Celebrate 

                   The

                Christian

           “Passover” 

          The Lords Supper 

   Ministry: “Foresight Through Knowledge” 

     Web Site: http://www.geocities.com/iscribe777/index.html 

                                  
                                Scribe: George B. Condry 

March 28, 2002                                                                                                      page# 1  

                                               Bible Study 21st Century 

Teacher: The Holy Spirit of God (John 14:26) and (John 16:13) 

Topic: The Christian “Passover” (1Cor. 5:7) 

                                                  How Time Was Changed 

       In the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel is an amazing prophecy picturing for twenty-five hundred years into the future, from the day it was written, the course of the Gentile kingdoms. 
       Starting with the ancient Chaldean Empire of Nebuchadnezzar, this prophecy foretells the successive world rule of the Persian Empire, Alexander’s Greco-Macedonian kingdom with its four divisions, and finally, of the mighty Roman Empire. Out of the original Roman Empire, symbolized by ten “horns” growing out of the head of a “beast,” are pictured the ten resurrections of the Roman Empire that have continued since its fall to the present, and are scheduled to continue until the second coming of Christ. 
       Among these ten kingdoms which have ruled in the Western world since the fall of Rome to the present, appeared another “little horn,” whose “look was more stout than his fellows.” In other words, another government, actually smaller, yet dominating over all the others. Students of prophecy recognize this “little horn” as a great religious hierarchy. And in the 25th verse of this prophecy, it is stated that this hierarchy shall “think to change times and laws.” In every possible manner, this power has changed TIME! 
       God begins the days at sunset, but “the little horn” has changed it so the world now begins the day in the middle of the night by a man-made watch. 
       God begins the week with the ending of the true Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, but the world begins the working week in the middle of the night, the second day of the week. I also want to emphasize that the number seven is God’s number symbolizing completeness. “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Gen. 2:2, 3). The seventh day Sabbath existed before the law of Moses. It was made holy unto the Lord before the Mosaic law was given. 
       God begins the months with the new moons, but this “little horn” has induced the world to begin the months according to a clumsy man-made calendar of Roman origin. 
       God begins the year in the northern hemisphere in the early spring, when new life is budding in nature everywhere, but ancient heathen Rome caused the world to begin the year in the middle of dead winter. 

March 28, 2002                                                                                                      page# 2  
                                      
       God gave His children a true rest day, designed to keep them continually in the knowledge and true worship of the true God-a memorial of God’s Creation-the seventh day of the week. But ancient Rome has fastened upon a deluded world the observance of the day on which the pagans worshipped the Sun, the first day of the week, called SUNday. 
       Ancient Rome’s annual holidays have also been chained upon a blinded and deceived world. These include certain annual holidays-Christmas, New Year’s, Easter, as well as many more, every one a pagan day-every one used to promote and stimulate the sale of merchandise in the commercial markets. 
       What is most ironic is that none of the Holidays created by God have every been commercialized, only the religious holidays created by man. This revelation should raise a red flag. The world is blinded to the deception of Satan. Satan is truly transformed into an angel of light. 
       The Seven Holidays of God; Passover (Pesach), Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot), Firstfruits (HaBikkurim), Pentecost (Shavuot), The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), are more than mere Jewish tradition if those who call themselves messianic believers are right. Those who believe that the Messiah has already made an appearance believe He fulfilled the spiritual meaning of the first four feasts, leaving the three final feasts for fulfillment in the last days. 
       The biblical holidays of God are also a pattern of shadows fulfilled in a Messiah who has already come in the first phase of a two-part plan to save His people and rule the world. 
       The feast of God in (Lev. 23) are “appointed times” or “appointed feasts.” These appointed times of the Lord are important because, the Provider of Israel designed these “time-outs” and appointed times for rest, reflection, and worship. They are sacred convocations that call the people of God together. Though these appointed times form a system of remembrance, it’s important for us to understand that this cycle of holidays is not just about Jewish culture. This series of “Holidays of God” has significance reaching far beyond the nation and culture of Israel. 
       The seventh day Sabbath, The Passover, and The seven days of Unleavened Bread were established before any of the ceremonies of the later law of Moses! The Feast of Unleavened Bread, as well as the Passover, was ordained and established forever, in the twelfth chapter of Exodus, prior to the Old Covenant. They are carried over in the New Testament, and therefore are binding today. What the law of Moses, or the Old Covenant, did not bring or institute, cannot be taken away, or abolished without God’s authority and approval! God will not tolerate disobedience, and the Church is now paying the price for disobedience. The results of the power of Satan’s deception is evident in the number of religious denominations in the world today. 

