The
Years ago an elder who left the United Church of God largely because of my writings on Passover met with a high ranking minister in that church, Roy Holladay, who sought to persuade him to remain in United. He suggested that he keep Passover on the 15th privately, but continue with United and observe it on the 14th with the Church. The elder refused. Since that time, the elder passed away. However, before he died, he told a friend of mine that at that time Mr. Holladay told the elder that while he was alive Herbert Armstrong admitted that the Jews observed the correct Passover but he was afraid to change it! Roy Holladay is now the current President of the United Church of God!
When should the Passover be observed? This controversy still rages quietly, for the most part, undercover, and in secret discussions.
The end-time churches of God who even profess to keep this festival of God still disagree among themselves as to when the Old Testament Passover occurred. But most of them observe the night at the beginning of Nsan 14, rather than the night the Jewish people have always observed, at the end of Nisan 14, and beginning of Nisan 15.
An
acquaintance who has been seriously researching into
this volatile question, began corresponding with me a few months ago on a
regular basis. He was having a lot of
difficulty in getting “answers” from various remnant groups of the
A
former member of the Intercontinental Church of God (ICG), Todd Kallenbach, of
One
church he wrote to was the United Church of God. He wrote to me that at least the UCG
responded to his question, but was still waiting to hear from the PCG. He wrote, “I wanted to get each group’s spin
on this. The UCG’s
is as confusing as possible.”
Here
is the letter they sent to him.
“Thank you for taking the time to write us with a question that is of
interest to
you. We are happy to respond to your inquiry.
“The critical question to be asked and answered here
is what did Christ do? What example did He leave for us to follow? We are to
follow His example in all things (I Peter
Notice
here that the writer already assumes that there is such a thing as a
“New Testament Passover”! Where is his
proof? He provides none. He simply states the conclusion as if it were
a fact everyone knows and accepts. But
there is the rub! This is the very issue
they must first of all PROVE!
Secondly,
he says Christ’s example “confirmed” at what time of the day He wanted His
followers to observe it. How so? Which example is he speaking of? We read in the book of Luke the real example
of Christ! “His parents went to
Let’s
continue the letter:
“Did Christ establish new emblems? Please note Matthew 26:26-27 and Luke 22:14-19. We see from these verses that Christ did change the emblems to bread and wine from the sacrificing of the traditional Passover lambs.”
Again,
notice this circular reasoning. These
passages show Jesus gave us the emblems of bread and wine, all right, but say nothing
about any change from sacrificing the “traditional Passover
lambs.” (By the way, they were not “traditional.” The sacrifice of the Passover lambs was a LAW
of the TORAH – the Word of God!) Nor
does this passage say these new emblems have anything whatever directly to do
with the “Passover”!
“When did Christ observe the Passover with His disciples, and did He mean for this to be the pattern (just as the bread and wine are the new pattern) for the New Testament Christian? Let’s note these scriptures: Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-14, 16; Luke 22:8, 11, 13; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25.”
Well, all right – let’s note these Scriptures. Read them.
They talk about the “Lord’s supper,” very clearly. They mention that Christ sent the disciples
to “prepare” for the Passover, which they did.
But the verses then simply say that after this was done, that evening
they all sat down for dinner ((Matt.26:20; Mark 14:17-18). Luke adds Jesus’ statement that evening,
where He said, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with
you before I suffer, for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is
fulfilled in the kingdom of God” (Luke 22:15).
Write for our free article, “The Gospel of Luke and the Passover.” What is Jesus really saying? The writer simply assumes that He is
referring to that very dinner or meal as the “Passover.” But was He?
The apostle John answers in the negative! He wrote that this final supper was “BEFORE
the feast of the PASSOVER” (John 13:1)!!
Therefore, as the Greek shows, Jesus was
referring to the upcoming Passover which would be celebrated the night
He would be placed in the grave, after His crucifixion! Read our free article, “When Should the
Passover Be Observed?”
As Strong’s Concordance points out, the expression “fervent desire” in
this passage is #1939, epithumia, and
means “a longing (esp. for what is forbidden): -- concupiscence, desire,
lust.” Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon
says “spec. desire for what is forbidden, lust.” In other words, Jesus really desired to eat
the upcoming Passover, but knew He would not be able to – it was forbidden
to Him – because He had to DIE to become our “Passover Lamb”!
The writer just assumes that the
“Lord’s supper” and Passover were one and the same
thing – assuming that which he is supposed to be proving! These passages prove no such thing! But let’s go on. He writes:
“Please note that Christ, as recorded in I
Corinthians 11:23-25, was observing the Passover at night (‘the same night in
which He was betrayed’) with His disciples. It was at that time, night, that He
had them partake of the bread and wine --
the New Testament Passover. It wasn’t at
But
wait a minute! Here we go again, assuming
what we are supposed to be proving.
Paul indeed mentions the bread and wine ceremony in I Corinthians 11 –
but he does NOT call this ceremony the “Passover,” as so many seem to assume! Nowhere in I Corinthians 11 does Paul
even mention the word “Passover”! He is
simply giving instructions on how we should partake of the bread and wine,
symbolizing Christ’s body and blood! But
let’s go on:
“The Bible does refer to this
New Testament practice as the Passover -- note I
Corinthians 5:7 where ‘Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.’ We
also see that Paul, as he was
instructed by Christ, was now passing on this same teaching of when to observe the Passover to the group
there in
(I Corinthians 11:23).”
