Evidence Unveiling Israel’s Sacred Calendar, #1

 When I observe someone promoting something that is untrue, I find that it is my Biblical duty to point it out and address the error! In other words, if I observe a crime about to be committed; or in the process of being committed, and I don’t witness to it, I become as guilty as the criminal perpetrating it, so I’m quite careful with my own teachings, and what I accept from others. Just because something sounds reasonable, I study it before I embrace it! What I’m about to address in this paper, I’ve had on the back burner for quite some time!

Eli James, a “solar only” calendar advocate stated in part in his The Great Impersonation, p. 267, “... There are two lights in the sky which divide times and seasons. They are the Sun by day and the stars by night. We can navigate the oceans according to these lights, but not by the moon. We can tell the seasons by the Sun’s angles and by the constellations. The moon does not tell us seasons or times of day. Nor does the moon shine by its own light, so the moon is a nonfactor. Any lunar calendar or lunar-solar calendar is unbiblical and therefore unfit for true Israel.”

Is Psalm 104:19 unbiblical?

“He appointed the moon³³⁹⁴ for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.”

Is Psalm 136:8-9 unbiblical?

“⁸ The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: ⁹ The moon³³⁹⁴ and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.”

Is Psalm 148:3 unbiblical?

“Praise ye him, sun and moon³³⁹⁴: praise him, all ye stars of light.”

Is Deuteronomy 33:14 unbiblical?

“And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon³³⁹¹ ...” This verse implies that the moon is as important as the Sun for bringing forth agricultural produce. Also, a woman’s rhythmic cycle is governed by the moon, and we could be devoid of children without it!

Is 1 Corinthians 15:41 in the New Testament unbiblical?

“There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon⁴⁵⁸², and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”

It just so happens, if we reconstruct a calendar where the first month has thirty days while the second has twenty-nine, and the third month thirty, all the dates in Exodus coincide perfectly, which is substantial evidence that Israel was using a solar-lunar calendar:

First Month: ▼

14th = Passover lamb killed;

15th = First Day of Unleavened Bread;

18th = Potential Wave Sheaf Date Instituted at a Later Time;

21st = Last Day of Unleavened Bread.

Second Month: ▼

15th = Quail sent in evening – next morning began six days of manna, followed by a Weekly Sabbath. (“^M” = manna)

Third Month: ▼

4th = Israel Arrived at Mt. Sinai;

7th = Ten Commandments Spoken By Yahweh;

8th = The first Feast of Pentecost.

Exod. 19:1-2: “¹ In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. ² For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.” This calendar evidence cannot be Biblically denied for the first Exodus!

I am not the originator of this reconstructed calendar, but I found it in a book entitled The Sabbaths Of God by James L. Porter, page 77. The main problem with his reconstructed calendar of these three months is that it doesn’t show the change of one day to another at sunset. As a result, I had to make a few minor changes, but by-and-large he had most of his entries correct. The astonishing thing about this reconstructed calendar is that it is, as far as Passover week is concerned, identical to the week (day for day) that Christ was crucified, which varied from year to year!

What is even more interesting than Porter’s commentary for the first three months of Israel’s track on the Exodus with his reconstructed calendar, is the addendum he securely glued to the back hard cover of his book after it was printed, realizing he had erred on certain pages. I really have to admire a man, who upon finding he was wrong, would humbly admit it and set the record straight. This is what Porter stated in his addendum, which I will quote in its entirety:

“Addendum to The Sabbaths of God by James L. Porter, Exposition Press, Inc.

“CHANGE IN COUNTING PENTECOST: This addendum is written to revise and correct the counting of Pentecost to conform to scripture. The writer [meaning James L. Porter] was in error in counting the days to determine the day of Pentecost. Pentecost should be observed on the first day of the week instead of the second day, as originally stated in the book, (See pg. 115).

“There is no general agreement among Sabbath-observing Christians on the date of Pentecost. A large group observes Pentecost on Monday; some observe it on Sunday; and some follow the Jews and observe Pentecost on the 6th day of the third month. Surely the occurrence of such an important day to Christians can be determined without question.

“There is only one true Pentecost day that God gave to His people Israel. This was the day on which He entered into the covenant agreement with Israel, and also the day that the new covenant – the giving of the Holy Spirit – was bestowed upon the followers of Jesus Christ.

“There are three lines of evidence which show Pentecost day occurs on the first day of the week.

“SCRIPTURAL METHOD OF COUNTING DAYS: In spite of the fact that the Jews are in error in the day they observe as Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), they do use the scriptural method of counting days. This method is different than that customarily used today. The Encyclopedia Britannica states:

“‘... Hebrew numeration always includes the day which is the terminus a quo as well as that which is term ad quem.’, Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911, Pentecost, pg. 123.

“The day from which the counting is begun as well as the day to which the counting is directed, are both counted when Hebrews number days. This was also the method of counting days used in the New Testament as shown by John 20:26.

“John 20:26: ‘And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them ...’

