The Last Passover - Part One

Two things that took place at the Master's Last Passover are a prophetic  foreshadowing of two events about to take place in the last days' church. Supper is about to end and many will depart from the faith betraying those they love and eventually turning their back on the Lord Jesus. On the other hand, many nameless servants will come forth who will have nothing more than a towel in their hand and the passionate burning love of Yeshuah in their hearts. They will carry the glory of God to the ends of the earth serving the hurting, the wounded, the dying, the poor, the orphans and the widows. The last days are here!

By Chris McDonald

TEXT: John 13:1-2 - Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. [2] And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;

        As I write this journal, we are just a few days away from the start of the Passover season in 2002. Passover takes its meaning and message from the First Passover in Egypt some 3,500 years ago when Moses led the children of Israel out of 430 years of bondage and slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. The first Passover lamb was a type of the coming Messiah, the LAMB OF GOD, which would take away (and has taken away) the sin of the world. God instructed Moses to make the celebration a perpetual event that would mark Israel's beginning of religious festivals and her spiritual calendar. Those instructions are kept to this day in modern Israel and throughout all the world among the Jewish people. Some have come to recognize the TRUE LAMB OF GOD while others continue to celebrate the event in Egypt without understanding that the "lamb without blemish," whose blood was sprinkled on the door posts to protect Israel from the death angel, was God's picture of salvation for ALL HUMANITY, both Jew AND Gentile.

        Yeshuah kept the feasts of the Lord during His earthly life. Yeshuah was a Jew! He attended Shabbat and fulfilled every "jot" and "tittle" of the Law making Him the perfect sacrifice for sin's requirement before a HOLY and RIGHTEOUS God. The blood of a perfect person would be the only way mankind would be saved from Adam's fall. Yeshuah was that person! His sinless, perfect life testified to the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit and in keeping the Law became mankind's only hope of redemption. ALL HAVE SINNED and the penalty for sin, even one, is eternal condemnation. Everything Yeshuah did in His life was in preparation of His death, burial and resurrection. That is what we celebrate this week. That is the Spirit of Passover. That is the power of God's plan of redemption. The feasts start with Passover, and in fulfillment of the type, the Lord's sacrifice is the starting place for ALL OF MANKIND'S REDEMPTION!

        On the night before His passion and death in Jerusalem, Yeshuah gathered His 12 chosen apostles together for one last supper. This "supper" if you would was actually a Passover Seder. (See our lesson on THE FEAST OF PASSOVER) All four of the gospel writers give us insight into this "last Passover" and what took place just hours before the price for sin was ultimately paid.

        I want to look at this last supper Yeshuah had with his apostles for in it I believe we have a picture, a type, a foreshadowing, of events that are soon to take place in the church in these last days. If there has ever been a time in the Body of Christ that the reality of the Jewish Feasts have come to light it is now. The Holy Spirit is doing something powerful in the hearts of many Gentile-Christians who have developed a supernatural love for the Jewish people. Two things happened during the Last Passover - betrayal and service. Both are going to take place in a huge way in the very near future. In some respects, I believe these two things already are happening. They will just get more and more pronounced before Yeshuah comes back for the church first, THEN come WITH the church.

 He Loved Them To The End

John 13:1  - Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

        These are the most powerful words in all eternity: "He loved them unto the end." Jesus knew on this night that one of His 12 chosen was about to do one of the most dastardly, despicable and detestable deeds in human history by selling out Yeshuah and the Kingdom of God for 30 pieces of silver. Yet He loved them unto the end. Yeshuah knew looking at the 12 that night that not one of them - with the exception of John (who incidentally wrote this statement) would stay with the Master during the darkest hours of his sojourn here on Earth. When it came to cases "they all forsook Him and fled." Yet, HE LOVED THEM TO THE END. Yeshuah knew what Peter would do. Yeshuah knew the argument that would ensue shortly between James and John. Yeshuah knew that no one in the 12 was going to have the endurance or the courage to stay awake with him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Yet YESHUAH LOVED THEM TO THE END.

