Posting Schedule & Emails

There is no "posting schedule" as of right now.  Posts will be here and there....some weeks I may post every day or 5 posts in one day, just as there may be some weeks I don't post at all.  The best thing you can do to always have the most current posts is to sign up for e-mails.  Signing up for e-mails means that you will be e-mailed every time I post anything on this site and therefore you will always be up-to-date ;-)

To follow by e-mail, simply scroll to the bottom of the page and enter in your e-mail address and click submit!

God Bless!!!

Christ Became Our Passover

I Corinthians 5:7-8 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.  For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

As explained in the earlier post First Passover In Egypt and in God's Calendar the Passover that we keep today at the same time as that First Passover (Deuteronomy 16:1) (when the death angel passed over the Israelites in Egypt) which is to say 14 days following the new year (the first month of Abib (later Nisan) (Leviticus 23:5) according to God's Calendar which correlates to the end of our March/first of April).  Passover this year (2013) is figured as follows: Vernal Equinox is March 20th + 14 days = Wed April 3rd-7th (it usually occurs that last weekend of March or first weekend of April depending on how the days of the common calendar fall).  It is no coincidence that Christ was crucified at the exact dates of Passover as He became our Passover.  His sacrifice on the cross was so that the 2nd death (spiritual death (1st death is flesh death)) could pass over us if we but just believe that Christ died for our sins and rose again.  Christ nailed to the cross the blood ordinances covering our sin if we take the action of believing and repenting. 

Colossians 2:14-17 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.  Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Hebrews 10:16-18 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord; I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."  Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith?  God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

Hebrews 9:11-14 But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The Old Testament had laws (commandments and health laws), ordinances and statutes.  Christ nailed the blood ordinances from the Old Testament to the cross.  Those blood ordinances were the animal sacrifices for their sins, atonements, etc.  Thankfully we do not have to practice those anymore and we just have to ask repentance for our sins as Christ died for those sins.  He was our ultimate blood sacrifice.  Christ did not nail the laws to the cross.  The commandments are still very much in effect today as they were in the Old Testament times prior to Christ.  We are not saved through obedience to these laws; only through faith and belief in Christ's sacrifice on the cross affords us this.  Note however that we can only take our works (and our unrepented for sins) with us when we die so obeying and repenting are a part of how clean our slate is on Judgment Day.  (Revelation 14:13; Romans 3:28-31; Ephesians 2:8-10; Acts 3:19)  The health laws from Leviticus 11 are not laws against our souls but against our flesh bodies.  God created our flesh bodies and what He knew would make those bodies sick prior to Christ still make our bodies sick after Christ.  His sacrifice on the cross did not change how our bodies react to things God has told us makes them sick. 

Matthew 5:17-19 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but to fulfill.  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, not one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Christ our Savior became our Passover and our Sabbath (Hebrews 4), believe on Him and take rest (and peace) in Him, in His Word, knowing that He died for our sins if we but repent on them and will therefore abide by Him in Heaven!  (I John 5:12-13; Ecclesiastes 12:7)

Titus 3:4-7 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, Which He shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

Months / Festivals Appendix

In the God's Calendar post I typed the table for the months/festivals but depending on your screen size and/or if you are viewing from you phone it may be difficult to read.  Below is the screen shot of the appendix in the Bullinger KJV Companion Bible that the info derived:

 

Info on Appendix Inserts

Note that the Bullinger KJV Companion Bible Appendix inserts (in the prior and I'm sure future posts) can be made bigger and therefore easier to read by double clicking on them and enlarging them from there.  If you ever have any questions or need something further clarified, please feel free to either "Comment" on the Post and/or e-mail me at cagib1@charter.net.  God Bless!

Easter v Passover

Acts 12:4 is the only place in the KJV Bible that Easter is mistranslated ... in the Greek Manuscripts it is pascha which is to say Passover.  Pascha is properly translated passover in every other place in the KJV Bible (roughly 28 other passages in just the New Testament).  Pascha is referenced in The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible as the Greek (from the New Testament) number 3957 (in the Old Testament, the Hebrew 6453 pecach)

"Easter" comes from ishtar and was a pagan goddess (queen) and as the tale goes: was from heaven and fell in an egg that the fish rolled to the earth and she hatched.  The queen of fertility = venus.  The practice is pagan; idolatry practice.  The practice was for a woman at least once to participate in an orgy in this fertility ritual and the "easter egg" was symbolized in this spring festival years before Christ.  Quick like a bunny, another fertility ritual/reference. 

