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Passover
by M. John Allen
This special page will show you how to properly observe
this Festival, and give you some things to think about in preparation. There will be surprises here for all, as we
come into a deeper understanding of how to observe this special occasion.
Passover is one of the most meaningful times of the year
for us. This web page contains two Passover preparation messages in Real
Audio format as well as the service in Real Audio format for the Passover
service itself. It is recommended that you read the Bible Study below and
listen to the Passover service tape and preparation messages in advance so
that you can have the full meaning in your mind when the actual night comes
along.
The audio message links are at the bottom of this page.
This service may not be in the format that you are
expecting, but it is in total agreement with the Biblical record, as you will
shortly see, so please prepare enough in advance so that you can get the full
meaning.
Further, it is recommended that you record the service
onto a cassette tape for playing during the service, or else download the
sound file to your computer for playing from your computer.
All of this preparation needs to be done so that the
service goes well [this recommendation is for the man who will lead the
service. If there is no converted man available to lead the service, then a
converted woman should. Remember that unconverted, unbaptized
people should not participate in the New Testament ceremonies, starting with
the footwashing, but children and the unconverted may
observe].
This service is a little different, in that it involves a
meal. You should cook some lamb, just as was done by Christ Himself. It
would also be nice to have some bitter herbs and spices such as radishes and
horseradish. Otherwise, you can make what you want. Some matzo ball soup
would probably be nice, along with some other things you can buy. I know that
this is a change for most of us, who follow a semi Catholic mass format in
the Passover service, but we must really come out of Babylon and FOLLOW
CHRIST'S EXAMPLE.
Please listen to the service if you have any questions,
because when you have a meal at Passover, the scriptures all fit together
very neatly and everything makes more sense. I have been doing this for
thirteen years, and I can say that observing the festival the way Christ did that
night really adds to the meaning. I invite you to try
it and see.
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Special Bible Study:
Preparing for the Passover
The core of this study is Lesson 33 of the Old Correspondence
Course (I believe this is a different edition than the ORIGINAL offered on
the Guard the Truth site, so you may want to check for additional material
there), along with certain additions and corrections I have added form NEW
NDERSTANDING that I came to in 1992 when writing The Restoration of Truth.
Below you will find a Passover service tape which you can use to conduct the Passover
service in your own home in a way that is much like the observance of the
early church. This information will be inserted into this study at the
appropriate point, so please read the entire lesson, as it is modified where
necessary.
Original text of
LESSON 33
(1964, 1965, 1969)
AMBASSADOR COLLEGE
BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE
With Updates and Editing by
M. John Allen
GOLGOTHA -- the Place of the Skull
About Our Cover ...
Pictured on our cover is a striking view of Golgotha -- "Calvary" in
Latin -- which means in Hebrew, "the place of the SKULL." The
natural caves at right strangely appear as eye sockets of a human skull --
hence the name of the hill.
It was upon this hillock, just outside the walls of Jerusalem, that Jesus
Christ was
CRUCIFIED as the Savior of all mankind. Off the picture to the left is the
Garden Tomb where Jesus was buried after His merciless torture and hideous
death on the stake!
The Passover -- CHRIST'S
SACRIFICE BEGINS GOD'S MASTER PLAN
YOU HAVE probably heard the teaching that Jesus did
everything for you -- that all you must do is ACCEPT His shed blood for your
sins, and then you are "automatically saved"!
Is the mere acceptance of Christ's death all
there is to salvation? Does the blood of Christ really
"save" anyone?
What Was Finished?
The common teaching today is that Christ FINISHED the
plan of salvation on the cross. The world consequently sees only a DEAD
CHRIST HANGING ON A CROSS -- not
the DYNAMIC LIVING CHRIST at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, guiding
and controlling the whole universe! (Heb. 1:3.)
Just what was finished? Notice Jesus' own words: "My
meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to FINISH HIS WORK" (John 4:34).
Jesus came to accomplish a specific job -- the Father's
work. That job was two-fold. One was to preach the gospel and to commission
the apostles to carry on the Father's work until Christ returns. The
second was to offer His life for the sins of the world.
Of the FIRST part of the Father's commission Jesus said:
"I have FINISHED THE WORK which thou gayest me to do" (John 17:4).
At the climax of the SECOND part of that commission, as
Jesus was expiring His last breath, He said:
"It is finished" (John 19:30).
What was finished? The sacrificing of His life for the
sins of the world! But did that finish the plan of salvation? Not at all!
Consider!
If the death of Jesus completed the plan of salvation,
then why the need of a resurrection?
Why the Resurrection?
Suppose Jesus were not resurrected. Would His shed blood
be sufficient to save you? Have you never read I
Corinthians 15:17? "And if Christ be not
raised, your faith is VAIN; YOU ARE YET IN YOUR SINS"!
Notice it! "Yet in your sins"! Without
salvation!
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PHOTO CAPTION: The Garden Tomb which once belonged to
Joseph of
Arimathea. It was from this grave that Jesus Christ was
resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit! Off the
picture and
to the right, nearby, is Golgotha.
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Then Christ's sacrifice
alone is not all that is necessary for salvation. CHRIST HAD TO BE
RESURRECTED. Unless Christ is ALIVE
today, acting as your Advocate, making intercession as your Saviour, your faith in His shed blood is in vain! You
would yet be in your sins. You would be without a resurrected, living Saviour to PLEAD FORGIVENESS on your behalf in the
presence of the Father in Heaven.
That's why Paul wrote to the Romans: "For if, when
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son" --
that's the work Christ finished on
the cross -- the work of reconciliation so we can BE FORGIVEN OUR PAST SINS
-- "much more," continues Paul, "being reconciled, WE SHALL BE
SAVED BY HIS LIFE" (Rom. 5:10).
Do you comprehend this all-important verse? The death of Christ -- the
shedding of His blood -- paid for our past guilt, but we SHALL (that's
FUTURE) be saved, that is, inherit eternal life, BY HIS LIFE -- by the power
of the resurrection!
If Christ is not living
today, if he were yet dead, you never could be saved! You never could inherit
the Kingdom of God and live
forever! That takes the power of the Holy Spirit!
What people have not understood is that there are two
meanings to the word SAVE. We save or rescue someone from fire. So Christ saved us from
the death penalty of past sins by paying that penalty Himself. But we also
save, that is, keep or preserve, money in a bank. So
the life of Christ -- the HOLY SPIRIT -- IS WHAT WILL SAVE
US, KEEP OR PRESERVE US LIVING FOREVER. That part of salvation is YET TO BE
FINISHED at the resurrection!
The TRUTH is that God's Plan only BEGAN with Christ's sacrifice! Christ's death is in
reality only the BEGINNING, the very FIRST
STEP, in God's great Master Plan of salvation.
Let's begin to understand why.
God's PURPOSE for Mankind
Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, during World War
II, told the American Congress: "There is A PURPOSE BEING WORKED OUT
HERE BELOW." He acknowledged a Higher Power above who is working out
that purpose!
That great and wonderful purpose for human existence was
first revealed in the Garden of Eden. GOD said, "Let us make man in our
IMAGE, after our likeness ... " (Gen. 1:26).
Man was made of the dust of the ground -- of clay -- in
the form and shape of God. But man was made INCOMPLETE. Man was made to need
God -- to receive the Holy Spirit without which he has no hope of eternal
life.
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PHOTO CAPTION: Former British Prime Minister, Winston
Churchill,
realized Almighty God
is carrying out a great plan on earth.
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God, on that sixth day of creation week, had only BEGUN
His master creation. God made man a perfect PHYSICAL creation. He was NOT YET
A PERFECT SPIRITUAL CREATION! God made mankind for the purpose of BEING
FASHIONED INTO THE VERY CHARACTER "IMAGE" OF GOD -- into very
spirit-born Sons in God's Family!
But that takes TIME. To accomplish it God has allotted
7,000 years -- seven millennial "days" (II Pet. 3:8).
