God’s Appointed Times – A graphical study

Learning about YHVH‘s Appointed times was the turning point in my life, in which I saw a pattern that God had laid out. Seeing that Christ died on “Passover“, being buried at the beginning of the “Week of Unleavened Bread“, Resurrecting on “Firstfruits” and the Disciples receiving the Holy Spirit on “Pentecost” (which is another of God’s Feast days from Lev 23) started a curiosity in me, which has fueled my passion of study and research. The Icing on the cake was that there were more feast days which were yet to be realised, but of which we had all heard in some sermon or bible study. The Feast of “Trumpets” signified His 2nd Coming, The “Day of Atonement” signified judgement and “Tabernacles” signified His 1000 year reign. “I was blown away”. Putting all of this together with Scripture to back it up, I hope the below Graphical Study Board will help you see God’s Plan and His Word in new Light. Click on below image for enlarged view.

Click on image for enlarged view

Christ – The Atonement Sacrifice – Allusions in Luke 4

It is a little known fact that Luke’s record of our Messiah’s ministry starts with an allusion to the Atonement Sacrifice. Luke alone gives an account of the timing of this event, and also shows how the people themselves unwittingly declared how Yeshua would take the sin of the nation upon Himself.

Knowing about the Day of Atonement is paramount to understand the story behind the story that Luke gives witness to. Considered the most important of the Appointed Days in God’s Calendar, The Day of Atonement is the only day of the year with a command for Fasting. In fact, since the Day of Atonement is intricately connected to Judgement, most Jews engage in a partial fast for a full 40 days before the Day of Atonement. The 40 Days start with the 6th month of God’s Calendar (known as Elul) and end with the Day of Atonement, which is the 10th day of the 7th Month, equalling to a full 40 days of Repentance. It is a time for Repentance and preparation of one’s life to stand before God. While it is not clear whether this tradition of Fasting existed back in 1st Century times, is it not wonderous that Yeshua(Jesus’ true name) fasted 40 days in the same season of Elul and The Day of Atonement?

How do we know that His Ministry started in the time of the Day of Atonement? There are several hints given to us by Luke. Let us review his account in Chapters 3 & 4.

1.John preaches repentance –
Not only does John preach Repentance, a key aspect of meditation as it dawns toward The Day of Atonement, he also speaks of the coming Judgement as seen below.

Luk 3:3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
Luk 3:7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Luk 3:9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Luk 3:17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

2.Yeshua’s 40 day Fast –
Yeshua is baptized by John(Luk 3:22,23) and proceeds directly into the Wilderness of Judea(Luk 4:1) and remains there fasting for forty days(Luk 4:2). After being tempted of the Devil, He teaches in Galilee, and then comes to Nazareth – His hometown and steps into the Synagogue.

3.The Reading in the Synagogue –
Traditionally on the Sabbath, people meet in the Synagogue and read a Portion of the Torah (5 Books of Moses) & the Prophets which is done in a planned manner. Isaiah is read in close proximity to The Day of Atonement, and it just so happened that Yeshua was delivered the scroll of Isaiah on this particular Sabbath Day.

Luk 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

4. Isaiah 61, Judgement & the Jubilee
Yeshua reads the following passage, stopping abruptly without reading everything proceeding “The Day of Vengeance”. “Proclamation of Liberty” is intricately connected to the “Year of Jubilee” which is announced on The Day of Atonement. The Day of Vengeance or His Second Coming, was yet to come. So it makes sense that He stopped before this part, but reading the full verse, we see that He consoles everyone who repents and is in Ashes, mourning & heaviness – which are central themes of The Day of Atonement.

Isa 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Lev 25:9,10 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

5. The Sacrificial Goat which took all the Sin of the Nation upon itself –
On The Day of Atonement, the High Priest enacted a sacrifice to atone the sins of the nation. This twin sacrifice had two goats, one of which was taken before the High Priest, who then proclaimed all of the Sins of the nation on its head, and was then led away to the wilderness.

Lev 16:8-10  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.

Lev 16:21,22  And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

It is traditionally known that this goat was pushed off a cliff by the person who led it away signifying the complete erasure of the sins of the people.

