Hebrew Calendar 2024 (Biblical Feast Days)

First day of the year: April 9, 2024

All festivals begin at sunset the evening before the date on the Roman Calendar (Genesis 1:5; Leviticus 23:32).

About God’s Calendar and Feasts

Down through history, disciples of Jesus Christ have celebrated seven biblical feasts, following the example and teaching of Jesus Christ and His apostles.

The dates for these seven festivals are given in Leviticus 23. The dates given in the Bible follow the Hebrew Calendar.

The God’s calendar is first mentioned in Genesis 1:14, where God appointed the sun and moon to determine “signs and seasons” and “days and years.” The Hebrew word translated “seasons” here is mo’adim, which refers to “appointed times.” These “appointed times” are the feasts listed in Leviticus 23. God created a complete calendar for humans in the beginning. Today God’s calendar is called the Hebrew Calendar, and it is used to determine the dates of God’s annual holy days.

Many people have been taught that since Jesus Christ fulfilled the law, God’s holy days have no value for Christians. Nothing could be further from the truth!

The real meaning of these festivals was a mystery for the ancient Israelites, and the meaning remains hidden for Jews and for most Christians today. However, the meaning of these feasts can be understood with the help of God’s spirit.

God’s feasts reveal how God will save the world. These festivals were observed by Jesus Christ and the early Church, and they are still observed by those who follow Jesus today (Matthew 7:21-23; 5:17-20).

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The Meaning of Each Feast

The Passover is a memorial of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to pay for our sins (1 Corinthians 5:7). It is celebrated after sunset, at the beginning of the 14th day of the first month on the Hebrew Calendar (Matthew 26:19-30; Leviticus 23:5). At the Passover service, members of God’s Church follow Christ’s instruction to wash one another’s feet (John 13:14-17). They also eat a broken piece of unleavened bread, representing the broken body of Christ, and drink a small amount of wine representing the blood of Jesus that paid for our sins (Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:23-26; Leviticus 17:11).

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a seven-day festival representing a Christian’s journey out of sin. During this seven-day period, true Christians remove leaven (such as bread and yeast) from their homes and eat unleavened bread instead. During this feast, leaven represent sin that followers of Christ must remove from their lives with the help of God’s spirit. The Apostle Paul instructed non-Jewish members of the Church to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, “not with the old leaven … but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8). The first and last day of this feast are holy days (Leviticus 23:7-8). This feast is also mentioned in Acts 20:6.

On the Sunday during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Bible describes a wave-sheaf ceremony (Leviticus 23:9-14). This symbolic offering of the first grain of the spring harvest represents Jesus Christ who was the first to rise from the dead to eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). Just as the wave sheaf was raised into the sky on a Sunday, Jesus rose to heaven on the Sunday after He was resurrected (John 20:17).

The Feast of Pentecost is to be celebrated on the Sunday that comes 50 days after the wave sheaf is offered (Leviticus 23:15-21; Acts 2:1). On this day, God gave the holy spirit to the disciples (Acts 2:4, 38-41). The disciples continue to celebrate Pentecost to remember that important event in God’s plan (Acts 20:16; 1 Corinthians 16:8).

The Feast of Trumpets represents the Day of the Lord a one-year period of judgment at the end of the age that Jesus describes in the book of Revelation (Revelation 1:10; 8:1-9:21). When the seventh trumpet is blown on the Day of Trumpets, Jesus Christ will appear in the sky and the followers of Christ will be resurrected from the dead and rise to meet Him in the air (Revelation 11:15; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Matthew 24:30-31).

The Day of Atonement foreshadows the time when Satan, “who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9) will be locked up (Revelation 20:1-3; Leviticus 16:10, 21-22. 29-31). On this day Christ’s redeeming sacrifice and the holy spirit will finally be made available to all people (Joel 2:28; Zechariah 12:10-13:3; Hebrews 8:11-12). The Day of Atonement is also mentioned in Hebrews 9:7 and Acts 27:9.

The Feast of Tabernacles is a seven-day feast that represents the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth and the 1000-year reign of Jesus Christ (Revelation 20:4; 5:10; Zechariah 14:9, 16). This Kingdom is the gospel (good news) that Jesus came to announce (Mark 1:14-15). The Bible says that eventually everyone in the world will keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Zechariah 14:16-19). John 7 describes some of the things that Jesus did and taught while He kept the Feast of Tabernacles.

The last feast of the year is celebrated immediately after the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles. This Eighth Day represents the time beyond the 1000-year reign of Christ when all people who have lived will be resurrected and judged (Revelation 20:11-22:5). During the judgement period, those who never heard about Jesus Christ, and those who heard but did not understand because God has not called them yet (Matthew 13:10-15, 19; John 6:44; Acts 2:39), will be resurrected to physical life and given their first opportunity for salvation (Ezekiel 37:1-14; Matthew 11:21-24; 12:41-42). John 8:1-10:21 describes what Jesus did and taught on this holy day. Just as Jesus open the eyes of the blind and forgave a woman who was caught in sin, Jesus will open the eyes of all people and forgive those who are willing to repent of their sins during the judgment period (John 7:37-39; 3:16; Hebrews 9:27; 2 Peter 3:9).

About the Hebrew Calendar

In the Hebrew Calendar, months follow the cycle of the moon and years follow the cycle of the sun. Each month begins with the new moon. Since the lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year, an extra month is added seven times every 19-years. So while most years have 12 months, some years have 13 months. From ancient times, the dates of the new moons and the years which extra months must be added have been calculated in advance so that everyone in the world can observe God’s festivals at the same time without confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33, 40).

The religious year begins with the month of Abib (Exodus 12:2; 13:4; 23:15). This month is also called Nisan (Esther 3:7). The agricultural and civil year begins and ends in the seventh month (Leviticus 25:8-9). This is why Jews call the first day of the seventh month the new year (“Rosh Hashanah”). This first day of the seventh month is also the Feast of Trumpets.

In the Hebrew calendar, each day begins and ends at sunset (Genesis 1; Leviticus 23:32), so the Sabbath and the holy days begin at sunset on the day before the date given on the Roman calendar.

2024 Hebrew Calendar

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Want to learn more?

Read the Whole Original Christianity Series

1. Why Passover Was Changed to Easter Sunday
2. Was Jesus Really Dead for 3 Days and 3 Nights?
3. What Happened to Original Christianity?
4. The Real Meaning of the Christian Festivals (God’s Plan for Us)
5. Why Most Christians Worship on Sunday
6. What is the Christian Sabbath?
7. When Was Jesus Born?
8. Why No One Celebrated Christmas for Almost 300 Years
9. Hebrew Calendar 2024

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