This is the Feast of Firstfruits or Resurrection Day. It is the day that Jesus rose from the dead. Eventually, all who believe in His blood atonement for their sins will do the same.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)
The majority of these resurrections, I believe, will take place at the main Rapture event. These glorified saints never will need to fear God’s severe judgment, and they will be exempt from His righteous wrath.
During the week of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, the Feast of Firstfruits fell on the date of Aviv 17 on the Hebraic calendar (as described in the prophecy fulfillment section of my Good Thursday commentary). It was the same date that Noah’s ark landed and rested on Mount Ararat (Genesis 8:4). On that day, Noah and his family were safe and secure from harm, with no further chance of sinking or drowning.
Someone looking at my Holy Week chart questioned me about this. Here is my response:
Today is the first full day of the week of Pesach or Passover, which began at sunset last evening. There also was a full supermoon early this morning. This day is a commemoration of the exodus of Israel out of Egypt, as described in Exodus 12:1-51.
Just as lambs were slain on the first and subsequent Passovers, the Lamb of God, Yeshua/Jesus, also died on Passover. His shed blood atoned for the sins of all who will accept His unique sacrifice on their behalf. According to John the Baptist and the apostle Paul,
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5:7b)
His death, of the righteous for the unrighteous, is the only thing that can bring us to God the Father. According to the apostle Peter,
Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. (1 Peter 3:18)
There are clear links between the life, death, resurrection and future return of Yeshua/Jesus and the feasts and holy days of Israel. (See more in Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 of my online book.) More connections also can be found in my Good Thursday commentary.
The church I attend had a very nice Passover Seder last night. Messianic Passover services typically are on Friday during Passover week, since most Christians commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion on “Good Friday.” However, I believe that the crucifixion was on Good Thursday).
Both the Jewish and the Messianic/Christian Seders incorporate a “haggadah,” which is the text that sets forth the order of the Seder. The MessianicSeder.com site shows a haggadah that is representative of a Messianic Seder. While Yeshua/Jesus is not mentioned in a traditional Jewish Passover Seder, He is mentioned several times during the Messianic Seder, such as here:
Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5:7)
The cups of red wine or grape juice at the Seder signify the blood Jesus shed for us. The matzo or matzah (unleavened bread) is not made with yeast, which is a representation of sin in the Bible. As believers, we are to get rid of the old sin (“yeast”) in our lives and be new “batches of bread” without yeast. Our Messiah/Christ, who was sinless, was sacrificed as the ultimate Passover Lamb for us.
The matzo also has stripes and is pierced with holes. Messianic Christians see this bread as representative of the body of Jesus, who was flogged (causing stripes) and nailed to a cross (creating holes in his wrists and feet).
He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
Indeed, Yeshua/Jesus our Passover Lamb was slain, and He lay in the tomb during the first few days and nights of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Fortunately for us, He did not remain there; He rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits = Resurrection Day (Easter Sunday).
He is in heaven now waiting to return to earth, at which time He will sit on his throne in Jerusalem. There, He will rule and reign as King over all the earth. I hardly can wait.
A friend in Florida sent me one of his poems today. He will be reciting it in his church this Sunday morning (Resurrection Day).
I really like it and all the connections it makes between things that Jesus did with the blood He shed on the cross and His body that was broken for us. Click on it below to see a larger image of it.
Attorney General William Barr held a press conference this morning, during which he addressed the final Mueller report. That report was given to him on Mar. 22. On Mar. 24, Barr released a letter about it to leaders of the House and Senate judiciary committees.
Barr spoke today for about 22 minutes. He said that the report, with some redactions, will be given to Congress. Another report, with more redactions, has been given to the public. That very lengthy redacted report can be read here:
Laguna Beach, CA, is one of my favorite places. It has a awesome beaches, magnificent views, great food and a mild year-round climate.
