Passover
By: Terry Dashner
Faith Fellowship Church…PO Box 1586…Broken Arrow, OK 74013…Pastor Terry Dashner
“Appointed Time: Passover”
This is a continuation of the study on “Appointed Time(s).” This series concludes after studying the seven festivals of the Messiah. Why do I detail these seven feasts? I do so because they illustrate the life and reign of Jesus better than the spoken word of the Prophets of old or the written word of the Apostles of the New Testament, in my opinion. You will have opportunity to judge this for yourself after concluding this series. I pray that the Father God Almighty will open your eyes to see Jesus more clearly today than yesterday. This I ask in Jesus’ name!
Introduction: And ye shall observe this thing [Passover] for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. …And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt… (Exodus 12:24,26-27).
God declared Passover to be a permanent celebration for all eternity. Historically, Passover celebrates God’s deliverance of the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt, where they were slaves to the Egyptians. The spiritual application that God wants us to understand is this: Egypt is a type of the world and the world’s system. Its ruler, Pharaoh, was a type of Satan. The bondage people are in when they live according to the ways of the world’s system is sin. Historically, the children of Israel were delivered from the bondage in Egypt by putting the blood of a lamb upon the doorposts of their houses. Spiritually, this is a picture of Messiah and how those who believe in Him are delivered from the bondages of sin and the rule of Satan in their lives. Yeshua (Jesus) is the Lamb of God (John 1:29). He is also our Passover (I Corinthians 5:7). Those who follow Yeshua are the house of God (Hebrews 3:6). The doorposts are our hearts. It is only through trusting by faith in the shed blood of Yeshua, our Passover, that we are free from the bondage of sin (Galatians 4:3-5,9).
During Passover, the head of each household was to take a lamb of the first year on the 10th day of the first month known as Nisan and set it aside until the 14th day. In the evening of the 14th day, at exactly 3:00 PM, the lamb was to be killed. The blood of the lamb was to be sprinkled on the lintel and two side posts of the household door. The lamb was to be roasted with fire, with bitter herbs, and with unleavened bread, and the entire household was to feast upon the body of the lamb. The people were instructed by God to eat the lamb with haste and to be dressed and ready to leave Egypt at the midnight hour. This would be the 15th day of Nisan. At midnight on that fateful evening in Egypt, death passed through the land. Every house that did not have the token of the blood on the doorposts and lintel suffered the judgment of God. The Hebrew word for Passover is Pesach, which means “to pass or hover over.” This word speaks to us about two things. First, it shows the passing over in judgment from death and sin to life in Yeshua. Second, it tells us about allowing, by faith, the blood of Yeshua to hover over our lives and give us divine protection from the evil one.
Significant Points About Passover… 1.Passover was the beginning of months. Just as receiving Jesus into our lives is the beginning of a New Covenant, Nisan was to be the first month of the religious calendar. Repenting of our sins and believing in the shed blood of Jesus is our first step in our relationship with God. 2.The lamb was hidden for four days. Messianic fulfillment—God commanded Israel to take a lamb on the 10th day of Nisan and set it aside until the 14th day. These four days were fulfilled by Jesus during the Passover week. Remember, Jesus is the Lamb of God. He entered Jerusalem and went to the temple, which is the house of God, and went on public display there for four days from Nisan 10 to Nisan 14. Regarding the Second Coming of the Lord (Eschatology), these four days that the Lamb was hidden is prophetic of the people’s expectations that the Messiah would come 4,000 years from the creation of Adam as part of the 7,000-year plan of God to redeem both man and the earth back to how things were in the Garden of Eden (Mishnah, San Hedrin 97-98). These four days are prophetic of the Messiah being hid from the world and not coming to earth for four days or 4,000 years from the creation of Adam. A day is understood to be prophetic of a 1,000 years, based upon Psalm 90:4 (II Peter 3:8) to each day in creation. God ordained each day in creation to be prophetic of a thousand years of time and the entire redemption to take 7,000 years to complete from the fall of man in the Garden Eden (Genesis 1:1, 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31; 2:1-3). 