Hello all. Given all the recent controversies regarding the "tomb of Jesus" and the Da Vinci Code among other fakes and lies told about our Lord and His death and resurrection, I wanted to provide you with some facts about that week so you can be armed to "give an answer to all those who ask you about the hope you have". 1 Peter 3:15.
"But you Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase." Daniel 12:4 With that in mind, let us begin.
Meshiach Nagid, or the Triumphal Entry is what most Christians refer to as Palm Sunday. When was that day? Well, according to Daniel 9:25 "Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times." The key here is the street and the wall. In the book of Ezra, the command was given to rebuild the temple. The date we need to compute this is found in Nehemiah 2:7-8. King Artaxerxes Longimanus gave that decree in his 20th year on the 1st of Nisan. Sir Robert Anderson, the head of Scotland yard in the 1880's in his book The Coming Prince gives us the mathematical solutions to this date. I will briefly state the results needed here but would recommend the book to any of you for further study on the subject. As for the weeks in Daniel's prophecy, one week is the equivalent of seven years. So we need 483 years for Messiah to come. Has a week ever been referred to as a seven year period before? Glad you asked. Look at Genesis 29:27 for that. Now, the days needed. Sir Robert Anderson and the calculations from the Jewish calendar to our Roman Julian one is 173,880 days. Again, his book provides more details. When was that started in our time? March 14, 445 BC. When was the Triumphal Entry? April 6, 32 AD, or the 10th of Nisan on the Jewish calendar. This date for us is significant for multiple reasons. Jesus, being the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world is our Passover lamb. Exodus 12:3-5 tells us, "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for the household. And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish..." and then verse 6, "You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation shall kill it at twilight." More on the 14th of Nisan later. During the Triumphal Entry, while the Hallel Psalms (112-116) are sung, fulfilling Zechariah 9:9 while riding on a donkey, another special prophecy was fulfilled. Psalm 118 is a Messianic Psalm and I encourage you to read all of it for the bulk of which is quoted on that day in the Gospels. Verse 24 says, "This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." Some of you may have gotten cards with this quote on it and while the sentiment is good, the specific day this refers to is in fact, Palm Sunday. We are also talked about in the Triumphal Entry. In Luke 19:39-40, "And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, 'Teacher rebuke Your disciples.' But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." This is a Midrash here. The stones DO NOT refer to creation or rocks. We the church are called "living stones, 1 Peter 2:4-10 for example" set on a sure foundation (Luke 6:46). The church is living stones built on the chief cornerstone whom the builders rejected. So, in other words: if these should keep silent (Israel), even the stones (The Church) would cry out. Remember, salvation is to the Jews first, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16. This is why Jesus wept over Jersualem shortly before he entered Jerusalem that day. They have one offense that will be forgiven at His second coming. They did not know the time of their visitation. Are you ready? Study, study, study. God's word is excellent!
I will continue this through the crucifixion and resurrection in the future. Read up and study. Don't take my word for it. Keep Acts 17:10-11 in mind. Be a Berean.
Hello all, here's the next installment of what is referred to as Holy Week. Anyways, let's move on.
"Then if anyone says to you 'Look, here is the Christ!' or "There!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand." Matthew 24: 23-25
"For the time will come when they do not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." 2 Timothy 4:3-4
Strong warnings from Jesus and Paul here. They become one of the main focus points of what happens following the Triumphal Entry through Wednesday of the week. Matthew 21, Mark 11 and Luke 19 all emphasize the cleansing of the temple. In Matthew 21 and Mark 11 also the fig tree is mentioned. Let's deal with the cleansing of the temple. Judgement always begins at the house of God. (1 Peter 4:17) Leaven must be cleansed and when Jesus does this he quotes Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. For practical application today, we are in the Church Age or the Age of Grace. Before the wrath of the lamb in Revelation, look at chapters 2 and 3. Whether commendation or condemnation, the judgements begin with the House of God. This has nothing to do with the Church as a man made building. The word church literally means, "called out ones." Our bodies, as hard as it may be to believe, are the temples of the Holy Spirit. Our judgement comes first, be it when God calls us home or we are raptured, etc. The unsaved are not judged until after the Church. Read Revelation 20 for that. One final note in this section, notice Jesus mentions the Son of David in Matthew's account. Palm Sunday is the only day where He allows himself to be seen that way. In Jesus' first coming, He is primarily the Son of Joseph, the suffering servant (Isaiah 53). In His second coming He will be the Son of David, or the conquering King of Kings.
Next, the fig tree. The fig tree is always representative of Israel. The fig tree has not borne fruit. It is cast off, for now. More on the fig tree in the Olivet Discourse. We as the church will also be judged to see if we bear fruit. Again, more on that in the Olivet Discourse and in John's account. For more on Israel as the fig tree, look at Hosea 9:10, Joel 1:7 and Romans chapters 9-11.
