Seventh-day Adventist theology of the fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy of the 70 Weeks requires that Jesus died at Passover on Friday in 31 AD. By SDA calculations, the 70 Weeks of Daniel began at Artaxerxes Longimanus' Decree to Rebuild Jerusalem in 457 BC, and ended with Stephen's martyrdom in 34 AD.Thus, Passover in 31 AD would be the "middle of the 70th week" on which they say the Messiah was "cut off". Jesus then rose on the third day, which the Bible states, was the first day of the week, Sunday.However, the Jewish calendar and USNO astronomical calculations prove that Passover, 14 Nisan in 31 AD fell on a Monday, leaving Christ in the tomb for 7 days and 6 nights, according to Seventh-day Adventism.This fact disproves the entire platform of their so-called "Investigative Judgment" beginning in Heaven in 1844.
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THE CROSS WAS NOT IN 31 AD If the Seventh-day Adventist calculations of Daniel's prophecy of the 70 Weeks leading to the Cross at Passover on Friday Nisan 14 in 31 AD are not correct, then . . . the entire premise for the foundation and existence of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is demolished. If the middle of Daniel's 70th Week does not end at Jesus' Crucifixion at Passover on Friday Nisan 14 in 31 AD, then the Decree to rebuild Jerusalem was not given to Ezra by Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 BC. Neither do the 2,300 evenings and mornings end in 1844 AD. The Day-Year Principle is shown to be false. There is no Investigative “ ” Judgment. Babylon is not yet fallen, and the 3 Angels' messages remain to be preached by the 3 Angels. This would be reason enough to call into question the foundation of the SDA organisation, and to terminate its continued existence. This would force us to question just exactly what else, if anything that Adventism teaches, can possibly be true, if they have gotten something so very elementary, so absolutely wrong! This church which claims to preach the 3 Angels' messages, and to be the repository of Truth For Our Time, would have been based on a transparent lie. This church's prophet would be proven to have taught a false message, negating her claim to the title of a true prophet of God. Could the Holy Spirit have shown her such a false doctrine? Only “ ” false prophets preach false messages, and we must flee from them. As for the multitudes of educated Adventist scholars since Ellen White, who have endorsed and reinforced her doctrines does not – their silence on this most fundamental and crucial issue, also speak volumes for their faith, their standards, their integrity? Does this not mean that the Seventh-day Adventist Church would have been founded on an insupportable, reprehensible lie? Would not this church then have been preaching a lie since 1844? A lie that no angel, nor Jesus, nor the Holy Spirit ever spoke.
Transcript
THE CROSS WAS NOT IN 31 AD
If the Seventh-day Adventist calculations of Daniel's prophecy of the 70 Weeks leading to the Cross at Passover on Friday Nisan 14 in 31 AD are not correct, then . . . the entire premise for the foundation and existence of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is demolished.
If the middle of Daniel's 70th Week does not end at Jesus' Crucifixion at Passover on Friday Nisan 14 in 31 AD, then the Decree to rebuild Jerusalem was not given to Ezra by Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 BC. Neither do the 2,300 evenings and mornings end in 1844 AD. The Day-Year Principle is shown to be false. There is no Investigative“ ”
Judgment. Babylon is not yet fallen, and the 3 Angels' messages remain to be preached by the 3 Angels.
This would be reason enough to call into question the foundation of the SDA organisation, and to terminate its continued existence.
This would force us to question just exactly what else, if anything that Adventism teaches, can possibly be true, if they have gotten something so very elementary, so absolutely wrong!
This church which claims to preach the 3 Angels' messages, and to be the repository of Truth For Our Time, would have been based on a transparent lie.
This church's prophet would be proven to have taught a false message, negating her claim to the title of a true prophet of God. Could the Holy Spirit have shown her such a false doctrine? Only“ ” false prophets preach false messages, and we must flee from them.
As for the multitudes of educated Adventist scholars since Ellen White, who have endorsed and reinforced her doctrines does not– their silence on this most fundamental and crucial issue, also speak volumes for their faith, their standards, their integrity?
Does this not mean that the Seventh-day Adventist Church would have been founded on an insupportable, reprehensible lie?
Would not this church then have been preaching a lie since 1844?
A lie that no angel, nor Jesus, nor the Holy Spirit ever spoke.
What was the date of the Crucifixion?
According to SDA doctrine, it was at Passover on Friday Nisan 14, 31 AD.
Here are extracts from two SDA Studies which clearly explain this.
● 457 BC Persian King Artaxerxes commands rebuilding of Jerusalem. (Daniel 9:25; Ezra 7:11-16).
