TEN COMMANDMENTS NOT GIVEN ON PENTECOST

 

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The Ten Commandments Were Not Given on Pentecost! by Jesse Ancona Introduction Who said the Law was given on Pentecost? A Desire for Meaning The Biggest Problem Adjusting the Chronology Example 1: Quails sent after sunset Saturday Example 2: Calendar with Latest Possible Wavesheaf A Last Fit of Desperation Example 3: The Most Honest Interpretation of Scripture Why Does it Matter? How Does This Affect Our Salvation? List of Assertions and Assumptions Bibliography Introduction I was writing a very general introduction to the Biblical Holy Days found in Leviticus 23, using the example of North American holidays, and put in a throwaway mention of the Ten Commandments having been given on Pentecost (an idea many modern Jewish people also believe), when Keith Hunt corrected me, and told me there was no Biblical evidence this was so. So, I thought I’d take a look. What is the situation? Is the chronology of the book of Exodus so unclear that we don’t know when the Law was given, so it might have been on Pentecost, but we can’t prove it one way or the other? Or is it simpler than that? Keith said that you could not prove, from Biblical chronology, that the Ten Commandments were given on Pentecost. I decided, not only to see if that was true, but if it were true, to look at the converse: could a person prove that they weren’t? Or were we to be left with a mystery? Who Said the Law was given on Pentecost? When I first presented an earlier version of this paper to a small group of holyday-keepers on Pentecost, two of them did not see the significance of the topic. One had never heard the idea that Pentecost was the day the Ten Commandments were given, and the other had heard of it, but only in passing, and it had made little impression. Those of us who were taught by the Worldwide Church of God in earlier days, before the death of its founder, learned that the Ten Commandments were given on the day of Pentecost. Considering that this church has given rise to literally hundreds of sects (commonly called "offshoots"), many of whom repeat most of the original teachings, this affects a great number of people.  But where did this idea come from? A general book on the Jewish people (Ausubel, 1953, p. 36) says, under Shavuot: "The consecration of Israel as a "holy people" at the foot of Mount Sinai when Moses presented it with the stone-tables of the Covenant is commemorated in the Festival of Shavuot, the two-day "Feast of Weeks," often referred to in sacred Hebrew writings as zeman matan toratenu, "the season when our Torah was given us."  In a book that looks at the history of the festivals more critically, we find the belief originated more in a felt necessity than in validity (Gaster, 1952, pp. 61-62): "Thus, even it its rudimentary stage, the Feast of Weeks possessed its own spiritual values. For Judaism, however – especially after it had outgrown its Palestinian origins – these alone were not sufficient. The presence and activity of God had to be recognized at this season not only in the phenomena of nature but also, and on parallel lines, in some crucial event in history. Accordingly in the first centuries of the Common Era, inspiration and ingenuity combined to produce the necessary development.  "The Scriptural narrative states clearly (Ex. 19:1) that the children of Israel reached Mount Sinai in the third month, to the day, after their departure from Egypt. This, it was now argued, does not mean that a full three months elapsed, but only that the event took place in the third month of the year, and in that case the giving of the Ten Commandments might (with a little latitude and fancy) be made to coincide with the Feast of Weeks." Yet another book, which goes into more depth (Schauss, 1938, pp. 88-89), reports: "It appears that as far back as the second Temple, Shovuos was a twofold festival. It was the festival of the wheat harvest, when a sacrifice was offered from the new wheat crop; it was also considered the observance of the pact entered into between God and mankind. At least, that is the interpretation presented in the previously-mentioned "Book of Jubilees." The festival is celebrated, according to this book, as a symbol that the pact God made with Noah, in which he promised no further general flood, is renewed each year. ... How widespread this interpretation of Shovuos was in the days of the second Temple we do not know ... . But the book does show us that in the days of the second Temple there was already a demand for a new interpretation of Shovuos on an historical basis. ... The holiday first attained importance when it became the festival of the giving of the Torah, of God revealing Himself on Mount Sinai."  A Desire for Meaning So, for the Jewish people, believing the Law was given on Pentecost adds significance to an otherwise little-noticed holiday, and gives it a greater meaning than a harvest in a land many no longer live within. For Christian holyday-keepers, believing the Law was given on Pentecost makes for a nice symmetry: the day God gave the physical law written on tablets of stone being the same day that God gave His Holy Spirit to the New Testament Church (Acts 2) – on Pentecost. It is a satisfying, neat idea, and works out very poetically for all kinds of typologies: it just doesn’t happen to be true. The Biggest Problem In researching this, I found a huge difficulty, right away, and I was gratified to later find that Gaster also emphasizes the plain meaning of the scriptures. The chronology is counting from the Exodus, not following the numbering of the months.  