The entire creation of God begins with CHRIST, and, when we
fully understand, it is also FINISHED IN HIM! God created all things by Jesus
Christ (Eph. 3:9). Jesus was the workman who
created the physical Adam.
But our SPIRITUAL creation also BEGINS with Christ. It is He who
became our living EXAMPLE to follow. He came into the world to lead the way.
He came to shed His blood for our sins. He became, also, the FIRSTBORN from
among the dead -- the FIRST completed, perfected SPIRITUAL MAN! Notice it in
your own Bible:
"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He
by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became Him, FOR
whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in BRINGING MANY SONS UNTO
GLORY, to make the CAPTAIN OF THEIR SALVATION PERFECT through
sufferings" (Heb. 2:9-10).
There it is! The purpose of life is that in us God is
re-creating HIS OWN KIND -- REPRODUCING HIMSELF after HIS very own CHARACTER
"IMAGE"!
God first revealed His purpose and plan to Adam in the
Garden of Eden. But Adam didn't really comprehend
it.
Only rarely in Old Testament times did God
intervene in human lives and call men to walk with Him and talk with Him
about the GOAL OF LIFE and HOW TO ACHIEVE IT. In the first 1656 years of human
history, the Bible records that only ONE MAN out of each generation was
called by God to really understand
the PURPOSE of life -- chosen to mediate between God and man as "a
preacher of righteousness" (II Pet. 2:5).
After the flood, God revealed His purpose and plan to
Abraham, the outstanding example of faith and obedience in Old Testament times (Gen. 26:5).
But it was not until the days of Moses that God began to
call the descendants of righteous Abraham -- the twelve tribes of Israel -- out of Egyptian
captivity. It was then that GOD BEGAN TO REVEAL the DETAILS of His plan for
working out His purpose for man here below.
Sabbath Pictures God's Rest
When God, who is the AUTHOR of time, set apart and made
holy the seventh day Sabbath for man, He gave mankind a rest day carrying
special significance.
To His "Church in the wilderness" -- the
CONGREGATION of Israel (Acts 7:38) -- God said the Sabbath was a
"SIGN" between Him and His people (Ezek. 20:12). This "sign" is a SUPERNATURAL
PROOF of IDENTITY. It is the sign by which we know that He is God. It is a
MEMORIAL of God's creation -- a WEEKLY REMINDER of God's creative power.
But the Sabbath is ALSO a reminder to God's people of the
MILLENNIAL REST FROM SIN -- when all the world will be a peace for 1000 years
-- when the knowledge of God's purpose will fill the earth as the waters
cover the depths of the seas (Isaiah 11:9).
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PHOTO CAPTION: During Christ's millennial
rule, the knowledge of
God's Master Plan of salvation will fill the earth as the
waters,
above, cover the depths of the seas.
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No other day but THE SEVENTH DAY OF THE WEEK could have
such significance and MEANING. It was designed to CONTINUALLY KEEP US in this
true knowledge!
But did you know God also SET APART and made HOLY certain
other days of the year BESIDES the weekly Sabbath?
Annual Festivals Picture
God's Plan
God called Israel out of
Egyptian slavery to perform the most important mission any nation has ever
been given in all the history of mankind. Israel was not God's
"favorite" people. They were not chosen for any goodness of their
own (Deut. 7:6-9). Rather, God called them so He could, through them, REVEAL
HIMSELF as Creator and Ruler of the universe so that through them, as His
instruments, He could make known HIS PLAN, His laws, and His blessings to all
nations (Deut. 4:5-9).
God has mapped out a definite PLAN, allowing SEVEN
THOUSAND YEARS for the process. Seven is God's number of perfection and
completeness. And so God has given to His people SEVEN ANNUAL FESTIVALS to
keep them in the KNOWLEDGE of His Plan.
Each festival pictures a VITAL STEP in the working out of
that plan for mankind. Whenever the people of Israel forgot these
festivals they also forgot the Plan of God. These festivals are MEMORIALS of
GOD'S PLAN.
These memorials, which God gave His congregation in the
wilderness, begin with the commemoration of Israel's deliverance
from Egypt -- A PICTURE
FOR HIS CHURCH of the plan of God in DELIVERING THE WORLD FROM SIN.
Just as the weekly Sabbath is a "sign" between
God and His people, so are these festivals (Ex. 31:13). They are not Canaanitish feasts, nor Jewish feasts, nor the feasts of
Moses. NOT ONCE in all the Old Testament are these days called "Jewish
feasts" or "feasts of Moses." They are the "feasts of the
LORD" -- "My feasts," says God (Lev. 23:2).
The whole story of God's plan is to be RE-ENACTED year after
year by God's people. The yearly observance of these days IMPRESSES God's
Plan on us and continually REMINDS US of OUR PART in it!
Two Spiritual Harvests
To keep His children constantly in the true understanding
of His great PLAN of salvation, Christ -- the Lord
of the Old Testament -- originally took the yearly agricultural harvests of
Palestine as a TYPE OF God's SPIRITUAL HARVESTS of human beings.
In Palestine there are two
annual grain harvests. First, produced by the EARLY rain, is the SMALLER
SPRING HARVEST. Second, produced by the "latter rain," comes the
main harvest -- the much GREATER FALL HARVEST.
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PHOTO CAPTION: God used the yearly grain harvests of Palestine to
picture the spiritual harvests of His Plan.
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Christ intended the spring harvest festivals to
PICTURE to His Church repeatedly YEAR BY YEAR, the fact that those He calls
now to become His Spirit-begotten children BEFORE Christ's return, are
ONLY the "first-fruits" -- only the BEGINNING of His great
spiritual harvest!
In the 23rd chapter of Leviticus, we find a SUMMARY of
these annual Holy Days and festivals. Christ -- not the
Father -- spoke them to Moses and the Levites -- who were the teachers and
ministers in Israel -- so they
would know what to teach the people.
The FIRST THREE festival periods, beginning with the
Passover, are MEMORIALS of the first part of God's Plan. They picture only
the firstfruits of Christ's labors.
The LAST FOUR festivals look forward to the future and
show how God will reap THE LATTER GREAT FALL HARVEST OF BILLIONS OF PEOPLE!
Holy Days Preserved for God's
Church
The One who became Jesus Christ chose ancient
Israel for a special
mission they have FAILED TO perform. Israel was a CARNAL
nation. They didn't have any promise of receiving the Holy Spirit at that
time (John 7:38-39).
Therefore, they did NOT COMPREHEND God's great purpose for mankind or the
true spiritual significance of the STEPS within God's Plan as pictured by the
Holy Days.
God did not reveal this spiritual understanding to them
(Eph. 3:4-5) because it was not yet His time to give the Holy Spirit to
"whosoever will." He KNEW they did not have the spiritual ability
-- "the heart" (Deut. 5:29) -- within
them to believe and obey.
Then why did Christ give His laws
and Holy Days to ancient Israel?
The Bible tells us that the "oracles" -- the
Old Testament Scriptures which include God's weekly Sabbath and the Holy
Days, besides the knowledge of the Sacred Calendar -- were committed to
Israel to be passed on from generation to generation. The Israelites
"who received the lively oracles TO GIVE UNTO US (TODAY)" (Acts 7:38).
But the house of Israel went into
captivity, beginning 721 B.C., losing their identity and their knowledge of
God. They DID NOT PRESERVE the BIBLE or God's Sacred CALENDAR for us.
Then WHO did?
The Jews!
The house of Judah -- the Jews -- which had split away
from the nation Israel after the
death of Solomon, went into captivity beginning 604
B.C. They returned 70 years later. But Judah RETAINED the
knowledge of her identity and her God.
Recognizing the fact that she had gone into captivity for
breaking the Sabbath, Judah became very
STRICT in its observance. The Jews, therefore, FAITHFULLY RETAINED the true
Sabbath as well as all the Holy Scriptures and the TRUE CALENDAR TO THIS VERY
DAY!
