Weekly Bible Study – February 26, 2018

The mystery of the Gospels concerning the Sword of the Spirit

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try left clicking the link if it’s highlighted which should open a window with all the verses at the Biblia.com website; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens. If you are running PCMatic, the pop-ups may not work; if that’s the case, email PC Matic Support to see if they can fix that problem for you.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

The mystery of the Gospels concerning the Sword of the Spirit

We have been traveling back and forth through the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as we have been studying the life of the Lord Jesus Christ as it is manifested by the sword of the Spirit. This is because each Gospel focuses in on a different aspect of the Lord Jesus Christ and His ministry on the earth. This is called the doctrine of divine inspiration which by definition means that: God the Holy Spirit so supernaturally directed the human writers of Scripture, that without waving their human intelligence, or their individuality, or their style of writing, Or their personal feelings or any other kind of human factor, His own complete and coherent message to man was recorded in perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. And, it’s important to note that the very words bear the authority of divine authorship.

This is called verbal plenary inspiration of the Scripture. This means that God the Holy Spirit through the principle of Revelation led the writers of the first four Gospels to write what He desired to reveal to them in a book or a Gospel with their own style and their own vocabulary, God’s words about the Lord Jesus Christ. The writers of the Gospel are not mimicking God the Holy Spirit’s precise words, but He is motivating them to record the life of Christ in their own viewpoint.

The Holy Spirit inspires and ensures the accuracy and the preciseness of the word of God. For example, most scholars believe that the Book of Matthew was written by the apostle Matthew. And that Mark was written by John Mark of Jerusalem. Most scholars and early Church Historians believe that the Gospel of Luke was written by Dr. Luke and his patient, the apostle Paul.

The Gospel of John was written by John. As an example of this principle of how and why God the Holy Spirit operates like this notice what Dr. Luke said in Luk 1:1-3, Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word have handed them down to us, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write {it} out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus [means friend of God]; The great discovery is that the Bible is a message system: it’s not simply 66 books penned by 40 authors over thousands of years, the Bible is an integrated whole which bears evidence of supernatural engineering in every detail.

These principles of the importance of the Gospels and the Word of God, or the Word from God as brought out in the Gospels are found both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. For example, the prophet Ezekiel gave us a glimpse of the Gospels in his visions of the Cherubim angels and the wheels attached to them in Eze 10:14, And each one had four faces. The first face {was} the face of a cherub, the second face {was} the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. The first face attached to a cherub refers to Mark’s Gospel.

The second face {was} the face of a man, referring to Luke.

The third the face of a lion – Matthew.

The fourth the face of an eagle – Gospel of John.

This is from the Word of God that is alive and powerful, Heb 4:12, For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Prov 30:5, this same word is described for us by Solomon when he said, Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. In Luk 11:28, we are told that there are blessings that come from the Word of God; Luk 11:28, But He said, On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it.

Acts 6:7 is from the Word of God that raises up disciples; And the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. Eph 6:17 is from the Word of God that is called to be a blessing: And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

This word of God cleanses us: John 15:3, You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. This same word give us spirit and life, John 6:63, It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. We are told in 1Pe 1:23, that we were born again by this word, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God. In Rev 19:13, we are told that our Lord’s name is the Word of God, And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.

The heavens were created by the Word of God says Psa 33:6, By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. The Word of God abides forever in 1Pe 1:25, But the word of the Lord abides forever. The apostle Paul gives us the divine conclusion. Rom 10:11-15, Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him; for Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!” So, not only do we have a glimpse of the Gospels in the O.T. dispensation of the Law, but also it is referred to in the N.T. book of Revelation during the dispensation of the Tribulation period.

This is found in Rev 4:6-7, and before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. This time the lion is mentioned first, a reference to the Gospel of Matthew. The second creature is like a calf, a reference to the Gospel of Mark.

The third creature we are told looks like a man, a reference to the Gospel of Luke.
The fourth creature is like an eagle, and is a reference to John. In the doctrine of typology or a discussion concerning interpreting symbols, the number four is symbolic of global completeness denoting the entire world, the earth. The message of the gospels is intended for worldwide dissemination.

