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If the middle of Daniel's 70th Week does not end at Jesus' Crucifixion
at Passover on Friday Nisan 14 in 31 AD, then the Decree to rebuild
Jerusalem was not given to Ezra by Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457
BC. Neither do the 2,300 evenings and mornings end in 1844 AD. The
“Day-Year Principle” is shown to be false. There is no Investigative
Judgment. Babylon is not yet fallen, and the 3 Angels' messages
remain to be preached by the 3 Angels.
Does this not mean that the Seventh-day Adventist Church would
have been founded on an insupportable, reprehensible lie?
Would not this church then have been preaching a lie since 1844?
A lie that no angel, nor Jesus, nor the Holy Spirit ever spoke.
What was the date of the Crucifixion?
According to SDA doctrine, it was at Passover on Friday Nisan 14, 31 AD.
Here are extracts from two SDA Studies which clearly explain this.
This occurred in the “midst of the week.” That would be 3 ½ years (half of seven).
Through counting Passovers in John, we can show that it was 3 ½ years later, in the
spring of A.D. 31, that Jesus was crucified.
SDA theology states, apparently without having resorted to the most elementary
expedient of actually checking a calendar, that Jesus was crucified at Passover on
Friday, Nisan 14, 31 AD.
This doctrine is the fulcrum on which rests the validity of their interpretation of the 70
Weeks prophecy, which to them, is fulfilled in the Messiah being “cut off at the middle of
the 70th Week”. Placing all their faith in the calculations of the pagan Ptolemy, SDAs
assure themselves that, since 486 ½ years (69 ½ Weeks) from the year 457 BC (when
Artaxerxes Longimanus, they say, gave his decree to rebuild Jerusalem), brings them to
the year 31 AD, they have thus conclusively proven that their method of Bible eisegesis and
interpretation, is watertight, unimpeachable, infallible, inviolable. They are convinced
beyond argument that this is correct, and do not wish to be confused with facts.
Unfortunately for this doctrine, it is demonstrably false. I have never encountered any
SDA proof of this date for the Cross, possibly because, being precipitately convinced of its
accuracy, everybody deemed it unnecessary to check this crucial detail.
2
However, not having a bias to support either way, my mind open to whatever result
emerged, I have checked, and have discovered that there is no possible way that
Jesus died in 31 AD. Leaving aside the hopeless tangle of arguments pro and con every
possible date by scholars of every persuasion, I simply consulted the calendar, to find
out on which days the Passover fell, in all the years around the general time of the Cross.
Some calendars give Julian dates, and others give Gregorian. There are sites with Julian-
Gregorian date converters. It can be confusing, as although the days of the week are the
same in both calendars, the calendar dates are different. For the years around 30 AD,
the Julian dates are 2 days higher than the Gregorian dates.
For instance,
I have found such a calendar, which does make the requisite adjustment between Julian
and Gregorian calendars. It gives the dates before this adjustment, in the Julian calendar,
This can be downloaded for use on one's computer from www.kaluach.org .
I have found two other sites with calendar converters which can be used online. These are
www.midrash.org/calendar , and www.hebrewcalendar.net . These two give the
Gregorian dates back to the time of Christ.
The Hebrews, since the time of the Exodus, counted their year from the spring, or vernal,
equinox. The ancient priests did not rely on lunar calculations and computations for their
calendars then, as we do now. They were required to actually observe the crescent of the
New Moon closest to the spring equinox, in Jerusalem, and then pronounce the next day
(beginning with the sunset following this observance of the New Moon), to be 1 Nisan.
Hillel, a Jewish rabbi in the 4th century AD, changed the procedure to calendrical
computations. There could be problems with the Observation methid, if for instance, there
were clouds obscuring the moon.
3
How did the Jews calculate the Passover date?
The New Moon closest to the date of the spring equinox (which could be either before
or after the equinox), was used to proclaim the first day of the year ~ 1 Nisan or Aviv.
