Ronald Weinland

This book explores what may be the greatest cover-up in history—a systematic concealment of truth about the Messiah.

So who is the Messiah?

For Judaism, the Messiah is the one promised by God—someone who would come in the future, from the lineage of King David, to save Israel from sin and to establish an era of peace and redemption.

For traditional Christianity, He is the Christ spoken of throughout the New Testament.

Though the terms “Messiah” and “Christ” come from different languages, they mean the same thing: “the anointed one.” This refers to the one anointed by God to be the future King in His Kingdom.

The ability to hide the truth about this Messiah so that it has remained undiscovered by others, makes it the most successful cover-up of all time. It happened slowly, being mostly indiscernible, as centuries of tradition, mistranslation, and misinterpretation took hold. Over time, essential truths were buried beneath layers of confusion and false teachings.

Ultimately, the inability to identify important areas of truth that were gradually being changed led to large scale religious confusion, division, and even wars.

At the center of this is one truth: a Messiah whom God promised would come to save mankind.

The Need for a Messiah
There’s a reason this truth is coming to light now. Humanity is at a tipping point. With global instability, escalating tensions, and weapons powerful enough to wipe out life on Earth, the world’s need for a Messiah has never appeared more urgent.

Throughout history, people have longed for a Messiah to deliver them from hardship. But those cries often came during localized wars or regional oppression.

These situations differ from what God described as the ultimate crisis that would necessitate His intervention to prevent humanity’s self-destruction. We can clearly see that today’s dangers are on a global scale. Throughout thousands of years of human existence, there has never been a time like ours—when we’ve possessed the technological capability to destroy life on a massive scale, an ability that has only existed for about seventy years.

There has never been a time like the last few years when journalists covering so many world events regularly mention the potential for great war in the world—a third world war. Many understand that a large-scale war would inevitably become a nuclear war. There are nations today that are very clearly preparing for such a conflict.

If a nuclear war does begin, who would be able to stop it? Will anyone or any nation be able to end it? These questions directly relate to God’s promise to send a Messiah. When would humanity need a Messiah? Are we approaching that critical moment?

God warned that humanity would reach a point where self-destruction would be inevitable, unless He intervened to stop it. This era—often called the “latter days” or “end-time”—would be the time when God would thankfully step in and send the Messiah to save mankind and bring lasting peace.

Thus far, mankind has proven that it cannot give the world peace. Over the past century, it has tried to accomplish this through the League of Nations. But that failed. It has tried through the United Nations, and that too has failed. Now, as the world faces unparalleled risk, rediscovering the true story of the Messiah—buried for centuries—has never been more vital.

A Gradual Concealing of Truth
Both early Judaism and early traditional Christianity unknowingly participated in a significant cover-up that gradually deepened into centuries of religious confusion. At key historical moments, separate but related events occurred that reshaped modern Judaism and traditional Christianity. These events that were tied together created a major shift in both religions worldwide. Though their full impact wasn’t understood at the time, these events became interconnected in ways that ultimately obscured the truth.

As a result, many people lack the understanding needed to make some of life’s most important decisions.

The first major shift began to take shape within Judaism in the first century AD. Over time, it gradually distorted the original truth about the Messiah until that truth became nearly unrecognizable. By the tenth century, this altered understanding became firmly established in Jewish teaching.

As this distortion took hold in Judaism during the first two centuries, it created such misunderstanding about the Messiah that it triggered the shift that occurred in traditional Christianity during the fourth-century AD. Together, these two shifts culminated in what became the ultimate cover-up.

This fourth-century development increased hostility and widened the already considerable division between Judaism and Christianity. This growing divide produced lasting conflict that has continued in every century since.

Not only did Judaism and Christianity grow apart, but divisions also began to fracture traditional Christianity from within. The first major division emerged in the eleventh century with the East-West Schism, driven by theological differences, political disputes, and disagreements over papal authority. These tensions within the Roman Catholic Church ultimately produced a major split that created the Eastern Orthodox Church.

