Category: Blog

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Our Vision

Giving A Voice to the Voiceless

Our Long Term Goal

We seek to create a podcasting network for both young people and those who are classified as old in South Africa. We are aware that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of young South Africans who dream to be radio and television presenters but are unable because doors closed to them.

The Spokesdude Network is committed to open every door available and allow those who once had no voice, to speak up and have their say to the public. We are committed to help young and old South Africans of any race to start and run their own podcast shows and have them published on The Spokesdude Website.

If you are one of those people pitch us your idea by commenting below or by emailing us here or send us your voice note on WhatsApp (+27 72 418 2729, stating your name, your location and your podcast show idea.

LET US MAKE YOUR DREAM COME TRUE

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To be an expect in any thing requires commitment, and daily practice. A top sportsman or sportswoman becomes the best not by chance but by that they keep on training daily and avoiding certain habits in order to improve their perfomance. The same principle applies to us as Christians, especially to leaders.

For anyone to be a successful preacher or pastor, it is necessary that they give themselves to prayer and studying of the Bible. This should be their daily practice. These two things are none negotiable. They are critical in the life of any church leader. For us to be able to teach well and shepherd the flocks of God faithfuly we must always meet our Master in prayer, to report our concerns and our progress in the work we do and also to request more grace to help us carry on with serving Him. We must soak ourselves in the word of God and be instructed of the Lord by means of his written word. We should learn from the example of the apostles, in that, when matters of food and waiting of tables arose in the church, the apostles set themselves apart by refusing to get involved in such matters and suggested that deacons be appointed for the purpose of waiting tables and managing distribution of food. The apostles said, “It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables… but we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2,4). There are certain things, though they be good, which are to be abandoned or avoided in order to excel in the most important duty into which one is called.

Paul affirms that the written word of God is critical for our lives. After showing in 2 Timothy 3:16, that all scripture is inspired by God. He then shows us that the same is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. This is all necessary, so that, “the man of God may be perfect, and throughly furnished for all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:17) This means that the Bible is enough, for our perfection and to have us totally equiped to do every good thing required by the Lord from us. We cannot raise healthy churches if we ignore the word of God. To ensure that the church members are growing, pastors must be committed in prayer and be full of the Bible and then train their members to do the same.

If we as pastors commit ourselves to do thus, there won’t be a need to fake miracles or even to resolve to magic and manipulation in order to woo the crowds for the purposes of gaining a large following.

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“And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you…” (2 Peter 2:3a)

Gone are those days where a person who wanted to rob you had the decency of wearing a balaclava and for his dignity, his conduct was in such a manner that he would wait in the bushes or around a street corner at night in order to carry out his evil purposes. Today that is not the case. You get robbed right in broad daylight by a man who is well known and who has no shame of carrying a Bible. Not only does this unscrupulous devil’s advocate have the guts to carry the Bible in public but he is bold enough to open it, read it to you and make damnable claims about it. If you don’t know your Bible, you will sure go down and the “Bible Crook” will walk all over you. Peter warned the brethren in his days that there were false prophets in the olden days and there sure will be false teachers among the brethren. This warning is very relevent for us today because what I choose to call the “Bible Crooks,” are the false prophets of today.

1. Through Coveteous

Peter speaks about the driving force behind the “Bible Crooks.” These men and women are driven by coveteousness. Their apetite for wealth and power is a bottomless pit which gets bigger and more demanding each time it is fed. These are hungry wolves who will do anything in their power to deceive and to loot the people off their money and prized possessions. They teach not the words of Jesus. If they ever try to teach what Jesus taught, they would twist His words in order to benefit themselves. Like a pack of hungry wolves they team up against God’s people to devour and to scatter them.

2. With Feign Words

These crooks have a very powerful tool they use to make their kill. Peter says that, they use “crafty words.” These people are not idiots, they are endowed with tremendous amounts of deviousness. They are able to make people do unimaginable things through their crafty speeches. They have the gift of the gap and have no shame of speaking on subjects about which they have no clue whatsoever. They can pretend to be medical professionals, business owners, pastors and many others. These crooks enjoy the spotlight and are very egocentric, in fact, they make people think very high of them, even higher than God. I know it is absurd to say such a thing. Allow me to explain.

