At this time we are ready to begin our study portion, and we are going to take a little break here from the “Precepts and Principles of the Torah” series. And, of course, this time of year is a very special time of year for many of us who understand the blessing of keeping the Feast Days.

And so, we are going to be talking about the Feast Days, and a little bit about the calendar as well, and understanding how to keep Yahweh’s Feast Days. One of the most common questions I get from other people out there, wanting to know: “Ok, well, how do you keep the Feast Days and what are they all about? Can you tell me all about the Feast Days?”

A lot of people are actually interested in the Feast Days. Even people that don’t even understand Torah completely or even think that it matters, a lot of them, a lot of Christian congregations, are even keeping Passover and seeing the specialness of that. So, that is what we are going to be talking about today: Passover – Part 1.

This is part one of the study. We are going to do two parts here, at least– maybe a third part. We will see how it goes. And we are going to examine this observance, Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, in detail.

You know, I look at this photograph here. I am not even sure if it is a photograph or a painting, but I just think back to my days when I was raising sheep. It is amazing. We are used to pets. You know, when you do something to a dog, the dog wants to bite you. When you do something to a cat, the cat wants to scratch you or bite you.

You do something to a sheep, and they try to get away from you. But as long as you are in control of them, they don’t bite. They don’t say anything. They don’t hiss. They don’t bark. They just… “All right. You have me.” And that is pretty much the character we are looking at, this lamb of the first year.

And you can tell it is young, but it is not extremely young because it does have the horns, just coming out a little bit there. And I think this is a pretty pitiful photograph or picture. Just sad, really.

But this is what we do when we eat meat, right? We slaughter animals and we eat meat and don’t think a lot about it sometimes or the pain they may go through, and so on.

I have often thought Yahweh is just. He is righteous. He is loving. He loves all of His creation. And He probably has a special place– a special blessing– for those animals that have suffered through no fault of their own.

I know that is His character. And so, I am looking forward to seeing how He will make all this and straighten all this out.

But we are going to be talking about Passover, and we are also going to talk about why it is important for believers in Messiah.

Some people think of these Feasts– and for millennium mainstream Christianity has taught– that the Feasts are for “those Jewish people way back when” and “those people back there,” and, “Now we have the reality. We have this Messiah. And now the Jewish people are no longer His people. It is everybody– Jew and Gentile.”

And so, “We don’t need these Feasts Days. We don’t need these Festivals.” That was for “some by-gone era until Messiah came.” And now “we have the reality.” We don’t need “all those object lessons and pictures and everything.”

But I beg to differ. I don’t just beg to differ, I zealously beg to differ, because it is the absence of holidays in post first-century Christianity that created the void and the desire for some kind of celebration to remember our Savior by. And so, they took holidays that were originally pagan holidays and kind of adapted them to the Messiah.

And so, why do we need to do that? We have Holy Days already in Scripture that already DO picture Messiah and are easily adaptable to Messiah because they DO picture the Messiah.

And this pitiful lamb here is one of them. And this Passover and how He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, as a sheep before a shearer, so He opened not His mouth. And all the beautiful imagery. It brings me closer to my Savior when we partake of this Passover.

And I look at all the imagery and all the things that our Savior has done for us and all the wonderful sacrifices He made for us. Just sometimes you think about it and you tear up. You get emotional because it is amazing, the plan of Salvation– if you just sit and think about it– how much love there is in it.

And so, sometimes people have a tendency to think, “Well, those people back then, they didn’t have the good news of the Messiah back in those days. So they had to do these things.” And I say, “Oh, no! They had the good news of Messiah.” In fact, the New Testament teaches that they did.

In the book of Hebrews, chapter 4 and verse 2, it says:

Hebrews 4:2 – For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard [it].

The “gospel” is the “good news.” The good news was preached to “us as well as to them.” That is talking about ancient Israel. And the context of this is Joshua leading them into the promised land. And so, they had this good news.

And when they came out of Egypt, it talks about (in verse 3, and so on), those entering His rest, and so on. And so, it is like a picture. What they went through in those days is a picture of what we also experience as believers in Messiah. And so, this good news was preached to us as well as to them.

Well, when was it ever preached to them? When did they ever hear about this good news? Well, as we begin to study Passover and the amazing things that Yahweh did through all of this, we will understand they definitely did hear the good news.

Now it was kind of in a veiled way, but it was there. And so, this is something that we can look at, the different experiences they had, and completely relate to it as believers in Messiah– the experiences that they experienced. Because the things that they experienced match up so well to what all of us as believers in Messiah experience together.

The question is whether we are going to receive that, whether we are going to identify ourselves as Israel and identify ourselves as the people in those days as being our ancestry in the Spirit. And if we look at that, what we will find here is Yahweh was teaching them His plan of salvation.

And these Feast Days are given in part to manifest and glorify the awesome works of Yahushua the Messiah, because just as they were brought out of Egypt, we also have been brought out of the world. Just as we were enslaved to Satan and his demons, they were enslaved to Pharaoh and his taskmasters.

And just as they were brought through the Red Sea and the cloud– it says in 1 Corinthians they were baptized in the Red Sea and in the cloud– we also are baptized, as we become believers in Messiah Yahushua.

And just as they were led through the wilderness and were taught Yahweh’s Law, we also are. We are strangers and pilgrims. We are in a strange land. This is not our own home. Our home is yet to come. And so, we are in this wilderness, and we also are called to learn the Torah.

And just as they looked forward to entering the promised land, we also look forward to entering this eternal Kingdom our Savior has promised us.

And just as they were experiencing trials and tests and tribulations, and all these things… and battles… we also experience, on a personal level, trials, tribulations, difficulties, battles and war. Spiritual war.

And so, the good news of salvation and the experience of a believer, they went through– physically, literally. And so, in that, they heard and experienced this plan of salvation that Yahweh has for us as well.

The way in which He had mercy on them many times is the way in which Yahweh is willing to have mercy upon us. And just as they were saved from death by the blood of the lamb, so are we. And so, we are saved from death through Yahushua the Messiah.

And so, for many people, they have this impression, “Oh, well. That was just the Jews who came up out of Egypt, and that does not relate to us, you know. That was just the Jewish people.”

