THE GREAT DELIVERANCE OF THE PASSOVER

BEHOLD THE LOVE OF GOD IN THE LAMB OF GOD

Written by: Elene Rodgers [Pdf Version]

Cross with lamb Some people may have wondered what Passover is all about? Why is it important and what is its significance for me. That's the purpose of this article entitled The Great Deliverance of the Passover: Behold the Love of God in the Lamb of God.

While Moses was in the wilderness God instructed him to write down the story of how the children of Israel were set free from Egyptian bondage so they would remember the story of their deliverance. Moses had already written the book of Genesis while in Midian, the place he fled to after his escape from Egypt. Now the promise given to Abraham and written about in Genesis was fulfilled exactly as it was prophesied by God.

Genesis 15:13,14 “And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

Now, it was time to write again.

EVERLASTING COVENANT – PROMISE OF DELIVERANCE

In order to understand the story of the Passover, you must first understand the history given in Genesis and what God explained to Moses about the Promise of the Deliverance known as the Everlasting Covenant. The Passover is an example of deliverance so we can better understand this GREAT DELIVERANCE.

In Genesis, God created a perfect world. He said that “it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) There was beauty and harmony throughout creation. Because there was no sin, there was no death or pain. Everything was perfect. After God formed man in His image and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, God placed them in the garden of Eden. In the midst of the garden was the tree of life where they would eat its fruits and sustain life forever. Also, in the garden was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:16,17 “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

[Surely die H4191 mooth to die H4191 mooth to die]

Surely die is the Hebrew word mooth repeated twice, “mooth, mooth.” According to Strong's Hebrew Dictionary the word mooth with the Hebrew number H4191 means to die. The first mooth refers to the first death. If they disobeyed God and ate from the forbidden tree, they would die as the result of living in a world that has been marred with sin. The second mooth is known as the second death. It is the penalty or payment for sin.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death;....”

It is this second death that is the eternal death where a person would be destroyed fully, cease to exist, or perish with no hope of living again.

It is very clear that Adam and Eve had a choice to make to be obedient to God's command or to disobey it. They were not created by God as automatic robots but with the freedom to choose.

In order to influence Eve to disobey God, Satan lied.

Genesis 3:4 “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:”

This lie contradicted God's explicit command. Satan made it appear that she would have some better existence like the gods if she disobeyed and that God was keeping something good away from her. Eve was deceived into believing this lie and ate from the forbidden tree. She gave it to Adam and he ate it too.

Because they understood God's explicit command yet they chose to disobey it, they were in sin and were doomed to suffer the first and second death if a Savour did not come.

1 John 3:4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

Sin separated man from God.

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Remember, the penalty for sin is eternal death. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death;[Praise God it doesn't stop there] but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

In this gift of God is revealed the love of God that is everlasting.

God so loved the world that He covenanted to give His Son to deliver the world from their sin. This covenant is known as the everlasting covenant and is summed up in John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. It is because of God's love for us that He made a way to save us from the penalty of sin – the second death.

This everlasting covenant existed even before God created our world.

1 Peter 1:18-20 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,”

Even before Adam and Eve were created by God, God already had in place this Everlasting Covenant in order to deliver them from their sin.

Sin demands the death of the sinner as the payment of sin. God could not change His law because it is unchangeable. It is immutable.

Psalms 119:44,45 says, “So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. 45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.”

Liberty is the result of obedience to God's law.

Since the law could not be changed, God made a way to change us.

Hebrews 13:20,21 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

When we yield ourselves to Him, God will work in us recreating us into His image and placing His law within our hearts.

Jeremiah 31:33 “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

When God's law is within our hearts we can have communion with Him. Sin separates us from God but when we allow God to cleanse us from sin we are no longer separated from Him.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Jesus Christ makes the atonement for our sins so we can be “at one” or in unity with God. He came to save us from sin so that we do not have to continue in sin but be saved from sin and its deadly results.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Psalms 40:8 “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.”

After sin, man's natural tendency in the flesh was to love sin. In contrast, when a person is converted the natural tendency is to love God and His law. This requires supernatural power from God. There is naturally no enmity between a person in sin and Satan. If God did not step in to deliver man from sin, man would have been a captive of Satan until death. In Genesis 3:15, the promise is given of a deliverer who would save His people from sin by giving them the power to resist satan.

