The Passover lamb was to be selected on the tenth day of the
month. It was nourished until the
fourteenth day when it would be killed in the evening or, better translated, between the evenings. The Jews recognized two evenings, 3:00 PM
and 6:00 PM. The
Mishnah allowed the killing of the
lamb to take place anytime between the noon
hour and 6:00 PM.
Jesus fulfilled Passover in every detail but here again, we
find Satan creeping in and he has altered
the truth of the details of that precise fulfillment! Around the world, Christianity celebrates
Passion Week beginning on Palm Sunday
when Jesus was supposed to have made his triumphant entry. Good
Friday memorializes the day of the crucifixion and Easter Sunday celebrates the Resurrection. The scriptures, however, render all of those days
as incorrect! Satan saw an opportunity to mix the pagan
doctrines of Babylon with the truth of scripture and seized the moment!
In the year Jesus died, he entered into Jerusalem
on Saturday, not Sunday. Because of the
short distance of his trip, he did not violate Sabbath rules regarding
travel. On that day, which was the tenth
day of the month, the Jews as a nation unknowingly
selected the Lamb of God when they
spread palm leaves and garments in his path while crying Hosannah! Thus, fulfilling the
law on the exact day!
“And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying,
Hosannah to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the in the name of
the Lord; Hosannah in the highest.” Mr. 21:9
The meaning of their cry is “help or save now.” It was the same cry that was uttered for
seven days during the Feat of Tabernacles as they marched around the altar with
palm branches. Those who honored Jesus
that day expected him to deliver their nation from the iron rule of the Roman
Empire.
A word here about Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem
is in order. It is often called a “triumphant” entry. The entry was anything but triumphant. Jesus entered riding on an ass, a king’s
beast of peace. Jesus had been rejected
by the nation at large and in particular by its religious leaders for the past
three and one-half years. He was making
one last offer of God’s peace to Israel
which they could received only by believing on him as the Messiah. He was not smiling, shaking hands and proclaiming
victory as he entered. He went into Jerusalem
“lowly.”
(Zec. 9: 9.) He was depressed both in mind and spirit
because his own people rejected his message of peace and salvation. Jesus’ pain ran deep because his people
possessed the oracles of God which contained the Messianic prophecies. The leaders knew who he was and with that
knowledge, rejected him. Jesus entered into Jerusalem
knowing that he would be crucified four days later, precisely as the law demanded! Zechariah
also, in the same scripture says: “...behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is
just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt
the foal of an ass.” That
latter part of the scripture is never addressed. What did he mean, did Jesus ride two beasts? Yes, he did.
Knowing that he would be rejected by Israel,
as he entered Jerusalem, Jesus got
off of the full grown ass, leaving behind the old covenant of the law, and
mounted the young beast, the colt representing the new covenant. The kingdom
would now be made available to the gentiles, salvation by faith and the blood
of Christ, the Church.
If we accept the traditional Palm Sunday as the day when the
sacrificial lamb of God was selected, Jesus should have been killed four days
later which would be Thursday. To teach that Jesus died on Friday violates
the four day ordinance.
According to God’s directions in the Law of Moses, the lamb
was to be killed on the fourteenth day of the month. Jesus fulfilled that detail by hanging on the
cross four days later. Four days from
Saturday is Wednesday. He was crucified
not on Friday but on Wednesday. Jesus said that he would be in the grave
three days and three nights.
Understanding how meticulous God is about exact days, he did not mean a
part of three different days, but three whole days and three whole nights or 72
hours. Here, I acknowledge my father,
Elder G. Grady Benton. His diligence in seeking and proclaiming the truth of
the Wednesday crucifixion at a time when very few were proclaiming that scriptural
truth has inspired me to delve into all of the feast days in search of their
future fulfillment.
Mark 15:34
gives the time of Jesus’ death as after 3:00 PM in the afternoon. He died leaving sufficient time for Nicodemus
and Joseph to anoint, wrap and bury his body before the Sabbath of
Passover. Jesus fulfilled the law and
died “between the evenings.” Being
crucified and buried on Wednesday, the preparation day, Thursday at the same
time would be one day; Friday at the same time, two days; Saturday at the same
time, three days. The resurrection
occurred sometime after 3:00 PM and before 6:00 PM
in the evening on Saturday. When the
women went to the tomb early in the morning of the first day of the week, their
earliest opportunity, the angel announced: he
is already risen.” He did not get up that morning, he had been up since late Saturday evening. The great earthquake early Sunday records the
time of the moving of the stone, not
the resurrection. (Mark 28:1&2)
The traditional Easter sunrise service did not commence with
the resurrection of Jesus, it was observed a few thousand years earlier in Babylon. In Satan’s attempt to merge Christianity with
pagan Babylonianism, he introduced Easter sunrise service to the Church. The name Easter is a variation of Ishtar, the
Babylonian queen of heaven. Jeremiah
condemned Israel
for offering cakes to her (Jer. 7:18.) Legend has her son Tammuz being killed by a
wild animal and miraculously resurrected.
The legend is a lie. Ezekiel
wrote about women weeping for Tammuz for forty days which is still celebrated
by some religions as the Lenten season (Eze.8:14.) Tammuz’ father is said to be
none other than Nimrod (Gen10:8) known throughout the Old Testament as the
deity Baal or the sun god. The Church
would be wiser to observe a Saturday afternoon resurrection memorial service as
opposed to a Sunday sunrise service.
We are told in 1 Corinthians 5:7 that “Christ our passover
is sacrificed for us.” Paul’s letter to
the Hebrews admonished them to abandon the Old Testament sacrifices which could
never take away sin and cleave to Jesus who offered himself up once as the passover lamb for the sins
of the world.
Again, God is working from detailed plans. The feast day of Passover was inaugurated to
serve as a clock and calendar for these last days and all of the remaining
feast days will likewise be fulfilled at their appointed times.
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