Category Archives: History

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Passover or Easter – Which is the Correct Celebration?

Solving the Confusion over The Days celebrating Easter and Passover

Sometimes, the celebration dates of Passover and Easter coincide, but sometimes they can be weeks apart. Why is this? If Yeshua died at the time of the Jewish Passover, why does the institutionalized Christian church celebrate his death and resurrection on a different date of the year? How did they get separated?

[Thanks to my Source for today’s episode: “Why Does Easter Come Before Passover?” posted on 12/12/2023 by Larry  https://messianiclight.com/why-is-easter-before-passover/ Also see: https://www.oneforisrael.org/holidays/why-are-passover-and-easter-celebrated-at-different-times/]

For many Christians, Easter Sunday is the annual celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his death. The Gospel writers are very clear that His crucifixion took place at the Jewish observance of Passover. Christians understand the prophetic symbolism of the Passover sacrifice. In fact, Paul writes that “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). How is it then, that this year (2024) Easter, on March 31, occurs three weeks before Passover on April 22?

Establishing the Date for Passover

Both Easter and Passover appear to be on dates that change every year according to our modern Gregorian calendars. However, Passover is actually a fixed date on the Hebrew calendar – according to the Bible it is always on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month (Leviticus 23:5 and others). The date never changes; it is always the same. We just need to know when it is the first Hebrew month.

In the Jewish community, this is not an issue. In the fourth century AD, a calculated calendar system was developed, attributed to Rabbi Hillel II, establishing the months of the Hebrew calendar. The month for Passover must be in the spring of the year, but a year of twelve lunar months only consists of about 354 days while the cycle of the sun, determining the seasons, is about 365 days. To compensate for this discrepancy and to keep all of the Biblical festivals in their correct agricultural season, the Hillel calendar uses a system of adding a “leap month” about every three years.

It may sound a little odd, but since the Jewish calendar begins with the seventh month and ends with the following sixth month, the thirteenth “leap month” actually occurs in the middle of the Jewish year, right before the first month and Passover. According to the calendar, this year of 5784 will be a leap year with a leap month. That means that all the remaining months in the year 5784 will seem later when compared to the Gregorian calendar.

According to the encyclopedia Britannica, the Gregorian calendar, solar dating system, that is now in general use, was proclaimed in 1582 by Roman Catholic Pope Gregory XIII as a reform of the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar differs from the Julian only in that no century year is a leap year unless it is exactly divisible by 400 (e.g., 2000).  Nearly all Eastern Orthodox churches still use the Julian calendar to establish the dates of movable feasts such as Easter. The current discrepancy between the Julian and Gregorian calendars is 13 days. However, the difference will become 14 days in 2100.

Does this seem Confusing? Maybe. Among those pursuing a Biblical faith there is considerable debate. The calendar is one of the two most passionately contested controversies in this movement. And since the Bible doesn’t specifically say “this is how you know it is the first day of the first month of the year,” various interpretations of Biblical and extra-Biblical texts have led to a number of proposed methods. It is not my intention here to defend one over the other. Just know that, according to the Torah, the date for Passover is fixed as the fourteenth day of the first month.  And that first moon-month began on the day of the new moon in the springtime of the year when the Exodus of God’s people called Israel happened in Egypt, about 3500 years ago.

Establishing the Date for Easter

The timing of Easter does, in fact, vary from year to year on our calendar. Easter is not mentioned in the Bible. (Acts 12:4 in the King James Version is a well-known mistranslation of the word Pascha, correctly rendered as Passover in nearly all other translations, as well as all the other 28 times that the word appears in the New Testament).

After the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the Jerusalem Council of apostles and bishops began to lose their authority as moderator of the expanding Christian faith and the guardian of church traditions. Church authority began to shift westward to Rome, the capital of the Empire. This transition was completed in the aftermath of the failed Second Jewish Revolt against Rome in AD 132-135. That ended the long line of Jewish-Christian leadership that began in Jerusalem, influencing the eastern churches of Asia Minor in the east. By the end of the second century, a controversy arose that pitted the western churches around Rome against those of the east. On which day was it most appropriate to commemorate the resurrection?

Easter began to be instituted after the final collapse of Jewish influence in AD 135. In AD 155 Polycarp (AD 69-156) Bishop of Smyrna and disciple of the Apostle John, strongly holding to the Biblical pattern of celebrating the Levitical feasts, met in Rome with Anicetus, Bishop of Rome, to resolve this controversy. Neither would budge from his position and it is reported by Eusebius that Irenaeus (ca. AD 125-202), Bishop of Lyon and a student of Polycarp got them to peacefully agree to disagree.  Those who maintained the Passover evening celebration were mainly the original churches founded by the Apostles.  As the second century generation passed, the eastern churches refused to give in to Roman influence, insisting that they would keep the Passover tradition of the Apostles. Victor, the Bishop of Rome, attempted to excommunicate them. Around AD 190 Victor attempted to standardize the celebration of the resurrection around Easter. In 325AD, Roman Emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea where the date for Easter was set as the Sunday following the full moon following the Spring equinox. (see: https://www.jewishawareness.org/passover-easter-and-the-early-church/)

So, whatever their motivation, the Roman bishops influenced the western churches to celebrate Easter according to the day of the week rather than the date of the month. According to their reckoning, by prioritizing the days they could then have Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday every year.

Yet, even that is not without controversy. The equinox used in this method is not based on astronomical observance. It was determined to always be March 21, while the full moon is 14 days after the new moon.  The disagreement between the Roman church and the Eastern church led to them observing different dates for Easter Sunday almost 75% of the time. In fact, in 2024 the Roman church is observing Easter on March 31 while the Eastern church is observing it on May 5 (which still does not seem to relate to Passover).

There’s no doubt that the word “Easter” comes from a pagan celebration. It is true that “Ostara,” one of the eight annual pagan holidays, occurs at the vernal (spring) equinox, and that this is associated with fertility, the practice of coloring eggs, and myths about rabbits and eggs. However, the date selected to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus by the Nicaean Council – the first Sunday after the full moon after the equinox – has no direct connection to any pagan history. Certainly, no Christian who gathers for a sunrise service on Easter is either knowingly or unknowingly paying homage to the invincible sun god or the goddess of fertility. It is a sincere celebration by Christians to honor their risen Savior.

The Underlying Reason

The reason behind the Council of Nicaea deciding on the date for celebrating the resurrection runs far deeper than simply adapting a Christian meaning to an already existing pagan festival.  The timing was already clear in the Gospel accounts: It was the first day of the week following Passover. But in the fourth century the Roman church under Emperor Constantine made a conscious decision to divorce itself from anything Jewish. This Council set a new foundational date for Easter, out of which would eventually come a liturgical calendar including Good Friday, Maundy Thursday, and a full Passion Week beginning with Palm Sunday. Yahweh’s appointed times of Passover, the Feasts of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits, were no longer deemed important.

The ministry called “One For Israel” posted a very helpful, researched and footnoted article ( https://www.oneforisrael.org/holidays/why-are-passover-and-easter-celebrated-at-different-times/) pointing out …

HOW THE SPLIT OCCURRED

In the first centuries after Yeshua, the early disciples naturally remembered his death and resurrection every Passover, which was when it happened. And rightly so, since the Passover feast was designed from its outset to foretell the redemptive sacrifice of the Messiah. It is laden with symbolism all pointing to Yeshua, and how his death and blood would purchase our freedom, forcing death to “pass over” us as it did for the faithful Israelites who daubed the blood of the lamb on their door frames. But as the years went by, the Messianic community of Jews became increasingly dominated by Gentiles. Gentile leaders grew weary of depending upon the rabbinic authorities for the right date on which to commemorate this important event. Relations between the Rabbinic Jewish community and the Christians had deteriorated significantly by this point, and there was a lot of hostility in both directions. Finally, after over 200 years, the Western church leaders in Rome decided, at the Council of Nicaea in 325AD, to take matters into their own hands:

Here is what they wrote at the time, according to the ancient historian, Eusebius, in his [2] Letter of the Emperor to all those not present at the Council: (Vita Const., Lib. iii., 18-20)  See if you can hear the bitterness in the fracture of those church leaders of the time.

“It was declared to be particularly unworthy for this, the holiest of all festivals, to follow the custom [the calculation] of the Jews, who had soiled their hands with the most fearful of crimes, and whose minds were blinded. In rejecting their custom, we may transmit to our descendants the legitimate mode of celebrating Easter…

We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews, for the Savior has shown us another way…. We desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews.”2

Eusebius, in his [2] Letter of the Emperor to all those not present at the Council: (Vita Const., Lib. iii., 18-20)

If these words are not shocking to you, they should be! The Nicaean Council decided that they would celebrate a separate festival on the first new moon after the Spring Equinox (the Spring Equinox is always March 21st in the Gregorian Calendar) to make a deliberate break with the people of Israel.

It bears reiterating that Easter is not found in the Bible even once. Again, the King James Version erroneously translates the word Pascha (from the Aramaic for Passover) to Easter in Acts 12:4. The English word “Easter” comes from “Eostre”, and was co-opted for the name of the new festival to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus—which was categorically NOT Passover.

THE IMPLICATIONS, AND THE SITUATION TODAY

It’s truly heartbreaking that such animosity developed between the Jewish and Christian communities under the domination of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century.  It led to a ripping away of Yeshua’s followers from the roots of the tree that they had been grafted into. The institutional Christian religion decided to separate themselves – and all Christian people under their system – not just from the people of Israel, but also from God’s Biblical festivals.  Those HOLY days (holidays) of celebration were deliberately created by God to help us appreciate more about His plan of redemption. Passover was God’s initiative. He devised each detail of it on purpose.  Just because the Bible doesn’t specifically say that we are judged for not celebrating the Passover, doesn’t mean that we don’t miss out on many treasures that God placed in his word for us to learn from.  It’s really more than disgraceful that the Nicaean Council decided on behalf of all Christians from that time onward that Passover had no relevance for them.

