As already described in the chapter about the biblical astronomical calendar of God, so all 7 feast days of God have a clear relation to the harvest times of the agricultural products in Israel. It is important to be informed about the main climatic and agricultural conditions of the country in order to recognize and refute wrong calculations of the feast days. Indeed, some Christians always calculate the first day of the first biblical month of the year from the new moon (the new light) after the equinox (March 19-21) in the spring. This is wrong, as can be easily proven, because thus in some years a harvest of early grain (barley) on Passover would be impossible, because the barley grains would already fall to the ground at such a late start of harvest. An example is the year 2021, because the first sheaf of grain could have been cut on March 30, 2021 (on Nisan 16) without any problems to be offered in the Temple (if there would be a Temple in Jerusalem). In fact, the barley harvest in Israel actually began BEFORE March 30, 2021, but starting the harvest a month later (i.e., from April 29, 2021) would be much too late. Any farmer in Israel can confirm this. The barley harvest in Israel always starts already at the end of March, but not at the end of April 2021, because a harvest of the early grain in May would be completely impossible. This is confirmed not only by numerous historical and current writings, but also by direct contacts to Israel. In the following text, the harvest times of the most important agricultural products are explained in more detail in order to be able to determine the first month of the year with certainty.

In Israel there are two main seasons: winter (rainy season, cold) and summer (drought, heat). In between there is a short transition between spring and autumn. The rainy season starts from October/November with the early rain (=the early rain after the dry season) and ends in March/April with the later rain before the dry season, which can sometimes fall in May. In between is the period of the "rainy season" with the most rain falling from December to February (see crop table below). In biblical times, three periods of early rain were distinguished (see below); the first began already in the area of the equinox (September 22/23) in autumn, when light rainfall made soil cultivation and seed germination possible. The other phases occurred in October/November, before the rainy season began at the end of November. The precipitation differences in Israel are very large. Jerusalem receives an average of 590 mm of precipitation, but Beersheba receives only 100 mm per year. On average, there are 42 days with more than 0.1 mm of precipitation per year. January is the coldest month and July/August are the warmest months. Snowfall is rare in winter, but can exceed 30 cm for short periods. Because of the great topographical and climatic differences in a small area, Israel is very diverse. The following illustrations (see below for sources) show the political, topographical and climatic conditions in Israel: 

Summer days in Israel are shorter than in Central Europe, but winter days are longer. The sunshine duration in a day varies from 14 hours (maximum, summer) to 10 hours (minimum, winter), with night falling quickly after sunset. So the time of twilight is very short in Israel (see Day). In summer there is no rain, but there is often the dew, which provides fresh humidity to the vegetation. This "dew of heaven" was also mentioned several times in the Bible and was a characteristic of the very fertile Promised Land, which, in addition to the early and later rain, provides other refreshing blessings for plants and animals:

• Gen 8:22: „While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.“
• Dt 11:14-15: „he [God] will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.“
• Gen 27:28: „May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine.“
• Dt 33:28-29 „So Israel lived in safety, Jacob lived alone, in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens drop down dew. 29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs.“
• Hos 14:5-7: „I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;  6 his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. 7 They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.“ 

In literature, "Eretz Israel" is a traditional Hebrew term for the land that is usually called "the land of Canaan" in the Torah. When the Israelites were to take the land of Canaan, they sent out scouts to explore the soil, vegetation and fertility (fruits) of the land. The messengers confirmed that there was indeed "me and honey flowing" in that land. But the people living in Canaan were so strong that the Israelites grumbled and began to doubt God's promises and His love. Because of this, the Israelites had to spend another 38 years in the desert, so that the total stay in the desert (with the 2 years before that) was a full 40 years. They could not enjoy the riches of Canaan for many years and had to continue to stay in the desert (Num 13-14):

The land of Canaan (Israel) offered a great variety of the most diverse fruits, because early and later rains should lead to allow a constant harvest of cereals (barley, wheat), grapes (incl. many varieties of fruit) and oil (olives). The first month of the year always starts with the barley harvest in spring. This was the starting point of the agricultural year. The feasts of God mark the beginning and the end of a harvest season. The following table shows the sowing and harvesting seasons:

The barley harvest lasted from Passover to Pentecost.

The wheat harvest lasted from Pentecost to Tu'B'Av (see calendar).

The grape harvest lasted from Tu'B'Aw to Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).

God's calendar is a Luni-Solar calendar, where each month begins with the first visible crescent moon over Israel. But since the lunar year is about 10.87 days shorter than the solar year (see New Light), there must be leap years with an extra month to align the calendar with the state of nature. Otherwise, the feast days would fall on different months from year to year and be at all seasons, as is the case with the Islamic lunar calendar. God has revealed in the Bible exactly what the Israelites must pay attention to in order to correctly and undoubtedly determine the first day of the year, so that everyone is of the same opinion and there can be no dispute. Namely, the Israelites were to pay attention not only to the phases of the moon, but also to the state of nature, that is, how far the grain and the other plants are developed. Only in this way was it possible to establish a harmonious relationship between the calendar (leap years) and nature every year. The astronomical calendar of God is thus also at the same time an agricultural calendar with defined special activities (sowing, care and harvest) in the respective months.