A few hundred years later, the invention of the printing press around 1440 AD further intensified religious division. The ability to produce numerous Bible translations facilitated the emergence of new denominations. With more access to the Bible came more interpretations—and more resistance to the Roman Catholic Church. At times these denominations violently opposed one another. Even wars between countries were fought over religious differences.

As more denominations and sects emerged, the variations in teachings and doctrines widened. This generated increasing division within traditional Christianity, producing uncertainty and rising confusion over what is actually true. As a result, today, people either leave their church affiliations, continue in the religion of their upbringing, or choose from a vast array of other churches and teachings.

Most of this confusion and division stems from a lack of knowledge and understanding of one of God’s most basic revelations to mankind: the truth about the Messiah—the Christ. Humanity has thoroughly muddied what should have been clear. The vast gulf of misunderstanding between Judaism and Christianity should never have begun, nor should it exist now. But it does—all because of one massive cover-up!

Progressive Revelation
The process of uncovering truth begins with one of the Bible’s most fundamental stories: Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egyptian slavery around 1490 BC. The Passover and Exodus narrative is well-known in both Judaism and Christianity, though many view it merely as an interesting story rather than a pivotal historical moment.

Many Christians are familiar with the plagues that struck Egypt, culminating in the final plague on Passover day, though many aren’t familiar with Passover itself or that the last plague occurred on this specific day. Yet this story is far more than just a captivating tale—it marks a crucial turning point in human history. It represents when God began revealing Himself to humanity in a heightened manner, far beyond what He had done in the previous 2,500 years.

During mankind’s first 2,500 years, God revealed relatively little. God has always revealed more about Himself and the purpose for His creation in a progressive revelation. From the beginning, God had revealed things on a gradual scale up until it was time for the Exodus.

But starting with Moses, God began to add vast amounts of knowledge. It is through Moses that God started to reveal structure, order, and purpose on how to grow and improve upon a right relationship with Him. After all the time that had passed, God chose this moment to begin revealing much more about Himself and how to partake in His plan and purpose.

Then, after Moses, God’s progressive revelation took a great leap forward, revealing additional knowledge through the Prophets and the later Writings of the Old Testament.

We can see this pattern in what God told Moses when He first began working with him:

“Now God spoke unto Moses, and said to him, ‘I am the ETERNAL’” (Exodus 6:2).

The word translated here as “Eternal” is most often translated into English as “LORD” or “JEHOVAH.” It comes from the Hebrew word “יְהוָֹה” (Yahweh), meaning “the Self-existing One” or “Eternal.” Perhaps the most accurate English translation would combine these: “the Eternal Self-existing One.”

Then God says something even more striking:

“Now I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name the ETERNAL I was not known to them” (Exodus 6:3).

Here it states that until this point, God had only revealed Himself as God Almighty—El (אֵל) Shaddai (שַׁדַּי), but now, after so long a time, He was revealing more about Himself as the Eternal Self-existing One. Indeed, God has been revealing Himself through the ages in a process of progressive revelation, each time building more truth upon previously established truth.

This is how God works—building truth upon truth. But this only works if people respond the same way—by building their understanding step by step, anchored in what God has already revealed.

That is why it is so important to revisit what led up to these two great phases to the cover-up and the need to reestablish foundational truths. It then becomes much easier to add the additional truths God revealed later.

The Key to Unlocking the Cover-up
The mystery behind history’s greatest cover-up is rooted in what God revealed to the Israelites about observing Passover. True knowledge about the events that surround this day is the very key to learning what is true concerning the Messiah.

It was because of their precise observance of God’s instruction, in the exact manner He commanded them, that He would then intervene to deliver their firstborn and then to also free them from the slavery of Egypt.

In the previous 2,500 years, God had only given humanity a very basic structure to live by. God revealed Himself as Creator and chose to work with only a few individuals to establish that He alone was God. He also gave basic guidance as to how people were to live toward one another and toward Him.

Not until Moses did God begin revealing a basic framework of His plan and purpose for humanity. While this may seem like a long delay in human history, it demonstrates God’s sovereign choice of when and how He has chosen to reveal His great plan. This in itself has great purpose for what God is fulfilling in His creation.

