HE IS RISEN INDEED! HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY !

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”Gospel  of  John Ch 11:25-26

HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY !

HE IS RISEN INDEED ! 

MAY THE MIRACLE OF RESURRECTION BE IN YOUR HEART FOREVER !

HAVE A HAPPY,BLESSED  EASTER!

DAYS OF PRAISE-CHRIST IS OUR PASSOVER

Christ Our Passover

by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:13)

The Jews of the world have been keeping their annual Feast of the Passover for almost 3,500 years, fulfilling the ancient prophecy: “And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever” (Exodus 12:24). This was the beginning of the nation of Israel, when they left Egyptian slavery behind and started their trek to the Promised Land. The lamb had been slain and eaten, its blood placed on the door posts, and the Lord had spared all their firstborn sons when the Destroyer passed through the land of Egypt.

The feast was intended not only to memorialize the ancient deliverance, but also to anticipate the coming day when the “Lamb of God” would take “away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The night before Christ was crucified, He told His disciples, “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:15-16).

Thereupon, the Lord established His Supper, which Christians will continue to observe to “shew the Lord’s death till he come” (1 Corinthians 11:26). He fulfilled all that the Passover prophesied when He shed His blood on the cross, “for even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, . . . with . . . sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

Now we look forward to an even greater supper when Christ returns, for the promise is this to all who believe:“Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9). HMM

AN IRONIC PASSOVER SURPRISE

AN IRONIC PASSOVER SURPRISE

 

Each year for about 3500 years, the Jews have celebrated their release from four hundred years of Egyptian bondage, with the Passover Seder, or Supper.  The meal is first mentioned in Exodus 12:1-11. On the tenth day of Nisan, Israel’s first month (Ex. 12:12), the Jews were to select an unblemished sacrificial lamb, and they were to kill the lamb and prepare it just prior to sunset on the fourteenth of Nisan.  After sunset, which was the beginning of the fifteenth of Nisan, they were to roast the lamb, and consume it prior to daylight.  There were to be no leftovers; that which remained was to be totally consumed by fire.

This year, the Jewish calendar and the Gregorian calendar match; the first of April, and the first of Nisan occurred on the same day.  On April 14, 2014, at sunset, the Jewish Passover begins.  That would make today the “preparation day.”  Thus, today matches the day Jesus was on the cross, in that, the Jewish leaders wanted the bodies taken off the crosses, as it was the “preparation” (Jn. 19:14, 31, 42).  Because the Jews called Fridays the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath, many have mistakenly accepted Friday as the day of the Crucifixion.  However, notice in John 19:31,the day Jesus died was not just the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath, but was the preparation day for a special Sabbath; the Passover!

Now, looking at our calendar, we can see that the tenth of Nisan falls on a Thursday.  The Passover falls on the following Monday, the fourteenth (today).  Today would be the day Jesus was crucified.  His body would be taken down and placed in a “borrowed tomb” just before sunset.  Jesus told His friends and His enemies, “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” (Mt. 12:40). 

If one counts three days and three nights from sunset today, Jesus would rise from the grave after sunset on April 17th.  Ironically, to the Jewish way of calculating days, Jesus would rise on Friday!  Sunset today to sunset tomorrow (Tuesday) is one day and night; sunset Tuesday to sunset Wednesday is the second day and night; and sunset Wednesday to sunset Thursday is the third day and night:  Jesus would rise on the day modern day Christians celebrate His death!  Irony of ironies!

What does that mean then as to what day Jesus died?  Well, He rose sometime after sunset on Saturday, which was the beginning of the first day of the week – Sunday(Mt. 28:1; Mk. 16:2; Lk. 24:1; Jn. 20:1).  Going backward three days and three nights, Jesus must have been taken down from the cross prior to sunset Wednesday!

Sunset 4-17-14 will begin the anniversary of the Resurrection, not the Crucifixion!  

http://skipslighthouse.blogspot.com/2014/04/an-ironic-passover-surprise.html

Why It Was a ‘Good’ Friday-Institute for Creation Research

Why It Was a ‘Good’ Friday

by Henry Morris III, D.Min. *

“As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council.” (Luke 22:66)

The origin of “Good Friday” ceremonies are somewhat muddled in history. Some suggest that the earlier roots go back as far as 100 A.D., but others insist that it was well into the fourth century before anything like the “passion week” observances became established.