The gospels also give us a fourfold manifestation of Christ: He is seen in His sovereignty (Matthew), ministry (Mark), humanity (Luke), and deity (John). For hundreds of years, Christian tradition has connected the authors of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) with the four living creatures that surround God’s throne, as described in Rev 4:7.

As we have noted before the Bible is a book where Evidence Demands a Verdict. The Bible gives us evidence and then puts the ball in our court, saying in effect; what is your verdict that you conclude after hearing the facts that have been presented? The evidence is that the first four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are symbolic of four major principles. The symbols are the Lion, the ox, the man or the servant-hood of men, and the eagle. The lion stands for Matthew, for he specifically saw Jesus as the Messiah and the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The ox stands for Mark, because it is the animal of service and sacrifice, and Mark saw Jesus as the great servant of men and the universal sacrifice for all mankind.

The man stands for Luke or the servant-hood of Jesus Christ as found in the Gospel of Luke. The eagle stands for John, because it alone of all living creatures can look straight into the sun and not be dazzled. Matthew the lion, Mark the ox, Luke the man, John the eagle. Rev 4:1-2, After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things. Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.

Then in Rev 4:6-7, and before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. The Bible must be interpreted in the time in which it was written and that Bible doctrine must be taught based upon three principles, which we call the ICE principle. I = Isagogics or the historical setting of the passage. C = Categories or the systematic theology developed from combining Scripture with Scripture. E = Exegesis is the grammatical and syntactical analysis of the passage from the original languages.

I’m about to give you some astonishing information that will once again reveal the super-natural origin of the Bible as stated hundreds and hundreds of times throughout God’s word. The Bible is a supernatural book and if individuals would only take some time to examine the evidence, they would discover that the Bible is literally the Word of God. It’s interesting that in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, there are seven different churches mentioned and there are basically two different interpretations of the seven churches mentioned.

Some teach that the seven churches portray seven historical stages during the Church-age that the Church would go through. Others teach that it refers to the seven different types of individual believers that live in every generation. Both of these have some validity to them. The Church in Ephesus had to deal with those who called themselves apostles, and were not, and this was a big problem in the early Church. This is known as the Apostolic Period, from the period of Pentecost to around AD 100. This was the period of the Faith Defined. Then we have a second historical period of the Church in human history, the Church of Smyrna in Rev 2:9, which went through tremendous tribulation and poverty. This period is known as the Roman Persecution Period – from AD 100-313. The period of the Faith Defended.

Then in Rev 2:13, Pergamum is said to have dwelt where Satan’s throne is. Many historians point to the fact this refers to the time of Constantine who literally said he was taken the place of the Christ, in fact, this is one of the definitions of anti-Christ. Historians call this the Old Catholic Period, catholic is used in the sense of the universal church not the Catholic church as we know it today, – AD 313-590. Then in Rev 2:18-20, the church of Thyatira, tolerated the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads the Lord’s bond servants astray, so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.

Church historians point to this period of time as the time of the ascendancy of Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholic Period – AD 590-1517. The time of the Faith Defiled. In Rev 3:1-2, we have the Church of Sardis. This is said to be a time when the church woke up, a period of time that we call the Reformation or the Protestant Period – AD 1517-1795. The Faith Discovered. In Rev 3:8, the Church at Philadelphia is described as one that has divine good deeds and a little power, and they have kept with doctrine and have not denied the Lord’s name.

This is said to be the time of the full restoration of New Testament truths and missionary enterprises as never before, something that really happened in the past couple of centuries in England and even our United States. This period of time is called the Missionary and New Testament Assemblies Period – AD 1795-1870.

The time of Faith Discerned. Finally in Rev 3:14, we meet the lukewarm Church of Laodicea. This is the Modernist and Ecumenical Period – AD 1870 – Rapture. The time of the Faith Denied. So we have: The Faith Defined. The Faith Defended. The Faith Disputed. The Faith Defiled. The Faith Discovered.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service – February 25, 2018

EMBEDDED VIDEO SERMON in HD – NOTES
Dispensation of the Mosaic Law. The First and Second Commandment. Part 6. Doctrine of Idolatry.

