The Crucifixion Not Friday

[AFrazier]

Also, I want to point out the Didascalia Apostolorum. After all, it shows the order of the days from the eye witnesses (Apostles) that were present.

It doesn't, actually. It's a recreation, and not eye-witness testimony. I've read it. There are inconsistencies between it and the gospels. It's represents the general beliefs of its own era, but is not accurate. Take that information or not as choose.

 

[cfposter]

It doesn't, actually. It's a recreation, and not eye-witness testimony. I've read it. There are inconsistencies between it and the gospels. It's represents the general beliefs of its own era, but is not accurate. Take that information or not as choose.

The Bible you have today is a recreation. We don't have the original writings. What are the inconsistencies you mention or are you just going to say that and not back it up?

 

[JSRG]

Also, I want to point out the Didascalia Apostolorum. After all, it shows the order of the days from the eye witnesses (Apostles) that were present.

What exactly do you think the Didascalia Apostolorum backs you up on?

 

[AFrazier]

The Bible you have today is a recreation. We don't have the original writings. What are the inconsistencies you mention or are you just going to say that and not back it up?

We’ve engaged in plenty of discussion. You don’t have a history of accepting information you don’t want to agree with, so I’m not especially inclined to spend my time looking these things back up and writing something out for you that will be pointless and fruitless. If you want to know the inconsistencies, I would recommend you read and study. If you do that in sincerity, the inconsistencies will become apparent.

 

[Deborah~]

I know it's "Good Friday" and many celebrate the crucifixion as being on a Friday, but it really couldn't have been because of the 3 days and 3 nights just wouldn't fit.

It would be prudent to not assume that the 3 days and 3 nights was how long Jesus would be dead and lying in the tomb. Always beware of people who try to make historical events fit a particular interpretation of some prophecy, like the "sign of Jonah" that Jesus gave the Scribes and Pharisees, an interpretation that may or may not be correct (I don't believe it is). Jesus was very clear when speaking to his disciples on what exactly would come to pass during those 3 days and 3 nights. He would be arrested. He would be rejected by the Jewish elders. (Thursday night) He would be turned over to be condemned to death. He would be beaten. (early Friday morning) He would be crucified. (Friday morning at 9:00 a.m.) And he would suffer for six long hours hanging nailed to a cross, and then, after suffering all these things, he would die (Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.), and his body would lie cold and lifeless in a tomb (late Friday afternoon until Sunday morning very early). But on the third day, the third day after having suffered all these things, he would rise. Even Jesus himself said he would suffer, and rise the third day. His "suffering" included his arrest, rejection, condemnation, brutal beating, and his crucifixion, all before he died and was placed in the tomb: "Thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and rise from the dead the third day." So the 3 days and 3 nights has to include everything Jesus suffered, beginning after the Passover supper on Thursday evening. Once Jesus was dead and placed in the tomb, his suffering was over. So it was 3 days and 3 nights after he suffered all these things that he rose from the dead, not 3 days and 3 nights after he died and his suffering was over.
Matthew 16:21, Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22, Luke 24:17-21, 46

This event, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary coming to view the tomb, is not recorded in any Gospel but Matthew.

That's not true. All four Gospels record the women's early morning visit to the tomb. The Greek word that is translated "dawn" does not mean "beginning." The English word has that meaning, but not the Greek. The Greek word, epiphosko, means "to begin to grow light." The root word is epiphaus, "to illuminate, to give light." This Greek word has nothing to do with and is never used to refer to the "beginning" of something, like the English word "dawn." And beyond that, all of the Gospels record this early Sunday morning visit of the women to the tomb, and taken all together (in context), are very clear about when Jesus was resurrected.

Matthew 28:1- "In the end of the sabbath," not in the beginning of the sabbath.
"As it dawned toward the first day of the week," not as it dawned toward the 7th day.
Mark 16:1- "And when the sabbath was past," not when the sabbath was beginning.
"Very early in the morning," not late in the afternoon.
"The first day of the week," they came to the tomb, not the sixth day of the week.
"At the rising of the sun," not at the setting of the sun.
Luke 24:1- "Upon the first day of the week," not upon the 6th day of the week.
"Very early in the morning," not very late in the day.
John 20:1- "The first day of the week cometh Mary," not the 6th day of the week.

