Friday, April 2, 2010

EASTER – A RELIGIOUS COUNTERFEIT!

Each spring millions of people worldwide buy their new clothes and Easter bonnets, decorate eggs for the children to hunt, and attend Easter sunrise services. They believe they are worshipping the resurrection of their Messiah. Some even look at it as a melding of the resurrection with the Jewish Passover. Is this the truth? Is any of it true? Or are some of these items a counterfeit for the truth?

Based on the premise that Scripture is the source of truth, let’s see what it says first. Then we’ll look at the observances of today.

(The Scriptures quoted are from The Interlinear Bible, a literal translation by Jay P. Green, Sr., as general editor and translator, with the transliterated Hebrew names of the Father and Son, Yahweh and Yahshua inserted-ed.)

PASSOVER - THE OLD TESTAMENT

The first Passover is found in Exodus 12. The Israelites had been in slavery in Egypt for a long time. Using Moses as their leader, Yahweh was going to free them and develop His nation.

Yahweh laid out instructions for Moses to pass on to the people. They were to set aside an unblemished lamb, slaughter it on the fourteenth, in the evening, and put the blood on the door posts so that the death angel would pass over them and not kill their firstborn as it did the Egyptians. That night they were to eat the roasted lamb, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The instructions continued:

Exodus 12:14,49 14-And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and you shall keep it a feast to Yahweh throughout your generations: you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. 49-One law shall be to him that is home born, and unto the stranger than sojourns among you.

Those who were added to the nation or were later “grafted in” to Yahweh’s people were expected to observe this memorial as well.

The Israelites did observe this, though a few points were altered. The people did not prepare to flee Egypt every year, but they did continue to kill and partake of the lamb and the unleavened bread, looking back at how Yahweh freed their ancestors. They also looked forward to the Messiah who was to come later.

PASSOVER - THE NEW TESTAMENT

When Yahshua Messiah walked on earth as a human, He also observed this command.
Luke 2:41-42 41-Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. 42-And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
On the last evening of His life, Yahshua was still continuing to follow these instructions.
Luke 22:8,15 8-And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat. 15- And he said unto them, With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
Notice that it says, “we may eat”, not “you may eat”. He was planning to join them in the meal.
Mark 14:18 And as they sat and did eat, Yahshua said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eats with me shall betray me.
The key words are “with me”. He was eating, too.

As they ate, He made other preparations and instituted a change in the symbols of the evening.
Luke 22:17-20 17-And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18-For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of Yahweh shall come. 19-And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20-Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
Some have tried to say that Yahshua did this a day early, but this says “after supper” – the same meal the people traditionally ate. If it were not the correct night, wouldn’t the apostles have objected or at least questioned Him when He told them to prepare? Can we get any clue from Scripture?
Mark 14:12 And the first day of unleavens, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where will you that we go and prepare that you may eat the passover?

Luke 22:7-8 7-Then came the day of unleavens, when the passover must be killed. 8-And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go, and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.
They, Yahshua and his disciples, were doing it at the same time as everyone else in the land!!

But most importantly, we know that Yahshua was without sin; was totally obedient. If He observed the Passover on any other night than what Yahweh stated, He would have broken the law and sinned.

Modern Christianity tells us that the Messiah died on Good Friday and was resurrected on Sunday morning. How is that possible?
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Friday afternoon to Sunday morning is not three days and three nights. A grade school child can figure that out.

The idea that He died on Friday comes from the rush to get the bodies buried due to the approaching Sabbath.
John 19:30 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath was an high day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.”
A high day did not necessarily mean it was a weekly Sabbath – a high day can fall on any day of the week.

Was He resurrected at sunrise?

Matthew 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.


When did the sabbath end? At sunset at the end of the seventh day of the week.
Mark 16:2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
Before the sun was fully risen.
John 20:1 The first day of the week comes Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and sees the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
If she came there very early, still dark, just before sunrise and He was already gone, He could not have been resurrected at sunrise on Sunday!

He would have been in the tomb seventy-two hours (three days and three nights). If He were buried late afternoon, seventy-two hours later would be late afternoon. No way could it be at sunrise. Since He was already out of the tomb before sunrise on the first day of the week, the earliest He could have been raised was late Sabbath afternoon.

Let’s work backwards. Friday the women would have been busy preparing for the weekly Sabbath and would not have gone to the tomb. Thursday was the high day. Wednesday would have been the day He died. Late Wednesday afternoon to late Thursday afternoon is day one. Late Thursday afternoon to late Friday afternoon is day two. Late Friday afternoon to late Sabbath afternoon is day three. The women found the empty tomb early the next morning.

In I Corinthians 11:23-26, the Apostle Paul reiterates the change of the Passover symbols and that tells us that we are to do these things in remembrance of Yahshua. But where in scripture is Easter? It only appears once.
Acts 12:4 And when he (Herod) had apprehended him (Peter), he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
The Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible , Herbert Lockyer, Sr, editor, page 317
“The only appearance of the word Easter (KJV) is a mistranslation of pascha, the ordinary Greek word for ‘Passover’ (Acts 12:4).”
Where are the instructions in Scripture to commemorate and celebrate the resurrection of Yahshua? They simply are not there.

So where did Easter originate? We have to go way back in history to find that.

MIXING IN PAGANISM

The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop –

Page 10 - “Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name, as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in this country. That name, as found by Layard (Nineveh and Babylon, page 629) on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar. The worship of Beltis and Astarte was very early introduced into Britain, along with the Druids, ‘the priests of the groves’.”

Page 104 – “Astarte was also adored by our ancestors, and that from Astarte, whose name in Nineveh was Ishtar, the religious solemnities of April, as now practiced, are called by the name of Easter – that month, among our Pagan ancestors, having been called Easter-monath.”
Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, 1973, pages 268-269
“Easter, a Christian festival, embodies many pre-Christian traditions. The origin of its name is unknown. Scholars, however, accepting the derivation proposed by the eighth-century English scholar Saint Bede, believe it probably comes from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon name of a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a month corresponding to April. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox; traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, in colored Easter eggs, originally painted with gay hues to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.”
“Such festivals, and the myths and legends that explain their origin, were common in ancient religions. A Greek myth tells of the return of Persephone, daughter of Demeter, goddess of the earth, from the underworld to the light of day; her return symbolic to the ancient Greeks the resurrection of life in the spring after the desolation of winter. Many ancient peoples shared similar legends. The Phrygians believed that their omnipotent deity went to sleep at the time of the winter solstice, and they performed ceremonies with music and dancing at the spring equinox to awaken him. The Christian festival of Easter probably embodies a number of converging traditions; most scholars emphasize the original relationship of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name of Easter. The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew traditions and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.”
Nelson’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Bible Facts, J. I. Packer, Merrill C. Tenney, William White, Jr., editors –
Pages 334-335 Easter is “The Christian festival commemorating the resurrection of Christ, synchronized with the Jewish Pesach, and blended since the earliest days of Christianity with pagan European rites for the renewed season. In all countries Easter falls on the Sunday after the first full moon or following March 21. It is preceded by a period of riotous vegetation rites and by a period of abstinence, Lent, and by the special rites of Holy Week.”

“Everywhere Easter Sunday is welcomed with rejoicing, singing, candle processionals, flowers in abundance, and ringing of church bells. Many pagan customs survive, such as the lighting of new fires at dawn, among the Mayan as well as in Europe, for sure, renewed life, and protection of the crops. The German Osterwasser (Easter water) is water dipped against the stream and imbued with curative properties. Ostermarchen are told in order to produce laughter (risus paschalis). The Easter lamb is perennially sacrificed. Children roll pasch eggs in England. Everywhere they hunt the many-colored Easter eggs, brought by the Easter rabbit. This is not mere child’s play, but the vestige of a fertility rite, the eggs and the rabbit both symbols of fertility. Furthermore, the rabbit was the escort of the German goddess Ostara who gave the name to the festival by was of the German Ostern.”

“That the sun dances as it rises on Easter morning is quite common folk belief in the British Isles, and people rise early and go to the hilltops to see it.”

