Proclaiming the Doctrine of the Holy Bible

BIBLE NEWS

for the Church of God (Seventh Day)

Number 14 2026

The Passover Gospel

The Gospel Of

John:

A Passover Book

The Passover is one of the

pillars of the Bible. This is not

obvious to everyone who reads

the Bible because the overt

Passover message is taught in

very few passages throughout

the scriptures. However, the

subtle, hidden, shrouded

Passover message is taught in

many books of the Bible and is

only understood by a select few.

If you have read some of the

previous issues of this

newsletter, you have had the

opportunity to study a few of

these hidden Passover

messages.

In this issue you will read

about some of the various

Passover messages hidden in

the gospel of John. These

messages have been hidden

since John wrote the book, and

have been suppressed by years

of Catholicism, Christianity,

Reformation movements,

Pentecostal movements,

Evangelicalism, the Prosperity

Gospel, and other movements.

These Passover messages will

remain hidden from those who

do not seek the truth.

I pray that everyone who

reads this newsletter, and takes

it to heart, will come to a better

understanding of the

significance and observance of

the Passover.

Don’t Tell The Enemy

Encoded Secrets

When nations are at war,

within the ranks of the military,

communication is critical.

Some messages are so critical

that they must be encrypted or

encoded, lest they fall into the

hands of the enemy.

Communications between

enlisted men are almost never

encrypted. These messages are

never so critical that they can

affect the strategic plans of an

entire army.

Communications between

lower ranking officers may be

encrypted, but not always.

However, communications

between generals and colonels

are so critical that all messages

may need to be encrypted.

Even the knowledge that a

general is moving from one

location to another is a clue to

the enemy, a clue that can be

taken advantage of.

So, which messages are more

likely to be encrypted? The

most important. The most

critical. The most crucial. The

messages that will have the

greatest impact on the lives of

all involved in the conflict.

And so it is with the Bible.

The many Passover messages in

the Bible are presented in

puzzles and patterns, types and

shadows. And, yes, many carry

crucial messages. And, in this

issue, we will examine the

gospel of John, and reveal a few

of these crucial messages.

Jesus Is Our Passover

John 1:19-27

The Baptism Of

Jesus Christ

In John 1:19-27, John the

Baptist has a conversation with

Pharisees who were sent by the

priests and Levites. They want

to know if John is the Messiah

they have been waiting for.

This is the setting for the

baptism of Jesus Christ.

Following are the facts

concerning Jesus’s baptism.

Fact 1. According to John

1:28, this meeting took place in

Bethabara beyond Jordan,

where John was baptizing.

Fact 2. The name Bethabara

means, house of the ford, a ford

being a shallow place in a river.

Image a river that is 10 feet

deep and 20 feet wide, with a

strong rushing current. If you

cannot swim, you would need a

bridge or a ferry to get to the

other side. But, if, further

upstream, there is a shallow

place where the water is 2 feet

deep and 100 feet wide, the

water would be very shallow

and moving much slower. Most

adults would be able to walk

across. That shallow place is

called a ford. So, Bethabara,

house of a ford, is a place where

people would have walked

across the Jordan River.

Fact 3. According to

Matthew 3:13, Jesus was

baptized by John in the Jordan

River.

Fact 4. To be baptized, Jesus

came from Galilee, from the

west side of the Jordan River.

Fact 5. The place where John

was baptizing was Bethabara,

which was beyond Jordan. That

is to say, on the east side of the

Jordan River. And, since John

was baptizing there, Bethabara

had to be adjacent to the river.

Fact 6. Therefore, Jesus

would have walked through the

Jordan River to be baptized.

Fact 7. In Exodus 12 the

children of Israel observed the

Passover, then in Exodus 14

they passed through the Red

Sea. That is to say, after the

Passover they passed through

the Red Sea. And in Exodus

15:16, the song of Moses calls

this pass through a pass over.

A similar relationship can be

found in Joshua 1-5. In these

chapters, the children of Israel

passed through the Jordan

River, then they keep the

Passover. Joshua 5:10.

Fact 8. In 1 Corinthians 5:7,

Paul calls Jesus Christ our

passover. In John 1:29, 36,

John the Baptist calls Jesus

Christ the Lamb of God. The

two verses together proclaim

Jesus to be the Passover Lamb.

