Passover or Easter - which should I celebrate? updated May 2014 
Is there a difference?

Passover2 - many more scriptural passages and resources to help clarify the when of passover and the exodus.

A more detailed history of  passover      When did Jesus die?

Also see my page  When did Christ die?   for an even more thorough look at the issue.

When should the Passover be observed??   
How should it be observed?
Am I required to observe it at all? 
What's the big deal here?
This page answers those questions. There are no religious affiliations weighted in this writing. 
I welcome your comments, criticisms, rebuttals, proof of error, etc. email me 

Is Easter  the same as Passover?   Is Passover just for the Jews, who are still waiting for Christ to come the first time and don't believe the Jesus who came 2000 years ago was really the Messiah? Do they keep the Passover today the same way God commanded back 
in 1548BC at the Exodus?  Is Easter  a Christian Holiday or a pagan celebration of the Roman pagan Goddess Eostre?  Is timing important as Easter is normally celebrated after Passover every year? What do chicks, and egg hunts, and giving bunny rabbits to children have to do with it?  Go to www.detailshere.com/easter.htm  if you want to know the truth about Easter.  Also see www.detailshere.com/trueorigins.htm  This page you are on now will deal with the truth about Passover. 

A controversy has existed for hundreds of years concerning the correct time of the Passover sacrifice. 
Was it at the beginning or end of the fourteenth of Abib (Nisan 14)? Did the angel of death pass over Egypt at midnight 
on Nisan 14 or midnight Nisan 15?  Did the Israelites begin their trek out of Egypt in the wee hours of Nisan 15 in the middle 
of Nisan 15? Or at the beginning of Nisan 15 when evening began after spending the daylight portion of Nisan 14 loading their 
stuff, breaking camp, spoiling the Egyptians and assembling for the exodus journey at Rameses? I have spent hundreds of 
hours studying a gazillion resources on this issue. Below are my conclusions
and my reasoning and scriptural passages behind 
those conclusions. Are my conclusions correct? I don't know for sure.  My wife and I are still not in agreement over the issue 
which is why we hold two communions each year ; one on the evening of Nisan 14 and another on the evening of Nisan 15. 
There's good reasons the controversy exists over the correct time of the original passover sacrifice and passing over of the 
angel of death; lack of scriptural clarity and definitiveness, logistics, a change of Jewish customs since the original passover in 1548BC, and the unimportance to them of Jesus in the passover rememberance; all these things complicate the issue.  One
 thing is for certain; Yahweh tells us we need to remember this time each year. And He tells us in
both Leviticus 23:5-6 and 
Numbers 28:16-17 as to the when.

Why do we need to know this?
We are in the endtimes folks; the last days on earth.  Easter is NOT one of Yahweh's Feastdays; but neither is Christmas, or Halloween, or Valentine's Day  either which many consider pagan Christianity. These all belong to the mimicer, the guy who wants us to burn with him in the lake of burning suphur at the end of the millenium.  The birthpangs spoken of in Revelation are getting closer and closer together and the intensity is increasing, much more so in this last decade than all the previous years put together. The second coming is getting very very close, and apostacy in the church, drifting away from the truth to the lies of Satan,  keeps spreading to drive Christians further and further from the truth and what Yahweh wants of them. What ARE Yahweh's words regarding Passover and His Holy Annual Feast Days? Why do Christians know that Christian traditions are not right but continue to practice them anyway? 

This page gives the story of the first Passover at 1548BC (some say this date is 1461BC) and how it pointed forward to Jesus 
being the passover lamb in 33AD (and some say that can be as early as 30AD). Nisan 14 was on a Wednesday in 30AD and on a Friday in 33AD. No other years have a Nisan 14 at the appropriate day of the week and we know Pontius Pilate reigned from only 
26AD to 36AD. 
The Bible however doesn't properly answer the times, dates, and chronology issues many people have with figuring out exactly what really happened and when in both time frames.  My page at www.detailshere.com/passover2.htm addresses these issues further and gives more pertinent scriptural passages from all chapters of the Bible as well as writings and resources of other authors as well as pertinent info from Christian churches today who DO celebrate passover instead of easter  who have studied this issue which can be used to properly assemble this confusing puzzle. 

"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" (Exo.12:7-14).

Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. Ezekiel 20:12

And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God. Ezekiel 12:20
 
Exodus 31:13  Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths (plural - verse 14 speaks of the weekly sabbath so we know this is referring to the annual feastday sabbaths and may well include the weekly sabbath too but this verse does not speak of many weekly sabbaths) ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

There are four passages above that tell me  that Yahweh's other sabbaths, His annual Holy Feast Days, didn't go out with the cross and 
that Yahweh wants me to keep them if I want to be claimed as His and protected from the wrath of the coming tribulation period. But you say these are Moses' laws; but these were in the Bible before Moses ever went on the exodus.

So just what IS Passover and where did it originate?
It's not a quick explanation but it's a fascinating story, and it really happened.  
This is as precise and as short as my research could boil it down to.

Passover is an EVENT that actually happened in approximately 1548BC, at midnight, on Nisan 14, the 14th day of the first month of the year, in the spring on the night preceding the night of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. The Exodus began at the evening of the beginning of Nisan 15.  See my wife's page at http://www.iisusbog.com/p29ead.htm for timeline info. The event was the passing over of the death angel which put to death the first born of any human, including animals and livestock, of all homes who didn't have lamb's blood painted on their doorposts. 

Let us summarize what the Passover means to us. Keeping Passover each year is not a Mosaic Law or a Jewish thing. It is God’s command in Exodus 12:14 that ALL of us shall memorialize this day throughout all generations, FOREVER. That’s pretty simple 
language to tell us Passover is for ALL of us to observe, EVERY year, once a year, FOREVER; Jew and Gentile alike. 
The requirement to observe Passover did not go out with the cross and is found in the Bible long before the Mosaic laws were written.

Easter is NOT Passover. Easter is man’s concoction. Easter is a pagan celebration, mixing pagan traditions of the celebration of the Goddess Eostre with a Christian icing of the resurrection to make it palatable to the deceived and uninformed. Easter as a Christian celebration was created when pagans were being brought over to Christianity, bringing their pagan baggage with them. Easter is not God's holiday. Neither are Christmas , Saint Valentines Day or Halloween. These are not God’s Holy FeastDays ; they ALL have pagan roots and origins; yet Christians ignore this and participate in them anyway. Jews mock Christians with good reason because they know these are not God's holidays.

Passover is not one of God's holy feastdays in itself but ushers in the Feast of Unleavened Bread wherein the first and last days of the Feast of Unleavened bread are Sabbaths – meaning rest, worship and no work on those days. Passover is a commemoration of the "Passing Over" and occurs on  a different day each year; on Nisan 14.  Nisan 15 is always a full moon so it is easy to know exactly when these days are each year.  Remember God’s days are sundown to sundown, not midnight to midnight. And the dark half of the day comes before the light half of the day. So 7pm to 7am might be considered the dark half and 7am to 7pm after that would be considered the light second half of that day. Both Leviticus 23:5-6 and Numbers 28:16-17 tell us to commemorate passover on Nisan 14 and the Feast of Unleavened bread (celebrating the start of the exodus) starts at the beginning of Nisan 15.

From http://rcg.org/books/ghdoph.html  
"On the 10th day of Abib (the first Hebrew month), Israel was to select an unblemished lamb. Four days later, on the 14th 
day of Abib (Nisan 14) , the lamb was to be killed. Exodus 12:6 says that it was to be killed “in the evening,” but the original Hebrew 
means “between the two evenings.” Some Bible margins plainly state this. The Jewish Encyclopedia explains that this is the 
period commonly referred to as twilight or dusk. This period is described as the time after sundown, but before full darkness 
has occurred. In other words, it was at the very beginning of the 14th that the lamb was killed—and soon thereafter, the blood 
of the lamb was sprinkled above the doorposts of the Israelite’s houses. At midnight, the death angel struck dead all the firstborn 
of Egypt. But God had told the Israelites, “when I see the blood on your doorposts, the angel of death will pass over you”—hence, 
the well-known term Passover."
 
 
Passover means “passing over”. Jews today claim that the Passover commemorates the exodus from Egypt, but that is not what the Bible says. It was a completely different specific event preceding the exodus by a whole day, hence the disagreement that surrounds the time of passover today.

My studies show the Jewish nation DID celebrate passover properly on Nisan 14  and not combine it with the exodus on 
Nisan 15 for sometime after the 1548BC passover. But then they stopped that when they changed over to temple celebrations 
instead of in home celebrations. This was man's change, not God's change. The required dates of Leviticus 23:5-6 and Numbers 28:16-17 never changed.  This change of celebration time and combining passover with the feast of unleavened bread and starting 
the feast on Nisan 15 instead of remembering passover separately on Nisan 14 continued up until the 30AD or 33AD crucifixion and continues on today. This Jewish change of combining the rememberance of passover with the feast of unleavened bread representing the exodus is what makes the events of 30AD or 33AD when Jesus became the passover lamb so complicated, as the Jews don't recognize Jesus as the passover lamb either.  That part of passover wasn't important to them, only the being freed from the bondage of slavery in 1548BC. 