What God began to reveal through Moses, at His chosen time, represents the heart and core of His purpose for mankind’s existence. It all begins with Passover. If we cannot grasp what God reveals about Passover, everything else that follows will be misunderstood or meaningless. It is the cornerstone and first essential building block of God’s plan for His creation, and this began to be revealed starting with this very first Passover observance in the land of Egypt.

The widespread division and disagreement within and between Judaism and traditional Christianity stem from the lack of understanding about Passover. It is Passover that has been a stumbling block to both Judaism and to Christianity. However, it wasn’t always so. Changes that occurred in the first two centuries in Judaism and then in traditional Christianity in the fourth-century AD created the most deceptive, cunning, and masterfully crafted cover-up of all time.

This lies at the core of the wide gulf between Judaism and Christianity, as well as the divisiveness that has produced so many different Christian denominations—all teaching different interpretations of what is supposedly from the same One true God. How can such a thing be established on truth?

In the first 2,500 years, there had never been a Passover observance. There were sacrificial offerings given to God, but there was no Passover. Yet Passover proved so crucial to God’s plan that soon after the Israelites left Egypt, He gave Moses additional instructions establishing Passover as the first commanded annual observance. Although God initially established this annual observance, He continued to build upon it by revealing deeper meaning over time.

Scripture shows that God is meticulous in planning and fulfilling His plans. He is Almighty and all powerful in His work to accomplish His purpose exactly as He has ordained it.

Before this account of the first Passover, God meticulously planned how and when His people would be freed from slavery in Egypt. Most are familiar with the story of Moses and the plagues that God brought upon Egypt. With each plague that came upon them, Moses petitioned Pharoah to let God’s people go. Each time, Pharoah refused, and God delivered another plague.

This first Passover account explains how God instructed the Israelites to remain inside their homes all night. They were not to leave until morning. That night, God delivered the final plague to the Egyptians: the death of every firstborn, both human and animal. Blaming the Israelites and their God for the misery brought upon them, Pharoah finally ordered the Israelites to leave.

The Egyptians eagerly wanted them gone, having just experienced the death of all their firstborn, and fearing more destruction. In their distress, the Egyptians gave the Israelites food, clothing, livestock, carts, and personal treasures. Israel gathered together later in the daytime portion of Passover to begin leaving Egypt that night.

The Importance of Timing
When God gave the Israelites instructions to escape slavery in Egypt, He was clear: they had to follow His commands precisely. And one of the most crucial elements of those commands was timing. Understanding the timing in God’s instructions to Moses is critical for distinguishing truth from falsehood. It is in these details about time that the greatest truth about a Messiah began to be covered up.

While this information about timing may initially seem difficult to grasp, it becomes increasingly clear and enlightening as we proceed. It took hundreds of years to craftily conceal this information, and it takes some effort to uncover it. But understanding specific timing is paramount to everything that follows.

God began revealing to Moses the importance of time. After all, it is God who established it. It is here that God began to reveal more about why time itself has been given such serious relevance.

“The ETERNAL spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying, ‘This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you’” (Exodus 12:1-2).

From the beginning, God had told mankind about the importance of the seven-day cycle, in which the seventh day was to be a reminder that He was the Creator of all, and that He had rested on that day after creating man and woman.

By the time of the Exodus, the Israelites knew very little about God. Yet this moment marked a turning point in human history. After 2,500 years of limited revelation, God was now beginning to reveal His plan—and with it, a calendar of His creation.

God was now preparing to give them a specific method for measuring time—days, weeks, months, and years. He began doing this by first reestablishing the seven-day weekly cycle and designating the seventh day as an “appointed time” to keep and observe as a weekly Sabbath—holy to God.

According to Jewish traditions and teachings, they have long understood that God’s days begin and end at sundown. Therefore, the weekly Sabbath is observed from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. The Jewish people have long upheld the importance of the seventh-day Sabbath and have not lost count of it since the Exodus.

However, many in traditional Christianity are unaware of this method of counting time from sunset to sunset in scripture. Most are only familiar with our system of counting days from midnight to midnight. Misunderstanding this system in scripture of counting from sunset to sunset has caused significant confusion.