All of these verses, all taken together, make it very clear that the women came to the tomb "in the end of the sabbath," after the Sabbath was past, on the first day of the week (Sunday), very early in the morning, while it was still dark.

This feast day, preceded by a day of preparation, is a High Sabbath (a day of rest). It’s also called a High Day

The feast days were never preceded by a day of preparation. I realize this may seem like a minor point of law, but we are talking about the law, and about how the 2nd Temple Jews understood and actually practiced the law. Now someone may interpret the law or calculate something and determine that the Jews had it wrong, and that may or may not be true. But the point is how did the Jews understand and practice the commandments respecting the legal observance of these festivals. Because that is how these events actually played out in the life of Jesus, how things were actually done, not how someone thinks they should have been done.

The festival sabbaths, those days of the feasts that were sabbaths, did not require preparations for the feast to be made the day before. And the reason is very simple. From the very beginning, when the feasts were first instituted, the law as recorded at Exodus 12:14-16 states: "And in the first day there shall be an holy assembly, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy assembly to you: no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man [must do to] eat, that only may be done of you."

So the law allowed that work which was necessary to keep the commandments to make the required sacrifices and prepare the feast for that day to be done on that day, even on those feast days that were sabbaths. So the feast days were not "preceded by a day of preparation." That's not true. The law allowed preparations for the feast, even on festival sabbaths, to be made on that day.

However, what happens when one of the feast days falls on the weekly Sabbath? Which commandments must be observed? The festival commandments that require certain sacrifices be made and feasts be prepared on those days? Or the weekly Sabbath commandments, when no work of any kind could be done, requiring preparations be made the day before, on Friday? Which commandments were "higher." Even Jews today know and practice this rule. Judaism 101 states: "Work is not permitted on Rosh Hashanah, on Yom Kippur, on the first and second days of Sukkot, on Shemini Arzeret, on Simchat Torah, on Shavu'ot, and the first, second, seventh and eighth days of Passover. The "work" prohibited on those holidays is the same as that prohibited on Shabbat, except that cooking, baking, transferring fire and carrying, all of which are forbidden on Shabbat, are permitted on holidays. When a holiday occurs on Shabbat, the full Shabbat restrictions are observed." (Judaism 101, Times, Jewish Holidays)

The Law states and Judaisms' practice of the Law to this day is that the commandments that govern the weekly Sabbaths overrule the festival sabbath commandments, thus they are "higher" in the sense that they are "greater" which is what the Greek word means. It was the weekly Sabbaths that were "high days," not the festival sabbaths.

I hope to be able to comment more on all this, I find it absolutely fascinating, but then I find any and everything about the life and times of Jesus to be captivating.

In Christ,
Deborah

 

[Deborah~]

The Jews used inclusive reckoning, so then "any part" of the included would then be accounted as all of it. So three days and nights would be different than 56 hours.

Proof of this can be seen in Luke 24. That chapter says this is Sunday - the first day of the week - it also says it is "the third day".

And they said to Him, “Those about Jesus the Nazarene, who proved to be a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

Saturday afternoon would be the first day "since" that Friday afternoon event without inclusive reckoning, but with inclusive reckoning then Friday is day 1 and Saturday is day 2. That makes Sunday (the first day of the week according to Luke 24) -- the 3rd day.

1 Cor 15:4 says He was raised "on the third day" which agrees with what we find in Luke 24.



And it is near/at evening on the first day of the week when they said that.

But the men on the road to Emmaus didn't even mention the hours Jesus was dead and lying in the tomb. They spoke of those hours during which he was rejected by the Jewish elders, handed over to the Romans to be condemned to death, all of which happened Thursday night and Friday morning, then was crucified, which was at 9:00 a.m. Friday morning, and he suffered for six long, agonizing hours hanging nailed to a cross before he died at 3:00 p.m. These men, on late Sunday afternoon after Jesus' resurrection, said it was the third day since "these things" were done. What things? The third day since Jesus was placed in the tomb? Or the third day since the chief priests and Jewish rulers rejected Jesus and handed him over to the Romans to be condemned and crucified, all "these things" a full night and day before he died?

