A short-ish word:

On easter

WHAT I DIDN’T KNOW THAT I DIDN’T KNOW, ABOUT passover

(based on conversations I have had with professing christians)

 

-six-

The overarching element of any discussion I have had with professing Christians concerning Easter is this; if the cap fits, why can’t we wear it? We who? Surely, it has been said, the acceptance & inclusion of the recurring themes of new life & renewal, chime nicely with The Gospel motifs of light & resurrection. Doesn’t this make it easier to evangelise & easier for the evangelised? Surely, I have replied, you’re having a laugh. The preaching of The Gospel comes with conviction, not convenience. Easter serves the latter. Where is The Lamb? Where is The Cross? Where is The Blood? Furthermore, it is He & not we who are evidently set forth in the scenario. Passover is exclusively about Christ Jesus. I completely understand that it is easier to go with the flow, rather than attempt to roll back centuries of man-made tradition, intermingled with paganism. This is to say nothing of daring to oppose it or forbid its inclusion in our worship. I hear the sharp intake of breath & the clutching of pearls. It is bad enough that nominal Gentile Christianity openly rejects the root that supports The Feast, but quite another for true believers to besmirch the finished work of Christ by secularising it. When The Church at large uses symbolism, allegory & representations other than those given to it biblically, that speaks for itself. Have we forgotten exactly Who it is that supremely distinguished Himself from all others? Have we forgotten that He is in a category all by Himself? Have we forgotten that He is the true firstborn from the dead? Also, for the record, The Lord Jesus Christ does not wear a cap. He wears a crown.

In conclusion I want to encourage you brethren. We need to embrace what we have abandoned. In an effort to rid itself of those pesky Jews & their awful Passover, The Church has replaced it with Easter, historically. This is not six of one & half a dozen of the other. It is theological regime change. Jesus Christ is not at the centre of this season; The Equinox is. The Church has simply adopted its themes & adapted itself. Something at which it’s quite adept. Remember that whatever is said of Christ by The Church at large will be believed by the world.

Even the staunchest atheist will associate this time with the elements promoted & popularised in The Name of Jesus & in this, The Church at large has excelled spectacularly. The Jesus of Easter is little more than the sum of those things He has been likened to & yet The Scriptures paint an altogether different picture of the real Christ’s death, burial & resurrection. Of course, this means actually taking the time to read & study God’s Word & who has time to do that nowadays, eh? I suggest you make the time, because Easter is not the only lie that The Church has accepted & perpetuated.

¹ Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. ² For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; ³ How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; ⁴ God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will⁹…But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man (Hebrews 2:1-4 & 9). 

¹⁴ Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; ¹⁵ And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:14-15).

This is The Lord. This is The King. This is The Messiah. This is God in the flesh. This is Jesus Christ. This is The One Who endured the cross, despising the shame & is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). Paul says of Him, ‘Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.’ (1^st Timothy 6:15-16).

²⁵ Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.  ²⁶ For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens (Hebrews 7:26).

This is The Lord. This is The King. This is The Messiah. This is God in the flesh. This is Jesus Christ. Hebrews says of Him, ‘By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.’ (Hebrews 7:22-24). He Himself is our guarantor (Ephesians 1:14).

This is The Lord. This is The King. This is The Messiah. This is God in the flesh. This is Jesus Christ. Now hear this; ‘And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. (Hebrews 9:15-17). Not only did He die as a perfect offering to bring us The New Covenant; He rose again from the dead in order to ratify & administrate it.

This is The Lord. This is The King. This is The Messiah. This is God in the flesh. This is Jesus Christ. Paul says of Him, ‘Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.’ (Colossians 1:15-18). Don’t you love Him?

This is The Lord. This is The King. This is The Messiah. This is God in the flesh. This is Jesus Christ. Just as YHWH smashed the Egyptian pantheon, Jesus trounces His opposition by conquering death. Like Father, like Son. Listen to Paul, ‘And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.’ (Ephesians 1:19-23). 

¹⁵ And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:15). 

This is The Lord. This is The King. This is The Messiah. This is God in the flesh. This is Jesus Christ. The One Who’s sacrifice was sufficient to take away sins. Hebrews says, ‘And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. ¹⁴ For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified (Hebrews 11:10-14). 

This is The Lord. This is The King. This is The Messiah. This is God in the flesh. This is Jesus Christ. Jesus says, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.’ (Revelation 22:13).

⁸ Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. ⁹ (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)’ (Ephesians 4:8-10).

¹⁸ Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them (Psalms 68:18). 

This is The Lord. This is The King. This is The Messiah. This is God in the flesh. This is Jesus Christ. This is The One we worship, praise & adore, most especially during these days of The Feast. This is The One Who said, ‘..Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ (John 2:19); ‘..I lay down my life, that I might take it again..I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again..’ (John 10:17-18). That is a fact more defiant than the forces of nature being honoured at Easter & the influences behind it.

This is The Lord. This is The King. This is The Messiah. This is God in the flesh. This is Jesus Christ.

²⁰ Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, ²¹ Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21).

If you are in any doubt whatsoever concerning The Lord Jesus Christ & His credentials, qualifications or worthiness, please read through The New Testament. When The Church at large ought to defend its champion, it has allowed His reputation to be supplanted. Passover has become a pushover. It is a cruel joke to make any comparison between The Exodus & The Equinox.

Easter, it’s nature symbols & repurposed imagery has nothing to do with the death, burial, victory & resurrection of Christ. We have the sufficiency of Scripture. Out of that treasury, we The Church ought to be taught & in turn, teach & our children. The alternative is neither viable nor biblical. There is no other way to adequately convey the true magnitude of The Lord Jesus Christ’s accomplishment, apart from The Scriptures. From there we derive our language, liturgy & litany.

⁹ And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; ¹⁰ And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. ¹¹ And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; ¹² Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. ¹³ And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever (Revelation 5:9-13).

³ And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints (Revelation 15:3). 

 

 

 

 

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