Dear friend,

It’s resurrection time again. Can you see it all around you? Weren’t the branches bare just a short time ago and don’t they have blossoms and buds to welcome the oncoming springtime?

Have you ever thought about this annual miracle as symbolic of our own upcoming resurrections? The Son of God rose from the dead, indeed, but He was the Creator of heaven and earth. We would expect that mortal death couldn’t hold Him. But look at us ourselves, a group of ordinary mortal earthbound sinners. We too will “rise again” just as He did. We may be as plain and bare and unattractive as that apparently dead forest of the winter months, but on some great and future day we will blossom with eternal life.

We are often asked about “Easter” and “First Fruits”. Easter has become a holy word through 2,000 years of Christian usage, but it is the name of the Babylonian goddess, Ishtar. It does not correctly appear anywhere in the Bible. It has to do with fertility, not resurrection, which is an entirely different thing. Every living thing already has fertility. Only believers in Jesus Christ will have resurrection. The term “first fruits” (Lev. 23:10–12; I Cor. 15:20–23)^* is the accurate biblical name of resurrection Sunday, the day our Lord rose. This is a most important distinction. When we speak of a “first” we imply that there is a second, a third, etc…The scriptures tell us we will be resurrected “each one in his own order” (I Cor. 15:23). It is as if we all have a number in this grand processional into life eternal. “The dead in Christ rise first” and why not? Obviously they have lower numbers. And so the answer to the Easter/First Fruits question is that we should use God’s term “First Fruits”. If we depend on the Bible for our Christianity we will never find the word “Easter”, plain and simple.

Related to the above question is the day of the crucifixion and the “three days and three nights”. Was it really “Good Friday” or was it Thursday after all? There are even some who suppose the crucifixion was on Wednesday that week. The best answer I have is that I don’t know. All clues in the Gospels are tied to “Sabbaths”, but that term refers to Jewish feast days that week (Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits) and a normal Saturday Sabbath. Therefore, there were four different “days of preparation” that week. No verse in the Gospel pinpoints the weekday of the crucifixion and I think this is something that God has concealed for reasons of His own. God above all knows how eager men are to sanctify days and to invent new festivals. Quite possibly by the time of the crucifixion He had had enough of artificial holiday-making.

And in relation to Sabbath-keeping itself, Col. 2:16 speaks precisely to the issue. We waste our time in debating over that which is already scripturally given.

Many of you have written to us regarding the issues I’ve just discussed and I hope you find these answers helpful. Actually we prefer to answer your questions via television which speaks to such multitudes so efficiently. Metroplex viewers, by the way, are reminded that our new airtime, 6:00 PM Mondays on Channel 33 is available to you weekly in addition to 11:00 PM Sundays on Channel 39. We understand that Ch.33 delivers a strong signal to Ft. Worth, and in case you didn’t know, Ch.33 is a standard UHF station, just like 39. Simply turn your UHF dial to 33.

We’re very happy with the response to our May 29–June 11 Land and Sea Tour. Please know that the tour has to close April 25 and full payments are due at that time. If you were contemplating joining us this summer, please write or phone us now. It’s vital that you register as soon as possible. We may be able to save you some airfare and avoid overbooking problems if you’ve signed up well ahead of the April 25 deadline. The airlines only have so many seats during this busy season. Please don’t delay. A $200 deposit (refundable) confirms your reservation.

Thank you sincerely for your steady giving. We’re presently building a budget for new production and we deeply appreciate your kindness and your patience. May God bless each one of you for your faithfulness to Him.

In His love,

^* 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.
And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the Lord (Lev. 23:10–12).

^* 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 (I Cor. 15:20–23).