The roots of the greatest religious cover-up in history can be traced to AD 325, when Constantine and the Roman Empire reshaped Christianity into something fundamentally different from its original form. This transformation was achieved by merging the original faith with their existing pagan beliefs. Constantine sought to unify the Roman Empire culturally through religion, and he attempted to do so by blending elements of pagan worship—such as devotion to Sol Invictus, Rome’s chief deity—with the identity of Christ. In doing this, Constantine and the Roman Church established a foundation that was fundamentally false.
Major doctrines were altered, including the Passover, the name and role of Joshua, the ordained times of worship, and even the very nature of God Himself. On these changes they built their own foundation. Yet Christ is referred to as the chief cornerstone upon which the true foundation must rest. The Christ invented by Constantine, however, was a false cornerstone, and history shows that traditional Christianity has continued building upon that distorted foundation ever since. What developed over time was something vast and powerful, yet it no longer resembled the real God or His true Son.
And how can anyone construct the right building when they are working from the wrong blueprint? They can’t! The result was a counterfeit religion that carried the name of Christ but bore little connection to His actual teachings. In the process, the genuine blueprint of true Christianity was concealed and covered beneath the weight of a system designed to replace it.
The Domino Effect Caused by Burying Passover
The greatest cover-up in history concerns the truth about Joshua the Christ as the Passover and future Messiah of all mankind. But the cover-up didn’t end with Passover—it was only the beginning.
Once the true meaning of Passover was concealed, it became possible to hide the rest of God’s purpose for mankind. If the truth about Passover is hidden, then it is impossible to build upon it. Without the real foundation, no further truth can stand, for everything depends on what God established at the beginning.
Think of it this way: Passover is the cornerstone of the foundation of God’s blueprint for salvation. Without that foundation, nothing else can be properly built. You can’t construct the second story of a house if the first floor is missing.
By destroying knowledge about the Passover God gave to mankind, both Judaism and traditional Christianity created a domino effect. Once that foundational truth fell, everything meant to be built upon it collapsed too. The entire structure of God’s plan became invisible, impossible to see or understand.
So how can anyone discover God’s true plan for salvation? The answer is to return to His original blueprint—the “appointed times” He established. Only on the true foundation can God’s full purpose be seen, and that purpose is revealed through Passover and the annual Holy Days listed in Leviticus 23.
After Israel came out of Egypt, God revealed specific times when His people were commanded to appear before Him in holy convocations or meetings. These gatherings were not optional; they were appointments set by God Himself. They are called “holy” because He ordained them, and His intention is to be present spiritually with those who faithfully observe these times. He established these times because humanity needs them in order to receive guidance, instruction, and teaching in His ways—ways that we are meant to live and practice.
PASSOVER
Passover is the cornerstone of God’s entire plan and purpose for creating mankind. Everything contained in the meaning of the annual Holy Days rests upon this foundational cornerstone of Joshua the Christ. Though Passover itself isn’t an annual Holy Day, it must come first. Everything else depends on it, just as Christ first came as the Lamb of God to establish the foundation for His future second coming.
Satan has hated and opposed God’s plan of salvation since before human life began. He is the power that has worked through history to corrupt both Judaism and traditional Christianity, influencing the long process by which the true meaning of Passover has been concealed. Satan is the true force behind the great cover-up this book addresses—the real author of deception, falsehood, and distortion of God’s truth.
As we approach the close of the first 6,000 years of human self-rule and the establishment of God’s Kingdom through the second coming of Joshua the Christ, God has begun to reveal greater understanding about His Son, the true Messiah. What we are witnessing is the beginning of the fulfillment of the words recorded by Luke, cited earlier in chapter two:
“For there is nothing covered, that shall not be uncovered. Neither hidden, that shall not become known” (Luke 12:2).
If God intended humanity simply to live physical lives and then die, there would be no need for a Passover. If temporary human existence was all there is, the story would end there.
Yet God has revealed the necessity of the Passover because through it mankind can be forgiven of sin. He further reveals that unless mankind is freed from sin, the final penalty of sin is eternal death—death for all time, from which one can never be resurrected to life again. Eternal death is the punishment for sin, not a condition of being eternally punished.
God’s plan goes far beyond this temporary physical existence. He reveals that human beings have the potential to receive everlasting life, a life that exists in spirit. Yet this life isn’t owed to anyone. No one receives everlasting life unless God resurrects them to it.
Contrary to traditional Christian teaching, when people die, they don’t automatically continue living as immortal souls. No one has an immortal soul. Only God has immortality, and only He can grant it to others—as He did with Joshua after His resurrection. That is why mankind requires a Passover; it is through Him alone human beings may be given the opportunity to receive everlasting spirit life.
A Journey Out of Slavery
The account of the Passover is fundamentally a story about a journey out of slavery. The first Passover involved the physical nation of Israel being freed from the slavery of Egypt. As soon as they obeyed God and observed that initial Passover exactly as He instructed, God began to lead them out of slavery—out of Egypt. This was purely a physical observance of a physical deliverance from slavery.
Although the process of deliverance from slavery began after the Israelites observed the first Passover, they did not immediately enter the promised land. The journey took time. Long before their enslavement in Egypt, God had made a covenant with Abraham and his decedents, promising to lead them to a land that was good and spacious, free from oppression—a land flowing with milk and honey. After leaving Egypt, God reminded the Israelites that He would bring them to that land He had already promised.
