Why Are the Roman Catholic Churches Pushing
for a New Fixed Easter Calendar?
Once again, the Roman Catholic based churches are trying to modify their dates for the Biblical Holy Days of Passover, Unleavened Bread and Pentecost.
Tom Dick, in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald on March 27, 2016 states: “the dates for our second-longest holiday break are imposed not by law nor by rational agreement, but....declared at an ecumenical council in 325, and the calculation now has little to do with modern life in which Easter is, for most, a civil public holiday with little-to-no religious significance. Each year, Easter could be any Sunday in a month and a half.
The gross inconvenience of having public holidays wandering about the calendar depending on the stars and the priests is with us still because the churches can't get it together to choose a fixed day, as they did for Christmas centuries ago.”
Dick goes on to claim: “Easter should be fixed as the second Sunday in April.”
Though it is easy to see why a non-Christian would still want to have the day off work and also make it more convenient for himself, what is surprising is that there appears to be Christian support for this idea.
Dick expands on this theme: “The Ottawa Citizen reported in 1943: "Steps have already been taken by churchmen towards the establishment of Easter on a definite Sunday in April." At the Second Vatican Council, there was declared no objection to fixing a date, half a century after a Pope said the same thing. In 1975, Pope Paul VI picked the third Sunday in April.
A set day for Easter is even enshrined in British law; the Easter Act 1928 declares it to be the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April...moving Easter to a fixed day has the in-principle support of the leaders of the Anglican, Catholic and Coptic churches.”
The last statement is supported by an earlier article in the Sydney Morning Herald which ran on Jan 17, 2016 by Nick Miller, which claims: “The heads of the Christian churches are close to sealing a deal to fix the date of Easter, the Archbishop of Canterbury has revealed, ending more than a thousand years of confusion and debate.... Welby said the agreed date would be either the second or third Sunday of April....He expected to make the change within 5-10 years...Archbishop Welby, Pope Francis, the Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (head of the Greek Orthodox church) are all working towards a common date, he said.”
The first time the pseudo-Christian churches attempted to corrupt God’s Biblical Calendar, too many practising Christians still understood how God’s Calendar really worked for them to completely achieve their objective of creating fabricated ‘holy days’ which never coincide with the real dates that God blesses and uses.
This time, it looks like they will almost completely break their connection with Passover and Unleavened Bread, and greatly weaken the connection between the Biblical Pentecost and their counterfeit Pentecost.
They are using bogus arguments from ‘secular’ organisations to justify these changes. The general argument is that their current practice is too complicated and unpredictable to be viable in a largely secular world.
Their current calendar gives at least some hint that the real dates are based on a combination of visibility of the New Moon and the ripening of barley in Israel required for use in the Wave Offering ceremony during the Week of Unleavened Bread. The Biblical calendar is of course the one that God used to determine the dates on which Jesus Christ (aka Joshua the Messiah) was sacrificed (on the Passover) and when He rose from the dead (at the start of the Wave Offering). The date of the Wave Offering also begins the count to the date for Pentecost (aka First-Fruits). You can learn about Jehovah’s real Calendar in our article God’s Calendar and the Sign of Jonah at www.chcpublications.net/GodCal-SgnJnh.pdf.
The proposed fixed calendar completely divorces itself from the lunar cycle and will be dependant on the annual Roman solar calendar overlaid on a false Friday crucifixion, Sunday resurrection scenario. The Sign of Jonah article referenced above proves that Jesus truly and precisely spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth just as He promised He would (Mat 12:39-40).
One of the surprising elements of the new calendar agenda is the near total lack of opposition to the destruction of a calendar system that has been used by these organisations for up to eighteen hundred years. But I suppose one fake calendar does not deserve much more support than another fake calendar. The truly astounding thing is this: Why would any Bible-believing servant of God accept, even for a moment, any ‘holy days’ apart from the ones that Jehovah God blessed and gave to us in Leviticus 23? Jehovah even verified them for us by having His only Begotten Son die and rise from the dead on His Holy Days (John 18:39, 1 Cor 5:7) and sent us His Holy Spirit on Pentecost, one of His Holy Days (Acts 2). Our God’s Holy Days for Christians article provides many scriptures which demonstrate that God expects true Christians to observe His Holy Days and reject recycled pagan religious days (www.chcpublications.net/Christian_Holy_Days.pdf).