The years 2023 and 2024 in particular show how important correct calculation is, because there is a whole month between the astronomical biblical calendar and the imprecise mathematical Jewish calendar, so that the day of the first fruits of barley (Nisan 16) is also extremely different (March 27 and April 24, 2024). At the end of April/beginning of May 2024, there will be almost no barley left in the fields of Israel (except in the highlands), as the barley grains fall to the ground quickly and have to be harvested beforehand. At the bottom of the website are some photos that prove that the Jewish calendar completely miscalculates the 2024 Omer. In 2020 and 2023, both calendars were identical for Passover. 

The first feast days (Passover) in spring (1st month) and the last feast days (Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot) in autumn are always in the area of the equinox, as shown in the following figure: 

As the table above reveals, God's accurate astronomical calendar and the inaccurate Jewish calendar (which is based only on statistical averages, in italics)  can fall on the same feast days (2000, 2028) or be only a few days apart (2021, 2022) or even almost a whole month apart (1948, 2016, 2019, 2024). The biblical calendar was introduced by God, while the Jewish calendar was invented by humans. The Israelites did not have to develop this new calendar until the 4th century because the Jews, who had been displaced worldwide since 70 AD could no longer see the first visible crescent moon over Jerusalem. So that all Jews around the world could keep the same feast days and also calculate them in advance, this calendar made sense. But when the Israelites were able to go back to their land after almost 2,000 years and the state of Israel was "born" again in 1948, they did not reintroduce the old calendar of the Bible, but kept the new and inaccurate calendar. This explains why in some years they would have had to cut the first sheaf of grain of the first fruits of the field at the end of April to offer them in the temple of God, if they had a temple. That would be a month too late, because barley is harvested in Israel from the end of March every year. 

But be careful, because the equinox is the astronomical season that refers to the center of the Earth in relation to the Sun; however, this does not mean that on this date in Jerusalem the day and night will be exactly 12 hours long. In the latitude of Jerusalem (31.77°), day and night will not be of equal length on September 23 (Equinox), but on September 26 and 27, 2022 (see TimeandDate & TimedandDate-2), that is, exactly at the time when Israel celebrates Trumpet Day, which in God's calendar begins on September 27/28, and at the time when Jupiter in the constellation of Pisces will be closest to the earth.

In 1948, 2016, 2019, 2024, and 2027, the Jewish calendar begins the New Year too late, thus the harvest of the firstfruits (barley) on Nisan 16 (April 23-29) would be about a month too late, and the barley grains would fall to the ground before then, making the offering of the firstfruits sheaf (see Omer) in the Temple difficult. God's calendar, on the other hand, reveals a connection to particular historical events. For example, the state of Israel was established on May 14, 1948. This corresponds to the 5th of Iyyar (in the 2nd month) according to the Jewish calendar and has no special significance because the Israelites moved the first month of the year back. But according to God's astronomical calendar it has a very high significance, because the foundation of the state actually took place on the 4th of Sivan (in the 3rd month), i.e. directly before the feast day of Pentecost (May 15/16, 1948), which indicates a renewal or rebirth of Israel.

The year in God's exact astronomical and biblical calendar always begins in the month of the first barley harvest. When the people of Israel were in Egypt immediately before the Exodus, the early grain (barley) was destroyed by the hail (it was the 7th plague), but not the later grain (wheat) because it was still too poorly developed to be damaged (Ex 9:27-32). The Hebrew text speaks of the barley being "in the abib" ("in the ears"). This refers to a state of ripeness of the grain that exists in only one month of the year. Numerous sources unanimously mention that barley harvesting in Israel was possible as early as the end of March. Although barley and wheat were sown at about the same time, barley develops much faster and is less sensitive.

The strong-number used in the Hebrew text for "abib" (aviv) is 24, denoting the "fresh young ears" or "barley ripeness," and occurs only 8 times in the OT (Ex 9:31; 13:4; 23:15; 34:18; Lev 2:14; Deut 16:1). It refers to the young ears of barley that have already reached full size and are filled with starch, but are still soft (sometimes a little milky) and not completely dry. The 16th of Nisan was the first day of the grain harvest. On this day, the priests first went to the fields and harvested a bundle of the early ripe ears of barley (sheaf), which was offered in the Jerusalem temple at the time of the morning sacrifice (9 a.m.) as a swing sacrifice. The harvest lasted several weeks, depending on the altitude. Some Bibles speak of "green ears" (instead of "young ears"), but this is not entirely correct, as "abib" refers to the fresh ears in a state of ripeness in which a harvest is possible and the first grains can be roasted and eaten. The "green ears", on the other hand, would not be edible. The first month "Abib" (=Nisan) was named after these young ears of barley, which is why it is also called the "month of ears". The word "Abib" therefore means both the fresh, precocious ears of barley (the growth stage) and the first month of the year.