In 33AD Jesus and his apostles held their passover service the evening of the beginning of Nisan 14 before everyone else did 
on Nisan 15.  Why?  Because Leviticus 23:5 and Numbers 28:16 says that Nisan 14 is the day to hold passover; regardless of 
what the Jews did erroneously in that time period.  In fact Jesus and His apostles were the only ones to hold passover at the correct 
time. For those who claim the last supper was just a regular meal; and a not a passover meal; Matthew 26:18-19, Mark 14:14 and 16,   and Luke 22:8, 11, and 13 all address the fact this was in fact a passover meal. Later that evening in the night time portion of Nisan 14, Jesus prayed in the Garden Of Gesthemane, was taken by the Jewish sanhedrin thugs, found guilty of claiming to be God, blasphemy, 
taken to Pontius pilot, handed off to Herod, back to Pilot where He was beaten at the whipping post, then sentenced to be crucified 
when that didn't satisfy the Jews. In the daylight portion of Nisan 14 he carried the cross up the De La Rosa , was nailed to that cross at 
Calgary, and died in the late afternoon portion of Nisan 14 at the same time the Jewish passover lambs were killed in preparation 
for the upcoming feast of unleavened bread which at that point in time  included a rememberance of passover on Nisan 15 
instead of Nisan14 as Lev 23:5 and Numbers 28:16 required. 

Passover is named for the event, occurring at midnight on Nisan 14, approximately 1548BC, which was executed by God. It received it’s name for the sparing of Israel’s firstborn, during the night in which the destroyer, Satan’s angel of death, passed over all the houses in Egypt, sparing only the children of Israel their firstborn from the plague of death, while they were still in their houses, in the land of Egypt, BEFORE the Exodus took place. God didn’t kill the firstborn of the Egyptians that night but He allowed Satan, the destroyer, to do so.  Exodus 12:23 states “….and will not suffer (or allow) the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.”  Satan is the destroyer.

To prevent Satan’s angel of death from also killing the firstborn of the Israelites, God’s instructions to the Israelites were to sacrifice a lamb at the beginning of Nisan14 as soon as the sun went down on the end of Nisan 13, and spread it’s blood over the lintel and doorposts of each house if they wanted their firstborn to be spared. They had to kill and roast the lamb and eat it completely that night , stay inside their houses until dawn,  and burn any remains of the lamb not eaten by the following morning.    Exodus12:7-13 covers this. 

The Passover derives it’s name from this event, passing over of the Israelite houses marked in lamb’s blood,  in which God allowed Satan, the destroyer, as the tenth plague on Egypt,  to kill all of Egypt’s firstborn as the final step in  redeeming the entire nation of Israel from the bondage of slavery. The redemption of God was their only salvation from that bondage of slavery. Their slavery was a bondage to sin, and the ultimate penalty for sin is death.

The Passover has great significance for us Christians today in relationship to God’s passing over our sins through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ, and sparing us from the penalty of sin, which is eternal death. Keeping Yahweh's Holy Feast Days today also has significance as it points forward to God knowing who belong to Him so He can protect them from the coming 7 plagues of tribulation just as He protected the Israelites from 7 of the 10 plagues He cast on the Egyptians. The Israelites went through the first three along with the Egyptians.

But we are getting ahead of the story.
Let’s first set the stage with how the Israelites got to Egypt in the first place and needed removal from the bondage of slavery.

Let’s go back to Abraham who had two sons first; Ishmael from his wife’s servant Hagar because his wife was so old they didn’t feel she could have a child. This was man’s attempt to fix the problem of creating descendants. The descendants of Ishmael constitute the Muslim nation today.  
And Abraham and Sarah finally had  Isaac, the child God had promised to Abraham from his wife Sarah. Sarah was about 90 years old when she had Isaac, a true miracle. This was God’s real solution to the problem of creating descendants and an ancestry for Abraham. Abraham had many more sons after Sarah died also but we are interested in where Isaac came from. 

Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob , with the help of his mother, tricked Isaac who was nearly blind in old age into giving him the family blessings instead of Esau, who was the rightful heir. This caused a falling out between Jacob and Esau and Jacob left to seek work and habitation elsewhere. Jacob fell in love with a gal named Rachel and made a deal to work for her father for 7 years for her hand, but on their wedding night her father switched daughters on him in the bedroom and because Jacob was drunk he ended up consummating the marriage with Leah instead of Rachel but still had to work off his 7 year deal promised to her father. At the end of the 7 years he made another 7 year deal to then marry Rachel. To make a long story short, between Leah, Leah’s maid, Rachel and Rachel’s maid , Jacob ended up with 12 sons and a daughter. But he favored Joseph and Benjamin because they came from Rachel whom he loved so much. Because he favored Joseph, the rest of the brothers were very jealous of Joseph, and on a trip sold him into Egyptian slavery.  Benjamin did not go along on that trip because he was too young.

But Joseph was a smart boy and made many suggestions to his Egyptian captors to increase their productivity and wealth.  So much so that he soon was put in charge of much of Pharoh’s holdings and even became the governor of all of Egypt.  Then there was a great famine. Joseph was warned by God and knew about this ahead of time and had stored up 7 years worth of grain and goods to carry Egypt through this time period. Jacob, Joseph’s father, who had been told Joseph was dead long ago, in desperation as they had run out of food,  sent his sons to Egypt to try and get food. Joseph recognized his brothers and sent food and word to his father Jacob to come to Egypt where there was food aplenty to share with them.  They were given a 300 square mile territory, approximately 20 miles long by 15 miles wide, called the land of Goshen in which to live. This is where the children of Israel lived and multiplied for over 250 years. The Bible says 400 years, but the few ancestral lines don't seem to support that length of time.

Now this all worked out until Joseph passed away, as well as the Pharoh he served. Then troubles began. In Exodus 1 starting with Verse 7 we find the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. Then  there arose up a new king over Egypt, which didn’t know Joseph. And he said unto his people, behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it came to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.

Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Rameses. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with intense labor. And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. Pharoh even tried to kill all the newborns that were males, which leads us in to the Moses story.

Moses enters the picture
Along comes Moses, a male Israelite, supposed to be killed along with all other male newborns, hidden for three months after birth, but was set adrift on the river in a basket of reeds where an Egyptian lady, Pharoh’s daughter,  found him and adopted him, hired Moses’ real mom unknowingly to nurse him,  and raised him up as an Egyptian.
But Moses knew he was an Israelite and after watching the cruelty of the Egyptians over the Israelite slaves one day stopped one of these beatings and accidently killed the Egyptian. This sent him into the wilderness away from Egypt for 40 years tending flocks as a common shepherd until one day a burning bush ignited in front of him, was not consumed,  and it was God from it speaking to him.

God, remembering his covenant with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, told Moses to go free his people from Egyptian slavery. Moses said, whoooah Lord, I ain’t up to that, they won’t listen to me, who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?   God said, I will be with you, take your brother Aaron and go. I will take care of everything.

Well, Pharoh had a hard heart and wasn’t about to let his slaves go. Moses even threw down his staff and it turned into a snake to show God’s power; but Pharoh wasn’t impressed. His magicians could do the same thing.  God then cast plagues over all Egypt.  The first was turning all the waters blood red to where the fish died and stank and nobody could drink the water. That didn’t work so God then made frogs be abundant. There were frogs everywhere, covering the land of Egypt. But Pharoh gave in only for a short while and as soon as the frogs were gone he again refused to let the Israelites go. The God turned the dust into lice that plagued man as well as beast. Again Pharoh relented only until the lice were gone, then again went into the refusal mode.

It is interesting to note that the Israelites went through three of these plagues also but were spared from seven of them..  Seven of the plagues affected Egyptian land but did not extend into the Land of Goshen where the Israelites lived. This points forward to God protecting us from the tribulation and the 7 bowls of wrath that will be poured out just before Jesus comes at the second coming.

Well, to make a long story short, besides the water turning to blood and the frogs, and the lice,  God plagued the Egyptians with flies which covered the land, cast disease upon the Egyptian cattle, put boils upon the skin of the Egyptians, brought thunder and hail to destroy the crops of the Egyptians, brought swarms of locusts over all Egypt to consume and eat their crops,  and brought darkness for three days all over the land.
Each time Pharoh agreed to let the slaves go only to change his mind as soon as the plague was lifted.

Plagues of Egypt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagues_of_Egypt
The plagues as they appear in the Bible are:
1. (Exodus 7:14-25) rivers and other water sources turned to blood killing all fish and other water life. (Dam)
2. (Exodus 7:26-8:11) amphibians (commonly believed to be frogs) (Tsfardeia)
3. (Exodus 8:12-15) lice or gnats (Kinim)
4. (Exodus 8:16-28) flies or beasts (Arov)
5. (Exodus 9:1-7) disease on livestock (Dever)
6. (Exodus 9:8-12) unhealable boils (Shkhin)
7. (Exodus 9:13-35) hail mixed with fire (Barad)
8. (Exodus 10:1-20) locusts (Arbeh)
9. (Exodus 10:21-29) darkness (Choshech)
10. (Exodus 11:1-12:36) death of the first-born of all Egyptian families. (Makat Bechorot)

The tenth plague, the death of all firstborn,  was the clincher though. From Exodus 11:5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of all the beasts.  Even with this severe of a warning and in light of the other nine plagues which had come true and were testimony to God’s power; Pharoh would still not let the Israelites go; although the rest of the Egyptians were by now wanting to get rid of them.

