EXPOSING false Gregorian calendar!

 Everyman’s Sunday sungod in American religion

The Julian/Gregorian Calendar; Paganism in the roots of the Church

I send this updated article out every year since 2001 at this time of the upcoming pagan sungod birthday festival of the winter solstice, December 25th, which is called generally today by Christians, “XMAS” or “Christ-mas” [“Mas”, death of (Latin), and “Christ”, ‘Christos’, the generic Greek name of the sun deities on Mount Olympus, “the anointed one”], which model Tammuz and Nimrod, the model sungods of world paganism.

I also send it out before Easter, the sungoddess holiday in the spring equinox timeframe. “EASTER” [EAOSTRE/ISHTAR] which is the 100% pagan holiday that the Christian Church clings too tenaciously, while also throwing out ALL of the Biblical Spring Feasts of Almighty God, including Yeshua’s Passover [Pesach], the Feast of unleavened Bread and the all important First Fruits of Resurrection occurring 3 days after Passover. 

Yeshua, our Savior, even under any other name or assigned Christian made up title such as the Catholic title of “Christ” or the KJV “Jesus” was never in Christmas or Easter, so why worry about it or try to shove him and his Holy Fall Feast of Tabernacles birth [not December 25th] into a sungod, heathen holiday or tie him and His Spring Resurrection to a bare breasted sungoddess spring festival? It makes no sense at all and it is nonsense for Christians to mix the Holy things of YHWH God with pagan things dedicated to Satan’s kingdom and then to celebrate the mixture as ‘harmless’ or Christianized. Celebrate the secular midwinter solstice holiday and Easter if you wish, but do not tie them to Almighty God or to Yeshua/Jesus. That is wrong and it denigrates the Bible, God’s Word.  Do not say, “That is not what it means to me”. It does not matter to Yeshua or YHWH God what it means to you if you use that tired excuse for disobedience to the Word of God. Your worldview must line up with scripture if you are to follow the Savior at all. “This is the Way, walk ye in it”, says the Almighty. See my article on Yeshua/Jesus real birthday at the Feast of Tabernacles on my WordPress website.

Deuteronomy 12:28-32 says:

“Shomer [Obey] and hear all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you, and with your children after you le-olam-va-ed [forever], when you do that which is tov [good] and right in the sight of Yahweh your Elohim. When Yahweh your Elohim shall cut off the nations from before you, that you are going to possess, and you dispossess them, and dwell in their land; Guard yourself that you are not ensnared by following them, after they are destroyed from before you; and that you inquire not after their elohim, saying, how did these nations serve their elohim? Even so will I do too. You shall not do so to Yahweh your Elohim: for every abomination to Yahweh, that He hates, have they done to their elohim; for even their sons and their daughters they have burned in the fire to their [prosperity] elohim. Whatever I am commanding you, shomer [take care] to do it: you shall not add to it, nor take away from it [the Word].”

First of all, this examination of the Biblical Hebraic Roots of Christianity and its applicability to today’s Church systems is not an attack on either true Christianity or Christians in this 21st Century of the “Christian era”, but it is a course correction out of the shipwrecking rocks and shoals of error and illusions. Those who would take offense without consideration of the teachings given here should not fall into the same snare that Judah fell into when confronted with Jeremiahs proclaiming what YHWH told him to say to the people chosen by Yahweh to bear His Name. That snare which is called by Yahweh, “Lashan Hara” or the evil tongue; speaking slander and vilification against the messenger rather than considering the message that YHWH wanted the Prophet to convey to them.

This is an examination of the Pagan, Roman Catholic Gregorian Calendar used universally by Protestant Christianity today in place of Yahweh’s Calendar from the Bible. Some may consider that I am being cruel to fellow believers in Jesus/Yeshua, but I am really not writing this from any animosity whatsoever. I, exhorting as a Bar-Naba, hate lies and deception. I desire above all else to free my brothers and sisters from the “traditions of men, which put the things of the Almighty God to naught” in the minds of his children. The Scripture is true in its entirety and provides our only light. The lies of the clerics provide only darkness and have always done so.

2 Kefa (Peter), chapter 3:

 “And consider the long patience of our Master as salvation; even as our beloved brother Sha’ul (Paul) also according to the chochmah (wisdom) given to him has written to you; As also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things; in which some things are hard to understand, which they that are unlearned and unstable twist, as they do also the other Keetvay HaKodesh (Holy Scriptures), to their own destruction (and their students confusion). You then, beloved ones, seeing you know these things beforehand (from your youth), beware lest you also, being led away with the delusion of Torah-less-ness (lawlessness), fall from your ownsteadfastness. But grow in favor and in the da’at (grace) of our Master and Savior Yeshua ha Moshiach. To Him be tifereth (glory) both now and le-olam-va-ed (forever). Omein.”

In my reading and studying of the Hebrew Scriptures, I have yet to find one place that requires us to submit to any authority of those that:

1) Add to, delete from or change the teachings of Yahweh’s written Torah and:

2)    Refer to the Law given to Moshe (Moses), not as an authoritative code of instruction and teaching of believers; but as a mere “source of law” for the purpose of deriving and enacting new laws such as Ecclesiastical or Rabbinical Oral Enactments, Takanot and Ma’asim.

Furthermore, I have yet to find one written Scriptural source (written Torah/Tanach and the written Gospels/Renewed Covenant) that says that we can only receive the Spirit of Elohim (Holy Spirit) on condition that we live according to the exacting standards of Pharisaic or Denominational Takanotand Geserot (decrees, regulations, doctrines and prohibitions added to Moses written words) and Ma’asim (Precedents of the Rabbis and Church Denominations).

The Pagan Calendar in use on the Roman Catholic continent of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea lands during the “Dark Ages” was called the Julian calendar and was created by that famous pagan, sun worshiping Roman dictator, Julius Caesar; a devotee of Sol Invicta Mithras and also Jupiter, the Roman Solar deities. This calendar received the blessings of all the Roman Catholic Popes and their pagan church until it was mathematically “corrected” during the reign of Pope Gregory in 1585. The changes were mathematical and minimal in scope and encompassed the additional “changing of days and seasons” in defiance of scripture. The Pagan prosperity sungod names that Julius Caesar gave to days, weeks and months remained intact by Pope Gregory and will be discussed later in this article. These calendars worked well for the Anti-Israel and Anti-nomian, sun worshiping Babylonian Papal system, which had successfully divorced the Christian church from its Hebrew roots and created a new man made religion called Catholicism [Universal, they hoped]. This religion followed Babylon and is correctly named, “The Second Babylon”.  Read Alexander Hyslop’s book of the same name, published in the 1850’s. It is excellent and correctly describes Christianity’s descent into Entropy and semi-paganism.

