Q.Why is Easter before Passover this year

A.This is a perfect example of how Christianity has
departed from the Word of God and follows man-made
traditions. Constantine presided over the Council of
Nicea in 325 A.D. He did not want Christianity to have
anything to do with Judaism because he thought the
Jews were a cursed people and Christians should have
nothing to do with them or their religion. Little did
he realize that the festivals were given by God and
were His holy days, but Constantine didn't let truth
get in his way. Sadly, many professing Christians
believe the same thing and blindly follow along.

Among
many other changes, Constantine wanted to "root out
the last vestiges of Judaism"( his actual quote) being
practiced by professing Christians. One of the items
being discussed at this council was when to set
Easter. Now, God had set biblical festivals in the
Scriptures and they can be found in Leviticus 23.
Yeshua was crucified on Passover, buried on the first
day of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of First Fruits
was to be on the first day of the week during the
seven days of Unleavened Bread. He resurrected from
the dead just after sundown on the Sabbath and the
beginning of the first day of the week (Saturday to
Sunday).

The biblical festivals are blueprints to
God's plan of redemption. The 7th day Sabbath and
these seven festivals teach eschatology and Yeshua has
fulfilled( given meaning to) the first four biblical
festivals on the day God has commanded us to celebrate
them. These are called the Spring Festivals. The
remaining three are called the Fall Festivals and
have a future fulfillment and they are also related to
the redemptive plan of God. Yom Tereuah, or Rosh Ha
Shana teaches the catching away of the Bride and the
resurrection of those dead in Messiah. It also teaches
the Judgment of believers (in heaven) and the wedding
and coronation of Messiah. These festivals have been
commented on in past articles.

The next festival is
Yom Kippur and it teaches the second coming of
Messiah, the death of the false Messiah and the
beginning of the judgment of those who have survived
the tribulation period. There are five days between
Yom Kippur and the next festival it is during these
five days that Yeshua will judge those survivors in
Jerusalem. This judgment is described in Matthew 25.
Then five days after Yom Kippur the final festival is
called Sukkot (tabernacles) and this festival teaches
the Messianic Kingdom and the setting up of that
Kingdom on earth by Yeshua, to be administered by His
Queen, the true believers who have been born-again and
have followed Him in this life.

With that brief
overview, we can get back to what happened.The Romans
didn't like the Jews and this goes back centuries
before Constantine. Julius Caesar allowed the Jews to
practice Judaism in the empire when other defeated
nations were not allowed to practice theirs. This
brought on jealousy among the people and an
anti-Jewish attitude. Their laws and practices were
far diferent than any other religion also, but all
that was a part of God's plan. From 70 A.D. to 325
A.D. three major wars were fought between Rome and
Israel. Many lost loved ones and anything Jewish was
seen as unpatriotic as far as the Romans were
concerned. At the same time Gentiles were coming into
the faith and did not like the idea of practicing a
religion so many didn't like or even want to
understand. Jewish leadership and influence became
less and less in the congregations the further you got
way from Israel. This allowed pagan influences to
cloud interpretation of the Scriptures because these
people had not grown up in the faith practiced by the
very people they were reading about. So, tiny changes
began to creep into the one, true faith given by God
and then the Gentile voice became louder than the
Jewish voice, one change upon another till finally
something had to be done.

The epistles are full of
admonitions to believers to continue in the Torah as
delivered by the apostles which centered on Torah
observance with Yeshua at the center and not the
rabbinic additions that were also being taught. So the
Messianic believer was being influenced by rabbinic
traditions on one side and apostate Gentile influences
on the other. This continued until 325 A.D.
Constantine was pragmatic and a politician and he knew
all these religious factions were tearing apart the
Empire. You had Gentile Christianity, Saturnalia,
Bacchanalia, plain paganism, Mithraism to name just a
few. Apostate Christianity was stronger than most so
he called a council to get these groups together on
doctrines and creeds. What he did not want is anything
that resembled Judaism at all. One of the areas
discussed was what festivals were to be observed.
Constantine was a sun-worshipper at the time he
presided over this council.

He was the high priest of
Mithraism called the "pontifus maximus" (sound
familiar?)and he favored things that was "mithraic" in
nature. You can do a Google search on Constantine and
Mithraism to find the full story, but he wanted the
Jewish roots out and fast. I think it is very sad that
Christianity claims to have Jewish roots when in fact
the church fathers condemned anything Jewish and tried
to stamp it out by changing everything. This attitude
is alive and well even today, believe me.
Christianity's roots are more Mithraic paganism than
Jewish. But, to answer your question now, Constantine
did not want their "Easter" (look up what that name
means) to coincide with the Jewish Passover for all
the above reasons. So, they decided to set Easter for
the first Sunday (remember he was a sun-worshipper)
after the first full moon after the spring equinox.

