The Teaching on Mithras and Christianity
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thank you ,thank you, I have heard of this before , a little of it, you teach it to where we can understand, and how can we go back to church on Sunday and think we are living right… I have repented, I have been out of the church since last year, I praise Yahweh for leading me out. How can so many many people and pastors of church believe what they believe when the Bible tells us everything, well me too.. we are so deceived.. Pray for me and my family… I try to talk to my Mom about this,but she only asks prayer for me in her church,that I come back,and do the right thing, but for once I am doing the right thing, Praise Yahweh Elohim!
Rico,
How may I purchase this so I may share it?
I asked in prayer for my eyes to be opened to the traditions that christians have instituted that are not biblical/apostolic and “happened” upon this teaching.. yikes! My head is swimming. On my mind now: Christmas is out the window, would like more info on communion, should messianic gentiles celebrate Chanukah?
Thank you for all you do. I’ve been richly blessed.
Shalom ThegreatRX:
celebrating Chanukah I think is important but only if you learn the real meaning of the feast of lights. This is not given as a commandment in the bible but Yeshua did attend to it in the first century and is was because it is a reminder of the time when the altar was rededicated again during the time of the maccabees and how they restored the authority of YHVH on the earth when they rebuild the altar and the temple which is very prophetic to the last days. Communion is not what the scriptures is talking about but is passover.
passover is once a year communion is connected to Mythraism.
shalom
RICO
to Floski — so appreciate your response. I also clicked on your name and went to your web site. I will follow through to look up your references. Toda
Thank you Rico for this teaching. I heard you speak on GLC prior to Sukkot of 2010 that you would be doing a teaching on Mithraism and Christmas. I have been waiting for this for some time. Praise be to Yahweh for Him giving you the grace,knowledge,and wisdom of how to approach this subject. This is one teaching that my husband and I will definitely add to our growing library of Torah lessons. It is high time that someone give us the truth concerning Christmas. We (myself at least) have been ignorant of this truth for far too long. Now we can repent of exactly how we have transgressed Yahweh’s commandments. Now I won’t feel like such a fish out of water during this “holiday season” since I’m empowered with Yah’s truth. All I can say again is thank you,thank you, and thanks again. To Yahweh be the praise and glory that He’s given you the boldness to proclaim His word of truth. You are truly a blessing to the body of Messiah who was born for such a time as this. Shalom,Roberta.
After seeing this I did start looking up Mithras. I cannot find much that is based on much scholarship to support come of these claims about the similarities between Y’shua and mithraism. I have believed that Christmas was a way of giving the people in the time of Constantine a festival to replace the winter solstice.
I am already convinced that YHVH wants us to do HIS stuff HIS way…. if not before, I became totally convinced after reading 2 Sam 6. David and the folks were celebrating and praising the LORD for return of the Ark…but they weren’t carrying the Ark HIS way and there were consequences. So, that lays to rest the argument that “yeah, we know Christmas is based on the winter solstice, but we ARE honoring Christ instead.”
I’m not trying to be disrespectful. I’m just trying to follow through with scholarship in these matters. Most everything I’m finding debunks the connection as not having 1st-3rd century writings/artifacts to back up that followers of Mithras held any beliefs similar to the gospel.
Let me cite an example — one of my earliest experiences in learning about Passover was a Jews for Jesus presentation in which they showed the matzah saying that it is that way to illustrate Y’shua by being striped and pierced. Of course, this machine made matzah was not produced until the end of the 19th century, so not a valid illustration.
I don’t mean to be disrepectful….give me some good scholarly references to back this up. I am willing, even eager to accept this, but can’t do it based on what I’ve found thus far.
Hey Dusti,
Valid concern. I had the same concern when I first heard this a few years back. It wasn’t just Mithra, there were scores of other no-gods that were linked to the Dec 25 winter solstice celebration. Here are just a few quotes from my own research:
“The ancient winter solstice, December 25, signifies the rebirth of the Unconquered Sun (Sol Invictus). At this point in the year the days grow longer and light re-enters the world. As we noted in the last chapter, this festival of the Reborn Sun was initially associated with the solar divinity Mithras and like, so many other ancient religious customs and celebrations, was taken over by the early Christians to maintain a sense of continuity between the old and the new.”
