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.