The purpose of
this document is not to convince others to observe the divine appointments of
the Almighty. It is to provide resource material and in-depth instruction for
those who already observe these sacred times.
When one sees the validity of God’s sacred appointments, the question
and desire arise to keep the correct days. Since calendar theories abound, we
need to inquire as to which is the most accurate and Biblical.
The Sacred Calendar
During creation week, God set his calendar in motion.
And God said [on
day 4], “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day
from the night; and let them be for
signs, and for seasons [holy days],
and for days, and years.” Genesis
1:14
There had to be
a reckoning of years counting off the beginning of earth’s history and a method
to track events, all the way down to the end of earth’s history.
Has God Reveled His Manner of Keeping Time?
Genesis 7:11 states,
In the six
hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the
month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the
windows of heaven were opened.
This is the
first time the Bible mentions the Sacred Calendar. The second month,
or chodesh, is in progress.
Noah knew the proper month according to God's manner of keeping time. He was
able to pass on this information to his righteous descendents. Events
concerning the dates of various aspects of the flood are meticulously laid out
(Genesis 8:4, 5, 13, 14).
Abraham, a
righteous descendent of Noah, kept God's commandments, statutes and laws (Genesis 26:5). Noah’s son Shem lived
during Abraham's time. He must have passed on this calendar information that
God had revealed from the beginning (like tithing, Genesis 14:20). God's monthly cycle
is revealed in the Bible as an on-going practice. Most likely, it was revealed
in the Garden of Eden when God instructed Adam and Eve.
On a specific
day God made a covenant with Abraham, promising his descendents the land
from the river of Egypt to the River Euphrates (Genesis 15:18). He let Abraham know that his
descendents would be strangers and be afflicted 400 years, afterwards coming
out with great substance (verses 13-14).
On this selfsame day 430 years later, Israel came out of Egypt (Exodus 12:40-42).
And they
departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first
month; on the morrow after the Passover the children of Israel went out with an
high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. Numbers 33:3 (This is the "night to be much
observed unto the LORD," Exodus
12:42.)
Even thought the
moon is a reminder of our deliverance from Egypt, we were never to worship the
sun, moon and stars (Deuteronomy
4:14-20). Under the civil government of the nation of Israel,
the penalty for worshipping the sun, moon and of the host of heaven was severe
(Deuteronomy 17:2-5).
Worship of the
sun, moon and stars was part of the false system of Baal worship (II Kings 23:5, 11). The marginal
note for the word "planets" indicates that what is meant is the
twelve signs, or constellations of zodiac, the foundation for astrology. The
end result of such worship is demon-possession, lunacy (Matthew 4:24, 17:15—the word for
lunatic is seleeniazomai, “moon struck”).
The Jamieson,
Fausset and Brown Commentary under Job
31:26 states that Sabaism
(from tsaba, the heavenly hosts) was the earliest form of false
worship. In contradistinction, God is called "Lord of Sabaoth, or
Hosts." God made the heavenly hosts; he, and not they, are to be
worshipped. Jamieson notes that our planetary week of Sun-day, Mon-day show
traces of Sabaisin, or worship of the heavenly host.
Our present
planetary week is of Greek origin, with traces of Babylonian influence. The
names of the days of the week correspond to the seven greatest lights
or "stars" one of which was thought to "rule" each day of
the week. These astral bodies were held to the gods and worshipped. English
names for the days of the week were derived from the Saxons, who renamed the
Greek/Latin gods after their own.
LATIN SAXON ENGLISH
Dies Solis Sun's
Day Sunday
Dies Lunae Moon's
Day Monday
Dies Martes (Mars) Tiw's
Day Tuesday
Dies Mercurii (Mercury) Woden's Day Wednesday
Dies Jovis (Jupiter) Thor's Day Thursday
Dies Venens (Venus) Frigg's
Day Friday
Dies Saturni (Saturn) Seterne's Day Saturday
Our western
calendar is of Roman origin. The names of the months reflect either a Roman
god (January-Janus, two faced
god; February-Februarius, Roman feast
of purification held on February 15; March-Mars,
god of war; April-Aprills, from Greek
Aphrodite, goddess of love, May-Main,
goddess associated with Vulcan, June-Juno,
a Roman goddess), a Roman emperor (July-Julius Caesar, August-Augustus
Caesar), or the number of
the month (September-the seventh
month, October, November, December, the eighth,
ninth and tenth months).
