A study explaining why Messiah could not have been slain as the Passover Lamb

EIGHT REASONS

A study explaining why Messiah could not have been slain as the Passover Lamb 

by  Author Unknown

EIGHT REASONS – A study explaining why Messiah could not have been slain as the PassoverLamb  PDF click here

Additional study:  http://man-child.com/?p=1330
What Calendar Did Yahushua Keep – Whose Report Will We Believe?

 

Rev 3:8

(8) “I know your works…that you…have not denied My Name.

Mat 10:33

(33) “But whoever shall deny Me before men, him I shall also deny before My Father who is in the heavens.

Jer 23:27

(27) who try to make My people forget My Name… 

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture verses contained in this document come from The Scriptures, second edition published by the Institute for Scripture Research Copyright 2006. All emphasis added is mine.

This composition may be duplicated in its entirety to be distributed in whole at no cost to the recipient. Any attempt to plagiarize, forge authorship or dissect to misconstrue in part or parcel will be met with the curses and plagues of a thief. B’shem YAHSHUA.

The following True Names are used throughout this document.

הוהי YHWH/Yahweh            The Father

עשוהי Yahshua                        The Son

Beyth Anyah  Bethany          Mosheh       Moses

Dawid   David                             Sha’ul         Paul

El’ azar  Lazarus            Shelomoh        Solomon

Ephrayim  Ephraim            Ya’aqob          James

Kepha  Peter                            Yehudah        Judah

MattithYahu Matthew      YeshaYahu     Isaiah

Miryam Miriam or Mary             Yisra’el  Israel

Mitsrayim Eygpt                           Yohanan  John

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction………………………………………page 4

1. Messiah was slain for sin………………page 6

2. Messiah is not a goat………………………page 11

3. The Passover was slaughtered to protect the firstborn male of both man and beast…page 13

4. Messiah kept the Passover the day before He died………………page 15

5. Messiah broke unleavened artos at the Passover………….……page 22

6. Messiah was killed on the 4th Day of the week / W-dnesday…………………………………page 26

7. It is against the Law to ride a donkey on the Sabbath…………page 31

8. One witness does not a truth establish………………………………page 35

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INTRODUCTION

For years I wrestled with the Gospel accounts of Passover Week and with Sha’ul’s testimony that Messiah was our Passover. My mind was plagued with questions. There are twelve witnesses in the Gospels that all testify that He desired, commanded, slaughtered, prepared, and ate the Passover seder on Passover yet Sha’ul states that He died as the Passover. Why does Sha’ul contradict Messiah’s own testimony and that of the twelve disciples? Did He eat the Passover or was He the Passover? What day was the Passover? What day was the Crucifixion? And why do the Synoptic Gospels state that Messiah ate the Passover seder on Passover yet the Gospel of Yohanan states He ate the Passover seder before the Passover?

My motive for searching for the Truth was driven by my desire to obey. I knew that if I was to follow Him then I needed not only know the answer to these questions I needed to understand them.

The problem with seeking knowledge is that we humans tend to reject something newly revealed if it contradicts what we already know or have been taught. The rejection of knowledge is embedded in our lack of understanding. If we don’t understand the Word then we are handicapped and no amount of knowledge that is presented to us will enable us to move forward.

Recall the days when we believed Sunday was the Sabbath, when we thought Christmas was Messiah’s birthday, when we thought Easter was His resurrection, when we thought His Name was Jesus and when we thought that Grace meant we no longer had to obey the Word of YHWH. When we were faced with the knowledge of the Truth on these points we had a choice. We could either reject the knowledge in favor of what we already thought we knew or we could abandon our own understanding and step out of the boat.

Psa 119:104-105

(104) From Your orders I get understanding; Therefore I have hated every false way.

(105) Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

We have left so much behind. The trouble is that in some cases we have traded the pot for the frying pan. In our abandonment of gentile and pagan practices we have looked to Yehudah for much knowledge. But not all that is taught in Yehudah is kosher with the Word of YHWH which Messiah makes clear in the Gospels.

Just as Dawid says in the Psalm above, it is from the orders and commands of YHWH that we gain understanding and are able to discern every false way. His Word is the lamp on the Path. The traditions of men will only lead us right back into rebellion. So…

Just as we stepped out in faith and courageously embraced the Word of YHWH in opposition to what we thought we knew of Biblical teaching and tradition, we must take another step that will lead us away from the confusion of Babylon.

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It is time to understand the difference between the required sacrifice for sin that could only be a male lamb versus the slaughter of the Passover. We cannot reject His Law in favor of man-made teachings and traditions. If we do, we might as well hang up the stockings with care in hopes that Saint Nick will soon be there.

He has made us kings. (Rev 1:6) And the duty of a king is to seek the Truth.

Pro 25:2

(2) It is the esteem of Elohim to hide a matter and the esteem of sovereigns to search out a matter.

Mat 7:7 (also Luk 11:9)

(7) … seek and you shall find…

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1. MESSIAH WAS SLAIN FOR SIN

YHWH told the prophet YeshaYahu that when the Messiah came He would offer Himself up as a specific and particular offering for sin which happens to be the only sacrifice for sin that requires a male lamb. As a result our sickness would be laid upon Him and His stripes would heal us.

Messiah was the Lamb of Elohim who was sacrificed as an atoning offering for sin. YAHSHUA Messiah died for sin. This cannot be stressed enough. (Isa 53:7, 10; Mat 1:21; Joh 1:29, 36; 1 Pe 1:19; 3:18; 1 Jn 2:2; 3:5-8; 4:10; Rev 1:56; 5:6, 9,12; 7:14; 12:11; 13:8)

Yohanan the Immerser and Kepha testify that Messiah was a lamb who would die for sin. Notice Yohanan the Immeser does not say the “Passover Lamb” but the “Lamb of Elohim”…

John 1:29, 36

(29) On the next day Yohanan saw יהושע coming toward him, and said,

“See, the Lamb of Elohim who takes away the sin of the world!

(36) and looking at יהושע walking, he said,

“See the Lamb of Elohim!” 

1Pe 1:13-21

(19) but with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless

1Pe 3:18

(18)

Because even Messiah once suffered for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to Elohim, having been put to death indeed in flesh but made alive in the Spirit,

Yohanan the Beloved Disciple testifies even more specifically that Messiah died as an atoning offering (sacrifice) for sin. Yohanan is pointing back to the fulfillment of a prophesy in YeshaYahu as we shall soon see.

1Jn 2:2

(2) And He Himself is an atoning offering for our sins,  and not for ours only but also for all the world.

1Jn 4:10

(10)  In this is love, not that we loved Elohim, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be an

atoning offering for our sins.

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There is absolutely no question that Messiah fulfills the typology of a slain lamb. But slain for what? For sin.

Yohanan the Immerser, Kepha and Yohanan the Beloved are adamant that Messiah was a male lamb that was an atoning sacrifice for sin.

The real question is what type of sacrifice atones for sin and requires a male lamb to be slain.

The first thing we need to understand is that according to Scripture there are three types of sin: defiant, accidental and ignorant.

This truth lies in the face of the popular doctrine that teaches that all sin is the same.

See the chart below.

TYPES OF SIN STRONG’S # HEBREW ENGLISH SYNONYM EXPLANATION SACRIFICE

H3027 H7311

Yad Rum

High –Handed

Defiant

Know the law and break it anyway

None

H7684

Shegagah

By Mistake

Accidental

Know the law but by accident cause injury or transgress

Chatta’ah

H3045 H3808

Yada Lo

Know Not

Ignorant

Ignorant of the law though still guilty of breaking it

Asham

For defiant sin there is no sacrifice.

For accidental sin the Chatta’ah is offered. The Chatta’ah is often translated as the “sin offering” in most English Bibles. The offerings required as a Chatta’ah are determined by who sinned accidently.

For ignorant sin the Asham is offered. The Asham is often translated as the “guilt or trespass offering” in most English Bibles. The offerings required as an Asham are determined by the type of accidental sin and is then further distinguished by what the sinner can afford.

The sacrificial laws as laid out in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy are unyielding. There are only two sacrifices for sin: the Chatta’ah and the Asham.

The Passover was never, ever, sacrificed for sin. Not in Mitsrayim, nor anytime thereafter. Ever.

To hold on to this man-made teaching is to cling to the coat tails of Santa Claus. It’s a fable.

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The irony today is that Yehudah knows this, but believers don’t. The Jews today know that the Passover was not a sacrifice for sin and as long as believers continue to insist that it is, Yehudah will deny Messiah.

