Friday, January 9, 2015

THE FINAL PASSOVER



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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed by. See, the Lord is coming out of His dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

Isaiah 26:20-21

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.”

“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” Exodus 12:1-13

It was the genesis of what would be known and commemorated as the Passover, the day when God came to bring death and destruction to the firstborn of Egypt but spared or passed over the people of Israel who had been protected and covered by the blood of the sacrificed lamb which had been painted on the doorframes of their houses as God directed.

Fast forward to our scriptures today and the closing words of the 26th chapter of Isaiah. We have been covering this chapter for days now and so you should remember that the setting of the song we have studied from is at the time when Jesus returns to bring judgment on the earth and to rescue His disciples and followers, the righteous of the earth, in order to start fresh and anew in the New Jerusalem, the new holy city within the new earth and heaven that would replace the old (Revelation 21). We know the old earth and world will be destroyed as well as all those upon it who failed to place their belief, hope, and trust in Jesus as Savior. And as we read these two finishing verses again, we see where that day of Jesus’ return will be the final Passover. Look again at these words:

Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until His wrath has passed by. See, the Lord is coming out of His dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer. vv. 20-21
  
The day that Jesus returns is going to be the best day ever for those who believed in Him for it will be the day that will mark their entry into eternity, free from all the ills and evils this current world possesses. For everyone else, it will be the worst day ever, the day of fiery destruction as they are cast into the lake of fire along with Satan (Revelation 20:15).

While that wrath is unleashed, there is specific guidance given to the righteous. They are to enter their rooms and shut the doors until Christ’s wrath passes by. There was no need for the blood of the lamb to be shed and placed on the doorframes because the people were covered by the shed blood of Jesus, the unblemished Lamb of God, who was sacrificed for the sins of all mankind on Calvary’s cross. This willing sacrifice by Jesus paid the penalty for those who chose to place their belief in Him, justifying them as blameless before God the Father and saving them from death and destruction. They would not receive the punishment suffered by the wicked but would rather be passed over as Christ brought judgment on those who chose sin over righteousness.

What will be your fate on that judgment day when Jesus returns?

Will you be utterly destroyed or will you be passed over and delivered into eternal life?

The answer simply depends on whether or not you believe Jesus is your Savior. My prayer is that you will place your faith and hope in Him today if you haven’t done so already.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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