The crucial point is: the early grain (barley) was only in this precocious state for a single month, but a month later the barley grains would be overripe and fall to the ground. Therefore, the farmers and the priests always determined the beginning of this first month 100% correctly, because if they saw before the beginning of the year that the barley was still too weakly developed, so that a harvest of the first bundle of grain (sheaf, omer) was not possible, another leap month of 29 days was added. This sounds like a long time, but it is not, because the grain was too immature, it is merely an actual difference in the leap year of only 2 weeks, which affects the phenology, i.e. the periodically recurring developmental phenomena/stages in nature. The leap year occurs approximately every three years because the lunar year is about 10.87 days shorter than the solar year (see chapter New Light).

Once again in all clarity, because many Christians repeatedly make mistakes here: This state of growth or ripeness "abib" ("fresh, young ears of grain" that could already be roasted and eaten) existed and still exists in Israel in only one month of the year, which made it easy to determine the beginning of the year. But the Jewish calendar used in Israel today (which was created by the exiled Jews/Rabbis in the 4th century AD) pays no attention to the new light of the moon, nor to the equinox, nor to the ripeness of the grain (see differences). So in some years (e.g. 2024) not only the Passover and thus also Pentecost are celebrated a whole month too late, but even all 7 festivals of the Bible, because the leap year was calculated incorrectly. Anyone who ignores the astronomical and agricultural facts that God (not us) has created will never understand God's calendar and will celebrate the biblical festivals at the wrong time in most years and therefore gather with the Jews or the Pope, but not with the God of the Bible, because He has clearly defined his festivals in Levicus 23 and other passages in the Bible. 

Now, whoever calculates this first month of the year one month late will not be able to harvest a firstfruits sheaf (except in the highlands), because the barley seeds would have already fallen to the ground. Moreover, if the priest were to appear before the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) one month late, he would die. Disobedience = death.

Once again, the decisive criterion for determining the first month of the year has always been the ripeness of the grain (barley) and not the first new moon after the equinox. In fact, although the first day (new moon) of the year does not have to begin after the equinox, the 15th of Nisan (High Sabbath) was the day after the equinox and was in perfect harmony with the state of nature and the first barley harvest, which began from the day after this High Sabbath (15th of Abib/Nisan) with the first cutting of the first-fruits sheaf (see Omer), and continued for several weeks (high altitudes) until Pentecost. So the Passover is always in the area of the equinox and that is the most important thing. After 50 days, Pentecost begins with the cutting of the first fruits of wheat. Accordingly, the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) is also always in the area of the equinox. So every year in God's calendar there is a perfect relationship between the sun, moon and stars and the state of nature with the harvest times of the respective grains and fruits.

In both the exact astronomical biblical calendar and the imprecise mathematical Jewish calendar, the firstfruits of barley are always offered as a wave offering on the 16th of Nisan. However, as the mathematical Jewish calendar does not always pay attention to the first visible crescent moon (the new light), the day of the firstfruits is often offset by 1 to 3 days in both calendars in most yeas. In extreme cases, this can even be a whole month, as in 2024, when the leap month in the Jewish calendar was incorrectly determined. In 2024, the 16th of Nisan fell on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 in God's calendar; in the Jewish calendar on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, which is much too late, because the barley will have been harvested in Israel's fields by then. In 2020 and 2023, the 16th of Nisan fell on the same day in both calendars (April 10, 2020 and April 7, 2023 respectively). There are some Christians and Jews on You Tube and Facebook (e.g. Brian C. Hoeck) who deal with the ripeness of the grain in Israel. Since there can only be one month in which the barley can be in the "abib" state, the first month of the year is relatively easy to determine. It only gets complicated when some follow the Jewish calendar. But unfortunately, many Christians also calculate the first day of First Fruits incorrectly because they do not count from the 16th of Nisan, but only want Sundays like Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday (Firstfruits Sunday) and Pentecost Sunday every year. This is something that has never existed in the Biblical calendar (Leviticus 23) nor in the Jewish calendar and never will. The following examples from 2024 prove that the Jewish calendar inserted the leap month at the wrong time, so that all 7 feasts of God are celebrated a whole month too late in 2024: 

As these photos prove, some of the barley in the fields of Israel was already harvested at the end of March 2024. Although some of it was used for hay or silage, it could be 100% proven that the biblical calendar correctly determines the first month of the year (Nisan), while the Jewish calendar (Nisan 16 only on April 24) has the Passover begin in the second biblical month, when the barley is already harvested or overripe. The poppies have the same timing, their growth coincides with the aviv barley, so they are another witness of creation that helps you in your decision making and gives certainty about the correct determination of the first month (Aviv/Nisan) of the year. 

