Nisan 14

How is the Nisan 14 determined in the Bible?

Let's think about it.

Over Flat Earth,
the Sun makes one revolution in 24h,
the Moon in 23h50m28s,
and the constellations in 23h53m4s.

Since it takes 4 minutes less than the sun for the starry sky to make one orbit around the earth, it rotates an extra 4 minutes (just 1 degree in angle) in 24 hours, advancing 1 degree in 24 hours per day. It advances 180° in 6 months, so the constellation moves to the opposite side every 6 months.The cycle of the constellation returning to its original position is approximately 365 days and a quarter.

The sun's cycle from the Tropic of Cancer down to the Tropic of Capricorn and back again is the same as one cycle of the zodiac, synchronizing the seasons and the zodiac.

The moon begins as a new moon, expands into a crescent, becomes a half moon, becomes a full moon, gradually begins to wane, becomes a half moon, continues to wane, and returns to a new moon.This cycle of waxing and waning from one new moon to the next is called the lunar month, and its cycle is about 29 days and a half.

So the moon repeats the lunar cycle about 12.4 times a year.
A rough estimate is 365 ÷ 29 = 12.5.

In the Jewish calendar, a month is counted as 29 or 30 days,
a year is counted as 12 or 13 months.

In ancient Israel, the beginning of the month was determined by checking the first visible crescent moon in Jerusalem. That visible crescent moon was considered the new moon.

This phenomenon was reported to the Sanhedrin by two reliable witnesses, and the Sanhedrin proclaimed "Rosh Shodesh" (the beginning of the month) and announced the people.

Nisan 14 is the 14th day of the month of Nisan.
The month of Nisan begins with the new moon closest to the vernal equinox.
The Jews of Jesus' time lived according to a lunar calendar.

The Jews who murdered God's Messiah were dispersed throughout the world by the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, making it impossible for them to see the new moon (the first crescent) appearing over Jerusalem.

The Sanhedrin also ceased to exist, so the Jews scattered throughout the world could no longer identify the biblical months and feasts and could no longer fulfill the requirements of the Law Covenant.

With the sinless sacrificial death of Jesus Christ in 33 AD, the Law Covenant between God and the Israelites was abolished and a new covenant between God and all mankind began! Since the requirements of the Law covenant regarding months and feasts have been abolished, no one need fulfill the requirements of the abolished Law covenant any longer, and no one needs to be judged for it.

Nevertheless, the apostate Jews who killed God's Messiah, Jesus Christ, and were scattered throughout the whole earth by God's judgment in 70 AD, did not abandon Judaism, accept Jesus Christ, and become Christians.

The apostate Jews still consider the observance of the months and feasts of the abolished Law Covenant to be a divine requirement.

Hillel, a Jewish elder of the fourth century AD, popularized Jewish calendar by mathematically calculating the age of the moon.

However, Hillel's Jewish calendar is not by the original biblical method of identifying the beginning of the month, so a discrepancy arises.

Today, Jews throughout the world have not restored the Bible's original method of identifying dates, but use Hillel's Jewish calendar, which was invented in the 4th century AD.

The Hillel calendar, the same as the Roman Catholic Gregorian calendar in widespread use today, views the new moon as the invisible moon of lunar age 0.

The invisible new moon in the Jewish and Gregorian calendars, lasts one to three days, after which a luminous crescent moon appears and the light waxes toward the full moon on the lunar age 15.

However, the original biblical meaning of the new moon was not the lightless, invisible moon, but the first visible radiant crescent moon.

So the month begins not with today's invisible new moon at lunar age 0, but with the first visible crescent moon at today's lunar age 1. Today's lunar age 1 is the biblical new moon.

■　Nisan 14 is the 14th day of the month of Nisan. It is counted from biblical new moon which is visible crescent moon at lunar age 1.

The month of Nisan begins with the new moon (lunar age 1) closest to the vernal equinox. In "leap years," which occur every two to three years, the month of Nisan begins with a new moon one month later than the new moon closest to the vernal equinox.

