Soon after the Passover sacrifice on the 14th day of the first month of the year, at the ninth hour, what is called in Hebrew “between the two evenings” Yehoah is inviting His people to keep the feast of the unleavened bread starting just after the sunset marking the beginning of the 15th day of the first month of the year.
This first feast of the biblical year is being prepared as described by Yehoah in Exodus 12, verses 14 to 20:
" 14 ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to Yehoah throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. 17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”
The preparation which is requested from us by our Lord is to eliminate from our houses all the leaven before the arrival of this beautiful fifteenth day of celebration that is commemorating the precise during which the Children of Israel could leave Egypt. It is this liberation day that Yehoah is asking us to celebrate perpetually.
By the way, please note that wherever the bible is making a reference to this festival of unleavened bread, Elohim never uses the wording week of unleavened bread but is calling this festival “the seven days of unleavened bread”: the reason is very simple and it shows the precision that Elohim gives to the words, week is defined since the creation after the seven days starting with so-called Sunday (first day of the week) and ending with the Sabbath consecrated by Yehoah as the day of rest. For more details about this topic, we invite you to read the article on the calendar of the Lord.
During the two days of festivals which mark the beginning and the end of these seven days of unleavened bread, Yehoah asks us not to work but to rest; however, He makes a difference with the weekend Sabbath because here He allows us to prepare each person's food. During shabbat, Yehoah wants our food to be ready before the day of rest.
Another world!
All believers must bear in mind that they are no longer part of this world which is nearing its end; believers are part of another world, the world to come of which Christ is the Lord of lords. This new world has other traditions than those which are current in the world in which we live; the traditions of this new world are most of the time incompatible with those of the existing world, a little like anti-matter cannot coexist with matter without disappearing! All the traditional festivals practiced by official Christianity don’t have any root in the Bible as being festivals desired by Elohim, and yet the Bible should somehow be the only source to discover what our Creator likes and appreciates in world to come. It is therefore in the Bible and only in the Bible that we can find the best information on the traditional festivals of Yehoah, as for example this festival of the seven days of unleavened bread which is a perpetual festival in the sense that it should be celebrated everywhere and any time, in other words, it is absolutely celebrated by true believers both in space and in time.
The leaven.
Do you understand what Yehoah means when He is asking us to eliminate the leaven from our houses? The word used here for leaven is the Hebrew word "seor" whose root comes from "char" which means what remains, residue. So the word "seor" means the remaining old dough which is used to raise the dough of the new bread.
We are also asked to not eat leavened bread, and the word used here is translated from the Hebrew "hamets" which comes from a word which means to be sour or embittered.
And finally, Yehoah asks us to eat unleavened breads, in Hebrew, "matsot"; the etymology of which means in Hebrew to suck or to drain out. and to some extent something sweet, the opposite of what is sour and bitter.
So, we can try to understand better what Elohim wants here, we have just entered a new year marked by the spring and the barley harvest. As a result, we are asked to remove the leaven left from the past and to renew everything to produce our new bread. The unleavened bread we are eating during these seven days must not be sour nor bitter but rather sweet. This bread will only be sweet if it is made exclusively with a new dough. This is what Paul explains in his first epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 5, verses 6 to 8:
" 6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."
The spiritual symbolism behind the leaven.
To eliminatethe leaven from all our dwellings has also a symbolic meaning, just as the Passover lamb announced the sacrifice of Christ. Very little leaven introduced into the dough is enough to make it swell and rise as we read above. The same Paul gives us the key to understand what the leaven symbolizes a little further in the same first epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 5, in verse 2:
" And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you."
The leaven is a symbol for pride and in the time of Christ, the Pharisees and other religious authorities are the living embodiment of pride. Let's read how Yeshuah talks about their behaviour in Matthew 16, verses 1 to 12:
" 1Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.
5 Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Yeshuah said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.”
7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.”
8 But Yeshuah, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? 11 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
It is of utmost importance for us to understand before the Feast of Unleavened Bread why Yeshuah is criticizing so harshly the behaviour of Pharisees. It should help us to removeor eliminate the spiritual leaven from our body and from our thoughts before the Feast!
What is the origin of the Pharisees?