● AD 27 Baptism of Jesus; Jesus begins to preach and teach.● AD 31 Messiah “cut off in the midst of the week” after 3 ½ years of ministry
(Daniel 9:26,27; Matthew 27:60,61; Mark 16:33-39).● AD 34 Stoning of Stephen; Gospel introduced to the Gentiles.
(Daniel 9:34; Acts 7:54-60; 9:15).● AD 1844 End of the 2,300-year prophecy; Investigative judgement begins.
DANIEL Study 11, God's Timetable p 94
This occurred in the “midst of the week.” That would be 3 ½ years (half of seven). Through counting Passovers in John, we can show that it was 3 ½ years later, in the spring of A.D. 31, that Jesus was crucified.
SDA theology states, apparently without having resorted to the most elementary expedient of actually checking a calendar, that Jesus was crucified at Passover on Friday, Nisan 14, 31 AD.
This doctrine is the fulcrum on which rests the validity of their interpretation of the 70 Weeks prophecy, which to them, is fulfilled in the Messiah being “cut off at the middle of the 70th Week”. Placing all their faith in the calculations of the pagan Ptolemy, SDAs assure themselves that, since 486 ½ years (69 ½ Weeks) from the year 457 BC (when Artaxerxes Longimanus, they say, gave his decree to rebuild Jerusalem), brings them to the year 31 AD, they have thus conclusively proven that their method of Bible eisegesis and interpretation, is watertight, unimpeachable, infallible, inviolable. They are convinced beyond argument that this is correct, and do not wish to be confused with facts.
Unfortunately for this doctrine, it is demonstrably false. I have never encountered any SDA proof of this date for the Cross, possibly because, being precipitately convinced of its accuracy, everybody deemed it unnecessary to check this crucial detail.
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However, not having a bias to support either way, my mind open to whatever result emerged, I have checked, and have discovered that there is no possible way that Jesus died in 31 AD. Leaving aside the hopeless tangle of arguments pro and con every possible date by scholars of every persuasion, I simply consulted the calendar, to find out on which days the Passover fell, in all the years around the general time of the Cross.
How Does the Hebrew Calendar Work?
It is possible today to download Hebrew calendars which convert to Gregorian years, any Hebrew year back to 1 AD. Some of these calendars do not take into account the transfer from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian, when 11 calendar dates were deducted to bring the calendar in line with the astronomical year, and those calendars are therefore inaccurate before this date. (1752 AD in UK and eastern USA.)
Some calendars give Julian dates, and others give Gregorian. There are sites with Julian-Gregorian date converters. It can be confusing, as although the days of the week are the same in both calendars, the calendar dates are different. For the years around 30 AD, the Julian dates are 2 days higher than the Gregorian dates.
For instance,
● Yom Kippur, Monday 10 Tisri, 3791● = Monday 25 September Gregorian, AD 30.● = Monday 27 September Julian, AD 30.
I have found such a calendar, which does make the requisite adjustment between Julian and Gregorian calendars. It gives the dates before this adjustment, in the Julian calendar, This can be downloaded for use on one's computer from www.kaluach.org .
I have found two other sites with calendar converters which can be used online. These are www.midrash.org/calendar , and www.hebrewcalendar.net . These two give the Gregorian dates back to the time of Christ.
As an independent check on the accuracy of these calendars, I also obtained information from the U.S. Naval Observatory site, which gives astronomical data for these dates. The exact time (within an hour or so) of the New Moon nearest the Vernal Equinox at Jerusalem in the years near the Cross, and the following Full Moons, can be obtained from this site. This site gives Julian dates.
The Hebrews, since the time of the Exodus, counted their year from the spring, or vernal, equinox. The ancient priests did not rely on lunar calculations and computations for their calendars then, as we do now. They were required to actually observe the crescent of the New Moon closest to the spring equinox, in Jerusalem, and then pronounce the next day (beginning with the sunset following this observance of the New Moon), to be 1 Nisan. Hillel, a Jewish rabbi in the 4th century AD, changed the procedure to calendrical computations. There could be problems with the Observation methid, if for instance, there were clouds obscuring the moon.
However, whether by observation or astronomical computation, the results ought to be identical.
The New Moon closest to the date of the spring equinox (which could be either before or after the equinox), was used to proclaim the first day of the year ~ 1 Nisan or Aviv.
The next Full Moon after that New Moon was then Nisan 15, the Feast of Unleavened Bread or as it is commonly called, Pesach, the Passover. The Feast of Passover is 14 Nisan, when the lambs were slain.
This gives two weeks' advance warning so that preparations could be made to celebrate this festival. For instance, the lambs had to be selected and ritually checked for blemishes and imperfections, on the 10th day of Nisan. Then, all the leaven had to be removed from the houses and destroyed.
