God's Holy Days

How does God's
Sacred Calendar WORK?

Sacred Calendar

The year and day are solar, while the month is lunar. Therefore, God's calendar is BOTH solar and lunar. God's calendar is based on BOTH observation and calculation.

A year has either 12 or 13 months. Nineteen solar years almost exactly equal 235 lunar months. The current 19-year time cycle adds a 13th month in years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19. To prevent unauthorized Sabbath work, the Day of Atonement can never fall on a Friday or a Sunday. Abib 21 is the only Holy Day that can fall on a Friday. Extensive food preparation is not permitted on other Holy Days.

The sun and moon are not in harmonious orbits. The earth revolves around the sun in about 365.24 days, while the moon revolves around the earth in about 29.53 days. Periodic calendar adjustments are necessary, such as the one in the second century A.D., to prevent the Holy Days from falling out of their proper seasons. In the fourth century A.D., Hillel II made public heretofore secret sacred calendar rules used by the Jewish Sanhedrin to confirm observation. These rules were given to Moses.

Genesis 1:14, Psalm 104:19, Leviticus 23:4 and Exodus 12:2, 13:4 are important scriptures relative to the calendar.

How does God's Calendar work?

Should a Bible believer know and use God's Calendar? How can one be sure of keeping God's Holy Days at the proper time? To whom did God reveal the knowledge of His Calendar? Can certain Holy Days fall only on certain days of the week? What are the rules governing God's Calendar?

Why the Calendar is Important

What day is today? The typical answer one would give is the current date on the Roman Calendar. How does God look at time? Does He have a Calendar which governs how His true servants should love and worship Him? If God does have such a calendar, does it not seem obvious that those who love Him would know how it works, and use it?

During the time of King David of Israel, certain of the children of Issachar "had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do," 1Chronicles 12:32. They had knowledge of astronomy and the calendar of God so as to know the times of the Sabbaths, Holy Days and New Moons that Israel was commanded to keep holy and observe. Are we supposed to know what we ought to do regarding God's sacred times? Ephesians 5:17.

Will God help us to understand if we ask Him?

Of what value is it to know and use God's Sacred Calendar? It is as valuable as eternal life. In speaking of Passover, Jesus said that "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day," John 6:53, 54. Passover as the annual memorial of the death of our Savior is commanded to be observed by New Testament Christians, 1Corinthians 11:23-26. So are the other Holy Days of God. When shall they be observed? Much confusion exists. The true Christian should know when to observe God's sacred times, I John 2:3-6.

Does God Number the Months?

Job 3:6, "the number of the months."

How many months are there to a common year? Daniel 4:29, Jeremiah 52:31. In prophetic terms, are there twelve months to a year of time, with thirty days in each month? Revelation 11:3compared with 13:5, and Daniel 7:25. Then originally, there may have been a 360 day year (12 months times 30 days each).

NOTE: God's Sacred Calendar as it presently exists, does not and cannot have twelve months of thirty days each. The revolution of the moon around the earth and the earth around the sun do not quite correspond to twelve thirty-day months, as we shall see.

What were some historical events that may well have altered the length of the months and the year? See Joshua 10:12-14, 2Kings 20:8-11 and Isaiah 38:4-8. Note: another factor is that the earth's rotation has slowed down over the centuries.

Will the earth's orbit be re-ordered by Jesus Christ? Compare Acts 3:19-21 and Isaiah 24:18-23. Should we look forward to this event? See Hebrews 11:8-10, and 2Peter 3:10-14.

What are the Names of the Months?

Generally are the months of God's Calendar denoted by numbers instead of names? Leviticus 23:5, 24, 27, and 34. The Hebrew names of all the months are not given in the Bible.

Those that are given are Abib, the first month, Exodus 12:2, 13:4, and Deuteronomy 16:1, a time in the spring when barley and flax have headed out, but before wheat has grown up, Exodus 9:31, 32. Zif, the second month, a time for construction to begin, 1Kings 6:37. Ethanim, the seventh month, time of the Feast of Tabernacles, 1Kings 8:2, 65, 66, and Bul, the eighth month, a time for construction work to cease before winter rains, 1Kings 6:38.

