Three Historical Periods
of the Jewish Calendar

by Kerrie L. French

Most of the world today follow a Sunday through Saturday work or school week.  They do their grocery shopping and make their ancillary appointments Monday through Friday for a two-day weekend free from binding arrangements.  Add to this that, for the most part, either Saturday (the seventh day) or Sunday (the first day) of this perpetual cycling “week” is reserved for their traditional worship assemblies, be it church or synagogue. 

This cycle is adhered to for years and even entire lifetimes, yet with little thought or regard for how this week and entire calendar arrangement came to be in the first place. After buying into or being born into this narrative, most well-meaning folks continue to follow their leader (pied piper), never questioning again whether it stands or falls compared to the Scriptural standard of time measurement. And if they entertain the question for a moment, it is soon overthrown and outweighed by the sheer amount of popular thought against it week after week from their preferred centers of worship.  

Purpose of this Article

This article aims to illustrate that in addition to the Roman calendar, the Hebrew original calendar model ordained at creation is the only calendar model utilized and sustained by Abraham and Moses. Following these in like manner, the Messiah signed, sealed, and delivered it 1,500 years later. Yet, it has been wholly undermined and transformed over the centuries since then. The Hebrew calendar is no longer synchronized to Scripture or their Creator. Neither is it even recognizable by Him, as documented within three recorded and distinct periods of change that have taken place over the millennia. Add to this the other times the Hebrews went into bondage and lost the right to maintain their unique calendar worship schedule.  Today, they no longer discuss or consider it to be in great error, nor will they entertain the thought that it is out of sync with every unit of time.

Discover how these changes have impacted what many of us have trusted as unquestioningly accurate about when the Year, Month, Week, Day, Sabbath, and Feast Days begin, believing it must be aligned with Scripture. No wonder many in society feel none of this remains important today, as so much has become distorted and convoluted.

But the real shock may come as it is discovered that much more than the Sabbath was changed in the fourth century C.E. among both Romans and Hebrews (Jews), even every unit of time, as prophesied in Daniel 7:25 in the KJV, “And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws…” So, let’s dive in to discover the actual truth of the original Creator’s Calendar as it is presented in its simple and unadulterated form.

Setting the Stage

The following historical quote is the basis for this article: 

“The history of the “Jewish calendar” may be divided into three periods—the Biblical, the Talmudic, and the Post-Talmudic. 1) The first rested purely on the observation of the sun and the moon, 2) the second on observation and reckoning, 3) the third entirely on reckoning.” Jewish Encyclopedia, “History of the Calendar,” by Joseph Jacobs, Cyrus Adler, 1906, Vol. 3, p. 498.

So the mere fact that we have three periods of the Jewish calendar appears to mean only one thing… that their worship calendar has CHANGED at least TWICE, and today’s time-measuring is entirely UNLIKE it was in Biblical times. Read on to discover if this theory has any teeth. 

#1. Biblical Period of Jewish Calendar History (19th c. BCE – 4th c. BCE) 

The Biblical Period of the Jewish Calendar is marked by obedience and faithfulness to Yahuah Alahim, the Creator, who first promised Adam and Eve that a Lamb was to be provided for their sins. This promise was then renewed in the covenant with Abraham that through his seed (descendants), Yahuah Alahim would provide the Atoning Lamb (His only Son) to take away the sins of the whole world. It was to be that through the Messiah (Lamb) alone, mankind may be fully restored to the Father.  All that our Creator and Messiah accomplished was according to the strictest adherence to TIME & EVENT, which are the lunar appointed times (H#4150 mo’ed) and the prophetic rehearsal assembly events (H#4744 miqra), as laid out in the Torah Law (first five books of Moses). When they were unfaithful, they were caused to go into captivity in a neighboring pagan nation—more info on the Biblical Period of Jewish History.

The Biblical Evidence

“And Alahim (God) said, “Let there be LIGHTS in the firmament of the shamayim (heavens) to divide the day from the night; and let them be for SIGNS (#226-oth= remembrances with a distinguishing mark); SEASONS (#4150-mo’ed = lunar appointed times); DAYS (#3117 – yom = 12 hour days followed by the four watches of night); and YEARS (#8141 – shanah = astro-luni-solar years)…” Genesis 1:14

 

“Then Alahim made two great LIGHTS: The greater LIGHT (Sun) to rule the day, and the lesser LIGHT (Moon) to rule the night with the stars He made the stars also.” Genesis 1:16

A foundational truth to this Hebrew Word Study is established by King David and found in Psalms 104:19.

