The Hebrew Calendar Parts 1

7/23/2019 The Hebrew Calendar Parts 1

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-hebrew-calendar-parts-1 1/16

The Hebrew Calendar Parts 1 & 2

By John Ogwyn

Since 1986, the calendar has been a recurring source of doctrinal controversyin the Church of God !any articles and "a"ers have "ro"osed different#ethods of calculating the dates of the annual festivals, and at least a half$do%en different calendars and calculation #ethods have been offered

&his has troubled #any sincere brethren who want to do what "leases God 'ith all the controversy, they are unsure But does God really e("ect eachindividual Church #e#ber to beco#e an e("ert on calendar #atters)

'e can understand the *calendar issue+ by asing three si#"le -uestions, andthen answering the# fro# the Bible .o the rules of the current /ebrewcalendar confor# to Biblical "rinci"les and guidelines) .oes God e("ect eachChristian to deter#ine the calendar for hi#self, or did /e entrust so#eauthority to #ae calendar decisions) 0nd can we really now what calendarJesus Christ and /is 0"ostles used)

Is the Hebrew Calendar Based Upon the Bible?

.oes the Bible give guidelines regarding the calendar we should use in

observing Gods festivals) 2f so, what are those guidelines and where do wefind the#) 3irst, let us as whether the calendar should be based on "hysicalsighting of the new #oon, or whether it should be based on calculation So#eargue that the only valid way to begin a new #onth is to actually see the faintcrescent of the new #oon .oes the Bible resolve this argu#ent) 0bsolutely4

&he /ebrew word chodesh is translated *#onth+ in #ost 5nglish$languageBibles 2ts root #eaning involves *#aing new+ or *re"airing+ &he #oonorbits the earth, going through "hases as its "osition changes in relation to thesun and the earth 0""ro(i#ately every 9$and$a$half days, the #oon co#es

into e(act con7unction between the earth and the sun, and the three orbs arein a straight line with one another though not necessarily on the sa#e "lane2n con7unction, the #oon is totally dar, reflecting none of the suns light 0s it#oves westward, away fro# con7unction, it again begins to reflect light.e"ending on the observers location and the earths "osition at con7unction,the new #oon will generally not be visible until one or two days after thecon7unction



:ote that basing the new #onth u"on "hysical sighting of the new #oon would re-uire ee"ing the 3east of &ru#"ets for two days4 0n observer cannotnow, in advance, on which day he #ight see the new #oon .e"ending u"onthe e(act ti#e of con7unction, he #ight see the crescent on either the ;<th or;1st day after the last new crescent Since days begin at sunset, observers

would have to ee" the ;<th day after the new crescent of 5lul 6th #onth asholy ti#e, as they #ight see the new crescent that evening, though they would#ore co##only see it on the following evening

3or this reason, even in the land of 2srael, Jews who follow the =hariseestraditions observe the 3east of &ru#"ets for two days bac$to$bac 'ithout#aing it a two$day celebration to ensure that the right day is observed, it isi#"ossible to base the celebration of the 3east of &ru#"ets, the first day of theseventh #onth, on "hysical sighting of the new #oon >et u"on e(a#ining?eviticus ; and :u#bers 9, it is clear that the 3east of &ru#"ets #ust be

observed for one day rather than two &his alone #andates a calculatedcalendar, in which the new #oon day is deter#ined in advance

0nother even #ore significant issue@the intercalary year@also re-uires acalendar calculated in advance 2ntercalary years are those in which a 1;th#onth is added &welve lunar #onths are e-ual to 7ust over ;A days 0 solar

year is e-ual to 7ust over ;6A days sing a calendar based only on 1 lunar#onths, this 11$day difference would cause the festivals to occur about a#onth earlier every three years in relation to the solar year and the seasons

>et ?eviticus ;D1<E11 #andates that the "riests should offer an o#er of

barley as a wave offering to God on the Sunday during the .ays of nleavenedBread, beginning the A<$day count to =entecost Clearly, this re-uired that thefirst #onth, 0bib or :isan, could not be allowed to fall so early that no ri"egrain would be available for the offering &his re-uired the addition of a 1;th#onth about every three years But how was this addition deter#ined)

&hose who argue for direct "hysical sighting assert that the "riests e(a#inedthe grain cro" each year before the end of the 1th #onth, and if they saw thatit would not be ri"e soon enough they added a 1;th #onth to "ost"one thefirst #onth for about ;< days &he only alternative would be a regular cycle,

calculated by the "riests, to deter#ine which years had 1 and which had 1;#onths 2s there biblical evidence as to the "riests "ractice) &here certainly is4

