Loveisrael.org Team created terrific tools for anyone to participate in the Passover season. As I write this, we are in the middle of the Unleavened Bread part of Passover feast.
Easter, or what many call Resurrection Day, or to stay within the Passover feast series of events, the end of the feast is the priests waving a handful of barley, thanking God for His harvest, which is called "First Fruits." Spiritually, we are the Lord Jesus' harvest to eternal life, after Jesus paid the price for our sin and redeemed us from sin and death.
He was the first to rise from the dead, and He will raise us too if we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Passover Lamb. Baruch does a masterful job of showing the heart and intent of "trying" to keep the biblical Old Testament festivals. However, as non Jewish church going Christians, we need to know the Jewish context of scripture without trying to "keep" the law. We are to be led by the Holy Spirit. Understanding all the Biblical feasts and how they are linked to our Lord is key to good Bible Study.
Here is the link for the tools. https://biblestudycompany.com/laravel-filemanager/files/121/Ideas_to_Keep_the_Passover_02.pdf
If you would like to have a passover meal as Jewish people do, Loveisrael.org created a booklet. https://biblestudycompany.com/laravel-filemanager/files/121/Passover-Booklet-2025-PRINT-1.pdf
Passover for kids resource: https://biblestudycompany.com/laravel-filemanager/files/121/Passover-Section-Two_for_kids.pdf
Here are the dates from LoveIsrael.org for Passover 2025
Festival DATES
PASSOVER: Nisan 14 (sunset Fri, April 11 to sunset Sat, April 12)
UNLEAVENED BREAD: Nisan 15-21 (after sunset Sat, April 12 to sunset on Sat, April 19)
FIRST FRUITS: Day after weekly Sabbath* (begins after sunset Sat, April 19 to sunset on Sun, April 20)
*according to Leviticus 23:15-16
We wrote an article on the history of Easter and whether it has pagan origins. It discusses the history of "Easter." That article is here, and you can read it if you like.
God destroyed Egypt (the metaphor for the world) and rescued His people that were in bondage and created a Nation from slaves (as we are in sin and death Eph 2:1-4), and redeemed the Children of Israel and sent them to be focused on Him in a harsh wilderness that He sustained them supernaturally. The purpose of the wilderness is to learn to depend on God, and God used circumstances to grow their faith if they responded correctly to God. Exodus shows that they did not respond well, similar to what happened in Eden with Adam and Eve. Dr. Baruch told me, "Exodus is a picture of our Christian walk as well." Redeemed means to rescue by paying a price.
The primary focus of Passover is the blood from the lamb on the doorposts. The primary focus of the cross is the Lamb of God, Who is God, who went and shed His blood on the cross for our sins, like the lamb in Exodus 12 showed. Loveisrael's material will help put you in the moment with those who lived the moments with your family by reading the scriptures. Here is a picture of how they applied the blood as commanded to avoid the Destroying Angel. They believed in God. They had a good start, leaving Egypt and believing in God's word! We all do when we first get saved, but life's hardships can either be used to grow our faith in the Lord by worshipping Him or choosing to rebel. Let's focus on obeying and worshipping instead, and let Him build our faith in His word. (Deut 8, Hebrews 3)
The main plan of God is this:
The Lord Jesus’s blood on the cross AND resurrection (power over life and death) paid for our trespasses (sins) against God, instead of the continual sacrifices that the Jewish people endured, which were looking forward to the Messiah coming. He made a propitiation for our sins. A clean slate, once and for all, sacrifice as an offering to God, because He is the only Human (100% God and 100% man) left in the universe without sin. That was the point of the discussion with Nicodemus in John 3. We need a new nature as sinful creatures. Thus, we need to be born again by the Holy Spirit of God (Eph 2). As predicted, Christ came as the King rode on the donkey into Jerusalem (Zachariah 9.9). We can make Him king over our lives and hearts. (Romans 12:1-2)
HE CONQUERED SIN AND DEATH AND IS RISEN. HE IS FIRST FRUITS!!! All to rescue us by doing God's will. What Adam did not do. Glory to God!
If you need God's grace and mercy this Easter and Passover season, reach out to the Lord Jesus Christ, put all your sins on Him by faith, and ask Him to save you. Ask Him to forgive you, and He will. All of your past sins, present, and into the future! Our God will then seal you with His Holy Spirit and cause you to be born again to Him. Read the chapter in Ephesians 2 to see the plan of God. If you are unfamiliar with prayer, no worries; we have suggested a prayer. A prayer to God will not save you, but a heart reaching out in faith will, by His grace and mercy. Put your complete trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the prayer.
https://biblestudycompany.com/blog/article/81
Blessings to you and your family for this sacred time of year. Let us know if you came to Christ in the comments or at info@biblestudycompany.com
"Lord, please comfort those dealing with losses, sickness, and loneliness, and please encourage those not born again to respond to your invitation this Resurrection Day.
We thank Loveisrael.org and their teams for these superb materials.
Enjoy! Remember to share the Gospel, the good news according to God's will that Jesus Christ came to redeem us from sin and death. We are grateful to the Lord!!!
See full post & comments
Ric Joyner of Biblestudycompany.com is not affiliated with Rick Joyner of Morningstar Mn. There is a significant age difference, and Rick is older than me if you are looking us up on line.
We do not agree with his theological views, which fall into the hyper-Pentecostal/charismatic camp. If you have questions on our views, don't hesitate to get in touch with us info@biblestudycompany.com. We believe in the Gifts of the Spirit from Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. We believe God still heals, but don't believe in "healers." We believe there is a difference between biblical tongues (actual languages) and modern tongues from around Azusa Street in @1906. Biblical tongues are supernatural utterances according to Acts 2. We want to pray effective prayers in our native language to know what we are praying and seek to pray according to God's will.
Rick Joyner is part of a movement called the NEW APOSTOLIC REFORMATION, and you can click the link to learn more about this part of Christianity.
If anyone is born again, all believers have the Holy Spirit. We believe in yielding to the Holy Spirit to accomplish God's will rather than our will and desires, and by yielding to His will, we advance God's agenda. We strive to submit to God to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit to accomplish God's will in His word.
Here is my full bio. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricjoyner/
I found Rick Joyner's bio.
Folks, our latest podcast, Matthew 6:9, is the guideline the Lord gave the Apostles on praying and the hearers on the Mt of Beatitudes. We created a pdf for this Bible Study in Matthew, which is located here. https://biblestudycompany.com/laravel-filemanager/files/121/Prayer_outline.pdf
We recommend going for a walk or in your time with the Lord to work through the outline, which teaches you how to pray for advancing God's Will in our lives and those we need to pray for their needs.
For the audio, it is here: https://biblestudycompany.simplecast.com/episodes/matthew-6-part-2
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The purpose of this article is to prove that Easter cannot be traced back to pagan roots. Why is this important? The lengthy article discusses those facts.
If we are to be biblically sound, we need to have correct context, and history must be accurate. Here is a summary statement upfront. Passover week is a Jewish holiday given to the people of Israel as a sacred time of remembrance. Christians in the Western world typically only celebrate the day of the Resurrection. However, that day may not align with Passover, as it did in 2025. By not understanding the Jewish context of scripture, people will be robbed of rich truths. We don't want to miss these.