However, that promise was not fulfilled right away. In the same way, Passover today pictures a spiritual deliverance from slavery to sin that begins with obedience to God’s annual Passover observance. That deliverance from spiritual slavery is also a long journey.
Deliverance from spiritual slavery means being delivered from sin and from the ultimate penalty of sin, death, if it is not forgiven. Some understand we need forgiveness for sin, but they miss why. They see sin simply as breaking God’s rules, something bad that brings punishment. But the result of sin is not merely a matter of God choosing to punish someone who goes against Him. Sin carries consequences because it violates the very structure and laws of the universe that God established. The punishment is simply reality—like touching fire and getting burned.
The consequences of sin always produce negative effects in life. What many do not grasp is that sin creates slavery. When someone is in bondage to sin, they repeatedly choose actions or attitudes they know are wrong yet feel unable to break free on their own. This is why only God, through Christ, can deliver us. Although sin can appear to offer freedom or pleasure, it ultimately leads to spiritual captivity. Instead of living according to God’s will, a person becomes ruled by their own desires. Sin causes suffering, drama, pain, hurt, and turmoil—it brings harmful results into our lives. Mankind is enslaved to its own selfish nature, which seeks to please self but ends up harming both ourselves and others. God’s purpose is to free us from this slavery to sin and the suffering it creates. That is what we can be freed from.
Joshua Himself spoke about this bondage:
“Then Joshua said to those Jews who believed on Him, ‘If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed. You shall even know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham’s seed and have never been in bondage to anyone. So how can you say, “You will be made free?”’ Joshua replied to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, whoever commits sin is the bond servant [slave] of sin’” (John 8:31-34).
The disciples did not initially understand that Joshua was speaking to them in spiritual terms; they understood His words only in a physical sense. In the same way, physical slavery in Egypt pictures spiritual slavery to sin.
God’s plan of salvation, revealed through His appointed times, is about being made free from the bondage and suffering produced by sin. Passover, therefore, symbolizes the beginning of deliverance.
The solution to human suffering is not merely avoiding punishment but being released from the very sin that causes such suffering in the first place. This deliverance begins by accepting the Passover—Joshua the Christ—and faithfully observing that appointed time each year. The annual Holy Days that follow provide the instruction and understanding necessary for breaking free from the slavery and suffering that sin brings.
Passover—A Test of Belief
The main purpose of this book has been to reveal the truth about God’s Son, who is the Passover Lamb of God. Joshua died for the sins of all mankind; however, forgiveness of sin is granted only to those who accept and receive that sacrifice personally.
Passover concerns the true Messiah whom God established as the cornerstone of His entire plan. Christ is that foundation stone, upon which God is building something far greater than physical human life. Without accepting Joshua the Christ as one’s Passover, it is impossible to enter into the rest of God’s plan or to have that plan fulfilled in one’s own life.
Accepting Joshua the Christ is not just a matter of simply saying the words or claiming Him as being their Lord and Savior. It requires believing the truth He taught, accepting His words, and striving to live by them. That is what it means to live by faith. It is also an act of obedience to Him as Lord and Teacher. One of the greatest truths He revealed is that He is the Passover Lamb of God. Yet most do not even acknowledge Passover itself, which identifies who He is and what He has accomplished and fulfilled.
As shown, the Israelites had to obey the instructions given for the first Passover in order to be freed from the slavery of Egypt. There is a duality in this pattern: Obedience to the instructions Christ gave for the annual observance of Passover is likewise required for freedom from the slavery of sin. Joshua was the true Lamb of God and is to be remembered in the annual observance of Passover.
God’s plan is built upon the meaning and purpose of Passover. Without receiving the Passover—Joshua the Christ—one cannot enter a relationship with God. That is why Passover stands apart and is not an annual Holy Day. The annual Holy Days of God reveal His relationship with mankind, showing how God works with humanity from the beginning of a spiritual process that leads to a greater creation—one that must take place within the human mind. That process can only begin after a person is baptized and starts observing the annual appointed time of Passover, followed by the observance of the rest of God’s appointed times.
The annual Holy Days show the complete journey—from the beginning of this process to its fulfillment in creating spirit life for all who yield to God’s work in them. This spiritual creation is the greatest thing that God can create.
Accepting Joshua as one’s Passover and observing that day each year begins the process of salvation that leads to the blessings and fullness of life God desires for all humanity.
The annual Holy Days that follow Passover reveal God’s plan of salvation, but no one can take part in that plan unless Passover is first observed in the exact way God has directed. It is for this reason that Passover is emphasized so strongly and stands as the first of the annual observances.
Remember what God said about this appointed time:
“On the fourteenth day of the first month between the two evenings [from sundown to sundown] is the Eternal’s Passover. On the fifteenth day of the same month [after sundown on the 14th] is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto the Eternal [the first annual holy day]. Seven days you must eat unleavened bread” (Leviticus 23:5-6).
As stated before, Passover is the chief cornerstone on which the entire foundation of God’s plan rests. The broader foundation built upon that stone is revealed through God’s annual Holy Days, which outline His blueprint for salvation.
For the Israelites, Passover was only the first step toward the promised land. After the final plague struck Egypt on Passover night, they were spared because they observed that Passover night exactly as God instructed. What they did physically represents a pattern for what we must do spiritually when we accept Joshua the Christ as our Passover.
