PROGRESSION

From Passover, To Pentecost,

To Tabernacles

 According to Exodus 23:14-17, the children of Israel were to keep a feast unto the Lord three times a year.  These were:

(1) the Feast of Unleavened Bread, also called Passover

(2) the Feast of Harvest, or Weeks, also called Pentecost in the New Testament

(3) the Feast of Ingathering, also called Tabernacles.

 The Feast of Unleavened Bread, or more commonly called the Passover, was to be held in the first month of the year.  It was instituted in Exodus 12, in conjunction with the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt.  For Israel, it was A NEW BEGINNING (Exodus 12:2).  It was a time of birthing, when as a nation they were thrust forth from the Egyptian womb of bondage and captivity.  After 430 years of servitude, they were released at last unto a pathway of freedom and fulfillment.

 On the tenth day of that month they were to select a lamb from the flock, one without blemish, and they were to keep it until the evening of the fourteenth day.  Then it was to be killed and its flesh was to be eaten.  Its blood was to be applied upon the lintel and upon the two side posts of each doorway in all their houses.  This was to be the means of their salvation in view of the coming judgment that night.  The Lord's promise to them was, "...when I see the blood, I will pass over you..." (Exodus 12:13).

 I cannot envision any true believer reading these things without rejoicing at the rich truths portrayed by this prophetic symbolism.  Enlightened eyes can readily see Jesus, the son of God, without sin or blemish, being selected by the Father to become our sacrificial lamb.  We can see Him, laying down His life without murmur or complaint, wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, shedding His precious blood so that we might inherit eternal life.  Ah, how blessed it is to have the blood applied, to be among the redeemed, (Ephesians 1:7), to be justified,  (Romans 5:9), to be at peace with God, (Colossians 1:20), and to experience restored fellowship with our Heavenly Father! (Ephesians 2:13)   How very real to every true believer has been this deliverance from the world and from a life of sin.  Indeed, the passover experience is a brand new beginning, a new birth.  We become new creatures.  The old life-style of serving the lusts of the flesh and of the mind is left behind.  We now live to Him, seeking His will and purpose for our lives.  We have every right to shout the joys of being SAVED BY GRACE!

Thus we see that the Passover was prophetic of something experiential in the life of the believer in this age of grace, and that the church, historically, fulfills the Passover by proclaiming and participating in the gospel of salvation, the gospel of grace.  When Christ and His righteousness are proclaimed, and when the blood is applied to the lives of believers, then the Church fulfills the Passover.  When justification by faith is preached, and when grace apart from works is offered to the believer, then the Passover is fulfilled.  Every genuine evangelistic effort that brings souls into God's kingdom on the basis of Christ's atoning work represents a fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover feast.

 Now, the contents of Exodus 11:12 are very important to our present consideration:  "And thus shall ye eat it:  with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand..."  They were to be prepared to travel.  A long journey lay ahead of them.  It would first take them into the wilderness unto a place called Sinai.  There, they were to have the law applied to their lives, that they might become a separated people.  Eventually, they were to reach Canaan, the land of promise, and possess it as their inheritance.  They were to become a mighty kingdom, set on high above all other nations, giving expression to a glory and a might that would effect the entire civilized world.  Thus, the passover was to be a means and not an end.  It was a launching point to a pathway leading to fulfillment.

 So it is with the passover in the life of the believer.  It represents the beginning of the journey.  In conversion, we are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.  It is a launching point.  But, from that launching point, there is to be a steady growth and development toward maturity and the fulfillment of God's purpose.  May the believer not settle for salvation as an escape from the wrath of God or as a ticket for heaven.  And may the church not settle in the truth of justification by faith and there erect denominational walls.

In Deuteronomy 16:9 we see that the Passover was associated with the beginning of harvest, quite possibly the barley harvest.  But there was much more to follow, wheat and other grains, figs, pomegranates, olives, and grapes.  From the standpoint of harvesting or appropriating the life of Christ, this indicates that our conversion, or initial salvation, represents the beginning and not the end.  For us, too, there is much more to follow.  May we not settle merely for good beginnings, but may we use them as  launching points to appropriate the fullness of God's purpose!

A second event in the Passover season was the seven-day feast of unleavened bread.  (Exodus 12:15-20)  It was to last from the evening of the 14th day to the evening of the 21st day.  All Israelites were to eat nothing but unleavened bread.  Anyone who violated this commandment was to be punished severely.  He would be cut off from the congregation of Israel.

