Passover (Pesach): Connecting Christians to Israel

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Christians celebrate Easter every year to remember Christ’s resurrection from the dead. However, the full story is much more incredible because of its precision in history and it connects Christianity to the Jews. It shows how Christ is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and how God’s hand is clearly in history. However, modern Christians have had the time of history and pagan traditions mixed in to distract from the fullness of God’s glory. Tradition also points to a “Good Friday” crucifixion and resurrection Sunday timeframe, which has never quite squared for me given scripture said Christ would be in the grave 3 days and 3 nights as a sign. This study will look first at the origin and keep with that Biblical origin of the moedim (appointed times), or feasts, and God’s Word will reveal some amazing insights of these spring moedim that started the Hebrew religous calendar thousands of years ago.

Several things to note when speaking of the feast days.

  1. We’re all aware of the 7-day week, and likely that the Jewish last day of the week and Sabbath falls on Saturdays. This is the weekly Sabbath. Leviticus 23:3-8.
  2. The Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar and so the first of the month coincides with a new moon and the 15th coincides with a full moon.
  3. As God labeled the days in Genesis, each new day starts with dusk and ends with dusk. This can make relating difficult for those of us who have lived our lives from midnight to midnight, but it’s important to keep these things in mind when studying the topic of the feast days.

Also, the Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread and Feast of First Fruits are all within the same week and, as will be shown, all related foreshadows to a future ultimate fulfillment of Passover. As such they will all be covered on this one page in detail. So where does it all begin?

Pesach (Passover): The Exodus From Egypt

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The story of Passover began with the people of Israel in the land of Egypt. The story began long before when Joseph, the son of Jacob (named Israel by God), is sold off to Egypt because of his brothers’ jealousy. While in Egypt, Joseph rose to become the most powerful man in Egypt after Pharaoh. His obedience in response to a vision of a coming seven-year famine led to his whole family moving to Egypt to weather out the famine.

After generations had past and a new Pharaoh ruled the land, the Israelites became enslaved and persecuted in Egypt. Fearing the loyalties of the Israelites in Egypt, the Pharaoh commanded all newborn Hebrew boys be killed. To save her baby boy, Moses mother set him adrift in the Nile river after which the Pharaoh’s daughter found and raised him. After a young Moses killed an Egyptian slave driver and learned of his lineage, he fled to the wilderness where he lived for some time until his encounter with the burning bush and God revealed to him the destiny he had to gather the Israelites from Egypt and take them to the Promised Land.

Through many plagues that befell on Egypt, the Pharaoh would not let the Israelites leave. It was the final plague that finally led the Pharaoh to let Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt, even if only for a moment. This is when the first Passover took place, foreshadowing in many ways the offering of the Lamb of God.

Exodus 11:4-7
And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 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 beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.
Exodus 12:1-20
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’s passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 16:1-3a, 4b-7
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night. Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; ... neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee: But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt. And thou shalt roast and eat [it] in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents."
Leviticus 23:4
These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’s Passover.

 This first month was called Abib and later Nisan. Abib is H24 and From an unused root meaning to be tender. It is used as “fresh, young barley ears, barley, month of ear-forming, of greening of crop, of growing green Abib.”

Exodus 9:31-32
And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley [was] in the earH24, and the flax [was] bolled. But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they [were] not grown up.

This passage speaks at the time of the seventh plague of hail that destroyed the barley crops. The third plague that followed was the death of the firstborn, in which Israel fled from Egypt. So Abib speaks not only to the original name of the month, but also the crop season of the time of the year, when the barley was yet green.

This will become important in the moedim of the wave sheaf offering, or firstfruits. This also ties the spring moedim to the spring grain harvest. As you will see in those studies, the fall moedim are tied to the fruit harvest. Given all the parables and symbology of the harvests in the foreshadows and fulfillment of prophecy, this connection is helpful to recognize, and when you see things like Revelation 14:14-20 and Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 it’s easier to see some possible tie-ins to the meanings behind the foreshadows.

So here is the order of days from the first Passover that God ordained from this time to be Israel’s first month of the year on the religious calendar.

  • 10 Abib/Nisan - Every man, according to the house of their fathers, was to collect a male lamb under a year old for the house. This lamb had to be without blemish and cared for to ensure it remained so for 4 days.
  • 14 Abib/Nisan - At dusk, transitioning from 13 Abib/Nisan to the 14th, the Passover lamb was to be killed and eaten as a meal, and the blood from the lamb placed on the door posts so the angel of death would pass over the house and leave the first born alive. What remained of the lamb by morning should be burnt completely. We can also discern this from Exodus 11:4 being when the firstborn would be taken in the middle of the night and Exodus 12:6-7 where the blood from the Passover sacrifice needed to be on the doorposts before the firstborn were taken.

Day of Preparation

Passover, the 14th of Abib/Nisan, was not a day in which no work could be performed, a Sabbath. However, the 15th of Abib/Nisan started the Feast of Unleavened Bread where the first and last days were a holy convocation where no work could be done, a high Sabbath. Therefore, the 14th of Abib/Nisan became known as the day of preparation in addition to Pesach, similar to any other day prior to a weekly Sabbath, because no work could be done during the Sabbath.

