Gerald E. Weston

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Why Easter and Not Passover?

Easter Sunday was a fun day when I was a child. Who doesn’t like a treasure hunt? We decorated eggs, wrote names on them, and hid them from one another. Then we set out to find those with our names on them. Sometimes we would go to larger treasure hunts where dozens of children ran about looking for any egg to add to their basket. It all seemed like harmless fun. Who could possibly be against it?

But, we never stopped to ask,

Why are we doing this?
What does it have to do with the resurrection of Christ?
How do eggs and rabbits fit into the picture?
Where does the name Easter come from?
And, are any of these questions even relevant?
What difference does any of this make?

Sadly, too many adults never ask these questions. It almost seems sacrilegious to question such longstanding traditions. But is it?

On today’s Tomorrow’s World program, I’ll answer these questions. I’ll also show you from the Bible what was the only sign Jesus said He would give, that He was the One He claimed to be—the Son of God—and how Easter traditions contradict that sign.

Easter’s Pagan Roots and False Traditions

A warm welcome to all of you from all of us here at Tomorrow’s World. On today’s program, I’m asking and answering questions about the holiday known as Easter. I’ll also show you from the pages of your own Bible that Jesus was not crucified on Friday, nor was He resurrected on Sunday morning. Now I know that is a shock to many, but you can prove it for yourself, and you need to, because that tradition contradicts Jesus’ own words about the one sign He said He would give that would show that He is the Messiah.

But before we get to that, let’s notice some other traditions that ought to make any thinking person sit up and ask some serious questions. Why, for example, is the holiday that supposedly celebrates the resurrection of Christ, named after a pagan goddess? Think about that. Why? Here is some documented history that you can read in our free resource Easter: The Untold Story:

The New World Encyclopedia suggests a connection between Eostre and Easter with the very popular and ancient goddess Ishtar: “Scholars likewise speculate that Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring whose name later gave rise to the modern English ‘Easter,’ may be etymologically connected to Ishtar” (“Ishtar”).

Interestingly, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church admits this about the origin of the name Easter, but gives a slightly different spelling from that of Ishtar: “The word ‘Easter’ comes from Old English and refers to the Norse Goddess of Fertility, ‘Istra’—who was symbolized by a rabbit” (“Great Lent and Holy Week,” Melkite.org, August 14, 2010).

Thus the connection between Easter and rabbits, but why was Istra symbolized by a rabbit? Historians confirm that this goddess, spelled variously as Ishtar and Istra, was known as the goddess of fertility, and the rabbit is a well-known fertility symbol.

The rabbit is not the only fertility symbol passed down from antiquity. The Oxford Companion to World Mythology explains this about Easter:

“The holiday comes in the early Spring and is clearly related to ancient fertility myths of reborn heroes.… For many, Easter is synonymous with fertility symbols such as the Easter Rabbit, Easter eggs, and the Easter lily” (“Easter,” p. 111). (pp. 2–3).

Now that’s from our resource Easter: the Untold Story, which can be yours free for the asking. In addition to blending pagan customs and traditions into the worship of the true God, contrary to God’s command, we find that even the part of Easter that supposedly comes from the Bible is terribly flawed.

Most people believe that Jesus was crucified on a Friday, put in the tomb in the late afternoon of that day, and then He rose early Sunday morning. But is this what the Bible tells us? After all, it is the Bible that is the only source that can properly answer this question; so what does it actually say?

Let’s begin in Matthew 12:38:

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:38–40).

Consider: Jesus said that no sign will be given to that generation except for the sign of Jonah. Jesus would be in the grave the exact same length of time as Jonah was in the belly of a great fish. And what was that time? Three days and three nights!

Now, try as you might, you cannot come up with three days and three nights between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. Even if you count parts of days you still come up short, but let’s try. Scripture tells us Jesus was put in the tomb right at sunset, but some count a few minutes on Friday before sunset as day one. Friday night would be one night; the daylight portion of Saturday would be the second day; and Saturday night would make the second night. Now IF Jesus rose Sunday morning after sunrise we might count that as day three, but where is the third night? It just isn’t there!

