Easter Origins Pagan?

[Mockingbird0]

I apologize if I am mistaken I was sure that it was Alexandria that was celebrating on the wrong day. Not sure if I read some bad information or if I may have just made a mistake. It’s been a while since I’ve read on it.

The earliest Christians used the Jewish calendar. 1 Cor. 16.8, Acts 12.3, Acts 20.6, Acts 27.9. When the custom arose of celebrating an annual Easter, they used the Jewish calendar to set its date, celebrating on the Sunday that fell within the Jewish week of Unleavened Bread. The Didascalia Apostolorum, a Syrian work of the third century, bears witness to this:

[QUOTE="Didascalia Apostolorum ch 21."]
Therefore ye, when the people keep the Passover, fast and study to complete your vigil in the midst of their unleavened bread.
[/QUOTE]

But sometime in the third century some Christians became disillusioned with the Jewish calendar because in many places the Passover came before the Spring equinox. These Christians devised their own independent lunar calendars which would set the festival after the equinox. This practice of using independent calculations spread to many places. In particular, Rome and Alexandria were using independent calculations to set the date of the Easter festival. But in Syria the older custom persisted. When the council of Nicea ruled on the Easter question, it ruled that all Christians would celebrate on the same day, and that this day would be calculated independently of the Jewish calendar. Since the independent calculations then in use at Rome and Alexandria both placed the festival after the equinox, the Council can be said implicitly to have ruled that the festival must come after the equinox.

So it was Syria, not Alexandria, that was sometimes celebrating before the equinox because they were following the old custom of depending on the Jewish calendar. It was the Syrians who had to abandon the old custom and adopt independent calculations. Not all did right away, so there were enacted two canons, Apostolic Canon 7 and Antioch Canon 1, against the older custom.

The Jewish calendar was reformed by the Rabbis over a period of centuries beginning in the mid-fourth century, and since the 10th century has been the same as it is today. This Rabbinic calendar never places Passover before the equinox.

 

[BNR32FAN]

The earliest Christians used the Jewish calendar. 1 Cor. 16.8, Acts 12.3, Acts 20.6, Acts 27.9. When the custom arose of celebrating an annual Easter, they used the Jewish calendar to set its date, celebrating on the Sunday that fell within the Jewish week of Unleavened Bread. The Didascalia Apostolorum, a Syrian work of the third century, bears witness to this:

[QUOTE="Didascalia Apostolorum ch 21."]
Therefore ye, when the people keep the Passover, fast and study to complete your vigil in the midst of their unleavened bread.

But sometime in the third century some Christians became disillusioned with the Jewish calendar because in many places the Passover came before the Spring equinox. These Christians devised their own independent lunar calendars which would set the festival after the equinox. This practice of using independent calculations spread to many places. In particular, Rome and Alexandria were using independent calculations to set the date of the Easter festival. But in Syria the older custom persisted. When the council of Nicea ruled on the Easter question, it ruled that all Christians would celebrate on the same day, and that this day would be calculated independently of the Jewish calendar. Since the independent calculations then in use at Rome and Alexandria both placed the festival after the equinox, the Council can be said implicitly to have ruled that the festival must come after the equinox.

So it was Syria, not Alexandria, that was sometimes celebrating before the equinox because they were following the old custom of depending on the Jewish calendar. It was the Syrians who had to abandon the old custom and adopt independent calculations. Not all did right away, so there were enacted two canons, Apostolic Canon 7 and Antioch Canon 1, against the older custom.

The Jewish calendar was reformed by the Rabbis over a period of centuries beginning in the mid-fourth century, and since the 10th century has been the same as it is today. This Rabbinic calendar never places Passover before the equinox.[/QUOTE]

Nice, thanks for clarifying.

 

[Filippus]

These Christians devised their own independent lunar calendars which would set the festival after the equinox. This practice of using independent calculations spread to many places.

You make it sound like they changed the Hebrew calendar which they did not. This can be confirmed through books like the Babylonian Chronology.

The severe prosecution of the Jewish people resulted in the Jewish calendar becoming unreliable which forced the church to calculate Easter independently. This was done at tge Council of Nicaea.

The way the council of Nicaea defined Easter did NOT only support the Jewish calendar it is the evidence required to prove that it was the calendar in use.

