Celebrating Easter as a commemoration of the Resurrection and not the Passover makes a mockery of the Scriptures and puts man’s tradition and authority over the Word. To declare that the death, burial, and resurrection happened between Friday night and Sunday morning is a blatant lie and misrepresentation of the Biblical facts. It calls into question the accuracy of the Word and makes the Lord a liar. It disqualifies the Passover as a literal prophetic event fulfilled by Yeshua and makes the unbelieving world mock believers.

I would almost go as far as to say that—for those who know the truth of this and refuse to adhere to it or teach it—their actions are close to blasphemy.

Here is the definition of blasphemy, you decide.

Definition of BLASPHEMY from Merriam-Webster
1a : the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for the Lord.
b : the act of claiming the attributes of deity
2 : irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable

To ignore the truth of His Word is to hold contempt for it. You have then made the decision to exalt your authority over His word and have shown full irreverence to His revelation.

So with this in mind, I will continue to pose my thesis. I will back it up fully by using the Word in context.

The only way the resurrection makes any sense at all is if Yeshua dies on Wednesday before sundown and rises again three days later on Saturday before sundown. This would be 72 hours, 3 full days. After all, Yeshua said…

Matthew 12

38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 39But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

(3 days and 3 nights, not a part of the day) What part of this statement does the “Church” not understand?

The Biblical Holy Days were called moadim (appointed times and seasons). They were appointments that could only be kept by Yeshua Himself. Why would anyone want to dismiss or minimize these great prophetic events? Let’s look Biblically at why they are so important.

The “Church” says that “Easter” is a celebration of Yeshua’s resurrection from the grave and they want to honor that time- changing event; yet, they deny all that the Lord has given them in prophecy to verify this.

One of those appointed times closely tied to the Passover is the Holy Day of First Fruits.

1st Cor 15 declares that Yeshua is the first fruits resurrected from the dead. If we know nothing about this Biblical appointment, how are we able to understand what this New Covenant passage means?

1st Cor 15

20But now Moshiach has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Moshiach all will be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Moshiach the first fruits, after that those who are Moshiach’s at His coming, 24then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27For He has put all things in subjection under His feet.

In order for Yeshua to be the one who is the first fruit of the resurrection, He needed to rise on the day known as First Fruits, Yom ha Bikkurim. The significance of this day and its meaning is critical in understanding the resurrection.

During the spring, right before Passover, the barley crop came to a place in its growth where it was declared Aviv. This meant that the barley was in the head but not quite ripe enough to eat. As soon as the barley was in Aviv, the children of Israel were instructed to look for the sliver of the new moon. At the sighting of the new moon we were to declare the first day of the first month, count 14 days, and then began the Holy Day of Pesach and the Feast of Unleavened Bread; after that the feast of First Fruits.

It was during this time—between the Aviv barley, the sighting of the new moon, and the 14th of the month—that barley continued to ripen so it could be harvested. Once it was harvested the children of Israel were instructed to make an offering of that barley in gratitude before the Lord. They were not allowed to eat of the new crop before they made this offering.

The observance was carried out in this manner, when the standing ripe spring harvest of barley was ready to be reaped. The celebrant would take one sheaf from the standing harvest and bring it to the priest. The lone sheaf was called "the sheaf of the first fruits." The priest was then to take this one sheaf and wave it before the

Lord in His house. This was to be done "the day after the normal weekly Shabbat," which occurred after the first day of Passover. Prescribed offerings were also to be presented along with the sheaf.

The nation of Israel was familiar with the concept of first fruits or the firstborn. The first fruits were always the choicest, the foremost, the first, the best, and preeminent of all that was to follow. They were holy to the Lord. The concept of first fruits or firstborn is a major theme in the Bible. This can be seen by the following Scriptures: Exodus 23:16,19 and 34:26; Leviticus 2:12,14 and 23:20; Numbers 18:12-15; Deuteronomy 18:1-5; 26:2-4,10; II Chronicles 31:5; Nehemiah 10:35-39; Proverbs 3:9; Jeremiah 2:3; Ezekiel 44:30; 48:14; Malachi 3:8-14; Hebrews 6:20; 7:1-8.