This is not true. It was not only the Jewish people or the Israelite people that came up out of Egypt. In fact, there were Gentiles who joined them according to the Scriptures. It says:

Exodus 12:37 – Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.

38 – A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds — a great deal of livestock.

And so, the people of Israel went up out of Egypt.

But there was also a multitude of Gentiles who would have seen the awesome works of Yahweh, who would have said, “We want to join with you. We know Yahweh is the true Mighty One. We want to go with you. We want to go where you go. Where you go, I will go. Your Elohim will be my Elohim. Your people will be my people.”

Just as Ruth did. Just as many Gentiles did in the Old Testament. Just as Purim– we had Purim– and how many of the people of the land it says became Jews. It was always something in the spiritual realm that one could join with the people of Israel. And the same is true today even if we are born as Gentiles, if we are not Israelites in the flesh.

And who knows whether we are or we are not, because the Jewish people, that is only a few tribes. There is another host of tribes that some people say is lost. Some people think they have been found. Who knows if we might actually be literal descendants of those northern tribes that were scattered?

But as we look at this– even if we identified ourself as a Gentile– we look to the Scriptures, which are Jewish. They are. I mean, we have to admit all the early Apostles are all Jewish including Paul himself. And so, salvation is of the Jews, as Scripture says. And so, we are joining with Israel.

And so, not only was Israel called out of Egypt, but Gentiles (living as Egyptians) were called and went with them. And it has always been that way. Always.

But so many people, they think, “Oh, the Old Testament, that is for the Jews. The New Testament, that is for the Gentiles.” Wrong!

I mean, look in the book of Hebrews:

Hebrews 8:8 – Because finding fault with them, He says: Behold, the days are coming, says YAHWEH, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah —

With whom? With the house of Israel and the house of Judah. You say you are a New Testament Gentile church, but Yahweh says He made a new covenant with Israel and with Judah. And He says:

Hebrews 8:9 – not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says YAHWEH.

But still, who is this New Covenant with? It is with Israel and it is with Judah. Whom did He find fault with, the covenant or with the people? It was the people. He found fault with them. And therefore, a new covenant needed to be established. They had broken the old.

And so, He is planning this New Covenant. And this is actually a prophecy from Jeremiah 31. He is planning this New Covenant. It is a wonderful covenant. It is better than the Old Covenant.

And so, since this New Covenant here is with whom? It is with Israel and it is with Judah. How did Gentiles end up becoming a participant here in this New Covenant? How does that happen, because the Old Covenant is with Israel and the New Covenant is also with Israel?

The only way is to join with Israel. Just as the mixed multitude joined with Israel in the Old Testament, in the book of Exodus, the Gentiles can join in with Israel and be a part of Israel and become: “Your people are my people. Where you go, I go.” This is the unification that takes place. And it is Messiah that makes it possible.

So, verse 10…

Hebrews 8:10 – For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says YAHWEH: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.

Now this is a prophecy from the book of Jeremiah. When Jeremiah uttered this prophecy in Jeremiah 31 (this is what Hebrews is quoting), what were “the laws” that he was talking about? There was only the Torah at that time (the Old Testament).

Who is “their”? and who is “My people”? Israel!

Hebrews 8:11 – None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, `Know YAHWEH,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

Who is He talking about? Israel!

Hebrews 8:12 – For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.

House of who? Israel! These are the promises that are given. Who are the promises given to? Israel!

How do we get there from here? How do we join in with this New Covenant? If we are Gentiles, how do we become a part of His people?

Who are His people? How do we join with them? According to Ephesians chapter 2, verse 19, it says:

Ephesians 2:19 – Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of Elohim,

A stranger was a Gentile. A foreigner was a Gentile. The household of Elohim is Israel. That is who it is. And we can join WITH Israel. Why? Because we are now Abraham’s seed.

Galatians 3:29 says, if you are Messiah’s, then guess what? You are Abraham’s seed.

Galatians 3:29 – And if you [are] Messiah’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

That is who you are. That is who you identify with now. Not Gentile. Now you identify yourself as Abraham’s seed.

Now who is Abraham’s seed? That is Messiah. Was Messiah a Gentile or was He an Israelite? Obviously, He is an Israelite. And it is through HIM that you are made Abraham’s seed.

Why? and How?

Ephesians 2:11 – Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh– who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands–

In other words, at one time you were a Gentile in the flesh. The Jews called them Gentiles.

Ephesians 2:12 – that at that time you were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without Elohim in the world.

At that time, when you were Gentiles, you were without Messiah. You were what else? Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.

Ah! “Were!” What is this “were” word right here? This is past tense. This is what you used to be. You used to be Gentiles.

And now what are you? You are Israel.

Because at one time you were without Messiah. How? Because you were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise. You were not a named party in this New Covenant. You had no hope. You were without Elohim in the world.

Ephesians 2:13 – But now in Messiah Yahushua you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.

Brought near to what? The commonwealth of Israel! That is what. By the blood of Messiah. His life has now become our life if we are a Gentile.

We are no longer a Gentile. We are now Abraham’s seed. That is our identity. That is who we identify with: Israel. That is us! Do we see that? That is exciting! Now I didn’t say we replaced Israel. I just said we joined with them.

Now the next two verses throw some people off sometimes, but this is the point I am trying to make: You are no longer a Gentile. Now you are joined with the household of Elohim. Because before you were a Gentile, and now you are no longer a stranger or an alien from the commonwealth of Israel.

I didn’t write the mail here. This is what Scripture says. You are a citizen. You are a citizen of a nation. You are a citizen of Israel. That is who you are. That is what you are.

Now a full study can be found on Ephesians chapter 2 (12/17/2011) right here on the “Transcripts” page. Just above the very top of EliYah.com, click “Archives,” and it will take you right to this page right here: http://www.eliyah.com/transcripts/.

And there is “Ephesians Chapter 2” study, and it will show, beyond a shadow of a doubt, yes, we do… This part where it says that the Law is abolished, or whatever, is a mistranslation. It is easy to find, easy to understand. But take a look at that study.