So, we must conclude one of three possibilities regarding the Good Friday/Easter Sunday tradition:

1. Jesus was wrong and He is not our Savior

2. The Good Friday/Easter Sunday tradition is wrong

Or,

3. We have not properly understood the sign Jesus gave

Understanding the Sign of Jonah: Exactly Three Days

The Good Friday crucifixion and Easter Sunday resurrection does not fit the scriptural record. Jesus said He would be in the tomb three days and three nights, and try as you might, you cannot come up with the three days and three nights between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. So, we must conclude one of three possibilities regarding the Good Friday/Easter Sunday tradition:

1. Jesus was wrong and He is not our Savior

2. The Good Friday/Easter Sunday tradition is wrong

Or,

3. We have not properly understood the sign Jesus gave

So, which of these three is correct? If Jesus was wrong, we have a serious problem. But that is exactly what one source claims. Have we properly understood the sign? So let’s read from Matthew 12 and see what it says once again:

“An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:38–40).

Did Jesus literally mean three days AND three nights? As shocking as this may be, The Abingdon Bible Commentary bluntly tells us Jesus was mistaken:

The statement made is inaccurate, for Jesus was in the grave only from Friday evening to Sunday dawn (The Abingdon Bible Commentary, Matthew 12:40).

However, most commentators do not accept the statement to be literal. Why? It’s primarily because they do not want to give up tradition and they need to find a way to make the scriptures fit their tradition. Instead, they allege that a day and night combined simply means a single 24 hour day and any part of a day is sufficient. However, we must remember that Jesus’ words were recorded in the Greek language, and it MAY be true that the Greek expression used in this verse means parts of three days, although as I just read, The Abingdon Bible Commentary rejects that idea. But, there is a greater problem here. Matthew 12:40 is not dependent on one language alone. More importantly, we must remember what Jesus said in Matthew 12:40:

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40).

So how long was Jonah in the belly of the fish? We learn from Jonah 1:17 the following:

And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17).

The book of Jonah was written in the Hebrew language, and we must look to that language and its common usage to understand this expression. Appendix 144 in The Companion Bible explores the meaning of three days and three nights in Hebrew usage. After giving a technical explanation, it sums it up this way:

Hence, when it says that “Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1.17) it means exactly what it says, and that this can be the only meaning of the expression in Matt. 12:40… (The Companion Bible, Appendix 144. Zondervan, 1932, p. 170).

This is the first reason we know that Jesus’ claim means a full three days and three nights.

Proof #1: The meaning of Matthew 12:40 is not dependent on one language alone.

But there is a second proof.

Proof #2: 72 hours is the only time that can satisfy all of Jesus’ statements on how long He would be in the grave.

Jesus spoke of His body figuratively as “this temple.” Notice it beginning in John 2:19:

Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body (John 2:19–21).

In three days means that it has to be within three days, but on other occasions it is recorded that he would be resurrected to life “after three days.” Mark 8:31:

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31).

Now following His resurrection, He explained to His disciples what had happened and why. We read of this in Luke 24:46:

Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day” (Luke 24:46–47).

So here we have three different expressions that help us understand how long He was in the tomb:

In three days

After three days

The third day

When we put these expressions together with The Companion Bible’s explanation about the meaning of three days and three nights, there can be only one time that fits all four expressions—exactly 72 hours; not a minute before or a minute after. The time is exact.

But there is a third proof that He would be in the tomb a full three days and three nights, and that is:

Proof #3: The biblical chronology of events.

The Friday Crucifixion Doesn’t Fit

Why is it that most assume that Jesus was crucified on Friday? The truth is that many have no idea, other than that is what they have been taught, but for those who know a little more about the Bible, they are familiar with the fact that He was crucified on the day leading up to a Sabbath. For example, we have Luke’s statement in chapter 23, beginning verse 52 where it describes how Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus:

This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near (Luke 23:52–54).

As all students of the Bible know, the biblical Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday. And so, it would therefore appear that Jesus was crucified Friday morning and put in the grave very late Friday afternoon—but are we missing something?

Many errors that we make are the result of a carelessly assumed false assumption, and this is the case on this subject. There is no doubt that Jesus was crucified on the Preparation day for a Sabbath, but the carelessly assumed assumption is that it was the weekly Sabbath. But was it?

What many call the Lord’s supper, or the last supper, was in fact the Passover. There can be no doubt about this, although some scholars try to say otherwise. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all call Jesus’ final supper with the disciples the Passover. Let’s look at Luke’s account, beginning in chapter 22 and verse 7:

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat.” So they said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare?” And He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters. Then you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’

So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover. When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:7–11, 13–15).