In Exodus 16:1, it says,  "the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin...on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt." This is clearly counting from their departure. Two full months after their departure is the 15 Sivan. Then, just before the giving of the Law, we see in Exodus 19:1: "In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai." This is also clearly counting from their departure, so would be the third full month to the day, from when they left Egypt, or 15 Tammuz. So, to even go down the path of what Gaster cheekily calls "a little latitude and fancy," we must decide, from the beginning, to ignore the plain meaning of Scripture, which is obviously counting full months from the day of the Exodus. This point alone should be enough to disprove the giving of the Law on Pentecost, since that day always falls in the month of Sivan, however calculated, and the earliest the Law could have been given, according to the Bible, would be the middle of the following month! However, let us, like the rabbis, assume "the third month" of Exodus 19:1 means "the third month of the year." Since we will be making many assumptions to reconcile the giving of the Law with Pentecost, let us keep track of them. This interpretation of the third month, I will call Point #1. Adjusting the Chronology We know Israel left Egypt in the first month, the month of Nisan (or Abib), which God said was to be the first month of the year to them (Ex. 12:2). While I believe they left on the 15th of Nisan, others differ, and this point bears slightly on the chronology. We will call them leaving on Nisan 15 Point #2. We have Israel leaving Egypt in the middle of Nisan, then coming to the wilderness of Sin on the 15th day of the second month. There are two ways to take this: either two months had passed from their leaving Egypt (the more natural reading), so this would have been in the third month of the year (now called Sivan), or, the 15th of the second month of the year, now called Iyyar. Since we are going with the rabbis in this argument, we are, of necessity, assuming this refers to 15 Iyyar. A month after leaving Egypt, they were in the wilderness of Sin. Then, just before the Ten Commandments are given, we see in Exodus 19:1-3: "In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. "(v. 3) For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. (v. 3) And Moses went up unto God..." We don’t know, in verse 2, how many days they camped at Sinai before Moses went up the mountain, but we will assume, for the sake of argument, that they had just pitched their tents, and this whole chapter is talking about the same day (Point #3).  Exodus 19: 10-11:  "And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes, (v. 11) And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. So, with these assumptions, God spoke to Moses on 15 Sivan and said the people were to prepare themselves that day, the next day, and on the third day the Lord come to them. So we are talking about the 15th, 16th, and 17th of Sivan, and the Ten Commandments were given on 17 Sivan.  Continuing in Ex. 19:16: "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount..." and in Exodus 20 we have God speaking the words of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20: 1-17). So, this occurred on the third day, beginning with the 15th of Sivan, as it said, "today, and tomorrow. ... And be ready against the third day" (Ex. 19:10, 11). By the modern Jewish reckoning of Pentecost on Sivan 6, the Ten Commandments were given 11 days after Pentecost! But is there any other reckoning by which the Ten Commandments could have been given on Pentecost? Let’s look at the various ways of counting 50 from the wavesheaf: there are three: 1) from the first High Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread, 2) from the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread, and, rarer, 3) from the last High Sabbath during Unleavened Bread. For 1) and 3), dates are all that is required; for 2), we need to know which day of the week Passover fell on. Example 1: Quails sent after sunset Saturday (Click on link to see sample calendar in popup window) While we don’t know what day of the week the first Passover occurred on, an argument could be made that the murmurings of Israel on the 15th day of the second month (Ex. 16:2), were on the Sabbath, after which the quails came (v. 13) , then the first manna the next morning (v. 13-15), and the sixth day there was twice as much (v. 22) against the Sabbath. But it is not totally clear that the sixth day was also the sixth day after the manna was first given. But we will look at this as an assumption for our first example (Point #4a). Even assuming this day was a Sabbath, we do not know how many days were in the month that the children of Israel were using. We know it was lunar, in that the months began with the new moon, and we can fairly safely assume it was lunar-solar (Point #5), as all the ancient Mesopotamian calendars were, in that it kept pace with the seasons, so harvest time occurred around the same time every year.  Luni-solar calendars normally alternated days of 29 and 30 (O’Neil, p. 88), to keep with the moon, then intercalated a month every few years, to reconcile with the sun. The modern Jewish calendar has 30 days in Nisan, 29 in Iyyar, and 30 in Sivan, though, again, we do not know how many days were in the month at the time of the Exodus. Clearly, any reconstruction is going to be based on many assumptions. Let’s just, for the sake of argument, accept 15th Iyyar was a Sabbath, and Nisan had 30 days, and Iyyar had 29 (Point #6). In this case, Passover (the 14th) would have been on a Wednesday, making Friday the wavesheaf day of the modern Jewish people and the early Pharisees. This would count to a Pentecost on Sivan 6, which is the fixed day most of them keep it on. For those whose wavesheaf is calculated after the weekly Sabbath during Unleavened Bread, in our first example, (Quails Saturday after sunset), the wavesheaf would be Nisan 18, and Pentecost Sivan 8. For those who calculate the wavesheaf after the last day of Unleavened Bread, the wavesheaf would be on 22 Nisan and Pentecost on 11 Sivan. Finally, to stretch a case, imagining someone who did such counting, and did it exclusively, that is starting the following day, instead of beginning with the wavesheaf, Pentecost would be on 12 Sivan. Example 2: Calendar with Latest Possible Wavesheaf (Click on link to see sample calendar in popup window) In this example, let’s discount the assumption that the quails give us the day of the week, and go with the week that would give us the latest possible wavesheaf by the calculations of those who reckon the wavesheaf as falling after the weekly Sabbath (Point #4b). This is also the latest possible wavesheaf, as it is the day of the wavesheaf for those who keep it after the last day of Unleavened Bread. This would be one where the Passover occurs on the Sabbath. Discounting those who would have the wavesheaf on the first Day of Unleavened Bread (we’re going with the latest day possible), this makes the wavesheaf on 22 Nisan, for a 12 Sivan Pentecost, or, at the latest, with exclusive counting, 13 Sivan. Since 17 Sivan is the earliest possible date for the giving of the Ten Commandments, assuming that Moses spoke to God the very same day the Israelites camped, and that they did not camp for a longer time, there is no way, by any method of reckoning, that the Ten