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name, and Praise the Lord
in our Hearts and Minds.

ALL ARE WELCOME

from - Romans 8:38-39

Hymn #1

Hymn #2

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word or participating in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry, also called the convincing ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and the pastor’s message is the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to convince you what you are learning is true or not.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess [simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins];” NKJV (New King James Version); we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life and you will be saved the very second you believe in Him:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Weekly Bible Study – February 19, 2018

The Sword of the Spirit manifested in the Life of Jesus Christ, the Passover analogies. Part 2.

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try left clicking the link if it’s highlighted which should open a window with all the verses at the Biblia.com website; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens. If you are running PCMatic, the pop-ups may not work; if that’s the case, email PC Matic Support to see if they can fix that problem for you.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

The Sword of the Spirit manifested in the Life of Jesus Christ, the Passover analogies. Part 2.

The importance of memories and the importance of friendship. One of the most precious moments of our memory is that memory includes the concept of people living in your soul even when they are no longer here. It is the perpetuation of thinking about people you loved and are still loving. One of the true tests of love is that: Do you think of them when they are gone? You remember them in a very beautiful and wonderful way.

That is how much I love and remember my best friend, Ray Almeida, Sr. When I think of Ray Almeida, Sr. I think of someone who was a selfless, caring, humble and faithful friend who led me and taught me what a real man was.

If you have been as fortunate as I have this principle applies also to many of you because we all have a Ray Alemida, Sr. in our life as well.

One of the main principles about having a true friend like Ray is that you can relax around your true friends and you don’t have to hide the real you. Ray was definitely like that. As a true friend, Ray was the type of individual that you didn’t have to compete with, because true friends don’t compete with you, and therefore they will never stab you in the back socially or economically. Your true friends, which is what Ray was, also will guard your privacy. They never gossip or malign you to others. True friends protect your back. You can be honest with your friends; you can level with them, and that is a part of you being faithful to them.

Cicero said, “A friend is, as it were, a second self”.

Aristotle asked a question, “What is a friend?” And then he answered by saying, “A single soul dwelling in two bodies”!

Prov 27:10, tells us about the attitude the son should have toward his father’s friend when it says, “Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend.”

As we continue our service this morning we now come to our final part of the Doctrine of the Passover.

We will begin with a point by point review of what we have noted.

1. Passover began on the first month of the Jewish calendar, April 14, 1441 BC According to Exo 12:1-24; Lev 23:5.

God told the Jews that April should be the first month because spring represents the beginning of life. Now, for the Jews, Passover doesn’t just happen, it takes a lot of preparation. In preparation for the passover, the house must be cleaned and sterilized in honor of this great occasion.

2. Therefore, our second principle is that the house must be free of all leaven. And in the Bible, leaven is symbolic of sin or evil. This is why the Lord said, Matt 16:6, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Gal 5:9, a little leaven, leavens the whole lump of dough.

3. Principle number three: After the leaven is cleaned out, the next procedure in the preparation of the Passover is to get out the special white linen cloths that go with the meal. White linen is symbolic of perfect righteousness in the Bible.

4. In an orthodox Jewish home that follows the precise correct procedure, the table is set with a white tablecloth and white candles, and the father of the house wears a white robe called a kittel and a white crown.

He is to symbolize the high priest in the tabernacle who wore a pure white robe.

However, it really refers to the Lord Jesus Christ who glowed white after his resurrection.

We know that because Matt 17:1-2 says, And six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.

There are also white dishes used which were not used throughout the rest of the year.

The white linen, white plates, and white candles are used to create an atmosphere of purity.

5. Once the table is set and the father is ready, the candles are lit as the preparation continues. Interestingly enough, they are lit by a woman because it was a woman who brought us Christ, the light of the world.

John 8:12, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “I am the light of the world;”

God chose a woman, Mary, to bring us Christ our Passover, therefore a woman still brings the light to the Passover celebration.

6. After the woman lights the candle she sings a certain song. What she said was, “Blessed art Thou O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has exalted us among all people and bade [A past tense of bid] us to kindle the Passover lights.”