But that is not what we are talking about today. What we are talking about today is who you are. What is your identity? Who are you? Scripture says you are Israel.

Romans 11:16 – For if the firstfruit [is] holy, the lump [is] also [holy]; and if the root [is] holy, so [are] the branches.

17 – And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,

Among whom? Israel! If you look at the context. He did not say apart from them. He said WITH them.

You used to be a different olive tree. You used to be part of this wild olive tree. But we are grafted in among them– among Israel– and become a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree. And that is why we call this “Hebrew roots.”

So we are all partakers of this branch of Israel and from this root which feeds us. Olive oil is what we use for anointing oil, right? That is what Scripture uses. And as olive trees, you know, olive trees, as far as we know, don’t really have any date of death.

There are olive trees right now in Israel that were there when Messiah walked the earth 2000 years ago. They are still alive and still going. They just keep living and living, and until something kills them, they don’t seem like they die of old age.

In fact, some of the same olive trees, like I said, are still there today that were in the Garden of Gethsemane.

And so, how does this all happen? How do we become a part of Israel through the Messiah? What are the details of that? How does that happen?

Like we have been talking the last Sabbath, this is how it happens:

Galatians 2:20 – I have been crucified with Messiah; it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of Elohim, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

I have been crucified with Messiah. I no longer live. I was a Gentile, but now Messiah lives in me.

Before, yeah, you identified yourself as Gentile, foreigner, strangers– all these things– but now you are no longer strangers, no longer foreigners.

So I have been crucified with Messiah. Now we identify ourselves as Yisrael. And that is how it happens… because we no longer live. And we accept this. And that is why it says:

Galatians 3:29 – And if you [are] Messiah’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

That is who you now identify yourself as.

And so, in light of this, this is the teaching of the Scriptures. We have to accept it. We have to believe it. And when our heavenly Father says He brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He also brought the mixed multitude with them. And they became a part of the people.

We also, we were Gentiles in the flesh. We should not feel as though every event that occurred with them only occurred to Israelites, some foreign people to us, because now we have identified ourselves as Yisrael. Just like an adoptive child.

Just because an adoptive child was born with a different birth mother, the family that comes in and adopts that child accepts and receives and loves that child just as if they were one born in their house. There is no difference. And so, we are adopted sons and daughters through Yahushua the Messiah.

You know, it is almost a denial of the Messiah’s work to say we are Gentiles, because He brought us near to the commonwealth of Israel. And so, we do not want to deny His work and what He has done for us and pretend like it did not happen.

And so, what I am calling us to do is to NOT reject the Messiah’s work by keeping the Feast Days and these things and identifying ourselves as Israel. I am calling us to ACCEPT and RECEIVE the Messiah’s work as the Scriptures teach.

And so, we have come up with a new identity, right? Do we accept it? Do we accept our identity in Messiah? That is the question, whether we, by faith, accept what He has done for us. And if we can grasp and accept what He has done for us, we take it to heart it is Messiah who did it– it is amazing what Yahweh will show you.

And people out there will say, “Oh, why are you going into that Jewish stuff?” and kind of persecute you. Maybe they have some anti-Semitism in their heart or something.

But it is amazing how the enemy has twisted all things around to where you do not identify yourself as being Jewish, as being Israelites, and causes darkness to be turned to light and light to darkness, sweet to bitter, bitter for sweet, bad for good, good for bad. It is amazing.

Because what I read in Scripture is we are joined in and the enemy wants us to think we are not part of that, and therefore, commit identity theft.

And so, in my mind, the church has today– and has for a long time– an identity crisis. They do not know who they are. They know they are a part of Messiah, but they do not know what that means. And so, here we are. This is what the Scriptures say.

It is no different to say, “I am the seed of Abraham,” than to say, “I am an Israelite,” because it is through Messiah, the Israelite, that we became the seed of Abraham. There is no difference.

And so, what came out of Abraham’s seed? Isaac. Jacob. Jacob was renamed Israel. And it is through Israel that Yahushua came forth. And since we no longer live, Messiah lives in us, we accept our identity. Now it is Yahushua living in us. Now we are Israel.

We accept that by faith. Just as that will give us the power to overcome sin, as we shared last week, it will also cause us to be free, because all those old things are in the past. That was another person. That is not me anymore. Now I am Yisrael. And all the promises given to Yisrael, including the New Covenant– that is us!

And when we look at what they went through, we think, “That is what my ancestors went through. That is what my forefathers went through.” And so, I am sharing this because there are so many people, they think, “Well, you know. It is fun to play Jewish, pretend like you are Jews, and do this. Oh, yeah. We will do Passover, just to have the fun of it.”

Look, that is us. We have identified ourselves with that. We, of necessity, keep Passover. That is what Yahushua did. So that is what we do– just as He walked. Imitate Him.

Now I want to go ahead and share what that means. What does it mean to keep Passover? What is Passover all about? How do you keep it? What do you do? How do you figure out when Passover is?

Let me tell you something. There are some of you who have been keeping Passover now for a number of years, and you are like, “Okay, I have heard this already, this study on Passover.”

Maybe you feel like you can tune out, or whatever, but I’ll tell you what. I kept my first Passover in 1990. This will be my 25th. And every year I enjoy reading these scriptures. Why? Because it is just amazing! It is like reading a miracle.

When you look at these, when you look at the Scriptures you hold in your hands, you just sit in awe of what Yahweh has done. And in the history of a nation He wrote the plan of salvation for all mankind. Whew! I get chills right now just thinking about it.

And so many times Yahweh identifies Himself by this awesome act: “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Egypt.” Well, that same Yahweh who brought them out of Egypt brings us out of our Egypt. And He identifies Himself that way.

And so, when we see that, when we see Him saying, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Egypt,” think about you and what Egypt He brought you out of. And you just go, “Wow!”

We have to understand this Passover and stand in awe of what Yahweh has done and give Him praise and glory for it.

In Deuteronomy chapter 16, verse 1, it says:

Deuteronomy 16:1 – Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to YAHWEH your Elohim, for in the month of Abib YAHWEH your Elohim brought you out of Egypt by night.

So this month of Aviv, what is that? The Hebrew reads “month of the Aviv.” “Aviv” is referring to the harvestable barley that would be growing in the land.

