FIVE QUESTIONS ABOUT
GOOD FRIDAY AND EASTER
WITH ANSWERS FROM THE BIBLE!
By Bishop Dale Collins
4-7-2012
People believe the Pope, Cardinals, Pastors and Evangelists but often ignore what the Bible clearly says. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 2:15 for us to ‘study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” We are warned in John 5:39 to “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” In John 8:32 we are told “ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” After reading this article you will have to decide if you will join the few who dare to be different by ignoring what most books, magazines, television and even ministers say. You will have to decide to embrace the truth and live it so it will make you free or you will have to decide to keep marching to the drum beat of the false pagan churches that preach and teach lies. It takes less than two hours to fully study this issue out and come into the knowledge of the truth. I have some questions for you to think about and then I will present the answers found clearly in the Word of God. Please invest a few minutes for your soul. Remember, The Bible says in II Corinthians 13:1“This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” We cannot teach something as a doctrine unless it can be backed up by the Bible with two or three witnesses so let’s see what the Bible has to say.
Question Number One.
What day was Jesus Crucified on? Most of the church world teaches that Jesus was crucified on Friday but the Bible points to Wednesday. In John 19:13-14 we read, “When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. (14) And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!” We see here that Jesus was crucified on the preparation day of the Passover and not on the preparation day for the regular weekly Sabbath which was on Saturday. We read in John 19:30” When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (31) The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was a high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. (32) Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. (33) But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:” In this Scripture we see that Jesus was crucified on the preparation day for a HIGH SABBATH. This means that there were two Sabbaths and two preparation days during this week that Jesus was crucified and this rules out the Friday crucifixion. We know from the Scriptures that Saturday was the weekly Sabbath and Friday was the preparation day for it. That would have made the Passover Sabbath (high Sabbath) that year fall on Thursday and the preparation day for the high Sabbath on Wednesday.
Question Number two.
What time of day was Jesus crucified? The Bible is clear that Jesus was crucified at the ninth hour which is around three o’clock in the afternoon. In Matthew 27:45-50 we read “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. (46) And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (47) Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. (48) And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. (49) The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. (50) Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
In Mark 15:33-38 we read the same account by another witness. “And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. (34) And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? Which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (35) And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. (36) And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. (37) And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. (38) And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.”
Again we read in Luke 23:44-46 “And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. (45) And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. (46) And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” This is one area where most of the church world is right on the time of day but they just have the wrong day. As you continue this study you will soon see why this point is so important to what we are studying and why we must know the answer.
Question Number Three.
When was Jesus buried? Here again the Bible makes it very clear with two witnesses that Jesus was buried in the “evening” right before the Sabbath which started at sundown. We read in Matthew 27:57-60 “When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: (58) He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. (59) And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, (60) And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.”
In Luke 15:42-47 we read “And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: (51) (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. (52) This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. (53) And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. (54) And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on.” Here we read that it was on the preparation day and was done as the Sabbath drew on. Sabbaths start at sundown and go to sundown. Matthew said that it was in the evening time.
Question Number Four.
How Long Was Jesus in the Grave? This is perhaps the most important question about this issue. By figuring out how long Jesus was in the grave we can know when He was raised from the dead. This is also the ONLY SIGN that Jesus gave to the world that He was really the Christ. We are doing the world a serious injustice if we miss this one, but God put the answer right in the Bible. The Bible declares in 21 different places that Jesus either was or would be in the grave for three days and three nights which total up to 72 hours. Here are some of the main Scriptures. In Matthew 12:38-40 we read, “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. (39) But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: (40) For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” When a person believes in the traditional “Good Friday-Easter” time frame then they take away the only sign given that Jesus was and is the real deal. This is why we must get this issue right because Jesus is the real deal. Jesus was speaking here in this Scripture and surely all real born again Christians would want to follow what Jesus said regardless of what so called church leaders say.
When they accused Jesus of blasphemy they brought up this issue. In John 2:18-22 we read, “Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? (19) Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. (20) Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? (21) But he spake of the temple of his body. (22) When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.”
One of the strongest witnesses is the fact that the chief priest and Pharisees came to Pilate and wanted him to make sure that nothing happened at Jesus tomb until after the THIRD DAY because they remembered what He had said. We read the account in Matthew 27:62-66. “Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, (63) Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. (64) Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. (65) Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. (66) So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.” Jesus did everything that He did according to the Word and you can I can be assured that He rose from the dead on the third day just like He said. We can all trust in God’s Word.
In I Corinthians 15:3-4 we see that even the apostle Paul received the revelation from the Lord that according to the Scriptures Jesus rose again on the third day. “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
(4) And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” We read the testimony of Matthew, John, Paul, and even Jesus himself that he rose from the dead on the third day. Since God put it down in His Word twenty-one times that Jesus would rise from the dead on the third day, it must be very important. When I printed out all of these twenty-one sets of Scriptures it took up five pages. Those who believe and teach the traditional view of a Good Friday - Easter Sunday time frame are denying five pages of Scriptures that was inspired by the Holy Ghost. It is hard for people to claim that they are following God when people do things like that. Here are several more witnesses to back this up. SEE: Matthew 26:59-61, 27:39-40, 16:20-21, 17:22-23, 20:18-19, 27:62-66, Mark 8:31, 14:57-58, 15:29-30, 9:30-32, 10:32-34, Luke 9:18-22, 12:31-32, 18:31-34, 24:1-9, 24:15-21, 24:44-46, Acts 10:38-43.
