God promised to give us eternal life through the Passover
All men desire to have eternal life, but men cannot give it. Just as God saved the Israelites during the Exodus, only God is able to give us salvation and eternal life.
1 John 5: 20 『We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true-even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.』
Then, how will God grant us eternal life? God gives us salvation through the blood of Christ (1 Cor. 5:7), represented, during the time of the Exodus, by the blood of the Passover lamb.
John 6:53-55 『Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink."』
Jesus promised that the bread of the Passover was His flesh, and that the wine of the Passover was His blood.
Matt. 26:17-28 『...So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover...While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."』
The reason why we want to receive the flesh and blood of Jesus-given to us through the Passover-is because Jesus, who is life, promised that when we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we will live forever.
Since Jesus said, "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53), how can we receive eternal life unless we celebrate the Passover?
Jesus called the Passover the new covenant.
Luke 22:7-20 『Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed...When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer."...And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."』
Jesus promised to give us eternal life through the Passover of the new covenant.
Being freed from sin through the Passover
In order to go back to the kingdom of heaven, lost because of our sins, we must first be forgiven for our sins. The Passover is the truth of God, through which we can have the forgiveness of our sins and can enter the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 4: 17-21 『The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him..."He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind..."... and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."』
Some may ask who men are captive to. Jesus freed His people from their sins and from the devil's power through His precious blood, the blood of the Passover Lamb.
Rom 6:22 『But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.』
The history of the Israelites-who entered the desert after being emancipated from Egypt, through the blood of the Passover lamb-reveals that in the New Testament times, the people who eat the flesh of Jesus, the Passover lamb, and drink His blood will enter the spiritual desert, after being freed from their sins (1 Cor. 10:1-12).
The last plagues and the Passover
It is only through the Passover that we can be saved from God's last plagues.
Matt. 24:37-39 『"As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."』
1 Thess. 5:1-3 『Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.』
The most urgent thing now is for us to listen to the news of salvation. Let's study the verses in the Bible that show us how we can escape the last disaster. The earth will surely meet its doomsday, either by a world war or by God's mighty power. There are many prophecies in the Bible concerning the end of the age. Whoever absolutely believes and follows the prophecies will be saved.
If anyone does not believe the message of salvation, he cannot obtain eternal life, even though he may try to seek salvation by his own means (such as making an underground shelter, going to another planet by rocket, fleeing to a peaceful country, or hiding himself within an atomic submarine under a North Pole iceberg). These are merely temporary methods to hide from danger. In regard to this, some prophets prophesied as follows:
Zeph. 1:18 『Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD's wrath.』
Amos 9:2-4 『"Though they dig down to the depths of the grave, from there my hand will take them. Though they climb up to the heavens, from there I will bring them down. Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, there I will hunt them down and seize them. Though they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them. Though they are driven into exile by their enemies, there I will command the sword to slay them. I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good."』
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