PASSOVER AND FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD Section Three of Biblical Holy Days Compiled by Richard C. Nickels Distributed by: Giving & Sharing PO Box 100 Neck City, MO 64849 Revised Edition, copyright 1995 by Sharing & Giving, Inc. Introduction Section Three of Biblical Holy Days covers Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the spring harvest festivals. Our purpose is to provide resource material and in-depth instruction for those who already observe these sacred times. The Spring Holy Days begin God's Master Plan, yet they are often the most neglected of all God's festivals. Here is a summary collection of Passover data: Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread  Messiah's sacrifice begins God's Master Plan. Passover is observed on the beginning of the fourteenth day of the first month. It can fall on either the second, fourth, sixth and (rarely) the seventh, day of the week. Passover commemorates the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage through the death of Egypt's firstborn, the sacrifice of the Messiah as our Passover lamb for the sins of the whole world, and the present and future deliverance of the Almighty's people. We partake of bread and wine to symbolize our acceptance and gratitude for the Messiah's broken body and shed blood for our sins. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a seven-day pilgrimage festival following Passover. It starts on the beginning of the fifteenth day of the first month, the Night to Be Much Remembered. The first and last days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread are holy convocations. We put leavening and leavened products out of our homes to signify our part in God's Plan: diligent effort to put sin out of our lives, with His help. Passover and Unleavened Bread are known as the "Festival of Freedom," signifying our liberation from sin through the Savior of mankind. Table of Contents Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread 1 Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread scriptures in the Old and New Testaments. History and traditions of Passover observance. Jewish Seder meal and Haggadah narrative. How Samaritans observe the Passover. Song of Songs and the meaning of the Passover. Passover -- 14th or 15th? 29 Comprehensive explanation of why Passover is the 14th and not the 15th day of the first Biblical month. "Between the Two Evenings" means after sunset, before dark. Where the confusion about the Passover date began. Jesus kept the Old Testament Passover at His "Last Supper," instituting new emblems of bread and wine, instructing His followers to continue this observance. Passover, Lord's Supper or Communion? 46 "Lord's Supper" and "Communion" are not proper terms. We observe the "Christian Passover." Drink the Pure Blood of the Grape 51 Fermented grape wine is the proper emblem of the Christian Passover to symbolize the Savior's blood shed for our sins. Explains symbolism and meaning of the cup we take at Passover. The Order and Meaning of the Passover Service 56 The correct Biblical order for the Christian Passover is footwashing, unleavened bread, fermented wine, scripture reading, singing psalms, and dismissal. Why Do We Take the New Testament Passover? 59 How to examine oneself and be ready to take the New Testament Passover. The New Testament Passover Ceremony 62 Detailed instructions for the Christian Passover service, how to make your own Passover bread. Feast of Unleavened Bread: Putting Sin Out 66 Message of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is that we are to put sin out of our lives. Bible examples of sin, and how sin will be stopped. Seven characteristic sins of the church in this age, which culminate in the "Laodicean Attitude." Table of Contents, cont. Polluted Bread for Passover? 77 Symbolism and meaning of the Passover bread. Reasons why white bread is not the proper kind to use for Passover services. Let a Man Examine Himself 80 This article gives specific areas to examine yourself, in preparation for the Passover ordinance. Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread Quiz 85 Matching, Fill in the Blanks, and General Questions on Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, based on material found in our articles. Answers are given at the end of the article (do not peek!). P A S S O V E R pesach (Hebrew) = pascha (Greek) Divine Appointment Moed Ordinance Forever Chuqqah Olam Pilgrimage Feast Hag Memorial Zikrown Passover Season The whole 8-day period of Passover/Unleavened Bread Isaiah 53:3-6, "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief . . . . Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows . . . But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him: and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." I Peter 2:21, 24, "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow HIs steps . . . Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." Revelation 5:9, 12, " . . . for thou was slain, and hast redeeded us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation . . . Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." John 6:53-54, 57, "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh fo the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. . . . As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me." I Corinthians 5:7-8, "For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the Feast." Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread Passover in the Old Testament The Hebrew pesach (pronounced peh'-sakh), Strong's #6453, means a passing over, a pretermission, i.e., exemption. It is derived from #6452, pasach, to hop, skip over, or spare. By implication, pesach means to hesitate; literally to limp, to dance, halt, become lame, leap, pass over. Passover is a Festival of the Eternal on the Evening of the Fourteenth Day of the First Month Leviticus 23:5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's Passover. Numbers 28:16 And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the LORD. Joshua 5:10 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. II Chronicles 35:1 Moreover Josiah kept a Passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. Ezra 6:19 And the children of the captivity kept the Passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. Passover Lamb Sacrificed and Eaten Exodus 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's Passover. Exodus 12:21 . . . Draw out and take you a lamb [or kid, margin] according to your families, and kill the Passover. Exodus 12:27 . . . It is the sacrifice of the LORD's Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses . . . . Numbers 9:13 But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the Passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. Exodus 34:25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover be left unto the morning. Deuteronomy 16:2, 5-6 Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the Passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there . . . . Thou mayest not sacrifice [margin: kill] the Passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee: But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place His name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the Passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. [Note: As Fred Coulter points out in his book, The Christian Passover, pages 141-165, this scripture refers not to the Passover lamb, but the Passover season offering.] II Chronicles 35:1, 6, 11, 13 Moreover Josiah kept a Passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month . . . . So kill the Passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses . . . . And they killed the Passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them . . . . And they roasted the Passover with fire according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings sod they in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them speedily among all the people. Passover Commemorates Israel's Deliverance From Egypt Exodus 12:26-27 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD's Passover, Who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses . . . . Deuteronomy 16:1, 6 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night . . . . But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place His name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the Passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. One Passover Lamb Was Sacrificed Per Each Household Exodus 12:3-4, 21, 46 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb . . . . Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the Passover . . . . In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof. Only Circumcised and Ceremonially Clean Persons Could Partake of the Passover, No Strangers Exodus 12:43 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the Passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof. Exodus 12:48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. Joshua 5:2-10 At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised. For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that He would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that He would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. And their children, whom He raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day. And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. Numbers 9:6, 14 And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the Passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day . . . . And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the Passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the Passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land. Those Unable to Keep First Passover May Keep the Second Passover Numbers 9:10, 11 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover unto the LORD. The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. II Chronicles 30:2-3 For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the Passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. Passover Must be Kept Correctly. Failure to Keep It Results in Being Cut Off From God's People Numbers 9:13 But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the Passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. Numbers 9:2-4 Let the children of Israel also keep the Passover at his appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the Passover. Passover Has Certain Ordinances Numbers 9:11-12 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it. Exodus 12:8-11 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's Passover. Exodus 34:25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover be left unto the morning. Passover is to be Observed at a Specific Place Deuteronomy 16:2 Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the Passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place His name there. Deuteronomy 16:5-6 Thou mayest not sacrifice the Passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee: But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place His name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the Passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. II Chronicles 30:1 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover unto the LORD God of Israel. II Chronicles 35:1 Moreover Josiah kept a Passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. Chronology of Old Testament Passover Observance Exodus 12:1-14 [First Passover at time of Exodus.] Numbers 9:1-5 [Second Passover kept] . . . in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt . . . . Let the children of Israel also keep the Passover at his appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the Passover. And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel. Joshua 5:10-12 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. II Chronicles 30:1-27 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover unto the LORD God of Israel. For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the Passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation. So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written . . . . Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into His sanctuary, which He hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away His face from you, if ye return unto Him. So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the LORD. And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great congregation . . . . Then they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD . . . . For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the Passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the LORD. For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the Passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people. And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD. And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the LORD: and they did eat throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings, and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers. And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days: and they kept other seven days with gladness . . . . So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem. Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to His holy dwelling place, even unto heaven. II Kings 23:21-23 And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the Passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant. Surely there was not holden such a Passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this Passover was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem. II Chronicles 35:1-19 Moreover Josiah kept a Passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD, And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD . . . . So kill the Passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the Passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king's substance. And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand and six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen. Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave unto the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen. So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king's commandment. And they killed the Passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them. And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen. And they roasted the Passover with fire according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings sod they in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them speedily among all the people . . . . So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah. And the children of Israel that were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. And there was no Passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this Passover kept. Ezra 6:19-20 And the children of the captivity kept the Passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the Passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. Passover Involved Purification and Preparation, Mainly of the Heart Joshua 5:2-11 [Israel had to be circumcised before they could keep the Passover at Gilgal.] II Chronicles 30:3,15,17-20,27 For they could not keep it [the Passover] at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem . . . . Then they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD . . . . For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the Passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the LORD. For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the Passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people . . . . Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven. II Chronicles 35:1,4,6,10,14-19 Moreover Josiah kept a Passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month . . . . And prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son . . . . So kill the Passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses . . . . So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king's commandment . . . . And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron. And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the porters waited at every gate; they might not depart from their service; for their brethren the Levites prepared for them. So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah. And the children of Israel that were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. And there was no Passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a Passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this Passover kept. Ezra 6:20-22 For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the Passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat, and kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy . . . . Passover is Distinct, Yet Related to, Feast of Unleavened Bread Numbers 28:16-17 And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the LORD. And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. Numbers 33:3 And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the Passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. Deuteronomy 16:2-3 Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the Passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. Ezekiel 45:21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. Old Testament Prophecies Foretold The Messiah's Death Betrayed by a friend: Psalms 55:12-14, 21 For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company . . . . The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords. Betrayed for thirty pieces of silver: Zechariah 11:12-13 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. Laughed at, beaten, garments parted: Psalms 22:1-18 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. Face marred beyond recognition: Isaiah 52:14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men. Despised and rejected, an offering for sin: Isaiah 53:1-12 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Passover in the New Testament The Greek pascha (pronounced pas'khah), Strong's #3957, means the Passover, the day, the festival or special sacrifices connected with it. The KJV incorrectly translated it "Easter" in Acts 12:4. Through Faith Moses Kept Passover Hebrews 11:28 Through faith he kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. Jesus and His Parents Kept Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread Luke 2:41-43 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the Feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. Jesus Kept the Passover Shortly After Beginning His Ministry John 2:13, 23 And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem . . . . Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in His name, when they saw the miracles which He did. The Feeding of the Five Thousand Was Near Passover John 6:4 And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. [Verses 5-14 continue with the account of the feeding of the 5,000.] Priests and Pharisees Sought to Take Jesus During Passover in Jerusalem John 11:55-57 And the Jews' Passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, What think ye, that He will not come to the feast? Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where He were, he should shew it, that they might take Him. Jesus Came to Jerusalem Six Days Before Passover, Stayed at Bethany John 12:1 Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom He raised from the dead. Jesus Knew He Would Be Crucified on the Passover Matthew 26:2 Ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. Mark 14:1-2 After two days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by craft, and put Him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people. Luke 22:1-2 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill Him; for they feared the people. John 13:1 Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. Jesus Ate His Last Earthly Passover With His Disciples Matthew 26:17-19 Now the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover? And He said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the Passover. Mark 14:12-16 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, His disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the Passover? And He sendeth forth two of His disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us. And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover. Luke 22:7-8,11,13 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat . . . . And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? . . . And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover. Jews Referred to Passover as a Day of Unleavened Bread Matthew 26:17 Now the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover? Mark 14:12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the Passover? Luke 22:7 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. During the Last Passover Supper, the Savior Washed the Disciples' Feet John 13:2-17 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded Himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded. Then cometh He to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto Him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto Him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For He knew who should betray Him; therefore said He, Ye are not all clean. So after He had washed their feet, and had taken His garments, and was set down again, He said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. Messiah To Take Passover When Fulfilled in Kingdom Luke 22:15-16 And He said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Symbols of Bread and Wine Were Instituted by the Savior Matthew 26:26-30 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. Mark 14:22-25 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And He said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Luke 22:19-20 And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. Some Jews Kept Passover a Day Later Than Jesus John 18:28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the Passover. John 19:14 And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! It Was Jewish Custom to Release a Prisoner at Passover John 18:39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the Passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? Herod Imprisoned Peter During Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread Acts 12:4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter [Greek: pascha, Passover] to bring him forth to the people. Christ is Our Passover I Corinthians 5:7-8 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. The Messiah Was the Lamb Slain From the Foundation of the World Revelation 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. I Peter 1:1-4 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ . . . . Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, . . . Verses 10-12 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven: which things the angels desire to look into . . . . Verses 18-22 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently. I Peter 2:21-25 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously: Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. Revelation 1:5-6 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Revelation 5:12-13 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Revelation 19:6-9,16 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God . . . . And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. Revelation 21:9, 22-27 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife . . . . And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Revelation 22:1-3 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: I Corinthians 11 Explains the Christian Passover As the Messiah told us to keep it, we are to faithfully continue to practice and pass on the "ordinances." I Corinthians 11:1-2 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you . . . . It is a heresy to make the Passover into a sumptuous meal. Verses 17-22 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the Church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. The unleavened bread and wine are the only elements (after footwashing) of the Passover "meal." Verses 23-27 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread: And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. We need to examine ourselves before partaking of the Passover. It is a serious matter. We must not partake of the Passover in a light or unworthy manner, but with dignity and reverence. Verses 28-34 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come. II Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD Unleavened Bread in Old Testament The Hebrew matstsah (pronounced mats-tsaw'), Strong's #4682, means sweet (i.e., not soured or bittered with yeast), an unfermented cake or loaf, the festival of Passover, to squeeze or compress. Genesis 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the Most High God. Genesis 18:6-8 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them [the Eternal and two angels]; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. Genesis 19:3 And he [Lot] pressed upon them [the two angels] greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. The Passover Was Eaten With Unleavened Bread Exodus 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Numbers 9:11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Feast of Unleavened Bread Separate Seven-Day Feast Following Passover Exodus 12:15-20 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. And ye shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. Exodus 13:6-7 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. Exodus 34:18 The Feast of Unleavened Bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. Leviticus 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. Numbers 28:17 And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. Deuteronomy 16:3-8 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. Thou mayest not sacrifice the Passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee: But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place His name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the Passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents. Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work therein. Feast of Unleavened Bread Commemorates Israel's Exodus From Egypt Exodus 12:17 And ye shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. Exodus 12:39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual. Exodus 34:18 The Feast of Unleavened Bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. Numbers 33:3 And they [Israel] departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the Passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. Deuteronomy 16:3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. We Are to Teach Meaning and Purpose of Feast of Unleavened Bread to Our Children Exodus 13:6-9 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters. And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Lord did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord's law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt. The Feast of Unleavened Bread an Everlasting Institution Exodus 12:17 And ye shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. Exodus 13:6, 10 Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord . . . . Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. The Feast of Unleavened Bread One of Three Pilgrimage Festivals Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which He shall choose; in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty. II Chronicles 8:13 Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. Offering to the Eternal Commanded on the Feast of Unleavened Bread Exodus 23:15 Thou shalt keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty). Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which He shall choose; in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty. Special Sacrifices Were Given Each Day of the Feast Leviticus 23:6-8 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Numbers 28:17-24 And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein: But ye shall offer a sacrifice made by fire for a burnt offering unto the Lord; two young bullocks, and one ram, and seven lambs of the first year: they shall be unto you without blemish: And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil: three tenth deals shall ye offer for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram; A several tenth deal shalt thou offer for every lamb, throughout the seven lambs: And one goat for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you. Ye shall offer these beside the burnt offering in the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. After this manner ye shall offer daily, throughout the seven days, the meat of the sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord: it shall be offered beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering. Unleavened Bread Used in the Sacrificial System Leviticus 2:4-5 And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil. And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil. Leviticus 6:16 And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it. Leviticus 7:12 If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. I Chronicles 23:29 Both for the shewbread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size. Unleavened Bread Used in the Consecration of the Priests Exodus 29:1, 2, 23 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish, And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them . . . . And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord. Leviticus 8:2,26-27 Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread . . . . And out of the basket of unleavened bread, that was before the Lord, he took one unleavened cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder: And he put all upon Aaron's hands, and upon his sons' hands, and waved them for a wave offering before the LORD. Unleavened Bread Use in Nazarite's Sacrifices Numbers 6:15-19 And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings. And the priest shall bring them before the Lord, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering: And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering. And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings. And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven: During Feast of Unleavened Bread, God Reminds Israel That All the Firstborn Are His Exodus 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of the cattle. Exodus 13:1-3, 12-13 And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine . . . . Remember this day, in which ye came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall be no leavened bread be eaten . . . . That thou shalt set apart unto the Lord all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the Lord's. And every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck: and all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem. Exodus 34:18-20 The Feast of Unleavened Bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty. Gideon's Unleavened Sacrifice Was Acceptable to God Judges 6:19-21 . . . Gideon . . . made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes . . . and the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth, and he did so. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes . . . . Unrighteous People Using Unleavened & Leavened Bread I Samuel 28:24 And the woman [witch of Endor] had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof. II Kings 23:9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren. Amos 4:4-5 Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God. Chronology of Feast of Unleavened Bread Observance Joshua 5:11 [On the plains of Gilgal before Jericho] And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. II Chronicles 8:13 [Solomon's time] Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the Sabbaths, and on the New Moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles. II Chronicles 30:13, 21 [Hezekiah's time] And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great congregation . . . . And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the Lord. II Chronicles 35:17 [Josiah's time] And the children of Israel that were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. Ezra 6:22 [Ezra's time, at return of Jews from Babylon] And kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy: for the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. Feast of Unleavened Bread Also Called Passover Ezekiel 45:21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. Unleavened Bread in New Testament The Greek azumos (pronounced ad'-zoo-mos), Strong's #106, means unleavened, i.e. uncorrupted. Unleavened Bread Can Refer to Entire Passover Season Matthew 26:17 Now the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto Him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover? Mark 14:1 After two days was the feast of the Passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by craft, and put Him to death. Mark 14:12 And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover, His disciples said unto Him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the Passover? Luke 22:1, 7 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover . . . . Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. Feast of Unleavened Bread in Acts of the Apostles Acts 12:3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the Days of Unleavened Bread. ) Acts 20:6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. Meaning of Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread I Corinthians 5:7-8 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the Feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Leavening in the New Testament "Leavening" in the New Testament is Strong's #2219, zume (pronounced dzoo' may) and #2220 zumoo (dzoo-mo'-o). The Kingdom of Heaven is Like Leaven! Matthew 13:33 Another parable spake He unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. Luke 13:20-21 And again He said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. Beware of Spiritual Leaven -- False Doctrine Matthew 16:6-12 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, He said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that He bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. Mark 8:15 And He charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. Luke 12:1 . . . Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. A Little Leaven (Sin, False Doctrine) Leavens (Corrupts) The Whole Lump (Everything) I Corinthians 5:6-8 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the Feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. First Day of Unleavened Bread a Great Sabbath, a "MEGA Sabbath" John 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. COMMENT: The Greek word for "high" is Strong's #3173, megas, meaning "exceedingly, great, high, large, loud, mighty, strong." We use the word "mega" to mean million, such as megatons, megabytes. Holy days are "MEGASabbaths," much more important than other Sabbaths or other days. Feast of Unleavened Bread References This section gives summaries from various reference material on the Feast of Unleavened Bread, along with our comments. Passover: Its History and Traditions, by T. H. Gaster Passover is one of the oldest festivals in the world. It has been observed by Jews for over 3,000 years. For the modern Jew, it lasts for eight days, from Nisan 15 to 23 (actually, Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread last from Nisan 14 through 21). Passover marks the beginning of the barley season in Palestine. It also commemorates the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and that God passed over their houses and smote Egypt's firstborn. Jews refer to Passover as "the season of our liberation." Every detail of the Jewish Passover ceremonies is connected with the Exodus. The paschal meal is eaten hastily because of their hasty departure from Egypt. Unleavened bread is eaten because the people had no time to add leaven to bake their bread. The name Passover signifies that God passed over their homes. In Temple times, people brought lambs to Jerusalem to be slaughtered. After 70 A.D., sacrifices ended. Jews continued to eat unleavened bread, along with bitter herbs in a home ceremony called the Seder, or "order of service." The recital of the story of the Exodus was termed the Haggadah ("story"), based upon the command in Exodus 13:8 (tell the story to your son). Extra days were added to the Feast because the proclamation from Jerusalem took time to reach outlying communities. Orthodox and Conservative Jews keep eight days of unleavened bread. Reform Jews keep seven days. Origin of Passover Passover was already an established institution at the time the Israelites came out of Egypt. The Exodus story tells not how the festival began, but how it came to be preserved. The central feature of Passover is a common meal eaten by all members of a family at the full moon in the first month of the year. The Bible says that anyone who abstained from this meal "cut himself off from his people." Gaster states, "such eating together is a standard method, all over the world, of establishing ties of kinship or alliance . . . ." Our word "companion" means "one who shares bread with another." The Gaelic word for family, cuedich, means "those who eat together." Thus, when Melchizedek made a treaty with Abraham, he did so by offering bread and wine, Genesis 14:18-24. When Abimelech allied with Isaac, they did the same, Genesis 26:26-30. See also Joshua 9:14; Obadiah 7. Therefore, "the original purpose of the paschal meal was to recement ties of kinship, infuse new life into the family, and renew the bonds of mutual protection at the beginning of each year." Not only how you eat, but what you eat, is important. Three features of the meal were: (1) Meal was eaten in haste, not allowed to spoil, so that unconsumed meat was burnt at dawn; (2) Unleavened bread was eaten because leavened food is fermented; (3) Bitter herbs are a cathartic (cleanser, or purifier), and a widespread popular notion holds they are a remedy against demons and witchcraft. During the paschal meal, herbs were to neutralize any impurity which might accidentally have been consumed. The Passover feast was also a reunion and guarantee of divine alliance and protection during the coming year. The meal was eaten in the presence of God with Himself as participant. Exodus 18:12 records a meal of reunion with Jethro, priest of Midian, and Israel "in the presence of God." Before the ceremony could take place, the ties of kinship which it established had to be made manifest by an outward sign. The essence of kinship is blood. We all remember the story of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn becoming blood brothers by holding their two cut fingers together. So it is that kinship is signified by the sign of a blood covenant. For the paschal supper, the signing of the people was done on the doorposts of their houses, rather than on their bodies. Passover also had the meaning of a ransom. The slaughter of the animal was a propitiatory offering to God, designed to assure that God would pass over and spare the household from hurt or harm. If the animal were maimed or if a bone was broken, it would not be accepted. Some scholars point to the fact that the Hebrew name for Passover, pesach, can