The Messianic Feast: Moving Beyond The Ritual

by T. Alex Tennent

Overview

For too long, God's people have clung to a false conception of "communion." God is not seeking a communion ritual with unleavened bread, but rather a true spiritual communion with every believer, a spiritual feast. The groundbreaking winner of a gold 2014 IPPY award, The Messianic Feast solves the long-held controversy of whether the Last Supper was the Passover or if Christ was crucified on the exact day of Passover (in Jewish law, both cannot be true).

But this is just the start, as this truth then opens the door to a much larger one that reveals how the Church came to practice an unleavened-bread ritual communion instead of the true spiritual communion that God desires.

This important book also directs attention to other issues intrinsic to our understanding of the Messiah's teachings:

It reveals the way to God's true spiritual feast, first pictured in the Tabernacle's Showbread service, then anticipated in Jewish writings as a future messianic banquet and also referenced in the bread and wine parables Jesus brought at the Last Supper. It sheds light on how God wants us to enter into this spiritual feast today, fulfilling the Feast of Tabernacles.

It offers proof that the Last Supper teachings by Jesus were not about a ritual communion with unleavened bread, but that the bread and wine (fruit of the vine) in his parables point to the true spiritual communion God desires for all believers.

It offers conclusive proof that the Protestant communion ritual with unleavened bread evolved from the Roman Catholic ritual and that neither ritual reflects what the Messiah or his early Jewish disciples taught.

It reveals how three Greek language keys were instrumental in unlocking the truth on the age-old controversy mentioned above, as to whether the Last Supper was truly the Jewish Passover as most believe, or if Jesus was crucified on the 14th day when the lambs were offered, as our true Passover.

Using logic supported by historical and scriptural forensics, Tennent connects the chronological dots to reveal amazing new truths that have not previously been seen-and raises a scripture-based challenge to many deeply held traditions. For those who love God and wish to be part of His plan, The Messianic Feast is a keystone to truly understanding God's plan in these last days.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780989765602
Publisher:	Messianic Publishing LLC
Publication date:	01/07/2014
Pages:	604
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

After graduating from Bible college in Seattle in 1983, T. Alex Tennent entered the graduate degree theology program. Motivated by a love for God's word, he continued studying the Greek language to better interpret and understand the original scriptures. This journey led to harmonizing the Greek scriptures relating to the Last Supper controversy, in turn opening the door to even greater understandings.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction xvi