A Bible Crook always has a story that would protray him or herself as a close friend of God. They never fail to tell their audience about the private conversations they get to have with God. Once they win their audience’s hearts through such stories, they proceed to paint a picture of a puny god, the one who is absolutely under human control. They seem to know better than God. You will see this in their constant critique of the difficult parts of the Bible. They would resolve to some weak and shallow human philosophy and they have no shame to present their opinion as though it is the word of God. Their victims are caught in the nets of their deception, thinking that the men they feed is the man of God, not knowing that it is only an impostor, who is well versed in the matters of holiness yet lacks the skills to apply such matters in his own life by means of practice.

Charles H. Spurgeon puts it well when he says, “A graceless pastor is a blind man elected to a professorship of optics, philosophizing upon light and vision, discoursing upon and distinguishing to others the nice shades and delicate blendings of the prismatic colors, while he himself is absolutely in the dark! He is a dumb man elevated to the chair of music; a deaf man fluent upon symphonies and harmonies!” (Lectures To My Students, Pg 14).  The Apostle Paul said that these men had a form of godliness yet they deny its power. They profess to be godly yet in their private quarters they perfom terrible acts of blasphemy. They preach about humilty yet they themselves are plagued with an incurable desease of pride.

3. Make Merchandise of You

The Bible Crooks are not the friends of God, neither are they the shepherds of the flocks of God. These are business men and business women. Their expectation is profit. They fleece their followers and do whatever they can to establish and sustain their empires. Peter says, “they shall make merchandise of you.” What he is saying is, they shall make business of you. They will sell you out without thinking twice. Their involvement with you would be pure business. How often are you told, “In order to be blessed sow a financial seed to a pastor or to a prophet?” Today churches have sales stands where Bible Crooks display their products. These product range from “anointed soap,” to “anointed oil,” to “anointed condoms” and to many other outrageous items of the “anointed” series. The Bible ignorant people will be pouring their money into these shops which are disguised as churches. Like shops in a shopping mall, so are the churches in the residential areas.

There are very few churches which are interested in the glory of Christ and to assisting people into becoming more like Christ. Many churches have discipleship goals written down but now those goals are collecting dust in some shelf as the pastor forgets that he has a Master before whom he shall give account and he roars away with appetite for power and wealth.
One sad and probably the most shameful trend among the Bible Crooks is the lack of self control, particularly in sexual context. They use the gullibility of desperate women to satisfy their own sexual desires. They promise them a wide range of possibilities in exchange for sex. These silly women would believe the crook and would allow him to do as he pleases and in the end the woman is shamed and the crook escapes unharmed. Paul did warn of this kind of immorality. He said,”For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,” (2 Timothy 3:6)

Conclusion

What then can be done with the information on this post? Well, Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets” (Matthew 7:15)  That means, be on guard always. Don’t fall asleep. Always keep your eyes on Christ Jesus. Don’t rely on men. No matter how big the claims they make about themselves and about their walk with God. Fix your eyes on Jesus. If you are strong in the word of God, protect those who are weak. If you have knowledge on things of God, help those who don’t have it. Like a good soldier of Christ, stand your ground and fight for TRUTH. Reject and expose the Crooks. Call them out by name with the hope that God will give them true repentence. Remember, in the Kingdom of God there is no room for a coward.

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Picture borrowed without permission from Quit Playing Church

Seven years ago, if you asked me to visit your church for the purpose of sitting down and listening to the preaching being done there, I would. Seven years later I have completely changed. I now choose carefully the churches I go to. There are many reasons for this but I will give you two which I believe are critical.

1. Doctrine

The doctrinal stand point of your church is critical. If your church stands on unstable grounds with regards to basic biblical doctrines, then I won’t be coming there again to listen to the preaching because it would be poisonous to my spiritual life. If a church does not hold to the sound doctrine, then it is clear the same is a carrier of false doctrine. A false doctrine is not the word of God at all and the men who are preaching false doctrine are not men of God but they are the servants of the entity whose doctrine they teach and in most cases that entity is the devil. We often hear people say, “Love unites, Doctrine divides” whenever we speak of doctrinal issues. Love won’t overlook false teaching. If we throw away sound doctrine in favour of love then it would not be the love of God we would be favouring. We would be embracing an emergent poison that shall see millions of people to hell.