Conclusion: To be baptized,

Jesus passed over the Jordan

River, and is then introduced to

the nation of Israel as the

Passover Lamb, God’s Messiah,

the Christ.

The Significance: From

baptism, the identity of the

Messiah is coupled with the

Passover.

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A New Creature

John 3:1-21

New Birth

Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a

ruler of the Jews, comes to

Jesus by night, with a single

question.

Read the whole passage, John

3:1-21, and also John 2:23-25.

Nicodemus’s question is

about miracles. But Jesus

immediately changes the topic;

the topic now is about being

born again and entering the

kingdom of God. So Jesus

gives him a short lesson on the

new birth. This is how we enter

into the future kingdom of God.

Then there is John 3:16

which is one of the most quoted

verses in the Bible. It speaks to

both the sinner who has a small

bag of sins, and to the sinner

who has a house full of sins.

No matter what the sin or how

many, everyone who is

convicted of their sins wants

that ultimate forgiveness that

leads to eternal life. According

to John 3:16, God offers that

eternal life based on His love.

However, the eternal life

offered has a condition attached

to it. The condition is belief;

the sinner must believe.

According to John 3:18, the

sinner must believe in Jesus

Christ, the only begotten Son of

God.

Now read John 3:14-15.

John 3

14 And as Moses lifted up the

serpent in the wilderness, even

so must the Son of man be lifted

up:

15 That whosoever believeth in

him should not perish, but have

eternal life.

Jesus was lifted up when He

was crucified, and He was

crucified on the Passover. This

new-birth-belief-everlasting-life

conversation points Nicodemus

to the crucifixion of Jesus,

which, at that time, was a soon

coming future Passover. So,

this conversation points

Nicodemus to the Passover.

That makes this chapter a

new-birth-belief-everlasting-

life-Passover chapter.

Now, when did Jesus meet

with Nicodemus? The answer

is found in the previous chapter.

John 2:23 tells us when this

meeting took place.

John 2

23 Now when he was in

Jerusalem at the passover, in the

feast day.

This very statement sets up

the meeting of Jesus and

Nicodemus. The words “in the

feast day,” singular, imply

Nisan 14, one day, but not

Nisan 15 through 21, the feast

of unleavened bread, plural

days. If you read all of John

2:23-25, the entire end of that

chapter, you will notice that

there are no specific events

mentioned. This lets us know

that these statements

specifically set the time of the

meeting of Jesus and

Nicodemus.

So, Nicodemus comes to

Jesus on the night of the

Passover.

Conclusion: On the night of

the Passover, Jesus teaches the

new birth to Nicodemus, and

points him to the future

Passover when He would be

crucified.

The Significance: Through

this conversation, Jesus links

the new birth to the Passover.

To be born again is to

become a new man. And yes,

by keeping the Sabbath Day, the

Passover, the law of the clean

and unclean meats, and other

New Testament biblical

doctrines, we do become a new

man as Paul says in Colossians

3:10, Ephesians 4:24, and

2 Corinthians 5:17.

A Little Trip In A Boat

John 6:16-21

Salvation

This is an amazing Passover

story of the disciples taking a

boat trip across the Sea of

Galilee. But based on the

abundance of Passover

references in the book of John,

and the many pass over types, it

is obvious that this story carries

a Passover message. And the

message is powerful.

Before we start, read the

whole story; it is a simple one;

only six verses long, so do not

cheat.

So, first let us identify the

facts in this story.

Fact 1. According to John

6:16, this event happens in the

evening, just as the Passover

ordinances are taken in the

evening.

Fact 2. According to verse

17, the disciples went over the

sea toward Capernaum. That is

to say, they passed over the sea.

Fact 3. According to verse

19, they see Jesus drawing nigh

to their ship. That is to say,

Jesus came to those who were

passing over.

Fact 4. According to verse

21, those who were passing

over, the disciples, received

Him into their ship. Which is to

imply, it is those that keep the

Passover that truly accept Jesus

Christ as their Saviour.

Fact 5. According to verse

18 and 21, in the middle of a

severe weather condition, Jesus

miraculously takes them to their

final destination. Which is a

type of Jesus, the Saviour,

saving those that keep the

Passover, and miraculously

reaping them from the dangers

of this mortal life.

Once we have seen the five

facts above, other facts become

obvious.

