The Passover and its Meaning for Christians...

Me ~ What is Passover and what does it have to do with Communion?

John ~  The Communion meal is the Passover meal. It is the meal that Jesus gave the Israelites when the angel of death came to kill the first born male while they were in Egypt. It was the final plague declared by Moses to Pharaoh to let his people go.  The Israelites were instructed to put lamb's blood over their door frames so that the angel of death would pass over them. Jesus is the Lamb which protects us the lamb's blood protected the Israelites in Egypt. The Passover meal was eaten in their homes while angel of death passed over outside their doors.

Me ~ So, when we take the Communion meal together as Christians we are celebrating Passover?

John ~ Yes, we are celebrating the meal that God instituted for passing over judgement on His chosen people. The Bible says that once we are in Christ we are no longer under judgement or condemnation just as the Israelites were no longer under judgement while they were in Egypt. The Passover meal was a foreshadowing of God's church being passed over for judgement on the last day.

Me ~ Do we need to take Communion every day or every week... on the Sabbath?

John ~ Firstly, the Sabbath was made for man not the other way around. You can take it whenever you want. It is a memorial of God being our Passover Lamb our sacrifice so that we are not judged at the last judgement. Passover comes once a year (Jesus celebrated once a year) and celebrating once a year is acceptable. Jesus never gave us a rule as to how often we should celebrate Communion.  I don't have a problem celebrating it often but we don't want it to become a ritual or 'tradition'.

Me ~ Yes, I want to ask about ritual/tradition but first, does a priest or pastor have to issue the Communion meal or can anyone?

John ~ On Passover, a Jewish family would get together and have the meal and it was a family event. There was never any requirement by your family, or by yourself to have it given by a priest/pastor. The idea of a priest doing it is a Catholic tradition going back to about 300 Ad (years after Christ). It has nothing to do with the last Communion Passover meal that Jesus had with His disciples which we call the Last Supper.  This meal has always been about Jesus' sascrifice. It was a prophecy that Jesus fulfilled on that day... the last Passover meal before He was crucified. He wants us to remember about His sacrifice for us when we celebrate the Passover meal.

Me ~ Catholics have always considered that communion was necessary every Sunday and that it was a necessary sacrament; something that you were obligated to do in order to become 'savable'... The priest as you know conducts a ceremony at the alter and the blessed wafer is given to each member. They understand that the wafer is the body of Christ and the wine is His blood.
What is wrong with that whole tradition/ritual if there is anything wrong with it?

John ~ First, the wafer does not turn into flesh and the wine does not turn into blood. Jesus only wanted His disciples to understand that the meal was symbolic of His sacrifice. There is nothing mystical about it, so no there is no 'transubstantiation' going on.  There is no need for a priest to say any kind of blessing and it is not a ritual.  The idea that one must take it to be saved contradicts what Christ and Paul said about the nature of salvation... that believing on the name of Christ and being baptized in the Holy Spirit is all one needs. There is nothing in the Word of God that says you must take communion in order to be saved or any other sacrament or ritual.

Me ~ Many Catholics point to Paul as standing firm on tradition and that traditions are to be allowed or followed. But, I have not found that to be the case in view of scripture. How is that properly understood?

John ~ Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? Matthew 15:3. You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men." Mark 7:8 He went on to say, "You neatly set aside the commandment of God to maintain your own tradition. Mark 7:9 Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters." Mark 7:13

So... Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ ~ Colossians 2:8.
 
1 Peter 1: 17-19. Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives in reverent fear during your temporary stay on earth. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot.…

Me ~ What do you use for your Passover meal at home?

John ~ Dry bread usually but it can be unleavened or pita or even crackers. Its what's in your heart, mind and soul that matters when breaking bread with your family or alone and remembering what that means for us/you; His sacrifice on the cross, once and for all.

The Fall of Ai... Its Significance Today!

Ai was referred to as a place in the Bible that was full of corrupted information. Joshua was commanded by the Lord to destroy Ai which is sometimes called, Et-Tell (Intell?). 

Me ~ Do you think there is any significance with that name Ai reflecting on today's Ai- artificial intelligence? 

John ~ Well, it is very interesting considering that we are at a time when artificial intelligence is on the verge of taking over for humankind. Let us consider the commentary by Matthew Henry on Joshua 8:1 - When we have faithfully put away sin, that accursed thing which separates between us and God, then, and not till then, we may look to hear from God to our comfort; and God's directing us how to go on in our Christian work and warfare... there are and will be people, who kept themselves from the accursed thing, and they were quickly rewarded for their obedience. The way to have the comfort of what God allows us, is, to keep away from what he forbids us. 

Me ~ Ok, so is there any significance? Will there be, given the nature of this 'reality' of this fallen world, a kind of return to Joshua 8?  If we agree that what we are experiencing an information reality corruption whereat error entered in, then don't we have to consider that today's Ai is another version of the same event. 

John ~ Read Joshua 8 - And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land....

You shall do according to the word of the Lord. See, I have commanded you.” So Joshua sent them out...Joshua arose early in the morning and mustered the people and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. And all the fighting men who were with him went up and drew near before the city and encamped on the north side of Ai, with a ravine between them and Ai...

And as soon as the king of Ai saw this, he and all his people, the men of the city, hurried and went out early to the appointed place toward the Arabah to meet Israel in battle. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. And Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten before them and fled in the direction of the wilderness. So all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them, and as they pursued Joshua they were drawn away from the city. Not a man was left in Ai ...

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Stretch out the javelin that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the javelin that was in his hand toward the city. And the men in the ambush rose quickly out of their place, and as soon as he had stretched out his hand, they ran and entered the city and captured it. And they hurried to set the city on fire. So when the men of Ai looked back, behold, the smoke of the city went up to heaven, and they had no power to flee this way or that, for the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers.  

And when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had captured the city, and that the smoke of the city went up, then they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. And the others came out from the city against them...When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open wilderness where they pursued them, and all of them to the very last had fallen by the edge of the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the edge of the sword. 

What does this 'battle' have to do with man today? Will we be fighting Ai - the thing/entity of a number of people (number of the beast) and those who join in with it? Isn't that just a place, and today we are talking about a thing that has no real place. There is one thing for sure... artificial intelligence is what was being fought by Joshua. 

Me ~ What do you mean?

John ~ I mean that information that is manufactured on false pretense, on false information, on untruths that enslave man as it was in the time of Joshua! We should be asking will there be a conquest of Ai today?  Yes, and it will likely begin at the second coming of Christ.