by John P. Pratt
12 Apr 2020, Easter (PH, Toltec, Gregorian, Messianic)
©2020 by John P. Pratt. All rights Reserved.
A new calendar is proposed to help unify Hebrews and Christians, especially for Messianic Jews.
The Millennium is beginning to usher in! After the wicked are destroyed, the righteous from many different faiths will live together in peace as the Savior reigns. Two of the main world religions are Judaism and Christianity. Each has holy days associated with a calendar. Many Hebrews are now recognizing Jesus Christ as their Messiah. They are called "Messianic Jews". Most practice Judaism, with it is rites and ordinances, but believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ fulfilled the rite of Waving of the Sheaf on the Sunday after Passover, which Christians call Easter Sunday. Thus, they have a problem of two religious calendars which sometimes conflict, because Christians celebrate Easter on one Sunday, whereas the Hebrew Calendar could have their corresponding rite either a week earlier or later.
The principal holy day on the Christian (Catholic) Gregorian Calendar, which is used worldwide, is Easter Sunday. The formula chosen by the Council of Nicea in AD 325 is excellent because it yields a date that nearly always matches the (Sadducee) Waving of the Sheaf ceremony, which foreshadowed the resurrection of Christ, the firstfruits of the ground (1 Cor. 15:20). The Sadducee sect of Judaism offered it on the Sunday after Passover according to the law of Moses (Lev. 23:11), whereas the Pharisees offered on the second day of Passover.
Any attempt to merge the Christian (Gregorian) Calendar with the Hebrew, should look to preserve as many holy days as possible on each. From a practical standpoint, most Hebrews already use the modern Gregorian Calendar for commerce, reserving the Hebrew principally for religious rites.
Thus, it is proposed that the Gregorian Calendar be the basis of the Messianic Calendar, onto which the Hebrew ceremonial dates can simply be overlaid. But, you say, isn't that what is already done, where Hebrew holy days are simply printed on the Gregorian Calendar?
There has been a problem both the Christian and Hebrew calendars, in that they have not always accurately kept track of the seasons. Easter is supposed to occur in the spring, symbolized by the waving of a ripe sheaf of barley (a winter crop in Israel), but neither calendar tracked the seasons correctly over periods of centuries.
In Europe it was noticed that Easter was slowing drifting into the summer, so the former Julian Calendar of that time was corrected by Pope Gregory XIII by skipping 10 days in 1582 and modified to become our modern Gregorian Calendar. The date of Easter is fixed as being the first Sunday after the first (average) full moon on or after the spring equinox, which was fixed to occur on 21 March. That formula has been remarkably accurate and is good enough not to require any changes.
Thus, it is proposed that the most holy day of the Christian year, Easter Sunday, be retained on the proposed Messianic Calendar.
What about the Hebrew Calendar? It is a calendar based on both the sun and moon, where the months begin near a new moon and the years are tied to the seasons of the sun. It turns out that it is incredibly accurate in its calculation of the position of the average moon, but its seasons also slowly drift, with Passover (and it's corresponding Easter) are slowing moving into summer. The rate of this accumulating error currently amounts to about 6 days. The important point here, is that the Hebrew Calendar has never been corrected. The proposed Messianic Calendar offers a way to painlessly correct the Hebrew Calendar!
It is here proposed that the Christian Easter be equated with the Sunday offering of the Waving of the Omer in every year, in the following manner:
- Rule 1. As on the traditional Hebrew Calendar, New Year's Day, 1 Nisan, on the Messianic Calendar must fall on an odd-numbered day of the week: Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. Moreover, all Hebrew years on the Messianic Calendar must have lengths of 353, 354, 355, 383, 384, or 385 years, divided into months and days the same as on the traditional Hebrew Calendar. These requirements might cause the day 1 Nisan to be delayed by a day.
- Rule 2. In the law of Moses, Passover is supposed to occur on the first full moon or after the spring equinox. On the modern Hebrew calendar, that is 15 Nisan, where Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew year was designed to meet that criterion. There is, however, no "spring equinox day" on the traditional Hebrew Calendar. Instead, the 19-year Metonic cycle is used to govern the seasons. Unfortunately, as already pointed out, that causes season drift. On the other hand, the Christian Easter does not drift because is tied to a rather accurate "spring equinox day", 21 Mar, which is always on or after the true equinox (which can be 19 Mar, 20 Mar, or 21 Mar). Thus, in years when Passover could fall a month earlier on or after 21 Mar, the month of Nisan is advanced a month on the Messianic Calendar. In about 80% of all years, the Hebrew year on the Messianic Calendar coincides with the traditional Hebrew Calendar, in the other years, the long-needed seasonal correction is automatically applied!
- Rule 3. If the Passover would fall on a Saturday, so that the Waving of the Omer would be the next day, but the Christian Easter is the week following that, the Nisan is advanced one day so that Passover falls on a Sunday, causing the Waving of the Sheaf to coincide with Easter Sunday.
