September 29, 2008 is highlighted not because it marks the certainty of divine intervention, but because it marks the appearance of the seventh new moon on the Hebrew calendar. This day shall be God’s New Year’s Day.
This is the day God told Moses to celebrate with the sound trumpets, for this day is the Feast of Trumpets. It is this day that “the last trumpet” sounds; it is this day that the apostle Paul referred to when he spoke of “the last trumpet,” and the gathering of the church into Heaven.
Every year, we as the church look to God’s New Year’s Day with great anticipation—for it is the time of our future salvation. (For an expanded presentation on the subject, click on “Prophecy: The Seven Holy Days” on the right bar of this homepage.)
Why is it that we as the church look to the Mosaic Law?
Christ’s prophecy:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. (Matt. 5:17, 18)
The Law can only be fulfilled—never contradicted. This applies to the first and second coming of Christ.
In the first coming, Christ fulfilled the first four holy days: he was crucified on the Feast of Passover—which was the fourteenth day of the Hebrew month called Nisan; he was in the burial tomb on the Feast of Unleavened Bread—which was the fifteenth day of Nisan; he was resurrected from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits—which was the eighteenth day of Nisan. Finally, Christ sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples on the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)—which was fifty days after the Resurrection. These events occurred as appointed by God, prophesied in the Old Testament Law.
How is Christ’s own prophecy in harmony with Moses?
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matt. 12:40)
“[T]hree days and three nights in the heart of the earth” is the divine sign spoken of by Christ.
For three days and three nights our Lord was “in the heart of the earth.” The burial is marked at the fifteenth of Nisan, and the Resurrection is marked three days and nights later at the eighteenth of Nisan.
Christ and Moses are in agreement and no one in the Bible disagrees with them.
Tragically, our religious ancestors dismissed the Law and Christ’s own prophecy, and are in disagreement with Moses and Christ. Tradition tells us that Christ’s Crucifixion took place on Friday afternoon and that the Resurrection took place on Sunday morning.
Is it possible to fit three days and three nights into the Friday afternoon/Sunday morning story?
No.
If Christ died Friday afternoon and rose Sunday morning, then he failed to fulfill the Law, and he failed to fulfill his own prophecy—which is impossible. Therefore, the tradition that Christ died Friday afternoon and rose Sunday morning is impossible. (For an expanded presentation on the Crucifixion and Resurrection, see “The First Coming of Christ” on the right bar of this homepage.)
The Romans carried out the Crucifixion on Wednesday afternoon and Joseph buried Jesus at sunset, which marks the next day, Thursday, the fifteenth of Nisan. Our Lord remained in the tomb for three days and nights after the burial—not after the Crucifixion. Then, God raised Christ on Sunday, the eighteenth of Nisan, on the Feast of Firstfruits.
On the first day of the week, Sunday, the following event took place: Jesus spoke to Mary and asked her not to “hold” him. Yet, a week later, Jesus told Thomas to do just that. Why?
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father.” (John 20:16, 17)
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” (John 20:24-26)
Why is it that Jesus could not let Mary hold him on Resurrection Sunday, yet he allowed Thomas to do so a week later?
The answer is found in the Law and pertains to the priestly responsibility that must be carried out on the holy day of Firstfruits.
Christ, as the great high priest, carried out his responsibility on the holy day of Firstfruits—and this is why he could not let Mary hold him on Resurrection Sunday.
What was Christ’s priestly responsibility?
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The Mosaic Law states this:
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.’” (Lev. 23:9-11)
Christ was “the firstborn from the dead” (Rev. 1:5), and “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). On the holy day of Firstfruits, Christ—as the great high priest—presented himself to God as the firstfruits sacrifice in fulfillment of the Law. The resurrected Christ was the sheaf offering; he was the firstfruits of the “harvest” from the Earth.
According to the Law, this had to be done, “on the day after the Sabbath.” The Pharisees recognized that the Sabbath was Saturday, and the “day after the Sabbath” had to be Sunday. On Sunday—the first day of the week—the priest had to present the firstfruits of the harvest.
The priest had to present the firstfruits of the harvest on the holy day of Firstfruits—which is when Jesus had to be resurrected (on the holy day). The Law is corroborated by New Testament Scripture: “Jesus rose early on the first day of the week” (Mark 16:9).
