EASTER

                                     By

                                                               C.

 

Easter, for most of  Christianity, is the observing of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is always on a Sunday, the first Sunday after the full moon on or after the first day of spring.  It it usually celebrated by sunrise worship services and giving candy eggs and rabbits to children in Easter baskets.  This year Easter falls on Sunday April 5, 2026.  The Passover of the Jews will be on Wednesday April 8, 2026.  

Today the way Christians celebrate Easter is more of a modern development from what first century Christians did. First of all the first century church, at its start, kept the Passover that Jesus instituted at the last supper, and the church was composed completely of Jews because the Gentiles were not yet being called into the church. In order to correctly understand what happened in the death and resurrection of Jesus you have to look at these events through the eyes of a Jew.  This involves understanding of the Jewish practices of the first century. 

In the time of Jesus the days began and ended at sunset, not midnight like today, so when the scriptures refer to the dawn of a day they mean sunset, not sunrise.  A knowledge of the Jewish holy days is required to understand what happened that last week during which Jesus was crucified because it was during these holy days that Jesus was crucified.  An understanding of the history of the Catholic Church contains information about why Passover was changed to Easter in an event called the quartodeciman controversy occurring in the second century AD.  The Eastern Orthodox Church chose to keep the Passover on the 14th day of the first month on the Jewish calendar while the western church at Rome chose to keep Easter.  This decision by the Catholic removed the knowledge to understand just what took place during the last week of the life of Jesus because they completely abandoned all the Jewish teachings and replaced them with the customs of former pagans that joined the Catholic Church.  Have you ever wondered what eggs and rabbits have to do with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ ?  The answer is absolutely nothing. Then overtime much of the original practices of the first century church became lost to western civilization and Christianity. 

If you want to know just what took place in that last week of the life of Jesus then you must think like a Jew living in the first century in Jerusalem.  This is how the people that wrote the Bible, all of them Jewish, thought.  If you are willing to try then consider the following.

In that last week of the life of Jesus there were two sabbaths; an annual sabbath, the first day of unleavened bread, the 15th day, the day after Passover, that was called a high day in John 19:31, then the weekly sabbath, the 17th, when the sunset on Friday, the 16th, until it set again.  That week Passover, which is not a holy day, was on Wednesday the14th and the high day sabbath the next day on the 15th and is the day that the Jews did not want the bodies of the three who were crucified on the Passover to be on their crosses. Therefore Jesus had to be placed in a tomb before sunset, the beginning of the first day of unleavened bread on the 15th.  The only sign Jesus gave that he was the messiah is recorded in Matthew 12:40 that Jesus would be three days and three nights in the tomb. Beginning at Passover near sunset if you count three days and three nights you will arrive at Saturday before sunset. You cannot do this with the modern day Easter because there is no way to have three days and three nights from near sunset Friday to sunrise Sunday, which would only be one day and two nights. This does not fulfill the only sign Jesus gave.

What actually occurred was from a Passover Wednesday crucifixion and burial, that was near to sunset, then the next day Thursday was the high day sabbath of the first day of unleavened bread, followed by the preparation day, Friday, until late on the sabbath day would be three days and three nights. This scenario fulfills the sign Jesus gave.  So the just as the gospel of Matthew reports, “near the end of the sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week the two Mary’s came to the tomb and it was empty”, Jesus had risen near to the end of the weekly sabbath before the women arrived at the tomb. The king James, the American Standard, English Revised, Websters Bible, Youngs Literal, Lamsa Bible, Godbey New Testament and  Worrell New Testament are only a few translations that show a late in the sabbath day resurrection of Jesus. When the word dawn appears in these translations you must remember that days in the time of Jesus were sunset to sunset thus the “dawn” of a new day was at sunset, not midnight.  Do you see what the Catholic Church did by removing the Jewishness of those times that totally changed the facts that occurred during the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ ?  The Catholic Church replaced the true events with pagan practices, the church used pagan forms of worship to worship GOD and Jesus. Deuteronomy 12:29-32 

 ²⁹ The Lord your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, ³⁰ and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” ³¹ You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. ³² See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

 GOD forbids using pagan ways to worship HIM and HIS son.  The law of Moses contained all the holy days of the Jews and they were shadows and symbolism of what Jesus would fulfill in his lifetime.  To understand these holy days is to see how the flow of events transpired in that last week of the life of Jesus.  By doing away with all things Jewish the Catholic Church removed the knowledge required to understand the truth of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Catholic leadership chose to adopt pagan rituals that are still practiced today by many in both Catholic and Protestant Christians.  The only sign Jesus gave that he is our messiah is lost to anyone that is ignorant to the truth and instead keeps Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  In doing this they violate GODS command to not use pagan things to worship HIM or HIS son in Deuteronomy 12:29-32. 