The next Full Moon after that New Moon was then Nisan 15, the Feast of Unleavened
Bread or as it is commonly called, Pesach, the Passover. The Feast of Passover is 14 Nisan,
when the lambs were slain.
This gives two weeks' advance warning so that preparations could be made to celebrate
this festival. For instance, the lambs had to be selected and ritually checked for blemishes
and imperfections, on the 10th day of Nisan. Then, all the leaven had to be removed from
the houses and destroyed.
I found that although www.kaluach.org gives a Julian date for the Passovers around the
Cross, being 2 numerical days more than the Gregorian date given in both the
calendars on www.midrash.org/calendar and www.hebrewcalendar.net , yet, all three of
these calendars agree on the actual day of the week on which the Passover
fell in that year.
The USNO data agrees with www.kaluach.org as to the Julian date, and with all 3
calendars, as to the day of the week on which Passover, 14 Nisan, fell.
Not being an astronomer myself, I decline to argue with the force of such evidence, and
accept the accuracy of these dates. Accordingly, I searched for the days of the week on
which Passover fell, during 21 years from 22 AD until 42 AD, which surely covers the year
of the Cross.
Nobody can argue that Jesus our Passover Lamb of God, died at Passover (although,
astonishingly, there are indeed some who try to do so.) The only crucial point of difference
between the various camps, is the year in which that Passover of the Cross occurred.
Therefore, I can only conclude that they arrived at this fictitious date by using their
fraudulent Day-Year Principle to extrapolate 69 “weeks” into 483 years from Ptolemy's
erroneous date of 457 BC for the non-existent Decree to Rebuild Jerusalem by Artaxerxes
Longimanus who is never mentioned in Scripture, to the Biblically-undateable baptism of
Jesus (who was born Messiah the Prince, the Christ, the King of the Jews); His
baptism being erroneously assumed as His “anointing” and therefore falsely claimed to be
the Coming of the Messiah; wrongly stated to be exactly 3 ½ years before the crucifixion at
the end of Jesus' ministry, the length of which is contrarily shown in the Bible to be less
than 3 years.
No wonder there is so much confusion in SDA doctrine. What a tangled web they have had
to construct, in the attempt to force the Bible to fit into their preconceived notions. How
contrived, convoluted and illogical their rationalisation needs be, to keep their flock from
discovering this simple truth for themselves ~
4
The CROSS was NOT in 31 AD!!
As a demonstration of how the Hebrew calendar works, I have here included
an example, the Hebrew year 5771, a Jewish Leap Year. It spans years AD
2010 – 2011.
The months here are numbered according to the Jewish Civil Calendar, which begins in
Tisri. They start this year from the Creation of the World on 25 Elul, with God's 7th-day
Sabbath then being 1 Tisri, Adam's first day, from which they count man's New Year.
Beginning with Nisan as the first month in the religious calendar, every odd month has 30
days, and every even month has 29 days. This is because it is a lunar calendar, with the
first days of the month falling on the day beginning at the sunset after the New Moon is
first sighted. As the lunar cycle is 29 ½ days, it is necessary to alter the lengths of the
months in this way. However, 29 ½ days is still not exactly accurate; therefore, in the two
months Cheshvan and Kislev, the length of either one or both months may be either 29 or
30 days, and these months are adjusted in length according to a cycle of years.
This gives a year of varying numbers of days. 12 months of 30 days = 360 days, which
leaves a shortfall of 5 ¼ days compared to the Gregorian calendar; but with the
adjustments, the Hebrew year will thus be 353, 354, or 355 days. This leaves an even
greater shortfall in the astronomical year. After several years, the months would fall in the
wrong seasons. To adjust for this, at times according to a luni-solar cycle, a 13th month of
30 days is intercalated. This extra 30-day Adar comes between the 11th month and the 13th
month. The 2nd Adar, Adar II, still has 29 days, and in it are celebrated the feasts which
would normally have been kept in the 12th month. A Leap Year has 383, 384, or 385 days.