Don't base these historical events on some interpretation of what the "sign of Jonah" Jesus gave the scribes and Pharisees may or may not have meant, which was intentionally obscure because it wasn't given to them to understand these things. But Jesus spoke very clearly to his disciples about all the things that would take place over the course of the three days and nights before his resurrection.

Look them all up and let me know what you find.

In Christ,
Deborah

 

[Deborah~]

I wish English used "Pascha" for Easter to make the relationship more obvious as it is in so may other languages, but that's the way the language worked out.

But the thing is, the English word for "Pascha" is not "Easter." The English word for "Pascha" is "Passover."

"Easter" is the English word for the Sunday that Jesus was resurrected after the Passover. Now some, even in English, tend to call this whole week "Easter," (or "Pascha"), beginning with Palm Sunday (historically Nisan 10), including Passover Thursday (historically Nisan 14) and Crucifixion Friday (historically Nisan 15) culminating with Resurrection Sunday (historically Nisan 17), the first day of firstfruits. Some people call that whole week Easter, and some people call that whole week Pascha.

So Easter and Passover are not the same thing, and English is the only language that makes that distinction. Which I think is somewhat important, especially when we try to drill down into these doctrines and the timing of these particular days.

In Christ,
Deborah

 

[Deborah~]

Was Jonah’s time an emendation?
Mat 12:40 - 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.

But what does that mean, three days and three nights "in the heart of the earth"? On what grounds do you assume it means "in the tomb" three days and three nights?
Allow me to share a few thoughts with you. Jesus was giving the scribes and Pharisees a sign, an intentionally obscure sign that they would not understand. That just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so too Jesus would be three days and three nights "in the heart of the earth." But what does that mean "in the heart of the earth"? Jesus was actually referring to an old prophecy of David, Psalms 74, a prophecy about the coming of Jesus in a time when the enemies of God would prevail, "doing wickedly in the sanctuary," "roaring in the middle of his congregations," casting fire and defiling the place of His name," and David asks the Lord why He "withdrew his hand?" Jesus is the right hand of God, and David was wondering why God had "withdrawn" his right hand, or in another place Jesus was "cut off," and David asks God to "pluck his right hand out of his bosom." Remember Jesus, at the moment of his death, had committed his spirit to God? Would any of us who are Christians want to argue that Jesus was not safely held within God's "bosom" while his body lay lifeless in the tomb? And then David speaks this beautiful line of prophecy, "For God is my King of old, working salvation in the heart of the earth." The "heart of the earth" was Jerusalem, and this is the prophecy Jesus was alluding to, that for three days and three nights, by his suffering and his death, Jesus would "work salvation." It was not just Jesus' death alone that wrought our salvation, when his body lay cold and lifeless in the tomb, but it was also by his suffering, by the beating that tore the flesh from his body, by those stripes we are healed, and by all the things Jesus suffered those three days and three nights, all those things were part of our great God, the King of Old, working salvation in the midst of the earth, that holy city where God's name was placed.

So maybe there is something more to those "three days and three nights," something more to "the heart of the earth," that place where Jesus suffered, and bled, and died, all those things working for our salvation.

In Christ,
Deborah

 

[Deborah~]

I have read somewhere that there were special sabbath days, apparently there a second sabbath day during the time when Christ was crucified, what is your opinion on this? I do not know enough of Jewish customs to know if this is correct or not.

Peace.

There are a number of sabbaths in addition to the weekly Sabbaths on Saturdays.

Certain days of the annual festivals were sabbaths, including the first day of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15). That is most likely the festival sabbath you heard about that occurred during Easter week. In the year of Jesus' crucifixion, that festival sabbath fell on Friday, the day Jesus was crucified, which was also called "the preparation," the name by which Friday was called because no work could be done on the weekly Sabbath (Saturday) so all the preparations for meals to be eaten on Saturday had to be made on Friday, including preparations for the feasts.

