PASSOVER UNDERSTANDINGS
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EXODUS 12:18 |
DOES THE PASSOVER AND 7 DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD ALL BEGIN AT THE SAME TIME, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 15TH, AND SO WE THEN HAVE ONE SPRING FEAST FOR 7 DAYS? THE PHARISEE JEWS SO HAVE IT. IS THAT CORRECT?
If from Ex.12:18 we are to understand the Feast of
Unleavened Bread beginning at the beginning of the 14th of the
first month, and if verse six is telling us that the Passover was
to be slain and eaten at the beginning of the 14th of the first
month, that together with verse 16, would be stating a number of
things we have not understood before, namely: 1) The Spring
Feast is 7 days long and not 8. 2) The 14th day is a Sabbath
day. 3) The Passover day is the first Sabbath day of the feast
of Unleavened Bread.
Understanding these verses this way, may seem correct within
Exodus chapter 12. But, the Bible contains other verses on the
same subject matter. These also we must take into account. We are
not to read the Bible with horse blinkers over our eyes, or just
ignoring other verses that shed light on the same subject. When
we look at all the other sections of Scripture in the Old Testament (OT)
concerning the Passover day and feast of Unleavened Bread,
there are some large errors in believing the Passover day and feast
of Unleavened Bread (FoUB) are all one, both beginning at the same
time, at the beginning of the 14th, or as some have it, at the beginning
Of the 15th.
There are some sections of Scripture that are hard to
understand, at first glance. Peter was inspired to say that some
of the things Paul wrote were hard to understand, by the
unlearned that is, as he went on to say (2 Peter 3:15 and
context). Sometimes we have to search the Scriptures (Acts 17),
study to show ourselves approved, rightly dividing(putting
together verse with verse) the word of truth (2 Tim.2:15), to
come to the truth of the matter on a specific subject.
The above are a few keys to correctly understand the Bible.
I have covered in other Passover studies, many other truths
concerning this Spring Feast. I have proved in earlier studies
that "between the two evenings" - the phrase used in Exodus 12:6
as to when the Passover lamb was to be killed and then eaten,
MEANS, from letting just the Bible interpret itself, at DUSK, or
TWILIGHT - the BEGINNING OF THE 14TH DAY.
All of this I have covered fully before. Hence we clearly
and plainly see from Exodus 12:6 that the Passover lamb was slain
as the 14th day began, and the Passover meal was eaten as that
14th night moved on.
That was the FIRST Passover celebration, starting at DUSK,
at the beginning of the 14th day of the first month. Then if we
turn to Lev.23:5 we find this truth once more reiterated. And
again the phrase "between the two evenings" is used. The
Passover, which was the killing of the lamb to spread it's blood
upon the door posts (in Ex.12) so when God passed over THAT NIGHT
(Ex.12:12) those under the blood of the lamb would be saved from
death, that Passover is IN the 14th day, and at TWILIGHT of the
14th day.
The Passover lamb has to do WITH THE 14TH DAY, and I have
proved in other studies on how God used NUMBERS in the Bible,
that the number 14 is the number for SALVATION - BEING SAVED!
It is two times 7, the number used by God for PERFECTION or
COMPLETENESS (the Eternal completed His work and rested the 7th
day - Gen.2). The number 14 is DOUBLE perfection, as if saying
completely perfect, or perfectly and completely saved - God making
sure it is double "perfect" if He saves anyone.
Now, notice Lev. 23:6,7.
"And ON the fifteenth day of the same month is the FEAST of
UNLEAVENED BREAD unto the Lord: seven days you must eat
unleavened bread. In the first day you shall have a holy
convocation: you shall do no servile work therein."
Within THREE verses next to each other are TWO days
mentioned - the 14th and the 15th. The Passover on one and the
feast of Unleavened Bread starts on the other. I submit this is
pretty simple to understand.
I submit to you that a grade school child could easily
figure this one out. Something called the Passover is IN the
14th day, not before and not after, but IN the 14th day. Argue
all you like about WHEN in the 14th day, but the words clearly
say it is IN the 14th day. Then ON the 15th day, not before, is
the feast called Unleavened Bread. Then the thought continues
with verse seven, that the FIRST day of this feast is a Sabbath
of rest from servile work.