Jeremiah 7:17-20 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?  The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.  Do they provoke Me to anger?  saith the Lord: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?  Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, Mine anger and My fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched."

The "queen of heaven" referenced in verse 18 was the goddess to whom the worship was offered, Ishtar / Ashtoreth.  (compare II Kings 21:3; 23:12-13 as well as Appendix 42 below and all Scripture references offered therein)

Ashtoreth / Ashtaroth / Ashteroth / Astoreth / Ashterathite / Beeshterah is a god of the Philistines, Phoenicians, and Zidonians and Hebrew number 6252 Ashtarowth derived from 6251 Ashtaroth also 6253 Ashtoreth in The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible meaning the name of a Sidonian deity, the Phoenician goddess of love.

Webster's New World College Dictionary:
"Astarte ... a Semitic goddess of fertility and sexual love, worshiped by the Phoenicians and others: see also ASHTORETH, ISHTAR."
"Ashtoreth ... the ancient Phoenician and Syrian goddess of love and fertility: identified with ASTARTE."
"Ishtar ... see ASHTORETH ... the goddess of love, fertility, and war."


***********************************************************************************
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar:
Ishtar is a goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex.^[1] In the Babylonian pantheon, she "was the divine personification of the planet Venus".^[2]

Ishtar was above all associated with sexuality: her cult involved sacred prostitution; her holy city Erech was called the "town of the sacred courtesans"; and she herself was the "courtesan of the gods".^[2] Ishtar had many lovers; however, as Guirand notes,

woe to him whom Ishtar had honoured! The fickle goddess treated her passing lovers cruelly, and the unhappy wretches usually paid dearly for the favours heaped on them. Animals, enslaved by love, lost their native vigour: they fell into traps laid by men or were domesticated by them. 'Thou has loved the lion, mighty in strength', says the hero Gilgamesh to Ishtar, 'and thou hast dug for him seven and seven pits! Thou hast loved the steed, proud in battle, and destined him for the halter, the goad and the whip.'

Even for the gods Ishtar's love was fatal. In her youth the goddess had loved Tammuz, god of the harvest, and — if one is to believe Gilgamesh — this love caused the death of Tammuz.^[2]

Ishtar was the daughter of Sin or Anu.^[2] She was particularly worshiped at Nineveh and Arbela (Erbil).^[2]

Her symbol is an eight pointed star.^[3]

&

From www.ishtartemple.org/history.htm:
The two principal deities of ancient Babylon were Baal and Ishtar. Baal was the god of war and the elements and Ishtar the goddess of fertility - both human and agricultural. These two deities have roots going back before Babylon to Nimrod at Babel and to Assyria. Through the ages they were imported into other nations and under different names but always retaining the same basic characteristics. Baal was also called Bel, Baalat, Molech, Merodach, Mars and Jupiter, and was frequently represented as a bull. Ishtar was also called Aphrodite, Astarte, Ashtoreth, Cybele or Sybil, Diana, Europa, Isis, Semiramis and Venus. The two main elements in the worship of Baal were fire and human sacrifice, usually children.

Ishtar was worshipped via offerings of produce and money as well as though fornication with temple prostitutes. It is this last characteristic that helps make the tie between religious Babylon and kings and merchants. In his book The Secret of Crete, H.G. Wunderlich reports that before marriage, every woman in Babylon was required to go to the temple of Ishtar and lie with a stranger. We have a similar report from Gerhard Herm in his book, The Phoenicians (1) , where women in the Canaanite cities of Tyre, Sidon and Byblos were required to become prostitutes for a day and give themselves to foreign guests during the spring festival. This festival survives today in the name of "Easter", which is derived from the word "Ishtar". Note that the women were to prostitute themselves with strangers or foreigners. In ancient times, the foreigners in these cities were mostly composed of traveling merchants and political dignitaries. In the third century A.D. the historian Eusebius described the patrons of these temples in this way: "It was a school of godlessness for those dissipated men, who had ruined their bodies in the pursuit of luxuriousness. The men were soft and effeminate, were no longer men; they had betrayed the honor of their sex; they believed they must worship their god with impure lust."

***********************************************************************************

Ezekiel 8:15-18 Then said He unto me, "Hast thou seen this, O son of man?  turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these."  And He brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.  Then He said unto me, "Hast thou seen this, O son of man?  Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here?  for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke Me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.  Therefore will I also deal in fury: Mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in Mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them."