They changed God's seventh day Sabbath (Saturday) to
the first day of the week ( called Sunday) because
Constantine worshipped the sun and that became the
"Lord's Day" and they did not want to keep the same
Sabbath Day the cursed Jews were keeping. Little did
they realize that this day was designated by God
Himself, not the Jews. Easter was the same way and
Constantine got his wish and so did the other church
fathers and so their Easter would have nothing in
common with the Jewish Passover, including the date
and that is what has been practiced by Christians ever
since.This council evolved into the Roman Catholic
Church and then the protestant churches came out of
that. But, the protestants follow many of the same
apostate beliefs and have more in common with each
other than differences. Few probably even noticed or
cared that they had they celebrated the resurrection
before the Passover this year, but at least now you
know why.

Q. In your articles you mention the New Covenant but it seems different then what is taught in Christianity. What is the New Covenant then?- Gary

A. You are right in noticing that the biblical concept of the New Covenant, or “testament” is different than what is generally taught in churches or Messianic synagogues. To understand I will go back and try to show what it is and then you will see what it isn’t. The New Covenant in Hebrew is called the “brit chadasha” which means a renewed or rebuilt covenant. When God gave the Torah on Mt. Sinai the people agreed to keep the commandments, ordinances, testimonies and judgments contained in it ( Ex 19.8). God wrote his 10 commandments on stone and gave the rest to Moses to record on scrolls. This covenant was ratified in blood (Exo 24.1-18) because a covenant is not considered legal or binding unless it is ratified in blood. In Deut 10.16 the Lord told the Israelites to circumcise their own hearts and obey Him. Well, the people didn’t obey and we know what happened to them in the wilderness. Now, here is a point that is largely overlooked in Christianity but it is important in understanding what the Renewed Covenant is. In the Mosaic Covenant the people were to circumcise their own hearts, but you can’t and they failed. Paul brings this point out in Hebrews 8.8 and said God found fault with the people. The covenant is perfect, righteous, holy and good (Rom 7.12) so he wasn’t talking about the Torah. He was saying the people were corrupt. So, God makes another covenant in Deut 29.1-30.14 called the Moabite covenant (that’s where it was made-Moab means “of the father”), besides or along side of the Mosaic Covenant not invalidating it, where He says that He will circumcise the hearts of the people giving them the desire to keep His commandmants (30.6). Jeremiah picks up on this theme of a renewed covenant in Jeremiah 31.31-34 where he says that the Torah (Mosaic covenant)will be written on the hearts of the people. He doesn’t say it will be a new law, but a new place for the same law. Instead of stone it will be written on the heart, giving them the desire to keep the commandments. This is known in Jewish thought as being “born again” or “rebuilt” (chadash)as in the covenant being rebuilt, renewed in our hearts. Ezekiel mentions this covenant in Eze 36. 24-27 where the Spirit will be within us causing us to walk in His commandments. That is another way of saying being born again. Yeshua said the same thing in John 3.1-21. Paul is contrasting the Law written on stones with the Law written on the heart in Hebrews 8. He said it is better to have the Lord circumcise our hearts (Spirit coming within and being born again) than to have it written on stone. He says the same thing in 2 Cor 3.6-7. The Law written on stone didn’t do anything because it wasn’t in the heart and it lead to death. The New Covenant promises that God will circumcise our hearts because we have life ( the Spirit=born again) and that is why it is better. Paul is contrasting the Mosaic covenant written on stone(which didn’t work out to well) with the Moabite, or renewed covenant, that is written by the Spirit on the heart. That’s why the Law kills but the Spirit gives life (Jn 3.5). Notice in Chapter 8 of Hebrews he doesn’t say it is a new “law” being written because the fault was not with the Law but with the people (8.8). He then quotes Jeremiah 31.31-34. This proves that the Law being talked about is the Mosaic Law because that is the Law Jeremiah had in mind when he wrote it. Paul merely