God protected His people, the Israelites, by giving them instructions on how to protect themselves from this intense plague by painting their doorposts and lintels of their houses with the blood of the lamb and to stay inside their houses and not come out until sunrise the next day.  At midnight, that night, a few hours after the beginning of nisan14, God allowed the destroyer, Satan, to kill all the firstborn of any house in Egypt not containing the blood of the lamb on the door posts and lintels. The destroyer had to PASS OVER and not kill the firstborn in any house that contained the blood painted doorposts and lintels.  That event, at midnight, in 1548BC, the passing over of the Israelite houses containing the blood of the Passover lambs on their doorposts was the first Passover.

God commands us to remember Passover
each year on the correct day, Nisan 14,  in the evening, forever and ever as it pointed forward to the sacrifice of Yahshua on the cross who became our Passover lamb some 1575 years later to rescue us from the bondage of sin.

Many have tried to tell us this was all a fairy tale; that in reality it never happened. However recent archeological finds have discovered accounts of these plagues in Egyptian related writings including the deaths of the Egyptian firstborn on this fateful night.

Many try to tell us the exodus of several million people from the land of Goshen in Egypt never happened either, but recent archeological finds at the Gulf of Aquaba on the Red Sea where a land bridge lies just under the waters there have turned up chariot parts of that era, bones of horses, and other artifacts that tell us the spreading of the waters across the red sea and the entrapment of Pharoh’s army really did happen.  See http://www.arkdiscovery.com/red_sea_crossing.htm and  http://tempodofim2.tripod.com/Exodo.htm   ( in Spanish) for many pics about the Exodus, maps of the route, pic of the underwater landbridge under the sea at the crossing site, newspaper articles and many pics of chariot parts still underwater. Also see http://www.wyattmuseum.com/red-sea-crossing.htm  and http://www.detailshere.com/exoduspath.htm   for the exodus path our spy satellite above earth found and how it found it.

The first Passover which initiated freeing of the Israelites from the bondage of slavery  has much significance and points forward to the death of Yahshua, the lamb of God,  on the cross which initiated freeing us from the bondage of sin some 1575 years later.

It is God’s command in Exodus 12:14 that ALL of us shall observe this day (passover) throughout all generations, FOREVER. It is NOT a Jewish thing, it is NOT a Mosaic law that went out with the cross - exodus 12:14 was written before the Mosaic Laws , It is simply Yahweh’s command and keeping Passover annually is one of God’s ways to know that you belong to Him so He can seal you from harm during the tribulation period coming soon.  Again, Easter is NOT Passover. Easter is Satan’s substitute pagan celebration of eggs, and chicks and pretty bunnies symbolizing pagan fertility rites created so you will not honor God’s Passover.  Yahweh has seven special times each year that are HIS. We will discuss each as they come along.

Passover is not a feastday in itself
but a commemoration of the "passing over" and  ushers in the Feast of Unleavened Bread wherein the first and last days are Sabbaths – meaning rest, worship and no work on those days.  Passover always occurs  in the evening of Nisan 14 not in the first part of the evening of Nisan 15 as the Jews currently celebrate it. Remember God’s days are sundown to sundown, not midnight to midnight.

Why unleavened bread?  One of the things we are required to do during the week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is to have NO leaven or yeast in our homes and to use no yeast in cooking during that week. As the exodus from Egypt was abrupt, bread did not have time to rise. They threw the unrisen bread over their shoulders, stuffed dough into their clothes and began the Exodus; hence the FeastDay week called the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Scripture  commands that Passover be observed separately from the 7 days of the Feast of Unleavened bread.  God did not establish Passover day as a memorial of the Exodus. Passover was established as a memorial  to commemorate Yahweh’s passing over of the houses of the Israelites to protect their firstborn from the destroyer who was allowed to kill all the firstborn Egyptians.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which begins on the following day, when the sun sets at the end of the 14th day and the  beginning the fifteenth day of Nisan, is the feast that Yahweh established to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt. These are different events, occurring on different days, and are not to be celebrated on the same day.

Jews have combined these two feasts erroneously instead of keeping them separate and now call the both of them the celebration of passover.

Think of the logistics
of moving 2 to 3 million people with all their flocks and herds. Exodus 12 clearly records that the children of Israel departed as an organized group from Rameses.  Leaving the morning following the Passover would not allow time for 2 million people to gather their belongings and travel to Rameses from their houses and assemble in their marching order before beginning the Exodus.  Numbers 33 also states that the Egyptians were burying their dead. How many? Doesn’t say, but  if you consider 10 Egyptians for every Israelite (remember the Egyptians killed all male Israelites to keep the population down) and there were 600,000 Israelite men, and 1 in 5 Egyptians could be a first born; that still leaves several million firstborn killed that night. That’s a lot of burials.

It took all of the rest of the daylight part of the 14th of Nisan to spread the word that Pharoh wanted them outa there, to get ready to move out, to receive the spoils of gold and silver and clothing given them by the Egyptians, to pack up, organize, and then assemble at  Rameses to start the Exodus that evening after sundown, the beginning of Nisan 15 . The commands of Yahweh recorded in Leviticus 23 confirm the separate identity of these two events.

Deuteronomy 16:1 clearly states that Yahweh brought His children out of Egypt by NIGHT. If passover happened at midnight 
and they were supposed to stay in their houses before morning, where is the night part of that day to leave under? Clearly they 
didn't leave Egypt on the day part of Nisan 14 but at the beginning of Nisan 15. 

It is also interesting to note that the Egyptians “spoiled”, or heaped upon the Israelites all the clothing and jewelry they desired.  They gave to the Israelites many gifts of silver and gold and clothing for their departure AFTER the completion of all the plagues because Yahweh gave them favor in the eyes of the Egyptians.  The Egyptians who were NOT killed in the final plague of death must have been in absolute terror that God would strike them down, as He had their firstborn.  Fearful of being struck dead they gave the children of Israel everything they asked for.

The Book of Numbers (Numbers 33:1-5) gives us an account of their departure from Rameses.  Numbers 33:3 specifically states the children of Israel departed Rameses on the 15th day of the first month. "And they departed from Rameses in the first month; on the fifteenth day of the first month, on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians." 

Deuteronomy 16:1 shows their departure began at sunset, the beginning of Nisan 15,  and continued late into the night on the 16th.

The Exodus began from Rameses, not from the houses located in the land of Goshen. The Exodus began as an organized march, not as a scattered movement of people and flocks. It took them the daylight part of Nisan 14 to receive their spoils from the Egyptians and move from their houses in Goshen and organize at the start point of the Exodus in Rameses where God’s  full moon and pillar of light would guide them by night, and a pillar of cloud would protect them from the hot sun during the day. They marched out of Rameses  in the evening just after the sun went down on Nisan 14 at the beginning of the 15th day, Nisan 15.  Deuteronomy 16:1 clearly states that Yahweh brought His children out of Egypt by NIGHT, the beginning of Nisan 15. That is why God designated the NIGHT of the 15th as a memorial for all generations to come. Exodus 12:42. It is why Nisan 15 is always a full moon each year. 

This is where it gets sticky as the Jews no longer differentiate between the two events.

Exodus 12:37-39 describes their journey from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 men on foot. If every man had a wife and at least one or two kids, that’s a lot of people.  It is hard to comprehend the magnitude of the Exodus.  The day of the Exodus, leaving from Rameses, is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread to commemorate the act of Yahweh  bringing them out from the land of Egypt and releasing them from the bondage of slavery.   What’s interesting is that this whole scenario was prophesied in Genesis 15:13-14 where Abraham was told his seed would be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, his seed shall serve them, and afterwards they will come out with great substance.

We know what happened next when they got to the Red Sea and Pharoh again changed his mind and went after them with his army to kill them all. God separated the waters of the Red Sea and dried the sea bed floor so the children of Israel could cross over to the other side. After they had crossed he then protected them even further by disabling the chariots; wheels came off, axles broke, etc. Ex 14:24-25. But they still pursued and when God loosed the wind holding the waters back, they were all drowned. Today, you can dive in this area of the landbridge, a 600 foot wide shallow shelf underwater with deep water on both sides of this shelf,  at the Gulf of Aquaba, and find chariot parts encrusted with coral. See http://www.arkdiscovery.com/red_sea_crossing.htm  for many pics.

The passover was instituted as a one day service, a memorial of God’s passing over of the Israelite houses, to be observed on the 14th day of the first month.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread was instituted as a seven day observance, beginning on the 15th day of the first month with the first day commemorating the first day of the Exodus, leaving at Rameses, and the 7th day commemorating the completion of the Exodus across the Red Sea with the total destruction of the enemy at the Red Sea.