The reason that Mary could not hold Jesus on Resurrection Sunday is because he had “not yet returned to the Father” to present himself on that holy day (as the firstfruits from the Earth). If Mary had held Jesus prior to his appearance before the Father, then Jesus, as the priest, would have been unclean.
Armed with this understanding, it then becomes self-evident that the Resurrection had to take place on Sunday, because, if Christ had been resurrected on Saturday, then he would have presented himself that same day to God—on the holy day. Then, when Mary saw him on Sunday, she could have held him because the sacrificial presentation would already have taken place. It was only after Jesus presented himself to God, that Jesus could be held—as he commanded Thomas to do a week later.
Why was Mary at the tomb anyway? Mary had returned to anoint Jesus’ body. If we follow this story of Mary, we follow the Crucifixion (Wednesday, Nisan 14) to the Resurrection (Sunday, Nisan 18).
Firstly, the story of the “spices” began when the Sabbath, the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Nisan 15), was over:
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. (Mark 16:1)
Since business cannot be transacted on the Sabbath, this purchase had to take place the following day: Nisan 16. The Gospel of Luke provides us with the unfolding story of Mary. It begins with the day of the Crucifixion.
Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day [Wednesday, Passover, Nisan 14], and the Sabbath was about to begin [Thursday, Unleavened Bread, Nisan 15]. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared [purchased] spices and perfumes [Friday, Nisan 16]. But they rested on the [weekly] Sabbath [Saturday, Nisan 17] in obedience to the commandment. On the first day of the week [Sunday, Firstfruits, Nisan 18], very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. (Luke 23:53-56; 24:1)
This time line in the Gospel of Luke is in perfect harmony with the Gospel of Matthew (12:40) and the Mosaic Law.
This year, how many of us will hear the truth about the words of Christ?
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matt. 12:40)
As members of the body of Christ, we have the God-given right to believe the words of Christ as given. Let it be so in your life.
To conclude this section on the Crucifixion and Resurrection, what difference does it make if we believe and teach the “Good Friday” hoax, promote “Easter,” ignore the very words of Christ about the divine sign, and dismiss the standard of the Old Testament?
Time marked in Old Testament times foreshadowed time marked in New Testament times. The first coming of Christ witnessed the fulfillment of numerous prophecies—all of which came to pass on time, exactly as God foretold in the Old Testament. Yet, if we rely on our traditions, we would never know it. We would never understand the connection between the Old and New Testaments, and would never understand how time was marked for the first coming of Christ. Satan wants this knowledge to be lost to history and buried in the lies of religious tradition.
“Passover” speaks of our present salvation: We proclaim our deliverance from sin through the death of “Christ, our Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7).” “Unleavened Bread” speaks of our separation from worldly gods, and “Firstfruits” speaks of our future salvation. Shouldn’t we as Christ’s church use biblical terms to describe the personal significance of what our Messiah accomplished for us?
By using the “Good Friday” and “Easter” Sunday terminology, biblical terminology and prophecy is replaced. In essence, lies are substituted for the truth, and promoted as the truth.
By teaching “Good Friday” (and not “Passover”), and by teaching “Easter” Sunday (and not “Firstfruits”), Satan can blind God’s people to a very real and dramatic reality: The biblical significance of the Passover lamb began with Moses—and provides the foundation to understand the significance of the Messiah—who was the Lamb of God. The personal presence of the Messiah marks the fulfillment of all that God set in motion through Moses—and this becomes a personal reality when we make Jesus our Lord and believe in the Resurrection, recognizing that Christ is the firstfruits from the dead, and how the prophecy about firstfruits applies to each one of us… and speaks to us today:
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. (1 Cor. 15:20-23)
This year, how many of us will hear the connection between the Resurrection of Christ and the holy day of Firstfruits: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him”??!!
The big picture is this: the harvest. Who is ascending off this planet with Christ and who will be left behind? Satan wants as many left behind as possible. We seek the opposite.
“Life” and “immortality” are brought to light by Christ’s gospel—his words. He enters the heart—by way of the second birth—when the door is opened to him:
[I]f you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Rom. 10:9, 10)
In these final days before our Lord’s return, truly, his purposes must certainly be ours.
God bless.
Dr. William Ayles
williamayles@thetimeline.org
