I. Introduction

The seventh day of Passover is the last day of the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is also known as Passover:

Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:5-8 HaShem’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of that month HaShem’s Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present an offering made to HaShem by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.'"

The seventh day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a Sabbath that is commemorated with a “sacred assembly”.

Shemot (Exodus) 12:14-17 "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to HaShem--a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat--that is all you may do. "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.

We can see that The Feast of Unleavened Bread has a Sabbath and a sacred assembly on both the first and the last days of the feast.

Shemot (Exodus) 13:4-10 Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving. When HaShem brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and Jebusites--the land he swore to your forefathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey--you are to observe this ceremony in this month: For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to HaShem. Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what HaShem did for me when I came out of Egypt.' This observance will be for you like a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that the law of HaShem is to be on your lips. For HaShem brought you out of Egypt with his mighty hand. You must keep this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.

We can also see that the seventh day is not a separate feast, as the eighth day of the Feast of Succoth is. The seventh day is the end of a seven day feast.

Bamidbar (Numbers) 28:16-25 "'On the fourteenth day of the first month HaShem’s Passover is to be held. On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a festival; for seven days eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. Present to HaShem an offering made by fire, a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect. With each bull prepare a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil; with the ram, two-tenths; And with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth. Include one male goat as a sin offering to make atonement for you. Prepare these in addition to the regular morning burnt offering. In this way prepare the food for the offering made by fire every day for seven days as an aroma pleasing to HaShem; it is to be prepared in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. On the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.

The sacred assembly is defined by Strong’s as:

Shemot (Exodus) 12:16 And in the first day [there shall be] an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save [that] which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.

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4744 miqra', mik-raw'; from 7121; something called out, i.e. a public meeting (the act, the persons, or the place); also a rehearsal:-assembly, calling, convocation, reading.

So, our sacred assembly is a rehearsal for some momentous future event(s).

II. Passover vs. Succoth

The seventh day of Passover is not a separate festival. It is still a part of Passover. This is different from the feast of Succoth where the eighth day is also considered a separate festival. The Talmud explains what this means to us:

Sukkah 47a R. Johanan ruled, We recite the benediction of the season^{^[1]} on the Eighth Day of the Festival,^{^[2]} but we do not say the benediction of the season on the seventh day of Passover. [In connection with this] R. Levi b. Hama or, as some say, R. Hama b. Hanina stated, You can have proof that this is so,^{^[3]} since [the Eighth Day] is different [from the preceding days] in three respects: In those of Sukkah, Lulav and water libation,^{^[4]} and according to R. Judah who maintained that with one log^{^[5]} of water they performed the water libation for eight days,^{^[6]} it is different at least in two respects. If so, is not the seventh day of Passover also different in respect of the commandment to eat unleavened bread, since a Master has said, On the first night^{^[7]} it is an obligation [to eat unleavened bread], and henceforth it is voluntary?^{^[8]} — What a comparison! In the case of Passover, it is different from the first night, but not from the day,^{^[9]} whereas in the case of the Eighth Day, it is different even from the preceding day. Rabina replied, The Eighth Day is different from the day immediately preceding it, whereas the seventh day of Passover is different from what is prior [to the period] which precedes it.^{^[10]} R. Papa replied,^{^[11]} In one case^{^[12]} it is written ‘bullock’, in the other^{^[13]} ‘bullocks’. R. Nahman b. Isaac replied, In this case^{^[14]} it is written, ‘on the day’, in the other,^{^[15]} ‘and on the day’. R. Ashi replied, In the case of the Eighth Day it is written, ‘According to the ordinance’ while in the case of the seventh day it is written, ‘according to their ordinance’.

The seventh day of Passover and the eighth day of Succoth are also likened in other ways:

Chagigah 9a MISHNAH. HE WHO DID NOT BRING HIS FESTAL-OFFERING ON THE FIRST FESTIVAL, DAY OF THE FEAST [OF TABERNACLES], MAY BRING IT DURING THE WHOLE OF THE FESTIVAL, EVEN ON THE LAST FESTIVAL DAY^{^[16]} OF THE FEAST [OF TABERNACLES]. IF THE FESTIVAL, PASSED AND HE DID NOT BRING THE FESTIVAL OFFERING, HE IS NOT BOUND TO MAKE IT GOOD. OF SUCH A PERSON IT IS SAID: HE THAT IS CROOKED CANNOT BE MADE STRAIGHT AND THAT WHICH IS WANTING CANNOT BE RECKONED.^{^[17]} R. SIMEON B. MENASYA SAID: WHO IS IT ‘THAT IS CROOKED’ WHO ‘CANNOT BE MADE STRAIGHT’? HE THAT HAS CONNECTION WITH A FORBIDDEN RELATION^{^[18]} AND BEGETS BY HER BASTARD ISSUE. SHOULD YOU SAY THAT IT APPLIES TO A THIEF OR ROBBER, BUT THEN HE IS ABLE TO MAKE RESTITUTION AND BE MADE STRAIGHT. R. SIMEON B. YOHAI SAID: ONLY HE CAN BE CALLED ‘CROOKED’ WHO WAS STRAIGHT AT FIRST AND BECAME CROOKED. AND WHO IS THIS? — A DISCIPLE OF THE SAGES WHO FORSAKES THE TORAH.

