JESUS CHRIST, OUR PASSOVER
As you all know, this is the holiest week on the Christian Calendar. Even though approximately 1/3 of the 4 Gospels combined is about this week, many do not understand much of it. The following is something I wrote many years ago on the subject. I hope you enjoy it.
JESUS CHRIST, OUR PASSOVER
Why is Passover relevant to the Christian? Glad you asked. We all know Jesus Christ was considered the Lamb of God, but why? If you have studied the Word of God at all, you will know that Jesus and his disciples “prepared” for the Passover, a Jewish time of commemoration. The beginning of Passover always started on the 14th on Nisan, with the slaying of the Passover Lamb some time before sunset. Even though Jesus “prepared” to eat the Passover with the disciples, he did not eat it with them. Instead he, figuratively, became the Passover Lamb, which was sacrificed for us.
1 Co 5:7……..For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: KJV
(The Last Supper was the last time the disciples had a meal together with Christ before him being crucified on a tree and raised from the dead. IT WAS NOT THE PASSOVER MEAL. Besides the timeline, the type of bread eaten at the Last Supper was forbidden during the Passover and the the ensuing 7 day period of the Feast of Unleavened bread.)
Furthermore, Jesus was dead in the grave with no consciousness for 3 full days and 3 full nights = 72 hours. There is no way to fit 3 full days and 3 full nights between Sunset Friday and Sunrise Sunday. Therefore, there is no such thing as Good Friday! Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb, was sacrificed for us and was buried on a Wednesday around sunset beginning the 1st night (Thursday). At dawn Thursday began the first day. At sunset Thurs. began the 2nd night of Friday, then Friday day; then Fri at sunset began the 3rd night, Saturday; then Saturday at sunset completed the 3 days and 3 nights. Sunset Sat. began Sunday night, the 1st day of the week:
Jn 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. KJV
Jesus was already gone. Mary was 10-11 hours late, depending on Daylight Savings Tim. (By the time she got there he had already been to Tartarus, showing himself alive to those angels in chains who left their original state to cohabitate with the daughters of humans on the earth.)
One of the biggest points of misunderstanding is not understanding this verse:
John 19:31 “Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.”
You see, the day Jesus was crucified was not the day before the weekly Sabbath but it was the day of Preparation, when they “PREPARED” for the “high day,” a special Sabbath before the weekly Sabbath. That Day of Preparation was the day they prepared to sacrifice the Passover Lamb, which that year coincided with the Feast of Unleavened Bread! The bread the disciples ate at the last supper was leavened, not unleavened!
Another support for Jesus being dead 3 days and 3 nights, is Jonah:
Matthew 12:40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
In case some of you are still not convinced, maybe Jesus can convince you:
John 11:9
[9]Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. Since days are 12 hours it stands to reason that nights are as well. 3 days = 36 hours; 3 nights the same.
I am happy to sit down with any of you to discuss this further if you so desire.
God bless,
SALVATION: get it now, while supplies last!
The Biblical Tetragrammaton, the Hebrew Name for God the Father. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Jesus once said, “Salvation is of the Jews.” Prior to Christianity, only Jews had the promise of Salvation. Their Salvation (as well as ours) was not only something in the future, beyond the grave, but something here and now as well. The word alone is used three times as much in the Old Testament as it is in the New. To the Jews it meant Deliverance, Victory, Rescue or Safety.
For anyone who has read even a little of the OT one can see how often Israel prayed for deliverance from their enemies and how many times YHWH delivered them. (Might not be a bad idea today as well.) I have read that Salvation in this day and age has relatively no value for one’s current circumstances, but, nothing could be further from the truth. Whatever it meant for Israel it certainly means for us who are born again, as well.
In Moses day, salvation could be seen: “But Moses said to the people, Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord (YHWH) which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord (YHWH) will fight for you while you keep silent.” NASU
The same was true of David: “And David spoke the words of this song to the Lord (YHWH) in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; 3 My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence. 4 “I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. 2 Sa 22:1-4 NASU
WOW! Just look at these verses and realize the relevance of salvation for us today! In those days these words were used to describe everything attributed to God, Yahweh (YHWH). For us, they are also now attributable to Jesus, whom YHWH made both Lord and Christ. (I cannot help but explain something here for those who may not know: LORD in all capital letters in the OT is the proper name of God, YHWH. Some translation say Jehovah, but the most accurate is YHWH. There is a difference between Lord and LORD. Jesus is our Lord. His and our Father is our LORD.)