Note to Readers xxii

Part 1 Setting the Table & The Twelve Courses

Setting the Table for the Last Supper

Setting the Table 1 The Jewish Disconnect and the Fourteenthers 3

The Beginnings of the Dispute 5

The Fourteenthers Lay Out Their Case to Rome 7

The Fourteenthers Knew the Crucifixion Day Was the Fourteenth 10

Roman Emperor Constantine Imposes His Will on the Fourteenthers 14

Setting the Table 2 Words and Concepts Changed 22

Did the Jews Before Paul Share in "Communion" or Partake in the "Eucharist"? 23

Did the First-Century Jews Really Go to "Church"? 23

Did the Early Jews Who Believed in the Messiah Become "Christians"? 27

Was the Name of the Messiah Really "Jesus?" 29

Will the Real "Lion of the Tribe of Judah" Please Stand Up? 31

Were the Early Jewish Believers, Like Paul, Really Called "Saints"? 32

What about the Word "Trinity"? 33

What about the Word "Apostle"? 37

Setting the Table 3 The Messiah Would Speak in Parables 40

Parables in the Jewish Tradition 41

Parables at the Time of the Last Supper 43

Bizarre Statements Point to Parables 44

Why the Messiah Spoke in Parables at the Last Supper 46

What Jesus Said or What He Meant 46

Setting the Table 4 The Jewish Idiom of Natural to Spiritual 50

The Jewish Prophets 50

Jesus Continues Using This Natural-to-Spiritual Idiom 51

Spiritual Eating and Drinking 53

List of Natural-to-Spiritual Examples 57

The Twelve Courses on the Last Supper

Course 1 Last Supper Ritual or Parable? The Messiah Held One Leavened Bread 71

Uncontested Ritual 71

Additional Punishment for Leaven at Passover 74

Some Find It "Dangerous" to Even Question the Ritual 75

Jesus Held One Bread, Not Multiple Breads 76

The English Translations Can Cause Contusion 78

Bread Is Bread? 80

New Ritual or Spiritual Truth in Parables? 81

Last Supper Prophecy, Betrayed with Bread 81

Course 2 The Body of Christ Did Not Mean a Ritual 86

"This Is My Body," But What Is This? 87

No, This Is Not the Flesh of the Messiah 88

What the Apostles Taught about Us Being the Spiritual Body 90

The Spiritual Body, the Spirit of God Dwells within Us 93

"This Do," but Do What-a New Ritual? 96

We Remember the Messiah and the Price That He Paid 97

The Body of Christ as Anointed Tabernacle 100

Course 3 The Jewish Idiom of Breaking Bread Among the Early Believers 104

Washing of the Hands before Eating Bread 106

Twelve Sacred Breads Carried Forward in Jewish Daily Life 107

Breaking Bread on Different Occasions 108

Breaking Bread Spiritually 110

Did "Breaking Bread" Mean Either Common Meals or a Ritual of Communion? 113

They Weren't Just Sharing Common "Meals" 119

They Weren't Partaking in a New Roman Catholic/Christian/Protestant Ritual 125

Course 4 Breaking Bread Spiritually-The Progression 130

An Overview of the Progression 131

Phase 1 Jesus Miraculously "Breaks Bread" Twice to Feed the Multitudes 131

Phase 2 Jesus "Breaks Bread" at the Last Supper in a Parable 132

Phase 3 Jesus Becomes Invisible Just as He "Breaks Bread" Right after His Resurrection 132

Phase 4 Jesus Reappears and Is Recognized "in the Breaking of the Bread" 132

Phase 5 "The Disciples Go Forth in God's Spirit "Breaking Bread" Spiritually 132

The Bread That We Break 133

What, Regular Bread during the Festival? 141

The First-Fruits Offering Before Eating the Bread in the Promised Land 143

The Lost Tribes of the Diaspora 144

The Promise of the Messiah Was to Recover Those Who Were Scattered 149

Course 5 Paul, I Corinthians, and the Last Supper 153

1 Corinthians Chapter 10: Eating and Drinking Spiritually 154

1 Corinthians Chapter 11: What Paul Received from the Lord 156

1 Corinthians Chapter 12: We Are the Body of Christ 157

Figurative Use of "Eating" and "Drinking" 159

Paul's Intended Meaning in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 162

Spiritual Communion and Reciprocal Communal Meals 167

Eating Unworthily 173

Growing into the Perfected Bride 177

Course 6 The True Jewish Communion and the Messianic Feast 183

The First Bread-and-Wine "Communal" Meal 183

The Three Annual Festivals as Communal Meals 185

Communal Meals and Communal Sacrifices 187

Common Bond for the Communal Meals 189

Natural Communion to Spiritual Communion 190

Jewish Groups Emulate the Showbread 193

The Last Supper and the Messianic Feast/Banquet 199

The Bread and Wine of the High Priest Melchizedek 203

Feasts of God's Love 207

Was the Fruit of the Vine Partaken of with the Showbread? 209

Wine and God's Love 215

Course 7 The Showbread: Who they Represent, were they Unleavened, and Why it Matters 217

The Twelve Breads in the Natural Sense 218

The Twelve Breads Are Symbolic of the Twelve Tribes 220

Why It Matters Whether These Twelve Breads Were Leavened or Not 223

Pharisaic Tradition That the "Breads" Are to Be Unleavened 225

God Commanded Certain Breads to Be Made with Leaven 230

God Also Clearly Commanded When Unleavened Was Required 232

Twelve Breads Show Forth Aspects of God's Plan for His People 233

If the Twelve Breads Were Unleavened 236

Figurative Uses of Bread 237

"Bread of Affliction" Used Figuratively in Deuteronomy 16:3 239

"Bread of God" Is Used Figuratively 241

Other Figurative Uses of Bread 243

Course 8 God's Overall Plan and Pattern for Mankind 248

God's Plan from the Beginning 248

The Pattern Given 10 Noah in Type 250

The Pattern and Plan Shown to Moses for the Dwelling Place of God 253

The Plan and Pattern Given to David for the Dwelling Place of God 256

Stephen Gives the Progression of Gods Plan in Acts, but His Message and Life Were Cut Short 260

