News Letter 5858-035
The 6th Year of the 4th Sabbatical Cycle
The 27th year of the 120th Jubilee Cycle
The 2nd day of the 9th month 5858 years after the creation of Adam
The 4th Sabbatical Cycle after the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Sword, Famines, and Pestilence
The 3rd year Tithe
October 29, 2022
Shabbat Shalom to the Royal Family of Yehovah,
Last week we explained how the Bible shows you which calendar to use. It gave us proof positive. This week we are going to examine how it got missed up. It is my my hope that each of you will become an authority on the calendar so you can then teach others the truth.
Third Year Tithe
We have now the 9th month. This means there are still just under three months left until the Shmitah Year begins. Have you begun to store food away for the Sabbatical year from Aviv 1, 2023, to Aviv 1, 2024? If you have, then that is awesome. I want to remind you not to neglect the Widows in this 6th year so they, too, can store food away.
If you want to be blessed by Yehovah during this coming time with high inflation and high prices for food, then do not neglect your duty now to your brethren. We kept the Feast last month, and the donations for the widows have dropped off. I will assume you are all now giving to those you know personally, and this is awesome. But if, on the other hand, you have just stopped because of donor fatigue, then be forewarned.
I want to remind and ask you all, have you remembered the widows and the orphans this year thus far? We are now in the 6th month. Many of you have supported this cause and I want to thank you on their behalf. I will keep reminding you about this responsibility for the entirety of this year. But this year does not end until Aviv, 2023. So we are not yet halfway. And having now sent out another payment to the widows, I can tell you that we have dropped off by about 60% in our support of this cause.
Let me share with you what one widow recently wrote to me about the recent flooding in Kentucky. Notice how your generosity towards this Widow was used to help those in that flood.
Thank you Bro Joe for all your efforts to be a blessing which I for one truly appreciate. And pray Father will bless you 1000fold in return. The devastation an hour from me is so hard to fathom. I found out today that a couple of sisters I had gone to church with and had moved back home to Hazard lost everything but what one could put in 2 Walmart bags. I wanted to help in some way but did not know what I could do until I saw their post, So was able to give them 100$. The sister I gave it too had come back to London to stay with a friend and replied you don’t have this to give – but I told her, Yes, I do. I have been blessed and I will bless you. An answer to prayer for me as I wanted to help somehow. My son just came and told me that he had heard that there have been some suicides by those who have lost everything. So sad for everyone, especially to the family who had 4 children torn away from them. As bad as this is, I know worse is coming.
Brethren I do want to encourage you not to let up in your support. We all want to receive the blessings, which only come when you comply with the law. This 6th year is the prelude to the 7th year of rest. The Sabbatical year also has things that you are to do to be in compliance with the Kingdom laws. 2024 is the start of the 10 Days of Awe and you do not want to be found out of His Grace at that time.
2022 is the 6th year of the 4th Sabbatical cycle. And anyone who has been reading our website for any time will know how to prove beyond all doubt when the Sabbatical and Jubilee years are. Once you have done that then you will know when the 3rd and the 6th year of the Sabbatical Cycles are. We are told to raise a tithe every third year for the widow, the orphan and the Levite in your gates.
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Here is a very severe warning from Yehovah to each of us.
Exo 22:21 You shall neither vex a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry. And My wrath shall become hot, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your sons fatherless.
We have now sent out (as of June 20, 2022) our 4th round of gift offerings that you have sent in for the widows and orphans. We have also supported a couple of other ministries that aid us in doing this work. This will fulfill the Levite part of the commandment. It was our desire to get the funds to them as we are told to do in Deuteronomy.
Deu 14:28 At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year, and shall lay it up inside your gates.
Deu 14:29 And the Levite, because he has no part nor inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are inside your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied, so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
We will soon be making another gift to them. If you do not know of anyone in the faith who is a widow or orphan then you can send it to us. Make sure you write me to let me know that those funds are for the widows and I will see to it they get it. But if you do not write me then I will not know where to apply your donation.
May each one of you who has given to this cause, be blessed as Boaz was blessed by Yehovah for his generosity. May each one of you be known for your support of the laws that will make the Kingdom of Yehovah strong and righteous. And may Yehovah bless you so that what you give is never missed and you never lack for your generosity towards Yehovah’s heart.
Promotions
We will be promoting ads, books, and upcoming meetings in this section. I hope you will check it each week, copy and paste it to your social media pages, and help us share this message. We need each of you to help here as much as possible. Make sure you copy the blurb for each ad when you do. Thank you in advance.
I could really use your help to share this work.
You can take each promotion and share it with your loved ones. They might start to watch. You can enter their names and they would have to confirm that they’re interested. But you can plant the seeds by putting these promotions on your social media page and sharing them with the ones you care about.
We are working on more promotions for the Ten Tribes of Israel, Heaven, Hell and It Was A Riddle Not A Command.
They all take a lot of work and James and I are going as fast as we can with them. When you do see a mistake, let us know so we can try to fix it.
700 Club Asia
This is the Trailer for the above episode.
New YouTube and Tiktok Video
The video can be found on Tiktok at the following link. I hope you will help to share it there is you can.
https://www.tiktok.com/@josephfdumond/video/715677839
You can sign up for the book at the following link so include it with your posts.
https://sightedmoon.org/restoration-of-all-things#christiantiktok #christmas #jesusiscoming #torahtiktok #Torah #torahobservant#torahkeepers
https://sightedmoon.org/restoration-of-all-things
Joseph Dumond’s latest book is one of the most exciting biblical rollercoaster rides full of sensational revelations and fresh insights.
If you are a seeker of truth—no matter at what personal cost—you will undoubtedly appreciate the precious pearls of great price enshrined in its pages. Let’s face it; when you go to hear a great preacher, for his message to be worth hearing, it needs to move you. You have become inspired, your focus has changed, and you have come away with a new resolve. So it is also with a book. It has to inspire you. It has to hold you, stir and lead you, and yes, it needs to even change you. Be very glad, for you have found such a book, you are holding it in your hands right now.
The lead theme of this book is perfectly expressed in, ‘The Times of Restoration of All things,’ quoted from Acts 3:21, and it appears to suggest to the careful reader that Messiah Yeshua cannot come back to us, “…until the times of restoration of all things!” This caused the author to ask the following questions:
“WHAT WAS LOST?”
“WHEN WAS IT LOST?”
“HOW & WHEN (& IN WHICH WAY) WILL IT BE RESTORED?
Once he has provided us with the incredible and shocking details of the ‘What’ and the ‘When;’ Joseph Dumond goes on to inform us of the majestic way in which the Holy Spirit is inspiring people throughout the ages at different times and in diverse places to restore key lost aspects of His truth.
Reading this largely untold history is an exciting experience, as constantly you are presented with sad and terrible events, as well as wonderful, surprising things, almost too fantastic to imagine. Another totally new and fresh insight is presented into both the meaning and the application of those well-known Biblical phrases regarding: “The former and latter rains!” (Joel 2:23)
This restoration phenomenon comes in two great phases known respectively, as “The Former and the Latter Rains.” It is utterly fascinating to follow the process, as you go through the ages of the living and true faith of our fathers. Even when it looks like all is lost, somewhere and somehow the baton of leadership is handed down, and various aspects of the old faith are, once again, restored. To get and keep your attention in this exceptionally well-researched, historical grand tour, the author introduces you to the “RESTORATION HEROES OF THE FAITH!” As you come closer to our time today, you will be surprised who some of those modern-day heroes are. What sets them apart is how each one of them has been instrumental in restoring some important truth that, sadly, has been lost.
As for me and my house, we whole heartedly recommend “The Restoration of all things!” Stephen J Spykerman, Author, Minister, International Speaker, Founder: Mount Ephraim Publishing
The Elijah Trilogy
The Abomination that Makes Desolate, is written. It is partly edited. We need to go through this once again and possibly add a little more content.
The 10 Days of Awe, was written in draft. It needs to be organized and the writing finalized. Once this is done then it will need to be edited. I see this coming out in 2023. Do keep us in your prayers. I have a lot on my plate and I do need to get this out ASAP. 2023 and 2024 are right in front of us and this book deals with those things that come at that time.
The Restoration of All Things
The Restoration of All Things. Here is the link you can post on your page and help us to begin to promote this book everywhere we can.
Before Messiah Yehshua can come, Elijah must restore all things. What are those things that need to be restored? Have they happened yet? What was lost and when? When was it restored and by whom? Are you watching the right things in your walk?
https://sightedmoon.org/restoration-of-all-things
The Mark of the Beast
Do you know what the Mark of the Beast is? If you have it read what Revelation 14 says: Rev 14:9 And a third angel followed them, saying with a great voice, If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives a mark in his forehead or in his hand, Rev 14:10 he also will drink of the wine of the anger of God, having been mixed undiluted in the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented by fire and brimstone before the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. And they have no rest day or night, those who worship the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name. Get the article, and let us show you exactly what that Mark of the Beast is. Once you know it, then you can defend against it. Here is the FREE offer. Just click on the link, and you will receive the PDF immediately. https://sightedmoon.org/mark-of-the-beast-free-offer Shortly after this, you will be sent the other article on what the number 666 actually does mean. And once you see it, you will be stunned. If you can’t wait for this article to be sent, then here is the link for it as well. https://sightedmoon.org/the-bis-mallah-666 Read them both and tell others about what you now know. https://sightedmoon.org/newsletter-signup55469575
The Key To End-Time Prophecy is the Jubilee Cycles
The Key To All End-Time Prophecy is the Jubilee Cycles. With the understanding of when every Sabbatical and Jubilee year was throughout history, you can then begin to see patterns develop of when Yehovah brought about major historical events. When you know when the Flood took place in that Jubilee Cycle, you can compare it to our current 120th Jubilee Cycle. Then when you do the same for the time of Lot, and read the scripture in Luke, you can get an idea when the Kingdom of Yehovah will be set up.
