Lent & Easter…What Do You Think?

Hey WordPress,

So my body thought it would be ok to fall asleep at around midnight and wake up like everything is cool at 2:30am. so here i am.

well, before falling asleep, one of my homegirls on facebook was talking about lent. I, as I have stated before, am Christian. I went to catholic school for a few years, but i thought it was boring as dirt, so i never paid it much attention. So i ask her, what exactly is lent? it’s not in the bible. this is the explanation she gives:

God told to Jesus to go on a journey (I forgot where) and he had to walk through the desert. The devil walked by His side the entire journey taunting and teasing Him, promising of food and water, and all of life’s riches and desires, if He praised the Devil instead of God. Jesus was like “nah fool, get the fuck away from me. God is my man!” And the devil was like “ok, if Your God is so great, why isn’t He here with you to walk this journey with you through this hot ass desert? If He loves you so much, tell Him to give you water and food!” And Jesus was like “Nah, it ain’t like that. I do not test my God’s love for me.” So Jesus walked through this desert for 40 days and 40 nights not eating or drinking anything. He fasted that entire time and resisted the Devil’s temptation. That’s why Catholic’s fast during Lent. No meat or chicken on Fridays and we vow to give something up (a vice or temptation) or we vow to do more of something good for 40 days and 40 nights. It’s our way of imitating Christ’s spiritual dedication AND before he was prosecuted, he asked his disciples to fast before he resurrected on Easter. It’s in the Bible Gn 7:4, Ex 24:18, 34:28, Nm 13:25, 14:33, John 3:4, Mt 4:1-11.

ok…..other than the fact that she was cursing while explaining about Christ, i understood. my thing is though…..Easter isn’t real. it never has been, never will be. there is no instance of easter in the bible. “but Tori, that’s when Jesus resurrected.” oh really? where does it say that He resurrected on easter? i would like to say the KJV does in fact say easter. “so then what are you talking about? it’s there!” ok, let’s take a history lesson, shall we?

Old Testament Times:

Here is a summary of Leviticus 23 which has the title, “The Appointed Feasts of God.”

vs 3- Sabbath day, the seventh day of the week (Saturday, not Sunday)

vs 4-8- According to God’s calendar, not man’s, the 14th day of the 1st month is the day of the Passover. the 15th day of the 1st month (the next day) is the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

vs 9-14- this is called the Feast of Firstfruits. this happens on the day after the Sabbath (on a Sunday) that takes place after the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So for instance- say Passover happened on a Monday. Tuesday is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That Saturday is, of course, the Sabbath day, and the very next day, the first Sunday, is the Feast of Firstfruits. you with me? (if you don’t understand ANYTHING, please leave me a comment!)

vs 15-21- The Feast of Weeks- from the Feast of Firstfruits (that first Sunday), 50 days from that Sunday is the Feast of Weeks. Again, that’s going to be on a Sunday.

vs 23-25- the 1st day of the 7th month, again not according to man’s calendar but God’s, is the feast of Trumpets.

vs 26-32- the 10th day of the 7th month is the Day of Atonement.

vs 33-43- the 15th day of the 7th month is The Feast of Tabbernacles.

“but Tori, when Jesus came, He abolished the law.”

really?

Matthew 5:17- …I did not come to ABOLISH the law but to fulfill it…

“but Tori, those are Jewish holidays.”

really?

Leviticus 23:44- So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed festivals of the Lord.

these are GOD’S feasts. however, as we know, we don’t keep the old law, otherwise, the high priests of Levi would be sacrificing animals, right? so then how was this fulfilled is Jesus came to fulfill?

Matthew 26:17-19- On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”…

So Jesus kept the Passover…how?

Matthew 26:26-28: While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of thecovenant [the new covenant- Lk 22:14-21], which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

bread + wine= Passover, no longer animals sacrifice.

Do you know what happened the next day?

Matthew 26:36-67, Luke 22:39-53, Mark 14:32-52, John 17-18:1-4…All of these verses are about how after the Passover (which happens during evening time), He prayed in Gethsemane, but His disciples kept falling asleep. why? it was the wee hours of the morning, the next day, the 15th day of the 1st month- the Feast of Unleavened Bread. what happened after he prayed? Jesus was arrested. the Feast of Unleavened Bread is also called the Day of Affliction- Jesus was truly afflicted on this day. why? because after His arrest, did they let Him go? They killed our God with no mercy. They had a chance to either have Him let go or a murder named Barabas and they chose Barabas because that is just how much they wanted Jesus dead.

but what did Jesus say? John 2:19-21, Jesus said He would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days but He was speaking of His body= resurrection.

pop quiz: do you remember what feast came after Unleavened Bread? After the Sabbath, the next day, Sunday is the Feast of Firstfruits. so how did Jesus fulfill this?

when did Jesus resurrect? even people who celebrate easter will answer “Sunday.”