Pages 52-53 – “Though the church has decreed that Easter is the greatest of all her festivals, the very name is pagan; and so doubtless is the origin of this festival of Spring. The word Easter comes from Eastre or Ostara, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring, and it is probable that when the heathen Saxons became Christian, their festival of the Spring goddess became the Christian Easter. There is reason to think that this is what happened elsewhere, so that Easter is a Christian adaptation of former pagan Spring festivals.”
The Oxford Companion to the Bible, Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Cougan, editors, pages 204-205
“How did a raucous pagan ritual evolve into a solemn Christian service? Second-century Christian missionaries, spreading out among Teutonic tribes north of Rome, encountered numerous ‘heathen’ religious observances. Whenever possible, the missionaries tried not to interfere too strongly with entrenched and popular customs. Rather, quietly – and often ingeniously – they attempted to transform pagan practices into ceremonies that harmonized with Christian doctrine.”

“There was a very special reason for this. Converts publicly partaking in a Christian ceremony, and on a day when no one else of their own clan was celebrating, stood out like the proverbial sore thumb, easy targets for persecution. But if a Christian rite was staged on the same day as a long-observed pagan celebration, and if the two modes of worship were not glaringly different, then the new converts might live to make other converts.”

“The Christian missionaries astutely observed that the centuries-old festival to Eastre, commemorating at the start of spring, coincided with the time of year of their own observance of the miracle of Christ’s Resurrection. Thus, the Resurrection was subsumed under the protective rubric Eastre – later spelled Easter – saving the lives of countless Christians.”

“At the feast to Eastre, an ox was sacrificed and the image of his horns carved into ritual bread – which evolved into the twice-scored Easter biscuits we call hot cross buns. In fact, the word ‘bun’ derives from the Saxon for ‘sacred ox’, boun.”

“The high significance of Easter as the feast of Christ’s Resurrections led early Christians to believe that the celebration could not be undertaken without spiritual preparation. Their souls needed conditioning through days – eventually, forty days – of fasting, penance and prayer. That became the function of Lent.”

“It is interesting that the holiest day of the liturgical Christian year, Easter Sunday, bears the name of the pagan sex goddess Eastre and the pagan sun god Solis.”
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1936, volume 2, page 570
“Astarte – a Semitic goddess whose name appears in the Bible as Ashtoreth. She is everywhere the great female principle, answering to the Baal of the Canaanites and Phoenicians and to the Dagon of the Philistines.”

“As the great nature-goddess, the attributes of fertility and reproduction are characteristically hers, as also the accompanying immortality which originally, perhaps, was nothing more than primitive magic.”
The Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible, Herbert Lockyer, Sr., editor, page 316-317
Easter is “A feast or festival of the Christian church that commemorates the resurrection of Christ. It is observed and celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or after March 21 – or one week later if the full moon falls on Sunday. In other words, Easter falls between March 22 and April 25. Easter was originally a pagan festival honoring Eostre, a Teutonic (Germanic) goddess of light and spring. At the time of the vernal equinox (the day in the spring when the sun crosses the equinox and day and night are of equal length), sacrifices were offered in her honor. As early as the eighth century, the name was used to designate the annual Christian celebration of the resurrection of Christ.”
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, James Orr, General Ed., Volume 2, page 889
“The English word comes from the Anglo-Saxon Eastre or Estera, a Teutonic goddess to whom sacrifice was offered in April, so the name was transferred to the paschal feast.”

“There is no trace of Easter celebration in the New Testament, though some would see an intimation of it in I Corinthians 5:7. The Jewish Christians in the early church continued to celebrate the Passover, regarding Christ as the true paschal lamb, and this naturally passed over into a commemoration of the death and resurrection of Our Lord, or an Easter feast.”

“Differences arose as to the time of the Easter celebration, the Jewish Christians naturally fixing it at the time of the Passover feast which was regulated by the paschal moon. According to this reckoning it began on the eve of the fourteenth day of the moon of the month of Nisan without regard to the day of the week, while the gentile Christians identified it with the first day of the week, i.e. the Sunday of the resurrection, irrespective of the day of the month. The latter practice finally prevailed in the church, and those who followed the other reckoning were stigmatized as heretics. But differences arose as to the proper Sunday for the Easter celebration, which led to long and bitter controversies. The Council of Nicea, 324 AD, decreed that it should be on Sunday, but did not fix the particular Sunday. It was left to the bishop of Alexandria to determine, since that city was regarded as the authority in astrological matters and he was to communicate the result of his determination to the other bishops.”

“The rule was finally adopted, in the seventh century, to celebrate Easter on the Sunday following the fourteenth day of the calendar moon which comes on, or after, the vernal equinox which was fixed for March 21. This is not always the astrological moon, but near enough for practical purposes, and is determined without astrological calculation by certain intricate rules adopted by ecclesiastical authority.”

“The Easter feast has been and still is regarded as the greatest in the Christian church, since it commemorates the most important event in the life of its Founder.”
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1936, volume 10, page 859
“There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic Fathers. The sanctity of special times was an idea absent from the minds of the first Christians, who continued to observe the Jewish festival, though in a new spirit, as commemoration of events which those festivals had foreshadowed. Thus the Passover, with a new conception added to it of Christ as the true Paschal Lamb, and the first fruit from the dead, continued to be observed, and became the Christian Easter.”
LENT

The World Book Encyclopedia, 1975, volume 6, page 26
“Christians in many parts of the world celebrate before the Easter season with carnivals, masquerades, and feasts. These celebrations reach a peak of gaiety on Shrove Tuesday, more than six weeks before Easter. On Ash Wednesday, the day after Shrove Tuesday, many Christians start a solemn forty-day period of fast and prayer called Lent. It recalls Christ’s forty-day fast in the wilderness.”

“The last week of Lent, called Holy Week, honors the events of the last week of Christ’s life on earth. It begins on Palm Sunday, named for the palms that people spread before Jesus as He entered Jerusalem in triumph. On the Thursday of the last week of Lent, Maundy Thursday, Christians recall Jesus’ Last Supper and the time He washed His disciples’ feet. They observe Good Friday, the day of Christ’s crucifixion, in a somber manner, and spend Holy Saturday in anticipation. On Easter Sunday, millions of Christians in all parts of the world unite in their feelings of joy in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Sacred Origins of Profound Things, by Charles Panati, page 206
“As the church moved away from the fervor of apostolic times, people’s piety began to wan, and bishops cast about for some celebration that would deepen the devotional approach to Easter, climax of the spiritual year.”

“Many Christians had already reserved a period prior to Easter for fasting, confession, and schooling candidates for baptism on Easter Eve. But the time frame was never fixed, rules never formalized. Different groups of Christians followed different customs – some fasted several days, others several weeks. Some observed a total fast for exactly forty days (minus the Lord’s day, Sunday), a feast called Quadragesima, which would evolve into Lent.”

“Thus, by mid-fourth century, the duration of Lent – the word itself means ‘lengthening spring days,’ from the Indo-European langat-tin, ‘long’ + ‘day’ – became more or less fixed at forty days, less Sundays; the time frame did not become official, though, till the eighth century.”

“What constituted a fast varied: no meat for forty days; no milk and eggs; or only one light meal a day.”
Supposedly the idea behind the fast was spiritual. But many do not take it seriously; it’s just a period of time they have to get through. They may give up at least one item for forty days, but it may be something that is totally out of season, like watermelon, or something ridiculous, like bubble-gum.

The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, pages 106-107
“The words of Socrates, writing on this very subject, about A.D. 450, are these: ‘Those who inhabit the princely city of Rome fast together before Easter three weeks, excepting the Saturday and Lord’s day.’ But, at last, when the worship of Astarte was rising into the ascendant, steps were taken to get the whole Chaldean Lent of six weeks, or forty days, made imperative on all within the Roman empire of the West. The way was prepared for this by a Council held at Aurelia in the time of Hormisdas, Bishop of Rome, about the year 519, which decreed that Lent should be solemnly kept before Easter. It was with the view, no doubt, of carrying out this decree that the calendar was, a few days after, readjusted by Dionysius.”
ASH WEDNESDAY

Sacred Origins of Profound Things, Charles Panati, page 206-207
“The first day of Lent, a Wednesday, was always special, and it came to be called Ash Wednesday from a custom involving ashes, long a symbol for repentance. Early Christians approached the church altar to have the ashes of blessed palm leaves scored on their forehead in the shape of a cross – which more often than not resembled a smudge.”

