Easter, First Fruits, or the Counting of the Omer?

By Randy Nettles

I’m a little late in writing this article about dating Easter, as it won’t be posted until after Easter (Resurrection Sunday). That’s okay, as it remains relevant for the upcoming Pentecost holiday, which should occur 50 days from Easter (inclusive reckoning). This article is mostly about the rules the Catholic Church instituted to determine the date of Easter. Here is a good article on this subject: Eye-Opening Easter Facts - Compass International. However, I think the author might have overlooked a few facts (IMHO), which we will examine.

The author is correct when he says, “We should celebrate Easter on the Sunday after Passover.” I agree, but it is my belief that sometimes the Jews do not get the date for Passover right, as well. If you don’t get the date for Nisan 1 right, you won’t get the date for Passover right either. If you don’t get the date for Passover right, you won’t get the date for Easter (aka Resurrection Sunday, which should be the Feast of Firstfruits for the Jews) right, and you won’t get the date for Pentecost (which occurs 50 days after Easter) right, as well.

God told Moses, “Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, you shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall you keep it” (Numbers 9:2-3). The appointed season was the beginning of spring. The sun still determined the season, as the first month of the calendar would always occur around the vernal equinox (the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere) when the early barley crops were ‘abib.’

Barley was the first crop to ripen in the spring in Egypt and Israel. In fact, the Hebrew month of Abib (“green ears”), now called Nisan, has direct reference to the ripening of barley in that month. On the first day of that month, the priest would inspect a sheaf of barley to see if it had “eared out” yet. If so, it was announced to all the people that Passover would be observed in Jerusalem two weeks later. If the barley grain was still closed, covered by the husk, the priest would announce that they would have to wait another month before Passover could be observed lawfully.

The new moon would still mark the beginning of the months, and approximately 14-15 days later, when the moon was fully illuminated, the Passover would begin. Thus, Passover is tied to both the vernal equinox and the full moon. You no longer watch for the day of the new moon of spring to begin the year; instead, you assess which new moon establishes the proper day of the Passover to begin the annual remembrance/observance! Therefore, the rule to determine the month of the Abib crops is the new moon that establishes Passover on or after the Vernal Equinox.

This is the Biblical Hebrew lunisolar calendar used in the time of Moses, David, and Jesus. The moon was observed rather than mathematically calculated (fixed), and the barley crops were beginning to ripen. So, both the meteorological and astronomical dates for spring were used in calculating Passover. The children of Israel, led by Moses, left Egypt on Passover, Abib (Nisan) 15, in 1446 BC.

During the 40 years of wandering in the desert, the only time the Passover was observed was at Mt. Sinai, one year later from the original Passover in Egypt. Of course, there were no crops to be observed in the desert, so the Hebrews had to rely solely on the new and full moon of spring to determine the date for Passover. Moses was a learned man with access to Egyptian astronomical knowledge, so he would have known which new moon would be closest to the spring equinox. Plus, he would have known there were approximately 354 days in a lunar year.

The third Passover mentioned in the Bible occurred after the children of Israel had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years (from 1446 – 1406 BC). After crossing the Jordan River on Nisan 10, 1406 BC, Joshua made the young Hebrew men who hadn’t been circumcised do so, according to God’s word in which the LORD had confirmed this sign of the covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:10). The Passover couldn’t be observed until all the males had been circumcised (Exodus 12:48). The older males of the Exodus had already been circumcised in Egypt. Of course, no one over 19 years of age at the start of the Exodus would enter the Promised Land, except for Joshua and Caleb, according to Numbers 14:29-30.

On the evening of the 14th day of the first month (Abib/Nisan), in 1406 BC, the Israelites celebrated their first Feast of Passover in the Promised Land. “And they did eat of the old corn of the land after the Passover (on Nisan 15), unleavened cakes, and parched corn on the same day. And the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten of the old corn of the land (Nisan 16); neither had the children of Israel manna anymore” (Joshua 5:11-12). The following day was the 17th of Nisan, the Feast of Firstfruits (the day Jesus would be resurrected 1,438 years later). With no more manna available, the people began to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year – the firstfruits of the Promised Land.