"with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east."  Having their "backs to the temple of the Lord" speaks for itself.  They had their backs toward the Lord and their faces toward the east toward the sun rising.  Worship of the sun is a form of idolatry seen as early as Job 31:26-27 and in Deuteronomy 4:19; adopted as early as King Asa (II Chronicles 14:2-5); abolished by King Josiah (II Kings 23:5, 11).

"the branch to their nose"; the branch is the Asherah, represented by a branch cut to a certain shape as referenced in Appendix 42 below.

How many early morning "Easter Sunrise Church Services" or egg hunts have you attended?  Once you know better, do better as God holds you accountable differently once you know the difference.  Once knowledge is revealed and you have understanding, it is a reality that you are then held accountable for and not hope or faith.  (Ezekiel 18:30-32; Romans 8:24-26)

Appendix 42 of the Bullinger KJV Companion Bible explaining the origin and progression (as it were) of 'Asherah:

Since the "Nephilim" were mentioned in Appendix 42, below is Appendix 25 from the Bullinger KJV Companion Bible explaining what they are:

Jude 6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.  [More on the fallen angels and their offspring in a future post......]
 

God's Calendar

Some Basic Calendar Facts:

• 46 BC Julius Caesar created a calendar known as the Julian Calendar (went into effect in 45 BC), but it had a flaw and was later corrected by Pope Gregory XIII.
• 1582 AD The Gregorian Calendar was created by Pope Gregory about 1600 years after the Julian Calendar and fixed the Julian Calendar by:
• Chopping off 10 days;
• Dropping the leap years in every double decimal year so as not to have to drop 10 additional days at a later time;
• Leap Years dropped in 1700/1800/1900/but was not dropped in 2000 (for example) because it was caught up at that time (and adhered to the mathematical formula which determines which of those divisible years have a leap year).

Solar Calendar / God's Calendar:

Even though the Gregorian (western, most common) Calendar purports to be a solar calendar it is not fully a solar calendar as its determination of some date(s) such as Passover/Easter is the lunar cycle.  The Lunar Calendar is very inaccurate and one of the reasons why Passover/Easter by its usage is at a different time each year.  By the Solar Calendar the Spring Equinox brings in the new year and then 14 days later at sundown is Passover each and every year. 

March 20/21st = Spring Equinox + 14 Days then at sunset = 15th Day of the New Year which is Passover (both the original Passover and the one in which Christ was crucified and we now celebrate)

The solar calendar is divided by 50's (days) with the 1st 50 days = Pentecost and so forth to the Feast of Tabernacles.  The seven 50s (7 Jubilees) = 350 days plus the 14 days from the spring equinox which makes it a full calendar year.  Day corrections were always made at the Feast of Tabernacles....if the sun didn't come through to the Holy of Holies, then a day was added (being the equivalent of our leap year).

One Full Year:  Spring Equinox = the first day of the New Year + 14 days = Passover.  Seven (7) groups of 50 Jubilees -- of which the third group of 50 = Feast of Trumpets + 10 days = Day of Atonement; then on the 15th (+5 days) = Feast of Tabernacles = Seven (7) days = Fall Equinox--

So when reading Scripture be aware that even though by our calendar January is the first month, the actual first month by God's Calendar is Abib (or Nisan) which correlates to our March/April.  Passover by God's Calendar is at the same time each and every year and can be easily calculated as outlined above.  Below is a breakdown (compliments of Appendix 51.5 of the Bullinger KJV Companion Bible) of the months (in order) and our corresponding months per our calendar and the festival they are connected (some are a few weeks off but is a good quick reference).  This will be helpful later when we discuss Christ's birth month versus His conception month as it is described in the Bible (yes, man's traditions has this messed up too).

Order      Name of Month             Our Month            Festival of Month            
   I.          Abib, or Nisan                 April              14th day = The Passover
  II.          Zif                                    May               16th day = Firstfruits of Barley Harvest
                                                                            14th day = 2nd Passover for those not at 1st
 III.          Sivan                                June             6th day = Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks
                                                                                              Firstfruits of Wheat/ground
  IV.         Thammuz                        July
   V.         Ab                                    August
  VI.         Elul                                  September
 VII.         Tisri, or Ethanim             October           1st day = Feast of Trumpets
                                                                               10th day = Day of Atonement
                                                                               15th day = Feast of Tabernacles
                                                                                                 Firstfruits of Wine/Oil
VIII.          Bul                                   November
  IX.         Chisleu                             December      25th day = Feast of Dedication
   X.         Tebeth                              January
  XI.         Shebat                              February
 XII.          Adar                                  March           14th/15th days = Feast of Purim

First Passover In Egypt

Ordinarily I would absolutely start things off with "In the beginning"; however, with the season being that of remembrance of Christ's great sacrifice for us on the Cross, that is where I will instead begin things.  Why then am I actually starting with the first passover in Moses' time?  Simple, because I start things at the beginning ;-)

Let's pick the story up with that final plague that God was about to bring down on the Egyptians.  [Side note, at some later date we'll get into the parallels of the final three plagues in Egypt with that of the stages of the 6th trump in Revelation.  We'll also cover the story of Jacob, his descendants and how his story makes up His-story.] 