“He ordained (H#6213 asah) the MOON (H#3394 Yareach) for SEASONS (H#4150 – mo’ed – meaning: lunar appointed times)…” Psalms 104:19

This means that Yahuah Alahim (God) appointed lunar time for all appointed times (H#4150 – mo’edim). So when you read in Genesis 1:14 the word “seasons” or in Leviticus 23 the word “feasts,” it really means  (H#4150 – mo’edim – [lunar] appointed times). Yet, at the time of Genesis 1:14, there was no sin, no stated plan of Salvation, and therefore, no annual Feast Days to be fulfilled by our Messiah.  So, the reference to lunar appointed times for that first week of creation could only apply to the New Moon Day and the seventh-day Sabbath.  

Below is evidence that the original and authentic seventh-day Sabbath was established as an (H#4150 – mo’ed [lunar] appointed time).

From Leviticus 23 we read:

 

1. And declared Yahuah unto Moses, saying,
2. Speak unto the children of Yasharal, and command them concerning the lunar appointed times (H#4150 mo’ed) of Yahuah, which you shall proclaim My set-apart (Holy) rehearsal assemblies (H#4744 miqra). These are themselves My lunar appointed times (H#4150 mo’ed):
3. Six days from sunrise to sunset you shall do your work, but in the day of the seventh it is the Sabbath rest to observe the covenant, a set-apart (Holy) rehearsal assembly (H#4744 miqra) in which you shall do no work, for it is the Sabbath unto Yahuah in all your dwellings.
4. These are the lunar appointed times (H#4150 mo’ed) of Yahuah, the set-apart (Holy) prophetic rehearsal assemblies (H#4744 miqra), which you shall proclaim as SIGNS [of prophetic events to be fulfilled by the Messiah] at their lunar appointed times (H#4150 mo’ed):
5. In the lunar month (H#2320 chodesh), the first one of the year, in the fourteenth day counted from the New Moon (H#2320 chodesh), between (H#996 beyn) the evenings (plural twilights)(H#6153 ereb), is the PASSOVER of Yahuah.  Leviticus 23:1-5 

 

“It shall be established FOREVER like the MOON, even like the trustworthy WITNESS in the sky.”  Tehilim (Psalms) 89:37

 

“The [early] Hebrews employed lunar seven-day weeks, which ended with special observances on the seventh day, but none the less were tied to the moon’s course.” Rest Days, Hutton Webster, p. 254-255

 

“The weeks do not continue in a regular cycle regardless of the moon. Each [lunar] month has four weeks, beginning with the New Moon. I have no doubt that this was the old Hebrew system.” Babylonian Menologies and the Semitic Calendars, p. 89.

 

“The months of the year were lunar, and began with the new moon.” The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, “Calendar,” p. 631.

 

“In the time of the earliest prophets, the New Moon stood in the same line with another lunar observance, the Sabbath. Ezekiel, who curiously enough frequently dates his prophecies on the New Moon . . . describes the gate of the inner court of the (new) temple looking eastward as kept shut for the six working days, but opened on the Sabbath and the New Moon.”  Scribner’s Dictionary of the Bible,(1898 edit), p. 521.

 

“…Shabbat [weekly Sabbath] originally arose from the lunar cycle, containing four weeks ending in Sabbath, plus one or two additional…days per [lunar] month. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia: An Authorative and Popular Presentation of Jews and Judaism Since the Earliest Times. Volume 10 Cohen, Simon (1943 p 482-483.). Week. In Landman, Isaac.

 

“And then the moon, ever punctual to mark the times, [as] an everlasting sign: It is the moon that signals the Feasts (H#4150 – mo’ed [lunar] appointed times), a luminary that wanes after being full. The month derives its name from hers.  She waxes wonderfully in her phases, a banner of the hosts on high, shining in the vault of heaven [the shamayim].” Ecclesiasticus 43:6-8, c.a. 19-180 B.C.

 

“The period of New Moon was, in pre-exilic [pre-Babylonian Talmudic] times, celebrated by the cessation of labor; it was superior even to the Sabbath-day, which formed but a part of it [four Sabbaths within its lunar cycle] (see I Sam. xx. 18-34; II Kings iv. 23; Amos viii. 5; Hos. ii. 13 [A. V. 11]; Ezek. xlvi. 3); but it lost its importance during the Exile and was observed mainly as the determining factor of the calendar with its festivals…In the Temple, New Moon was celebrated by special sacrifices [which differentiated it from work days and seventh-day Sabbaths] (Num. xxviii. 11-15; II Chron. ii. 4, viii. 13; Ezra iii. 5; Neh. x. 33) and by the blowing of the trumpet (Num. x. 10)…” Jewishencyclopedia.com,Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906 Edition, New Moon, Kaufmann Kohler, Vol. 9, p. 243.

