Even as I write this article and give it the title, I know, and any student of Bible Prophecy likely knows, that there are way more than 50 reasons why the Covid-19 vaccine, or should I say … the jab, jab, jab … jab, is not the mark of the beast.

When one considers all the events that must actually achieve fulfillment within Daniel’s 70th-week before the Mark event is officially introduced, a student of Bible Prophecy understands 50 reasons is really just a smidgen of what will actually transpire before the Mark becomes an official reality.

But when I recall my overall goal in writing this article, I’m not so bothered by the scores of other reasons that I don’t address. My goal is not to delineate every possible reason but to merely give sight that our Most High God, the Lord Jesus, has a plan. His plan includes numerous carefully laid out mile markers on the road to His second coming and literal return to earth.

My primary goal in writing this article is to give church-age believers confidence that this Mark thing is not going to sneak up on you and catch you off-guard. You won’t wake up one morning to have it dawn on you that you have inadvertently accepted or received the Mark.

Church-age believers … just relax, don’t panic, don’t become loaded down with anxiety. As we see prophetic events trending, progressing, and building toward final fulfillment, you must remain sober-minded and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Nothing can officially happen before the Lord Jesus’ prescribed timing for the event. And at the same time, He reveals His plan to us in scripture. He wants us to know His plan. He is not trying to trick us or pull the wool over our eyes. He desires for us to understand. Those that take our Most High God, the Lord Jesus, seriously and who take His written word seriously will see the Mark thing coming well in advance of its official arrival.

If in the divine providential timing of our Lord Jesus, our Most High God, He allows us to see and experience some of these 50 reasons take place, it serves as a flashing red warning light that the actual Mark thing is incrementally drawing closer to its final total fulfillment.

If you are an unbeliever in the Most High God, the Lord Jesus, then you should be very afraid.

While what we see today related to Covid-19 and the rejection of the so-called Covid vaccine, i.e., some people being blocked from some limited forms of buying, selling, and participation in public activities, it is not officially the mark of the beast and the heavy-handed tyranny that accompanies it. However, these unfolding events do indicate and portend this Mark thing; this very real future event with all its nasty implications is coming faster than a speeding locomotive. And you, my unbelieving friend, are nowhere near ready to escape this Mark thing that is barreling down the tracks right at you. Yep!

You should be afraid … very afraid!

In this article, I’ll lay out: the 50 reasons, give a short summary, then briefly consider what IS going on and what it portends. So here we go.

50-Reasons Why the Covid Vaccine Jab Is Not the Mark of the Beast:

• I have merely listed them. I have not attempted a chronological ordering of these 50 reasons.
• As you read these reasons, take note of the repeating phrase … “not yet.”

