Friday Morning Manna April 26, 2019
Nathaniel Fajardo email:[email protected]
The Mystery of the Incarnation
“When we want a deep problem to study, let us fix our minds on the most marvelous thing that ever took place in earth or heaven—the incarnation of the Son of God.”– Vol. 7, E.G. White Comprehensive Bible Commentary, p. 904.
Before we move on with this marvelous subject, we all need to be reminded simply because the world and the churches have ignored or forgotten about—as they have the Bible Sabbath of the fourth commandment—the true origins of Easter just celebrated this past Sunday.
(Note: It was a horrific Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka. One news outlet put it this way: “A Tragic Holy Week Culminates in an Easter Sunday Horror.” Early reports say some 9 suicide-bombers, including one woman with children, detonated themselves in popular Christian (Catholic) Sri Lankan churches and hotels resulting in at least 290 people killed and hundreds injured. It was painful to see the faces of those who lost loved ones. As our hearts and prayers go out for them, we must remember that these “cruel violence” are part of the signs of the times that we are nearing “the time of trouble such as never was.
I will here cite the source of the following information of the origin of Easter to show that we are not just saying things here: It is from A Dictionary of the Bible by John D. Davies, PhD., D.D. L.L.D., Fourth Revised Edition, Westminster Press, PA 1942, Trustees of the Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work. The Preface says:
“This Dictionary covers the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, in both the Authorized and Revised Versions, together with the First Book of the Macabees in the Revised Version. The Cambridge edition of 1857, minion 24mo, has been the standard of reference for the canonical books of the Authorized Version [KJV]. The inclusion of one book of the Apocrypha, and only one, was determined for its unique intrinsic worth, the First Book of the Macabees being conspicuous among the apocryphal writings for its value to the historian and the biblical student as throwing much light upon an important period of Jewish history between the death of Ezra and Nehemiah at the close of the Old testament dispensation and the birth of Christ, which inaugurated a new order of things.” p. iii.
Here’s what it says of Easter—it is clearly not of Christian origin but pagan:
“Originally the spring festival in honor of Eastra or Ostara, the Teutonic goddess of light and spring. As early as the eight century the name was transferred by the Anglo-Saxons to the Christian festival designed to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. In the A.V. it occurs once, viz., in Acts 12: 4, but it is a mistranslation. The original is pascha, the ordinary Greek word Passover. The R.V. properly employs the word passover.” p.185.
Who were the Teutonic people? How about the early Anglo-Saxons? To show us how very pagan everything associated with Easter is, we must of a necessity, ask, Who were the Teutonic people? The Anglo-Saxons?
Briefly, the Teutonic people were an ancient Germanic tribe placed in what is now Scandinavia. They were part of the scourges invaded and broke up the western Roman empire. They were defeated by the Romans in 105 B.C. According to Valentius and Florus, when the Teutonic king surrendered, 30 married women were to be handed over as concubines and slaves. When the Teutonic matrons heard of this, they begged the Roman consul that they might be instead allowed to minister in the temples of Ceres and Venus [pagan goddesses of the Romans]. When their request was denied, the Teutonic women slew all their children. The next morning all the women were found dead in each other’s arms, having strangled each other during the night. Their joint martyrdom passed into Roman legends as Teutonic Fury. (see Wikipedia).
The ancient Anglo-Saxon societies were a worshipping and praying people but their life in the 5th/6th centuries was dominated by pagan beliefs. They attached great significance to the horse which they considered an acquaintance of their pagan god Woden. Horses were associated especially with the Odin and Freya (or Frigga). Our Wednesday comes from Woden; Friday is from Frigga or Freya. In the beginning at creation, God gave no names for the days except the last day, the seventh day. He called it the proper name, the Sabbath. All the rest were known by numbers. But as man fell away from God and the truth, they started naming the days of the week after their pagan gods and goddesses. And thus it stands today, including Easter.
What’s the difference between Frigga and Freya? The former was the goddess of love, marriage and destiny, wife of the powerful Norse god Odin. She was a sky goddess, responsible for weaving the clouds-and therefore for sunshine and rain and fertility of the crops; responsible for weaving the fates, as well as a seer [prophetess], one who knew the future but could not change it. Freya was a warrior goddess, a Valkyrie, and also the goddess of sensual love. (see more on www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myth.frigga-freya-goddess.html.
The oldest of the other names of Eastra, Ostara, and Easter is Ishtar who corresponds to Aphrodite of the Greeks and Venus of the Romans. She was the wife of Tammuz. Tammuz is specifically mentioned in the Bible (Ezekiel 8: 14) to whom the apostate Jewish women were weeping for and which the prophet was told was “the even greater abomination” than the others being committed! Tammuz was a Phoenician deity, the Adonis of the Greeks but was originally a Sumerian and Babylonian Sun-god. Tammuz and Astarte [for Easter] appears in Greek mythology as Adonis and Aphrodite and are identified as Osiris and Isis of the Egyptians. That’s how widespread the cult-worship of these pagan deities were, then, and now!