The British proposal that the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April will be “Easter Sunday” is the one used in these comparisons.
Tables 1 and 2 below show how infrequently the current Easter calendar corresponds to God’s actual Holy Days and how much worse the proposed calendar will be.
Though the changes will result in their fake Easter and Pentecost changing dates on four years out of every five, the leaders of these pagan-christian churches are willing to accept this to further divorce their pseudo holy days from Jehovah God’s real Holy Days. Under the present system, Good Friday corresponds with Passover on 12 percent of the years. In the new system, their followers will almost never observe the Passover day which truly commemorates Jesus’ death, even unintentionally. Similarly, the match between the fake RC Pentecost and Jehovah’s real Pentecost will fall from 84 percent to 20 percent.
Will you try to build your faith on their worthless counterfeits, or will you read your Bible and then believe and obey Jehovah God? (Mat 7:13-27, Mat 15:3-9)
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Copyright Central Highlands Christian Publications, 2016
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Table 1: Comparison of Biblical Passover, Present day Roman Catholic “Good Friday” and the Proposed Fixed “Good Friday” Dates.
Year |
Biblical Israel Passover |
Current RC Good Friday |
Fixed RC Calendar Good Friday |
RC Current/ Fixed GF Match |
Passover/Current RC GF Match |
Passover/Fixed RC GF Match |
2011 |
18/4 |
22/4 |
8/4 |
|
|
|
2012 |
6/4 |
6/4 |
13/4 |
|
1 |
|
2013 |
26/3 (27/3) |
29/3 |
12/4 |
|
|
|
2014 |
14/4 |
18/4 |
11/4 |
|
|
|
2015 |
4/4 |
3/4 |
10/4 |
|
|
|
2016 |
24/3, 22/4 |
25/3 |
8/4 |
|
|
|
2017 |
12/4 |
14/4 |
7/4 |
|
|
|
2018 |
1/4, 1/5 |
30/3 |
13/4 |
|
|
|
2019 |
20/4 |
19/4 |
12/4 |
|
|
|
2020 |
8/4 |
10/4 |
10/4 |
1 |
|
|
2021 |
28/3, 27/4 |
2/4 |
9/4 |
|
|
|
2022 |
16/4 |
15/4 |
8/4 |
|
|
|
2023 |
5/4 |
7/4 |
7/4 |
1 |
|
|
2024 |
25/3, 23/4 |
29/3 |
12/4 |
|
|
|
2025 |
13/4 |
18/4 |
11/4 |
|
|
|
2026 |
3/4 |
3/4 |
10/4 |
|
1 |
|
2027 |
22/4 |
26/3 |
9/4 |
|
|
|
2028 |
10/4 |
14/4 |
7/4 |
|
|
|
2029 |
30/3, 29/4 |
30/3 |
13/4 |
|
1 (0) |
|
2030 |
18/4 |
19/4 |
12/4 |
|
|
|
2031 |
7/4 |
11/4 |