Last month, the city’s police department rolled out new Ford Explorer squad cars. The old cars were white, and the new cars are black and white. On the side of some of the new cars, the letters of the word “POLICE” include the red, white and blue colors of the American flag. (Personally, I think they look great!) The majority of the community’s feedback about the appearance of the new cars has been positive.
Police Corporal Ryan Hotchkiss has said, “Every time I came to a stop sign, every time I came to a red light, somebody is telling me the car looks great. Every one of our members that drives the car loves it, and we look forward to keeping them the way they are.” Police Sargeant Jim Cota has said, “All of the police officers at the Laguna Beach Police Department support the Chief of Police and City Council’s decision on the new design of the police vehicles.”
However, there are some in the community who do not like the new look of the police cars. It is felt by a few that it is “too dramatic” and even “aggressive.” Others feel that it is an insult to international visitors.
Even the national media has raised questions about how the new logo may be causing controversy and even “panic” in the city. Examples are that “waving the red, white and blue feels tainted, like rooting for the dark side” and how the new logo looks “too mean, aggressive and militaristic.”
Addressing the latter viewpoint, a local attorney, Jennifer Zeiter, said yesterday, “The American flag represents all Americans. It should unify us, not only be used by the left to further create division. It’s an outrage and a clear indication just how dangerously left these people have become attacking our flag.” (I agree with her.)
Tonight, there was a very lengthy city council meeting in Laguna Beach. They voted to retain the stars-and-stripes logo on the 11 police vehicles. Good!
Just a day after Palm Sunday, a fast-moving fire has engulfed and consumed much of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. It is a centuries-old iconic symbol in Roman Catholicism and has been one of the most-visited sites in the world.
Flames began late in the afternoon, just a few minutes after the cathedral had closed for the day. So far, the cause of the fire is being considered to be accidental.
The catastrophic blaze burst rapidly through the roof of the centuries-old cathedral and engulfed the spire, causing it to fall over. This was followed quickly by a collapse of the cathedral’s entire roof.
The flames also reached one of the cathedral’s twin towers nearby; after the Eiffel Tower, they are the tallest structures in Paris. The bells in those twin towers rang out after the destruction of the World Trade Center twin towers in New York on Sep. 11, 2001.
A huge plume of smoke wafted across the city, and ash fell over a large area. However, so far, it appears that no one has been injured in the tragic fire. So far, the cause of the fire is unknown, although it might have had something to do with renovation and construction work going on at the time.
When I visited Paris in 1984, I viewed the Notre-Dame Cathedral from across the River Seine. It was extremely captivating and always will be a vivid memory. I know what a horrific and heart-rending loss this is for countless people all over the world.
This is “Palm Sunday,” the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. This was prophesied to take place centuries before it happened:
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9)
As Yeshua/Jesus, the Messiah/Christ, passed by, the people who had witnessed the countless miracles He had done shouted,
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9)
This is the third Friday, since Mar. 30, that there have been thousands of Palestinians protesters at the Gaza/Israel border. Today there were at least 7,400 protesters at five separate locations along the border.
Some protesters threw rocks and fire bombs at IDF troops, who responded with tear gas and occasional live fire. According to the Gaza health ministry, a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed by live fire. They also said that 66 other Palestinians were wounded, although it was not clear how many were shot by live fire.
The protesters are demanding an end to a blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel and Egypt. They want Palestinians to have the right to return to land in Israel from which their families fled during Israel’s founding in 1948.
Israel seized Gaza in the 1967 Middle East War and pulled out its troops and settlers in 2005. Israel says that its blockade is necessary to stop weapons reaching Hamas in Gaza, which has fought three wars with Israel and fired thousands of rockets into it in the past decade.
In its defense, Israel has used lethal force against the border protesters. This has drawn censure from the United Nations and human rights groups. Two months ago, U.N. investigators said that Israeli forces might be guilty of war crimes for using excessive force.
However, Israel says its troops have no choice because they are trying to stop militants from breaching the fence and attacking Israeli communities. Palestinians also have launched combustible balloons and kites into Israel.