Yahweh God gave Moses in the Torah books, a perfect, Heavenly based calendar spelled out in detail in the Holy Torah as the eternal pattern written with the finger of Yahweh Elohim on Mount Horev; the true mountain of the Testimony. The New Year began at the new moon of the month of Aviv and the spring “Aviv Barley” in Israel before the spring equinox and was delineated in minute detail with many examples throughout Scripture. You, if you do not understand the Calendar of YHWH God, you will also never understand the Bible, and will never understand Bible Prophecy or the Gospel correctly. The Almighty does not like, nor does he comply with Pagan Calendars; but only his own Holy Calendar that began at Creation in Genesis 1:1! 

Exodus 12: 2: “This month [Aviv] shall be for you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year for you.”

For 3500 plus years or so after the Holy Mountain of YHWH God experience, the true descendants of Avraham, called Israel and not “Jews”, began their scriptural year at the new moon in accordance with scripture, starting at the spring Month of Aviv that is ordained by Yahweh God and then followed it by the great feast of Pesach [Passover] on the 14th of Aviv as indicated in Leviticus chapter 23, which is the listing of Yahweh’s annual, Memorial times and seasons. It is worth noting here that these are Yahweh’s eternal feasts; and not “Jewish” feasts from Judaism’s modern calculated Calendar of the 2nd Century CE. They are not even the “times and seasons of Moses law”, but they are Yahweh God’s Holy, everlasting Commandments ordained within the scope of HIS Eternal CALENDAR!

The true descendants of the two houses of Israel still obey these Holy Commands and the Holy types and patterns leading unto Yeshua, our Messiah, that they represent.

Papal, Catholic, pagan Rome adopted the pagan sungod calendar of her predecessor and mentor, Caesar’s Imperial Rome. Julius Caesar got his calendar from the pagan religions of both the Eastern and Western sun worshiping religions of his ancestors. Roman Catholicism viciously attacked all who kept the Scriptural calendar and slaughtered millions of Jews and true Christians who followed Yahweh’s ancient ways. She insisted on controlling the calendar and ordered all to adopt her corrupt computations. The results were predictable. By the year 1582 the Julian calendar was off by 11 days and began to be embarrassing to the “fisherman, lord god, the pope”. Pope Gregory XIII then called on his own church version of the “Gestapo”, the Jesuits for a fix. They then provided a Jesuit, Christopher Clavius, S.J, who became the architect of the Gregorian calendar! This heathen was a German Jesuit mathematician and “pseudo astronomer” and became the main engine of the modern Gregorian calendar used by Christianity today. With this Jesuit calendar, came also the Jesuit astronomy or, as is known today, the “heliocentric universe”. With his introduction of the new Catholic calendar, Pope Gregory XIII demonstrated to the world that the changing of “times and seasons” is centered in Rome, and not on Scripture and certainly not centered on the Holy One of Israel. This was an interesting “trick” and was probably related to countering the Protestant reformation, which was going on in Europe at the time. The protestors failed to protest or counter this change and the Christian Church remains ignorant of it to this present day! As most of the other calendars in the world attest, the Popes usually adjust the calendar to the particular god of each nation/religion. Pope Gregory has clearly demonstrated that his god was and is the Catholic sungod in the sky, and it is not centered on Yeshua, the Son of Yahweh, and Savior of mankind.

The idea that Christians chose to celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25 December because this was the date of an already existing festival of Sol Invictus Mithra was expressed in an annotation to a manuscript of a work by 12th-century Syrian bishop Jacob Bar-Salibi. The scribe who added it wrote: “It was a custom of the Pagans to celebrate on the same 25 December the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity. In these solemnities and revelries the Christians also took part. Accordingly when the doctors of the Church perceived that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be solemnized on that day.”

The Gregorian calendar was accepted in England and her colonies by an act of Parliament in 1752! Russia would not accept this Roman calendar until the Communist revolution in the early 20th century.

Protestants in early America used to recognize that Solar phenomena have no particular bearing on standard Christian practice, but now have fallen to the point that, on Easter morning [a pagan goddess, Ishtar/Semiramis, festival]; they go to the cemetery and face the rising sun in worship, not recognizing that they are following the ancient heathen worship of Semiramis/Mary, the “queen of heaven”! It is easy to deceive the unlearned or mistaught as Yahweh showed Ezekiel and Jeremiah.

The Gregorian calendar is named for an infamous persecutor and killer of Protestant Christians and Jews, most notably, the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572; Pope Gregory XIII.

The Holy One of Israel gave a name ONLY to the 7th day of the week, which He called Shabbat [Sabbath]; the only day of the seven-day week that He designated as a Holy day of rest. The other 6 days, He numbered 1 through 6, [Exodus 20:11, Deuteronomy 5:12-14; etc]. He also designated as His Appointed Times, the seven Annual Feasts of YHWH and no other feast, to be observed in perpetuity by all of his people, Israel and including those grafted into Israel. Read Romans 9, 10 and 11 to get a glimmer of how you are seen by Yeshua.

Rebellious pagan Men gave names to all 7 days of the week and the months of the year, which they named after PAGAN deities. The deities of the week are symbols equivalent to the sun, moon and 5 major planets. The months of the year are named after the PAGAN Sungods of Rome, Greece, Ireland, Scandinavia and other European Nations, including Germany. Roman numbers designates some months for the months 7,8,9 and 10, September, October, November and December.

The word PAGAN [a Gentile] means a heathen; one who is not a Hebrew, Nazarene or even a true Christian. One cannot be “A Gentile saved by faith” This is FALSE and ignorant at best! You can only be one or the other, and you cannot be both, that is; you are a FORMER Gentile.

The terms Pagan, Gentile and heathen specifically refer to one or all of the ancient polytheistic peoples, especially the Greeks, Romans and the Muslim descendants of Edom in particular. Heathen is applicable to all idolaters and worshipers of false, twisted gods.

The Biblical day always begins at sunset as defined at creation in Genesis, while the Gregorian Catholic day begins at midnight, which figures because that hour is called in history as the “witching hour”. Go figure!