 

“With the development of the importance of the Sabbath as a day of consecration and the emphasis laid upon the significant number seven, the week became more and more divorced from its lunar connection…” The Universal Jewish Encyclopaedia, Vol. X, “Week,” p. 482.

 

“…the week of seven days was connected with the lunar month, of which it is, approximately, a fourth…” The Jewish Encyclopedia, “Week”

 

“… A month in law, is a lunar month… unless otherwise expressed… In legal proceedings, the word ‘months,’ means lunar months…” Stroud’s Judicial Dictionary (of Great Britain), 1903 Edition, p. 1221.

 

“…The Hebrew Sabbath (i.e. Creation Sabbath) was originally a Sabbathon…it was celebrated at intervals of seven days, corresponding with the changes in the moon’s phases…”  Encyclopaedia Biblica, 1899, p. 4180.

#2. Talmudic Period of Jewish Calendar History (500 BCE – 505 CE) 

It contains the teachings and opinions of thousands of rabbis that override clear Biblical principles on all Biblical themes, including the calendar, Jewish ethics, philosophy, customs, history, folklore, and many other topics. The Talmud is the basis for all Rabbinical Jewish traditional law codes and is widely quoted in rabbinic (Pharisee) literature.  More info on the Talmudic Period of Jewish History.  

 

The Evidence for the Talmudic Period

 

“Pharisaism became Talmudism… [but] the spirit of the ancient Pharisee survives unaltered. When the Jew… studies the Talmud, he is actually repeating the arguments used in the Palestinian academies… The spirit of the [Pharisees’] doctrine has remained quick and vital.” Louis Finklestein, The Pharisees: The Sociological Background of their Faith, [Jewish Publication Society of America], Vol. 4, p. 1332.

 

 

“With the destruction of the Temple (A.D. 70) the Sadducees disappeared altogether, leaving the regulation of all Jewish affairs in the hands of the Pharisees. Henceforth, Jewish life was regulated by the Pharisees; the whole history of Judaism was reconstructed from the Pharisaic point of view, and a new aspect was given to the Sanhedrin of the past. A new chain of tradition supplanted the older priestly tradition (Abot 1:1). Pharisaism shaped the character of Judaism and the life and thought of the Jew for all the future.” “Pharisees,” The Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol 9, [1901-1906 ed.], p. 666.

 

 

“At the Council of Nice [Nicaea] the last thread was snapped which connected  Christianity to its parent stock [Romanism detached from the Jews and by extension severed itself from the Messiah and the Torah Law].  The festival of Easter had up till now been celebrated for the most part at the same time as the Jewish Passover, and indeed upon the days calculated and fixed by the Synhedrion [Sanhedrin] in Judea for its celebration; but in the future, its observance was to be rendered altogether independent of the Jewish calendar, ‘For it is unbecoming beyond measure that on this holiest of festivals we should follow the customs of the Jews.  Henceforward, let us have nothing in common with this odious people; our Savior has shown us another path.  It would indeed be absurd if the Jews were able to boast that we are not in a position to celebrate the Passover without the aid of their rules.’  These remarks are attributed to Emperor Constantine… [and became] the guiding principle of the Church, which was now to decide the fate of the Jews [and their original time-measuring system].'” Heinrich Graetz, History of the Jews, Vol. II, pp. 563-564.

 

 

“I renounce all customs, rites, legalisms, unleavened bread and sacrifices of lambs of the Hebrews, and all the other feasts of the Hebrews, sacrifices, prayers, aspirations, purifications, sanctifications, and propitiations, and fasts and New Moons, and Sabbaths, and superstitions, and hymns and chants, and observances, and synagogues.  Absolutely everything Jewish, every [Torah] Law, rite and custom and if afterward I shall wish to deny and return to Jewish superstition, or shall be found eating with Jews, or feasting with them, or secretly conversing and condemning the Christian religion instead of openly confuting them and condemning their vain faith, then let the trembling of Cain and the leprosy of Gehazi cleave to me, as well as the legal punishments to which I acknowledge myself liable. And may I be an anathema in the world to come, and may my soul be set down with Satan and the devils.” Stefano Assemani, Acta Sanctorium Martyrum Orientalium at Occidentalium, Vol. 1, Rome (translated in 1748), page 105.