      Everything on the earth—both man and beast—was to be presented before the Lord as first fruits to Him.

1. The firstborn of both man and beast were sanctified (made holy) and presented to the Lord (Exodus 13:2; 22:29).
   
   
2. The first fruits of all the earth were presented to the Lord at His altar in praise and thanksgiving (Deuteronomy 26:1-11).
   

 Yeshua’s entire life was one of first fruits.

    1.    Yeshua is the firstborn of Miryam (Matthew 1:23-25).
    2.    Yeshua is the first-begotten of the Father (Hebrews 1:6).
    3.    Yeshua is the firstborn of every creature (Colossians 1:15).
    4.    Yeshua is the first-begotten from the dead (Revelation 1:5).
    5.    Yeshua is the firstborn of many brethren (Romans 8:29).
    6.    Yeshua is the first fruits of the resurrected ones (1 Corinthians 15:20,                 23).
    7.    Yeshua is the beginning of the creation of Elohim (Revelation 3:14).             8.    Yeshua is the preeminent One (Colossians 1:18).

His entire life and death was wrapped up in the idea that He was the one to fulfill first fruits.

The fifteenth of Aviv began Hag HaMatzah (the Feast of Unleavened Bread), which is a high Sabbath. This high Sabbath is called a shabbaton. It did not matter what day of the week it fell on. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a seven-day feast to the Lord. The day following the weekly Sabbath during Passover is called the Feast of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:10-11).

(Leviticus [Vayikra] 23:9-14 NAS)

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. Now on the day when you wave the sheaf you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord. Its grain offering shall then be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil an offering by fire to the Lord for a soothing aroma, with its libation, a fourth of a hin of wine. Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places'"

  This is significant because if Yeshua is raised from the dead as a first fruit of all those resurrected, He must not miss the prophetic appointment of that day.

This simply means the death and burial had to happen during the Passover and the resurrection had to happen on First Fruits. Yeshua needed to die before sundown after the ninth hour on Passover and rise three full days later according to the Biblical calendar on First fruits.

Matthew 27

45Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. 46About the ninth hour Yeshua cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli , Eli , lama sabachthani ?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 47And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. 49But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” 50And Yeshua cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

Also: Mark 15:33-39, Luke 23:44-49.

The passage in 1st Cor 15 says

22For as in Adam all die, so also in Moshiach all will be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Moshiach the first fruits, after that those who are Moshiach’s at His coming,

He had to rise first so that the rest of us could also be raised in the proper order. Just like the barley had to be offered to the Lord first before the rest of the new harvest could be eaten, this day was a prototype of the Lord’s resurrection. He is the First Fruits of the barley harvest. We are the rest of the harvest after the offering. Yeshua was presented to the father as a perfect offering of First Fruits; now the rest of the harvest (us) can be presented to the father in its proper order.

What about Passover

Leviticus 23:5-6

5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.

So to sum it all up again

Yeshua was slain on the tree on the eve of the day of Passover (Pesach), the fourteenth of Nisan at twilight, the ninth hour, and He arose from the grave three days and nights after He was slain, Yeshua arose from the grave on the seventeenth of Nisan, the day of the festival of First Fruits. This day would be the day after the weekly Shabbat during the week of Passover—three days and three nights in the earth.

1st Cor 15:3-4

3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Moshiach died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

“According to the Scriptures” means according to the prophecy. He is also speaking about the day of First Fruits, (Yom ha Bikurim).

Passover is the day that was set in motion by the Lord to declare Yeshua the risen Moshiach on First Fruits, three days after His death.

It is clear in the Scriptures, and to say anything else makes the Lord a liar. It is not a trivial matter and no, I am not making too much of this. We are talking about the most important event of all time.

Acts 10:39-40

39“We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. 40“Elohim raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible,

Matthew 16:21-23

21From that time Yeshua began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Elohim forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” 23But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on Elohim’s interests, but man’s.”

Matthew 17:22-23

22And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Yeshua said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; 23and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

Matthew 20:17-19

17As Yeshua was about to go up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way He said to them, 18“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, 19and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”

Matthew 27:62-64

62Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, 63and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ 64Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day.”

