The Biblical Calendar Book_final Draft 2014.pdf

8/16/2019 The Biblical Calendar Book_final Draft 2014.pdf

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The

Biblical

Calendar

By Don Esposito

(c) Word of Truth Publications 2013


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Gen 1:14 And Elohim said, Let light sources be inthe expanse of the heavens, to divide between theday and the night. And let them be for signs and for(Holy day) seasons, and for days and years

The Biblical calendar is Yahweh’s clock in the sky toshow His covenant people when to keep the properHoly Days for worship toward Him.Discover in this book the amazing way that thiscalendar works.

THIS BOOK IS NOT TO BESOLD!

It is written and produced in the public interest to awakenand make Christianity aware of the lies and the distortion of

facts in history and doctrine of the body of believers ofYahshua the Messiah. If you would like to help producemore books for distribution, send your contribution to:

Don EspositoPO BOX 832

Carteret, NJ 07008 USA

Permission is granted to copy and distribute this book in part or in wholeon condition that context or meaning is not altered or changed.

Copyright Word of Truth Publicatio " #$%&

Printed in the United States by:

Morris Publishing • 3212 East Highway 30 • Kearney, NE 688471-800-650-7888


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Table of Contents:

1) The Biblical Calendar, How It Works

2) How Does the Year Begin

) How Does the !onth Begin

") When is the Con#$nction

%) When Was the Cr$cifi&ion

') What Year Was the Cr$cifi&ion

() What Da is the *asso+er

) How to Co$nt to -ha+$ot . The /0er -acrifice

) The $nar -abbath Ill$sion

13) When Does the Da Begin

11) Concl$sion


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Cha4ter 1: The Biblical Calendar How It

Works

If someone would do a history of the world study they

would find out that for millenniums civilizations have been

keeping a vast variety of different methods to calculate

time and to formulate calendars.

And although there have been hundreds of varyingmethods for determining time, in most calendars through

the ages there have been certain constants such as a 7

day week and also most civilizations determining the

separation of the year by the vernal equinox.

hat has turned out to be a most intriguing situation

though is the recent calendar methods that have cropped

up in calculating the biblical !oly "ays in #eviticus the

$%rd chapter. And as there has been a rise in Internet

sites over the last $& years so has the rise been in biblicalcalendars and calculations.

I believe that many of these new theories that are arising

on the sub'ect may be founded on sincerity of heart, but

also misguided on fact and premise.

#iving in Israel over the last (% years and studying the

biblical calendars from renowned experts here in Israel

for over () years, I can conclusively state that it is

virtually impossible to come up with the accurate *iblical

+alendar without being in the land of Israel andunderstanding both the agricultural cycle, and the ancient

process of worship.

umber one, when we even start to look at the biblical

command of keeping the !oly "ays of -ahweh, the very


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first premise is that Israel would be here in the #and of

Israel.

Lev 23:10 Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say

to them, When you come in to the land which I am

giving to you, and have reaped its harvest, and have

brought in the Omer, of the beginning of your harvest, to

the priest,

Lev 23:11 then he shall wave the Omer before YAHWEHfor your aeptane! on the morrow of the Sabbath the

priest shall wave it"

-ou will never find even one scripture in the entirety of

the *ible that would even remotely make one think that

the intention of the !oly "ays was ever meant for any

other place on earth, but Israel. hat is clear. /erusalem

is the center of the earth 01zek %23($4, and the only

place on earth that 5cripture states where -ahweh dwells.

hen one looks at 6salm (%7 you can see that in biblicaltimes there was no other thought at feast time but to be

in /erusalem.

Psa 137:1 #here by the rivers of $abylon we sat down!

also we wept when we remembered %ion"

Psa 137:2 We hung our lyres on the willows in its midst"

Psa 137:3 &or there our aptors asked us the words of a

song! yea, our plunderers ased !oy, saying, "ing to

us a song o# $ion%

Psa 137:& 'ow shall we sing the song o# ()'W*'on a #oreign soil+

Psa 137: If I forget you, O 'erusalem, let my right

hand forget!

Psa 137:- let my tongue leave to my palate, if I do not

remember you, if I do not bring up 'erusalem above the

head of my (oy"


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It is hard for a western mindset $(st century believer to

understand the sanctity and sovereignty that /erusalem

had over pilgrims during biblical times. In this world

where many groups keep the feast of -ahweh on cruise

ships and water parks most 'ust cant imagine how the

land of Israel and being in /erusalem during ancient times

was synonymous with actually keeping the feast itself.

.eu 1-:1- /hree times in a year shall all yourmales appear e#ore ()'W*' your *lohim in the

place which 'e shall choose erusalem: In the

&east of )nleavened $read, and in the &east of Weeks

and in the &east of #abernales" And they shall not

appear before YAHWEH empty,

/erusalem, the city of the 8reat 9ing 0:ath )3%)4 is and

always will be everything that has to do with the feasts of

-ahweh and their meaning to !is covenant children. It is

almost impossible to truly understand the *iblical

+alendar without ever being in Israel for even one feast

and without understanding that the calendar and its

calculation did not 'ust have to do with setting time, but

also it had to do with the agriculture of Israel and with

setting worship.

he ancient circular worship pattern when looking at the

calendar and !oly "ays cannot be ignored if one wants to

calculate the *iblical +alendar correctly. -ahweh works in

the circular and not the linear and if one wants to

understand the pattern !e devised from 5cripture, thenhe must lose his *abylonian mindset and start to also

think in the circular and not linear.

his pattern shows not only that -ahweh does not change

0:al %3;4, but it also shows !is eternal existence in the

circular mode, never ending, 'ust simply coming back to


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the beginning of the same pattern that !e exists in. 5ince

-ahweh does not change if you can find the pattern, then

simply follow it on each course of the calendar during the

year.

#ets look at an example of -ahwehs circular pattern of

worship.

hen Israel came into the 6romised #and under the

leadership of /oshua one of the first things they did was

to defeat and conquer /ericho. ow lets look at what

-ahweh had them do before they marched on and

conquered the city.

os -:2 And YAHWEH said to 'oshua, See I have given

eriho and its king, mighty warriors, into your hand"

os -:3 And you shall go around the ity, all the men of

battle, going around the ity one! so you shall do si*

days"

os -:& And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets oframs+ horns before the ark" And on the seventh day you

shall go around the city seven times, and the priests

shall blow with the rams+ horns"

os -:11 And the ark of YAHWEH went around the city ,

going around one time" And they ame into the amp,

and remained in the amp"

os -:1& And they circled the city on the seond day

one time, and returned to the amp" So they did si* days"

os -:1 And it happened on the seventh day, they roseearly, at the dawning of the day, and went around the

city seven times in the same way" Only on that day they

circled the city seven times"

os -:1- And it happened at the seventh time the

priests blew with the rams+ horns" And 'oshua said to the

people, Shout &or YAHWEH has given you the ity"


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hy would -ahweh have them circle the city for seven

days< *ecause !e was teaching them !is pattern of

worship. In the last few years, archaeologists here in

Israel have 'ust discovered the true biblical 8ilgal. It was

quite a discovery. he complex was symmetrically shaped

like a sandal showing the scripture that -ahweh stated

=every plae that their foot treads will be theirs-"

hat was also amazing was that the heel of the foot wasan exact circular pattern where the priests used to walk

around at feast time because of the following scripture.

*4o 23:1& #hree times in the year you shall make a

#east to .e"

he word for feast here is not chag but chagag. #ook at

the 5trongs +oncordance definition of chagag.

cha^gag

A primitive root 0compare !$$2%, !$%$24> 4ro4erl to

0o+e in a circle, that is, 5s4ecificall) to march in a

sacred 4rocession, to observe a festival

his was showing the circular pattern to worship in and

must not be ignored if one wants to understand the

*iblical +alendar, as the things on the earth are simply

patterns of the things in the heavens 0!eb 23)4. It is also

interesting to note that the word 8ilgal means wheel.

-ahweh created the luminary bodies on day four ofcreation week.

5en 1:1& And Elohim said, /et light soures be in the

e*panse of the heavens, to divide between the day and

the night" )nd let them e #or signs and #or 'oly

day seasons, and #or days and years%


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As you can see from the above scripture these luminaries

will be the circular pattern of time for days, and months,

and !oly "ay seasons and years. he only measurement

of time that would not be controlled by the sun and moon

and stars would be the 7 day weekly cycle that was set

down at creation with six days of creation and the 7th day

being the 5abbath.

his circular pattern of the weekly and yearly cycle hasbeen constant for almost ;,&&& years now and is quite

consistent in 5cripture as well as even most societies

throughout the world. his is because most societies also

used the heavenly bodies for calculating time and used

the sun and moon along with the five ma'or planets of

/upiter, 5aturn, :ars, ?enus, and :ercury> together this

formed the number 7 in which the constant 7 days week

developed in most societies through antiquity.

