| (Copyright 01-09-2025) by Dwight Fleming (Oroville, California) |
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| Editor’s Note: This article is very flawed. It is our assessment that Dwight Fleming does not understand many of the Holy Days of God and should not be teaching what he himself does not understand. Laura Lee If you are a long-time Church of God member, then you have probably heard at some point in time some of the controversy over when to observe the Passover. There is much confusion on this topic. I will attempt to address some of this confusion in this article. As you well know, the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) portray Jesus and His disciples “observing” the Passover at the beginning of the 14th of Nisan which begins at sunset. For new believers, this would be in the Spring of the year in March or April. Editor’s Note: They were not observing a Passover meal on the early part of the 14th of Nisan. Joh 19:14 And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! Joh 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. John was a disciple of Christ and Christ was a Jew and scripture clearly shows that Christ died on the preparation day for the Passover, which would be the latter part of the 14th of Nisan. Laura Lee In contrast, the gospel of John depicts Jesus having supper the night before His crucifixion where Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. [They probably needed washing too!] Jesus gave us an example of serving one another by His own humble actions. John made no mention of them observing the Passover that evening. Rather, he revealed that the Jews would partake of the Passover meal the following evening after the night of Jesus’ “last supper.” See John 18:28. This seemingly discrepancy in the four gospel accounts has caused much debate and confusion even in scholarly writings. There is the famous “Quartodeciman Controversy” which debated whether Christians should observe “Communion” [partaking of Christ’s body, i.e. the bread and wine, aka the ‘Eucharist’] on the 14th day of the month or on the first Sunday following a full moon following the vernal equinox. At the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, it was determined that those who held to observing “Communion” on the 14th were heretics and became known as “April Fools.” So, the debate over when to “keep the Passover” goes back centuries. Also, one of the main debates at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD was the controversy over Arianism. Arianism was the teaching of a priest in Alexandria, Egypt, name Arius. Arius taught that Jesus was a creation of God meaning that at some point Jesus did not coexist with the Eternal God. This concept must have been prevalent when the apostle John wrote his gospel account. Clearly, John wanted to dispel this false belief among believers when he wrote: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Did John try to dispel other false beliefs with his gospel account? For instance, regarding the confusion that Jesus was crucified on the day before a weekly Sabbath, John clarified this by stating that it was a “high day.” A “high day” refers to an annual Sabbath listed in Leviticus 23 which could fall during a week day, as all of you know. Unlike the other gospel writers, John did not portray Jesus eating the Passover with His disciples the night before His arrest and trial. Why? Was John trying to clear up a controversy or a false notion as to when the Torah prescribed observance of Passover was to be done? John simply had Jesus eating a “last supper” with His disciples before Jesus would suffer His appointed destiny. John made no mention of Jesus establishing the symbols of bread and wine as a memorial of His death at this last supper. John was probably aware of the letters of Paul who had already established the time of partaking of the bread and wine referred to as the “Lord’s Supper.” See I Corinthians 11:20-26. Editor’s Note: 1Co 11:20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. 1Co 11:21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 1Co 11:22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. 1Co 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 1Co 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 1Co 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 1Co 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. According to these scriptures you are to take the bread and the wine in remembrance of Christ’s death, meaning that it would be taken after Christ died and not before. You cannot remember someone’s death until they have actually died. Exo 12:14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Passover was always known as a memorial or a remembrance. Laura Lee The apostle Peter was aware of Paul’s letters as referenced in 2 Peter 3:15. If Peter was aware of Paul’s letters, then certainly John should have been aware of Paul’s letters as well. John did not dispute Paul’s teaching nor the accounts of the other gospel writers. Rather, John added vital information for clarification. Here are some popular theories which attempt to reconcile the different Passover times presented by the four gospels: First is the belief that Jesus kept the Passover one night early since He knew that He would be dead the following evening when Passover was normally kept by the Jews. Another belief is that Jesus kept the Passover at the right time as commanded in Exodus 12 while the Jews were