Is Easter Really The Resurrection Of Christ?
Numerous Easter customs have their beginnings among non–Christian religions. Easter eggs, for example, are colored, hidden, hunted and eaten—a custom done innocently today and often linked with a time of fun and frolic for children. Historically, the practice began differently. From Hislop’s The Two Babylons (page 108) we learn that the Babylonians believed an egg of tremendous size fell into the Euphrates River. From this egg, according to the ancient myth, the goddess Astarte (Easter) was hatched. An egg became her symbol.
The ancient Druids bore an egg as the sacred emblem of their order. The procession of Ceres, a mythological Roman goddess, was preceded by an egg. In the “mysteries of Bacchus” an egg was consecrated. China used dyed or colored eggs in sacred festivals. In Japan, an ancient custom was to make the sacred egg a brazen color. In northern Europe, eggs were colored and used as symbols of the goddess of spring. Among the Egyptians, the egg was associated with the sun—the “golden egg.” Their dyed eggs were used as sacred offerings at the Easter season.The Encyclopedia Britannica relates that the egg was a symbol of fertility and of renewed life. Ancient Egyptians and Persians also had the custom of coloring and eating eggs during their spring festival. How then did this custom come to be associated with Christianity? Apparently some sought to “Christianize” the egg by suggesting that, just as the chick comes out of the egg, so Christ came out of the tomb. Pope Paul V (1605-1621) appointed a prayer: “Bless, O Lord, we beseech thee, this thy creature of egg, that it may become wholesome sustenance unto thy servants, eating it in remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Hislop, op. cit., p. 110).
The Encyclopedia Britannica tells that the Easter rabbit came to “Christianity” from antiquity in the same way as the Easter egg. The rabbit was associated with the moon in the legends of ancient Egypt and other peoples. Because the Egyptian word “um” for hare [rabbit] also means “open” and “period,” the word came to be associated with the idea of periodicity, both lunar and human, and with the beginning of new life in young men and women—a symbol of fertility and of renewal of life. Thus both the Easter rabbit and Easter eggs were symbols of sexual significance, symbols of fertility.
Why do “Christians”(?) worship at the rising of the sun? Some say they do because Christ rose from the grave at the rising of the sun. Now let us look from whence this belief really came. Sunrise service was a part of ancient SUN WORSHIP. The sun is in the east, of course, at sunrise! The prophets of Baal looked to the east in the days of Elijah. Baal was their sun—god as well as the god of fire. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal with the words, “The God that answereth by fire, let him be God.” (1 Kings 18:24). What time of day was it when these prophets of Baal started calling on him (Baal)? It was at sunrise when Baal (the sun) made his first appearance over the eastern horizon—at “morning” (1 Kings 18:26) or dawn– (“morning” Strong’s Concordance, No. 1242).
The Egyptian Sphinx faces the east. From Mount Fujiyama in Japan, prayers are made to the rising sun. The pagan Mithrists of Rome met together at dawn in honor of the sun—god. The goddess of spring, from whose name our word “Easter” comes, was associated with the sun rising in the east—even as the very word “East—er” would seem to imply. Thus the dawn of the sun in the east, the name “Easter,” and the spring season are all connected. According to the old legends, after Tammuz was slain, he descended into the underworld. But through the weeping of his “mother,” Ishtar (Easter), he was mystically revived in the spring.
“The resurrection of Tammuz through Ishtar’s grief was dramatically represented annually in order to insure the success of the crops and the fertility of the people. Each year men and women had to grieve with Ishtar over the death of Tammuz and celebrate the god’s return in order to win anew her favor and benefits!” (Smith: Man and His God's, p. 86). “When the new vegetation began to come forth, those ancient people believed their ‘savior’ had come from the underworld, had ended winter, and caused spring to begin” (Urlin in his work Festivals, Holy Days, and Saints’ Days, p. 89).
Even the Israelites adopted the doctrines and rites of the annual pagan spring festival, for in Ezekiel 8:13-16 he speaks of women weeping for Tammuz:
He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.If these actions of God’s people Israel were abominations to Him, are we so presumptuous to believe we can do the same and not be condemned? As Christians we believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead bodily, not merely like natural renewed vegetation of spring. Because his resurrection was in the spring of the year, however, it was not too difficult for the church of the fourth century (now having departed from the original faith in a number of ways) to merge the pagan spring festival unto “Christianity.” In speaking of this merger, the Encyclopedia Britannica says: “Christianity...incorporated in its celebration of the great Christian feast day many of the heathen rites and customs of the spring festival.”The forty days abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshipers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent of forty days, in the spring of the year, is still observed by the Yezidis or Pagan Devil-worshipers of Koordistan, who have inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians. A Lent of forty days was held in spring by the Pagan Mexicans, for thus we read in Humboldt, where he gives account of Mexican observances: “Three days after the vernal equinox....began a solemn fast of forty days in honour of the sun.”What About Lent?
