Last Words Reveal True Meaning of Easter
For Immediate Release: March 21, 2010-During this time each year, Christians around the world commemorate an event that took place nearly 2,000 years ago – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Known as Easter, this religious celebration brings with it much reflection on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of the crucified Lord.
“Easter is a good time to go back and read the last words of all the great Christian prophets and apostles, because those final words often testify of the resurrected Christ,” said Kathleen Ryan, author of the book Last Words for the Last Days.
This point was driven home for Ryan while researching and writing her book, which is a compilation of the last words of more than 50 Christian prophets. She sights the example of Paul as recorded in the King James Version of the New Testament.
According to Ryan, prior to his sacred calling as an apostle Paul fought to crush the early Christian movement. Although his knowledge of the Mosaic Law taught him that a savior would one day come, Paul did not believe that Jesus Christ was the true messiah. He became a believer only after receiving a personal message from the resurrected Christ, while traveling on the road to Damascus. From that moment on, Paul’s unshakable faith fueled in him a burning desire to serve the Lord the remainder of his life.
“After his conversion Paul suffered much at the hands of non-believers. But he continued in the faith and proved instrumental in spreading Christianity,” Ryan explained. “In a poignant letter from prison, written just prior to his death, Paul bore strong testimony of the resurrected Christ. You can find this throughout 1st and 2nd Timothy.”
Ryan said the same was true of Peter. As a leader of the early Church, Peter nurtured the infant organization after the Savior’s death and brought many to the waters of baptism. He too told of having seen the Savior after his resurrection. His last words, found in 2 Peter, testify of Christ’s divinity.
“Many of these prophets and apostles became martyrs for the cause – having sealed their testimonies of the Savior with their blood. That’s a part of the of Easter we should never forget.”