St. Patrick's Day?

Pagan or Christian?

We inevitably will find information to reinforce the position we want...so this topic, along with those about the holidays in general is one where preconceived notions, desires, wants, etc. need to be laid aside.

If you are a Christian, Scripture is the foundation of what you believe and why.  It should guide us in all areas, not just on Sunday morning or evening or Wednesday night.  We are called to be soldiers of the cross of Christ Jesus, which is a 24/7 calling, not part time 'job.'

Why are you participating in ________ fill in the blank.  Are there areas of neutrality?  Is the Bible specific, even counting the warnings given to Israel in the OT, about how and what we are to govern ourselves?  Are we to be set apart? Holy?  Ambassadors?

NOTE: The following information is taken from the blog of a witch.  This is not said in a snippy, holier than thou way.  Her blog reinforces that she is a pagan and comes from a long line of witches.  Lest you dismiss witches as archaic, think again.  Take caution when reading any site which is pro-pagan (anti-God).  Scripture tells us that one cannot be for God and against God.  You are either on one side or the other.

Pagans and Saint Patrick’s Day: The Real Meaning of the Holiday

by Claire on March 17, 2009 in General Blog

Posted Mar 17, 2009

Ever one to ruin the fun, I couldn’t let today go by without making a few comments about Saint Patrick and the annual holiday that’s held in his honor. Most of the people I know will be wearing green in some form today, thinking of all things Irish, drinking green beer, and possibly honoring that ancient Irish tradition of getting drunk and fighting. In other words, Saint Patrick’s day is a good excuse for partying, and few people will put any more thought into it than that. That’s fine. It’s a secular holiday in the United States, even if the day is named after a Catholic bishop and missionary, and so it should all be taken with a grain of salt. Go forth and party. Have a good time. Build for yourself the pending hangover of the gods. That’s what it’s all about, right?

If most people know anything about Saint Patrick, it’s that his one claim to fame is that he drove the snakes from Ireland. What most people don’t realize is that the snake is a Pagan symbol, and that the snakes referred to in the Saint Patrick mythos are not meant in the literal sense, but refer to Pagans; i.e., Saint Patrick drove the Pagans (specifically, the Celts) out of Ireland (although it could be said, and has been argued, that much has been done in Saint Patrick’s name, but that the man himself was relatively unimportant). So what is celebrated on Saint Patrick’s Day with drinking and much cavorting is, ironically, the spread of Christianity throughout Ireland and the subjugation and conversion of the Celts.

I have a perspective on Saint Patrick that most Americans do not. If you don’t know already, my surname is Mulkieran. That surname is associated with the parish of Clonkennkerrill near the small modern village of Gurteen, in Galway. It was first recorded in the early 11th Century, and other early recordings include Maelisa O’Mulkieran who died in 1197. My mother was a passionate genealogist, who traced our family farther back than that. So you might say that my Irish bonafides have been well established.

I mention this for no other reason than to be able to point out that my perception of Saint Patrick when I was growing up was vastly different from the popular secular view. My mother was a seventh generation hereditary witch, from a long line of women who rejected the Christian tradition of assuming the names of their husbands and kept her family name. There’s not a hyphen among the seven women who preceded me, and each one of them passed down the Pagan traditions which I hold dear today. Among these was a distaste for Saint Patrick (to say the least – my grandmother would spit at the mention of his name), who my family saw as a Christian invader, a missionary who was instrumental in the subjugation of the Irish isle to the Christian church (and who, worst of all, wasn’t even Irish).

It wasn’t arbitrary that the day honoring Saint Patrick was placed on the 17th of March. The festival was designed to coincide, and, it was hoped, to replace the Pagan holiday known as Ostara; the second spring festival which occurs each year, which celebrates the rebirth of nature, the balance of the universe when the day and night are equal in length, and which takes place at the Spring Equinox (March 22nd this year). In other words, Saint Patrick’s Day is yet another Christian replacement for a much older, ancient Pagan holiday; although generally speaking Ostara was most prominently replaced by the Christian celebration of Easter (the eggs and the bunny come from Ostara traditions, and the name “Easter” comes from the Pagan goddess Eostre).

I don’t celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day. I don’t begrudge those who do, and it doesn’t bother me that a lot of my friends will be drinking green beer and wearing buttons that say “Kiss me, I’m Irish”. Saint Patrick’s day in practice has become a secular holiday, much like Christmas, that has only the vaguest hints of its religious underpinnings still intact. So if you want to drink green beer and act like an idiot, please do. It won’t bother me in the slightest.

