Everlasting Kingdom: Unraveling the Bible’s Secrets

“Messiah (Christ) Our Passover”?

Consider The Evidence!

Lamb

Back Next Chapter 3, Part 1 Preview: That those of us who believe in the Messiah should be celebrating His Passover should be common knowledge, yet that knowledge is quite rare, and of those with that understanding, most have been misled when it comes to the chronology. Even fewer consider what Passover is! When and how should we celebrate the it? While translators and teachers bear much of the blame, anyone with a good lexicon simply doesn’t have much of an excuse for following blind guides—provided Elohim’s (God’s) spirit fans the flames of their curiosity.

Mysteries of the Everlasting Kingdom
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The following explanation of the Passover is what I like to cover in our living room Assembly on or near the Passover. (The prophetic significance of all seven Feast Days is covered in Israel’s 7 Apocalyptic Days.)

Exodus 12:6 You must keep him until the fourteenth day of this month, when all the members of the assembly of Israel will kill him in the 'afternoon' [ie between the evenings].The Gabriel Bible

It is amazing how many simple truths go completely overlooked by literally billions of people. Really, we only have one textbook to master and Yehovah (Jehovah) gives us far more than a semester to get thru it!

There are several very significant translational inaccuracies concerning the Passover in most Bible versions. Coincidence? Not likely!

Satan must have a belly laugh whenever he considers how easily he has persuaded most of Christianity into believing in Good Friday and Easter rather than believing in Passover and the Resurrection (all different days) and how easily he has confused many others into believing that “Passover was both killed and eaten on the 14th of Aviv” or that “the Passover offering of the Lamb of Elohim occurred early on the 14th after sunset” rather than late on the 14th just prior to the Feast Day, or even where the crucifixion took place—completely outside the city, NOT on Golgotha, and how the red heffer typifies Yeshua!

As a result, many celebrate a form of “the Lord’s Supper” while neglecting the Passover. Others celebrate a form of the Passover while neglecting the Yeshua’s (Jesus’) Supper. Others attempt to combine both events into one evening—varying times on the 14th or the 15th or daily, weekly, seasonally or annually.

We need to consider all of the evidence before reaching a conclusion. We also need to let iron sharpen iron as Proverbs 27:17 says. How does iron sharpen iron? Simple: you take two rough pieces of iron and rub them together. You get some sparks and some heat and some noise and when done properly the rough edges are worn off of both pieces.

Passover changes from age to age. There are actually three different phases of the Passover mentioned in the Bible. Each of these stages of development of the Passover themes will be covered—the Exodus Passover, “Messiah Our Passover” and Ezekiel’s Passover:

The Exodus Passover

Here is the event that caused the Passover to be celebrated.

(Incidentally, have you heard about the “death angel” (NLT) who supposedly passed over “the land of Egypt”? Actually, Yehovah didn’t sub out the work to some unnamed angel, He either plagued Egypt and saved the firstborn of Israel Himself, or was aided by the One who became the Messiah. The “destroyer” (most translations) of Exodus 12:23 appears to be a reference to the “destruction” (YLT) rather than the action of a separate “associate”. The Hebrew word translated as “destroyer” shachath (shaw-khath’), with its Hiphil verb stem, could just as easily be translated as “destruction”.)

Odds are very good that Yehovah has not shared His name with THE Destroyer: Abaddon or Apollyon of Revelation 9:11.

Exodus 12:11-14,21-27 This is how you are to eat it: with your belt around your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You must eat it in a hurry, because it’s Yehovah’s Passover. 12 “I’ll go thru the land of Egypt that night and strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, whether man or beast. I’ll [1] execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am Yehovah. 13 The blood will serve as a sign on the houses where you are. When I [not some “death angel”] see the blood, I’ll skip [compare to Tyndale] over you, so that no devastation will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

14 “This day will serve as a memorial. You must celebrate [chagag] it as a Pilgrimage Feast [chag] to Yehovah, a perpetual regulation... 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and told them, “Go, select lambs from your flocks for your families, and kill the Passover. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood in a basin and brush the lintel and both sides of the door frame with the blood from the basin. None of you are to go thru the doorway of your house until morning, 23 because Yehovah [1] will go thruout Egypt to kill the Egyptians, and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on both sides of the door frame, Yehovah will pass over the doorway, and won’t allow the destruction to enter your houses and destroy you.

24 “You must observe this event as a perpetual regulation for you and to your descendants. 25 Once you’ve entered the land that Yehovah will give you, as He has promised, you’ll commemorate this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 Tell them, ‘It’s the Passover zebak [sacrifice] to Yehovah, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and spared our houses.’” Then the people knelt down and worshiped.

[1] Pulpit Commentary: “Compare verses 12, 13 [to verse 23] which are closely followed. The only important difference is, the new expression, "[Yehovah] will not suffer the destroyer to come in," which has generally been regarded as implying, that the actual agent in the killing of the first-born was a "destroying angel." But it is to be noted that elsewhere Yehovah himself is everywhere spoken of as the sole agent; and that in the present passage the word used has the meaning of "destruction" no less than that of "destroyer."

Long story short, Yehovah spared the lives of the firstborn of Israel in the Exodus Passover.

“Messiah our Passover” “A Night to be Much Observed”!