What are they robbing themselves of? They are robbing themselves of the incredible richness of the Passover, the types and shadows of the Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice for the Jewish people and humanity. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the final end of the passover and the purpose of the Passover, should be our focus. Dr. Baruch of Loveisrael.org and his project coordinator, Aaron Treesh, have created excellent tools for Christians who are not Jewish to learn about Passover from a scriptural perspective. https://biblestudycompany.com/laravel-filemanager/files/121/Ideas_to_Keep_the_Passover_02.pdf,
Well, Ric, then why did you write this article? Because there is much hype around saying Easter is pagan. I heard this for a long time, but never researched it myself. When I did, I was surprised that it was not. Now, if you don't like my research, I have many people who are listed as references. I want to ensure that I am accurate when communicating with others. I will state this upfront and confidently, there is no linkage to pagan holidays, or the word Easter is a god of some kind. The article shows my search. This is a time to share the Gospel.
Warning: BSC does not advocate for the celebration of Easter over Passover. We understand that Easter, or as some prefer to call it, Resurrection Day, is part of the Passover week celebration, which will be explained in the article. We believe that everyone should conduct their research. That helps in our Bible study. Being a good researcher is crucial to drawing accurate conclusions. We intend only to accept narratives that we have researched ourselves, and our purpose is never to offend. However, going against established narratives to uncover the truth can lead to offenses. We apologize in advance.
Not long ago, I was sitting with someone I respect at the Christian church we were attending. He said, “Easter is pagan." I inquired as to how he arrived at that knowledge, and he mentioned something about the goddess Ishtar and Easter being the same. I said Easter was a Germanic word for spring, so how could it be Ishtar?
Biblical History scholar Wes Huff shows clearly that Easter does not have pagan roots. https://youtu.be/q31k28_rdTg?si=uqNyQHH5ruFBbbqR
It's commonly asserted that many of our modern Easter traditions — including the name of the celebration itself — have pagan origins. This idea, although popular on the internet and in popular shows, when actually dug into (much like the accusation around the pagan origins of Christmas) really start to fall apart. "Why Christmas isn't pagan" -
• Christmas isn't pagan and here's why Time stamps: 0:00 - Intro 0:29 - Origins of the name (Ishtar and Ostara) 4:44 - The Easter bunny 7:09 - Easter eggs
No, Easter is not pagan or has pagan roots. "Well, Ric, when I searched on Google for the origins of Easter, it showed that it had pagan roots." "Ah, the Internet," I said with a frustrated sigh. To be correct, we must dig deeper as researchers. Easter is not from a pagan goddess. Ishtar was a Babylonian goddess who "SOUNDS LIKE" Easter; however, there is no link in etymology (origin of words), as the article below will show.[1]
Here is a humorous video from Lutheran Satire on this topic.
This article explains the background of Easter from Baylor University. "Well, Ric, what about Easter bunnies and eggs? Aren't they pagan?" They are not pagan, and they are recent modern inventions. The article provides details.
https://news.web.baylor.edu/news/story/2016/why-easter-was-never-anything-christian-holiday
After reading the article, we will continue to study why Christians celebrate Easter Sunday.
A Time for the Gospel
Those opposed to Easter and Christmas share the same talking points. "Christmas and Easter are pagan." The assumption is that a good Christian will not celebrate Easter at this time of the year because someone said it is pagan, or worse, someone who celebrates Easter is worshipping pagan deities.
Worshipping pagan deities is a serious charge. When one worships a pagan god, there are several rituals of literal worship. Today, I had lunch with a friend who shared that his definition of "pagan" is consumerism, which he defined as buying Easter eggs, the stores marking up eggs in the store, and buying candy and toy bunnies. In Jeremiah, there are several instances of pagan worship. Jeremiah 7:18 For Easter and Christmas, we see no one worshipping deities as defined by pagans. People often associate consumerism with paganism, but this is not the case. Consumerism is a heart issue and cannot be judged from the outside.
If these accusations are not true about Easter, is there a problem of laziness on our part due to a lack of research? Worse, if a group in our circle of influence believes this and we are unaware of why they think it is true, are we succumbing to a form of adult peer pressure? A passionate argument that Easter is pagan can stem from good motivation, but the person echoing this claim may not have conducted any research. The person does not want to offend God. Good idea. However, if proper research is done, we will find that the concerns are not valid in actual history. Why are people sharing about something they have not researched?
We can celebrate Easter in peace because Christ's resurrection has given us peace with God. What if the result is to focus on not celebrating Easter because it is pagan, and we lose an opportunity to share why we celebrate Easter and do not present the Gospel? Like Christmas, this time of year is a celebration of the Gospel.
Another close friend came to Christ just over a year ago and prayed for his family to go to the knowledge of salvation. His youngest sister shared with him that she had no idea Easter was about the Lord Jesus Christ, and she was not a churchgoer. My friend used the opportunity to share the Gospel, and she came to Christ! Three weeks later, she died of a heart attack! Christmas and Easter are times to focus on Christ and what He did for us on the cross, and share that truth with others who do not know why they are celebrating. Others believe Easter is pagan and tell us not to celebrate Easter for another reason: to celebrate the Jewish Passover.
And then learn about the Passover, and here are excellent resources from Loveisrael.org: https://biblestudycompany.com/blog/article/288
Should a Christian celebrate Passover (Jewish) or Easter (Christian)?
Now that we have settled that Easter is not pagan, we can move on to another problem. Our faith in Christ has its roots in Jewish tradition. The Jewish nation was founded on leaving Egypt as slaves to become a nation around their belief in God. To leave Egypt, they observed the Passover meal, which involved the sacrifice of a lamb. But first, those who believed in God were warned that the Destroyer would come and kill the firstborn children throughout the land. To prevent the Destroyer from visiting their homes, the Hebrews had to kill, eat, and sprinkle the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. Believing in God's word and acting on it caused the Destroyer to "Passover" the house. Therefore, between 1.5 and 2.5 million people left Egypt.[2] The Jews were to celebrate Passover every year. The feast is called “unleavened bread” because the Jews left Egypt quickly without leavening their bread. Our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified on the Passover without sin, because He is God, and was designated as the Passover Lamb. Exodus 12.
Yet, for some reason, Christians celebrate Easter versus Passover. Why should that be? Simply because of calendars, the resurrection, and unleavened bread.
Christians view the first day of the week (Sunday) as the day Christ rose from the dead and therefore refer to it as "the Lord’s Day." The celebration of Easter is not tied to the Jewish calendar, but to a specific day. Sunday became the traditional day for worship for Christians (Jews and Gentiles in Christ), although many celebrated the Sabbath and still do. It was natural to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday. The resurrection symbolizes Christ's defeat of sin and death. We can find records of the early church celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Sunday, the first day of the week. We can also find documents that both Jews and Gentiles kept the Sabbath and also worshipped on the Lord’s Day. Acts 20:7-12
Judaism celebrates Passover because they do not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Some Jewish people who believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah will still honor the Passover. "Remember, Ric, that Passover is not the end of the story," said Dr. Daniel Goepfrich. He paused and continued, "The resurrection is the end of the story, which is why we celebrate the resurrection." (paraphrase)
Jewish people also use a calendar based on the new moon, which can include Passover and unleavened bread during the week. In other words, Judaism is not tied to celebrating the Passover on any specific day, such as Sunday, but rather celebrates Passover on the 14th day of Nissan, which can fall on a different day of the week each year. Notice that Passover is a weeklong celebration, and Christianity instead focuses on the day of His resurrection.
