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 the
system used in ancient Israel during the time of Christ. Israelites did not
each observe the calendar individually; the months and year began when the priests
said it did, because they were the ones proclaiming the holy days and offering
the required sacrifices. Should a person in ancient Israel observed the
calendar “correctly” when the priests were wrong, would he be able to have the
holy day ceremonies performed for him according to his calendar observation?
No—the law contained no such provision. The days were to be proclaimed, and the people were to
assemble (Leviticus 23:2, 4:37). This does not mean that the priests were
dictators or some kind of hierarchical rulers—their authority was limited to
certain temple and judgmental functions, one of which was blowing the trumpets
to proclaim the days:
However, it was this dependence on the Sanhedrin in
determining the calendar that left their calendar in complete disarray when the
decision-making body was dispersed. After the destruction of the temple,
confusion prevailed to such an extant that Rabbi Akiba (who died in 135 CE) once
proclaimed three years in succession as years of 13 months each to restore
Passover to the spring season once again! (Encyclopaedia Judaica, Keter
Publishing House, Jerusalem; Vol. 5, Article: Calendar, p 49)
We cannot base
our interpretation of Scripture on the last era of Israel’s statehood when the
Sanhedrin officially announced the new moons from Jerusalem. There was a time
when the Sanhedrin did not exist; it does not exist today. If we insist on
using “ancient Israel’s” system of reckoning a new moon, how can we begin a new
month without a proclamation from the Sanhedrin? The Sanhedrin did not exist
until about 300 BCE; yet the months and years began for approximately 3,600
years before the existence of the Sanhedrin. Thus, the beginning of a new month or year are not dependent on the Sanhedrin
and its rules or procedures.
The fact that Jesus did not argue against the calendar
system used in his day or say it was wrong does not place his approval on the
system—if we base our beliefs on argumentum
i silentium (argument from silence), we would have to believe that God
approves of slavery, polygamy, fornication, and the many other things he never
bothered to condemn in the Old Testament.
While many today
insist that the restoration of the “old paths” is what it constitutes to
walking by faith, it is really no more than a return to the same way of
thinking that led the people of Israel to eventually reject and crucify their
Messiah. It is also significant that those who insist upon sighting the moon
fall to a great and usually unrealized inconsistency. When they set their
calendars more than a month in advance, they are using the astronomical
calculation and adding two or three days in order to assure a sighting, while
making the claim to follow the “traditions” of the elders. If they were truly
following the “old paths” (the way it was done in ancient Israel), no feast
could ever be announced more than 15 days ahead of its actual occurrence,
because no one can know the atmospheric/weather conditions ahead of time and
whether the crescent would be able to be viewed on the first, second, or (in
some cases) third night of possibility, or whether the present month would have
29 or 30 days. Yet, these very insistent ones will publish a calendar a year in
advance! All the while using the same computer programs and scientific data
used to determine the conjunction.
That witnesses
from any point on earth should be heard is admitted by Jewish Authorities:
Moreover it is
no more than an assumption (no
less difficult to prove or disprove) that the occurrences of the [new
moons] are expressed in terms of local Jerusalem time. Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 5, Article: Calendar, p. 46
More
significantly, it is a very serious mistake to use Jerusalem as a mark for anything. While on the New Earth, New
Jerusalem will again be the capital
of God’s people and the Lord’s headquarters, all observance will occur there
and all things will appear in their original perfection, i.e., the moon will
shine brighter than the sun. Literal
Jerusalem no longer has anything to
do with God’s people. Taking Bible
texts such as “for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD
from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3, Micah 4:2) out of context does not establish
Jerusalem as a center for religious reckoning. Of course that is true, but when is that talking about? It is
obvious it is talking about the new earth. If the Jewish people build a new
temple and start offering sacrifices, thus rejecting the death of Christ, can
that temple really be called “the Temple of God”? The proposed Third Temple
will most likely be the place where Satan will manifest himself as the returned
Christ (Daniel 11:45, Matthew 24:24-26).
Jesus plainly
told the Samaritan woman at the well that the time was coming, and was even
present as he spoke, when Jerusalem would
no longer be the center of worship (John 4:21, 23). Thus, in Galatians
4:22-26, Paul speaks of two Jerusalems to illustrate two covenants, comparing
them to Hagar and Sarah. He draws the conclusion that believers are no longer bound to Jerusalem in the land of Canaan.
His desire to be in Jerusalem for the Passover, as recorded in Acts 18:21, is
explained by Ellen White as having to do with the opportunity to meet with Jews
from various places, in order to persuade them as to the validity of Jesus’
claim to messiahship; she then notes that at Philippi he "tarried to keep
the Passover," (Acts 20:6) and did not make Jerusalem until Pentecost.
While Luke, a Gentile convert, dates events in his letter to another Gentile by the holy
calendar, yet mentions of Jerusalem seem only coincidental to the
descriptions given.
In the parable
of the Householder and Wicked Husbandmen, Jesus pronounces against the chief
priests and Pharisees, "The Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you,
and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof;" then, as he wept
over Jerusalem, he affirmed, "Behold, your house is left unto you
desolate." (Matthew 21:43, 23:28)
During Ellen White's ministry, there was a buzz about establishing a mission in Old Jerusalem, to which she made pointed answer in Early Writings, where she states:
I also saw
that Old Jerusalem never would be built up; and that Satan was doing his utmost
to lead the minds of the children of the Lord into these things now, in the gathering time,
to keep them from throwing their whole interest into the present work of the
Lord, and to cause them to neglect the necessary preparation for the day of the
Lord. Early Writings 75-76
Her statement that “Old Jerusalem would never be built up” has been used by some to allegedly establish her error, for the literal city has, of course, been built up. Yet she is obviously speaking of it in spiritual connotations. As a center for God’s people, Jerusalem will never be built up. She describes Jerusalem as committing the unpardonable sin in Desire of Ages page 587, and describes the city as a symbol of the final ruin of the world (3 BC 1133; COL 302; DA 743; MB 120; TM 232). How then, could Jerusalem in Palestine be germane to the reckoning of the year for God’s people now?
The Law will Go Forth From Zion
While the law will go forth from Mount Zion, and the
word of Yahweh from Jerusalem, this law will tell us that the sun and moon
determine days, months, years, and the festival dates (Genesis 1:14-16; Isaiah
66:23), for the “law” in this text is the Hebrew word Torah, which we have presently in the first five books of the Old
Testament. For hundreds of years the
people of Israel kept the festivals and the new moons before Jerusalem was
declared a place of worship. Did Joshua, Deborah, Gideon, and Samuel ask
for reports from Mount Zion and Jerusalem (at that time, a Jebusite town) when
determining the new moons and the festival dates?
For hundreds of years
before the chosen people occupied the land of Canaan, the ancient saints,
including Seth, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham (Genesis 5-8), determined the months
and years without consulting any one in the land of Canaan. How was this done?
The new crescent
is first seen in the western sky in
different parts of the earth. Two to four times yearly North America can
see the new crescent moon one day before it is seen in Jerusalem. Should we, on
these occasions, ignore what we see?
The new moon would have to be ignored by
many communities if they were to go by Jerusalem sightings—some observing the
month with absolutely no visible new moon,
others observing the month after the moon
had already previously appeared! Since it is supposedly this very thing
(the appearance of the new moon)
which signals the beginning of a new month in this form of reckoning, ignoring
the new crescent locally and beginning each month only after the new moon is
seen in Jerusalem will cause approximately one third of the months in time
zones other than Israel to begin on the first
day the new crescent is seen, but on the second
day. There would be akin to the “postponement rules” set in the Jewish calendar
which is one of the major flaws in the Hillel calendar presently in use.
Magdi Shamuel of
Universal Karaite Judaism in Ramla, Israel, stated (via letter) in response to
a query regarding using Jerusalem visibility:
The celebration
of the feasts is determined according to local visibility of the moon in each
place.
He goes on to elaborate how (using San Francisco as a
comparison), on specific dates the moon would be visible in San Francisco a day
before Israel (according to the Roman Calendar and using the International
dateline), and thus, celebrated earlier in San Francisco than in Israel.
Thus, if
visibility is being used, it would have to be local visibility; just as we observe the Sabbath when it comes to us, so we would observe
new moon when visible to us. Jerusalem cannot
be our reference point.
Since we reject
the Rabbinical calendar, and we do not go by visibility in Jerusalem, we are
left with only two alternatives: local
visibility, or the dark of the moon (the astronomical new moon).
This being understood,
we encounter another problem with the fact that the moon is visible in
different parts of the earth at different times. Unless you use Jerusalem as a
reference point (for which there is absolutely no biblical evidence), the feast days will fall on different dates
in different parts of the world. This is unacceptable. There must be one correct date.
Using the astronomical new moon conjunction is the only method that will give you the same feast dates all over the world.