The Rabbis, interpreting “Azazel” as “Azaz” (rugged), and “el” (strong), refer it to the rugged and rough mountain cliff from which the goat was cast down (Yoma 67b; Sifra, Aḥare, ii. 2; Targ. Yer. Lev. xiv. 10, and most medieval commentators)  Jewish Encyclopedia

The Sages taught: The word Azazel indicates that the cliff the goat is pushed from should be rough and hard. I might have thought that it may be located in a settled area. Therefore, the verse states: “In the wilderness.” And from where does one derive that the goat is pushed from a cliff? The verse states “gezeira,” indicating an area that is sharp, like a cliff. Yoma 67b – Talmud

Now read what happens after Yeshua reads the Scripture in Isaiah and has a dispute with the people in the Synagogue. The crowd unwittingly proclaims that Yeshua will be the sacrifice which takes away the sin of the nation, by trying to take Him to a hill and thrusting Him down from it.

Luk 4:28,29 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.

6. The High Priest & the Atonement Sacrifice –
As the author of Hebrews make mention, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies only once a year – on the Day of Atonement(Exo 30:10), and he would also take the blood of the second goat which was applied inside. Hebrews clearly connects the Blood of the Atonement Sacrifice to Yeshua’s blood. He would be the High Priest of the Nation and the Sacrifice for the Sins of the Nation.

Heb 9:6,7  Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

Heb 9:11,12 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Conclusion
It is very likely that Luke knew of the Atonement Sacrifice and the connection of Messiah to the redemption of the Nation as seen in the Scriptures. When Luke heard this account from witnesses before he wrote his gospel(Luk 1:2), he would have immediately connected the dots of the Goat which was led to the cliff with Yeshua who was almost thrust down in the same way, in the days of Repentance – The Day of Atonement. I am in no way saying that Christ was almost thrust down the cliff exactly on the Day of Atonement, but it was definitely close in proximity to this all important day, and the event itself definitely alluded to Him being the Atonement Sacrifice for all of us. As we repent for our own sins through fasting, let us remember the sacrifice that was made for our iniquities, transgressions and sins – our Saviour and Lord – Yeshua Ha Maschiach (Jesus the Messiah).

2017 Calendar with Biblical Appointed Feast Days, New Moons and Torah Portions – Download

For the past few years, as I learned about God’s Feast Days/ Appointed Times, it has always been a struggle to keep track of His Holy Days. As the world works on the Gregorian Calendar it is impractical to discard it altogether. But on the other hand, keeping track of God’s Calendar timings is important to me now, more than ever. With all the technology in the world, keeping it noted down in your phone or computer becomes the norm – although there’s nothing like a printed version you can stick on a wall or fridge. After looking around for quite some time, I decided on creating such a calendar myself this year, so that whoever needs it, is able to simply download and print it out; or keep it in their computer for reference. Download for free using link at bottom of page. Click the image below for an enlarged preview.

Now I will be the first to admit that the highlighted days are only approximations, and can change drastically depending on the New Moon Sightings and the Aviv Search. I am well aware that there are differing opinions on how the Biblical Calendar is interpreted – and this is meant to be a helpful guide and something that brings us together rather than cause division. I hope that it will also be helpful to all of you with your Sabbath studies as well.

– DOWNLOAD –

(6.77MB PDF FILE)

Contents:
♦ 12 Month Gregorian Calendar
♦ Calendar Week with Sabbath as 7th day
♦ Weekly Torah Portions with additional reading of Prophets and Gospels
♦ New Moon Days/Months marked (maybe off by 1 day – please correct if so)
♦ Passover*
♦ Week of Unleavened Bread*
♦ Firstfruits*
♦ Pentecost with 50 day count*
♦ Trumpets*
♦ Atonement*
♦ Week of Tabernacles with 8th Day*
♦ Special/High Sabbaths
♦ Condensed studies on the Biblical Calendar and other topics
Please note that Purim, Chanukkah and other traditional holy days are not marked
* These could be off by a day or a whole month according to moon sightings and the aviv search

Instructions:
♦ Simply download and print it on your home printer or at a 3rd party vendor such as Snapfish, Kodak Gallery, Walgreen, Walmart, Target, CVS, etc.
♦ Pages are designed to be printed on A3 white paper, but can be fitted onto A4 Paper using print properties, if needed.
♦ Let me know if you need any further help

Be a blessing to everyone around you, this coming year!

Historical Proof that Saturday is the Sabbath

Most of us have been taught that the Sabbath Day has been changed/moved to Sunday or that it is impossible to know the correct day which was kept as the Sabbath, even in the time of Christ. Even though there is no Scriptural or Historical proof to backup the theory that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday, by Christ or any of the Disciples, this is not what we hope to examine in this study.