Commandments could have been given on Pentecost. A Last Fit of Desperation Or could it? Is there any twists we could introduce to make it closer? We could shave a day off Nisan, and assume both Nisan and Iyyar had 29 days (Point #7), which would bring everything closer by 1 day, but 14 Sivan is still three days away from the 17 Sivan. Since the lunar month averages a bit more than 29.5 days, lunar calendars alternate 29 and 30 days (O’Neil, p. 88): there is no way they would ever have one month of 28 days, let alone two, but even with two months of 28 days, we’re at 16 Sivan versus 17 Sivan, and we have made so many assumptions from the insupportable to the downright ludicrous, that we could not honestly push it even this far! Example 3: The Most Honest Interpretation of Scripture (Click on link to see sample calendar in popup window) A final scenario, I present to you, that contains none of the unfounded assumptions. The natural reading of the Bible is used, counting full months from the Exodus (Point #4c), and no monkeying with the months is allowed. The only assumptions are that there is a lunar-solar calendar, with alternating 29 and 30 day months. In this example, the calendar with the latest possible wavesheaf is given, as it is obvious from a glance, that even this makes no difference.  Why Does it Matter? What difference does all this make? This question is certainly a technical point on a technical topic, but the significance is much more spiritual than technical. Firstly, it shows how easy it is to assume that what we have been taught, whether by the rabbis, by our original church, or by books, is correct, without even being aware that we are making an assumption. I didn’t question this point until I was challenged on it, and then I realized I’d never looked into it. What difference does it make? Or, to put it, using a phrase I resoundingly dislike, "it isn’t a salvational issue," is it? In one sense, of course it isn’t. Chronologies, by themselves, do not matter. If you fail Math, you don’t lose your salvation, but it doesn’t mean you’re right, either. How Does This Affect Our Salvation? The immediate response to the question of how it affects our salvation would be to say, "it doesn’t." In another sense, though, we must not be so cavalier. The motivation behind this whole exercise was to prove what is right, according to the scriptures, which the Bible calls noble (Acts 17:10, 11). So, even to search the scriptures on a small point shows a willingness to listen to God and not to man. And, if you go through the assumptions of the arguments one has to make to assert the Law was given on Pentecost, there is more than "a little latitude and fancy" at play here. There is an attitude of mind that "I want to believe what I want to believe, and if it isn’t there, I’ll make it be there," and that attitude of mind is serious indeed, and I do believe that such an attitude is a salvational issue, for "whatever is not of faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23). It is important that we constantly examine our assumptions. This is part of examining ourselves to see if we are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). And there is another matter in this: why did this question come up? Because people wanted something that wasn’t there. They wanted Shavuot to be more than a harvest festival: they wanted an historical connection, and we saw that, before the great assertion that the Law was given on that day, some rabbis made the more fanciful assertion that the promise to Noah and the world was given on that day. Clearly, the rabbis were looking for something to give significance to the day. In a similar way, many of the holyday-keeping churches may be following an assumption that began with a desire for symmetry, typology, and the same kind of historical significance the rabbis sought. If we follow our desires first, rather than scripture, we will fall into all kinds of error. And this impulse to be taught what we want to hear, to fulfil our own desires and lusts is definitely not godly, but sinful (2 Tim. 4:3). Lastly, even in small, technical points like this one, we show our hearts by the way we approach it, as our Lord Jesus Christ himself said: "he who is faithful in little is faithful in much." (Luke 16:10). So let’s not be too quick to dismiss small things and rush to comprehend the large.  As the old Chinese saying is more accurately translated, "The journey of a thousand miles consists of putting one foot in front of the other." And each step, though small in and of itself, helps to take us across a vast distance. ©2002, Jesse Ancona. All rights reserved. For permission to copy or use any material on this page, please email Jesse Ancona at jesseancona@hotmail.com. No permission is required for fair use, which includes short quotations in other work with citation. For information on citation of Internet sources using the Harvard System, see Library - BRIDGES: Harvard System - Electronic Material. List of Assertions and Assumptions: Anti-scriptural Assumption: that Ex. 16:1 and Ex. 19:1 do not refer to the full number of months counting from the Exodus, as they plainly do, but that they refer to the months by their number, so the second month since the Exodus is really just the second month of the year, and the third month since the Exodus just the third month of the year. This is the major assumption: without it, the rest are unnecessary. It is also the one that takes what Biblical chronology we have, and twists it into another meaning for another purpose. Though a casual reading of the text might make one mistakenly think the second or third month was meant, deliberately taking this interpretation is the most dishonest assumption of them all. Assertion: the children of Israel left Egypt on the 15th of Nisan (Num. 33:3-5). Though some disagree with this, and think they left on the 14th, there is much evidence that they left on the 15th (Coulter, 1999, pp. 70-84; Hunt, 1998) Assumption: that Ex. 19:1-10 refers to the same day, and the Israelites hadn’t camped any longer, whereas it could have been days or weeks, making the giving of the Ten Commandments much farther away from Pentecost. Each Sample Calendar is based on a different scenario with the following criteria: Assumption for Example 1: Quails in Ex. 16:2 were sent Saturday after sunset.  