Passover & Unleavened Bread

(Video Version)

What is Passover & Unleavened Bread

The Passover Lamb

There are two aspects to the Passover lamb. First is the blood, which is the sign/mark/seal that covers believers from the judgment of YHWH. Second is the flesh, which through the act of eating the believer receives forgiveness of sins. Immediately before Yeshua (Jesus) became the Passover Lamb, He demonstrated how we are to continue celebrating the feast in remembrance of Him. We drink the wine as a symbol of the lamb’s blood covering/sealing our bodies from judgment. We eat the bread as a symbol of eating the Lamb’s flesh—now in the form of bread—to participate in the forgiveness of sins brought by Yeshua’s crucifixion.

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, I am the Bread of life; the one coming to Me will not at all hunger, and the one believing into Me will never ever thirst.

John 6:51 I am the Living Bread that came down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever. And indeed the bread which I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

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Unleavened Bread

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is deliverance for the believer from YHWH’s judgment.

Yeast lives naturally on wheat seeds. When the wheat is ground into flour and mixed with water, the yeast eats the sugar in the wheat flour and the mixture will ferment. This fermentation is what makes bread dough rise, this is the leaven. Leaven is symbolic of sin and false doctrine in our lives.

1 Corinthians 5:1-8 Everywhere it is heard that fornication is among you, and such fornication which is not named among the heathen, so as one to have his father’s wife. And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that did this deed might be taken from your midst. For as being absent in body but being present in spirit, indeed I have already judged the one who has worked out this thing, as if I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—you being gathered together with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ—to deliver such a one to Satan for destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your boast is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens all the lump? Therefore, purge out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For also Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. So let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with leaven of malice and of evil, but with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Matthew 16:6-12 And Jesus said unto them, Watch! And beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, Because we did not take loaves. And knowing, Jesus said to them, Why do you reason among yourselves because you took no loaves, little-faiths? Do you not perceive nor recall the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? How do you not perceive that it was not about loaves that I said to you that you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees? Then they knew that He did not say to take heed of the leaven of bread, but from the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The week of Unleavened Bread is our journey out of sin and false doctrine and into a life of righteousness as can only be achieved because Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ) paid the price for our passage.

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Passover & Unleavened Bread in Eden

Walking Naked

Walking naked means to have your sins not be covered by the sacrificial Lamb, and therefore be visible to YHWH. Once we put on the garments provided by YHWH, the blood of Yeshua, our sins are covered and we are made pure.

Revelation 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

The first sacrifice for sins was made by YHWH in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had sinned against YHWH, which caused them to realize they were naked. Their sins were visible to YHWH.

Genesis 3:7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed leaves of the fig tree and made girdles for themselves.

Adam and Eve attempted to cover their sin but it was not sufficient as only through blood can sin be atoned.

Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are cleansed by blood according to the Law; and apart from shedding of blood no remission occurs.

So, Adam and Eve attempted to hide from YHWH.

Genesis 3:10-11 And he said, I have heard Your sound in the garden, and I was afraid, for I am naked, and I hid myself. And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?

They ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and this made them aware of their nakedness; if you’ve ever wondered what the connection between these is, it isn’t that being naked is evil. They understood good and evil because they sinned (evil), and nakedness is a metaphor for having your sin be visible.

Then, death entered the world when YHWH sacrificed a lamb to cover the sin of Adam and Eve.

Genesis 3:21 And YHWH God made coats of skin for the man and his wife, and clothed them.

This lamb was a foreshadow of Yeshua.

Revelation 13:8 …the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

The final sacrifice for sin was Yeshua, the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world.

1 Peter 1:19-20 But with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.

YHWH requires man’s obedience—which means righteousness—in order to be in His presence for eternity. Adam and Eve disobeyed YHWH and therefore were sent out of YHWH’s presence so that they could not eat of the tree of life and spend eternity in their fallen state.

Genesis 3:22 And YHWH God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore YHWH God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

YHWH has given man six thousand years plus one thousand in Yeshua’s kingdom, after that all those who have chosen obedience to Him, and are clothed by the blood of the Lamb, will have eternal life with YHWH and Yeshua in the New Jerusalem. This is the meaning of life!

