Feasts in the Bible: Why Should They Matter to Christians? Q & A About the Christian Passover. The Role of Processed Foods in the Obesity Epidemic.

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Feasts in the Bible: Why Should They Matter to Christians?

“Leviticus 23 records the “feasts of the Lord.” What are these feasts? Though often dismissed as “Jewish” holidays, are they also relevant to Christians?

God commanded Moses, “The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts” (Leviticus 23:2; emphasis added).

The word feasts in this passage means appointed times, specific observances God has designated as holy, or set apart. Their holiness comes from the tremendous spiritual significance God has attached to each.

These seven biblical feasts build upon one another in meaning and progressively reveal how God will save the world. 

Do you know what they are and what they mean?

1. Passover

As the first of God’s seven annual feasts, Passover sets the stage for every major event to follow. This foundational feast directs our attention to the need for blood to be shed in order for us to be saved from the penalty of death.

It is a feast that commemorates the perfect sacrifice of the Son of God.

• Historical: God devastated the Egyptians by killing all their firstborns, but He spared the Israelites through a sacrificial substitute. Passover was observed annually as a reminder of how the Israelites were saved from death by putting the blood of a lamb on their doorposts (Exodus 12:26-27).
• Fulfillment: The sacrifice of Jesus Christ, “our Passover,” makes entrance into the New Covenant possible (1 Corinthians 5:7; Luke 22:20). Christians are to continue observing this day as a reminder of how the Savior’s sacrifice provides redemption from sins and eternal death (Hebrews 9:12).

To learn more about this biblical feast, read “Passover: What Did Jesus Do for You?”

More at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/blog/feasts-in-the-bible-why-should-they-matter-to-christians/?

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Questions and Answers About the Christian Passover

“This evening, many Christians will gather to observe the New Covenant Passover. This festival may seem mysterious to many. In this blog post, we address six frequently asked questions about the New Testament Passover.”

Transcript of:  https://hubs.la/Q02twqnM0 

“Most Christians believe Passover is a Jewish holiday. But should Christians observe Passover? This post covers this and other questions about the Christian Passover.

If you look at your calendar for March or April, you will probably see “Passover” marked. Most people think of Passover as just a Jewish national holiday that celebrates Israel’s departure from Egypt, as told in the book of Exodus. The Ten Commandments, the 1956 movie starring Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner, is often shown on network TV around this time of year.

This may be the extent of your knowledge about the Passover. It is largely ignored in Christianity, which observes other spring holidays such as Easter, Lent and Good Friday.

(To learn about the problems with Easter, read our article “Is Easter Pagan?”)

But did you know that the Passover is found throughout the Bible—both in the Old Testament and New Testament? So why don’t most Christians celebrate Passover? Should they?

This post will answer some frequently asked questions about the Passover.

Passover Question 1: What does Passover commemorate? Doesn’t it celebrate the Israelites being “passed over” and protected from the 10th plague in Egypt?

Yes, when the Passover was introduced, it commemorated the night God performed the 10th and final plague against ancient Egypt. God caused the firstborn of Egypt to die—a plague that probably took millions of lives throughout the land. God would spare the Israelites from this plague only if they painted lamb’s blood on the doorposts of their dwellings (Exodus 12:7, 12-13).

Throughout their generations, the Israelites were to celebrate the Passover to remember how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. That evening, the Israelites were also instructed to prepare a special meal and get ready to leave Egypt the next day (verses 8-11). God declared this observance was “the LORD’S Passover” (verse 11). He commanded them to observe it as “a memorial,” “a feast to the LORD throughout your generations” and “an everlasting ordinance” (verse 14).

Years later, God reinforced the observance in the formal list of God’s festivals given to Moses: “On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD’S Passover” (Leviticus 23:2, 5).

Throughout their generations, the Israelites were to celebrate the Passover to remember how God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. This was the original meaning of the observance. Jews around the world understand and observe this.

These events are also meaningful for Christians, who are called “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16) and are delivered from the slavery of sin (Romans 6:7). But, as we will see, the Passover holds even deeper significance for Christians today.

Passover Question 2: Did Jesus celebrate Passover?

Yes, Jesus observed the Passover throughout His life.

Luke records that Jesus and His family observed the Passover faithfully: “His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover” (Luke 2:41).

One of the most famous accounts of Jesus’ childhood—when He got separated from His parents and they frantically looked for Him, eventually discovering Him discussing the Bible in the temple—took place just after Jesus and His family had observed the Passover in Jerusalem (verses 42-50).

Jesus observed the Passover up until the day He died—literally. He observed the Passover with His disciples the night He was betrayed and arrested (Matthew 26:2, 17-19; Luke 22:15).

To learn more about the feast days Jesus celebrated throughout His life, read “Hidden in Plain Sight: The Festivals Jesus Celebrated.”

Passover Question 3: Is there a connection between Jesus and the Passover?

Yes, the Bible makes a strong link between the Passover and the death of Jesus Christ. Putting the scriptures together, we see that the events of the first Passover foreshadowed Jesus Christ’s death. Notice the following parallels:

Putting the scriptures together, we see that the events of the first Passover foreshadowed Jesus Christ’s death. The Israelites were in bondage to Egypt (Exodus 1:14). All human beings are in slavery to sin (Romans 6:16-17, 20; 7:23; 2 Peter 2:19).

The Israelites were spared from death that night only through the sign of the Passover lamb’s blood on their doorposts (Exodus 12:22-23). Christians are freed from death only through Jesus’ shed blood as the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29; Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; Hebrews 9:14, 22; 1 Peter 1:19).

As a result of the plague against Egypt and the Israelites’ being spared through the Passover lamb’s blood, Israel was freed from slavery and started a new life by coming out of Egypt (Exodus 12:31-41). As a result of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, Christians can have freedom from the captivity of sin and live a new way of life (Romans 6:4, 6, 18, 22; Ephesians 4:24).

These are just a few of the parallels between the Exodus Passover and Jesus Christ. It is also important to remember that Jesus observed the Passover on the evening before His crucifixion and that His sacrifice occurred on the daylight portion of the Feast of Passover (Matthew 26:18-19).

But perhaps no scripture proves the link better than 1 Corinthians 5:7: “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”

To learn more about the connection between Jesus and the Passover, read “Passover: What Did Jesus Do for You?” and “Why Is Jesus Called the Lamb of God?”

Passover Question 4: Did the early Church observe the Passover?

Yes, the New Testament is very clear that Christians in the early Church observed the Passover.

We must first understand that they didn’t observe it in the same way Israel did in the past. At His last Passover, Jesus Christ instituted new symbols to reflect His sacrifice for sins. These new symbols were a new element He added to the Passover for New Covenant Christians.

We read about the institution of the New Covenant Passover in Matthew 26.

Unleavened bread now symbolized the “body” of Jesus Christ (verse 26).

Wine now symbolized Jesus’ “blood” (verse 28).

Jesus commanded His disciples to “do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). He also instituted a foot-washing ceremony to teach His people the importance of humility and service (John 13:3-15). (To learn more about the meaning behind washing feet, read “What Is the Meaning of John 13:14—“Wash One Another’s Feet”?”)

The Bible shows us that the early Church continued observing the Passover in obedience to Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7-8; 11:23-26). Today, Christians around the world observe the New Testament Passover in March or April (on the 14th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar) to remember and commemorate Jesus Christ’s death and its significance to our lives.

In 2024 the New Covenant Passover ceremony will be observed after the sun sets on April 21 (on the Gregorian calendar). 

You can learn about the dates of the biblical festivals for the next few years at “Festival Calendar.”

The fact that early Christians observed the Passover on the 14th of Nisan is a generally recognized historical fact. Unfortunately, the Roman Church eventually substituted Good Friday and Easter Sunday for the biblical Passover—a change that is still accepted and practiced by the majority of mainstream Christianity today.