Let’s Review
Christians believe that the feast of unleavened bread, which removes sin in our lives because we exchange His righteousness for our sinfulness, was fulfilled in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who made atonement with His sinless blood for all mankind. Jesus is the Passover lamb. In Contrast, the Passover focuses on the Exodus of Egypt (a type and shadow of what the Lord Jesus Christ would fulfill), which now finds fulfillment in Christ's resurrection. Heb 7:26-8:5.[3] Christians focus on Easter Sunday because they recognize Christ as the Messiah, and Christ’s resurrection is on Sunday, the first day of the week. Mark 16:9
Why don't Christians celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread? The symbolism of yeast is sin. Therefore, in preparation for Passover, one must remove sin in one's life by cleaning one's house of all things touched, or that might have been touched by yeast (ovens, utensils, mixing bowls, etc.). If you have ever tried to go a week without yeast products, it is tough to accomplish. A person cannot work hard enough to have sin/yeast removed from their life. We are thankful for the Lord Jesus' sacrifice as the Passover Lamb to wash away our sins with His blood. Therefore, this feast is fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We ask the final question: Is Easter pagan? No. Should Christians celebrate Passover? We found that immersing ourselves in learning how Christ fulfilled most feasts is a beneficial experience. Seder meals, such as the Last Supper, are instructive for Christian believers to understand that Christianity is rooted in Judaism. The focus of Passover is the blood on the doorposts. The subject of Easter Sunday is the blood of Christ on the cross, which forgives our sins, and that He has risen from the dead, thereby canceling our sin debt to God, as Christ said on the cross. Christ rose from the dead and was witnessed by over 500 people; then, the Holy Spirit came, as promised in Acts 2, which is our assurance of eternal life. 1 Cor 15:6. No other person in history was raised from the dead. 1 Cor 15:13. Our God has risen!
We can focus on the Passover, which points to the lamb's blood in Egypt, or believers in Christ can celebrate the fulfillment of Passover on Easter Sunday, a day (rather than a week) of Christ's resurrection! And if you like, add Easter bunnies and cute eggs for kids that point them to new life in Christ as a teaching tool, as these are a modern invention.
Enjoy your holiday. People are open this season to know what Easter is about, so share the Good News! Christ has risen! And learn about all the Jewish festivals with BSC and Loveisrael.org.
[1] Owen Jarus 01 February 2014, “Ishtar Gate: Grand Entrance to Babylon,” livescience.com, September 22, 2022, https://www.livescience.com/43036-ishtar-gate.html#:~:text=The%20Ishtar%20Gate%2C%20named%20after.
[2]Liz Abrams and Troy Lacey, “Did 600,000 Men Leave Egypt with Moses?,” Answers in Genesis (Answers in Genesis, September 20, 2022), https://answersingenesis.org/bible-questions/did-600000-men-leave-egypt-moses/.
[3] Nissan Dubov, “Pesach,” Chabad.org (Chabad), accessed March 23, 2023, https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2313774/jewish/The-Jewish-Festivals.htm.
Introduction: We never infer that one should or should not celebrate Christmas. This article is for people to know Christmas's factual, researched historical background. The word Christmas was not invented until @1000 ad. This word is a Roman Catholic term and has no bearing on the birth of our Savior. The angels in heaven celebrated the birth of our Savior in Luke 2. This time of the year is about the Gospel for the lost. That was the point of Christ's coming. Has God supernaturally provided a time for people to hear the Gospel? We think so. When one hears that Christmas is pagan, this article should help you decide. Blessings.
By Biblestudycompany.com Ric Joyner
We will state upfront that Christmas is not a biblical holiday. But it is not unbiblical to celebrate the birth of Christ. We should also not equalize materialistic Christmas with our Savior's advent (coming). The Old Testament prophesized the birth of the Savior to come. The current secular traditions of Santa, who has almost god-like qualities and manipulates kids to "further fantasize" a jolly old man who can give all children on earth toys or even an "elf on the shelf" that watches how they behave, is unbiblical. Still, some feel it is acceptable to create a myth around Santa Claus while children are young. We disagree. It is always best to be honest with children about Santa.
Giving presents at this time of the year is not wrong because the Magi gave Christ's family gifts in worship to the young boy Messiah. These gifts were providential because they provided money and helped the family flee to Egypt.
Consumerism and greed are wrong and sinful, but only the Holy Spirit can lead you to that truth, and He knows your heart. Grace-filled gifts that point people to a saving and loving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ can be a focus at this time of year.
Frustration mounts as we approach this time of year in the Christmas season because of the Internet. Shouts of "Christmas is pagan" escalate into a crescendo with arguments against Christmas on social media and in discussions with your friends. But is it true that Christmas, or rather what we say, The birth of our Savior, is actual history?
But could these accusations be a veiled attack on the Gospel in the name of "we don't want to be idolators?" Therefore, is the theory that Christmas is pagan or from pagan sources accurate? Or is the reverse true? This article aims to provide the historical truth of our research. Don't accept what others teach without researching. I did my research, and you can verify it. We think there are ulterior motives to capture and captivate Christians into doing "other" holidays or even attacking people who do not believe Christmas is pagan.
Matthew Chapters 1-2 highlights
Simeon's prophecy Luke 2:30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation, 31 Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel."
Luke Chapters 1 and 2. Pay attention to what the angels say a couple of times: "Good news," translated as the same word…Gospel. The birth of Christ was good news for Jews because their long-awaited Messiah was finally here, and the prophecy was being fulfilled. We write this paper 2,000 years later for Gentiles, grateful that the apostles preached the Gospel to us: Good news: Christ came as a child to break the back of sin and death and allowed us Gentiles an eternal "home" and become children of God! Gentiles are not part of the nation of Israel, but we are part of God's family! (Eph Chap 1-4) We celebrate the birth of Christ because of the Gospel!
Read John 1 for a view from heaven of why Christ came.
"9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the intention of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. We saw His glory as the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'" 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him."
If it is, then are you a pagan for celebrating the day of Christ's birth on December 25th? The historical false proof that Christmas is pagan is thrown at you with overwhelming emotional force. Typically, a discussion of paganism will start in the Old Testament and then go into Christmas, which is pagan. Is emotionalism based on biblical truth? How about historical facts? We know the origin of Christmas (birth of Christ) is biblical. The story of our Savior starts with His birth because the prophets mentioned He was coming. We suspect the anti-Christmas vehemence is agenda-driven. We ask this question because born-again believing Christians are not worshipping pagan deities by participating in the birth of Christ called Christmas today. Why weren't Christians committed to Christ worshipping pagan deities in early church times? Because most were fleeing for their lives from persecution.
I spoke to a Torah-keeping brother who said, "Yes, Christmas is pagan." I asked how that could be, and he shared, "When you put a present under the tree, you are 'bowing' down to the tree." I was stunned. The logic he displayed defied logic. Yeah, no. Worshipping a pagan deity requires one to engage the diety knowingly.
In our research, there were pagan celebrations that started around the time of 274 AD, but they appear to be in response to Christians in Rome celebrating the birth of Christ! We then ask what came first, the "chicken or the egg?" "However, it has also been argued that, on the contrary, Emperor Aurelian, who in 274 instituted the holiday of the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, did so partly as an attempt to give a pagan significance to a date already important for Christians in Rome.[76]
Did you catch that? As you will see, other historians show us that Christians were celebrating the birth of Christ (not in a modern sense), and the Romans had to create a holiday to counter their celebration, thus being anti-pagan. How interesting?