²⁹ The Lord your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, ³⁰ and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” ³¹ You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. ³² See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

Easter is not the only example of using paganism because the custom of Christmas, the immortal soul and the trinity is pagan as well.

GOD ALMIGHTY desires us to worship HIM in spirit and in truth. John 4:23-24 , “in spirit and in truth”, to worship in spirit means you cannot use physical things because the physical is not spirit. This includes using physical time or days, months, seasons or years. Galatians 4:9-11  Paul viewed keeping physical days to worship a GOD who is spirit the wrong thing to do and he feared for the Galatian people.  The true church of GOD keeps no days at all because they view all the days of their lives as holy to GOD who dwells in them, their bodies being the temple of GOD.  GOD does not dwell in churches and temples made by men. Acts 17:24  The true church of GOD does not build temples or churches, does not keep days, worships GOD in spirit and in truth and is taught the truth by GOD through Jesus Christ. John 6:43-45  1 John 2:27   John 14:26   John 16:13   

This article explains how pagan practices like Easter crept into Christianity to the degree that Christianity is no longer Christianity, it is paganism.  This was all predicted to happen by the prophets , Jesus and the Apostles.  Revelation 13:9  2 Timothy 3:1  Matthew 24:12  1 Timothy 4:1  2 Peter 3:3  2 Timothy 4:3 

So I hope you see that Easter is just one of many heresies that Jude describes, Jude 1:3-4  

If you understood this article what will you do ?

GODS PROMISE OF PROTECTION OF HIS ELECT SAINTS DURING THE GREAT TRIBULATION

 

The following scriptures are GODS promise, to the elect Philadelphia church, of protection during the great tribulation. Some of these verses you may think apply to carnal Israel but remember currently the Israelites are antichrist and enemies of the gospel and GOD divorced them long ago and today has no earthly physical nation but a spiritual nation of HIS elect. 1 Peter 2:9  Remember also the grafting of the Gentiles into the olive tree which makes them a part of spiritual Israel not carnal Israel.  The ancient saints in Hebrews 11 are the root of the church and only the faithful Israelite and Gentile branches remain in that olive tree.  And now the scriptures:

Revelation 3:10 “Because you have kept my command to persevere I will also keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole earth to test those who dwell on the earth.”

 

Revelation 7:3 “Do not harm the land, sea or trees until we have sealed the servants of our GOD on their foreheads.” 

 

Ezekiel 9:4-6  “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.”

5And as I listened, He said to the others, “Follow him through the city and start killing; do not show pity or spare anyone! 6Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” See Revelation 9:14-15

Revelation 9:4 

4They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

 

2 Corinthians 1:21-22  21Now it is God who establishes both us and you in Christ. He anointed us, 22placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.

 

Psalm 91:4-8 

4He will cover you with His feathers;

under His wings you will find refuge;

His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.

5You will not fear the terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the calamity that destroys at noon.

7Though a thousand may fall at your side,

and ten thousand at your right hand,

no harm will come near you.

8You will only see it with your eyes

and witness the punishment of the wicked.

 

Psalm 44:5-7 

5Through You we repel our foes;

through Your name we trample our enemies.

6For I do not trust in my bow,

nor does my sword save me.

7For You save us from our enemies;

You put those who hate us to shame.

 

Psalm psalm 37:32-33 

32Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

and seek to slay them,

33the LORD will not leave them in their power

or let them be condemned under judgment.

 

Isaiah 41:8-10 

8“But you, O Israel, My servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,

descendant of Abraham My friend—

9I brought you from the ends of the earth

and called you from its farthest corners.  See Matthew 24:31

I said, ‘You are My servant.’

I have chosen and not rejected you.

10Do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be afraid, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you; I will surely help you;

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

 

Isaiah 54:15-17

17No weapon formed against you shall prosper,

and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.

