Easter or Resurrection Sunday, which is it to you?

Dear friends and readers,

The Grinch has arrived.  Not the Grinch who stole Christmas, No way, never happen.  No, this Grinch is the one who has been trying (unsuccessfully) for over 30 years to steal Easter and replace it with Resurrection Day.

Who could this terrible Grinch possible be?  Does he wear a mask like Zorro?  A cape like Superman?  a hood like Spiderman or is he "the Shadow?  Heeheeheee....ONLY the Shadow knows for sure!

Of course if you are not at least 60 years old, chances are you have no clue who "the Shadow" was (is?).  And it is very possible that you may not know or realize the difference between Easter and Resurrection Sunday.

The terrible Grinch has been teaching about this difference for so long that he (or who knows, maybe she), has become frustrated beyond tears.  Actually the Grinch has been teaching this lesson to Christians exclusively year in and year out ad infinitum.  Alas, to no avail.

I must cop out, I do know the Grinch personally and it is a man who is a pastor.  This poor guy has developed a reputation as "SUPER GRINCH".  Faster than a snail, able to leap short bunnies with a single bound.  Also, tired out, flat busted broke and ruint!  But amazingly he still has a modicum of hope. :-)

Of course there are Christians who do know the difference and do celebrate Resurrection Sunday rather than Easter.  Also there are other pastors who teach the same message as the Grinch.  On the other hand there are a great many pastors who may know the difference but are also excited to announce to their congregations  "Folks, Next weekend is EASTER and we have a special program for your children complete with an Easter egg hunt, lots of candy and chocolate bunnies".

I happen to know that the Grinch really loves bunnies.  Not chocolate bunnies but then this weirdo does not  like chocolate at all.  No he likes real bunnies, you know the kind that roam the ranges?   Cute little furry critters with tiny round cotton tails, or even jack rabbits.  They are cool.  And he likes eggs, the kind that come from chickens, and he eats them frequently for breakfast.  By the way, did you know that eggs cooked with coconut oil are absolutely delicious?  Oh, sorry, I guess that's a bunny trail. (no pun intended...)

It seems that each and every year when the Grinch teaches the VAST difference between Easter and Resurrection Sunday, his congregation slumps in their seats, yawns and whispers during the service.

Pssst!  But I will let you in on a secret!  The Grinch has super human hearing....  he hears every word.  But it hurts you know, to think people can't wait to get the "annual warning service" over with and go to lunch.  I mean, here the poor guy is trying to teach something REALLY important and people are speaking behind their hands.  "What's the matter with that guy, doesn't he care about the kiddies?  I mean really, whats the harm of Easter eggs and stuff we look forward to as a family every year"?  "He needs to get a life"  "After all, it is a major holiday and congress must have known what they were doing"....

But the Grinch keeps on plodding along, hoping that one day his "peeps" will finally realize that Easter in every single form originated as a thoroughly pagan ritual.  Story has it that the Roman Emperor Constantine changed up on the pagan dudes by trying to direct folks attention away from pagan worship towards Jesus but still called it Easter.  Nice try Connie, all that happened was people got sucked further into Easter.

Now the Grinch fully realizes that all kinds folks on the Internet publish bunk to try and make Easter palatable by decrying the pagan connections to early Easter practices.  Hey ~ who cares really if the origins of Easter go back to the pagan festival of EOSTRE who's symbol was a rabbit or hare.  Or that the Mesopotamian Goddess of war, fertility and sex was ISHTAR (some believe the root of the word Easter) who had a gate (the Ishtar gate) named after her by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon?  Or that Ishtar's temple worship was replete with prostitution?  Or that the ancients believed and sometimes worshipped that eggs were signs of human fertility?

I know, I know, the Grinch just needs to chill out.  After all, what can possible be the harm in teaching the kiddies in Sunday school that Easter and Resurrection Sunday are one and the same.  I mean what a fun day, kids arguing over who has the most candy and fighting over the last egg under the bush.  How much more fun could  that be?

