Exo 12:1-2 – And Yahweh spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,  This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.

Exo 12:3 – Speak you 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:

Exo 12:6-7 – And you 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. 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.

Exo 12:11 – And thus shall you eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste: it is Yahweh’s passover.

The first month of the year occurs at the time of Passover.  The next new year will begin on March 23, 2012 with Passover on April 6. The true New Year does not begin in the dead of winter. It begins in the spring when new life begins to bud. It also does not begin in the dead of night at 12:00 midnight, but at sundown. All Biblical days begin and end at sundown.

Here is a short article from U.S. News and World Report, December 23, 1996, concerning the origin of January 1 as the new year.

“In 46 B.C.E. the Roman emperor Julius Caesar first established January 1 as New Year’s day. Janus was the Roman god of doors and gates, and had two faces, one looking forward and one back.  Caesar felt that the month named after this god (“January”) would be the appropriate “door” to the year.  Caesar celebrated the first January 1 New Year by ordering the violent routing of revolutionary Jewish forces in the Galilee.  Eyewitnesses say blood flowed in the streets.  In later years, Roman pagans observed the New Year by engaging in drunken orgies—a ritual they believed constituted a personal re-enacting of the chaotic world that existed before the cosmos was ordered by the gods.

As Christianity spread, pagan holidays were either incorporated into the Christian calendar or abandoned altogether.  By the early medieval period most of Christian Europe regarded Annunciation Day (March 25) as the beginning of the year.  (According to Catholic tradition, Annunciation Day commemorates the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would be impregnated by G-d and conceive a son to be called Jesus.)

After William the Conqueror (AKA “William the Bastard” and “William of Normandy”) became King of England on December 25, 1066, he decreed that the English return to the date established by the Roman pagans, January 1.  This move ensured that the commemoration of Jesus’ birthday (December 25) would align with William’s coronation, and the commemoration of Jesus’ circumcision (January 1) would start the new year – thus rooting the English and Christian calendars and his own Coronation).  William’s innovation was eventually rejected, and England rejoined the rest of the Christian world and returned to celebrating New Years Day on March 25.

About five hundred years later, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII (AKA “Ugo Boncompagni”, 1502-1585) abandoned the traditional Julian calendar.  By the Julian reckoning, the solar year comprised 365.25 days, and the intercalation of a “leap day” every four years was intended to maintain correspondence between the calendar and the seasons.  Really, however there was a slight inaccuracy in the Julian measurement (the solar year is actually 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds = 365.2422 days).  This slight inaccuracy caused the Julian calendar to slip behind the seasons about one day per century.  Although this regression had amounted to 14 days by Pope Gregory’s time, he based his reform on restoration of the vernal equinox, then falling on March 11, to the date had 1,257 years earlier when Council of Nicaea was convened (March 21, 325 C.E.).  Pope Gregory made the correction by advancing the calendar 10 days.  The change was made the day after October 4, 1582, and that following day was established as October 15, 1582.  The Gregorian calendar differs from the Julian in three ways:  (1) No century year is a leap year unless it is exactly divisible by 400 (e.g., 1600, 2000, etc.); (2) Years divisible by 4000 are common (not leap) years; and (3) once again the New Year would begin with the date set by the early pagans, the first day of the month of Janus – January 1.

On New Years Day 1577 Pope Gregory XIII decreed that all Roman Jews, under pain of death, must listen attentively to the compulsory Catholic conversion sermon given in Roman synagogues after Friday night services.  On New Years Day 1578 Gregory signed into law a tax forcing Jews to pay for the support of a “House of Conversion” to convert Jews to Christianity.  On New Years 1581 Gregory ordered his troops to confiscate all sacred literature from the Roman Jewish community.  Thousands of Jews were murdered in the campaign.

Throughout the medieval and post-medieval periods, January 1 – supposedly the day on which Jesus’ circumcision initiated the reign of Christianity and the death of Judaism – was reserved for anti-Jewish activities: synagogue and book burnings, public tortures, and simple murder.

The Israeli term for New Year’s night celebrations, “Sylvester,” was the name of the “Saint” and Roman Pope who reigned during the Council of Nicaea (325 C.E.).  The year before the Council of Nicaea convened, Sylvester convinced Constantine to prohibit Jews from living in Jerusalem.  At the Council of Nicaea, Sylvester arranged for the passage of a host of viciously anti-Semitic legislation.  All Catholic “Saints” are awarded a day on which Christians celebrate and pay tribute to that Saint’s memory.  December 31 is Saint Sylvester Day – hence celebrations on the night of December 31 are dedicated to Sylvester’s memory.”

I hope you will put away man-made traditions and turn to the truth of the New Year as decreed by your Creator, Almighty Yahweh. He  created the heavenly bodies and set them in motion to determine the first day/month of the year. All of Yahweh’s Holy Days throughout the year are based on the first day of that new year. All of man’s man-made holidays are based on their man-made new year of January 1. Who will you follow, your Creator and His days or man and his days?

Many of the arguments for Christmas are not historically based and have few proof texts.  On the other hand, the arguments and documentation against Christmas are very numerous as can be seen in the quoted references below.

Being that there are so many arguments for and against Christmas, can it be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is right?  Can it be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is wrong?  With something so cloudy and controversial, why participate at all?  There is no wrong committed in avoiding this holiday.  If we avoid Christmas and are wrong, then we lose nothing.  If we avoid Christmas and are right, we prevent ourselves from being united with and engulfed in a sinful religious holiday during that time of the year.

Christmas, its origin found nowhere in scripture and surrounded by pagan worship and rites, has no place in the congregation of our Master.  We cannot separate a religious holiday with its past or its origins.  We can’t say, “Well, that was then, and this is now.”  We are told in Deuteronomy 12:29-30 – “When Yahweh your Elohim cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?,’ and 18:9 – “When you enter the land which Yahweh your Elohim gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. “

If we can see that there is even a chance, of which there is much more than that, of Christmas being pagan, should we still seek or find justification in participating?  We would only succeed in being ensnared to follow pagan gods in the same way that the pagans did.  The rites performed during Christmas today are those that were done to glorify their false gods in the past.  Do we want to give those gods any glory whatsoever?  If those things are detestable to Yahweh, should we not stay far, far away to avoid even the appearance of evil?

The statements and quotes from reputable sources below should provide plenty enough proof that Christmas has a pagan past.  We cannot “Christianize” something that was theirs first, just like they can’t “Paganize” something that was ours first.  They can’t take Passover and dance around snakes and sacrifice children and it be pleasing to Yahweh, so how can we imitate the rites of those pagan celebrations and honor Yahweh or Yahshua?  If they offered gifts to a tree representing their god (by putting them under the tree), how can we do the same and separate the paganism from that?  That is the same as playing with a wee gee board and asking Yahshua to guide our hands.  We cannot bring Yahshua into that pagan practice. Is it a sin to give gifts to one another?  No.  But when it is done in the same manner, at the same time of the year as the ancient pagans did it, we should run away from it to avoid association with the world in it.  We have had this in our past for so many hundreds of years that it seems normal.  But normal doesn’t always mean right.  Did Yahshua observe it?  Did Yahshua instruct it to be observed?  Did any of the apostles teach or observe it?  Did the early church fathers observe it?  The answers to these are obvious.  Why should we unite our festivities with those rooted in or imitative of pagan rites and rituals?

Date of the birth of Yahshua Unknown

There is probably a good reason as to why the exact date of Yahshua’s birth is not known.  Not even the devout followers of him, in all of their research and attempts, were able to ascertain that date.  Simply put, “Not mentioned, not important.”  There is no instruction to observe the day of the birth of Yahshua as a religious holiday.  If Yahweh thought that would be important he would have said so.  The lack of a specific date being even slightly alluded to should actually keep us on our guard against it.

The facts presented in scripture that do give some information regarding the season of Yahshua’s birth contradict what is currently practiced.  First, a census was ordered, which brought Joseph and Miriam there to begin with.  Any king, including Herod, who wanted to get any type of accurate numbering of the people in his kingdom, would not have done it during the dead of winter when traveling was difficult.  Second, the inn was full.  This was probably due to the ongoing or up and coming Feast of Tabernacles in the fall.  Many people would have been making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at that time for that feast.  Third, the shepherds were sleeping and staying in the fields.  They would not have been doing this in winter.  Fourth, Zacharias, John the Baptist’s father, was of the priestly order of Abijah, which served twice a year.  The course of Abijah was the eighth course which was approximately three months after the start of the priestly cycle in March/April. This would place Elizabeth’s conception around June or, if it was Zacharias’s second yearly turn, around December.

The Bible does not specify which of the two courses it was. Nine months after one of the two courses John the Baptist was born. This would place his birth in March or September. Six months later, Yahshua’s birth would have been around September or the following March. Either way, according to the time of the course of Abijah, a December birth for Messiah Yahshua is out of the question.

- “The exact date of Yahshua’ birth is entirely unknown, as all authorities acknowledge—though there are indications that it was in the early fall—probably September—approximately six months after Passover,” Catholic Encyclopedia.

- “Inexplicable though it seems, the date of the [Christ’s] birth is not known. The Gospels indicate neither the day nor the month,” The New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 3, p. 656.

- “It was a custom among Jews to send out their sheep to the deserts about the Passover [early spring], and bring them home at the commencement of the first rain,” Clarke’s Commentary by Adam Clarke, vol. 3, p. 370. He adds, “As these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Savior was not born on the 25^th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields …the flocks were still in the fields BY NIGHT. On this very ground the nativity in December should be given up.”

Celebrating our Savior’s birth on December 25 and teaching others to do so is to live and teach a lie. Some will say, “We know he was not born on December 25. We simply choose that day to remember his birth.” Of all the days in the year to remember his birth, why that day? History has shown, as we will see below, that  that day was chosen by the Roman church in order to assimilate pagans who were celebrating their gods and goddesses on the same day. If Christians know Messiah was not born on December 25, then why not move the celebration of his birth to a different day, one that is closer to the approximate time of his birth (September/October)? Since we are not commanded to celebrate Yahshua’s birth and since we do not know the exact date of his birth, the prudent course of action in dealing with such a holiday stemming from paganism is to abandon it.

Intimately related to pagan celebrations

There is plenty of evidence supplied below to bring the celebration of Christmas as relating to Yahshua into question.  From many of the reputable sources here, as well as the sheer volume of documentation by so many different sources on this subject, it is most apparent that Christmas was wholly derived from and/or strongly related to paganism.  With such a “shady” background, these questions should come to mind, “Are the presents, trees, carols, candles, feasts, holly and mistletoe, stockings, and other material things, used during this time of the year, really necessary to celebrate Yahshua’s birth?  Why do we hold so closely and tightly to a man-made tradition, surrounded by and engulfed in pagan rites, with no biblical sanction and no apostolic exemplification?  Is it really important, or are we just fearful of what others would think if we ceased from observing it?”  If there is no instruction to participate in or an example of participation in scripture of a certain religious holiday or feast, we should not participate.  All others can be assumed to be man-made traditions with potentially dangerous backgrounds.