The chart below describes in detail the Torah for sin sacrifices.

TYPES OF SACRIFICES FOR SIN SCRIPTURE TYPE OF SIN TYPE OF OFFERING

Num 15:30-31

Deu 4:23-31;30:1-20

Yod Rum

High-handed (Defiant)

No offering –

1. Death penalty

2. Karath / cut-off (no afterlife, family line terminated)

3. Exile

4. Plagues, leprosy, etc.

Lev 4

Shegagah

By mistake (Accidental)

Chatta’ah (Sin Offering) – depends on who sins

1. High Priest or Elder: Bull (not eaten)

2. Nation: Bull

3. Ruler: Buck Goat

4. Any Being: Female Goat or Female Lamb

Lev 5-7, 14

For Leprosy:

Lev 14:1, 12-13, 21, 24-25

For Nazarite:

Num 6:12

Yada Lo

Know not (Ignorant)

Asham (Guilt/Trespass Offering) – depends on type of sin

1. Any being who hears, sees or has known swearing, touches any unclean matter, or speaks rashly:

Female Goat or

Female Lamb or

two turtledoves or

two pigeons or

1/10 ephah of fine flour

2. Any being who sins against the set-apart matters of YHWH (i.e. regulations of Temple service):

Ram from flock (sheep) and valuation in silver plus 1/5

3. A Leper after he has been healed:

One male lamb

4. A Nazarite Vow:

One male lamb

There are only two occasions when a male lamb is sacrificed as the Asham offering for sin. One is when a leper has been healed the other is when a Nazarite Vow is taken.

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This becomes all the more poignant when we discover that YHWH told the prophet YeshaYahu that Messiah would offer Himself up as the Asham offering…

Isa 53:10

(10) But יהוה He made was pleased to crush Him, He laid sickness on Him, that when Himself an Asham H817 offering, He would see a seed, He would prolong His days and the pleasure of יהוה prosper in His hand.

The Asham offering is the only sacrifice for sin that requires a male lamb. The only one.

We need to heed the Word of YHWH and understand why Messiah was slain as the atoning Asham offering of a male lamb for sin. When we can set aside the teachings and traditions of men that have nullified the Word of YHWH we will find the Truth and it will set us free from captivity.

It is crucial to understand that this sacrifice was required in order to bring an exiled leper back into the camp. Why would Messiah offer Himself up as a male lamb to be slain for sin as an Asham offering in the case of leprosy? The answer lies in our understanding of why someone was struck with leprosy in the first place and their ensuing exile as a result of that punishment.

Leprosy and exile was a punishment for defiant sin. Just ask Miryam, the sister of Mosheh. For defiant sin there is no offering of atonement! The only hope a leper has is to be healed and have a male lamb offered as an Asham offering for their sin. This allows the healed leper to be released from exile/captivity and rejoin the nation. Sound familiar?

Now apply this understanding to the lost sheep of the House of Yisra’el. These lost sheep are of course the Northern Kingdom of Yisra’el (also known as the Northern Ten Tribes or Ephrayim) that was sent into exile in approximately 722 BCE by the King of Assyira. The House of Yisra’el is not to be confused with the Southern Kingdom of Yehudah also known in Scripture as the House of Yehudah which was allowed to return to the Land after their Babylonian captivity.

Mat 10:6

(6)but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Yisra’ĕl. 

Mat 15:24

(24) And He answering, said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of  Yisra’ĕl.”

Here is a nation guilty of defiant sin and is struck with “spiritual” leprosy and sent “outside” the camp into the world in exile. Their only hope? Healing and the blood of a slain male lamb as an Asham atoning offering for their sin.

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Now read the Word of YHWH as given to the prophet YeshaYahu…

Isa 53:4-10

(4) Truly, He has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains. Yet we reckoned Him stricken, smitten by Elohim, and afflicted.

(5) But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our crookednesses. The 

chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

(6) We all, like sheep, went astray, each one of us has turned to his own way. And יהוה has laid on Him the crookedness of us all.

(7) He was oppressed and He was afflicted, but He did not open His mouth. He was as a

led lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, but He did not open His mouth.

(8) He was taken from prison and from judgment. And as for His generation, who considered that He shall be cut off from the land of the living? For the transgression of My people, 

He was stricken.

(9) And He was appointed a grave with the wrong, and with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was deceit in His mouth.

(10) But יהוה  was pleased to crush Him, He laid sickness on Him, that when He made Himself an Asham offeringH817, He would see a seed, He would prolong His days and the pleasure of יהוה prosper in His hand.

The words of the prophet are clear…

Messiah was going to offer Himself up as an Asham offering for sin, specifically a male lamb because we all (the lost sheep of the House of Yisra’el/Ephrayim) have gone astray by defiant sin and are sent into exile away from His Presence.

Messiah would be struck with our spiritual leprosy and cut off (in the middle of the week according to Daniel 9:27) but it was by His stripes we would be healed and by His blood we are forgiven and allowed to re-enter the Covenant and be restored to the nation.

Mind-blowing and beautiful.

We’ll save the study of Messiah taking a Nazarite Vow at the Passover Supper for another day.

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2. MESSIAH IS NOT A GOAT

Messiah may be a lamb but He is definitely not a goat! Messiah applies many forms of typology (descriptions) to Himself to expand our understanding of Who He is and why He came. When we seek to find the fulfillment of typology in the Word of YHWH, we must be vigilant to ensure that not one jot or tittle falls to the ground. (Luke 16:17)

In other words, if Messiah was to fulfill the typology of the Passover then He must fulfill the Word of YHWH perfectly in its entirety without adding to or taking away from the Word of YHWH. (Deut 4:2, 12:32; Prov 30:6; Rev 22:18-19)

The first thing we need to understand is that the Passover is an anniversary meal and not a sacrifice for sin. The animal is slaughtered for Passover, not sacrificed.

At the time of the Exodus and even in the days of Messiah, the animal was slaughtered to be eaten – all of it, sans its blood. According to the command of YHWH “its head with its legs and its inward parts” were all to be eaten. (Exo 12:9) No part of the slaughtered animal was ever placed on the altar of YHWH to be burned as a sacrifice. None of it. Why? Because the animal was not a sacrifice and most certainly not a sacrifice for sin. It was slaughtered, to be eaten as a meal.

Also keep in mind that the day of Passover is a regular work day. Not the weekly Sabbath or even one of the six yearly prophetic Shabbathons (High Shabbat Days).

Most importantly, Messiah is never described as a goat. (Isa 53:7; Joh 1:29,36; 1 Pet 1:1; Rev 1:56; 5:6, 9,12; 7:14; 12:11; 13:8) The Passover slaughter is a male goat or male lamb both now and at the time of the Exodus. For Messiah to perfectly fulfill the typology of the Passover He would also have to symbolize a male goat. Messiah is never prophesied to be a goat. Ever.

It is a mistranslation of the Hebrew word שׂי and suspiciously close to appearing like a hidden agenda to only render Strong’s H7716 as lamb when it actually means goat and/or lamb.

H7716

שׂי שׂה

śeh śêy

seh, say

Probably from H7582 through the idea of pushing out to graze; a member of a flock, that is, a sheep or goat.

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YHWH makes it clear to Mosheh in verse five below, that the type of animal that is to be slaughtered and eaten is to be taken from the sheep or from the goats. Messiah is not a goat.

Exo 12:1-6

(1) And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon in the land of Mitsrayim, saying,

(2) “This month is the beginning of months for you, it is the first month of the year for you.

(3) “Speak to all the congregation of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘On the tenth day of this month each goat or lambH7716, one of them is to take for himself according to the house of his goat or lambH7716 father, a for a household.

(4) goat or lambH7716‘And if the household is too small for the , let him and his neighbour next to his house take it according to the number of the beings, according to each man’s goat or lambH7716. need you make your count for the

(5) goat or lambH7716 Take it from the sheep or ‘Let the be a perfect one, a year old male.from the goats.

(6) ‘And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then all the assembly of the congregation of Yisra’ĕl shall kill it between the evenings.

The Typology of Messiah:

The Lamb Slain for Sin (Isa 53:7,10; Joh 1:29,36; 1Pe 1:13-21, 3:18)

The Unleavened Bread (Joh 6:35,41,48,51)

The Light (Joh 8:12, 9:5)

The Door (Joh 10:7,9)

The Good Shepherd (Joh 10:11,14)

The Resurrection & Life (Joh 11:25)

The Way, the Truth & the Life (Joh 14:6)

The Vine (Joh 15:1,5)

Notice that when His disciples, Yohanan the Immerser and the prophet YeshaYahu are typing Messiah they describe him as a lamb slain for sin. Messiah describes Himself as unleavened bread, light, a door, a good shepherd and a vine. No goats.