Once the Israelites had been freed from slavery and were in the wilderness, God then revealed this matter of “appointed times” that they were to observe in their worship and in their relationship with Him. This first month, which is in the springtime in the Northern Hemisphere, later became known by the names of Abib or Nisan.

“Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘In the tenth day of this month you shall take to yourselves every man a lamb, according to the house of your fathers, a lamb for a household. If the household is too small for the lamb [for the complete consumption of a lamb], let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the individuals, everyone according to their eating shall make up your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You shall take it out from among the sheep, or from the goats. Then you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening “between the two evenings” (Exodus 12:3-6).

These verses reveal the origin of the first phase of the great cover-up concerning the timing of Passover. Judaism itself has long debated this timing, largely due to confusion about the Hebrew phrasing. The phrase “between the two evenings” has been misinterpreted and mistranslated over time, especially in non-Hebrew languages.

As explained further in the story below, God emphasized that the Israelites had to follow these instructions exactly—or they would not be saved. Timing was literally a matter of life or death. Certainly, if explicit timing is given by God and it is that important to Him, then it should be important to everyone.

Until the time of Christ recorded in the New Testament, Judaism correctly understood the timing described in Exodus 12. Early Christians, who were originally Jewish, also understood this. Later, as gentiles became Christian, those gentile Christians began to lose knowledge of Hebrew (Aramaic), and with that the knowledge of timing given in the Old Testament writings.

Within other languages, even greater problems arose because they did not grasp what was said in Hebrew and then mistranslated what was written. It is nearly impossible to find a correct translation of verse 6 from Hebrew into any other language. As a result, what is true and vital here remains hidden from those in traditional Christianity.

The word translated as “evening” (or “even” or “twilight” in some translations) at the end of verse 6 is incorrect. Most, if not all, Bible concordances incorrectly suggest this is the traditional Hebrew word pronounced ereb (עֶרֶב), which refers to any time the sun is not visible. It is not. The actual Hebrew phrase is ben ha’arbayim, meaning “between the two evenings.” How such a mistranslation became so widespread is puzzling.

Confusion arose, particularly in traditional Christianity, from not fully understanding how days are defined in scripture and how the term “ereb” is used. “Ereb” in Hebrew can refer to any time from sunset through the night until just before sunrise. Any point the sun cannot be seen can be described as “ereb.”

The Timing for Counting a Day
The Hebrew word “ereb” has little meaning to traditional Christianity. There are more specific terms related to “ereb” that aren’t typically noted in concordances, which tend to group them all under the single word “ereb” without distinction. By doing this, the exact meaning is completely hidden from them.

While Bible concordances most often group all the forms of “ereb” into a single, vague definition, Hebrew uses multiple related expressions—each with specific meaning about counting time. These distinctions matter.

Here are the key terms:

• “Ereb” defines any moment in time the sun cannot be seen.
• “Awd ereb” means “until ereb” or “until sunset”—the time until the sun has completely set, up until the sun completely disappears.
• “Ba ereb” defines the exact moment the sun sets and ends a day.
• “Ma ereb” defines the moment of sunset which begins a new day.
• “Ben ha’arbayim” means between the two evenings, from “ma ereb” to “ba ereb.”

These distinctions may seem trivial, but they’re crucial for understanding the truth about God’s Messiah.

So, what exactly were the Israelites told regarding the timing of the Passover lamb that was to be killed? They were given clear, step-by-step instructions. Here’s the accurate translation from scripture:

”Then you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it between the two evenings” (Exodus 12:3-6).

When God commanded that the lamb be kept until the 14th and then killed, roasted, and eaten “between the two evenings” of the fourteenth, the Israelites understood that the lamb was to be killed after sunset once the fourteenth had begun. They understood that “between two evenings” identifies one complete day—from sunset to sunset. Just like the weekly Sabbath (beginning on Friday night at sunset and ending at sunset on Saturday). Passover was to be observed in the same way (beginning and ending between two evenings).