Passover always falls on the Full Moon, how do you explain them leaving Egypt at night, if it wasn't for the Full moon.
Exo 12:42; Deuteronomy 16:1

Originally, March 25th was set as the date of the Spring Equinox by Julius Caesar when he established the Julian calendar in about 45 B.C. However, because the year as set by the Julian calendar was about 365.25 days, there was a drift between the two equinoxes. For example, the Spring Equinox in 300 A.D happened on March 21st, but 1200 years later it had drifted to March 11th. Because of this drifting of the Julian calendar, Pope Gregory XIII decided to create a more modern calendar. One that adhered to the date of Easter, as set by the Council of Nicaea, or about March 21st. His solution was to create the Gregorian calendar.

However they where much more in tune with the stars than us today, with all our technology. This is supported by The Antikythera mechanism that was designed to predict movements of the sun, moon and planets with high accuracy. Therefore the error in the Julian calendar was well known and documented.

Sorry but most of these arguments to sow distrust into the Jewish calendar is rarely based on facts, and these alternatives that are proposed have little to no evidence to support them.

The facts are summarized by the Council of Nicaea.

The simple standard definition of Easter is that it is the first Sunday after the full Moon (Passover the 15th) that occurs on or after the spring equinox(19-21 March). If the full Moon falls on a Sunday then Easter is the next Sunday.

If you cross reference this to the Jewish calendar it matches, and follow the same pattern.

Shalom

 

[Filippus]

But that's exactly what the later Jewish calendar had to to. It had to keep adjusting rearranging, and finally it added an extra month. Nowhere in the bible does it instruct anyone to do so. Again if one follows the start of the new year beginning at the spring equinox when God instructed to observe the month of Abib and passover - the passover date does not change.

Do we really think God intended for passover to fall in winter at some point?

Passover never drifted, it's only your understanding of the perceive calendar.

The Jewish calendar can be traced back to the 7th century BC with records clearly identifying the leap month.

Your proposal of the calendar, where is your support?

And if you are claiming Enoch, can you supply supporting evidence that proves the use of the Enoch calendar in the Temple?

And why did the Council of Nicaea choose to follow the Jewish calendar and not Enoch?

Why does the Enoch calendar fail the 150 days of Noah in Genesis 8:3, but the Jewish calendar don't?

Sorry but no, the reinterpretation of the Hebrew text by so called specialists and the development of new calendars day by day is not supported by the historical evidence.

Shalom

 

[Filippus]

My comments concerned the day beginning in the evening, by a lunar civil calendar. The liturgical days were reckoned from morning to evening, according to each days sacrifices. In that regard it does not matter lunar or solar.
The problem here imo, is a lack of the office of the priesthood operating here.
The offerings for sin are said to be added to all the rest as a feast for the priests.
Priests ate the most holy sin offerings everyday of the feast, for a feast specificall for them (not "rabbis"). Christ is that sin offering. His one time sacrifice was better than all the foreshadow of the Mosaic priestly ministration.

Not just "rabbis"
1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

It does matter, because you are trying to fit a square cube into a round hole.

It doesn't fit!

And claiming the day start before the evening only supports a poor understanding of the festivals.

Now try and explain to a Christian living in the modern day and age the timing of ancient Israel and its festivals, and you simply cannot understand them without the correct start of day.

So yes it does matter, because it is single handedly the most significant detail that is generally ignored or misunderstood.

That is if you are trying to understand how the festivals worked according to the Bible, and not like you read online where the basic facts are continuously questioned and distorted because of ignorance.

Shalom

 

[Filippus]

Sorry duplicate.

 

[JulieB67]

It is only you who propose that Passover drifts.
How you get to this conclusion is a mystery.

Because a strictly lunar calender falls 11 days short.

And I'm not the only one. It's a known fact an extra month had to be added every 3rd year so the passover wouldn't change.

Articles like this explain what I'm talking about- that man actually had to add an extra month every 3 years to keep the festivals in their appropriate season.

https://www.chabad.org/holidays/pas...-Equinox-Relate-to-the-Timing-of-Passover.htm

Jewish Calendar - Judaism 101 (JewFAQ)

"The problem with strictly lunar calendars is that there are approximately 12.4 lunar months in every solar year, so a 12-month lunar calendar is about 11 days shorter than a solar year and a 13-month lunar is about 19 longer than a solar year. The months drift around the seasons on such a calendar: on a 12-month lunar calendar, the month of Nissan, which is supposed to occur in the Spring, would occur 11 days earlier in the season each year, eventually occurring in the Winter, the Fall, the Summer, and then the Spring again."

