Passover, Part 1

As I mentioned, a little over two months, we're once again going to be observing the Passover, which will, of course, begin the spring-fall festival season. And, of course, the Passover reflects back on a number of events in the Old Testament. Historical events, which have generated again a great deal of controversy since the split with the World Wide Church of God back in 1995. Now, we observe the Passover on the night of the 14th, as the 14th day begins after sunset on that 14th, the first month of the Hebrew calendar.

But Orthodox Jews and even some Church of God people, small groups, observe the Passover on the 15th, on the night that we celebrate as a night to be observed, much observed, or the night to be much remembered. Oh, that generates a question. Why do the Orthodox Jews, the vast majority of them, observe their Passover center or their Passover meal on the evening of the 15th? How did that begin? On the evening of the first day of Unleavened Bread. Now, they understand, their understanding is that the Passover lambs were slain on the afternoon of the 14th and then eaten on the evening of the 15th.

And they then believe that the Passover commemorates Israel's exodus out of Egypt, which of course occurred on the first day of Unleavened Bread. Or again, at least on the first day of Unleavened Bread. But is that really what the Old Testament Passover celebrated? Is it really celebrate Israel's exodus out of Egypt, or is it celebrate something else? It's extremely important, as far as the meaning of the Passover is concerned, to understand what it even celebrated in the Old Testament.

Now, Christ, of course, told his disciples to prepare the Passover for that evening of the 14th, as the 14th was beginning just after sunset, instead of on the 9th or the 15th as the Jews observe it today. But even the Gospel accounts themselves are somewhat confusing. Let's just turn and read one that's confusing. I'll look at a couple of them. In my introduction, let's go to Mark chapter 14. I'm not going to explain this verse today and be down the roadways, but this shows you the confusion you can have about even in the New Testament regarding the Passover.

I'm reading from the New King James, but Mark 14, we'll just look at one verse here, verse 12. Mark 14, verse 12, where it says this, and you read this, and you say, wait a minute, what does this mean? It says, Now, on the first day of unleavened bread, when the Passover, excuse me, on the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, Where do you want us to go and prepare that you may eat the Passover?

I thought the Passover lamb was killed on the fourteenth. First day of unleavened bread is the fifteenth. What is this saying here? And didn't Christ die on the afternoon of the fourteenth? On the afternoon of the Passover day? And didn't Christ eat the Passover or institute the New Testament Passover with his disciples on the night of the fourteenth as the Passover day began right after sunset? See, if that was the case, then they would have had to have killed the Passover lamb prior to that, or just at the very latest of the life after sunset on the fourteenth.

If they had, they had a credit for that night, and Christ was going to meet with his disciples that night to eat the Passover. So why then did it say here in Mark 14 verse 12, Why does it say here, Now on the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover lamb? What is that? Why does it say that? How does that fit? And why did the Jews kill their Passover lambs on the afternoon of the fourteenth back in the time of Christ, which you can verify they did? Why did they kill their Passover lambs at about the same time Christ died as a Passover lamb slain from the foundation of the world as we read in Revelation?

Now, Matthew 26, 17 is also very similar to Mark 14, 12, and I'll just quote it. Matthew 26, 17 says, Now on the first day of the feast of unleavened bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying to him, Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover? Meaning that the sacrifice Passover lamb. It all seems very confusing. Indeed, it is somewhat confusing, which is why some observe the Passover on the fifteenth and others on the fourteenth. I was wrestling with this for many years myself, actually. But I came to the conclusion that one thing that we know for sure, regardless of all these other things that are controversial that don't seem hard to understand sometimes, I did realize that we know that Christ instituted the New Testament Passover service on the night of the fourteenth, after the 14th began.

So, regardless of anything else, I felt then that was the proper time to take the New Testament Passover, because that's the time Christ instituted it. But others, and I want to make a qualification here, others do do it on the fifteenth, because some of the things they look at, it seems that may be what should be observed.