        Hear what I say to you. The power of love will cover a multitude of sins! Love conquers ALL. The world's problems right now will never be solved by peace treaties, UN Summits, or the U.S. government. No, the problems of humanity will be conquered by the same love that beat in Yeshuah's heart this night of the Last Passover. This same love is what caused God to send His only begotten Son to Earth to die on a bloody tree for sinful, wicked humanity, that had rebelled against its Creator. I firmly believe that even if there were NONE who accepted the Lord's sacrifice for payment of sin, the Lord would have still done it. WHY? Because God was zealous to show the world just how much He LOVED the world and did not hate it.

        Islam is a religion that controls much of the world tonight. Islam is the driving force behind the events of last fall on September 11, 2001 when 19 suicidal and maniacal highjackers flew three planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon in New York City and Washington, D.C. It was hatred that was the source of those killings. Our newspapers are replete with suicide bombings, random gun attacks and all sorts of violent anti-Israeli protests from Arab nations who have nothing but hate in their heart for the Jewish people. This hatred has been passed on from generation to generation with no reprieve in sight. Yet in the face of this hate, Yeshuah loves all mankind. He does not wish that ANY should perish but that ALL should come to the knowledge of the truth. The harder they hate, the more He loves. The worst they are, the more He yearns for them. His love is longsuffering, patient, kind. There is no malice in his heart for those who abuse and slander His name. He knows the source of their hate is from the enemy and "FOR THIS PURPOSE" He came into the world to destroy that enemy and his works! But the string that ties it all together in heaven and in earth is the LOVE OF YESHUAH for all humanity! It's this type love that will change nations. It's this type love that will change homes. It's this type love that will change YOU! It's this type love that will change ME! It's this type love that will set drug addicts free. It's this type love that will set alcoholics free. It's this type love that will set those addicted by pornography free. It's this type love that will set those controlled by the occult and witchcraft free. It's this type love that will set those bound by lust and perversion FREE! LOVE CONQUERS ALL. And after all the hurt, the denials, the betrayals, the disappointments, the unbelief in the apostles, the nights upon end when Yeshuah did not even have a place to lay His head, the days when those whom He loved most rejected Him the worst - HE LOVED THEM UNTO THE END! Let that sink in.

        I listen once a day to an "apostolic prayer" worship song by Gary Wiens from Kansas City. In this prayer he prays Romans 15 that the church will come to know the revelation of God's LOVE for it. He prays that the love of the bridegroom will be made manifest to the bride. His banner over us is LOVE! His banner over His church is LOVE. His heart beats for us so quick and fast that in the caverns of eternity when angels just look at us and say "WHY?" the Lord Yeshuah just says "LOVE." Praise God. Don't you feel that? Are you hearing me?? When the angels in heaven can't understand the redemption we have been given through Yeshuah's blood and death, He just turns to the angels and says, "LOVE." "I LOVE THEM and THEY LOVE ME." That's powerful! And that was the spirit of the Last Passover - the night before Yeshuah would die and in three days come back to life and ascend to heaven to sit at the right hand of God. HE LOVED THEM TO THE END!

And Supper Being Ended...The Devil Having Now Put Into The Heart Of Judas Iscariot...

John 13:2  - And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;

        Friend, supper for the church is about to end! The apostles seated at the table this night were enjoying the Passover Seder with their Master, yet had no idea what would lie ahead for most of them in just a few hours. The joy of the Passover was soon to turn into mourning, weeping and fear. After Jesus ascended and went back to the Father, some would die a martyr's death. Some would be beheaded. Some would be exiled and tortured. And as the Master sat at meat with them this night He also knew His own fate. He knew that one sitting at the table whom He had shared His life with, performed miracles with, preached with, sang with, healed the sick with - WOULD BETRAY HIM. He also knew that all those sitting at this same table with the exception of JOHN would forsake Him during the time when the Master needed His followers to be as true to Him as ever. But it didn't happen.

        I believe this is a picture to us of what is about to take place in the Church of the Lord Jesus in the very near future. Paul wrote in his epistle to the Thessalonians that before Yeshuah returned there would be a great falling away and the man of sin would be revealed. The man of sin's name is actually in some translations written as "the son of perdition." Jesus called Judas the same thing in His great intercessory prayer prior to the crucifixion.

