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Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’

When Was Jesus Crucified?

April 14th, 2010
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Before I get too deep into this subject, I want to make it very clear that this is NOT a salvation issue. I’ve seen people go toe to toe over issues like this, but whether you believe that Jesus was crucified on Friday, Wednesday or any other day is not something that should drive a wedge between believers. It is the reason for His crucifixion and resurrection that is important, not when it happened.
 
That being said lets look at the events of the final week before the resurrection.
 
Every Christian knows that there were three important events that week. The first was what we “Triumphal Entry”. This is when Jesus arraigned for His entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. Contrary to how tradition and modern thought paints this, riding on the back of a donkey was reserved for royalty. It was not a humble expression. Jesus was, for the first time in His life, declaring Himself as the Messiah and allowing Himself to be worshipped as such.
 
The second event was the crucifixion. Tradition tells us that this occurred on Friday, just prior to the Sabbath.
 
The third, and most important, was the resurrection. There is no doubt that this happened on Sunday following the Saturday Sabbath.
 
John 20
 1 Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
 
 
What the Christian church has, unfortunately, done was to separate the events of the crucifixion from the feasts the Lord set up to predict the event. The early Church tried to distance themselves from Hebrew traditions and worked up a system that would insure that the celebration of the crucifixion would never coincide with Passover. We need to remember that the Lord has set up many patterns in the scriptures and the fact that the crucifixion happened on Passover was the most important.
 
There are three spring feasts during the Passover season. They are Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Firstfuits.
 

 

Leviticus 23

5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover.
The Hebrews have two calendars, one civil and one religious. The month of Nisan is the seventh month on the civil and the first month on the religious calendar. Passover was designated to be held on the 14th of Nisan. This feast was extremely important and everyone was commanded to leave their homes and travel to Jerusalem to observe it.
 
Unleavened Bread followed Passover.
 
Leviticus 23
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.
 
The final feast was Firstfruits.
 
Leviticus 23
9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
 
Firstfruits was always held on Sunday, the day after the Sabbath. However, it’s important to know that Saturday is not considered the only Sabbath day. Feasts that have only one day are also Sabbaths. Unleavened Bread, which lasts seven days, has two, the first and last days of the feast. The Sabbath referred to in Leviticus 23:11 is the Saturday Sabbath.
 
We know that Jesus rose on Sunday morning from John 20:1 and that that day was the Feast of Firstfuits. Jesus was the firstfuit of the new covenant. While the calendar is a little foggy about what the actual date was, there is a clue in Genesis.
 
Genesis 8
4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.
 
Anytime the Lord puts an “insignificant” fact in the scriptures, we should take notice. As I said, the Hebrews have two calendars, civil and religious. The religious calendar was instituted by Moses when the law was given. The calendar used in Genesis is the civil calendar. The seventh month on the civil calendar is the first month on the religious, Nisan. So the ark came to rest on the 17th of Nisan. The resting of the ark is symbolic of a new beginning, the firstfuits of a new world. By “coincidence” this is exactly three days after the day that Passover would have been. The feasts had not, yet, been instituted but, as the Rabbis say “Coincidence is not a kosher word”.
 
If, and I repeat…if, the Feast of Firstfuits landed on the 17th of Nisan the year that Jesus was resurrected, He would has risen exactly three days after Passover. Now, let’s look at the calendar.
 
If Sunday was the 17th of Nisan, then Passover would have begun at sundown on Wednesday. The following day, Thursday would have been the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Tradition says that Jesus was crucified on Friday and that in order to keep from having the three bodies on the crosses during the Sabbath, the legs were to be broken to speed up their deaths.
 
John 19
31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should 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.
 
 
There are two clues here that tell us what day it actually was. First, it was the Preparation Day. The day before Passover was a day of preparation. The women would gather everything together for the Passover meal so that it would be ready by sundown. Part of the preparation was the killing of the unblemished lamb that was to be eaten before midnight that night. The lamb was killed between 3:00pm and 5:00pm, just before sundown.
 
This lamb was chosen three days prior and brought into the home. The family would treat this lamb as a pet and when it was killed it was truly a sacrifice by the entire family. If Passover was on Wednesday, then the lamb was chosen the previous Sunday. This was the same day that Jesus revealed Himself to be the Messiah and, in the words of John the Baptist, “The lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”.
 
