Newsletter April 2026

Dear Saints,
    The Apostle Paul said, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most miserable" 1Cor. 15:19. He also said, “If the dead do not rise, then Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die", 1 Cor. 15:32b. Most of the world is miserable, because they have rejected the love of God through the cross of Jesus Christ. Praise God, those who have trusted the cross for salvation will be raised from the dead, as Jesus was. “If that same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, it shall quicken your mortal body” Rm. 8:11. Through the Lord’s resurrection, he conquered our last enemy which was death" 1 Cor. 15:26. Because of his sacrificial love, one day, our mortal bodies, in the twinkling of an eye, will be immortal; Hallelujah.

    Satan has a way wiggling his lies for the truth. The celebration of Easter is not Biblical. “Easter is generally believed to come from Eastre (or Ostara), an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility, whose feast was celebrated around the spring equinox. Around the eighth century as Christianity spread, early English Christians adapted the name of this existing spring festival. It marked the resurrection of Jesus, merging seasonal traditions like eggs and hares (rabbits) with the Christian holy day” (AI.) However, the Biblical holiday that was celebrated in the Old Testament and the New is Passover. Jesus is the Passover lamb, which Moses describes in Exodus 12:5. God tells the Jewish people to slay a year old male lamb, without blemish, and put the blood on two sides of their door post. Also, He told them to put it on the upper door post in the houses, where they shall eat (the Passover) Ex. 12:17. God then said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” Ex 12:13, (type of Christ). This was in reference to the death angel passing over the entire first born in the Jewish households. Their lives were spared because of the blood. Not so for the Egyptians, all their first born died. The first Passover was hastily done, due to the quick exit from Egypt. It included three main elements: the sacrificial lamb, unleavened bread, and wine. It has been celebrated each year, and will continue forever. Jesus himself celebrated Passover in Jerusalem, with his disciples, known as the last supper. He said in Mark 14:22 that the bread is His body and the wine is His blood. Jesus never said anything about the lamb, (which was included in every Passover) because he is the Passover lamb, who on the cross declared “it is finished” (atonement for sin).

    and      Jewish people celebrate Passover from slavery in Egypt. The meal that accompanies Passover is called a Seder. In it, the matzah represents Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection. On it, are stripes and piercing, which are symbols of what Jesus bore on the cross. He was pierced, and by his stripes we are healed, and forgiven of all our transgressions. The father, who is the head of the house, takes the matzah and breaks it into three parts. This action symbolizes the trinity. Our Lord is the second person of the trinity, and the father takes the middle piece, and wraps it in white linen: what Jesus was buried in. The father then hides it, which symbolizes the burial of Jesus. Later on in the service, the children are asked to go find this treasure. Why do I say it’s a treasure? Because, whoever locates it, is rewarded. So it is for anyone who comes to faith in Jesus; their reward is eternal not temporal.

    Where did Jesus go after his burial? He used Scripture to tell us. “As he (Jonah) was three days and three nights in the big fish, (the belly) so shall the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”. What is in the heart of the earth? Hell! Hell is the center of the earth. David makes it very clear that Jesus went there; “for thou will not leave my soul in Hell, neither will thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption, Ps 16:10. Jesus is “thine Holy one” and the Lord resurrected him from there. Peter concurs that, on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2:27 what David said. Scripture also says that if you make your bed in hell, the Lord is there, Ps 139:8b. The Lord was with Jesus when he was there, and raised him from the dead with a new body. Only the scars remained, from the beating He took for our punishment. God used those scars as a witness for his resurrection to doubting Thomas.

    The reason why I presented this truth, concerning where Jesus was for three days, because of false declarations that he did not go there. Always use Scripture as your source of truth. In both testaments this truth has been presented.

Serving Our King Together,      April 5, Happy Resurrection Day!

Rev. Joseph & Rev. Benjamin