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The Second Exodus

10 Saturday May 2014

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A SECOND EXODUS

You ain’t seen nothing yet! Don’t you just love those colloquial sayings? As long as they’re not overused and become too familiar, we all use them to punctuate a point or illustrate and intensify an idea we’re trying to share with someone. Sometimes you can even use words that aren’t really words (like ain’t). Oh come on now, I know ain’t is officially in the dictionary, but who among us considers it to be a valid contraction of am not, or whatever. Haven’t most of us who are moms or dads corrected our children when they say, ain’t. And then turn right around and mutter under our breath or whisper to our spouse, “That just ain’t right.” Point is that a catchy phrase often gets our attention, such as: “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Even without ain’t that’s a popular adage! Right now, the problem with ain’t is that my spelling and grammar check has underlined it every time, and I don’t like red marks while I write. However there are seven red lines in this paragraph, which is my favorite number!

Since the underlying theme of this blog site is Biblical prophecy, I best get on with the topic at hand. Which is: You ain’t seen nothing yet. I’m talking about a modern-day marvel predicted nearly 2,600 years ago by God through a Jewish prophet that billions of people all over the world have probably heard of … Jeremiah. You remember: the prophet made famous by the rock group Three Dog Night singing, “Jeremiah was a bullfrog … was a good friend of mine.” I am not quoting that to be irreverent, only to emphasis how well-known Jeremiah is. By the way, Jeremiah in Hebrew is: Yirmeyahu. That’s another red line to eliminate in this document, but it’s worth it!

The way I see it, all Bible prophecies fall into the category of amazing; if for no other reason than they were fulfilled just as prophesied. But there are some like the subject of this article that zoom right past amazing to astounding, incredible, or mind-boggling. After you read it, pick your own superlative description. Here is the prophecy:

“In that day,” says the Lord, “when people are taking an oath, they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’ Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ Then they will live in their own land” (Jeremiah 23:7-8).

What is this prediction all about, and why is it so unparalleled? How is it that such a monumental event like the Exodus from Egypt could be relegated to, “You ain’t seen nothing yet?” In a nutshell, it announces far in advance that there will be a Second Exodus for the Jewish people. (Incidentally, this was the second time that Jeremiah made this prediction … the first being found in Chapter 16). It is one thing to utter such a bold prediction once (if it isn’t fulfilled, then once is too many), but to state it twice is prophetical suicide if it doesn’t come to pass. But it did happen … and it is still happening right before our eyes in the 21st century.

What makes it even more spectacular is the fact that; although the northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered by Assyria, the southern kingdom of Judah was still a vibrant, thriving, prosperous, and powerful nation. For the southern kingdom Jews to be told that their return to the Promised Land would surpass in magnitude the miraculous Exodus was unthinkable, because nothing would ever rival their deliverance from Egypt. But also because they couldn’t or wouldn’t wrap their minds around the possibility that Judah and the Holy City of Jerusalem would ever be conquered in the first place. By that time Jeremiah had warned—and continued to warn—his people that Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed and the people taken captive by the mighty Babylonian Empire, unless they turned back to God.

Thus, it’s one thing to foretell such an incomparable return to Israel (by saying it will be even more memorable than the first Exodus); but it’s quite another phenomenon to prophesy about this Second Exodus before Judah had even been destroyed and the people exiled to Babylon. Moreover, Jeremiah was proclaiming that ALL of Israel would return, including the ten northern tribes that had already been scattered to the four winds. We’ll see that shortly when we read verses five and six of Jeremiah Chapter 23.

The Exodus from Egypt

Who hasn’t heard of The Exodus? Of Moses, the burning bush, Israelites, Pharaoh, the awesome parting of the Sea, and the finger of God blazing His commandments on solid stone. That isn’t just imagery from Cecil B. Demille’s film classic, The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston. Where do you think Demille got the idea? Several times throughout the Old Testament, Israel and the gentile nations are reminded of one of the greatest (some say the greatest) event of all time—the Exodus from Egypt. For hundreds of years afterward, Israel’s judges, prophets, kings, priests, scribes and many of the common people frequently reminded each other and themselves what mighty blessings and miracles the Lord God had performed before, during, and after the Exodus, including entrance into the Promised Land of Israel.