The second clue in John 19 is the statement that this Sabbath was a “high day”. This was not a Saturday Sabbath, but a high feast day. It could only be Passover. This would mean that Jesus died just before sundown on the Preparation Day at the same time that every Hebrew family was killing their own sacrificial lamb. This is not to be confused with the Day of Atonement when the High Priest would offer a sacrifice in the Holy of Holies for the sins of the nation. This was a sacrifice made by every Hebrew family in their own home. A much more personal sacrifice.
 
Another important point comes in Jesus’ own words.
 
Matthew 12:40
40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
 
 
If Jesus was crucified on Friday, He could not have risen on Sunday. Jesus was very explicit when He said “three days and three nights”. Do the math. There just aren’t three days and three nights between Friday evening and Sunday morning.
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Randy Reed Bible Prophesy, Easter Traditions , , , ,

How To Be Saved – The Basics

January 7th, 2010
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If you or anyone you know is wondering how to be saved, here's a great resource that will lay it all out for you.

Jessie sent me an email with this video from Tangle. This is probably the best presentation I've seen. In very simple terms, it tackles the most asked questions, including:

  • Why is there a Hell? Why would a loving God send people there?
  • what is the plan of salvation?
  • What are the "rules" to being saved?
  • Why was Jesus crucified?
  • What is grace?

Take a few minutes and watch this. It's done in a style that will hold your attention and does a great job of clearing up some basic issues about how to be saved and what that really means.

 

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Randy Reed Faith, Salvation , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Christmas Traditions And The Birth Of Jesus

December 15th, 2009
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We’re coming up on Christmas again (yea, Christmas… not the “holidays”), the birth of Jesus, and in keeping with the original theme of this site, I thought I’d take a look at the traditions that surround the event and compare them to the scriptures.
 
There are several traditions I want to look at:
 
  1. The Christmas tree
  2. The Yule log
  3. The three wise men (and the three gifts)
  4. The date – December 25th

 

The Christmas Tree and Yule Log

 

Where did this tradition come from? There is absolutely no mention of the Christmas tree in the scriptures. I doubt, although I’m not certain, that pine trees aren’t even grown in Israel. So why do we even associate the tree with the birth of Jesus?
 
The origin of the tree is tied directly with the second tradition I want to look at, the Yule log. In Genesis 10 there is a guy named Nimrod. Nimrod was the Noah’s great-grandson (Ham’s grandson) and the first ruler of a large empire. He worshipped nature and most pagan practices can be traced back to him. I read one account, although I can’t find or verify it right now, that Nimrod was born from an egg that was laid by a rabbit (sound familiar?). It is known, however, that he was associated with the sun god and was worshipped as such.
 

Genesis 10 (New King James Version)

8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.” 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, 12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (that is the principal city).
 
After Nimrod’s death, his wife, Semiramis, had an illegitimate son named Tammuz. Semiramis claimed that the inception was immaculate and that Tammuz was Nimrod reborn. Since Nimrod was considered the sun god and Tammuz was born on the winter solstice, the date was celebrated as holy. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and to signify the death of the sun god a log was burned. The following day, when the days started to grow longer, a tree was placed in the ashes of the log, decorated and surrounded with presents to signify the birth of the infant. In Chaldean, the word for infant was yule.
 
In the fourth century A.D., Constantine legalized Christianity and made it the state religion of the eastern leg of the divided Roman Empire. In an effort, some believe, to bring the pagan and Christian people together, the commemoration of the birth of Jesus and the celebration of the winter solstice were combined into a single holiday.
 
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that any good Christian should never put a tree up for Christmas. But we should be aware of the origins of some of our traditions and not get caught up in them. I like to measure everything against the yardstick of salvation. Salvation only comes through giving your heart and mind to Jesus Christ, everything else is a non-issue. Getting too concerned with side issues, like this, can lead into false legalism and can divide the body of Christ, needlessly. Jesus should be the focus of our attention, not some dead tree.
 