“Today, as then, the priest applies the ashes and intones, ‘Thou art dust and unto dust shalt thou return’ (Genesis 3:19). A worshiper wears the mark on his forehead throughout the day as a symbol of his sorrow for his sins. The blessed palm leaves that are burned to make the ashes are, in fact, ‘leftovers’ from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. This Lenten custom originated in the sixth century, during the papacy of Gregory the Great.”
RABBITS

The World Book Encyclopedia, 1975, volume 6, page 26
“Many children believe that an Easter bunny brings their Easter eggs. This belief probably comes from Germany. One legend says that a poor woman dyed some eggs during a famine, and hid them in a nest for an Easter gift for her children. Just as the children discovered the nest, a big rabbit leaped away. The story spread that the rabbit had brought the Easter eggs.”

“In ancient Egypt, the rabbit symbolized birth and new life. Some ancient peoples considered it a symbol of the moon.”
Sacred Origins of Profound Things, Charles Panati, page 204
“It just so happened that Eastre, a fertility goddess (the ancient word eastre means ‘spring’), had as her earthly symbol the prolific hare, or rabbit. Hence, the origin of the Easter bunny.”
EASTER EGGS

Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, volume 6, page 25
“Eggs represent the new life that returns to nature about Easter time. The custom of exchanging eggs began in ancient times. The ancient Egyptians and Persians often dyed eggs in spring colors and gave them to their friends as gifts. The Persians believed that the earth had hatched from a giant egg.”

“Early Christians of Mesopotamia were the first to use colored eggs for Easter. In some European countries, people coloured eggs red to represent the joy of the resurrection.”
Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, revised by Ivor H. Evans, page 361
“The egg as a symbol of fertility and renewal of life derives and eating eggs at the spring festival. The custom of eating eggs on Easter Sunday and of making gifts of Easter eggs to children probably derives from the Easter payment of eggs by the villein to his overlord. The idea of the egg as a symbol of new life was adopted to symbolize the Resurrection. Pasch eggs or pace eggs, hard-boiled and coloured, were rolled down slopes as one of the Easter games, a practice surviving in the yearly egg rolling held on the lawn of the White House in Washington.”from the ancient world, as did the practice of colouring"
The Folklore Calendar, by George Long, page 58-59
In England “the old town of Preston has a long corporate history and is proud of its adherence to old customs. One of them is still carried on and can be seen on Easter Monday. This is the old Egg-rolling game. Large numbers of people assemble to watch it or take part. The eggs are brightly coloured, in many different hues, and are rolled down a hillside. In medieval times, this was said to be symbolical of the resurrection, as rolling the egg represented rolling away the stone from the tomb of Our Lord. There can be little doubt, however, that the rite is older than Christianity and was originally connected with the Spring Fest. This was found in nearly all lands, and was connected with the fertilization idea; the egg is an obvious symbol of the life force.”
The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, page 109-110
“The origin of the Pasch eggs is just as clear. The ancient Druids bore an egg, as the sacred emblem of their order. In the Dionysiaca, or mysteries of Bacchus, as celebrated in Athens, one part of the nocturnal ceremony consisted in the consecration of an egg.”

“In ancient times eggs were used in the religious rites of the Egg by the Greeks and were hung up for mystic purposes in their temples.”

“The egg became one of the symbols of Astarte or Easter; and accordingly, in Cyprus, one of the chosen seat of the worship of Venus, or Astarte, the egg of wondrous size was represented on a grand scale.”

“The occult meaning of this mystic egg of Astarte, in one of its aspects had reference to the ark during the time of the flood, in which the whole race were shut up, as the chick is enclosed in the egg before it is hatched.”

“The Romish Church adopted this mystic egg of Astarte, and consecrated it as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection.”
LIGHTS

Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, volume 6, page 25
“Lights, candles, and bonfires mark Easter celebrations in some lands. Roman Catholics in some countries put out all the lights of their churches on Good Friday. On Easter Eve, they make a new fire to light the main paschal candle, or Easter candle. They use this candle to relight all the candles in the church. Then they light their own candles from the great paschal candle, and carry them home where they can be used on special occasions.

“In many parts of northern and eastern Europe, people burn bonfires on the hilltops. Then they gather around the bonfires and sing Easter hymns.”
EASTER LILY

The World Book Encyclopedia, volume 6 –
Page 29 - The Easter lily, “a flower that has become a sign of Easter, is a tall plant with long, pointed leaves. The large, fragrant flowers are a waxy white color, and are shaped like a trumpet.”

Page 27 - “Masses of white lilies, symbolizing purity, decorate the altars of churches throughout the country.”
HOT CROSS BUNS

The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, page 107-108
“The popular observances that still attend the period of Easter celebration amply confirm the testimony of history as to its Babylonian character. The hot cross buns of Good Friday, and the dyed eggs of Pasch or Easter Sunday, figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do now. The ‘buns,’ known too by that identical name, were used in the worship of Cecrops, the founder of Athens – that is, 1500 years before the Christian era.”

“The prophet Jeremiah takes notice of this kind of offering when he said, ‘The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven.’ The hot cross buns are not now offered, but eaten, on the festival of Astarte, but this leaves no doubt as to whence they have been derived.”
The scripture referred to here is found in Jeremiah 7:18, but the entire verse was not quoted. As it stands, it doesn’t sound so bad, does it? Let’s look at it in completeness:
Jeremiah 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
And what is Yahweh’s response to that?
Jeremiah 7:20 Therefore thus says Yahweh Elohim; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
Meaning what? It means that no one will quench the fire, but it will continue to burn as long as there is physical matter to consume.
Ezekiel 8:15-16 15-Then said he unto me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn you yet again, and you shall see greater abominations than these. 16- And he brought me into the inner court of Yahweh’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of Yahweh, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Yahweh, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
Now what are the people doing on Easter? Facing the east, looking for that same rising sun! And Yahweh isn’t pleased with that. He wants the attention on Himself, not on the sun. He repeatedly told His people not to worship the sun, the moon, or any of the host of heaven.

CONCLUSION

Yahweh gives instructions in His Scriptures regarding how He wants to be worshiped. He expects His people to follow His directions.
Deuteronomy 12:30-32 30- Take heed to yourself that you be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before you; and that you inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? Even so will I do likewise. 31-You shall not do so unto Yahweh your Elohim: for every abomination to Yahweh, which he hates, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters have they burnt in the fire to their gods. 32- What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Yahweh’s instructions for His special days and observances are all listed in Leviticus 23. Easter is not to be found there, but Passover is.

If you look closely at the New Testament scriptures, you will find numerous references to these days throughout the book of Acts – after Yahshua had ascended to heaven. There is no place in scripture where Yahweh or Yahshua have removed the days that Yahweh originally instituted for His people.

The world has made a counterfeit, with Easter in the place of what Yahweh said. Why? Maybe to hide the truth? In the observance of Easter, it is plain that every one of the things attached to it – Lent, Easter eggs, Easter rabbit, etc. – were all used in the worship of gods hundreds of years ago. And Yahweh said not to mix the worship of Him with paganism. Look at the facts and determine what needs to be done – Yahweh’s days or the counterfeit?

Deuteronomy 4:2 You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish ought from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim which I command you.


---------------

reprinted with permission:

 
Permission is granted to reprint booklet under
the following conditions:
1 – copies cannot contain Alterations to content
2 – all copies  to be distribute free of  charge
3 – the following copyright and attribution to be included with all copies:
Copyright ©2010
Congregation of YHWH, Irving, TX.
224 North Story Road  Suite #138
Irving, Texas 75061
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 170309
Dallas, Texas 75217-0309
Telephone: 1-800-867-0150

PASSOVER ~OLD COVENANT – NEW COVENANT~

(The Scriptures quoted are from The Interlinear Bible, a literal translation by Jay P. Green, Sr., as general editor and translator, with the transliterated Hebrew names of the Father and Son, Yahweh and Yahshua inserted-ed.)