John 17:12 - While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. (KJV)

II Th 2:3-4 - Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposes and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (KJV)


     The word perdition comes from from  the Greek word apoleia (ap-o'-li-a) which means to ruin or suffer loss (physical, spiritual or eternal): It has other connotations to words such as "damnable (-nation), destruction, die, perdition, perish, pernicious ways, and waste." That describes the condition of the type person Judas was and the type man the Antichrist will be when he appears. Both have similarities. Judas stayed with the Master for three and 1/2 years before allowing Satan to enter his heart and cause him to betray Christ. The Antichrist will enter into a peace treaty with Israel for 3 1/2 years before betraying the nation and seeking her utter destruction. Judas came to ruin and suffered eternal, spiritual and physical loss. So will the Antichrist. The advent of the Antichrist is on the horizon.

    About a week ago Lisa and I attended a fellowship meeting where a gentleman made a very somber statement. It's a statement that I bore witness with immediately. He said the Lord spoke to his heart a few days prior to the meeting during his sleep and said, "the way we know life in America and the modern church is about to change and change soon." He went on to say that the Lord told him America's judgment was decreed and many would depart from the faith when the persecution started.

        Those are the exact sentiments I have been feeling the last few months, especially since September 11. More than one prophetic person with insight into the future has confirmed the words of this gentleman through their own writings. Judgment against America has been decreed in heaven. America has sinned against light and we have literally "shoveled judgment into a closet," as Nita Johnson once said. The door to that closet is about to open and people will die. Christians will die. Jewish people will be martyred. Many will see what is happening and see now that there will be a price to pay to name the name of Yeshuah and decide the price is too high. Many will depart from the faith. Many will give into the seducing spirits and doctrines of devils in our society right now.  Hear me child of God - SUPPER IS ABOUT TO END!

        I want to say that again - SUPPER IS ABOUT TO END. The American church has been so self-seeking and proud of its accomplishments, riches and wealth while pushing God out of our services, our churches, our pulpits to the point most Sunday morning gatherings are no more spiritual than the local Kiwanis' Club meetings. Sadly, some of the Kiwanis' Club meetings are more friendlier. Jesus said that in the last days many's love would wax cold because iniquity would abound. He didn't say there would be a small amount of betrayal and iniquity - he said it would ABOUND. SUPPER IS ABOUT TO END.

        Jesus said many in the last days would "betray" one another - fathers would betray sons; sons would betray fathers; daughters would betray mothers; mothers would betray daughters; brothers would betray brothers and sisters would betray sisters. FRIEND, SUPPER IS ABOUT THE END. Dear God help the church, we have become so suffocated by this insidious idea we have to entertain people to keep them coming to our services instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to take free reign in our churches and changing hearts and lives for the glory of God. But instead of us leaning on the moving of the Holy Spirit to change people, we want them to be entertained by singers, "professional" ministries without even a thought about pleasing God. Pastor, hear me - SUPPER IS ABOUT TO END. The sheep you're trying so hard to keep from the Holy Spirit is the same flock that is about to experience on the hardest times the Body of Christ has ever experienced. THEIR ONLY HOPE WILL BE THEIR DEPENDENCE ON THE HOLY SPIRIT. If we as pastors are trying nothing more than to just "keep" numbers on the rolls, our churches are not going to survive what is ahead. SUPPER IS ABOUT TO END! The devil is about to put it into the hearts of many to betray others!

Matt 24:10-12 - And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. (KJV)

John 13:11 - For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. (KJV)

John 13:21 - When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. (KJV)
 

        Jesus KNEW who was going to betray Him and He knows today. There are some of you reading this journal right now and there is sin in your heart. That sin is the door Satan will use to betray the Lord unless you repent of that sin today and be cleansed by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ! The Body of Christ has experienced a minor shaking over the past decade or so. Friend what we are about to experience will make the shaking of the late 1980s and early 1990s seem like a Sunday School picnic. God is about to produce a glorious church without spot or wrinkle, washed in the blood of the Lamb. The Lord is going to become our focus again. His purpose and will are about to become our curriculum. His WORD is about to become our message again. THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST is about to become the true gospel of JESUS CHRIST again and not some hyped-up glossed over, patty-cake type sermonettes most people hear in their churches on Sunday. OH NEIGHBOR, the SUPPER IS ABOUT TO END! Our play day is about to come to an end. The entertainment idol is about to be brought down. There are not going to be any more "stars" in the Body of Christ in the very near future. The true worshippers are about to be revealed. The truth is about to set us free. We're about to enter a time that the LAST thing we are going to be arguing about is the color of the carpet or how the preacher dressed Sunday. We're about to enter a time that the LAST thing we are going to be arguing about is whether we sprinkle or immerse when it comes to baptism. We're about to enter a time that we won't find preachers behind pulpits anymore lambasting the Biblical experience of speaking in tongues and prophetic gifts and unction. No, whether one teaches "Baptist" doctrine or "Pentecostal" doctrine will not be the issue. SURVIVAL WILL! SUPPER IS ABOUT TO END!

