The Author of Time
The very first words of the Bible are, “In the beginning,” meaning the beginning of time as we know it. God put the sun, moon, and stars in place to mark His appointed times for the seasons, days and years. Coinciding events of history are not a coincidence. God knows the end from the beginning and His calendar marks time according to His eternal plan.* This Devotional records and reports the events which took place the Bible in each month of the year.
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. |
The calendar we use in the world today is known as the “Gregorian Calendar,” named after Pope Gregory XIII in the 1500’s. The roots of Gregory’s calendar are from ancient Rome, who adopted their calendar from the Greeks, who mimicked the ancient Egyptian and Babylonian solar calendars, which were created out of worship of the god of the sun. Since the calendar was devoted to the god of the sun, it aligns with the rotation of the earth around the sun. Moreover, the days of the week and months of this calendar are all named after pagan gods or men who considered themselves to be gods.
In contrast, God’s calendar is lunar calendar which means that the days begin and end in the evening when the sun goes down as in, "the evening and the morning were the first day." (Genesis 1:5.) Months are observed in tandem with the cycle of the new moon with the full moon at the zenith of each month. The days of the week are numbered, except for the Sabbath which is the seventh day and God’s day of rest. The months were numbered until the days of Israel’s exile and return when they were given names by Ezra the scribe.
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Moreover, instead of thinking of each year as its own one-year increment, the Biblical lunar calendar is more like a 19-year cycle with leap years in in year 0, 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, and 17. Instead of a straight line, picture it like a helix rotating through cycles of history and resetting every 19 years.
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Significantly, God’s calendar for His people started with redemption. In no uncertain terms, He told them that this was the beginning of the year for them. Within two weeks from the first of the year, God’s people were delivered from 400 years of slavery. They miraculously walked through the parted waters of the Red Sea and were birthed as a nation. Every year, Passover is celebrated to remember this marvelous event.
"This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you." |
It is not a coincidence that Jesus Christ was crucified on the exact anniversary of the day of Passover over 1,000 years later. Through the coinciding time on the calendar, God was revealing a message of His redemption through Jesus Christ, His Son. He is our eternal Passover Lamb who delivers us from bondage to sin and death. There are many additional examples of this throughout the year which this Devotional addresses.
In the Scriptures, God commands His people to observe the months/new moons and His appointed times. (Numbers 10:10, 28:11; Leviticus 23.) Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are no longer under the Law but these are not referred to as the feasts of Israel or of the Law, but the Feasts of the Lord.
As such, if God considers a time to be special, holy, or appointed, I believe it is wise for us to take note of it and be in step with Him. To understand the events which happened in the Scriptures in any given month can give us insight into God's eternal perspective on things. We do not conform ourselves to the calendar but simply gain appreciation for God's hand in history and His plan for ultimate redemption.
If you want to join me in appreciating the Biblical events which happened in each month of the year, you can subscribe below. You will receive a blessing each month in your email box which will help you to understand the Blessings of the Biblical calendar.
Resuming 1st of Abib, 2020
Why observe the Biblical calendar?
Yeshua is coming back. Yeshua is Jewish. When He returns, it will be according to the Biblical calendar, not according to the calendar of this world or any man-made dates of religious observances for significant events or holidays. God's appointed times are everlasting ordinances for all generations. He established His calendar and reveals Himself to us through it. He is not a God of coincidence but of precision.
Not Law. Not Tradition. Under the New Covenant, we are not subject to the legal requirements for observing the Feasts of the Lord or the Biblical months because the requirements of the Law were fulfilled for us in Messiah. On another note, the customary Christian holidays and their widely accepted observances have widely strayed from their Biblical foundation. Moreover, the rabbinic traditions and prescribed observances are often amiss in their varied attempts to circumvent the need for blood sacrifices at the Temple and to deny or disqualify Yeshua as Messiah. For these reasons, followers of Messiah today can observe these Feasts or not however the Lord leads them. (See Galatians 4:10; Colossians 2:16.)
Biblical Feasts are a shadow of Messiah. Yeshua observed the Feasts of the Lord out of perfect obedience to the Law of God and also looking forward to the ultimate fulfillment of the Feasts through His life, death, resurrection, and return to usher in the age to come. Each of the Biblical Feasts reveal certain aspects of who Yeshua is, what He accomplished for us, and what will come to pass upon His return. They were designed by God to keep Israel focused on Him, to help them remember all He has done for them, and to train them in true and proper worship. They can do the same for us if we take note of them in our lives today. In fact, Messiah instructed His disciples to always be alert and discerning of the times. Walking with God through His calendar each year is one way of doing this.
2020 Dates
"THESE ARE THE APPOINTED TIMES OF THE LORD,
HOLY CONVOCATIONS WHICH YOU SHALL PROCLAIM AT THE TIMES APPOINTED FOR THEM."
- LEVITICUS 23:4
HOLY CONVOCATIONS WHICH YOU SHALL PROCLAIM AT THE TIMES APPOINTED FOR THEM."
- LEVITICUS 23:4
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*Please Note: I am not suggesting that we abandon the Gregorian calendar because that is simply impractical for living in this world. I am also not promoting the Rabbinic myths associated with the Hebrew months because unfortunately, these myths do not accurately represent the historical events of Scripture. My aim is simply to show reverence to the only God who created the Universe and who is the author of time.
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