To learn more about the change from Passover to Easter, read our article “Christian Festivals.”

Passover Question 5: Isn’t the Christian ceremony of bread and wine called the Lord’s Supper or Communion?

This name, “The Lord’s Supper,” is a common title given to partaking of bread and wine in the Protestant community. Some denominations call this ceremony Eucharist (Greek for “give thanks”) or Communion (Latin for “fellowship” or “sharing”). There is much variance in how these ceremonies are kept. Some keep these ceremonies weekly; some, monthly; some, quarterly; and others, annually.

But none of these names are the biblical name for the ceremony Jesus instituted on the last evening of His life. The Gospels are very clear that He was observing the Passover (Matthew 26:18; Mark 14:14; Luke 22:8).

If you read through each Gospel record of this evening, you will notice that Jesus specifically said He was changing the symbols of the bread and wine—but He never said He was changing the name from Passover to anything else.

The Lord’s Supper? If you search the Bible, you will find the phrase “The Lord’s Supper” is only used once (in 1 Corinthians 11:20). But when you actually read the verse, you may be surprised that the verse is actually saying not to use that title for the observance. “Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper” (verse 20, emphasis added).

The apostle Paul was correcting the Corinthian congregation for not properly keeping the Passover ceremony with reverence and solemnity. These Christians were coming to the Passover and selfishly eating their own food while others went hungry. Some were even getting drunk (verse 21).

So, instead of calling this observance “the Lord’s Supper,” Paul was actually reminding them that it wasn’t! They were to come together to solemnly partake of the bread and wine symbols—not to eat supper (verses 27-29).

Communion? The title “Communion” is taken from 1 Corinthians 10:16: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion [the “fellowship” or “sharing”] of the blood of Christ?” This is not a designation of a title for the event, but a statement that the symbols of bread and wine are necessary to have a relationship, or fellowship, with Jesus Christ. The Passover is necessary for truly knowing and having a relationship with Jesus Christ.

To learn more about the proper name for this important observance, read “The Last Supper or Passover?”

Passover Question 6: How do you observe Passover as a Christian?

As we have seen, the New Testament shows that Jesus Christ instituted new symbols for the Passover on the night He was betrayed and arrested. Those symbols are foot washing, unleavened bread and wine. In order to keep the Passover as a Christian in the 21st century, there are four basic requirements for baptized members of the Church of God:

• Observe it on the same night Jesus observed it, on the anniversary of the night of His betrayal and arrest. That is the evening of the 14th of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. In 2024, that corresponds to the evening after the sun sets on April 21. (April 22 is the daylight portion of the Passover in 2024.)
• Wash the feet of another baptized Christian also observing the Passover.
• Eat a small, broken piece of unleavened bread that symbolizes Christ’s broken and beaten body.
• Drink a sip of red wine that symbolizes Christ’s shed blood.

The ideal way to observe the Passover is with other converted Christians who are partaking of the Passover in a ceremony conducted by a minister of Jesus Christ. 

For more insight on keeping the Passover today, read “Should Christians Celebrate the Passover?”

Finding more answers about the Christian Passover

If you are just learning about the Passover, we hope these answers have been helpful and informative. We encourage you to continue studying the origins of the popular holidays celebrated in the spring (in the northern hemisphere) and the deep meaning of the festivals found in the Bible.”  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/blog/questions-and-answers-about-the-passover/?

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The Role of Processed Foods in the Obesity Epidemic

“The rise in the U.S. calorie supply responsible for the obesity epidemic wasn’t just about more food but a different kind of food.”

Transcript of video at: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-role-of-processed-foods-in-the-obesity-epidemic/?

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“The rise in the number of calories provided the U.S. food supply since the 1970s is more than sufficient to explain the entire obesity epidemic. Similar spikes in calorie surplus were noted in developed countries around the world in parallel with, and presumed primarily responsible for, the expanding waistlines of their populations. By the year 2000, the United States was producing, after taking exports into account, 3,900 calories for every man, woman, and child—nearly twice as much as many people need.

It wasn’t always this way. The number of calories in the food supply actually declined over the first half of the twentieth century, only starting its upward climb to unprecedented heights in the 1970s. The drop in the first half of the century was attributed to the reduction in hard manual labor. The population had decreased energy needs, so they ate decreased energy diets. They didn’t need all the extra calories. But then, the so-called energy balance flipping point occurred, when the “move less, stay lean” phase that existed throughout most of the century turned into the “eat more, gain weight” phase that plagues us to this day. So, what changed?

What happened in the 1970s was a revolution in the food industry. In the 1960s, most food was prepared and cooked in the home. The average “not working” wife spent hours a day cooking and cleaning up after meals. (The husband averaged nine minutes.) But then, a mixed blessing transformation took place. Technological advances in food preservation and packaging enabled manufacturers to mass-prepare and distribute food for ready consumption. The metamorphosis has been compared to what happened a century before in the industrial revolution, with the mass production and supply of manufactured goods. This time they were just mass-producing food. Using new preservatives, artificial flavors, and techniques such as deep freezing and vacuum packaging, food corporations could take advantage of economies of scale to mass produce ready-made, durable, palatable edibles that offer an enormous commercial advantage over fresh and perishable foods.

Think ye of the Twinkie. With enough time and effort, any ambitious cook could create a cream-filled cake, but now they are available around every corner for less than a dollar––or delivered straight to your door for 30 cents! If every time someone wanted a Twinkie, they had to bake it themselves, they’d probably eat a lot less Twinkies. The packaged food sector is now a multi-trillion dollar industry.

Or, consider the humble potato. We’ve long been a nation of potato-eaters, but they were largely baked or boiled. Anyone who’s made fries from scratch knows what a pain it is, with all the peeling, cutting, and splattering. But with sophisticated machinations of mechanization, french fry production became centralized, and could be shipped at -40^o to any fast food deep fat fryer or frozen food section in the country to become America’s favorite vegetable. Nearly all the increase in potato consumption in recent decades has been in the form of french fries and potato chips.

Cigarette production offers a compelling parallel. Up until automated rolling machines were invented, cigarettes had to be rolled by hand. It took 50 workers to produce the number of cigarettes a machine could make in a minute. The price plunged, and production leapt into the billions. Cigarette smoking went from relatively uncommon to almost everywhere. In the 20^th century, the average per capita cigarette consumption rose from 54 a year to 4,345 cigarettes a year by the time of the 1964 Surgeon General’s report. The average American went from smoking about one cigarette a week to a half-pack a day.

Tobacco itself was just as addictive before and after mass marketing. What changed was cheap, easy access. French fries have always been tasty, but they went from being rare, even in restaurants, to omnipresent access around every and each corner (likely next to the gas station where you can get your Twinkies and cigarettes).

The first Twinkie dates back to 1930, though, and Ore-Ida started selling frozen french fries in the 1950s. There has to be more to the story than just technological innovation…which we’ll explore, next.:  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/the-role-of-processed-foods-in-the-obesity-epidemic/?

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LEARN MORE

• Passover: What Did Jesus Do for You?
• Did Jesus Replace the Passover?
• Is the Passover Jewish or Christian?
• Sacrifice of Jesus
• Why Jesus Had to Die
• The Last Supper or Passover?

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How Easter Replaced the Biblical Passover. How Did Passover Become Easter? Does Prevagen Really Work?

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Our church will be having our Passover meal at sundown around 7.30pm on the 22nd. of April.

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How Easter Replaced the Biblical Passover

“Why did Easter replace the Passover?

James Pauls/iStock/Thinkstock

It was easier to draw pagan worshippers into Christianity and maintain their devotion by identifying the time-honored spring resurrection feast of the pagan mystery religions with the resurrection of Christ.