Edit: 8/21/07, I am leaving my original words in, but disregard the comments on the fig tree being ALWAYS Israel, the olive tree would be a better word, not fig. Israel is related to the fig tree, but there is more to it than that. Since this is about Christ's first coming, I won't go into that. I sincerely and humbly apologize for any confusion this causes and would urge you to be Bereans and check what is said with scripture don't take my words as face value.
Remember what I said in the first e-mail about the Passover Lamb having to be inspected so it is without spot or blemish? (Exodus 12) This is exactly what the Pharisees and Saducees are doing in the coming events. His authority is questioned (Matthew 21:23-27, Mark 11:27-33, Luke 20:1-8), He gives the parable of the two sons, and the wicked vinedressers. Keep reading in Matthew, Mark and Luke for this. These three make up the synoptic Gospels or the historical Gospels. John's account is more revelant later and we will pick it up in John 13 with the Upper Room Discourse but this is Wednesday night for us, remember, the Jewish day begins at sundown at 6pm. The parable of the Wedding Feast follows in Matthew 22. Make the correlation here and keep in mind salvation was to the Jews first, then to the Gentiles. This also ties into the previous parable of the wicked vinedressers. He sent His servants (the prophets) who were killed and then God sent His son Jesus and they said "Let us kill the son and seize his inheritance." Even the Pharisees percieved that Jesus was speaking about them and sought to kill him. Regarding the prophets, Jesus asked, (My paraphrase of sections of Matthew 23), "Which of the prophets didn't you kill?"
Anyway, it's kind of funny that the Pharisees, Saducees and Scribes try to play mind games with the Creator of the mind. They ask questions like, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?", "What about the Resurrection?" and "What is the greatest commandment of the Law?" By now you should know where I am in Matthew, Mark and Luke. You can just continue reading. For me to type everything there would require a lot of time and you can just as easily read them for yourself. Important lessons are there to be learned. Mark 12 and Luke 20 then go into a short section where Jesus tells the people to beware of the scribes. In Matthew 23 Jesus goes into a long discourse about the woes to come to the scribes and Pharisees. One thing I will point out in particular, verse 33. "Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?" Eerily similar to John the Baptist's warning. "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to escape the wrath that is to come?" Matthew 3:7. There is one unforgivable sin. The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 12:31-32 and Mark 3:28-30 talk about this. Remember Genesis 6:3? The Spirit of God will not always strive with man forever. Romans 1:18-32 details with this too. If you will fight against God, He will give you up, then give you over. In Exodus, you will see "and Pharoah hardened his heart" for a bit and finally "and God hardened his heart." The Hebrew word for "hardened" when God hardened his heart means to make firm. So, if you continually walk contrary to God's word, he will make firm your position. I pray for those who I know that do not believe in God or cling to a tradition rather than the word of God. I know this can happen. God places a higher value on His word over His name. Hebrews 6:13-20. Follow the word of God.
I was hoping to get to the Olivet Discourse, but I have to get ready for work now. Let the two quotes at the top be a teaser for you on that. Take care and God Bless. Acts 17:10-11.
Hello all, welcome to the next but not final installment of the Passion Week events. In this I hope to touch on the final words of Jesus in His ministry before the crucifixion. I'll tackle the discourse in John in my next e-mail and the Crucifixion and Resurrection in the last part. These discourses are what Jesus considered to be the most important things to pass on to His disciples as He sees the end approaching. They have tremendous importance to us as well. I am not going to explain all that is said in the discourses, but highlight a few things. I encourage you to read the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25 (as well as Mark and Luke's versions) and the discourse in John 13-17. Very good stuff. Let's begin.
One thing first. When Zerubbabel was rebuilding the temple in Ezra's time, God gave him some very important prophecies by Haggai and Zechariah. Notice Haggai 2:9 "'The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former', says the Lord of Hosts, 'And in this place I will give peace.' says the Lord of Hosts." Also back in Genesis 49:10 when Jacob(Israel) is prophesying about future events to his progeny. "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people." Now, we know the Glory of God rested in Solomon's temple and resided there until that sad day when Ezekiel saw it leave. God resided in Israel. There is no record of God's Shekinah glory ever coming to Ezra's temple. In fact the first type of the Abomination of Desolation occured there in the time of the Maccabees. So now, how could the glory of the second temple be greater than the first? God's glory wasn't there. Unless,,,, Messiah came. And come Ha Meshiach Ben Joseph did. One Messiah, two comings. The Word(logos) became flesh(sarx) and dwelt among us...John 1:14. In 6 AD the Sanhedrin (and Jews) lost the ability to perform all of the law and couldn't stone anyone or put anyone to death. The scepter departed, but Shiloh came. The prince of peace was here. Again look back at Genesis 49:18. "I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!" The Hebrew word there for the Lord's salvation is Yeshua. Sound familiar? That is how you say Jesus in Hebrew.