And I want to say that I honor their sincerity, because those individuals who do that, who maybe take the Passover on the fifteenth, they do a great deal of sincerity, because they take God's Word seriously, and they seriously want to make sure they try to do things right before God, and their heart is right. And I honor people that sincerely strive to follow God's Word as best they possibly can in every detail, especially in regards to the Passover, which is very, very important. But the question remains, why do we, as the United Church of God, and all the other major churches of God, why do you observe the Passover on the fourteenth, as was taught by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong? Was Mr. Armstrong correct? And is the United Church of God correct today, or are the Orthodox Jews correct, who may observe their Passover on the fifteenth? Are they correct? See, Jews believe the original Passover lamb was slain on the afternoon of the fourteenth, and that Israel then ate it on the evening of the fifteenth, just before the death angel passed over at midnight on the fifteenth, according to their understanding, causing them to then be forced to flee out of Egypt. Right after that, a death angel passed over. In other words, they look at all those events having taken place on one night, on the night of the fifteenth, other than the Passover lamb being sacrificed on the afternoon of the fourteenth. So that's why the Jews then say that the Passover then commemorates Israel's exodus out of Egypt, which took place on the fifteenth, as we know, at least to begin on that day. Now, Mr. Armstrong's position, if you know you go back that far and you can recollect what he taught, and if you haven't heard it for a long time, sometimes that's hard to recollect. But Mr. Armstrong's position was that those events occurred, all those events we just talked about, occurred over two nights, not over one night. That the Passover lamb was slain and eaten after sunset on the night of the fourteenth, that the death angel then passed over at midnight on the fourteenth, that the Israelites then remained in their homes the rest of that night and didn't leave until daylight the next morning on the Passover day, the daylight portion of the Passover, and then during that daylight portion of the Passover day, they all assembled together, to gather together to assemble, then to get ready to leave Egypt, which they began doing on the night of the fifteenth. But the defense took place over two nights, rather than over one night, as the Jews believe. So the question then is, did the events surrounding the original Old Testament Passover and the first day of Unleavened Red, did all those events occur over one night, or did they occur over two separate nights, as Mr. Armstrong taught, as we teach today, and as most other major Church of God groups teach. So today I want to begin a series of six sermons to try to clear up some of the confusion surrounding the events of both the Old and New Testament Passover. I want to begin this series by just looking at one question. I want to just focus on one specific question here today, and that is this. When was the Old Testament Passover lamb killed?

Because that has to be the foundation right there. If you don't get that one, if you don't understand that correctly, then you're going to be confused in other areas. In fact, that's my title here for the sermon today is, When was the Old Testament Passover lamb killed? But first, I want to ask this question, because this is a question that's often come to our minds since the Jews observed their Passover on the 15th. You have to ask the question, wait a minute, how could the Jews be wrong? I mean, they preserved the Sabbath in the Holy Days all these years. They laid down their lives to do that. How could the Jews be wrong? Wouldn't the Jews be right? Wouldn't they have it right?

Well, let me ask another question. Did the Jews recognize Christ as being the Messiah?

No, they didn't. They didn't, did they? They got that one wrong. There are all kinds of prophecies in the Old Testament about the Messiah, but when He came, they didn't recognize Him.

So could they have also been wrong about the Old Testament Passover? Now, if they were, something had to happen where they got confused or something changed. We'd have to get into that and try to verify that, but could that be possible? Let me ask another question. Did Christ ever condemn the Jews? Did He ever condemn the religious leaders of His day? Did He ever condemn the scribes and the Pharisees? Well, we know He did on many occasions. So then, what did He condemn them for? There's one section of Scripture that tells us specifically three areas in which Christ condemned the scribes and Pharisees and the religious leaders of His day, and that's in Mark chapter 7.

We'll turn back just a few pages to Mark 7 and read verses 5 through 8.

Mark 7 beginning in verse 5. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, Why do your disciples not walk according to the decision of the elders?

But instead eat bread with unwashed hands.

And Christ answered them in verse 6 and said to them, Well, did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

For laying aside the commandments of God, you hold the traditions of men, the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.

So Christ here condemns the scribes and Pharisees in three overall areas, generally speaking. Number one, He condemns them for being hypocrites.

Number two, He condemns them for teaching wrong doctrines.

For teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

So they had some doctrines wrong.

And number three, He condemns them for holding to their traditions.

He says, You reject the commandments of God, that you may keep your traditions. Now here He's talking about washing and that sort of thing, but it says many other things as well.

So we're some of the Jews of Christ today doing that, keeping their traditions and rejecting the commandment of God in regards to the Passover and the original instructions regarding the Passover.

Whether rejecting the commandment of God to eat the Passover on the evening of the 14th and instead keeping their tradition of being in on the 15th, even as they still do today. Is that possible? So let's please, it's a legitimate question to ask in light of what Christ says here.

But let's now go to the Old Testament and ask, when was the Old Testament Passover lamb killed? And I'll spend the rest of the sermon on that particular question.

To do that, let's go back to Exodus 12.

Exodus 12. I'll begin in verse 1. Exodus 12 verse 1.

Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be your beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you.

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.

But 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 needs, you shall make your account for the lamb. So if it's a real small household, you could get together with a household next to you and pick out one lamb for both households. And then verse 5 says, Your lamb shall be without blemish, as Christ was without sin and without blemish, because that lamb represented Jesus Christ as a future Passover lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year.

You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. So it had to be less than one year of age.

Traditionally, they say between eight days of age and one year of age. So it had to be very young lamb. It could be no older than one year. Verse 6, it was a very small lamb. Verse 6, Now you should keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month.

Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. Tells the time. You see, God gives an instruction here of when they were to kill that lamb. This is at twilight in the New King James. Now the Old King James says, In the evening New King James says, at twilight. Now in Hebrew, this is a very specific time, depending on how you interpret the Hebrew phrase.

The Jerusalem Bible renders it correctly, as do many margins. And your margin might have it this way as well. The letter of rendering is between the two evenings. So the most accurate rendering would be, Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it between the two evenings. That's a Hebrew phrase. The Hebrew phrase is, and I don't know if I can say it correctly, I don't think I can do as well as Blake did, but Ben-ah-ab-ayim or something like that. I'll spell it for you. It's three words. B-e-n-h-a-a-r-b-a-y-i-m. Ben-ah-ab-ayim.

That's the phrase translated at twilight, or at means between the two evenings.

Now that phrase has generally been interpreted in three ways. The first way is very broad, and there's very few that really take to this interpretation. It has very little support.

So you have to say, between the two evenings, okay, what are those two evenings specifically?

Well, one interpretation, which is, I can say, interpretation is rejected by the vast majority of Jews and scholars and so on, and by others as well, is that the first evening would be sunset of the 14th, the second evening would be the sunset of the 15th. That's very broad. Under that interpretation, you could sacrifice to Passover Lab anytime during that Passover Day, from when to begin on the sunset of the 14th to when it ended on the sunset at the end of the 14th, the beginning of the 15th, anytime within that 24 hour period of time. But very, very few hold to that interpretation, and it's very hard to substantiate with other scriptures as well.

The second interpretation, which is the interpretation of Orthodox Jews, is that the first evening is noon when the sun has reached its highest point above the horizon, and when it begins, it's downward descent, and the second evening would then be sunset.

So according to that interpretation then, the Passover Lambs would have been killed between noon and sunset on the afternoon of the 14th, which is when the Jews killed their Passover Lambs at the time of Christ. You can document that. Which is also the time period which during Christ himself died and became the Passover Lambs. As we know, it's documented the exact time Christ died, it was about three in the afternoon on the Passover day. That was the very time the Jews at the time of Christ were sacrificing and killing their Passover Lambs.