1. The Rapture has not yet occurred. (1 Thess 4:13-18; John 14:1-3)
2. The Restrainer has not yet been taken out of the way. (2 Thess 2:5-8)
3. Daniel’s 70th Week has not yet officially begun. (Daniel 9:27; Rev 6:1-2)
4. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, is not yet revealed. (Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7; Rev 6:1-2)
5. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet made or confirmed a covenant with Israel and the Jewish people. (Daniel 9:27; Isaiah 28:15)
6. Israel / the Jewish people have not yet begun to rebuild the third temple. (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15)
7. Israel / the Jewish people have not yet begun to worship and make animal sacrifices in the third temple. (Daniel 9:27; 2 Thess 2:3-4)
8. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet been given power, a throne, and great authority. (Rev 13:2)
9. The man of sin, the anti-Christ/aka the beast, has not yet begun his rise to global renown. (Rev 13:2-8)
10. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet deceived the nations with lying signs and wonders. (2 Thess 2:9-10)
11. 11. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet been indwelt/incarnated by the devil/ Satan. (Rev 11:7; Rev 17:8; Rev 13:12)
12. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet presented with a deadly wound. (Rev 13:3, 13:12, 13:14)
13. The angel war in heaven has not yet happened; Satan, the great fiery red dragon, is not yet cast out of heaven to the earth and to the sea. (Rev 12:7-12)
14. The great dragon, who is Satan and the devil, has not yet inspired a global program against the Jews that is later thwarted by the Most High God’s direct intervention. (Rev 12:13-17)
15. The Jewish remnant has not yet fled to their place of refuge in the wilderness where they are protected and nourished for 1,260-days, for 42-months, for a time, times, and half a time. (Rev 12:6; Rev 12:14)
16. The world has not yet fallen headlong into Satan worship. (Rev 13:4)
17. The world has not yet begun to marvel and worship the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast. (Rev 13:3; 2 Thess 2:4)
18. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet demonstrated himself as unbeatable in battle/conflicts. (Rev 13:4)
19. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet been given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. (Rev 13:5-6)
20. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet been given authority to reign over all nations for 42-months, 1,260-days, or a time, times, and half a time. (Rev 13:7)
21. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet been given authority to make war and overcome the saints (the Jews) and Tribulation believers. (Rev 13:7)
22. The two Jewish witnesses have not yet appeared on the scene to prophesy 1,260-days, 42-months, or a time, times, and half a time. (Rev 11:3)
23. The two Jewish witnesses have not yet demonstrated acts of power to kill enemies and to torment the tribes, nations, and tongues. (Rev 11:5; 11:6, 11:10)
24. The two witnesses have not yet cycled through and ended their prescribed time to prophesy. (Rev 11:7)
25. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet made war against the two witnesses, overcome them, and killed them. (Rev 11:7)
26. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet betrayed the Jewish people and acted to halt their temple worship and sacrifices. (Daniel 9:27; 2 Thess 2:4)
27. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet entered the third temple to show himself as god and to demand the world worship him. (2 Thess 2:4; Matthew 24:15)
28. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet destroyed the harlot global false religious system. (Rev 17:16-18)
29. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet appeared on the scene. (Rev 13:7)
30. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet demonstrated acts of power and authority in the name of the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast. (Rev 13:12)
31. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet caused or forced those who dwell on the earth to worship the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast whose deadly wound was miraculously healed. (Rev 13:12)
32. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not performed great signs so that he calls fire down from heaven on the earth. (Rev 13:13)
33. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet deceived the earth-dwellers by his signs and wonders. (Rev 13:14)
34. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet told the earth-dwellers to make an image to the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, whose deadly wound was miraculously healed. (Rev 13:14)
35. There is not yet an image of the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast. (Rev 13:15)
36. There is not yet a false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” given power so that he may animate and bring “life” to the image of the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast. (Rev 13:15)
37. The three angels who will circumnavigate the globe with messages of warning have not yet appeared. (Rev 14:6-11)
38. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet forced or caused the earth-dwellers to worship the image of the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, whose deadly wound was miraculously healed. (Rev 13:15)
39. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet begun to kill those people who will not worship the image of the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast. (Rev 13:15)
40. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet caused or forced people to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads. (Rev 13:16)
41. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet begun the practice of beheading those who reject the mark of the beast, and those who reject the worship of the beast, and who reject the worship of the image of the beast. (Rev 15:2; Rev 20:4)
42. The technology of the mark of the beast is not yet fully perfected. (Rev 13)
43. The technology of the mark of the beast system is not yet fully perfected. (Rev 13)
44. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet fully implemented the technology of the mark of the beast and the technology of the beast system. (Rev 13)
45. The economic/financial policy controlling all buying and selling is not yet perfected. (Rev 13)
46. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet implemented the economic/financial policy controlling all buying and selling. (Rev 13)
47. The technology of a standardized global digital or crypto-currency is not yet perfected. (Rev 13)
48. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet implemented the technology of a standardized global digital or crypto-currency. (Rev 13)
49. The ten horns / ten kings who represent a systematized, unified, harmonized global government under the auspices of ten regions led by ten rulers, wealthy technocrat-leaders, or kings, have not yet ascended into positions of official global authority. (Rev 17:12-13)
50. The ten horns / ten kings have not yet ceded their power and authority to the man of sin, the anti-Christ, aka the beast. (Rev 17:13; Rev 17:17)

In Summary: Why the Covid-19 Vaccine is not the Mark of the Beast:

1. The Rapture has not yet happened.
2. The Restrainer is not yet removed from His restraining role.
3. 70th week of Daniel, i.e., the seven-year tribulation period, has not yet officially begun.
4. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet officially appeared on the scene.