I actually strike quite a figure on Saint Patrick’s day. When nearly everyone else is wearing green in some fashion, I usually wear red and black, in various degrees and styles. For me, the red represents the blood of my ancestors, who were driven out of Ireland or were subjugated by any one of many zealous Christian missionaries. The black is for the darkness that fell over the world with the rise and dominance of the Christian church and the forced installation of patriarchy that replaced the ancient reverence for the feminine divine.

The only green I wear on Saint Patrick’s Day is a pendant that was handed down from my great-grandmother. It’s an oak leaf made of silver, the leaves of which are inlaid with emeralds. Family tradition holds that the gems were brought over from Ireland when the family came to America in the mid 1800′s, and before that were passed down through the generations for centuries.

The significance of the oak leaf should be obvious to most Pagans. Greeks worshipped the oak as it was sacred to Zeus. It was a crime to fell an oak tree in Pagan Ireland. The ancient Celts wouldn’t meet unless an oak tree was present. The old expression “knock on wood” comes from the Celts, who believed in tree spirits. Both the Greeks and the Celts believed touching sacred trees would bring good fortune. They would knock on the oak tree to say hello to the tree spirit. And my family tradition holds that an oak leaf worn at the breast, touching the heart, will protect the wearer from all deception and the world’s false glamour. Oaks are protectors, and to me they represent strength and renewal; that spark of the old ways that can never be fully stamped out by Christianity, and which keep popping up in the least expected places.

Why not wear a shamrock? Simple. Legend credits Saint Patrick with teaching the Irish about the concept of the Christian Trinity by showing people the shamrock, using it to highlight the Christian belief of “three divine persons in the one God”. Wearing a shamrock to me is tantamount to wearing a Christian cross. I don’t begrudge those who do, but I know the meaning behind it, and I can’t follow you there. You might as well ask a Jew to wear a swastika.

In closing, all I’ll say is that instead of celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day, I’ll be looking forward to Ostara. It’s usually about this time of year that I feel the first stirrings of Spring in the air, and it really begins to feel like the Earth around me is beginning to reawaken from its long sleep. You’ll see it in the step of every young person you see, as their bodies respond to the marshaling of energies and their hormones start raging. The Wheel of the Year keeps turning, and this time of the year is all about renewal. It’s the reason we all find ourselves flirting shamelessly with one another.

If I’ll be celebrating anything on Saint Patrick’s Day, it’s that my world is passing from Winter into Spring. Flowers will soon be popping into existence all around me. And there’s no better time of the year that you can feel so alive. I’d much rather celebrate that than the subjugation and extermination of Pagans in Ireland.

WARNING: Be a Berean - don't just 'do' something simply because your family, culture, friends do or are involved in it.  Everything we do is either affirming or denying our allegiance to Christ.  Pray for the saints, we are all in a battle to crucify our flesh and give a proper estimate of HIM in everything we say, do and think.

ACTS 17:11 - These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 

The World Loves X-mass

Courtesy of A Puritan At Heart

The reformers of the Protestant reformation, rejected Christmas, as popish holy days. Because the holy day was originally introduced when the papists saw it as a way to get more pagans and unbelievers into the church by having this holy day. And isn’t that what many church today, protestant also do? It is the great evangelical outreach of the year; and evangelism has no season for it not being legitimate of course, December no less and no more than any other time. A pastor or minister may feel it is right to preach through the Gospel including that of the birth of Christ in the weeks leading up to this holy day, and there is never not a season for that, but December is no more legitimate than any other part of the year.

The Reformers rejected this holy day, along with that of Easter and all the liturgical calendar. They sought the Scriptures and introduced the Regulative Principle of Worship, which is the very essence of the battle cry of the Reformation of “Sola Scriptura.” The regulative principle of worship is often misunderstood, often by so called scholars of this subject. There are many articles out there on the interent of ministers of Christ writing articles on it, when it is plain that they are writing about something they do not clearly understand. So the inferences they draw, cannot and are not legitimate, because they are drawing them from misunderstanding the principle they are writing about.

The Reformers as I said, rejected these holy days outright, the RPW was one of the main tools, for applying this to our church practices, on how God is to be worshipped. If you substitute the initials RPW for Sola Scriptura, then you will understand that is exactly what it is promoting. And what Reformed believer understanding the battles of the reformation would argue against Sola Scriptura?

The RPW stands and falls on Sola Scriptura. It does not allow in the act of Worship,. Anything which does not have Divine Warrant from God as He has revealed in His holy writ.