Note 1: The point that we need to see here is that special days, which were counted as Sabbaths, were appointed for Israel to keep, and were separate from the regular weekly Sabbaths (Leviticus 23:3-8). These days were usually described using two particular phrases, "holy convocation" (Exodus 12:16; Leviticus 23:24; 23:35-36; Numbers 28:18), and "you shall do no servile work" (Exodus 12:16; Leviticus 16:29; 23:25; 23:35-36; Numbers 28:18). The same phrases are used to describe the regular weekly Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3). It is not said specifically in the Old Testament that the first day of the feast of unleavened bread was a Sabbath, but we can see that it was because it was described by these same two phrases (Exodus 12:16; Leviticus 23:7; Numbers 28:18). In the New testament it is referred to as a Sabbath (Mark 16:1; John 19:31), and as it came on the same date every year, the fifteenth of the first month (Leviticus 23:6; Numbers 28:17), then it would occur on a different day of the week every year. When it did not coincide with a regular weekly Sabbath, there would be two Sabbaths during that week. This is important for us to understand, because as we shall see, Jesus died on the day of the Passover, on 14th Nisan. It was the day before the feast day Sabbath on the 15th day of the first month, called "a high day" (John 19:31), and not before the regular weekly Sabbath.

Note 2: We need also to make a distinction between the Passover, which was the fourteenth day of the month, and the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, which was on the fifteenth day of the month. On the Passover they ate unleavened bread (Exodus 12:8; Numbers 9:11; Deuteronomy 16:3; Mark 14:12), and on the first day of the feast they ate unleavened bread (Exodus 12:15; Leviticus 23:6; Numbers 28:15). The Passover was referred to as "a feast day" (Luke 2:41; John 6:4; 13:1), just as the first day of the feast was (Leviticus 23:6; Numbers 28:17; Matthew 26:5; Mark 14:2). The difference is that the first day of the feast of unleavened bread was a special Sabbath, also called "a high day" (John 19:31, or literally, "great was that Sabbath day". However, the Passover is not described as a Sabbath, or a day of rest; if it had been Jesus could not have been crucified on that day (John 19:31). So here is the conclusion so far. Jesus was crucified on the Passover, the fourteenth day of the first month, and had to be buried on that day because the next day was the feast of unleavened bread. That was a great Sabbath, and he could not remain on the cross that day, because as this bible study shows, the first day of the feast of unleavened bread is always a Sabbath. | logosapostolic.org

Pesach Seder (Feast of Unleavened Bread)

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Exodus 12:34, 37-39
And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. ... And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot [that were] men, beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, [even] very much cattle. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.
Exodus 12:14-20
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. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
Leviticus 23:6-8
And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
Numbers 28:17-25
And in the fifteenth day of this month [is] the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. In the first day [shall be] an holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work [therein]: But ye shall offer a sacrifice made by fire [for] a burnt offering unto the LORD; two young bullocks, and one ram, and seven lambs of the first year: they shall be unto you without blemish: And their meat offering [shall be of] flour mingled with oil: three tenth deals shall ye offer for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram; A several tenth deal shalt thou offer for every lamb, throughout the seven lambs: And one goat [for] a sin offering, to make an atonement for you. Ye shall offer these beside the burnt offering in the morning, which [is] for a continual burnt offering. After this manner ye shall offer daily, throughout the seven days, the meat of the sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: it shall be offered beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering. And on the seventh day ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work.
Deuteronomy 16:3b-4, 8
...seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, [even] the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life. And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there [any thing] of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning. ... Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day [shall be] a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work [therein]."

What is the significance of unleavened bread? God told the children of Israel that they were to remove all leaven from their houses to the extent of being cut off from Israel, stranger or native, if not observed.

Chametz (leaven) is considered a corrupting influence, a hidden uncleanness that manipulates purer elements. Like the influence of a lump of leaven in a batch of dough, "spiritual" leaven functions as an evil impulse within us that corrupts and sours our soul.  As such chametz is considered a metaphor of sin which we are commanded to put away from us. The removal of chametz is a metaphor of our sanctification. | hebrew4christians.com
Matthew 13:33
Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Luke 13:20-21
And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

Matthew 16:5-12
And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, [It is] because we have taken no bread. [Which] when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake [it] not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade [them] not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. (also Mark 8:14-21)

Luke 12:1
In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

1 Corinthians 5:1-8
It is reported commonly [that there is] fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, [concerning] him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying [is] not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth.

It would seem that leaven is used both to describe the growing kingdom of God in terms of how leaven causes the bread to grow. In terms of men, it is what we add in our hearts that is not of God. For the Israelites leaving Egypt, it was all the practices they had been living in with the Egyptians, the false gods and religious practices. The symbology of removing the leaven was leaving nothing but God spiritually and putting any influence that would bring that leaven back in away from the people so they could become a peculiar people that would through history keep God’s commandments, failing as we all do. Instead of living in deception and lies, living in sincerity and truth.

The day after Passover then is the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. However, on the 14th they were also to eat unleavened bread so these feast days are very intertwined and considered the same feast even though they were Biblically distinct.

