The Holy Week as we know it should be dead by now

by Jojo Maria A. Castro, Jr.

The Holy Week as we know it is full of lies, a perpetuation of false teachings. It is not holy at all.
It makes us believe that Christ died on a Friday; His body was interred shortly before sunset; and His resurrection came at dawn of Sunday. That is biblically inaccurate. The Lord, in prophesying to His disciples His death and resurrection, said:
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. MATTHEW 12:40 NIV
The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the Law, and that He must be killed and after three days rise again. MARK 8:31 NIV
Three days and three nights means the resurrection would come 72 hours after interment of the body. If, as we are made to believe, the body was interred near sunset of Friday and His resurrection came at dawn of Sunday, then the resurrection came 36 hours after the interment. Such belief is 36 hours short of reality.
Which brings us to our next point: The body was interred near sunset (Matthew 27:57; Luke 23:52-54; John 19:42). Seventy-two hours in the grave means the resurrection must have occurred near sunset, at more or less the same time of day the body was interred.
If interment was made near sunset of Friday, then the resurrection must have occurred near sunset of Monday. But that would be impossible. Scripture says the LORD was no longer in the grave by Sunday early morning. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to anoint His body but it was no longer there.
As they entered the tomb, they saw [an angel in the form of] a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen. He is not here.” MARK 16:5-6 NIV
Now read the resurrection accounts (Matthew 28:1-7, Mark 16:1-7, Luke 24:1-8, John 20:1-9). It is important that you do because nowhere in them is it said that the LORD resurrected at dawn of Sunday. The churches that say the Lord did are making a wrongful assumption.
Inasmuch as the Lord could not have resurrected on a Monday and His body was no longer in the grave by Sunday, the soonest time for the resurrection could only be near sunset of Saturday.
Let us count three days and three nights backwards. Day 3 in the grave would be near sunset of Friday to near sunset of Saturday. Day 2 would be near sunset of Thursday to near sunset of Friday. Day 1 would be near sunset of Wednesday to near sunset of Thursday afternoon.
If Day 1 started near sunset of Wednesday, that would mean the LORD died and was buried near sunset of Wednesday. This would fit the historical fact that the Passover in 31 AD—the year of death of the LORD—fell on a Wednesday.
Contrary to common belief, the Passover Feast is not fixed on a Friday. It may fall on other days of the week.
Satan has been confusing the days. He has caused the lunar calendar (the reference point for the Sabbath days) to be replaced with a solar calendar—which begins in the middle of dead winter, not in the early spring as God instituted (Exodus 12:2), and which is 11 days longer.
But do not be confused. There is now available on the internet a date converter (http://www.hebcal.com/converter) where any day, month and year in the Hebrew calendar (a lunar calendar) can be typed and its equivalent in the Gregorian calendar (a solar calendar, which we are using) generated; and vice versa.
Check it and you will know that this year, 2010, Nisan 14 (the God-appointed time for the Passover Feast) falls on March 29. The country will be observing the feast (which we call Good Friday) on April 2. We shall be doing it wrong. The death of our Lord should be commemorated on March 29, not April 2. (Maybe we can blame the President again for this?)
Now, why do we observe Holy Week? Why is Wednesday called Holy Wednesday, Thursday called Holy Thursday, Friday called Good Friday?
The answer is simple: Passover Feast is a Sabbath. The day after the Passover is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, also a Sabbath. The day after Unleavened Bread is the Feast of Firstfruits, again a Sabbath. God has commanded us:
You must observe My Sabbaths. LEVITICUS 19:3 NIV
Keep My Sabbaths holy. EZEKIEL 20:20 NIV
Unknown to most of us, four Sabbath days occurred during the period between the interment and the resurrection. First was the Passover, which fell on a Wednesday in 31 AD. This was followed by the Unleavened Bread on Thursday, the Firstfruits on Friday and the Seventh-Day Sabbath on Saturday, which happened to be the day of resurrection.

The common translation of Matthew 28:1 says, “The women went back to the tomb after the Sabbath.” But Herbert Armstrong noted that in the Greek text, the word is in the plural and that Ferrar Fenton’s version of “after the Sabbaths” renders it correctly.
“Observe the Sabbaths” is the fourth of the Ten Commandments. Satan loves it whenever the commandment is written as “Observe the Sabbath” because those who are not well-versed in the Scripture are likely to assume there is only one Sabbath.
Why observe the Sabbaths? Many churches do not teach them and do not honor them. They say it’s passé, only for the Jews to observe.
If you care to know, the Sabbaths are given higher significance in Christianity:
1. The Seventh-Day Sabbath speaks the day of resurrection, an assurance of life after death for those who put their faith in Christ.

2. The Passover Feast speaks of the day of crucifixion; also, of the Last Supper, wherein the New Covenant was formally instituted.

3. The Feast of Unleavened Bread speaks of our life direction on earth: to get rid of the old hametz (the yeast of wickedness and lawlessness) in our tents, so we may be holy and pure, for nothing impure can enter the kingdom of purity.

4. The Feast of Firstfruits speaks of love-in-action: that it is not enough to be pure and holy. We must mirror the love of Christ and help complete the ministry He has begun.

5. The Feast of Harvest (aka. Day of Pentecost) speaks of the day of Baptism in the Spirit of the first Christians; an assurance that God will empower us before sending us to the warfront.