Beyond that, there is a good bit of controversy about the title itself. Everyone now agrees that the focus of the dedication is on the crucifixion of our Lord. So, why“Good” Friday? Why not “Sad” Friday, or “Awful” Friday? Although historians and theologians tend to focus on the etymology of the term and debate the circumstances by which the ceremony became identified, the truth may well lie in the sovereignty of God Himself.

On that day in history, the sins of the world were paid for! This was the day on which “it pleased the Lord to…make his soul an offering for sin” (Isaiah 53:10). That day, the Lord “laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).

Yes, there was great sorrow and travail that day. During the awful physical darkness from noon to 3:00 p.m.(Matthew 27:45), Jesus had cried out in utter anguish:“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). The earth itself shook and rumbled as the creation was torn asunder in reaction to the horrific judgment of the Creator for sin (Matthew 27:51).

But then came the victory cry, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), and, “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). His suffering ended, the payment completed, eternal propitiation accomplished, Jesus laid down His human life to await the great resurrection that God might give “assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

* Dr. Morris is Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Creation Research.

CREATION MINISTRIES International-Darkness at the crucifixion: metaphor or real history?

Darkness at the crucifixion: metaphor or real history?

After creationism.org

by Daniel Anderson

Published: 6 April 2007 (GMT+10)

The preternatural darkness reported at Jesus’ crucifixion was no metaphor. It was a real historical event based on eyewitness accounts and independently corroborated by a number of highly qualified ancient historians. And just as the darkness recorded in the gospels was based on real history, the reason for Jesus’s death is rooted in the real history recorded in the Book of Genesis.

According to a straightforward interpretation of Genesis as written and intended, there was a real Adam and a real Eve, a real Garden of Eden, a real fall into sin, and real consequences to wilful rebellion against the Creator. Death, suffering, disease, natural disasters, and sin were the real outcomes of the historical Fall in the garden (see also The Fall: a cosmic catastrophe). We live with the indisputable evidence of these historical events on a daily basis.

With its very foundation built upon the historical events of Genesis, Jesus’ atoning death was God’s historical antidote to mankind’s grievous sin. The God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ willingly died a brutal and humiliating death on the cross in order to atone for the sins of Adam and Eve, for our sins, and for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2)—available by grace, through faith in God’s promised sacrificial Lamb (Ephesians 2:8–9).

During the last three hours of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, an eerie darkness struck the land. This darkness is documented by the Gospel writers Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is also confirmed by three extra-biblical historians: Thallus, Phlegon, and Africanus. A closer look will reveal strong historical evidence for this unparalleled event.

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke

Each of these authors briefly records the three-hour darkness during Christ’s crucifixion (Matthew 27:45,
Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44–45). Matthew was one of Jesus’ apostles and an eyewitness to the event. Mark was a close companion of Peter, one of Christ’s three innermost apostles. Mark also travelled with Paul, Luke, and many of the earliest Christians in the Book of Acts. Luke was a Greek physician and historian who carefully investigated the events of Christ’s life. His historical investigation was based on direct and indirect eyewitness accounts from Paul, Peter, James, Mark, Mary (the mother of Jesus), and many of Jesus’ first female followers.¹ Luke is considered to be one of the most reliable historians of all time.¹

J.A.T. Robinson, a liberal New Testament scholar, conducted an in-depth study in which he discovered strong historical, textual, and logical evidence for dating all of the gospels between AD 40–65.² And Robinson was no friend of conservative biblical Christianity. Based on these dates, Matthew, Mark, and Luke would have written about the darkness a mere 7 to 32 years after the actual event.³ Compared to other ancient historical accounts, this is like a news flash. Suetonius, a Roman historian, wrote his account of Caesar crossing the Rubicon at least 110 years after the event, and it is considered to be generally reliable.⁴ The earliest biographies of Alexander the Great, by Arrian and Plutarch, were written over 400 years after his death, and they are considered trustworthy accounts.¹ (Compare also Who was Luke and what did he write?)