Example 1:  The Doctrine of Hell

The truth is, false doctrine is blasphemous against God. If one believed that hell will be empty and everyone will go to heaven irrespective of their religion and lifestyle, as this is the message propagated by the “Love and Acceptance Movement,” the same person would be contradicting Jesus Christ, as He said :

“So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13:48-50

Jesus made it clear, not only in this passage but in many others, that there are people who shall go to hell. In His sermon on the mount, He told those who were listening to Him that many people shall go into destruction but few shall find the way to life (see Mat 7:13-14). There is not a single human being who knows better than Jesus Christ. If Jesus says that there is hell, then there is hell and there is no amount of argument anyone can raise to do away with that fact. No amount of “love and acceptance theology” can do away with the factuality of the doctrine of hell.

Example 2:  World religions

Another doctrinal problem that we witness is that of different religions. Hundreds of people believe that “all religions lead to the same God.” This statement is a lie, in fact nothing could be this further from the truth. The bible is very clear, Jesus Christ made this bold statement, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). When Jesus the Head of the church has thus spoken and we choose, under the false gazebo of love, to ignore His word and embrace the heresies of Islam, Roman Catholicism and many more, we become prostitutes and blasphemous breed in the sight of the Holy God. Those who teach that Allah is the same God which the Christians worship but under a different name, they teach a lie. Allah has no son but our God has a Son, and His Son is Jesus Christ. It is no rocket science to notice that one God has a Son and the other god is totally incapable of having a son no matter how much he wanted to.

2. Preachers

Another critical element that would determine whether I would come and listen to the preaching in your church, is the preacher. There are preachers I know for sure that they would speak nonsense because I have listened to them over and over again and they haven’t changed. Just to give an example of this, I would not waste my time and hard earned money going to a stadium to listen to Benny Hinn or Joel Osteen or even that crook from Malawi who goes by the name of Shepherd Bushiri. There are hundreds of wolves who come to steal people’s money under the guise of ministry. I am very careful and very selective as to whom I listen to. I don’t wish to spend 90 minutes listening to a sermon that tells me how powerless is Satan and what I should do to him. My aim is to hear about Jesus and be told how I should please Him. I don’t wish to be told how great I am or I could be, I wish to be reminded how great God is. I wish to be told how powerful Jesus is. If I am to believe on God then preach on God and glorify Him.

I had a very unfortunate experience in 2011 where I was invited by one friend to visit their church on a Sunday. I was very uncomfortable when a preacher took Psalm 23 and narrowed and centered its application upon the pastor. Without any shame whatsoever, he proclaimed that the pastor as a shepherd will lead the people to green pastures and to the still waters. This man deliberatly dethroned God and put his pastor friend on the throne instead. Jesus was not glorified in that preaching but the pastor received every last once of glory there was to be offered.

Friends, Psalm 23 is very clear as to who it refers to. The very first line says, “The Lord is my shepherd.” There is therefore no way whatsoever that one can accredit the verses that follow to a pastor and still be exonerated from being a heretic. It was at that moment that I decided never again to just go to any church and sit through a poisonous sermon.

“Is there a perfect Church?” You may ask. Of course there is no perfect church but there are worse churches out there and what makes them worse is the preaching that goes on in them and the lifestyle of their preachers. I would prefer to go to a church that has preachers who love Jesus and who seek to honour Him in their preaching and through their lifestyle. The bible tells us to take note of those who cause divisions among the brethren and this is what Paul says,

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” 

You see that Paul points out, that the trouble makers came with a false doctrine and Paul says, “avoid them.” In other words they should exclude and shut out false teachers because their “new doctrine” will cause division among the brethren. He  continues to say that these false teachers are servants to their bellies  and not of the Lord Jesus. These preachers are only in ministry as a means of getting a quick buck. They preach what men want to hear and not what God commands. He also points out that the false teachers are talented with words, they are eloquent oraters and they aim to deceive those who are gullible and stupid. So be watchful and be on your guard lest you be deceived also. I choose not listen to any garbage no matter who dishes it out.

Conclusion

I stand with conviction that there are people who are to be avoided at all possible costs due to their false doctrines and that I should not be under any obligation to continue listening to a preacher who has stopped proclaiming the pure and unadulterated word of God. The key factors that would determine if I would come to your Sunday church meeting are the doctrinal stand point of your congregation and the preachers. There are other factors that may influence my decision not to honour any invitation to any church but such shall be discussed when I find convenient time.

