Important terms to know and understand how to keep the Passover & Holy Days

Fred R. Coulter—February 13, 2021

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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services!

  • How important are details?
  • How do we know if the details are true and  right?
  • How important are they really?

Before we get into that, we just found out that they voted to acquit Pres. Trump 57-43. It's a good thing that they acquitted him, because they can't shred the Constitution anymore. That trial should have never taken place. They should have taken the cue from Chief Justice John Roberts who said he would not attend. Why? Because it was unconstitutional!

The Democrats have proved themselves the enemies of America, and have proved themselves to be Communists! Everything that is coming down out of the White House with executive orders are sponsored—behind the scenes—by Barack Hussein Obama and the extreme left!

Why do we find ourselves in this predicament? Because too many people in America have:

  • flattered God
  • don't believe God
  • don't believe the Word of God

Ezek. 22 describes it, and was given many thousands of years before it occurred.

Ezekiel 22:24: "Son of man, say to her…" This is to Jerusalem and all the children of Israel! Remember that the covenant of Abraham was into the ages. 

"…'You are a land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.' There is a conspiracy..." (vs 24-25).

If you think that there are people plotting evil you are a nasty person in this world, because you'll find out that most of those on the left are conspirators!

  • How about with the Bible?
  • Are there conspirators against the Bible?
  • Are there conspirators against the Word of God?
  • Are there conspirators against the Sabbath
  • Are there conspirators against the Holy Days?
  • Are there conspirators against keeping them?

Even by those in the Church! How does that happen?

"…They have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests…" (vs 25-26).

All the religious leaders who claim to be Christian and are following the Bible. That's who that includes. You can go on TBN and I heard a couple of really good preachers; one of them I told you about, so I'll tell you about another one. This other one was: Why do we have troubles? It's because of sin! But he didn't say what sin was! He even read Psa. 19, 'keep me from my secret sins.' But he didn't say that sin is the transgression of the Law, or lawlessness. And he didn't say, 'Brethren, next week we're not going to be here on Sunday; you all come on the Sabbath.' He didn't say that! It's good to watch it once in a while to see what there is.

"…have done violence to My Law…" (v 26). How? By saying that it's done away, and by misinterpreting and misrepresenting Paul's writings!

When you take that one Scripture—Rom. 10:4, that 'Christ is the end of the law'—they shut the Bible and say that you don't have to keep the Law. Paul is talking about the works of law that the Jews had, and they were worshipping God without knowledge. They were doing this:

"…and have profaned My Holy things. They have put no difference between the Holy and the profane, and have not taught… [God expects these things to be taught] …the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths…" (v 26).

They can read the Bible very well until it comes to the Sabbath, and then all of a sudden they just can't understand it. Notice that Sabbaths is pluralSabbath and Holy Days. Remember that the Holy Days reveal the plan of God and answer the deep, deep questions that people always ask:

  • What is God going to do with all of those who never heard of Christ?
  • How about all of those in the 4,000 years from creation to Christ?
  • How about all of those who have never heard of Christ from the time that He came until now?

It's answered in the Holy Days!

It's easy to find, but it's hard to understand. There's one place in the Old Testament that defines the day, and one place in the New Testament that tells us what's going to happen to all of those who:

  • were never called
  • never heard anything about the Bible
  • knew nothing abut Jesus Christ

But did not commit the unpardonable sin. It's possible for people not in the Church to commit the unpardonable sin, too, by the way. Two places:

  • Lev. 23 lists it twice calling it the 8th day

What is the 8th day? They don't know! They could say that that's the day after the Sabbath, but that's not correct.

  • Gospel of John—it's once—The Last Great Day
  • Rev. 20—it's once—just a little phrase

Rev. 20 talks about all of those who are resurrected in the first resurrection and they are kings and priests with Christ. Then it says 'and the rest of the dead live not again until the thousand years is concluded.'

That's the answer for what is going to happen to all those people. But the more important thing for now in our time is what about those whom God has called?

I guarantee you these things come around in cycles, and the cycle is coming around now that they are picking up on the Seventh Day Adventist understanding of the Holy Days, which they say were 'ceremonial days, and you don't have to keep them.'

If they're ceremonial days, why does God say "…they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths…" (v 26). What happens when they hide their eyes from the Sabbaths?