– Jesus Christ, sun of God: ancient cosmology and early Christian symbolism, by David R. Fideler, p.159
“the time at which we fix the birth of Jesus Christ, the 25th of December, when the sun has risen one degree above the solstitial point: which answers to a moment to the births of the Egyptian Osiris, the Grecian Bacchus, and the Mithra of the Persians. These mystic births are manifestly identical, being metaphorical of the Sun’s annual birth at the winter solstice, after which he gradually becomes, not only figuratively, but positively, the Savior of the world.”
– The Christian mythology unveiled, lectures by Logan Mitchell, p.86
“…another birthday celebrated on the same date by the Romans of the Empire, that of the unconquered Sun, who on December 25, the winter solstice according to the Julian calendar, began to rise to new vigour after his autumnal decline. …The ‘Dies Natalis Invicti’ was probably first celebrated in Rome by order of the Emperor Aurelian, an ardent worshipper of the Syrian sun-god Baal.”
– Christmas in Ritaul and Tradition, Christian and Pagan, by Clement A. Miles, p.23
“In the calendar of Canopus, 239 C.E., the notation ‘Birthday of the Sun. Light will increase’ appears at the date of the solstice, indicating some notion of the sun dying and being reborn as a child.”
– Toward the origins of Christmas, by Susan K. Roll, p. 33
“And not only was Mithra, the sun-god of Mithraism, said to be born at this time of the year, but Osiris, Horus, Hercules, Bacchus, Adonis, Jupiter, Tammuz, and other sun-gods were also supposedly born at what is today called the “Christmas” season, the winter solstice!”
– Babylon mystery religion, by Ralph Woodrow
“The Madonna and child theme, which is universal or evident in hundreds of religions down through the centuries, had its origin in Babylon. Nimrod’s wife was Semiramis, the first deified queen of Babylon. She is also known variously as Diana, Aphrodite, Astarte, Rhea, and Venus. Her son was Tammuz, also called Bacchus, Adonis, and Osiris. He was the supposed reincarnated Nimrod. He came back to life when the dead yule log was cast into the fire and the evergreen tree appeared as the slain king-deity reborn at the winter solstice” -The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop, p. 98
“In Epiphanius’s writings appear important details about the Alexandrian festival celebrating the winter solstice, when the days and sun’s light begin to increase, and culminating with an image being carried forth of a child with a golden cross who was born at that time of a virgin! Nowhere does Epiphanius apparently attempt to claim that this widely celebrated non-Christian virgin birth at ‘Christmas’ had been copied from Christianity, leaving us to conclude that any borrowing occurred in the opposite direction”
– Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection,
by D. M. Murdock and Acharya S., p.87-88
“Vishnu, being moved to relieve the earth of her load of misery and sin, came down from heaven, and was born [as Krishna] of the virgin Devaki, on the twenty-fifth of December.”
– Aryan Sun Myths, by Sarah Elizabeth Titcomb, p.37
“Apollo and Dionysus were considered by ancient writers such as Pindar, Aeschylus, Euripides and Plutarch to be ‘different forms of the same god.’ Like Dionysus, Apollo also had his birthday at the winter solstice or December 25th. From Macrobius it is clear that the Egyptians brought out an image of a baby god, lying in a shrine or ‘manger,’ on the ‘shortest day,’ around December 25th.”
– Suns of God, by Acharya S., p.112
“It is obvious that Horus, as the morning sun born every day, was also born on ‘December 25th’ or the winter solstice”.
– Christ in Egypt: The Horus-Jesus Connection,
by D.M. Murdock and Acharya S., p.92
“…at the winter solstice the sun would seem to be a little child, like that which the Egyptians bring forth from a shrine on an appointed day, since the day is then at its shortest and the god is accordingly shown as a tiny infant”
– Saturnalia, 1:18,19; Percival Vaughan Davis, ed. Macrobius: the Saturnalia (New York, 1969): 129, cited in TALLEY, Origins, 107 note 37.
