God's Calendar and the Sign of Jonah

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you."

But He, answering, said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights."

Matthew 12:38 to 40

Table of Contents

Does the Bible Establish its Own Calendar System?

The Biblical Basis of the Calendar

Calculation of the New Moon
Calculation of 1 Abib

Accuracy of the Rabbinical Calendar
Table 1 Comparison of Dates for 1 Abib
Table 2 Comparison of Dates for 1 Tishri
Origin of the Rabbinical Calendar

Two Sabbaths?
Table 3 Dates of the Passover
Tiberius Caesar's Fifteenth Year

God gave his people a series of unique Holy days, which include the weekly Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11) and the annual High Sabbaths such as Passover, Unleavened Bread, Feast of the First-Fruit (Pentecost), Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Great Last Day. (Leviticus 23). The dates of the annual Sabbaths are determined by God's unique lunar-solar Calendar. The calendar is simple and distinct, requiring only direct observation of the crescent of the New Moon and the ripening of the spring barley crop near Jerusalem to set all dates. We shall show that the Bible sets out the basic rules of this calendar, and thus determines the dates of the monthly and annual Holy Days. Our free God's Holy Days booklet reveals that these Holy Days are intended for Christians and outlines God's entire plan of Salvation.

Questions about the exact timing of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection led to our initial interest in God's calendar. Our particular concern was whether Jesus kept the 'Sign of Jonah' as He said He would in Matthew 12:40. One of the critical times involved in His crucifixion was the date of Passover, the day on which He was crucified. ¹ Research confirmed that the 'Good Friday' dates for those years would be totally useless for determining the actual time of the crucifixion. The Roman Catholic method of calculating Easter was not invented until the third century CE, and was specifically set up to never coincide with the real date of the Passover, which can fall on different days of the week. This is not surprising when we consider the prophesy given to Daniel concerning the papacy in Daniel 7:25: "He shall speak words against the Most High, shall wear out the holy ones of the Most High, and intend to change the appointed times and law."

The research also found that the predecessor to the calculated calendar currently used by the Jews was only used in Jesus' time to supplement New Moon observations. We were convinced that if God's calendar system could be determined from Biblical sources, we could be certain that Christ, as God's Son, would have used precisely that calendar to determine the date for Passover. Applying the Biblical calendar to these events would then resolve any disputes about their timing.

The Biblical Basis of God's Calendar

Some of the scriptures that determine the Biblical basis of the calendar are:

Genesis 1:14-16 And 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 appointed times, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

And God made two great lights; the greater light for ruling the day, and the lesser light for ruling the night: he also made the stars.

God tells us that He has made the lights in the heavens. He also says they are to determine the "signs and seasons". The Hebrew for 'seasons' -moade- literally means "appointed times", as in the above translation.

Leviticus 23:4 'These are the feasts of Yahweh, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.

The same Hebrew word -moade- is used here, among other places, to refer to the timing of God's Annual Sabbaths.

Psalm 104:19 He appointed the moon for appointed times; The sun knows its going down.

This passage reminds us that the moon is used to determine God's "Appointed Times".

Exodus 12:2 "This new moon is your beginning of new moons; it is the first new moon of the year to you."

God says the month (literally new moon) of the Passover is the first month of the year. The "shall be" added in some translations does not exist in the Hebrew text.

Exodus 13:4 calls this month 'Abib', a Hebrew word which means "green ears", referring to the ripening ears of the winter barley crop. This event occurs in April or early May in Israel.

Leviticus 23:10-14 shows that the month of Abib always coincides with the beginning of the year's harvest in Israel. Indeed, according to verse 14 they are not allowed to begin eating the new season's harvest until the wave sheaf has been offered on the Sunday during the Week of Unleavened Bread. (ie - the Wave Offering)

Thus we can see that God's calendar is based on both an annual solar cycle, which is determined by the ripening of the winter barley crops and a monthly lunar cycle determined by observation of the New Moon. The importance of the 'greater light' and the 'lesser light' in determining God's Appointed Times has now been established.

The New Moon

Determining the timing of each of God's months requires the observation of a simple astronomical event which clearly marks the beginning of the month. (Please note that none of the astronomical events mentioned in this article have anything to do with astrology or worship of the heavens as these are both things that God specifically forbids. -See Deut. 4:19, Isa. 47:13 These occurrences are merely markers that God has given us so we can use His calendar.)