In our desire to get closer to Yahweh, we continue to search His Word and often we see things we did not see before. Yahweh did not give us all understanding at once -- our human minds could not have grasped it. But as we seek, He gives us a little more. When He sees that we are willing to change and follow Him wherever He leads, He blesses us with deeper understanding. The cycle goes on. The time has come to review Passover in both the Old and New Testaments.

Have you ever noticed that different groups observe the Passover at different times? Sometimes a month or so apart? And they don't necessarily do it at the same time as the Jews. Other churches observe what they call the Lord's Supper as often as monthly. How do you know when the right time is? Is it observed with unleavened bread and wine? Or crackers and grape juice? Or with a Seder meal? What about the Night to be Much Observed? Is that a separate celebration? A different evening? How does it fit into the scheme of things? So, who is right? They can't all be. We will look at some of these points, but by no means will all questions be answered.

The first instance of Passover is in the book of Exodus. The children of Israel had been in slavery in Egypt for a long time. Using Moses as a human leader, Yahweh had the people begin making preparations for freedom. He was going to show them who He was and the power He had.

ABIB

In Exodus 12 Yahweh relates to them the things they are to do. He specified in verse 2 "This month shall be the chief of months for you. It shall be the first of the months of the year for you." When is that? January? No.

Exodus 13:4 - "Today you are going out in the month of The Abib."
The word "Abib" is Strong's #24. It means "green, i.e., a young ear of grain; hence, the name of the month Abib or Nisan." The word Aviv was not necessarily referring to the name of the month in the Scriptures. It was referring to a particular state of growth that was reached in the barley crop. It does not mean it is fully ripe – dry and golden yellow – and ready for a modern mechanical harvester. If it were, the grain would be shaken to the ground as they gathered and cut it with a scythe, as it was in ancient times. It was turning golden, but still green; the stalks were becoming stiff. But it means somewhat more. In order for this to be offered as a wave sheaf offering shortly after Passover, there must be substance there. It must contain grain, not be just a green, empty husk. This is the beginning of the harvest time, so the grain must be fully formed - able to be roasted and used.

The Hebrew has “Ha Abib”. That is a “Ha” prefix which is translated in English as “the”. Hebrew words with a “Ha” prefix are not proper names. “Aviv” describes a season – SPRING – and as such would not be the name of a month, as found in Exodus 13:4; 23:15; 34:18 & Deuteronomy 16:1

A few pages earlier, in Exodus 9:31, during one of the plagues, we read, "the barley was in the ear, and the flax in blossom." This doesn't happen in January. This month corresponds to our March-April time of year.

We can see that early in man's history, the calendar was based on a year of 360 days, made up of 12 months with 30 days each. Back at the time of Noah's flood, we find that the water was on the earth for 150 days in Genesis 7:24 and 8:3. In Genesis 7:11, it says the rains and flooding began on the seventeenth day of the second month. Then in Genesis 8:4, we find that the ark came to rest and the water began to abate on the seventeenth day of the seventh month. Exactly five months. 150 days divided by 5 months equals months of 30 days.

The moon has been used to determine the months, as the Jews still do today. Many look to observe the tiny crescent moon to start the month. But that's confusing as it depends on where you are - it doesn't happen on the same day, at the same time everywhere. And Scripture tells us that Yahweh is not the author of confusion. But the conjunction of the moon occurs at one split second, all over the world. That is when the moon comes directly between the earth and the sun and nothing of the moon can be seen. That is what is being referred to in this article as the new moon.

The ripening grain, though is not the main criteria to determine the first month of the year. There must be more. The ripe grain can be reaped whenever it is ready, even before Passover and the wave sheaf. There is no ban against that. The ban is against eating of it before the wave sheaf.

Leviticus 23:14 “And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that you have brought an offering unto your Elohim: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Genesis 1:14 “And Elohim said, Let luminaries be in the expanse of the heavens, to divide between the day and the night. And let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years.”
The word “seasons” is #4150, mowed. It means an appointment, i.e. a fixed time or season; specifically a festival; conventionally a year; by implication an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand).

Now this tells us the sun and moon would be used to determine the times of these appointments. If the month is used in determining months, what does the sun determine? Could it indicate when a year might begin? What signal could there be that would show when it is time for the barley to be ripening? What signals that spring has come?

Dictionary of Talmud Babli, Yerushalmi, Midrashic Literature and Targumim, Pro Marcus Jastrow, volume 1, page 5
“Aviv – early stage of ripening, esp. of grains; season of beginning barley-crop; also the offering of first-fruits (on Passover). R. Hash. 21a (ref. To Deut XVI, 1) – observe the ripening of the equinoctial season that it be in the month of Nissan.”
Equinoctial? Doesn’t the equinox today determine when spring starts? Why not then as well?

So consider. What if we wait until the equinox occurs? The next new moon after the equinox, or even on the same day, would begin the first month of spring. It would be the same every year. The 14th day of that month would be Passover.

Looking at the idea of green grain and new moons, the Congregations of Yahweh use the conjunction on or after the vernal equinox to establish the first day of the first month. Then it is a matter of simply counting from there. (For more detail, please see our booklet titled "Calendar Paper".)

FOURTEENTH OR FIFTEENTH

Let's go back to the story in Exodus 12. They had to begin counting immediately. On the tenth day of the month, the people were to pen up a male lamb or a kid of the first year and keep it until the fourteenth, when they were to kill it.
Exodus 12:6 - "And it shall be for you to keep until the fourteenth day of this month. And all the assembly of the congregation shall kill it between the evenings.
There are constant disagreements as to when this was and exactly what it means. Some assume this means just after sunset ending the thirteenth and starting the fourteenth. Others argue that it is immediately after the sunset ending the fourteenth and beginning the fifteenth.

The phrase "between the evenings" is bane ha-arbayim in Hebrew. Many people interpret that to mean “between sunset and dark.” But is that really two evenings?

Yahweh said the Passover – the entirety of its events – was to occur on the 14th. That means all of what has to be done is to take place between the two evenings. Yahweh’s days extend from one evening (sunset) till the next. So, in other words, the day of Passover was from sunset beginning the 14th day until the sunset ending that day. Anything other than that does not agree with Yahweh’s words.

That means that the lambs in Egypt were slaughtered at the sunset beginning the 14th, and roasted over an open fire. Then the people were to eat it in haste. Why? Think about it. It took time to kill the lamb, drain the blood, skin the animal and cook it. Anything remaining uneaten was to be burned by morning. By the time the lamb was ready to eat, there may not have been time to dawdle over a meal as burning the remains would also take some time. All the events commanded for that Passover took place during the night.

Now consider the custom of those who insist that the Passover lamb was to be killed at the sunset ending the 14th. When would they have been eating it? After sunset would be the 15th! That is not what Yahweh said.
Leviticus 23:5 - "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even (bane ha-arbayim) is Yahweh's Passover.
ORDINANCES OF THE PASSOVER

The instructions continue ---
Exodus 12:7-11, 14 - "7 - And they shall take from the blood, and put it on the two side doorposts and on the upper doorpost, on the houses in which they eat it. 8 - And they shall eat the flesh in this night, roasted with fire and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 - Do not eat it raw, or at all boiled in water, but roasted with fire; its head with its legs and with its inward parts. 10 - and you shall not leave any of it until morning. And you shall burn with fire that left from it until morning. 11 - And you shall eat it this way: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Passover to Yahweh... 14 - And the day shall be a memorial for you. And you shall celebrate it as a feast to Yahweh, for your generations. You shall celebrate it as a law forever."
Notice - He tells them how to cook it and eat it, what to eat with it, and what to do with any leftovers. And note the last verse -- this is a day to be observed forever,

Look again at the wording of verse 7. It didn't say to put the blood on the doors of every house, but only on the houses where they were to be eating. If a household was too small for a whole lamb, they were join with others, all being in one house.

What was the purpose of the blood? To forgive sins? No. To protect everyone? No. It was a sign of protection for the firstborn. Yahweh was slaying the firstborn of Egypt that night. If the Israelites did not have this sign on their doors, their firstborn would have died - not all of Israel.

The people did as Yahweh commanded. At midnight, the death angel passed over, and the firstborn of Egypt died. Now think this through. The Passover - the passing over of the death angel - was to be on the fourteenth, at midnight. For that to happen at midnight of the fourteenth, the lamb had to be slain at the beginning of the fourteenth, not at the end of the fourteenth. It would have been too late for the blood to be placed on the doors and the firstborn would have been dead!