I found that although www.kaluach.org gives a Julian date for the Passovers around the Cross, being 2 numerical days more than the Gregorian date given in both the calendars on www.midrash.org/calendar and www.hebrewcalendar.net , yet, all three of these calendars agree on the actual day of the week on which the Passover fell in that year.
The USNO data agrees with www.kaluach.org as to the Julian date, and with all 3 calendars, as to the day of the week on which Passover, 14 Nisan, fell.
Not being an astronomer myself, I decline to argue with the force of such evidence, and accept the accuracy of these dates. Accordingly, I searched for the days of the week on which Passover fell, during 21 years from 22 AD until 42 AD, which surely covers the year of the Cross.
Nobody can argue that Jesus our Passover Lamb of God, died at Passover (although, astonishingly, there are indeed some who try to do so.) The only crucial point of difference between the various camps, is the year in which that Passover of the Cross occurred.
How do SDAs arrive at Passover, Friday 14 Nisan, in 31 AD?
That is a mystery to me, as it does not tally with the Hebrew calendar, nor with the most accurate computer-generated astronomical data.
Therefore, I can only conclude that they arrived at this fictitious date by using their fraudulent Day-Year Principle to extrapolate 69 “weeks” into 483 years from Ptolemy's erroneous date of 457 BC for the non-existent Decree to Rebuild Jerusalem by Artaxerxes Longimanus who is never mentioned in Scripture, to the Biblically-undateable baptism of Jesus (who was born Messiah the Prince, the Christ, the King of the Jews); His baptism being erroneously assumed as His “anointing” and therefore falsely claimed to be the Coming of the Messiah; wrongly stated to be exactly 3 ½ years before the crucifixion at the end of Jesus' ministry, the length of which is contrarily shown in the Bible to be less than 3 years.
No wonder there is so much confusion in SDA doctrine. What a tangled web they have had to construct, in the attempt to force the Bible to fit into their preconceived notions. How contrived, convoluted and illogical their rationalisation needs be, to keep their flock from discovering this simple truth for themselves ~
As a demonstration of how the Hebrew calendar works, I have here included an example, the Hebrew year 5771, a Jewish Leap Year. It spans years AD 2010 – 2011.
The months here are numbered according to the Jewish Civil Calendar, which begins in Tisri. They start this year from the Creation of the World on 25 Elul, with God's 7th-day Sabbath then being 1 Tisri, Adam's first day, from which they count man's New Year.
Beginning with Nisan as the first month in the religious calendar, every odd month has 30 days, and every even month has 29 days. This is because it is a lunar calendar, with the first days of the month falling on the day beginning at the sunset after the New Moon is first sighted. As the lunar cycle is 29 ½ days, it is necessary to alter the lengths of the months in this way. However, 29 ½ days is still not exactly accurate; therefore, in the two months Cheshvan and Kislev, the length of either one or both months may be either 29 or 30 days, and these months are adjusted in length according to a cycle of years.
This gives a year of varying numbers of days. 12 months of 30 days = 360 days, which leaves a shortfall of 5 ¼ days compared to the Gregorian calendar; but with the adjustments, the Hebrew year will thus be 353, 354, or 355 days. This leaves an even greater shortfall in the astronomical year. After several years, the months would fall in the wrong seasons. To adjust for this, at times according to a luni-solar cycle, a 13th month of 30 days is intercalated. This extra 30-day Adar comes between the 11th month and the 13th
month. The 2nd Adar, Adar II, still has 29 days, and in it are celebrated the feasts which would normally have been kept in the 12th month. A Leap Year has 383, 384, or 385 days.
From the first Passover when the Hebrews left Egypt, the LORD instructed them to keep Nisan as the first month, with Tisri then being the seventh month. However the Jewish Civil Year begins in autumn, on Tisri 1, with the Day of Trumpets now being called Rosh Hashanah, the New Year. The month numbers according to the Religious Year are highlighted {thus}.
All the Appointed Feasts of the LORD are included, along with the extra Feasts instigated by the Jews at later times, which are Purim (from the time of Esther) and Hanukkah (the Feast of Dedication or Lights, from the days of the Maccabees). Jesus celebrated this Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, even though it was not an Appointed Feast of the LORD (John 10:22,23).
Passover must always be celebrated on the first Full Moon after the New Moon closest to the Vernal Equinox. This date is now calculated in advance; however, from ancient times, Passover was counted only after the physical sighting of the New Moon in Jerusalem closest to the Vernal Equinox.
The Jewish calendar has now been altered slightly, since the Temple was destroyed. The rabbis have instituted “Postponement Rules” which prevent certain feasts from falling on particular days of the week, and they count their year beginning in Tisri rather than in Nisan. However, by using computerised astronomical data, and the rules given to Moses by God for beginning the year on 1 Nisan, we can be confident of finding the true day of the week on which Passover fell in the year of the Cross.
