I think the Borg count Nissan 1st as the sunset after the full moon NEAREST the spring equinox, whereas the Jews begin Nissan as the full moon AFTER the spring equinox...hence you have such widely differing dates this year no??
Conspiracy: Did the Watchtower set the memorial for the 23rd, because the GB practice Gematria? see for your selfs.
by goingthruthemotions 14 Replies latest jw experiences
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punkofnice
Is it anything to do with when there is a full moon? -
juandefiero
It has to do with them following a strict lunar calendar and not recognizing "leap months" that the current Jewish calendar uses. It is also why Easter is the same weekend this year.
This year, the Jewish calendar inserts an extra month.
If you go to that "Torah Calendar" website linked to above, Nisan 14 (and passover) according to ancient Israel's Calendar begins on March 23.
I see exJW's falling all over themselves all over reddit, here and on Facebook about this thing, but they just haven't done the research into the nuances of the modern Jewish calendar vs. the ancient calendar in use back in the day.
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Diogenesister
Yes you are right Juandefiero, I have been checking out that website ...its a jewish leap year and they add an extra month. Its the 15th that must fall on or after the equinox..thats where they got that bit of mis-information I read.
However, the Watchtower is WRONG that modern Jews dont celebrate on the 14th like Jesus did...they do..its essentially two celebrations on the 14th AND the 15th..the following explains why....
The Passover lamb was SLAIN "AT EVEN" (Lev. 23:5) -- Josephus shows it was essentially between 3-5 P.M. of Nisan 14. Then it had to be taken home from the Temple, put on a spit, and cooked -- roasted -- for hours. Therefore, the Passover meal was EATEN, and CELEBRATED, at night on Nisan 15. The Jews have always known this.
When Scripture says "they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at evening," (Num.9:5), it is referring to the fact that the lambs were SLAIN at that time! But since you cannot slay and eat at the same time (unless you ate it raw!), you must add to that time of slaying the time needed for preparation, cooking, and eating, which must of necessity be several hours later -- or on the 15th.
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Tenacious
You know, I'll be brutally honest.
I don't think Jesus looked outside to measure the position of the moon, then made sure his apostles understood the specific date, and if it was day or night.
Jesus Christ quite simply said "do this in remembrance of me."
How the Jehovah's Witnesses came up with all the stipulations, procedures, rules, regulations, policies, and protocols to follow, is completely beyond comprehension other than to say they have corrupted the simple instructions handed down by the Christ.