Originally,
March was the first month, and February was the last month (with the
intercalary February 29 added at the end of the year). In 153 BC, January was
recognized as the first month. Julius Caesar reformed the old Roman calendar in
45 BC, and Pope Gregory further modified it in 1582, thus cementing it’s Roman
nature, and is the system used by most of the world today.
Pagan to the
core, the calendar and planetary week of the world masks and precludes the true
Sacred Calendar God wants us to follow, to keep in mind His Sabbath, Feast Days
and New Moons.
The calendar is
not just something interesting to study, but it is part of God’s law, as seen
in this passage:
Blow the trumpet
at the new moon, at the full moon,
on our feast day. It is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. He appointed it in Joseph for a
testimony, when he went out over the land of Egypt… Psalm 81:3-5
Blow the horn
for the new month, for the full moon
on the day of our pilgrim feast. This is
a law for Israel, an ordinance of
the God of Jacob laid as a solemn charge on Joseph when he came out of
Egypt… Psalm 81:3-5 NEB
God scolds his
own people for not knowing his times, while they claim to have God’s law:
The word for "appointed
times" in verse 7 is mo’ed, the same word used
for God's Holy Days in Leviticus 23:2.
A
"dumb" stork knows its time to migrate, the time to bear its young,
yet some of God's own people don't know his judgments and his times. Perhaps
this is the case because they are observing wrong days, times, months,
and years, as in Galatians 4:8-11.
We must learn
how to read God’s Sacred calendar, if we are to observe the holy appointments
he has set.
The Sacred
calendar is actually quite simple, but because of our education away from the
natural phenomena of the sun and moon, the true calendar may seem difficult to
us at first.
The new moons
and equinoxes are the natural calendar
made by the Creator. While the little horn “thinks to change times and laws,”
the divine calendar cannot be tampered with by man. It is always there. The new moon starts the month and the sun starts the
year by appearing to move from solstice to solstice, passing through the
equinoxes—very simple.
While the
Bible’s Holy Days are central to true worship, determining when to observe them
creates an unending controversy—one that has been ongoing for 2,000 years. Can
we trust the Jewish calendar as many do to tell us the correct dates for
feast-keeping? Is it the calendar God commanded?
Every believer
should understand not only the role of the seven annual Feast days in keeping
us constantly in the understanding of God’s plan of redemption, but their
prophetic treasure in last day events and particularly the events associated
with the second coming of Christ. It is, therefore, important to know the
proper times these days occur.
Our present Gregorian worldly calendar with 12 months of
30 or 31 days each is not the calendar of the Bible. The Gregorian calendar,
adopted by all Catholic countries in 1582 and in 1752 by England and the
colonies, is a sun-based calendar. It pays no attention to the new moons as
marking the beginning of the months, even though the word month is based on the word moon (from Old Saxon manoth, meaning of the moon). Yet they
completely ignore the moon’s phases. Some “moonths” in our Gregorian calendar
have two moons!
Neither can we use the Mayan calendar, the Babylonian
calendar, the Egyptian Calendar, the Chinese Calendar, or any other calendar to
determine God’s holy times. We must ascertain which calendar is the true
Biblical Calendar.
Many are firmly
convinced that we should be guided by the present calculated Jewish calendar
and the feast dates as given there. This calendar has been used for hundreds of
years and is widely available.
Some have gone
so far as to make the erroneous claim that the present Hebrew or Jewish calendar
was the one used at the time of the Messiah, or even contend that the Hebrew
(Jewish) calendar was given to Moses at Sinai, but the Jews themselves openly
admit that this is in error.
The most
commonly used Jewish calendar is the
result of changes over many centuries. The Jewish Encyclopedia explains the
development of the Jewish calendar in this manner:
The Jewish
calendar may be divided up into three periods—the Biblical, the Talmudic, and
the post-Talmudic. The first rested purely on the observation of the sun and
moon, the second on observation and reckoning, and the third entirely on
reckoning.