5ince the *ible also clearly delineates the 7 day weekly

cycle throughout, it would automatically rule out the false

notion of the lunar 5abbath, which states that the

5abbath rotates monthly according to the ew :oon and

one month it can be on a uesday and the next month on

a hursday. *ut this would contradict the rock solid

biblical premise of a seven day weekly cycle throughout.

he luminaries 0sun, moon and stars4 make a circular

pattern of movement, and create what we know as days,

and months and years. he sun controls the day, the

moon the month, and the sun and stars control the year.here are ($ constellations on the ecliptic circle called the

:azzaroth in 5cripture, which represent the ($ tribes of

Israel and the sun moves into a different constellation

every %& days and then, at the division of the year, at the

vernal equinox, it moves back into the first constellation

again.


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he *ible also said in 8enesis (3(@ these movements

would be for 0signs. his !ebrew word 0owth also

means prophetic signs. Interesting enough because of the

wobble of the earth on its axis roughly every $(;& years

the sun would be in a different constellation at the ew

-ear. his is called the procession of the equinoxes.

his yearly procession each and every year from creation

has told the plan of -ahweh in the heavenly bodies.

his has told the plan of -ahweh in the heavens from

creation. At creation the vernal equinox and year started

at the constellation of the Bx. In !ebrew the ox was the

original word picture of the first letter in the !ebrew

alphabet called =aleph and denotes headship and

strength as an ox denotes strength.

e also know in 5cripture -ahshua is called the C Aleph-

and the =#av > the aleph being the first letter in the

alphabet and the tav being the last letter in the alphabet.

he :azzaroth turned about the time of the making of the

covenant with Abraham and at that time the year was

now starting when the sun was in the constellation of the

ram.

e know the ram was -ahwehs provision to Abraham

instead of his son Isaac to be sacrificed and was symbolic

of 1lohim providing !is only 5on -ahshua as the

substitute for each of our sins, if we believe in !im and

repent.

hen, when -ahshua was born the :azzaroth turned

again and the year started when the sun was in the

constellation of the fish> the fish being a sign of -ahshua

coming and making us fishers of men.


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Also in 8en @23(; when /acob blessed 1phraim and

:anasseh he also gave them this blessing.

5en &6:1- #he .essenger that redeemed me from

every evil, may He bless the youths! and may my name

be alled on them, and the name of my fathers, Abraham

and Isaa, and may they lie #ishes grow into a

multitude in the midst of the earth"

It is also interesting to note that the symbol of the tribe

of both 1phraim and :anasseh is the ox. And now in

these last days it is most interesting that the :azzaroth is

getting ready to change again in this coming decade to

the sign of the man bearing the water being poured out.

his is clearly showing the :essianic age is ready to

emerge and -ahshua, the great 9ing, who has the only

true living water, will be pouring it out all over the earth

during !is millennial reign.

oh 7:37 1ow on the great day, whih is the last of the

feast 2#he eighth day3, Yahshua was standing and He

ried out and said, If a man thirsts, let him ome to .e

and drink"

oh 7:36 Anyone who believes in me as the sriptures

have said, rivers o# living water will #low #rom his

elly%

ev 22:1 And he showed me a pure river o# water o#

li#e, bright as rystal, oming forth out of the throne of

YAHWEH and of the /amb"

1ven the pagan astrologers call this constellation

C A4uarius which means water carrier or cup carrier. he

!eavenly Dather knew the end from the beginning and

has given this circular pattern to both time and worship


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for !is true elect to be able to understand the times that

we are living in and -ahwehs great plan of salvation.

I want to make a very important point here as when you

look at the signs of the constellations that I have 'ust

mentioned, as with the sun and moon and stars

designating the calendar throughout the year, these are

all heavenly bodies not tampered with or manipulated by

man.

!ow could man make the :azzaroth turn every $()&

years so that the constellations that tell the plan of

salvation would be shifted into another constellation< It is

impossible and a clear sign that -ahweh is supreme and

only !1 515 E6 !1 +A#1"AF I !1 !1A?15G

It is quite ridiculous and naHve to think that the biblical

calendar would be dependent on man planting barley or

having to visibly sight a crescent moon. he *iblical

+alendar is only dependent on -ahwehs circular patternthat !e has set up at creation and that !e uses for the

nation of Israel and to predetermine the !oly "ays.

.eu 11:11 $ut the land whih you are entering to

possess it is a land of hills and valleys, drinking water

from the rain of the heavens!

.eu 11:12 a land whih YAHWEH your Elohim ares for!

the eyes of YAHWEH your Elohim are always on it #rom

the eginning o# the year to the end o# the year%

Israel is the only land in the world that -ahweh cares for

and watches from the beginning of the year to the end of

the year or from =e4uino* to e4uino* as we will

conclusively see that the equinox in 5cripture is the

dividing point of the yearly cycle.


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he last point that I want to make in this introduction

before getting into each and every timing aspect of the

*iblical +alendar is that as where the heavenly bodies

0sun, moon, and stars4 sets the circular pattern of the

calendar itself, the *iblical +alendar is also confirmed by

the earthly sign of the agriculture in Israel.

"ue to the "iaspora most have never even visited the

land of Israel, never mind living here and watching theagricultural cycle, so most people totally miss the earthly

confirmation of the heavenly bodies and will keep the

!oly "ays many times completely outside of the

agricultural growing season, in which each is needed

according to which particular feast is being kept.

In each !oly "ay season there is an earthly sign that

confirms the calendar marked by the sun, moon and

stars. "uring 6assover there will be ripe barley for the

omer waving ceremony and the beginning of the grain

harvest. hat harvest will continue for about two months

till the time of 5havuot.

ext you have the summer fruits that are harvested in

early to mid5eptember in anticipation of the 5ukkot

festival. 5ukkot according to 5cripture must take place

after the autumn equinox and then the pilgrim would

bring up all his harvest fruits to /erusalem to both tithe

and sacrifice to -ahweh for the bountifulness of the

harvest and also to en'oy the fruit of his labor and en'oy

the festival with his family and friends.

#iving here in Israel has been such a blessing to see

-ahwehs hand in !is creation all year long. And although

it is feast time that you see the fruition of the harvest,

you can see -ahwehs creation all year long from seeing

the first ripe fig to seeing the flower bud for the first


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pomegranate. A believer can see the *iblical +alendar at

work with the agricultural growing cycle of the set apart

special 6romised #and of Israel.

I pray as you study the beautiful *iblical +alendar that

-ahweh created for !is covenant people that you will

have a much greater appreciation for the importance of

the land of Israel with both the issue of the calendar and

actually even the covenant itself.

Almost all covenant blessings one way or another are tied

into the physical 6romised #and of Israel. Bnly by coming

here at feast time and seeing how the calendar works

with the agricultural and the worship process of -ahweh

can one fully appreciate the original intent of everything

that -ahweh put into the *iblical +alendar at creation. I

invite you to spend a feast here in the 6romised #and

with us. It will change your life forever.

ow, on to the *iblical +alendarG


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Cha4ter 26 How Does the Biblical Year Begin7

he Fomans start the year in /anuary, in the dead of the

winter, whereas the Brthodox /ews start the year in

5eptember Bctober according to the manmade rules of

the Fabbis. *ut when does the *ible say is the beginning

of the year<

*4o 12:2 /his month )viv shall e the chie# o#

months #or you% It shall e the #irst o# the months o#

the year #or you%

?ery clearly the year begins in the spring when the

6assover is celebrated. he first month of the *iblical

+alendar is called Aviv. ow we know from "eut (;3J that

we must start our 5havuot count 8when the sicle hits

the standing grain9 or in other words when the barley is

ripe. otice it never states that barley is the parameter for

the (st day and beginning of the year, B#- that it is the

agricultural parameter for the beginning of the count to

5havuot. his point alone proves barley is not the

parameter to start the year, but simply an earthly

agricultural witness that the year has already begun. he

*iblical +alendar is celestial as well as agricultural as

where the /ewish calendar does not take any of these

things into account.

here is another important part of 5cripture that the

current modern /ewish calendar does not also consider to

the actual start of the year> this is the biblical precedent ofwaiting until after both the vernal equinox and the

precession of the equinox, when the sun both passes the

equator to start spring, and also passes from the ($ th

constellation back to the first one, to finish its full yearly

cycle.


