I needed to do some grocery shopping and went to my local Walmart. As I walked around the store, trying to remember what I needed, I walked down an aisle that was an explosion of stuffed bunnies, chocolate eggs, and Easter egg dye. I was grieved. Where was Jesus in this burst of Pagan revelry?

I needed some greeting cards, and as I looked over the assortment of humorous Easter cards, I couldn’t find any that stressed the blessing of the Resurrection. Finally, I saw a couple of cards sitting very high above all the humorous cards. I’m short, so I had to really stretch to reach them, but they were nice cards and just what I wanted. Why were they displayed far from eye level?

I thought about this as I drove home, and this poem came into my mind.

It’s Not About a Bunny

By Nathele Graham

It’s not about a bunny
That hops away so fast.
It is about Christ my Saviour,
Whose love will always last.

It’s not about an egg
With a pretty painted shell
It is about Christ who died
To save us all from Hell.

It’s not about an Easter bonnet
Upon your head that’s worn
It is about Christ the King
Who wore a crown of thorns

Christ’s death was a victory
Over sin, death, and the grave.
Don’t praise a bunny, tell Christ’s story
His life He freely gave.

Celebrate His love for you
In everything you do.
The bunny always hops away
But Christ will dwell in you.

Christians need to be sure of what we celebrate, and ask ourselves, “Does this honor God, or am I joining with the world?” At Christmas, we decorate a tree, and be sure our children believe in Santa. At Easter, we are sure our children believe a bunny brings colored eggs and candy. Why aren’t Christians concerned that our children believe the truth?

I know all the justifications for these celebrations of worldly ways, but why do we allow the world to dictate what and when we celebrate?

It’s a certainty that Christ wasn’t born on December 25. In order to not inconvenience or upset the unbelieving world, it was decided to celebrate Christ’s birth to coincide with a pagan celebration.

As for Easter, that’s another pagan holiday set on the first Sunday after the first full moon, after the Vernal Equinox. That has nothing to do with Passover. Passover has everything to do with the crucifixion of Christ and His resurrection three days later.

When the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, God sent Moses to petition the Pharaoh to let them go free. Pharaoh wouldn’t allow their freedom, so God sent plagues, which showed the uselessness of the pagan gods worshipped in Egypt. Still, Pharaoh declined to let them go free. There was one final plague that would cause Pharaoh to give freedom to the Israelites. That was the death of the firstborn. God always provides safety for those who believe and follow His instructions. He established Passover to provide protection for the Israelites. The directions were given to the children of Israel, but if Gentiles followed the directions, they would also be saved from death.

“And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: and if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.

“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: and ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it” (Exodus 12:1-9). 

This took place in the month of Nisan (aka Nissan), the first day of which is April 9 this year. At that time, the Israelites weren’t particularly faithful to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They had been in Egypt too long with the pagan worship and were mostly following the way of the world. God never will forsake them. Today, many Jewish people are atheists… again, following the world. In spite of not believing in God, most still celebrate Passover. It is history, and it matters.

Why would God go into so much detail about the month and day they were to select a perfect lamb to sacrifice, and how the ceremony was to be performed? Because the date is important. Many, many years in the future, that was the day when the perfect Lamb of God was crucified on a cross. His blood would be shed as the final sacrifice for sin. The Israelites who believed what Moses told them to do were saved, and death passed over their houses. God was bringing them back to faith and showing His power through love.

Jesus fulfilled the Passover, and faith in Him will save you from eternal death. He is our Sacrificial Lamb. Once again, God showed His power through love. John the Baptist recognized that Jesus was the sacrifice that would save us from death… God’s perfect Lamb.

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

The Jewish people standing near Him understood what He meant.

Jesus also fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of First Fruits, which are feasts ordained by God and celebrated along with Passover.

“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” (Leviticus 23:5-6). 

Leaven symbolizes sin and pride (it puffs up). The unleavened bread is very symbolic of Jesus Christ, who had no sin. Then there’s the feast of First Fruits.

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it” (Leviticus 23:9-11). 

Jesus fulfilled them all. Firstfruits is always celebrated on the Sunday following Passover. That was the day Christ rose from the grave.

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). 

God went to a lot of trouble to give a “picture” of what Christ would fulfill, and we ignore His design and celebrate pagan dates and bunnies.