also mean "to limp." In I Kings 18:26, the term is used in reference to the priests of Baal challenging Elijah. Limping signified mourning in the Arabic and Syriac languages. Some scholars say that Passover is derived from the customs relating to Osiris-Tammuz, in that the god died in the winter and was resurrected in the spring. We know, however, that these customs come from Nimrod, and that the Creator's ordinances preceded pagan customs. Jewish Passover Legends Whether true or not, there are some interesting Hebrew legends concerning Passover events. Rabbinical tradition says that every day the Egyptians set a quota of bricks to be laid, Exodus 1:14. For every brick short, they took an Israelite child and sealed it alive in the building. It is said that Moses became a shepherd, Exodus 3:1, to learn how to feed God's flock and to know the wilderness through which he would lead Israel. God showed Himself in a lowly bush of thorns rather than a lofty cedar. Garden hedges are made of thorns, so God was showing Israel to be the hedge of the world, which is God's garden. Moses' rod was cut, it is believed, from the Tree of Life, handed from God to Adam, who passed it down to Enoch, Noah, Shem, and from thence to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. At Joseph's death, it was stolen by the Egyptians and placed in Pharaoh's palace, was removed by Jethro and plucked up by Moses. Written on the rod was the name of God and the initials of the ten plagues. Legend says that the plagues lasted a year, the time appointed by God for a man to pay the penalty of his sins. Likewise, the Flood lasted a year, as well as the affliction of Job. God designed the first plague to be blood on the river, because Egyptians regarded the Nile as a god. A lamb was chosen to sacrifice because the Egyptians worshipped the ram (Aries), and Israel had to show publicly that they disavowed such idolatry before God would release them from bondage. Blood on the sideposts and lintels signified Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Hyssop symbolized the House of Israel, lowly, yet bound together by the grace of God. The Seder Meal The central feature of Passover among Jews today is the Seder, held on two successive nights (because of date conflicts). After the Seder are a series of songs. For Jews, the Seder takes the place of the paschal meal. Before Passover, all leavened food (such as bread, flour, beer [sic.], etc.) are carefully removed from the home. At nightfall of the preceding evening, the master of the house makes a thorough search, using a candle to search for even the hidden crumbs. Leavened foods are burned the next morning. The mistress of the house had previously conducted a "spring cleaning." A few crumbs are left for the master of the house to "discover." If the eve of Passover falls on a Sabbath, they search for leavening on Thursday night and burn any leavening on Friday morning. The following articles appear on the Seder table: (1) Three cakes of unleavened bread, one above the other (these are said to represent the three fold division of Israelites into Priests, Levites, and regular Israelites); (2) bitter herbs, such as horseradish, Exodus 12:8, symbolizing the bitterness which the Egyptians inflicted upon the children of Israel Exodus 1:14; (3) haroseth, a mixture of chopped apple, nuts, raisins and cinnamon, pounded into a kind of paste (this allayed the sharp taste of the bitter herbs, and symbolized the mortar which the Israelites were forced to tread during their bondage in Egypt); (4) a roasted egg, commemorating the special additional sacrifices offered in the Temple during Passover (Pagan Easter customs also include special painted eggs.); (5) the shank bone of a lamb, symbolic of the paschal sacrifice; (6) parsley or radishes. These six items are placed in a special order on a large dish. In addition, sufficient wine must be present to serve each member four cups during the ceremony. Why are there four cups of wine? Some say they correspond to the four expressions used in Exodus 6:6-7, "I will bring you out . . . I will rid you . . . I will redeem you . . . and I will take you to Me for a people." Yemeni Jews use five cups, while earlier usage may have been only three. Lastly, in the center of the table is a large goblet filled with wine for the prophet Elijah, who is believed to come as a guest to every Seder meal as a precursor of the Messiah. Through the Seder meal, it is customary to lean on pillows or cushions, instead of sitting upright. This is symbolic of the ease and freedom which Israel came to enjoy as a result of its liberation from Egypt. The Haggadah The recital of the narrative of the story of the exodus during the Jewish seder is called the Haggadah. The exact contents of the recital have some variations among Jews scattered around the world. There are ten basic elements of the service: (1) The service begins with the kiddush, or sanctification, the traditional inauguration of Sabbaths and Festivals in Jewish homes. (2) The first cup of wine is poured with a blessing from the master of the house. All join in thanking God for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, "the season of our liberation." (3) The master washes his hands and distributes parsley dipped in salt water to everyone. This is symbolic of the tears Israel shed in bondage. (4) Then he takes the middle piece of unleavened bread, breaks it in half, and lays aside one half in a napkin. He takes the other half and says it represents the bread of affliction of our forefathers in Egypt. He invites all who are hungry to come and eat and all who are needy to come and celebrate the Passover feast, adding that though this year we be here, next year may we be in the land of Israel; though this year we be slaves, next year may we be free men! (5) The second cup of wine is poured, and the youngest person present asks four questions: Why is this night different from all other nights? For on all other nights we eat leaven and unleavened alike, but on this night only unleavened. On all other nights we eat any kind of herbs, but on this night only bitter herbs. On all other nights we do not dip even once, but on this night twice. On all other nights we eat either upright or leaning, but on this night we all lean! There was originally another question, "Why is it that on other nights we eat meat boiled, roasted or stewed, but on this night only roasted?" This was dropped when the Temple was destroyed and sacrifices ceased. Deuteronomy 6:21 is paraphrased, "We were slaves in Egypt, and would still be so, had not the Lord our God brought us out thence with a strong hand and an outstretched arm." After further answers to these questions are given, the celebrant lifts the cup of wine and pronounces the theme of the Seder: God's promise it is that has stood by our fathers and us. For it is not one alone that has risen up to destroy us, but the Holy One, blessed be He, delivers us out of their hand! The story of the sojourn in Egypt and the miraculous Exodus is told in summary form. The "mighty hand" was the plague of murrain, because the Scripture says, "The hand of the Lord fell upon the cattle," Exodus 9:3 (paraphrase). The "outstretched arm" was the sword of God (see I Chronicles 21:16). A poem called Litany of Wonders is recited, citing fifteen blessings of God upon Israel. Fifteen is the sum numerical value of the Hebrew letters Y and H, which spell YAH, one of the names of God, and there were fifteen steps in the Temple leading to the Holy of Holies. Each line ends with the refrain Dayyenu, "alone 'twould have sufficed us!" Here are a few lines: If He had cleft the Sea for us, nor let us pass dry shod, DAYYENU! If He had let us pass dry shod, nor sunk our foes therein, DAYYENU! Explanation is given of the elements of the shank bone, unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Then an important message of Passover is given: Every man in every generation is bound to look upon himself as if he personally had gone forth from Egypt . . . . It is not only our fathers that the Holy One redeemed, but ourselves also did He redeem with them. For does not the Scripture say, And He brought us out thence that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He swore unto our fathers (Deuteronomy 6:23)? The second cup is raised, and the Hallel (Psalm 113-118) is recited. These Psalms are part of every new moon and feast. Jesus and the disciples sang them at the Last Supper. The Hallel is appropriate to the Passover since Psalm 114 begins, "When Israel went forth out of Egypt . . . ." The second cup is drunk and all wash their hands. (6) The sixth element of the Seder meal is when the celebrant breaks the topmost piece of unleavened bread and half of the middle piece, and gives pieces to each person, along with a small portion of horseradish. (7) The evening meal is served. (8) The celebrant unwraps the reserved half of the middle cake and everyone receives two pieces, called afikoman, which some say comes from the Greek epikomion, or "dessert." Children sometimes hide the reserved portion of unleavened bread, and claim a ransom for it before delivering it up to their fathers. (9) "Grace" is the Jewish blessing at the close of a meal. After grace is said, the third cup is drunk. The "goblet of Elijah" is filled, and the main house door is flung open while the following words are recited: Pour out Thy wrath upon the heathen that know Thee not and upon the kingdoms that call not on Thy name; for they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation (Psalm 79:6). Pour out upon them Thy fury, and let the heat of Thine anger overtake them (Psalm 69:24). Pursue them in anger, and destroy them from under the heavens of the Lord (Lamentations 3:66). Why is Elijah associated with Passover? Some say that since Passover is a "night of watchings," one of these watchings is for Elijah, the precursor of the Messiah. The cup of Elijah is not for him to drink, but for him to give the heathen to drink, the "cup of reeling." It also symbolizes the "cup of comfort" to be drunk by Israel. Recitation of the Hallel is resumed, followed by miscellaneous hymns. (10) The conclusion to the Seder is when the doxology is recited, and the fourth and last cup of wine is drunk. Samaritan Passover A few Samaritans are left today in Palestine. In 1949 there were only 200 Samaritans. They claim they are the surviving remnant of the House of Israel, descendants of men who were never carried into captivity. Bible students know that the Samaritans revere Mount Gerizim in central Israel as their equivalent of Jerusalem, and accept only the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy) as their Bible. Gerizim is near Nablus, site of ancient Shechem. Gaster records some of their customs. Samaritans actually sacrifice paschal lambs today on the slopes of Mt. Gerizim. On the fourteenth day of the first month, Samaritans remove all yeast from their premises, wash their clothes and change their garments. They eat no bread whatsoever, leavened or unleavened. When they eat their Passover, on the fifteenth, their stomachs must be free from any fermenting leaven. About 4:00 PM, the Samaritan high priest lights the oven fires, and a half hour later the altar itself, with burning wood. The celebrants are dressed in white clothes. Lambs are inspected by the priests, and are rejected for any imperfection. About 15 or 20 minutes before sunset, the priest begins to sing hymns to the praise of God, sung in ancient Hebrew. He gives a short prayer for the slaughtering: For I call on the name of the Lord; ascribe ye greatness unto our God, The Rock, -- His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice; a God of faithfulness and without perversity, righteous and upright is He (Deuteronomy 32:3-4). Blessed be our God forever, and blessed be His name forever! Then the Samaritan priest reads the portion in Exodus 12 commanding the Passover sacrifice. When he reaches the words, "And all the congregation of the community of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight," the slaughterers proceed to slay the lambs quickly, sprinkling the blood on the altar round about, saying three times, "There is no God but one!" When is the sacrifice actually done? Within "two minutes after the actual going-down of the sun." The fleece is removed, along with the innards, which are placed above the wood on the altar. The lamb is washed and all blood drained off. Deep gashes are cut into the lamb, while care is taken not to break a bone. The ischiac nerve is removed (see Genesis 32:32). The whole body of the lamb is placed on wooden spits, head downward. While all of this is done, the worshipers recite Exodus 12:1 through chapter 15, singing hymns of praise. The priest gives unleavened bread and bitter herbs to each to eat. The lambs are taken on spits to the oven, where they are cooked for three hours. The fire is left burning on the altar until no trace is left of the fat or legs. It is a "pleasant savor unto the Lord." When night has fallen, and the Evening Prayer has been recited, they come and remove the sacrificial meat from the oven, having their loins girded, sandals on their feet, and staves in their hands, per Exodus 12:11. The meat is picked off by hand and they all sit down and eat the meal in haste, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Afterwards, all the fragments are gathered together and burnt on the altar. When dawn breaks, the Morning Prayer is recited, which continues for two hours. Then each man returns to his tent in joy and gladness of heart. Lambs rejected because of imperfections are removed to a separate place and burnt. They may not be given to a Gentile to be eaten. During the whole Samaritan Passover ceremony, no Gentile may come into contact with a Samaritan, nor may anyone eat of the sacrifice if he is ritually unclean. Although the Samaritans may have corrupted certain things, their ceremony is the closest thing today to the original Hebrew Passover before Christ. Passover and the Springtime Song of Songs The Song of Songs (The Song of Solomon, also called Canticles) is read by Jews on the eighth day of Passover. This book is an allegory. It shows "the passion of a Divine Lover [the Eternal] for his beloved people Israel." The Christian Church believes this Bible book displays the love of Christ for His Church. Passover is a love story, John 3:16. It signifies release from bondage and beginning of new trials in the wilderness. The real message of Passover is that only when "a people has ceased to be enslaved and is prepared to brave disaster" is it truly free. Passover signifies redemption not only because Israel went out of Egypt, but "because they set their faces toward Sinai." Passover marks the beginning of the season in Palestine when heavy showers of winter are replaced by light rains of spring. On the first day of the festival, special prayers for these "dews" are inserted in the morning synagogue services, based on Isaiah 26:19 and Hosea 14:5, which have the theme of resurrection and blossoming of Israel. The Sabbaths of God by James L. Porter Passover Pictures Past, Present, and Future Events Porter states that "Passover is a memorial of an actual event God caused to occur long ago in Egypt. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were also shadows of events to occur later, as recorded in the New Testament. Jesus Christ was to become God's true Passover Lamb. The shadow of what Passover means was fulfilled only in part when Jesus was killed as the Lamb which God had provided. Jesus spoke of a fulfillment of Passover yet in the future . . . . God's people were identified and kept separate when God judged the people about them. Israel was safe even in the midst of a terrible judgment from God upon the whole nation about them. This is the central meaning of the past, present and future Passover." God has delivered, and will continue to deliver, His people. Passover was kept by a small group of people in each house, the count determined by the number needed to consume a year-old lamb. Christ's Passover had only thirteen in attendance. Individually, small groups will be protected by the Eternal. The Passover is a solemn occasion. For Israelites, it was the night the plague slew Egypt's firstborn. For Christians, it is the memorial of Christ's death. On the Egyptian Passover, God executed judgment on the false religion of the Egyptians. He demonstrated that He is completely different and distinct from the "gods" of Egypt. See Exodus 12:11-13. Christ was probably taken captive at the same time (midnight) as the death angel came on the first Passover. His doom to death was sealed from that time. Coarsely ground flour needs to be made into dough and allowed to soften over night to bring out the gluten. Leavening was added in the morning for preparation for baking. Early in the morning of the fourteenth, the message came to depart. There was no time to add leavening or bake. Thus, Israel took their dough in the kneading troughs. Christian Fulfillment of Passover Christ is our Passover Lamb, I Corinthians 5:7. His blood shed for us identifies us and serves as a mark in the same way that the blood of the Passover Lamb identified the Israelites of Egypt. A Christian cannot understand the true meaning of the New Testament Passover without a knowledge of the meaning of the ancient ceremony which it replaces. That's why we ought to know the meaning of the symbolism of the Old Testament Passover. God's judgment will soon come on this present evil world. The blood of the Lamb, the Messiah, will serve the same purpose of identifying God's people, sparing them during the "Day of the Lord." On the first Passover, God judged the "gods" of Egypt. After Christ finished His Last Supper, He said that the prince of this world, Satan, was now judged. This judgment on Satan was pronounced, but is not yet carried out. Satan still rules this world. The coming Passover of the future will be the deliverance of God's people and the judgment of Satan and his world. Porter states, "Passover is primarily concerned with a future event, as are all of God's holy days that He has set aside to be observed by His people." Colossians 2:16-17 refers to the Holy Days as "a shadow of the things to come." The New American Standard Version translates Luke 22:15-16 as "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." The Great Future Passover has not yet been fulfilled! A Christian's present condition is similar to that of ancient Israel. They had killed the Passover lamb on the beginning of Nisan 14, had marked their homes, and were waiting for God's wrath to be visited upon the Egyptians about them. We have been marked with Christ's blood. As strangers and pilgrims in this world, we are waiting for God's judgment on the world, and our orders to leave and be with Christ. Judgment on this world will occur just before the Kingdom of God comes to this earth in power, I Peter 1:13-21. As God judged the gods of Egypt on Passover night, the future Great Passover will be a judgment on all false religions when they will all be destroyed. To escape this future wrath, we need the mark of our Passover lamb. The Passover of 70 A.D. was the time the Romans came on Jerusalem, surrounding some three million Jews, most of whom were killed in the fighting or died by sickness and starvation. See Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews, V, iii. "The Passover of which Egypt was a type and Jerusalem [of 70 A.D.] an example, is yet to come." Read Hebrews 10:26-31, and Revelation 18:1-5. That is why like Egypt, this Babylonish system will receive plagues. One cannot engage in Babylonish festivals [such as Christmas, Easter and Halloween] and still have protection of the blood of the Savior. Isaiah 