The Logos of God Shows This Plan and Pattern 262

What the Logos Came to Mean in Rome 262

Logos to the First-Century Messianic Jews 263

God Speaks Through the Logos 270

The Logos Is the Plan, the Messiah Is the Expression and Pattern 271

Course 9 God's Plan as Seen in the Showbread 275

Names Used for These Breads Reveal Spiritual Truths 276

We Who Abide in God's Presence Are to Be Made into Spiritual Presence Breads 278

The Making of the Twelve Breads Shows God's Process to Make Us into His Image and Likeness 280

God's Part in the Process 281

The rain from God must come for the wheat crops to grow 281

The sunlight from God is needed to grow the crops 283

Man's Part in the Process 284

The Israelite needed to till the ground 284

The wise man planted the seed that came from God 284

The Israelite needed to harvest and then winnow the wheat 285

God also takes pan in the spiritual winnowing 286

The Priest's Part in the Process 287

The priest would then add water and mix it with the flour 289

The priests would oversee the baking of the Showbread 291

The priests were to place the breads on the golden table in God's presence 292

The priest from Aaron must partake of the breads 292

Bread Is Instruction from God 293

Reciprocal Giving and Receiving in the House of God 296

Twelve Breads, Now One Spiritual Bread 298

Course 10 The Symbolic "Cup" and the Promised New Covenant 300

Spiritual Truth and Not a New Ritual 302

The Promised New Covenant 303

God Showed That the Messiah Would Make a Firm Covenant, yet Be Cut Off 307

God Said He Would Draw the Israelite People Back into a Relationship with Him 311

The New Covenant Is Not Like the One under Moses 315

Last Supper Parables Were Shocking in the Natural Sense so They Would Be Remembered, Discussed, and Understood Later 317

The Messiah and the Ritual Purification 318

The Apostles Grew in New Covenant Understandings After Receiving the Holy Spirit 322

Course 11 Jacob, Moses, and the Fruit of the Vine 314

Israel's Historic Connection to the Grapevine 324

John Gives the Spiritual Fulfillment of Jacobs Washing of Robes in Wine 326

Whosoever Ingests Any Blood Is to Be Cut Off 327

The Messiah and the Spiritual Lifeblood of the New Covenant 328

The Blood of the Two Covenants Compared 329

Old Covenant Blood Applied Without; New Covenant Blood Applied Spiritually Within 332

God's Spirit to Indwell the Believer 333

Christ Is the Grapevine-His Shed Blood Is the Spiritual Life Flow to the Branches 336

Abide in Him and Stay Connected to the Spiritual Flow 338

Our Fellowship Is with the Father, Christ, and One Another 340

We Inherit the Lifeblood from Christ and Grow into His Likeness 341

Course 12 The Messianic Feast, the Bride, and the Beast 344

The Soon-Coming Seventh Head of the Beast 346

The Bride Keeps Her Focus on God's Leading 355

The Lord Provides an Open Door 358

Part 2 Proofs the Last Supper was Not the Passover

The Template Challenge 165

The Challenge 365

The Early Roman Catholic Option 367

The Double Passover Option 369

The Saturday Resurrection Option 373

The True Scriptural Option 376

The 13th-Day Question 377

The l4th-Day True Passover 383

The 15th-Day Sabbath 389

Sunday the Third Day Since 394

The Three Major Greek Keys that Unlock the Gospels 397

Key 1 The Subjunctive Mood 398

Subjunctive Mood Used by Jesus in Reference to Eating the Passover 400

Indicative Mood Used to "Perform" the Passover 402

Double Negative Adds Extra Emphasis 403

Key 2 The Dative of Reference 405

How the Dative of Reference Unlocked the Door 407

More Dative-of-Reference Examples 411

What Were the Disciples Really Asking? 412

The Gospels Do Not Contradict Each Other 413

Key 3 The Aorist Tense 417

The Aorist Tense in Luke 22:7 421

One Additional Possibility for Luke 22:7 423

More Greek Grammar and Hermeneutics as Applied to Luke 22:7 424

50 Reasons the Last Supper was Not the Passover 428

Bread Is Good, But Not During the Passover! 428

Commentators Attempt to Shoehorn the Passover into the Last Supper 431

Too Much Illegal Activity for This to Be the 15th-Day Sabbath 433

Jesus Was Not to Be Arrested in or during the Seven-Day Feast-the Festival Called Passover 437