GEMARA. Whence do we know this?^{^[19]} — R. Johanan in the name of R. Ishmael said: [The expression] ‘Azereth [‘solemn assembly’] is used of the seventh day of Passover,^{^[20]} and [the expression] ‘Azereth is used of the eighth day of the Feast [of Tabernacles].^{^[21]} Just as there it^{^[22]} intimates that one can make good [thereon the festal-offering due on the first day] so here^{^[23]} it intimates that one can make good [thereon the festal-offering of the first day]. And it is free [for interpretation];^{^[24]} for were it not free one might object: whereas [this^{^[25]} applies] to the seventh day of Passover which is not differentiated from the preceding [days], can you say this of the eighth day of the Feast [of Tabernacles] which is differentiated from the preceding [days].^{^[26]} But it is not so;^{^[27]} it is quite free [for interpretation]. Consider, what does ‘Azereth mean? [Evidently it means], restrained [‘Azur]^{^[28]} in respect of doing work. But behold it is written: Thou shalt do no work;^{^[29]} wherefore, then, has the Divine Law written ‘Azereth?^{^[30]} You must infer therefrom [that it is] in order to leave it free [for interpretation]. But the Tanna^{^[31]} [of the following Baraitha] deduces it from here. For it is taught: And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days.^{^[32]} One might think that he must go on bringing festal-offerings the whole of the seven days. Scripture, therefore, says, ‘it’: on it [only] are you to offer festal-offerings, but you are not to offer festal-offerings on all the seven days. If so, why does it say, ‘seven’? To intimate that one may make good [the festal-offering during the seven days of the festival]. And whence [do we learn] that if he did not bring the festal-offering on the first festival day of the Feast [of Tabernacles] that he can go on bringing it during the course of the whole Festival, even on the last festival day? Scripture says: Ye shall keep it in the seventh month.^{^[33]} If, now, [it is to be kept] in the seventh month, one might think that one can go on bringing the festal-offering throughout the whole month, therefore Scripture says. ‘it’:^{^[34]} on ‘it’ [only] are you to offer festal-offerings, but you are not to offer festal-offerings outside it.

For an in-depth examination of the relationship between the first and the seventh month, please see my study titled, “RAINS”.

III. Futures

In the future we will still be celebrating this feast. This next scripture from Yehezekel (Ezekiel) is clearly future (the Temple he describes will not even fit on Mt. Zion as we know it!) and yet we still see sin sacrifices:

Yehezekel (Ezekiel) 45:21-24 "'In the first month on the fourteenth day you are to observe the Passover, a feast lasting seven days, during which you shall eat bread made without yeast. On that day the prince is to provide a bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the people of the land. Every day during the seven days of the Feast he is to provide seven bulls and seven rams without defect as a burnt offering to HaShem, and a male goat for a sin offering. He is to provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull and an ephah for each ram, along with a hin of oil for each ephah.

IV. Readings and Chronology

The scripture readings for the seventh day of Passover, in the festival cycle, is:

Torah

Shemot (Exodus) 13:17 - 15:26

Bamidbar (Numbers) 28:19-25

Haftarah

II Shmuel (Samuel) 22:1-51

Since I know that the Torah reading, for the triennial cycle, is in chronological order, I can discern that the following events occurred on the seventh day of the Lord's Passover:

1. All the inhabitants of the earth, except Noah and his family, died on the seventh day of Passover. They were all killed by water.

2. Sicera died and the Lord's enemies were destroyed. Deborah sang a song to the Lord. Deborah held court and decided the disputes of the Israelites. HaShem's enemies were swept away by water from the Kishon river (Shoftim (Shoftim (Judges)) 5:21). Horses were involved.

3. All of the Egyptian army, their horses, and Pharaoh died on the seventh day of Passover. They all were killed by water. Moses and Miriam sang a song to the Lord.

4. The Sanhedrin was created this day. Some of HaShem's people were consumed by fire. The Lord fed His people with meat this day, after they grumbled.