This post provides 3 clear witnesses, as evidence to prove that the “Sabbath” day in the New Testament is in fact the day which is presently known as “Saturday”. The facts will be laid out for every discerning student of the Scriptures, to examine for themselves. Can history prove that the day we now call “Saturday” is the same day which was observed by Christ and His Disciples as the “Sabbath”? Let us examine the evidence.

Paul, in his first letter to Timothy writes “Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses”(1Ti 5:19) quoting a Law on judging people which was taken from the Old Testament(Deut 19:15). Similarly, we will also provide 3 witnesses to make the case that the word “Sabbath” was in fact the day which is known as “Saturday”. We sincerely hope that you will hear the facts from the 3 witnesses and decide for yourself, what verdict should be given.

Calling of Witnesses

Witness #1
A Roman historian named Cassius Dio who wrote about Roman History, gives an account of Wars waged between Rome & Judea. In it he explains the capture of Jerusalem in 63BC saying “As it was, they made an exception of what are called the days of Saturn, and by doing no work at all on those days afforded the Romans an opportunity in this interval to batter down the wall. The latter, on learning of this superstitious awe of theirs, made no serious attempts the rest of the time, but on those days, when they came round in succession, assaulted most vigorously.  Thus the defenders were captured on the day of Saturn, without making any defense, and all the wealth was plundered”. Cassius wrote that the Romans who learned that the Jews rested on the Days of Saturn (Saturday which was known as Saturn’s Day in Rome), attacked the Jerusalem stronghold on those days. These words also tally with the writings of Josephus, showing us that Saturn’s Day in Rome coincided with the day kept as the Sabbath by the Jews, even in the 1st Century BC.
Reference – Cassius Dio – Roman History 37.16.1-4 [A]

Witness #2
A Roman Soldier named Frontinus in his book named Strategems writes the account of the destruction of the 2nd temple in Jerusalem in 70AD, saying “The divine Vespasian attacked the Jews on the days of Saturn, on which it is forbidden for them to do anything serious, and prevailed.” Similar to the words of the historian Cassius Dio, this Roman soldier equated the day of rest (Sabbath) of the Jews to the Day of Saturn (Saturday which was known as Saturn’s Day in Rome). This account of Vespasian (also known as Titus) attacking Jerusalem on Sabbath days, tallies with the account seen in the Historical works of Josephus as well.
Reference – Frontinus – The Stratagems 2.1.17. [B]

Witness #3

The meaning of the Greek word Sabbaton (G4521) alongside all the occurrences in the New Testament

The Greek Language and the ancient Manuscripts of the New Testament also give evidence of the connection between the word “Sabbath” and the day which has been named “Saturday”. The Greek word “Sabbaton”(Strong’s Greek Concordance – G4521 – σάββατον) used in the Original Greek Manuscripts of the New Testament which is translated as “Sabbath” in English, is the same word that is used for “Saturday” in the Greek language even today. In other words, the day which is known to us as “Saturday”, is called “Sabbato” (σάββατο) by the Greeks even today. This is a remarkable piece of evidence which has survived almost untouched to our very present age, making “Sabbath” and “Saturday” one in the same. A person who is unsure about this fact can look at any Greek-English Dictionary to seek further verification. The easiest tool to translate English into Greek that anyone could use would be Google Translate, as seen in the thumbnail to your right. This goes to prove that wherever we see the word “Sabbath” in our New Testament English translations, it originally meant a particular day (which is proven to be none other than what we know as “Saturday” today.
Reference – Strong’s Greek Concordance & Dictionary [C]

Objections

Some bring objections against the above witnesses by arguing that one of the major calendar changes in history would have also affected the “Saturday Sabbath”. We need to consider this valid objection and see whether it holds true. This piece of evidence that is brought against our 3 witnesses is the “Julian to Gregorian calendar change”.

The Julian calendar was instituted in 46BC by Julius Caesar and was the most widely used calendar in Rome, making this the calendar which the Romans would have used in the time of Christ and subsequently His disciples.

The Gregorian calendar which is the civil calendar used by the whole world today, was put into effect in 1582AD by Pope Gregory XIII. Pope Gregory’s Calendar effectively skipped a few days, when this change was made to the Julian calendar in 1582. This is what most who object bring as a witness to say that the “Saturday Sabbath” would have for sure changed with this change that was done to the calendar system.