3.The lamb was to be without blemish (Exodus 12:5). Jesus was without spot or blemish (I Peter 1:18-20). During the crucifixion week, Jesus was examined by many in fulfilling this Scripture, including the chief priests, Pilate, Annas the High Priest, Caiaphas, Judas, the Centurion, and the repentant thief. 4.The lamb was of the first year (Exodus 11:4-7; 12:5). The firstborn of both man and beast was to be set aside and given to God. The theme of the firstborn runs throughout the Bible. Cain was set aside for Abel. Ishmael for Isaac. Esau for Jacob, and Egypt for Israel. You see, the firstborn after the flesh is set aside to bring forth the firstborn after the spirit. In this process, God distinguishes between the first or natural birth and the second or spiritual birth. The first birth constitutes us as sinners and the second birth makes us believers and children of God. Jesus was the firstborn of Mary (natural) and the firstborn of God (spiritual). 5.It is a male. It was through one man’s sin…Romans 5:12. Adam the first male sinned; therefore, a firstborn male must make atonement for man’s sin. 6.It is a lamb for a house. God’s intention was that all (households) men should be saved. The lamb was a lamb for a house. By believing the Lamb of God, we become members of the household of faith. Prophetically, this is progressive. For example, Jesus was first a Lamb for a house, then a Lamb for a nation (Israel), and then a Lamb for the world. 7.A Passover lamb was to be killed between the evenings. The Biblical day goes from evening to evening, from sundown to sundown, which is roughly 6:00 PM to 6:00PM. The day is divided into two 12-hour periods. Each 12-hour period is further divided into two smaller portions—6:00 AM to noon is the morning part of the day. From noon to 6:00 PM is the evening part of the day. The phrase, “between the evening” refers to the period of the day that goes from noon to 6:00 PM, which is exactly 3:00PM. This would be the ninth hour of the day. 8.The whole assembly shall Kill it. Every person who has lived on this planet, except Jesus Christ, has sinned. We are all guilty of our sin before God. It was you and I, the world, that murdered Jesus. He died for the guilty ones—you and I. 9.The blood must by applied to the door. We who believe are the house of God. The only way into the house of God is through the door. Jesus said that He is the door. His blood was applied on our behalf to enter the house of God. 10.The body of the lamb must be eaten. It must be eaten the same night—Jesus was crucified, suffered, and died the same night. It must be eaten with unleavened bread. Leaven speaks of sin. Unleavened bread is without sin. As believers, we are instructed to live holy lives before God. It must be eaten with bitter herbs. This speaks to the grevious burdens carried by our sin. It also speaks to our lives after accepting Jesus—Those who will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution. 11.The lamb must be eaten in haste. (Self explanatory). 12. It’s the Lord’s Passover. God provide everything in our redemption, even the faith to believe. 13.It is a memorial. God remembers us throughout the generations. We must pass along His word to every generation. 14.It is to be observed at the going down of the sun. 15.It is the place where God would put His name.
Faith Fellowship Church…PO Box 1586…Broken Arrow, OK 74013…Pastor Terry Dashner
16.Not a bone of the lamb was to be broken. 17.There was to be an explanation of the service. Jesus explained each part of the Passover as He did the service at His last meal. 18.The Egyptians were spoiled at the Exodus. Satan was spoiled by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. 19.The males must be circumcised to eat the Passover. Inward circumcision of the heart happens when we receive Jesus. 20.The Passover feast was to be a holy convocation, and no work was to be done. Matthew 11:28 21.The Passover must be killed outside the gate of the city. 22.There is healing power in the lamb (Exodus 15:26). Jesus carried our sicknesses and diseases in His own body upon the tree. 23.The Exodus was on eagle’s wings (Exodus 19:4). Has God promised to carry us on eagles wings? 24. They sang a song of rejoicing to the Lord. When we are delivered from bondage, we are made new and now have reason to “make melody in our hearts.” 25. Israel is the firstborn of God.
Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is passing your way today.
Pastor t.
Pastors a small church in Oklahoma. 918-451-0270
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