March 28, 2002                                                                                                      page# 3  
                                       
       The Hebrew word pesah (from pasah), figuratively means to “leap over,” but literally implies, to “spare, and show mercy.” Paul states the significance of the Passover to us (the body of Christ, the Church) when he said, “Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” The bread and the cup are held a memorial (memory) to the death of Christ. Paul is also encouraging us to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread when he said, “Therefore let us keep the feast.” (1Cor. 5:7, 8). 
       The first Passover was in Egypt and was the most significant and final plague visited upon Egypt. (Ex. 12:3-27). It was this first Passover that secured the Hebrews freedom from Egyptian bondage and initiated the birth of a nation. This day was to be to this new nation a memorial; and kept as a feast to the LORD throughout every generation; an ordinance for ever. (Ex. 12:14). 
       The Passover was instituted in memory (memorial) of Israel’s preservation from the last plague visited upon Egypt. A consecration was imparted by the Passover, as a festival which was to lay the foundation of Israel’s birth into the new life of grace and fellowship with God and to perpetuate it in time to come. 
       The lambs or kids used in the festival feast were killed on the 14th of Nisan (Abib). The month Nisan (Abib) was the first month of the Hebrew calendar. This month corresponds to around the middle of March to around the middle of April of the Roman calendar, which we use today. The slaughter of the Passover lamb was to occur “at twilight,” or in the evening. The first century Pharisees and rabbis understood this to be the time from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Twilight was considered to be the time when the sun begins to descend to its real setting from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Hebrew original has, “between the evening” as the time that the Passover lamb was to be killed. The phrase, “between the evening” refers to the period of the day that goes from noon to 6:00 p.m., which is exactly 3:00 p.m. This would be the ninth hour of the day, counting from 
6:00 a.m.
       The 14th of Nisan (Abib) is called the Lord’s Passover. (Lev. 23:5). The lamb was slaughtered near the close of Nisan 14. Nisan 14 (the Passover) was the day of preparation, commonly called “the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.” 
(Mark 14:12). The preparation day was the day on which the Jews made the necessary preparation to celebrate a Sabbath. The day after the Passover, Nisan 15, is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. (Ex. 12:15-18; Lev. 23:6-8). 
       The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread shall be a holy convocation, as the seventh day Sabbath is also a holy convocation. (Ex. 12:16; Lev. 23:7; 23:3, 4). Nisan 15, the day after the Passover, is to be observed as a Sabbath; a day of holy convocation. 
       The Passover meal was eaten at the beginning of Nisan 15, between sunset and midnight. This was followed immediately by the festival of Unleavened Bread celebrated from Nisan 15-21 inclusive, to commemorate the Jews’ exodus from Egypt. The Passover was also called the “preparation day’ because it was the day before, the first day 

March 28, 2002                                                                                                      page# 4  
                                      