 

 

“We shall now especially consider heretics, who… call themselves Nazarenes [Natsarim – early followers of Messiah]; they are mainly Jews and nothing else. They make use not only of the New Testament, but they also use in a way the Old Testament of the Jews; for they do not forbid the books of the [TORAH] Law, the Prophets, and the Writings…so that they are approved of by the Jews, from whom the Nazarenes do not differ in anything, and they profess all the dogmas pertaining to the prescriptions of the [TORAH] Law and to the customs of the Jews, except they [also] believe in Messiah…They preach that there is but one god, and his son Jesus [Yahusha]. But they are very learned in the Hebrew language; for they, like the Jews, read the whole [TORAH] Law, then the Prophets…They differ from the Jews because they believe in Messiah, and from the Christians, in that they are to this day bound to the Jewish rites, such as circumcision, the Sabbath, and the other ceremonies.” Jerome – Epiphanius; Panarion 29; translated from the Greek.

 

 

“The question relating to the observance of Easter [Passover], which was agitated in the time of Anicetus and Poly carp, and afterward in that of Victor, was still undecided. It was one of the principal reasons for convoking the Council of Nicaea, being the most important subject to be considered after the Arian controversy. It appears that the churches of Syria and Mesopotamia continued to follow the custom of the Jews, and celebrated Easter on the fourteenth day of the moon, whether falling on Sunday or not.” A Historical View of the Council of Nice [4th century A.D.], p. 22, translated by Isaac Boyle, D.D. New York: Thomas N. Staintford, 637 Broadway, 1856.

 

 

“There was a considerable discussion raised about this time, in consequence of a difference of opinion respecting the observance of the paschal [Passover] season. The churches of all Asia, guided by a remoter tradition, supposed that they ought to keep the fourteenth day of the moon for the festival of the Savior’s Passover, in which day the Jews were commanded to kill the paschal lamb; and it was incumbent on them, at all times, to make an end of the fast on this day, on whatever day of the [Roman] week it should happen to fall.” The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Bishop of Caesarea, in Palestine [4th century A.D.], translated by Christian Frederick Cruse, D.D., Tenth Edition, Chapter 23, p. 207. 1850.

 

 

“But notwithstanding the decision of the council [of Nicaea] there were some Quartodecimens, as they were termed; who remained pertinaciously attached to the celebration of Easter [meaning Passover] on the fourteenth of the moon and among others the Audeans, schismatics of Mesopotamia. They found fault with the council, reproachfully remarking, that this was the first time that the ancient tradition [of properly locating Passover by the moon], through compliance for Constantine, had been departed from.” A Historical View of the Council of Nice [4th century A.D.], p. 23, translated by Isaac Boyle, D.D. New York: Thomas N. Staintford, 637 Broadway, 1856.

 

 

“The long-term effect was that ‘Easter Sunday’ entered the Christian paradigm as ‘The Day of Christ’s Resurrection.’ The corollary to this realignment of time calculation was that the day preceding Easter Sunday, Saturday, became forever after ‘The True Bible Sabbath.’  This is the true significance of Constantine’s ‘Sunday law’ and it laid the foundation for the modern assumption that a continuous weekly cycle has always existed.” Calendar Fraud, “Biblical Calendar Outlawed,” eLaine Vornholt & Laura Lee Vorholt-Jones.

 

 

“The moon was the beneficent… [herald] of the shepherds in the region and climate where ancient Israel had its ancestral home. Hence the many traces of lunar institutions in even the latest Israelitish cult and its phraseology… The Sabbath, as marking the end of the week, reveals its lunar origin; the phases of the moon having taught the shepherds, whose weal or woe depends so largely upon the benevolence or malevolence of the night season, to divide the period elapsing between two new moons into four equal groups (weeks), the last day of each… Indications are not wanting that at first the New Moon festival was not counted among the seven days of the week (see Week);but after… New Moon days… a new cycle of four weeks began... Later, the week and the Sabbath became fixed [according to the Babylonian/Roman continuous weekly cycle]; and this gradually resulted in taking away from the New Moon festival its popular importance.” Jewish Encyclopedia.com, the unedited full-text of the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, “Festivals,” Pastoral Feasts, Emil Hirsch, Vol. 5, p. 376.

 

 

“The decline of the eight-day week coincided with the expansion of Rome… The astrological and Christian [planetary – Sunday – Saturday] seven-day weeks that had just been [re] introduced into Rome were also becoming increasingly popular.  There is evidence indicating that the Roman eight-day week and those two [differing] seven-day cycles were used simultaneously for some time.  However, the coexistence of two weekly rhythms that were entirely out of phase with one another obviously could not be sustained for long. One of them clearly had to give way.  As we all know, it was the eight-day week that soon disappeared from the pages of history forever [along with the original lunar seven-day week].”  Eviatar Zerubavel, The Seven-day Circle, p. 46.