The Coming of the Kingdom
Luk 17:20 And being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation. 21 Nor shall they say, Lo here! or, behold, there! For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst. 22 And He said to the disciples, The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you shall not see it. 23 And they shall say to you, Lo, here! or, behold, there! Do not go away, nor follow. 24 For as the lightning which lights up, flashing from the one part under heaven, and shines to the other part under heaven, so also shall the Son of Man be in His day. 25 But first He must suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. 26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it also shall be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 So also as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but the day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from the heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so it shall be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 In that day he who shall be on the housetop, and his goods in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise, he who is in the field, let him not return to the things behind. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two in one bed, the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two shall be grinding together, one will be taken, and the other left. 36 Two shall be in the field, one will be taken, and the other left. 37 And they answered and said to Him, Where, Lord? And He said to them, Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
Our books are based on understanding the Jubilee Cycles and how they reveal many end-time prophecies. You must also have an in-depth understanding of the Holy Days. To learn more sign up for our Newsletter at https://sightedmoon.org/newsletter-signup55469575
The Mystery of the Jewish Rapture 2033
There are many people who kept Pentecost Sunday last weekend. Some are doing so this weekend June 12. Are you aware of the deep meaning of this day? If you did you would not be wondering when the Rapture would be. You would know for sure.
Come let us show you the deep meaning behind this Holy Day and how the understanding of it is revealing so many other truths. Order the book today and begin to learn these things right away.
https://sightedmoon.org/jewish-rapture-2033
The Riddle Rapture Book Offer
Once you understand the Sabbatical and Jubilee Cycles then you will begin to understand prophecy unlike you have ever understood before. When is the Messiah coming? When is the Rapture?
Jesus spoke in parables so that those who would not obey would not understand. If you do not know when the time of HIs coming is, and when the Saints will be raised or changed in a twinkling of an eye, then maybe, just maybe you are one of those who will not obey.
Those who do obey know. Order both books today and begin to understand unlike you have dreamed of before. Order them both now.
Here is what one person wrote who read the book.
I love the enormous amount of Scripture the author uses in teaching and making a point. Taking a single verse out of context can totally skew the understanding (case in point, Psalm 10:4 and 14:1 both say that there is no God). Instead of leading his readers to his belief system, Mr Dumond lets the Bible lead the way! He just connects the dots.
There were so many Bible verses I never understood, despite many years of Sunday School and Bible studies. Many actually seemed to contradict each other. Once I learned that the Bible uses idioms it made such a difference in my understanding. In English we say things like “killing time” or “kicking the bucket” and recognize that they express something other then the sum of the individual words. Turns out that Hebrew (the language the Creator chose to record His words) uses many idioms also. Recognizing what they mean opened up my understanding!
I’m about to go thru this book a 2nd time as there is SO much I didn’t get it all the first time!
Order your copy today. Start to read it right now.
“https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-F-Dumond/e/B005HX7QYI?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1666924093”
THE MARK OF THE BEAST – FREE
Like many of you, I have read so many different ideas as to what the “Mark of the Beast” is. This “Mark” has been said to be the social security cards, or credit cards, then it was thought to be the barcode system, which is largely how we all shop today, but this ISN’T even on our hands or foreheads as the scriptures state! Then it was the RFID chip planted in our hands that caused an uproar.
Our Bibles explain this if we would just read it. Let me explain this to you. This is FREE.
https://sightedmoon.org/mark-of-the-beast-free-offer
Once you have read the Mark of the Beast then you will be sent an email to read The Bismallah 666. So you must sign up for one to get the other.
Just for Fun
Sing the song with the music and with the whole family. Have a little fun as you do it.
Looking for more lines if you are so inclined. Leave them in the comments.
Y’all have some fun now y’hear.
Tune in and watch many of our other teachings about the Sabbatical and Jubilee and the importance of understanding the calendar and begin to understand just how close to the end of this age we are.
Subscribe today to our weekly Newsletter https://sightedmoon.com/newsletter/
Subscribe to our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/dumond1958 and watch our interviews and many teachings about the Calendar and the Jubilee Cycles and prophecy.
The Sabbatical and Jubilee Cycles reveal End-Time Prophecy
Sabbath Meetings
There are many people in need of fellowship and who are sitting at home on the Sabbath with no one to talk to or debate with. I want to encourage all of you to join us on Shabbat, and to invite others to come and join us as well. If the time is not convenient then you can listen to the teaching and the midrash after on our YouTube channel.
What are we doing and why do we teach this way?
We are going to discuss both sides of an issue and then let you choose. It is the work of the Ruach (Spirit) to direct and to teach you.
The medieval commentator Rashi wrote that the Hebrew word for wrestle (avek) implies that Jacob was “tied”, for the same word is used to describe knotted fringes in a Jewish prayer shawl, the tzitzityot. Rashi says, “thus is the manner of two people who struggle to overthrow each other, that one embraces the other and knots him with his arms”.
Our intellectual wrestling has been replaced by a different kind of struggle. We are Wrestling with Yehovah as we grapple with His Word. It is an intimate act, symbolizing a relationship in which Yehovah and I and you are bound together. My wrestling is a struggle to discover what Yehovah expects of us, and we are “tied” to the One who assists us in that struggle.
Today, many say Israel means “Champion of God”, or better — the “Wrestler of God”.
Our Torah sessions each Shabbat teaches you and encourages you to constantly challenge, question, argue against, as well as view alternative views and explanations of the Word. In other words, we are to “wrestle with the Word” to get to the truth. Jews worldwide believe that you need to wrestle with the Word and constantly challenge Dogma, Theology, and views or else you will never get to the Truth.
We are not like most churches where “The preacher talks and everyone listens.” We encourage everyone to participate, to question and to contribute what they know on the subject being discussed. We want you to be a champion wrestler of the Word of Yehovah. We want you to wear the title of Israel, knowing that you not only know but are capable of explaining why you know the Torah to be true with logic and facts.
We have a few rules though. Let others talk and listen. There is no discussion about UFO’s Nephilim, Vaccines or conspiracy-type subjects. We have people from around the world with different world views. Not everyone cares who is the President of any particular country. Treat each other with respect as Fellow wrestlers of the word. Some of our subjects are hard to understand and require you to be mature and if you do not know, then listen to gain knowledge and understanding and hopefully wisdom. The very things you are commanded to ask Yehovah for and He gives to those who ask.
Jas 1:5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and with no reproach, and it shall be given to him.
We hope you can invite those who want to keep Torah to come and join us by hitting the link below. It is almost like a Torah teaching fellowship talk show with people from around the world taking part and sharing their insights and understandings.
We start off with some music and then some prayers and it’s as though you were sitting around the kitchen back in Newfoundland having a cup of coffee and all of us enjoying each other’s company. I hope you will grace us with your company someday.
Sabbath services begin at 12:30 PM EDT where we will be doing prayers songs and teaching from this hour.
Shabbat Services will begin at about 1:15 pm Eastern.
We look forward to you joining our family and getting to know us as we get to know you.
Joseph Dumond is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Joseph Dumond’s Personal Meeting Room
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Torah Portions
We read through the entire Torah, along with the Prophets and the New Testament, once over the course of 3 1/2 years. Or according to the Sabbatical Cycle, which means we read it all twice over a 7-year period. This allows us to cover more in-depth rather than being rushed to cover as much as is covered on an annual basis. We allow all to comment and take part in the discussions.
Septennial Torah Portion
If you go to Torah Portion at our archived section, you can then go to the 6th year which is the 6th year of the Sabbatical Cycle, the one we are in now, as we state at the top of every News Letter. There you can scroll down to October 8, 2022, and see that this Shabbat we could very well be midrashing about:
Leviticus 24
Ezekiel 26-28
1 Peter 3-4
If you missed last week’s exciting discoveries as we studied that section you can go and watch past Shabbats on our media section.
Most people are so shallow in their understanding of the Bible that they have to resort to talking endlessly about the vaccine or covid or chemtrails or the Illuminati or Nephilim. They like the endless everything goes type of opinions that allow everyone to be right except those who disagree with them.
Instead of wasting their time on such nonsense subjects, why don’t Messianics spend endless amounts of time on social media promoting the truth about the postponement rules or explaining why the equinox is a false teaching? Why are most of them ignorant of the details about the Holy Days of Yehovah? It is high time you learned them and became proficient at explaining the truth to others and not all these false assumptions.
Dehioth: The Rules of Postponements
The biblical calendar affects all of us whether we keep it or not! It is our means of keeping the Holy Days with Yehovah on His Sabbaths at the proper times. Curses come when we do not keep it whether we know about it or not.
I have been learning and studying Yehovah’s Holy Days since 1981. I started off like most Churches of God, following the Hebrew calendar, which incorporates postponements for the Holy Days! The Churches of God have adopted the same system that the Jews use, namely the Hillel Calendar, which was created in 358 AD due to the persecutions that were happening at that time. After much research and study, I have found no scriptures supporting the postponements of Yehovah’s appointed Holy Days as the Jewish Hebrew calendar recommends and prescribes.
The Catholic Church in the 4th century AD changed keeping the seventh day Sabbath to keeping Sunday the first day of the week, thus postponing God’s appointed weekly Sabbath. We explain this in great detail in our latest book The Restoration of All Things. If you have not yet read it please order a copy at this link. We will soon be coming out with the 2nd book in The Elijah Trilogy I hope by the end of November. So get this first book and learn the history of what was lost and how it got lost because then you will be able to see Elijah who must restore all things before the Messiah comes. Order the book after Sabbath. https://sightedmoon.org/sales-page-568080041666323858692
When I stopped keeping Sunday as the Sabbath and began to keep the 7th Day Saturday as the Sabbath, I began to also keep the Holy Days of Leviticus 23 as appointments with Yehovah. We were using the Hillel Calendar, which is what Judah uses They also use the postponements rules for God’s Holy Days. The religion of Judaism has changed the days for the Holy Days by postponing them according to the rules of postponements! No one knows for sure when they added these postponement rules to their calculations.