Is the Feast of Unleavened Bread symbolical and prophetic?  Is it referred to in the New Testament?  We shall see that it is.  The number 7 speaks to us of completion or perfection, and the unleavened bread speaks to us of SANCTIFICATION.  Therefore, the seven day feast of unleavened bread speaks to us prophetically of the complete sanctification of the believer.  Jesus' prayer to the Father for His disciples was, "Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth."  (John 17:17)  Sanctification has to do with being "set apart".  There is a two-fold aspect to this.  The believer is SET APART FROM the world, flesh, and man-made religion, and he is SET APART UNTO God and His will.  Thus, after the believer has eaten the Passover lamb and applied the blood, he is challenged to a walk of separation.  The work of God may only be done by a separated people.  God redeems His people, first for Himself and for His purposes, and then to become an expression of His glory and power in the earth.

The separation from leaven so strongly dictated by the Lord for this feast was referred to by the Lord Jesus and given a different meaning for us in this church age.  In Matthew 16:6:  "Then said Jesus unto them, take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."  The disciples thought at first that He spoke of natural bread, but eventually they understood that He spoke of DOCTRINES or teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees.  (v.12)  From a reading of Matthew 23 and other passages, the religion of the Pharisees is seen to consist of much outward show, but little inward reality.  The original revelation of Moses had been added to, subtracted from, perverted, twisted, and carnalized.  It was now permeated with hypocrisy, iniquity, legalism, form and ceremony, tradition, dead works, doctrines of men, proselytizing, greed, self-indulgence, blindness of eyes and hardness of heart.  This religion was not only vain, but carried with it an intense hatred toward and persecution of the revelation of God in His son Jesus Christ.  Man-made religion is always characterized by the above-mentioned elements, and is certainly abounding today.  With Jesus, we admonish, "Beware, of the leaven of the Pharisees!"

The religion of the Sadducees corresponds to the liberal and modern segment of today's religion, for they believed not in the resurrection, angels, nor the powers of the supernatural.  Even today, subtle streams of error are being injected into the river of eternal truth by modern theologians.  Not only is there a trend away from the supernatural, but we are exposed to blatant denunciations of such fundamental truths as the virgin birth, the divine inspiration of the scriptures, the efficacy of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and many others.  Some of the greatest deceptions ever perpetrated by the devil are now in the earth in the form of religion.  Never before has it been so vital that the believer test every doctrine by the scriptures and try every spirit by His Holy Spirit.  LET US PURGE OURSELVES FROM THE LEAVEN OF RELIGION AND THEREBY KEEP THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD.

"Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."  At first, this may sound to us like an Old Testament scripture, for we don't often speak of keeping feasts in the New Testament.  But this verse from I Corinthians 5:8 is without doubt a reference to a spiritual, experiential fulfillment of the Old Testament feast of unleavened bread.  In the seventh verse is the strong command to "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.  For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us".  In these scriptures, the Apostle Paul is deeply concerned over the carnality and sin that had surfaced in the congregation in the form of fornication.  By the Spirit, he is coming  out strongly against it and commanding that this leaven or sin be removed from their midst.  he is demanding that they be a people wholly sanctified.  "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"  (Romans 6:2)  How Satan laughs when we merely take on a form of religion and are not thoroughly cleansed from our sin.  If any Israelite partook of leavened bread for those seven days, he was cut off by death from the congregation.  Let us not deceive ourselves, the practice of sin in any form will bring death and separation from the true congregation of the Lord.  L ET US PURGE OURSELVES FROM THE LEAVEN OF SIN AND CARNALITY AND THEREBY KEEP THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD.

A third reference to leaven made by Jesus occurs in Mark 8:15:  "Take heed, beware of...the leaven of Herod".  Herod was a heathen, a worldling, a ruler in the realm of darkness and wickedness.  The world is absolutely hostile toward God.  It is a realm filled with hatred and persecution toward Jesus Christ and the church.  Yet, the world is often enticing and alluring to the believer who has not experienced an in-depth revelation of Jesus Christ and who has not been dealt with by the cross.

The believer who continues to yield habitually to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and who pursues the life-style of a godless world, is bringing the leaven of Herod into the feast.  Church systems and church enterprises which employ the methods and elements of the world, whether they be psychology, politics, intellectualism, entertainment, human philosophies, human schemes, compromise, and such like, are also guilty of bringing the leaven of Herod into the feast.  Let us not be deceived, the Lord Jesus Christ, "...gave himself for our sins, that HE MIGHT DELIVER US FROM THIS PRESENT EVIL WORLD, according to the will of God and our Father."  (Galatians 1:4)  Let us beware, for the whole world lieth in wickedness (or in the power and control of the evil one).  I John 5:19  LET US THEREFORE PURGE OURSELVES FROM THE LEAVEN OF HEROD AND KEEP THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD.