“Such a Lent of forty days was observed in Egypt, as may be seen on consulting Wilkinson’s Egyptians. This Egyptian Lent of forty days, we are informed by Landseer, in his Sabean Researches, was held expressly in commemoration of Adonis or Osiris, the great mediatorial god....Among the Pagans, this Lent seems to have been an indispensable preliminary to the great annual festival in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz.” (Hislop, op. cit., pp.104, 105).
Having adopted other beliefs about the spring festival into the church, it was only another step to also adopt the old “fast” that preceded the festival. It was not until the sixth century that the pope officially ordered the observance of Lent, calling it a “sacred fast” during which people were to abstain from meat and a few other foods.
Friday has a particularly interesting history with peculiar ties to Lenten observance. Since ancient times, pagan religions have associated Friday with fish. The word “Friday” comes from the name “Freya,” who was regarded as the goddess of peace, joy, and fertility. Her symbol of fertility is the fish. From very early times the fish was used as a symbol of fertility among the Chinese, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Babylonians, and others (Cirlot: A Dictionary of Symbols, p. 29). The fish was also regarded as sacred to Ashtoreth, a pagan goddess worshipped by the Israelites (Encyclopedia of Religions, Vol. 2, p.105). Certainly the scriptures never associate fish with Friday.
Up until the recent past, Roman Catholics were required by their church to abstain from all meats except for fish on Fridays. (They do not consider fish to be meat.) The Church, however, recanted its position and now allows meat to be eaten on all Fridays except for those during the Lenten season when the only meat that may be eaten is fish. Nevertheless, some Catholics still follow the custom of eating no meat, except for fish, on all Fridays.
Can we reason that many things, though originally pagan, can be “Christianized”? What if some pagan tribe observed forty days in honor of a pagan god, why should we not do the same, only in honor of Christ? Though pagans worshipped the sun toward the east, could we not have sunrise services to honor the resurrection of Christ? Even though the egg was used by pagans, can’t we continue its use and pretend it symbolizes the large rock that was in front of the tomb? In other words, why not adopt all kinds of popular customs of the heathen and use them to honor Christ rather than pagan gods? It all sounds very logical; yet a much safer guideline is found in the Bible itself. Let us read Deuteronomy 12:30-32:Does It Matter If Easter Is Pagan?
Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire 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.Also from Exodus 20:5:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.
Nahum 1:2:
God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.
2 Cor. 11:2:
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.1 Cor 10:21-22:
Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
Christ was crucified near a place called Golgotha. He hung on the cross from the sixth hour unto the ninth: But Did Not Jesus Die On Friday
And Rise On Sunday?Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 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?...Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost (Matthew 27:45-46).At what time of day was the ninth hour? To understand the order of
a day, let us preface with a few facts. A day, according to the Genesis record,
is counted from sundown to sundown as the civil day, or a whole day
of twenty-four hours, as we have now.The day was divided into the dark part and the light part. The Jews subdivided each part. The dark portion was divided into watches, viz., first, second, third, and fourth. The light portion was divided into hours. Christ was hung on the cross at the third hour or 9:00 a.m. (Mark 15:25); darkness covered the land from the sixth to the ninth hours, i.e. noon to 3:00 p.m. (Matt. 27:45, 46); Christ died at the ninth hour or 3:00 p.m. (Matt. 27:46-50).
Later that day a man named Joseph came to Pilate:There were many people in the world when Jesus was here who did not believe him to be the Son of God, as he claimed, and wanted to have a sign:
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 (Matthew 27: 57-60).
“Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee” (Matthew 12:38).Jesus then told them:
“But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:”(Matthew 12:39).
There are false Christs; how do we know that he is the true Messiah?“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me” (Luke 24:44).We believe that he is the Messiah and the Son of God because he fulfilled all those prophecies to the letter. But did he fail in his own prophecy? Does God sanction false prophecy? Jesus gave only ONE sign that he was the true Messiah and saviour of mankind! “But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:39-40). (See a Chart )
What happened to Jonah? “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights”(Jonah 1:17). Jonah prayed this prayer:“And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell [margin—the grave] cried I, and thou heardest my voice” (Jonah 2:2).