More quotes like this can be found on my christmas study website located online at ChristmasTruth (dot) info
I hope this helped. =)
Shalom! Gotta share this teaching with my Christian brothers and sisters whenever I meet them. Good, informative and Spirit-filled package!
Rico,
Can you please help me understand the issue with the Lord’s supper/communion? As I read the Gospels, I don’t see Jesus instituting a stand-alone observance outside of Passover. But when I read in 1 Corinthians chap 10-11, especially 11:20-30, I see Paul referencing it. Can you shed some light on this issue?
Hello Rachel,
I had this same discussion with a pastor from my congregation. He believed that the 1 Corinthians 11 text was referring to communion, while I believed that Paul was referring to Passover. After some research, this is what I came up with. I hope it helps. It might not be perfect, but at least it’s something to chew on until you get a reply from Rico.
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Regarding your thoughts on I Cor. 11:17-33. You’re right, there is no direct mention of a feast day, however it also does not idicate that it wasn’t a feast day either. So we’ll have to investigate further. First thing we notice is that Paul is telling them that they don’t come together for the better, but for the worse. So clearly this “getting together” they are doing is NOT something positive. Then Paul goes on to tell them that when they do “come together” as a church (i.e. meeting with all the believers in Corinth or the whole assembly there), that they have divisions among them. There is no idication that Paul is talking about a weekly or even frequent event here. He then says that when they “come together in one place” (i.e. the whole congregation is there), it shouldn’t be for the Lord’s supper. Then he mentions the one is hungry, one is drunk thing and the whole houses thing.
Here are some facts about when and how Jesus and the disciples kept the Lord’s Supper (i.e. Passover):
– they kept it on the date of passover (the 14th day of the first Jewish month)
– they kept it at night time after the sun had set (it wasn’t in the morning)
– they kept it privately in someone’s house / upper room (it wasn’t a whole congregation thing)
– they ate a whole meal (it wasn’t just a tiny piece of bread and 50 mL of wine)
Once we know these facts, it makes sense what Paul is saying here in 1 Corinthians 11. He’s pretty much telling them that they are not supposed to get together to celebrate the Passover as the whole (i.e. the entire congregation or church) if they are going to continue doing it this way. Passover was celebrated at home, not as a congregation. That is why Paul said “Do you not have houses to eat and drink in?”. If, like you said, Paul was talking about the “church’s regular assembly”, then this statement makes no sense, because he would be discouraging them for meeting regularly for worship. Paul even says “For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk”. This is clearly a reference to a whole meal that is taking place at supper time, not during regular morning church service. How can anyone get drunk or claim to be hungry in a “Lord’s Supper” or communion that consists of a tiny piece of bread and 50 mL of wine? It’s Impossible. What Paul is talking about is the Passover meal. From what I can gather, What was happening was that they were celebrating Passover together as a whole instead of at their own homes and this was causing the problem. Each person had their own way of observing the Passover supper (this is allowed), and they all came together to do it as a whole and it turned out to be a negative thing. Maybe some people brought tons of food, while others could barely afford to bring enough to satisfy their hunger (Hence, “shame those who have nothing”). Maybe some people started eating without waiting for everyone to be there (tsk tsk tsk…). Another possibility could be that some people brought real wine and others brought grape juice. Hence, some people getting drunk. We don’t know exactly what was happening, but that’s my guess.
