THE PASSOVER RITE (HOLY COMMUNION) AND THE BENEFITS
These are dangerous times and the danger zone is located world over! It seems that nowhere is safe – on land, on the sea and in the air! What can we do? Beloved, we can decide to be on the Lord’s side and move to Goshen! Goshen? Where is that? It is the place which has been made safe by The Passover Rite, a place where we dine regularly with The Passover Lamb of God that took away the sins of the world! I see! Let’s go there already!
Goshen on that first Passover Night
But first, let’s travel through time for a minute and visit Goshen on that first Passover Night, thousands of years ago and glean the amazing thing that God wrought there on behalf of His beloved People, Israel –
Ex.12:1-14
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 14 And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
And what happened in Goshen during that night?
Ex.12:28-34
And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. 33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men. 34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneadingtroughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders
We can see that there was total protection and complete deliverance in Goshen that night. Blessedly our God is eternal and does not change and so we can ask Him to do the same for us during these perilous times.
The deliverance of Goshen was an age-old promise of God to Abraham’s descendants
The promise of the Passover Night was a promise God gave Abraham centuries ago when he still dwelt in the plains of Mamre in Canaan after being separated from Lot; and He was determined to bring this promise to pass.
Gen.13:18
Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
This is the promise among other things which God promised Abraham on a particular covenant day which is worth reading about in Genesis chapter 15. The promise goes thus –
Gen15:13,14
And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
At that time of the Passover Night, the Children of Israel have been in Egyptian bondage for four hundred and thirty years and God now heard their cry when they began to call on Him in prayer rather than groan and lament under the heavy burdens and whips of their task-masters. Their prayers got God’s attention and He began the process of delivering them from bondage by the hands of Moses. He began to judge all the Gods of Egypt by releasing the nine plagues on them and it was now time to release the tenth plague. All along, the Israelites dwelled in a place called Goshen in Egypt and God divinely protected that part of Egypt from all the plagues. This time of the tenth plague, God was going to judge the most revered god of the Egyptians – their firstborn. God’s strategy was to release the Angel of Death, The Destroyer, to kill all the Egyptian firstborn and thus put pressure on Pharaoh to let His People go. This time, it seemed that extra measures needed to be put in place in Goshen to protect the firstborns of His People and this extra measure is what we want to study here as The Passover Rite.
All firstborns became God’s Property
At the end of that fateful night, God made a decree that all firstborns who survived the Passover Night, and all firstborns for all time, were to be special treasures dedicated to Him. Later, when Tabernacle worship was fully established, God decreed that the Levites would represent all firstborns who could not come into full-time service in the Tabernacle. And when God’s Firstborn and only Begotten Son came to the earth, all those who believe in Him from then would become Sons of God like Him, special treasures, priests who would minister to God; and He called us a royal priesthood, an holy nation in 1Pet.2:9. Thus, all Believers as members of God’s Household, became entitled to partake of the protection of the Passover Rite. Bless God!
Nu.3:13,41
Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD….41And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the LORD) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel.
Jn.1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
I Pet.2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
The situation at hand in the world presently
From all indications presently, Satan has released some kind of destroyer to ravage humans everywhere in the world! It is again the time of the Dragon, the wicked waster! Terrible disasters and accidents on land, sea and air abound; as well as senseless killings and wastage of lives here and there! These have never been as common as they are now and yet not all are reported in the news. Not forgetting the latest deadly dragon from the Orient, Covid-19, of course! Therefore, I believe we Children of God need to move house and hide in Goshen now more than ever and make regular use of the Passover Rite so that we and our families can survive the onslaught and not be wasted by the Destroyer. This is why I am inspired to share this teaching with you at this time. It is actually part of a book that we hope to publish later this month, January 2022, by the grace of God. It is titled From Prison to Palace volumes 1 and 2.
However, there is an urgency in the air and I can no longer wait share with you one of the greatest weapons God gave us for divine protection; but which we use ceremonially without ‘discernment’ – that is, without proper understanding of its spiritual and physical benefits. So, let’s go, Beloved! Let’s learn how to dwell in Goshen and regularly dine with the Lord and keep our household safe from the Destroyer; for it was singularly The Passover Meal that kept the Children of Israel safe from the Destroyer that night!