"…and I am profaned among them" (v 26).

God doesn't mean anything; 'there is no God.' Look at how many people are against God; how many people are against the Bible. Yet, the Bible contains everything they need to know in order to understand:

  • why we're here
  • where we're going
  • what God is doing
  • how God is doing it

Verse 27: "Her rulers in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey…"

Does that sound like the Democrats? That was pretty nifty when the Democrats decided they wanted to call witnesses (in the Impeachment Trial) and then the leading attorney said—for those defending Trump—'our first witness will be Nancy Pelosi.' They all hurried and had a meeting and decided to not call witnesses.

"…to shed blood and to destroy souls, to get unjust gain. And her prophets have covered themselves with whitewash, seeing false visions…" (vs 27-28).

When I was watching TBN I saw one guy say that 'the fifth seal has already happened.' Well, the first one hasn't been opened, yet; if it's been opened, it's to bring all religions together, so that's a possibility that it was.

Now back to what we need to study on details! In the New Testament what is the most important two verses—covered just recently, so this is a little exam—concerning Christ and the Sabbath? If you believe that:

  • He's the Savior of mankind, which a lot of people do
  • that He was the Lord God of the Old Testament, which a lot of people do

What did He says about Himself concerning the Sabbath?

Mark 2:27: "And He said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; therefore, the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath'" (vs 27-28).

If you're good ole Protestant, why do you profess Jesus as your Lord, but you don't keep the day in which He puts His presence?

The reason that I'm emphasizing this—and I'm speaking to all of those who already know this… But why? I want you to tell me where we find the most important verse concerning when we keep the Sabbath? The timing of it? The Seventh Day Adventist begin at midnight, so that gives them Friday to be with the world. Where is that most important verse that covers more than just the weekly Sabbath?

Lev. 23:32—if you have a King James Version it won't read like The Faithful Version. This is talking about the Day of Atonement. Why is it important that everybody have the understanding of the time to start the Day of Atonement? Because there is to be no work, no pleasure; it is a solemn fast day! So, God wants everyone to know, but this also applies to every other Sabbath Day and Holy Day, as well

Leviticus 23:32: "It shall be to you a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict yourselves…."—that's the 10th day of the 7th month, but notice how God explains it:

"…In the ninth day of the month at sunset…" (v 32). The KJV says evening!

What is evening? Some people say 'when the sun is getting low in the afternoon, that's the beginning of evening.' Other people say it's when you 'see three stars.' That's a difference of six hours. How is everyone going to be keeping the Day of Atonement if they all start at different times? God wants everyone starting at the same time.

Verse 32: "In the ninth day of the month at sunset…"—that ends the day!

Verse 27: "Also, on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement…."

When does the 10th day begin? When the 9th day ends!

Verse 32: "In the ninth day of the month at sunset, from sunset to sunset, you shall keep your Sabbath" (v 32).

The reason that things are so difficult with the King James Version of the Bible… I've got another Bible here; let me tell you about this one: The Schocken Bible: The Five Books of Moses, Vol. 1 by Everett Fox. This was published in 1990, and Fox is the noted Hebrew expert in America today. Whether he's alive or not today, I do not know. Now, the KJV here says 'even.'

Verse 32 (SB): "It is Sabbath, a Sabbath ceasing for you, you are to afflict your selves, on the ninth (day) after the New Moon… [the month] …at sunset…"

  • How long is sunset?
  • Do you take it from noon and watch it going down? That's about 6-8 hours!
  • When is sunset? I'll tell you!

When I was writing The Christian Passover book; you need to get it and read it, because you need the details. You're going to be hit with all the arguments as to why you don't have to keep it. So, you have to have it!

Or the way that the Jews have, and how is it that the Jews—who have the Old Testament, and they're the custodian of the O.T.—keep the Passover on the 15th when in their Bible it says—and every Bible—the 14th day is the Passover. Why do they do it on the 15th? We'll cover that, because this is important for us to know as we're coming up to the Passover in about six weeks!

Verse 32 (SB): "It is Sabbath, a Sabbath ceasing for you, you are to afflict your selves, on the ninth (day) after the New Moon… [the month] …at sunset, from sunset to sunset, you are to make a ceasing of your ceasing!"