Now I have done a full study on this and I understand there are different points of view and I can live with that. Some believe we should go according to the first new moon, or first month, after the equinox. Some go strictly by the barley. I go according to the barley.

But there is a full study on “Yahweh’s Calendar” on the transcripts page: http://www.eliyah.com/transcripts/. It was given on the 23rd of the month commonly called February 2013.

But this month of the Aviv is when we begin to observe Passover. It is the month that Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. It is an anniversary. And it is important. And if Yahweh identifies Himself by this act, why wouldn’t it be important? Of course it would be important.

But the timing of Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, according to the Scriptures, occur in this month of the Aviv. When during the month of the Aviv did they occur?

So we are going to look here at Exodus chapter 1 and verses 7 through 9. It says:

Exodus 1:7 – But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.

8 – Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

9 – And he said to his people, Look, the people of the children of Israel [are] more and mightier than we;

Exodus 1:10 – come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and [so] go up out of the land.

They were concerned they were going to lose their slaves, I guess, but he didn’t want them to leave. He didn’t want them to go home.

Exodus 1:11 – Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.

And so, this is the story of Passover. And he was concerned that their numbers would become too great. And so, he says this.

Exodus 1:12 – But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel.

13 – So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.

14 – And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage — in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve [was] with rigor.

They were cruel.

Exodus 1:15 – Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of one [was] Shiphrah and the name of the other Puah;

16 – and he said, When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see [them] on the birthstools, if it [is] a son, then you shall kill him; but if it [is] a daughter, then she shall live.

Exodus 1:17 – But the midwives feared Elohim, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive.

18 – So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?

Exodus 1:19 – And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women [are] not like the Egyptian women; for they [are] lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.

20 – Therefore Elohim dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty.

21 – And so it was, because the midwives feared Elohim, that He provided households for them.

And so, the children of Israel, obviously, were very oppressed. They were in bondage and slavery to the Egyptians. And we know, based on Scripture, or just based on human compassion, Yahweh hates the shedding of innocent blood, especially the seed of Abraham.

And so, here is Egypt, a pagan worshiping, idol worshiping nation killing the male babies of Israel and having them thrown into the river and oppressing the seed of Abraham. And Yahweh hates that. He absolutely hates it.

Proverbs 6:16 – These six [things] YAHWEH hates, Yes, seven [are] an abomination to Him:

17 – A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,

18 – A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,

Proverbs 6:19 – A false witness [who] speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

So, obviously, Yahweh does not want innocent blood being shed. And that is sad because that is what the United States of America is doing with their abortions.

But, you know, they wanted those babies dead. Israel was greatly afflicted. And so, we know that Moshe was called out of this affliction and grew up in Pharaoh’s household. And so, as he grew up, he was able to deliver them from this place of affliction.

Exodus 3:7, Yahweh said to him:

Exodus 3:7 – And YAHWEH said: I have surely seen the oppression of My people who [are] in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

Interesting. He knows it. And Messiah knows what it is like to be afflicted by Egypt, because when He was being hung on a tree at the hand of Gentiles, He was severely afflicted. And looking down the corridor of time, Messiah Himself could know what that sorrow was like.

And so, He chose Moshe. Obviously, he was not very fond of the idea or feeling very worthy of it.

He sent down the plagues– frogs, lice, diseases, boils, locusts, hail, darkness. This is a good time of year to read these scriptures with your children. But the final plague is what we are going to zero in on. This final plague is exactly what Passover is all about.

Exodus 11:4 – Then Moses said, Thus says YAHWEH: `About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt;

5 – `and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who [is] behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals.

Exodus 11:6 – `Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it [before], nor shall be like it again.

7 – `But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that YAHWEH does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.’

And so, Yahweh makes this distinction just like He did the other plagues. And He instructed the children of Israel the following instructions:

Exodus 12:1 – Now YAHWEH spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,

2 – This month [shall be] your beginning of months; it [shall be] the first month of the year to you.

This is what we are going to zero in on, this chapter right here.

Now when in this? We read earlier about the month of the Aviv. And that is the beginning of the months. That is the month when the barley is ready for harvest. And the reason why it had to be ready for harvest was so, ultimately, the High Priest would wave the barley before Yahweh on the day of firstfruits.

But based on when this new year starts, we are going to look here at Yahweh’s calendar and we are going to try to pinpoint the calendrical dates according to the dates of our own Roman calendar so that those of us who are following the Roman calendar we usually have hanging on our walls can try to figure out when Passover is, on which dates, and so on.

And so, we are going to look at this closely.

He said, “This month shall be your beginning of months.” Now this time of year, coming up, the barley will be ready. In fact, it probably already is ready. And Yahweh’s months go according to the moon cycle, and whenever a crescent moon is seen, then that marks the new month.

Again, you might want to look back on the study dealing with Yahweh’s calendar for a full understanding of what that all means.

But His calendar follows the moon phases. You have the full moon and eventually it wanes in light (decreases in light) until we have what is called a conjunction. And when the moon reappears again, in the night sky, it appears as a small sliver or crescent. And when we visibly see that, that is a new moon. And so, that is a new month.

His months follow the phases of the moon, which are either 29 or 30 days. And the calendar study will explain that in detail.

So we are going to look here at the calendar, and if you are able to follow the moon phases, you will notice that on the night of the 21st will be the night in which a new visible crescent will appear in the night sky. And this is the month commonly called March.

And on the night of the 21st we will be able to see– just after sundown– this new crescent moon. And so, that is when the new month actually will begin.

And so, it is going to be after this next Sabbath coming up, and we are actually going to have a broadcast that night. And we are going to take in your new moon reports, pictures of the new moon, and so on.

And you will be able to, actually, if you have a clear sky, be able to see the first new moon of the year. And it is pretty exciting to get that experience.

And this is how Yahweh is keeping HIS calendar. And I really can’t stress this enough. Man has his calendar that he follows, but Yahweh has HIS calendar that He has established. Which one is the one that really matters– man’s or Yahweh’s? Which one is the calendar that really matters?

It was Yahweh’s idea to come up with a calendar. He is the originator of calendars.