The following descriptives contain some mind-blowing facts that you never knew before and that may be damaging to your former complacency on these matters!

Now we will define each day of the week:

1] Day 1 is called as such by Yahweh. It is called by pagans as SUN-DAY; so named for the “day of the venerable sun”. The sungod, “Sol Invicta” is called Nimrod, Tammuz, Ra, Osiris, Helios, Apollo, Ogmios, Mithra, Zeus, Jupiter, St. Elias and many more, but you get the idea. Christians worship on this sun-day, thus obeying the edict of the first Pope, Emperor Constantine Ist, given in 321 C.E., which changed the scriptural Sabbath from the 7th day to the 1st day of the week, SUBDAY. No Scripture exists requiring this change, but Scripture is twisted unmercifully to try to justify this pagan practice. The Sunday symbol is the solar disc or the solar disc in the center of the cross of Mithra, which is the symbol of the Roman Legions sungod, Mithras. Rome murdered millions of true, Messianic believers and Jews on this Roman sungod cross. The Medieval horizontal “Rack” of the Catholic Inquisition was a variation on the Cross of Crucifixion adopted by Rome to kill freedom lovers and Jews. Roman Catholicism, along with Islam, together, is the longest-lived murder cults on planet Earth!

 2] Day2 is called as such by Yahweh. Pagans call it MON-DAY in honor of the Moon goddess, personified as Selene, Semiramis, Luna and Mani among others. The symbol is the crescent Moon. Islam worships this god as Allah, the Moongod of Islam and the Curse [Strongs H#421-423] of everyone else.

3] Day 3 is called as such by Yahweh. Pagans call it TUES-DAY in honor of the demonic force [the Force] of power, energy and endurance personified as Ares, Tiwas, Tiw, Tuisco and Tyr among others. The symbol of this wargod is the red planet Mars.

4] Day 4 is called as such by Yahweh. Pagans call it WEDNES-DAY in honor of the demonic spirit of Gnostic knowledge and wisdom, personified as Woden, Odin and Hermes. The symbol of this false oracle is the planet Mercury.

5] Day 5 is called as such by Yahweh. Pagans call it THURS-DAY in honor of the idol of Thunder, personified as Thunor [Thor]. Other names for him are Zeus, Taranis, Perun, Perkunis and St. Olaf among others. The symbol of this sungod is the planet Jupiter.

6] Day 6 is called as such by Yahweh. Pagans call it FRI-DAY worshiping the goddess of sexual love, Frigga. The symbol is Venus. Muslims worship this day as their sabbath but do not exhibit love as westerners know it, but only love death which is dedicated to their idol, Allah; which means “the CURSE” in Hebrew, [Strongs concordance #H421-423].

7] THE Holy and Eternal 7th Day SABBATH is called by YHWH God the SHABBAT, and it is called by men as Saturday, the day of Saturnalia after the worship of the sungod Saturn and it is designated by pig/pork eating as worship, pagan feasting on forbidden garbage eating animal foods and the committing of sexual sins, including Homosexuality, bisexuality, animal sex, pedophilia, rape and the worship of Nimrods penis in all of its pagan forms. Obelisques are towers representing Nimrods erect, uncircumcised penis, including the one centered in Washington, DC. It is dedicated to George Washington, a 33rd Degree Mason and worshiper of the Masonic Temple’s many sungod’s. Groves, Wiccan Circles, prostitute temples worldwide, pornography, Homosexual baths, massage parlors, gentlemen’s clubs, drinking and drugs are but a few of the rotten fruits of this pagan and rebellious substitute day. Christians shop, work, drink, eat Biblically forbidden foods and watch pagan games and Hollywood “R” rated entertainments on YHWH God’s Holy Day. They condemn themselves to the lake of fire for doing such defiant abominations.

The months of the pagan year in the Gregorian calendar; when they are set against the Scriptural months, in this list beginning roughly with the Bibles first month of AVIV in the spring; read as follows with their deities defined:

4] April = Aphrodite. A pagan Greek sexual fertility spring goddess, who is also called the Roman goddess, Venus. The Anglo-Saxon name for this month is Eastermonath, the month of the goddess EOSTRE/Ishtar whose name is the origin of the word EASTER. April is named in honor of her. Even Christians celebrate Easter instead of Passover and they are ignorantly worshiping Semiramis or Ishtar, a satanic goddess idol!

5] May = Maia, the Greek goddess of spring, identified with the goddess of fertility, Bona-Dea. She is included with April as a spring goddess of fertility to cover all Passover eventualities with pagan festivities. Mayday is the day of little schoolgirls worshiping Nimrods penis by dancing around the “Maypole” of Nimrod and garlanding it with flowers as a preparation for later demonically led sexual activity. I saw this display of American schoolteacher ignorance as an ignorant young gradeschool boy on school playground equipment poles. IT IS SICK!

6] June = Juno; another goddess and wife of Jupiter; this time it is a Roman demon who is also known as the Greek goddess, Hera. Her chief claim to fame is as another “queen of heaven” and as a divine “watcher” over the female sex. This ties in with the month of June as being the most auspicious time for marriage in America.

7] July = Julius. Julius Caesar; the Emperor of Rome and self-proclaimed sungod; the creator of the Julian calendar who proclaimed his own deity prior to being ventilated by many knives by some disgruntled senators. So much for proclaiming, “man is god”.

8] August = Augustus. Named after the [guess who], the Roman Emperor, Augustus Caesar; another ultimate politician and Obamanation.

9] September, the 7th month of the Biblical year [Sept] = Pomona; Named after the Roman goddess of fruit and fruit bearing trees. Wine, anyone?

10] October, the 8th month of the Biblical year [Oct] = Astraea, a Greek goddess. The Latin word Octber means eighth, so how did eighth become tenth? The Middle English word is Octobre, meaning a time to brew English/German Ale, called “Oktoberfest”.

11] November, the 9th month of the Biblical year [Nov] = Samhain. The name comes from the Catholic “All Saints day”, but the festival is really a Samhain [Satan] festival; known as Halloween, a celebration of devils.

12] December, the 10th month of the Biblical year [Dec] = Decima/Vesta. This is the middle goddess of the three fates and the Middle English spelling is Decembre. The Latin word is from decem meaning 10th. So why is the Catholic Calendar calling it the 12th month? Well, my confused American Christian friend, it is to sneak in “Christmas” with its lies so you will celebrate the Winter Solstice with the Wiccans and other pagans, who laugh at your naivete.