Mark 8:31-33

31And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on Elohim’s interests, but man’s.”

Mark 9:30-32

30From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. 31For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” 32But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.

Mark 10:32-34

32They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Yeshua was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, 33saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. 34“They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”

Mark 14:55-58

55Now the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain testimony against Yeshua to put Him to death, and they were not finding any. 56For many were giving false testimony against Him, but their testimony was not consistent. 57Some stood up and began to give false testimony against Him, saying, 58“We heard Him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.

Mark 15:27-29

27They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. 28And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.” 29Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,

Luke 9:18-22

18And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?” 19They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” 20And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Moshiach of Elohim.” 21But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, 22saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”

Luke 18:31-33

31Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32“For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, 33and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.”

Luke 24:1-7

1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Yeshua. 4While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6“He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.”

Luke 24:13-27

13And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. 15While they were talking and discussing, Yeshua Himself approached and began traveling with them. 16But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. 17And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” 19And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Yeshua the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of Elohim and all the people, 20and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. 21“But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. 22“But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, 23and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. 24“Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” 25And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26“Was it not necessary for the Moshiach to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

Luke 24:44-46

44Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Moshiach would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day.”

John 2:17-22

17His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house will consume me.” 18The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show us as your authority for doing these things?” 19Yeshua answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Yeshua had spoken.

Without sounding smug, I just don’t see anything that would hint of anything else other than a literal three-day resurrection.

How does the Passover prophecy the death of Messiah?

In this matter I decided to copy from the website Hebrew4christians. They did an amazing job of presenting their information.

During the time of the Temple, zman shechitat korban Pesach (the time of the slaughter of the Passover lambs) was performed during the afternoon hours of Nisan 14, in observance of the commandment: "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between the evenings (i.e., bein ha-arbayim: is the Passover for the LORD" (Lev. 23:5). Note that the time of the lamb's sacrifice is described as "bein ha-arbayim," usually translated as "between the evenings" or "between the settings." To the sages, the "first setting" of the sun occurred at the beginning of its descent after noon, and the "second setting" referred to sundown or twilight.  Hence "bein ha-arbayim" would mean sometime after noon but before twilight, or more simply, "the afternoon."

The sacrifice of the Passover lambs on the afternoon of Nisan 14 agrees with Jewish Oral Law and tradition. As Maimonides wrote, "It is a positive commandment to slaughter the Korban Pesach on the fourteenth of Nisan after midday" (Hilchot Korban Pesach). There is some discussion among the sages, however, as to whether the sacrifice of the korban Pesach occurred before or after the second set of tamid (daily) offerings made at the Temple (Exod. 29:38-42, Num. 28:1-8). In general, however, most of the sages agreed with Maimonides who clearly stated: "The Korban Pesach is not slaughtered until after the Tamid of the afternoon." In other words, the slaughter of the Passover lambs occurred on the late afternoon of Nisan 14. (My note - Wednesday after the ninth hour).

Note that though the sacrifice of the Passover lamb occurred on the afternoon Nisan 14, the ceremonial eating of the meal, or the "seder," would begin later, just before sundown and continue throughout the night. This agrees with Exod. 12:8 which states clearly that the Passover meal was consumed during the night: "They shall eat the flesh [of the Pascal lamb] that night" (i.e., ba-lailah hazeh): And since the Jewish day begins after sundown (when three stars are visible in the night sky), the traditional Passover Seder would begin just before sundown on Nisan 14 but would continue into the new day of Nisan 15, which is also the start of the seven-day festival of chag ha-matzot the "Feast of Unleavened Bread" (Lev. 23:6).


In light of all this, perhaps you can better appreciate why Jewish tradition regards "Passover" as an eight-day holiday, since it links the times of the korban Pesach, the Seder meal, and the seven days of unleavened bread together as a whole.

But what does the Scripture say about the Sunday morning resurrection?

Here are all of the accounts of the resurrection passages; take note that not one of them says anything about the resurrection happening on a Sunday morning.

Matthew 28 Yeshua Is Risen!

1Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. 2And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. 3And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. 5The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6“He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.

