The World Wide Ramifications Of The Tabernacle
Part 5: Preparation For Passover: Egypt And Now

Aspects Of The Egyptian Passover

I want to lay some groundwork for what the rest of this series will present by looking at the exodus from Egypt the aprt of it that Jesus fulfilled. Where we want to end up is at a place where the whole world is brought into the Valley of Decision at the end of the age. Spiritually, when Christ returns, man will basically be in one of two places: either in the house of God under the protection of the blood on the Door, or, outside of that House and therefore subject to God's wrath.

The realities of the Egyptian Passover are these:

1. Israel was to slay a lamb and place the blood on the door

2. They were to eat the whole lamb the evening that the Lord would pass over Egypt

3. They were then to cleanse their house of leaven

4. The Lord would pass through Egypt and slay all all the first-born who had not taken refuge under the blood

5. When the Lord came, they were to take unleavened bread with them and leave Egypt, which they would eat in tabernacles

6. Pharaoh would come after them and he and his army would be drowned in the Red Sea

7. Finally they would arrive at Sinai where God would meet them through Moses

Aspects Of Jesus' Passover

1. Jesus was slain, and in that process placed His blood on the Door

2. All men were to believe on Him and the efficacy of His sacrificial death and take refuge in Him, He being their righteousness and life

3. Once they took the whole lamb to themselves and for themselves, they were sanctify themselves, ridding themselves of the leaven in their lives through the word and the work of the Holy Spirit to be conformed to His image with Him as their righteousness

4. Nobody was slain when it grew dark in the land of Israel except the Jesus, the Lamb of God; in the eyes of God, the first-born of Adam was slain in Him

5. All who would believe in Him were to eat of Him and they would tabernacle together according to His word

6. Satan (Pharaoh) would come after the saints one more time after the millennium

7. Jesus would lead all who believed in Him into the presence of the Father after a final judgment

4. The Lord would pass through Egypt and slay all the first-born who had not taken refuge under the blood

4. Nobody was slain when it grew dark in the land of Israel except the Jesus, the Lamb of God; in the eyes of God, the first-born of Adam was slain for in Him the entire race was slain

In other words, the sacrifical aspects of Passover were fulfilled by Jesus when He went to Calvary, but the wrath that was part of Passover was not manifested, and scripturally there appears to be good reason for that. We will look further into these things as we proceed.

Passover Not Fulfilled?

With these comparisons in mind, let us now read the following verses from Luke:

LUKE 22:15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:
16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

Jesus said "this passover" was not fulfilled. MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT. JESUS DID - TOTALLY - FULFILL THE SACRIFICIAL PART OF PASSOVER - the blood would be shed on the Door at Calvary and anyone would be able to enter into God's provision for redemption and protection from the coming wrath. God's execution of judgment on all not under the bood is what is missing when you compare the Passover in Egypt and the Passover of Calvary? What I want you to see is the coming fulfillment of that part of Passover, working in conjunction with the New Covenant that Jesus established at the Passover meal. Men are now in one of two places: in the house of God under the protective, cleansing blood of the Lamb, or, in the world, in Egypt, if you will. The Lord, then, will come in wrath upon all who are not under the blood in His house and will bring all who believe in Him through that time of wrath into the Kingdom when He returns. (This last statement does not negate martyrdom within the tribulation period.)

An Important Point

I want to interject this thought at this point, that the truths of Passover includes two periods when God deals with Pharoah: first, when the first-born is slain in Egypt, and then again when Pharaoh comes after Israel at the Red Sea after letting them go. For now we are dealing with only the slaying of the first-born in Egypt when God sent the destroying angel.

The Present Work Of God Through The Church

What of the present? Paul describes the present situation as it is today regarding Passover:

1 Cor 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
1 Cor 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
1 Cor 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Paul here says that because the Lamb has been slain and we have taken refuge in the house of God under the shed blood of His Son, we are to cleanse ourselves of all leaven in anticipation of His return. This is the basic life of the Christian regarding himself towards God. A second duty is to share the gospel of the Lamb with others that they, too, may take refuge under the blood of Jesus with the warning that God will send Christ back in wrath upon all ungodliness:

Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Acts 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

It is these two things, I believe, that lead to the statement of Jesus about a Passover yet to be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. What did He mean by "this passover" being fulfilled in the kingdom of God at a time yet future? I believe He meant this: There would come a time when final deliverance would come to the people of God and at that time, He would lead them intot he Kingdom and again eat this passover with all who were His. His work of Calvary would find a fuller completion in the gathering of all believers to Himself.

To get to that time, to get to that place, two things are necessary:

1. that God lead all that are His through the prophesied period of wrath and tribulation that temporarily "disables" Phaorah (Satan)

2. that God brings them into the millennial kingdom. It is this aspect which we want to examine and return to our theme for this study.

Passover Defined

In a nutshell, here is what we are looking at after Jesus sacrifical work:

1. The sacrifice of Passover in the type of Egypt have been fulfilled in Christ

2. The wrath that came in Egypt as a type of the wrath-to-come the night of the Jesus' Passover was not fulfilled, but will be fulfilled at His second coming.