  • 15 Abib/Nisan - Day 1 Feast of Unleavened Bread - Holy convocation, no servile work (high Sabbath)
  • 16 Abib/Nisan - Day 2 Feast of Unleavened Bread
  • 17 Abib/Nisan - Day 3 Feast of Unleavened Bread
  • 18 Abib/Nisan - Day 4 Feast of Unleavened Bread
  • 19 Abib/Nisan - Day 5 Feast of Unleavened Bread
  • 20 Abib/Nisan - Day 6 Feast of Unleavened Bread
  • 21 Abib/Nisan - Day 7 Feast of Unleavened Bread - Holy convocation, no servile work (high Sabbath)

Wave Sheaf (Firstfruits)

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Exodus 34:21-22
Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end.
Leviticus 23:10-14
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. And the meat offering thereof [shall be] two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD [for] a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof [shall be] of wine, the fourth [part] of an hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: [it shall be] a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Numbers 28:26-31
Also in the day of the firstfruits, when ye bring a new meat offering unto the LORD, after your weeks [be out], ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: But ye shall offer the burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD; two young bullocks, one ram, seven lambs of the first year; And their meat offering of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto one bullock, two tenth deals unto one ram, A several tenth deal unto one lamb, throughout the seven lambs; [And] one kid of the goats, to make an atonement for you. Ye shall offer [them] beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, (they shall be unto you without blemish) and their drink offerings.

There has been some confusion regarding when the firstfruits was to be done. The Pharisees believed it to be after the high Sabbath, on the first day of Unleavened Bread, so firstfruits would always follow on the 16th of Abib/Nisan. The Sadducees believed it to be after the weekly Sabbath, thus having firstfruits fall on different days of the month depending on the days of the week the feasts would fall on each year. Aside from Numbers 28:26 stating the day of firstfruits would be "after your weeks," meaning weekly Sabbath, I believe the answer to this comes in the final of the spring feast days.

Shavuot (Feast of Weeks)

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Leviticus 23:15-22
And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; [they are] the firstfruits unto the LORD. And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be [for] a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, [even] an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits [for] a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, [that] it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work [therein: it shall be] a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I [am] the LORD your God.

Leviticus 23:15 picks up right after the previous verses describing the Wave Sheaf offering, which were to be held after the Sabbath. The passage above explicitly states to count from the Wave Sheaf offering (after the Sabbath) 50 days. This would be after 7 Sabbaths have been completed. There are no Sabbaths but the weekly Sabbath in that time frame so the only way this could be kept having Shavuot on a day after the Sabbath was if the Wave Sheaf offering occurred after a weekly Sabbath.

Deuteronomy 16:9-12
Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from [such time as] thou beginnest [to put] the sickle to the corn. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give [unto the LORD thy God], according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that [is] within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that [are] among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.

In Deuteronomy we see the same seven weeks from firstfruits with a command to rejoice before the Lord and remember their bondage in Egypt and deliverance from that bondage. This is a good place to see the secondary dimension these feasts should be looked at, their fulfillment.

The Foreshadow Fulfilled: Crucifixion of the Lamb of God

Understanding the origins of the spring feasts and their meaning to the children of Israel, now comes an amazing look at what they foreshadowed in great detail. I will lay out the fulfillments and how these conclusions were arrived at.

Colossians 2:16,17
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Hebrews 10:1
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Revelation 19:10
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
1 Corinthians 5:7,8
Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Triumphal Entry

Exodus 12:1-3
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

Note that it was on the 10th of Abib/Nisan that each man in the house, according to the house of their fathers, was to get a lamb for a house. This lamb was to be without blemish or broken bones. After aquiring the lamb, they had to keep it for 3-4 days and during that time inspect it to ensure it remained unblemished and unharmed prior to the killing of it.

Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19 all depict the triumphal entry where Yeshua rides on a donkey to Jerusalem and then enters the temple.

Can we know when the triumphal entry took place in relation to the feast?

Matthew 26:1-5
And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, Ye know that after two days is [the feast of] the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill [him]. But they said, Not on the feast [day], lest there be an uproar among the people.

The Olivet Discourse must have taken place on the evening of 11 Abib/Nisan. Noting that each day starts at dusk and counting back from the evening of 13 Abib/Nisan, we end up at the evening of 11 Abib/Nisan at which time Yeshua said after two days is the feast of Passover and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified.

Now, starting at the triumphal entry, let’s follow the description of the days that followed in the Gospel accounts. First we look at the end of the account of the triumphal entry, assuming the 10th of Abib/Nisan.

10 Abib/Nisan - Triumphal Entry

  • Matthew 21:1-11 | Mark 11:1-11 | Luke 19:28-44 | John 12:12-19 - The triumphal entry
  • Matthew 21:12-16 | Luke 19:45-48 - Yeshua cleanses the temple
Matthew 21:17-18
And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there. Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

Mark 11:11-12
And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:

The Cursed Fig Tree

In Matthew’s account, Matthew 21:12-17, the fig tree is cursed and dried up on the same day, the morning after the triumphal entry. However in Mark’s account, Mark 11:12-14, the cursing of the fruit and the whithering of it, Mark 11:19-21, is the next day. This also seems to place the events Matthew places the day after the triumphal entry on the second day after the truimphal entry in Mark. It may be that Matthew merged the story into one account while Mark showed that it happened over two days.

The other accounts of confronting leadership in the temple somewhat match between Matthew, Mark and Luke, withsome accounts left out or shortened. When speaking of the leadership asking Yeshua by what authority He teaches, Luke says, “And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel.