This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,

and their righteousness is from Me,” 

 

Psalm 149:1-9 

1Hallelujah! 

Sing to the LORD a new song—  See Revelation 14:3

His praise in the assembly of the godly.

2Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;

let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.

3Let them praise His name with dancing,

and make music to Him with tambourine and harp.

4For the LORD takes pleasure in His people;

He adorns the afflicted with salvation.

5Let the saints exult in glory;

let them shout for joy upon their beds.

6May the high praises of God be in their mouths,

and a double-edged sword in their hands,

7to inflict vengeance on the nations

and punishment on the peoples,

8to bind their kings with chains

and their nobles with shackles of iron,

9to execute the judgment written against them.

This honor is for all His saints.

Luke 1:37  37For no word from God will ever fail.”

John 10:28-29  28I give them everlasting life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. 29My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

Romans 8:31  31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Ephesians 6:10-13 

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

13Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.   See Luke 21:36

2 Timothy 4:18  . 18And the Lord will rescue me from every evil action and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Luke 10:19  19Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.

Daniel 11:32   Those who do wickedly against the (New) covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they (The people who were instructed) shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. (Not the elect. It will be Laodiceans who fall by the sword)  See Revelation 3:1  Revelation 12:11 & Revelation 14:13

These are a few of the scriptures that show how GOD will protect the Philadelphia church, the elect, who are alive and remain when Jesus returns.

THE DAYS GIVEN IN DANIEL 1260 1290 1335 2300 2520

 

In Daniel chapters 7, 8, 9 & 12 the angel Gabriel gives Daniel a series of days that are contained in the 70th week of the 70 weeks prophecy.  Each number of days describes events that begin with the covenant the antichrist makes with 10 nations and ends with the return of Christ. 

2520- This is the total number of days in the covenant the man of sin makes with 10 nations which are also described as horns Revelation 17:16, kings Revelation 17:12 or toes Daniel 7:24.  The 2520 is derived by using the Hebrew year of 360 days times 7 years = 2520 days.  If we have a timeline with the days given in the book of Daniel it would be as shown below.

Day 1—- 1260 —- 1290 — 1335 —- 2300 —- 2520

Day 1 The covenant is made. Daniel 9:27  Revelation 17:12   Daniel 7:24   Revelation 16:14

1260 The covenant is broken and man of sin ends the  sacrifices. Daniel 9:27

1290 The abomination of desolation is set up as the man of sin sets in the third temple and declares himself GOD.   Daniel 12:11   Matthew 24:15  

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4  Daniel 11:31

1335 The 144,000 elect are sealed in their foreheads fulfilling the promise of Revelation 3:10  “I will keep you from the hour of trial which will come upon all the world”  Ezekiel 9:4   Revelation 7:3  Revelation 9:4  Revelation 14:1  Revelation 22:4  Malachi 3:16-18 

2300 Return of Jesus Christ  Daniel 8:13-14  Ezekiel 21:27  Genesis 49:10

2520 This was to be the length of days of the 7 year covenant but is cut short by 220 days for the sake of GODS elect. Matthew 24:22 “the days will be shortened”

70 weeks prophecy is Daniel chapter 9.  Beginning in verse 21 the angel Gabriel arrives and informs Daniel that 70 weeks, verse 24, were decreed for Israel and Jerusalem to achieve the following;

 “ to stop Israel’s transgression, put an end to sin, make atonement for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the holy of holies.” 

To anoint the most holy place, Daniel 8:14 Strongs H6663 —- to appear righteous, to justify

It is obvious from how Gabriel describes events, that most have already happened for us,  beginning with the decree of Cyprus King of Persia and ending with the crucifixion of Jesus and destruction of Jerusalem and  the temple.  Daniel 9:26

 Now beginning in Daniel 9:27, the 70th week, mentions; 

“a covenant that is made with many” 

which did not happen after the destruction of the second temple described in verse 26,

 “will destroy the city and the sanctuary” 

also after the second temple was destroyed the sacrifices and offerings stopped in 70AD, so this 70th week mentions AGAIN  in verse 27 putting and end to sacrifice and offering. 

“In the middle of the week he will end sacrifice and offering.” 