The modern Presbyterian church however, has moved into syncretism, even among the conservatives and what would be biblically sound Christians in many ways. Rather than what God warrants, what He commands, what He has ordained for our good and His glory, is put to the side in favour of "what will appeal to the people who come to our church." How can we give them what they want? Isn’t the act of Worship in anyones language to give God what He wants, what He commands, what He desires from us? Aren’t we obligated and isn’t it part of our duty to do so?

The Reformers and puritans were not kill-joys who hated people to have fun. They were not the dour gloomy individuals often portrayed. This aspect of holy days is often used unfairly to promote the fallacy that they were. Charles Dickens’ Ebenezer Scrooge would look happy according to most peoples idea or portrayal of the Reformers and puritans who took this stance, yet that notion is no less fiction than Charles Dickens tale was. The reformers, didn’t dislike fun, they didn’t want children to not enjoy themselves or dislike childish things that children like. Their homes were places where children were nurtured, which if the strict miserable lot often portrayed they would have been terrors unto children. They had no desire to try and undermine God’s plan of redemption for his people(they couldn’t do so even if they had tried!) but they saw that plan of redemption being fulfilled in the way God has given and by His Divine warrant and seal upon, after all, it is HIS plan of redemption The means the Reformers used, to its fullest was by God’s own HOLY DAY, that of each and every Lord’s day, to faithfully preach, teach and exposit the Word of God. The Word of God is what saves people, not fairies or people dressing up in silly red costumes.

We see in Scripture, in Leviticus 10, what happened to the priests who offered their “strange fire” They were immediately consumed in fire. The term strange fire, literally means, “unauthorized fire,” or “unwarranted fire.” Yet they thought they were serving God, well, honourably and to his glory. But God soon showed them what he thought of their strange fire in the wrath that consumed them. But this is not only a Old Testament ordinance it is also a New Testament one that will be dealt with further in the series from the New Testament perspective.

The World loves Christmas, ain’t that the truth? If everyone was as excited about each and every Lord’s Day and was putting as much energy and effort into the Lord’s Day, (God’s only holy day) that is put into this man made holy day, then the church may well have far more evangelical success day to day week to week. But the fact that the world loves this holiday, should cause us to ask ourselves how it can be, that a holy day such as this, with religious significance, can be both equally loved by Christians and the world alike. Is there anything else you can think of with the religious significance of this holiday, that is held is such high esteem equally by both the world and Christians and the Church? Because I sure cannot.

To be continued.

Do What?

Do this in remembrance of me. Do what?

Luke 22:19  And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

1 Corinthians 11:24  And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

1 Corinthians 11:25  After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 

Remembrance - G364 - From G363; recollection: - remembrance (again).

• G363 - From G303 and G3403; to remind; reflexively to recollect: - call to mind, (bring to, call to, put in), remember (-brance).
• G303 - A primary preposition and adverb; properly up; but (by extension) used (distributively) severally, or (locally) at (etc.): - and, apiece, by, each, every (man), in, through. In compounds (as a prefix) it often means (by implication) repetition, intensity, reversal, etc.
• G3403 - A prolonged form of G3415 (from which some of the tenses are borrowed); to remind, that is, (middle voice) to recall to mind: - be mindful, remember.
• G3415 - Middle voice of a derivative of G3306 or perhaps of the base of G3145 (through the idea of fixture in the mind or of mental grasp); to bear in mind, that is, recollect; by implication to reward or punish: - be mindful, remember, come (have) in remembrance. Compare G3403.

This - G5124 - Neuter, singular, nomitive or accusative of G3778; that thing: - here [-unto], it, partly, self [-same], so, that (intent), the same, there [-fore, -unto], this, thus, where [-fore].

Father, by His son is explicit what we are to do in remembrance of Him.  To partake of the bread and wine, as representative of His body and blood (not literal).

Why Christianity has absorbed and/or promotes a day to remember His birth is baffling to me.  No where in Scripture are we given any indication that Father wants this day known and/or set aside.

Additionally, it is perplexing to me that those who cry Scripture Alone - in refutation to the harlot, Roman Catholicism - adopt that which 'she' has designated as a holy day to celebrate the 'mass' of Christ.

If one wanted to have a festival, the Feast of Tabernacles would be an appropriate (weather wise as well) festival to reflect upon God coming to 'dwell' with man by becoming one of us.

Search the Scriptures - test the spirits - be instant in season and out.  Let us not be found dallying with the devil, rather desiring to be a pure Bride, wholly intent upon Him and desiring to give a proper estimate of our Lord and Savior.