 

Divine Intervention for the Messiah’s Prophetic Appointed Times

Right about now, you may be thinking… “If the calendar changed multiple times, maybe it was out of sync at the time of the Messiah, or wonder if the calendar could remain accurate at His birth or death, even if only among a few?”  These are great questions in light of the grand scheme of salvation that the Eternal Father designed a plan whereby He would send forth His only begotten Son into the world to redeem and restore all who accepted His plan and on His terms. He alone could navigate the elements in play and thwart the enemy’s radical designs upon His Son and calendar. After all, these grand appointed times were designed and implemented eons before Satan’s counterfeit Babylonian Talmudic calendar was set to encompass the set time of the Messiah’s first coming.   

So it was that Divine protection hovered over Yahusha haMashiach (the Hebrew Messiah), the Eternal Father’s only Son’s birth, and later death and resurrection on earth to preserve His Calendar’s momentous prophetic truths and certainties.  Ultimately, all seven of the Messiah’s saving steps (the annual Feast Days) of Salvation’s divine mechanism were to be synchronized to His one and only unique astro-luni-solar calendar from their inception to completion. These are none other than the annual lunar appointed times, often referred to as Feast Day rehearsals. No Messiah by any other name (such as Jesus Christ) or calendar based upon the Roman sun god and its continuous weekly cycle, the witty invention of demons and men, could fulfill His divine mission.  

Stunningly, as the Dead Sea Scrolls have been found and expertly analyzed in the 20th century, it has been discovered and declared that they primarily represent the theme of, wait for it… “calendar wars.” This continuous war over correct time-measuring began between the second century BCE and the first century CE. This is astonishing as it punctuates the realities of when our Messiah was pre-ordained to fulfill His role by coming to earth in His First Coming, as the Lamb slain for our sins and rose as our High Priest and Advocate before the Eternal Father. Multiple records reveal that His death was marked by the longest and grandest solar eclipse ever.  Details of this momentous event and its original calendar of Creation may be found in the article, From the Sixth to the Ninth Hour.   

 

#3. Post-Talmudic Period of Jewish Calendar History (505 CE – Present Day) 

Geonim or “geniuses” were the heads of the Babylonian academies in which the Mishna was studied and the Gemara written. Add to this the extended listing of several famous Rabbinical sages that include, for example, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, referred to as the “Rambam,” in whose introduction to the Mishna, states: “If there are 1000 prophets and all of them of the stature of Elijah and Elisha, giving a certain interpretation, and 1001 rabbis giving the opposite interpretation, you shall ‘incline after the majority and the law is according to 1001 rabbis, not according to 1000 venerable prophets. God did not permit us to learn from the prophets, but only from the Rabbis who are men of logic and reason.”  More info on the Post-Talmudic period of Jewish history.

So it is that logic and reason rule the Rabbinic Jews to this day. Which are neither logical nor reasonable as they contradict Scripture.  Their habit is to support issues that carry the majority rule. This is in striking contrast to the Scriptural principles of choosing the narrow way led by the Ruach ha Kadosh (the still small voice of Yahuah Alahim, the Eternal Father). “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and few find it.”  Matthew 7:13-14.

Perhaps the most fitting example in contrast to the Jewish position comes from the former slave Booker T. Washington of the 19th century, who said, “A lie doesn’t become truth, wrong doesn’t become right, and evil doesn’t become good just because a majority accepts it.”  

The Evidence

     “In AD 351-352 Roman persecution flared and the Jews revolted.  They were soon crushed.  Many Jewish towns were destroyed and decrees issued against the local authorities and against Judaism.  The privileges of the head of the Sanhedrin and the freedoms of the Sanhedrin itself were curtailed.  Roman pressure to conform “Jewish” TIME to Roman TIME had reached crisis level. ibid

     Under this pressure Hillel II agreed to limit the functions of the head of the Sanhedrin, as well as the Sanhedrin itself, with respect to proclaiming the New Moon, setting festival dates, and employing intercalation [adhering to the 13^th lunar month].  With the decline of the Jewish power-base in Israel, the Jewish community in Babylon had been rising in influence to fill the vacuum. Hillel II published details informing all Jews of the methods of the [new] calculated calendar developed in Babylon.  From that time on the Sanhedrin in Judea ceased to function or to maintain calendar experts.  Hillel II is thus given the credit for the present fixed Rabbinical calendar, but in reality it originated in BABYLON and was just the starting point of the development of the Rabbinical calendar in use today.” Encyclopedia Judaica, s.v. “Hillel.”

