Bill Hillebrenner’s Article:
Were the Passover lambs Israel killed the ransom that set them free from Egypt? How does the Egyptians burying their firstborn killed by the death angel relate to the New Testament and Jesus?
I am (YHVH Elohim) . . . your Savior, I gave Egypt for your ransom . . . I give men for thee and people for thy life (Isaiah 43:3 – 4).
The blood over the doorposts kept the firstborn of Israel from becoming part of the ransom. A ransom is a price paid to set the captured free. It should be obvious that the lambs Israel killed for the Passover were not the ransom. Pharaoh could have said, “So you killed some lambs! Now get back to making bricks!”
Christ the Ransom
The Son of Man came . . . to give his life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, 1Timothy 2:6, Isaiah 35:10).
Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us (1Corinthians 5:7). He was not passed over on that 14th of Nisan. The church of God partakes of the token wine as firstfruits so that we will be passed over and not be dead during the millennial reign. But Christ’s life is the Ransom for the whole world for freedom from enslavement of sin.
Laura writes:
Exo 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
The King James Bible says it this way:
Exo 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
Most if not all literal bible translations state it something like this:
Exo 12:6 ‘And it hath become a charge to you, until the fourteenth day of this month, and the whole assembly of the company of Israel have slaughtered it between the evenings; (Young’s Literal Translation)
Even Fred Coulter could not cover this up in his bible, but he tried by adding an extra word which was not there:
Exo 12:6 And you shall keep it up until the beginning of the fourteenth day of the same month. And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it between the two evenings.
Fred Coulters bible is called “A Faithful Version” and to my surprise it is among all the other bibles in my bible software. What Fred did here was to put the literal translation “… kill it between the two evenings,” but then he covered that up by doing two things. He added the word “beginning” and in his online version he added the following note: “Heb. ben ha arbayim – between sunset and dark at the beginning of the fourteenth day.”
ben ha arbayim which means “between the two evenings” has always meant at the end of the day. Throughout the bible the morning sacrifice was killed around 9 AM and the evening sacrifice was killed around 3 PM. Ask yourself, why would the evening sacrifice be changed to a different time just for Passover?
When it says, between the two evenings it is just a different way to say afternoon. The sun starts to go down at noon, that is the first evening. The second evening is when the sun sets for the day.
Exo 12:7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
The sacrifice comes first and then they put the blood on the door posts.
Exo 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Exo 12:9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
Next, they eat the lamb.
Exo 12:10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
Whatever is left of the Passover meal they must burn with fire.
Exo 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.
Notice that they must eat the Passover meal in haste with their shoes on their feet and their staff in their hand. Why would they need to do that if they were going to stay with the Egyptians for another whole day?
Exo 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite 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 LORD. Exo 12:13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
The death angel passed over at midnight on the 15th of Nisan.
Exo 12:14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
And this day. What day? It is talking here about Passover. It is a memorial, or in other words a once-a-year holy day.
Exo 12:15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
This says nothing about keeping a Feast called “Unleavened Bread”, we are still talking about Passover here. If you keep Passover on the early part of the fourteenth you would be keeping 8 days of unleavened bread because in Worldwide you were taught that you do Passover on the early fourteenth at which time you eat unleavened bread and then you go back to eating leavened bread for the rest of the fourteenth and then on the fifteenth you eat unleavened bread again for seven straight days. Seems confusing to say the least and what are you doing keeping seven days of unleavened bread or eight?
Some hoped to get out of this problem by eating leavened bread on the early fourteen Passover, but according to scripture that does not work.
Exo 23:18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
In other words, you cannot eat leavened bread with the wine representing Christ’s blood.
And then you have this one:
Eze 45:21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.
Bill Hillebrenner’s Article:
Burned not buried
Christ was buried at the end of the 14th of Nisan. Notice the bodily remains of the lambs in Egypt were burned, not buried as a type of Christ’s burial. The blood the night before was a token. What was buried in Egypt as the Israelites were leaving? The Ransom, the Egyptian dead (Numbers 33:4).
As the end of the 14th (sundown) was turning to the “morrow,” beginning of the 15th, the hundred thousands of Israelites began journeying out of Egypt. The miles-long assembly were journeying out all night the 15th (Deuteronomy 16:1). What was buried at the end of the 14th at Jesus death? It was the Ransom, Firstborn of God.
Laura writes:
Deu 16:1 Observe the month of Abib and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
Deuteronomy 16:1 is talking about the last day of Passover/Unleavened Bread. They left Rameses on the morning of the fifteenth of Nisan which would be the “morrow” after the Passover Sacrifice and Meal. There was no day between the time the death angel passed over and when the Israelites left Rameses.
Exo 12:30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and 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. Exo 12:31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. Exo 12:32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. Exo 12:33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.
Num 33:3 And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.
After leaving Rameses it tells of all the towns they had to go through in order to get out of Egypt. The Sinai Peninsula was part of Egypt at this time.