- “This tendency on the part of Christians to meet Paganism half-way was very early developed,” says Alexander Hislop in The Two Babylons, p. 93. “And we find Tertullian, even in his day, about the year 230, bitterly lamenting the inconsistency of the disciples of [Christ] in this respect, and contrasting it with the strict fidelity of the Pagans to their own superstition.” Tertullian – “By us who are strangers to Sabbaths and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to [Yahweh] – the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year’s day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar.”

- “In patristic thought [the Christ] had traditionally been associated with light or the sun, and the cult of the Sol invictus, sanctioned as it was by the Roman emperors since the late third century, presented a distinct threat to Christianity. Hence, to compete with this celebration the Roman church instituted a feast for the nativity of [the Christ], who was called the Sol iustitiae …. Usually when Christians celebrated the natalis of a saint or martyr, it was his death or heavenly nativity, but in this case natalis was assigned to be [the Christ’s] earthly birth, in direct competition with the pagan natalis,” Dictionary of the Middle Ages, pp. 317-318.

- “Christmas…was, according to many authorities, not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian church, as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth.”  “A feast was established in memory of this event [Christ’s birth] in the fourth century.  In the fifth century the Western church ordered it to be celebrated forever on the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol, as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed,” Encyclopedia Americana, 1944 ed.

- “The Feast is first mentioned at the head of the Depositio Martyrum in the Roman Chronograph of 354. Since the Depositio was composed in 336, Christmas in Rome can be dated that far at least. It is not found, however, in the lists of Feasts given by Tertullian and Origen,” New Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 3, p. 656.

- The Romans kept the Saturnalia in December, at the time of the winter solstice in honor of the returning sun. The festival lasted seven days. “All classes exchanged gifts, the commonest being waxed tapers and clay dolls,” says the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition. “These dolls were especially given to children. Varro thought these dolls represented original sacrifices of human beings to the infernal God,” vol. 24, p. 231.

- “The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence. . . . The pagan festival with its riot and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner. Christian preachers of the West and the Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ’s birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia accused their Western brethren of idolatry and sun worship for adopting as Christian this pagan festival,” New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, p. 48. And so, the church established the birthday of the Savior to coincide with the heathen feast day. “…the Latin Church, supreme in power, and infallible in judgment, placed it on the 25th of December, the very day on which the ancient Romans celebrated the feast of their goddess Bruma. Pope Julius I was the person who made this alteration,” Clarke’s Commentary.

- “December 25 was the date of the Roman pagan festival inaugurated in 274 as the birthday of the unconquered sun which at the winter solstice begins again to show an increase in light. Sometime before 336 the Church in Rome, unable to stamp out this pagan festival, spiritualized it as the Feast of the Nativity of the Sun of Righteousness,” New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, p. 223.

- “That Christmas was originally a Pagan festival, is beyond all doubt. The time of the year, and the ceremonies with which it is still celebrated, prove its origin,” The Two Babylons, p. 93

- The decorated tree, St. Nick, yule log, wreaths, cookies, berries, mistletoe, bonfires, roast goose, roast pig, wassailing, caroling, and other familiar fixtures were added or embellished for the Christmas-Saturnalia in various countries. When the Protestant movement attempted to rid itself of the excesses and sins of Roman Catholicism, there also came an opposition to Christmas that almost obliterated it entirely in England. “In England, for example, the Puritans could not tolerate this celebrating for which there was no biblical sanction. Consequently, the Roundhead Parliament of 1643 outlawed the feasts of Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, along with the saints’ days,” Celebrations, p. 312.

- “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church . . . the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt.” “Pagan customs centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas,” Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, “Christmas”.

- “The interchange of presents between friends is alike characteristic of Christmas and the Saturnalia, and must have been adopted by Christians from the Pagans, as the admonition of Tertullian plainly shows,” Bibliotheca Sacra, volume 12, pages 153-155.

- “According to the hypothesis . . . accepted by most scholars today, the birth of Christ was assigned the date of the winter solstice (December 25 in the Julian calendar, January 6 in the Egyptian), because on this day, as the sun began its return to northern skies, the pagan devotees of Mithra celebrated the dies natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of the Invincible Sun). On Dec. 25, 274, Aurelian had proclaimed the sun-Elohim principal patron of the empire and dedicated a temple to him in the Campus Martius. Christmas originated at a time when the cult of the sun was particularly strong at Rome,” The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967.

- “The use of Christmas wreaths is believed by authorities to be traceable to the pagan customs of decorating buildings and places of worship at the feast which took place at the same time as Christmas. The Christmas tree is from Egypt, and its origin dates from a period long anterior to the Christian Era,” Answers to Questions.

- “Christmas was originally a festival of the Winter Solstice. It was customary to hold great feasts in honor of the HEATHEN GODS. The early teachers of Christianity PROHIBITED THESE FESTIVALS as unsuited to the character of Christ. Yet the symbols and customs of the old festivals are adapted to the new, and so we find Christmas patterned with many customs of pagan origin.” “To the mind of the Puritans, Christmas smelled to heaven of idolatry… The Puritans abolished Christmas as a hateful relic of Popery.” The Customs of Mankind.

- “There were non-Christian elements present in the origin of Christmas. The giving of presents was a Roman custom. The Yule-tree [modern ‘Christmas Tree’] and the Yule-log are remnants of old Teutonic NATURE WORSHIP.” Schaff-Herzog Religious Encyclopedia.

- “Many current customs date back to pre-Christian origins: among them are Christmas decorations. The Romans ornamented their temples and homes with green boughs and flowers for the Saturnalia [Dec. 17-23] … The Druids gathered mistletoe and hung it in their homes; the Saxons used holly and ivy,” Encyclopedia Britannica.

The Christmas Tree

One of the most beloved traditions of Christmas is to cut down a tree, bring it into the house, secure it so it stands upright, decorate it, and put Christmas presents under it.

An interesting parallel to this is found in Jeremiah 10:1-5:

1  Hear you the word which Yahweh speaks unto you, O house of Israel:

2  Thus says Yahweh, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

3  For the customs of the people are vain: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

4  They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

5  They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

This is referring to the idolatry into which Israel fell as a result of learning pagan ways. Those who use Christmas trees today will say, “We are not worshipping our tree as idolatrous Israel did.”  That may be true, however, what relation is there between cutting down a tree and decorating it and Messiah’s birthday? Regardless of the modern day intent, it was a pagan practice to do such things. Since there is no connection between Messiah’s birth and Christmas trees, and since we clearly see how Israel learned to do so from pagans, why would we want anything to do with such a practice?

- 2Kings 17:9-11: “And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against Yahweh their God, and they built them high places in all their cities …. And they set them up images and groves [asherah] in every high hill, and under every green tree … and they wrought wicked things to provoke Yahweh to anger.” “We can find enough instances of the use of trees, even decorated ones such as the pine tree on which images of the god Attis were hung amid rows of ribbons at a spring festival, to convince us of the ultimately pagan origin of our custom,” Celebrations, p. 331.

- “He [St. Boniface] was trying to stamp out the pagan rite of sacrificing people to the oak tree. He led his followers into a forest at yule time. Showing them a fir tree, he said it pointed straight upward to the [Christ]. ‘Take this tree into your homes,’ he said, ‘as a sign of your new worship [Christianity]. Celebrate [Yahweh’s] power no more in the forest with shameful rites, but in the sanctity of your homes with laughter and love’,” Compton’s Encyclopedia and Fact Finder, vol. 5, p. 326.

- “Now the Yule Log is the dead stock of Nimrod, deified as the sun-God, but cut down by his enemies; the Christmas tree is Nimrod redivivus – the slain God come to life again,” The Two Babylons, p. 98 .

No where instructed or exemplified in scripture

It is very clear that there is absolutely no record in scripture of anyone celebrating the birth of Messiah.  The death and resurrection are celebrated, but never the birth.  Likewise, there is no record of the apostles or early church fathers celebrating his birth.  Again, knowing this, we must ask ourselves, “Why are we celebrating this?”  Yahshua didn’t set this example or instruct it to be done before or after his resurrection.  The apostles, the people taught directly by Yahshua himself, didn’t set this example.  Shouldn’t we be following their example?

- “There is no historical evidence that our [Savior’s] birthday was celebrated during the apostolic or early post-apostolic times,” (Christmas, p. 47) The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge.

- “The day was not one of the early feasts of the Christian church. In fact the observance of birthdays was condemned as a heathen custom repugnant to Christians,” The American Book of Days, by George W. Douglas.

- “The fathers of the first three centuries do not speak of any special observance of the nativity. No corresponding festival was presented by the Old Testament … the day and month of the birth of [the Christ] are nowhere stated in the Gospel history, and cannot be certainly determined,” Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, p. 276, “Christmas”.

- “Christmas (i.e., the Mass of Christ). . . . Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the church,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1946 edition.

- “Christmas . . . was, according to many authorities, not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian church, as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth,” Encyclopedia Americana, 1944 edition.

- The early Catholic Church father, Origen, acknowledged: “In the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners like Pharaoh and Herod who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, Natal Day.

Conclusion

Knowing all of the facts above, we should choose to not participate in the normal activities of Christmas time.  This includes:

-Teaching others that Yahshua’s was born on December 25

- Decorating trees or aiding those who sell them

- Using other decorations linked to the Christmas holiday

- Exchanging gifts

- Participating in or going to Christmas plays, pageants, or dramas

- Participating in Christmas caroling

- Setting up Christmas lights

Yahweh seeks those who worship Him in spirit and in TRUTH. A December 25^th birth of the Savior is not true. It has its origins in paganism. Believers are not to learn the way of heathens/pagans. We are to learn Yahweh’s ways and obey them. All His Holy Days are listed in Leviticus 23. Christmas is not one of them. Christmas is not found in the New Testament either.

The word “Christmas” is a contraction of “Christ” and “mass”. The “mass” is a man-made , Roman Catholic doctrine in which the Savior is sacrificed over and over again in what is called an “unbloody sacrifice.” It is taught that the true believer cannot be fully cleansed of his sins unless he partakes of this sacrifice at mass. Christmas is simply a Roman Catholic holiday that has no place in the true worship of Almighty Yahweh.

December 25th was the date of the winter solstice in ancient Rome.

December 25th was celebrated by the pagan sun-worshippers of Mithraism as the “birthday of the invincible sun” because on that day the sun began its return to northern skies.