Fact 6. In verse 17, the

sentence, “And it was now dark,

and Jesus was not come to

them,” represents the years we

spend in this mortal life, waiting

for Jesus’s return.

Fact 7. In verse 18, “And the

sea arose by reason of a great

wind that blew,” represents the

trials, tribulations, and

temptations experienced by the

Saints over the last two

thousand years.

Fact 8. In verse 19, “So

when they had rowed about five

and twenty or thirty furlongs,” is

an indication of the spiritual

effort of the Saints to reach our

final destination, the new

Jerusalem.

Fact 9. The last part of verse

19 and all of 20 reads, “and they

were afraid. But he saith unto

them, It is I; be not afraid.”

Why would the Saints be afraid

of the coming of Jesus? They

should not be. However, the

many prophecies concerning the

years leading up to the second

coming of Jesus are something

to be afraid of. (Read Matthew

24 and the book of Revelation.)

Conclusion. So, the hidden

message within this story is that,

1) Jesus’s followers keep the

Passover, 2) Jesus comes to

those who keep the Passover,

3) those who keep the Passover

accept Jesus as their Saviour,

4) Jesus delivers those that keep

the Passover from tribulations,

5) those who keep the Passover

will be miraculously reaped

from this earth, and finally,

6) those who keep the Passover

will be granted eternal life in the

new Jerusalem.

The Significance: This type

links eternal salvation to the

Passover.

There is much Passover

symbolism in this short story.

And, implied, it also symbolizes

that those who do not keep the

Passover will not participate in

the future salvation of the

Saints.

The Passover is pertinent to

our salvation. There is no

salvation without the Passover.

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Body And Blood

John 6:32-58

The Ordinances

We know that John 6:16-21

is a Passover puzzle. That story

sets the stage for John 6.32-58,

where Jesus continues the

Passover lesson by symbolically

focusing on the ordinances of

the Passover, the unleavened

bread and the fruit of the vine.

However, John, in his gospel,

does not write of the ordinances

taken at Jesus’s last Passover

observance. But you can read

about the ordinances in

Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-

24, and Luke 22:14-20.

In John 6:32-58, Jesus is

letting us know exactly how

important the Passover

ordinances are. You will have

to pardon the repetition in the

coming paragraphs; consider

the repetition as emphasis; they

are the words of Jesus Himself.

John 6:31-32, 49 says that the

manna eaten by the children of

Israel in the wilderness, was not

the bread that leads to eternal

life. Those that ate it are dead.

v 33. Without mentioning

Himself, Jesus calls Himself the

bread of God, and says that He

gives life to the entire world.

v 35. Jesus explicitly states

that He is the bread of life.

v 48. Jesus again states that

He is the bread of life.

v 50. By relating Himself to

the true bread, Jesus says that

He gives eternal life.

v 51. Jesus is the living

bread that leads to life, and is

sufficient for the entire world.

v 53. If someone does not

eat His flesh and drink His

blood, he has no life.

v 54-55. If someone desires

resurrection, they must eat His

flesh and drink His blood.

v 56-57. For us who

participate in these ordinances,

we have an eternal relationship

with Jesus Christ.

v 58. Again, Jesus is the

bread that leads to eternal life.

And now, Matthew 26:26-28.

Concerning the Passover

ordinances, Jesus took the bread

and said, “this is my body.”

That is to say, the ordinance of

the bread represents His body.

Then He took the cup of the

fruit of the vine, grape juice,

and said, “this is my blood.”

And that is to say that the

ordinance of the fruit of the vine

represents His blood.

Conclusion: John 6:16-21

teaches the relationship between

the Passover and salvation.

Then, John 6:32-58 repeats the

relationship between the

Passover ordinances and eternal

life. Finally, Matthew’s account

of that last Passover observance

of Jesus lets us know that the

unleavened bread and the fruit

of the vine represent Jesus’s

body and blood.

The Significance: The

Passover ordinances are crucial

for salvation. The Bible does

not relate them to Good Friday,

Easter, or Sunday. Neither are

they separate Lord's Supper

ordinances. And, they only

represent the body and blood of

Jesus, but Jesus says they are

necessary for eternal life.

Jesus Forgives

John 8:1-11

Forgiveness

Here is another powerful

Passover story. Again, we are

not told it is a Passover story,

but the hidden Passover puzzle,

once seen and once explained,

is obvious.

