Discover the Truth about Easter. Passover. The Resurrection. RAF. Quake/Tsunami. Smoke Ads Banned.

For "Scripture Sunday":

"What do colored eggs, baskets, bonnets and sunrise services have to do with the Bible?   Nothing!   Discover the truth about Easter."

If you wish to see more, here is the unabridged version:

"Have you been deceived about long-held and highly-valued Christian beliefs and traditions? Learn the real truth about Easter!"  How long was Jesus in the grave?

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Washed By The Word.

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"Christ and the apostles observed God's annual Holy Days, and they are to be kept by Christians today. If you are not aware of His plan and these milestones, you need to spend less time following tradition and more time thinking about God's Holy Days."

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The True Origin of Easter

"Easter is a worldwide tradition involving many customs that people believe to be Christian. What is the origin of Lent and sunrise services? How did rabbits, eggs and hot cross buns become associated with Christ’s Resurrection? Is Easter mentioned in the Bible? Did the apostles and early Church keep it? The answers will shock you!

Most people follow along as they have been taught, assuming that what they believe and do is right. They take their beliefs for granted. Most do not take time to prove why they do the things that they do."

 

Why do you believe what you believe? Where did you get your beliefs? Is the source of your religious beliefs the Bible—or some other authority? If you say the Bible, are you sure?

What about Easter? Since hundreds of millions keep it, supposedly in honor of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection, then certainly the Bible must have much to say about it. Surely there are numerous verses mentioning rabbits, eggs and egg hunts, baskets of candy, hot cross buns, Lent, Good Friday and sunrise services—not to mention Easter itself.

The Bible is the source for all things Christian. Does it mention Easter? Yes.

Notice Acts 12:1. King Herod began to persecute the Church, culminating in the brutal death of the apostle James by sword. This pleased the Jews so much that the apostle Peter was also taken prisoner by Herod. The plan was to later deliver him to the Jews. Verse 3 says, “Then were the days of unleavened bread.” The New Testament Church was observing these feast days described in Leviticus 23. Now read verse 4: “And when he [Herod] had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions [sixteen] of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.”

Is this Bible authority for Easter?

This passage is not talking about Easter. How do we know? The word translated Easter is the Greek word pascha (derived from the Hebrew word pesach; there is no original Greek word for Passover), and it has only one meaning. It always means Passover—it can never mean Easter! For this reason, we find a Hebrew word used in the Greek New Testament. Once again, this Hebrew word can only refer to Passover. And other translations, including the Revised Standard Version, correctly render this word Passover.

Instead of endorsing Easter, this verse really proves that the Church was still observing the supposedly Jewish Passover ten years after the death of Christ!" More at: http://rcg.org/books/ttooe.html

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3 Days & 3 Nights: Bible study on when Jesus actually died & arose. Tradition says Good Friday but..

"Christ was laid in the tomb in a hurry, as sunset (the beginning of the Holy Day) was approaching. Without the time to purchase, prepare and apply embalming spices, the women rested through the Holy Day-during which time the markets were closed. The next day, they made their purchases and preparations, resting from their labors again on the weekly Sabbath. That's three full days and three full nights.

Early on the first day of the week, before dawn, they went to the tomb to apply the embalming mixture. They discovered that Christ was already resurrected. The only plausible time line for the events of the crucifixion week is that Christ was in the grave three full days and three full nights, from late on a Wednesday until late on a Saturday.

Now, use Christ's promise that He would be in the grave for the same length of time that Jonah was in the belly of the great fish in conjunction with this historical record. What is the correct way to understand "three days and three nights" in both Matthew 12:40 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.See All...    and Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.See All...?   It means three literal days and three literal nights-72 full hours."

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Passover

Passover 2012 - April 6, 2012 (observed evening before)

"For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).  Keeping the Passover each year reminds us that God is the forgiver of sin who grants us eternal life in His Kingdom through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Passover. This observance is a memorial of our Creator's continuing role in humanity's salvation."

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This morning's program on WGN:

Transcript at: http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-program/doctrinal-beliefs/christs-resurrection-our-hope-life

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On This Day:

British Royal Air Force is founded, Apr 1, 1918:

"On April 1, 1918, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) is formed as an amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The RAF took its place beside the British navy and army as a separate military service with its own ministry.

In April 1911, eight years after the American brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first-ever flight of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft, an air battalion of the British army's Royal Engineers was formed at Larkhill in Wiltshire. The battalion consisted of aircraft, airship, balloon and man-carrying kite companies. In December 1911, the British navy formed the Royal Naval Flying School at Eastchurch, Kent. The following May, both were absorbed into the newly created Royal Flying Corps, which established a new flying school at Upavon, Wiltshire, and formed new airplane squadrons. In July 1914 the specialized requirements of the navy led to the creation of RNAS.