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5cripture clearly tells us that we are to equate time by the

celestial bodies in the sky.

5en 1:1& )nd *lohim said, Let luminaries e in the

e4panse o# the heavens, to divide etween the day

and the night% )nd let them e #or signs and #or

seasons, and #or days and years%

Psa 10&:1; 'e made the moon #or seasons

mo when it is sunset we start

our new day, the moon to rule the month> when it finishes

its full rotation and restarts itself at con'unction the new

month begins, and a combination of the sun and stars to

rule the year.

*4o 3&:22 )nd you shall oserve a =east o# Wees

#or yoursel#, the #irst #ruits o# the harvest o# wheat9

also the =east o# Ingathering a#ter the turn o# the

year /eu#ah%


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he word for turning of the year in !ebrew is ekufah.

his word actually means a revolution of the sun. his

happens twice a year. Bnce when the sun passes the

equator from the southern hemisphere to the northern

hemisphere in spring, and again when it passes back on

the other side of the earth from the orthern hemisphere

back to the south on about 5eptember $($%, each year.

+learly you cannot start :onday in the middle of 5unday,

and you cant start /anuary in the middle of "ecemberand likewise you cant start your new year in the middle

of winter of the previous year, before the vernal equinox

comes and the changing from winter to summer. Also

note in the original !ebrew, the word =at- is not in the

original !ebrew but is added and actually the word =after-

is more properly inferred from the original language. #ets

prove this point from the following scripture.

Lev 23:10 Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say

to them, When you ome in to the land whih I am givingto you, and have reaped its harvest , and have brought

in the Omer, of the beginning of your harvest, to the

priest,

he above scripture is speaking about the Deast of

Dirstfruits and the omer count to 5havuot. ?ery plainly

from this scripture we see that this happens 89T; THY

H8


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Also look at3

.eu 1-:13 You shall perform the &east of #abernales

seven days a#ter you have gathered in #rom your

grain>#loor, and #rom your winepress%

Again we see that 5ukkot is AD1F the harvest is not only

ripe, but harvested. his takes anywhere from $ to %

weeks before one could go up to 5ukkot and clearly

delineates again a later feast C )=/* the equinox and

B before. As long as the year is properly started after

the vernal equinox in the spring, then you will always have

your fall harvest and 5ukkot also align after the autumn

equinox. #ets also look at the following scripture to see

the importance of waiting to start the biblical year till after

the =tekufah or the full rotation of the sun at the equinox.


feast to .e"

*4o 23:1 You shall keep the &east of )nleavened$read" Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I

have ommanded you, at the set time of the month of

Aviv" &or in it you ame out from Egypt, and they shall

not appear before .e empty"

*4o 23:1- Also the &east of Harvest, the first fruits of

your labor, of what you sow in the field" Also the =east o#

Ingathering, a#ter the going out o# the year , at your

gathering your work from the field"

In verse (; we see the feast of 5ukkot being called the ==east o# Ingathering. It is called this due to the fact of

taking in or ingathering the harvest fruits for 5ukkot. e

also see that this feast happens after =the going out of the

year 0the agricultural year4 or after 0the autumn

e4uino*-" If you start your year in the winter before the

vernal equinox you will also throw off the sequence of the


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rest of the !oly "ays and will be keeping the Deast of

Ingathering 05ukkot4 in early 5eptember before the

turning of the year 0autumn equinox4 and before the

harvest has been gathered.

In years past when the /ewish calendar started incorrectly

one month early I have shown pictures that the harvest

was plainly not ready as summer was still present. It

would have been inconceivable in biblical times that apilgrim would come up to /erusalem for 5ukkot empty

handed as all his harvest was rotting away on the ground

after he was gone. Femember, for most of Israel with

travel time they were gone from their homes for around a

month at feast time. he harvest must be in first and then

the pilgrim takes the harvest to /erusalem to celebrate and

worship with -ahweh the 6rovider of the !arvest.

+learly, 6assover must be kept in its season 0spring, not

winter 4 from year to year, and then, 5ukkot 0Deast of

Ingathering4 will also be in its season after harvest.

*4o 13:10 /hou shall there#ore eep this ordinance

Passover in his season #rom year to year%

Also, look at this word ekufah used in another scripture to

clearly show it is relating to the equinoxes.

2?h 2&:23 And it happened, at the turn o# the year ,

that the army of Syria ame up against him!

!ere, it is referring to spring and the turning of the year atthe vernal equinox. 5o the *ible conclusively shows the

wording used =turning of the year- in several places in

5cripture is related to the agricultural season starting at

the vernal equinox in :arch and ending at the autumn

equinox in 5eptember. he modern /ewish calendar does

not take into account the turning of the seasons from after


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the vernal equinox occurs, but in some years, such as

$&(%, the year starts in winter before the vernal equinox

to keep it in line with the 1aster season and the old /ulian

calendar.

heir mistake is quite simple. -ahweh states, as we

already have shown that = Aviv is the beginning of months

to you 2E* 67873" *ut according to the modern /ewish

calendar they start the year in the 7

th

month and countback the days to Aviv and 6assover. hen as long as

6assover 0and not the 6st day of the month of Aviv3 falls

after the vernal equinox, they will still start the year even

though the first $ weeks may still be in winter and still part

of the old year. Again, their mistake is following the

tradition of the Fabbis in starting the year in ishri, the 7 th

month and not starting it in Aviv, the first month.

hy is it, according to the rabbinical /ewish calendar that

6assover cannot come before the vernal equinox< It is

because the Fabbis say you cannot have two 6assovers in

the sa0e ear>

Should the #ekufah of #ammu9 e*tend till after the

Suoth &estival, or the #ekufah of #ebeth till the si*teenth

of 1isan, the year would be interalated, so that the

#estivals might #all in their due seasons, vi@%,

Passover in "pring, "uccoth in )utumn"2Sanh 66b3

5o there you have it, according to the /ewish calendar,

they are saying that the vernal equinox I- indeed thebeginning of spring and the ew -ear> that is why they will

?


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of Aviv can still be in the Bld year, back in winter. his is

totally illogical.

he calendar they are using today is ?/T the one used in

the time of the (st century when -ahshua the :essiah

walked the earth, as even the 1ncyclopaedia /udaica

openly admits that the modern /ewish calendar started in

the fourth century by a Fabbi named !illel the $nd and was

not completely codified until the earliest the (&

th

centuryA".

It is generally aepted that ertain elements of the

alulated 'ewish alendar, ommonly in use today, were

odified in appro*imately :;< =" E" by the 2president of the

'ewish Sanhedrin3, Hillel II" 2Enylopaedia 'udaia3

#et me add some historical proof to dogmatically show that

the calendar that the /ews used in the first century A" was

one that started in spring and not fall and the year did

?/T ever start before the vernal equinox or the precessionof the equinox. here are ($ constellations in the sky and

the sun goes through each one approximately every %&

days. After it has gone through the ($th and starts back in

the first one, then the ew -ear can start.

he /ewish historian /osephus referred to this in Antiquity

of the /ews when he stated

0the year had now begun as the sun was now in the

onstellation of Aries"-

Also, the noted historian 1usebius had much to say

confirming that ancient Israel 8W8Y- waited until after

the vernal equinox to start the year in spring and B

winter.


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&tracts fro0 the Canons of 8natoli$s on the *aschal

9esti+al

$ut as the >omans would say, before the eleventh of the

alends of April" 26;3 $ut the sun is found on the said

twenty?si*th of the month @hamenoth, not only as entering

the first segment 2of the 9odia3, but on the fourth day is

already found passing through it" $ut this segment they

generally all the first dodeatomorium, and the eAuino4,and the eginning o# the month , and the head o# the

cycle , and the head of the planetary ourse" $ut that

segment, and the last dodeatemorium, and the end of the

planetary revolution" 'ence, also, those that place the

#irst month in it, and that #i4 the #ourteenth o# the

month y it, commit, as we thin, no little and no

common lunder " 263 $ut neither is this our opinion

only, but it was also known to the 'ews aniently, and

before .essiah, and was hiefly observed by them, as we

may learn from @hilo, 'osephus, and .usaeus, BB26C3#hese, when they resolve in4uiries on E*odus, say that all

ought to sacri#ice the Passover alie a#ter the vernal

eAuino4, in the middle o# the #irst month" $ut this is

found to be when the sun passes through the first segment

of the solar, or, as some all it, the 9odia irle" $ut this

Aristobulus also adds, it was re4uisite that not only the sun

should have passed the e4uinotial segment for the feast

of the @assover, but the moon also" But that the #irst

month o# the 'erews must occur a#ter the eAuino4

may e gathered also #rom the oo o# *noch"-

e see also in the (Jth 6salm that there is more to

determine the proper observation of time than 'ust the

new moon.