Then in verse 23, Paul says “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you”. So, he’s telling them, this I got from the Lord and I also gave to you. What is he talking about? He explains it in the next phrase “that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread…” He is describing the Passover meal that Jesus and the disciples took part in. He even tells them when it happened (at night, and on the passover). He also said that Jesus said to “do this in remembrance of Me”. Which makes it a memorial. This whole Passover meal (or Lord’s Supper as is translated here in 1 Corinthians) with the bread, wine and footwashing was supposed to be as a memorial of Jesus’ death. When someone dies and you have a memorial for them, they are always to happen on the exact day the person died on a yearly basis. Memorials are yearly events, and so was the passover, and that’s the day Jesus died on. Is that a coincidence? Of course not. So then why would Jesus have to tell them or remind them that when they observe this (the Passover meal), that they should do it in remembrance of Him? Because up until that point in time, they observed the Passover meal as a memorial for their deliverance out of Egypt. So, Jesus is telling them, as often as you do this, (the passover meal, which they ALWAYS did ONLY once a year), do it in remembrance of Me and My Sacrifice for you.
Also if you look at Luke 22:14-16, it says “When the hour had come, He sat down, and the apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ” First of all, notice how it says “When the hour had come”. This indicates that there’s a DEFINITE time for this. They couldn’t just do it whenever, there was an appropriate time. And that time was obviously the passover. Jesus even says “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer”. Jesus was excited to do this. He had a fervent desire to eat the Passover meal. Isn’t Jesus our example in all things? Well then, why don’t we have a fervent desire to also eat the Passover meal like Jesus did? I won’t even get into the implications of his latter statement “I will no longer eat of it [the Passover meal] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” but there is definitely something to think about there too.
Then in verse 27, Paul is telling them not to observe the Passover in an unworthy manner and that we need to examine ourselves beforehand. And that’s exactly what is commanded to do before the Passover. The weeks before Passover you are supposed to be getting rid of the leaven in your house. The leaven in your house represents sin in your heart. So while you are examining your house to make sure there is no leaven there, you are also supposed to be examining your heart and get rid of any sins that are still there. This is what Paul is referring to when he says “But let a man examine himself”.
Then in verse 33, Paul has his conclusion “Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment.” He’s pretty much saying, “Sure, you guys can celebrate the Passover together as a whole, but if you do, do it in a positive fashion (ie. wait for everyone before eating; if you have more food than the next guy, share your food with him; don’t get drunk; etc…). Like if someone can’t wait for someone else to eat or just wants to show off how much better his meal is, then those people should just celebrate it at home”. How does Paul’s conclusion make any sense if he was refering to the “church’s regular assembly”. How would it makes sense for Him to tell people to “eat at home”? If it was just a regular church assembly with communion, then why would Paul tell them to do it at home?
Here are some quotes I found regarding passover:
The departure of the church of the second and third centuries from the apostolic standard was by no means confined to the matter of baptism. The same influences soon caused the Lord’s Supper to be looked upon no longer as a memorial feast in which believers partook in a purely symbolical way of the broken body and the poured-out blood of their crucified, risen, and glorified Lord, but rather as a mystic ceremony to be celebrated with elaborate ritual. This change was likewise due to pagan influences brought to bear chiefly through the Gnostic sects.” – Albert Henry Newman (Professor of Church History in McMaster University, Toronto, Canada), A History of Anti-Pedobaptism, Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1897, p. 10, (also New York: AMS, 1973).
“The earliest Christians celebrated the Lord’s Passover at the same time as the Jews, during the night of the first full moon of the first month of spring (Nisan 14).” – Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book V, chapters 23-25.
“the early Christians had followed the Jewish calendar and celebrated the death of Christ on the Passover
which was the fourteenth of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish year….” – “[Synod of] Whitby,” Encyclopedia Britannica, VIII:859
“Since the majority of the early Christians were Jewish converts, it is understandable that from the outset – the Christian calendar was governed by the fact that the death of Christ had taken place at the time of the chief Jewish feast of Passover, celebrated on the 14th day of the month of Nisan,” – The New Catholic Encyclopedia, McGraw Hill, NY, 1967, pp. 1062-1063
“We observe the exact day; neither adding, nor taking away… Among these are Philip, one of the twelve apostles, … and, moreover, John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined upon the bosom of the Lord,… And Polycarp in Smyrna, who was a bishop and martyr… All these observed the fourteenth day of the passover according to the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all, do according to the tradition of my relatives… And my relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven… For those greater than I have said ‘We ought to obey God rather than man’.” – Eusebius. Church History, Book V, Chapter 24. Translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert.
