Again many thanks for your letter of the 11th plus your other material. Some of our readers do not even keep the Passover and frankly don't care about it. Some keep a variety of Passovers so we have a mixture. Most people are only interested in THE END.
You are correct in that the 15th is not mentioned in Ex.12. We would be interested in anything to publish in the Magazine but it has to be scripturally accurate. The material by "X" we have read before as he keeps in touch. In fact "X" sent us a copy of Paul Finch's Passover Papers and we agree with "X" that Paul should not have produced the book as it is so full of errors.
We came to the same conclusion about DAY as "X" did about 4 years ago, that (and it really is a bit obvious that) morning starts the day and evening finishes the day; but even an English farmer will tell you that bit of information.
We also agree with "X" that the DAY is in fact 12 hours of daylight long at the spring and autumn equinox.
Now if HWA got it wrong about the timing of the Passover then who has it correct? The answer is God in the Bible and the Jews, and this can be proven from the Bible.
So let's get down to some details. That is if you haven't screwed this paper up by now. We will use this material to put into the Magazine.
Most people agree that the lamb was up and kicking and living on the fourteenth day until about midday. After midday and right up until the evening when the sun was about to go down the lamb could have its throat cut. So long as the Israelites had put the lambs blood on the door posts, it did not matter whether they had roasted the lamb early or later or even in the early part of the night that immediately followed. For God said When I see the blood I will pass over you EX 12:13.
The problem it appears to be is; IS the night that God Passed over, the night of the 14th which "X" would like you to think or is it the night of the 15th which is what the jews believe and we might add a growing number of Churches of God. And can it be proved biblically? We will make the statement that night precedes day.
Night precedes day
Night Day (12 hrs)
Long 1st one Gen 1:2 Gen 1:5 evening and morning 1st day
12 hrs 2nd one Gen 1:8 evening and morning 2nd day
12 hrs 3rd one Gen 1:13 evening and morning 3rd day
12 hrs 4th one Gen 1:19 evening and morning 4th day
12 hrs 5th one Gen 1:23 evening and morning 5th day
12 hrs 6th one Gen 1:31 evening and morning 6th day
14th night Ex 12:6 14th day kill lamb evening
15th UB Flesh of lamb Ex 12:8
15th midnight Ex 12:29, 42
15th night Lev 23:6 Feast UB :7 one 15th day
16th Two 16th day
17th Three 17th day
18th Four 18th day
19th Five 19th day
20th Six 20th day
21st Lev 23:8 Seventh 21st day
Lev 23:32 at even 9th day
10th night Lev 23:27 Atonement to even 10th day
Deut 16:6 at even
Num 33:3 out of Egypt 15th day
"X" has unfortunately taken a guess at whether night follows day or day follows night. With a guess one has a 50/50 chance of getting it right. In "X" case he got it wrong. So although we agree with him on the day we don't agree on the position of night.
To use the night and day table. Even "X" reader agrees that after the rebellion there was darkness on the face of the earth. He says millions of years, we estimated it to be about 500 years but darkness was there at the start. One very long night at the start or 1st night This is followed by Gen.1:5 at the tale end of which is a 1st day of 12 hrs starting with morning and ending with evening.
Now we have to assume that the next night is the 2nd night of darkness of 12 hrs because darkness is not mentioned again for a while because God gets on with the work of mentioning recreation, it is at verse 8 that the 2nd day is recorded. So God is expecting us to use our noddle a bit (the grey matter).
We next have the 3rd night followed by verse 13 the 3rd day of 12 hrs.
Then comes the 4th night followed by verses 14-19 where the vast expanding universe is put into place including the sun and moon on the 4th day. (Not millions of years ago)
The 5th night then came followed by verses 20-23 which supplied moving things for mans entertainment in the 5th day.
The 6th night was then followed by making man and other things in the 6th day verse 24-31.
This only gives an indication that night precedes day. We require more proof. Now I will refer to "X"s article Which is the First of Yahvehs yearly Festivals?
