The Power of the Resurrection!
What does that really mean?
Lorraine Day, M.D
Christians mouth clichés that they most often don’t even understand. They say, “Jesus died on the cross so I don’t have to die.” Yet, Christians die every day. They also say, “Jesus covers my sin with His blood.” Does that mean that God can’t see through the “blood” that a person is a sinner? Does that mean that God can be fooled into letting a sinner into heaven just because he is “covered with the blood of Jesus”?
How can we understand the “Power” of the crucifixion and resurrection as it pertains to our own life?
“Our Lord’s Cross is the gateway into His life. His resurrection means that He has the power to convey His life to me. When I was born again, I received the very life of the risen Lord from Jesus Himself. . . What Christ’s resurrection means for us is that we are raised to His risen life, not to our old life. One day we will have a body like His glorious body, but we can know here and now the power and effectiveness of His resurrection and can ‘walk in newness of life’ (Romans 6:4). Paul’s determined purpose was to ‘know Him and the power of His resurrection’ (Phil 3:10).
“Jesus prayed,’. . . You have given Him authority over ALL flesh that He should give eonian life (the life of Christ) to as many as you have given Him’ (John 17:1).
And how “many” has God given to Jesus Christ?
“The Father has given ALL into the hands of the Son. . .” (John 3:35)
That means that God will give the life of Christ (eventually) to ALL who have ever lived on this earth.
“The term Holy Spirit (or more accurately translated – God’s breath of holiness) is actually another name for the experience of eonian life working in human beings here and now. . . Thank God for the glorious and majestic truth that God’s spirit can work the very nature of Jesus into us, when we obey Him.” Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, April 8.
Co-Crucifixion
“. . . our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Romans 6:6)
“Sin must be completely killed in you. It takes a long time to come to the point of making this complete and effective decision about sin. It is, however, the greatest moment in your life once you decide that sin must die in you – not simply be restrained, suppressed, or counteracted, but crucified – just as Jesus Christ died for the sin of the (whole) world. No one – except Jesus Christ – can bring anyone else to this decision.
“Are we prepared to let God’s spirit search us until we know what the level and nature of sin is in our life - - to see the very things that struggle against God’s Spirit in us? If so, will we then agree with God’s verdict on the nature of sin – that it should be identified with the death of Jesus?” Ibid. April 10
Have we crucified “the flesh” – the sin in our life – so all that remains in our flesh and blood is His life? Like Paul, can we say, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no long I who live, but Christ lives in me. . .” (Galatians 2:20).
Co-Resurrection
“If we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we
also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection . . .” Romans 6:5“The proof that I have experienced crucifixion with Jesus is that I have a definite likeness to Him. The Spirit of Jesus entering me rearranges my personal life before God. The resurrection of Jesus has given Him the authority to give the life of God to me, and the experiences of my life must now be built on the foundation of His life.” Ibid, April 11
The idea all through the apostle Paul’s writings is that after the decision to be identified with Jesus in His death has been made, the resurrection life of Jesus – eonian life (God’s breath of holiness) penetrates every bit of my human spiritual nature just as physical breath must penetrate every bit of my human physical nature.
We must become “dead” to sin. We must be “crucified with Christ” to this fleshly life. This is the “Second Death” – death to the sin of this world. That’s why Paul said,
“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me.” Gal 2:20
Co-Eternal (Eonian) Life:
And again Paul wrote of Christ:
“Death no longer has dominion over Him. . . the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead, indeed to sin, but alive to God. . .” Romans 6:9-11
Eonian Life (mistranslated “Eternal Life”) is the life that Jesus Christ exhibited on the human level. And it is the same life, not simply a copy of it, which is made evident in our mortal flesh when we are truly born again. Eonian life is not a gift from God; eonian life is the gift of God. The energy and the power that were so evident in Jesus will be exhibited in us by an act of the absolute sovereign grace of God, once Jesus has put His life in us.
“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. . .” Acts 1:8
The life that was in Jesus becomes ours because of His death on the cross. His death paid for the full consequences of sin, and gave Him the authority to change everyone He has created into His own image by giving them His life – eonian life!