6. The Feast of Trumpets speaks of the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming and the Judgment; reminders that there’s a limit to our earthly stay.

7. The Day of Atonement speaks of the new High Priest who came down from heaven to perfect the Ten Commandments, make atonement for our sins once for all, and lead us by the hand back to God’s kingdom.

8. The Feast of Tabernacles speaks of the day of nativity (incarnation) of Christ, whom we are mandated to call Yahshua (Yah in Hebrew Aramaic means God and shua means saves). The name reveals His person (“God with us”) and His mission (“to save His people from their sins”—Matthew 1:21).

Conclusion
What are the implications of the above observations to our religious beliefs and practices?
Christ rose from the dead just as He said He would (Matthew 28:6).
In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me. JOHN 16:16 NIV
After three days I will rise again. MATTHEW 27:63 NIV
The death, burial and resurrection happened according to the appointed times, not contrary to them, just as the Word of God prophesied (Isaiah 46:10, 11).
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that the Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. 1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-4 NIV (Emphasis supplied)
Celebrating the resurrection on the Seventh-Day Sabbath is correct. Celebrating it on a Sunday would be utterly wrong.
Observing Black Saturday would be wrong; Sabado de gloria is correct.
Easter Sunday celebration? Don’t even think about it if you are a God-seeker. Its origin is paganistic, not at all Christian. Kindly research on this.
Traditionally, children are told on Good Friday, Huwag kang maingay. Magluksa tayo. Patay ang Diyos. Please, don’t do that. The crucifixion did not happen on Good Friday. The prophecy of Daniel 9:26, 27 that the LORD was to be cut off “in the midst of the week” is correct.
Besides, the Passover is a festive, joyous occasion. God intervening in our affairs so we may “pass over” from the realm of the dead (Satan’s kingdom) to the realm of the living (God’s kingdom) is good enough reason for us to celebrate. Leave the mourning to Satan.
Many churches justify their Sunday worship reasoning that the resurrection happened on a Sunday. Well, the resurrection did not happen on a Sunday. Those who profess to be followers of “the Truth, the Way and the Life” must stop peddling lies. They must revert back to observing the Seventh-Day Sabbath as their day of sacred assembly and worship.
Churchgoers are doing Sunday without questioning why. It is about sun-worship, which Deuteronomy 4:19 says is detestable to God.
Sunday observance began when God’s decree was superseded by a human decree. The Roman emperor Constantine the Great issued an edict on March 7, 321 AD mandating the observance to be moved to Sunday. Constantine decreed under penalty of death that all artisans, merchants and people of his empire should cease work on the Day of the Sun.
The Romans were sun-worshipers. To them the emperor was sun-god enthroned in a human body. It was a weekly ritual of sun-worshipers to assemble at dawn on Sunday to greet the sun at its rising. They considered everyone who did not worship the sun to be an atheist and a traitor.
Constantine’s historian, Eusebius of Caesarea, recorded the edict as saying, “All things what so ever that it was duty to do on Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord’s Day.”
In the Scripture, LORD’S Day is a reference to the Second Coming of Christ. Obviously Constantine’s edict was not referring to it. “Lord’s Day” in the edict is no doubt a euphemism for the Day of the Sun.
Constantine’s edict effected three things for Satan: It renamed the Sabbath as Lord’s Day; moved it to the Day of the Sun; and legalized the two corruptions, making it demandable of everyone in the empire and its violation, punishable with death. The corruptions came with the imprimatur of the Roman Catholic Church whose Council of Laodicea in 365 AD forbade resting on the actual day of the Sabbath.
To this day the church teaches the Sabbath Commandment as “Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.”
Again, why must we observe the Holy Week? In obedience of the Sabbath Commandment, to please God. However, obedience must be conscientious. The desire to please God must be tempered with the knowledge of how God expects us to please Him.
During the Holy Week, we are instructed to celebrate four of the eight Sabbaths. Because God calls for observance of the Passover to be done on Nisan 14, observe it on Nisan 14 (on Monday, March 29). Because God calls for observance of the Unleavened Bread to be done on Nisan 15, observe it on Nisan 15 (on Tuesday, March 30). Because God calls for observance of the Firstfruits to be done on Nisan 16, observe it on Nisan 16 (on Wednesday, March 31).
Because God resurrected on a Saturday, do not celebrate the resurrection on a Sunday.
God’s instructions must be obeyed without omitting any one of its specifications. To omit a specification is to act against the will of God and miss the mark.
Whoever keeps the whole Law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. JAMES 2:10 NIV
How many disobediences did it take for Adam and Eve to be banished from the kingdom of heaven? Just one. Likewise, it takes one disobedience to keep us out of God’s heaven.
Nothing impure will ever enter [the kingdom of God]. REVELATION 21:27 NIV
A friendly advice to God-seekers: The false teachings on the LORD’s death, burial and resurrection must be dishonored and given eternal rest. Everyone must be told the truth and must practice the truth. Those who worship the Father in spirit and in truth are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks (John 4:23).
We must obey God rather than men! ACTS 5:29 NIV



(The article is contained in a book, CREATE IN ME A PURE HEART, O GOD, which the author is now finalizing. The author keeps busy by giving lectures to churches. His own church, MESSIAH Y’SHUA’S LAMBS, can be found among the poor in Caloocan North. Email your reactions, comments and inquiries to jojomacastrojr@yahoo.com.)