Second Passover and the next 40 years
The account of Israel’s second Passover ( a year after leaving Egypt) is found in Numbers chapter 9:1-5.and Numbers 9:11  This Passover was only 2 days after the dedication of the new tabernacle and altar.  And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the 14th day of the month at dusk (between sunset and dark), at  the beginning of the 14th; not at the end.  The scriptural record of Israel’s second Passover shows NO CHANGE in the time or manner of the observance. It was just like recorded in Exodus 12.  The scriptural account makes it clear that all the requirements of Exodus 12 were still to be kept.  It also included NOT breaking any of the lamb’s bones (Ex 12:46 ).  Can you see that one pointing forward to when the Romans broke the leg bones of the two thieves but not of Jesus. This Passover, as well as the next forty,  before they occupied the land of Caanan and built houses, was still performed in each individual tent; not in the tabernacle, which handled the daily sacrifices. After they occupied the promised land, the Passover was still observed in their houses.  There is no record, scriptural or historical,  of a tabernacle-centered Passover during this time period.  God did not require that the Passover lambs be sacrificed at the tabernacle. Philo, a Jewish historian,  confirms that the Passover lambs were slain at the houses of the Jews during the first century AD before the destruction of the temple in AD 70.  On this day the whole nation performs the sacred rites and acts as a priest.

However, from the time of the second Passover to Jesus’ day, and forward, the Pharisees did make changes from God’s commands and they did also institute a temple Passover.   These were man’s changes, not God’s changes.  God doesn’t change. Let’s look at some of these changes.

Original 14th day of Nisan Passover
(all the rules can be found in Exodus 12:3-46)
1. Lamb is killed at the beginning of the 14th day
2. Lamb is killed at home
3. Blood sprinkled on the doorposts of houses
4. Meal eaten in the evening of the 14th, within 5 hours of the beginning of the 14th
5.  Commemorates the passing over of the Israelite houses in Egypt during the time the destroyer was allowed to kill all the first born of any unmarked houses
6. Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread totaled 8 days.

 Second  Passover and beyond; rules are the same as in Exodus 12  as verified  in Numbers 9
1. Lamb is killed at the beginning of the 14th day
2. Lamb is killed at home
3. Blood sprinkled on the doorposts of houses (tent entrances when in the wilderness)
4. Meal eaten on the night of the 14th, within 5 hours of the beginning of the 14th
5.  Commemorates the passing over of the Israelite houses in Egypt during the time the destroyer was allowed to kill all the first born of any unmarked houses
6. Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread totaled 8 days.
7. The story of the first Passover is described in detail by the heads of each household, relating the story of that perilous night in Egypt when Yahweh spared their firstborn

 Traditional current Jewish Temple Passover and the practices employed during the time of Jesus' death.
1. Lamb was killed at the end of the 14th day, not at the beginning.
2. Lamb was killed in the temple
3. Blood sprinkled on the altar and fat burned on the altar.
4. Meal eaten on the night of the 15th instead of the 14th
5. Commemorates the Exodus instead of just Passover; both events combined into one
6. The seven days of unleavened bread are incorrectly called Passover.
The Bible tells us Passover and the Exodus are two separate distinct events.  
The feast of unleavened bread originally commemorated the exodus only and not passover along with it and was extended to an 8 day celebration.

Here’s the clincher
When studying the New Testament accounts of Passover observance, we see that Jesus Himself, who obeyed God the Father perfectly and never sinned or followed the traditions of the Jews, kept the domestic Passover meal at the beginning of the 14th of Nisan with His disciples.  The 14th of Nisan extended from sundown Nisan 13 to  sundown Nisan 14 at dusk.  There are those that state Jesus only held a meal at the last supper at the beginning of Nisan 14, but it wasn't a passover meal. The Bible states otherwise.

Matthew 26:18-19  Jesus tells us that meal WAS the passover meal.
Mark 14:14 and 16   Jesus tells us again it was the passover meal
and Luke 22:8, 11, and 13 all address the fact this was in fact a passover meal.

By 30 - 33AD  it was Jewish practice to not only have a domestic Passover followed by a temple Passover sacrifice also in which lambs were slain late in the afternoon but still on Nisan 14 and were eaten then on Nisan 15.  This is where the celebrating of both Passover and commemorating the exodus by the Jews was erroneously combined into one event and they called the whole thing  Passover.  Despite the fact that there is no command from God anywhere to support a temple Passover sacrifice, this practice became a national tradition among the Jews.  This deviation from the commands of God completely overlooks the separate meanings of the Passover  and the Feast of Unleavened bread which commemorates the Exodus.

Although there are no Jewish sites I can find to support the above scenario, since Jews no longer separate passover from the 
exodus, the following Christian sites  who DO celebrate passover instead of Easter
DO agree with the above that passover 
happened on the night of Nisan 14 at the beginning of Nisan 14 and the exodus began the evening of Nisan 15 at the beginning of
Nisan 15; separate events as depicted by Leviticus 23:5-6 and Numbers 28:16-17   


http://www.cbcg.org/franklin/Christian_Passover_Ceremony_2014-View.pdf
 
http://www.ucg.org/booklet/fundamental-beliefs/passover/  and
 
http://www.lcg.org  type "passover " in the search box, specifically this page at 
http://www.lcg.org/cgi-bin/lcg/lcn/lcn-issue.cgi?category=LivingChurchNews&item=1390338933 

from http://rcg.org/books/ghdoph.html  

All four of the above Christian sites who celebrate Passover claim passover is at the beginning of Nisan 14, not on Nisan 15 
as was practiced by the Jews later on. 
 
And although the destruction of the temple in 70AD ended the temple sacrifice of the lambs, the tradition of a Nisan 15 passover did not die.  Today most Jews believe that the 15th day of the first month is the day God set aside for the Passover. How can they believe that when scripture clearly states otherwise? They also ignore over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament that foretold the coming of the Messiah that ALL came true, and still don’t believe Jesus came the first time. God commanded that the Passover be observed at the beginning of the 14th day; not at the end of the 14th day or the beginning of the 15th day.

It is interesting to note that in the Passover week when Jesus was crucified ; it was still Nisan 14 - the preparation day when the lambs were sacrificed late in the afternoon by the Jews of that time period - the same time that Jesus, Yahshua the Messiah was hung on the cross to die.

And, if Jesus and His disciples were the only ones who held the Passover meal (called the last supper) at the time specified in the Old testament by Yahweh (see Exodus 12 and Numbers 9) , at the beginning of Nisan 14, how do we justify that He was the Passover lamb which was supposed to have been slain at the BEGINNING of Nisan 14 instead of at the end which had become the erroneous Jewish practice?

The answer - Jesus did not take issue with the teaching of the Pharisees concerning the Torah, or Law, or the proper times for the holy days and festivals of God to be observed even though they were now teaching some errors.  Rather, He Himself, with all the authority of Heaven, declared: "The scribes and the PHARISEES SIT IN MOSES' SEAT: ALL THEREFORE WHATSOEVER THEY BID YOU OBSERVE, THAT OBSERVE AND DO . . ." (Matt.23:2-3).

How plain! Since the Pharisees sat in MOSES' SEAT, their authority in teaching the laws and statutes and holy days of God was BINDING UPON ALL THE CHURCH; erroneous or not! They taught that Passover lambs should be slain at the closing or ending of the 14th of Nisan, not at the beginning of the day! The Passover lambs were  killed in the LATE AFTERNOON, AT THE VERY TIME JESUS CHRIST, OUR PASSOVER LAMB, WAS SLAIN AND SHED HIS BLOOD FOR OUR SINS! Therefore, Jesus, per the current authorities was a PERFECT substitute of the original Passover lamb!

 As Nisan 15, was a sabbath holy day - the first day of unleavened bread, the Roman soldiers made sure everyone on the cross that day was dead before sunset, hence the breaking of the legs routine to hasten death for the other two people on the cross next to Jesus. Jesus was already dead by then so they didn't have to break his legs; which was prophesied. Remember Exodus 12:26 which said not to break the bones of the Passover lambs. But Jesus was dead late afternoon Nisan 14, before sunset and the start of the Nisan15th sabbath holy day.

When Jesus expired, as he was the sacrificial lamb of that Passover, the curtain in the temple was torn in two which signified an end to the system of animal sacrifices for the remission of sin. Yahshua's (Jesus') death paid the price for all men's sins, IF, people just believed in that and accepted that gift of God called grace.  

Back to the point we know when Jesus died each year and why do we celebrate Easter instead of Passover.  Easter came 
about when the church tried to combine the pagan celebration of Eostre, the pagan goddess of fertility (hence the chicks, and 
bunnies, and colored easter egg hunts, and chocolate bunnies and jelly beans) and tacked the resurrection onto it to make the 
celebration palatable to Christians. Easter is flat out pagan Christianity. And the church started out celebrating easter on Nisan 14; 
not a week later as they do now. The date was changed to a Sunday a week later to distance themselves from Jewish practices; 
much like they changed sabbath from Saturday to Sunday much for the same reason.  Now keep in mind Nisan 14 isn't when 
Jesus was resurrected, but  when he was sacrificed.  Also remember Satan likes to play the close game as long as you don't hit the mark. 
So today everyone celebrating the resurrection on a Sunday, a week later than God's commanded passover of Lev. 23:5 
satisfies Satan's goal of missing the mark.  So does celebrating the death of Jesus on  good Friday when Jesus probably 
didn't die on a Friday. He died at the end of Nisan 14, which is on Friday only every so many  years.  Since we don't know the exact 
year Jesus died, 30AD or 33AD, we then can't say for sure it was a Friday or not. But look at the chart below for what day of the week Nisan 14 fell on for the years in question.