The Jewish (observed) lunisolar calendar was used from the time of Moses until the Jews were evicted from the Promised Land. After the Jews were forced out of the land of Israel in 135 AD, they could no longer reckon their calendars, as they were unable to observe the heavenly signs from Jerusalem any longer (nor determine the readiness of their crops for harvest), so they eventually developed a mathematically calculated calendar based on the 19-year Metonic cycle (with intercalation). This is known as the Jewish lunisolar calendar and is still used today for religious observances (Feasts of the LORD). It is quite ingenious, but it is not as accurate as the ancient observed calendar and has many flaws. Also, over the centuries, many rules have been added by rabbinic Jews that are not biblical.

The lunisolar calendar the Jews use today is a fixed, predetermined calendar, not the observed moon-phase-based calendar used in the times of Moses, David, and Jesus. The transition from observing the lunar phases to the fixed Jewish calendar is commonly attributed to the patriarch Hillel II in 358/359 AD, according to the Julian calendar. However, several Jewish documents have been found indicating that the calendar was not fully fixed in Hillel’s time. The calendar did not reach its exact modern form until at least 922–924 AD. Unfortunately, the calendar has not changed since then, and the fixed Metonic cycle for determining embolismic years (with an extra leap month) remains in effect, although it is no longer accurate (for the 21st century) or necessary, as the Jewish people are back in their homeland.

An essential factor to consider regarding the ecclesiastical Jewish calendar is that the determination of the new moon, which establishes the critical first month of each year, is based on the fixed application of the Metonic cycle. In this system, the required periodic leap month is added by a fixed schedule of intercalation, completely ignoring the real moon! This sometimes leads to the incorrect identification of the spring new moon as the “first month (Nisan).” This error, when it happens, establishes all commanded Feast days following Nisan to be observed in the wrong lunar month!

This error is occurring more frequently in the modern Hebrew calendar as the centuries pass. This problem is well recognized, even in modern Judaism. Applying the Metonic cycle to the Hebrew calendar is perfectly fine over the whole 19-year cycle, but it is absolutely wrong to apply the ‘rules’ of the Metonic cycle by its rigid schedule of intercalation within any 19-year period. The actual moon should declare when an extra month is to be added, not a rigid, predetermined schedule! See Calculated Jewish Calendar vs. Biblical Jewish Calendar:: By Randy Nettles - Rapture Ready.

Finally, the modern Hebrew calendar assumes the spring/vernal equinox is the 25th of March – the date of the vernal equinox during the Julian calendar era in 45 BCE. But the vernal equinox, since 1582 CE, has always fallen between March 19th and March 21st by the Gregorian calendar, which was established that same year, 45 BCE. Thus, the modern Hebrew calendar ignores the actual vernal equinox, which contributes to the incorrect month chosen for Nisan in certain years.

When observing the ecclesiastical Jewish calendar, the Jews still follow the fixed lunisolar calendar, with intercalary months (leap months) added every 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19 years, even when an extra month is not needed. I reckon the current year, 2025-2026, is the 10th year of this cycle.

Let’s look at a few examples of this incorrect addition of a leap month in the fixed Jewish calendar. In 2024 (the 8th year on the Metonic cycle), an intercalary month was added to the Jewish calendar, so March 25 (the first full moon conjunction of spring) was considered Veadar (the 13th month) 15 instead of Nisan (the first month) 15. The vernal equinox was on March 20th in 2024, so March 25 is five days past the vernal equinox for that year. The March 25 date satisfies the rule that Nisan 15 (Passover) be on or after the vernal equinox. No extra month was needed for this year, but because the Jews still follow the intercalation of a fixed 19-year Metonic cycle (which is eleven centuries old), one was added.

The same thing happens again in 2027, when an intercalary month is added even though it is not needed. This makes March 24, 2027, Veadar 15 (instead of Nisan 15). March 24 is 3-4 days past the vernal equinox date for 2027; therefore, no leap month is needed. An unneeded intercalated month is added again in 2035, 2038, and 2043, and so on.