Four cups of wine will be drunk as part of the Passover ceremony. The cups should be filled by one of the servants representing leadership and freedom. The first cup is called the cup of sanctification and it simply sanctifies the table and all of the preparations. The drinking of this cup symbolizes approval and gives the blessing for the Passover supper to begin.

After the first cup, the father takes three loaves of the unleavened bread and places them in a special white linen envelope which has three compartments. Then, in a special ceremony of his own, the father removes the middle loaf from its compartment, breaks it, and then wraps it in a separate piece of white linen and hides it away or buries it somewhere.

This foreshadows the Lord Jesus Christ being buried by His disciples in Matt 14:12, And his disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

The youngest member of the family who can read will ask four questions. The questions are very general and give the father a chance to tell the story of the Exodus.

1. The first question: Why is this night distinguished from all other nights? On this night we eat only unleavened bread.

The answer: That unleavened bread symbolizes purity from sin.

2. On all other nights we may eat any kind of herbs, but on this night only bitter herbs. Why?

The answer: The bitter herbs remind the Jews of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.

3. The third question: On all other nights we do not dip in the bowl, but tonight we dip twice. Why?

The answer: This is the dipping, by which the Lord Jesus Christ identified His betrayer, Judas, when he said the “The one who dips with me shall betray Me” , and this has several meanings. Parsley is dipped twice in salt water.

The first dip represents Israel going into the Red Sea and coming out unharmed.

The second dip is for the Egyptian army who tried to follow them, the parsley is dipped and then immediately.

The New Testament commentary about this dipping is found in Mark 14:17-20, And when it was evening He came with the twelve. And as they were reclining {at the table} and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me one who is eating with Me.” They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” And He said to them, “{It is} one of the twelve, one who dips with Me in the bowl.”

4. On this night we all recline in our chairs at the table. Why?
The answer: The reclining in the chairs has to do with freedom. The Jews are no longer slaves and so they can relax.

So as the story is told, the ceremonial foods on the center plate are eaten. For example, as the father is telling about the bitterness of slavery, he serves each person horseradish from the center plate and they take the bread and take a bite of the horseradish. And this brings tears and pain to their eyes! Then he pauses as they dip the parsley in the salt water. As he talks about the lamb, he gestures to the unbroken shank bone of the lamb which is on the plate.

Then there is the charose which was like a paste made thick to symbolize the clay or representing the mortar that Pharaoh made them make. It’s made of figs, dates, nuts and was to symbolize the sweetness or the pleasures of sin in the world.

Then there is a second cup at the Passover. The second cup is spilled into the individual plates in front of each person, a drop at a time. Each drop remembers a plague God visited upon Egypt while the implacable Pharaoh hardened his heart.

The ten red drops fall into the empty white plate in front of each person and they are clearly representative of those ten great plagues in Egypt. As this happens, the father chants the name of each plague, blood, frogs, gnats, insects, boils, locust, darkness, death etc.

It is a very melancholy moment but it is dispelled quickly as the main meal comes out. The meal is like a thanksgiving meal and the entire family is assembled. Now comes the most wonderful and touchingly symbolic part of all, the third cup, which is the cup of redemption. After this, they would eat the meal and after the meal was through, the father of the house would now go and get the piece of bread which he hid and a new cup of unfermented wine. And that is communion now as we know it.

It is now time to bring forth that buried loaf of unleavened bread that the father symbolically hid and buried, which will serve as the desert to the meal. The afikomin [desert], as it is called which means “the arrival” and it represents the Lord Jesus Christ, as the bread of life! The buried unleavened bread, the middle piece, is then eaten with the third cup of wine.

And that is where we get communion or the Lord’s supper.

The three loaves represent the Trinity, and the middle one represents God the Son. It was the Son who was broken for our sins, it was his body which was broken for you, however no bones were broken.

John 19:36, For these things came to pass, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.”

The bread was wrapped in white linen and buried, as was the body of Jesus. It is brought forth from the ground with the cup of redemption. The bread, which I told you was the desert, is the last thing eaten because it represents the fact that once someone partakes of the bread of life, they will be sustained forever.