Indeed,
I Corinthians 5:7 tells us Christ is our “Passover” lamb, sacrificed for us –
but it makes no mention of the separate bread and wine ceremony and does not
tie it in with the Passover observance itself!
The letter writer concludes his response, saying:
“By the way, we believe that
Leviticus 23 also teaches the Passover to be
kept at the beginning of the
14th. Though the Jews today celebrate the Passover on the beginning of the 15th of Abib,
there is a lot of evidence to show that the children
of
Notice
that he says “there is a lot of evidence” to show some Jews kept the Passover
at the beginning of Abib 14 in Christ’s day – but
provides absolutely none! Why? Because the truth is, there is simply no such evidence
whatsoever!!! This is
simply a flagrant misrepresentation!
Apparently he assumes there is such evidence, but I assure you, there is
absolutely NONE! History is utterly
silent on this theory, or conjecture, Jewish records
say nothing about it, nor do early Church records. It is simply a fabricated hypothesis made up
by those today who want to invalidate the true Jewish Passover and substitute
in its place their own “New Testament” Passover! But you can call a snake a rabbit, but it is
still a snake, nevertheless!
The
This
was merely one of the first letters Todd received from various churches on his
Passover questions. The next exchange
comes from the so-called “Living Church of God,” led by Roderick C. Meredith. One of Todd’s sisters is a member of that
church. Apparently, their minister
recommended Todd read Fred Coulter’s book on the Passover.
Todd
wrote to me as follows:
“I thought you would find
this of interest. Yesterday, while trying to talk to
my oldest sister about new
moons, she made a comment about Passover.
She is in the
did not go over too well. Anyways, I decided to research the Living
site for their teachings on
this subject, and found them vague and watered down. I
then decided to write directly to them and ask about this subject. I am including this exchange
for your reading. I think you will be as
BLOWN away
as I was. P.S. -- I used a pseudonym for
my own privacy.”
I was dumfounded to read the letter he
received from “Living.” Here it is:
“Dear Friend,
“Thank you for your questions
about the Passover. It must be observed at the
beginning of the 14th just following
sunset of the 13th of Nisan. That is the
meaning of Leviticus 23:5 ‘On the
fourteenth day of the first month, at
twilight is the LORD’S Passover.’
“The 15th of Nisan is the
first day of Unleavened Bread, a Holy Day. The
Jews were eating their
Passover on the Night to be Much Observed. The
killing of the lambs by the Jews has
nothing to do with the death of Christ.
There is no religious
significance between the two events.
“Jesus kept the Passover at
twilight ON the 14th, eating the Passover lamb the
evening of the 14th.
“If you will give us your
regular mailing address, we will send you a free booklet
explaining what the Bible teaches about
the Holy Days. If you have further need
of information, please let us
know.”
Yes, that does blow my mind! Think of it!
They claim there is no symbolism, no connection, between the Passover
lambs and Christ! Yet the apostle Paul
declared, “For indeed Christ, our PASSOVER, was sacrificed for us” (I
Cor.5:7), and John spoke of Christ saying, “Behold! The LAMB OF GOD who takes away the sin of the
world!” (John 1:29).
But is this the “official”
teaching of the Living Church of God?
They seem to be of two opinions or minds about this subject. The letter above is from their official
representative. But I subsequently got a
letter from a person who wrote me, chastising and rebuking me. He said:
“This email is in response to
your Nov-Dec 2002 Prophecy Flash where a person
from Virginia sent you their comment on information they received from the Living Church of God
regarding information about the Passover and the
killing of lambs. According to the reply
that this person got from the Living Church of God ‘The killing of the
lambs by the Jews has nothing to do with the death
of Christ. There is no religious significance between the two events.’ Please
note that your article does not indicate that this is quoting the submitted information
word for word and you also do not use quotation marks as if it were all quoted.”
Let me
interject here that the writer is wrong.
I most certainly DID use “quotation marks” around the letter sent
by the
“So in my endeavor to find out the truth, I requested the book ‘The Holy
Days -- God’s
Master Plan’ by Dr. Roderick C. Meredith of the Living Church of God. In
this book the old testament and the new testament
meanings are explained in detail
for example on page 13 (this is exactly what is written in this book):
“God told ancient
I
wrote him back saying:
“I’m sorry you took offense
at my opinion of the information LCG sent to a friend regarding the Passover
lamb. I assure you, I did not misquote
anything. Judging from the booklet you quoted, they seem to have two opinions
-- one sent by the authorized correspondent to my friend, and the ‘official’
line in the booklet. But when was
the booklet printed? The info my friend
received was very recent. Have they changed their opinion? Remember, the info came from their official
correspondent via e-mail from their correspondence department. Anyway, what’s your beef? I did not misquote anything -- I found their
writer put it in an amazing way. If you
challenge my right to disagree with him, that’s your problem. I am very honest about this. You probably are a member of LCG, right? Anyway, you agree with their teaching that
Passover was on the beginning of the 14th Nisan, right? So do you think the Jews were sacrificing the
Passover at the right time, at the end of the 14th? If not, do you think their Passover lambs
then really reflected the symbolism of Christ?
(Of course, there is no evidence any lambs were sacrificed at the
“Sincerely, I believe you
need to study this subject much deeper.
Why not visit our website and study all the articles relating to the
Passover, and our special 4 Bible Study lessons on Passover? It is -- triumphpro.com.”