The 15th comes AFTER the 14th. On the 15th and for SEVEN
days is the feast of Unleavened Bread in which unleavened bread
is to be eaten. Now ask your grade schooler to start counting
SEVEN DAYS, with the first day being the 15th. Ask them to
stop when they come to the seventh day count. They will stop
counting ON and including the 21st day.
As the 15th day starts at the end of the 14th, when the 14th
finishes, which according to the beginning, from the beginning as
Christ often said ("....but from the beginning it was not so"
Mat.19 for one example) was the "evening" (days beginning and
ending in the evening, Genesis chapter one), was at dusk or
twilight, the 15th was from dusk, evening to evening. So the
21st day was not over until the END of that day at dusk
or evening.
I submit, these verses in Leviticus, are simple to follow.
In the first month there is the Passover day, being the 14th,
followed by, starting with the 15th day, the feast of Unleavened
Bread, continuing for seven day, until the end of the 21st day.
This makes a TOTAL of EIGHT DAYS, not seven!
One of the keys to understanding the Bible and all its
doctrines, is to let the simple easy to understand verses tell
you what they are telling you, in a logical way, without any
fancy foot interpretation.
Let's look at one more simple logical couple of verses
concerning the Passover and feast of Unleavened Bread.
Turn to Numbers 28, and just read verses 16 to 18.
Again, it is IN the 14th day that the Passover is. And it is
IN the 15th day is the feast, the feast of seven days of
unleavened bread, and IN the first day (of this feast, the
logical continuation of the thought) is an holy convocation with
no servile work to be done.
Now, with simple logic, if as some argue the Passover is at
the END of the 14th day, and if we go along with their argument
for verse 16, then the same logic and context of words for verse
15, means the feast is at the END of the 15th. Yet, no one that
I know about who observe the feast of Unleavened Bread, start it
at the END of the 15th day.
Once more in pretty clear language, the Passover is not before
or after the 14th but IN the 14th day, and the seven days of
Unleavened Bread feast, is not before the 14th but starts with
and in the 15th day.
The word "passover" is found 48 times in the OT. Only in
the two sections of Scripture we have looked at - Lev.23 and
Num.28 do we find the word used with fourteen and the feast on
the fifteenth. In other words only in these two places do we have
the simple and logical truth clearly laid out for us that the
Passover is IN the 14th day and the feast of Unleavened Bread is
IN the 15th day, and continues for seven days, the 15th day being
a Sabbath of rest from servile work. In Exodus 12 and Lev.23 we
are also told that the seventh day of this feast is also a
Sabbath of no servile work.
All of what I have just taken you through is very important
to our understanding of Exodus 12:18. It is first of all letting
the easy Scriptures tell us in plain language what they say,
meaning what they say and saying what they mean.
When we have that as our foundation and rock to stand on, then
we may proceed to untangle the few harder verses that seem to say
something different.
Now, as we read the Bible from cover to cover, there will be
some other things we will pick up on such as a BASIC NORM on
certain words and then now and again EXCEPTIONS to that norm.
We need to remember that exceptions are just that - exceptions, to
the normal. They are not the norm or normal, but exceptions,
otherwise the exceptions would be the norm and the norm would
be the exceptions.
We may ask: How or WHEN does God start the 24 hour day?
Is it at noon? Is it at sunrise? It is at 12 midnight? Is it at 3 p.m.
in the afternoon? Going to the BEGINNING - the book of
Genesis and chapter one, we learn right off the bat, from the
beginning, that God STARTED days in the evening. Now that is the
NORM! You can even look up the word "evening" in the Hebrew
lexicons, especially the larger and more detailed ones such as
"The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament" and see that
from the Hebrew language, the norm is that days began in the
evening, at dusk or twilight.
So, in the norm, a 24 hour day has only ONE evening, at the
very beginning of that 24 hour day.