        Hear me child of God. You think you have a handle on what is ahead but you don't! I don't either. I have spent the last three and half years having my heart crushed by God in such a way I have spent days upon days at time doing nothing but crying. I have had impressions and dreams at times that what Jesus said about men's hearts "failing them for fear," is going to become a reality in the very near future. I've seen a revival that is about to spread across the entire nation soon as well. This revival will come I'm afraid only after the nation has suffered so much calamity that God will finally get our attention to the point we are truly sorry for our sins instead of just proud we are Americans. Our military might will not save us from GOD! We may have been able to go into Afghanistan and destroy Al-Queda with nominal resistance. But once God's decreed judgment begins to fall - there will be no place to hide!  

        I say these things to you to prepare your heart NOW for the onslaught that is coming later. I know some of you very personally and consider you part of our family. I write these things to you NOW to prepare you for the fact that SUPPER IS ABOUT TO END. It's time to check our hearts and love meters. It's time to check our motives. It's time to see if we are in total UNION with our MASTER and we are seeking nothing more or nothing less than HIS TOTAL GLORY! Those who seek their own glory will fall. Those who seek to build a kingdom for themselves will fall and succumb to the onslaught that is ahead. Betrayal will cause many to grow bitter and angry. The true worshippers will be shielded from the bitterness and use the betrayal to just love those who have perpetrated such acts even more. Love is going to be the benchmark on which we survive the last days. It's time to take a gut check child of God. It's time to look inside and see how much love you have burning in your heart for the Lord. Our love for Him AND HIS LOVE FOR US are the only two things that will keep us shielded from these things I write about.

        Persecution is coming to the church in America. My new friend Don Finto told me over dinner the other night that the church does its people a HUGE disservice by preaching to them everything is going to be alright and that we are going to be "ushered" out of here without any type of suffering. The rapture has been taught for years as the way of "escape" that will keep the church from all trouble. I believe the rapture will keep us from wrath but there is no where in scripture that promises us a life free of trouble. SUPPER IS ABOUT TO END.

        I am going to continue this journal in a separate journal. The message on this eve of Passover is simple. Life is about to change for the church. We are at ease and self-sufficient. That is about to end. The events prior to the Master's death foreshadow what is about to happen to us. For it is only when we DIE that true life can come forth. Two things are about to happen to us - we're about to DIE and we are about to see REVIVAL. REVIVAL and death may not seem right in the same statement but in God's economy it is.

John 12:24-27 - Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. (KJV)

        The last Passover is about to be our experience today. Many will betray others and be betrayed themselves. Many will lose faith and hope. But at the same time, many will be true and follow the Lord to the end. We need to pray on this Passover eve that the Lord grant us the grace to die to ourselves and remove any sin that may be a door to Satan. I believe the harvest as foretold in scripture is at stake. Souls are in the balance. We'll look at another event that took place (the washing of the disciples' feet) at the Last Passover in the next journal.

Father, in the name of Yeshuah, I thank You today for sending heaven's most precious Lamb to earth to die for our sins and deliver us from the devil's snare. Thank you for the grace that covers all sin and delivers us from the nature that breeds sin. We are thankful today Lord for this season. Let us celebrate the Feast as Paul said, removing leaven from our lives and allowing the resurrection power of Jesus to bring forth a great harvest of fruit in our lives and families. It's more than just a play we put on or a group of "easter" songs we sing. It's about HIM! It's about the LAMB! It's about Yeshuah Ha'maschiah, Jesus the Messiah. HE IS OUR PASSOVER lamb and we thank You today Lord. We PRAISE YOU OH LAMB GOD for you have delivered us from our sins and sanctified us by YOUR BLOOD. In YESHUAH name we begin this hallowed Passover season. AMEN!