Through their obedience to God, the Israelites were unshackled—released from slavery and from the control of the Egyptians. Likewise, when a person receives Christ as their Passover, they begin a process of breaking free from slavery to sin.
Even though Israel was freed, God did not immediately take them into the promised land. Instead, He tested and tried them along their journey. The same pattern unfolds spiritually for those who accept Joshua the Christ as their Passover. The journey toward everlasting life involves continual change and a spiritual transformation of the human mind—in how we think. This process and spiritual journey build upon Passover and continue through the first three annual Holy Days that follow.
GOD’S ANNUAL HOLY DAYS
Following Passover, God’s Holy Days, which are annual Sabbaths, tell the story of a journey revealing humanity’s potential to be freed from slavery. Ancient Israel’s physical journey was an example for us to learn from. The Israelites fulfilled a physical type of what God purposes to take place spiritually.
After leaving Egypt and entering the wilderness, God gave the Israelites more than physical freedom. He gave them structure, identity, and instruction—including the command to observe
specific Holy Days throughout the year. These Holy Days are listed in Leviticus 23. Their observance was physical in nature; they were not given the ability to comprehend the true spiritual purpose behind those days or to see them as part of God’s blueprint for salvation.
The same pattern now applies to those who become part of God’s Church, first established on Pentecost of AD 31. Those who accept Joshua the Christ as their Passover and are baptized into God’s Church receive spiritual structure, identity, and instruction—and much of that instruction comes through the meaning and structure of God’s Sabbaths.
God’s Sabbaths, especially His annual Holy Days, reveal the path that leads humanity out of slavery into a spiritual promised land—the promised spiritual inheritance: immortal life in God’s Kingdom.
These annual Holy Days are not optional traditions or cultural festivals. They are holy convocations—appointments established by God when His people are commanded to assemble before Him. During these times, God instructs, gives guidance, and reveals the next stages of His plan.
But when Passover itself was changed or dismissed by Judaism and later by traditional Christianity, everything built on that foundation became obscured. Remove the cornerstone, and the rest of the structure collapses. As a result, God’s annual Holy Days—His roadmap for salvation—have been almost completely erased from mainstream belief.
What follows this section begins the uncovering of what has long been hidden. These Holy Days reveal God’s complete blueprint for mankind’s salvation, and the original foundational truths must be restored in order for that plan to be seen clearly again.
Two Seasons of Agriculture
Before uncovering the rest of God’s blueprint for salvation, it is important to understand why God divided His annual observances into two distinct categories. For most of human history, life revolved around agriculture. People raised livestock, planted crops, and harvested by seasons. Because survival depended directly on these tasks, people were deeply aware of agricultural cycles and their importance for sustaining life.
God used this familiarity with agriculture to communicate His blueprint. Just as the early spring harvest is crucial in farming, God’s appointed times in spring are crucial to His plan. He structured His observances around the same agricultural pattern that sustained human existence. Although these appointed times occur on the same calendar dates worldwide, the agricultural pattern they mirror reflects the seasons of the Northern Hemisphere, where spring marks the beginning of the harvest cycle.
God simplified His plan by dividing His appointed times into two parts, representing two distinct times when He will offer salvation to mankind. The first, in spring, mirrors the smaller early harvest typical in agriculture—and reflects a smaller harvest spiritually in His plan. The second, represents the much larger fall harvest and reflects a far greater spiritual harvest for mankind’s salvation that comes later in His plan.
The annual observances of the spring parallel the first harvest of the agricultural year. They symbolize the initial period in which God is calling a relatively small number of people to salvation in this age. God uses this analogy to separate two distinctive periods in His plan of salvation.
The next chapter will concentrate on the annual Holy Days focusing on events that point toward the second and final phase of God’s plan—the much greater fall harvest, which symbolizes the time when most of mankind will be offered salvation. This part of God’s plan begins with—and continues after—the return of Joshua the Christ as King of kings—the Messiah over all nations on earth.
FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD
The first annual Holy Day is the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which starts immediately after sunset following Passover on the 14th day of the first month (known as Abib or Nisan). As the passage in Leviticus 23 shows, the seventh day of this Feast is also an annual Holy Day to be observed.
The number seven appears continually throughout God’s plan and purpose for mankind. For example, God sanctified the seventh day as the weekly Sabbath. He also established a 7,000-year plan for the development of humanity—a complete period of time for mankind to reproduce human life. Many other examples could be cited, but the point is that the number seven carries the meaning of completeness. It represents the fulfillment or completion of something God is accomplishing.
Once a person has accepted the sacrifice of Joshua the Christ—the Passover Lamb—so that the penalty of their sins is paid, they are then able to move forward into the next part of God’s plan. The Feast of Unleavened Bread therefore becomes the next focus.
“On the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto the Eternal. You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. In the first day you shall have a holy convocation [a commanded assembly or formal meeting]. You shall do no customary work [occupational or regular labor] in it [because it is an annual Sabbath day]. But you shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Eternal seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation, and you shall do no customary work in it” (Leviticus 23:6-8).