THE JEWISH SABBATH AFTER PASSOVER

The Jews believe the first day of Passover starts on Nisan 15, not Nisan 14. Nisan 14 is merely Passover Eve or the day of preparation before Passover. Passover and the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread are now called “the Passover.” The Feast of Firstfruits is merely part of Passover (as it is within the seven days of Unleavened Bread). The Jews don’t include it as one of the Feasts of the LORD. It is merely an agricultural observance/thanksgiving of the barley crop and the beginning of the countdown to Shavuot (the observance/thanksgiving of the start of the wheat harvest).

“And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord” (Leviticus 23:15-16).

The Feast of Firstfruits is merely the day the modern Jews call the “counting of the omer.” The ‘sheaf’ mentioned here is an omer of barley. The term ‘omer’ is a biblical unit of measure (about 2 quarts) used primarily in ancient Israelite society.

There is an ongoing debate, which started centuries ago, on what day the Feast of First Fruits (the start of the counting of the omer) actually occurs. This is very significant, as the day/date of First Fruits will determine when Shavuot occurs. The Sadducees, who controlled the Temple administration during the time of Jesus and prior to 70 AD, believed the ‘sabbath’ of Leviticus 23:11 & 15 referred to the weekly sabbath after Passover. Karaite Jews and many Christian scholars also agree with the Sadducees in this regard. This author is in agreement with this interpretation.

After the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD and the Sadducees were no longer in control, historical records were updated to include the Pharisees’ counting method, which is now included in the Talmud. They believed the sabbath mentioned in Leviticus 23:11 occurred on the first day of Passover (Unleavened Bread), Nisan 15, when no work was to be done (verse 7 -“you shall do no servile work“).

The Pharisees evolved into the Rabbinic Jews of modern times. So, according to Rabbinic Jews, the day after this special ‘sabbath’ is now Nisan 16 (which can fall on any day of the week). What the Bible calls the “waving of the first fruits” (a sheaf from the barley harvest), the Jews call the “counting of the omer.” The counting begins on Nisan 16 and ends 49 days later (or on the 50th day by inclusive reckoning), which falls on Sivan 6 and 7, since the Jewish day begins at twilight. I find this to be unbiblical in more than one way. See Shavuot, Pentecost, and the Rapture :: By Randy Nettles - Rapture Ready for more information.

Yes, Nisan 15 and Nisan 21 are sabbath days of rest, as are the fall feasts of Trumpets (Tishri 1), Day of Atonement (Tishri 10), and Tabernacles (Tishri 15 & 22), but Nisan 15 is not the sabbath of verse 11. The day the counting of the omer starts is the day after the weekly sabbath, Sunday, and not Nisan 16 (unless Nisan 15 occurs on a Saturday). The Feast of Firstfruits and Shavuot are day-specific feasts and not date-specific feasts.

I believe the Pharisees and Rabbinic Jews wanted Shavuot to have a fixed date so that this feast would be celebrated on the same date every year, which, in their view, is Sivan 6. If God wanted the Feast of Firstfruits (aka “the start of the counting of the omer”) to fall on Nisan 16 and Shavuot on Sivan 6, He would have said so in Leviticus 23. These are the only two Feasts of the LORD that do not have specific dates ascribed to them in Scripture.

I believe this was a deliberate act by Rabbinic Jews to separate Jesus’ resurrection from the Feast of Firstfruits (the firstfruits of the barley harvest). “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20). In changing the starting date, it effectively separated Shavuot from Pentecost. Today, they are two separate holidays, with the Jews celebrating Shavuot on Sivan 6 and the Church celebrating Pentecost, with a few days or a month difference between them.

THE GIVING OF THE LAW/TORAH ON SHAVUOT?

It is popularly assumed that the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai occurred on Shavuot. But is this true, and can it be proven by Scripture? Of course, we know the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the disciples in Acts 2 occurred on Shavuot (the Greeks/Gentiles called it Pentecost). There are many notable parallels or typologies between the two, as well as notable differences. Many theologians believe Shavuot represents a new revelation of God’s will or a transition of dispensations from the dispensation of the Law (old covenant) in 1446 BC to the dispensation of Grace (new covenant) in 33 AD.