Not only were Christians cut off from the roots of their faith—their heritage, God’s own feasts, laid out in their own Bible—but also the message of Yeshua became more and more obscured and alien to the Jewish people. The church became a foreign, gentile “no-go-zone” for Jews. The two were severed apart, and the evil root of antisemitism crept into Christianity.  To the discredit of the global “church” – called to be Ambassadors for Yeshua our Messiah – for much of church history, the ethnic Jewish people were persecuted, tortured and murdered at the hands of Christians for simply being Jewish. This happened especially at Easter times, when angry mobs would rage against those they considered to be “Christ killers”.3 Most Christians have no idea about the scale to which this sad statement is true—it’s not something that is taught in Sunday School or even church history classes. There is a real gap of information between the people of Israel and the church, and we’ve been separated so long that we have a lot of catching up to do!

The footnote in the article about this from “One For Israel” gives us some sad details that most of us have never heard (https://www.oneforisrael.org/holidays/why-are-passover-and-easter-celebrated-at-different-times/):

[3] “A “Yerushalmi”, i.e. someone who lived in the Old City of Jerusalem before the State of Israel was declared, once told me that in this part of the world they would barricade their doors on Easter Sunday, knowing that the traditional Christian procession would often end in rioting against the local Jews. Communal Jewish history is made up of commandments, holidays and customs, but also of this type of memory.” Rochel Sylvetsky, israelnationalnews.com, 31/12/17.
For a very brief taste of some of the horrors that have happened throughout history, see this concise chart: http://www.hearnow.org/caljp.html . For a more thorough understanding of the attitude of the church fathers towards the Jews, see this article: https://oneforisrael.org/bible-based-teaching-from-israel/has-the-church-replaced-israel/ 

Near the top of that list in 135AD, we learn that the Roman Emperor Hadrian proclaimed his edict against all Jews, including Messianic believers. They were forbidden to practice circumcision, the reading of the Law, eating of unleavened bread at Passover or any Jewish festival. Violating this edict meant the death penalty.

The actions of the Council of Nicaea are a continuation of the division of Israel following the idolatry of King Solomon.  They divorced the church from anything Jewish.

[If you are not familiar with the separation of the two houses of Israel, you can read Larry’s series of articles here: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. In the previous paragraph, he intentionally used the phrase “divorced itself from anything Jewish.”]

Those of us growing up in the Christian churches have suffered the effects of that divorce for more than 1600 years – longer than the time between the exodus from Egypt and the first advent of the Messiah.

The author of our source for today’s Reclaiming Your Legacy show (Larry) quoted a profoundly pertinent observation from the book The Bridge: Crossing Over Into the Fullness of Covenant Life by Tyler Dawn Rosenquist. Listen to what she describes, that I too had never heard before.

To me, knowing the history of the fourth century CE – that Rome forcibly legislated the removal of Christians out of the synagogues and Torah keepers out of the assemblies of Messiah – Christians celebrating Christmas and Easter seem very much like children celebrating the consequences of having a broken home. Without the Christians, the Jews lost their Messiah and without the Jews, the Christians lost their inheritance. It’s like a child celebrating the absence of a parent who wasn’t even a bad parent. Christmas and Easter happened because of a broken home, and that grieves me – it doesn’t make me want to celebrate. At one point all believers in Yeshua were called Nazarene Jews, for hundreds of years – Rome robbed us of a stable home life.

The Bridge: Crossing Over Into the Fullness of Covenant Life by Tyler Dawn Rosenquist

The Apostle Peter, after healing the lame man in Jerusalem soon after the first New Testament “Day of Pentecost,” charged his listeners to repent. Then he said that “Jesus, the Christ” is “appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of “restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21). 

It seems that a measure of that restoration is taking place in our day.  The followers of Yeshua (Jesus) are returning to “the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3). There was no Easter when those words were penned. The disciples observed the appointed times of God, established in His Torah (as the Moedim), that you can read about in Leviticus chapter 23.

As we get back to honoring this today, the man-made/church-made holidays that replaced God’s “appointed times” (Moedim or ‘seasons’) become less and less significant, sometimes even repulsive. For some, the transition is quick and easy. For others, it may be more difficult and take a little longer. The Holy Spirit will deal with those who are seeking truth, and it is not necessary for us to “help” in ways that too often come across as harsh or condemning.

This year, 2024, Passover on the Jewish calendar happens three weeks after the Christian Easter. Why? Because historically the Christian church has rejected the Hebraic roots of the faith. We do not advocate for the correctness of either date; I am only pointing out that this year the Gospel story reflected in these celebrations is out of order. It will happen again in 2027, then not again until 2035. This year, questions will be raised, and we need to have answers – answers that draw us and those we talk with into a deeper walk, a deeper obedience, and a deeper relationship with the Messiah. It’s time to end the division and seek restoration and reconciliation.

Another big confusion that resulted from the dictates of Roman church bishops in the fourth century is about the introduction of “Good Friday.”

It’s natural to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, but the idea of a Friday crucifixion is a major incorrect tradition that was established by the Roman institutional church.

The following graphic is from 119 Ministries. They have an essay about this at: https://www.119ministries.com/119-blog/good-friday-is-a-myth/

Also see video: https://www.119ministries.com/teachings/video-teachings/detail/moedim-passover-and-unleavened-bread/

Most of us in modern church traditions have been unknowingly influenced by much lack of knowledge of historical and cultural backgrounds. It’s unfortunate that many well-meaning evangelicals take such hard positions without being Bereans to “test all things” and realize we all suffer from a “lack of knowledge” in many areas. Our opinions must not be presented as ‘dogmas’ when careful diligence in research exposes glaring inconsistencies that can make our positions embarrassing. Jesus meant exactly what He said in Matthew 12:40. Three days and three nights can never mean only one full day and two nights.

JEWS AND GENTILES DRAW TOGETHER IN YESHUA

We live in exciting days. The last century has seen some colossal steps forward in healing the terrible rift between Jews and Gentiles. Christian ministries to Jews report that more Jewish people have come to believe in Yeshua as Messiah in the last 19 years than in the previous 19 centuries combined!  Remarkably, many Gentile believers are now taking more interest in the Jewish foundations of their faith. Many churches now hold Passover seders, explaining more about the Biblical Feast of Unleavened Bread, beginning with Passover, and ending with the feast of First Fruits.  There has been much more appreciation of the people of ethnic and religious Israel since the Bible became widely translated and published in the last few centuries.

We are destined to become “One New Man” in Messiah, and this is a destiny at which God will make absolutely sure that we arrive. His Son, Yeshua, will have only one bride, not two! It’s important to remember what Yeshua’s death and resurrection actually accomplished and meant. As Paul urges us in his letter to the gentile church in Colossae… (Colossians 2:14-17)…

“When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive, together with Him, when He pardoned us all our transgressions. He wiped out the handwritten record of debts with the decrees against us, which was hostile to us. He took it away by nailing it to the cross. After disarming the principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross.

Therefore, do not let anyone pass judgment on you in matters of food or drink, or in respect to a festival or new moon or Shabbat. These are a foreshadowing of things to come, but the reality is Messiah.”

Colossians 2:14-17

See the Reclaiming Your Legacy episode, “Since Christ is Our Passover why do Christians celebrate Easter?” at https://reclaimyourlegacy.com/2024/03/30/since-christ-is-our-passover-why-do-christians-celebrate-easter/.   There are some long held secrets, waiting to be discovered in what is shared in that broadcast. Listen closely because we’re exploring several “caverns” of Bible History that most of our Christian peers have never heard before in their lives.

… … …

The Feasts in the Gospels

Some thoughts on “Why Does Easter Come Before Passover?”

The Rabbinic Jewish calendar has a slight solar drift that causes it, in 3 years out of every 19, to set Unleavened Bread at the second full moon after the equinox. This year, 2024, is one of those years. Meanwhile the Gregorian lunar calendar sets Eastertide to the first full moon after the equinox where, according to Josephus, Passover was celebrated in the 1st century.

Eastern Orthodox Christian’s Pascha is always after Passover. It is part of the formula and the use of the Julian Calendar.

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Since Christ is Our Passover why do Christians celebrate Easter?

Churches all over the world are often accustomed to proclaiming on the day we call “Easter”, “The Lord is Risen… followed by the refrain, “The Lord (or He) is risen INDEED!”  This is the message of Resurrection Sunday. In the Bible, it was the celebrated ‘feast day’ of First Fruits, following the Feast Day of Passover and the Feast Day of Unleavened Bread.  The people of Yahweh – the Israelites from the time of Moses, down through 15 centuries, to the time of Jesus and His disciples 2000 years ago – celebrated these appointed, HOLY, Feast days… HOLY Days… Holidays.  That’s where we get the word – Holiday.

There is no doubt in the mind of any true believer that Jesus the Messiah – the Anointed LORD sent by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) – is the central theme of the whole Bible.

Psalm 40:7 “Then I said, ‘Behold I come; in the scroll of the book, it is written of me.’”

Genesis 1:14  “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:”

The word used in Genesis 1:14 – seasons – is wrongly translated. It’s the Hebrew word “MOEDIM”… What does that mean? Appointed times of the Lord. It has nothing to do with seasons like we think of spring, summer, autumn and winter.  God put the lights in the firmament of the heaven so we could know when these appointed times – these MOEDIM – are to be celebrated.

Did you count all five of the purposes that the Creator designed for the luminaries of the firmament?

The last two are days “days” and “years.” The first one is “to divide the day from the night.” For the most part those three purposes make the most sense to us because we easily relate to the difference between the appearance of the day and night sky. The idea of “years” reflects the annual cycle of the Earth around the sun. We see the grand display of the constant rotation of the 12 major constellations used by astronomers from Adam’s son Seth and Great grandson, Enoch, down through time… to identify the passage of each year.