Jonah was literally in that grave, or fish’s belly, three days and three nights. The only sign given to prove that Jesus was the true Messiah was the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonas (Jonah) had been three days and three nights in the fish so would the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, or grave. This was a very simple prophecy.We have the literal physical example of Jonah being in the fish’s belly three days and three nights, or 72 hours. If Jesus is the Messiah, he must also be in the grave three days and three nights just as his prophetic sign predicted. He is the Messiah and our Savior; He did fulfill this only sign, even to the exact hour.
Roman tradition teaches otherwise, that Jesus was crucified on “Good Friday” and laid in the tomb just before sunset and arose early “Sunday” morning before sunrise. Let us count the nights and days from Friday to Sunday morning:
A false teaching called “inclusive time” states that the Jews referred to a part of a day as a complete day. This doctrine is taught for only one instance—for the dating of the three days and three nights prior to the resurrection of Christ. The only way to make Sunday, rather than Sabbath, appear to be the resurrection day of Christ is by twisting time. There is no “inclusive time” in the timetable of Jonah in the belly of the great fish. Neither would there be any in the only sign that Jesus gave of his Messiahship. This is not from God; His prophecies are never counted in this way. The Bible warns of taking away from or adding to the scripture (Rev. 22:18, 19).
- 1st night was Friday night, 1st day was Saturday.
- 2nd night was Saturday night, 2nd day was Sunday.
- This adds up to only 2 nights and 2 days.
The Lord God said: “When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy 18:22).
Jesus said he would be in the grave three days and three nights. If we believe Roman tradition, then we must say that Jesus did not fulfill his own prophecy. He would then have to be a false prophet and not the Son of God; and we would all still be in our sins!It is time that we search the scriptures on this matter. Surely the Lord Jesus told the truth in his prophecy of Matt. 12:38-40. That being true, the Roman tradition of Friday crucifixion and Sunday morning resurrection of Jesus is false. Bible believers should quit trying to defend it in long articles attempting to prove that Jesus really meant 37 hours, instead of 72, when he predicted three days and three nights.
We have four gospel records, but only Matthew tells when the earthquake and resurrection took place. First, let us find out what was considered a “day” in the Bible. In Genesis 1:1-5 we plainly see that the night came first and then came the day, making one complete DAY. Rome started the division of the day at midnight; this made half the dark part in one day, and half in another day. God didn't create it that way! The Jews are God’s keepers of time (Rom. 3:1-3). They know when a day begins and ends—from sundown to sundown. “From even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath”(Leviticus 23:32).When Was Jesus Resurrected?
“In the end of the sabbath, [‘late on the sabbath,’ Greek Interlinear] as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre” (Matthew 28:1-6). According to God’s time, the Sabbath ends at sunset (Leviticus 23:32). Late on the Sabbath—just before sunset—the two Marys came to see the sepulchre, not to anoint the body of Jesus. This visit to the tomb was late on the Sabbath day, just before sunset, as it began to dawn toward, or draw near, the first day of the week. The Visits to the Tomb
“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” (Matt. 28:2). This all took place late on the Sabbath. An earthquake marked the time of Jesus death (Matthew 27:50-54) and an earthquake marked the time of his resurrection. Late on the Sabbath, not on the first day of the week, or Easter Sunday, as tradition teaches.
This angel’s “countenance was like lightening, and his raiment white as snow: and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men” (verses 3, 4). What did the angel say to the two Marys? “And the angel answered and said to 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” (verses 5, 6).
If Jesus was to be in the grave three days and three nights, then he must come out of the tomb at the same time of the day as he was buried. He was laid in the tomb late in the day, as most Bible students agree (Luke 23:52-54; John 19:31-42). Now we have found that he was resurrected late in the day. So far, there is harmony in the time of Christ's burial and in the time of his resurrection. The first visit to the tomb of Jesus by any of His followers was late on the Sabbath or “in the end of the Sabbath” (Matthew 28:1-6). This was by the two Marys who had come to see the sepulchre, not to anoint the body of Jesus. There were reasons for this.First, they would not anoint the body during the Sabbath, a day of rest.God's Word Is The Truth
And Does Not Contradict Itself:
Second, they knew that the Roman guard around the tomb would not be removed until after the Sabbath had ended (Matthew 27:62-66).Mark, Luke, and John all record other visits to the tomb of Jesus on the first day of the week, or Sunday. At each of these visits, Jesus was gone—the tomb was empty!