And so, since He is the originator of calendars and He is the one that came up with the idea, when man comes along, and says, “No, I am going to do my own calendar,” and not only says that, but as Julius Caesar did in 46 B.C., who created the calendar that we now use today commonly in the world, when he did that, he named his months after demons.

He named his days after demons, like each day of the week he named after the demons he worshiped, and so on. And it is ugly. It is disgusting. And so, I am appalled by it the more I think about it, how man has come in and hijacked Yahweh’s calendar. And it shouldn’t be that way.

We should go along with HIS calendar, what HE says is a new month, what HE says is a new year.

So looking back here on this night (the 21st), which will be a week from tonight, we will be able to see the new moon in the night sky. And He set His calendar to coincide with the signs in the heavens, and this is one of them.

So this night right here will be the first night (since Yahweh’s days begin at evening)– this night right here (the 21st), after next Sabbath– will actually begin the first day of His calendar, which is the 22nd of what is commonly called March.

So what we have here is a chart of the areas of the world based on knowledge of astronomy, and so on. Remember, I didn’t say “astrology.” I said “astronomy.” There is a difference. One is scientific study. One is religious study.

But we know, based on the position of the moon in the night sky and different things, which areas of the world will actually be able to see the new moon assuming they have clear skies. And this area right here, marked as “A,” it should be easily visible to pretty much the entire planet here with the exception down here of Australia.

So on this night, you should be able to see the new moon pretty much all over the world except for parts of Australia where you would either need perfect atmospheric conditions or you would need an optical aid of some kind, which you do not want to use that. Just use your own vision.

And so, that is when we are going to be looking all over the world– on this night, next Sabbath after sundown.

All right. So, He says:

Exodus 12:3 – Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: `On the tenth [day] of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of [his] father, a lamb for a household.

4 – `And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take [it] according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb.

5 – `Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take [it] from the sheep or from the goats.

So this will happen on the tenth day of the month. They are going to take this lamb.

Exodus 12:6 – `Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.

So we are looking here at this night in which we are expecting to see the new moon and recognize that this 22nd, which actually begins the evening before, right here, which is next Sabbath after sundown, will begin the 22nd of what is commonly called “March” or the 1st day of what is called in the Scriptures “the month of the Aviv” or “Nisan.”

So this is the first day of the month right here– the 22nd. But we understand it begins the evening before just like we do the Sabbath. Here is the Sabbath, but we understand it begins the evening before.

So that is the first day. Here is the second day (the 23rd)… here is the third day (the 24th)… fourth day (the 25th)… fifth day (the 26th)… sixth day (the 27th)… seventh day (the 28th)… eighth day (the 29th)… ninth day (the 30th)… tenth day (the 31st).

This is the day when the lambs would have been selected. And they had to be without blemish, so it took a few days for them to really get to know and look at the lamb closely and make sure it was completely without blemish. All right? But we are talking about the fourteenth day of the month being the day when they would actually kill the lamb.

So this is the tenth day (the 31st of ‘March’). Now we are going into the next month commonly called April. Here is the eleventh day (the 1st of ‘April’)… the twelfth day (the 2nd)… thirteenth day (the 3rd)… fourteenth day of Yahweh’s month is right here, commonly called April 4th.

This is the day in which the children of Israel were supposed to take their unblemished lamb of the first year and kill the Passover on this day between the evenings.

So that night, then– because they killed this lamb during the day between the evenings, which was about the ninth hour of the day, about three o’clock or so in the afternoon– that night is when we actually partake of Messiah Yahushua, who is our Passover Lamb, because Yahushua died at the exact hour the Passover lambs were being killed in Jerusalem.

He died at the exact hour they were slaughtering Passover lambs in Jerusalem. And that is amazing to me when you think about that. That is really amazing.

They could have picked any day to kill Him, and it happened He died the ninth hour– the exact day, the exact hour, Passover lambs were being slaughtered in Jerusalem.

And so many people say, “Oh, the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. Worship the Lamb.” What does that mean? Why is He called the Lamb? Because at that very time lambs were being offered in Jerusalem, He was offered in Israel– on the day of Passover between the evenings. And, to me, that is extremely significant.

So going to Leviticus 23 and verse 5, now, for ease of understanding, and looking at this briefly, it says:

Leviticus 23:5 – `On the fourteenth [day] of the first month at twilight [is] YAHWEH’S Passover.

This translation says “twilight.” It actually reads in the Hebrew “between the evenings.”

Leviticus 23:6 – `And on the fifteenth day of the same month [is] the Feast of Unleavened Bread to YAHWEH; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

7 – `On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.

That is the fifteenth day of the month.

So looking at our calendar, that would be this day (the 5th of ‘April’). This is the fourteenth (the 4th). And here is the fifteenth (the 5th). That is a holy day. It is the first day of the week in that instance. It is a holy day, and it is to be observed as a holy day. It is a day of rest. No customary work on that particular day.

So the fifteenth day of the same month, that is when this is. He says, “On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.”

Leviticus 23:8 – `But you shall offer an offering made by fire to YAHWEH for seven days. The seventh day [shall be] a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work [on it].’

As far as the offering made by fire for seven days, that was instructions to the priests that they were supposed to do. Not every Israelite was supposed to make an offering every seven days. There were special offerings that were commanded on these seven days.

“The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.” So looking back here, this is the first day (the 5th)… the second day (the 6th)… and the third day (the 7th)… and the fourth day (the 8th)… and the fifth day (the 9th)… and the sixth day (the 10th)… and the seventh day (the 11th).

The seventh day is going to coincide with the regular Sabbath. And so, it is also a day of rest. It does not always follow this way every year. These days can land on any day of the week and begin and end depending on how the year goes.

So the seven days of Unleavened Bread. And we have counted up to the seventh day. The first day and seventh day are days of rest. And so, that is what we want to follow. And it is Yahweh’s calendar that we are following in order to arrive at the proper time of the year.

Now the neat thing about Yahweh’s calendar is, it is twelve months, but sometimes there are thirteen months. You never have to worry about whether or not you have the exact amount of days in a calendar in order to make sure that the months do not fall out of season.