Almost two months ago on the night of Feb. 21 (which was on Feb. 22 in Israel), the Israeli moon lander, Beresheet (meaning “in the beginning” in Hebrew), was launched into space. It was was deployed on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Since then, it has been traveling toward the moon. However, in the last few minutes before landing on the moon, communication with the lander was lost. Soon thereafter, it crashed onto the moon’s surface. As of yet, it is unknown what caused its main engine to malfunction and shut down, resulting in its collision with the moon.
Had the landing occurred as planned, Israel would have been the fourth nation—after the United States, Russia and China—to land a craft successfully on the moon. However, Israel appears to have plans for another attempt, at some pont, with Beresheet 2.0. Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “If at first you don’t succeed, try again.”
The results of the election in Israel are in. Benny Gantz and the Blue and White party have conceded the election to Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party.
However, many feel that Netanyahu eventually will have to step down due to charges of corruption. They think that this could lead to another election a year from now.
In other news, for the first time ever, a photo has been taken of a black hole. The black hole, which is about 54 million light years or 5.9 trillion miles from Earth, exists at the center of the massive Messier 87 Galaxy.
A black hole exerts a gravitational field so strong that no particles, or even light, can escape. The bright ring around a black hole is super-heated gas that is being sucked into the black hole.
The parliamentary elections in Israel took place today. Both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and former military chief Benny Gantz and centrist politician Yair Lapid, leaders of the rival Blue and White party, have declared victory in the elections.
However, exit polls in Israel indicated the Likud party and the Blue and White party are locked in a race that is too close to call. Official results for the race are expected to come soon, possibly tomorrow. This race is one of the country’s tightest elections in years.
Netanyahu is hoping to win his fifth term in office. If he succeeds, he will be on track to become Israel’s longest-serving leader.
I’ve been here in Marin County since Mar. 23. Most of the time, it has been cloudy and rainy.
However, today the sun is out, and I haven’t seen a single cloud. So I walked and drove around and snapped some photos. I saw lots of flowers and green landscapes, due to months of rain.
I also got a few photos of gasoline prices in the area. They’re even higher today than the ones I posted on Apr. 1. I hate to think what they’ll be like this summer, when they typically are the highest that they are during the year.
Parliamentary elections in Israel will take place in two days, on Apr. 9. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that if he is re-elected, Israel will annex Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
This comes a little over two weeks after President Trump announced that the U.S. fully recognizes Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. That caused a significant backlash from Syria, Russia, Iran and Turkey, as well as from the United Nations Security Council.
The West Bank is composed of portions of the historical areas of Judea and Samaria. Israel annexed the West Bank from Jordan during the Six-Day War of 1967. East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel shortly thereafter.
Netanyahu said that the annexation he has in mind would “extend Israeli sovereignty.” Many feel that if Israel were to make an official annexation of portions of the West Bank, this probably would eliminate the possibility that a Palestinian State could be created.
In the West Bank, there are about 2.8 million Palestinians and 400,000 Israeli settlers. In East Jerusalem, there are about 200,000 Israelis. Palestinians have said, for decades, that the Israeli settlements in the West Bank make the creation of a Palestinian State impossible.
At some point, a prophecy by Jesus will come to pass. Considering recent developments, perhaps it might take place sooner than later:
When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. (Luke 21:20,21)
President Trump addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) in Las Vegas, NV. His first words were “Shabbat Shalom” (or “Sabbath Peace”), since today is the Jewish Sabbath. His speech lasted about an hour.
Less than 30 seconds after Trump began speaking, ten protesters from IfNotNow, a Jewish American activist group, interrupted him. They chanted, “Jews are here to say, ‘Occupation is a Plague!’ Jews are here to say ‘White Nationalism is a Plague!’”
The protesters quickly were drowned out by RJC participants, who booed them and then chanted “USA” and “Four more years.” It wasn’t long before the protesters were removed by security. Then Trump, talking about one of the protesters, said, “He’s going back home to mommy, and he will be reprimanded.”