John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and He who believes in Me shall never thirst.”

The actual ceremony, the father breaks off pieces from the loaf and passes the pieces around the table. Each person eats his piece and drinks the third cup with it. Blessings are pronounced over the bread and wine individually which have great meaning for us. So, when we celebrate the Lord’s supper, we are actually taken a part out of the Jewish Passover and celebrating it today.

So, when the Jews celebrate Passover, they are actually celebrating a part of the Lord’s supper.

This is the part of the Passover that the Lord took the bread and the cup and instituted what we call communion.

Matt 26:26, “and while they were eating [Passover], Jesus took bread, and having blessed it, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, and He said, `take, eat; this represents My body.”

It’s interesting because when it says that He blessed, the Jewish people know exactly what the Lord said and the Christian Church does not. He said a prayer which was commanded to be said at this time which is “Blessed art Thou O Lord our God, King of the universe who brings forth bread from the earth.”

So, He picked the bread from the floor, representing the earth, and said, “This is my body” , this was a prophecy of the fact that bringing forth bread from the earth represented our Lord’s resurrection as the bread of life. He was actually saying to His disciples, if they try to bury My body this week, then just like this piece of bread, it will just come up again from the earth.

This is why He said, the night before His death, John 12:24, “truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

You cannot bury a kernel of wheat, the Lord said it will only come up again. And so our Lord said he was the bread of life, John 6:35, Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life”

He was born in Bethlehem which means house of bread. He was buried on the second feast, which was the feast of unleavened bread, which represented his impeccability as the God-man. And they would take the matzoh bread, which represents some interesting facets of our Lord’s body. The matzoh bread has stripes, and as Isaiah said “by His stripes we are healed”.

The bread is pierced through with wholes and as the O.T., which is also the Jewish Bible says, “they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced”. And of course, the matzoh bread is pure, containing no leaven (representing no sin.)

The third cup has every bit of significance as the bread. Remember that the Lord said in John 6:53, “truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.” He identified the wine as His blood. In Matt 26:27-28, and when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” This is another one of those Jewish blessings. He said, “Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.”

This is very meaningful to each one of us as members of the church, the future bride of Christ. The Lord was actually thanking the Father for bringing Him His future bride.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service – February 18, 2018

EMBEDDED VIDEO SERMON in HD – NOTES
Dispensation of the Mosaic Law.
The First and Second Commandment. Part 5.

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from - Romans 8:38-39

Hymn #1

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Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word or participating in a Communion Service, so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately directly to God the Father. This will assure that you are in fellowship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit’s convicting ministry, also called the convincing ministry will then be able to teach you as the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and the pastor’s message is the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to convince you what you are learning is true or not.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess [simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins];” NKJV (New King James Version); we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins to God; the issue for you is to believe by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life and you will be saved the very second you believe in Him:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Weekly Bible Study – February 12, 2018

The Sword of the Spirit manifested in the Life of Jesus Christ, the Passover analogies.

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: the “Logos Reftagger” scripture links are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), when finished reading, hover your cursor off the scripture reference link. If the Reftagger pop-up doesn’t show all the verses, left click on the “More” button in the Reftagger pop-up window and it will take you to the online bible. If RefTagger pop-ups don’t work on your computer, that’s OK, try left clicking the link if it’s highlighted which should open a window with all the verses at the Biblia.com website; or if that doesn’t work, you can always use your Bible to look up the verses. Word or Phrase definition links may not have a website that opens. If you are running PCMatic, the pop-ups may not work; if that’s the case, email PC Matic Support to see if they can fix that problem for you.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]; we call this REBOUND, read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. REBOUND

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Alphabetical Listing of Terms & Abbreviations used:

STUDY TITLE:

The Sword of the Spirit manifested in the Life of Jesus Christ, the Passover analogies.

John 6:3, And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. In spite of the distractions and the deceptions that come from Satan and the Kingdom of darkness, we have been noting the doctrinal analogies concerning the unveiling of our hearts while the Jews have a veil over theirs with regards to the Lord Jesus Christ.