What most people do not understand is that the amount of days dropped from the Julian Calendar, when it was changed to the Gregorian calendar, did not in anyway effect the 7 day week. In other words, even though 10 days were removed from the calendar, it did not effect the individual days (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.). An example is given in the above thumbnail which indicates this change of Calendars that was put into effect in 1752 in the UK. Note how the removal of days do not effect the 7 day week. (Please refer this link for more information on this subject)

Closing Argument

The testimony of the 3 witnesses makes it very clear that the Day which is known today as “Saturday” is none other than the “Sabbath” mentioned in the New Testament. The “Day of Saturn” or “Satur-day” was the day known by the Romans to be the same day as what was observed by the Jews as the Sabbath. The Greek word “Sabbaton” is the unmistakable proof that the word “Sabbath” in the New Testament, is in fact “Saturday”.

Through reading the New Testament alone, we know that the Pharisees disagreed on how Yeshua observed the Sabbath, but there were no arguments made against the day that was observed by Christ. This makes it clear that the same day that Christ kept in accordance to God’s 4th commandment (Mark 1:21, 6:2, Luke 4:16, 13:10) was the day which was widely observed by the Jews as the “Sabbath”.  This is also the same day that the disciples including Paul observed (Luke 23:56, Act 13:14, 15:21, 17:2, 18:4).

If Yeshua(Jesus’ true name) also kept God’s rest day on “Saturday”, it would be highly unlikely that the “Sabbath” instituted and instructed by God Almighty could be any other day. And because the 7 day week has not been effected in anyway for the past 2000 years, the “Saturday Sabbath” also has not been exposed to any change, making each “Saturday” the “Sabbath” day, instituted by our Heavenly Father and followed by Christ and His disciples. It is upto each of us to look at the provided evidence and make a judgement for ourselves. Whether we believe the Sabbath is “Saturday” as the witnesses suggest, or whether we refuse it, is completely in our own hands.

—————————————————————————————-
[A] Pg 75, Jesus in Context: Background Readings for Gospel Study – edited by Darrell L. Bock, Gregory J. Herrick
[B] Pg 97, Sunday in Roman Paganism – By Robert Leo Odom
[C] Pg 1154, Main Concordance & Pg 79, Greek Dictionary of the New Testament – The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nelson’s KJV) – James Strong
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What is the Biblical Day, Week, Month, Year? and does it really matter?

Questions are often raised regarding the Biblical Day, Week, Month & Year, while some even regard it worthless. The internationally accepted calendar system(known as the Gregorian Calendar) which is in use today, is not the same as the Biblical Calendar. When God created the Sun and the Moon, it was for the benefit of His creation to know His Appointed times and also the divisions of days and years as He set it to be.

Let us examine the Scriptures and find out the Day/Week/Month/Year which is Biblically accurate, and study the differences and similarities of the Standard Gregorian Calendar which is in use today, to the Biblical Calendar instituted by God.

————————————————– DAY —————————————————

Differences/Similarities between the Gregorian Day/Biblical Day
The Standard Calendar Day is calculated from Midnight to Midnight, while the Biblical day is from one Sunset to the next. The Biblical Day and Gregorian Day both seem to agree on the division of the day into a 24 Hour period. One could think that it’s strange to calculate a 24 hour day from one evening to the next. It actually is not that strange, when you think of the Gregorian day, which is calculated from one Midnight to the next. In the case of the Biblical Day, it starts with the Sunset, while the Gregorian Day starts in between the Sunset and the Sunrise.

The Biblical Day
♦ The Biblical day was divided into 12 Hours/Parts of Daytime (John 11:9) and presumably 12 Hours/Parts of Night (Mat 20:6)
♦ The Biblical day starts at Sundown
→ God’s Prophetic Appointments were to be from evening to evening [Sundown to Sundown] (Exo 12:18, Lev 23:32).
→ Nehemiah orders the Gates of Jerusalem to be closed when it was getting dark, denoting the sabbath started at evening (Neh 13:19)
→ The laws of uncleanness denotes that a person who becomes unclean because of a reason such as coming to contact with a carcass will be unclean till evening. If the person becomes unclean at night, he/she is unclean till the next evening (Lev 11:24,25, Deut 11:23)
→ A person who is put to death was supposed to be buried before the evening (Deut 21:22,23, Jos 8:28, 10:26,27)
→ Samson asks a riddle that needed to be answered within 7 days. The philistines answer him before the eve of the seventh day, denoting the end of the day was at sunset (Judg 14:12,18)
→ The sabbath was about to start when Yeshua was taken down from the cross in the eve (Luk 23:54, Joh 19:31)