The event that marks the start of each month is the observation of the crescent of the New Moon when it first becomes visible to the unaided eye. The term "New Moon" used in scripture does not refer to the Sun-Moon Conjunction which astronomers call the New Moon today. The conjunction can only be seen when the moon passes directly in front of the sun, resulting in an eclipse. Such a rare event is totally unsuitable for determining a monthly calendar. The Bible actually refers to the visible crescent, which cannot be seen until one to three days after the conjunction. The crescent is only seen for a short time after sunset, as the sky darkens into night. The moment of seeing the New Moon marks the beginning of the first day of the new month. This explains the Biblical method of counting days from dusk to dusk (Leviticus 23:32). Using any other time of day would result in confusion about whether that day was the last day of the old month or the first day of the new month. ² It is logical to end the day at dusk, coinciding with the end of the daylight hours. This method of defining a day goes right back to the first day of Creation. God began creating in darkness, and made light later in the day. (Genesis 1:1-5) As the average lunar cycle is about four weeks and one and a half days long, the Annual Holy Days, such as Passover, fall on different days of the week from year to year.

Because sighting the New Moon was vital to the entire calendar, God commanded that the first day of each month was to be marked by special offerings and the blowing of ceremonial trumpets. (See Numbers 10:10, I Chronicles 23:31 and Psalm 81:3.) Moses Maimonides, in his classic work Sanctification of the New Moon explains that its sighting was an important ceremony in Jewish religious life. The first chapter of his work, written about 1175 CE, clearly acknowledges that observation of the crescent New Moon was initially the decisive element in determining the start of the Month. As time passed, calculations helped determine which evenings the New Moon should be visible to assist observation. As the power of the Jewish religious court grew, calculations were used to support or dispute the observations. Eventually the court grew so self-indulgent that it actually ignored the observations totally and used its own calculated calendar to determine the timing of God's Calendar, and thus set their own Holy Days. As will be noted below, this final stage probably occurred several centuries after Christ was crucified.

New Moons are such an important part of God's calendar that the Hebrew word for the visible new moon, chodesh, is used 224 times in the Bible. In the King James Version it has been translated as month(s) 204 times. The Hebrew equivalent of phrases such as "the seventh new moon" and "the seventeenth day of the new moon" occur frequently in the Old Testament. This shows that chodesh can refer to the interval between two new moons as well as to the observance of the New Moon crescent itself.

Ezekiel 45:17 and Ezekiel 46:1 to 3 show that the New Moon shall still be important in the Thousand Years Reign.

'New Years Day' -- When is 1 Abib?

The annual part of the calendar, ie- determining which day marks the beginning of the New Year, is quite different to the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian New Year day is determined almost solely by the solar cycle. The length of the months has been carefully chosen to make the length of a year almost exactly one solar year.

The Biblical calendar uses only whole lunar months that begin and end when the New Moon is seen. As the average length of a lunar cycle is about 29.53 days and a solar (tropical) year is 365.24 days, we find that a solar year actually consists of 12.37 lunar months. The 'fix' is similar to that used in the Gregorian calendar, which requires an extra day to be added to February (almost) every fourth year to prevent the gradual drift of the months into other seasons, a problem which plagued the old Julian calendar. The Biblical lunisolar calendar adds an extra month about every third year to keep its calendar synchronised with the seasons. ³

However, the problem of deciding which year to add the extra month still remains. Using the ripeness of the winter barley crops as the indicator of which New Moon will also be New Year's Day -ie the first day of the first month (Abib) firmly locks the calendar into the solar cycle, which is responsible for the ripening of the crops.

The barley harvest takes nearly two months to complete in Israel, beginning in early April near Jericho and beginning in early May in the mountainous areas near Jerusalem. Seasonal variations can hasten or delay the harvest by perhaps a week. All that is required is to estimate whether some grain, somewhere in Israel, will be ripe in time for use in the Wave Offering, which occurs on the Sunday during the Week of Unleavened Bread. As the harvest lasts well over a month, there will always be someone still harvesting at the next New Moon if the current New Moon is just a little too soon. Note that God only prohibits eating the new crops before the Wave Offering. He does not prohibit harvesting the crops, thus allowing farmers in warmer districts to begin their harvest before the Wave Offering in years when Abib begins late in the spring. (Lev 23:14)

Such are the rules for the Biblical calendar. Simple, direct observations can confirm all dates for those living in Israel. Jerusalem has been chosen as the focal point at which observations of the New Moon should be made as it is where God chose to have His Tabernacle built and shall become the spiritual capital of the entire world. (1 Kings 8:1 to 12; Zechariah 14:16 to 19 and Revelation 21:1 to 11) Jerusalem has been chosen as the focal point at which observations of the New Moon should be made as it is where God chose to build His Tabernacle and is the spiritual capital of Israel.