That’s what the majority of their annual festivals are about. There are many Old Testament references to the miracles of the plagues that rescued the Hebrews from abject slavery, and repeated reminders of such things as, “For he divided the sea and led them through, making the water stand up like walls! In the daytime he led them by a cloud, and all night by a pillar of fire. He split open the rocks in the wilderness to give them water, as from a gushing spring. He made streams pour from the rock, making the waters flow down like a river!” (Psalms 78:13-16).

From the very first Passover, Jews throughout the ages—even during their Babylonian exile and then during the Diaspora—right up to the present time have celebrated their deliverance from Egyptian bondage.

Yet, several hundred years after Moses, Jeremiah audaciously announces that one day something would take place to actually eclipse the Exodus in importance and impact. Once again it would entail Exile {to a foreign nation(s)}; Deliverance (from oppression by those nations); and Entrance (to Israel, the land promised to them by the true and living God). But this time it would be permanent … indeed, it would be everlasting.

The Jews of the Old Testament would often preface an oath–whether very serious such as in a court of law or more causal like when talking to a good friend or a city council–by saying, “As surely as the Lord lives, I will….” (do this or that). Or they might say, “May the Lord strike me, and even kill me, if I don’t….” (do this or that). According to Jeremiah, they apparently would add, “…who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt,” to the oath/promise that began with, “As surely as the Lord lives….”

But, Jeremiah goes on to say: “In that day,” the Jews will change the saying to reflect another monumental milestone in Israel’s glorious, but troubled history. They will say, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.” In other words: As great as the first Exodus was and as much as it meant to the Jews, there would be a Second Exodus that would far exceed the first one, both in quality (scale and duration) and quantity (of people).

Which Day (Time) is “That Day”?

What day or period of time is Jeremiah referring to in this passage? We need to accurately read the historical clock, to clarify and confirm the exact era when this Second Exodus takes place. Is it when the Jews returned from their Babylonian captivity or a (much) later period of time? How can we know for sure in that day is taking place in this generation? Several Old Testament prophecies encompass both the near future (of that time) and the distant future—meaning the last days or end times. Others pertain exclusively to the near future of that time, such as the Assyrians conquering the ten northern tribes of Israel. But most apply directly and exclusively to the very last days. Furthermore, these end times prophecies often begin with the phrase, “In that day,” or references, “The Day of the Lord,” or something similar.

Admittedly, some prophecies are more difficult to evaluate … whether or not they apply to events that take place a few years, decades, or even a few centuries later (such as Greece and Alexander the Great representing the third beast of Daniel Chapter 7 which conquered Persia some three hundred years after the prediction); as opposed to those that take place thousands of years later or have not yet occurred. But the majority of prophecies are not all that hard to understand, including those pertaining to the last days. The basic rule of thumb is this: If you can’t find anything in Biblical or secular history that a specific prophetic event has occurred (particularly before the 20th century because that’s when Israel once again became a nation), then the prophecy will apply to the end times, which we are living in right now.

In our Jeremiah Chapter 23 passage, it’s actually quite easy to place the fulfillment beyond the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon. Why is that? One word answer: Context. In the two verses that precede our just quoted passage of Jeremiah 23:7-8, we read, “For the time is coming says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a king who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. And this will be his name: The LORD Is Our Righteousness. In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety” (Jeremiah 23:5-6). Obviously, none of the specifics of this prophecy occurred during or within even hundreds of years after (some of) the Babylonian exiles returned to Israel.

The last sentence affirms that both Judah and Israel (both kingdoms comprising all twelve tribes of Israel) will be part of this final, magnificent restoration of land and people. One day soon, the so-called ten lost tribes of Israel will no longer be lost; they will be found by our Lord, the God of Israel! Moreover, the formerly divided northern and southern kingdoms will be reunited as one, as other Biblical passages tell us.