It also mentions the abomination of desolation that Jesus also describes, Matthew 24:15 , as an event just preceding the great tribulation which will lead to the destruction decreed upon the man of sin Paul mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 .  If you are observant all of this 70th week is what takes place in the days Daniel records; 1260   1290   1335   2300   2520 .  The gap existing between the 69th and 70th weeks is from the second temple destruction to;

 “and until the end war and desolations are decreed”

  describing things that happened from 70AD until the man of sin makes the covenant with 10 nations.  Jesus also said this in Matthew 24:6-8 

 “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars but do not be alarmed. These things must happen but the end is not yet. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginning of sorrows.”  

Jesus, in his Olivet prophecy,  is going through the days of Daniel beginning with his prediction of the destruction of the second temple all the way to his return. Jesus mentions the abomination of desolation and the great tribulation saying that immediately after it he will return and that the days of the tribulation are cut short for the elects sake.  Jesus even warns us about the false prophet in Revelation 13:13-14 .  Jesus warns the church to not become Laodiceans, Matthew 24:48-51.  Revelation 16:15

We are currently living near the end of this “beginning of sorrows” period of time and are waiting to see this 70th week begin.  This covenant with these 10 nations will then begin the 70th week lasting 7 years minus 220 days.

 Jesus said, “this generation will not pass away until ALL THESE THINGS ARE FULFILLED.”  Matthew 24:34  

 In order to see “all these things” come to pass includes the return of Jesus which did not happen during the lifetimes of the people who heard Jesus give this prophecy, therefore it must be a future generation that Jesus is referring to.    LUKE 21:36

The current war with Iran against Israel and the U.S. has the potential to culminate in this ten nation covenant of the man of sin. At present it is to soon to confirm this.  It will depend on exactly how events unfold.  Keep watch.

THINGS TO COME

 Have you ever thought about the things to come, the future ?  Jesus told us to watch what is happening in the world and from that combined with his prophetic statements and those of the prophets and Apostles arrive at an understanding of where we are in the great plan of things.  

Matthew 24 ,  Mark 13 and Luke 21 are three accounts of what is called the Olivet prophecy.  In each of these three accounts the destruction of the second temple is mentioned and indeed that event occurred in 70 AD. 

 In his response to the question from his disciples Jesus never brought up the second temple destruction again but rather focused on answering the question the disciples asked him. When shall these things be and the sign of your coming and the end of the age ?  These were NOT  separate questions because the end of the age is the return of Jesus.  

Although this would be a disappointment it was also encouraging and edifying to insure that those who would remain faithful would indeed inherit the kingdom of GOD.   From the beginning of the response Jesus gives to his disciples question Jesus never mentions the second temple again but does explain future events that  would happen.  When our mind’s focus on the second temple, as having to do with the events Jesus spoke about, our thoughts will attempt to make what Jesus said fall in line with that idea.  This is a big mistake.  All through the verses in his answer that Jesus gives are one continuous answer.  There is no break in the middle that goes back to the second temple destruction, it’s not there.  To attempt to include this idea in the prophecy will lead to a misunderstanding of prophecy.  Just as the church and the Apostles misunderstood by thinking Jesus would return in their lifetime. Example of this is, 1 John 2:18 "We know this is the last hour" John truly thought Jesus would return in his life time.  The Apostle Paul describing the return said, "We who are alive and remain" indicating himself and those he was writing to would see the return of Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17  Then Peter in 1 Peter 4:7 said, "The end of all things is at hand."  James 5:8 “ the coming of the Lord is at hand”. All of these Apostles thought Jesus would return in their lifetimes.  This is because they thought the destruction of the second temple would herald the second advent.

