God's Instituted Jewish Calendar
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The Ancient Calendar
The Ancient Calendar was the only calendar in the olden times. This was based on the lunar month when the new moon signified the beginning of a new month and 12 lunar months made up a lunar year. The Babylonians and the Egyptians were the early people who tried to adjust the Ancient Calendar so that it was also suitable for agricultural purposes (i.e. solar year). Today, only the Arabian (commonly referred to as the Mohammedan) Calendar maintains the Ancient Calendar’s format for the Jews had forsaken the commandment of God through Moses by modifying the Calendar in 358 AD.
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The Jewish Calendar
In the Bible the months are normally not named (just as the Chinese Calendar); instead they are referred to as the 1st, 2nd……up to the 12th month. No 13th month is found. This clearly shows that one Jewish or biblical year is 12 months.
In Exodus 12:1-2;13:4, God gave the name of the first month `Abib'. Henceforth was the birth of the Jewish or Hebrew Calendar which was identical to the Ancient Calendar except that the 1st. month was called `Abib'. The five books of Moses in the Bible (Pentateuch) only named the first month as the month of Abib. All other months are referred to as numerical months, such as the 7th month. In 1 Chron 27:1-15; the 12 tribes supplied food to King David for 12 months only, and here it again indicates a 12-month year. God revealed to His people again and again that a year was 12 months only. In the book of Revelations chapters 11 & 12, we find that 3 ? years (times) is 42 months giving a 12-month year and 36 months for 3 years.
It was only during King Solomon’s reign that the names of the 2nd month Zif (1 King 6:1), the 8th month Bul (1 King 6:38) and the 7th month became Ethanim (1 King 8:2) were recorded. However these names are not the names of the months found in the present Hebrew calendar. Only after the Israelites were exiled to Babylon were the names of the months of the present Hebrew calendar mentioned but hardly used. From here it may be deduced that the format of the present Hebrew calendar follows the Babylonian calendar. E.g. Adar (Ez 6:15; Est 3:7), Chisleu (Neh 1:1; Zec 7:1), Nisan (Neh 2:1; Est 3:7), Ilul (Neh 6:15), Tebeth (Est 2:16), Sivan (Est 8:9), and Sebat (Zec 1:7). Throughout the Bible, the names of the months were hardly used except for the few occasions mentioned above.
The Jewish Calendar then was the Ancient Calendar (still used by the Mohammedans), whereby 1 month was 28 - 29 days and a year had only 12 months. Thus the Jewish year as recoded in the Bible was 354.4 days but the Gregorian Calendar we are using today has 365.24 days a year. Thus, the difference of almost 11 days every year between the 2 types of Calendars. Because of this difference, the 1st Day of the 1st Month will be less by about 11 days every Gregorian year.
Example - If the 1st Day of the 1st Month falls on 1st January 2000, then the 1st Day of the 1st Month of the following year will fall on 20th December 2000 (i.e less 11 days) and not 1st January 2001
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The Present Day Hebrew Calendar
The present-day Hebrew calendar, which was only compiled in 358 AD, provides an additional lunar month for every 3 years to compensate for the difference of almost 11 days every year between the Solar (Gregorian) year and the Lunar year. The former Jewish Calendar (and also the Ancient Calendar) had only 36 months in a period of 3 Jewish years but the present-day Hebrew Calendar has 37 months just as the present-day Chinese Calendar. Since the crucifixion of our Lord, God's time-clock for the Israelites as His people had stopped ticking. God destroyed the Temple of God in Jerusalem in 70 AD to prevent the Jews from keeping the Laws and the Feasts, for God wanted them to acknowledge and accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah, who came to fulfill the Laws and Prophets. Because God was no longer with them, the Jews departed from the Jewish Calendar given by God to Moses (with the 1st. month known as `Abib') by creating the present-day Hebrew Calendar so that it is suitable for agricultural purposes by adding an extra (13th.) month into the former Jewish Calendar for every 3 years or so.
Note: It is unfortunate that many Bible scholars and Theologians are using the present-day Hebrew calendar (created only in 358AD) to teach Christians the times and seasons of the Lord’s feasts.
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God's Divine Year
However, God’s time-clock for the final salvation of all the Israelites will be in the end time (Read ‘The Last Seven years of the Jews’ for more detail). The calendar used by God during this last 7-year period are Divine years and months i.e. 30 days in a month, 12 months in a year or 360 days in a year. {prophesied by Daniel in 8:14; 12:11-12, and also in the book of Revelation chapters 11&12}
Teachings based on the present-day Hebrew Calendar are wrong and misleading and are thus unacceptable for instruction.
Comparisions of the 3 types of Calendars
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Since the Gregorian (Solar) year is more than the Jewish (Lunar) year by 10.8757 (365.2424 - 354.3667 = 10.8757) days every year, there must be a time when the dates of the two years will coincide again with the Jewish year gaining an extra year along the way. If the Jewish New year (i.e. 1st. day of the 1st. month of the Jewish calendar) begins on 1st. January, then the next Jewish year will begin on 20th. December (i.e. 11 days earlier) of the same year {Refer FIG 9 of page 41} and the subsequent Jewish New years will be on 9th Dec, 28th Nov, 17th Nov, 6th Nov, 26th Oct, etc. until after 33 or 34 (33.58) Jewish years later the Jewish New year will again begin on 1st. January after gaining an additional year in the process.10.8757 x 33.58 = 365.24 days or 1 Gregorian year.
Thus, after every 33? Jewish years the Jewish and Solar dates will again coincide.
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Interesting Observation
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Our Lord Jesus was also on earth for 33? Jewish years.
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But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. 2 Pet 2:1-3
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