Determining Calendar Dates for Other Years

However, how can one determine the dates of God's calendar when your location or the year you wish to inquire about makes direct observation impossible? This is a serious problem when trying to apply this calendar system to events that happened almost two thousand years ago. Is it possible to calculate the visibility of the New Moon and the maturity of the barley crops in ancient Israel?

When we first attempted to discover the actual time of Christ's crucifixion, we began by using the average length of the lunar cycle to determine the time of the sun-moon conjunction. We then estimated the probability of seeing the New Moon by considering the time of day the conjunction occurred. We later discovered that this is basically the method used to determine the traditional Jewish calendar.

However, we soon discovered that the actual time of the Sun-moon conjunction could vary enormously from our calculated average time.

We also discovered that the visibility of the New Moon was mainly determined by the difference between the sun and moon's setting times, the distance apart they were in the sky and by the size of the illuminated fraction of the moon. To find these things required accurate calculations of the position of both the sun and the moon.

Calculating the position of the sun and thus its setting time is fairly simple, as it is a massive body with a very predictable motion. However, accurately calculating the position of the Moon is not an easy matter. Such a calculation was only crudely possible at the time the Rabbinical Jews developed the final version of their calculated calendar. Many factors affecting the position of the moon have only been understood for about a hundred years. To determine even the most important orbital and gravitational influences on the moon's position requires calculations hundreds of lines long. One mistake could make the entire calculation meaningless.

Thankfully modern computers can be programmed to make the necessary calculations in seconds. We developed a program based on Astronomical Formulae for Calculators; written by the Belgian astronomer, Jean Meeus, which makes these calculations for us. Once the position and setting time of the sun is known for a particular evening and location, the position of the moon and its illuminated fraction is calculated for that time and the moon's setting time is also calculated. These calculations are then used to decide if the moon will be seen that evening. If the New Moon will not be seen that night, everything is recalculated again for the next evening(s). Thus the visibility of the New Moon is determined. This leaves only the determination of 1 Abib to set the sequence of months for the year.

Is there a mathematical alternative to the 'ripening barley' method available to determine the beginning of the new year?

Like the problem of calculating the start of each month, this question also has a solution based on astronomical observations. This time the sun is used, one of the two heavenly bodies that God gave us to determine His appointed times. The vernal (Northern Hemisphere Spring) equinox is used. An equinox occurs when the ecliptic (the Sun's apparent annual path) crosses the celestial equator (the extension of the Earth's equator out into space). Thus twice a year the Sun is exactly over the equator, and day and night are of equal length. The vernal equinox (usually around 21 March) is simple to calculate and gives results that correspond well with the ripening barley method. Interestingly, the equinox method was also known to the ancients and may have served as a cross-check on the barley method even then.

Their method of determining the vernal equinox needed a gnomon. Constructing a gnomon requires only a flat surface, a straight stick, a piece of string, a plumb bob and a square. All these devices have been known for millennia. The plumb bob is used to set up the stick in a perfectly upright position. The square and string, stretched straight, are used to make the surface surrounding the stick perfectly horizontal. That is a gnomon.

Marking the shadows cast by the stick at sunrise and sunset on the day of an equinox reveals a unique property - on that day alone the two shadows cast by the stick join to make a straight line.

The day of the equinox can then be used to determine, unambiguously, which month will start the new year. If the New Moon is seen before the equinox, that month is counted as the extra (intercalary) month. This simple expedient ensures that the Wave Offering will not occur before 5 April and not later than 11 May. The result is a perfect coordination with the harvesting of the winter barley crops. ⁴

The date of the equinox can also be easily calculated from data about the sun. It provides us with a simple, accurate method of selecting which New Moon will be 1 Abib for any year required. Thus the entire Biblical lunisolar calendar can be determined by astronomical calculations for any year. As all the Biblical Annual Holy Days are dated from the New Moons of the first and seventh months (Abib and Tishri), this calendar yields the exact time of all the Holy Days.

This program has enabled us to accurately calculate the positions (and thus the setting times, visibility, etc) of the sun and moon on the evenings that would have determined the start of 1 Abib in the year of the crucifixion. We thank God for providing a unique calendar system that can be used to precisely determine the time of the crucifixion, and many other Biblical events, thousands of years later.