Purpose in Detail
For some, these timing details may seem unimportant. But they matter to God because He revealed them for our observance. They help teach concepts that are difficult for physical human beings to grasp. Obedience to these instructions can lead to the ability to see and understand deeper than just on a physical plane.

Everything God instructed Israel to observe physically in their worship, including the correct counting of time, contained deeper meaning and purpose. God used this method to teach basic principles and structure that can eventually lead to comprehending His greater spiritual purpose.

Although God initially worked with Israel on a physical level, His purpose extended beyond that. Because humans are physical beings, God first works with people on a physical plane to teach foundational principles. However, people tend to get stuck in physical observances, clinging to them so tightly that it becomes difficult for God to lead them to what is spiritual in meaning and purpose.

People tend to cling to the physical. It’s familiar. It’s tangible. And in almost every religion on Earth, you can see this pattern: people holding tightly to physical symbols, objects, or rituals as the heart of their worship.

A striking example of this is what happened when Moses had gone up into Mount Sinai to meet with God. After some time had passed, the Israelites assumed Moses had died. In their fear and impatience, they reverted to what was familiar—they made a golden calf, a physical idol, and claimed this was the god that brought them out of Egypt.

This wasn’t just rebellion—it was pure human nature. People feel more in control when their worship involves something they can see or hold. But that’s not what God wants. That’s why the second of the Ten Commandments clearly says not to make any carved images or physical representations to be used in worship of Him.

Serving God means doing things His way—not relying on physical substitutes or manmade traditions. The instructions He gave—even down to the fine details of time—are part of how He teaches us to move from a purely physical understanding into something far deeper and spiritual.

A Passover and a Feast
The preceding verses in Exodus 12 explain that a lamb was to be selected and kept up until the 14th day of the first month, at which point it was to be killed that night. The passage continues by revealing additional information about a distinct period to be observed immediately following Passover: The Feast of Unleavened Bread.

This connection between the two events has caused confusion for many. Without a clear understanding of what God was revealing, people have blurred the lines between the Passover and this Feast, thereby misunderstanding their individual meaning and purpose.

Earlier, we touched on this critical point:

“The mystery behind history’s greatest cover-up is rooted in what God revealed to the Israelites about observing Passover. True knowledge about the events that surround this day is the very key to learning what is true concerning the Messiah.”

The Passover instructions continue:

“Now they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. They shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor saturated at all with water, but roast with fire, his head with his legs, and with the inner organs thereof. And you shall not let any of it remain until the morning, but that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire. So thus you shall eat it, with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Even you shall eat it in haste. It is the ETERNAL’s Passover” (Exodus 12:7-11).

Then more is added to instruction concerning the first Passover observance:

“For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and I will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt of both man and animal, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the ETERNAL. Now the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I strike down the land of Egypt. Now this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and you shall keep a Feast to the ETERNAL throughout your generations. As a statute forever you shall keep a Feast. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. Even the first day you shall have put away leaven [yeast] out of your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that life shall be cut off from Israel” (Exodus 12:12-15).

Verse 14 has been poorly translated in many Bible versions, which has helped hide and confuse the truth. First, let’s focus on what has been translated correctly:

“Now this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and you shall keep a Feast to the ETERNAL throughout your generations. As a statute forever you shall keep a Feast” (Exodus 12:14).

Many English translations add the word “it” to statements about the Feast, incorrectly rendering it as: “This day shall be to you a memorial, and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.”

Reading this the way it is so often translated leads to a faulty conclusion. It states that the Passover day was to be a memorial, and then by going on to say, “you shall keep it a Feast to the LORD,” it totally changes the true meaning of the instruction and information God was giving. It leads one to think this is saying that the Passover, which is to be a memorial, that it is to be kept as a Feast. That is not true. The word “it” completely changes the meaning.

Passover is not a Feast in scripture, nor is it called a Sabbath. It is a separate, unique day to be observed as a memorial once a year on the 14th day of the first month.

After giving these specific instructions for this unique Passover, and God instructing it to be kept as a memorial, He then adds more revelation about His plan and purpose for mankind:

“Now this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and you shall keep a Feast to the ETERNAL throughout your generations. As a statute forever you shall keep a Feast. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. Even the first day you shall have put away leaven out of your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that life shall be cut off from Israel” (Exodus 12:14-15).