Yahweh just says whenever the barley is ready, you are ready for a new year. That is how I am looking at it. And, of course, that is what my study on His calendar would reflect.

So here are the official dates that we have for the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover:

4/4 – Passover

4/5 – Feast of Unleavened Bread (holy day)

4/6 – Feast of Unleavened Bread (2)

4/7 – Feast of Unleavened Bread (3)

4/8 – Feast of Unleavened Bread (4)

4/9 – Feast of Unleavened Bread (5)

4/10 – Feast of Unleavened Bread (6)

4/11 – Feast of Unleavened Bread (holy day)

Passover day is not a Sabbath, normally, but it will be this time because it is falling on the regular Sabbath day. So we are going to have a “double Sabbath.”

The 4th and the 5th will both be Sabbath days. This particular day, the 5th of what is called March, is a day in which no leaven is to be eaten. You are permitted to cook on this day, however.

And the rest of these days are not holy days. You can go to your regular job on these days, and it is okay. And then this last day of Unleavened Bread will coincide with the regular Sabbath.

So for this season, the only time you are really going to have to take a day off work would be the first day of the week, if you even work on that day– so the day called April the 5th.

And on this night right here we are actually going to do a broadcast live. There is going to be a regular broadcast on the Sabbath at the normal time– at 12:00 noon ET– and then another broadcast that night as we get some new moon reports in. And the times and everything will be posted of that broadcast next week.

And I also want you to notice that I have a PDF of the calendar: http://eliyah.com/Calendar2015.pdf. I put a tremendous amount of work on this, and also a dear sister who was able to help also put a lot of work in this as well.

And this is Yahweh’s Calendar 2015. You can actually download it and print it and tape it to your wall, or whatever. Or, as we mentioned here, the printed and spiral bound copies will be made available also. And you can request them on the web site this coming week as we are going to be putting a link up there.

You can actually have these and hang them on your wall. And I am going to go ahead and show you what they look like because we got our proof in this week.

And you open this up, and on the top half of the calendar you will notice there is a moon chart and a little picture of barley there and an explanation. This month will be the beginning of months.

And it is on spiral bound. And it actually has the Roman dates listed here as well as Yahweh’s dates. We are going to focus, though, on Yahweh’s dates, not the Roman dates. But they are available.

So you can actually use this as the main calendar in your house if you want to refer to Yahweh’s calendar or also have the option of looking at the regular calendar dates as well. Of course, the first day of the week on through Shabbat.

Now let’s say you are in southern Australia and you haven’t seen the new moon on this night of the 21st. Then all you have to do is flip to the next page on the calendar. There is the new moon chart for the 22nd, and this is going to be your calendar for the month.

And this also helps to resolve, for those of you who might think we only go by the new moon in Jerusalem, there are months in which we might differ here in the United Sates. And so, this is a 56 page calendar because we have multiple second month’s options here.

There are two options for each month depending on whether you have seen the new moon in your area. So there are options.

So this will be made available. Thanks to some large donations that came in, we are able to give this away. We still need some more donations for shipping costs, but the printing cost has pretty much been covered.

It ended up costing us about a copy. We printed out 500 copies. And so, hopefully, we will get these out. And I am really excited about it.

Another thing about this calendar you will notice is– if you download it, especially– you will notice a little more detail. Different biblical events that occurred at different times are also mentioned on this calendar.

So if there was ever a biblical event that took place during a certain month of Yahweh’s calendar– for instance, here, the ninth day of the fourth month– it tells you what happened on that day in Scripture: The taking of the city of Jerusalem and they were sent into exile.

And we also have the waters prevailed. The flood’s waters were covering the earth. And so, different events that were going on during this time. And it is really fascinating to see the themes for each month and how it all seems to fall into a theme.

For instance, the sixth month of the calendar. We are going to flip forward to that. There were certain things that occurred that were sort of in preparation for the seventh month.

You will notice there is a brief teaching here about the different events on Yahweh’s month of the sixth month that tie in with what we need to be doing to prepare for the Messiah’s return. And the seventh month, Yom Teruah, is a feast that marks the Messiah’s return.

And so, I am very excited to have this actually on my wall and be able to see this go on everybody else’s wall. I really feel like we need to be focused on Yahweh’s time. As the children of Issachar said, they knew what Israel ought to do because they understood the times.

And we need to understand Yahweh’s timing, and His timing involves His calendar. And it is the enemy that thinks to change times and laws and things like that. But Yahweh is the keeper of time and we are going to give Him the glory.

When Messiah returns, it says in Isaiah 66 that from “one new moon to another” all flesh will come and worship before Him. I think Yahweh is going to teach the world His calendar.

And when His will is finally done on the earth as it is in heaven, the whole world will follow HIS calendar. I say it is time we get in step with Him right now.

Now we are going to move forward here a little bit to see what Passover actually entails. We are going to look through Exodus chapter 12, as we have been doing here, and verse 3. It says:

Exodus 12:3 – Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: `On the tenth [day] of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of [his] father, a lamb for a household.

Again, this is the beginning of months. This is the tenth day of the first month.

Exodus 12:4 – `And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take [it] according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb.

5 – `Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take [it] from the sheep or from the goats.

This is Yahweh’s command, so they would take themselves a lamb or a kid from the flock and they would make sure it was without blemish. And this is the lamb that they were actually going to slaughter.

Now many years ago, when we first moved to Missouri– I believe it was the year 2000– we had some brothers come out for one of the feast days. And he brought a couple of lambs from his flock, and they were close to a year old. And we actually cooked them up and ate them and had some lamb meat.

But this was my first experience of actually being part of the process of seeing a lamb or a sheep being slaughtered. And, I tell you what. It sent chills up your spine, because when the lamb’s throat was slit, the blood came out and the lamb just stood there like nothing even happened. Like he didn’t even notice.

And all of a sudden, he just started getting weak. And so, he sat down, and then he just got weaker and weaker. And then, he began to moan. And when he started moaning, I want to tell you something. You have never experienced anything like it, because he sounded just like a human being.