Moving on. "Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" Matthew 24:3. As you read the Olivet Discourse, take careful notice that Jesus mentions wars one time, famines one time, pestilences one time and so on. Jesus warns against deception FOUR times. If possible the very elect. I do not believe Jesus would keep warning about this if it couldn't happen. If He tells us something four times, we should listen. All the new testament epistles {especially John's and Paul's} warn against deception and antichrists. The apostasy is here. It is the surest sign we are in the last days. What was the first sign? Israel, God's timepiece. In Matthew 24:32-35 he tells us to learn the parable of the fig tree. When we see that blossom, that generation will see the fulfillment of all things according to verse 34. Remember pt. 2 of this e-mail where I talked about Israel as the fig tree?
Edit: 8/21/07, I am leaving my original words in, but disregard the comments on the fig tree being ALWAYS Israel, the olive tree would be a better word, not fig. Israel is related to the fig tree, but there is more to it than that. Since this is about Christ's first coming, I won't go into that. I sincerely and humbly apologize for any confusion this causes and would urge you to be Bereans and check what is said with scripture don't take my words as face value.
This is it. Isaiah asks can a nation be born in a day? Yes, May 14, 1948. Zephaniah talks about a pure language being restored. Again the Jews speak Hebrew. Read Ezekiel 36-37 and you will see amazing parallels to Israel's recent history. So, this being the first sign; the apostasy being the great sign. At some point, the lawless one or son of perdition will be revealed.
I am going to touch on deception in the church. I don't think many churches talk about it. False gospels and false christs abound. Antichrist doesn't just mean the opposite of Christ. It also means "in place of" Christ. Antichristos. The Greek word. The Pope's title, "The Vicar of Christ" is one blatant example of antichrist. Translate the Latin of that to Greek and you get antichristos, or antichrist. In John 15-16 we are told who the true "vicar of Christ" is if you will. It is the Holy Spirit. Anyone else who claims to be a go-between has the spirit of Antichrist. Read 1 John 4. Test the spirits. Test the doctrine. For a good example of the true gospel in a condensed form, read 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. According to the Bible any other method of salvation apart from faith in Jesus is anathema. Galatians 1:9 says it quite clearly. Anyone who preaches another gospel, let him be accursed. You need Mary as your Co-Redemptrix? False gospel, spirit of antichrist. Is your salvation based on works instead of faith in Jesus? False gospel. Sadly, here is where I completely disagree with some of you reading this in my speaking to those of you who believe salvation comes from baptism or the Lord's Supper. There is NO Biblical basis for this for whatsoever! Satan's first two tricks for the church...Judiazing it and paganizing it. An excellent book with impeccable research about early Church history and following the errors of Roman Catholicism and the many millions that Church has killed is "A Woman Rides the Beast" by Dave Hunt. Saddening and sickening what those Popes did and what people did in the name of that church. For those among you who are Catholics, I am not bashing you or holding the current incarnation of the church responsible, but be aware of what the Vatican believes. Jehovah's Witnesses (with all their failed prophecies and scriptural aberrations) are another false gospel. Mormons, who believe that Jesus was the half brother of Satan is another false gospel. Seventh Day Adventists (all of David Koresh's followers were Seventh Day Adventists), the extreme charismania and blatant servants of Satan like Benny Hinn (death certificates abound for people he claimed he healed), Kenneth Copeland (this guy actually claimed since he was "born again" he could go to the cross instead of Jesus), Joyce Meyers (sic?) who says in her first book that unless you believe that Jesus died and went to hell and Satan got the victory on the Cross, you are not going to heaven, false teachers galore. Jesus did not go to hell. Read the gospels carefully. He descended to the lower parts of the earth to Abraham's bosom. Read Luke 16:19-31 (which is not a parable by the way) for more on Abraham's bosom. Look, to quote Jacob Prasch on this: "If you can't see through little antichrists like Hinn and Copeland, what are you gonna do when the real thing shows up?"