Passover being “much observed” really means a night watch, watching, or vigil. The Interlinear Bible translates it as “celebrate”. Rather than watch the New Year come in on January 1, or have candle light vigils at other times of the year, why not celebrate this night?

The fact that the Lamb of Aloha (God) was born in Bethlehem has immense significance. In the first century: when you said Bethlehem, you said ‘sacrificial lambs’. The hills around Bethlehem were home to the thousands of lambs used in ritual worship in the Temple. As a boy from Bethlehem, King David would likely have tended sheep destined for the daily offerings or used in the sacrifices on the high holidays in these very hills. Every day, according to the Torah, two lambs were required for a daily sacrifice in the Temple, meaning that 730 were needed each year plus the tens of thousands more lambs needed for Pesach (Passover) as well as for the other religious rituals. Everyone in Israel recognized Bethlehem as being synonymous with sacrificial lambs. This quote is from a fascinating in-depth article called The Birth - Revisited. It explains exactly where Yeshua was really born. Parts 2 and 3 go on to explain more of how the entire traditional Christmas story account is riddled with flaws.

Exodus 12:42-43 It is a night of vigil for Yehovah, for havingenabled them to leave the land of Egypt. This night is to be celebrated by all of Israel to honor Yehovah; a vigil for every Israelite thruout their generations. 43 Yehovah told Moses and Aaron, “These are the regulations for the Passover. No foreigner is allowed to eat it,

While it is difficult to view the murder of our Savior as a victory, that is in fact what it is. Passover was meant to be celebrated—“the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians”.

Any child knows what it means to have a “high hand”.

Yet we cannot help but look back on the sorrow. That’s why we also have Yeshua’s Supper prior to Passover!

This is one event that you don’t want to miss. It seems to be a little known fact but Yeshua (Jesus) was slain at the exact same time that the Jews were slaying Passover Lambs—on the Passover, just before the Feast Day! The Jews certainly didn’t want to be crucifying anyone on the Feast Day—they wanted everyone dead before sunset (John 19:31). We’ll consider the chronology.

This very date, the 14th of Aviv, had been celebrated for centuries and it is not coincidental that Yeshua died on this date. Seldom is the connection made between the night that the firstborn died and the night that THE Firstborn (Yeshua) died. The churches where I was once welcome did teach about this night, but rather than explain that it marked the killing of the firstborn of Egypt, they taught that it commemorated Israel leaving Egypt—but that was the next day! The fact that Yeshua died late on the 14th is still greatly overshadowed by their crucifixion commentary at Yeshua’s Supper that they mistakenly call the Passover. The confusion is largely due to a poor rendering of Exodus 12:42, coupled with not reading Numbers 33:3. The KJV calls the time in question a “night to be much observed”. Here is an excerpt from The New Testament Passover concerning the KJV translation, that explains that this night is actually the night when all of the firstborn of Egypt were killed, while the Israelites were in their houses:

Exodus 12:42-43 “It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations. 43 And the Lord said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: KJV

[Note that the “Night to be much observed” here is actually a description of what happened that first “Passover”.]

‘Bringing’, in this instance, uses the hiphil verb stem. This means that ‘bringing’ refers to the ‘cause’ that enabled the exodus to become possible and NOT the physical exiting of Israel.

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. KJV

“The hiphil verb stem used here means that ‘brought’ can only refer to the ‘cause’ of their being able to leave and not to ‘when’ they left.

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. KJV

“The ‘qal’ verb stem of ‘went out’ requires that the verb must be understood to refer only to the physical exiting of Israel. In addition, please review other ‘morrow’ scriptures and you will find that it simply means ‘the next day’, or ‘the morning after an event’. This does not necessarily have to mean the next calendar day and in this particular verse it simply cannot, due to the verb stem of #3318, which places the physical exodus on the 15th.)”

(When you use a lexicon that includes verb stem numbers, only the listings with that number are applicable.)

The word “observed” in “a night to be much observed” is better translated as “watching” or “vigil”.

Yeshua “the firstborn of many brethren” was killed on the 14th of Aviv in the afternoon at the same time of day that the lambs were being killed in the temple.

There is more about this Passover to come later in this chapter. However there is one more phase of the Passover yet to come. Ezekiel explained the continuity of the Passover into the Everlasting Kingdom:

“Ezekiel’s Passover”

The last nine chapters of Ezekiel describe a time in the coming Kingdom when animal ze’bakim [sacrifices] very similar to the first covenant will be reinstated. The Passover at that future time will truly be part of a “New Covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah” (Jeremiah 31:31). This is a most unpopular prophecy and is seldom quoted, yet the ending chapters of this “longest prophecy in the Bible” parallels the New Jerusalem of Revelation! In this prophecy we see the Passover being celebrated with no mention of a Lord’s Supper. Could it be that the opportunities that we have in this so-called “church age” are unique opportunities? Much of the reason for these New Covenant zebakim making a comeback will apparently need to be explained at the time. Each year the lambs were kept in advance by those who were to offer them. Surely having such a cute little fuzzy animal around for a few days before killing it would bring on some sorrow. Imagine your children playing with this lamb and then you come around and tell them it is time to kill it. Imagine this every year. I suspect that this sense of loss as well as perhaps other factors that were not taken seriously in the first go-around will actually work under “millennial” conditions.