Some times and dates
See the bottom of my page at www.detailshere.com/whendidjesusdie.htm  for a more thorough chronology of dates and times.
We do know Pontius Pilate reigned as curator from the years 26AD to 36AD. We know Pilate's buddy and boss Seguines 
was taken out in 31AD. We know John the Baptist 's ministry began in 28 AD, although some put this as early as 27AD. 
Luke 3:23 tells us ,"and Jesus himself, when He began to teach, was about thirty years of age."
And Jesus was supposedly 
3.5 years into his ministry when He was crucified, halfway through the last week of Daniel 9:25.  We know Jesus was born around 5BC-6BC because that Herod died in 4BC and he had all babies in Bethleham 2 years old and younger slain to try to kill Jesus as 
he felt he was a threat to his reign based upon all the talk of who Jesus was; king of the Jews. 

 The Bible shows that Jesus was about 33-1/2 years old when he was crucified in the early spring of the year 33 C.E., at the 
time of the Jewish Passover. This means, counting backward, that he was born in the early fall of the year. And there's a big 
controversy still over whether this was 30 AD or 33AD.

"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times" (Daniel 9:25).

From the going forth of the commandment — From the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, in 457 BC, when by his commandment 
Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2).

Seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks — From the time of 457 BC, according to the best chronology, there were just 69 weeks of years (483 years) to the baptism of Jesus Christ, in AD 27, when he first began to preach and execute the office of the Messiah.

Then Daniel 9:27 says: "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."

In the midst of the week, or, in the middle of the week. Christ preached from 27 to 30 AD, to the middle of the 70th week of years, and then by His sacrifice on the cross abolished all the sacrifices of the law.

This does not mean that Jesus was exactly 33-1/2 years old when He was crucified. The anchor date is not Jesus’ birthday, but rather Artaxerxes’ order to begin the work on the Temple, which was probably counted from the Jewish New Year in September of 457 BC.

In actuality, Jesus’ public ministry lasted less than three years, from fall of 27 to the spring of 30 encompasing the three Passovers mentioned in the Gospels in the years 28, 29 and 30 AD. In the Jewish reckoning of years, two years and part of another year are counted as three years. The crucifixion occurred the middle of the 70th week of years, but this does not indicate exactly 3-1/2 years.

According to Luke 3:1, John the Baptist started baptizing "in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. If the years were 
counted from the death of Augustus, the 15th year ran from August 28 C.E. to August 29 C.E.  If counted from when he was 
formally proclaimed emperor, the year would run from September 28 C.E. to September 29 C.E. 
We know John the Baptist was beheaded by the same Herod Antipas who refused to deal with Jesus and had him sent back to Pilate. John the Baptist openly 
rebuked Herod for his adulterous marriage to his brother's wife who divorced her husband to marry Herod. He paid for that 
chastisement when Herod's wife Herodias and her daughter schemed to request his head on a platter as payment for a dance performed in front of Herod.  Herod
's wedding took place in 34AD according to Josephus therefore John's execution would have 
had to have been in 35 or 36CE according to book 18 of the antiquities of the Jews.
  
So from the chart below matching Nisan 14 to the years AD30, a Wednesday, or AD 33
, a Friday; the AD 30 date may 
be a little early but the AD 33 Friday date for many doesn't allow for a full three days and three nights in the ground. I can only 
give you what we know and you have to make your own decisions from that point on.

But we DO know what day of the week Nisan 14 is on each year. So we do know what specific day each year Jesus died. So 
why don't we celebrate it then? If it was on a Friday in 33AD it isn't going to be on a Friday again for another 7 years. Why do 
we hold fast to traditional error we know to be known error? Like I said Satan has done a good job of confusing people so they 
don't know what they should be  celebrating or when. Too many of God's people are lemmings, they go along with the crowd, 
church leaders go along with the  crowd,  they don't question or research what is really right and what they should be teaching 
for fear of being chastised for non  conformity and for fear of losing their congregation if they dared to  step out of the box and 
be considered outside the norm. 

What day of the week Nisan 14 fell on for the years 22C.E.  to 36 C.E.

From the above chart we see that Nisan 14 fell on a Friday in AD33 and on a Wednesday in AD30. 

Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, and Luke 23:44-45 all refer to darkness coming over the land from noon to 3 pm (6th hour 
to the 9th hour). It could not have been a solar eclipse because solar eclipses only occur during new moons, not full moons. 
Nisan 15 began a full moon. It is doubtful it was a lunar eclipse as noon to 3pm was still daytime and you are only going to 
see a lunar eclipse that would darken the sky at nighttime
, a daytime lunar eclipse would hardly be noticeable although there
is one lunar eclipse recorded on April 3rd, Nisan 14 in 33AD.  Soooooo - the next big question is--------

How was Jesus in the ground for three days and three nights
It was just after that last supper, actually during, because Judas left the table before all was completed, that Judas betrayed Jesus just before he went to the Garden of Gesthemane to pray, knowing His time had come. The Jews came for Him in the Garden around midnight to take him. He was tried by the Jewish Sanhedrin that night of blasphemy, claiming to be God and forgiving sins, then taken to Pontius Pilate who found no fault with Him, then sent to King Herod who wanted nothing to do with the matter, then back to Pontius Pilate who feared an uprising if he didn’t do what the Jewish priests demanded, then He was beaten with whips and His skin lacerated severely by Roman soldiers which didn't satisfy the Jews enough, they wanted Jesus dead, and then Pontius Pilot issued the decree for Jesus to be crucified on a wooden cross. The Romans crucified Jesus, not the Jews, but the Jews demanded such and were certainly responsible for Jesus' death.

This all took place from Nisan 14 after midnight to Nisan 14 morning to finally Nisan 14 late morning or early afternoon when he was actually crucified  all on Nisan 14.  It is speculated Jesus expired somewhere around 3PM our time on the afternoon of Nisan 14. Jesus WAS the Passover Lamb and as such needed to be killed on the preparation day (current Jewish practices at that time)  on Nisan 14, before evening sundown. The Nisan 15 passover celebration of eating the lambs began Nisan 15.  He was put in the tomb on Nisan 14 about 6pm BEFORE sundown. Luke 22:54 tells us this was still the preparation day, the day before the feast of unleavened bread began which began just after sunset at the close of Nisan 14 and at the beginning of Nisan 15.  

As we are not sure if this was 30AD or 33AD this becomes a sort of a puzzle, as Nisan 14 falls on a different weekday day each year. 
But there are facts we do know to put the puzzle together.
Matthew 12:40 says, "as Jonah was three days and three nights in 
the great fish's belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth". That's what we do know. We also 
know when Mary Magdelane discovered Jesus' body missing;  the first day of the week, on a Sunday, the day after the weekly 
sabbath of Saturday. Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, and Luke 24. But Sunday morning was already half a day into Sunday. Some say the women came at the end of the Saturday 7th day sabbath and saw the sepulchre empty Saturday evening and it wasn't morning (as we today think of morning) at all. But it is assumed Jesus arose at the end of the weekly sabbath, and not on a Sunday at all.  Those are the facts without speculation that we do know. We know Jesus was betrayed in the evening following the Passover meal (the last supper)
– Luke 22:15 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-25  The Passover meal falls on the 14th of Nisan each year (Jewish Calendar). – Exodus 12:18,at least it did until the Jews combined passover with the feast of unleavened bread and called the whole works passover. Days on the Jewish Calendar begin and end at sunset 6:00pm - 8:00pm each evening (roughly). – Genesis 1:5
  
Jesus was taken off the cross early because of the "Day of Preparation". – John 19:31, John 19:42 and the Jews passover feast was approaching come sunset.
  Jesus was in the tomb 3 days and 3 nights. – Matthew 12:40   Jesus was resurrected at the end of the weekly Saturday sabbath before dawn on the first day of the week (Sunday). – (Matthew 28:1). 

Those who have studied this thoroughly  claim that  in order to have three full days and three full nights in the ground, Nisan 14 in that year had to end on a Wednesday afternoon; not a Friday. So according to the chart above, the year had to be 30AD; not 33AD. All accounts of a Friday crucifixion do not allow for three days and three nights in the earth.  And thusly it appears if Jesus was resurrected 72 hours after He was put in the tomb, he was resurrected at the end of the weekly sabbath on Saturday; not on a Sunday at all.  http://www.yahweh.com/pdf/Booklet_Resurrection.pdf has a very detailed explanation of this time frame and sequence. 

Matthew 28:1 Tells us his missing body was discovered by Mary Magdalene, at the end of sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week.. Keep in mind by that time on God's clock, morning was already halfway through God's day of the first day of the week, Sunday. Sunday, the first day of the week, began around 12 hours before He was discovered missing. It is likely Mary Magdalen found the tomb empty at the end of the weekly sabbath; and not Sunday morning at all.  Working backwards you see how a Friday crucifixion doesn't allow for three days and three nights in the ground. Using this logic, I don't think Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, but on Wednesday afternoon and was resurrected at the end of the Saturday weekly sabbath before sunset and the beginning of Sunday, the first day of the week.  