From these chronological details, I understand that in the future this will be the day that HaShem renews the earth with fire and kills every one of the "goats". This day also has to do with settling disputes among HaShem's people; as we can see from the setting up of the Sanhedrin and the settling of disputes by Deborah.

Seven days after Passover, the Israelites and Moses sang the song of Moses.

Shemot (Exodus) 15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to HaShem: "I will sing to HaShem, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.

Sang is not past tense. It literally means "will sing". So, it appears that not only was this an historical event, it was also a prophetical event that will occur after the earth is renewed by fire.

Midrash Rabbah - Exodus I:24 as R. Jose b. Hanina explained the verse: These are the waters of Meribah (Num. XX, 13), these are the waters which Pharaoh's astrologers foresaw but of which they mistook the portent, as it says: The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand men on foot (ib. XI, 21).^{^[35]} Moses said to Israel: ‘You have all been saved because of me.’^{^[36]} R. Hanina b. Papa said: That day^{^[37]} was the twenty-first of Nisan, and the angels said before God: ' Master of the Universe! Shall he who is destined to recite the song of the sea on that day,^{^[38]} be smitten by the water on that day! ' R. Aha b. Hanina said: That day was the sixth of Sivan and the angels said to God: ‘Shall he who is destined to receive the Torah from Mount Sinai on this day be smitten on this day!’ The question was then asked: Was it not on the seventh of Adar that Moses was born?^{^[39]} According to the one who says that he was cast into the river on the sixth of Sivan, there is no difficulty, for from the seventh of Adar till the sixth day of Sivan accounts for the three months he was hidden; but according to the one who says it was the twenty-first of Nisan, the dates do not harmonize. But this is no refutation, for that year was a leap-year, and most of the first month [Adar] and most of the last month [till the twenty-first of Nisan] along with the whole of the middle month [Adar II] are reckoned as three calendar months.

The following pasuk from the Nazarean Codicil also speaks of this seventh day:

I Corinthians 10:1-11 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food And drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Mashiach. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

From the above passage, I gather that the same water that killed the Egyptians also changed the state of the Israelites to a higher state of holiness. They literally had returned to the state that man was in the garden of Eden (paradise). From this I understand that in the future renewal of the earth, by fire, we too will pass through the fire, unharmed, and we will be literally baptized with fire, into Yeshua! John the Baptist spoke of this in:

Matityahu (Matthew) 3:1-13 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea And saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Yeshayah (Isaiah): "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Then Yeshua came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.

Luqas (Luke) 3:15-18 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Mashiach. John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.

So, I understand from the above verses that John spoke these words on the seventh day of Passover and was prophesying about the future events that would take place on this day.

Peter spoke of the renewal of the earth, by fire, in:

II Peter 3:3-13 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives As you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

Yeshua also spoke of this future day in:

Matityahu (Matthew) 19:23-29 Then Yeshua said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" Yeshua looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?" Yeshua said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

Paul talks about our reward with respect to the seventh day of Passover in:

I Corinthians 3:9-15 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Yeshua Mashiach. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, His work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

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We find no association in the Torah between the last day of Pesach and any event or occurrence in our nation's history. In truth, a miraculous event occurred on the seventh day of Pesach. After the Jews left Egypt, Pharaoh had a change of heart. He started pursuing the nation of Israel. The nation had reached the shores of the Yam Soof (popularly translated as Red Sea, more accurately translated Reed Sea) and could travel no further. On the day that we celebrate the seventh day of Pesach, HaShem split the Yam Soof, so that the Jews were able to cross the sea on what was miraculously dry land. After the Jews crossed the sea, the waters came tumbling down upon the Egyptians, who were still in hot pursuit of the Jews. The Egyptians were drowned, and the entire nation of Israel was saved. This event would seem fitting for commemorating with a holiday such as the seventh day of Pesach. Yet, not only is this event not celebrated, but the day that it occurred on is not event mentioned in the Torah! Why is such a momentus day in our history passed over?

The Sefer HaToda'ah writes that the Jews were only given holidays by HaShem that celebrated the salvation of the Jews. They were never given holidays that commemorated the downfall of their enemies. HaShem does not celebrate the downfall and destruction of the wicked, as they are His creations. Therefore, the Jewish nation as well does not celebrate the downfall and destruction of the wicked. It is for this reason that there is no connection made between the splitting of the Yam Soof and the seventh day of Pesach. We cannot celebrate the downfall of the Egyptians. However, the Jews indeed were saved on this day, and sang songs of praise and thanks, Hallel, to HaShem for their salvation. We too sing Hallel to HaShem on this day, just as our forefathers did. We can and do mark the occasion of our salvation. We cannot and do not, however, mark the occasion of our enemies' demise.