1] January = Janus, the two faced demonic god of endings, doors, theater and beginnings. The pagan new year is celebrated in January. The only “door” [dalet] that I recognize is the Holy One of Israel, Yeshua Ha Moshiach!

2] February = Februa, the Roman goddess of passion, death, purification and sex. Her orgiastic rites are celebrated on the 14th of February, St. Valentine’s Day. Send someone a valentine and participate in this feast of Wiccan, pagan lust. In the middle ages, one sent a Valentine such that a demon of lust would inhabit the recipient person you wished to have sex with. The demon is still present, but Americans are mostly ignorant of this evil intentioned root. Or are they?

3] March = Mars, the Roman god of war, known in Greece as Ares and by the Nordic Vikings as Odin. This month in early spring was considered a good time to start a war. Check your history on this one. For instance, when a squad leader wishes his troops to move out, what word does he use to get them going? Yes, you guessed it. MARCH!

The modern Protestant Christian Churches; in their zeal to accept and incorporate these pagan deities into their doctrines, holy days, holidays and ecclesiastical dogma, throw out and dispense with entire books of the Bible, notably the first 5 books of the Torah {Pentateuch] of YHWH God, to their eternal shame. It is little wonder that the new Babylonian system of Roman Catholicism calls the Protestant Denominations “wayward daughters, soon to return to the fold”. I am still waiting for the Protestants to complete the Reformation and cast aside their pagan doctrines. I do not think it will happen soon without church persecution and mass repentance on the part of the many Denominations naming the 400 year old name of “Jesus”, an English title which means nothing in the languages of Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek. His Grace is sufficient, however, to cover that little bit of ignorance, so Yeshua allows His Western children to call him by that name anyway. His mercy endures forever and he allows a multitude of errors in Christians as a good Savior does. He does not expect a believing toddler to do everything that a teenager or a mature grownup would be expected to do.

Sha’ul (Paul) told the Thessalonians that before the Messiah returned, there would be a “falling away” (apostasy, a “departure from truth”). This departure from the truth would then open the door for something evil called “the man of lawlessness” to come forth. This “coming of the lawless one” would be accompanied by “all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders” which would “deceive those who are perishing.”

“They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved,” Paul writes. “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.” In preparation for the return of the Messiah, God is also sending powerful revelation to graciously expose the ancient lie, so that those who love the truth can depart from error and be freed from the bewitching influence of the spirit of lawlessness.

The Roman Pope has taken upon himself the role of a type of Ante [in place of]  -“Christ” and as it is documented in encyclicals and edicts, his supposed right to “change times and seasons” in direct defiance of scripture. The many denominational Christian Churches have not only kept silent, but have slavishly followed the Roman Catholic calendars pathway to destruction and divine judgment. Take note of the many goddesses named in the calendar, which universally represent the concept of a “queen of heaven”. Roman Popes have also placed Miriam [Mary] in this same category with the “Queen of heaven’s” named witchcraft pagan attributes, again, in defiance of Scriptural truth. After all, the Popes are all called “Lord God, the Pope” by the followers of this form of the Babylonian religion.

There is an excellent article outlining the “ABCs of the Biblical Calendar” on the website http://www/yrm.org/abccalendar.htm that describes the Scriptural remedy to this sad state of affairs. Many will read this article and others of similar warning, but I think that few Christians will ACT upon what they read. The Bible is very clear on Yahweh’s position and instructions on His appointed times and seasons and His Calendar is very easy to understand, but, sadly, the majority will place the “traditions of men/ elders/ leaders/ pastors and Rabbis” foremost in their minds above the clear, Holy, Torah instructions and teachings of Yahweh God in His written word.

Much has been written and posted on the Internet on this subject and I add my humble observations to the lot and hope that someone’s mind and heart may be stirred to study to show themselves approved to YHWH God and then apply these teachings to their lives.

Blessings B’Shem Yeshua Ha Moshiach,

Walking on the road to Emmaus,

Rabbi James Talbott, the Wilderness Teacher

The following World Net Daily article of 10/16/2013 is added as an addendum under the fair use agreement cited next and is a second witness, if you will, to my annual essay at the head of this tome.

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The Calendar at Creation

It must be recognized that some background in early history is important here before continuing. This will help set the stage for all that is to follow.

Many have accused the Jews and others whom God entrusted to preserve the calendar of being guilty of “changing times and laws” (Dan. 7:25). However, the Jews did NOT invent the calendar—they did not contrive it from imagination. Its principles go back to the first chapter of the Bible, where the sun and the moon were appointed “...for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Gen. 1:14).

We have no concrete, documented evidence pertaining to the calendar in use at the time of creation. It has long been understood that at the time of Noah, months had been counted to be 30 days each, in that 150 days were attributed to 5 months (Gen. 7:11, 24; 8:4). These and other accounts in Genesis chapters 7 and 8 had led many to ponder whether a pre-Flood 360-day year—consisting of 12 months of 30 days each—had been established at creation. If so, such a balanced calendar might have continued up to the time of the Flood. If this were the case, as evidence seems to support, then the lunar and solar cycles would have been in perfect harmony, as were other facets of God’s creation.

Proponents of the existence of such a harmonized pre-Flood calendar cite what has been called the prophetic year, based upon 360 days, as additional evidence of this original cosmic configuration—or the orbit of the Earth at Creation—(The Chronology of Ezra 7, Horn and Wood, p. 53). Although the biblical record appears to validate such a balanced year in various accounts in Genesis, it is evident that this did not continue indefinitely. Cosmologists site events such as the Flood of Noah’s time, among such causal factors, in effecting the intricate balance of the Earth’s orbit, as well as the alignment of its axis. Cosmologists have also come to recognize that major catastrophes had left their mark in far more significant ways than merely the geological and fossil records (Biblical Cosmology and Modern Science, Morris, pp. 29-31).

Other events of potentially cosmic impact could have occurred at the time of the destruction of the Tower of Babel, the parting of the Red Sea, Joshua’s long day, the movement of the sundial of Ahaz and its return (II Kgs. 20:11) during the time of Hezekiah—to mention a few. As a case in point, the destruction at the tower of Babel was much more than an isolated event, but was accompanied by a global phenomenon, in which changes in the stratosphere cut mankind’s life-span more than in half—as had already occurred in the wake of the Flood. An average of the listed life-spans from the Flood to this event was 484 years, while afterward it was quickly reduced to 195 years, according to the biblical record.