————————————————– WEEK —————————————————

Differences/Similarities between the Gregorian Week/Biblical Week
Both the Gregorian and Biblical Calendar weeks consists of 7 days. In ancient times, some cultures have had weeks which contained differing number of days and some cultures still use these today. Even though the number of days in a week, is equal in both Calendars, the day numbers vary. (Eg: Most European countries consider Monday as the first day of the week, while many Middle-East countries consider Saturday as the first day)

The Biblical Week
♦ The Biblical Week has seven days
→ God’s creation took 6 days and a 7th day of rest, so that the week contains 7 days (Exo 20:9-11)
→ The feast of Weeks (Pentecost – which means 50 days) was to be celebrated by counting 7 weeks (Lev23:15,16, Deut 16:9,10)
→ The number seven is connected to the word “week” in the Scriptures (Gen29:27)
♦ The days in the Biblical week did not have names such as “Monday, Tuesday, etc.” The days in the Biblical week were numbered as 1st Day, 2nd Day, 3rd Day, 4th Day, 5th Day, 6th Day & the 7th Day which was known as the Sabbath. (Exo 16:5,22, Exo 20:11, Joh 2:1)
♦ The 7th Day in the Biblical Calendar is the day corresponding with Friday Eve/Sunset to Saturday Eve/Sunset in the Gregorian Calendar.
→ The Greek word used for the “Sabbath” in the Original Manuscripts of the New Testament  “sabbato” is the same name used for Saturday in Greek even today! In other words ; In Greece, the day which is called “Saturday” is still called “Sabbato” – the same word which is in the Original Greek New Testament Manuscripts which is translated as “Sabbath” in English.
→ Look at the similarities in the names used for Saturday in other Languages and “Sabbath” – Arabic: Sabet, Armenian: Shabat, Bosnian: Subota, Bulgarian: Sabota, Corsican: Sàbatu, Croatian: Subota, Czech: Sobota, Greek: Sabbato, Indonesian: Sabtu, Italian: Sabato, Latin: Sabbatum, Polish: Sobota, Portuguese: Sábado, Russian: Subbota, Serbian: Subota, Slovak: Sobota, Slovene: Sobota, Somali: Sabti, Spanish: Sabado, Sudanese: Saptu, Ukrainian: Subota
→ The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed. vol. 4, p. 988, tells us: The week is a period of seven days, having no reference whatever to the celestial motions — a circumstance to which it owes its unalterable uniformity… It has been employed from time immemorial in almost all eastern countries. The Hebrew people spoke of the days of the week by number rather than by name. The only day that had a name was the seventh day which was called Shabat, the Sabbath, or the rest day. In at least 108 different languages the name for the seventh day, corresponding to our “Saturday”, is a word meaning “rest day.”
→ Some point out the Calendar changes in history makes it impossible to know the actual day of the Sabbath. This theory is inaccurate. The change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian Calendar, has had no effect whatsoever upon the order of the days of the week. (click here for details on this calendar change). Because of this, the Calendar changes has had no effect towards Saturday which is still the same day Yeshua celebrated the Sabbath on.

————————————————– MONTH —————————————————

Differences/Similarities between the Gregorian Month/Biblical Month
The Gregorian Calendar system has no reason for a Month to be 28,29,30 or 31 days. This system was a main characteristic of the Gregorian Calendar, and was done so that the days of the year would equal to 365 days. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the Biblical Calendar depends on the Moon to calculate the beginning of the month. A complete revolution of the Moon is considered a Month in the Biblical Calendar. Science determines that a Moon revolution lasts roughly about 29.5 days, and because of this reason, a Biblical Month lasts 29 or 30 days.

