Mistakes in the Mainstream

The second in a series exploring flaws in the traditions of men.

The nature of error

Errors and truth are always and everywhere in opposition. Errors multiply and subdivide; mutate and mislead. The truth is singular. Errors love the vague, the imprecise, the nebulous. The truth is best understood with exactitude. Errors are founded on sand, which will be displaced when the flood comes. The truth is founded on rock.

The point I seek to make about error is that there is a great deal of it. As a fighter pilot might say: those who seek to oppose error find themselves in a target-rich environment. This brings opportunity, but also risk. The risk is that we build our position on errors-unrecognised. The relationship between the Christian and the State is one such case and was the subject of the first article in this series. In this second article, I wish to examine an even more fundamental error; one that is core to the redemption of mankind. It is an error that the mainstream in Christianity proudly professes.

An answer to evil

This article concerns who Jesus Christ was (and is) and his reply to a somewhat weaselly challenge from contemporary “religious experts”.

Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Mat 12:38-40)

Before we get to the core of this matter, an observation on error is worth making here. The scribes and Pharisees sought to entrap Jesus. They were not operating in good faith, yet they called him “Master”. They were employing deception, concealment, and flattery. This is the operating system of error and we should learn to recognise it. Next, they ask for a sign, the implication being made here is that, following a sign, they will believe. In other words, only a lack of evidence prevents them from immediately committing to the truth. The modern equivalent is: “But, we’re scientists”. This is a more subtle deception, it seeks to claim ground that is not its own. A mindset steadfastly opposed to honesty, openness, and frankness justifies itself by claiming it is ruled by reason alone, when it is really ruled by the evil in the human heart. Those same Pharisees had seen Christ restore sight to the blind, food to the hungry, and mobility to the paralysed. No sign was going to convince them.

Now to the hub of the issue: counting to three.

The mainstream view in Christianity contends that Christ was crucified on Friday, late in the afternoon and immediately buried just before sunset. This is based on the day after the crucifixion being a Sabbath and this being equated to a Saturday, hence a Friday crucifixion:

And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,

Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus.

And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.

And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph.

And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. (Mar 15:42-46)

This mainstream view also places the resurrection at sunrise on Sunday. It celebrates this with sunrise services like this in Perth, Scotland:

And claims scriptural backing for this also:

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. (John 20:1)

I wish to be precise here, as accurate understanding is vital given the vague deception that characterises the mainstream view. Three days and three nights means three twenty-four-hour periods. As defined in scripture, a (24-hour) day starts at sunset and comprises a period of darkness and a period of light. It has been this way since the creation as narrated in the book of Genesis:

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (Gen 1:5)

Therefore, three days and three nights equates to three 24-hour days or 72 hours in total. In contrast, the mainstream traditions give us this:

• Friday late afternoon to Saturday sunrise = one night.

• Saturday sunrise to Saturday sunset = one day

• Saturday sunset to Sunday sunrise = one night

• Total = one day and two nights, around 36 hours, one-half the time that would constitute the sign that Jesus was the Messiah.

Let that sink in. The religious leaders of 2000 years ago, acting in bad faith, asked the son of God for a sign that he was indeed the promised Messiah. Christ, who spoke the universe into existence, our redeemer and the King of Kings, responded by saying that the one (and only) sign that wicked and adulterous generation would receive was the sign of Jonah. As Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so would Christ spend three days and three nights in the grave.

Our religious leaders, today, proclaim that Christ failed to carry out the one sign he gave. The inescapable conclusion is that Jesus was not the Christ — not the Messiah. Easter, the Holiest festival in mainstream Christianity, “Holy week”, sunrise services, the whole caboodle proclaims loudly and annually that Jesus is not the redeemer by the very ceremonies they keep. Error has undermined the truth and the mainstream churches find themselves founded on sand. How did this go so wrong?

The biblical context

For the history of this matter to be understood, certain scriptural anchor points must first be established.

Most important is the identity of Christ, as proclaimed by John the Baptist when he first saw him:

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (Jhn 1:29)

Christ was the lamb of God and would make his sacrifice for us on the same day as the Israelites had been taught to sacrifice a lamb as a type or forerunner of the Messiah — on the Passover.

In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover. (Lev 23:5)

This is as clear as it is possible to be. Days are measured from sunset to sunset. The fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover, commencing, as all days do in biblical calculation, at sunset. It was on this day that Christ was crucified.

Now, given such a clear instruction in the book of Leviticus, the Jews keep the Passover starting on the evening of the 14th of the first month…right? Wrong! The Jews keep the Passover the next day, on the 15th of the first month! More on this strand later.

In the Gospel narrative, this Passover meal on the evening of the 14th day is generally called the “Last Supper” and it was imagined by the great artist Leonardo Da Vinci as follows:

The Gospel narrative leaves no doubt that the events of the evening before the crucifixion occurred on the evening of the Passover, the 14th day.

And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.

And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?

And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.

And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?

And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.