Amazing! For Jews and Gentiles who have embraced Messiah Jesus, we know him to be the righteous descendent of King David. This son of David is Yahweh Tzidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness) who was born of a virgin, lived, taught, healed, performed miracles, died, was buried, and rose again the third day … a historically recorded fact. He is from the Tribe of Judah, and his very birth separated time itself (BC to AD). We passionately await his triumphant and glorious return as the King of all kings who, “…rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land…”

There are several significant features of this “King who rules with wisdom,” but none more so that his designated name to match who he is, what he has done and what he will do. There is no getting around it … meaning the fact that this King is both a man (descendant of David) and God. Which is not what most Jews believe. Rather, they believe the Messiah will be merely a man … a great man, but not divine. But what does the passage say? It gives this man the name that God, himself, gave to Moses to identify who God really is. He is YHWH (Yahweh) or “I AM,” translated and designated throughout Scripture as THE LORD (capital letters). Moreover, to the Jews and all mankind, he is and will be “The LORD Our Righteousness.”

Scripture declares, “No one is righteous—not even one” (Romans 3:10). The apostle Paul, a former Jewish Orthodox Rabbi who was wonderfully transformed by Messiah, made this statement. But Paul is quoting King David from Psalm 14. Only the divine Son of God (God the Son) qualifies as being our righteousness. His righteousness is freely and unconditionally given to us when we believe and receive Him and what he did on the Cross. We must have his righteousness, because we have none of our own. And, Scripture tells us we need this righteousness (right standing with God) in order to be and live forever in His presence.

Many Jews, especially the observant, anxiously await what they believe is the first appearance of Messiah. Gentile and Messianic Christians (Jews) await Messiah’s second coming. Either way, when Messiah (re)appears, “In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety.” And this glorious appearance will be heralded by a magnificent, miraculous Exodus of Jews from the four corners of the earth. This began a few decades ago, continues to this very day, and will continue through and a short time after Christ returns to the earth at the end of the Great Tribulation also known as the Time of Jacob’s trouble.

Oh how the Jews have returned to Israel! With statistics that are staggering, in numbers that exceed the first Exodus, from countries all over the world (only from Egypt did the first Exodus take place), which affirm the remarkable accuracy of Jeremiah’s prediction and many other Old Testament passages. But mostly from the, “land of the north.”

Some Fascinating Figures

Based on Exodus 12:37, Bible scholars estimate there were between 1.5 million and 2 million Hebrews who victoriously marched out of Egypt on that fateful day in Jewish antiquity. Just recently, the population of Israel reached 8,132,000. Of those numbers, 6,110,600 are Jews with most of the remaining population consisting of Arabs, who are Israeli citizens. This does not include Arab settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip composed of another 2 million Arabs or so. By comparison, the population of the State of New Jersey is 8,899,399, and the land mass of New Jersey also approximates Israel in size.

Beginning with the first Aliyah in 1881 (return of the Diaspora Jewish exiles to Palestine) to and a few months following declaration of statehood for Israel in May, 1948, there were about 800,000 Jews in Israel. Most of the Post World War II Jewish immigrants to Israel were survivors of the holocaust, emigrating from Europe. But they also came from the United States, from South America, from Yemen, Iraq and Iran (because they were expelled from those three countries), from North Africa, but not too many from the Soviet Union. That is: not until 1990 and onward until 2006. After the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia’s President Mikhail Gorbachev allowed Jews to leave Russia, the Jews emigrated from Russia in numbers never seen before.

In 1990, around 228,400 Jews left Russia, of which 183,400 made Aliyah to Israel, an astounding 80%. By 2006, nearly one million Russian Jews had immigrated to the land of their forefathers. Although these numbers have slowed in the past 7-8 years, there were still 7,520 Jews who left Russia and made Israel their home in 2013.

At one time over 5 million Jews lived in Russia. Some two million of this number were murdered during the Holocaust. Today there are only 440,000 Jews left in Russia and another 300,000 in the Ukraine, a former Soviet Union country. And Ukraine very well could be once again under the Federation of Russia in the not so distant future, but that’s another recent development!