Psa 1;:1>- #he heavens delare the glory of Elohim! and

the firmament shows His handiwork" Day unto day utters


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speeh, and night unto night shows knowledge" #here is no

speeh nor language, where their voie is not heard"

/heir line is gone out through all the earth , and their

words to the end of the world" In them hath He set a

tabernale for the sun, Whih is as a bridegroom oming

out of His hamber, and re(oies as a strong man to run a

rae" His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and

'is circuit /eu#ah unto the ends of it8 and there is

nothing hid from the heat thereof"

he question of exactly what the connection is between the

times and the seasons may well be understood in the term

for line, which connotes onnetion, and certainly would

include more than a simple sunriseKsunset repetition,

particularly in the light that is their line, the line of the

heavens and firmament, not 'ust the line of the sun. he

line mentioned in !ebrew thought is always circular and

not linear.

hile the daily rotation of the earth provided the smaller

connecting circuit, the returning of the sun each year to

the same point at the vernal equinox was the greater

connecting circuit. Drom the earliest times there was an

understanding of the geometry of the earth, and that the

sun in its transit across the equatorial line created the

equinoxes. his astronomical event precludes any artificial

manmade rules. #et us look at another scripture that

shows this same concept.

.eut 11:11 $ut the land whih you are entering to possess it is a land of hills and valleys, drinking water from

the rain of the heavens! 67 a land whih Yahweh your

Elohim ares for! the eyes of Yahweh your Elohim are

onstantly on it #rom the eginning o# the year to the

end o# the year%


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hen you read this scripture in !ebrew, it is once again

showing a circular pattern, not a linear one. -ahwehs eyes

are always on the land of Israel in a neverending circular

pattern, which is physically manifested by the =tekufah- or

circuit of the sun, portrayed yearly with the start of the

ew -ear at the vernal equinox.

hat the learned men of old understood that Abib (st

always fell 89T; the vernal equinox is crystal clear. hedebate of when 6assover and the Deast of Enleavened

*read were properly kept hinged on this single event.

5@eter, the $ishop of Ale*andria, mentions that the 'ews

had kept the @assover properly up to the destrution of

'erusalem in CF ="E" $ut after the destrution of the ity

they Cerr in reconing the eginning o# the month,

which is #irst amongst the months o# the year, on the

fourteenth day of whih, being aurately observed,

)=/* the eAuino4 , the anients elebrated the @assover

aording to the Divine =ommand8 whereas the men o#

the present day now celerate it B*=D* the

eAuino4 , and that altogether through negligene and

error, being ignorant how they elebrate it in their

seasonB Anti?1iene &athers, Gol" GI, p" 7


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Also, during the time of the 1lephantine letters of the /ews

in "iaspora in 1gypt, never once did they start the year

before either the precession of the equinoxes or the vernal

equinox. his is important as these letters are starting

from the )th century *+ around @J)*+. his was less than

(&& years after the fall of 5olomons emple and it is

extremely telling that these people only one generation

removed from 5olomons emple 1?1F once started the

year before the vernal equinox.

#ook at the following quoted excerpt from3 9enneth D.

"oig, 1ew #estament =hronology, 0#ewiston, -3 1dwin

:ellen 6ress, (JJ&4.

0.any of these legal douments inlude the re4uired

Egyptian ivil year date" Double?dated douments inluding

the Hebrew dates of the Elephantine 'ews over the period

C6 to F7 $=E" #his inluded evening to evening days

and a Eew (ear eginning in Eisan )viv only a#ter

the Fernal *Auino4 " Almost all of the datable douments

an be referred bak to a Eisan )viv eginning only

a#ter the Fernal *Auino4 each year%

hen the /ews went into "iaspora after the *ar 9okhba

Fevolt in (%) A" they systematically changed the method

of calculation and at some point even started to keep the

6assover itself in winter.

The blessed on the 2rd of ?issan and thus the whole

nation announced that tekufat issan begins on the $%rd

ofissanG herefore, *esach of that ear the celebrated

in the winter teu#a, disobeying the positive, explicit

biblical commandment to =keep the spring month. hey

also disobeyed the explicit words of +hazal, who said in

Fosh !ashanah $(a, ;a+ H$na bar 8+in sent to

;abba: If o$ see that the teu#a of Te+et e&tends to


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the si&teenth of ?issan, intercalate this ear and do

not hesitate, as is written: Eee4 the 0onth of

s4ringF>G

Bnce !illel the second centralized the calendar in %)J A",

the ancient method of always calculating the first day of

the ew -ear Aviv after the vernal equinox was no longer

used and exchanged for a calculated calendar based on the

new moon closest to the equinox.

*arley was never a measure for calculating Aviv (, as it

would be clearly evident in "iaspora that one could not

ever start the ew -ear or observe 6assover, as it would

be impossible in "iaspora to know when barley is ripe in

Israel, and the growing season for barley is different all

over the world. 6eople who mistakenly use 1x J3%( to

equate barley to the beginning of the year, fail to

recognize that at the time of this scripture Israel was still

in 1gypt where the barley growing season runs from

planting in August to harvest in early Debruary, which is

totally contrary to Israels growing season of planting in

late BctoberKovember to harvest in late :arch early April.

his fact clearly shows that barley is not the parameter for

equating Aviv (, as it would have been impossible to

properly date Aviv ( and the 6assover date from "iaspora.

Also, if ripe barley in Israel is the only method to calculate

the year how were years calculated before (@@7 *+1 when

Israel entered the 6romised #and< +learly oah calculated

months 08en 73((4 and was not using barley to knowwhen the year began and couldnt have seen barley while

inside the ark.

5en 6:13 And it happened in the si4 hundred and #irst

year, at the eginning, on the #irst o# the month , the

waters were dried up from off the earth" And 1oah


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removed the overing of the ark and looked" And, behold

#he fae of the earth was dried"

5en 6:1& )nd in the second month, on the twenty

seventh day o# the month, the earth was dry%

#ikewise, and of great importance on this sub'ect, most

recently the true 8ilgal was found in Israel and the place is

in the shape of a sandal, with the foot of the sandal in a

perfect circular pattern in which the priests would circlewithin the sandal on !oly "ays in worship to the one true

1lohim, whose heavenly bodies circle throughout the year

in showing !is sovereignty over !is creation. #ook at the

following scripture3


#east to .e"

he word for feast here is =hagag which means

H22(

, cha^gag, khaw?gag+

A primitive root 0compare !$$2%, !$%$24> 4ro4erl to

0o+e in a circle, that is, 0specifically4 to march in a

sacred 4rocession, to oserve a festi+al>

Also, there are ($ constellations on the ecliptic circle called

the mazzaroth in 5cripture in which the sun passes

through another constellation every %& days and then,

when it passes the vernal equinox it resets itself in the first

constellation again to start the ew -ear.

1ven the /ewish historian /osephus tells us that =the year

an now start beause the sun is in Aries. Also look at the

following quote from the historian 6hilo3

=8nd the s$n the r$ler of the da, 0aking two

e$ino&es e+er ear, both in the spring and the

autumn. The +ernal e$ino& in the constellation of


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8ries, and the a$t$0nal one in ibra, give the most

evident demonstration possible of the divine dignity of the

number seven. Dor each of the equinoxes takes place in

the seventh month, at which time men are expressly

commanded by law to celebrate the greatest and most

popular and comprehensive festivals> since it is owing to

both these seasons, that all fruits of the earth are

engendered and brought to 6erfection> the fruit of 8rain,

and all other things which are sown, owing to the vernalequinox> and that of the vine, and of all the other plants

which bear hard berries, of which there are great numbers,

to the autumnal one. 06hilo, on the creation of the

world,(3((;4

!ere are several other quotes from 6hilo about the yearly

cycle of the sun, moon and stars as biblical markers of

time.

