A chapter from a book, written by a brother who lives in Israel.
CHAPTER 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 varying methods 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.
What has turned out to be a most intriguing situation though is the recent
calendar methods that have cropped up in calculating the biblical Holy Days in
Leviticus the 23rd chapter. And as the rise in Internet sites has been over the
last 20 years so has the rise been in biblical calendars and calculations.
I believe that many of these new theories that are arising on the subject may
be founded on sincerity of heart, but also misguided on fact and premise.
Living in Israel over the last 13 years and studying the biblical calendars from
renowned experts here in Israel for over 15 years, I can conclusively state that
it is virtually impossible to come up with the accurate biblical calendar without
being in the land of Israel and understanding both the agricultural cycle, and
the ancient process of worship.
Number one, when we even start to look at the biblical command of keeping
the Holy Days of Yahweh, the very first premise is that Israel would be here in
the Land 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 YAHWEH for your acceptance;
on the morrow of the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
You will never find even one scripture in the entirety of the Bible that would
even remotely make one think that the intention of the Holy Days was ever
meant for any other place on earth, but Israel. That is clear. Jerusalem is the
center of the earth (Ezek 38:12), and the only place on earth that Scripture
states where Yahweh dwells.
When one looks at Psalm 137 you can see that in biblical times there was no
other thought at feast time but to be in Jerusalem.
Psa 137:1 There by the rivers of Babylon we sat down; also we wept when we
1
remembered Zion.
Psa 137:2 We hung our lyres on the willows in its midst.
Psa 137:3 For there our captors asked us the words of a song; yea, our
plunderers asked joy, saying, Sing to us a song of Zion.
Psa 137:4 How shall we sing the song of YAHWEH on a foreign soil?
Psa 137:5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget;
Psa 137:6 let my tongue cleave to my palate, if I do not remember you, if I
do not bring up Jerusalem above the head of my joy.
It is hard for a western mindset 21st century believer to understand the
sanctity and sovereignty that Jerusalem had over pilgrims during biblical times.
In this world where many groups keep the feast of Yahweh on cruise ships and
water parks most just can’t imagine how the land of Israel and being in
Jerusalem during ancient times was synonymous with actually keeping the
feast itself.
Deu 16:16 Three times in a year shall all your males appear before
YAHWEH your Elohim in the place which He shall choose
(Jerusalem): In the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks
and in the Feast of Tabernacles. And they shall not appear before YAHWEH
empty,
Jerusalem, the city of the Great King (Math 5:35) is and always will be
everything that has to do with the feasts of Yahweh and their meaning to His
covenant children. It is almost impossible to truly understand the biblical
calendar without ever being in Israel for even one feast and without
understanding that the calendar and its calculation did not just have to do with
setting time, but also it had to do with the agriculture of Israel and with setting
worship.
The ancient circular worship pattern when looking at the calendar and Holy
Days cannot be ignored if one wants to calculate the biblical calendar correctly.
Yahweh works in the circular and not the linear and if one wants to understand
the pattern He devised from Scripture, then he must lose his Babylonian
mindset and start to also think in the circular and not linear.
This pattern shows not only that Yahweh does not change (Mal 3:6) but it also
shows His eternal existence in the circular mode, never ending, just simply
coming back to the beginning of the same pattern that He exists in. Since
Yahweh does not change if you can find the pattern, then simply follow it on
each course of the calendar during the year.
Let’s look at an example of Yahweh’s circular pattern of worship.
When Israel came into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua one
of the first things they did was to defeat and conquer Jericho. Now let’s look at
what Yahweh had them do before they marched on and conquered the city.
2
Jos 6:2 And YAHWEH said to Joshua, See I have given Jericho and its king,
mighty warriors, into your hand.
Jos 6:3 And you shall go around the city, all the men of battle, going around
the city once; so you shall do six days.
Jos 6:4 And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' 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.
Jos 6:11 And the ark of YAHWEH went around the city, going around one
time. And they came into the camp, and remained in the camp.
Jos 6:14 And they circled the city on the second day one time, and
returned to the camp. So they did six days.
Jos 6:15 And it happened on the seventh day, they rose early, 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.