You apply this to every place where there is a question concerning what it's talking about.

  • What is the evening?
  • What is the morning?

We'll look at those in just a little bit! We'll cover some of these things, and the answer is right there in the context, when you know it. This is why The Faithful Version was done; to have the correct translation based upon the correct understanding of the Hebrew and the Greek.

We're going to cover some of the things right here in Exo. 12. We put online {truthofGod.org} the paper: The Passover in the Bible and the Church Today by Lester Grabbe & Robert Kuhn. You can see how the Worldwide Church of God was broadsided with the false information concerning the Passover.

Exodus 12:1: "And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 'This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, "In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them each man a lamb for a father's house, a lamb for a house. And if the household is too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take according to the number of the souls…"'" (vs 1-4).

Interesting that people are called souls! What does it say about souls in the Bible? They die! Even if you go to Rev. 16 you will see that when they make all the ocean blood, every soul in the ocean died. Were their people out there swimming in the ocean? No! Everything that has physical life has a soul that keeps it going!

"…each one, according to the eating of his mouth, you shall count concerning the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You shall take it from the sheep or from the goats. And you shall keep it up until the beginning of the fourteenth day of the same month. And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it between the two evenings" (vs 4-6).

  • What does it say where the two evenings is? The KJV says even (evening).
  • Why does the FV have it "…between the two evenings"?

Because there's one word for 'sunset' and there's another word for 'evening.'

  • How do you know when evening begins?

The Jews say that 'evening' begins about three in the afternoon. That's what this paper that Grabbe & Kuhn tried to show. We'll debunk that in just a minute.

  • How do you know when between the evenings begins?
  • On which day? The 14th day of the month!
  • Is this at the beginning of the 14th?

OR

  • Is it at the end of the 14th?

Verse 18: "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at sunset…"

What did we find out this phrase 'at sunset' means?

Leviticus 23:32: "In the ninth day of the month at sunset… [that ends the day] …from sunset to sunset…"

Exodus 12:18: "…on the fourteenth day of the month at sunset…" ends the day!

If it ends the 14th, what begins? The 15th!
Why is that different from Exo. 12:6?

Because of this, I get two or three papers… As a matter of fact a man has written me from South Africa for ten years saying that 'the Passover and first day of Unleavened Bread are on the 14th!

The Jews do not keep the 14th, and there's a reason why they don't. You can find all the reasons in the Passover book.

When Grabbe & Kuhn came out with that paper—I had to conclude because you have to be honest—I got the paper and started working on it as soon as I got it. If you could not find in the Bible where God Himself used the two terms—'ba erev' (sunset) and 'ben ha arbayim (between the two evenings)—in defining time, then perhaps they were right in the paper.

That's what you have to do when something comes up like that. How important is it that it's the right day? Obviously, God defined it for us in one place!

Exodus 16:1: "And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came into the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai…."

They weren't traveling on the 15th as it indicates in the KJV and others.

"…And on the fifteenth day of the second month…" (v 1).

  • How do you find out what day of the week that this was?
  • What do we have?
  • first month—Nisan—has 30 days
  • second month—Iyar—has 29 days

It tells us exactly: "…And on the fifteenth day of the second month…" (v 1).

What day of the week was that? A regular weekly Sabbath! So, they were all there—they're not traveling—and they kept the Sabbath as they journeyed.

"…after their departing out of the land of Egypt, then the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, 'O that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots, when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger!'" (vs 1-3). Nice loving attitude!

Verse 4: "Then the LORD said to Moses…" Pay attention! He's speaking this on the Sabbath Day; that's important.

"…'Behold, I will rain bread from the heavens for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain amount every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My Law or not. And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, they shall prepare what they bring in. And it shall be twice as much as they gather day by day.' And Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, 'At sunset…'" (vs 4-6)—at even (KJV).

What does sunset do if you're already on the Sabbath Day? It ends the Sabbath Day!

"…then you shall know that the LORD has brought you out from the land of Egypt. And at sunrise…" (vs 6-7)—the KJV says 'morning.'

What time in the morning? It doesn't tell you, because it means sunrise! That's what Schocken has in every one of these. This is the only Bible I know of that has it in English correct; and the FV that we have is the only Bible that I know of that defines it—all these difficult terms that we've been covering lately—correctly.