Furthermore, it takes at least 18 to 20 (some say 22)
hours following a conjunction for the unaided eye to see first visible crescent
moon. Cloud, haze, trees and mountains are only the obvious problems; modern
research has discovered that even on perfectly clear evenings, the two most
critical factors in determining visibility are the age of the observer and the
amount of humidity in the air. It has been demonstrated that the young and the
old have the greatest difficulty in seeing a crescent, while the middle age
have the easiest. Further, the greater the humidity factor in the atmosphere,
the less likely the crescent can be seen. It is important to stress the point
that when discussing new moon crescent sightings of the past, that these
factors are not only unknown, but are impossible to calculate. Yet another
factor is that often the brightness of the setting sun obliterates the thin and
very faint light of the new crescent moon. Thus, “visibility” can never be
certain or determined until it is undeniably
visible, this possibly being the second
night it was “actually/possibly” visible. The conjunction, however, can be determined with 100% accuracy.
Since God has not
given the specific details for what constitutes a new moon, we must consider
the import of Proverbs 25:2:
It is the Glory
of God to conceal a thing, but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
Thus, it becomes an act of active faith to explore and
discover the truth of this matter.
The most basic
answer to the question “What is a ‘new moon’?” is quite logical. It is the opposite of a full moon. This would have to be a dark moon. The following illustrates that:
Except for
during a lunar eclipse, half the moon is
always in sunlight, just as half of the earth is always in day (again, except
in the case of a solar eclipse). The phases of the moon are “caused” by the
part of the moon we can see at any given time in its rotation around the earth.
This figure demonstrates
that the true “new moon” would be at its direct opposite position from when it
is full.
You will notice that when the first visible crescent is
visible to us (B), the moon is already well into its waxing phase in relation
to the full moon.
The conjunction is the only “new” happening during the
complete moon cycle; all other appearances of the moon are merely a phase of
its appearance. At the moon conjunction it
becomes a new moon in a specific moment of time, a moon totally different from
the previous one, after that specific moment in time it immediately begins to
rebuild. Thus the term Chodesh (Strong’s
#2320, month, new moon, monthly) comes
from the word chadash (Strong’s
2318), meaning to renew, to repair; to be
new, to make anew. The moment a moon begins renewing or rebuilding, is the
moment immediately past conjunction. Not even those who observe the crescent
deny this fact.
The full moon is
usually on the 14th or 15th day after conjunction of sun
and moon (a conjunction is the
moment when the moon is directly between the earth and the sun—though on a
different plane—and so is invisible. When on the same plane, an eclipse of the
sun occurs.).
Since the new crescent is not seen until one, two, or (on rare occasions) three
days after the conjunction, the full moon
sometimes appears only 12 days after the crescent is first sighted. This is
because the moon does not travel at the same speed from day to day and from
month to month. Therefore, the first of
the month cannot be established by noting the visible crescent, because
Passover and the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles must be on full moons.
This is the first indication that the
Scriptural month must begin with the conjunction, not with the visible new
crescent.
The Hebrew word chodesh has as its root word chadash, meaning to be new, cause to rebuild, repair. The new moon feast is called
“the festival of the born again” by Jewish people, and the conjunction is
called the molad or birth of the moon. Ellen White makes the statement that the dark
moon is a fit symbol of man turned away from Christ (Mount of Blessing 40). The
dark moon stand as an illustration of our need. In
the book of Revelation, God’s people are symbolized as a woman standing on the
moon. As the moon's circuit and a woman's cleansing cycle are roughly the same,
the moon represents the cleansing from sin and growth in grace.
According
to Paul in Romans 10:6-10, God offered Israel righteousness by faith at Sinai
(cf. Deuteronomy 30:11-14). He comments that while “they are deeply devoted to
God; but their devotion is not based on true knowledge,” (Romans 10:2 TEV) and
because they did not understand God’s way of making us right—which is through
trust (“faith,” “trust,” and “belief” are all translated from the same Greek
word—pistis), they set up their own way of becoming right, which is through obeying
the Torah, or works (Romans 10:3-4). In the very next verse he makes a
declaration that has been widely misconstrued: “For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to every one
that believeth” (Verse 4). In other words, Christ is the end of trying to become
righteous through obedience to the law, or works. Thus, a few verses earlier, he talks about
how gentiles were put right with God through trust (faith), while Israel,
trying to gain righteousness through the law, did not attain it, “because
they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.” (Romans 9:30-32)
At Sinai, God
called his people to holiness—not simply on an individual basis, but as a
people. In the 19th chapter of Exodus, Moses issued this call to
holiness in language which Peter would later use to call forth this people from
the believers in Christ. In the 20th chapter, at the conclusion of
the verbal issuance of the commandments, Moses plainly entreated the nation,
“sin not,” and we are plainly told that “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”
(Romans 14:23) This was therefore clearly a call to a walk of complete faith,
such as that of Enoch. Sadly, the people chose a god they could see over the
God whom they could not see (the golden calf), and the honor and privilege of
special service went to the one faithful tribe of Levi, never to be bestowed on
that “stiff-necked” people as a whole. God wanted to write his law on their
hearts, but they rejected that, so he wrote it on the next softest thing he
could find. They rejected walking by
faith (trust) and walked by sight. Jesus said, “A wicked and adulterous
generation seeketh a sign.” (Matthew 16:4)
However, God did not reject them—he worked with them.
It is because God is that he worked with them in their insistence in walking by
sight, giving them miracle after miracle and sign after sign. The only way AD 31 can be the correct year
of the crucifixion and also have a Friday crucifixion is if we go by local
visibility that year in Jerusalem, which was indisputably the system that was
being used in the time of Christ. While the conjunction was on April 10 at 11:16 universal time, there is
absolutely no possibility of
visibility in Jerusalem until the evening of the 12th (thereby
making a Wednesday crucifixion impossible);
this would have made the 13th of April the first day of Nisan
(and thus a Thursday crucifixion).
However, the visibility on the evening of the 12th is assuming perfect conditions; any cloud cover or
haziness whatsoever would have precluded the moon being seen, thereby deferring
the first viewing of the barely visible crescent until the evening of the 13th,
thereby making the 14th of April the first day of Nisan, bringing us
to a Friday, April 27 day for Nisan 14 in the year 31 CE.
Christ never
rebuked them for their calendar system;
yet this does not necessarily mean approval, any more than his silence in
the Old Testament regarding polygamy, meat-eating, fornication, use of alcohol
by the common man, or any given number of instances where God stayed silent
indicated approval. God has always worked with his people wherever they
were. It is self-evident that the original diet was what God desires; yet he
gave those desiring “the fleshpots” instruction as to which flesh foods to eat
and how to prepare them; and when his rule was rejected, he did not abandon
Israel, but rather provided a substitute monarch fitting their need and
desires.
That God is more
concerned with the meaning of the feast dates rather than the actual dates is seen
in that he provided a second
Passover, an entire month late, for
those who could not observe Passover services due to exigent circumstances. We
find one of the greatest Passovers in the Bible kept by Hezekiah one month late
and twice as long as God commanded! (2 Chronicles 30:2,23) Furthermore, God’s
attitude towards the use of the second tithe (in reality, a savings fund that
provided the means to provide for the expense of the feast date travel
arrangements and the time off from regular employment) is rather enlightening:
Thou shalt truly
tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose
to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil,
and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to
fear the LORD thy God always. And if the
way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the
place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his
name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee: Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine
hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after,
for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or
for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt
eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine
household. Deuteronomy 14:22-26
While some have tried in vain to explain away the
original intent of the inspired text by stating that God could not possibly have been saying that he would
sanction the use of the second tithe to purchase intoxicating beverage, the
fact that the original text has the word shekar—meaning
strong drink, the hardest intoxicating drink known at that time—indicates
that God was willing to make this incredible compromise, basically stating, “Just come to the feast—if you must consume
alcohol, just come! Perhaps I can communicate with you if you at least come.”
Ellen White and Adventism stand or fall with the date October 22, 1844 being accurate. Notice
the following statements made by Ellen White:
The preaching of a definite time for the judgment, in the giving of the first message, was ordered by God. The computation of
the prophetic periods on which that message was based, placing the close of the
2300 days in the autumn of 1844, stands
without impeachment. Great
Controversy 457
In like manner the types which relate to the second advent must be fulfilled at the time pointed
out in the symbolic service. Under the Mosaic system the cleansing of the
sanctuary, or the great Day of Atonement, occurred on the tenth day of the
seventh Jewish month (Leviticus 16:29-34), when the high priest, having made an
atonement for all Israel, and thus removed their sins from the sanctuary, came
forth and blessed the people. So it was believed that Christ, our great High
Priest, would appear to purify the earth by the destruction of sin and sinners,
and to bless His waiting people with immortality. The tenth day of the seventh
month, the great Day of Atonement, the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary,
which in the year 1844 fell upon the
twenty-second of October, was regarded as the time of the Lord's coming. Great
Controversy 399-400
As foreshadowed in the type, and foretold in the
Scriptures, Christ, at the time appointed, entered the most holy place of the temple of
God in heaven. Southern Watchman, January 24, 1905
Of all the great religious movements since the days of
the apostles, none have been more free from human imperfection and the wiles of
Satan than was that of the autumn of 1844. The
Great Controversy 401
True, there had
been a failure as to the expected event ...