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Passover & Unleavened Bread Before Egypt

We believe that YHWH’s Torah, including the sacrificial laws, have been in place since man was removed from the Garden of Eden. Scripture gives us examples and hints of this fact, even when it doesn’t specifically use these words. Let’s look at a few of those examples.

Cain and Abel

Cain and Abel were bringing their sacrifices to YHWH, obviously this was something they knew was required. They also knew what the standards were, as Cain’s offering was not acceptable. YHWH is a kind and just God, He does nothing without telling man first. He would not have a standard for man to meet—to which failure is equivalent to sin—if He did not make that standard perfectly clear ahead of time!

Genesis 4:3-7 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto YHWH. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And YHWH had respect unto Able and to his offering; but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And YHWH said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest not well sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

YHWH says that if you do not do well, then sin is at your door.

James 4:17-21 Therefore, to anyone knowing to do good, and not doing it, it is sin to him.

The definition of sin is disobedience to YHWH’s Law.

1 John 3:4 Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

Therefore, “doing well” must mean obeying YHWH’s Laws. This tells us that at this early time YHWH had given man commandments regarding a sacrificial system; and Abel obeyed them, but Cain did not.

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Noah

Genesis 6:8-9 And Noah found grace in the eyes of YHWH. These are the generations of Noah. Noah, a righteous man, had been perfected among his family—Noah walked with God.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Yeshua was giving the “Blessed are the…” talk—commonly called the beatitudes— along with an extensive teaching on how we are to conduct ourselves as His representatives. He spoke of being the salt of the earth, a bright city on a mountain, and a lit lamp on a lampstand. He then went on to explain how this is accomplished. He assured us that He did not come to abolish the Law, but rather we are to obey the Law, which is righteousness.

Matthew 5:19-20 Whoever then shall break one of these commandments, the least, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of Heaven. But whoever does and teaches them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of the Heavens. For I say to you, If your righteousness shall not exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, in no way shall you go into the kingdom of Heaven.

In Matthew 5:21-47, Yeshua expounds on the Laws, showing how they are a minimum requirement. Then, in verse 48, He says:

Matthew 5:48 Therefore, you be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect.

So this is what it means to be “perfect” in the eyes of YHWH, to meet and exceed His Law.

In Deuteronomy chapter eighteen, after YHWH has given His Torah to the Israelites, He tells them that they are not to participate in any of the evil activities of the Canaanites living in the land where He is taking them. Then YHWH says:

Deuteronomy 18:13 Thou shalt be perfect with YHWH thy Elohim.

James also tells us that being perfect means obedience to Torah.

James 1:2-4 My brothers count it all joy when you fall into temptations, knowing that the proving of your faith works patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

That is three witnesses—Matthew, Moses, and James—all telling us that being perfect means being obedient to YHWH’s Law.

We are told that Noah was perfected among his family and that he was a righteous man, even before he began building the ark. We heard from Yeshua’s words, and the words of Moses and James, that both righteousness and being perfected are attained by living in obedience to the Torah, which means the Torah must have been in place even before the flood.

Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather, died the same year as the flood. We know this from working out the chronology from creation, which you can learn about in our study: Timeline of History. We also know that the flood began in the second month, which means Methuselah must have passed away shortly before YHWH loaded everyone into the ark. Let’s look closer at the timing of events.

Genesis 7:10-11 And in time, after the seven days, the waters of the flood came into being on the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, in this day all the fountains of the deep were risen, and the windows of the heavens were opened up.

Seven days after they entered the ark, on the 17th day of the 2nd month, the flood started. Therefore, they entered the ark on the 10th day of the 2nd month.

In Numbers chapter 9, YHWH makes provisions for a second Passover. If someone could not observe the Passover because they were made ceremonially unclean from touching a dead body, they could celebrate it one month later instead.

Numbers 9:6-12  And there were certain men who were unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. And those men said to him, “We are unclean through touching a dead body. Why are we kept from bringing YHWH’s offering at its appointed time among the people of Israel?” And Moses said to them, “Wait, that I may hear what YHWH will command concerning you.” YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to YHWH. In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it.

The lamb for the second Passover would then be chosen on the 10th day of the 2nd month, Passover would be on the 14th day of the 2nd month, and Firstfruits would be on the first Sunday after that, sometimes falling on the 17th day of the 2nd month.