Assumption for Example 2: In the year of the Exodus, the wavesheaf occurred on the latest possible day. While this is statistically unlikely, it is at least possible. Assertion for Example 3: The scripture is to be taken at its plain meaning, and the second and third months were full months, to the day, from when the children of Israel left Egypt. In this example, the calendar of Example #2 is used, with the latest possible wavesheaf day, to demonstrate how unimportant these matters are when the scriptures are taken at face value. Assertion: Israel’s calendar was luni-solar, as were all ancient Mesopotamian calendars (O’Neil, p. 88). Assumption: Nisan had 30 days, and Iyyar had 29 days, as in modern times; not clear, but very likely the months alternated 29 and 30 days, to keep with the moon, as did all luni-solar calendars (O’Neil, p. 88). Ridiculous, Desperate Assumption: that Nisan and Iyyar both had less than 29 days! This would cause the months to fall out of synch with the moon. Highly unlikely. No calendar is given for this idea, as it falls outside any rational possibility. Bibliography Ausubel, Nathan, 1953. Pictorial History of the Jewish People from Bible Times to our own day throughout the world. New York: Crown Publishers. Coulter, Fred R., 1999. 2nd ed. The Christian Passover: What Does It Mean? When Should It Be Observed – the 14th or the 15th? Hollister, California: York Publishing Co. Gaster, Theodor H., 1952, 1953. 1978 pb ed. Festivals of the Jewish Year: A Modern Interpretation and Guide. New York: Morrow Quill Paperbacks. Holy Bible, The (KJV). Hunt, Keith M., 1998. Passover Study #20 [online]. Available from – http://www.keithhunt.com/passover20.html [Accessed 19 May 2002]. O’Neil, William M., 1978. 2nd ed. Time and the Calendars. Sydney: Sydney University Press. Schauss, Hayyim, trans: Jaffe, Samuel, 1938. 1962 ed. The Jewish Festivals: History & Observance. New York: Schocken Books. THE SIMPLE CHRONOLOGY IS FOUND IN EXODUS 19:1-3 "IN THE THIRD MONTH, WHEN THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WERE GONE FORTH OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, IN THE SAME DAY [SO EITHER FROM THE 14TH OR THE 15TH OF THE FIRST MONTH] CAME THEY INTO THE WILDERNESS OF SINAI.....AND WE CAAME TO THE DESERT OF SINAI, AND HAD PITCHED IN THE WILDERNESS; AND ISRAEL CAMPED BEFORE THE MOUNT. AND MOSES WENT UNTO GOD [WE ARE NOT TOLD HOW MANY DAYS AFTER THEY CAMPED THAT MOSES WENT UP TO GOD IN THE MOUNT]. IF WE SAY MOSES WENT UP ON THE DAY THEY CAMPED, WE HAVE EITHER THE 14 OR 15 OF THE THIRD MONTH. THIS ALONE GIVES YOU THE DAYS FROM LEAVING EGYPT TO GOING UP OF MOSES INTO THE MOUNT. IF WE SAY THE MONTHS BACK THEN WERE 30 DAYS TO THE MONTH AS LIKE FOR NOAH AND HIS DAY. WE HAVE 60 DAYS FROM LEAVING EGYPT TO ISAREL CAMPING AT SANAI. THEN IN THIS ACOUNT THERE IS YET 3 MORE DAYS BEFORE GOD CAME DOWN AND GAVE ISRAEL THE TEN COMMANDMENTS---- SO 63 DAYS IN TOTAL. IF WE GIVE 29 DAYS FOR THE FIRST AND SECOND MONTH WE STILL HAVE 58 PLUS 3 DAYS = 61. THERE IS NO NEED TO TRY AND FIGURE FROM WAVE SHEAF DAY, AS THERE WAS NO WAVE SHEAF DAY AT THIS TIME, FOR ISRAEL WAS NOT IN THE PROMISED LAND, HENCE NO PLANTING OR HARVESTING OF ANYTHING. WE HAVE SEEN FROM THE JEWS THEMSELVES THAT IT WAS NEEDFUL TO TRY AND CREATE SOMETHING BIG TO GO WITH THE FEAST OF WEEKS BESIDES AN HAVEST FESTIVAL DAY. AND THEY THEN TIED IN GOD GIVING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ON THIS PENTECOST DAY. THUS THEY MADE SOMETHING EXTRA SPECIAL ABOUT PENTECOST DAY BESIDES A HARVEST FESTIVAL DAY. Keith Hunt

JESUS AND HIS PASSOVER PRAYER #1 and #2

 

The Lord's Prayer - Passover #1

John 17 Amplified

THE LORD'S PRAYER - THE PASSOVER NIGHT PRAYER These are the words Jesus prayed on the last night before His death on the cross. "Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that they Son may also glorify You" (John 17:1). It was the time when planned history was to be fulfilled in a way that was truly to be GLORY. It is written that before the foundation of the world, the One we know as the Son of God, the Messiah Christ Jesus, was to come as a flesh and blood human person, live totally righteous, overcome sin and Satan in the flesh, and so be able to take all sin that had ever been committed from the time of Adam, upon Himself, so human people could have their sins washed away by His blood sacrifice. So they could be reconciled, made at one, with the Father, and be given eternal life from the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit. It was not physical gold or silver, or any amount of money, or the giving of wealth, or the collecting of "good deeds" - working whatever acts of nobility; there was no amount of charitable works that could redeem mankind from sin and death. "Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conduct by living the traditions of your society. But it was only through the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who truly was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you" (1 Peter 1:18-20 - paraphrased myself)). Yes before the foundations of this earth, the Father had a desire, a longing, a plan. He wanted to create in His very own image (Genesis 1:26) physical people who could be His literal sons and daughters (John 1:12) if they would accept the way God the Father had planned THE WAY it should be. That way was to have a member of the very Godhead come to earth as a human man and give Himself as the ransom to redeem or buy back, the children of God who had been cut off from the Father through sin. A member of the very Godhead was willing to step aside from the Godhead and be the atonement sacrifice, as it is written: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Who being in the form of God (a part of the Godhead), did not grasp at hanging on to being equal with God. But was willing to put aside a mighty reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and came in the likeness of human kind. Being then human He humbled Himself, and was willing to be obedient to the plan and only way God had said it could be, death, even death on a cross, to atone for human sinners" (Philippians 2:5-8 - paraphrased myself). Only a perfect sinless member of the very Godhead could take upon Himself the sins of all people who ever lived or will live. It may seem strange to us that a Godhead member dying on a cross could be "glorifying thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify Thee" but it was so. The very act of a member of the Godhead putting aside Godhead glory, and coming as a physical man, to live without ever sinning, to then be willing to die on some upright wooden pole ... to think of that as "glory" puts a perspective on "glory" that is not the way the human mind wants to think is glory. There was no human "gold medal" hung around the neck of Christ. There was no "national anthem" being played over powerful loudspeakers. There was no shouting of joy and hand clapping of enthusiastic onlookers. The glory was certainly not in an outward form of glory as we may think of it. But it was the time and event of one of the most glorious spectacles the universe will ever witness. It was the glory of SALVATION made possible to all who will be saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. The glorious way of salvation by grace through faith is fully and deeply explained to you in my study called "Saved by Grace" on this Website. Tens of millions of people who call themselves "Christian" have no clue as to the truth of the matter on being saved by grace. I pray you will not be one of them. "As You have given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent" (John 17:2-3).  