The teaching of the end of the age by Yeshua on the Mount of Olives seems to be on the evening after Yeshua is confronted in the temple. Below I’ve laid out the Gospel accounts as they appear to read, but I think the clarity on the fig tree causes events to appear on separate days. It could also be that some of these confrontations occurred on more than just that day as Yeshua went to the temple daily teaching.

Luke 19:47-48
And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.

11 Abib/Nisan - Confronting/Confounding Leadership

  • Mark 11:15-18 - Yeshua drives the money changers from the temple and taught
  • Matthew 21:23-27 | Luke 21:1-8 - Who gave Yeshua His authority?
  • Matthew 21:28-32 - Parable of two sons
  • Matthew 21:33-46 | Luke 20:9-18 - Parable of the landowner
  • Matthew 22:1-14 - Parable of the marriage feast
  • Matthew 22:15-22 | Luke 20:19-26 - Tribute to Caesar
  • Matthew 22:23-33 | Luke 20:27-40 - Whose wife of seven men at the resurrection will she be
  • Matthew 22:34-40 - Which is the greatest commandment
  • Matthew 22:41-46 | Luke 20:41-44 - Whose son is the Christ
  • Matthew 23:1-39 | Luke 20:45-47 - Pride and hypocrosy of the Scribes and Pharisees
  • Matthew 24:1-25:46 | Luke 21:5-38 - That evening on the Mount of Olives Yeshua gives the signs of His coming
Mark 11:19-20
And when even was come, he went out of the city. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.

As mentioned above, this is where Mark seems to deviate in describing the fig tree first cursed on the morning of 11 Abib/Nisan and then seen whithered on the morning of 12 Abib/Nisan. Mark’s account has the events Matthew described happening the day after the triumphal entry, happening 2 days after it. Luke’s accounts of these distinctive events is not included with any kind of description of days passing so I included in both accounts.

12 Abib/Nisan

  • Mark 11:27-33 | Luke 21:1-8 - Who gave Yeshua His authority?
  • Mark 12:1-12 | Luke 20:9-18 - Parable of the land owner
  • Mark 12:13-17 | Luke 20:19-26 - Tribute to Caesar
  • Mark 12:18-27 | Luke 20:27-40 - Whose wife of seven men at the resurrection will she be
  • Mark 12:28-34 - Which is the greatest commandment
  • Mark 12:35-37 | Luke 20:41-44 - Whose son is the Christ
  • Mark 12:38-40 | Luke 20:45-47 - Pride and hypocrosy of the Scribes
  • Mark 12:41-44 | Luke 21:1-4 - The Widow’s Mite
  • Mark 13:1-37 | Luke 21:5-38 - That evening on the Mount of Olives Yeshua gives the signs of His coming

If the account of Matthew is accurate, then on 10 Abib/Nisan, when the Passover lambs were being selected, Yeshua presented Himself to His Father’s house, the temple, as a Lamb for a house for the coming Passover. Exodus 12:3

If the account of Mark is accurate, then Yeshua presented Himself on 9 Abib/Nisan.

There may be some distinction I’m not aware of such as Yeshua stating after 2 days is Passover counting that day. Or Mark’s account detailing the several days for the fig tree that Matthew compressed into a topical story doesn’t actually place the other events on a second day after the triumphal entry.

Regardless, the days following the triumphal entry, just as the Passover lamb was checked for any blemishes, the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees tried to find fault in the Lamb of God and were unable to find any blemish. And even the Gentiles were unable to find fault in Him.

Pesach (Passover) Fulfilled

The chart below will help visualize the events
Crucifixion Timeline

Exodus 12:6-8; 12-13
And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
Matthew 26:26-30
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed [it], and brake [it], and gave [it] to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave [it] to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

Yeshua is the bread of life, John 6:32-66, and it is this symbolic expression of breaking the unleavened bread at the last supper where we are told to do it in rememberance of Him.

Wine is also commonly used symbolically to denote blood, Revelation 17:1-6 | Isaiah 63:1-6 | Revelation 14:17-20, and it is only by the shedding of blood that there is forgiveness of sins and freedom from bondage. Hebrews 9:1-28. So too in the start of Passover was the blood of a male lamb placed on the door of the house so that death would not take the first born. Yeshua is the door through which we must pass to be saved from the judgment. John 10:1-18

And so around the time the Passover lamb was being slaughtered across Judea, Yeshua began the memorial communion with His disciples symbolizing the eating of the Passover Lamb and remembering the sacrifice made in blood to cover our sins and redeem us to God.