A third event in the Passover Feast was the waving of the sheaf of first-fruits on the 16th day of the first month.  (Leviticus 23:11)  A single stalk of ripened grain was cut from the fields and brought unto the priest.  The priest would then wave it before the Lord as an offering.  If we consider the three day period of the 14th, 15th, and 16th days of this first month, we see that the Passover lamb was killed on the first day (14th) and that the sheaf of first-fruits was waved on the third day (16th).

Notice how exactly the events in the life of Jesus fulfilled this prophetic symbolism.  A close study of Luke 22:7-16, Luke 23:54-56, and Luke 24:1 reveals that Jesus was crucified PRECISELY at Passover (in fulfillment of the prophetic implication in the slaying of the Passover lamb), and He was raised from the dead PRECISELY on the THIRD DAY (in fulfillment of the prophetic symbolism seen in the waving of the sheaf of first-fruits).  (See also Luke 24:7, 21,46)  Thus, the waving of the sheaf of first-fruits was prophetic of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead!  We see then how beautifully the truths of Jesus' death and resurrection are prophetically incorporated in the Old Testament Feast of Passover, and there grows within us an excitement and a conviction that ALL THREE of the Old Testament Feasts must be prophetic in every detail!

Jesus not only fulfilled the Passover in His death and resurrection, but indicated that the Passover would also be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.  (Luke 22:16)  This must have something to do with the church and with believers in this age.  Because of Jesus' complete identification with us, all believers indeed have a part in His death and resurrection.  Romans 6:5 proclaims, "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection."  In Ephesians 2:4-6, we find, "But God who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace are ye saved) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Likewise in Romans 5:10:  "...or if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." The Apostle Paul yearned for a deep and continuous participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ when he cried out, "That I may know Him, and the power of  His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death." (Philippians 3:10)  Yes, beloved, wherever there is among believers a genuine participation in His death and resurrection, there is, indeed, a spiritual fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover Feast.

We have seen that the waving of the sheaf of first-fruits speaks to us of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  In reference to resurrection, He was the first-fruits. (I Corinthians 15:23)  But, He also was to be the first-born among a vast family of sons which the Father-heart of God would bring to birth, sons who would be tutored and led by His Spirit, who would learn obedience through suffering, and who would partake of holiness through chastening  [being chastened].  For was not the mission of our Lord Jesus Christ that of bringing many sons unto glory?  (Hebrews 2:10)  And was not He to be the first-born among many brethren?  (Romans 8:29)  Therefore, the waving of that first-fruits sheaf spoke of an abundant harvest to follow.  It was assurance that the patient sowing-watering-reaping process had not failed!

Jesus said, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone:  but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."  (John 12:24)  An honest interpretation of this passage causes us to conclude that Jesus was speaking about Himself, for He referred to His glorification. (v23)   Therefore, what was the "fruit" He was talking about?  Following the principle that every seed bears after its own kind, we see that the Father expected a harvest of many sons, just like Jesus.  The seed that fell into the ground was nothing short of the glorious and perfect life of the Son of God, and it is exactly this that God expects to harvest in His church.  Can we believe God for this?  Can we believe that God can make us pure as He (Jesus) was pure?  (I John 3:3)  Can we believe for the same relationship with the Father that Jesus had? (John 17:23)  Can we be led of the Spirit as He was led of the Spirit?  (Romans 8:14)  Can we be perfected in obedience as He was?  (Hebrews 5:8)  Will the same works follow us as they followed Jesus?  (John 14:12)

Ah, may we again look at that sheaf of the first-fruits and see afresh our Lord rising from the dead.  But may there also come exuberant rejoicing in our spirit in seeing that He is but the first-born, and that an abundant harvest of sons will follow.  Yes, let the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Him come to rest upon us, and let us experience something of  exceeding greatness of the power that raised Him from the dead! (Ephesians 1:17-20)  Yea, let there come an enlarging of our vision and our hope, for our hope is not just to make it to Heaven, but TO BE LIKE HIM.

In our brief look at the Feast of Passover, we are overwhelmed with the abundant evidence of its prophetic and symbolic nature.  Surely, we cannot ignore the deep, spiritual and experiential significance of eating the Passover lamb, applying the blood, waving the sheaf, and keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Even at this point in our study, a tremendous challenge has come for the believer to fully appropriate the truths of the Passover in his experience.  But, we must go on, for the challenge is much greater.

If the Old Testament Passover Feast holds something for us in this age of grace, then it follows that the Feasts of Pentecost and of Tabernacles are also indicative of some form of spiritual experience or reality available to the earnest seeker.  May we not at this juncture call our revelation complete.  May we not submit to any subtle denominational or doctrinal yoke imposed upon us by men of limited knowledge or understanding.  Let us, rather, acknowledge that our revelation and experience may be incomplete, and let us pray that the "Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation" may rest upon us to guide us deeper into Him Who is Truth.

by Sergio Valori