In ancient Israel the calendar was determined
by visual sightings only; later, it was determined by both calculation and
visual sightings. Since the time of Hillel, it has been determined by
calculation only.
James Hastings
says in his Dictionary of the Bible:
By the Middle of
the 2nd century [CE] the calculated calendar was on the way to acceptance
(Sanhed. 12a), but it was not fully adopted till the 4th cent. Under
Hillel II. In the intervening period the proclamation of new moon and of the
intercalary months was still dependent on the evidence of eye-witness as to the
reappearance of the moon on the one hand, and the relation of the lunar months
to the solar seasons on the other. But astronomical calculation was certainly
utilized as well… vol. Iv under Time, p.
764
Hastings
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics states on page 123 that the change from the
8 year cycle to the Babylonian 19 year cycle took place between 222 and 276 CE.
It was not until
359 CE that Hillel II set up a standardized form of the Jewish Calendar. He
specified that the leap year with its 13th month should be the 3rd,
6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th,
and 19th years of a 19-year cycle, to adjust the lunar year to the
right seasons. This cycle was named the Metonic
cycle after the Greek mathematician
Meton, who devised the calculations. It uses a 19 year cycle because every 19
years the new moon and the full moon fall on the same days of the solar year.
However, the
Jewish calendar does not follow the observable cycles of the moon. Whereas a
natural lunar calendar will allow all the festivals (except the 7th
day Sabbath, and, according to one method of reckoning, Pentecost) to fall on
any day of the week, the Hillel calendar is arranged so that the festivals
never fall on certain days of the week. These arbitrary, man-made postponement
rules, called dehioth, are as
follows:
A. PESACH (Passover) can
never fall on Monday, Wednesday or Friday: and it must coincide with the day of
the 9th of Av of that year.
B. SHAVUOT (Pentecost) can
never fall on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday and it must coincide with the
second day of Passover...
C. ROSH HASHANAH (Feast of
Trumpets) can never fall on a Sunday, Wednesday or Friday, and must coincide
with the third day of Passover ...
D. YOM HAKIPPURIM (Wave
Sheaf/Firstfruits) can never fall on Sunday, Tuesday or Friday, and must
coincide with the fifth day of Passover.
E. PURIM (Feast of Esther)
can never fall on the Sabbath (Saturday), Monday, or Wednesday and must
coincide with the sixth day of Passover.
Days of the week on which Holy Days
cannot occur, or "Forbidden Days"
|
Days of the
Week |
SUN |
MON |
TUE |
WED |
THU |
FRI |
SAB |
|
PASSOVER |
|
X |
|
X |
|
X |
|
|
TRUMPETS |
X |
|
|
X |
|
X |
|
|
ATONEMENT |
X |
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
|
TABERNACLES |
X |
|
X |
|
|
X |
|
A Jewish book on the calendar makes the following
confession:
In more than 60%
of all years, Rosh HaShanah [Trumpets] does not occur on the day of the molad
[conjunction of the moon], but is postponed according to one of the Dehioth
[postponement] rules.” Arthur Spier, The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar, page 15
The Mishnah
(“Teaching”) contains Jewish oral law, decisions and traditions from the first
Century BCE to the third Century CE, and is the basis of the Gemara
(“Interpretation”). According to the Mishnah, a Holy Day could occur on any day
of the month:
On a
Festival-day next to the Sabbath, whether before it or after it, a man may
prepare two Erubs… (Dansby’s translation, p. 125, #6)
On p. 146 #10 we
learn that the 16th Abib may fall on a Sabbath. Page 509 #7 shows
that the Day of Atonement could fall on a Friday, the day before the weekly
Sabbath. This is in direct opposition to the modern Jewish calendar which has
postponements designed to forestall Atonement’s being either before or after
the weekly Sabbath. This demonstrates that the old calendar is not in harmony
with the present-day Jewish calendar.
While the natural, Biblical calendar months vary between 29 and 30 days, all the months between “Nisan” and “Tishri” in the Jewish calendar have prescribed lengths, just as the Roman Calendar—they are predetermined 29 and 30 day months, the same each year.