The verses in which "abib" (aviv) is mentioned follow. Some Bibles do not translate Ex 9:31 literally, because the flax (linseed; Linum usitatissimum) was not "in bloom", but the Hebrew text speaks of "the buds" being seen (not the flowers); in fact, flax blooms much later (June to August). Most English Bibles correctly describe that the flax was "in bud":

• Ex 9:27-32: „Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them... 28 Plead with the Lord, for there has been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the Lord's. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the Lord God.” 31 The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear [literally: "was in the abib" = "was in the ears of corn"]. and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the emmer were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.“ 
• Ex 13:4-6: „Today, in the month of Abib, you are going out. 5 And when the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month. 6 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord.“ 
• Ex 23:14-16: „Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. 15 You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty-handed. 16 You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor [=wheat], of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering [grapes, fruits] at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor.“ 
• Ex 34:18: „You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out from Egypt.“ 
• Lev 2:14: „If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh ears [literally: abib = young ears of corn], roasted with fire, crushed new grain.“ 
• Dt 16:1-2: „Observe the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, from the flock or the herd, at the place that the Lord will choose, to make his name dwell there.“ 
  Note: The Hebrew word "chodesh" used for "month" literally means "new moon," which has often been translated as "month." 

In Deut. 8:8, seven species are enumerated that will make up the blessing of the promised land of Canaan:

• Dt 8:7-10: „For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.“
• Dt 11:8-17: „You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, 9 and that you may live long in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. 11 But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, 12 a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. 13 “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. 16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; 17 then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the Lord is giving you.“

This last quoted text is very important, because it explains why there was no rain in some years and also in the years when the disobedient people of Israel lived spread over all continents of the earth, the land was dry and resembled a desert. Only when the people of Israel gradually returned to the land did the early and late rains resume.   

The following table shows the 7 feast days according to the biblical astronomical calendar of God (e.g. TorahCalendar) and the inaccurate mathematical Jewish calendar (italics). In 2020, both calendars fell on the same days. In some years there are big differences because the leap years (red) with an additional 13th month are often not calculated correctly in the Jewish calendar (2023, 2026, 2029). In God's calendar, the spring and fall feasts are always near the equinox (March 19-21 & Sept 22-24), but in the Jewish calendar often a month after. God's calendar, described in Leviticus 23, is an astronomical and agricultural calendar in which the ripeness of the early grain (barley) determines the beginning of the first month of the year, so that the firstfruits sheaf (Omer) could always have been offered in the Temple in Jerusalem as a wave offering at Passover. 

The time of sowing is in winter. The early rains (Oct/Nov) allow softening and loosening of the soil so that it can be worked and the seeds can be sown. The later rains (March/April), although small in total, are very important for the development of the plants so that the grain can flourish. In the understanding of the Israelites, winter ended with the end of the rainy season, when life reawakened in spring. Therefore, God designated the month of Abib/Nisan as the first month of the year because life begins anew in the spring. In the Gregorian calendar, on the other hand, there is no reference to nature, because the new year begins in the depths of winter (January 1), when nature is "asleep." A beginning of the year in spring, on the other hand, makes much more sense, because after the end of the cold rainy season the whole land of Israel blossoms and a sea of flowers is created, which is also indicated in the book of Song of Songs: 

Songs 2:11-13: „for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. 12 The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. 13 The fig tree ripens its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.“

The beginning of the rainy season was also the beginning of sowing, which, however, was done at weekly intervals, so that the grain was not ripe all at once and also any storms could damage only part of the crop. The seeds were sown by hand or with a seed plow pulled by animals. But it was not allowed to mix different seeds:

Lev 19:19: „You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed...“

If the early rains did not come, fasting and prayer days began, during which the Israelites asked God for blessings. And if there was not enough rainfall until Nisan, the people knew that it was a sign of divine punishment and a famine season was imminent.

„The realization of the importance of rain for agriculture had already led to rather precise observations and measurements in the time of the Mishnah. The height of rain was measured with the help of a vessel; it should be 1 Țefah (about 9 cm) in the first early rain period, double in the second, and three times in the third) in arid soil the rain should penetrate the earth 1 Țefah, double in medium, and three times in broken arable land). In the second period the rain should flow 7 days without interruption. The early rains are essential for tilling the fields, and the later rains, which fall in Nisan (March-April), are essential for harvesting. The transition from the rainy season, in which hailstorms are not uncommon and often have a devastating effect on the newly planted seeds, to the dry season is gradual; the rains become weaker and eventually stop altogether. For some time after the rain ceases, the water still flows from the mountains in considerable strength, gradually becoming weaker and weaker, finally gathering in pools before the ground dries up completely. In the dry season a rain or a thunderstorm belongs to the greatest rarities, the abundantly falling night dew, which in the morning often covers the ground as after a rain, is the only refreshment for the thirsty soil, therefore for the prospering of the seeds of greatest importance“ (Vogelstein 1894, p. 3-4, translated).