We can see that it is possible that Noah couldn’t participate in the Passover because he had prepared Methuselah’s body for burial, so he observed it in the second month instead; and this is when YHWH loaded them on the ark. Noah, his family, and the animals were sealed aboard the ark when YHWH shut them in on the 10th day of the second month. They were protected from the judgment of the flood waters that came on the 17th day of the second month. This means they were delivered on Firstfruits, just as the Israelites were when they crossed the Red Sea.

Genesis 7:15-16 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him. And YHWH shut him in.

Regarding the animals that were brought on the ark, YHWH told Noah how many of each to take: of clean and unclean. This means that the Law was already in place that designated which animals and birds were clean or unclean!

Genesis 7:1-2 And YHWH said to Noah, You and all your house come into the ark, for I have seen you righteous before Me in this generation. You shall take to yourself from every clean animal by sevens, male and female; and from the animal that is not clean by two, male and female.

When Noah and his family came out of the ark, Noah made a burnt offering on an altar. This would be one reason he was told to take more clean animals than unclean ones.

Genesis 8:20-22 Then Noah built an altar to YHWH, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And YHWH smelled the delightful odor, and YHWH said in His heart, I will never again curse the ground for the sake of man, because the imagination of the heart of man is evil from his youth. Yes, I will not again smite every living thing as I have done; while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

We can see that Noah knew the laws regarding clean and unclean animals and which he could sacrifice in a burnt offering, and he knew to make the burnt offering. He knew these things because he was following Torah.

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Abraham, Sarah, and Lot

YHWH visited Abraham and Sarah on Passover and told them she would give birth to Isaac in exactly one year. That same day the two angels of YHWH visited Lot in Sodom. Lot invited them into his home and cooked them a feast with unleavened bread; and the next morning, Lot, his wife, and two daughters were delivered out of Sodom. Then YHWH destroyed the city behind them.

How do we know it was Passover?

First: by the description of the meal that Abraham and Sarah prepared for YHWH. Sarah made cakes with no leaven.

Genesis 18:6 And Abraham ran into the tent to Sarah and said, Hurry, prepare three measures of fine meal, knead it and make cakes^h5692.

The Hebrew word translated ‘cakes’ is Strong’s h5692. From the Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon:

Second: that same evening, the two angels went to Sodom and were invited into Lot’s home. Lot made them a feast with unleavened bread.

Genesis 19:3 …and they turned in to him, and came into his house. And he made a feast for them. And he baked unleavened cakes^h4682, and they ate.

The Hebrew word translated ‘unleavened cakes’ is Strong’s h4682. From the Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon:

Unleavened Bread is about deliverance from YHWH’s judgement. Lot and his family were delivered out of Sodom before the city was destroyed.

Genesis 19:15-17 And when the dawn rose, then the angels urged Lot, saying, Rise up, take your wife and your two daughters who are found, lest you be cut off in the perversity of the city. And he lingered. And the men lay hold of his hand and the hand of his wife, and on the hand of his two daughters. YHWH having mercy on him. And they caused him to go out, and they put him down outside the city. And it happened as they led them outside, he said, Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay in all the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed.

Isaac was born exactly one year later and scripture calls it an “appointed time”.

Genesis 21:1-2 And YHWH visited Sarah as He has said. Yes the Lord did to Sarah as He had spoken. And Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time^h4510, that which God had spoken with him.

The Hebrew word translated ‘appointed time’ is Strong’s h4150 מוֹעֵד môwʻêd: a fixed time or season; specifically, a festival; conventionally a year; by implication an assembly; technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal: –appointed (sign, time), (place of, solemn) assembly, congregation, (set, solemn) feast, (appointed, due) feast, (appointed due) season, solemn(-ity), synagogue, (set) time (appointed).

This word being used isn’t definitive proof on its own that the Feast of Unleavened Bread was being observed by Abraham and Lot, but along with the other evidence, it is more than compelling.

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Passover & Unleavened Bread In Egypt

Almost four hundred years later, when Abraham’s descendants were enslaved in Egypt, YHWH sent Moses and Aaron to tell Pharaoh to release the Israelites.