But there’s another little secret, hidden in God’s Word when He describes His creation of the starry host of heaven.  Take a look at Genesis 1:14 a bit closer. Did you notice the second of the five purposes that the Creator designed for the luminaries of the firmament? He said, “…and let them be for SIGNS and seasons.” 

I looked up the word “signs” to see what I could learn from the original Hebrew language about it.  There the King James translation into English does a fair job. We think of signs the way we describe a message used to inform us about something coming just ahead of our field of vision.  A stop sign conveys a clear message. A directional sign or street sign helps us navigate our path. But most modern people today have not been told that our Creator deliberately positioned the stars on His celestial “canvas” to communicate as sign posts and even gave them names. Isaiah 40:26 says:

“Lift up your eyes on high and see; who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.”

When I dug into the knowledge of the ancients, like the book of Job and others, I discovered that the pagan ideas of the zodiac and what we call astrology, was actually an ancient idolatrous corruption of what God made and calls the “MAZZAROTH” in Job.  It’s truly what we can glorify God by calling it biblical astronomy. The classic scripture in Job 38:31-32 notes”

“Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide the Bear with her satellites?”

These are all names of star groups with very meaningful and prophetic names. I like to take students on an amazing journey of discovery about God’s signs in the heavens in my book and talks, Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation, but I noticed something else.

Did you ever look at the meanings of the letters used to spell the Hebrew word for signs?

אוֹת ʼôwth, oth; probably from H225 (in the sense of appearing); a signal (literally or figuratively), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc.:—mark, miracle, (en-) sign, token.

It’s the word “OTH” in Hebrew.  It’s made up of three Hebrew characters. First is the sign for “first.” It’s the letter “aleph,” the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet… equivalent to our letter “A” or the Greek letter “Alpha.”  Next is the letter used as a connector, the way we use the word “and.”  It’s the Hebrew letter “vav.”  And last is the Hebrew letter “tav.” It was used from ancient times before Moses to signify a person’s signature. It looked like our letter “X.” It is the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet, like our letter “Z” or the Greek letter “Omega.” It literally means “the last.” 

The word for sign in Genesis 1:14 and many times throughout Scripture is the very message that Jesus repeated three times in His Revelation to His apostle John when He identified Himself as, “I am the First and the Last.”

So, let’s get back to these “appointed times” – or seasons – as God purposed His starry host.

Leviticus 23:1-2  “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.”

NASB translates it more accurately as: ““Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:”

The first three “appointed times” are Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. They are each one day long. They are all in consecutive sequence, one day after the other (Leviticus 23:4-14).

Deu 16:16 “Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot or Pentecost) and at the Feast of Booths,…”

All Israelite men were to come each year to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, also referred to as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It was an appointed time… an exact series of days on the Hebrew calendar. The fact that Jesus was tried, condemned, crucified, buried and resurrected during this appointed time – this MOEDIM – is no accident. It was an appointment set by Father God.

Fifty days afterward, the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost, was celebrated – marvelously fulfilling the Old Testament prophet Joel’s prophecy, pouring out God’s Holy Spirit on all mankind. The gospel of Christ’s Kingdom was affirmed to all the people of every language group on Earth that was there in Jerusalem for the Appointed Time. These together make up the springtime feasts. They were all witnessed as parts of Messiah’s first coming to precisely fulfill the prophetic Scriptures that were celebrated each year in anticipation of that once-in-history Advent.

Was all this celebration of appointed times only for ethnic Jews?

Numbers 10:14 “If an alien sojourns among you and observes the Passover to the LORD, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its ordinance, so he shall do; you shall have one statute, both for the alien and for the native of the land.”

Just as unrelated gentiles in Moses’ time were welcomed into the household of faith if they believed and acted obediently on their belief in Yahweh, we see God’s acceptance of non-Jews into His family available to all who believe in New Testament times.  

1 Co 5:7 “Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

Because the passion of Christ took place the week of Passover (Matt. 26:1–2), the early church quickly understood that Jesus fulfilled the symbolism in the Passover meal as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

The marking of blood on the doorposts (Ex. 12:7–13) has a clear tie to the shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross (Rev. 1:1–8), and it is therefore no surprise to see the Lord’s disciples link His death to the Passover throughout their writings.

Matthew describes parts of the sequence of events in chapter 21. After Jesus fulfilled Zecheriah’s prophecy, which foretold, “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS  COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’” Mat 21:5

Then Jesus “entered the temple and cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, “It is written, MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER, but you are making it a ROBBERS DEN.” Matthew 21:12-13.

What are they doing that Jesus has to interrupt. They’re cheating people in the house of God.

What has to be done before celebrating the Passover? You clean out the leaven of sin. Messiah had to do it … He said, “It is written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER, BUT YOU ARE MAKING IT A ROBBERS DEN.’”

How did the Jews then make the Father’s House a den of thieves?

For visitors from out of town wanting to obey the Passover command to bring a personal sacrifice, they had to exchange their foreign currency to Roman coins with idolatrous images on the coins. The moneychangers were charging exorbitant exchange rates, stealing from the people.

All this and much more is part of the story of the Feast of Unleavened Bread… the Feast of Passover. What did Roman Catholic religion do to change it into Easter?

Note source study by Rabbi Wayne Davis: http://john1415.org/Festivals/2023-FirstFruits.MP3

Jesus never celebrated an Easter in His life! So how was this holy day changed? And who changed the day He observed, chose, and established as the holy day for eating the emblems of His supreme sacrifice, representing His body and blood? Where is the Biblical record confirming the authority for this replacement? Is this what Jesus wanted to be done?

HOW PASSOVER WAS ABANDONED AND REPLACED

Nobody denies that the early New Testament believers did not celebrate anything like Easter. They continued observing Passover, but now the Passover Appointed Time had a whole new significance and gloriously expanded meaning.

The Apostle Paul maintained the customary observance of Passover, as it was given to him by Jesus Himself.  He wrote:

“For I received of the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed [not Easter Sunday!] took bread.” 1 Corinthians 11:23

Keep in mind Jesus Christ was betrayed during the night of Nisan 14 (Luke 22:15-22), which was considered the evening portion of the day of Passover (Exodus 12:6-13). Remember, God begins a new day at evening, commencing at sunset (Genesis 1:5).

With this well-known fact in mind, how then was it changed from the 14th of Nisan (Passover) to the Sunday, following the first full moon, after the vernal equinox, and then assigned the pagan name Easter (Ishtar-te)?  

This is no minor change from the original observance that Jesus Christ set forth (especially since people in the Roman Empire were condemned to die when they refused to obey this change).  Doesn’t it seem presumptuous, if not heretical, to overrule the authority of Jesus’ own example?  Do you really think this is a light matter? How could such a blatant disregard for our Lord’s example and commands be allowed? This is a question all of us should seriously ask ourselves!

First, we have to understand the contention between the Western congregations led by Rome and the Eastern congregations in Asia. This debate intensified during the second century.  It’s historically known as the Quartodeciman controversy.

Source: https://earlychurchtexts.com/public/eusebius_quartodeciman_controversy.htm

“Quartodeciman” is simply a Latin term indicating fourteenth. Second century writings reveal the change from the fourteenth of Nisan (Passover) to Easter, with all of its pagan connections, associations, and typologies of fertility and fruitfulness. This was unequivocally contested and rejected by the congregations of Jerusalem and the East. It came to a head when Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna (who was personally taught by John the apostle), faced off with Anicetus, the preeminent bishop of Rome, in about 95 A.D.

You can read the details about this second century controversy in records of the Catholic Church itself.

 “The dioceses of all Asia, as from the older tradition [Passover], held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should always be observed as the feast of the life-giving Pasch Passover… However, it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world [primarily the West, represented by Rome] to end it at this point [allegedly a non-biblical based fast ending on Easter Sunday], as they observed the practice, which from apostolic tradition has prevailed to the present time… Synods and assemblies of bishops [not Jesus Christ’s example or the Gospel records!] were held on this account and all with one consent through mutual correspondence drew up an ecclesiastical decree [superseding Christ’s personal example as recorded in the Gospels] that the mystery of the resurrection of the Lord should be celebrated on no other day but, the Sunday [Easter] and that we should observe the close of the paschal fast on that day only. A letter of Saint Irenaeus is among the extracts just referred to, and this shows that the diversity of practice regarding Easter had existed at least from the time of Pope Sixtus. Further, Irenaeus states that St. Polycarp [bishop of Smyrna], who like the other Asiatics, kept Easter on the fourteenth day of the moon [which is really the Passover], whatever day of the week that might be, following therein the tradition which he [Polycarp] claimed to have derived from St. John the Apostle, but could not be persuaded by Pope Anicetus to relinquish his Quartodecimen observance. The question thus debated was therefore primarily whether Easter was to be kept on a Sunday, or whether Christians should observe the holyday of the Jews… Those who kept Easter [Passover] with the Jews were called Quartodecimans” (Catholic Encyclopedia, emphasis added).

Clearly, whether you want to attribute it to the devil or misguided theologians of the first few centuries of the traditional church, there was a long-term agenda to challenge all associations connecting Jewish foundations with Christ’s ekklesia. Remember, Paul said, the household of God (the Church) is…

 “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets [not Synods, Councils, and bishops], Jesus Christ himself being the chief comer stone” Ephesians 2:20.

There was never any such authorization to change this major point of doctrine, disconnecting from Jesus Christ’s own worship exemplified by His life, habits, and customs (1 Peter 2:21; 1 John 2:6). Jesus Christ never celebrated an Easter in His life! Easter has no Biblical connection by any who claim Christ as their Savior.