The weekly Sabbath (Saturday) that fell on a feast day was a "high day" meaning the commandments to not do any work overruled (were "higher" than) the commandments to prepare the feast on that day.

So yes, during that first Easter week, there were two sabbaths, the smaller sabbath on Friday, Nisan 15, when work was allowed to prepare the feast (and that year they had to prepare enough food for two days of the feast, Friday and Saturday), and then there was the higher sabbath, the regular weekly Sabbath when no work could be done at all, so all the preparations had to be made on Friday.

In Christ,
Deborah

 

[Deborah~]

The Passover Feast was the High Sabbath that is mentioned.

A sabbath that was a "high day" was the Saturday Sabbath that fell on a feast day, because the Saturday Sabbath commandments overruled (was higher or greater than) all over commandments, even the festival commandments.

As far as Easter, it has pagan origins

That's not true. Easter is the observance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the Sunday following the ancient date of the observance of the Passover. There is no record of any pagan holiday on the Sunday following the new moon on or after the spring equinox.

Also, how to calculate Easter is not the same as Passover:
The simple standard definition of Easter is that it is the first Sunday after the full Moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox. If the full Moon falls on a Sunday then Easter is the next Sunday. (This is based on Solar reckoning, and is of pagan origins ...

What? You said Easter is based on the full moon, and then turn around and say it's based on the sun. Easter is based on the phases of the moon, just like Passover is. Has nothing to do with the sun.

The difference in the dates of Passover and Easter is based on one being a specific calendar day and the other being determined by the solar cycle. For the Jews, Passover always begins on the 15th day of their month of Abib and runs for 8 days.

Both Christians and Jews calculate Easter and Passover based on the phases of the moon. Both Christians and Jews use a fixed calendar based on the Metonic cycle of the phases of the moon. Christians observe Easter on the Sunday that follows the Passover, except when the Jews have a leap year and add a month to their calendar, which throws Passover a month late, as it did this year. Then Easter occurs before Passover.

In Christ,
Deborah

 

[Deborah~]

Jesus Was Crucified on the Day of Preparation for the Passover​

There was no "day of preparation for" the Passover. The law allowed all the preparations for the feast days to be made on those feast days, even on those feast days that were sabbaths. The only day that was a preparation day, when no work could be done and enough food had to be prepared for two days, was the Fridays before Saturday Sabbaths.

The days of the week were named according to their number, the 1st day of the week, the 2nd day, and so forth until Friday which was named "The Preparation," and then of course Saturday was "the Sabbath." No other day was called "the Sabbath," and the festival sabbaths were always called by the 1st day of that festival or eighth day of that festival.

The day before a feast was always and to this day still is called the "eve" of the holiday. That's where we get "Christmas eve," the "eve of" (evening of) a holiday because Jewish days and therefore holidays began the evening before.

In Christ,
Deborah

 

[Kokavkrystallos]

A sabbath that was a "high day" was the Saturday Sabbath that fell on a feast day, because the Saturday Sabbath commandments overruled (was higher or greater than) all over commandments, even the festival commandments.

That's not true. Easter is the observance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the Sunday following the ancient date of the observance of the Passover. There is no record of any pagan holiday on the Sunday following the new moon on or after the spring equinox.

What? You said Easter is based on the full moon, and then turn around and say it's based on the sun. Easter is based on the phases of the moon, just like Passover is. Has nothing to do with the sun.

Both Christians and Jews calculate Easter and Passover based on the phases of the moon. Both Christians and Jews use a fixed calendar based on the Metonic cycle of the phases of the moon. Christians observe Easter on the Sunday that follows the Passover, except when the Jews have a leap year and add a month to their calendar, which throws Passover a month late, as it did this year. Then Easter occurs before Passover.

In Christ,
Deborah

Interesting.

Here is why I said it is based on the Solar or Sun:
"In 325AD the first major church council, the Council of Nicaea, determined that Easter should fall on the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox.
That is why the date moves and why Easter festivities are often referred to as "moveable feasts".
"There's a defined period between March 25 and April 25 on which Easter Sunday must fall, and that's determined by the movement of the planets and the Sun," Professor Cusack said."