In fact, Messiah says He is the Unleavened Bread of Life four times. Could He be hinting that His crucifixion would be fulfilled on the Shabbathon (High Holy Day) of Unleavened Bread? It would seem so. Hindsight confirms it.

We should be focusing on the typology of Unleavened Bread in order to understand the Kadosh Day that He fulfilled at His crucifixion.

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3. THE PASSOVER WAS SLAUGHTERED TO PROTECT THE FIRSTBORN MALE OF BOTH MAN AND BEAST

The first Passover goats and lambs were slaughtered (not sacrificed) to protect the firstborn males of man and animal from certain death of the Destroyer. Messiah did not die to protect the firstborn males of man and animal from the Destroyer. He came to save His people from their sins. This is in fact the precise Hebrew meaning of His Name as the Messenger Gabriel explains…

Mat 1:21

(21) “And she shall give birth to a Son, and you shall call His Name יהושע for He shall save His people from their sins

There can be no question that Messiah came to suffer for sin. (Isa 53:7, 10; Mat 1:21; Joh 1:29, 36; 1 Pe 1:19; 3:18; 1 Jn 2:2; 3:5-8; 4:10; Rev 1:56; 5:6, 9,12; 7:14; 12:11; 13:8)

Nor can it be argued that Messiah came to take away the sin of only the firstborn males of both man and beast…

Joh 1:29

(29) On the next day Yohanan saw יהושע coming toward him, and said, “See, the Lamb of Elohim who

takes away the sin of the world! 

Messiah came to take away the sins of the world. His death would accomplish His mission and would fulfill the words of the Torah and the Prophets. (Mat 5:17) The Passover is a misapplication to the Crucifixion.

The prophetic theme of the first Passover is all about saving a small remnant from the Destroyer, Abbadon. And so it will be again for its prophetic fulfillment in the last days as Yohanan the Beloved describes in detail in the Book of Revelation. The Destoyer, Abbadon, is once again released to harm the earth and those upon it except for those who are marked on the lintel of their doorway – their forehead, the frontal lobe of their brain where new knowledge is perceived – for protection. (Rev 7:1-4, 9:1-11) This will be the fulfillment of the Passover. It could be called the Second Passover.

H3091

יהושׁע יהושׁוּע

Yahushua

From H3068 and H3467; Yahweh-saved(s).

English transliteration: Joshua.

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Study the Torah below.

Exo 12:12-13, 21-23

(12) the first-‘And I shall pass through the land of Mitsrayim on that night, and shall smiteall born both man and beast. in the land of Mitsrayim, And on all the mighty ones of Mitsrayim I shall execute judgment. I am יהוה .

(13) ‘And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I shall pass over you, and let the plague not come on you to destroy you when I smite the land of Mitsrayim.

…

(21) from And Mosheh called for all the elders of Yisra’ĕl and said to them, “Go out and take the flocks of goats or sheepH6622 for yourselves according to your clans, and slaughter the Passover.

(22) “And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and the lintel strike and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin, and you, none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.

(23) “And יהוה the lintel shall pass on to smite the Mitsrites, and shall see the blood on and on the two doorposts, and יהוה the destroyer shall pass over the door and not allowto come into your houses to smite you.

Every Passover meal since the first one in Mitsrayim has been merely a solemn anniversary dinner in remembrance of the moment that YHWH passed over to Himself every firstborn male opening the womb of both man and animal. Notice how we are commanded to answer our children when they ask us what the Passover means…

Exo 13:14-15

(14) ‘What is this?’ “And it shall be, when your son asks you in time to come, saying, then you shall say to him, ‘By strength of hand יהוה brought us out of Mitsrayim, out of the house of bondage.

(15) ‘And it came to be, when Pharaoh was too hardened to let us go, that יהוה killed every first-born in the land of Mitsrayim, both the first-born of man and the first-born of beast. Therefore I am slaughtering to יהוה every male that open the womb, but every first-born of my sons I ransom.’

Messiah ate and observed this anniversary meal on Passover, the day prior to His crucifixion. As the Firstborn Son of YHWH, Messiah YAHSHUA must have been greatly encouraged and comforted by the reminder that His Father will redeem His Firstborn Son and will not let Him be destroyed.

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4. MESSIAH KEPT THE PASSOVER THE DAY BEFORE HE DIED

There is much debate as to whether or not the Passover was the day before Messiah died or the actual day of the crucifixion. In the Gospels there are no less than twelve witnesses (Scripture verses) that all testify in agreement. Twelve. However, because popular tradition is based on one verse which is the testimony of a person who was not even present at the seder, confusion has led to division.

It is shocking how frequently supposed followers of Messiah will cast aside His Own Words in favor of a man who was neither a disciple of His nor taught by Him. Even though Messiah says something twelve times yet Sha’ul says something only once in contradiction, the masses continue to follow the created instead of the Creator. How are we any different from the Pharisees and Sadducees? Woe to us.

We are forbidden to add or take away from the Word.

Deu 4:2

(2)“Do not add to the Word which I command you, and do not take away from it1, so as to guard the commands of יהוה your Elohim which I am commanding you. Footnote: 1See also 12:32, Prov. 30:6, Rev. 22:18-19.

Deu 12:32

(32) do not add nor take away“All the words I am commanding you, guard to do it – to it from it.

Pro 30:6

(6) Do not add to His Words, Lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.

Rev 22:18-19

(18) For I witness to everyone hearing the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to them, Elohim shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book,

(19) and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, Elohim shall take away his part from the Book of Life, and out of the set-apart city, which are written in this Book.

Anyone who adds or takes away from the Words and testimony of YAHSHUA is anti-Messiah. Because we have been brain-washed in popular doctrine, teaching and tradition it is almost impossible to discern where the commands of men usurp the Word. Almost.

Father warned us a very long time ago about the commands of men that are taught. Notice in 2 Kings that it is the man-made teachings of the Northern Kingdom of Yisra’el (Ephrayim) that leads the Southern Kingdom of Yehudah astray. There is nothing new under the sun. (Ecc 1:9)

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Sadly even now it is the man-made teachings of followers of Messiah that prevents Jews from seeing the Truth of YAHSHUA. So sad…

Isa 29:13

(13) And יהוה says, “Because this people has drawn near with its mouth, and with its lips they have esteemed Me, and it has kept its heart far from Me, and their fear of Me has become a command of men that is taught1!

2Ki 17:19

(19)  Yehuḏah, also, did not guard the commands of יהוה their Elohim, but walked in the laws1 of Yisra’ĕl which they made. Footnote: Man-made laws.

Messiah rebukes and condemns the traditions of men that usurp the commands of Elohim.

Mat 15:3-9

(3) But He answering, said to them, “Why do you also transgress the command of Elohim1 because of your tradition?

(6) …So you have nullified the command of Elohim by your tradition.

(7) “Hypocrites! Yeshayahu rightly prophesied about you, saying,

(8) ‘This people draw near to Me with their mouth, and respect Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.

(9) teaching as teachings the commands of men.’ ” ‘But in vain do they worship Me,

Mar 7:6-13

(6) And He answering, said to them, “Well did Yeshayahu prophesy concerning you hypocrites, as it has been written, ‘This people respect Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.

(7) teaching as teachings the commands of men.’ And in vain do they worship Me,

(8) “Forsaking the command of Elohim, you hold fast the tradition of men.”

(9)  And He said to them, “Well do you set aside the command of Elohim, in order to guard your tradition.

(13) nullifying the Word of Elohim through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such traditions you do.”

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Two thousand years ago it was the teachings and commands of the Pharisees and Sadducees that were nullifying the Word of Elohim. Today that honor belongs to the Church.

The Gospel of Yohanan provides us with ample evidence that the religious authorities had succeeded in changing the appointed times. For even Messiah’s own brothers did not follow His lead as they were observing the man-made teachings of the day. This is apparent in John 7:2-9 where Messiah refused to observe Sukkot at the same time as his brothers…

John 7:2-9

(2) And the festival of the Yehuḏim was near, the Festival of Booths.

(3) So His brothers said to Him, ‘Get away from here and go into Yehudah, so that Your taught ones also see the works that You are doing.

(4) “For no one acts in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these works, show Yourself to the world.”

(5) For even His brothers did not believe in Him.

(6)  יהושע therefore said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.

(7) “It is impossible for the world to hate you, but it hates Me because I bear witness of it, that its works are wicked.