What I Believe Is Happening Right Now in Real-Time:

Our Most High God, the Lord Jesus, is very busy with a whole lot of stage-setting events. The Lord Jesus is at work, causing events to trend and progress toward fulfillment. He is gathering the elements and the players and coalescing them into the soon-to-come perfect last days’ storm.

Recall that we have learned: the shadow of the thing falls upon us and strikes us long before the thing that causes the shadow arrives on the scene. That shadow is now upon us, and its menace continually grows.

When we consider that we are seeing more and more events in our current day building that will see their total official fulfillment within that seven-year period of tribulation known as Daniel’s 70th week, then we know that the Mark thing is close, but not yet officially here.

Recall Daniel’s 70-weeks prophecy. In that plan for the ages, we see a very specific timing, a very specific timeline. That first grouping of 7 weeks then 62 weeks happened exactly as the Most High God laid it out. The final 70th week will happen exactly as the Most High God has specified.

Consider also King Nebuchadnezzar’s poly-metallic image; it overlays perfectly with the 70-weeks prophecy. And in that poly-metallic image, we also see a very specific timeline laid out.

The Most High God’s timing is perfect. We can know it without a doubt. He wants us to know it. His timing is never too early or never too late. His timing never fails. He is always right on time.

People Are Being Conditioned for What Is Coming:

There is no doubt every one of us has been changed to some degree in these past two years as we have responded and reacted to this covid-19 plandemic and its fallout.

Some were impacted a lot, and some maybe not so much, but psychologically we were all changed directly or indirectly. We altered our normal patterns to accommodate the constant stream of lies and deception fed to us. Directly or indirectly, we were all caused or forced to alter ourselves in some measure.

That we all altered our behaviors or attitudes is of significant note and bodes great ill and woe for humankind’s future.

For the foreseeable future, deceptive forces in our world will continue to condition and manipulate us in multiple ways:

• Psychologically
• Intellectually
• Emotionally
• Socially
• Physically
• And Spiritually.

Every day, we are hammered by the lies and deceptions that swirl around us. A good “global” citizen will comply. A good global citizen won’t question or push back against the authorities. A good citizen won’t hold a different opinion or idea than that of the authorities. A good citizen will believe and accept that his “benevolent leaders” have his best interest in mind. A good global citizen compliantly receives the jab, jab, jab … jab and any required future jabs on-demand. A good global citizen proudly carries and presents his vaccine passport as proof of his surrendered compliance.

A good citizen is tolerant and understands that some of his fellow citizens are made “that” way. A good citizen understands and accepts that there are 52+ genders. A good citizen always walks in unity and harmony with his fellow citizens. A good citizen won’t create division among his fellow citizens. A good citizen is always testing to know if and when he should isolate himself from other citizens. A good citizen is quick to wear the “I’m positive” label. A good global citizen knows that “wellness” detention camp will help him see, understand, and correct the error of his inconsiderate ways.

A good global citizen recognizes his privilege then takes action to make reparations to those who lack privilege. A good citizen must reduce his carbon footprint. A good citizen must exercise the ideals of green-living to show unfailing love and support of mother earth. A good citizen won’t expect more than he needs, regardless of how hard or how much or how little he works. A good citizen is tolerant of others and wishes equal outcomes for others regardless of the actions of others. A good global citizen won’t believe his faith or his God is morally superior to another’s faith or god.

It has become an endless stream of brainwashing and psychological warfare riding on the back of the vectors called Covid-19 plandemic, which is an exaggerated lie, and Global Climate Change is another exaggerated lie.

The people of the world are being hypnotized via mass psychosis. And if one forsakes, or abandons, or fails to remain anchored to the unfailing truth of God’s word, then you too will become increasingly drowsy.