 

     “The persecutions under Constantius finally decided the patriarch, Hillel II. (330-365), to publish rules for the computation of the calendar, which had hitherto been regarded as a secret science. The political difficulties attendant upon the meetings of the Sanhedrin became so numerous in this period, and the consequent uncertainty of the feast-days was so great, that R. Huna b. Abin made known the following secret of the calendar to Raba in Babylonia: ‘Whenever it becomes apparent that the winter will last till the 16th of Nisan, make the year a leap-year without hesitation.’ Ibid

     This unselfish promulgation of the calendar, though it destroyed the hold of the patriarchs on the scattered Judeans, fixed the celebration of the Jewish feasts upon the same day everywhere. Later Jewish writers agree that the calendar was fixed by Hillel II… 359 C.E… Saadia afterward formulated calendar rules, after having disputed the correctness of the calendar established by the Karaites. That there is a slight error in the Jewish calendar—due to inaccuracies in the length of both the lunar and the solar years upon which it is based—has been asserted by a number of writers.”  Jewish Encyclopedia.com, the unedited full-text of the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, “History of the Calendar,” “Post-Talmudic Period,” by Joseph Jacobs, Cyrus Adler, Vol. 3, p. 500. 

 

“The FOUR RULES OF POSTPONEMENTS allow the [new Roman] seven-day week to cycle without interruption, while corrections by way of DELAYS are imposed upon the day of the New Moons (mo’eds). This system proactively DELAYS the Feast Days by one to two days.” Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac – U.S. Naval Observatory, Edited by P. Kenneth Seidelmann, p. 586.

The mere fact that the Rules of Postponement continue to be utilized to this day is evidence that the modern Rabbinical Jewish calendar is far different than that of the Bible. All units of time, including the Feast Days, were preordained to be beaconed by the same lights in the heavens and were, therefore, in perfect harmony with each other before they were proactively altered by rebellious mankind.

“The changes in the calendric position of the weekly religious rest day have been few from pre-historic times to the present day. The Sabbath which came down to the Jews from pre-historic [prior to Moses] times was the seventh day of the lunar week. The lunar week and the lunar month gave the simplest form of time division to early man . . . Moon and month meant the same thing. The division of the month into four weeks of seven days . . . and the weekly division begun again at the time of the next new moon. The change from the lunar week to the seven-day week running continuously through the year, while a momentous change, was unrecorded. The use of two styles of weeks seems to have existed together, and the more modern seven-day week slowly, but finally, supplanted its ancient but inexact competitor. The lunar week was simple and serviceable . . . When the continuous seven-day week was generally accepted, then it was linked with the past, as we now date events before Christ by a scale unknown to the people and historians of those times. . . The lunar Sabbath was succeeded by the seven-day weekly Sabbath without confusion, and the mention of the Sabbath in Exodus 31:13 and elsewhere, may be taken to refer to the lunar day.” Sunday the World’s Rest Day, “The Sabbath, the Day Which Divine Love Established and Human Love Must Preserve,” Theodore Gilman, p. 479. Published for the New York Sabbath Committee, Doubleday, Page and Company, New York, 1916.

 

 “Several customs which prevailed during the age between the Exodus of the Israelites and the resurrection of Christ had so completely changed by the seventeenth Christian century that the translators of the “Authorized Version” of the English Bible were not able to perceive some important truths taught in the Greek version of the Old Testament and the Greek New Testament. Unseen truth would not be clearly translated into the English Bible. The student, who of necessity was limited in his studies to the English version would not be able to see more truth than was expressed in the English version. . .ibid

Second – Since the Jews for more than sixteen centuries have been observing a Saturday Sabbath, and since Christians have been for more than eighteen centuries having a fixed Sunday Sabbath, it is only reasonable to expect most Sabbath writers to try and interpret all Bible Sabbath teachings on the theory of fixed septenary cycles. But the noted Rabbi Hirsch believes and teaches that “The old (Jewish) Sabbath had no connection with a fixed [cycling] week.” ibid

Third – The passing out of sight of the old Bible lunar calendar and the now almost universal effort to interpret the Bible upon the basis of solar calendars . . . ibid

Sixth – . . .  Because of the failure to note the above mentioned difficulties it has become quite difficult so to write or teach as to be clearly understood about the Scriptural Sabbaths.” Sunday the World’s Rest Day, The Sabbath-The Lord’s Day, by Rev. Samuel W. Gamble, D.D. p. 81-82. Published for the New York Sabbath Committee, Doubleday, Page and Company, New York, 1916. 

