The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Truth (Jn 14:17; 15:26; 16:13). John 1:14 says that Jesus Christ is full of grace and truth; Jn 8:32 informs us: "You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall make you free"; Jn 17:19 says that the saints are sanctified by the Truth! The Word of God is Truth (Jn 17:17). The truth or knowledge of God shows us how to love (Matt 22:36-40; 2Pet 1:2; 3:18; Jn 17:3; Jer 9:24; 1Jn 2:4; 4:6-8; 2Jn 3). 1Jn 4:12 tells us that If we love one another, God [by His Spirit] lives in us, and His love is perfected in us. Likewise we should know that if we have the growing love of God in us (1Jn 4:18), which is the greatest gift that we seek and develop, then of course other gifts of the Holy Spirit must follow and increase also.

With these qualifying remarks - and I don't think I can qualify them sufficiently - may I begin to address aspects of Scripture most of us may not have carefully studied. So it is with some fear and trepidation that I begin to discuss the subject, "Aspects of God's Time," or "Why and when did God establish His calendar?" Time is vital within the Plan of Salvation. Prophecy unfolds in time!

The apostle Paul told Titus that eternal life was promised before time began (Tit 1:2). Furthermore, Scripture says that the purpose of God and the grace of Jesus Christ were given to us before time began (2Tim 1:9); that the wisdom of God was foreordained before the ages [before time began] for our glory (1Cor 2:7); and that the works of God were known from eternity (Acts 15:18; Rom 16:25). God's understanding is infinite [without measure] (Ps 147:5), and God declares the end from the beginning (Is 46:10). These and more verses are consistent with the apostle Peter's inspired words in 1Pet 1:16-25:

1Pet 1:16 It is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." [Lev 11:45] 17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have unfeigned love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, "All flesh is as grass, and all its glory is as the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that evangelises you.

2 Pet 1:19-21 So we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star [Rev 22:16] rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no scriptural prophecy is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Mat 25:31-34 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be assembled before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as the shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation [or, from the creation] of the world.'

Eph 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.

Rom 1:16-20 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew [who was] first [offered the Gospel] and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to [more] faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest ['to' or 'among', and not 'in'] them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world [Heb 1:2 through whom He made the universe] His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

So it is most fitting that the first month of the year, in which is the Passover commemoration (2Cor 11:23-26; 1Cor 5:7-8; Jn 13:1ff and v.15), reveals the beginning of the process of salvation through the Lamb of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, by growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, enduring to the end in the knowledge that He will never leave nor forsake all those who are called, chosen, and faithful (Jn 6:35,37-40; Rev 17:14).

THE NEW YEAR ACCORDING TO GOD
Abib (Nisan) is the first month of the year and hence determines the sacred new year. The United Church of God Summary of the Hebrew Calendar - Doctrinal Study Paper (released to its ministry in February, 1997) says: "Certainly all the elements of a calendar can be found in Scripture. We know which month is the first month of the year (Exodus 12:2)" (p. 4). However, this paper in aiming to bring about "a clear consensus for the sake of a unified celebration of God's Holy Days, consistent with the Word of God" (p. 1), goes on to say that "Another difficult area of the calendar revolves around the determination of the first day of Tishri and from there the first day of Abib (the first month of the year)" (p. 21). Then in the concluding paragraph we read: "The rules of postponement are used in the establishment of the first day of Tishri. Once the first day of Tishri is established, then the calendar can be set, and the first day of Abib [177 days before Tishri 1] can be determined. This, in turn, makes it possible to establish the dates for the Holy Days" (p. 22). There is no discussion in the entire Paper, nor in the preceding Doctrinal Statement (released in the latter part of 1996), of the clear biblical injunctions that the first month determines the rest of the year, as against 1st Tishri, according to rabbinical traditions, supposedly determining the rest of the year! This argument inverts the salvation sequence and typology in God's calendar.

In setting the guidelines for answers to the calendar problems, readers are informed :

• "What does the Bible say about the calendar, since the Bible, and not the traditions of men, must provide the basis for answering these questions?"
• Romans 3: "What is included in the oracles? Can we prove that the calendar was or was not a part of these oracles?"
• "What about the rules of postponement [Appendix A clarifies the postponement rules]? When were they developed? Are they a valid part of the calendar or merely pharisaic addition?" (ibid., p. 3).