Some go to great lengths to connect the second temple destruction to events that are all yet future saying that certain events were fulfilled in 70 AD  with the destruction of the second temple when the information Jesus gives has nothing to do with the second temple.  The reason for this misconception is that Jesus did mention the second temple’s destruction in passing due to the comments of the disciples when they all were at the temple earlier , but later, on the mount of Olives, the prophetic events Jesus gave are thought by many to be connected with the second temple when they are not.  All the prophecy Jesus gave leads up to the third temple, the true time of his return and the fulfillment of those signs he gave.  Try giving a reading of all three gospel accounts of the Olivet discourse with the third temple in mind rather than the second.  There is no break in the narrative, Jesus relays information to answer the question that his disciples asked, “what is the sign of your coming and the end of the age.” The second temple had nothing to do with what Jesus said but the third temple does.  The comment Jesus made about the second temple was non sequitur, it wasn’t connected to the remarks he made later on the Mount of Olives.  One matter dealt only with the second temple destruction and the other with, “what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age” , two unrelated topics.  The disciples said, “when shall these things be” and immediately people want to connect everything Jesus said to the second temple’s destruction.  In Acts 1:6-7 the disciples asked, “will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel” , because they were thinking the destruction of the second temple would bring the kingdom of GOD.  The answer Jesus gave should put and end to this and all questions about the timing of the arrival of the kingdom and the events leading up to it. “It is not for you to know the times and the seasons which the FATHER has put in HIS own authority.”  People come up with all sorts of ideas about what Matthew 24 is saying but they will be wrong because only the FATHER knows and HE reveals HIS secrets only to HIS servants the prophets and today that is the church. Unto you, (or us the church) , it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of GOD, but to others it is not given.  Matthew 13:11

To summarize; the knowledge given in the book of Revelation could not have been known prior to 70 AD because the church at that time believed that Christ would return in their lifetime and they thought the second temple destruction would be the sign of the return of Jesus.  They had no knowledge of a future third temple.  If the church had the knowledge contained in the book of Revelation in 67 AD they would have known that the return of Jesus was far off, along with the events concerning the end of the age.  

In Daniel 8:14 “then the sanctuary shall be cleansed” if you look up the Hebrew word for “cleansed” it is Strongs G6663 meaning,  “to be turned to righteousness, justified, to make right in a moral sense.”  This event occurs at the 2300 days when Jesus returns therefore the third temple is not destroyed as the first and second temples were. This is the fulfillment of Ezekiel 21:27 “I will overturn, overturn, overturn it and it shall be no more until he who comes whose right it is (Jesus) and I will give it to him.”  This confirms that Jesus will be given the third overturning of the temple.  Since the second temple was destroyed it cannot be the temple mentioned in Matthew 24:15 or Revelation 11:1  

In Daniel 9:26 the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans in 70 AD is recorded but in the very next verse, verse 27, the abomination of desolation is set up in a temple . In 2 Thessalonians 2:4, the event described here by Paul, who thought Jesus would return very soon, no doubt thought the man of sin would be in the second temple.  Daniel 9:26-27 shows the desolation happening after the Romans destroyed the second temple thus indicating that there will be a third temple.

Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John, lived from 69 AD to 155 AD . He was an infant when the second temple was destroyed.  To have been taught by the Apostle John Polycarp would had to have been old enough to understand.  Polycarp was only a year old when the second temple was destroyed.  If we estimate Polycarp was 20 when he began to be instructed by John then it would have been about 89 AD and both John and Polycarp would have known about the destruction of the second temple but neither mention it in their writings thus showing its insignificance in events concerning prophecy or doctrine.  The church had no need of a physical temple.  Acts 17:24

No Emperor prior to Nerva had ever released    prisoners from the isle of Patmos, Nerva is the only one and he reigned from 96 AD to 98 AD .  Therefore the book of Revelation had to have been written sometime between 96 & 98 AD while John was on Patmos. It is not realistic that John would have been on Patmos for 30 years. You can verify this information in secular history free from religious bias  on the internet. The following is from a Roman historical web site: 

Following the death of Emperor Domitian in 96 AD, his successor Nerva recalled exiles and released prisoners, an act historically documented to include those banished to Patmos, notably the Apostle John

. This move helped restore order and reversed the tyrannical policies, including treason trials, of the previous administration. 

•  

The idea of Preterism, both full and partial, began in the Catholic Church as a response to Protestants saying the Pope was the antichrist. Certain Jesuit priests concocted the idea that the book of Revelation was written in 67 AD thus placing the antichrist before the destruction of the second temple thereby disproving the accusation that the Pope is the antichrist. From Wikipedia:

 At the time of the Counter-Reformation, the Jesuit Luis de Alcasar wrote a prominent preterist exposition of prophecy.^{[3][page needed][4]} Moses Stuart noted in 1845 that Alcasar's preterist interpretation advantaged the Roman Catholic Church during its arguments with Protestants,^[5] and Kenneth Newport in an eschatological commentary in 2000 described preterism as a Catholic defense against the Protestant historicist view which identified the Roman Catholic Church as a persecuting apostasy.^[6]   His work, published posthumously in 1614, sought to counter Protestant interpretations that identified the Pope as the Antichrist, proposing instead that prophecies in Revelation were fulfilled in the first century.