He actually had the same level of deepness of his voice. It sounded like a human saying… and this is what heard… I remember… I will never forget. I heard the lamb go, “ohh…” Whew! It was amazing. Just, “ohh… ohh..” If I had heard a recording of the voice, I would have thought it was a man who was hurt.

And I still get teary-eyed thinking about it because every year they would hear the cry of this lamb.

Now another way of doing it is make sure you cut the voice box so you don’t have to hear that. But they would know that that voice was possible.

And that voice of the lamb dying is just amazing. The picture, and how complete the picture is of our Savior Yahushua, that when He was on the tree, certainly, He would have known and He would have cried out, which we know He did.

And so, there is a lot about Yahushua the Messiah in the Torah if you have ears to hear, eyes to see and if you take on their lifestyle.

So many people talk about the Hebrew roots. “Oh, we want to know about the Hebrew roots and all these things.” And that is great. We want to learn about the Hebrew roots. But do you know something? If you really want to know the Hebrew roots, go grow some barley. Go grow some winter wheat. Go be a shepherd for a while.

Those kinds of things will teach you what Yahweh was teaching Israel through the things they experienced. And learn Hebrew. That is another way. But it is amazing. It really is.

So, again…

Exodus 12:6 – `Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight.

7 – `And they shall take [some] of the blood and put [it] on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.

Exodus 12:8 – `Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread [and] with bitter [herbs] they shall eat it.

9 – `Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire — its head with its legs and its entrails.

10 – `You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire.

Exodus 12:11 – `And thus you shall eat it: [with] a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It [is] YAHWEH’S Passover.

12 – `For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I [am] YAHWEH.

And so, whatever deities Egypt thought that were real, they are going to find out that day they were nothing and there is no Elohim besides Yahweh.

And so, the children of Israel would kill this Passover lamb. And the picture would be clear, because they would know they would partake of this lamb and this lamb died for them. And they would partake of that lamb.

And so, in a spiritual sense, the life of that lamb was in them, saving them from death. They were saved by the lamb’s death. The lamb died instead of them.

And so, that is a powerful object lesson for Israel to understand: “Every year that lamb died for you, so that you would not die, so you would be spared, and so you would keep your identity as Israelites.” And so, it is incredible the imagery that is here.

Now when they had the Passover lamb in those days, the way they cooked it was, they put it on a stick. In the same way, Messiah Himself was put on a “stauros.” The scripture says “stauros,” the Greek being “stauros” or “stake.” And that was what He was killed on. And so, even that matches up in its imagery, and so on.

And so, they would take this Passover lamb and they would tie it up to the stick. And, in that case, they would roast it. It was already dead. And then they would partake of that lamb.

Well, Messiah, now He has died. We partake of Him that night. We partake of His body and His blood that night because He is our Passover Lamb.

Exodus 12:13 – `Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you [are]. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy [you] when I strike the land of Egypt.

So this is all pointing to Yahushua the Messiah. When the death angel passed over, they would be spared from death. And, likewise, our lives are spared from death, and we do not suffer judgment that we deserve. So the lamb died for them.

Exodus 12:14 – `So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to YAHWEH throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.

Something to remember. Forever!

Exodus 12:15 – `Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.

So this “leavened bread” was to be removed from their home. Anything with leavening was to be removed from their home, and they were not to partake of it for that entire seven days of the Feast.

So, looking here…

Exodus 12:16 – `On the first day [there shall be] a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but [that] which everyone must eat — that only may be prepared by you.

In other words, you can cook. That kind of work is permissible on the first and seventh days of the feast.

So looking at our calendar, we need to have all the leavening removed from our homes by this day (the 4th) at sundown. We want to have all the leavening out of our houses.

And so, since it is a Sabbath that occurs before this day, we probably want to have all the leavening out of our houses on this night (the 3rd) just so that we don’t have to do any kind of work or anything. And so, that is how we keep it.

So we start already to get the leavening out of our homes, have it removed from our homes. Get started now and get all this stuff out. And then you will be ready. You can put it in a box. You can set it aside.

Start eating out of that box the specific foods or ingredients that have leavening in them, so that by the time Passover rolls around, you will either have very little– which you can either give away or throw away or burn– or it will all be gone so you won’t have anything left.

So it is all in how you want to do it, but that is how we would do it. That is how we have done it. We set it aside, start using it up and be ready. That way you are not wasting food.

So looking here on this calendar (the Roman calendar), we are talking about the fifteenth day of Yahweh’s month. If you were to line this up… this is Yahweh’s calendar, His calendar– the 15th to the 21st. And so, that is how it all lines up. There is the month of April. And then there is Yahweh’s calendar– Nisan (Month of the AVIV).

Exodus 12:17 – `So you shall observe [the Feast of] Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.

And so, these are the days of rest– the 15th and 21st. This night (the 14th) is when we partake of Messiah Yahushua, our Passover Lamb. And these seven days (the 15th-21st) we have no leavening in our homes, and we do not eat any leavening. This is the commandment, so this is what we observe.

Going back to Leviticus 23, verses 4 through 5:

Leviticus 23:4 – `These [are] the feasts of YAHWEH, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.

5 – `On the fourteenth [day] of the first month at twilight [is] YAHWEH’S Passover.

Leviticus 23:6 – `And on the fifteenth day of the same month [is] the Feast of Unleavened Bread to YAHWEH; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

7 – `On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.

So these are the days– the 15th and the 21st of the month of Aviv.

So, again, Exodus 12, verse 18. I would like to continue on here.

Exodus 12:18 – `In the first [month], on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.

So you look here, and it says the fourteenth day of the month. Here it is. When the sun goes down (on the 14th), you have no leavening in your houses until this day (the 21st) comes. And it is, again, at sundown. Then you can start eating leavening again. So these Sabbaths coming up will be significant.

Now what kind of things would actually constitute leavening? What would be the different kinds of leavening that could be out there? Now anciently it was just a sourdough ball. They could put the sourdough next to the bread and all the yeast would transfer to the new bread, cause the bread to rise. They put the bread in the oven and they are done.

And so, what they needed to do at the Feast of Unleavened Bread is take the sourdough ball and burn it or get rid of it and then it wouldn’t be in their houses anymore. Maybe go around and make sure there are not any crumbs of bread and things like that throughout the house.