Daniel also gave a prophecy concerning when Messiah would be “cut off” (crucified). For that, we need to look to Daniel’s 70-week prophecy. The key to this is found in Daniel 9:25, when a time period is described as beginning when a command to rebuild Jerusalem was issued. When Daniel was a young man, he was taken captive when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. Daniel was always faithful to God Almighty. Although he lived in the very pagan city of Babylon, he never bowed to a pagan god.

“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined” (Daniel 9:26).

Although Jerusalem was in ruins when Daniel received this prophecy, it would all be rebuilt, just to be destroyed again in 70 AD. When Daniel speaks of a week, it isn’t what we think. We refer to 7 days as a week, but Jewish thought is a week of years. So, one week equals 7 years. Many years after Daniel gave this prophecy, Nehemiah was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes and was given a decree to rebuild Jerusalem. We know the decree was given in the month of Nisan, the same month as Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits were established by God. People smarter than me know the date that decree was issued. By calculating from that date, they are able to calculate the exact day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem and was hailed as Messiah by the people. We call it Palm Sunday. It was just as Daniel had prophesied.

God went to a lot of trouble to put this all together, so why do we celebrate on a pagan day that honors the pagan goddess Ishtar, and mock God by saying we are celebrating the most important event of all time?

The next event on the Jewish calendar is the Counting of the Omer.

“And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD” (Leviticus 23:15-16). 

Why is this a big deal? Well, counting these days will bring you to Pentecost. This was the day that the Jewish people celebrate the giving of the Torah. Christians have a higher meaning for this day.

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it lay upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4). 

That day, Peter gave a powerful sermon heard by thousands of non-believers. That day, the Torah was fulfilled, and the Church was born. Three thousand souls repented and gave their lives to Christ that day. Pentecost is an important day for Christians.

Christians have Scripture to give us understanding of God’s truth, but it’s a sad fact that many are heavily influenced by the world. Seldom do Christians really study God’s word but will watch a Hollywood movie about the Bible and think it’s truth. There’s a lot of “artistic license” taken with God’s truth in these movies. It’s important to study the entirety of Scripture, including the Old Testament. The Jewish Feast days all point to Jesus and are a wonderful study. Does all of this mean that we, as Christians, should celebrate these feasts? We can, but Jesus fulfilled them.

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17). 

Keeping the Law of Moses is no longer necessary since Jesus was the final sacrifice for sin; we should never feel the need to be placed under the Law, but honoring God is important. We have freedom in Christ and shouldn’t judge how another person worships.

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17). 

Your faith should be in Christ alone. His death, burial, and resurrection happened according to Scripture, and He was truly the Lamb of God… the final sacrifice for sin. Repent and be born again. That’s the only way to eternal life.

Remember, as you decide how and when to celebrate His love for you, it’s not about a bunny. It is all about Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you would like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).

“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13).

God expects much of men, and from what I can observe, many men have shirked their duties. Many men don’t even want marriage. They don’t mind living with a woman but don’t want the responsibility of being a husband and don’t respect the woman enough to make a commitment to her. Shame on a woman who accepts this arrangement. It’s bad enough in the secular world, but it has no place in the Christian world.

“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).. 

Scripture shows us that God has given men the responsibility of leadership in life. From Adam, who was created first and given God’s instructions to not eat the forbidden fruit, and throughout the New Testament, we see that men fight the battles and lead the people. Women are also used to further God’s purposes.

We can look at Deborah and see that God used her in a great way, but she didn’t act on her own. She was a prophetess and a judge in Israel. When it was time for battle, it was Barak who led the battle, but he would only go if Deborah was with him. The battle was won, and Deborah sang a song of praise to the Lord. Deborah was happy to have served the Lord, but she never forgot she was a mother.

“The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel” (Judges 5:7). 

Also, we can see that Esther was the only person who could approach the king, at great risk to her own life, and save the Jewish people from being killed. We need women who are willing to stand strong for God, but we also need more men like Joshua, who led the Israelites in the battle to conquer the Promised Land and know that their strength is in God. His words to Israel should be heeded by men today.

“Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:14-15). 

Joshua is a good example of a man who rose to the task God set before him. Men of God, arise! Put away secular pursuits and all false gods and idols. Serve the King of kings.