“Eonian life (mistranslated “Eternal life”) has nothing to do with time. It is the life that Jesus lived when He was here on earth. And the only source of life is Jesus Christ. Any effort to “hang on” to the least bit of our own power will only diminish the power and life of Jesus in us. We have to keep “letting go,” and slowly, but surely, the great full life of God will invade us, penetrating every part. Then Jesus will have complete and effective dominion in us, and people will take notice that we have been with Him.” Ibid, April 12
And when we have the disposition, character and mind of Christ, our “yoke will be easy and our burden will be light” (Matt 11:30). “It is definitely a crime for a Christian to be weak in God’s strength.” Ibid. April 13
“. . . to those who have no might He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29).
“No power on earth can conquer the Spirit of God living within the human spirit. It creates an inner invincibility.” Ibid. April 14
Was Jesus crucified on a Cross?
No. The Greek word stauros is mistranslated in the Bible as cross. It really means pole, stake, or post. (See definition for #4716 in Strong’s Concordance.)
There was no cross-bar, just an upright pole. Jesus was crucified with His hands nailed together above His head, not with His arms out to the sides.
The reason the Roman soldiers came to both of the thieves first, to break their legs to make them die faster, and to Jesus last – who was already dead – is that they were undoubtedly all nailed to the same large pole. That’s why they could freely talk to one another.
Christian artists all depict Jesus on a Cross with His hands and arms outstretched to the sides, with a thief nailed to a different cross on His left, and another thief nailed to a cross on His right. But with the raucous yelling and verbal abuse by the crowd, how would it be possible for a conversation to take place between the two thieves, as the Bible confirms? They certainly wouldn’t be able to hear each other.
Furthermore, it would make no sense for the Roman soldiers to break the legs of one thief on one side of Jesus, then walk past Jesus to break the legs of the other thief, and then go back to check Jesus in the center. As stated above, all three were undoubtedly nailed to the same pole, so they could freely converse with one another. And the soldiers could just move circumferentially around the same pole to break the legs of one thief, then the next thief – before they came to Jesus – who was already dead.
Why have the Bible translators mistranslated the word stauros as Cross, rather than it’s proper translation as pole?
The Cross is a pagan sign of the pagan god Tammuz: “T” for Tammuz.
"Ishtar", which is pronounced "Easter" was a day that commemorated the resurrection of one of their gods that they called "Tammuz.” The pagan “trinity” were King Nimrod, Queen Semiramis (Easter), and Tammuz (the “reincarnated” Nimrod).
In cult practice, the dead Tammuz was widely mourned in the Ancient Near East. Locations associated in antiquity with the site of his death include both Harran and Byblos, among others.
Mourning ceremonies for Tammuz were observed even at the very door of the Temple in Jerusalem in a vision the Israelite prophet Ezekiel was given, which serves as a Biblical prophecy which expresses God’s message at His people's apostate worship of idols:
"Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto to me, 'Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these." Ezekiel 8:14-15
This is yet another clear example of the paganization of the Bible by the translators: mistranslating the instrument of Christ’s crucifixion on a pole into the sign of a cross – honoring the pagan god, Tammuz.
Ezekiel's testimony is the only direct mention of Tammuz in the Hebrew Bible.
The Pagan origins of Easter
Easter is not a Christian name. It is Chaldean (Babylonian) in origin - the name Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven. The name Astarte, as found on the Assyrian monuments by the noted archeologist Layard, was the name Ishtar. The worship of Bel and Astarte was introduced very early into Britain, along with the Druids, “the priests of the groves,” the high places where the pagans worshipped the idols of Baal. In the Almanac of the 1800’s, May 1st is called Beltane, from the pagan god, Bel. The titles Bel and Molech both belong to the same god.
We must remember that Semiramis (also known as Ishtar) of Babylon, the wife of Nimrod and mother of Tammuz, was the same goddess worshiped throughout the world under various names, such as the Egyptian fertility god, Artemis, the Roman goddess of licentiousness, Venus, the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, and the Ephesian, many-breasted fertility god, Diana, as well as many others.
The (Easter) bunny, the oldest pagan symbol of fertility - Semiramis - has absolutely NOTHING to do with the birth of Christ.
Nor does the Sunrise service. Jesus was resurrected while it was still DARK!
