- Additional Notes -
Sequence of Events Surrounding Passion Week
February 8, 2005
Hi Bob,
I do not find that Ellen White makes any hint regarding which day of the week the supper took place in the upper room. She makes one statement that seems quite odd at first impression when she writes: "He Himself was the true paschal lamb, and on the day the Passover was eaten he was to be sacrificed." This needs an explanation.
This statement taken at its face is contrary to the instructions in Exodus 12. The paschal lamb is killed on the day before the Passover is eaten. The lamb is NOT eaten on the same day it is killed. The lamb is killed on the 14th of the month and eaten that night. In scripture the day changes at sunset, so "that night" would be the next day and the 15th of the month.
But I would like to presume that there is some sense in which her statement is true. The only way I can think of to interpret her statement as true is that the Passover meal He was eating with His disciples was being eaten on the day He was to be sacrificed. This is literally what she wrote and it is true only in this limited sense. It would have been easier to understand if she had written, "...and on the day He ate the Passover with His disciples He was to be sacrificed."
What day was this supper on? It was on the evening that began the fourth day of the week - the same day He was crucified. Here's how to figure it out. Jesus was resurrected at the close of Sabbath just after sunset. Counting backwards three days and three nights brings us to sunset that ends the fourth day of the week. The fifth day of the week (roughly what we call Thursday) was the Passover -- the 15th of the month. The day before (roughly what we call Wednesday) was the preparation day - the 14th of the month. The Lord's Supper was eaten after sunset on what we would call Tuesday night, which would be the 14th of the month. Midnight begins what we call Wednesday which is the day on which He was arrested, tried, and crucified. This is why it is referred to as the Wednesday crucifixion.
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I was looking earlier today for the info on Marian Davis and found it. I was looking for it today because on Sabbath, the SS teacher stated several times that he was following Mrs. White's chronology in the description of the events of Passion Week. I only wish that were true. By her own admission, she had a poor sense of the sequence of the events of the life of Christ and did not receive any special revelation regarding it. When she was writing the manuscript for the "Life of Christ" which became the Desire of Ages, she requested that her literary assistant, Marian Davis, find some histories of the Bible that would help her understand the order of events. Ten years later, she was still struggling with the sequence of events. Following are two quotes in support of this:
"Tell her I have just one minute ago read the letters in which she has specified the improvements to be made in articles for volume 1. I thank her. Tell her that she has a point about Zedekiah's having his eyes put out. That needs to be more carefully worded. Also the rock, when the water flowed--something in reference to this. I think I can make the articles [chapters] specified more full, and as I am famous for moralizing, this will be no cross. Tell her to write to me, as I prize her letters as if she were my own child. . . . Tell Mary [Marian] to find me some histories of the Bible that would give me the order of events. I have nothing and can find nothing in the library here. It is getting dark and I am resolved not to use my eyes or brain by candlelight."--Ibid. {3BIO 338.4}
"The Sequence of Events"As the materials were assembled and arranged into chapters, careful attention had to be given to the sequence of the events in the Saviour's life. To what extent and in what detail visions provided the sequence in ministry and miracles in Christ's life and work is not [385] known. It is known that a decade earlier she made a significant request: "Tell Mary to find me some histories of the Bible that would give me the order of events."--Letter 38, 1885. The Gospel writers in their accounts did not help much in the point of sequence. In the absence of direct instruction from Ellen White, or clues in the materials themselves, Miss Davis consulted carefully prepared harmonies of the Gospels, and as the work progressed made considerable use of S. J. Andrews' Life of Our Lord Upon the Earth, which as noted on the title page took into account "Historical, Chronological, and Geographical Relations."" {4BIO 384.5}
Notice that Mrs. White said she has nothing and can find nothing on the sequence of events of the life of Christ. From this I hope one can see that the chronology of Mrs. White is not a revelation given her in vision, but an understanding developed from careful study of scripture itself and trusted writers. She gives us no indication that she received any special revelation on the issues of the sequence of the events of Passion Week when she started her project on the Life of Christ, nor ten years later when she was finishing it. Neither did she have any Greek-English lexicons or Interlinear Bibles to turn to for help. We probably mislead others when we tell them that we rely on her understanding of these events, which implies that she did have some special revelation regarding these events when she did not.
Those who present the traditional teaching of the events of Passion Week while claiming to follow Mrs. White's chronology, fail to point out that she places the context of John 12:1 on Friday and the feast at Simon's house on Friday evening. Here are her words from Chapter 62 of Desire of Ages, entitled "The Feast at Simon's House," page 557, par. 3:
"The Saviour had reached Bethany only six days before the Passover, and according to His custom had sought rest at the home of Lazarus. The crowds of travelers who passed on to the city spread the tidings that He was on His way to Jerusalem, and that He would rest over the Sabbath at Bethany. Among the people there was great enthusiasm. Many flocked to Bethany, some out of sympathy with Jesus, and others from curiosity to see one who had been raised from the dead."
Obviously, if Jesus was going to spend Sabbath in Bethany, He had to get there before Sabbath. As I illustrated on my chart for Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the New Testament, Jesus' arrival in Bethany on Friday afternoon is a perfect match for John 12:1 which states that He arrived there six days before Passover. Passover is the 15th of the month every year and six days before the 15th would be the 9th. That evening, on what we call Friday evening and now the seventh day of the week and 10th day of the month, is when the feast at Simon's house was held. This is a typical Jewish Erev Shabbat meal which begins the Sabbath celebration with the woman of the house lighting the candles at the dinner table moments before sunset and the recitation of traditional prayers while standing around the dinner table. The next day, still the seventh day of the week and 10th day of the month, is when the triumphal entry took place. According to Exodus 12, the Passover lamb was required to be selected on the 10th of the month and Jesus was selected right on time. He was anointed by Mary at Simon's house and Jesus recognized that she had done this for His burial. The crowds recognized Jesus as their Saviour at the triumphal entry. Jesus was selected both privately and publicly, just as kings Saul and David had been anointed privately and publicly. We can easily calculate that, according to Mrs. White, the triumphal entry was on Sabbath, not Sunday. It appears that she came to understand the time of Jesus' arrival in Bethany on Friday by her own careful study and that of her assistant Marian. We should do the same.
I believe it is an injustice to both Mrs. White and our readers/listeners to present the events of Passion Week according to the traditional view while claiming to rely on Mrs. White. However, anyone who relies on the traditional view does this is in good company as the entire world has followed the traditional pattern, including the SS quarterly and the SDA BC. Unfortunately, the whole world is following the message of the Little Horn in teaching these changed times.
This is how I see it. Hope this helps.
Cordially, Jerry
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----- Original Message ----
Hi Jerry,
I have been doing some editing work on the comments that you have sent me and I can only say that they have been most helpful. If you are working on a book, these comments may come in to good use.
I have rearranged the articles on my site and put them in an order that makes sense to me. If you have a moment, take a look and see if you agree or have another suggestion: www.A4t.org > Sermons & Articles > Miscellaneous Authors > Gerald Brown
I was reading Desire of Ages, Chapter 71 this morning and I just wanted to make sure that as the first paragraph indicates, the Passover Supper was eaten on Wednesday evening. Previously, I had been thinking that it was eaten on Thursday evening, partly due to what that old guy had written... He must have rattled my brain with his nonsense...
Have you ever found that quote you mentioned one day? The one that has EGW contemplating the time-lines of Passion Week and her comment to Marian Davis?
Without doing the research that you are doing for the application of the"Little Horn" into this scenario...it seems to me to be the most grievous and appalling deceptions ever devised, one which makes the whole world wonder after this beast...
Take good care & God bless Bob