Of course, that is not the end of the
matter. The debate continues to
rage. Todd later wrote again to
the Living Church of God on the issue.
Notice the tactics he says were employed by the
“Hello once again from
“Recently, she
sent me an e-mail concerning the Passover issue. She was given information
concerning the Passover topic by the local minister written by Fred Coulter. I
read his literature and found it to be nothing but bovine excretia.
I was shocked to hear that your minister gave her information from another
church, and my question to you is this:
“Do you and
LCG support the teachings of Fred Coulter, and do you look to him for your
doctrinal direction? And why was my sister referred to Coulter in the first
place? I read all of the information she sent me, and from what I read, it
appears he has his OWN translation of the New Testament!!!! Do you or your
church, and Dr. Meredith, accept Coulter’s translation? And if not, then why did my sister, in
church, receive information to study Coulter’s teachings? Please tell me if LCG
is following the teachings of Fred Coulter, so I can advise my sister
accordingly. Please also tell me why the LCG cannot turn to their own sources
of knowledge instead of turning to outside sources for their doctrinal
teachings to the local members. Is Fred
Coulter a minister of the LCG ????
“Also, please know that this ongoing discussion of
this vital topic is being revealed to many brethren who came out of the WCG,
and we eagerly await your candid and honest answers to these important
questions.
“Please feel free to contact me at your convenience.”
Who
is this individual known as Fred Coulter?
Well, he wrote a book purporting to give the true history of the
so-called “Christian Passover.” In his
book, he claims that God never ordained that the Passover sacrifices had to be
done at
Next: Persecution!
Unfortunately,
to my knowledge, Todd never received any further communication from the Living
Church of God. However, his sister in
that church was livid with anger that he would contact her minister, and her
church, bringing these embarrassing questions to the forefront!
Being
persecuted for seeking the truth by a member of one’s own family can be
devastating. But Jesus Christ foretold
such things would happen. He declared:
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. . . For I have come to set a
man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own
household” (Matt.10:34-35).
Commenting
on this situation in his own family, Todd wrote:
“Just wanted to write a quick
note tonight. I wanted to let you know that I am going through a fierce battle here
amongst my family. There is much
divisiveness between me and my oldest sister, who is in the so-called Living
church. She is the one whose minister
referred her to Fred Coulter for ‘ammunition’ against you in her battle to
overcome our ‘heresy’ due to our beliefs on Passover. However, this has only
caused us all to draw closer together here in our group, as we expect this kind
of persecution, from within and without, to dare to have the nerve to stand up
for the truth. It’s really funny,
because the more heat I have to take from people, the more I am convinced you,
and we, are right in our understanding of God’s word. If you were wrong, and no
one cared, then how would you ever know if what you were teaching was wrong??
It seems to me in my limited experience on this planet, it’s ALWAYS the ones
clinging to the truth who get yelled at, persecuted, and renounced as
‘heretics,’ as Fred Coulter would say -- No weak-willed milk toast ever caused
any ripples in the pond-scum of society.
But like Jesus Christ was threatened with death the first time He opened
His mouth, so shall those who dare to speak truth will suffer like-wise from
this self-absorbed, disgusting, perverted end-time generation, and we will
probably receive similar treatment.
“Anyways, I wanted to share
with you a quote my father gave to me recently:
Any frontal attack on
ignorance is bound to fail because the
masses are always ready to defend their most precious possession -- their ignorance. --
Hendrik Willem van Loon, Dutch-American Journalist
and lecturer (1882-1944)
“Please tell everyone hello, and I hope to see you
all before Passover.”
That
is a very impressive quotation. It is
something we should all keep in mind – always.
And we should also remember the words of our Saviour,
Jesus Christ, who warned us to expect persecution from others: “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when
they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for
the Son of Man’s sake. Rejoice in that
day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like manner their
fathers did to the prophets” (Luke
The
Intercontinental Church Enters the Maelstrom
The
following is a letter written by Todd Kallenbach to
representatives of the Intercontinental Church of God, a church led by Garner
Ted Armstrong, and for which he was a local “host.” This was a very revealing exchange of
letters. Notice:
“Greetings once again from
“I am hoping you will have
some time to help me with a question I have concerning Passover. I have asked
this question to George Trent in the past, but he claims I have ‘doctrinal differences’ with the
ICG over this issue. He will no longer answer my email, and has removed me from
acting as the host of the Richmond ICG group here. This has happened because I
have been trying for many years to understand this issue, and have looked to
several sources for understanding, including Mr. Armstrong.
“In a tape entitled ‘Last Day
ULB, Seattle’, dated
Notice
carefully! In a taped sermon entitled
“Last Day of Unleavened Bread, Seattle,” dated
Finally the TRUTH IS OUT! The observance the various churches of God celebrate at the beginning of Nisan 14 is NOT THE PASSOVER! What they believe they are doing is commemorating the “Lord’s supper.”
This admission
is very interesting, of course, because Jesus Christ NEVER commanded His Church
to commemorate or memorialize the “Last Supper” as an annual event or commanded
assembly. Rather, all His life He set an
EXAMPLE of observing the Passover commandment of God (see Luke
But, they claim,
we are to keep the “Lord’s Supper” because of the new emblems Jesus gave
concerning His sacrifice, in place of the Passover!