Malachi 3:16  Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

10 Reasons Why Christmas Is Unscriptural

Courtesy of Chapel Library


REASON No. 1—
“Christmas” is a word unknown in the Bible. It is private interpretation, no prophecy of the Scriptures—“...holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (II Pet. 1:20, 21). “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (II Tim 3:16). Christmas is excluded from all the Scriptures. “But though we or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Gal 1:8).

Christmas belongs to that “other gospel,” for Paul did not know of a gospel called Christmas. —and what does John say about adding to the Scriptures (Rev 22:18)?

REASON No. 2—
Historical records in encyclopedias, which are available in any city library, and are noted for their authenticity and reliability, give us this fact: that Christmas is of heathen origin. It is traced back to sun worshippers and observed among the pagan nations. Many such pagan leaders birthdays were celebrated by the ancient Babylonians. All these pagan festivals originated in heathendom. Centuries later the birth of Christ was blended into this—called Christmas. We are warned by the Scriptures to “Learn not the way of the heathen” (Jer 10:2). But through ignorance, the church has learned it.

REASON No. 3—
Various records show us that the blending of Christ's birth with Christmas came about through Catholicism. The Catholic Church claims authorship of choosing the name “Christ” to connect with their “mass.” Here we see that Christmas is of human invention, therefore not scriptural nor spiritual. Why will Christians follow the path of Catholicism? This church is portrayed in Revelation 17:5 where it says: “Upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.” God brands this church as a mother of harlots. Will Christians follow such examples?

REASON No. 4—
We have no Scriptural record that the disciples ever celebrated the birth of Christ. So we wonder why shall we? However history reveals that about the fourth century (A.D. 440) the Church at Jerusalem commenced to celebrate this day—following Catholicism. Then it also became more defiled with the pagan world, when this mother of harlots attached the name Christ to it and called it Christmas, and placed it in the month of December which has now for centuries been the traditional month of the year.

Adam Clark in his commentary writes: “We find that the sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole of the summer and as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced and that consequently our Lord was not born on December 25th when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground the nativity in December should be given up.” Clark's reasoning on this subject sounds true and sensible.

REASON No. 5—
Nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to commemorate the birth of our Lord, and God the Father evidently deemed it unwise to make the date known. Hence it will always remain unknown and is not to be remembered and celebrated. Paul says, “Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more” (II Cor 5:16). We understand Paul to mean that we are to know Christ spiritually and not according to the letter, or after the flesh, or as an infant, for this is of no value to us as spiritual life.

But notice—we are commanded to remember Him in his death, but no special day of the year is specified for this. He said: “Take eat, this is my body which is broken for you, this DO in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19; I Cor 11:24).

To commemorate His death is scriptural, any day of the year will do—to commemorate his birth is nonscriptural whether you choose any day or the day December 25th.


Paul the apostle says: “God forbid that I should glory in anything except in the cross (not the birth) of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal 6:14Weymouth Trans). We find no salvation in the birth of our Lord, for Salvation was only made possible through his death. Our faith is in the cross, not in the birth.

REASON No. 6—
The fact that there are only two incidents of birthday celebrations recorded in the Bible is evidently given for our warning and our learning, that we may know that the Lord has no pleasure in birthday  celebrations or anniversaries.

One of these above was Pharaoh's big ado and the final results were the chief baker got hung. Thus  ended the tragedy of a big special day (Gen 40:20,22).

The other incident was a big day for Herod and his celebration ended up in the beheading of John the Baptist (Mark 6:21-27).

And now for centuries this modern special day, called Christmas, is a similar day with numerous fatalities which usually ends the day in thousands of homes with untold misery, sorrow and grief.

REASON No. 7—
By searching the Word of God we find that the birth of Christ, the shepherds, and the wise men have no connection with the day called Christmas whatever. Christmas is human invention, but Christ came into the world to save sinners. It has no comparison.

The wise men from the Far East came and gave their gifts to Jesus or rather to His mother for Him, not to one another as is being done by the unwise to this day. And this gift giving was not even on His birthday but a number of days afterwards. Also not in the stable but in the house. It is often quoted Jesus was born in a manger. This is not true. He was born in a stable and laid in a manger. This story is so greatly misconstrued and a mass of conglomeration has accumulated in the minds of the people.

Annually the Yuletide season is overflowed with literature and greeting cards of untrue representations. We can observe pictures with the parents in the stable and three wise men in their presence giving gifts. The Bible is silent as to how many wise men there were. Then we also see these Yuletide cards with the shepherds out with their flocks and a star in the distance. Again the Bible has nothing to mention of a star among the shepherds.