26:20-21, "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." Isaiah 31:5, "As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also He will deliver it; and passing over He will preserve it." Christian Fulfillment of the Feast of Unleavened Bread The first day of Unleavened Bread was the night Israel left Egypt. The present meaning is that Christians are freed from sin to become servants of God, Romans 6:15-18, 22-23; John 8:31-36. God is still setting people free from slavery to sin. In the future, He will set the whole world free from sin. The seven days of Unleavened Bread picture a Christian's life, his death, burial and future resurrection. Romans 6:1-11 and especially I Corinthians 10:1-11. In I Corinthians 10, there is a warning to Christians. Although they have been baptized following conversion, they must live obedient and pleasing lives unto God. Israel was baptized in crossing the Red Sea on the last Holy Day of the Feast. God was later displeased with them and they died in the wilderness. Will we learn the lesson of the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread and follow the Eternal always? Jewish Encyclopedia (1907 edition), article "Passover" Pesach comes from the root meaning "to pass by," or "to spare," "to skip like a lamb," or "to dance." The Pesach feast tended to merge with the Mazzot festival. Leviticus 23 is clear that Passover is the fourteenth day of the first month, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread is the 15-21 of the month. "The setting aside, slaughtering, and eating of the paschal lamb was introductory to the celebration of the festival [of Unleavened Bread]." Rabbis set the time when no leaven was to be eaten at noon on Nisan 14, and later moved it up an hour to be "safe." Others advised refraining after 10:00 in the morning. The hamez (leaven) inspection was set aside for the night of the 13th, or the preceding evening if Nisan 14 fell on the Sabbath. The Passover lamb represented a haburah, or "company." The owner of the lamb, and his haburah, had to be pure, circumcised, and not defiled by touching the dead. His ownership of the lamb must be beyond doubt. Members of the family were kept apart by sexes to avoid provoking levity. Jewish speculation has it that Passover preceded the Egyptian experience. Passover would be a festival celebrated in early spring by shepherds before setting out for the new pastures, as the participants "danced" around the sacrificial offering. The sacrifice of the firstling of the flock was a propitiation, to save the rest of the herd and even the shepherds. Hence the word pesach came to mean "spared." Circumcision was also a rite of propitiation, like the Paschal lamb, possibly a substitute for human sacrifice. Passover is connected with circumcision, for one must be circumcised to keep it. That may be the reason why the lamb is set aside on the tenth day. Three to four days were required to heal the wound of circumcision, Joshua 5:8 and Genesis 34:25. Article, "Holy Days" On Holy Days, except Atonement, Rabbis recommend rejoicing. "It is customary to give new toys and fruit to children, new garments and ornaments to women, and have meat and wine on the table during these days. The day should be divided into halves, one to be spent in eating, drinking, and amusement, the other in worship and study. Fasting or the delivering of funeral orations is forbidden. Too much drinking and excessive hilarity, however, are not encouraged." Weekdays of Passover and Tabernacles are considered "semi holy days," and only certain kinds of work are permitted. "No marriage should be celebrated on these days, on the principle that one joy should not be confused with another joy." The haftarah (portion of prophets read after the reading of the Torah during the morning services on Sabbaths and Feast Days) for Passover is the vision of the dry bones, Ezekiel 36:37 to 37:14. For Tabernacles, it is the wars of God and Magog, Ezekiel 38:18 to 39:16. Article, "Festivals" The Hebrew word for festival is hag, and means "a day or season of joy." Article, "Leaven" Leaven is called "the bread of affliction" because of its association with Egyptian slavery. With few exceptions, Leviticus 7:13 and 23:17, leaven was forbidden in sacrificial offerings: Exodus 23:18, 34:25; Leviticus 2:11, 6:10-17. In later times, "leaven" and "corruption" were regarded as synonymous, Matthew 16:6-12; Mark 8:15; I Corinthians 5:6-8. During the festival of mazzot, it was strictly forbidden to eat anything leavened, or even to keep such food on the premises. The punishment was karet, or excommunication. Article "Mazzah (plural, Mazzot)" Mazzah is the primitive form of bread, known as poor man's bread, as he could not afford to wait even 24 hours for it to leaven. Mazzah was necessary when a meal was to be prepared at short notice for an unexpected guest. For example, Abraham and the Lord, Genesis 18:6; Lot at Sodom for the angels, Genesis 19:3; and for Saul by the witch of Endor, I Samuel 28:24. Mazzah is made hastily, lest even any spontaneous fermentation take place. The usual form is round. "Mazzah is a symbol of purity, while leaven represents the evil impulse of the heart." Jewish tradition holds that mazzah is "an antidote to Egyptian slavery and corruption and a symbol of freedom and idealism. Mazzah was to cure Israel and prepare him for the acceptance of the Torah." Article, "Seder" Scripture does not record how and where the Passover lamb was eaten during the many centuries before the reform of King Josiah, II Kings 23, only that Passover was not celebrated properly. There is no information as to how the night was celebrated in Temple times by Jews outside the Holy Land who did not go to the feast. It appears that only the men were bidden to attend the chosen place, and Passover lost much of its character as a family festival. Articles "Month," "Moon," and "New Moon" Psalm 104:19 says "He appointed the moon for seasons." Moons determine the Holy Days. According to Jewish tradition, Nisan is the month of coronations, and is a sacred month because of the Passover. The Hebrew word for moon is yerah, meaning "the wanderer." The word for new moon is hodesh. The moon can be harmful to man, Psalm 121:6, or beneficial, Deuteronomy 33:14. It is a symbol of eternity, Psalm 72:5, 7, 89:37; and its eclipse and turning to blood are tokens that God's wrath is at hand, Isaiah 13:10, 24:23; Joel 2:10, 31. The moon will shine like the sun, and the sun seven times as hot, in a future plague, Isaiah 30:26, just preceding the time when God's people will be restored. In rabbinical literature, "the moon, on account of its monthly reappearance, is considered as the emblem of Israel; the latter, like the moon, undergoing several phases through persecution without being destroyed." And as the moon will shine like the sun, Israel will be restored by the Messiah. Jewish tradition established a ceremony for the blessing of the new moon, with a prescribed formula chant. In it was an expression of the Jew's messianic hope, because the Messiah was to be a descendant of David, whose kingdom it was promised would "be established for ever as the moon," Psalm 89:37. The moon is thus a symbol of God's eternal covenant with David. A reason why Passover falls on a FULL moon is that this shows that God delivers Israel fully, or COMPLETELY. The Passover sacrifice is the first step to making us full and complete, and is an eternal sign of God's covenant. The full moon Passover will either smite you, Psalm 121:6, or if protected by Christ's blood, protect you, Deuteronomy 33:14. As a symbol of the covenant, the moon is an essential element of the Passover season. McClintock and Strong, Bible Cyclopedia, Article "Passover" The lamb selected on Nisan 10, four days before Passover, is supposed to represent the four generations which had elapsed since the children of Israel had come to Egypt, Genesis 15:16. Blood sprinkled on the two side-posts and lintel of the house represents the parts of the house most obvious to passers-by, and to which Scripture texts were afterwards affixed, Deuteronomy 6:9. The phrase "between the two evenings" in Exodus 12:6 is greatly disputed. The Samaritans and others take it to denote the space between the setting of the sun and the moment the stars become visible, or when darkness sets in, i.e., between about six and seven o'clock in the springtime. A Jewish commentator, Aben-Ezra says it means the first evening is when the sun sets, the second is when reflected light from the sun disappears, an interval of about eighty minutes. The majority of Jewish tradition, however, says the phrase means from afternoon to the disappearing of the sun, and that therefore the paschal lamb was slain after the daily sacrifice, and generally took place from 2:30 to 5:50 P.M. See Josephus, Wars, vi, 9, 3. The Passover observed in Egypt was different than that in the land of Israel. These are the differences between the "Egyptian Passover" and the "Permanent Passover": (1) In the former, the animal was killed by the head of the family in his own house, instead of with a priest's assistance at the sanctuary; (2) no firstlings were required to be offered, Exodus 23:14-19, 34:18-26; (3) no sacrifices were brought, Numbers 28:16-25; (4) the Hallel and other hymns were not sung, as required in later times, Isaiah 30:29. With two million Israelites, assuming fifteen people per lamb, there would have had to have been 150,000 year-old-male lambs slain. Some believe that the Passover was not kept from the wilderness of Sinai until Gilgal because the people did not practice circumcision and were legally excluded from keeping it. Many Jewish commentators state that Exodus 12:25 and 13:5-10 plainly show that after the first Passover in the wilderness, the Israelites were not to keep it again until they entered Canaan. Ancient Jewish Observance of the Passover The "Great Sabbath" is the Sabbath immediately preceding Passover. According to tradition, Nisan 10 of the first Passover was on a Sabbath. This would make Nisan 14 on a Wednesday. On the Great Sabbath, the people were instructed in the duties of the festival. Malachi 3:1-18 and 4:1-6 were read as the maphtir, or lesson for the day. The evening of Nisan 13 was called "the preparation for the Passover." Every head of the family searched for and collected by candlelight all the remaining leaven in the house. After the search, he said, "Whatever leaven remains in my possession which I cannot see, behold it is null, and accounted as the dust of the earth." What constituted leaven? "Nothing is prohibited on the Feast of Passover because of leaven except the five kinds of corn, viz., wheat, barley, spelt, oats and rye." Rice and millet were excluded, presumably because they aren't used in leavened products. Nisan 14 was also, till the evening, called "the preparation for the Passover." Leaven could be eaten only until midday. All leaven collected the previous evening and discovered on this day had to be burned. In modern times, all firstborn males above the age of 13 fast on Nisan 14, called the "Fast of the Firstborn." Every Israelite who was not infirm, ceremonially impure, or uncircumcised, appeared before the Lord in Jerusalem with an offering in proportion to his means, Exodus 23:15, Deuteronomy 16:16-17. Israelites themselves killed their own paschal sacrifices, while the priests caught the blood and sprinkled it on the base of the altar. The Hallel was repeated all during the killings. The lamb was then suspended on iron hooks from pieces of wood, and its skin taken off. The viscera were taken out with the internal fat. The fat was separated and placed in a large dish, while the viscera was washed and replaced in the lamb's body, Leviticus 1:9, 3:3-5. The fat was then burned on the altar, along with incense, that same evening. The lambs were roasted on a spit in an earthenware oven. Nisan 16 is to the rabbinical Jews the "morrow after the Sabbath," the time when the omer of the first produce of the harvest was brought to the priest, to be waved before the Lord, Leviticus 23:10-14. The Samaritans and Sadducees maintain that the morrow after the Sabbath is the first day of the week after the Sabbath during the Feast of Passover. The omer was of barley, which is the grain that ripens first, before the wheat. The barley was ground to a meal, sifted, and mixed with a half pint of oil and a handful of frankincense, Leviticus 2:15, as on other meat offerings. Immediately after the ceremony, bread, parched corn, green ears, etc., of the new crop were placed on sale in Jerusalem. Prior to this, no new produce could be sold. The fifty-day count to Pentecost began on the morrow after the Sabbath. The days Nisan 17-20 are referred to as "half holydays." People either left Jerusalem and returned home, or remained and danced, sang or played games. No new graves were dug, nor wives espoused, nor houses, slaves or cattle purchased, except for festival use. In the Temple, the additional festival sacrifices were offered. Nisan 21 was another holy convocation, a high Sabbath. Meaning of the Passover The exodus was thus looked upon as the birth of the nation; the Passover was its annual birthday feast. Nearly all the rites of the festival appear to point to this as its primary meaning. It was the yearly memorial of the dedication of the people to Him who had saved their firstborn from the destroyer, in order that they might be made holy to Himself." The lamb was regarded as "the great annual peace-offering of the family, a thank-offering for the existence and preservation of the nation." It was the LORD's sacrifice, Exodus 23:18, 34:25. And "it was more ancient than the written law, and called to mind that covenant on which the law was based." The use of unleavened bread, called bread of affliction, Deuteronomy 16:3, is significant, because the "meat [meal] offering" was unleavened, Leviticus 1:4-5, 7:12, 10:12, as was shewbread, Leviticus 24:5-9, and especially because unleavened bread was used in consecration of the priests, Exodus 29:23, and in the offering of the Nazarite, Numbers 6:19. This shows that unleavened bread is connected with the consecration of the person. Unleavened bread is pure, not corrupted. Aben Ezra reports the tradition that the army of Sennacherib was smitten on the night of the Passover, showing that Passover signifies deliverance. The offering of the omer may have denoted a deliverance from winter, as the lamb signified deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. The consecration of the firstfruits is a natural type of the consecration of the firstborn of the Israelites. Abib means "the month of green ears." According to Gesenius, Nisan, the Babylonian equivalent, possibly means "the month of flowers," or "the month of new year's day." Hastings Bible Dictionary, Article, "Passover" There are three views as to the meaning of Passover: (1) Passover is the offering of the firstborn. Genesis 4:2-4 shows that Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock. "The Passover is the shepherd's offering, given in thankful recognition that the fruitfulness of the herd is from Jehovah," Exodus 13:12. Moses often repeated the demand to let the people go to keep a feast in the wilderness, Exodus 3:18, 7:16, 8:27, etc., and thus the exodus resulted from the command to keep the feast. (2) Passover is a feast of atonement, because the Passover sacrifice is offered in place of the firstborn of men. The firstborn were God's, Exodus 13:12, not Molech's, Leviticus 18:21, II Kings 23:10, Jeremiah 32:35. Ewald in Antiquities of Israel, page 352, writes: "from the earliest times an atonement offering was an indispensable constituent of every Spring festival." Passover comes at a time of transition in the year, winter to spring. Man felt himself impelled to offer "sacrifices of purification and reconciliation, not alone on account of particular transgressions of which he knew himself to be guilty, but also to secure the Divine exemption and grace . . . during the new year . . . [so that God] might not slay him, as he perhaps deserved, but might graciously pass him over." The lamb was thus an expiatory offering. (3) Passover is a blood covenant which in the eyes of Jews signifies "the right of marriage" between them and God. The certification of the union, and welcome of God to the household, is the blood on the doorway. Notice that the blood was not on the bottom of the door so entrance could be made without stepping on blood. Hyssop was seen as a feminine symbol. In the rite of circumcision, Abraham and his descendants supplied the blood of the covenant; while in Passover, the Eternal commanded the substitute blood of the lamb in token of His blood covenanting. Festivals of the Jewish Year by T.H. Gaster Omer Days The seven weeks between Passover and Pentecost are known as Days of Omer [Hebrew for "sheaf"]. Every evening during the Days of Omer is a ceremonial counting, prefaced with citation of Leviticus 23:15, and followed by recitation of Psalm 67, "the earth has yielded her produce; God, our own God, is blessing us." Omer Days are "a kind of Lent," accompanied by fasts and austerities in which certain activities, such as marriages, new clothes, etc., are curtailed. Why the ban on marriages? When the annual lease of life is running out, human increase is also arrested. The Romans believed May marriages were unlucky. Some Commentaries on Key Passover Passages I. Adam Clark's Commentary. Exodus 12: 4Rabbis allowed at least 10, not more than 20, people per lamb. 8Jewish custom was to boil flesh. Some think the command to roast the Passover was in opposition to the Egyptian custom of eating raw flesh in honor of Osiris. 9with the purtenance thereof. Purtenance means intestines, for these were used by heathens for divination, so when roasted with the entire carcass, they could not be so used. 10let nothing of it remain til morning. This would prevent putrefaction or corruption. Messiah's body saw no corruption, Psalm 16:10 and Acts 2:27. 11loins girded, shoes on feet, staff in hand, in haste. In other words, ready to travel. 12gods of Egypt. This could also be translated "princes of Egypt." They too were judged, and punished in the plagues. 22bunch of hyssop. Hebrew word is ezob, an herb used in sprinkling the blood of the paschal lamb and in cleansing for leprosy, Leviticus 14:4, 6, 51-52; in composing the water of purification and sprinkling, Numbers 19:6, 18. Hyssop is a type of the purifying sacrifice of Christ, Psalm 51:7. Moses used hyssop at the ratification of the covenant, Hebrews 9:19. II. Cook's Commentary (1871). Exodus 12: 9 The entire consumption of the lamb constitutes one marked difference between Passover and all other sacrifices, in which either a part or whole was burned and thus directly offered to God. Except for the blood which was sprinkled (and the fat and kidneys, which were burnt), first on the doorposts, later on the base of the altar, the entire substance entered into the people. The head of the family always slew the lamb, even during Temple times. Christ's blood was shed as a propitiatory sacrifice "but His whole humanity is transfused spiritually and effectually into His Church . . . in . . . the Christian Passover."