Can there be any doubt that the last supper was indeed the Passover? The Passover was a very special day, but it was not a Sabbath day. However, the day that follows the Passover IS a Sabbath day. Notice this from Leviticus 23:

On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD…. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it (Leviticus 23:5–7).

We know from this that the day following the Passover was a high day, an annual Sabbath day where customary work was not to be done. Remember that God counts time from sunset to sunset. Jesus kept the Passover with His disciples at the beginning of the Passover day (shortly after sunset). He was then put in the grave at the end of Passover day, just before sunset. When the sun set that evening, it was the first day of Unleavened Bread, an annual High Day Sabbath; and this is exactly what the Apostle John reveals in John 19:31:

Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away (John 19:31).

By Sunday Morning, Jesus Had Already Risen…

And as explained, the high day was an annual Sabbath, not the weekly Sabbath. Now let’s notice Mark 16:1:

Now when the Sabbath was past, [notice that it was after the Sabbath] Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him (Mark 16:1).

But Luke 23:54–56 tells us they prepared the spices and then rested on the Sabbath.

That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment (Luke 23:54–56).

Now think about it, friends. You cannot prepare the spices before you possess them! Mark tells us that the Sabbath (in this case the annual Sabbath) was almost there. Therefore, they had to wait until after that Sabbath to buy the spices. Then Luke tells us they prepared them and rested on the Sabbath (in this case, the weekly Sabbath). These two passages give infallible proof that there were two Sabbaths that week with an ordinary day in between. This is the only way to understand these verses. Either there were two Sabbaths, with an ordinary day in between, or the Bible contradicts itself.

Now let me diagram this for you. Jesus kept the Passover with His disciples after sunset on Tuesday evening. He was taken into custody later that night and crucified on Wednesday. He was put in the tomb right before sunset, late Wednesday afternoon. Now let’s count three days and three nights.

Wednesday at sunset began the annual high day Sabbath and Wednesday night was the first night. The daylight portion of Thursday was still the annual High Day Sabbath and was the first day. The Sabbath ended at sunset, and it was on this day between two Sabbaths that the women bought and prepared the spices. Thursday night is our second night and the daylight portion of Friday is our second day—an ordinary day. When the sun set Friday afternoon the weekly Sabbath began. Friday night is our third night and Saturday is our third day, and Jesus was raised from the grave late Saturday afternoon (right before sunset), but the women did not come until very early the next morning (what is commonly called Sunday) and when they arrived, He was already gone!

I hope you found this video profitable.

If you found it helpful and want to learn more, be sure to get your free copy of our study guide Easter: The Untold Story. Just click the link in the description or go to TWTV.ORG/Easter.

We here at Tomorrow’s World want to help you understand your world through the pages of the Bible. So be sure to like, subscribe, and hit the bell so you don’t miss another video.

Thanks for watching! See you next time.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Confusion and Gender-Bending Rhetoric

Motherhood and Fatherhood are under assault today. Broad based attempts by academia, governments, businesses, and yes, even some churches, are attempting to do away with terms such as Mother and Father, Mom and Dad. As reported in this March 10, 2021 New York Post article:

A Manhattan private school aiming to use more “inclusive language” is encouraging its students to stop using the terms “mom,” “dad” and “parents” because the words make “assumptions” about kids’ home lives (“NYC school encourages kids to stop using words like ‘mom,’ ‘dad’ in ‘inclusive language’ guide,” NYPost.com).

Grace Church School serves junior kindergarten through 12th grade students in Noho, New York, and offers a twelve-page guide for students and staff on making this Episcopal school all inclusive. The guide explains that instead of using Mom and Dad, students and staff should use “grown-ups, folks, or family.” And instead of “husband, wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend” they should use “spouse, partner, or significant other” (“Grace Inclusive Language Guide”).

There is no end to guides published by institutions of learning, businesses, governments, and the media on how to revolutionize how we speak to one another. Everything is included except what has been normal for most of mankind’s history. Where is this downgrading of Mothers and Fathers going to take us? Stay with me as I’ll not only use terms such as “Mom” and “Dad” on today’s program, but will honor mothers and fathers everywhere.