God was telling the Israelites that there would be more to this annual observance than just the Passover memorial. A seven-day Feast period would immediately follow. They were to observe the memorial and then a seven-day Feast as a permanent statute, removing leavened products (any breaded products containing yeast and yeast used for baking) from their homes and not eating bread containing leaven during that period. Instead, they were to eat unleavened bread each day, for seven days. This instruction takes on spiritual significance that God reveals several centuries later.

Notice how God describes this seven-day period that is separate from the Passover day:

“Now in the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them, except that which everyone must eat. That only may be done by you. So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for in this selfsame day I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, you shall observe this day in your generations by an ordinance forever” (Exodus 12:14-17).

This instruction concerns a seven-day observance called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. During this Feast, the first and seventh days were to be holy convocations where no work was done. In scripture, this designates an annual Holy Day or annual Sabbath. The Old Testament commanded both weekly Sabbaths and annual Sabbaths, and no ordinary work was to be done on any Sabbath day.

The instruction continues:

“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty first day of the month at even” (Exodus 12:18).

This timing instruction is critically important for understanding the truth, though it has been poorly translated in many versions. Here is where the Hebrew makes a huge difference:

The word translated “at even” in this verse is not just the generic ereb (evening), but specifically “ba ereb”—which refers to the exact moment the sun sets and the day ends. This means:

• The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins at sunset ending the 14th day—which is the start of the 15th.
• It ends at sunset ending the 21st day—seven full days later.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is clearly a seven-day observance. It begins at the end of the fourteenth day (at sunset, when the fifteenth begins) and continues until the end of the twenty-first day (at sunset). So, the Feast runs from the beginning of the 15th to the end of the 21st – seven complete days, bookended by annual Sabbaths.

Sadly, mistranslations and a failure to understand the specific Hebrew expressions for time—like ba ereb—have caused widespread confusion. Even Judaism has debated the exact timing, and traditional Christianity, largely unaware of the original Hebrew, has lost this knowledge entirely.

Understanding these timing distinctions is critical. They clarify not only the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but also deeper truths related to God’s plan and the Messiah—truths that have been lost beneath layers of mistranslation and religious tradition. One might not expect such details to become so confused or mistranslated, but they have, leading to false beliefs that have persisted for centuries.

Leaving Egypt After Passover
When the law was restated and given to the Israelites a second time, toward the end of their forty years in the wilderness, the people were reminded about keeping the Passover season. This included both the Passover day and the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread.

“Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto the ETERNAL your God, for in the month of Abib the ETERNAL your God brought you forth out of Egypt by night” (Deuteronomy 16:1).

Why was this timing so important?

Because the Israelites had followed God’s instructions exactly on the night of the 14th—Passover night—He protected them during the final plague and spared their lives. Then, as that day came to an end and the sun set, marking the beginning of the 15th, God began to lead them out of Egypt. That precise moment—the start of the 15th—also marked the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It was their first literal step toward freedom.

This demonstrates how important precise obedience is to God. He blesses those who follow His instructions exactly. For the Israelites, this was literally a matter of life and death.

The Exodus did not occur on the night of the 14th—Passover night—when they stayed in their homes under God’s protection. That night, they roasted and ate the lamb. Only the following morning did they emerge and begin preparing to leave. It was only as the sun set on the 14th—marking the start of the 15th—that God led them out of Egypt.

Understanding this timing brings clarity to God’s instructions about the Passover and the Holy Days:

“So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for in this selfsame day I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore, you shall observe this day in your generations by an ordinance forever” (Exodus 12:17).

But this clarity did not endure.

Because so few have truly understood what God established with that first Passover, two major distortions later emerged centuries after the Exodus. These distortions worked together to bury the truth about the Messiah under layers of tradition, mistranslation, and religious politics.

Before we uncover how this cover-up first began in Judaism and later took hold in traditional Christianity, we must return to the wilderness—where God gave Israel not only the Passover but added truth to what He had already revealed: His appointed times.