Exodus 5:1-3 And afterwards, Moses and Aaron came in and said to Pharaoh, So says YHWH the God of Israel, Send away My people, and they shall feast to Me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is YHWH that I should listen to His voice to send away Israel? I do not know YHWH, and I also will not send Israel away. And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us go a journey of three days into the wilderness and sacrifice to YHWH our God, that He not strike us with plague or with sword.

The Israelites were to go to Mount Sinai in the desert, and make a sacrifice and have a feast. We believe this was in the fall and the feast YHWH is talking about is the Feast of Tabernacles. However, Pharaoh does not release the Israelites, and five months of plagues ensue culminating in the final plague at Passover.

On the 14th day of the first month, the Israelites were told to slaughter unblemished lambs, and paint their door posts with their blood. Then they were to roast the lamb and eat it, at the start of the fifteenth day, with bitter herbs and unleavened bread. The Israelites who believed in YHWH did as they were instructed, and at midnight on the fifteenth day of the month, when the angel of YHWH came through Egypt killing the first born sons, the homes that were sealed/marked by the blood of the unblemished lambs were passed over.

They ate the feast of unleavened bread and then YHWH delivered them from out of the hands of the Egyptians. The seven days of unleavened bread was how long it took them to reach Mount Sinai. They crossed the Red Sea on First Fruits.

This is why in Revelation 11:8, Jerusalem is called Sodom and Egypt.

Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Lot was delivered out of the city of Sodom before YHWH judged Sodom; likewise, the Israelites were delivered out of the land of Egypt before YHWH judged Egypt. And finally, in like manner, the remnant will be delivered out of Jerusalem before YHWH judges Jerusalem.

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Passover & Unleavened Bread After Egypt

YHWH gave Moses the Torah at Mount Sinai, which included the rules on how to observe His Appointed Times. The statutes were to be strictly adhered to, often on punishment of death if broken by an individual. Moses reiterated them multiple times, which shows us their importance to YHWH.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: A blessing if you obey the commandments of YHWH your God which I command you today; and a curse if you will not obey the commandments of YHWH your God, but will turn aside out of the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 I call Heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, choose life, that you may live, you and your seed, to love YHWH your God, to listen to His voice, and to cleave to Him—for He is your life, and the length of your days—to live in the land which YHWH has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give it to them.

YHWH’s Appointed Times are a very important part of His Torah. They are a memorial of past events and a foreshadow of events that are yet to come.

Leviticus 23:4-8 These are the appointed feasts of YHWH, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is YHWH’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to YHWH; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. But you shall present a food offering to YHWH for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.

Numbers 9:1-5 And YHWH spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, “Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it.” So Moses told the people of Israel that they should keep the Passover. And they kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that YHWH commanded Moses, so the people of Israel did.

In Jericho, Rahab the harlot, kept the two witnesses safe and in return they promised that she and her family would be protected from the Israelite invasion. They gave her a scarlet thread to put in her window to mark/seal her family, keeping them safe.

Joshua 2:18-21 Behold, we are coming in to the land; you shall bind this scarlet thread of line in the window by which you have let us down, And you shall gather your father, and your mother, and your brothers, and all your father’s house to you, to the house. And it shall be anyone who goes outside from the doors of your house his blood shall be on his head, and we shall be innocent. And anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand is on him. But if you reveal this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless from your oath that you make us swear. And she said, Let it be according to your words. And she sent them away. And they went. And she bound the line of scarlet thread in the window.

This scarlet thread, like the lamb’s blood that the Israelites painted on their doorposts, was a foreshadow of the blood of Yeshua that would be spilled on the cross for our deliverance out of the bondage of sin and death.

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Passover & Unleavened Bread With Yeshua

On the evening of the 14th day of the first month, shortly before sundown, Yeshua and His disciples assembled for the feast that has through tradition been called the Last Supper. This meal was recorded in all four of the Gospels.

Matthew 26:17 Now on the first^g4413 day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?”

The Greek word translated ‘first’ is Strong’s g4413 πρῶτος prōtos: foremost (in time, place, order or importance):—before, beginning, best, chief(-est), first (of all), former.

The word ‘day’ is absent in the Greek text, and the word ‘first’ would be better translated ‘before’. Therefore, this verse is better rendered: Now, before unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?”

We have the same issue in the translation of the account in Mark.