0cts , for instance, re#inds us that Jews ca#e to Jerusale# fro# all over thenown world 2f the decision regarding the 1;th #onth were #ade a few wees

before =assover, how would Jews all over the world have nown when to co#eto Jerusale#@or, for that #atter, when to celebrate =assover in their own



area) Significant nu#bers would either have been a #onth early or a #onthlate4 Fe#e#ber, they could not call ahead on the tele"hone or checso#eones 'eb site4 &here was either an established "attern followed, or there

would have been confusion a#ong Jews throughout the .ias"ora

/ow could a calculated calendar have been figured anciently) 2n anti-uity,#an had only two ways of nowing the ti#e of the new #oon One was by"hysical sighting of the crescent the other was by calculation based u"on theaverage ti#e between con7unctions

So#e today wish to offer a substitute calendar based not on averages orobservation, but on figures they have obtained fro# the :ational 0eronauticsand S"ace 0d#inistration :0S0 or the S :aval Observatory &hesefigures are derived fro# satellite observation and are su""osed to be #oree(act than the averages fro# which the traditional /ebrew calendar was

calculated

=lease understand, if there is one calendar that we can absolutely "rove thatChrist and the 0"ostolic Church .2. :O& use, it is one based on satelliteobservation4 &he only calculated calendar that could "ossibly be used untilafter about 1968 was one based u"on the average length of ti#e betweencon7unctions

/ow were these averages obtained) Con7unctions of the sun, #oon and earthare invisible e(ce"t during a solar ecli"se Solar ecli"ses can occur only at the

ti#e of the new #oon Because the #oons orbit is nor#ally a few degreesabove or below the "lane of the earth$sun orbit, it is usually invisible when it islined u" in a direct line with the earth and sun@the ti#e of con7unction/owever, when the #oon is on the e(act "lane of the earth$sun orbit, it will

bloc the sun as it #oves across, thereby #aing an ecli"se of the sun

0 lunar ecli"se, which can be seen on earth far #ore fre-uently than a solarecli"se, is the e(act o""osite of a solar ecli"se 2t can occur only at the ti#e ofthe full #oon, e(actly halfway between con7unctions, when the #oon is on theo""osite side of the earth fro# the sun By carefully recording the ti#e of such

ecli"ses and calculating the a#ount of ti#e between the#, the ancients wereable to arrive at the average length of ti#e between con7unctions 'e s"ea ofan *average+ because the actual length can vary fro# #onth to #onth by a few hours, "ri#arily because of the earths elli"tical orbit around the sun and theresulting variation in the suns gravitational "ull on the #oon 'hile satellites#ay enable us to record con7unctions that are invisible fro# earth, ancientman could only calculate based upon averaes



sing ecli"ses, the average length of ti#e between con7unctions of the sun,#oon and earth can be calculated &his figure can then be used to calculate thenew #oon for years@and centuries@in advance 'hile the e(act con7unctioninvisible fro# earth anyway, e(ce"t during a solar ecli"se #ay vary fro# thecalculated #olad a /ebrew ter# referring to the *birth+ of the #oon by u" to

a few hours, the calculations average out over ti#e 0nd they are always veryclose not accu#ulating lost or gained ti#e even over #any centuries

/ow could a calculated calendar have been figured anciently) 2n anti-uity,#an had only two ways of nowing the ti#e of the new #oon One was by"hysical sighting of the crescent the other was by calculation based u"on theaverage ti#e between con7unctions &he /ebrew calendar uses 9 days, 1hours and H9; "arts an hour contains 1,<8< "arts as the duration of theaverage lunar #onth &his wors out to 9A;<A9 days in deci#al for#

0ccording to the 1Ath edition of 5ncyclo"edia Britannica, #odern

astrono#ers using satellites and co#"utershave co#e u" with the figure 9A;<A89@one one$#illionth of a daydifference4

/ow did the /ebrew calendar co#e to use such an accurate figure for theaverage length of the #onth) So#e contend that they ado"ted their nu#berfro# Babylonian or Gree astrono#ers &here is a "roble# with that theory,however &he figure used by the Grees, Babylonians and 5gy"tians was not asaccurate as that used by the Jews4 2f we grant that 2srael of old borrowed thenu#ber fro# one of their ancient neighbors, then why did they #odify it)

/ow did they now to #odify it 7ust the right a#ount, #aing it #ore e(actthan the one used by anyone else) Fe#e#ber, the figure used anciently tocalculate the /ebrew calendar, 9A;<A9 days "er #onth, was the sa#e oneused by :0S0 u" through 1968 when satellite and co#"uter technologyallowed the# to tae the nu#ber out one #ore deci#al "lace /ow could anancient 2sraelite #athe#atician have arrived at a #ore e(act figure than hisconte#"oraries) 5(odus ;1D1E11 shows that Gods S"irit e#"owered two #en,Be%alel and 0holiab, to have s"ecial understanding and nowledge in beingable to craft the ite#s needed for the tabernacle .id Gods S"irit also leadso#eone to have s"ecial ability for #aing astrono#ical calculations to fi( the

calendar) Clearly, so#eone did #ae a calculation that re#ained unsur"asseduntil the decade when the nited States "ut a #an on the #oon4