Since 1948, some three million Jews have made Aliyah to Israel from 130 countries, with 20% of Israel’s Jewish population today Russian immigrants or children of those immigrants, an astonishing 1.2 million Jews. How’s that for putting a giant exclamation point on Jeremiah’s prophecy! Not only does it predict a massive return of exiled Jews from all over the world, it specifically identifies, “the land of the north,” which is none other than today’s Russia which was the former Soviet Union and its satellite countries. This same land to the north is also identified in the Gag/Magog prophecy of Ezekiel 38 & 39. Moscow is due north of Jerusalem. Just look at them on a global map. There is no other nation of any size or historical consequence which fits this description other than Russia.

That’s way more than reason enough for a modern-day Jew to knowingly or unwittingly think or quote Jeremiah and exclaim, I am here in the land God promised to my ancestors, “As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north…” Whether any given Jew actually quotes or paraphrases this verse or not, the fact remains that this wonderful prediction has unfolded before our very eyes. We are part of the Omega (last) generation.

First Hand Experience

I have seen this for myself during a 2006 trip to Israel that I made with one of my sisters. We traveled through part of Israel in a rental car—I was there primarily to do research on my first book, a novel called, O Israel … the end is the beginning for those left behind. On Shabbat (Sabbath) we attended a fairly small church in Rishon Letzion, Israel, south of Tel Aviv. The name of this congregation of Jewish believers in Messiah Jesus is Grace & Truth Congregation. I would estimate the number in attendance on that Saturday was 125 or so. It was a small building and we were packed to the point of keeping elbows close to one’s side so as not to invade the space of the person sitting next to you!

The Pastor’s message in Hebrew was simultaneously translated into English for those of us on one side of the sanctuary and in Russian for those on another side! I’m sure that eventually most of the Russian speaking believers would learn Hebrew, but what a sight to behold at the time. We also alternated singing in English, Hebrew, and Russian. One old Christian song, “I Need Thee Every Hour,” brought tears to my eyes. Of course, you had to be there to fully appreciate what I’m saying; but to see such a small congregation of believers accommodating three languages at one time (something you might not even see in a large church) was simply splendid.

It made Jeremiah’s prophecy all the more relevant; in fact, it jumped off the pages of Scripture. Up to that point, I had never heard the Russian language anywhere except on television or perhaps a movie. And I didn’t need to go to Russia to hear the language. The Bible was effectively saying: Jeremiah 23 is being fulfilled right now. Go to Israel and see for yourself!

I’m telling you folks: The God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob IS GOD. There is none like him … never has been, never will be. He is the one and only true and living God. No other so-called god of any other man-made religion can even come close to making a handful of predictions come true, let alone hundreds of prophesies (like Jeremiah 23) found in the Bible.

After 2000 years of exiled separation from the land of Israel and from each other, with nearly half of their number ruthlessly murdered by Hitler’s Third Reich; the fact that millions of Jews have returned to Israel and millions more born there is unprecedented. Until the transportation and communication technological advances of the 20th century, this dream of Aliyah (on anything approaching its current scale) would have been impossible. The logistics, not the least of which were dozens of different languages spoken by Jews, would have been insurmountable. Not only did millions of Jews return to a reborn nation, they came back to their ancient, all but dead, reborn Hebrew language.

And guess what? No spectacular plagues, no seas or oceans being parted, no rivers gushing from solid rock, no burning bushes or mountains covered by fire and dense clouds and smoke (Mt Sinai), no clothing and sandals that lasted for 40 years in a harsh desert wilderness, no crumbling of walls by merely walking around them and then shouting … no state of the art miracles as such.

But Israel is a miracle, nevertheless. Something never before seen and never to be seen again in the annals of human history. A country and people and language reborn from the floods of dispersion and the fires of Nazi death camps. In fact, the former Israeli Chief Rabbi Abraham Kook (1865-1935) somewhat prophetically surmised that it would be more of a miracle for God to use natural methods and events to restore Israel and return the Jews to Israel than to supernaturally alter the laws of nature which he did in the first Exodus, i.e. the ten plagues and splitting of the sea.

And, yes, movies have been made about the Second Exodus, such as Cast a Giant Shadow, with Kirk Douglas. And, Exodus, with Paul Newman. Exodus is based on a gripping novel of the same name, written by Jewish author Leon Uris.