Regardless of these verifiable facts; the trend finally became law in A.D. 325 at the Council of Nicaea. Again notice, from the Catholic Encyclopedia: “The emperor himself [Constantine] writing to the churches after the council of Nicaea, exhorts,

Emperor Constantine called for and presided at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325

“At this meeting the question concerning the most holy day of Easter was discussed, and it was resolved by the united judgment of all present [regardless of the example/commands of Jesus Christ and the original apostolic fathers, Matthew 26:17-30] that this feast ought to be kept by all and in every place on one and the same day [Easter Sunday]…And first of all it appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hand with enormous sin… for we have received from our Savior a different way [Where, is the Biblical proof or Christ’s authorization? Do you see the bitterness toward the Jews?] …and I myself [Constantine] have undertaken that this decision should meet with the approval of your sagacity in the hope that your wisdoms will gladly admit that practice which is observed [Easter Sunday] at once in the city of Rome and in Africa, throughout Italy and Egypt… with entire unity of judgement.”

And finally, under the article “Councils” in the Catholic Encyclopedia again, we read about the purpose of the Council of Nicaea. ‘The first ecumenical, or council, of Nicaea (325 A.D.) lasted two months and twelve days. Three hundred and eighteen bishops were present. Hosius, bishop of Cordova, assisted as legate of Pope Sylvester. The Emperor, Constantine, was also present. To this council we owe the Creed of Nicaea, defining against Arius the true divinity of the Son of God [Arius challenged the divinity of Jesus Christ], and the fixing of the date for keeping Easter [which opposed the Quartodecimans who observed Passover]

It was now made “official”: Easter Sunday, the day after the first full moon, after the spring equinox, became the day to celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection. This was a serious and critical shift of theology. Critical, because it not only changed the day of the observance, but changed the focus, the meaning of the observance. It now became an observance and celebration of His resurrection, contrary to the Biblical admonition of remembering His death!

Notice what Paul says,

 “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death [not His resurrection] till he come” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Our Lord put purposeful significance on Passover concerning His death. This is crucial to understand.  Passover is about the death of the sacrificial lamb. That’s what gave us access to eternal life.

Unleavened Bread and First Fruits are two Holy Days afterward for good reason. Unfortunately, combining His death and resurrection, as well as His removal of our sin… into one holy day… and calling it Easter, blurs the profound meaning of all these events by taking away the emphasis that each one deserved in the mind of God in recording the Torah.

We can’t help but ask, “how can we justify the institutional appointment of a holiday that was never recognized by God in the Bible and is symbolically synchronistic with paganism… yet completely eliminate and ignore the Biblical holidays that God’s word specifically commands to be observed throughout all generations of His people?”

If the church today knew about all the additional biblical holy days throughout the year, it would clarify how each step in the salvation/atonement process is prophetically explained. Their enriched meanings and sequence give us understanding and spiritual edification that is lost on the pagan day called Easter, which has no associated symbols or Biblical themes pointing us to our Redeemer.

When you combine the power of a secular tyranny, like Rome, with the fertility symbols and practices adopted from the many outright pagan religions that saturated Rome, what do you expect? Forced compliance and persecution, marginalized the true Ekklesia, reducing its influence. The conversion of the Barbarians, Goths, Vandals, and Huns who overthrew the Roman Empire, may have shown acceptance of Christianity; but their conversion was nominal at best, further filling the Church with pagan practices and superstitions.

Throughout history, the number of Christians remaining faithful to the commandments and testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17) has been small, when compared to traditional Christian communities that have been heavily influenced by the teachings of Greco-Roman culture. Theological Distortions to the original teachings of the Bible, made by many of the popes, bishops, councils, synods, and emperors of the Roman Catholic Church, are despicable. The hard reality is that much of traditional Christianity, both Protestant and Catholic, is not faithful to Scripture.

Notice what Jesus says: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye who work iniquity [lawlessness]” (Matthew 7:22-23).

God’s Seasonal Plan

Seriously, it would do all of us some good to consider this possibility. It is very plausible one can think he is pleasing God when in fact he is not. It’s indispensable to our Lord that we worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Love of the truth is living the truth. It’s easy to say we love and believe the truth, but we must love by “doing” (1 John 3:17-18). The hearers are not justified. Acting on what we know, or living our faith, is key to justification and pleasing the true God (James 2:15-26).

Notice: “And why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and don’t do the things that I say? Whoever comes to me and hears my sayings, and does them, I will shew you who he is like:” Read the remaining verses located in Luke 6:46-49. They are revealing in light of the historical record we’ve discussed today. We’re expected to believe and obey. God expects those who have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them (Romans 8:9) to be an example to others by living the Faith.

It’s the height of arrogance to ignore and alter God’s word in areas He holds the exclusive prerogative to define. The historical record of the Passover/Easter controversy is a prime illustration of man’s attempts to dodge God’s authority. There is absolutely no Biblical directive or Christ-like example throughout the whole Bible authorizing the institution of Easter as a Christian holy day! It’s simply a man-made tradition, with no justification for assimilating ancient pagan fertility rites and symbols, well connected to the “sun-worshipping” religions of Babylon and Rome. Sadly, over the years, it has contributed to misdirecting much of the vast Christian community, rendering the laws of God to no effect because of the traditions of men. Even Yeshua himself had to personally deal with this same deception during His ministry. Notice what He said.

“Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:6-9).

If we never receive the challenges to purge out fruitless and clever distortions from our lives, how can we expect to please our LORD? Why not consider following the example our Messiah left us, and begin keeping the Passover instead of Easter, in the context of its fulfillment in Jesus Christ?  The heart of this issue is whose laws will you obey: those of Jesus the Messiah, or the decrees and traditions of men, compromised by the fashion and consumerism of our culture?

Source: https://www.cgi.org/new-page-56

Bonus Segment

SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFYING WHO MADE THE CHANGE

After the Council of Nicaea, the Roman government grew more entangled with doctrinal matters of the Church. That derailed it further from the mission Jesus established.

“Theodosius became the last emperor to rule the entire Roman Empire before its administration was permanently split between the West and East (A.D. 379-398).  He made Christianity the State Religion of the Roman Empire. Institutionalized church membership was compulsory. Forced conversion filled state sponsored “churches” with unregenerate people.

Jesus declared his victory over the “gates of hell” by voluntary, spiritual and moral means. It was the work of HIM building HIS Ekklesia, one human life – like lively stones – at a time. Up to that time conversion was by a genuine change in heart and life. But now the military spirit of Imperial Rome had entered the Church.

Some would say that the Church had conquered the Roman Empire. But in reality, the Roman Empire had conquered the Church. It began remaking the Church into the institutionalized image of the Roman Empire. The Church had changed its nature, and continued its great Apostasy predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.  It became a political organization in the Spirit and pattern of Imperial Rome.

The Imperial Church of the 4th and 5th centuries began a millennium of Papal abominations, making it an entirely different institution from the persecuted Church of the first three centuries. In its ambition to rule, it forgot and lost the Spirit of Christ” (Halley’s Bible Handbook, “Paganization of the Church,” p. 760??).

Now, I’ll give you the details about this second century controversy found in the actual records of the Catholic Church itself. A careful reading of this might help clarify the debate over Easter.

 “The dioceses of all Asia, as from the older tradition [Biblical Passover], held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should always be observed as the feast [of the life-giving Pasch Passover]…

However, it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world [primarily the West, represented by Rome] to end it at this point [allegedly a non-biblical-based fast ending on Easter Sunday], as they observed the practice, which from apostolic tradition has prevailed to the present time…

Synods and assemblies of bishops [not Jesus Christ’s example or the Gospel records!] were held (meaning ‘convened’) on this account and all, with one consent, through mutual correspondence, drew up an ecclesiastical decree [superseding Christ’s personal example as recorded in the Gospels] that the mystery of the resurrection of the Lord should be celebrated on no other day but the Sunday [i.e. Easter] and that we should observe the close of the paschal fast on that day only.

A letter of Saint Irenaeus is among the extracts just referred to, and this shows that the diversity of practice regarding Easter had existed at least from the time of Pope Sixtus. Further, Irenaeus states that St. Polycarp [bishop of Smyrna], who, like the other Asiatics (meaning the eastern church), kept Easter on the fourteenth day of the moon [which is really the Passover], whatever day of the week that might be, following therein the tradition which he [Polycarp] claimed to have derived from St. John the Apostle, but could not be persuaded by Pope Anicetus to relinquish his Quartodecimen observance. The question thus debated was therefore primarily whether Easter was to be kept on a Sunday, or whether Christians should observe the holyday of the Jews… Those who kept Easter [Passover] with the Jews were called Quartodecimans” (Catholic Encyclopedia, emphasis added).

5 Major Differences Between Passover and Easter

Most consider Passover a Jewish holiday and Easter a Christian one. But when we compare the biblical Passover with Easter, we find big differences.

  by Isaac Khalil  

See https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/blog/5-major-differences-between-passover-and-easter/

If you asked most people what they would associate the words Passover and Easter with, you would probably get something like “Passover is Jewish and Easter is Christian.” But would this basic answer be correct?

There is a big difference between Passover and Easter, but you may be surprised to learn that it isn’t that one is Jewish and one is Christian.

So, what is the difference between Easter and Passover? What do we discover when we compare them to each other: Easter vs. Passover?

Here are five major differences between the biblical Passover and Easter. 

Difference 1: Passover’s biblical origin vs. no biblical reference for Easter

The origin of the Passover is found in Exodus 12.

The Israelites had been under harsh slavery to the Egyptian Pharaoh, who had refused to let them go. Because of Pharaoh’s stubbornness, God sent a series of plagues on Egypt and was about to send the 10th and final plague: killing the firstborn of all people and animals.

Differences Between Easter and PassoverGod would spare, or “pass over,” only those who smeared lamb’s blood on their doorway (Exodus 12:12-13).

The day was called the Passover and was to be kept by Israel as a memorial of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:14; Leviticus 23:4-5).

What about Easter?