When the Jews
returned from Babylon, they adopted the Chaldean names for the months, which
were named after the Babylonian gods, in the same manner that our months and
weekdays are named for Roman and Teutonic gods. They retain these pagan names
to this day. Some of these names are mentioned in captivity or post-captivity
books, such as Nehemiah, Ezra, Esther and Daniel. For example, we are told that
Nisan is another name for the first month and Adar is the
twelfth month (Esther 3:7).
Yet God names only four months—the others are simply numbered. We therefore
reject the present designation of Nisan
for Abib and the other pagan names, such as Tammuz!
Those that are
given names are Abib, the first month (Exodus 12:2, 13:4, Deuteronomy 16:1),
a time in the spring when barley and flax have headed out, but before wheat has
grown up (Exodus 9:31, 32).
Zif, the second month, a time for construction to begin (I Kings 6:37). Ethanim, the
seventh month, time of the Feast of Tabernacles, (I Kings 8:2, 65, 66), and Bul,
the eighth month, a time for construction work to cease before winter rains (I Kings 6:38).
Something else that occured in the adoption of the
Metonic cycle in calculating the calendar that would never have occurred in Temple times was when the 17th
year of the 19-year Metonic cycle came around, Passover was two days before the vernal equinox! This 17th-year
Passover occurs the earliest of all years, and it stayed ahead of the equinox
for the next 400 years. Reckoning the vernal equinox as the beginning of the
year, it would be possible to have two Passovers within one year if Passover
were kept before the equinox!
While the Jewish calendar no longer allows Passover to
occur before the vernal equinox, since the basic error in the cycle is only
longer than the solar year by six minutes, thirty-nine seconds. Thus, the
entire calendar moves ahead of solar time one day in about 216 years. Since
this steady creeping ahead of the solar calendar, the 17th year in
the cycle no longer has Passover before the equinox; however, eventually
Passover will be held more toward summer than spring!
This aberration
is corroborated in the Jewish Encyclopedia:
That there is a
slight error in the Jewish calendar—due to the inaccuracies in the length of
both the lunar and solar years upon which it is based—has been asserted by a
number of writers. According to Isadore Loeb the Jewish cycle in 19 years
exceeds the Gregorian by 2 hours, 8 minutes, and 15.3 seconds. This makes a
difference in a hundred cycles (1900 years) of 8 days, 21 hours, 45 minutes,
and 5 seconds. Article: Calendar, p.
500
It notes on the
same page,
Insignificant as
these differences may appear, they will cause a considerable divergence in the relations
between Nisan, and spring as time goes on, and may require a Pan-Judaic Synod
to adjust.
If the present
Jewish calendar were indeed the calendar God gave, there would be no reason to
adjust or change anything, for he makes everything perfect. Therefore, the
present Hillel II Jewish calendar, while it is a masterpiece of mathematics,
cannot be relied upon to determine the correct feast dates.
Jewish leaders
expect later to return to “a system based on true values more akin to the
earlier Jewish calendar in which the new moons ... and intercalations were
proclaimed on the basis of both observation and calculation."
(Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 5, Article: Calendar, p 47)
The Karaite Jews
are those who have returned to Scripture alone for their doctrine and deny any
validity to the Talmud or Rabbinic teaching:
Karaites. . . . The accepted meaning of the name of the sect
— Kara'im, Ba'alei ha-Mikra (‘people
of the Scriptures’)—is assumed to imply the main characteristic of the sect, the recognition of the Scriptures as the
sole and direct source of religious law, to the exclusion of the Oral
law.” —Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1971 edition, Volume 10, page 762
Thus, they
disallow the Hillel calendar, and allow the festivals to fall on any day of the
week.
It is clear that the two “great lights” which “rule” day
and night are the sun and moon. David expressed it rather clearly:
"To him that made great lights, ... The sun to rule
by day; ... The moon and stars to rule by night; ..." (Ps. 136:7-9)
These “great
lights” were created:
1.
To divide day from night;
2.