If it is OK for the Jews to move the Holy Days by one, two or even three days, then it is also OK for the Catholic Church to postpone the Sabbath by just one day.
If you do not agree with this statement about the Pope being allowed to postpone the Sabbath by just one day, and you keep the Hillel Calendar, then you are a Hypocrite. You are lying to yourself. You have deceived yourself into thinking you are righteous. For if the Catholics are sinners for not keeping the Sabbath then you, YOU are also a sinner for not keeping the Holy Days, the MOEDIM of Yehovah at the proper time. YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT in Yehovah’s eyes.
Gen 1:14And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide between the day and the night. And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years
“This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Exo. 12:2).“And Moses said unto the people, remember this day, in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten; this day came ye out in the month of [green ears] Abib. You shall therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year” (Exo. 13:2-4, 10).“Observe the month of Abib [Moses is speaking], and keep the Passover unto the Lord your GOD: for in the month of Abib the Lord your GOD brought you forth out of Egypt by night” (Deu. 16:1).
H24 (Ancient Hebrew)
H24 = AHLB# 1002-B (b)
1002) Ba% (Ba% AB) ac: Stand co: Pole ab: ?: The pictograph a represents strength, the b represents the tent. Combined these mean “the strength of the house”. This can be the tent poles which hold up the tent, the house, as well as the father who holds up the family, the household. (eng: pa – an exchange from a b and p and a reversal of the letters)
A) Ba% (Ba% AB) ac: ? co: Pole ab: ?: The support of the tent/house.
Nm) Ba% (Ba% AB) – I. Fruit: This word can also be fresh fruit, the father of the next generation of trees attached to the tree (pole). [Hebrew and Aramaic] II. Father: The father of the family provides the strength, support and structure to the household. The father fulfilled many functions for the family. He was the commander of the family army, provider of offspring to continue the family line, the priest and teacher. A father can be of the immediate family or a lineage such as Jacob who is the father of the Israelites. A father can also be the patron of a profession or art. [Hebrew and Aramaic] [freq. 1229] |kjv: father, chief, families, desire, patrimony, prince, principle, greenness, fruit| {H1, H2, H3, H4}
Nf1) Eba% (Eba% A-BH) – Desire: The desires of the father. [freq. 1] |kjv: desire| {H15}
B) Bba% (Bba% ABB) ac: ? co: Grain ab: ?
bm) Biba% (Biba% A-BYB) – Green Grain: The new green ears of growing grain as the parent seeds attached to the stalk (pole) of the next generation of crops. Also Abib, the name of a month in the Hebrew calendar. [freq. 8] |kjv: abib, corn| {H24}
Let us begin with some background on the Postponements and why some of the Jewish leaders felt it was necessary to postpone God’s Holy Days. The Holy Day arrangement for the year is determined by rules that are designed to prevent Yom Kippur (Atonement) from occurring either before or after the Sabbath. They changed God’s Holy Days to suit their own needs, in the society existent at that time in history.
There are seven rules to the Postponements but we are only going to explain the first four. The other three have to do with the benedictions. If you would like further information on the benedictions, you can find it in your local library.
THE FIRST RULE:
This rule explains that Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), the first day of the (Jewish) New Year, may not occur on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday. If Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) were on Sunday, Hosha’na Rabbah (the 7th Day of the Feast of Tabernacles) would be on Saturday, and this must be avoided because it would prevent the proper celebration of the Festival of Willows. (Hoshanan Rabbah is the beating of the willows ceremony and would be considered work on the Sabbath)
If Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) were on Wednesday, Atonement (Yom Kippur) would be on a Friday and this would cause undue hardship because, there would be two days in a row with severe restrictions. If Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) were on a Friday, Atonement (Yom Kippur) would be on a Sunday, and again, we would have two days in a row with severe restrictions. Therefore, if the new moon (molad) is on either Sunday, Wednesday or Friday, the first day of Tishri (7th month) is postponed to the following day.
THE SECOND RULE:
If the New Moon (molad) of Tishri (the 7th month) occurs at noon or later, New Moon (Rosh Hodesh) is declared to be the following day. Thus, if the molad (new moon) is Monday at noon or later, Tuesday is declared to be Rosh Hodesh (New Moon). The reason is that if the molad (new moon) is before noon, it is certain that the new crescent will be visible in some part of the world before sunset of the same day. If however, the new moon (molad) occurs after midday, the new crescent will not be visible before sunset of the same day. If the following day is Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday on which the first day of Tishri may not occur, it is further postponed to the next following day, so that the first of Tishri is the third day counting from, and including, the day of the molad (new moon).
STOP AND READ THIS AGAIN!!!
Why are they concerned about seeing the crescent moon in another part of the world before it is seen in Israel?
STOP AND THINK PEOPLE!
UNDERSTAND WHY THE HILLEL CALENDAR WAS CREATED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
It was created because they could no longer sight the moon nor look for the barley because the witnesses were being murdered. Hillel created this method of calculation so that those in the diaspora could keep the Holy Days at the same time as those who lived in the land and could sight the moon. The Hillel Calendar was created to help everyone keep the Holy Days according to when the moon would be sighted in Israel. Over time that got forgotten, and the errors in the calculations grew larger. Now today, the crescent moon is not even considered, but they go solely by the conjunction of the moon.
THE THIRD RULE:
If the molad of Tishri in an ordinary year is on Tuesday at 3:204/1080 A.M. or later, the first of Tishri is postponed to Thursday. It cannot be on Tuesday because then the next year’s New Moon (molad) of Tishri would be on Saturday afternoon and new moon (Rosh Hodesh) would have to be postponed to Sunday. This would make the year in question 356 days long, which is more than the statutory limit of 355 days.
THE FOURTH RULE:
This occurs if the New Moon (molad) of Tishri, in a year succeeding a leap year, is on a Monday after 9:00 A.M. (ie. the fifteenth hour from the beginning of the night before) and 589/1080 parts. If this year were to begin on Monday, Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) of the preceding year would have fallen on Tuesday noon, and would have been postponed to Wednesday. This would make the current year 382 days in length, which is lower than the statutory limit of 383 days.
DAYS OF THE WEEK ON WHICH HOLY DAYS CAN NOT OCCUR, or “Forbidden Days”
The Holy Day arrangement for the year is determined by rules that aim to prevent Yom Kippur (Atonement) from occurring either before or after the Sabbath.
(From Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar by Arthur Spier, page 10 & 15, 1986 edition).
Not any of the above rules can be found in Scripture, either in word or principle!
Are You Going to Follow Man’s Rules or Yehovah’s Commandments? The Choice is Yours? Remember though; you must pay the price if you are wrong.
This year in September 2015, the conjunction of the moon takes place on September 13th. According to the Hebrew Calendar then Sept. 13 should be the 1st day. But as you can see from the chart above, Sunday is not allowed to be the Feast of Trumpets. Because of the postponement rules, those following the Hebrew Calendar must postpone the Holy Day by one day.
Where is this found in your bible?
Again using this conjunction for Sept, the day of Atonement would then fall on a Tuesday and this is not allowed. The Feast of Sukkot would then fall on Sunday which again is not allowed.
A Look into Postponements
What are “postponements”? What purpose do they serve? Were they in use by ancient Israel under Moses? Did Yeshua heed, or even know of, these rules? Did God ordain them? Did Hillel II ordain them? Does the Mishnah or Talmud enjoin their use? What is their origin? Let us delve deeply into the matter.
The following quote divulges the workings of postponements. It may take a few readings to grasp some understanding of it.
“The dehiyyot [postponements] are as follows:
(a) If the Tishri molad falls on day 1, 4, or 6, then Tishri 1 is postponed one day. [This postponement is often referred to as ADU, which is an acronym formed from the Hebrew letters alef (1 for Sunday), daled (4 for Wednedsday), &vov (6 for Friday)]
(b) If the Tishri molad occurs at or after 18 hours (i.e., noon), then Tishri 1 is postponed one day. If this causes Tishri 1 to fall on day 1, 4, or 6, then Tishri 1 is postponed an additional day to satisfy dehiyyah(a).
(c) If the Tishri molad of an ordinary year (i.e., of twelve months) falls on day 3 at or after 9 hours, 204 halakim, then Tishri 1 is postponed two days to day 5, thereby satisfying dehiyyah (a).
(d) If the first molad following a leap year falls on day 2 at or after 15 hours, 589 halakim, then Tishri 1 is postponed one day to day 3.
3.1.2 Reasons for the Dehiyyot
Dehiyyah (a) prevents Hoshana Rabba (Tishri 1) from occurring on the Sabbath and prevents Yom Kippur (Tishri 10) from occurring on the day before or after the Sabbath.
Dehiyyah (b) is an artifact of the ancient practice of beginning each month with the sighting of the lunar crescent. It is assumed that if the molad (i.e., the mean conjunction) occurs after noon, the lunar crescent cannot be sighted until after 6 P.M., which will then be on the following day.
Dehiyyah (c) prevents an ordinary year from exceeding 355 days. If the Tishri molad of an ordinary year occurs on Tuesday at or after 3:11:20 A.M., the next Tishri molad will occur at or after noon on Saturday. According to dehiyyah (b), Tishri 1 of the next year must be postponed to Sunday, which by dehiyyah (a) occasions a further postponement to Monday. This results in an ordinary year of 356 days. Postponing Tishri 1 from Tuesday to Thursday produces a year of 354 days.