This blog/article is good at explaining how there isn't a 13 month in scripture.

God's Calendar

If man hadn't intervented the passover would eventually move out of the spring time even fall at winter at some point. That's all I'm talking about and if that was what God intended when he said observe the month of Abib (first month of spring) and keep the passover.

And that when 12 months are described in the bible for example the guard duty in Chronicles, a 13 month is never listed it's only 12. In Revelation, it's 42 months not 43 and so on.

And claiming the day start before the evening only supports a poor understanding of the festivals.

I was stating that the Hebrew day starts at even and last until the next day at even.

This is exactly how we keep it today, so sorry to disappoint you but the Church is actually celebrating it correctly.

No disappointment, in the end everyone will celebrate based on their own beliefs.

But I ask myself if man hadn't intervened, what then about observing the month of Abib but keep the passover in winter? Again I don't think that's what God intended but that would have eventually happened if we went strictly by the lunar calendar for the "first month".

I think that's a reasonable question.

 

[Filippus]

Now the reason I keep on referring to the council of Nicaea is that they clearly understood John 12.

John 12 verse 1 starts by saying 6 days before the Passover, and we all know that Passover was celebrated on the evening of the 15th, or the first day of the feast of unleavened bread.

Counting back from the 15th we get to the 9th. Now if we read verse 2 it says that they gave a supper to Jesus.

We know that the next day starts at sunset, so it's reasonable to note that Jesus was anointed on the evening of the 10th of Nissan.

Now verse 12 continues by saying the next day, the next day in this case is still the 10th of Nisan, and now John explains the triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

Now let's look at the council of Nicaea.

The simple standard definition of Easter is that it is the first Sunday after the full Moon (Passover the 15th) that occurs on or after the spring equinox(19-21 March). If the full Moon falls on a Sunday then Easter is the next Sunday.

In summary what the council of Nicaea understood was that the full moon in this case represents Passover the 15th or Good Friday.

Six days before Good Friday takes us back to Saturday, the next day, from verse 12 being Sunday or Palm Sunday.

The first Sunday after full moon or in this case Good Friday being Easter Sunday or what we call Resurrection Sunday. So there you have it.

And in this case they only have to consider a year on the Hebrew calendar when the 15th of Nisan fell on a Friday.

Now by celebrating Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter, they where celebrating the 10th of Nisan, the day the lambs were selected for Passover, Passover the seder and the Feast of first fruits.

Shalom

 

[ralliann]

It does matter, because you are trying to fit a square cube into a round hole.

It doesn't fit!

And claiming the day start before the evening only supports a poor understanding of the festivals.

Now try and explain to a Christian living in the modern day and age the timing of ancient Israel and its festivals, and you simply cannot understand them without the correct start of day.

So yes it does matter, because it is single handedly the most significant detail that is generally ignored or misunderstood.

That is if you are trying to understand how the festivals worked according to the Bible, and not like you read online where the basic facts are continuously questioned and distorted because of ignorance.

Shalom

The luner beginning of days does not matter as to count of the days. The civil calender is lunar yes, but the liturgical count is solar. The day of the month is determined by lunar yes. But not the Days of unleavened bread. The "first day" of the seven days of unleavened bread begins with the festival sacrifice brought along with the daily sacrifices that is my only point here. The fourteenth day liturgically did not end until the morning of the following day. Liturgical vs civil. I am not arguing the civil calendar does not determine which day the 14th is.

 

[JulieB67]

and we all know that Passover was celebrated on the evening of the 15th

Leviticus 23:5 "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's Passover."

It starts at even on the 14th day and that day continues onto the next day until even.

The simple standard definition of Easter

And there is no such thing as the holiday of Easter in the bible. That's a man made holiday and tradition. There should only be Passover. Easter is a bad translation of Passover

 

[ralliann]

Leviticus 23:5 "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's Passover."

It starts at even on the 14th day and that day continues onto the next day until even.



And there is no such thing as the holiday of Easter in the bible. That's a man made holiday and tradition. There should only be Passover. Easter is a bad translation of Passover

Bad translation is one thing. To claim there is no EASTER as it is a man made one is false. You may not like the use of the term easter, however it is no different in meaning as Pascha, or passover.

 

[EclipseEventSigns]

If you could kindly summarize your position as alas I do not have time to watch those videos.