(8) “You go up to this festival. I am not yet going up to this festival, for My time has not yet been verified G4137.”

(9) And having said this to them, He stayed in Galil.

Sukkot, the Fall Festival of Tabernacles, is six months prior to the Spring Festival of Unleavened Bread. The context does not support the popular teaching that Messiah is prophesying about His death.

According to the testimony of Messiah we have two choices from which to conclude: either Messiah was a disobedient rebel who refused to obey the command of YHWH by going to Yerushalayim at the commanded time of Sukkot or Messiah was following a different calendar.

There is still yet another account of Messiah observing the commanded qodesh feast days at a different time. Now let’s listen to the 12 witnesses who all testify that Messiah observed and obeyed the Torah of the Passover the day before He died which was not according to the ruling calendar of the religious authorities at the time.

As we move forward we need to keep in mind three things: first, we are forbidden to add or take away from the Word; second, at that time of Messiah the teachings of men had nullified the Torah of YHWH and the people where worshipping Elohim in vain; and third, Messiah had already revealed that His time of observing the festivals was different than the traditions of the day.

Now let’s listen to Messiah’s own testimony in the Gospel of MattithYahu…

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Mat 26:17-19

(17) And on the first day of Unleavened Bread the taught ones came to יהושע, saying to Him, “Where do You wish us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”

(18) And He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “My time is near. I am to observe the Passover at your house with My taught ones.” ’ ”

(19)And the taught ones did as יהושע had ordered them, and prepared the Passover.

Note that MattithYahu reveals the colloquialism of that time to refer to Passover as the first of the days of when they were celebrating the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This is similar to our present day colloquialism of referring to the Last Great Day as the eighth day of Sukkot when in fact it is a separate day from the weekly festival.

This day is the day of Passover which is clarified in the conclusion of the same sentence when the disciples acknowledge that Messiah wishes to eat the Passover. Further, we cannot ignore the very Word of Messiah when He states that He is to observe the Passover. He would not dare to transgress the command of His Father by adding to the Torah or taking away from it by observing the command on a different day. If there remains any doubt on His unwavering obedience to the command, verse 19 testifies that Messiah ordered the disciples to prepare the Passover.

Now let’s listen to the Gospel of Mark…

Mar 14:12-16

(12) on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they were slaughtering the And Passover lamb, His taught ones said to Him, “Where do You wish us to go and prepare, for You to eat the Passover?”

(13) And He sent out two of His taught ones and said to them, “Go into the city, and there a man bearing a jar of water shall meet you, follow him.

(14) “And wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room in which I am to eat the Passover with My taught ones?” ’

(15) “And he shall show you a large upper room, furnished, ready. Prepare for us there.”

(16)And His taught ones went out and came into the city, and found it as He said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

Again we see in Mark the colloquialism appear when Passover is considered the first day of the weekly celebration of Unleavened Bread. This is not to be confused with the actual first day of Unleavened Bread which is a Shabbathon (a non-working holy day) on the 15th day of the first month. We know this is a colloquialism because of the clause that defines the phrase preceding it. Mark clarifies the matter by stating that on this day the disciples were slaughtering the Passover lamb. If Messiah was obeying the command of Elohim, then the day the Passover lamb was to be slaughtered was the 14th day of the first month. Messiah states again that He is to eat the Passover with His disciples.

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Now let’s listen to the Gospel of Luke…

Luk 22:7-15

(7) And the Day of Unleavened Bread came when the Passover had to be slaughtered.

(8) and He sent Kĕpha and Yoḥanan, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us to eat.”

(9) And they said to Him, “Where do You wish us to prepare?”

(10) And He said to them, “See, as you enter into the city, a man shall meet you carrying a jar of water. Follow him into the house he enters.

(11) “And you shall say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, “Where is the guest room where I might eat the Passover with My taught ones?” ’

(12) “And he shall show you a large, furnished upper room. Prepare it there.”

(13) And going they found it as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

(14) And when the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve emissaries with Him.

(15)  And He said to them, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering”

Luke takes the colloquialism a step further by telling us that this was the day that the Passover had to be slaughtered. Had to be! The King James renders the verse: “when the passover must be killed.” Additionally, Messiah states that He will eat this Passover before His crucifixion. Messiah Himself tells us that the day of Passover is the day before He is put on the stake. Therefore, the next day, the day of His Crucifixion is the 15th day of the 1st month, the High Holy Day (Shabbathon) of Unleavened Bread.“With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you And He said to them, before My suffering,

Luke takes the colloquialism a step further by telling us that this was the day that the Passover had to be slaughtered. Had to be! The King James renders the verse: “whenG1722 G3739 theG3588 passoverG3957 mustG1163 be killed.G2380” Additionally, Messiah states that He will eat this Passover before His crucifixion. Messiah Himself tells us that the day of Passover is the day before He is put on the stake. Therefore, the next day, the day of His Crucifixion is the 15th day of the 1st month, the High Kadosh Day (Shabbathon) of Unleavened Bread.

Notice that Scripture states twelve (12!) times that this meal was the Passover. How many more times do we need to be told before we will believe?

had to be :This was the day the Passover slaughtered.

ordered: Messiah the disciples to prepare it.

obeyed: The disciples the command of Messiah.

ate: beforeMessiah and His disciples the Passover the day His crucifixion.

Some people go so far as to believe that this meal was a practice for the actual Passover. Nowhere does Scripture even hint that Messiah “practiced” the Passover. In fact there is no Torah for such a tradition! Messiah did not look kindly upon the traditions of men. Do not pay attention to fables.

Tit 1:14

(14) not paying attention to Yehudite fables, and commands of men who turn from the truth.

Messiah was killed the day after He ordered the Passover to be slaughtered and ate the meal with His disciples.

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The Jewish authorities at the time were following a different calendar which was off by one day from Messiah’s calendar. From the perspective of the Jewish authorities (including the Pharisee Sha’ul) Messiah was killed the following day, the day of their Passover.

This is proven true by the beloved disciple, Yohanan…

John 13:1-2

(1) before the Festival of the [Jew’s] Passover, And יהושע knowing that His hour had come that He should move out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

(2) And supper taking place, the devil having already put it into the heart of Yehudah from Qerioth, son of Shimʽon, to deliver Him up,

Yohanan testifies that the supper took place before the Passover. We know this is not a false testimony because Yohanan is referring to the Passover of the Jew’s as he clearly confirms later in the following verse:

Joh 19:42

(42) There, then, because of the Preparation Day of the Yehuḏim, they laid יהושע, because the tomb was near.

Yohanan tells us that the day Messiah was laid in the tomb was the Preparation (a.k.a. the Passover) of the Jew’s. Yohanan is the only Gospel writer to make the distinction of the “Jew’s” Passover. Why would he feel the need to make such a distinction if there was only one calendar?

The day of Passover is called the Preparation because it is a work day (not a holy day) in which goats and lambs are being slaughtered and houses are rid of leaven in preparation for the remembrance meal to follow that evening. Messiah died on the day of the Jew’s Passover… Not His.

This is so very important to understand. In Gospel of Luke Messiah tells us that the day of Passover, when He eats the Passover meal, is the day before the day of His Crucifixion.

In the Gospel of Yohanan we are told that the day of Passover and the day of the Crucifixion are one and the same. Yet Yohanan also tells us He ate the Passover meal the day before.

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How can both be accurate? This makes no sense if one cannot see that Messiah was following a different calendar.

GOSPEL DAY ONE DAY TWO

Luke 22:15

Day of Passover & Passover Meal

Crucifixion

Yohanan 13:1-2

Passover Meal

Day of Passover & Crucifixion

Let’s look at it another way…

MESSIAH’S CALENDAR SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SHABBAT

12

13

14 (Day 3 of the week)

Messiah orders the Passover to be observed

15 (Day 4 of the week)

Messiah crucified

1ST Day of Unleavened Bread

16

17

18 Weekly Shabbat- He resurrected before sunset/ first day of the week start at the eve after Shabbat)

THE JEWS’ CALENDAR SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SHABBAT

11

12

13

14 (day 4 of the week)

The Jews’ Passover

Messiah crucified

15 (day 5 of the week)

The Jews’

1st Day of Unleavened Bread

16

17

This is the only reckoning that explains all four Gospel accounts.