Then again, we see other scenes with snow to beautify the scenery, that mystical god, the “Santa Claus lie,” connected with it. Thousands of people are confused by such false literature, simply because such cards and pictures are made to sell. Let the children of God have nothing to do with it.

REASON No. 8—
Then we think of the untold sum of the Lord's money (Haggai 2:8) that is being spent for such foolishness of worthless and useless trinkets and toys of every description in connection with the eating and over-eating of nuts and candies, feastings on roast turkey and chicken, and all kinds of dainties. Much of it results in headaches and stomach disorders and other ailments which go with it. All this is outright heathendom and an insult to the Master and has no connection with the scriptural story of the Saviour's birth.

REASON No. 9—
The partiality which is even exercised in the giving of gifts is another sign in failing to harmonize with scriptural principles. We do not object to the spirit of giving gifts, but why wait until the traditional month of December when often times other seasons of the year would be more practical. Also, too often, the method of giving fails to reveal the spirit of charity. The major method of giving is to those whom we expect to receive again in return. This is also entirely beside the Scriptures, and all such already have their rewards. Listen:

The greatest gift that ever was given to the world was Jesus Christ Himself—NOT as a babe but as a sacrificed Lamb, a crucified Saviour in the redemptive work to salvation. This is by far the greater gift than his birth, and the Lord God revealed a much greater concern in this redemption on the cross than as an infant in a manger. Nevertheless, we do not belittle his birth for it “was on this wise.”

The most essential part of our giving a gift is our all to Him in consecration, holiness and service. How foolish and even embarrassing does our method of giving look to the Lord Jesus? For instance, think of the inconsistency of us, giving Henry Jones a gift because John Brown has a birthday. But that is the way we use Christ when this special pagan feast day comes, then we give every Tom, Dick and Harry a present and our feeble mind is stirred, thinking we have done something great. Who gets the glory for all this? Certainly Christ does not. “Think on these things.”

REASON No. 10—
Why do we celebrate holidays, when the tenor of the Scriptures seems to be against it. Let's notice that Galatians 4:9-11 and Colossians 2:16 are absolute Scriptures pointing to the disapproval of all special holidays or new moons or sabbaths. Paul reproved the Galatians for turning back again to the weak and beggarly elements. He says, “Ye observe days, months, times and years, I am afraid of you...“ No doubt Paul had a vision of the inconsistencies of observing such special holidays by what the prophet Amos had in view of God's displeasure of Israel's festivals when He said: “I hate, I despise your feast days and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies” (Amos 5:21). It is our firm belief that God saw fit to annul all these special holidays with the ceremonial laws since Israel, also the Galatians, and now in our day and age, the people will blend so much traditions and idols to these holidays.

To this day God has not told us one jot to observe any special days except one: The Lord's Day.

How could any Christian Bible reader harbor the thought that Paul was encouraging any special days with the above reference? He writes that they were only a “shadow of things to come.” Let's not worship the shadow, since we can worship, in “Spirit and in Truth” the real sacrifice. God placed one day in seven as a “rest day” for us and to “keep it holy.” Why do Christians still desire to celebrate the shadow of a day called Christ-mass? Christ had nothing to do with it. Paul had nothing to do with it, neither any of the Apostles.

The only record we have is the Catholic Church has done this; and let the Church of God be free from Catholicism.

Our chief text is: “LEARN NOT THE WAY OF THE HEATHEN” (Jer 10:2-3)—But many Christians have learned it. “BUT FROM THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO“ (Matt 19:8). “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so” (Psa 107:2).

John Calvin on Lent

From the Reformed Virginian

This week I was pleasantly surprised to see the Reformed Baptist Fellowship blog re-post my article on Lent.  It’s not an issue quite like justification or the Trinity, but it’s important nonetheless for a variety of reasons.  In some sense it is indeed connected to justification, particularly how we view our own actions before God.  Rather than go on about this again, I’d much rather quote someone whose theological knowledge dwarfs my own.

In the Institutes of the Christian Religion (4.12.20), John Calvin had this to say about the practice of Lent:

Then the superstitious observance of Lent had everywhere prevailed: for both the vulgar imagined that they thereby perform some excellent service to God, and pastors commended it as a holy imitation of Christ; though it is plain that Christ did not fast to set an example to others, but, by thus commencing the preaching of the gospel, meant to prove that his doctrine was not of men, but had come from heaven.

