Monday, April 14, 2014

New Covenant Passover Plus My Passover Meditations


"This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.  This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you." ~Anointed Lord Salvation

Under the carnal covenant, Passover was kept as a memorial of God freeing Israel from bondage to Egypt.  Under the current spiritual covenant, Passover is kept as a memorial of God freeing believers in Christ/Messiah from bondage to sin.  It's a memorial of our Lord and Christ's sacrificial death.

Under the carnal covenant a lamb was sacrificed to remember how the lamb's blood had saved the firstborns of Israel in Egypt when it was smeared on the doorposts before the death angel visited.  Under the spiritual covenant we symbolically eat Christ's body (unleavened bread) and drink his blood (wine), because He is our Passover Lamb who was slain once for all sins (those of which would be repented), and in reality we "eat" of His spiritual nature to become more like He is, for it is true that we are what we eat.

There are two false religions, one of which claims to keep the carnal covenant (Judaism) and one who claims to keep the spiritual covenant (Christianity), but both hold to their man-made religious doctrines and traditions rather than keep the truth as written in the scriptures. That is why those who follow Judaism keep the carnal covenant Passover, and those that follow Christianity keep the pagan Easter.  Then there is the marrying of these two religions that produced Messianic Judaism, which also follow after some false doctrines from both religions.  They reject the pagan Easter, but they keep a largely carnal covenant Passover, eating a seder (meal), believing not in a new spiritual covenant but a renewed carnal covenant.

I've written extensively and very in-depth on topics concerning the carnal covenant verses the spiritual covenant, including contrasts to the carnal covenant Passover and the spiritual covenant Passover.  These are among my most popular studies.  For more info, you may visit the following links to my blog posts and website articles:

"Forever" in the Old Testament: Does it Always Mean Eternal?

New Covenant Does Not Abolish Law But Does Abolish Old Covenant

What "The Law Was Added Because of Transgression" Means

Old Covenant Carnal Showings

To Silence the Paul-Rejecting Carnal Covenant Lovers: Proving Jesus and Paul Were at One

Now to share some of my meditative thoughts from this Passover night just passed...

As I was reading one of the gospel accounts of my Lord's execution, I stopped to meditate for a while when I reached the part that records that He asked our Holy Father to forgive the ones who had a part in putting him to death and their supporters, telling Father that they were ignorant of what they were doing.  I spiritually jumped back in time and imagined the social climate of Judah during the last three and half years of the Lord's life on earth.  By the end of his three-and-a-half year ministry, many of the people knew of him.  I'm sure it would be like today in the U.S. when a figure becomes publicly prominent.  Rumors spread.  Even if the person is doing what is good, people who are biased against him (or her) who have power can quickly cast the person in a negative light in the eyes of the majority.  There are always the minority who will support the person, and the minority can number in the thousands or even millions (depending on the population involved) but still very much be a small minority.

I thought of the numerous things about which the majority of the people are deceived today.  The list is unending.  There are many who possess knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, but they still make up the minority by far.  And what of the majority?  They think they are the ones who possess good sense and think the minority as crazy and/or stupid. And the somewhat prominent figures who spread various truths (whether it be health, biblical, legal, environmental, agricultural, parental, etc.) are persecuted and branded by the mainstream media as nut jobs.

That must be what it was like in Salvation's time.  There were a growing many in the know, but they were few compared to the majority.  The ones who had power were afraid enough of what would happen if they openly went against him, because just like any gathering today where a teacher is speaking, those minority people are going to make up the majority in attendance.  But their power was great in that they still maintained their influence over the mainstream majority.

It was true then just as much as it's true now that many are very ignorant in what they believe and how they act toward others.  They believe they are doing what's right in how they live their lives, how they bring up their children, and how they perceive those who believe differently.  And God has kept them in blindness for the time being.  So they may rail wickedly against those who are really good and teaching and living by the truth, but they don't realize they are against God and truth.  They believe they're in the right.  Their blindness is fogging up their mind.  Now if they were serious enough about seeking and living by truth, they would be more likely to prove things and then realize the minority people are right about things.  But they are carnal-minded, choosing rather to try to enjoy life as much as possible without investing time in asking important questions and investigating into things.

But we have all been this way for a time, at least to an extent.  Some of us have always been more likely to investigate and ask questions and want truth, but we've all been guilty of going along with what the mainstream teaching on a matter is.  Who is to know whether we change down the line and open our eyes?

There were probably quite a few people who were strongly against Salvation the Anointed, because they'd believed the mainstream lies against him and lacked in understanding, who then later came to the truth and repented and were followers of the Lord.  So this is why our Lord would have asked Father to forgive them.  They were ignorant but would not allow themselves to be forever.

What wonderful grace and long-suffering our Eternal Father and His Righteous Firstborn possess!  Yes, so wonderful that They were both willing for the latter to come spend over 34 human life years (including gestation in the womb) on earth and endure all the hardships and temptations humankind go through, and ultimately die as our saving sacrifice!  And for this reason we remember our Anointed Salvation's loving sacrifice annually on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month.

I will save the other meditative topic I want to share for tomorrow, to post on the first day of Unleavened Bread.

Until then...

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