AS AN EPIPHANY BIBLE STUDENT ECCLESIA, This year 2019, we observed our Lord's Memorial on March 19. The question arose as to why other groups observe April 18. Here is the underlying scholarship from PT1920 by PSL Johnson.
First, from http://epiphanybiblestudents.com/blog/2019/2/18/no-739-some-thoughts-for-the-memorial
"The correct time for the observance for 2019 is after 6 p.m. on March 19. The date is determined by this method: The moon nearest the Vernal Equinox becomes new in Jerusalem on March 6 at 6:03 p.m., thus establishing 6 p.m. March 6 as the beginning of Nisan 1. Counting forward to Nisan 14, we arrive at 6 p.m. March 19. Any time that evening after 6 p.m. would be proper for the celebration."
MEMORIAL SUPPER—APRIL 3, 1920
IN VIEW of the unreliability of the dates connected with the Passover in the Jewish calendars, and in harmony with our course of last year, we wrote to Professor Doolittle of the University of Pennsylvania, a recognized authority on Astronomy, asking him kindly to give us in Greenwich Mean Time the date, hour, minute and second when the moon nearest the Vernal Equinox becomes new this year. We take pleasure
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in submitting to our readers, who, we are sure, appreciate his kindness, that part of his letter that contains his answer to our question:
"My dear Professor Johnson:—
The Sun crosses the equator in 1920 at 9 hours 59 minutes 0 seconds, P.M., March 20. It is very easy to tell which new moon is nearest this date; because it happens that the moon is new on this same day. The exact time is March 20, 10 hours 55 minutes 48 seconds A.M. Thus the moon will be new just 11 hrs. 3 min. 12 secs. before the Vernal Equinox. It gives me great pleasure to send you this small information. With all best wishes to you, I remain
Very sincerely yours,
[signed] Eric Doolittle.
For the reasons given below, the facts that Professor Doolittle gives us prove that the moon nearest the Vernal Equinox this year becomes new March 20 at 10 hours 55 minutes and 48 seconds P.M. local time at 180 degrees East Longitude; and that this would make the first and fourteenth day of Nisan begin at 6 P.M. March 21 and April 3 respectively at 180 degrees East Longitude. In view of the fact that the Jewish calendar begins this year at 6 P.M. March 19, and their Nisan 14 at 6 P.M. April 1, which is two days too early, and which is likely to be observed by some of the Lord's people, as our Lord's Memorial date, and in view of the fact that we have many new readers since last year, we have decided to republish our last year's article on the Memorial Date, with such changes as the different date and added details require should be made.
Some advocate taking the evening that introduces the day in which the moon becomes full as Nisan 14. This, of course, is a mistake; for Nisan 14 may or may not come at the full of the moon. This can be readily seen from several facts. (1) A lunar month does not begin until the first full 24 hours' period, starting at 6 P. M., sets in after the moon becomes new; e.g., let us take the case noted in Z. 1906, p. 20, col. 1, last par. to the end of the article. That year the Nisan moon became new March 24, 6:52 P.M., i.e., 52 minutes after the lunar day began. Therefore Nisan 1 began that year March 25 at 6 P.M.; for the first day of a month like every other day must be a full day. In this way all nations that have used the lunar calendar, including the Jews, have had the first day of each lunar month begin. Hence that year Nisan 14 in its last five hours and eight minutes was at the full of the moon. (2) Had the moon become full just at or a few minutes before 6 P.M. March 24, 1906, Nisan 1 would have begun 6 P.M. March 24 that year. Hence Nisan 14 would have begun over 42 hours before the full moon. (3) If there are no aberrations in the moon's becoming new and full in the same month, as often there are none, there would be 14¾ days between these two events; for the lunar month averages about 29½ days. In such a case the moon could not become full before Nisan 15 if the moon becomes new within 18 hours before the first day of the new month; for full 14 days would end with the end of Nisan 14 and 14¾ days would end the noon of the 15th.—i.e., 18 hours after the end of Nisan 14, if Nisan 1 and the new moon began the same hour. (4) Hence in connection with some cases that come under (1) the moon can be full on Nisan 14, when there are aberrations, as in other such cases aberrations can make it become full on Nisan 15. (5) Astronomers have proven that conditions like those mentioned under (1) and (4) occurred in Nisan, 33 A.D., and that at our Lord's death the moon was full Nisan 14. These considerations will show how uncertain it is to fix Nisan 14 as the day of the full moon, as "The Herald" Editors last year attempted to do. Our Pastor repeatedly announced as the Memorial date one coming before the full moon.
Last year the Jews were mistaken in fixing 6 P.M. April 13 as the beginning of Nisan 14. While it is true that, if we had taken the time when the moon last year became new at Philadelphia, which was at 4:05 P.M. March 31, Nisan 1 and 14 would have begun 6 P.M. March 31 and April 13 respectively; yet if reckoned with its becoming new at Greenwich, where practically the whole world begins to count. Longitude East and West, it was nearly 9:05 P.M., and therefore, Nisan 1 beginning 6 P.M. April 1, Nisan 14 would have begun April 14, 6 P.M. The reason for this is apparent: While the moon becomes new everywhere at the same instant of absolute time, it becomes new by the clocks of different places one hour sooner for every 15 degrees that one travels eastward, and one hour later for every 15 degrees that one travels westward. Therefore people who travel eastward have to put their watches ahead one hour every 15 degrees, while those who travel westward have to put their watches one hour back every 15 degrees.