It is the Father that calls people out of darkness; it is He that shows people what sin is, what His righteousness is, what His way of salvation through Christ is all about. It is God the Father that opens up the human mind so they can move towards REPENTANCE and see that it is ONLY through faith in the glorious work of Jesus on the cross, His shedding of His blood as THE sacrifice for all sins, that anyone can have eternal life (John 6:44,65; 2 Peter 3:9). God the Father is the ONLY true God, many people make gods unto themselves, bow before them, have them as their "king pin" but there is ONLY ONE supreme PERSON in the universe that is above all else. God the Father is HEAD in authority over every thing and every other being in the universe. Yes He is the head of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3). He is the HEAD of all His children. The Father alone sits on the throne of the universe. Christ Jesus sits at His right hand. All the Father's other children will, as Jesus does, look to the Father as HEAD (1 Cor.15:24 with Rev.21:1-3,7,22; 22:3-5). Many studies in this Website expound the truths of God and the Godhead. "I have glorified Thee on earth: I have finished the work which You gave Me to do" (John 17:5). The WORK of Christ is given to us, amplified to us, in the FOUR Gospels. Read them over and over, for in the words of Christ you will find the way to eternal life. The work of Jesus is there for you to discover. I have tried to put the four Gospels for you in a modern way that is even easy for children to read, in the series "The New Testament Bible Story." If you want to be a disciple of Christ, you better read the life story of Christ. And so the Father made sure to leave you all that is important to know in what His Son did and taught while on this earth in the flesh. "And now, O Father, glorify Me with thine own self, which I had with You before the world was" (John 17:5). It's pretty simple to understand here what Jesus is saying. He is telling us that He DID EXIST with the Father before the world was. We have already seen in Philippians 2 that Jesus was part of the very Godhead and was willing to put it all to one side for a while. John was inspired to give us plain words, that a child can understand, about the One who was God and was WITH God, before the world was and who then became flesh. It does not take the mind of a rocket scientist to understand the simple words of John 1:1-15. Many today have fancy ways of getting around such words, to teach that Christ did not exists before He became a baby in the womb of Mary. Such a teaching is one of the greatest HERESIES man has ever devised. If you have the mind of a child you can understand the clear words of passages like John chapter one. Many of the "religious theologians" of Jesus' day, from their worldly high class theology schools and rabbinic teachings handed down from teacher to teacher, could NOT understand plain Scriptures. Jesus once told them they were "blind leaders of the blind" and they would all fall into the ditch. Many of the common, "simple folk" we may call them, did understand, and so with praise Jesus said, "I thank you Father that you have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them unto babes." I tell you friends, as I read some of the theological teachings of those with DR before their name, I am amazed at times, how lacking they are in understanding the Word of God.   Jesus speaks here simple words that mean what they say and say what they mean. I could understand them as a 12, 13, 14      year old child, reading the Bible. "I have manifested Thy name unto the men which You gave me out of this world: Thine they were, and You gave them to me; and they have kept Thy word" (John 17:6). God the Father does the calling. He is the One who opens up the mind of persons to understand His word (John 6:44). If you are one of those called to be a real disciples of the Lord Jesus, then you should lift up your voice is PRAISE! At this time in history it is NOT the MANY who are called but the few (1 Cor.1:26-31). If you will hunger and thirst after righteousness (Mat.24:6), you will be filled, Jesus promised that. But you may have to thirst for it, cry out for it, search the Scriptures as the people in Berea did when the apostle Paul and Silas taught in their midst (Acts 17:10-12). They are called "noble" - they had a ready mind - they searched the Scriptures DAILY, to see if what they heard stacked up with the word of God. And so, because of this attitude of mind, many BELIEVED! You have to have your nose in the Bible, you must be reading it from cover to cover, searching, seeking, hungering after truth and righteousness. If you are, you will come to see who teaches the Word of the Lord correctly. And you will REJOICE in the truths revealed to you by the Father. "Now they have known that all things whatsoever You have given Me are from Thee. For I have given them the words which You gave Me; and they have received them, and have come to know for sure that I came out from You, and they have believed that You did send Me" (John 17:7-8). Thank the Father that He is still calling, still opening the minds of some to come to KNOW the REAL Jesus Christ, the Christ of the four Gospels. Those who LOVE the Word, those who are willing to be CORRECTED, taught, guided; those who hunger for truth and righteousness, WILL be FILLED! Jesus spoke the Words of the Father, those whom the Father is calling today will come to know who is faithfully teaching the words of the Father. "I pray for them: I pray not for the world (who will have their time of salvation one day) but for them especially, whom You have given Me; for they belong to You. