Do you know Jesus?

Today is Good Wednesday!

Christian tradition places the crucifixion of Christ on Friday. But, in actually it happened on Wednesday.

A Friday crucifixion does not mathematically fulfill the Jonah prophecy of the Messiah:

He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. -Matthew 12:39-41


If He had died on Friday and rose on Sunday, he would have been in the grave for only 2 nights which falls short of the 3 day, 3 night prophecy.

Result: Jesus is not the Messiah

So, where is the mistake?

The mistake is all about the use in the text of the word Sabbath.

We are told that the soldiers were breaking the legs of the men on the crosses so that they would be pulled down and buried before the Sabbath in order to prevent their bodies from remaining on the crosses over the sabbath and therefore stinking the place up.

Jesus of course, was the exception, fulfilling the prophecy that no bone should be broken, making Him a perfect spotless Passover lamb.

During the week in which Jesus was crucified, there were two Sabbaths, the High Sabbath which fell on Thursday and the normal Sabbath which began at sundown on Friday.

One of the most fitting and powerful prophecies about Jesus are in regards to the passover prophecy which equates him with the Passover lamb. So fittingly, He died on Passover which was Wednesday, just before the High sabbath.

Now, if he died on Wednesday and rose on Sunday, he was in the grave for 4 nights not 3 nights.

Result: Not the messiah.

But, if He died on Wednesday and rose on Saturday, you get 3 days and 3 nights in the grave.

Result: Jesus is the Messiah!!!

Rosh Hoshanah

If you are like me, people get tired of hearing you talk about the endtimes, in which case you have probably become accustomed to hearing people say, "no one knows the day or the hour."

And yet, that phrase comes from Mark 13:32 and is followed in the next five verses with the following exclamations:

Watch!
Be on guard!
Be Alert!
Keep watch!

I dont think that the phrase, "no one knows the day or the hour", can be fully understood apart from the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hoshanah is the Jewish new year and it is the beginning of a ten day period of time called the "days of awe" which lead up to Yom kippur, the day of atonement. Before the use of the current calendar it was determined by watching for the new moons which came every 30 or 31 days. The new moon which falls on the Seventh month(Tishri) is Rosh hashanah. It was said of this holiday that no man knew the day or the hour in which it would occur since it was based on the moon. In order to announce the Rosh Hashanah, two witnesses would be positioned outside of the village and when they saw the new moon in the sky they would sound the shofar, a type of Jewish instrument similar to a trumpet. The sounding of the shofar was the signal which began the "Days of Awe" during which the jews would prepare for the Day of Atonement so that they would be "READY".

Does any of this sound familiar? Did you notice the two witnesses?

I believe that when Jesus says "no man knows the day or the hour", he is alluding to Rosh Hashanah.

Let's look at Matthew 24:29-30:

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

The rapture, if you really want to call it that will occur after a series of events which will take place in the sky. The two witnesses in the book of Revelation will serve in the same way as those who watched the sky waiting for the new moon on Rosh Hoshanah, perhaps because it will take place on Rosh Hashanah.

And, just as a side note, notice the phrase, "immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days." This statement testifies as to the chronology of the "rapture" in regards to the tribulation.

Also, if you look at the book of Revelation, you will see that the fifth seal is the slaying of the saints which takes place in Revelation 7:14 whereas the sign in the sky does not occur until Revelation 8:12 and is called the fourth trumpet.

Here are a few other scriptures for your consideration:

Acts 2:20-21:

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come. And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Just in case you have never heard the phrase Day of Lord before, Paul tells us in 2 thessalonians 2:1-2 that the day of the Lord is the time in which we are gathered to Christ at his coming.

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.

The Day of the Lord (Rapture) cannot occur until the sun turns to darkness and moon to blood (the fourth trumpet of Revelation) which apart from popular thought will not happen until after the persecution of the saints. We will go through the tribulation!

see also:

Those Who Have not Yet Soiled Their Pants

The Rapture

Back On the Frontlines

Hello everyone! After a three month sabbatical, I am back. I hope to be seeing and talking to all of you. If any of you have certain subject that you would like to see me address, please type that subject in the comments section of this post.

It's Friday, But Sundays Comin!

Is There Such a Thing As a Rich Sheep?

We have all heard the debate over whether or not a Christian can be rich here on this Earth. Many of us have partaken in the discussion numerous times. I have pretty much always sided with "YES." I used to think that the problem with abundance in this life was that it made it harder to follow Jesus, just like the young rich man who when told, "sell all you have and follow me", decided that the cost of discipleship was too high.

Money may very well in fact make discipleship less desirable. But, I don't think that is the main problem with Earthly wealth. Lets look at 1 John 3:17!

1 John 3:17
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

It is not possible to live out even one day on this Earth and not see someone who is in need. Jesus surrounds us on every front in the form of poverty. Even Bill gates could spend every bit of his money to help others and still see people in need.

If you have even a small abundance of possessions and money, having the ability to help others who lack anything in this life and you choose instead to keep what you have, the love of God is not in you and your money and STUFF will perish with you.

You can never, let me repeat myself, NEVER be rich and follow Jesus at the same time. Period, EXCLAMATION POINT! NEVER!

Do you live in a mansion filled with "cool" electronics while Children in Africa starve to death?

Do you drive a Mercedes down the block to work while those same children haul dirty water 3 miles from the well to their sorry excuse for a home?

Do you have a closet full of expensive clothes while your brother's clothes are wearing thin?

Could your bank account feed a whole village?

How many lost people could hear the gospel for the first time for the cost of your being able to watch your favorite shows on television?

SHAME ON YOU! SHAME ON ME!

Its time for the church to start living like we actually have a purpose. It's time start following our King instead of living like "kings."

When we stand before Jesus on the last day, will we stand before him as FAT goats cast aside as we had cast others aside or will we as sheep drink from the river of life while basking in His Glory?

Before And After