And it is strange how men of acute judgment could fall into this gross delusion, which so many clear reasons refute: for Christ did not fast repeatedly (which he must have done had he meant to lay down a law for an anniversary fast), but once only, when preparing for the promulgation of the gospel. Nor does he fast after the manner of men, as he would have done had he meant to invite men to imitation; he rather gives an example, by which he may raise all to admire rather than study to imitate him.

In short, the nature of his fast is not different from that which Moses observed when he received the law at the hand of the Lord (Exod. 24:18; 34:28). For, seeing that that miracle was performed in Moses to establish the law, it behoved not to be omitted in Christ, lest the gospel should seem inferior to the law. But from that day, it never occurred to any one, under pretence of imitating Moses, to set up a similar form of fast among the Israelites.

Nor did any of the holy prophets and fathers follow it, though they had inclination and zeal enough for all pious exercises; for though it is said of Elijah that he passed forty days without meat and drink (1 Kings 19:8), this was merely in order that the people might recognise that he was raised up to maintain the law, from which almost the whole of Israel had revolted.

It was therefore merely false zeal, replete with superstition, which set up a fast under the title and pretext of imitating Christ; although there was then a strange diversity in the mode of the fast, as is related by Cassiodorus in the ninth book of the History of Socrates: “The Romans,” says he, “had only three weeks, but their fast was continuous, except on the Lord”s day and the Sabbath. The Greeks and Illyrians had, some six, others seven, but the fast was at intervals. Nor did they differ less in the kind of food: some used only bread and water, others added vegetables; others had no objection to fish and fowls; others made no difference in their food.” Augustine also makes mention of this difference in his latter epistle to Januarius.

It’s clear that the human condition is indeed universal.  There’s always a tendency to want to “do something.”  To add something to the Gospel.  To craft something of our own in order to please God.  This is especially appealing to the uniquely American philosophy of pragmatism.  Praise God that He is pleased with His people only because He is pleased with the person and work of His Son, our only Mediator.

Jesus Wasn't Crucified on Friday or Resurrected on Sunday

Article by Scott Ashley

How can we fit three days and three nights between a Friday afternoon crucifixion and an Easter Sunday sunrise? The fact is, we can't. So what is the truth about when Jesus was crucified and resurrected?

About one billion Protestants and another billion Catholics believe that Jesus Christ was crucified and entombed on a Friday afternoon—"Good Friday"—and raised to life again at daybreak on Easter Sunday morning, a day and a half later.

Yet when we compare this to what Jesus Himself said about how long He would be entombed, we find a major contradiction. How long did Jesus say He would be in the grave? "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40).

The context in which Jesus Christ said these words is important. The scribes and Pharisees were demanding a miraculous sign from Him to prove that He was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. "But He answered and said to them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah'" (verse 39).

This was the only sign Jesus gave that He was the promised Messiah: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (emphasis added throughout).

Traditional timing doesn't add up

The Gospels are clear that Jesus died and His body was hurriedly placed in the tomb late in the afternoon, just before sundown when a Sabbath began (John 19:30-42).

By the traditional "Good Friday–Easter Sunday" timing, from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown is one night and one day. Saturday night to Sunday daybreak is another night, giving us two nights and one day.

So where do we get another night and two days to equal the three days and three nights Jesus said He would be in the tomb?

This is definitely a problem. Most theologians and religious scholars try to work around it by arguing that any part of a day or night counts as a day or night. Thus, they say, the final few minutes of that Friday afternoon were the first day, all day Saturday was the second day, and the first few minutes of Sunday morning were the third day.

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?

The trouble is, it doesn't work. This only adds up to three days and two nights, not three days and three nights.

Also, John 20:1
tells us that "on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb."

Did you catch the problem here? John tells us it was still dark when Mary went to the tomb on Sunday morning and found it empty. Jesus was already resurrected well before daybreak. Thus He wasn't in the tomb any of the daylight portion of Sunday, so none of that can be counted as a day.

That leaves us with, at most, part of a day on Friday, all of Friday night, a whole daylight portion on Saturday, and most of Saturday night. That totals one full day and part of another, and one full night and most of another—still at least a full day and a full night short of the time Jesus said He would be in the tomb.

Clearly something doesn't add up. Either Jesus misspoke about the length of time He would be in the tomb, or the "Good Friday–Easter Sunday" timing is not biblical or accurate.

Obviously both cannot be true. So which one is right?

Understanding God's time is the key

The key to understanding the timing of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection lies in understanding God's timetable for counting when days begin and end, as well as the timing of His biblical festivals during the spring of the year when these events took place.