We know this because the apostle Paul tells us in 2Co 3 that we live in the dispensation of the unveiling glory of God while the Jews are still living in the dispensation of the veiled glory of God because of their arrogance and rejection of the lord Jesus Christ. This produces hardness of the heart as well as scar tissue of the soul. This is why we have passages like John 12:40 which says, “He has blinded their eyes, and He hardened their heart; lest they see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and be converted, and I heal them.”

Rom 11:25, For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in; And then of course this principle is found in;

2Co 3:14, But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him, and this is the reason why the Jews have developed hardness of the heart as well as scar tissue of the soul.

Scar tissue of the soul attacks the left lobe of the soul, which is the self-consciousness, mentality, volition, emotion, and the conscience. Hardness of the heart is the result of the scar tissue of the soul in the left lobe (mind), causing the right lobe (heart) to reject gnosis, (knowledge), from becoming epignosis, (wisdom), and therefore the heart becomes hard and filled with darkness.

It is also the main reason they cannot see the difference of the unveiled glory of God for the Church-age believer verses the veiled glory of God for the Jews. And so because of these principles, we have begun to take a look at some of the functions, which take place at a Jewish Passover and the tremendous analogies pointing to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Remember that the Jewish people could not discern that the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world in (John 1:29) is actually present with them because they are blinded by arrogance and the hardness of the heart and they have a veil over their heart.

In 2 Co 3 Paul is going to open up on the subject of the unveiled glory as it relates to the angelic conflict. And as he begins he opens with sarcasm. For example in 2Co 3:1, Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? You are our letter or our Epistle, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; The believer’s life is both observed by unbelievers and believers as well as the fallen and the Elect angels, Matt 5:16; Eph 3:10; 1Pe 1:12.

So the human race is observing you. You are a battleground, you have the tremendous potentiality for glory, and that glory was unveiled at the beginning of the Church Age. Paul goes on to say in 2Co 3:3-11, being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts. And such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death which had an inherent glory, Glory of TLJC , in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how shall the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.

For indeed what had glory [which is the Torah, the Mosaic Law found in Old Testament], in this case has no glory on account of the glory [the New Testament] that surpasses it. For if that which fades away was with glory [a reference to the Old Testament or the Mosaic Law which reflected TLJC Who is the Shekinah glory, or Emmanuel, God is with us] 2Co 3:11 goes on to say, much more that which remains is in glory. The phrase much more here means a ministry which is even greater than the Law, a ministry which produces righteousness, grace, mercy, goodness and love. Therefore that which remains is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit and what He produces, which is +R, grace, mercy, goodness and love. And this is a reference to the unveiled ministry of God the Holy Spirit in the New Testament where He produces what Gal 5:22-23, says, the fruit of the Spirit which is love, grace, mercy, inner happiness, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control; against such things there is no Mosaic law. 2 Co 3:11-18, For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory. Therefore having such a hope, we use great boldness in our speech, and are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what was fading away. But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

So, in John 6:4 we read. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Passover began on the first month of the Jewish calendar, April 14, 1441 BC According to Exo 12:1 14; Lev 23:5. God told the Jews that April should the first month because spring represents the beginning of life. Without a doubt, the Jewish Passover is the oldest celebration that we have today, 3,500 years old. And this feast portrayed the work of Christ on the cross with emphasis on redemption. For the Jews, Passover doesn’t just happen, it takes a lot of preparation. This is why we read in

Matt 26:17-18, Now on the first {day} of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” And He said, “Go into the city that is Jerusalem to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is at hand; I {am to} keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.’”

The certain man is an unknown man but we do know from Mark 14:13 and Luk 22:10, that in this city there were two million people and among them the disciples were to look for a man carrying a pitcher of water on his head. A man hardly ever carried water in the ancient world, so this was a strange sight and something anyone would notice. It just so happened that this man who carried the water was a believer who had responded to the Lord’s message. Can you imagine what a privilege it must have been for this man to humble himself and then be identified and acknowledged by the Lord Jesus Christ.