not keeping the Passover at the right time during Christ’s ministry. Editor’s Note: We have never taught that Christ kept the Passover one night early so He could introduce the bread and the wine. We have always maintained that the meal He had the night before He died was just a meal and not a Passover meal. Laura Lee A third concept may be that Matthew, Mark, and Luke patched together previous Passover memories of Christ and His disciples with the night of the “Last Supper” in order for a Jewish audience to connect with the familiar Passover Seder (ritual order of the meal). In other words, they used some literary or narrative “license” since they wanted to convey the significance of the meal rather than provide an accurate chronology of events prior to Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. That third theory may be what scholars of higher criticism would consider along with their disbelief of other Biblical accounts found in Genesis and Exodus. But the Synoptic Gospels have not distorted or rearranged any chronological events in order to present any kind of Passover theme. The problem isn’t what the gospel writers wrote. Rather, the problem is our lack of understanding of what they wrote. Still, if the Synoptic Gospels have caused some confusion for us today, then is it possible that they also caused some confusion among believers of the first century? Thus, John saw the need to clarify some things with his gospel account. Returning to the first belief that Jesus kept the Passover one night early: This assumes that the Jews of Christ’s day were keeping the Passover at the correct time as recorded by John’s gospel. If Jesus had decided to keep the Passover one night early, the disciples would have expressed some kind of confusion for doing so. Yet, Matthew and Mark both have the disciples asking Jesus where did He plan to eat the Passover as if everything was normal. And this is why some believe that Jesus and His disciples had previously kept the Passover earlier than the Jews and at the correct time. But we need to consider the fallacy of this first belief. Which is greater? A physical lamb eaten at Passover or the Lamb of God, Jesus of Nazareth? If the 14th/15th of Nisan was the correct time to slay and eat a lamb for Passover as John’s gospel reveals, then why would the Lamb of God need to eat a lamb before His death and at the wrong time? This makes no sense. Are we missing something? Editor’s Note: Actually, you are adding things into scripture which are not there. There is no mention of Christ or His disciples eating a lamb at the meal the night before Christ died. It is not in scripture. Laura Lee If Jesus did eat a Passover lamb at the beginning of the 14th in which many assume to be the correct time, then we still have a major error with our understanding of the Synoptic Gospels. In effect, this second belief would deny Jesus’ role as our Passover. In other words, if Jesus ate a Passover lamb at the right time, then He died at the wrong time and cannot be our Passover. Everyone is focused on the time of eating the Passover. This is the crux of the confusion. The four gospels clearly agree when Jesus died. He died around 3 pm on the 14th of Nisan from loss of blood caused by a spear wound in His side. He did not die from asphyxiation as normally happens with crucifixion. A Passover lamb is killed by loss of blood. And it had to be done at the right time according to Exodus 12:6. Jesus became our Passover by dying at the right time according to scripture (I Corinthians 15:3). There are those who teach that it doesn’t matter when Jesus actually died. They have to say this in order to cling to their doctrinal teaching. Saying that Jesus didn’t die at the right time is tantamount to denying Jesus as the Christ: “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?” (I John 2:22). So, the time of Jesus’ death should be our main foundation for understanding when the Passover lamb was to be slain and eaten. Jesus became our Passover by His death at the right time; not by His eating a Passover meal at the right time. So, did Jesus then eat the Passover at the wrong time? Certainly not! “Wait a minute! How can you have it both ways? Are you crossed-eyed or drunk? You must be one of those April Fools!” You are right about that. But I’m not fooling anyone if they are willing to hear me out. Jesus certainly ate the Passover with His disciples the night before His death (which occurred at the right time as prescribed by Exodus 12:6). This truth will be a hard pill to swallow for some who have spent many hours in research to support their Passover theory. But it needs to be realized that the Synoptic Gospels DO NOT picture Jesus eating a Passover lamb the night before His death. Yes, He ate the “Passover” but it wasn’t a slain lamb. Editor’s Note: Exo 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. Evening in this verse is ben ha-‘arbayim which means between the two evenings. The first evening is noon when the sun starts to descend in the sky and the second evening is when the sun has gone down and you can no longer see the actual sun. According to scripture there were only two sacrifices during the day, the morning sacrifice and the evening sacrifice. The morning sacrifice took place at about 9 AM and the evening sacrifice took place about 3 PM. There were no sacrifices after the sun went down, so Passover could not have taken place after sundown at the time where the 13th turned into the 