.oes the Bible su""ort using ecli"ses to calculate the length of ti#e fro# onenew #oon to another) 2t certainly does4 :otice Genesis 1D1 God set the sunand the #oon for signs and seasons &he /ebrew word for sign, ot, is a ter#that often refers to re#arable and dra#atic signs 2t is used in 5(odus D8E9



for instance, to describe the dra#atic wonders that God wored in ancient5gy"t &here are no #ore dra#atic signs designed into the interaction of thesun and #oon than solar and lunar ecli"ses &hese signs "rovide the basis of acalculated calendar

0dditionally, the heavenly bodies were for what the King James Version calls*seasons+ and the Jewish Publication Society Version calls *a""ointed ti#es+&he /ebrew word is #oed &his is the ter# used in =sal# 1<D19 where welearn that God *has a""ointed the #oon for seasons I#oed+ 2n other words,the "hases of the #oon deter#ine the "rogression of the #onth Gods annualfestivals are either connected to the new #oon at the beginning of the #onthor the full #oon at the #iddle of the #onth

Other biblical guidelines concern the seasonal ti#ing of the =assover festivaland the 3east of &abernacles 'e are told that nleavened Bread is to be

celebrated in the #onth of 0bib, which #eans *green ears+ 5(odus ;D1A3ro# ?eviticus ; we also learn that once 2srael entered the =ro#ised ?andthere was to be a "riestly cere#ony involving the offering of the wave sheaf,the o#er, on the Sunday during the .ays of nleavened Bread &he grainharvest could not begin until after that occasion &hese sti"ulations re-uirethat =assover co#e in early s"ring

0lso, 5(odus ;D refers to the 3east of &abernacles as co#ing at the *end ofthe year+ /ebrew, teufah &his ter# literally #eans a *circuit+ or*revolution+ of ti#e@a cycle 2n later Fabbinic /ebrew, teufah beca#e a

technical ter# referring to the e-uino( and, by e(tension, to the seasonfollowing /owever, we #ust be careful about ascribing to !oses the technicalusage of #edieval rabbis &he ter#, used only four ti#es in the Old&esta#ent, was originally #ore general in its #eaning 2t is the ter# in 1Sa#uel 1D< that refers to the cycle of ti#e between /annahs conce"tion andthe birth of Sa#uel 2n Chronicles D;, teufah refers to the ti#e of the

year when Syria attaced Judah &he other "lace it is used is in =sal# 19D6 where it refers to the suns daily circuit across the heavens 5(odus ;D thusi#"lies that the 3east of &abernacles should occur when the cycle of theagricultural year is co#"lete, about the ti#e that su##er gives way to fall

&his "oint is #ade in a slightly different #anner in 5(odus ;D16 0gainthe King James Version translates that the 3east of &abernacles is to occur atthe *end of the year,+ but this ti#e uses a co#"letely different word, #eaningliterally *the going out+ of the year 2t is the sa#e ter# used in 5(odus 1;D8 torefer to 2srael going out of 5gy"t 2n other words, the 3east of &abernaclesco#es at *the going out+ of the harvest season of the agricultural year, rightafter the ti#e when the harvest would be gathered into barns that is why the



ter# *3east of 2ngathering+ is used, to "rotect it fro# the u"co#ing rainyseason &his festival season of the seventh #onth was celebrated whensu##er was giving way to fall &o insist that teufah could not refer to so#uch as one day before the autu#nal e-uino( is to tae a definition fro# the&al#ud@not the Bible@and insist u"on reading it bac into scri"tures written

#ore than 16 centuries earlier

'e have seen that the Bible gives guidelines that re-uire a calculated calendar,such as &ru#"ets being celebrated for one day and not two 2t also shows thatthe interactions of the sun, #oon and earth were to be factored in so that thenu#bering of the days of the #onth would be connected with the "hases ofthe #oon 'e have also seen that celebration of the festivals is tied both to the

beginning of the grain harvest and to the ti#e when cro"s were to be gatheredinto barns at the end of su##er But are other as"ects of the calendar, such asthe so$called *"ost"one#ents,+ also necessary and based on biblical

guidelines)

'e #ust note that in the /ebrew calendar, the new #oon of the seventh#onth &ishri is calculated, rather than the new #oon of the first #onth0bib 0s this is the only new #oon that is designated as holy ti#e, it is alsothe new #oon that is #ost essential to deter#ine &he other holy days arefigured fro# it &here is also an astrono#ical reason for this "ractice, since theti#e fro# the vernal e-uino( s"ring to the following autu#nal e-uino( fallis about a wee longer than fro# the autu#nal e-uino( to the following vernale-uino(