Disrespecting God-Given Roles for Women and Men

Every year in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere, people celebrate parents with Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. In some countries, especially in South American Catholic countries, Mother’s Day celebrates Mary, the mother of Jesus, but that has no relevance to North American celebrations. Thanks to the determination of Anna Jarvis to honor her own mother, and the financial backing of Philadelphia merchant, John Wanamaker,

… in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson approved a resolution that made the second Sunday in May a holiday in honor of “that tender, gentle army, the mothers of America” (“Father’s Day 2023,” History.com, May 15, 2023)

Honoring fathers was not so easy for a variety of reasons, and it would not be until 1972 when President Richard Nixon would proclaim Father’s Day a federal holiday.

Much of the reason it took so long is because men and women are simply different, as difficult as that is to accept by today’s social engineers. As History.com explains:

The campaign to celebrate the nation’s fathers did not meet with the same enthusiasm–perhaps because, as one florist explained, “fathers haven’t the same sentimental appeal that mothers have.”

The differences between men and women go beyond perception.

One woman who understands not only the physical differences, but the differences between what men ought to be, is swimmer Riley Gaines. From this New York Post article discussing Gaines’ reaction to having to share a locker room and swim against a 6’4 male who claims to be a female, we read the following:

Trans rights activists say trans women are real women and must be included in sports.

Gaines, who comes from Tennessee and swam for the University of Kentucky team, said America needs “more masculine men” and praised World War II veterans.

“That’s the last time we had strong men,” she said.

“Think about this: 1940s, World War II. Men lied about their age to get in to enlist. Now, in 2023, we have men lying about their sex to get into women’s sports or women’s prisons or domestic shelters or sororities or bathrooms, locker rooms.”

She blames society for rebranding “masculinity as toxic and bad and undesirable” (“Lia Thomas so ‘well-endowed’ I had to ‘refrain from looking’: Riley Gaines,” August 5, 2023).

Now there’s a strong woman, not only in the pool, but in public discourse, ready to stand up for truth and fairness—and frankly, plain sanity!

Consider the reality women swimmers face when competing against men.

By the conclusion of Thomas’s swimming career at UPenn in 2022, Thomas’ rank skyrocketed from 65th for men to 1st in the female 500-yard freestyle, and from 554th for men to 5th for women in the 200-yard freestyle.

Who in his or her right mind refuses to admit the obvious?

Men and women are different and those differences are critical beyond athletics. They are critical in the way we interact and in the roles we play in society as a whole. Both dads and moms are needed for a well-ordered society. Mothers tend to be more nurturing. Fathers, even by the nature of their deeper voices, but also by their demeanor and ability to suppress emotions when needed, tend to keep better discipline in the family. There are exceptions, of course, but these are general traits, and both are needed—and sound-minded people know this!

Our world has always been flawed and this is especially true when it comes to male/female relationships, with extremes at both ends of the pendulum. Women have been oppressed in some cultures, especially in parts of the Middle East and Asia, where oppressive clothing styles, denial of formal education, and abusive punishments are a far cry from how God intended when He created Eve to be Adam’s helper. But in our Western nations, many women have cast off all cooperative effort to become competitors of men—and neither extreme is working!

We here at Tomorrow’s World believe in God-given roles for men and women. We believe in family values where both husbands and wives are to be honored.

Instruction and Discipline from Fathers to Sons

Neither of my parents were perfect, as no parents are, but I don’t doubt the love they had for me. Many years ago I used to spend a lot of time with a deacon visiting our members in Michigan. I saw him as an “old timer” at the time, but I’m now older than he was during those years we spent together. One observation he made was that everything in life appears to be backward.

“We get married,” he said, “when we know little about what real love is. We have children when we have little understanding of how to raise them. We have little income when starting out and when we need it the most. Our first home is usually small when we need a larger one for raising a family, but after the children move out, we have a large home, a full bank account, and better understanding of how to raise children.”

He stated this with a sense of humor, but there is much truth in it.

And one point that most children fail to recognize is that parents are learning how to raise them in real time. The book of Hebrews hints at this concept in the context of how God shows His love for us by chastening us from time to time. Here it is in chapter 12:9–10:

Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness (Hebrews 12:9–10).

As with most children, I received some painful correction from time to time, but corporal punishment ended by the time I reached the age of twelve. And even after that, while I was told NO on numerous occasions, I never remember being “grounded,” as they say. But, yes, there was some loving correction, administered for my good, as we read in verse 11 of Hebrews:

Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11).

And so parents are instructed in Proverbs 29:17:

Correct your son, and he will give you rest; yes, he will give delight to your soul (Proverbs 29:17).

