Note: In Biblical days, the 24 hour daily cycle was divided into two equal parts: night and day – the night preceding the day, Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31. The sun controlled the day, and the moon the night, John 11:9. In Biblical days, the day started at 6:00pm (in the evening) and ended at 6:00pm the next evening. Our days are reckoned from 12:00 midnight to 12:00 midnight.

SATURDAY: Mark 11:1-11: Jesus entered Jerusalem. The world says He entered on Palm Sunday. He entered the Temple as His custom was on the Sabbath. Mark 11:11, He returned to Bethany.

SUNDAY: Mark 11:12-19: He returns to Jerusalem. On the way, He curses the fig tree. Mark 11:15-19, He cleanses the Temple. Mark 11:19, Jesus goes back to Bethany.

MONDAY: Mark 11:20: Jesus returned to Jerusalem by the same route and sees the withered fig tree. Mark 11:27–Mark 14:1, Jesus teaches and answers questions. Mark 14:1…In 2 days (Wednesday) would be the Passover.

TUESDAY: Mark 14:12-16: The day before the Passover, the Preparation Day. The Jewish Passover began on the 14th day of the month Abib or Nisan, by killing the lamb that was caught on the 10th day of the month, Exodus 12:3-6. The Passover is a type of Christ – 1 Corinthians 5:7. The Passover lasted 7 days. The first day of the Passover (the 15th) and the last day were High Sabbaths (annual). – Leviticus 23:4-8.

WEDNESDAY: Their Wednesday began at 6:00pm…our Tuesday (see above note.) During this time, Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples, and instituted the Lord’s Supper, Mark 14:22-25. Mark 14:26-52, Tuesday evening (Wednesday Jewish time) they go out to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Christ prays and is arrested. Mark 14:53-72, The trial of Christ before the Sanhedrin, in the night hours (our Tuesday, their Wednesday.) Mark 15:1-25, The trial before Pilate and the crucifixion in the third hour of the day, which would be 9:00am Wednesday, our time. Wednesday, He is on the cross. Mark 15:33, There is darkness from the sixth to the ninth hours (12:00 noon to 3:00pm.) Mark 15:42-47, In the afternoon before 6:00pm, His death and burial, which would make it before the beginning of the next day, which was a High Sabbath (not the weekly Sabbath)…see John 19:31. So, before 6:00pm Wednesday, Christ was placed in the tomb.

THURSDAY: Matthew 27:62-66: Guards are placed at the tomb.

FRIDAY & SATURDAY: He is in the tomb. Saturday ended at 6:00pm.

SUNDAY: The tomb is visited, Matthew 28:1-7. Matthew 28:1 – as it begins to “dawn,” speaking of daylight. NOTE: Sunday (the first day of the week) had begun at 6:00pm Saturday, our time. Matthew 28:6, The tomb is already empty. He was in the tomb Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights…three nights. He was in the tomb Thursday, Friday, and Saturday…three days, just as He had said – Matthew 12:39-40. This is essential to have the gospel according to the scriptures – 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. He arose after 6:00pm Saturday evening, which was the Jewish first day of the week. So, we observe the first day of the week as the Lord’s Day. It is to be observed weekly on the first day of the week, rather than on an annual basis, just as the Old Testament Sabbath was observed weekly. If it were an annual observance, God would command it and it would fall on a different day of the week every year, just as any other annual holiday does…see 1 John 2:21.

“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”  Matthew 12:40

Did Christ tell the truth, or did He lie? Did He bear false witness? There would have been no reason for Christ to say He would be IN THE TOMB three days and three nights if it were not so. To me, the situation is this: are we going to accept the witness of Christ, or are we going to join up with men in denying the Word of God?

The purpose of giving a sign is to set forth the facts, rather than a misnomer. Had someone in “that evil and adulterous generation” (Matthew 12:39) began to rethink what Christ said, unto believing Christ’s sign, the one and only sign, that Christ would BE IN the heart of the earth three days and three nights, when would he start looking for Christ’s resurrection, after Christ was placed in the tomb? One day and two nights later??? I think not.

If Christ was crucified on Friday, and one was to believe Christ’s Words, he would expect Christ to resurrect three days and three nights after He was placed in the tomb, JUST AS HE SAID! So, if Christ had been crucified on Friday, the believer would not be looking for Christ’s resurrection early Sunday morning, because at best, that would only be about half the time that Christ said He would be in the tomb.

Christ said three days and three nights was the time period he would be IN the grave. So, to believe Christ, rather than the religionists who deny Christ’s Word, we accept three days and three nights as the time period Christ was in the tomb, rather than just some range of time for religionists to make out of it what they want.

To let Christ be true and every man a liar, (Romans 3:4) we accept the fact that He was in the tomb (in the heart of the earth) three days and three nights, just as HE SAID! Had Christ only been in the grave from Friday evening until early Sunday, His sign would have been false, and His Word a lie. This is the issue of this debate.

We have a choice: believe Christ, or side with those who deny God’s Word! However, for those who are not disposed to believe Christ’s Word instead of the traditions of men, there is little else to say to them. All false religion depends on convincing people to follow other lines of reasoning besides just accepting what God’s Word says. ASK EVE!

DO YOU BELIEVE CHRIST, OR NOT?

“…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17b

“And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupation? That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians.” Genesis 46:33-34

It is a very common thing for people to only concern themselves with what is an abomination in the sight of the “Egyptians”, while at the same time ignoring what is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. It is possible for this confusion to deceive people. Some cry a church should not take a stand on certain Biblical issues, that if some hear of it they won’t want to come to church. But if that be the case, the church should quit preaching the true gospel, because it would be disagreeable to all who don’t believe the truth.

Contrary to those ideas, the law of the Lord, which exposes sin and identifies the will of the Lord, is what God uses to affect the conversion of sinners: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making the wise simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Pslam 19:7-8 So the manifestation of God’s laws is not a stumbling bloc to sinners, but is the eye opener unto the reality of sin– “…I had not known sin, but by the law…” “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Romans 7:7,12 The offense to God’s laws comes from people rejecting the work of the Holy Spirit, which convicts the sinner unto the knowledge of the truth. John the Baptist wasn’t out of line when he told Herod it was unlawful for him to have his brother Philip’s wife, but rather Herod and his gal, Herodias, were offended due to their refusal to let the Holy Spirit convict their hearts unto repentance and faith in God (Matthew 14:1-5).

When the children of Israel came down to Egypt, Joseph knew ahead of time that shepherds were an abomination in the eyes of the Egyptians. Joseph instructed his brethren, not to conceal the fact they were shepherds, but rather to declare openly that they were shepherds unto the Egyptians. WHY? Not as a matter of offense, but as a matter of their true occupation.

Joseph knew that the ways of the Egyptians were contrary to the ways of God’s people, especially in matters of the worship of God (see Exodus 8:26–their sin offerings were an abomination to the Egyptians.) Joseph knew when the Egyptians found out the Israelites were shepherds, they would want to separate Israel from their company. This separation would work to Israel’s advantage, keeping them out of Egypt’s influence, ways, and persuasions, as well as keeping them a separate people unto the Lord’s blessing, favor, and distinct watch care.

“Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.” Luke 6:22 Wherever there are lives after the order of Christ, the reproaches of unbelievers will be upon them.

Anytime our identity with the teachings of God’s laws causes people to separate from us, we need to see it as a needed separation. And rather than refrain from those things that those who reject God’s laws are offended at, we need to be up front with our identification with the truth. Whenever God’s Word turns people away, we need to recognize it to be the working of God’s “two-edged sword, as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12