Though Easter was clearly pagan in origin, Christian leaders of the first two centuries after Christ's crucifixion employed the same philosophy in establishing the new holiday that they later applied to Christmas. Believing that people are free to select their own times and customs of worship, they went about gradually replacing the biblically commanded Passover with their humanly devised celebration of Easter.

It was easier to draw pagan worshippers into Christianity and maintain their devotion by identifying the time-honored spring resurrection feast of the pagan mystery religions with the resurrection of Christ.

Anti-Jewish prejudice also seems to have been a major factor in the church leaders' decision to make such changes. According to R.K. Bishop: "The early development of the celebration of Easter and the attendant calendar disputes were largely a result of Christianity's attempt to emancipate itself from Judaism. Sunday had already replaced the Jewish sabbath early in the second century, and despite efforts in Asia Minor to maintain the Jewish passover date of 14 Nisan for Easter [or, rather, the true Passover] (hence the name Quartodecimans [meaning 'Fourteeners']), the Council of Nicaea adopted the annual Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox (March 21)" (Walter Elwell, editor, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 1984, "Easter").

Before A.D. 70, Christianity was "regarded by the Roman government and by the people at large as a branch of the Jewish religion" (Jesse Lyman Hurlbut, The Story of the Christian Church, 1954, p. 34). Christianity and Judaism shared the biblical feast days, although Christians observed them with added meanings introduced by Jesus and the apostles.

However, two Jewish revolts against the Roman Empire, in 64-70 and 132-135, led to widespread persecution of Jews and suppression of Jewish religious practices. Jews were even driven from Jerusalem and forbidden to return on pain of death. As pressure mounted, some Christians began to abandon beliefs and practices perceived as being too Jewish. Over time many abandoned their weekly Sabbath day of rest and worship in favor of worship on Sunday, the pagan day of the sun, and abandoned the Passover in favor of Easter to distance themselves from Jews.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia explains: "Originally both observances [Passover and Easter] were allowed, but gradually it was felt incongruous that Christians should celebrate Easter on a Jewish feast, and unity in celebrating the principal Christian feast was called for" (1967, Vol. 5, p. 8, "Easter Controversy").”  From: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/easter-the-rest-of-the-story/how-easter-replaced-the-biblical-passover

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How Did Passover Become Easter?

“The early New Testament Church didn’t celebrate Easter. Why not—and what changed? Phil Sandilands discusses the shift from Passover (which God commanded) to Easter (which God NEVER commanded). Discover why Passover is still important to God—and why Easter will never be an acceptable replacement. Watch our latest Life, Hope & Truth Presents video program, “How Did Passover Become Easter?” at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/videos/series/life-hope-truth-presents/how-passover-became-easter/

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“I Must by All Means Keep This Coming Feast”

Acts 18:21

[Paul] took leave of them, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.

“As we saw in Acts 20:16, the apostle Paul planned his journeys around the biblical festivals. Here in Acts 18:21 he also explains his need to get to Jerusalem for one of the festivals.

Though it is not explicit about which festival, this passage gives more evidence of the continued importance of God’s festivals to the New Testament Church.

For more about the biblical festivals, see the second half of the free booklet From Holidays to Holy Days: God’s Plan for You.”  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/i-must-by-all-means-keep-this-coming-feast/

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Does Prevagen Really Work?

“Why did the makers of Prevagen settle a class action lawsuit in 2020 with the FTC over deceptive business practices and false advertising? Is Prevagen safe?”

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“Over the last twenty years or so, Big Pharma has invested more than a half trillion dollars into dementia treatment research, but so far to little avail. In light of this, many have turned to supplements. An AARP commissioned survey found that 36 percent of those 74 years and older take a supplement for brain health, to the tune of billions of dollars a year. The most commonly marketed brain supplement was one I’d frankly never heard of before: Prevagen.

Prevagen contains a protein derived from a luminescent jellyfish the company claims “has been clinically shown to improve memory.” According to the company website, “A landmark double-blind and placebo controlled trial demonstrated Prevagen improved short-term memory, learning, and delayed recall over 90 days.” But when you actually pull up the study, not only did Prevagen fail to improve memory, learning, or recall over placebo, it failed to show a significant improvement in any of the nine measured cognitive tasks tested.

As an inquiry into Prevagen published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest was titled, “How Can This Memory Supplement Flunk Its One Trial and Still Be Advertised as Effective?” And not just as effective, but the #1 pharmacist recommended brand. Considering the lack of sound clinical evidence, how is that possible? Presumably, they’re just as blitzed with the same kind of advertising as everyone else.

It’s no surprise the supplement didn’t do anything, since the company’s own studies showed the jellyfish protein was rapidly digested by stomach enzymes. Of course, that didn’t stop them from raking in more than $20 million a year. Claiming the “marketers of Prevagen preyed on the fears of older consumers experiencing age-related memory loss,” the Federal Trade Commission and New York State’s Attorney General filed a consumer protection complaint charging the company with making false and unsubstantiated claims. The AARP weighed in, accusing the company of “deceiving millions of aging Americans.”

In a move straight out of the Big Pharma aducanumab playbook, the company went back and conducted more than 30 post hoc analyses of the data, and found a few positive findings on a few tasks for some subgroups. This cherry-picking of subgroups after the fact is a classic example of manipulation, sometimes called “p-hacking” or “data dredging,” that can be described as “placing a bet on a horse after watching the race.”

The makers of Prevagen settled a class action lawsuit in 2020 with the FTC over deceptive business practices and false advertising. Remarkably, though, the settlement allows them to continue to market it, with the court-approved disclaimer that claims are “based on a clinical study of subgroups of individuals …” But with the amount of slicing and dicing of data they did, the chances of finding at least one false positive was estimated at 80 percent.

Prevagen may be more than just a waste of money. The manufacturer was cited for failing to report more than a thousand adverse events related by consumers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Regulators can’t have it both ways, though. If the jellyfish protein is digested away, how can it pose a safety risk? Because dietary supplements are too often adulterated with contaminants. FDA inspectors specifically cited Prevagen’s manufacturing facilities for “objectionable conditions or practices.”

A 2019 survey by Pew found that more than half believed that the Food and Drug Administration requires supplements be tested for safety, but that isn’t true. One study of 24 supplements sold as cognitive performance boosters found that most claimed an ingredient on the label that wasn’t actually in the supplement. And worse, 38 percent contained ingredients not allowed in supplements, like prohibited drugs. Another study of a dozen so-called “brain health supplements” similarly found 8 out of 12 were misbranded (missing an ingredient promised on the label), and 10 out of 12 were deemed adulterated (containing unlisted compounds, for example caffeine in a product that explicitly highlighted all-caps ‘‘DECAFFEINATED’’ on the label). Only 1 of 12 was certified to contain what it said it did. ​​The bottom line for Prevagen—there is no acceptable evidence that it is effective, and patients should be advised not to take it.”  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/does-prevagen-really-work/?

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Did Jesus Replace the Passover? I’m A Christian, But I Don’t Keep Easter. Are Fortified Children’s Breakfast Cereals Just Candy?

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This is Easter weekend, but Passover isn’t until the end of next month!!  Starts evening of 22nd. April 2024.

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Did Jesus Replace the Passover?

 

“Did the God of the Old Testament do things that Jesus Christ had to clean up? For example, is the Passover outdated and no longer necessary?

Religious writers of a gnostic bent, past and present, frequently mix truth with error. One of their major themes falsely claims that the Creator God was rather “over the hill,” necessitating a youthful, vigorous Jesus to zoom in to repair the damage and rescue human souls.