We’ve corporately and individually become like Igor capitulating to Count Dracula: Yes, master, I must obey.

Humankind is being corralled little by little. Like a herd of cattle, the people of the world are being driven and pushed to the point of being totally surrendered to the global elite, the power-brokers, and the evil disobedient, defiant, and rebellious supernatural powers that control these elite.

The people of the world, generally speaking, are willingly surrendering control of their lives, liberties, and freedoms to those global leaders and global organizations that tell us they know better how we should all live our lives.

Wicked people with an evil agenda that are motivated, inspired, and energized by fallen supernatural powers are gladly taking the control that people are giving up. Their master requires it. And these wicked leaders are ready and willing to do so.

It’s classic Hegelian Dialectic, a socialist Marxist concept: They create the problem or crisis; they allow us to stew in it for a while. Then they tell us how bad and untenable the current situation is. They then point us to the pie-in-the-sky utopian desired condition, as they envision it. And finally, they tell us how we should follow their plan to achieve and arrive at utopia, as they say.

They won’t let a crisis go to waste. Klaus Schwab, the publicly presented mastermind of this mass deception, tells us we have a limited window of fleeting opportunity to build back better. “Come on, man! Get with it!”

Like lemmings, we all excitedly shout out the refrain: “Oh goody, I want to see the cliff, too!”

It does not end well for humankind. It will go from bad to worse to totally catastrophic.

There Is Hope:

Those of us hidden in the Lord Jesus Christ have the promise from Him, because He is our Blessed Hope, that He will evacuate His church-age believers from this world in the Rapture long before the Mark thing that already casts its shadow upon us officially arrives. We will likely experience some rocky times while we wait. That shadow may strike us mighty hard. But we ultimately are spared the Most High God’s wrath.

As I mentioned early, believers should not panic or become anxious. Our Lord Jesus is at work. In spite of all the ugly things we see happening in the world and maybe even experience, the Lord Jesus has everything fully in His hand and under His control. The pieces are all falling into place.

All that we see happening, to include the exponential increase of incredible wickedness, lawless leaders, the Great Reset, the Great Narrative, and the rise of godless pagan globalism, all serve the Most High God’s plan and purposes.

The Lord Jesus is at work shaping, molding, fashioning, crafting events that will bring Him glory, honor, and praise.

He is setting the stage. He is choreographing and orchestrating world events, circumstances, and environments that will ensure the maximum number of people will call upon His name before the Rapture and also call upon His name and trust Him during Daniel’s 70th week, i.e., the seven-year tribulation period.

Our Lord Jesus does not wish that any should perish but that all will come to repentance. Calling upon His name and trusting Him by faith now is smarter and preferred over doing this later.

Unfortunately, a large majority of people need a heavy hand of rebuke to incentivize them to call upon the Lord Jesus in faith. Here’s praying and hoping they do call upon Him before it’s too late. Maranatha!

John Chandler

Jray810@msn.com

 

“Then God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day (Genesis 1:14-19).

God made the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day of creation. The most obvious reason for their creation was so there would be light (and heat) on the earth. The other reason is for man to be able to tell time. This is an article about the different calendars that are used in scripture to determine days, months, and years for events (specifically the Feast of Passover) that transpired in the lives and people of the Bible (the Holy word of God). Although there were other non-biblical calendars in use throughout various parts of Israel and elsewhere (including the Essenes Dead Sea Scrolls calendar, Enoch calendar, etc.), the ones we will concentrate on are those that are outlined in the Bible and were used by the kings of Israel/Judea and the priests in Jerusalem’s temple. Therefore, they would have been followed by the children of Israel (including Moses, the prophets, and Jesus and his disciples).