This entire “appointed time” lasts seven days. During this week, one is commanded to eat unleavened bread—bread products without yeast, baking soda, or other leavening agents—each day. No leavening should be in anyone’s home during this period, and all must refrain from eating baked leavened products like breads and cakes containing leavening agents. This only concerns breaded products, not other foods or products that might contain leavening agents like yeast used in preservatives. The focus during these days is strictly on the removal of leavened bread products and the eating of unleavened bread.
The Symbolism of Pride in Leavened Bread
The symbolism in this observance is that physical leaven causes bread to “puff up,” just as human pride causes us to be spiritually puffed up. As stated earlier in this book, leaven represents sin. It symbolizes the expression of pride that opposes God’s law. We tend to live as we please rather than express God’s will in our lives by obeying His way of life. Eating unleavened bread illustrates our desire to obey God and eat of His way of life, the spiritual unleavened bread of life.
Many people do not realize that pride is a root source of sin. This is why God uses the comparison between leavening and the need to become spiritually unleavened—to remove sin from our lives.
The English word “pride” can sometimes cause confusion because it can be used in both a positive and a negative sense. In a positive way, pride refers to a healthy sense of satisfaction—self-respect—such as taking joy in a job well done or in the accomplishments of loved ones. That kind of pride simply expresses appreciation and fulfillment.
But negative, unhealthy pride involves human nature’s tendency to rely on its own knowledge and judgment. It appears in attitudes of arrogance, conceit, and a sense of superiority over others. This is the pride the Bible speaks against—a spiritual disposition that values its own opinions and desires above the instruction God gives.
Everyone has opinions about pretty much everything in life, and we tend to assume our conclusions and judgments in life are correct. Our minds naturally produce this way of thinking. We simply do not naturally think we are wrong.
However, when it comes to God and His way of life, this pride becomes a stumbling block because it always leads to sin. Pride exalts its own desires above what God commands.
God created human life and gave instructions for how we must live to experience the true richness life can offer through obedience to His ways. But mankind has consistently rejected that guidance because of pride. Mankind is held captive to pride—captive to sin. But God’s plan reveals His desire to free us and shows how that process works.
Humility Is Symbolized in Unleavened Bread
The opposite of pride is humility. Joshua the Christ lived as the perfect example of humility. He was without sin and without pride because, as the book of Hebrews explains, He came to do the Father’s will and not His own. He never placed His own ways above God’s, but instead submitted Himself fully to God’s will. He maintained a humble spirit, making God’s ways His ways. In doing so, He became the perfect Passover for all mankind. He was without sin—without pride—fully unleavened in how He lived His life.
The symbolism of humility is therefore embodied in Joshua, the Christ. God’s Church portrays this on Passover night when a piece of unleavened bread is eaten as a symbol of Christ’s broken body. This is part of the ceremony Joshua instituted for the new Passover observance that replaced the old practice of killing and eating a lamb. Joshua fulfilled that symbolism by offering Himself as the true Passover Lamb of God on Passover day—the ultimate expression of humility in order to accomplish God’s will. He explained much of this in the Book of John.
In chapter 5, some of the verses that follow were already discussed. It was explained that the law was spiritual, and that much of what Christ taught the Jews was beyond their understanding. With this understanding of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the following scriptures become even more revealing:
“They [the Jews] then said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?’ Joshua answered and said unto them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent [believe that He is the true Passover].’ Therefore, they said to Him, ‘What sign do you show then, that we may see, and believe you? What do you work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert, as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
“Then Joshua said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you that bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven [born from God] and gives life unto the world.’ Then they said to Him, ‘Lord, evermore give us that bread.’ Then Joshua said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall never hunger, and whoever believes on me shall never thirst. But I said to you, that you also have seen me, and do not believe. All whom the Father gives me shall come to me, and whoever comes to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from out of heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me’” (John 6:28-38).
“Then the Jews murmured about Him because He said, ‘I am the bread which came down from out of heaven.’ So they said, ‘Is this not Joshua, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? Then how is it that He says, “I came down from out of heaven?”’ Joshua therefore answered and said to them, ‘Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me, except the Father who has sent me draw them, and I will raise them up at the last day’” (John 6:41-44).
“‘I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from out of heaven, that a person may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from out of heaven. If anyone eat of this bread, they shall live forever. Now the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’ The Jews therefore argued among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us His flesh to eat?’ Then Joshua said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you’” (John 6:48-53).
Joshua the Christ explained that unless someone received Him as their Passover and observed that day annually by partaking of the symbols He instituted on Passover night—to “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood”—they could not have God’s life dwelling in them through the power of His spirit. As He stated, “you have no life in you.” Such a person remains in sin until this becomes a reality in their life. One must first receive the Passover to come out of sin—to be forgiven of sin, and live God’s way of life—to become unleavened.
Only those baptized by accepting Joshua as their Passover can observe the annual Passover. Accepting Joshua as the Passover means accepting the bread of life from God the Father. The only way we can receive that bread, which is the true word of God, or anything else from God, is through a humble spirit. If we remain proud, we cannot and will not receive it.
Getting Rid of Leaven—of Sin
Once a person is baptized and their sins are forgiven, they are to begin changing their life. Contrary to traditional Christian teaching, we are not to remain as we are by simply accepting grace. We are to change by becoming a new creation in God.
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creature (Gk.– creation)” (2 Cor. 5:17).
We cannot continue living as we did before baptism. We will still carry human nature within us, but we are now to fight against that nature throughout the rest of our lives, continually repenting when we see sin.
