The 1611 Fellowship discusses Easter. God's long suffering.

Further on "good intentions" . . we should also remember that Cain brought a sacrifice to God seeking to please Him. Cain's "good" intentions. But he did not obey God's command on what that sacrifice should be which was itself a type for Jesus Christ, the coming Messiah. In this way . . despite his "good intentions" . . Cain rejected his Messiah/Salvation in favor of the works of his own hands.

Again . . more great topics and great discussion . . On Easter . . everyone should own a copy of A.Hislop’s work that you reference. Easter = Ostara (Spring Equinox Festival) = Astarte/Attart (Middle Eastern/Egyptian Fertility Goddess) = Ishtar (Sumerian Pagan Goddess) = Aphrodite (Greek/Roman). I encourage all to do a simple Google research of these names and concepts . . and the appalling rituals that surround them. Ritual castration, temple prostitution, child sacrifice, rape and incest, drunkenness, sexual rites .. . all are attendant to the pagan rites of Spring. THIS is what “Easter” meant in ancient times and in modern times to those who are initiated in esoteric paganism. Also, the Sun Rise Service. . or Jesus Christ the Risen Son? The modern esoteric pagan religions (gnosticism, freemasonry, kabbalah, etc.) purposely confuse and conflate these concepts. Modern day “Easter” (Spring Equinox) and “Christ mass”, or Christ’s death, (Winter solstice) show those with eyes to see that there are only two religions in the world . . the worship of One God/Jesus Christ (the Creator) or the worship of Satan/Queen of Heaven/Sun (the Creation). Once you understand this, you see how every “religion” other than True Christianity conforms to the same pagan concepts which ultimately result in Sun worship, focusing on and around a solar calendar (Pope Gregory VIII and the Jesuits created the modern solar “Gregorian Calendar of 1582) and various solar ritual days. The coming Great American Solar Eclipse on April 8 that is being hyped as a major event is just another example of how this Sun religion continues to the modern day. Heliocentrism is another example. “Sun”-day as a day of universal rest and worship is another. On “good intentions”, sound teaching here too. John Wesley in his 1741 sermon “The Almost Christian” famously said “Hell is paved with good intentions” (. . origin of this phrase precedes Wesley). If you do good things in God’s eyes, your “good” intentions are clear. However, if you do bad/wrong things with “good intentions”, you have simply replaced your concept of “good” for God’s. We must conform ourselves to God’s will. He does not conform to ours. When Our Lord Jesus Christ was called “good” (in a man’s eyes), he responded thusly . . (Matthew 19:16-17) . . . “16 And behold, one came and said vnto him, Good master, what good thing shall I do, that I may haue eternall life? 17And he said vnto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandements.” This tells me that the only way to do things which are “good” in God’s sight is to obey him and keep his commandments. Are Easter egg hunts and Santa Claus/Christmas Tree festivities keeping God’s commandments . . . or are they the worship of false gods and idols? Finally, on God’s “long suffering”, you explain God’s nature well. Our loving and long-suffering God wants us all to be saved. But we must be careful not to confuse this concept with ‘eternal’ suffering. When we sin, we offend God. And he has and will suffer these offenses for a long time while we gain understanding of his will and how to follow it. However, God will not suffer sin forever in the world. Sin will be eliminated by God at the Appointed Time, and we will be eliminated along with it if we continue to refuse to obey Him. Genesis 6:3 “ And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not alwayes striue with man; for that hee also is flesh: yet his dayes shalbe an hundred and twenty yeeres.” Mortal man also has a limited lifespan, during which time, God will strive with us. One Hebrew meaning of the word “Israel” is “struggle with God.” The life of Jacob/Israel is a perfect example of how we are to do cling to God throughout our lives. Jacob’s reaction to his own failings and trials was to constantly seek God’s grace for his redemption. Cling to God like Jacob, struggle and wrestle with his Word and refuse to let go before you receive God's blessing. God loved Jacob for it (Romans 9:13). By contrast, the Hebrew nation of Israel exhausted God's long-suffering. It gradually turned away from God . . through the adoption of pagan beliefs and rituals (ancient equivalents of Easter and Christmas?). . slowly losing faith and territory until only Judah remained. His long-suffering and striving with the Hebrew nation eventually ended in total destruction with very few saved out of it at the end. (Matthew 23:37-38 “O Hierusalem, Hierusalem, thou that killest the Prophets, and stonest them which are sent vnto thee, how often would I haue gathered thy children together, euen as a hen gathereth her chickens vnder her wings, and yee would not? 38 Behold, your house is left vnto you desolate.”) We should not tempt God with continuing disobedience relying on his love for us and his long-suffering to save us, as the Hebrew nation of Israel did to its ultimate destruction. His long-suffering has a limit that He has imposed. Deuteronomy 14-18 “Yee shall not goe after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you: 15(For the Lord thy God is a ielous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God bee kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. 16 Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as yee tempted him in Massah. 17You shall diligently keepe the Commandements of the Lord your God, and his Testimonies, and his Statutes, which he hath commanded thee. 18And thou shalt doe that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest goe in, and possesse the good land which the Lord sware vnto thy fathers” I think this admonition in Deuteronomy is especially appropriate to the discussion of going after false gods at Easter . . and “good intentions” . . . and the limits of God’s “long suffering.”

listening to this faster-than fast. hislop's book on the two babylons, was a good read - a labourious one but much information. some PDFs online dont contain the images, but some do (very helpful to reference) easter was crazy this year. easter is turning into halloween in the UK (no joke), the same pattern as i see happening to christmas (surely valentine's day will follow). and whereever you go, people just chime "IF YOU JUST THINK OF JESUS IN YOUR HEART, IT'S OKAY!", surrounded by easter-witches (see: wikipedia easter-witch page), easter-carved-vegetables, easter-clairvoyant-meetings (in churches), easter-magical-dragon-eggs, easter-moon-goddesses, easter-palm-reading, easter-christmas-trees (an all-year thing now), easter-fancy-dress (monsterous), easter-seyances, and easter-trick-or-treats (something to do with "April Fools" i think), an easter advert/event in the UK: - https://youtu.be/G4nnhQFmHU0 it was also on the BBC news, they talked about jesus, and honouring jesus, and even had some kind of priest being interviewed...but then said they honoured jesus rising from the dead with this moon sculpture (originally situated in a cathedral), which is now situated in a cave - i have no idea how they are linking the three (jesus and easter and moon) - they did mention the stars but not really why. on the plus side, people seem happier to accept the sharing of the gospel whenever there are festivities, and more willing to listen, i just pray it actually gets into their hearts (the seed)