Is the nearness of a pagan holiday make Christmas pagan? When I sift through the concerns of 'Christmas is pagan,' people, did you know there was a pagan holiday at this time? We will deal with this later, but does that make celebrating the birth of Christ pagan today? Let's ask another question: Is Hanukkah pagan? The answer is no. Yet, Hanukkah is square in the middle of this pagan holiday called Saturnalia. Do you see how this is done? The proximity of time to another holiday makes the people celebrate a different holiday, equal to pagan practices. And we know that Hanukkah is not pagan. The true church pushed hard against these wicked holidays, and to assume born-again believers were participating in pagan festivals doesn't make much sense since Christians had to live outside of society for several hundred years because of severe persecution.
Calling Christmas pagan because of the nearness of the same period of a pagan holiday would be the same as calling Easter (the resurrection of Christ) and Passover pagan. The proximity does not work because a pagan spring festival may happen simultaneously.
Wess Huff, a biblical scholar, went through the history of Christmas. He discovered the same thing I did. The celebration of Christmas was not centered on a pagan holiday in Roman times. Still, Rome may have started a pagan holiday to CO-OP (replace or compete with) what Christians were already celebrating: the birth of the Savior. Remember, they were celebrating the birth of the Savior in Luke 2, not modern Christmas celebrations. https://youtu.be/5zcaQlBbk6s?si=pajb3K2Vh6NnZFWT
It's commonly asserted that Christmas has pagan origins. This idea, although popular on the internet and on History Channel (has HC really done any history in the last two decades or is it just all Ancient Aliens and Pawn Stars now?), the reality is that when you actually dig into the origin of these supposed pagan roots they really start to fall apart. Sol Invictus - 3:14 Saturnalia - 5:14 Brumalia - 6:18 Origin of Dec. 15th - 7:30 Christmas trees - 9:19 "It's not in the Bible so don't do it" - 15:31
We can confidently say that born-again believers would not have observed a pagan holiday and dishonored our Lord Jesus Christ, who rescued us from sin and death. Born-again believers do not participate in pagan rituals today, and Christmas is about the birth of Christ. We think it is grossly unfair to attribute pagan status to Christmas, especially in light of the historical facts. Looking back from our vantage point today, we see that being able to judge people of another time is arrogant indeed. There is a word for this, and it is presentism.
Note: This is another argument over the date of Christ's birth. The logic that stems from this is that "Christ wasn't born on December 25, so we should not celebrate the birth of Christ on that day. But really, we should not celebrate it all anyway." That argument is like arguing over what we had for Thanksgiving dinner 10 years ago. The world is celebrating Dec 25 as the day we stop and celebrate Christ's birthday. That is a fact. We should use this to share the Gospel with those unfamiliar with Who Christ is.
Let's go through some history anyway.
"Certainly today, the mix of consumerism (AKA Santa Claus) can take people's eyes off Christ, but our job is to bring them back to the salvation message of the Gospel. Will you join us?" BSC.
Note: In our extensive research, we stumbled upon a Wikipedia article. We usually would bypass Wikipedia as higher education frowns on its use; however, this article has stood the test of time (2001) and is updated continually, even in 2021. Once you dive into the article, you will see the extent and expanse of the research on Christmas.
Here are some highlights:
"Christmas" is a shortened form of "Christ's mass." The word was recorded as Crīstesmæsse in 1038 and Cristes-messe in 1131.[22] Crīst (genitive Crīstes) is from Greek Khrīstos (Χριστός), a translation of Hebrew Māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ), "Messiah," meaning "anointed";[23][24] and mæsse is from Latin missa, the celebration of the Eucharist.[25]”
"December 25 was the winter solstice date in the Roman calendar.[16][53] A late fourth-century sermon by Saint Augustine explains why this was a fitting day to celebrate Christ's nativity: "Hence it is that He was born on the Day which is the shortest in our earthly reckoning and from which subsequent days begin to increase in length. He, therefore, who bent low and lifted us chose the shortest Day, yet the one whence Light begins to increase." [54]
(Please note that Augustine allegorized Scripture, and we can see it here, which is not a good approach)
We conclude by the historical facts that the Roman Catholic Church did not exist at the beginning of Christian recognition of the birth of Christ.
"The Roman Emperor Constantine established himself as the head of the church around 313 A.D., which made this new "Christianity" the Roman Empire's official religion. The first actual Pope in Rome was probably Leo I (440-461 A.D.), although some claim that Gregory I was the first (Pope) (590-604 A.D.). This ungodly system eventually ushered in the darkest period known to man, called the "Dark Ages" (500-1500 A.D.). Through popes, bishops, and priests, Satan ruled Europe, and Biblical Christianity became illegal."
"And therefore, we should not celebrate the birth of Christ." We would say, "Tell that to the angels engaging the shepherds because heaven celebrated the birth of God's Son!" Luke 2:2-14
"And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Note: the words Good News are translated from Greek
Original word: εὐαγγελίζω
Transliteration: euaggelizó
Definition (short): preach
Description (complete): to announce good news
I think this comment that "we were never commanded to celebrate Christmas" is a logical fallacy. There are many events in the Bible that people acknowledge and celebrate that we are not commanded.
But the main issue is what we will do with this time of the year.
Yep, evangelize during Christmas. There are hurting hearts at this time of the year, and many blindly celebrate a holiday not connected to Christ's birth. Let us help people relate it to Christ, our Savior.
If not Christmas, what should we celebrate instead? Some in Torah-keeping groups and Hebrew roots say we should celebrate Hanukkah instead to return to our Jewish roots. Hanukkah was not part of the Gospel, and the birth of Christ IS part of the Gospel.
We encourage everyone everywhere to ask God whether one should participate in the celebration of the birth of Christ. We say YES! We can confidently push back on anti-Christmas and Christmas is pagan with correct historical and biblical facts. You may want to tell Children there is no Santa Claus so they know the truth. We are blessing them with presents as a reminder that the Lord Jesus Christ is a gift of grace to us who were lost and now found.
Acts 26:18 gives us the motivation behind the Gospel by the Lord when he was talking to Paul on the road to Damascus. The Lord Jesus said; "to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.'"
During this time of the year, people are open to the Gospel for nearly one month, meaning the world is focused on the "holidays." Can their sensitivity or openness be supernatural? We think so. Do we let this opportunity slide through our fingers to share the gift of salvation? In Matthew 28, our commission is to go and make disciples. To make a disciple, we must present the Gospel first. Will we waste our time arguing over the birth of Christ, whether it is pagan or not? To this, we say that people saying Christmas or the celebration of the birth of Christ is pagan are avoiding the Gospel! Why? Let us ask this question: Who in the spiritual realm attacks the Gospel and wants it destroyed? Satan. Think about this tidbit. Imagine a worldwide focus on Christmas, even in Buddhist countries. Why not present the Gospel at this time of the year? As Paul said, his focus was on getting people reconciled to God. (2Cor 5:18-21)
Think critically: False teachers attempt to get Christians (those who believe in Christ as their Savior) away from biblical foundations onto another system of thinking. We think this is precisely what is going on here. One area we know this is as we studied the history of Christmas, we discovered that virtually none of their view of historical facts stand up to scrutiny. That was a big surprise to me. In my graduate degrees, we learn and are trained in proper research. My career was researching specific tax guidance and helping people understand how the original writer of the tax code wrote the regulation and how to apply that for the best effect. I went where the history and facts led. I can't sugarcoat or bring an ideology to bear on the historical facts. And when we pointed this out...we were attacked. That is how we know this is a false history that Christmas is pagan. Typically, a video will start with Christmas being pagan by calling people who celebrate Christmas that they are pagans. This is called the logical fallacy of the straw man argument. God promised by the first prophecy in Genesis 3:15 that a Savior would come. We are celebrating this prophecy:
"15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." The Accuser is bound and determined to use people, even with good intentions, to stop the message of the Gospel of Salvation. We use the word accusation intentionally because people who celebrate traditional Christmas are called pagans. It was a severe charge but, fortunately, untrue.