The Real Passover Lamb has already come, Beloved!
When the Lord Jesus came to die for us and deliver us from sin and death, He came as the real and authentic divine Passover Lamb! The night before He would make that great sacrifice on the Cross at Calvary, was actually an anniversary of that first Passover Night in Egypt and God had commanded the Israelites to keep a memorial of it every year. At the famous Last Supper, The Lord Jesus inaugurated the new Passover Rite which we commonly call The Holy Communion in Churches; and He showed us how to use bread and wine to represent His Body and His Blood. He also made it plain that it was a Covenant Meal, binding us to Him in a covenant relationship. It is an everlasting Blood Covenant made by the Blood and Body of an everlasting, all-powerful King. What a privilege!
Matt.26:17-28
Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? 18 And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. 19 And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. 20 Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. 21 And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 22 And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? 23 And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. 24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. 25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. 26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is my blood of the new testament (covenant), which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Now, the one of greatest mysteries about covenants is that they work not only for the person taking the vow, but also for his household members wherever they might be on earth and as well for all his generations to come! This is God’s strategy of making any one that would be His covenant partner to benefit fully from the relationship and also constrain God to favour his descendants as well.
Deut.29:10-15
Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, 11 Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: 12 That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day: 13 That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; 15 But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day:
What a glory! But beware that it also works for demonic covenants as well and this is why we need to be careful where we go and what promises we make! We shall learn more about demonic covenants and how to deal with them in the books, From Prison to Palace.
What then are the specific Benefits of dining with the Passover Lamb of God? –
And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. Heb.7:1-7. This is what the Bible says of the covenant relationship symbolized by bread and wine, which was briefly cut between Abraham and Melchizedek, that mysterious King of Salem. See Gen.14:18-20. Therefore, what we would benefit from this same covenant of dining at the Table of ‘bread and wine’ with our Passover Lamb has to be quite tremendous, knowing that He is the King of all kings. Besides, that brief appearance of Melchizedek is believed to be one of the pre-incarnate appearances of the Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace; for ‘Salem’ means ‘Peace’. The benefits…
- Divine protection, just as the Israelites were protected from the rage of the destroyer on Passover Night. We are not only protected from plagues and disasters, but we are positioned to partake of all the benefits that Christ went to the Cross to purchase for us. In 1Cor.11:26 NKJV, The Word of God says that whenever we take the Lord’s Supper, we proclaim the Lord’s death on the Cross; and that immediately reminds the devil that the Seed of the Woman promised us in Gen.3:15 has come and has bruised his head! We constantly make him regret crucifying the Lord of Glory on the cross; because death on the cross was the specific and mysterious strategy of war prescribed by The Almighty to destroy all Satan’s evil works.
The Voice of His Blood rebukes the destroyer from wherever we plead the Blood, and he must flee. The prophet Isaiah puts it like this in Is.59:19...When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. A standard is a banner or a small flag carried in front of an army to reveal whose army it is! The standard of His Blood over us says loud and clear “TOUCH NOT!”
As well, the Passover works wondrously for the deliverance of people who suffer from molestation of spirit husbands or wives because we are now the house where God lives and the Blood of our divine Passover Lamb would also mark the gates of our bodies, including our reproductive gates and the spirit spouse will see the Blood and flee. It can no longer violate its victim, and after a while, it will stop coming. It is recommended that such people should take the Passover every night – in addition to their normal deliverance services – until the spirit spouse stops coming.
- The Lord uses the Passover communion to empower us to work the works of God and to have victory without perishing on the battle-fields of life. Jn.6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. The spiritual battles against some strongmen – especially water spirits – are long and vicious; and partaking of the Passover is a tried and tested way to receive strength constantly from the Lord and draw Him into the battlefield more than ever. It also releases power for revival and refreshing from above such that we enter into a season new beginnings in Christ. Examples abound in Scripture –
- Coming out of Egyptian bondage. Ex.12:31
- Entering in to possess the Promised Land. Jos.5:10-12
- After Ezra and his team re-built of the Temple and were dedicating it to resume Temple worship in Jerusalem. Ezr.6:15-19.