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Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”  –  2Timothy 4:2

INTRODUCTION

In this post I am going to deal with the subject of Biblical Preaching. It is quite obvious that in this day and age we need biblical preachers.  There is too much circus going on in the church circles to the point that the bible has been evicted from the pulpits and has been replaced by the books written by these false and egomaniac preachers. There are only three points I am going to treat.  First we are going to look at the content of preaching, and then move on to the timing of preaching, and then we shall look at the application of preaching.

I. The Content of Preaching

“Preach the word”

Paul gives Timothy a charge before God and before the Lord Jesus Christ. He tells him to preach the word. There is nothing more Timothy is told to preach apart from the word of God. It shouldn’t be a surprise as to why Timothy must preach the word. It has been explained in the preceding verses, that, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” The Scriptures are God’s word and therefore they must be preached. Amos says, “The Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?” (Amos 3:7).  So if God speaks to us today, there is no need then to listen to anything else except the preaching of God’s word.

There could be a number of activities at the gathering of believers but those activities no matter what they may be, are not worthy to be compared to the word of God in terms of importance. The word must be preached at all costs and irrespective of what activity we have in place. When we go to church we enjoy socializing and eating. We also enjoy having fellowship with other believers in singing or in dancing to music but the ultimate purpose is to have fellowship with God in hearing Him as He speaks to us through the preaching of His word. Paul says, “Preach the word, Timothy!” No gibberish! No funny stuf! Just preach the word of God without any reservation whatsoever. It is through the word of God that a man can live. The responsibility therefore, of the preacher, is to preach and to teach the word of God to the people.

II. The Timing of Preaching

“Be instant in season, out of season”

If one were to ask, “When should the word be preached?” this section of the verse covers it. It says, “In season and out season.” Lets us explore the two words. What does Paul mean by “In season, out of season?”

1. In Season (ευκαιρως)

a. Time

Paul tells Timothy to preach the word in Season. The Greek word is “Eukairos” which is made up of two words, “Eus” an adverb which means “good” or “well” and “kairos” which means “opportunity,” or “proper time.” What Paul tells this young preacher is, he must make use of proper time to preach the word. He must preach whenever he is expected to preach.

b. Place

Time is always bound up with space. So this also implies that Timothy must preach the word at the right place for the preaching of the word. He must preach at church services, funerals, weddings and many other places where the word is always expected to be delivered. He must preach the word where and when it feels right to preach.

c. People

Preaching involves not only space and time but it also involves people. There are different kinds of people but the word of God must be preached to all the people whom God loves. To preach at the right time (in season) means to preach to believers. The people who needs to be edified and to be encouraged in the faith

2. Out of Season (ακαιρως)

a. Time

Again we look at the Greek word used in this text. The word is “akairos” which is a negative of “kairos.” The word ought to be preached also in times viewed as inconvenient to preach. These are the times where people do not think that there could be any preaching done. Preach it while waiting for the bus and on board the bus. Preach it while watching a football match.

b. Place

The word of God can be preached at a street corner or outside the sports stadium as people go in to watch the match. Preach the word at a community meeting or at the art in the park event. Anywhere and at anytime, preach the word of God, O man of God.

c. People

Preaching out of season means you are going to be preaching to people who do not care about the word of God. People who do not want to hear about Jesus. Sometimes they will be offended but some will be converted. The president of the country needs to hear the preaching. Your boss needs to hear the gospel and that potty mouthed neighbour of yours who is always drunk needs to hear the gospel from you. Since he won’t go to church to hear it there, intrude on his time like an angel of dead and preach the hell out of him. Who knows maybe God will touch his heart and he will come to repentance.

III. The Application of Preaching

“Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

Paul tells Timothy of four things which his sermons should aim to do. These four things should also be seen in our own sermons.

1. Reprove (correct)

At times people get wrong ideas about many things. When this happens, it is the duty of the preacher to bring about correction. A pastor’s role is to shepherd or guide his flock. When one sheep strays from the way, the pastor must bring them back onto the right path.  The preaching must bring correction. It must turn the prodigal son back to the Father’s arms.

2. Rebuke

When people are doing wrong things, they need to be rebuked. We need preachers who will rebuke wrongdoers without fear. We need the kind of preaching that would rebuke those people who are continuing in sinful practices. Under good preaching, people should have a vivid understanding of right and wrong. If this is not happening then the preacher has failed to execute his job properly.