Even more compelling is the fact that Rudolph Pesch, the German New Testament scholar, dates the source for Mark’s passion narrative no later than AD 37 based on language, style, grammar, and personal references.⁵ This is a maximum of four years after the actual event! It can be conclusively stated that the Gospel accounts of the darkness at the crucifixion are extremely early, reliable, and based on eyewitnesses.

Thallus, Phlegon, and Africanus

Thallus wrote a history of the eastern Mediterranean world since the Trojan War. Thallus wrote his regional history in about AD 52.⁶ Although his original writings have been lost, he is specifically quoted by Julius Africanus, a renowned third century historian. Africanus states, ‘Thallus, in the third book of his histories, explains away the darkness as an eclipse of the sun—unreasonably as it seems to me.’ Apparently, Thallus attempted to ascribe a naturalistic explanation to the darkness during the crucifixion.

Phlegon was a Greek historian who wrote an extensive chronology around AD 137:

In the fourth year of the 202^nd Olympiad (i.e., AD 33) there was ‘the greatest eclipse of the sun’ and that ‘it became night in the sixth hour of the day [i.e., noon] so that stars even appeared in the heavens. There was a great earthquake in Bithynia, and many things were overturned in Nicaea.’⁷

Image Locutus Borg

Annular (ring) eclipse. An eclipse could NOT have caused darkness at the crucifixion because they don’t occur during the full moon.

Phlegon provides powerful confirmation of the Gospel accounts. He identifies the year and the exact time of day. In addition, he writes of an earthquake accompanying the darkness, which is specifically recorded in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 27:51). However, like Thallus, he fallaciously attempts to interpret the darkness as a direct effect of a solar eclipse.

Africanus composed a five volume History of the World around AD 221. He was also a pagan convert to Christianity. His historical scholarship so impressed Roman Emperor Alexander Severus that Africanus was entrusted with the official responsibility of building the Emperor’s library at the Pantheon in Rome. Africanus writes:

On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun. For the Hebrews celebrate the passover on the 14th day according to the moon, and the passion of our Savior falls on the day before the passover; but an eclipse of the sun takes place only when the moon comes under the sun. And it cannot happen at any other time but in the interval between the first day of the new moon and the last of the old, that is, at their junction: how then should an eclipse be supposed to happen when the moon is almost diametrically opposite the sun? Let opinion pass however; let it carry the majority with it; and let this portent of the world be deemed an eclipse of the sun, like others a portent only to the eye. Phlegon records that, in the time of Tiberius Caesar, at full moon, there was a full eclipse of the sun from the sixth hour to the ninth—manifestly that one of which we speak. But what has an eclipse in common with an earthquake, the rending rocks, and the resurrection of the dead, and so great a perturbation throughout the universe? Surely no such event as this is recorded for a long period.⁸

Africanus rightly argues that a solar eclipse could not have occurred during the lunar cycle of the Passover, as this diagram shows. He also questions the link between an eclipse, an earthquake, and the miraculous events recorded in Matthew’s Gospel. Eclipses do not set off earthquakes and bodily resurrections. We also know that eclipses only last for several minutes, not three hours. For Africanus, naturalistic explanations for the darkness at the crucifixion were grossly insufficient, as he showed by applying real science.

Local or global?

Many have pondered whether or not the darkness was a regional or global phenomenon. A vast majority of biblical translations records that the darkness was ‘over the land’, ‘over all the land’, or ‘over the whole land’. However, some translations of Luke’s account state the darkness was ‘over all the earth’ or ‘over the whole earth’.

What we do have is a plethora of extremely early, historically reliable, and highly respected sources for the darkness during the crucifixion.

