We will continue to look at further false assumptions as we have done in the first two in this series of Q&A’s.
FALSE ASSUMPTION No. 6
Apart from Christmas, the other major time for Christians is Easter, which again we will see that it is not quite what it may seem to be.
Many believe that Jesus was crucified on Friday afternoon and resurrected on Sunday morning. But this cannot be true.
If we look at the Bible rather than man’s approach of “I think this, that or the other,” we get the correct answer.
We read in Matthew 12:39-40: “But He (Jesus) answered and said to them [some of the Scribes and the Pharisees], ‘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’” (Matthew 12:39-40).
It is as clear as day for those with eyes to see when we read that just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish or a whale or a sea monster (depending on the translation), so Christ would be three days and three nights in the earth (in the tomb or the grave; “hades” in Greek). This was reiterated in Matthew 16:4: “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah…”
Christ spoke of 24-hour days. He said in John 11:9-10: “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” Christ divided the time between 12 hours of the day and 12 hours of the night. He said He would be in the grave three days and three nights—72 hours—as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea creature (Jonah 1:17).
It is simply impossible to count 72 hours from Friday afternoon until Sunday morning.
However, it seems that man would sooner go along with, in most cases, those man-made theories and errors as they are so ingrained in the false ways of the world with peer pressure and family situations, adding to the pressure of having to keep them.
In our free booklet: “Jesus Christ – A Great Mystery,” we read:
“Scripture tells us that Christ did indeed fulfill this sign. The angel of the Lord told the women, “‘He is risen, as He said’” (Matthew 28:6). God the Father resurrected His Son, Jesus Christ, exactly at the preordained time, as had been announced by Jesus. This means that Christ could not have been crucified on a Friday and resurrected on a Sunday, as this would not fulfill the sign of being in the grave for three days and three nights. Rather, Christ was killed on a Wednesday and placed in the grave on Wednesday afternoon, just before sunset. He was brought back to life three days and three nights later, leaving the grave on Saturday afternoon, just before sunset, as He said.”
How ridiculous can you get? A response to this question on Stack Exchange on the internet also gives a rather foolish explanation: “This issue is a bit difficult to solve. The message that God is trying to make, I believe, could be that as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three nights and days, so had Jesus an empty belly for three nights and days, between the last supper and the meal of fish and honey-comb, at the end of the third day. In other words, the belly thing started already in Gethsemane.” How ridiculous, foolish and straight out of the mind of man!
We should realize, however, that according to Satan-inspired “legends,” pagan gods were crucified on a Friday (“black Friday”) and brought back to life on a Sunday. Since pagans believed in this nonsense, the Catholic Church adopted this false idea and just transferred it from pagan gods to Jesus.
The whole idea of Easter celebrations is pagan and unchristian as well. The Bible commands the observance of Passover, not of Easter. And what do easter rabbits and coloured easter eggs have to do with Jesus Christ? These are all pagan traditions.
On the bbc.co.uk/bitesize website we read that “an egg is a symbol of new life. For Christians, Easter eggs are used as a symbol for the resurrection of Jesus.”
Again, how foolish and ridiculous can the human mind be when justifying what is clearly ungodly?
Easter is no exception to the fact that Christendom, in general, makes so many false assumptions about a number of issues that, when properly and correctly understood, give a completely different picture from what is the practice of so many.
ASSUMPTION No.7
Perhaps many of us have seen the “altar calls” for people to come forward and “give their hearts to the Lord.” An altar call is a tradition in some Christian churches in which those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly. However, this can give the impression that all you have to do to become a true Christian is to “give your heart to the Lord.” The problem with that is that it may be a spur-of-the-moment action that either may be regretted later or not followed through with.
It can come under the heading of “once saved, always saved,” which is a false understanding of true Christianity. This approach is a popular one and one that emotionally is very easy to accept! It conveys a message that little is required on our part beyond “accepting” the Sacrifice that Christ made for each one of us. However, such teachings are deceptive and misleading because they completely overlook clear and important biblical instructions regarding that which God holds us accountable for, in the process of salvation.
First of all, we must repent and be baptised to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) through the laying on of hands by an ordained minister of God. At that point, we are saved from the penalty of death from our past sins. However, it doesn’t mean that we are finally saved and that we could not lose the salvation, as we must persevere to the end (compare Matthew 24:13). Matthew 7:13-14 reveals the Way:
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
It is a Way of Life, a full-time career, a Way that demands that we keep God’s Commandments and endure to the very end of our lives or the return of Jesus Christ if that precedes our death. During our life, we have to forsake the ways of the world and keep God’s Ways which include the keeping of the weekly and annual Sabbaths.
