Passover-Two Parts

Passover-Two Parts

The salvation at the Passover was both personal and corporate.

Each family put the blood of the Paschal Lamb on the two door jambs and the lintel; then they ate the flesh of the Lamb.

This “saved” their firstborn from the angel of death.   Whoever came under the covenant of YHVH by the sign of the blood of the Lamb were saved from death. This was the pass-over. That was personal salvation in family units.

But there was a second part of the salvation.  This came a little later.  It happened when the Israelites and the Mixed Multitude were ushered out of Egypt in one sudden action of redemption.  This was the ex-odus.

The Exodus was not individual but corporate.  There were not only Israelites involved, but Egyptians and Internationals as well.  (The whole group together is called the “Ecclesia” of the Wilderness in Acts 7:38.)

So, there were two parts:

1. Passover: Personal salvation from sin

2. Exodus: National redemption from slavery

The slavery was under Pharaoh, a snake-worshiping emperor who ruled an evil empire which dominated the world.

(That Pharaoh is an image of the Antichrist, yet to be revealed.  He was the opposite of the Pharaoh who appointed Joseph as prime minister, and together they blessed and saved the world.  There was the good Pharaoh of Joseph’s generation and the bad Pharaoh of Moses’ generation.)

Individual salvation by the blood of the Lamb came first.  Corporate redemption from the Evil Empire came second.  In the book of Exodus, these two events came close together.

We have a parallel yet different situation: individual salvation and corporate redemption are separated from one another by a larger gap of time.  We are now in the period between the individual salvation and the corporate redemption.

These two different aspects or dimensions of the plan of God take place at two different events at two different times.

Yeshua is the Lamb of God.  By His blood and flesh we have been offered salvation from sin and death.  Anyone who joins the covenant on the basis of His crucifixion and resurrection, receives forgiveness and eternal life.

Now we are in the gap period between personal salvation and corporate redemption. Why is this gap needed?  Logically, there must be a longer time given for opportunity to people from every nation to receive eternal life. Why? Obviously, because God loves every person from every ethnic group.

The gap in time allows the number of people to increase.  The relatively small “Mixed Multitude” of Exodus 12:38 is growing to become the “Great Multitude that no one can Number” ” of Revelation 7:9.

God has a pre-planned and pre-destined purpose, a “pro-thesis” (Ephesians 1:11, 3:11). He wants a great multitude of human beings to live with Him forever.  This is not an accident or a side issue.  The goal is to create a group of people, from every ethnic group, who have been purified, redeemed and united in love.

It takes time to form that body of people. They will be manifested at the moment of corporate redemption.  There is a process; we are coming to the end of that process; we are coming to the end of the time gap; we are coming closer to the time of redemption. This is the long-term goal or “telos” of God.

Personal salvation takes place at a certain event; corporate redemption takes place at a second event.  In the Exodus story, personal salvation from death took place at the Passover meal; the corporate redemption took place at the crossing of the Red Sea. In the Gospel message, personal salvation took place at Yeshua’s crucifixion; corporate redemption will take place at His return.

As Angel YHVH protected the people from death at the Passover, so did Messiah Yeshua give us salvation by dying as the Paschal Lamb.   As Angel YHVH destroyed the armies of Pharaoh at the Red Sea, so will Yeshua destroy the armies of the Antichrist at Armageddon.

Personal salvation is given at the First Coming; corporate redemption at the Second.  The Passover represents personal salvation.  The Exodus represents corporate redemption.

We are in the process of becoming the body of people that God desires.  In times of tribulation and adversity, we are being refined into humility, purity and unity.  We want to be joined together as a corporate people as we approach the time of our corporate redemption.

By taking communion as a global ecclesia, and partaking in the original meaning of Passover and the Last Supper, we are entering into God’s plan for us as Body of Messiah.

———————————————————————————————————–

Note 1: Revelation 9:7 – great = polus; multitude = ochlos; number = arithmeo; all = pas; nations = ethnos; tribe = phule; people = laos; tongues = glossa.  Acts 7:38 – church = ecclesia; wilderness = eremos; Exodus 12:38 – mixed = erev = ערב ; multitude = rav = רב; went up = ‘alah = עלה.

Note 2: In the Exodus there were three people groups: Israelites, Egyptians and Internationals.  The mixed national groups, the “internationals” were brought into the refining furnace of Egypt during the time period from Joseph to Moses. The Egyptians played a redemptive role, whether they intended to or not.  They were given as an atoning sacrifice for Israel in sacrificing their firstborn – Isaiah 43:3; they brought the mixed multitude together; they gave their silver and gold to finance the redemption – Exodus 12:35-36; out of Egypt came the Son – Hosea 11:1; out of Egypt came the international Ecclesia in the wilderness – Acts 7:38.

Note 3: There is an additional symbolic meaning to “Egypt” in this context.  Egypt in Hebrew is mitsrayim מצריים; this comes from the root, tsar צר , meaning narrow place or straits.  This is the root of word for tribulation, tsarah צרה .  The “m” prefix means a noun or place, the suffix “ayim” means double.  So the name mitsrayim could be interpreted as the place of the double tribulation, “double trouble”.  The Egypt-Exodus history could be seen as symbolic of the future time of tribulation.  In the fiery furnace, God will separate unto Himself a people, made up of Jews, Arabs and Internationals.  In the time of double trouble, the redemption will come.

Note 4: God’s purpose has always been to create a special people for Himself – Exodus 19:5, Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2; 26:8.  The word for special here is “segulah” סגולה. Segulah comes from the same root as the word for “purple” – segol, סגול. The special people are to be a “priestly” people.  Purple is the color of priesthood.  Blue is the color of heaven; red is the color of earth; purple is the combination of blue and red.  The priestly people of every ethnic group will join heaven and earth in their hearts.

Note 5: Corpus = Body