You can’t find Easter commanded in the Bible. The word is actually located in Acts 12:4 in the 1611 King James Version, but most scholars recognize it as a clear translation error (modern translations replace it with the word Passover).

There are over 70 references to Passover in the Old and New Testaments—but no legitimate references to Easter.

To learn more, read our article “Origin of Easter.”

Difference 2: God-ordained vs. human tradition

One of the significant differences between Passover and Easter is this: The Creator God commanded Passover to be kept by His people. He never commanded anyone to observe Easter to commemorate Christ’s resurrection.

Who commanded Easter’s observance?

It is a historical fact that the Catholic Church commanded Easter’s observance at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325. Church leaders did not appeal to scriptural authority, only their own authority, to make the change. Sadly, Christ’s warning against substituting human tradition for the commandments of God was ignored (Matthew 15:3; Mark 7:13).

The Council of Nicaea established that Easter would always be celebrated on a Sunday and wouldn’t be tied to the phase of the moon, thus distinguishing it from the biblical Passover.

You can learn more about the history of this change in our article “The Days They Changed but Couldn’t Kill.”

Difference 3: Passover’s fixed day vs. Easter’s movable day

God ordained the Passover to be kept annually on a specific day: the 14th day of the first month on the Hebrew calendar (Deuteronomy 16:1; Leviticus 23:5).

The Catholic Church persecuted the early Christians who kept the Passover, calling them Quartodecimans (Latin for “14thers”) and Judaizers.

The Passover was so despised that “in 325 CE the Council of Nicaea established that Easter would be held on the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the vernal equinox. From that point forward, the Easter date depended on the ecclesiastical approximation of March 21 for the vernal equinox” (“Calculating the Easter Date,” timeanddate.com).

This gave Easter a movable date that wouldn’t fall on the Passover. Even then, the Western churches use the Gregorian calendar and the Eastern churches use the Julian calendar, so their dates for Easter differ.

To learn more, read “Festival Calendar: Which Calendar Should We Use?”

Difference 4: Passover as a memorial of Jesus’ death vs. Easter as a celebration of His resurrection

Jesus Christ was ordained as the Passover Lamb that would be sacrificed to make freedom from the penalty of sin possible (John 1:29). The Passover of Exodus 12 pointed forward to Christ’s sacrifice 1,500 years later! Just as the Israelites were saved from death by the lamb’s blood, we can be saved from eternal death by Christ’s blood. (To learn more about Christ as the Passover lamb, read “Why Is Jesus Called the Lamb of God?”)

The Passover of Exodus 12 pointed forward to Christ’s sacrifice 1,500 years later! At His last Passover, Jesus instituted unleavened bread and wine as new symbols—representing His broken body and blood. He commanded us to “do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). The apostle Paul taught us to keep it on the “same night in which He was betrayed”—the evening of the Passover (1 Corinthians 11:23).

To learn more, read “Should Christians Celebrate Passover?”

Easter purports to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. The problem is, though His resurrection was essential, Christ never commanded that it be celebrated with an annual observance or holiday. There is also no record of the apostles or early Church celebrating it. Plus, biblical evidence shows Jesus didn’t even rise on a Sunday morning.

Difference 5: Passover symbols vs. Easter symbols

The symbols of the Passover are full of meaning.

Jesus Himself is “our Passover” and “sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7). The unleavened bread represents His sinless and broken body (Matthew 26:26). The wine represents His blood that was poured out for us (Matthew 26:28). The foot washing represents the humility and serving attitude of Jesus, which we are to emulate (John 13:5-8, 9-11, 12-15).

Every element of the biblical Passover is grounded in deep spiritual meaning.

The primary symbols associated with Easter are eggs and bunnies. But these have deep roots in ancient pagan practices. Bunnies and eggs are ancient fertility symbols that were appropriated years after Christ’s resurrection. Even the name Easter has origins in an ancient pagan goddess.

What does that have to do with Jesus and His sacrifice or His resurrection? To learn more, read “Bunnies Don’t Lay Eggs and Other Reasons to Ditch Easter.”

There are stark differences between Passover and Easter. We hope our readers will deeply consider these differences, reject Easter’s meaningless traditions and take a closer look at the biblical Passover and other “feasts of the Lord” found in the Bible.

Watch the video at the end of this article to learn how the Passover was incorrectly changed to Easter. https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/blog/5-major-differences-between-passover-and-easter/

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2024 American Solar Eclipse – Why is it Significant?

On Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse crossed the entire United States, from coast-to-coast, for the first time since 1918… over a hundred years.

Within less than a week afterward, the south-central states, particularly Texas, suffered one of the most destructive hurricanes in the nation’s history – Hurricane Harvey.

Seven years later, on April 8, 2024, the next total solar eclipse to happen across the United States, crosses the path of the 2017 eclipse, forming a giant X.

The next total solar eclipse to cross the USA will not happen for over 20 years, in 2045.

Solar eclipses happen when the moon blocks any part of the sun. Total solar eclipses, however, are only possible on planet Earth because of a unique perfection of design – strong evidence of an intelligent and purposeful Creator.  The sun’s diameter is about 400 times wider than the moon’s, but it is also about 400 times farther away. The result is that the sun and the moon appear to be the same size from our perspective. When they line up just right, the moon can obscure the sun’s entire surface, every 12 to 18 months, somewhere on our planet.

The moon is directly between the Earth and the sun during an eclipse, allowing us to see and study the sun’s corona. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=12481&button=recent

Here is a diagram (not to scale) showing how the moon casts its shadow on the earth in two ways: as a total eclipse and as a partial eclipse.

 It’s important to notice that the path of the partial eclipse for both the 2017 and 2024 eclipses affects the entire continental United States of America.

How is the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Different from the 2017 Eclipse?

Every 11 years or so, the Sun’s magnetic field flips, causing a cycle of increasing then decreasing solar activity. During solar minimum, there are fewer giant eruptions from the Sun, such as spectacular solar flares and prominences. But during solar maximum, the Sun becomes more active.

 When you look at a photo of one of these dramatic solar explosions, with a superimposed diagram of the appropriately sized planet Earth, you can appreciate the huge scale of these prominences.

It makes you grateful that our earthly home is 93 million miles away from our Sun/star.  It should remind us how our Creator has specially designed our earth perfectly for human habitation.

In 2017, the Sun was nearing solar minimum. Viewers of the total eclipse could see the breathtaking corona. However, since the Sun was relatively quiet, giant hot streamers erupting into the solar atmosphere were limited to the equatorial regions of the star.

 During the 2024 eclipse, the Sun is expected to be near solar maximum. That’s when the magnetic field is more actively in flux. Geyser-like streamers will likely be visible throughout the corona. In addition, viewers will have a better chance to see gigantic prominences – which appear as bright, reddish curls or loops coming off the Sun.

Coronal mass ejection possible at 2024 Solar Maximum

For our view of the eclipse, if the timing is just right, there could be a chance for those in the path of totality to see a coronal mass ejection – which is a large eruption of solar material during the eclipse.

 See This 2-second video clip of a coronal mass ejection on 3/13/2023 captured by NASA/ESA’s Solar & Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)

This website lists historical data of eclipses worldwide for 5,000 years – https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html

Prior to the 2017 event, no solar eclipse had been visible across the entire United States since June 8, 1918; not since the February 1979 eclipse had a total eclipse been visible from anywhere in the mainland United States. The path of totality in 2017 touched 14 states, and the rest of the U.S. had a partial eclipse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wi ki/Solar_eclipse_of_August_21,_2017

Another special feature of the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse is that all five of the bright planets are/were visible during the midday four-and-a-half-minute period of totality. Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Mars are all lined up close together with the Sun positioned right in the middle of the line-up.

“What do ancient biblical cultures tell us about the significance of a solar eclipse?”

On the day when Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem the sky was darkened. Was it an eclipse?

Luke 23:44-45 “It was now about the sixth hour (12-noon), and darkness came over the entire land until [3pm] the ninth hour, because the sun stopped shining; and the veil of the temple was torn in two.”

What day of the Hebrew calendar did Jesus die on the cross in Jerusalem?

On the night before the crucifixion, Dr Luke’s gospel tells us…

Luke 22:15 “And He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer…”

So the event of the crucifixion was on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Abib (or Nissan on the modern Hebrew calendar).

We realize that the longest natural solar eclipse can last up to about 7 minutes. So the darkness that happened for 3 hours while Jesus hung on the cross was not due to a natural solar eclipse. It was more akin to the supernatural darkening of the sun that happened when “Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days” (Exodus 10:21-22).

Solar eclipses can only happen on the day of a new moon, which is always the first day of every Hebrew calendar month. The word month comes from the word ‘moon.’

The Passover meal is always celebrated on the evening of the 14th day of the first month of the Hebrew year (Abib = Nissan = March/April). That day is always a full moon.

Num 28:16 “The LORD’S Passover shall be on the fourteenth day of the first month.”

Deut 16:1 “Observe the month of Abib (Nissan in modern Jewish calendar) and celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.”

Why Is Passover on a Full Moon?

https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/4250850/jewish/Why-Is-Passover-on-a-Full-Moon.htm

We Christians, like the Israelites, celebrate the festival of freedom, Scripture calls Passover, on the 15th of the Jewish month of Nissan. That was after the 10th plague – the death of the firstborn! It was on the daytime after the Israelites put the blood of their Passover lamb on their doorposts. That day, the “Egyptians urged the people to send them out of the land in haste…” (Exodus 12:33). This was the daytime after the first night of the full moon in the Egyptian month of Aries, the ram.

To the Egyptians the ram, signified by the constellation of Aries, was worshipped as their chief god. The constellation of Aries was seen as the leader of the 12 major zodiac star signs. It was the first and most powerful of the stellar signs that were associated with different kingdoms. The Egyptians saw themselves as the leaders of the world, receiving their strength and fortitude from their god, the ram.