Dehiyyah (d) prevents a leap year from falling short of 383 days. If the Tishri molad following a leap year is on Monday, at or after 9:32:43 1/3 A.M., the previous Tishri molad (thirteen months earlier) occurred on Tuesday at or after noon. Therefore, by dehiyyot (b) and (a), Tishri 1 beginning the leap year was postponed to Thursday. To prevent a leap year of 382 days, dehiyyah (d) postpones by one day the beginning of the ordinary year.” (Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac, P. Kenneth Seidelmann, editor; document online at: http://astro.nmsu.edu/~lhuber/leaphist.html)
Now, if these postponement rules were in force and in use by ancient Israel, both under Moses and on through the Temple periods, we should expect to find mention of them in his and their writings.
The Scriptural Record
First and foremost, our foundation, is the Word of God—The Holy Scriptures. Beginning our search here, does one find any instance of postponement rules? Does it state in the Torah— say, Leviticus 23 for example, that the Day of Shouting (aka “Yom Teruah”/”Day of Trumpets”) is the first day of the seventh lunar cycle unless that day of the seventh new moon happens to occur on a Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday–in which cases, please observe it the day following?
One may search even the whole of Scriptures but will never find such.
Leviticus 23:24 plainly states that it is the first day of the seventh moon of the year that is to be sanctified with a holy assembly. Nowhere does Scripture state that this God-appointed holy assembly can be shifted to a day different than the seventh new moon day of the year.
The Historical Record
Looking into historic documents, we find that the postponements were not yet in use in Jesus’ day, nor for even centuries thereafter. After all, Hillel created them in 358 AD.
The Mishnah (spanning the time period of 200 B.C. – 200 A.D.), which came to make up the first part of Talmud, states:
IF THE DAY OF ATONEMENT FELL ON A SABBATH – Mas. Menachoth 100a
IF SABBATH AND THE DAY OF ATONEMENT [FOLLOWED EACH OTHER] i.e., when the Day of Atonement fell upon Friday or Sunday – Mas. K’rithoth 19a
when the Day of Atonement falls on a Friday – Mas. Shabbath 114b
Where the Day of Atonement fell on a Friday, the Shewbread was then baked on a Thursday – Mas. Menachoth 100b
They fold up clothing even four or five times. And they spread beds on the night of the Sabbath for use on the Sabbath, but not on the Sabbath for use after the Sabbath. R. Ishmael says, “They fold clothes and lay out beds on the Day of Atonement for the Sabbath.” – Mas. Shabbat 15:3
As evidenced above, even well after Messiah’s time in the flesh, the Day of Atonement was still being observed on both Fridays and Sundays which cannot be done under modern postponement rules.
Further readings from the Mishnah provide historical proof that other Appointed Times likewise were not postponed:
IF THE EVE OF PASSOVER IN JERUSALEM FALLS ON A SABBATH – Mas. Shabbath 148b
IF THE FOURTEENTH FELL ON A SABBATH – Mas. Shekalim 8:3
IF THE FOURTEENTH [OF NISAN] FALLS ON THE SABBATH – Mas. Pesachim 49a
THE [AFTERNOON] TAMID IS SLAUGHTERED AT EIGHT AND A HALF HOURS AND IS OFFERED AT NINE AND A HALF HOURS. ON THE EVE OF PASSOVER IT IS SLAUGHTERED AT SEVEN AND A HALF HOURS AND OFFERED AT EIGHT AND A HALF HOURS, WHETHER IT IS A WEEKDAY OR THE SABBATH. IF THE EVE OF PASSOVER FELL, ON SABBATH EVE [FRIDAY], IT IS SLAUGHTERED AT SIX AND A HALF HOURS AND OFFERED AT SEVEN AND A HALF HOURS, AND THE PASSOVER OFFERING AFTER IT. ON THE EVE OF PASSOVER IT IS SLAUGHTERED…WHETHER IT IS A WEEKDAY OR THE SABBATH – Mas. Pesachim 58a
This passage, dealing with the “evening” daily offering when offered on Passover, illustrates that Passover could occur on a weekday, preparation day (Friday), or Sabbath.
IF THE SIXTEENTH FALLS ON THE SABBATH – Mas. Pesachim 83a
These show the “Passover festival” (i.e., the first day of the Feast of Unleavens) occurring on a day not allowed by the current rules of postponement (i.e., Friday). Also, utilizing the current fixed calendar, an Abib 16 Sabbath occurrence would put Sivan 6 (which is the post-Mishnah rabbinical reckoning of Pentecost [1]) on the Sabbath. This is yet another CRC no-no.
During the Second Commonwealth down to the fourth century C.E. [at the earliest], the festival of Passover could fall on any day of the week including Friday. (Dr. Solomon Zeitlin, “The Judean Calendar During the Second Commonwealth and the Scrolls,” Jewish Quarterly Review, July 1966)
While we of the “Church of God” do not observe the fasts added by the Jews, we shall look at one of them here now in the context of this study. The fast of the ninth of Av is never allowed to occur upon a Friday under the rules of the current CRC. However, in Bible times, and on through the Mishnaic period, this was not so:
“They may not decree a public fast on the first day of a month or during [the Feast of] the Dedication or at Purim. But if they had begun they may not interrupt the fast. So Rabban Gamaliel. R. Meir said: Although Rabban Gamaliel has said, ‘They may not interrupt the fast,’ he admitted that they need not fast the whole day. So, too, with the Ninth of Av if it fell on the eve of a Sabbath [i.e., a Friday].” (The Mishnah, Danby, p.197, Taanith 2:10)
The Mishnah also records the following concerning the Day of Shouting (“Trumpets”), which is the day that these Postponement rules are based around: if the two Festival-days of the New Year fall after the Sabbath [that is, on Sunday and Monday] – Mas. Shabbath 19:5
This Mishnaic quote shows that “Festival-days” can immediately follow Sabbath.[2] It likewise clearly states that specifically “Rosh HaShanah” (Tishri 1) could fall on the first day of the week, and thus it is seen that the postponement of this Day of Shouting (a.k.a. “Feast of Trumpets”/”Rosh HaShanah”) from Sunday to Monday was not yet established during Temple times nor in the Mishnaic period.
Why is it that the first day of Ethanim (a.k.a. “Tishri”) is not allowed to fall on a Sunday according to the rabbinical calendar anyway?
If Rosh Hashanah fell on a Sunday, Hoshanah Rabbah would fall on the Sabbath and would call for the elimination of certain rituals which the pharisaic rabbis did not want to forgo. (Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol 25, No 1, 1997; Article by Rabbi Saul Leeman, “Why is Pesach So Late This Year?”).
Sunday is considered unfit, because with Rosh ha-Shanah falling thereon, the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Hosha’na Rabbah) on which the ceremony of “beating the willow-twigs” is an important part of the service, would fall on the Sabbath, and the observance of the ceremony could not be permitted. (Henry Malter, Saadia Gaon: His Life and Works)
Rosh Hashana never falls on a Sunday because that would mean that Hoshana Rabba (the last day of Sukkot, which always falls on 21 Tishri) would fall on a Saturday, which would not be desirable. In talmudic times, Hoshana Rabba was regarded as a day much like Yom Kippur. It brought to an end the long holiday period beginning with Rosh Hashana, and was considered to be the one final opportunity to reverse an unfavorable decree issued against the individual on the High Holidays. If Hoshana Rabba were to fall on the Sabbath, this would interfere with the ceremony of beating a bunch of hoshanot (willows) during the synagogue services, an action forbidden on the Sabbath [Both the action of beating the willow-twigs, and the forbiddance thereof on the Sabbath, are by later rabbinical decree, not by God]. Beating the willows was an act of self-flagellation and a sign of remorse, similar to the malkot ceremony practiced on Yom Kippur. (Alfred J. Kolatch, The Jewish Book of WHY, p.228)
Do you agree that we should not observe “Trumpets” on the correct day because of this rabbinical tradition and reasoning? How many of the CRC-observant brethren are even aware that this is why “Trumpets” is never observed on a Sunday within the so-called “Hebrew calendar”?
The following Mishnaic quote proves that Ethanim 21 (“HoShana Rabba”) was not postponed from falling upon the Sabbath in the Temple and, at the least, pre-Talmudic times, and thereby likewise further shows that “Trumpets” was not postponed from being observed on the first day of the week:
4:1 A. [The rites of] the lulav and the willow branch [being carried around the altar by the priests] are for six or seven [days]…
4:3 A. The willow branch rite is for seven days: How so?
1. [If] the seventh day of the willow branch coincided with the Sabbath, the willow branch [rite] is for seven days…
4:5 F. And on that day [i.e., “the seventh day of the willow branch” (Ethanim 21)] they walk around the altar seven times…
4:6 A. As the rite concerning it [is performed] on an ordinary day, so the rite concerning [is performed] on the Sabbath” – Mas. Sukkah 4:1,3,5,6
Akavia, in ‘Kizzur‘ p. xl, shows, from dates given in Sherira Gaon’s Epistle, that Rosh Hashanah was observed on Sunday, with a consequent Sabbath Hoshana Rabbah, long after Hillel II. (‘Rosh Hashanah,’ here and elsewhere, refers to the first day of the holiday [Tishri 1]). (Arnold A. Lasker and Daniel J.Lasker, Behold, A Moon is Born! How the Jewish Calendar Works)
The following historical records of the Jews, also from the Talmudic period, show that the 1st day of the seventh new moon was likewise not postponed from occuring on a Friday:
1. IN THE SEVENTH MONTH, IN THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH SHALL BE A SOLEMN REST (XXIII, 24).1This bears on what is written in Scripture:
For ever, O Lord, Thy word standeth fast in heaven (Ps. CXIX, 89). 2 It was taught in the name of R. Eliezer: The world was created on the twenty-fifth of Elul. The view of Rab agrees with the teaching of R. Eliezer. For we have learned in the Shofar Benediction 3 composed by Rab: ‘ This day, on which was the beginning of work, is a memorial of the first day, for it is a statute for Israel, a decree of the God of Jacob. Thereon also sentence is pronounced upon countries, which of them is destined to the sword and which to peace, which to famine and which to plenty; and each separate creature is visited thereon, and recorded for life or for death.’4 Thus you are left to conclude 5 that on New Year’s Day, in the first hour the idea of creating man entered His mind, in the second He took counsel with the Ministering Angels, in the third He assembled Adam’s dust, in the fourth He kneaded it, in the fifth He shaped him, in the sixth He made him into a lifeless body, in the seventh He breathed a soul into him, in the eighth He brought him into the Garden of Eden, in the ninth he was commanded [against eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge], in the tenth he transgressed, in the eleventh he was judged, in the twelfth he was pardoned. ‘This,’ said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Adam, ‘will be a sign to your children. As you stood in judgment before Me this day and came out with a free pardon, so will your children in the future stand in judgment before Me on this day and will come out from My presence with a free pardon.’ When will that be? In the seventh month, in the first day of the month.