“Bible commentaries state this means that this appearance occurred on the same day the following week. Today, we would use the phrase ‘a week later’, but if the first day and the terminal day are counted as they are in scripture, ‘a week later’ is written as ‘after eight days.’ The Expositor’s Bible (Wm. B. Eerdman’s Pub. Co.) 1956; Peake’s Commentary on the Bible (Thomas Nelson & Sons, Ltd) 1962 The Interpreter’s Bible (Abingdon-Cokesbury Press); Bible Handbook (Halley, Zondervan Pub. House).

“When this system of counting days is applied to the counting of Pentecost, the fiftieth day becomes the day to be observed, not the following day which was mistakenly given in [my] book. If fifty days are counted beginning on the first day of the week (the day following the Sabbath), the fiftieth day will occur on Sunday, seven weeks later.

“COUNTING OF JUBILEE AND PENTECOST SAME: In addition to the weekly and annual Sabbaths, God gave Israel Sabbath years in which the land was to rest in the same manner as the people rested each week on the Sabbath day. He instructed Israel to number seven Sabbath years and the following year – the fiftieth – was to be a Jubilee Year, (See pg. 198).

“The system of numbering seven Sabbath years to determine [the] Jubilee Year is the same system God gave for the numbering of Pentecost. Seven Sabbath days were to be counted and the fiftieth day was to be Pentecost. When the system of numbering for Jubilee is followed for numbering Pentecost, Pentecost will always occur on the first day of the week.

“SADDUCEES OBSERVED PENTECOST ON SUNDAY: The Sadduceean party was composed of priests. They were opposed by the Pharisees on a number of doctrines, the observance of Pentecost being one of the most important. Since the office of the priest was inherited, the Sadducees method of counting Pentecost represents an older and more scriptural view than that of the Pharisees. This is shown by the Jewish Encyclopedia article on the Sadducees,The Jewish Encyclopedia (Funk and Wagnalls Co.), 1901 pg. 631-632:

“‘They [the Sadducees] contended that the seven weeks from the first barley sheaf-offering (omer) to Pentecost should, according to Lev. XXIII 15-16, be counted from ‘the day after Sabbath,’ and, consequently, that Pentecost should always be celebrated on the first day of the week. In this they obviously followed the old Biblical view which regards the festival of the firstlings as having no connection whatsoever with the Passover feast; whereas the Pharisees, connecting the festival of the Exodus with the festival of the giving of the Law, interpreted the ‘morrow after the Sabbath to signify the second day of Passover.’

“Note that the Sadducees observed Pentecost on Sunday and the admission that this represents an old Biblical view. It was the priests’ duty to announce the holy days and to offer the appropriate sacrifices God had commanded. After the destruction of the Temple, the priests (Sadducees) lost their position and their power to influence the Jewish people who thereafter followed the Pharisees. Therefore, today the Jews observe Pentecost on the 6th day of the third month because they begin counting the fifty days on the 16th day of the first month, not on the day following the weekly Sabbath, (See pg. 118).”[C.A.E. Note: The office of the priest was no longer inherited after the time that Herod slew the last of the Maccabees. Although some sons were later appointed in place of their fathers by either the Herods or later by the Romans, many non-Israelite successors were appointed as priests.]

“SCRIPTURAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR COUNTING PENTECOST: ‘Lev. 23:15-16: ‘¹⁵ And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall there be complete: ¹⁶ Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days ...’

“Applying the scriptural method of counting days to these instructions, the fiftieth day (the morrow after the Sabbath, seven weeks later) becomes the one God designated as His holy day. This fits the pattern by which the jubilee year is counted. It is also the day the ancient priests observed when they ministered in the Temple. Therefore Pentecost should be observed on Sunday, one day earlier than the date given in the calendar in this book on pg. 352. James L. Porter, Valley Center, Kansas, January, 1969.” [End of Porter’s addendum.]

When I run into situations of finding new data like this from James L. Porter and his book The Sabbaths of God, which shed new light on the subject, I like to play the part of an investigative detective, especially when there is a conflict in the evidence. At page 75, Porter had just finished a chapter entitled “Passover and The Feast of Unleavened Bread” where he was starting a new chapter entitled “Pentecost”. In a short space between the two chapters, he had hand-printed a note “See Addendum”. I could determine from this that he, upon rereading his first book off the press, discovered his error of conflicting subject matter. In addition to this, there is another telltale piece of evidence in the last sentence of the chapter where he placed his hand printed note. Summing up the chapter, he stated: “Thus if a feast day fell on a Thursday, the feast would begin on Wednesday evening when the sun set, and last until Thursday evening at sunset.” This sentence conflicted with his reconstructed calendar in the next chapter, and is one of the reasons for my editing of his calendar. However, this does not completely ruin his otherwise good scholarship.