The net effect of a number of upheavals in the cosmic alignment could have readily altered the Earth’s orbit around the sun, the moon’s orbit around the Earth, the tilt of the Earth, or other intricate variables in the immediate solar network. Such events were spread out over hundreds of years. We do know that a discrepancy between the lunar and solar cycles occurred in ancient times and the calendar had to be adjusted to reconcile these differences.

The Calendar as Presented to Moses

When God revealed the calendar to Moses, certain adjustments would most likely have been already accounted for by this time—about 880 years removed from the Flood. This calendar had to be accurate since certain Holy Days were to be observed on specific days in designated months—at a precise time of the year. In order to observe these days at the correct time, the solar and lunar cycles had to be reconciled. God, as Creator, guided this process as He inspired those whom He entrusted with this responsibility.

The great Eternal God is capable of expanding the abilities and skills of those whom He appoints for special assignments, just as He did with Bezaleel of the tribe of Judah, involved in the construction of the tabernacle: “And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship to devise cunning works, to work in gold and silver and brass and in the cutting of stones...and in carving of timber...” (Ex. 31:3-5).

God was fully capable of instilling this unusual talent within Bezaleel and the skilled men that assisted him—men already gifted in certain ways. This same God was capable of inspiring various priests, gifted with mathematical minds, with the skills of being able to implement adjustments in the calendar to keep the solar and lunar cycles in harmony. Basic concepts of astronomy and the movements of the solar system were understood at that time—three millennia before the time of Copernicus.

The sacred calendar as presented to Moses was passed on to the priests and certain Levites. Acts 7:38 explains: “This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spoke to him in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us.” Next, notice who was commissioned to preserve those “lively oracles”: “What advantage then has the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yes, let God be true, but every man a liar...” (Rom. 3:1-4).

What are the oracles of God? They consist of the Scriptures, the Sabbath and God’s sacred calendar. Some mistakenly reject the Hebrew calendar because they insist upon only looking to the Scriptures for guidance—not the Jews. Yet, it was God who entrusted the Jews to preserve the calendar and the Scriptures! (The Jews preserved the Law, Prophets and Psalms—known as the Old Testament—while the Greeks preserved the manuscripts from the apostolic era of the Church known as the New Testament.) Such doubters are essentially accusing God of being incapable of preserving the calendar intact.

What about you? Do you accept the Scriptures as authentic—as preserved by the Jews? If so, then would you not also accept that God is able to use the same human instruments to preserve the calendar?

The calendar that God presented to Moses became the responsibility of certain appointed Levitical priests and, centuries later, the Jews. We often refer to the calendar in honor of its source—God’s sacred calendar. In reference to the hundreds of years of this calendar as used by ancient Israel, it is also called the Hebrewcalendar. Many currently refer to the most recent versions as the Jewish calendar. We will reference the calendar by all these terms, depending upon the context of each reference. Throughout history, this calendar was essentially the same, yet, various adjustments became necessary. This was to implement across many centuries a harmonizing of variations between the solar and lunar cycles.

Introductory Overview of the Calendar

We begin the overview of the calendar by examining some of the basic facts about the Roman calendar in use today. The Julian calendar was set up in 45 BC, and recognized the solar year as being 365 1/4 days. However, this calendar was 12 minutes and 14 seconds off per year, which amounted to well over a 10-day error by the year 1582. Thus, ten days were dropped from the calendar so that it would correspond more closely to the solar year. The newly established Gregorian calendar not only served to diminish this existing error, but to help compensate for future errors by adding a leap year. Interestingly, it was not until 1752 that the English (and the American Colonies) adopted the Gregorian calendar. The leap year set by the Gregorian calendar adds one day every four years, except in even 100 years that cannot be divided by 400. Thus, for the years 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900 and 2000, only the years 1600 and 2000 could be leap years.

The Gregorian calendar compensates by 72 hours (3 days) every 400 years. The actual excess accumulated is 74 hours, 53 minutes and 20 seconds—an error of 2 hours, 53 minutes and 20 seconds every 400 years—one full day every 3,323 years. We will sometimes refer to the Roman calendar as the Julian or Julian/Gregorian, depending upon how the term is used by the references cited.

For a calendar to measure only the solar years makes it infinitely simpler than the Hebrew calendar, which harmonizes the lunar as well as the solar year. Note that the Julian/Gregorian calendar drifts off course by one full day in 3,323 years. It is completely ironic that the Hebrew calendar, which has a number of both coarse and fine adjustments in order to harmonize with both the solar and lunar cycles, is accused of lacking the precision achieved by the crude (by comparison) Gregorian calendar.

Consider that from the time the sacred calendar was presented to Moses to the present is a span of approximately 3,450 years. Some critics charge that the Hebrew calendar is not only days off track, but months off, or worse. Which is it? The critics do not know. They are only assured that the less you know, the better their chances of sowing doubt.

Precisely every 19 years (19-year cycles will be discussed later), the Hebrew calendar is given a reliability test. If it were ever out of sync with the 19 year time cycle, then many would stand ready to announce this imperfection. Yet, all we hear is silence. In recent centuries, the calendar has always accurately meshed with the 19-year cycles as it must have done anciently, due to adjustments that were implemented for this very purpose.

During the 3,450 years since Moses, adjustments have had to be added to the calendar to compensate for alterations in the orbital clock caused by such events as mentioned earlier. Yet, about 1,975 years ago, during the time of Christ’s ministry on Earth, He kept the Holy Days at the same time as the Jews, never pointing out any discrepancy in the Jewish calendar. Had the calendar been in error, He would have made it known. Yet, Christ was silent.

The point to be made here is this: If the Gregorian calendar can continue 3,323 years before missing a day, should not the Hebrew calendar (with its built-in methods to keep it from drifting off track) continue 1,975 years with the same level of accuracy?

It should be mentioned here that the Julian/Gregorian calendar mentioned earlier, or any other manmade calendar—and this should be obvious—was never a factor in the Hebrew calendar calculations in ancient times. Comparison with the Julian calendar in most modern works on that subject is merely for the purpose of referencing one calendar in terms of the other. This would be equivalent to translating back and forth between two languages today.