On page 12
Since the Israelites began an all day march out of Egypt on the morning of the 15th , the day AFTER the Passover, (Num. 33:3) ask yourself the logical question, WHICH DAY best meets the criteria for a HOLY DAY?
We have now got "X" agreeing that the 15th existed even though it is not mentioned in Exodus 12. And that they were marching out after the Passover. You will also find in Leviticus 23:6,7 that all future 15th days are to be the feast of unleavened bread and verse 7 the first day (15th ) which is an HOLY CONVOCATION. Then in the same breath, WHEN did they actually start eating the unleaven bread? ---THE NIGHT BEFORE Ex 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that NIGHT, roast with fire, and UNLEAVENED BREAD.
Again of itself this does not prove beyond any shadow of doubt that this night was the 15th night. It merely shows that by the evening or the end of the 15th day that the Israelites had been eating and able to eat unleavened bread for getting on towards 24 hrs.
In fact the more we read of "X" work, we realise he is just trying to cover too many subjects.
The Passover. There is two parts to the Passover. 1st is the part which the Israelites had to perform and the 2nd is the part which God performed. The 1st part is to eat the flesh in that NIGHT, roast with fire, and unleavened bread Ex 12:8 and last part of verse 11 and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's Passover. And the 2nd part is Gods part, verse 12. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night; and half way through verse 13. And when I see the blood I will PASS OVER you and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you.
And what day is the, THIS DAY mentioned in verse 14? It is the 15th day, and all future 15th days are to be a memorial, it is a FEAST. Lev 23:6 proves this. Even though it is not mentioned in Ex 12; as the 14th day has gone, the next one is the 15th . Num. 33:3
Now the night is more heavily stacked as being in front of day. Not totally proven yet but read on.
"X" has brainwashed himself into believing that night follows day so that when God passed over at midnight "X" thinks it is the 14th night and then all nights, follow days. After all he says in another part of his work; is it not natural for night to follow day? Well yes "X", but after you have had a good nights sleep, then it is natural for you to get up in the morning or it is natural for the next day to follow the previous night.
Again his night following day idea breaks down on page 14 of his work. This is where he gets confused.
Page 14, 5th paragraph
The opposite takes place on the Day of Atonement when fasting begins on the 9th day at evening (Lev.23:27 and 32).
No "X" it is only your misinterpretation of night following day that has been blown off track. God is still the same today as he was in yesteryear.
Atonement follows the exact same sequence of NIGHT preceding day.
Everyone is happy with the idea that the 10th day this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement. Lev 23:27 states that. Verse 32 then goes on to say--It shall be a Sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the 9th day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.
Or to put it in modern language from the evening of the 9th day until the evening of the 10th day is a Sabbath of rest. This is about 24 hrs of going without food. As the 10th day is still 12 hrs then the 10th night before it must be 12 hrs. God does not say from the morning of the 10th to the morning of the 11th .
So from the evening of the 9th to the evening of the 10th is a Sabbath. It is 24 hrs free from work and the 12 hrs of daylight of the 10th is an holy convocation. When the evening of the 9th is over we go into the Sabbath night, and the scriptures are now showing heavy balance in favour that this night is the night of the 10th . Our reader of course does not like this he simply says that the opposite of his belief takes place on the Day of Atonement..
We believe that people can be forgiven when they say that when the sun has set the Sabbath day has started. What they should say to be technically correct is that the Sabbath NIGHT has started. And this is then followed by the Sabbath day of 8 hrs or 16 hrs or whatever depending on the time of the year.
Now for the Jews.
To "Prepare" for a meal, is not the actual eating of that meal! Christ was a Jew, and the 12 Apostles were Jews! They "Prepared" the Passover lamb every year, just like all of the other Jews! They took the lamb from the flock on the 10th of Nissan, just like all the other Jews! They kept it in Captivity and prepared it for slaughter for 4 days, just like all the other jews! They took it down to the temple to be killed by the Priest on the afternoon portion of the 14th of Nisan, just like all the other Jews: They took it home and roasted it, then ate it, at the start of the 15th of Nisan, just like all the other jews! They celebrated that night as "the night to be much observed"(Ex 12:42) for coming out of Egypt, just like all the other jews! They ate the un-leavened bread for "7 days" according to the commandments, just like all of the other Jews!