On the other hand?  How important is Resurrection Sunday and how does it affect our walk as Christians?  Did you know that without the Resurrection of Christ from the grave, our faith would be in vain?  Christianity would be nothing but another religious empty shell.  That we would have absolutely zero hope of Eternal life?  Oh, well is that all?

Of course there were other resurrections in history---or so history buffs would like to tell us.  After all was not the pagan goddess Ishtar hung naked on a stake and then subsequently resurrected and ascended from the underworld?  Let's see, The Grinch seems to remember she was buds with the Egyptian god Horus, another god called Mithras (you think maybe that was because he was a myth)?  Or lets not forget Dionysus who brought his mum Semele back to life.

Honestly the Grinch is worn out!  He really thinks that Christians should eat eggs, candy and chocolate (yuck) when their hungry, not to celebrate holidays that really did spring from pagan practices.

The Grinch likes to quote from the Bible.  You know that dusty old tome that lots of folks have somewhere on a shelf?   Probably from Grandma's day.  How old fashioned is that?  I mean really.

How about Luke?  Chapter 24:2-3 "And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus".

John 11:25-26 " Jesus said to her (Martha) I am the Resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"

Well, the Grinch asks that very same question every single year "Do you really believe it?"  If so what are we teaching our children?  What kind of example are were setting for the next generation of believers?  Are we sending a mixed or even confusing message?  Are there not other ways to have fun without planting potentially bad seed?

The Grinch and his wife have a handicapped son.  On a particular road there is a humongous statue of Jesus.  Someone once told the Grinch's son that the statue was Jesus.  The Grinch's son is absolutely without guile and in his very simple way, he believes what he is told.  The Grinch and the Grinch's wife told this well meaning person, "please don't tell him that statue is Jesus because the only thing he is capable of understanding is that Jesus dwells within his heart."   Let's keep it that way please.

The Grinch fully knows and understands that for many Christians he is fighting an uphill battle.

But fight it he will.

The Grinch is a friend of mine so I sincerely hope you will go easy on him and consider this poor guy's plight.

Happy Resurrection Day!
Pastor Rance.

P.S. The Grinch has always pointed out that the day that is called “Resurrection Sunday" actually begins Saturday night at sundown. So the more appropriate term would be “Resurrection Day” BUT, technically, and Biblical speaking, Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the Biblically appointed day of First Fruits.

Christians, is PASSOVER important to you? It should be.

Dear friends and readers,

Peace and grace to all of you in Jesus name.

First, thanks to a rapidly growing number of you readers in 34 countries.  We are going to continue  writing interesting articles with Biblical themes but will also soon expand into a You Tube channel.  We will let you know as that happens.

Today's article is about the ancient practice of celebrating PASSOVER.  You probably know that Jews all over the world will be celebrating this feast beginning Monday April 10, 2017.   What many of you may not realize is that Passover is also an extremely important time for Christians.  And is celebrated by increasing numbers of followers of Christ worldwide.

Over the centuries there has been an ever increasing split between Judaism and Christianity which I do not believe was ever intended.  The long history of this split will be explained in another article but   it is extremely unfortunate and has ripped off both Jewish people and Christians alike.  For our Jewish brethren, this split has amplified an already tragic misunderstanding of the identity of their Messiah.  For Christians, this split has drawn us away from an extremely rich heritage and an understanding of the tremendous importance of what we have come to know as the Old Testament.

Allow me to illustrate;  If some giant was to come along and remove the foundation from your house, how long do you think your house would continue to stand?  The same holds true for our Bibles.  The Old Testament from Genesis to the prophet Malachi is the foundation for the remainder of the book, Matthew to Revelation.  It is in fact one book and all of it is important and relevant.  But the misunderstanding continues.  For example, in some churches today the book of Revelation is not taught because "it is full of incredible imagery that we are simply not capable of understanding".