We first need to realize that God doesn't begin and end days at midnight as we do—that is a humanly devised method of counting time. Genesis1:5
tells us quite plainly that God counts a day as beginning with the evening (the night portion) and ending at the next evening—"So the evening [nighttime] and the morning [daylight] were the first day." God repeats this formula for the entire six days of creation.

In Leviticus 23, where God lists all of His holy Sabbaths and festivals, He makes it clear that they are to be observed "from evening to evening" (verse 32)—in other words, from sunset to sunset, when the sun went down and evening began.

This is why Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, followers of Jesus, hurriedly placed His body in Joseph's nearby tomb just before sundown (John 19:39-42). A Sabbath was beginning at sundown (verse 31), when work would have to cease.

Two kinds of "Sabbaths" lead to confusion

As John tells us in verse 31: "Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies [of those crucified] should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken [to hasten death], and that they might be taken away."

In the Jewish culture of that time, the chores of cooking and housecleaning were done on the day before a Sabbath to avoid working on God's designated day of rest. Thus the day before the Sabbath was commonly called "the preparation day." Clearly the day on which Christ was crucified and His body placed in the tomb was the day immediately preceding a Sabbath.

The question is, which Sabbath?

Read more -->HERE.

The Fallacy of Good Friday

How We Know Christ was Crucified on Passover Wednesday by Truth Broadcast Ministries

“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” Mat 12:40

“… and be raised again the third day”

Mat 16:21

“…beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done” Luke 24:21

     Today we are going to study an esoteric doctrine: the fallacy of Good Friday.  Have you ever wondered about the seeming contradiction in the Bible, that Christ died on Friday, was in the grave three days and three nights, and rose on Sunday?  How do you get three days from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning?

     The answer to this question is that the tradition of Christ dying on Good Friday is erroneous and unscriptural.  Today we will expose this fallacy, explore how it came to be the prevalent teaching in Christianity, and unequivocally prove that Christ was killed on Passover Wednesday, buried and in the ground by Thursday, and rose on Saturday night (which would be Sunday by Jewish reckoning).  I strongly suggest you follow along in your own Bibles. Let’s begin!

     The source of the Good Friday fallacy comes from a misunderstanding of scripture.  After Jesus had been crucified, and as evening approached, it is stated that the following day was a Sabbath:

“And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath”   Mark 15:42

     Looks like the following day must be Saturday, right?  But wait, the Sabbath referred to here is not the regular weekly Sabbath.  Rather, it is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a “feast day” Sabbath that followed Passover.

     Passover took place on the 14^th of the Jewish month of Nisan. Following the Passover was the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which occurred from the 15^th of Nisan to the 21^st of Nisan.  The 14^th of Nisan was called also called the “preparation day,” because the Jews had to “prepare” for the Sabbath that followed on the 15^th of Nisan. They “prepared” by finishing all servile work, travel, or other activities before the Sabbath began.

     The month of Nisan had many Sabbaths and special feast days that followed each other in succession. The 15^th and 21^st of Nisan were special “feast day” Sabbaths, also called “high” Sabbaths that corresponded with the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  From the 14^th to the 21^st of Nisan there could be as many as three Sabbaths—the weekly Saturday Sabbath, the “high” Sabbath which took place on the 15^th of Nisan, and the “high” Sabbath which took place on the 21^st of Nisan.  Let’s see what the Old Testament says on this subject:

“…on the fifteenth day of the same month (Nisan) is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.  In the first day (15^th Nisan) ye shall have an holy convocation (high Sabbath): ye shall do no servile work therein… in the seventh day (21^st Nisan) is an holy convocation (high Sabbath): ye shall do no servile work therein”

Lev. 23:6-8

    

     If there was any doubt as to which Sabbath followed the day of Christ’s death, the Gospel of John clears it up with this parenthetical insert:

“The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day  (because that sabbath day was an high day,)” John 19:31

     The Sabbath referred to here is not the regular weekly Sabbath, but the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the 15^th of Nisan.  It was a “high” Sabbath, and thus did necessarily have to fall on Saturday.

     Besides the issue of the Sabbath, another source of confusion involves how time was measured during Jesus’ day.  The Romans measured time from midnight to midnight, just like we do today.  Jews, on the other hand, measure time from sunset to sunset, commencing approximately at 6:00 P.M.  The new day begins with darkness because it is recorded in Genesis that evening came first: “the evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen 1:5). 