14th and if the Passover took place before sunset that day it would have been the 13th. As far as having to study for many hours, if one does not put in the time then how does one expect to know what they are talking about, because you do not have a clue what scripture actually says about Passover. The only reason I have put in so many hours studying Passover is because people like you send articles like this that are not scriptural. Laura Lee Most problems in understanding scripture come from making wrong assumptions. The Synoptic Gospels certainly portray Jesus eating the “Passover” the night before His death. The problem is that everyone assumes that a physical lamb was involved since the word “Passover” is used. This is a false assumption at the root of the problem. The Passover lamb was to be eaten with unleavened bread which was part of the Passover meal. By the time of Jesus, certain traditions had come about since unleavened bread was to be eaten at even on the 14th day. Editor’s Note: The meal they ate the evening before Christ was crucified was not a Passover meal. The 14th of Nisan was the preparation day for the Passover. Luk 22:1 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover. Joh 13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. Joh 18:28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. Joh 18:39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? Joh 19:14 And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! The above scriptures show very clearly that the Passover was after Christ died and not before. Luke 22:1 shows that Unleavened Bread and the Passover were the same. The Passover meal was on the 14th as it turned into the 15th. The Passover meal was eaten on the 1st day of unleavened bread. Passover is a High Holy Day. Laura Lee Yes, Jesus condemned certain Jewish traditions which nullified God’s commandments. But it would be foolish to think that all traditions are bad. For example, Jesus attended the Feast of Dedication as recorded in John. See John 10:22-23. A festival that came about by tradition. Our Thanksgiving holiday is based on tradition and not from a Biblical command. Giving thanks to God is a good tradition to keep. Was Jesus and His disciples following a tradition which kicked off Passover observance? And how did that tradition come about? Editor’s Note: All the Holy Days and Sabbaths can be considered tradition because they are kept year after year and week after week. However, Christ was not starting a tradition by eating a meal with his disciples the day before He died. It was simply a meal. Laura Lee Exodus 12:18 tells us to eat unleavened bread for seven days from the 14th at even until the 21st at even. Why did God word His command the way He did? Why didn’t God just say to eat unleavened bread for seven days from the end of the 14th day till the end of the 21st day? God couldn’t word it that way because a calendar day did not begin at sunset for the Israelites during the time of Moses. Editor’s Note: Exo 12:18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. Eze 45:21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. In Exodus 12:18, the word even in both places is the end of the day and not the beginning of the day. So, if you want to count from the end of the 14th it ends on the 21st of Nisan. If you count from the beginning of the 15th it ends on the 22nd of Nisan at sunset. This is very easy to look up. Eze 45:21 again shows that Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are the same Feast. The days have begun at sunset from the time that God created the world in Genesis. This is basic Bible Fact. The reason that God words things the way He does in scripture is to see if His elect are studying the Bible or just reading junk they find on the internet or get from a friend or family member who also has no idea what they are talking about. I highly suspect that those people who do not want to put the time in to study Gods word may find out they are one of the virgins that misses the marriage supper of the lamb. Laura Lee Here is the other false assumption which is causing some to not properly understand when exactly the first Passover was kept. Everyone assumes that the Israelites of the Exodus observed a calendar day from sunset to sunset. Not so. Most likely, a calendar day for the Israelites, who had resided in Egypt since their birth, was from midnight to midnight just as we do today. Remember, our Gregorian Calendar is based on the Julian Calendar that Julius Caesar obtained from Egypt. Pliny the Elder wrote in his Natural History, Book II, Chapter 79: OF THE MODE IN WHICH THE DAYS ARE COMPUTED “The days have been computed by different people in different ways. The Babylonians reckoned from one sunrise to the next; the Athenians from one sunset to the next; the Umbrians from noon to noon; the multitude, universally, from light to darkness; the Roman priests and those who presided over the civil day, also the Egyptians and Hipparchus, from midnight to midnight . . . ” The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Natural History of Pliny, Vol I., by Pliny the Elder. Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus) lived from AD 23/24 to 79 AD. He was a Roman author and naturalist. He served in the Roman army and navy. He was a friend of the emperor Vespasian. Obviously, this man had vast knowledge for his time and created a kind of “Google” for his day. From the above quote, you can see that the Egyptians observed a calendar day from midnight to midnight. I contend that the Israelites who departed from Egypt used the Egyptian method of reckoning a day from midnight to midnight. However, at some point many years later, the Israelites obviously changed their reckoning of a calendar day to agree with God’s instruction found in Leviticus 23:26-32 regarding the Day of Atonement. God told them to observe the 10th day of the seventh month. Now, if the Israelites were already observing a calendar day from sunset to sunset, then there was no need for God to say anymore. But since the Day of Atonement was to be a full day of fasting, God had to tell them to start on the ninth day at sunset until the next sunset on the 10th day. This proves that the Israelites at that time did not consider a calendar day to be from sunset to sunset. Instead, they were going by what they were accustomed to in Egypt with a midnight to midnight reckoning. This is why God had to word His instructions the way that He did. This is also indicated by the death angel coming at midnight which began the 15th day. Editor’s Note: And I suppose next you will tell us that the Israelites kept Sunday for many years until they started keeping the Sabbath. You are a foolish man who seems to follow everyone else except for God. Have you ever used a concordance. If not you should start. The days for God’s people always started at sunset and ended the next day at sunset. It is found in Genesis, right at the beginning. Moses certainly knew when the Hebrew days started and ended and the Israelites coming out of Egypt were taught the law of God right from the beginning of being rescued. All of the Holy Days begin at sunset and end the next sunset when the new day begins, not just Atonement. Laura Lee So, at the very first Passover in Egypt, the Israelites were told to take a lamb and slay it between the two evenings on the 14th of the month of Abib. Since the calendar day of the 14th started at midnight and ended at midnight, then there is only one evening or one “between the two evenings” that can occur on the 14th day. Thus, there would be no confusion as to when to slay the Passover lamb nor to start eating unleavened bread during the time of Moses. Editor’s Note: Do you understand that God inspired the Bible to be written and His days all through scripture never started at Midnight, that is an invention of Godless men. Laura Lee However, many years later, when the Jews started to observe a calendar day from sunset to sunset, then some confusion obviously arose over the instructions of the Torah written in a prior period. Instead of the 14th beginning at midnight, it would then start earlier at sunset. Consequently, what was previously the evening of the 13th day, would now be the beginning of the 14th day. Do you see how this change in the reckoning of a day has caused some confusion? Editor’s Note: The only one who seems to be confused here is you. You do not have any understanding of God’s days or of His Holy Days and you should not be teaching them to anyone because if anyone believes you they will fall into the same ditch you fall into and you will all end up missing the marriage supper of the lamb because you are a sleeping virgin. Laura Lee Is it possible that the Jews started a tradition to begin to eat unleavened bread at the beginning of the 14th day [according to Exodus 12:18] that now began at the evening of the old 13th day? This may be confusing to picture without a graphic to illustrate the change. Call it Egyptian reckoning of a day versus the new Jewish reckoning that is used today. Editor’s Note: Let’s just call this for what it is, a flawed reckoning that you perpetrate that the Jews never entertained! Darwin Lee It was this tradition of eating unleavened bread (called “Passover”) at the beginning of the new 14th day (old 13th day at sunset) that is recorded in the Synoptic Gospels. The word “Passover” as used in the Synoptic Gospels may refer to unleavened bread (Luke 22:1) that was eaten at the beginning of the new 14th day. From this tradition, Jesus established a new ceremony for His disciples. The apostle Paul called it the “Lord’s Supper” to distinguish it from the Passover Seder observed by the Jews. Editor’s Note: Oh, please, the Jews even to this day have their “seder” meal on the beginning of the evening of the 15th just at sundown (first day of unleavend bread). There is no evidence that they ever had a seder meal at the beginning of the 14th sundown. Darwin Lee Editor’s Note: My, my, what on earth are you teaching here? You wrote, Darwin Lee “Here is another false assumption which is causing some to not properly understand when exactly the first Passover was kept. Everyone assumes that the Israelites of the Exodus observed a calendar day from sunset to sunset. Not so. Most likely, a calendar day for the Israelites, who had resided in Egypt since their birth, was from midnight to midnight just as we do today. Remember, our Gregorian Calendar is based on the Julian Calendar that Julius Caesar obtained from Egypt”. Editor’s Note: First off, Israelites were in captivity at the time God made mention to them as to when the first month was and what it was for them to do concerning the Passover-unleavened bread timing. God through Moses, wrote what God told him to write when the first month was and details of said worship according as God instructed Moses. Now, are we to assume God did not know when the day started? Seems like He had