When my father said to do something, he expected it to be done, but I never remember him telling me to do something that was not reasonable or that wasn’t for my good… well, I guess there is one exception to that.

One evening when we lived in Alaska (that was before it became a State), the older girl who lived next to us, came over to show off that she could smoke. My father thought it would be funny for his six-year-old son to go over to her parents and show that he could do one better—smoke a cigar. That didn’t work out exactly as planned, but I never smoked again—so I guess it worked out well in the long run!

My parents were not “helicopter parents.” They didn’t hover over me and prevent me from learning cause and effect lessons on my own. They did want to know what I was doing and where I was going, but I could be gone most of the day playing in the woods, fishing, or playing “pick up” games of baseball or football. We learned a lot about how to set rules for ourselves, how to negotiate differences—in general, how to get along.

Now frankly, I marvel that my parents gave me as much freedom as they did; but that does not mean there were no boundaries or expectations. They never held the religious convictions I came to embrace at age 16, and I never saw my father read the Bible, but he somehow innately understood some biblical principles. As an example, he understood a principle found in Proverbs 29:15:

The rod [switch] and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother (Proverbs 29:15).

Father and Mother—Integral Parts of a Godly Family

My parents endured the Great Depression and World War II. My father served in the Army and when the war was over, he made the newly formed Air Force his career. I once asked him why he left being a photographer, taking pictures of celebrities and plane crashes, to become a first sergeant. He explained that the man in that position before him was not getting the job done, so his squadron commander offered the position to him. I knew from the testimony of others that he was highly respected in that responsibility, so I asked him why he was successful when the man before him wasn’t. Without hesitation, he said,

It was my upbringing. It did not matter whether it was my father or my older brother who also had a farm, when they told me to take the wagon down to the south forty, they expected me to do it. And they didn’t always say please.

Now don’t misunderstand, I WAS taught to say, “Please pass the potatoes” or “please pass the butter” at the dinner table. But there is a time for “please” and a time not for it. Is this not scriptural? Note Jesus’ parable of the Unworthy Servants, as found in Luke 17, beginning in verse 7.

And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, “Come at once and sit down to eat”? But will he not rather say to him, “Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink”? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do” (Luke 17:7–10).

Without a strong guiding hand from my father, I very well could have ended up as many of my fellow classmates in those turbulent decades of the 1960’s and 70’s. While my father contributed to building self-discipline, my mother contributed to broadening my education. She made sure I knew how to read and write. She enrolled me in swim lessons, got me involved in organized sports, taught me music and social graces. And, yes, she was the one who taught me how to use a hammer and a saw—something that many boys today don’t know how to do. She also taught me how to iron my clothes and make my bed, but it was my father who taught me how to polish my shoes.

There was a year that I can look back upon, that emphasizes the importance of fathers in the lives of their children. My father was deployed to Morocco in 1956 and for a full year there was not that masculine guiding hand that I needed. My mother did her best, but she simply could not carry the weight fully needed to keep a rambunctious and sometimes rebellious eleven-year-old boy in line. One conflict was over doing my piano lessons. In retrospect, it’s abundantly evident to me that as wonderful as my mother was, I also needed my father at that time. Remember, there was no Internet back then and transatlantic phone calls had to be set up in advance and were infrequent. Each parent plays a different, but pivotal role, in raising children. Each, by nature is different. The sexes are NOT the same and to assert that they are is to deny the unique qualities of both man AND woman, mother AND father.

Our world is in confusion. Men and women have become fearful to express openly that they recognize the obvious—that men and women are different, that it is important for children to address parents with the loving terms “mother”, “father”, “Mom”, and “Dad.” In discounting the differences, the unique roles each play in the family relationship is lost.

God’s Instructions to Loving Parents

These distinctions are being blurred and discounted today. Social engineers are running amok in academia, government, the media, and big business. Is it any wonder that we find ourselves in such confusion and conflict when we allow confused or opportunistic men to compete in women’s sports?

None of this could happen in a world educated in the word of our Creator, but the understanding that we are a product of an all-wise and all-powerful God, has been under assault since the time of Darwin. And the correct understanding of God’s plan and way of life has been under assault for millennia. Contrary to social activists, and those they have successfully confused, God created us as male and female. When confronted by the Pharisees about the grounds for divorce, Jesus quoted from the first chapter of Genesis (Matthew 19:4–5):

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE,’ and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’?” (Matthew 19:4–5)

The Bible points out differences—different strengths and weaknesses—with both men and women. We see these differences in the way Paul spoke of the roles of each in bringing up children in 1 Thessalonians 2. First, we see the gentle nature of a women, in verse 7, where Paul uses a motherly characteristic to explain how he first came to the Thessalonians:

But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children (1 Thessalonians 2:7).

