Author: Yahu Ranger

30. Passover – Exodus Interrogated I

What does the book of Exodus really say regarding the observance of the Festival of Passover? Also, what about the Festival of Unleavened Bread?

There are two main popular understandings:

• According to the Hasidic Jewish view (System B) the Passover lamb was killed during the afternoon of Abib 14 and the Passover supper took place after sundown on Abib 15.

Abib 14 is a preparation day and not a High Sabbath. Abib 15-21 is the 7-day Festival of Unleavened Bread. Abib 15 and 21 are High Sabbath days. There are 8 days of eating unleavened bread.

• Among the Sacred Name groups of today, most hold to the Modern Hybrid view (System G) whereby, at the Exodus, the Passover lamb was killed at the start of Abib 14 after sundown and the Passover supper eaten that night.

Like the Hasidic Jews holding to System B, they consider Abib 14 to be a preparation day and not a High Sabbath. Abib 15-21 is the 7-day Festival of Unleavened Bread. Abib 15 and 21 are High Sabbath days. There are 8 days of eating unleavened bread.

For the seeker of truth, we are only left with the following possibilities.

1. One system is right.
2. Both systems are wrong.

If you have a strange suspicion that the second answer is more correct, then it is suggested that you read on.

Continue reading “30. Passover – Exodus Interrogated I” →

29. Passover – What Now?

So far, this Passover Series has endeavored to lay the groundwork for a much-needed and long-overdue discussion regarding the correct method for observing the Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread.

What has been lacking from any previous discussions, especially among the various Sacred Name groups of today, is the history of the earliest Christians and their Passover practice during the first few centuries C.E.

One of the reasons for this oversight is the fact that many are not even aware that such a history exists!

To counter the ignorance of historical evidence, this Series has brought the true Passover practice of the Quartodecimans to light, along with the importance of being included as a consideration in the ongoing quest for Yahweh’s truth of the matter.

Continue reading “29. Passover – What Now?” →

28. Passover – Evolution to Today II

What had begun in c.196 C.E. as a challenge to the Quartodeciman practice of Passover/Unleavened Bread (System A) by Victor, bishop of Rome, was finally granted full authority throughout the Roman empire at the behest of Emperor Constantine.

Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E.

Authority from Constantine
One of the results of this conference was the declaration by Constantine that the Hasidic view for the seven days of Unleavened Bread, as instituted by Pope Victor, was the correct system under the Torah.

Continue reading “28. Passover – Evolution to Today II” →

27. Passover – Evolution to Today I

We will now focus on the evidence demonstrating the mechanics of the Christian Hasidic construct as represented by Roman assembly System E and its evolution resulting in the present-day Modern Hybrid System G as practiced by the many Sacred Name groups of today.

Just after the establishment of the System E construct, the Syrian hybrid System F was developed which was an attempt to merge the Quartodeciman System A with the Roman System E.

Eventually a more recent innovation of Passover and Unleavened Bread was created which is being followed by many present-day followers of Yahweh, the Modern Hybrid System G.

We shall begin our discussion by examining the evidence for the Roman assembly System E construct. The evidence will demonstrate the change by the western assemblies to the Hasidic method for the seven days of Unleavened Bread.

Continue reading “27. Passover – Evolution to Today I” →

26. Passover – Roman Corruption II

Regarding the Roman construct (System E) of the Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread, we will now address the protagonists of this Christian Hasidic practice who opposed the Quartodecimans (System A) and the Quasi-Quartodecimans (System D).

Irenaeus
Irenaeus (c.140-202 C.E.), presbyter and bishop of the diocese of Lyons, Gaul (France),1 was a vital player in the formulation of this new Roman assembly view.

Though early in his life he lived in Asia among the Quartodecimans and personally knew Polycarp, in his adult life he helped direct the western assemblies toward their new path.2

Continue reading “26. Passover – Roman Corruption II” →

25. Passover – Roman Corruption I

The Quartodecimans argued that Christians should observe only the 14th as the Passover supper and Eucharist mystery (cup and bread) because the messiah and his disciples kept that same day.

Nevertheless, there was strong resistance by the Roman assembly.

The Quartodeciman (System A) and Quasi-Quartodeciman (System D) practice was made more difficult to overcome by the fact that they were both based upon the same apostolic authority (the apostle John).1

It soon became obvious that if the Roman assembly was to gain political dominance in the West, as well as over many of the eastern assemblies, a new strategy was required.

In response, during the last decade of the second century C.E., the western leaders and theologians developed a new approach: the Roman assembly Passover and, after the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E., canonized as the Roman Catholic Passover (System E).

Continue reading “25. Passover – Roman Corruption I” →

24. Passover – Anatolius Speaks!

Proof that the seven days of Unleavened Bread for the Quartodecimans extended from the 14th until the end of the 20th day of the first lunar month is established from records provided by their offshoots, the quasi-Quartodecimans of System D.

The most important source for their view is found in the records of Anatolius of Alexandria.

To his words we can add the statements provided by the Audians and several bishops representing assemblies located in different parts of Europe.

Anatolius of Alexandria
Like the Quartodecimans, those who kept System D observed the 14th until the end of the 20th for the seven days of Unleavened Bread.

The most famous advocate of this system was Anatolius of Alexandria (c.230-283 C.E.).1

Continue reading “24. Passover – Anatolius Speaks!” →

23. Passover – Which 7 Days?

The seven days of Unleavened Bread remained an important period for all the early Christian assemblies.
It was by means of these seven days that they determined when to observe Passover.