God is a God of prophecy. He wants us to know what is coming. He answered His word and has "healing in His wings" to "reconcile us to God." There are no other holy books that contain prophetic words fulfilled!
Every Christmas season is a literal miracle that this holiday is focused worldwide on Jesus Christ, our Savior. Even the Wikipedia article acknowledges this undeniable fact.
Therefore, let us turn aside from agenda-driven history as supposed "facts" and focus on the birth of Christ and sharing the Good news of His coming to rescue us from our sin and eternal death, thus giving us eternal life works in the blood of Christ! Anyone who teaches the Bible should want the facts and present them in a manner worthy of sound scholarship.
What can you and your family do to share the love of Christ with a hurting world this Christmas season? Here is one video that touches our hearts because it makes my point that people are celebrating with family and friends but may not know the real reason for Christmas—salvation. You can see this young woman become emotional as she learns that she has broken God's laws and needs a savior—the very holiday she is celebrating but not knowing why!
Feel free to share the resources.
Melton, James. "The Plain Truth about the Roman Catholic Church." biblebelievers.com. Bible Baptist Publications, 1998. https://biblebelievers.com/jmelton/Catholic.html.
Wikipedia Contributors. "Christmas." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 31, 2001. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas.
———. "Christmas." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 31, 2001. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas
William Federer: There is a Santa Claus - History of Saint Nicholas & Christmas Holiday Traditions
by Amazon.com Learn more: https://amzn.to/3Q2kzez
Christmas has nothing to do with paganism: Red pen logic
Was December 25 the date of Christ's birth? The Greek Orthodox church thinks so.
Resources
1. Is Christmas PAGAN? In defense of Christmas (Mike Winger of Bible Thinker)
2. Got questions.org https://www.gotquestions.org/Christmas-pagan-holiday.html
4. Stop Twisting Jeremiah 10 Because It's Not About Christmas Trees
5. Alisa Childers on Christmas
6. For the extensive history of Christmas with the discussion of the dates for the birth of Christ, God Became Incarnate James Quiggle by Amazon.com
Learn more: https://amzn.to/4gtTBrd
7. The Star of Bethlehem is an excellent movie featuring the star's astronomical view. https://youtu.be/55VRdLnkvDw
8. Wes Huff https://youtu.be/5zcaQlBbk6s?si=pajb3K2Vh6NnZFWT
Playlist of videos that will go step by step
Article On how to study the Bible from BSC step by step
Article by Dr. Baruch on how to study the Bible
Article on how numbers play a role in Bible Study
Blog article and podcast on how we learned to study the Bible with Dr. Baruch
See full post & commentsThis prayer is a guide and biblically based. All a person needs to do is cry out to God in their own words. If you're unsure about how to pray, please use this prayer as a guide only. No prayer will save you but your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for you on the cross.
To have a relationship with God, rather than a relationship with religion, pray this prayer sincerely in your own words.
Dear Heavenly Father, (Matt. 6:9) I want a relationship with You...not a religion. I come to You and open my heart. (John 3:16) I will be honest and sincere with You. (John 4) I am running my life and need Your help. (Matt. 6:10) I am made in Your image (Gen 1:26, 27), and I won't be happy until I am in a relationship with you. (Gen. 3) Most of my behavior does not please You. (Romans 3:23) I know I am a sinner, so please forgive my sins because of Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who came to die for my sins. (John 3:16) His death on the cross is the punishment I should receive, but You were gracious to die in my place through Christ. By faith, I place all of my past, present, and future sins on Christ. I believe Jesus Christ is my Savior, and salvation is a free gift! I know I cannot earn my way to heaven by being good through good works. (Eph. 2:8) You did this so I can be in a relationship with You on earth and for all eternity. (Romans 10:9-13) And I will forgive those who have sinned or hurt me because you have forgiven me. Take away any bitterness or resentment I carry toward You or other people. (Matt. 6:13-14) Please show and teach me how to live a praiseworthy life on earth to You starting today. (Matt. 6:33, Acts 9 and 10) I ask you to be in my heart, as Paul said in Ephesians 3:17. I know that You love me, Father, and I want to love You, and that You have a purpose and plan for my life. I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Lord, because You gave me breath in my lungs, and Savior, because You paid my sin debt. Please teach me to pray. (Matt. 6:9) Thank You, Jesus, for saving me to Yourself (Ex. 19:1-8) and making me a new person! (2 Cor. 5:17) In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!
Learn to grow at www.biblestudycompany.com
See full post & comments#Bible #Biblestudy #Jesus #JesusChrist #biblestudycompany #Ephesians #Ephesiansbiblestudy
We are studying the next part of Ephesians. We learn about,
1. Redemption and what it means. The forgiveness of our trespasses (sins) against God's laws. The good news (Gospel) is that we cannot earn or work our way to a relationship with God. We need a rescue (redemption). Christ did it all.
2. It is through Christ's blood. Christ dying for our sin is how we know God came to earth. He was able to fix Adam's sin, forgive our sin 6,000 years later, and forgive the whole world's sin. Each person has an opportunity to access this forgiveness. All we need is to ask Christ to save us with a sincere heart, as Erv and Ric did.
3. Did you know we have access to knowing God's will? We do! Christ, it says of Christ,
"7 In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8, which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9, He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him"
We need to carry these verses about "who" we are in Christ. We are a new creature, and the old has passed away, as Paul says. But why are we knew? What does that mean? It means we are now in Christ, and He gives us the power (grace through His Holy Spirit) to do His will.
But what if we don't want to? Tell Him. Be honest. Have a relationship with the God of the Universe Who died for you and us. Join us for worship and study of God's word. Grab your psalms and join us to give God glory in our study. He deserves it!
#Bible #Bibletudy #Cancer #Jesus #Jesuslovesyou
We worship using Psalms
1. We talk about what it means to be predestined. And we discuss that we are adopted into the family of God.
2. We discuss God's kind intention of His will, which is what we are after as we study the Bible, and what that means for our lives.
3. We talk about the praise and glory of His grace and how that matters. Grace is always moving us away from ungodliness which is toward God's will in our life.
4. We talk about "in Christ", "in the beloved" and what that means for us. We are no longer a part of the world. Yet we live in it. But He lives in us!
5. We get into specifics about redemption, what it means for the Gospel, and our daily lives. Do we understand salvation correctly?
6. He lavished His love, grace, and forgiveness on us and we are still in amazement! We just need to believe in Him. Put our full weight of trust in Him and have the assurance of the things hoped for.
Join us to see how we can live praiseworthy to God. BTW you can use this bible study with a group if you like.
Erv Puckett's testimony https://youtu.be/LkqL4FZLP8E
#Bible #biblestudy #bibleverse
Here is a video presentation by Dr. John Barnett of DTBM.org (Discover The Book Ministry)
These presentations are powerful and true.