3. Exhort (encourage)

a. Encouragement

Sometimes people got through seasons of drought and difficulty. Some are even on the verge to lose their faith. The preacher must encourage them to press on and never to give up. As a preacher you must encourage people to do the following (just to name the few):

i) Pray

ii) Read the Bible everyday

iii) Tell others about Jesus

iv) To  live in holiness

v) Fellowship with other Christians

vi) Be kind to other people

b. Patience

To encourage people is not an easy job. Often the result would not be seen as soon as we would like them. Therefore it is necessary to keep sharing and encouraging people with a great deal of patience. Don’t stop preaching just because you think there are no results.

3. Doctrine

Every preacher must understand the doctrines which the bible teaches and therefore must pass them on to the people of God. The people must understand the subjects like Justification, Sanctification, Resurrection and any other doctrine that we have in the word of God. We must always uphold the true doctrine in our preaching.

a. The Bible

As Paul had pointed out that “All scripture is given by the inspiration of God” He also pointed out that they are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

Note: The scriptures are profitable (useful) for Doctrine. This means every doctrine that is taught in our preaching should always be based on the Scriptures, particularly the Bible.

b. Authority

To say that the scriptures are useful for Doctrine implies that in the matters of teaching, the Holy Scriptures are the only literary work that bears authority in the Christian body. Any other text should therefore be looked at with careful consideration and scrutiny. We teach the Bible and we preach from the Bible.

CONCLUSION

We have established that Paul teaches Timothy to preach the word of God. He must preach the word of God to those who believe and he must preach to those who don’t believe. There is no place on earth where Christ shouldn’t be preached. Christ must be preached anywhere, anytime and to anyone.

To preach the word of God in our time means to preach Jesus Christ being the Saviour who was crucified and then raised from the dead, and then ascended to heaven and who is soon to return. Jesus Christ should always be the centre of attention and the centrifuge of our preaching. Jesus Christ at the Centre of it all.

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Borrowed from http://www.newhdwallpapersin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Latest-Universe-Door-Hd-Wallpapers-Free-Download-81.jpg

Download the PDF Version of this Post: In The Beginning

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2

INTRODUCTION

There is no doubt in my heart that this post is not going to be accepted by some people, particularly, the liberal theologians and atheists. Nevertheless, I am determined to write this post about the beginning. There is no other authority to which I shall refer except the bible. I believe the bible gives us an accurate account of the creation of the world and the origin of mankind. We shall look at verses 1 and 2 of Genesis chapter 1.

I. THE FIRST VERSE

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.“

There is so much information contained in the first verse of the bible. We are given the foundation and the beginning of the whole visible and invisible universe. These ten words are very important and if they are ignored, anyone attempting to describe the origin of the universe will by all means sound stupid.

Here we are:

a) God

There is no questions to  who is the subject of this verse. God is the main character in this verse. It is very interesting that the word for God in Hebrew appears as a plural. The singular for God is ‘El’ but in Genesis 1:1,  it is ‘Elohim.’ So it suggest to us that God is more than one person. Moses clarified this in Deuteronomy 6:4 by saying “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God (Elohim) is one Lord:” God is more than one person but He is one God.

b) In the beginning

We are given the timing of the creation of the whole universe.  It happened in the beginning. Some people would ask, “Beginning of what?” Well, this is the beginning of time and also the beginning of God’s work of creation. This is when everything started. I don’t know if there was a bang or it was just deafening silence but whatever it was, it marked the beginning of the whole universe. And God was there before it started.

c) Created

In this single verse we are also told of the action that God took. He created. The word used in the Hebrew language is ‘Bara.’ This particular word can only be used with respects to God. This is because it is only God who created everything out of nothing. He created everything without the use of pre-existing material. None of us can ever create anything at any given time. We can only make things out of materials that already exist, but to create was only pulled off by God alone in the beginning. Therefore God is the sole creator.

d) The heaven and the earth

• The Heavens

This tells us about what God really created. He created not only time (the beginning) but also He created space (heaven) that can be occupied. He created the heavens in their divisions. I am very much convinced that on the very first day the heavens and the host of them were brought forth. The Hebrew word for heavens is שָׁמָ֑יִם “shamayim.” This word is in the plural form and it suggests to us that in the beginning, there existed more than one heaven. It does not matter how many heavens are there,  what matters is they did not just pop up by themselves. God created them.