11/4 |
1 |
|
|
2032 |
26/3, 25/4 |
26/3 |
9/4 |
|
1 (0) |
|
2033 |
14/4 |
16/4 |
8/4 |
|
|
|
2034 |
4/4 |
7/4 |
7/4 |
1 |
|
|
2035 |
25/3, 23/4 |
23/3 |
13/4 |
|
|
|
2036 |
12/4 |
11/4 |
11/4 |
1 |
|
|
2037 |
1/4, 1/5 |
3/4 |
10/4 |
|
|
|
2038 |
20/4 (19/4) |
23/4 |
9/4 |
|
|
|
2039 |
9/4 (8/4) |
8/4 |
8/4 |
1 |
0 (1) |
0 (1) |
2040 |
28/3, 26/4 |
30/3 |
13/4 |
|
|
|
2041 |
16/4 |
19/4 |
12/4 |
|
|
|
2042 |
5/4 |
4/4 |
11/4 |
|
|
|
2043 |
26/3, 24/4 |
27,3 |
10/4 |
|
|
|
2044 |
13/4 |
15/4 |
8/4 |
|
|
|
2045 |
2/4 (3/4), 2/5 |
7/4 |
7/4 |
1 |
|
|
2046 |
21/4 |
23/3 |
13/4 |
|
|
|
2047 |
10/4 |
12/4 |
12/4 |
1 |
|
|
2048 |
29/3, 28/4 |
3/4 |
10/4 |
|
|
|
2049 |
17/4 |
16/4 |
9/4 |
|
|
|
2050 |
7/4 |
8/4 |
8/4 |
1 |
|
|
2051 |
27/3, 26/4 |
31/3 |
7/4 |
|
|
|
2052 |
14/4 |
19/4 |
12/4 |
|
|
|
2053 |
4/4 |
4/4 |
11/4 |
|
1 |
|
2054 |
24/3, 23/4 |
27/3 |
10/4 |
|
|
|
2055 |
12/4 |
16/4 |
9/4 |
|
|
|
2056 |
31/3, 30/4 |
31/3 |
7/4 |
|
1 (0) |
|
2057 |
19/4 |
20/4 |
13/4 |
|
|
|
2058 |
8/4 |
12/4 |
12/4 |
1 |
|
|
2059 |
29/3, 27/4 |
28/3 |
11/4 |
|
|
|
2060 |
16/4 |
16/4 |
9/4 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Matches(in 50 yr) |
|
|
10 |
6 (8) |
0 (1) |
|
Percent Match |
|
|
20 |
12 (16) |
0 (2) |
|
Note that the “new” fixed RC calendar only matches with the current RC calendar 20 percent of the time. Restated, 80 percent of the years will have “Good Friday” on a different date. Why is such a massive change acceptable to the ‘church’ authorities? Because it reduces the match between the Roman Catholic based pseudo-holy day (Easter) and Jehovah God’s Holy Day (Passover) from about 12 percent to 0 percent. 1 At last they can prevent anyone who follows their teachings from accidentally observing the true date of Christ’s crucifixion.
Note that these pseudo holy days have been devised by the Roman Catholic ‘church’ as replacements for Jehovah’s Holy Days, and any church that observes them is acknowledging that they are a daughter of the Great Harlot of Revelation 17:5. If you are in such a ‘church’, flee before they totally corrupt your faith!
Table 2, below, does a similar comparison for the dates of Pentecost.
Table 2: Comparison of Biblical Pentecost, Present day Roman Catholic “Pentecost” and the Proposed Fixed “Pentecost” Dates.