Summary

This past week, Israel celebrated its 66th anniversary as a nation. For all practical purposes they once again celebrated their Second Exodus, greater in number and surpassing even the miracle of splitting the sea. For you see, it was accomplished through and a result of the greatest tragedy of all time, the Holocaust. Only God could possibly make something so good come out of something so horrible. Just like when he saved Jacob and his family (and also Egypt at the time) from certain death by famine through a series of supernaturally orchestrated natural events beginning when Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery.

Things to Ponder

Why don’t we take a moment to remember these things and rejoice with the Jews because they finally have a nation of their own, which was their land from the beginning? The only way that their solemn dream and promise, “Never again,” (meaning something like the Holocaust must never, ever happen again) could be accomplished was through a land of their own … that is Israel, the land given to them by God. We know the time is very, very short, because we are witnesses to the Second Exodus.

“Look and see, for everyone is coming home! Your sons are coming from distant lands; your little daughters will be carried home” (Isaiah 60:4).

“…You will know at last that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel” (Isaiah 60:16).

*Acknowledgment: In part, some of the subject of this article, Second Exodus and the phrase, You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, was inspired from a March 24, 2013 article by Rabbi Tuly Weisz, entitled: Passover Miracles? You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet! Posted online through unitedwithisrael.org.

English words to Hatikvah:

As long as in the heart, within; A Jewish soul still years. And onward towards the ends of the east, An eye still gazes toward Zion.

Our hope is not yet lost, The hope of two thousand years; To be a free people in our land, The Land of Zion and Yerushalayim.

 

 

 

 

 

Passover … an Enduring Legacy

12 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by in Current Events

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PASSOVER … AN ENDURING LEGACY

Try to visualize our state and federal highways built without overpasses found on hundreds of clover leafs and interchanges throughout the country. There would be instant and ongoing traffic gridlock that would make a twisting, turning roller coaster ride at Disneyland seem like a perfectly straight path. And standing in line to get to that ride would seem like only a minute or two. Not to mention the hazardous traffic conditions created, so I won’t mention that. Instead, we are able to enter or exit an Interstate highway bypassing high-speed traffic below or above us. We pass over those obstacles on a path that keeps us moving toward our destination.

One of the greatest events in human history took place when God, himself, passed over the descendants of Abraham while the angel of death traveled through the land of Egypt killing the firstborn son in every Egyptian family. Virtually all Jews know the story, as do hundreds of millions of Gentiles throughout the world. Even Hollywood has told the tale that has survived some 3200 years of human history. You remember, don’t you? The Ten Commandments, featuring Charlton Heston as Moses. The first Passover marked the birth of the Jewish nation.

The Passover plague was the tenth and the most devastating in the line of miracles God performed against the Egyptians, who’s Pharaoh stubbornly refused to free God’s people … ordered by God, through Moses and Aaron. It was the plague to end all plagues. It was the, “what does it take to get your full attention, to fully understand that I am the true and Almighty God and I mean business,” catastrophe. It was, what part of “let my people go” don’t you understand?

The stakes were incredibly high—deliverance from oppression, brutality, deprivation, and often times death at the hands of cruel task masters. Lest you think that the demise of every firstborn Egyptian was too harsh, there were some two million Israelites held in unbearable bondage. It was slave labor for an entire race of people. Would you be willing to continue sixth or seventh generational back-breaking, soul-sapping, poverty-stricken labor for someone else who couldn’t care less whether you lived or died or how much you suffered between birth and death?

In this country, a mere thirteen colonies composed of only a few thousand people revolted against the mighty empire of England. Do you think the American Revolutionary Army would have shamefully given up the fight if they had been ordered to kill the firstborn of every English family to gain their freedom? Though the task would have been grim, they certainly would have done what was necessary for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Economic, cultural, and political repression by England was no longer tolerable. And this subjugation by “taxation without representation” had gone on for only a few decades; whereas the Israelites had been in submissive enslavement and abject poverty for 430 years! Enough was enough. God heard their desperate cry for help. It was time to return to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; a land given to them by God, himself … time to be the head, and not the tail.

Read with me God’s instructions to Moses and the Hebrews: “On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord! But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt. This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. This is a law for all time” (Exodus 12: 12-14).