The Pharisees movement appeared among the Jews during the reign of Alexander the Great, in the 4th century BCE, and it existed until the time of the Roman Empire. They were particularly influent in the time of Yeshuah Christ. We should also remember that, after the death of Alexander, the Holy Land was occupied first by Egypt (the Ptolemies), then by Syria with among others Antiochus Epiphanes who was infamous by his desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem in 167 BCE. This era is also known for its Hellenistic culture and for its polytheism. In fact, at that time, Greek culture urged people to worship all the gods and customs of other peoples in the world. The resulting confusion was such that the Greeks were no longer able to find their way! So to make sure not to forget any god, they had even erected an altar to an unknown god. Paul used it to draw their attention to the true Elohim (Acts 17, verses 22 and 23):
" 22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: "
This religious confusion therefore spreads throughout the Hellenistic territories of influence, including in the Jewish world. We can therefore better understand the success of the Pharisees sect who remained very firm and separated from this cult of idols. Step by step, the Pharisees became masters in the teaching of Jewish law. Their influence increased even more as even the Jewish priests and sacrificators became so weak even going so far as to participate in certain pagan festivals!
The influence of the Pharisees became even so great that they even convinced people to believe that they were the spokesmen of Yehoah! It is a kind of apostasy.
It was at this moment that a tiny bit of pride, symbolized by a little leaven, caused the whole dough of the Pharisees to rise. The pride of the Pharisees has become so great that they have assumed the very right to legislate in place of Elohim: they have abolished and changed the laws of Elohim to replace them by other laws not inspired by our Lord. Many of these laws can be found in the Talmud, a gigantic encyclopedia, made up of 34 volumes and still learned by heart today by Jewish religious students of the "Iechivots". I do not advise you to read this work full of complex instructions, difficult to follow and which are endless. Many of these instructions have their origins in paganism! Yeshuah never failed to criticize the Pharisees for their teachings taken outside the context of the Bible. We can read about this in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 7, verses 6 to 13:
" 6 He answered and said to them 5editor’s note: to the pharesees), “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 For laying aside the commandment of Elohim, you hold the tradition of menthe washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”
9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of Elohim, that you may keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to Elohim), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13 making the word of Elohim of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
The authority of Pharisees grew so much that they had acquired, with the other members of the Sanhedrin, a political and religious authority tolerated by the Roman empire of the time. With this authority, people started to respect them above any limit, in the same way catholic people will not argue against the moral power of the papacy!
But beware, Yeshuah also warns us against too hasty a judgment when we speak of a Pharisaic attitude: men have too quickly a tendency to call a Pharisee anyone who are following rules written in the Bible like for instance to rest during the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath, or to keep other small biblical rules which would seem negligible in the eyes of ordinary people. On this subject, let us read the words of Christ taken from Luke, chapter 11, verse 42:
" But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of Elohim. These you ought to have done,
without leaving the others undone.”
Yeshuah warns us here to observe both the great and the small rules and he criticizes the Pharisees for observing only the things of much less importance!
Yeshuah also reproaches the Pharisees for imposing teachings on the people that they themselves did not practice; they talked a lot and did little! Let's read this in Matthew 23, verses 1 to 4:
" 1Then Yeshuah spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. "
Finally, we must flee the Pharisees’ attitude who superficially did everything possible to be seen and admire by people but who inside were filled with envy and pride without love as we can read in the following (Matthew 23: 24-28):
" 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and [l]self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."
The Pharisees are like the one who is inspiring them, Satan the devil, they are like him accusers of their brothers. This is how Revelation 12: 9-10 qualifies Satan:
· " 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our Elohim, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our Elohim day and night, has been cast down. "
· Even in the most privileged moments of the prayer addressed to Elohim, Yeshuah reveals to us how the Pharisees are still pointing judgement against their neighbor; let us read to illustrate this Luke 18: 10-14:
" 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘Elohim, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘Elohim, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
These two attitudes are showing very well how it should and should not be done to prepare ourselves for the feast of unleavened bread: the Pharisee is enjoying his leaven of pride and does not seek to make it disappear while the tax collector is utmost sorry about his sins and is making all his efforts to be forgiven!
The First Day of Unleavened Bread,
First a Night Watch
Very rich in dramatic events!
Let us now follow step by step the dramatic events which will take place during the first day of unleavened bread which immediately follows the Passover sacrifice. For this we ask you to read Exodus 12: 29-42:
" 29 And it came to pass at midnight that Yehoah struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, “Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve Yehoah as you have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.”
33 And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 And Yehoah had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.
37 Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves.
40 Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of Yehoah went out from the land of Egypt.
42 It is a night of solemn observance to Yehoah for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of Yehoah, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations."