Acts 7:38 This is he [i.e., Moses] who was in the Church in the wilderness with the Angel [i.e., the Rock, Jesus Christ; 1Cor 10:4] who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one [cp. Dt 18:15-19 and Acts 3:22-26] who received the living oracles to give to us.

Heb 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.

1Pet 4:11 If anyone speaks, let him speak the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

NIV Study Bible footnotes on Matt 15:2 comment on the tradition of the elders:

"After the Babylonian captivity, the Jewish rabbis began to make meticulous rules and regulations governing the daily life of the people. These were interpretations and applications of the law of Moses, handed down from generation to generation. In Jesus' day this "tradition of the elders" was in oral form. It was not until c. A.D. 200 that it was put into writing in the Mishnah."

Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition.
"The teachers of the law appealed to Nu 30:1-2 in support of the Corban vow, but Jesus categorically rejects the practice of using one Biblical teaching to nullify another. The scribal interpretation of Nu 30:1-2 satisfied the letter of the passage but missed the meaning of the law as a whole. God never intended obedience to one command to nullify another." [Matt 23:14,27-28]

It is accepted that these Aramaic Targums pre-date the apostolic times and so are quite valuable in revealing the earlier Jewish understanding of Genesis 1:14. The NEB has "as signs both for festivals and for seasons and years." The NJB has "let them indicate festivals, days and years."

Ps 104:19 supports Gen 1:14 with the remarkable statement that God appointed the moon for seasons [festivals], which are agriculturally-based and typify the harvests of God's saints (1Cor 15:20,23,24). The NEB and the NJB translate 'festivals' for 'seasons' in Gen 1:14.

The month with the Passover, Abib, is specifically commanded by the Lord as being the beginning of the year (Ex 12:2; and also see Ex 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; 40:2,17; Lev 23:4-6; Num 9:1-3; 20:1; 28:16; 33:3; Dt 16:1-3; Josh 4:19; 5:10; 1Chr 12:15; 27:2-3; 2Chr 29:3,17; 30:15; 35:1; Ezr 7:9 [see NIV footnote]; 10:17; Neh 2:1 [see NIV footnote]; Est 3:7 [see NIV footnote]; Ezk 29:17; 45:18,21 [Ezk 45 has a millennial setting!]). This beginning symbolises the redemption of the Israel of God from the world's system (Gal 1:4; Rev 14:4), and the typology of the Passover lamb foreshadows the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29; Rev 5:6-6:1; 14:1-4). Clearly, the first month of the year symbolises what is first in the sequence of salvation, and determines all that follows. The religious leaders of Judaism, as described in the Gospels, rejected the Son of God (Jn 8:19; 16:3), and not surprisingly their spiritual ancestors determine the calculations for the calendar from 1 Tishri (the day commemorating the return of Jesus the Messiah (1Cor 15:51-53; 1Th 4:14-16; Rev 20:6; Lev 23:23-25), who is still not recognised.

"The observation of the autumnal equinox, i.e., 'the going out of the year' (Ex. 23:16), and of the spring or vernal equinox, called 'the return of the year' (1 Ki. 20:26; 2 Ch. 36:10 KJV), was important for controlling the calendar and consequently the festivals. Thus the year began with the new moon nearest the vernal equinox when the sun was in Aries (Josephus, Ant. 3.201 [better to see Ant. III.x.5]), and the Passover on the fourteenth day of Nisan coincided with the first full moon (Ex 12:2-6)." (The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, J. D. Douglas and N. Hillyer, editors, IVP, 1980; Article Calendar, Vol 2, p. 223).

"In general, the Jewish calendar in NT times (at least before C.E. 70) followed the Sadducean reckoning, since it was by that reckoning that the Temple services were regulated. Thus the day of Pentecost was reckoned as the fiftieth day after the presentation of the first harvested sheaf of barley, i.e., the fiftieth day (inclusive) from the first Sunday after Passover (cf. Lev. 23:15f.); hence it always fell on a Sunday, as it does in the Christian calendar.

The Pharisaic reckoning, which became standard after CE 70, interpreted 'sabbath' in Lv. 23:15 as the festival day of Unleavened Bread and not the weekly sabbath; in that case Pentecost always fell on the same day of the month [Sivan 6]."