The
mistake had not been in the reckoning of the prophetic periods, but in the event to take place at the end of the 2300 days. The Great Controversy 406
That she could not
be merely expressing the common understanding of the pioneers (which, of
course, left room for human error) is seen in the following declaration:
I must respond to the letters received from you and
others. In your letter you speak of your
early training to have implicit faith in the testimonies and say, “I was led to
conclude and most firmly believe that every word that you ever spoke in public or
private, that every letter you wrote under any
and all circumstances, was as inspired as the Ten Commandments.” My brother, you have studied my writings
diligently, and you have never found that I have made any such claims, neither
will you find that the pioneers in our cause ever made such claims . . . .
The statement
which you quote from Testimony No. 31 [volume 5, page 67] is correct: “In these
letters which I write, in the testimonies I bear, I am presenting to you that which the Lord has presented to me. I do not write one article in the paper
expressing merely my own ideas, They are
what God has opened before me in vision — the precious rays of light shining
from the throne.” It is true concerning the articles in our
papers and in the many volumes of my books. 1 Selected Messages, pages 24, 29 (June 14, 1906)
When speaking of the 1911 edition of The Great Controversy, Mrs. White speaks of her going through and
editing it. Her comments are pertinent:
A few days ago I received a copy of
the new edition of the book Great
Controversy, recently printed at Mountain View, and also a similar copy
printed at Washington. The book pleases me. I have spent many hours looking through its
pages, and I see that the publishing houses have done good work. . . .
Recently it was necessary for this book to be reset,
because the electrotype plates were badly worn.
It has cost me much to have this done, but I do not complain; for
whatever the cost may be, I regard this new edition with great satisfaction. .
. .
When I learned
that Great Controversy must be reset, I
determined that we would have everything closely examined, to see if the truths it contained were stated in
the very best manner, to convince those not of our faith that the Lord had guided and sustained
me in the writing of its pages.
As a result of
the thorough examination by our most experienced workers, some changing in the
wording has been proposed.
These changes I have carefully examined, and approved. I am thankful that my life has been spared,
and that I have strength and clearness of mind for this and other literary
work. 3 Selected Messages, pages 123, 124
The Jewish
people observed the Day of Atonement on September 23 in 1844. This can be easily confirmed by
consulting any Jewish almanac of that time, or any orthodox Jewish authority.
It has been
declared that, while the Orthodox Jews may have observed the Day of Atonement
on September 23, the Karaite Jews observed it on October 22. This is an
erroneous claim. The leading Karaite
rabbi of Cairo, Egypt, Youseff Ibrahim Marzork, in reply to an inquiry as to
the day on which they celebrated the atonement in 1844, wrote:
As to the dates
of the Passover and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) they are the following:
according to the Karaite Jews in the year 1843 the Yom Kippur (Day of
Atonement) is on Wednesday 4th October, and just the same date according to the
Rabbinical. In the year 1844 it is on Monday 23rd September for both the Karaite
and Rabbinical. The
Gathering Call by E. S. Ballenger, May-June 1941, pp. 14-15
A leader in the
largest modern-day Karaite group makes the following statement:
In the time of Shlomoh
ben Efedah Hacohen (c. 1860) all
Karaites everywhere had for many years been using the 19 year Rabbinic
cycle. Therefore, Yom Kippur must have
been celebrated by the Karaites in late September 1844 in accordance with the
19 year Rabbinic cycle and not in late October 1844. While late September
may or may not have been the correct month in which to celebrate Yom Kippur
(only a crop report from that year would decide that issue) it was undoubtedly the month actually
observed by Karaites everywhere.
That Yom Kippur 1844 was celebrated by the Karaites
in September and not October is confirmed by a Karaite Tomb Stone inscription
cited by Abraham Firkowitz in his book "Avnei Zicharon" published
Vilna 1872 [lengthy explanation followed in original manuscript]… it becomes
clear that Yom Kippur 1844 must have been celebrated in late September and not
late October. Nehemia Gordon, Jerusalem, Israel, of karaite-korner.org
Regardless of what the Karaites were or were not doing in 1844, the important question is, what was the true date for the Day of Atonement, biblically speaking?
Jewish tradition (set down in detail in the Talmud) and
modern-day Karaites tell us that the new year was originally determined
strictly by the ripening of the barley harvest and not by observance of the
moon, until the calculated Rabbinic calendar began to be used after the
diaspora (even Orthodox Jews teach that we will revert to the original method
of determining the year and months when Messiah sets up his kingdom, which the
Karaites use to make the point that we should revert to the Biblical calendar
now).
However, that
Karaites have in the past used the vernal equinox, and not the barley harvest, to determine the beginning of the year is
recorded in Jewish sources:
Jewry is divided on that point
[i.e., on the method of declaring the advent of the crucial month of Nisan] into three differing groups [sums
up Levi ben Yefeth, the early eleventh-century Palestinian Karaite jurist]. The
first group, comprising the majority community, are the Rabbanites. . . .
The second group consists of people
in the Land of Shine‘ar [=Babylonia] from among our brethren the Karaites. They follow the [computation of the vernal]
equinox alone; yet, they stipulate certain conditions which are
different from those stipulated by the Rabbanites. This is why we have listed this group as
separated from the Rabbanites. . . . Now,
this second group does not inquire, nor search, for the abib at all; its members simply wait and do the
proclamation of Nisan when the sun reaches the Constellation of the Ram.” —Zvi Ankori, Karaites In Byzantium, pages 303, 304
Again, that the ancients were not
ignorant of astronomy and could recognize the constellations is seen in Job
38:31, where he mentions the Pleiades and Orion.
Mr. Ankori details that the three
divisions in determining the first day of the first month were that the Rabbanites followed the
pre-calculations alone, and did not search for the abib [ripened
barley] near the vernal (spring) equinox; Babylonian Karaites did not search
for the abib, but followed computation of the vernal equinox alone;
finally, the Palestinian-oriented Karaites observed the abib alone and
did not investigate the position of the sun (equinox). Karaites in general followed
the Palestinian reckoning for several hundred years, until it was so small and
fragmented a movement that they began to use the Rabbinic calculated calendar.
The shift in modern Karaism is to return to the Palestinian method of observing
the barley alone.
While Jewish
tradition and even he Talmud can teach us much, all these traditions must be
weighed by the truth of Scripture, for in the end, the fact that things were
done in or were not done in a certain way by the nation of Israel does not
indicate orthodoxy. This touches on the problem of determining the method of
counting Pentecost; since the time of Christ, the Jewish people were divided on
which was the correct way; and while the Sadducees controlled the temple
services (and, thus, the official proclamation of the feast dates as well as
the temple sacrifices), this alone is no reason to reject the Pharisaical
system of counting Pentecost! Therefore, both Orthodox and Karaite calculations
are thereby rejected as unbiblical; our position is that the year must begin
with the first new moon on or after the vernal equinox. The present question
is: do we determine the New
Moon/beginning of the month with the visible
crescent, as done anciently, or the dark of the moon?
On this question
much depends, for, if we follow the visible
new moon in 1844 to calculate the first month, the day of atonement would be on September
23, not October 22!
In the year 1844, the Astronomical New Moon (conjunction)
occurred on the19th of March at 0:17, universal time. The Equinox occurred on
March 20 at 11:55 universal time. Since the New Moon must be on or after the vernal equinox, it would seem that this moon
could not be the beginning of the first month, since it occurred before the vernal equinox.
However, this
new moon did not become visible anywhere on earth until the
evening of March 20—after the vernal equinox. Thus, we would have to consider this moon the beginning of the first month, since
it fell after the vernal equinox. Counting to the seventh moon, we arrive
at September 13, 1844 as the first day of the first month (Feast of Trumpets),
thus giving us a September 23 Day of Atonement in 1844!
That the Pioneers believed that the month was to be
reckoned by the visible new moon is
evidenced in the following:
From a full and
careful review and examination of the question, we are still convinced that the
true Jewish seventh month could only synchronize with our October, - commencing with the first appearance of the new moon on the 13th of that month,
and ending with the appearance of the new moon on the 11th of November."
R&H Vol. X., Sep. 3, 1857. - No. 18 The
Time in our Year of the True Seventh Month
Yet the date October 22 cannot be correct if
this method is followed, for two reasons—the
first being that the seventh month would have begun on September 13 and not
October 13th, and even if we were to gloss over this fact, using a
visible new moon would give us a October 23rd o 24th date
for the Day of Atonement.
Samuel Snow,
who did the original calendar research for the Advent movement, calculated the
Astronomical new moon (conjunction), but he
did not take into consideration that this new moon cannot be seen! The
first visual moon after the conjunction cannot
be seen until 15 to 48 hours after the Astronomical new moon. This means
that the first day of the 7th month (assuming it was in October) would have
been 15 to 48 hours after October 11th,
thus giving us the date October 23rd or 24th for the day
of atonement! A critic of Adventism quotes the following correspondence he has
personally received from Karaite Jew:
Hebrew dates
begin the evening before. So if October 14th is the beginning of the month, the
new moon was seen the prior evening (on October 13th). Whether the moon was
actually sighted on the evening BEFORE October 14th is unknown. However, given
the astronomical data it can be said with 100%
certainty that the new moon would not have been visible the evening BEFORE
October 13th whereas the evening BEFORE October 14th it would have been
clearly visible (barring poor weather conditions).