HOW EVERYTHING FITS--GOD'S BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME FROM START TO FINISH. DO YOU UNDERSTAND HIS PLANS?
#Bible #Biblestudy #Disciple #Apostle #willofGod #ephesians
Erv is approaching his 1st anniversary after becoming born again. His life has dramatically changed.
The second week we had a Bible Study he said something similar to this: "Ric and Pete, I am stuck at home with my pancreatic cancer. I do not know if I will live long. But how can God use me? How can I share the Gospel with people". Pete and I shared that we should just ask God for the opportunity. Erv, within two or three weeks of salvation, was sharing the Gospel of Christ in a youth prison where he still serves! He was asked to run a nursing Bible study AND has found a home church. Your prayers have helped to put him in remission! God's glory!
Ric and Erv started a bible study that we have been doing all year. We decided to record them so people could enjoy the back and forth and use good bible study principles.
This week we start a study in Ephesians.
We learn about these topics.
1. What is the will of God? How do we find it?
2. What is the difference between an Apostle and Disciple?
3. We talk about what Grace is and what it is not, and why we need to respond to God
4. When Paul talks about Peace, what does he mean. Too often, we just read over verses and don't pause to ask the HS for help in understanding. Peace with God is a giant concept that needs to be understood. Paul sets the stage for understanding all of Ephesians with this simple line. Think: We have Peace with God! The war is over! We have eternal life and much, much more, as Paul will explain!
5. What does "in Christ" mean?
Let's be a community of bible studiers, so we learn to live a life pleasing to God.
His World, His Rules, His Power in us!
Erv's testimony is here: https://youtu.be/LkqL4FZLP8E
Join us for these Bible Studies. Ask questions. Thank you
Step 1: Read each blog article first
Step 2: Watch or listen to Podcast or Vidcast in order below
Step 3: Use the reference material below
Podcast and Vidcasts
Should Christians Keep the Law Part 1 With Dr. Daniel Goepfrich
Should Christians Keep the Law Part 2 With Dr. Baruch Korman
Resources:
Hebrew Roots Cult of Moses https://www.raptureforums.com/pete-garcia/the-cult-of-moses-hrm/
The Story of the Law https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mlEcO-E4nk
Matthew 5:17 https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdwgpqaK/
HRM Eventually Denies Christ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5od5vGwg19E
What Hebrew Roots Teachers get wrong about Acts 15 https://youtu.be/CDCowRTOGJ4
Messiah in the Torah: https://www.academia.edu/41243902/THE_MESSIAH_IN_THE_TORAH
Heartbreaking Examples
New Marriage Broken Up
"I have lost my husband from this. He actually hates me because I do not follow the doctrine that he has adopted for 8 months now. He has left me and he has told me that he is no longer married to me because we were not married in a HRM. He has told me that our marriage was a mistake on his part and we have only been married for 8 years and we are older people. I can't understand how this could happen to someone at this age. He has abandoned everyone except HRM friends. His family, the children, his siblings. I don't understand this at all I don't understand anything about this and it destroyed my life"
Daughter caught up in Torah Keeping
I’m sorry about this. I know you’re not alone. My wife and I are afraid our middle daughter is lost in this maze of heresy. She has gotten entrenched in it and seems miserable now at our church because we do not observe the Sabbath, the dietary laws, or feasts. She does not believe we are currently under the new covenant. For a while, she was questioning the deity of Jesus. I think she’s come back to orthodox belief in that regard but I’m not positive. She believes the kingdom of God is all future. Her husband is an elder at our church where I preach. So we have that to deal with. I say all of this to say many of us know how this can destroy families. And some can share your pain regarding how it destroys marriages too. I will pray for you right now.
We know why this happens. Because people believe other people's teachings rather than do proper bible study themselves. Biblestudycompany.com is here to help.
See full post & comments
#Hebrewroots #hebrewrootsmovement #messianicjudaism #dochristiansneedtokeepthelaw #bible #biblestudy #Jesus #yeshua #torah #torahkeeping #messiah #hrm
So if we, who are Gentiles, want to keep the Torah (Law of Moses), how will we do it? The Torah is for the Children of Abraham who were led out from the "world system" (Egypt). At Mount Sinai, God made a covenant with the Children of Israel (Gentiles were not even considered), but it was conditional. Deuteronomy 28 discusses the blessings and the curses. But notice the blessings are all about the Jews who took "care to keep His word," and GOD MOVED on their behalf. The Jews were never to live this life without His help. So, is it about keeping Torah? No. It was about Faith in God who could help them obey His word, just as Abraham had help from God to live in a hostile world. We will state that Abraham was the father of their faith and now ours, and Abraham had no law to follow except the command to leave his relatives and home! He did. Gen 12:1-4 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1-40
If you lived during those days, there were so many laws (613) that it was nearly impossible to keep track and required sacrifice. The rabbis created an oral law and tradition on the "how-tos" of keeping the Law. BTW many Torah Keepers use Judaism as the "way" to follow the Law of Moses, adopting their traditions. How do we know those are correct? So, what should their response be to the Law of Torah? Faith and dependence on God. But instead, they decided to focus on their efforts to keep the Law. "Doing the law in their own power" was not the intent of the Law. It was and is to reveal sin and God's righteous character compared to our evil character. Christ made it very clear in Matthew 5, 6,7 sermons that sin is a matter of the heart motive. Sin is missing God's will. Someone who has not committed adultery may have already, in their heart. We all have been in situations where man or woman is cavalier in their comments of "being sexually attracted" to the opposite sex, and even Godly men will be snared by porn, but we laugh it off. Do not laugh this off. It speaks of sin ready to blossom in people's hearts. But they could still say they "kept Torah." God sees the heart where sin lives.
Christ said, "you have already committed adultery in your heart." No one can keep the Law in our flesh which, if we try by doing so weirdly, gives us "pride" to say we are "Torah Observant." Primarily, if we attack the church or other Christians that rightly divide the Word of God in Ephesians 2, which shows the Law was abolished or fulfilled in Christ's sacrifice are we guilty of attacking the very Body of Christ?
How was it fulfilled? First, prophetically. The foretold Christ was coming in prophecy from Genesis to Micah. He has come! Except, He did not come as the then-current Torah Keepers (Jews) were expecting. We see this in John 3 and their eventual attacks on the New Christians who were trying to obey the will of God as Christ was doing. This attitude is eerily the same as the Torah Observant folks of today. Attack the church as lawbreakers. Exactly what the Pharisees were doing. So we have several questions to ask: Are they going to go to Jerusalem to the feast three times per year? That is Torah. Are they going to so dishonor our Lord's sacrifice for all of us that they will sacrifice lambs? Torah. We know Torah people who have sacrificed goats! We also know people who left their marriage covenants because they got caught up in Torah Teachers' web of twisted Scripture and because a spouse would not follow into legalism and fleshly pursuit of the law and out-of-context verses left their spouses! That is breaking God's law! They will also displace other family members who "don't go along with their fear-based legalistic approach to Torah. For anyone to do that is breaking the laws of God. Is Christ our High Priest? If you are claiming to be Torah Observant, is Aaron your high priest vs Your Lord and Master the Torah pointed to? We have a new High Priest who took our sin debt and that of the Jewish people in Christ Jesus! Glory to God!