But does this make any sense? Notice what the apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 11. The special “bread and wine” ceremony, which was introduced by Jesus during a regular meal before the Passover, was “not the Passover” itself (I Cor.11:20). However, this special observance of the bread and wine was celebrated during a regular evening meal. Notice also, it was to be done “AS OFTEN AS” they performed it, whenever they held a sacred fellowship meal throughout the year (I Cor.11:25-26). Notice that the expression “as often as” is the same expression used in Revelation 11:6 regarding the two witnesses who will smite the earth with plagues in the future, “As OFTEN AS they will.”
This has nothing whatever to do with an ANNUAL event, or with the Passover celebration!
If the observance which the churches have really been conducting is the “Lord’s supper,” and is admittedly NOT the true “Passover,” this brings up one huge, monumental problem: Since they are not observing the Passover, which Almighty God ordained to be observed “FOREVER” (Exodus 12:14-17; Leviticus 23:4-8; Psalms 111:7-8; Ezek.45:21), are they not in flagrant disobedience to God? Since the Passover is a “feast by an ordinance for ever” (Exo.12:14), why aren’t they keeping it today? The apostle Paul wrote, “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the Feast . . .” (I Cor.5:7-8).
Whatever happened then to the Passover?
It has it been
disregarded, trampled in the dirt, and ignored, all these years. It has mistakenly been called “a night to be
much observed,” a separate observance – when in reality the “night to be much
observed” IS THE PASSOVER itself (Exodus
This is so important, that we must emphasize it. Notice the continuing correspondence that Mr. Kallenbach had with representatives of the Intercontinental Church of God.
We
must take these things seriously, and “earnestly contend for the faith once
delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). In his letter to the ICG
representative, Todd goes on:
“Chris, my question to you,
and Mr. Armstrong is, why doesn’t the ICG keep the
Passover as instructed in Lev.23??? I cannot find anywhere where Christ changed
anything, and know He said He did not come to change the Law or Prophets. Please help me with this critical issue, and
please ask Mr. Armstrong to tell the church why we do not have to keep this
most important of Holy Days.”
Todd then wrote to us, saying: “Here is the area coordinator’s reply to my question once again. I had to ask him directly to tell me why he does not keep the Passover. At least he did finally give me an answer.”
Here
is the response:
“Todd, the reason I don’t
observe Passover is because Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. That
event is over. It happened once. The Passover of Exodus happened once also.
“The Passover lamb eaten by the Israelites was a type
of Christ. It was slain on the 14th of Nisan. It was slain in the afternoon of
the 14th and eaten on the evening portion of the 15th. That Passover was a type
of the Passover to come. Does it not make sense that Christ, our Passover,
would be sacrificed at exactly the same time the Passover lambs were slain by
the Israelites?”
Let me interrupt here. Notice two things: First of all, although they do not keep the
Passover, by their own admission, yet they keep the Feast of Unleavened
Bread! How ridiculous! They stand or fall together! Secondly, he admits the Passover lamb was a
type of Christ. That is true, of
course. But isn’t that all the more
reason that we should observe it, today?
Of course! That’s what we
teach! Since the Passover lamb was a
type of Christ, the Messiah, that is one very good
reason we should observe it! Plus,
remember, God says, “And this DAY [the Passover] shall be unto you for a
MEMORIAL; and ye shall keep it a FEAST unto the LORD throughout your
generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance FOREVER” (Exodus
Notice carefully the fact
that God commanded the Passover AND Feast of Unleavened Bread be observed “FOREVER” (Exo.12:14-16). Do we really believe what God says? Are we really willing to OBEY God?
The minister continues in his
letter:
“Now, think about these
questions aside from the ‘sixth hour.’ Christ was cut off in the midst of the week. Which day is the
midst of the week? Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday, WEDNESDAY, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.”
Here
is another error! Of course, we all know
that Wednesday is the ‘middle” day of the week.
So what? No Scripture says Christ
was cut off in the midst of the week.
The Scripture the minister refers to is Dan.9:27. Read it carefully. Many read into it what it does not say at
all! The NKJV has it: “Then he [the
“people of the prince that shall come” – see verse 26] shall confirm a covenant
[or “treaty”] with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall
bring an end to offering and sacrifice . . .” This passage does not in any way
refer to the death of Christ. When He
was crucified, the Jews continued sacrificing animals in the
The
letter continues:
“Secondly, what was the only
sign Christ gave of his Messiahship? Mat. 12:40.
Three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Crucifixion and burial any other time than Wednesday
afternoon, and
a sunset burial would destroy this scripture. He had to have been
crucified on Wednesday afternoon and buried right at sunset on Wednesday. The
same time the High Priest was sacrificing the Passover
lamb.”
Here
is another flagrant error. As all
reputable scholars admit, the “three days” and “three nights” in the Hebrew
language can refer to PARTS of three days and three nights! It need not be 72 exact, literal hours at
all. Write for our free article, “How
Long Was Jesus in the Grave?” The
evidence is overwhelming that the crucifixion was on a Thursday in 30 A.D.,
because astronomical evidence proves that Nisan 14 that year fell on a
Thursday, not a Wednesday!
The
letter goes on:
“We don’t have to continue
sacrificing the lamb. Christ was the Lamb of God. He died for us. Therefore,
the Passover has been fulfilled. We partake of the Lord’s Supper as a memorial
of his death as outlined in I Cor.11:23-28. We partake of the bread and wine symbolizing his flesh and blood. He
said unless you eat of my flesh (bread) and drink my blood (wine) you have no
life in you.”
