“This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year for you.” Exodus 12:2
Now, don’t get me wrong; it’s perfectly fine to mark and observe cultural milestones that do not, in any way, counterfeit or replace the ordained Sabbaths of the Father, like one’s birthday, or our national Independence Day on July 4th, just as the ancient Hebrews observed their cultural Purim celebration, there is no scriptural prohibition from such traditions.
But, marking January 1 as the beginning of the new year is not true, spiritually. It is more a custom akin to a “fiscal year” that corporations maintain, or the lost physical Jews calling the Feast of Trumpets “Rosh Hashanah,” which is a cultural recognition, but not a spiritual one.
No, the Father is clear in scripture that, for His children, the start of the new year is the first day of Abib, the month of Passover. Of course, the name Abib was changed to Nisan after the Babylonian captivity.
I can already hear the protests from those lost in the false teachings of christianity who will falsely claim that such a recognition is “Old Testament,” or the ever-enjoyable strawman argument “But, we’re not under the law,” as if Yah’s ordained Sabbaths are the same thing as the law (if that were true, then Paul was a false teacher).
This matter requires the spiritual understanding of who Y’isra-el is, and who is a true Jew (yahudiy). The ancient physical Jews were not a spiritual real substance, but a physical foreshadow. In such constructs throughout scripture, the real substance is not physical, but spiritual. The physical foreshadow is given for human minds to grasp the details of the spiritual real substance, which is always revealed later.
So, who is a true Jew? Paul tells us in Romans 2:29 and Galatians 3:28-29 that the true Jew is not based on one’s bloodline, or race, or geographic residence. The word describes something spiritual, not physical. The ancient physical Jews were those who were given the physical covenant (ten commandments) as a foreshadow of the true Jews (spiritual) who are given the spiritual covenant (seal of the Holy Spirit on Messiah’s bride).
Both covenants (old and new) were given on the Feast of Weeks—seven Sabbaths plus one day from the Feast of Firstfruits. The old covenant was given to the physical foreshadow, while the new covenant is given to the spiritual real substance—those whose hearts have been circumcised, not their flesh.
And, who is Y’isra-el? Well, Paul tells us in Romans 11 that the physical Jews who rejected Messiah Yahoshua were CUT OFF from Y’isra-el. So, a physical Jew who rejects Messiah is not a part of Y’isra-el, and anyone from any race or bloodline who is given the new covenant by the direct, personal, literal confirmation of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:6-8) is GRAFTED INTO Y’isra-el. That which is cut off from a tree is no longer a part of that tree; but, that which is grafted into a tree becomes a part of that tree. Thus, those who have been given the new covenant (Holy Spirit’s seal) are Y’isra-el—Messiah’s bride.
To whom was the Father speaking in the opening verse (Exodus 12:2)? He was speaking to Y’isra-el. And, who is Y’isra-el? It is anyone who has been told by the Holy Spirit he has been redeemed (redemption applies ONLY to the bride—nobody else—it is the price that was paid by the Bridegroom’s Father for His Son’s bride).
According to the ONLY One who determines such things, the first day of the year for Yah’s people, who are His people spiritually (as opposed to the physical foreshadow), is the month of Abib, calculated as the first new moon following the declaration that the barley is “abib,” or ready to be harvested. And, on the 14th day of Abib/Nisan is the Passover, which was fulfilled by Messiah Yahoshua’s crucifixion as the redemption price for His bride.
According to the custom at that time, when a bridegroom had paid the entire redemption price for his betrothed bride, he would publicly declare “It is finished,” meaning “the price has been fully paid.” Now, where do we find those words in the scriptures pertaining to the Passover sacrifice of the Bridegroom? John 19:30.
Messiah’s bride is tied to the Passover because it represents her redemption; and, the Feast of Firstfruits, which is the first day of the week that follows the weekly Sabbath after Passover is the first day of the barley harvest, and Messiah’s bride is represented by the barley harvest (as opposed to the wheat and grape harvests, which represent the friends of the bride and wedding guests respectively—the wheat harvest are the tribulation saints and the firstfruits of the grape harvest are the millennial saints).
Messiah rose again from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits, being “the firstfruits of the resurrection” (1 Corinthians 15:20), and the Old Testament saints (friends of the Bridegroom) were the Firstfruits wave offering of the barley harvest that the Great High Priest in heaven presented to the Father after they all rose again from the dead with Him (Matthew 27:52-53).
So, it’s fine to enjoy the cultural celebration of another secular “fiscal year,” but for those who have been given the covenant, Yah’s ordained new year (the true “Rosh Hoshanah”) begins on the first day of Nisan, the month of Passover.
For more information: The Feasts After Passover