In his book Primitive Christianity in Crisis, Alan Knight explains the gnostic approach: “Salvation depends on rejecting both the material world and the God that created it. … The wrathful God of the Old Testament cannot be the same as the true spiritual Father” (third edition, pp. 22, 48).

Is the big story plot of the Bible, “Jesus Christ the Savior replaces a fading Creator God”?

Did Jesus scrap the Creator’s work, or did He build on it, adding the finished structure to the foundation God had laid?

Jesus came to reveal the Father, not replace Him (Matthew 11:27; John 5:37). Could it be that Father and Son have been closely collaborating all along? They are on the same page, with the same goals and same objectives, in complete agreement.

As a case in point, consider the biblical story of the Passover, in the Old Testament and the New.

The Old Testament Passover

In Exodus 12 we read of the Passover being revealed to the Israelites. It was to be observed on the 14th day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar. For each household a lamb was slaughtered, a male without blemish. No bones of the lamb were broken. They smeared the Passover lamb’s blood around the doors of their homes as a sign.

God spared the congregation of Israel as He passed over the blood-stained doors in the night and did not send destruction on their firstborn.

The following day, the 15th of the first month, was a holy day, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On that day Israel began leaving Egypt and eating unleavened bread. Israel was finally delivered from their hard bondage in slavery.

Jesus’ New Testament Passover

Some 15 centuries later the Bible records another Passover, this time in the holy city, Jerusalem. Compare this one to that first ancient drama.

1. A key event of the New Testament is the sacrifice of a human male Passover lamb, Jesus Christ. “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
2. Jesus was crucified on the exact same 14th day of the first month, the preparation day before the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a holy day. “Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away” (John 19:31).
3. Jesus’ sacrifice delivered mankind from bondage to sin and death (Romans 8:2).
4. Jesus was without sin, an unblemished sacrifice (1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5).
5. None of His bones were broken. “But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs” (John 19:33).
6. Jesus spared all repentant sinners from eternal death, the consequence of our sins. We have been washed in His own blood (Revelation 1:5). Compare this to how the Israelites were saved from the death of the firstborn.
7. Jesus’ disciples continued to keep the Passover annually to remember His sacrifice and still do even to this day, along with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. “Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8, penned some 20-plus years after Jesus ascended).

Finishing touches?

Did Jesus start a new approach with the nonbiblical holidays of Christmas and Easter? Or did He put the finishing touches on the age-old Passover festival to be observed for all time, precisely as the Father and Jesus planned in exact detail from the very beginning?

• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
• “I and My Father are one,” of one mind and purpose (John 10:30).
• “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42, Jesus prayed this to the Father about His terrible trial that was to commence).

The Bible shows that the first Passover festival of the sacrifice of unblemished lambs back in ancient Egypt was a brilliantly fashioned shadowy precursor of greater things to come centuries later—the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all sins, for all mankind, for all time (Colossians 2:16-17).

For more about Passover, see “Passover: What Did Jesus Do for You?” For more about God and Jesus, check out the section about God. “  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/blog/did-jesus-replace-the-passover/

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I’m a Christian, but I Don’t Keep Easter

“The Bible gives us instructions on how to worship God, Easter is not commanded there, but the Passover is... which will you observe?

Transcript Of video at:  https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/im-a-christian-but-i-dont-keep-easter

[Darris McNeely]

“I'm a Christian but I don't keep Easter. I'm a Christian, and I keep Passover. Now, when I say the word Passover, you may think, "Well, that's Jewish. How can you be a Christian and keep what you consider think to be a Jewish festival Jewish holiday?" Well, very simply, very easily. I read the Scripture, and I understand what it says and I understand what the Passover of the New Testament really is. And I see instruction for me to keep that and I don't see the instruction for Easter, and a lot of other holidays that have been substituted for God's Festivals. But for a moment, let's just focus on the Passover.

As I speak here, at this time, we're just a few weeks away from keeping the Passover, a very important service for a Christian. One who has given their life to God, to Jesus Christ, accepted His sacrifice and are a disciple. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul is writing to a Gentile church in the city of Corinth, and he's giving them instructions about their life, but then also about keeping the Festival of the Days of Unleavened Bread. And in verse 7 of 1 Corinthians 5, he tells them, "Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump since you truly are unleavened." Now, that's a reference to putting out the leaven in anticipation of the seven days of unleavened bread, another festival, and keeping that with the unleavened bread of sincerity of truth. And he says, "For indeed, Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us." Christ, our Passover.

There are many scriptures that talk about the Passover service. There's certainly Old Testament Scriptures that define what it was in the Old Testament. And there are New Testament Scriptures that define what it means in the New Testament under the New Covenant, how Christ kept it, and how the church was instructed to keep it. And this is one of those and it says that Christ is our Passover, sacrificed for us. In the New Testament Passover, we don't kill a lamb. We don't spread its blood on the doorposts as they did back in Exodus, at the time of the Exodus.

We keep the Passover with the symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, but we keep the Passover. We keep the Passover because it points us to Christ who is our Passover. It's something that you should think about if you haven't before because, from the scriptures, we find that Christ is our Passover. And that's what I keep as a Christian. And I hope it will make you think if you're not already doing it, that that's what you should be doing instead of whatever you may be doing to worship God. Doing it this way is the godly way, the biblical way.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/im-a-christian-but-i-dont-keep-easter

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Are Fortified Children’s Breakfast Cereals Just Candy? 

“The industry responds to the charge that breakfast cereals are too sugary.

In 1941, the American Medical Association’s Council on Foods and Nutrition was presented with a new product, Vi-Chocolin, a vitamin-fortified chocolate bar, “offered ostensibly as a specialty product of high nutritive value and of some use in medicine, but in reality intended for promotion to the public as a general purpose confection, a vitaminized candy.” Surely, something like that couldn’t happen today, right? Unfortunately, that’s the sugary cereal industry’s business model.

As I discuss in my video Are Fortified Kids’ Breakfast Cereals Healthy or Just Candy?, nutrients are added to breakfast cereals “as a marketing gimmick to “create an aura of healthfulness…If those nutrients were added to soft drinks or candy, would we encourage kids to consume them more often?” Would we feed our kids Coke and Snickers for breakfast? We might as well spray cotton candy with vitamins, too. As one medical journal editorial read, “Adding vitamins and minerals to sugary cereals…is worse than useless. The subtle message accompanying such products is that it is safe to eat more.”

General Mills’ “Grow up strong with Big G kids’ cereals” ad campaign featured products like Lucky Charms, Trix, and Cocoa Puffs. That’s like the dairy industry promoting ice cream as a way to get your calcium. Kids who eat presweetened breakfast cereals may get more than 20 percent of their daily calories from added sugar, as you can see below and at 1:28 in my video.

Most sugar in the American diet comes from beverages like soda, but breakfast cereals represent the third largest food source of added sugars in the diets of children and adolescents, wedged between candy and ice cream. On a per-serving basis, there is more added sugar in a cereal like Frosted Flakes than there is in frosted chocolate cake, a brownie, or even a frosted donut, as you can see below and at 1:48 in my video.

Kellogg’s and General Mills argue that breakfast cereals only contribute a “relatively small amount” of sugar to the diets of children, less than soda, for example. “This is a perfect example of the social psychology phenomenon of ‘diffusion of responsibility.’ This behavior is analogous to each restaurant in the country arguing that it should not be required to ban smoking because it alone contributes only a tiny fraction to Americans’ exposure to secondhand smoke.” In fact, “each source of added sugar…should be reduced.”

The industry argues that most of their cereals have less than 10 grams of sugar per serving, but when Consumer Reports measured how much cereal youngsters actually poured for themselves, they were found to serve themselves about 50 percent more than the suggested serving size for most of the tested cereals. The average portion of Frosted Flakes they poured for themselves contained 18 grams of sugar, which is 4½ teaspoons or 6 sugar packets’ worth. It’s been estimated that a “child eating one serving per day of a children’s cereal containing the average amount of sugar would consume nearly 1,000 teaspoons of sugar in a year.”