December 25th was the date of the pagan Brumalia festival in Rome before our Savior’s birth. It was preceded by the Saturnalia festival – Dec.17-24 – in honor of the Roman god Saturn.

The Saturnalia and Brumalia festivals were so popular among the heathens and so deeply entrenched in their customs, that rather than attempt to reform the pagan populous the Roman Church chose to absorb their festivities into “Christianity.”

Christmas is a contraction for “Christ’s Mass.” The “mass” is a man-made , Roman Catholic doctrine in which the Savior is sacrificed over and over again in what is called an “unbloody sacrifice.” It is taught that the true believer cannot be fully cleansed of his sins unless he partakes of this sacrifice at mass. Christmas is simply a Catholic holiday.

Christmas trees, Yule logs, candles, bells, mistletoe, holly wreaths, ham, tinsel, lights, and Santa Claus have nothing to do with the Savior’s birth. They each have a non Biblical source. Most are rooted in fertility rites or in sun worship from a pagan past and were grafted into the so-called “Christian” church during or after the fourth century.

Instead of giving gifts to the Savior such as the gift of our obedience to Yahweh’s laws, the celebrants give gifts to each other. This creates a burden upon people each year as their Christmas lists grows and grows. Many go into great debt because of this supposed “Holy” season. Additionally, the wise men did not give gifts to the Savior because it was his birthday, but because they knew he was born to be a king. It was a common custom in the East to bring gifts to kings.

Children are being lied to concerning the date of birth and concerning Santa Claus. Is it any wonder that when they grow up and learn the truth they begin to believe Yahweh is a myth too? And who gave Santa Claus Yahweh’s right to decide who is naughty and who is nice?

Man-made “holy days,” including Christmas, are being exalted over Yahweh’s true Holy Days.

Gluttony and drunkenness are typical results of Christmas merrymaking.

Throughout the year people treat each other like dirt and then suddenly become nice for the Christmas season. It is a time of hypocrisy.

Christmas causes tremendous stress on families and individuals as they fret over what gifts to buy, fight crowds to buy those gifts, race to prepare feasts of gluttony, try to outdo each other with decorations, and fight crowds to return all the gifts that they don’t want.

Christmas is perpetuated by merchants who get rich during this season. It is based on materialism, greed, and the lust of the flesh.

“Christmas” is not in the Bible.

We are not commanded to celebrate the Savior’s birth in Scripture.

The true spirit of Christmas is a spirit of anti-Messiah and untruth.

“And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables” ( II Tim.4:4).

“Thus saith Yahweh, ‘Learn not the way of the heathen . . .” (Jer.10:2).

“Lie not one to another . . .” (Col.3:9).

“Therefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor . . . ” (Eph.4:25).

“Love not the world, neither the things in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 Jn.2:15). If December 25th were really the birthday of Yahshua, you can be sure that the world would have nothing to do with it. The very fact that the world observes it proves that it isn’t of Yahweh.

“. . . in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mk.7:7).

Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. I Peter 5:8

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons. 1Timothy 4:1

We know the fate of the devil that deceives the world:

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Re 20:10

The question is, “Will you be a victim of his deceptions or will you be among those who have been enlightened to the truth concerning Halloween?”

Let’s consider the following historical references concerning Halloween.

Encyclopedia Britannica:

“Halloween, also called All Hallows’ Eve or All Hallows’ Evening, a holy or hallowed evening observed on October 31, the eve of All Saints’ Day. In modern times, it is the occasion for pranks and for children requesting treats or threatening tricks. In ancient Britain and Ireland, the Celtic festival of Samhain eve was observed on October 31, at the end of summer. This date was also the eve of the new year in both Celtic and Anglo-Saxon times and was the occasion for one of the ancient fire festivals when huge bonfires were set on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits. The date was connected with the return of herds from pasture, and laws and land tenures were renewed. The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favorable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes.”

Encarta Encyclopedia:

“Origins, Halloween: Many of the ancient peoples of Europe marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter by celebrating a holiday in late autumn. The most important of these holidays to influence later Halloween customs was Samhain, a holiday observed by the ancient Celts, a tribal people who inhabited most of Western and Central Europe in the first millennium BC. Among the Celts, Samhain marked the end of one year and the beginning of the next. It was one of four Celtic holidays linked to important transitions in the annual cycle of seasons. Samhain began at sundown on October 31 and extended into the following day. According to the Celtic pagan religion, known as Druidism, the spirits of those who had died in the preceding year roamed the earth on Samhain evening. The Celts sought to ward off these spirits with offerings of food and drink. The Celts also built bonfires at sacred hilltop sites and performed rituals, often involving human and animal sacrifices, to honor Druid deities.”

The World Book Encyclopedia:

“Halloween is a festival celebrated on October 31. Its name means hallowed or holy evening because it takes place the day before All Saints’ Day.

Many superstitions and symbols are connected with Halloween. The Irish have a tale about the origin of jack-o’-lanterns. They say that a man named Jack was unable to enter heaven because of his miserliness. He could not enter hell because he had played practical jokes on the devil. So he had to walk the earth with his lantern until Judgment Day.

The Druids, an order of priests in ancient Gaul and Britain, believed that on Halloween, ghosts, spirits, fairies, witches, and elves came out to harm people. They thought the cat was sacred and believed that cats had once been human beings but were changed as a punishment for evil deeds. From these Druidic beliefs comes the present-day use of witches, ghosts, and cats in Halloween festivities.

The Druids had an autumn festival called Samhain, or summer’s end. It was an occasion for feasting on all the kinds of food which had been grown during the summer.

In the 700′s, the Roman Catholic Church named November 1 as All Saints’ Day. The old pagan customs and the Christian feast day were combined into the Halloween festival.”

The Roman Catholic Church chose to assimilate the pagan practices of their new converts into the worship of the Almighty rather than truly converting their mind to Yahweh’s ways. The protestant churches continued the practices of the RCC and we see those practices even today.

Many churches today actually sponsor Halloween parties in which the children dress up as witches, ghosts, warlocks, etc. What does Yahweh’s Word say?

Exodus 22:18 – “You shall not suffer a witch to live.”

Deuteronomy 18:10 – “There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto Yahweh: and because of these abominations Yahweh thy Elohim drives them out from before you.”

Galatians 5:19 – “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of Elohim.”

Should we allow our children to dress up like witches or any other occult character in light of these verses that reveal Yahweh’s heart? Doing so will only grieve His Holy Spirit.

On the other hand, there are many churches that are moving away from traditional Halloween parties by sponsoring alternative Halloween gatherings in which the children dress up as Bible characters or less occult/scary secular characters. I suppose alternatives are better than traditional Halloween parties, but why offer alternatives at all? Why not just stay home like any other ordinary day or hold them on a different day? It seems to me that alternative Halloween gatherings are simply watered down versions of traditional gatherings. They still stem from the same pagan origins.

There are many people that view Halloween activities as good, innocent fun.  That is part of the deception. Halloween has evil origins as the references above show. How, then, can they be considered good?

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

“… have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” Ephesians 5:11

“After one’s own birthday, the two major Satanic holidays are Walpurgisnacht (May 1st) and Halloween (or All Hallow’s Eve).” The Satanic Bible by Anton Levey page 96, section on Religious Holidays.

Halloween is a Satanic holiday in which people show their allegiance to him by glorifying the occult. It is a holiday that revolves around death and the macabre and it goes beyond the supposed innocent fun of trick or treating. All sorts of mayhem and murder take place on Halloween in the name of Satan.

On the night before Halloween the city of Detroit is set ablaze every year by arsonists. This night is referred to as Devil’s Night, Mischief Night or Hell Night. Similar, but not quite as destructive, activities take place in cities around the U.S. and Canada.

According to the Satanic Calendar Halloween, October 31st is a night for Human and animal sacrifice. Evangelist Dave Benoit tells of a mother finding a strange diary, called “The Book Of Shadows” in her son’s room. She, with fear and trembling, leafed through pages filled with satanic drawings. Then her eyes fell on these horrifying words, “Last year I stole a car at Halloween and ran over a kid and killed him. This year, at Halloween, I plan to do the same thing!” The words in his satanic diary proved to be true. He murdered a person the previous Halloween as a sacrifice to Satan.

One of the biggest problems with Halloween is that it desensitizes children to the occult, violence, death, gore, mutilation, etc. This desensitization is exacerbated by movies that glorify the same type of violence and gore. Movies like “Halloween”, “Nightmare on Elm Street”, Friday the 13^th”, and the Harry Potter series all serve to further desensitize children. And then we wonder why we have mass murderers and all sorts of evil activities taking place in society.

I encourage you to prayerfully consider not allowing your child to engage in any Halloween or alternative Halloween activities. I also suggest you turn off your porch light as a signal to trick or treaters that you do not want them coming to your door.

I highly recommend the Halloween article found at http://www.jeremiahproject.com/culture/halloween.html. Please read it as it goes into much greater depth than I have here.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, 
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2

“For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Messiah and Belial?” 2 Corinthians 6:14, 15

“Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto Yahweh.” (Leviticus 23:34)

The first day of the seventh month (the seventh crescent moon of the year) is known as “The Day of Trumpets” or “Yom Teruah”.

“Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall you have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.” (Leviticus 23:24)

This day prophetically warns us of the coming of the Day of Yahweh in which He will judge this world through the seven trumpet judgments of the Book of Revelation.

The tenth day of the seventh month is “the Day of Atonement” or “Yom Kippur”.

“Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto Yahweh. And you shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before Yahweh your Elohim.” (Leviticus 23:27-28)

This day not only reminds us of Yahshua’s atoning sacrifice for our sins, but it prophetically reminds us of the coming great Jubilee in which the final shofar (trumpet) will sound setting the captives of death free via resurrection.

This brings us to the fifteenth day of the seventh month which begins the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles.

The word “Tabernacles” is a translation of the Hebrew word “sukkot” or “sukkoth” meaning “a temporary shelter or booth.” It is the plural of the word “sukkah”.

The first use of a form of this word is found in Genesis 33:17: “And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for his cattle: therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. ”Here, the word refers to a temporary shelter for cattle.

“So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.” (Jonah 4:5)

Here, the word “sukkah” refers to a temporary shelter for a man.

In reference to the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, the word “sukkot” refers to the temporary shelters Yahweh had the Israelites dwell in throughout their wilderness journey from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan.

“You shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Yahweh your Elohim.” (Leviticus 23:42-43)

This points to one of the primary meanings of this Feast and why it is important for both Jewish and Gentile believers to keep this Feast. That is, Yahweh will provide for His people no matter what circumstance they are in.

Throughout their wilderness journey, Yahweh not only provided shelter for His people, but He provided manna for food; water for drink; miraculous preservation of their clothing and sandals from wearing out; protection from assorted enemies; rest every Sabbath Day; Joy on His Holy Feast Days; and a host of other provisions.