Now, with that understanding in mind, which can be verified historically, a strong argument could be made that Christ as a true Passover Lambs would have died at the same time that the Passover Lambs were designated to be killed. So you can say, since he died on the afternoon of the 14th, that's got to be the time when the Passover Lambs were designated to be killed. It all fits together. Christ was not a die to some other time. That's an argument that is made by those who take that position. However, is that really the case? Now, let me give you a third interpretation, which is the one that Mr. Armstrong taught and believed, that we as the United Church of God believed today. A third interpretation of Ben-Abarim, or between the two evenings, is this, that the first evening is sunset and that the second evening is total darkness that occurs shortly after about an hour or so after sunset. With this interpretation in the Passover Lambs would have been slain immediately after sunset at the beginning of the 14th. That is between sunset and total darkness, or during the time of twilight, as is translated in the New King James version in Exodus 12.6. Now, that time of twilight in Jerusalem around the time of the Passover lasts for up to about 45 minutes, which is plenty of time to see well enough to kill and bleed a young lamb of less than one year of age. Again, it's a very small lamb. Now, obviously 3500 years ago when God gave these instructions to Moses, everyone would have understood specifically what this phrase meant. It wouldn't have been any controversy. It would have known the exact time period that God had in mind. But can we tell when it was today? See, that's where the controversy comes in. How do we know today what it means? Is it defined for us in Scripture by its usage?

I mean, all we have here is between the two Edenies, but that's not really defined anywhere. But is it defined by how that phrase might be used somewhere else? And the answer is yes, it is.

We can understand what it means because of its usage in another area of Scripture, which I'll get to a little bit later. First, let's continue here in Exodus 12.

Again, verse 6, you should keep it until the 14th day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight or at Ben Ha'abarim, or between the two evenings. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the rental of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night, roasted in fire, with unleavened bread, it says. And with bitter herbs, they shall eat it. Now, since they were to eat it, eat the flesh on that night with unleavened bread, does that mean then this was probably the 15th, the first day of unleavened bread? I mean, that would make sense, wouldn't it?

They had to eat it with unleavened bread, so some would say, well, okay, that has to be the first day of unleavened bread. It has to be the 15th then. So we have to let the Bible interpret the Bible, as we've all known for many years. You know, Isaiah 28 10 says, precept must be upon precept, line upon line, hear a little, there a little. Now, using that principle from the Bible, we must not necessarily jump to conclusions or to a doctoral position based just on one scripture alone. We have to look at all the scriptures pertaining to the subject, and they all have to fit together and harmonize together. All the pieces of the puzzle need to fit to portray a harmonious picture.

Let's continue. Verse 8, then this, eat the flesh on that night, roast it in fire, with unleavened bread, or with bitter herbs as shall eat it. Verse 9, do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasts it in fire, its heads with its legs and its entrails. Verse 10, you shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. Now, that was seemed to substantiate the fact that they didn't leave that same night. They stayed in their homes, and if there was any left over still in the morning, beginning come daylight, that then they would have to burn that with fire, so nothing remained. That would seem to be what that verse insinuates, at least.

See, how could they have done that, wait until morning, make sure they burned it all up by the morning before they left at daylight, if they had started out right after midnight, the death angel passed over, as the Jews teach. That's a problem for those who take that position. But the next verse is a problem the other way. Verse 11, this would tend to support the Jewish position that they left immediately, right after the death angel passed over, because it says in verse 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 the Lord's Passover. So this scripture then, on the surface, at least, would seem to support the Jewish position that they went out of Egypt on the same night that they ate the Passover, and that everything happened over a period of just one night.

But there is another possible explanation. The Hebrew word translated, haste, and I'm not going to give you the Hebrew word, I can't even pronounce it, but the Hebrew word translated, haste, is number 2649 in Strongston, Cordon, so you can look it up. And it does mean exactly what it says here. It means haste, and it can even mean hasty flight. So that would tend to support the Jewish position.

But it's also, it is a haste that is associated with a particular situation, when you look into it more deeply. The Hebrew word translated, haste, is derived from a prime root Hebrew word, which is the previous word in Strongston, Cordon, it's number 2648. That is the word that this word is derived from in Strongston, which then indicates that it is haste associated with fear and trembling. It's a haste that is associated with fear and trembling. In other words, they ate the Passover that night, in haste, but with in haste with fear and trembling, and with a great sense of urgency they ate it with. That's the implication in Hebrew.