Exo 14:23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. Exo 14:24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, Exo 14:25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
They left Egypt by crossing the east side of the Red Sea on the last day of Passover/Unleavened Bread during the morning watch which would have been at night just as scripture says. The morning watch is from 2AM to sunrise if they kept three watches of the night and if they kept four watches of the night it would have been from 3AM to sunrise. Whichever watch they kept at that time they still left Egypt at night.
Bill Hillebrenner’s Article:
The firstborn of Egypt was a major type of Christ. The tokens in Egypt were the blood of the lambs and the unleavened bread. The firstborn of Egypt was the ransom. The tokens for the church are the wine (blood of the grape) and the unleavened bread. The Ransom is Christ, the Firstborn of God.
When Was the Ransom Taken?
The firstborn of Egypt was Israel’s ransom (the type) after midnight on the 14th. The Passover had already been eaten. Christ’s crucifixion was the ransom antitype on the 14th after midnight. The Passover had already been eaten with His disciples.
Laura writes:
Christ was crucified with the Passover lambs between the two evenings (Noon until Sunset or 3PM). Christ did not eat the Passover that year because he was the Passover and He was dead. The Passover Meal was at even on the fourteenth as the day turned to the fifteenth and the death angel passed over at midnight on the fifteenth.
Bill Hillebrenner’s Article:
Many of the Jews were killing lambs at the temple as Christ was dying. What they were killing was really the Holy Day sacrifice (for the night to be observed, Leviticus 23:8).
Laura writes:
Lev 23:8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
Lev. 23:8 says nothing about a night to be much observed. Christ was the Passover Lamb and He was killed at the same time the Passover Lambs were being killed.
Exo 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Bill Hillebrenner’s Article:
In confusion, they were calling it the Passover, “the feast of unleavened bread CALLED the Passover” (Luke 22:1) or “The Jews’ Passover” (John 11:55). But Jesus kept “THE Passover” (Luke 22:7, 11, 15), the “Lord’s Passover” (Leviticus 23:5), not the Jews’ Passover.
Laura writes:
Luk 22:1 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.
Joh 11:55 And the Jews’ passover was nigh at hand: and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem before the passover, to purify themselves.
Luk 22:7 Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.
Luk 22:11 And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
Luk 22:15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:
Lev 23:5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover.
I don’t believe the Jews were in any kind of confusion here. In order to make blanket statements like the Jews were confused, you would have to prove that somehow. Do you hate the Jews? Before you answer that, please remember, Christ was a Jew and Paul was a Pharisee. But let’s agree on one thing, the Bible is the inspired word of God, right? So, let’s go back to a place in the Bible before Pharisees existed.
Eze 45:21 In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.
As I have tried to tell you before, the Passover lambs including Christ were kill between the two evenings (Noon to Sunset or about 3 PM) on Nisan 14, the blood was put on the door post, the Passover meal was eaten at even on the 14th as it turned into the 15th. The death angel passed over at midnight and the Israelites left Rameses and not Egypt on the morrow after the Passover sacrifice and the Passover meal. According to scripture the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are exactly the same week. There is no Passover on the early part of the fourteenth, but you still keep it because you are holding fast to a false doctrine that a man who did not understand Passover himself taught you. He wasn’t a bad man; he just didn’t understand it any better than you do right now and that man also told you that the Jews forgot when Passover was, but in reality the Jews forgot none of that. The Jews know when Passover and Pentecost are, but most people who spent years in the Worldwide Church of God do not know when those two holy days are. So, in reality you feel it is okay to keep the Jews Calendar for most of the holy days, but not for those two holy days because the Jews somehow forgot when Passover and Pentecost were. Maybe the Jews forgot when the rest of the holy days were to, did you ever think about that? And what about scripture? What are you going to do to get rid of Ezekiel 45:21 which clears up the whole argument?
Bill Hillebrenner’s Article:
In Numbers 9:1-15 and Exodus 12:6 we find all the rites and ceremonies were to be on the 14th. Leviticus 23:32 makes clear that any day is from even to even (Leviticus 22:6, 7). The eating was part of the rites. It had to be eaten on the 14th between the sunsets and at night (Exodus 12:8). The burning of the bones was part of the rites. They had to be burned on the 14th between the evenings (sunsets), so they could be burned the next morning (day portion of the 14th, see Exodus 12:10).
Laura writes:
The only part of Passover that happened on the 14th of Nisan was the sacrifice of the Passover Lambs and possibly the blood being daubed on the door post. The rest all happened on the 15th of Nisan. All bible days are from even to even. If you can find two sunsets at the end of each day, I would like to see that. There is only one sunset at the end of the day, anything after that is just afterglow.
Conduct an experiment sometime (soon). Go outside at 10 or 11 AM and watch the sun climb higher and higher in the sky. Then watch at noon as the sun starts to go down in the sky and continues to do so until sunset. |