Notice what Paul, under inspiration of God, asks:
"What ADVANTAGE then hath the Jew?" Then he answers in part,
"much every way: chiefly, because that unto THEM WERE COMMITTED the
ORACLES of God" (Rom. 3:1, 2).
The Jews alone were left to preserve THE SCRIPTURES, the
weekly SABBATH and the CALENDAR by which we may know EXACTLY WHEN TO keep
God's Holy Days each year! Of all the tribes of Israel, God entrusted
the Jews to be the CARRIERS of His revealed will for the New Testament Spirit-begotten Church!
Now, let's learn about the BEGINNING of God's Plan of
salvation for mankind -- the sacrifice of "Christ our
Passover"! We need to be SURE we know exactly why Christ DIED for us.
What the Death of Christ Means
You often hear people say, "Christ DIED to SAVE
sinners." Many suppose that is a Bible quotation -- but it isn't! Many
firmly believe that Christ's DEATH --
His shed blood -- is what actually SAVES us -- imparts everlasting LIFE!
You may be surprised to learn that the Bible says No SUCH
THING! What a self- contradictory, totally unscientific thing the Bible would
be stating, if you could find that in God's Word!
There is no more basic and firmly established law known
to science than the law of biogenesis -- that only LIFE can beget life! DEATH
has no power to impart LIFE. Life cannot spring from dead matter -- or shed
blood. The LIVING does not come from the NON- LIVING. God Almighty created
that law!
WHY, then, was it necessary that Christ DIE for us --
that He SHED HIS BLOOD? Let's understand.
God says: "All have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). THAT
INVOLVES YOU! Your TRANSGRESSION OF GOD'S LAWS has CUT YOU OFF from all
contact with your Creator. The penalty now hanging over you is DEATH --
eternal death -- for the wages of sin is DEATH (Rom. 6:23). That ETERNAL DEATH PENALTY MUST BE
REMOVED BEFORE YOU CAN HAVE ANY HOPE OF RECEIVING ETERNAL LIFE!
What is the only way God says that penalty can be
removed? Notice Romans 5:8-10: "But God commendeth
His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, CHRIST DIED FOR US.
Much more, then, BEING NOW JUSTIFIED by His BLOOD, we shall be SAVED FROM
WRATH (the death penalty) through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were
RECONCILED TO GOD BY THE DEATH of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we
SHALL BE SAVED BY HIS LIFE."
Do you see that we are FORGIVEN, JUSTIFIED OF PAST GUILT,
reconciled to the Father, by the DEATH OF CHRIST -- but that we shall be
SAVED, not by His death, but by His LIFE? By His resurrection!
So the BLOOD of Christ does NOT
FINALLY SAVE you! It only means that Christ has PAID IN
FULL THE PENALTY OF YOUR PAST SINS for You! The barrier that has stood
between you and God has now been removed and you are now, by Christ's sacrifice,
allowed contact with God -- reconciled to Him!
In I Corinthians 5:7-8, God
inspired the apostle Paul to lay down this commandment for the Church: "Christ, OUR
PASSOVER, is sacrificed for us; THEREFORE, LET US KEEP THE FEAST"!
The original true Church which JESUS built kept annually
the Passover, and the FEAST of Unleavened Bread -- NOT Easter. They
understood the New Testament Passover is the MEMORIAL of the DEATH of Christ, observed on
its anniversary, picturing FORGIVENESS of our past sins and being reconciled
to God.
Passover First Step in God's
Plan
The Bible clearly reveals that the DEATH of Jesus Christ is the very
FIRST EVENT, or STEP, in God's GREAT PLAN for man's spiritual creation!
The Passover, the FIRST of God's annual festivals,
pictures that event. Jesus commanded that it be observed YEAR BY YEAR, adding
NEW symbols to the old so that we would never forget His sacrifice (Luke 22:19-20).
The world -- because of its rebellion against God, its
observance of counterfeit pagan holidays -- has LOST sight of the real meaning of Christ's sacrifice.
It has, instead, substituted Easter, supposedly in honor of His resurrection
-- an event the Bible nowhere commands us to celebrate. And the world even
has the resurrection on the wrong day -- Sunday! (Read the amazing truth
about the resurrection in the FREE booklet, "The Resurrection Was Not on
Sunday"; this and most of the other material mentioned in this lesson
can either be found in or through links from the Library section of this
website)
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PHOTO CAPTION: Professing Christianity
observes Easter Sunday
instead of God's Passover.
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God's True Church -- the church
Jesus built and promised to PRESERVE -- has retained the precious knowledge
of His truth FOR YOU! Today, God's True Church -- composed of
truly converted, spirit-begotten children of God -- is FAITHFULLY OBSERVING
ALL of God's festivals.
Despite the Devil's efforts to suppress the truth of
God's Plan for mankind, God has COMMISSIONED His True Church to begin
REVEALING His MASTER PLAN TO YOU, in this Course, TODAY!
You are about to begin a fascinating and revealing series
of lessons that will thoroughly explain God's seven annual festivals which
picture His great Plan of spiritual creation. Study your Bible carefully with
these lessons, for your eternal destiny depends on a THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING
and PERSONAL APPLICATION of the meaning of these days in YOUR LIFE -- NOW!
Let's begin studying, from God's inspired Holy Word, the
details of the FIRST STEP in His Master Plan for your spiritual creation, and
YOUR PERSONAL PART IN IT -- the solemn PASSOVER Day.
LESSON 33
Passover Lamb, Prophetic of Christ's Sacrifice
God's annual Holy Days really MAKE SENSE!
They are given to TEACH US the knowledge of the seven STEPS in God's Plan for
our salvation.
God first began to reveal His Holy Days to ancient Israel while they
were in Egyptian captivity. It was then that God gave the Passover -- the
FIRST STEP in God's Master Plan -- to His people.
Catholics, Protestants -- the majority of ALL people
calling themselves "Christian" --
UNDERSTAND that this first Passover service God gave Old Testament Israel was
LOOKING FORWARD to the necessity for a Saviour! But
what they DO NOT understand is the full SPIRITUAL meaning of the Passover for
us TODAY.
The original Passover marked the exodus of the children
of Israel out of Egypt, the land of SIN (Heb. 11:25-26). God had been pouring out His plagues
upon Egypt to induce
Pharaoh to release the Israelites so they could worship Him in the
wilderness.
We find the story of the first Passover recorded in the
12th chapter of Exodus.
1. As God began to deliver His people from Egypt (sin), did He
have to straighten Israel out as to time
-- as to WHEN the year should begin? Ex. 12:1-2. What is the first month of
the sacred year called? Ex. 13:4.
COMMENT: Since Israel had been in
Egyptian bondage for almost two-and-one-half centuries, they were not
permitted to worship God as He had ordained. They were forced to work seven
days a week and to adapt themselves to the Egyptian calendar and holidays.
Therefore, God had to reveal that the month of Abib
-- the first month in the spring of God's Calendar -- was to be the BEGINNING
of the sacred year.
2. What was each family to do on the tenth day of Abib? Ex. 12:3. Was the lamb they selected to be WITHOUT
any spots or imperfections? Verse 5. Is Jesus Christ called the
"Lamb of God"? John 1:29. Was this
perfect lamb PROPHETIC of Christ our Saviour "Lamb" who was SINLESS -- without
blemish or spot? I Pet. 1:19.
3. Until what date of the month was each family to keep
the lamb they selected? Ex. 12:6. Were they to kill the lamb on this day?
Same verse. Notice that they were to kill it "in the EVENING of the
FOURTEENTH day!
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PHOTO CAPTION: As an innocent lamb led to the slaughter,
so was
Christ led to His murderers!
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COMMENT: The literal Hebrew from which "in the
evening" is translated is "BETWEEN the TWO evenings." God
reckons the BEGINNING and ENDING of each day from sunset to sunset (Lev. 23:32).