Mark 14:12 And on the first [before]^g4413 day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”

Mark says that before Unleavened Bread, the disciples asked Yeshua where He wanted to celebrate Passover. When Mark writes, “when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,” he is clarifying to his readers what happened on Unleavened Bread, that is was when the Jews killed the Passover lambs.

The accounts in Luke and John make the errors in the translations of Matthew and Mark obvious, and clarify the timing for us.

Luke 22:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover.

John 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

When we translate the passage in Matthew and Mark correctly, making them more accurate to the Greek text, we get the exact same message in all four Gospels. Before the Feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread, the 14th day of the 1st month, Yeshua shared His last supper with the disciples.

When Yeshua became the unblemished Passover Lamb, all who believe in Him became marked by His blood. Now, sacrificing a lamb is no longer necessary for protection from judgment, as Yeshua became the sacrifice once for all. But, He told us to continue holding the Feast of Unleavened Bread in remembrance of Him.

Matthew 26:26-29 And as they ate, taking the bread and blessing it, Jesus broke and gave to the disciples; and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And taking the cup, and giving thanks, He gave to them, saying Drink of all of it. For this is My blood of the New Covenant which concerning many is being poured out for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not at all drink of this fruit of the vine after this, until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of My Father.

Before Yeshua’s crucifixion, Passover was a foreshadow, looking ahead to, his crucifixion. After Yeshua’s crucifixion, Passover became a memorial, looking backwards to, his crucifixion.

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Passover & Unleavened Bread After Yeshua

By the mid-second century, Christians in Rome had begun celebrating Passover (Pascha in Aramaic) on the first Sunday following the first full moon after Spring Equinox. They began referring to it as “the day of the resurrection of our Savior”. This is one example of how Rome changed times and laws, as prophecy warned us the beast would.

Daniel 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

The early Christians in Jerusalem and Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), however, continued observing YHWH’s Appointed Times. They held their Passover feast on the 14th day of the 1st month at the beginning of Unleavened Bread, as Exodus 12:14 commands we are to do forever. The Roman Christians, who believed themselves superior, labeled those faithful to YHWH, quartodecimani, which is Latin for “fourteenthers”.

Among the faithful quartodecimani was Polycarp, disciple of the Apostle John and Bishop of Smyrna (c.69-c155). Polycarp travelled to Rome to discuss the issue with the Bishop of Rome, who at the time was Anicetus. The early church father, Eusebius (c. 260-339) wrote about their encounter:

So, as Eusebius reported, there was to be no division among assemblies over the date to celebrate Yeshua’s Passover, during the time of Polycarp.

Apollinarius, a contemporary with the Apostles, wrote a poem that illustrates that the Apostles were keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread just as YHWH commanded; which means the Bishop of Rome, and the other Western Bishops who followed His lead, were wrong in changing YHWH’s Appointed Times.

In AD 193, Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus, presided over a council at Ephesus, which was attended by the Eastern Bishops. They discussed the issue and decided that they would reject the Bishop of Rome’s authority and continue following YHWH’s authority instead. Polycrates was emphatic that they were to continue in the tradition passed down to them by those who came before him. Eusebius gives us a copy of the letter from Polycrates:

The Bishop of Rome, Victor, then attempted to strong-arm Polycrates into submission to the beast by excommunicating the Bishops of the East. However, some Western Bishops convinced him to follow the path of his predecessors and not allow a schism to occur among the assemblies over the date of the holiday.

The First Council of Nicaea, lead by the Roman Emperor Constantine I, made the decision that the date of Passover be calculated independently of the erroneous Jewish calendar. The Christians of the fourth century had realized that the first new moon of the year needed to be after the Spring equinox, according to scripture, but the Jewish calendar often had it begin before. So they had started their own calendar calculating it correctly. At Nicaea, the bishops decided that Christians were to use their own calculations and not follow the Jewish calendar. Whether to celebrate on the fourteenth or on the first Sunday after was not discussed, and the practice was still varied within the church and continued to be for many years.