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5. MESSIAH BROKE UNLEAVENED ARTOS AT PASSOVER

There is a popular teaching circulating among believers of Messiah that attempts to prove that the meal YAHSHUA ate on the evening prior to the crucifixion could not have been the Passover because the Greek word for bread that is used is Strong’s G740 which is “artos”. Listen to the witnesses below…

Mat 26:26

(26) And as they were eating, יהושע took bread/artosG740 , and having blessed, broke and gave it to the taught ones and said, “Take, eat, this is My body.”

Mar 14:22

(22) And as they were eating, יהושע took bread/artos, G470  having blessed, broke it, gave it to them and said, “Take, eat, this is My body.”

Luk 22:19

(19)And taking bread/artos G470 , giving thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of Me.”

Unfortunately, the usage of the Greek word G740 “artos” has led to the misunderstanding of when the Passover of Messiah actually took place. The confusion lies behind the meaning of the word “artos” which can mean raised bread or loaf. But not always.

The real problem here is that the Greek language has an inadequate vocabulary for a one-to-one translation of Hebrew words. Such is the case with the Greek word “artos” which is used all throughout the Gospels to describe various types of bread-like products both leavened and unleavened. Artos is even used to describe a type of food that is not even made with flour and is even used to describe something that is not even a food product at all as we shall soon see.

One of the best proofs that “artos” can in fact mean unleavened bread is found in the Gospel of Luke. Messiah breaks “artos” with the two that He met on the road to Amma’us this event occurs on the same day that Miryam brought the spices to an empty tomb which was first day of the week/S-nday during the week of Unleavened Bread. This is proof positive that “artos” can refer to matzah.

G740

ἄρτος

artos

ar’-tos

From G142; bread (as raised) or a loaf: – (shew-) bread, loaf.

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Luk 24:30-35

(30) And it came to be, when He sat at the table with them, having taken the bread/artos G470 , He blessed, and having broken, He was giving it to them.

(31) And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. And He disappeared from their sight.

(32) And they said to each other, “Was not our heart burning within us as He was speaking to us on the way, and as He was opening the Scriptures to us?”

(33) And rising up that same hour they returned to Yerushalayim, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,

(34) saying, “The Master was truly raised, and has appeared to Shimʽon!”

(35) And they related what took place on the way, and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread/artosG470. 

Not only can “artos” refer to unleavened matzah, but it is also applied to the meaning of the word manna. When Messiah is discussing manna in the Gospel of Yohanan, “artos” is used to describe manna as bread/artos out of heaven. Not only was manna not a bread product or even made with flour it was not a substance that can even be found here on earth.

But even more startling is the fact that “artos” is used to describe Messiah Himself as the “Artos” of Life. If leaven is a symbol of sin and corruption then undoubtedly “artos” must be referring to Messiah as the Unleavened Bread of Life for He knew no sin/leaven. (1 Joh 3:55; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Cor 5:21)

John 6:31-58

(31) “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it has been written, ‘He gave them bread/artos G470 out of the heaven to eat.’ ”

(32) Therefore יהושע said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Mosheh did not give you the bread/artos G470 out of the heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread out of the heaven.

(33) “For the bread/artos G470 of Elohim is He who comes down out of the heaven and gives life to the world.”

(34)So they said to Him, “Master, give us this bread/artos G470 always.”

(35)And יהושע “I am the bread/artos G470 of life said to them, . He who comes to Me shall not get hungry at all, and he who believes in Me shall not get thirsty at all…

(41)Therefore the Yehuḏim were grumbling against Him, because He said, “I am the bread/artos G470 which came down out of the heaven.”

(48) “I am the bread/artos G470 of life.“

(49) “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died.

(50) “This is the bread/artos G470 which comes down out of the heaven, so that anyone might eat of it, and not die.”

(51) “I am the living bread/artos G470 which came down out of the heaven. If anyone eats this bread/artos G470, he shall live forever. And indeed, the that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”…

(58) “This is the bread/artos G470 which came down out of the heaven, not as your fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this bread shall live forever.”

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Another example of “artos” being used to reference unleavened bread is found in both the Gospels of MattithYahu and Luke. In these accounts Messiah is referring to 1 Shemu’el 21:1-6 when David eats the challah/shewbread on the Sabbath. Unlike what we know of challah to be today, that is a sweet leavened eggy bread, the Biblical recipe for challah/shewbread is fine flour and water, the dough of which is punctured.

Mat 12:1-8 (also Luke 6:1-5)

(1) At that time יהושע went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His taught ones were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain, to eat.

(2) And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your taught ones are doing what is not right to do on the Sabbath!” 

(3) But He said to them, “Have you not read what Dawid did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:

(4)how he went into the House of Elohim and ate the showbread/tartosG740 which was not right for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

Lev 24:5-9

(5) “And you shall take fine flour challahH2471 and bake twelve cakes with it, two-tenths of an ĕphah in each cake.

(6) “And you shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the clean table before יהוה .

(7) the bread H3899“And you shall put clear frankincense on each row, and it shall be on as a remembrance portion, an offering made by fire to יהוה .

(8)every Sabbath “On he is to arrange it before יהוה continually, from the children of an everlasting covenant.Yisra’ĕl –

(9) “And it shall be for Aharon and his sons, and they shall eat it in the set-apart place, because it is most set-apart to him from the offerings of יהוה an made by fire – everlasting law.”

H2471

חלּה

challâh

khal-law’

From H2490; a cake (as usually punctured): – cake.

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The unleavened challah/shewbread was only brought into the House on the Sabbath, never during the week. This would ensure that no leaven was ever brought into the Temple which certainly simplifies the Passover preparations. No need to clean the Father’s House of leaven!

Having leavened challah/shewbread poses a number of problems, the least of which is that there is no Torah for removing the leavened challah/shewbread during the week and replacing it with unleavened matzah. Likewise there is no Torah for removing the matzah and replacing it with the supposed leavened challah/shewbread at the end of the festival which also ceases in the middle of the week. The Torah states that the challah/shewbread is to only be brought in on the Sabbath. A Law forever. (Lev 24:5-9)

When Messiah reminds us that Dawid ate the unleavened challah/shewbread we find the Greek word used in the Gospels is “artos”. We know from 1 Shemu’el 21:1-6 that Dawid was eating the unleavened challah/shewbread that had just been taken out of the presence of YHHW on the Sabbath according to the command in Leviticus 24:5-9. We therefore find that “artos” is once again used to reference unleavened bread.

We have heard twelve witnesses (Matt 26:17,18,19; Mar 14:12a,12b,14,16; Luk 22:7,8,11,13,15) state that the Passover was the day before the crucifixion and now we have heard ample evidence that proves that artos can and often does mean unleavened bread. We know therefore that Messiah broke unleavened artos at His Passover seder just as He did with the two on the road to Amma’us.

But do we understand that Messiah YAHSHUA is the Unleavened Artos of Life which came down like manna, the artos out of heaven? (Joh 6:31-32, 41, 50,-58) Do we understand that the artos that He gave was His Flesh for the life of the world and he who eats this artos shall live forever? (Joh 6:33, 35, 50-51, 58)

Do we likewise understand that Messiah offered Himself as the Asham offering, the only sacrifice for sin that requires a male lamb? (Lev 14:1, 12-13, 21, 24-25) Do we understand that He was the Lamb (not the goat) of Elohim who was slain for sin for the world not for a remnant of man and animal? (Isa 53:10; Joh 1:29; 1 Pet 1:19, 3:18; 1 Joh 2:2, 4:10)

If we are unable to understand the words of Messiah then we will be unable to see how He perfectly fulfilled the prophetic high Kadosh day of Unleavened Bread which was the Day4 of the week/Wedne-day, the middle of the week…the fifteenth day of the month.

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6. MESSIAH WAS KILLED ON THE 4th DAY OF THE WEEK 

Daniel prophesied that Messiah would to be killed in the middle of the week…on the fourth day of the week – a.k.a. Wedne-day.

Dan 9:25-27

(25) “Know, then, and understand: from the going forth of the command to restore and build Yerushalayim until Messiah the Prince is seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again, with streets and a trench, but in times of affliction.

(26)Messiah shall be cut off “And after the sixty-two weeks and have naught. And the people of a coming prince shall destroy the city and the set-apart place. And the end of it is with a flood. And wastes are decreed, and fighting until the end.

(27) And in the middle of the “And he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. week sacrifice and offering shall rest H7673. (Strong’s H7673 שׁבת shâbath) And on the wing of abominations he shall lay waste, even until the complete end and that which is decreed is poured out on the one who lays waste.”

