The biblical calendar is a much overlooked topic. Days, months and years are not a topic that get much attention within Christian circles. But today I’m going to explain, the true biblical calendar.
This will give you a better perspective on when things are supposed to take place according to the Most High.
As a followers of the Messiah and scriptures, it’s important that we please the Most High. Because he is the reason for our existence as the scriptures remind us in Ecclesiastes 12:13…
Ecclesiastes 12:13
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Biblical Days
Conventional Wisdom tells us, that a day is 24 hours. Starting from 12 a.m, and finishing 24 hours later at 12 a.m. But the question is, was it always like this in times past?
When Does A Day Start In The Bible?
It’s important to understand what a true biblical day is, because this is necessary when practicing the faith.
If we go back to the beginning. In the Book of Genesis we are told that the day began in darkness…
Genesis 1:1-5
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
This is quite similar to today’s calculation of a day which starts at 12 a.m. midnight, when it’s dark. The difference is, that within scripture we’re told that day begins and ends in the evening…
This is making reference to the natural light outside rather than a clock which we have today.
A closer look at one of the “appointed times” i.e. “the day of Atonement”, which is a one-day fast (which commands us not to eat for a day) shows how a day was represented.
The scripture tell us this one day fast takes place from evening to evening…
Leviticus 23:32
32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
So, we are told the fast is “ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even”. This means evening on 9th day to evening on the 10th day.
This fast was for the 10th day, but starts on the 9th day in the evening which shows us that a day started at evening the day before.
When Does A Day Start In The Bible
This gives us the evidence to clearly and authoritatively know that a day within the bible starts in the evening and ends in the evening the next day.
As previously mentioned this is similar to a conventional day, from 12 a.m. to 12 a.m. but without using a clock.
Biblical Month
To find out how many months there are in a biblical year we have to delve further into the scriptures. The two books that need to be read are the Book of Enoch (Jude 1:14), and the Book of Jubilees…
The book of Enoch 72:8-32 gives an accurate calculation of how many days there are in a month. We are told that there are 30 days in 8 of the months and 31 days in the 4 others.
A month only has 30 days and 31 days when it transitions into the next season. So again, that means that 4 months have 31 days, and 8 months have 30 days.
This gives the year a total of 12 months, 364 days.
Read for the Book Of Enoch 72:8-32 here for a full explanation
The Misconception About The Biblical Word For Month
There is a misconception about the word month in the Hebrew which needs to be cleared up.
There are those that believe that the word month in the scriptures is talking about the moon…
This belief means months are calculated according to the visual sightings of the moons. But when we look at the Hebrew word for month we find where ever it relates to the months of the year, the word used is:
“New Month”, not “New Moon”.
The word used is ‘chodesh’ meaning ‘month‘ Strong’s 2320
We know this because the word for “New Moon”, is a different Hebrew word. This word is never used when the scriptures are talking about a new month, if it was the word…
‘yareach’ meaning ‘moon‘ Strong’s 3394 would have been used and it isn’t.
A month biblically, is not, and was never calculated using the moon cycle. There’s no evidence of this anywhere in the scriptures.
The number of days each month has is confirmed in the book of Jubilees and the book of Enoch 72:8-32
These two books give us the number of days each month has within a biblical year.
We are also told in the book of jubilees, that the days of biblical feasts (“appointed times”) would be put out of order, if the biblical calendar wasn’t adhered to…
Book Of Jubilees 6:33
33 But if they do neglect and do not observe them according to His commandment, then they will disturb all their seasons, and the years will be dislodged from this (order), [and they will disturb the seasons and the years will be dislodged] and they will neglect their ordinances.
This was a prophecy given to Moses when he was given the days, months and yearly calculations, by the Most High…
This prophecy has clearly come to pass today, if not merely because of the fact that I’m discussing the biblical months here. But also the fact that we have a calendar with more than the 364 days the Most high created for the year.
The Julian Calendar
The months today are calculated from the Julian calendar, a spin off from the Biblical Hebrew calendar (Found in scriptures). Some months have 30 days one has 28 days and the rest are 31 days long.
Here’s a look at how many days each month has…
September, April, June and November have 30 days. February has 28 days. January, March, May, July, August, December and October have 31 days.
How Many Days In A Biblical Year?
When we calculate a year today we are told that it is 365 days, which is how many the Julian calendar has.
To find a biblical year within the scriptures we also need to read the Book of Enoch and the Book of jubilees.