Apparently,
the minister is ignorant of the fact that the bread at the last supper was
ARTOS, meaning “leavened bread,” not AZUMOS, meaning “unleavened” bread. The
bread eaten at the last supper was regular, leavened bread – the kind you can
“dip” as a sop into broth (John
I
should also point out that there is no command in Scripture to observe the
“last supper” in place of the Passover!
The bread and wine ceremony instituted by Christ at the last supper was
simply a new meaning given to an ancient Jewish custom – that of partaking of
bread and wine in a celebratory ritual dating back to the time of Abraham and Melchisedek, who, after Abraham’s victory over the gentile
kings, brought forth “bread and wine” (see Genesis 14:18). This custom is called the “Kiddush” by the
Jewish people, from the root word kodesh, meaning
“holy.” For more information about the
true observance of this commanded custom, read our article, “Are We Neglecting
the Sacred Meal?” The partaking of the
“kiddush” is NOT the same thing as the Passover!
The
minister ends his letter with the words:
“I don’t know what else to say. But I will say
this. If you sincerely believe what
Mr. Dankenbring is teaching, then follow him and
don't be drawn between
two opinions.”
That
is not bad advice. Certainly, it would
be a mistake to waver between two opinions.
Elijah warned the people of his generation, “How long halt ye between
two opinions? If the LORD be God, follow
him; but if Baal, then follow him” (I Kings
However,
“sincere belief” is not enough. We are
commanded by God, “Prove all things” (I Thess.5:21) and “hold fast that which
is GOOD” – that is, follow the TRUTH!
In another letter on the subject of Passover and Jesus’ last week, and the time of the final condemnation of Christ by Pontius Pilate, a minister of ICG wrote to Todd, saying:
“I did as you asked. I read
the article by Mr. Dankenbring. Todd, I still
consider myself to be your
minister. Sometimes members get off track. You are definitely off
track with this teaching of the 6th hour.
“Do you have a Companion
Bible? If not, I encourage you to purchase one. Turn to John 19:14. Read the
footnote attached to this verse. Then turn to the Appendixes. Read Appendixes
144,156, and 165. These Appendixes explain every question you have. It clears
up any question you may have.
“I hope you will do this. Mr.
Herbert Armstrong has always said that if you start off with the wrong premise,
everything you build on it will be wrong. Mr. Dankenbring
is way off base. If you read the scriptures I referenced above, you should see
this.
“I don’t want to try and
argue over the scriptures. But I do feel it is my respon- sibility
to point you in the right direction when I see you going off course. If you have made up your mind,
so be it. I remain your friend and will be here to serve you in any way I can.
“Give my regards to your
family. I hope the baby is growing and in good health.”
That is
a very nice letter, but unfortunately, it is based on a very bad case of
research and reasoning. Let’s examine
the evidence and sift through it patiently.
First of all, what about the Companion Bible? What does it say about the “sixth hour” when
Jesus appeared to be judged by Pontius Pilate (John
On
page 1567, discussing this verse in John’s gospel, Bullinger
states plainly, “the preparation: i..e. the day before the
Passover was eaten ‘at even’ on the 14th Nisan. All four gospels state that our Lord was
entombed on the Preparation Day.” How
clear, then, that this event occurred BEFORE the Passover was celebrated! So the various churches
who observe the “Passover” at the beginning of Nisan 14, are a day early! It was still the “preparation” of the
Passover when Christ was before Pilate, the day after the “Lord’s supper”!
Bulllinger then goes on, concerning the expression “the
sixth hour.” He states, “i.e.
There
are several mistakes here. First, Jesus
plainly said “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” (John 11:9). He was clearly speaking of the daylight
portion of the day, between sunrise and sunset, because He went on, “If any man
walketh in the day, he stumbleth
not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him” (John
11:9-10).
Thus
the daylight hours are divided into twelve.
This would put the “sixth hour” of John 19:14 as being TWELVE O’CLOCK,
HIGH NOON! Bullinger
is sadly mistaken when he applies this to
Secondly,
can you imagine the Jews – even if they were quite desirous of accomplishing
all these things before the Passover – that they would be able to roust the
Roman Governor out of a sound night’s sleep, and get him out of bed, at
MIDNIGHT, to conduct a life-and-death TRIAL?
To hold court in the middle of the night was illegal, by both Jewish and Roman law! That would make the time frame of events all wrong, because we read that the Sanhedrin itself did not condemn Christ until “early” in the “morning” (see Matt.27:1-2; Mark 15:1). This was BEFORE they took Christ to appear before Pilate the first time (Matt.27:2)). After this, Pilate sent Him over to king Herod (Luke 23:1-11).
When was this? This occurred not at night, but during the
“day,” for we read: “And the same day
Pilate and Herod were made friends together” (Luke
Can
you imagine it?
According to Bullinger
in the Companion Bible, Jesus was taken from the Garden of Gethsemane soon
after the “Lord’s supper” (Matt.26:30-57), then interrogated by the high priest
Annas (John 18:13), and then by Caiphas
(John 18:24; Matt.26:57), and then He was brought before the whole Sanhedrin
(Matt.27:1), and THEN they took Him to Pilate, then to Herod, and then back to
Pilate! All this
before
INCREDIBLE!