Though the calculations of astronomical positions, etc is based on conventional astronomical formulae, we had to devise our own formula to predict if the New moon crescent would actually be visible. Over time, more sensitive formula have been developed to make our calculations as consistent with actual observations as possible. We have been testing the predictions of these programs against actual observations of the New Moon for many years now and have found them to be reliable. ⁵

Though the program cannot predict transient weather conditions such as atmospheric moisture content, dust and cloud cover, the effect of the moisture and dust levels have been averaged to minimise their effect. Predicted observations near the seen/not seen boundary also have probably seen/probably not seen categories to acknowledge the variability caused by these effects. The formula used calculates the Visibility Number (VN) as the sum of the time lag between sunset and moonset plus the illuminated fraction of the moon (x 2700) plus the altitude of the moon at sunset (x 5.5) minus the altitude of the sun at moonset(x 5). This formula balances the four main factors influencing the visibility of the new moon. A free copy of the program (and its source code if requested) is available to anyone who asks for it. The calibration section will allow you to set up the calculations for your own location so you can check the accuracy of the calendar's predictions. The software can also be downloaded from our Web site at http://www.cbl.com.au/~bga/

Development of the Rabbinical Calendar

As we discussed earlier, calculations are only necessary for people living away from Jerusalem or for learning the time of past or future New Moons. For those living in Jerusalem, the date of 1 Abib, the first day of the New Year, can be determined by simply looking at the maturity of local crops. Comparing their maturity with the date of the vernal (Spring) equinox and looking for the New Moon after sunset for two or occasionally three days after the next sun-moon conjunction will give them 1 Abib. They do not need either a computer or a priesthood to tell them when 1 Abib occurs. A predetermined calendar only became necessary after the Jews were removed from Jerusalem and dispersed throughout the Roman Empire. Other reasons for the Jewish leaders to push for a calculated calendar were power and convenience. Establishing themselves as the keepers of the calendar gave them power over the people, and God, as they now became the arbiters of the timing of the Holy Days. Convenience in that using a pre-determined calculated calendar would allow forward planning as to which day of the week various New Moon and Holy Day festivities would occur.

Most authorities believe the present version of the conventional Jewish calculated calendar (the Rabbinical or Judaic calendar) came into being sometime between 359 CE (AD) and 800 CE. Even Maimonides, a twelfth century Jew who compiled the Code of the (Judaic) Law, in his section on the Sanctification of the New Moon, ⁶ admitted that originally all the calendar dates were determined by observation. (Despite this, he devotes the rest of his treatise to proclaiming the superiority of their inaccurate calculations over direct observation as commanded by God.)

Please remember that there is not a single word in the entire Bible about how to set up or use a calculated calendar. Adherents of the Rabbinical calendar sometimes claim that Romans 3:2 gives this calendar its authenticity as the verse says that the oracles of God were entrusted to the Jews. The word oracles is translated from the Greek word logion. It literally means utterance in English, and is derived from logos, which means Word. It is obvious that the utterances of God are contained in the Bible. It is also obvious that as the Bible speaks only of an observational calendar, the oracles, or utterances, of God only authorise the use of a observational calendar. To claim that any calculated calendar, including the Rabbinical calendar, has been authorised by God is blasphemy.

Some Jewish sects reject the 'traditional' Rabbinical calendar even today. They hold to observation as the only scripturally correct method of determining the New Moons and Holy Days. They feel that the Rabbinical calendar is an insult to God. They have some reason for this concern. This quotation from the Shabbat 10b (part of the Mishna, written during the first two centuries CE) shows the arrogance that some Rabbis assumed in setting their calendar:

"Rabbi Pinhas and Rabbi Hilkiah said in the name of Rabbi Simon: Each year, all of the ministering angels appear before the Holy One, praised be He, and ask, "Lord of the Universe! When does Rosh Hashanah occur this year?" And He answers them, "Why do you ask me? Let us inquire of the earthly court."...

"Rabbi Hoshayah taught: When the earthly court decrees "Today is Rosh Hashanah," the Holy One, praised be He, tells the ministering angels, "Set up the court room, and let the attorneys for defense and prosecution take their places, for My children have stated 'Today is Rosh Hashanah.'" But if the earthly court should reconsider and decide that the following day should be declared the first of the year, the Holy One, praised be He, tells the ministering angels "Set up the court room and let the attorneys for prosecution and defense take their places on the morrow, for My children have reconsidered and decided that tomorrow is to be declared the first of the year."

Note that when this passage was written, well after Christ was crucified, the Jews were still not committed to a fixed calculated calendar as there would then have been no chance of 'reconsidering' when Rosh Hashanah fell. Rosh Hashanah is the Feast of Trumpets which occurs on 1 Tishri, the first day of the seventh month. Rosh Hashanah means 'head of the year', signifying that by this time the idea of a 'civil year' beginning on 1 Tishri was well established.