From the first Passover when the Hebrews left Egypt, the LORD instructed them to keep
Nisan as the first month, with Tisri then being the seventh month. However the Jewish
Civil Year begins in autumn, on Tisri 1, with the Day of Trumpets now being called Rosh
Hashanah, the New Year. The month numbers according to the Religious Year are
highlighted {thus}.
All the Appointed Feasts of the LORD are included, along with the extra Feasts instigated
by the Jews at later times, which are Purim (from the time of Esther) and Hanukkah
(the Feast of Dedication or Lights, from the days of the Maccabees). Jesus celebrated this
Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, even though it was not an Appointed Feast of the LORD
(John 10:22,23).
Passover must always be celebrated on the first Full Moon after the New Moon closest
to the Vernal Equinox. This date is now calculated in advance; however, from ancient
times, Passover was counted only after the physical sighting of the New Moon in
Jerusalem closest to the Vernal Equinox.
The Jewish calendar has now been altered slightly, since the Temple was destroyed. The
rabbis have instituted “Postponement Rules” which prevent certain feasts from falling on
particular days of the week, and they count their year beginning in Tisri rather than in
Nisan. However, by using computerised astronomical data, and the rules given to Moses
by God for beginning the year on 1 Nisan, we can be confident of finding the true day
of the week on which Passover fell in the year of the Cross.
The Fasts added by the Jews during the Captivity are also included.
5
Zec 8:19 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the 4th month and the fast of the 5th
and the fast of the 7th and the fast of the 10th shall be to the house of Judah seasons of
joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.”
These are the Fast of Tammuz (4th month), the Fast of Gedaliah (7th month), the Fast of
Tevet (10th month); and the fast of Tisha B'Av (5th month) which is the anniversary not
only of the Destruction of Solomon's Temple, but also of the Destruction of the Second
emple in 70 AD.
Next follows authoritative astronomical data to ascertain the Julian dates, and days of the
week, of Passover in the years surrounding the Cross. (Gregorian dates would be 2 days
less in each case, but the days are the same.)
6
U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical DATA
for JERUSALEM
VERNAL EQUINOX
5 22 4 pm Wednesday 27 23 4 am Sunday
4 22 10 pm Thursday 28 22 10 am Monday
3 23 4 am Saturday 29 22 4 pm Tuesday
2 23 10 am Sunday 30 22 10pm Wednesday
1 22 3 pm Monday 31 23 3 am Friday
CE 32 22 9 am Saturday
1 22 9 pm Tuesday 33 22 3 pm Sunday
Full Moon falls on 15 Nisan, with the Passover meal being on the previous
day, “between the two evenings”, 14 Nisan.
It is from the New Moon which is closest to the vernal equinox, that the year
is counted.
Passover then begins on the following 14th day; unless 14 Nisan is a weekly
Sabbath, which is a HIGH DAY; then the lambs were killed on Nisan 13.
The next Full Moon, Nisan 15, begins the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread.
7
When were the Passover Lambs killed?
Exo 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the
sheep or from the goats,
Exo 12:6 and you shall keep it until the 14th day of this month, when the whole assembly
of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
At the very first Passover in Egypt, the whole house of Israel was required to kill their own
lamb after sunset of the beginning of Nisan 14, in order to put the blood on their doorposts
as protection from the Destroying Angel who killed all the firstborn in Egypt that night.
Since they came into the Land and built their Temple, this sacrifice of the lambs for all of
Israel was performed by the priests in Jerusalem. Such a massive task could not be
performed in a single evening.
It is often claimed, by comparing the above verses, that John's Gospel disagrees with the
Synoptic Gospels as to the date of the Passover. This theory leads to much confusion and
speculation, which is unnecessary if only the Bible is consulted.
When we read the Hebrew of Exodus 12:6, we find that it actually allows for the lambs to
be killed within a 24-hour period, “between the two evenings”, as shown by the
Interlinear Scripture Analyzer tool, below. (Hebrew is read from right to left).