These biblical calendars must align with the requirements God gave Moses and the children of Israel regarding the seven annual Feasts of the Lord and the one weekly one (the Sabbath) mentioned in Leviticus 23. In particular, we will look at 7 famous Passover events that are recorded in the Bible and determine their dates. This includes Jesus’ crucifixion date in AD 33. Our current dating system of BC (BCE) and AD (CE) is based on the birth of Jesus Christ (which the Roman Catholic Church got wrong by about 4 or 5 years – nobody knows the exact date of his birth). It should be based on His death, in my opinion, as this is a knowable date (with evidence supplied by scripture, history, and astronomy) and is the most important one in all of human history.

The first calendar mentioned is in Genesis 1. It is the weekly calendar that includes the 6 days of work when the Lord created the heavens and the earth and the 1 day of rest that followed. The weekly calendar of 7 days is God’s perpetual calendar; it is the only one used by all mankind and has never changed throughout history. Even when the Roman Catholic Church revised the Julian calendar (which eventually became the Gregorian calendar) in October 1582, when 10 days were dropped from the calendar to bring the vernal equinox from March 11 back to March 21, the days of the week remained the same and progressed in its proper order without change.

“The weekly calendar marks off the week of seven days, which is universal and immemorial in its observance amongst all nations and in all times. It tells of that eternal Sabbath-keeping which remains for the people of God in all its everlasting perfection. It is seven, therefore, that stamps with perfection and completeness that in connection with which it is used.” {1}

The next calendar we see in scripture is found in the account of the great flood of Noah’s time. The flood begins in the 600th year of Noah’s life, in the 2nd month, the 17th day of the month, according to Genesis 7:11. “The waters prevailed on the earth 150 days” (Genesis 7:24). At the end of the 150 days, the waters decreased. “Then the ark rested in the 7th month, the 17th day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat” (Genesis 8:3-4). These verses are very specific regarding days and months for the length of the flood until the waters receded. The duration is for 5 months of 30 days per month.

The flood started in the 600th year of Noah’s life on the 17th day of the 2nd month. It ended when Noah and family exited the arc on dry land in the 601st year of Noah’s life on the 27th day of the 2nd month (Genesis 8:13-16). The total duration of the flood (until the earth was dry) was 370 days or 1 year (12 months of 30 days each) and 10 days. Either the Antediluvians had a yearly calendar (tropical year) of 360 days, or more likely, they followed a solar calendar (with 30 days per month) with an intercalary/embolismic month (of 21 days) added every four years to keep the harvesting seasons in sync.

Noah had a window built into the ark (Genesis 8:6) which served two purposes. The first purpose was to keep time. They could watch the phases of the moon to determine how much time had elapsed. They probably couldn’t see the moon for the first 40 days while it was raining. As long as it wasn’t cloudy, they could watch the moon. The second purpose for the window was to release birds (after the rain stopped) to see if the water had receded from the earth (Genesis 8:6-12).

In those days (until the time of Moses and the Exodus), the calendar year started in the fall, so the occupants entered the arc in the 2nd month of fall and spent the following winter, spring, summer, and part of the following fall months in the ark. The 30 days per month of 360 days per year calendar of the Antediluvians is known as the 360-day calendar, Noah’s calendar, or the Prophetic calendar. It is used in the book of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27, 7:25, 12:7-12) and the book of Revelation (Revelation 11:2-3, 12:6, 12:14, 13:5). The last 7 years of Daniel’s prophecies describe the end-time Tribulation and the antichrist’s activities. No intercalary 13th month is included with this Prophetic calendar.

As the evil Antediluvian age came to an abrupt end observing the 360 days per year calendar, so will the apostate citizens of the Tribulation age. Perhaps it is the work of the antichrist; “He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 7:25). Or perhaps it is a result of the great judgments God sends upon the world during the Great Tribulation. “And He changes the times and the seasons, He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:21). There is about 36 days difference between the Gregorian calendar and the Prophetic calendar in the last 7 years of the Tribulation. “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:22).

Besides the prophecies in Daniel, the only other time the word ‘week’ is used in the Bible for a period of 7 years (or possibly 2520 days) is in Genesis 29:15-30. These verses describe the marriages of Jacob to the sisters Leah and Rachel. Jacob served 7 years (a week) in lieu of wages for Leah and an additional 7 years for Rachael. It’s interesting that Jacob had already worked for a month (for free) before he made this arrangement with Laban. This extra month could represent an intercalary month that was deducted from a week of 7 years.