Recognize that all calendars either gain or lose time. Therefore, corrective measures must be taken, such as leap years and other adjustments, to periodically correct any discrepancies. Great care has to be taken to keep the Hebrew calendar in perfect harmony with the lunar cycle, since the Holy Days must occur at a precise time. The solar accuracy is of secondary importance, but is kept in harmony by periodic adjustments, as well.

By way of reference, much of the information pertaining to calculations in the text, as well as the Appendix, is in accordance with The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar by Arthur Spier, 1952. Other references include The Hebrew Calendar: A Mathematical Introduction, prepared by Kossey and edited by Hoeh, 1974 and The Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th edition, vol. 4, under entry: “Hebrew Calendar.”

Solar, Lunar and Luni-solar Calendars

Solar calendars go strictly by the time of the Earth’s orbit around the sun. In a solar calendar, such as the Roman calendar (that most nations now observe), the time of the beginnings of the months, in relation to the moon, have no bearing whatsoever. It is strictly solar. The moon is given no consideration in the Roman calendar!

Next we consider the lunar calendar. The Islamic calendar is an example of a strictly lunar calendar. All the months begin with the new moon. They are alternately 29 or 30 days in length, with adjustments made every 33 years. Opposite to the Roman calendar, the solar aspects have no bearing on the purely lunar calendar. Since annual corrections are not implemented, the months will have the tendency to creep forward into different seasons of the year. In fact, the months creep through the full cycle about every 33 years. Imagine January where July used to be—this is the Islamic calendar.

Finally, the third type of calendar is the luni-solar calendar. This is the type that God presented to Israel, and it is based on both the solar and lunar frames of reference. The months and years are kept in balance. However, this task is somewhat complicated.

Let’s examine this.

Reconciling the Solar and Lunar Timeframes

Before focusing upon calendar adjustments, we need to introduce a crucial element from astronomy—the 19-year time cycle. Precisely every 19 years, the sun, Earth and moon come back to the same location relative to each other. This was understood by ancient astronomers and still stands as one of the many axioms of astronomy in relation to our solar system. The fact that the Earth and the moon come back into the precise configuration with respect to the sun every 19 years serves as a continual evaluation as to the accuracy of the calendar. By implementing the adjustments built into the Hebrew calendar, it is completely unique, among calendars currently in use, in that it is kept “in sync” with this astronomical clock.

We now focus on the adjustments that keep the Hebrew calendar in harmony with the solar and lunar timeframes—with the 19-year time cycle serving as a self-test of this task.

To reconcile the difference in the solar and lunar “years,” 7 years are established as leap years in every 19-year cycle. To summarize, 7 leap years contain 13 months and the other 12 years (called common years) contain 12 months, amounting to a total of 235 months in a 19-year time cycle. To see the pattern of leap years in a 19-year cycle, notice the following layout. Leap years are bold and underlined to help clarify the pattern.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Now that the concept of 19-year time cycles has been introduced, we can clarify other terms. We will be addressing these time cycles again, shortly. (Most authoritative references on the calendar use the term “intercalary” for the term “leap.” We will use only the term “leap” in this booklet.)

The months in a year alternate between 29 and 30 days, beginning with 30. This process of alternating between 29 and 30 days gives an average of 29 1/2 days. Below is a simple layout of the months as they occur, along with the days as they would fall in normal (common) years, followed by a leap year to the right. The month of Tishri is listed first since the start (new moon) of this month is the benchmark for calculating the entire year. This will be explained more fully below:

Common Year					Leap Year
Month	Days		Month #		Month	Days
Tishri	30		7		Tishri	30
Heshvan	29		8		Heshvan	29
Keslev	30		9		Keslev	30
Tebet	29		10		Tebet	29
Shebat	30		11		Shebat	30
Adar	29		12		Adar	30	(Becomes 30 days on leap years)
V’Adar	—		13		V’Adar	29	(Inserted 7 times every 19 years)
Nisan	30		1		Nisan	30
Iyar	29		2		Iyar	29
Sivan	30		3		Sivan	30
Tammuz	29		4		Tammuz	29
Ab	30		5		Ab	30
Elul	29		6		Elul	29

The month named V’Adar means Adar II. It comes at the end of the sacred year and is the extra 13th month only added to leap years.

A lunar month is 29 days, 12 hours and about 45 minutes—about 45 minutes longer than the 29 1/2 days designated for a month in the calendar. To make up for this discrepancy, adjustments were called for in the Hebrew calendar to bring the months back into balance. Two methods were used:

Heshvan (the 8th month) would be assigned 30 days in certain years, instead of the usual 29. Keslev (the 9th month) would be assigned 29 days in certain years, instead of the usual 30.

These two months are used to balance the actual lunar months, which differ by about 45 minutes from the average months as assigned to the calendar. So these two months bring the lunar times back into balance. These adjustments operate independently of each other. Time cannot be lost. It has to be accounted for, and this method has worked well for millennia.

Because of calendar adjustments, plus the combination of leap years and common years, we have the possibility of six different lengths of years. These six possibilities are:

Regular Common year	=	354 days	(12 months x 29 or 30 days)
Deficient Common year	=	353 days	(Keslev with 29 days)
Full Commonyear	=	355 days	(Heshvan with 30 days)
Regular Leapyear	=	384 days	(13 months x 29 or 30 days)
Deficient Leapyear	=	383 days	(Keslev with 29 days)
Full Leap year	=	385 days	(Heshvan with 30 days)

Some sources designate common years as normal years. They might designate the Full common year as the Excessive common year or the Perfect common year. Some authorities use the term “Defective” in place of “Deficient.” The precise names may vary, but the concepts are the same. That is why understanding the concepts is more important than memorizing terms. Don’t get confused if the terms vary in cases where the same Hebrew word can be interpreted in multiple ways, such as common or normal or ordinary, etc. Be assured that the principles that underpin the concept of the Hebrew calendar are consistent, reliable and time-­proven.

These six possibilities constitute the full range of year lengths. This may seem complicated, but these adjustments are required to keep the lunar cycles in harmony with the solar cycles and the solar cycles in harmony with the seasons. This lunar-solar balance is achieved exclusively by the Hebrew calendar. No other calendars in use today achieve this balance.

The Benchmark

All calculations within the sacred calendar have a certain “benchmark” from which crucial conclusions are derived. This introduces the concept of the Molad of Tishri. Molad refers to the new moon that signals the beginning of a new month. Tishri is the seventh month of the sacred year. The Molad of Tishri is of greatest importance, as far as the calendar is concerned. This is because Tishri begins with the new moon announcing the beginning of the Feast of Trumpets. The remaining three fall Holy Days also occur during this month.