So, the greatest month for Egyptian pride would have been the month of Aries, when their god is on the rise and at its peak. And the strongest day of that month would be on the day of its full moon.

Egyptian power would reach its zenith on the 15th day of Nissan, and that is exactly the day the Israelites left Egypt. Aries was rendered impotent at the very moment of its expected strength.

But there’s more. The Israelites ate a festive meal on the night before the exodus, and the main course was lamb “roasted on a fire” spit (Exodus 12:8). They were privately eating the representation of the Egyptian deity—the ram—under the full moon of the Egyptians’ proudest month. And meanwhile, their slave masters were wailing in sorrow “for there was no home where there was not someone dead” (Exodus 12:30).

The message is unmistakable. The world is not run by the whims of unscrupulous pagan gods or the mystical forces of star signs. There is a God who rules heaven and earth, who cares for the innocent and exacts justice upon the corrupt.

Several moving parts must be perfectly in place for an eclipse to occur. Each eclipse involves a star, a planet that orbits the star, and a moon that orbits the planet. But those are only the basics. There are many factors, including distance, size, and alignment, that allow a planet to experience an eclipse.  Our Earth is the only planet known to have an eclipse where our moon so precisely covers our Sun.  Earth seems to have been designed to be an ideal observation spot!  Isn’t that a marvel?… especially since it’s the only planet with humans able to observe!

Solar Eclipses have been recorded as significant in the annals of quite a few cultural histories. You can read about some of them in reports online…  like “The 8 Most Famous Solar Eclipses in History” By Tia Ghose  published February 13, 2017 https://www.livescience.com/57865-famous-solar-eclipses.html

Since ancient times, human societies have had an awesome wonder for eclipses of both the Sun and the Moon.  Though a total eclipse of the Sun may last only minutes, the entire event of the moon’s shadow moving across the Earth, takes a couple of hours. That spectacle has quite often been construed as an omen that indicates an impending miracle, or the wrath of God, or, most frequently, the doom of a ruling dynasty.

England’s William the Conqueror fathered King Henry the First. On August 2, 1133 a solar eclipse happened over the British Isles that lasted 4 minutes and 38 seconds. Only two days after witnessing the solar eclipse King Henry the First of England died. This eclipse became known as “Henry’s Eclipse” and caused many superstitious people to believe that eclipses were bad omens for rulers. In the manuscript “Historia Novella,” William of Malmesbury recounts that the “hideous darkness” agitated the hearts of men. After William’s death, a struggle for the throne threw the kingdom into chaos and civil war.

How did ancient cultures explain eclipses?

 Helius god of the sun | Athenian red-figure krater C5th B.C. | British Museum, London

https://theconversation.com/how-ancient-cultures-explained-eclipses-79887 Published: August 16, 2017

As the Earth and Moon course through space in their annual journey around the Sun, the three magnificent orbs align in such a way that the Earth passes into the direct shadow of the moon. Earthlings can then witness our Sun, gradually being covered and then uncovered by the Moon’s disk. Humans who’ve seen it in person often exclaim this to be the most spectacular celestial event of their lives.

Until astronomers were able to explain the celestial mechanics of this phenomenon, a solar eclipse could be a terrifying event. In cultures throughout human history, the Sun was seen as a supreme god. It was central to their very existence. Rulers recognized and literally ‘feared’ the power that the Sun had over their people. You can see how that fear could be used by tyrants to control their people. The Egyptians personified it as Amun-Ra. The Greeks deified it as Helios

Humans in every era knew their crops depended on the Sun. They understood the necessity of the cycles of heaven and developed myths to explain them. So, the idea that the Sun deity could be temporarily extinguished in a total eclipse inspired a number of imaginative explanations and meanings. Most involve some sort of evil entity trying to devour the sun. Such myths undoubtedly arose from the fact that during the early stages of a solar eclipse, the sun appears to have a bite taken out of it.

But what does a Biblical view of the natural creation lead us to think about celestial events like solar eclipses?

 photo from: https://youtu.be/MUNroaaPZmA?si=RW1rShh-XJdqvzqr&t=23

What are the Creator’s designed purposes for the astronomical bodies including the Sun, the Moon, planets and stars?

The first chapter of Genesis states very plainly… ‘Let luminaries be in the expanse of the heavens, Gen. 1:14 to make a separation between the day and the night …,    For Signs and For Seasons

In modern times, most of us have never been taught the profound historic Hebrew legacy of their early knowledge about the significance of the signposts of the starry heavens.  Yet the familiar Psalm 19 proclaims firmly that the “The heavens declare the glory of God…” (Psalm 19:1). When I began digging through the ancient scholarship about God’s word “Mazzaroth,” which equates to the pagan word zodiac, it became clear that here was yet another part of God’s creation that our demonic adversary has perverted and corrupted. You’ll want to look at my book, Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation to discover a lot more of how “the heavens declare the glory of god,” and “the real meaning of the zodiac.”

Don’t miss the Genesis fact that the second purpose for the Creator’s “luminaries in the expanse of the heavens” were for signs and for appointed seasons, called “mo-ed” – relating to fixed meeting places, feasts and festivals.

Solar eclipses were used by Bible prophets as markers to foretell the destruction of both the Ancient Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. We’ll read about them later on in the books of the prophets Amos and Jeremiah.

Eclipses in ancient cultures are commonly understood as omens of destructions for nations, kingdoms, and peoples, both Gentile (pagan) and Semitic (Hebrews/Jews).

We know from Scripture and Hebrew written records that the prophet Daniel was the predecessor of the students of the Chaldean astronomers that we know of as the Maji. Centuries later, a renowned group of their cast of wise men, specializing in astronomical observations and natural science, are described by Mathew the apostle of Jesus. He records their encounter with Judah’s illegitimate King Herod, asking “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” He further records that they had “…seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him” (Matt 2:2).

So, naturally we should incline our hearts and minds to seek our Heavenly Father’s insight into the meaning of His creations that He designed for our understanding. Remember how Jesus criticized his religious contemporaries, saying, “You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times” (Matt 16:3).

For those believers who are anticipating the return of our Messiah, one can’t help but recognize some remarkable coincidences.

Have you noticed some peculiar things about the 2017 solar eclipse that are significant to the Bible?

 First was the fact that the Great American Solar Eclipse of 2017 entered the American continent first from the northwest at the Oregon city of Salem. Of course, most Christians are familiar with the meaning of that name.  

The word Salem is the Hebrew word Shalom, meaning peace, which was the original name for Israel’s capital city called Jeru-Salem.

What’s fascinating is that of the 36 towns in America named after that Biblical city, exactly 7 of them are directly under the shadow of the path of the 2017 eclipse.  

If you remember back in 2017 when you first heard about the Great American Eclipse crossing directly across the continent, that’s when the public was also being made aware of the second Total Solar Eclipse that was coming an amazing 7 years later in 2024.

The zone of the crossing of the two eclipse shadows just happened to include the town of Salem, Kentucky! 

The time between the two total eclipses is actually 6 years & 8 months; totaling 2,422 days.  That figures out to be 1,211 days before and after Dec 14, 2020. 

On that very day there was another total solar eclipse over the Southern Cone region of South America including Argentina and Chile…

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why probably at least half the population of the world had reason to be worried when they saw what looked like God was painting a big X over a country.

 To deepen the mystery was learning that another Total Solar Eclipse over America is going to happen 21 years later, on August 12, 2045. That will be followed by another one 2,422 days after, on March 30, 2052.

Exactly in the middle is another solar eclipse on December 8, 2048. 

And remember, prior to 2017, America had not seen a total solar eclipse crossing the entire country for A HUNDRED YEARS!

Because of these things, many are wondering if there is prophetic significance regarding the signs of the times and the second coming of Jesus Christ.  

While millions are praying for revival and a spirit of repentance to invade our society, we can’t help seeing the injustice and evil that pervades the lives of millions of lost souls who seem to be blindly following the insanity of wicked forces in all the mountains of influence in this generation.

If ever there were an empire that was truly on the precipice of collapse, the decadence of America’s modern national identity would certainly qualify it for destruction.  Will a godly remnant be saved as the wicked endure judgment?

But there’s much more to this story.

When we see the graphic map of the crossing of the two Great American 21st Century Eclipses of 2017 and 2024, it reminds us of the idea that X marks the spot.

It just so happens that “The SPOT” of the crossing of the two paths is very near the geographical center of the US population, which is the town of Hartville, in Wright County Missouri. 

The sign of the X is the last character of the ancient Hebrew alphabet. It looks just like a cross tipped to the right. It’s called the letter TAV. It was also used to signify the signature of someone, even God.  Could God be signing His name on the continent of America?  But if He were to do that, we would have to wonder how did Jesus refer to His name in respect to the alphabet?

Revelation 22:12-13 says: “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

In Hebrew Jesus would be quoted saying “I am the Aleph and the Tav.” That’s the equivalent of the Alpha and the Omega.  Okay… we’ve seen the TAV – the X – over America. What about the Aleph – the Alpha?

This is where it gets interesting…

On October 14, 2023, just less than 6 months before the April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse, another Solar Eclipse – called an Annular Eclipse that leaves a ring of sunlight at its apex, called ‘the wedding ring – began also in Salem, Oregon… dipping down over Texas and crossing the path of the 2024 eclipse very near where it enters the state of Texas, near the highly publicized center of the foreign invasion – a place called Eagle Pass.

Two Xs over America?  Well, look a bit closer.

 When you overlay the path of the 2017 eclipse with the 2023 Annular Eclipse and the 2024 Total Eclipse, you get a sign pattern that looks exactly like the letter A turned on its side to the left.

That is exactly what the Hebrew letter ALEPH looks like.

So, now you have both the Aleph and the Tav… the Alpha and the Omega… The beginning and the ending. And they are continent-sized SIGNS painted boldly across the continent that has often been identified with the harlot empire of Babylon.