Tables 1 and 2 compare the Rabbinical dates with accurate astronomical calculations based on Biblical principles.

1 Abib

Year CE	Biblical Calculations	Rabbinical Calculations	Difference (Days)
1981 1982 1983 1984 1985	7/4 27/3 15/4 3/4 23/3	5/4 25/3 15/3 3/4 23/3	+2 +2 +31 0 0
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990	11/4 31/3 18/4 8/4 28/3	10/4 31/3 19/3 6/4 27/3	+1 0 +32 +2 +1
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995	16/4 5/4 25/3 13/4 2/4	16/3 4/4 23/3 13/3 1/4	+31 +1 +2 +31 +1
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000	21/3 9/4 30/3 18/4 6/4 (7/4)	21/3 8/4 28/3 18/3 6/4	0 +1 +2 +31 0 (+1)

Table 1 Comparison of Dates for 1 Abib given by the Biblical and traditional 'Rabbinical' calculations. Dates in brackets are less probable dates for days when the visibility of the New Moon is borderline.

The Biblical Calculation dates are the earliest days on which the New Moon is likely to be visible at Jerusalem on the previous evening.

1 Tishri

Year CE	Biblical Calculations	Rabbinical Calculations	Difference (Days)
1981 1982 1983 1984 1985	30/9 19/9 8/10 27/9 17/9 (16/9)	29/9 18/9 8/9 27/9 16/9	+1 +1 +30 0 +1 (0)
1986 1987 1988 1989 1990	6/10 25/9 (26/9) 13/10 (14/10) 3/10 22/9 (21/9)	4/10 24/9 12/9 30/9 20/9	+2 +1 (+2) +31 (+32) +3 +2 (+1)
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995	10/10) 29/9 18/9 7/10 27/9	9/9 28/9 16/9 6/9 25/9	+31 +1 +2 +31 +2
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000	15/9 4/10 23/9 11/10 30/9 (29/9)	14/9 2/10 21/9 11/9 30/9	+1 +2 +2 +30 0 (-1)

Table 2 Comparison of Dates for 1 Tishri given by the Biblical and traditional 'Rabbinical' calculations. Dates in brackets are less probable dates for days when the visibility of the New Moon is borderline.

Comparing the results show that the traditional Rabbinical calendar correctly calculates only five of the twenty 1 Abib dates (75% wrong) and two of the twenty 1 Tishri (Feast of Trumpets) dates (90% wrong). The results also show that for five of the twenty years (25% wrong) examined the Rabbinical calculation starts the year one month too early, before any barley is likely to be ready to harvest anywhere in Israel.

When comparing this table with astronomical New Moon calculations, please remember that it is not the New Moon conjunction that is being calculated, but which evening the New Moon will first be visible to an observer with good eyesight in Jerusalem. Thus, if the New Moon is visible on the evening of 8 April, 1997, the first day of the first month (1 Abib) is given as 9 April, 1997 because the day extends from dusk on the eighth to dusk on the ninth, thus including all the daylight hours of 9 April.

The 1989 dates are a clear example of the inaccuracy of the Rabbinical calculations. Tables 1 & 2 show us that the Rabbinical calculations predict that the New Moon will be seen on the evenings of the 5th of April and the 29th of September. However, accurate astronomical calculations reveal that the moon will set 37 minutes before the sun on the 5th of April and 26 minutes before the sun on the 29th of September. The New Moon cannot be seen until it is lagging well behind the sun in setting time, making observation of the New Moon on these dates totally impossible.

The inaccuracies of the Rabbinical calendar are partly due to the rudimentary knowledge of the moon's motion when their calendar was being developed. Sadly, now that much better calculations are available, accuracy has been rejected in favour of tradition.

Apart from the crudity of the Rabbinical calculations, another error in their calendar arises from the fact that they only calculate the conjunction time for the seventh month. The date for 1 Abib is determined by merely subtracting a set number of days from 1 Tishri.

The Jews themselves also recognize the deficiencies of the Rabbinical calendar as shown in this quote from Encyclopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem, 1972):

the present [calendar] system was expected to be replaced again by a system based on true values more akin to the earlier Jewish calendar in which New Moon and intercalations were proclaimed on the basis of both observation and calculation. (p.47).