Paul later uses the masculine, fatherly approach to further explain his relationship with the Thessalonians. While still gentle, we see the more authoritative demanding characteristic of a father, with an eye for long-term success. Again, chapter 2, vv. 11–12.

You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory (1 Thessalonians 2:10–12).

The Bible also points out pitfalls for both men and women, natural weaknesses expressed by both sexes that can seriously harm their households. In Proverbs 21:9, we read of a pitfall women are more inclined to fall into:

Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman (Proverbs 21:9).

This is also repeated for emphasis in chapter 25:24. Women should not disregard this instruction. But Paul warned fathers about a tendency they can have. In their zeal, they can be overly demanding of their children and cause them to want to give up trying. Here it is explained in Ephesians 6:4:

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

God has made us uniquely male and female. There are obvious variations and exceptions in terms of personalities, but we are still made, male or female. Both sexes are necessary for procreation, but both are needed for an orderly and stable society. Neither should be discounted.

If others care to enter someone else’s fantasy land, then so be it, but those grounded in the values given to us by God ought to know better.

I hope you profited and enjoyed this video.

If you found it helpful and want to learn more, be sure to get your free copy of our study guide Successful Parenting—God’s Way. Just click the link in the description or go to TWTV.ORG/Parenting.

We here at Tomorrow’s World want to help you understand your world through the pages of the Bible. So be sure to like, subscribe, and hit the bell so you don’t miss another video.

Thanks for watching! See you next time.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

The Key to Overcoming Hardships

The national debt of the United States is approaching a staggering 32 trillion dollars. The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have their own debt problems to a greater or lesser extent, as do most nations. Why are our nations so heavily indebted? How did our world get into this financial quagmire?

But what about you? How are you doing? Are you among the many living “paycheck to paycheck,” fearing what the future holds for you? Everywhere, inflation is squeezing personal budgets, but do you realize that the God of Creation wants you to prosper? Don’t take my word for it. Believe the words of Jesus Christ as found in John 10:10:

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

While that abundant life applies to far more than your pocketbook, that is certainly included. So, how does He give you a more abundant life? Is it only the forgiveness of sin? Or is there more to it? On today’s Tomorrow’s World program, I’ll give you one law of God that affects you as an individual and our nations as a whole. I’ll also be offering you what is our least offered booklet, so be sure to have writing material available to take down our contact information. Now stay tuned, as I will be right back to discuss one law of God that brings about a more abundant life.

Bad Choices Lead to Suffering

A warm welcome to all of you from all of us here at Tomorrow’s World, where today I’ll be discussing a law that promotes an abundant life. When Jesus said He came to give us life more abundantly, He was speaking in a broad sense. He came to show us a better way of life, one that avoids the heartache brought about when we break God’s laws. Contrary to what many think, He did not come to do away with God’s immutable laws. As He said in Matthew 5:17:

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17).

But He also came to remove the stain of sin through His sacrifice, freeing us from the guilt of past sins. He also brought good news of the coming Kingdom of God—giving purpose to our lives. All this leads to a more abundant life.

God gave our first parents a choice between two ways of life, symbolized by two trees. The fruit of one would lead to wonderful blessings, resulting in life. But the fruit of the other, to curses, ending in death. These two trees are introduced in Genesis 2:9, but let’s pick it up in verses 16 and 17:

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16–17).

This one prohibited tree was symbolic of man choosing for himself to determine good and evil, right from wrong. But God did not stop him from making that disastrous decision. As you likely know, Adam and Eve chose to disobey. The result? They were kicked out of a beautiful garden paradise where food was plentiful, and life would be pleasant. Instead, they were doomed to hardship, suffering, and death. Sadly, their children, including you and me, have made the same choice—rejecting God’s revelation and determining for ourselves right and wrong—and experiencing the same results.

God reminded the nation of Israel of this choice in Deuteronomy 30, beginning in verse 15:

See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess (Deuteronomy 30:15–16).

He summed it up in verse 19:

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:19).