The following table list the dates of 1 Nisan and Easter on the proposed Messianic Calendar for the first hundred years of this millennium. In every year with "YES" in the Hebrew column, the traditional Hebrew year begins on the same day as 1 Nisan on this proposed Messianic Calendar in that year. That means that all of the holy days that year through Tabernacles in the autumn will coincide. If the next year also lists "YES", then the entire Hebrew year is identical on both calendars.
| Year | 1 Nisan | Hebrew | Yr Len | Easter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Sun 25 Mar | YES | 354 | 15 Apr |
| 2002 | Thu 14 Mar | YES | 385 | 31 Mar |
| 2003 | Thu 3 Apr | YES | 355 | 20 Apr |
| 2004 | Tue 23 Mar | YES | 354 | 11 Apr |
| 2005 | Sat 12 Mar | LATE | 383 | 27 Mar |
| 2006 | Thu 30 Mar | YES | 355 | 16 Apr |
| 2007 | Tue 20 Mar | YES | 354 | 8 Apr |
| 2008 | Sat 8 Mar | LATE | 383 | 23 Mar |
| 2009 | Thu 26 Mar | YES | 355 | 12 Apr |
| 2010 | Tue 16 Mar | YES | 385 | 4 Apr |
| 2011 | Tue 5 Apr | YES | 354 | 24 Apr |
| 2012 | Sat 24 Mar | YES | 353 | 8 Apr |
| 2013 | Tue 12 Mar | YES | 385 | 31 Mar |
| 2014 | Tue 1 Apr | YES | 354 | 20 Apr |
| 2015 | Sat 21 Mar | YES | 355 | 5 Apr |
| 2016 | Thu 10 Mar | LATE | 383 | 27 Mar |
| 2017 | Tue 28 Mar | YES | 354 | 16 Apr |
| 2018 | Sat 17 Mar | YES | 385 | 1 Apr |
| 2019 | Sat 6 Apr | YES | 355 | 21 Apr |
| 2020 | Thu 26 Mar | YES | 353 | 12 Apr |
| 2021 | Sun 14 Mar | YES | 384 | 4 Apr |
| 2022 | Sat 2 Apr | YES | 355 | 17 Apr |
| 2023 | Thu 23 Mar | YES | 355 | 9 Apr |
| 2024 | Tue 12 Mar | LATE | 383 | 31 Mar |
| 2025 | Sun 30 Mar | YES | 354 | 20 Apr |
| 2026 | Thu 19 Mar | YES | 355 | 5 Apr |
| 2027 | Tue 9 Mar | LATE | 385 | 28 Mar |
| 2028 | Tue 28 Mar | YES | 354 | 16 Apr |
| 2029 | Sat 17 Mar | YES | 383 | 1 Apr |
| 2030 | Thu 4 Apr | YES | 355 | 21 Apr |
| 2031 | Tue 25 Mar | YES | 354 | 13 Apr |
| 2032 | Sat 13 Mar | YES | 383 | 28 Mar |
| 2033 | Thu 31 Mar | YES | 355 | 17 Apr |
| 2034 | Tue 21 Mar | YES | 354 | 9 Apr |
| 2035 | Sat 10 Mar | LATE | 385 | 25 Mar |
| 2036 | Sat 29 Mar | YES | 353 | 13 Apr |
| 2037 | Tue 17 Mar | YES | 385 | 5 Apr |
| 2038 | Tue 6 Apr | YES | 354 | 25 Apr |
| 2039 | Sat 26 Mar | YES | 355 | 10 Apr |
| 2040 | Thu 15 Mar | YES | 383 | 1 Apr |
| 2041 | Tue 2 Apr | YES | 354 | 21 Apr |
| 2042 | Sat 22 Mar | YES | 355 | 6 Apr |
| 2043 | Thu 12 Mar | LATE | 383 | 29 Mar |
| 2044 | Tue 29 Mar | YES | 355 | 17 Apr |
| 2045 | Sun 19 Mar | YES | 354 | 9 Apr |
| 2046 | Thu 8 Mar | LATE | 385 | 25 Mar |
| 2047 | Thu 28 Mar | YES | 353 | 14 Apr |
| 2048 | Sun 15 Mar | YES | 384 | 5 Apr |
| 2049 | Sat 3 Apr | YES | 355 | 18 Apr |
| 2050 | Thu 24 Mar | YES | 355 | 10 Apr |
| 2051 | Tue 14 Mar | YES | 383 | 2 Apr |
| 2052 | Sun 31 Mar | YES | 354 | 21 Apr |
| 2053 | Thu 20 Mar | YES | 355 | 6 Apr |
| 2054 | Tue 10 Mar | LATE | 385 | 29 Mar |
| 2055 | Tue 30 Mar | YES | 354 | 18 Apr |
| 2056 | Sat 18 Mar | YES | 383 | 2 Apr |
| 2057 | Thu 5 Apr | YES | 355 | 22 Apr |
| 2058 | Tue 26 Mar | YES | 354 | 14 Apr |
| 2059 | Sat 15 Mar | YES | 383 | 30 Mar |
| 2060 | Thu 1 Apr | YES | 355 | 18 Apr |
| 2061 | Tue 22 Mar | YES | 354 | 10 Apr |
| 2062 | Sat 11 Mar | LATE | 385 | 26 Mar |
| 2063 | Sat 31 Mar | YES | 353 | 15 Apr |
| 2064 | Tue 18 Mar | YES | 355 | 6 Apr |
