Here’s a stumper of a question for Protestant and Evangelical Christians: Without looking at an iPhone or a store-bought calendar, could you personally predict and schedule Easter Sunday each and every year? Groundhog Day, sure. Superbowl Sunday, probably. But Easter? How do you calculate the date of Easter?
Spoiler alert: Here’s the simple, albeit nerdy, answer from Wikipedia–I turned some parts bold:
“The computus (Latin for ‘computation’) is a calculation that determines the calendar date of Easter. Easter is traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon, which is the first full moon on or after March 21st (an approximation of the March equinox). Determining this date in advance requires a correlation between the lunar months and the solar year, while also accounting for the month, date, and weekday of the calendar.
In late antiquity, it was feasible for the entire Christian church to receive the date of Easter each year through an annual announcement from the Pope. By the early third century, however, communications had deteriorated to the point that the church put great value in a system that would allow the clergy to determine the date for themselves, independently and consistently. Additionally, the church wished to eliminate dependencies on the Hebrew calendar, by deriving Easter directly from the vernal equinox.”
There are lots of take-aways from these two paragraphs:
· The Paschal full moon is a key date. ‘Paschal’ means “relating to Pesach”, and ‘Pesach’ is the Hebrew word translated into English as ‘Passover’.
· Finding the Paschal moon requires a basic understanding of ancient biblical timekeeping.
· Even if you are Protestant, it remains the supposed power of the Pope that controls the modern Christian calendar.
· What is the stated motive? To intentionally divorce the Church from the Hebrew calendar—otherwise known as the Biblical calendar. This is clearly stated in several of the early Catholic Church councils.
· In the distorted calendar, the Paschal full moon is recognized, but the day itself is otherwise ignored—replaced by Easter, a traditional holiday that’s not mentioned in the bible at all. The acceptation is in the KJV Acts 12:4 where “Pascha” is intentionally mistranslated as “Easter”. Smoking gun, anyone?
The sum of bulleted points should recall the words of Messiah:
Mark 7:6-9, “And Jesus said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!”
The Old Testament context for Isaiah’s rebuke, quoted by Messiah above, begins in 1 Kings 12 (please read the whole chapter yourself). Jeroboam was the first King of Israel, and his first set of decrees were designed to intentionally divorce his people from the Holy appointed times of Israel. His motive was the same as the Pope’s reasoning mentioned above. vs 19, “So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.” vs 26, “Jeroboam said in his heart, “now the kingdom will turn back to the House of David”. vs 27, “…then the heart of this people will turn again to their Lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” For the sake of consolidating their own power, religious leaders of every generation continue to distract God’s people from the true scriptural calendar and true Holy days.
Like the original sin of Jeroboam, the spiritual goal has been subtle but consistent: to keep the heart of the people from turning to the King of the Jews.”
Sorry to be harsh, but Daniel describes this as a primary aspect of the spirit of Antichrist…
Dan 7:25, “He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the appointed times as well as the law;”
Here’s are a series of questions, related to one that began this article. Since it’s widely known and easily provable that the calendar we keep as modern-day believers bears little resemblance to the one God established as Holy, is it worth the effort to search out and embrace the true one? Would you embrace a restored understanding of Holy Time, if it meant a disruption to your daily life? Aren’t we told to turn from our own ways? Can we truly do all things through Christ who strengthens us, or is adjusting our schedule the one exception?
Perhaps God has allowed these millennia-old fabrications to obscure his Holy days for the sake of protecting them. Perhaps God has intentionally allowed them to be concealed for the sake of his Israel, His beloved and very elect, to find them.
Proverbs 25:2, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.”
Amen.
In the next article, we’ll extract the verses that will help us uncover when the “Paschal moon” is, so we don’t need the pope’s help anymore! In the process we’ll discover the root of the late December phrase, “The Holidays”, and origin of the word “Calendar”. It’s ALL related to Passover!