A new Calendar for the Feasts
Yahweh gave Moses a new Calendar for His feasts and the first month is in Spring (March / April) just before the Passover in Egypt which starts on the 14th day of the 1st month.
You may notice that God did not name His months or days. Months are numbered, Days of the month are numbered and days of the week are numbered. The first day of the week has been on a Sunday since the time of Moses. The seventh day is Saturday and is know as the Sabbath unto Yahweh. The Jews have been keeping the Sabbath ever since Moses and Jesus and Paul continued in that custom. Luk 4:16 Act 17:1-2
After Passover the next feast is Unleavened Bread and it starts on the 15th day the 1st month. This is when the full moon is and so they had plenty of light as they left Egypt – Day and Night
The next is the Feast of First Fruits and this on the ‘Day after the Sabbath’ ie Sunday. The Sunday during the week of Unleavened Bread. This Feast is when Jesus was resurrected from the dead; it is always a Sunday. Unlike Passover, which is the 14th Day of the first Month. The Day of Passover changes each year but First Fruits is always
Each month starts when a New Moon is first sighted and is either 29 or 30 days after the previous new moon. (NB Twelve lunar months are shorter than a 365 day, solar year so every few years a leap (13th) month is added to keep the calendar in sync with the sun.)
From the beginning, God provided the Sun and the Moon for his calendar.
The Week and Sabbath
The Hebrew week is seven days long, and from the time of Moses this has been followed religiously. The 7th day is called the Sabbath. It is a day when customary work is to cease (where practical) and the 24 hr day is given over to doing God’s work.
The Day
Each Biblical Day starts at sunset (around 6pm), the beginning of night time. Generally there are 12 hours of night followed by 12 hours of day time starting around 6am.
In scripture the word ‘day’ can refer to 12 daylight hours of a working day or a full 24 hour period. The context determines the meaning.
In time of Jesus, the Passover lambs:- were killed at the Temple
- in the afternoon
- on the 14th day
- of the 1st month (Abib/Nisan)
- when the barley harvest would be ready for reaping
The 7 Annual Feasts of Yahweh
| Feast | The 3 Pilgrimage Feasts | Month & Day |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Passover | Month 1: Day 14 | |
| 2. Unleavened Bread | ✓ | Month 1: Day 15 – 21 (7 days) |
| 3. First Fruits (Barley Harvest) | (✓) | Month 1: The day after the sabbath. (This is during the 7 days of Unleavened Bread and is always a Sunday, the 1st day of the week.) |
| 4. Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) | ✓ | Month 3: 50 days after First Fruits (This is also always on a Sunday the day after 7 weeks of 7 days) |
| 5. Memorial of Trumpets | Month 7: Day 1 | |
| 6. Day of Atonement | Month 7: Day 10 | |
| 7. Feast of Tabernacles & Feast of Ingathering | ✓ | Month 7: Day 15 – 21 (7 days) plus an 8th day on the 22nd |
The Three Pilgrimage Feasts
Yahweh chose three pilgrimage feasts that every man had to attend in Jerusalem, every year. The one thing they all have in common is harvest.
