March 29, 2024

The Passover was first practiced just before the Exodus of God’s people out of Egypt. For practical reasons Yahuwah, through Moses, ordered the Israelites to get dressed and ready to run and to eat quickly, because it was Yahuwah’s Passover. (Exodus 12:11) During this event, Passover lambs were slaughtered to be eaten and their blood was spread on the doorposts of all who heeded Yahuwah’s warning.

Interestingly, the Passover was to be kept only by Israelites according to Exodus 12:43, but Exodus 12:48 says that a stranger who “sojourns” with Israel can only partake in the Passover if they become circumcised like the Israelites. So, this is an Israelite feast, but strangers who sojourned were also commanded to keep the feast after becoming circumcised.

And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the Passover to Yahuwah, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. One law shall be to him that is homeborn and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. –  Exodus 12:48-49

The Hebrew word for sojourn refers to a person whose experience is like that of an Israelite. These are going through all the motions and growing pangs of Israel – their suffering and their blessings. To seal the covenant between the stranger and God, they also had to be circumcised as Israel had to be as part of their own covenant with God.

The circumcision represents a covenant relationship where any person, native or foreign born, reduces his own human instinct or “flesh”, in exchange for obedience and glory to and reliability on the God of Israel.

So, in addition to this being a command to the children of Israel, it was a command to all those who became like Israel and were therefore held accountable as children of God. Interestingly, Exodus 12:48-49 lays out three requirements for being considered as one born of Israel.

  1. a stranger shall sojourn with thee – The stranger must strive with and like Israel. Literally to travel the same path.
  2. will keep the Passover to Yahuwah – The stranger must keep this feast.
  3. let all his males be circumcised – The strange male must cut off his flesh.

After the Israelites were freed from Egypt, Yahuwah commanded them to observe the Passover from year to year. (Numbers 9:2) This holy day was kept throughout Israelite history, even into the days of the Messiah as he also kept this feast day. (Matthew 26:17-19)

Interesting fact: The Hebrew word “Pesach” (פסח), means to hop, so technically in English, it should be rendered “hop over”, rather than pass over.

The common Christianized belief about Passover, most often discussed at Easter, is that the Messiah came as the new Passover lamb and therefore, we no longer need to observe this holy feast. A conflict arises when we substitute this holy day with Easter. If it’s not necessary to observe God’s ordained holydays, then why do we celebrate pagan holidays in their places?

Exodus 12:14 says this:

“And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to Yahuwah throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.”

This is a memorial that Yahuwah commanded us to keep forever. This means that we were commanded by God, to continue to remember how we were first delivered from bondage until the end of time as we know it. If we believe in an all-knowing God, we should know that there is a reason why we were instructed to remember this forever, rather than until Jesus came.

In truth, the Messiah never taught that he is the new Lamb; rather, he specified that he is the bread and wine of the Passover meal. Even if, like me, you see the symbolic connection between the Messiah and the Passover Lamb, he NEVER taught or indicated that His sheep should become disobedient to God’s command to memorialize the methods used to redeem Israel. In fact, he indicated that we should continue this tradition, recognizing the bread of the feast as his body and the wine of the feast as his blood which was shed for us. (Luke 22:19)

Like the Sabbath, this holyday was not done away with but replaced with the more Pagan, Easter holiday season including, ash Wednesday, good Friday and lent.

So where do our Easter customs actually come from?

Ever asked yourself where the word Easter originated. It’s not a modern English word.

If we follow the evidence in this piece of information, we learn that Easter is a Germanic tradition practiced by pagan Anglo-Saxons to celebrate a spring goddess, Ēostre.[1]  Practices involving eggs and rabbits are also associated with this tradition.

Nineteenth century writer, Jacob Grimm, said it best over 120 years ago, “This Ostarâ, like the [Anglo-Saxon] Enástre, must in heathen religion have denoted a higher being, whose worship was so firmly rooted, that the Christian teachers tolerated the name, and applied it to one of their own grandest anniversaries”[2]

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about the holyday that most Christians intend to celebrate but has been tricked into abandoning, Pasach.

If asked, most people would say that Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of the Messiah. While I understand why this is so easily believable, it’s very deceitful and lacking the substance God intended.

First, Jesus was likely not resurrected on a Sunday, but on the Sabbath. This is evident in scripture.

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. Mat 26:17

It was at the end of the Sabbath that the two Mary’s found Jesus’ tomb empty, meaning he had already been resurrected before the first day of the week, Sunday.

Additional evidence can be found in Mark’s gospel.

And 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. – Mark 16:1

According to Mark, Mary and Salome found the Messiah’s tomb empty first thing Sunday morning. Again, he was already out of the tomb by Sunday morning.

Luke’s gospel recalls it this way:

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. – Luke -24:1

Luke’s account says that it was all the women who followed the Messiah from Galilee, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary mother of James, and other women, who found the empty tomb. (Luke 24:10) Again his account holds that this occurred very early on Sunday morning.

So, if anything, celebrating on a Sunday commemorates the day the female disciples of the Messiah found his tomb empty, but not necessarily the day he was resurrected. Nonetheless, this is only a minor detail, that in truth, no one today can prove with direct biblical testimony.

What is indisputable is that nowhere in the bible are we commanded to memorialize the Messiah’s birth, death, or resurrection on any day other than the Passover, which was not the day he was resurrected, but the evening before he was crucified. Even then he says to remember him, meaning on this day, the Passover, we should remember everything about him – his birth, life, teachings, sacrifice, death, and resurrection.