&he *"ost"one#ents+ are si#"ly calendar ad7ust#ents that deter#ine whichday should be "roclai#ed as the first day of &ishri 'hile there are generallysaid to be four "ost"one#ent rules, actually there are two "ri#ary ones &heother two are 7ust logical e(tensions of the first two, to ensure that a year doesnot have too #any or too few days

&he first rule we should loo at states that if the calculated con7unction, the#olad of &ishri, occurs after noon on a given day, the first day of the #onth is*"ost"oned+ until the following day &his rule results fro# the way ti#e is

#easured on a round earth, and the length of ti#e the #oon taes to #ove outof con7unction and beyond the arc of the sun 0fter all, the ter# for *new#oon+ in scri"ture refers to the *re"airing+ of the #oon 'hile a calculatedcalendar does not re-uire that the visible crescent be sighted, it should at least

be theoretically "ossible to sight that crescent 0nd it taes si( hours "ast thecon7unction before the #oon has #oved far enough beyond the suns arc to

begin reflecting light once again@the *re"airing+ of the #oon 'hether or not



a reflection is actually seen is "urely incidental, as the calendar is based u"onthe calculated averages Clearly though, this "ost"one#ent rule is not #erely

based u"on a =harisaic tradition, rather, it is #andated by Scri"ture and byastrono#y

&he other #ain rule is that if the calculated #olad of &ishri occurs on aSunday, 'ednesday or 3riday, the first day of the #onth which will be the3east of &ru#"ets is considered to begin on the following day, ie, !onday,&hursday or Saturday 'hat is the scri"tural basis for this) 2n ?eviticus ;,

where God first gave !oses a detailed list of /is festivals, /e e("lained thatthese days levels of sanctity fell into two categories 3or si( of these days@ thefirst and seventh .ay of nleavened Bread, =entecost, &ru#"ets, the first dayof &abernacles and the 5ighth .ay @!oses was to instruct 2srael that *noservile wor+ be done /owever, the weely Sabbath and the .ay of

0tone#ent were different On these two days, *no wor whatsoever+ was to be

done Clearly God "laced these two days in a slightly different category thanthe others 0dditionally, in describing &ru#"ets, the first day of &abernacles,and the ?ast Great .ay, the ter# shabbaton, translated *Sabbath,+ was used3or the weely Sabbath and the .ay of 0tone#ent a different descri"tive ter#@shabbat shabbaton@was used, translated *a Sabbath of rest+ Fecogni%ingthat God set the weely Sabbath and the .ay of 0tone#ent a"art in their levelof sanctity, the ?evitical "riesthood sought to i#"le#ent these instructions in"roclai#ing the festivals &hey reali%ed that the .ay of 0tone#ent, a shabbatshabbaton u"on which *no wor whatsoever+ was to be done, should not bethe "re"aration day for the weely Sabbath which would occur if the first of

&ishri ca#e on a 'ednesday 0dditionally, they avoided the weely Sabbath being the "re"aration day for 0tone#ent, which would ha""en if &ishri 1 fellon a 3riday

&his "ractice also avoided the weely Sabbath, shabbat shabbaton, being the"re"aration day for the other three fall holy days which were only shabbaton,this would occur if &ishri 1 ca#e on a Sunday :ote that according to 5(odus1D16, the first and seventh days of nleavened Bread in the s"ring were in adifferent category God had s"ecifically a""roved the "re"aration of food onthese days 0nd =entecost, of course, always fell on Sunday as a result of God$

ordained calculation

&wo other rules concerning "ost"one#ents are really 7ust logical e(tensionsderived fro# the first two, regulating the nu#ber of days in a year so that thefirst of each #onth stays connected with the new #oon



&he calendar ad7ust#ents regarding &ishri 1 are based u"on instructions Godgave to the ?evitical "riesthood through !oses in ?eviticus ; God #adeclear that two days@Sabbath and 0tone#ent@had a s"ecial degree of sanctity,and based u"on those instructions the "riesthood sought to confor# theircelebrations to /is wishes

!ho is "esponsible #or the Calendar?

.oes God e("ect individual Christians to deter#ine /is calendar forthe#selves) !any self$a""ointed calendar e("erts each clai# that theircalendar is the right one .id God intend the calendar to be "roclai#ed by anauthoritative body@ or is it *every #an for hi#self)+ 2ncreasingly, we see"eo"le si#"ly doing what is right in their own eyes 2s God the author of suchs"iritual anarchy) &o who# did God give res"onsibility for the calendar)

God told !osesD *&he feasts of the ?OF., which you shall "roclai# to be holyconvocations, these are !y feasts+ ?eviticus ;D But who was to do the"roclai#ing, and what does this #ean)