If Nisan 14 that year 30AD was Wednesday evening to Thursday evening , Nisan 15 Thursday evening to Friday evening and a sabbath of the first day of unleavend bread, Nisan 16 Friday evening to Saturday evening was the weekly Saturday 7th day sabbath, then Sunday the first day of the week which began on Saturday evening at sundown still would  give three full days and three full nights in the ground; as Jesus had stated. Deductive reasoning tells us Jesus had His last supper Wednesday evening , the beginning of Nisan 14, with His disciples and he was crucified on the cross Wednesday afternoon, daytime part of Nisan 14,  and was put in the tomb just before the beginning of Thursday evening which began Nisan 15. 

For those advocating a Good Friday crucifixion in 33AD (again a Nisan 14) and a Sunday resurrection
the scenario would go down like this. 

This all took place from Thursday night after midnight to Friday morning to finally Friday afternoon when he was actually crucified between noon and 3pm our time.  He was taken down and put in the tomb Friday afternoon before sunset.
Jesus WAS the Passover Lamb and as such needed to be killed on the preparation day, before Friday evening sundown. . He was put in the tomb Friday about 6pm BEFORE sundown, thus was in the grave for part of Friday. Luke 22:54 tells us this was still the preparation day. He rested all of Saturday which was a Sabbath, the First Day of Unleavened Bread as well as the weekly Saturday Sabbath; second day in the grave.  Remember Saturday ends at Saturday evening sundown and Sunday starts at Saturday evening sundown. He continued to rest in the ground during the first part of Sunday which we consider as Saturday evening after sundown and early Sunday morning. He was resurrected on what we consider Sunday morning but really it was already probably ten hours or so into Sunday, the first day of the week, third day in the grave.   When Mary and Mary came to anoint Jesus, they couldn’t do it on the Sabbath which was Saturday, up until Saturday sundown,  but came on the first day of the week; Luke 24:1-7 and Mark 16:1 tell us this. I have a hard time supporting this explanation  as it does not cover a full three days and three nights, although it is what most Christians subscribe to.   I support the time frame found at  http://www.yahweh.com/pdf/Booklet_Resurrection.pdf  as well as the graphic above which comes from http://www.ucg.org/booklet/fundamental-beliefs/passover/ . 

If you'd like to study this issue more see my pages at www.detailshere.com/whendidchristdie.htm 
and www.detailshere.com/whendidjesusdie.htm 


There is little evidence anywhere to show that the "heart of the earth" means just death or in the grave.  In 1Peter 3:18-19  we learn that when Jesus, “being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit…. went and preached unto the spirits in prison”; probably means the fallen angels chained in the abyss. Jude 1:6 talks about , “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”  2Peter 2:4 says, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.” Perhaps these fallen angels were the subjects of Jesus’ preaching to the spirits during His three days and three nights.

Jesus said that He would be in the heart of the earth as Jonah was in the belly of the big fish. When Jonah was in the big fish's belly he was not dead, instead he was in captivity. Jonah remained in captivity until he came out of the big fish. Similarly Jesus being in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights refers to the period He allowed Himself to be in captivity. Some say Jesus was in captivity first when He was arrested in Gethsemane by the band of men and officers from the chief priests shortly after midnight  of Nisan 14, then He was in captivity by the Roman Army, and finally He was in captivity by death. You can see why it is not clear when Jesus died in considering the different ways of looking at the start time. 

In Matthew 26:45 it can be seen that just before Jesus permitted Himself to be arrested in Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives on  He said to His disciples, "behold the hour is at hand", also translated "the time has come". This could have meant that that moment was the start of the special predicted time.  This is considered the start of the three days and three nights period by some.

I have no final conclusion on what day of the week Jesus died except it definitely was on Nisan 14 whatever that weekday was in that year; which we do not know for sure either. . All other conclusions are speculative reasoning.

The Significance of Jesus’ sacrifice.; what taking communion means
Jesus' sacrifice, the central message of Passover, was a supreme act of love for humanity. This important event laid the foundation for the remaining annual Holy Days and festivals. It is the most momentous step in God's plan.

Just before the Passover feast, Jesus said that "for this purpose I came to this hour ... And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself" (John 12:27, 32).

The day on which this profound event, the crucifixion, transpired was the 14th day of the first month of God's calendar, the same day on which the Passover lambs were killed (Leviticus 23:5). Paul later wrote the congregation at Corinth that "Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).

There are two aspects of taking communion and you need to know what each means. In Isaiah 53:5 and reiterated again in 
2Peter 2:24 Jesus tells us by His stripes we are healed and were healed. Past tense.
The Lord provided two elements, wine 
and bread.  As we take the wine, which represents His blood, we are forgiven of our sin. As we eat the bread, we are healed in 
our bodies. God gave us this physical ceremony in Communion, for the healing of our physical bodies, as well as for the 
forgiveness of our sins. But you need to understand this as you take communion.

All healing is not immediate. In fact, most healing takes place gradually. Healings that are immediate, and I have witnessed those, 
are called miracles. Some people take Communion just like it was a medicine, three times a day. You can do it by yourself, in your own home or where ever you are. You do not need any special  bread or wine, because it is your faith that is the key, not the material objects you have.  If we take Communion on regular basis, we can take it believing in progressive healing. This is good for people who just do not have the faith to receive immediate, total healing, and it builds their faith because they can see small, progressive improvements. The important thing is to take Communion in faith, recognizing signs of improvement.  Faith is the key to unlocking all of the promises of God. Jesus said, “What things so ever you desire, believe you receive them and you shall have them.” If we take  Communion in faith, then we enter not only into forgiveness of sin, but also healing for our body.   http://www.sidroth.org/healing.htm  
We are free from all curses through the Messiah. Discerning His body, broken for us, is one of the most precious ways we have of expressing that faith. The lacerations He took at the whipping post is considered the same as "broken" representing the breaking of his body when we break the bread. 

Many people are healed once they understand and believe this. For example, Troy Miller, is a pastor in Florida who had cancer 
of the kidney. He lay dying in a hospital bed. The Lord spoke to his mother, telling her to take the Communion elements of bread 
and wine to him in the hospital. When he took Communion, the cancer immediately began disappearing from Troy’s body. There 
is power in communion. It is not just a once a year affair. Many Christian churches hold communion at least monthly. 

Jesus Christ paid for our healing with the lacerations He took at the whipping post and bought us with His blood, pouring out His life 
as our Passover lamb so God could forgive our sins. When Jesus died and paid the price with His life, Satan lost ownership of all humankind. From that point on salvation became available to all humans. Whether you receive that gift or not is up to you. See www.detailshere.com/parachute.htm  for what part you play in your own salvation.

Why did Jesus Christ have to die? Our Savior had to die because that was the only way God could forgive our sins. The Bible tells us that sin is the violation of God's law of love (1 John 3:4). We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We have each earned the death penalty for our disobedience (Romans 5:12; 6:23).

Paul illustrated the profound love of Jesus Christ in giving up His life on our behalf (Romans 5:6-8). All would be doomed eternally had not somehow the penalty for our sins been paid. Christ, who lived a perfect life as the unblemished Lamb of God, substituted His death for ours. In fact, His death was the only possible substitution for ours. His sacrifice became the payment for our sins. He died in our place so we could share life with Him forever. We can no longer live according to our own desires. We become God's redeemed, or bought and paid-for, possession (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Both Jesus and the apostle Paul made it clear that the Passover is to continue as a Christian observance. Jesus Himself instituted new Passover symbols and practices to teach Christians important truths about Himself and God's continuing plan of salvation.

The Passover in the Old Testament foreshadowed Christ's crucifixion. The New Testament Passover is a memorial of that crucifixion. By observing it, we "proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). 

What were Christ's specific instructions concerning the Passover ceremony that we as modern 
day Christians should follow?

When?
God’s instructions haven’t changed. Numbers 9:11 still tells us to eat the Passover meal at the beginning of Nisan 14.  The passover meal and accompanying  foot washing ceremony and communion should occur on the evening at the beginning of Nisan 14. Jewish tradition celebrates  the Passover meal a day later, Nisan 15,  in error in my opinion.

Feet Washing

During the Passover meal (the last supper – at the beginning of Nisan 14 when Exodus 12 says it is supposed to be held) Jesus "rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded" (John 13:1-5).

Washing guests' feet was normally the job of the lowliest household servant. In the first century it was an act of hospitality. Rather than ask a servant to perform this function for His guests, Jesus humbly chose to carry it out Himself to teach an important spiritual lesson. The account continues: "So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, 'Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet'"
(John 13: 12-14).

Jesus left His disciples with a lasting reminder of the importance of humble service to others. The simple act of washing the feet of others teaches us a vital lesson intimately associated with the Passover. He concluded: "I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you" (John 13:15). How many Christians today obey this simple instruction to wash each other's feet, and exemplify that attitude in their lives? As the redeemed possession of God through Christ's sacrifice, our lives should be devoted to the service of God and our fellowman.

The bread: symbol of Christ's body
(Matthew 26:26). "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; 
this is My body.'" Remember from Isaiah 53:5 and 2Peter2:24 Jesus tells us that eating the bread represents our healing that He paid for in full by receiving the lacerations at the whipping post. 

Our decision to eat the Passover bread, unleavened bread, bread made without yeast  (leaven representing sin)  means we understand this principal of healing that Jesus Christ provided for us. 