Let us look into the testimony of these three writers to see what they tell us about the Sunday visits to the tomb and about the time of the resurrection of Jesus. These were all inspired records; let us not add to or take from these holy scriptures, but rather accept them as they were given. God will help us to see the harmony (James 1:5; 2 Tim. 2:15). We must lay aside our own tradition as we study and ask God for the truth on the matter. Don’t take our word for it either, study for yourself. Tradition should be treated as a noted and known liar. “Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar....” (Romans 3:4). “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17).
Mark and Luke both tell of the same visit to the tomb by the women who followed Jesus from Galilee. “And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment” (Luke 23:55-56).
“There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem” (Mark 15:40, 41). Note this was a group of women. “And many women were there...,which followed him from Galilee, ministering unto him: Among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses...” (Matt. 27:55, 56).
This group of women from Galilee visited the tomb early Sunday morning: “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus” (Luke 24:1-3).Luke 24:4-6 tells of two men, or angels, who appeared to these women and said, “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen....” Remember that this was the group of women that came to the tomb early Sunday morning, not just the two Marys. Finding the stone already rolled away from the door, they entered in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. Instead, they found an empty tomb and two angels who appeared before them saying, “He is not here, but is risen....”
There is not one hint that Christ arose on that morning. The resurrection took place before this visit, but Luke does not say when. Matthew recorded the time of the earthquake and resurrection in Matthew 28:1-6. The resurrection “in the end of the Sabbath” is in full accord with Luke’s record of an empty tomb at the visit early on the first day of the week.
Mark tells of these same women in Mark 16:1-6:
And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.In Mark 15:40-42 we are told that the two Marys were a part of that group of women that followed Jesus from Galilee and ministered to him. “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him” (Mark 16:1). Note this fact: it was after the Sabbath that those spices were bought. “And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun” (Mark 16:2). This is a specific time “at the rising of the sun” on Sunday morning. This means it was light!
The women reasoned among themselves about who would roll the heavy stone from the door of the sepulchre. When they came to the tomb, they saw the stone had been rolled away. Inside the tomb, they found it empty. An angel told them, “He is risen; He is not here:...” (verse 3-6). Not one word indicates that Jesus arose that morning, as multitudes have been taught and fervently believe. Why all these Easter sunrise services? The tomb was empty at this visit! The resurrection had preceded this sunrise visit by some twelve hours (Matthew 28:1-60).
John 20:1-18 gives a detailed account of Mary Magdalene’s visit to the tomb “early, when it was yet dark” on the first day of the week (verse 1). This visit was after the light part of the day. She was alone and she found an empty tomb at that early hour. (YET DARK! THIS COULD NOT HAVE BEEN AT THE RISING OF THE SUN.) She ran to Peter and John and told them that the body of Jesus had been taken away. They both ran to the sepulchre. John stopped at the door, but Peter went in and saw the linen grave clothes lying there. Jesus was gone (verse 2-8).Note verses 8 and 9. These two apostles “saw and believed.” Believed what? Mary Magdalene had reported a supposedly stolen body of Jesus. That is what the disciples believed at this time. “For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead” (verse 9).
Now read John 20:10-18. The two apostles went away to their home. Mary stood outside the sepulchre weeping. She stooped down, looked into the tomb, and saw two angels sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. They asked her why she was weeping and she answered:
Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him. And When she had thus said she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus soon corrected that when He said unto her, “Mary” That voice was the voice of her Master.“She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; to my God, and your God”(verses 16-17). Mary Magdalene was the first person to whom Jesus appeared after His resurrection. She was alone at the tomb early the first day of the week, “while it was yet dark” [not sunrise] (verses 1-17). This had to be after sundown at the beginning of the first day of the week and Jesus had not yet seen his Father. She went and “told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things unto her” (verse 18).
Mark 16:9-10 confirms the visit of Mary Magdalene. Mark 16:1-7 also verifies an empty tomb at sunrise [light] when the group of women came to anoint the body. Not one word hints that the resurrection was at that time. “At sunrise” could not have been “while it was yet dark.” The records all agree that the tomb was empty at all visits on Sunday. They are in full accord with Matthew 28:1-6 which plainly tells of the earthquake that marked the time of Christ’s resurrection, coming “in the end of the Sabbath” before the first day of the week had arrived. In the end of the Sabbath [has to be before the sun sets] is not on the first day, or Sunday.