From the Jewish Encyclopedia, we find that "between
the two evenings" is the TWILIGHT period between the time the sun goes
down over the horizon when the new day COMMENCES, and the darkness when the
stars are out.
In other words, this is the period of time called DUSK!
So the lamb was KILLED just AFTER SUNSET in the very BEGINNING of the
FOURTEENTH of Abib.
4. As soon as the lamb was killed, what were they to do
with its SHED BLOOD, which pictured Christ's sacrifice
to come? Ex. 12:7.
5. What was the final devastating plague God brought upon
Egypt on that same night, to force Pharaoh to release Israel? Ex. 12:12,
29. Did God promise to SPARE -- "PASS-OVER" -- the lives of the
Israelites' firstborn? Verse 13. Then wasn't it the SHED BLOOD of the lamb
they had struck on their door posts and lintels that SAVED them from death?
Same verse.
COMMENT: Israel's protection
from the death angel WAS BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB! The lamb's blood was a
"token" or sign which showed that the house was under the
protection of the blood.
So it is today that those who come UNDER THE BLOOD of Christ, "Our
Passover" Lamb who was "sacrificed for us" (I Cor. 5:7), are PROTECTED from the penalty of eternal
death!
God had the nation Israel ACT OUT, beforehand, the exact
TYPE of Christ, "the LAMB of God" -- "Christ our
Passover" -- who would come 1,500 years later to give His life as a
"bloody sacrifice" to pay the PENALTY of our transgressions of
God's law!
6. For how long was Israel commanded to
continue keeping the Passover Day as a MEMORIAL? Ex. 12:14.
COMMENT: God commanded, before Sinai, that the Passover
should be kept FOREVER -- not just until the cross, as so many falsely assume
and teach today. The Passover became a yearly MEMORIAL -- before Sinai -- of
the death angel's passing over Israel and sparing
their blood-protected firstborn.
But the Passover also continually LOOKED FORWARD to the
time when the TRUE PASSOVER SAVIOUR of the world would come to SHED His blood
for the remission of the sins of all mankind!
The Passover plainly pictures the DEATH of Christ for the
remission of our sins and His passing over our past sins now covered by His
shed blood.
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PHOTO CAPTION: The shed blood of a lamb protected the
Israelites'
firstborn from death.
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Jesus Kept the Passover
1. While Jesus was yet a child, did He go to Jerusalem with His
parents who kept the Passover EVERY YEAR? Luke 2:40-42.
2. When Jesus began His ministry, did He CONTINUE to
observe the Passover which God had originally given to Israel approximately
1,500 years previously? John 2:13, 23.
COMMENT: Before and during His ministry, Jesus kept the
annual spring festivals which God had originally given to Israel. The Passover
is one of the seven annual festivals which Jesus observed yearly. It is a
memorial ordained FOREVER (Ex. 12:14). For that
reason Jesus OBEDIENTLY observed it.
Later, Christ INSTRUCTED
His disciples how it should be continuously observed annually, AFTER HIS
DEATH, by the New Testament Church in REMEMBRANCE
of Himself who became our true Passover Lamb!
3. Did Jesus observe the Passover with His disciples on
the night before He was crucified? Mat. 26:17-21. Did they actually EAT the
Passover lamb? Verse 21 and Luke 22:14-16.
COMMENT: Jesus and His disciples DID EAT the meat of the
Passover lamb as the Bible plainly states. But they were NOT eating a sin
offering! The Passover lamb is nowhere called a sin offering in the Bible.
The Bible plainly shows that sin offerings were not instituted until AFTER
the Israelites had come out of Egypt -- until AFTER the Ten Commandments were
given, and BROKEN (Jer. 7:22).
4. Had the unconverted Jews of Judaea in Jesus' day
perverted the Passover? Were they holding it ONE DAY LATER than Jesus and His
disciples from Galilee? John 18:28.
COMMENT: The Jews had become divided and confused after
the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Under Egyptian and Syrian influence in Palestine (described in
Daniel 11), the Judaeans had neglected the proper
observance of the Passover. The Galileans, however, remained faithful.
After the Gentiles were driven from Jerusalem and Judaea, the Jews of Judaea still did not
return to the proper time for the observance of Passover. They observed it
one day late. And thereby they lost the knowledge of the coming Saviour. If they had kept the Passover correctly, once a
year -- on the 14th of Nisan -- they would have recognized that Jesus was
indeed the Christ, the Saviour of
the world!
The New Testament Passover
Anyone understanding anything about the history of the
Passover in the Old Testament knows that this was a meal to be shared with
the number of people who could eat one lamb, and no more. It was NOT a big
assembly or gathering, but was generally a family affair involving the whole
family. No more than about twenty people were supposed to be present, and Christ reinforced
this by sharing this meal with only His twelve closest disciples. He had many
more disciples, but they were not invited to this final Passover meal with
Him.
The church has talked about following Christ’s example in
ALL THINGS for years, yet in this instance, we have followed the example of the Catholic Church rather than Christ! It’s really strange at
first, but then Satan is very clever with his counterfeits. Rather than
replacing the Old Testament symbols, Christ merely added
to them! Why the church in general has not seen this, I don’t know.
The only passage in the whole Bible that even seems to
insinuate that the whole church should meet together to observe The Lord’s
Supper is found in I Cor. 11:20-22. This passage is trotted out by those
who wish to cling to Catholicism’s perverted customs rather than the customs
established by Christ. Christ specifically
COMMANDED that we follow HIS EXAMPLE -- yet those who should know better have
twisted this vague passage to try and make it contradict the entirety of the
rest of the Bible! I thought we had learned to study our Bibles better than
that! Let’s wake up and follow Christ’s example
from the four Gospels and quit fooling ourselves. The Catholic “Eucharist”
comes from BABYLON. Let’s stop
following their example.
Remember that the Corinthian Church was a gentile
church, and so they didn’t have many things right because they lacked the
Jewish background most of the first churches had. Paul had to set them right
on many occasions.
Therefore, it is not surprising that they would think the
Passover was some kind of huge banquet that everyone should gather together
to eat, drink, and be merry rather than the small, intimate gathering Jews
knew it to be!
They thought this was like a pot
luck or huge celebration not unlike the pagan feasts they had known all their
lives. But even in this, they showed selfishness, with some going hungry and
others eating too much or getting drunk! It was a rank perversion of the
solemn occasion Christ established.
So in this chapter, Paul gives some basic instructions,
but he says in verse 34 that he will set the rest right when he came in
person.
So the purpose of this chapter was to set the BASICS
straight, and that he would give the details later when he came in person. I
have no doubt that he intended to fill these gentiles in on the full meaning
and ceremonies of the Passover meal and what Christ did on that
night.
It would be most effective in person, so he only hit the
most blatant points in this letter that they were doing wrong. So, let’s get
it straight in our minds that Christ did NOT do
away with the Old Testament symbols at all [remember that “doing away” is a
very Protestant attitude], but He added to them and enhanced them. After
going through the Old Testament part, He then immediately showed New
Testament principles with the foot washing ceremony. He ENHANCED the meaning
of the original celebration, He didn’t replace it at
all!
Notice now Paul’s stinging rebuke to the Corinthians:
“Therefore when you come together in one place it is not to eat the Lord’s
Supper. [They had so perverted it that it wasn’t even the same thing
anymore!] For in eating each one takes his own supper ahead of others; one is
hungry and another is drunk [notice they understood that they should have a
meal, but they made two mistakes: 1. they did it ALL TOGETHER instead of in
small groups as the Bible commanded, and 2. they totally forgot the example
of service Jesus set in the footwashing ceremony.]
What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame
those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this?
I do not praise you.” [I Cor. 12:20-22]
Notice that Paul even mentions that they should be EATING
THIS MEAL AT HOME IN SMALL GROUPS LIKE THE BIBLE COMMANDS! Thus, this passage
means EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE of what many have thought it says!
Far from being a clear passage of instruction on what to
do, this whole chapter is really VAGUE, as
Paul himself states that he will fill in the rest personally when he comes.