- As part of religious reforms and renewal of their covenant with the Lord in Israel, during the reigns of King Hezekiah and King Josiah. Those two kings rebuilt the altar of the Lord and as well commanded their people to keep the Passover, and revival broke out in the land. 2Chro.29:3-11; 30:1,20-27; 2Chro.34:31-36:1,6.
- We receive divine healing as well as divine ability to live in health if we partake of the Lord’s Table without sin and with discernment.
Ps.105:37
He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.
Neh.9:21
Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
It was as though the Passover meal healed all their diseases that night and also immunized them against all infirmities throughout their forty-year wanderings on foot in the wilderness. Their immunity even covered the normal effects of wear and tear on the body and their clothing, despite all that trekking in a hostile desert land!
The devil likes to employ sickness and disease to try to stop us whenever we engage him in battle and are making progress; the Passover covenant provides a way out of that trap.
- Divine provision – The covenant of the Passover is a good weapon in the hands of someone battling with the spirit of poverty. Let us see what the Scriptures reveal about that –
- The Lord gave the Israelites favour with man on Passover night such that they came out of Egypt with much substance. See Ps.105:37 quoted above.
- When He is coming to dine with us, He provides the food, even much more than is needed! Jos.5:10-12 And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. 11 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. 12 And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. Gilgal became a place of the rolling away of the reproach of poverty and lack; and this is the divine pattern for us as well, for the Lord Jesus is our Joshua who has come to take us into our land of plenty by His shed Blood.
- Our spiritual eyes become enlightened to know The Lord better when we dine regularly with Him; and we receive the enablement to be receptive to divine revelations, especially the ability to understand the Scriptures better. Lu.24:42,43,45 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43 And he took it, and did eat before them…. 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. This also means that we shall have the ability to de-code revelations better because the Bible remain the only Book with which we de-code divine revelations. Beloved, spiritual warfare can only be successfully fought with the information we receive from God or it will be a futile exercise in shadow-boxing.
- Regular partaking of the Lord’s Supper also constrains us to go the full length with Him on the road of Holiness, as we dare not come to the table of the Holy Lamb of God with hidden or overt sin our lives. Paul gives us some serious warnings in 1Cor.11:27-30 –
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (die).
And being partakers of His Holiness automatically causes us to become partakers of His power which we direly need for us to have victory in spiritual confrontations. No holiness, no power because those two natures of God cannot be separated from each other.
- We receive Angelic assistance and cover. In Ex.12:12,13, we read that God came with His hosts to protect His people in Goshen from the destroyer on Passover night. In Jos.5:13,14, after taking the Passover at Gilgal, God sent the Captain of the Hosts to them to take them into the Promised Land by war! In Lu.22:43, as the true Passover Lamb travailed at Gethsemane on Passover night, an Angel was sent to strengthen Him! The need for Angelic assistance cannot be over-emphasized in spiritual warfare…
Ex.12:12,13
For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD . And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you , when I smite the land of Egypt.
God always moves about with a retinue of Angels.
Jos.5:13,14
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
Lu.22:42,43
… saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
WHEN DO WE NEED TO PARTAKE OF THE PASSOVER RITE?
Here are a few pointers –
- Whenever we feel weary as we battle along in life, we need the refreshing the Lord’s Table brings.
- Whenever we get to the point where we forget revelations and they are just not forth-coming even as we fast and travail in prayer, we need to break bread and tear that satanic veil off our eyes. Lu.24:30,31a 30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31 And their eyes were opened…
- Whenever there is constant harassment and counter-attacks or revenge attacks as we battle along, it is time to ingest the Body of our Source of Power, the Lord Jesus Who sent us, saying, …All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore… 28:18,19
- Whenever there is danger all around, especially when we have dreams of death.
A simple format we can use for dining with The Lord has been posted on this same blog on the Personal Intercession page. Here is the link https://penofthereadywriter.org/a-simple-format-for-taking-the-passover/
It is by no means exhaustive. We can add or remove from it as led by the Holy Spirit, to fit our peculiar circumstances and needs.
Psa.117
O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. 2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.
Amen and Amen!