I wrote about this Passover

type in last year’s newsletter, so

it should be familiar to you.

And, for that reason, most of the

text below is copied directly

from last year’s newsletter.

This is a story about a woman

who was caught in the very act

of adultery. The Pharisees in

this story, religious soldiers

extraordinaire, want to enforce

the law and stone the woman for

her sins. But, what does this

Passover puzzle reveal? Let us

examine the facts.

And, as in the previous

section, read the whole story in

John 8:1-11 before proceeding.

Fact 1. The Mount of Olives

is to the east of Jerusalem.

Fact 2. According to John

8:1, Jesus goes to the Mount of

Olives and spends the night.

Fact 3. At the time of Jesus,

the temple stood on Mount

Zion, today called the temple

mount.

Fact 4. Between Mount Zion

and the Mount of Olives is the

Cedron Valley (Kidron Valley).

Fact 5. At the time of Jesus,

the Brook Cedron ran through

the Cedron Valley. We know

that there was running water in

the brook, because John makes

reference to the brook.

John 18

1 When Jesus had spoken these

words, he went forth with his

disciples over the brook

Cedron, where was a garden,

into the which he entered, and

his disciples.

Fact 6. According to

John 8:2, early in the morning,

Jesus walked from the Mount of

Olives to the temple. To do

this, he had to pass over the

Brook Cedron. That is to say,

he passed over. This did not

happen on the Passover, it is

simply a pass over type.

Conclusion: By passing over

the Brook Cedron, Jesus creates

a metaphor for the Passover.

Then, in John 8:11, Jesus

forgives the woman of her sins.

The Christian world will

focus their attention on the

forgiveness message. They do

not observe the Passover; they

believe that the Passover was

abolished, and they have

abandoned the foundation of the

Bible for the foundation of the

Catholic Church. They cannot

see what they have rejected.

So, for the Saints, once the

puzzle has been solved, we see

the connection to the Passover.

The Significance: The

Passover and forgiveness go

hand in hand. Jesus is the

Passover Lamb, crucified,

sacrificed, for our sins. This

story binds the two concepts

together. There is no

forgiveness without the blood of

the Passover Lamb.

Read Exodus 12, especially

Exodus 12:7.

Exodus 12

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.

Before fleeing Egypt, they

had to strike the blood on the

door posts, such that when they

left their houses, they passed

through the blood of the lamb.

So, just as the children of

Israel passed through the blood

and were delivered by the blood

of that first Passover lamb, so

are our sins forgiven by the

blood of the New Testament

Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ.

The Big Picture

Conclusion

Yes, John truly is a Passover

book. These five Passover

puzzles are encoded and

encrypted messages for the

elect, and together they send a

greater message.

That greater message is that

all of these biblical concepts,

Jesus as the Lamb of God, the

new birth, salvation, the

ordinances, and forgiveness, are

all related to the Passover.

For those who do not keep

the Passover, their faith is vain.

For us who keep it, eternal gifts

are waiting at the second

coming of Jesus Christ. BN

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Questions And Answers

Galatians 4:

Have The Ten

Commandments

Been Abolished?

Question: Does Galatians 4

refer to the Ten

Commandments? If so, does

this chapter abolish the Ten

Commandments?

Answer: There are a few

passages in the New Testament

that Sunday-keepers use in an

attempt to show that the Ten

Commandments were

abolished; Galatians 4 is one

such passage. However, this

chapter does not abolish the

Ten Commandments.

So, first things first. Is this

chapter speaking of the Ten

Commandments? Yes it is.

That should be obvious. Notice

Galatians 4:24-25, 30.

Galatians 4

24 Which things are an

allegory: for these are the two

covenants; the one from the

mount Sinai, which gendereth to

bondage, which is Agar.

25 For this Agar is mount Sinai

in Arabia, and answereth to

Jerusalem which now is, and is

in bondage with her children.

30 Nevertheless what saith the

scripture? Cast out the

bondwoman and her son: for the

son of the bondwoman shall not

be heir with the son of the

freewoman.

These verses are screaming

Ten Commandments, which is

the covenant, which was given

to Moses on Mount Sinai. They

are saying that Hagar represents

the Old Covenant and implying

that Sarah represents the New

Covenant. And finally, they say

that the Old Covenant should be

cast out.

To explain these verses, I am

going to add some complexity

to my answer. First read

Galatians 3:11.