The most fertile area of Galilee was the Jordan Valley. The produce of Galilee was particularly praised. The land area in Judea was suitable for growing barley, while Benjamin provided the wheat. When the Israelites took the land of Canaan, the agricultural area was expanded. The establishment of fields and vineyards on the cleared hills and mountain ranges took place. The fields were often demarcated by stone walls, not only to protect them but also to prevent rain from washing away the soil. Rainwater was stored in cisterns. Fertilization, irrigation (streams, wells, cisterns) and the construction of terraced systems made it possible in some regions to grow rich vegetables with multiple harvests a year. 

Two types of grain were important in Israel in biblical times, namely barley and wheat (emmer). Other cereals such as spelt (a type of wheat), oats and millet were of lesser importance. Barley matures early (after less than 100 days after sowing), is not demanding and can tolerate poorer soil and climatic conditions. It also grows on soils where wheat cannot thrive and was important especially in bad years. The grain harvest took place 5-6 months after sowing (see harvest table above). On the geographical position of Israel, barley could be harvested already at the end of March and beginning of April (in the highlands until May). After 7 weeks, wheat was harvested in May and June. Wheat had the highest value and the tribe of Benjamin provided the best quality. Wheat was about twice as expensive as barley, which was considered food for the poor. However, it had a value in Egypt for beer production. This drink with low alcohol content served for strengthening and and was germ-free, while river water was often contaminated with bacteria and thus caused diseases.

The harvest always took place in connection with the biblical feast days. The barley harvest always began on the second day of the 7-day Passover, that is, from the day after the High Sabbath (i.e., from the 16th of Nisan, see Omer), with the cutting of the firstfruits sheaf, which was offered in the Temple. In years when the barley grown in the fields around Jerusalem did not look good enough, the Omer (for which only the best barley was used) was brought from the valley areas where there were better climatic and nutrient conditions in the soil. In the valley areas (e.g. Jordan area near Jericho) the barley was already early ripe and could already be harvested completely during the Passover, so that even a second sowing with an additional harvest in the year was possible. In the higher-lying areas, on the other hand, the barley was still unripe and could not be harvested until late April or early May.

It took some time before the barley could be widely grown in the fields. The wild barley releases its seeds as soon as they are ready for harvest, so that the plant can spread better. However, this was a disadvantage for people because they had to collect the seeds laboriously on the ground. Therefore, farmers used as seeds only those seeds that still held on to the ears after ripening. But even the resulting culture form does not keep the grains a long time. Therefore, it is important to correctly determine the first month of the year, because if the barley in the already ripe state had to stand in the fields for another month, it would fall to the ground even before it could be harvested as a first fruits. This would be a disaster for the farmers and would lead to crop failures and periods of hunger.

As already mentioned, there are very large climatic differences in Israel in a very small area. Therefore, depending on the region and altitude, there are different harvest times, which are several weeks apart. In the Jordan Valley, the barley crop can be harvested first, on the mountains a whole month later. This difference also affects the wheat harvest, which today in Israel with the new varieties can begin as early as two weeks after the barley harvest. But in biblical times wheat harvest was never started before the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot, Pentecost). All 7 biblical feasts of God are also harvest thanksgiving feasts (see Calendar and Feasts). Therefore, it has always been important that the first month of Nisan was correctly determined based on the ripeness of the barley. Only in this way was it possible that on Passover the first sheaf (a bundle of grain stalks) could be offered in the Temple as a wave offering on the 16th of Nisan, i.e., 2nd day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (see Counting the Omer). Until then, no one was allowed to begin harvesting barley. And then followed 50 days later the firstfruits of the wheat harvest at the Feast of Pentecost:

Ex 34:22: „You shall observe the Feast of Weeks [Shavuot], the firstfruits of wheat harvest...“

Thus, there are three main harvest seasons, namely spring (barley), summer (wheat) and autumn (grapes, fruits, olives). Passover was the feast of barley harvest (symbol of the firstfruits Jesus), Pentecost was the feast of wheat harvest (symbol of the firstfruits, the church) and the autumn feast days in the 7th month are the feast of grape and fruit harvest (symbol of the people in the world who are not firstfruits).

Gen 8:10-12: „He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. 11 And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. 12 Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.“ 

As has been clearly shown, God's biblical calendar is based on astronomical data and always begins the first month of the year when the early grain (barley) is in the state of maturity "abib" (barley ears) and can be harvested on the second day of the Passover (16th of Nisan). If some Christians always calculate the first day of the first month after to the equinox, in some years there is a serious calendar error of a whole month. This would mean, for example, in 2021, that the Omer could not have been offered in the Temple in Jerusalem on March 30 (Nisan 16; when the barley was already harvested in Israel), but only one month later on April 29 (if there were a Temple). Accordingly, the barley harvest would not have to occur until May. This is completely impossible, because in May the barley grains would have fallen on the ground long ago, since May is instead already the time of the wheat harvest (Pentecost) and cannot wait another 50 days. So these "true Passover", "true Pentecost", "true Tisha B'Av" and "true Yom Kippur" called by the pastors mostly from the USA are in reality "fake feast days" of Christians who talk about God's calendar but do not know it. They keep changing their minds and some well-known teachers on You Tube have moved the 2021 Pentecost first to June 25, 2021, then even to August because they expect a Rapture on their "true Pentecost" and count 50 days several times in a row. This is completely wrong. The only "true Pentecost" was actually exactly 50 days after Passover (Nisan 15) and fell on May 17/18 in 2021. August is instead the end (not the beginning) of the Pentecost season, before the Fall Feast Days begin on the first day of the 7th month (Day of Trumpets, Yom Teruach), which is on September 8/9, 2021. It is incomprehensible why there are so many Christians who also give these videos a Like (thumbs up), especially since some pastors, with their own monthly calculations (which no Israelite would ever accept), even want to move the Fall Feast Days into winter. God's calendar has been clearly defined for thousands of years and we don't need these new revelations and changes in God's times.