The second way Christ fulfilled the demands of the Torah was to be the paschal lamb for Passover. Their sin debt for breaking Torah had to be paid. The placing of blood on the doorposts is a type and shadow of Christ's death. And we see another type and shadow of Christ in Exodus 29:39-46. An inspiring picture of those who wanted to be right with God all day long. In the morning and evening, they could look by faith to the lambs God provided that were sacrificed to cover their sin, just like Christ. How? By faith, one could place their sin each morning and evening on the little lambs to be "right with God." We put our sin on Christ by faith, WHO KNEW NO SIN for us. The entire rest of the chapter is a beautiful picture of communing with God! Is this not our goal to commune with God and His goal with us? Or is it to keep the Torah in our flesh versus faith? Faith would have allowed them to see their sin. Paul says in many places that the Law of Moses, for the Jewish nation, is abolished. Yes, that is hard to hear, but Christ paid the price for law-breaking Jews and gathered the Gentiles (us) back to Himself by allowing both Jew and Gentile to have our sins forgiven by FAITH. THERE IS ONE NEW MAN. NO JEW or GENTILE. No works of Torah (that anyone should boast) will save us. Ephesians 2. It is by faith. We often hear from Torah Keepers that, "yes, we are saved by faith," BUT we must keep the Torah... Why the but? Because of poor biblical study methods. We have a course to help learn the best practices of Bible study to live praiseworthy to God. Thus, Christ did fulfill the Law. We are under a New Covenant (the Jews), and we Gentiles are under Christ directly. The whole Bible has much to teach us about God's character. We encourage you to let go of this false focus to keep Torah. Aren't you following a man who is a teacher? Follow Christ instead.
We hear this frequently; "Ric, I am caught up in one of these groups or a family member. What should I do?" If you are in the group, immediately submit your heart and life to Christ. Exercise faith in God's word to change from "study about knowledge of Torah and Judaism practices" to "Lord, how can I learn to do Your will and what sin do you want me to deal with? Please change me according to Your power." (Titus 2:11-12)
Do not submit to men. The Torah Teachers we experienced have inferior biblical study methods. And there are many, with any number ways to: "how to do" the Torah, and oddly they disagree! Start there. For a family member, pray Ephesians 1 earnestly for your family member and yourself, and grab a psalm, and learn to pray them back to the Lord in worship. David went through many tough times and learned to worship God in the midst.
We heard from people who said, "Ric, how will we know what sin is if we don't keep Torah"? Was not Moses God's direct representative to the Jewish people and Gentiles that went out of Egypt? Our answer is the entire New Testament, written by Christ's direct representatives, the Apostles. The New Testament has many "laws" in the form of imperatives and explains the Torah. The old testament was pointing to Christ. Christ came. Now what? Keep Torah? No. The long-prophesied One is here, and He has risen. Follow Him!
Read the Mount of Transfiguration story. Christ showed the disciples His glory. Moses and Elijah were there representing the Law and prophets. What did God the Father speak from a cloud (think cloud in Mt Sinai)? "This is My Son in Whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him" (notice the I AM?). Many have shipwrecked their faith by following Torah Keeping and not Christ. Don't be one of them. Follow Christ, Who is our God. Torah is teaching. Torah is not who we serve! Christ is. Amen.
The bottom line is that in Ephesians 2, Paul lays out for both Jew and Gentiles that we are now "in Christ." Think of an envelope covered in Divine blood. We are now, "in the envelope," in Christ.
When Christ took the wine and broke the bread, representing His Body (may we say our efforts?) and the wine (blood) poured out for our sin (missing God's will for our lives), Christ was able to release us (may we say fulfill?) from our obligations as Jew and Gentiles through the Cross for our sin! Glory to God!
What was the result? Christ said it best: John 2:19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." A change has taken place: A New Covenant is here! While some would say the New Covenant is only for the Jewish people, we can benefit as Gentiles. How? Because we become Born Again. We are made alive eternally "in Christ" by the Holy Spirit of God.
Remember the envelope? Could you think of us as inside of Christ? Christ was able to keep the Law and pay all penalties. We get to "hide" in Him! Paul said: Eph 2: "14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity." Peace; THE WAR IS OVER WITH GOD! Hallelujah!
Is the Law abolished? YES, IN CHRIST. Are our efforts to keep the Law abolished? Yes, because no one could keep it perfectly as humans. Remember His Body was broken for us. All of our efforts are "filthy rags." Our sin debt is paid. The Holy Spirit is now in us and is teaching us "away" from ungodliness! Titus 2:11-12
Mary and I look at it this way. Where are our eyes? On Christ? Or the Torah? We know we better have our eyes on Christ. He is our Maker. If my focus is keeping Torah or any program about us "doing," then my eyes are off Christ. We also will compare ourselves to others. Otherwise, how do we know we are "doing it," right?
We know that people who want to keep the Law are wanting to please God. But is our job to do what the Jewish people could not? No. When my focus is on Christ, I can let the Holy Spirit work on my sin in this body. Do I have sin in my life? Do I Lie? Steal? Cheat? Lust? Work until I drop? Think about allowing the word of God to show you sinful motives. From motives is where sin is born.
Let's walk in the Spirit, letting Him lead us to proper biblical study methods to live a praiseworthy life to God for His plans and purposes!
Join us for this podcast. Let us know what you think.
Resources:
Hebrew Roots Cult of Moses https://www.raptureforums.com/pete-garcia/the-cult-of-moses-hrm/
The Story of the Law https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mlEcO-E4nk
Matthew 5:17 https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdwgpqaK/
HRM Eventually Denies Christ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5od5vGwg19E
#hebrewroots #messianicjudaism #dochristiansneedtokeepthelaw #bible #biblestudy #Jesus #yeshua #torah #torahkeeping #messiah #hrm
Dr . Baruch of Loveisrael.org and Ric Joyner of Biblestudycompany.com discuss the topic of law-keeping. Dr. Baruch brings a unique perspective to our discussion, which is the Jewish Context. A biblical study principle is to know who the text is writing to, and an attempt is made to determine how the audience would understand what was said. Dr. Baruch lives in Israel and has a Ph.D. in Jewish studies. He also has Orthodox Rabbinic training.
Some gems Baruch lays out.
1. Judaism is not Torah Observant today. Those who claim to be Torah keeping need to be aware that over 250 "laws" or instructions are related to the Temple being in place. Thus, no one is a true Torah Keeper.
2. There are many versions of Judaism in the US.
3. The "Law" is a unit. If we cannot keep the "law" with no temple in place, the whole law is "broken." We can learn much about spiritual truth from the TORAH, and that should be our focus when studying the Torah.
4. We all must base our doctrine on the Word of God and our study with the Holy Spirit. We should not follow men.
5. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone as Abraham was.
6. In Ephesians 2, the penalty and the debt we owed to God from the Law was paid by our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
7. How does Christ fulfill the law? Watch the video or listen.
8. We must be careful not to disparage a group or church in our process or compare ourselves over other Christians. Keep our eyes focused on Christ.
9. Sabbath is a day of rest. We worship God EVERY DAY, ALL DAY.
10. The whole Bible is available to us, and we need to learn how to handle the Word of God rightly.
Join us for this interesting podcast on Should Christians Keep the Law?
#hebrewroots #yeshua #Messianicjudaism #torah #bible #torahkeeping #keepingtorah #keepthelaw #lawkeeping #performancebased #lawofmoses
Our discussion today is with Dr. Daniel Goepfrich, a pastor, theologian, professor, author, and Greek scholar. He runs a website called: Theology is for everyone. Click the link below for more information and resources. His book on Discipleship should be in everyone's library.