Jesus Christ was YHWH’s plan for Salvation to Gentiles who would be grafted in to fully share in the promises of God to Israel and their inheritance! This is exactly what it says in the gospel of Luke. This is what Simeon declared when Jesus was brought to the Temple some forty days after his birth: Lk 2:30-32, for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” ESV
All these aspects of salvation are available are available, now, today, to all who positively affirm what Romans 10:9 and 10 says, which is part of Paul the apostles prayer to God for Israel! Salvation is not something currently out of reach; it is readily obtainable. Get it now, while supplies last!
(See Chapter IV, page 19 of my new book at http://www.fredswolfe.com)
Is Your Faith based on “Another” Gospel?
When Paul spoke about another gospel he was speaking about anything other than his own gospel which he was preaching:
Gal 1:11-12
But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. KJV
Paul did not receive the revelation of Matthew, Mark Luke and John. He received the gospel of Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians. These epistles are in the exact same order in every Greek Manuscript.
Romans, Ephesians and Thessalonians are Doctrinal
Corinthians and Philippians are Reproof
Galatians and Colossians are Correctional.
The revelation Paul received from our Lord Jesus in these letters supersedes everything else, as these are written directly to the church of God which is the body of Christ. These represent the Sacred Secret that God kept from everyone until Paul.
To confirm that Jesus did not know about this secret, he told his disciples that some of them would not die until they saw him returning in the clouds. Yet, they all died. Jesus and the disciples believed that the Great Tribulation described in the book of Revelation and Daniel would begin immediately after his ascension. They all expected Jesus to return within 7 years.
But, God threw them all a curve ball for the sake of the Gentiles. Thank Him He did! We are now living in that time period, the Age of the Secret, the Administration of Grace. Essentially the book of Revelation has been held in abeyance for about 2,000 yrs now.
See Romans 2:16, 16:25; 2Ti 2:8 concerning Paul’s gospel. See also the word “doctrine” in 1st and 2nd Timothy. God bless!
The Mystery Revealed (a solved mystery is no longer)
A nineteenth century picture of Paul of Tarsus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray (what has become known as the Lord’s Prayer), he prayed for God’s kingdom to come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. THIS PRAYER HAS YET TO BE ANSWERED! When Jesus prayed this prayer he did not know about the Sacred Secret which God kept hidden from everyone from the foundation of the world. This secret was first revealed to the Apostle Paul.
Since then, very few people have taken notice of it, especially The Church. God kept it a secret for over 4,000 years and virtually no one in the church today can tell you what it was, let alone it’s significance. Practically everything being taught today about the Kingdom of God as it relates to the church of the Body of Christ is FALSE, DEVILISH and COUNTERFEIT. And sickening, to everyone who knows and understands the Secret of Romans 16:25,26; Eph 3:1-9 and Col 1:25-29.
The devil has had about 2,000 years to eradicate its knowledge And has done a marvelous job. My son recommended I read Tony Evan’s book, The Kingdom Man. The fact that he wanted me to read it made me spiritually sick to my stomach. No one in the Administration of Grace is a kingdom anything. Look up kingdom of God in the NT and you will see the word “UNTO” used in many of the passages. The Kingdom of God and of Christ is in the FUTURE, not now! Jesus is not now ruling as King of kings! If he is, he is certainly not doing a very good job! Apostle Frederick Price said last Sunday, “if God Almighty is controlling the world, as most Christians think he is, I don’t want to go to Heaven!” If what we see in the world today is a reflection of God’s way of doing things, then what could there possibly be to look forward to? This is not the Kingdom of God! No principles of that kingdom are applicable today!
Christians today are just as thick-headed as Jews were in the wilderness. What is it going to take to wake you up?
One of the greatest mistranslations of most Bible translators has been the Greek word musterion. The problem is it was not translated at all, it was merely transliterated into a similar English word. This word is used throughout the Church Epistles of Paul given by revelation from Jesus himself. These Church Epistles serve as the new doctrine for correct believing for the church today.