Down through the ages, that’s exactly what the Jews have done. The Jewish Passover is still celebrated to this very day. It will be observed next Tuesday, April 15th and continues for one week as the feast of unleavened bread. Somehow, in some inexplicable way, the Jews never forgot how much Passover means to them. Despite being ruthlessly conquered by the Assyrians in 722 BC, by the Babylonians in 586 BC, and finally by the Romans in 70 AD, driven out of their land, and exiled to virtually every nation on the earth for some 2000 years, they faithfully kept Passover. You would think that the Jews, who were no longer a people or a nation (as nations are defined by a people living in a certain land), would have eventually forgotten or dismissed the importance of an observance that, among other things, required a personal journey to Jerusalem every year to celebrate this ordained festival.

Yet, millions of Jews in Israel and millions more throughout the world have already begun their meticulous preparation for Passover Seder. Tens of thousands will travel to Israel, reborn as a nation in 1948; tens of thousands more will fly from Israel to their families in the United States, Russia, France, Germany and countries all over the earth. Many Seders consist of extended families with twenty or thirty in attendance.

Why? Is it because God ordained Passover as an annual ritual to be remembered and observed by the Jews? Yes, but that is not the complete picture or reason, as confirmed by the fact that many Jews who celebrate Passover are not observant Jews who practice Judaism on a regular basis … meaning they are secular, or at the most, reformed or liberal in their leanings. It’s ceremonial, but it’s more than a ritual. To better understand the deep meaning and relevance of Passover to even secular Jews in today’s post-modern non-religious or even anti-religious society, we need to identify what really took place in this tenth and final miracle that led to deliverance of the Jews.

Redemption

Why were Israelite families required to sacrifice a lamb or a goat and then, “take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the door frames of the houses….”? (Exodus 12:7). Then, as we already have read, the Lord would, “see the blood. I will pass over you…” (Verse 13). By now the Hebrews fully understood that their God was the true and living Almighty God. Nine previous miracles attested to God’s omniscience and omnipotence, as well as remembrance that he was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Wouldn’t it suffice to deal with the Egyptians in one ultimate, miraculous demonstration of power? Why must the Jews participate through a visible display of blood to exempt them from this final devastating plague? And, why must it be repeated as an annual observance forever?

The answer: God’s deliverance of the Jews was more than liberation from corporeal slavery in Egypt. For sure it was physical redemption (akin to the ancient purchase of a slave in order to grant freedom to the slave). Redeem has a twofold meaning: “to buy back … to free from that which distress or harms … to free from captivity” (Webster’s dictionary). But also to: “release from blame or debt.” Biblical redemption, therefore, generates deliverance from external harm or captivity or judgment (whether deserved or not), but also from internal enslavement to selfishness and sin.

In the Exodus, for the first time the redemptive price was the sacrifice of thousands upon thousands of otherwise innocent lambs and goats throughout the land. But even that was not enough. For it was necessary that each Israelite (family) personally apply the blood of this sacrifice to his/her dwelling place. This served as a “sign” that each man, woman, and child would be spared the plague of death that would strike Egypt.

This personal application of the blood would demonstrate and represent individual responsibility of choosing to obey the Lord; to recognize that, without the shedding of blood, there would be no escape from God’s wrath and judgment—which is administered only against those who refuse to acknowledge the true and living God and trust him exclusively for their redemption (salvation). Thus, there was no relief for the Egyptians, as they had made it all too clear that they would not (even after nine horrible plagues) listen to God and let his people go.

Less than two years later, all of God’s laws and decrees were given to the Israelites through Moses, including the extraordinary Levitical sacrificial system that established a relationship to/with God on God’s terms. The bedrock cornerstone of this system: without the shedding of blood, there would be no atonement for sin. There would be no redemption. The high-priced guilt and consequences of sin required an equally high price in order for God to forgive wrongdoing against him and against humanity.

This God-given principle of life (and death) was necessary for God’s chosen people as much or more than the pagan nations who deliberately ignored and even defied the true and living God, choosing instead to worship man-made gods of fertility and prosperity. No different from people today who follow hard after (worship) the gods of money, power, pleasure, prestige, sex, and greed. Thus, the Lord God made it clear that deliverance of the Israelites from slavery was not only liberation from Egyptian bondage, but an ultimate release from the penalty of personal and national sin. Both required a sacrificial offering. Both required trust in God and God alone.