Receiving Joshua the Christ as our Passover at baptism is only the beginning of a lifelong process of repentance and fighting to conquer and overcome self—our own nature. Observing Passover each year acknowledges one’s need to continually repent, come out of sin, and draw closer in unity and oneness with God and His Son.
Paul addressed this very matter with the Corinthians. Two individuals were openly sinning, and the Church was letting it continue. As the Church prepared to observe the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Paul used that occasion to show their error.
“Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6)?
Paul was addressing their cavalier attitude toward willingly ignoring sin (their “boasting”). He explained that sin is like a small amount of leaven (yeast) that can spread throughout dough to make it rise—to become puffed up. The lesson: If sin is not addressed, it quickly grows and spreads throughout the Church.
“Therefore, purge out [Gk.— cleanse thoroughly] the old leaven, that you may become a new lump, even as you are unleavened, for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
They were instructed to remove the leaven—to remove the sin—so they could become a new lump of bread, a new body, to live a new way of life renewed in God’s way through forgiveness and obedience.
They were not fully striving to remove sin from their lives. Human beings will always find leaven (sin) within themselves, but we must work to eliminate it when it is revealed. We are to repent and fight against it. Paul’s words also refer to the physical part of the observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when physical leavening is removed from their homes— “as you are unleavened,” meaning physically without leaven.
“Therefore, let us keep the Feast, not with old leaven [sin], neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8).
Traditional Christianity does not teach on these verses, even though they were written long after Christ died as our Passover. They clearly reveal that God’s people were still observing His annual command to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Paul explained these days should be kept in the spirit of what they teach—that our lives should become unleavened, absent of sin, by living truthfully before God in true obedience to His way of life.
Although many teach that Old Testament law is abolished, the New Testament plainly shows otherwise. These verses demonstrate that the early Church continued to observe the annual Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Other scriptures also show that they kept the seventh-day Sabbath and the other annual Holy Days as well.
For the early Church, obedience to God’s laws was simply a way of life. Different accounts throughout scripture reflect this truth.
The New Testament is not written in the same teaching format as the Old Testament, where the law of God was first given and explained. Rather, the New Testament is a witness of how the Church sought to live by those laws. Its purpose is not to prove the validity of God’s law—that truth is assumed—but to reveal the new way God has given that enables His people to keep the laws He established long ago.
A Clearer Understanding of Grace
So indeed, the Feast of Unleavened Bread teaches that after baptism—and after receiving forgiveness of sins through Christ—we must begin our journey out of spiritual Egypt, out of sin and the bondage it produces. We must begin a process of change with a new way of living.
This ability to change is exactly what God’s grace accomplishes. But understanding how grace actually works in a person’s life has been horribly obscured by the teachings of traditional Christianity. As we continue examining the Holy Day season of Unleavened Bread, it is helpful to review and build upon what was covered about this subject in Chapter 5.
Grace is the favor and good will that God extends to humanity through our Passover, Joshua the Christ, beginning with the ability to be forgiven of sin so that change can begin.
There is nothing harsh or harmful in God’s law. On the contrary, God’s law expresses His love—a kind of love far greater than human love and impossible for us to live without God’s help. Grace is the means by which God enables us to live that way. That help is what grace is all about.
Yet traditional Christianity has portrayed God’s laws as strict, harsh, or burdensome, and Christ as having come to set people free from such obligations. Slanted statements such as, “Grace and freedom have replaced the law,” and “we are no longer under the law but under grace,” are often used to support this view. This interpretation completely misrepresents God’s truth about this phase of salvation.
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, so that grace may abound? [Paul is asking… if the law is done away through grace, then should we sin even more, so that God’s grace might be even greater in our lives?] Certainly not! How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer in it? Do you not know that so many of us as were baptized [Gk.– fully immersed in water—symbolizing putting to death the old self] into Joshua the Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life [by obedience to God’s way of life]. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: knowing this, that our old self [our previous life before baptism] is nailed to the pole with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed [Gk.– “done away with”], that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:1-6).
It isn’t God’s law that is done away, it is the “old self of sin” that is to be done away—to be put to death. After baptism, we are to rise from that watery grave and begin living a new life as a new creation in God. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “…that you put off concerning your former conduct the old self, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts. But become renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).
The Truth about “Works”
Another misleading expression, often taken out of context is: “You are not saved by works but by grace.”
This becomes misleading when combined with false definitions concerning grace and works, and by using only part of the actual scripture, it makes the statement even more distorted. They represent “works” as striving to keep God’s laws and then equate this with trying to save yourself through your own works. Therefore, they concluded that “works” associated with obeying God’s laws are bad.
Grace, meanwhile, is presented as freedom from the law, as though the law were a burden. Thus, the keeping of the law is once again portrayed as something negative.
The reality is simple: Everyone has “works” that express what they believe. If someone believes in Christmas and Easter, they preform works associated with those observances. If someone believes Sunday, the first day of the week, is the proper day of worship, their works reflect that belief.
Conversely, if someone believes they should keep the Passover once a year when God commands it, their works will reflect their belief in doing so. It is not a matter of trying to be saved by works but about simple obedience to God in living by faith in the way God reveals we should live.
Expressing faith by observing either Easter or Passover doesn’t mean striving to be saved by works. It simply means acting upon what you believe about the need to observe such times. None of this is an attempt to earn salvation—it is simply obedience based on one’s faith.