Christ possessed the power to forgive sin (Matthew 9:2-6). Through the forgiveness of our sins, Christ made possible our receiving of eternal life. "I am the bread of life," He said. "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:48-51).

The meaning of the Passover wine representing Christ’s blood.
Why did Jesus command His disciples to drink wine as a symbol of His blood during the Passover service? What does this symbolize?

Notice Matthew's account: "Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom'" (Matthew 26:27-29).

Christ knew that drinking wine as a symbol of His shed blood would impress deeply on our minds that His death was for the forgiveness of our sins. "This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me" (1 Corinthians 11:25). Jesus "loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood" (Revelation 1:5). God forgives our sins through Jesus' shed blood (1 John 1:7).

Paul explains in Hebrews 9:22 that "according to the Law ... all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [of sin]" .

The Old Testament records God instructing the priesthood to perform certain duties that included a system of cleansing and purification using the blood of sacrificed animals, thus foreshadowing the shedding of Christ's blood, the ultimate sacrifice for sin. He commanded the nation of Israel to follow this temporary system of the ritualistic cleansing of sin (Hebrews 9:9-10). Animal sacrifices served as a type of the one and only real and future sacrifice, Jesus Christ, who would pay the penalty for everyone's sins once and for all.

The Bible teaches that one's life is in his blood (Genesis 9:4). When a person loses sufficient blood, he or she dies. Therefore blood, when poured out, makes the atonement for sin, which produces death (Leviticus 17:11). Jesus lost His blood when He was crucified (Luke 22:20; Isaiah 53:12). He poured out His blood, dying for the sins of humanity.

In partaking of the wine at the Passover service, we should carefully consider its meaning. That small portion of wine represents symbolically the very life blood that flowed from Jesus Christ's dying body for the remission of our sins (Ephesians 1:7). With this forgiveness comes freedom from eternal death.

Taking communion, eating of the unleavened bread and drinking the wine leads to a new way of life

The Passover bread reminds us of the close relationship Christians have with Jesus Christ. Eating the bread demonstrates our commitment to allow Christ to live in us and heal us.

The apostle Paul describes this uniting with Christ in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Pursuing your own ways is no longer your life's focus. Your relationship with Jesus Christ should become extremely important to you.

The apostle John tells us what Christ expects of us in our relationship with Him: "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments ... He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked" (1 John 2:3-6).

If you talk the talk, you need to walk the walk. Head knowledge won’t save you.

The Passover bread reinforces our understanding that Jesus Christ, the true "bread of life," must live within us, enabling us to live an entirely new life. God forgives our sins to sanctify us—to continue to set us apart for a holy purpose, to redeem us (that is, purchase us for a price). We now belong to God so He can fulfill His purpose in us.

God’s new Testament Covenant with us
We must understand that repentance (not only being sorry for our sins but turning from those sins as well), forgiving others if we want God to forgive us,  baptism and the acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ - along with belief in His promise to forgive our sins - constitutes a covenant with God. Through this covenant, which we gratefully accept and can completely rely on (Hebrews 6:17-20), God grants us eternal life. By accepting the sacrifice of Christ for the remission of sin, we enter into a covenant relationship with the God of the universe. The terms of this covenant are absolute, because it was sealed with the shed blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:11-12, 15). This covenant is renewed every year when we partake of the Passover.

What are the terms of this covenant relationship? "'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,' then He adds, 'Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more'" (Hebrews 10:16-17).

Ancient Israel did not have the heart to faithfully keep God's commandments (Deuteronomy 5:29). Under the New Covenant, however, God writes His law in our hearts and minds. His laws are not those of physical purification contained in the system of sacrifices, washings and service in the tabernacle. Instead, they are the holy and righteous laws that define right behavior toward God and neighbor (Romans 7:12) and lead to eternal life (Matthew 19:17). The Passover wine is symbolic of this covenant relationship that is ratified by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Annual observance in the early Church
The New Testament pictures Christians continuing to observe the annual festivals at the times commanded by God. As a youth, Christ kept the Passover annually on the specified day Nisan 14, at the beginning of that day in the evening. (Luke 2:41), and He continued the practice with His disciples. The early Church as well continued to observe the other Holy Days at their specified times.

Scripture gives no hint of the early Church adding to or changing the dates God ordained for His festivals. By  observing the Passover each year on the appropriate day, members of the Church were proclaiming "the Lord's death till He comes."

The Bible specifies the yearly observance of the Passover, and history records its annual celebration as the practice of the early Church. Passover, as a memorial of Jesus' death, is to be observed annually rather than whenever or however often one chooses, just as all of the other annual festivals are to be kept once a year at their appointed times. Neither Jesus Christ nor the apostles indicated that we should change when or how often we observe any of God's festivals.

Celebrating Passover properly.
This includes having the Passover meal at the right time, at the beginning of the evening of Nisan 14, between sunset and midnight to be more specific.  Passover and Feast Day dates for each year can be found at www.cbcg.org and at www.ucg.org  and www.lcg.org and       www.rcg,org   .  

This no longer includes killing a lamb or even having lamb as part of the meal, or painting blood on your doorposts. That part DID go out with the cross.  It does include eating bread that contains no yeast, unleavened bread. Unleavened bread, although flat and somewhat hard, can still taste good. We are to have no yeast inside our homes or eat any bread that has risen with yeast for the next week. Leaven or yeast is symbolic of sin. And you add bitter herbs and lamb as the meat if you wish.
 
It includes an explanation of the original Passover, how it came about, how Jesus became our Passover lamb,  and what it’s meaning is concerning our salvation related by the head of household to the rest of those present.  The reading of this document would satisfy that requirement. It can also include the reading of selected passages from the Bible, praise worship music songs, and prayers.

It includes a foot washing ceremony where you use a small basin of water and a towel and wash each others bare feet, symbolizing your humility and willingness to serve others.  In John 13:12-14 Jesus tells us we ought to wash each others feet.

It includes a communion using  both unleavened bread and wine, representing the partaking symbolically of the body and blood of Jesus;the bread to symbolize payment in full for our healing and the wine to symbolize the remission of sin.  There is non alcohol wine on the market shelves for those abstaining totally from any alcohol. I personally don’t believe that Jesus made grade juice at the wedding of Caanan or drank grape juice at the last supper. Grapes weren’t ripe in the spring. An excellent discussion on the alcohol topic can be found in the booklet  "Drugs and Drinking; What do the Scriptures Really Teach" found at  http://www.yahweh.com/booklets/onlinebooklets.htm   You will be surprised at the answer , especially coming from one of the strictest affiliations out there.

A more detailed history of the first Passover

The events of the last two and a half centuries had been incredible! It all began about 1704BC when Joseph, the 17-year-old son of Jacob and Rachel, was sold into slavery by his older brothers. Motivated by resentment and jealousy, his brothers sold Joseph to Midianite slave traders who transported him to Egypt. Over the course of the next 20 years, events took an astounding turn. Young Joseph rose from being a slave to being the number two ruler of Egypt, right under Pharaoh himself.

The Pharaoh under whom Joseph achieved such prominence was from the newly arrived Hyksos dynasty. The Hyksos were Semites, a similar people to the family of Jacob. When a famine gripped all of the surrounding countries, Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt to buy grain and came face to face with the brother whom they believed was probably dead. By 1682BC, Jacob and his entire 70-member family came into Egypt (Genesis 46:26–27). The Hyksos rulers, also known as the Shepherd Kings, showed Jacob’s family of Hebrew shepherds great favor and provided them with land in Goshen, near the delta, to live and to raise their flocks.

For the next century or so things went very well for the family of Jacob. Their numbers multiplied and they were treated well. Just over 40 years after Joseph’s death in 1611bc, the Hyksos were overthrown and expelled from Egypt by Dynasty XVIII of Thebes. The incoming ruler, Amose, is described as a Pharaoh “who knew not Joseph.” He began systematically to oppress the burgeoning Israelite nation. By the time of Moses’ birth, 44 years after the Hyksos expulsion, Israel had been reduced to the status of slaves. In fact, for a period of time, Pharaoh even ordered all of the Israelite boy babies killed at birth in order to slow down their rapid population growth.

It was in this context that his parents, to protect him from death, hid the baby Moses. Pharaoh’s daughter, Hatshepsut, discovered him in a basket in the edge of the Nile. Reared as a prince of Egypt in the court of Thutmose I and Thutmose II, Moses achieved prominence. All the while, the condition of the people of Israel worsened further.

By age 40, Moses had made a decision to reject his Egyptian identity and to acknowledge his kinship with the people of God (Hebrews 11:24–26). Forced to flee Egypt, he remained in the Sinai desert for the next 40 years, most of that time watching the sheep of his father-in-law, Jethro. Then, when Moses was 80 years old, the Lord manifested Himself through a burning bush, and sent Moses back to Egypt to begin his real life’s work (Exodus 3:1–10).

When Moses arrived back in Egypt, Thutmose III, who had sought to kill him, was dead—and his successor Amenhotep II was on the throne. The people of Israel had been ground down through several generations of slavery and had lost all hope. It was in this context, with a people who were in despair on the one hand, and an Egyptian ruler filled with pride on the other, that Moses was expected to accomplish a great work.