It is very desirable to have all the brethren celebrate the Memorial on the same solar date and on Nisan 14 the world over. In view of the above mentioned local differences in the time of the new moon, how may this be done? Because of the location of the easternmost Truth people, the most sensible way to solve the difficulty is to begin where the whole world begins to date the day—i.e., 180 degrees East of Greenwich, and count the day as beginning at 6 P.M., and not at midnight. We all learned as children in our Geographies that when sailors, traveling eastward, pass 180 degrees Longitude, they move the calendar date back one day, while those who, traveling westward, cross 180 degrees Longitude move their calendar date one day ahead. The easternmost Truth people West of 180 degrees Longitude East live in New Zealand. This fact makes it easy for all of the Truth people the world over, beginning with New Zealand, to memorialize on the same solar day and proper lunar day, by beginning to count the lunar month at 6 PM., as the case may require, at or next after the moon's becoming new at 180 degrees Longitude East. And this is also easy to find out. We need only ask a competent Astronomer at what date, hour, minute and second the nearest vernal equinoctial moon becomes new according to Greenwich Mean Time, which begins to count the hours at the average exact noon at Greenwich, and then count just twelve hours ahead; this will give us the exact local time when that moon becomes new 180 degrees East Longitude. This year according to Professor Doolittle's letter it will be about 10:56 P.M. March 20. This would make the first full lunar day after the moon becomes new this year begin at 6 P.M. March 21; hence Nisan 14 would begin April 3 at 6 P.M.
If, however, we in various places should take the local time when the moon becomes new, all of us will not always be able to observe the Memorial on the same solar and proper lunar day. Our solar calendars will enable us to memorialize on the same solar day; but frequently would prevent us from memorializing on the same lunar day—i.e., Nisan 14; e.g., last year, if we in America should have taken the local time of the moon's becoming new, even in the easternmost part of America, and the British brethren should have taken the local time of the moon's becoming new even in the westernmost part of Britain, we here would have celebrated on the evening of April 13, and the British brethren on the evening of April 14. Hence the necessity of having one fixed place at which we should begin to count. The only way this can be done on every occasion for the brethren everywhere is to have both the solar and lunar dates on the same day, and thus enable all the Lord's people to observe the same solar and the proper lunar day. This would require us to begin, as the whole world does, the day at 180 degrees East Longitude, and then count the first day of Nisan as beginning at 6 P.M. of the first full lunar day of the new moon nearest the Vernal Equinox at 18o degrees East Longitude—i.e., the evening of March 21 this year.
The Jews are not reliable in giving us exact lunar time, as their calendar for several years proves. It is simply a Talmudic myth, contrary to the Bible, that in Biblical times the lunar month was begun at the first full 24 hours' period beginning at 6 P.M. after watchers first saw and reported the new moon to the officials. In Old Testament times they evidently fixed the beginning of the new moon ahead of time by astronomical calculations, even as David knew beforehand the date of the new moon—1 Sam. 20: 5, 18, 24.
The difficulty of finding out the date of the Passover from local calendars and harmonizing it with various other connected matters prompted our dear Pastor, Z. 1905, p. 127, col. 1, par. 3-5, to recommend discontinuing observing Nisan 14 and instead taking the date of the Nominal Church, the eve of Good Friday. But the brethren very generally wrote to him advising against this change. This prompted him to withdraw his advice, but to write in Z. 1906 the article on page 20 from which last year "The Herald" quoted as proof that the anniversary date of observing the Memorial was rather immaterial. By our Pastor's writing that article some disharmony was introduced with previous and subsequent pointed utterances of his on the propriety of observing Nisan 14 and no other date. Unlike "The Herald," we accept that view of his that he expressed both for years before, and for years after he wrote what "The Herald" quoted. This being a matter of consecration, he of course did not treat it as a law of justice and dogmatically insist on the date. He, however, never for convenience sake took a Sunday evening for the Memorial, when Monday or some other day was the proper one for Nisan 14, as "The Herald" last year advised. Vol. VI, p. 481, par. 1, contains his thought as he taught it, not dogmatically but suggestively, for years before and after the article of January 15, 1906, quoted by "The Herald." In Z. 1905, p. 87, par. 1, he says: "With carefulness equal to that shown by our Lord and His Apostles, let us keep the feast, the Memorial of His death, as He directed—not at any time, morning, noon or night, but only as a Supper—not on any day—but only on its anniversary—if we would do this, rather than commemorate something else on some other date." In Z. 1911, p. 40, col. 2, end of par. 4, after giving reasons pro and con, he sums up as follows: "We advise, therefore, that the exact date according to the Jewish [lunar] calendar be followed." That he did not here mean that we should follow the Jews in their calendar errors is evident from the fact that he several times announced a different date from the mistaken Jewish date. Early in 1913 he announced a mistaken date, i.e., a date a month before the right time; therefore in Z. 1913, p. 66, col. 2, par.1, he corrected the date, which shows that he was and grew more particular on this point, even advising, though of course not dictatorially, a second memorializing, if the wrong date was kept. Pointedly he expressed himself in Z. 1915, p. 70, col. 2, par. 1, 2, "But our Lord emphasized the importance of killing the Passover lamb when He announced Himself as its antitype, and when .He invited us to celebrate His death on its anniversary. . . . It would be a great blessing . . . to join heartily in its celebration—on its anniversary instead of at various other time." "That Servant's" thought on this subject underwent three changes, as was the case on the New Covenant, first the right one, second for a short time a mistaken one, and third and finally the right one. "The Herald" therefore last year did not properly represent his thought; for it quoted his temporarily mistaken thought to prove its claim, whereas before and afterwards he rejected that thought.
In. view of the above facts we advise the brethren to celebrate the Memorial after 6 P.M. April 3. The time and place where the Philadelphia Ecclesia will celebrate will be announced, D.v., in our next issue.
written for the year 1920