The names Jews of today give the months of the year are derived from Babylonian names as a result of their captivity in Babylon. Some of these names are mentioned in captivity or post-captivity books, such as Nehemiah, Ezra, Esther and Daniel. For example, we are told that Nisan is another name for the first month and Adar is the twelfth month, Esther 3:7. Here is a complete list (English spellings may vary according to the source):

Must God's Months fall in their proper seasons?

Do the Feast Days fall in particular seasons? Leviticus 23:4. What determines these seasons? Genesis 1:14, Psalms 104:19. NOTE: God tells us in the Bible to keep His Holy Days in their proper seasons from year to year. Yet the Bible does not tell us how to figure the calendar upon which these Holy Days are derived. We must go to another source -- the Jews, Romans 3:1, 2and Matthew 23:1-3. They have been entrusted with the preservation of God's Calendar. God could not order us to keep His Holy Days without also preserving His Calendar which tells us when to keep them.

The first of Nisan or Abib is always the first new moon near the beginning of Spring (near March 21). So Nisan falls in Spring. Likewise the month of Tammuz falls in summer, Tishri in the autumn, and Tebet in the winter. The purpose of the calendar laws is to ensure Holy Days fall in their proper seasons.

Can we determine the Calendar for ourselves?

Various theological reference books state that the Hebrew Calendar evolved. If this is true, then so did the Bible! The Jews, it is believed, first determined the beginning of the months solely by observation of the new moons. The year was determined by observing the clouds which ended the rainy season and allowed the spring harvest to begin.

Is this true? Is observation alone the basis of God's Calendar? If it were, then what if the day were cloudy and no one could see the new moon? How could the first of the month be determined if some could see the new moon and others could not?

Observation alone cannot be the basis for God's Calendar, because God's Holy Days are divine appointments (moed), times which God, and not man, has predetermined, Exodus 23:15, Psalms 81:3-5. God, not man, determines the seasons, Daniel 2:21. Even if the Jews themselves reject the true meaning of the Sabbath and Holy Days, still God has forced them to preserve the "oracles," the Scriptures and the Calendar which tell us when to keep the Sabbath and Holy Days, Romans 3:1-4.

Mankind is forbidden to observe the new moons for himself and to determine when to keep God's appointed times. Because at times some have done this very thing, God has said, "Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth . . . ," Isaiah 1:14, and Hosea 2:11.

Specific Bible laws forbid us to determine for ourselves when the year and the months begin. We are told not to "observe times [from the Hebrew anan, cloud or soothsayer; see Englishman's Hebrew Concordance, page 966, and Strong's #6049]" Deuteronomy 18:10, 14, Leviticus 19:26. An observer of times "watched the clouds" to foretell the future. Those who adapt this practice to determine when the winter rainy season is over and when the spring harvest season begins, set themselves up in the place of God, who alone can determine when the year begins in the spring.

In Galatians 4:10, Paul forbids the observance of "days, and months, and times, and years" which the Gentile converts to Christianity had been accustomed to celebrating. Here is a New Testament command not to follow the months of the pagan Roman calendar then in use, but instead to follow the months of God's calendar. The Western calendar in use today is the same as the Julian calendar, with a minor adjustment by Pope Gregory. Because professing Christians rejected God's calendar, the Roman calendar is still in use today.

God's calendar is determined primarily by calculation, the laws of which have been handed down from at least the time of Moses to the present day. God revealed the truth of His Holy Days and has also revealed the calendar that tells when to keep them, Deuteronomy 29:29. Visit our FREE Holy Day Calendar Program for more information.

Will some attempt to change times?

See Daniel 7:25. NOTE: This is why it behooves every true follower of God to study God's calendar so as not to be fooled by deceivers who strive to institute a "World Calendar" to upset the weekly cycle. Great religious confusion is at our doors. Will we be ready, 2Timothy 2:15?

Will God's people have understanding of the times?

Did certain men of Issachar understand the times governing what Israel was to do? 1Chronicles 12:32. NOTE: They had knowledge of astronomy so as to maintain God's calendar so Israel could keep the Holy Days according to the proper harvest season. See also Esther 1:13.