“Those who kept Passover in the evening understood it to be a repetition of the Lord’s Supper.” – Stewart-Sykes A. Melito of Sardis On Pascha. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, Crestwood (NY), 2001, p. 81
“In Asia Minor most people kept the fourteenth day of the moon…Moreover the Quartodecimans affirm that the observance of the fourteenth day was delivered to them by the apostle John” – Socrates Scholasticus. Ecclesiastical History, Book V, Chapter XXII. Excerpted from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Volume 2. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. American Edition, 1890. Online Edition Copyright © 2005 by K. Knight.
“Audians…they choose to celebrate the Passover with the Jews–that is they contentiously celebrate the Passover at the same time as the Jews are holding their Festival of Unleavened Bread. And indeed that this used to be the church’s custom” – Epiphanius. The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Books II and III (Sects 47-80), De Fide. Section VI, Verses 8,11; 9,2. Translated by Frank Williams. EJ Brill, New York, 1994, pp. 410-411.
“Amazingly, even the Emperor Constantine understood that Passover was to be a one-time, annual event.” – Passover and the Early Church, Thiel B. Ph.D.
“For we could never tolerate celebrating the Passover twice in one year. But even if all these facts did not exist, your own sagacity would prompt you to watch with diligence and with prayer, lest your pure minds should appear to share in the customs of a people so utterly depraved. It must also be borne in mind, that upon so important a point as the celebration of a feast of such sanctity, discord is wrong. One day has our Saviour set apart for a commemoration of our deliverance, namely, of His most holy Passion”
– A quote from Constatine found in Theodoret of Cyrus. Ecclesiastical History (Book I), Chapter IX. Excerpted from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Volume 3. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. American Edition, 1892. Online Edition Copyright © 2005 by K. Knight.
“Passover observance is backed by both the Old and New Testaments, as well as by the early Christians who claimed to be following the teachings of the apostles and the Bible.” -Passover and the Early Church, Thiel B. Ph.D.
“Secular history records that the Apostles Philip and John, as well as faithful leaders such Polycarp, Thraseas, Sagaris, Melito, Apollinaris, and Polycrates kept Passover on the fourteenth in the first three centuries. Even though the Roman Emperor Constantine attempted to forbid it, it was still observed in the fourth century, as well as later centuries.” -Passover and the Early Church, Thiel B. Ph.D.
“history shows that the Judaeo-Christian community continued observing Passover on the 14th of Nisan even centuries after the first destruction of Jerusalem. But controversy continually flared up over it, because the Church at Rome wanted to divorce itself from any and all Jewish influence! ” – When Did the Early Church Observe the Passover? William F. Dankenbring
I actually have a problem with this entire analysis of the alleged “Passover Meal” that folks always call the “Last Supper” or “Lord’s Supper”.
Let’s ask ourselves one VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION…
If Yeshua is our Passover Lamb and had to die at the exact time that the lamb was slaughtered in order to fulfill prophecy, why oh why would anyone dare to think that Yeshua could have participated in any type of Passover Meal?? HE WAS THE PASSOVER! He ate a meal with his diciples the night BEFORE his death which would have then been the 13th of Abib (not the 14th as many proclaim) It’s really a simple matter when you weed out the mistranslations and reckoning of the “days of Unleavened Bread” that are referred to in the verses of Luke, John and Matthew. (according the the KJV actually happened BEFORE the Passover???)
Another item to pay particular attention to is the Greek word used for the type of bread in the “Last Supper”
artos – a loaf of bread (as leavened) hmmmmm… several words could have been used here by the Greek language to represent any type of “unleavened” bread, which would have been required for such an observance.
If you’d care to get a good elaboration of this I would be happy to provide an in depth article or two on the verses that are being misinterpreted here.
My biggest concern, as noted above, is that if Yeshua is truly the “Lamb of God”…he would have been dead at the exact time the lamb was killed…just prior to the actual observance of the Passover. He actually died and was buried BEFORE the days of ULB which were the actuall Sabbath that required them to remove Yeshua from the cross the night before.