=The were also created to ser+e as 0eas$res of

ti0e for it is b the a44ointed 4eriodical re+ol$tions

of the s$n, and 0oon and other stars, that das and

0onths and ears are deter0ined. 0Bn +reation (3)J

;&4

Goses puts down the eginning o# the vernal

eAuino4 as the #irst month o# the year, 06hilo on :oses

$3$$$4.

/hen the twelve stones on the reast, which are not

lie one another in color, and which are divided into#our rows o# three stones each, what else can they

e emlems o#, e4cept the circle o# the ma@@aroth<

Dor that also is divided into four parts, each consisting of

three animals, by which divisions it makes up the seasons

of the year, spring, summer, autumn, and winter,

distinguishing the four changes, the two solstices and the


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two eAuino4es, each o# which has its limit o# three

signs o# this ma@@aroth, y the revolutions o# the

sun, according to that unchangeable, and most lasting,

and really divine ratio which exists in numbers 06hilo on

:oses $3($@4

+learly, the ancient records tell us that ancient Israel

understood the circular pattern of the heavenly bodies and

how it was connected to worship toward -ahweh eachcycle of each year. hey also understood the plan of

salvation that is told throughout the year through the ($

constellations of the :azzaroth that represents the ($

tribes of Israel and the birth, life, death, and resurrection

of -ahshua :essiah.

In order to understand the *iblical +alendar one must

understand the circular pattern of worship at feast time

due to both the !oly "ays being connected to the yearly

cyclical pattern of the agricultural cycle and the circular

pattern of the heavenly luminaries, the sun, moon, and

stars. It has always been understood from biblical times

that the equinox is the dividing point of the year and the

growing cycle.

In contrast, history shows us, and it is no secret, that the

modern /ewish calendar is based from a @th century Fabbi

and it was not codified for several hundred years after that

and it is not based on the original !ebrew calendar from

5cripture. 1ven in the almudic writings of the $nd to @th

century it clearly states that the 6assover must be inspring and not winter.

he modern /ewish calendar also has @ postponement

rules, so that if the !oly "ays happen to fall on a certain

day of the week that is not convenient to keep them, then


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they simply postpone the !oly "ay 0in some ases up to 7

days4 to the next day that is acceptable to the Fabbis.

A?BI but

it is true. In Fabbinical /udaism it is taught that the Fabbis

have the authority from heaven to change the orah and

even !oly set apart appointments of -ahweh. he almud

also states that -ahweh is only one of 7& Fabbis and must

submit to the will of the other Fabbis. #et me list the @postponement rules that the current /ewish calendar uses

when the !oly "ays fall on inconvenient days of the week.

E.5. aval Bbservatory summarizes the four dehiyyot

LpostponementsM as follows3

• 0a4 If the ishri molad falls on day ( L5undayM, @

LednesdayM, or ; LDridayM, then ishri ( is postponed

one day.

•

0b4 If the ishri molad occurs at or after (2 hours0i.e., noon4, then ishri ( is postponed one day. If this

causes ishri ( to fall on day (, @, or ;, then ishri ( is

postponed an additional day to satisfy the postponement

rule 0a4.

• 0c4 If the ishri molad of an ordinary year 0i.e., of

twelve months4 falls on day % LuesdayM at or after J

hours, $&@ halakim Lat or after about %3(( a.m.M, then

ishri ( is postponed two days to day ), thereby satisfying

the postponement rule 0a4.

• 0d4 If the first molad Lthe ishri molad M following a

leap year falls on day $ L:ondayM at or after () hours,

)2J halakim Lat or after about J3%$ a.m.M, then ishri ( is

postponed one day to day % LuesdayM.


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Femember also as already shown, that the modern /ewish

calendar starts the year incorrectly from ishri and B

from the biblical Aviv. he main points of postponing

-ahwehs sacred set apart days is so a !oly "ay and in

particular the "ay of Atonement 0Yom ippur 4 will not fall

on a Driday or 5unday, which the /ews conceive as a

burden due to the 5abbath day next to it.

In addition, they will not allow the last day of the Deast ofabernacles to fall on a 5abbath due to a ritual that /ewish

tradition used to perform in beating willow branches, which

they believe would be breaking the 5abbath day. 5o

instead of changing their man made tradition, they 'ust

postpone the !oly "ay to another day.

owhere in 5cripture does it ever state that any man has

the authority to change !oly time. here is a man coming

0the anti?messiah4 who will attempt to change times and

laws and is strictly condemned for doing so 0"an 73$)4.

?ery clearly, 5cripture tells us to keep the 6assover on the

(@th day of the first monthG 61FIB"G hen the new moon

occurs, then on the (@th day from that time, you are to

keep the 6assover. B!1F1 does 5cripture ever even

remotely suggest about postponing -ahwehs !oly

Appointments.

5ome will still argue that the oracles of -ahweh were given

to the /ews and we must follow whatever calendar they

use, even if it is wrong.

om 3:1 What advantage then hath the ew+ or

what pro#it is there o# circumcision+

om 3:2 Guch every way: chie#ly, ecause that unto

them were committed the oracles o# (ahweh%

his is not proper reasoning or the meaning of this

scripture.


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he oracles of -ahweh spoken about in Fomans the %rd

chapter is not even remotely hinting that the /ewish

Fabbis were given authority to change the eternal word of

-ahweh and that believers in -ahshua must follow them.

he word oracle comes from the 8reek word logos, and

means the utterance or words of -ahweh were given to the

/ews to preserve, ED/ change. /udah never lost their

identity because it was their 'ob to preserve the orahunabated so that the people would still have the pure word

of -ahweh for when the :essiah would come in the first

century A".

Fomans %3($, is stating that the advantage that /udah

had over 1phraim is that since they always had the written

orah preserved, then they had the first chance at

salvation, as where 1phraim, who had lost his identity had

to wait patiently in captivity for the good news message to

come to them. *y far in no way does the fact that /udahs

'ob was to preserve the written orah give them liberty to

change any part of it. Anyone who even changed one word

of 5cripture was under a curse.

.eu &:2 (ou shall not add to the Word which I

command you, nor tae #rom it, to eep the

commandments o# (ahweh your *lohim which I

command you%

Actually the oracles of -ahweh 0His written word 4 were

only entrusted to /udah until the :essiah would come andthen it would be the 'ob of the followers of the :essiah to

preserve the true unadulterated word from there.

5en &;:10 /he sceptre shall not depart #rom udah,

nor a lawgiver #rom etween his #eet, until "hiloh

come9 and unto him shall the gathering o# the people

e%


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Also, you must remember the @ postponement rules

mentioned above W; ?/T I? 9/;C in the first

century in the days of -ahshua, and I will quote straight

out of the /ewish :ishnah to prove that point conclusively.

It is from the :ishnah that we learn that a !oly "ay could

occur on any day of the week 0"ansbys translation4 such

as is given on p. ($), N;3 On a &estival?day ne*t to the

Sabbath, whether before it or after it, a man may preparetwo ErubsB-

5till with the :ishnah, on p. (@; N(& we learn that the

6th Aviv may fall on a Sabbath> pp. (J7, $&(, $(% show

that the old calendar is not in harmony with the present

day /ewish calendar. In fact p. )&J NC shows that the

Day of Atonement ould fall on a &riday, the day before

the weekly Sabbath. his is in direct opposition to the

modern /ewish calendar which has postponements rules

so the "ay of Atonement cannot be either before or after

the weekly 5abbath.

5o there you have it. If we are to follow the Fabbis for

the setting of the calendar, which Fabbis of which era do

we follow, as the /ewish calendar today is not the

calendar used in the days of -ahshua, and not even the

one used in the $nd to @th century, as at that time the

6assover used to fall before the vernal equinox and now

the 6assover, but not the first day of Aviv, must fall after

the vernal equinox. Also, there were no postponement

laws in the time of -ahshua and the year before he died-om 9ippur actually fell on a 5unday, which would be

against one of the rules of postponement.

I would also like to prove from the ew estament that

conclusively there were no postponement rules in the first

century, during -ahshuas ministry.


