Christian Family Services Ministry

1-16-2018  – A Word to the Wise: The Day Jesus Died – The Curtain of the Temple – Josephus describes the Temple curtain in this manner: “before these doors there was a veil of equal largeness with the doors. It was a Babylonian curtain, embroidered with blue, and fine linen, and scarlet, and purple, and of a contexture that was truly wonderful. Nor was this mixture of colors without its mystical interpretation, but was a kind of image of the universe; for by the scarlet there seemed to be enigmatically signified fire, by the fine flax the earth, by the blue the air, and by the purple the sea; two of them having their colors the foundation of this resemblance; but the fine flax and the purple have their own origin for that foundation, the earth producing the one, and the sea the other. This curtain had also embroidered upon it all that was mystical in the heavens, excepting that of the [twelve] signs, representing living creatures. “(Wars 5.5.4).

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1-15-2018 – A Word to the Wise: We know that when there is a total eclipse of the sun there is a temperature drop of fifteen to twenty degrees over a three-minute period of time. Three hours would have meant a temperature drop of at least twenty degrees and maybe as high as forty degrees. The average temperature for Jerusalem this time of year is about seventy degrees on average. For the three hours Jesus was on the cross it was anywhere from thirty to fifty degrees. This means it was from cool to almost freezing cold for a naked man on a cross.

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1-13-2018 – A Word to the Wise: Let’s look at the sequence of the events which occurred. Darkened Sun – First, from the 6th to the 9th hour the sun was darkened over the whole land (Mt. 27:45, Mk. 15:33, Luke 23:44). Now most of the time this is passed over. We do not know how it could have happened. We can be assured that it was not just a cloud covering. Exodus 10:22 relates that there were 3 days of total darkness in a restricted area of Egypt. Here we have 3 hours. What do you suppose was the result of the darkness?

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1-12-2018 – A Word to the Wise: Yet with the surfacing of more details, reinforced by scientific discovery, we find we are brought closer to the events of the day. Jesus died on April 3, 33 A.D. In fact there are only two possible days he could have died. Either April 3, 33 A. D. or 7 April 30 A.D. However, the events that occurred in 33 A.D. could not have occurred in 30 A.D. so we are left with April 3, 33 A.D. as the date of the crucifixion.

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1-11-2018 – A Word to the Wise: The Day Jesus Died – The day the Lord died four major events occurred, the significance of which is often missed.

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1-10-2018 – A Word to the Wise: Essentially 26/27 was a Sabbatical year. This means the people would have been free to go about the country and listen to the Lord because they could not work in the fields. However, it does not end there. Notice that the passage Jesus is quoting specifically states this was also the year prisoners were to be released. This occurred in the Year of Jubilee. Jesus says ‘Today this is being fulfilled.’ What day? The beginning of the year of Jubilee. It is the Day of Atonement 28 September 27 A.D. Jesus will be 30 years old in 7 days. It was the day all the slaves were to be set free, all land property was to be returned to its rightful owners, and all debt was to be forgiven. It is the year of Jubilee.

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1-10-2018 – A Word to the Wise: Essentially 26/27 was a Sabbatical year. This means the people would have been free to go about the country and listen to the Lord because they could not work in the fields. However, it does not end there. Notice that the passage Jesus is quoting specifically states this was also the year prisoners were to be released. This occurred in the Year of Jubilee. Jesus says ‘Today this is being fulfilled.’ What day? The beginning of the year of Jubilee. It is the Day of Atonement 28 September 27 A.D. Jesus will be 30 years old in 7 days. It was the day all the slaves were to be set free, all land property was to be returned to its rightful owners, and all debt was to be forgiven. It is the year of Jubilee.

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1-6-2018 – A Word to the Wise: Here are some important references. I Maccabees 6:49 refers to the defeat at Beth-Zur occurring in the Sabbatical year 163/162 B.C. Josephus says the murder of Simon the Hasmonean happened in the Sabbatical year 135/134 B.C. Further Josephus tells us that Herod’s conquest of Jerusalem occurred in the latter part of the Sabbatical year 37/36 B.C. The dating is consistently every seven years.

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1-5-2018 – A Word to the Wise: Extra-Biblical research gives some unusual insight. Numerous references exist which reveal the Jews were consistently keeping the sabbatical every seven years.

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1-4-2018 – A Word to the Wise: So why did Jesus read this passage? The answer to that question is of profound importance.

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