Later, through King David and the prophets, God made known to Israel in more detail that a Messiah would come who would redeem Israel … to the fullest meaning and extent of the very idea of redemption. “The Redeemer will come to Jerusalem to buy back those in Israel who have turned from their sins, says the Lord” (Isaiah 59:20). And, “The Lord has sent this message to every land: Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your Savior is coming. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’ They will be called, ‘The Holy People’ and ‘The People Redeemed by the Lord’” (Isaiah 62: 11-12).

God wanted the Jews to never forget who it was that rescued them from miserable, hopeless, endless servitude. And, he wanted them to remember what exactly it was that accomplished this delivery from otherwise certain death during the 10th plague… the blood of an innocent lamb. And then to understand that serving the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would result in true freedom from personal enslavement to sin with all of its ugly consequences.

One of my favorite passages in all of Scripture records God’s amazing guarantee to King David that concludes with, “Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever” (II Samuel 7:16). Because the succession of Israel’s kings ended with the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC, it’s all too obvious that this everlasting promise could only be fulfilled by the coming Messiah, a descendant of David who would one day rule and reign forever.

I love King David’s reaction to God’s remarkable promise. The very heart of that response focuses on his keen remembrance of and tribute to Israel’s spectacular emancipation from what (at the time) seemed to be perpetual slavery. Listen to David’s stirring prayer of gratitude: “How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you. We have never even heard of another God like you! What other nation on earth is like your people Israel? You made a great name for yourself when you redeemed your people from Egypt. You performed awesome miracles and drove out the nations and gods that stood in their way. You made Israel your very own people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God” (II Samuel 7: 22-24, italics for emphasis).

But David knew, as did many of Israel’s prophets, that God’s Passover redemption of Israel would (later) also include a “people that were not God’s people” in God’s majestic plan of salvation. That it would be God’s Messiah who would accomplish this purpose.

Another Celebration of Passover

Christians also celebrate Passover every year, in a different way; but with the same emphasis of applying blood to the doorposts of our hearts and minds. We call it Easter, although I personally prefer Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday, as it really has nothing to do with bunnies and a search for eggs! How on earth did we ever go from, “Hallelujah, He is Risen,” to “Happy Easter.” Oh, I know the story of Easter and all that … I’m just lamenting the change in name, prominence, and meaning of a magnificent Holy Day in which our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, arose from the dead; to one where we hide eggs for our children to find, without telling them that they can find the greatest treasure of all time in Jesus, who loves them and died for them. But, I digress!

The difference is that true born-again Christians believe that God’s chosen Redeemer has, indeed, come to this earth. That Jesus of Nazareth is the very Messiah predicted by the prophets, as proclaimed by the first prophet to have come to Israel in over 400 hundred years (since the last prophet, Malachi), John the Baptist: “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater that I am, for he existed long before me. I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel” (John 1:29-31).

Indeed, Jesus was revealed to Israel, and to the whole world as God’s Messiah, the very Son of God. He proved this beyond any doubt by willingly dying an excruciating death on a cruel cross for the sins of the whole world and then rising from the dead! But to be forgiven, to pass from death (eternal separation from God) to life, to live forever with God and the host of heaven, each person must apply the shed blood of Christ to the threshold of their heart. How is this done? According to Scripture, it’s really very simple: “For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood…” (Romans 3:25). But this universal truth must be personalized.

Before Christ miraculously raised Lazarus from the grave, Jesus and Lazarus sister, Martha, had one of the most poignant, but powerful and precious conversations ever recorded in the Bible. “Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?’” (John 11:25-26). Can and will we reply with Martha, “Yes, Lord, she told him. I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God” (John 11:27).