     The Jews divide the day into twelve hour increments, measured approximately from dusk until dawn.  So for example, when the Bible says that it was “the ninth hour,” that would be either 3:00 A.M or 3:00 P.M. (counting each hour from 6:00 o’clock A.M. or 6:00 o’clock P.M.), depending on whether it was light or dark outside.

     The Old Testament states that Passover was to be on the 14^th of Nissan (Lev. 23:5).  This was the time that Jesus and His disciples ate their Last Supper together.

     But contrary to scripture, the Judean Jews in Jesus’ had a custom of eating the Passover meal on the 15^th of Nisan, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  This has often made it seem as if there were two Passover meals, because some of the Jews celebrated Passover on the 14^th while others celebrated it on the 15^th of Nisan.

     Thus Passover is often used synonymously with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and when the Passover is spoken of in the Gospels, it could be referring to either the 14^th of Nisan or the 15^th of Nisan depending on the context:

 “Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh (15^th of Nisan), which is called the Passover”    Luke 22:1

“In the fourteenth day of the first month (14^th of Nisan) at even (better rendered ‘at twilight’ or ‘between the two evenings’) is the Lord’s Passover”  Lev 23:5

     Jesus and His disciples ate the Passover on the correct day, the 14^th of Nisan.  However, many Jews ate the Passover on the 15^th of Nisan, the “High Sabbath” of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was also called “the Passover.”

     Herein, we have covered some of the origins of the Good Friday fallacy and confusion surrounding the day Christ died..  Now we shall present the last week of Christ’s life and prove that he was crucified on Wednesday and in the grave for three days and three nights, just as the scripture records.

Read more -->HERE.

Lent and the Sufficient Work of Christ

In Reformed Baptist Fellowship on Monday, February 20, 2012 at 10:21 am

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been inclined to focus on the practice of Lent.  I’ve seen my Roman Catholic friends do this for years, but I never gave it much thought.  Yet Lutherans, Anglicans, and other denominations inheriting the Reformation tradition also observe this part of the liturgical calendar.  Most people who practice Lent sacrifice something from their daily life (usually a food item) from Ash Wednesday until Maundy Thursday.

Its purported purpose is to imitate the suffering and temptation of Christ during His forty-day fast in the desert.  In centuries past, the methods of penance were much more serious compared to the types of self-denial we commonly see today.  Giving up sweets (for example) during the Lenten season may indeed trivialize the sufferings of Christ, but that’s not my main reason for opposing the practice.

Of the many theological errors before us, one of the most common is the confusion between historia salutis (redemption accomplished) and ordo salutis (redemption applied).  The former represents those once-for-all, unrepeatable events in redemptive history.  Roman Catholicism, for example, makes the serious mistake of confusing historia salutis and ordo salutis with respect to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross (i.e., their practice of the Mass in which Christ is “re-sacrificed”).  Charismatic movements do the same thing with Pentecost.

Similarly, the practice of Lent takes the historia salutis event of Christ in the desert and turns it into something which can be counterfeited on an individual level.  In doing so, it fits perfectly with a works-righteousness mentality.  Inherent within Lent is the idea that its practice brings one “closer to God,” making a man-centered mockery of God’s grace.

Read more -->HERE.

Winter Solstice

NOTE: I do not recommend reading sites which promote witchcraft or other forms of satanic worship. I am posting this information as a means to WARN people that there is an undercurrent of ungodliness running through that which many may believe to be 'harmless,' 'christianized,' or 'reclaimed' for HIS glory.

While man can, and does, pervert that which is holy and good, there is no scriptural warrant for participating in unholy feasts.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 

2Co_6:14  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 

Jas_4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~
Celebrating Winter Solstice

by Selena Fox

Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel.

Today, many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as "Christmas." Yet a look into its origins of Christmas reveals its Pagan roots. Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast day was Christianized. January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice.

Most of the customs, lore, symbols, and rituals associated with "Christmas" actually are linked to Winter Solstice celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures. While Christian mythology is interwoven with contemporary observances of this holiday time, its Pagan nature is still strong and apparent. Pagans today can readily re-Paganize Christmastime and the secular New Year by giving a Pagan spiritual focus to existing holiday customs and by creating new traditions that draw on ancient ways. Here are some ways to do this:

NOTE: I do not recommend reading sites which promote witchcraft or other forms of satanic worship.

I am posting the link to the original site as a means of substantiating the reality of what non-Christians do in the performance of their *religion* not as a means of advocating their practices.

BE VERY CAREFUL BEFORE OPENING DOORS AND *DABBLING* WITH THAT WHICH IS SATANIC!

The remainder of the article can be found here.