That the early Advent believers were aware of the
discrepancy between using visibility of the moon and the October 22 date is
seen in the following:
TIME AT JERUSALEM. - If that is to be the standard, we
may not see the tenth day till Oct. 23d, for the new moon was not till the
morning of Oct. 12th at Jerusalem, and if it did not appear till the evening of
the 13th, then the first day of the tenth month might, even, be as late as the
14th, and the tenth day might therefore be on the 24th. Let us, therefore, not
cast away our confidence, if the Lord should not come on the 23d of this month.
But let none presume upon the continuance of time beyond the 22d. The Midnight Cry, October 19, 1844, page
132
God has been
looking for a people—an entire generation—that would walk by faith. He has
never had that. He is looking for the 144,000.
This is the true
significance of October 22, 1844, and the revelation of the Heavenly Sanctuary.
We are told that the “anti-typical day of atonement” began in that year. What
does this mean? Most people understand that to simply be the day that the
judgment began. However, to truly understand it’s significance, we must look at
the services of the sanctuary.
The day of
atonement services were called the “yearly” services. It was the only time the
High Priest entered the Most Holy Place. All other services were called the
“daily” services.
The daily
services represent the way God has worked with sinful people since the
beginning. We sin, he forgives, we sin, he forgives… Yes, God is gracious and
forgiving.
However, the day
of atonement services were the final putting
away of sin, representing the complete purification of God’s people.
In the typical system, which was a shadow of the
sacrifice and priesthood of Christ, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the last
service performed by the high priest in the yearly round of ministration. It
was the closing work of the atonement --a removal or putting away of sin from
Israel. It prefigured the closing work in the ministration of our High Priest
in heaven, in the removal or blotting out of the sins of His people, which
are registered in the heavenly records. Great Controversy 352
The cleansing, both in the typical and in the real
service, must be accomplished with blood: in the former, with the blood of
animals; in the latter, with the blood of Christ. Paul states, as the reason
why this cleansing must be performed with blood, that without shedding of blood
is no remission . Remission, or putting away of sin, is the
work to be accomplished. But how could there be sin connected with the
sanctuary, either in heaven or upon the earth? This may be learned by reference to the symbolic service; for the
priests who officiated on earth, served "unto the example and shadow of
heavenly things." Hebrews 8:5.
Great Controversy 417-418
The date October
22, 1844 is confirmed as the true Day of Atonement, for it dealt with the
Heavenly Sanctuary, which operates on an accurate and correct reckoning of the
year and month. The fact that God began to use the correct calendar dates
(using the Astronomical New Moon Conjunction) for his people in 1844 is
indicative of the “closing work” of the church: the formation of the 144,000. As God’s people in the last days, we are not to repeat the
mistake of Israel and walk by sight, but by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). Therefore,
the calculation of the Day of Atonement in 1844 is correctly reckoned on
October 22, using the astronomical conjunction of the new moon, rather
than the visible crescent days later.
There is a false
notion that the Israelites were ignorant savages not capable of calculating a
precise calendar as did the Egyptians, Greeks, and Babylonians; and finally,
some three to four hundred years after Christ, it is believed that the Jews had
qualified astronomers. Then Hillel II published a calculated calendar for the
first time. The Jews' knowledge supposedly took more time to evolve than other
more advanced peoples.
This idea is
pure hogwash, and borders on anti-Semitism. Historical research proves Abraham
was a scientist.
Abraham has
often been conceived as an ignorant nomad, an illiterate and uneducated man.
This is not so. Archeological discoveries have shown that Ur of the Chaldees
was a center of advanced culture. There were libraries and temples. The people
used grammars, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and reference works along with
textbooks on mathematics, religion, and politics.” Harold Lindsell, Harper Study Bible, footnote for Genesis
11:27, RSV 1965
The Babylonians
had a highly developed algebra as well as geometry.
They noted… with
great care… the precession of the equinoxes. Eclipses of the sun, moon, and
stars were so carefully described that part of the ancient chronology has now
been fixed without fear of mistake by just such [records].” They Wrote on Clay, Edward Chiera, pp.
156-157
The Bible states
Solomon's scientific knowledge was immense. During the time of King David of
Israel, certain of the children of Issachar "had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to
do," (I Chronicles 12:32) They had knowledge of astronomy
and the calendar of God so as to know the times of the Sabbaths, Holy Days and
New Moons that Israel was commanded to keep holy and observe.
Most ancient civilizations, including the Native American Indians of North and South America, had simple means for locating the equinoxes and solstices, especially in order to establish their festivals. Even the least technologically-involved cultures had sophisticated understanding of the basic astronomical cycles. The Mayans, for example, whose technological level remained rudimentary even at their height, developed a system for tracking time and recording astronomical data that is astoundingly accurate and represents an achievement perhaps superior to that of the Greek astronomers. They used a sophisticated calendrical system to plot the earth's rotation around the sun, one which is widely recognized to be more accurate than the Gregorian calendar used from 1582 to the present day. Their calendars plotted the time taken by the moon to orbit the earth with an accuracy that can only be matched by the finest of modern methods. They could predict eclipses with an accuracy that falters by one day in 4,500 years. Unlike the Ancient Greeks (but like the Ancient Egyptians), the Maya understood that Venus was both the morning star and the evening star, which they also ingeniously incorporated into their calendar. The combination of their interlocking systems ensured that the calendar was virtually error-free, over vast expanses of time.
The ancient
Chinese Calendar, dating from c. 1876 BCE, was a lunar calendar. It’s months were based upon the astronomical
new moon, and not a visual new crescent. Ancient Chinese records indicate
that solar eclipses (which can occur only when the moon and sun arrive at
conjunction) were recorded as taking place on the first day of the month.
It is interesting to note that The Encyclopedia Judaica,
in the article The Samaritan Calendar,
reports:
The first day of the month is fixed by the
conjunction (zimmut or kibbuz) of the moon with the sun (not by
the appearance of the new moon)... According
to Samaritan tradition, the calendar was
always based on calculation, not on observation of the new moon. This
system, much venerated by them, is called Heshban Kishtah (True Reckoning) or Mahshav Ayyamim (Reckoning of the Days).
The oldest
description of it is found in the Abu-al-Hasan of Tyre’s compendium of law,
al-Tabbakh (11th century), in which he explains
why the Samaritan rite of fixing the first of each month according to the
conjunction is the only way of arriving at the true beginning of the new month,
as the conjunction signifies a real new occurrence each month, whereas the new
moon differs only in degree from its later phases during the month.
Adding weight to the import of the Samaritan calendar
observance is the fact that:
In
contradistinction to the Jewish calendar, the Samaritan leap years are not
bound to a fixed year in this cycle but are decided upon according to
need. Ibid
The Jewish
medieval scholar Maimonides states:
The molad [new
moon] is defined as “the moment in which sun and moon, in their uniform motion,
become conjoined in a certain part of the sky, which occurs in the same way
everywhere—in contrast to the varying times at which the new crescent first
becomes visible—in different areas. Sanctification of the New Moon, Book 3,
Treatise 8, page 89
The New
Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon identifies the biblical
new moon as something round, surrounded,
concealed behind a curtain, remaining behind. Hebrew lexicons don't gleam
their understandings of Hebrew words from merely Old Testament Hebrew—these
meanings reflect hundreds, even thousands, of parallel usages of variants in
other ancient Semitic inscriptions. Cognates to many Hebrew words are found in
ancient Ugaritic, Moabite, Phoenician, Aramaic, Arabic, and Akkadian that
confirm their original Hebrew meanings.
Of course, our
common dictionaries define the actual new moon as beginning with darkness. And,
incidentally, even if God's new moon had to be visually observed (although it
doesn't), it could be observed just as easily by the waning crescent, as the waxing crescent moon. The period of
darkness of each month where the true astronomical new moon occurs, even in the
absence of astronomical data, would allow the correct new moon to be “observed”
if it were necessary. It is reported that the Jewish Karites say, "It is
easier to find the final waning moon than it is to establish the new waxing
crescent!"
God's Word has
established that all creation (and re-creation) has started out of darkness:
And the earth was
without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the
Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2
Just as God's
days begin with darkness—the disappearance of the sun—so his new moons begin with darkness, which he brings to light.
According to
the Jewish Encyclopedia,
Nightfall, as
the border-line between the two consecutive days is the moment when three stars
of second magnitude become visible. The short time before the actual appearance
of the stars is regarded as a doubtful period, neither day nor night, and is
called in rabbinic literature “bene ramshayah’ (between the evenings). Article: Calendar
They are referring to Beyn HaArbayim, which is not a made-up term, but the Hebrew word
translated at even (which is a very
poor translation) in the Bible in reference to the Passover seder. Between
sunset and darkness, there is an intermediary
period of some 40+ minutes, called dusk
or twilight. While later tradition
erroneously taught that Beyn HaArbayim
is any time between noon and sunset, that is not the correct definition.
This expression
is found 11 times in Scripture, and is clearly that intermediary period of time
after sunset when there is enough light to perform necessary tasks such as
lighting the lamps just before dark when Aaron burns the incense:
And when Aaron
lighteth the lamps at even (beyn harbayim), he shall burn incense
upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
Exodus 30:8
One would hardly expect the Tabernacle lamps to be lit at
noon or even 3 p.m. to burn the precious oil needlessly in the brightest part
of the day before 6 p.m. or sunset.
