My love to all the doves, both writers and lurkers,

It is becoming clear to me from what I am reading here that many people believe that March 23rd will be resurrection morning.  As believers we’ve decided that we don’t want to use the word Easter because of its origin and association with the pagan goddess Ishtar.  So, in the church where I fellowship, a week from tomorrow there will be a Sunday celebration of Resurrection Morning with so called finger foods and coffee instead of celebrating Easter.  This entire scenario is probably being acted out in a church near you.

Tomorrow I plan to present the Sunday School lesson to the adults and explain to them why that is SO VERY WRONG.  Here’s a novel idea:  If we’re going to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, let’s do it on the day He resurrected.

I received a circulating e-mail from at least four of my Christian family describing how this year Easter is so early, and explaining how it has been so many years since this last happened and how it will be so long a time before it happens again.  I finally tired of writing responses.

 

The date for Easter is fixed as the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox.  That is not how the date for the resurrection of Jesus was set forth by God in His Word!  Perhaps some will find a little refresher course to be of help here.
 
Of the seven ‘feasts’ that God set forth (Leviticus 23) for Israel to observe, the three that are set in the first month of the Israelite year (Aviv/Abib) are; Passover (on the 14th day of the first month), Unleavened Bread (beginning the 15th day of the same first month and lasting seven days) and Firstfruits (observed on the day after the Saturday Sabbath that fell out during the seven-day feast of Unleavened Bread).

Jesus of Nazareth was crucified on Passover.  His body was placed in the tomb just at sunset as the Feast of Unleavened Bread began, and He arose from the dead three days and three nights later (sometime before the sun came up) on Sunday.  My calculations show me that Jesus resurrected during the same seven-day period as PASSOVER.

Now, when was Passover again?  The 14th day of the 1st Month of the Israelite year.

Whether you go by the rabbinical method of establishing that month, or by the abib-barley method of establishing that month, it makes no difference for this writing.  The Jewish Rabbis have set Passover this year as April 20th.  That’s why it shows up on that date on all of our calendars.  The Kaarite Jews, who look for the abib barley before they set the date, have not found the native barley in Israel in the abib state as of the new moon which occurred on the 7th of March.  Therefore, Passover according to this method will be on the 14th day of the month which begins with the new moon on April 5th, 2008.  That 14th day will be either the 19th or 20 of April depending on how they count that.

Either way, Passover, which begins the eight-day period during which Jesus was crucified, buried and during which He resurrected will occur in APRIL, not MARCH.

Resurrection morning should not be observed by believers on Easter if we intend to observe it on the correct date.  Doing so is a tradition, and God is clear on what the observance of tradition does.

“Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.”

       (Jesus speaking in Matthew 15:6b    kjv)
 

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

(the apostle Paul writing to the Colossians 2:8    kjv)

For my part, I’m going to take Easter Sunday off and not attend my church so that I will not be participating in the observance of a tradition of the fathers.
 

Randy