somewhat of a clue when He instructed Moses to write in Gen.1 and on when God said, “Evening and morning were the first day”, then, “evening and morning were the second day” and on, until the seventh day, all mentioned as “the evening and morning”. So, when God was speaking to Moses, was God recognizing the Egyptian reckoning as the correct way that starting of a new day at midnight to the next midnight ending a day and beginning a new day, as legitimate? The Egyptians reckoning of when a day starts is mute in trying to figure out the Passover and all Holy days and their timing to take place. Scripture is clear with extensive study that there are about 11 times that the phrase. “between the two evenings” means, that from the time the sun starts to go down is at about 12 noon at your location and when you no longer see it at the west horizon. Between those two evenings it is about 3 or 4 pm, depending on the time of the year because there is less daylight in winter as you move into mid-season. Hebrew definition of “between the two evenings” is where we need to begin our understanding before we can master this, “so-called confusion” about Passover details. God knows when the two evenings accrue and He also knows the difference when He instructs Moses to write, what “the fourteenth day at even” means, that being different than that of, “between the two evenings” All I can say at this point, “God is pretty smart”. It does not matter what you say in your writings on this matter, what Satan deceived Egypt and other nations as to when Satan says the day starts, just as Satan has deceived the whole world in all other matters as well. So, to use Egypt and other nations timing from midnight to midnight reckoning as the beginning of a day and ending of a day for the Israelites day reckoning is total foolishness. God had to show Moses His timing of day and night start time along with Holy Day observance criteria, if indeed they all were using a midnight start day to next midnight end day. They were instructed in the law at this time and at Mount Sinai and before, as Exodus16, also reveals. Most all of chapter 16 deals with the quails and “what is it” bread, God was revealing to them the seven-day counting as to when the Sabbath was and when it started along with the rest of six days. Do you honestly think God would have them in confusion as to when they should start their day, after He had Moses to record what God clearly said in Gen. when He said, “evening and morning were the first day? All of Exodus 16 took place before they got to Mount Sinia when God gave them the law, (not Moses). All that Moses wrote down was God’s law, not Moses law. Moses did not make up any law on his own and anyone who teaches that is teaching contrary to God’s word and is just plain lying! The Israelites even said, “all that the Lord has said we will do”. They did not wait to change anything until many, many years later, as you claim, (without proof by the way). Even before Mount Sinai they were starting to keep God’s instructions, however we know how that turned out after many, many years. Passover understanding has nothing to do with changing their “day” starts. They were already doing sundown to sundown before they left Egypt proper, Passover and the First Day of Unleavened Bread per God’s instruction. Well, knowing that the killing the lamb was at about 3pm their time on the 14th, (between the two evenings), and eating the Passover lamb at the beginning of the 15th. Then at midnight the 15th the death angel did his God ordained work. They did this as God instructed from that point on. But, as history of the tribes shows living in the promised land, they got leery of the Sabbath and Holy Days, hating, loathing them as too burdensome. You know the rest of the story. The Jews in Christ’s day knew what the phrase (“ben ha-‘arbayim”) meant. They were still killing the lambs at or about 3 to 4pm their time and the Passover lamb (seder meal if you must) they ate at the beginning of the15th. Jesus never changed the timing of Passover to the night of the 14th. Jesus used that non-Passover meal as the only opportunity to use the bread and wine symbols to be remembered after his death. The disciples could not have really comprehended at that time what the meaning of what Jesus was doing before he was crucified. Not long after they indeed understood what the meaning of the bread and wine was all about. So, taking the bread and wine at this time after Jesus’ death commemorates His death once a year just as it did for Jesus’s disciples the night before Jesus’s death, although they could not fully comprehend that night, only until later. If you were there, can you honestly say you would have understood what was about to happen to Him the next day and that He was about to die? If your answer is yes, you would have, you’re only saying that now knowing what happened after the fact as recorded in the Bible. So why not just be honest for a change. I had to do this in systematic detail to cover this false teaching, hoping to make it as clear as possible to you and others reading this, that God truly is not the “author of confusion”. People claiming God as their source, wouldn’t be in confusion. His true saints are not confused as to when the Holy Days are to be kept, and that includes when Pentecost is to be kept. Darwin Lee Editor’s Note: God makes it clear as well when to start observing the Day of Atonement in Le 23:26 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Le 