General Mills offers the “Mary Poppins defense,” arguing that those spoonsful of sugar can “help the medicine go down” and explaining that “if sugar is removed from bran cereal, it would have the consistency of sawdust.” As you can see below and at 3:17 in my video, a General Mills representative wrote that the company is presented “with an untenable choice between making our healthful foods unpalatable or refraining from advertising them.” If it can’t add sugar to its cereals, they would be unpalatable? If one has to add sugar to a product to make it edible, that should tell us something. That’s a characteristic of so-called ultra-processed foods, where you have to pack them full of things like sugar, salt, and flavorings “to give flavor to foods that have had their [natural] intrinsic flavors processed out of them and to mask any unpleasant flavors in the final product.”

The president of the Cereal Institute argued that without sugary cereals, kids might not eat breakfast at all. (This is similar to dairy industry arguments that removing chocolate milk from school cafeterias may lead to students “no longer purchasing school lunch.”) He also stressed we must consider the alternatives. As Kellogg’s director of nutrition once put it: “I would suggest that Fruit [sic] Loops as a snack are much better than potato chips or a sweet roll.” You know there’s a problem when the only way to make your product look good is to compare it to Pringles and Cinnabon.

Want a healthier option? Check out my video Which Is a Better Breakfast: Cereal or Oatmeal?.

For more on the effects of sugar on the body and if you like these more politically charged videos see the related posts below.

Finally, for some additional videos on cereal, see Kids’ Breakfast Cereals as Nutritional Façade and Ochratoxin in Breakfast Cereals.

Key Takeaways

• Vi-Chocolin, a vitamin-fortified chocolate bar, was purportedly offered as a product with high nutritive value but was really just vitaminized candy. The sugary cereal industry follows a similar business model.

• The sugary cereal industry has been criticized for adding nutrients to cereals “as a marketing gimmick,” creating an illusion of health benefits.

• Children who consume pre-sweetened breakfast cereals may derive more than 20 percent of their daily calories from added sugar. Breakfast cereals rank as the third-largest food source of added sugars in the diets of kids and adolescents, listed between candy and ice cream. On a per-serving basis, a cereal like Frosted Flakes has more added sugar than a frosted chocolate cake, a brownie, or a frosted donut.

• Kellogg’s and General Mills’ contention that breakfast cereals contribute only a “relatively small amount” of sugar to children’s diets is likened to the social psychology phenomenon of “diffusion of responsibility.”

• Consumer Reports’ findings reveal that children often pour themselves 50 percent more cereal than the suggested serving size. A child eating a single daily serving of kids’ cereal with the average amount of sugar would consume almost a thousand teaspoons of sugar in one year.

• The industry argues it has to add sugar to its cereals to make them palatable, which is a characteristic of ultra-processed foods.  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/blog/are-fortified-childrens-breakfast-cereals-just-candy/?

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Why Did Jesus Stay Around For 40 Days? Christ Offered One Sacrifice for Sins Forever. Cancer-Causing NDMA in Medications and Meat.

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“Q:Why did Jesus stay around for 40 days after He came back from the grave, instead of going immediately into heaven? This came up in our Bible class the other day and no one seemed to have an answer.

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A: One reason Jesus stayed on earth for 40 days after His resurrection instead of ascending immediately into heaven was to demonstrate to His followers that He truly was alive.

After all, they knew the Roman authorities had put Jesus to death, and that His body had been taken down from the cross and sealed in a tomb. And when that happened, they were filled with despair and fear; many even went into hiding. They had believed Jesus was the promised Messiah—and now their hopes were shattered. They had forgotten His promise that He would return from the grave, and they felt they had no future.

But when Jesus appeared among them after the resurrection, their lives were changed. The greatest miracle in all history had just taken place: Jesus Christ was alive! During those 40 days, He appeared to various groups of disciples, proving beyond doubt to them that he had been raised from the dead by the power of God. Over two decades later, the Apostle Paul wrote that “he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living” (1 Corinthians 15:6).

Another reason, however, why Jesus stayed on earth then was to teach His disciples, and prepare them for the task of telling the world about Christ. Is your faith in the risen Christ, and are you seeking to share His message of salvation with others?”  From: https://billygraham.org/answer/why-did-jesus-stay-around-for-40-days-after-he-came-back-from-the-grave-instead-of-going-immediately-into-heaven/

Jesus left His followers with an assignment: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Wondering if that command is still relevant?

MORE STORIES

• Is Jesus the Only Way to Heaven?

• Billy Graham: Would You Have Welcomed Jesus or Rejected Him?

• Will Graham Devotion: When My Grandfather Entered Heaven

• Is It Wrong to Long for Heaven? Billy Graham’s Answer

• What Do You Say to Someone Who Doesn’t Believe in Heaven?

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Christ Offered One Sacrifice for Sins Forever

Hebrews 10:12

“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

 The book of Hebrews shows how the Old Testament sacrificial system was designed to point to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The priests of the tribe of Levi were told to regularly offer animal sacrifices. These sacrifices were to remind the people that sin requires the shedding of blood.

Sin offerings of animals, though a costly reminder of sin, did not remove the sins or the death penalty we each earn by sin. Hebrews 10:4 explains, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” The animal sacrifices were a symbol of the true sacrifice—Jesus Christ.

As the Son of God and Creator, Jesus Christ’s life is worth far more than the lives of all humans who will ever live. His one death more than paid the death penalty for all who will repent and seek forgiveness.

For more about the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ and what our response should be to it, see “What Is Repentance?”

Listen to the "Verse by Verse" episode covering this scripture at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/christ-offered-one-sacrifice-for-sins-forever/?

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Cancer-Causing NDMA in Medications (Zantac, Metformin) and Meat

Transcript of video at: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/cancer-causing-ndma-in-medications-zantac-metformin-and-meat/

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“Billion-dollar drugs pulled from the market for carcinogenic contamination less than that found in a single serving of grilled chicken.

In 2018, one of the bestselling blood pressure drugs, valsartan—sold as Diovan—was found to be contaminated by the “probably carcinogenic” nitrosamine known as N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). It’s believed that approximately 20 million people worldwide were prescribed the drug tainted with this contaminant whose cancer risk has been shown to exceed that of many known potent carcinogens, including asbestos, benzo[a]pyrene, and PCBs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimated that taking the drug for a few years could cause cancer in as many as 1 in 8,000 people, whereas the European equivalent of the FDA estimated the cancer risk could be as high as 1 in 5,000. It is unlikely, researchers wrote in this Spring 2019 paper, that drugs like valsartan are a unique case. And indeed, a few months later, the FDA announced it had found NDMA in ranitidine.

Ranitidine, the acid reflux drug sold as Zantac, is one of the most prescribed drugs on the planet, in addition to being sold over the counter. Give people a single tablet and the amount of NDMA flowing through their bodies jumps up more than a hundred-fold.

Then in 2020, some formulations of metformin, a popular diabetes drug sold as Glucophage, were found to be contaminated. The finding of NDMA in common medicines led the FDA to call for the immediate withdrawal of all Zantac from store shelves, yanking the drug from the market because their testing showed NDMA levels could in some circumstances exceed the acceptable daily intake limit of 96 nanograms per day. It was so bad that the FDA found levels of this carcinogenic contaminant NDMA in Zantac similar to the levels you would expect to be exposed to if you ate grilled or smoked meats!

Wait, what?