Yeshua is already gone by the time the women arrive in the very early morning. They arrive just as the sun is rising. It is after the Shabbat, which happened at sundown the day before. As for the guards, this is just a description of what happened previously before the arrival of the women. There is no mention of the time of resurrection. There is not even an inference of idea that he had risen in the morning. All that it describes is the arrival of the women. Read the rest of the text for yourself. I double dog dare you.

It is almost the exact same for every other resurrection passage in the rest of the three Gospels.

Mark 16 The Resurrection

1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. 2Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. 5Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. 6And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Yeshua the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.

Just like “Where’s Waldo?” Where’s Messiah? He is already risen.

Luke 24 The Resurrection

1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6“He is not here, but He has risen.

John 20 The Empty Tomb

1Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. 2So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

Need I say anymore? The sad part of this little study is that all a preacher has to do is read the simple narrative of the Scripture and the truth comes out.

If your Pastor is still going to spread the lie about Easter and you refuse to lovingly challenge him on this, then you have already drunk the “Kool Aid” and I feel sorry for you. But instead, why don’t you examine the Scripture for yourself, do the study, and prove me wrong or right. I do hope you except my challenge this time around.

A blessed Passover and First fruits and all that it declares about our risen Moshiach, (Messiah) Yeshua.

Rabbi Henry

We try our best to make decisions based upon certain determinations. We determine something makes sense if it is logical, systematic, interconnected to other facts, or if it is full of contradictions. We look for simple proofs to determine the legitimacy of facts. That being said it only makes sense that we would apply this same standard to understanding the Scriptures. If we read a passage, we also use simple determinations to understand the meaning of that passage. We ask certain questions that help bring into light the meaning of the passage. We need to know who wrote it, to whom it was written, who was it written about, has the passage been translated accurately, were cultural nuances used to understand idioms? There is a lot that goes into understanding the Scripture. One cannot just come to an ancient writing like the Bible and simply look at it and think that reading the modern translation alone will be sufficient in providing the fullest meaning of the text as the writer intended.
Let me give you just one example that we can use to illustrate this point. If there is a text in the Tenach (first covenant Scriptures) that makes a statement that a statute, covenant, or principle is to be an everlasting/perpetual covenant, then it would only make sense that, when we come to the Brit Chadasha (New Covenant Scriptures), we should apply this in our interpretation of certain passages there as well. After all the Word does say…

Mal 3:6  "For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

Mal 3:7  "From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts. "But you say, 'How shall we return?'”

If it is true that the Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and if Yeshua is the Word of the Lord in the flesh, then the word that was spoken in the Tenach applies to all that He said and that which was said about Him by His followers, the writers of the Brit Chadasha.

Heb 13:8  Yeshua Hamashiach  is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

Based on the logic above could there be conflicting or contradictory passages in the Brit Chadasha passages that would go against basic doctrine in the Tenach? Shouldn’t we interpret passages in the Brit Chadasha on the premise that the Tenach set the stage for the fulfillment in the Brit Chadasha, and there should be perfect synergy between the two?

In order to see the greater picture, we need to look into some more examples. This cannot be discerned by just a cursory examination. Let’s see how this theory plays out by going through a series of Scriptures using the above-mentioned procedure.

In the book of Isaiah and Zechariah we have Scriptures that seem to be speaking about the end time event we call the millennial reign. This is when the Moshiach (Messiah) sets up His rule from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. This is after Ha Satan (the Devil) is locked up for 1,000 years. We read this in Rev 20.

Rev 20:1  Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

Rev 20:2  And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

Rev 20:3  and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

In the book of Isaiah we see a number of passages that seem to speak of a future event where the Lord reigns from Jerusalem. He changes the world by making real peace while reigning as the Prince of Peace from His throne in the Temple.

Isa 2:1  The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Isa 2:2  Now it will come about that In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it.

Isa 2:3  And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways, and that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Isa 2:4  And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.

The book of Micah chapter 4 verses 1-3 quotes Isaiah almost word for word.

Mic 4:1  And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it.

Mic 4:2  Many nations will come and say, "Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths." For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Mic 4:3  And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war.

Mic 4:4  Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.