Not only did Yahweh provide shelter for Israel, but He dwelt with them throughout their journey.

“And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus 25:8).

The sanctuary was a temporary dwelling for Yahweh until a more permanent Temple was built in the promised land.

This points forward to a future time when Yahweh will once again dwell in His Tabernacle with His people.

“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of Elohim is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and Elohim Himself shall be with them, and be their Elohim.” (Revelation 21:3)

Dwelling in temporary shelters for seven days also reminds us not to become too attached to our material possessions. The comforts of this world can control us and become idols over us. On our pilgrimage journey to the true promised land, we must seek first the Kingdom of Elohim.

Another important reason why all believers should keep the Feast of Tabernacles is found in Deuteronomy 16:15;

“Seven days shall you keep a solemn feast unto Yahweh your Elohim in the place which Yahweh shall choose: because Yahweh your Elohim shall bless you in all your increase, and in all the works of your hands, therefore you shall surely rejoice.”

The Feast of Tabernacles is the Biblical thanksgiving festival. It took place after Israel had harvested most of it’s produce from the fields. They then spent seven days rejoicing before Yahweh for the great harvest blessing He bestowed upon them.

This is why the Feast of Tabernacles is also called the “Feast of Ingathering”.

“And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of your labors, which you have sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when you have gathered in your labors out of the field.” (Exodus 23:16)

What a precious time of rejoicing this was. That is why this feast came to be known as “the season of our joy” among Jews. It is not only a time to give thanks for and rejoice over the harvest, but it was a great time of fellowship as most Israelites made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate and had an opportunity to renew old acquaintances and relatives.

Concerning rejoicing and giving thanks for the harvest, there is a greater, more important harvest yet to come. That is, the harvest of souls who will be saved and gathered into Yahweh’s Kingdom at their resurrection.

In Yahshua’s parable of the wheat and tares, Yahshua equated believers with wheat growing in a field. (Matthew 13:36-43)

“Then Yahshua sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.He answered and said unto them, He that sows the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

The angels will reap the harvest by resurrecting those in Messiah Yahshua at the last trumpet.

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30-31)

“Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

Another reason for Israel to rejoice at Tabernacles was because five days earlier Israel’s sins were covered over for another year as a result of the events that took place on the Day of Atonement. Having their sins forgiveness was indeed a major reason for rejoicing and giving thanks to Yahweh.

An interesting and importantaccount of Yahshua and the Feast of Tabernacles is recorded in John 7:

“Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand . . . Now about the midst of the feast Yahshua went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, How knows this man letters, having never learned? Yahshua answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me. If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of Elohim, or whether I speak of myself.” (John 7:2,14-17)

The doctrines Yahshua taught were all given to him by his Father, Yahweh. Yahshua obeyed every commandment his Father ever gave. That is why he was sinless. 1 John 3:4 says:

“Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. ”Yahshua loved his Father. The fruit of his love was obedience. He did not obey so he could be saved. He obeyed because he loved Yahweh.

The key words of Yahshua are; “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of Elohim, or whether I speak of myself. ”Yahshua taught that if a man will first do the will of Yahweh (obey), then he will know for certain whether or not the doctrine is a truth from Yahweh or not. This principle should be applied to the Sabbath and Feasts Days as well. Once a man determines to obey Yahweh in these areas, he will most certainly understand that they are truth. Failing to obey will result in continuing to fight against Yahweh and His will.

The account of Yahshua and the Feast of Tabernacles continues:

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Yahshua stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spoke he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Yahshua was not yet glorified.)” (John 7:37-39)

These words were spoken on the seventh day of the feast which is when the priests carried out the water libation ceremony. The Priest would pour water over the altar from gold pitchersto signify Israel’s gratitude for the rain that had produced the harvest. He would then pray for rain for the following year’s harvest.

The Priest would also read Isaiah 12:1-3 to the people:

“And in that day you shall say, O Yahweh, I will praise thee: though you were angry with me, your anger is turned away, and you comfort me.Behold, El is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for Yah Yahweh is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation.”

Yahshua was undoubtedly making reference to the libation ceremony when he proclaimed water (the Holy Spirit) will flow from him through believers. While this is a reality for believers today, it will become an even greater reality for all that are granted eternal life after death is thrown in the Lake of Fire.

Another important aspect of the Feast of Tabernacles is the time that it prophetically points to.

The Feast of Tabernacles points forward to the millennium when Messiah Yahshua will reign over Yahweh’s Kingdom on earth for 1,000 years. Just as the Feast of Tabernacles takes place after the agricultural harvest of Israel is finished, so, too, will the millennium take place after the harvest of souls ( the resurrection of the saints in Messiah Yahshua) is finished.

At the beginning of the millennium, Satan will be bound and thrown in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years. “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (Revelation 20:1-3)

It is at this time that Yahshua and his resurrected saints will rule the Kingdom of Yahweh on earth and will teach all nations Yahweh’s ways (His commandments, statutes and judgments) without having Satan deceive them into believing false doctrines like “the Law is abolished” or “the Feasts Days of Yahweh do not need to be kept”.

In fact, the nations will be taught to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. If they choose not to keep it, they will receive the punishment of no rain.

“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith Yahweh will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.” (Zechariah 14:16-19)

Friends, if you love your Creator, Almighty Yahweh, then you will keep His commandments. Satan has deceived many Christians into believing they don’t have to keep the Feast of Tabernacles or any other holy day, including the weekly Sabbath Day. During the millennium, these truths will be taught without Satan’s deception and all will come to know the truth.

Why not start now by obeying Yahweh’s commandments? They are not a burden, but a joy. They are blessings from Yahweh to His people for their good as Deuteronomy 6:24 and 1 John 5:3 say:

“And Yahweh commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Yahweh our Elohim, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.” (Dt 6:24)

“For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.” (1 John 5:3)

May the blessings of this Feast of Tabernacles be yours.

But your iniquities have separated between you and your Elohim, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)

Sin causes a separation between Yahweh and the sinner, but Yahweh devised a way to restore the fellowship that was lost and make He and the sinner “at one” again. This is where we get our English word “atone” or to be “at one” with Yahweh.

Lev 16:14,15, 29, 30, 33, 34 use the phrase “to make an atonement” 03722. rpk kaphar kaw-far’; a primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel:– appease, make (an atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile(-liation).

I would like to concentrate on the aspects of mercy and forgiveness.

In Lev 16:15, it says the blood of the sin offering was to be sprinkled on the mercy seat. The mercy seat was the lid or cover for the ark of the covenant.

And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. (Hebrews 9:3-5)

“Mercy seat” is from the Greek word  “hilasterion” hil-as-tay’-ree-on (#2435). This same word was also used in Romans 3:25.

Whom Elohim hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of Elohim;

“Propitiation” is the Greek word “hilasterion.” Yahshua is being called by the same word as “mercy seat.” Not only does Yahshua fulfill the type of the sin offering and the High Priest, but he also fulfills the type of the mercy seat in that the sins of Israel were deposited on that seat or on Yahshua himself.

On the Day of Atonement each year, Yahweh chose to be merciful to His people Israel and forgave their sins through the atonement made by the shed blood of a specific goat. That blood was then sprinkled on the mercy seat to cleanse it of the sins it bore.

A greater atonement took place when Yahweh allowed His only begotten Son to take the place of that goat. Yahshua’s blood was shed to make an atonement, but instead of being sprinkled on the earthly mercy seat, his blood was taken into heaven itself to purify the heavenly sanctuary and mercy seat.

Yahweh could have just destroyed all those that sinned against Him or He could have just turned His back on them, choosing to retain His anger at them forever. Yet, He chose to be merciful to them and forgive them.

Be you therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. (Luke 6:36)

Yahshua is saying that we need to follow the example that Yahweh has set for us. We need to be merciful to those that are in need of mercy.

He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does Yahweh require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your Elohim? (Micah 6:8)

Yahweh requires us to love mercy. We don’t have a choice in the matter. It is His law that we love being merciful.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone. (Mt 23:23)

Loving mercy is not just part of His law, it is one of the most important commandments he has given us.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (Mt 5:7)

Come judgment day, it is those that were merciful to others throughout their life that will receive mercy from Yahweh.

With the merciful you will show yourself merciful, and with the upright man you will show yourself upright. (2 Sam 22:26)

For he shall have judgment without mercy, that has showed no mercy; and mercy rejoices against judgment. (James 2:13)

Yahweh wants us to be merciful just as He was to us. If we do that, He will be merciful to us come judgment day.

Put on therefore, as the elect of Elohim, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Messiah forgave you, so also do you. (Colossians 3:12,13)

Not only does Yahweh want us to be merciful, He wants us to forgive others just as Messiah forgave us.

And be you kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as Elohim for Messiah’s sake has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)

We are to follow the example of both Yahweh and His Messiah in forgiving others.

It cost Yahweh the death of His only begotten Son to forgive us for sinning against Him. It only costs us our pride to forgive those who sin against us.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (Matthew 6:12)

Yahshua taught his disciples to forgive our debtors or those that trespass or sin against us. How can we refuse to forgive someone and later ask Yahweh to forgive us for some offense we committed?

Unforgiveness does not come cheap. There is a high price to pay. Esau was angry, hurt, and full of sorrow at what his brother did to him by tricking him into giving up his birthright. For years his anger and unforgiveness caused a separation between him and Jacob. It wasn’t until he chose to forgive Jacob that they were reunited in love for each other. Much heartache and emotional trauma could have been avoided if forgiveness came quickly.

Then came Peter to him, and said, Master, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Yahshua said unto him, I say not unto you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his master commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all. Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me what you owe. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their master all that was done. Then his master, after that he had called him, said unto him, O you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you desired me: Should not you also have had compassion on your fellowservant, even as I had pity on you? And his master was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if you from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. (Matthew 18:21-35)

Forgiveness does not come easy for many people, especially when forgiveness is viewed emotionally. Yahweh did not forgive us because He loved us, but because of His Son’s sacrifice on our behalf. Yahshua paid the price of atonement making it possible for Yahweh to forgive us.

We should not forgive others because we love them, but because Yahshua died for us and forgave us. Because we love him, we will follow his example and forgive others.

It is real hard to love someone when they have sinned against you or wronged you in some way. However, we can’t wait until we feel enough love for them again to finally forgive them. Nor can we wait until they have earned our forgiveness. We simply follow Yahshua’s example by forgiving and the forgiven party simply accepts it.

And so, on this upcoming Day of Atonement, let’s search our hearts and make sure our consciences are clean by forgiving those in need of forgiveness as Yahweh and Yahshua have forgiven us.