The truth is that if we study and understand the ancient Hebrew Biblical prophets, a window opens to us that does allow understanding of a very complex book, Revelation.  And that book of Revelation along with incredible important issues like the Rapture of the church and the second coming of the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ, are all future events that impact both Jew and Gentile believers alike.

So many times in my ministry years,  Christians (not all but frankly most) have expressed absolutely zero interest in learning anything about Israel, the ancient Biblical prophets or the feast days that were set in motion eons ago by the Creator of the Universe.

On the Jewish side, many have come to believe that we Christians worship three gods because we speak of the Trinity (a Biblical doctrine that is slowly being rejected by a few apostate church leaders as well).  In reality the Trinity of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are ONE GOD, expressing Himself in three different personalities so our finite little human brains can at least begin to fathom the immensity of who and what God really is.  Also, the Bible expresses the Messiah as coming in two different forms.  First as the suffering servant (Isaiah chapter 53), the lamb of God.  Then He also comes a second time as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.  As the lamb of God the Messiah gave Himself to be tortured and killed on the cross of Calvary to provide a one time sacrifice of His blood which atones for the sins of all mankind.

As the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, He comes again to stop the end times battle of Armageddon (Revelation chapter 19), judge his enemies and set up a 1000 year Reign as King of the world.  Also for our Jewish brethren there is another very difficult hurdle to cross because unfortunately the early Biblical translators chose the words OLD TESTAMENT and NEW TESTAMENT.  Innocently they merely meant that there was a 400 year period of time between the book of Malachi, the last of the B.C. (Before Christ) prophets and the beginning the first, physical walk upon this earth (A.D.) by the Messiah.  But again unfortunately to some people, the term "OLD" equates to DONE AWAY WITH or NO LONGER RELEVANT.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It is one book, cover to cover and in fact the  NEW TESTAMENT was written to Jews, by Jews who were speaking in large part about the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Actually there are official Hebrew names for these books;  The first five books of the Bible are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Factually these are the "TORAH", or the Law.

The entire "OLD TESTAMENT" is in reality the "TANAKH" and the "NEW TESTAMENT" in the Hebrew language is the "BRIT CHADASHA" (pronounced Hadasha).

For Christians there is an extremely unfortunate belief among many that "the Jews killed Jesus".  That in itself is a huge barrier for many to deal with.  But although Jewish religious leadership and some Jews we're involved, this is what Jesus Himself said in the book of John chapter 10 verse 18 "No man takes my life from me, I lay it down that I may take it again" referring to His Resurrection from the dead.

One last point to make for anti Trinity people;  Isaiah chapter 9 verses 6-7;  "Unto us (the Jewish people) a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;  And the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, Prince of Peace".

One God displaying Himself as  1), Father, Creator of the Universe.  2). Son, Jesus Christ, The Word of God, Savior and redeemer of all mankind who will place their faith in Him.  3). Holy Spirit, (Among roughly 50 other job titles), John 16:8 convicts believers and the entire world of sin.

Regarding Passover, it is a feast day commemorating the time in which Moses was about to lead the nascent nation of Israel out of bondage in Egypt.  10 plagues were given by God against Pharaoh (King of Egypt) to get his attention so he would allow the Jewish people to leave his bondage.  The last plague (Exodus chapters 7-12) was a decreed death of the first born of each family including both humans and animals.  Pharaoh was not convinced and as a result, his first born son died along with everyone else's who were Egyptians.  God Instructed Moses to have all the Hebrew families  slay a spotless lamb and spread the blood across the top and sides of their household doors.  When the death angel swept through Egypt and PASSED OVER the blood of the innocent lambs, the Hebrew children were spared.

P.S. folks, this is not just some Sunday school story.  It really happened.