But of course it never happened
that way! Jesus is clearly stated to
have been brought before the Sanhedrin, AFTER appearing before Annas and Caiphas, and BEFORE
they took him to Pilate. And the
appearance before the Sanhedrin occurred “when the morning was come”
(Matt.27:1). Therefore morning came
BEFORE the first appearance of Christ before Pilate! His final appearance before him therefore had
to be “about the sixth hour” OF THE DAY – that is,
How abundantly clear! Even a child could understand it! So why can’t these MINISTERS who profess to
know God and to teach His truth, see it, and admit it? Is it because they have a secret “agenda,”
which is to keep the tithes of God’s people pouring in, and to maintain their
standing in the Church, so they feel they must never admit such a colossal
mistake?
There is simply no way that both
Pontius Pilate and king Herod would have allowed themselves to be rousted out
of bed in the middle of the night, to hold “court” for the sake of the Jews,
because of their desire to accomplish everything before Passover!
Bullinger is correct, however, concerning the time and
crucifixion of Christ. He relates in
Appendix 156:
“It follows, therefore, that
the Lord being crucified on ‘the preparation day’ could not have eaten of the
Passover lamb, which was not slain until the even- ing of the
14th of Nisan (i.e. afternoon).
On that day the daily sacrifice was killed
at the 6th hour (
To
paraphrase an old limerick by Ogden Nash, and applying it to Bullinger, “When he’s right, he’s very, very right, and
when he’s wrong he’s horrid.”
Bullinger is sadly mistaken in suggesting the final trial
of Jesus occurred before Pilate at
We
should be willing to give credit where credit is due. But we should follow no man into error, when
we spot the error, and prove it to be error.
Indeed, the apostle Paul warns us to “PROVE all things” (I Thess.5:21),
and to “Study to show yourself approved by God’ (II Tim.2:15).
In ongoing correspondence, Todd wrote to Chris Cumming, the minister in personal correspondence, for ICG, saying:
“I have just finished
compiling multiple emails that you, and George Trent
have
emailed me recently concerning my
questions on why you insist on not keeping the Passover. I have also emailed
Mr. Armstrong directly the same question, and have two tapes in my possession
in which he states dogmatically that ICG does NOT keep the passover. He has not responded to my questions. I
have tried repeatedly to give you a chance to answer my question, Chris, of why
you state we do not have to keep the passover
as listed CLEARLY in Lev 23 as a Holy Day. Since neither you, nor George Trent,
or Mr. Armstrong can provide me with anything even remotely resembling an
answer to my question, I must assume you do not have an answer. Therefore it is
my duty to tell you that I have turned to other knowledgeable sources who WILL talk to me, and give me scriptural-based answers to
this question, and I have sent every email and response to Mr. William F. Dankenbring for comment. You may find that some of these
emails may have been published in his worldwide publication ‘Prophecy Flash’
magazine, where your name or GTA’s name may be
mentioned. I feel it is my duty as a Christian to stand up for the truth, and I
feel your equivocation on this topic is inexcusable, and you and the ICG needs
to be held accountable before God and man as a witness of how not to handle
doctrinal questions. I tried repeatedly to look to you, George Trent, and Mr.
Armstrong for an answer, but all I got was removed as a host from the ICG.
“Pleased also
know that many people here are following this exchange of information, and feel
the same as I do. I have many emails to prove my point. In the interest of
fairness, I will wait 72 hours from tonight before I release this email to the
general public, if you will answer the same questions I asked many times
before:
“1. Why do you not keep the passover as listed in Lev.23??
“2. When is the sixth hour
mentioned in John 19:14???
a.
b.
c.
“3. Why do you accept and teach the postponements
established by Hillel II in 358 AD.??
“It is now
“As Paul said, we need to
prove all things. What will you do, Chris ??”
After this letter, Todd got another response from ICG. He wrote to me, saying, “Finally after almost having to kick the door down at ICG, both a leading minister and GTA himself have responded candidly to my questions. I find their answers rather confusing and even bizarre in a way. I am sending this to you because your name is mentioned and I feel out of fairness you should have a chance to see it. . . I thought you would like to know how the battle is going so far.”
Todd got another email from Chris Cumming who had heard from Garner Ted Armstrong on the issue. Ted wrote as follows, giving the official response of ICG on the matter. He said:
“God’s church has observed
what we have traditionally called ‘The Passover,’ from time immemorial. The
term ‘Passover’ is even printed on our Holy Day Calendar. We have always
followed Christ's command, ‘THIS DO, as I have done unto you,’ concerning the
foot washing, bread and wine, taken WHEN CHRIST TOOK THEM, on ‘the night in
which he was betrayed,’ which was the night of the beginning of the 14th. Those
faithful who continued to observe this New Testament custom were called ‘Quartodecimans’ for many centuries, not ‘Quintodecimans.’ My booklet, which I believe is listed on
our web site ‘The Passover -- Is It For Christians?’
represents our doctrinal statement on the subject, and clearly shows that
‘Christ OUR PASSOVER is sacrificed for us’ . . .
“Personally, I had always thought Bill Dankenbring believed and taught the same doctrines we do; had no idea he taught otherwise. He used to work on the
staff of our magazines, and was a writer and researcher. I have not read his
several books, nor ever seen his materials, but would be inclined to believe he
remains a Sabbath keeper and believer in God’s laws.
“So far as the ‘sixth hour’ debate, the church knew
the truth about this decades ago. We did not receive
the truth from Dr. Bullinger; my father never heard
of Bullinger, and never possessed a Companion Bible.