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oh 7:2 )nd the ewish =east o# the /aernacles

was near%

oh 7:37 )nd in the last day o# the great #east,

(ahshua stood and cried out, saying, I# anyone

thirsts, let him come to Ge and drin%

oh 7:3 )nd they each one went to his house%

oh 6:1 But (ahshua went to the Gount o# Dlives%

oh 6:2 )nd at dawn, 'e again arrived into the

temple9 and all the people came to 'im% )nd sittingdown, 'e taught them% /his is the ne4t day a#ter

the last great day

oh ;:1 )nd passing y, 'e saw a man lind #rom

irth% It is still the same day a#ter last 5reat day

oh ;:7 )nd 'e said to him, 5o, wash in the pool o#

"iloam, which translated is "ent% /hen he went and

washed, and came seeing%

oh ;:1& )nd it was a "aath when (ahshua made

the clay and opened his eyes%

Interesting enough if you read the above scriptures you

will see that the #ast 8reat "ay or the 2th day of the feast

was on a Driday and the next day was a 5abbath when

-ahshua healed the blind man. 9nowing this for sure from

5cripture, 'ust merely count back from Driday, the #ast

8reat "ay which is the $$nd day of the 7th month, back to

the (&th day of the month, which is -om 9ippur, and you

will see that it was on a 5unday, so right here from

5cripture one can easily disprove that there was any type

of postponement rules for -om 9ippur not falling on a5unday in the first century.

5cripture is very clear. -ahweh created the 5un and moon

and stars to tell us the timing of !is !oly "ays. o man

has the authority to change that. o postpone the Deast of


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rumpets for a day is no different than postponing the

5abbath for 5unday. here is no scriptural basis for either.

+learly, from 5cripture we are to start the year in spring

after the vernal equinox and not in winter before it> thus,

the next new moon after the equinox was the beginning

month of Aviv, thus always occurring in the spring. If the

($th month of the year 0Adar4 fell early enough to allow

another new moon to occur before the vernal equinox, itnecessitated adding a (%th month and waiting until the

vernal equinox was observed as the beginning of spring

and the ew -ear. his addition of an intercalary month

always kept the (st month of the year after the vernal

equinoxG

he year is an astronomical event determined by the sunG

It is the point at which the revolution of the earth around

the sun comes to complete its cycle. he sun determines

the yearG And that returning point is the vernal equinox.

"etermining 6assover after the beginning of the ew -ear,

i.e. after the ?ernal 1quinox, then setting Aviv (st before

the vernal equinox, would be allowing 6assover to be in

the ew -ear, but setting Aviv (st before the year ends,

i.e. before the circuit of the sun is complete at the vernal

equinox is still in the winter of the previous year, which is

not Aviv. hat is the reason for intercalary years, i.e. the

addition of an extra month, so that the first new moon

after the year begins, after the vernal equinox, is Aviv.

he year $&(% is one such year when the /ewish calendar

will be starting the year in winter, one month earlier than

the *iblical +alendar.

his brings us to one most important point why -ahweh

and the *iblical +alendar never had people visually

observing the heavenly bodies to start time, but it was


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actually the absence of seeing these bodies that

controlled time.

he day starts when the sun disappears over the

horizon and is not visible any longer. he month starts

at con'unction when the last waning crescent has

disappeared and now the moon is in perfect alignment

0con'unction4 with the sun and earth, and the year

begins when the sun passes the equator and now isback into the first heavenly constellation of the year.

Again this is not something that you go and physically

sight but we know the day of the vernal equinox by the

shadow of the thing ot seen 0the sun4 as we read in

!ebrews ((3(.

'e 11:1 Eow #aith is the sustance o# things

eing hoped, the evidence o# things not having

een seen%

It is by the shadow of the sun that one can determinethe day of the equinox as was done in biblical times

with sundials. here have been many ancient sundials

found right near the emple :ount in /erusalem and it

is even stated that 5olomon built the emple so that

the sun would shine through the eastern gate only on

the day of the equinoxes, the dividing point of the

winter and summer and the old year and ew -ear.

hen the next new moon after the equinox is Aviv, the

beginning of months. !ow simple -ahwehs *iblical

+alendar really is.


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Cha4ter 6 When Does the !onth

Begin7

hat is a new moon according to 5cripture< 1verything

that our !eavenly Dather does has 'udicial order.

5imply put 'udicial order is the order that -ahweh set

out at creation of how things work, such as gravity.

-ahwehs 'udicial order sets precedent for our lives and

how we are to worship !im. 5o when looking at what

constitutes a new moon according to 5cripture, we will

look at the precedents that !e has set, since !e does

not change Gal 3:-%

'e 11:1 Eow #aith is the sustance o# things

eing hoped, the evidence o# things not having

een seen%

'e 11:3 By #aith we understand the ages to

have een #ramed y the Word o# (ahweh, so thatthe things seen should not come into eing out o#

things that already appear%

5o here we see the precedent laid out at creation is

that the things created did not come into being out of

things that already appeared. he same way that the

world started in darkness 08en (3$%4, and the day

starts in darkness, and even life in the womb starts in

darkness, the precedent set is that the month starts at

con'unction, the exact time each month that the earth,

the moon and the sun are lined up in perfect order. It

is like when your watch is at exactly ($3&& oclock and

resetting, when the moon and earth and sun totally line

up at that one moment each $J O days at con'unction,

which is the beginning of the new month.


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-ahweh is perfect and symmetrical. he sun, moon and

stars are a clock in the sky. 5ince most people in

ancient times were either farmers or shepherds it

stands to reason that -ahweh would make telling time

very simple, logical and symmetrical.

hen you see a quarter moon the month is P over.

hen you see a full moon the month is half over. hen

you see a waning P of a moon left, the month is Qover, and when the moon is dark again at con'unction

it is resetting the new month. If someone was starting

the new month by visually sighting a crescent moon,

then when you see a quarter moon it would not be P

of the month over, when you see a full moon, it would

not be O of the month over. It would throw off the

symmetrical sighting of the whole moon cycle.

Also if we look at 8enesis (3(@3

5en 1:1& And Elohim said, /et light soures be in thee*panse of the heavens, to divide between the day and

the night" )nd let them e #or signs and #or 'oly

day seasons, and #or days and years%

5o we see again the precedent set out by -ahweh is

that the luminary bodies 0sun, moon, and stars4 would

be the dividing factor on calculating time. 5ince the sun

is the greater light it would rule the day, and the moon

being the lesser light would rule the month, and a

combination of the sun and stars and their yearlyrotation and cycle would rule the year. his is how the

!oly "ays would be counted. Also notice there is

nothing stated here about barley. 6lease read our study

paper on ='ow .oes the Bilical (ear Begin to

know more about the biblical way for starting the year.


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39

ow, also notice that it never states that you must

visibly sight the sun or moon to start your day or

month. he complete opposite> we know the day starts

with the absence of the sun, and the monthly cycle

equally starts with the absence of the moon. As the sun

passes over the horizon and can no longer be seen, the

new day begins, 'ust as when the waning crescent

disappears and the moon enters perfect alignment with

the sun and earth at con'unction and starts the newmonth.

Psa 10&:1; He made the moon for seasons

2mo+edim3! the sun knows it5s going down"

otice that the sun knows its going down. As

mentioned, it is the absence of the sun that starts the

day as it is the absence of the moon that starts the

month.

!ebrew originally was a hieroglyphic language andinstead of having letters it had $$ pictures. hen you put

the pictures together they made words and sentences.

he original Hebrew word 4ict$re for new moonG is

the separation, o# the cycle or pathway, o# the

consuming moon>G his would have to be con'unction.

he moon never stops, it is always moving in its rotation,

but once roughly every $J O days that cycle passes at

one split moment with the earth and suns cycle causing

the darkness of the moon and separation from its cycle of

light. he con'unction cycle is very constant roughly every$J O days, but because its rotation is elliptical and not

circular, visibly sighting a crescent can range anywhere

from ($ hours after con'unction to 7$ hours after

con'unction. -ahweh would not use such an unreliable

source to start the month and also have to depend on

mans reliability in reporting it.


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Also, what if it is cloudy< !ow would one visibly sight a

moon in such conditions, they would have to postpone

the new month even though the moon may be visible

because they cannot see it due to the cloud cover. his

would be no different than the postponement rules of

the Fabbis in starting the ew -ear. Also, when one is

sighting a crescent in /erusalem to begin the month,

how would someone in the E5A before modern

technology know when a crescent moon was sighted inIsrael< !ow could you start your year and month and

keep 6assover correctly without knowing when the

month began<

!ere are few questions that crescent moon sighters must

ask themselves when looking into the proper manner of

how the biblical month begins.