Keep in mind that each day starts at dusk and not midnight, so the last supper was a Passover meal on preparation day. Following the Passover meal, Yeshua and the disciples went again to the Mount of Olives where Yeshua prayed in anguish as the disciples fell asleep, unaware of the anguish of the Messiah at what was to come. Matthew 26:36-46 | Mark 14:32-42 | Luke 22:39-46

It was this night of 14 Abib/Nisan that Judas brought the soldiers to arrest Yeshua. Matthew 26:47-56 | Mark 14:43-50 | Luke 22:47-53 | John 18:1-11

Later that night, Yeshua is brought before Caiaphas, the high priest and the Sanhedrin. Matthew 26:57-68 | Mark 14:53-65 | Luke 22:54;66-71 | John 18:12-14; 19-24 This was also the time of Peter’s denial three times. Matthew 26:69-75 | Mark 14:66-72 | Luke 22:55-62 | John 18:15-18;25-27

That morning, Yeshua goes before Pilate and Herod. Matthew 27:11-26 | Mark 15:1-15 | Luke 23:1-25 | John 18:28-40

During this time Yeshua is beaten, mocked and given the crown of thorns. Matthew 27:27-32 | Mark 15:16-21 | Luke 23:26-32 | John 19:1-15

Yeshua is crucified at Golgotha (place of the skull) and what was intended for mocking, was true in what Pilate had written on His cross, Yeshua of Nazareth, king of the Jews. When He gave up His spirit in the 9th hour (3 pm), there is a great earthquake, the rocks rent in two, the temple veil was ripped in two. Matthew 27:33-56 | Mark 15:22-41 | Luke 23:33-49 | John 19:16-37

Darkening of the Sun

Matthew 27:45-53
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Mark 15:33-38
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.

Luke 23:44-46
And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

Yeshua gave up His spirit at the ninth hour, 3 PM.

“The historians Phlegon, Thallus, Africanus and Tertullian all mention this three hour period of darkness that does not have a scientific explanation. It was neither a lunar or solar eclipse for many reasons. Eclipses do not last three hours and cannot happen during the full moon of Passover. Julius Africanus, writing about the historian Thallus states:

‘Upon the whole world there came a most fearful darkness. Many rocks were split in two by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down.’

“It seems very unreasonable to me that Thallus, in the third book of his histories, would try to explain away this darkness as an eclipse of the sun. For the Jews celebrate their Passover on the 14th day according to the moon, and the death of our Saviour falls on the day before the Passover. But an eclipse of the sun can only take place when the moon comes under the sun, how then could an eclipse have occurred when the moon is directly opposite the sun? (Scientifically it is impossible to have a full moon on the same day that there is an eclipse of the sun.)

“The Roman historian Phlegon is mentioned by Origen who describes a darkening of the sun in the eighteenth year of Tiberius on Nisan 14-Passover which would be 30 AD. A few people have used this Roman history report stating the year of the Crucifixion is 33 AD. They mistakenly start Tiberius’ reign in 14 AD after the death of Augustus instead of the start of his joint reign in 11 AD.” | Historical Basis for Believing Jesus was Crucified in AD 30, by Jim Liles

Because the first day of Unleavened Bread, a high Sabbath, was approaching, they needed to put Yeshua’s body in the tomb before sundown, which started 15 Abib/Nisan. Joseph of Arimathaea, a disciple of Yeshua, got permission to take the body, wrapped it and placed it in his own unused tomb that was nearby. Matthew 27:57-61 | Mark 15:42-47 | Luke 23:50-56 | John 19:38-42

John 19:31
The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and [that] they might be taken away.

Feast of Unleavened Bread

Matthew 27:62-66
Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make [it] as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

Recall that the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (15 Abib/Nisan) is a high Sabbath and so the previous day, Passover (14 Abib/Nisan), was also called preparation day. This is where I believe a lot of confusion comes in leading to the idea that Passover and the crucifixion were on Friday and the resurrection was on Sunday. There’s no real way to get 3 days and 3 nights in the grave that way. The answer lies in understanding that 15 Abib/Nisan is a Sabbath day regardless what day of the week it falls on and the day before, 14 Abib/Nisan, is also preparation day. This doesn’t lock it to a Friday as it does when assuming the Sabbath is referring to the weekly Sabbath.

Note also that the Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar where the first of the month of Abib/Nisan was a new moon and the 15th is a full moon. With the benefit of math and science letting us calculate the stable celestial clock God created, we can roll back time and see exactly when the 15th of Abib/Nisan is. More to come on that later.

What is important is sticking with the Hebrew dusk to dusk “days” and tracking the days of Abib/Nisan. The first day of Unleavened Bread was 15 Abib/Nisan.

  1. 15 Abib/Nisan - Day 1, dusk to dusk, that Yeshua is in the tomb.
  2. 16 Abib/Nisan - Day 2, dusk to dusk, that Yeshua is in the tomb.
  3. 17 Abib/Nisan - Day 3, dusk to dusk, that Yeshua is in the tomb.

A 72-hour period would end sometime before dusk on 17 Abib/Nisan as Yeshua was placed in the tomb before dusk so it wouldn’t fall on Sabbath. Three full nights and days would mean a resurrection either at the very end of 17 Abib/Nisan or just after dusk on 18 Abib/Nisan. Regardless of the details of this time, scripture snaps the day of the week to our counting of the days of the month.

Matthew 28:1
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

Mark 16:1-2
And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the [mother] of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first [day] of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

Luke 24:1-3
Now upon the first [day] of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain [others] with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

John 20:1-2
The first [day] of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

The Feast of Unleavened bread only specifies the first and eighth day as Sabbaths, which would correlate to 15 and 21 Abib/Nisan respectively. Yeshua was resurrected sometime in the transition from 17 to 18 Abib/Nisan and the Bible tells us that Mary Magdalene, the other Mary and some other women discover the empty tomb just before dawn on the day after Sabbath, on the first day of the week, which would mean it was Sunday.