If you believe that God commands keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, you’ll practice what you believe, which is the definition of faith. If you believe it’s sin not to obey God in this matter, then you’d believe disobeying God would put you in bondage to sin. Mankind is not in bondage to God’s laws and ways but in bondage to sin when disobeying God.
The New Testament reveals we’re under grace—the favor and good will from God—that makes it possible to be forgiven of sin and then have a right relationship with God and receive His favor and love in our lives. Without Christ and forgiveness of sin, a person remains in bondage to spiritual Egypt—to sin—and still faces the penalty of eternal death.
Everyone has works, whether true or false, because everyone lives according to what they believe.
Paul spoke extensively about grace, faith, works, and the law, because many, especially among the Jews, tried to keep God’s law through their own ability—their own righteousness.
Yet Israel’s history revealed that without God’s holy spirit, they could not keep His law. The New Testament explains that all have sinned, but sin can be forgiven through Joshua the Christ, our Passover. After that forgiveness—once we accept Him as Passover—our minds can begin to change. We can begin doing the works of God because His spirit enables us to live differently. That is grace in action.
This highlights the difference between the Old and New Testament eras. The old covenant revealed both God’s law and mankind’s inability to fully keep it. The new covenant, however, reveals the way to receive forgiveness of sin and then receive the “helper”—the gift of the holy spirit—that works in a person’s life and enables them to begin living according to God’s laws and way of life. This understanding is further revealed in the next annual Holy Day—Pentecost.
The Feast of Unleavened Bread teaches the process of being freed from the bondage of sin. Once a person is forgiven of sin through their Passover, they are able to begin living a life that is pleasing and right with God. From there, the journey out of spiritual Egypt begins, as one actively works to do God’s will according to His guidance and direction—being freed not from God’s law, but from the bondage of sin.
“But be doers of the word [to work at doing God’s word], and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, they are like a person observing their natural face in a mirror, for they see themselves, then go away and immediately forget what they look like. But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this person will be blessed in what they are doing” (James 1:22-25).
As this scripture states, we are to be “doers,” to be working—changing.
“Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
When scripture speaks of being converted, it refers to turning or changing from our former ways of carnal human nature to God’s way of righteousness. Coming out of spiritual Egypt and becoming spiritually unleavened is a lifelong battle. Through this process, this struggle, holy righteous character can be developed within us through the power of God’s spirit that we can receive into our lives—a matter of grace given to us, the ability to change. Through His spirit, our very nature can be changed. Our minds can be transformed and renewed. That process is revealed more fully in the next annual Holy Day—Pentecost.
PENTECOST
Pentecost pictures how that transformation begins to take place in God’s people and marks a vital stage in His plan of salvation. Also called the Feast of Firstfruits, this appointed time emphasizes God’s calling of a first harvest from among humanity. The word Pentecost in Greek means “count fifty.” The date of this appointed time with God can only be known by properly observing the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. God instructs precisely when the counting should begin—at a specific point inside the Feast of Unleavened Bread—so that we can know when to assemble before Him for this third annual Sabbath.
God’s blueprint unfolds in an orderly and progressive sequence. Each annual Holy Day reveals more about the process through which mankind can receive salvation and become part of God’s spiritual Family.
One cannot fully know when or how to observe Pentecost without first understanding the instructions given during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. While Chapter 5 explained the meaning of the Wave Sheaf offering, the timing of this ceremony is equally important.
“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it [a spring harvest], then you shall bring a sheaf [a small hand-bound bundle of the stalks of grain] of the firstfruits beginning of your harvest unto the priest. [Some have incorrectly translated this word from Hebrew as “firstfruits.” However, it simply means the “first” or “beginning” of what is the firstfruit harvest or early spring harvest.] He shall wave the sheaf before the Eternal to be accepted [by Him]. On the day after the Sabbath [the day after the weekly Sabbath—Saturday] the priest shall wave it [always preformed on the first day of the week—on a Sunday—within the Feast of Unleavened Bread]’” (Leviticus 23:10-11).
As these verses continue, one begins to see how God has tied together the meaning of observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread with the meaning of the Holy Day that follows—Pentecost.
Importance in the Timing for the Observance of Pentecost
We can now continue with God’s instructions on how Pentecost is to be counted, as recorded in Leviticus. Just as the precise timing of Passover is critically important to God—as has already been shown thoroughly—the timing of Pentecost carries the same importance.
“You shall count unto you from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering until seven Sabbaths shall be complete. Even unto the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall count fifty days, and you shall offer a new meat offering unto the Eternal” (Leviticus 23:15-16).
The “sheaf of the wave offering,”—representing what Joshua the Christ would later fulfill, was a specific part of the ceremonies carried out during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Therefore, this first day of the week must fall inside these days of observance, and it is from this day the fifty-day count begins.
Again, God is very specific about this annual Sabbath’s timing. The count of Pentecost was to begin from a specific day—the first day of the week—within the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven weekly Sabbaths from this day equals forty-nine days. Adding one more day brings the total to fifty days, which again falls on the first day of the week.
Pentecost therefore always occurs on the first day of the week (Sunday on the Roman Calendar), but that Sunday must be counted from the specific first day of the week that falls within the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
The Wave Loaves Offering
Next, Leviticus continues with instructions on how the Israelites were to observe Pentecost.