“And early came Mary Magdalene, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.” John 20:1
Sunrise services are for the worship of the Pagan Sun god - ONLY! In addition, Jesus was NOT resurrected on Sunday, the first day of the week. Please see the study entitled “Was Jesus Really Resurrected on Sunday?” at www.goodnewsaboutgod.com
One mythological legend says that sometime after Semiramis died, a huge egg dropped from heaven. Out of the egg came a re-incarnated Semiramis, now a goddess. The Babylonian Talmud refers to her as Ishtar, or Easter.
The forty days of Lent symbolize one day for each year of Tammuz’ life. This period of time is celebrated in the “Christian” church by giving up something to mourn the death - of Tammuz, the son of the pagan goddess Semiramis!
Ezekiel 8:13,14 tells us what God thinks about any festival that recognizes Tammuz:
“The Lord said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they (the Israelites) do.
Then He brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.”
As late as the 19th century, in Great Britain, at Beltane (or the 1st of May) a number of men and women assembled at an ancient Druidical circle of stones near Crieff, to participate in an ancient worship feast to Baal.
The festival of Pasch, or the Passover, was very early observed by many professing Christians, in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Christ, although it cannot be traced back as far as the Apostles. But Pasch was observed by Christians a full month before the festival of Ishtar was celebrated by the Pagans. In addition, the festival of Ishtar (Easter) now observed in churches is far different from the original festival of Pasch.
The amalgamation of the Christian Pasch, as observed in Britain by the Christians, and the Pagan Easter enforced by Rome, occurred by violence and bloodshed. But at last, the Festival of the Anglo-Saxon or Chaldean goddess, Ishtar, came to supersede that which had been held in honor of Christ.
“The hot cross buns of Good Friday, and the dyed eggs of Easter Sunday figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do today. The ‘buns,’ known by the identical name, were used in the worship of the queen of heaven, the goddess Ishtar, as early as the days of Cecrops, the founder of Athens, that is, 1500 years BEFORE the Christian era. One species of sacred bread which used to be offered to the gods was called ‘Boun.’” Hislop, Two Babylons, pg 107.
“The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven. Jeremiah 7:18
The hot cross buns are not now offered, but eaten instead, on the festival of Easter (Astarte - Ishtar).
“The origin of the Pasch (Passover) eggs is just as clear. The ancient Druids bore an egg as the sacred emblem of their order. In the mysteries of Bacchus, as celebrated in Athens, one part of the nocturnal ceremony consisted in the consecration of an egg. The Hindu fables celebrate their mundane egg as of a golden color. In China, even as late as the 19th century, dyed or painted eggs were used during sacred festivals.
“In ancient times, eggs were used in the religious rites of the Egyptians and the Greeks, and were hung up for mystic purposes in their temples. . . The classic poets are full of the fable of the mystic egg of the Babylonians.
“The occult meaning of the mystic egg of Astarte had reference to the ark during the time of the flood, in which the whole human race was shut up, as the chick is enclosed in the egg before it is hatched. And of course, the egg also refers to birth, or creation.
“Though the deified queen, whom Astarte represented, had no actual existence till some centuries after the flood, yet through the doctrine of metampsychosis, which was firmly established in Babylon, it was easy for her worshippers to be made to believe that, in a previous incarnation, she had lived in the Antediluvian world and passed safely through the waters of the flood. The Roman Catholic Church then adopted this mystic egg of Astarte, and consecrated it as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection.” Ibid pg 109,110.
The Bible clearly tells us what God considers the memorial of Christ’s death and resurrection. It is NOT the pagan celebration of Easter, in honor of the pagan god, Ishtar. It is Baptism:
“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death?
Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
“For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection:
“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed (rendered inoperative), that henceforth we should not be slaves of sin.” Romans 6:3-6
The memorial for Christ’s death and resurrection is Baptism - - - NOT Easter!
There is no doubt that Easter is a totally Pagan holiday.
How did breaking the legs of the thieves cause them to die faster?
In order for a person crucified on a pole to breathe adequately, he must push himself up by his feet to allow his chest to expand properly – an action that will cause painful tearing of his feet by the nails. If his tibias (lower legs) are broken, that will make it impossible for him to push himself up by his feet in order to breathe adequately, and he will die sooner from slow asphyxiation.