23:27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. Le 23:31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. Leviticus 23:32 (KJV) It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath”. Since God’s instructions makes it clear when He wants the Day of Atonement to start and finish, would not God also want His other Holy Days to start and finish likewise as for the day of Atonement? Does anyone believe that God would use a different standard for start and finish of His other Holy Days as well, even so as with the weekly Sabbath? If one believes anything other than that all of God’s Sabbaths starting and finishing at the same sequence, even unto even, then you are indeed confused! Darwin Lee The Lord’s Supper is not the same Passover ceremony observed by the Jews of Christ’s day but with new symbols. It is an entirely new ceremony to be observed in the night of betrayal. Jesus symbolically made His disciples part of His body and blood before He suffered by giving them bread and wine. Why? Editor’s Note: Today the Passover meal beginning the 15th, we don’t eat a lamb slaughtered the day before because the true lamb, Jesus, is represented by the bread and wine symbols, we eat unleavened bread and drink the wine at that meal instead of an animal and it is quite meaningful taking the place of a lamb reminding us that Jesus is the true lamb slain in our stead. Why is that not profoundly more meaningful taking the bread and wine on every Passover beginning the 15th? This meal should have a more profound personal meaning for each of us more than the Passovers being kept when Israel was keeping it picturing the lamb yet to be slain, which they understood not of why they were keeping it but for their coming out of Egypt. Instead of eating a flesh and blood roasted lamb, we now eat Jesus’s body and drink His blood by the bread and wine symbolism on the very night God instructed his people to keep this Passover as a memorial throughout Israel’s generations to this day as commanded by God. Darwin Lee “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). In order to die with Christ, we need to symbolically be made part of His body and blood prior to the anniversary time of His death which is set by Exodus 12:6. With the Torah Passover observance, the Jews did not drink the blood of the Passover lamb. But with the Lord’s Supper, we drink Christ’s blood symbolically to remind us that we are in Him and have partaken of His death. And if we die with Him, then we shall be raised with Him at the first resurrection. But if you prefer to take the symbols later on the next night, then don’t be surprised if your resurrection also comes later. Editor’s Note: Let’s be honest here, the profoundness of the bread and wine symbols and taking of that after Jesus’s death is highly more meaningful than doing it before His death. It means that unlike eating roasted lamb which pictured Jesus’s future death, that lamb along with the blood of lamb swathed on the door posts and above, signified and guaranteed Israels protection from the coming death at midnight. Yes, that was meaningful for them and looking back, “as through a rear-view mirror” each year after the fact, escaping Egypt a type of sin, (which causes death)”. They were not aware of the true intent of Passover events in the future, which it pictured. In retrospect we now can see clearly that a far greater event was to take place for all mankind in due time, the Passover that we now observe at the same time from Israel’s first Passover. Eating of the Lamb, (symbolized by the bread and wine) is far superior to that of being saved from physical death by the death angel. Eating of that Lamb saves us from the eternal second death. Caution: there are conditions for the death penalty to be removed that all incurred that all must meet. Jesus Himself said, “Mt 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments”. Let this sink in. The God who formed you in your mother’s womb, the God who lived forever, comes to this earth to die a horrible death so that we, His own creation, sons and daughters may live. That for me is cause to take the bread and wine symbols after Jesus spilled His blood, is more meaningful, eating and drinking those symbols after He actually died and not before. Any other time before His death, a year, two or anywhere in between would not convey the seriousness of what would take place. He could only do it just before His death. Dead people neither speak nor can they hear, except through a resurrection. Then He was resurrected after a full 3 days and 3 nights as He said. The true called and chosen internalize all that to the innermost part of their consciousness, when they partake of the Passover. I believe that can only happen once Jesus carried out His mission in His first coming. Believe what you will. If any are more righteous than I, perhaps you won’t see me there in the first. Darwin Lee Editor’s Note: 1Co 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 1Co 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 1Co 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. According to the very scriptures you like to use to say Passover was changed to the early 14th and that it is now called the Lord’s Supper instead of Passover, it clearly says you eat the bread and drink the wine in remembrance of Christ to “shew the Lord’s death till he come”. In other words you cannot commemorate (remember or shew) someone’s death until they