says that the main difference between the Mosaic covenant and the Moabite/New covenant is not the content (the Torah) but where it was to be written. That can only be done by being born again by the Spirit of God. There is one Law for Jew and Gentile(Num 15.14-16) with the Gentile being grafted into the commonwealth of Israel (Rom 11.16-24, Eph 2.11-22). Some groups in Messianic Judaism teach that the Torah is only for Jews and Gentiles don’t have to keep it, but that is not true and is not supported by Scripture. God writes His Law on the heart, He doesn’t care if it is a Jewish heart or not. Remember there were Gentiles present at Mt. Sinai and He repeatedly said these commandments applied to them as well. Ruth followed the God of Israel and His commandments and said so. There weren’t separate laws for Jew and Gentile. You followed the Torah as it applied to you. Sabbath, festivals, sacrifices and other laws applied to everyone. Laws concerning the priesthood, or kings, only applied to those of priestly and kingly descent although everyone had to know them. One of the biggest organizations in the Messianic movement is called the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations and they don’t believe the Torah applies to Gentiles. Many Gentiles go to their synagogues and support them without realizing they are being lied to. They will tell you that a Gentile can keep the Torah if he wants to show his love for the Jewish people but they don’t have to because that is not the Gentile’s culture. Deep down they really wish they wouldn’t. It’s based on what is called covenantal covetousness that Jews have had for centuries and is still alive today. You see it in the book of Acts and it was at the root of the problem in Acts 15. They just did not like Gentiles keeping the Torah unless they were circumcised (converted to Judaism). They will take Gentile money, however. I know many Gentile people who go to UMJC synagogues that have no idea what they really believe and it is racist at its core. They are rebuilding the walls of man’s tradition that separated the Jew and Gentile in the first century. These synagogues are just churches with a kippah and a prayer shawl. They know that Jewish people will not accept the church so they come as wolves in sheep’s clothing (talit’s are made of wool by the way) and they present the Gentile/replacement gospel in a Jewish context to win Jews. I know of a leader of this organization who said their calling is not to teach the Torah to Gentiles. I’m sorry, but that is exactly the calling of the Jewish people. I personally know some of the leaders and have dealt with them before so this isn’t just an opinion. They get this idea from Christian theology about what the New covenant is because a lot of them were trained in Christian Seminaries. So, they keep the Gentiles at arm’s length by telling them that the Law doesn’t apply to them and then give them another lie about the so-called Seven Noahide laws. These are rabbinic concoctions that state that Jews keep the Torah and Gentiles these seven laws. In that way, the Jew can be on one side of the fence and the Gentile on the other side. So, now you have the dividing wall of partition rebuilt again by man-made tradition. All of these beliefs stem from a basic misunderstanding of what the New, or renewed, covenant really is. So, here it is in a nutshell. The Mosaic covenant was given but the people did not circumcise themselves and became stiff-necked. God makes another covenant in Moab before they enter the land, only this time He says that He will circumcise their hearts, giving them the desire to keep the commandments. Yeshua comes and ratifies this covenant with his own blood after the resurrection (Jn 7.39), the Holy Spirit now comes upon us and we are born again. As an evidence that we have truly been born again, we have a desire to keep His commandments. This is because the Torah is being written on our desires (hearts) now. If one opposes the commandments and says he doesn’t have to obey them because of some freakish theology foreign to the Scriptures, he probably isn’t born again. He can go to church or synagogue, sing, dance ,pray, work miracles, cast out demons but none of these are evidence he is born again (Mt 7.21-23). There is only one biblical evidence for being born again and that is obeying the Lord according to what He has written. When one comes in faith he keeps the commandments as they apply to him (1Cor 7.18-20).