Thus, this passage cannot be used to cancel out THE WHOLE REST OF THE BIBLE!
Think about it. Jesus was very clear in His instructions and example in the
four Gospels, so why do so many people latch onto ONE VAGUE PASSAGE about a
specific problem in a specific GENTILE CHURCH that was doing everything grossly wrong to establish
doctrine? What a strange, backwards approach!
And this is EXACTLY the approach Protestants use to try
to DO AWAY WITH EVERYTHING GOD ORDAINED! Peter himself stated that Paul was
hard to understand, and because of this many would stumble! So let’s base
what we do on the WHOLE BIBLE and not just ONE PASSAGE, as the world does!
For instructions on how to conduct the meal, I suggest
you look in the Book of Exodus and other places. You can also look to the
modern Jewish example for part of this, but be careful in blindly following
their customs. But at least we can get a little bit of an idea of how this
meal was to be conducted from them.
Then, of course, we have the New Testament things Christ added later.
It should also be noted that CHILDREN were a part of the original Passover as
ordained in the Old Testament, whereas children were ABSENT from the Last
Supper. I believe that this means that the NEW TESTAMENT elements Christ added later
(this reasoning is backed up by Paul when he says to the Corinthians that
they should not eat or drink in an unworthy manner, but should discern the
Lord’s Body and Blood, or UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS, which the unconverted and
children cannot do).
Thus, it is fine for children to participate in the
Passover up to the point where we have the New Testament elements introduced.
At the end of this study will be a guide you can use in
the New Testament Passover service. If anything about this is unclear, that
section should make these points clear to you, so hold any questions until
you read the final section of this study.
We are also including a taped service in Real Audio format with
complete narration for the evening. We
suggest you either download the audio file and save it to your computer, or
record it onto a cassette tape for later listening. This will make sure that internet problems
do not prevent you from listening to the Passover service, as might happen if
you streamed it live on the actual night.
While Jesus and His disciples were partaking of the
Passover lamb for the very last time they would share it together before the
Kingdom, on the very EVE of HIS MURDER, Jesus gave some definite and SPECIFIC
COMMANDS for His New Testament Church.
--------------------------------------------------
PHOTO CAPTION: Yemenite Jewish family of Jerusalem eating their
ceremonial Passover Supper. The Jews incorrectly
observe what
they call Passover one day late on the 15th of Abib, or Nisan,
instead of the eve of the 14th -- and so do not recognize
Christ
as the true Savior of mankind.
--------------------------------------------------
In giving us the account of the institution of the New
Testament Passover commonly misnamed the "Lord's Supper" by many --
Matthew, Mark and Luke describe the taking of new symbols -- unleavened bread
and wine in addition to the Old Testament lamb. But John alone relates
ANOTHER VITAL PART of this New Testament ordinance.
1. There is much confusion on the time sequence of events
during this final Passover meal. This is because Luke adds some details that
the others leave out, and John adds a detail
here about the footwashing that the other four
leave out. To discover the proper sequence, read Lk.
22: 14-27. Now, we can see when Jesus washed His disciples' feet at this last
Passover meal. John 13:1-5
COMMENT: Now, we finally have restored the proper sequence of events at the final Passover Christ observed while on this earth, leaving us an example to
follow!
First, we have Christ’s introductory
words where He ways that He has “fervently desired” to eat this final meal
with His disciples.
Then, we have a FIRST CUP OF WINE, introduced probably at
the start of the meal, which commemorated the fact that Christ would not
again drink of wine after this meal until
the coming of His Kingdom. It is thus implied that this will be one of
the FIRST THINGS He will do at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, which shall
happen at the start of His Kingdom on this earth! It thus forms a wonderful
symmetry of events.
Next, we have more of the meal. At some point, Christ introduces
the New Testament element of His broken Body symbolized by the broken bread.
This probably comes towards the end of the meal. Next, Christ introduces
the SECOND CUP, which represents His shed blood for the remission of our
sins. Next, Judas is overcome by Satan. The next event is when the disciples
argue among themselves about who is the greatest!
This carries us to verse 27 of Luke. Christ is very
disgusted by their carnal attitudes of each one wanting to “be in charge,”
and being so oblivious to what is going on that they are missing the point of
the whole event, so carried away they are with their own egos! It reminds me
a lot of the actions of many of the so called leaders in God’s Church today!
I hope they finally learn this year what lessons Christ was trying to
teach us at the Passover meal!
Anyway, Christ was so
disgusted by this petty bickering and vanity, that
He said “who is greater, he that sits at table or he that serves?” Naturally,
these carnal, self willed men answered to themselves that it was he who sat
at the table.
At this point, Christ, no doubt
filled with disgust, girded Himself with a towel and left the table to fill a
basin with water, kneeled down, and started to clean the disciple’s feet --
including the one who was to betray Him! This is the part that John adds, and it
fits in perfectly where Luke leaves off!
You will read of these events in full during the Passover
service, or you can continue on in John now.
IF Jesus wanted to "nail to His cross" ALL
laws, Holy Days, and everything that God ever gave, including footwashing, then WHY did He go to such great lengths and
pains to show His disciples HOW to observe the New Testament Passover service
from then on?
Surely Jesus ought to have been busily explaining to them
that immediately after His crucifixion, there would be NO FURTHER OBLIGATION
for them to keep the Passover, had He intended to nail God's Holy Days to the
cross! Instead, Jesus was taking this LAST- MINUTE OPPORTUNITY to INSTITUTE
at the New Testament Passover a special observance which He then COMMANDED
His disciples to KEEP and to TEACH!
2. Did Peter at first refuse to allow Jesus to wash his
feet? John 13:6-8. Could Peter have any part with
Jesus UNLESS he allowed Christ to wash his
feet? Verse 8.
COMMENT: Peter argued with Christ -- saying he
wasn't going to have Christ wash his
feet. Men today argue the same thing. Jesus explained that unless Peter
ENTERED INTO THE FOOTWASHING CEREMONY, he had NO PART with Christ! NEITHER CAN WE!
3. Did Jesus explain WHY He instituted this new
observance of footwashing during the Passover
service? John 13:12-14, 16.
COMMENT: Jesus said that those who acknowledge Him as
"Master and Lord" ought to wash one another's feet!
Footwashing in Jesus' time was a menial task which
only SERVANTS performed when visitors entered a house, since open-toed
sandals were the customary footwear of that time and the feet would become
very dusty.
It is interesting to note that since there was no servant
present, NOT ONE of the disciples had offered to do this necessary task.
Instead, just prior to the institution of the footwashing ceremony, these carnal men had been bickering
among themselves, striving with each other, arguing about WHO WAS THE
GREATEST among them.
Disgusted with this talk at His very Last Supper, Jesus
set the example for all of us by doing this task Himself, thus illustrating
once again God’s principle that the greatest should be the servant of all,
NOT the other way around as it was in the gentile world.
So Jesus was illustrating to His disciples that He had
come to this earth to SERVE mankind! And shortly afterward, He proved the
EXTENT of His extreme service for this world when He gave His very LIFE for
the sins of all mankind! He suffered the MOST HUMILIATING and EXCRUCIATINGLY
PAINFUL DEATH imaginable for you and me.
Christ symbolically showed just HOW FAR He was
willing to go in His service to mankind in order TO SAVE US ALL FROM ETERNAL
DEATH!
Jesus explained that if He, being the Master, would serve
mankind, then His disciples ought to SIMILARLY SERVE EACH OTHER AND THE WORLD
-- "YE also ought to wash one another's feet" (verse 14). The New
Testament shows that they and the other apostles and disciples of Christ did SERVE in Christ's steps. And
most of the original apostles did also GIVE their lives while preaching the
gospel of Christ!
4. Did Jesus plainly COMMAND His disciples to wash each
other's feet? John 13:14-15. Were they to teach the world to
do likewise? Mat. 28:19-20.
