JD: Talk to me about that first year, we are leading up to Thanksgiving, but what happened when they first arrived?
PB: They were truly a body of Christ who knew how to count their blessings. This church that began in Scrooby, England , of course, wound up on the Mayflower, coming to the new world with many violent storms. Being blown off course, miraculously, landing in an area far north of where they had intended, quite frankly, I believe was Gods providence.
As they landed, the spot that they landed in was no longer occupied, by anyone. The Pawtuxet Tribe, which had been a hostile Indian Tribe actually had lived there but they had died off in a plague, several years earlier, so this land that the Pilgrims chose to settle had four beautiful spring fed creeks. It had already been cleared and it had already been planted on in the past. And, it was no ones property.
Then, in answer to their prayer, God sent into their midst an English speaking Indian that happened to not be hostile towards the Pilgrims, but loved them. And really was a messenger that brought them through and taught them how to fish in this area, how to plant and how to cultivate the land because it was completely foreign from what they had come from in England. They had a very successful first spring and summer.
That first Thanksgiving was roughly October of 1621, they didn't have the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions on television; they did have shooting games, wrestling matches, great fellowship and they feasted.
JD: You know, it's interesting to note that the Indians, especially that one particular Indian, helped the new Pilgrims. It was actually that fall harvest festival that became the first Thanksgiving. That was just a really special time with the Pilgrims and the Indians coming together to give thanks to God. And the reason, the motivation for giving thanksgiving.
PB: Well, this to me is the most spiritual of holidays; at Easter you have the Easter bunny that has really kidnapped our Resurrection Celebration; and, of course, Christmas is a time where we certainly seek to reflect upon the birth of Christ; but Thanksgiving is truly a Biblical based holiday.
JD: Dr Paul Blair, an expert on the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving that took place in America.
We report this information because it is setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.
Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News
2 Timothy 3 is a prophetic passage of scripture that describes the end times. One of the activities during that time will be unthankfulness, that's in verse 2. Other elements of the Tribulation Period will be an offshoot of unthankfulness. Today's attitude of unthankfulness is absolute evidence that we are quickly approaching the time of the end, as foretold by Bible prophecy.