These instructions were repeated.
Exodus 12:21-23 - "21 - And Moses called to all the elders of Israel and said to them, Go out and take of the flock for you and for your families. And kill the passover. 22 - And take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin. And apply some of the blood in the basin to the upper doorpost and to the two sideposts, and Yahweh will pass over the door. And He will not allow the destroyer to come into your house to strike you."
In our past history, we have solemnly observed what we called the Passover on the 14th. It consisted of the footwashing of John 13, followed by the symbols of bread and wine Yahshua instituted. Then on the next night, immediately after sunset beginning the 15th, we also met together. At that time we enjoyed a meal and celebrated what we understood to be the Night to be Much Observed.

Exodus 12:42 - "It is a night of celebration to Yahweh, for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This night is it, a celebration for all the sons of Israel to their generations."
Does our practice square with Scripture? Have we been observing it properly? Does this celebration refer to the 14th or the 15th? Let's look more closely at the context and see the events step by step.

Exodus 12:30-31 - "30 - And Pharaoh arose by night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not a dead one. 31 - And he called Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Arise, go out from the midst of my people, both you and the sons of Israel, and go serve Yahweh according to your word."
Who called Moses and Aaron? Pharaoh. When? At night. Did they go? No. Yahweh said they were not to go forth out of their houses until morning.

LEAVING EGYPT
Exodus 12:33 - "And the Egyptians pressed hard on the people, to hasten to send them away from the land. For they said, All of us are about to die."
When was the first instant the Egyptians would have pressed and been urgent upon the people? After daybreak. The Israelites were not out of their houses until then.

So when did they leave? On the fourteenth? On the fifteenth? By day or night?
Numbers 33:3 -"And they departed from Rameses in the first month on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the sons of Israel went out with a high hand, before the eyes of all the Egyptians."
But at what time of day did they leave?
Deuteronomy 16:1 -- "Observe the month of The Abib and keep the Passover to Yahweh your Elohim, for in the month of The Abib Yahweh your Elohim brought you out of Egypt by night."
The trigger that released the people was the Passover and the events surrounding it. Once that took place, as far as Yahweh was concerned, they were as good as out of there.

Could they have left, in any way, during the daylight part of the 14th? What did they do between sunrise and sunset on the 14th? It probably took quite a bit of time for them to spoil the Egyptians, to gather the things they would take, getting families and ranks together. With that size group, it would have taken time.
Exodus 12:37-38 - "37 - And the sons of Israel pulled up from Rameses to Succoth, the men being about six hundred thousand on foot, apart from the little ones. 38 - And also a mixed multitude went up with them, and flocks and herds, very many livestock."
That is 600,000 men. Suppose we double that to count the women. That's 1,200,000 people. Now if there were just one child per couple. That's 1,800,000. But the Israelites were quite prolific. That was one of the main things that worried the Egyptians. So, as many commentaries say, there could have easily been over 3,000,000 people involved here. Just consider the logistics that would be involved. They could not get a group that size moving in just minutes. Everyone would have to be contacted. Think about what an area they would cover. That number of people rivals the population of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The first ones could start out of there during the late daylight of the 14th, but it would be some time before the last ones in the ranks exited the same area.
Exodus 12:39 - "And they baked the dough which they brought out from Egypt into unleavened cakes. For it was not leavened, because they were driven out from Egypt, and they were not able to delay. And also they had not prepared for themselves food for a journey."
So when did they bake that dough? On the 14th? No, they were rushing around in preparations for leaving. On the 15th? No, they were busy marching. So it had to be some time after that, when they were able to stop and make camp and take a break.
Exodus 12:41-42 - "41 - And it happened, from the end of four hundred and thirty years, on this very day all the armies of Yahweh went out from the land of Egypt. 42 - It is a night of celebration to Yahweh, for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This night is it, to celebrate for all the sons of Israel to their generations."
Which night? The 14th or the 15th? What is the context of the chapter? The Passover. What follows this verse? It reiterates the ordinances of the Passover. If not for the events of the Passover, they would not have been released.

In verse 42, the word "celebrate" or "celebration", is the Hebrew #8107, shemurim. It means to observe, to celebrate, to watch, to guard, to keep a vigil. The root of the word, shamar, is the same one regarding the keeping or observing or guarding of Yahweh's commands. In the Septuagint, the word here is translated as an outpost or a guardpost.

On which night was Israel to watch? To keep a vigil? On the 15th? No, they were busy marching. But Passover was a night of vigilance. They had to be alert and make sure no one went out the door during the night the death angel was going through the land. It was important that no one, without thinking, went out to get fresh air or a child decided to go out and play or go see a friend.

DAYS OF UNLEAVENS

The 15th was important. It began another festival.
Exodus 12:15-16 - "15 - Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. Indeed, on the first day you shall cause leaven to cease from your houses. For anyone eating anything leavened, that soul shall be cut off from Israel, from the first day until the seventh day. 16 - And on the first day shall be a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation shall be to you. Not any work may be done on them, only what must be eaten by your soul, that alone may be done by you."
Leviticus 23:6-8 - "6 - And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast of unleavens (matzoth) to Yahweh, seven days you shall eat unleavened things (matzoth). 7 - On the first day you shall have a set-apart gathering; you shall do no work of service. 8 - And you shall bring near a fire offering to Yahweh seven days; and the seventh day shall be a set-apart gathering; you shall do no work of service."
DEUTERONOMY 16

The first few verses of this chapter totally confuse the issue of Passover and the Days of Unleavens. Let's look at it verse by verse.
Deuteronomy 16:1 - "Observe the month of The Abib, and keep Passover to Yahweh your Elohim. For in the month of The Abib Yahweh your Elohim brought you out of Egypt by night."
The word here for "keep" is the Hebrew #6213, asah, meaning to do or to make.

Deuteronomy 16:2 - "And you shall sacrifice a Passover to Yahweh your Elohim of the flock, and of the herd, in the place which He shall choose to cause His name to be there."
Wait a minute! What? Of the herd? In the place He shall choose? How can that be? There is no ordinance for an animal of the herd (a calf or a bull) to be slain for Passover. In various Scriptures and throughout history, the word Passover has been used to define the slaughtering of the lamb, but also to refer to the entire season. Using the word can refer to that evening alone, or to that evening plus the seven days of unleavens. It is, as all one unit, called Passover. But there are two bullocks offered on the first high day of the Days of Unleavens, the 15th and on the last day, the 21st.

Numbers 28:16 simply mentions the Passover of Yahweh. The next few verses, 17-31, describe the sacrifices and offerings for the days of unleavens. Those do include herd animals - bullocks - as well as flock animals - kids and lambs.
Deuteronomy 16:3 - "You shall eat no leavened bread with it. You shall eat unleavened bread with it seven days, even the bread of affliction. For you came out of the land of Egypt in haste, so that you may remember the day that you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life."
Eat unleavened bread with it seven days? Did they eat of the Passover lamb for seven days? Of course not. So it has to be referring to more than one evening. It is referring to the season of the Days of Unleavens.
Deuteronomy 16:4 - "And there shall be no leaven seen with you in your borders seven days,; nor shall any of the flesh you sacrificed the first day at evening remain all night until morning."
The first day at evening? Is it referring to the Passover lamb? Exodus 12:10 says that none of it should remain till morning. So this verse is including that event as part of a longer period of time known as Passover. If it is referring to an offering on the first day of the Days of Unleavens, many of those offerings and sacrifices were not to be left overnight either.
Deuteronomy 16:5-6 - "5 - You may not sacrifice the Passover offering inside any of your gates, which Yahweh your Elohim gives you. 6 - But at the place which He shall choose to cause His name to dwell there, you shall sacrifice the Passover offering at evening, at the going of the sun at the time when you came out of Egypt."
Where was the unblemished Passover lamb referred to as an offering? But the animals for the following days were - Numbers 28:16-25. Yahweh had said He would have a location where He would place His name for the High Days He instituted. But the Passover was not a High Day. It was done in the home.
Deuteronomy 16:7 - "And you shall cook and eat in the place which Yahweh your Elohim shall choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go into your tents."
It is referring to the first day of unleavens - a high day; one of the pilgrimage festivals (see verse 16). Here it specifies the Feast of Unleavens, not Passover.