His reward is given in such passages as Matt 10:42, “And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward.” So in Matt 26:19, And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. Notice the importance of the proper procedure and the preparations that were involved. This falls under the principle that the right thing must be done in the right way. Also, notice the Lord’s confidence in this man to be faithful to fulfill the details concerning the Jewish Passover.

This is the manifestation of what many of you live in as Matt 25:21 states that the master said to his slave; “Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.” Entering into the joy of the master is enjoying the results of the faithfulness that many of you portray as servants of God, your master. This is revealed by your dedication and devotion that you reveal with how you give and use your time, talent, and treasure.

The joy that we enter into through our dedication and devotion with reference to how we use our time, talent and treasure is revealed by Acts 20:35, where our Lord said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Now, in preparation for the Passover, the house must be cleaned and sterilized in honor of this great occasion. Specifically, the house must be free of all leaven.

Leaven is simply yeast used to make bread rise and is found in bread, cakes, cookies etc. And in the Bible, leaven is symbolic of sin or evil. This is why the Lord said, Matt 16:6, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Gal 5:9, a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. So, in preparation for the Passover, the Jews had to get rid of all the leaven from their home. There could be no yeast and the leaven would be burnt in the fire representing the judgment of sin. This caused Paul to write in 1Co 5:7, Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. This is an appeal to us to be pure for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper through rebound. After the leaven is cleaned out, the next procedure in the preparation of the Passover is to get out the special white linen cloths that go with the meal. Remember that white linen is symbolic of perfect righteousness in the Bible. Rev 19:7-8, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

In an orthodox Jewish home that follows the precise correct procedure, the table is set with a white tablecloth and white candles, and the father of the house wears a white robe called a kittle and a white crown. He is to symbolize the high priest in the tabernacle who wore a pure white robe. However, it really refers to the Lord Jesus Christ who glowed white after his resurrection. We know that because Matt 17:1-2, And six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. and He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. There are also white dishes used which were not used throughout the rest of the year. The white linen, white plates, and white candles are used to create an atmosphere of purity. Once the table is set and the father is ready, the candles are lit by a woman as the preparation continues. A woman lights the candles because it was a woman who brought us Christ, the light of the world. After the woman lights the candle she sings a certain song. What she said was, “Blessed art Thou O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has exalted us among all people and bade us to kindle the Passover lights.” Four cups of wine will be drunk as part of the Passover ceremony.

The cups should be filled by one of the servants representing leadership and freedom. The first cup is called the cup of sanctification and it simply sanctifies the table and all of the preparations. The drinking of this cup symbolizes approval and gives the blessing for the Passover supper to begin. After the first cup, the father takes three loaves of the unleavened bread and places them in a special white linen envelope, which has three compartments. Then, in a special ceremony of his own, the father removes the middle loaf from its compartment, breaks it, and then wraps it in a separate piece of white linen and hides it away or buries it somewhere. Now, the youngest member of the family who can read will ask four questions. The questions are very general and give the father a chance to tell the story of the Exodus:

The first question, why is this night distinguished from all other nights? On this night we eat only unleavened bread. The answer is that unleavened bread symbolizes purity from sin.

The second question: On all other nights we may eat any kind of herbs, but on this night only bitter herbs. Why? The answer to the second question, The bitter herbs remind the Jews of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.

The third question: On all other nights we do not dip in the bowl, but tonight we dip twice. Why? This is the dipping, by which the Lord Jesus Christ identified His betrayer, Judas, when he said the the one who dips with me shall betray Me, and this has several meanings. Parsley is dipped twice in salt water. The first dip represents Israel going into the Red Sea and coming out unharmed. The second dip is for the Egyptian army who tried to follow them, the parsley is dipped and then immediately.

The fourth question: On this night we all recline in our chairs at the table. Why? The reclining in the chairs has to do with freedom. The Jews are no longer slaves and so they can relax. And so as the story is told, the ceremonial foods on the center plate are eaten. For example, as the father is telling about the bitterness of slavery, he serves each person horseradish from the center plate and they take the bread and take a bite of the horseradish. And this brings tears and pain to their eyes!