Read carefully Mark 16:1-8. Get the details in your mind. Those women found an empty tomb. The angel in the tomb told them, “He is risen; he is not here:... But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him, as he said unto you” (verses 6-7). What happened then? “And they went out quickly and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they anything to any man; for they were afraid”(verse 8). That group of women left in a hurry with fear and amazement.
Mark 16:9-11 tells us “Now when Jesus was risen, early the first day of the week.” Was risen is past perfect tense showing that the resurrection was a past event at the time designated here. “Early the first day of the week” came after his resurrection. After Jesus’ resurrection, what happened early the first day of the week? “He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.” This agrees fully with the record in John 20:1-18 of Mary telling the disciples what had happened. Mark 16:10-11 fully agrees: “And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.”
Mark 16:9 is frequently used to prove that Jesus arose “early the first day of the week,” but any English student knows that “was risen” is past perfect tense, not present tense. In other words, the resurrection had already taken place prior to the time designated and not at that time. We do violence to the English language to make Mark 16:9 mean that Jesus arose on the first day of the week. Jesus’ appearance to Mary Magdalene took place early the first day of the week, not the resurrection of Jesus. This perfectly harmonizes with the scriptures, too. Keep in mind, truth does not contradict (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 2:15).
Don’t forget that, according to Jesus’ own prophecy, he would be in the grave three days and three nights (Matt. 12:28-40). From the scriptures, we have proven that Jesus was resurrected “late on the Sabbath” [near sundown] and not on Easter Sunday morning as Roman tradition teaches. Likewise, Jesus was not crucified on “Good Friday” as taught by Roman tradition and many Protestant ministers.Crucifixion Not on Friday
We agree that the crucifixion was on the preparation of, or day before, the Sabbath. Luke 23:53-54: “And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on” ( Mark 15:42). “And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath.” But which Sabbath day was it? There were TWO Sabbaths in that week. There was the regular seventh–day Sabbath of creation (Genesis 2:1-3 and Exodus 20:8-11) and the annual Passover Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Read carefully Exodus 12:3-19. Israel was instructed to kill the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month (Nisan or Abib) and eat them with unleavened bread. Jesus ate the Passover with his disciples on the night [before the light part of the day] of his betrayal—the early part of the preparation day (1 Corinthians 11:23-28; Luke 22:11-22). Remember the dark part precedes the light part of a day in God’s calendar.
John plainly states what event surrounded the judgment of Jesus: “And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your king” (John 19:14)—the Passover, not the weekly Sabbath. Here Christ appeared before Pilate at the sixth hour or 6:00 a.m. (Roman time) on the preparation day before the high-day Sabbath. Later that same day—in the light part of the day before sunset—he was in the grave. So it was that he became our paschal Lamb.
In addition to being the day the Jews prepared and ate the Passover, this was also referred to as the preparation of that annual “great feast day” or “high day” Sabbath, “high” meaning great. “The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day (for that Sabbath day was an high day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away” (John 19:31).
The Feast of Unleavened Bread began each year on the fifteenth day of the first month (Nisan) in the Hebrew calendar (Leviticus 23:4-8; Exodus 13:6-10). This feast commemorated the freeing of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage (Numbers 33:3). The first day of the feast was a great annual Sabbath day to Israel. This annual Sabbath could come on any day of the week, just as any other annual date does.
Christ was indeed crucified on the preparation day. However, it is neither appropriate nor scriptural to conclude that Jesus had to have been crucified on Friday just because it is the preparation of the seventh-day weekly Sabbath. The Bible teaches, as we have shown, that he was crucified and buried on the preparation of that annual fifteenth-day Sabbath, not on the preparation of the weekly seventh-day Sabbath.
We have shown that Jesus was resurrected “in the end of the Sabbath” or just before sunset. In order to reckon the time frame of Matthew 12:38-40, we can also count back three days and three nights from the resurrection late on Sabbath. This brings us to Wednesday just before sunset on the preparation day when Jesus died and was buried. Thursday would then be that “high day” Sabbath.
Do the scriptures harmonize with this? Yes, they plainly teach two separate Sabbaths that week with at least one day between. To further prove this, turn to Mark 16:1: “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.”Here Mark, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says that the Sabbath was past when the spices were bought.“And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment” (Luke 23:55-56).