COMMENT: Many today do not want to HUMILIATE themselves
by washing the feet of their church brethren. Some argue that Jesus commanded
only His disciples to wash one another's feet. But Christ clearly shows
that it is a COMMAND for all people "all nations"!
5. Are those who OBEY Christ's words by
partaking of this meaningful ceremony promised a special BLESSING? John 13:17 and 14:23.
Bread and Wine the New
Symbols
Let's notice now what ELSE Jesus commanded all Christians to do
after He finished washing His disciples' feet and after the Passover meal was
ended.
1. Did Jesus institute the New Testament Passover symbols
of unleavened BREAD and WINE? Luke 22:15-20 and Mat. 26:26-29.
2. Was the unleavened bread to represent SYMBOLICALLY Christ's body which
was to be brutally beaten and cut open for mankind? Luke 22:19.
COMMENT: Jesus was using UNLEAVENED BREAD because the Old
Testament Passover was always eaten with unleavened bread (Exodus 12:8).
3. Was the wine to SYMBOLICALLY represent HIS BLOOD which
was to be shed for the forgiveness of past sins? Mat. 26:28-29. How can we
know "the fruit of the VINE" Jesus used was wine and NOT grape
juice?
COMMENT: We can know that the fruit of the vine" which
Jesus gave His disciples was truly FERMENTED WINE, not unfermented GRAPE
JUICE! Grape juice could not at that time be preserved until spring. It
either became wine, about 40 days following the harvest, or else the grape
juice was made into a heavy syrup.
This was not syrup!
Any knowledge of the practices of the Jewish community
during the days of Jesus will reveal that FERMENTED WINE was used EXCLUSIVELY
at the Passover (Hasting's Dictionary, art.
"Wine").
4. Did Jesus SPECIFICALLY COMMAND Christians
throughout ALL AGES to FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE in taking unleavened bread and wine
at the Passover? Luke 22:19- 20 and Mat.
28:19-20.
5. Had Jesus previously told the Pharisees, by means of a
parable, that unless we do SYMBOLICALLY partake of His BODY and BLOOD we can
have NO HOPE OF RECEIVING ETERNAL LIFE? John 6:48, 51-54.
6. Is the yearly partaking of the bread and wine on the
Passover Day a MEMORIAL of Christ's sacrifice
for us? Luke 22:19.
COMMENT: Jesus instituted this New Testament ordinance on
the EVE of His death. He set us the EXAMPLE SO we might know HOW to keep the
New Testament Passover after His death.
Jesus did NOT ABOLISH the Passover -- He merely ADDED TO
THE EMBLEMS or symbols used! All the apostles of Christ and true Christians of the first
century True Church observed it on
the fourteenth day of the first month of the Sacred Calendar. It is a
MEMORIAL of Christ's death, re-affirming year by year on its
anniversary "till He come," the true Christian's FAITH in
the blood of "Christ our Passover"
for the remission of sins. Eating the broken bread symbolizes our faith in
the body of Christ broken for physical healing.
Jesus commanded: "This DO -- in REMEMBRANCE of
me!"
The world is not WILLING to DO what Jesus said!
Are you?
How Christ Became "Our Passover"
In order to pay the PENALTY for your sins and mine, which
is DEATH (Rom. 6:23) -- death for ALL ETERNITY unless our sins are pardoned
and washed away -- it was necessary that Jesus Christ be more than
just a flesh and blood human being!
It was absolutely necessary that Christ also be
DIVINE -- God in the flesh -- that His life be WORTH
MORE than all our HUMAN lives put together! UNLESS Jesus was GOD MADE FLESH,
and UNLESS He actually DIED by SHEDDING HIS BLOOD, He is NOT our "Passover
Saviour"!
1. Is Jesus Christ the
"Word" or SPOKESMAN, the Creator -- the God who MADE ALL THINGS? John 1:1-3 and Col.
1:16-17.
2. Did God foreordain -- long before the earth was made
that Jesus Christ would BECOME the Saviour
of all mankind? I Pet. 1:18-20.
3. Did our very Creator BECOME a flesh and blood human
being by being miraculously CONCEIVED of the Holy Spirit in a human woman and
then BORN of her? John 1:14 and Mat. 1:20-23. Is Jesus Christ plainly
called "God" and "our Saviour"
in the Bible? Titus 2:13- 14.
COMMENT: The penalty for sin is DEATH, but God is Spirit.
Spirit cannot die! Therefore God, as the divine and supreme all-ruling
Spirit, could not have paid such a penalty! It was absolutely necessary,
then, that one of the God Kingdom be born as HUMAN flesh.
Therefore, when this member of the Godhead had
voluntarily emptied Himself and been CHANGED INTO A MAN -- had become a
physical, air-breathing, water-drinking and food- eating human being,
confined to this earth, and had been MADE flesh -- there was then no second
member of the Godhead in heaven!
Jesus, the second member, was on this earth as a MORTAL
HUMAN BEING.
His one life, since He was the very One who had been used
to create ALL life, was worth FAR MORE than all the rest of our lives and the
billions who have lived and died put together!
Had Jesus been ONLY a man -- conceived by Joseph and born
of His mother, Mary -- His death could have paid the death penalty perhaps
for ONLY one other man! But Jesus was the person of GOD -- IN THE FLESH!
Thus it is, that by EMPTYING Himself, being made of low
estate, and taking upon Himself the sins of the world, Christ became the
perfect and complete sacrifice for all sins ever committed!
4. Was the apostle Paul inspired to write that Christ is our
"Passover" -- our Saviour -- today? I Cor. 5:7.
COMMENT: Unless the original Passover lamb given to Old
Testament Israel had been sacrificed or SLAIN, had its own blood shed, the
Israelites firstborn would have been killed in Egypt and they could not have
been delivered out of this land which was TYPICAL OF SIN.
SO UNLESS Christ WAS
sacrificed -- actually SHED HIS OWN BLOOD -- we WOULD NOT HAVE A SAVIOUR
today!
5. Did Israel kill the
Passover lamb by SHEDDING ITS blood? Ex. 12:6-7.
COMMENT: As Christ is our
Passover -- and as the lamb was a TYPE of Christ, and had its
own blood shed -- so CHRIST WAS TO ALSO SHED HIS BLOOD to pay for our sins.
6. Exactly why was it NECESSARY for Christ to shed His
blood for the forgiveness of our sins? Heb. 9:22.
COMMENT: God reveals in His perfect plan,
that only by the SHEDDING OF BLOOD is there remission of sins. And
unless Jesus did shed His blood, He could never have become our Passover.
7. Did God foretell that Christ would die as
a LAMB led to the slaughter, and therefore shedding
its blood? Isa. 53:7-8. Does the recorded
conversation between Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch plainly show us Isaiah
was referring to Jesus Christ, who became
our Passover? Acts 8:32, 34-35.
8. Did Isaiah prophesy Christ would die by
POURING OUT His "soul" -- His life-blood? Isa.
53:12. Does the "soul" or life of all living flesh reside in the
BLOOD? Lev. 17:11.
COMMENT: Any student of the Bible ought to know that it
was Christ's SHED blood that caused His death, not
the "sentimental idea" of humans that Jesus died of a "broken
heart"!
Jesus became "our Passover" by giving His life
by SHEDDING HIS LIFEBLOOD for the sins of all mankind! He was speared in the
side by His Roman tormentors. The blood gushed out and He screamed in agony.
He died for the sins of the whole world. (Write for the article explaining
how Jesus died. It's entitled "Did Jesus Die of a Broken Heart?")
Why Christ's Body Was Beaten
1. Previous to His crucifixion on the stake, and death by
shedding His blood, was Jesus also SCOURGED by Pilate? Mat. 27:26. Was He so
BRUTALLY BEATEN that He was UNRECOGNIZABLE? Isa.
52:14. Also read the entirety of Psalm 22 which prophetically and VIVIDLY
described the horrible suffering Jesus was to experience.