The account in Ezekiel of the Passover begins just after the twelve tribes of Israel are given the land of Israel to reoccupy. Here is the instruction that will be given when the Passover is made mandatory for all twelve tribes of Israel under the prophesied “New Covenant” with Israel:

Ezekiel 45:1,16-23 When you distribute the land as an inheritance by lot, you must set aside an allotment of the land as a 'special' 'district' for Yehovah—25,000 cubits long [41.6 miles], and 20,000 [33 miles] wide. The entire area within this boundary will be 'special'... 16 All the people of the land must contribute to this offering for the Prince in Israel. 17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the beverage offerings at the Feasts, the New Moons, and the Sabbaths—all the appointed Feasts of the House of Israel. He’ll prepare the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and the fellowship zebakim to atone for the House of Israel.

18 “The Sovereign Yehovah says: In the first month, on the first day of the month you must take a young unblemished bull and purify the 'Cherished' Place. 19 The priest will take some of the blood from the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the 'Temple', on the four corners of the ledge of the altar and on the gateposts of the inner courtyard. 20 This is what you must do on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally or thru ignorance, this is how you’ll make atonement for the 'Temple'.

21 “On the fourteenth day of the first month the celebration of the Passover occurs, a Feast lasting seven days when unleavened bread is eaten. 22 When That Day Comes* the prince will provide a bull as a sin offering for himself [not Yeshua] and all the people of the land. 23 On the seven days of the Feast he’ll provide a burnt offering to Yehovah of seven blemish free bulls and seven blemish free rams each day thruout the seven days, as well as a male goat each day as a sin offering.

This is reminiscent of the time when the Feast of Tabernacles will be celebrated all over the globe:

Zechariah 14:16-21 Then everyone who is left behind [survivors] from all the nations that come against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship Commander Yehovah and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 When that time comes, if any of the clans of the region won’t come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Commander Yehovah, they’ll get no rain. 18 If the people of Egypt don’t show up, they’ll get no rain. This is the plague that Yehovah will strike the nations with that don’t come up and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. [6] 19 That will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of any other nation that won’t come up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 20 When That Day Comes it will say on the bells of the horses: 'Dedicated' to Yehovah. And the pots [for zebakim [sacrifices] in Yehovah’s 'Temple' will be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be 'special' to Commander Yehovah, and everyone who offers a zebak will come and take one of them and cook in them. When That Day Comes there will no longer be a Canaanite in Commander Yehovah’s 'Temple'.

People will not be celebrating the “Lord’s Supper” at this time.

1 Corinthians 11:26 Every time you eat this loaf of bread and drink from this cup, you commemorate the death of our Sovereign UNTIL He returns [6].

[6] While the “lord’s Supper” will not be commemorated after He returns, the Passover will be celebrated, as prophesied in Ezekiel 45:21, a millennial reign chapter, as will the Feast of Tabernacles, as prophesied in the very evident millennial chapter of Zechariah 14, verses 16-21 in particular. See Did Yeshua’s Supper” Replace the Passover?

There is another prophecy that explains that the Exodus from Egypt in the coming Kingdom, will be so entirely supplanted by a coming end time Second Exodus, and the realization of the Jeremiah 31 New Covenant, that the Exodus from Egypt will seldom even come to mind!

Jeremiah 23:7-8 That’s why the days are coming,” says Yehovah, “When people will no longer say, ‘As Yehovah lives, who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.’ 8 Instead, they’ll say, ‘As surely as Yehovah lives, who brought about the 'exodus' of the descendants of the House of Israel from the North Country, and from all the countries where He had banished them.’ They’ll live in their own land!

Rather than view this as a contradiction, view it as enlightenment! Given that the exodus from Egypt will seldom come to mind but that an Exodus Passover tradition is to be mandatory annually, we are left to conclude that it is the coming exodus of the “house of Israel out of the NORTH COUNTRY” that will be annually commemorated! From this we can further deduce that some profound events will occur in a future year on the 14th of Aviv to begin that future exodus!

“On the tenth day of the first month”

If you did not “keep” a Passover Lamb until the Fourteenth day then it would NOT have been offered according to Yehovah’s specific instructions. Scenarios where it was killed prior to the 14th (i.e the 13th) are simply wrong.

Exodus 12:3-6 Announce to the entire assembly of Israel: On the tenth day of this month, every man must select a lamb, one for each household; one lamb, one household. 4 Now if the family is too small to eat a lamb, then he and the neighbors from the nearest house must take one based on the number of people and what each person will eat, and divide the lamb accordingly. 5 Your lamb must be a year old male with no defects. You must select it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 You must keep him until the fourteenth day of this month, when all the members of the assembly of Israel will kill him in the 'afternoon' [ie between the evenings].

We see that Yehovah commanded Israel to take a lamb on the tenth day of Aviv and separate it from the flock until the fourteenth day. Why was the Lamb separated from the flock for four days? This was not an arbitrary period of time with no numerical significance! This four day period precisely fits into Yeshua’s Passover week.

First, let’s trace the chronology to arrive at the dates. When John said “six days before the Passover” he was referring to the Feast Day—the First Day of Unleavened Bread. Remember that the Passover lamb is killed immediately before the 15th of Aviv. So we are looking at Aviv 9,10,11,12,13 and 14, with the 15th being the first Feast Day of Unleavened Bread:

John 12:1 & 12-13 Six days before the Passover, Yeshua arrived in Bethany, where Lazarus was, who Yeshua had raised from the dead... 12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the Feast heard that Yeshua was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took boughs of palm trees and went out to meet Him, shouting, “Aloha save Him [Hosanna]. Blessed is the One who comes in Yehovah’s name, the King of Israel!”

