Biblical Calendar:
Every civilization and religion follows its own calendar. We Christians follow the calendar in which the New Year begins in January, also called the Gregorian calendar. But nowhere in the Scriptures do we find any mention of 1st January as the beginning of the year! The Biblical calendar is a lunar calendar. The day begins at sunset. ’And the evening and the morning were the first day’. (Gen.1: 5,8,13…) The six days of creation and the seventh day of rest make one week. The month was from one new moon to another (Isa.66: 23). There are twelve such lunar months in a year. The professing church adopted the Gregorian calendar in the 16th century A.D. On the contrary the Bible clearly tells us when the New Year should start. Exodus.12: 2 says, ‘This month shall be the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.’ The first month is the month of Abib or Nissan as per the Jewish calendar which is the oldest calendar known to man. This calendar has not changed till today. Even the Hindu calendar is adapted from this. Thus New Year’s Day falls approximately around ‘Ugadi’, celebrated in South India.  Pope Gregory changed this calendar in 1582.The reason for the calendar change was to correct the changes in the dates of significant religious observations (especially Easter) and to prevent further changes in the dates. The very festival Easter has no Biblical basis. The word Easter is used only in the King James Version of the Bible (Acts.12: 4). In all other versions the word used is ‘Passover’.

Jesus Christ (Messiah) instituted the New Covenant or ‘Lord’s Supper’ as is popularly known, on the night of the Passover and was crucified on the Passover day. Passover is the fourteenth day of the first month Abib. Thus this year (2014 A.D.) the New Year starts on 1std April (1st Abib). Messiah’s crucifixion is on 14th April 2014 (14 Abib). His resurrection will be on 17th April before sunset. Thus three days and three nights will be completed and fulfilled. If we consider the 18th April 2014 (Good Friday), as the day of crucifixion and ‘Easter’ as 20th April, then I can count only one day and two nights! This is not scripturally correct. Messiah prophesied that ‘the Son of man… must be killed and after three days rise again’. (Mark.8: 31, Matt.12: 40). If Messiah’s crucifixion falls on 18th then His resurrection should be after three days and three nights, i.e. before sunset of 21st! So how is it that ‘Easter’ falls on 20th April 2014?
In order to preach a Sunday resurrection, the church began to twist the facts. The Sabbath referred to in the Bible (Luke.23: 56) was the high day Sabbath or special Sabbath, which can come on any other weekday and was on Thursday (first day of Unleavened Bread). After crucifixion there was a weekly Sabbath, Saturday. At the end of Sabbath or just before the first day began, He was resurrected, and not on a Sunday. Nowhere in the Bible can we find mention of His crucifixion taking place on a Friday.
When the great falling away came, the church, in order to accommodate the heathens who were converted, adopted many of their traditions and customs into Christianity, including their festivals, changing the appointed times of the feasts. This was prophesied in Daniel.7: 25,’ and he shall speak great words against the Most High…and to think to change times and laws’.

The Bible tells us in Leviticus.23, the seven feasts appointed by our Lord. These feasts were to be observed by all of Israel for all generations. St.Paul has written in Col.2: 14, that the laws and ordinances were nailed to the cross. What was actually nailed to the cross were the ceremonial laws of Moses and the ordinances made by the Jews and not the Ten Commandments. The law (of Moses) is good and is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ (Messiah) (Gal.3: 4,5).

A study of the feasts of Leviticus reveals they are a shadow of the things to come. They are for our instruction. We hear the voice of the Holy Spirit through them. The first three feasts tell us about
salvation and deliverance from sin. Passover was fulfilled when Messiah was sacrificed for us. The feast of the First fruits is fulfilled in Messiah who ‘is become the first fruits of them that slept’ (I Cor.15: 20). Pentecost tells us about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It was on the day of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples as tongues of fire (Acts.2: 1-4.). The feast of Trumpets tells about the second coming of our Lord. The Day of Atonement is the day when Messiah offered Himself as the supreme sacrifice for our sins (I John.2: 1,2). The feast of Tabernacles is the day when Messiah was born in this earthly world. This festival will also be observed in the thousand-year reign (Zech.14: 16). All the festivals were observed in Israel, have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Messiah), and should be applied in our lives to have victory everyday.

These are the Feasts of our Lord. I do not find any reference to Lent, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas or New Year’s Day in the Bible. All these days have their origins in the old pagan Roman religion that was slowly, over a period of time, absorbed into Christianity, producing a mixture called the Roman Catholic Church. The forty days of Lent were observed with weeping for Tammuz.(Ezek.8) Tammuz was the son of Nimrod (Gen.10: 8-10). Forty days of mourning and fasting is also found among the devil worshippers of Kurdistan, Mexico and even among the Moslems. Easter Sunday was the spring festival of Ishtar or Astarte. The Easter sunrise service was originally known to the sun worshippers as well as worshippers of the false god Baal. (Ezek.8: 16) Christmas day is the birthday of Tammuz, Osiris, Horus, Hermes, Mithra, Jupiter, etc, which are all different names of Nimrod in different cultures and religions!

Though the Protestant Reformism did much to correct these false beliefs, some of the old habits did not die and we still celebrate these days. ‘Search the scriptures’ (John.5: 39) and you will find out the truth yourself, with the help of the Holy Spirit. (John.14: 26). Read any book on religion or any encyclopedia and you will find that my statements are true.
If you wish to know more about the true feasts or about the pagan customs, which we today observe as Christian festivals, do write to us and we will be glad to enlighten you.

 On 1-April-2014, at sunset we entered the New Year. This is the beginning of months (Ex.12: 2). The cross has changed everything in our lives. It has made everything new (2 Cor.5: 17), a new day and a new life. Forgetting the past let us begin a new life in Messiah. ‘We are buried with him by baptism unto death: that like as Christ (Messiah) was raised up from the dead, even so we also should walk in newness of life’. (Rom.6: 4; 7: 6). Let us walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit (Rom.8: 1-4).

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