The Hypothetical Last-Supper-Passover Story 440

The 15th-Day Great Sabbath Was the Day after the Crucifixion 441

The Gospels All Agree 443

The Third Day Since 446

Additional Scriptural Proofs 447

Extra-Credit Reasons 449

Between the Evenings-The Legal Time to Slay the Passover 451

What the Talmud Says 454

What Other Jewish Sources Say 460

The New Testament Agrees 463

What Does John Mean by the Sixth Hour? 468

The Ritual-Why Didn't the Jewish Disciples Teach It? 471

Setting the Stage 472

The "Great Commission" 473

The Apostles: Did They Teach or Even Mention a Ritual? 475

Did John the Beloved Teach This Doctrine? 475

Surely Peter the Apostle Taught This Ritual? 475

Let's Check James-Surely He Will Follow the Lord's Commandment, as He Also Writes to the Scattered Jews 477

What about the Other Gospels? 477

Surely Matthew Obeyed the Lord's Injunction and Taught This Ritual? 477

How about Mark-Will He Teach It? 478

What about Paul's Letter to the Romans and Others? 478

Have We Missed Anyone? 479

"Do This" but Do What? 479

The Azymites Shed Light on the Protestant Ritual 482

Why Make This Late Change to Unleavened Bread? 485

A Few More Points from the First-Century Jewish Idioms 486

Since the Ritual Was Not Taught, How Then Did It Begin and Gain Its Foothold? 487

Early Picture of the Roman Ritual Coming In 489

Not All Quotes Ate What They Appear on the Surface 490

The True Communion Is Spiritual 494

Appendix A Proper Authority 497

Appendix B Recommended Bible Study Tools 508

Glossary 512

Bibliography and Resources 542

Permissions 548

Index 549

Editorial Reviews

"T. Alex Tennent's book is an essential read for anyone seeking to accurately understand the scriptures concerning the events that surround the Last Supper and crucifixion of Jesus. The author's insights into the original meanings of the Greek and Hebrew texts shed revelatory insight. This book should not be ignored by the serious student of the scriptures."

-John Koppang

"This book may result in a personal paradigm shift. It quickly becomes obvious that this book is a scholarly work, thoroughly researched and carefully written. The author's premise regarding the Messianic Feast and the Communion ritual is supported with clear scripture from many different directions. The book is a fantastic read, certainly suitable for us nonscholars."

-Dan Langdon

"You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!"

When traditions are challenged, then many times the above attitude prevails. It takes time to think things through and remove the dirt so only the substance remains. Mr. Tennent, like an archeologist, carefully removes the dirt so the valuable artifact can be seen and enjoyed for what it is. He has had to pick his way through ritual and misguided traditions and clean up the work of early agenda-driven historians so we can enjoy this uncorrupted truth, which is to edify us all. This excavation has taken time and effort and careful sorting of fact from fiction. Now the truth has been freed, we can freely move beyond the ritual to the richness of The Messianic Feast. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and enjoy a fine treatise that will enrich your soul and touch your spirit."

-Paul D. Arnold

"Excellent!! Once I opened the book, I found it very hard to put down. I appreciate that it is carefully written to align with scripture and penned to read with ease. I highly recommend The Messianic Feast and believe it will have a lasting impact on all who read it. Thank you, Mr. Tennent, for the tremendous time and effort it must have taken to write this book. It is wonderful!"

-Darla Sprossig

"I am ASTOUNDED by this book. The author has done such a thorough job of research on the topic of 'communion, ' a favorite ritual common in the church. He also touches on several other topics and drives home his points using simple logic."

-Linda Tremper

"I spent days going through this book checking and double-checking his conclusions. I can't find a theological error. It's an accurate account with hundreds of cross-references. I recommend it to anyone who truly wants to walk with Jesus. It's a light at the end of the tunnel for those who want to understand the heart of God."

-David M. Gustafson

"The depth of this work is amazing. Alex does such a good job of covering all the bases leaving no gaps for one to wonder where he is coming from. This work is on par with all the reformers that have changed the course of Christianity."

-Fred Rapp, author of You Are Created to Be Loved

"What I love most about The Messianic Feast: Moving Beyond the Ritual is, as soon as I began reading it, it spoke to my heart and affected my spirit. This book is loaded with golden nuggets of truth and new revelation. It has provided me with a greater knowledge and understanding of what true "communion" really is. Also, it has had a definite positive impact on my interaction with other members of the body of Christ."

-Paula McClary

From the Publisher