View attachment 73852
Wrong preparation day, He died on the preparation day for the First Day of Unleavened Bread, the High Day...
Joh 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (
for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
The Passover is not a Sabbath and it is considered the preparation day for the First Day of Unleavened Bread.
There was no preparation for the first day of Unleavened Bread. On the first day of unleavened bread, Israelites could prepare food..no food needed to be prepared in advance. It was a feast day.
Exodus 12:16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days.
But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you.
So, food could be prepared and "preparation day" was related to food preparation, if Exodus 16 is considered.
One could imply it was related to cleaning out the unleavened bread, and I have no issue with that actually..because the following day was both the weekly Sabbath and the first day of Unleavened Bread
The theory you suggest, which is a common one amongst some who wish to declare the rest of Christianity pagan as Armstrongites do, has a serious problem. Sabbaton definitely has a weekly context and is talking about the weekly Sabbath and not an annual Sabbath.
In the verse you quote, the word for Sabbath in both cases is sabbaton. Sabbaton DEFINITELY refers to the weekly Sabbath. The word sabbaton has a weekly context; in fact sabbaton is translated "week" in several verses. For instance, Sunday, the first day of the week, is "mia ton Sabbaton" (first of week in English) in NT Greek, and is used in this manner in several places. Sabbaton is NOWHERE used to refer to a festival.
Here's the chronology:
Christ was crucified on Friday. The day after was the weekly Sabbath AND the first day of unleavened bread (Nisan 15) so it was both. He was resurrected on Sunday. He was in the grave part of Friday, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday. He rose on the third day (the day after tomorrow) starting from his crucifixion.
The only difficult verse concerning this view in this regard is Matthew 12:40 as it says "three days and three nights"...informed understanding is that this is an emphatic way of stating that he would be in the grave three days, and the phrase "in three days" is a Hebrew idiom which implies "the day after tomorrow". I don't base my understanding on this issue on one verse when the rest of Scripture very nicely harmonizes together.
In addition, Day of Preparation is widely acknowledged amongst scholars to be synonymous with Friday during the NT period.
If your theory is correct, you have women coming to the grave to apply additional spices to a 4 day old corpse. Not likely..by then he would be severely decomposed. Remember when Martha told Jesus that Lazarus, after three days, would already be rotted and stinking, just prior to his resurrection?
In addition, do you know why very few Messianic Jews and Hebrew Roots people would support your chronology, even though the more radical ones declare Easter pagan? Unlike Armstrongites, they KNOW that the feast of firstfruits commemorates Christ's resurrection and it was observed on a Sunday, the feast of firstfruits. They KNOW Christ was resurrected on Sunday, unlike Armstrong taught (Lev 23:15).
Besides them, the Seventh Day Adventists acknowledge that Sunday is the day of the resurrection, even though they would love to say that Saturday was, because it would bolster support for Sabbathkeeping and remove a major reason for Sunday observance amongst other Christians. The hope of Christianity is based on the resurrection, as Paul said, and it is perfectly appropriate to worship on Sunday corporately.
If one hold your view, when they read the Scriptural accounts, they must 1) ignore the fact that sabbaton has a weekly context which can be easily proven 2) read the Scriptures very awkwardly, claiming that the same author switches between an annual Sabbath to a weekly Sabbath without making ANY reference to the difference in their nature 3) ignore the fact that even individuals who consider Easter pagan acknowledge that the resurrection occurred on Sunday, namely Hebrew Roots and Messianic Jews, because of the feast of firstfruits, which occurred on Sunday and 4) they must also ignore the fact that Seventh Day Adventists, who would love to be able to assert that Saturday was the day of the resurrection, WILL NOT do that because it is obviously unscriptural and despite my differences with them on the Sabbath, I believe they have enough integrity that they attempt to discern Scriptures correctly.
Again, the only difficult Scripture in this regard is Matthew 12:40, and the wording is understood to be emphatic. In addition, the phrase "in three days" is constantly used amongst Hebrews to refer to the "day after tomorrow". See Luke 13:32-33, Lev 17:16-17, Esther 4:16, 5:1-8, Gen 47:17-18, I Sam 20:12, Acts 27:18-19, Ex 19:10,11 for examples of this use.
By the way, the phrase "on the third day" or something similar is used about 20 times to refer to the resurrection, whereas the "three days and three nights" phrase is used only ONCE. Matt 16:21, 17:23, 20:19, 26:61, 27:40, 27:64, Mark 9:31, 10:34, 14:58, 15:29, Luke 9:22, 13:32, 18:33, 24:7, 24:21, 24:46, John 2:19, 2:20, Acts 10:40, I Cor 15:4 versus Mt 12:40. So, this whole argument rests on ONE VERSE which employs an emphatic statement.
I encourage reading the booklet "Three Days and Three Nights" by Ralph Woodrow on this topic. Ralph held the position similar to the Armstrongites until he re-examined it years later, and wrote this book as a result. His books on the Babylonian mystery religion, Easter, and Christmas were standard fare amongst Armstrongites to bolster support for their faulty theology, until Ralph realized that much of his teaching in this regard was erroneous and led nothing to rotten fruit.
It also must be repeated that john832 is an Armstrongite, and they hold the position that Sunday-observing Christians are "so-called Christians" teaching a "false gospel" holding a "counterfeit Christianity" and their ministers are "ministers of Satan". He made rude remarks on my testimony which recounted rejecting Armstrong's bad theology, and that is how I know he is part of them. So, realize when he expresses views on these topics that he rejects the Christianity of those who are non-Armstrongites, and especially Sunday observers.
I think Armstrongites are particularly dangerous because it seeks to inject doubt into other Christians concerning various topics and convince them that they are following a counterfeit version of Christianity. They claim that they are the true church and everyone else within Christianity is deceived. It was convincing enough to fool me as a naïve 22 year old.
I shall worship everyday, and especially on the day my Lord and Savior was resurrected. Christianity's centerpiece is the resurrection as my signature indicates, and I meet to worship with God's people every Sunday. How's that for sickening sweet Protestantism, john832?
As a disclaimer, I have no issue with anyone who thinks differently on this topic or the Sabbath/Sunday issue if they are not divisive, declaring others to be pagan or unsaved or spiritually inferior. Paul allows for this in Romans 14. However, this is not the Armstrongite position. They seek to discredit the rest of Christianity. john832's participation on this forum must be viewed in this light. It is the same as a Jehovah's Witness giving his opinion here, only JWs are better known. I was a fully committed Armstrongite as a young believer for a decade so I know their views in this regard. Besides their position on the rest of Christianity, they claim they are going to be fully God in the resurrection, with the same attributes as God the Father and Jesus Christ, which is clearly blasphemous.