Now we can take that information and count back the days of Abib/Nisan to know the following:

  • 10 Abib/Nisan - Saturday (Weekly Sabbath) (Acquire the lamb)
  • 11 Abib/Nisan - Sunday
  • 12 Abib/Nisan - Monday
  • 13 Abib/Nisan - Tuesday
  • 14 Abib/Nisan - Wednesday Passover (Preparation Day) Sentancing & Crucifixion
  • 15 Abib/Nisan - Thursday (High Sabbath) (Unleavened Bread) 1st Day in Tomb
  • 16 Abib/Nisan - Friday (Unleavened Bread) 2nd Day in Tomb
  • 17 Abib/Nisan - Saturday (Weekly Sabbath) (Unleavened Bread) 3rd Day in Tomb
  • 18 Abib/Nisan - Sunday (Unleavened Bread & Firstfruits)
  • 19 Abib/Nisan - Monday (Unleavened Bread)
  • 20 Abib/Nisan - Tuesday (Unleavened Bread)
  • 21 Abib/Nisan - Wednesday (High Sabbath) (Unleavened Bread)

Now that we know the days of the Hebrew month matched to the days of the week according to scripture, we can take the piece that will help us determine what year this could have occurred in by rolling back the heavenly clock and find what years between 26 and 34 AD only two years match the days of the week from scripture, and that is 27 AD and 30 AD. Looking at lunar phases, the full moon in 27 AD fell just after dusk starting 14 Abib/Nisan, a day before the 15th. On 30 AD a full moon fell on 15 Abib/Nisan about 3 hours and 45 minutes after dusk. As you can see from the chart below, only one year appears to line up, 30 AD.

Crucifixion Timeline

I used Rosetta Calendar, Phases of the Moon, and timeanddate.com to get sunrise and sunset in Jerusalem approximated from this time of year now, not intended to be 100% accurate, just give an idea of the time of day.

One other point on the days of the week, throughout history several counts of time have been static. A day has been a day and for most people in the context of scripture have seven of those days in a week. The Julian calendar counts days and while it had to be updated to account for variances when attempting to translate that day count to the number of them in solar years, they are still a sequential count of days going back. Therefore, we are able to take a Julian day number from today, subtract that from any other Julian day number and divide by seven. If it is a whole number, then we know the modern day of the week matches that of the ancient Julian day subtracted from it. If it is not a whole number, then it’s not the same day of the week.

I bring this up because there are some variances I found in various studies on this topic regarding what days of the week some of these dates fell on. I feel this is a very basic test to verify an ancient day of the week of a Julian day count from a day of the week you know positively right now, on top of other tools like the Julian Day and Civil Calendar Calculator and the previously mentioned Rosetta Calendar Calculator.

Other Connections to 30 AD

Herod's Temple and Yeshua's First Passover

John 2:18-21
Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.
The Antiquities of the Jews Book XV, Chapter 11
“And now Herod, in the eighteenth year of his reign, undertook a very great work, that is, to build of himself the temple of God in Jerusalem. He decided to make it larger in compass, and to raise it to a most magnificent altitude, as esteeming it to be the most glorious of all his actions, as it really was, to bring it to perfection; and that this would be sufficient for an everlasting memorial of him.”

It was around 19 BC when Herod began his project to build it back up and expand it. 46 years later would land in 28 AD and John 2 speaks of the first Passover mentioned in Yeshua’s ministry. There are three Passovers mentioned in scripture tied to His ministry:

  • 1st Passover (28 AD) from John 2:13 (just after the turning water to wine at the marriage just after His ministry started)
  • 2nd Passover (29 AD) from John 6:4
  • 3rd Passover/Crucifixion (30 AD) from John 11:55; 12:1; 13:1; 18:28,39; 19:14

So when the Jews reacted to Yeshua’s prophecy of His resurrection of the body, they provided an historical connection point that ties Passover 28 AD to Christ’s first Passover following His baptism the previous year. 

Wave Sheaf (Firstfruits) Fulfilled

As stated previously, there was a divide between the Sadducees and the Pharisees as to when the wave sheaf offering should be observed. In 30 AD, the Pharisees would have had it on the Friday after the high Sabbath of the 15th of Nisan. This would not fit with Leviticus 23:15-22 in that it would have been more than 50 days from that Friday plus seven Sabbaths.

In 30 AD, the Sadducees view of it being observed after the weekly Sabbath would have it fall on Sunday the 18th of Nisan. This fits perfectly with the Shavuot of seven Sabbaths and 50 days. Ironically, The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection and it was on the observance they held to that the resurrection was proven and that the tomb was found empty!

1 Corinthians 15:20-26
But now is Christ risen from the dead, [and] become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then [cometh] the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy [that] shall be destroyed [is] death.

This passage both ties beautifully to the fulfillment of the wave sheaf offering (firstfruits), but also plays a part in defining the first resurrection.

Shavuot (Feast of Weeks)

Tied to the wave sheaf offering is Shavuot, what Christians call Pentecost based on scripture from Greek pentecostē, “50th day.” This was the same 50th day from the Sunday of the resurrection, 7 Sabbaths apart.

Acts 2:1-4
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

This is the day the Holy Spirit came upon the church, the time Yeshua told them to wait for.