Luke 23:50-54- Jesus’ burial…vs 54-It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

Mark 16:1&9- When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body…When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

How many days is that, folks? Friday (the day before the Sabbath), Saturday (Sabbath day), and Sunday (He rose)….THREE. Three days later, on Sunday, He rose. What does that mean according to the feasts? what day was celebrated on the first sunday after the Sabbath Day during the same week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread? Feast of Firstfruits.

1 Corinthians 15 is all about Jesus’ resurrection. vs 20- But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

He did, in fact, fulfill this feast.

To make a long story short, we can see the apostles kept the Day of Pentecost- Pente= 50. In Acts 1:3-5, Jesus told them, after He stayed with them for 40 days, to stay in Jerusalem until He poured down the Holy Spirit. Do you know when He did that? Acts 2:1- on the Day of Pentecost. Remember Old Testament? Feast of Weeks, which was kept on the 50th day after the Feast of Firstfruits? Exactly….I can keep going on and on and on, but they, also, kept the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles (which Jesus showed them how to keep in John 7).

What does all this mean???

DO YOU SEE EASTER ANYWHERE IN ALL THAT?

No, no you don’t.

“Tori, if there’s no easter, where did it come from?”

Great question- Jesus prophesied that after He and the apostles died, Satan would come and contaminate the truths of God (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). That’s exactly what happened.

After Apostle John died between 95-105AD, the church started to adopt the laws of the Romans because Christianity was illegal at this time. So the church split into Eastern Church and Western Church. The Eastern Church was still keeping the commands of God but the Western Church started doing things like Sunday worship, not keeping the Passover, etc.

In 313, the roman emperor at the time, Constantine, decided to “accept” Christianity and made it legalized. HOWEVER, he was still pagan to the core. He and the Roman Catholic Church teamed up and in 321AD, they officially abolished Sabbath and made it Sunday worship. Anyone keeping Sabbath was considered a HERETIC…..wait a second? didn’t God make the Sabbath, Saturday, the day of worship? Yes, yes He did. It didn’t stop there, though.

In 325AD, the Council of Nicaea, which the catholics were involved in, abolished Passover and made it….you guessed it….easter/communion.

“Tori, how is that possible?”

I will tell you…what is one of the main beliefs of catholics? during mass, if you eat the bread and drink the wine, you receive Christ’s flesh and blood. when did Jesus Christ say this? On the Passover. was there any other day? did He do it multiple times a week? a month? a year? NO….it was on the day of the Passover. so then is keeping communion a true law of God? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

“But Tori, you STILL havent told me about easter!”

No problem.

Excerpted from “Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions,” by Starhawk, Diane Baker, and Anne Hill

“Eostar is the goddess of dawn and new beginnings. Her name is similar to the word for the Christian Easter, because that holiday took its name from the ancient pagan goddess of spring and rebirth. Another name in the same family is Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess of the morning and evening stars.”

She is a fertility goddess….is this something from the Bible? to worship other gods? um…..idk about you guys, but my Bible says the first commandment is “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

why bunnies and eggs? these represent fertility- NOTHING to do w Jesus AT ALL.

So let me ask you: is celebrating easter a command of God or a man made rule?

“But Tori, this is all i’ve ever known. what am i supposed to do now?”

First off all, stop celebrating easter. lol. and it’s the same for christmas, worshiping the cross, etc. all of that are things that PEOPLE made up. God never gave such rules.

“But if these are all man’s rules and not God’s, how can we be saved? What is the point of me going to church if I can’t be saved?”

You’re right- if we are not worshiping God, what is the point? Even the Bible says that Satan sets himself up in God’s temple. (2 Thessalonians 2:4- He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.) So what do you do? where do you go? where is the true church?

Let me ask you a question: who told God’s people how to keep the new covenant? Jesus. then who is the ONLY ONE who can reinstate the new covenant?

Revelation 5:1-5: Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.  Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Other than the Bible, what can be called the scroll of the Lord? Only the Bible. “But Tori, I can open my Bible now with no problem?” But can you understand it?

Matthew 13:13-16: his is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

Who is the Root of David that will be able to explain to us about the Bible?

Revelation 22:16-  “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give youthis testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

“But Jesus isn’t here, Tori. What does that mean?”

Hebrews 9:27-28- Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

“So has Jesus returned?”

If you really, really want to know and you really want to seek God, send me a message. we will talk…

I hope I haven’t bored you guys….but what it boils down to is: are you going to keep a holiday based upon tradition of man or do you want to keep God’s law?

I know my choice…I keep the Passover and Resurrection Day. I do not keep easter…

Night everyone!