Contrary to the Palm Sunday tradition, Yeshua’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem was on a Sabbath [Aviv 10]. This is not surprising since everything of consequence happens on a Sabbath or a Feast Day or on a day of numerical significance. The accounts of this special day are found in Matthew 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11 and Luke 19:28-48.

Yeshua was set apart by His prophetic entry into Jerusalem riding on a colt. This day was the first day of the four day holding period for the Passover Lamb. Previously I had thought that the religious hierarchy that selected Him for slaughter had themselves set Him apart. But He was not set apart by them but for us! They had Him killed, but He was not their Passover—He is our Passover! Yeshua was set apart for us by our sins.

Mark provides the best chronology:

Sabbath, Aviv 10:

Mark 11:1-11 As they approached Jerusalem, near Bethphage and Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, He sent out two of His disciples 2 and told them, “Go into the village ahead of us, and as soon as you enter you’ll find a colt tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie him and bring him here. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ Tell them, ‘Because our Sovereign needs him.’ He’ll send him here right away.”

4 They went and found the colt tied by a door out by the street. As they were untying him 5 some people standing there asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?” 6 They told them what Yeshua had said, and they allowed them to take him. 7 They brought the colt to Yeshua and threw their coats over him, and Yeshua sat on him. 8 Many spread their coats on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Those ahead of Him and those following Him shouted, “Aloha save Him [Aramaic Ushana]! Blessed is the One who comes in Yehovah’s name. 10 Blessed is the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David. Save Him now in the highest Heaven[Aramaic Ushana bamraumee]! 11 Yeshua went into the Temple in Jerusalem and looked around at everything. That evening He went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Those of us who understand that the Passover lamb was always killed on the afternoon of the 14th literally acknowledge that Yeshua is our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7). Yet so many believe that Yeshua’s explanation of the Passover, at His Last Supper, overshadows His actual death! But no amount of explaining or symbolism could supersede the actual crucifixion—if it could then Yeshua died in vain! To say that He may have been coincidentally killed at the same time the Jews were “mistakenly celebrating an Aviv 15th Passover”, and perhaps allude to some nebulous symbolism, is to forsake the very essence of the His death that leads us to eternal life! The Passover was offered at precisely the appointed time. Yehovah did not have to settle for a second best date due to an alleged error of the Jews. Don’t blame the error on the Jews! They got that part right. Yeshua accused the religious hierarchy of a lot of things, but He never accused them of celebrating Passover on the wrong day. The timetable that They worked out together “before the world existed” (John 17:5) was not carelessly altered. The Passover lambs in ancient Egypt truly foreshadowed the death of Yeshua at the exact time of day that the blood of the Lamb of Elohim was ultimately shed for the sins of the world. Would anyone argue that the blood on the “the lintel and the two doorposts” does not represent the blood that drained from Yeshua’s body and down the “cross members” of the cross—shed for each household?

(Incidentally, this chapter has nothing to do with calendar issues. People have enough trouble figuring out what happened on the 14th without regard to when the 14th is! So even if you think that Passover must be after the equinox, or that invisible conjunctions or molads are better than the actual visible new moon, it will have no bearing on this article. That only factors in when the exact timing of Yehovah’s appointments are really important to you.)

Sunday, Aviv 11,

On this day Yeshua cursed the fig tree:

Mark 11:11-14 Yeshua went into the Temple in Jerusalem and looked around at everything. That evening He went out to Bethany with the twelve. 12 The next day as He was leaving Bethany, He was hungry. 13 He saw a fig tree in full leaf in the distance, and He went to see if He could find something on it to eat. When He got to it, He found nothing on it but leaves because it was too early for fruit. 14 He said to it, “From now on, no one will ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples heard Him.

That same Day, Yeshua booted the bankers. Continuing in Mark 11:

Mark 11:15-17 When they came to Jerusalem, Yeshua entered Yehovah’s Temple and began to throw out everyone who bought and sold in the Temple, and He overturned the tables of the bankers [1] and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 He wouldn’t allow anyone to carry goods thru the Temple. 17 As He taught them, He asked, “Isn’t it written, ‘My 'Temple' will be called the 'Temple' of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves.’”

[1] The “money exchangers”, as it is usually worded, were actually functioning as bankers, as was the norm in pagan temples.

This is the account of the second time that Yeshua cast the bankers out of His Father’s Temple. Yeshua also threw them out to mark the beginning of His Ministry (John 2:11-17). Perhaps this second occurrence was a sign that the Temple would be overthrown twice more—once in 70 AD and one time yet to occur.

Monday, Aviv 12,

Continuing from the same verse in Mark 11, we see that Yeshua returned to the fig tree the next day and the tree was nearly decomposed, clear down to the roots!

Mark 11:18-21 The high priests and the Torah teachers heard Him, and they began looking for a way to destroy Him. They were afraid of Him because all the people were amazed at His teaching. 19 That evening they left the city. 20 In the morning as they passed by the fig tree, they saw that it had dried up down to the roots. 21 Remembering what Yeshua had said, Simon remarked, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you doomed has dried up.”