The UCG Study Paper refers to Mr Herbert W. Armstrong's February, 1940, letter about determining Passover and the Festivals. His letter says: "The present "Jewish Calendar" has come down intact without change since 100 A.D. - that much is proved by history."
History in fact proves contrawise. The letter goes on to 'prove' that the Samaritans have kept and still keep the Passover, as the Jews do, "with all its Penteuchal ceremony." The letter tells us that the Samaritans kill the lamb "on the eve, or night part, of the 14th, not on the 15th." If Jews were to kill a lamb for their Passover these days, they would do it in the afternoon of the 14th and eat it on the 15th. So the argument is self-evidently contradictory. Furthermore, at the end of the letter, Mr Armstrong states twice that Pentecost for 1940 would be on Tuesday, 18th June. This decision would have to be based on counting from the Sunday after the days of Unleavened Bread (i.e., with the assumed 7th day being Sunday, 29th April). I mention this because there appears to be an apparent over-reliance on the name of Mr Armstrong rather than on Biblical accuracy and historical fact.

It is evident that if 1st Abib is incorrectly calculated then the Passover season is wrongly determined, and if 1st Tishri [the determinative day for Jewish calculation] is incorrectly decided, then all the Festivals fall improperly. Would Isaiah 1:13-14 and Hosea 2:11 apply?

Isa 1:13-14 Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies; I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.

Hosea 2:11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her New Moons, her Sabbaths; all her appointed feasts.

MORE ON THE JUDAIC CALENDAR
The present Jewish calendar, often termed the Hillel calendar, is of more recent derivation than generally known. There is no doubt that the postponement system, according to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, was not fully in place until the eleventh century and is not really the product of Rabbi Hillel II from 358 C.E., even though it is commonly attributed to him. We should recognise that we are confronted with either the observance of God's Festivals or the observances of a calendar with postponement rules based on rabbinical traditions. The intent of the Catholic calendar is to avoid agreement with the original Jewish calendar and the current Jewish calendar avoids agreement with the almost universal Christian calendar (the Eastern Orthodox churches excepted). For example, the Catholic observance of Easter Sunday was 30th March, 1997, whereas the Orthodox Easter Sunday was 27th April, 1997. The Jewish Passover was on the night of 21st April. The Roman observance is based on the early (Nicean) arguments which related to the avoidance of the original Jewish observance:

"The Easter controversy raged in the early Church and still exists between the Western and Eastern churches. The final conditions arrived at in the West are that Easter must be kept on the Sunday after the paschal moon (the calendar moon whose fourteenth day falls on or after the vernal equinox), reckoned from the day of the new moon inclusive" (The Encyclopedia of Religion, (MACMILLAN, 1987, ed. Mircea Eliade), Vol 10, p. 86). The 1997 spring new moon (Jerusalem time) was on the night of 8th-9th March.

"Since the majority of early Christians were Jewish converts, it is understandable that from the outset the Christian calendar was governed by the fact that the death and Resurrection of Christ had taken place at the time of the Jewish feast, the Pasch, or Passover, celebrated on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, i.e., at the full moon following the spring equinox" (New Catholic Encyclopedia, (McGRAW HILL, N.Y., 1967),  Vol 2, p. 1062). Please note that the larger groups observing the Passover season follow the rabbinical traditions. Scriptures and historical support for non-rabbinical practice are denied.

"Nor is this an opinion confined to ourselves alone. For it was also known to the Jews of old and before Christ, and it was most carefully observed by them. And this may be learned  from what Philo, and Josephus, and Musaeus have written; and not only from these, but indeed from others still more ancient, namely, the two Agathobuli, who were surnamed the Masters, and the eminent Aristobulus, who was one of the Seventy who translated the sacred and holy Scriptures [i.e., the Septuagint] of the Hebrews for Ptolemy Philadelphus [285-246 B.C.] and his father, and dedicated his exegetical works on the law of Moses to the same kings. These writers, in solving some questions which are raised with respect to the Exodus, say that all alike ought to sacrifice the Passover after the vernal equinox in the middle of the first month" (Ante-Nicene Fathers, (Eerdmans, 1986), Vol 6, The Paschal Canon of Anatolius of Alexandria, III, p. 147).