Now that would be imagined with what took place that night, at midnight, with the death angel passing over as the next two verses make reference to in verses 12 and 13. Verse 12, for I will pass to the land of Egypt on that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, against all the gods of Egypt I will exude judgment, for I am the Eternal. Verse 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. Now you think about that, those events, would that not have caused you to eat the Passover in haste with a great sense of urgency and with a little bit of fear and trepidation? Yeah, it certainly would. In fact, you think about it, and you know, there are in houses doing this, they were hearing at midnight after that death angel passed over, they were hearing the cries of the Egyptians who were, their firstborns were dying all around them. They weren't that far away, they could hear their cries.

And you could sense the feeling of what was happening, I'm sure. That was in the air.

I dare say we would have been even afraid to go out of our houses that night. But at the same time, God told them to be in a state of readiness, as a monumental event that was going to affect them all was about to take place, even right after this death angel passed over. And so they were told in verse 11, to eat it with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and with your staff in your hand. That does not necessarily, it certainly could mean they left immediately, as many would argue, but it doesn't necessarily have to mean that. It doesn't mean they would have to have left as soon as the death angel passed over. It could simply also mean they must be ready to leave, and they must take advanced preparations, make advanced preparations to leave.

So we have to look at all the events, and at the scriptures, all the scriptures associated with those events to get a complete picture. Now before showing the meaning of Bena Abarim, or between the two evenings, by its usage in another section of scripture, let's first address this question, because I brought it up a little while ago, but what does the Passover commemorate? Very important to understand, even in the Old Testament, because it ties to the New Testament, of course. But does it commemorate Israel's exodus out of Egypt as Jews today, many Jews the least, believe? Actually, no, it doesn't. It doesn't commemorate that. Passover does not commemorate Israel's exodus out of Egypt. What does the Bible itself tell us that the Passover commemorates? Because it makes it very plain. See, what biblical event is commemorated by the Passover? Again, Exodus 12, verse 11, you shall eat it with a belt on your waist, with your sandals on your feet, and with your staff in your hand. You shall eat it in haste, with a sense of urgency, and in haste, because it is the Lord's Passover. Why is it the Lord's Passover? Why does God call it that? Continue in verse 12. For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and I 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 the Eternal. Verse 13, now the blood shall be signed for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, what event would happen when God saw the blood of the slain Passover lamb on their doorposts? What event was going to happen as a result of that? Verse 13, 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. When God saw the blood, he said, I will pass over you. The Passover commemorates just what it says it commemorates. It commemorates God passing over them. Just like the New Chisholm Passover, with Jesus Christ being the Passover lamb, that commemorates Christ's sacrifice, passing over our sins because we're under his blood. So he can pass over our sins and not hold us accountable for our sins if we repent and have them under the blood of Jesus Christ. But verses 26 and 27 also indicate that, that's what the Passover commemorates. Verse 26 of Exodus 12, and it should be when your children say to you, what does this service mean? What does the Passover mean?

Now you should say it is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord who passed over the houses of children of Israel and Egypt when he struck the Egyptians and delivered our households. So clearly the Passover does not specifically commemorate Israel's exodus out of Egypt, as most Orthodox Jews believe. That event, Israel's exodus out of Egypt, is commemorated by the first day of 11th bread and by the night to be much observed. The Passover, on the other hand, clearly commemorates God passing over the houses of the children of Israel and delivering them from the death angel. That's clearly what it tells us here. That is the event the Passover commemorates, which ties directly, of course, into the New Testament in Christ's Passover sacrifice.

Now since the Passover was designated by God to be on the 14th, as we just read Exodus 12, verse 6, would not the events the Passover commemorates also have occurred on the 14th and not on the 15th?

At least that makes sense. And most assuredly those events did occur on the 14th. The events that the Passover commemorates occurred on the 14th. That makes sense. They killed the Passover lamb right after sunset on the 14th, as we'll demonstrate later on in other sermons, and a little bit today as well. Well, I will demonstrate that today. But they killed the Passover lamb right after sunset on the 14th. They ate the Passover on the evening of the 14th, and God passed over them at midnight of the 14th, as we'll see from other scriptures here later on. But I want to verify that by going back to our original question, which was, when was the Passover lamb killed?