That's unfortunate for you. This rediscovery of the accurate Jewish calendar is of such importance that many accepted dates during the Biblical era can be shown to be incorrect. This has wide ranging consequences. It's well worth the time to invest in examining this. I include links to the videos and to the text of the presentations in my blog link.

 

[ralliann]

Leviticus 23:5 "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's Passover."

It starts at even on the 14th day and that day continues onto the next day until even.

This is not accurate. The Passover sacrifice is to be killed in the evening of the 14th day of the month. NONE was to be left until the morning. In the morning began the sacrifices for the feast days, for seven days. Morning by morning.
Ex 12:10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.

The days of unleavened bread, offerings brought in the morning, besides the morning sacrifices.
Ye shall offer these beside the burnt offering in the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. 24 After this manner ye shall offer daily, throughout the seven days, the meat of the sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: it shall be offered beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering. 25

This continued in the weeks as well, until Pentecost..

In the days of the temple ministration the night of the 15th day of the month was considered to be an "extention of the 14th day of the month "liturgically".

 

[JulieB67]

This is not accurate.

I'm not talking about the feast of unleavened bread, I'm talking about as a Christian, Christ became our passover and we see from this verse when the passover is to be observed.


Leviticus 23:5 "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's Passover."

Are you stating this verse is incorrect? And the 14th day until the next even is still the 14th day. That's the only point I was making. Not when the meat was to be consumed back then. A Hebrew day begans at even.

The 15th day starts the feast of the unleavened bread.

Leviticus 23:6 "And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread."

 

[JulieB67]

Bad translation is one thing. To claim there is no EASTER as it is a man made one is false. You may not like the use of the term easter, however it is no different in meaning as Pascha, or passover.

That's what I mean, it's the very same day as Passover and should be counted as such but it's not. It's been given it's very own day apart from Passover. That's not biblical.

 

[EclipseEventSigns]

There are lots of opinions being stated here. There is also much accurate information. However, due to a lack of the complete picture, faulty conclusions are being drawn. It is a very complicated subject. And people seem to have much emotion and ego invested in this so that there are also a lot of closed minds when accurate information is being shared. I have done much research into this whole area. I will boldly state that I have rediscovered the accurate Jewish calendar which was in use during Biblical times (during the second temple era at least). My blog contains 3 long videos which describe and prove this in very much detail.

However, I will summarize this whole mess in this post and prove it mathematically. It will be complicated. It will take some mental effort to understand it. Fair warning.

Underlying facts of the Jewish calendar construction:

1. it is a luni-solar calendar. That is every month corresponds to a full lunar cycle starting at the new moon phase.

2. 12 months is 354 days. In order to keep the calendar (ie. time of the feasts) in sync with the seasons (as is commanded in the Law) an extra month is added periodically before the first month in the religious year (Nisan) which happens sometime in March/April.

3. This additional month (intercalation) happens in a predictable pattern (Metonic cycle in our modern age). In order to determine which year has an intercalation, divide the Jewish year number by 19. If the remainder is one of the following, then add an additional month: 0, 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17

4. These rules for the calendar were set circa 350 AD by Hillel II and have not changed since. However, the assumption by the vast majority of scholars is that these rules were in place for centuries all through out the Babylonian exile up through the time of Christ. This is wrong.



My research of various ancient documents has determined that there were multiple metonic cycles used during this entire period. Each cycle had their own reason for being used. Now this can be the confusing point. The way the calendar is constructed has NOT changed through this entire time. That is, it has always been a luni-solar calendar and has NEVER been a solar calendar (ie. Enochian). But the Metonic cycle has been shifted so that the anchor year is different.



This is actually what the major split in the early Church was all about. They recognized this shift but did not fully appreciate why it happened and came to some faulty conclusions. And we (the Christian tradition) are still following these faulty conclusions to this day.

I have to describe what the Jewish calendar SHOULD be based on. According to the Feasts of the Lord, the Feast of First Fruits required each person to bring the first of their winter barley crop to the priest for him to wave it before the Lord. Only after this had been done, were they free to start harvesting and consuming from their fields. The barley needed to be ripe - this is important. And in the Jewish homeland the first signs of green barley ears happened around the time of the spring equinox and the barley ripened enough during the following 2-3 weeks. The earliest was mid-April. Therefore, when the priest observed the harvest at the beginning of the month, if the barley was not going to be ripe in 2 weeks (for Passover and First Fruits), then they added an extra month. This was the requirement of observation. It was not calculated because it had to do with unpredictable environmental conditions. But on average, this can be calculated. And that is what I have done.