John 16:5-15
But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew [it] unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew [it] unto you.

Timing of the Crucifixion

What is really amazing is that the combination of scripture and the orderly creation of the heavens and our ability through science to rewind the clock, we can pinpoint the day of the crucifixion and tie it to the framework of the feasts that were fulfilled!

In the establishment of the first Passover, or Pesach, there were many foreshadows to the ultimate sacrifice of Yeshua on the cross for the remission of sins for all who believe and obey.

One of the first things that stands out is “In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house” and “lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year.” Yeshua presented Himself as the Lamb of God to the earthly house of God on selection day and lived a perfect life and was without blemish, the only begotten son of God. He proved it over the next couple days answering the questions of the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees who were left dumb and their pride pricked.

This lamb was sacrificed on the 14th of Nissan, the same day that Christ was crucified almost 2,000 years later.

The blood of the sacrificed lamb was spread on the top and sides of the doorposts and any house marked by the blood of the lamb was passed over by the angel of death. Likewise, when we are covered by the blood of the Lamb of God through faith, we will not experience the second death. Furthermore, Christ is the only door through which we enter into communion with the Father in eternity and only because of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God that covers our sins. John 10:7-11

For those houses that did not have the blood of the lamb on the doorways, the firstborn of the house was taken just as the firstborn of God was given. Those houses that followed God’s instructions and symbolized the offering of Christ on the cross had their firstborn spared, covered by the sacrifice of the firstborn of God to come. Romans 3:21-26, 1 John 2:1-6, 1 John 4:7-11

They were told to eat the flesh of the lamb that night just as Yeshua symbolized the eating of His flesh at the last supper with the breaking of bread with the disciples. Furthermore, Yeshua is also known as the bread of life. John 6:32-58

There is a clear connection between the Passover remembered by Israel according to God’s Word and the crucifixion of Yeshua remembered by the Christian community in communion. However there seems to be a disconnect in recognizing the original Passover’s connection to the sacrifice of Yeshua that is likely very much a part of Jewish Messianic believers remembrance of these events. I believe it is always beneficial to recognize the larger picture and see the plan of God in its larger scale, to see how some of the perceived oddities of the Old Testament shed light on the future fulfillments they foreshadowed.

It should also be recognized that it was this series of spring moedim that were fulfilled in 30 AD at Christ's first parousia, or coming. This was not a coming and going quickly, but a presence during the whole time of His ministry for the purpose of coming as the suffering servant.

Isaiah 61:1-2
The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, [first coming] and the day of vengeance of our God... [second coming]

When Yeshua started His ministry, He stopped reading verse 2 just before the day of vengeance of our God and said, “this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” I believe that the spring and fall moedim foreshadow and mirror the first presence of Christ to bring in the kingdom of God in the spring of 30 AD, and His second presence will bring the day of vengeance of our God in the future when Yeshua returns in glory to judge the earth. What does this say about the fall moedim?


Parallels to the Spring Feast Days

10 Abib/Nisan: Crossing the Jordan River

Another interesting event occurred on 10 Abib/Nisan prior to this when Israel entered the Promised Land.

Joshua 4:14-24
On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. And the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. Joshua therefore commanded the priests, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan. And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD were come up out of the midst of Jordan, [and] the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as [they did] before. And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth [day] of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal. And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What [mean] these stones? Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it [is] mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.

Easter or Ishtar? by Al Perez

The word Easter appears once in the King James version of the Bible. Herod has put Peter in prison, “intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people” (Acts 12:4). Yet in the original Greek text the word is not Easter, but Pesach, that is Passover. So why was the name changed? Please read on, and remember Exodus 34:14; For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous G-d.

“Asherah” the Greek form of this word from the Septuagint is “Astarte,” who is the Babylonian goddess of the sea, sea being symbolic of people, and consort of the god El. She was the mother of several gods, including Ba’al, the Babylonian god of the sun. These deities were soon adopted by the Canaanites when they named these female deities the Asherah or Asherim. These deities were made of wood carved from a type of evergreen tree, or often they were set up in Canaanite homes as full trees cut down from a forest. The Asherim normally were highly acknowledged during two specific occasions. First and foremost, they were the fertility gods of the spring equinox, when the days and nights were approximately the same in length, signifying the beginning of living things growing for the summer season. A very common practice in the Canaanite religion was performed on the first Sunday of the equinox. The families would face east to await the rising of the sun, which was the chief symbol of the sun god, Ba’al. Later on during the day, the children of the Canaanite parents would often go and hunt for eggs, which were symbolic of sex, fertility and new life. It was believed that these eggs came from rabbits, which in the pagan world were symbolic of lust, sexual prowess and reproduction. The Canaanites, however, were not the only ones who worshiped rabbits as deities. The Egyptians and the Persians (Babylon) also held rabbits in high esteem because they believed that rabbits first came from the divine Phoenix birds, who once ruled the ancient skies until they were attacked by other gods in a power struggle. When they were struck down, they reincarnated into rabbits, but kept the ability to produce eggs like the ancient birds to show their origins.