And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. (Luk 22:8-13)

Christ was arrested that night, and subjected to an illegal trial (capital trials could not lawfully proceed during the night). The trial was a shambles and Christ, by remaining silent was prevailing. This was not his intention and so he spoke. His words provided the missing evidence and he was convicted and executed. This all took place before the end of the (daylight portion) of the fourteenth day.

The next day, the fifteenth day of the first month, is one of seven annual Sabbaths or Holy days. After the Passover there is a period of seven days where no leaven may be consumed. This is termed the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The first and last days of the seven day period are Sabbaths or days Holy to the Lord. Again this is laid out in scripture with great clarity:

These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.

In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover.

And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.

In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. (Lev 23:4-7)

The meaning of these and other annual sabbaths is a vital element missing from Mainstream Christian belief, but that is a matter for another article.

At this point, the issues to grasp are:

• In biblical calculation, days are measured from sunset to sunset, and consist of an evening (night) and the following morning (daylight period)

• The Passover is the fourteenth day of the first month

• Christ ate a Passover meal with his disciples during the (first) evening portion of the fourteenth day.

• That night he was arrested and subjected to an illegal trial

• Christ was crucified during the (second) daylight portion of the fourteenth day

• He was buried before sunset

• Sunset marked the start of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, an annual (not weekly) holy or Sabbath day.

• The Jews then, and now, move the Passover celebration from the day instructed by God (the 14th) to the annual Sabbath which followed it, the start of the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, the 15th day of the first month.

The will of the mob

Did you ever consider it odd how quickly Christ appeared to lose public support in the few days culminating in his arrest, secret trial, and public sentencing? Six days before his crucifixion he entered Jerusalem:

On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.

The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him. (Jhn 12: 12-13, 19)

Six days later the mob shouted for his execution and called for the murderer Barabbas to be freed instead:

Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them.

But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. (Luk23:20-21)

Hosanna means “Please save us”, it is a cry for deliverance and a far cry from “crucify him”. What changed? The simple answer is - the crowd changed.

Six days before Passover, Christ’s supporters dominated. On Passover those supporters would not be on the streets; they would be at home observing the Holy Day. However, those who followed the Chief Priests and the Pharisees kept the Passover a day late, on the 15th. They were on the streets, bright and early, as, for them, this was the day of preparation before the annual Sabbath.

Thus error had worked to subdivide the population with only those who supported the establishment in circulation at the critical hour. Hence, the arrest and trial had to be at night, despite capital trials at night being prohibited under Jewish law. The priests had to get the sentence passed down during the early morning hours of the 14th when they temporarily had control of the streets. They could not deal with the large vocal support they had seen six days earlier. So they had to act under cover of night and seek the death penalty early the next morning. It could only be this way. As in a chess end-game, the moves were now forced. The Priests’ actions were simply the only options left to them. Their lies and errors boxed them in. They had either to abandon their deceptions and embrace the truth or act in the dead of night to destroy it. They made their choice. They made their move.

The historical context

Historically, the early church knew all of these facts laid out above. The church was, initially, comprised mostly of Jews who were fully conversant with the Old Testament background. For at least a hundred years, the Passover was observed by the Christian Church on the fourteenth day of the first month as laid down in scripture. Then, error made its appearance. The fight between error and truth became known as the Quartodeciman controversy, from the Latin for fourteen.

Many early Church leaders defended the biblical position. Blastus in Rome and Polycrates in Ephesus are two notable examples. These were men of courage. they stood their ground.

Polycrates wrote to Pope Victor in Rome in around 196AD

As for us, then, we scrupulously observe the exact day, neither adding nor taking away.

Phillip… John… Polycarp…

These all kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month, in accordance with the Gospel, without ever deviating from it, but keeping to the rule of faith.

… For those who are greater than I have said, "We ought to obey God rather than men."

Polycarp was Bishop of the Church at Smyrna and was taught personally by the Apostle John. He had celebrated Passover on the 14th of the first month with the Apostle. Polycrates knew him and knew of this directly. Being confident that they stood for the gospel, these early Christian leaders would not yield.

But, as time passed, those men with direct links to the Apostles died and, slowly, error gained the ascendency.

Eventually, it was the Roman Catholic Church that fixed a rule and declared it to be true. It was enforced upon the threat of ex-communication. By the time of the council of Nicea in 325 AD the matter was settled and error had prevailed. The conclusion was communicated in a letter to the Egyptian Church as follows:

We also send you the good news of the settlement concerning the holy pasch, namely that in answer to your prayers this question also has been resolved. All the brethren in the East who have hitherto followed the Jewish practice will henceforth observe the custom of the Romans and of yourselves and of all of us who from ancient times have kept Easter together with you.

So well established was the Roman observance of Easter that the reformation did not displace it. Despite proclaiming “sola scriptura”, the protestant churches also followed Roman practice and authority.

Thus a festival that, at its core, denies that Christ was the Messiah by claiming he failed to satisfy the one sign he gave as proof, became near-universally adopted.