Verse 7: "And at sunrise, you shall see the glory of the LORD, for He hears your murmurings against the LORD. And what are we that you murmur against us?"

Whenever you complain wrongly, against the one whom God is using to teach you correctly, then you're going against God!

Verse 8: "And Moses said, 'You will see when the LORD shall give you flesh to eat at sunset…'"

Verse 8 (SB): "Moshe said, 'Since YHWH gives you flesh to eat at sunset…"—'ba erev' that ends the Sabbath Day.

  • Why would God send it when the Sabbath Day ended?

There are some people that say that God was merciful so He sent it in the afternoon! It doesn't say that!

  • Who defines the time? God does!
  • Why at sunset? Obvious! The Sabbath ends!
  • How long is sunset?

When I was writing the Passover book, I was coming home from Los Angeles and I would come by the San Luis Dam and there was a nice flat surface, and with just about the time the sun would go down. So, I pulled off the road and I watched on that flat surface and I timed it: I watched the sun come down and then it appeared to touch the top of that flat surface. That's the beginning of 'ba erev'! When does 'ba erev' end? When the sun goes below that horizon! That took about 3-1/2-4 minutes. So, that the total length of time—no more than 5 minutes—depending on where you are on the earth. Now notice what he says for morning:

SB:"…and at daybreak. Bread to satisfy (yourselves)…" what is daybreak? Sunrise! Not morning to try and guess what time it is. God had it when the manna came down, they had to get up at sunrise and go out and gather it early. If they went out too late, it wouldn't be there. Quite a thing! Sunset ends the day!

Exodus 16:8 (FV): "And Moses said, 'You will see when the LORD shall give you flesh to eat at sunset and bread to the full at sunrise, for the LORD hears your murmurings...'"

Verse 9: "And Moses spoke to Aaron, 'Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, "Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your murmurings."' And it came to pass as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel that they turned toward the wilderness. And behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud! And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, "Between the two evenings…" (vs 9-12)—'ben ha arbayim'!

You can't find the definition of that word in Strong's Concordance. What is "…Between the two evenings…"—'ben ha arbayim'—mean?

Schocken gives the definition of it! He calls "between the two evenings" between the setting times!

Footnote for Lev. 23:5 (SB): between the setting times: Between the time the sun is below the horizon, no longer visible, and total darkness. An idiomatic rendition would be 'at twilight.'

How long is 'between the two evenings'? They say that 'ba erev' starts at three in the afternoon, then from three in the afternoon to probably say about 7:30 if the sun sets at 6 o'clock. If it were in the afternoon then God would be doing what to His own Sabbath? Breaking it!

Verse 12: (SB): "…speak to them, and say: 'Between the setting times you shall eat flesh, and at daybreak you shall be satisfied with bread, and you shall know that I am YHWH your God"

Now follow this very carefully; v 13 (FV): "And it came to pass, at sunset, that the quails came up and covered the camp. And at sunrise the dew lay all around the camp."

  • Why didn't God send the manna to fall on the camp?
  • Why did He cause the quail to fall on the camp, but not the manna?

God waited until the sun went down and the quail came and dropped on the camp!

Why did He do that? Because it was going to get dark, even though it was a full moon night! He didn't want them out wandering out of the camp at night. He said that 'you would eat flesh between the two evenings,' so He sent it before they ate it!

Is not sunset before the two evenings? Yes! Between the two evenings follows sunset, and it's about an hour and a half.

Have you ever dressed out quail? It's very simple! You just wring its neck and if you want to cut it open real easy, you do that. Or if you want to pluck off the feathers, you can do that. Have you ever had quail breast? About two or three bites! So, God sent a lot of quail!

  • Why did God send them at sunset? Because He did not want to break the Sabbath!
  • Can you eat the quail before they arrive? No! You have to wait until you get them!

You have to cut them, skin them, and it's right on the camp, so they just grab all that they could. You don't need much of a fire and over a flame you can cook it in about ten minutes. So, they were eating, not at night, but between the two evenings!

This is the only place in the Bible that defines—by a chronological setting—the difference between 'ba erev' (sunset) and 'ben ha arbayim' (between the two evenings)—the setting times!