That choice would appear to be, as they call it, a no-brainer; but if so, why is the majority of mankind choosing death? America was once the greatest creditor nation in the world, but today is the greatest debtor nation. Why?

There are invisible laws that if followed bring prosperity, but if broken, bring financial disaster. To the nation of Israel, God declared in Deuteronomy 28:

Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. … Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks (Deuteronomy 28:1, 3–4).

God next gave a long list of curses that would come upon them for disobedience. Among them, we read in verses 43 and 44:

The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail (Deuteronomy 28:43–44).

Longtime viewers of Tomorrow’s World know that we do not shy away from the truth. We show from the Bible what few seem to realize. We go against the grain by teaching the seventh-day Sabbath and the biblical Holy Days, rather than the pagan observances with the name of Christ blasphemously attached to them. But there’s one law that we practice that we almost never mention on this telecast—the law of tithing. The reason should be obvious. We follow Jesus’ command in Matthew 10:8:

Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8).

That is why all our resources are given away free of charge. We pay for the phone calls, the postage, and the resources you request. I think you know our program is different. We refuse to merchandize off the word of God. So, to avoid even the appearance of contradicting our sincere desire to give the truth free of charge, we generally avoid the biblical subject of tithing. However, when the Apostle Paul gathered the Ephesian elders together, he explained in Acts 20:20:

I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house (Acts 20:20).

And then in verse 27 he said:

For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27).

The law of tithing IS part of the whole counsel of God. It’s taught in the Old Testament and affirmed by Jesus. God wants what is best for us. But for that to happen, we must choose His way of love and outgoing concern, rather than the selfish get way of life. Part of that way of life is found in Matthew 23:23. There Jesus criticized the Pharisees for meticulously counting out seeds and leaves to tithe, but neglected how they treated others.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone (Matthew 23:23).

Yes, justice, mercy and faith are “weightier matters” than meticulously counting every tenth seed, but note that Jesus said,

… without leaving the others [tithing] undone.

Are we here at Tomorrow’s World to leave out that law when instructing in righteousness? We want everyone to know that we do not request donations from the public. Everything we have is given away free of charge. The call center we use instructs their operators not to ask for, not even to hint for, donations when you call for our materials. But we will do as Paul did—teach the whole counsel of God—including God’s law of tithing.

And the whole counsel of God includes the command against stealing—either from your neighbor or from God.

God’s Instructions for Making Good Choices

As we have already seen, our first parents chose to trust their own judgment rather than that of their Creator. We’ve also seen that God laid out to Israel the same choice in the simplest of terms. How they chose would have radically different results, as seen in Deuteronomy 30:19.

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:19).

While God left it up to them to choose, He urged them to make the right choice—life and blessings. Even though obedience was for their own good, God moaned that mankind did not have the heart to obey Him. We see this in Deuteronomy 5:29:

Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! (Deuteronomy 5:29).

The commandments He referred to were clearly the Ten Commandments as they are listed just before this statement. And one of those commands says,

You shall not steal (Deuteronomy 5:19).

James tells us, we are not to pick and choose which commandments to keep and which ones to ignore. He clearly referred to the Ten Commandments when he wrote the following in James 2, beginning in verse 10:

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,” also said, “DO NOT MURDER.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty (James 2:10–12).

Choosing life means choosing God’s revealed way of life. Here at Tomorrow’s World we teach the whole counsel of God, which includes all the laws of God, but one law we rarely speak of to the public is the law of tithing. That is because we want everyone to know that we do not sell our materials. We depend on Living Church of God members and coworkers who have personally chosen of their own will to support this Work with their tithes and offerings.

But how can we in good conscience not tell you, our viewers, if you are sinning, when Isaiah commands us in Isaiah 58:1:

Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins (Isaiah 58:1).

And again, one of the Ten Commandments is:

You shall not steal (Deuteronomy 5:19).

Most people understand that we are not to steal from our neighbors, but is it a lesser sin to steal from God? Too many reason, “Well God understands.” Yes, He does, dear friends. But do we? Malachi asks in chapter 3 and verse 8:

Will a man rob God? (Malachi 3:8).

Now that’s a simple enough question. Surely, we would never do that! Or would we? Read on:

Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, “In what way have we robbed You?” (Malachi 3:8).

God’s answer?

In tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:8).

Just as then, people reason around God’s laws today.