| 2065 | Sun 8 Mar | LATE | 384 | 29 Mar |
| 2066 | Sat 27 Mar | YES | 355 | 11 Apr |
| 2067 | Thu 17 Mar | YES | 383 | 3 Apr |
| 2068 | Tue 3 Apr | YES | 354 | 22 Apr |
| 2069 | Sat 23 Mar | YES | 355 | 14 Apr |
| 2070 | Thu 13 Mar | YES | 383 | 30 Mar |
| 2071 | Tue 31 Mar | YES | 355 | 19 Apr |
| 2072 | Sun 20 Mar | YES | 354 | 10 Apr |
| 2073 | Thu 9 Mar | LATE | 385 | 26 Mar |
| 2074 | Thu 29 Mar | YES | 353 | 15 Apr |
| 2075 | Sun 17 Mar | YES | 384 | 7 Apr |
| 2076 | Sat 4 Apr | YES | 355 | 19 Apr |
| 2077 | Thu 25 Mar | YES | 355 | 11 Apr |
| 2078 | Tue 15 Mar | YES | 383 | 3 Apr |
| 2079 | Sun 2 Apr | YES | 354 | 23 Apr |
| 2080 | Thu 21 Mar | YES | 355 | 7 Apr |
| 2081 | Tue 11 Mar | LATE | 385 | 30 Mar |
| 2082 | Tue 31 Mar | YES | 354 | 19 Apr |
| 2083 | Sat 20 Mar | YES | 353 | 4 Apr |
| 2084 | Tue 7 Mar | LATE | 385 | 26 Mar |
| 2085 | Tue 27 Mar | YES | 354 | 15 Apr |
| 2086 | Sat 16 Mar | YES | 383 | 31 Mar |
| 2087 | Thu 3 Apr | YES | 355 | 20 Apr |
| 2088 | Tue 23 Mar | YES | 355 | 11 Apr |
| 2089 | Sun 12 Mar | EARLY | 384 | 3 Apr |
| 2090 | Sat 1 Apr | YES | 353 | 16 Apr |
| 2091 | Tue 20 Mar | YES | 355 | 8 Apr |
| 2092 | Sun 9 Mar | LATE | 384 | 30 Mar |
| 2093 | Sat 28 Mar | YES | 355 | 12 Apr |
| 2094 | Thu 18 Mar | YES | 383 | 4 Apr |
| 2095 | Tue 5 Apr | YES | 355 | 24 Apr |
| 2096 | Sun 25 Mar | EARLY | 354 | 15 Apr |
| 2097 | Thu 14 Mar | YES | 385 | 31 Mar |
| 2098 | Thu 3 Apr | YES | 353 | 20 Apr |
| 2099 | Sun 22 Mar | YES | 354 | 12 Apr |
| 2100 | Thu 11 Mar | LATE | 385 | 28 Mar |
In years with "LATE" in the "Hebrew" column, it means that the traditional Hebrew year began an entire month late according to the law of Moses. If you look at each of those years, they have been corrected to begin between 7 Mar (with Passover on 21 Mar) through 13 March. In those years, Passover was a month late on the traditional calendar, so, according to Rule 2 above, they were corrected to begin a month earlier so that Easter would indeed be the Sunday after Passover. These are the examples of how the accuracy of the Christian Calendar can be used to correct the traditional Hebrew Calendar. The exact day for 1 Nisan in those years was determined by the using lunar requirements for the traditional Hebrew Calendar (near new moon). These are years in which the traditional Hebrew Calendar would celebrate Easter Sunday up to a month after Christians, so it was updated to be more accurate so they both agree on Easter.
Near the end of the table, there are two years with "EARLY" in the "Hebrew" column. Those are the only two years in the century when the Hebrew New Year (1 Nisan) fell on a Saturday, but the Christian Easter would fall two Sundays thereafter rather than just one. Therefore, according to Rule 3, 1 Nisan was postponed by only one day, to begin on a Sunday, so that Passover would fall on a Sunday and Easter on the following Sunday as required. This is an example of where the traditional Hebrew Calendar would celebrate Easter Sunday a week earlier than Christians, so Nisan was adjust by one day so they both agree on Easter Sunday.
Hopefully, this Messianic Calendar is one on which both Christians and Jews can agree, if only because it aligns with the seasons. Thus, Christians and Hebrews can jointly worship Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob's God!