Origin of Easter: From pagan rituals to bunnies and chocolate eggs

This is the story of Easter and how we came to be eating chocolate eggs delivered by rabbits.

www.abc.net.au

Also,
"It is widely accepted that there were actually two Sabbaths during the week of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. However, this fact is frequently overlooked, misunderstood, or ignored by those studying the crucifixion of Jesus, adding to the confusion of efforts to properly time the events of Passion Week (Leviticus 23:6–8, John 19:31).

I consider the case of the two Sabbaths as the fifth puzzle piece in our quest to establish the actual date of Jesus’ death."

Jesus’ Death and Resurrection – Two Sabbaths | Truth in Scripture

truthinscripture.net

and,
"Although we may occasionally find in the Bible situations in which a partial day is represented as a “day”, the Bible typically uses “days” to represent normal 24 hour days and not partial days or days of undetermined length (e.g. millions of years). After a very scholarly analysis of the Hebrew word Yom [day], as used in Genesis, Exodus, and elsewhere in the Bible, Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, in his book Refuting Compromise (2004), comes to the following conclusion regarding the use of days in the Old Testament:

When modified by a cardinal number (for example, one, two, three . . .) or ordinal number (for example, first, second, third . . .), . . . yom always means a literal day of about 24 hours, or the light portion of the day-night cycle. This is true in narrative, legal writings, prophecy, wisdom literature, and even poetry.

We conclude therefore that the references in Matthew 12:40 (and by extension to Jonah 1:17) to “three days and three nights” would – using the Jewish calendar and in accordance with the case I have presented – refer to all night Wednesday, all day Thursday, all night Thursday, all day Friday, all night Friday and then, finally, all day Saturday (until sunset) – three full days and three full nights."

Jesus’ Death and Resurrection – Jesus’ Messianic Sign | Truth in Scripture

truthinscripture.net

Now, the important thing is to know the fact that Jesus was indeed resurrected, and that His life eternal becomes our life eternal if we believe on Him and follow Him. Knowing exactly when the crucifixion was, or the resurrection, or what Sabbath was involved is interesting to discuss, but it's not a necessity to salvation. Nor should it be a detriment to true Christian unity. It is far more important to live humbly before they God, and to walk in His righteousness, and His love: to be the lights shining, the lamps burning, the witness to His resurrection life and the joy set before Him with the Father that He had from before the foundation of the world. Amen!

 

[Deborah~]

"There's a defined period between March 25 and April 25 on which Easter Sunday must fall, and that's determined by the movement of the planets and the Sun

That's not quite accurate. There is a new moon every 29.53 days. So from the spring equinox (always either on March 19, 20, or 21, March 25 is too late), there will always be a new moon occur within 29.53 days from the spring equinox. For example, if the spring equinox is March 19 (as it was this year), the latest the new moon can occur is April 17, within 29 1/2 days. So there will be a new moon on one of those days between those dates.

However, neither Christians nor Jews use an observation-based calendar any longer. The Christians moved to a fixed calendar based on the Metonic cycle at the Council of Nicea in A.D. 325, and the Jews in A.D. 350, but officially adopted it later. The Metonic cycle simply means that the moon's phases repeat every 19 years, meaning the new moon of Nisan will occur on the same day of Nisan every 19 years. So over a 19-year period, the new moon phases will move through the calendar and then return to the same date and begin again. So it basically it means the Metonic cycle gives us the average new moon each month, which will be technically accurate every 19 years.

I know the Council of Nicea gets a bad rap because of a lot of Protestant angst against the Roman Catholic Church, eh, deservedly so, but the truth is the worldwide body of Christians who gathered at Nicea adopted the Metonic cycle-based calendar for the same reason the Jews did, because for Christians and Jews spread all over the world, waiting for word from Jerusalem of when the crescent new moon was sighted and what day therefore was the first of the month and therefore what day was a feast day, that news would arrive too late for those far away from Jerusalem so they did not know when to officially celebrate the holidays, which for the Jews was a matter of law, for the Christians a matter of fellowship. By adopting the fixed calendar, both Christians and Jews are able to calculate in advance the average new moon calendar dates to celebrate the holidays as a community.