I cannot emphasize enough that all our resources are sent free of charge. We pay for the phone call, the postage, and the specific items you request. And as all our longtime viewers know, we do not hit you up for donations. This does not mean that we fail to teach the whole counsel of God. This does not mean that we don’t “cry aloud and spare not” and show our nations our sins. This does not mean we teach against robbing our neighbor, but fail to teach what it means to rob from God. We give the truth and you can do with it as you choose; but, I strongly urge you to obey God’s laws—all of them—but only you can determine whether to tithe and where to pay it.

True Riches in God’s Service

We are here, not because of blind evolution, but because there is a God in heaven who has created all things. This universe, this solar system, this marvelous planet on which we live, including the air we breathe, the water we drink, even the dirt beneath our feet, are all the result of God’s creation. We literally owe everything to Him. As King David wrote in Psalm 24:1:

The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein (Psalm 24:1).

Or, as we read in Psalm 50:10–12:

For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all its fullness (Psalm 50:10–12).

Everything was created by God. We owe Him our very existence. Now consider. If you are renting an apartment or house, you must pay the landlord. It is not a matter of giving, but paying for the privilege to live in his property. In like manner, God gives us a beautiful home, but commands us to pay ten percent for our food, shelter, clothing, and luxuries. No matter how rich or poor, the percent is the same. When you think about it, that is a pretty good deal!

But think further. God, and ONLY God, has the power to extend our life for eternity, but He tells us we must choose His way, not our own. However, it is not eternal life only that He offers. He offers us a better life today—blessings of all kinds, rather than curses. As we read in Deuteronomy 30:19:

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:19).

As we read earlier, Jesus declared:

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

And the Apostle John wrote in his third letter, in verse 2:

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 1:2).

Yes, God wants us to prosper. He wants us to obey all His laws, because He knows that is the way to blessings in this life and ultimately to eternal life. God gives us time on this earth to choose the tree of life (His revealed way of love and outgoing concern), over the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (the way of human reason that is directed by Satan the Devil).

A rich young man came to Jesus one day with an important question. We read of it in Matthew 19:16.

Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?

Jesus responded by telling him to keep the commandments. The young man asked, “Which ones?” And Jesus responded by listing several of the Ten Commandments, including the prohibition against stealing. Continuing in verse 20:

The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” (Matthew 19:20).

It was then that Jesus got to the core of the man’s problem. He was violating the spirit of the first commandment because his wealth was being placed ahead of God, and he was breaking the spirit, or intent of, the tenth commandment, against coveting. This became evident when Jesus told him to sell all that he had and to give it to the poor. This is not intended to be a command for everyone—only those who trust in their riches above trusting in God, as shown in the parallel account found in Mark 10:24.

And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:24).

The whole Bible shows that God is not against you prospering. And in fact, God promises to bless those who obey His commandment on tithing. And I’ll show you that in the last portion of this program, but please do not misunderstand. This is neither an appeal for support, nor a promotion of a health and wealth gospel. If that is what you are looking for, you’ll have to go elsewhere.

Faith and the Purpose of Tithing

God spoke through Malachi to a cynical, argumentative, self-justifying people when He asked the question: “Will a man rob God?” The answer was that they were doing so by not paying their tithes, what we might view as their just rent on God’s beautiful earth. As a result, He said there in Malachi 3:

“You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:9–10).

Is it any wonder why our nations struggle financially? Is it any wonder why so many individuals struggle financially? Do we really think we can rob from God and not suffer the consequences? Now I know some think they cannot afford to tithe, but can they afford not to tithe? Remember what Jesus said were the weightier matters of the law?

Justice and mercy and faith (Matthew 23:23).

The Bible refers to Abraham as the father of the faithful in Romans 4:16. In addition to other acts of faith, we are first introduced to tithing in Genesis 14:19–20, when Abraham sets the example of giving a tithe to “God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth.”

And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he [Abraham] gave him [Melchizedek] a tithe of all.

Do you have the faith of Abraham? One who did was a widow in the days of Elisha. She was down to her last meal when she chose to put God first. But notice also how Jesus praised her for her faith [Luke 4:25–26]:

But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow (Luke 4:25–26).

You can read this inspiring story of faith in 1 Kings 17. I hope you’ll do that, 1 Kings 17.

If you found it helpful and want to learn more, be sure to get your free copy of our study guide God’s People Tithe. Just click the link in the description or go to TWTV.ORG/Tithe.

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Thanks for watching! See you next time.