Then he pauses as they dip the parsley in the salt water. As he talks about the lamb, he gestures to the unbroken shank bone of the lamb, which is on the plate. Then there is the charose (harosis) which was like a paste made thick to symbolize the clay or representing the mortar than Pharaoh made them make. It’s made of figs, dates, and nuts and was to symbolize the sweetness or the pleasures of sin in the world. Remember that the Bible teaches that sin will give you pleasure for a season. Then there is a second cup at the Passover. The second cup is spilled into the individual plates in front of each person, a drop at a time. Each drop remembers a plague God visited upon Egypt while the implacable Pharaoh hardened his heart. The ten red drops fall into the empty white plate in front of each person and they are clearly representative of those ten great plagues in Egypt. As this happens, the father chants the name of each plague, blood, frogs, gnats, insects, boils, locust, darkness, death etc. It is a very melancholy moment but it is dispelled quickly as the main meal comes out.

The meal is like a thanksgiving meal and the entire family is assembled. Now, comes the most wonderful and touchingly symbolic part of all, the third cup, which is the cup of redemption. After this, they would eat the meal and after the meal was through, the father of the house would now go and get the piece of bread which he hid and a new cup of unfermented wine. And that is communion now as we know it. It is now time to bring forth that buried loaf of unleavened bread, which will serve as the desert to the meal. The afikomin [desert], as it is called which means the arrival and it represents the Lord Jesus Christ, as the bread of life! The buried unleavened bread, the middle piece, is then eaten with the third cup of wine. And that is where we get communion or the Lord’s supper.

The three loaves represent the Trinity, and the middle one represents God the Son. It was the Son who was broken for our sins…it was his body, which was broken for you. And the bread was wrapped in white linen and buried, as was the body of Jesus. Now it is brought forth from the ground with the cup of redemption. And the bread, which I told you was the desert, is the last thing eaten because it represents the fact that once someone partakes of the bread of life, they will be sustained forever. John 6:35, Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and He who believes in Me shall never thirst.” In the actual ceremony, the father breaks off pieces from the loaf (the size of an olive” says the haggadah) and passes the pieces around the table. Each person eats his piece and drinks the third cup with it. Blessings are pronounced over the bread and wine individually which have great meaning for us. So when we celebrate the Lord’s supper, we are actually taken a part out of the Jewish Passover and celebrating it today. And when the Jews celebrate Passover, they are actually celebrating a part of the Lord’s supper.

This is the part of the Passover that the Lord took the bread and the cup and instituted what we call communion. Matt 26:26, and while they were eating [Passover], Jesus took bread, and having blessed it, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, and He said, “take, eat; this represents My body.” It’s interesting because when it says that He blessed, the Jewish people know exactly what the Lord said and the Christian Church does not. He said a prayer which was commanded to be said at this time which is “Blessed art Thou O Lord our God, King of the universe who brings forth bread from the earth.” So He picked the bread from the floor, representing the earth, and said, This is My body, this was a prophecy of the fact that bringing forth bread from the earth represented our Lord’s resurrection as the bread of life. He was actually saying to His disciples, if they try to bury My body this week, than just like this piece of bread, it will just come up again from the earth. This is why He said, the night before His death, John 12:24, “Truly, Truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” You cannot bury a kernel of wheat, the Lord said it will only come up again. And so our Lord said he was the bread of life, John 6:35, Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;” He was born in Bethlehem, which means house of bread. He was buried on the second feast, which was the feast of unleavened bread , which represented his impeccability as the God-man. So, they would take the matzo bread, which represents some interesting facets of our Lord’s body. The matzo bread has stripes, and as Isaiah said by His stripes we are healed in Isa 53:5. The bread is pierced through with wholes and as the O.T., which is also the Jewish Bible says, they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced. And of course, the matzo bread is pure, containing no leaven (representing no sin.) The third cup has every bit of significance as the bread.

Remember that the Lord said in John 6:53, “truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.” And He identified the wine as His blood. In Matt 26:27-28, and when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” This is another one of those Jewish blessings. He said, “blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.” However, this is very meaningful to each one of us as members of the church, the future bride of Christ. The Lord was actually thanking the Father for bringing Him His future bride.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.