Moses, who wrote the first five books of the Bible, was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds” (Acts 7:22). He was familiar with the different calendars of the Egyptians and even the Sumerians. During the time of the 10 plagues (from the Lord) of Egypt, God informed Moses to change the Hebrew calendar so the first day of the new year would be observed in the spring rather than the fall season.

The changing of the first month was due to the importance of the upcoming 10th and final plague in Egypt. On this night, God concluded the last and most devastating plague against the Egyptians by sending His angel of death to kill every firstborn (man and animal) of Egypt to convince Pharaoh to let His people go. The Hebrews were divinely protected from this plague by the sacrifice of the Passover lamb and the application of its blood to their doorposts. When the angel saw the blood on the Hebrews’ doorposts (in the form of a cross), he passed over their home to continue his judgment against the Egyptians. The Feast of Passover was to be the first of 7 annual Feasts of the Lord to be observed by the Hebrew people, which God instituted by His word as recorded in Leviticus 23. “On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover” (Leviticus 23:5).

The month of Abib was formerly the 7th month of the year in the past, but now would be the 1st month in the Hebrew lunar/solar calendar. “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Exodus 12:1-2). The counting of months and days would commence on the first day of Abib, but the counting of Years (Anno Mundi – years from creation) would still be observed in the fall on the 1st day of Tishri (when the first crescent moon of fall appeared).

New Year’s day would now be celebrated on the first day of Abib (later known as Nisan) after the first sighting (by at least two witnesses) of the first crescent moon of spring. Besides the observance of the moon, there were a few agricultural observances that had to be met before the first month of Abib could be officially declared. The main one was that the early barley crops had to be in a near state of ripeness (for consumption) and readiness for harvesting. If not, an extra intercalary or leap month was added to the 12 months calendar in order that the harvesting seasons would stay in their proper months.

This also kept the Feasts of the Lord in alignment with their perspective harvesting seasons. It also kept their lunar calendar (29 -30 days per month or 353-355 days per year) in near alignment with the solar calendar (365.2425 days per year). By observing the moon and crops for their calendar, an extra 13th month was needed every 2 to 3 years, so the first month of Abib/Nisan would always occur in the spring and not the winter.

On Rosh Hodesh, the first day of each month of the Jewish calendar, the appearance of even a tiny sliver of the crescent moon (after the new moon or dark moon) in the evening sky signaled the beginning of the month. The shofar, or ram’s horn, was blown to announce the first day of the month. “In the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets” (Numbers 10:10). During the First Temple period, in King Solomon’s reign, the High Priest announced the appearance of the crescent new moon. Later, the Sanhedrin announced the first day of the first month to set the calendar for the new year and to set the dates for the seven annual Feasts of the Lord. For more detail on the Feasts of the Lord, see my three-part series, “Ancient Calendars, Feast Days, and Daniel 12:11.”

Moses brought the Hebrew people out of Egypt 430 years to the day that God confirmed the covenant with Abraham in the land of Canaan. “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel (who dwelt in Egypt) was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. It is a night of solemn observance to the Lord for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the Lord, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations” (Exodus 12:40-42).

The Hebrews left Egypt in 1446 BC, which was 430 years (to the day) after God made His covenant with Abraham in the land of Canaan, in the year 1876 BC. See https://www.raptureready.com/2021/07/04/chronology-of-mankind-6000-years-of-history-pt-1-by-randy-nettles. The day/s was Nisan 14 on the Hebrew calendar. Both God-ordained events occurred during a full moon, as the Passover Feast always occurs on a full moon of spring. Usually, it occurs on the first full moon of spring, but if it comes too early (before the tropical year), it will fall on the 2nd full moon of spring.

Before God initiated the original ‘pass-over’ in 1446 BC, there was the pre-Passover or the ‘pass-between’ in 1876 BC; where Elohim in the form of a “smoking oven” and a “burning torch” passed between the carcasses of the dead animals that were left as a sacrifice to the Lord during God’s land covenant with Abraham and his descendants.