of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Sabbath; a day of holy convocation. The Sabbath day after the Passover was not the same as the seventh day Sabbath. Food could be prepared on the Sabbath after the Passover, but not on the seventh day Sabbath. 
       In the New Testament the Sabbath after the Passover has been confused with the seventh day Sabbath. What many Christians are not taught is that there were two Sabbaths the week that Jesus Christ was crucified. The Sabbath that Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus were rushing to get the body of Christ in the tomb while it was approaching was a special Sabbath. “It was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) (John 19:31). No Where In The Scriptures Is The Seventh Day Sabbath Ever Referred To As A High Day! If the Sabbath that was approaching, when they were rushing to get Jesus’ body into the heart of the earth, was the seventh day weekly Sabbath, then the Holy Spirit would have never inspired the writer of the book of John to call that Sabbath, “an high day.” 
       There were two Sabbaths the week that Jesus was crucified. The Sabbath the next day after the crucifixion of Christ, which was a special annual Sabbath, and the weekly ordinary seventh day Sabbath which ended exactly three days after the burial of Jesus Christ. Reading (Mark 16:1 and Luke 23:56) will highlight the two Sabbaths. 
       Mark 16:1 reads, “when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had ‘bought’ sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.” 
       Luke 23:56 reads, “And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments’ and ‘rested’ the sabbath day according to the commandment.” It won’t get much clearer than that. I put extreme emphasis in proving there were two Sabbaths because these same two Sabbaths will be used to prove the crucifixion day and the resurrection day of my Lord and my Savior, Jesus Christ. 
       Jesus Christ as child and as a adult observed the Passover and seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread. (Luke 2:41-43; Matt. 26:18; Mark 14:14, 15; Luke 22:11, 12). 
       Jesus told the “evil and adulterous generation” that “seeketh after a sign” that His Messiahship would be proven, for “so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt. 12:39, 40). We know these were literal 24 hour days because Jesus asked a simple question, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” (John 11:9). When Jesus made this statement in the form of a question it was about a week before the Passover. This means that if it was not the very day, then it was very close to the Vernal Equinox, which is the first day of Spring. On the first day of Spring there is exactly twelve hours of daylight, and exactly twelve hours of darkness. This effect only occurs twice in a year. During the Vernal Equinox, which is the first day of Spring, and during the Autumnal Equinox, which is the first day of Fall there is always exactly twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness. This proves (John 11:9). 

March 28, 2002                                                                                                      page# 5 
                                      
       A sign is a supernatural proof of identity. Jesus says in (Matt. 12:39, 40) the supernatural proof of His identity, that He is the Messiah, will be the sign that His body will be three days and three nights in the grave, the tomb, the heart of the earth. These are the words of Christ, so three days and three nights means three days and three nights! Problem, it is mathematically impossible to get three days and three nights from a Friday crucifixion to a Sunday resurrection. Even using some form of new math it can’t be done! What are you going to put your trust in, ‘church tradition’, or Scripture? Scripture should always supersede any ‘church tradition’. 
       In order for there to be two Sabbaths during the week of the crucifixion with one starting the next day and the other ending exactly three days from the time Christ was placed in the tomb. Jesus had to be crucified on Wednesday and placed in the tomb near the end of the day Wednesday at evening, Nisan 14. The next day at evening Nisan 15, Thursday, was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was a high day Sabbath. Two days later Nisan 16, Friday, was the day that Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, “bought sweet spices,” to anoint the body of Jesus. (Mark 16:1). The same day, two days after the crucifixion Nisan 16, “they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.” The day after they “bought sweet spices,” and “returned, and prepared spices and ointments,” was the weekly seventh day Sabbath, Nisan 17 when they “rested the sabbath day according to the commandment. (Luke 23:56). 
       To really simplify this picture we must remember that the Jewish day began and ended at evening; Thursday evening Nisan 15 is the first night, Thursday day Nisan 15 is the first day, Friday evening Nisan 16 is the second night, Friday day Nisan 16 is the second day, and Saturday evening Nisan 17 is the third night, and Saturday day Nisan 17 is the third day. Simple, there you have it, exactly three days and three nights just as Christ said. For the words of Christ to be accurate, The resurrection of Jesus had to occur just before the end of the seventh day Sabbath, exactly three days from when His body was placed in the tomb, the same hour of the day exactly three days later just like He said. 
       The resurrection of Jesus Christ, according to the Scriptures, did not occur the first day of the week, but at the close of the seventh day Sabbath. That really makes sense, He rested on the seventh day Sabbath until just before the seventh day Sabbath was over.  
       No one witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no testimony of anyone witnessing the resurrection or the departure from the tomb of Jesus Christ. No where in the Word of God do the Scriptures say that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was on the first day of the week! Read what the Scriptures say, that is our guide to the truth. 
       In (Matt. 28:1-6) you will find that, “as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, ... the angel answered and said ... Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.” If you also read (Mark 16:2-6; Luke 24:1-6; John 20:1-8) find that they arrived at the tomb on the first day of the week and the body of Christ was not there. 