The Three Wise Men

 

Another tradition we are all aware of is the three wise men. Every manger scene in the world shows three kingly men attending the birth of Jesus. But what do we really know about them?
 
Nowhere in the scriptures does it tell us how many wise men there actually were.
 

Matthew 2

 1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
 
 
To really understand who these guys were, we have to dig into a little history.
 
When the Hebrew nation was forced into exile under Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel rose to a place of authority was put in charge of a group of priests called the Magi. The Magi were a special group of people that had two main functions. They were dream interpreters and the political body that decided who was to rule the empire. In short, they were king makers. When Daniel was the head of the group, he, no doubt, told them of the coming Messiah and charged them to watch for the signs of His birth.
 
Later, when the Parthian Empire became the ruling power in the east, the Magi were incorporated into the government and maintained the powers that had been handed down through the generations. The Parthian Empire was a serious thorn in the side of the Roman Empire and the Romans had been severely defeated in numerous battles with them. In 55 B.C., just prior to Herod’s rule in Judea, Crassus led the Roman army in an attack on the Parthian Empire. The Battle of Carrhae cost the Romans 30,000 men and the life of Crassus, himself. The Parthians were not someone the Romans or Herod took lightly.
 
The Roman Empire And The Parthian Empire At The Time Of Jesus
 
 
Israel was, for many years, a disputed buffer zone between the Roman and Parthian Empires. When Herod was named King of Judea he had to live in exile until it was finally safe for him to move to Jerusalem.
 
Herod wasn’t Jewish and wasn’t well liked among the people. The wise men were dignitaries with the power to appoint a new ruler over the disputed territory. When they showed up in Judea from the Parthian Empire with probably more than three and, most likely, escorted by the customary armed guard, it caused a serious bolt of anxiety to run through Herod’s heart. The Jewish people could easily welcome the Parthians into the land and help them overthrow the hated Herod.
 
The idea that there were three of them comes from the verse in Matthew that describes the gifts they brought for Jesus.
 

Matthew 2:11 (New King James Version)

11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
 
 
Since there were three gifts mentioned, it has always been assumed the there were three wise men. These may not have been the only gifts. The reason they are mentioned is because of their significance.
 
  • Gold: Signified Deity. They recognized Jesus as God.
  • Frankincense: Signified Priesthood.
  • Myrrh: Death. Myrrh was ground and used in burial ceremonies. It would seem that the Magi were aware of the sacrifice the Messiah would make on their behalf.
 
It’s interesting to note that the Magi, even though they had the authority, didn’t set Him on the throne of Judea. That would be at His second coming.
 
The idea that they were kings didn’t appear until the 3rd century. Later, in the 6th century, they were given names. Originally they were called Bithisarea, Melichior and Gathaspa. In the 14th century these names became Balthasar, Melchior and Gasper. This is how we know them today.
 
If you really want to be scriptural about it:
 
  • We don’t know how many there were
  • They weren’t kings
  • We don’t have any idea what their names were.
 
As far as the date of December 25th, I’m going to cover that in a second post. This one has run a little longer than I intended and the issue of when Jesus was actually born is a bit involved.
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Bible Timeline – History Of The World

November 20th, 2009
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I have added a new page to IntelliBible.com for a great Bible timeline I found. I have seen the history of the Bible charted out in many different ways, but this is one of the best. It's very simple, but plainly shows the relationship of the books of the Bible in relation to the chronology of world events.


You can see it by clicking on the link in the navagation bar at the top of the page, or by clicking HERE.

 

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Randy Reed History Of The Text , , ,

The End Of The World As We Know It

April 21st, 2009
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Last Sunday was Easter and that got me thinking a lot about the way the Lord uses three days as a pattern. We know that Jesus was crucified and His body lay in the tomb for three days. I did a little digging and found that besides the obvious three days that Jonah was in the belly of the whale (Jesus even talks about this in reference to His own three days), there are several others.

Joseph (remember the amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat?) was thrown into prison in Egypt where he was approached by two guys. Each had dreamed a dream they didn’t understand and wanted Joseph to interpret for them. The first one was a butler and had a dream about three branches on a vine. They budded and produced ripe grapes.