**In the middle of the night, as we have just read, Yehoah strikes once again all of Pharaoh's country by killing all the firstborns in any house that does not have on its entrance the blood of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. All the Children of Israel should stay awake and be watching, ready to leave Egypt, the land of their slavery. They are eating hastily the flesh of the one year old lamb without blemish roasted in fire with bitter herbs and unleavened breads. These same houses are free from leaven.
At the end of the night, at dawn, events will precipitate, indeed at the first light of the day, even before sunrise, the old Pharaoh whose firstborn and reigning son has just died urges Moses to get the people out as quickly as possible with all his goods, he releases them unconditionally!
The Egyptians give willingly the children of Israel a lot of silver and gold. Many foreigners follow them in their exodus.
We are in the days of unleavened bread: not only is the dough unleavened, but the dough does not have time to rise as the Children of Israel had to flee quickly.
Thus this was the first of a long series of nights of vigil which have been and will be celebrated year after year to honor Yehoah and to remember the day of the liberation from the satanic yoke established by the Pharaoh of Egypt.
Elohim does not favor anyone even Himself!
Let us jump approximately 1500 years later, an even more dramatic first day of unleavened bread will take place and it will be by far more spectacular than that of the exit from Egypt!
This time, in Elohim's eyes, the lamb was replaced by his firstborn Son. He was hastily sacrificed at the request of the priests and Jewish religious authorities of the time before the feast of unleavened bread. The major concern of the religious authorities was to eliminate as quickly as possible the Son of the Man who put seriously in danger their hard, cruel and proud domination on the Jewish people!
Elohim shows us that He will apply on Himself the burden that was imposed on the Children of Israel as He will allow the sacrifice of His firstborn Son! But here the only one who causes such an unjust death is Satan who seduced his army of unqualified priests and religious authorities of that time.
Death occurs here in broad daylight, just before the entry into the first day of unleavened bread! This event is accompanied by an absolutely exceptional period of darkness. Read this in Luke 23: 44-54;
" 44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Yeshuah had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.
47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified Elohim, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”
48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. 49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. 51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of Elohim. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Yeshuah. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. 54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.” (note: the Sabbath in question is not to be confused with Saturday but it is the first day of unleavened bread which is also a day of rest.)"
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that before Yeshuah is passing away, Judas, his betrayer, killed himself once he realized the terrible consequences of his demonic action. Here is how Matthew 27: 1-9 reports the facts:
" 1When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Yeshuah to put Him to death. 2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”
And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!”
5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.
6 But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, "
Yeshuah's death was particularly bitter because our Savior, despite his exceptional faith, made the harsh observation that his Father had completely abandoned him. Let's read this in Matthew 27: 45-50:
" 45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Yeshuah cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My Elohim, My Elohim, why have You forsaken Me?”
47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” 48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.
49 The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.”
50 And Yeshuah cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. "
A death source of life!
This death of the Son of Elohim will nevertheless cause spectacular resurrections:
" 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many." (Matthew 27: 51-53).
The Pharisees, like the Pharaoh of the exodus, are so hardened in their hatred of Elohim and His Son that they insist to have the tomb guarded for at least 3 days: their deepest wish is that his death would be forever ! Let's read this in Matthew 27: 62-66:
" 62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard."
But as was the case in the time of Pharaoh with the crossing of the Red Sea, nothing helped and it was an explosion of joy with an earthquake during the following days of unleavened bread once Yeshuah is coming back to life at the end of the shabbat: (Matthew 28 in full)
"1After the sabbaths (editor's note: The original Greek text mentions without a shadow of a doubt" the sabbaths "in the plural which is perfectly understandable when we realize that the Hebrew meaning of Sabbath is just as well the day of rest weekly at the end of the week but also on holidays as in this case the first day of unleavened bread. This is an opportunity here to remind that Christ according to his own prophecy affirmed that he would remain dead in the belly of the earth for three days and three nights. This prophecy of Christ is completely incompatible with the so-called tradition spread by Catholicism according to which Yeshuah died on "Holy Thursday" at the end of the day and rose very early, " Easter Sunday "because it would only be 2 days and 3 nights. In fact, as we wrote at the beginning of this article, Elohim is very precise in the choice of his words and if here, we are observed that Christ is alive at the dawn of the first day of the week, he must therefore be resurrected the day before, at the end of the Sabbath corresponding to the three days and three nights following his death which took place on Passover Wednesday. End of editor’s note) as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of Yehoah descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Yeshuah said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Yeshuah had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.
18 And Yeshuah came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”
Yeshuah has already proved that He has always been with his people as Paul tells us:
" 1Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ." (I Corinthians 10:1- 4)