Today's Jewish calendar deviates from the original biblical beginning of the month because it refers to the new moon as a moon with no light at lunar age 0. Today's Jewish calendar is based on the calculations of Hillel, a fourth-century A.D. Jew.

leap year

The leap year cycle can be counted by musical major scale.
The whole tone includes two 12-month regular years and one 13-month "leap year".
The semitone includes one 12-month regular year and one 13-month "leap year".

For example,

	regular year	leap year (red)	leap year (red)
全 whole tone	2017	2018	2019
全 whole tone	2020	2021	2022
半 semitone	2023	2024
全 whole tone	2025	2026	2027
全 whole tone	2028	2029	2030
全 whole tone	2031	2032	2033
半 semitone	2034	2035

On whether the Christ's memorial should be observed like the Passover of the Law Covenant

On Nisan 14, 1943 B.C., Abraham followed God's guidance and crossed the Euphrates River to enter into a covenant relationship with God.

Then, 430 years later, on Nisan 14, the Israelites, descendants of Abraham, were freed from slavery in Egypt and headed for the Promised Land, miraculously crossing the Red Sea and entering into a covenant relationship with God at Mount Sinai in Arabia in 1513 BC.

Then, 1546 years later, on the Nisan 14, 33 AD, Jesus' disciples entered into the New Covenant by the death of Christ.

Nisan 14 is the day the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant came into effect.

Abraham was aware of God's covenant all his life, but he did not live commemorating Nisan 14 every year.

Christians under the new covenant are not obligated to observe the Nisan 14 as required by the Law Covenant.

There is no such requirement in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

Rather, the Christian Greek Scriptures emphasize that the ceremonial arrangements and demands of the Law ceased with the abolition of the Law. So, one is no longer justified by God through meticulous observance of the letter of the law.
So in the new covenant instituted on the Nisan 14, Jesus did not make any detailed regulation as in the Law Covenant.

Jesus simply said, "Do it as a remembrance of me." There is no requirement like it should be done once a year or according to the Jewish calendar.

Anyone who demands something that is not in the Bible is too righteous.

To begin with, Nisan 14 occurs 11 days earlier than the zodiacal/solar cycle each year. So, Nisan 14 begins out of season every year. No one commemorates the death of Jesus on Nisan 14 in a complete cycle. In leap year, month of Nisan begins one month earlier, so the leap month called "Adar I" is added to synchronize Nisan with actual season.

Because 2024 is a leap year, Nisan of this year began in winter, a month earlier than usual. This year's vernal equinox is on 3/21, and the new moon closest to the vernal equinox is on 3/11, so if things were as usual, the month of Nisan would begin on that day. However, since this year is a leap year, the leap month Adar I is added, and the month beginning on 3/11 is Adar I, not Nisan. The Watchtower Society commemorated this year's Christ Memorial on 3/24, which is actually the 14th of Adar I, not the 14th of Nisan.

This year's month of Nisan began on 4/10, a month after the new moon on 3/11. So the Nisan 14 of this year is on Tuesday 4/23.

lunar calender

So, the argument that Jesus' death should be commemorated according to the Jewish calendar is meaningless.

When to commemorate Christ's death with bread and wine is up to each individual to decide in his or her own situation.

Col 2:16-17
16 Therefore let no man judge YOU in eating and drinking or in respect of a festival or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath; 17 for those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.

Ro 14:5-6
5 One [man] judges one day as above another; another [man] judges one day as all others; let each [man] be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day observes it to Jehovah. Also, he who eats, eats to Jehovah, for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not eat does not eat to Jehovah, and yet gives thanks to God.

1Co 11:23-26
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also handed on to YOU, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was going to be handed over took a loaf 24 and, after giving thanks, he broke it and said: “This means my body which is in YOUR behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” 25 He did likewise respecting the cup also, after he had the evening meal, saying: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood. Keep doing this, as often as YOU drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as YOU eat this loaf and drink this cup, YOU keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he arrives.