Genesis 40

11 Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

Joseph told him that in three days he would get his job back and be serving wine to the Pharaoh again. He did, understandably, also ask him to remember him and “make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.”

The second guy was the Pharaoh’s baker who told him about a dream with three baskets on his head with birds flying in to eat the baked goods in them. Joseph basically said “Ooo, bad news, dude”

Genesis 40

19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

It’s interesting to note that the two things mentioned here are bread, which is broken and hung on a tree, and wine placed in the Pharaoh’s hand.

Another mention of three days was when Moses raised his hand over Egypt and caused a darkness.

Exodus 10

22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

But probably the best one, to me, is right after the first Passover. The Hebrews put the blood of a lamb on the doorposts of their homes to protect their firstborn children during the first Passover. Immediately afterwards, Pharaoh gave in and let Charlton Heston’s people go. They gathered up what they had without spending a lot of time baking (hence the unleavened bread – bread without yeast) and took off. The Passover happened on the 15th of Nisan. Three days later, on the 18th, they walked through the Red Sea. This is remembered as the Feast of Firstfruits.

It was three days after the crucifixion of Jesus, on Passover, that He rose from the tomb on the Feast of Firstfruits. According to the Jewish calendar, these happened on the 15th and 18th of Nisan.

The reason this year stood out for me is that the Council of Nicaea had gone to great lengths to insure that Easter NEVER fell on Passover. And they succeeded. I’ve tried to find an instance when they fell on the same day and I couldn’t. They failed, however, in preventing it from falling on the Feast of Firstfruits, which it actually commemorates. I could be wrong, but I wasn’t able to find any reference to Easter coinciding with Firstfruits in the last 2000 years. That would make this year something special.

Now, this is where I get all weird and go off on a tangent. Before I do…..

Let me state emphatically that I am NOT trying to set any dates or that I’m even convinced that this is true. Ok? Clear? Alright…

If, and I mean IF, this “coincidence” was planned by God, then what could it mean? Taking into account that three days could symbolize three years (as in the 70 weeks of Daniel), what could happen three years from now?

It’s a fact that the Mayan calendar was extremely accurate until December 12, 2012. Then it just stops. People have been trying to figure this out for decades. No one has a reason or even a consensus on what is supposed to happen in 2012. Some think we’re in for a huge apocalypse, some a whole new world.

Journalist
Lawrence Joseph forecasts widespread catastrophe in Apocalypse 2012: A
Scientific Investigation Into Civilization’s End.

Spiritual healer Andrew Smith predicts a restoration of
a “true balance between Divine Feminine and Masculine” in The
Revolution of 2012: Vol. 1, The Preparation.

In 2012, Daniel Pinchbeck anticipates a
“change in the nature of consciousness,” assisted by indigenous insights
and psychedelic drug use.

Adrian
Gilbert and Maurice Cotterell, in their book the Mayan
Prophecies, say that the end of the Great Cycle is the culmination of a
series of long-term sunspot cycles which will flip the sun’s magnetic field,
causing earthquakes and flooding on earth

So, anything is possible, maybe even nothing. If it is meaningful, it could be the year of the rapture or the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel (Tribulation). I’m convinced that the rapture will precede the Tribulation by some time. I don’t think, as the Left Behind series portrays, that the Tribulation will follow the rapture immediately. The Tribulation begins with the signing of a treaty presented by the antichrist to bring peace in the Middle East. In order for him to be revealed, the restrainer, which I believe is the Holy Spirit, must first be removed from the earth. Since we, as believers, are not to be separated from the Holy Spirit, we would also have to be gone. So any period of time could pass before the antichrist is in any position to sign a treaty with Israel.

So here’s the possibility:

  • Easter coincides with Firstfruits in 2009
  • The Church is raptured on the anniversary of its birthday, Pentecost (May 29, 2009)
  • During the next three years the world crumbles economically and socially (big surprise)
  • The Battle of Gog and Magog with Israel sets up the acceptance of the peace treaty
  • The antichrist rises to a position of authority and signs a treaty with Israel (possibly on December 12,2012

Remember, this is all speculation. But as more time passes, more time passes. Meaning we are only getting closer to the end.

Live as if He’s coming today, but plan ahead, just in case.

Randy

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