 This historical information is also available on the internet.  In addition, two early church members, Irenaeus of Lions and Eusebius of Caesarea, wrote about the Apostle Johns exile to Patmos and place the date during the reign of Domitian in AD 95 and John was later released by emperor Nerva in AD 96.  

Emperor Nerva was known as one of the 5 good Emperors who instituted many reforms including ending banishing people who opposed unfair treatment and freed political prisoners and exiles, restored the Roman senates influence and no longer executed Senators and returned property to prisoners and exiles.  It was during Nerve's reign that the Apostle John was released from Patmos in about 96 AD.  John was sent to Patmos during the reign of Domitian, 81 AD to 96 AD.  Therefore the second temple that was destroyed in 70 AD cannot be the temple John described in the Revelation.  The early church under the leadership of the Apostles believed Jesus would return in their lifetime and based this on the assumption that the second temple destruction would set in motion the Olivet prophecy.  They had no knowledge of a future third temple that is currently planned to be built by groups in Israel.  

The great tribulation is said by Preterists to have occurred in 70 AD with the destruction of the second temple by the Romans.  Jesus described the tribulation as a time unparalleled in human history that if not shortened would kill all humanity.  There are ten nations that come against Jerusalem in the future not just one as in AD 70.  There was no man of sin in the temple declaring himself GOD.  Immediately after the tribulation Christ returns which did not happen in 70 AD.  There are so many things that just don’t add up with the Preterist view of prophecy.  Therefore full Preterism is a heresy and partial Preterism is partly a heresy.  GODS truth contains no heresies either full or partial.

In other articles on this blog I have proven that Jerusalem is the harlot and Israel is the beast rising up out of the sea, therefore Rome, nor any of its emperor’s can be the beast.  Rome has nothing to do with the end times. The popular belief is that Rome is the beast in Revelation but full Preterists base their interpretations of the Olivet prophecy on this idea. It is odd that some partial Preterists acknowledge Jerusalem not Rome as the harlot, an understanding that should have informed them of their incorrect interpretations of the Olivet prophecy. 

I have spent many hours on the internet looking into the history of the early church and the writings of the post Apostolic church leadership. I have researched the Roman Emperors who reigned during the times of these events in dispute and have concluded that any form of Preterism is not true. 

 This will mean nothing to those who hold to the idea of Preterism. This is similar to the false idea of the immortal soul, the trinity or legalism, that those who hold to these beliefs will not give them up no matter how much evidence exists to disprove them.  

I found The following article while doing an internet search about birthright citizenship. I agree with the authors comments.  Birthright citizenship makes the location of birth rather than the allegiance to the nation the priority to determine citizenship. The results of this error are what we have been seeing in the news today; chaos and violence.

 Birthright Citizenship: A Fundamental Misunderstanding of the 14th Amendment
Oct 30, 2018  

COMMENTARY BY

Hans A. von Spakovsky

Former Election Law Reform Initiative Manager
Hans von Spakovsky was the Election Law Reform Initiative Manager at The Heritage Foundation.
The 14th Amendment doesn’t say that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens.

Key Takeaways

Critics claim that anyone born in the United States is automatically a U.S. citizen, even if their parents are here illegally.

Its original meaning refers to the political allegiance of an individual and the jurisdiction that a foreign government has over that individual.

Birthright citizenship has been implemented by executive fiat, not because it is required by federal law or the Constitution.
 

What’s the citizenship status of the children of illegal aliens? That question has spurred quite a debate over the 14th Amendment lately, with the news that several states—including Pennsylvania, Arizona, Oklahoma, Georgia, and South Carolina—may launch efforts to deny automatic citizenship to such children.

Critics claim that anyone born in the United States is automatically a U.S. citizen, even if their parents are here illegally. But that ignores the text and legislative history of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 to extend citizenship to freed slaves and their children.  This was the sole reason for the 14th amendment.

The 14th Amendment doesn’t say that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens. It says that “[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are citizens. That second, critical, conditional phrase is conveniently ignored or misinterpreted by advocates of “birthright” citizenship.

Critics erroneously believe that anyone present in the United States has “subjected” himself “to the jurisdiction” of the United States, which would extend citizenship to the children of tourists, diplomats, and illegal aliens alike.