Rabbi Nathan
Bushwick writes:
As the moon
moves around the earth, there is one moment that it is exactly between the earth
and the sun. At that moment the earth faces the dark side of the moon. Already
for about a day before this moment the moon has not been visible from any point
on the earth and it will remain invisible for about a day more. Understanding the Jewish Calendar page
71
In the initial
dark period (usually a day), it is still
in its waning phase, thus part of
the current month; not until it reaches the conjunction does it begin it’s
rebuilding or waxing phase. Since the root word chadash means cause to
rebuild and renew, we therefore reckon the new moon at
the evening of conjunction, and not with the initial darkness. Just as the day
begins at even and we do not wait until dawn to call it a new day, so we do not
wait until we see a crescent moon to start a new month.
Not once is the visible young
crescent moon mentioned in the Bible when speaking of the new moon.
Some say that we
must use a visible new moon, because “a
‘sign’ is something you can see.” However, a “sign” can also mean a mark, omen,
prodigy, or token:
Strongs #0226, a
signal (lit. or fig.), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence,
etc.:—mark, miracle, (en-)sign, token. Strong’s
Complete Dictionary of Bible Words
Let’s examine
the scripture cited by those who affirm that the new moon is calculated by
visibility, to see if there is scriptural support for their visual sightings.
Let's start with Genesis 1:14-15:
And God said,
"Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from
the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, And
let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth. And it
was so.
There is no
mention of witnesses or the need to actually sight the new moon in the above
passage.
Let's see if
there is any mention in the Psalm passage cited by those who affirm that the
new moon is the visible crescent:
The moon marks
off the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down. Psalm 104:19
Again, there is
no mention of witnesses or the need to actually sight the new moon in the above
passage.
Arthur Spier
says,
Since Biblical
times the months and years of the Jewish calendar have been established by the cycles
of the moon and sun. The traditional law prescribes that the months shall
follow closely the course of the moon, from its Molad (birth/conjunction) to
the New Moon. The Comprehensive Hebrew
Calendar, page 1
Pg. 14 of the
same book says:
Every month must
begin on a day close to the Molad (this is included in the Postponement rules).
Maimonides says,
The court used
to ascertain by calculation, and with great precision, according to the methods
of the astronomers, the exact time of the (True) conjunction of the moon with
the sun, in order to find out whether the moon could be visible (on the night
of the 30th day) or not. The Code of
Maimonides, Book Three Treatise Eight, Sanctification of the New Moon"
translated by Solomon Gandz, Pp. 26 & 27
He further
states,
Where the molad
(mean conjunction) is defined as the moment in which sun and moon, in their
uniform motion, become conjoined in a certain part of the sky, which
occurs in the same way everywhere—in contrast to the varying times at which the
new crescent first becomes visible in different areas. Ibid, Page 89
The
understanding that the molad is the second
night of darkness, and thus, knowable in advance, appears evident as early as
King David, as it definitely appears
that David and Jonathan knew in advance that
the next day would bring a New Moon:
David said to Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field to the third day at even. 1 Samuel 20:5
So, if the new
moon could only be determined by direct observation of the crescent moon, how
could David, Jonathan, and King Saul have known the "New Moon" feast
would be the next day? If the night sky had been overcast, they would have had
to assume visibility to start the new
month, for no month had more than thirty days—yet there is nothing in Scripture
that limits a month to 30 days. The
entire system of using visibility is
fraught with assumptions.
On the other hand,
the crescent moon is almost always
identified in the writings of ancient geographers and historians as the moon of
choice among pagans. Babylon used the crescent moon to begin the month. Islam
still uses this method. According to Encyclopedia Americana, the ancient
fertility cult of Ashtoreth is most frequently represented in inscriptions as a
queen sitting astride the horns of the moon—by definition the crescent moon. Ancient Israel frequently fell into worshiping
Ashtoreth—so the Bible records. The Christian “Easter” actually derives its
name from the Old German Eostre and
back through the Indo-Aryan Estre,
Astarte, or Ashtoreth.
God could have
very easily used the word saharon yareach
(Strongs #7720, crescent moon) to
describe the new moon; yet he does not
do so even once. The only three times a crescent
is mentioned on the Bible, it is linked to pagan worship. In the third chapter
of Isaiah, God identifies the crescent moons around their heads and ankles.
Strong’s Concordance and the New Brown Driver Briggs Genesis Hebrew-English
Lexicon (#7720) identifies “ornament” in the King James Version as crescent moon. We find these idols being
worn by women in Isaiah 3:18 also put on camels in Judges 8:21, 26:
In that day the
Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet,
and their cauls, and their crescents like the moon. Isaiah 3:18
...and took away
the ornaments [crescents] that were on their camels necks… and the weight of
the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels
of gold; besides ornaments, [crescents] and collars, and purple raiment that
was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels'
necks. Judges 8:21, 26
The
custom of wearing amulets as charms to protect one against evil spirits was,
and is to this day. very wide spread. It has been shown that Allah is nothing more than the moon god
of the Arabs, the one of many gods that they worshipped when Mohammed came on
the scene. It is not surprising, then, that the ancient pagan crescent moon is
a prominent symbol in Islam. There is hardly a child or animal in the Arabic
border lands today which is not defended by a charm. The Talmud says that 99
deaths occur from “the evil eye” to 1 from natural causes. The superstitious
salutation of the moon by kissing the hand is mentioned by Job:
If
I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; and my
heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hat kissed my hand. Job 31:26-27
Virtually
every pagan religion worshipped the celestial bodies. Worship of the moon by
burning incense was offered in Jerusalem, and put down by king Josiah:
And
he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to
burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round
about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the
moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. 2 Kings 23:5
From
the reign of Manasseh until the captivity, worship of the celestial bodies, and
in particular the moon, prevailed among the Jews, with the brief exception
under Josiah. Jeremiah refers to this worship of “the queen of heaven,” who, both in ancient depictions as well as her
modern incarnation, the Virgin Mary, is always standing on a crescent moon (Jeremiah 7:18; 8:2; 44:17). It is also
a prominent symbol in freemasonry.
Ezekiel
8:16 describes the way they worshipped the sun at the first light of the sun. In like manner, the moon was
worshipped particularly at it’s first light, or crescent.
This may be an additional
reason God began his day with the sun becoming not visible, and the month with
the moon being not visible.
The largest modern-day
Karaite group, as well as some Gentile groups who advocate a Hebrew calendar
believe that the correct method to determine the year is to use solely the
barley harvest in Palestine.
Although barley
ripens in the spring, the following considerations indicate the barley harvest
does not establish the first day of the year:
First, during
the flood, Noah was apparently able to determine the first day of the year
without consulting the barley harvest.
Secondly, during
the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness (a desert), Israel kept a careful
record of the months and years—apparently without consulting the barley harvest
in Canaan.
Finally, for two
successive growing seasons (the Sabbath and Jubilee years), no grain was to be
planted and, therefore, no maturing barley was available to consult (Leviticus
25:1-24). While it is true that barley sometimes sprouts and grows voluntarily
without cultivation, this was less likely in the second year. It was illegal to
reap volunteer grain in the 50th year, so Israel probably allowed their flocks
to graze the fields, which was legal (Leviticus 25:7,11).
Yet the
strongest evidence that annuls the barley harvest as determining the year is
the fact that God never appointed vegetation at creation to be the determinate
for the beginning of the calendar. He said, “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
The feasts of the LORD were always to be kept, “throughout your generations.” If we accept the
Scriptural method of determining the year, the citizens of any nation could
know when the new year begins, and establish the festivals each year correctly.
While it is possible today to confirm
the progress of the grain crops in Israel, the early Americans or even the
early English people could not check the green ears in Israel each year. Saint
Patrick and the early Celtic saints were Feast-keepers; God would not create a
calendar which was impossible to follow by everyone on the inhabited earth, in
past centuries as well as the present.
There is
certainly a close relationship between the ripening of the barley and the new
crescent of the first month (Abib = green ears, Deuteronomy 16:1), but their
appearance does not define it. However, Scriptures do not support starting the
new year by "green ears," but by the returning sun, which causes the green ears to grow and
ripen.
Yearly climatic cycles are the direct cause of when
barley sprouts, grows, and matures. These weather patterns and ground
temperature changes are themselves caused primarily by the length of day and
the angle of the sun’s rays upon any given area of the earth. God does not
intervene each year directly to cause the barley to form green ears when he
wants it to; he set in motion laws and natural forces which cause these effects.
When it is time according to God’s calendar to offer a
wave sheaf, there will be properly
mature barley to offer. Just because someone can find some barley in the right
stage somewhere does not reset a celestial calendar that is to be used by
believers all over the planet.
Notice that the text says, “This month… you shall reckon it the first month of the year.” (Exodus
12:2) Which month? The month in which he
said these words to Moses. The month that God told Moses to “carefully
keep” (the meaning of “observe”) was the month in which green ears were
available and was to be counted as the first month in the Sacred calendar.
Thus, it is not the green
ears of barley, but the sun and moon which determine the calendar, and
therefore the year. Just as Seth, Noah, and Abraham did not wait for reports
from Jerusalem before beginning the new month, neither did they consult the
barley crops in Palestine.