"the present [calendar] system was expected to be replaced again by a system based on true values more akin to the earlier Jewish calendar in which New Moon (days of the phasis) and intercalations were proclaimed on the basis of both observation and calculation"(p. 47). Then on p. 50 we find this stunning comment: "There is ... unimpeachable evidence from the works of writers with expert knowledge of the calendar that the present ordo intercalationis [sequence of intercalations]  and epochal molad [1st Tishri] were not intrinsic parts of the calendar of Hillel II, these being seen still side by side with other styles of the ordo intercalationis and the molad as late as the 11th century [i.e., about 1038 A.D.]. Also the four dehiyyot [postponement rules] developed gradually. ... By the tenth century the Jewish calendar was exactly the same as today."

JUDAISM'S NEW YEAR
Note here the comments of the Judaica concerning the accuracy or otherwise of the postponements:

"Fixing Rosh HaShanah (New Year's Day). The year begins on Tishri 1, which is rarely the day of the molad [the 'black' moon; conjunction], as there are four obstacles or considerations, called dehiyyah, in fixing the first day of the month (rosh hodesh). Each dehiyyot may cause a postponement of two days: (1) mainly in order to prevent the Day of Atonement (Tishri 10) from falling on Friday or Sunday, and Hoshana Rabba (the seventh day of Sukkot; Tishri 21) from falling on Saturday, but in part also serving an astronomical purpose... (2) entirely for an astronomical reason, if the molad is at noon or later Rosh HaShanah is delayed by one day" (ibid., p. 44).

"If Rosh Hashanah fell on a Sunday, Hoshanah Rabbah would fall on the Sabbath and would call for the elimination of certain rituals which the pharisaic rabbis did not want to forgo" (Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol 25, No 1, 1997; Article by Rabbi Saul Leeman, "Why is Pesach So Late This Year?").

"... the present system was expected to be replaced again by a system based on true values [as opposed to mean values] more akin to the earlier Jewish calendar in which New Moons (days of the phasis [i.e., the length of the interval from the true conjunction to the first sighting of the new crescent]) and intercalations were proclaimed on the basis of both observation and calculation" (p. 47).

The correct new moons are vital in determining the months. The New Moon of Abib determines the year, not 1st Tishri. Please refer to the list of Scriptures in the last paragraph of page 4.

Philo of Alexandria [20 B.C.-50 A.D.] tells us, [translated by F. H. Colson (Harvard University Press, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, MA, 1937); The Special Laws, II, Xl,41]:

"The third [feast; ('the first is each day, and the second is the sabbath')] is the new moon which follows the conjunction of the moon with the sun." And in II, XXVl,140: "This is the New Moon, or beginning of the lunar month, namely the period between one conjunction and the next, the length of which has been accurately calculated in the astronomical schools."

MORE ON ABIB AND TISHRI
"Nisan: Related to the Babylonian first month Nisannu, "to start," or perhaps to Hebrew nitzan, "blossoms." Its pentateuchal name is Aviv, [or Abib], "spring." ... The first never falls on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. In the twentieth century its earliest beginning is March 13th and its latest beginning is April 11th" (The Jewish Almanac, (Bantam,1980), p. 245).

The whole Passover season also symbolises the preparation of the firstfruits of God for the Firstfruits harvest, Pentecost. The above postponement rule avoids the Jewish observance of their Passover co-incident with a Tuesday night occurring on the 14th Abib. The rules for Abib do allow for a Sabbath to fall on the 14th [where the 1st Abib is a Sunday], which is a preparation day for the 15th, the first holy day of the seven days of unleavened bread. However, in Tishri, a Sabbath is not permitted just before or after the 1st [Feast of Trumpets] or the 10th of the month [Day of Atonement].

"Tishre: From Aramaic shera or sherei, "to begin." ... Seventh month in the religious or festival cycle; first in chronological or civil cycle... The 1st never falls on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday. In the twentieth century, its earliest beginning is September 6th and its latest beginning is Oct 5th" (p. 241).

The present Jewish calendar is lunisolar, the months being reckoned according to the moon and the years according to the sun. A month is the period of time between one conjunction of the moon with the sun and the next. The conjunction of the moon with the sun is the point in time at which the moon is directly between the earth and the sun (but not in the same plane) and it is thus invisible. This is known as the molad ("birth")" (ibid., p. 43).

Since the molad is indeed the conjunction - and all appear to agree on that - then time before the molad is the end of the previous month, and time after the molad is attributable to the new month. And since the biblical day is evening to evening, it would seem that, where the conjunction is half-way or more into the day (i.e., at about 6 a.m. onwards), agreement needs to be reached about a rule which does not contravene biblical rule(s), and which is in line with astronomical calculation.