Counting to three seemed beyond the abilities of all involved.

The truth of the matter

The truth is that Christ did fulfill the sign he established. He was three days and three nights in the grave, just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale. The resolution is straightforward:

The crucifixion occurred on Wednesday, the 14th day of the month. Jesus’ body was placed in a nearby tomb that same afternoon, before sunset.

And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. (Mar 15:46)

The following day, Thursday 15th, was the first day of unleavened bread, an annual Sabbath on which no work or trade would take place. After this, on Friday the 16th day, buying and selling were permissible:

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. (Mar 16:1)

The weekly Sabbath followed, that is Saturday the 16th day. Just before the end of this day, close to sunset, exactly 72 hours after his burial, after precisely three days and three nights in the belly of the earth, Christ rose from the dead.

At the earliest possible time on Sunday, the 17th day of the month, before dawn when it was just starting to get light, the two women went up to the tomb to anoint the body. They found the tomb already empty.

And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. (Mar 16: 2-7)

The biblical narrative is consistent, but conflicts with the overlay placed upon it by the Roman Church.

The implications of fundamental error

What then are the implications of such a fundamental error lying at the heart of mainstream Christianity?

Firstly and most obviously, it leaves the mainstream open to attack, from sceptics who point correctly to the discrepancy. This undermines the credibility of the Gospel narrative as delivered by the mainstream churches. Furthermore, it allows the sceptics to, this time wrongly, conclude that the Bible is not a divinely inspired work. They reach this conclusion because they assume that the error comes from scripture whereas it really comes from a human rejection of scripture.

A more insidious effect is that this error builds into mainstream Christianity an implicit rejection of the principle espoused by Polycrates:

We ought to obey God rather than men.

This is a binary choice. It is all through scripture and, time and time again, religious authorities are on the wrong side of this decision. It was the Priests who exclaimed to Pilate:

We have no king but Caesar

It was the priests who encouraged the mob to shout:

Crucify him! Crucify him!

Here we have the Priests and learned ministers of religion claiming that Christ failed to deliver on the single sign he gave to identify him as the Messiah. They do this by rejecting the clear statements and instructions contained in scripture and embracing instead unsound human reasoning centered on the desirability of unity and a latent hostility towards Old Testament commandments of God deemed to be too “Jewish” in nature.

Unity is a human desire. It is equated with power and strength. Christ said the opposite would occur when he is held up:

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.(Luk 12:51-53)

The split between Old and New Testaments is likewise contrary to the plain statements in Scripture such as:

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Heb 13:8)

and remember that Jesus is also the Lord of the Old Testament:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (Jhn1:1-3,14)

So the rejection of God’s word is without excuse or valid reason. Rather, a decision has been made to reject God’s word and prefer, in its place, the traditions of men.

Once the decision is made that we obey men rather than God, all evils become possible. The human talent for excuse-making and self-justification is given full scope to deploy its specious skills.

And this issue of whether we should obey God or man is, let us remember, the single principle on which the whole fall and redemption of mankind turns — do we willingly obey the government of our creator or do we consider that we are like God, knowing good from evil, and so reject his government and substitute our own. Any compromise on this great principle must leave faith enfeebled.

Hence, by embracing this error, the mainstream in Christian belief has, I conclude, undermined its own foundations.

Also undermined is the role of logic, reason, and intellectual rigor as part of the Christian search for truth. For, if counting to three is not permissible, how much intellectual rigour can be brought to bear from such a world-view. The faith may remain, but it can no longer give a robust account of itself in the battle of ideas.

For the most part, progress towards a Christian epistemology is also stymied for the principle is established that inconsistencies, errors, and contradictions must be explained away using second-rate reasoning, rather than used as marker-posts to identify where we should excavate down to the bedrock of truth.

For an example of second-rate reasoning, simply go to any mainstream text purporting to explain away the contradiction between three-days-and-three-nights and one-day-and-two-nights. A more embarrassing intellectual spectacle is hard to find.

And finally, to those who say, “What does it matter?”, I would answer that when we worship the creator of the universe, whose perfection is beyond human understanding, we must not confuse the second-rate, the rough-and-ready, the jerry-built, and the makeshift with the perfection that characterises every aspect of The Lord’s creation, and every part of his plan for our redemption. If we do, we are confusing lies for truth. Furthermore, we are demonstrating our belief in a second-rate God. This cannot be the God who created the universe. Therefore, there is, buried in the heart of such low expectations, a fundamental absence of faith evidenced by a lack of confidence in the Lord. The result is faith that is brittle, weak, irresolute, and unfit for the intellectual and spiritual battle that lies ahead.

I would say it matters greatly whether Jesus is the Messiah and the son of God. On this question, all others depend. It is impossible to believe both that he is the Messiah and simultaneously to think that he failed in the one sign he gave us to demonstrate that this wonderful news is the truth.

And the truth matters.

More now than ever.