The Day of Atonement is one of Yahweh’s solemn feast days. On the tenth day of the seventh month of Yahweh’s Scriptural calendar the high priest (Aaron) was to make an atonement for the sins of Israel. To accomplish this Aaron selected two young goats from the congregation of the children of Israel (Lev.16:5). He was then instructed to cast lots to determine which goat would be “for Yahweh” and which for “the scapegoat” (KJV – from “escape goat”). According to Strong’s, the word “scapegoat” comes from the Hebrew “azazel” which literally means “goat of departure.” It is formed from the Hebrew “ez” meaning goat and “azal” meaning “to go away.”

The precise meaning has been greatly disputed. Some commentators believe “azazel” refers to the name of the region where the goat was sent. Others believe it to be the proper name of a spirit, demon, or Satan himself. The interpretation that Strong suggests occurs in both the Septuagint and the Vulgate and underlies the rabbinic view, “the goat that is dispatched,” in Mishnah Yoma 6:2.

In “Pentateuch & Haftorahs” by Dr.J.H. Hertz (Late Chief Rabbi of the British Empire), Soncino Press, 1990, pg.481, we read; “The Heb. Azazel, however, is not a proper name, but a rare Hebrew noun … meaning, ‘dismissal’ or, ‘entire removal’ (RV Margin, Gesenius, Hoffmann, and the Oxford Hebrew Dictionary). It is the ancient technical term for the entire removal of sin and guilt of the community, that was symbolized by the sending away of the goat into the wilderness.”

Since the word “azazel” is not used anywhere else in Scripture and since there are several opinions as to its meaning, we need to determine, via other Scriptures, its true meaning and interpretation.

The most important point concerning “azazel” (the scapegoat) is found in Lev.16:10; “But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before Yahweh, to make an atonement with him , and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.” If we choose to believe “azazel” represents Satan, this leads us to the question of whether or not Satan can make an atonement for Yahweh’s people. Nowhere in Scripture is there a reference to Satan having any part in the atonement. Instead, we read;

“And not only so, but we also joy in [Yahweh] through our Master Yahshua Messiah, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Rom.5:11).

“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb.1:3).

“Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once , when he offered up himself” (Heb.7:27).

“For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself ” (Heb.9:26).

The Scriptures clearly state that Messiah made the atonement for us by himself . However, it is suggested by many (including myself until recently) that the first goat represented the atoning work of Yahshua, but the second goat represents Satan. It is believed that, since Satan was “the original cause” of all sin, “justice demands that [Elohim] place right back on the head of the devil his guilt – not our guilt, but his own guilt – for leading us into sin.” Pagan Holidays or God’s Holy Days – Which? by Herbert W. Armstrong, Worldwide Church of God, 1986, pg.36.

If that is true, where in Scripture is the fulfillment of Lev.16:21? The antitypical high priest (Yahshua) is to lay hands on Satan’s head and confess the sins of Israel upon him. Yet, we do not find that in Scripture. It can be said that the angel of Rev.20:1 represents the “fit man” that sends the goat (Satan) into the wilderness (represented by the “bottomless pit”), but without the fulfillment of the actual laying on of hands or any other references to Satan making an atonement for us, it becomes total assumption, a mere theory.

Some may try to suggest that the angel is in fact Yahshua. Rev.19:11-14 portray Yahshua coming down from heaven to earth to smite the nations, the beast, and the false prophet. Afterwards , the angel of Rev.20:1 comes down from heaven to bind Satan. That angel is the only one who lays hands on Satan, not to confess sins on his head, but to cast him into the bottomless pit.

On the other hand, the Scriptures paint a beautiful picture of the fulfillment of Yahshua as the goat that was sent away bearing the sins of Israel. First read Lev.16:22; “And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.” Now consider the following;

Is.53:6c – “And Yahweh hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The sins of Israel were laid on Yahshua. They were placed upon him and him alone.

Is.53:11c – “For he shall bear their iniquities .”

Is.53:12d – “And he (Yahshua) bare the sin of many …” Yahshua is the one who bore our sins. He carried them away upon his own head which is what the Hebrew ‘cabal’ (bare) means.

Is.53:4a – “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:” Yahshua is the sin-bearer, not Satan.

Heb.9:28a – “So Messiah was once offered to bear the sins of many;”

1 Pe.2:24a – “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree.” There is no other sin-bearer.

The act of laying on of hands (vs.21; also; Lev.1:4; 3:2; 4:4,15,29,33) symbolizes the transference of sins from the guilty party (the children of Israel) to the innocent (azazel). The innocent then becomes the sin-bearer. Yahshua undeniably fulfills the type (Is.53:4,6,11,12). Satan, however, cannot fulfill the type because he is not innocent. It will not satisfy the justice of Yahweh to transfer the sins of the guilty to another guilty party. Since lots were used to decide which goat was “for Yahweh,” it meant that both goats had to be unblemished. The antitype of an unblemished goat was the sinlessness of Messiah. Can it be said that Satan is sinless and was to be represented by an unblemished goat?

“Azazel” was to bear the iniquities of the children of Israel unto a land “not inhabited.” We have just read how Scripture undeniably teaches that Messiah is the only sin bearer. Therefore, he is the only person that fulfills the type of “azazel.” But how does Yahshua fulfill being sent to a land not inhabited and let go in the wilderness?

The Scriptures make several clear statements concerning the act of carrying away sin.

Jn.1:29 – “The next day John seeth Yahshua coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of [Yahweh], which taketh away the sin of the world.”

Heb.9:26b – “But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

1 Jn.3:5 – “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”

Yahshua is the goat that carried away the sins of Israel. He took them upon himself and “was made to be sin for us” (2 Cor.5:21). Therefore he fulfills the antitypical “azazel.” There is no need for Satan to bare anyone’s sins. He has his own sins to bare and they will prove to be unbearable.

The Hebrew for “not inhabited” is “gezerah” meaning “a desert (as seperated).” It comes from the root word “gazar” meaning “to cut down or off.” Messiah was certainly cut off and separated from not only the land of the living, but from his Father Yahweh as well. When Yahshua cried out, “My El, my El, why hast thou forsaken me?” it was because at that moment he was seperated from Yahweh having taken upon himself the sins of the world. Sin clearly causes a separation from Yahweh as Isaiah wrote; “But your iniquities have separated between you and your Elohim, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Is.59:2). Yahshua’s disciples also seperated themselves from him by forsaking him and denying him. Yahshua was even seperated by “suffering without the gate” and without the camp (Heb.13:11-13). He was sent into the wilderness of total separation as he bore our sins away.

What about that “fit man” that escorted the goat to the edge of the wilderness? If the angel of Rev.20:1 is not the fulfillment, then who is? Does there even need to be a fulfillment of the fit man? Since, in either view, there is no fulfillment of the man in verse 28 that burns the carcasses of the bullock and Yahweh’s goat, there need not be a fulfillment to the fit man. The following is offered as a possible antitype to the fit man.

“Fit” comes from the Hebrew meaning “timely, opportune, at hand.” Some translations render it, “a timely man,” “a man of opportunity,” or “an appointed man.” The Scriptures reveal there was a man who was at hand at the right time, appointed by Yahweh to lead Yahshua to his wilderness separation. That man was Judas. Acts 1:16 says Judas was “guide to them that took Yahshua.” It also says in Mt.26:24, “The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.” Yahshua was “going” to the wilderness bearing our sins upon him. Judas was the man appointed to lead and guide Yahshua on that journey into the wilderness of total separation.

Some may object to Yahshua fulfilling “azazel” based on the fact that the Day of Atonement falls in the seventh month between two Feasts that have not been fulfilled yet. Therefore, the Day of Atonement cannot be totally fulfilled by Messiah. They reason, therefore, that its future fulfillment must be accomplished by Satan.

Although Yahshua has fulfilled both typical goats, there remains one major aspect of the Day of Atonement that remains unfulfilled. The antitypical Jubilee trumpet marking the beginning of the Jubilee year (which was typically blown on Atonement Day) has yet to be blown. When Yahshua returns at the sound of that trumpet to set the captives free from death, the Day of Atonement will see its total fulfillment.

It is, I believe, the erroneous view that Yahshua returns on the Day of Trumpets that has led to the belief that Satan fulfills azazel. It is reasoned that if the Day of Trumpets depicts Messiah’s return and if Tabernacles depicts the Millennium, then there can only be one event in between that depicts the goat sent into the wilderness, the casting of Satan into the bottomless pit.

The truth of the matter is, when Yahshua returns, only one trumpet is blown whereas the Day of Trumpets (plural) involves more than one trumpet. The Day of Trumpets depicts the beginning of the “Day of Yahweh” when the trumpets of Rev.8 begin to sound. Yahshua will return at the sounding of the seventh and last trumpet which is also the Jubilee trumpet marking the resurrection of the dead (Rev.11:15-18; 1Cor.15:52; 1 Thess.4:16).

Another possible objection would be that Yahshua, as azazel, does not fulfill all aspects of the type such as; no one ever actually placed their hands on Yahshua’s head to confess the sins upon him; Yahshua died whereas the goat of departure lived on in the wilderness, etc. As with the fulfillment of other types, Yahshua did not fulfill every aspect exactly. For example; He could not fulfill the aspect of the High Priest that kills Yahweh’s goat and, at the same time, be that goat or else he would have had to kill himself (vs.15); He did not have to offer a sin offering for himself as High Priest (vs.11); Yahshua did not confess the sins of Israel upon his own head (vs.21); He did not need to wash his flesh (vs.24); His body was not burned outside the camp (vs.27); He died as our atonement sacrifice on Passover, not the Day of Atonement; His body was not burned as the Passover sacrifice was; Yahshua died at the time of the evening sacrifice and the Passover sacrifice, but not at the time of the morning sacrifice, etc.

The bottom line is this; The Scriptures declare Yahshua to be the ONLY sin-bearer who not only died for the remission of sins, but also the only one to actually take away those sins. When we view Yahweh’s goat and azazel as one atonement offering, rather than two separate offerings seperated by thousands of years, we can understand and appreciate the symbolic fulfillment more readily. Yahshua is the perfect fulfillment of the typical atonement sacrifice. As Yahweh’s goat his blood cleansed the heavenly sanctuary (Heb.9:23) and the Israel of Yahweh (Lev.16:17). As “azazel” he bore our sins and took them away forever. Halleluyah!

Lev 23:23-25 says;

“And Yahweh spoke unto Moses, saying, ‘Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall you have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. You shall do no servile work therein: but you shall offer an offering made by fire unto Yahweh.’ “

The phrase “blowing of trumpets” comes from one Hebrew word, “teruah,” thus, “Yom Teruah”. Strong’s Concordance gives the following definition for teruah, #8643; “clamor, ie. acclamation of joy or a battle cry; espec. clangor of trumpets, as an alarm.”