Exodus 11:1 (And the Lord said unto Moses, "Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.

Exodus 11:4-6 And Moses said, "Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.  And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. 

So here is where things are:  The Egyptians were saved by God (using Joseph) 235/6 years prior (from when he was sold by his brothers) and had benefited from the many blessing of the Israelites presence in Egypt (only by God and His use of Joseph did the Egyptians survive the 7 year famine).  But, in having forgotten the history of the Israelites being with them in the land of Egypt, the Egyptians felt threatened by them and made them slaves and killed their male born infant sons (Exodus 1).  The Egyptians (as a whole) did not follow God or have regard for His followers at that time.  Nine plagues into this ordeal, God was demonstrating  1) He was the one true God;  2) relaying the example of human nature and how that plays out;  3) that if you follow God's rules your (in this case children's) lives would be saved;  4) bringing about the justice of "an eye for an eye" in the killing of the children (Israelites by Egyptians and then Egyptians by God).

Exodus 12:1-14 And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.  And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.  Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.  And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.  And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover.  For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.  And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

There was no guarantee that the death plague would pass over the Israelites just because they were Israelites.  They had to obey God's command, a call to action, in order for them to be saved from the death plague.  Much like today, we must believe on Christ as our Savior and follow Him in order for our souls to be saved from eternal death.  So you can see why I started here, in part, as Jesus became our Passover, the lamb slain, His blood sacrificed and used to wash away our sins.  [more on this later]  Also note that God expects us to be ready (loins girded, shoes on, staff in hand) to act upon His command.....To truly be ready to act you must be educated on what that entails, God's Word has the instructions, from beginning to end!  (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Timothy 2:15; Amos 8:11)

In the next post, I will delve into the calendar and how Passover is at the same time each year, what the "first month" is and how that applies to today.

Exodus 12:23-28 For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.  And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.  And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as He hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.  And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, 'What mean ye by this service?'  That ye shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, Who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses.'"  And the People bowed the head and worshipped.  And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.

 Simply put, it was called "passover" at that time because the death angel "passed over" those in obedience of God's command.  It is called "passover" now because Christ became our passover when he died on the cross.  In an upcoming post, I will explain the confusion with the term "Easter" instead of "Passover" and how man has gotten wobbly on what He did and did not abolish with His great sacrifice.  More to come.......

One Other Foundational Post

If you are already saved in Christ and looking for deeper understanding of God's Word, I pray this site helps your journey and that God opens eyes and ears through this blog!

If you are not yet saved in Christ, know that this site welcomes you in hopes that through the common sense approach and information provided offers you answers to questions that have thus far been blocking your walk with Christ.  (John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.)

This site will demonstrate how the Bible is in full agreement with science by explaining the three earth/heaven ages as well as other issues that seem to be common stumbling blocks.  There is no hypocrisy or using the Scriptures to validate any preconceived objectives.  All study is from the Scriptures with understanding of the subject/object/article used in God's Word so that nothing is taken out of context as so often happens when people try to uphold and justify the traditions of man in lieu of the simplicity of God's Word.  I will try to always provide at least two witnesses if not more of Scripture for any topic discussed.

Hebrews 5:12-14 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Paul was an excellent teacher of God's Word and was able to teach to both the beginner (the milk of Salvation) as well as the more mature and knowledgeable of God's Word (the meat of full age).  This site will hopefully be able to do the same with God's direction and help.  I have no affiliation nor represent anyone other than myself.  I may reference teachers (such as The Shepherd's Chapel, Bullinger, Capt, etc.), but that is to only credit them with the knowledge they have led me to understand.  Know however, that I do not take anyone's knowledge/understanding of God's Word at face value and always check out what they say in God's Word as that is the ultimate authority for my knowledge/understanding.  I pray you do the same and that this site only is a tool you are able to use to gain deeper growth in the Bible.

A cult (and unfortunately some Christian institutions) tells you what to think, but a true ministry of God's Word and/or teacher and/or sharer of God's Word teaches you how to think for yourself in discernment! 

God Bless!