Book Of Enoch 72:32
32 On that day the night decreases and amounts to nine parts, and the day to nine parts, and the night is equal to the day and the year is exactly as to its days three hundred and sixty-four.
The Day The Biblical Year Begins
The book of Enoch tells us that the year begins when we find equal parts day and equal parts night.
Equal parts day and equal parts night is the day of the Equinox…
The Spring Equinox is a time each year when both day and night have equal amounts of time. This takes place on one day each year to start the Spring time, and according to the Most Highs time the year.
This is the day that the Most High created to begin the year. This is the first day of the Hebrew month…
It is the month, the first “Appointed Time” Passover takes place.
Book Of Jubilees 6:32
32 And command thou the children of Israel that they observe the years according to this reckoning-three hundred and sixty-four days, and (these) will constitute a complete year, and they will not disturb its time from its days and from its feasts; for everything will fall out in them according to their testimony, and they will not leave out any day nor disturb any feasts.
The Book of Jubilees, tells us that there are 364 days in a year. This is contrary to conventional understanding, that tells us that there are 365 1/4 days in a year.
The 1/4, was added to account for a leap year every 4 years, to keep the seasons in order.
To find the first day of the year we must first find the day of the Spring Equinox. Then start the beginning of the year on the 4th day (Wednesday) which is the first day of the Most High’s year. Although the week cycle will always start on a Sunday which is the first day of the week.
The Modern Julian And Gregorian Calendars
The Julian Calendar was created by Julius Caesar’s in 46 BC. This calendar was implemented on the 1st of January 45 BC in the Roman provinces.
Interestingly, this is at the time that the Romans began to rule over Israel, confirmed in the Prophecies of Daniel. The Roman kingdom is foretold as the second to last kingdom to rule the earth.
You can read about the prophesied kingdoms here: The Four Beast’s Of Daniel And Revelation? Definitive Guide
This let’s us know that Israel did not use the Julian or Gregorian calendars, until after they were conquered.
The Julian calendar was used in most of Europe and American settlements up until 1582.
The Julian Calendar, was replaced by the Gregorian calendar. By Pope Gregory the VIII.
Ironically the change for the Julian Calendar came because it is out of sequence with the Equinox.
The difference between the Julian (365.25 days) and Gregorian (365.2425 days) calendars is 0.002%.
The Gregorian calendar differs from the Julian only in that no century year is a leap year unless it is exactly divisible by 400 (e.g., 1600, 2000). Britannica Encyclopedia
The scriptures tell us that the Spring Vernal Equinox begins and ends a biblical year. So, doesn’t it make sense to follow what the Most High told Israel, seeing as he created the world?
Who Changed Times And Laws?
I’ve spoken about the Julian and Gregorian calendars and I think this is the perfect segway into a question you might have:
Who changed times and laws?
When we read the book of Daniel, he prophecies about the last Kingdoms, one of which is the Roman Kingdom.
Now we know the changing of the times, days, months and years, is the reason why the feasts (appointed times) are out of sequence according to the scriptures.
Daniel 7:25
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.
The scripture above highlights a time when the children of Israel would be in captivity, as well as true believers. During this time (which is also today) that second to last Kingdom i.e. the Roman empire would blaspheme the Most High’s commands and laws.
This would happen to such an extent the changing of laws would take place…
We know that since the council of nicea of 325AD, there’s been a lot of changes against the laws of the Most High.
Changes such as:
Sunday worship instead of Sabbath worship which is on the 7th day Saturday.
Christmas celebration, (which should be the Hanukkah celebration) which is unbiblical.
The Easter celebration (which should be the Passover and unleavened bread celebration) which is also unbiblical.
So we see the wording here is “think to change times and laws“, because the times and laws remain the same. It’s our job as responsible believers to keep the times and laws that the Most High commanded us to.
Conclusion
Unfortunately the biblical calendar is always overlooked today. There’s an assumption that the Romans got their calendar calculations from their own wisdom, but they didn’t.
When we study the scriptures there is strong reason to believe the Romans took their understanding from the Hebrews. They then modelled their calculation of the months and years to suit Roman needs.
Biblical Calendar VS Modern Calendar
The difference that we find, is that the Romans decided to start the year during the winter time.
This makes sense for Pagans because Romans were known to worship during the winter solstice on the 25th of December.
This is contrary to what the scriptures tell us. We are told in the Book Of Enoch that the Year begins during the Equinox in spring. This is the time when we find equal parts day and equal parts night on a single day.