Sabbath 4/11/40/120

Dear Friends,

It is now eight weeks to the New Year.  The next year (2019) the 41st Year of the 120th Jubilee is an intercalary year due to a rare rule that forces the New Year to begin in April in what is in reality the second month of the Calendar and the equinox falls in the 13th month.

It has to do with the ancient regulation that the Passover must not fall before the Equinox.  It does not refer to the Lord’s Supper which is not the Passover in spite of the erroneous teachings of the WCG and Offshoots. In March 2019 the New Moon falls on 6 March and the Equinox falls on 20 March at 23.58 Israel time in Jerusalem which is the governing structure of the Calendar.

As a result of this timing the 14th day is on 19 March and the Equinox falling at 23.58 on 20 March makes it fall then on the 16th day of the Month which is over 24 hours after the Sacrifice of the Passover which occurs at 3pm on the afternoon of the sacrifice of the Passover on the preparation day of the 14th Abib.

In paper Tishri in Relation to the Equinox (No. 175) we see the rule concerning the Passover.

The postponement rules do not apply or relate to the northern autumnal equinox. The rule is simply that in all circumstances Passover must fall after the vernal equinox (Schürer, ibid., p. 590; based on the authorities, Schürer states: “when the sun stood in the sign of Aries”, ibid., p. 593). The sign of Aries begins on approximately 21 March and ends on 20 April, in Gregorian terms. Thus, Passover after 21 April is clearly prohibited under the ancient rules. (It must also be remembered that Astrology and Astronomy were not separated into distinct areas of discipline until the Reformation. Thus, this is an astronomical and not an astrological indicator.) Schürer notes that Anatolius, according to Eusebius (HE, vii 32, 16-19) says this is the unanimous view of all the Jewish authorities including Aristobulus, the philosopher in the time of Ptolemy Philometor, and also Philo and Josephus (Schürer, op. cit.). The Macedonian calendar was used in Syria from the beginning of the Seleucid dominion until well into Christian times.

It is thus clear that Passover must fall before 21 April (which in this case it does as 21 April is the Wave Sheaf) and the 15th of the First Month must fall after the equinox as the sacrifice of 14 Abib must occur after the equinox.

In this case if the New Year were to be on 6 March then 14 Abib would be on 19 March which is over 24 hours before the equinox and thus the year must be postponed according to the ancient rules.  This appears to be the only valid postponement. Thus CCG is postponing the New Year to 5 April 2019 next year.

Wade Cox
Coordinator General