&he /ebrew ter# for convocation is miqra, which refers to an officially calledor designated asse#bly 2n :u#bers 1<D, !oses was told that two silvertru#"ets were to be #ade and one of their #a7or "ur"oses was *for the callingI/ebrew #i-ra of the congregation+ 'ho was to use those tru#"ets) Kerse 8e("lainsD *&he sons of 0aron, the "riests, shall blow the tru#"ets and theseshall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations+ Kerse 1<e("lains that *in the day of your gladness, in your a""ointed feasts, and at the

beginning of your #onthsL+ the "riests were to sound the silver tru#"ets

&he noun miqra is derived fro# the verb qara, the verb rendered *"roclai#+in ?eviticus ;D and ;D 'hat e(actly does it #ean) 2t is the sa#e wordused in Genesis 1 where God *called+ the light .ay and *called+ the darness:ight Genesis 1DA where /e *called+ the fir#a#ent /eaven 1D8, *called+the dry land 5arth and *called+ the gathered waters the Seas 1D1<

?ater, we learn that God brought before 0da# the ani#als /e had created to

see what he would call the# *0nd whatever 0da# called Iqara each livingcreature, that was its na#e+ Genesis D19 So we see that qara #eans *tocall+@to na#e or to designate 2n Genesis 1 it was God, and in Genesis it was

0da#, who did the na#ing or designating

/ow does this relate to the holy days) 2n ?eviticus ;, we learned that acertain grou", *you,+ "lural was res"onsible for na#ing or designating the



days on which the congregation was to asse#ble before God :u#bers 1<e("lains that this refers to the "riesthood, and shows the #eans God gavethe# to announce the designation of new #oons and festival days 2t was notan individual #atter for each 2sraelite to arrive at by hi#self rather it was acollective #atter to be "roclai#ed by an authoritative body

But there is #ore4 !ost read right over the i#"lications of who was to na#e,or designate, the days that would be considered Gods a""ointed festivals &he"riesthood was given the right to na#e, or designate, those days@in the sa#e

way that God gave 0da# the authority to na#e, or designate, the ani#als /ehad created God gave the "riesthood guidelines and "rinci"les by which they

were designate those days, but /e did not s"ell out every single detail /e gavethe# the "rinci"les with which they had to #ae 7udg#ents4

2t is i#"ortant to notice the difference between the weely Sabbath that God

gave to #anind, and the annual festivals that /e gave to the Church God didnot tell the "riesthood that they were res"onsible to na#e or designate the

weely Sabbath God /i#self had "roclai#ed the weely Sabbath at the end of creation wee !anind was si#"ly told to *re#e#ber+ and ee" holy theti#e that God /i#self had "reviously designated &he annual festivals weredifferent, as ?eviticus ;D and ;D show 'hile each individual could si#"lyre#e#ber to observe as holy the seventh day of every wee, this was not"ossible with the annual festivals &heir e(act ti#ing would vary so#ewhatfro# year to year, regulated by the "rinci"les that God gave !oses in ?eviticus; and elsewhere So we see that while the weely Sabbath is to be

re#e#bered by each of us as individuals, the annual festivals are to be na#edor designated on the calendar each year by an authoritative body &hey werenever intended to be an individual #atter4

2f each of us sees to deter#ine our own calendar, we will end u" celebratingthe festivals on a variety of days >et God is not the author of confusion 1Corinthians 1D;; nor is /e the source of the s"iritual anarchy that #any soeffectively "ro#ote today =aul told the brethren in Colosse that they were notto let any #an 7udge the# in #atters "ertaining to holy days, new #oons, orSabbaths, but rather *the body of Christ+@the Church Colossians D16E1H

&he Church has again and again concluded that the current /ebrew calendar,"reserved in the Jewish co##unity, is authoritative for Christians today

!hich Calendar $id Christ Use?

'e now fro# the :ew &esta#ent that Jesus Christ observed the holy daysand festivals co##anded in ?eviticus ; .id /e do so based u"on a



calculated calendar such as we use today@one that included the socalled*"ost"one#ent+ rules@or did /e use a calendar based solely u"on "hysicalsighting of the new crescent) One thing is for sureD Jesus Christ did itcorrectly4 2f we now what /e did, then all we haveto do is to follow /is e(a#"le But is it "ossible to now what /e did)

0bsolutely4

&he "lace to go to find the ind of calendar which was authoritatively"roclai#ed during Jesus hu#an lifeti#e is not the &al#ud and laterrabbinical writings &hese docu#ents were written well after the fact, andrecord history with a =harisaic bias Since the =harisees do#inated the Jewishco##unity after the fall of the te#"le, their traditions ca#e to be considerednor#ative Judais# &he rabbis who co#"iled the &al#ud were theirsuccessors, and often sought to read later traditions bac into earlier history