May Yah continue to show truth and provide His blessings!
Leland
http://www.spirit-n-truth.org
I’m not sure if your confusing which passover lamb Yeshua was. It is true that everyone was required to eat their own passover lamb. There was also a “single” passover lamb that was killed for the entire nation. It was killed last after everyone had killed all of their individual lambs. Yeshua was for the “entire Nation”!!!!!! For all of us… 😉
No, not confused. We totally understand that Yeshua was our Passover lamb. Simply stating that Yeshua could not be the Passover Lamb and eat the Passover meal too. The meal they had was just a meal, to which Yeshua add the memorial for Him and what He was about to do at the end.
The bread as my husband stated was not unleavened which would be required for a Passover meal. That in itself should be enough to dismiss the possibility that it was a Passover meal.
But lets go ahead and add to that. Some of the disciples thought Yeshua was telling Judas to go and “buy” things they would need for the Passover. John 13:29 “For some were supposing, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, “Buy the things we have need of for the feast”;”
1. why would he need to buy things for the passover if they were already eating it?
2. if they had begun to eat then the Sabbath of unleavened bread would have already begun, which would have made “buying or selling” forbidden.
3. a very important point is that had this been the passover meal they would NOT have been leaving the place they were dwelling! As part of the Passover observance you are required to NOT leave out of their door… Ex 12:22 “And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. ”
4. No Jew would wait until the DAY of Passover to try to secure lodging for the Passover. It was a process to prepare for the Passover and would have begun long before the day of the meal.
Just some “food for thought” 🙂
Spirit-n-Truth
I appreciate you pointing these things out.
Please explain these verses:
Mar 14:12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?
Mar 14:13 And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.
Mar 14:14 And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
How could there be ‘leavened’ bread? Yahweh haMashach was baptized to fulfill all righteousness and not for Himself. Could He not have eaten the lamb for all also?
Shalom Eahooeh,
Not sure about your question “how could there be leavened bread”? You can be assured that in every language it was indeed “leavened bread” that was eaten, there is no mistaking that.
But your questions about the scriptures you mentioned are quite common when this subject comes up and are really quite easy to rectify when taken in context and when you understand idioms and so forth.
Will be happy to go into this in more detail as soon as possible. It will be a bit as we are getting ready to head out of town for a few days.
Shalom In Yeshua!
Spirit-n-Truth
It’s alright, for I am going away also.
Much Love
And as for Paul and the 1 Cor matter…it’s pretty simple. Paul was rebuking the congregations for not eating before coming to the temple to observe the “Lord’s Supper”. A “communion” is an RCC creation. The Eurcharist was actually observed with LEAVENED bread for centuries in the Church of the East.
What Paul was disgusted with was the fact that converts were coming to the temple drunk and hungry and using the temple sacraments boisterously and devouring the bread and wine used to represent Yeshua’s broken body and blood.
A blaspheme indeed for any to observe….
Leland
So you are defending Communion or no? I am really new to all of this, so I am just trying to get a boiled down summary, then go back and expand.
No Rachel, I am not “defending communion”, however there is a matter of a “holy qurbana” (you can look this up on Wiki) which refers to the Eucharist that was celebrated in the East Syrian church dating back to the third century.
We must always keep in mind that these are creations and traditions of the “christian churches”. Yeshua, Paul and all the apostles were Jews…NOT christians. They partook of the “Lord’s Supper” as defined in the gospels and re-iterated by Paul in 1 Corinthians, which was the taking of the bread (leavened) and the cup (supposed to be wine). This should be observed “in remembrance of Him”, “as often as we observe it”. As was noted earlier by another writer, this “meal” is much different than the concept of the feast which takes place during the observance of Passover and the following Feast of U.B.
While here, I’d like to address the comment earlier by Eahooeh in the verses of Mark 14… it’s really pretty self-explanatory as you will see, and I quote:
“Mar 14:12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him….”
