldn't be? Shall we see some examples in the bible?

Gen. 12:1, 4 has Abraham called out of a land of idolatry to a land of promise. "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee.' So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran." Imagine being 75 years old, and making a trip about 1,500 miles! But he recognized that God called him out of his country, and by faith, he went. Acts 7:2-4 also covers his departure from the land of the Chaldeans, as does Heb. 11:8.

God calls sinners, yea, the unsaved, to salvation and to be a chosen generation and a royal priesthood. "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light:..." (1 Pet. 2:9) "Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day." (Deut. 10:15) "And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." (Rev. 1:6) From the darkness of sinfulness to the light of God into eternity - now that's a calling!

A beautiful calling God has for us all who will listen is this one: "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." (Gal. 5:13) When we see a beggar on the road; you know the ones, with the signs...He calls us to show them love and feed them. Not for some personal gain for doing so, but just for the love of doing so to please Him. See someone without a coat, and you have others at home? He calls us to give them our extra coat, to serve them is to serve Him! Whatever you do, do it out of love for others, and for demonstration to Him obedience and love of Him. But do not make a display of it for the public, because there is no reward in that, as Jesus taught; "Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly." (Matt. 6:2 - 4)

If you want to have less turmoil in your life, God calls you to the peace He offers; "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." (Col. 3:15) As we read the bible and do it His way, we receive His peace in our obedience to the lifestyle He decrees we live by. "But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace." (1 Cor. 7:15) Even in the case of marriage and divorce, if one is found to be married to an unbeliever who chooses to separate, one should be at peace with God that all was done to prevent it.

Jesus calls us from death to life; "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24) And He does it in more than one place! "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16 - 17) "And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day...Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life." (John 6:40, 47) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death." (John 8:51) Even His disciples are witness that He calls us from death to life; "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name." (John 20:31) "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." (1 John 3:14) If we hate one of our brethren, we are ignoring His call!

God also calls us where to go and not go; "And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: and thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." (Isa. 30:20 - 21)

One of the hardest calls to answer is that of the call to suffer unjustly; "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously:..." (1 Pet. 2:21 - 23) I tell you, this is a hard calling, because it is so hard to resist human nature to retaliate injustice realized. Is it not evil doing to retaliate for evil done to you? "Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing...For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing." (1 Pet. 3:9,17) "Recompense to no man evil for evil." (Rom. 12:17) Apparently Peter and Paul both thought so, and Peter states we receive a blessing!

Lastly, I want to address God's calling from an uncertain future to glory in Christ Jesus! "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." (1 Pet. 5:10) "And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2 Pet. 1:5 - 11) " I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph. 4:1 - 3)

Christ calls us for one more thing; "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." (Matt. 28:19 - 20)

Wherever one is in their walk, one should hear a calling at some time in their lives from our wonderful God; To preach, teach, baptize, suffer injustice, from death to life, from turmoil to peace, to love and serve one another, to salvation, to be a chosen generation, to be of the royal priesthood, out of idolatry to promise, to eternal glory with Christ Jesus!

I Believe In Angels

I BELIEVE IN ANGELS

There are many people who will tell you they believe in angels, and even the singing group Abba sang those very words, and titled their song thusly. But what do we know about angels? How do we understand what they're all about? Well, of course, we can go to the bible and see what the word of God has to say about them.

The word 'angel' appears 201 times in the bible, the first in Gen. 16:7-11, where it is recorded of an angel of the Lord visiting the earth. In this instance, the angel was sent to give Hagar instruction and peace of mind. The angel's words gave direction and hope, and even told her what name to give her child, born Ishmael. An angel spoke to her one more time in Gen. 21:17 to again give her hope, instruction, and peace of mind. She had the promise of a great nation made of her son!

Isn't it something that the first appearance of angels should be to take daughters of men as wives? (Gen. 6:2) Another occurrence of angels is in Gen. 18:1-33, where it is written the Lord appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, where three men stood before him. Abraham gave them food and the typical courtesies, and as they ate, he knew they were not just a vision. The Lord did all the talking of the three of them, but the two with Him are believed to be angels. In Gen. 19:1 - 22, these same two angels visit Lot, who presses hard on them to enter the protection of his house, where they again eat, but before they can even lie down, the city's wicked men want to be carnal with them. The angels blinded them, and explained to Lot their mission to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot and his wife and daughters were led out of the city by the same angels, and then God utterly destroyed the cities. So here we have more involvement with mankind where they interacted eating food given of men and struck men of evil blind!