Hence, when God was telling Israel about the day of
Atonement feast in Lev.23, He told them that they should
celebrate their Sabbath from EVEN(ing) to EVEN(ing). And
that Sabbath day of Atonement was the 10th day of the seventh
month. The norm in God's mind is that days begin from evening
and last (the 24 hour day we are talking about, not the day light
part of a day) until the next evening, when a new day then begins.
The celebrating of Atonement feast was IN or ON the 10th day,
from evening to evening.
The word "even" or "evening" is used dozens of times
throughout the Bible. In most cases it is just a part of speech,
such as saying, "and the evening had come." Sometimes it is used
in conjunction with a number, like: "during the evening of the
third day" and no more is said. In all such places it takes the
NORM, as first given to us in the beginning, the evening of the
day being the beginning of the day.
That is letting the basic simple, first and MAIN meaning and
understanding of how the Bible uses "evening" interpret for us,
as we find this word in dozens of places.
But, and here come the "but" with capital letters, BUT, from
time to time there are EXCEPTIONS, with capital letters for
emphasis, so you will remember this point.
And as we are talking about the feast of Atonement in Lev.23
we shall stay there and see our first exception example.
Lev.23:26 tells us in clear language that it is the 10TH day
of the seventh month that is the day of Atonement. Verse 32 says
it is a Sabbath of rest, then the last half of that verses says
we shall celebrate it FROM "even" to "even." The NORM is that God
starts days from evening to evening as we see in Genesis chapter one.
But there are times when God inspires writers to use what to us has
come to be known as the Roman way to start and end days, from
midnight to midnight.
When we understand this then all what might seem to be contradictory
is cleared up.
The evening of the 9th day, in this case, is indeed the evening that
follows the day light portion of the 9th day. And can so be called, in the
Roman way of counting days, the evening of the 9th day. At the same time,
in the norm of how God counts days, from evening to evening, it is the
start of the 10th day in this 7th month.
Within a relatively short passage of Scripture, God uses BOTH
ways to count days. He uses His way, hence the 10th day, and He
uses the Roman way, hence the feast of Atonement begins on the
evening of the 9th day, which is also the start of the 10th day
as we view it from the counting of days as found in Genesis
chapter one.
The evening following the day light part of the 9th day is called
here still the evening of the 9th day. It is the way we think of it
in our Roman way of counting days, from midnight to midnight. It is
the evening of the 9th day, but in the norm of God's recognizing it
is the start of the 10th day. So God uses both ways of recognizing in
one sentence. It is the evening of the 9th in Roman counting of days,
but it is also the start of the 10th in the norm of Genesis chapter
one.
There are NORMS in the Bible for MANY things, but there are
also EXCEPTIONS to the norm at times. Generally and normally,
the Spirit of God is given to a person under the New Covenant, at
BAPTISM, see Acts 2:38, BUT we find in the book of Acts
some EXCEPTIONS to that norm, the Spirit was given BEFORE
baptism! See Acts 10:44-48.
We find in the New Testament, concerning "evening" an
EXCEPTION to the norm. Turn to the gospel of John, chapter 20.
The context is clearly the FIRST DAY of the week. Also proved by
the rest of the gospel writers - Matthew, Mark and Luke as they
write concerning the same happenings.
Notice, verse 19. Mark it well. "Then the SAME DAY, at
EVENING, being the FIRST DAY of the week......"
Here John, under inspiration by the Spirit, does the same as
the Eternal did in Lev.23:32. He puts the evening that would
normally start the new day, or in this case, would have started
the SECOND day, as PART OF the same day of the context - the
FIRST day.
Yes, there are now and then exceptions to the rule or the
norm.
Now, with all the above firmly and clearly understood.
Knowing from the easy to understand verses we looked at in Lev.23
and Numbers 28 concerning the Passover in the 14th day and the
feast of Unleavened Bread in the 15th day, starting and
continuing for seven days, to the end of the 21st day. Knowing
there are EIGHT days altogether from the 14th to the 21st - eight
days not seven. Knowing that the rule and norm for the evening of
a day to be the beginning of the day, but knowing the Bible does
use exceptions to that rule once in while. Knowing we must take
the easy to understand verses on a subject, first, and let them
say what they say, and then in their light tackle the harder and
at first what may seem like contradictory verses.