The transliteration of musterion into mystery was purely satanic, in that it has lead believers to understand that there are some things concerning God that are just an un-understandable mystery. Nothing could be further from the truth. The actual translation of this word is “secret.” It does not regard a secret that any man kept, but one which God kept from the foundation of the world. You and I both know, that a secret between 2 people is one of the hardest things to keep. Deep down inside we are just dying to tell someone else or in some cases, we forget it is a secret over time, and it inadvertently slips out.
Since this was a secret that God kept, it is a Sacred Secret. No one else, including God’s only Son knew about it. Jesus was not told the secret until he had ascended into Heaven. Soon after he was told this secret, he chose a man named Saul who was a very religious Jew to reveal it to. Saul was so religious he was legally killing followers of Jesus Christ because he believed they were heretics. He was present at the stoning to death of Stephen; he gave the consent for it to be done.
Romans is the first Doctrinal Epistle written directly to believers in Jesus Christ of this Age. In Ro 16:25-26 it says, “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery (the secret) which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; NASU
Here we see that this sacred secret was first revealed to Paul for our obedience of true faith and became known as his gospel. 2of the most important words used in his letters the the Church are the words “according to.” When you read these words pay close attention because our lives are to be patterned accordingly. You will see that Paul’s gospel is actually the true gospel of our Lord Jesus.
I will leave you with further evidence of this secret revealed from the 2nd Doctrinal Epistle of Ephesians:
Eph 3:2-9
if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;
3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery (secret,) as I wrote before in brief.
4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery (secret) of Christ,
5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
6 to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,
9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the Sacred Secret which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; NASU
We are now living during this administration of God, just as we are living during the Obama administration. One being spiritual in nature and the other physically. There is nothing more important in the Word of God to understand for the believer than that the Epistles of Paul were written according to revelation from Jesus Christ, making them our supreme guide for faith and practice. There are no mysteries in the Bible at all, just misunderstandings. God bless.
See more like this in my new book http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/AdvancedSearch/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=rightly+dividing+the+word+of+truth
E.W. Bullinger, 1837-1913
E. W. Bullinger (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Many of my Christian friends look at my Tweets on Twitter and must think I am out of my mind when it comes the Christian Doctrine. Studying the 4 gospels for doctrine is no different than studying the 5 books of Moses, as they are all a part of the old covenant, to Israel. Yes, we can learn alot from that study, but nothing doctrinally for us.
What I espouse in my book is nothing new even though it sounds foreign to your ears. Romans was the first doctrinal epistle written to the Church of God; Ephesians was the second and Thessalonians was the last since it culminates in the Rapture of that church. Paul’s epistles are as relative today as they were in his day. They are not historical writings; they were given to Paul by our Lord Jesus for the purpose of how Christians are to correctly believe.
Corinthians is the first Reproof epistle, Philippians is the 2nd. Galatians and Colossians are epistles of Correction. As Timothy was instructed by Paul all the Scripture he wrote is either for Doctrine, Reproof and Correction. I know, that just too simple to be believable, but it is the Gospel of God in Christ Jesus, whether you believe it or not.
As Paul said in his Reproof epistle, 1Co 14:38, “if any one be ignorant, let him be ignorant.” Being Ignorant is a choice Chrisians make every day. They laugh at practically everything that comes out of my mind and onto this medium, but one day we will all have to give an account of our stewardship of the secrets of God. It will not be a pleasant day for those of you who choose Ignorance and Pride and Haughtiness instead of the revelation God kept hidden until he revealed to the apostle Paul by way of the ascended Christ.
BUT, DON’T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT. Google E.W. Bullinger and just take a look at all the titles he produced in his lifetime. You will discover that he believed practically everything I believe about the Word of God. You can also look at http://www.TruthorTradition.com.
You will discover many significant things, but the purpose of this writing is to address the Holy Spirit, God and His gift to us, called holy spirit. The difference between the 2 is the article “the.” The article presence or absence of the article “the” in the Greek Manuscripts determines which one the apostle Paul is talking about. One is the Giver and the other is His gift. You will see that this is one of Bullinger’s titles.
Yes you can Ignore everything I say hear just like you have ignored everything I have said heretofore, like Jeremiah and all the other Prophets were ignored by Israel. My advice to all you nay and gainsayers is, “Wake up and smell the coffee!”
Happy Trails.
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