The word "cook" in verse 7 is #1310, bashal, a root word meaning to boil up; to be done in cooking.

Now go back to Exodus 12:9. It says specifically that the Passover lamb was NOT to be boiled - the same word, #1310. According to Exodus 12:8, the Passover lamb was to be roasted with fire. "Roasted" is #6748, tsaliy. Two totally different words.

So verse 7 here cannot be referring to the Passover lamb! It is referring to the other offerings and/or sacrifices that were sometimes boiled.
Deuteronomy 16:8 - "You shall eat unleavened bread six days, and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to Yahweh your Elohim. You shall do no work."
Why six days? Shouldn't it be seven? No, because they had just finished the first high day in verse 7 and had six days still remaining.

We have to be careful what we are reading and to which day the Scriptures are referring.

NEW TESTAMENT

When Yahshua Messiah walked on this earth as a human, He also observed all these commands.
Luke 2:41-42 - "41 - Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. 42 - And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast."
He continued this throughout His life and He observed Passover on the last night of His human life. There have been endless arguments about whether or not He did it on the correct night. Did He do it on the 14th or the 15th? Did He actually eat of that Passover?

Yahshua instructed His disciples ahead of time to prepare the Passover. He mentioned no changes or alterations in the observance. If He had done this on any other day that what the law stipulated, don't you think the disciples would have questioned Him? Wouldn't they have demanded an explanation?

Also, we know that Yahshua was without sin. He was totally obedient to the law. That would not be a correct statement if He had kept the Passover a night earlier. If He had, He would have sinned and broken the law.
Mark 14:12 “And on the first day of the unleavened, when they killed the passover, His disciples said to Him, Where do you desire that going we may prepare that You may eat the passover?”

Luke 22:7-87 – And the day of the unleavened came, on which the Passover must be killed. 8 – And He sent Peter and John, saying, Going, prepare for us the Passover that we may eat.
Note, He sent His disciples to prepare the Passover on the same day – at the same time as everyone else! It was done at the proper time, not early!

The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, Book II, page 482
“Equally untenable is it, that Christ had held the Paschal Supper a day in advance of that observed by the rest of the Jewish world – a supposition not only inconsistent with the plain language of the Synoptists, but impossible, since the Passover Lamb could not have been offered in the Temple, and, therefore, no Passover Supper held, out of the regular time.”
Also, wouldn't the disciples have objected if He had asked them to do it any other time? If the Passover lambs were all to be slain at the temple, by the priests, how did they get one? Or did they kill it themselves, according to the ordinances?

Apparently Peter and John were the only two who knew where the meal would be held.

Mark 14:18 “And in the evening He came with the twelve.”
The Life and Time of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim, Book V, page 482
“Evidently, neither the house where the Passover was to be kept, nor its owner, was to be named beforehand within hearing of Judas. That last Meal with its Institution of the Holy Supper, was not to be interrupted, nor their last retreat betrayed, till all had been said and done, even to the last prayer of Agony in Gethsemane.”
There are individuals who claim that He did not eat the Passover, but just a simple meal.

But notice in Mark 14:12 above: “…we may prepare that You may eat the Passover.: Also in Luke 22:8 above He said “…prepare for us the Passover that we may eat.”
Luke 22:8 - "And He sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat."
Notice this says "we", not "you." He was planning to join in and participate in this meal.

Some commentaries say that Yahshua expressed a desire to eat, but it was simply a wish and He did not eat. The following verse contains what is known in Hebrew as an infinitive of emphasis. It also applies in the Greek.
Luke 22:15 - "And He said unto them, With desire have I desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer."
By doubling the word desire, He is saying “I have really desired” or “I have surely desired.”

The disciples prepared the Passover, according to all its ordinances, and they gathered at the correct time. They ate the meal together.

Mark 14:18 - "And as they sat and did eat, Yahshua said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eats with me shall betray me."
The key words here are "with me". He was eating as well.
John 13:1-5 - "1 - And before the feast of the Passover, Yahshua knowing that His hour had come that He should move from this world to the Father; loving His own in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 - And supper having occurred, the Devil having already put into the heart of Simon's son Judas Iscariot that he should betray Him. 3 - Yahshua knowing that His Father has given all things into His hands, and that He came out from Yahweh, and goes away to Yahweh. 4 - He rose up from the supper, and laid aside His garments. And taking a towel, He girded Himself. 5 - Then He put water into the basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, to wipe off with the towel with which He was girded."
NEW SYMBOLS

Yahshua and the disciples ate the meal and had finished. Then Yahshua rose to do this before He gave to them the new symbols that He added to the meal.

Luke 22:14-20 - "14 - And when the hour came, He reclined, and the twelve apostles with Him. 15 - And He said to them, with desire I desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering. 16 - For I say to you that never in any way I will eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of Yahweh. 17 - And taking a cup, giving thanks, He said, Take this and divide it among yourselves. 18 - For I say to you that in no way will I drink from the produce of the vine until the kingdom of Yahweh has come. 19 - And taking a loaf, giving thanks, He broke, and gave to them, saying, This is My body being given for you. Do this for My remembrance. 20 - In the same way, the cup also, after having supped, saying, This cup is the New Covenant in my blood, which is being poured out for you."
So what took place after the meal and the sharing of the new symbols? They went out! After that first Passover, when the death angel passed over, there was no danger about doing out doors. If there had been, Yahshua and the disciples would not have gone out!

WATCH
Matthew 26:36-38 "36 - Then Yahshua came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to the disciples, Sit here until going away I shall pray there. 37 - And taking along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to grieve and to be deeply troubled. 38 - Then He said to them, My soul is deeply grieved, even unto death. Stay here and watch with me."
What? Did you catch that? "Watch." Watch what? They didn't question Him about it. Apparently they knew what He meant. They were familiar with this night of vigil and watch.

The Jews have a tradition that is passed down that the Passover is a night of watching and vigil-keeping. In many cases, they stay up all night doing so.
Matthew 26:40-41 - "40 - And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And He said to Peter, So! Were you not able to watch with Me one hour? 41 - Watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Twice more here, He told them to watch. But watch for what?

In the few days just before these words, He had talked to His disciples in Jerusalem in the discussion of Matthew 24. They asked Him what would be the sign of the end of the age and of His coming. So He gave them numerous things to watch. We won't print every verse here, but take the time to read through that chapter and just notice what He is pointing out.
In Matthew 24:15 and 33, He said, "15 - Then when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place - the one reading, let him understand..... 33 - So also you when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors."
He mentions something you should see. Keep in mind, if you are not watching, you will not see. It will sneak up on you and you will not be prepared.

Toward the end of the chapter, notice verse 46. It says,"Blessed is that servant whom his lord shall find so doing when he comes."

Doing what? Watching! That has been what the whole chapter has been about - to watch.

Mark and John also report these warnings.
Mark 13:33-37 - "33 - Be careful; be wakeful, and pray. For you do not know when the time is. 34 - As a man going away, leaving his house, and giving his slaves authority, and to each his work - and he commanded the doorkeeper, that he watch. 35 - then you watch, for you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, at evening, or at midnight, or at cock-crowing, or early; 36 - so that he may not come suddenly and find you sleeping. 37 And what I say you, I say to all. Watch!"
Where in our past observances of Yahweh's high days do we watch? Or keep a vigil?

In I Corinthians 11, Paul is admonishing the people for their attitude regarding the meal they were having before they partook of the symbols. If you notice, nowhere did he tell them not to do the meal, or not to watch, but just to be careful in the manner and attitude in which they did it.

If a vigil was a part of the original Passover service, and Yahshua and His disciples did that, what about us? Should we consider that? What if we take the celebrations that we have been doing on the next night and move them to the 14th? Put the footwashing and the symbols of the bread and wine after the meal. Keep a vigil for at least a while. Yes, it will make for a longer evening. But is it for our convenience or to do what Yahweh wants? What is important here?

WHEN DID YAHSHUA DIE?

There are people who keep the Passover at different times. Some keep it on the evening beginning the 15th because they insist that the symbols He instituted could not be used until after He had died. Or that He had to die at the same time as the Passover lambs, so they do it on the afternoon of the 14th.