What exactly
signals the end of one year and the beginning of another, if not the barley
harvest? The equinox and the new moon do this.
The year is determined by the earth’s complete revolution
around the sun. While the beginning of man-made calendars is arbitrarily set
(such as January 1), the true calendar is reckoned from the time of one tekufah (equinox) to the next. A year is
when the sun turns from one
hemisphere to the other and then turns back again. One turn occurs in the
spring and is known as the vernal
equinox, and the other turn occurs in the autumn and is called the autumnal equinox. We need to be
aware of both equinoxes, as the feasts must occur in their proper season. If you
begin the year incorrectly (as most “Hebrew,” “Biblical,” “Jewish” calendars
do), it consequently throws the rest of the year off, and places the “fall” feasts in Summer.
The equinox
occurs because of the (apparent) action of the sun. The earth, which is tilted
23.5 degrees, circles the sun, creating our seasons (spring, summer, fall and
winter). The equinox occurs when the sun "crosses" the equator. The
Hebrew word is tekufah, and refers
to the solstices as well as to the equinoxes.
Tekufot (plural) means "seasons;" and is
literally translated, "circuit, to go round." The four seasons in the
year are called tekufot. More
accurately, tekufot is the beginning
of the four seasons. Tekufah appears
in the Scriptures four times, and relates to the calendar at least three times:
And it came to
pass at the end [tekufah] of the
year, that the Syrians came up against him... 2 Chronicles 24:23
This refers to
the end and, therefore, the beginning of another year, demarcated by the spring
equinox and the new moon.
And you shall
observe the feast of weeks, even the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the
feast of ingathering at the year’s end
[tekufah]. Exodus 34:22
This refers to
the fall equinox, the end of the summer growing season.
In them [the heavens]
he has set a tent for the sun, which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his
chamber, and like a strong man runs it's course with joy. It's rising is from
the end of the heavens and it's circuit
[tekufah] to the end of them, and there is nothing hid from it's heat. Psalm
19:4,5 RSV
This is speaking
either of the sun's daily course, or it's yearly circuit through the equinoxes
and the solstices (or both).
And it came to
pass, when the time was come [tekufah]
about, that Hannah concieved, and bore a son... 1 Samuel 1:20
This may
indirectly allude to the calendar year. In any case, the above Scriptures
indicate that ancient Israel understood the equinox and it's place in the
calendar.
Equinox comes from the Latin and indicates equal night and day, when there are
exactly 12 daylight hours and 12 dark hours, or rather, when sunset and sunrise
fall at a distance of 12 hours. Yet tekufah
stands for the true (astronomical) equinox, and not the apparent equninox.
Depending on your location on the earth (North or South of the equator), the
equinox will apparently fall a few
days earlier or later than the true equinox. The tekufah (singular) of Nisan
denotes the sun at the vernal equinox.
In the spring,
day and night are equal several days before, and in the fall several days after
the true equinox (the moment when the sun "crosses" the equator).
Equal day and night (by the clock) is only the apparent equinox, because of the refraction of sunlight in our
atmosphere.
Some people
express reluctance to involve the equinox in the Sacred calendar because the
pagans also used it in their calendar. But pagans did not create the
equinox—God did. The pagan calendars were also lunar, and they began their day
at sunset—yet we do not stop using these divine measures simply because Satan
has used them, too.
The spring
equinox occurs on March 20 or 21 as reckoned by the Roman Calendar (very
rarely, it will occur on March 19 or 22). But could the ancient Israelites
locate the equinox by consulting a modern-day Calendar? No. The irregularity of the lunar months
(compared to the solar year) cause the spring equinox to fall on a different
day of the month each year (sometimes in a different month), though always in
the last month of the year.
Without using
computer programs or complex mathematical computations, it is obvious that we
would first be obliged to locate the
equinox, and only then could we with certainty
choose the correct new moon to begin the new year. The year should always
begin with the new moon next after the
spring equinox, rather than the new moon nearest, as is common in “Biblical”
calendars.
If we hope to
choose the new moon nearest (either
before or after) the equinox, we may fail because of the uncertainty in the
length of the lunar month. Suppose we choose a new moon 15 days before the
vernal equinox on the assumption the month will have 30 days, but suppose it
turns out to have only 29 days. We will not have chosen the new moon nearest the equinox, as there are 15
days before but only 14 days after. Once again, we must wait until the equinox
is established, and only then choose a new moon—the new moon next after that
event.
Man’s [read:
Satan’s] Roman calendar which the majority of the world uses currently begins
the year in the dead of winter. God begins the year in the Spring, when life is
springing up everywhere. The month of
Abib should always start in the spring, never in winter.
Spring begins at
the equinox, when the sun (apparently) crosses the equator, never earlier than
March 19, as reckoned by the Roman Calendar. Is it reasonable to sometimes
begin the year in spring but at other times in winter? Scriptures seem indicate
the first month should always start in the same season of the year—spring.
Compare the King James Version with the Revised Standard Version for 2 Samuel
11:1:
And it came to
pass, after the year was expired, at
the time when kings go forth to battle... KJV
In the spring of the year, the time when
kings go forth to battle... RSV
Since the old
year expires in the spring, it is
reasonable to assume that the new year
begins in the spring as well. For further confirmation, you may compare
these same versions for the following Scriptures: 1 Kings 20:22,26; 1
Chronicles 20:1; 2 Chronicles 36:10.
It was
understood all over the world in ancient times as well as today that the vernal
equinox signals the arrival of spring, and the autumnal equinox signals the
arrival of fall.
Surely the new
year begins in the same season each year, and not sometimes in the spring and
sometimes in the winter. Many Scriptures seem to point to spring, while none indicate another season. A new moon nearest but before the
equinox would start some years in a winter month, causing the feasts to occur
out of their seasons.
From the Vernal
Equinox to the Autumnal Equinox equals approximately 186 days, which leaves about
179 or 180 days between the Autumnal Equinox and the Vernal Equinox.
From one new
moon to the next new moon (a synodic month) equals approximately 29.5 days.
From the first
new moon to the seventh new moon equals 177 days (29.5 X 6 lunar month = 177
days).
Assume this a
year in which a new moon falls 13 days before
the spring equinox.
As noted above,
from the first new moon to the seventh new moon equals 177 days. Since 6 lunar
months is 9 days shorter than the 186 days between the spring and fall
equinoxes, it is a mistake to reckon the first of the year from a new moon
which is seen (as indicated above) 13 days before the spring equinox. While it
is true that Passover will fall on or after the spring equinox, what happens at
the fall festivals?
Subtract the 13
days "spent" before the spring equinox from the 177 days comprising
the six lunar months (177 days minus 13 days = 164 days), then subtract the quotient
(164 days) from the 186 day circuit of the sun from spring equinox to the fall
equinox. This brings us to a time which is 21 or 22 days before the autumnal equinox, placing most of the Feast of
Tabernacles before the "turn of
the year" (tekufah).
To summarize, if
we accept a new moon nearest but 13 days before
the spring equinox as the 1st day of Abib, then the 177 days (which make up six
lunar months) causes the 1st day of the 7th month to fall 21 or 22 days before the autumnal equinox, thus placing
most of the eight days of Tabernacles into the summer season instead of the
autumn, as a harvest festival (Leviticus 23:39).
Looking to the
first new moon after the spring equinox and start the year will always keep
Passover in spring and Tabernacles in fall.
Is There a 13th Month?
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Once the
first day of the first month is established, it is easy to count the new moons
and the subsequent "months/moonths." At the seventh month, the Fall
festivals occur. If you continue counting, you will have 5 more moons/months,
and then the cycle begins again.
However, there is a
problem. Since the lunar month consists of approximately 29.5 days, a year of
only 12 months equals 354 days—11 days short of the solar year. Since there are
364 and 1/4 days in the solar cycle, the months are thrown off. If we were to
follow a strictly lunar calendar, the harvest festivals would soon be out of
season; in less than 28 years, they would rotate through all the months of the
year; the “Spring” feasts would end up in the Fall every 6 years! If there was
never a 13th month in the year, in less than 28 years, they would rotate
through all the months of the year. This is the case with the Muslim calendar,
which is strictly lunar, and their festival of Ramadan falls in a different
month every year, rotating through the year in a complete cycle. Yet, since
God’s feasts are generally speaking harvest
festivals, the feasts must fall at
their “appointed time.”
It seems as though
originally the solar/lunar cycle were 12 months of thirty days each. However,
there are indications that something happened to the entire solar system was
affected during the flood (see appendix 1), which threw the calendar off,
making it necessary to add “leap years” with not a day added, as we do in our Gregorian calendar in February, but an
entire month being added at the end
of the year at certain intervals to balance out the year with the seasons.
While the Sandhedrin
made it seem you needed to be a mathematical genius to know when to place the
13th month (and thus keep the people dependent on them for knowledge
of sacred matters), yet with God’s system, there is not really a need for
"calculations" or guidance from the Rabbis in this matter; we do not
have a problem “arranging” the 13th month, because God does it for us. We were
told in Genesis that the sun and the moon are appointed
for “seasons.” If we follow the simple system of always beginning the year with
the first new moon after the vernal equinox, we will end up with a thirteenth
month naturally occurring. approximately every three years, the 13th month will
automatically fall in place in the
proper year.