For “signs,” and
3. To establish seasons, days, and years.
The sun establishes
the day, both the 12 hour day and the 24 hour day (John 11:9; Genesis 1:23;
Psalm 119:19-23).
The moon
establishes the month, beginning with the new
moon. The same Hebrew word (chodesh, Strong's #2320) is translated
both moon an month in the King James Version,
depending on how it is used in the sentence (“new moon” 20 times, and
“month” 220 times).
But what
determines the year?
As noted above,
Scriptures tell us that sun and
moon establish the year; not the sun only, but both of the great lights
(Gen.1:14).
This month [chodesh, moon] shall be to you the
beginning of months: it shall be the first month [or moon] of the year to you.
Exodus 12:2
This was stated
with reference to the feast dates in the first month (Passover, Unleavened
Bread).
We noted in
Genesis 1:14 that the sun and moon are “for seasons," as well as for days
and years. The common understanding is that “seasons” refers to the four
seasons of our year: spring, summer, fall and winter; but this is not the case.
“Seasons” is
from the Hebrew word mo’ed which, as
used here, indicates festivals. Of
the thirteen times mo’ed is (in the
KJV) translated "seasons," all
allude to the festivals except three or four. In addition, mo’ed is translated in the following
ways (KJV), showing this word very often refers to the festivals:
Feast, 6 times
Set feast, 5 times
Solemn feasts, 9 times
Solemnity, 4 times
Solemn day, 1 time
Solemn assembly, 1 time
Time appointed, 9 times
Time, 4 times
Appointed times, 2 times
Assembly, 2 times
Place of assembly, 1 time
Congregation, 149 times (often in
connection with the tabernacle, the place of worship)
From the very
beginning, even before man was created, God planned
ahead for the observance of the annual festivals. Various translations of Genesis
1:14 read as follows:
…Let there be
lights in the vault of heaven to separate day from night, and let them serve as
signs both for festivals and for
seasons and years. (NEB)
…Let there be
lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years. (Jerusalem
Bible)
Thus, the sun and the moon set the dates for the annual festivals, as well as
establishing days, months, and years
Scriptures calls
daylight hours the day, as opposed to
night (darkness):
Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in
a day? John 11:9
Until the 18th
century an hour was reckoned (among both Jews and Gentiles) as one-twelfth of
the time from sunrise to sunset. The hour varied in length with the seasons, being
longer in summer and shorter in winter. (Universal
Standard Encyclopaedia, Standard Reference Works Pub. Co., Inc, Vol. 12,
Article: Hour, p 4424; The International Standard Bible
Encyclopaedia, Eerdman's Publishing Co., Vol 2. Article: Day, p 797) Of course, these variations
may be due to the changes after the flood—we do not know.
There is also
the full 24 hour day—the calendar day—which includes both night and day:
And there was
evening and there was morning, one day" Genesis 1:5, etc
…on the day that I struck down all the
first-born in the land of Egypt I hallowed to myself all the first-born in
Israel… Numbers 3:13
Since the
first-born of Egypt were struck down about midnight (Exodus 12:29), it is
clearly evident that the word day sometimes
refers to the 24 hour day, a calendar
day.
Unlike our Roman
Calendar day which begins at midnight, the Scriptural calendar day begins at
sunset:
And the evening
and the morning were the fifth
day. Genesis 1:23
On the Sabbath day [Christ] entered the synagogue, and
taught. ... and at even, when the sun
did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were
possessed with devils" Mark 1:21,32 (Due to the Pharisees, the common
people waited until the Sabbath ended (at sunset) to come to Jesus for
healing.)
The soul that
touches any [uncleanness] shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of
the holy things, unless he bathe his flesh in water. And when the sun is down, he shall be clean; ...
