Church of God, In Truth
Why Passover April 14th, 2003?
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Why Passover April 14th, 2003?
WHY PASSOVER APRIL 14TH, 2003?
" AND YE SHALL OBSERVE THIS THING FOR AN ORDINANCE TO THEE AND TO THY SONS FOR EVER" (Ex. 12:24)
Why is the Church of God, In Truth keeping April 14th for the Passover this year, when most other Churches of God are keeping April 15th or April 16th? For the last ten years the Church of God, In Truth has studied into the Jewish Hebrew Calendar and the postponement rules incorporated into it.
As we researched the Bible, God's Word, we have found we are to keep the beginning of the dark moon phase as the first day of the month. "In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day" (Gen. 1:1-5). The new day, as well as the new month, start in darkness. "This month [new moon #2320] shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you" (Ex. 12:2).
God knew we could not make an idol out of a dark moon. We are told in Deuteronomy, "Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven" (Deut. 4:10-19). God knew from the beginning that man would try to make images of Him, or the sun, moon and stars! God used the dark moon phase to begin a new month, so we could not make an image out of it.
Genesis 1:14 reveals that the sun, moon and stars did not become visible until the fourth day. "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light [the sun] to rule the day, and the lesser light [the moon] to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day" (Gen. 1:14-19). Sunset, which begins a new day, sets the precedent for the dark moon phase beginning the new month. Just as a new day starts at sunset, the new month starts at the beginning of the dark moon phase. "He [God] appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down" (Ps 104:19).
Most Churches of God want to follow the Jewish traditions of postponing God's Holy Days. Jesus Christ told the religious Jews of His day, they were of Satan. "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe Me not. Which of you convinceth Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe Me?" (John 8:44-46). The Jews did not want to follow the truth that Christ taught then and today most Churches of God still want to follow the Jews. They displayed the attitude of: " For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works" (2 Cor. 11:13-15).
Those who keep April 15th or April 16th for Passover this year are just following the traditions of men. One church group says we are to follow the Jews because Christ followed the Jewish calendar. They say the Jews have the authority to set the Holy Days. The scriptures they use to give authority to the Jews are as follows: Matthew 23:1-3, "Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to His disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not." And Romans 3:1-2, " What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God." Matthew 23 is talking about the civil authority given the Pharisees at that time, not God's Holy Days! Christ never gave anyone the authority to change God's Word - His truths! Romans 3:1-2 is following the context of Romans 2: 29, that speaks about circumcision and the preservation of the Old Testament scriptures. It is not talking about a Holy Day calendar, as most Churches of God claim!
What did Christ say about the authority of the Jews? "Therefore say I unto you [Jews], The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard His parables, they perceived that He spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitude, because they took Him for a prophet" (Matt. 21:43-46).
The Apostles of the New Testament Church of God were given authority over God's Church. They did not follow Jewish traditions. They did not follow the new Jewish calendar that incorporated the postponement rules. In fact, the rules of postponement were not even added into the calendar until Hillel II set the fixed years for the leap years in 358-359 A.D. The rest of the postponement rules gradually evolved over the years.
John tells us that those who keep the true Passover will be protected. "And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent" (Rev. 12:11,14). By keeping the true Passover, you will be covered by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.
Have you wondered why Revelation 12:17 talks about those who are the remnant and keep the commandments? "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Could it be they were keeping the Passover on the wrong day? Could they be postponing what the Father and Christ calls the true Passover of the New Testament? Could they be the ones following the traditional Jewish Hebrew calendar that incorporates postponement rules?
The Apostle Peter and the other Apostles tells us we must follow God and not men! "Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey Him" (Acts 5:29-32).
Judaism does not have the authority to set the Holy Days for the Churches of God today! Some Church of God members even go so far as to say they do not have the authority to change anything Mr. Herbert Armstrong set in the Church. Mr. Armstrong never claimed infallibility. God the Father and Jesus Christ are the head of the Church. Only they have the power and authority to establish the Holy Day calendar and when we see truth from God's Word, then we must change accordingly. We must follow where the Holy Spirit of Truth leads in the end age and continue to grow in grace and knowledge. We cannot follow the traditions of any man or any church!
The Church of God, In Truth will keep the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread according to the beginning dark moon phase to begin the new month and the new year. Genesis 1, shows what phase the moon should be in before counting the rest of the days that make up a month. April 1, 2003 is the first day of the new month [beginning dark moon phase] and is the beginning of the new year. We will count 14 days for the Passover and the 15th day is the beginning day of Unleavened Bread. "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened Bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread" (Lev. 23:5-6).
Church of God, In Truth
"And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the passover of the LORD.
And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten" (Num 28. 16-17)
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