March 28, 2002                                                                                                      page# 6  
                                        
                TIME WAS CHANGED BUT THE CHURCH MUST RETURN TO OBEDIENCE 

       It is a fatal error, in reading and interpreting Scripture, to assume anything. Because the body of Christ was not in the tomb when anyone arrived on the first day of the week, we can only assume that the resurrection was on the first day of the week. In keeping with the accuracy of the Scriptures, we know that when anybody arrived at the tomb of Christ His body was not there, so the resurrection of Jesus Christ could have been at any time before the first witnesses arrived to find the empty tomb. The resurrection of Christ could have been minutes before the first witnesses arrived to the empty tomb. It could have been one hour, two hours, three hours, or twelve hours. You get the point? No one knows the exact time of the resurrection of Christ. All we know is what the Scriptures tell us, He was in the tomb for three days and three nights, and we must stick to that. (Matt. 12:39, 40).  
       I was taught in error, and I believe many others were also, that the reason we now worship on SUNday and not on the seventh day Sabbath is because we are honoring the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the first day of the week. Nothing could be further from the truth! Paul stated in (2Thess. 2:7), “The mystery of iniquity doth already work,” only some 20 years after the Church began. Paul was referring to the “Chaldean Mysteries.” 
       The truth is, after the, “questionable,” conversion of Constantine, emperor of Rome, Constantine demanded that all Christians change their day of worship from the Hebrew Sabbath to the Roman day of the SUN. Constantine worshipped the SUN and the god of the SUN Sol. Apollos was also considered by Constantine to be a SUN god, so he worshipped him also. 
       The “questionable” Christian conversion of Constantine is interesting. Constantine claimed, during his quest to conquer Rome to become emperor of the west half of Rome, that he looked directly at the SUN and sees the sign of the cross on the face of the SUN. Constantine also claimed that he hears a voice, none of the other Roman soldiers heard this voice, telling him to conquer in the sign of the cross. What raises a red flag is that the voice never identified it’s self as in the conversion of Paul. As a matter of fact I believe Satan tried to imitate the conversion of Paul by using the conversion of Constantine.
       It is a known fact that, unlike the true conversion of Paul, Constantine retains many of his pagan practices though he is now sympathetic to Christianity. After Constantine’s, “questionable,” Christian conversion and rise to emperor of Rome, he has coins minted that carry the image of the SUN god. Remember, Paul’s conversion was complete with a 180 degree turnaround. Satan is good at imitating God, but you can always see and find the flaws. Constantine, emperor of Rome, and the Council at Nicaea reached an unanimous decision in 325 AD to make Easter an official Christian holiday. It is a historical fact that Constantine refuses to be baptized until he is on his death bed! 

March 28, 2002                                                                                                      page# 7  
                                       
        WHY THE SPIRIT OF THE PASSOVER MUST BE CELEBRATED IN THE CHURCH 

       The passover lamb was a foreshadow of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. 
(Is. 53:7; John 1:29, 36; 1Pet. 1:19; Rev. 5:6). Jesus knew He would die as a Sacrifice for the world, by crucifixion. (John 12:32, 33; Mark 10:45; 14:24). 
       Jesus Christ instituted the “Lord’s Supper” to be observed as a memorial (memory) to His Sacrificial death. (Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20). Jesus did not prescribed a schedule for the observance of the Lord’s Supper. It seems that since Jesus replaced the, “Pre-Old Covenant,” sacrifice of the lamb during Passover with the New Covenant symbols of bread and wine, that the already prescribed schedule would remain in effect. We must remember that Jesus did not abolish the Passover festival, He only changed the symbols. 
       There was only a replacement of one memorial that foreshadowed Christ with a new one that now directly represented the Sacrifice of Himself as the true Passover Lamb. Since Christ did not prescribe a new schedule for this new memorial, the schedule for the old memorial would have to remain in effect. 
       It seems that in 1Cor. 11:26, the Greek word hosakis has been interpreted as; (everytime), (whenever), and the English words quoted most often (as often as). But the Greek word hosakis does not suggest the use of any periodic observance. It is quite possible that the Greek word hosakis refers to the time during when the Lord’s Supper would have been observed from house to house on the Passover. 
       I will not say it is Scripturally wrong to have a periodic observance of the Lord’s Supper. I can not form an argument using Scripture against a periodic observance. But it seems more like God intended for the Church to be on one accord, like the nation of Israel was in observing the Passover; in observing the Memorial of Christ’s death, the Lord’s Supper. That can only be achieved by everyone following one schedule. There is no commandment from God or from His Word to observed the Lord’s Supper, everyday, once a week, or once a month. The world is doing all three of these! 
       When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was crucified it was the Passover, “the Jews Preparation day.” (John 19:14, 31, 42). Jesus was crucified at 9:00 a.m. and gave up His life willing around 3:00 p.m. when the Passover lambs were being slain for the Passover. 
(John 19:31, 42; Matt. 27:46-50; Mark 15:34-37). Jesus hanged on the cross for three hours in the daylight (9am till noon), and for three hours of darkness (noon till 3pm) then He willing “gave up the ghost.” (Mark 15:25, 33, 34; Luke 23:44-46). The fact that Jesus hung on the cross for three hours of day, and three hours of dark is of extreme significance. There is no doubt that this did not happen by chance to work out this way. That Christ was crucified on the Passover and willed Himself to death at the exact time that the Passover lambs were being slaughtered is no coincidence. It was the plan of God. 