NDMA has not only been found in contaminating drugs. It is a known byproduct from pesticide manufacturing, leather tanning, and tire plants, and is found in multiple foods and beverages, including processed meat and beer. Now that we know NDMA can transfer through the placenta, this may explain the relationship between maternal cured meat consumption during pregnancy and the risk of childhood brain tumors. For example, hot dog consumption during pregnancy may increase childhood brain tumor risk by 33 percent or sausage consumption may increase it by 44 percent. Bacon consumption may increase childhood brain tumor odds by 60 or 70 percent. But it’s not just processed meat. Researchers have found it in poultry products as well.

A single serving of chicken contains more than 100 nanograms of NDMA. Remember how the FDA said the acceptable daily intake limit is 96 nanograms per day? Half of a chicken breast contains 110.

Now, raw poultry doesn’t have any; it’s the cooking process. In fact, the dry-heat cooking of meat, like broiling or grilling, even creates airborne NDMA, releasing this very potent carcinogenic compound into the air. So, even if you’re only getting a salad or something in a charcoal grill restaurant, just being indoors where meat is being cooked could pose a significant cancer risk.

These nitrosamines are also found in cigarette smoke, and pressure was put on the tobacco industry to try to remove them, arguing that there is simply no logical reason why a removable carcinogen should be allowed to remain in a consumer product. That’s the same reason Zantac was yanked from store shelves.

Okay, so let me get this straight.

One of the best-selling drugs in history was pulled from the market—a drug that brought in billions of dollars—because it contained a probable carcinogen that exceeded the acceptable daily limit, but there may be more of the contaminant in a single serving of chicken! So, my question is: why aren’t they pulling the poultry off the shelves as well?”  From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/cancer-causing-ndma-in-medications-zantac-metformin-and-meat/

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Do You Feel Lucky Today? St. Patrick's Day. How to Keep Yourself Off the Operating Table.

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Do You Feel Lucky Today?

Photos.com

“Good luck, bad luck, no luck and even luck that can follow you—is this really what controls your future?

Across the globe the seemingly harmless Irish tradition of having to wear green on March 17 so the luck of the Irish will be with you has saturated our society. What's all the fuss over a man called St. Patrick that has resulted in widespread partying and celebration?

Even more widespread is the concept of luck, a seemingly supernatural force that swings the odds of circumstances in people's favor or against them. Is this acceptable from a biblical perspective? Should we be wishing others "Good luck"?

As St. Patrick's Day comes around, it's a good time to take a hard look at luck.

Irish tradition

Throughout the past 1, 500 or so years, traditions have grown, folklore has spread, and "luck" has sprouted in our everyday language. The leprechaun and icons like the color green, the shamrock and the pot o' gold have all come to be associated with the celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

Legend states that St. Patrick used the shamrock or three-leaved clover to explain the Trinity. Its three leaves supposedly represented the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Eventually, the custom was adopted of wearing a shamrock on his feast day. (The Trinity doctrine, however, is unbiblical—for more information, request our free booklet Is God a Trinity?)

A shamrock is different from a four-leaf clover. According to Celtic tradition, when a four-leaf clover is found, it is said to represent God's grace, with the four leaves standing for faith, hope, love and luck.

Ironically, the real Patrick would probably have frowned on the traditions associated with his feast day—as well as the holiday itself.

What's with luck?

Of course, the concept of luck or fortune is not exclusive to Irish tradition. We find it throughout human history and throughout the world today.

We now hear phrases like "good luck with the job interview," or "good luck on that test." While many deem this merely an expression of hoping for the best outcome, not really believing in luck, others take the concept of luck more seriously.

Some things associated with luck seem harmless, like wishing on a star, shooting stars, wishing wells, lucky trinkets or fairies. But there are underlying issues here that need to be raised.

Over the years luck has become like a god in society. Luck seems to decide things like your fate, car accidents, test scores, the job hunt, pay raises or even the answer you'll be given about that date you want to go on this Saturday night. People believe luck controls things and that it provides different opportunities for different people. Decisions are even based on it. Consider that many skyscrapers have no 13th floor—as 13 is considered unlucky.

No luck with the Bible

Looking to the Bible, we find that it gives no credibility to luck. In the first of the Ten Commandments, God states, "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3). The intent of His command here is that nothing is to take a higher priority in our lives than Him! This first command warns us to not accept a religion or philosophy that teaches that our life and well-being originate or depend on anything other than the one true God.

As He often does, God colorfully portrays the utter foolishness of making gods of wood and stone, but the biblical nations of ancient Israel and Judah manufactured as many fake deities as the number of cities in the land of Judah (Jeremiah 2:27-28). "See if they can save you in the time of your trouble!" God taunted them and modern mankind (compare verse 28). Today our peoples still trust in worthless and inanimate things to save us—such as weapons, money and even actual idols by seeing power in crosses, religious statues and good luck charms.

God even laments over His people rejecting Him "and offering food and wine to the gods you call ‘Good Luck' and ‘Fate'" (Isaiah 65:11, Contemporary English Version). Any credit to luck is really a form of idolatry.

No luck at all

Maybe you've heard people say, "I know luck doesn't exist, but good luck anyway!" Perhaps they're conceding that there may be luck after all—or maybe they just don't know how else to wish someone well. They could simply say, "Do well" or "All the best." Or they could look to God, saying, "God be with you" or "God bless you" (yet only if He is truly sought).

After all, true power is with God, not with luck. As the Bible tells us: "Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things … by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing … The Creator of the ends of the earth neither faints nor is weary" (Isaiah 40:26-28).

Using luck in our vocabulary and lives may seem harmless. But God is jealous for His people. He truly loves you and desires the best for your future. It does not please Him when we turn to fables and smooth phrases that announce our dependence on anything but Him. Everything we are and have ultimately comes from God. The only reliable assurance that our future is secure lies in our relationship with our Creator, not some ominous luck, wishes, stars or leprechauns.

God beats luck any day

God wants us to understand that we must never direct our worship toward anything He has created, or regard it as the source of our life and blessings. Worship only the Creator—never the creation. He is the sole miracle-working God who provides blessings, hopes and a promised future of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Rainbows, waterfalls, clovers, stars and the rest of the creation were created for us to enjoy and use as a wonderful and beautiful environment to live in. We don't bow down, pray or make requests to any aspect of the creation.

So where are you placing your trust, faith and hope? That's a vital question for each of us.

God's ultimate plan and desire for us is that we live forever in His eternal family and Kingdom: "Now we are children of God … we know that when He [Jesus Christ] is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2).

That is the purpose for which we have been created! Luck has nothing to do with it! Wishing wells, wishing on a star or making a wish when blowing out birthday candles simply skew and corrupt our relationship with our Creator.

There is one source of blessings. There is one way into the Kingdom of God. There is one sacrifice that removes the penalty of our personal sins. God alone is that true source—not luck!”  From: Do You Feel Lucky Today? | United Church of God (ucg.org)

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St. Patrick & St. Patrick's Day

“Who was this Patrick guy, anyway? Known as the patron saint of Ireland, he's an almost mythological figure in the Christian world, with tall tales of his legendary exploits known far and wide.

Theologian and historian James Moffatt said, “So much legend and fiction has been written about him that one is almost led to believe that there were two individuals—the real Patrick and the fictitious Patrick” ( The Church in Scotland , 1882, p. 140).

There are few hard facts about Patrick’s life, but we can draw some reasonable conclusions from what we do know.

Patrick is credited with establishing the Roman Catholic Church throughout Ireland. But does history match tradition? Moffatt commented, “He should not be placed where certain historians seem determined to assign him … He was in no way connected with the type of Christianity which developed in Italy” (ibid).

As it turns out, Patrick probably wasn’t even Catholic! His belief system was evidently quite different than that of continental Europe.