Those who calculate the first day of the year wrongly, as some pastors do with their own definitions and additions to the Bible, also determine all the biblical feast days (Passover, Pentecost, Day of Trumpets, Day of Atonement) on a wrong date. The solution to the problem is quite simple, because according to the Bible, the decisive criterion for determining the first month of the year has always been the degree of ripeness of the early grain (barley). This was determined by God, not by us. For this purpose, in biblical times, the priests had to ask the farmers in what state the nature is in this year, because Passover is the beginning of the barley harvest, which lasts until Pentecost, depending on the altitude. But if the farmers said, "no, the barley is not yet ripe enough, the harvest of the first-fruits sheaf (Omer) will not be possible on the 16th of Nisan", then the High Priest added another month (leap year) to align nature with God's calendar. This always ensured that all of God's feast days were always in conjunction with the barley (Passover), wheat (Pentecost) and and fruit harvests (Feast of Tabernacles). Consequently, there was never a dispute and all the inhabitants of Israel always knew when the first day of the year was and when the feast days were. There is a ripening of the ears of corn called "abib" only once a year and that is always in the latitude of Israel at the end of March to the beginning of April. 

According to Deut. 25:8-34, after 7x7=49 smitta years, after 7x7=49 Shmitta years, a "Jubilee year" (year of remission, Hall year) follows as the 50th year, in which all came to their landed property and slaves had to be dismissed. Important: Although a biblical year begins in the month of Nisan (March/April), a Sabbatical year always begins on the Day of Trumpets (1st day of the 7th month, 1st of Tishri; September/October; see calendar). Therefore, it always includes portions of two years of the biblical and Gregorian calendars. Beginning in the fall makes sense because sowing occurs in the fall, and if the Shmita year began from the first biblical month of Nisan, the land would lie fallow for two years because sowing would not make sense before the Jubilee year, and in a Jubilee year the fields would not be allowed to be tilled so as not to interrupt the rest. Therefore, the Sabbatical year began and ended in the fall, at the beginning of the rainy season. It is exactly the same with the following Jubilee years, which also always begin in autumn, more precisely on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur, 10th of Tishri).

Many Jewish and Christian sources (also Wikipedia) confirm the following data, the dates in the brackets correspond to the year in the Jewish calendar about the last and coming Sabbatical years (Shmita):

1909/1910 (5670), 1916/1917 (5677), 1923/1924 (5684), 1930/1931 (5691), 1937/1938 (5698), 1944/1945 (5705), 1951/1952 (5712), 1958/1959 (5719), 1965/1966 (5726), 1972/1973 (5733), 1979/1980 (5740), 1986/1987 (5747), 1993/1994 (5754), 2000/2001 (5761), 2007/2008 (5768), 2014/2015 (5775), 2021/2022 (5782), 2028/2029 (5789), 2035/2036   (5796)...     

The Shmita years 2014/2015 were years with blood moons (lunar eclipses) on the Biblical feast days. That was exactly 7 years before the next Sabbatical year 2021/2022 and again 7 years further we come to the next Shmittah year 2028/2029.

According to Lev 25:8-34 a "Jubilee year" (year of remission, Hall year, the 50th year) follows after 7x7=49 Shmita years, in which all came to their property and slaves had to be dismissed. God has a 7,000 year plan with mankind that includes a total of 140 Jubilee years (140x50=7,000). The first 6,000 years (120x50=6,000) are now over, with the Rapture and the 7-year Great Tribulation being the end point. After that (after the return of Jesus) comes the 1,000-year kingdom (millennium) with 20 Jubilee years (20x50=1,000):

As has already been shown, the question of the correct calendar calculation is not just about differences of opinion, but much more, it is a matter of life and death. After all, if the first day of the year is calculated incorrectly, then Yom Kippur (10th day of the 7th month) is automatically calculated incorrectly as well. This is the only day of the year when the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple. If the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies on a wrong day, he would have to die because he was disobedient and did not follow the biblical calendar but a calendar made up by men. He did not come at the appointed time, but he entered the Holy of Holies when the protecting God was not present; that means death. The sad fact is: many pastors (especially in the USA), with their own calculations of the feast days, would often send the High Priests to their deaths for disobeying God's instructions. Their Yom Kippur would thus be a funeral day. Therefore, this error in calculation is again described in detail here.