The spiritual
lessons of this 13th month is significant: the number 13 has been
identified as a number representing Christ, 6 being the number of man, 7 being
a divine number, and Christ is 6+7; there were 12 apostles, and he, as the 13th,
was their leader. This is the reason Satan has placed such evil import on the
number 13 and casting superstition on it as being “unlucky.”
Some believe
that there were originally 12 planets in our system. What is known as the
“asteroid belt” is conjectured to have been a planet that is now disintegrated.
Uranus’ axis is tilted sideways, and Mars’ axis is almost diametrically opposed
to that of earth. It is speculation, to be sure, but it surely seems to be out
of place in the orderly creation of God. Scripture tells us that God will “turn
the world upside-down.” Perhaps this is his actually turning it right-side up,
to the condition it was in pre-flood.
When something
went wrong in creation (as during the flood, knocking the calendar off), God
adds a 13th month to “fix” it; The 13th month sets right the year,
just as Christ literally sets right what went wrong in all of creation.
The Feast of Trumpets is tied to the creation of the
world in Judaism, when the sons of God “Shouted for joy.” Yom Teruah, known as the Feast of Trumpets, literally means “day of
shouting.” This is why modern-day Jews call the Feast of Trumpets Rosh HaShanah, or the New Year.
While accusation has been made that the Jews “invented”
this as the beginning of the new year, it is never in an effort to detract from
Abib. It is just assumed that the first day of the Seventh Month begins the civil year, whereas the first day of the
first month begins the sacred year.
Commentaries are divided as to whether Ezekiel 40:1 is referring to the 10th
day of Abib or the 10th day of Tishri; if Ezekiel received his
Temple vision on the 10th of Tishri, “the beginning of the year”
would be the civil year on the day of Atonement.
We have indication in God’s word that he acknowledges the
fall to begin the year, in that both the Sabbatical
year as well as the Jubilee years began and ended in the fall (not on the
feast of Trumpets, but on the Day of Atonement):
And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the
land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD. Six
years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard,
and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of
rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field,
nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest
thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is
a year of rest unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for
you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired
servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, And for thy cattle,
and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
And thou shalt
number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the
space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh
month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound
throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim
liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a
jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye
shall return every man unto his family. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be
unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it,
nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. Leviticus 25:1-11
Furthermore, the beginning and ending of the Millennium
will be, not in the Spring, but during the Fall festivals:
The Feast of Tabernacles was
not only commemorative but typical. It not only pointed back to the wilderness
sojourn, but, as the feast of harvest, it celebrated the ingathering of the
fruits of the earth, and pointed forward to the great day of final ingathering,
when the Lord of the harvest shall send forth His reapers to gather the tares
together in bundles for the fire, and to gather the wheat into His garner. At
that time the wicked will all be destroyed. PK 541
And his feet
shall stand in that day upon the
mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives
shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and
there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove
toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the
valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal:
yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of
Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with
thee…
And it shall
come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against
Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of
hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will
not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King,
the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt
go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague,
wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of
tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all
nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. Zechariah 14:4, 5, 16-19
It is interesting to note God’s language in Deuteronomy,
when speaking of Abib. Notice that he did not
say, “By the way—I know you’ve forgotten—but this is the first day of the
first month, don’t you know?” Rather, he specifically states, “this month shall be unto you the beginning of
months; it shall be the first month
of the year to you.” (Exodus 12:2.) In other words, “From now on…” The New
Living Translation even translates it that way: “From now on, this month will
be the first month of the year for you.” When he spoke of the Sabbath, he did
not say, “This day to you will be the
seventh day, rest on it,” as though he were appointing it a day of rest for
the Jews, but rather, “Remember the
Sabbath day—” the day appointed at creation.
That God, as always, has
spiritual lessons drawn from nature and the feasts to illustrate Christian
growth and experience is not surprising. The fall is the true beginning of the natural year; yet a higher New Year’s
day was appointed by God in the Spring. As the days then begin to grow longer,
the earth stirs to new life and the new year begins.
Keeping record of birth dates is important in marking our
age. Trying to forget, change, or lie about our birth dates is not acceptable
behavior in society. Yet no believer will deny that the most important day of
his life is the day he accepted Christ, and was “born again.” That is when his
life truly began. Yet he does not go
around changing his driver license, passport, and birth certificate to
acknowledge this “new birth date!” In like manner, God wants us to focus on our
journey from slavery to freedom, as outlined in the feasts, but this does not
do away with the fall commencement of the civil year.
Since the
seasons in the southern hemisphere are reversed, the question has been asked,
“Does this mean that the Lord’s festivals must be celebrated at different dates
than in the Northern Hemisphere? In the Southern Hemisphere, should the feast
of Unleavened Bread be observed six months hater than in the northern
hemisphere so that this festival will be at the same time as the local barley harvest?”
Living on a
round earth which is tilted on an axis poses such problems. Yet, we read in
Zechariah 14:16-19 that, in the New Earth, “all nations” [read: northern and southern hemispheres] will come up to Jerusalem to keep
the feast of booths, as indicated by the prophet.
Since the Jewish
people 2,000 years ago came “from every nation under heaven” to observe the feast of weeks in Jerusalem,
we must acknowledge that this indicates people from the southern hemisphere
were assembled for the same feast on the same date which the people of the
north observed.
Americans
remember July 4th as Independence Day. Most Christians observe Thanksgiving
Day. Are there other dates of note for God’s people besides God’s holy
appointments? Yes—we will see that even Jesus took note of them.
Notice John
10:22. Jesus was in the Temple during winter at the Feast of Dedication (also
known as Hanukkah, or Festival of Lights). Beginning on the 25th day
of the 9th month, this is a eight-day celebration instituted by the Jews to
commemorate the purging of the temple and the rebuilding of the altar after
Judas Maccabaeus had driven out the Syrians in 164 BC. Like the American and
Canadian Thanksgiving Day, it is a national holiday of giving to God of thanks
for His blessings and deliverance in time of trial. It is more than a
coincidence that if you count back 9 months from Christ’s birth during the
Feast of Tabernacles, you arrive at the time of Hanukkah for his conception.
How fitting for “the Light of the world” to have entered the world during the
Festival of Lights!
Another
commemorative day shown in the Bible is Purim, the Feast of Lots. This
annual festival of the Jews on the 14th and 15th days of the twelfth month was
instituted to commemorate the preservation of the Jews in Persia from the
massacre with which they were threatened through the machinations of Haman
(Esther 9). Notice Esther 9:27-28:
While Esther and
her uncle—not God—ordained this annual festival, it’s obvious value to God’s
people in the last days, when a death decree is issued against them, is quite
appropriate. Let us not forget Paul’s words:
Not only is it
not “wrong” to take note of these historical occasions, since they were
definitely anniversaries of God's intervention on behalf of His chosen people,
but it would serve God’s people well. The lessons and memories we can give our
children during these festive seasons in certainly much more approved of God
than the celebration of Christmas and Easter. Since we consider ourselves God’s
people and desire to be spared from destruction (Luke 21:36), Purim should mean
much more to us than July 4, Thanksgiving Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day
combined.
God has a habit
of repeating similar actions on the anniversary of the same day. The
"night to be much observed," at the beginning of Abib15 (Exodus
12:42) occurred on the selfsame day, 430 years after God made His
covenant with Abraham (compare Genesis 15:5-18 with Exodus 12:40-42 and Genesis
17:19-21).
At the Exodus,
God sets the new moon to be the beginning of the New Year, Exodus 12:2.
1st
day— Hezekiah opens doors of Temple and begins to repair it, II Chronicles 29:3,
17. (Finished the work on the 16th)
1st day— Prophecy given to Ezekiel that
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, would be given the land of Egypt, Ezekiel
29:17-20. Reaffirmed at a different time of the 7th day, Ezekiel
30:20-26.
1st
day— God ordains a bullock to be sacrificed and the Temple to be cleansed,
Ezekiel 45:18-19. Also to be done on the first day of the 7th month,
verse 20.
1st
day— Ezra decides to leave Babylon for Jerusalem with the intent of seeking God's
law, doing it, and teaching God's statutes and judgments to Israel, Ezra
7:6-10. Departs on 12th day, Ezra 8:31.
1st
day— Waters dried up from the Flood almost a year after rains began, Genesis
8:13.
10th
day— Passover lamb kept up until the 14th day, Exodus 12:3-6.
13th
day— Haman's death sentence against the Jews was posted in the kingdom of
Persia, Esther 3:12-13.
14th
day— Passover observed beginning of 14th (evening), Exodus 12,
Leviticus 23:5.
15th
day— Feast of Unleavened Bread, first day is a holy day, Leviticus 23:6-8.
21st
day— Last day of Feast of Unleavened Bread, a holy day, Leviticus 23:6-8.
24th
day— Daniel had been fasting for three weeks, is given understanding by an
angel, Daniel 10:2-4.
(Unknown date) Israel
came into desert of Zin, abode in Kadesh; Miriam died there, Numbers 20:1.
(Unknown date)
Nehemiah asks Artaxerxes to allow him to rebuild Jerusalem, Nehemiah 2:1.