The Fasts added by the Jews during the Captivity are also included.5
Zec 8:19 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the 4th month and the fast of the 5th and the fast of the 7th and the fast of the 10th shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.”
These are the Fast of Tammuz (4th month), the Fast of Gedaliah (7th month), the Fast of Tevet (10th month); and the fast of Tisha B'Av (5th month) which is the anniversary not only of the Destruction of Solomon's Temple, but also of the Destruction of the Second emple in 70 AD.
2. Cheshvan {8} {30}3. Kislev {9} {30} 25 Hanukkah / Lights 2 Dec 2010 Thursday 4. Tevet {10} {29} 10 Fast of Tevet 5. Shevat {11} {30}6. Adar {12} {30}7. 2nd Adar {13} {29} 11
1415
Fast of Esther(usually 13th)PurimShushan Purim
17 Mar 201120 Mar 201121 Mar 2011
ThursdaySundayMonday
8. Nisan {1} {30} 1415-21
Eve PassoverUnleavened Bread
18 April 201119-25 Apr 2011
MondayTues - Mon
9. Iyyar {2} {29}10. Sivan {3} {30} 5
6Eve Shavuot / WeeksShavuot / Weeks / Pentecost
7 June 20118 June 2011
TuesdayWednesday
11. Tammuz {4} {29} 17 Fast of Tammuz 12. Av {5} {30} 9 Tisha B'Av 9 Aug 2011 Tuesday13. Elul {6} {29} 25 Creation of the World 24 Sep 2011 Saturday
Next follows authoritative astronomical data to ascertain the Julian dates, and days of the week, of Passover in the years surrounding the Cross. (Gregorian dates would be 2 days less in each case, but the days are the same.)
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U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical DATAfor JERUSALEM
VERNAL EQUINOX
Julian Greenwich Day of Julian Greenwich Day of Calendar Time Week Calendar Time Week
Date DateBC March CE March
5 22 4 pm Wednesday 27 23 4 am Sunday 4 22 10 pm Thursday 28 22 10 am Monday 3 23 4 am Saturday 29 22 4 pm Tuesday 2 23 10 am Sunday 30 22 10pm Wednesday 1 22 3 pm Monday 31 23 3 am Friday CE 32 22 9 am Saturday 1 22 9 pm Tuesday 33 22 3 pm Sunday
FULL MOON NEW MOON NEW MOON
On or next after On or preceding Followingdate of equinox date of equinox equinox
28 March 29 3 am Mon March 15 0* April 13 2 pm29 April 17 3 am Sun March 4 0* April 2 5 pm 30 April 6 8 pm Thu March 22 6 pm April 21 9 am 31 March 27 11 amTue March 11 11 pm April 10 Noon32 April 14 9 am Mon Feb 29 10 am March 29 8 pm33 April 3 3 pm Fri March 19 10 am April 17 7 pm
Full Moon falls on 15 Nisan, with the Passover meal being on the previous day, “between the two evenings”, 14 Nisan.
It is from the New Moon which is closest to the vernal equinox, that the year is counted.
Nisan 1 always begins at sunset of the “evening-morning” day on which this New Moon is observed.
Passover then begins on the following 14th day; unless 14 Nisan is a weekly Sabbath, which is a HIGH DAY; then the lambs were killed on Nisan 13.
The next Full Moon, Nisan 15, begins the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread.
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When were the Passover Lambs killed?
Exo 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, Exo 12:6 and you shall keep it until the 14th day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
At the very first Passover in Egypt, the whole house of Israel was required to kill their own lamb after sunset of the beginning of Nisan 14, in order to put the blood on their doorposts as protection from the Destroying Angel who killed all the firstborn in Egypt that night. Since they came into the Land and built their Temple, this sacrifice of the lambs for all of Israel was performed by the priests in Jerusalem. Such a massive task could not be performed in a single evening.
Didn't Jesus and the Pharisees eat the Passover on different days?
Mar 14:12 And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" Joh 18:28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.
It is often claimed, by comparing the above verses, that John's Gospel disagrees with the Synoptic Gospels as to the date of the Passover. This theory leads to much confusion and speculation, which is unnecessary if only the Bible is consulted.
When we read the Hebrew of Exodus 12:6, we find that it actually allows for the lambs to be killed within a 24-hour period, “between the two evenings”, as shown by the Interlinear Scripture Analyzer tool, below. (Hebrew is read from right to left).