According to Leviticus 23 and other Bible passages (see above), God (not us) determined that the first month of the year must begin when the early grain (barley) must be in a state of ripeness called "abib" (see Strong number 24 with the relevant Bible passages on Biblehub) and thus the first bundle of grain stalks (the sheaf) can be presented as a wave offering. This was the decisive criterion for God (not the equinox). Accordingly, the first month of the year was named "Abib". This is often translated as "green ears of corn," which is not quite correct, because green ears are inedible and not suitable for harvesting. Instead, they are "fresh/young ears" of barley that can already be harvested but are not yet completely dry. Depending on the altitude, the barley harvest was allowed to begin from Passover (16th Abib/Nisan) and 50 days later from Pentecost (Shavuot) the wheat harvest started. 

Important is: This ripeness of the barley, which God calls "abib", exists only in one month of the year and only this month may be called "Abib". A month with overripe barley grains falling to the ground should never be called "Abib". Thus, in biblical times, it has always been clear to the Israelites when the first month must be and there was no dispute. Since the lunar year is about 10.87 days shorter than the solar year, leap months are necessary about every 3 years to adjust the calendar to the state of nature. Scientifically or biologically the word "phenology" is used here, which means the growth and development appearances of the plants periodically recurring in the annual course. If this rule of God is observed in the observation of nature, then every year God's calendar is in complete harmony with the harvest seasons (barley, wheat and grapes/fruit) and the Spring Festival (Passover, Abib/Nisan 15) and Autumn Festival (Sukkot, Tishrei 15) are always within the range of the equinox. This is all ingeniously planned by God. In 2021, the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) fell exactly on the day of the equinox (September 22/23), which is another clear proof that this calculation of God is in harmony with nature and God's calendar. But some pastors (Barry Awe, Pastor Sandy...) calculate the 7th month exactly one month after the equinox (i.e., from October 7/8) and extend it into November. This is biblically an absolute no-go (can't be done at all) because the biblical 7th month is always in September/October, not November. So these pastors mislead the children of God to the false feast days; they are false assembly days where God is not present. 

Until now, no one has been able to prove us wrong, because the first month was always determined biblically by the fact that the ripeness of the early grain (barley) was in the state of maturity "abib". This is the case only once a year, and therefore the first month is always quite clearly defined. This was very easy in 2021, because the barley was already in the state of "abib" at the end of March in Israel (the harvest started even earlier in Israel) and could have been offered as a wave offering (Omer) in the temple in Jerusalem on the 16th of Nisan (March 30, 2021) without any problems, if there would be a temple. But a barley harvest a whole month later, that is, from the end of April (from 29 April 2021; that is, almost from May 2021) is totally impossible, because the barley grains would surely fall on the ground in Israel. This month would no longer be allowed to be called "Abib". And, of course, the wheat harvest (Pentecost) would then begin a whole month after that, that is, much too late (mid-June). All this is not possible from a biblical point of view. Also, the 7th month (Sept/Oct) never goes into November, so that is also a no-go. Both TorahCalendar and the Jewish calendar calculated the correct beginning of the year in 2021 and thus also have the correct beginning of the 7th month, even if the inaccurate Jewish calendar started Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets) already one day before the crescent moon became visible (on the 6th/7th instead of the 7th/8th of October), but still better than calculating one month too late:

There are some teachers or pastors from the USA (e.g. Barry Awe and Pastor Sandy) who ignore the state of nature in Israel and follow a man-made rule that the first day of the year must supposedly always be after the spring equinox. There is no biblical evidence for this; on the contrary, it is disobedience to the rules written in the Tanakh (OT). Thus, in many years they calculate the feast days completely wrong. According to this criterion, in some years only 1 to 2 days difference would decide that the beginning of the year would have to start a whole month later, although the barley is already in the ripening stage "abib". How should this be possible? That is not possible, of course, because otherwise the Omer and thus Pentecost are calculated wrongly.

Actually it was calendrical and astronomically always decisive that not the first day of the year, but the first High Sabbath (15th of Abib/Nisan) lies after the equinox. This is a big difference. In fact, unlike wheat, barley grains fall to the ground quickly. In fact, when barley cultivation began, the grains had to be laboriously collected from the ground. Only those grains that stayed on the ears longer than the others were used for sowing. Thus barley was made a crop that could be comfortably harvested, but only ever at the right time, that is, from Passover (16th of Abib/Nisan) onward. Therefore, at the end of each year, the farmers and the priests had to go to the fields and then tell the high priest what condition the barley was in. Only then was it decided whether or not to add a leap month. Thus, from the Passover on, the barley harvest could always be started and all seven of God's feasts always fell within the range of harvest times. Therefore, there were never any problems and also Yom Kippur was always calculated correctly and no priest had to die.