“From out of your dwellings you shall bring two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah [an ancient Hebrew dry measurement, approximately equal to a bushel] that shall be of fine flour. These shall be baked with leaven [yeast]. These are the firstfruits unto the Eternal” (Leviticus 23:17).
“The priest shall wave the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Eternal, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Eternal for the priest” (vs. 20).
The two loaves of bread represent the “firstfruits” of the early spring harvest of mankind—those who will be the first to be resurrected into the Kingdom of God. God’s plan of salvation offers mankind the opportunity and incredible blessing of becoming a part of His Family, living for all eternity as spirit beings. Within this plan are two distinct times of resurrection. The early harvest, pictured by the annual spring Holy Days, and the later harvest, pictured by the annual fall Holy Days, symbolize these two resurrections. This subject will be covered more thoroughly in another chapter.
Pentecost pictures those whom God has called early in His plan to become part of His Family first. Just as the early spring harvest in scripture is called the “firstfruits of the land,” these individuals are the firstfruits of God’s plan, entering His Family ahead of the vast majority of humanity. The much larger fall harvest pictures the salvation of a far greater number of people, represented by the fall Holy Days.
These firstfruits are symbolized in the ceremony of these two wave loaves. One represents those who lived by faith in the coming Messiah prior to Christ’s first appearance—those faithful individuals who lived through roughly 4,000 years leading up to His coming as the promised Messiah and our Passover.
The other loaf represents those who have lived by faith in the acceptance of salvation through our Passover—from the time after Christ’s death, when He was received as the Wave Sheaf, until His return (His second coming).
Two lambs were also required along with the loaves to be waived before God, one for each represented period, as each lamb symbolized Christ.
Just as the Wave Sheaf offering picturing Joshua the Christ is waved to be accepted by God during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so the two wave loaves are waved to be accepted by God on Pentecost. They picture the firstfruits being accepted by God and entering His Family when they are resurrected and given everlasting life.
Wave Loaves Baked with Leaven
There is important symbolism in the fact that these wave loaves were baked with leaven. Joshua the Christ is always pictured as “unleavened”—without sin. These loaves, however, are pictured as leavened, meaning they contain sin. Christ never sinned, so He is symbolized by unleavened bread. All human beings have sin; therefore, humanity is represented as leavened.
The apostle John wrote both the Gospel of John and the book of Revelation. Although both are inspired by God, their styles differ greatly. The Gospel of John teaches plainly, explaining doctrine and recounting historical events. However, Revelation, by contrast, is prophetic in nature and was given to John through visions, using symbolic imagery to convey God’s message.
Revelation reveals that 144,000 individuals, who lived and died during the first 6,000 years of mankind on earth, will be resurrected at Christ’s second coming to rule with Him. The wave loaves baked with leaven picture these few—only 144,000—whom God has called and chosen throughout human history. They will be resurrected to eternal life as spirit beings in the God Family, the Kingdom of God, when Joshua the Christ returns.
The Wave Loaves and the 144,000
Notice how these two loaves—the firstfruits—are described and numbered in the book of Revelation:
“Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb [Christ] stood on the Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads [a matter of God’s holy spirit in the mind]. Then I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder, and I heard the voice of harpers with their harps. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders, and no one could learn that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are they who were not defiled with women; for they are virgins [speaking of that which is spiritual—not defiled with false beliefs]. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among mankind, being firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Revelation 14:1-4).
The word “redeemed” has great meaning here because only Christ can redeem us. It refers to the price He paid to free a person from slavery to sin. God reminded the Israelites that He was the one who redeemed them from Egyptian bondage. This symbolism points to the price paid to redeem a slave, and for humanity, that price was the sacrifice of Christ—who gave His life to redeem us from the bondage of sin.
These firstfruits described in Revelation 14 are those redeemed from among mankind during the first 6,000 years of humanity’s history—a timespan that will be explained in greater detail in another chapter. They were brought out of sin, forgiven, and cleansed before God through Joshua the Christ. The 144,000 called “firstfruits” here are the same ones who are said to be “redeemed to God” by the blood of Christ (Revelation 5:9) and who “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).
Just as the two wave loaves were made from only a small portion of the early harvest, the 144,000 represent a very small number compared to the billions of people who have lived over the past 6,000 years. This helps explain why relatively few individuals in the Old Testament are described as having a genuine relationship with God. It also clarifies why God’s Church is called a “little flock” in scripture and why it has remained small over the past 2,000 years.
God’s Church has never been a large organization on earth because during this period of His plan He has been redeeming only 144,000 out of the first 6,000 years of mankind. This small number over such a long period highlights the first major stage of God’s plan of salvation—the preparation of the firstfruits from an early harvest. The Holy Days that follow reveal a far greater harvest, when the vast majority of mankind will be offered salvation.
Indeed, the festivals of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost in Leviticus 23 are directly linked. Both concern the early harvest—the “firstfruits of the land.” Joshua the Christ is the first of those firstfruits, and the 144,000 are pictured as the remainder of that early harvest.
Uniting the Wave Sheaf with the Wave Loaves
Finally, Pentecost reveals that the firstfruits of God will be united together with Christ to reign in God’s Kingdom at Christ’s coming.