Are we to seek to know the wisdom of God? See Proverbs 1:1-6. Can the one that lacks wisdom obtain it? See James 1:5-7, and John 16:13.

Why is the ordering of God's Calendar DIFFICULT?

The Bible year is solar, while the Bible month is lunar. God's calendar is determined both by sun and moon. The Roman calendar which the world uses today is entirely a solar calendar. The ancient Romans forgot about God's ordering of the new moons, Romans 1:18-20. Will we?

A year is that period of time in which the earth performs one revolution in its orbit around the sun. Such a "tropical year" consists of 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46.069 seconds, or slightly less than 365-1/4 days.

A lunar month (also called "synodic month") is the period of time it takes the moon to revolve around the earth. God begins His months with the new moon, the first faint crescent visible from Jerusalem, of the moon after its conjunction with the sun. The conjunction of the moon with the sun, known in Hebrew as the molad, is the point in time at which the moon is directly between the earth and the sun and is thus invisible. Shortly thereafter, it becomes visible as a "new" moon. For religious purposes, the Hebrew calendar rules give the average time between one new moon and another as 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 3-1/3 seconds, or a little more than 29-1/2 days. (The present astronomically correct value is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.841 seconds. The moon has accelerated slightly in the centuries since the Hebrew calendar was instituted. The cumulative effect of this is so small it will remain negligible for hundreds of millennia.)

Twelve lunar months do not exactly equal one solar year. It is true that twelve new moons do not complete one solar year, actually they equal approximately 354 days (12 x 29-1/2), whereas a solar year has slightly more than 365 days. Thus a lunar year of twelve new moons is about eleven days (365 minus 354) LESS than a solar year. If a Bible year always had twelve new moons, Passover would come about eleven days earlier each year. In a few years, Passover would occur in the middle of winter, then in the fall, and still later in the summer! Passover would wander instead of remaining in its proper season. God's Holy Days must be observed in their proper agricultural seasons, Leviticus 23:4.

Because of these facts, there must be an intercalary, or added, month, every so often in order to keep the Holy Days in their proper seasons. Because the solar year does not equal a whole number of lunar months, the ordering of the calendar is difficult.

Why does God Have a Nineteen-Year Time Cycle?

As has been shown, the solar year exceeds the lunar year of twelve new moons by about eleven days. In nineteen years, the solar cycle exceeds the lunar cycle by about 209 days (11 x 19), which is approximately seven lunar months (7 x 29-1/2 = 206.5). Thus in a cycle of nineteen years, if seven months are added (intercalated), the Holy Days will remain in their proper seasons. To put it another way, if seven months were not added every nineteen years, Passover would occur about 209 days earlier than it should! Thus, every two or three years in a nineteen-year time cycle, there must be an added thirteenth month, making that year a leap year. At the end of every nineteen years, the earth, moon and sun come almost into exact conjunction. Once every nineteen years there will be a new moon on the spring equinox.

A nineteen-year cycle of God's calendar has twelve common years of twelve moons (months) and seven leap years of thirteen months, for a grand total of 235 months (12 x 12 plus 7 x 13 equals 235), which almost exactly equals nineteen solar years.

19 solar years = 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 46.069 seconds x 19 = 6,939 days, 14 hours, 26 minutes, 35.311 seconds

235 lunar months = 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 3-1/3 seconds x 235 = 6,939 days, 16 hours, 33 minutes, 3.333 seconds

This results in a difference of: 2 hours, 6 minutes, 28.022 seconds over 19 years. Thus, there is nearly the same amount of time in nineteen solar years as in 235 moons (months).

Yet this slight difference means that each Hebrew calendar year exceeds the tropical year by 6 minutes, 39.370 seconds. Though this difference is very small, it amounts to one day's variation in 216.34 years, or 4.6 days in a thousand years. Thus, Passover -- and as a result, Pentecost -- are continually forced later in the season. Without a calendar adjustment, such as the one in 140-163 A.D., Pentecost would eventually occur in the summer, which is not permitted according to the calendar law.