See, what specific time... it says it was supposed to be killed at this time between the two evenings. But what specific time does this Hebrew phrase, b'na abarim, or between the two evenings, what does that... what specific time does that refer to? What were those two evenings?

See, what specific time does it designate for the killing of the Passover lambs?

See, the usage of that term, which means between the two evenings, is found actually in Exodus 16, but I'm not going to turn there first. I'll turn there a little bit later before going to Exodus 16 to see how it's used there and how that defines its meaning. Let's first go to Leviticus 23 and God's instruction for the day of atonement. Again, very familiar scripture, because also this gives us a key here or a clue as to when this phrase between the two evenings actually refers to. It ties in. Leviticus 23 will begin in verse 26 where God is giving instructions for the day of atonement. Leviticus 23 verse 26, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the day of atonement. It should be a holy convocation for you. You shall afflict your souls and offer an offering made by fire to the eternal. You should do no work on that same day, for it is the day of atonement to make atonement for you before the Lord your God.

For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people.

And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy among his people, you should do no matter of work. It should be a statue forever throughout your generations and all your dwellings. So God here gives some very serious warnings about violating the day of atonement. God then gives them very specific instructions on when to begin their fast on his day and when to end the fast in verse 32. It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls on the ninth day of the month that evening, if I'm reading from the New King James, from evening to evening you shall celebrate your Sabbath, though you shall fast or afflict your souls from evening to evening.

So they're fast on the tenth day of the seven month beginning on the ninth day of the month that evening. That is the ninth day ended and the tenth day begin, that's when they were to begin their fast. And then fast from evening to evening, from when the tenth day began to when the tenth day ended and the eleventh day began. The Old King James says, at even and from even to evening.

So they're to fast from the evening of the ninth day to the evening of the tenth day.

The important thing to remember here from Leviticus 32 is that the word that's translated evening here or even is va-arev, b-a-e-r-e-v. They translate it at evening. And we've always understood this. This is not something that I really have to go into a great deal because we always know we fast on the day of the time. We have to start fasting at sunset and we fast until sunset at the end of the day. As we know, sunset is what begins and ends a biblical day. And so this phrase translated here at even or at evening, va-arev simply means deferring to sunset, at sunset, which begins and ends each biblical day. So they begin their fast on the day of atonement at sunset as the ninth day was ending, as the tenth day was beginning, as the day of atonement was beginning, and then they were to end their fast 24 hours later at sunset at the end of the tenth day. We've always clearly understood that. The Hebrew word a-rev, just a-rev, meaning evening, literally means the entering, referring to entering the dark period of the 24-hour day or the entering into darkness, which begins at sunset and which begins a biblical day. So with that in mind, let's now turn to Exodus 16 to see the meaning of the Hebrew phrase ben-ah-abarimah between the two evenings. And we begin in verse 1 of Exodus 16. Exodus 16 verse 1.

Exodus 16, when they journeyed from Elam and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of sin, which is between Elam and Sinai on the 15th day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt. Then the whole congregation of children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, although we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread to the full, they never thought about all the slavery they were in, they were thinking about all the food they had at that time. But you have brought us out here to this wilderness, we don't have any food, you're not out here to kill us, and we're all going to die from starvation.

You're going to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then the Lord said to Moses, And the people should go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them whether they will walk in my law or not, and should be on the sixth day of the week, that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily, because it wasn't going to grain any man on the Sabbath day, so they couldn't bake it. And now it always rotted after one day, but this way it's going to last for two days. It was going to be a sign of when the Sabbath was, for the Mizhim, Redon, we all realize that. And then verse 6, And then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, At evening you shall know the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt. Now the Hebrew words translated at evening here are read. Same words we just read back there in Leviticus 23 verse 32, referring to the day of atonement, when they were to begin and end the day of atonement. In other words, it just really means a sunset. So we could say, At sunset you shall know the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt. Going on in verse 7, And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, For he hears your complaints against the Lord. But what are we that you complain against us, Moses says to them? Verse 8, And also Moses said, This shall be seen, When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening.