In case the video is unavailable, you can watch it here:
Yesterday and today, stocks rose to their highest levels since the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s all-time high on Oct. 3, 2018. On that date, the DJIA closed at 26,828.39.
Today, the DJIA closed up 0.15% to 26,424.99 (from yesterday’s closing of 26,384.63), while the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index was up 0.46% to 2,892.74 (from yesterday’s closing of 2,879.39). These amounts are the highest so far in 2019. If the economy continues doing well, perhaps there will be new record highs soon.
Today
Yesterday
In other news, an E. coli bacterial outbreak in the U.S. has sickened 72 people in five states: Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia. Kentucky was hit the worst, where the outbreak first was reported in late March.
I have felt countless earthquakes over the decades in California. It would be difficult for me to count them all. The largest one I’ve experienced was the 7.3 Landers earthquake, followed about 3 hours later by the 6.5 Big Bear earthquake, both on June 28, 1992.
I also remember that during the 6.7 Northridge earthquake on Jan. 17, 1994, I almost got tossed out of bed, and I thought that my house in Orange County might slide off its foundation. Fortunately, neither of those things happened.
There has been about a 5-year pause in moderate to large earthquakes in both southern and northern California. The last moderate quake in So. CA was the 5.1 La Habra earthquake on Mar. 28, 2010. The last large quake in No. CA was the 6.0 South Napa earthquake on Aug. 24, 2010.
Recent storms may have ended the water drought, but now California is in the midst of a drought of a different kind, according to scientists. Earthquake experts have been saying that California is experiencing an “earthquake drought” and is overdue for a quake of at least a 7.0 magnitude, perhaps even a 7.5 magnitude or larger.
Earthquake scientists have explained that the longer the time between major earthquakes, the greater the next major earthquake is likely to be. Big faults eventually will slip with a huge tectonic motion. It’s just a matter of time.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO was implemented 70 years ago. Jens Stoltenberg has been the Secretary General of NATO since 2014. He previously was the Prime Minister of Norway from 2000 to 2001 and from 2005 to 2013. This morning, Stoltenberg made an unprecedented anniversary address to the U.S. Congress.
Speaking in the House of Representatives chamber, Stoltenberg emphasized the historic bonds that have enabled the United States and its European partners to preserve peace. One point he made was, “Since we cannot foresee the future, we have to be prepared for the unforeseen. We need a strategy to deal with uncertainty. We have one. That strategy is NATO.” The full 44-minute video can be viewed here:
Today is observed by many women as Equal Pay Day. It highlights how far into 2019 a woman must work to earn, on average, the same amount a man did at the same job in 2018. Generally, men are blamed for this “gap” in the payments to women and men.
However, there often are other explanations that usually involve a difference in choices between women and men at their jobs:
Women are more likely than men to work part-time, sometimes by necessity but often by choice.
There can be differences in tenure, education, and advanced skills.
Part-time workers in general make less money than full time workers, and they are less likely to be on a career path with the same growth potential that full-time employees have.
Tom Brady, after joining Twitter today, tweeted that he is retiring and will be tweeting in his spare time. Many of his followers believed the hoax. That’s a pretty clever joke.
Last night, I took my friend to the San Francisco Airport so he could fly to the Philippines. On the way back, I snapped a photo of the gasoline prices at a Shell station on 19th Street.
I see two things that probably are not April Fool’s jokes:
These prices are some of the highest in the entire nation. Unfortunately, that is reality, not a joke. I doubt that the prices will be going down anytime soon.
The prices with a car wash appear to be 20˘ per gallon less than those without a car wash. I don’t think that this was a planned “joke.” Perhaps the prices were posted by an empty-headed employee. Maybe it was someone who took a few tokes of marijuana—which, unfortunately, is legal for recreational use in California.
Later this month will be Passover (the day Jesus, our Passover Lamb, was crucified) and the Feast of Firstfruits (the day Jesus was resurrected from the dead).
Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passoverlamb, has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5:7)
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)