(4 If one is sighting a crescent moon to start the month,

then do you go by a local crescent sighting or by

/erusalem< If a local sighting is stated, then there could

be up to % different dates for the same !oly "ay and if

they are going by a sighting in /erusalem, then how

could you know when a crescent was sighted in

/erusalem before telephones and Internet. !ow could

ew +ovenant believers keep the 6assover every year as

commanded if they did not know when was Aviv (< his

is also a good argument against starting the year by only

barley in /erusalem.

$4 If you must physically see the moon to start themonth, then what do you do when it is cloudy< hat if

the moon would have been seen if the clouds are not

there and they postpone simply because of the clouds


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%4 Also, since the moon cycles path has a ) degree

angle compared to the earth, the new moon can be seen

as early as (2 hours after con'unction one month, or up

to 7$ hours another month, almost a @ day difference in

other months. !ow could you be almost @ days into the

moon cycle and only call it day one<

.eu 1-:1 Dserve the month )viv, and per#orm

the Passover to ()'W*' your *lohim% =or in themonth o# )viv ()'W*' your *lohim rought you

out o# *gypt y night%

+rescent moon proponents will frequently go to this

scripture as proof that one must physically sight a

crescent moon to begin the month. !owever, he word

used for =observe in the original !ebrew is 5trongs

2(&@ =Shawmar and does not mean to physically look

at, but rather to keep, to guard and protect, to be

aware of. It is the exact same word that is used in

1xodus %(3(;, when we are told that we are to observe

the 5abbath day, and I dont think anyone will argue

that on the 5abbath we are not visibly sighting

something to start the day, actually it is the very

opposite, it is the absence of the sun that tells us that

the 5abbath has started.

And this brings us to the most important point why

-ahweh and the *iblical +alendar never had people

visually observing the heavenly bodies to start time,

but it was actually the absence of seeing these bodiesthat controlled time.

he day starts when the sun disappears over the

horizon and is not visible any longer. he month starts

at con'unction when the last waning crescent has

disappeared and now the moon is in perfect alignment


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0con'unction4 with the sun and earth, and the year

begins when the sun passes the equator and now is

back into the first heavenly constellation of the year.

Again this is not something that you go and physically

sight but we know the day of the vernal equinox by the

shadow of the thing ot seen 0the sun4 as we read in

!ebrews ((3(.

'e 11:1 Eow #aith is the sustance o# thingseing hoped, the evidence o# things not having

een seen%

It is by the shadow of the sun that one can determine

the day of the equinox as was done in biblical times

with sundials. here have been many ancient sundials

found right near the emple :ount in /erusalem and it

is even stated that 5olomon built the emple so that

the sun would shine through the eastern gate only on

the day of the equinox.

?ol 2:1- #herefore do not let anyone 2outside the

body3 (udge among you about eating, or drinking, or in

how you keep the feast days, or the new moon, or the

Sabbath day,

?ol 2:17 which remain shadows of oming things,

but the body of .essiah"

-ahweh specifically made the calculating of time the

way !e did so that men would not ha+e to +isibl

sight the s$n or 0oon, or stars and then start toworship them as the pagans did. If you look at the

orah, you will see that -ahweh specifically

commanded not to look at or worship the sun, the

moon and the stars.

.eu &:1; and that you not li#t up your eyes

towards the heavens and when thou see the sun


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and the moon and the stars, even all the host o#

heaven, and you e drawn away and worship

them, and serve them9 which ()'W*' your

*lohim has allotted to all the peoples under all

the heavens%

ow do you honestly think in an area where people

were worshipping the sun and moon and stars, and

with the Israelites propensity to paganism with thegolden calf, that !e would really have them go every

month out to sight a crescent moon< It would be like

sending an alcoholic to watch a room full of whiskey

and telling him not to drink.

Also, lets look at the following scripture in the book of

"euteronomy.

.eu 17:2 When there is found among you, in one of

your gates whih YAHWEH your Elohim is giving to you,

a man or woman who does that which is evil in the sight o# ()'W*' your *lohim , in transgressing His

ovenant,

.eu 17:3 and has gone and served other gods ,

and worshiped them! or the sun, or the moon, or

o# the host o# the heavens, which I have not

commanded9

.eu 17:& and it has been revealed to you, and you

have heard, and searhing have searhed! and, behold,

it is true! and the thing is onfirmed, that this hateful

thing has been done in Israel,.eu 17: then you shall bring out to your gates that

man or that woman who has done this evil thing, the

man or the woman! and you shall stone them with

stones, and they shall die"


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hen -ahweh appeared to Israel at :ount 5inai !e

specifically only let them hear !is voice but did not

allow them to see any image so that they would not try

to make an idol out of it. In the same manner -ahweh

would never have Israelites visibly sight a crescent

each month knowing it would provoke them to making

idolatrous images.

.eu &:11 And you drew near and stood below themountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the

heart of the heavens, darness, cloud and thik

gloom"

.eu &:12 And YAHWEH spoke to you out of the midst

of the fire! you heard the sound of words, ut you did

not see a #orm , only a voie"

hen Israel entered the land of +anaan 0later to be

called Israel4 under /oshua, there were +anaanites,

6erezites, /ebusites, Amorites and other pagans whowere living there and sanctifying the crescent moon.

his is why -ahweh told Israel not to do such a thing

and this is why very clearly visibly sighting a crescent

moon is not the way that the *iblical +alendar starts

the month.

here is a word in !ebrew for crescent, but it is never

used, not even once when referring to the new moon.

he word used in 5cripture when referring to the new

moon is 0>osh =hodesh which literally means the headof the month or beginning of the moon cycle, which

again gives reference to the con'unction or starting

point of the moon cycle, when the sun, moon and earth

are in perfect alignment, and there is absolutely no

evidence that Israelites ever visibly sighted a crescent

before the *abylonian captivity. *y the time a crescent


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would be visible this would no longer be the head of

the cycle or Fosh +hodesh, but would be one to % days

into the cycle itself.

#ets look at another scripture that does use the

!ebrew word for crescent Csaharon3

Isa 3:16 In that day YAHWEH will take away the

beauty of the ankle braelets, the headbands, and the

crescents,

Isa 3:1; the pendants, the braelets and the veils!

If one is honest they will admit that the word crescent

is only three times mentioned in 5cripture and never in

connection with the start of the month, but always in

connection with a pagan amulet that is being ripped off

and destroyed.

As mentioned, the word for ew :oon in 5cripture is

=>osh =hodesh and literally means 0the head of thenew . he word =moon or in !ebrew =Yarah is not

even mentioned, never mind the fact that crescent is

not mentioned.

he name #ucifer in !ebrew is he^ yle^ l 0read 3 hay

laleR4. According to 5trongs "ictionary it means 0in the

sense of brightness4> light3 #ucifer.

he word he^ yle^ l in !ebrew has the same meaning in

Arabic. Hilal 0Arabic4 3 , is an Arabic termھل

particularly associated with the crescent moon, first

developed in preIslamic Arabia.

he very slight crescent moon is what is first visible a

day or two or three after a new moon. :uslims start

their month not by con'unction but by the cultic

crescent moon. :uslims look for the hilal 0crescent4


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when determining the beginning and end of Islamic

months. In the modern world, !ilal is a representation

of the moon in Arabian astrology.

In modern times, !ilal was connected with the later

:onotheistic deity of Allah. he worshipping of Allah is

always connected to the moon, and through the

discernment of the 5cripture we all know that he^ yle^ l

0!ebrew4 or !ilal 0Arabic4 is the same ob'ect. !e is#ucifer or 5atan. 5o from the above example we can

see that the worshipping of Allah is the worshipping of

the moon god and also the worshipping of #ucifer.

+rescent moons are also connected with communism,

occultism and other secular nonbiblical evil

associations. he crescent moon is also an attribute of

Isis, the 8reat :other of the 1gyptians, and in

+hristian iconography, of the =?irgin :aryS.

It is inconceivable that -ahweh would use such anoccultic, pagan, symbol to start !is *iblical +alendar

each and every month.

If we read the story of 8ideon in /udges 23$(, it is

telling us that -ahweh does not like moon god

worshipping.

dg 6:21 And %ebah and %almunna said, You rise up

and fall on us, for as the man, so is his might" And

Jideon rose up and killed %ebah and %almunna, and

too the moon crescents whih were on the neks of

their amels"

here are no biblical or historical records that ever

show that Israel was visibly sighting a crescent moon

to start the month before they came out of the

captivity of *abylon in )%J *+. As a matter of fact, we


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know that Israel retained the crescent moon from

*abylon because once they returned from the captivity

they also adopted the *abylonian names of the

months, such as isan, and ammuz. #et me give the

following scripture to prove the point that during the

time of 9ing "avid the nation of Israel was not sighting

a crescent moon to start the month, but were going by

calculation.

