THE LORD'S RESURRECTION WAS NO APRIL FOOLS JOKE!

APRIL FOOLS?  NO!

Psalm 14:1 - The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. 

Psalm 74:18 - Foolish people have blasphemed Thy name.

Proverbs 14:3 - In the mouth of the foolish is a rod of pride.

1 Corinthians 1:18 - For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved, it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 15:12-17 -  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; you are yet in your sins.

Matthew 28:5-6 - And the angel answered and said unto the women, Do not be afraid: for I know that you seek Jesus, Who was crucified.  He is not here:  for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED TO PAY FOR OUR SINS AND HE WAS BURIED!

JESUS WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD, TO BE OUR LORD AND SAVIOR!

WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM IS WISE, AND HAS ETERNAL LIFE!

TODAY IS PASSOVER - PRAISE JESUS!

PASSOVER PICTURES BEING FREED FROM THE BONDAGE OF SIN!

Exodus 12:5-7, 13-14 - Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:  you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:  and you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month:  and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.  And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. - - - And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are:  and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and you shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.

WHEN CHRIST SHED HIS BLOOD, IT MEANS HE GAVE HIS LIFE!

Genesis 9:4 - But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

Leviticus 17:11 - For the life of the flesh is in the blood:  and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls:  for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.

John 10:17-18 - Therefore does My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again.  No man takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This commandment have I received of My Father.

CHRIST IS THE PASSOVER LAMB WHO FREES US FROM THE GUILT OF SIN!

John 1:29, 36 - The next day John saw Jesus coming unto him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world. - - - And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God!

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 - Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened.  For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:  therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Hebrews 9:12-14, 22 - Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh:  how much more shall the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? - - - And almost all things are by the Law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.  [Note:  Blasphemy of the Holy Ghost is the rejection of His testimony that Jesus is the Son of God, and therefore, it cannot be forgiven - it is the rejection of Christ!]

TODAY IS PASSOVER - A DAY FOR US TO REMEMBER HIS SACRIFICE!

A DAY TO CELEBRATE WITH PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING!

HE'S ALIVE!

REVELATION 1:1-18

       The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John:  who bare record of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.  Blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein:  for the time is at hand.
       John to the seven churches which are in Asia:  Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, Who is The Faithful Witness, and The First Begotten of the Dead, and The Prince of the kings of the earth.  Unto Him Who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen.
       Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also who pierced Him:  and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.  Even so, Amen.
       I AM Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and The Ending, says the Lord, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, the Almighty.
       I, John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I AM Alpha and Omega, The First and The Last:  and, What you see, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. 
       And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me.  And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks One like unto The Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.  His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.  And He had in His right hand seven stars:  and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword:  and His countenance was as the sun shines in its strength.  And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.  And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I AM The First and The Last:  I AM He that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I AM alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

JESUS CAME AS A MAN TO DIE FOR THE SINS OF MAN!

BUT DEATH COULD NOT HOLD HIM; HE IS RISEN!

THE SUFFERING SERVANT IS BECOME BOTH SAVIOR AND LORD!

QUESTION:  ARE YOU LONGING TO BE WITH HIM,

OR DO YOU DREAD THE THOUGHT OF FACING HIM? 

HOW YOU ANSWER WILL EITHER CONFIRM YOUR FAITH,

OR IT WILL REVEAL YOUR NEED TO TRUST IN HIM!

WHAT BETTER DAY THAN TODAY?!

THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

THE PRE-TRIB 

RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH

AS TAUGHT BY JESUS IN JOHN 14:1-6

Let not your heart be troubled:  you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions:  if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And whither I go you know, and the way you know.  Thomas said unto Him, Lord, we know not where You are going; and how can we know the way?  Jesus said unto him, I AM The Way, The Truth, and The Life:  no man comes unto the Father, but by Me.

AS TAUGHT BY THE APOSTLE PAUL IN 1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others who have no hope.  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so those also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.  For this we say unto you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede those who are asleep.  For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:  and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:  and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

THE TIMING OF THE RAPTURE

John 3:36 - He that believes on the Son has everlasting life:  and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.

Romans 5:8-9 - But God demonstrated His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

Ephesians 5:6 - Let no man deceive you with vain words:  for because of these things comes the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 - And to wait for His Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, Who delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 - For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Titus 2:13 - Christians are...Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.  [Note:  Christians are taught in God's Word that the Rapture occurs Pre-Tribulation.  If the Tribulation were to occur before the Lord comes for His Church, we would be dreading what lies ahead, instead of looking beyond it to His Post-Tribulation return!]