It seems pretty obvious to, at least me, that this time of world peace has yet to happen. So that  said, I have no choice but to put this event into the future. When we analyze these verses we can see a simple chronology that goes like this.

1.     The mountain of the Lord (Mount Zion) is raised as the chief of all mountains.

2.     The people of the whole earth will stream to it.

3.     The nations will come to it.

4.     They will invite others to it as well.

5.     From Mount Zion the Lord will teach us His ways, we will walk in His paths, the         law will go forth from Zion.

6.     The Lord will judge all people,

7.     There will be world peace.

Now this is a pretty simple scenario. We have to see if there are examples of this event found anywhere else in the Word to determine if this is a repetitive theme. We have to ask if the Lord trying to communicate something to us through these repetitions.

Another place in Scripture that seems to be related to this event is found in Isaiah 66.

Isa 66:18  "For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.

Isa 66:19  "I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations.

Isa 66:20  "Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem," says the LORD, "just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.

Isa 66:21  "I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites," says the LORD.

Isa 66:22  "For just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before Me," declares the LORD, "so your offspring and your name will endure.

Isa 66:23  "And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the LORD.

Isa 66:24  "Then they will go forth and look on the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched; and they will be an abhorrence to all mankind."

Again, we see in this passage that the nations will come to Jerusalem to see the glory of the Lord in vs 18.

In vs. 19 Isaiah reiterates this idea of the nations coming to see the Lords glory, except he adds the extra bit of information that gives us a timeline of the event, It will happen after a battle.

Vs 20 tells us that “they” (he is speaking about the survivors) will bring the Jews (your brethren) (in this passage Isaiah is speaking to Jews) to His mountain (Mount Zion).

Vs 21 says that the Lord at that time will take some people (Gentiles) as priests and Levites. This has to be Gentiles as the Jews have already been appointed as priests and Levites from the beginning.

Vs 22 The Lord promises the endurance of the Hebrews as a people which He basis upon the promise of the new heavens and earth.

Vs 23 gets a little complicated. From new moon to new moon is in reference to the lunar calendar established by the Lord in Genesis.

Gen 1:5  YHVH called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

The Lord established His times and seasons in Lev 23 based upon the lunar calendar not the Gregorian solar calendar. The sliver of the new moon started the new month and set the appointed times and seasons in place.

Then Isaiah says we will worship the Lord and celebrate the Shabbat.

The Lord is going to reestablish His Moadim (appointed times and season as stated in Lev 23). He is also going to reestablish his Shabbat, (Sabbath). I could be missing the point, but it seems to me that these are critical enough to the Lord to make them an important issue in His millennial reign.

So it seems we should do some more investigation on the subject to determine if we are to find the real intended meaning, Nu!

So what else does the Word say about the subject?

The book of Zechariah chapter 14 presents a picture of the end times that is absolutely stunning. The detail in this picture adds to the understanding of what is to take place in the final days before and during the millennial reign. The only way to understand the fullness and scope of this passage is to read the entire chapter in context.

Zechariah 14

God Will Battle Jerusalem’s Foes

1Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 2For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. 4In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. 5You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!

It is pretty safe to say that this event has also not happened yet. All of the nations have not come against Jerusalem. This great final battle has yet to transpire and the Messiah has not split the Mount of Olives. So I feel pretty confident in assuming this is still a future event. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say—with all of the other Scriptures that are similar in declaration—it would be also safe to say that this is most likely referring to the battle of Armageddon.

We have to remember that the Lord does not speak in a linear chronology in the Scripture. Ancient Jewish writings show us that this was their typical style of writing. I believe it is because the Lord has His prophets write in such a manner that is indicative of His eternal nature. He does not live confined to the boundaries of time. Often in the Word it is hard to define the time line, because to the Lord, it is as it has already happened. The only way we can determine chronology is to know the language and also to see the other passages that are similar, so that we might be able to make comparisons in the time line.

So using this idea to get insight to the next passage, we see that the term “in that day” is not referring to the time when the Lord will split the Mount of Olives. It has to be a separate day in the future. The term “in that day” is used idiomatically throughout the Scripture to refer to the Day of the Lord. So “in that day” is an entirely separate time that is in the future.