The nineteen-year cycle is God's way of accounting for the eleven-day difference between the 365-day solar year and the 354-day lunar year of twelve moons. In every nineteen-year cycle of today, a thirteenth month, called Adar II or Veadar, is added in the years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19 -- or seven times in nineteen years.

God's nineteen-year time cycle, written in the heavens, is based upon seven, God's complete number signifying the Sabbath, added to twelve, the number of tribes of Israel and Jesus' original apostles (7 plus 12 equals 19).

How does God keep time?

A year in God's calendar can be either common (12 moons) or leap (13 moons).

A month is approximately (within a day or two) the time from one new moon to the next. It may have either 29 or 30 days. Usually, the months in a year alternate between 30 and 29 days. Months having 30 days are termed full (Hebrew male), while those having 29 days are defective(Hebrew haser).

A week has seven days, and is concluded by the Sabbath. A day has 24 hours, usually about twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness, John 11:9. For religious purposes, such as observation of a Sabbath, the day begins at sunset, Genesis 1:5, Exodus 12:18. In the reckonings of the molad (conjunction of the moon with the sun), the day is figured as beginning at 6:00 P.M. at Jerusalem.

According to the Hebrew calendar, an hour is not divided into sixty minutes or 3600 seconds, but 1080 halakins or "parts," of 3-1/3 seconds. Thus, the average month expressed in Hebrew parlance is 29 days, 12 hours and 793 parts (which is the same as saying 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3-1/3 seconds).

The number of days in a Hebrew calendar year varies. Multiplying 29 days, 12 hours and 793 parts by twelve moons in a common or thirteen moons in a leap year would yield fractional values. Since a month can only have 29 or 30 complete 24 hour days, the number of days in a year must vary.

The eighth and ninth months, Heshvan and Kislev, vary with either 29 or 30 days. A common, twelve-month year may have either 353, 354 or 355 days. A leap, thirteen-month year, may have 383, 384 or 385 days. This makes six types of years.

Different terms are given for these six basic types of years, as follows:

The Hebrew names for perfect, regular and defective are shelema, sedura, and hasera. Actually, there are 14 types of years, 7 common and 7 leap, as will be explained later.

What are the Rules Governing the Calendar?

Postponements are part of the process of calculating and declaring the date of the Feast of Trumpets (Tishri 1, the first day of the Hebrew sacred year), which in turn is used to set the year's dates for observing God's annual Holy Days.

After calculating the Molad of Tishri, the following postponement rules are used to declare Tishri 1:

• Rule One:
  When the Molad of Tishri or advancement occurs on a Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday, the declaration of Tishri 1 is advanced one day to a Monday, Thursday or Saturday (Sabbath) respectively.

• Rule Two:
  When the Molad of Tishri occurs at or after noon (18 hours 0 parts), the declaration of Tishri 1 is advanced to the next day.

• Rule Three:
  When the Molad of Tishri of a common year falls on a Tuesday, at or after 9 hours and 204 parts, the declaration of Tishri 1 is advanced to Wednesday. The application of Rule One advances the declaration one more day to Thursday.

• Rule Four:
  When the Molad of Tishri of a common year immediately following an intercalary year occurs on a Monday, at or after 15 hours and 589 parts, the declaration of Tishri 1 is advanced to Tuesday.

The following is a listing of these fourteen basic kinds of years, as adapted from the Jewish Encyclopedia, article "Calendar."

Calendar of Biblical Events

What about God's calendar for God's people? Are there dates which are noteworthy as the anniversaries of historical and Biblical events? Dates which even Jesus Christ took note of? Indeed there are!

Notice John 10:22. Jesus was in the Temple during winter at the Feast of Dedication (also known as Hanukkah, or Festival of Lights). Beginning on Kislev 25 (9th month), this is a eight-day celebration instituted by the Jews to commemorate the purging of the temple and the rebuilding of the altar after Judas Maccabaeus had driven out the Syrians in 164 B.C. It is also the anniversary of the pollution of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 B.C. (fulfilling at least in type the prophecy of Daniel 11:31). Like the American and Canadian Thanksgiving Day, it is a national holiday of giving to God of thanks for His blessings and deliverance in time of trial.