Fast forward to Jesus time on this earth, God had decreed that ALL generations of His people should celebrate Passover.  Jesus celebrated a Passover meal on the night before He went to the cross.  He did so with His Apostles.  This was not a 15 minute quickie.  This was a full blown meal describing the events of the original Passover and most likely was at least three hours long.  In today's churches worldwide we still celebrate a Passover meal but it is about 15 minutes long and we call it "The Lords table" Communion or the Lords supper.  In the Catholic church it is called the "EUCHARIST". It is described in the Bible in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 23-26.

What relevance does PASSOVER hold for Christians today?  1). Jesus is described in Revelation chapter 5 as the LAMB SLAIN and that we are redeemed (from sin) by His blood.  Also in John 1:29  2). We still celebrate a Passover meal each and every time we take communion in our churches today.  3). Jesus died EXACTLY ON PASSOVER!

So,  how is that important? A little known fact by many in the church today is that God decreed 7 Biblically appointed times (6 feasts and one day of repentance).  He did this is Leviticus chapter 23 verse 4.  "These are the appointed times of the Lord, Holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them".  The Hebrew words "HOLY CONVOCATIONS" can mean REHEARSALS.  In other words they are to be rehearsed without stop until perfectly done which in my opinion will be at the second coming of Christ.

A special word to my Christian brethren;  These special days are not old antiquated Jewish anything.   They are days given by God and yes He did entrust them to the Hebrew people but each and everyone is fully relevant to the church today.

These days are as follows;  In the Spring of the year  1). PASSOVER  2). UNLEAVENED BREAD  3). FIRST FRUITS  4). SHAVUOT (PENTECOST).

No directed feast days in the summer.

In the Fall of the year:  5). "TRUMPETS" (ROSH HASHANAH)  6). "DAY OF ATONEMENT" (YOM KIPPUR)  7). "TABERNACLES" (SUKKOT).

As you know by now I write about fulfilled Biblical prophecy among other things.  One of the most important is the connection between Jesus walk and the feast days.  Did you know that our Savior Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled the first 4 of these Biblically appointed times at the event of His death and Resurrection?

He died exactly on PASSOVER.  He was buried exactly on UNLEAVENED BREAD.  He was resurrected from the grave exactly on FIRST FRUITS.  And then 50 days later the Holy Spirit was given to the followers of Christ exactly on PENTECOST, which in effect began the church.  It might be noted here that it is believed that the 10 Commandments were probably given to Moses on Mount Sinai on the very same day of PENTECOST which was known as SHAVUOT at that time.

Here is the big question?  If Jesus chose to perfectly fulfill the first 4 Biblically appointed times exactly on each of the Spring feast days, do you think it possible, even likely that He will also in some future year choose to fulfill the Fall Biblically appointed times?

Is it possible to equate TRUMPETS to the Rapture of the church 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13-18 ?

Is it possible to equate the second coming of Christ to the Day of Atonement Revelation chapter 19 ?

Could we venture to think that Christ will choose to begin His Millennial Reign on Tabernacles Revelation chapter 20 verse 4 ?  And by the way, do you love Christmas?  Me too but that was not the date Christ was born.   In fact it is extremely possible that He was actually born in the Fall of the year on Tabernacles. A word that means  "The Word became flesh and Tabernacled (lived) with us".

My friends, we as Christians are saved by the Grace of the Lamb of God who shed His blood for you and I that we might be forgiven our sins and enjoy all of Eternity with Him.  Our Salvation is a free gift of God that not everyone accepts.  The church is made up of both Jew and Gentile believers who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ (Y'Shua HaMashiac) as the Messiah of Israel.  If you choose not to take the Biblically appointed times seriously it will not affect your salvation.   But I encourage you to take another look at what God has done and will continue to do through these most important of Biblical days and events.

Passover season this year begins at sundown this coming  Monday evening April 10 and runs through sundown Monday April 17.  Look around in your area for a church advertising a "SEDER". That is the observance of a Passover meal and should place a spot light on Jesus walk in connection to this most important time.

God bless you all,
Pastor Rance.