Honoring the Covenant – Passover
By Pastor Victor Archie
Passover, also known as Communion, is how we remember and honor your Savior. Outside of loving Him with all our heart, mind, and soul, and loving our brother as ourselves, we remember His sacrifice. Keeping this covenant is sacred and a rite of passage for all believers. Partaking of His body and blood will bless you, or it can condemn you if you take it with falsehood in your heart.
So, where did this covenant truly begin? Was this just a metaphor that Yahawashi was giving the disciples, figuratively speaking? No. This plan—to give of His body and His blood—was from the beginning, when man first fell from Yah. It is a crucial part of our faith and knowing it will help you understand your walk with Yahawah.
In the Apocryphal writings, we find in the book of Adam & Eve that when Adam was removed from the garden, he faced many trials, and Yahawah revealed His plan to him. (These writings are not part of the Roman Catholic Bible, but were widely read and referenced by the men of Yah in those days. Many scriptures were lost and are now resurfacing.)
In the 14th chapter of the Book of Adam & Eve, Yahawah explains to Adam in verse 2: “But God the Lord said to Adam, ‘Verily I say unto thee, this darkness will pass from thee every day I have determined for thee, until the fulfillment of My covenant; when I will save thee and bring thee back again into the garden, into the abode of light thou longest for, wherein is no darkness. I will bring thee to it—in the kingdom of heaven.’
3 Again God said to Adam, ‘All this misery that thou hast been made to take upon thee because of thy transgression will not free thee from the hand of Satan, and will not save thee.
4 But I will. When I shall come down from heaven and shall become flesh of thy seed, and take upon Me the infirmity from which thou sufferest, then the darkness that came upon thee in this cave shall come upon Me in the grave when I am in the flesh of thy seed.
5 And I, who am without years, shall be subject to the reckoning of years, of times, of months, and of days, and I shall be reckoned as one of the sons of men, in order to save thee.’”
In the Book of 2nd Samuel, chapter 7, verses 12–14, it reads:
12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I shall raise up your seed after you, who comes from your inward parts, and shall establish his reign.
13 He shall build a house for My Name, and I shall establish the throne of his reign forever.
14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.”
So, the plan to redeem man was conceived in the beginning, and this promise dealing with His body and blood would be the lasting covenant that would endure forever.
The first sign of this covenant was given to the children of Israel when they were enslaved in Egypt. In chapter 12 of Exodus, Yahawah spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, telling him to take a lamb for every man of the tribe of Israel—a lamb to cover his house. If a man did not have a lamb, his neighbor would provide one so that all of Israel was covered by the sacrifice of the “Blood of the Lamb.” Yah instructed Israel to sacrifice the lambs all at once, in the evening on the fourteenth day of that month, and then take the blood of that lamb and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses in which they ate.
Yahawah gave them instructions on how to prepare the lamb for eating. In verses 8–11 He said:
“And they shall eat the flesh that night, roasted with fire, with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
9 Do not eat it raw or boiled in water, but roasted with fire—its head with its legs and its inner parts.
10 You shall let none of it remain until the morning; and what remains until the morning you shall burn with fire.
11 And thus you shall eat it: with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover.”
This is the second time in Scripture that Yahawah spoke about the covenant dealing with the Blood of the Lamb, and the first physical command to obey for grace to abound (outside of the first commandment given to Adam not to eat of the tree). Yahawah continues in verse 12:
“For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.
13 And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. When I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
Yahawah laid down a solid foundation to be “under the blood” and covered by grace. Then He established this act forever. Verse 14 reads:
“And this day shall be a memorial for you; and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.”
We who serve Yah should know this is an everlasting ordinance.
In Hebrews chapter 11, the author (presumed to be the Apostle Paul) speaks of faith as the evidence of things hoped for, given by the Messiah through Yahawah’s grace and mercy. Paul speaks of the faith of the men of old. In verse 25:
“Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect for the recompense of the reward.
27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.
28 Through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.”
So it was by faith that they believed, and Moses, by faith, removed himself from Egypt to lead Israel. The obedience of Passover gave life to all who believed and obeyed. Following the covenant of obedience gives life, blessing, and freedom to all who choose to keep this command. We now do this by keeping the commandments, being living sacrifices, and remembering His death by eating the bread as His body and drinking the wine as His blood.
In John chapter 6, Yahawashi said:
44 “No man can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
48 I am the bread of life.
49 Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
52 Then the Jews disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
53 Then Yahawashi said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.
56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood dwells in Me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate manna and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
Now we have a clear understanding of the following:
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The promise made to Adam, the first to sin
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The fulfillment of the promise to the children of Israel, the blood being the covering of our atonement
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The Messiah fulfilling the promise made to Adam and Seth
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The fulfillment and conclusion of the lamb sacrifice, which was only a placeholder for Yahawashi’s offering
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Staying in the covenant and remembering it forever
REMEMBER AND DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME!
1 Corinthians 11:24–34
24 And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”
25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, so that we may not be condemned with the world.
33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.
This is the final Passover Yahawashi would take until the day of His return. Some call this communion, but it is Yahawah’s Passover. The more you understand, the more clarity you will have in this walk. So please, find yourselves enjoying and remembering His Holy Passover.”