Since there isn’t enough information in that passage to determine the prophetic fulfillment, we need to dig deeper by seeing how “teruah” was used in other verses.

Nu 10:2 – “Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shall you make them: that you may use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.”

Nu 10:5 – “When you blow an alarm [teruah], then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.”

Nu 10:6 – “When you blow an alarm [teruah] the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.”

Nu 10:9 – “And if you go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresses you, then you shall blow an alarm [rua]with the trumpets; and you shall be remembered before Yahweh your Elohim, and you shall be saved from your enemies.”

Nu 10:10 – “Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, you shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your Elohim: I am Yahweh your Elohim.”

The word “alarm” in verses 5 & 6 is “teruah” and the word “alarm” in verse 9 is “rua,” #7321, which is a root of “teruah” and means, “to mar (especially by breaking) fig. to split the ears (with sound), ie. shout (for alarm or joy).”

By these verses we can see that “teruah” is associated with alerting Israel of impending danger or war. It is an alarm sounded by blowing the two silver trumpets.

Notice, in verse 9, that when the trumpets are blown, Yahweh will “remember” Israel and save them from their enemies. I believe this is why the word “memorial” is used in Lev 23:24. Unlike the Sabbath or Passover which are memorials of creation and the exodus, the Day of Trumpets is not a memorial of some past event for us to remember. It is a memorial for Yahweh to remember His people when the alarm is sounded. Verse10 suggests the same idea concerning the trumpets being a memorial for Yahweh.

Jer 4:19 – “My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm [teruah] of war.”

“The alarm,” (teruah), of war put fear in the heart of Jeremiah upon hearing it. Why? Because destruction, devastation, and death would follow.

There is a war that is coming upon the inhabitants of this planet. It is a war unlike any other war in history. It is a war between Yahweh and the heathen, those who reject His way, His laws, His salvation through His Son. It is the Day of Yahweh’s vengeance.

Ob 1:15,16 – “For the day of Yahweh is near upon all the heathen: as you have done, it shall be done unto you: your reward shall return upon thine own head. For as you have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yes, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.”

Isa 34:1-8 – “Come near, you nations, to hear; and listen, you people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of Yahweh is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stench shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falls off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of Yahweh is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for Yahweh has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. For it is the day of Yahweh’s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.”

The Day of Yahweh is a future time when Yahweh will judge the nations and “recompence” or reward them for their wickedness. He has been long suffering in allowing men ample time to repent and turn to Him. When the Day of Yahweh begins, His long suffering will end and sudden destruction will come upon the wicked.

2 Pe 3:1-15 – “This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Master and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of Elohim the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of wicked men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with [Yahweh] as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [Yahweh] is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of [Yahweh] will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and piety, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of Elohim, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the long suffering of our Sovereign is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;”

The Day of Yahweh will come upon the heathen who live in darkness, but it should not come suddenly upon believers who live in the light.

1 Thess 5:1-9 – “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of [Yahweh] so comes as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For Elohim has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Master Yahshua Messiah,”

Believers that are alive when the Day of Yahweh is about to begin will know it. It will not overtake them as a thief as long as they are watchful and sober.

Zeph 1:14-18 – “The great day of Yahweh is near, it is near, and hastens greatly, even the voice of the day of Yahweh: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of waste and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm[teruah] against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Yahweh: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.”

Verse 16 says the Day of Yahweh is “a day of the trumpet and alarm [teruah].” It is a “day of the trumpet” and a “day of teruah” just as Lev 23:24 mentions. Even though Zephaniah wrote this passage thousands of years before its fulfillment, Yahweh inspired him to write words like “near” and “hastens greatly.” A day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day to Yahweh. To Him, judgment day is near.

Amos 5:18-20 – “Woe unto you that desire the day of Yahweh! to what end is it for you? the day of Yahweh is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of Yahweh be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?”

The Day of Yahweh is not a time we should desire or hasten to arrive. It will be the most devastating, dark time in earth’s history.

Joel 1:15 – “Alas for the day! for the day of Yahweh is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.”

Joel 2:1-2 – “Blow you the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of Yahweh cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains:”

Again, we see the Day of Yahweh associated with the trumpet and alarm [rua]. The question needs to be asked, “When will this day begin?”

Joel 2:11 – “And Yahweh shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executes his word: for the day of Yahweh is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?”

Joel 2:31 – “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of Yahweh come.”

This is a crucial time element in understanding escatology. The heavenly signs of the sun being darkened and the moon turning to blood occur prior to the Day of Yahweh. When will the heavenly signs occur?

Rev 6:12-17 – “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

The heavenly signs of verse 12 will be a visual sign to those people mentioned in verses 15 & 16. They will have known about those signs through the preaching of Yahshua’s faithful witnesses. They will know that when those signs occur, the great day of Yahweh’s wrath will begin.

Immediately after the heavenly signs, we see the sealing of the 144,000 in Rev 7. In Rev 7:1, the “winds” of the Day of Yahweh are being held back to allow time to seal the 144,000. They are sealed for protection against the trumpet judgments that are about to be blown. This can be seen in Rev 9:4;

“And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of Elohim in their foreheads.”

After the sealing of the 144,000 comes Rev 8:1,2;

“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before Elohim; and to them were given seven trumpets.”

I consider this the calm before the storm.

In Rev 8:7, the first trumpet judgment begins, as does the Day of Yahweh, as does the fulfillment of the Day of Trumpets, Yom Teruah, the Day of Alarm.

The seven trumpets of Revelation are alarm trumpets to warn the inhabitants of the earth to wake up, repent, and turn to Yahweh.

After the first four trumpets are blown, we read in Rev 8:13;

“And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!”

The last three trumpets are also called “woes” because of the grief they will produce.

In Rev 9:1, the fifth trumpet is blown. Verse 11 then says;

“One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.”

In other words, the fifth trumpet has ended and two more are left. In Rev 9:13, the next woe or sixth trumpet sounds. It will not end until Rev 11:14 where it says;

“The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe comes quickly.”

Notice the sixth trumpet not only includes the events of Rev 9:13-21, but also the 1260 days in which the two witnesses of Rev 11 are active.

The third woe or seventh trumpet begins in Rev 11:15. It will be the culmination of the Day of Yahweh and will include the resurrection of the dead in Messiah, the seven last plagues, another 1260 day period found in Rev 12:6, and a period of 42 months in Rev 13:5.

Rev 11:18 says;

“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear your name, small and great; and should destroy them which destroy the earth.”

This is speaking of the resurrection of the dead in Messiah that Paul said would take place “at the last trump.” Not only is the seventh trumpet of Rev 11 the last trumpet in a series of trumpets, but it is also the last trumpet mentioned in the Bible. Since it is the last trumpet, Yahshua will return at that time, but when is that time? Will it be fulfilled on a future Day of Trumpets or is there another possibility?

Lev 25:8-10;

“And you shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto you, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto you forty nine years. Then shall you cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall you make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and you shall return every man unto his possession, and you shall return every man unto his family.”

Not only are trumpets blown on the Day of Trumpets, but another is blown on the Day of Atonement in a Jubilee year.

All references to “jubilee” in Leviticus 25 are from the Hebrew word “yobel” (#3104 in Strong’s), except the word “jubilee” in verse 9. That is the Hebrew word “teruah”; “Then shall you cause the trumpet of teruah to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month . . .” I believe teruah is used here in the sense of alarm and joy; alarm because it is still one of the seven trumpet judgments of Revelation in which Yahweh will destroy those who destroy the earth (Rev 11:18); and joy because it signals the resurrection of the dead and liberty for all.

I believe the great, antitypical trumpet of Jubilee, the last Jubilee trumpet that will ever be blown, and the seventh trumpet of Rev 11:15 are one and the same trumpet. The seventh trumpet signals the resurrection of the dead. That is exactly what the final Jubilee trumpet will do.

Lev 25:10 says liberty or freedom will be proclaimed throughout the land at that time. Who is in more need of liberty and freedom than those who are held captive by death and the grave?

Mt 16:18;

“And I say also unto you, That you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell [the grave] shall not prevail against it.”

The grave has “gates” that are locked so that those who abide there cannot escape. Praise Yahweh that Yahshua has the keys of the grave and death (Rev 1:18). When he returns at the last trumpet, the seventh trumpet, the Jubilee trumpet, he will set the captives of death free. They will be at liberty to return to their possession (the land of Canaan which is promised to all the seed of Abraham, whose seed we are.

Gen 17:8;

“And I will give unto you, and to your seed after you, the land wherein you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their Elohim.”

Gal 3:29;

“And if you are Messiah’s, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

They will also be at liberty to return to their families, their brothers and sisters in the faith who resurrected as they have.

And so it is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Cor 15:54,55).

It may seem like the grave is victorious in this present age, but when the Jubilee trumpet sounds, freedom and liberty will prevail.

Yahshua seems to have alluded to the Day of Yahweh and the Jubilee when he stood up to read in the synagogue in Lev 4:18,19;

” The Spirit of Yahweh is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of Yahweh.”

He was reading from Isaiah 61:1,2a. Had he continued reading, he would have read,

“and the day of vengeance of our Elohim; to comfort all that mourn;”

The “day of vengeance” is the Day of Yahweh. I believe the “acceptable year” is the Jubilee year. The margin of several Bibles refer the reader of this verse to Lev 25:9.

Yahshua literally fulfilled all of Is 61:1, however, there may be a greater fulfillment yet to come in liberating the captives (of death) and opening the prison (graves) to them that are bound.

In conclusion, I believe the Day of Trumpets is a shadow of the Day of Yahweh which will be heralded by trumpets of alarm. The first trumpet of Rev 8:7 will be blown on a future Day of Trumpets and the seventh trumpet will be blown on a future Day of Atonement in the final Jubilee year in history. Yahshua will return on that day to resurrect the dead.

May we be ready when he comes.

To begin with we must understand that Yahweh’s plan of salvation existed before the creation of the worlds. That plan included the slaying of His son Yahshua as we read in Rev.13:8;

 ”And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

Not only was it part of Yahweh’s plan to provide His son as the lamb, but Yahweh Himself was the one who bruised him as we read in Is.53:10;

“Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him; he hath put him to grief.”

Considering these two verses we must conclude that Yahweh bruised Yahshua, as His Passover lamb, at the exact time that He decreed the Israelites to kill their Passover lambs.

Yahweh is a mighty one of perfection and exactness. Would He not have slain His lamb at the correct time? Yahweh has an appointed time for everything whether it be the resurrection of the dead, judgement day, the day of Yahshua’s second coming, etc. The appointed time of His son’s death was firmly established before the foundations of the world as well. It is this premise that must be kept in mind as we study the correct time for the Passover sacrifice.