Using this information, I have determined that the winter barley harvest life cycle results in a Metonic cycle where an additional year should be added: 2, 5, 7, 10 , 13, 16, 18. Notice this is completely different from the modern Jewish Metonic cycle. This means that if one uses the modern Metonic cycle to determine the dates of the Feast of the Lord, they end up being in the wrong month a lot of the time. ONLY by using the Metonic cycle that I have rediscovered, are the Feasts occurring at the time that the Lord requires. This is a bombshell realization.

Some people say that the Babylonian calendar should be used to determine the proper Jewish calendar since that was what the people used during their exile. However, the Metonic cycle of the Babylonian calendar is shifted to an entirely different year, yet again. So that the cycle is not the same as the Modern calendar and not the same as the Abib based barley calendar. So the Babylonian calendar should not be used either.

I have proof of all of this. The different Metonic cycles are described in an ancient document. Circa 1000AD a moslem scholar named Al-Biruni wrote very detailed descriptions of the various calendars of the cultures at that time in that area of the world. He includes information about the various Metonic cycles and how they are anchored to different years. He shows that the Syrian locale (ie. Jewish Homeland) used the metonic cycle that I have shown above based on the life cycle of the winter barley. However, he does not recognize that it is based on the life cycle of the barley. It is a metonic cycle that was in use during the temple era. And then he describes the Metonic cycle that was in use in the Jewish diaspora - the modern one that is still in use and that is totally different than the barley one.

Let's consider an example set of years to prove this mathematically. The choice of years is arbitrary and any group of years would show a similar result.

Mathematical Proof:

Modern calendar (Years 1940-1949)
metonic cycle: 0, 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17

5700 (Jewish year) - 1940 (metonic year 0/19) - Leap Year
Passover - April 22

5701 - 1941 (m 1)
P - Apr 11

5702 - 1942 (m2)
P - Apr 1

5703 - 1943 (m3) - Leap Year
P - Apr 19

5704 - 1944 (m4)
P - Apr 7

5705 - 1945 (m5)
P - Mar 28

5706 - 1946 (m6) - Leap Year
P - Apr 15

5707 - 1947 (m7)
P - Apr 4

5708 - 1948 (m8) - Leap Year
P - Apr 23

5709 - 1949 (m9)
P - Apr 13

5710 - 1950 (m10)
P - Apr 1


Notice that Passover occurs in March or early April a significant number of times. Even though there is no temple and no requirement for ripe barley to be brought to the priest, the barley in Israel would not be ripe at these points in the calendar. Something is off. The calendar is wrong.

Now let's compare the abib-based barley calendar using the same set of years.

Abib based barley calendar (Years 1940-1949)
metonic cycle: 2, 5, 7, 10 , 13, 16, 18.

5700 (Jewish year) - 1940 (metonic year 0/19)
Passover - April 22

5701 - 1941 (m 1)
P - Apr 11

5702 - 1942 (m2) – Leap Year
P – May 1

5703 - 1943 (m3)
P - Apr 19

5704 - 1944 (m4)
P - Apr 7

5705 - 1945 (m5) – Leap Year
P – Apr 27

5706 - 1946 (m6)
P - Apr 15

5707 - 1947 (m7) – Leap Year
P – May 4

5708 - 1948 (m8)
P - Apr 23

5709 - 1949 (m9)
P - Apr 13

5710 - 1950 (m10) – Leap Year
P – May 1

What do you notice? See that Passover occurs mostly between mid April and beginning of May. This is exactly the time when the winter barely would be ripe. And it is in keeping with the commands of God to present ripe barley at the Feast of First Fruits.

This discrepancy was what the early Church noticed about the time of the Passover. They stated that the Jews of that era had changed when Passover occurred. They realized that Passover was being celebrated one month too early a good portion of the time. I have not come across exactly how they determined this in my research. However, it was of such significance that they proclaimed that anyone who celebrated Passover at the same time as the Jews should be excommunicated.

However, even though they stated (correctly) that the Passover was no longer correct, they came up with a calculation for Easter(Passover) that ensured that Easter did not occur at the same time as the Jewish passover. Let's examine when Easter occurred during the same range of years.