March 28, 2002                                                                                                      page# 8 
                                        
       Christians partake of the emblems of Christ’s sacrifice, the bread and wine. Christ’s sacrifice as our Paschal Lamb, however, does not render the celebration of Passover unnecessary. Christ Himself gave to the feast a new meaning and ritual. The new meaning is the commemoration of deliverance from the bondage of sin through Christ’s death and the proclamation of His future deliverance at His coming (“you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” 1Cor. 11:26); and the new ritual consists of the two elements of the Passover meal, the bread and wine. Christ fulfilled the sacrificial typology of the Passover, not by terminating the observance of the feast, but by transforming it so that the festival could fittingly celebrate our redemption from sin. 
       The Last Supper was not simply a farewell fellowship meal; it was a special Passover meal during which Jesus instituted a new Passover to commemorate His sacrificial death. 
       In the New Testament, Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread have profound ethical implications for the Christian life-style. 
       It would not make much sense to observe the Passover, picturing remission of past sins, and then refuse to continue the Feast of Unleavened Bread, picturing the coming out from sin---seven days of unleavened bread symbolizing and picturing complete putting away of sin, or, in other words, the keeping of the Commandments of God. 
       As leaven is a type of sin (1Cor. 5:8)---leaven puffs up, and so does sin---and, as seven is God’s number symbolizing completeness, we are to follow the Passover with seven days of unleavened bread. The seven days of Unleavened Bread following Passover picture to us the complete putting away of sin, the keeping of the Commandments of God---after past sins are forgiven. To observe the Passover alone, and then fail to observe the seven days of unleavened bread, means, in the symbolism, to accept Christ’s blood, and then to continue in sin. The seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread picture the keeping of the Commandments of God, which is another way of saying the putting away of sin. The days of unleavened bread were kept by Paul and the New Testament Church. 
       The Passover as it was celebrated in the time of Christ and His apostles should be of utmost importance and interest to us in understanding the New Testament. Jesus Christ completely fulfilled the Passover as a Sacrifice for us. Jesus’ death can not fully be comprehended, with no understanding of the significance of the Passover and it’s application today. Just as the Passover was a constant reminder and proclamation of God’s redemption of Israel from bondage in Egypt, so the keeping of the Lord’s Supper as a memorial on the Passover would be a remembering and proclaiming of the deliverance of believers from the bondage of sin through Christ’s atoning work on the cross. As the Feast of Passover was a commemorative meal, so also the Lord’s Supper is a memorial supper, recalling and portraying Christ’s death for sinners; having more meaning when it is observed only on the “Passover.”
       I pray that this work was more than just entertaining to you. The purpose of this study on the Passover is to enlighten you to the truth in the Scriptures. God Bless. Peace! 

                   Please Enjoy The "Passover"

         Celebrate The "Passover"

              In The Spirit Of The 

                    "Passover"

               Not In The Ritual! 

                                                          George B. Condy

                                                       George B. Condry 

                                                                 Scribe777