The Biblical Month
♦ The Biblical Month is connected to the Moon in Scripture
→ 1Ki 8:2  And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month(H3391-ירח- yerach-month) Ethanim, which is the seventh month(H2320-חדשׁ-chôdesh-new moon). The 2 Hebrew words translated as Month in our English Versions are “Yerah” and “Kodesh”. “Yerah” means Month, while “Kodesh” means New Moon. See 1Kin 6:38 as well.
→ Gen 29:14 & Num 11:20,21 contains “space of” or “whole” month, using the Hebrew word “Khodesh” while 2Kin 15:13 & Deut 21:13 contains “full” month, using the Hebrew word “Yerah”. Both these words are clearly connected, showing the relation of Moon to Month, Biblically.
♦ The New Month, or the first day of the Month is proclaimed when there is a New Moon which is identified by the first visible sliver of the Moon.
→ The New Moon(Kodesh) is mentioned as a “particular day” in 1Sam 20:5,18, 2Kin 4:23, Eze 46:1,6 indicating that it was a day which was proclaimed in some way.
→ The word Hodesh originates from a Hebrew word called H2318-חדשׁ-châdash which means “new”, “to make new” or “renew”. The moon itself is not renewed, but with the Lunar cycle, the light of the Moon increases, becomes full, decreases and goes dark. And it is again renewed, and the cycle continues. In this way, when the first sliver of light is seen on the Moon, the beginning of the month is proclaimed.
→ Some hold to the belief that the Conjunction (Full dark Moon) is the New Moon as per Modern Astronomy. This is hard to believe, as the people in ancient times would not have been able to accurately know the day of Conjunction as the Moon can stay dark for more than 2 days
♦ Much like the sun indicates the beginning of a day, the Moon indicates the beginning of the Biblical Month. Even an uneducated person could have understood when the New Month begins, just by looking up at the sky, with this sign that God created in the Heavens.

————————————————– YEAR —————————————————

Differences/Similarities between the Gregorian Year/Biblical Year
The Gregorian Calendar system calculates a year by counting 365 days (366 days in a leap year) which is the time it takes for the earth to finish a revolution around the Sun, hence it is known as a Solar Calendar. The Biblical Calendar on the other hand, depends on the Sun and Moon both to calculate the beginning of the Year, hence being known as a Luni-Solar Calendar. Even though January 1st is regarded the day of the New Year in the Gregorian Calendar (Roman Consuls in the time of the Roman Empire, as far back as 153BC, first entered office on January 1st), The Biblical Calendar is determined completely differently.

The Biblical Year
♦ The Biblical Year began with the New Moon when the Barley Harvest was in the stage of ripening which was called “Abib” in the Scriptures. The period between Biblical New Years have 12 or 13 months or New Moons.
→ The month of the Abib is called the first month in Scripture (Exo 12:2, 13:4, 34:18)
→ Abib is a state of ripening in Grains. Exo 9:31,32 And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear(Abib), and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up. (H24 – אביב – aw-beeb’ – A state of ripening)
→ Abib is the state which is, in between the stage of green colour ripening grain and completely ripe golden streaks of grain. It is the stage when the grain is a light yellowish colour.
→ The Month of Abib is also known as Nisan in the Scriptures (Est 3:7, Neh 2:1)
→ The Month of Abib is usually the month that the Spring/Vernal Equinox happens
♦ To this day, the Karaite Jews in Israel engage themselves in an exercise called the Abib Search to ascertain whether the First Month can be proclaimed. This way, when the Grain is Abib and the Sliver of the New Moon appears in the Sky, the First Biblical Month is proclaimed.

Conclusion
One could ask whether knowing the “Biblically Accurate” dates, really matter? Or whether there is any value in understanding and studying these things and knowing both the similarities and differences in our Standard Calendar and the Biblical Calendar? When God says 7th Day, He means the 7th Day and no other Day. When He says the 1st Month, He means the 1st Month and no other month. Jeroboam the 1st King of the Divided Kingdom of Israel, did just this. He instituted a Feast on the 8th Month, which was like God’s Feast, when God had specifically told people to celebrate the Feast on the 7th Month (1Kin 12:32,33).

As Messiah Yeshua quoted from the Book of Isaiah, saying “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men (Isa 29:13/Mat 15:8,9). It is my belief that it is better to follow God, than man. It is better to follow God’s Word, than any man’s word. And it is better to follow God’s Calendar, than any man made calendar.

I am in no way saying, that we should throw the Gregorian Calendar away, as it is recognized as the standard amongst the whole world. But I am saying that all of us need to learn God’s Calendar and use His days and His ways to worship, honor and draw close to Him. The lack of knowledge of His calendar has led to so many misunderstandings and mistakes in our walk with Him. His Appointed Times/Feast all depend on His Calendar. This is the same Prophetic Calendar which Yeshua used and fulfilled by His Death(Passover), His Resurrection(Firstfruits) and Giving of the Holy Spirit(Pentecost). It is time to mend our ways and come back to Him. Are we really too technologically advanced to adhere to His Calendar by lifting up our eyes to the Sun and the Moon that He created?