The Molad of Tishri announces not only the beginning of the seventh month, but also the beginning of the civil year. This is somewhat comparable to the fiscal year that many businesses observe, usually from July through June of the following year. The beginning of the sacred year is in the spring of the year. It begins with the month of Nisan (Abib). Passover is observed on the 14th of this month, followed by the Days of Unleavened Bread. The fact that the civil year does not coincide with the sacred year is the reason that the above chart begins with Tishri (month #7), and the beginning of the sacred year (month #1), which is Nisan, is about midway down the chart.

As the beginning of the civil year, the Molad of Tishri is counted as the focal point of the calendar year. This particular new moon is the benchmark on which the calculations are hinged. The Molad of Tishri is sometimes simply referred to as the “Molad.” As a point of interest, if someone sought to find out the length of a particular year, the procedure would be to find the Molad of Tishri for the beginning of that year, as a starter. Next, the Molad of the following year would be calculated. Then the length of the year would simply be the number of days between the two Molads. It could only be one of the six possibilities, discussed earlier. Do not worry about remembering all of these details. However, you will soon see them come into play and fit into the pattern of establishing the exact days upon which the Molad of Tishri (beginning of the Feast of Trumpets) and the other Holy Days will fall.

The Seven-Day Weekly Cycle

One clear fact should emerge from the study of the 7-day weekly cycle. The calendar makes no alterations on the weekly cycle in any way. Some have implied that the calendar adjustments somehow shift the weekly Sabbath. This has never happened in the past and does not happen now.

Although the calendar never altered the weekly cycle in any way, adjustments in the calendar had to take place to accommodate certain days of the week. We will shortly see how one of the rules of postponements ties into the weekly cycle. It is ironic that one of the easiest concepts to clarify is the one to which most critics object—Rule 2 of postponements. Some claim that this adjustment was only introduced after the time of Christ. But this claim is completely incorrect. This “controversial” rule on postponements exists for this simple reason: The 7-day weekly cycle does not mesh with the 29 or 30 day month.

Because certain Holy Days were not intended to fall on particular week days, adjustments had to be made in the calendar, which would have had to be in effect from the time it was first presented to Israel. Neither the days of the week nor the Holy Days have changed since that time. The calendar had to make some considerable adjustments, because it is the Sabbath and the weekly cycle that are absolutely unmovable—NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!

Postponements are discussed at length in a following section of this booklet. At that point, we will consider all the rules pertaining to them.

Calendar Calculations Publicized

When Israel was under the God-ordained leadership of the priesthood, it was the priests’ responsibility to follow the directions that God had provided to determine the times of the beginning of months and the Holy Days. They could make known the Holy Days in advance. After the Babylonian captivity, the Jews of the dispersion were able to look to the Jewish priesthood (who returned to Judea) as the central authority in the determination of the sacred years. The Sanhedrin assumed that responsibility from the time of Ezra until the time it was dissolved by the Romans in the fourth century AD. Shortly after the time of Christ, the Romans destroyed the temple, and many Jews were driven from Jerusalem soon after AD 135. In those most trying times, the calendar was still entrusted to the Jews, and the Jewish patriarchs continued to announce the arrival of the Holy Days. During the fourth century, the Roman authorities, in league with the Roman Catholic Church, outlawed Sabbath and Holy day observance.

Due to the increased level of persecution and the expelling of Jews from Jerusalem, it became necessary to release the rather complicated data used to calculate the calendar. Except for the next largest Jewish enclave in Babylon (of Mesopotamia), the dispersed enclaves could no longer look to the patriarchs to announce the time of the Molad of Tishri and when the other Holy Days would fall, as had been announced from Jerusalem. About the year AD 359, it became necessary for the patriarch Hillel II to publicize this information. Of course, it was delivered to Jewish enclaves in all known areas of the world. Besides the calendar instructions, Hillel II provided the Jews with charts that projected the Holy Days for hundreds of years in advance. For those who would wish to study the calendar calculations, predetermined answers to future calculations would measure their level of proficiency.

As mentioned earlier, the Church of God since the first century looked to local Jewish enclaves for the needed information pertaining to the timing of the new year and the respective Holy Days resulting from that benchmark. Overall, the Jews of the dispersion from the time of the fourth century continued to faithfully observe the calendar as given them by Hillel II.

There existed a few exceptions, such as the Essenes of the first century who deviated from the authentic calendar, with little or no impact upon those outside those sects. Another minority sect that existed shortly after the Babylonian captivity altered the calendar according to a 48-year cycle. Just as the Essenes who appeared centuries later, such groups made no impact on the established calendar accepted by the Jews on a worldwide scale.

What Are Postponements?

Postponements are the most misunderstood and most maligned of all the aspects of the calendar. Ironically, they are relatively easy to defend. Simply stating the facts defends both their purpose and intent.

There are four distinct postponements that exist with the Hebrew calendar. The purpose of postponements is to assure a permissible length of the year while reconciling the 7-day weekly cycle with the precise time of the month that certain Holy Days are to fall. This adjustment of the calendar to accommodate the weekly cycle is achieved by Rule 2—allowing certain week days and prohibiting others upon which Tishri 1, or the Molad of Tishri, can fall.

Here are the rules of postponement:

Rule 1: When the Molad of Tishri occurs at noon (12th hour in Roman time) or later, the Feast of Trumpets is postponed to the following day.

Rule 2: When the Molad of Tishri or a postponed Feast of Trumpets occurs on a Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday, the Feast of Trumpets is postponed to the following day. (Because of this, Atonement will never occur on either the day before or after a Sabbath.)

Rule 3: When the Molad of Tishri of a common year falls on Tuesday after 3:11 AM (3 Days, 3 Hours, 204 Parts), Trumpets is postponed to a Wednesday and, because of rule 2, further postponed to Thursday.

Rule 4: When, in a common year immediately following a leap year, the Molad of Tishri occurs on Monday about 9:33 AM (2 D, 9 H, 589 P) or later, the Feast of Trumpets is postponed to the next day.

Rules one and two are sometimes listed in reverse order in various publications. These two rules are not effected in the order given as long as the rules are allowed to interact.