The original ordinances for the daily morning and evening offerings placed the evening offering at bane ha-arbayim, about sunset. But Edersheim says that during the time of Yahshua, the daily evening sacrifice was moved to as early as 12:30 pm. For their convenience. Yahshua did not have to die at that time, because they were not doing it according to Scripture.
Matthew 27:45-46, 5045 – And from the sixth hour (noon, our modern time) there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour (three pm our time). 46 – And about the ninth hour Yahshua cried out… 50 – and crying again with a loud voice, Yahshua released His Spirit.”
Since Yahshua died about 3 pm, some feel they should observe the Passover at that time. They also believe that He died at the very same time that the Passover lambs were being killed at the temple.

For a long time we accepted the argument that the Jews were keeping the Passover at the end of the 14th, a night later than Yahshua; that the lambs were being slaughtered as He died. And that was based on one Scripture.
John 18:28 “Then they led Yahshua from Caiaphas into the praetorium, and it was early. And they did not enter into the praetorium, that they might not be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.”
Now who were the ones who were responsible for supervising and assisting in the killing of the lambs at the temple? The chief priests, right? Let’s see just where they were during all this time.
  • Matthew 26:3; Mark 14:1; Luke 22:2; John 11:47-53 – the chief priests were the ones who sought the death of Yahshua.
  • Matthew 26:14-15; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:3-6 – the chief priests accepted a plan from and paid money to Judas.
  • Matthew 27:47; Mark 14:43; Luke 22:47, 52 – the chief priests were among those who came to the Garden of Gethsemane with Judas and soldiers.
  • Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:54, 63-65 – they were at the high priest’s house, buffeting, spitting upon and hitting Yahshua.
  • Matthew 27:1; Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66 – the chief priests took Yahshua to council.
  • Matthew 27:2; Mark 15:1; Luke 23:1 – the chief priests took Yahshua to Pilate.
  • Matthew 27:12; Mark 15:3; Luke 23:4 – the chief priests made accusations against Yahshua to Pilate.
  • Luke 23:10 – the chief priests accused Yahshua before Herod.
  • Luke 23:13 – the chief priests were called for by Pilate.
  • Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10 – Pilate realized the chief priests were delivering up Yahshua because of envy.
  • Matthew 27:20; Mark 15:11 – the chief priests persuaded the multitude to seek to have Barabbas released.
  • Luke 23:23; John 19:6 – the chief priests cried out for Yahshua’s crucifixion.
  • John 19:15 – the chief priests told Pilate they had no king but Caesar.
  • Matthew 27:41-43; Mark 15:31-32 – the chief priests mocked Yahshua on the stake.
If the Passover lambs were to be killed that afternoon, why were those chief priests not at the temple carrying out their duties and making preparations? Could it be that they had kept the Passover already, according to the law? Could there be something else they needed to be clean for?

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, Matthew Henry, volume 5, page 955
“The chief priests and elders, though they came along with the prisoner, that the thing might be done effectually, went not into the judgment-hall, because it was the house of an uncircumcised Gentile, lest they should be defiled, but kept out of doors, that they might eat the Passover, not the paschal lamb (that was eaten the night before) but the Passover-feast, upon the sacrifices which were offered on the fifteenth day, the Chagigah, as they called it, the Passover-bullocks spoken of in Deut. 16:2; 2 Chron. 30:24; 35:8, 9. These they were to eat of, and therefore would not go into the court, for fear of touching a Gentile, and thereby contracting, not a legal, but only a traditional pollution.”

The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim –
Book II, page 487 – “…time for the ordinary Evening-Service and Sacrifice. Ordinarily this began about 2:30 P.M. – the daily Evening-Sacrifice being actually offered up about an hour later; but on this occasion, on account of the Feast, the Service was an hour earlier. … The Priest’s Court was filled with white-robed Priests and Levites – for on that day all the twenty-four courses were on duty, and all their services would be called for, although only in the Course for that week would that afternoon engage in the ordinary service, which preceded that of the Feast.”
Book V, page 567-568 -- “The point is of importance, because many writers have interpreted the expression ‘the Passover’ as referring to the Paschal Supper, and have argued that, according to the Fourth Gospel, our Lord did not on the previous evening partake of the Paschal Lamb, or else that in this respect the act of the Fourth Gospel does not accord with that of the Synoptists. But as, for the reason just stated, it is impossible to refer the expression ‘Passover’ to the Paschal Supper, we have only to inquire whether the term is not also applied to other offerings. And here both the Old Testament and the Jewish writings show, that the term Pesach, or ‘Passover,’ was applied not only to the Paschal Lamb, but to all the Passover sacrifices, especially to what was called the Chagigah, or festive offering (from Chag, or Chagag, to bring the festive sacrifice usual at each of the three Great Feasts).’ According to the express rule (Chag. I.3) the Chagigah was brought on the first festive Paschal Day. It was offered immediately after the morning-service, and eaten on that day – probably some time before the evening, when, as we shall by-and-by see, another ceremony claimed public attention. We can therefore quite understand that, not on the eve of the Passover, but on the first Paschal day, the Sanhedrists would avoid incurring a defilement which, lasting till the evening, would not only have involved them in the inconvenience of Levitical defilement on the first festive day, but have actually prevented their offering on that day the Passover, festive sacrifice, or Chagigah. … There would have been no reason to fear ‘defilement’ on the morning of the Paschal Sacrifice; but entrance into the Praetorium on the morning of the first Passover-day would have rendered it impossible for them to offer the Chagigah, which is also designated by the term Pesach.”
Exposition of the Entire Bible, John Gill –
“…that they might eat the passover; pure and undefiled; not the passover lamb, for that they had eaten the night before; but the "Chagigah", or feast on the fifteenth day of the month.----it is reasonable to conclude, that it was to be kept, and was kept at the time the sacrificial passover was, in the room of which it was substituted, as it is by the Jews to this day; so that this will by no means clear the matter, nor solve the difficulty; besides it is very manifest, that the passover our Lord kept was sacrificial; and such an one the disciples proposed to get ready for him, and did, of which he and they are said to eat: "and the first day of unleavened bread, when they KILLED the passover, his disciples said to him, where wilt thou that we go and prepare, that thou mayest EAT the passover?" Mark 14:12 and again, "then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover MUST be KILLED", Luke 22:7. "They made ready the passover", Luke 22:13 "and he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him", Luke 22:14 "and he said unto them, with desire I have desired to eat this passover", Luke 22:15.
The term Passover has been expanded. It applies to more than one thing: 1) the 14th of the first month, 2) the animal sacrifice, and 3) the first of three annual commanded assemblies. Basically from the choosing of the lamb on the tenth, followed by the Passover sacrifice, and including the seven days of the Days of Unleavens – all are inclusive in the term Passover.

NIGHT TO BE MUCH REMEMBERED

There are groups who meet for the bread, wine and foot washing at the beginning of the 14th and then meet for a special meal at the beginning of the 15th. They call it the night to be remembered or the night to be observed. There are two Scriptures used to support this, so let’s look at them.
Exodus 13:14 And the day shall be a memorial for you. And you shall celebrate it as a feast to Yahweh, for your generations. You shall celebrate it as a law forever.
What is this talking about? Can this be the 15th? He just finished describing the Passover on the 14th and has not gone beyond that. Passover has to be the memorial.
Exodus 12:41-42 41-And it happened, from the end of four hundred and thirty years, on this very day all the armies of Yahweh went out from the land of Egypt. 42-It is a night of celebration to Yahweh, for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This night is it, a celebration for all the sons of Israel to their generations.
It is claimed that this is the 15th because that is when they left Egypt. So the observance is on the 15th in memory of that.

But is that what was intended here? When did they actually leave Egypt? In those days, Egypt controlled the Sinai Peninsula, extending to the Red Sea. At the time they left their homes and started walking, they did not leave Egypt. To leave Egypt, they would have to go all the way across that peninsula. It would have been physically impossible for them to do that in one day! So they did not leave Egypt on the 15th.
Numbers 33:3 And they pulled up stakes from Rameses in the first month on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the next day after the Passover the sons of Israel went out with a high hand; before the eyes of all the Egyptians.
It says they pulled up stakes – it does not say they left Egypt on the 15th! It was a few days later!

