Jesus Christ
JESUS CHRIST,
THE PASSOVER---THE WAVESHEAF-- THE FIRSTFRUIT!!
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" 1 Cor. 15:20
The Festival Days of God picture the spiritual plan of salvation that has been prepared for us, from God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. This spiritual plan is one of the mysteries of the Kingdom. This spiritual plan is not for the Israelites only, but for all of mankind. These feast days are to teach us how to obtain salvation and eternal life. God has granted wisdom and understanding through the Holy Spirit to those who have been called, repented of their sins and remain faithful until the return of Jesus Christ. "For He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful" (Rev. 17:14 last part).
CHRIST, THE PASSOVER
We have now been through the first three steps in God's plan of salvation. Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost. The question still being asked - Is the 14th at evening the time Passover should be killed, or is it the afternoon of the 14th when Judaism states the lamb should be killed and eaten on the evening of the 15th of Abib? It seems that after so many years of keeping Passover at the beginning of the 14th as God's word states, there are those who now say we must keep Passover at the end of the 14th because Jesus Christ was crucified on the afternoon of the 14th!
This reasoning is flawed! The Passover is the passing through Egypt and the killing of their firstborn. The Israelites had to have blood on the door post, so they would be protected from the destroyer. It was the blood on the door post that was the sign of protection, NOT the eating of the lamb. "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 against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye 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 ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
"For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts,the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD's Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when He smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle" (Exo. 12:12-13, 22-23,27- 29).
Jesus Christ is our Passover, our protector and when we take of His body and blood on the evening of the 14th [beginning at sunset - end of the 13th] we show that we want to be protected from eternal death. Christ is our Passover! "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7).
God's word teaches us that we can never gain salvation by the sacrifice of an animal! The original Passover of Exodus 12 was a shadow of the coming sacrifice of Christ. "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (Heb. 10:1-4).
CHRIST THE SACRIFICE
When Christ came to this world, He knew that His life must be given for the payment of all sins. Christ and the Father knew that it would take the life of God to pay the price for sin! "Wherefore when He cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared Me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God. Above when He said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin Thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that He may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool" (Heb. 10:5-13).
The greatest offering ever made was the willing offering of Jesus Christ! "For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Spirit also is a witness to us: for after that He had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin" (Heb. 10:14-18).
Those who want to follow Judaism and keep the Passover on the evening of the 15th are following the teachings of anti-christ! Judaism does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah! They have not kept the Passover on the right day for thousands of years, so they did not recognize the Messiah when He came the first time.
Even the Jewish historians say that the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread were two separate feast, but in some distant past they were combined into one feast. "Originally, Passover was two separate holidays. One was an agricultural holiday called "Chag Hamatzot" [Festival Of Unleavened Bread]. The other was a pastoral holiday called "Chag Hapesach" [Festival of Paschal lamb]. Both holidays developed independently in the springtime of the year, in the Hebrew month of Nissan [March-April] "The Jewish Book of Why," pg. 183. In the course of time, these two springtime festivals came to be associated with another event that occurred in the springtime of the year: the Exodus from Egypt. The Bible presents these springtime celebrations in this fashion: 1. Chag Hapesach (Exo. 34:25), the festival of Pesach [Paschal lamb], became identified with the happening in Egypt, when God "passed over" the houses of the Children of Israel, sparing them the tenth plague, which was visited upon the oldest son in each Egyptian family. Pesach comes from the Hebrew root Pasch, meaning "Paschal lamb" and "pass over." 2. Chag Hamatzot (Exo. 23:15), the Festival of Unleavened Bread, was tied to the hasty departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt, when they "took their dough before it was leavened (Exo. 12:34) "The Jewish Book of Why," Author Alfred J. Kolatch, pg. 184.
JEWS CANNOT RECOGNIZE CHRIST
As long as the House of Judah did not keep the Passover on the right day, they could not recognize that Jesus was the Christ. God's Word says: "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" (Exo. 12:6). "These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread" (Lev. 23:4-6). Seven days we must put Jesus Christ into our life by eating the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:8).
CHRIST, THE WAVESHEAF
Christ as the wavesheaf was cut down on the afternoon of the 14th. Christ's crucifixion pictures the cutting down of the first of the firstfruits. Christ was then accepted on the 1st day of the week [Sunday] as the wavesheaf firstfruit. His acceptance by God the Father, pictures Christ to be the first to live eternally after a resurrection. Others have been brought back to life, but none has qualified for eternal life until Christ was resurrected and accepted by His Father. "Jesus saith unto her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God" (John 20:17). Christ as the wavesheaf, which was cut down on the afternoon of the 14th , fits into the plan of salvation as pictured by God's Feasts! "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 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. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons" (Lev. 23:1-4). "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD" (Lev. 23:5-16).