1940 – Mar 24
1941 – Apr 13
1942 – Apr 5
1943 – Apr 25
1944 – Apr 9
1945 – Apr 1
1946 – Apr 21
1947 – Apr 6
1948 – Mar 28
1949 – Apr 17
1950 – Apr 9

Notice that these Sunday dates are often not during the same period as the modern Jewish calendar dates. But that is another elephant in the room that must be pointed out. Even though people argue about the word “Easter” and that many other countries still call it “Passover”, the actual day is Sunday. That is incorrect. Passover was tied to the full moon and is always supposed to be on the 14th day of Nisan. Having Easter tied to Sunday every year is not the prescribed definition of what Passover should be. So even the Church is celebrating this day incorrectly. And that is not even getting into the issue of Good Friday and the whole error of that day.

So the method of determining Easter in the church calendar has absolutely nothing to do with the God's commands of how Passover should be determined and the proper timing that He requires in the Feasts of the Lord.

Only the metonic cycle based on the abib ripeness of the winter barley leads to the proper timing of the start of Nisan and the correct placement of not only Passover but all of the other Feasts that should be correctly celebrated at the proper time in the year. This is what my research has uncovered. This is the accurate Jewish calendar which has been forgotten (or purposely hidden) for millennia. This is what should be the most important realization for both the Jewish and Christian tradition. This is also what allows the correct dates of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to be determined.

The Passover on which Jesus Christ died was on April 25, 31 AD. This date can only be seen using the proper metonic cycle based on the winter barley. It does not become evident using the modern Jewish metonic cycle. This is why scholars have had such a difficult time in determining this date. Nothing makes sense with the modern Jewish calendar. Only by using the abib based calendar can the accurate historical dates during the Biblical era be properly determined.

 

[Mockingbird0]

You make it sound like they changed the Hebrew calendar which they did not. This can be confirmed through books like the Babylonian Chronology.

Nowhere do I say that Christians ever changed a Jewish calendar.

The severe prosecution [sic] of the Jewish people resulted in the Jewish calendar becoming unreliable which forced the church to calculate Easter independently. This was done at tge Council of Nicaea.

No, independent calculations were used well before the council of Nicea. An Easter table based on an 8-year cycle survives in a Greek inscription of A.D. 222. An author of A.D. 243 revised this 8-year cycle, still using an 8-year cycle himself. Eusebius in his Church History identifies several authors of Easter cycles. By the time of the Council of Nicea, Rome was using an 84-year cycle and Alexandria was using a 19-year cycle. The Council of Nicea did not originate the use of independent computations. It confirmed their use.

The way the council of Nicaea defined Easter did NOT only support the Jewish calendar it is the evidence required to prove that it was the calendar in use.

There was no single Jewish calendar at the time of the Council of Nicea. The Jewish community in each town set its own calendar independently. And in some places, they celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread before the Spring equinox.

Sorry but most of these arguments to sow distrust into the Jewish calendar is rarely based on facts, and these alternatives that are proposed have little to no evidence to support them.

I have no idea what you mean by this.

The present-day Rabbinic Jewish calendar does not always celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread at the first full moon after March 21. In three years out of every nineteen it celebrates matzoth at the second full moon after March 21. This happens in the 8th, 11th, and 19th years of the Jewish 19-year cycle, which correspond respectively to the 11th, 14th and 3rd years of the western Christian cycle.

 

[Mockingbird0]

These rules for the calendar were set circa 350 AD by Hillel II and have not changed since.

Sacha Stern, in his Calendar and Community (2001) examines the myth of "Patriarch Hillel II" and finds that it rests on a slim foundation. Some features of the present-day Rabbinic calendar date from the mid-4th century. It is not certain that the intercalation sequence is one of these.

 

[EclipseEventSigns]

Sacha Stern, in his Calendar and Community (2001) examines the myth of "Patriarch Hillel II" and finds that it rests on a slim foundation. Some features of the present-day Rabbinic calendar date from the mid-4th century. It is not certain that the intercalation sequence is one of these.

Whether or not what you state is true, the fact remains that the current calendar Metonic cycle was not in use during the second temple era. And that is the very important fact in all of this. The current Jewish calendar can not be trusted to date historical events during the Biblical era. Neither can it be trusted to celebrate the Feasts of the Lord during the proper time as is commanded by God.