 

“…the Jewish festivals being regulated solely by the moon, may fall on any day of the [modern Roman continuous cycling] week.” Oxford English Dictionary, 1971 Edition, Vol. 2, Pentecost.

The Truth vs. Assumptions and Lack of Curiosity

The majority of Jews and Christians today have assumed that the Roman Gregorian calendar and its week have followed the original unbroken chain of time, cycling from Creation nearly 6,000 years ago to this very day with no known interruptions. This generalized belief has caused a sheer lack of curiosity or interest in this subject the world over, mostly extending from one of the following views:

1. They trust that the calendar utilized for their worship schedule today remains in sync with the Biblical narrative ordained by the Creator in the Beginning for time divisions of Years, Months, Weeks, and Days.
2. They have a full and complete trust in their leaders. Believing that their Rabbinical scholars and Church theologians have it all worked out and have approved this time arrangement as authentically consistent with that of Scripture.
3. They believe there is no way that all of the Jews could have lost track of the sacred days of worship at the same time that would allow them to be out of sync today.
4. They fear that if the current weekly cycle and worship schedule were discovered to be spurious and out of sync with Scripture’s Creator appointed worship schedule, then they would be faced with some hard and painful decisions.
5. They have a lack of interest in adhering to the Creator and Most High if it affects the status quo of their current traditions with regard to relational ties with family, friends, Pastors, Rabbis, Popes, Reformers, or presumed Prophets. In this way exposing their real purpose in gathering for worship assemblies.

The Karaite Jews’ Assessment of Their Saturday Sabbath Tradition

Stunningly, the modern Karaite Jews provide an honest assessment of their current Saturday Sabbath tradition. Here is what they say:

“Through all the trials and tribulations that humanity has experienced over the past 5,000 years, we have no proof whatsoever that our current Saturday is the actual seven-day “anniversary” of the original Shabbath of Creation.”  
http://www.karaiteinsights.com/article/shabbat.html

Ironically, these are the same Karaite Jews from which William Miller and later Ellen White, along with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, adopted their crescent New Moon for locating the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) of October 22, 1844.  It is this same Saturday Sabbath for which the Seventh-day Adventist Church is linked by way of the Seventh-day Baptists. Bottom line, the Karaite Jews have courageously stepped forward to honestly admit they don’t know if Saturday is the authentic Seventh-day Sabbath of Creation, nor are they able to identify any principles in Scripture that would support a Saturday Sabbath tradition.

So why does it matter? 

Our Creator promised that through the seed of Abraham and his descendants, He would provide the Atoning Lamb (His only Son) to take away the sins of the whole world so that through Him, mankind may be restored to the Father. You see, Salvation’s mechanism, the REMEDY FOR SIN, which our Creator and Messiah continue to accomplish for mankind, is established according to the strictest adherence to TIME & EVENT from one solitary and unique preordained calendar model, as laid out in the Torah Law (first five books of Moses) and its prophetic appointed times. As many voices proclaim, it has NEVER been altered by Him or done away with. His faithful will seek His ancient paths and adhere to them for all eternity.

“But when the fullness of the time had come, Alahim (God) sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the [Torah] Law, to redeem those who were under the [Torah] Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.  Galatians 4:4-5

Law and Grace are two sides of the same coin. They cannot exist without the other. No one will be saved from the Law, but because of the Law. Grace is only a thing because the Law continues to exist. Where there is no Torah Law, there can be no Grace.

The Plan of Salvation’s GPS Coordinates

As a three-part plan, the Promise of Salvation is like a GPS unit that consists of three things permanently. 1) The ATONING WORK of the Messiah; 2) TIME, with the correct use of the sun, moon, and stars (astro-luni-solar) to assemble at the appointed times for prophetic rehearsals; 3) EVENT, the prophetic layout of the lunar appointed Feast Days, to be accomplished by the Messiah alone in the Temple above, not made with human hands. These Feast Days are then celebrated at their lunar appointed time, illustrating that they are followers of Messiah and, under the grace of His atoning the work of salvation, the sole remedy for sin. 

This three-part arrangement reveals as a visual aid the Plan of Salvation in the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly Sanctuary/Temple ceremonies rehearsed each year by His faithful and obedient followers. Any change in one of these three portions of Salvation’s divine GPS will entirely disengage its adherents from the Promise of Salvation by allowing utter pandemonium with 1) an imposter Messiah, 2) all prophetic appointments out of sync and missing the mark, 3) the meaning and/or order of prophetic events altered, so again missing the mark.