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them" (John 17:9-10 - my paraphrase). God knows His own! His own will know the true God and His Son Christ Jesus. It is BOTH the Father and Son who come to live within each disciple via the Holy Spirit (John 14:23-24). They are all CONNECTED together as One family - the Father and all His children, from Christ down. Jesus is still praying for all the Father's children. He is the great High Priest interceding on behalf of all His brothers and sister, to the Father, as the book of Hebrews brings out so wonderfully. He is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2) and to call us His friends (John 15:14). Notice being called Jesus' friend in verse 14 has a condition. And the only way to do what Jesus says is to learn of Him through the four Gospels especially, and the rest of the New Testament also. Once more it is keeping your eyes and nose in the Word of the Lord, it is hungering and thirsting after righteousness, it is searching the Scriptures continually. "And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own Name those whom You have given Me, that they may be One, as we are" (John 17:11). A name signifies ownership and authority. We know that "slander" can soon diminish a person's name. Has the Father POWER and AUTHORITY? You bet He does! Is it possible that Christ's request has and is being fulfilled? You bet it is possible! And it is being fulfilled. Jesus said His flock would be "the very little flock" as the Greek is better translated. He also said He would build His church and the gates of hell, the grave, would not kill it. He also added that His true disciples were the "salt of the earth" - sprinkled here and there. Nowhere in the New Testament is the Church of God said to ever become HUGE, the predominate popular Christian religion of the masses. But God's people will be here on earth, in the main, scattered, a few here and a few there, sometimes a congregation here and there as it was in the days of the first century apostles. There will be times up to the coming of Christ in glory to this earth, times when the Father's children will "turn the world upside down" as in the days of the first century apostles. But that has not happened very often in the last 2,000 years. As the end time of this age gets closer, it may well happen again for a short time. Certainly in the last days the people of the Lord will make a bold witness for the truths of God as they stand up to the end time Beast Babylon power of the book of Revelation, many having to die for the faith once delivered to the saints. "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name; those that You gave Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled. And now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves" (John 17:12-13). Jesus said that in the last days DECEPTION would be so strong that IF it was possible even the VERY ELECT would be deceived (Mat.24:24). But it is NOT possible to deceive the very elect. They are the ones with their nose in the Bible, they are the ones who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and they will never be lost. They will fall at times, we are all still sinners, but in the end they will make it through and remain faithful to the end and be with the Father and Christ for eternity. It is not a case of being predestinated to be saved or lost (I have a study on this site about "predestination") - it is a case of those called and willfully wanted to be chosen, they do have the very power of God to enable them to remain faithful to the end. We do need to focus on the fact that the Father is the all powerful One in the universe, and He has more than enough power and strength to enable His children to inherit eternal life. Satan has been defeated by Christ. With the Father and Jesus in us, Satan cannot win. We the children of God were born to win, as long as you have the attitude of mind as David did (so read the life of David and the Psalms of David), who was a man after God's own heart (so it is written) then you can and will WIN! With this knowledge we can then have great JOY, just as Jesus wants us to have. "I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world" (John 17:14). Those who truly follow Jesus' instructions of living by every word of God (Mat.4:4), will not find they are liked that much by the rest of the professing Christian world. And they will surely be at odds with many of the ways of the society they live in. Jesus in His ministry once said to His disciples that they needed to "watch out" when men "speak good" about them, for so they did to the false prophets down through history. I do not think my Website would be too well spoken about in the world of Christian religion. If I was invited to speak before the Congress of the USA, including the President, I do not think they would care for my speech and words of correction and admonition, and my lifting up my voice like a trumpet to show the people their sins, and to call for true deep REPENTANCE! If they did like what I would say then I should examine what I have said, and stand it up to the words of this verse 14. ..................... Keith Hunt (written April 2009 Passover night) To be continue   The Lord's Prayer #2   The Passover Prayer LORD'S PRAYER - THE PASSOVER ONE Part Two "I pray that You should not take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil" (John 17:15). This one verse alone disproves an idea that it is "godly" to believe that the Lord would have you go off into the wilderness to live a solitary life, where the mind-set is that you deliberately come away from living in the society. Now, to be sure there may be times when in persecution you must flee to the hills (Jesus said so in Mat.24; Mark 13; Luke 21), but that is not having a mind-set of deliberately deciding it is a Christian way to live your whole life out of the sight of "the society." There is no hint in the New Testament that any converts to Christianity, formed groups and went into the hills or woods to make sure they would stay out and away from the society, hiding their light from the darkness of the world. What we find is the exact opposite - the apostles and people of God lived in the world, where the Gospel could be proclaimed, not only by the way they lived, but also in evangelism, reaching out to the unconverted, teaching the word of salvation and the Kingdom through Christ Jesus. What Jesus prayed for was that the Father would give PROTECTION to His children while they did the work of the Lord in their