Every year many people celebrate a Seder meal in observance of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. During the Seder participants partake of four cups of wine. Each cup represents one of the four promises that Yahweh made in Exodus 6:6-7. But few realize that there are more than four cups, and that Yeshua only drank of the first three cups during his Seder with his apostles.
The Four Cups
• The first cup is the Cup of Sanctification, signified by the promise, "I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians."
• The second cup is the Cup of Deliverance, signified by the promise, "I will rid you of their bondage / slavery."
• The third cup is the Cup of Redemption, signified by the promise, "I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments."
• The fourth cup is the Cup of Restoration, signified by the promise, "I will take you to Myself for a people, to be your God, to protect you"
These four "I will . . ." statements are also the testimony of all who put their trust in Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, that He has fulfilled each "I will".
The Fifth Cup
A fifth cup is also present, the Cup of Elijah. This cup represents the Cup Of Yahweh's Wrath that will be poured out against sinners. It is a cup filled to the brim with the perfect wrath of a perfectly just God.
For centuries the Rabbis have debated whether or not this cup should even be included in the Seder, and if so, should the participants drink of it. Unable to solve this quandary, they have concluded that the participants are to drink of the first four cups but they are not to drink the fifth cup. Instead, they are to wait for Elijah the Prophet to come, who will tell them whether or not they should drink it themselves.
The Pesach Seder With Yeshua (1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-23, and Luke 22:19-20)
The Pesach Seder meal which Yeshua celebrated with His disciples has become the Seder Ha'Mashiach (Lord's Supper) for Christians. In that meal, Yeshua took the Afikomen and said, "Take and eat, this is My body." Then he took the third cup, the Cup of Redemption, and said, "This cup is My blood of the covenant poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
The Afikomen also means "I have come, and I will come again." When Paul said, "For as often as you eat of this bread and drink of this cup, you proclaim Yeshua's death until he comes" he meant that as we partake of the body and blood of Mashiach, we proclaim redemption through His sacrificial death during His first coming at Pesach, the Passover, until He comes again at His second coming at Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets!
Mark 14:25 –"Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
During his final Pesach celebration with his disciples, on the eve before his crucifixion, Yeshua only drank the first three cups but passed over the fourth cup. If he had partaken of this fourth cup, he would have been under Yahweh's protection. He deliberately passed over this cup in order to allow scripture to be fulfilled. He could not both be under Yahweh's protection and at the same time be crucified.
Upon completing the Seder, Yeshua and his disciples walked to the place of the Gethsemane to observe the night of watching, or night of vigil, called Leyl Shimurim [ליל שמורים] in Hebrew. This night is so named because it represents the night before the Exodus from Egypt when all the Hebrews stayed awake, watching to see if the Angel of Death would, indeed, pass over their homes and firstborn. It also represents the night during the Exodus when they watched all night to see what deliverance Yahweh would provide from Pharaoh and his army. It is today a night of vigil to see if Yahweh's final deliverance will come that night.
The Cup Of Wrath
Matthew 26:36-45 – Yeshua keeps vigil in prayer while the disciples sleep.
It is during this vigil that Peter, James, and John were unable to stay awake on this night, but Yeshua did!
Mark 14:33-34 – "Yeshua took Peter, James, and John with him and began to be very distressed and troubled. And Yeshua said, 'My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch'."
Luke 22:44 – "And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground."
Yeshua is so overcome, so terrified, and so deeply distressed, troubled, and grieved (even to the point of death) that his sweat is like drops of blood falling to the ground. This extremely rare condition, called hemohidrosis, is only known to have occurred in healthy individuals who knew their death was imminent and who knew that there was nothing they could do to prevent it.
• The word translated distressed is ekthambeō [ἐκθαμβέω G1568] which means: to be thoroughly terrified.
• The word translated troubled is adēmoneō [ἀδημονέω G85] which means: to be troubled, to be in great distress or anguish, to be depressed.
• The word translated deeply grieved is perilypos [περίλυπος G4036] which means: exceedingly sorrowful.
• The words translated point of death are heōs [ἕως G2193] and thanatos [θάνατος G2288]. Both are direct translations of their meanings.
Matthew 26:39 – Yeshua prayed, saying "Abba Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but as you will."
Mark14:36 – Yeshua prayed, saying "Abba! Father! All things are possible for you; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what you will."
Luke 22:42 – "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
What, then, caused Yeshua to experience such great terror? In his humanity, he fully realized that it is he who must drink that fifth cup, that cup of Elijah. It is he who must take Yahweh's wrath upon himself so that his bride and all who would place their trust in him would not have to. It is he who would have to drink to the last drop that bitter cup, the fifth cup, to secure our freedom from bondage, sin and death.
The Fulfillments
John 3:17 – "For Yahweh did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
The crucifixion and resurrection of Yeshua has fulfilled the four promises given in Exodus 6: 6-7:
• Yeshua has brought us out from under the yoke of Satan's bondage (Matthew 11:29-30).
• Yeshua has set us free from slavery to sin (Galatians 5:1).
• Yeshua has redeemed us from death to eternal life (Galatians 3:13).
• Yeshua has taken us to be his bride, and will protect us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
Jeremiah 25:7-17 tells us that Yahweh pours out a cup of wrath upon those who do not listen to his counsel; a cup that they must drink to the last drop. David prays for this cup to be poured out in Psalms 69 and 79:
Psalm 69:24 – "Pour out your indignation upon them and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them."
Psalm 79:6 –"Pour out your wrath upon the nations which do not know you, and upon the kingdoms which do not call upon your name."
The final fulfillments may be found in Isaiah and Revelation:
Isaiah 63:1 – "Who is this who comes from Edom, with blood stained garments . . ."
Isaiah 63:4 – "For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and My year of redemption has come."
Yeshua comes from Edom and Bozrah, his apparel stained with blood, on the Day of Vengeance during which his wrath is poured out upon those who have rejected him.
Revelation 14:9-10 –"If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of Yahweh, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation."
Those who have taken the "Mark of the Beast" must drink Yahweh's cup of wrath themselves.
Conclusions
There is a pattern of dress rehearsals that are represented by the Moeds of Yahweh. This Moed, Pesach (Passover), was fulfilled in Yeshua's first coming when He was crucified as a payment in full for all sins, as testified by every believing Christian. The nation of Israel and the Jews have been celebrating Pesach for almost three thousand years, understanding that it symbolizes their Exodus from Egypt and yearly covering from sin, but failing to understand its greater symbolism that Yeshua their Mashiach has completely saved them both from bondage to Pharaoh and bondage to sin.
Romans 8:1 – "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Yeshua Ha'Mashiach."
Time and again the Bible speaks of a cup of wrath which will be poured out against sinners. The cup of wrath was ours to drink, but in an indescribable act of compassion, Yeshua chose to intervene and take our wrath upon himself. Yeshua drank the cup of Yahweh's wrath to the last drop.
Revelation 20:15 – "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
The cup is now empty. Will you place your faith in Yeshua so that your name can be written in the Lamb's Book of Life and so you can have eternal life? Or will you continue to deny his sacrifice and drink Yahweh's cup of wrath at the Great White Throne of Judgment? The choice is yours. Choose wisely!
Final Thought
Prophecy continues to unfold as foretold by the Hebrew Prophets. Today we are one day closer to the return of Yeshua than we were yesterday and tomorrow we will be even one day closer. For almost two thousand years the Jews would proclaim "Next year in Jerusalem!" I now proclaim "Next Yom Teruah in the clouds!" Time is short – Yeshua Ha'Mashiach is coming soon – get busy reaching the lost.
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