But, today, with our modernized society, it is incredible how complex it can be to get rid of all the leavening. And the leavening represents sin. And after we have partaken of the Messiah, we are without sin, right? Because He is now dwelling in us. It is not we who live anymore.

And so, in that sense, we have these seven days of unleavened bread representing the seven thousand years of man on the earth in which Messiah Himself would cause our leavening to become unleavening. And so, seven days we keep unleavened bread.

And these are the leavening agents that you can look at as possible leavening agents:

Baker’s yeast (Yeast)

Active dried yeast

Baking powder

Baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate)

Cream of tartar (Potassium bitartrate)

Sourdough

Ammonium carbonate

Ammonium bicarbonate

Potassium carbonate

Potassium bicarbonate

Dipotassium carbonate

And there is a full list of leavening agents at: http://eliyah.com/leaven.html. But these are some of the major ones, particularly baker’s yeast, active dried yeast, baking powder, baking soda– cream of tartar can be used as a leavening agent– sourdough, and these other carbonate and bicarbonate kind of things, can all be things that leaven bread.

And so, we like to look through our ingredient lists on the food items that we have in our home and then get rid of those things. And we even go a step further. We will go through the whole house, sweep the whole house up, get our cars all swept out (because we eat food in our cars when we are on trips and stuff and we get our cars all swept out).

Then we take the sweeper bag, and the sweeper bag has leavening in it. We put it with the trash. And then we either burn the trash or take it into town in our case and have the trash disposed of. And it is a fun thing. It can be a great thing to do as a family: “Okay, children, this is what we are going to do.”

This is the level of zeal we want to have in getting all of the sin out of our life. And so, this is our household. We want all of the yeast out of our house.

How zealous do you want to be to get the sin out of your life? There are different levels of conviction on this, but this is kind of where we are with it.

And it is neat. It is a lesson for the generation to come. And that is what Yahweh wanted these feasts to be– a lesson for the generation to come.

And the more complicated our society gets– because the further it gets from Yahweh, the more complicated things get– the more complicated and the more difficult it can be to get rid of the sin in your life and also the more complicated and difficult it can be to get rid of and find all the leavening agents as well. So it is amazing.

So you prepare a month ahead of time. Look at all the ingredients of different things in your house and use those all up and eat those all up. And then your children will be so happy you bought the cake mix. But you get all these things and you make all the things that you need to make.

And then when the First day of Unleavened Bread comes, or in this case, the Sabbath before, everything will be disposed of or given away or whatever. If we give it away, we usually give it away like a week ahead of time, so I don’t feel like I am giving them my sin. We get rid of it, and then it is their responsibility from there on what to do.

But anyway, you put those things in a box. There are recipes for unleavened bread which we have on the web site as well. You can look at the front page and you can find some recipes at: eliyah.com/recipes.html.

And this is all a spiritual lesson, and we want to apply this in this manner. And since we have an understanding with Messiah, we know what all these things are commemorating and representing and all His goodness and all the awesome things He has done for us, one of which is bring us near to the commonwealth of Israel.

So that is who we are. That is what we are now a part of. We are brought near by the blood of Messiah.

Ephesians 2:13 – But now in Messiah Yahushua you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.

Exodus 12:21 – Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover [lamb].

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

Exodus 12:23 – For YAHWEH will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, YAHWEH will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike [you].

24 – And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever.

It is perpetual.

Exodus 12:25 – It will come to pass when you come to the land which YAHWEH will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service.

26 – And it shall be, when your children say to you, `What do you mean by this service?’

27 – that you shall say, `It [is] the Passover sacrifice of YAHWEH, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ So the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

And so, it is a testimony to our children– the deliverance that we have been wrought through the Messiah Yahushua.

We communicate the awesome works of Yahweh as we partake of Messiah, our Passover, by the unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine representing the blood of Messiah and the New Covenant.

And this is all about communicating to our generations to come– and to us– the awesome works of Yahweh, which we will get more into this next week.

But continue reading here…

Exodus 12:28 – Then the children of Israel went away and did [so]; just as YAHWEH had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

29 – And it came to pass at midnight that YAHWEH struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who [was] in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock.

Exodus 12:30 – So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for [there was] not a house where [there was] not one dead.

31 – Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve YAHWEH as you have said.

Exodus 12:32 – Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

33 – And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, We [shall] all [be] dead.

34 – So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders.

Exodus 12:35 – Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing.

36 – And YAHWEH had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them [what they requested]. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

Exodus 12:37 – Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children.

38 – A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds — a great deal of livestock.

Exodus 12:39 – And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.

40 – Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt [was] four hundred and thirty years.

So we, also, are in such a haste to get out of the world that we are going to leave our sin behind as well, right?

Exodus 12:41 – And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years — on that very same day — it came to pass that all the armies of YAHWEH went out from the land of Egypt.

42 – It [is] a night of solemn observance to YAHWEH for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This [is] that night of YAHWEH, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations.

Exodus 12:43 – And YAHWEH said to Moses and Aaron, This [is] the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it.

44 – But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it.

45 – A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it.

Exodus 12:46 – In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.

47 – All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.

Now my question is: Are we the congregation of Israel now? Are we His congregation through the circumcision of the Messiah? Absolutely!

So the circumcision of Messiah, according to Colossians 2, is baptism. If you have never been baptized, you may want to consider getting baptized because it is very, very important.

So we read these scriptures and we comprehend and understand the spiritual application here and how significant that is. This is the time of year, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11, let a man examine himself and so partake of the cup.

It is time to get the leaven out, that old habit that we have if there is one. We have to get rid of it if it is not of Yahweh.

It is a very significant Feast. It calls us back to repentance, calls us to a time of reverence, a time of sincerity, a time to examine ourselves, a time to lift up and glorify what Messiah has done for us.

And all of these object lessons are there for us to remind us of what Messiah has done. And part of what He has done is He has made us Israelites. So we are now identifying ourselves as His people, the people of Israel.

Passover does have much to teach us. And I have more to share next week. And so, until then, my brothers and my sisters, may Yahweh bless you, and may Yahweh have mercy on us all.