Q. Where do you think the Garden of Eden was?

A. I will give my opinion on it and some reasons why
but there is no way to get into a detailed study of it
in this article, but you can go to the Internet and do
some research on it. There are several sites offered
by many good scholars but I believe that the Garden of
Eden was in Jerusalem and the Land of Eden was Israel
and parts of Lebanon. Here are some reasons why but I
can't get into massive details here. First of all,
directions in the Bible are always from Jerusalem or
the land itself. So, when God says that He drove Adam
"east" it is from the future site of Jerusalem. Have
you ever asked yourself why that city and that land is
so special to the Lord? Now east of Jerusalem is one
of the oldest cities in the world called Jericho.
North of Jericho is a city called Adam and it was
where he lived according to some Jewish and Arabic
histories and traditions. Jewish tradition has Adam
and Eve buried in the cave at Machpelah, which is the
same cave Abraham bought and where the patriarchs are
buried, except for Joseph. God considers Israel His
land, set apart for His people. Ever wonder why He
drives His people out of the land when they don't obey
his commandments? Because He did the same thing to
Adam and Eve when they disebeyed! The Mishkan(or
Tabernacle) was seen as a miniature "Garden of Eden"
and later was replaced by the Temple of Solomon. But
they could not put the Temple just anywhere, it had to
be in a specific area and the place was eventually
shown to Samuel and David. But David could not build
the Temple because he was a "man of blood" and so his
son Solomon (peace) would build it. The reason is
simple. The Temple was going to be on the actual site
of the Tree of Life and a man of death could not
restore it. It was sin that resulted in death that
caused man to be driven from the site of the Tree of
Lifein the first place, so a man of peace was the only
one who could restore it. He is obviously a picture of
Yeshua who will build the Temple seen by the Prophet
Ezekiel (Ch 40-48). Solomon was shown the pattern for
the Temple. Now when you read about what he built you
will see that the Holy of Holies made with a garden
motif.There were trees and pomegranates everywhere. He
also built two 14 ft. Cherubim that stood in the Holy
of Holies to guard the Tree of Life and no man could
get near that spot except one time a year, on the
tenth day of Tishri, called the Yom Kippur. Many
believe it was on the tenth of Tishri that Adam sinned
and it became an idiom for Yom Kippur to this day.
That's why God allowed the High Priest to approach the
Tree of Life one day only. Was it because it was on
that day Adam sinned, and the second Adam (symbolized
by the High Priest) must make atonement?
Ever wonder why the Middle East has so much oil? Could
it be because of the compressed vegetation from Eden?
Eden was not a small place originally. In the Book of
Revelation we see the restored Eden, called the New
Jerusalem, coming out of Heaven having a length and
width of 1500 miles. God drove Adam out of the Garden
area east, and if you go to Jerusalem today and travel
just east of the city you come to the Judean
wilderness. Jerusalem and it's surroundings are green
and was very luxurious anciently, but going east of
the city it became desolate and seemingly "cursed" and
a stark contrast to the city, just like what God told
Adam. In Ezekiel 28.13-14 it talks about Eden being
the "garden" and "mountain of God" and that seems to
point to Mt. Moriah. Another name for Mt. Moriah is
"Har- Moghed or "Har magedon" which means "mount of
the appointed times" (Isa 14.13, Rev 16.16). Where did
God go to "meet" Adam every day? That's right, on that
mount where the Temple would stand. You see, the
battle that raged in the garden is still the battle
today. Are you going to keep the Lord's appointed
times found in the Torah (festivals, Sabbath) or are
you going to replace them with a satanic counterfeit
like Christmas and Easter (notice there is "east"
again). The battle of Armageddon is over whether or
not one is going to obey God and His Torah. If not,
you will not have a place on His Holy mountain, the
site of the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life.
Ezekiel describes a river that will once again flow
from beneath the Temple (Garden) just like it did in
Genesis 2.10. Now remember, Yeshua was crucified on
Mt. Moriah and probably very near the spot where Adam
originally sinned. Remember it was from a forbidden
(by God) tree that he ate from and it is possible that
that tree was just north of the Tree of Life in the
Garden of Eden. That's why Yeshua was crucified on a
tree, north of the Holy of Holies (the original site
of the Tree of Life)and near a garden, on the spot
where Adam may have sinned so long ago. Now, since the
goal of the plan of God is the restoration of all
things, it would seem to be in the order of all things
to restore the Tree of Life back in it's proper place.
Noah's flood changed the topography of the area and so
it would be impossible to actually locate the Garden,
the Tree of Life and how the rivers interacted today,
but I believe the Lord has given us plenty of signs as
to where it may have been. When we see the roles that
the Land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem and Mount
Moriah has played in Bible prophecy and in the
redemption of mankind, I believe that gives us a
strong indication as to where the Garden of Eden
really was. But that is my opinion on it for what it's
worth. That's one of those questions I'm still working on.

Q. In Revelation 5.1 there is a scroll with seven seals that only Yeshua will be able to open. Is this scroll the Bible ?

A. Yes, the scroll sealed with seven seals is the Scriptures. A King is to have a copy of the Torah in his possession at all times. It is to be written himself and used to carry out righteous judgment. Revelation 4 describes the coronation of Yeshua and as a good Jewish King, He will have a written copy of the Scriptures for Himself and it is these Scriptures that He uses to dispense judgment during the Tribulation and to govern Israel and the nations during the Kingdom. Some of the prophetic scriptures are sealed until the last days and then they will be revealed then (Dan 12.4) and that is what is going on in Revelation. The number seven relates to perfection and completion and the scroll is written in the inside (meaning there is some understanding to the prophecies), and on the back (meaning there are other things hidden about the prophecies). The Lamb is the only one worthy to fulfill or accomplish the prophecies and to carry them out. These seals relate to prophecies already given and if you compare the seals you will see that they relate especially to Mt 24.1-30.