2nterestingly, #any who clai# to re7ect the /ebrew calendar because theyconsider it a tradition of the =harisees have used the &al#ud as their source of calendar infor#ation and definitions@rather than si#"ly using the Bibleitself4 'hile later rabbis tried to har#oni%e the traditions of an observedcalendar favored by the =harisees with the "rinci"les of a calculated calendar"reserved by the Sadducee "riesthood, the two are not really co#"atible!uch of the &al#uds tortured logic relating to the calendar co#es fro# itsatte#"t to reconcile the irreconcilable /owever, we are not de"endent on therecord of the &al#ud, or Jose"hus for that #atter, to now what calendarChrist used 'e have the authoritative record of the :ew &esta#ent itself4

3ro# the biblical record, we are able to #atch three festivals during Christs#inistry with the days of the wee on which they fell 0s we will see, thesethree festival dates are co#"atible only with one calendar #odel@thecalendar used by %esus Christ thus stands revealed by the ewTestament'

&he year of Christs crucifi(ion, and therefore of /is final =assover, can beestablished clearly by correlating the "ro"hecy in .aniel 9 with the historicaloccurrence described in 5%ra H .aniel e("lained that there would be a ti#e

"eriod of H< "ro"hetic *wees+@ie, 9< "ro"hetic *days+ 'e are told that 69of these *wees+ ie, 8; years would run fro# the decree to rebuildJerusale# until the a""earance of the !essiah 5%ra H records the decree ofMing 0rta(er(es that begins the count of the "ro"hetic *wees+

Secular history #aes "lain that the 0rta(er(es seventh year occurred inA8EAHBC &he only -uestion is whether or not the author of 5%ra$:ehe#iah



one boo in the /ebrew scri"tures was figuring the years of 0rta(er(es reign by counting fro# fall to fall or s"ring to s"ring 0 careful co#"arison of:ehe#iah 1D1 and D1 shows that a fall$to$fall reconing was used :ehe#iahrefers to an event in the #onth Mislev .ece#ber of the twentieth year of

0rta(er(es, followed later by an event in the #onth :isan 0"ril in the

twentieth year of 0rta(er(es &he only way that both of these events couldhave occurred in the ings twentieth year would be if the author was figuringthe years of the ings reign fro# fall to fall

:otice :ehe#iah 1D1 /ere is described news that :ehe#iah received in the#onth Chislev ninth #onth, corres"onding to .ece#ber during the <th

year of 0rta(er(es &hen in :ehe#iah D1 we learn that the ing noticed hissad countenance in the #onth :isan first #onth, corres"onding to 0"rilduring the <th year of 0rta(er(es .o you see the significance of this) 2n thefollowing s"ring, four #onths after the news delivered in :ehe#iah 1D1, the

ing was still in his <th year4 &his conclusively "roves that the author of5%ra$:ehe#iah used a fall$to$fall reconing4 2f a s"ring$to$s"ring reconing

were used, then :isan would have been counted as the beginning of the 1st year of the ings reign /ere is conclusive "roof fro# the Bible that AHBC isthe "ro"er date to begin the count fro# the decree of 0rta(er(es Ogwyn J&he /ebrew Calendar and GodNs Church

&his #eans that when 5%ra H says that 5%ra arrived in Jerusale# with thedecree in the late su##er fifth #onth during the seventh year of 0rta(er(es,this #ust refer to AHBC 2f we co#e forward 8; years, this brings us to 7ust

before the fall festival season of H0. &his would be when Jesus was ba"ti%ed by John the Ba"tist and began /is three$and$a$half$year #inistry@/e beganin the fall of H0. and was crucified in the s"ring of ;10.

&his reference in 5%ra gives us a bench#ar 'e also now fro# the biblicalrecord, a"art fro# these calendar -uestions, that Jesus Christ was crucified ona 'ednesday and resurrected three days and three nights later, at the end ofthe weely Sabbath &his #eans that the =assover of ;10., the scri"turallyestablished ti#e of /is crucifi(ion, had to occur on a 'ednesday

0dditionally, we will see that the day of the wee is #ade "lain for two other

festival dates One is the ?ast Great .ay of ;<0., which occurred on a weelySabbath 0nd Scri"ture shows that the second holy day of nleavened Breadin 90. fell on a weely Sabbath :ow e(a#ine how we date these twofestivals

John HE1; recounts the events of the fall festival "eriod "receding Jesus final=assover 0 careful reading also shows that #ost of the events of John 8E1<



ha""ened on the ?ast Great .ay Jesus words in the te#"le during theevening of this day are recorded in John HD;HE;9 0t verse A;, Jesus and /isdisci"les went to the !ount of Olives for the night, returning to the te#"leearly the ne(t #orning@the daylight "ortion of the ?ast Great .ay John 8D1E

2f we si#"ly read on through the ne(t cha"ters, we find that the wo#an taenin adultery and the healing of the blind #an both occurred on that sa#e day3ro# John H we already new that the blind #an was healed on an annualSabbath John 9D1, using the definite article with its Sabbath reference, states"lainly that it was also a weely Sabbath, which is why such an issue was #adeof the healing