EXODUS 12:6
This ISA Interlinear Bible can be downloaded at www.scripture4all.org .8
The Hebrew ha erevim (here pronounced e'orbim) for the word translated “evening” or “twilight” in most English Bibles, is actually the plural, evenings; and it is preceded by the conjunction bin, meaning “between”. Therefore, the Passover lambs could be sacrificed at any time within the 24 hours, as long as they were eaten on the very same night after they were killed. Thus, Jesus' disciples prepared the lamb after sunset on Thursday, and they ate Passover on Thursday night; the Pharisees were preparing to eat the Passover after the Cross, on the Friday night, because their lambs had been killed during the day time on Friday. This was still the same Jewish day on which both their lambs were killed. There is neither conflict nor contradiction here, as so many suppose.
How do we make sense of the Jewish days beginning at sunset?
It is indeed easy to trip up on the days and dates of Jewish calendars compared with Gregorian ones. Next follows a chart to help clarify the situation.
The USNO data used to compile this Chart, confirms the days and dates on the calendar converters www.kaluach.org, www.midrash.org, and www.hebrewcalendar.net .
The NEW MOON on Saturday afternoon, 2 April 29 AD, gives dates of
● 1 NISAN Sat night /Sunday = April 2 (Sat eve) & 3 (Sunday day)● 15 NISAN Sat night / Sunday = April 16 (Sat eve) & 17 (Sunday day)● 14 NISAN Fri night / Sabbath = April 15 (Fri eve) & 16 (Sat, day)● Thus Passover Nisan 14 arrived on a weekly Sabbath, ● which makes this Passover a HIGH DAY, Shabbat Hagadol;● Therefore lambs had to be killed on 13 Nisan, Eve of Passover eve, ● beginning at THURSDAY EVENING, April 14 (Julian), ● continuing until the following sunset, FRIDAY April 15, = NISAN 13;● “BETWEEN the TWO EVENINGS”.
USNO Data NISAN 29 AD Julian
AD 29: Vernal Equinox: Tuesday, March 22, 4 pm
AD 29: New Moon Closest to Equinox: Saturday, April 2, 5 pm
AD 29: Next Full Moon: Sunday, 16 April
Sat Sun Sun Mon Mon Tue Tue Wed Wed Thu Thu Fri Fri Sat
Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day
1st Day 2nd Day 3rd Day 4th Day 5th Day 6th Day SABBATH
19Mar 20 March 21 March 22 March4 pm
Equinox
23 March 24 March 25 March 26Mar
16 Adar 17 Adar 18 Adar 19 Adar 20 Adar 21 Adar 22 Adar
26Mar 27 March 28 March 29 March 30 March 31 March 1 April 2 Apr
23 Adar 24 Adar 25 Adar 26 Adar 27 Adar 28 Adar 29 Adar
2 Apr5pmNew
Moon
3 April 4 April 5 April 6 April 7 April 8 April 9 Apr
1 NisanNew Moon
2 Nisan 3 Nisan 4 Nisan 5 Nisan 6 Nisan 7 Nisan
9 Apr 10 April 11 April 12 April 13 April 14 April 15 April 16Apr
8 Nisan 9 Nisan 10 Nisan 11 Nisan 12 Nisan 13 NisanErev erev-
Pesach Shabbat.
The Cross
14 Nisan ShabbatHagadol,
HIGH DAY Passover
16Apr 17 April 18 April 19 April 20 April 21 April 22 April 23Apr
15 Nisan Feast of
Firstfruits.ResurrectionFULL MOON
16 Nisan 17 Nisan 18 Nisan 19 Nisan 20 Nisan 21 Nisan
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SDA VERSION ~ The CROSS at PASSOVER in 31 AD
USNO Data NISAN 31 AD Julian
AD 31: Vernal Equinox: Friday, March 23, 3 am
AD 31: Closest New Moon to Equinox: Sunday, March 11, 11 pm
AD 31: Next Full Moon: Tuesday, March 27, 11 am
Sat Sun Sun Mon Mon Tue Tue Wed Wed Thu Thu Fri Fri Sat
Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day
1st Day 2nd Day 3rd Day 4th Day 5th Day 6th Day SABBATH
10 Mar 11 March11 pm
New Moon
12 March 13 March 14 March 15 March 16 March 17Mar
16 Adar 29 Adar11 pm
New Moon
1 Nisan 2 Nisan 3 Nisan 4 Nisan 5 Nisan
17 Mar 18 March 19 March 20 March 21 March 22 March 23 March3 am
Equinox
24Mar
6 Nisan 7 Nisan 8 Nisan 9 Nisan 10 Nisan 11 Nisan 12 Nisan
24Mar 25 March 26 March 27 March 28 March 29 March 30 March 31Mar
13 Nisan 14 NisanPassover. The Cross
15 Nisan< Night 1 in
Tomb
16 Nisan<Night 2 in
Tomb
17 Nisan<Night 3 in
Tomb
18 Nisan<Night 4 in
Tomb
19 Nisan<Night 5 in
Tomb
31Mar 1 April 2 April 3 April 4 April 5 April 6 April 7 Apr
20 Nisan<Night 6 in
Tomb.Feast of
FirstfruitsResurrection
21 Nisan 22 Nisan 23 Nisan 24 Nisan 25 Nisan 26 Nisan
SDA doctrine, claiming the Cross was at Passover in 31 AD, would have Jesus in the tomb not just for 3 days and nights, or parts thereof;
but from Monday afternoon till Sunday morning, for 7 partial and full days, and 6 nights. Nor is there a HIGH DAY Sabbath in this week. Obviously this CANNOT be correct.