 

[The Liturgist]

There are lots of opinions being stated here. There is also much accurate information. However, due to a lack of the complete picture, faulty conclusions are being drawn. It is a very complicated subject. And people seem to have much emotion and ego invested in this so that there are also a lot of closed minds when accurate information is being shared. I have done much research into this whole area. I will boldly state that I have rediscovered the accurate Jewish calendar which was in use during Biblical times (during the second temple era at least). My blog contains 3 long videos which describe and prove this in very much detail.

However, I will summarize this whole mess in this post and prove it mathematically. It will be complicated. It will take some mental effort to understand it. Fair warning.

Underlying facts of the Jewish calendar construction:

1. it is a luni-solar calendar. That is every month corresponds to a full lunar cycle starting at the new moon phase.

2. 12 months is 354 days. In order to keep the calendar (ie. time of the feasts) in sync with the seasons (as is commanded in the Law) an extra month is added periodically before the first month in the religious year (Nisan) which happens sometime in March/April.

3. This additional month (intercalation) happens in a predictable pattern (Metonic cycle in our modern age). In order to determine which year has an intercalation, divide the Jewish year number by 19. If the remainder is one of the following, then add an additional month: 0, 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17

4. These rules for the calendar were set circa 350 AD by Hillel II and have not changed since. However, the assumption by the vast majority of scholars is that these rules were in place for centuries all through out the Babylonian exile up through the time of Christ. This is wrong.



My research of various ancient documents has determined that there were multiple metonic cycles used during this entire period. Each cycle had their own reason for being used. Now this can be the confusing point. The way the calendar is constructed has NOT changed through this entire time. That is, it has always been a luni-solar calendar and has NEVER been a solar calendar (ie. Enochian). But the Metonic cycle has been shifted so that the anchor year is different.



This is actually what the major split in the early Church was all about. They recognized this shift but did not fully appreciate why it happened and came to some faulty conclusions. And we (the Christian tradition) are still following these faulty conclusions to this day.

I have to describe what the Jewish calendar SHOULD be based on. According to the Feasts of the Lord, the Feast of First Fruits required each person to bring the first of their winter barley crop to the priest for him to wave it before the Lord. Only after this had been done, were they free to start harvesting and consuming from their fields. The barley needed to be ripe - this is important. And in the Jewish homeland the first signs of green barley ears happened around the time of the spring equinox and the barley ripened enough during the following 2-3 weeks. The earliest was mid-April. Therefore, when the priest observed the harvest at the beginning of the month, if the barley was not going to be ripe in 2 weeks (for Passover and First Fruits), then they added an extra month. This was the requirement of observation. It was not calculated because it had to do with unpredictable environmental conditions. But on average, this can be calculated. And that is what I have done.

Using this information, I have determined that the winter barley harvest life cycle results in a Metonic cycle where an additional year should be added: 2, 5, 7, 10 , 13, 16, 18. Notice this is completely different from the modern Jewish Metonic cycle. This means that if one uses the modern Metonic cycle to determine the dates of the Feast of the Lord, they end up being in the wrong month a lot of the time. ONLY by using the Metonic cycle that I have rediscovered, are the Feasts occurring at the time that the Lord requires. This is a bombshell realization.

Some people say that the Babylonian calendar should be used to determine the proper Jewish calendar since that was what the people used during their exile. However, the Metonic cycle of the Babylonian calendar is shifted to an entirely different year, yet again. So that the cycle is not the same as the Modern calendar and not the same as the Abib based barley calendar. So the Babylonian calendar should not be used either.

I have proof of all of this. The different Metonic cycles are described in an ancient document. Circa 1000AD a moslem scholar named Al-Biruni wrote very detailed descriptions of the various calendars of the cultures at that time in that area of the world. He includes information about the various Metonic cycles and how they are anchored to different years. He shows that the Syrian locale (ie. Jewish Homeland) used the metonic cycle that I have shown above based on the life cycle of the winter barley. However, he does not recognize that it is based on the life cycle of the barley. It is a metonic cycle that was in use during the temple era. And then he describes the Metonic cycle that was in use in the Jewish diaspora - the modern one that is still in use and that is totally different than the barley one.

Let's consider an example set of years to prove this mathematically. The choice of years is arbitrary and any group of years would show a similar result.