Other stories concerning the egg rose later in the Middle Ages by the Anglo-Saxons, where they believed the origin of the Universe had the earth being hatched out of an enormous egg. Decorating eggs came about to honor their pagan gods and were often presented as gifts to other families to bring them fertility and sexual success during the coming year. And secondly, they were highly worshiped and celebrated during the winter solstice. As according to Jeremiah 10:1-5; Isaiah 40:19-20; 41:7 and 44:9-20, the pagans would go out into the forest and do one of two things. Either they chopped down a tree and carved a female deity out of it, or they would simply bring the tree into the house and decorate it with gold and silver ornaments symbolizing the sun and the moon while nailing a stand on the bottom so it would not totter or tip over.

Out of this practice came many other variations of these pagan festivals until the Roman Catholic Church adopted the Asherah worship and named it EASTER around 155 A.D. According to the CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA, Easter was named after a pagan goddess of the Anglo-Saxons named Eostre, the goddess of the dawn. A great controversy arose between the Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church in 325 A.D. on whether to celebrate Easter on Sundays or on whatever day the Jewish Passover fell upon. Unfortunately, the Greeks lost a lot of followers and the Catholics contended that keeping Easter on Sundays would stimulate the practices of both the Christian world and the pagan worshipers. Note that the word CATHOLIC means “universal” or “one world” in thought, concept and practice. Hence, since the original practice of Asherah worship we now have in our time the celebration of Easter, a counterfeit holiday to the true Christian festival of the Passover which was instituted in the Bible and completed in the New Testament when Christ died on the cross as our Passover Lamb.

“...For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”

Biblically, as mentioned above, the original name of the holiday we celebrate as Easter today is the Feast of Firstfruits. I don’t think it would hurt to go back to the roots of our faith and recognize the Hebrew origins that were the foreshadows of ultimate fulfillment in Christ.

It offers a much stronger meaning and gives glory to God, who picked out a peculiar people through which He would bring that ultimate salvation. We are grafted onto the root, which is Christ, and He recognized the feast days for what they were, His holy plan acted out by His people for thousands of years to foretell of Him.

Now in the fulfillment of that plan, we remember His resurrection on firstfruits. I don’t take issue with celebrating this on Sunday since that’s the day it occurred on in 30 AD. I do think it would be advantageous for the bride of Christ to remember all the spring feasts, their origins, and their fulfillments.


Blood of Christ and the Ark of the Covenant

There is another element of the crucifixion presented by Ron Wyatt some time ago that, while it cannot be absolutely proven, and relies completely on his own witness, holds some amazing connections between the Old Testament practices, their fulfillments at the crucifixion and the over-arching design of God. While I cannot absolutely verify these stories, the meaning behind them is very compelling and worth at least hearing about.

Ron Wyatt made many amazing archeological discoveries and thankfully filmed most of them. I’ve gathered many of these videos here and highly recommend checking them out. Noah’s Ark, the Red Sea chariot wheels, Sodom and Gomorrah and his discoveries around Golgotha in Jerusalem. The discovery I would like to present here relates to the crucifixion on Passover, Jewish ceremony and the events surrounding the Babylonian captivity at the turn of the 6th century BC.

Prior to the Babylonian captivity, once a year on Yom Kippur, the high priest would enter the holy of holies in the temple in Jerusalem to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. Leviticus 16:11-17 The design of the temple and the Ark of the Covenant were given to Moses after the Exodus (Exodus 25) and part of the rituals performed by Israel as foreshadows of what was to come to pass. That sacrifice and sprinkling of blood was not to take away sins, but rather a remembrance of the sins by Israel and a foreshadow of the one sacrifice of Christ offered once for all. Hebrews 10:1-13 This annual ritual was repeated year after year by Israel until the judgment of God on Israel in the Babylonian captivity.

The whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant became a mystery at the destruction of the temple on the 9th of Av 518 BC. It is not believed that the Babylonians took it because it is conspicuously missing from the detailed lists of the looted treasures taken back to Babylon. According to some sources, Josiah, one of the final kings to reign in the First Temple period, learned of the impending invasion of the Babylonians and hid the Ark. While the location has remained shrouded in mystery, Ron Wyatt claimed to have discovered its location with some amazing prophetic correlations.

Ron said that in digging around the site of Golgotha, where the road led into the Sheep Gate, he discovered square holes cut into the rock next to a wall of rock out of which notches were cut out. He believed that this was the location where crucifixions took place around the time of Roman rule over Jerusalem as an example for all those entering Jerusalem on those roads of the punishments given for those that disobeyed the laws.

After further excavating, Ron says that he later went in to explore the caves with a worker one day. This worker suddenly came hurriedly out of a tunnel without saying a word and Ron never heard from him again. When Ron went into the place this man came out of, he said that is where he discovered the Ark of the Covenant, some 20 feet below the location he had found the square holes bored into the rock above.

Matthew 27:50,51
Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Ron says that he saw the cracks in the rock where the square notch was and also above the location he found the Ark of the Covenant and believes that the mixture of blood and water from Christ at His death on Passover flowed down the cracks where the rocks were rent and sprinkled onto the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant, fulfilling the symbolic sprinkling of the sacrifice done by the high priest annually - this time one and for all sins. It was also at this time that the veil of separation in the holy of holies was rent in two showing the sacrifice of Christ for our sins was acceptable and removing the separation of God and man for those who would accept the sacrifice offered for our salvation.