Another commemorative day shown in the Bible is Purim, the Feast of Lots. This annual festival of the Jews on the 14th and 15th days of the last month (Adar or Adar II) was instituted to commemorate the preservation of the Jews in Persia from the massacre with which they were threatened through the machinations of Haman (Esther 9). Notice Esther 9:27-28. The Jews -- not God -- ordained this annual festival to be kept throughout every generation.

It's not wrong to take note of these historical occasions, since they were definitely anniversaries of God's intervention on behalf of His chosen people. Certainly since the Christian should desire to be spared from destruction, Luke 21:36, Purim should mean much more to the Christian than July 4, Thanksgiving Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day combined.

The Eternal God has a habit of repeating similar actions on the anniversary of the same day. The "night to be much observed," at the beginning of Nisan 15, Exodus 12:42, occurred on the selfsame day, 430 years after God made His covenant with Abraham (compare Genesis 15:5-18 with Exodus 12:40-42 and Genesis 17:19-21).

Other events are noted in the Bible according to the day on the calendar in which the event occurred. The following is a listing of Biblical events according to their dates on God's calendar.

First Month

1 New Moon, New Year.

1 Hezekiah opens doors of Temple and begins to repair it, 2Chronicles 29:3, 17. Finished the work on the 16th.

1 Prophecy given to Ezekiel that Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, would be given the land of Egypt, Ezekiel 29:17-20. Reaffirmed at a different time of the 7th day, Ezekiel 30:20-26.

1 God ordains a bullock to be sacrificed and the Temple to be cleansed, Ezekiel 45:18-19. Also to be done on the first day of the seventh month, verse 20.

1 Ezra decides to leave Babylon for Jerusalem with the intent of seeking God's law, doing it, and teaching God's statutes and judgments to Israel, Ezra 7:6-10. Departs on 12th day, Ezra 8:31.

1 Waters dried up from the Flood almost a year after rains began, Genesis 8:13.

10 Passover lamb kept up until the 14th day, Exodus 12:3-6.

13 Haman's death sentence against the Jews was posted in the kingdom of Persia, Esther 3:12-13.

14 Passover observed beginning of 14th (evening), Exodus 12, Leviticus 23:5.

15 Feast of Unleavened Bread, first day Holy day, Leviticus 23:6-8.

21 Last Holy Day of Feast of Unleavened Bread

24 Daniel had been fasting for three weeks, is given understanding by an angel, Daniel 10:2-4.

Second Month

1 Eternal spoke to Moses in wilderness of Sinai on second year after they were come out of Egypt, Numbers 1:1. All Israel from twenty years old assembled together, verse 18.

2 Solomon begins to build the Temple in the fourth year of his reign, 2Chronicles 3:2.

14 Second Passover, Numbers 9:9-14; 2Chronicles 30:1-5, 15.

15 Feast of Unleavened Bread kept in second month by Hezekiah, 2Chronicles 30:13, 21-23.

21 Last day of Feast of Unleavened Bread of Hezekiah in the Second Month.

17 Fountains of deep broken up, 40 days of rain begin the Noachian Flood, Genesis 7:11.

20 Cloud taken up, Israel begins journeying from Sinai in the second year of the Exodus, Numbers 10:11.

27 God told Noah to go forth out of the ark, Genesis 8:14.

Third Month

1 Again, God gives Ezekiel a prophecy as to Egypt's fall, but that their conquerors the Assyrians will fall likewise, Ezekiel 31:1-18.

23 Haman, enemy of the Jews, hanged. King of Persia's letter went out allowing Jews to defend themselves against their enemies on Adar 13. Mordecai advanced, Esther 8:1-17.

Fourth Month

5 God begins to work through Ezekiel, gives him visions and prophecies, Ezekiel 1:1-2.

9 Besieged by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, there was sore famine in Jerusalem, and the city was broken up about 586 B.C., Jeremiah 39:2; 52:6-7; 2Kings 25:3. Jews remembered this horrifying event by commemorating it with a fast, Zechariah 8:19.

Fifth Month

1 Ezra arrives in Jerusalem from Babylon, Ezra 7:6-10.

1 Aaron died on Mount Hor in the fortieth year of Israel's wandering, Numbers 33:38. Israel mourned for thirty days, Numbers 20:28-29.