Although it can’t be proven by Scripture (Exodus 19-34), the Jews (and many Christian theologians) believe that the day God gave the Torah (Law of Moses) fell exactly on Shavuot (50 days from Nisan 16 to Sivan 6).

The key verse for when the children of Israel came to Mount Sinai is found in Exodus 19:1. “In the third month, after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on this day they came to the wilderness of Sinai.” There are two views (aren’t there always?) on when the Hebrews arrived at Mt. Sinai. The first view is that it is Sivan 1, which is the beginning of the third month (the new moon of the third Jewish month). The other view is that it took place on Sivan 15, because the children of Israel left Egypt on Nisan 15.

If it is the former date (Sivan 1), then God came down the mountain on the third day (Exodus 19:15-25), which would have been Sivan 3 (3/3). God gives the Ten Commandments orally in Exodus 20, and it is assumed that this occurred on the same day (or the day after) that God came down the mountain. In Exodus 24:4, Moses wrote all the words the LORD spoke (in chapters 20-23) in the “book of the covenant” and performed the ministry work of the blood covenant between God and the Hebrew people as described in verses 4-7.

Exodus 24:9 says Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up the mountain and met God (probably a theophany, or Christophany). “And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink” (Exodus 24:10-11). I imagine this was the covenant meal between the LORD and the representatives of the children of Israel.

God then told Moses to come up higher into the mountain and said, “Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them” (Exodus 24:12). Moses went up Mount Sinai and a cloud covered it for six days, “and the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.”

“And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and got him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights” (Exodus 24:17-18).

It’s not until Exodus 31:18 that God gave Moses the first Ten Commandments written on two tablets of stone. At the earliest, the date would have been Sivan 10, 1446 BC. After Moses broke the first set of stone tablets, a second set was made in Exodus 34. With the Jewish reckoning for the “counting of the omer,” I don’t see the oral or the written Ten Commandments occurring on Sivan 6 (the Jewish date for Shavuot).

However, if the children of Israel came to Mount Sinai on Sivan 15, and God came down on the third day, then that date would have been Sivan 17, much too late for a “giving of the Law” on the supposed Jewish day of Shavuot/Pentecost. The Feasts of First Fruits and Shavuot were not observed during the Exodus. They didn’t go into effect until they entered the Promised Land. “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When you come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest” (Leviticus 23:10).

From the 40 years of wandering in the desert to entering the Promised Land to the First Temple era to the Second Temple era (including Jesus’ time), the giving of God’s law to the children of Israel was never linked to Shavuot. Philo, a Jewish philosopher in the time of Jesus, and Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, both wrote about Shavuot. Neither of them connected it to the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai. During the Second Temple era, Shavuot was reshaped by various Jewish sects into the Festival of Revelation and the establishment of the Covenant between God and Israel, according to written evidence in the Book of Jubilees and the Qumran Scrolls. They named the holiday “Shevuot” (Vows) – a day of restoring the ancient commitment between Israel and God.

“Preliminarily, it must be observed that neither the parallels between the giving of the Law and the pouring out of the Spirit, nor the typological connection between the two, nor the connection by contrast, constitutes proof that the giving of the Law took place on Shavuot. On the other hand, considering that there is no biblical command in the Tanach to commemorate the giving of the Law on Shavuot, nor any Old or New Testament passage naming Shavuot as the day that the Law was given, and that neither Josephus nor Philo connected the event and the day, and most conclusively because it is chronologically impossible for the giving of the Law to have occurred on any Shavuot, one must conclude that the giving of the Law did not occur on any Shavuot (Day of Pentecost). The claim that the giving of the Law occurred on Shavuot is erroneous. It is a rabbinic development popularized by Maimonides some 2600 years later.” {1} Was the Law of Moses Given on Pentecost? A Tale of Two Occasions – biblestudyproject

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH’S DATING METHOD FOR EASTER

I don’t always agree with the Catholic Church’s method for dating Easter (Resurrection Sunday) either. Easter usually agrees with the Biblical Jewish calendar’s Feast of Firstfruits (the Sunday after Passover), but not always. How is Easter determined? Easter’s date is defined as the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon following the ecclesiastical spring equinox of March 21. The Catholic and Protestant churches use the Gregorian calendar, while the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches use the old Julian calendar.