If, instead, that night to be observed was the Passover, there were events on that night (the 14th) that were to be a yearly event. After the death of the firstborn on the 14th, Pharaoh sent a message telling Moses for them to leave. It was the death of the firstborn – at night – on the 14th – that released Israel. At those events, they were free. That night – the 14th – was when Yahweh began to bring them out.

One additional point: if it is so important to observe the beginning of the 15th, why is that not found elsewhere in Scripture? Why is it not listed in Leviticus 23? In the 23rd chapter, Yahweh lists all His feast days. Passover, on the 14th, is mentioned, but no temple sacrifices are mentioned. The 15th is listed as the first day of Unleavens. It is specified to have a holy convocation, with no work to be done. In Numbers 28:17-25 there are these same instructions plus a listing of the sacrifices to be done. There is no mention of a night to be remembered on the 15th. Did Yahweh forget it in Leviticus 23? Or maybe it is not the night of the 15th that is to be observed, but simply the only night observance He does command – the Passover on the 14th.

PASSOVER IN THE SECOND MONTH?

In Numbers 9, Yahweh made provision for some to do the Passover in the second month. Today, many assemblies also make provisions for people to take the symbols Yahshua instituted also in the second month. Why? Yahshua gave no such statement regarding what He set in place. Do the original rules apply in this case? Just what did Yahweh say?
Numbers 9:9-13 9-And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 10-Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, If any man of you or your generations shall be unclean by reason of a body, or be in a distant journey, yet he shall keep the Passover to Yahweh. 11-In the second month, on the fourteenth day at dusk, they shall keep it, they shall eat it with unleavened (bread) and bitter herbs; 12-they shall leave none of it until morning, nor break a bone of it. According to all the statutes of the Passover, they shall keep it. 13-But the man that is clean, and is not on a journey, and has failed to prepare the Passover, even that person shall be cut off from his people; because he did not bring the offering of Yahweh in its appointed season – that man shall bear his sin.
This involved the setting aside, the killing, the roasting and eating of a lamb. It was to be done according to the ordinances given for the Passover originally. That is not what we do today; we don’t slaughter an animal.

The ones eligible to take the Passover in the second month fell into two categories: 1-unclean by reason of a dead body or 2-in a distant journey. That was it. No others were included. It didn’t even mention any other kinds of uncleanness.

Those unclean due to a dead body had certain rituals to go through. Ashes of a red heifer, which had been sacrificed by the high priest, were to be mixed with water and sprinkled upon the unclean one on the third day and the seventh day, after which he was to bathe and wash his clothes (Numbers 19) and then he would be clean at sunset.

Today we do not have the red ashes. But would it continue to be necessary?
Hebrews 9:13-14 13-For if the blood of bulls and goat, and ashes of a heifer sprinkling those having been defiled, sanctifies to the purity of the flesh, 14-by how much more the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal spirit offered Himself without spot to Yahweh, and will purify your conscience from dead works for the serving of the living Elohim!
Yahshua’s blood took care of all animal sacrifices. He covers our uncleanness.

Those who had been on a distant journey waited until they returned home to do the Passover in the second month. They had to have a lamb to kill, roast and eat – probably with others there who also were eligible to keep the Passover in the second month.

Today we do not kill a lamb – we simply have a meal in memory of that original Passover and follow it with the symbols Yahshua instituted. Even on a far journey, a person can do these things. With planning ahead of time, in a quiet and private place, they can eat a meal, wash one another’s feet (or their own if no other believers are with them) and then partake of unleavened bread and wine that they have prepared or purchased. There is no need to wait until the second month. There are many scattered brethren who have no one with whom they can meet, no one to share this with them. They have to do it alone, so there is no reason a person away from home cannot do it wherever they may be – with just a little planning ahead of time.

The most-often excuse heard now is “I forgot”. Yahweh made no provisions for that. The only thing left for that person was that he would be cut off from his people.

CONNECTION TO PENTECOST

Though Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) is another festival, it is tied to the Passover/Unleavens season, where its countdown begins on the day of the wave sheaf offering. The description is as follows:
Leviticus 23:9-11,14 9-And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 10-Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them, When you come into the land which I am giving to you, and have reaped its harvest, and have brought in the sheaf, the beginning of your harvest, to the priest, 11-then he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh for your acceptance, on the morrow of the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 14-And you shall not eat bread and roasted grain and fresh ears until this self-same day, until you have brought the offering of your Elohim, it is a never-ending statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Deuteronomy 16:9-10,16-17 9-You shall number to yourselves seven weeks. When the sickle begins to reap in the standing grain, you shall begin to number seven weeks. 10-And you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to Yahweh your Elohim according to the measure of the free-will offering of your hand, which you shall give according as Yahweh your Elohim blesses you. 16-Three times in a year shall all your males appear before Yahweh your Elohim in the place which He shall choose: In the Feast of Unleavens, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles. And they shall not appear before Yahweh empty, 17-but each with his gift in his hand, according to the blessing of Yahweh your Elohim, which He has given you.
Yahweh has three distinct festival seasons. These festivals are all in celebration of the harvests: the barley harvest for Unleavens; the wheat for the Feast of Weeks, and the fruits (grapes, figs, olives) and nuts for Tabernacles. The people were to bring offerings for those festivals. They were not to appear empty – they were to bring the first fruits of each product.

The offering, called the wave sheaf offering, of the barley was to be offered “on the morrow of the sabbath”. There have been two ways of looking at this. Is it to be the Sunday after the weekly Sabbath or the annual Sabbath (the first day of Unleavens) that starts the count? The phrase “the sabbath”, or “ha-shabbat” in Hebrew always appears in the context of the weekly Sabbath, not for any of the annual Sabbaths. It is stressed as the Sabbath.

The next argument presented has been whether or not that Sabbath must appear in the Days of Unleavens. The importance in Scripture seems to be on “the morrow of the sabbath”, the first day of the week and not the Sabbath itself.

This discussion arose when Passover came on the weekly Sabbath and the first Day of Unleavens was on Sunday. Did the count start on that first day, the morrow of the Sabbath? Or should it be postponed to follow the only Sabbath that appeared within the Days of Unleavens, the last day of the festival? Some ay it must be following the last day, thus putting the wave sheaf outside the week of Unleavens.

In the years when the days fall that way, the Congregation of YHWH of Irving starts the count on the first Day of Unleavens on the first day of the week. Besides being an annual Sabbath, the wave sheaf would also be that day. If this is to be a harvest festival, why would the wave sheaf offering be postponed until that festival would be over? Yahweh told them not to come empty to that festival, but with their gift in their hand.

Starting with the morrow of the Sabbath (the morrow falling within the festival) as day #1, count 7 weeks (or weekly Sabbaths). The fiftieth day will also fall on the first day of the week – the morrow of the Sabbath. That would be the Feast of Weeks.

(For more detailed information on this counting, please see our article “Pentecost – Feast of Weeks”)

CONCLUSION

So what have we found? Yahshua and His disciples ate a Passover meal – as the law says – at the beginning of the 14th. Following that, He washed the disciples’ feet and then instituted the symbols of the bread and wine. At the same time, the chief priests and other Jews were also observing Passover – according to the law. The chief priests then took Yahshua and delivered Him to die as they had planned (Matthew 27:3-4; Mark 14:1 and Luke 22:2). But they were careful not to be defiled so they could eat of the sacrifices the next day.

Today, we follow the example set down by Yahshua and the twelve. At twilight, beginning the 14th, we gather for a memorial meal – a meal in memory of the first Passover. Afterwards, we wash one another’s feet, share the unleavened bread and wine, read what Yahshua said to His disciples that night, and sing a hymn, before retiring to our homes.


reprinted with permission:

 
Permission is granted to reprint booklet under
the following conditions:
1 – copies cannot contain Alterations to content
2 – all copies  to be distribute free of  charge
3 – the following copyright and attribution to be included with all copies:
Copyright ©2010
Congregation of YHWH, Irving, TX.
224 North Story Road  Suite #138
Irving, Texas 75061
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 170309
Dallas, Texas 75217-0309
Telephone: 1-800-867-0150