Earliest Passover in 114 Years - Shavuot/Pentecost on 15 May 2013
(26 March - last one in 1899, next in 2089!)
Passover in 2013 will be celebrated on 26 March 2013, albeit starting on the evening of 25 March. This is the earliest Passover in over 110 years (since 1899) and Passover will not be this early again until 2089. This is based on information from the website below.
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/australia/first-day-of-passover
Why is this so important - Shavuot/Pentecost on 15 May 2013!
Put simply, this incredibly (unprecedented) early Passover means that Shavuot / Day of Pentecost falls on 15 May 2013, starting on the evening of 14 May 2013 - Israel’s Independence Day! In a time period of 190 years, looking back and forward, this is the only occasion that this occurs. Just as Israel (on the Gregorian calendar) is remembering the 65th anniversary of Nationhood - Independence Day on 14 May and its first day as a new, miracle nation on 15 May 1948 - Shavuot/Day of Pentecost will be celebrated/ remembered!
Israel itself will celebrate Independence Day earlier, on 15 April 2013 (5 Iyar on the Jewish calendar). Note that in the Jewish Calendar, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day, so observing Jews will start celebrating Israel's Independence Day on the sunset of Sunday, the 14th of April 2013.
.Convergence of Lunar/Prophetic and Solar/Gregorian Timelines on 15 May 2025
In a letter to Five Doves on 10 September 2012, titled Are there not 12 hours in the Day of the Lord (based on the story of Lazarus in John 11) I looked at a possible timeline of 12 prophetic years in(during) the imminent Day of the Lord. My thoughts are outlined in full in the letter (link below). I would now like to draw attention to an important update and confirmation of this timeline.
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/sep2012/denish910.htm
First, a short excerpt from the previous letter: the Twin Towers on 11 September 2001 was seven days (one week) before Rosh Hashanah that year on 18 September 2001. With Rosh Hashanah 2001 as a starting point, 24 prophetic or 360 day years (12 of the night and 12 of the day) takes you to 15 May 2025! This is exactly 77 years from Israel’s birth as a nation on 15 May 1948!
This is where Passover and Shavuot in 2013 fit in. Alongside the 12 prophetic (360 day) daylight years - from 17 July 2013 to 15 May 2025 - sits a parallel Gregorian/Solar timeline. Counting back solar 12 solar or 365 day years from 15 May 2025 clearly falls on 15 May 2013! So the Day of the Lord, from a solar day perspective, would start on 15 May 2013 - the only year in 190 years (looking back and forward) that Shavuot / Day of Pentecost falls on Israel’s first day as a new miraculously born nation State!
So when could the Day of the Lord begin? The prophetic timeline (Israeli perspective) should arguably be paramount, with the solar date of 15 May as a threshold warning that the Day of the Lord is (very!) close.
· 17 July 2013 is just one day after the 9th of Av - the day of the destruction of the first and second temples. In Isaiah 13:6 we read: Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand; as destruction from the Almighty and Sufficient One [Shaddai] will it come!
What could this mean? A New Pentecost on or near Shavuot 2013?
Shavuot is placed at the centre of the seven feasts of the Lord: after Passover, Unleavened Bread and First fruits. Shavuot was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, and we look back to this wonderful day when the Church was born. However, it is worth asking whether there will be a Second Pentecost, some event that will accelerate God’s eternal purposes in the Church - described magnificently in Paul’s letter of Ephesians (Ephesians 5:27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish).
Joel speaks of the outpouring of the Spirit upon all flesh. At a time when the world is shaking! This shaking was not evident, at least not fully fulfilled, on the Day of Pentecost. With all the myriad, myriad signs around us, this outpouring of the Spirit must be imminent. This could be the catalyst for the near fulfilment of the three remaining feasts of the Lord: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.
Shavuot: Giving of the Torah and Ruth (type of the Gentile Church)
To explore this further it is helpful to look at the focus of Shavuot, from a Jewish perspective and to link this to Malachi 4: 4,5. From www.chabad.org, on the first night of Shavuot (this year, Tuesday night, 14 May 14, 2013), Jews throughout the world observe the centuries-old custom of conducting an all-night vigil dedicated to Torah learning and preparation for receiving the Torah anew the next morning. This Truth was reflected in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at 9 am in the morning on the Day of Pentecost!
· The holiday of Shavuot is the day on which we celebrate the great revelation of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, 3,324 years ago. You stood at the foot of the mountain. Your grandparents and great-grandparents before them. The souls of all Jews, from all times, came together to hear the Ten Commandments from G‑d Himself.
The Book of Ruth is recited as part of the program of study for Shavuot night. Additionally, in many synagogues it is read publicly on the second day of Shavuot. There are several reasons for this custom:
- Shavuot is the birthday and yahrtzeit (anniversary of passing/death of) of King David, and the Book of Ruth records his ancestry. Ruth and her husband Boaz were King David’s great-grandparents.
- The scenes of harvesting described in the Book of Ruth are appropriate to the Festival of Harvest.
3. Ruth was a sincere convert who embraced Judaism with all her heart! On Shavuot, all Jews were converts - having accepted the Torah and all of its precepts.
I would like to link this to the Day of the Lord and Malachi chapter 4. However, this letter is already (too!) long, so I will prepare a follow on letter: Malachi 4: Day of the Lord, Torah and Elijah. I would also like to emphasise that this seemingly longer term timeline to 2025 is primarily for Israel - as the anchoring to this date of 15 May 2013 points to. God’s purposes for completing His work in the Church, and the Bride within the Church are now imminent - the Rapture of the Bride/Remnant and ready/watching Church could happen at any time, and the signs of our closeness to the Rapture have (arguably!) never been stronger! Acceleration indeed!
Maranatha! Denis
Israeli Declaration of Independence
The Israeli Declaration of Independence was made on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), the day before the British Mandate was due to expire. David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization[2][3] and the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine,[4] declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.[5] The event is celebrated annually in Israel with a national holiday Yom Ha'atzmaut on 5 Iyar of every year according to the Hebrew calendar