But if the femurs (the thigh bones) are broken, death can occur very rapidly, sometimes in minutes, but almost always within an hour, because even without the skin being broken, the massive bleeding that occurs internally in the thighs from the broken femurs will cause the person to lose almost his total blood volume, and he will die as fast as if the blood were coming out of his body. Two broken femurs can cause the loss of 8 units (pints) of blood into the thighs. Because an adult’s total blood volume is 10 units (pints), there’s not enough blood left for the heart to pump to the brain and other vital organs, so the person can die rapidly.
Why did God have to come to earth in the human form of Jesus to deliver the world from sin?
Is Jesus God – or the “Son of God”?
Is God ONE God - - or Three?
Though not a complete list, here are some of the Scriptures that show God is ONE!
“Here, O Israel! The LORD your God is One God.” Deut 6:4
“I am the LORD and there is no other; Besides Me there is NO God.” Isa 45:5
There is no God but one. 1 Cor 8:4
Does the Bible say that Jesus was/is God?
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matt 1:23
Did Jesus say that He was/is God?
I and My Father are One. John 10:30
Philip saith unto Him (Jesus), Lord show us the Father. . . Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He that has seen Me has seen the Father. John 14:8,9
He that sees Me, sees Him that sent Me. John 12:45
Jesus was also referred to as the “Son of Man.”
“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem: and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn Him to death.” Matt 20:18
“Even as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and give His life a ransom for (the) many (everyone).” Matt 20:28
“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and flashes even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Marr 24:27
As the Son of man, Jesus left His godly power in heaven. He walked our walk with no greater power than we can have, that is, if we are in constant contact with our heavenly Father, as Jesus was. He came to show us that we can also live a perfect life if Jesus is making all the decisions for us, which occurs when He has placed His nature, character, and disposition in us; when He has given us His life – eonian life, when we are truly “born again” (properly translated “born from above”).
What is the significance of Jesus being the “Son of man”?
According to Old Testament laws, given by God Himself, if a man got into debt, or if he stole from another man, rather than being sent to prison where he would be unemployed and could never pay off his debt, he could be sold as a slave to the one to whom he owed the debt. This was a far better plan than we have today in the “criminal justice” system.
This is what we call “justice” today. The man is sent to prison and dehumanized by being placed in a cage. He is often horribly mistreated – even tortured - by the guards. His upkeep in prison is paid for by society. He can’t support his family in prison, so they go on welfare which is paid for by society. He doesn’t have enough money for a lawyer – so society pays for his attorney. And society pays for the judge to sentence him. He spends his time in prison learning how to be a better criminal, so he won’t get caught the next time. When he gets out of prison, he can’t get a job because he is an ex-con.
The final result is that his victim from whom he stole, never gets re-paid. Society, who never had anything to do with the crime, is made to pay time and time again. And the criminal never gets rehabilitated and returned to society as a responsible, hard-working individual. Instead, being unable to get a job because he’s an ex-con, he returns to his life of crime – now a bigger and better criminal.
In short, everybody loses!
But God’s justice is far superior.
“And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family:
“After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
“Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is next of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.
“And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.
“If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.
“And if there remain but few years unto the year of Jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of redemption.” Leviticus 25:47-52
In God’s system of justice, a man becomes an indentured servant of his victim from whom he stole the money, or to whom he is indebted, and works for him until his debt is paid. God’s commands require his “master” to treat him fairly while he is a servant. When he has worked off his debt, he is released to continue his life as an upright citizen after learning how to work hard, and having learned that crime doesn’t pay.
In addition, anytime during his period of indentured servitude, any “blood kin” may redeem him by paying off his debt to his master. In fact, if a “blood kin” does offer to pay his debt and redeem him from slavery, his master cannot refuse. He must release him. However, if a friend who is not a “blood kin” offers to redeem the slave, the master has the option of refusing and making the slave continue in servitude until his debt is paid. But if the “redeemer” is a “blood kin” of the slave, the master cannot refuse!
Jesus – our “blood kin” and Redeemer
That’s why Jesus had to come to earth as the “Son of man” – as one of us, as a human being, as our blood brother to the human race, because as our “blood kin” He has the absolute right to pay the price for us who are “slaves to sin” in order to redeem every one of us.