  • another word for night: 'laylah'
  • another word for morning: 'boquer'

(break)

I might mention that all of this is in the Passover book, which covers every detail. One man said that it wasn't necessary to write a book of 500 pages on the Passover. Well, the truth is, it was necessary. Why? Because there are so many divergent opinions that it had to be gone into great detail to thoroughly answer everything! That's what's important to understand!

Let's review what we already covered:

  • 'ba erev' means sunset
  • 'ben ha arbayim' means between sunset and dark
  • 'laylah' means night
  • 'boquer' means morning

Exo. 16—the children of Israel went out and gathered the manna every morning. If they didn't get out there early enough, they didn't get anything. They would bring it home and they would eat it. They could bake it, boil it, fry it or eat it raw. It's called in one of the Psalms angel's food! So, they had continuous angel food cake!

Then God did another miracle ongoing for 40 years! Everyone experienced that miracle. Then we'll couple that with the other miracle; what was the other miracle that happened all the time?

  • their sandals didn't wear out
  • their clothes didn't wear out
  • their feet didn't swell

For 40 years!

Exodus 16:17: "And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, and some less. And when they measured with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little lacked nothing. They gathered each one according to his eating. And Moses said, 'Let no man leave any of it until the next morning'" (vs 17-19).

They would go out and harvest in the morning, bring it home, eat it. They could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Verse 20: "But they did not hearken to Moses, and some of them left part of it until the next morning. [#1]And it became rotten with maggots…"

Another miracle! If you didn't have enough manna, do you think they would want to eat the maggots? I doubt it!

"…and stank. And Moses was angry with them. And they gathered it morning by morning, each man according to his eating. And when the sun became hot, it melted…. [couldn't find it] …And it came to pass, on the sixth day…" (vs 20-22).

There are 4 miracles; the first one was the worms/maggots.

"…[#2]they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said to them, 'This is that which the LORD has said, "Tomorrow is the rest of the Holy Sabbath to the LORD…."'" (vs 22-23).

That's why God did not send the quail until sunset! God keeps His Sabbath! How does He keep His Sabbath? By being with His people!

"'…Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil. And that which remains over, lay up for yourselves to be kept until the next morning.' And they laid it up until the next morning as Moses said. [#3]And it did not stink; neither was there any worm in it. And Moses said, 'Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you shall not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.' And it came to pass that some of the people went out on the seventh day in order to gather, but they did not find any" (vs 23-27).

Think of the gall of people right there with the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night. How far away was God? Well, He was right up there and you could see the cloud and the pillar of fire! God said, 'Don't go out and try and find any manna because you won't find it. Well, some went out to find it, and they couldn't find it.

Verse 27: "And it came to pass that some of the people went out on the seventh day in order to gather, but they did not find any. And the LORD said to Moses, 'How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My Laws?'" (vs 27-28).

So, everything that God told them was a commandment. The Sabbath was the Law! "…How long do you refuse…"

Let's look at some New Testament doctrine. If you watch Daystar or TBN, watch and see if any of them read anything from 1-John. Why? Because they close their eyes! Look at this, this is a little different language than we find in Exo. 16, but it's the same.

1-John 2:3: "And by this standard we know… [you're conscience of it, you know]…that we know Him… [know that Christ is our Lord and that you know the Father] …if we keep His commandments" (v 3).

What did God tell the children of Israel in the wilderness? How long do you not keep My commandment and My Laws?

Verse 4: "The one who says, 'I know Him' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the Truth is not in him."

There it is right there! Always remember that the Old Testament and the New Testament agree!

Exodus 16:29: "See, because the LORD has given you the Sabbath…"

The Sabbath is a gift! That we may know God! You would think that people, since they like to get stuff free, would be running to keep the Sabbath Day, because they could have contact with God on that day. But they're not; just like the children of Israel!

"…therefore, He gives you the bread of two days on the sixth day. Let each one stay in his place. Do not let any one go out of his place on the seventh day. So, the people rested on the seventh day" (vs 29-30). They were right there with God! Amazing!

Verse 31: "And the house of Israel called the name of it Manna. And it was like coriander seed, white. And the taste of it was like wafers with honey. And Moses said, 'This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, [#4]"Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations, so that you may see the bread with which I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out from the land of Egypt"'" (vs 31-32).

That was to be put into the Ark of the Covenant! There were two things in there:

  • Aaron's rod that budded
  • the omer of manna

To be kept perpetually!