(1) New Year’s Day; the day on which God sits in judgment upon the world. The exposition that follows is intended to explain why the first day of the year was chosen as the day of judgment.
(2) The bearing is not clear. In Pes. R. XL, 2 this verse is expounded as showing that mercy governs God’s attitude in His judgment of man and that this was so in the case of Adam who was judged on the first day of the year.
(3) I.e. in the second of the special passages inserted in the Additional Service on New Year’sDay. This second benediction is now known as Zikronoth, remembrance.
- (4) V. A.P.B., p. 250.
- (5) The conclusion is only that Adam was created on New Year’s Day, the first of Tishri,
this being the sixth day from the twenty-fifth of Elul.
Midrash Rabbah – Leviticus 29:1
The Talmud likewise claims that Adam was created on Ethanim 1 (aka, “Tishri 1”):
He was created on New Year’s Day, the first of Tishri, and all that is related of him occurred on that very day. In the first hour his dust was assembled; in the second he was rough-hewn; in the third his limbs were articulated; in the fourth the soul was breathed into him; in the fifth he stood erect; in the sixth he gave names to all creatures; in the seventh Eve was brought to him; in the eighth they begot Cain and Abel; in the ninth they were forbidden to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; in the tenth they sinned; in the eleventh sentence was passed; and in the twelfth they were driven out of Eden (Sanh. 38b; cf. also Lev. R. 29:1). (Encyclopaedia Judaica, Volume 2, article: Adam, pp.236,237)
Now we, as the rabbinic Jews who authored the material above, are quite aware what day Adam was created, aren’t we? The Book of Genesis explains clearly to us that he was created on the sixth day–the day before the Sabbath (Gen. 1&2). This being the fact, it is clear that the “rabbis” who authored these Midrash and Talmudic quotes did not believe Ethanim 1 was to be postponed from occuring on the day before the weekly Sabbath (that is, on Friday).
The Origin of Postponements
We have examined the Scriptural and historical records and have found them replete with proof that the postponement rules of the CRC were not in use in either the 1st of 2nd Temple periods, nor thereafter during the Mishnaic period.
So when did these man-made rules come into place? Did Hillel II institute them in 358/359 C.E. when he published the, up till then, “secret” astronomical information which had been used by the Sanhedrin to determine if the witnesses who came to testify of their sighting of the fresh crescent were lying or not?
“The plain fact is that, as seen by recent scholars, the system of the fixed calendar was not developed until fully three or four centuries after the close of the Talmudic period, about A.D. 485. [therefore, around the eighth or ninth century C.E.]…Nor can anything be found in the Talmud about the weighty calendaric matters as the regulated succession of full and defective months within the year, the four postponements of New Year’s Day, the 19-year cycle, or the number and succession of intercalated years in this or any cycle.” (The Code of Maimonides, Book Three Treatise Eight SANCTIFICATION OF THE MOON, translated from the Hebrew by Solomon Ganz; Introduction by Julian Obermann, Astronomical Commentary by Otto Neugebauer, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1956, p xli-xlii)
“There is…unimpeachable evidence from the works of writers with expert knowledge of the calendar that the present ordo intercalationis [sequence of intercalations–the 19 year cycle] and epochal molad were not intrinsic parts of the calendar of Hillel II, these being seen still side by side with other styles of the ordo intercalationis and the molad as late as the 11th century. Also the four dehiyyot [postponement rules]developed gradually. …By the tenth century the Jewish calendar was exactly the same as today.” (Cecil Roth, editor, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 5, p.50, article: Calendar)
While we cannot be positively sure as to when the postponement rules were added alongside the other man-made rules of the then-developing calculated rabbinical calendar, we know with complete confidence that these rules were not in use, nor even conceived of and known, during Jesus’ day. There are some indications that the initial elements of these postponements began to creep in near the end of the Talmudic period, but as the Encyclopaedia Judiaca quote states above, these rules developed gradually, along with the rest of the rabbinic calendar rules, over the course of many years.
Pushed Off For Preparation?
It is claimed that we need this “ADU” postponement to block Sabbath and annual Holy Days from occurring back-to-back, lest there be no day of preparation in between to prepare for the second of the two Appointed Times. Is this claim genuine in God’s eyes?
The concept of “preparation day” stems from Exodus 16 with:
“…on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily…bake what you shall bake, boil what you shall boil, for tomorrow is the Sabbath.” (Exodus 16:5,23)
What preparation is needed for Atonement (a day of fasting) that its observation is to be moved from a Sunday to Monday on such years, as in 2000, when it rightfully is to be observed Sunday?
What are we “baking and boiling” for the Day of Atonement that one must bump it over one day to have a preparation day in its rightful place when nothing is eaten on this God-appointed fast day anyway??
The fallacy of such a rule is further disproved by this very fact: God specifically declared one of His appointed times to occur on “the morrow after the Sabbath”!
IF God is truly against Sabbaths and annual Holy Days being back-to-back, and He feels and understands that they are “impractical” for us humans to keep, why then did He Himself ordain at least one back-to-back Sabbath/Holy Day every year (i.e., the seventh Sabbath of the count from Elevation Sheaf day followed by Pentecost—Leviticus 23:15-21)?
Facts are facts, brethren. Through the whole of Scripture, there are no indications of postponements rules. Through the late 2nd Temple (Yeshua’s day) and early post-2nd Temple records, we find significant evidence against postponements being used or even known.
It has been claimed by many who hold to the CRC that the burden of proof to change from it lies upon those of us who already have left it–that we need to present the evidence to them. But the Biblical fact is this: We are each admonished through the apostle Paul to prove all things–not to others, but to our own selves. We, individually, are to put all doctrines and the like to the test BEFORE we hold fast to them. Dear friends, how many of us can claim we have done such testing and proving of this so-called Hebrew Calendar?
FOOTNOTES:
1. See our article Determining Elevation Sheaf Day & Pentecost
2. These Mishnaic quotes below, in agreeance with Shabbat 19:5 and other historical quotes given, shows that Festival days can occur immediately following Sabbath:
On a festival day which comes next to a Sabbath, whether before or after it, all of the priestly watches were equal in the division of the Show Bread.- Mas. Sukkah 5:7
IF A FESTIVAL FELL NEXT TO THE SABBATH, EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER IT – Mas. Sukkah 56a
Author Email: Brian Hoeck
©2001 Truth On The Web Ministries: All the articles originated by Kenneth Hoeck and/or Brian Hoeck may be freely distributed or mirrored as long as presented in their entirety (including this statement), attributed to Truth on The Web, and proper author credit given. Back to CALENDAR CHRONICLES or go to LIBRARY truthontheweb.org
The Metonic Cycles
For astronomy and calendar studies, the Metonic
cycle or Enneadecaeteris (from Ancient Greek: ??????????????????, “nineteen years”) is a period of very close to 19 years that is remarkable for being nearly a common multiple of the solar year and the synodic (lunar) month. The Greek astronomer Meton of Athens (fifth century BC) observed that a period of 19 years is almost exactly equal to 235 synodic months and, rounded to full days, counts 6,940 days. The difference between the two periods (of 19 years and 235 synodic months) is only a few hours, depending on the definition of the year.
Considering a year to be 1?19 of this 6,940-day cycle gives a year length of
365 + 1?4 + 1?76 days (the unrounded cycle is much more accurate), which is slightly more than
12 synodic months. To keep a 12-month lunar year in pace with the solar year, an intercalary 13th month would have to be added on seven occasions during the nineteen year period (235 = 19 × 12 + 7). When Meton introduced the cycle around 432 BC, it was already known by Babylonian astronomers.
A mechanical computation of the cycle is built into the Antikythera mechanism. (The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient analog computer designed to predict astronomical positions and eclipses for calendrical and astrological purposes, as well as the Olympiads, the cycles of the ancient Olympic Games.)
Machine_d’Anticythère_1
The cycle was used in the Babylonian calendar, ancient Chinese calendar systems (the ‘Rule Cycle’) and the medieval computus (i.e. the calculation of the date of Easter). It regulates the 19-year cycle of intercalary months of the Hebrew calendar.
At the time of Meton, axial precession had not yet been discovered, and he could not distinguish between sidereal years (currently: 365.256363 days) and tropical years (currently: 365.242190 days). Most calendars, like the commonly used Gregorian calendar, are based on the tropical year and maintain the seasons at the same calendar times each year. Nineteen tropical years are about two hours shorter than 235 synodic months. The Metonic cycle’s error is, therefore, one full day every 219 years, or 12.4 parts per million.
The Metonic cycle has an error in it? Would Yehovah’s system have such an error?
Roy Hoffman of the New Moon Society, which is now sighting the moon and gathering information for the Sanhedrin for the day they once again revert back to the sighting of the moon, states that;
For over a thousand years, the Hebrew calendar has been fixed by calculation. Today, the Hebrew calendar does not match that fixed by observing the Moon. Even though the gap between the two calendars continues to increase, we do not have the authority to alter the calendar until a new Sanhedrin (religious high court) is re-established and is widely recognized.
(So Roy Hoffman is telling you that you should continue to keep the Holy Days at eh wrong time until a Sanhedrin tells you to go and obey God at the right time.)
