This Week's 66/40 Radio Broadcast

Articles and Commentary

• A Reason to Celebrate - (Read)
• A Question of Dates - (Read)
• The Deity of Christ - (Read)

Important News Headlines

Memory Verse of the Week

A REASON TO CELEBRATE - (Print)

Mohammed, Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha), Confucius, and Jesus Christ: To many, these names are all of equal value; they represent great teachers who spoke words of wisdom and enlightenment. They are the leaders of major religions, and their words and ideas live to this day, each having won the loyalty of millions and even billions of followers.

All four of these men died and were buried. However three still lie in the grave. This coming Sunday, Christians around the world will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. On the Passover he was slaughtered as our spotless Passover lamb. As in Egypt, his blood was placed over us to protect us and shield us from the judgment of God. Then Christ conquered sin - and death itself - by rising again.

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay (Matthew 28:5,6).

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

Resurrection Sunday should be a day of greatest rejoicing. Christ Jesus lives today! We have a living Lord, a living Savior, a living Hope. He has broken the power of death and sin over our lives! Through him, each of us can escape God's wrath and live forever. This is the foundation of the Christian faith. Without Christ's resurrection, we have nothing.

Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable (1 Corinthians 15:12-19).

Praise the Lord, Christ has risen! Billions of people through the centuries have had their lives changed by the living power of Jesus Christ, and to this day, his resurrection power heals and restores and gives new life. We are witnesses to that life-giving power here at Koinonia House, as are thousands of our readers. How do we know Christ lives? We've watched him change our lives and the lives of people around us! We've watched him heal and restore over and over! Praise God - he will continue to do so until his return!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you (1 Peter 1:3,4).

That is reason to celebrate indeed! Thanks and glory and praise be to God for ever and ever! Amen.

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A QUESTION OF DATES - (Print)

Resurrection Sunday, more commonly known as Easter, is only a few days away. This year we celebrate Easter on March 23rd, almost a month before Passover. Yet Christ was crucified on Passover, so why are they an entire month apart?

Passover is observed on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, the first month of the religious year. Jesus was crucified on Passover and rose on the 3rd day, appropriately on the Feast of Firstfruits (the morning after the Sabbath after Passover). This was always on a Sunday, irrespective of the day of the week of Passover. Thus, Christians have traditionally celebrated His resurrection on Sunday.

In the West, most of our major holidays occur conveniently on fixed dates. However unless you are an astronomer, the date of Easter can be much more difficult to determine. That's because its date is set by the lunar calendar. The rules for determining the date of Easter were imposed by Constantine and the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, long before the advent of the Gregorian calendar that is most widely used in the world today. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday, after the first full moon, after the spring equinox. Therefore, it is held on a Sunday on varying dates between March 22 and April 25.

This year Passover begins at sunset on April 19th, almost a month after Easter, in part because it is a Jewish leap year. During leap years, an entire month is added to the Hebrew calendar. Furthermore, this year Easter comes early, very early. In fact, the next time Easter will fall this early will be in the year 2228 – not for another 220 years. The last time it fell on March 23rd was the year 1913. Easter sometimes falls on March 22nd, a day earlier, however that hasn't happened since 1818 and won't happen again until the year 2285 – in another 277 years. What does that mean? No one alive today has or will ever celebrate it any earlier.

You may have noticed that many aspects of our holidays are more tradition than truth. For example, the word "Easter" appears in the King James Version in the Book of Acts (Acts 12:4), but the Greek word pascha, actually refers to Passover, and is so corrected in most modern renderings. The name "Easter" has its roots in earlier pagan practices, as do many of our more peculiar Easter traditions (like rabbits that lay eggs). Chuck discusses this topic in further detail in our briefing pack titled The Easter Story.

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THE DEITY OF CHRIST - (Print)

Why do we believe that Jesus was the Messiah? What if he was just a man? Does it really make a difference? If you have ever asked yourself these same questions, be assured that the Bible does have the answers.

For the greater part of the last 2,000 years the historical existence of Jesus has not been questioned. However, in the last two centuries an increasing number of skeptics have claimed that Jesus never existed, even though a cursory review of ancient Roman and Rabbinical writings reveals that Jesus was indeed a historical figure. The Babylonian Talmud, an ancient rabbinical commentary, makes a number of references to Jesus of Nazareth. The first century Jewish historian Josephus also made references to Jesus: "Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man. If it be lawful to call Him a man, for He was a doer of wonderful works. He was the Christ. And the tribe of Christians so named from Him are not extinct to this day... (The Antiquities of the Jews, book 18, chapter 3)."

Throughout its text the Bible clearly teaches that there is but one God. However, the mystery of the Godhead is that this one God manifests Himself in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This fact has led to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. In fact, the attributes of God, the works of God and the names of God are applied to all three persons of the trinity. Throughout the Old Testament we are given a glimpse of the deity and majesty of the Messiah (Anointed One). Furthermore, the fact that God is a plural being, eternally existent in more than one person, is also found throughout the Old Testament. Elohim, the plural form of El, one of the names of God, is seen throughout the Old Testament (see Genesis 1:1) and in Genesis 1:26 God states, "Let us make man in our image..."

In the New Testament the disciples clearly spoke of the preeminence and deity of Jesus Christ. He is identified as the creator of the universe (Jn 1:1-14, Col 1:16), God manifest in the flesh (1 Tim 3:16), and our Lord and Savior (Titus 1:1-4). This is only a small sample of their claims about the nature and identity of Christ. By healing the sick, resurrecting the dead, creating food out of nothing and by defying the laws of gravity, Jesus demonstrated His authority over the laws of physics and thereby revealed His divine nature. Jesus' resume is impeccable. All the necessary attributes of the Creator are applied to Him within the Biblical text – he is independent of space and time, transcendent, distinct from his creation, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and has authority over the laws of nature. Jesus himself claimed to be the Son of God and the only way to eternal life (John 4:25; 9:35-37; 10:30-3; 14:6-9).

Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for us. It will take an eternity for us to understand what it cost Him that we might live. He "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:7-11)." This Resurrection Sunday take time to reflect on who Jesus is and to thank Him for what he did on our behalf.

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BBC Offers Different Account of Crucifixion - March 18, 2008
With his arms outstretched, his legs straight and his hands nailed to the cross, it is the image of Jesus's crucifixion held dear by Christians for centuries. But now the producers of a BBC drama about Christ's final days have challenged the traditional representation, saying they believe Jesus probably did not die that way. Instead of portraying Christ with his arms out wide and his legs straight down, The Passion will show him nailed to the cross in a fetal position, with his arms above his head and nails through his arms - the way, the producers claim, he may well have been crucified by the Romans. Telegraph

Temple Institute Prepares Linen Garments - March 18, 2008
For the first time in 1,938 years the linen garments of the lay priests are being produced in preparation for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. The last priestly garments to have been worn were those worn by the priests who were martyred by the Roman legions who brutally invaded and destroyed the Holy Temple on the ninth day of the month of Av, in the year 70 AD. TI

Iran Schoolbooks Teach Jihad - March 18, 2008
A study of 115 Iranian school textbooks showed that many of the textbooks contain disturbing anti-American and anti-Israeli content. The books are part of an overall indoctrination effort aimed at school children. Click on the link for specific examples. CNS

Israel Still Building in East Jerusalem - March 18, 2008
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday he will keep building in parts of the West Bank and Jerusalem that Israel wants to keep in a future peace deal, angering the chief Palestinian negotiator. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks resumed Monday in Jerusalem after a break of several weeks because of a spike in violence, but the session ended in discord. AP

But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
Psalms 49:15 KJV

"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32

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