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” At the end, Satan's defeat was prophesied because his head was going to be bruised or crushed. When you crush a serpent's head, it's all over, Satan's defeat is sealed.

1 John 4:9,10 “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

THE PENALTY FOR SIN STILL HAD TO BE PAID AND THAT'S WHY JESUS TOOK OUR PENALTY BY HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS. THE PENALTY FOR SIN WAS PAID BY JESUS THE LAMB OF GOD WHICH TAKETH AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD.

Isaiah 53:5-7 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”

John 1:29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Because of love, the provision is made for our salvation. The Lamb of God reveals the love of God who gave His Son to die for our sins. The everlasting covenant gives hope to those who believe in God and are overcomers through the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

God has a gift to give His faithful servants and He will give the gift at the end of time.

The Bible is very clear that after the first death people rest in their graves awaiting their resurrection.

Daniel 12:2 - “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

The righteous, those that are judged worthy to receive the gift, will receive the gift of everlasting life at the resurrection on last day.

John 6:40 - “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Job 19:25 “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter [last] day upon the earth:”

John 11:23-25 “Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”

Daniel 12:13 “But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.”

The unrighteous will receive the penalty for their sins after they are resurrected.

Revelation 20:12-15 “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

The unrighteous will not live forever in hell because they do not have eternal life. God said they would surely die - that means cease to exist. So they will burn until they are completely burned up receiving the payment they worked for as the wages of sin.

Malachi 4:1 “For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.”

Everyone has a choice to receive the penalty for sin which is eternal death or to be delivered from sin and receive the gift of life. Sin is the problem. It equals death. Either I have to pay the penalty for my sin OR Jesus pays the penalty for my sin. Though Jesus died to save the whole world, He does not force anyone to receive His gift. If they don't believe Him, as evidenced by their disobedience to His commands, they are choosing to perish. His death or mine is our choice.

After Adam and Eve sinned the gift was offered and they received it because the first lamb was slain that provided the skin for them to be clothed with to cover their nakedness.

God did not delight in the blood of the lamb. The bloody sight was repulsive and was designed to have an effect on the sinner to turn him away from sin.

1 Samuel 15:22 “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

Isaiah 1:11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.”

Isaiah 1:16-19 “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:”

The death of the lamb was to show:

why we need to be saved from sin – because sin is deadly, and
how we are to be saved from sin - through Jesus Christ the Lamb of God.

Adam and Eve were thankful for the provision that God made for their salvation.

Genesis 5:5 “And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.”

Though Adam lived a lot longer than people do today he still died as the result of living in a world marred by sin. This was his first death that God explained in Genesis 3:19 , “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

To experience the first death happens to the righteous and the unrighteous as a result of living in a world marred with sin. But for Adam the hope is in the promise of deliverance that he will be delivered from the grave and live again eternally.

Adam passed the knowledge of the everlasting covenant to his descendants. Some chose to receive it and others rejected it as referred to in 2 Kings 17:15.

“And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.”

From Adam to Abraham many patriarchs like Seth, Enoch, Methusalem, Noah, Eber and others held on the everlasting covenant and passed on the knowledge of the covenant to their descendants. Abraham was called out and blessed by God to share the knowledge of the covenant with others to be a blessing to them also.

God had foretold to Abraham about his seed or descendants sojourning for 400 years and their affliction.

This prophecy could not have started at that time when it was given because at the time Abram had no seed, not even one child. In Genesis 17 God set up the covenant with Abraham.

Genesis 17:1,2 “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 2 And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.”

God changed his name from Abram to Abraham and Isaac was born a year later when Abraham was 100 years old. The Passover was 430 years after God made the covenant with Abraham.

Exodus 12:40,41 “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.”

Galatians 3:17 “And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.”

Exactly 430 years after the covenant was made with Abraham, the promise was fulfilled with the Passover. Hence, the 400 years of sojourning revealed in the prophecy given to Abraham in Genesis 15 had to start after the covenant made with Abraham in Genesis 17.

Thirty years after God made the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17 would be when God told Abraham to go to Mount Moriah. It was there that God showed Abraham how he would not have to sacrifice his son Isaac but that God would provide the lamb.

Genesis 22:7,8,13,14 “And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.”