How would God give them meat to eat in the evening? Or I should say, when would God give them meat to eat? He says he would give them meat to eat in the evening. The Hebrew word translated in the in the evening is bar-arep. Same word used in Leviticus 23 verse 32, which was a sunset. So he's going to give them meat to eat at sunset.

Okay, let's put this here if you understand it. Bar-arep at sunset.

To satisfy their complaints. Going on in verse 9, Then Moses spoke to Aaron, Says, Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord, For he has heard your complaints. So it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, They looked toward the wilderness, And behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel, speak to them, saying, At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Because they're going to get manna, then, it's morning.

Now, we just read that they would, God would give them meat to eat beginning at sunset, beginning at Baarev at sunset. And here in verse 12, God then says they would eat that meat at twilight. The Hebrew phrase here translated into New King James, at twilight, is bena abirim, or between the two evenings.

So between the two evenings, He said, You shall eat the meat that I will give you beginning at sunset. So He's going to begin to give them that at sunset, but they would eat it between the two evenings. That then tells us for sure when the first evening has to begin. It has to begin at sunset.

Verse 13, So it was, and the meat He gave them them was quails, as it tells us in verse 13, So it was that quails came up at evening at sunset, God began giving them quails, which say then eat between the two evenings. And it covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. That was the manna. They ate the quails, and the next morning they got the manna.

So they at sunset, the bar of God gave them quails, or meat to eat, just as He had promised.

Then they ate the quails at twilight, or bena abirim, or between the two evenings.

So according to this usage then, the Hebrew phrase bena abirim, in Exodus 16, 12, then the first evening had to begin at sunset, not at noon, as Orthodox Jews believe.

In this usage here, it begins at sunset. And in the context, they had them, had them eat before the morning when they were then filled with bread. So they ate them that very same evening.

They would eat them then between the two evenings. So in the context then, as you see here in Exodus 16, 12, bena abirim, between the two evenings, is from sunset to darkness. Just as Mr. Armstrong taught, and as we teach today, as most of the churches of God teach today, that will tend to substantiate that meaning. It began at sunset, and it was the two evenings were between sunset and time of total darkness. So when then were the Passover lambs killed, again going back to Exodus 12 verse 6, you should keep it until the 14th day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of visitors will kill it at twilight, at bena abirim, or the whole assembly shall kill it between the two evenings, between sunset and darkness at the beginning of the 14th day of the first month, at the beginning of the Passover day, not in the afternoon of the 14th, as orthodox Jews tend to claim according to their tradition. So in that sense, then, you have to look at it and say their tradition is not according to the commandment that God gave to Israel through Moses in Exodus 12 verse 6. Now, to back that up, Vines' expository dictionary of biblical words agrees with that. Here's what Vines says under their word evening. It says the phrase between the two evenings means the period between sunset and darkness, translated twilight in Exodus 12.6 and translated in the evening in Exodus 12.6 and the Old King James. So Vines agrees that that phrase means between sunset and darkness, as the church has taught for many years. So to properly deny and understand the events surrounding the Old Testament Passover, which Israel observed just before God passed over them and just before God led them out of Egypt, is the first thing to understand is when the Passover lambs were killed. They were killed during Ben-Abarim or they were killed between the two evenings and as the Jews in Exodus 16, that would indicate that they were killed between sunset and darkness as the 14th day, as the Passover day began. As Mr. Armstrong taught and as most of the major churches of God have taught ever since. Which means what in regards to when that Passover lamb was eaten? Well, Exodus 12 verse 8 says, then they shall eat the flesh on that night, says, on the same night in which it was killed. So they ate the Old Testament Passover lamb on the evening of the 14th, not on the evening of the 15th. So that's the first thing to understand then in order to try to understand all the other events and all the other questions that's surrounding the Passovers of the Old and New Testament. So I'll end here for now, but again there are a lot of questions left, maybe some questions even generated from what I gave today. But next time in part two, which I'll give you here in two weeks, we will cover the rest of the events which occurred on the Passover day and which led into the first day of Unleavened Bread. And the title for my next sermon will be Israel's first Passover, going through all the events surrounding that first Passover that Israel observed.