Origin of the Rabbinical Calendar

Curiously, a few Christian groups accept the Rabbinical calendar as being authoritative. One example is the Worldwide Church of God. In one of their church publications, Herman Hoeh claims that calendar calculation was already the main method of determining the time of the Annual Holy Days during Christ's ministry. There is reason to believe that simple calculations were occasionally used then, but only resorted to in months when overcast weather prevented direct observation.

The existence and official use of the current Rabbinical calculated calendar at the time of Christ is denied by every authority on the calendar that we have read. The most optimistic historians place the beginning of the current Jewish calculated Calendar at 359 CE. They claim that Hillel II introduced the calendar then.

However, about this claim Samuel Poznanski says:

"the tradition, which stands quite alone, is confronted with grave objections. Of these the following two are of special weight: (1) The supposed calendar is never referred to in the Talmud, which received its final redaction at the end of the fifth century. Nothing whatever is said there about the length of the month, or the nineteen-year cycle, or anything else of the kind. (2)...Moreover, from the earliest post-Talmudic age we have dates which cannot be reconciled with the regular calendar in use today."

"In point of fact, everything goes to indicate that the calendar, like all other productions of the kind, passed through a developing series of forms, and that it assumed its final shape in the schools of the official representatives of Judaism (called Geonim) in Babylonia. To the period of the Geonim, say the 7th and 8th cents., likewise belong two tractates relevant to the subject. One of these is entitled "Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer", and contains almost all the elements of the modern calendar (caps. 6-8), but it shows so many instances of self-contradiction that we must assume the presence of various interpolations..."

"In the 7th and 8th centuries, again, Judaism in the East was disturbed by the rise of various sects, many of which refused to recognize the existing calendar. One of its outstanding assailants was Anam b. David, the founder of Karaism (2nd half of 8th cent.), who abandoned the method of computation, as being repugnant to Scripture, and reinstated that of lunar observation..."

"The importance attached to the recognition or repudiation of the then existing calendar may be gauged by the fact that the official circles of Judaism were free to intermarry with the Isawites, who actually recognized Jesus and Muhammad as prophets, but not with the Karaites, the ground of distinction being simply that the former received the calendar while the latter did not."

"..the Karaites..reverted in all respects to the ancient practice of determining the time of new moon by observation, and intercalating a 13th month when required by the state of the crops, ie, the ripening ears (Abib)."

"..Nor do the modern Karaites recognize the so-called dehiyoth, 'displacements'."

Some 'displacements' involve changing the date of the first of Tishri if it is going to fall on Sunday, Wednesday or Friday. The 'displacements' are designed to keep the Annual Holy Days from occurring on Sunday or Friday. It seems likely that the displacements, or postponements, were the final changes to the Rabbinical calendar, and were the final goad which led the Karaites to reject this anti-biblical calendar.

Maimonides claims that these displacements are designed to average out the inbuilt errors in the Rabbinical calculated calendar. The truth is that the real reason for this practice is that the Jews decided it was 'too difficult to have two Sabbaths in a row'. However, as the Karaites point out, there is no Biblical support for these 'displacements'. The Karaite practice of observing the Feast of Weeks on a Sunday is accepted by the Worldwide Church of God. This practice results in having two Sabbaths in a row. Obviously it is possible to have two Sabbaths in a row. It also opens up this question - If the Karaites are right about this aspect of the Holy Days, is it possible that they could be right in insisting on direct observation of the New Moon as the only scripturally acceptable method of determining the timing of God's Holy Days?

However, when direct observation is not possible, surely the most accurate calculations available should be used. Our calculated calendar simulates actual observation of the New Moon in Jerusalem as exactly as possible. When any observational data comes into conflict with the method used to predict visibility, the process is re-examined to increase its accuracy. As only God has the authority to set the dates for His Holy Days, and He reveals these appointed times using His greater and lesser lights, any calendar system which does not match with the observations of the New Moon is useless.

The calculations shown in Table 3 reveal the date of the Passover in the year of Christ's crucifixion. However, the usefulness of the Biblical calendar is not limited to only this issue. It is a powerful key that can unlock the exact time of many biblical events. It can also help us determine the true time of God's Holy Days today, so we can keep His Holy Days, not man's.

THE SIGN OF JONAH

Our original interest in the timing of God's Holy Days arose from an attempt to find out if Jesus actually spent three days and three nights in the grave as He said He would:

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you."

But He, answering, said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights." Matthew 12:38 to 40

As the Good Friday-Easter Sunday tradition only allows a maximum of two nights and one day in the grave, it actually denies that Jesus kept the "Sign of Jonah", and thus casts doubt on His truthfulness. Did He keep this "Sign", or is He a fraud as the opponents of Biblical Christianity silently suggest? And if He did keep this Sign, is this yet another of the times that the 'Little Horn' spoken of in Daniel 7:8 has tried to change?