Highlights of the interview:
1. Dr. Goepfrich gem of a statement: "Christ was not the atonement for our sin...HE PAID FOR IT ALL. Christ gave us the great exchange. He took our sin to the cross, paid the price for our sin that we could not, and then gave us His righteousness. Thus it is as if we never sinned! Do we keep on sinning? No, because the power of the Holy Spirit is to train us away from ungodliness (Titus 2:11-12)
2. Goepfrich gem #2: Jewish people, before Messiah came, had to go to the temple. WE ARE THE TEMPLE!
3. Goeprich gem #3: Christ didn't abolish the law; HE COMPLETED IT! We have a new beginning with the Holy Spirit inside of us.
4. Goepfrich gem #4 We are not under the Mosaic law. We are under the law of Christ!
5. Goepfrich gem #5 Should Christians keep the Shabbat? It is wise to have a day of rest. So the "spirit" of Shabbat is to be dependent on God every day, but a day of rest is important. The "church" is not a nation as Israel was.
6. Where does the church appear in the Old Testament? Hint...oops, watch the video or podcast.
7. Daniel discusses his version of Biblical study principles.
Please, like and subscribe, and share.
Learn more:
Biblical Discipleship
https://www.theologyisforeveryone.com/
#hebrewroots #yeshua #Messianicjudaism #keepthelaw #lawkeeping #performancebased
READ THIS BEFORE WATCHING
Our series will include:
A. Our introduction for what is in the series and updates about Biblestudycompany.com
B. Next week: Dr. Daniel Goepfrich from Theology for Everyone will discuss the covenants and how the church should look at the New Testament covenant. His viewpoint is helpful to know why churches say, "The law was nailed to the cross." He debunks and clarifies for us.
C. The week after, Dr. Baruch Korman of Loveisrael.org gives excellent balance and answers tough questions
D. The final podcast will be Mary, and I am recapping our way forward and gives us tools from a proper biblical study process.
So why do this series? Some in this Mosaic law-keeping movement are referred to as the: Hebrew Roots Movement (HRM). However, law-keeping is also in some legalistic churches as well, usually called performance-based to get God to "move" on their behalf, if we do the "right things in the right way". Or we develop traditions and regulations that are not biblical but unique to our group. The problem with these views is the subtle shift away from a focus on Christ. Our eyes must be on Him as Paul said in 1 Cor 2:2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
The Torah was part of a covenant with Israel after God miraculously created a nation from Egypt to keep His promise to Abraham. The Sinai covenant is detailed for the daily life the Israelites were to live in the promised land. The "promised land" can be a symbol of the Bible we have today. As Christian, we can submit our hearts and will to the Word of God to live praiseworthy to God in our daily lives. Why? Because we have the entire Bible at our disposal from Genesis to Revelation and the Holy Spirit to search out our motives where sin resides.
We were in Charismatic groups that were focused on "doing something great for God". We were part of Messianic Judaism which focused on worship-like services of Judaism and that is where we heard of TorakhKeeping groups and people. "You must keep the sabbath, you must eat Kosher, and those that do not, are all lawbreakers and many more rules apply. How do we find our way through this morass and pressure to conform? These are our questions too. But all of this changed as we learned proper biblical study principles to please God.
The extraordinary thing about people caught up in these movements is that we all have several things in common:
1. A love for God, and they wish to please Him and thus do not want to miss anything He has to offer, and least of all, disobey Him. Obeying the Mosaic law can set people up to a type of bondage based on someone's (a leader's) interpretation of the Bible. Keeping the Mosaic law will depend on the group and leader's interpretation of what to do. But is our walk with God about what we "do" or is it about Him working through us? Have we taken our eyes off of Christ and onto the Torah that is pointing to Christ? Yes. Do we learn and study from all of the Bible? Yes. Shall we keep our eyes on Christ? Yes!
2. A misunderstanding of proper biblical study methods by taking the Bible in the Old Testament and applying it to obey today rather than the principles Scripture is trying to teach us. Suitable Bible study methods can help us sort this out. Today we are focused on learning lessons from the law (the whole Bible) to please God. Here is a course link for how to get started studying the Bible with proper methods: https://biblestudycompany.com/blog/article/207
3. Nearly everywhere in the Bible, even in the New Testament, the word "law" is interpreted as "Mosaic law," thus, a bias is created TO OBEY THE MOSAIC Law when none exists. By stating this comment many will get their "hackles up" but we ask you to watch and pray through the whole series before coming to a conclusion. Christ referred to the "Law and the Prophets." However, the Samaritans were only focused on the Torah as mentioned in John 4 which we think is interesting. And Torah Keepers are bound to keep the Torah that the Jewish people could not. Why? It was done in our effort not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was only given after Christ rose from the dead. We now can keep all of God's Holy Word through Him because we are in Him. Eph 1-2.
4. A disdain for current Christian churches and practices, which they assume are anti-Law and even pagan! We will sort through this as well. We are the body of Christ. All those who call themselves by Christ's name and are saved. We best be careful to not go against "His Body" on earth. Criticism of a local body is fine if done in love but let us be careful with the logical fallacy of "sweeping generalizations".
5. A misunderstanding of the Grace of God as a license to sin. If one preaches the grace of God that is interpreted as approving sin. When in reality, Titus 2:11-12 shows us that the Holy Spirit will "teach" us away from ungodliness. How do we know what is ungodly? Through the Whole Counsel of God (Bible). The New Testament, written by Christ's direct representatives, the Apostles, gives us an interpretation of the Old Testament! If you are in the Grace of God, you are turning FROM sin...not TO sin BY HIS CHANGING POWER, not our performances to do the law or a program.
6. Today, or in this particular time, after the Cross of our Lord, we are under His blood and have forgiveness of our sin. We can now give Him a gift. We can offer, at the feet of His Throne, our will and our life. He is our Creator and Savior. Read Ephesians Chapter 1, 2, 3 for some hope and change of our position from doing to being.
7. Are you in a group like this? No worries. Remember, always follow the Holy Spirit's leading not men. Put all the teaching you hear against the Word of God. He will lead you. Psalm 23. Feel free to ask God questions and to contact us. We will be happy to help you sort this out.
We will explore these areas of concern that have caused many to become ensnared. None of what we write or say should offend anyone. If we do, please remember that we were caught up in some of these groups, as well. But because we wanted to study Scripture to live a praiseworthy life to God, He led us to correct Biblical study principles. Join us for this podcast. Please share!
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Two good friends have a live podcast/video of a bible study the way Bible Study Company studies. Grab your Bible, your beverage, Biblestudycompany.com, and your friends to join us for this engaging study.
Is the wilderness going into the desert to be with God? Are we called "out" of the world (Egypt) but still be in it? We discuss these topics and why knowing what "dabbar" means is crucial in our bible study. One of the names of God is YHVH (Jehovah) Dabbar which translates to Jehovah Speaks. And when God speaks...we need to listen. But is there a difference between a casual conversation (amar) that indicates a relationship with God and God's revelation (dabbar)? Yes, there are differences!
Then we need to ask: "Lord, what is the difference between God's revelation and God's casual conversation with us?" Do we receive "new" revelation today? No, because we have complete Scripture called the Bible, which has Genesis to Revelations. But we do have a relationship with God, and He does speak to us and He does illuminate to us Biblical truths.
Let's find out the differences! Join us! Please share your thoughts, and please share.