It’s probable that Patrick even honored God’s seventh day Sabbath! “It seems to have been customary in the Celtic churches of early times, in Ireland as well as Scotland, to keep Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, as a day of rest from labor” (ibid).

Other historical records and Patrick’s own writings reveal him to have been closer to biblical instruction than to traditional Christianity. Part of the Bible’s teaching includes rejecting the use of pagan practices in the worship of the true God (Deuteronomy 12:29-32).

The real Patrick likely wouldn’t even have approved of observing his own namesake holiday! This holiday on March 17 was supposedly to commemorate his death, but that date was in fact the time of the Roman Bacchanalia—celebrating the god of wine and partying. It seems the pagan party goes on in another guise. Bear that in mind when March 17 comes around. Forget the leprechauns, and put God first!” Read the related article “Do You Feel Lucky Today? above.

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How to Keep David Letterman (and yourself) Off the Operating Table

by Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD    March 1, 2011

“Last Friday night Barbara Walters television special highlighted six celebrities and their thoughts and emotions surrounding their open heart surgery.  Barbara Walters, Robin Williams, and Charlie Rose had valve surgery, while President Clinton, Regis Philbin, and David Letterman had bypass surgery for coronary artery disease.  Few would challenge that the stage of illness of these celebrities did not require surgical intervention. The real eye-opener of the show was David Letterman’s remark that he fully expected a second bypass operation in the future.  The sober resignation to an inevitable recurrence is what we must challenge vigorously.

Let’s be clear: coronary artery disease is a food borne illness and need never exist.  If the gifted surgeons identified in the television special had opened their offices in rural China, the Papua Highlands of New Guinea, Central Africa or among the Tarahumara Indians of Northern Mexico, they would need to take on second jobs.  Why all the empty waiting rooms? These cultures have a plant based nutrition no coronary artery disease, and no need for bypass surgeons or stents.

The key to our vascular health is the innermost single layer of endothelial cells which line our blood vessels. Those cells produce nitric oxide molecules, which smooth blood flow, enlarge blood vessels on demand, inhibit inflammation in the blood vessel wall, and most importantly prevent the formation of blockages or plaque.

So how does nitric oxide fail?

Every time we eat a western diet of oils, dairy, meat, fish, poultry, and caffeine in coffee we injure our endothelial cells and deplete our protective level of nitric oxide.  Autopsies of 20 year olds dying of accidents, homicides, and suicides confirm coronary artery disease is now ubiquitous (albeit still in an early stage.)  Continued nutritional insult to endothelial cells leads to plaque blockages, chest pain, heart attacks, strokes, and the need for stents and bypass surgery. Cardiologists agree these procedures are a temporary patch job and have nothing to do with the cause of the disease.

What about cholesterol?  Cholesterol is an innocent bystander in plant based populations with healthy uninjured endothelium and copious amounts of nitric oxide.  Once nitric oxide levels fall with the introduction of the western diet, the endothelial tissues become sticky allowing cholesterol to burrow into the vessel wall, creating plaque buildup and blockages, and impeding blood flow.

Lowering cholesterol is helpful, but the key is to avoid eating foods that further injure the endothelium.  That has been the focus of our counseling goal with patients since 1985.  It is also why we have been able to successfully treat this disease through dietary intervention in hundreds of patients with the technique described in my book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.   With this dietary approach the endothelium can rapidly recover its nitric oxide production, halt disease progression, and often achieve significant disease reversal.  As a result, patients rarely require stents or bypasses.

Note to David Letterman: Your fate is on your fork.

Why don’t physicians offer the plant based nutrition option to their patients?

1.    They are not taught nutrition and are unfamiliar with the efficacy of a plant based approach.
2.    They don’t have time for patient nutritional counseling.
3.    They often lack the skill set for behavioral modification.
4.    Insurance support for counseling is sparse.
5.    The status quo offers a handsome income stream.

The cure for the coronary artery disease epidemic is not a pill, a procedure, or an operation.  The cure is to empower the public with nutritional literacy and to make each individual the locus of control when it comes to protecting their health and vanquishing this food borne illness.

Since the time of Hippocrates there has been a covenant of trust between the physician and the patient. Informing patients of the causes of their disease is a crucial part of that trust. In the case of coronary artery disease, that conversation is not taking place. While stents and bypass surgery may be lifesaving in an emergency, all too often at the first sign of disease, these invasive procedures are employed, with all the associated morbidity and mortality.

We perform 1.2 million stents annually in the United States, with a mortality of 1% and procedural heart attack rate of 4%. This translates to 12,000 deaths  and 48,000 heart attacks every year.  We perform 500,000 bypass operations with a mortality rate of 3% and similar procedural stroke rate.  This totals 15,000 deaths and 15,000 strokes annually.  Over a decade these procedures result in 270,000 deaths, 480,000 heart attacks, and 150,000 strokes.

More than forty years ago brilliant pioneers set the interventional mode of cardiology treatment in motion.  Back then it was all we had.  However, today with an understanding of this disease causation we have the powerful option to halt and prevent this epidemic. This can never happen while symptomatic therapy reaps enormous financial rewards. Change would also be disruptive for powerful institutions.  The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), which subsidizes the animal food industry, constructs a food pyramid for the public every five years laden with nutrition suggestions that further promote, rather than prevent, disease.  The $5 billion stent and $25 billion statin drug industry are hardly anxious to see this epidemic go away.  Few interventional cardiologists or cardiac surgeons are seeking fewer patients.

As heart-warming as Barbara Walters’ television special on celebrity heart surgery was, just imagine a one-hour primetime special devoted to educating the public that coronary artery disease—our number one killer—need never exist and that our fate is in our hands.  Maybe David Letterman could host.”  From: https://www.dresselstyn.com/site/letterman/

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Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Three Days and Three Nights. Increased Lifespan from Beans.

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3 Things You May Not Know About Maundy Thursday and Good Friday

Devout Catholics participate in a Good Friday procession.

“Reflecting on Jesus’ death is sobering. Unfortunately the timing is rarely understood. Do Maundy Thursday and Good Friday fit the timing in the Bible?

Churches will soon be packed with some of their largest attendances of the year. The “CEOs” (Christmas and Easter Only attendees) will make one of their semiannual appearances for Easter, the most holy observance of the year for mainstream Christianity. Good Friday, which occurs two days before Easter Sunday, is also significant as the most solemn occasion because it recalls the crucifixion of Christ.

Most professing Christians understand that Jesus died so our sins can be forgiven. What is not common knowledge is the timing of His death, which has been hidden by the establishment of Easter and its closely related observances of Lent, Palm Sunday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday in lieu of the biblical festivals observed by Jesus, His apostles and the first-century Church.

If you sincerely want to honor Christ at this time of year, you need to know the real story—the one that shows us the correct timing of His death and how to properly commemorate this event.

Doesn’t Christ deserve the respect to have the true, biblical history of His death told and remembered on this sobering occasion?

In that light, here are three important things to know about Maundy Thursday and Good Friday:

1. Of all the man-made holidays, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are the only ones that claim to commemorate something Jesus said to commemorate.

On the evening before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples to keep the Passover as an annual festival “in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25).

In teaching the Corinthians to observe this solemn service, Paul told them that through this memorial they would “proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (verse 26, emphasis added throughout).

Jesus never commanded Christians to celebrate His birth or resurrection. Rather, His instruction was for us to memorialize His death—something that Maundy Thursday and Good Friday actually do attempt to do.

But does that mean you should observe Maundy Thursday and Good Friday?

2. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday aren’t the biblical names of the observance that commemorates Christ’s death.

The terms Maundy Thursday and Good Friday appear nowhere in the Bible. But the Bible does talk about another festival to honor Christ’s death: the Passover.