THE CALENDAR OF CHRISTIANITY
It should be noted that there is a lack of postponement rules indicated in the early Church (admittedly Catholic, but nevertheless pertinent to our decision-making on these matters of determining what calendar Christians ought to observe). The key postponement rule used by the Catholic Church is that Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the Paschal (full) Moon.

Hippolytus [170 - 236 A.D.], The Refutation of All Heresies, VIII.xi (ANF, Vol V, p. 123):

Easter should be kept on the fourteenth day of the first month, according to the commandment of the law, on whatever day (of the month) it should occur.

"(I) just as they [Isodore, Jerome, Clement] differ also in language, have, nevertheless, come harmoniously to one and the same most exact reckoning of Easter, day and month and season meeting in accord with the highest honour for the Lord's resurrection. But Origen also, the most erudite of all, and the acutest in making calculations, .... has published in a very elegant manner a little book on Easter. And in this book, while declaring, with respect to the day of Easter, that attention must be given not only to the course of the moon and the transit of the equinox, but also the passage of the sun, (II) There is, then, in the first year, the new moon of the first month, which is the beginning of every cycle of nineteen years, on the six and twentieth day of the month called by the Egyptians Phamenoth. But, according to the months of the Macedonians, it is on the two-and-twentieth day of Dystrus. And, as the Romans would say, it is the eleventh day [i.e., 20th March, and at the time of the vernal equinox] before the Kalends [first] of April."

"Constantine, august, to the churches. ...

When the question arose concerning the most holy day of Easter, it was decreed by common consent to be expedient, that this festival should be celebrated on the same day by all, in every place. ... it seemed to every one a most unworthy thing that we should follow the custom of the Jews in the celebration of this most holy solemnity, who, polluted wretches! having stained their hands with a nefarious crime, are justly blinded in their minds. It is fit, therefore, that, rejecting the practice of this people, we should perpetuate to all future ages the celebration of this rite, in a more legitimate order, which we have kept from the first day of our Lord's passion even to the present times. Let us then have nothing in common with the most hostile rabble of the Jews. We have received another method from the Saviour. A more lawful and proper course is open to our most holy religion. In pursuing this course with a unanimous consent, let us withdraw ourselves, my much honored brethren, from that most odious fellowship. ... As it is necessary that this fault should be so amended that we may have nothing in common with the usage of these parricides and murderers of our Lord; and so that order is most convenient which is observed by all the churches of the West, as well as those of the southern and northern parts of the world, and also by some in the East, it is judged therefore to be most equitable and proper, and I pledged myself that this arrangement should meet your approbation, namely that the custom which prevails with one consent in the city of Rome, and throughout all Italy, Africa and Egypt, in Spain, Gaul, Britain, Lybia, the whole of Greece, the diocese of Asia, Pontus and Cilicia, would be gladly embraced by your prudence, ... and to have no fellowship with the perjury of the Jews. And, to sum up the whole in a few words, it is agreeable to the common judgment of all, that the most holy feast of Easter should be celebrated on one and the same day." (A Historical View of The Council of Nice; with a Translation of Documents by Rev. Isaac Boyle, D.D.; (T. Mason and G. Lane, New York, 1839), pp. 51-4).

"It will suffice here to say that a decision seems to have been arrived at in the Council of Nicaea, which, though it is strangely absent from the canons of the council as now preserved to us (Turner, Monumenta Nicaena, 152), is believed to have been determined that Easter was to be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon which follows the spring equinox" (Catholic Encyclopaedia, 1913; obtained from Internet: 'New Advent' Catholic Supersite (http://www.knight.org/advent/cathen/03158a.htm#easter).

"Bede makes it very clear that the calculation of the date of Easter was not a merely technical or isolated issue. The movement of Easter was one of the many things which argument in terms of symbols (as we would say, but symbol is for us a limiting word, mysteries they would say) showed to be loaded with significance. Easter had to be just at the equinox, for the lengthening days represented Christ's triumph over the powers of darkness. It had to be in the first month of the lunar year, for this was the month in which the world had been created and in which it ought to be newly created. It had to be as the moon was about to wane, for the moon turns from earth to heavenly things [See Rev. 12:1; Mal. 4:2; Lk. 2:32; Isa. 60:1-3]. It was appropriate that Easter should always fall within a space of seven days, for seven was a number of divine significance. Considered from another point of view, Easter was to be calculated in such a way as to fulfil both of the Old Law of the Jews and the New Law of Christ. If it was celebrated at the right time, then all was in harmony." (Introduction, p. xviii, by James Campbell, who translated Bede's EH  for The Great Histories Series by Washington Square Press,  N.Y., 1968).