Well, first of all they didn’t kill the lamb on the first day of Unleavened Bread. They kill the lamb on Passover, which is actually considered the “Preparation Day” foregoing the sabbath meal, which begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread (the day following Passover beginning in the evening of the 14th/beginning of the 15th).
Let’s look at what is stated in Mark 15 on the day Yeshua died:
Mark 15:42 “It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached…”
So which is it? There is obviously a distinct contradiction here in the text of Mark, so how do we reconcile this? Let’s go to John for the answer…
John 18:28 Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”
Here we find that Yeshua has been brought to Pilate the morning following the “Lord’s Supper”, yet it states that the Jews (let’s not dare forget Jesus was a Jew as were the disciples) did not want to defile themselves with uncleanness, as they still wanted to “be able to eat the Passover”! Passover had not yet taken place!
A simple question lends itself to be asked at this point: Would Yeshua dare break a commandment of Yah and eat the Passover before the appointed time? We think not!
Let’s see where another similar scribal error exists in Matthew:
Mat 26:17 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
If it were actually the First day of U.B. then the Passover would be in the process of or would had already been eaten. But this certainly doesn’t balance out with the verses in John provided earlier.
A few things to consider in a study like this:
1. ALL of the gospels should reconcile with each other perfectly.
2. If a contradiction exists in scripture, it is either because WE have overlooked something or there has been some type of misrepresentation/mistranslation by the scribes. For the most part a simple word study or a comparison of all the gospels together can rectify this.
3. Continue to study to show thyself approved (2 Tim 2:15) and you will discover truths you may otherwise had never known existed 🙂
May Yah bless and prosper you both! If you have any other questions for us, we’d be happy to make an attempt to supply the answers!
Shalom!
Leland -n- Jenna
OOOOhh boy. I am having to seriously work out my faith now! It seems really overwhelming to me having root out all of this stuff — especially Communion. The Lord recently opened my eyes to Sabbath and the Feasts. Now I’m feeling swamped. I so want to follow the Lord and do what HE wants; but dropping all of this suddenly is scary to me. Can anyone give me a word of encouragement or advice?
Shalom Rachel,
I have worked with my faith too for couple of years because Yeshua opened my eyes through the Scriptures and history regarding the pagan roots of Christianity and Hebrew roots of the true apostolic faith.
Sister, you are definitely not the only one in this boat. And the Father understands your situation. He is patient and He doesn’t want that we would be worried. He wants to give us His shalom (peace) that we could drop thing by thing in His shalom with no hurrying and worries as the time goes and you learn to know Him more and more. We are in the process and the Father smiles to you sister and is happy for you 🙂
This is on-going spiritual revolution (I like to call it messianic reformation) in the body of Messiah today and the heavenly Father is in control. Remember the song Days of Elijah? “These are the days Elijah, rigteousness being restored…”. The Father really is restoring righteousness within the body of Messiah, halleluYAH!
I understand that you feel swamped. I felt that too in the especially in the beginning of this process, but now I am getting used to that because I know why I felt swamped. You are fighting a good fight. Please, don’t give up, but let Yeshua help you to know the Father’s heart, Torah, deeper and deeper. Father is doing work in our hearts through His Word to make us more like Him through Yeshua Messiah.
Be richly blessed,
Your brother Pekka Husa from Finland
Thank you so much! That was really encouraging!! 😀
Pekka,I sure needed to hear that too.. thanks.
Shalom Rachel:
I have been on this journey since 9-11……..I attended a congregation in 2002 but it took me until 2005 to actually try to act out my faith (put it into practice) after all of my searching. I am still learning and growing……..YHWH is so wonderful and gracious. Every year I kept the feasts………but I wasn’t actually keeping Shabbat. That is what YHWH pressed upon me in 2005. My family has been wonderful to me……..all of my evangelical ones. I think it is because I do not point fingers at them. I just talk to them about my faith but do not try to put them down. It has helped be a wonderful witness and one of my cousins is now looking into the Hebraic Roots because of my walk. So be encouraged and TRY to take it slow. I know the beginnings of this in 2001 for me, my spirit was soaring and I had no idea what hit me. There is a lot to digest………after a couple of years you start getting out of the Greek mindset and into the Hebraic mindset……..it gets easier.
your sister in Yeshua, jill
where I live ,in the Baptist capital of the USA, I am in this alone, I need to be strong and seek Yahweh daily, thanks for this website.