various nations and societies. You will also notice this verse 15 has no TIME LIMIT! It is a perpetual truth for all the ages to the end of this age. Hence it KNOCKS in the HEAD, does a DEATH blow, to the teaching of the "secret rapture" and the "two phased" coming of Christ. The "secret rapture" teaches that Jesus will come "invisibly" - unknown, to snatch away His church either at the beginning of a 7 year tribulation (the last 7 years of this age) or in the middle of this supposed 7 year tribulation), and the saints are flown off to heaven, until they return with Christ in a "visible" glory of power return. This verse BLOWS AWAY any such teaching by Christ or any writer of the New Testament! Jesus NEVER prayed for any such event as some silly "secret rapture" to take His people OUT OF the world. Jesus prayed JUST THE OPPOSITE! There it is in clear print, mark it in your Bible. I did not put it there when you were sleeping last night. This verse has been there for many centuries: "I PRAY NOT that you take them out of this world, BUT that You will keep them from the evil." I have a number of studies on this Website devoted to EXPOSING the false doctrine of the "secret rapture" and the crazy teaching that the SECOND coming of Christ will be in "two phases" one invisible and the other visible, with "ex" number of years between them. EVERYWHERE in your Bible the teaching of the glorious coming of Christ at the end of this age is given, it is ONE POWERFUL AND GLORIOUS RETURN and that is it - PERIOD!! "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy TRUTH: Thy WORD IS TRUTH!" (John 17:17). Mark this verse also, put it in bright yellow, remember John 17:17. It is a LIFE SAVER! It is not the ideas of men or women, it is not the "theological school" - it is not the DR before a person's name, it is not the PhD after their name. It is not the endorsement of a man or woman by the "clergy" proclaiming how great a scholar this or that person is. It is not the patting on the back of this guy or gal by others of his kind. It is NONE of those things that is TRUTH! The TRUTH of God, His way of life, His teachings, the truth of all topics disclosed in the Bible is ONLY FOUND in the Father's WORD! As Isaiah wrote (Isa.8:20) "To the law and the testimony (the Bible), if they speak NOT according to this Word, there is no light in them." You, your task, is to search the Scriptures daily, to see if the Word of God stacks up with what you hear preached and taught and written. It is the lesson of the wise people of Berea (Acts 17). I cannot give too much emphasis to Acts 17, and you searching the Scriptures. Most will not do it, they read books from people about what the author says the Bible teaches, they watch DVDs from "religious fellows" BUT they will not take the time to SEARCH the Scriptures, to check and see if what they are hearing squares off with the Bible. The true disciples of the Lord will be SANCTIFIED, SET APART for Holy use and service BY THE TRUTH. Jesus prayed the Father would set them apart by the very word of truth, God's word only, which is TRUTH. But YOU friend, must WANT the truth, you must LOVE to have the truth, you must desire to be CORRECTED! You must hunger and thirst after righteousness, then, and only then, will you be FILLED! "As You have sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified through the truth" (John 17:18-19). Jesus sends us into the world, to proclaim the Gospel of Christ, sent to be a witness of truth, of the holy way to live and to act, to talk, and to think. We are not sent to put our light under a bushel, but on the table where it can been seen and give light to the darkness around. We are not called to go off and live the rest of our lives in some cave, forest, mountain, where the world will never see us, and where we will never see the world. Jesus lived in the day to day world of His society. He mingled with the people. He taught in the streets. He was accessible by all the people about Him. He moved in their midst. He was a light of goodness and a trumpet to sound the truths of God. He sanctified Himself with THE truth, and He here prays to the Father that His disciples will also be set apart with the same truth. "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word" (John 17:20). Yes, Jesus would build His church and the gates of death would never kill it. It would always be here. Some, somewhere, would carry on the torch of light and truth. It would be handed down through all generations. The Father would always be calling, always opening the minds of some, who would be willing to see, to be taught, to be corrected. They would love the truth, would desire with all their heart to grow in grace and knowledge. They would be the ones studying their Bible, reading it from cover to cover, and hungering for the light of truth. Though the true flock of the Lord would be relatively not very large, the salt of the earth, nevertheless the truth of God would be handed on to others who would also love it, and hand it on to their next generation. So it would be, that light and truth, would never leave this earth. "That they may be ONE; as You Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be ONE in US: that the world may believe that You have sent Me. And the glory which You gave to Me, I have given to them; that they may be ONE, even as We are ONE. I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in ONE; and that the world may know that You did send Me, and have loved them, as You have loved Me" (John 17:21-23). Do you see the STRONG cry from Jesus to the Father, that Jesus' disciples are kept as ONE, just as the Father and Christ are ONE. Jesus earlier had asked for it, now with more passion He asks again that all God's children will be as ONE. Here we have the truth that ONE can be more than a single person. In Genesis 2 we find that two can become one, a husband and wife can be ONE. The Father's arithmetic is not like ours, with us one plus one equals TWO, but with the Father one plus one can equal ONE! God is ONE, the Godhead is ONE, but the Godhead at present consists of TWO beings - the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. Hence we can understand John chapter 1, verses 1- 14. Is the Father powerful enough to KEEP His children as ONE? Oh you bet He is! Is the Father big enough to have His children ALL understand the very foundational truths and doctrines of His Word, correctly and all as ONE? I guess so! Those today whom the Lord is working with, will come to find the truth of all the basic doctrines of God, which are