In Zech 14 it is used 6 times alone to make the point that it is a specific day/period in the future when the Lord reigns.

6In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. 7For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.

8And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.

God Will Be King over All

9And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.

This day in verse 6, above, is the day/period He is talking about, the day when the Lord will be king over all. We can confirm this because, if it just a literal singular day and we use the simple rules of western thought and chronology, then how could summer and winter in the above verse be represented by one day.

10 “All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. 11People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.”

Here we see that the land south of Jerusalem will be made into a plain. This will be so that all who want to come will have easy access. But when we get there—to the actual city itself— we will have to ascend to it. It will be exalted. People will dwell in it in securely. No more war. Messiah is now in control.

12Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouth. 13It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another. 14Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance. 15So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps.

Now we again see a perfect example of Biblical chronology being different from ours. He refers back to the war that was spoken of in the earlier passages verses 1-3.

16Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

He is pretty emphatic in His expectations. The Lord mandates that each and every nation and family will go to Jerusalem from year to year, perpetually, and celebrate His holy feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles). If they don’t go, there will be a severe penalty on the nations and families—drought. We will not celebrate Christmas, Easter, Lent, Good Friday, Maundy Thursday, St Valentine’s day, or any other Holiday/Hollowday.

20In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the LORD’S house will be like the bowls before the altar. 21Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.

Now this part gets real hard for the typical Christian to deal with, so please stay with me till the end and you will get the point, I promise.

If I am right and these passages are also speaking of the Millennial reign, I find it rather curious that during that time, as the above passage says, we will be bringing sacrifices to the Lord in His temple. The cooking pots are the actual utensils/dishes we will take before the Lord with the meat of our sacrifices. We will present them to the Levites, who will offer them to the Lord; then they will take the portion that is allotted to them and then give the priests their portion.

Numbers 4:5-7

5“When the camp sets out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and they shall take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it; 6and they shall lay a covering of porpoise skin on it, and shall spread over it a cloth of pure blue, and shall insert its poles. 7“Over the table of the bread of the Presence they shall also spread a cloth of blue and put on it the dishes and the pans and the sacrificial bowls and the jars for the drink offering, and the continual bread shall be on it.

2Chronicles 35:10-14

10So the service was prepared, and the priests stood at their stations and the Levites by their divisions according to the king’s command. 11They slaughtered the Passover animals, and while the priests sprinkled the blood received from their hand, the Levites skinned them. 12Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the sections of the fathers’ households of the lay people to present to the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. They did this also with the bulls. 13So they roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the ordinance, and they boiled the holy things in pots, in kettles, in pans, and carried them speedily to all the lay people. 14Afterwards they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.

To sum it all up

Putting this altogether one last time, we can see a pattern in all of these Scriptures.

1.              The Lord is coming back to reign on the earth for 100 years.

2.              He will set up His Kingdom in Jerusalem.

3.              There will be peace.

4.              He will restore the Temple worship.

5.              His Holy days and Shabbat will be observed again.

6.              Those who do not do as He says concerning His Holy Days will face                          punishment.

7.              Nothing will resemble what we now know as the “Church”.

The point I want to emphasize here is that using the logic principle above these declarations/ principles/ordinances/celebrations given by the Lord are prophesied in His Tenach. We see them consistently being referenced in the Tenach. They are the events that will transpire in the end times. This is what the body of believers is going to look like. This is what the “Church” is going to look like. It is going to look just like the nation of Israel looked like in reference to their celebrations and ordinances. The appointed times and seasons of Lev 23 will be restored. Israel—the children of Abraham—will be brought back to their land. No “Christian” denomination will replace or usurp the natural-born children. The Gentiles will come along side of them and embrace the Biblical Hebrew roots of this Messianic faith. Ephesians 2 will finally be realized in its fullness.

11Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— 12remember that you were at that time separate from Moshiach, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without YHVH in the world. 13But now in Yeshua Hamashiach you, who formerly were far off, have been brought near by the blood of Moshiach. 14For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16and might reconcile them both in one body to YHVH through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. 17And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; 18for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. 19So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of YHVH’s household,

If the Gentile, who was at one time “excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without YHVH in the world,” is now brought in, then it only stands to reason they were not brought in to remake the family dynamic after their previous pagan practices, were they? Instead they were brought in to participate in the family that already functioned according to the Lord’s prescription.