EXODUS 12:6
Therefore, the Passover lambs could be sacrificed at any time within the 24 hours, as long
as they were eaten on the very same night after they were killed. Thus, Jesus' disciples
prepared the lamb after sunset on Thursday, and they ate Passover on Thursday night; the
Pharisees were preparing to eat the Passover after the Cross, on the Friday night, because
their lambs had been killed during the day time on Friday. This was still the same
Jewish day on which both their lambs were killed. There is neither conflict nor
contradiction here, as so many suppose.
The USNO data used to compile this Chart, confirms the days and dates on the calendar
converters www.kaluach.org, www.midrash.org, and www.hebrewcalendar.net .
9
The NEW MOON on Saturday afternoon, 2 April 29 AD, gives dates of
● 1 NISAN Sat night /Sunday = April 2 (Sat eve) & 3 (Sunday day)
● 15 NISAN Sat night / Sunday = April 16 (Sat eve) & 17 (Sunday day)
● 14 NISAN Fri night / Sabbath = April 15 (Fri eve) & 16 (Sat, day)
● Thus Passover Nisan 14 arrived on a weekly Sabbath,
● which makes this Passover a HIGH DAY, Shabbat Hagadol;
● Therefore lambs had to be killed on 13 Nisan, Eve of Passover eve,
● beginning at THURSDAY EVENING, April 14 (Julian),
● continuing until the following sunset, FRIDAY April 15, = NISAN 13;
● “BETWEEN the TWO EVENINGS”.
Sat Sun Sun Mon Mon Tue Tue Wed Wed Thu Thu Fri Fri Sat
Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day
1st Day 2nd Day 3rd Day 4th Day 5th Day 6th Day SABBATH
19Mar 20 March 21 March 22 March 23 March 24 March 25 March 26Mar
4 pm
Equinox
16 Adar 17 Adar 18 Adar 19 Adar 20 Adar 21 Adar 22 Adar
26Mar 27 March 28 March 29 March 30 March 31 March 1 April 2 Apr
23 Adar 24 Adar 25 Adar 26 Adar 27 Adar 28 Adar 29 Adar
2 Apr 3 April 4 April 5 April 6 April 7 April 8 April 9 Apr
5pm
New
Moon
1 Nisan 2 Nisan 3 Nisan 4 Nisan 5 Nisan 6 Nisan 7 Nisan
New Moon
9 Apr 10 April 11 April 12 April 13 April 14 April 15 April 16Apr
8 Nisan 9 Nisan 10 Nisan 11 Nisan 12 Nisan 13 Nisan 14 Nisan
Erev erev- Shabbat
Pesach Hagadol,
Shabbat. HIGH DAY
The Cross Passover
16Apr 17 April 18 April 19 April 20 April 21 April 22 April 23Apr
15 Nisan 16 Nisan 17 Nisan 18 Nisan 19 Nisan 20 Nisan 21 Nisan
Feast of
Firstfruits.
Resurrection
FULL MOON
10
SDA VERSION ~ The CROSS at PASSOVER in 31 AD
Sat Sun Sun Mon Mon Tue Tue Wed Wed Thu Thu Fri Fri Sat
Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day Eve Day
1st Day 2nd Day 3rd Day 4th Day 5th Day 6th Day SABBATH
10 Mar 11 March 12 March 13 March 14 March 15 March 16 March 17Mar
11 pm
New Moon
16 Adar 29 Adar 1 Nisan 2 Nisan 3 Nisan 4 Nisan 5 Nisan
11 pm
New Moon
17 Mar 18 March 19 March 20 March 21 March 22 March 23 March 24Mar
3 am
Equinox
6 Nisan 7 Nisan 8 Nisan 9 Nisan 10 Nisan 11 Nisan 12 Nisan
24Mar 25 March 26 March 27 March 28 March 29 March 30 March 31Mar
13 Nisan 14 Nisan 15 Nisan 16 Nisan 17 Nisan 18 Nisan 19 Nisan
Passover. < Night 1 in <Night 2 in <Night 3 in <Night 4 in <Night 5 in
The Cross Tomb Tomb Tomb Tomb Tomb
31Mar 1 April 2 April 3 April 4 April 5 April 6 April 7 Apr
20 Nisan 21 Nisan 22 Nisan 23 Nisan 24 Nisan 25 Nisan 26 Nisan
<Night 6 in
Tomb.