There is so much hidden meaning here. The first most obvious is that Messiah will die on a Wedne-day. The next is that His death will be a completion/fulfillment of sacrifice because after which all sacrifice and offering shall rest. This confirms YeshaYahu’s prophesy that Messiah would offer Himself as the Asham sin sacrifice. (Isa 53:10) Yohanan the Beloved also testifies that Messiah was a lamb slain as an atoning sacrifice for sin. (I Joh 2:2, 4:10)

Now notice the Aramaic word for rest. It employs the Hebrew letters shin, beit, tav which would be pronounced, “sh-bh-t.” We know that in the original manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible there were no vowel markers as Strong’s likes to now indicate. We also know that the Hebrew word spelled shin, beit, tav and means rest is Shabbat or Sabbath. But we also know that Dani’el cannot be pointing us to the weekly Shabbat as that is on the last day of the week, not in the middle. So what gives?

Is it possible that Dani’el is telling us that not only will Messiah’s death be a fulfillment of sin sacrifice but it will also occur in the middle of the week on a day of rest. But this day of rest is not the weekly Shabbat…No, it is a high Kodesh day known in Hebrew as a Shabbathon. (Strong’s H7677) The Shabbathon are the six high Kodesh days of the year in which no work is to be done. The six Shabbathon are: the first and last day of Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, the Feast of Trumpets, the first day of Sukkot and the Last Great Day.

Recall that Messiah observed the Passover on the day prior to His death when the animal had to be slaughtered…

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Luk 22:7,15

(7)And the Day of Unleavened Bread came when the Passover had to be  the slaughtered…

(15) And He said to them, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering,

The Torah of YHWH states that the Passover is slaughtered on the 14th day of the first month.

Exo 12:1-6

(1) And יהוה spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon in the land of Mitsrayim, saying,

(2) “This month is the beginning of months for you, it is the first month of the year for you…

(6)‘And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then all the assembly of the congregation of Yisra’ĕl shall kill it between the evenings.

We know that Messiah was killed the day after He ate the Passover. That makes the day on which Messiah died the 15th day of the 1st month…the first day of Unleavened Bread, a Shabbathon. For Him it was a day of rest, a high Kodesh day. Dani’el’s prophecy came true.

Ever wonder why the most powerful being ever created couldn’t carry the stake? He was badly beaten this is true, but do we honestly think that man could prevail over the Son of YHWH? Could He not walk on water, disappear at will, survive forty days without food, heal the sick, raise the dead and call legions of Messengers to Himself? Is it possible that the reason He couldn’t carry the stake had less to do with His physical strength and more to do with keeping His Father’s Command which is why a gentile was tasked with the burden? (Matt 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luk 23:26)

Jer 17:21-22

(21) ‘Thus said יהוה

, “Guard yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Yerushalayim,

(22) nor take a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work. And you shall set apart the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

Messiah’s middle of the week crucifixion can be proven by following the actions of the women immediately upon His death. Look for the trail of spices…

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1. The women followed the Body of Messiah as He was being laid in the tomb the day after His Passover but on the day of the Jews’ Passover. (Mat 27:61; Mar 15:47; Luk 23:55; Joh 19:40-42) This was a Wedne-day. (Day One & Night One)

2. The next day was a High Sabbath (“Shabbathon” – the first day of Unleavened Bread) for the Jews. This was a non-working Kodesh day in Yerushalayim in which buying or selling was forbidden. The women were thus prohibited from buying spices on this day.

It is important to understand that the Greek language does not have a word-for-word vocabulary equivalent to Hebrew. Such is the case with the Strong’s Greek word G4521 “Sabbaton” which when translated into English becomes only the word, “Sabbath” when in fact the Greek “Sabbaton” is also employed to translate the Hebrew word, “Shabbathon”. The unfortunate result of having English Bibles translated from the Greek which is translated from the Hebrew is that we inevitably loose the Truth. The English translation is not infallible and the Strong’s Concordance is not Scripture nor is it a dictionary.

Every English Bible translates the Greek word Sabbaton as Sabbath only. This has led to much confusion and even more division. The simple truth is that Hebrew word Shabbathon has become lost to us and its profound and prophetic meaning along with it.

Study the Scriptures below which have been corrected for this error and Yahh willing, the picture of the women and what they were doing and when they were doing it will come crystal clear. Keep in mind that the term, “The Preparation” was a colloquialism for Passover not Friday!

John 19:31-33

(31) Therefore, since it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the stake on the ShabbathonG4521 for that ShabbathonG4521  was a high one – the Yehudim asked Pilate to have their legs broken, and that they be taken away.

(32) Therefore the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was impaled with Him,

(33) but when they came to יהושע and saw that He was already dead , they did not break His legs.

Mar 16:1

(1)And when the ShabbathonG4521was past, Miryam from Magdala, and Miryam the mother of Ya aqob, and Shelomah boughtspices, to go and anoint Him.

Luk 23:56

(56)And having returned, they prepared spices and perfumes. And they rested on the SabbathG4521 according to the command.

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Luk 24:1-2

(1) And on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared,

(2) and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

The day after Messiah was laid in the tomb was a High Shabbathon for the Jews. According to the Jews’ calendar that Day 5/Thur-day was the 15th day of the 1st month…the First Day of Unleavened Bread, a non-working holy day in Jerusalem. This was a Thur-day. (Day One & Night Two)

1. The next day when the High Shabbathon for the Jews was past, the women went out and bought and prepared spices. This was Day 6 / Fr-day. (Day Two & Night Three)

Mar 16:1

(1) when the ShabbathonG4521 was past And , Miryam from Magdala, and Miryam the mother of Yaʽaqob, and Shelomah, bought spices to go and anoint Him.

1. The women rested on the weekly Sabbath according to the command. This was a Satu-day. (The resurrection of the Master of the Sabbath before sunset!)

Luk 23:56

(56)  And having returned, they prepared spices and perfumes.And they rested on the SabbathG4521 according to the command.

Deu 5:12-14

(12) ‘Guard the Sabbath day, to set it apart, as יהוה your Elohim commanded you.

(13) ‘Six days you labour, and shall do all your work,

(14) but the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, so that your male servant and your female servant rest as you do.

Mal 4:2

(2) “But to you who fear My Name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings. And you shall go out and leap for joy like calves from the stall.

Luk 6:5 (also Mat 12:8 & Mar 2:28)

(5) And He said to them, “The Son of Aḏam is Master of the Sabbath.”

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1. The following day, the first day of the week, the women came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had purchased and prepared on the previous Day 6 /Fr-day. (Mat 28:1; Mar 16:2; Luk 24:1; Joh 20:1) This was Day 1 /a S-nday.

Luk 24:1

(1) And on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb,  bringing the spices which they had prepared,

MESSIAH’S CALENDAR Day1/S-NDAY M-NDAY T-ESDAY W-DNESDAY TH-RSDAY F-IDAY SHABBAT

10 ( Day 6 of the Week)

Messiah rides donkey

11 Shabbat Day

12

13

14 ( Day 3 of the week)

Messiah orders the Passover to be observed

15

Messiah crucified

1ST Day of Unleavened Bread

16

Shops closed in Yerushalayim due to Jews’ Shabbathon

(Jews’ 1st Day of Unleavened Bread)

17 ( Day 6 of the week)

After the Kadosh Shabbaton was past, the women women bought and prepared spices

18 Weekly Shabbat

Women rest according to the command

19

Women carried spices to tomb in the earliest time of the first day of the week

The actions of the women confirm a middle of the week crucifixion as prophesied by Dani’el and lock in these daily events in perfect chronology. According to Messiah’s calendar, He was killed on Day4 which was the 15th day of the 1st month, the first day of Unleavened Bread, not Passover. He fulfilled the prophetic High Kodash Shabbat Day as the Unleavened Bread of Life.

John 6:51-58

(51) “I am the living bread which came down out of the Shamayim/heaven. If anyone eats of this , the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which bread, he shall live forever. And indeed I shall give for the life of the world.”

John 1:29

(29) On the next day Yohanan saw יהושע coming toward him, and said, “See, the Lamb of  Elohim who takes away the sin of the world!

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7. IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO RIDE A DONKEY ON THE SABBATH

According to the Pharisees’ calendar as described in the Gospels, the Jews’ Passover was on a We-nesday. Consistent with this Pharisaic calendar is the Christian doctrine that claims Messiah was slain as the Passover lamb (or goat). To support this tradition, Christian teaching also claims that Messiah fulfilled the command in Exodus 12:3 when He rode the donkey into Yerushalayim up to the Temple.

Exo 12:3-6

(3)  “Speak to all the congregation of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘On the tenth day of this month each one of them is to take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.