Jos 6:16 And it happened at the seventh time the priests blew with the rams'
horns. And Joshua said to the people, Shout! For YAHWEH has given you the
city.
Why would Yahweh have them circle the city for seven days? Because He was
teaching them His pattern of worship. In the last few years, archaeologists
here in Israel have just discovered the true biblical Gilgal. It was quite a
discovery. The complex was symmetrically shaped like a sandal showing the
scripture that Yahweh stated “every place that their foot treads will be theirs”.
What was also amazing was that the heel of the foot was an exact circular
pattern where the priests used to walk around at feast time because of the
following scripture.
Exo 23:14 Three times in the year you shall make a feast to Me.
The word for feast here is not chag but chagag. Look at the Strong’s
Concordance definition of chagag.
cha^gag
A primitive root (compare H2283, H2328); properly to move in a c ircle ,
that is, (specifically) to m arch in a sacred procession , to observe a
festival
This was showing the circular pattern to worship in and must not be ignored if
one wants to understand the biblical calendar, as the things on the earth are
simply patterns of the things in the heavens (Heb 8:5). It is also interesting to
note that the word Gilgal means wheel.
Yahweh created the luminary bodies on day four of creation week.
3
Gen 1:14 And Elohim said, Let light sources be in the expanse of the
heavens, to divide between the day and the night. And let them be for
signs and for (Holy day) seasons, and for days and years.
As you can see from the above scripture these luminaries will be the circular
pattern of time for days, and months, and Holy Day seasons and years. The
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 Sabbath.
This circular pattern of the weekly cycle has been constant for almost 6,000
years now and is quite consistent in Scripture as well as even most societies
throughout the world. This is because most societies also used the heavenly
bodies for calculating time and used the sun and moon along with the five
major planets of Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Mercury; together this
formed the number 7 in which the constant 7 days week developed in most
societies through antiquity.
Since the bible also clearly delineates the 7 day weekly cycle throughout, it
would automatically rule out the false notion of the lunar Sabbath, which states
that the Sabbath rotates monthly according to the New Moon and one month it
can be on a Tuesday and the next month on a Thursday. But this would
contradict the rock solid biblical premise of a seven day weekly cycle
throughout.
The luminaries (sun, moon and stars) make a circular pattern of movement,
and create what we know as days, and months and years. The sun controls the
day, the moon the month, and the sun and stars control the year. There are 12
constellations on the ecliptic circle called the Mazzaroth in Scripture, which
represent the 12 tribes of Israel and the sun moves into a different
constellation every 30 days and then, at the division of the year, at the vernal
equinox, it moves back into the first constellations again.
The Bible also said in Genesis 1:14 these movements would be for “signs”. This
Hebrew word “owth” also means prophetic signs. Interesting enough because
of the wobble of the earth on its axis every roughly 2160 years the sun would
be in a different constellation at the New Year. This is called the procession of
the equinoxes.
This yearly procession each and every year from creation has told the plan of
Yahweh in the heavenly bodies.
This has told the plan of Yahweh in the heavens from creation. At creation the
vernal equinox and year started at the constellation of the Ox. In Hebrew the
ox was the original word picture of the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet called
“aleph’ and denotes headship and strength as an ox denotes strength.
4
We also know in Scripture Yahshua is called the ‘Aleph” and the “Tav”; the
aleph being the first letter in the alphabet and the tav being the last letter in
the alphabet.
The Mazzaroth 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.
We know the ram was Yahweh’s provision to Abraham instead of his son Isaac
to be sacrificed and was symbolic of Elohim providing His only Son Yahshua as
the substitute for each of our sins, if we believe in Him and repent.
Then, when Yahshua was born the Mazzaroth turned again and the year
started when the sun was in the constellation of the fish; the fish being a sign
of Yahshua coming and making us fishers of men.
Also in Gen 48:16 when Jacob blessed Ephraim and Manasseh he also gave
them this blessing.
Gen 48:16 The Messenger that redeemed me from every evil, may He bless
the youths; and may my name be called on them, and the name of my fathers
Abraham and Isaac, and may they like fishes grow into a multitude in
the midst of the earth.