A bad example in this context is Dr. Barry Awe and his certain "Mr. Bones" from the realm of the dead (a skeleton that can speak). He has been miscalculating the biblical feast days for years and deceiving the children of God into false biblical feast days almost every year. Even within one year he shifts his "true Pentecost" several times, as became especially clear in 2021, when he determined all seven (100%) biblical feast days completely wrong. His many "true Pentecosts," "true Day of Trumpets," and "true Yom Kippur" were in fact always "false feast days" that God never accepts. And also October 7/8, 2021 was not the first day of the 7th month (Yom Teruah, Day of Trumpets), but in reality the first day of the 8th month, even exactly one month after the autumnal equinox, thus much too late for the seventh month. Those who miscalculate the first month also calculate Pentecost and Yom Kippur quite wrongly. Pastor Sandy also gives a lot of correct information about the Bible on his You Tube channel, but with regard to the calendar he unfortunately makes the same mistake and ignores the criterion mentioned in the Tanakh for determining the beginning of the year, namely the ripeness of the barley. He also claims that the biblical calendar supposedly always had only 12 months. Then we invite him to explain to us how he can count without leap years in always only 12 months, if the lunar year is about 10.87 days shorter than the solar year? That is not possible, otherwise he would have to follow the Islamic moon calendar, with which the holidays wander through whole year. Why do so few Christians notice these serious errors? Answer: Because most Christians are not familiar with the Old Testament, which was the basis of the first Christian church when there was no New Testament. Therefore, they do not recognize when pastors spread false teachings about God's calendar and allow themselves to be blindly seduced, even thanking them in the comments for this false information.

To avoid misunderstandings, this is not about badmouthing others at all, but quite the opposite; it is about saving the church (the bride of Christ) from false calendars and false teachings. The many positive ratings (thumbs up) under the videos of these pastors, make it very clear how poorly schooled Christians are and therefore do not recognize these dramatic errors. Otherwise, the negative ratings would clearly outweigh the positive ones, because these pastors dared to change the times of God. This is disobedience and sin. We must always be vigilant, because Satan always gives a lot of truth as well, but he mixes it with lies, so that the lies and seduction are not so easy to recognize.

And if you're now wondering why we didn't point out the many errors with appropriate comments, the answer is simple: we've been doing that for years. But Barry Awe has only written nasty rants and has blocked the people on You Tube who pointed out these errors. Thus he has taken away the ability of other Christians to know the true feast days of God. Consequently, he has forced us to publish this here. On the other hand, Pastor Sandy does not reply, but other Christians also made nasty and insulting comments with rants instead of refuting us. This begs the question: why is not a single Christian able to prove us wrong based on the Bible? Where does it say in the Holy Scriptures that the first day of the first month must always be after the equinox, completely regardless of the degree of ripeness of the barley? It does not say that in any book of the Bible. On tvhe contrary, the biblical evidence is on our side and we are grateful that more and more people are realizing it. A humble heart follows God's instructions and does not make up new feast days. Some write in the comments, "the Holy Spirit works through these pastors and what they say must be true." The answer: no, the Holy Spirit does not contradict Himself and does not change the times of God; moreover, with this same reasoning, Catholics defend the extra-biblical teachings of the Pope.

Instead, it is like this: We are all human and make mistakes and also depend on others to point them out to us. Those who remain silent are complicit in seductions, as Ezekiel 3:17-19 proves. We ourselves also used to be mistaken, because for years we made the mistake of orienting ourselves to the Jewish calendar until we were made aware that this is not the calendar of God described in Leviticus 23. Nor is it the calendar used in Israel at the time of Jesus. Rather, it is a Jewish calendar, not a Biblical calendar (!), which was invented only in the 4th century CE/AD by the globally exiled Jews by the patriarch Hillel II, when they could no longer see the first crescent moon over Jerusalem.

With the correct calendar calculation we can finally understand various Bible passages in the Old and New Testament. Without knowledge of God's calendar, a Christian will never be able to understand what Mark meant by the "first Sabbath" (Mark 16:9) in the resurrection chapter of the NT. But with knowledge of God's calendar, any young child can understand this. This is also the statement of the other evangelists (see the chapter Resurrection on Sabbath).

List of sources of figures and literature:

Political Map of Israel (NationsOnline) 

Statellite map of Israel (Wikipedia) 

Large Topographical Map of Israel (Mapsland) 

Rainfall in Israel mm (Researchgate) 

Climate Zones, Israel map of Köppen climate classification (Imgur) 

Land Canaan (Wikipedia) 

Wildflowers of the Holy Land, PDF) The Jerusalem Botanic Gardens  

Example image of the folra of Israel (Wikipedia),          Wildlife of Israel (Wikipedia)  

Borowski, Obed: "Agriculture in Iron Age Israel", Eisenbrauns (USA), 1987

Vogelstein, Dr. Hermann: "Die Landwirtschaft in Palästina zur Zeit der Mišnâh. Teil 1, Der Getreideanbau", Berlin 1894 

 "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil"

(1Thess 5:21-22)

"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them"

(Eph 5:11)