1"a 20: And David said to 'onathan, $ehold, the

new moon is tomorrow " And sitting I should ertainly

sit with the king to eat" And you shall send me away,

and I shall be hidden in the field until the third evening"

"avid very distinctly stated that the ?W !//? is

T/!/;;/W= If Israel was visibly waiting to sight a

crescent moon, then how would he conclusively know

the ew :oon would be the next day< 5ome may then

say maybe this was the %&th day of the month and it

had to be the ew :oon< !owever, as a matter of fact

this cannot be the %&th day of the month as the ew

:oon celebration that takes place in the above

scripture lasts for $ days and the ew :oon would

have been the $Jth day or %&th day, but there is never

%( days in a biblical month. +learly if the ew :oon

was conclusively known, then it had to be calculated

according to the con'unction.

owhere in 5cripture does -ahweh ever command to

visibly sight a crescent moon to start the month. hefollowing scripture will prove this point.

Psa 61:3 Blow the ram


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his scripture, which was originally written in !ebrew, has

always been known to refer to the Deast of rumpets or in

!ebrew -om eruah. 5o if the first day of the 7th

month isa new moon and it is =overed- or 0onealed as the

scripture states, then it can only be referring to the

con'unction and not sighting a crescent. he word for

covered moon is =keseh and in !ebrew means to be fully

covered, or concealed, which again can only refer to the

con'unction of the moon.

Also on the Deast of -om eruah look at the following

scripture3

Lev 23:2& Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, In the

seventh month, on the #irst o# the month, a Holy

Day Sabbath shall be to you, a memorial alamation

of the resounding of trumpets, a holy gathering"

+learly, the feast of rumpets is only /? da> the

first day of the 7th month. !owever, if you are going by


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a crescent sighting, then you would not see the

crescent till sometime after sunset and not knowing if it

would be sighted or not would force the act of keeping

this day as a 5abbath whether or not the crescent

would actually be seen.

his fact alone clearly shows that the calendar has to

be calculated according to con'unction as !oly "ay

5abbaths must begin at sunset and the crescent is notseen until later in the evening and how would you know

whether this was the first day of the seventh month

until later in the evening when the crescent would or

would not appear. If the !oly "ay is calculated from

sunset to sunset, then also the means to calculate the

day must also be known before sunset to know

whether or not it is the !olyday. It is totally ridiculous

to think that -ahweh would command a !olyday to be

observed and you would not be able to know whether it

was that day until later in the evening after the mooncame up or didnt come up.

Also, we know that -ahshua was not crucified on a

Driday, as you cannot get three days and three nights

in the grave from Driday afternoon until 5unday

morning 0:ath ($3%2@&4, but !e was crucified mid

week. ow if you go to the year !e was crucified in %&

A.". you can only come up with a midweek crucifixion

if you start your month by con'unction, but if you are

visibly sighting a crescent, you are back to a Driday

crucifixion, which is impossible according to 5cripture.

here is ample historical proof to clearly show a %&

A.". crucifixion.

Another important point to make when discussing this

sub'ect is that although we know that Israel was visibly

sighting a crescent moon after coming out of *abylon,


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we also know that !illel the 1lder 0ot !illel the $nd4

reinstituted the con'unction for starting a month in

(&*+, 'ust 7 years before the birth of -ahshua.

In the book :agid !arakia on page %) it states that the

Fabbis at the time of !illel knew how to calculate the

months, but guarded it as a secret and simply used the

sighting of the crescent to confirm their calculations.

Fegardless, though, history clearly tells us that !illelthe 1lder in (&*+ reinstituted calculating the month by

con'unction as /im Ingle also stated in his *iblical

+alendar dissertation. 5o well respected was !illel the

1lder that the almud actually calls him the successor

to the priest 1zra.

=#here is one among you who is worthy that the

Shekinah should rest on him as it did with .oses, but

his generation does not merit it" #he sages present set

their eyes on Hillel the Elder" And when he died they

lamented and said, Kalas the pious man, the humble

man, the disiple of E9ra-" 0he *abylonian almud

5anhedrin ((a4

hen we look at -ahwehs pattern 0that does not

change :al %3;4 we see from 8en (3(@ that -ahweh

sets the standard for time by the natural, circular,

rotation of the sun, moon and stars. hen the earth

revolves once on its axis it is called a day from sunset

to sunset 0#ev $%3%$4. hen the earth circles around

the sun from equinox to equinox in a complete circularrevolution, it is a year, and when the moon makes a

full revolution around the earth and resets itself at

con'unction it is a month. *y calculating the moon by a

crescent moon it throws the whole circular pattern of

everything off by up to % days.


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he crescent is not a constant and can be seen

anywhere from ($ hours after con'unction to up to 7$

hours later. In the entirety of 5cripture there is not one

single command to visibly sight a crescent to start the

month, but as 6s 2(3% clearly states, he ew :oon

starts at the time of the covered moon 0con'unction4.

*y human beings incorrectly bringing human response

into the equation, whether it be by man plantingbarley, or men sighting at what time the crescent moon

was seen, it negates the sovereign power that -ahweh

has over !is luminary bodies. owhere in 5cripture is

any human activity connected with being needed to be

able to start a new time cycle as is witnessed during

oahs flood 08en 23(%(@4.

Actually, -ahweh simply tells us in 5cripture what the

markers are for the time !e created 08en (3(@4 and

man was simply meant to watch for those markers and

see the heavenly signs for the start of the day, month,

and year, but not to try to cause them.


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Cha4ter " 6 Which Da is the

Con#$nction7

-ahweh works in the circular not the linear and the month

revolves around the geometrical sphere of the moon as a

perfect circle. hen you see a quarter moon it is P of the

month. hen you see a full moon it is half month, when

you see a waning quarter it is Q over and when the moon

is dark and resetting it is new moon. -ahweh also forbids

us in "eut @3(J to look up at the sun and the moon and

stars and to worship them. his is why, among many

other reasons, I believe the scriptural way to begin the

new month is by the con'unction of the moon, instead of

visual observance of a crescent moon which came out of

*abylon.

5o the next question would be, when do we calculate the

beginning of the new month, on the day of con'unction or

wait until sunset of that day< I believe this chapter willanswer that question.

Dirst of all lets define what a con'unction is. According to

the 1ncyclopedia *ritannia in astronomy, a con#$nction

is an a44arent 0eeting or 4assing of two or 0ore

celestial bodies at the sa0e celestial longit$de> The

!oon is in con#$nction with the -$n at the 4hase of

?ew !oon, when it 0o+es between the arth and

-$n and the side t$rned toward the arth is dark.

here are several fallacies connected with the

con'unction. Bne is that it happens at every place on

earth, at the same time all over the earth. It is because of

this false belief that some keep the new moon on the day

of con'unction, starting the evening before the

con'unction actually happens, even though this may be

up to $% hours before the actual con'unction, and is still


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the last day of the old month. 5ome of these same people

will contest that we cannot start the year before the

vernal equinox, because you would be starting a new year

before the old year is over. Although we also believe that

the year cannot start until the changing from winter to

summer, this is a total contradiction to starting every new

month before the actual con'unction really happens.

he problem is with some peoples flawed definition ofwhat a con'unction is. *asically from the above definition

we see that a con'unction is basically an eclipse of the

moon, due to it lining up between the earth and sun, and

causing one side to be basically dark. *ecause it is the

instant when the :oon and the 5un have the same

ecliptical longitude the moon is actually never (&&T dark,

but still cannot be seen with the naked eye. Dor the

crescent sighters who claim the month must start by

light, they are ignorant to this fact that even at

con'unction there is light already 'ust not visible to thenaked eye. 5o there argument is baseless, but that they

must witness this light before they can belief the new

month actually began. *ut as we already proved =faith is

the evidence of things unseen, and -ahwehs biblical

timing does not need mans unfaithful testimony to start

the heavenly cycle which begins at con'unction each

month.

#ogic will tell you that if an eclipse is happening in /apan

it cannot be happening on the other side of the globe in

ew -ork at the same time. 5o although the ew :oon

con'unction happens at only one moment in time roughly

each $J and O days, it does not occur at every place on

earth. *y the very definition of a con'unction the celestial

bodies 0in this case the moon, sun and earth4 must be in

the same longitude. hen the moon is in con'unction with

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