The Greek has the usual word for earth, gē,⁹ here, from which we derive ‘geology’. The language of most translations appears to strongly suggest that the darkness was a local or regional phenomenon, which is a possible rendition in some contexts. All the same, if it was regional, it was over an extensive region. Dr Paul Maier, professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, notes ‘This phenomenon, evidently, was visible in Rome, Athens, and other Mediterranean cities.’⁷

On the other hand, Africanus writes of the darkness as a global event. Tertullian, the famous second century apologist, also hails the darkness as a ‘cosmic’ or ‘world event’. Appealing to skeptics, he wrote:

At the moment of Christ’s death, the light departed from the sun, and the land was darkened at noonday, which wonder is related in your own annals, and is preserved in your archives to this day.¹⁰

Apparently, Tertullian could state with confidence that documentation of the darkness could be found in legitimate historical archives.

It is plausible that future archaeological discoveries could lend stronger support to the notion that the darkness was indeed witnessed throughout the entire world.

Why aren’t there more sources?

Many skeptics ask why John’s Gospel does not mention the darkness at the crucifixion. Simon Greenleaf, of Harvard Law School, said it best about the gospels:

There is enough of a discrepancy to show that there could have been no previous concert among them; and at the same time such substantial agreement as to show that they were all independent narrators of the same great transaction.¹¹

In other words, independent narrators will sometimes record different secondary details about the same exact event.

Many skeptics also ask why other early historians such as Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny the Younger fail to mention the darkness. But the skeptics are committing the fallacy of arguing from silence. It is unreasonable to expect every contemporary writer to include every event that happened—and there are good reasons not to expect these specific authors to mention the darkess (see Thallus: Darkness Rules). What we do have is a plethora of extremely early, historically reliable, and highly respected sources for the darkness during the crucifixion. The list of Matthew, Mark, Luke, Thallus, Phlegon, Africanus, and Tertullian is impressive indeed!

Conclusion

There is powerful evidence for the historicity of the darkness at Christ’s crucifixion. It was a real historical event, and its very existence was rooted in the real historical events in Genesis. As the last Adam
(1 Corinthians 15:45), Christ came to suffer the horrible and ignominious death of crucifixion in order to die for the sins of the world. ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).’

References

1. Craig, William Lane, The Evidence for Jesus, 2005; see also Luke: A consideration of Gospel authorship and publication date. Return to text.
2. Robinson, John A.T., Redating the New Testament, Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2000. Return to text.
3. Cf. Wenham, John, Redating Matthew, Mark and Luke, IVP, 1992; see review. Return to text.
4. Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars 1:31–33, AD 121. Return to text.
5. Strobel, L. The Case for Christ, p. 220, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 1998. Return to text.
6. Habermas, Gary. The Historical Jesus, pp. 196-7, College Press Publishing Company, 1996. Return to text.
7. Maier, Paul. Pontius Pilate (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1968), p. 366. Phlegon’s citation is a fragment from Olympiades he Chronika 13, ed. Otto Keller,Rerum Naturalium Scriptores Graeci Minores, 1 (Leipzig Teurber, 1877), p. 101.
   Return to text.
8. http://www.christian-thinktank.com/jrthal.html Return to text.
9. The Greek phrase in Luke 23:44 is καί σκότος εγένετο έφ ‘όλην τήν γήν (kai skotos egeneto eph holēn tēn gēn), ‘and darkness came upon the whole earth’.Return to text.
10. Sanders, Oswald. The Incomparable Christ, p. 203, Moody Publishers, 1982. Return to text.
11. Greenleaf, Simon. The Testimony of the Evangelists, vii, Baker, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984. Return to text.

http://creation.com/darkness-at-the-crucifixion-metaphor-or-real-history

WHO IS HE?

Who is He in yonder stall, at whose feet the shepherds fall?
‘Tis the Lord! O wondrous story!
‘Tis The Lord! The king of glory! At his feet we humbly fall, Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all!
Who is He in deep distress, Fasting in the wilderness? 
Who is He that stands and weeps
At the grave where Lazarus sleeps?
Lo! At midnight, who is He
Prays in dark Gethsemane?
Who is He in Calvary’s throes,
Asks for blessing on His foes?
Who is He that from the grave
Rose to seek and bless an save?
Lo! Ascending who is He
Captive leads captivity?
Who is He on yonder throne,
Ruling by His pow’r alone?
‘Tis The Lord! O wondrous story;
‘Tis The Lord! The king of glory
At his feet we humbly fall;
Crown Him, crown Him Lord of all!