If the end time kingdom is going to look like the kingdom established in the beginning with all of the Holy days and Temple services, then it only makes sense that the way it looks now is not according to the Lord’s idea, but the traditions of man.

It is obvious that there are some things that can’t be celebrated today because there is no Temple. Yet that does not give the believers the right to make up how they worship based on a pattern that imitates so many pagan rituals. We have all of these amazing Biblical celebrations that speak prophetically of the coming of Yeshua, yet we still prefer the Catholic substitutes, many of which were fashioned by Constantine.

Now I am only going to say this once, so please listen carefully. I am not saying that we celebrate these Holy days for salvation. DID YOU HEAR ME! Okay, now that we have that established, we can move on.

I am, however, saying that there is a very clear pattern that the Lord shows us as a foundational principle in the Tenach. This is the principle I spoke about at the top of this paper. That principle is that if something in the Tenach is stated as an everlasting, never-ending, or perpetual statute, ordinance, or principle in the First Covenant Scriptures, then this should affect how we interpret the New Covenant Scriptures.

If this is the way it all began and this is the way it is going to end, what makes us think that the way it is today is right? Especially with more than 38,000 different flavors of “Christianity” in the world with their own spin on everything.

As we look at the Tenach it is very clear that the Torah was established for the purpose of helping the children of Israel walk in a covenant relationship with the Lord, so that they could fulfill their role as being a light to the Gentiles.

Isaiah 42

6      “I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness,

      I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you,

      And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people,

      As a light to the nations,

Isaiah 49

6      He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant

      To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;

      I will also make You a light of the nations

      So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

It is also clear the rest of the Tenach, especially the Prophets, are dedicated to the point that the nation forgot this and needed to be reminded to come back to His Torah.

Hosea 8:12

11      Since Ephraim has multiplied altars for sin,

      They have become altars of sinning for him.

12      Though I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My law,

      They are regarded as a strange thing.

13      As for My sacrificial gifts,

      They sacrifice the flesh and eat it,   

       But the LORD has taken no delight in them.

      Now He will remember their iniquity,

      And punish them for their sins;

Malachi 4

4“Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.

Ezekiel 22

23And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25“There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. 26“Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

Jeremiah 44

9“Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10“But they have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor walked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers.”’

Jeremiah 16

10“Now when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘For what reason has the LORD declared all this great calamity against us? And what is our iniquity, or what is our sin which we have committed against the LORD our God?’ 11“Then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your forefathers have forsaken Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and have followed other gods and served them and bowed down to them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law. 12‘You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me.

Isaiah 51

4      “Pay attention to Me, O My people,

      And give ear to Me, O My nation;

      For a law will go forth from Me,

      And I will set My justice for a light of the peoples.

5      “My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,

      And My arms will judge the peoples;

      The coastlands will wait for Me,

      And for My arm they will wait expectantly.

Now these are but a few examples of the many, too many to mention, Scriptures that reflect this idea of Israel being rebuked for their refusal to obey His Law. Now why would the Lord spend all that time establishing His law as a principle for His people and as a light unto the Gentiles just to abandon it in the New Covenant? Was it so it could be replaced by a new and improved version known by so many as “Christianity”? If I remember correctly, it was the Lord Himself who said in Mathew…

Mathew 5

17“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

We must remember there was no “New Testament” written at that time to refer to. The only thing they had was the Tenach. This is how Timothy was able to know how to have salvation exclusively in Yeshua.

2 Timothy 3

14You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings (Tenach) which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Moshiach Yeshua.

If we keep and teach these commandments, is that not a contradiction to the way most of the “Church” relates to the Law? I would say it is safe to conclude that Yeshua said something in this one passage alone that should challenge Christianity to its core in how they celebrate their faith. I would go so far as to say that, when we look at the way the Kingdom and body of believers are going to look like in the end, we can see that there will be no resemblance whatsoever in any way, shape, or form to what it looks like today. It will not exist in the form as we know it, Selah.