A reflection on the season

That time of the year is here again; Christmas. The debate for Christian to keep or not to keep christmas has raged for centuries, with neither side of the divide convincing the other. Argument such as; it is not commanded in the bible, it has roots in the pagan worship, Jesus was not born in winter, have been offered as a reason for Christian to not observe. While those who argue for Christians to observe have present arguments such as; we are honoring Jesus and that is the only thing that matters. More...

I have a question, that on first glance seems unrelated to this debate. Will christmas be observed when Jesus returns? This question can also be extended to easter. Will christmas and easter be observed when Jesus returns to the earth? Here I focus on the future, believing that the future is the ideal of what God desires in the present.

Zechariah 14:18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles

From the above scripture I deduce that the feast of tabernacles will be kept by all peoples after Jesus returns and establishes his kingdoms on the earth.

Leviticus 23:33-34 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.

This same feast of tabernacles has its roots in the past as it is one of the seven feast God commanded Israel to keep. It was kept in the past and will be kept in the future, but is not kept in the present, and one can't help but wonders why not. A couple of questions arise:

1. If it was a holy day commanded to be kept only by the Israelites and only in the past (in other words not relevant to Christian of today), then what is the whole world doing keeping it in the future?
2. By not keeping it today, is the Church missing out on the 'rains' that may otherwise would have been falling on it?
   

One of the greatest commandments that Christian must observe is not to add to or subtract from the word of God, since God has exalted his word above his name. Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

• We are commanded not to look at how others worship their gods and seek to worship god in the same way. Deuteronomy 12:30-32 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
• We should not even speak the name of the false gods. Exodus 23:13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
  

Easter, which is derived from the name of an ancient fertility goddess in honour of whom sacrifices were offered about the time of the Passover, and christmas, which is borrowed from the worship of the sun god, break above commandments.

So the question is; will easter and christmas be observed in the Kingdom of God? I believe not, for at Jesus' return, even the names of idols will be taken from the land, this, I believe include easter Zechariah 13:2 On that day"-the declaration of the Lord of Hosts-"I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

We must never forget, that man does not have the power or authority to make any thing holy unto himself - Just because we desire something to be holy, does not mean that it will be so. Christmas and easter, i believe; are not, never were and never will be, holy.

Some Biblical Facts
There are undeniable facts we glean from the bible;

• Jesus died at the 9th hour (around 3:00 pm) Mark 15:33-37 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
• Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation (That is the day before the Sabbath, not a weekly Sabbath but rather a high Sabbath) Luke 23:54 And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on.
• The disciples and the women went to the grave on the first day of the week Matthew 28:1 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.
• Jews could not go to the burial grounds on a Sabbath, but were to rest. Luke 23:56 Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to embalm him. But by the time they were finished it was the Sabbath, so they rested all that day as required by the law. Exodus 31:15 Work six days only, but the seventh day must be a day of total rest. I repeat: Because the LORD considers it a holy day, anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death.
• The tomb had been secured for three days Matthew 27: 62 – 66 The next day – on the first day of the Passover ceremonies – the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, "Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: 'After three days I will be raised from the dead.' So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he came back to life! If that happens, we'll be worse off than we were at first." Pilate replied, "Take guards and secure it the best you can." So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.
• The Jewish Sabbath is on Saturday

Drawn Conclusion

• From the above facts we can conclude that Jesus died at around 3:00 pm on the day before the Sabbath and that the women and the disciples went to the grave on the morning of the first day of the week.
• The Jewish day begins and ends at sunset. Traditionally the Jewish Sabbath begins at sunset Friday and ends at sunset Saturday; Sunday morning is therefore the first day of the week.
• Using the traditional Christian argument that Jesus was crucified on Friday and rose on Sunday morning, there are only two nights and one day of which Jesus was in the grave, this contradict scripture which categorically states that Jesus was to be in the grave for three days and three nights.
• For Jesus to be in the grave for three days and three nights, he had to be dead for at least 72 hours, which means that he must have rose from the dead at or near the time of his death around 3:00 pm. This automatically rules out Sunday morning resurrection.

If one uses circular but flawed reasoning, one can conclude that the crucifixion happened on the day of preparation which for the weekly Sabbath is Friday and that the women and the disciples went to the tomb on the first day of the week, which is Sunday.

• Friday 3 pm to Saturday 3 pm (1 night and 1 day)
• Saturday 3 pm to Sunday between 5 am to 7 am (1 night)

This would mean that Jesus was actually dead for 1 day and 2 nights.

Jesus was indeed crucified on the day before the Sabbath, the day of preparation, but it was not the weekly Sabbath, but rather a special or high Sabbath John 19:31 The Jewish leaders didn't want the victims hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath at that, because it was the Passover), so they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. Jesus was crucified the day before the Passover (Thus Jesus is our Passover lamb 1Co 5:7 … Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. Numbers 9:11 They must offer the Passover sacrifice one month later, at twilight on the appointed day. They must eat the lamb at that time with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast)

Leviticus 23:5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord's Passover.

Jesus had just kept the night before

If we use the same logic of working backwards (Taking in to consideration that Jesus rose at the same hour of which he died)

• Saturday evening to Friday evening (1 day and 1 night) – day 3
• Friday evening to Thursday evening (1 day and 1 night) – day 2
• Thursday evening to Wednesday evening (1 day and 1 night) – day 1

We can thus conclude that the crucifixion took place on Wednesday
God’s Position
Babylon is almost always associated with that which is opposed to the way of God and of which the LORD despises and has reserved his highest wrath.
Almost all pagan worship can be traced back to Nimrod and Babylon, Easter eggs and Easter Bunnies are fertility symbols, as is sun worship.

Genesis 10:8-10 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD ; that is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD ." The first centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, in Shinar.

Genesis 11:1-8 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel -because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

God has commanded his people not to worship the sun, yet we see one of the hallmarks of Easter being the sunrise services. The argument for sunrise services is that Jesus rose at that hour. This conclusion is based on faulty human reasoning. Jesus said of himself Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so I, the Son of Man, will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Jonah 1:17 …. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

What are Christians to do in a world rule by despots?

What are Christians to do in a world rule by despots? I ask this question in direct response to the actions of The Archbishop of York; watch the video or read the article more...

Despots are nothing new in the world of man. There have been and always will be despots ruling in one part of the world or another, until Jesus Christ returns to rule. This being a true fact; what is the man or woman of God to do?

A couple of thousand years ago, a man of God walked in a land ruled by a despot, and his response to this situation should be a lesson to all of us who call ourselves Christians. The man of cause is Jesus Christ and the despot is Harold.

Jesus did not cut his garments in protest but rather, preached the love of God in a hostile environment. Jesus Christ was aware of facts which sometimes we Christians seem to be unaware of as reflected by our actions:

• The approval of God is of greater importance than the approval of man
• Sometime to be approved of God our actions must fly in the face of what man approve.
• No man receives anything accept that which God has approved – this include the authority to rule.
• All authority belongs to Christ
• Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar

For Mugabe or any other despot to rule, God has given that authority. The man or woman of God must never forget that God is in control and that a fervent prayer behind a closed door has greater impact than a gesture on public television.

• John 6:27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
• Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
• Daniel 2:21 He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
• Galatians 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
• Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
• Ephesians 6:12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.
• Luke 20:25 "Caesar's," they replied. He said to them, "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
• 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.