The subsequent events, which marked the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery and their journey toward Sinai to enter into a special covenant relationship with God, are the events of the first Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread. These festivals, introduced when Israel was still in Egypt, mark the introduction of God’s great plan of redemption and salvation. Contained in the circumstances surrounding the first Passover observance by Israel are many lessons for the people of God today. We will examine seven of those lessons.

We Cannot Save Ourselves

Life was overwhelming and it appeared that nothing could be done. Egypt was at its height as a major power and Israel was a disarmed, dispirited slave people. These were the circumstances in which God sent Moses to Pharaoh with the message of “Let My people go!” Pharaoh saw no reason why he should do such a thing—so God began to show him why he should! Plague after plague was visited upon the land of Egypt, striking at everything in which they felt pride and confidence.

The tenth and final plague promised to be the most devastating of all. The Lord decreed that in one night He would pass through the entire land of Egypt and every firstborn male in the land, both of people a nd animals, would be struck dead (Exodus 11:4–5). Death was coming surely and inexorably. There was only one way of escape. That way was for the people of Israel to take yearling lambs and at dusk, when the fourteenth day of the first month began, each household was to slay its lamb. The father in each home was to put the blood on the doorposts and the lamb was to be roasted and eaten during the evening (Exodus 12:1–8).

Only those who were dwelling under the blood of the lamb would be “passed over” by the Lord and spared from
death. The people could not protect themselves. Only the blood of the lamb, shed in their stead, could save them.

Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 5:7 that Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. God commended His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). The first lesson we learn from the Passover is the impossibility of protecting ourselves from death, which is the consequence of sin. God took the initiative by providing the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Only by His blood can we be justified—made innocent—before God.

Resist Compromise

God did not spare His people from death so they could remain in Egypt as slaves. He wanted them to leave Egypt behind and come to serve Him. When Moses first went to Pharaoh with the request to let the Israelites go, he flatly refused. However, after several plagues, Pharaoh tried to strike a compromise.

First, Pharaoh suggested that the Israelites simply sacrifice to their God in their present surroundings, instead of leaving Egypt (Exodus 8:25). This would never do, Moses replied, because God’s commands were contrary to the customs and practices of the Egyptians. God’s people would need to come all the way out of Egypt, in order to serve God properly. Here is a vital lesson for all of God’s people: the realization that God has called us to leave this world, with its ways and customs, behind us.

After still more plagues, Pharaoh finally agreed to let the Israelites leave Egypt. However, at first he insisted that only the adults could go. The children would have to stay behind. But Moses flatly refused to compromise; Israel was not prepared to sacrifice its children to Pharaoh. As with Moses, God’s people today must not abandon their children to the world around them.

Finally, after three days of darkness throughout the land, Pharaoh once again called for Moses. All of your people can go, he told them, but leave the herds behind. “Not a hoof shall be left behind,” Moses declared (Exodus 10:26). There is never room to compromise regarding our response to God’s calling. We simply cannot serve God on the devil’s terms (Matthew 4:10)!

Have a Sense of Urgency

When the time finally came for God to deliver Israel, the people were told to eat of the Passover in a sense of readiness. They were to have their “loins girded” and their shoes on their feet. The Passover was to be eaten with unleavened bread, the bread of haste. God’s people were to have a sense of urgency about their calling.

What about us? Do we take our calling for granted? Do we respond to God in a slow or casual manner? As the Lord passed through Egypt on the night of the first Passover, the people realized that it was a matter of life and death. They were eager and they were urgent (Exodus 12:11).

When we come to grips with sin in our lives and truly see our need for a Savior, we also will have a sense of urgency. David likened his intense desire for God to a deep thirst (Psalm 42:1–2). Do we have an intense longing for a deeper relationship with the Father, and with our Savior Jesus Christ? That intense desire will be accompanied by an earnest eagerness on our part. We need that sense of urgency in our own lives.

Resist Discouragement

During the daylight portion of Abib 14, the people gathered quickly together for their journey. Many of the treasures of Egypt were thrust upon them (Exodus 12:35–36). Finally, about sunset at the beginning of the fifteenth (Numbers 33:3; cf. Deuteronomy 16:1), the Israelites began their long march. They could scarcely contain their excitement as they came out “with an high hand” (Numbers 33:3, KJV).

However, their excitement was short-lived. Within a matter of days, Israel was encamped next to the Red Sea, partly hemmed in by mountains. Suddenly, the dust of Pharaoh’s chariots appeared on the horizon. When the Israelites saw evidence of the advancing Egyptian army, they were frightened and deeply discouraged. “We would be better off to go back and be slaves than to die in the wilderness,” they cried (cf. Exodus 14:10–12).

After we surrender our lives to God, one of the great battles we must fight is that of discouragement. Overwhelming obstacles can loom before us, along with frightening adversaries who rise against us. God allows us to find ourselves in situations that remind us of our utter powerlessness. He wants us to be operating under no illusions of self-sufficiency. As Christians, we must learn to trust God—and to depend upon Him in everything—if we are to complete our spiritual journey successfully. When we find ourselves at our “Red Sea,” rather than being ready to give up and quit, we need to remember Moses’ admonition to the people, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14:13).

Be Thankful

Ingratitude is perhaps the most prevalent of sins. It is very easy to take blessings for granted and wonder why we do not have more. As the Israelites progressed in their journey out of Egyptian slavery, one might have expected them to be overwhelmed with thankfulness and appreciation for God’s deliverance. That, however, is not what happened.

Shortly after crossing the Red Sea, the Israelites found themselves in a desolate wilderness area. Food and water were not available in the area to sustain them (Exodus 15:22–25). Yet, clearly, God was working out a purpose in their lives. He had worked miracles to cause Pharaoh to let them leave Egypt. He had delivered their firstborn on the night of the Passover. Additionally, God had performed a tremendous miracle at the Red Sea to protect Israel from the Egyptian army and to ensure their freedom. In spite of all of this evidence of God’s watchful providence, they began to grumble and complain when they found themselves in the desert. They accused Moses of bringing them out there to kill them with hunger and thirst. They complained about how much better the living conditions had been in Egypt and how they always had plenty of food there (Exodus 16:3).

God met the needs of His people again and again throughout their journey, yet they remained unthankful and ungrateful most of the time. What about us? God has called us out of this world to enter into a special relationship with Him. Yet, there are obstacles along the way—problems and difficulties that we must face in trying to live a life of obedience to the Creator. What, then, is our attitude? Do we grumble and complain about problems, or are we thankful and appreciative for God’s calling and mercy? One of the best ways to resist discouragement and to walk with God in faith is to focus on counting our blessings. Continually thank and praise God for what He does (Ephesians 5:19–20).

Do Not Look Back

In Hebrews 11 we are told that Moses, when he reached maturity, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. We are told, in fact, that he forsook Egypt. While the whole Israelite nation left the land of Egypt, very few really forsook Egypt. To forsake means to turn away from and to reject.

When we look at the story of Israel’s journey, we see that the people looked back longingly, time after time. When confronted by trials and difficulties along the pathway God had chosen for them, they often talked about “the good old days.” In truth, of course, those days had not been very good—but memory can sometimes be very selective.

Israel’s greatest problem, after leaving Egypt, was expressed by Stephen in Acts 7:39. Even though the Israelites’ feet left the land behind, in their hearts they turned back again! The Israelites had not ever truly forsaken Egypt in their hearts—and this was reflected in a variety of incidents.

What about Christians today? The essence of the meaning of the Festival of Unleavened Bread is that God has called us to forsake the ways and values of this ungodly world. We are supposed to be engaged in a journey. Do we look back at the world that we have ostensibly forsaken and desire to hold on to it? The true answer to this question is reflected in the way we live. As men, does materialism govern your lives, or are you centered on the Work of God and on building godly lives and families? As women, do you reflect the modesty and true femininity that God values, or the decadent ways of a sensual and God-rejecting society? In order to fulfill our calling and reach our destination, we must forsake Egypt in our hearts—and not look back!

The Author and Finisher of Our Faith

Why does the Feast of Unleavened Bread include two Holy Days—one at the beginning and one at the end? We know that the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles includes only one Holy Day, which is at the beginning. The eighth day—the Last Great Day—is a completely separate festival.

The answer is perhaps most clearly stated in Hebrews 12, where we are told that Jesus Christ is both the Author and the Finisher of our faith. It took a miracle of God to start the Israelites on their journey out of Egypt, and it took another miracle, that of the Red Sea, to bring them completely out of Egypt.

Similarly, our successful completion of the journey out of sin—spiritual Egypt—will be accomplished only through the power of our Savior. We need His help not only to start our journey, but also to sustain and finish it. The Passover season reminds us of our need for salvation and deliverance. It also reminds us that these are not objectives that we can accomplish by our own strength or might. We have One who goes before us in order to guarantee our success. (Hebrews 2:9–11).

Redemption and deliverance are themes of the Passover season. God takes the initiative, and we must respond. However, our human efforts will never be enough, which God knows before we even start. From ancient Israel’s example, we should learn lessons in how to respond properly to God’s incredible love and mercy. The most important of these lessons is that we must not ever forget to look to the Author and Finisher of our faith. We must put our total confidence in Him, if we are to succeed in leaving Egypt behind and coming to the mountain of God.

back to Bible page