“Although Easter is liturgically tied to the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere (the March equinox) and the Full Moon, its date is not based on the actual astronomical dates of either event. March 21 is the Church’s date of the March equinox, regardless of the time zone, while the actual date of the equinox varies between March 19 and March 22, and the date depends on the time zone.

The date of the Paschal Full Moon, used to determine the date of Easter, is based on mathematical approximations following a 19-year cycle called the Metonic cycle. Both dates may coincide with the astronomical events, but in some years they don’t. For example, in 2019, the March equinox in the Western Hemisphere occurred on Wednesday, March 20, while the first Full Moon of spring fell on Thursday, March 21, in many time zones.

If the Church followed the timing of these astronomical events, Easter would have been celebrated on March 24, the Sunday after the Full Moon on March 21. However, the Full Moon date in March specified by the Church’s lunar calendar, also called the ecclesiastical Full Moon, was March 20, 2019 – one day before the ecclesiastical date of the March equinox, March 21. For that reason, the Easter date 2019 was based on the next ecclesiastical Full Moon, on April 18. This is why Easter Sunday 2019 was on April 21.” {2} How Is Easter Determined? I believe Easter 2019 was observed one month too late.

The author of the article I mentioned earlier says, “This year (PTL) Passover falls on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Therefore, by chance, the Catholic dating of Easter comes up with April 5, which is the correct date.” I agree with his assessment for this Easter date. He also says, “However, in 2027, the Catholic Easter date is March 28, and Passover is not until April 21...100% wrong.” I disagree with him. The reason is that I also disagree with the Jewish fixed lunisolar calendar for this year. They added an extra intercalary month when they didn’t need to.

In the Biblical Jewish calendar, the first day of each month is determined by the new moon conjunction of spring (either the first or the second). Nisan 1 will occur approximately 1 day later. An intercalary month will be added if the first full moon of spring occurs before the vernal equinox (March 19-22 in the Northern Hemisphere).

In 2027, the spring new moon conjunction occurs on March 8, 2027, so the next day, March 9, 2027, will be Nisan 1. This makes March 23, 2017, Nisan 15 (Passover to the Jews). March 23, 2027, is several days past the vernal equinox, so there is no need to add an extra intercalary month to the Jewish lunisolar calendar. The Paschal full moon occurs five days later on Sunday, March 28, 2027. This should be the correct date for Easter next year. In this case (and many others), it is the Jews who have gotten the wrong dates for the Feasts of the LORD.

As a matter of fact, whereas the Church’s date for Easter is only incorrect (due to adding a month when not needed) once in the 19-year Metonic cycle from 2016 to 2035, the Jewish fixed lunisolar calendar adds an unnecessary month five times in that same 19-year cycle. This causes all seven Feasts of the Lord to occur one month later than they should.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe the Roman Catholic Church has many false doctrines that are contrary to the Bible. See Errors of the Roman Catholic Church, Part 1, which lists 33 apostate doctrines. I just don’t think dating Easter and Pentecost is necessarily one of them. Here is another one: Roman Catholicism - The One True Church? :: by Stephen Meehan - Rapture Ready.

Shavuot 2026 begins at sundown on Thursday, May 21, 2026, and concludes at twilight on Saturday, May 23, 2026. The Ten Commandments are read on May 22, 2026. Pentecost is on Sunday, May 24, 2026. As I wrote about in Reckoning Daniel’s 70th Week From the Gregorian Calendar, I consider the Jewish fixed lunisolar calendar inaccurate for the upcoming years 2027, 2035, 2038, and 2043, in which an intercalary month is added when it is not needed. From this past article, it appears Easter 2030 could be a very significant day, especially for the Jewish people.

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Randy Nettles

rgeanie55@gmail.com

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