Hence The Jews have the oracles of God, Romans 3:2 shows this. 1 Cor. 10:32 says offend not the Jews. John 4:22 shows that salvation is of the Jews. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. John 1:11. Luke 4:16 he went in to synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. The Jews have kept a Friday even to Saturday even Sabbath for the last two thousand years or more and before that the tribe of Judah did. Showing that night precedes Day.
We would like to thank Glen W. Myers of the USA for these last two paragraphs on the Jews.
Next if you would like to turn to Acts.
Acts 27:27 14th night Acts 27:33 14th day
Acts 27:27 But when the fourteenth night was come,-- and verse 33 says This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried...
These two scriptures show quite clearly that night precedes day.
Lastly back in the Old Testament.
Merchants had been causing the tribe of Judah to profane the Sabbath by bringing in goods on the Sabbath night. So Nehemiah told the Gate keepers to close the gates.
Neh 13:19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath; and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath day
VOSS. While he has written an interesting paper, the moon is what we go by as it is. Everyone we know is happy that once the first white arc of the sun has appeared over the horizon, that morning has started. When the last arc of the sun goes down over the horizon, evening and day is finished. The same thing applies to the moon only over a longer period of time. When the first arc of light appears in the heaven at night, the next 12 hrs day is day 1 of the month. When the last arc of the moon disappears in the heavens the month is finished. At day 15 one will have a full moon. God gave the Israelites a full moon when they came out of Egypt.
In fact if you are doing exactly as the scriptures plainly say in Ex 12 then you are on the right track, the Appendix 6 on page 268 of Finch's book is only a theory, HWA and his church no longer exists but as God would say; we have to -- Work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.
There is no 12 hr Holy Convocation mentioned in the Bible on the 14th day .
There is however a final preparation day to prepare the Passover lamb ready to be eaten in the early part of the 15th night.
Yours Sincerely
Alex Cain
One of the tribes that came out of Egypt was Judah (see Exodus 1:2) the same people who are attempting to make Jerusalem their capital now.
Once God had got the Israelites out of Egypt, they had not only forgotten when the Sabbath day was after being there 430 years; but they were also moaning for food. They had gotten hungry.
So He said unto them Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you: and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove then, whether they will walk in my law, or not. Ex.16:4.
And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
So God was about to teach them when the Sabbath day was. NOT Sunday the first day of the week but the Sabbath.
One of the things to note is that each day when the Israelites had gathered that which he wanted, and left the rest, that which was left in the fields melted when the sun came up hot. Ex 16:21. So the manna had to be kept under cover.
The next thing to be noted is that during the week some of the clever clogs decided that they would hold some back so that in the evening of the day and at night they would still have some to eat. They found however that by the following morning, the previous mornings manna bred worms and stank. Ex 16:20.
God therefore was giving a specific instruction, collect the manna in the morning and eat it. They also had quail at night.
Now we come to the Friday or the sixth day (or the preparation day) where they were told to gather twice as much, which they did. They had to eat what they wanted on the sixth day and lay up the rest for the following morning of the seventh (or Sabbath) day.
Then surprise surprise what did they find on the Sabbath day? Ex 16:24 And they lade it up (overnight) till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.
This shows quite clearly that the night before the Sabbath ( the Sabbath night) God had placed his presence there in the sense that the manna held over this night would not decay. The Israelites would also have had a peaceful rest that night (Sabbath means rest) as they did not have to go and collect manna the following morning. The night after the Sabbath they would have eaten quail.
There were a minimum of four miracles that had occurred during this time. One was the appearance of the manna daily from heaven. The second was that the Sabbath day (a period of 12 hours daylight) was re identified. Third was that GOD supplied food for a period of forty years. The forth was that the manna on the night before the Sabbath did not breed worms as it did the other nights. There is also the miracle of clothes and shoes not wearing out for forty years.