But that is not what that qualifying phrase means. Its original meaning refers to the political allegiance of an individual and the jurisdiction that a foreign government has over that individual.

The fact that a tourist or illegal alien is subject to our laws and our courts if they violate our laws does not place them within the political “jurisdiction” of the United States as that phrase was defined by the framers of the 14th Amendment.

This amendment’s language was derived from the 1866 Civil Rights Act, which provided that “[a]ll persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign power” would be considered citizens.

Sen. Lyman Trumbull, a key figure in the adoption of the 14th Amendment, said that “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. included not owing allegiance to any other country.

As John Eastman, former dean of the Chapman School of Law, has said, many do not seem to understand “the distinction between partial, territorial jurisdiction, which subjects all who are present within the territory of a sovereign to the jurisdiction of that sovereign’s laws, and complete political jurisdiction, which requires allegiance to the sovereign as well.”  Plainly stated, if you are in a foreign country you must obey their laws but you are not under their jurisdiction, you are not a citizen.

In the famous Slaughter-House cases of 1872, the Supreme Court stated that this qualifying phrase was intended to exclude “children of ministers, consuls, and citizens or subjects of foreign States born within the United States.” This was confirmed in 1884 in another case, Elk vs. Wilkins, when citizenship was denied to an American Indian because he “owed immediate allegiance to” his tribe and not the United States.

American Indians and their children did not become citizens until Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. There would have been no need to pass such legislation if the 14th Amendment extended citizenship to every person born in America, no matter what the circumstances of their birth, and no matter who their parents are.

Even in U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, the 1898 case most often cited by “birthright” supporters due to its overbroad language, the court only held that a child born of lawful, permanent residents was a U.S. citizen. That is a far cry from saying that a child born of individuals who are here illegally must be considered a U.S. citizen.

Of course, the judges in that case were strongly influenced by the fact that there were discriminatory laws in place at that time that restricted Chinese immigration, a situation that does not exist today.

The court’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment as extending to the children of legal, non-citizens was incorrect, according to the text and legislative history of the amendment. But even under that holding, citizenship was not extended to the children of illegal aliens—only permanent, legal residents.

It is just plain wrong to claim that the children born of parents temporarily in the country as students or tourists are automatically U.S. citizens: They do not meet the 14th Amendment’s jurisdictional allegiance obligations. They are, in fact, subject to the political jurisdiction (and allegiance) of the country of their parents. The same applies to the children of illegal aliens because children born in the United States to foreign citizens are citizens of their parents’ home country.

Federal law offers them no help either. U.S. immigration law (8 U.S.C. § 1401) simply repeats the language of the 14th Amendment, including the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”

The State Department has erroneously interpreted that statute to provide passports to anyone born in the United States, regardless of whether their parents are here illegally and regardless of whether the applicant meets the requirement of being “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. Accordingly, birthright citizenship has been implemented by executive fiat, not because it is required by federal law or the Constitution.

We are only one of a very small number of countries that provides birthright citizenship, and we do so based not upon the requirements of federal law or the Constitution, but based upon an erroneous executive interpretation. Congress should clarify the law according to the original meaning of the 14th Amendment and reverse this practice.

Originally published by Fox News in 2011

This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal

ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED ???

 There is a belief that is commonplace among many worldly churches that when a person is baptized they are saved.  Is this true ?  First we must define what salvation is.  Matthew 24:13  “the one who endures to the end will be saved”  the end of what ?   1 Peter 1:5 “who are protected by the power of GOD through faith for the salvation to be revealed in the last time”.  It appears that salvation or being saved is an event that happens in the last time or at the end. The mistake in thinking we are saved now is linked to baptism. To think being baptized is being saved is an error. Baptism is the beginning of our journey toward salvation which is at the end of the journey not the beginning.  It also helps to know just what salvation is.  Salvation is being born into the kingdom of GOD as an immortal, impeccable spirit being.  1 Corinthians 15:50-53  “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of GOD” so if you are flesh and blood you have not yet been saved.  “We will All be changed”, “at the last trumpet” when Jesus returns. “We must be clothed with immortality” we, while flesh and blood,  are mortal but when Jesus returns we will become immortal, composed of spirit and be incapable of sin.   It is a true statement to say that no one has ever received salvation yet, because it is given when Jesus returns.  If we already had salvation we would not hope for it , who hopes for what they already have ?  Romans 8:24   Rather we are to hope for what we do not yet have.  Romans 8:25   To this day no one has ever been saved, it is a future event that happens when Jesus returns.  