1st
day— God spoke to Moses in wilderness of Sinai on second year after they were
come out of Egypt, Numbers 1:1. All Israel from twenty years old assembled
together, verse 18.
2nd
day— Solomon begins to build the Temple in the fourth year of his reign, II
Chronicles 3:2.
14th
day— Second Passover, Numbers 9:9-14; II Chronicles 30:1-5, 15.
15th
day— Feast of Unleavened Bread kept in second month by Hezekiah, II Chronicles
30:13, 21-23.
21st
day— Last day of Feast of Unleavened Bread of Hezekiah in the Second Month.
17th
day— Fountains of deep broken up, 40 days of rain begin the Noachian Flood,
Genesis 7:11.
20th
day— Cloud taken up, Israel begins journeying from Sinai in the second year of
the Exodus, Numbers 10:11.
27th
day— God told Noah to go forth out of the ark, Genesis 8:14.
(Unknown date)
Construction of Solomon's temple began, I Kings 6:1, 37.
(Unknown date)
Foundations of the temple laid by Zerubbabel, Joshua and others returned from
captivity, Ezra 3:8-13.
1st day—
Again, God gives Ezekiel a prophecy as to Egypt's fall, but that their
conquerors the Assyrians will fall likewise, Ezekiel 31:1-18.
23rd
day— Haman, enemy of the Jews, hanged. King of Persia's letter went out
allowing Jews to defend themselves against their enemies on 13th day
of the twelfth month; Mordecai advanced, Esther 8.
Shavuot
(Pentecost) falls on the fifth or sixth, or
on any given Sunday in the third month, depending on if the calculation is done
using the Pharisaic or the Saduccean.
(Unknown date)
Asa and other faithful of Israel enter into a covenant with God, II Chronicles
15:10, 12.
Fourth Month
5th
day— God begins to work through Ezekiel, gives him visions and prophecies,
Ezekiel 1:1-2.
9th
day— Besieged by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, there was sore famine in
Jerusalem, and the city was broken up about 586 BC, Jeremiah 39:2; 52:6-7; II
Kings 25:3.
1st
day— Ezra arrives in Jerusalem from Babylon, Ezra 7:6-10.
1st day—
Aaron died on Mount Hor in the fortieth year of Israel's wandering, Numbers
33:38. Israel mourned for thirty days, Numbers 20:28-29.
7th
day-10th day— Babylonian army burns the Jerusalem temple, King's
palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem, takes most of the rest of Judah
captive, Jeremiah 1:3; II Kings 25:8-12; Jeremiah 52:12-16 (586 BCE)
Jews
commemorated this sad event with a fast on 9th day (Zechariah 8:19),
calling it Tisha b’Av (the 9th
of Av). God was wrathful with their corrupted manner of fasting, Zechariah
7:1-13.
9th
day— It was decreed the children of Israel would not enter the promised land,
Numbers 14:29
10th
day— Certain elders of Israel come to inquire of the Eternal before Ezekiel. He
is given a message from God that the reason they are in captivity is that they
have polluted God's Sabbaths, Ezekiel 20:1-49
10th
day— Second Temple destroyed in 70 CE (according to Josephus).
Sixth Month
1st
day— God begins to work through Haggai the prophet, Haggai 1:1.
5th day—
Ezekiel is given a vision from God, sees several abominations being committed
by God's people, Ezekiel 8.
24th
day— The Eternal stirs up the spirit of Zerubbabel, Joshua and the remnant of
the people to do the work of the building of God's House, Haggai 1:14-15.
25th
day— Rebuilt wall of Jerusalem finished, Nehemiah 6:15-16.
1st
day— Day of Trumpets, a new moon and a holy day, Leviticus 23:24-25.
9th
day— At the end of this day, Atonement fast begins, Leviticus 23:32.
10th day—
Day of Atonement, a fast, and a holy day, Leviticus 23:27-32.
10th
day— Proclamation of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, Leviticus 25
10th
day—Ezekiel given a vision of the rebuilt Millennial Temple at Jerusalem,
Ezekiel 40:1and following (implication is that "the beginning of the
year" means the civil year, otherwise, this would be the 10th
day of Abib).
17th
day— Noah's ark rested on mountains of Ararat, Genesis 8:4.
15th
day-21st day— Feast of Tabernacles, first day is a holy day,
Leviticus 23:24-25.
21st
day— Prophecy of Haggai, Haggai 2:1-9.
22nd
day— Last Great Day, a holy day, Leviticus 23:36.
23rd
day— Completion of dedication of Solomon's Temple, II Chronicles 7:9-10.
24th
day— After reinstitution of Feast of Tabernacles at the return from Babylonian
captivity, a fast observed, God's Law read, special services held, Nehemiah
9:1-3.
(Unknown date)
Ishmael of the royal seed kills Gedaliah, the ruler of Judah appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar,
and flees to Egypt in fear of the Chaldeans, II Kings 25:25, Jeremiah 41:1-3.
15th
day— King Jeroboam of Northern Israel institutes counterfeit "Feast of
Tabernacles," I Kings 12:32,33.
(Unknown date)
God began to work through the prophet Zechariah, Zechariah 1:1.
(Unknown date)
Solomon's temple done, I Kings 6:38.
4th
day— Word of Eternal came to Zechariah, told him that the fasts of the fifth
and seventh months were not done to God, as the people would not heed God's
prophets, Zechariah 7:1-13.
20th
day— Jews and Benjamites from captivity, gathered together at Jerusalem and
told by Ezra to separate from strange wives who were of a different race and
religion, Ezra 10:9-11.
24th
day— Word of Eternal came twice to Haggai that God's people were unclean and
that God would shake the heavens and the earth, Haggai 2:10-23.
25th
day— Beginning of eight day Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah, John 10:22.
(Unknown date) A
fast was proclaimed in Judah as a result of reading Jeremiah's prophecy, but
King Jehoiakim burns the scroll, Jeremiah 36:9, 22. The ninth month is in
winter.
(Unknown date)
Nehemiah, the Persian King's Jewish cupbearer, learns of the lamentable state of
Jerusalem and his fellow Jews, Nehemiah 1:1-3, 11. Chisleu is an
alternate spelling of Kislev, the ninth month.
1st
day— Waters from Flood had receded until tops of mountains were seen, Genesis
8:5.
1st
day— Ezra and elders met to put away strange wives, Ezra 10:16-17.
5th
day— Ezekiel was struck dumb by God until an escapee from Jerusalem informed
him the city was smitten. God gave him a message as to why this event happened:
they heard God's words, but did them not, Ezekiel 33:21-33.
10th
day— King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon began siege of Jerusalem, about 588 BC,
Jeremiah 39:1, 52:4, II Kings 25:1. Remembered by Jews in a annual fast,
Zechariah 8:19. Ezekiel given a message from God about the sins which caused
this event, Ezekiel 24:1-27.
12th
day— God's prophecy concerning Egypt was given to Ezekiel, 29:1-16.
Eleventh Month
1st
day— In the 40th year, Moses spoke to the children of Israel the words of the
Eternal, Deuteronomy 1:3.
24th
day— God spoke to Zechariah in a vision, Zechariah 1:7.
Twelfth Month
1st
and 15th days— God told Ezekiel to lament for the fall of Egypt,
Ezekiel 32:1, 17.
3rd
day— Rebuilt Temple finished, Ezra 6:15.
13th
day— Publishing of Haman's death sentence upon all the Jews in captivity, Esther
3:10-13.
14th
day—Purim, celebration of Jews' deliverance from Haman's death decree,
Esther 9:1-32.
25th
day—27th Evil-Merodack, King of Babylon, released former King
Jehoiachin of Judah from prison and gave him a daily allowance for the rest of
his life, II Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34.
God Hates Corruption of
Sabbaths, Feast Days, New Moons
God is not pleased at the
mere observance of his times:
There be a small remnant who
shall nevertheless remain faithful:
God will cause polluted
observance of his days to cease:
Hosea
2:11-13, Amos 8:4-10
These events are destined to
occur in the last days, just prior to Christ's Kingdom being established:
What Will Happen to the Sun
and Moon in God's Kingdom?
Jeremiah 8:1-3
reveals God’s attitude towards those who worshipped the heavenly bodies. It
is fitting that in the end, the sun will be darkened, and the stars and moon
will not give their light because of sin (Isaiah 13:9-13, Ezekiel 32:7-8, Joel 2:10-11, 13, 3:15, Habakkuk
3:11-12, Acts 2:20, Matthew 24:29, Revelation 6:12, 8:12).
Accordingly, the state of the heavenly bodies will be changed in the opposite way, in accordance with the purity and righteousness that will fill creation (Isaiah 30:26, Revelation 16:8-9).
There will be
need of the light of the sun and the moon (Isaiah 24:23, Revelation 22:3-5), yet there will
still be a sun and moon, and twelve months in the year, because God's times
will continue to be delineated by the sun and moon to tell us when His times
and seasons occur.
~Compiled by J.L. Ashton
Midnight Cry Ministries
PO Box 8909
Riverside, CA
92515-8909
The work of Voy Wilks, Max Hollogram, Jeff Bell, Richard
C. Nickels, and James Russell were extensively consulted in the compilation of
this paper.