(4)  ‘And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next to his house take it according to the number of the beings, according to each man’s need you make your count for the lamb.

(5) ‘Let the goat or lamb be a perfect one, a year old male. Take it from the sheep or from the goats.

(6) ‘And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then all the assembly of the congregation of Yisra’ĕl shall kill it between the evenings.

As you can plainly see, this teaching is problematic to say the least. In fact, it is anti-Messiah.

JEWISH & CHRISTIAN CALENDAR SU-DAY MO-DAY TU-SDAY WE-NESDAY THU-SDAY FRI-AY SHABBAT

10  is Shabbat Day

Messiah rides donkey

“Lamb inspected in Temple”

11

12

13

14

The Jews’ Passover

Messiah crucified

15

1st Day of Unleavened Bread

16

17

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Christian teaching claims that this donkey ride was a fulfillment of the lamb being brought into the House for inspection. According to the Pharisaic calendar the 10th day of the month would fall on a S-turday, the Sabbath. This is problematic because it has Messiah in direct violation of the commandment which states that one is not allowed to ride a donkey on the Sabbath…

Exo 23:12

(12) the seventh day “Six days you are to do your work, and on you rest, in order that your ox your donkey might rest and , and the son of your female servant and the sojourner be refreshed.

Deu 5:12-15

(12) ‘Guard the Sabbath day, to set it apart, as יהוה your Elohim commanded you.

(13) ‘Six days you labour, and shall do all your work,

(14)but the seventh day is a Sabbath1 of יהוה your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, so that your male servant and your female servant rest as you do. Footnote: 1See footnote at Ex. 20:10.

(15) ‘And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Mitsrayim, and that יהוה your Elohim brought you out from there by a strong hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore יהוה your Elohim commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. 

Had YAHSHUA ridden a donkey on the Sabbath, the Jewish authorities could have put Messiah to death immediately with no need for Roman jurisprudence.

Another problem with trying to force Messiah into fulfilling the inspection of the Passover is that the Torah commands that the goat or lamb stay in the house until the fourteenth of the month once it is brought in. Messiah did not stay in the Temple (His Father’s House) from the tenth until the fourteenth neither did He stay in Jerusalem. On both the night of the donkey ride and the night after that, Messiah left Jerusalem and stayed with His friends Miryam, Martha and El’azar in Beyth Anyah. (Matt 21:17; Mar 11:11,19)

The prophet Zechariah never stated that Messiah’s donkey ride would be a fulfillment of the Passover lamb inspection. He prophesied that our “King” would come to us “righteous and endowed with deliverance, humble and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zec 9:9) Zechariah prophesied that the daughter of Tsiyon would greatly rejoice and shout! And that is exactly what she did! (Mat 21:9; Mar 11:9-10; Luk 19:38; Joh 12:13)

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Luk 19:38

(38) the Sovereign saying, “ ‘Baruch is who is coming in the Name of יהוה !’ Shalom in Shamayim and esteem in the highest!”

John 12:13

(13) took the branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and were crying out, “Hoshia-na! Baruch is He who is coming in the Name of יהוה the Sovereign of Yisra’ĕl!” ,

In order to understand the Truth of Messiah we must diligently study the context of His actions and the reaction of those around Him. Where did the King go and what did the King do when He got there?

Psa 24:7-9

(7) Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And let the Sovereign of esteem come in.

(8) Who is this Sovereign of esteem? יהוה strong and mighty, יהוה mighty in battle.

(9) Lift up your heads, O you gates! Even lift up, you everlasting doors! And let the Sovereign of esteem come in.

Twice King Shelomoh prophesies about the misuse of scales, weights and measures and warns that if they are differing the King’s wrath will be like the roaring of a lion and a messenger of death and the wrong will be overturned. Sound familiar?

Pro 16:11-14

(11)A right scale and balances are of יהוה ; all the weights in the bag are His work…

(14) The sovereign’s wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man appeases it.

Pro 20:2-26

(2) The dread of a sovereign is like the roaring of a lion; whoever provokes him sins against his own life…

(10) Differing weights and differing measures, both of them are an abomination to יהוה …

(26) A wise sovereign winnows out the wrong, and turns the wheel over them.

Christian doctrine claims that Messiah rode into town and went up to the Temple to be inspected as the Passover lamb. In fact Scripture states quite the opposite! It was not the lamb who was being inspected but rather the Lion who was doing the inspecting and He was not happy with what He saw…

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Mat 21:12

(12)  And יהושע went into the Set-apart Place of Elohim and drove out all those buying and selling in the Set-apart Place, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.

Mar 11:11

(11) And יהושע went into Yerushalayim and into the Set-apart Place. And having looked around on all, He went out to Bĕyth Anyah with the twelve, as the hour was already late.

Luk 19:45

(45)And having entered into the Set-apart Place, He began to drive out those selling and buying in it,

How often are these verses used to justify one’s anger? Righteous anger it is called. Rubbish.

If one reads the Gospels carefully it is evident that Messiah over turns the tables of the money changers two days in a row. Once on the day He rode the donkey as well as the day after that. No wonder He was enraged.

This was no meek lamb being inspected for slaughter. This was the King, whose wrath was like the roaring of a lion because not only were the money changers turning His Father’s house into a corrupt and satanic banking system but they were also doing it on the Sabbath!

As King Shelomoh prophesied…The Dreadful Lion turned the wheel over them.

One cannot make a claim that Messiah fulfilled the Passover requirements but broke the Torah by either riding a donkey on the Sabbath or broke the Torah by riding it on the wrong day to fulfill said inspection requirements or broke Torah by not staying in the House from the tenth to the fourteenth. In this instance Messiah was not the meek Lamb but the raging Lion. He fulfilled the Torah that day, just not the Torah of the Passover.

It was not He that was inspected but He that was doing the inspecting!

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8. ONE WITNESS DOES NOT A TRUTH ESTABLISH

We are absolutely positively forbidden to establish a truth based on the testimony of one witness.

Deu 17:6

(6) “At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he that is to die be put to death. He is not put to death by the mouth of one witness.

Deu 19:15

(15)“One witness does not rise up against a man concerning any crookedness or any sin that he commits. At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses a matter is established.

Mat 18:16

(16) “But if he does not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word might be established.’

This means that we cannot and must not create a doctrine, teaching or tradition founded on the basis of one verse of Scripture. Regrettably this is exactly what has happened in regards to the teaching that Messiah was killed as our Passover. This doctrine is based on the single testimony of Sha’ul in the one verse below…

1Co 5:6-8

(6) Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the entire lump?

(7) Therefore cleanse out the old leaven, so that you are a new lump, as you are unleavened. For also Messiah our Passover was offered for us.

(8) So then let us observe the festival, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of evil and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The Pharisee Sha’ul is the only witness to testify that Messiah died as the Passover. Even so, an honest assessment of the context of this verse reveals that even Sha’ul is referring to unleavened artos. But I fear that knowledge will fall on deaf ears as it is customary to uphold the teachings of Sha’ul in favor of those of Messiah which he too often contradicted.

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As a practicing and ardent Pharisee at the time of the crucifixion Sha’ul was most certainly observing the Jewish national calendar of the day. (It should also be noted that Sha’ul still considered himself to be a Pharisee even after his “conversion”.)

Act 23:6

(6) Now Sha’ul, perceiving that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, cried out in the council, “Men, brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, I am being judged concerning the expectation and resurrection of the dead!”

Act 26:1-5

(1)And Agrippa said to Sha’ul, “You are allowed to speak for yourself.” Then Sha’ul stretched out his hand and made his defence:

(4) “Truly, then, all the Yehudim know my way of life from youth, which I led from the beginning among my own nation at Yerushalayim,

(5) since they have known me from the first, if they wish to witness, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our observance.

Php 3:4-5

(4) though I too might have trust in the flesh. If anyone else thinks to trust in the flesh, I more –

(5) circumcised the eighth day, of the race of Yisra’ĕl, of the tribe of Binyamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, according to Torah a Pharisee.

In his letter to the Philippians, the Pharisee Sha’ul states that a Hebrew of Hebrews is one who observes the Torah as a Pharisee.

So when we read Sha’ul’s statement in his first letter to the Corinthians, we must keep his Pharisaic perspective in context…

1Co 5:7

(7) Therefore cleanse out the old leaven, so that you are a new lump, as you are unleavened. For also Messiah our Passover was offered for us.

From Sha’ul’s perspective Messiah was killed on the day of his Passover. And he is correct!