Barely more than a month later, on August 4, Britain declared war on Germany and entered World War I. At the time, the RFC had 84 aircraft, while the RNAS had 71 aircraft and seven airships. Later that month, four RFC squadrons were deployed to France to support the British Expeditionary Force. During the next two years, Germany took the lead in air strategy with technologies like the zeppelin airship and the manual machine gun. England's towns and cities subsequently underwent damaging bombing raids and its pilots were defeated in the skies by German flying aces such as Manfred von Richthofen, dubbed The Red Baron.

Repeated German air raids led British military planners to push for the creation of a separate air ministry, which would carry out strategic bombing against Germany. On April 1, 1918, as a result of these efforts, the RAF was formed, along with a female branch of the service, the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF).

By the war's end in November 1918, the RAF had dropped 5,500 tons of bombs and claimed 2,953 enemy aircraft destroyed, gaining clear air superiority along the Western Front and contributing to the Allied victory over Germany and the other Central Powers. It had also become the largest air force in the world at the time, with some 300,000 officers and airmen—plus 25,000 members of the WRAF (Women's Royal Air Force)—and more than 22,000 aircraft."

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Alaskan earthquake triggers massive tsunami, Apr 1, 1946:

"On this day in 1946, an undersea earthquake off the Alaskan coast triggers a massive tsunami that kills 159 people in Hawaii. In the middle of the night, 13,000 feet beneath the ocean surface, a 7.4-magnitude tremor was recorded in the North Pacific. (The nearest land was Unimak Island, part of the Aleutian chain.) The quake triggered devastating tidal waves throughout the Pacific, particularly in Hawaii.

Unimak Island was hit by the tsunami shortly after the quake. An enormous wave estimated at nearly 100 feet high crashed onto the shore. A lighthouse located 30 feet above sea level, where five people lived, was smashed to pieces by the wave; all five were killed instantly. Meanwhile, the wave was heading toward the southern Pacific at 500 miles per hour.

In Hawaii, 2,400 miles south of the quake's epicenter, Captain Wickland of the United States Navy was the first to spot the coming wave at about 7 a.m., four-and-a-half hours after the quake. His position on the bridge of a ship, 46 feet above sea level, put him at eye level with a "monster wave" that he described as two miles long.

As the first wave came in and receded, the water in Hawaii's Hilo Bay seemed to disappear. Boats were left on the sea floor next to flopping fish. Then, the massive tsunami struck. In the city of Hilo, a 32-foot wave devastated the town, completely destroying almost a third of the city. The bridge crossing the Wailuku River was picked up by the wave and pushed 300 feet away. In Hilo, 96 people lost their lives.

On other parts of the island of Hawaii, waves reached as high as 60 feet. A schoolhouse in Laupahoehoe was crushed by the tsunami, killing the teacher and 25 students inside. The massive wave was seen as far away as Chile, where, 18 hours after the quake near Alaska, unusually large waves crashed ashore. There were no casualties.

This tsunami prompted the U.S. to establish the Seismic SeaWave Warning System two years later. The system, now known as the Pacific Tsunami Warning System, uses undersea buoys throughout the ocean, in combination with seismic-activity detectors, to find possible killer waves. The warning system was used for the first time on November 4, 1952. That day, an evacuation was successfully carried out, but the expected wave never materialized."

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Nixon signs legislation banning cigarette ads on TV and radio, Apr 1, 1970:

"On this day in 1970, President Richard Nixon signs legislation officially banning cigarette ads on television and radio. Nixon, who was an avid pipe smoker, indulging in as many as eight bowls a day, supported the legislation at the increasing insistence of public health advocates."

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Yesterday:

After posting yesterday's journal, then tending to my animals, and after my daughter and I had our long Saturday morning phone natter, I was searching the internet.  There I found a church which had services about 15 miles from here. That is quite a bit closer than Huntsville (TX), where we had been going.  But the service started in an hours time at 11.00AM, and I wasn't even dressed!   It was a rest day, after all!  I quickly bathed, washed my hair, dressed and sped along the curvy cross-country roads to the outskirts of Groceville, on FM 1484.  Yes, Dizzy-Dick, it's in your neck of the woods!  Bible study had started at 9.30 AM, but I didn't even know that congregation was there at that time.

This is a much larger congregation than Huntsville, so it didn't feel quite so personal, but everyone was friendly and it was an enjoyable message, though shorter than the messages at Huntsville.  One thing I missed though, was that instead of looking up the quoted Bible verses in your own Bible, they show them on a big screen.  I like to look things up myself, so I did, most of the time.  There were three guitarists and a lady singer to accompany the members singing the songs of praise. 

According to their site, they have many other activities, including a once a month visit a local nursing home to sing and worship with the residents.  Also they have a very active youth group.  When I called Jay to tell him about it, he wants to go with me next week, and maybe his mother, too.

It was a lot warmer, and I had to run the AC in the van on the way home, especially after I had stopped at Kroger's to buy the coffee I forgot the other day.