listed in the first verses of Hebrews 6. Those basic truths are being proclaimed MIGHTY POWERFULLY today via the Internet. This Website is devoted to the truths of the Lord. Other servants of the Lord have their Websites, and the foundational truths are the SAME. God's people are ONE!! This request from Christ to the Father IS BEING FULFILLED ON A LARGER SCALE THAN EVER BEFORE! A powerful witness of the ONE unity of the Father's children is being sounded around the world like as never before in the ages since the first century apostles. The Father is loving Christ. He is loving all His children. The Father is bringing the disciples of Christ into PERFECTION as ONE. Instant and worldwide connection through the modern Internet and email is making it possible for truth and unity to spread like a wild-fire and gather into ONE, all the disciples of Christ. "Father, I will that they also, whom you have given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which You have given Me: for You loved Me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:24). And so it shall be my friends, it is the truth of the Bible. The disciples of the Lord will be with Him. No, not when they die, for death is sleep until the day of the resurrection. All the truth of death and resurrection is expounded in detail in various studies on this Website. But as sure, nay, more sure, than the rising of the sun, will be the resurrection of the saints. At the coming of Christ, the one and only glorious coming, when the trump of God shall sound, the dead in Christ (and all God's children since Adam) will rise from the graves, then all the living saints will be change from mortal to immortal in the twinkling of an eye. The angels will go forth to gather them all into the air, into the clouds, to the sea of glass, and to the presence of Christ (Mat.24:29-31; 1 Cor.15; 1 Thes.4:13- 18). What wonderful JOY and GLORY that will be, for we shall see Christ in His glory and we shall be like Him, as it is written: "And behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:1-2). From the sea of glass, after the wedding feast of the Lamb and His bride is completed, we shall in that day, not months or years later, but in that day, we shall descend with Christ to the Mount of Olives. In that day there will be only One Lord of lords and King of kings. The nations of the Beast power and the kings of the East, well they may gather at Meggido to unite to fight against Jesus, the angels and the resurrected immortal saints, but it will be "no contest" for Jesus will destroy them with the brightness of His coming, their flesh will melt from their bones, and the battle will be over before it could begin (Zechariah 14). The disciples of our Lord Jesus will reign with Him for ONE THOUSAND years, and all that is written concerning that age will come to pass. At the end of that age, Jesus will hand over the Kingdom to the Father (1 Cor.15:23-26). The Father will come to earth, to the new earth, with the heavenly city Jerusalem. The Father will dwell with His children. He will be their God, the supreme One, the head of His family. Pain, sorrow, suffering, and even death will be destroyed (Rev. 21 and 22). Truly the disciples of the Lord will be with Him FOREVER, for all eternity. The Father has indeed loved Christ from eternity past, from before the foundation of this earth. This is the PROMISE of the Father. So it is written and so shall it come to pass. "O righteous Father, the world has not known You: but I have known You, and these have known that You did send me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it; that the LOVE wherein You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:25-26). It is a wonderful BLESSING to known that you KNOW the Father; to be called and chosen; to be granted mercy; to have your sins washed away in the Passover blood of the Lamb. To have Christ Jesus IN you, is the most blessed gift you could ever be given. To be saved by grace through faith in Jesus as personal Savior, is a gift beyond what human words can describe. "God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should NOT perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). At this Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread time, we reflect on the life and death of our Savior Christ Jesus. The LOVE that both Christ and the Father have for all people, the wish and desire for all people to REPENT, to humble themselves, to see themselves in the light of their Holiness and Perfectness, and say with the great Job, "I have heard of you both, by the hearing of men, BUT NOW MY EYE SEES, and I repent in dust and ashes." The greatest thing you can do is to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, for He tells you: "To this man will I look; even to him/her that is POOR and of a CONTRITE spirit; and TREMBLES at my Word" (Isaiah 66:2). Are YOU willing to LOVE God so much, and His way of life as written in His word, that you will let nothing or nobody come BETWEEN you and your personal relationship with the Father and with Christ? The LOVE they both have for you, is as wide as the universe. They desire to share with you ALL that they have; eternal life, glory beyond comprehension, perfect sinlessness, and the joy of all the universe and whatever else the Father may want to do in the ages of eternity. Will YOU MAKE A DECISION to follow in the steps of Christ. He set us the perfect example. His over-all life is for you to read in the four Gospels. Will you pattern your life after His? Oh, you will fall and stumble along the way; you are not made perfect in the flesh; sin will be pulling at you, but we can take encouragement by the passages of 1 John chapter one and the first verses of chapter two. Keep them close by your side, as well as Romans 7. Yes even the great apostle Paul fought the battle against the flesh and sin. That is what the feast of Unleavened Bread is all about - fighting the battle against sin and the carnal pulls of the flesh. You will need always to be humble, always in a repentant mind-set, ready to admit to the Father you are a sinner, and ask for His grace through the blood and work of Christ Jesus. If you do this, then eternal life dwells in you. Then you will be able to say with Paul: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; Henceforth there IS laid up for me a CROWN of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing" (2 Timothy 4:7-8). ....................... Keith Hunt Written on the evening of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread - April 2009.