However, the Cross at Passover in 29 AD allows for Jesus to die on FRIDAY afternoon, the Day of Preparation, before the weekly Sabbath (which was a HIGH DAY in this year), and rise ON THE 3rd DAY as the fulfilment of the Day of Firstfruits, at the time of the Full Moon, before dawn on Sunday.
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What about the High Day?
Immediately obvious is that, according to www.kaluach.org , there is one, and only one particular Passover in the midst of these years, which is designated on the Jewish calendar, Shabbat Hagadol. Translated, this means, “The Great Sabbath”. To the Christian, this correlates with the Bible's record of the weekly Sabbath of the Passover on which Jesus died, being called “a high day”. This Scriptural clue pinpoints for us, the year in which Jesus was crucified.John 19:31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.
day,” and refers to the Passover Sabbath - and therefore a Sabbath of special sanctity.
This is an infrequent occurrence, when Nisan 14, the day of slaughtering the Passover lambs, falls on a weekly Sabbath. Of course, this massive task could not be performed on a Sabbath, but the Passover must still be eaten at the correct time, so the lambs were then killed on the previous day, Friday, Nisan 13. (Josephus records that in his days, over 250,000 lambs had to be killed by the priests during that 24-hour day, for the influx of worshippers to Jerusalem at Passover.)
At any other time, when Nisan 14 falls on any weekday, there is no such problem. Nisan 15 is then still kept as an Appointed Feast Day, and therefore a Day of Holy Convocation, or ceremonial sabbath, whether or not it happens to fall on the weekly Sabbath. The weekly Sabbath is already a sabbath; that another sabbath falls on a weekly Sabbath, does not cause any further difficulty. The usual Sabbath rules still apply. It is patently impossible to rest more on a Sabbath, should that Sabbath happen to be the conjunction of two Sabbaths! There is no change required when two sabbaths fall on the same day.
The situation only changes when the duties which must be performed on an Appointed Feast Day, are forbidden by that day falling on a weekly Sabbath. Then, other arrangements need to be made. This is the only case in which there is a High Day during Passover.
Therefore, those who state that this High Day after the Cross was 15 Nisan, the ceremonial sabbath of Passover which happened to fall on the weekly Sabbath, are wrong. These are the ones who claim that Jesus died on Friday, Passover 14 Nisan.
But didn't Jesus die on Friday?There are actually many people, confused by all this, who tell us that Jesus was crucified on some day other than Friday. They produce reams of material purporting to prove how this could be. Such people have an agenda to protect, and will go to any lengths to do so.
However, the simple reading of the Bible clearly declares that the Cross was on Friday, the Day of Preparation, the day before the weekly Sabbath, which was a High Day that year; 2 days before the 1st day of the week, with the Resurrection fulfilling the Day of Firstfruits.
The years in which Passover, 14 Nisan fell on a Friday near the Cross, are:
26 AD33 AD36 AD
26 AD is too early, and 36 AD is getting quite late. The obvious choice for a Friday Cross from this list is, of course, 33 AD, and many eminent scholars (but notably, not SDAs) do choose this year. In doing so, they lock themselves into rationalising many other errors.
So ... did Jesus die in 33 AD?
If Herod died as generally believed, just before Passover in 4 BC, and Jesus was born before this in late 5 or early 4 BC, then at 33 AD, He would have been 36 - 38. Even with a 3 ½ year ministry, this would make Him 33 - 35 at His baptism, when we know He was “about 30,” and His ministry was less than 3 years. That would put the start of His ministry in 29 AD, with His first Passover in Jerusalem in 30 AD. By then, Herod's Temple would have been under construction for 49 years, not 46 years as John tells us.
We can see this theory requires that they must increase the length of Jesus' ministry, since we know Jesus' approximate year of birth, and His age at the start of His ministry. They do this by altering the date of Herod's death; by bringing the date of the Nativity closer to 1 AD; and also by interpreting the Un-named Feast of John 5:1 as another, 4th Passover, though there is no Biblical authority to do so. John mentions only 3 Passovers, and to insist on a 4th, is to exceed Sripture.