Q. Aren’t the people who are against Christ’s work actually “anti-Shemitic?”

A. Technically yes but one needs to understand what the word means. I notice that you use the term “Shemitic” so I want to address that first. The term anti-Shemitic is the same thing as anti-semitic and it means prejudice or hostility towards the Jewish people as a religious, racial or ethnic group. The word’s history does indicate that it is directed against all those who speak “Shemitic” languages because it is from the Hebrew word “shem” which means “name” and it was the name of the third son of Noah. It was used to refer to a language family whose origins were in the Middle East consisting of, but not limited to, such groups like the Akkadian, Assyrian, Arabic, Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Canaanite people and language groups. Now, Shem, the son of Noah, had 5 sons named Aram, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud and Elam and it was from these that the “shemitic” family and language groups descended. The term “anti-semitic” (antisemitisch in German) was first used around 1860 and it is exclusively used to refer to the hostility towards the Jewish people. It is applied when referring to the hostility and hatred towards the Jews as a racial group and towards Judaism and Torah observance in a theological context as well. For instance, the holocaust would be an example of racial hostility towards Jews and replacement theology (any system that replaces the Torah and the keeping of the commandments) is an example of theological anti-semitism. One is what would be called “overt anti-semitism” while the other would be “covert anti-semitism.” With all that in mind, let’s get to the heart of your question. I would have to know what you mean by “Christ’s work”, so bear with me because I’m going to try and answer it not knowing what you mean. Much of what passes for “His work” today is really covert anti-semitism. So to oppose it would actually not be anti-semitic, but supporting biblical Messianic Judaism, and therefore not anti-semitic. Remember, Yeshua and the believers of the first century, including all those who wrote the New Testament, were Torah-compliant Jews and they were considered a sect of Judaism. As replacement theology crept into the faith the people began to turn away from the Scriptures and accept a religious system that replaced the Torah and the commandments. This happened over a period of 300 years and the system culminated in the Council of Nicea where Constantine said that they were there to “root out the last vestiges of Judaism.” This led to a corrupt doctrine that teaches that the Torah has been done way with (Sunday replaced Saturday, Christmas, Easter, St. Valentine’s Day replaced Passover and the biblical festivals, pork replaced kosher and so on) that is still being taught today. So, it is this system of replacement theology that really opposes the Messiah’s work and that would be considered anti-semitic in a theological context at the very least. The prophets warned us in the last days that people would be calling good (Torah observance) evil and evil (non-Torah observance or “lawlessness”) good. I hope this answers your question.

Q. Why don’t Messianic believers celebrate Yeshua’s birth, death and resurrection on appropriate days and feasts. I’d be interested in your response.

A. Messianic believers do celebrate many aspects of Messiah’s life but they are not according to man-made traditions or dates set by man. We don’t celebrate Yeshua’s birth because it was never deemed to be important. Even first century believers, who wrote the Scriptures and set up congregations, never celebrated His birth on any particular day or fashion. His own mother didn’t get everyone together and do a celebration. Secular as well as ecclesiastical history about Christmas will tell you that his birth was not celebrated for hundreds of years, and they didn’t even know what day it was. The Council of Nicea finally decided on a day that was used in paganism to worship the sun deity, but even that day wasn’t agreed upon by all and to this day a day in January is still observed by others. As far as His death is concerned , we have a day called Passover that brings out what happened very well. He was taken down from the cross and buried by the next feast called Unleavened Bread. He raised from the dead on the next feast called the feast of First Fruits. The next feast is Shavuot (Pentecost) when the Holy Spirit was sent and when the Torah was given at Mt. Sinai. Then comes the long summer and then the wheat harvest. The next feast is Yom Teruah (day of the awakening blast) or Rosh Ha Shanah and it teaches the catching away of the Bride to the wedding and coronation of the King. The next feast is Yom Kippur and it teaches the second coming of Messiah and the destruction of the false messiah. The seventh and last feast is called Sukkot and it is the Feast of Nations and the ingathering of the harvest. This feast teaches about the coming Messianic Kingdom. Last but not least we have the weekly Sabbath where all these subjects are touched on. The feast can be found in Leviticus 23 and these were the feasts celebrated by Yeshua and His followers, not what Christianity and other religions may have replaced them with. So, as you can see, the significant events in Yeshua’s life are celebrated and they are linked to our redemption and are the blueprints for prophetic events.

Q. Who was Judas Priest and what did he do in history?

A. Judas Priest is a rock band not a real person.

Q. How does Shem fit in into the bloodline of Jesus?

A Yeshua descended through Shem’s son Arpachshad (Luke 3.36)