You have to watch the chronology closely in Mark 14:

Mark 14:1-4 It was two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The high priests and the Torah teachers were bent on finding a stratagem to arrest Him and kill Him. 2 But they said, “Not during the Feast, because the people might begin to riot.” 3 While He was in Bethany in Simon the potter’s house [1], as He was eating, a woman came with an alabaster jar of precious spikenard perfume. She opened it and poured it on Yeshua’s head. 4 Some of the disciples there got upset and began asking each other, “Why was this perfume wasted?

[1] See why this says “potter” instead of “leper”. (Didn’t Yeshua heal lepers?) Keyword: potter.

Apparently the alabaster jar ‘incident’ finally set Judas off and he went out to set up Yeshua’s capture for the following evening, Tuesday evening:

Mark 14:10-11 Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the high priests in order to betray Yeshua to them. 11 When they heard this they were thrilled, and they promised to pay him off. So he began looking for an opportunity to betray Him.

It was still 24 hours before the Feast Day was to begin at the following sundown. But within that 24 hours Yeshua would commemorate His shed blood and beaten body with the bread and wine, be betrayed, judged, beaten, crucified and buried—just as the final rays of the Sun crossed the horizon.

Tuesday, Aviv 13,

Verse 12 puts us into Tuesday evening. Sundown Tuesday marked the very beginning of Preparation Day. The following afternoon the lambs would be slain, and the Lamb would be slain:

Mark 14:12-15 On the First Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Jews present the Passover zebak [sacrifice], His disciples asked Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” 13 He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go to the city, and you’ll meet a man carrying a water jug. Follow him. 14 When he goes into a house, tell the owner of the house that our Rabbi asks, ‘Where is My banquet room where I may [2] eat the Passover with My disciples?’ 15 Then he will show you a large room upstairs, furnished with seating and available. Make preparations for us there.

[2] The word “may” (Murdock) or “can” (Etheridge) implies uncertainty. In verse 14, Yeshua was being deliberately vague with His words concerning whether or not He would be there. Very shortly afterward there was no doubt—He was to be the Passover, not eat it.

It was on the Preparation Day after sundown, at the beginning of 14th of Aviv, that Yeshua gave His disciples the Last Supper (Yeshua’s Supper) with symbolism distinct from the Passover. The next verse in Mark 14 explains that the disciples were still planning for a normal Passover that year. What they called “the First Day” is what people call the Preparation Day today. Yeshua was hurriedly crucified before sundown of the fast approaching Feast day (which is always on the 15th of Aviv):

Mark 14:16 His disciples left and went into the city, and found things just as He had told them, and they

Wednesday, Aviv 14:

But at this time on the time line the four day holding period for the Lamb of Elohim had expired.

Prophetically, using the ancient millennial week concept, the four days that the lamb was withdrawn from the flock might also represent the four “millennial days” from Adam that the identity and even the existence of the Son of Elohim was, for the most part, completely unknown to the human race—He was removed from His flock. The beginning of Yeshua’s ministry in the great temple in Jerusalem was the beginning of the end of the separation of the veil that separated humanity from Yehovah. If the incident in the temple didn’t signal that the Messiah must soon atone for our sins, then the parable of the vineyard should have. These are the times to keep track of:

Leviticus 23:5 Yehovah’s Passover begins at sunset on the fourteenth day of the first month. (First Day from our perspective-Second Day from theirs since Preparation Day was considered Day #1.)

Leviticus 23:6 On the fifteenth day of the same month [lunation] is Yehovah’s Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

The rest of this two part chapter largely deals with that fateful Wednesday.

Thursday, Aviv 15 First Day of Unleavened Bread: Day #1 in of Yeshua in the grave.

Friday, Aviv 16 Day #2 in the grave.

Sabbath, Aviv 17 Day #3 in the grave. Yeshua was resurrected at the very end of the Sabbath—exactly 72 hours after the evening when He was entombed (Matthew 12:40).

Sunday, Aviv 18 Yeshua’s body was discovered missing on an annual day erroneously known as “the first day of the week”, or the day of the wave sheaf (Leviticus 23:11). The typology of the wave sheaf was partially fulfilled when Yeshua was reunited with His Father later this day (v.17) as the “sheaf” was waved or presented to the Elohim of heaven, but the wave sheaf ceremony is for YOU to be accepted (Leviticus 23:11)! In the Gabriel Bible, “the first day of the week” is correctly rendered “the First of the Sabbaths”.

John 20:1,17,19 On the First of the Sabbaths [Gr. Sabbaton], in the morning while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and she saw that the stone had already been removed from the tomb’s entrance... 17 Yeshua told her, “Don’t touch Me, because I haven’t ascended to My Father yet. Go to My friends and tell them, ‘I’m ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My Aloha and your Aloha.’”... 19 On the evening of the First of the Sabbaths, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jews. Yeshua appeared standing among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

... Wednesday, Aviv 21 Last day of Unleavened Bread. Yeshua’s disciples were again gathered in the upper room for the Last Day of Unleavened Bread:

John 20:26-27 After eight days [2] the disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Yeshua came in, even tho the doors were locked, and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then He told Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at My hands, and reach out your hand put it into My side, don’t be an unbeliever, be a believer!”

[2] This gathering, counting eight days inclusively from Yeshua’s Supper on Preparation Day (Luke 22:12-13) would have been for the celebration of the Last Day of Unleavened Bread!

The Rest of the Story!