"It is widely accepted that there were actually two Sabbaths during the week of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. However, this fact is frequently overlooked, misunderstood, or ignored by those studying the crucifixion of Jesus

Most scholars I am aware of take that into account in their calculations. I certainly do.

“three days and three nights” would – using the Jewish calendar and in accordance with the case I have presented – refer to all night Wednesday, all day Thursday, all night Thursday, all day Friday, all night Friday and then, finally, all day Saturday (until sunset) – three full days and three full nights.

That would depend entirely on what things those three days and night encompass. I don't believe they can be limited to just the period of time Jesus was dead and in the tomb, the popular interpretation of "in the heart of the earth" but without any explanation or Scriptural support.

Now, the important thing is to know the fact that Jesus was indeed resurrected, and that His life eternal becomes our life eternal if we believe on Him and follow Him. Knowing exactly when the crucifixion was, or the resurrection, or what Sabbath was involved is interesting to discuss, but it's not a necessity to salvation. Nor should it be a detriment to true Christian unity. It is far more important to live humbly before they God, and to walk in His righteousness, and His love: to be the lights shining, the lamps burning, the witness to His resurrection life and the joy set before Him with the Father that He had from before the foundation of the world. Amen!

Amen and Amen!

However, I would like to say that as a young Christian, I was confronted many years ago with these claims about Christmas and Easter being pagan and was told that celebrating them was idolatry! I was quite frankly shocked, so I began to study for myself if there was in fact any historical merit to these holidays, which are after all observed by all of Christendom worldwide (not just Roman Catholics) and are held by Christians throughout the world to be the most important events in history. And I came to be thankful for that early confrontation with those claims, as my studies have served to strengthen my faith not only in the accuracy of the Gospels in recording the most important events in the history of the world, but also in Christendom's celebration of those beloved times and seasons in the life of our Lord Jesus.

But what grieves me, deeply, about all this is the spirit of anger and hostility and condemnation toward the brethren of Christ that so many engage in when discussing these things. Jesus never said we will know who are his by their doctrine, but by their spirit. We all should pray that our words to one another will be sweet and kind and loving and above all edifying, because one day we will eat them.

In Christ,
Deborah

 

[ViaCrucis]

But the thing is, the English word for "Pascha" is not "Easter." The English word for "Pascha" is "Passover."

"Easter" is the English word for the Sunday that Jesus was resurrected after the Passover. Now some, even in English, tend to call this whole week "Easter," (or "Pascha"), beginning with Palm Sunday (historically Nisan 10), including Passover Thursday (historically Nisan 14) and Crucifixion Friday (historically Nisan 15) culminating with Resurrection Sunday (historically Nisan 17), the first day of firstfruits. Some people call that whole week Easter, and some people call that whole week Pascha.

So Easter and Passover are not the same thing, and English is the only language that makes that distinction. Which I think is somewhat important, especially when we try to drill down into these doctrines and the timing of these particular days.

In Christ,
Deborah

The word "Pascha" as used by Christians refers to the Christian Passover. In English we call that "Easter". It's the same thing.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Deborah~]

The word "Pascha" as used by Christians refers to the Christian Passover. In English we call that "Easter". It's the same thing.

-CryptoLutheran

I understand that is the common usage. But I'm not talking about the way Christians commonly use the word Passover or what it is commonly understood to mean. The level of doctrinal understanding and wisdom among the general Christian community is ... not what it should be. It's a shame really, and in this day and age, with the ease of communication and public forums like this one that are open and available to everyone, perhaps it's time Christians get a bit better grasp of the doctrines of their faith. It is lamentable that the average Christian can burn up the internet with chatter about Eschatology, but is woefully ignorant about Soteriology, those doctrines about their own salvation.

