Passover

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.”Jn 6:53

The Passover that makes “disasters pass over” is celebrated at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month in the sacred calendar.

The Passover is the day when the Israelites were set free from Egypt, where they had labored as slaves, through the blood of the Passover lamb 3,500 years ago. At the Passover, God promised to let all disasters pass over them, and commanded them to celebrate it as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come (Ex 12:1–14).

On the night before Jesus was crucified 2,000 years ago, He promised that the Passover bread and wine would be His flesh and blood. So we can be protected from the last disaster and receive eternal life by eating the Passover bread and drinking the wine, the symbol of Jesus’ flesh and blood (Jn 6:53–58; Mt 26:17–19; 26–28).

Jesus, His disciples, and the members of the early Church celebrated the Passover (Mt 26:17; 1 Co 11:23–26), but it was abolished at the Council of Nicaea summoned by Emperor Constantine in A.D. 325. As a result, the Passover was not observed for over 1,600 years. According to the Bible’s prophecy, however, God Himself has restored this feast, and only the Church of God has been observing it all around the world (Isa 25:6–9).