It is a Way of Life that is joyous and productive and which leads to eternal life on earth as a member of God’s spiritual Family, at the return of Jesus Christ.
It is yet another false assumption that through an altar call, just “giving your heart to the Lord” is all you have to do!
For further information, please read our Q&As: “Is it correct to say, “Once Saved, Always Saved?”, or can true Christians lose their salvation? Part 1” and “Part 2.” https://www.eternalgod.org/q-is-it-correct-to-say-once-saved-always-saved-or-can-true-christians-lose-their-salvation-part-1/
Closely connected with the false concept of an altar-call salvation is the idea that we only need to believe in Jesus to be saved. Believing in Jesus—who He was and is, and what He had done for us and is doing today—is most certainly necessary, but it is not all there is. A famous TV evangelist recently assured the President that if he believes in Jesus, he will go to heaven. Nothing could be further from the Truth.
Just believing, without more, is dead faith… the demons believe to and tremble (compare James 2:19). When the Bible speaks of believing in the Son of God, it includes obeying Him. We have received God’s grace “for obedience to the faith” (Romans 1:5; compare Romans 16:26). Christ is only “the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9).
The altar-call salvation with its different components (“once saved, always saved”; “only believe in the Lord”) is a false assumption which will not lead to salvation at all.
ASSUMPTION No.8
Another false assumption may be associated with the account of the wedding at Cana. We can just read over this without realising what an incredible miracle it was! It would be easy to think that this was just another wedding day and then move on without really thinking about what actually happened. In John 2:1-11, we read about this amazing miracle.
“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it.’ Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the waterpots with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, ‘Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.’ And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, ‘Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!’ This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.”
Let us really think about this and let us review the logistics.
Verse 6 speaks about six waterpots at 20 or 30 gallons apiece.
Let us take 20 gallons x 6 waterpots, and we reach 120 gallons. One US liquid gallon contains about 8 pints. 120 gallons amount to almost 1,000 pints.
A standard pint of wine is equivalent to about 4.2 glasses of wine, assuming a typical glass size of 175ml. However, wine is usually served in smaller glasses, so the number of glasses can vary, based on the size of the glass used.
Let us assume 4.2 glasses to a pint, and we reach approximately 4,200 glasses of wine. If we calculate 30 gallons per waterpot, we reach possibly 6,300 glasses! Now, Christ’s miracle of changing water into wine occurred AFTER all the initial good wine had been drunk, as it says in verse 10. So, could it be that a similar initial amount of wine was made available?
Furthermore, marriage at the time of Christ could have gone on for several days. In Judges 14:17, we read about Samson’s wedding feast and it says: “Now she [his wife] had wept on him the seven days while their feast lasted.”
How many guests were there? It just doesn’t say but if there were so many glasses of wine to drink, it’s fairly obvious that this was a “big event” with, probably, hundreds of people attending.
We can read right over this, but we can deduce the following:
- the amount of wine was enormous;
- the wedding feast could have gone on for several days;
- it was Christ’s first recorded miracle;
- we can overlook the magnitude of the miracle.
And, for those who think that only grape juice was produced, just look at verse 10. If the wine had absolutely no effect, then why keep inferior wine until “the guests have well drunk,” meaning that they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference?
There is so much more to this story, and many other stories in the Bible, that we shouldn’t just read them quickly without trying to understand the magnitude of such events.
This wasn’t your average wedding, as we normally conduct it today, with family and some friends, with a meal at a reception afterwards. It is one of those cases to read and think through and understand fully what was achieved at this wedding. It would be so easy to make false assumptions about this truly amazing miracle.
We also might want to note that Jesus did not really intend to perform this miracle, but that He only did so because His mother pleaded with Him, showing His great love and respect for His mother. He did, of course, not go against God’s Will in doing so, but this story also shows us that when we pray earnestly to God, we can persuade Him to hear us and answer us, even if He might not have wanted to do so initially. Yes, we can “change” God’s intention if it is not against His overall purpose.
Moses pleaded with God when He was about to destroy Israel, and God listened to him and changed His mind. God told Hezekiah that he would have to die, but because of his prayer and plea, 15 years were added to his life. Christ initially did not want to heal the daughter of a Gentile woman, but when she pleaded with Him, He listened and performed the healing. The idea that God cannot be intrigued to respond to our sincere and heartfelt prayers is another false assumption.
(To be continued)
Lead Writers: Brian Gale and Norbert Link