Think of that! If you didn't get out and get it early in the morning it disappeared! If you kept it over on the week day, it bred worms and stank. On the Sabbath there wasn't any. Then God told Moses to get an omer of it, to keep it so that all the children of Israel would be able to see it—I guess the priests would lift it up so they could see it—what they ate in the wilderness for 40 years. This was to be kept perpetually! An amazing thing, right here!

Verse 34: "As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the testimony to be kept. And the children of Israel ate manna forty years until they came to a habitable land. They ate manna until they came into the borders of the land of Canaan" (vs 34-35).

You would think that they would remember the Sabbath after 40 years of getting the manna!

Exo. 12—because we need to solve a couple of other problems. They were to get the lamb and kill it on the 14th day.

When does the 14th day begin? You have to apply Lev. 23:32! At sunset of the 13th day. From the 13th to the 14th—sunset to sunset is the 14th. This will solve a problem that we will come to in a little bit.

So, there was sunset that lasted about five minutes. Then they begin killing the lambs between the two evenings—'ben ha arbayim.' All the children of Israel were in the land of Goshen and they had their own houses. I imagine that they had different ones stationed on top of the houses to let them know when the sun was setting. Of course, that is all flat land there.

The cry went out, 'The sun has set!' when the sun goes below the horizon, it begins between the two evenings—'ben ha arbayim.' That's when they killed the lamb.

Even though the lamb is a type of Christ, this lamb was not for the forgiveness of sin! It was for the protection of Israel's firstborn! Not for the forgiveness of sin. The killing of the lamb in Exo. 12 has nothing to do with the day Jesus died! This is at the beginning of the 14th.

Exodus 12:6: "…kill it between the two evenings. And they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and upon the upper doorpost of the houses in which they shall eat it" (vs 6-7). Eating it was also very important!

Verse 8: "And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted with fire, and unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs. Do not eat of it raw, nor boiled at all with water…" (vs 8-9)—NOT BOILED!

Just project to Deut. 16; those offerings were to be boiled! What does that tell you? It could not be the Passover Sacrifice!

See how detailed this gets, and how important details are. What happens? Just like an attorney, he looks for the loophole, the possibility. That's what this paper written by Grabbe & Kuhn is all about. It was so effective, as I mentioned before, that Ted Armstrong actually believed it and he began to call the Passover The Lord's Supper!

Oh, isn't that nice, now we can have more Protestants because we have the Lord's Supper.

"…but roasted with fire… [not boiled]…its head with its legs, and with its inward parts" (v 9)—the heart, kidneys and liver, and it was on a skewer and they would turn it!

Verse 10: "And you shall not let any of it remain until the morning…. ['boquer'—sunrise] …And that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire."

When writing the Passover book, we wanted to find out how long it would take to burn the bones of the lamb. We had a couple of kids goats to kill, and it doesn't take long to do it. We took the biggest bone possible and put it in the fireplace and burned it till it turned to ashes. It took about two hours. A newborn lamb has very soft bones, not to thick and hard. So, there's plenty of time to do it.

Verse 10: "And you shall not let any of it remain until the morning. And that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire."

How did God get all of these instructions to the people? Moses had the elders come and he told the elders and they went out and told the people! That's exactly how it was done.

Verse 21[transcriber's correction]: "Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, 'Draw out and take a lamb for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb…. [the instructions that we already read] …And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip in the blood that is in the bowl, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood in the bowl. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until sunrise'" (vs 21-22). Sunrise was the soonest that they could go out of their houses! Keep that, because that's important!

You can imagine what the children of Israel felt that night. They would have been 'scared to death' to walk out of the door of his house until sunrise.

One of the arguments that they have for a 15th Passover is that 'they left right after the death of the firstborn of the Egyptians.' It doesn't say that! What does it say? "…none of you shall go out of the door of his house until sunrise."

Have you ever tried driving a flock of goats, sheep or horses and donkeys right after midnight? For those who are supposed to be 'doctors of the Law' that is stupid! Can't be done! And if you had as many people and animals as the children of Israel had—up to a million plus—that's a lot of people.

Here's the reason you stay in the house until sunrise; v 23: "For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians. And when He sees the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. And you shall observe this thing as a law to you and to your children forever" (vs 23-24).