For the Quartodeciman practice (System A), being the original view of the early Christian assemblies, and its quasi-Quartodeciman offshoot System D (the early western view), these seven days began with the 14th and extended until the end of the 20th day of the first lunar month.

We begin to uncover this important detail by demonstrating three facts:

• The Quartodecimans observed the 14th of Abib as a high Sabbath (great festival day) and as the first of the seven days of Unleavened Bread.

• The quasi-Quartodecimans kept the same seven days of Unleavened Bread as observed by the early Quartodecimans.

• Both the early Quartodecimans of System A and the quasi-Quartodecimans of System D deferred to the apostle John as their ultimate authority for establishing which days were to be observed for the seven days of Unleavened Bread.

Continue reading “23. Passover – Which 7 Days?” →

22. Passover – The Quartodecimans II

An important fact regarding the Quartodecimans that has been missed by most followers of Yahweh is that the Quartodecimans claimed and demonstrated authority from Yahushua the messiah and Scriptures for their practice of Passover.

Though they considered themselves not to be under the written Torah of Moses, they followed the guides of the Torah of Moses with regard to “all the festivals.”

Chrysostom (347-407 C.E.)
Chrysostom, a strong advocate of the Roman Catholic System E, for example, demonstrates this point in his work titled Adversus Judaeos, where he condemns the Quartodeciman Christians because of their practice of celebrating such scriptural High Sabbath days as the Day of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Festival of Tabernacles.1

Continue reading “22. Passover – The Quartodecimans II” →

21. Passover – The Quartodecimans I

Of all the professed followers of Yahweh, few are aware that during the first four centuries C.E. support was very strong among the early disciples and assemblies following Yahushua the messiah for the Aristocratic system of keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread, which was a 7-day Festival observed during Abib 14-20 (System A).

It may also come as a surprise to learn that this view was, in fact, the original practice of all the earliest orthodox Christians.

In later centuries, its advocates and supporters were referred to as the Quartodecimans (14th keepers).

In our posts dealing with the Quartodecimans, we shall investigate the antiquity of the Quartodeciman practice, demonstrate that they observed the 14th day of the first moon for the Passover supper, and present their claim that they kept Passover according to both Scriptures and the examples set forth by the messiah and his apostles.

Continue reading “21. Passover – The Quartodecimans I” →

20. Passover – Christian Factions II

An important fact to realize is that there were eight basic premises concerning Passover, the seven days of Unleavened Bread, and Pentecost which were almost universal and formed the foundation upon which the overwhelming majority of the early Christian assemblies, whatever system they followed, stood:

1. The Passover celebration was required for all Christians.1

2. The Christian Passover was an innovation in that it did not require any ritualistic animal sacrifice.2

3. The Passover lamb of the Torah and its sacrifice was a typology of the death of the messiah, the true Passover lamb of Yahweh.3

Continue reading “20. Passover – Christian Factions II” →

19. Passover – Christian Factions I

The Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread along with the Festival of Shabuath (Pentecost) were not just Jewish concerns.

Today, few English-speaking Christians, largely due to their long practice of glossing the Hebrew word Phasekh (Passover) with the name Easter and their abandonment of the Festival of Pentecost, realize that Passover and Pentecost were the chief religious observances of the early Christian assemblies.

In one form or another, all early Christian groups not only observed the Passover and Pentecost but calculated the Passover observance in connection with the seven days of Unleavened Bread.

Continue reading “19. Passover – Christian Factions I” →

18. Passover – Pentecost Clarity II

In our last post titled 17. Passover – Pentecost Clarity I we addressed the four approaches for keeping Pentecost. Of these four systems the oldest is the Aristocratic, which counted the 50 days from the day after the weekly Sabbath following Passover, Sunday to Sunday.

Its antiquity is demonstrated by the fact that both the ancient conservative Samaritan and Sadducean (Boethusian) priesthoods practiced the identical Pentecost system—this despite their loathing for each other.

This common approach among competing branches of the Zadokite priests reflects a common history, indicating that this system was used by the Zadokite priests prior to the fourth century B.C.E. (the time when the Samaritan schism took place).1

Aristocratic System
These Aristocratic priests were “heirs to the old Zadokite tradition in Jerusalem.”2 This Aristocratic system was later followed by the early Christian assemblies,3 demonstrating their belief in its antiquity as well.

Continue reading “18. Passover – Pentecost Clarity II” →

17. Passover – Pentecost Clarity I

As found with the celebration of Passover, there existed a great debate among the various Jewish factions, beginning in about the second century B.C.E., with regard to just how and when one was to count to the Khag of Shabuath (Weeks), also called Pentecost.

This debate was sparked by the fact that there is no direct statement found in Scriptures telling us exactly on which date one is to keep the Festival of Weeks.

Continue reading “17. Passover – Pentecost Clarity I” →

16. Passover – Neo-Aristocratic Practice

A late innovation of the Aristocratic understanding of
בין חערבים (byn ha-arabim) arose sometime after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., becoming clearly manifested in records by the 8th century C.E.

This new interpretation (System C) was built under the heavy influence of the Talmudists (spiritual offshoots of the Pharisees). It flourished primarily among the Karaites and neo (later)-Samaritans but was also practiced by some less well-known groups.

Like those of the Aristocratic school (System A), these neo (later)-Aristocratic groups (System C) understood byn ha-arabim as the period of twilight that follows sunset.

Continue reading “16. Passover – Neo-Aristocratic Practice” →