I'm talking about a deeper level of Christian doctrine. And I believe everyone posting on these forums about this subject are at least a few steps ahead of the average believer (although looking at the posts, some have fallen victim to error that puts them behind even the average Christian). So I am probably not going to say anything that studied Christians don't already know. And the truth is, the Christian Passover is not Easter. The Christian Passover is not a date, or a week on a calendar based on a phase of the moon. The Christian Passover is Christ. Not a four-legged lamb, but the body of Jesus. Not cups of wine, but the blood of Jesus. Not matzah, but the unleavened bread of life as manna sent down from Heaven which is his flesh. The Christian Passover is a sacrament, called the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, the Mass, Holy Communion, and various other names. "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us."(1 Corinthians 5:7-8)

Easter is a Christian festival that commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus. It is observed on the Sunday following the moon of the Old Covenant Passover. That's the only thing that Easter has to do with Passover, it is celebrated on the Sunday following the full moon of the spring when the Old Covenant Passover was historically observed.

So the Christian observance of the Resurrection, called "Easter," (which occurs at the time of year when the Old Covenant Passover was observed, which is historically when Jesus was crucified and resurrected) is not the same thing as the Christian Passover, which is "the Lord's Supper."

In Christ,
Deborah

 

[Deborah~]

... even the goofy idea that Semiramis and Nimrod were married came from before the Internet existed, dreamed up by a guy named Alexander Hislop in the 19th century ...

Ah, Hislop, the source of so much of these myths about supposedly pagan roots of Christianity. Hislop was a rabidly anti-Catholic Scottish minister, and his entire screed was nothing less than an attempt to prove his particular interpretation of the Revelation, that the Roman Catholic Church was Mystery Babylon. Hislop was the epitome of what happens when people try to use the Scriptures to justify their hatred, dreaming up in their fevered imagination all kinds of "connections" between completely unrelated subjects, sometimes on nothing more than the fact that two words might sound similar.

What is really sad is how gullible so many absolutely sincere and otherwise devoted Christians can be. People accept these myths and lies without question. And of course, a lot of people who are on these Christian boards and are going on about Christian doctrine and practice are not even Christians. A lot of this stuff is coming from Jehovah's Witnesses, who actually believe Christianity itself is pagan and idolatrous. And then there are Protestants, particularly Evangelical Protestants, who suffer from the remnants of Protestant angst against the Roman Catholic Church and will believe anything if it takes aim at Catholics, and I say that as an Evangelical Protestant. I have many issues with Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, but I am also a New Testament historian and a Christian apologist, so I see for myself how twisted all this is. And the thing is, where Hislop was aiming his fire at the Catholics, others are now using that same fuel to flame Protestants! Talk about being hoisted on your own petard! Or should that be "burned at your own stake."

In Christ,
Deborah

 

[BPPLEE]

Ah, Hislop, the source of so much of these myths about supposedly pagan roots of Christianity. Hislop was a rabidly anti-Catholic Scottish minister, and his entire screed was nothing less than an attempt to prove his particular interpretation of the Revelation, that the Roman Catholic Church was Mystery Babylon. Hislop was the epitome of what happens when people try to use the Scriptures to justify their hatred, dreaming up in their fevered imagination all kinds of "connections" between completely unrelated subjects, sometimes on nothing more than the fact that two words might sound similar.

What is really sad is how gullible so many absolutely sincere and otherwise devoted Christians can be. People accept these myths and lies without question. And of course, a lot of people who are on these Christian boards and are going on about Christian doctrine and practice are not even Christians. A lot of this stuff is coming from Jehovah's Witnesses, who actually believe Christianity itself is pagan and idolatrous. And then there are Protestants, particularly Evangelical Protestants, who suffer from the remnants of Protestant angst against the Roman Catholic Church and will believe anything if it takes aim at Catholics, and I say that as an Evangelical Protestant. I have many issues with Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, but I am also a New Testament historian and a Christian apologist, so I see for myself how twisted all this is. And the thing is, where Hislop was aiming his fire at the Catholics, others are now using that same fuel to flame Protestants! Talk about being hoisted on your own petard! Or should that be "burned at your own stake."

In Christ,
Deborah

Someone else wrote a book called Babylon Mystery Religion that was very popular based on Hislop’s work but later wrote another book disavowing the first one because he said Hislop’s sources didn’t check out.