ę Passover -- 14th or 15th? There has been in existence for hundreds of years a debate between groups on whether the observance of Passover is on the evening of the fourteenth or the fifteenth of the first month Abib. Hopefully this study will help some, the ones who are honestly trying to decide what to do. For those who have already decided, made up their minds, have their minds set, then probably this won't be much help to them, but we'll pray that it will be. We base that on the examples of other people we've met that had their minds made up and no amount of help, teaching, talking or praying has helped them so far. Hopefully this will be of some help. We must not give up trying. First, let's look at I Corinthians 5:7, "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:" (All quote are from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Some of the expressions have been changed to modern usage.) This shows that Jesus Christ was our Passover. He was sacrificed for us. He was the Original Passover, or the true Passover lamb. The lamb that all those centuries was pictured when the Israelites would kill them and pour out their blood, roast them, and eat them whole without breaking a bone. This pictured our Saviour Jesus Christ dying on the stake so that our sins could be forgiven. Luke 22:19-20, "And He took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." John 6:53, "Then Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you." This is a very important scripture. It shows that if we don't eat and drink the Passover, take the Passover, eat the unleavened bread, and drink the cup of wine that symbolizes His shed blood for the remission of our sins then there is no life in us. Our eternal salvation depends upon us taking the Passover. This day must be upon the correct day! We must carry out the example of our Saviour the way and the time He showed us. The example given in the Bible shows that the observance of the ceremony, in so far as what was done during the meal was changed, but He did not change the day of the observance. He changed the ceremony, not the day. What time do we take the bread and wine today? The Passover meal, called by some, "The Lord's Supper," is a memorial of our Saviour's death. A memorial is normally observed once a year on the date it commemorates. Take for example the 4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and whatever memorial you can think of. The same is true of Passover. It is a memorial of our Saviour's death and is observed once a year in commemoration. What Do The Emblems Of The Bread And Wine Represent? This can be seen in Luke, but let's read Matthew 26:26-28, "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, drink you all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." We read in John that if we don't eat His flesh or drink His blood we have no life in us. The bread symbolized His broken body and the wine His blood shed for the remission of our sins. I Corinthians 11:29-30, "For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." These emblems were introduced while they were eating the Passover meal as Matthew 26:17 states: "Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus saying unto Him, where will you that we prepare for you to eat the Passover?" Then verse 19, "And the disciples did as Jesus appointed them; and they made ready the passover." Verses 20 and 21, "Now when the even was come, He sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, He said, verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me." Then verse 26, "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, take, eat; this is my body." Luke 22:13-15, "And they went, and found as He had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover. And when the hour was come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. And He said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." And there are other scriptures you can look up such as Mark 14:12, 18, and 22. The Passover pictures the sacrifice of our Saviour and the death angel passing over the Israelites while they were still in bondage in Egypt. The Passover (keep this in mind) pictures the passing over of the Israelites in Egypt on that fateful night when the firstborn were killed in Egypt. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, as we will see later on, pictures their coming out of Egypt. Let's go back to Exodus 12:24-27, "And you shall observe this thing for an ordinance to you and to your sons forever. And it shall come to pass, when you be come to the land which the Eternal will give you, according as he has promised, that you shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, what mean you by this service? That you shall say, it is the sacrifice of the Eternal's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped." The next day was an Holy day, the First Day of Unleavened Bread. It pictured a day of deliverance from Egypt when they left Egypt. The Passover was a time of solemnity, and quiet; they cringed in their houses as the death angel passed over, striking down the first born. However, the next night they left Egypt with a high hand, as we will see later. They rejoiced, worshipped, and celebrated. It was a Night To Be Much Observed, and much remembered throughout eternity. Exodus 12:21, "Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover." It pictures deliverance from death and not that of leaving Egypt. Leaving Egypt was a time of rejoicing which the of Unleavened Bread was a memorial. The killing of the lamb alone was meaningless. Trust had to be put in the blood, (the blood is now symbolized by the wine taken during the Passover service). In other words, if they just killed the lamb and left it laying, it would have served no purpose whatsoever. They had to take that blood and put it over their doorpost. The blood was their salvation. It was the mark that showed the death angel not to strike that household. Remember these points that we have covered so far, because this is a key, as far as the service goes. The Passover was a time of protection from the death angel, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was a time of deliverance when they left Egypt with an high hand rejoicing. What Does "Between The Two Evenings" Mean? Now let's go to the Old Testament and read the instructions of the Passover observance. In Exodus 12:6, "And you shall keep it up until the fourteenth of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening." This word evening, the way it is translated in the King James version, is deceptive because it is always translated evening. Evening in the Hebrew is erev but this term, as you can tell by looking in your marginal reference, is "between the evenings." The Moffatt and Jewish Publication Society translations show it means "dusk or dusky." The lamb was killed after sundown but before darkness settled in. The term is ben ha erevim which means "between the evenings" and the Jewish Publication Society translates the verse as follows: "You shall keep watch over it until the fourteenth day of this month and all the aggregate community of the Israelites shall slaughter it at twilight." Ben ha erevim means dusky, twilight or to grow dusky. The same phrase is used in Leviticus 23:5, "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Eternal's Passover." Look up Numbers 9:3, 5 "In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, [between the evenings], you shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall you keep it." Now verse 5, "And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the Eternal commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel." This term at evening is the same term used in Exodus and Leviticus. It is only used about a half a dozen times in the Bible. It is translated inconsistently in the King James Version and can be compared to making an appointment at midnight June the 1st. A person could take that two different ways. Would it be midnight May 31st, or midnight June 1st? It is a very similar problem to the "between the evenings" of Abib 14. It is the same situation. The period of time when one day ends and another one begins. In the King James Bible the phrase ben ha erebim is translated evening and so is the word erev which does mean "evening" as will be pointed out later. The other places where this term is found are: Exodus 16:12, (this will help clear this up), "I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, at even, [between the two evenings], you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the Eternal your God." This was the time of day that the quail began to settle down to roost. What time of the day would birds begin to do this. It would be at dusk or twilight, as it is growing dark. The next place it is found is in Exodus 30:8, "And when Aaron lights the lamps at even, [between the two evenings], he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Eternal throughout your generations." Exodus 29:39 and 41, "The one lamb you shall offer in the morning; and the other lamb you shall offer at even: [between the two evenings]. In verse 41, "And the other lamb you shall offer at even, and shall do thereto according to the meat offering in the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the Eternal." The Jewish leaders later on tried to justify killing the lamb on the fourteenth, later in the day, as the sun was moving toward sundown. They killed it on the fourteenth and ate it on the fifteenth. You can't justify that from the Bible. You wouldn't light lamps at three o'clock in the afternoon. You would light them as it started to grow dark in the evening. Aaron trimmed them in the morning but lit them in the evening, at twilight, or dusk. Numbers 28:4, "The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb shall you offer at even; [between the evenings]," verse 8, "And the other lamb shall you offer at even: [between the evenings], as the meat offerings in the morning, and as the drink offering thereof, you shall offer it, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the Eternal." If we let the Bible interpret the Bible, which we must do, you cannot go to man's writings to determine what it means. The Bible plainly shows that "between the evenings" is a time when birds start to look for a place to roost. In another place it shows that it is a time when you would normally start to light lamps. Would you normally light a lamp at 3:00 in the afternoon? I doubt you would light a lamp in the afternoon unless it were during the winter on a cloudy day or in the summer during a thunderstorm. However, I doubt you would normally light one then unless you were reading, or doing something tedious that demanded a good light. We've got to let the Bible interpret the Bible to tell us what ben ha erebim means! Exodus 16:12 shows the quail would be available to them for eating at the time of ben ha erebim. The birds would start to come in to roost at dusk. In Leviticus 23:32, "It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even." That is how the word erev is used. "From even unto even you shall celebrate your sabbath." From erev unto erev is the expression used. There is no ben ha erebim used here. It is clearly used here in reference to sundown, for we know that God's day starts at sundown as shown in Genesis 1. It states the evening and the morning were the first day, the erev and the morning were the first day. In each verse here erev is used for evening and not ben ha erebim. In Exodus 12:4-6, 8, "And if the household be too little for the lamb let him and his neighbor next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: and you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening, [between the evenings]." Verse 8, "And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it." "At even" is ba erev meaning even or sundown. Verses 11 through 12," And thus shall you eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; And you shall eat it in haste: it is the Eternal's passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Eternal." Ben ha erebim in verse 6 above means between the evenings, dusk or twilight. It did not use the terms erev or ba erev which means evening or sundown, it uses the term ben ha erebim. Exodus 16 shows that Israel had encamped on the Sabbath. If you trace their wanderings through the wilderness you will find the major encampments occurred on Sabbaths. Exodus 16:1 shows that they were there on the 15th day of the second month which was a Sabbath that year in 1487 B.C. After His Holy Sabbath day, God provided meat for them to capture. He provided the meat after sundown, during that twilight portion of the day when birds roost, but there is still enough light to distinguish objects. The Jewish Publication Society's translation of this verse states: "The Eternal spoke to Moses, I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites speak unto them and say by evening you shall eat flesh, in the morning you shall have your fill of bread and you shall know that I the Eternal am your God." So God brought in the quail after sundown or during twilight. Comparing the two scriptures Exodus 12:6 and Exodus 16:12 using several major translations will help you understand the point. In the RSV Exodus 12:6 ben ha erebim is just footnoted "between the evenings" and ba erev is just evening. In the Moffatt translation the ben ha erebim is translated "between sunset and dark." Ba erev is sunset or evening in that translation. In the New English Bible ben ha erebim between sunset and dark, ba erev is evening. In the Jewish Publication Society translation this ben ha erebim is dusk and ba erev is at even, or evening. In the New American Standard Version the ben ha erebim is at twilight and ba erev is at evening, or even. The term ben ha erebim as used in the Bible refers to a period of time after sunset, and never to any time before sunset. Exodus 30:8 describes the tabernacle lamps, "And when Aaron lights the lamps at even he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense." That term shows it would be lit in the evening toward dark or twilight. It would not make any sense to light the lamps and waste precious oil at 3:00 P.M. The Almighty is a practical, conservative Being who does not waste anything! Exodus 12:18, "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, [ba erev], you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at even." This is a block of seven days in which we must eat unleavened bread. This scripture shows that the time period begins at sundown and ends at sundown seven days later. Remember, God's days begin and end at sundown! From sundown the fourteenth to sundown the twenty-first is when we are to eat unleavened bread which is observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Leviticus 23:6 shows that we eat unleavened bread seven days. Remember to always let the Bible interpret the Bible! This scripture states: "And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto the Eternal: seven days you must eat unleavened bread." Use the Bible to interpret the Bible when in one place it states to eat unleavened bread seven days, and in another it states to begin eating it on sundown the 14th until sundown the 21st. You will have no problem sorting out when the Passover is to be eaten and when the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins. The Jews attempted to weasel their way around this command, whether intentionally or not, and killed the lamb on the afternoon of the fourteenth so as to technically keep the command to kill it on the fourteenth! They would kill it later in the day as the fifteenth day was drawing near around 3:00 P.M. and then they would eat it later after sundown on the fifteenth. That is not what it says, as we will read later; it doesn't say that killing was all there was to it. In other places it calls it observing or keeping the Passover. Killing the lamb was not all there was to the Passover service. There were other steps such as eating it with the herbs and the unleavened bread! The point is they had to "observe" it. Until The Fourteenth Read Leviticus 23:5 closely and notice what it says, "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Eternal's Passover." It doesn't say after or before, it says "in" the fourteenth day. Numbers 28:16, "And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the Eternal." Verse 17 states, "And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten." If it is true that the fifteenth day of the month is for eating the passover, then you would have to partake of the wine, which symbolizes the blood, on the evening of the fourteenth! You would have to partake of the ceremony on the two separate days of the fourteenth and fifteenth. You would take the blood as the fourteenth was ending and then wait around for a while and take his body as the fifteenth began. You would in effect split the observance and the symbols of Jesus's body between two days! There is no debate over the fact that the lamb was killed on the fourteenth. Exodus 12:6 says "keep it up until the fourteenth." The Hebrew word translated "until" is "ad" and it first appears in Genesis 3:19, "In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, till [ad] you return unto the ground;" The Hebrew word "ad" means: as far as, up to a point in time, as much as, even to, until, till or unto. It does not mean through or past a point in time. So they kept it up until and not past the fourteenth. Then verses 7 through 12, "And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, herein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night [note in that night], roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And you shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Eternal's passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Eternal." This scripture shows it was still the same night. They kept it up until the fourteenth day, between the evenings they killed, roasted and ate it. They kept it "that" night and the death angel passed through the land "that" night. The same night they ate the Passover and put the blood on their doorposts, the night of the fourteenth. None Left His House Until The Morning After the lamb was killed its hide had to be scraped clean and some of its entrails had to be removed. Then the blood was sprinkled on the doorposts. Exodus 12:21-22, "Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning." It was the same night and it says they could not go out until the morning. The Hebrew word used here for morning is boker and means the break of day, or dawn or early morning. Exodus 16:21, "And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted." This shows that morning was during the daylight hours as the gathering of manna in those times would have been very difficult in the dark. The period of time was also noted as before it had waxed hot, or during the heat of the day. Exodus 12:28, "And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Eternal had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they." So they stayed in their homes till morning according to the Bible, the Word of God. Now read verse 29, "And it came to pass, that at midnight the Eternal smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle." At midnight of the fourteenth, we are still in the fourteenth. Now look at Verse 30 (it took awhile for the news of this tragedy to reach everyone), "And Pharaoh rose up in the night [it was still night] he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead." The death angel passed over at midnight, Pharaoh rose up after midnight and it is called night in the Bible and not morning. The Bible calls this period of time after midnight, night; it was still dark. Now continue with verse 31: "And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both you and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Eternal, as you have said." The Bible says by night, but it does not tell exactly what time of night it was. When you read Exodus 12:3 and 7 it is obvious the children of Israel were in their houses and not in tents in Rameses waiting to leave. Note the word houses in these scriptures. The Hebrew word for house used in these scriptures is bayit, and means "houses" and not tents. The Hebrew word for tent is succoth or ol and not bayit as is used concerning the lodging places of the Israelites and Egyptians in chapter 12. Exodus 8:22 shows that the Israelites dwelt in Goshen. Goshen was