I invite you to take a look at the Hoshana Rabbah Passover page on our website at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pesach.html.
There you will find teachings on what Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are and how to celebrate them.
If you’re not sure when the biblical feasts are, then go to our calendar page for the exact dates: http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/calendars.html
Dealing With the “Leavening” in Our Lives
Overcoming Sin!
Throughout Scripture, leavening is a spiritual metaphor for sin, pride, hypocrisy, malice, bitterness and false religious doctrine (Pss 71:4; 73:21; Hos 7:4; Matt 16:6; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1; 1 Cor 5:8–6; Gal 5:9). Even as a small amount of leavening agents in bread (e.g., yeast and various chemical agents) will quickly permeate bread dough causing it to rise, so a little sin can rapidly infect our lives (or like a quick spread cancer disease) and take us away from Elohim’s path of righteous-living.
The Scripture teaches us to be overcomers (Rom 12:21; 1 John 2:13–14; 5:4) eradicating the leavening of sin from our lives. We must overcome the world, the flesh and the devil (Jas 3:15). Yeshua admonished each of the seven Messianic assemblies to be overcomers (Rev 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21; see also Matt 24:13). For those who overcome, there will be great rewards—a spiritual inheritance; they will be sons of Elohim (Rev 21:7).
The Greek word for overcome is nikao (Strong’s G3528) meaning “to conquer, to get the victory, prevail” and is where the word nike comes from.
What Is Sin?
Defining the Types of Sin Spoken of in Isaiah 53
Asham (Strong’s H817/TWOT 180b): means “guilt, offense, guiltiness, Continue reading
The Feast of Unleavened Bread Is a Commemorative Ritual
Passover going into the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is the birthday of the nation of Israel. In ancient times, universal Israel came together in Jerusalem to celebrate this event. Today, redeemed Israelites come together to celebrate these divine appointment sacred convocations.
Abstaining from leavened bread for seven days is symbolic of Elohim’s people separating themselves from sin and turning towards a holy relationship with him.
Removing leavening from our homes is a symbolic activity just like taking communion, being baptized for the remission of sins, or building a sukkah during the Feast of Tabernacles. As humans, we need symbolic commemorative occasions for several reasons. They give us a sense of history by helping us to understand the past, so that we can move forward into the future knowing who we are and where we’ve come from. They give us guidance so that we’ll learn from the lessons of history, both the good and bad ones. Our culture is full of symbolic rituals and commemorative acts and markers (Christmas, Easter, birthdays, anniversaries, Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, statues, historical markers, monuments, museums, heritage sites, etc.). Likewise, Biblical commemorative rituals help us in several ways.
It’s that time of year again! Passover will be on the evening of Monday, April 14, and the first high holy day (it’s a Sabbath day of rest) of the Feast of Unleavened Bread will be on Tuesday, April 15 with the last day of Unleavened Bread (also a high holy day Sabbath) will be on Monday, April 21.
To help you to understand the significance of these days and to learn how to properly celebrate them, here are some links for with further instructions on this.
Below is a link to the Hoshana Rabbah website where you’ll find practical instructions on celebrating Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Included is a free downloadable Passover haggadah and tips on how to deleaven your house among other things.
http://hoshanarabbah.org/pesach.html
The following link will take you to a number of teaching articles that I’ve written on Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After you’ve read them, you’ll have an excellent understanding about the historical and future prophetic implications of these special observances as well as how they relate to the believer’s life presently.
http://hoshanarabbah.org/teaching.html#feast
This is a link to the Hoshana Rabbah YouTube channel. Scroll down through the 120 some videos and you’ll find a number of video teachings on Passover and Unleavened Bread.
https://www.youtube.com/user/HoshanaRabbah?feature=mhee
Enjoy getting your mind and heart ready to walk out these divine, appointed times of YHVH when he meets with his people in a special way!
What is leaven? Why does YHVH command his people to deleaven their homes for Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread? What are the important spiritual lessons to be learned from this physical exercise? How will this help you in your walk as a follower of Yeshua the Messiah? This video answers these questions and more.
Exodus 13:3, Went out of Egypt…no leavened bread. What is the spiritual connection between coming out of Egypt and the memorial (v. 9) of eating unleavened flat bread?
The keeping of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the command to eat flat bread was to be an object lesson for successive generations Israelites as a sign and a memorial of what YHVH did against Egypt and of Israel’s deliverance (vv. 8–9). As the strong right arm of YHVH’s judgments (v. 3) pressed down upon proud and exalted Egypt until it was flattened as a nation, even so, YHVH’s judgment against the sin and idolatry in our lives demands that we become flattened, deleavened and contrite before him. He desires to squeeze or press out of us all the leaven of sin and pride that we have inherited from spiritual Egypt.
In the Scriptures, since leavening puffs up and sours bread, it is a biblical metaphor for sin, which does the same to the human heart and mind. It causes bitterness, pride, insincerity, hypocrisy and giving rise to false teachings and doctrines of men. We must put out the leaven of sin from our lives and from our spiritual assemblies, as Paul admonishes. The Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures this process. The saints are to keep the feast not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (i.e., the Torah, 1 Cor 5:8, read vv. 1–11 for context).
In 1 Corinthians 5:8, the Apostle Paul tells us to keep (or celebrate) the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which occurs right after the Passover. Though many in the church feel that Paul liberated Christians from the law of Moses (the Torah) including the Sabbath and the biblical feasts, here Paul is telling us to celebrate it.
In this video, learn what the the significance and relevance of this biblical holiday is to you. It is the story of your life—past, present and future! A complimentary study guide is available at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/unlbread.pdf.