One of the jobs of angels is to minister; " But to which of the angels said He at any time, 'Sit on My right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?' Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Heb. 1:13 - 14)

Did you know that we who believe in Jesus shall judge angels? "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" (1 Cor. 6:3)

Angels would interact with man throughout the Old Testament and into the New. Gen. 22:11, 15 - 16 has an angel halting Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac to God and informing him of another blessing from the Lord; multiplying his seed as the stars of heaven! Angels were in the dream of Jacob in Gen. 28:12, going between heaven and earth up and down a ladder, and meeting Jacob on his way to Esau in Gen. 32:1 - 2. In the New Testament, they are referred to in Matt. 4:6 - 7, 11 by the devil himself when he was tempting Christ, saying that the angels would bear Him up, lest at any time He dash His foot against a stone; and it is written they came and ministered to Him after the temptation. They are further spoken of in Matt. 13:39 - 42 as Christ's reapers that shall "...gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity..." by Christ Himself. Also in John 20:12 - 13, two spoke to Mary at the sepulchre of Jesus. Beyond the Gospel, they are referred to by Stephen in Acts 7:53, by Paul in Rom. 8:38, and in 1 Cor. 4:9, 6:3, 11:10, 13:1, Gal. 3:19, Col. 2:18, 2 Thess. 1:7, 1 Tim. 3:16, 5:21, Heb. 1:4 - 7, 13, 2:2, 5, 7, 9, 16, 12:22, 13:2. 1 Pet. 1:12, 3:22 has also Peter speaking of angels looking into God's work, and being subject under the authority of Jesus Christ. Peter further refers to the evil ones in 2 Pet. 2:4, 11 being cast into hell for their sins, and the holy ones not bringing railing accusations against false teachers. Jude, too, made reference to angels in Jude 6, those who also went to hell and await their judgment day. Finally, angels are referred to a number of times in the Revelation of the apostle John in Rev. 1:20, 2:1,8, 12, 18, 3:1, 5, 7, 14, 5:11, 7:1 - 2, 11, 8:2, 6, 13, 9:14 - 15, 12:7, 9, 14:10, 15:1, 6 - 8, 16:1, 17:1, 21:9 & 12. The angels starting in chapter 7 begin having tasks to perform regarding the Tribulation and wrath of God, interacting with those left on the earth in those fateful days.

Jesus was referred to as an Angel of God in such parts of Scripture as Gen. 31:11 - 13, 48:16. Israel even said of the Angel in the latter verse that He "...redeemed me from all evil"! Other references to the Lord being as an Angel of the Lord appear in Scripture after Gen. 18:1 - 33 in Gen. 3:2 - 4:17, where initially it is written an Angel of the Lord, but later written as God speaking to Moses with instruction; in Exod. 14:19, as the pillar of cloud between the Israelites and the Egyptians; and in Exod. 23:20 - 23, to keep them in the way. The Lord is similarly referred to as "an angel of the Lord" in Judg. 2:1 - 4, where He rebukes the people of Bochim.

Num. 22:22 - 35 has an odd story of an angel of the Lord ready to smite to death Balaam, but he was saved by his ass. because the donkey saw the angel in the way, she impeded Balaam's progress where he wanted to go to the point Balaam hit her three times. The Lord opened the mouth of the donkey so that she had a short dialogue with Balaam, after which the angel of the Lord was made visible to him by the Lord Himself. The angel explains to Balaam his fortune of having the ass keep him from being slain by the angel, and Balaam confessed his sin and expressed repentance that he should get back, but the angel told him to go with the men he was with and to speak only what the angel gave him to say. So here we have an incident of interaction between a man, his donkey, and an angel of the Lord.

Judg. 5:23 has an angel of the Lord cursing bitterly the city of Muroz for its inaction in assisting Israel against the Canaanites. Again in Judg. 6:11 - 23, the angel of God called Gideon to action against the Midianites, amazingly causing fire to consume kid flesh and cakes with the touch of his staff! Still in Judg. 13:3 - 23, another theophany occurred with the announcement of the birth of Samson to a Danite family deemed barren until the angel of the Lord visited Manoah's wife with instructions against alcoholic beverages and unclean food throughout her pregnancy and that he is to be a lifelong nazarite to God. Manoah asks God to send the angel again, and God did so, and the angel restated to Manoah that which was first stated to his wife.