The Passover Lamb in review:

  • they were select it on the 10th day of the 1st month!
  • they were to keep until the 14th, which cannot begin until there is sunset on the 13th
  • they were to kill the lamb between the two evenings, between sunset and dark
  • they were to strike the two side posts and lintel with the blood of the lamb so that the destroyer would destroy their firstborn of humans and animals
  • they were told not to go out of the door of your house until sunrise

Is that clear? Yes, but you can't get it out of most of these other translations, because they don't know that there is a two day thing here going on!

Exodus 12:11: "And this is the way you shall eat it: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in trepidation…." Not in haste; in trepidation because of what was going on! Why?

"…It is the LORD'S Passover" (v 11).

Who named the day? God did! It's the Lord's Passover! In the paper by Grabbe & Kuhn they say they 'don't know where the word Passover originated.' You've got to get the paper and read it! Amazing!

Verse 12: "For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD…. [that's pretty definite] …And the blood shall be a sign to you upon the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day… [the 14th day] …shall be a memorial to you. And you shall keep it a Feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it a Feast as a Law forever" (vs 12-14).

What did God say about the Sabbath commandment in Exo. 31? It is a perpetual covenant! Well, so are these! Now we come to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is the 15th day of the 1st month!

Verse 15: "You shall eat unleavened bread seven days; even the first day you shall have put away leaven out of your houses; for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel."

Later we will answer the question: Why is the Passover Day itself a separate day of Unleavened Bread! We read that they were to eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. So, they had unleavened bread.

Verse 16: "And in the first day there shall be a Holy convocation…"

It doesn't say anything about Passover being a Holy Day. It is a Feast of God, but because of the work necessary to do on it, it wasn't a Holy Day.

"…and in the seventh day there shall be a Holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done in them, except that which every man must eat, that only may be done by you. And you shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread…" (vs 16-17).

What did God say about the Passover? We read it!

Verse 24: "And you shall observe this thing as a Law to you and to your children forever." It's a law, but He didn't say that it was a Holy Day!

"…for in this very same day I have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt" (v 17).

  • What does the Passover show?
  • What was done on the Passover that's different than this?

God passed over their houses and didn't kill their firstborn! This says:

"…for in this very same day I have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt" (v 17). He's referring to the 15th!

"…Therefore, you shall keep this day in your generations as a Law forever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at sunset…" (vs 17-18).

What does that do to the 14th? That ends it! The other one is that you shall keep the lamb until—up to—the 14th and between the two evenings, right after sunset, you kill the lamb. Here we find it different. This is 'ba erev.' So:

  • the 14th day of the 1st month ends, just like the 9th day at sunset ends the 9th day and begins the 10th day.
  • the end of the 14th ends the 14th day and begins the 15th

"….you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at sunset" (v 18)—ending the 21st!

Let's count: 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21=7 days. That's how you do it when you understand that 'ba erev' of the numbered day ends that day. Then you're fine.

Verse 19: "Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses, for whoever eats that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. You shall eat nothing leavened. In all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread" (vs 19-20).

What does that mean? It means you eat it! I've had people ask me, 'Do I have to eat unleavened bread during the Feast of Unleavened Bread?' Of course!

I hope you got the clear picture, and I hope you get the Passover book if you don't have it. If you have it, read it! It breaks it down step-by-step-by-step all the way through!

Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version (except where noted)

Scriptural References:

  • Ezekiel 22:24-28
  • Mark 2:27-28
  • Leviticus 23:32, 27, 32
  • Exodus 12:1-6, 18
  • Leviticus 23:32
  • Exodus 12:18
  • Exodus 16:1-13, 17-28
  • 1 John 2:3-4
  • Exodus 16:29-32, 34-35
  • Exodus 12:6-10, 21-24, 11-17, 24, 17-20

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

  • Psalm 19
  • Romans 10:4
  • Revelation 20; 16
  • Deuteronomy 16
  • Exodus 31

Also referenced:

Books:

  • The Schocken Bible: The Five Books of Moses Vol. 1 by Everett Fox
  • The Christian Passover by Fred R. Coulter

Paper: The Passover in the Bible and the Church Today by Lester Grabbe & Robert Kuhn

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 2/18/21

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