Anciently, Israel had an opportunity to enter Elohim’s rest and it also happened on “the tenth day of the first month”:

Joshua 4:19 The people came up from the Jordan River on the tenth day of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.

(Remember that Joshua, Yeshua and Jesus are all really traced to the same Hebrew & Aramaic name.)

This is the day that Israel entered into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. You can read the whole account in the book of Joshua, but let’s skip to the book of Hebrews. Israel could have had perpetual “rest” in the Promised Land, but it never happened. Instead they had continual warfare and finally defeat.

This time, instead of focusing on the “Sabbath” part of this very meaty passage, let’s focus on the “rest” part:

Hebrews 4:1-10 Since the firm promise of entering His resting place is yet future, we should be afraid, because some of you could find yourselves left behind! 2 We have heard the Good News just as they did, but the message they heard didn’t benefit them because the people who heard it didn’t combine it with faith. 3 But those of us who have believed will enter the resting place. 'Even tho' He said, “As I have sworn in My anger, they won’t enter into My resting place” 'because' Yehovah’s workmanship has existed from the beginning of the world. 4 As he said about the Sabbath, “Aloha rested on the seventh day from all His works.” 5 Here again, He said, “They will never enter My resting place.” 6 So there was a certain place where everyone could have entered, but those who were the first to hear the Good News announcement didn’t enter because they couldn’t be persuaded. 7 So once again He appointed a specific day, after a long period of time. As was previously quoted from David, “Today, if you hear His voice don’t be 'hard headed'.” 8 Now if Yeshua [1], the son of Nun [Aramaic] had given them rest, He wouldn’t have later spoken of another day. 9 So it is established that the people of Yehovah are to celebrate the Sabbath [2]. 10 Anyone who entered His rest ceased from their own undertakings [works], as Yehovah did from His.

[1] Yeshua and the English “Joshua” are both derived from the Hebrew name “Yehoshua.” The Aramaic here is Yeshua, not Joshua. [2] The Aramaic says “Celebravit diem sabbathi”, and the Greek says “Apoleipo sabbatismos.” Check the honesty of your English translations here. Years ago, when people might have cared, the older versions tried to sweep this under the carpet and deleted the “rest”!

The point I’d like to make is that everything went sour after Israel crossed the Jordan river on the tenth of Aviv under the leadership of Joshua. But there is another Joshua who was set aside on the tenth day of the first month as our Passover Lamb! “Yeshua” literally means “Yehovah delivers” (from death, etc.) in Aramaic and “Joshua” means “Yehovah is deliverance” in Hebrew.

Yeshua’s zebak (sacrifice) on the fourteenth of Aviv—all by itself—is the reason that we can enter the new “rest” in the Kingdom of Elohim! But it gets better because the old “rest” was for a lifetime, but the new “rest” is for all of eternity! This time Yehovah is “playing for keeps”!

“The veil...was torn”

If there were ever a time when it could be said: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”, this would be it. Because Yeshua died as a hero, our lives can be spared.

John 15:13 No one has greater love than this—someone laying down their life for their friends.

Precisely when Yeshua died on that fateful evening as our Passover, the veil that Yeshua was born to remove was torn away:

Matthew 27:50-51 Then Yeshua shouted out again in a loud voice and gave up His spirit. 51 Suddenly the 'veil' of the Temple ripped in two from top to bottom, the earth shook and rocks split.

Isaiah 57:15-16 The High and exalted One who inhabits eternity, whose name is 'Special' says: “I live in the high and 'Cherished' Place [New Jerusalem], along with the One who is to be destroyed [root word crushed or broken] and humiliated in spirit, who will be returning to life the spirits of the crushed, and returning to life the consciousnesses of the crushed [U], 16 because I won’t strive with you forever, or remain angry, because spirits are overwhelmed in My presence, the spirits I created.

In 2027 AD (or very near then) we will reach another millennial milestone. Two more millennia will have elapsed and the seventh will begin the 7,000 year plan of Yehovah to create for Himself literal Sons. The first four days are prophetic of the Messiah being withheld from His future brothers:

Romans 8:29-30 He knew 'us' in advance, indeed He predestined 'us' to be similar to His Son, so that He could be the firstborn [eldest] of many brothers. 30 Those who He predestined, He called, and those He called, He declared free from guilt, and those He declared free from guilt, He will honor and make renowned.

(Incidentally, there can only be one firstborn in a family.)

Again, Yeshua was the fulfillment of the wave sheaf (Leviticus 23:11-15) that was waved on a “Sunday” during the seven days of Unleavened Bread. The priest holding the sheaf toward heaven typified Yeshua’s brief visit to His Father in heaven to be accepted as “the firstfruit. His “formal” return to heaven was after forty days.

1 Corinthians 15:22-23 Everyone dies because of Adam, but in contrast because of the Messiah everyone will be restored to life, 23 but everyone in their order, Messiah was the firstfruit [1b]. Later, at His [2] coming, those who are the Messiah’s [will be restored to life].

Incidentally, the “two loaves” of Leviticus 23:17 are the “Firstfruits to Yehovah”. Biblically, both Yeshua and Israel are identified as “firstfruits”:

Jeremiah 2:3 Israel was dedicated to Yehovah, the firstfruits [first nation] of His harvest, anyone who devoured him became guilty, and disaster struck them, says Yehovah.