The New Testament Passover established by Christ Himself includes taking bread and wine. The bread represents His broken body and the wine represents His shed blood (Matthew 26:26-28).

Churches vary in how often they partake of the symbols of bread and wine. Some take these symbols daily, some monthly and some on Maundy Thursday. But the Bible instructs us to observe it only once a year on a specific day (Leviticus 23:5). When we take the Passover symbols of unleavened bread and wine, we annually “proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Observing the Passover is a memorial of Christ’s death. Jesus did not die on many different days throughout the year. He died on only one day, and He observed the Passover on the prescribed evening before the day of His death.

Passover is the annual festival that reminds us of Christ’s death. To learn more about this observance, see “Passover: What Did Jesus Do for You?” and “Questions and Answers About the Passover.”

Download "The Chronology of Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection" infographic.

This chart includes the key events during this momentous week, demonstrating how Jesus’ promise to rise after three days and three nights was fulfilled, proving He is the Messiah.

3. Jesus didn’t die on a Friday.

Today documentation is commonly recorded for births and deaths. While we don’t have these same types of records from the first century giving us the exact day of Christ’s death, the Bible does give us enough details to show that Jesus definitely didn’t die on a Friday.

Let’s begin with the best known facts about Christ’s death. The Bible clearly tells us: “Now after the Sabbath [Saturday], as the first day of the week [Sunday] began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb,” but Jesus was not there because He had risen (Matthew 28:1, 6). So Jesus had already been resurrected by very early Sunday morning.

The next biblical key to note is that Jesus said, “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). We can also note that Jesus died at about 3 p.m., the ninth hour after sunrise, and was buried that evening shortly before the beginning of a Sabbath (Matthew 27:46-50, 57, 62).

People have assumed that the Sabbath mentioned in these verses is a Saturday, leading them to the conclusion that Jesus died on a Friday—hence the name Good Friday. But there is a problem with this timeline. There simply are not three days and three nights between Friday evening and Sunday morning. There aren’t even parts of three days and three nights in this time period between Friday evening and Sunday morning (as some have tried to interpret the three days and three nights).

The biblical fact is, Jesus died on a Wednesday—not on a Friday as many believe. A careful reading of a companion scripture explains this apparent dilemma. John 19:31 tells us that the day Jesus was buried preceded a “high day”—a designation reserved for an annual Sabbath, which could fall on any day of the week and not necessarily Saturday. In fact, Jesus was buried just prior to the beginning of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread—an annual Sabbath.

The weekday timeline that fits the facts we have noted is easily constructed. Jesus observed the Passover with His disciples on Tuesday evening. He was crucified and died on Wednesday, buried near sunset on Wednesday prior to the beginning of the annual Sabbath called the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and resurrected three days and three nights later near sundown on Saturday, the weekly Sabbath. When the women arrived at the tomb early Sunday morning, they discovered that He had already been resurrected.

The fact that there were two Sabbaths during the timeline of Jesus’ burial and resurrection is confirmed by several Bible translations, including the International Standard Version, which translates Matthew 28:1: “After the Sabbaths, around dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to take a look at the burial site.” The annual Sabbath occurred on Thursday that year; the weekly Sabbath, on Saturday.

The biblical fact is, Jesus died on a Wednesday—not on a Friday as many believe. Interestingly when we look at the years for God’s holy days falling on the days of the week indicated by the Scriptures, we find that Jesus died on the 14th day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar in A.D. 31."   From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/blog/3-things-you-may-not-know-about-maundy-thursday-and-good-friday/

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Three Days and Three Nights

Matthew 12:39-40

But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Listen to the "Verse by Verse" episode covering this scripture.

In our Fundamental Beliefs “8. Three Days and Three Nights,” we state, “Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by the Father after His body lay for three days and three nights in the grave. The length of time that He was in the grave was the only sign He gave to prove He was the Messiah.”

Jesus had done many miracles, but still the Pharisees sought “how they might destroy Him” (Matthew 12:14). So Jesus didn’t offer them more miracles as a sign, only this reference to the length of time He would be in the grave.

Strangely, though, most Christians today do not believe that Christ was literally three days and three nights in the grave as He promised, since it is not possible to count three days and three nights between Good Friday afternoon and Easter Sunday morning.

For a detailed explanation of the biblical chronology of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, including a helpful chart, see “Sign of Jonah: Did Jesus Die Good Friday, Rise on Easter?” From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/three-days-and-three-nights/

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Increased Lifespan from Beans

“The intake of legumes—beans, chickpeas, split peas, and lentils—may be the single most important dietary predictor of a long lifespan. But what about concerns about intestinal gas?”

Transcript of video at: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/increased-lifespan-from-beans/

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“Legumes may be “the most important…predictor of survival in older people” from around the globe. They looked at “five [different] cohorts in Japan, Sweden, Greece, and Australia.” And, of all the food factors they looked at, only one was associated with a longer lifespan across the board: legume intake. Whether it was the Japanese eating their soy, the Swedes eating their “brown beans and peas,” or those in the Mediterranean eating “lentils, chickpeas, and white beans,”…”[o]nly for legumes intake was the result plausible, consistent, and statistically significant from [the] data” across all the populations combined. We’re talking an “8% reduction in risk of death for every 20 grams increase in daily legumes intake.” That’s just like two tablespoons’ worth! So, if a can of beans is 250 grams, and you get 8% lower mortality for every 20 grams, maybe, if we eat a can a day, we’ll live forever? Let’s find out!

If you want to increase your lifespan, eat beans. If, however, you’re suicidal, and want to decrease your lifespan, “A bean-free diet” may increase the risk of death.

So, having arrived at the one dietary fountain of youth, what’s the #1 reason people aren’t clamoring for them? Fear of flatulence. So, is that the choice we’re left with? Breaking wind or breaking down? Passing gas or passing on? Turns out that “[p]eople’s concerns about excessive flatulence from eating beans may be exaggerated.”

Add a half-cup of beans every day to people’s diets for months, and what happens? What’s the #1 symptom? Nothing. The vast majority of people experienced no symptoms at all—though a few percent did report increased flatulence. So, it may occur in some individuals. But, “not all people are affected.” Even among those that were, “[s]eventy percent or more of the participants who experienced flatulence felt that it dissipated [no pun intended] by the second or third week of bean consumption”. So, we’ve just got to stick to it.

And, you know, a small percentage reported increased flatulence on the control diet without any beans. People have preconceived notions about beans, such that “just the expectation of flatulence from eating beans may influence their perceptions of having gas.” They didn’t actually measure farts in this study; they just asked people what their perception of the amount of gas they had was. And, we know from previous studies that you give someone a product labeled to contain something that may cause intestinal distress, and it causes more intestinal distress whether it actually contains the ingredient or not. In other words, “just thinking they were eating [it] caused digestive distress, or the perception of it, to a proportion of persons.”

So, people thinking beans are going to cause gas may just be more likely to notice the gas they normally have. Either way, it tends to go away; “after a few weeks of daily bean consumption, people perceive that flatulence occurrence returns to normal levels.”

In this other study, where they added more than a half a cup of kidney beans to people’s daily diets, the research subjects reported that the discomfort they initially felt within the first day or two of adding beans “quickly disappeared.” So, again, stick with it.

Bottom line (no pun intended!): “An increasing body of research and the [latest] Dietary Guidelines…supports the benefits of a plant-based diet, and legumes specifically, in the reduction of chronic disease risks.” In some people it “may result in more flatulence initially.” However, doctors should emphasize that it “will decrease over time” if we just keep it up.

And, “the nutritional attributes of beans in the diet outweighs the potential for transitory discomfort. The long-term health benefits of bean consumption are great.” And, indeed, eating beans in the long term may make your term—on Earth—even longer.” From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/increased-lifespan-from-beans/

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