Most of the Feasts of the Lord occur on either a crescent moon or a full moon. “Blow the trumpet at the time of the new moon, at the full moon, on our solemn Feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob” (Psalm 81:3-4). The Passover Feast always occurs on a full moon of spring (Nisan 15-16). Tabernacles (Tishri 15) occurs on a full moon of fall. Trumpets (Tishri 1) occurs on a new/crescent moon of fall. The Hebrew lunar/solar calendar was ordained by God for these Feasts of the Lord to occur in their designated seasons (and moon phases) throughout the year. They occur during the three harvest seasons. The first three spring Feasts are celebrated during the early barley harvest. Pentecost celebrates the summer harvest of barley and wheat. The last three Feasts occur during the fall harvest of fruits, olives, etc.

With time, the observational calendar eventually gave way to a mathematical determined calendar called the Metonic cycle. The Metonic cycle is a period of 19 years in which there are 235 lunations (or synodic months), after which the moon’s phases recur on the same days of the solar year, or years, of the seasons. This cycle is named after Meton of Athens, a Greek mathematician, astronomer, and engineer who lived in Athens in the 5th century BC. Meton introduced his calculations, including the eponymous 19-year cycle in 432 BC, into the lunisolar Attic calendar. Meton’s calendar assures a given day of a lunar month will often occur on the same day of the solar year, as it did 19 years previously, thus aligning with the solar calendar.

Ancient civilizations used some form of a 19-year cycle for centuries before Meton’s. According to Jewish tradition, the patriarch Hillel II revealed and mandated the rules to move from an observable calendar to a fixed mathematical calendar, including a perpetual intercalation cycle. This calendar has morphed into the Metonic cycle (with a few other Jewish religious rules) used today by Israel for religious purposes, including observing the Feasts of the Lord. The Jewish calendar follows the cycles of the moon and generally has 353 – 355 days. Every 2 to 3 years, an intercalary 30-day month is added towards the end of the calendar year. The extra 13th month makes that particular calendar year 383 – 385 days in duration. In the calculated Hebrew lunisolar calendar, the years (cycles) 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19 are the long (13th month) years of the Metonic cycle.

The modern Jewish calendar is very accurate in computing the phases of the moon. There are four major phases in a lunar month (or more precisely 29.53 days): new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter. The four major phases of the moon vary slightly but generally last for about 7.38 days on average.

NASA’s website has tables of lunar and solar eclipses going back 5,000 years. A lunar eclipse always occurs on a full moon. A solar eclipse always occurs on a new moon. By determining when a lunar eclipse occurs in a particular year and month, you can figure the date on the Jewish calendar, as it will always occur on (within a day) the 15th of every month. By determining when a solar eclipse occurs in a particular year and month, you can figure the date on the Jewish calendar, as it will always occur (within a day) on the 1st day of every month.

The Gregorian solar calendar is about as accurate of a calendar as you can get. It has approximately 365.2425 days per year within 12 months. A calendar obtained by extension earlier in time than its invention or implementation is called the ‘proleptic’ version of that calendar. If you extend the Gregorian calendar backward to dates before it was officially introduced in 1582, it is called the proleptic Gregorian calendar.

“Likewise, the proleptic Julian calendar is produced by extending the Julian calendar backward to dates preceding AD 8 when the quadrennial leap year stabilized. The implementation of the Julian calendar occurred in 45 BC., before the implementation of the Anno Domini era (Latin for “in the year of the Lord”), counting years since the birth of Jesus Christ as calculated by Dionysus Exiguus in the 6th century. The proleptic Julian calendar uses Anno Domini throughout, including for dates of late antiquity when the Julian calendar was in use but Anno Domini wasn’t, and for times predating the introduction of the Julian calendar. AD 1 is the first year of the Anno Domini era, immediately preceded by 1 BC (before Christ), the first year preceding the Anno Domini era. There is no zero year.” {Wikipedia – Proleptic Julian Calendar}.