So the two loaves represent the two houses of Israel that will become one again. (Ezekiel 37:21-22)

Knowing that Yeshua is “the first fruit”, we might associate His “bruised” body (Isaiah 53:10) with the “grain offering” or the bread that symbolized His own body. Perhaps the “frankincense” indicates that He was born for this “offering”. Might not the “oil” represent the oil that He was anointed with? After all, Messiah means “anointed”.

Leviticus 2:14-16 If you present a firstfruit offering to Yehovah, you must bring your first-fruit offering as aviv [1] roasted in fire—grits. 15 You must put olive oil on it and lay frankincense on it; it’s a grain offering. 16 The priest will then burn some of the grits and some of the olive oil, along with all the frankincense as an offering made by fire to Yehovah.

Verse 8 adds: You must bring the grain offering that is made of these things to Yehovah, present it to the priest, and he’ll take it to the altar..

Wasn’t Yeshua essentially “presented to the priest”—Caiaphas—and then sent to “the altar” as an offering?

In the Aramaic, and hidden in the Greek, it actually equates Yeshua’s cross with an altar:

Hebrews 9:28 so the Messiah was also offered once, and personally placed on the altar to bear the sins of many, and He’ll appear a second time, not to bear sin, but for the eternal life of those who expect Him.

Matthew 26:65-66 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need witnesses? Look, you’ve heard His blasphemy! 66 What’s your judgment?” They replied, “He deserves death.”

Some people assume that the Passover lambs must have been killed at the end of the thirteenth of Aviv, as the sun was setting toward the beginning of the Fourteenth Day. In essence they assume that “Preparation Day” needs its own Preparation Day, resulting in a Preparation Day for the Preparation Day! Because of this misunderstanding, many Christian Passover observers commemorate their “Passover” immediately following Aviv the thirteenth, just after the sun sets (having prepared for that on the 13th). If due to groupthink you have always believed that Passover is the entirety of the 14th day, rather than the culminating event that was part of the Preparation for Unleavened Bread, then stop right now and check your own lexicon to see what Passover is! (An excellent free Online version is linked below.)

Zebakim or Sacrifice?

The very etymology of the word sacrifice is rooted in the worship of a pagan god (Glossary). That’s why I make a distinction by using the “kosher” Hebrew word “zebakim” to indicate whenever the Biblically correct use of the word is mentioned.

Most people assume that nothing real happens when the planned premature termination of the life of an animal or even a person takes place. Yet for all of recorded history the planned termination of lives have been taking place. From the poorest individuals on earth to the most extremely wealthy and powerful people drawing breath, millions have and still are participating in this practice.

Consider just once that there might be more to it than a secular mind would notice. What if something tangible actually takes place! I’m not even remotely prepared to say what those things might be, but why just assume that hundreds of millions of people on earth have been participating in that extreme and costly practice with no reason or consequences?

Secular minds rule out the possibility that there is a realm beyond what everyone can easily sense with their eyes, ears and nose without thinking to ask themselves how they arrived at that conclusion. Or why assume that the religious system or secular persuasion that you were born into is correct. Or why assume that the vast majority of humanity in all prior centuries were just ignorant and superstitious. I believe that the vast majority of humanity since Adam and Eve have been making grave errors concerning all of the most important realities that there are to consider, whether or not they believe in the supernatural—from the ancient Sadducees to today’s academic elite who refuse/d to believe in angels or miracles, they don’t understand why the universe was created or who created it.

But consider that two of the most profound events in human history will have hinged on “sacrificial death”. Why suppose that Yeshua’s death, brought about by the combined efforts of “church and state” was not absolutely necessary to bring about human salvation. Why believe that His death did not bring about some kind of balancing of a cosmic balance sheet? And why will the most horrific time in history—the three and a half year long Great Tribulation—be kicked off on the very day that the institution of sacrifices/zebakim are resumed in a new Temple in Jerusalem?

Secular people assume that people have no soul, and religious people assume that their soul is immortal. The Bible takes neither of those positions! The King James Version has an accurate translation:

Ezekiel 18:4,20 Every soul [living person] is Mine. Fathers as well as sons are Mine. The soul who sins will die! [1]... 20 The soul [person] who sins will die, a son won’t pay for his father’s sins, and a father won’t pay for his son’s sins. The righteous deeds of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wicked deeds of the wicked will be held against them.

There is too much mystical manure. Avoid it!

Brainwashing?

Brainwashing is accomplished by repeatedly considering one opinion over and over without having the courage to consider alternative scenarios. In fact you can’t claim that you have proven anything unless you have unbiasedly considered alternatives. Only allowing yourself to consider one possible outcome is rightfully termed brainwashing! It is quite possible to go into a study believing that the facts will bear out your existing beliefs, but a truly honest and open minded person will be able to—with sufficient study—discern his error when confronted with the facts. A truly converted person will be willing to acknowledge an error without allowing personal embarrassment to hinder them. When it has to do with sin, a converted mind shouldn’t waste much time deliberating!

A further caution would be that you can’t truthfully say that you have considered any alternatives if you only view those alternatives thru the brightly colored glasses of an opponent. The opponent of an idea will almost certainly present the other viewpoint(s) in such a way that you would never believe that the view had any credibility. Exceedingly rare is the person who is consistently willing to honestly evaluate differing viewpoints of a topic and remain completely objective before reaching a conclusion or teaching about it. Why take a chance? Why not go directly to the people most “invested” in the other viewpoint.