an area at least three hundred square miles. Before the exodus could begin many had to travel many miles to the meeting point. At daybreak of the fourteenth the Israelites left their homes and continued spoiling the Egyptians on their way to Rameses. Apparently, when you take into consideration Exodus 11:2-3, after the ninth plague in 10:28-29 when Pharaoh said he would see Moses's face no more, the Israelites did do a certain amount of spoiling of the Egyptians before the last plague. They more than likely knew prophetically what would occur next and started "borrowing" from the Egyptians at this time. However, the bulk of the spoiling was done during the daylight portion of the fourteenth. Exodus 12:33-36, "And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: And the Eternal gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians." This shows that even if they did some of the spoiling back in chapter 11 the bulk of it was done after the death of the firstborn. The Egyptians were more than willing to give the Israelites what they needed and get them out of Egypt lest they all be dead men. The Egyptians urged them to leave and verse 36 shows that they were generous. The Egyptians felt a since of urgency to be rid of the Israelites. Moses knew well before the exodus that the Egyptians were to be spoiled. Exodus 3:22, "But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and you shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and you shall spoil the Egyptians." So they were prepared well before this last plague to spoil the Egyptians. They possibly did spoil them to some extent before the fourteenth day and after the ninth plague. This conclusion is drawn from the prophetic statement of Moses, as we saw previously in Exodus 10:28-29, that Pharaoh would no more see the faces of Aaron and Moses. The Israelites could not have left their homes on the night of the fourteenth because they were not to leave their houses till the morning. Exodus 12:21-22, "Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning." This Hebrew word boker, as has already been proven, means a daylight period called morning. They were not to come out of their houses till daylight. According to the authorities that I have read, it would take about an hour for a superior chariot driver to reach Goshen or Rameses from Zoan or Tannes which is where Pharaoh was. It would take another hour to return. You can look up Psalms 78:12 and Isaiah 19:11-12 to prove that these were the locations of Pharaoh and the Israelites. It would probably be nearing 4:30 A.M. and daylight would be breaking in the eastern sky as he neared the camp of Israel. The Israelites would have been waiting in their homes till daybreak to burn the remainder of their lambs. It must be remembered that the Israelites numbered two or three million plus a mixed multitude and very much cattle as you can prove from reading Exodus 12:38, "And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle." The exodus would be comparable to moving a city the size of San Francisco, Dallas or St. Louis. To say they left a couple of hours after midnight does not consider the logistical problems and ignores the clear command that they were not to leave at night! Also, not taken into consideration is the spoiling of the Egyptians, Exodus 12:35. Israel Left Egypt On The Night of the Fifteenth The Bible is crystal clear in its statement that Israel left Egypt on the fifteenth! They left at night as the fifteenth began, Deuteronomy 16:1, "Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Eternal your God brought you forth out of Egypt by night." How much plainer can it be? It says they left at night. God said not to leave on the night of the fourteenth, but it says they did leave at night. So immediately people say they left on the fourteenth. Jesus Christ said "think not that I have come to destroy the law" and immediately carnal humans say, "Jesus Christ came to do away with that harsh law of bondage". God said to Adam and Eve don't eat of that tree over there, eat all you want of any of the others but not that one, and immediately Satan tempts them into rebelling against God. It is the same spirit at work in humans that causes them to rebel against the simple commands of God. Numbers 33:3, "And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians." Remember earlier when it was shown that Passover is a night of solemnity. They were crouching in their homes behind that blood that saved the lives of their firstborn. The next night, the fifteenth, they left Egypt with a high hand, celebrating and rejoicing. It had to take most of the daylight portion to assemble such a large mass of people. Six hundred thousand men, when combined with the population of women and children, must have approached three million people! This is an equivalent of eighteen Rose Bowls filled with people! The Israelites marched in ranks, Exodus 13:18, "But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt." Look in your margin and you will notice the word harnessed should be translated "by five in a rank." They did not have semis, transport trucks, cranes, buses or trains. They went on foot, or by donkey, horses or camels. It takes a lot of time just to direct large crowds into or out of an area as anyone who has observed a large Feast of Tabernacles can attest to. This is true of just a group of several thousand. Imagine a group of three million with carts and herds of cattle and sheep. It could not have been done in any thirty minutes time. Army officers, who are specialists in logistics, said it could have been done between sunrise and sunset only by a master logistician. Remember that Moses had been a great general in Egypt and had to have been trained in organizing troops and moving them about. So once again we see where God had prepared a person, years before the need for the training transpired. This was all without the person even knowing what he was being trained to accomplish. Each family would have had to travel from five to seven miles to assemble at Rameses. They left their homes in the morning and it would have taken an average of three to five hours to make it to Rameses. The majority would have arrived between noon and 1 P.M. Given a couple of hours to water their livestock, rest and organize into ranks of five would probably put us between 5:00 and 5:30 in the afternoon. This is still early afternoon. The procession could have been as long as three miles. It would take the last of the procession two hours to leave Rameses which would put the time around 7:30 P.M. Remember Deuteronomy 16:1 where it says they left at night. There was a full moon which would have given them plenty of light. Also Exodus 13:21, "And the Eternal went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night." So they had plenty of light by which to travel. It was not a night of "passing over." It was a night of commemorating the day of the exodus. Exodus 13:8-10, "And you shall show your son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which the Eternal did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. And it shall be for a sign unto you upon thine hand, and for a memorial between your eyes that the Eternal's law may be in your mouth: for with a strong hand has the Eternal brought you out of Egypt. You shall therefore keep this statute in his season from year to year." Please note the phrase from year to year. It should be very clear to all by now what the Bible says is the night of the Passover. The Bible shows what the term ben ha erebim, means, between the evenings, when it's used in conjunction with the quails roosting and the lamps being lit. Erev is plainly shown to be sunset in Genesis 1 and in the other passages where it is used. In The Fourteenth, In The Fifteenth Now let us look up some of the other scriptures in the Old Testament concerning the Passover. Numbers 28:16-17, "And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the Eternal. And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten." Remember the Passover is in the fourteenth and not the fifteenth. If right here you are saying that the fourteenth day is the end of the day, then verse 17 would have to be observed accordingly, at the end of the day and not the beginning. You would have to do this to be consistent with the translation of these two verses. If it means the fifteenth when it says the fourteenth then it would have to mean the sixteenth when it says the fifteenth. Leviticus 23:5-6, "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Eternal's passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Eternal: seven days you must eat unleavened bread." The fourteenth is the Passover and the fifteenth is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Bible does not say that the fourteenth is the "killing" of the Passover and the eating is the fifteenth, contrary to what some people believe. It says to observe the Passover in the fourteenth! The fourteenth day is the Passover. The Bible says to keep the Passover in the fourteenth! You are adding to God's Word if you say the Bible says to kill it on the fourteenth and eat it on the fifteenth! In Numbers 9:1-3 we read, "And the Eternal spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, you shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it." It says the appointed time is the fourteenth. The Jewish Publication Society Bible translates it: "The Eternal spoke unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai on the first new moon of the second year upon the exodus from the land of Egypt saying let the Israelite people offer the passover sacrifice at its set time you shall offer it on the fourteenth day of this month at twilight, at its set time you shall offer it in accordance to all its rules and rites." Now look at verses 4-14, "And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover. And they kept, (note that it says kept not killed, killing was only part of the ceremony), the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the Eternal commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel. And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the Eternal in his appointed season among the children of Israel? And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the Eternal will command concerning you. And the Eternal spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the Eternal. The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it. But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the Eternal in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the Eternal; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that is born in the land." In II Chronicles 35:17, "And the children of Israel that were present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days." This shows that there were two distinct observances here and they are not one and the same. To further prove this point read verse 1, "Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the Eternal in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month." The rest of the chapter shows that there was more to keeping the Passover than just killing it. Now read Ezra 6:19-22, "And the children of the captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Eternal God of Israel, did eat. [Notice that, they did eat, there has been no mention of another day beginning, it is still the fourteenth, and they did eat!]. And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the Eternal had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel." This also shows that there was more to observing the Passover than just killing the lamb. It says they ate it. Also note that the word and comes before it says they kept the feast of unleavened bread, showing that the observances were separate. Now turn and read Joshua 5:10-11, "And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day." This says they kept it on the fourteenth day. It was probably the fourteenth day of the second month since they had been circumcised right before the passover of the first month and would not have been ready for that particular passover. As the example in Genesis when Simeon and Levi had the Shechemites circumcise themselves and then on the third day when they were sore they attacked the Shechemites and killed them. The Israelites would have had to have been circumcised before they could have partaken of the Passover as can be proved from Exodus 12:43-48, "And the Eternal said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: But every man's servant that is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof. In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Eternal, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof." Now notice what is stated in II Chronicles 30:1-2, 5, 13 and 17-18 "And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, and that they should come to the house of the Eternal at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the Eternal God of Israel. For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month. So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the Eternal God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written. And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation. For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Eternal. For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good Eternal pardon every one." When you read the above verses you will notice in verse 15 that they killed the passover on the fourteenth and verse 13 shows that they also kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month. Now read verse 21, "And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the Eternal day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the Eternal." Now pay particular attention to verse 23, "And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days: and they kept other seven days with gladness." Notice it says they kept other seven days but does not say they kept another Passover sacrifice. So the Passover is not included in the Feast of Unleavened Bread! The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a separate observance from the Passover. Ezekiel 45:21-23, "In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering. And seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Eternal, seven bullocks and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering." This verse should be read in the Jerusalem Bible and the Rotherham translation. There were no punctuation marks in Hebrew and they weren't really added until the ninth century. So a semicolon in this verse would clarify the meaning as well as verses 22-23 where it is talking about the feast for seven days. The New American Bible translates it, "On the fourteenth day of the first month you shall observe the feast of passover; for seven days unleavened bread is to be eaten." The semicolon stands in for a conjunction. Read the semicolon as "and" for a correct understanding of the meaning of this verse. I also looked it up in the JPS "Holy Scriptures" and it was translated thusly, "In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the passover; a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten." Passover is kept in the evening, I Corinthians 11:23, "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:". So it is kept in the evening, Matthew 26:20, "Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve." Also, look up Mark 14:17 and Luke 22:14-20 which shows it was in the evening. Six places in the Old Testament says it was on the fourteenth. The verses that are clear and easy to understand show that it was on the fourteenth. Don't fall into the trap that many of Church of God people have done to pick a scripture that is difficult to understand and attempt to destroy all the plain ones on the subject! Passover in Hebrew is Pesah which has a root meaning of to hop, skip over or spare. This refers to the death angel skipping over or hopping over the houses that had the blood applied. It had to be the fourteenth because we are told the fourteenth is the passover. The homes were protected on the fourteenth. If the lambs were killed as the fourteenth ended the blood would have been applied at the beginning of the fifteenth which would have been too late for protection because all the firstborn would have already been killed. If we take our Saviour's Passover now on the wrong day we are not covered under that blood either! We must be sure we are taking it at the right time, observing the correct day. It is important. We don't want to be taking it too late for our protection as the Israelites would have done had they kept it on the fifteenth. Jews Passover Was Corrupted By Egyptian Influence An interesting possibility for the Jews' switching to the fifteenth is recorded in a Good News magazine. Palestine was under the control of the Egyptians from 301 B.C. to 198 B.C. Dr. Lauterbach, one of Judaism's greatest historians, admits that this period was one of religious anarchy among the Jews of Palestine (Rabbinic Essays, page 200), when they accepted many Egyptian customs. Herodotus who visited Egypt in the fifth century before Christ, reported that the Egyptians would only drink out of pots and pans which had been scoured every day. They would religiously bathe themselves twice each day, they shunned all foreigners, especially Greeks, and would destroy any vessel or utensil which had been touched by a Greek. The Jews adopted this custom: Note Matthew 15:2 and Mark 7:3-8. Prior to Egyptian domination, the Jews kept the Passover on the 14th of Abib, see Ezra 6:19-22. This was after sundown that ended the 13th of Abib as we have expounded on previously. God begins and ends a day at sundown. The Egyptians commenced a day and ended it at sunrise (see Wilkinson Volume II, page 368). During Egyptian domination, Jews were allowed to retain their calendar, but days began at sunrise. This custom was adopted and persisted among Jews down to New Testament times, (see Jewish Quarterly Review, April, 1946, and Expository Times, June, 1948, pages 250-251). The following shows the correlation of the two methods of starting and ending days in relation to Abib 14: Sunset Sunrise Sunset Sunrise Sunset Sunrise Abib 14....................... Abib 15........................ Abib 16............................ God's Passover Egyptian 14th................. Egyptian 15th............... Jewish Passover After Egyptian influence ended, the Jews retained the 15th on tradition -- what was good enough for my fathers is good enough for me. Remember our Saviour's statement about the Jew's observing tradition in place of God's commands. That is why I do not light candles on the Sabbath and wear a skull cap. You don't know for sure what the Hebrews picked up from Egypt and Babylon when they were in Babylonian captivity. Now let's skip over to the New Testament and see what is recorded concerning the Passover there. Killing And Eating The Passover Three things had to be done when the Passover was kept: (1) The lamb had to be killed. (2) Blood was to be put on the door posts. (3) The lamb was then to be roasted and eaten. Exodus 12:43-48 shows eating the Passover was a vital part of keeping it! Not just the killing and sprinkling of the blood but the eating was a commanded part of the observance. When you say "keeping the Passover" it doesn't mean just killing the lamb. That is not keeping the Passover. Keeping the Passover includes the eating of it. So when you read Josiah "kept" the Passover it is not as some people try to say, that he killed it on the fourteenth and ate it on the fifteenth. As we have read Josiah kept it on "the fourteenth of Abib". Also, as has been stated previously if that reasoning is true Jesus would have had to split the meal between two days and drink the blood on the fourteenth and eat the bread on the fifteenth to retain the consistency of the command of God. He did not do this. Jesus' disciples knew that eating was part of the observance. Notice Matthew 26:17, "Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for you to eat the Passover?" Jesus spoke repeatedly of eating the Passover, (for example see Luke 22:8, 11, 15-16). The Passover also shows that the acceptance of the blood of the lamb for salvation involves "doing," "action," and not just lip service. Not just saying, "O.K. I've killed the lamb, now I'm saved, the lamb died, all I have to do is believe it died and I'm saved." No, they had to "do" something too! They had to accept that blood, take it, believe in it, and put it up over their door for their salvation. They had to have faith that that blood would save them, but they also had to do something. Obedience was required! New Testament Passover Next we need to go over some scriptures in the New Testament that have some people confused. Let's look up Matthew 26:2, "You know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified." Notice that "feast of" is in italics and is not in the original Greek. So what this scripture is saying is "after two days is the Passover." It would also help you to look up this scripture in the Jerusalem Bible, The New American Standard and the New International Version. Another scripture that causes some people problems is Mark 14:1, "After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death." Notice that "the feast of" is in italics. Also, in verse 2 it states: "But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people." The "on" in this verse should be translated "during" and "day" is in italics. We will now consider Mark 14:12, "And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?" The phrase "when they killed the passover" should be translated, "when they were slaughtering the passover" as can be verified by checking the New English Bible. Luke 22:1 and 7, "Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. Then came the [should be translated "a"], day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed." This shows that during the time of Jesus Christ the Jews had begun to call the whole block of time that was the days of unleavened bread by the name "Passover." Matthew 26:17, "Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt you that we prepare for you to eat the Passover?" If you will notice in your Bible the words "day" and "feast of" are in italics. This means they are not to be found in the original Greek manuscripts. Without these words the verse becomes, "Now the first of the unleavened bread, (or unleaveneds), the disciples came to Jesus, saying . . . ." The fourteenth had become known as one of the days of unleavened bread because the Jews believed that the leavening had to be out of their homes by around 10:00 A.M. on the fourteenth. So the entire eight days became to the Jews the "Feast of Unleavened Bread." As was noted above, they also called the entire eight day period by the name "Passover." This quote can be read on page 21 in the booklet, "The Christian Passover -- When Observed, the Fourteenth, or the Fifteenth?" However, the Bible commands us to keep seven days of Unleavened Bread. The Jews developed this tradition of including the fourteenth as one of the days of unleavened bread. Matthew 27:62, "Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate." If the first Holy Day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread were the fifteenth then it makes sense that the fourteenth served as the preparation day! You may also look up Mark 15:42 and Luke 23:54, which also shows that the daylight portion of the fourteenth was a preparation day. Matthew 26:5, Mark 14:2 and John 19:14 show that the Jews hastened to kill Jesus before the Feast Day which was the first Holy Day or the fifteenth day of Abib! John 13:27-29, "And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That you doest, do quickly. Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor." This shows that this time period was not holy time as Jesus would not have sent someone out to transact business during holy time! John 19:14 and 42, "And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand." When you compare these scriptures with John 18:28, "Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover." There is no doubt that the Jews kept the Passover a day later than Jesus did and the fourteenth was called the preparation day. Also verse 31 of John 19 shows this particular Sabbath was an "High Day." There is no way that the fourteenth can be construed as the first Holy Day or first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread based on these testimonies! Mark 15:21, "And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross." The phrase "out of the country" should be translated "out of the field" according to the Greek text. Unger's Bible Dictionary states he was a Hellenistic Jew, born in the north coast of Africa and present when the Holy Spirit was given, Acts 2:10. No devout Jew would be coming out of the field on an High Day. Mark 15:42 confirms that the fourteenth day of Abib was called the preparation day. "And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath." Matthew 26:36-45 gives the example of Jesus Christ staying up "watching." This refers back to Deuteronomy 16:7 where the phrase "turn in the morning and go to your tents" was interpreted as having a vigil that night. It was a tradition during that time period. Matthew 26:30 should be translated "hymning" or singing hymns. The head of the family and not the priests, as some have allowed, was to kill the Passover lamb. Josephus recorded that on one year, 256,500 lambs were slain. At ten persons per lamb, that would be two and one half million people. There is no way that that many lambs could have been sacrificed in the time period required, unless the heads of families killed their own lambs! Jesus declared, "I will keep the Passover with my disciples, Matthew 26:18, Mark 14:14 and Luke 22:8-11. He kept "the" Passover on the scriptural date! He did not keep a symbolic one! He called it the Passover! Mark 14:12, "And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover," should be translated "And the first day of unleaveneds, when the Passover was being killed." That is what the literal Greek contains. The night before the Passover, as Nisan 13 began, according to Jewish law, all leaven had to be searched out, in all residences and properties owned by Jews. The leaven was then gathered and burned in the morning by approximately 10:00 A.M. No one was to eat leavened bread in any form after 11:00 A.M. The unleavened bread for the Passover had to be made and ready by approximately 3:00 P.M. When Abib 14 began, no leaven could be found in any Jewish residence. So it was the first of the unleaveneds-first day of the year that could be considered unleavened. Luke 22:15-16 reveals that, (1) Jesus kept the Passover. (2) It was a proper, scripturally based Passover. (3) It was kept in the evening at the proper hour. There is no indication in the scriptures that our Saviour kept the Passover on any other day than was explicitly instructed in the Old Testament. If He had done so, He would have been disregarding and opposing the very instructions that He had inspired as the Eternal of the Old Testament! John 13:1, "Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." The Greek word pro means before, ahead of, in front of. In John 12:1 the word pro is attached to six days. It involves a time period of six days. In John 13:1 there is no indication of how much time is involved with the pro or before. It could be one hour. The scripture must be taken at face value! John did not say it was a whole 24 hours before the Passover. He did not specify any definite period of time! In John 2:13, 6:4 and 11:55 the term "Jews' Passover" is used. This is not referring to the date that was being observed but to the fact that during Jesus' time only Jews or Jewish proselytes observed the Passover, which is the case today for the most part. That is why the term used is "Jews' Passover." When you mention you observe the Passover the question immediately is shot at you, "are you Jewish?" People seem to think only Jews keep the Passover. Jesus kept the Passover in the evening, and then went to the garden where He prayed. About midnight He was arrested and led to the High Priest's house where He was tried and condemned. Then near dawn, He was taken to Pilate's Palace. John 18:28, "Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover." Jesus kept the Passover a full day before the Jews did. This was the morning after Jesus and His disciples had kept it. Jesus Christ kept it on the right day! Next consider this quote, "Several Jewish scholars have put forth the view that in the year of Jesus' death, the Passover was observed on two consecutive days, because of different reckonings of its date by the Sadducees and the Pharisees respectively." This quote is taken from Theological Dictionary of the New Testament volume III. For more proof of Passover being kept on different days by Jesus and the Jews of His day read John 19:31, "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away." Notice the use of the words "preparation" and "High Day." High Day refers to the annual Holy Days. It is never used to designate the weekly Sabbath. Which High Day? It wasn't the Passover because the Passover was never commanded to be a High Day. The Passover was a preparation day for a holy day that followed it! The Holy Day that followed Passover was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Jesus kept it on the fourteenth. He set us an example that we must follow! There are two scriptures that show that Jesus Christ was the lamb of God and would die. "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain form the foundation of the world," Revelation 13:8. "And I will put enmity between you and the woman,and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel," Genesis 3:15. There are more scriptures that point out that Jesus Christ was ordained to be beaten for the healing of our diseases and killed for the forgiveness of our sins. At the hour the spear was thrust into our Saviour's side and blood poured out, the High Priest was slitting the throats of the Passover lambs that had been brought to the temple. Jesus' blood was pouring out on the ground at the same time the blood of the Passover lambs was being splashed on the altar. This does not negate the fact that they were keeping their own Passover date, and not the one ordained by the very being that was dying while they were defying His law. This does not mean the Jews were killing the Passover at the correct time. We have already previously proven the correct time for the killing of the Passover. When Christ died, the veil of the Holy of Holies in the temple was torn from top to bottom, showing that access to the throne of God the Father was now open for all mankind! God the Father thus revealed that He was rejecting the earthly temple, the earthly priesthood, and the earthly lambs whose throats had just been slit. God had accepted the true Passover Lamb! Secular History Corroborates True Passover Date Next we will go to sources that are truly secondary. These are the writings of men in Histories, Commentaries, and Dictionaries. These should not be used as our foundation! We should always go first to the Bible and let the Bible interpret the Bible. Let it be our guide and not the writings of men. Right after the first century there arose a controversy concerning whether to observe Easter or Passover on the 14th of the month of Abib. This controversy was called the Quartodeciman controversy. One of the defenders of the 14th of the first month was Polycarp whom the Apostle John had appointed bishop of Smyrna. A defender after Polycarp's martyrdom was Polycrates. "But Polycarp also was not only instructed by the apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed Bishop of the church of Smyrna . . . . He it was who, coming to Rome in the Anicetus, bishop of Rome around 154 A.D., caused many to turn away from the . . . . heretics to the Church of God, proclaiming that he had received this one and sole truth from the apostles . . . . For neither could Anicetus persuade Polycarp not to observe it because he had always observed it with John the disciple of our Lord, and the rest of the apostles with whom he associated," Eusebius' Eccl. History, Book V, Chapter 24 in Nicene & Post Nicene Fathers Volume I. "As for us, then, we scrupulously observe the exact day, neither adding nor taking away. For in Asia great luminaries have gone to their rest, who shall rise again in the day of the coming of the Lord . . . I speak of Philip, one of the twelve apostles . . . John, moreover who reclined on the Lord's bosom . . . then there is Polycarp . . . these all kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month, in accordance with the gospel, without ever deviating from it, but keeping to the rule of faith," Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 8, pages 773-774. In the 1970 Edition of the Jewish Encyclopedia the article on Passover has the following information: "Pesach comes from the root meaning 'to pass by' or 'to spare.' [The] Pesach feast tended to merge with the mazzot festival. Leviticus 23 . . . seems to distinguish between Passover, which is set for the fourteenth day of the month, and mazzot, the Festival of Unleavened Bread, (Luke 22:1, Joseph Ant. II, 1, 3), appointed for the fifteenth day. The festival occurred in Abib, later named Nisan, and lasted seven days, from sunset on the fourteenth day to sunset to the twenty first day; the first and seventh days were set aside for holy convocation, no work being permitted on those days except such as was necessary in preparing food (Numbers 28:16-25). The setting aside, slaughtering, and eating of the paschal lamb was introductory to the celebration of the festival." In the article entitled "Passover" from the Jewish Encyclopedia on page 553 we find, "Two festivals, originally distinct have been merged. Their underlying ideas reappearing in both the legend associated with the holy day, and its assumed historical setting and occasion, and in their ritual." Flavius Josephus was a Pharisee as can be proved from his own writings. In his book The Life of Flavius Josephus in paragraph 2 he states, "So when I had accomplished my desires, I returned back to the city, being now nineteen years old, and began to conduct myself according to the rules of the sect of the Pharisees, which is of kin to the sect of the Stoics, as the Greeks call them." It will be seen from the following quotations from his works that the Passover and the first Holy Day of unleavened bread had become merged. "As now the war abroad ceased for a while, the sedition within was revived; and on the feast of unleavened bread, which was now come, it being the fourteenth day of the month Xanthicus, [Nisan] when it is believed the Jews were first freed from the Egyptians, Wars of the Jews, book 5, chapter 3, paragraph 1. This quote shows the mixup. The Israelites were freed from the Egyptians on the fifteenth not the fourteenth. "And as the feast of unleavened bread was at hand, in the first month, which, according to the Macedonians, is called Xanthicus, but according to us Nisan, all the people ran together out of the villages to the city, and celebrated the festival, having purified themselves, with their wives and children, according to the law of their country; and they offered the sacrifice which was called the Passover, on the fourteenth day of the same month, and feasted seven days, and spared no cost, but offered whole burnt offerings to God, . . . " Antiquities of the Jews, Book XI, chapter 10, paragraph 8. "In the month of Xanthicus, which is by us called Nisan, and is the beginning of our year, on the fourteenth day of the lunar month, when the sun is in Aries, (for in this month it was that we were delivered from bondage under the Egyptians,) the law ordained that we should every year slay that sacrifice which I before told you we slew when we came out of Egypt, and which was called the Passover; and so we do celebrate this passover in companies, leaving nothing of what we sacrifice till the day following. The feast of unleavened bread succeeds that of the passover, and falls on the fifteenth day of the month, and continues seven days, wherein they feed on unleavened bread; on every one of which days two bulls are killed, and one ram, and seven lambs." Antiquities of the Jews, Book III, chapter 10, paragraph 5. It might be noted here that the Samaritans, holding only to the "Torah" believe that the Passover is to be kept "between the evenings" as has already been pointed out previously. They sacrifice it at twilight at the beginning of the fifteenth day of Nisan. They observe a corrupted religion claiming it is the religion that Moses taught. "But when God had signified, that with one more plague He would compel the Egyptians to let the Hebrews go He commanded Moses to tell the people that they should prepare themselves on the tenth day of the month Xanthicus, against the fourteenth, (which month is called by the Egyptians Pharmuth, and Nisan by the Hebrews; but the Macedonians call it Xanthicus,) and that he should carry away the Hebrews with all they had. Accordingly, he having got the Hebrews ready for their departure, and having sorted the people into tribes, he kept them together in one place: but when the fourteenth day was come, and all were ready to depart, they offered the sacrifice, and purified their houses with the blood, using branches of hyssop for that purpose; and when they had supped, they burnt the remainder of the flesh, as just ready to depart. Whence it is that we do still offer this sacrifice in like manner to this day, and call this festival Pascha, which signifies the feast of the passover, because on that day God passed us over, and sent the plague upon the Egyptians; for the destruction of the first-born came upon the Egyptians that night, so that many of the Egyptians who lived near the king's palace, persuaded Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. Accordingly he called for Moses, and bid them be gone; as supposing, that if once the Hebrews were gone out of the country, Egypt should be freed from its miseries. They also honored the Hebrews with gifts; some, in order to get them to depart quickly, and others on account of their neighborhood, and the friendship they had with them." Antiquities of the Jews, Book II, chapter XI, paragraph 6. "Whence it is that in memory of the want we were then in, we keep a feast for eight days, which is called the feast of unleavened bread." Antiquities of the Jews, Book II, chapter XV, paragraph 1. The above quotes prove that there was a day of Passover and a seven day feast that followed. It might be noted that the part concerning the Israelites being already gathered together on the fourteenth is not scriptural as we have already proved. The scriptures state they were in their houses as he even proves when he wrote that they purified their houses. "Comparison of the successive strata of the pentateuchal laws bearing on the festival makes it plain that the institution, as developed, is really of composite character. Two festivals originally distinct, have become merged . . . ," Jewish Encyclopedia, Volume IX 1905, article "Passover." Also read the material concerning the night to be much observed and the Passover in the book by Ceil and Moishe Rosen entitled Christ in the Passover. Conclusion In conclusion, it is very simple to determine the truth if you let the Bible interpret the Bible and you have the Holy Spirit. The writings of men only confuse, as it takes the Spirit of God to understand the Truth. The Jews rejected the correct day of the Passover and in turn rejected the true Messiah. If they had kept the right Passover maybe they would have recognized the Messiah. Also, the Jews rejected the correct day of Pentecost and did not receive the Holy Spirit! The Scribes and Pharisees were in authority but numerous injunctions and teachings of our Savior show they were far from being perfect in doctrine. Examples showing this are Matthew 19:1 concerning divorce, Mark 2:25-27 concerning the correct observance of the Sabbath, and Mark 7:6-13 concerning many traditions they observed. I hope this study will help those who have problems with this subject. It is with this fervent hope that the efforts have been expended toward that end. It is mainly because of the warning of the Apostle Paul in Hebrews 10:25-31 that this study was written. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." A person can be classified as an adversary if they fight against the truth of the Almighty. "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose you, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, and unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." The Bible is clear. The observance of the Passover is twilight the beginning of the fourteenth of Abib. May God give us all the strength to do what He says and not what men as deceivers dream up. --written by Ronald H. Stewartę Passover, Lord's Supper, or Communion? Perhaps there is no other area of New Testament doctrine that has generated so much controversy as that of partaking of the symbols of bread and wine instituted by the Savior on the eve of His betrayal, arrest and death. Some of the areas of disagreement are (1) when to partake of these New Testament symbols (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually 14th or 15th of the first month of the Hebrew calendar, and if so, which calendar), (2) what the symbols mean (transubstantiation, consubstantiation, or other), (3) what elements are to be used in the bread and fruit of the vine (unleavened bread, leavened bread; wine or grape juice), (4) who can partake of the elements (priests, entire adult membership, baptized believers only, etc.), (5) the order in which these elements are to be partaken (footwashing, bread, wine and many variations, and partial exclusions of these items), (6) and what the ceremony is called (Lord's Supper, Passover, Holy Communion, Memorial Supper, Love Feast, Last Supper, breaking bread, Eucharist, etc). It is this latter issue that is addressed in this article. Rather than being a minor question, we will see that the right name for this essential event teaches us vital truths as to what we are doing in this awesomely significant occasion. Importance of New Testament Ordinance Make no mistake about it, unless we properly partake symbolically of the body and blood of the Messiah, we have no hope of receiving eternal life. John 6:53-54, "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, Verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." If being resurrected to eternal life is important to us, we will have a serious concern for following specifically, exactly, what the Almighty has commanded us to do. So what is the Scriptural basis for the name of this precious occasion of the partaking of Christ? The basic passages are, Matthew 26:1-2, 17-30; Mark 14:1-2, 12-26; Luke 22:1-2, 7-20; John 13:1-17; and I Corinthians 11:1-2, 23-34. From these, it is very clear that the Messiah ate the Passover meal with His disciples, with the lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread as prescribed in Exodus 12:1-14. In the midst of the Passover meal the Savior washed the disciples feet. Then He took one of the pieces of unleavened bread and attached special significance to it. It would represent His body, given for us. Later, he took one of the Passover cups and attached special significance to it. From now on, the cup would represent the New Testament in His blood, shed for our sins. These three acts He specifically said for His followers to do until He comes back and partakes of it again with us when it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God, Luke 22:16, I Corinthians 11:26. No longer would New Testament believers eat all the side dishes of a feast: lamb, herbs, etc. Only the footwashing, unleavened bread and wine. Paul told the Corinthians to eat at home before coming together to take the bread and the cup, I Corinthians 11:20-22, 34. Notice that the proper title for the Old Testament observance was not merely "Passover" but really, "The LORD's (Yahweh's) Passover," Exodus 12:11, Leviticus 23:5, Numbers 28:16, or "the Passover unto the LORD," Numbers 9:10, Deuteronomy 16:1, II Kings 23:21, II Chronicles 35:1. Who was the LORD, the Yahweh of the Old Testament? It was the one who became the Messiah, Jesus Christ, I Corinthians 10:1-4. The association of the Savior of mankind with the Passover is very important. He is the true lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world, John 1:29, Colossians 2:14, I John 3:5. The Messiah is our Passover slain for us, I Corinthians 5:7. The lambs sacrificed under the Old Covenant pointed to the sacrifice of God's son and are now fulfilled in reality by the one sacrifice that can and does take away sin, Hebrews 9:27-28, 10:1-22. Thus, it would be wrong for us to continue to sacrifice a lamb and eat an Old Testament Passover meal. Is "Lord's Supper" a Correct Term? Is the term "Passover" now obsolete? Some who observe the New Testament ordinance annually would have us believe that "Passover" is an obsolete term and "Lord's Supper" is the only proper term. Fred Walter in the March, 1983, The Bible Advocate (published by the Church of God, Seventh Day, Denver) writes in his article "Lord's Supper or Passover, Which?" that (1) The New Testament ordinance is not "spiritual leftovers" of the Old Testament Passover meal, but an entirely new institution. He says that the Lord's Supper is not a "warmed over" Christianized Passover observance. (2) The Old Testament Passover commemorated the deliverance of physical Israel from physical bondage, but also pointed forward to the event of the soon-to-be-sacrificed Messiah who would deliver His people from the bondage of sin of which Egypt was a representation. Walter says that the Passover has no place in the Christian practice other than to provide a memory of Israel's deliverance and to point Israel toward the coming Messiah. Christ's last Passover, Walter believes, was the last Passover to have any significance to Christ's followers. (3) Next, Walter says that the new emblems pointed forward only to the soon-to-be- accomplished events of Christ's death on the same day of Nisan 14. He says that now we only look backward to the death of our Savior. (4) Lastly, Walter says that because there is no tie between Lord's Supper and Passover, therefore, if one misses the Lord's Super observance at the proper time then he must wait until next year. He is not to take it on the 14th of the second month as prescribed for Passover in Numbers 9:6-13. What "Supper" Means Let us examine these points carefully. Mr. Walter assumes that the title "Lord's Supper" is the proper term for the Christian ordinance. There is only one scripture that one could possibly derive this title from: I Corinthians 11:20, "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper" (KJV). The Revised Standard Version handles this section better (verses 20-22, 33-34), "When you meet together [for the memorial of the bread and the cup, verses 23-26] it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? . . . So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat [the bread and the cup],wait for one another -- if any one is hungry, let him eat at home -- lest you come together to be condemned." Two possible interpretations naturally result from the usage of the term "Lord's Supper": (1) the partaking of the bread and the cup is not the Lord's Supper, it is not a "supper," or meal, only a symbolic ceremony, or (2) the manner in which the Corinthians partook of it, by some bringing food and making a feast out of it, was not the proper keeping of the Lord's Supper. Based on only one questionable text, it would be strange indeed to label the occasion "Lord's Supper." Just as strange as some Protestants who refer to Sunday as the "Lord's Day." The Greek word for "supper" is dipnon. The verb form is dipneo. In every case, this refers to a festive meal, not a small quantity of bread and a little of the fruit of the vine, but a large bountiful meal. Dipnon is translated "feast" in Matthew 23:6, Mark 12:39, Luke 20:46. Examine Mark 6:21 (Herod's supper), Luke 14:12-24 (the great supper), John 12:2 (Lazarus, Mary and Martha's supper for Jesus), and Luke 17:7-8 (the supper of meat) and you will find in all these passages that dipnon refers to a filling "meat and potatoes" meal, never to a symbolic commemorative occasion. Even I Corinthians 11:21 proves that "supper" means a festive meal. Certainly the references to the Passover meal Jesus had with his disciples proves that "supper" is a physical feast, Luke 22:20, I Corinthians 11:25, John 13:2,4, 21:20. In Revelation 19 we see the use of dipnon to describe the marriage supper of the Lamb, in which the saints will feast with the Lamb of God, and the fowls will feast on the flesh of kings, mighty men, and horses. No lack of food here! "Supper" always means a festive large meal, therefore it would be ludicrous to refer to the taking of the bread and wine as a "supper." Paul told the Corinthians to eat their "supper" at home so that when they gathered to take the bread and the cup, it would not be a festive supper, I Corinthians 11:20, 21. What was it then? The "Lord's Passover," Leviticus 23:5. What Was Changed? Proof that Jesus did not institute a new piece of bread, and not a new cup but that He attached special significance to one of the pieces of Passover unleavened bread, and one of the four cups of Passover wine, is given in our article, "The Order and Meaning of the Passover Service" and in the book, Christ in the Passover by Moishe and Ceil Rosen. Christ used the old symbols and transformed them into something new. He pointed out the true spiritual significance of the older ceremony. What kind of God do you worship? A God who changes Sabbath to Sunday, corrects His "mistakes" of bad laws and makes new laws to replace them? Or, is your God one that progressively reveals Himself to mankind through meaningful object lessons, through physical ordinances intended to convey spiritual lessons, that become more and more significant as time goes on? No, Christ did not destroy the Passover law, He fulfilled it, Matthew 5:17. Christ is our Passover, I Corinthians 5:7. He is the object and purpose of the Lord's Passover meal. The new symbols point specifically to Him. He is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Revelation 13:8. The true Passover sacrifice was planned before the creation of man. That is why it is absurd to say that the Christian ordinance is something new. It is the spiritual reality of the physical type. Merely a higher form of God's unchanging purpose. Passover Observed By New Testament Church Far from having no further meaning to the Christian, the Passover was noted by the early New Testament church, Acts 12:4 (correctly translated "Passover," not "Easter"), and used as an object lesson by the apostle Paul to the Corinthians in I Corinthians 5:7. One of the most convincing proofs that the Holy Days are to be kept today is that they were kept by the early New Testament Church. Discovering this was one of the major proofs that led me to conversion. Notice the statement of Polycrates of Asia Minor in the late Second Century AD, who gave this defense of the truth against Victor, Bishop of Rome, who was excommunicating true believers who continued to keep the Passover: As for us, then, we scrupulously observe the exact day, neither adding nor taking away. For in Asia great luminaries have gone to their rest, who shall rise again in the day of the coming of the Lord . . . . I speak of Philip, one of the twelve apostles . . . John, moreover who reclined on the Lord's bosom . . . then there was Polycarp . . . . these all kept the PASSOVER on the fourteenth day of the month, in accordance with the gospel, without ever deviating from it, but keeping to the rule of faith, (from Ante-Nicene Fathers, volume VIII, pages 773-774). How scrupulously do we observe the right day? The Quartodeciman Passover controversy was the issue of when to partake of the bread and wine, on every Sunday as the Catholics did, or annually on the fourteenth as the "Quartodecimans" did. The first 15 Judaeo-Christian bishops who administered the Church of Jerusalem up to 135 AD practiced the Quartodeciman (14th) Passover, basing themselves on a document known as the Apostolic Constitutions, which states: "you shall not change the calculation of time, but you shall celebrate it at the same time as your brethren who came out from the circumcision. With them observe the Passover." Quoted by Bacchiocchi from Epiphanius in From Sabbath to Sunday, page 161. See more on page 13 of his book. The Church of God, Seventh Day, has usually held to the term "Christian Passover." At a ministerial meeting in 1884 at Stanberry, Missouri, which led to the organization of a General Conference, a sermon was given on "Observance of Christian Passover, and duty of feet-washing" (see my History of the Seventh Day Church of God, pages 100-101). Gieseler writes in Church History, Apostolic Age to A.D. 70, Section 29, that "heathen converts observed . . . the Sabbath, and in remembrance of the closing scenes of our Savior's life, the Passover, though without the Jewish superstitions." Cited by John Kiesz in A History of the Sabbath & Sunday, page 13. Christ Will Keep a Future Passover With His Church Does the Christian observance only point us backward to the accomplished events of Christ's death? To so state this is to deny the plain scriptural facts. Jesus has not observed His last Passover! He will eat and drink it anew with His true followers in the Kingdom of God, Matthew 26:29, Mark 14:25, and Luke 22:15-18, "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." This latter passage is clear Bible proof that Christ will eat the Passover in the Kingdom of God with His true followers. Also, strange as it may seem, not until then will the Passover be fulfilled. Passover has not yet been totally fulfilled! It also pictures a future event: our deliverance from eternal death and the marriage supper of the lamb, Revelation 19:9. Christ ate the Passover in 31 AD. He will eat it again when it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. What will His followers do throughout the ages in remembrance of Him? Partake of the Lord's Passover! Ancient Israel partook of the Passover, of the Rock that followed them -- Christ. We today are to likewise partake of the Passover -- to partake of Christ. This is a critical matter of our spiritual survival. That is why God instituted the law in Numbers 9:6-13 when someone who through no fault of their own, missed the Passover of the 14th day of the first month, could partake of it on the 14th of the second month. Unless God specifically annuls His statutes, they are binding on us today whether or not they are repeated in the New Testament. "Passover," Not "Lord's Supper," Is Proper Term In summary, usage of the term "Lord's Supper" rather than "Passover" is inappropriate because (1) Supper is a hearty meal, which the ordinance of bread and the cup is not. (2) There is no legitimate New Testament usage of this term in relation to the ordinance. (3) The term Passover continues to be used in the New Testament after Christ, even to Gentile Corinthians. (4) Christ did not change or destroy the Old Testament law; He fulfilled the Passover and is (present tense) our Passover. (5)Passover has not yet been fulfilled. (6) Christ will eat the Passover again with His followers in the Kingdom of God. (7) Only the usage of the term "Passover" connotes adherence to the 14th day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar. One cannot say that Passover is done away and still say that the new ordinance must be kept on Nisan 14, and at the same time reject the regulations for the second Passover in Numbers 9. Picking and choosing with God's ways lead to eternal death, Revelation 22:18-19. (8) The arguments against "Passover" and for an annual "Lord's Supper" come from those who reject God's Holy Days. (See our article, "Responding to the Attack on God's Holy Days.") It is true that these same arguments can be effectively used against the weekly Sabbath as well. Rather than face up to the scriptural facts that there is no basis for the term "Lord's Supper," they must astutely avoid anything that appears too "Jewish," because of their anti-Holy Day bias. Non-Church of God people will miss what is meant by the term "Passover." That is why the term "Christ's (Yahshua's) Passover" or the "Christian Passover" is better. Otherwise, those that don't understand may think that a lamb is eaten in the manner of the Jewish meal (Seder). Communion is Inaccurate Term Most Protestants use the term "Communion." Catholics use the term "Eucharist" which is Latin for "thankful, to show favor to." Again, there is only one scripture that connects "communion" with the cup and the bread, I Corinthians 10:16, "the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body, of Christ?" Also verse 21, "ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot partake of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils." The word "communion" is the Greek koinonia, which means "fellowship" or "the partaking of or with." I Corinthians 10:16 is describing what the cup and bread are, the partaking of Christ. Not the title of the occasion. Because of this inaccurate usage of "communion," some have concluded that "breaking bread" refers to the ordinance of the bread and wine. Acts 2:42 states, "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship [koinonia] and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." Nothing is said about unleavened bread and wine. Merely fellowship, eating a meal, and prayers. "Break Bread" was a common term to indicate eating a meal: Acts 2:46, 20:7, 27:34, 35, and Matthew 26:26, compared to Luke 24:30. The Lord's Table I Corinthians 10:21 uses another term some use in reference to the Christian ordinance: "Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils." Verse 16 shows that this refers to the bread and the cup. Paul is referring to idolatrous worship, eating things sacrificed to idols. One cannot partake of both the Lord's table (Passover) and also eat things sacrificed to idols. There is no reference as to the time of partaking of the Lord's table. It does not say the Lord's table is partaken of daily. From other scriptures, we know that it is annually. Partaking of the elements on that table is called the Christian Passover. Conclusion There is no scriptural basis for usage of the terms "Lord's Supper" and "Communion" as a title for the Christian ordinance of bread and wine. "Passover," specifically "Christ's Passover" is the only term which conveys the proper meaning of the occasion. Christ is our Passover. When we partake (fellowship) of the bread and the wine, we are partaking of Him. It must be an annual event on the night He was betrayed, the 14th day of the first month of God's calendar. This event points backward to the deliverance of Israel (God's people) from Egypt (type of sin), and also to the sacrifice of the Lamb of God for our sins. More importantly, Passover points forward to its fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. Let's observe the Christian Passover at the proper time in the proper manner.ę