As I pointed out before, Porter’s reconstructed calendar is, as far as Passover week is concerned, identical to the week (day for day) that Christ was crucified! The following is what I wrote in my Noon To Noon Madness, (part one):

“Surely, Mary Magdalene, Mary (mother of James) and Salome would have known that Yahshua was crucified on the day of preparation, for their actions speak louder than words. Actually, there were two sabbaths the week of Christ’s death (the high Sabbath and the weekly Sabbath). Let’s follow these three ladies through Scripture. Mark 16:1 and Luke 23:56 provide us evidence of two Sabbaths.

“Mark 16:1: ‘And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices that they might come and anoint him.’ (A.R.V.) [A.V. incorrectly ‘had bought’]

“Luke 23:56: ‘And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.’

“Thus, we can reconstruct the final days of Christ’s death and His three days in the grave and His Resurrection. In terms of our week, the Crucifixion fell on Wednesday. Thursday was the High Sabbath. These three ladies purchased the spices on Friday (a non-sabbath), and rested on Saturday (a weekly Sabbath). Then going to the tomb on Sunday to anoint Yahshua’s body (the first day of the week), they found the tomb empty.”

Then as I wrote in my Noon To Noon Madness, (part 5) I stated: “Most overlook the passage at Matt. 27:62-66, that Yahshua would be in the grave three days and three nights: ‘Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.’

“With this watch, the two Marys had no access to the tomb until the first day of the week, preventing the anointing of His body until that time! A Friday crucifixion would have required a Sunday purchase and preparation of the spices, falsifying Mark 16:2.

“Consulting Luke 23:55-56 we find: ‘And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his [dead] body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment’.”

It should now be increasingly clear that the original week of Passover, and countdown to Pentecost happened in identical months and days of the week as those of Christ’s crucifixion! Not only that, but this new evidence from James L. Porter, and verification from Scripture, reveal that it could only have been determined by a lunar calendar! Not a “lunar only” calendar but a “solar-lunar calendar”! How else could a reconstructed lunar calendar synchronize so fittingly otherwise? If it were a “solar only or “lunar only” calendar, there is no way the account at Exod. 16:11-29 could be correct in the “second month”! It is not entirely clear whether Yahweh sent the quail shortly before or shortly after sunset on Saturday the 15th of the second month, but it is fully apparent that the next morning was the first day of the week when Israel initially received the manna. Why don’t the “lunar only” and “solar only” advocates resolve the evidence found on this in Exodus chapter 16?

From The Bible Knowledge Commentary, NT ed. on Luke 22:21, pp. 258-259 we read:

“The Synoptic Gospels speak of the meal Jesus ate with His disciples as the Passover meal. But the Gospel of John indicates Jesus died on the cross at the exact time that lambs were slain in preparation for the nation’s Passover meals (John 19:14). But this can be explained by the fact that the Feast of Unleavened Bread was a seven-day feast following the one-day Feast of the Passover, but sometimes all eight days were called ‘the Passover’ (Luke 2:41; 22:1; Acts 12:3-4) or the seven days were the ‘Passover Week’ (John 19:14) A different explanation is that Jews in the first century followed two calendars in observing the Passover. According to this view Jesus and His disciples observed one date, eating the Passover meal before His crucifixion, whereas most of the nation, including the Pharisees, followed the other calendar in which the Passover lambs were slain on the very day of Jesus’ death.” [underlining mine] Yes, there was a problem with the calendar the Pharisees were keeping, but Phariseeism developed after the Babylonian captivity! What is important here to understand is the fact that one of the two calendars was the correct one.

“A second explanation is based on the Babylonian method of reckoning the dates of a king’s reign. The portion of a king’s reign that preceded the beginning of a new year in the month Nisan, that is, the year of accession, was called the first year even if it was of short duration. If Jeremiah followed that method of reckoning, he counted Jehoiakim’s year of accession (which was only part of a full year) as the first year. And if Daniel used the Jewish [sic Judaean] method of reckoning (which did not count the first months of a king’s reign before the new year) he then counted only the three full years of Jehoiakim’s reign. The year was 605 B.C.”

This should give the serious Bible student a clue how important it is to under ancient calendars as well as the Sacred Calendar of Israel.

Ibid. Ezra 3:1-2. ‘The first task facing the people was the rebuilding of the altar of burnt offering, directly east of where the temple building itself would be located. This was essential for reestablishing the sacrificial system which set these people apart as a nation and which was used by God as a means for atoning for their sins. The seventh month may refer to the seventh month after the people left Babylon or to the seventh month after they arrived in Jerusalem. This was in September-October ...’. In years past, the seventh month had been a great month religiously for Israel. Three religious festivals were held in the seventh month: the Feast of Trumpets on the 1st day (Lev. 23:23-25), the Day of Atonement on the 10th day (Lev. 23:26-32), and the Feast of Tabernacles on days 15-21 (Lev. 23:33-36, 39-43; Num. 29:12-39; cf. Ezra 3:4).”

These passages cited by The Bible Knowledge Commentary on Ezra confirms there was no change in Israel’s Sacred Calendar in Ezra’s day after the remnant of Judah returned from Babylon. This runs contrary to the claims of Eli James!