The first rule simply states that if Tishri 1 occurred at or after noon on a particular day, then it would be postponed until the next day. This is entirely logical because the new moon observed in the afternoon would put the observance of Tishri 1 within the last quadrant of that day, with the majority occurring in the following day. Therefore, the following day would be designated as Tishri 1.

The second rule is by far the most controversial. Many challenges to this rule have surfaced, primarily in the last decade or so. Of course, the timing of this criticism comes as no surprise. Some accuse the Jews of purposely inventing postponements to cause true Christians to stumble, by observing the Holy Days at the wrong time. This is utterly false—and ridiculous.

We need to establish the reason for the second postponement rule. If Tishri 1 falls on a Wednesday, then Atonement would fall on a Friday, the day of preparation for the weekly Sabbath. Those who correctly prepare for each weekly Sabbath are appreciative to God for this rule. It prevents many undue hardships. If Tishri 1 fell on a Friday, then Atonement would fall on a Sunday, the day after the weekly Sabbath. Either possibility, allowing Atonement to be consecutive with the weekly Sabbath, would be contradictory. So Atonement was always to be separated from falling immediately before or after the Sabbath. God would simply not put mankind into a contradictory situation of breaking or compromising the meaning of an annualSabbath in order to observe a weekly Sabbath, or vice versa. This postponement exists for practical reasons to avoid a serious conflict in the order of Holy Days—not merely for the sake of convenience.

Close examination of God’s laws reveals that the weekly Sabbath (Lev. 23:3) and the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29, 23:28) are the only two days that “no work” can be done. The other Holy Days specify “no servile work,” but the Sabbath and Atonement specify “no work at all.” Having these two consecutive Sabbaths would have been especially contradictory for the Levites. Their preparation for the Day of Atonement involved a significant amount of work and, to a lesser extent, so did their preparation for the weekly Sabbath. Another issue would be that of burial, in which two adjacent days that prohibited burial of the dead would have led to other serious contradictions.

If Tishri 1 fell on a Sunday, then the fall Holy Days of the Feast of Tabernacles (Tishri 15) and the Last Great Day (Tishri 22) would both fall on a Sunday, as well. Since these Holy Days represent the culmination of God’s plan, He would not assign them to be represented by the first day of the week. After the day of Pentecost, the remaining Holy Days never fall on the first day of the week for this reason, as well as the fact that the weekly Sabbath would be in the preparation time for three of the four fall Holy Days. Such would be another contradictory situation, creating undue hardships. One last reason for this rule is that it would prevent the observance of the Passover on the evening beginning Nisan 14 from occurring on the evening immediately after the weekly Sabbath. This would be a clearly recognizable contradiction of schedule, since the Passover preparation would need to be made, but would be prohibited during the Sabbath.

Rules three and four adjust the setting of Tishri 1 when it falls within certain common years. These two rules have not presented a problem with anyone. Along with rule one, they are mainly for mathematical accuracy and assure that all possible situations are accommodated by the six different year lengths. Rules three and four only affect a portion of the mornings of certain common years as defined by the rules. By contrast, rule one applies only to the afternoon portions of the calculated Molad of Tishri.

Rules one and two are by far the most frequently used, whether individually or together. It should also be noted that it is quite common for none of the four rules of postponement to apply in certain years, as well.

Postponements and the Day of Passover AD 31

If the Holy Days were completely out of alignment—being observed at the wrong time—would Christ have taken note of it? Of course! But no mention was made of this.

The four Gospels are replete with Christ’s condemnation of the Jewish religious establishment. Had they been in error with the calendar, or the concept of postponements, be assured that Christ would have pointed this out. But if they were still in compliance with what He had established with Israel many centuries earlier, then one would EXPECTSILENCE on that subject—and this is exactly the case!

In the year AD 31, postponement rules one and two applied in combination, resulting in a two-day postponement of Tishri 1. Had the postponements not been in effect that year, then the Passover would have occurred on a Monday instead of a Wednesday. The fact that Passover occurred on Wednesday, according to the rules of postponements, presents a powerful case that they were in use in the first century and that Christ accepted them. (In the next section, we will see how Passover is counted from Tishri 1.)

Consider one other vitally important point, which further validates the use of postponements! Daniel prophesied, nearly 600 years before Christ’s crucifixion, that the Messiah (Christ) would be “cut off...in the midst of the week” (9:26-27). Wednesday is literally the middle (midst) of the week. In other words, Daniel accurately foretold that Christ “our Passover” (I Cor. 5:7) would be crucified on a Wednesday Passover—to occur in AD 31. Daniel understood that Wednesday would be the correct date for Passover observance that year.

Of course, we have long understood that this verse also means that Christ’s ministry was cut off, after 3 1/2 years, in the middle of a seven-year PROPHETIC week. But, the seven-year prophetic week had to parallel a literal week.Daniel’s prophecy is commonly known as the “seventy weeks” prophecy. Many who once understood have forgotten this important knowledge. They have forgotten that the longest phase of this 490-year prophecy (486 1/2 years) spanned a period having to end in precisely AD 31 for the prophecy not to fail!

Consider. If postponement rules one and two had not been in effect, then Christ would nothave correctly fulfilled Daniel’s prophecy. Yet, as the God of the Old Testament, it was Christ who had inspired this very prophecy! In light of these facts and His fulfillment, it can be better appreciated why Christ did not condemn the observance of postponements!

Assigning the Dates to the Remaining Six Holy Days

Once the Molad of Tishri—the Feast of Trumpets—has been established for any given year, we can assign dates for all the other Holy Days. The assignment of the three remaining fall Holy Days is forthright and simple. Since Atonement is on the 10th of Tishri, and the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles is on the 15th of Tishri, and the Last Great Day is on the 22nd of Tishri, no extensive calculation is needed for these assignments. Also, note that the 1st, 15th and 22nd of Tishri will always fall on the same day of the week.

Passover is determined by counting backward from the Feast of Trumpets that follows it. This is the logical method because every sacred year is centered on the Feast of Trumpets that occurs within that same sacred year. There is consistently a 164-day period between Passover (Nisan 14) and the Feast of Trumpets. None of the months between Nisan and Tishri are ever adjusted or varied. Therefore, the inclusive time is consistent. The first day of Unleavened Bread, on the 15th of Nisan, occurs one day after Passover. The last day of Unleavened Bread occurs on the 21st of Nisan. The assignment of these spring Holy Days are clear, much as the fall Holy Days that occur shortly after Trumpets.