"Both the Celts and their opponents agreed that Easter was to be calculated by reference to the full moon which came on or first after the spring equinox. But the Celts held Easter Sunday to be that which came in between the fourteenth day of the moon (i.e., the day of the full moon) and the twentieth, both included. That is to say, that if the full moon came on a Sunday, they made this Easter Sunday. The other churches refused to make the day of the full moon Easter Sunday. Thus the system which Bede used, and which became universal in the west, reckoned Easter Sunday as that which fell between the fifteenth and the twenty-first days of the moon. If the full moon on or next after the equinox came on a Sunday, then the next Sunday was Easter Sunday."

"The Easter which we observe we saw celebrated by all at Rome, where the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul lived, taught, suffered, and were buried. This is what we saw observed by all in Gaul and in Italy when we travelled through them to study and to pray. This we have learned to be practiced in Africa, Asia, Egypt, and Greece, and by the whole world wherever the faith of Christ has been spread through various races and tongues; all make use of the one single way of determining the date of Easter. The only exceptions are these people and their accomplices in obstinacy, I mean the Picts and the Britons, with whom (the inhabitants of the two last islands of the ocean, and only on part of those) they stand against the whole of the world, struggling foolishly" (ibid., pp. 160-1).

"Far be it from us to charge John with foolishness, for he observed the precepts of the Law of Moses literally, at a time when the church still followed the Jews in many things; and the Apostles were not able suddenly to set aside the entire observance of the Law laid down by God ... So, John, according to the custom of the Law, began the celebration of the feast of Easter on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month, paying no attention to whether it fell on the Sabbath or on some other day" (pp. 161-2). (There are no postponements here).

This pattern of universal imposition of the dating and mode of observance in the Passover/Easter controversy has persisted through the centuries. The New Catholic Encyclopedia comments:

"Since the majority of the early Christians were Jewish converts, it is understandable that from the outset the Christian calendar was governed by the fact that the death and Resurrection of Christ had  taken place at the time of the chief Jewish feast, the Pasch, or Passover, celebrated on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, i.e., at the full moon following the Spring equinox. However, rather than literally follow the Jewish Passover, since this would necessitate the commemoration of the Resurrection on a different day of the week each year, Christian custom (sanctioned by the Council of Nicaea I in 325; ConOecDecr 2-3, n.6) fixed the anniversary of Christ's Resurrection on the actual day of the week (the first day) on which the Resurrection had taken place. As a result, Easter falls on the first day of the week (Sunday) after the first full moon following the spring equinox, and thus can be as early as March 22 and as late as April 25" [which would make it the second full moon after the equinox]  (ibid., McGraw Hill, N.Y., 1967; pp. 1062-3).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (St Pauls, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994, Item 1170) says:

"At the Council of Nicaea, in 325, all the Churches agreed that Easter, the Christian Passover, should be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon (Nisan 14) after the vernal equinox. The reform of the Western calendar, called "Gregorian" after Pope Gregory XIII (1582), caused a discrepancy of several days with the Eastern calendar. Today, the Western and Eastern Churches are seeking agreement in order once again to celebrate the day of the Lord's Resurrection on a common date."

When Jesus Christ met with the apostles for what Paul calls the "Lord's Supper" (1 Cor 11:20; see also Jn 13:2,4; 21:20), that night was the night before the Jewish Passover, which was the Passover that Israel observed in Egypt (Ex 12:11-14), and which Jews still observe. So the event that Christians should observe is on the evening of the 14 Abib, whereas Jews observe the evening of 15 Abib. The killing of the Passover lambs in the afternoon immediately preceding that night (Ex 12:1-31) results in the celebration of Israel's freedom as described in Ex 12:40-42. The Lord's Supper for 1997 fell on the evening of Friday, 21 March (14 Abib), since the vernal new moon is March 9 and the vernal equinox was just before midnight of March 20.