Two church movements to watch out for now are Rick Warren's Purpose Driven movement and Brian McClaren's Emergent Church movement. I would highly recommend Warren Smith's book "Deceived on Purpose" as an expose on Purpose Driven. McClaren states that a five year moratorium should be called about letting homosexuals pastor a church, then the church should decide five years later. Why should the church "decide" something God has already decided? I don't have time to trace the path of error from these two to Robert Schuller back to Norman Vincent Peale. Also, please, please, please be careful of paraphrase bibles like Eugene Peterson's the Message. There is a reason why his name is on the cover and it doesn't say something like "Holy Bible". Watch out for the Renovare Study Bible. New age ideas creep in these as well as study notes filled with unscriptural nonsense. As far as the Message goes, here's a sampler from something we all know. "Our Father in heaven, reveal who you are. Set the world right: do what's best - as above, so below. Keep us alive with square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. You're in charge! You can do anything you want! You're ablaze in beauty. Yes. Yes. Yes." Now for the real thing, "Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not to temptation and deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen." Matthew 6:9-13. As above so below is a New Age term about oneness and a transendent "god". Also, no "hallowing" or keeping God's name holy according to Eugene's version, let alone God's will being done. I don't think Eugene Peterson read or heeded the warnings in Deuteronomy or Revelation about the dangers of adding or subtracting to God's word. I know I wouldn't touch it, it is divinely inspired. Again, "Deceived on Purpose" or "What's Driving the Purpose Driven Church?" (don't have the book in front of me, so I don't remember the author's name) cover this better than I do. I am not trying to be harsh here. In the Old Testament, the Gospels and the New Testament, they (the prophets, Jesus, Paul, etc.) named the names of the false teachers. Look it up. Beware of them. As for Bible translations, the KJV is a viable translation. So is the NKJV, the NIV and the NASB and other word for word translations. Stay with word for word translations and you'll be fine. Watch out for people who say only "pick a translation" is valid. I made that mistake as a young Christian without looking into it some more and checking the Hebrew and Greek. I prefer the KJV or NKJV because it is not missing verses like the NIV is, but the NIV is still a viable Bible. If any of you happen to like the Message or another paraphrase Bible, I would pray that you would consider reading and studying a word for word translation. I also own the Hebrew and Greek Bible which I will check on when our English translations differ or to see the exact meaning of a word or words.
As Jesus warned about deception, so do I. I definitely see it and do not want my loved ones to be deceived by it. Be part of Philadelphia, not Smyrna or especially Laodicea. The rapture is talked about too in Matthew 24:36-44. This is what is meant when we don't know the day or hour of His return. His actually physical second coming as Ha Meshiach Ben David is foretold to the day in Daniel. However, that date is based on a yet future event.
Matthew 25 has parables describing the wise and foolish virgins regarding the rapture. Why don't I want you to be deceived? The foolish virgins aren't going anywhere. Matthew 25 also talks about the Judgement seat of Christ. I would love to really get in depth about the Olivet Discourse, but the purpose is to let you know of events regarding the Passion Week. There is so much practical application in the Olivet Discourse that I feel you should check it out to gain a better understanding. Also note in Luke's account Jesus goes in depth about the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD and leaves an important prophecy in Luke 21:24 about the times of Gentiles. The "times of the Gentiles" is completely different from the "fullness of the Gentiles" talked about regarding the rapture. The time of the Gentiles began in Daniel with Babylon and will end in the future. As far as the Rapture goes, there are differing views on this, but in my opinion the only ones Biblically sound are Pre-Trib and Pre-Wrath which means differentiating between the wrath of Satan and the wrath of the Lamb. Mid-Trib has some valid points, but overall the argument is flawed. Post-trib is a waste of time. Those who teach that are most likely confusing the rapture (where we are caught up to meet Christ in the clouds) with the Second Coming (where Christ returns to earth with all His saints). Again, since the bulk of this e-mail deals with error and deception, watch out for those who teach Replacement Theology, the idea that the church replaced Israel. Not true. Also, those faith prosperity teachers who say, "name it and claim it, blab it and grab it, etc." and people who are pushing "Christian psychology". Psychology is not a science created by godless men. Did Jesus and all the people of the Bible have it wrong because they didn't have this psychology by Freud, Jung, Maslow and others? Gosh, if only Paul had known about self esteem... Hogwash. Jesus said Deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me. If you want Biblical psychology, read the Book of Proverbs. If you want Biblical philosophy, read the Book of Ecclesiastes.
"A little leaven leavens the whole lump" Galatians 5:9. You allow some error to creep into the truth about Jesus, it will corrupt the whole thing.
I am not trying to offend anyone or step on toes here. I am just throwing a warning out there in this e-mail, (two more to go.). I will end this with something from Paul. "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and discernment." Phillipians 1:9. Notice our love abounds with knowledge and discernment. I pray for discernment for us all in these days. God Bless Cory
At some point I will finish this and show that the Crucifixion happened on Thursday, but first, as my edited posts above state, I do wish to apologize for the comment of Israel being the fig tree. Israel is related to the fig tree, but what Jesus has in view here is not what I properly represented, so what is this? Read further in Judges 8 and 9 about this parable and look at the passages in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel and Revelation for more on the fig tree and it's true representation. I should have more accurately said "olive tree" and not fig tree. Again, I humbly apologize for any confusion. I'll be back to finish this up in the future. God bless