That Dr. Bullinger agrees with the truth the church
had discovered much earlier is purely coincidental. However, Dr. Bullinger’s explanations concerning the final six days of
Christ’s life prior to the so-called ‘crucifixion’ is absolutely accurate, as
is his explanation of the ‘sixth hour. . .’”
Ted’s suggestion that the early church dispute over the “Quartodeciman” controversy rather than the “Quintodeciman” controvery somehow proves anything is a straw man type of argument. “Quartodeciman means “fourteenth” and “quintodeciman” means fifteenth. So what? Read my article “When Did the Early Church Observe Passover?” The Passover was observed by the early church, as Polycarp (a disciple taught by the apostle John) declared, on the fifteenth day of the month at the very same time as the JEWS observed it, with no variation, changes, or alterations. Of course, in the Roman world, the day was reckoned from midnight to midnight, so a festival that fell after sunset ending Nisan 14, therefore being on Nisan 15, Jewish time, would still be considered the “fourteenth” by Roman reckoning.
Whether Herbert
Armstrong ever believed Christ appeared before Pontius Pilate at
However,
as I have already shown, the idea of the “sixth hour” meaning “
After quoting GTA’s response, Chris Cumming
added several comments, finally asking Todd,
“Where do you get that the
meaning of ‘sixth hour’ in Matthew, Mark and Luke means ‘
Todd fired back an unequivocal response, in which he said:
“I really did appreciate your latest rounds of
email. I can tell you are
taking much valuable time to
reply. . . .
“Above I quote from your
latest email. I want to have perfect
understanding on
your position: you are categorically stating that John
“Chris, please explain the
following:
“How could Christ be before
Pilate at
2. Mark 15:1 – ‘Immediately, in the morning’ 3.
Luke 22:66 – ‘As soon as it was day’
4. John
“You are aware, aren’t you Chris, that Christ was brought to:
Annaias
Caiaphas
Pilate
Herod, and the second time,
Pilate
“How could Christ have dinner after dark, go to
“There is NO way you can now email me back, and make
those four scriptures about it being DAYLIGHT, mean
“I told you it wasn't going
to be easy.”
Todd later wrote to Chris, summarizing his
case that the “sixth hour” could not be
“Checking the context of the
use of the hour designations will determine whether
the hour is a daylight or nighttime hour.
“I agree with this statement.
Luke 22:66 confirms it was day when Christ was led
into their council, and then sent before Pilate. This to me indicates that His second appearance before
Pilate was in the daytime portion of Nisan 13, at
“This issue seems to be one
that is rapidly making it’s way around the churches, and it looks like it may bring some
changes to the churches as well. For years I have
read those very verses, over and over, and never even thought to question their meaning, but now, in
light of Luke 22:66, and other verses, I am forced to study into it all over again from a different
angle. I strongly feel God is trying to
correct His church before the end time, so that we can all be on the same page, and have the same
understanding about these crucial events, and about the Passover as well.
“No matter what, I do
appreciate your EXTENSIVE efforts to help me in this quest for understanding.”
This was not the end of the
correspondence. Even after this powerful
letter, the minister of ICG was not convinced.
He made one final stab at convincing Todd the final trial of Jesus occurred
at
“He went to dinner at
“I easily can map it out to these many hours. I am
absolutely unable to map it
any other way. The scripture proof definitely pins it down to dinner at
sundown on the 13th going
into the 14th. The garden, arrest and trial were all that night and He was
crucified at
“This is our belief.
It has always been our belief and will always be our belief. You, as I will always note, are free
to believe anything you wish. I can ONLY tell you what we believe. We seek
not to convince anyone of anything. Only God, through the Holy Spirit can
convince.
“I am not telling you that in John 19:14 that it
‘CAN’ be
“By the way, when you are mapping that evening out,
remember that the sixth hour is 60 minutes long. Verse 14 is saying ‘about the
sixth hour.’ It could be anywhere
within that 60 minutes. It could be
Notice
that he attempts to squeeze all the trials and appearances of Christ before Annas, Caiphas, the trial before
the whole Sanhedrin, then Pilate, then Herod, then back to Pilate for the final
trial and judgment – all AFTER Jesus’ prayers in the garden of
Gethsemane, following the Lord’s supper that evening – BEFORE MIDNIGHT! Of course, he tries to do this despite the
clear Scriptures that Yeshua did not appear before
the Sanhedrin until the morning hours of the day! Review the crucial Scriptures – “when the
morning was come” (Matthew 27:1-2); “and straightway in the morning” ( Mark 15:1); “And as soon as it was day” (Luke
22:66); “and it was early” (John
Notice also the sheer audacity of this
man. He claims he has “mapped” out the
hours, insinuates that the final trial need not have been exactly at “midnight”
but could have been at “12:45” or shortly after midnight – and after all this
human reasoning in a circle, he has the sheer gall to say, “I am telling you in
the name of Jesus Christ that it ABSOLUTELY IS Midnight! The proof is overwhelming.”
“In the name of Jesus Christ!” Obviously he seems to have utterly convinced himself – DESPITE the
overwhelming evidence to the contrary!
And he has the sheer brass to invoke the name of Christ to back up
his belief, claiming Christ’s authority for his conclusions! I believe one should be far more cautious
about invoking the name of Christ. To
use Christ’s name to substantiate error borders on the brink of
blasphemy!