Question Number Five.
When was Jesus raised from the dead? Most of the church world teaches that Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday morning and once again they are dead wrong! We have already proven without any shadow of a doubt (according to the Scriptures) that Jesus was crucified on the afternoon around three o’clock on the preparation day before the Passover (high Sabbath) and that day would have been Wednesday. We have shown that (according to the Scriptures) He was buried very late in the evening as the Sabbath drew on. We have shown that in twenty-one different places in the Bible God inspired the writers to tell us that Jesus would be in the grave three days and three nights and that this was the only sign given that Jesus was the real Christ. Since three days and three nights total up to seventy two hours we can do the math and find out when Jesus rose from the dead. Let’s add it up using the traditional Good Friday – Easter Sunday timeframe and see if it meets the qualifications that the Scriptures give. Let’s start with Friday afternoon around three o’clock, and if we go to Saturday at three o’clock that is one day. From Saturday at three o’clock till sunrise Sunday morning would only be around a day and a half which is way short of the hours and days that is required to meet the only sign given that Jesus was the Christ. Since this time frame fails to meet the qualifications set forth in the Word of God it is therefore a lie and false doctrine and should not be taught as truth.
Let’s look at the Wednesday crucification time frame and see if it qualifies as truth according to the Word of God. We will start on Wednesday at evening time (close to dark) and go to evening time on Thursday and that is 24 hours or one day. We move on to Friday at evening time and that is 48 hours or two days. We move on to Saturday (the weekly Sabbath) at evening time and we get 72 hours or three days and nights. It is plain to see that in order for the Bible to be right Jesus would have had to be raised from the dead late in the evening right before dark three days after He was buried. This would have put the Lord being raised from the dead late in the evening time close to dark at the end of the Sabbath which has always been on Saturday. YES, Jesus was raised near the close of the Sabbath, the real Lord’s Day (Matthew 12:8 “For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.”)
Most people just insist that Jesus was raised from the dead at sunrise on Sunday morning because that is all that they have ever heard preached and taught. Surely out of the four Gospels somebody ought to have recorded when Jesus was raised from the dead. Let’s take a closer look at what the Bible really says about when Jesus was raised from the dead. In Matthew 28:1 we read “In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. (2) And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.”
A similar account is recorded in Mark 16:1-6. It reads, “And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. (2) And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. (3) And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? (4) And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. (5) And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. (6) And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.”
In Luke 24:1-6 we read the same thing. “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. (2) And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. (3) And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. (4) And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: (5) And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? (6) He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee.”
In John 20:1 we read, “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.” The honest heart and truth seeker can see clearly from these four different Scripture settings wrote by four different authors inspired by the Holy Ghost that it was Mary Magdalene and others who came to the tomb just before sunrise on the first day of the week (Sunday) but she found the stone had already been rolled back and Jesus was gone! It is hard to be truthful and claim that Jesus arose from the dead at sunrise on what the world calls Easter morning, when the Bible clearly says that they came to the tomb while it was yet dark and found the stone already rolled back and Jesus had already be resurrected earlier. No matter how you add it up, the Good Friday – Easter Sunday time frame and story is not based on the facts found in the Bible.
The problem with teaching and believing in a Good Friday – Easter Sunday morning sunrise resurrection is that it is all full of traditions of men that have in years gone by changed the story to fit their own purposes. The whole celebration and holiday is full of paganism and is not according to the Scriptures. See First Corinthians 15:3-4. Don’t believe the Good Friday – Easter-Sunday LIE! The facts according to the Scriptures are clear. Jesus was not cruificied on Friday and He was not raised from the dead at sunrise on Sunday morning. Jesus Christ was and is our Passover lamb. SEE John 1:29 and First Corinthians 5:7. Easter eggs and bunny rabbits have nothing to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They never have and they never will. They are pagan customs and traditions of men that true Christians are forbidden to partake of. Jeremiah 10:1 “Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: (2) Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.” Jesus is still calling for His people to come out from this world and its false pagan teachings. Will you heed His call today? In Revelation 18:4 the Bibles Pleads with His people to come out from the worldly pagan religious system, lifestyle and teachings and boldly warns the true believers not to partake of her sins. Those that do not take heed to the message will receive of the plagues that will be poured out upon this world in the last days! “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
I plead with you not to take away the only sign given to prove that Jesus was the Christ. It wasn’t the miracles and healings that he did. It was the sign of Jonas found in Matthew 12:38-40. You CANNOT get three days and three nights which is seventy two hours between Friday evening till Sunday morning at daybreak. The whole Good Friday – Easter Sunday celebration is a little bit of truth mixed in with a whole lot of lies based on pagan sun worship (Easter Sunrise Services and Easter Meetings) and pagan fertility rites from thousands of years ago. Shame on parents and so called Christian ministers and churches who keep this lie going by passing it off on innocent children. God help us to get back to the old paths wherein is the good way.
Jeremiah 6:16 “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.”
Bishop Dale Collins
The Way of Faith Holiness Publications
P.O. Box 7
Conway, AR 72033 USA
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