Mark 16:1: “And when the sabbath was past,...had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.” Here Mark, inspired by the Holy Spirit, testifies that the Sabbath was past when the spices were bought. If we use the traditional teaching of Friday crucifixion followed by the seventh-day Sabbath, a holy day established by God at creation, the women would have bought the spices on Sunday and then prepared them! How could this be when Roman tradition teaches that Jesus was resurrected early Sunday morning? Can you see the contradiction?
The burial of Christ was done in a hurry for he needed to be buried before the high-day Sabbath began at sunset (Mark 15:42-43; John 19:38-42). Notice especially John 19:31: (“For that sabbath day was an high day,”). Joseph of Arimathaea did not ask for the body of Jesus until late in the day (Mark15:42), hence, necessitating a quick burial. The women would have had no time to go, buy, and prepare spices and ointments between the time Christ's body was laid in the tomb and the beginning of the Sabbath at sundown. They only had time to see his burial place and how the body was laid. If, however, the day following Christ's crucifixion was the annual high day Sabbath, they had all day Friday to prepare those spices. There had to be a day between two Sabbaths or there is a contradiction.
At creation God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Gen. 1:15-19). God made two great lights to rule the day and night, namely the sun and moon. These are God’s timepieces which also rule the seasons and years. They are consistent and do not lie. The Hebrew months were ruled by the moon. From one new moon to another was a month. Another Proof Of Wednesday Crucifixion
The Hebrew religious year began in the spring with Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month (Exodus 12:1-6; Leviticus 23:5-7; Numbers 9:2, 3, 5; Joshua 5:10.) Jesus was the true Passover of the New Testament (1 Cor. 5:7, 8). He was crucified and buried upon this Passover date. He ate the Passover with his disciples during the dark part of that day, and, before the sun set on the light part of that same day, he was crucified and buried
(Luke 22:7-20, 71; Chapter 23:1-54; John 19:14-31).The Passover always came on the 14th day of Abib, or Nisan, and fell on the first full moon of the Spring. The Americana Encyclopedia article entitled “Passover” reports that this celebration falls on the first full moon of the Spring from the 14th to the 21st of the month Nisan. What is the relationship of Passover to Easter? From the article “Easter,”“The way by which the Easter date is now determined is that of the first Sunday after the paschal full moon (14th day of the calendar moon or full moon that happens next after the 21st of March”).
Since the Passover date was always the 14th day of the first month in the Hebrew calendar, and since this was marked by the full moon, we have but to find out the day of the week and date of the paschal full moon in A.D. 31 to see if Jesus was crucified on Friday or Wednesday.
Notice the following letter:
Navy Department, U.S. Naval Observatory, Washington D.C.:In A.D. 31, the paschal moon became full on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 27. Therefore, that evening would have been the night of the full moon. Since the day begins at sunset according to Bible time keeping, this full moon marked the onset of Nisan 14 (a Wednesday in Roman time) which was Passover. That same night Jesus ate the Passover with his disciples and went to the Garden of Gethsemane where he was betrayed. The timing of the full moon proves beyond any doubt that Wednesday, not Friday, was the crucifixion day, just as we have already shown from the Bible.
Sir:In reply to your letter of January 15,
you are informed the Astronomical Full Moon
occurred Tuesday, March 27, A.D. 31,
1 h P.M., Jerusalem time, Julian Calendar.
By direction of Superintendent, U.S. Naval Observatory,Very respectfully,
W.S. Eishelberger
Commander (Math) U.S.N.
Director, Nautical Almanac
Now we can see the logical sequence of events of the crucifixion week as detailed in scripture. Wednesday was the preparation day upon which Jesus was crucified; Thursday was the annual high day Sabbath; Friday was the preparation for the weekly Sabbath and the day upon which the spices were bought and prepared; the weekly Sabbath [seventh day] marked the time of Christ's resurrection. The Puzzle Solved
Remember there were at least three visits by the women to the tomb, and only Matthew 28:1-6 tells the time of the visit and earthquake “in the end of the Sabbath.” This earthquake marked the time of Jesus’ resurrection.
Note that Jesus was laid in the tomb just before sunset on Wednesday and arose, alive forevermore, just before sunset on the following weekly Sabbath (Matthew 28:1-6). Jesus proved himself to be a true Prophet, fulfilling his sign of Jonah (Matthew 12:38-40) by lying in the grave three full days and three full nights.
HE IS THE TRUE MESSIAH!
Study The Bible As If Your Life Depended On It.
IT DOES
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