2002-10-31 Not everyone agrees that the death & resurrection of Christ occurred on a Friday to a Sunday. The "error" occurs because of the remark in the Bible that the resurrection occurred after the Sabbath and that the two women going to the tomb in the early hours of the morning found the tomb open. Thus people have assumed the resurrection occurred on a Sunday morning.
But, I once read a different explanation, that actually makes more sense then the present theory. First, of all the Bible does say that Jesus was dead 3 days. Yet, there is only 1.5 days between a Friday afternoon and a Sunday morning. Second, in addition to the weekly Saturday Sabbaths, the Jews also celebrated 7 annual Sabbaths. Passover was one of them. These annual Sabbaths are similar in structure to Roman Catholic holy days. A person was forbidden to any type of work on the annual Sabbaths. Third, the Jewish day ran from sundown to sundown, not from midnight to midnight. According to what I read, Jesus was executed on the annual Sabbath of Passover. He actually was executed on the "Day of Preparation", which occurred the day before the annual Sabbath. In the year of Jesus' execution, the "Day of Preparation" ran from what would be a Tuesday evening to the Wednesday evening. The events of the last supper (actually the Passover meal - the Seder) to the death on the cross all occurred on the same day, the Day of Preparation. Not two days as in our reckoning. Jesus had to be buried quickly before sundown because the annual Sabbath began at sundown and no work could be done on that day. From Thursday sundown to Friday sundown was a regular work day and the people were able to buy the spices and prepare for their visit to the tomb on the day after the weekly Sabbath. The following day, from Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown was the weekly Sabbath and again no work could be done. Since this Sabbath ended at dark, it would be foolish to venture out in the night to visit a grave, so the women went first thing at dawn and found the grave open. This does not imply the resurrection took place at that moment. Since the Bible says Christ was dead exactly 3 days, there are 3 days from Wednesday late afternoon to Saturday late afternoon. The resurrection took place at the end of the weekly Sabbath. So, naturally when the women went at dawn the grave was open. The 7 annual Sabbaths were suppose to "teach" the chosen people God's plan for salvation. Each Sabbath had a meaning on how the plan was to be carried out. The Bible says that the annual Sabbaths were to be celebrated forever. There never was any authority given to any man or church to change or abolish these annual feast days. For this reason, some Christians believe these feast days are still binding, but celebrated under the new covenant where the sacrificial lamb is replaced by the bread and wine. They also believe that all those who do not continue to celebrate these feast days and chose the counterfeit, Satan inspired pagan days instead are not Christians at all, but "wolves in sheep's clothing". Anyone else aware of this belief? John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joseph B. Reid" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, 2002-10-31 14:03 Subject: [USMA:23029] Re: Question about date format -- OFF TOPIC > ill Potts wrote in USMA 23016: > > >I thought the alleged resurrection was on a Monday -- now celebrated as > >Easter Monday. > > > >Bill Potts, CMS > > Easter Sunday is the most important Christian day. There is an > American protestant church named the Seventh Day Adventists. Their > day of rest and worship is Saturday. The renowned Battle Creek > Sanitarium is Seventh Day Adventist. I believe that the Kellogg > family of Battle Creek, Michigan, is also Seventh Day Adventist. A > Kellogg was Director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium in the 1930's. > Easter Monday is a civic holiday of no religious significance. > > The Shorter Oxford English Dictioary defines Sunday as: > "The first day of the week, observed by Christians as a day of rest > and worship, in commemoration of Christ's resurrection; the Lord's > Day." > > Joseph B. Reid > 17 Glebe Road West > Toronto M5P 1C8 Telephone 416-486-6071 >