Preaching the death of Christ cannot be limited to a once-a-year event. There are no specific instructions in the Christian Greek Scriptures as to when to observe Christ's memorial. More important than the date and frequency of the commemoration ceremony is the commemoration and dissemination of the salvation that Christ's death signifies.

Those who demand what the Bible does not say go beyond what is written. I believe such people are too righteous.

1Co 4:6
6 Now, brothers, these things I have transferred so as to apply to myself and A‧pol′los for YOUR good, that in our case YOU may learn the [rule]: “Do not go beyond the things that are written,” in order that YOU may not be puffed up individually in favor of the one against the other.

No one can judge others by their own standards which are not in the Bible.

Jas 4:11-12
11 Quit speaking against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother speaks against law and judges law. Now if you judge law, you are, not a doer of law, but a judge. 12 One there is that is lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But you, who are you to be judging [your] neighbor?

Mt 7:1-2
1 “Stop judging that YOU may not be judged; 2 for with what judgment YOU are judging, YOU will be judged; and with the measure that YOU are measuring out, they will measure out to YOU.

Commemorating Christ's death becomes a time to remember His sacrifice.
Christ's sacrifice is not just for a select few.
It was offered for all the offspring of Adam.

Because it is for the blessing of all the people of the earth as written in the Abrahamic Covenant, Christians who believe in Christ partake the bread and wine that represent His sacrifice.

Ge 22:18
18 And by means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves due to the fact that you have listened to my voice.’”

Joh 6:51, 53-54
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever; and, for a fact, the bread that I shall give is my flesh in behalf of the life of the world.”
53 Accordingly Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to YOU, Unless YOU eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, YOU have no life in yourselves. 54 He that feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life, and I shall resurrect him at the last day;

Mt 26:26-28
26 As they continued eating, Jesus took a loaf and, after saying a blessing, he broke it and, giving it to the disciples, he said: “TAKE, eat. This means my body.” 27 Also, he took a cup and, having given thanks, he gave it to them, saying: “Drink out of it, all of YOU; 28 for this means my ‘blood of the covenant,’ which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.

To every Christian who believes in Christ's sacrifice, Christ gave bread and wine, saying, "Eat" and "Drink.

Nevertheless, the Freemason Watchtower Society uses most of its memorial ceremony talk to believers for a warning that those who "eat" and "drink" without regard for the body of Christ will be judged for it.

The spirit that leads the tower is not from God.

In addition, they make the Memorial of Christ an event to attract the attention to those who are partakers of the emblems, inviting as many unbelievers as possible who do not partake of the bread and wine. And it is also an event to recruit new members to their organization.

Most believers who do not partake the emblem miss the purpose of remembrance of Christ's death by simply passing the emblem on to the next person. All must partake of the merits of Christ's death in order to be saved from the sin and death brought about by Adam's failure. But, the festive atmosphere of event with many people in fine dresses make them cheerful at that event.

This is not the Memorial of Christ intended by Christ.
Shortly before his death, Jesus held a feast only with his closest friends, the twelve apostles. He then endured humiliation and insults throughout the night and sacrificed His life for all mankind.

The Memorial of Christ will not be a time of testimony to those who do not even know what it means, nor will it be a time of festive atmosphere.

The Watchtower Society has turned the Memorial of Christ into something alien.
The Memorial of Christ by the Watchtower society is an event of showy display of one's righteousness, and is nothing more than a recruiting event for believers.

Mt 23:5-6
5 All the works they do they do to be viewed by men; for they broaden the [scripture-containing] cases that they wear as safeguards, and enlarge the fringes [of their garments]. 6 They like the most prominent place at evening meals and the front seats in the synagogues,

Mt 6:1
“Take good care not to practice YOUR righteousness in front of men in order to be observed by them; otherwise YOU will have no reward with YOUR Father who is in the heavens.