Matthew tells us that Yahshua died about the ninth hour which is equivalent to 3:00 pm. (Mt.27:45-50). This time, then, would be the fulfillment of Ex.12:6 and the phrase “kill it in the evening” or more correctly “between the evenings.” The Jews have always understood the first evening to begin at approx. 3:00 pm and the second evening to begin the moment the sun sets. Others believe the phrase “between the evenings” to mean from sunset to darkness or the time known as twilight. Interestingly, two Hebrew words were translated twilight in the KJV neither of which were ever used concerning the Passover. In addition, the Jews had another phrase (between the suns) that they used to denote the time between the setting of the sun and the appearance of any star (Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica – John Lightfoot, Vol. 3, pg.217).

The phrase “between the evenings” appears 11 times in the Hebrew text. Five of those pertain to Passover leaving us with six verses to examine and interpret its meaning. Ex.29:39,41 and Num.28:4,8 concern the morning and evening sacrifice which was offered daily. Since they all say the same thing we need only examine Ex.29:38-41;

“Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even : And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering. And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even , and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto Yahweh.”

Two lambs were to be offered each day; one in the morning and the other between the evenings. The word “one” in verse 39 is the Hebrew “echad” which can also mean “first” as in Num.29:1;

“And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.”

The word “other” in verse 39 is the Hebrew “sheniy”. According to Strong’s Concordance it means “double ie: second.” If the other lamb or more correctly, the second lamb, were sacrificed after sunset then it would be a new day making it the first lamb sacrificed. This is one reason the Jews always sacrificed the second lamb at 3:00 in the afternoon.

The next use of “between the evenings” is found in Ex.30:8;

“And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even , he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before Yahweh throughout your generations.”

The Tabernacle was made from animal skins which means they would not allow much light to enter the sanctuary. If Aaron had waited until sundown to light the lamps he would not have had any light to see what he was doing. Lighting the lamps before sunset would make more sense. If Aaron had to light the lamps after sunset and offer the second lamb after sunset, when did he have time to offer the Passover sacrifice?

The last usage of “between the evenings” is found in Ex. 16:12,13;

“I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am Yahweh your Elohim. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.”

The word “even” in verse 12 is “between the evenings” and the word “even” in verse 13 is “ereb.” Some say that ereb means sunset therefore “between the evenings” must be twilight. However, ereb and ben ha arbayim (between the evenings) are used interchangeably. Lev.23:3 uses ereb concerning the time of lighting the lamps and II Chr.13:11 uses ereb concerning the time of the evening sacrifice. Therefore the quails could have come into the camp by 3:00 pm and been eaten before sunset. Twilight only lasts approximately 40 minutes. If the quail didn’t come in until sundown, how did the Israelites manage to catch, kill, clean and cook them before dark? Incidently, according to “Aid to Bible Understanding”, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., 1971, under the heading “Quail” it states that they often fly at night which brings into question the assumption that they came in at sundown to roost in the trees. Ex.16:13 says the quail “covered the camp” implying that they landed on the ground and not in trees. Since this was a miracle performed by Yahweh, He could have brought the quail in at any time. He did not have to bring them in at the normal roosting time of other birds.

“Between the evenings” means just that; a period of time that falls between two different evenings. Scripture undoubtedly teaches that evening begins the moment the sun sets. It then continues on towards morning. Scripture never states that a second evening begins when twilight ends. It does show that another evening can occur as early as 3:00 pm (ereb).

Those who believe the lamb was killed after the sun set beginning the 14th of Abib also say that the Hebrew phrase “ba ereb” always means the end of the day. However we find the same phrase used pertaining to the Passover in Jos.5:10;

 ”And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.”

The Israelites kept the Passover at even (ba ereb) meaning at the end of the fourteenth. Deut.16:4,6 also use “ba ereb” to show the sacrifice occurred at the end of the fourteenth.

“But at the place which Yahweh thy Elohim shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even , at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.”

What does the phrase “going down of the sun” mean? The same Hebrew construction is found in Josh.8:29;

“And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down , Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day.”

The underlined words are the equivalent Hebrew found in Deut.16:6 (at the going down). A similar occurrence is found in Josh.10:27;

“And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.”

Again, the underlined words are the equivalent Hebrew of Deut.16:6. Joshua was obeying Yahweh’s commandment found in Deut.21:22,23;

“And if a man commited a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day ; (for he that is hanged is accursed of Elohim;) that thy land be not defiled, which Yahweh thy Elohim giveth thee for an inheritance.”

The body had to be buried the same day it was hung on the tree. That means it had to be buried before sunset. Therefore, when Deut.16:6 says,” sacrifice the Passover at even (ba ereb), at the going down of the sun,…” it shows that “ba ereb” in this case means prior to sunset. Incidently, the word “eventide” in Josh.8:29 is “ereb” clearly showing that the king of Ai’s body was both hanging on the tree and buried before sunset.

It is also believed by some people that the word “until” in Ex.12:6 means “up to” or the beginning of the fourteenth.

“And ye shall keep it (up ,not in Hebrew) until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.”

The same Hebrew word also means “through till the end” as we see in Ex. 12:15,18;

“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… In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.”

If “until” meant the beginning of the day then we would be permitted to eat leaven on the seventh day of the feast (Abib 21).

Notice also this crucial point; The Hebrew of Ex.12:18, “on the fourteenth day of the month at even,” is the exact same phrase in Josh.5:10 declaring the time when Joshua kept the Passover. In Ex.12:18 it means the end of the 21st day and in Josh.5:10 it means the end of the fourteenth. Lev.23:32 shows this phrase to mean the end of the ninth day.

It is often said that Ex.12:6-14 refers to Abib 14, especially the phrase “this night” in verse 12. If we understand that “between the evenings” (vs.6) means approximately 3:00 pm, then obviously “this night” must mean Abib 15. It all depends on your understanding of the meaning of “between the evenings.” Notice, however, verse 14. “This day” (the day Yahweh passed over them) shall be a memorial ; and you shall keep it a feast to Yahweh throughout your generations; you shall keep it a feast forever.” Whenever Yahweh memorializes a day He does so by making it a Sabbath just as He memorialized His finished work of Creation, the Day of Atonement, Trumpets, etc. He also memorialized the day He passed over Israel by making it a Sabbath, Abib 15. That is why the term “feast” is used in this verse. The Hebrew word is “chagag” which was also used in Ex.23:14; “Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.” A chagag is a special time of rejoicing and dancing. Certainly, Abib 14 cannot be considered a chag or chagag in any way. It is merely the day that the Passover lamb was sacrificed.

Let’s look at a few more Old Testament verses.

Deut.16:1 – “Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto Yahweh thy Elohim: for in the month of Abib Yahweh thy Elohim brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.”

Since Moses told the Israelites not to come out of their houses until morning (Ex.12:22), some people assume that they came out of Egypt the following night, Abib 15. The phrase “brought thee forth out of Egypt” refers to the period of time beginning with the killing of Egypt’s firstborn males.

 Ex.13:14-16 – “And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand Yahweh brought us out from Egypt , from the house of bondage: And it came to pass, when Pharaoh would hardly let us go, that Yahweh slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to Yahweh all that openeth the matrix, being males; but all the firstborn of my children I redeem. And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand Yahweh brought us forth out of Egypt.”

That final act of Yahweh’s strength is what delivered the Israelites or what “brought them forth.” That act occurred at midnight on Abib 15. The following morning the Israelites left in a great hurry. They did not have time to leaven their bread (Ex.13:33,34). If the killing of the firstborn occurred at midnight on Abib 14 the women would have had at least ten hours to leaven their bread before they left at sundown.

It is taught that the killing and eating of the Passover Lamb takes place on Abib 14. Ex.12:43-50 outlines this eating concerning strangers. Notice verse 51;

“And it came to pass the selfsame day , that Yahweh did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.”

The “selfsame day” can only refer to the previous verses concerning eating. The selfsame day the Passover was eaten they came out of Egypt; Abib 15 (Num.33:3). Those that keep Passover at the beginning of Abib 14 believe it was eaten that night followed by the exodus the next night.

II Chr.35:1-19 recounts Josiyah’s Passover. Verse 14 suggests the sacrifices and offerings took place hours before nightfall in order to complete them. Since twilight is only a period of approximately 40 minutes, how could they kill, bleed, clean and cook so many offerings and sacrifices in so short a time? This verse takes place after they had roasted the Passover offerings which would have taken several hours.

It is implied in verse 14 that the priests were busy with burnt offerings from before sunset until night and therefore, the Levites took charge of the passover lambs themselves. Yet, verse 11 implies that the priests sprinkled the blood [of the passover lambs] from their hands. Verse 14 then implies that after they finished sacrificing the lambs for the people [and by extension, after the priests finished sprinkling the blood for the people], the Levites began sacrificing lambs for themselves and the priests. Once the priests finished sprinkling blood they began offering burnt offerings until night.

Beginning of the 14th proponents use verses 16 & 17 to teach, “The whole service of the Passover [including eating] was observed that day (in one day) just as Moses prescribed; that is, on the 14th.” (emphasis & brackets mine). The KJV says, “So all the service of Yahweh was prepared the same day to keep the passover…” Notice the difference in the emphasized words.

Moffatt’s translation is often used to support that view. It says, “In this way, the whole service of holding the passover in honor of the Eternal and sacrificing burnt-offerings on the altar of the Eternal was carried out that day…” The phrase in bold type is not in the Hebrew. It simply says, “all the service of Yahweh was prepared the same day…” Moffatt’s version leads one to believe that it is talking about a Passover service or ceremony whereas the Hebrew shows the service to be people prepared to conduct the passover ceremony. This can be seen by verses 2-5,10,14-16. Each family division had a specific service to perform and to prepare for. Verse 16 says that all those that had a service to perform were prepared the same day, Abib 14.

The last Old Testament verse we should read is Eze.45:21 .

 ”In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.”

This verse does not say “and a feast of seven days” thereby making a distinction between Passover and Unleavened. According to Strong’s Concordance, Passover can mean either the festival or the victim (the sacrifice). Passover in this verse would refer to the festival. Verses such as Ex.12:6; Nu.9:5; and Lev.23:5 refer to the victim. Many people do not understand this and erroneously assume the killing and eating must take place on the same day. Once the Passover is sacrificed at the end of the fourteenth it is eaten as the first meal of the feast.

What does the New Testament tell us about Passover? First let’s look at some clear scriptures beginning with Jn.18:28 .

“Then led they Yahshua from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.”