Feast of
Firstfruits
Resurrection
SDA doctrine, claiming the Cross was at Passover in 31 AD, would have Jesus
in the tomb not just for 3 days and nights, or parts thereof;
but from Monday afternoon till Sunday morning, for 7 partial and full days,
and 6 nights. Nor is there a HIGH DAY Sabbath in this week. Obviously this
CANNOT be correct.
This is an infrequent occurrence, when Nisan 14, the day of slaughtering the Passover
lambs, falls on a weekly Sabbath. Of course, this massive task could not be performed on a
Sabbath, but the Passover must still be eaten at the correct time, so the lambs were then
killed on the previous day, Friday, Nisan 13. (Josephus records that in his days, over
250,000 lambs had to be killed by the priests during that 24-hour day, for the influx of
worshippers to Jerusalem at Passover.)
At any other time, when Nisan 14 falls on any weekday, there is no such problem. Nisan 15
is then still kept as an Appointed Feast Day, and therefore a Day of Holy Convocation, or
ceremonial sabbath, whether or not it happens to fall on the weekly Sabbath. The weekly
Sabbath is already a sabbath; that another sabbath falls on a weekly Sabbath, does not
cause any further difficulty. The usual Sabbath rules still apply. It is patently impossible to
rest more on a Sabbath, should that Sabbath happen to be the conjunction of two
Sabbaths! There is no change required when two sabbaths fall on the same day.
The situation only changes when the duties which must be performed on an
Appointed Feast Day, are forbidden by that day falling on a weekly Sabbath. Then, other
arrangements need to be made. This is the only case in which there is a High Day during
Passover.
Therefore, those who state that this High Day after the Cross was 15 Nisan, the ceremonial
sabbath of Passover which happened to fall on the weekly Sabbath, are wrong. These are
the ones who claim that Jesus died on Friday, Passover 14 Nisan.
26 AD
33 AD
36 AD
26 AD is too early, and 36 AD is getting quite late. The obvious choice for a Friday Cross
from this list is, of course, 33 AD, and many eminent scholars (but notably, not SDAs) do
choose this year. In doing so, they lock themselves into rationalising many other errors.
We can see this theory requires that they must increase the length of Jesus' ministry, since
we know Jesus' approximate year of birth, and His age at the start of His ministry. They
do this by altering the date of Herod's death; by bringing the date of the Nativity closer to 1
AD; and also by interpreting the Un-named Feast of John 5:1 as another, 4th Passover,
though there is no Biblical authority to do so. John mentions only 3 Passovers, and to
insist on a 4th, is to exceed Sripture.
Jesus' ministry is associated with almost every one of the Feasts of the Jews in Jerusalem:
The winter Feasts of Purim (in Adar) and Dedication (in Kislev) were added by the Jews,
yet Jesus went to the Temple at Jerusalem for the Feast of Dedication. This leaves only
one Feast unmentioned during Jesus' ministry, which is Purim. I therefore suggest that
the “Un-named Feast” of John 5:1 is more likely to have been Purim, which would
complete the record of the full complement of Feasts celebrated by Jesus.
At the “Un-named Feast”, an angel is said to have “stirred the waters” of a certain pool in
Jerusalem, and the first person to immerse himself in the pool after this, would be healed
of his diseases. The pool was spring-fed, and responded to the influx of water during the
rainy season, which was in winter, approaching the barley harvest in spring. This could
not be the case at the Feast of Weeks or Wheat Harvest in Sivan, nor during the autumn
feasts in Tisri. The season of Purim, 13-15 Adar in late winter, fits with this suggestion.
This narrative is placed between the first Passover in Jerusalem, and the second Passover
in Galilee, which I believe, was 28 AD.
As a matter of interest ~ Jesus healed this man at the Un-named Feast on a Sabbath.