What about the Un-named Feast?
Jewish men were required to come to Jerusalem 3 times in the year to celebrate the Lord's Appointed Feasts. These were the Feasts of:
● Passover in Nisan, the early spring● Weeks in Sivan, the early summer; and ● Booths in Tisri, the beginning of autumn.
Jesus' ministry is associated with almost every one of the Feasts of the Jews in Jerusalem:
● the Passover (3 times – John 2:13-23; John 6:1-14; John 11 - 19)● the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost, when He sent the Holy Spirit, Acts 2)● the Feast of Booths (John 7)● the Great Day, on Tisri 22 (Solemn Assembly, John 7:37)● the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah, John 10:22,23)● the Un-named Feast (John 5:1)
The winter Feasts of Purim (in Adar) and Dedication (in Kislev) were added by the Jews, yet Jesus went to the Temple at Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication. This leaves only one Feast unmentioned during Jesus' ministry, which is Purim. I therefore suggest that the “Un-named Feast” of John 5:1 is more likely to have been Purim, which would complete the record of the full complement of Feasts celebrated by Jesus.
At the “Un-named Feast”, an angel is said to have “stirred the waters” of a certain pool in
Jerusalem, and the first person to immerse himself in the pool after this, would be healed of his diseases. The pool was spring-fed, and responded to the influx of water during the rainy season, which was in winter, approaching the barley harvest in spring. This could not be the case at the Feast of Weeks or Wheat Harvest in Sivan, nor during the autumn feasts in Tisri. The season of Purim, 13-15 Adar in late winter, fits with this suggestion.
This narrative is placed between the first Passover in Jerusalem, and the second Passover in Galilee, which I believe, was 28 AD.
As a matter of interest ~ Jesus healed this man at the Un-named Feast on a Sabbath. Purim (the Fast of Esther), 13 Adar in 28 AD, did indeed fall on a Sabbath ~ Saturday 28 February. There are 3 consecutive days of Purim, 13, 14 and 15 Adar; so this is not entirely surprising. However, it does show at least, that it is not incompatible with the Un-named Feast being Purim of 28 AD.
Wasn't Sabbath, 15 Nisan, the High Day?
According to the Jewish calendar, it is when, and only when Nisan 14 falls on the weekly Sabbath, that this constitutes Shabbat Hagadol, the Great Sabbath, necessitating special arrangements. Nisan 13 is then referred to as Erev erev-Pesach Shabbat, which means, the Eve of Passover Eve Sabbath.
Here is an explanation of the procedure in this case, from the highest modern Jewish authority of his time, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson. Although the Jews have not killed Passover lambs since 70 AD, they still observe the other Passover ordinances. For the Jews today, the ritual of searching out the leaven (chametz) in their houses, substitutes for killing the lamb. Since this is classified as “work”, it cannot be done on a Sabbath; therefore, when 14 Nisan falls on a Sabbath, this is what they do:
When The 14th Of Nissan Falls On A SabbathAt Our Rebbes' Seder Table
Commentary and Stories on the Haggadahcollected from the works ofThe Lubavitcher Rebbe,
Rabbi Menachem M. Schneersonand the preceding Rebbeim of Chabad
When the 14th of Nissan falls on the Sabbath, the practices regarding the search for and the destruction of chametz differ from those observed when this date falls on a weekday, because it is forbidden to search for or burn chametz on the Sabbath.
Instead of the search being held on the night between the 13th and the 14th of Nissan, it is held on Thursday evening, the night between the 12th and the 13th. The chametz found in the search is burnt on Friday morning, the 13th of Nissan, at the same time as it would be burnt in other years.
Substitute the sacrifice of the lambs for the search for the chametz, and it is clear that prior to 70 AD, when Passover fell on a Sabbath, the lambs would have been killed on Nisan 13 in such a year. In fact, they could be killed at any time in the 24 hours between the sunset of 12 Nisan, and sunset of 13 Nisan.
14
The following day, Nisan 14, is then designated Shabbat Hagadol, the High Day.
Shabbat Hagadol, the Great Sabbath, the High Holy Day.
The Jews celebrate this day just once in the year, and it is usually on the Sabbath preceding Nisan 14. This is a memorial of the day on which the lamb had to be chosen and inspected for blemishes, before the Passover. That day before the first Passover in Egypt, was Nisan 10. On this day, Jews remember how they infuriated the Egyptians by preparing to sacrifice a lamb, which was the Egyptians' god. The Egyptians tried to kill the Israelites, but instead of this, the firstborn of all the Egyptians were killed, and the Israelites were saved by the blood of this sacrifice of the lamb. But the Jews now celebrate this day on whatever date the Sabbath before Nisan 14, falls.