Back to the Metonic article;
Traditionally, for the Babylonians and Hebrew lunisolar calendars, the years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19 are the long (13-month) years of the Metonic cycle. This cycle, which can be used to predict eclipses, forms the basis of the Greek and Hebrew calendars, and is used for the computation of the date of Easter year.
The Babylonians applied the 19-year cycle since the late sixth century BC. As they measured the moon’s motion against the stars, the 235:19 relationship may originally have referred to sidereal years, instead of tropical years as it has been used for various calendars.
Now let me quote to you how Judaism justifies this metonic cycle and at the same time show you where we are in that metonic cycle.
The lunar month on the Jewish calendar begins when the first sliver of moon becomes visible after the dark of the moon. In ancient times, the new months used to be determined by observation. When people observed the new moon, they would notify the Sanhedrin. When the Sanhedrin heard testimony from two independent, reliable eyewitnesses that the new moon occurred on a certain date, they would declare the rosh chodesh (first of the month) and send out messengers to tell people when the month began.
The problem with strictly lunar calendars is that there are approximately 12.4 lunar months in every solar year, so a 12-month lunar calendar is about 11 days shorter than a solar year and a 13month lunar is about 19 longer than a solar year. The months drift around the seasons on such a calendar: on a 12-month lunar calendar, the month of Nissan, which is supposed to occur in the Spring, would occur 11 days earlier in the season each year, eventually occurring in the Winter, the Fall, the Summer, and then the Spring again. On a 13-month lunar calendar, the same thing would happen in the other direction, and faster.
To compensate for this drift, the Jewish calendar uses a 12-month lunar calendar with an extra month occasionally added. The month of Nissan occurs 11 days earlier each year for two or three years, and then jumps forward 30 days, balancing out the drift. In ancient times, this month was added by observation: the Sanhedrin observed the conditions of the weather, the crops and the livestock, and if these were not sufficiently advanced to be considered “spring,” then the Sanhedrin inserted an additional month into the calendar to make sure that Pesach (Passover) would occur in the spring (it is, after all, referred to in the Torah as Chag he-Aviv, the Festival of Spring!).
A year with 13 months is referred to in Hebrew as Shanah Me’uberet (pronounced shah-NAH meh-oo-BEH-reht), literally: a pregnant year. In English, we commonly call it a leap year. The additional month is known as Adar I, Adar Rishon (first Adar) or Adar Alef (the Hebrew letter Alef being the numeral “1” in Hebrew). The extra month is inserted before the regular month of Adar (known in such years as Adar II, Adar Sheini or Adar Beit).
In the fourth century, Hillel II established a fixed calendar based on mathematical and astronomical calculations. This calendar, still in use, standardized the length of months and the addition of months over the course of a 19 year cycle, so that the lunar calendar realigns with the solar years. Adar I is added in the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th years of the cycle. The current cycle began in Jewish year 5758 (the year that began October 2, 1997).
1997 was 5758 according to Judaism and this Metonic cycle began that year. The leap years or the extra month, Adar Bet is added just before Aviv the following year of 1998.
Now get out your charts that we have provided in the Prophecies of Abraham and begin to count the 19 year cycles. Aviv 1998 being year 1. When you do this 2016 is year 19 in the metonic cycle and it is a leap year. An extra month will be added just before Aviv 2016. you can also go to this link to see that yes indeed an extra month is added in March 2016. (But we at sightedmoon.com did not add an extra month that year)
We have been telling you for some time now that in 2016 The Hebrew Calendar and the Sighted Moon Calendar will be 30 days apart due to the fact the Barley will be ripe and Passover 2016 will be about March 24th.
There will also be a dark moon at this time and again in the fall at Sukkot. A dark moon warns us of famine coming. (This article was written before 2016 and now in 2022 we are looking at major world famines on the horizon)
We have also been telling you that the time when this calendar issue will be finally fixed is in 2030 when the two witnesses bring back the 13 tribes of Israel from their imminently impending captivity to keep Passover in Jerusalem.
But there is going to still be those who want to use the Hebrew Calendar and not the sighted moon calendar.
During WW II 6 Million Jews were slaughtered. WHY? They all used the Hebrew Calendar. They all went by the conjunction of the moon and they all went by the postponement rules. They all were keeping the Holy Days at the wrong time. It was the same as if they were keeping the Saturday Sabbath on Sunday. It is the wrong day to what Yehovah commanded them to keep.
And on top of this none of them were keeping the Sabbatical years.
So Judaism was not keeping the 4th commandment and for not doing so they were punished and the price for breaking the 4th commandment is death.
Exo 31:14You shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone that defiles it shall surely be put to death. For whoever does any work in it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15Six days may work be done, but on the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to Jehovah. Whoever does any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16Therefore the sons of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant. 17It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever. For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.
They had broken the sign that identified them as Yehovah’s. Yes, they kept the weekly Sabbath, but not the Holy Days and not the Sabbatical years.
Now let us look at what we are told in Revelation.
Rev 12:13And when the dragon saw that he was cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who bore the man child . 14And two wings of a great eagle were given to the woman, so that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the serpent’s face. 15And the serpent cast out of his mouth water like a flood after the woman, so that he might cause her to be carried away by the river. 16And the earth helped the woman. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17And the dragon was enraged over the woman, and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Here then is my question to you.
When the women flees into the wilderness where she is protected for 3 1/2 years from Satan, who are these other people that Satan now makes war with who keep the commandments and the testimony of Yehshua?
Why did they not flee with the rest of the woman into the wilderness?
I say to you that they do not go because they are following the Jewish Hebrew Calendar with the postponement rules and the Metonic cycles of added leap years without regard to the barley being aviv.
When you count out the Metonic cycle as we have now shown to you, year 2017 is year one in the metonic cycle. 2030 would then be the 14th year of this cycle and it is a forced leap year.
Passover 2030 will be about March 19 according to the Sighted moon calendar. Or at least it has the potential at this date. We will not know for sure until that very year. But because of the Metonic cycle 2030 is the 14th year and a leap year, making Passover come on April 18 of 2030.
We are given a very specific command about Passover. We are to be ready to flee and at this time Yehovah will judge.
Exo 12:11And you shall eat of it this way, with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in a hurry. It is Jehovah’s passover. 12For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am Jehovah.
When one group eats Passover in 2030, they will then flee to the wilderness and they will be pursued by the army of the beast. When that army is swallowed by the earth, the beast then turns to make war on those gathering in Jerusalem for the Passover on April 18.
The two witnesses are killed during this time. They have caused the world trouble for the past 3 1/2 years. It is because of this trouble that Israel is brought back to the land from captivity. But just like Jacob, it is a deception to slaughter them all once again. This is why the woman flees when she see the armies surrounding Jerusalem. But those coming late or those who do not see the armies and are going to keep the Passover according to the Hebrew calendar will be slaughtered as Revelation warns you.
After this there will be no more calendar confusion. It will be the original sighted moon calendar based on the barley being aviv. And those in the wilderness with the Messiah at Bozrah will be keeping the Holy Days at the right time and the Sabbath and the Sabbatical years.
Are You Going to Follow Man’s Rules or Yehovah’s Commandments? The Choice is Yours? Remember though, you must pay the price if you are wrong.
Why Did Hillel do it?
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the most High,
and think to change times and laws:
and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Last week we wrote to you about the Saints as they fled and were driven out of Jerusalem and the land of Israel. We showed you how they ended up in England and began teaching the Gospel in all the Universities and then to all of the world. We went from 31 AD and the death of Yehshua up until about the year 100 AD.
After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the Sanhedrin was re-established in Yavneh with reduced authority. The seat of the Patriarchate moved to Usha under the presidency of Gamaliel II in 80 CE. In 116 it moved back to Yavneh, and then again back to Usha.
In the 49 and 50th year Jubilee of 133 and 134 CE respectively, there arose a Messiah by the name of Simon bar Kochbah who was promoted by Rabbi Akiva as the Messiah. It was at this time that Rabbi Yose under Rabbi Akiva’s direction who wrote the Seder Olam which used the Daniel 9 prophecy and connected them to the destruction of the Temple in 586 BC and again with the most recent one in 70 CE. But in order to do this Rabbi Akiva had to change the years so that they lined up with the Bar Kochbah revolt. He drastically shortened the period of the Persian Kings. After Simon was killed and the revolt defeated by the Romans, Rabbi Yose’s history remained as a Jewish source of reference. It is this history that has led to the Sabbatical Years being changed by Judah to 1 1/2 years before they actually are. Even Rambam confirmed this.
Hadrian came to power in 117 CE, a few decades after the Romans had destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. He decided to convert the destroyed Jerusalem into Aelia Capitolina, a city dedicated to Jupiter, a decision that greatly angered the Jews.
The Bar Kokhba revolt was a major turning point in Jewish history. It was the final crisis that scattered the people of Israel into a diaspora that would last nearly 2,000 years. Yes, the famous destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, which left the Second Temple in ruins, also sent people fleeing to the diaspora, but the brief attempt to throw off Roman rule in 130 CE was the last straw. Enormous numbers of Jews, both soldiers and civilians, were slaughtered. Many of the survivors were sold into slavery. Others fled a nation that had been decimated by war. It was a loss that completely severed people from its roots. Jews were banned from entering Jerusalem.
Hadrian changed the name of the province from Judea to Palaestina in an attempt to erase its Jewish past and the threat it posed to his hold on power. The Romans never changed the names of provinces, this was a really big deal and Hadrian chose to name it after the Philistines from the Bible, who are portrayed as the enemies of the Jews.
The 2nd-century Roman historian Cassius Dio wrote that the Jews revolted when Hadrian visited Jerusalem in 130 CE and renamed the city Aelia Capitolina after himself. This led to a Jewish uprising called the Bar Kochbah Revolt.