 author 

unknown  to me

SĂ MORI CUM SE CUVINE (Vinerea Mare)

 SĂ MORI CUM SE CUVINE (Vinerea Mare) 
„Nu este aici, ci a înviat” (Luca 24:6)
Hristos, fondatorul creştinismului, a fost singurul om capabil să stabilească o întâlnire dincolo de mormânt şi să-şi ţină promisiunea. Domnul Isus le-a spus ucenicilor: „după ce voi învia, voi merge înaintea voastră în Galilea” (Matei 26:32). Şi aşa a făcut. Dacă vizitezi mormintele celor ce au fondat marile religii ale lumii, vei descoperi că ele încă sunt ocupate. Dar dacă vizitezi mormântul unde l-au pus pe Isus, vei descoperi că este gol şi că încă se aude ecoul cuvintelor îngerilor:„Nu este aici, a înviat”. Aceste cuvinte fac ca fiecare înmormântare creştină să fie o sărbătoare. Domnul Isus a promis: „fiindcă eu trăiesc, şi voi veţi trăi”. în cele din urmă vei muri de ceva. întrebarea este: Cum poţi muri cum se cuvine? lată două răspunsuri corecte la această întrebare: 1) Preqătindu-te dinainte. A existat o piatră funerară ce purta inscripţia: „mă aşteptam la asta, dar nu chiar acum”, lată cum te poţi pregăti pentru moarte: „Dacă mărturiseşti, deci, cu gura ta pe Isus ca Domn, şi dacă crezi în inima ta că Dumnezeu L-a înviat din morţi, vei fi mântuit” (Romani 10:9). 2) împlinind misiunea vieţii tale. Domnul Isus a spus: „Eu Te-am proslăvit pe pământ, am sfârşit lucrarea pe care Mi-ai dat-o s-o fac” (loan 17:4). La auditul final, vei sta înaintea lui Dumnezeu şi El te va întreba: „Ce ai făcut cu darurile pe care ţi le-am dat? Ţi-ai împlinit misiunea pe pământ?” în acel moment, nimic nu va fi mai important decât modul în care răspunzi la acea întrebare.

Cuvântul lui
Dumnezeu pentru astăzi
APRILIE 2014
18 APRILIE

TI-ADUCI AMINTE VINEREA ACEIA…?

TI-ADUCI AMINTE VINEREA ACEIA…?

Ti-aduci aminte Vinerea aceia
Lovindu-se in piepturi Fariseii
Strigau: ,,Sa cerem lui Pilat osanda,
Profetului din tara Galileii!”

Iti amintesti cum ne-mbulzeam cu totii
Ca sa-L vedem…era ciudat din privire.
Cind L-au lovit cu-n pumn in dreapta fetei
El si-a intors si stanga spre lovire

Iar cind Romanul se spala de sange
Silabisind verdictul, trist si rar.
Iti amintesti de chiotele noastre
Scapasem de la moarte un talhar.

Uraland spre Gologota, ti-aduci aminte
Cum se inaltara spre cer acelei zile neuitate
In asfintitul mohorit si sumbru
Trei cruci masive si insangerate?

Si cum in clipa cind isi dete duhul Galileanul
Tunete bizare pufnira-n hou,
Si se crapa in doua catapeteasma Templului cea mare.
Ingenunchind atunci Centurionul
Isi umili in fata crucii fala.

Si-alaturea de dansul, zguduita
Plangea amar Maria din Magdala.
Inebuniti atunci de groaza-n noapte
Am alergat tipand si robi caintii

Si-am intalnit in drum pe Iuda
Care isi numara plangand argintii.
Iar mai tarziu cind ne-am trezit deodata-n Ghetsimani
Intr-un hatis de spini
L-am intalnit legandu-si funia
Pe cel mai drept si falnic din maslini.

Si-nspaimantati atunci, ti-aduci aminte ?
Vorbe caind prin bezna grea de tuci
Am alergat la locul Capatanii
Si-am plans si noi, rugandu-ne sub cruci.

Poezie primita,nu cunosc autorul