In one final note to
Todd, the minister of CGI says, “There is no way in the world He was before
Pilate at
What
to him is ‘impossible” is actually the proven TRUTH! The truth is it is impossible to have Jesus
Christ before Pilate at high noon (the “sixth hour”) on the very same day He is
nailed to the stake at
It is too bad, so sad, that the opinions of this man are “iron clad” – when they are so totally wrong. As a wise man once wrote, “O for the gift to see ourselves as others see us!” Or, I might paraphrase, “O for the gift to see ourselves as GOD in heaven sees us!” Then, like Job, we might be less opinionated, more humble, and willing to look into things honestly, to admit we might be wrong, and to confess error! Like Job, upon seeing our error, we might then pray with him, saying, “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ My ears had heard of you but now me eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:3-6, NIV).
And so it stands. The battle over the Passover rages
onward. It continues through the night,
and into the day, and those who would obey God must gird up their loins and
fight like a man, standing up against the wiles of the devil and the
machinations, specious arguments, and malapropisms of men.
When confronted with these serious questions,
involving obedience to the laws and commandments of Almighty God, where do you
stand?
Thousands in these “last days” are being
misled, hoodwinked, deceived, and taken into spiritual “bondage” because of
false teachings concerning the Passover, the “Lord’s supper,” the bread and
wine celebration, and great confusion has resulted, causing massive
disobedience to the laws of Almighty God!
When
will we all get it straight? How long
will people continue in error?
Human
or church “tradition” will NEVER replace the eternal LAWS of Almighty GOD! What must God think in heaven when He sees
men, purporting to serve and obey Him, lead thousands of people astray with
their ungodly, antinomian, unfaithful teachings and perversions of His truth?
David
once wrote, “Indignation has taken hold of me because of the wicked, who forsake Your law” (Psalm 119:53). Replacing divine law with human tradition is SIN! Those who accuse the Catholics and
Protestants of doing this very thing, and then do the same thing themselves,
are doubly guilty!
David also declared, “Give me understanding,
and I shall keep Your law; indeed, I shall observe it
with my whole heart” (Psalm 119:34). He
asserted, further, “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. You, through Your
commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me” (verses
97-98).
This
was a very emotional thing to David. He
wrote, “Rivers of water run down from my eyes, because men do not keep Your law” (verse 136).
He declared with urgency and passion, “It is time for You
to act, O LORD, for they have regarded your law as void” (Psalm
119:126).
“VOID”!
Isn’t that really what these men and so-called
“ministers” are doing? They are making
VOID THE PASSOVER COMMANDMENT! They have
exchanged it for a weak sister gobbledegook insipid
supine replacement! They have exchanged
gold for tin; jewels and pearls for rocks and sand! They have taken down the law of the Passover,
and substituted in its place their own foolish traditions of men! How tragic!
It is a worse tragedy, spiritually, than the space shuttle
disaster! But the cause appears to be
much the same – pride, egotism, lack of concern for truth, and taking vitally
important issues for granted.
Jesus
Christ declared, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may
keep your tradition” (Mark 7:9).
“And in vain they worship Me teaching as
doctrines the commandments of men” (verse 7).
Elijah
the prophet said, “How long will you falter between two opinions?” (see I Kings 18:21).
Prove the truth! And cling to the
truth! The apostle James wrote, “for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and
tossed by the wind. For let not that man
suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man,
unstable in all his ways”(James 1:6-8). These things are serious. They could well involve eternal life and
salvation itself! Let’s take nothing for
granted!
Isaiah
was inspired to write, “Just as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul
delights in their abominations, so I will choose their delusions, and bring
their fears on them; because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they
did not hear; but they did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I do
not delight” (Isaiah 66:3-4, NKJV). God
goes on, “Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at his word: Your brethren that hated you, that cast you
out for my name’s sake, said, Let the LORD be
glorified. But he shall appear to your
joy, and they shall be ashamed” (verse 5, KJV).
God
declares, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of
death” (Prov.14:12).
How
important is truth, righteousness, and obedience to God – to you? Do you desire to observe God’s Law with your
whole heart? (Psalm 119:34). Have you
received “the love of the truth,” that you might be saved? (II
Thess.2:10). Do you love God’s Law and
meditate on it day and night? (Psalm 119:97).
David declared, “Great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing
shall offend them” (Psalm 119:165).
Where do you stand in the furious
no-holds barred struggle and “battle over the Passover”?
Awesome Mysteries of the Passover
When Should the Passover Be Observed?
Wonderful New Truth on the Passover!
17 Proofs Passover When Passover Should Be Kept!
The Christian-Messianic Passover Hagaddah
The Mystery of Ben Ha Arbayim
– “Between the Two Evenings”
When Did the Early Church Keep the Passover?
The Gospel of Luke and the Passover
Exodus 16 and the “Great Quail Question”
The Incredible Passover Plot!
The Nisan 14 Passover –
Fact? Or Fallacy?
The Devil’s Own Passover!
The Passover and the Book of Jubilees
What Is the “New Testament Passover”?
Are We Neglecting the Sacred Fellowship Meal?
Mystery of the Kiddush
Jesus’ Last Week
John
Do You Observe a Pagan Passover?
Should Christians Observe the Passover?
Fred Coulter’s Passover Errors Exposed!
The Quartodeciman Passover
– When Was It?
Four Special Bible Study Course Lessons on PASSOVER