According to the gospel of Luke, he specified a practice that should be included in the observance of Passover after his death and resurrection.

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise, also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. – Luke 22:19

This was on the last Passover celebrated by our beloved Messiah, for which his disciples had slaughtered and roasted a lamb.

Now keep in mind that the unleavened bread and wine was already a custom of the feast of the Passover. Jesus simply told us of its significance. In other words, he had always been the unleavened bread and the blood of the Passover and after the resurrection, we would recognize him as such on the Passover.

See, the Passover of the bible was commanded to be observed on the 14th day of the first month of Abib, which occurs between March and April. During this feast, we are basically to reenact the Exodus Passover by roasting a lamb, eating it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, and perhaps preparing to exit bondage by being fully clothed with staff in hand. All these, of course, are foreshadowings of things to come – mental preparations. While many agree with this sentiment, they err in thinking that the things it foreshadowed have come and gone. If it were so, Jesus would not instruct us to keep this feast and recognize the bread and wine as his body and blood.

Also, if all things God commanded and set in order have passed, why are we still here and suffering? Shouldn’t all things be fulfilled if indeed all things have been fulfilled? The point of the prophetic nature of these holy days is to prepare us for things to come and if all things have come than we should be in heaven and not still in suffering on earth. Yet, if all things have not come, as is evident by our condition, then those things that the holy days foreshadow are not yet completely fulfilled. Meaning that we should be continuing in them as instructed by our Elahim.

In Luke 22:19, the Messiah explains that the wine replaced the smearing of the lamb’s blood that was smeared on the doorpost at the first Passover and the bread, which is the word, represents his body. He doesn’t say we should no longer keep the feast after his death, but that indeed we must continue it to remember who he is and what he did for us.

Yes, it is true that Yahushua became our sacrifice, but does that mean that we should then forget the sacrifice? Of course not, even the Catholic Church agrees. They incorporated the Eucharist, which is the Last Supper tradition of drinking wine and eating unleavened bread.

The next Passover and Easter, in 2020, is April 7 and 12, respectively. So Easter Sunday is celebrated near the biblical Passover (and on another biblical holy day that we’ll discuss later) but so does the so-called Lord’s day to the biblical Sabbath! Does that make it okay to change God’s ordained holy days? And what is the purpose of teaching that the Messiah’s death and resurrection eliminated the need to obey God and observe these days, yet they have been replaced with pagan traditions? If then the need to celebrate God’s commanded observances are “done away with” then why do we celebrate any semblance of these observances? Why are we celebrating Christian holidays at all?

Christianity is not the only religion that corrupts biblical truth. Oddly, the day of Passover is correctly listed on the Jewish calendar whereas the new year is observed in September according to Judaic religious tradition. This is a direct contradiction to God’s commandment regarding the observance of the new year, which was a command specific to biblical Israelites to mark their new life outside of bondage. Therefore, it’s no surprise that religious Jews don’t observe it, since as they say, “were never in bondage to any man.” (John 8:33)

In 2018, the first new moon of the new year was on March 17, 14 days prior to the Jewish and biblical Passover, yet the Jews began their year in September. This indicated that they know when the biblical new year begins, 14 days before Passover, but chose not observe it.

March 2018 (# Gregorian, # Biblical)
Sun Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat
17 1st
18 2nd 19 3rd 20 4th 21 5th 22 6th 23 7th 24 8th
25 9th 26 10th 27 11th 28 12th 29 13th 30 14th 31 15th

This year, 2020, the Jewish and Christian passover is 16 days after the first New moon… Go figure🤷🏾‍♀️

Likewise, there are direct contradictions and dramatic differences in how the Christian Easter and the biblical Passover are celebrated.

Those celebrating the biblical Passover will, on April 7, 2020, likely read the stories of the first Passover to their family so that everyone remembers why it’s done and what it commemorates. They will prepare a fattening and clean, pork-free and leaven-free meal for everyone, extended family included. They will all eat the food and remember the “new sacrifice”, Yahushua the Messiah, as they sip the blood of the lamb (the wine) and eat his body (unleavened bread) and remember everything about him. Additionally, they will observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread for the next seven days as well as the Feast of First Fruits on April 12 and observe them to the best of their ability.

Meanwhile, those observing Easter may go to church first thing Easter Sunday on April 12, 2020, the first Sunday following the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They will take communion or the Lord’s Supper at church before the real festivities begin. They will cook and eat lots of ham, pork roast, and rice dressing with pork, beans with bacon, and bread with yeast. Instead of wine, there will almost certainly be beer, whiskey, and drunkenness. In place of remembrance of the purpose of the Passover, there will be Easter egg hunts, chocolate bunnies, and pictures with bunny rabbits.

So, tell me, which of these days did your God ordain and which caters to the fleshly desires of man and supports pagan tradition?

This is another holyday that has been replaced by a pagan anti-God holiday. Unfortunately, it’s not the last!

Recognize it, reject it, and correct it! That’s my motto 😊

Download the New Testament Timeline to see the relationship of the Passover, death, and resurrection based on the Matthew, Mark, and Luke gospel accounts.

Feast of Unleavened Bread

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ēostre

[2] Grimm, Jacob (James Steven Stallybrass Trans.) (1882). Teutonic Mythology: Translated from the Fourth Edition with Notes and Appendix Vol. I. London: George Bell and Sons.

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