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But to use this testimony as proof that Messiah died as the Passover is but one witness and is to deny twelve witnesses in the Gospels that state the contrary. Sha’ul was neither a disciple of Messiah nor a follower of His during the time of His ministry. A matter is only ever confirmed by the testimony of at least two or three witnesses.

1Co 5:7

(7) Therefore cleanse out the old leaven, so that you are a new lump, as you are unleavened. Messiah our Passover For also was offered for us.

Vs.

1John 2:2

(2)And He Himself is an atoning offering for our sins, and not for ours only but also for all the world.

1Jn 4:10

(10) In this is love, not that we loved Elohim, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be an atoning offering for our sins.

Yohanan is quoting Isaiah 53:10 in the verses above. The Beloved Disciple is clarifying emphatically that Messiah was an “atoning” offering for sin. Yohanan opposes Sha’ul’s teaching that Messiah was offered as the Passover since the Passover was not even a sacrifice for sin. At the time of the Exodus, the Passover was slaughtered for protection of all firstborn males of both man and beast from the Destroyer. Every year since then the Passover has been merely a remembrance (anniversary) meal.

Indeed, Sha’ul’s teachings can be confusing and in some cases they are just not Scriptural. In the example below Sha’ul makes a startling claim. Can it be corroborated in Scripture that women are saved through childbearing? What need have these women of Messiah then? Are the barren then unsaved?

1Ti 2:11-15

(11) Let a woman learn in silence, in all subjection.

(12) But I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, rather, to be in silence.

(13) Because Adam was formed first, then Ḥawwah.

(14) And Adam was not deceived, but the woman, having been deceived, fell into transgression

(15) But she shall be saved in childbearing if they continue in belief, and love, and set-apartness, with sensibleness.

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Sha’ul has other teachings that are just as troubling such as the establishment of a hierarchy within the Body of believers. However, Messiah is very clear on this issue. We are not to be called leader, teacher, elder, father, etc. Most especially we are not to expect, demand, teach or give double esteem or honor to another brother. In fact those who are the greatest are to become the servants or else he who exalts himself will be humbled. (Mat 23:8-12) Yet Sha’ul not only teaches but commands that a hierarchy be established amongst the brethren and that we bestow double respect to those who are placed above us…

1Ti 5:17

(17) Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double respect, especially those who labour in the word and teaching.

Tit 1:5

(5) The reason I left you in Crete was that you should straighten out what was left undone, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you:

Vs.

Mat 23:8-12

(8) “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi,’ for One is your Teacher, the Messiah, and you are all brothers.

(9) “And do not call anyone on earth your father, for One is your Father, He who is in the heavens.

 (10) “Neither be called leaders, for One is your Leader, the Messiah.

(11) “But the greatest among you shall be your servant.

(12) “And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

Luk 22:25-27

(25) And He said to them, “The sovereigns of the gentiles rule over them, and those who control them are called ‘workers of good.’

(26) “But not so with you, but let him who is greatest among you be as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.

(27)  “For who is greater, the one who sits at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who sits at the table? But I am in your midst as the One who serves.

Rev 2:6

(6)“Yet this you have, that you hate the works of the Nikolaites G3531, which I also hate.

Rev 2:15

(15) “So you also have those who adhere to the teaching of the NikolaitesG3531, which teaching I hate.

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The Greek etymology of the word Nicolaitans or Nikolaites:

Hate is a very strong word and Messiah uses it twice. Two witnesses. He hates the teaching that establishes a hierarchy within the Body of believers. Hates. Hates.

Religious organizations that justify their doctrine of leadership and eldership based on the teachings of Sha’ul are in for a huge shock when they face the wrath of the Lion.

Sha’ul is not shy about establishing his own teachings which he even confesses are not always of Messiah. Not only that, but he requires his followers to imitate him! Are we not commanded by YAHSHUA Messiah to follow His Way and not the way of man? (Joh 14:6; Mat 4:19, 8:22, 9:9, 16:24, 19:21; Mar 1:17, 2:14, 8:34, 10:2; Luk 5:27, 9:23, 9:59, 18:22; John 1:43, 10:27, 12:26, 13:36, 21:19-22)

Listen to what Sha’ul says…

2Ti 3:10

(10) But you did closely follow my teaching, the way of life, the purpose, the belief, the patience, the love, the endurance,

1Co 4:16-17

(16) Therefore I appeal to you, to become imitators of me.

(17)For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and trustworthy son in the Master, who shall remind you of my ways in Messiah, as I teach everywhere in every assembly.

G3531 & G3532

Νικόλαος

Nikolaos

nik-ol’-ah-os

From G3534 and G2004; victorious over the people

Nico-, combinatory form of nīko, “victory” in Greek, and laos means people, or more specifically, the laity; hence, the word may be taken to mean “lay conquerors” or “conquerors of the lay people”. Consequently, “Nicolaitan” (Greek: Νικολαϊτῶν; Νικολαΐτης) means “victorious over people”.

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Php 3:17

(17) Become joint imitators of me, brothers…

1Co 7:12

(12) And to the rest I say, not the Master: 

1Co 11:1

(1) Become imitators of me…

Do not think to defend Sha’ul by claiming that he said to follow him as he followed Messiah. Now where does Messiah allow us to follow a man as he follows Messiah. No, Messiah says…

“Follow Me.” Twenty-two times. (Mat 4:19, 8:22, 9:9, 10:38, 16:24, 19:21; Mar 1:17, 2:14, 8:34, 10:21; Luk 5:27, 9:23, 9:59, 18:22; Joh 1:43, 10:27, 12:26, 13:36)

If I were to now command you here in this document to imitate and follow me as I follow Messiah you would immediately be offended and pronounce me a heretic and rightfully so.

In fact, Yohanan the Beloved tells us that fellowship occurs when we believe what the disciples have seen and heard and we are compelled to repentance. When we begin to walk in the Light as we learn the words of Messiah as announced by them, then we experience fellowship. Fellowship with Messiah is not the result of following or imitating a man no matter how much knowledge he appears to have. That is the very definition of a cult. Fellowship is the fruit of loving and obeying the Word. The understanding of which is a result of being taught by the Spirit. (Joh 14:15-24) Never confuse fellowship with socializing. And never follow or imitate a man in your desire to know Messiah, not even Sha’ul.

1Jn 1:1-7

(1) What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life:

(2)And the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and announce to you that everlasting life which was with the Father and was manifested to us.

(3)  We announce to you what we have seen and heard, so that you too might have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son יהושע Messiah.

Messiah.

(4) And we write this to you in order that your joy might be complete.

(5) And this is the message which we have heard from Him and announce to you, that Elohim is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

(6)If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and are not doing the truth.

(7) But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of יהושע Messiah His Son cleanses us from all sin.

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If the testimony that appears in Kepha’s letter is authentic (2Pet 3:15-16), then we have no choice but to accept that Sha’ul is a believer in Messiah but that in no way means that his writings are inspired Scripture any more than mine or yours or the countless other Christian and Messianic authors in the local bookstore.

Sha’ul was not a disciple nor was he privy to the private and secret teachings of Messiah. Clearly the disciples did not think it pertinent to inform him of the calendar that Messiah kept. That omission speaks volumes.

We cannot establish a truth based on the testimony of one witness especially when that witness has been proven to teach counter to the Torah, the words of Messiah and His disciples.

Messiah’s words are as true today as they were two thousand years ago.

Mat 15:9

(9) ‘But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the commands of men.’ ”1 Footnote: 1Isa. 29:13, Mk. 7:7, 2 Ki. 17:19. 

If we have to discount twelve witnesses who all state that Messiah ordered and ate the Passover on the day before His crucifixion in favor of one witness who was not even present at the Passover Meal of Messiah, then our worship of Elohim is in vain for we favor the teachings of men thereby nullifying the Word of YHWH. Selah.

It is the esteem of Elohim to hide a matter,

And the esteem of sovereigns to search out a matter.

Proverbs 25:2

 Website Editor’s Note:

In order to have a clearer perspective  of this message regarding to calendar of YAHUSHUA’s time, please visit the page: http://man-child.com/?p=1757

2. . According to my astronomical simulation software (Starry Night Pro) The equinox occurred in 30CE at 12.48 am (Jerusalem time) on 23rd March (Julian calendar not Gregorian) marking Day 1 Month 1. Note from the astronomic simulation that the moon was 0.12 days old and that would mean the Rabbis would have marked their Day 1 month 1 beginning on the evening of the 24th – this gives one day difference between the 14 day  count to Passover from the equinox calendar as opposed to the 14 day count to Passover from the conjunctive moon calendar (Rabbinic).