Pilate inspected Jesus, the Lamb of God, and declared, “I find no fault in Him.”
How appropriate that Jesus, our blameless, unblemished Lamb, should be sacrificed for our salvation, on a Passover containing a Shabbat Hagadol! A reminder that our God was slain for us, that we are safe under His blood, and that He will lead us out of the world into the Promised Land.
So ... How could Jesus have died on a Friday?
There is one case only, on which this Shabbat Hagadol is celebrated at any time other than the Sabbath before Passover. That is, when the Passover, Nisan 14, falls on a weekly Sabbath. Then, and only then, 14 Nisan becomes the Shabbat Hagadol, the High Day of John 19:31.
As can be seen from the Table on page 16, this Great Sabbath, or High Day, fell in the Year 29 AD. To find another such Great Sabbath, we have to go back as far as 22 AD, or forward to 42 AD. It is apparent to everybody that neither of those dates can possibly be the year of the Cross. While the exact date for Jesus' birth is unknown, and His exact age at death is likewise denied to us, it is agreed by most that ~
● He was born about 5 - 4 BC prior to Herod's death before Passover in early 4 BC.● Scripture says Jesus was about 30 years at the beginning of His ministry,● which was therefore about 26 - 27 AD.● Herod's Temple was begun in 20 BC, and had been in construction● 46 years at the 1st Passover of Jesus' ministry● which was therefore 27 AD.● We know Jesus' ministry was more than 2 and less than 3 years,● thus the 2nd Passover was in 28 AD at the Sea of Galilee, and● the 3rd Passover, the Cross, was in 29 AD.● This makes Him 32/33 years at the Cross.● Thus He was, by several Bible proofs,● 32/33 years old in 29 AD.● There was a Shabbat Hagadol at Passover in 22AD, 29 AD and 42AD.● The Cross must have been in 29 AD.
While I do not claim absolute accuracy as to Jesus' age at the Cross, it is apparent that these calculations are certainly consistent with the facts which we do have. Contrarily, the Year 31 AD proposed by SDA doctrine, would have Jesus 34/35 years at the Cross.
15
As an absolute showstopper however, the day on which Passover fell in 31 AD, is beyond argument.
Year AD Julian Date
Gregorian Date
14 NisanDay of Week
Passover14 Nisan a
HIGH DAY?
Day of Cross / Passover
22 4 April 2 April Sabbath Shabbat Hagadol
Friday 13 Nisan
23 24 March 22 March Wednesday No Wednesday 14
24 12 April 10 April Wednesday No Wednesday 14
25 2 April 31 March Monday No Monday 14
26 22 March 20 March Friday No Friday 14
27 9 April 7 April Wednesday No Wednesday 14
28 29 March 27 March Monday No Monday 14
29 16 April 14 April Sabbath Shabbat Hagadol
Friday 13 Nisan
30 5 April 3 April Wednesday No Wednesday 14
31 26 March 24 March Monday No Monday 14
32 14 April 12 April Monday No Monday 14
33 3 April 1 April Friday No Friday 14
34 22 March 20 March Monday No Monday 14
35 11 April 9 April Monday No Monday 14
36 30 March 28 March Friday No Friday 14
37 20 March 18 March Wednesday No Wednesday 14
38 7 April 5 April Monday No Monday 14
39 27 March 25 March Friday No Friday 14
40 15 April 13 April Friday No Friday 14
41 3 April 1 April Monday No Monday 14
42 24 March 22 March Sabbath Shabbat Hagadol
Friday 13 Nisan
Following are some calendars per www.hebrewcalendar.net, for Passover in the years 29AD, 31AD, and 33AD, demonstrating the various options, for
The Friday Cross, with the Shabbat Hagadol, in 29 ADSDA's Monday Cross in 31 ADthe Friday Cross without the Sabbath High Day, in 33 AD.
Any typographical errors the Author'sESV Scripture references from www.e-sword.net Interlinear extract from www.scripture4all.orgHebrew calendars www.hebrewcalendar.net , www.kaluach.org , www.midrash.org/calendar/ Astronomical Data http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/SpringPhenom.php Quote by Rabbi Menachem Schneerson http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/at-our-rebbes-seder-table/05.htmShabbat Hagadol information ~ various sites, incl. www.Wikipedia.orgQuotes from SDA Adult Bible Study Guides“The Gospel, 1844 and the Judgment” 3rd Quarter, 2006“Daniel” 4th Quarter 2004http://www.absg.adventist.org/Archives.htm