• The Earth

Like the heavens, the earth was also created in the beginning. There shouldn’t be any doubt about the origin of the earth. The earth was created by God and the case rests there. The psalmist sang, “Of old hast thou [God] laid the foundation of the earth:” (Psalm 102:25a). God created the earth and established it. He set it up for his own pleasure. He was pleased to create it. The earth was completely his own idea. It is God alone who could have thought of creating the earth and also to know what to do with it. He had the means and infinite wisdom to create it. No evolutionist, astronomer or even an atheist who can possess enough wisdom and knowledge to successfully contend or do any other thing against the fact that God created it all.

II.  THE SECOND VERSE

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.“

• THE GAP THEORY

This verse has been for centuries a seat for argument among the theologians. There are many views surrounding this verse. With the rise of Darwinian evolution, there has been theologians who came to believe that between verse one and verse two, there are millions, if not billions of years. This idea is called “the gap theory.” There is a suggestion of a pre-Adamic creation, which existed and was destroyed with the earth somewhere between verse one and verse two. As for the author of this post and those who are of like mind, we reject this notion.

• CONTINUATION

It is very clear that verse two is simply the continuation of the first verse. Any intelligent human being can see that the first verse introduces the story of creation by mentioning the earth’s creation in the beginning and then proceeds into the second verse to tell us about the condition of the earth at the moment of it’s creation. If one would continue reading verses 3-31, they would notice that these verses are summarized in verse one. Then in Genesis 2:1-3, the story of the six day creation which was introduced in Genesis 1:1 is concluded. God did not finish the work of creation in verse one and then waited for millions of years to start over in verses 2-31. God started His work of creation on the first day and finished it on the sixth and on the seventh day he stopped creating because He was done. Here is the conclusion statement on creation, “Thus the HEAVENS and the EARTH were FINISHED, and all the host of them.” (Genesis 2:1). This verse tells us that the heavens were created and were completed at the same time as the earth. Exodus 20:11 tells us, “…in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:…“

• And the earth was without form and void

Here in this verse we learn that the earth itself in the very beginning was not organized. There was no atmosphere, there was no land but it was a large mass of probably frozen water. There was no life of any sort. The planet was not suitable for any kind of life to thrive there on. There was no sun to give it light and warmth. But God was still at work and six days later the earth would be filled with light, life and beauty.

• And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

This is the first mention of the Spirit of God in the Bible. The Holy Spirit was waiting to begin the work of arranging the earth into a life sustaining environment. He moved across the face of the waters, waiting for God’s instruction. God himself worked the earth by the power of his Spirit. He gave it life and beauty and all was pleasant to Him.

CONCLUSION

There is no question that the Bible teaches that God created the heavens and the earth in six days and that He rested from all His work of creation on the seventh day. The first and the second verses of the Bible give us the introductory summary into the six day creation campaign and there was no million or billion year gap between verse one and two. By God’s grace on the next post, we shall look at the events that take place during the six days in verses 3 -31 of Genesis 1.

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The Passover vs. Good Friday

By Lungisa N Joctrey

Podcast: Listen/Download

I have been asking myself one question that I couldn’t answer and that question is, “what is Good Friday.” The reason I asked this question is the fact that there is biblical evidence of that Jesus Christ did not die on Friday. To many people this statement is shocking and the reason for that would be due to the fact that many people do not take their time and study their bibles. It is a dangerous thing to rely on another person to read the bible for you instead of reading and searching out for truth yourself. It is not safe to take everything the pastor is saying without testing it against the word of God. People observe the Good Friday holiday due to the Christian facade that is put upon it. It is cloaked with pretentious and unbiblical celebration of the death of Christ while the Antichrist Romish agenda is being carried out by the very people that think to be doing God’s will. First of all, I will from the bible answer the question, “Did Jesus Christ die on Friday?” and lastly I will answer the question, “Should Christians celebrate Good Friday.” All scripture references will be drawn from the King James Version (KJV 1611)

Did Jesus Die on Friday?

To answer this question properly we have to look at the time in which Jesus Christ died, the time and day in which He was buried and the day in which He was raised from the dead. Over and above that we have to consider the words of Jesus Christ which He spoke concerning His death, especially, when He spoke of destroying the temple and raising it in a specified number of days and also that which He said about the sign of the prophet Jonah who was in the belly of the fish over a specified number of days and nights.