Year |
Biblical FirstFruits (Pentecost) |
Current RC Pente- cost |
'Fixed' Calendar RC Pente- cost |
RC Current/ Fixed Pente- cost Match |
Biblical/ Current RC Pente- cost Match |
Biblical/ Fixed RC Pente- cost Match |
2011 |
12/6 |
12/6 |
29/5 |
|
1 |
|
2012 |
27/5 |
27/5 |
3/6 |
|
1 |
|
2013 |
19/5 |
19/5 |
2/6 |
|
1 |
|
2014 |
8/6 |
8/6 |
1/6 |
|
1 |
|
2015 |
24/5 |
24/5 |
31/5 |
|
1 |
|
2016 |
15/5 |
15/5 |
29/5 |
|
1 |
|
2017 |
4/6 |
4/6 |
28/5 |
|
1 |
|
2018 |
[27/5], 24/6 |
20/5 |
3/6 |
|
|
|
2019 |
9/6 |
9/6 |
2/6 |
|
1 |
|
2020 |
31/5 |
31/5 |
31/5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2021 |
23/5, [20/6] |
23/5 |
30/5 |
|
1 (0) |
|
2022 |
5/6 |
5/6 |
29/5 |
|
1 |
|
2023 |
28/5 |
28/5 |
28/5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2024 |
19/5, [16/6] |
19/5 |
2/6 |
|
1 (0) |
|
2025 |
8/6 |
8/6 |
1/6 |
|
1 |
|
2026 |
24/5 |
24/5 |
31/5 |
|
1 |
|
2027 |
13/6 |
16/5 |
30/5 |
|
|
|
2028 |
4/6 |
4/6 |
28/5 |
|
1 |
|
2029 |
20/5, [24/6] |
20/5 |
3/6 |
|
1 (0) |
|
2030 |
9/6 |
9/6 |
2/6 |
|
1 |
|
2031 |
1/6 |
1/6 |
1/6 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2032 |
[16/5], 20/6 |
16/5 |
30/5 |
|
0 (1) |
|
2033 |
5/6 |
5/6 |
29/5 |
|
1 |
|
2034 |
28/5 |
28/5 |
28/5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2035 |
[20/5], 17/6 |
13/5 |
3/6 |
|
|
|
2036 |
1/6 |
1/6 |
1/6 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2037 |
24/5, [21/6] |
24/5 |
31/5 |
|
1 (0) |
|
2038 |
42740 |
13/6 |
30/5 |
|
1 |
|
2039 |
29/5 |
29/5 |
29/5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2040 |
20/5, [17/6] |
20/5 |
3/6 |
|
1 (0) |
|
2041 |
9/6 |
9/6 |
2/6 |
|
1 |
|
2042 |
25/5 |
25/5 |
1/6 |
|
1 |
|
2043 |
[17/5], 14/6 |
17/5 |
31/5 |
|
0 (1) |
|
2044 |
5/6 |
5/6 |
29/5 |
|
1 |
|
2045 |
28/5, [25/6] |
28/5 |
28/5 |
1 |
1 (0) |
1 (0) |
2046 |
10/6 |
13/5 |
3/6 |
|
|
|
2047 |
2/6 |
2/6 |
2/6 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2048 |
24/5, [21/6] |
24/5 |
31/5 |
|
1 (0) |
|
2049 |
6/6 |
6/6 |
30/5 |
|
1 |
|
2050 |
29/5 |
29/5 |
29/5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2051 |
[21/5], 18/6 |
21/5 |
28/5 |
|
0 (1) |
|
2052 |
9/6 |
9/6 |
2/6 |
|
1 |
|
2053 |
25/5 |
25/5 |
1/6 |
|
1 |
|
2054 |
[17/5], 14/6 |
17/5 |
31/5 |
|
0 (1) |
|
2055 |
6/6 |
6/6 |
30/5 |
|
1 |
|
2056 |
21/5, [25/6] |
21/5 |
28/5 |
|
1 (0) |
|
2057 |
10/6 |
10/6 |
3/6 |
|
1 |
|
2058 |
2/6 |
2/6 |
2/6 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2059 |
18/5, [22/6] |
18/5 |
31/5 |
|
1 (0) |
|
2060 |
6/6 |
6/6 |
30/5 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Matches (in 50 yr) |
|
|
10 |
42 (48) |
10 (9) |
|
Percent Match |
|
|
20 |
84 (96) |
20 (18) |
|
Note that once again the “new” fixed RC calendar for Pentecost only matches with the current RC calendar 20 percent of the time. Restated, 80 percent of the years will have “Pentecost” on a different date. We ask again, why is such a massive change acceptable to the ‘church’ authorities? Because it reduces the match between the Roman Catholic based pseudo-holy day (their Pentecost) and Jehovah God’s Holy Day (the true Pentecost) from about 84 percent to 20 percent. 2 It is still not a perfect separation, but they can use it to prevent anyone who follows their teachings from accidentally observing the true Pentecost most years.