John gives us the basis for reconstructing the chronology of Christs #inistry,noting Jesus words and actions on several s"ecific festival occasions 'e have

already seen that John the Ba"tist ba"ti%ed Christ in the fall of H0., 7ust when .aniels "ro"hecy showed the !essiah should a""ear Si( #onths later,at the =assover season of 80., /e suddenly ca#e to the te#"le and began/is "ublic #inistry John 'hen we carefully read John 6E1;, we see thatthis is a continuous se-uence of the last year in Jesus life, fro# the =assoverof ;<0. to the =assover of ;10. &herefore, the only =assover not co##entedon in Johns gos"el is that of 90.@and the events of that years festivalseason are ade-uately covered in the other three Gos"el accounts

!atthew, !ar and ?ue all record the disci"les "lucing ears of grain to eat

as they waled with Jesus through the grain fields &he "lace#ent of thisincident@in !ar D;E8 and ?ue 6D1E@shows that this occurred early in/is #inistry, not during the =assover the year before /is crucifi(ion &his only leaves the =assover season of 90.

/ow do we now that this incident occurred at the =assover season) ?ue 6D1#aes this clear by describing that it ha""ened *on the second Sabbath afterthe first+ 'hat does that #ean) &he Gree "hrase used is en sabbatodeutero"roto, which literally #eans *the second Sabbath of first ran+ &hise("ression can only refer to the seventh day of nleavened Bread, the second

Sabbath of first ran occurring in the year

&he rest of the story@contained in the accounts of !atthew, !ar and ?ue@shows that this was also a weely Sabbath 0ll three writers lin the event inthe grain fields with a later incident described as *another Sabbath+ ?ue 6D6

when Jesus healed the #an with the withered hand &his "hrase, taentogether with the "oints #ade in !ar DHE8@that the Sabbath was #ade



for #an and that Jesus is the ?ord of the Sabbath@e#"hasi%es that this was a weely Sabbath day ?ue is the only writer who adds the detail that this too"lace on the second holy day of nleavened Bread

.o these facts "rovide evidence for the ind of calendar that Jesus recogni%ed

in /is lifeti#e) sing todays calculated /ebrew calendar, notice what thedates of these events in Christs #inistry would be Fe#e#ber that today, lea"

years are years ;, 6, 8, 11, 1, 1H and 19 of a 19 year cycle instead of the earlier, A, H, 1<, 1;, 16 and 18 /ow do the dates fro# the calculated calendarco#"are to what would have been obtained by sightings of the new crescent#oon)

2n 90., the last day of nleavened Bread would have occurred on Sabbath, 0"ril ; according to our traditionally calculated /ebrew calendar &his dateresults fro# a""lying one of the "ost"one#ent rules, since the #olad or new

#oon of &ishri that year occurred after noon and the reconing of &ishri 1 would therefore have been "ost"oned to the ne(t day &his is the only way thatthe last holy day of nleavened Bread could have co#e on a weely Sabbath in90. By contrast, using co#"uter$generated #odels to deter#ine the ti#ing

based u"on the observable new #oon in Judea, "hysical sighting would havecaused the last holy day of nleavened Bread to fall on Sunday, 0"ril in90.

0s for the ?ast Great .ay in ;<0., calculations based on the traditional/ebrew calendar show that it would have occurred on Sabbath, October H :o

"ost"one#ent rules would have been involved But significantly, the ?astGreat .ay would have occurred on the weely Sabbath if and only if thecalendar were based u"on the calculated #olad the #ean con7unction, notthe visible sighting of the new crescent &his is #ade clear by e(a#ining theco#"uter #odel for the observable new #oon in ;<0. &he first visiblecrescent could have been seen fro# Jerusale# no earlier than Sunday night,Se"te#ber 1H, thus #aing &ru#"ets !onday, Se"te#ber 18 and the ?astGreat .ay !onday, October 9 by that reconing

2n ;10., the calculated date for :isan 1, according to the traditional /ebrew

calendar, was &hursday, 0"ril 1 &his would have occurred only if the"ost"one#ent rule had been in effect that did not allow the 3east of &ru#"etsto co#e on a 3riday &he calculated #olad of &ishri ca#e on a 3riday in ;10.,and only by having "ost"oned &ishri 1 to a Sabbath would =assover in ;10.have co#e on a 'ednesday 2t is true that the observable new #oon of :isan

would have also been seen on &hursday, 0"ril 1, thus coinciding H with thecalculated date for :isan 1 /owever, we have 7ust seen that the dates of the



other holy days #entioned during Christs #inistry only coincide with the"ro"er day of the wee when they are figured based u"on a calculated #oladrather than an observable crescent 0s we saw earlier, the biblical calendarguidelines re-uire calculation rather than "hysical sighting

&here is one additional "oint regarding the ti#ing of =assover in ;10.=assover would have co#e on 0"ril A only if ;10. were counted as anintercalary year Otherwise, the =assover would have fallen a #onth earlier@on !onday, !arch 64 nless the "riests were following a fi(ed cycle ofintercalary years, there would have been no reason to observe =assover in