Galatians 3

11 But that no man is justified

by the law in the sight of God, it

is evident: for, The just shall

live by faith.

According to this verse, we

are not justified by the law.

That is easy to understand. But,

now read Romans 2:13.

Romans 2

13 For not the hearers of the

law are just before God, but the

doers of the law shall be

justified.

According to this verse, the

doers are justified by the law.

We are? We are not?

Which is it? These two verses

seem to contradict each other.

However, with some

explanation, some clarity can be

found in Galatians 3:24-25,

which speaks of a schoolmaster.

Galatians 3

24 Wherefore the law was our

schoolmaster to bring us unto

Christ, that we might be

justified by faith.

25 But after that faith is come,

we are no longer under a

schoolmaster.

Consider this example.

When a young boy is in school,

the schoolmaster explains the

rules of arithmetic to the class.

When the boy takes a test on the

subject, he will be graded, and

pass or fail depending on his

score. If he fails, as

punishment, he may have to

take the test again. If he

performs poorly for the duration

of the class, he may even have

to repeat the entire class, or

even repeat the same grade.

These are the consequences for

failing the test, and failing the

subject. These consequences

are enforced by the

schoolmaster. In the Old

Testament, there were

consequences for not keeping or

not understanding the law.

Consider another example.

The schoolmaster explains to

the class that 10 minus 8 equals

2. When asked to perform a

similar equation, if the boy does

not understand, or refuses to do,

or even makes a mistake, he

must face the consequences. He

is under the power of the

schoolmaster. However, after

the boy leaves school, when he

is in the grocery store, and he

hands the cashier a 10 dollar

bill, there is no schoolmaster to

correct his mistakes, there is no

schoolmaster to enforce the

consequences, he is expected to

understand and live by the rules

of arithmetic that he was taught.

In the New Testament, there

are no consequences for not

keeping or not understanding

the law, but we are still

expected to know the concepts

taught by the law.

(That is to say, there are no

consequences in this life, but we

will be judged at the second

coming of Jesus Christ.)

So, what is the schoolmaster?

The schoolmaster is, 1) animal

sacrifices, 2) feast days, 3) the

priesthood, 4) circumcision,

5) physical punishment, and

others; all of which was given to

teach a lesson. And yes, that

lesson included the moral law,

the Ten Commandments.

In Romans 2:13, Paul is

saying that the schoolmaster of

enforcement has been

abolished, and we are not

justified by keeping ceremonies,

ordinances, and enforcing

punishments on the guilty.

In Galatians 3:11, Paul is

saying that we are justified by

keeping the concepts taught by

the schoolmaster, including the

concepts taught in the Ten

Commandments.

Now, back to Galatians 4.

Have the Ten Commandments

been done away? The Old

Covenant that enforced the laws

of Moses and the Ten

Commandments have been done

away. But, the concepts taught

by the Old Covenant still live on

in the New Covenant.

The difference being the

spirit of the law and the letter of

the law. The same concept is

taught in the three verses below.

Romans 2

29 But he is a Jew, which is one

inwardly; and circumcision is

that of the heart, in the spirit,

and not in the letter; whose

praise is not of men, but of God.

Romans 7

6 But now we are delivered

from the law, that being dead

wherein we were held; that we

should serve in newness of

spirit, and not in the oldness of

the letter.

2 Corinthians 3

6 Who also hath made us able

ministers of the new testament;

not of the letter, but of the

spirit: for the letter killeth, but

the spirit giveth life.

Does the New Testament

abolish the Ten

Commandments? It only

abolishes the letter of the law.

Does the New Testament

completely abolish the Ten

Commandments? No, it does

not abolish the spirit of the law.

So, does Galatians 4 abolish

the Ten Commandments? To

those who know the truth the

answer is no. BN

Author: Unless specified, all articles, and answers to

questions were written by Joel Aaron Crudup,

General Overseer, Church of God (Seventh Day).

Reproduction: You are free to duplicate this

newsletter as a whole. You are not free to duplicate

portions.

Purpose: The purpose of this newsletter is in the title;

Bible News. The articles, questions and answers, and

letters are for the purpose of expanding our

understanding of the Holy Bible.

CHURCH OF GOD (Seventh Day)

HEADQUARTERS

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

Written, printed, and distributed by

Church of God (Seventh Day)

Beaumont, CA, USA

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