COMMENT: Christ had to suffer
a merciless BEATING which tore His flesh open, disfigured Him, caused Him to bleed from dozens and even HUNDREDS of open
gashes and cuts! He was beaten and whipped with a "scourge" which
was a whip of many leather thongs with bits of metal tied in the ends of
them.
Jesus was then led like a DIRTY CRIMINAL, made to carry
His own stake, until He fell under the weight of it -- and then was hauled up
roughly and had to feel huge spikes being pounded mercilessly into the flesh,
pinning His hands and feet to the wood.
--------------------------------------------------
PHOTO CAPTION: The "Pavement" (John 19:13), where Pilate
delivered Jesus into the hands of the riotous mob to be
crucified. Excavation is many feet beneath modern
street level.
--------------------------------------------------
After having to feel His own body weight ripping and
tearing at the flesh where the nails had been driven through, without any
relief in sight, Jesus had to feel a huge, sharp, metal spear JAMMING into His
side, cutting the tissue and the organs, severing blood vessels and flesh! Christ died a
hideous, merciless, brutal death such as a normal man would not think of
inflicting upon a rabid dog!
And Jesus did this VOLUNTARILY! He did this FOR US -- FOR
THE WHOLE WORLD!
2. Did Jesus suffer this excruciatingly painful torture
of His body so we might receive physical HEALING of our bodies through faith
in Him? Isa. 53:5; I Pet. 2:24 and Ps. 103:2-3.
COMMENT: Jesus Christ allowed His
body to be literally RIPPED OPEN in hundreds of places until He could not
even be recognized! He suffered this torture so you and I, through faith in
His broken body for us, may have the FORGIVENESS of our PHYSICAL SINS -- the
healing of our bodies when we are sick -- as well as the FORGIVENESS of our
SPIRITUAL SINS by His shed blood!
That is why Jesus instituted the breaking of unleavened
bread at His last Passover Supper. It is a SYMBOL of His broken body given to
the tormentors for our healing and a REMINDER to us that it is by "His
STRIPES we are healed." (If you do not already have it, write
immediately for the FREE booklet, "Does God Heal Today?")
Just think of the tremendous PRICE that was paid that YOU
might have your guilty past blotted out, and the slate wiped clean! God
Himself, in the Person of Jesus Christ, paid the
penalty!
Can you grasp it?
Can you comprehend that your
very Creator -- the One who gives you every breath of air you breathe, DIED
FOR YOU?
What are you going to DO about it?
Kept by New Testament Church
1. After Jesus Christ had added the
symbols of BREAD AND WINE TO THE PASSOVER, DID HE COMMAND HIS disciples to
keep it in memory of His death? Luke 22:19-20.
2. Did the New Testament Church of God
continue to keep the Passover after Christ's crucifixion?
Acts 12:4.
COMMENT: The word "Easter" here is a flagrant
MISTRANSLATION. The original Greek word is "pascha"
which means PASSOVER! It is the SAME WORD translated "Passover" in
Matthew 26:2, 17-19. You should STRIKE OUT the mistranslated word
"Easter" in Acts 12:4 and write in its place the TRUE MEANING,
"PASSOVER."
3. Did the apostle Paul carefully teach New Testament Christians to KEEP
the Passover -- partaking of the new symbols of bread and wine -- just as
Jesus Christ had done? I Cor.
11:23- 26.
COMMENT: Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. Here is
ABSOLUTE PROOF that he taught baptized GENTILE CORINTHIANS to KEEP THE
PASSOVER!
4. But did Christians CONTINUE
to keep the Passover after the death of the apostles? Let's notice. To whom
did the apostle John write the book
of Revelation? Rev. 1:4. Was the Church of Smyrna one of those
seven Churches? Rev. 2:8. Did the members of that Church follow Paul's
inspired command to KEEP the Passover? See comment.
COMMENT: The apostles who spent time in Asia Minor -- among whom
was the apostle John -- appointed Polycarp over the Church of God in Smyrna. Notice what
early Catholic historians admit about him.
"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 time of 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 ..."
While at Rome, Polycarp discussed with the Roman bishop the matter of
the introduction of the pagan Easter in place of the Passover.
"For neither could Anicetus
persuade Polycarp NOT to observe it (the Passover)
because he had ALWAYS OBSERVED IT WITH JOHN THE DISCIPLE OF OUR LORD, and the rest of the apostles, with whom he
associated ...." (Quoted from Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, Book V,
Chap. 24, in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1 -- emphasis ours.)
5. Were later true Christians FORCED TO
DEFEND their practice of keeping God's Passover at the CORRECT TIME and in
the CORRECT WAY? Notice Rev. 2:9-10 and the comment below.
COMMENT: Again, history gives us the answer. Within 35
years the Passover controversy broke out again. Victor, bishop of Rome,
attempted to "CUT OFF WHOLE CHURCHES OF GOD who observed the tradition
of an ancient custom" -- the TRUE PASSOVER!
Polycrates, another Christian from Asia Minor,
gave this forthright answer to Victor in VINDICATION OF THE TRUTH of God:
"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, Vol. 8, pp. 773-774 -- emphasis ours.)
6. Wasn't it prophesied that the Church of God in the city of
Smyrna (in Asia Minor) would suffer
persecution? Rev. 2:10. Who was to perpetrate this persecution? Rev. 2:9.
COMMENT: "The Synagogue of Satan," composed of
those who said "they are Jews and are not" is none other than the
great false church founded by Simon Magus.
They CLAIMED to be the true "spiritual Jews" --
true Christians -- but WERE NOT! They CLAIMED to be
the Church "founded upon Jesus Christ," but
Almighty God calls them the "synagogue" or church of SATAN THE
DEVIL!
This GREAT FALSE CHURCH ACTUALLY PERSECUTED God's TRUE
servants for KEEPING the Passover!
7. Will the Passover be kept by Christ and His
followers when He establishes the Kingdom of God on earth?
Matt. 26:29 and Luke 22:15-16. Was it to also be kept by God's Church until
that time as a MEMORIAL of His death? I Cor.
11:25-26.
COMMENT: The Bible plainly shows that Jesus Christ and
born-again Christians will keep the Passover in the
Kingdom! And since He commanded His disciples to keep it in REMEMBRANCE of
Him until He returns, all the apostles and true Christians down
through the centuries from that time HAVE KEPT IT. God's True Church is KEEPING it
today -- exactly as He COMMANDED!
--------------------------------------------------
PHOTO CAPTION: The great church of the Middle Ages
persecuted
true Christians for
faithfully observing the Passover -- even to
fiery death at the stake.
--------------------------------------------------
A Memorial Commanded Once a
Year
1. Was the Passover to be kept ONCE A YEAR? Ex. 13:10.
Did Jesus and His disciples keep the Passover ONCE A YEAR? Luke 2:42; 22:14-15. How OFTEN
should baptized Christians TODAY
partake of the Passover? I Cor. 11:26.
COMMENT: Christ taught by His
own example that the New Testament portion of the Passover should be taken
only by baptized Christians ONCE A
YEAR -- on the FOURTEENTH DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH, IN THE EVENING, after the
beginning of the day.
Jesus both COMMANDED IT and left us an EXAMPLE TO FOLLOW
-- TO DO AS HE DID! "This DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME, said Jesus -- in
MEMORY of His death.
Christians today should also keep the Passover,
not as OFTEN AS THEY PLEASE -- but AS OFTEN AS Christ and the
apostles did -- NOT four times a year, NOT
monthly, NOT weekly or daily or twice daily -- BUT ANNUALLY!
The Passover is a MEMORIAL -- we keep it in remembrance
of Christ's death. And memorials of momentous
occasions ALWAYS ARE OBSERVED ANNUALLY -- ONCE A YEAR -- on the ANNIVERSARY
of the event they commemorate.
Therefore, true Christians today
should be OBSERVING the Passover as Christ Himself
commanded on the eve of His death. It is the MOST SOLEMN and SACRED OCCASION
of the year!