Question: If you are still celebrating Easter in any way and for whatever reason, will you still continue doing so? Transferring any pagan practice into Christianity does not make it in any way Christian, that is, according to Christ and the Bible. Instead, it not only causes confusion but actually deceives.
Now, to the Mystery of the Incarnation. Back in year 2003, June 10 of that year to be exact, I wrote down for my personal reference a study on the Humanity of Christ. Barely 5 years later, I came up with a slightly revised version dated January 1, 2008.
This is but a part of our current series (under the Number 7) on the “finishing up of the mystery[ies] of God” under the blowing of the seventh and last of the trumpets that has been in progression after 1844 as embodied in the “swelling” of the three angels messages.
I have no claims to make whatsoever other than that I feel compelled to share this body of information and my corresponding thoughts with anyone interested. As usual, it will come in 4-page increments.
The Humanity of Christ– Part I
I. Precautions
II. Promises and Rewards of this study
III. Eight Guidelines
IV. Is there room for Pluralism?
V. Does Jesus, in fact, truly bear our sins and guilt? How?
VI. History of the Controversy:
– Arianism,
– Docetism
– Socianism
VII. What the other religions believe
VIII. The Unique Humanity of Christ Analyzed from:
– creation
– incarnation
– procreation
IX. What the Spirit of Prophecy Says regarding Christ’s:
– divinity
– humanity
– the blending of the two natures
X. How did/does Jesus look like?
XI. How Christ performed His miracles
XII. Special Section
PRECAUTIONS
Before we even attempt to start a study on this awesome topic, we need to earnestly pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the ministry and protection of the angels lest we unconsciously fall a victim to Satan’s highly specialized deceptions on this topic or commit the sin of carelessness and presumption, not realizing that we are standing on holy ground.
PRAYER: Dear Father in heaven. We humbly desire to learn more of what You have and will continue to reveal to us individually regarding the nature of Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ our loving Savior. Please send Your Holy Spirit to teach and guide us and your angels to minister and protect us from the evil one. Check us when we are in any danger of making assertions or reaching conclusions that are not in harmony with your word. We are willing to be made willing and will sit quietly at the feet of Jesus that we might learn from and of Him who is meek and lowly in heart. Thank you for answering our prayer. We ask this in the name and authority of Jesus Christ, Amen. God’s immediate answer to this prayer obviously is:
“Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Exo. 3: 5, KJV. See the following verses first: Luke 1: 21-35; Heb. 1: 1-13; 2: 9, 10, 16-18; 4: 15. Now we will quote extensively from the inspired pen of Ellen G. White that clearly specify the areas where extreme caution should be exercised whenever any discussion of the humanity of Christ and the mystery of His incarnation are entered into. Notice (all emphasis supplied):
“Be careful, exceedingly careful as to how you dwell upon the human nature of Christ. Do not set Him before the people as a man with the propensities of sin. He is the second Adam [1 Cor. 15:45]. The first Adam was created a pure, sinless being, without a taint of sin on him. He could fall, and he did fall through transgressing. Because of His sin his posterity was born with inherent propensities of disobedience. But Jesus was the only begotten Son of God. He took upon Himself human nature, and was tempted in all points as human nature is tempted. He could have sinned; He could have fallen; but not for one moment was there in Him an evil propensity. He was assailed with temptation in the wilderness, as Adam was assailed with temptation in Eden.
“Avoid every question in relation to the humanity of Christ which is liable to be misunderstood. Truth lies close to the track of presumption. In treating upon the humanity of Christ, you need to guard strenuously every assertion lest your words be taken to mean more than they imply, and thus you lose or dim the clear perceptions of His humanity as combined with divinity. His birth was a miracle of God; for, said the angel [Luke 1: 31-35 quoted]. These words do not refer to any human being, except to the Son of the infinite God. Never in any way, leave the slightest impression upon human minds that a taint of, or inclination to corruption rested upon Christ or that He in any way yielded to corruption. He was tempted in all points like as man is, yet He is called ‘that holy thing.’ It is a mystery that is left unexplained to mortals that Christ could be tempted in all points like we are, and yet be without sin. The incarnation of Christ has ever been, and ever will remain a mystery.
“That which is revealed, is for us and our children [see Deut. 29:29], but let every human being be warned from the ground of making Christ altogether human such an one as ourselves; for it cannot be. The exact time when humanity blended with divinity, it is not necessary for us to know. We are to keep our feet on the rock Christ Jesus, as God revealed in humanity.
“I perceive that there is danger in approaching subjects which dwell on the humanity of the Son of the Infinite God. He did humble Himself when He saw He was in fashion as a man, that He might understand the force of all temptations wherewith man is beset.” – Letter 8, 1895; E.G. White Bible Commentary, vol. 5, pp. 1129-30 (emphasis supplied).
“When we approach the subject of Christ’s divinity clothed with the garb of humanity, we may appropriately heed the words spoken by Christ to Moses at the burning bush, ‘Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.’ [Exo. 3:5].”- E.G. White Bible Commentary, Vol.7, p. 905 (emphasis supplied).
(To be continued next week)