Purim (the Fast of Esther), 13 Adar in 28 AD, did indeed fall on a Sabbath ~ Saturday 28
February. There are 3 consecutive days of Purim, 13, 14 and 15 Adar; so this is not entirely
surprising. However, it does show at least, that it is not incompatible with the Un-
named Feast being Purim of 28 AD.
Here is an explanation of the procedure in this case, from the highest modern Jewish
authority of his time, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson. Although the Jews have not killed
Passover lambs since 70 AD, they still observe the other Passover ordinances. For the Jews
today, the ritual of searching out the leaven (chametz) in their houses, substitutes for
killing the lamb. Since this is classified as “work”, it cannot be done on a Sabbath;
therefore, when 14 Nisan falls on a Sabbath, this is what they do:
Instead of the search being held on the night between the 13th and the 14th of
Nissan, it is held on Thursday evening, the night between the 12th and the 13th.
The chametz found in the search is burnt on Friday morning, the 13th of Nissan, at
the same time as it would be burnt in other years.
Substitute the sacrifice of the lambs for the search for the chametz, and it is clear that
prior to 70 AD, when Passover fell on a Sabbath, the lambs would have been killed on
Nisan 13 in such a year. In fact, they could be killed at any time in the 24 hours between
the sunset of 12 Nisan, and sunset of 13 Nisan.
14
The following day, Nisan 14, is then designated Shabbat Hagadol, the High Day.
Pilate inspected Jesus, the Lamb of God, and declared, “I find no fault in Him.”
While I do not claim absolute accuracy as to Jesus' age at the Cross, it is apparent that
these calculations are certainly consistent with the facts which we do have. Contrarily, the
Year 31 AD proposed by SDA doctrine, would have Jesus 34/35 years at the Cross.
15
As an absolute showstopper however, the day on which Passover fell in 31 AD, is
beyond argument.
Following are some calendars per www.hebrewcalendar.net, for Passover in the years
29AD, 31AD, and 33AD, demonstrating the various options, for
16
April 29 AD GREGORIAN
Friday Cross, on the Day of Preparation,
Sabbath is the HIGH DAY, Jesus Rises 3rd Day
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 Nisan 2 Nisan 3 Nisan 4 Nisan 5 Nisan 6 Nisan 7 Nisan
8 8 10 11 12 13 14
8 Nisan 9 Nisan 10 Nisan 11 Nisan 12 Nisan 13 Nisan 14 Nisan
Erev erev- Erev Pesach
Pesach Shabbat
Shabbat Hagadol
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
15 Nisan 16 Nisan 17 Nisan 18 Nisan 19 Nisan 20 Nisan 21 Nisan
Firstfruits 7thDay
Resurrection Pesach
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
22 Nisan 23 Nisan 24 Nisan 25 Nisan 26 Nisan 27 Nisan 28 Nisan
Last Day
Pesach
29 30
29 Nisan 30 Nisan
April 31 AD GREGORIAN
Monday Cross, NOT the Day of Preparation,
Sabbath NOT the High Day, 6 Nights in Tomb, Jesus Rises 7th Day
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1
20 Adar
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
21 Adar 22 Adar 23 Adar 24 Adar 25 Adar 26 Adar 27 Adar
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
28 Adar 29 Adar 1 Nisan 2 Nisan 3 Nisan 4 Nisan 5 Nisan
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
6 Nisan 7 Nisan 8 Nisan 9 NIsan 10 Nisan 11 Nisan 12 Nisan
Shabbat
Hagadol
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
13 Nisan 14 Nisan 15 Nisan 16 Nisan 17 Nisan 18 Nisan 19 Nisan
Erev Pesach 1st Day
The Cross? Pesach
30 31
20 Nisan 21 Nisan
Firstfruits 7th Day
Resurrection Pesach 17
April 33 AD GREGORIAN
Friday Cross, on the Day of Preparation,
Jesus Rises on the 3rd Day,
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
7 Iyyar 8 Iyyar 9 Iyyar 10 Iyyar 11 Iyyar 12 Iyyar 13 Iyyar