Calendrical history-makers seem to be intent in creating sufficient confusion to suppress the truth so that the Passover season, determined from the true New Moon of spring, can be readily known. The times of the biblical feasts are determined from Abib (Ex 12:2; 23:14-16 [v.16 says that the Feast of Tabernacles is at the end of the year; see also Ex 23:16; 34:18-22; Lev 23:24; Num 29:1,7; Ezk 45:25]; Lev 23:4; Num 9:1-2; 28:16; Dt 16:1; Josh 4:19; Ezk 45:18-21). Postponements are in effect a denial that the calendar is determined from the first day of the first month! The flow of festivals is from the first month and not the seventh.

The 24 page doctrinal paper, ratified by the Doctrinal Committee and the Council of Elders of UCG-AIA, does not discuss the matter of Abib being the first month and cites only Ex 12:2 in this regard. Nevertheless, though correct days might be observed by some, Christians must abide by every word of God in sincerity and truth (Is 66:23; Hos 3:5; Nah 1:15; Col 2:16).

Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says the LORD.

Hosea 3:5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.

Nah 1:15 Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings, Who proclaims peace! O Judah, keep your appointed feasts, perform your vows. For the wicked one [see v11] shall no more pass through you; he is utterly cut off.

Col 2:16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths

Hosea 2:11-12 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her New Moons, her Sabbaths; all her appointed feasts. And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, of which she has said, 'These are my wages that my lovers have given me.' So I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

Amos 8:10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist, and baldness on every head; I will make it like mourning for an only son, and its end like a bitter day.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Rev 22:21)

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Festivals for 1997:
Feast of Unleavened Bread (15-21 Abib): Sun 23rd - Sat 29th March
Pentecost (Feast of Firstfruits): Sunday, 11th May
Feast of Trumpets: Tuesday, 2nd September
Day of Atonement: Thursday, 11th September
Feast of Tabernacles: Tuesday, 16th - Monday, 22nd September
Last Great Day: Tuesday,  23rd September 

Festivals for 1998 
Feast of Unleavened Bread: Sabbath, 11th - Fri., 17th April
Pentecost: Sunday, 31st May
Feast of Trumpets: Monday, 21 September
Day of Atonement: Wednesday, 30th September
Feast of Tabernacles: Monday, 5th - Sunday, 11th October
Last Great Day: Monday, 12th October
In 1998 the Festivals  coincide with the regular Jewish calendar, because postponement rules are not applicable.
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APPENDIX  A 
THE RULES OF POSTPONEMENT 
The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar (Albert Spier, 3rd rev. ed., Feldheim, N.Y., 1986), Encyclopaedia Judaica (Vol V), The Jewish Almanac, and various other sources are used here to simplify the four postponement rules. 

As the Judaica says:

"The year begins on Tishri 1, which is rarely the day of the molad, as there are four obstacles or considerations, called dehiyyot, in fixing the first day of the month (rosh hosdesh). Each dehiyyah defers Rosh Ha-Shanah by a day, and combined dehiyyot may cause a postponement of two days" (p 44).

THE POSTPONEMENT RULES: 
· 1.  When the molad of Tishri occurs on a Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday, Rosh HaShanah is postponed to the following day. The Day of Trumpets can never fall on a Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday.
· 2.  When the molad of Tishri occurs at noon or later, Rosh Ha-Shanah is postponed to the next day - or, if this condition occurs on a Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday - postponement is to the Monday, Thursday, or Sabbath (because of rule 1).
· 3.  When the molad of Tishri of an "ordinary" year (i.e., not a leap year, where a 13th lunar month is added) falls on Tuesday at 9hrs and 204 halakim (parts; 1080 halakim to the hour), i.e., at 3:11 and 20 seconds a.m., the Day of Trumpets is deferred to Thursday!
· 4.  When, in a common year succeeding a leap year, the molad of Tishri occurs on Monday morning at 15hrs 32mins 43 and one third seconds (i.e., 15hrs 589 halakim; or 9:32 and 43.3secs a.m. (approx)), Rosh Ha-Shanah is postponed to Tuesday.

Is it apparent that these, especially rules 3 and 4, were verified by visual sighting? These minutae in the calendar are typical of rabbinical traditions seen in other aspects of Judaism.