This would result in the downfall of Salvation’s perfect plan and the uprising of false religious institutions that claim the Bible as their guide, all the while denying the power unto salvation. No longer would they have legal ties to the PROMISE OF SALVATION because they have been fully removed. Has this occurred? Emphatically YES!  Roman Catholicism, all sects of Protestant Christianity, Rabbinical, and Karaite Judaism, have each incorporated one or more aspects of Salvation’s altered three-part system.  This means that while each contains some elements of truth, they are entirely flawed by the overt mixture of truth and error.

The Boastful Roman Calendar Changes that Affected the Jews

It is no secret that the Romans have vast records of how their Julian/Gregorian Calendar model and all its units of time have proactively changed over the centuries. Not only are they not hiding this fact, but they are boastingly proud of it. For the most part, their ongoing changes were instituted for the express purpose of having no unit of time in common with the hated Jews and their Torah Laws. Contained in their Constantinian Creed are the specific details that differentiate their new Christian calendar from that of their despised Jewish neighbors and their once Scriptural foundation.   

Constantine’s Christian Creed

“I renounce all customs, rites, legalisms, unleavened breads and sacrifices of lambs of the Hebrews, and all the other Feasts of the Hebrews, sacrifices, prayers, aspirations, purifications, sanctifications, and propitiations, and fasts and New Moons, and Sabbaths, and superstitions, and hymns and chants, and observances, and synagogues. Absolutely everything Jewish, every [Torah] Law, rite and custom and if afterwards I shall wish to deny and return to Jewish superstition, or shall be found eating with Jews, or feasting with them, or secretly conversing and condemning the Christian religion instead of openly confuting them and condemning their vain faith, then let the trembling of Cain and the leprosy of Gehazi cleave to me, as well as the legal punishments to which I acknowledge myself liable. And may I be an anathema in the world to come, and may my soul be set down with Satan and the devils.”(Profession of Faith, from the Church of Constantinople, Stefano Assemani, Acta Sanctorium Martyrum Orientalium at Occidentalium, Vol. 1, Rome 1748, page 105)

For more on this subject refer to article The Constantinian Creed.
For more historic calendar quotes refer to The Lunar Sabbath’s Stunning Historical Evidence.

The act of the Romans eliminating every Torah Law (613 of them), including the New Moons, Sabbaths, and Feast Days of the Jews from their new Christian religion and its calendar, precluded that they had indeed existed previously and were statutory requirements for the humble and faithful followers of the Most High, Yahuah Alahim and His Son.   

From the Roman perspective, as documented in the Constantinian Creed above, can any evidence be found to support that the new Roman Julian/Gregorian Calendar, with its perpetual week cycle, remains in harmony with that of Creation, as recorded in the Torah Law? No! There is NOT even one chance in seven.

The Wake-up Call

It has been established above that the Roman Julian/Gregorian calendar framers NEVER have, from its inception, desired it to be synchronized with the original calendar of Scripture and Creation, which is recorded in the Torah Law and includes its New Moons, lunar Sabbaths, annual lunar Prophetic Feast Days, as given by YAHUAH Alahim and recorded by Moses. Rome’s new counterfeit calendar system was imposed upon the Jews under pressure in AD 358, during the Talmudic Period and the long years of their captivity. 

It has also been discovered in the historical quotes above that in addition to the Roman calendar changes, the Jewish calendar underwent several man-made alterations over the eons of three historical periods. Today, the Jewish calendar is an amalgamation of ancient Babylon’s corrupt use of the astro-luni-solar system in combination with the Roman Astro-solar time-measuring with its entire removal of the moon. Only a hint of the Biblical lunar time-keeping principles remain. Yet, as a result, not even one Scriptural unit of time, be it a day, week, month, or year, can be found in the Jewish or Roman calendar systems of modern times.    

From beginning to end, this article presents a WAKE-UP CALL to those who seek to follow the Lamb wherever He goes and choose to be represented by the five wise virgins, as presented in Matthew 25.  Only those with lamps filled with Kadosh (Holy) oil of the Ruach ha Kadosh (power and presence of the Eternal Father), trimmed and burning, will have prepared to meet the Bridegroom when He returns.  These alone will know the authentic appointed day and hour when to enter at the door when it is open.  Might it be on a specific lunar appointed date as presented on the Menorah? The Missing Key Puzzle Piece.