Mathematical Proof:

Modern calendar (Years 1940-1949)
metonic cycle: 0, 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17

5700 (Jewish year) - 1940 (metonic year 0/19) - Leap Year
Passover - April 22

5701 - 1941 (m 1)
P - Apr 11

5702 - 1942 (m2)
P - Apr 1

5703 - 1943 (m3) - Leap Year
P - Apr 19

5704 - 1944 (m4)
P - Apr 7

5705 - 1945 (m5)
P - Mar 28

5706 - 1946 (m6) - Leap Year
P - Apr 15

5707 - 1947 (m7)
P - Apr 4

5708 - 1948 (m8) - Leap Year
P - Apr 23

5709 - 1949 (m9)
P - Apr 13

5710 - 1950 (m10)
P - Apr 1


Notice that Passover occurs in March or early April a significant number of times. Even though there is no temple and no requirement for ripe barley to be brought to the priest, the barley in Israel would not be ripe at these points in the calendar. Something is off. The calendar is wrong.

Now let's compare the abib-based barley calendar using the same set of years.

Abib based barley calendar (Years 1940-1949)
metonic cycle: 2, 5, 7, 10 , 13, 16, 18.

5700 (Jewish year) - 1940 (metonic year 0/19)
Passover - April 22

5701 - 1941 (m 1)
P - Apr 11

5702 - 1942 (m2) – Leap Year
P – May 1

5703 - 1943 (m3)
P - Apr 19

5704 - 1944 (m4)
P - Apr 7

5705 - 1945 (m5) – Leap Year
P – Apr 27

5706 - 1946 (m6)
P - Apr 15

5707 - 1947 (m7) – Leap Year
P – May 4

5708 - 1948 (m8)
P - Apr 23

5709 - 1949 (m9)
P - Apr 13

5710 - 1950 (m10) – Leap Year
P – May 1

What do you notice? See that Passover occurs mostly between mid April and beginning of May. This is exactly the time when the winter barely would be ripe. And it is in keeping with the commands of God to present ripe barley at the Feast of First Fruits.

This discrepancy was what the early Church noticed about the time of the Passover. They stated that the Jews of that era had changed when Passover occurred. They realized that Passover was being celebrated one month too early a good portion of the time. I have not come across exactly how they determined this in my research. However, it was of such significance that they proclaimed that anyone who celebrated Passover at the same time as the Jews should be excommunicated.

However, even though they stated (correctly) that the Passover was no longer correct, they came up with a calculation for Easter(Passover) that ensured that Easter did not occur at the same time as the Jewish passover. Let's examine when Easter occurred during the same range of years.

1940 – Mar 24
1941 – Apr 13
1942 – Apr 5
1943 – Apr 25
1944 – Apr 9
1945 – Apr 1
1946 – Apr 21
1947 – Apr 6
1948 – Mar 28
1949 – Apr 17
1950 – Apr 9

Notice that these Sunday dates are often not during the same period as the modern Jewish calendar dates. But that is another elephant in the room that must be pointed out. Even though people argue about the word “Easter” and that many other countries still call it “Passover”, the actual day is Sunday. That is incorrect. Passover was tied to the full moon and is always supposed to be on the 14th day of Nisan. Having Easter tied to Sunday every year is not the prescribed definition of what Passover should be. So even the Church is celebrating this day incorrectly. And that is not even getting into the issue of Good Friday and the whole error of that day.

So the method of determining Easter in the church calendar has absolutely nothing to do with the God's commands of how Passover should be determined and the proper timing that He requires in the Feasts of the Lord.

Only the metonic cycle based on the abib ripeness of the winter barley leads to the proper timing of the start of Nisan and the correct placement of not only Passover but all of the other Feasts that should be correctly celebrated at the proper time in the year. This is what my research has uncovered. This is the accurate Jewish calendar which has been forgotten (or purposely hidden) for millennia. This is what should be the most important realization for both the Jewish and Christian tradition. This is also what allows the correct dates of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to be determined.

The Passover on which Jesus Christ died was on April 25, 31 AD. This date can only be seen using the proper metonic cycle based on the winter barley. It does not become evident using the modern Jewish metonic cycle. This is why scholars have had such a difficult time in determining this date. Nothing makes sense with the modern Jewish calendar. Only by using the abib based calendar can the accurate historical dates during the Biblical era be properly determined.

We can’t say that for sure because we don’t know how the Abib based calendar was interpreted, merely a guess from the Karaites. Franky if it was easy as you suggest the Early Church would have done it.