It is also interesting to note that the symbol of the tribe of both Ephraim and
Manasseh is the ox. And now in these last days it is most interesting that the
Mazzaroth is getting ready to change again in this coming decade to the sign of
the man being the water pourer.
This is clearly showing the Messianic age is ready to emerge and Yahshua, the
great King, who has the only true living water, will be pouring it out all over the
earth during His millennial reign.
Joh 7:37 Now on the great day, which is the last of the feast (The eighth
day), Yahshua was standing and He cried out and said, If a man thirsts, let
him come to Me and drink.
Joh 7:38 Anyone who believes in me as the scriptures have said, rivers of
living water will flow from his belly.
Rev 22:1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, bright as
crystal, coming forth out of the throne of YAHWEH and of the Lamb.
Even the pagan astrologers call this constellation ‘Aquarius’ which means water
carrier or cup carrier. The Heavenly Father knew the end from the beginning
and has given this circular pattern to both time and worship for His true elect
to be able to understand the times that we are living in and Yahweh’s great
plan of salvation.
5
I want to make a very important point here as when you look at the signs of
the constellations that I have just mentioned, as with the sun and moon and
stars designating the calendar throughout the year these are all heavenly
bodies that Yahweh has created and none of these can be tampered with or
manipulated by man.
How could man make the Mazzaroth turn every 2150 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 Yahweh is supreme and
only HE SETS UP THE CALENDAR IN THE HEAVENS!
It is quite ridiculous and naïve to think that the biblical calendar would be
dependent on man planting barley or having to visibly sight a crescent moon.
The biblical calendar is only dependent on Yahweh’s circular pattern that He
has set up at creation and that He uses for the nation of Israel and to
predetermine the Holy Days.
Deu 11:11 But the land which you are entering to possess it is a land of hills
and valleys, drinking water from the rain of the heavens;
Deu 11:12 a land which YAHWEH your Elohim cares for; the eyes of YAHWEH
your Elohim are always on it from the beginning of the year to the end
of the year.
Israel is the only land in the world that Yahweh cares for and watches from the
beginning of the year to the end of the year or from “equinox to equinox” as
we will conclusively see that the equinox in Scripture is the dividing point of
the yearly cycle.
The last point that I want to make in this introduction before getting into each
and every timing aspect of the biblical calendar is that as where the heavenly
bodies (sun, moon, and stars) sets the circular pattern of the calendar itself,
the biblical calendar is also confirmed by the earthly sign of the agriculture in
Israel.
Due to the Diaspora most have never even visited the land of Israel, never
mind living here and watching the agricultural cycle, so most people totally
miss the earthly confirmation of the heavenly bodies and will keep the Holy
Days many times completely outside of the agricultural growing season, in
which each is needed according to which particular feast is being kept.
In each Holy Day season there is an earthly sign that confirms the calendar
marked by the sun, moon and stars. During Passover there will be ripe barley
for the omer waving ceremony and the beginning of the grain harvest. That
harvest will continue for about two months till the time of Shavuot.
Next you have the summer fruits that are harvested in early to mid-September
6
in anticipation of the Sukkot festival. Sukkot according to Scripture must take
place after the autumn equinox and then the pilgrim would bring up all his
harvest fruits to Jerusalem to both tithe and sacrifice to Yahweh for the
bountifulness of the harvest and also to enjoy the fruit of his labor and enjoy
the festival with his family and friends.
Living here in Israel has been such a blessing to see Yahweh’s hand in His
creation all year long. And although it is feast time that you see the fruition of
the harvest, you can see Yahweh’s creation all year long from seeing the first
ripe fig to seeing the flower bud for the first pomegranate. A believer can see
the biblical calendar at work with the agricultural growing cycle of the set apart
special Promised Land of Israel.
I pray as you study the beautiful biblical calendar that Yahweh created for His
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
Promised Land of Israel. Only by coming here at feast time and seeing how the
calendar works with the agricultural and the worship process of Yahweh can
one fully appreciate the original intent of everything that Yahweh put into the
biblical calendar at creation. I invite you to spend a feast here in the Promised
Land with us. It will change your life forever.
Now, on to the biblical calendar!