7 Babylonian army burns the Jerusalem temple, King's palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem, takes most of the rest of Judah captive, Jeremiah 1:3; 52:12-16; and 2Kings 25:8-12. Jews commemorated this sad event with a fast, Zechariah 8:19 on tenth day. God was wrathful with their corrupted manner of fasting, Zechariah 7:1-13.

10 Certain elders of Israel come to inquire of the Eternal before Ezekiel. He is given a message from God that the reason they are in captivity is that they have polluted God's Sabbaths, Ezekiel 20:1-49.

Sixth Month

1 God begins to work through Haggai the prophet, Haggai 1:1.

5 Ezekiel is given a vision from God, sees several abominations being committed by God's people, Ezekiel 8.

24 The Eternal stirs up the spirit of Zerubbabel, Joshua and the remnant of the people to do the work of the building of God's House, Haggai 1:14-15.

25 Rebuilt wall of Jerusalem finished, Nehemiah 6:15-16.

Seventh Month

1 Day of Trumpets, a New Moon and a Holy Day.

9 At the end of this day, Atonement fast begins, Leviticus 23:32.

10 Day of Atonement, a fast, and a High Holy Day.

10 (Implied) Ezekiel given a vision of the rebuilt Millennial Temple at Jerusalem, Ezekiel 40:1and following -- implication is that "the beginning of the year" means the civil year.

17 Noah's ark rested on mountains of Ararat, Genesis 8:4.

15 (through 21) Feast of Tabernacles, first day is a Holy Day.

21 Prophecy of Haggai, Haggai 2:1-9.

22 Last Great Day, a Holy Day.

23 Completion of dedication of Solomon's Temple, 2Chronicles 7:9-10.

24 After reinstitution of Feast of Tabernacles at the return from Babylonian captivity, a fast observed, God's Law read, special services held, Nehemiah 9:1-3.

Eighth Month

15 King Jeroboam of Northern Israel institutes counterfeit "Feast of Tabernacles," 1Kings 12:32,33.

Ninth Month

4 Word of Eternal came to Zechariah, told him that the fasts of the fifth and seventh months were not done to God, as the people would not heed God's prophets, Zechariah 7:1-13.

20 Jews and Benjamites from captivity, gathered together at Jerusalem and told by Ezra to separate from strange wives who were of a different race and religion, Ezra 10:9-11.

24 Word of Eternal came twice to Haggai that God's people were unclean and that God would shake the heavens and the earth, Haggai 2:10-23.

25 Beginning of eight day Feast of Dedication, or Hannukah, John 10:22.

Tenth Month

1 Waters from Flood had receded until tops of mountains were seen, Genesis 8:5.

1 Ezra and elders met to put away strange wives, Ezra 10:16-17.

5 Ezekiel was struck dumb by God until an escapee from Jerusalem informed him the city was smitten. God gave him a message as to why this event happened: they heard God's words, but did them not, Ezekiel 33:21-33.

10 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon began siege of Jerusalem, about 588 B.C., Jeremiah 39:1, 52:4, 2Kings 25:1. Remembered by Jews in a annual fast, Zechariah 8:19. Ezekiel given a message from God about the sins which caused this event, Ezekiel 24:1-27.

12 God's prophecy concerning Egypt was given to Ezekiel, 29:1-16.

Eleventh Month

1 In the 40th year, Moses spoke to the children of Israel the words of the Eternal, Deuteronomy 1:3.

24 God spoke to Zechariah in a vision, Zechariah 1:7.

Twelfth Month

1 (15) God told Ezekiel to lament for the fall of Egypt, Ezekiel 32:1, 17.

3 Rebuilt Temple finished, Ezra 6:15.

13 Publishing of Haman's death sentence upon all the Jews in captivity, Esther 3:10-13.

14 (& 15) Purim, celebration of Jews' deliverance from Haman's death decree, Esther 9:1-32.

25 (27) Evil-merodack, King of Babylon, released former King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison and gave him a daily allowance for the rest of his life, 2Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34.

No recorded events in thirteenth month.