Passover is to be celebrated each year on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan (our months of March or April). On precisely that day in 32 AD Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross. That was beyond mere coincidence. God deliberately chose that day to sacrifice his beloved Son, as the final atonement for every man, woman, and child who has ever lived. Nor was it a coincidence that the Temple curtain that enclosed the Holy of Holies (the place where the annual sacrifice took place) was inexplicably torn down. Nor was it mere happenstance that the Temple itself was destroyed 40 years later just as Jesus predicted. Each of these remarkable events took place to demonstrate that Jesus was the supreme sacrifice once and for all time and for all people. It was no longer necessary to sacrifice animals. Sins were no longer just covered, they were completely removed from all who believe in so great a salvation.

Listen now to the words of the apostle Paul, formerly known as Saul—a once devout Jewish Pharisee steeped in the Mosaic Law—who persecuted the followers of Christ, “Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law” (Romans 3:27-28).

When God delivered the Hebrews from captivity in Egypt, there was no Mosaic law. That came later and primarily for the purpose of educating the Jews to the fact that no one is capable of keeping the whole law. The law was given as a written record, written proof of what the human conscience already knew (the difference between right and wrong). It also served as a tutor, pointing the way to the coming Messiah … training them to fully grasp the God-given spiritual law, “…without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). When God passed over the Hebrews, he didn’t just pass over the entire populace at once. Rather, the angel of death passed over each and every house where the blood had been applied.

Israel’s Fervent Longing for Messiah

The Passover Seder is still the most widely celebrated Jewish festival in today’s world, eclipsing even Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Most Jews reenact the fateful hours of that night long ago. And, as indicated in several past Eye of Prophecy articles, there is a growing awareness and increasing expectancy that Moshiach (Hebrew for Messiah) will come at any time. To varying degrees, non-religious and religious Jews alike believe the time is very short for Messiah’s triumphant arrival. They refer to this time simply as The Redemption that will take place in the Messianic Era.

As noted by reporter, Ahuva Balofsky in a Breaking Israel News article, “In fact, the 12th century sage, Maimonides, listed belief in his (Messiah’s) imminent arrival as one of the thirteen Principles of Faith that separate true believers from heretics. When he comes, tradition dictates, all Jews will be gathered back to the land of Israel and an era of peace, prosperity, and understanding for all mankind will be ushered in. It is precisely for this reason that some individuals outside the country (Israel) own and maintain property there.”

What is Ms. Balofsky referring to? She is explaining a unique condition that many Jerusalem homeowners have inserted into rental contracts … the Moshiach clause! This clause stipulates that when Messiah arrives renters must vacate the home to allow the landlord to return and live there. In other words, these absentee landlords want to guarantee themselves a place to live in Jerusalem when Messiah appears in Israel. Some landlords will rigidly enforce this clause; however, others will apparently work with their tenants depending on the language of the contract. For example, one renter who didn’t like the contract (“Where would we go? What would we do?” the renter said), persuaded the owner to provide one room of the two-room apartment for the tenant to live, with the landlord occupying the second room!

This is nothing short of astonishing! Because it demonstrates both the ideal and the practical longing and expectancy held by many Jews that Messiah is soon to come. For the Christian, it will be the return of Yeshua ha Mashiach. (Jesus the Messiah).

Jews and Gentiles who have been redeemed (passed over) by the Lamb of God, will not experience the wrath of God during the Great Tribulation. (See I Thessalonians 5:9). We will be taken in the Rapture and spared from the greatest calamity ever experienced by mankind, much like Noah and his family escaped the Great Flood, and just like the Hebrews were passed over by the angel of death.

Meanwhile we all remember: Without the shedding of blood, there would be no Passover. There would be no forgiveness of sin and no protection from God’s judgment, which includes eternal separation from God after death.

The first Passover led the Jews to the Promised Land of Israel. Though exiled, they have returned in great numbers. For hundreds of years the Passover Seder has included the utterance by Jews all over the world, “Next year in Jerusalem.” Today, millions of Jews have seen that dream come true.

The last Passover (sacrifice) was made by a prophet greater even than Moses. None other than a man from Galilee willingly laid down his life and shed his blood to deliver us from our trespasses. He made us right with God. Do you believe that?

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God! Great glory and power to the Lion from the tribe of Judah!

Things to Ponder

What is meant by the last Passover? Does that mean it’s no longer important to celebrate Passover? Or does it mean that blood sacrifices are no longer necessary? Or both?