Additional factors: 
·1st Nisan (Abib) never falls on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Aries is the astrological sign, and the month is assigned to the tribe of Benjamin. "In leaving Egypt the Jewish people were born, Passover is, thus, a festival both of redemption and creation" (The Jewish Almanac, p 246).
·1st Iyyar never falls on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday. Taurus is the astrological sign, and Reuben is connected with the second month.
·1st Sivan (3rd month) does not fall on Monday, Thursday, or Shabbat. Gemini and Simeon.
·1st Tammuz never falls on Monday, Wednesday, or Shabbat. Cancer and Levi.
·1st Av (5th month) does not occur on Sunday, Tuesday, or Thursday. Leo and Judah.
·1st Elul never falls on Tuesday, Thursday, or Shabbat. Virgo and Zebulon.
·1st Tishri (7th month) never falls on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday. Libra and Issachar. The day marks the "birthday of the world" as counted from the creation, and is also the beginning of the ten days of repentance leading up to Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). The 21st has an air of solemnity owing to its being considered to be the day when the seal is placed on the verdict passed on Yom Kippur and also when the final judgment is passed concerning the amount of rainfall for the coming year. Hoshana Rabbah (the 21st; [See Haggai 2:1-3]) is celebrated with special rituals, including a procession of seven circuits around the synagogue reciting supplications and petitionary prayers and beating of willow branches.
·1st Heshvan never occurs on Sunday, Tuesday, or Friday. Scorpio and Dan.
·Kislev (the ninth month; [See Haggai 2:10,18,20]) never begins with Shabbat. Sagittarius and Gad.
·1st Tevet never falls on Thursday or Shabbat. Capricorn and Asher.
·1st Shevat does not occur on a Sunday or Friday. Aquarius and Naphtali.
·1st Adar I (the 12th lunar month), or Adar II in leap years, does not fall on Sunday, Tuesday, or Thursday. Pisces and Joseph.

APPENDIX  B 
DETERMINING PASSOVER: A SIMPLIFICATION 
Compiled by Norm Womersley and edited by Orest Solyma (May, 1997)

(1) Abib (to sprout, to bud, to be tender; green ears; barley [Lev 2:14; Ex 9:31]) is the first month of the Lunar-Solar Year and the month in which Passover is observed (Ex 12:2; 13:4).

(2) The 1st day of the lunar month is a new moon, therefore the full moon occurs on the 14th-15th of the month.  A lunar month is 29 days 12 hours 44 + minutes long. 

The first month, Abib (in the northern hemisphere; Jerusalem as the focus [Ps 122; 135:19-21; Zech 14:1-4; Rev 21:2-3]), is the beginning of the sacred year when the days start to get longer. Some barley is ready for harvesting (Lev 23:10; Ruth 1:22; 2:23; 2Sam 21:9), but reaping may continue as late as August in higher altitudes. Wheat and rye are still immature in spring  (Ex 9:31,32). 
This season must coincide with the Vernal Equinox, which causes seasonal change and crop development not vice versa. The 20th-21st March is the turn from winter to summer of a solar year (Gen 1:14). Biblically, it is the start of the summer season (Gen 8:22; Ps 74:17).

(3) Passover is viewed as a season, a feast, including Unleavened Bread, a day, or a meal (Matt 26:17; Ezk 45:21; Num 9:6; Lk 22:15). Included is the Lord's Supper on the 14th Abib, the Night to be Much Observed on the 15th Abib, (i.e., 14th-15th at the time of a full moon), followed by the Wave-Sheaf Offering (God's acceptance of the resurrected Christ), both set during the Days of Unleavened Bread, and with the seventh day of Unleavened Bread being 21st Abib.
The full moon of Passover must be the first full moon and after the new moon nearest to the Vernal Equinox, i.e., nearest to March 20th-21st.
The nearest New Moon could be up to 14 days before or after the Equinox, and may depend on the need for a thirteenth month, Adar II, to bring the lunar and solar year calculations into synchronisation. Adar II is required seven times out of a nineteen-year cycle and is the month just before the start of the sacred new year. In 1997 (the 19th year of a cycle) Adar II was inserted so that the Jewish Passover, to satisfy traditions, fell on the second full moon after the vernal equinox, thus making a late spring.

Note that errors of up to 2 hours are probable for 30 A.D. reckonings, and therefore important implications are consequent as seen in the table below which uses U.S. Naval Observatory astronomical calculations obtained from the Internet.

(http://riemann.usno.navy.mil./AA/data/docs/SpringPhenom.html).