Therefore people who say when they are baptized that they got saved is not true. Being converted is not salvation.  Perhaps what throws people off track are the comments made by the Apostles when speaking about salvation. They saw GODS promise of salvation as such a sure thing that they sometimes spoke of it as though we already had it.  

When reading the scriptures it is paramount, extremely important, that we define or find the definition of words like salvation, faith, immortality, spirit and many more so to have the understanding of what they mean before we reach a conclusion about them.  This is a very common error made with many things, many subjects contained in the scriptures.  The truth must be rightly divided to be  correctly understood  and we must never just assume something but rather prove everything. 

1 Thessalonians 5:21 “Prove all things”    We have been given the hope of a great salvation that we should not neglect.  Hebrews 2:3 

GODS elect saints are taught by divine revelation from GOD through Jesus Christ just as the Apostle Paul was, “For I want you to know brothers that the gospel that I preach is not from man. I did not receive it from any man nor was I taught it by any man rather I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.”  Galatians 1:11-12   Any spiritual thing that the saints are taught and understand is by revelation from GOD through Jesus Christ.  

Now that we have shown that salvation is a yet future event that happens when Jesus returns this shows us that the idea of baptism saving us or “once saved always saved” is also incorrect because,  You cannot always have what you have not been given in the first place.  You may have been converted but salvation is not a reality until Jesus returns to give it.  It is also possible to lose the hope of salvation if we commit the unpardonable sin because this sin is unforgivable and resulting in everlasting death.  Jesus and the Apostles warn us about this in Mark 3:29   Matthew 12:31-32   Luke 12:10  and Hebrews 6:4-6   Hebrews 10:26-29   1 John 5:16   These scriptures prove that the HOPE of salvation is lost if someone commits the unpardonable sin.  Therefore “once saved always saved” is not true from this perspective.  However if the truth be known to you then “once saved always saved” is true because in the end when Jesus returns and you finally receive salvation only then is salvation permanent, everlasting, and you will never lose it.  It is a matter of properly understanding the scriptures, of defining words and their proper meaning with guidance of GODS spirt to arrive at the truth of all things,  John 16:13   John 14:26  1 Corinthians 2:10-13   It is the spirit of GOD by revelation that we understand spiritual truths.  Once saved always saved is a matter of perspective based on revealed truth.  

NOT OF THIS WORLD

 What did Jesus mean when he said he was not of this world ?  John 8:23   Not of this world is the same as saying not of this creation.  The virgin birth of Jesus with GOD being his FATHER made Jesus the very first of the ultimate creation of GOD but as a human being . Revelation 3:14  The creation referred to in this verse is not this physical creation, it is the spirit creation. Hebrews 12:23  When the saints are born into the kingdom they will become impeccable, that is unable to sin, composed entirely of spirit and immortal .  They will be changed to be this way because they are certainly not that way now. Jesus was the firstborn of this creation and was created impeccable, he could not sin and all Jesus needed was to be glorified, made a spirit being .  Jesus is called the second Adam for this reason.  Jesus had the exact or express character of his GOD.  Hebrews 1:3  This is why his life in the flesh is to be and example to follow to be in the kingdom. This was necessary for Jesus to be the messiah, to make his life precious in GODS sight so that whoever would believe could have access to grace for the forgiveness of sin.  The saints are to reckon themselves not of this world or creation because Jesus wasn’t.  John 17:16  This is a spiritual thing not a physical thing. 1 Corinthians 6:17  The one and only true baptism symbolizes that we have died with Jesus and our lives hidden in him until he returns and we are raised from the dead.  Colossians 3:3  Now Jesus lives in you by the power of the spirit of his GOD and FATHER.  Jesus is your hope of glory. Galatians 2:20   Colossians 1:27   So the current spiritual state of GODS elect saints is ; Romans 8:10

Just as Jesus was created in the image of his GOD and FATHER we are being recreated to be in the image of Jesus.  2 Corinthians 3:18  Romans 8:29  1 John 3:2  John 17:22   

This is why we are not of this creation, not of this world.