Today, many want to take the step of the wavesheaf out of the order in which the sequence of events happened. There is a sequence of events that are to be followed by God's called-out ones. God our Father and Jesus Christ have given us truth! We must follow the truth from the Bible, the Word of God. Too many of God's people are still looking at the physical and not at the spiritual. These Feast and Holy Days are picturing a spiritual plan for salvation.
It has been given to God's called, chosen and faithful to know the mystery of the Kingdom. God's festival plan of salvation shows us this mystery.
CHRIST THE FIRSTFRUIT
"And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD" (Lev. 23:15-16).
By counting for Pentecost, on the day after the weekly Sabbath, we will always come to the 1st day of the week [Sunday]. Passover can be on any day of the week. The wavesheaf was always offered on the 1st day of the week [Sunday] during the days of unleavened bread. There is always a Sunday within the days of unleavened bread. This is the day we start our count from, even if the Passover is on the weekly Sabbath. If Passover would be on a weekly Sabbath, it would still be the Sabbath on which we use to start our Sunday count for Pentecost for the Feast of Firstfruits. Christ has shown us that it would not be wrong to pick a small sheaf of grain for the wavesheaf offering on a weekly Sabbath. "And it came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first, that He went through the corn fields; and His disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands" (Luke 6:1).
Some ministers claim you cannot count Passover when it is on a weekly Sabbath as the Sabbath for counting Pentecost, because the priest would have to work on the Sabbath by waving the sheaf! What nonsense!! Apparently these people have not read Numbers 28 and 29 where God commanded all the offerings that were to be given on each day and Holy Days.
Let's look at the offerings given on the 7 Days of Unleavened Bread. "And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. In the first day shall be an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work therein: But ye shall offer a sacrifice made by fire for a burnt offering unto the LORD; two young bullocks, and one ram, and seven lambs of the first year: they shall be unto you without blemish: And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil: three tenth deals shall ye offer for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram; A several tenth deal shalt thou offer for every lamb, throughout the seven lambs: And one goat for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you. Ye shall offer these beside the burnt offering in the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. After this manner ye shall offer daily, throughout the seven days, the meat of the sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: it shall be offered beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering. And on the seventh day ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work" (Num. 28:17-25). Now that's work for the priest!! There is no reason why Passover cannot be observed when it lands on the Sabbath before the Days of Unleavened Bread. Every Holy Day in Numbers 28 and 29 has a large offering given by the priests.
"Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations" (Lev. 23:17, 20-21).
By keeping Pentecost in the order of events, we show God we are willing to obey Him and we want to receive the Holy Spirit as given to the New Testament Church. Jesus Christ was the first of the firstfruits! "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Cor. 15:20). God through Christ has given us the opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit and we become a kind of firstfruits in the plan of God. "Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures" (James 1:18).
We are instructed in the Holy Bible, if we remain obedient to God's Word, His Teachings by keeping the Statutes, Commandments and Judgments, we will be a part of His family in the Kingdom of God. "These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb" (Rev. 14:4).
The Feast of Pentecost pictures the mystery of redemption for God's first harvest, those who have received God's Holy Spirit and have endured unto the end of this evil age.
Because Christ, our Passover [protector from death], our Wavesheaf [cut down, resurrected and accepted by the Father] and the Firstfruit of the Father is holy, then we as His chosen should be holy in our obedience to the Father. "For if the Firstfruit [Christ] be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches" (Rom. 11:16).
We can be holy through the power of God's Holy Spirit! Christ gives us this power and we can make it into the Kingdom of God if we remain faithful to His Words. These are the first three steps in God's plan of salvation for us!!
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS
The next step in God's plan of salvation is the Feast of Trumpets. This feast day represents the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful" (Rev. 17:14). "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thes. 4:14-17). These are those who have remained faithful to the Word of God. They did not follow the tradition of man! They use God's Word as the authority in their life. This is the time when the last trump will sound and Christ will return in power and glory. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Cor. 15:52).
Christ will directly intervene in world affairs at the seventh or the last trump. "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever Rev. 11:15).
Christ repeatedly warned us to WATCH, regarding His second coming. Could it be possible that, unless we are observing God's annual Sabbaths, and come under the protection of the shed blood of Christ on the right day, and keeping the Feast of Trumpets on the right day, we will NOT BE READY for the return of Christ! It is possible that if we keep the Jewish Rosh-ha-shana [Jewish New Year], we will miss God's true Feast of Trumpets! "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death" (Rev. 12:11).
BY KEEPING GOD'S TRUE HOLY DAYS, WE WILL BE PREPARED AND READY TO REIGN WITH CHRIST FOR ETERNITY!