0"ril rather than in !arch of that year4 &he e-uino( was !arch ; at thatti#e, and there would have certainly been so#e ri"e grain for the "riests tooffer on the day of the 'avesheaf @!arch 8 by =harisee reconing andSunday, 0"ril 1 by Sadducee reconing

&he ti#ing of three festivals during Christs #inistry is clearly shown in the:ew &esta#ent &he =assover of ;10. would have occurred on a 'ednesdayonly if there were a fi(ed calendar cycle #aing ;10. an intercalary year 0calculated calendar would have re-uired &ishri 1 to be "ost"oned fro# 3ridayto Saturday for the dating to wor out "ro"erly 0nd the ?ast Great .ay of;<0. would only have co#e on a weely Sabbath if a calculated calendar wereused, though no "ost"one#ents within that calendar would have beennecessary that year 0s for the last holy day of nleavened Bread in 90., it

would have co#e on a weely Sabbath only if a calculated calendar were usedand the noon "ost"one#ent rule was in effect Clearly, the Gos"el accounts

show that these holy days occurred in a way that could only have ha""ened if acalculated calendar using the "ost"one#ent rules had been in effect in theti#e of Jesus Christ

( Calendar #or the Church Today

&he rules of the current /ebrew calendar@the calendar traditionally used bythe Church of God@are based u"on Biblical "rinci"les &hese rules, as we haveseen, can be deduced directly fro# scri"ture and do not de"end on &al#udictraditions and legends 3urther#ore, Scri"ture clearly reveals that Godassigned to an authoritative body, anciently the "riesthood, res"onsibility tona#e or to designate the annual festivals &his was never intended to be a#atter of "rivate inter"retation 2n addition, we have the e(a#"le of JesusChrist /i#self, as given in the Gos"el accounts &he calendar /e used is far#ore in accord with the one the Church uses today than are any of thealternative #odels that have been "ro"osed



&he Church has clearly and consistently 7udged that Christians should use thereceived /ebrew calendar in observing Gods festivals 2t is interesting that wehave historical witness and testi#ony fro# no less an authority than Fo#ane#"eror Constantine that three centuries after Christs crucifi(ion, the trueChurch was still reconing its festival dates by the sa#e calendar used by the

Jewish co##unity 0t the Council of :icea, held in ;A0., the ti#ing of the=aschal festival was discussed the early Catholics were re"lacing =assover

with 5aster, but were still using the scri"tural na#e@the Gree ter# pascha

:ote so#e e(cer"ts of Constantines decree as "reserved by the early Churchhistorian 5usebius /e wrote that it see#ed, *a #ost unworthy thing that weshould follow the custo# of the Jews in the celebration of this #ost holysole#nityL re7ecting the "ractice of this "eo"le, we should "er"etuate to allfuture ages the celebration of this rite, in a #ore legiti#ate orderL ?et us thenhave nothing in co##on with the #ost hostile rabble of the JewsL let us

withdraw ourselves, #y #uch honored brethren, fro# that #ost odiousfellowshi" 2t is indeed in the highest degree "re"osterous, that they shouldsu"erciliously vaunt the#selves, that truly without their instruction, wecannot "ro"erly observe this riteL Ithey continue wandering in the grossesterror, instead of duly refor#ing their calculationL+ A Historical View of theCouncil of Nicea, 5usebius, "" AEA; Constantine, lie #any self$stylede("erts today, considered hi#self #ore nowledgeable about the calendarthan were the Jews, and asserted that they should refor# their calculationsConstantines attac was ai#ed, however, not at influencing the Jews, butrather at those Christians who followed the Jewish calendar in deter#ining

the ti#e of the =assover &he true Church was not following its own calendar#odel rather it was using the sa#e #odel that Jesus /i#self had followed@the one "reserved and used by the Jews4

2s the /ebrew calendar valid for the Church today) 0bsolutely4 2t adheres tothe revealed guidelines of Scri"ture, was "roclai#ed by authorities acce"ted

by Jesus Christ /i#self and was e"t by the Church of God fro# the beginning 3or what #ore could we as)

Ogwyn J !he Hebrew Calen"ar Parts # $ % &CN' %(((' use" at

cogwritercom by permission

)or those who woul" li*e to see some e+i"ence from the ,S Na+alObser+atory that in"icates that Jesus obser+e" postponements' chec* out thearticle Calculate" or obser+e" calen"ar-

Bac to ho#e "age

http://www.cogwriter.com/news/doctrine/calculated-or-observed-calendar/

http://www.cogwriter.com/

http://www.cogwriter.com/

http://www.cogwriter.com/news/doctrine/calculated-or-observed-calendar/



COGwriter <<9/2015

Documents

The Hebrew Calendar Parts 1