The path of the 2024 solar eclipse will cross 13 states (entering from Mexico it then passes over Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total solar eclipse. A partial solar eclipse will be visible throughout all 48 contiguous U.S. states)

There are exactly 7 US towns named Ninevah. … Can you imagine why anyone would want to tag their settlement or town with that sign? All of those 7 towns will witness the 2024 Solar Eclipse. At least 2 of them will experience the total eclipse (Indiana and New York).  

 
USA has 7 towns named Nineveh: https://geotargit.com/citiespercountry.php?qcountry_code=US&qcity=Nineveh
  • Indiana
  • Missouri
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • Texas
  • Virginia

 What do we know about Nineveh? They had a major solar eclipse at the very time that Jonah entered the city to warn them of God’s coming judgment, unless they repented. Read the book of Jonah again, with that fact as a backdrop. Then notice the intensity of the description of their sincere repentance, and how God withdrew their certain destruction.

Perhaps God would be pleased to raise up His 21st century Jonahs to boldly proclaim the warning of judgment and repentance to the people who are living in the spirit of Nineveh.

In conclusion…

Consider Isaiah’s exhortations applying to our generation

Isa 40:1 Comfort, O comfort My people, says your God…

40:17 All the nations are as nothing before Him, they are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.

40:21-23 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who is enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of earth meaningless.

40:26 Lift up your eyes and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name…

Isa 42:5-9 Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth… Who gives breath to the people on it… I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, and I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who dwell in darkness from the prison. I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim them to you…

42:13 The Lord will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.

43:10b-11 Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the LORD; and there is no savior besides Me.

Discern God’s intention for His adversaries, particularly in Isaiah’s context, for the wickedness that fueled the spirit behind ancient Babylon. That spirit is clearly at work in the world at large today, through many powerful principalities which are causing the insane behavior of the human rulers of modern nations.

Isaiah speaks directly to the spirit which invigorated Babylon saying (47:10) “your wisdom and your knowledge have deluded you.”

To “the daughter of the Chaldeans” (Babylon) who did not show mercy to God’s people (47:6), the Holy One of Israel, the Lord of hosts (by name – 47:4), promised sudden destruction (47:11) for arrogantly claiming to be the only ‘I am’ (47:10) and “a queen forever” (47:7)

Isa 47:13 Let now the astrologers, those who prophesy by the stars, those who predict by new moons, stand up and save you from what will come upon you.

Today… visit Reclaim Your Legacy dot com… key in today’s title – 2024 American Solar Eclipse. Send your friends the link for today’s show.  The bonus information for today’s episode is all recorded with lots of helpful graphics …

And while you’re there, if the Lord has blessed you with this presentation, consider making a donation of any amount to enable us to continue this teaching ministry on this platform. Because of the help of warriors like you to continue in the Lord’s battle to be watchmen on the wall, urging listeners to search the Scriptures and test all things, we will be able to bring more of His light into dark places.

Bonus Segment

On April 8, 2024, over 31 million people in North America will witness a total solar eclipse. About a third of them are in just 10 cities. Could that be significant

A great resource for information about the Great American Solar Eclipses is https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/

 Note – Hebrew alphabet       – final letter is tav    

Note – the Paleo (ancient – time of Moses) TAV is similar to a cross, which was tipped in Middle Hebrew, to resemble our letter X. It signifies the Creator’s signature.

 This website is loaded with graphics and factoids: https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/

Experience nature’s greatest sight — a total eclipse of the Sun! On April 8, 2024, the shadow of the Moon will cross Mexico, the United States, and Canada. This spectacular total solar eclipse will amaze many millions of people. This is sure to be a record-setting astronomical event.   

In 2017, The Washington Post, published what some believed about the two eclipses that will mark an X across the nation. They wrote that the eclipse across the United States in 2017 crossing the one that happens in 2024, could be the starting and ending signs bookmarking a seven-year period of awful tribulations that are in store for nonbelievers who are left behind when the rapture occurs. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Scripture has other things to say about God’s plans for the future, but could there be other types of significance?

In the Bible, Jesus said that there will be signs in the sun, and in the moon and in the stars prior to His return. Many prophecy teachers are speculating what the solar eclipse in 2024 might mean. In light of the many unique facts about this eclipse, especially in the context of what has been happening with the politics, economy and morality of our culture, it will no doubt foster much opportunity in our nation to talk with people about eternal and spiritual topics.

The 2024 Solar Eclipse on the Jewish Calendar – note on what day April 8th falls – Adar 29… this is Biblical New Years Eve.

Purim begins at sundown – Sunday March 24th… Adar 14… 14 days before the eclipse on April 8th.

Passover begins at sundown – Monday April 22nd… Nissan 14… 14 days after the eclipse.

Jewish calendar source: https://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/month.asp?tdate=4/21/2024&mode=j

Something else to watch.

Besides the constant scientific attention given to the possibility of the Yellowstone Caldera erupting and causing massive catastrophe across North America, another disaster zone centers at virtually the crosshairs of the two historic Solar Eclipses.

Have you ever heard of the New Madrid mega-earthquakes of 1811 & 1812?

See a map showing the Damage-range comparison between a moderate New Madrid zone earthquake in 1895 (magnitude 6.8), compared with the historic quakes of 1811 & 1812.

Read about the New Madrid earthquakes named for the Mississippi River town of New Madrid, then part of the Louisiana Territory, and now within the U.S. state of Missouri. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1811%E2%80%931812_New_Madrid_earthquakes

1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes

The 1811–1812 the New Madrid earthquakes (/ˈmædrɪd/) were a series of intense intraplate earthquakes beginning with an initial earthquake of moment magnitude 7.2–8.2 on December 16, 1811, followed by a moment magnitude 7.4 aftershock on the same day. Two additional earthquakes of similar magnitude followed in January and February 1812. They remain the most powerful earthquakes to hit the contiguous United States east of the Rocky Mountains in recorded history.[10][11][12] The earthquake seismic zone  where they occurred is still considered active.

Read Eyewitness accounts

John Bradbury, a fellow of the Linnean Society, was on the Mississippi on the night of December 15, 1811, and describes the tremors in great detail in his Travels in the Interior of America in the Years 1809, 1810 and 1811, published in 1817:[17]

After supper, we went to sleep as usual: about ten o’clock, and in the night, I was awakened by the most tremendous noise, accompanied by an agitation of the boat so violent, that it appeared in danger of upsetting … I could distinctly see the river as if agitated by a storm; and although the noise was inconceivably loud and terrific, I could distinctly hear the crash of falling trees, and the screaming of the wild fowl on the river, but found that the boat was still safe at her moorings. By the time we could get to our fire, which was on a large flag in the stern of the boat, the shock had ceased; but immediately the perpendicular banks, both above and below us, began to fall into the river in such vast masses, as nearly to sink our boat by the swell they occasioned … At day-light we had counted twenty-seven shocks.

Eliza Bryan[18] in New Madrid, Territory of Missouri, wrote the following eyewitness account in March 1812:

On the 16th of December, 1811, about two o’clock, a.m., we were visited by a violent shock of an earthquake, accompanied by a very awful noise resembling loud but distant thunder, but more hoarse and vibrating, which was followed in a few minutes by the complete saturation of the atmosphere, with sulphurious vapor, causing total darkness. The screams of the affrighted inhabitants running to and fro, not knowing where to go, or what to do—the cries of the fowls and beasts of every species—the cracking of trees falling, and the roaring of the Mississippi— the current of which was retrograde for a few minutes, owing as is supposed, to an irruption in its bed— formed a scene truly horrible.

John Reynolds, the fourth governor of Illinois, among other political posts, mentions the earthquake in his biography My Own Times: Embracing Also the History of My Life (1855):[19]

On the night of the 15th of December, 1811, an earthquake occurred, that produced great consternation amongst the people. The centre of the violence was in New Madrid, Missouri, but the whole valley of the Mississippi was violently agitated. Our family all were sleeping in a log cabin, and my father leaped out of bed crying aloud “the Indians are on the house” … We laughed at the mistake of my father, but soon found out it was worse than the Indians. Not one in the family knew at the time that it was an earthquake. The next morning another shock made us acquainted with it, so we decided it was an earthquake. The cattle came running home bellowing with fear, and all animals were terribly alarmed on the occasion. Our house cracked and quivered, so we were fearful it would fall to the ground. In the American Bottom many chimneys were thrown down, and the church bell in Cahokia sounded by the agitation of the building. It is said the shock of an earthquake was felt in Kaskaskia in 1804, but I did not perceive it. The shocks continued for years in Illinois, and some have experienced it this year, 1855.

Steve Ciocollanti showed all 3 eclipse paths in DECODED: 2024 SOLAR ECLIPSE (April 8) & PROPHETIC SIGNS linking Obama, Harari, TRUMP, General Flynn  https://youtu.be/7UCfgXyfiV8?si=Z1UOiKGLASuOVpvD&t=128

7-Year Eclipse Prophecy REVEALED with Lorenzo Garay [Aleph Tav Omen for America] Abraham – Overcome  https://www.youtube.com/live/Wtuu8Gz5E_8?si=HfPHQ2lQDaqlMhwT

This interview will be of interest for students of Hebraic roots regarding Scripture and history.

What do Aleph & Tav together in Scriptures mean as a sign?