Two Sabbaths?

After unsuccessfully trying to reconcile the Crucifixion accounts in the Bible with the three days and three nights, we finally came across a Worldwide Church of God booklet which claimed that Christ's crucifixion was really on a Wednesday, with two Sabbaths occurring during the time He was dead. Their argument was built on Matthew 28:1, which literally reads: Now after the Sabbaths, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.; and also on their knowledge of God's Holy Days and how they apply to the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. (The general details about God's Holy Days are set out in a separate article on the Annual Holy Days.) They claimed that in the year of the crucifixion, the Preparation Day on which Jesus died occurred on Wednesday. The next day was the first day of the Week of Unleavened Bread, which was (and still is) a special annual High Day Sabbath. (Also referred to in John 19:31, Leviticus 23:4 to 8) It was the coming of this High Day or solemn Annual Sabbath that drove the Jewish leaders to request the breaking of the 'convicts' legs so they would die before the Week of Unleavened Bread formally began.

The Biblical account clearly shows that Jesus died mid-afternoon on the Preparation Day. Jesus' body was even placed in a tomb (the heart of the earth) just as the High Day began at dusk. The urgency involved was such that His body was interred without being properly embalmed. So it was that the three days and nights in the heart of the earth began at dusk at the end of the day of Preparation. That night and the next day (ie Thursday - the first High Day of the Week of Unleavened Bread) were the first night and day of Christ's interment.

The next night and day were the second day of the Week of Unleavened Bread. Normal work was permitted on that day. The booklet suggested, quite reasonably, that this was the day on which Christ's followers went out and bought the herbs, spices and linen required to embalm Jesus properly. They then had to prepare and blend the herbs and spices before they could embalm Him. By the time they finished, the day was nearly over, so the actual embalming had to be postponed again. The second night and second day (Friday) had now passed.

But the new 'day' beginning at dusk was the normal weekly Sabbath. Thus Christ's followers once again had to delay while the Sabbath was on. This was now the third night and the third day (Saturday). Interestingly, the Sabbath is the day of rest, and Jesus rested on this Sabbath in the sleep of death.

This sequence is confirmed by Mark 16:1, which tells us that the women bought their spices after the Sabbath was over, and by Luke 23:56 which tells us that they kept the Sabbath after they had prepared the spices. Obviously two Sabbaths must have passed while Jesus was in the grave.

The three days and three nights were fulfilled at dusk at the end of this Sabbath. Did Jesus rise then, or did He wait and rise at dawn the next morning as is commonly taught? Indeed, John tells us that:

Early on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came, while the tomb was still in darkness, and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.

Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They took the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they put Him." John 20:1 and 2

Jesus was out of the tomb long before the women arrived before dawn to embalm Him. It is quite likely that He rose from the dead at dusk of the previous evening, exactly fulfilling the Sign of Jonah.

However, when we first heard this proposal, we were not sure if the Day of Preparation really did fall on a Wednesday that year, or even if the WCG were using the right year.

The Biblical calendar system we outlined above was used to determine the date of Passover (also called the Day of Preparation) for a series of years during which the Crucifixion of Christ might have taken place. The dates according to the 'modern' Rabbinical calculation system are also included for comparison. ⁷ Table 3 contains this summary. Note that the Rabbinical calculation is only correct for the 31 and 32 CE Passovers.

Tiberius Caesar's Fifteenth Year

All that remained was to determine the actual year of the Crucifixion. Once again the Bible contains the information required to determine the year. It can be dated by a reference to John the Baptist in Luke 3:1 to 3, which tells us that in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, God called John out of the wilderness and instructed him to 'preach a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins'.

The fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar is the key to establishing this date. Tiberius became Emperor on 17 August, 14 CE, on the death of Augustus Caesar. The Jews then used a system of counting regnal years that began and ended on Feast of Trumpets. This was their 'civil' calendar; Its origins are probably linked to the fact that the Year of Jubilee began during the seventh month (Lev. 25:8-17). However, 1 Abib was still recognised as the beginning of their religious calendar. Using this reckoning, the first "year" of Tiberius' reign ran from 17 August, 14 CE until 13 October, 14 CE, the date of the Feast of Trumpets that year. The second year of his reign ran from 13 October, 14 CE until 3 October, 15 CE, which was the Feast of Trumpets that year.