Let us first, turn our attention to the book of Matthew 12:40 “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.”

And gain the Lord Jesus answers the Jews when they require a sign from Him in John 2:18-21 “Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.”

These words are true, seeing that the Son of God has spoken them. God who cannot lie became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ: He it is that tells the people that “… the Son of man [shall] be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” This tells us that whenever the story of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection is told it must show that He spent three days and three nights in the place of the dead. Jesus Christ spoke of those who were looking for a sign, saying that they will get none except that which has already been given, the sign of Jonah the prophet. Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so the Son of man was to be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The scribes and Pharisees would have believed in Christ if they truly knew and believed the scriptures. They should have believed on Him the more when they had received a report of that the earth shook and an angel descended from heaven and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the grave in which Jesus Christ was buried. This had been told to them by the guards who were watching the tomb. They should have remembered what He said about the sign of Jonah being in the belly of the whale. They should have remembered what the prophet Hosea said in chapter six, on the second verse,

“After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.”

Jesus Christ did predict His death and resurrection three times, in three different locations. The first location was Caesarea Philippi, the second was at Galilee and the third was on the road to Jerusalem.

Here are the Scripture references:

  • Caesarea Philippi                    :               Matthew 16:13-21, Mark 8:27-33, Luke 9:21-22
  • Galilee                                   :               Matthew 17:22-23, Mark 9:30-31, Luke 9:44
  • On the Road to Jerusalem       :               Matthew 20:17-19, Mark 10:23-34, Luke 18:31-33

In three of these predictions according to Matthew and Mark, Jesus stated clearly that the Son of man shall be killed and “after three days [shall] rise again.” With that being said, it is safe to say that to find out the day on which Jesus Christ died we must look for the day of His resurrection. After we have found such a day, we can then count three days backwards and we will land on the day on which Jesus died, however there might be room for error in doing so because there are two different methods that can be used to count the days, and these methods would produce two different outcomes, one of which would be correct. One method would be to count from the day of His resurrection, meaning we start by including the day of his resurrection and another way we can count is by excluding the day of resurrection, meaning we start by counting the day before the day of His resurrection.

We can find the day on which the Lord was raised from the dead in all four gospels. The gospels do mention the specific day on which Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. Let us look them.

Matthew 28:1-8

“In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. “

  • Matthew says “In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to down in the first day of the week”

Mark 16:1-9

“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. 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. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they anything to any man; for they were afraid. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.”

  • Mark says, “…when the Sabbath was past” and in v9 he says “…Jesus was risen early the first day of the week”

Luke 24:1-9

“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. ”

  • Luke says “…upon the first day of the week…”

John 20:1-10

“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. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.”

  • John say, “the first day of the week”

So the Lord rose before the dawn of the first day of the week, which is the day the comes after the Sabbath day (or as it is called in the Romish calendar, Saturday). The day that comes after the Romish Saturday is the Romish Sunday. Now counting backwards, one method of counting would result to Thursday and another one would result to Friday. There is no need for us to trouble ourselves with this dilemma because we have scripture to guide us. In the scripture there is another day that is mentioned, the day and the time on which the Lord was buried and that is “preparation day”

  • Matthew 27:57-61 “When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.”
    • Matthew says “when the even was come,” we will look at the significance of that phrase shortly
  • Mark 15:42-46 “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.”
    • Mark says “when the even was come, because it was preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath”
  • Luke 23:50-56 “And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on. And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.”
    • Luke says of the day Jesus was buried “And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on.”
  • John 19:38-42 “And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.”
    • John says that they laid Jesus on that specific grave “because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.”

What we can gather on these four gospels is that:

– Jesus was buried at night because it is said by Matthew and Mark that “when the even was come” Joseph of Arimathaea came and requested the body of Jesus from Pilate and then went and buried it.

– Jesus was buried on “preparation day” which is the day that comes before the Sabbath. Which means Jesus was buried on Romish Friday because the Romish Friday comes before the Sabbath (which happens to be the Romish Saturday)

Days and Times In The Bible

Days

The points I’ve stated above are still not enough to help us conclude on whether Jesus Christ died on Friday or not. We need some information concerning the way days and times are counted. In the book of Genesis chapter 1, we are told how days begin.