have died. You have one scripture in the entire Bible that mentions “The Lord’s Supper” and it in no way says Passover was changed to “The Lord’s Supper” nor does it say the day of Passover was changed to the early part of the 14th. 1Co 11:20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. On the other hand you have over seventy scriptures that use the word “Passover” in them and “Passover” is the word used in the law in Lev. 23. So why are you building a doctrine around one scripture that uses the wording “The Lord’s Supper” which is only referring to a meal and not the Passover. Laura Lee In conclusion, it appears that we have confused the Torah Passover ceremony with the Lord’s Supper ceremony which has led to controversy as to which night to observe the Lord’s Supper. The apostle Paul clearly established when the Lord’s Supper should be observed (I Corinthians 11:23). For many, the night of observance may not change. But our understanding of what Jesus did on the night that He was betrayed needs to change so we don’t remain in confusion. Gary Keesee, pastor of Faith Life Church in Ohio, has some interesting insights on the Lord’s Supper that I found edifying. I may not agree with every little detail of his sermon, and you may not either. But I encourage you to hear what Gary has to say that we may have a deeper understanding of the Lord’s Supper so that we realize the difference between it and the Passover observance established by Moses in the Torah. This false thinking that we are still observing the Passover ceremony recorded in the Torah rather than a brand-new ceremony to be observed on a different night is causing great confusion in the body of Christ. Editor’s Note: Lev 23:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Lev 23:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. The law is God’s Law, not Moses Law. God told Moses to deliver God’s Law. Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Luk 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. The Passover has not changed into the Lord’s Supper, nor has it changed to a different day because if it did then God is a liar and we know that is not true. God’s law will not change until heaven and earth pass away and until all of the law has been fulfilled. Heaven and earth are still here and all of the law has not yet been fulfilled. We have a long way to go before that happens. Laura Lee This is why the apostle Paul began I Corinthians 11 as he did. Notice: “Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and KEEP the traditions JUST AS I delivered them to you” (verses 1-2). Paul did not call the partaking of the bread and wine the Passover. He called it the Lord’s Supper (a church tradition after Christ’s example) which they weren’t doing in the right manner as Pastor Gary carefully explains. Paul said that Jesus is our Passover, who was slain for us (I Corinthians 5:7). Jesus was slain for us; not the bread and the wine. He is our Passover. The bread and wine are only symbols in which Jesus used to remind us that we are in Him and have died with Him. The difference between the Lord’s Supper and the Passover ceremony found in the Torah may be hard to grasp for some. The difference is this: Are you dying with Christ on the cross by partaking of the Lord’s Supper, or are you the one thrusting the spear into His side as pictured by the Torah Passover? Yes, all of us have pierced Jesus by our sins (Isaiah 53:5). But our symbolic death with Christ removes our sins so that He can live in us for which we should imitate Him in every way. May God grant you peace and understanding that all may give praise to the Lamb of God, Jesus of Nazareth, born of a woman for our redemption. In Gary’s sermon video on communion, skip to minute 28:30 for his message. Here is the link: The Power of Communion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2gqqJGMn4M&t=1730s Editor’s Note: I have read many Passover papers through the years, but this is the most disturbing Passover Paper I have ever read. It is clear that you are going to secular writings to draw your conclusions without looking to see what the Bible says on the subject. The Bible should be your main source of information not secular works. I have been under the impression that you have been in the Church of God for many years but apparently you have not heard anything that has been said to you by anyone. A basic teaching is that days begin and end in the evening, and that the Law is God’s Law not Mose’s Law. The only one who is this confused about Passover is you. I found this whole thing. Filled with errors. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, and you can’t even see how confusing your own teachings are. This article is more than flawed and has almost nothing to do with what God says in scripture about Passover. I have not listened to the sermon link you sent because if it is like your article hopefully most people won’t bother to watch it but if they choose to watch that sermon here is one that makes a whole lot more sense: Why So Much Confusion over the Passover? If you are studying the word of God rather than secular materials, then you should not be confused. Confusion comes from Satan and not from God. Laura Lee ———————————————————————————————————- See Dwight Fleming’s other articles at: Fleming, Dwight – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org) ———————————————————————————————————- |
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