But the Christian historian Eusebius, a bishop of Caesarea, wrote that Hadrian only changed the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina after Roman troops suppressed the revolt, as a punishment for the Jewish uprising. Hadrian banned Jews from the city and attempted to erase their connection to it by changing its name. “It was colonized by a different race,” Eusebius wrote.
Rabbinic texts indicate that following the Bar Kokhba revolt, southern Galilee became the seat of rabbinic learning in the Land of Israel. This region was the location of the court of the Patriarch which was situated first at Usha, then at Bet Shearim, later at Sepphoris and finally at Tiberias.[5]
The Great Sanhedrin moved in 140 to Shefaram under the presidency of Shimon ben Gamliel II, and to Beit Shearim and Sepphoris in 163, under the presidency of Judah I. Finally, it moved to Tiberias in 193, under the presidency of Gamaliel III (193–230) ben Judah haNasi, where it became more of a consistory, but still retained, under the presidency of Judah II (230–270), the power of excommunication.
During the presidency of Gamaliel IV (270–290), due to Roman persecution, it dropped the name Sanhedrin; and its authoritative decisions were subsequently issued under the name of Beth HaMidrash.[citation needed]
In the year 363, the emperor Julian (r. 355–363 CE), an apostate from Christianity, ordered the Temple rebuilt.[6] The project’s failure has been ascribed to the Galilee earthquake of 363, and to the Jews’ ambivalence about the project. Sabotage is a possibility, as is an accidental fire. Divine intervention was the common view among Christian historians of the time.[7] As a reaction against Julian’s pro-Jewish stance, the later emperor Theodosius I (r. 379–392 CE) forbade the Sanhedrin to assemble and declared ordination illegal. Capital punishment was prescribed for any Rabbi who received ordination, as well as complete destruction of the town where the ordination occurred.[8]
However, since the Hebrew calendar was based on witnesses’ testimony, which had become far too dangerous to collect, rabbi Hillel II recommended changes to a mathematically based calendar that was adopted at a clandestine, and maybe final, meeting in 358 CE. This marked the last universal decision made by the Great Sanhedrin.
Gamaliel VI (400–425) was the Sanhedrin’s last president. With his death in 425, Theodosius II outlawed the title of Nasi, the last remains of the ancient Sanhedrin. An imperial decree of 426 diverted the patriarchs’ tax (post excessum patriarchorum) into the imperial treasury.[8] The exact reason for the abrogation of the patriarchate is not clear,[9] though Gamaliel VI, the last holder of the office who had been for a time elevated by the emperor to the rank of prefect,[10] may have fallen out with the imperial authorities.[9] Thereafter, Jews were gradually excluded from holding public office.[11]
Wikipedia has this to say about Hillel II.
He is traditionally regarded as the creator of the modern fixed Jewish calendar. This tradition first appears in a responsum of R. Hai Gaon (written in 992[3]) cited by R. Abraham bar Hiyya in his Sefer Ha’ibbur (written in 1123).[4] The citation explicitly refers to the year that this event happened, 670 of the Seleucid era, which corresponds to 358/9 CE.
However, a number of documents have been found that indicate the calendar was not fully fixed in Hillel’s time; most famously a letter found in Cairo Geniza (from the year 835/6) indicates that the holidays were observed on different dates from those predicted by the current calendar.[3][5] The calendar did not reach its exact modern form until at least the years 922-924.[6] According to modern scholar Sacha Stern, Hai Gaon only attributed the establishment of a 19-year cycle, and not other details of the calendar, to Hillel.[3]
The fixed calendar was of great benefit to Jews of his and subsequent generations. The Jewish calendar is lunisolar. That is, its months are synchronized with the phases of the moon, but its average year length approximates the mean length of a solar year. The Sanhedrin declared new months based on observations of the new moon, and added a 13th lunar month to certain years to ensure that holidays would continue to fall in the same seasons of the solar year. But Constantius II, following the precedents of Hadrian, prohibited the holding of such meetings as well as the vending of articles for distinctly Jewish purposes. The worldwide Jewish community depended on the calendar sanctioned by the Judean Sanhedrin to observe Jewish holidays on the correct dates. However, danger threatened the participants in that sanction and the messengers who communicated their decisions to distant congregations. Temporarily, to relieve the foreign congregations, Huna ben Abin once advised Rava not to wait for the official intercalation: When you are convinced that the winter quarter will extend beyond the sixteenth day of Nisan declare the year a leap year, and do not hesitate.[7] But as the religious persecutions continued, Hillel decided to provide an authorized calendar for all time to come, though by doing so he severed the ties which united the Jews of the diaspora to their mother country and to the patriarchate.
Hillel II (Hillel the Nasi), also known simply as Hillel, was an amora of the fifth generation in the Land of Israel. He held the office of Nasi of the Sanhedrin between 320 and 385 CE.
First Sunday Law enacted by Emperor Constantine – March, 321 A.D.
“On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost. (Given the 7th day of March, Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of them for the second time [A.D. 321].)” Source: Codex Justinianus, lib. 3, tit. 12, 3; trans. in Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol.3 (5th ed.; New York: Scribner, 1902), p.380, note 1.Again, Constantine’s promotion of Sunday observance was part of his definite strategy to combine paganism with Christianity: “The retention of the old pagan name of dies Solis, or ‘Sunday,’ for the weekly Christian festival, is in great measure owing to the union of pagan and Christian sentiment with which the first day of the week was recommended by Constantine to his subjects, pagan and Christian alike, as the ‘venerable day of the Sun.’” – Stanley’s History of the Eastern Church, p. 184.
In spite of the rising popularity of Sunday sacredness, Church historian Socrates Scholasticus (5th century) wrote: “For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries [of the Lord’s Supper] on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this.” – Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, ch. 22.
Another historian also confirmed this by stating, “The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria.” – Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History, Book 7, ch. 19. Thus even in the 5th century, Sabbath keeping was universally prevalent (except in Rome and Alexandria) along with Sunday keeping. Many Christians kept both days, but as the centuries wore on, Sunday keeping grew in prominence and especially within Roman Catholic territories.
In 330 A.D., Constantine moved his capital from Rome to Constantinople (modern Istanbul), thus preparing the way for the Roman Catholic Popes to reign in Rome as the successors of Constantine. As the Papal Church grew in power, it opposed Sabbath observance in favour of Sunday sacredness and made the day change official in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 363-364). Constantine’s law had now been fully integrated into the Papal Church and the final step of the Sabbath to Sunday change was complete.
So around the year A.D. 364, the Catholic Church outlawed Sabbath keeping in the Council of Laodicea when they decreed 59 Canon laws. The following is the relevant Canon law: Canon XXIX: “Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord’s Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.” (Percival Translation).
Four hundred years after the death of Christ and one hundred years after Constantine’s linking of Church and State by his Sunday law edict, Rome and Alexandria were the only places in the world where many of the Christians kept only Sunday and not the true Sabbath. Why was it that Rome and Alexandria were also the first locations that Sunday worship began? Because this is where the pagan practices of Babylon eventually landed after it was conquered. And what was the dominant pagan practice that the Babylonian priests brought with them? Sun worship which was done on Sun-day! See the history of Sunday worship for more detail.
But even before Constantine came on the scene and changed things there was a controversy going on. Constantine settled it. Let’s look at the controversy and understand where it led.
Passover Started to Differ
After all the apostles died, the Early Church divided into the Eastern Church and the Western Church. The Patriarch of Constantinople in Asia Minor governed the Eastern Church, and the Pope from Rome ruled over the Western Church1).
At that time, both churches kept the bread and wine communion on different dates.
1) Eastern Church: Kept the Communion on Passover
The Eastern Church held the Passover Communion on the 14th day of the first month of the sacred calendar. Indeed, this was in accordance with the teachings of the Bible. Other than the Passover, they also celebrated the Day of Resurrection on the first Sunday after the Feast of Unleavened Bread (the 15th day of the first month of the sacred calendar).
2) Western Church: Kept the Communion on Resurrection Day
On the other hand, the Western Church did not have the Holy Supper on Passover. Instead, they held it on Sunday (Resurrection Day) after the Passover. Thus, they mixed the two feasts together.
In the Bible, however, we can see that these two feasts are in fact completely distinct. The Passover is to commemorate Christ’s death (1 Corinthians 11:26), and the Resurrection Day, His resurrection.
This non-uniformity among the two churches caused much confusion among the Christians travelling between the east and west since they saw the two churches having differing practices.
The New Covenant Passover Under Debate
1) The First Passover Controversy
Around A.D. 155, Polycarp, Bishop of the Church of Smyrna (Eastern), and Pope Anicetus, Bishop of the Church of Rome (Western), disputed over the Passover. Polycarp emphasized that the Passover was a traditional custom handed down from Jesus, saying that he had been celebrating the Passover every year, together with John—one of Jesus’ disciples—and many other apostles. In this dispute, however, they failed to persuade each other.
2) The Second Passover Controversy
Subsequently, around A.D. 197, Victor the Bishop of Rome insisted that the churches should adopt the Roman practice of celebrating the Holy Supper on the Resurrection Day instead of the Passover. Accordingly, he called it the Dominical Rule (Lord’s Rule) and compelled all the churches to accept it. This led to the second controversy. The churches in the West agreed to follow the rule, but the churches in the East greatly opposed it. Especially, Polycrates, Bishop of the Church of Ephesus, sent a letter to Victor, in which he strongly emphasized that the Passover should be celebrated.
When Victor received this letter, he planned to excommunicate all the churches in Asia by accusing them of being “non-Orthodox”. However, he could not achieve his plan because of objections from many churches around him.
Passover Abolished
1) The Council of Nicaea
The controversy arose again in the 4th century and this time, the Council of Nicaea finally abolished the Passover in A.D. 325. The Council, convened by the Roman emperor Constantine, decided in favour of the church of Rome. The Passover would be abolished and the Holy Supper be kept on Resurrection Day.With the Passover (including the Feast of Unleavened Bread) abolished, there was no Biblical standard to determine the date of the Resurrection Day. The Council subsequently also decided in favour of celebrating the resurrection on the first Sunday that comes after the full moon of the vernal equinox. This decision was made with the excuse that it was difficult to calculate the date of the feast according to the movements of the moon.