Any other day during the entire year IS NOT a memorial of
Christ's death, but is merely an INVENTION OF
MEN in contradiction to the DIRECT COMMAND OF JESUS CHRIST! (Be sure to send
for another FREE booklet, "How Often Should We Partake of the 'LORD'S
SUPPER'?")
2. Did the early New Testament Church of God understand and
follow Christ's example by observing the Passover
annually? Acts 12:4 and I Cor. 11:23-26.
COMMENT: The True Church of God was
still keeping the Passover as a MEMORIAL of Christ's death at
the CORRECT TIME and in the CORRECT MANNER OVER 25 YEARS AFTER Christ ascended into
heaven, according to your Bible. And we have seen that RECORDED church
history proves that for BETTER THAN 200 YEARS God's people CONTINUED in the
faith delivered to the saints.
Today, GOD'S TRUE CHURCH IS STILL
KEEPING THE PASSOVER -- just AS JESUS CHRIST COMMANDED!
Do You Stop With the
Passover?
God has begun to open to you SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING of
His wonderful Master Plan for your salvation. Now you KNOW THE TRUTH about
God's Passover and the IMPORTANCE of Jesus Christ's sacrifice
for you!
This world sees only a DEAD Christ hanging on a
cross -- not ALIVE at the right hand of the Father in heaven -- guiding and
controlling the WHOLE UNIVERSE! (Heb. 1:3.)
The religions of this world want you to believe that Christ's sacrifice
COMPLETED the plan of salvation -- that there is NOTHING MORE FOR YOU TO DO
BUT BELIEVE.
Nothing could be FURTHER from the truth! It is the SAME
LIE Satan the Devil has promulgated from the beginning!
Christ's Passover sacrifice only BEGINS God's
Master Plan. In future lessons of this Correspondence Course, you will learn
each of the seven steps in God's PLAN for salvation in their entirety.
Jesus Christ died for OUR
PAST sins -- that is something we cannot do. But merely "accepting Christ's
sacrifice" is NOT ENOUGH.
We can't afford to STAND STILL after repenting and being
forgiven by Christ's blood -- we MUST FORSAKE SIN
COMPLETELY! We must COME OUT of this rotten, filthy, foul, evil world! (Rev.
18:4.)
Christ's sacrifice only paid for our sins of the
PAST (Rom. 3:24-25). It does
NOT give us LICENSE to BREAK GOD'S LAW WITH IMPUNITY in the FUTURE.
Because the world wants to believe in a twisted concept
of "grace" that actually means "permissiveness" to DO
EVIL -- because they have NOT KEPT His Holy Days, they have LOST SIGHT of the
great purpose in human existence. They do NOT KNOW there is anything to DO!
Yes, the professing Christian world may
profess to "ACCEPT" Christ's sacrifice.
But Christ has NOT APPLIED HIS SACRIFICE to them.
They are sinners because they REFUSE TO OBEY HIM -- claiming His laws are
done away!
Christ is not the minister of sin. (Gal. 2:17.)
Not until they REPENT of sin and believe Christ can they be
forgiven! They have a DEAD FAITH in Christ's shed blood.
Therefore, the world hasn't really taken even
the FIRST STEP toward spiritual salvation.
Christ will apply His sacrifice only to those
who are in a RIGHT ATTITUDE and show by their actions that they are repentant
-- who sincerely turn around and FOLLOW God's Laws.
IF YOU have sincerely repented of your past sins, realizing that your
sins have caused the death of your very Creator, Jesus Christ, and want to
begin to KEEP GOD'S COMMANDMENTS -- begin PARTICIPATING in His wonderful
Master Plan -- then you will WANT MORE INFORMATION regarding BAPTISM SO YOU
can keep the New Testament Passover, as God commanded, with others of like
faith.
How to Observe the Passover
in Your Home
I am sure that you are as happy as I was when I finally
had the Passover questions straightened out in my mind! Below, I am going to
include a suggested guide to be used in your own in home Passover Service. I
suggest you try to restrict this gathering to ONLY 20 people, as had been
done throughout the Old Testament and in the New Testament Church of God
until the Corinthians got the wrong idea and had to be set straight by Paul.
I know that God will reveal this to His people more and
more as time goes on, and this Restoration Work becomes stronger and
stronger.
I suggest, though, that whoever plans to lead the service
for your group should first listen to this tape a day or so before at least,
so that he understands what is to occur and when, even through the tape
contains its own prompts.
Guide to the Passover Meal/
Service
As stated above, the Passover starts with a meal, and
ends with the New Testament symbols Christ instituted.
Try to get as close to the Old Testament type of Passover meal as you can.
You might borrow some things from the Jewish seder.
We must remember, though, that we are not in the
ritualistic Old Testament times. It is best if
you can have lamb at this meal, but I don’t think God will object if lamb is
not available to you. In some countries it can be hard to find, as it is an
unusual meat outside the Mideast. If you can’t
find it, substitute beef or turkey, or something else.
You should also have unleavened bread at this meal. If
you can’t get Matzos, something like Triscuits will
suffice. You also need to have wine with this meal.
As will be pointed out later, there is a cup during the
meal, as well as the one after the meal that is associated with the blood of Christ.
The first cup is not associated with His blood. There
should be a man in charge of reading the scriptures and giving instructions
at the various stages, as well as the various prayers. He can use male
assistants if he desires. Children can participate in everything up to the footwashing, at which point all unbaptized
people should just observe.
[As an alternative to a live reading of the scriptures,
you can use the full taped service below.]
The meal should be all ready to go shortly before sunset.
The first readings will take place about 20 minutes before sunset so that
people can get into the right frame of mind before the meal starts. This is
neither a party nor a funeral, but something about which deep thought should
be given.
Now, to the service:
1. Opening prayer, blessing on the evening, the food,
etc.
2. Read about original Passover, Ex. 12:1-42
3. Read about the New Testament Passover. I Cor. 11:23-30; Lk. 22:7-23.
4. If it is sunset, the prayer for the meal may be said,
and dinner may begin. Conversation should center around
the Passover in its various meanings. Remember that Christ took a cup
sometime during the meal, saying that He would not drink it again until He
drank it in His Kingdom.
5. After dinner, clear the table. Make sure that no
leftovers remain until the morning. After the service, they should be
disposed of, preferably outside the house, with excess wine poured out on the
ground.
6. New Testament Service. Open with prayer.
7. Read Jn. 13:1-17, followed
by the footwashing.
8. Another prayer.
9. Read Is. 53:3-12; I Pet. 2:20-24; Jn.
6:32-40; 48-51; 53-58; I Cor. 10:16-17, 11:24.
10. Feel free to comment as you read above on the
significance of the beating Christ’s body took.
Pray over the element of unleavened bread, then distribute to people. Pause
for a few minutes. Then go on.
11. Read Mtt. 26:27-8; I Jn. 1:7-9; Heb. 9:11-15; Eph. 1:7. Pray over the element
of the wine. Distribute. Pause before you go on.
12. To finish the evening, read Jn. 13:18- end of chapter 17. Break off here, but direct
people to read the rest of the Book of John before they go
to bed at night, as well as any other passages they might want to read about
the crucifixion and resurrection from the other Gospels. Encourage them to
understand the significance of this night.
13. If you have song books or the Bible hymnal tapes, sing a final hymn and then dismiss with a final
prayer.
If you are using our service tape, you will see that it
follows this format. Have a joyous Passover!
We have two different Passover Preparation messages.
The first one is a further explanation of the material
above, and the second is a message to help you examine yourself.
Preparation
Message 1
Examine
Yourself
Discern the Lord’s Body
This is one of the best messages
I have ever heard on how we should discern the Lord’s body so that we might
take the Passover properly. This
message by Carn Catherwood
is a must hear for the Passover season.
Listen Download
Listen to
Passover Service
Download: Part 1 Part 2 [right click with your mouse to download
the files]
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