This verse has led many people to believe that these Jews were about to eat the Passover at the wrong time since Yahshua supposedly ate it the night before. This has led to the belief that the Pharisees kept Passover on Abib 15 and the Sadducees (whom Yahshua supposedly followed) on Abib 14. If you will check verses 3, 12, & 28 of that same chapter, as well as Jn.19:6, you will note that the Jews of verse 28 included “chief priests” and “captains”. The chief priests were, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Sadducees. Luke 22:52 reveals the “captains” to be “captains of the temple”, again Sadducees. Therefore, these Sadducees had not eaten the Passover yet.

Jn.13:1,2 – “Now before the feast of the passover, when Yahshua knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended . . .”

This verse tells us that the supper of Abib 14 took place before the Passover. It was not the Passover.

John 13:2-30 – It is believed by many that this supper took place on the night of Abib 14 which they consider to be the time when the Passover Lamb was eaten. After the foot washing, they sat back down to the supper table. Yahshua then dipped a sop and gave it to Judas Iscariot at which time Satan entered him. Yahshua then said, “That thou doest, do quickly” (vs.27). The disciples did not know why Judas was leaving, but they suspected he was going to buy things they needed for the feast (vs.29). What?! How could the disciples think so nonchalantly of this sudden departure from the Passover supper unless, of course, it was only a common supper the night before the true Passover supper. Had Judas been sent from the true Passover supper the disciples would have been shocked. And what merchants would have their shops open to allow such a purchase on the night of Passover? Obviously the disciples thought shops would be open because it was the night before the lamb was eaten.

The supper in John 13 is the same supper of Mt.26:20,21; Mk.14:18; and Lu.22:22,23. John 13:1 says that supper was “before the feast of the Passover.” The reaction of the disciples to Judas’ departure confirms the fact that this supper was before the Passover supper.

Jn.19:14 – “And it was the preparation of the passover , and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!”

If Yahshua had just finished eating the Passover the previous night, how can it be the “preparation of the passover” at about noon the next day? The “preparation of the Sabbath” ends as the weekly Sabbath day begins. The “preparation of the Passover” must also end as the Passover begins. Since this verse refers to Abib 14 at noon, then the Passover could not have begun yet. It will have begun at least three hours later at the normal time of sacrificing the lambs. If one believes the lambs were sacrificed at the beginning of Abib 14, then all of Abib 13 would be the “preparation of the passover.”

Lu.22:1 – “Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.”

As in Eze.45:21, Passover in this verse would refer to the entire festival and not the victim.

This brings us to the most difficult part of this study; understanding what took place at the last supper. What was Yahshua and his disciples doing the night he was betrayed? Was he partaking of the Passover meal with its lamb and bitter herbs or was this a pre-Passover meal?

Lu.22:7-18 – “Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples? And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of Yahweh. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of Yahweh shall come.”

Verse 7 means that Abib 14 had begun. Why would they begin preparing for Passover after the sun had set? To prepare the Passover, if that were the Passover meal, would mean to bring the lamb to the priests, have it killed, bleed it, clean it, carry it back to the room that they still needed to get, cook it for hours after they kindled a fire and carve it up. Not to mention the lines of people waiting to have their lambs killed after sunset (thousands of lambs)!

Verse 16 adds the words “any more” which are not found in the oldest Greek manuscripts (Vatican, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus). The added words imply that Yahshua had just finished eating the Passover. Omitting the words implies that Yahshua did not eat the Passover. Although he desired to eat the Passover with his disciples the following night, he knew he couldn’t because he would be dead.

In The Mishnah, Pesahim 6:4, it reads,

A. A festal offering derives from the flock of sheep or from the herd of oxen, from lambs or from goats, from males or from females.

B. And it is eaten for two days and the intervening night [to the night of the fifteenth of Nisan].

Since John’s gospel suggests the Jews had not yet eaten their Passover lambs, and since the lambs were traditionally killed at 3:00 p.m. on Abib 14, I think it is logical to believe Yahshua and his disciples were partaking of this “festal offering” on that “intervening night”. The festal offering could be eaten on the daylight portion of the 13th, the night beginning the 14th, and the daylight portion of the 14th. Then, on the night of the 15th, they would partake of the Passover lamb.

Matthew, Mark and Luke each say “they made ready the Passover” in preparation for the “last supper”. Since Josephus says the Jews considered the Passover to be “a feast of eight days”, the beginning of Abib 14 would begin Passover in that context. The first meal partaken of would have been the festal offering on the night of the 14th. The disciples made everything ready to begin the Passover by securing a room, making sure it was unleavened, preparing the festal offering, etc.

In the Evangel accounts of the last supper, Yahshua and his disciples were having the festal offering, a pre-Passover meal. They did not eat the Passover since the priests did not begin killing them until the following afternoon. That is why John 18:28 says the Jews hadn’t eaten the Passover even after Yahshua’s trial began.

The Passover meal was a family gathering in which the women and children also paricipated. When Yahshua attended the Passover as a boy of twelve he accompanied his family (Lu.2:41,42). Yet, in Yahshua’s last supper the women and children are conspicuously absent. All that were present were Yahshua’s male disciples who were linked to him socially rather than through kinship. Where were the women who followed Yahshua throughout his ministry? Where is Peter’s wife or the wives of the other married disciples? They were not in attendance because that was not the Passover meal.

Mk.15:21, Lu.23:26 – Simon was forced to carry Yahshua’s torture stake. It is said that he was coming out of the “country” (Gr. agros meaning – country, farm, farmland, fields, etc.). The argument is put forth that if Passover was a high sabbath (Abib 15), Simon would have been at the Temple or synagogue and not in the fields. That is true. The opposite holds true as well. If the night of Abib 14 began Passover, Simon would have come out of the fields to observe it the night before carrying Yahshua’s stake. The most likely scenario is that Simon came out of the fields the morning of Abib 14 for the purpose of observing Passover that afternoon.

1 Cor.5:7 reads, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Messiah our passover is sacrificed for us:”

Paul tells us that OUR passover lamb has been sacrificed “for us” or on our behalf. Who sacrificed it for us? Is.53 tells us that Yahweh bruised His Son and smote him. Did Yahweh have our Passover Lamb sacrificed at the wrong time? No. That being true, then Yahshua and his disciples could not have eaten the lamb the night before. If Yahshua did eat it the night before, and if he did it correctly, then Yahweh sacrificed Yahshua at the wrong time. The only way to reconcile this dilema is to acknowledge the fact that what Yahshua did in the evangel accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke is being misunderstood. When translating from Hebrew to Greek and from one culture to another, it can easily lead to error as it has concerning the Holy Names. John’s evangel was written in such a way as to leave us no doubt as to when Passover took place.

There are more scriptures to support an end of Abib 14 Passover offering as opposed to a beginning of the fourteenth offering. The content of this study should suffice to enlighten the seeker of truth.

” And the Jews’ Passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.”

 The act of purifying themselves involved both a physical and spiritual cleansing. First, let’s look at some examples of physical cleansing or physically sanctifying oneself. In Num 9:6-14 we read,

 ”And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the Passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day: And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of Yahweh in his appointed season among the children of Israel? And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what Yahweh will command concerning you. And Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover unto Yahweh. The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it. But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the Passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of Yahweh in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the Passover unto Yahweh; according to the ordinance of the Passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.”

Here we see an example of being unclean physically and therefore being unable to keep Passover. The same principle applies to us today. If, for any reason, we become unclean, we are forbidden to observe Passover at that time and must wait until the fourteenth day of the second month to keep it. There are several ways to become unclean besides touching a dead body. Among those that the scriptures mention are childbirth, which renders the mother unclean for up to eighty days; menstruation; eating the flesh of unclean animals; leprosy; and physical discharges of the sex organs, including emission of semen during sexual intercourse.

 Another example is found in 2 Chr 30:1-3.

“And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover unto Yahweh Elohim of Israel. For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the Passover in the second month. For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem.”

Continuing in verses 15-20,

“Then they killed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of Yahweh. And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the man of Elohim: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites. For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto Yahweh. For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the Passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good Yahweh pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek Elohim, Yahweh Elohim of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. And Yahweh hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.”

In this example, the King interceded for those that were unclean and Yahweh personally purified them. Whether this can be done today for unclean saints only Yahweh knows. The most prudent thing to do is to be sure that you remain clean for Passover rather than relying on Yahweh to cleanse you miraculously. Let’s read Ezr 6:19-22;

 ”And the children of the captivity kept the Passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month. For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the Passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek Yahweh Elohim of Israel, did eat, And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for Yahweh had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of Elohim, the Elohim of Israel.”

This purification involved the priests and Levites. Since believers today are called a “royal priesthood” then we too, should be sure that we are purified or cleansed before we keep the Passover. The Passover is eaten on the night of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened. By that time every believer should have removed all leaven or all fermented products from his house (Ex.12:15,18,19). Leaven throughout scripture is symbolic of sin, false doctrine and hypocrisy as we read in the following verses;

Mat 16:5-12 – “And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Yahshua said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Yahshua perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”

Luke 12:1 – “In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”

1 Cor 5:6-8 – “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Messiah our Passover is sacrificed for us: 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.”

The “old leaven” spoken of in verse 8 consists of all the false doctrines we have believed until now. If we have any false doctrines remaining in our minds we are to search them out, as we would leaven in our houses, and discard them. The same is true of hypocrisy and sins that we have not repented of. If our false doctrines, hypocrisies and sins are not pointed out to us by our fellow brethren, or even unbelievers, then we are to examine ourselves, to search our own souls thoroughly, to be sure we are free of leaven. If we go before Yahweh in prayer and ask Him to reveal our hidden faults to us, He will. This was the attitude of David as we read in Psa 139:23,

 ”Search me, O Elohim, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

This should be the attitude of any truly converted person. Jeremiah showed this attitude in Jer 10:23-24 when he said,

 ”O Yahweh, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O Yahweh, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.”

If we do not allow Yahweh’s Holy Spirit to correct us or to show us our faults He may have to correct us in anger. As the writer of Hebrews said,

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living Elohim.”

Concerning the symbols of the bread and the cup that we take to remember the death of our Passover Lamb, Yahshua, the Apostle Paul wrote, in 1 Cor 11:28-32,

“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Master’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Master, that we should not be condemned with the world.”

The Passover season is the best time of the year to take a long, hard look at ourselves, to judge ourselves to be certain we are walking in a pleasing way in Yahweh’s sight. It is also a time when we must be sure that we are physically clean in our flesh. The Apostle Paul made a statement in 2 Cor 7:1 that sums up what our obligation is, especially at this time of year.

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of [Yahweh].”

It makes no sense to keep the Feast of Unleavened, which symbolizes the purity of the believer, if we knowingly have sins, false doctrines and hypocrisies within us. That would be hypocritical. Yahweh is calling us to be pure in heart, mind, and body. This is the time of the year where He commands us to come before Him in an undefiled physical and spiritual condition to worship Him in spirit and in truth. The wise man will do just that.