So it become perfectly clear that the Israelites had manna in their possession from early morning of the sixth day to almost the evening of the Sabbath or seventh day. At Friday sunset they had manna in their possession so they would have had a restful sleep at night not having to worry about the following day food. After Friday sunset they would have also be eating quail so there tummies would also be full. This went on for forty years. God was identifying for them not only when the Sabbath day was, but also by pure action alone when the Sabbath night was; ie the Sabbath night preceding the Sabbath day. The sixth day is the day of preparation.
This is not a tradition of the Jews in the sense that the Jews created the Sabbath day or night as the Jews as a people did not exist for another 700 years. It was GOD that was doing the re identifying of HIS Sabbath. The Sabbath that was made for man. In this case the Israelites.
So God identified for the Israelites when the Sabbath day was. They then went into Babylon and after coming out, it was God in the form of Christ that showed that Judah was still keeping the Sabbath on the correct day as Luke 13:10--And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath----shows.
I have been reliably informed that all Bible Scholars agree that the Biblical day begins at sunset. Unfortunately the Bible and God does not agree with them.
God calls these scholars deceived because all the world has been deceived, Rev. 12:9.
I will now give some scriptures which show the contradictions of these scholars.
Imagine a scene with a scholar talking to a hall of people.
The scholar opens up by saying that all bible days begin at sunset and most people nodding their heads in agreement. The scholar then goes onto describe the Passover and uses the scripture Ex. 11:4 About Midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt.
Then one bright spark says "Excuse me sir shouldn't the scripture say at Mid DAY will I go out, after all you say when the sun has set a new DAY begins?"
The scholar then goes on to say oh no the bible is correct it was at Mid NIGHT.
The audience feels a bit confused.
The scholar goes through the; day begins at sunset routine and then goes on to use the scripture Ex.12:12 I will pass through the land of Egypt this night.
Another wide awake person then says "Excuse me sir, should the scripture not say, I will pass through the land of Egypt this DAY, after all you say that at sunset a new DAY begins?
The Scholar goes on to say, oh no the bible is correct it say Egypt this NIGHT.
The audience is feeling more confused and one person walks out.
The scholar then goes through the same routine and this time uses Ex. 12:29 Then it came to pass that at Midnight the Lord smote all the first born of Egypt.
Again someone asks "Should not the scripture say at Mid DAY the Lord smote them. After all the DAY begins at sunset." The scholar says the scripture is quite correct that it is at Mid NIGHT.
A number of people walk out now.
Finally the scholar goes through the sunset starts the day routine and uses Ex.12:31 where Pharaoh calls for Moses by NIGHT.
Just one more person asks the question "If sunset starts the day should not
Ex.12 31 say Pharaoh calls for Moses by DAY.
The scholar again says the scripture is correct and that Pharaoh calls for Moses by NIGHT.
The rest of the people walk out.
No where in the Bible does it say that Biblical days begin at sunset. Just the reverse is true.
Once the sun has set it does not matter whether it is Biblical or Physical or Spiritual a NEW NIGHT begins.
All the previous scriptures show this. So does Ex.12:42 The Passover NIGHT is a NIGHT to be much observed. Deut. 16:1 God took the Israelites out by NIGHT. Ex. 12:8 Unleavened bread was to be eaten at the Passover NIGHT.
At sunset DARKNESS begins and darkness He call NIGHT Gen. 1:5.
DAY is when the sun comes over the horizon in the morning and we have LIGHT. He called the LIGHT DAY Gen.1:5
I does not matter if we have light in the morning or at midday or in the evening it its still called DAY.
On planet earth, it does does not matter whether we talk about the North Pole or South or at the Equator the average number of hours of daylight is 12. John 11:9 with 12 hours of Darkness
God is not the author of confusion 1 Cor.14:33
I suggest ever one now calls upon God to send his son to this earth to take charge of his awesome creation.
Mr Cain is a Polymer Scientist Retired now researching into Energetics.