At Mount Moriah, the prophecy of the 400 years of sojourning for the seed of Abraham began. It was fulfilled on the selfsame day 400 years after Abraham was on Mount Moriah with Isaac and 430 years after the covenant was made with Abraham in Genesis 17. On the Passover, God further illustrated His plan of salvation. As Moses was used by God to deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, God would provide His Son as the Great Deliverer to save His people from the bondage of sin with an inheritance in the heavenly Canaan land..

Exodus 12:1-43 “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. 15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. 16 And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. 17 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. 19 Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. 20 Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. 22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. 24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? 27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. 28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. 33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. 34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders. 35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed [requested] of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: 36 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians. [they received the payment for their service] 37 And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. 38 And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual. 40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations. 43 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover:”

Just as God fulfilled His Promise of Deliverance to the children of Israel with the inheritance of the Canaan land, God will fulfill His promise of the Great Deliverance. We are sojourners on earth looking forward to our inheritance in the heavenly Canaan land.

Hebrews 11:13-28 “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones. 23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. 24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.”

Deuteronomy 7:8-12 “But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; 10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. 11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them. 12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:”

Almost 1,500 years after the first Passover, Jesus died on the cross as the Passover. It was on the self-same day - the 14^th day of the first Jewish month. During the time of Moses the first month was called Abib and the first month later became known as Nisan.

Exodus 13:3,4 “And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. 4 This day came ye out in the month Abib.”

Esther 3:7 “In the first month, that is, the month Nisan...”

The Passover is STILL on the 14^th day of the first month. On some calendars, the Passover is placed on the fifteenth day of the first month. But the Feast of Unleavened bread is on the fifteen day of the first month. A way to check is to refer to a Jewish calendar and see the date for the fourteenth day of the first month, Nisan.

Leviticus 23:5-6 “In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.”

Passover is not the same as Easter which always falls on a Sunday. In fact, when Jesus died on the cross, Passover was on a Friday. In the Bible, a day begins on the evening before at even or sunset (see Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,and 31). So when Jesus ate the passover meal with His disciples on the Passover it was Thursday evening, when the day of Passover began. Passover can be on any day of the week. It is not the day of the week but the date of it that is important. Like a birthday, it can be on any day of the week, but it is the date that is important.

Jesus as our Passover died on the Passover, the 14^th day of Nisan. On that self same day, God provided the Lamb that would take away the sins of the world. It was on Passover that Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. The Passover was a commemoration of the deliverance from Egyptian bondage and in its place, Jesus instituted The Lord's Supper to commemorate the Great Deliverance.

Luke 22:14-20 “And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. 15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: 16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. 19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new [not in respect to age but in freshness (because it is everlasting)] testament [covenant] in my blood, which is shed for you.”

Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Jesus instructed His disciples to commemorate Him as the Passover in remembrance of what He has done as our Great Deliverer.

No one has ever or could ever give you such a wonderful gift because they can't give you eternal life. We often given human “heroes” credit when they pull someone out of a burning fire or some act of heroism but that person did not save them from perishing an eternal death. ONLY Jesus can deliver us from sin.

John 3:14-16 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

1 Corinthians 5:7,8 “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

Near the end of Moses life, he wrote this charge to the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 30:19 “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:”

Like Adam and Eve we too have to make a choice. Jesus is pleading with you to choose life. To experience the first death is the result of living in a world marred with sin. But, to experience the second death is a CHOICE.

Ezekiel 18:20-21 “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. 21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

The Hebrew word for live is chayah H2421 which means to live or keep alive. Surely live is the word live repeated twice; “chayah, chayah” which means to live forever.

Ezekiel 18:30-32 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”

Luke 1:67-75 “And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, 74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.”

Acts: 3:19-22,25,26 “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”

Psalms 49:15 “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.”

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 13 “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

Revelation 21:3,4 “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Psalms 91:14-16 “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16 With long [forever] life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”

THIS IS THE GREAT DELIVERANCE THAT ALL OF GOD'S FAITHFUL HAVE LOOKED FORWARD TO - THE FULFILLMENT OF THE EVERLASTING COVENANT WHEN GOD WILL DELIVER HIS PEOPLE TO BE “AT ONE” WITH HIM COMMUNING FACE TO FACE ONCE AGAIN AND FOREVERMORE.

DO YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF THAT GREAT DELIVERANCE? MAKE A DECISION TODAY.

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