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Why Should We Observe Passover & Unleavened Bread

The purpose for participating in the Passover (bread and wine) and Feast of Unleavened Bread in the twenty-first century is:

• Passover: We are sealed by the blood of the lamb, which is the garment that covers our sin so we don’t walk naked. Eating the bread and drinking the wine is our symbolic active participation in Yeshua’s atoning work on the cross, which is the assurance of forgiveness for our sins and everlasting life through Yeshua Messiah. Yeshua commanded us to do this in remembrance of Him. Not once a week, not once a month, but once a year on Passover.
• Unleavened Bread: Is the week long active purge of sin and false doctrine from our lives as we actively participate in leaving Egypt and Sodom behind and begin our new lives in righteousness. The Roman church teaches Lent, but YHWH teaches the week of Unleavened Bread.

1 Peter 1:18-20 knowing that not with corruptible things, silver or gold, you were redeemed from your worthless way of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood of Christ, as of an unblemished and unspotted lamb, indeed having been foreknown before the foundation of the world, but revealed in the last times because of you.

Revelation 1:5 even from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the Firstborn from the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him loving us and having washed us from our sins by His blood.

The words of Melito of Sardis (AD100-180):

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How Do We Observe Passover & Unleavened Bread

There are some legitimate challenges that we as adherents to the Whole Word of YHWH face in these end times. We are two thousand years removed from the Apostolic Church that learned from Yeshua. The traditions of both Judaism and Christianity have been influenced heavily by false doctrines and the traditions of men; therefore, we must exercise extreme caution when looking to either of them for direction to avoid any traditions that run contrary to scripture.

On the fourteenth day of the first month on YHWH’s calendar, we observe the Passover meal, which is often referred to as the “Last Supper”. In the late afternoon before sundown, bread and wine are eaten in remembrance of Yeshua. After sundown is the beginning of the fifteenth day, which starts the week of Unleavened Bread. The first day is a day of rest and assembly, as is the seventh. Altogether, there are eight days in the Appointed Time.

For the week of Unleavened Bread, we remove all baked goods that contain yeast, and stock up ahead of time with yeast-free alternatives. There are some who misunderstand this commandment and throw away the jar of yeast in their fridge and avoid products with baking soda. To clear up such confusions over what ‘leaven’ and ‘unleavened bread’ mean, we will look at the Hebrew words that have been translated into English.

The Hebrew word translated ‘leaven’ is Strong’s h7603 שְׂאֹר seh-ore’: from H7604; barm or yeast-cake (as swelling by fermentation):—leaven. Also, from the Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon: fermentation, leaven, Ex. 12:15, 19.

Leaven, in the context of scripture, is not so much about the rising, but rather the fermentation, which is why baking soda is not leaven. Baking soda causes dough to rise through a chemical reaction that gives off carbon dioxide. Baking soda does not spread and is not alive. The leaven of scripture, however, is the result of the yeast bacteria on the wheat eating the sugar and giving off carbon dioxide in the process of fermentation. The yeast is a symbol for our sin because it is alive and it spreads.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8 …Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The word ‘leaven’ refers to yeast that has been activated and has gone through, or is going through, the fermentation process. Therefore, you do not need to throw away the dormant yeast being stored in your fridge.

The Hebrew word that is translated ‘unleavened bread’ is Strong’s h4682 מַצָּה mats-tsaw’: from H4711 in the sense of greedily devouring for sweetness; properly, sweetness; concretely, sweet (i.e. not soured or bittered with yeast); specifically, an unfermented cake or loaf, or (elliptically) the festival of Passover (because no leaven was then used):—unleaved (bread, cake), without leaven. Also, from the Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon:

Unleavened bread is bread made without yeast. Yeast bacteria lives on wheat kernels, therefore, all wheat flour technically has yeast in it, but if the naturally occurring yeast has not gone through the fermentation process, the bread is unleavened.

The Passover Meal (Last Supper) was modeled for us by Yeshua and His disciples.

Mark 14:22-25 And as they were eating, Jesus taking a loaf, blessing, He broke and gave to them. And He said, Take, eat, this is My body. And taking the cup, giving thanks, He gave to them, And they all drank out of it. And He said to them, This is My blood, that of the New Covenant, which is poured out concerning many. Truly I say to you, I will not at all drink of the fruit of the vine any more until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

We can begin the meal with scripture readings, in conjunction with sharing bread and wine; then after the rest of the meal is finished, follow-up dessert with a prayer of thanks!

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Revelation 5:9 And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy are You to receive the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood purchased us to God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

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