Revelation 4:1 - After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up here, and I will show you things which must be hereafter.  [Note:  John represents the Church Age, and his being called up to heaven pictures the Rapture of the Church.  The Church is not mentioned one time between Revelation Chapters 6 - 18, which describes the Tribulation (a.k.a. Daniel's Seventieth Week - Daniel 9:24-27; and The Time of Jacob's Trouble - Jeremiah 30:7).]

Revelation 6:16-17 - And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:  for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

ARE YOU READY?  IS JESUS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR?

THE DAY ON WHICH CHRIST DIED FOR US!

SOME FACTORS WHICH HELP DETERMINE

THE DAY OF CHRIST'S CRUCIFIXION!

1.  We know Jesus was raised from the dead after sunset of the Sabbath, sometime before dawn on Sunday, the first day of the week - Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:1-6; Luke 24:1-6; John 20:1.

2.  We know Jesus was in "the heart of the earth" for seventy-two hours - Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:40; Luke 11:29.

3.  We know Jesus Crucifixion was the fulfillment of The Feast of Passover, because He is called "The Lamb of God," and "our Passover" - Exodus 12:2-10; Leviticus 23:4-5; Numbers 9:2-5; Deuteronomy 16:1-7; Matthew 26:2; John 1:29, 36; 1 Corinthians 5:7. 

4.  We know the Passover Lamb was selected on the tenth day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar, and kept alive until the fourteenth day.  It was to be killed in the evening, prepared and then eaten at midnight - Exodus 12:3-9; Leviticus 23:4-5; Numbers 9:2-5; Deuteronomy 16:1-7.

5.  We know that the religious leaders wanted those crucified to be dead, removed from the crosses, and buried before sunset, because sunset began the preparation day for a special Sabbath (not the weekly Sabbath, but the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the day that the Passover Lamb was to be eaten) - Leviticus 23:1-8; Mark 15:42; John 19:31-42.

For calculating purposes, try to forget how we view the beginning of the day at midnight, and figure the timing of events according to the Hebrew day beginning at sunset (sunset on Saturday, the Sabbath day, began Sunday, the first day of the week.  Jesus was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb just prior to sunset the fourteenth of the month, and He was raised from the dead sometime after sunset ending the weekly Sabbath.  Counting backwards seventy-two hours from sunset of the weekly Sabbath, would be as follows:  Saturday sunset to Friday sunset (one 24 hour span); Friday sunset to Thursday sunset (a second 24 hour span); Thursday sunset to Wednesday sunset (the third 24 hour span).  

It is my opinion that Jesus was crucified on a Wednesday, that He died and was buried before Thursday began.  Since John was actually at the Crucifixion, and it was he who made the connection that Jesus was the Passover Lamb of God, his details serve to clarify the writings of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  

So what difference does it make, you might ask?  Truthfully, it is not crucial to our faith.  We know Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He was raised from the dead, seen alive by many witnesses (the Gospel message - 1 Corinthians 15:1-7)!  And we know that God's Word says that those who believe the Gospel message shall be saved!  Bottom line:  DO YOU BELIEVE? 

THE ONLY SIN THAT GOD WILL NOT FORGIVE!

THE SIN OF BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Matthew 12:22-32 - Then was brought unto Him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb:  and He healed Him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw.  And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?  But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.  And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:  and if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?  And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.  Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man?  And then he will spoil his house.  He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me scatters abroad.  Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men:  but the blasphemy against the Holy (Spirit) shall not be forgiven unto men.  And whosoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him:  but whosoever speaks against the Holy (Spirit), it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

The problem:  Jesus worked a miracle by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Those who witnessed it, believed He was their long-awaited Messiah, the son of David.  However, the religious leaders, the Pharisees, attributed the Lord's ability to the work of Beelzebub (Satan).  Hence, they committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit by calling Him a liar, Satan being the "father of liars" (Jn. 8:44).  When we consider the "job" of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus (Jn. 16:13-14), and when the Holy Spirit's evidence is rejected, they are rejecting Jesus, the only possible way a person can go to heaven (Jn. 14:6)!  

The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit happens everyday:  The Holy Spirit's "job" has never changed; He is still convicting sinners of their sin, convincing them they need a Savior, and revealing that Jesus as the Only Begotten Son of God, Who died for their sin (Jn. 3:14-18).  The Spirit does His work in the hearts of sinners by means of the Gospel message, the Gospel being that which has the power to save those who believe it (Rom. 1:16-17)!  The Apostle Paul described the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-7:

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel...by which also you are saved...that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures:  and that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:  after that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.  After that, He was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

TODAY, THOSE WHO REJECT THE HOLY SPIRIT'S EVIDENCE

THAT JESUS IS THE CRUCIFIED, BURIED, AND RESURRECTED

SON OF GOD, ARE CALLING THE HOLY SPIRIT A LIAR! 

REJECTING JESUS IS THE UNPARDONABLE SIN: 

IT IS THE BLASPHEMY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!