With this in mind, these calendars, along with the modern Jewish calendars, and NASA’s lunar and solar eclipses tables, can determine ancient dates that are mentioned in the Bible. In this article, we will look at 7 famous Passover Feasts of the Lord mentioned throughout scripture. They all occurred on Nisan 14 (according to the Bible) during a full moon of spring. We will attempt to find the Julian and proleptic Gregorian dates for these biblical events.

The most recent Passover mentioned in the Bible was the crucifixion of Jesus. Most credible Bible scholars believe Jesus was crucified either in the year AD 32 or 33. However, there are a few that still believe it could have happened in AD 30. According to Luke 3:1-6, John the Baptist began his ministry in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Tiberius began his official reign in the fall of AD 14 after the death of Augustus; so the fifteenth year would be AD 29. It is believed, therefore, that John’s and Jesus’ ministry began either in late AD 29 or the spring of AD 30. There are three definite mentions of Jesus observing the Passover feast in the gospel of John: John 2:13, John 6:4, and John 11:55-57. This would account for two years of ministry, which puts us at AD 32.

Many scholars suspect there was another Passover that wasn’t recorded (but implied) in the synoptic gospels, or perhaps the ‘feast’ mentioned in John 5:1 was the fourth one. If this is the case, then that places us in the year AD 33. So which year is the correct one? This should be a very special and important date to memorialize forever, so we should try to get it right.

Let’s look at three websites (three witnesses) to get the necessary information to make the correct decision for what year Jesus was crucified on Passover (Nisan 14). Catalog of Lunar Eclipses: 0001 to 0100 (nasa.gov) and www.moonpage.com and 360calendar.com Calendar Converter (for Jerusalem time, enter 12:00).

1. AD 30 shows a lunar eclipse on May 6 (Julian date). This is Lyyar 16, 3790 on the Jewish calendar, so we must deduct a full moon lunation of 29.53 days to get to Nisan 16, 3790. This is the date for the first full moon of spring. The date on the Julian calendar is April 6, AD 30. The date on the (proleptic) Gregorian calendar would have been April 4, AD 30. The day of the week is Thursday. Passover would have been 2 days earlier on Nisan 14, a Tuesday. This automatically disqualifies AD 30, as Jesus was crucified on a Thursday. See https://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/holidays-and-holy-days/solving-the-three-day-three-night-mystery/, for proof of a Thursday crucifixion as described in the Gospels.
2. AD 32 shows a lunar eclipse on April 14 (Julian date). The date on the (proleptic) Gregorian calendar would have been April 12, AD 32. The date on the Jewish calendar is Nisan 15, 3792. The day of the week is Monday. Passover would have been one day earlier on Nisan 14, a Sunday. This automatically disqualifies AD 32, as Jesus was crucified on a Thursday.
3. AD 33 shows a lunar eclipse on April 3 (Julian date). The date on the (proleptic) Gregorian calendar would have been April 1, AD 33. The date on the Jewish calendar is Nisan 15, 3793. The day of the week is Friday. Passover would have been one day earlier on Nisan 14, a Thursday. The date on the Julian calendar for Jesus’ crucifixion was April 2, AD 33. The date on our Gregorian (proleptic)/solar calendar would have been March 31, AD 33. This is the day we should commemorate Jesus’ death on the cross. I say we should celebrate His resurrection 3 days later on April 3rd. What say you?

Jesus was dead and in the grave on April 1st (April Fool’s Day). God played the ultimate April Fool’s joke on Pontius Pilate, the Romans, and the Jewish Sanhedrin. They thought they had gotten rid of Jesus forever by judging and crucifying him. “April Fools!” Jesus was resurrected back to life on the third day (from crucifixion) and now sits at the right hand of God. He will judge those fools, who judged him, at the Great White Throne Judgment. “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. The Lord will judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:30-31).

Next time, the other 6 famous Passovers in scripture.

Randy Nettles

nettlesr@suddenlink.net

Endnotes:

1: Number in Scripture by E. W. Bullinger