While not an actual angel, king David was referred to as being like an angel in such passages of Scripture as 1 Sam. 29:9, 2 Sam. 14:17, 20, and 19:27. In 2 Sam. 24:10 - 25, however, Gad, David's seer, after David realizes his sin, comes to him with three consequences for his sin. David mentions the greatness of God's mercy, and wisely picks the third choice. An angel of the Lord destroys 70,000 people from Dan to Beer-sheba with pestilence, but the Lord halted the angel at Jerusalem. David speaks to the angel, asking that his hand be against David and his father's house rather than against the people, and Gad comes to David with instructions to build an altar to God in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. David obeys, buying the property and some oxen for 50 shekels of silver. This purchase has become the most contested piece of real estate on the face of the earth, because if you read 2 Sam. 24:16, you will realize that purchase has become...Jerusalem!

An unusual lesson is given concerning angels in 1 Kings 13:1 - 32. Two men of God are mentioned in this passage, one of Beth-el, and one of Judah. The prophet of Judah was obeying the word of the Lord up to the point until he met the prophet of Beth-el. At that point, the prophet of Beth-el lied to the other, and told him an angel of the Lord spoke to him. He said the angel instructed him to bring the prophet of Judah back to his house to eat bread and drink water, and so the prophet of Judah heeded the other prophet, because he said he received such instructions from an angel of the Lord. After eating, the prophet of Beth-el gave the prophet of Judah a prophecy of his death. After leaving, a lion met the prophet on his way, and slew him, but left his carcase uneaten, and his ass stood there, unmolested by the lion, a clear testimony of God's divine judgment against the prophet of Judah. The lesson here was obvious; believe an angel in person, not an angel in the mouth of a man or woman!

In 1 Kings 19:5, 7 an angel twice tells Isaiah to arise and eat. Apparently this angel brought him food and drink. It is the first example of an angel ministering to a human.

There are few angels named in the bible; angels' names, in general, are supposed to be a secret (see Judg. 13:18). The first is Gabriel; his name first appears in Dan. 8:16, then 9:21. His name also appears in Luke 1:19, 26, and the fourth and last time it appears is when he tells Mary about having a son, the Son of God. Another angel, and the only other good one named in the bible, is Michael. His name appears in Dan. 10:13, 21, 12:1, Jude 1:9, and Rev. 12:7. Now there are also named two evil angels, and the first one is Satan. He first is identified by the name Satan in 1 Chron. 21:1; prior to that, he is known as the serpent in Gen. 3:1, who tempted Eve in the garden of Eden. He pops up again in Job 1:6 - 9, 12, 2:1 - 4, 6 - 7, and of course we know what trouble he made for Job. He again appears in Ps. 109:6, Zech. 3:1 - 2, and Matt. 4:10. He is mentioned by Jesus in Matt 12:26 and Mark 8:33, and Jesus turns to Peter and addresses him by the name Satan in Matt. 16:23. His name also appears in Mark 1:13, 3:23, 26, 4:15 in Jesus' parable, Luke 4:8, 10:18, 11:18, 13:16, 22:3, 31, John 13:27, Acts 5:3, 26:18, Rom. 16:20, 1Cor. 5:5, 7:5, 2 Cor. 2:11, 11:14, 12:7, 1 Thess. 2:18, 2 Thess. 2:9, 1 Tim. 1:20, 5:15, Rev. 2:9, 13, 24, 3:9, 12:9, 20:2, and 7. And that's only using his name of Satan. Then there's his name Lucifer; that only appears once in Isa. 14:12; Beelzebub, which means lord of the flies, appears in Matt. 10:25, 12:24, 27, Mark 3:22, Luke 11:15, 18, and 19. Satan appears a number of ways more, such as by the name devil, serpent, dragon, etc., but for you and I it's only more of the same being. One last other angel is named, and he has two different names, actually depending on whether you speak Greek or Hebrew. It is in Rev. 9:11; "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."

So we see that the bible is saturated with both good and evil angels. For all who believe in the bible, like me, they, too, believe in angels.