RISE UP, O MEN OF GOD! By William P. Merrill

Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things;
Give heart and soul and mind and strength
To serve the King of kings.

Sir, do you claim to be a Christian? Are you a man of God? By that, I’m asking, is there anything in your life that you put equal to or above God?

Jesus said, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). 

There are many things in everyday life that can stop you from putting Christ first. Sports is usually something men enjoy. That’s not a sin, but if watching sports becomes more important than serving God, then you need to remember that you are a man of God, not a man of the NFL or the MLB or any other sports league that can take over your time. What about clubs and lodges? Is it easier for you to try to get others to join the Lion’s Club than to give their life to Christ? That’s a problem. If it’s more important to memorize the rules of your club than it is to memorize and share Scripture, then you need to reevaluate your priorities.

My father was a member of lodges, clubs, and civic organizations. He never missed a meeting. I don’t remember ever seeing him open the Bible, but he knew everything about the organizations of which he was a member. Yet, he claimed to be a Christian. When I was a child, I didn’t think twice about that, but looking back, it bothers me. My husband was also concerned about this. Ron had a long talk with my father about Jesus and came away with the feeling that my dad did know Jesus. It’s too bad the evidence of a Christ-filled life didn’t shine in my father.

Man of God, don’t leave doubt in anyone’s mind as to your faith in God. Don’t leave any doubt in your own mind about your faith in God. Serve the King of kings openly and with your whole heart, soul, and strength. Have done with lesser things.

Rise up, O men of God!
His kingdom tarries long;
As faithful workmen, watch and pray
And light the night of wrong.

It has been 2,000 years since Jesus walked this earth. He said that the Kingdom of God was at hand.

“And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). 

One day soon, everyone will know it. It only seems to human understanding that it’s taking a long time for Scripture to be fulfilled.

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). 

Men of God, rise up! Rise up and stand firm upon God’s truth. Because of your silence, public schools are a festering boil in society. Children can’t read or speak proper English or learn cursive handwriting but are taught that it’s acceptable to be a cat or a dog. Because of your silence, children are taught the lie of evolution instead of God’s truth. Because of your silence, your children are taught to accept that in spite of biology, if a boy thinks he’s a girl, then he’s a girl, and that it’s OK for there to be two mothers in the household.

What a wicked world! God won’t put up with it much longer, and His judgment will be devastating. Read about the judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah, and read Romans chapter 1 to understand how God feels about homosexuality. It’s time for men of God to start praying and stop this madness.

“But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). 

The darkness of this world has no place in a Christian’s life. Jesus is the Light of the World, but Christians are allowing the dark light of Satan to lead. Men of God, arise!

Rise up, O men of God!
The church for you doth wait –
Your strength unequal to the task,
But Christ in you is great!

Men of God, arise! Take up your rightful place in leadership. Women have an important place in God’s creation, but it’s the men whom God has given the task of leadership. This is seen throughout Scripture. You are the leaders in your family. You are the leaders in congregations. It is by Christ’s strength that you lead your children to a firm faith in Christ. It is by Christ’s strength that you can lead your wife to be a Godly woman who doesn’t feel the need to usurp authority. Your marriage is a picture of Christ and His church.

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25). 

You need to be a man of God who honors Christ in all you do. In that way, your wife will submit to your authority. That doesn’t mean that you rule with an iron fist but that you love her as Christ loves His church.

Lift high the cross of Christ;
Tread where His feet have trod;
As brothers of the Son of man,
Rise up, O men of God!

“If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour” (John 12:26). 

Keep your eyes and heart on the cross of Christ. Remember, Christ is no longer on the cross. All sin was nailed to the cross, and only His love held Jesus there.

“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (Colossians 2:14). 

Jesus was crucified. He bled and died on the cross. He was taken off the cross and sealed in a tomb. On the third day, He arose! The cross is empty, and the tomb is empty! Sin was forgiven, and death was conquered. Repent now and accept His sacrifice for sin. Rise up, O men of God! Let this truth guide your life, and let His truth always be upon your lips. Praise Him with all your heart, soul, and spirit. Have done with lesser things.

Men of God, arise! Don’t let the world and the sin found there hinder your walk with the Lord. Fight the spiritual battle by taking your place in the army of God.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you would like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).