For that matter, would many passionate proponents of any cause necessarily want to give “equal time” to something he believes to be wrong or even dangerous? Would they likely acknowledge any point of credibility in an opposing point of view and see if they have some ideas of merit?

Allow proponents of new (to you) ideas a legitimate opportunity to present their case, rather than allow a “prosecuting attorney” to characterize the “defendant” in a dim light on any issue that could potentially change your destiny! I’m not talking about a fence sitters “spiritual truth”, why would you want to even listen to someone who is so “fair” to differing sides of an issue that they seldom take a personal stand on an issue? When an issue has to do with whether or not you are going to please Yehovah, then you owe it to yourself not to trust anyone else to decide what is right to do or believe. Many teach that personal responsibility is dangerous when it comes to proving religious tenets, and they would suggest or “demand” that you place your trust in a human “religious authority”. Yet the whole reason why you were born is for Yehovah to see how you will respond to the trials of life. This life is a testing ground. Yehovah will greatly compensate people in His Kingdom who don’t want to shirk the most important decisions of their lives by passing the buck!

“keep it until the fourteenth day”

The word “keep” has been treated strangely in regard to the Passover.

The very verses referred to by those commemorating the Passover on the 14th, are verses that have been mistranslated in most English Bibles.

Most Passover observers further assume that “keeping” the Passover means eating the Passover! I believe that making assumptions like that may diminish your reward!

There are three aspects of the word Passover, and the applications are determined from the context:

1a) [killing] the passover
1b) animal victim of the passover
1c) festival of the passover

The 1c reference is in regard to the terms “Passover” and “Unleavened Bread” being used interchangeably for the “Festival” of Unleavened Bread. While there is a distinction, the vernacular included the Preparation Day/Passover victim with the seven days of Unleavened Bread that followed, in essence an eight day period.

The Bible is quite plain that the Passover (the “animal victim”) was to be killed on the fourteenth (Preparation Day), however it was very LATE on the fourteenth, and the lamb was actually eaten on the fifteenth—the first Feast Day of Unleavened Bread!

What exactly does it mean to “keep the Passover”?

Numbers 9:1-14 Then Yehovah said to Moses in the Sinai Desert, in the first month of the second year after they had left the land of Egypt. He said, 2 “The Israelites are to keep [kill] the Passover at its specified time. 3 On the fourteenth day of this month, in the 'afternoon' [ie between the evenings] you must keep [kill] it at its specified time, in accord with all its unchanging tenets, and in accord with all its regulations.” [Exodus 12:5-6]

4 So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate [kill] the Passover. 5 They celebrated the Passover on the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the 'afternoon', in the Sinai Desert. So the Israelites did everything in accord with what Yehovah had commanded Moses.

The Second Passover

6 But some of the men were unclean by touching a dead body, so that they couldn’t celebrate the Passover that day. So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day 7 and the men said, “We are unclean due to touching the body of a dead person. Why are we prevented from presenting Yehovah’s offering at the specified time 'with the rest of' Israel?” 8 Moses said to them, “Wait here, so that I can listen to what Yehovah commands concerning you.” 9 Then Yehovah said to Moses: 10 “Tell the Israelites: If any of you or of your descendants becomes unclean by touching a dead body, or are on a long journey, they can still celebrate Yehovah’s Passover. 11 In the second month, on the fourteenth day in the 'afternoon' [1] they can celebrate it. They must eat 'the lamb' with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12 They must not leave any of it until morning, or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover they must follow all the pertinent unchanging tenets. 13 But anyone who is clean, and not on a journey who fails to celebrate the Passover, that person must be removed from the people, because they didn’t bring Yehovah’s offering at the specified time, they’ll suffer the consequences of their sin. 14 “And if foreigners living among you want to celebrate the Passover to Yehovah according to the permanent rule of the Passover, and according to its regulation, then they will do it. You must have the same permanent rule for both the foreigners and the native-born.

[1] The actual timing (“between the evenings”) is thoroly explained here, and also from this objective but strangely disinterested source.

All of the above references to “keep” deal with KILLING the Passover lambs—not with eating the Passover!

Notice in verse 7 that the “offering” was so important that the question of a backup plan was asked:

Numbers 9:7 and the men said, “We are unclean due to touching the body of a dead person. Why are we prevented from presenting Yehovah’s offering at the specified time 'with the rest of' Israel?”

Note that verse 13 also confirms that the topic is the “animal victim” or “the offering”.

However qarab (kaw-rab’), the root word, sheds some interesting insights. It means “to come near, approach, cause to draw near, draw near” etc.

Why is this important? Two reasons: The offerings were intended to bring the participants closer to Yehovah. But there is another reason. Notice that Yeshua’s exact words, translated correctly are:

Matthew 26:18He told them, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘Our Sovereign says, My time approaches, NEAR you I am to do the Passover with My disciples.’

The Young’s Literal Translation, acclaimed for literalness, also correctly says “NEAR THEE”.

On Yeshua’s final Passover, He wasn’t with His disciples, but He was relatively “near” them! Without any doubt, our Passover “NEAR THEE” is the Passover Victim—Yeshua, the Passover Lamb on the cross!

Now for Part 2
May 13, 2006

Part 2 Chapters Articles

Intro Feast Days

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