Shalom Rachelcook
this is maybe the place you can be in your spiritual life, that Yah loves you so much that it opening your eyes to see his truth and take you out of Idolatry.
just continue searching and studying to prove all things.
shalom
RICO
Rico
If Mithras was worshiped as a Savior and sent to live as a mortal by a greater Deity, sinners reborn through him, died for sins, believers consumed his body, born of a virgin had twelve disciples and ate a last meal together before dying. resurrected on Sunday, called the light of the world, etc…
Which attributes attributed to Yeshua belong to Mithras and visa versa?
How should we research this one?
Now that this can of worms is open lets go fishing.
Shalom
Remember that the enemy profanes anything holy, but if you compare the biblical requirements of the Messiah Yeshua is the only Messiah. I did research I was scared about the similarities but the reason why they were so similar is because I was looking at it from the christian mindset that I had a long time ago, but once I started to look at this from a Temple service perspective, the role of the high priesthood and also in the language of Covenant then the layers of the truth began to appear. I think I may do a teaching on that in the future.
shalom
RICO
Rico
Is it safe to say that Judaism is the only religion that is NOT rooted in paganism?
Please help us to see this teaching from the temple service perspective, the role of the high priesthood and also in the language of Covenant. If we are to fulfill Isaiah 58 we need all the tools we can get our hands on…
(Isa 58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.)
Shalom
I would say that Judaism also has some pagan influences too. Remember that we are all in the dispersion and they also have being touched by that but they are so strict on some things that as a whole they do better because of the dogma which is very strict. but once it comes into the community then stays rooted, example some of the branches of Judaism have a tradition that they take a chicken and put it over their heads and make a prayer for yom kippur and they believe that the blood of that animal will atone for the sins of that year. that is an influence of a tradition that is not biblical the funny things is that the chicken was never an animal that was used for atonement in the temple. That same person that did that would see Yeshua and the work of atonement and see it as crazy but he would use a chicken. by the way not all orthodox do that with the chicken only a branch. shalom
RICO
Joh 19:31 The Hebrews 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.
There were ‘two Sabbaths” that week. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (High Day) and the Regular weekly Sabbath. All main Feast Days were Sabbaths and dated from the New Moon/Month. Mashach died on Wednesday and rose on the Weekly Sabbath; which was 3 full days.
Mat 16:1-8, Mat 12:40, Mat 27:46 (died in the nineth hour or 3P.M., which supports the Scriptures of “3 days in the heart of the earth” and His Resurrection on the 7th Day and not the 1st).
He is “King of the Sabbath”, not the Sun’s day; here is one of the ‘worms’ of Mithras.
If I need correcting, please ‘dive right in’.
Actually, you’re pretty much on spot here! At least that’s the way we see it…
The only item I see that may need a minor correction is that not ALL feast days are sabbath days. During the Feast of U.B. and the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths/Sukkot) the only sabbath days are the first and last days of the feast. Also, Passover is not considered a sabbath day, but in fact a preparation day for the Feast of U.B.
Hope that clears up any confusion.
Leland
Oh and to add to what I mentioned earlier in regards to Mat 26:17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread…etc.
If fact, if you look into the Syriac text (found in the C.A.L. database) you’ll see a point that clears up the whole matter. For in the Aramaic tbe verse says, and I paraphrase here “…and as the First Day of Unleavened Bread was APPROACHING…” which places the event of Peter and John preparing a place to eat the passover DAYS before the feast….
Things that make you go “hmmmmm”…
Leland
This is an amazing teaching and I really appreciate your time in putting this together for us! 🙂
This is good teaching, I was taught about Mithraism and I have a video. Christians are naive to what they are worshipping.