Leviticus 22:6,7
Christian
churches in Europe and early America continued for many centuries to observe
the rest day and the festivals from sunset the preceding evening (even while
observing the first day of the week). This custom was gradually abandoned and
ceased totally by 1800, except by those who kept the seventh day. However, a
reminder of this is still with us in such phrases as, "Christmas
eve," and "New Year's eve;" the "eve" beginning at
sunset the preceding day. (The Lord’s Day
On a Round Earth, Robert Leo Odom, Southern Pub. Co.; pp 25 – 57; American History As Told by Contemporaries,
MacMillan Co., London; Vol. 1, p 338; The
Calendar God Gave to Moses, Herbert Solinsky & Rob Anderson, p 32)
God himself
established the week by working six days and resting on the seventh (Genesis
1:1-2:4, Exodus 20:8-11; 31:17). Reference works tell us:
The week is a
period of seven days, having no reference
whatever to the celestial motions, a circumstance to which it owes it's
unalterable uniformity. Although it did not enter into the calendar of the
Greeks, and was not introduced at Rome till after the rule of Theodosius, it
has been employed from time immemorial in almost all eastern countries; and as
it forms neither aliquot part of the year nor of the lunar month, those who
reject the Mosaic recital will be at a loss, ... to assign to it an origin
having much semblance of probability. Encyclopaedia Brit. 9th Edition, Vol 4;
Calendar, p 589
The days of the week do not have names in Hebrew, but are simply numbered and referred to as follows:
Yom Rishon (first
day)
Sundown Saturday till sundown Sunday
Yom Sheni (second day)
Sundown Sunday till sundown Monday
Yom Sh'lishi (third day)
Sundown Monday till sundown Tuesday
Yom Revi'I (fourth day)
Sundown Tuesday till sundown Wednesday
Sundown Wednesday till sundown Thursday
Sundown Thursday till sundown Friday
Shabbat (Sabbath/rest)
Sundown Friday till sundown Saturday
The Scriptural
Calendar calls for the month to begin with the new moon.
Before the
flood, there were 12 months with 30 days each Genesis 7:11, 24 states that the
windows of heaven were opened on the 17th
day of the second month, and that the waters prevailed upon the earth for
150 days; Genesis 8:3, 4 tells us that “at the end of 150 days the waters had
abated; and in the seventh month, on the
17th day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of
Ararat.” Five months of 30 days each equal 150 days.
Further indication that
the original months all had 30 uniform days is seen in time prophecy. The time
period given in Revelation 12:6 and 11:3—1,260 days (called “a time, times, and
half a time” in Revelation 12:14, which is understood as “three and a half
years) is described as “42 months” in Revelation 11:2.
However, the
lunar month now averages 29.5305883 days; or 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and
2.8 seconds, but it can vary in length as much as 13 hours. (Ibid, p 593; The
Calendar God Gave to Moses, Solinsky & Anderson; p 8) Thus, in our present
dispensation, each month consists of 29 or 30 days.
Looking for the visible crescent is not referenced in the
Bible for a new moon. It was not until
the return from Babylon, where the visible crescent was used to determine the
beginning of the month, that we have record of this method of calculating
the first day of the month. It is evident that, in adopting the heathen deity names for
the months while in Babylon, Israel was greatly influenced by the Babylonian
calendar system.
In post-Babylonian captivity, the calendar
was proclaimed by in Israel by the Sanhedrin. History books and the Talmud (not
the Bible) tell us that the Sanhedrin (the Supreme court of Israel) determined the
new moon by actually observing the first faint crescent [young moon] in the
western sky after sunset.
Watchers were
stationed on various vantage points, and runners carried this news to chosen
members of the Sanhedrin, located in Jerusalem. Once the evidence was weighed
and accepted as true, a new month was proclaimed to all the communities of
Israel, both local and distant. (The New Bible Dictionary, by J.D. Douglas;
Eerdman's Pub. Co., Grand Rapids, MI; 1979, Article: Calendar, p 178; Our
People – History of the Jews, by Jacob Isaacs; Pub. by Merkos L'Inyonei
Chinuch, Inc., 773 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY, 11213; 3rd Edition, 1974;
Vol. 4, Book 7; pp 107, 173; The Temple - Its Ministry & Service, by Alfred
Edersheim; Eerdman's Pub. Co.; 1972, p 200 – 204)
When skies are
clear and the new moon did not appear by dusk following the 29th day of any
given month, it was always visible the next night, making a month of 30 days;
yet if skies were overcast during this time, visibility was assumed (thus annulling
the supposed rule that the crescent must be “visible”).
This was th