*Note they were using the crescent moon to begin the month of Aviv. It was this method that determined when Passover would be. With the abolition of Passover and all things Jewish, the Council had no means to determine when resurrection Sunday would be. In 325, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea, which formally disengaged the Church from the Hebrew calendar and separated the Easter holiday from Passover. “It appeared an unworthy thing,
” Constantine declared in a letter to the churches summarizing the Council, “”It was, in the first place, declared improper to follow the custom of the Jews in the celebration of this holy festival, because, their hands having been stained with crime, the minds of these wretched men are necessarily blinded. … Let us, then, have nothing in common with the Jews, who are our adversaries. … Let us … studiously avoiding all contact with that evil way. … For how can they entertain right views on any point who, after having compassed the death of the Lord, being out of their minds, are guided not by sound reason, but by an unrestrained passion, wherever their innate madness carries them. … lest your pure minds should appear to share in the customs of a people so utterly depraved. … Therefore, this irregularity must be corrected, in order that we may no more have any thing in common with those parricides and the murderers of our Lord. … no single point in common with the perjury of the Jews.”
Later Church councils would prohibit Christians from celebrating Passover with Jews and from receiving holiday gifts from them. Overall under Constantine’s successors, including Constantius II (337-361), Theodosius II (408-450), and Justinian I (527-565), Jews would steadily become second-class citizens of the Empire.
In addition, the Church of Rome, which had been associated with polytheistic traditions and ideas for a long time, introduced Easter to commemorate the resurrection. Easter was originally a festival in honour of Eostre the goddess of spring. It was celebrated at the vernal equinox in Northern Europe10)
2) Passover disappears from History
The decision made by the council had a significant impact on Christianity. The churches which kept the Passover on the 14th day of the first month, not yielding to the authority of the church of Rome, were persecuted and called heretics. Consequently, this forced many saints to move into deserts and caves.
The Western Church had not kept the Passover until then, but it continued to celebrate the resurrection on the Sunday after the Passover. In other words, both churches had used the Passover in determining the date of resurrection. However, as the Council of Nicaea established the date of resurrection based on the vernal equinox, the meaning of the Passover completely disappeared.
Constantine II (Latin: Flavius Claudius Constantinus; February 316 – 340) was Roman emperor from 337 to 340. Son of Constantine the Great and co-emperor alongside his brothers. Following him was Constantius II, who was the Roman emperor from 337 to 361. Judaism faced some severe restrictions under Constantius, who seems to have followed an anti-Jewish policy in line with that of his father.
It was during this time that Hillel and the Sanhedrin came up with the calculated calendar. It was done of necessity. The messengers and those reporting on the state of the barley and the moon were being killed. Those sent to the diaspora were also being killed. By devising this calculated calendar, everyone in each area could know when the Holy Days were. It helped to solve the problems put on them by their persecutors.
Declaring the new month by observation of the new moon, and the new year by the arrival of spring can only be done by the Sanhedrin. In the time of Hillel II, the last President of the Sanhedrin, the Romans prohibited this practice. Hillel II was therefore forced to institute his fixed calendar, thus in effect giving the Sanhedrin’s advance approval to the calendars of all future years.
Prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, the High Priest had been in charge of the calendar. “While the Sanhedrin (Rabbinical Supreme Court) presided in Jerusalem, there was no calculated calendar. They would evaluate every year to determine whether it should be declared a leap year by examining the barley. This task fell to the president of the Sanhedrin when the priesthood was no more. “Under the reign of Constantius (337-362) the persecutions of the Jews reached such a height that . . . the computation of the calendar was forbidden under pain of severe punishment.” It was as a reaction to this situation that Hillel II, President of the Sanhedrin, took the extraordinary step in 359 C.E. of modifying the ancient Biblical calendar to allow the Jews to more easily coexist with the Christians.
Distant communities would no longer have to wait for messengers from the President of the Sanhedrin to reach them to know when a new month had started. Each community would henceforth be able to determine for themselves when a new month began and when a 13th month was to be added.
Now take notice that after Hillel’s time, more changes were added over the year. The Metonic cycle was incorporated and then later the postponement rules were added.
The “Fixed” Calendar
So when did these man-made rules come into place? Did Hillel II institute them in 358/359 C.E. when he published the, up til then, “secret” astronomical information which had been used by the Sanhedrin to determine if the witnesses who came to testify of their sighting of the fresh crescent were lying or not?
“The plain fact is that, as seen by recent scholars, the system of the fixed calendar was not developed until fully three or four centuries after the close of the Talmudic period, about A.D. 485. [therefore, around the eighth or ninth century C.E.]…Nor can anything be found in the Talmud about the weighty calendaric matters as the regulated succession of full and defective months within the year, the four postponements of New Year’s Day, the 19-year cycle, or the number and succession of intercalated years in this or any cycle.” (The Code of Maimonides, Book Three Treatise Eight SANCTIFICATION OF THE MOON, translated from the Hebrew by Solomon Ganz; Introduction by Julian Obermann, Astronomical Commentary by Otto Neugebauer, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1956, p xli-xlii)
“There is…unimpeachable evidence from the works of writers with expert knowledge of the calendar that the present ordo intercalationis [sequence of intercalations–the 19 year cycle] and epochal molad were not intrinsic parts of the calendar of Hillel II, these being seen still side by side with other styles of the ordo intercalations and the molad as late as the 11th century. Also the four dehiyyot [postponement rules]developed gradually. …By the tenth century the Jewish calendar was exactly the same as today.” (Cecil Roth, editor, Encyclopedia Judaica, Vol. 5, p.50, article: Calendar)
While we cannot be positively sure as to when the postponement rules were added alongside the other man-made rules of the then-developing calculated rabbinical calendar, we know with complete confidence that these rules were not in use, nor even conceived of and known, during Jesus’ day. There are some indications that the initial elements of these postponements began to creep in near the end of the Talmudic period, but as theEncyclopaedia Judiaca quote states above, these rules developed gradually, along with the rest of the rabbinic calendar rules, over the course of many years.
The Postponement Rules
This again is from our article on our web site. I want you to notice rule (b) is explained with Dehiyah (b). In other words, this 2nd rule is created so that the crescent moon will not be seen in another part of the world before it would be seen in Israel. I just have to point this one glaring fact out. Even in the use of the postponement rules they still were created with the crescent moon in mind. This means the Crescent moon was the method in use before these rules were developed over the centuries.
The following quote divulges the workings of postponements. It may take a few readings to grasp some understanding of it.
“The dehiyyot [postponements] are as follows:
(a) If the Tishri molad falls on day 1, 4, or 6, then Tishri 1 is postponed one day. [This postponement is often referred to as ADU, which is an acronym formed from the Hebrew letters alef (1 for Sunday), daled (4 for Wednedsday), &vov (6 for Friday)]
(b) If the Tishri molad occurs at or after 18 hours (i.e., noon), then Tishri 1 is postponed one day. If this causes Tishri 1 to fall on day 1, 4, or 6, then Tishri 1 is postponed an additional day to satisfy dehiyyah(a).
(c) If the Tishri molad of an ordinary year (i.e., of twelve months) falls on day 3 at or after 9 hours, 204 halakim, then Tishri 1 is postponed two days to day 5, thereby satisfying dehiyyah (a).
(d) If the first molad following a leap year falls on day 2 at or after 15 hours, 589 halakim, then Tishri 1 is postponed one day to day 3.
3.1.2 Reasons for the Dehiyyot
Dehiyyah (a) prevents Hoshana Rabba (Tishri 21) from occurring on the Sabbath and prevents Yom Kippur (Tishri 10) from occurring on the day before or after the Sabbath.
Dehiyyah (b) is an artifact of the ancient practice of beginning each month with the sighting of the lunar crescent. It is assumed that if the molad (i.e., the mean conjunction) occurs after noon, the lunar crescent cannot be sighted until after 6 P.M., which will then be on the following day.
Dehiyyah (c) prevents an ordinary year from exceeding 355 days. If the Tishri molad of an ordinary year occurs on Tuesday at or after 3:11:20 A.M., the next Tishri molad will occur at or after noon on Saturday. According to dehiyyah (b), Tishri 1 of the next year must be postponed to Sunday, which by dehiyyah (a) occasions a further postponement to Monday. This results in an ordinary year of 356 days. Postponing Tishri 1 from Tuesday to Thursday produces a year of 354 days.
Dehiyyah (d) prevents a leap year from falling short of 383 days. If the Tishri molad following a leap year is on Monday, at or after 9:32:43 1/3 A.M., the previous Tishri molad (thirteen months earlier) occurred on Tuesday at or after noon. Therefore, by dehiyyot (b) and (a), Tishri 1 beginning the leap year was postponed to Thursday. To prevent a leap year of 382 days, dehiyyah (d) postpones by one day the beginning of the ordinary year.” (Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac, P. Kenneth Seidelmann, editor; document online at: http://astro.nmsu.edu/~lhuber/leaphist.html)
This is a long historical understanding of just how we got to the mess we are currently in. As a Messianic believer you are obligated to explain this to everyone who is still using the Hillel calendar. You will be hated for it. But some will repent. Time is almost up. So spend your time doing this and stop wasting it on other subjects that are not salvational.
Pre-Sabbath greetings Prophet Joe and end time Elijah who will restore Yahweh’s great truths before the end of the wicked age! Yshweh has out a great responsibility on your shoulders Prophet Joe! Our prayers are with you as you blow the end time Trumpet to usher in Yahweh’s great Kingdom!
Blessings on your work,
Jesus Santos
Awesome information as usual. I can only pray to absorb the things that are true and necessary and be able to share them when the opportunity arises.