Genesis 1:3-5 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

Moses noted that when the first day was created, the order of counting days was set in motion and it is revealed in these words, “And the evening and the morning were the first day.” For the second day in verse 8, “And the evening and the morning were the second day.” The same applies to the rest of the days. The 24 hour day begins at evening and comes to end on the next evening. The 24 hour day it is divided into two portions the first one is Night and the other one is Day. The night begins at evening and the day begins at the

This is not like in the modern day where it is said that the 24 hour day begins at midnight.

Times of the Day and Hours

Just like the days, hours are also calculated differently in the bible from our modern day watches. Consider the parable of Jesus in Mathew 20: 1-16,

“For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.”

Let me draw your attention to the times the Lord is mentioning in this parable

1. early in the morning

2. third hour

3. sixth hour

4. Ninth hour

5. the eleventh hour

6. Even

The day has 12 hours and the night also, adding up to make 24 hours. Now “early in the morning” refers to the time the sun rises or modern day 06:00am. The “third hour” is 09:00am, the “sixth hour” is Noon, the “ninth hour” is 03:00pm and the eleventh hour is 05:00pm. Hear the protest made by those who were working all day from the morning until end of day, “These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.” The say that the people who were hired on the eleventh hour have work for only “one hour” which means work had stopped at the 12th hour.

Let put this in order

early in the morning    :               06:00am

third hour                         :               09:00am

sixth hour                         :               12:00pm

Ninth hour                       :               03:00pm

the eleventh hour          :               05:00pm

Even                                    :               06:00pm or Sunset

Matthew, Mark and Luke are showing us that Jesus died around the ninth hour, which means he died around 03:00pm (see Matthew 27:46-50, Mark 15:33-37, Luke 23:44-46). It is quite clear that Jesus Christ died while the sun was up, in the vicinity of the ninth hour (03:00pm) after the global darkness saga. When the evening came which happens to the beginning of the new 24 hour day, Jesus Christ was buried. So literally, He died on the afternoon of the one day and was buried on the evening of the other. We know from our earlier discussion that Jesus was buried on “preparation day” which is the day that precedes the Sabbath. We also established that preparation day is Friday, since that is the only day which comes before the Sabbath or Saturday. The information above give us a very good picture of that Jesus died at 03:00pm on the afternoon of the day that comes before preparation day, that is to say, the day before Friday which happens to be Thursday.

Now let’s paint a clear picture, Jesus Christ died at the ninth hour (03:00pm) Thursday, the even came which spelt the beginning of Friday, Jesus Christ was then buried and somewhere between the end of the Sabbath (on Sunday eve) and the dawning the first day (Sunday), He was raised from the dead and on Sunday morning He was not found in the grave.

Does this fit the three days and three night prediction?

Let us look at the tables below:

The Passover vs Good Friday (Tables)

As you can see the tables above, the three days and three nights prediction is flawlessly fulfilled. The information on Table 1.1 is based on how the Jews in biblical times counted the days and times, while Table 1.2 show the same information based on the modern day view of days and times. Both these illustrations show that Jesus Christ died on Thursday, which counts as Day 1 and was buried on Thursday night/ Friday Eve which counts as Night 1.

This information shows that Jesus couldn’t have died on Friday if he rose early before the dawning of Sunday. Good Friday makes it impossible to count three days and three nights from Friday to early Sunday morning. Thus we can draw our conclusion that Jesus died on Thursday afternoon and not on Friday.

Should Christians Celebrate Good Friday?

Seeing that we have shown from the scripture that Jesus Christ didn’t die on Friday, it quite obvious that true Christians have nothing to do with Good Friday. There is no scripture reference where we are commanded to celebrate such a holy day. Of course the bible wouldn’t say “Good Friday” but instead it could have said “Good Preparation day.” We are not ordered to celebrate such a day. We are commanded to observe the Lord’s Supper to His memory in Luke 20:19-20,

“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”

Apostle Paul also reminds us of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26,

“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”

The Holy Communion is the one we are commanded to observe in order to remember the Lord. All these Holidays: Easter, Good Friday, Christmas and others are not from the Lord and therefore Christians must avoid participating in them. It is not wrong to worship the Lord on any day but it is wrong to celebrate Good Friday or Easter in the name of the Lord. That is like worshiping the devil to the glory of God…that doesn’t work.