Weekly Prophecy Review

News Items, though not necessarily prophetic...

• The American Spectator reports that the Vietnamese Government killed over 27 million rats during the last month; the nation is suffering from a shortage of the rats' natural predators—cats and snakes—so the government has ordered those items off restaurant menus. (Honestly, this has nothing to do with prophecy, but I couldn't resist.)

• Recently, Mrs. Yassar Arafat gave a televised speech in honor of International Children's Day. In it, she sought to comfort the Palestinian people on the loss of "our saintly brother, Mohi a-din A- Sherif." She was referring to the arch-terrorist known as Engineer II, the man who masterminded suicide bombings which resulted in the deaths of scores of Israelis—including children.

• President Clinton, a non-Catholic, received Holy Communion in a Soweto church after hearing a two-hour sermon on adultery.

• 81 U.S. Senators called upon President Clinton not to publicize his proposal for an Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria. Regarding this, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright complained she can't understand why Israel incites Congress against this Administration, which is, in her words, "very favorable towards Israel." (With friends like this Administration, who needs enemies?)

• Egypt is taking steps to hinder economic relations with Israel. According to a Foreign Ministry official, "Egypt has until now taken a passive role regarding economic ties with Israel; however, they are now doing what they can to obstruct economic development between the two countries." We mention this because Egypt is a nation which prophecy students would do well to observe closely. Scripture indicates it will have a central part in the events of end-time prophecy (See Isaiah 19).

• Eyad Ismoil, the Palestinian who was convicted of planting the 1993 World Trade Center bomb, was sentenced to 240 years in prison.

• The U.S. dollar will become a legal currency in Israel within three weeks.

Feature Story

The sad plight of Passover

Some have wondered if there is any prophetic significance to the fact that, this year, Good Friday and the Jewish Passover begin on the same day. Obviously, the Scriptures do not speak of this "convergence" so one can't argue that any prophecy is being fulfilled. But it does seem appropriate to review (1) how the split came about and (2) what have been the consequences of separating the two "holidays."

How it happened

At the inception of the Christian church, all the participants were Jews. It was not long, however, before the vast majority of believers were Gentiles. Because they had no understanding of Jewish culture or Jewish history, the Gentile converts could not understand why Jewish believers wanted to worship as they had before accepting Jesus as Messiah. One of the issues of controversy was over "resurrection day." Jewish believers insisted it be held on the third day of Passover—the 17th day of Nisan. Because the rest of the world was operating on a different calendar, the 17th of Nisan was not a meaningful date. So, in 196 A.D., at a council meeting in Cesarea, it was decided that resurrection day would be celebrated "on a Sunday each year during the Feast of Eshtar," giving us—Easter Sunday. In other words, the Gentile church rejected a date possessing great Biblical and historical significance, choosing instead to link the resurrection to a pagan festival in honor of the goddess of fertility.

But the Gentile church was not through. Having removed resurrection day from Passover, the next step was to reject the Passover entirely! Shortly after 325 A.D. there were official church proclamations to the effect that "anyone attempting to celebrate Passover on the 17th day of Nisan was to be excommunicated."¹

The consequences

What has been the result of separating resurrection day from Passover? For starters, our culture is now more familiar with the relics of an ancient pagan fertility rite (symbolized by Easter eggs) than with the Biblical concept of blood atonement (symbolized by Passover). By way of illustration, a New York Post article which examined the convergence of the Easter and Passover holidays closed with these revealing comments: "Expect mostly sunny skies tomorrow with temperatures reaching 60 - perfect for the 52nd annual Eggstravaganza in Central Park. Free activities include an egg hunt and egg roll and scenes from several Broadway shows."

But beyond the damage done to this one doctrine, there is a larger problem. Because of this incident "the church was pulled further and further back from its Jewish roots. Soon it would deny that it had such roots."²

Some Passover lessons which the church has missed, thanks to the "wisdom" of our early church fathers...

• In Exodus 12:3-6 God commanded Israel to take a lamb on the tenth day and set it aside until the fourteenth day of the first month (Nisan). What, we ask, is the significance of that? Answer: "In the events of the week of crucifixion, Jesus entered Jerusalem on the tenth day and was slain on the fourteenth day."³

• The Israelites were required to thoroughly inspect the lamb which was to die for them, to make sure it was without spot or blemish. Here is a listing of those who has the opportunity to "inspect" God's Lamb: Pilate, Herod, Annas, Caiaphas, Judas, The Centurion, and the repentant thief.

• The Passover lamb was to be killed "between the two evenings." "The hours of crucifixion, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. were the hours which fulfilled 'between the two evenings.'"⁴

• The whole assembly of Israel was involved in the death of the Passover lamb. "The Gospels show how the Sanhedrin, the Priests, and the people of Israel all clamored for the crucifixion of Jesus."⁵

• The Lord told Israel and the Egyptians that He would "pass over" if blood was sprinkled on the doorposts and the lintel. The covering blood was a token of faith and obedience. In the same way, a believer passes from death to life through faith in Christ's sacrificial blood.

• In the eating of the Passover lamb, God commanded that no bones be broken. Men unwittingly fulfilled this type and prophecy during the crucifixion of Jesus. You will remember, when the soldiers were about to break Messiah's legs, they realized He was already dead.

• The Passover was what Scripture calls "a holy convocation." That meant, as in the case of the Sabbath, no manner of work was to be done. In other words, all were to rest in the finished work of the Passover lamb. Now, a believer in Christ finds true rest (ceasing from his own works) in the finished work of Jesus, who is our Passover Lamb.

But, hey, it wasn't a total loss; at least we got the Easter Bunny.

Till He returns...

Notes:

1. Stan Telchin, Betrayed!, p. 88.
2. Ibid., p. 88.
3. Kevin J. Conner, The Feasts of Israel, p. 17.
4. Ibid., p. 18.
5. Ibid., p. 18.

Last Updated April 11, 1998 by Larry Simmons