This series continued until we reach the fifteenth year of his reign that by Jewish reckoning ran from 19 September, 27 CE until 7 October, 28 CE. Note that John began preaching during Tiberius' fifteenth year, not after his fifteenth year.

John probably began preaching on or just after the Feast of Trumpets, an ideal time for his message as the days between the Feast of Trumpets and Day of Atonement are a traditional time of reflection and repentance among the Jews. If Jesus was baptised by John within 52 days after the Feast of Trumpets, Jesus still had enough time to fulfill His three and a half year ministry before He was crucified, as the three and a half years are sometimes represented as 1260 days in prophecy. This time period fulfills the time that Daniel says must pass (the middle of the week) before the Messiah was cut off. (Daniel 9:26 & 27)

This places the time of Christ's anointing in the late autumn of 27 CE and His crucifixion at the Passover 31 CE. As this Passover occurred on a Wednesday, it confirms that Jesus did keep the Sign of Jonah exactly as He said He would.

Those who have been taught that Jesus was crucified on a Friday should note from the above calculation of the fifteenth year of Tiberious that 31 CE is the earliest possible year for the crucifixion. This means that the information given in the Bible actually denies the possibility of a Friday crucifixion in the year 30 CE. Nor is the 33 CE Friday date given by the Rabbinical calculation a realistic possibility as that calendar system was still being invented six hundred years later. The Friday crucifixion doctrine is a fraud instituted by a corrupt, apostate church, and actually denies that Jesus fulfilled the Sign of Jonah. As this document demonstrates, Jesus Christ did in fact fulfill this proof of His identity as the Son of God. The key to this knowledge has been the Biblical Calendar.

Another booklet, Christian Holy Days, unlocks the Christian meaning of the Biblical Holy Days, which reveal God's plan of Salvation. Table 4 summarises their meaning.

Biblical Holy Day	Christian Meaning
Passover	Death of Christ for our sins John 1:29
Week of Unleavened Bread	New life, free from sin, granted through Christ's sacrifice Romans 6:1 to 23
Wave Offering or First-Fruit (during Week of Unleavened Bread)	Christ's resurrection, symbol of our future resurrection to eternal life 1 Corinthians 15:20 to 23
First-Fruits (Pentecost)	Christ's followers receive Holy Spirit Acts 2:1 to 39
Feast of Trumpets	Jesus Christ's Return Revelation 11:15 to 18; 1 Thes 4:15 to 17
Day of Atonement	Satan is imprisoned for his part in humanity's sin, living humankind stands before Christ for judgement Revelation 19:1 to 20:3; Matthew 25:31 to 46
Feast of Tabernacles	Jesus establishes His Kingdom on Earth, rebuilds earth with the help of His followers Revelation 20:4 to 6; Ezekiel 47:1 to 12
Great Last Day	Satan released, humanity tempted for last time, unfaithful destroyed, eternal kingdom of peace established and New Jerusalem given to the saints. Revelation 20:5 to 22:20

1. See Luke 22:1 to 13, which shows Jesus instituting the Last Supper on the evening beginning the Passover. John 18:39 confirms that Jesus was crucified on the Passover. John 19:31 tells us how the legs of the criminals were broken to hasten their death, so they would not be still suffering on their crosses on the High (Solemn) Sabbath, which was the next day. Return

2. This situation also presents another problem for the few who suggest that the conjunction marks the beginning of the months: the conjunction can occur at any time during the day, resulting in further confusion. Return

3. The Islamic calendar is a strictly lunar calendar with each year only 12 lunar months long. As a result, their calendar year moves backwards by about 11 days a year. Return

4. Another interesting point is that keeping records of the number of days between the equinoxes for a few years would give a very accurate idea of the length of the solar year, thus allowing prediction of the next equinox. Return

5. A quite similar calendar is also used by the Colorado Springs Church of God (USA), which we later discovered had independently developed their Bible-based calculated calendar before us. Return

6. Pg 3-4, of the Yale Judaica Series, 1956. Return

7. This table shows Julian dates for both calculations. Normally our calculations use the Gregorian calendar for all dates, whereas the Jewish calculation uses Julian dates before 1582 CE, which were 2 days earlier than the Gregorian dates during the first century CE. The Gregorian calendar is used as it matches the solar year more exactly, making our calculations of the equinox simpler. The Gregorian calendar was designed to match the two calendars during the third century CE, which marked the official beginning of the Roman Catholic method of determining Easter. Return

Scripture quotations are taken from the Central Highlands Church of God Publications or New King James translations.

Copyright © 1993, 1997