With all the above we are now ready to understand Exodus
12:18-20.
Previous studies have proved from the Bible interpreting itself,
that "between the two evenings" and "even" of the 14th day when
the lambs were to be killed and the Passover eaten, was the
BEGINNING of the 14th, at DUSK or twilight. Hence verse 6 of
chapter 12, was at dusk, the beginning of the 14th day. The CONTEXT,
right up to the end of verse 14 (interesting, verse 14 the context goes to)
NEVER CHANGES. The Lord's Passover (verse 11) is IN the 14th day,
not after it. The Lord PASSED OVER (Passover) "this night" (context
is still 14th day) of the 14th day (verses 12-13). This SAME DAY -
the 14th - is a MEMORIAL (see also 1 Cor. 11 and the Greek for
"in remembrance of me" - verse 24, 25. It is "in THE remembrance/memorial
of me." And Paul was talking about the SAME NIGHT in which Jesus
was betrayed, verse 23).
Verse 14 of Exodus 12, calls the Passover a MEMORIAL and a
FEAST.
God has SEVEN feasts and the Passover is ONE of those
feasts.
Verse 15 of Exodus 12, STARTS a NEW thought and a set of new
commands and instructions. From verses 15 to 20 the context is
the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
It is the same as Lev.23 and Numbers 28 we looked at, with a
few differences. It is SEVEN days in duration, the first of those
seven days is a holy convocation, a Sabbath of rest, no work
except that which may be for eating food. Exodus 12 tells us the
7th day of this FoUB is also an holy convocation, a Sabbath day.
We now come to verse 18. The only way to understand this
verse, in the light of the plain simple verses on the subject of
starting and finishing this seven day feast, as given to us in Lev.23
and Numbers 28, is that here we have an EXCEPTION to the
norm or rule, of the use of evening. An exception such as found
in Lev.23:32 and John chapter 20.
The evening here in verse 18 would normally be the START of
the 15th day, but God chose to change the fast ball to a curve
ball for this pitch to home plate. He can do this you know, as
He is God, He is the pitcher, the one delivering the goods, and
He can deliver as He chooses. God here chose to deliver with an
exception to the norm of speech that uses the word "even" or
"evening." Here God chose to put the evening of the 15th AS PART
OF THE EVENING OF THE 14TH, THE EVENING HERE IS THE
END OF THE 14TH, STARTING INTO THE 15TH DAY, GOING
TO THE END OF OR THE EVENING OF THE 21ST DAY, WHICH
IS THE START OF THE 22ND DAY, BUT PUT HERE AS STILL
BELONGING TO THE 21ST DAY. The same principle as John
saying Jesus came to them in the evening, being the first day of the week.
John putting the evening of the second day (normally speaking as from
the beginning - Gen.1) not with the second day, but as part of the first day.
The same principle as God putting the day of Atonement in Lev.23:32
as from the evening of the ninth day to the evening of the tenth day.
An exception to the norm, which usually as the rule of thumb, puts
the evening of a day at the beginning of the day, the start of a new day,
as from the beginning in Genesis chapter one.
So, Exodus 12:18 DOES NOT CONTRADICT Lev.23:5-7
and Numbers 28:16-18, or the rest of the Scriptures proving the
Passover was at the beginning of the 14th, and the feast of
Unleavened Bread beginning on the 15th at dusk or evening,
being a Sabbath day, the first day of the seven day FoUB, lasting
to the end of the 21st day, which was the last day, and a Sabbath day,
to end this Spring feast season, which consisted of TWO feast to the
Lord, the Passover memorial feast and the feast of seven days called
Unleavened Bread.
All is in complete and perfect HARMONY when you believe the
simple and easy to understand verses FIRST, willing to search for
all verses on a subject, and then realize there may be an EXCEPTION
to the norm which then seems to be harder to understand and even
contradictory, but it is not, when you understand the use of exceptions
to the normal.
..............................
Written March 1999
Keith Hunt
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