Check www.alephtavscriptures.com

  • Aleph-Tav signs appear throughout the Hebrew Scriptures (Torah)
  • King James translators assume they were simply direct object pointers in Hebrew grammar, so they were never translated into English, or other languages.
  • William Sanford did a thorough study of the use of AlephTav signs in the Scriptures and came to the conclusion that they have specific meanings as a divine mark or sign, identifying Jesus/Yeshua’s presence and divinity. There are also many examples of the AlephTav sign being placed where it pertains to the importance of ‘subject matter’ regarding covenant relationship with the Father, regarding people, persons, places, or things, and even rendering judgments concerning curses or blessings.
  • William published the Messianic Aleph Tav Interlinear Scriptures documents. He has a website explaining in detail the meaning of these covenant markers: https://alephtavscriptures.com
  • Videos on AlephTav https://youtu.be/pBV1cql-Zk0?si=DQigfCfn-79nvtjA ; https://youtu.be/yG-E0nH9qms?si=yGR2XxUoues3HSUm

Solar Eclipses marked the destruction of Ancient Northern Kingdom of Israel AND the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

Amos 8:2,3&9 prophesied to the Northern Kingdom of Israel: ‘And He said, “Amos, what do you see?” So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the LORD said to me: ​​“The end has come upon My people Israel; ​​I will not pass by them anymore. 3 ​​And the songs of the temple shall be wailing in that day,” says the Lord GOD—​​“Many dead bodies everywhere, ​they shall be thrown out in silence.” … 9 ​​“And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord GOD, ​​“That I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight;

Jeremiah 15:4,8&9 prophesied to the southern Kingdom of Judah: ‘I will hand them over to trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.​  8 ​​Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas; ​​I will bring against them, against the mother of the young men, a plunderer at noonday; ​​I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them suddenly. 9 ​​“She languishes who has borne seven; she has breathed her last; her sun has gone down while it was yet day; she has been ashamed and confounded. ​​And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword before their enemies,” says the LORD.’

Why would God be marking Hebrew signs across the United States of America?

The Nation of Israel’s History – see https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-two-kingdoms-of-israel

. God gave the name “Israel” to Abraham’s grandson Jacob (Genesis 32:28; 35:10). Jacob had 12 sons: Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Judah, Levi, Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin.

. The name of Israel and birthright were passed on by Jacob only to Joseph’s sons Ephraim & Manasseh, who Jacob adopted as his own and moved them ahead of Reuben and Simeon (Genesis 48::5, 16).

. the 13 tribes (Ephraim replaced Joseph, & Manasseh became the 13th tribe (Rev 7:6,8) were a United Kingdom of Israel under Kings Saul, David & Solomon (2 Samuel 5:1-5; 1 Chronicles 29:23).

. After King Solomon’s death, the United Kingdom split into 2 kingdoms: 1) The Southern Kingdom (House) of Judah, headed by King Rehoboam of the House of David, which included the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levites (plus a small remnant of Israelites that left the Northern Kingdom) were known as the Judean “Jews,” and 2) the Northern Kingdom (House) of Israel, headed by King Jeroboam, which consisted of the remaining 10 tribes, led by the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (1 Kings 12; 2 Chronicles 11:12-14.

. God sent the Assyrians to destroy the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC, because of their idolatry. Amos describes their worship of Baal, immorality, sorceries, divination, lawlessness and child sacrifice to Moloch in his book. The House of Israel was scattered throughout the world (2 Kings 17:5-6; 10-18, Jeremiah 31:9), never to be restored. The Region was later reinhabited by Assyrians who adapted a modified Yahweh worship as the people called Samaritans.

. The Kingdom of Judah also forsook Yahweh in idolatry, immorality, and lawlessness. It was destroyed in 586 by God through Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar. Jerusalem was conquered and its walls and palaces, as well as the temple, were destroyed, and the inhabitant were carried away into exile for 70 years (2 Kings 24:18; 24:1-27; 2 Chronicles 36:11-23; Jeremiah 29:10, 52:1-11).

Does the city name of Salem have significance to America’s history or future?

. The August 2017 total solar eclipse started in Salem, Oregon.

. The October 2023 Annular solar eclipse started in Salem, Oregon.

. Salem is the ancient name for JeruSALEM, the city God established for the home of his Tabernacle when He chose to have His glory dwell in the place that became identified as Zion (Psalm 76:2) “In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion.”

. The Southern Kingdom of Judah was ruled from Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 11:5).

. 36 cities are named Salem in the USA https://geotargit.com/citiespercountry.php?qcountry_code=US&qcity=Salem

There is no other country in the world with nearly as many place names that are named after places in the little land of what was the historic nation of Israel. The reason for this is the fact that no other nation on earth has been so consciously identified by Christian pioneers as a sort of modern era “Promised Land” with deep spiritual roots in the history of the Holy Land of the Bible.

Interestingly, 33 of the 36 US cities named Salem lie in or near the totality paths of the 3 solar eclipses.

Samaria was the capital of the ancient Northern Kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 16:24, 28).

There are 9 cities named Samaria in the United States. All 9 of them are in the path of at least 60% of the totality of both the 2017 and 2024 eclipses.

3 GREAT AMERICAN Solar ECLIPSES 2023-2024 ⚠️ Spell a WARNING Across USA  Steve Cioccolanti & Discover Ministries Steve Cioccolanti & Discover Ministries  57,665 views Jul 16, 2023 https://youtu.be/c3Db07CaPPE?si=76A5CtwzTbNWEzNP

How Lunar and Solar Eclipses Shed Light on Biblical Events

https://biblearchaeology.org/research/biblical-chronologies/4517-how-lunar-and-solar-eclipses-shed-light-on-biblical-events

Although there are two to five solar eclipses visible from some place on Earth in any given year, the total solar eclipse that happened on August 21, 2017 attracted more attention than any eclipse in recent history, with good reason. When the announcement of the coming eclipse was spreading publicly, the map showing the path of the eclipse across the United States ALSO include the path of a second total solar eclipse that was scheduled to happen almost exactly 7 YEARS LATER IN 2024. During the 2017 event, the moon’s umbra (complete shadow), first fell on the Pacific Ocean as it made landfall in Oregon. It then traversed the North American continent before darkening the ocean off South Carolina one and one-half hours later. During that time, virtually all of North America was partially darkened by the penumbra (partial shadow) of the eclipse.

Highlight “How the coming eclipse may mean trouble is ahead” Pastor Mark Biltz talks about the history of solar eclipses over USA. https://youtu.be/HPpgrdych4M?si=jyG-h_5E5kjR4Gu2

Coronal mass ejections – from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp_SdD2PN8c

The Biggest Solar Storm in 100 years Will Hit Earth in Early 2024!

 Space Fintricity  https://youtu.be/dp_SdD2PN8c?si=mANvrcCpuxOADobc&t=464

What becomes visible during the total solar eclipse of 2024?

Jonah 3:10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

Psalm 27:13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Rom 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Posted on

Thanksgiving 4 Centuries after Our Pilgrims’ First Celebration #323

November every year in America is historically a time of remembrance and Thanksgiving. What other culture in the world has a tradition like that?

To better appreciate the roots of this special season for us as a people, let’s unravel the chain of events that helps us understand the implications of what led to the divinely innovative beginning of a whole new national identity.

Nobody I know does that better than my friend Bill Federer – Listen as he describes parallels between the treacherous 16th century time of the Pilgrims and our time 400 years later.

You can watch this interview at: https://www.brighteon.com/ea893f37-bee7-427f-b229-2551e988dee2?t=368  Start at 6:08 of 1/22/2023 America Unhinged: Dr. John Diamond interview with Bill Federer

Here is a partial Outline of Bill Federer’s talk:

Kings typically killed some of their own country’s population that they didn’t like

The St Bartholemew’s Day Massacre described.

John Calvin wrestled with Romans 13.  What do you do when the authorities have a mandate to kill your wife and kids?

Eph 6 .. children obey your parents… is he required to obey an ungodly parent’s demand to do something against God’s expressed will.

Martin Luther King comments on unjust laws… obey government as long as it lines up with God’s word.

If you remove a king… chaos results. Another king comes in to change things… followed by more chaos.  how do you remove a king to restore order without another chaos?

The Pilgrims, following Bible concepts, began a “Covenant” form of government, where everyone follows a covenant with God and with each other. Everyone is taught the “law.” What motivates them is that they are personally accountable to God. Second, everyone is in a covenant with each other and with God.

05:35 The Pilgrims looked to ancient Israel as their model – particularly the first 400 years after Israel’s exodus from Egypt, before King Saul.

After Joshua’s time, there was no king in Israel for 400 years.

The kings of England adopted the ‘divine right of kings’ paradigm from the Biblical time of kings Saul and David and afterward.

06:35 The Calvinist puritans of New England looked to the pre-King Saul Bible period.

Kings of England were a theocracy. The king was head of the church. From 1535 onward people were required to take the “oath of supremacy” which forced all English subjects to obey the King in all matters, even of a religious or spiritual nature.

King James had several attempts on his life because of the discontent fomented by royal heavy-handedness.

Guy Faux assassination attempt.

King James was paranoid of dissenting groups whom he feared might assassinate him. This included the Pilgrims.

America’s founders came to get away from a “theocracy.”

09:36 Book of Common Prayer… The government raided those who prayed without this book being used to pray. Dissenters were officially condemned as ‘heretics’ and branded without fair trial because they dared to defy the king’s regulations of even their thoughts and prayers.

10:54 Conventical Act became The Riot Act in England because the government feared the “covenanters” could be planning a riot in their secret meetings as Christians wanting to gather in their homes to worship God.

John Bunyan was subjected to arrest and imprisonment for 12 years because of his boldness to meet privately in his home church.

Jesus clearly made following his teaching completely voluntary

Covenant churches were made of those who had no bishops and no requirement to bow to government authorized priests. They decided to not meet in church buildings but in the open fields.

17:18 The idea of having to believe the way the government believes prompted one group to buy passage from England to the Netherlands (the Pilgrims).

Federal is Latin for ‘covenant.’

The constitution is a way to prevent a president from ruling through mandates.

Thanks to Bill Federer, we can better see the powerful influence that rulers have over an oppressed people.

Do you think Jeremiah’s prophetic words speak to our generation today?

“Thus says the LORD, ‘Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall find rest for our souls…’” Jeremiah 6:16