Joshua the Christ is the first of the firstfruits, symbolized by the Wave Sheaf offering that was waved before God and accepted as the first to be received into His Kingdom—His Family—in spirit life. Christ fulfilled this precisely when He was accepted by God on the Sunday morning following His resurrection. In order to fulfill the symbolism exactly, Christ had to be accepted by God on the very morning the wave sheaf was commanded to be offered.
The Wave Sheaf offering was always observed on a Sunday morning during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. From that day forward, God instructed that fifty days be counted in order to know when to observe the annual Holy Day of Pentecost.
God has revealed that in the same way Christ was accepted as the Wave Sheaf, the remaining firstfruits—the 144,000—represented by the wave loaves, must also be accepted by Him on a Pentecost in order to fulfill the symbolism of this day. This means the 144,000 will be resurrected and accepted into God’s Family at Christ’s return, just as Christ was accepted when He fulfilled the Wave Sheaf offering.
The Wave Sheaf and the Wave Loaves are uniquely tied together—inseparably joined in both timing and purpose. God has revealed that Christ will return on a Pentecost, and on that day, He will be united with the 144,000 who are then resurrected into God’s Kingdom. This moment—along with what Christ and the 144,000 will do to bring an end to World War III—sets the stage for the meaning and fulfillment of the next annual Holy Day that follows.
A Final Overview of Pentecost
The story of Pentecost is a powerful one. After God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He led them through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai. It was on the day of Pentecost that God gave His law in the form of the Ten Commandments. Yet Israel’s history shows that they were not able to keep the law.
Even to this day, the Jewish people are the epitome of this story. None of the other tribes of Israel held to God’s law like the tribe of Judah. All the others rebelled against God long before Judah.
While the Jewish people provide mankind’s clearest example of physical adherence to God’s laws, Christ faced strong opposition from many among them. Their strong attachment to the law did not lead them to recognize the One who fulfilled it. This revealed that although they appeared to uphold the law given by God in the Old Testament, they did not truly understand Him, His ways, or even the law itself. Had they understood, they would have recognized Joshua the Christ as the Messiah. In their spiritual blindness, most of the Jewish people rejected the teaching and instruction of the Son of God.
This history stands as a witness concerning all humanity. It is a testimony that mankind as a whole, without God’s help, is incapable of fully living by God’s laws. Pentecost reveals what was lacking in their lives, why they did not understand the teachings of the Old Testament, and why they failed to recognize the Messiah when He came and spoke to them nearly 2,000 years ago.
God’s word and way of life are matters of the spirit. One must receive His spirit in order to understand His true will. Without God’s spirit, people are limited to human reasoning when reading God’s words and come up with their own ideas and beliefs about God and Christ. This is why there are countless religions on this earth, all differing and often contradicting one another. There is only one true Church and one true way of life that comes from God.
After God gave the Israelites the law on Pentecost, He later gave His holy spirit on a Pentecost, making it possible for people to begin living that law. The book of Acts reveals even more about the meaning of Pentecost and what it represents in God’s plan. After Joshua the Christ died and was resurrected, He appeared to His disciples. This is recorded by the disciple Luke in the opening chapter of Acts.
“In the former account I recorded [referring to what he wrote in the Book of Luke], Oh Theophilus, of all that Joshua began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up [taken into heaven] because after this it would be through the holy spirit that instructions would be given to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom also He showed Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God” (Acts 1:1-3).
The gospel—the good news—that Joshua the Christ taught the disciples was about the Kingdom of God. Although He remained with them for forty days after His resurrection, God’s purpose was for Christ to return to His Father until the appointed time when He would return again as King of kings—the Messiah. Ten days after Christ ascended into the heavens, the disciples observed Pentecost. From that day forward, Christ would lead the Church through the power of the holy spirit, no longer by His physical presence, but by God’s holy spirit working among them. God established a structure of government within the Church through which Christ would lead, guide, and instruct His ministry, who in turn would teach the Church what had been given to them. All of this was accomplished through the power of the holy spirit working in the minds of those who were willing to receive what God was giving.
“[Christ] Being assembled together with them [the disciples], instructed them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father [referring to receiving the holy spirit], which, He said, ‘You have heard of me, for John truly baptized with [Gk.- immersed in] water, but you shall be baptized with [immersed in] the holy spirit not many days from now.’ When they therefore had come together, they asked of Him, saying, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?’” (Acts1:4-6).
The disciples still did not understand that Joshua’s first coming was to fulfill Passover and that nearly 2,000 years would pass before the Kingdom of God would be established on earth. Instead, they thought He would fulfill those prophecies in their lifetime.
“He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has set to be in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witness unto me both in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and into the uttermost part of the earth’” (Acts 1:7-8).
The coming of God’s Kingdom on this earth was not for their time—but it is for our time, now!
Following the Smaller Spring Harvest
This chapter has presented an overview of God’s establishment of Passover, followed by the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost. Together, they reveal God’s early spring harvest within His plan of salvation for mankind.
Pentecost brings us to a prophetic transition after the first 6,000 years of human history. At that time, the 144,000—those whom God has molded and prepared—will come with Joshua the Christ to establish God’s Kingdom to rule on earth.
This then leads into the next 1,100 years that concerns God’s greater fall harvest of salvation. All of this is revealed in the remaining annual fall Holy Days, which will be discussed in the next chapter.
The Church of God - Preparing for the Kingdom of God