What Is the True Biblical Calendar?

What does the Bible say about the calendar, months, days and years? When did the modern Jewish calendar begin and why was it changed from the original Hebrew calendar of Bible times? What do the Scriptures themselves tell us about the calendar? More than you might imagine! Are there calendar keys which we have overlooked? Who were the Karaite Jews and what do they have to do with the calendar?

William F. Dankenbring

For many years, I accepted and followed the Jewish calendar, assuming that we really had no bona fide choice in the matter. It was either follow the Jewish calendar -- or everybody do his own thing, and create his or her own calendar, sighting New Moons, and so forth -- "every man doing what was right in his own eyes" -- which, as we know, is the "way of death" (Prov.14:12).

Then, about a year ago, I began discovering that things were not as they seemed to be on the surface. Probing deeper into the mysteries of the Jewish calendar, I began to discover that the Jews had not only changed from a visual "sighting" of new moons to determine new months, which was done in Biblical times -- but that in 358 AD the Jewish community, fearful of its own demise and disintegration while scattered and persecuted, changed from a visual sighting calendar to a fixed mathematical calendar, which approximated the New Moons (and was in many months one or two days off from the literal visual New Moon). Not only did they do that, but they added NEW calendar "rules," called "postponements," which were based upon nothing more than putting manmade "hedges" around the weekly Sabbath day, so that Yom Kippur -- a fast day -- could not fall on either the day before or the day after a weekly Sabbath. Why? Because rabbis then deemed it impractical or a burden to have two days in a row when food could not be prepared -- Yom Kippur and the Sabbath! Another postponement was added to keep the seventh day of Sukkot or Tabernacles from falling on a weekly Sabbath (certain rituals on that day were considered "work" and therefore considered inappropriate for the Sabbath!).

Although I had known of these "postponements" for several years, I let the matter rest because I thought there might have been a precedent for them in Bible times. I simply did not know, and did not want to reject the postponements unless I knew and could PROVE that they were wrong, and were never followed in Bible times.

Then, last fall, in studying the matter deeper, I came across passages in the Mishnah which literally "blew me out of the saddle," so to speak. I found undeniable and incontrovertible PROOF FROM THE JEWISH ORAL LAW ITSELF -- THE MISHNAH -- that there were NO POSTPONEMENTS WHATSOEVER IN BIBLE TIMES! In other words, the "postponements" were an entirely NEW device created and added to the Jewish calendar, three centuries after Temple times!

This discovery was earth-shocking. It sent my mind reeling. Had we been wrong, therefore, in following the Jewish calendar, without question, all these years, simply because it was "Jewish"? Had we been wrong to accept their calendar without question, as Herbert Armstrong did, and as all the churches which sprang out from Worldwide Church of God, in recent years, have done?

God is merciful. And He is patient. I have learned that He reveals new truth a little at a time, so as not to overwhelm us or inundate us or bury us, causing mental paralysis, or chaos and confusion. So it is with the calendar. Herbert Armstrong many times said, "it is ten times as difficult to UNLEARN ERROR as it is to learn new truth!" Sometimes I think it is one hundred times more difficult! People often just will not face the new facts and discoveries honestly. They have been "PROGRAMMED" -- they have been BRAINWASHED -- and no amount of new truth or facts will persuade them that they have been wrong! Like Winston Churchill once said, "Men often stumble across the truth, get up, brush themselves off, and continue on as if nothing ever happened." How true!

Let us explore this vital subject, and see exactly what happened -- and where mainstream Judaism went wrong! What is the TRUTH about the calendar of GOD? What does the Word of God say on this very crucial subject? Did the Jews have the right to CHANGE that which God had ordained? Or was it lack of faith and obedience to God which led them to alter the calendar to maintain "unity," even if it was unity based on error? Could this also be one reason why God has never accepted them back into His good graces, to this very time, and their "Diaspora" has continued longer than any other people in history?

What Does the Bible Say?

What does the Bible reveal about the calendar? When we begin to look in the Bible itself, we begin to notice right off, that it differs greatly from the present day calendar of the Jews. Hard to believe? Well, take a good look for yourself!

Beginning in the book of "Beginnings," that is, the book of Genesis, we read: "And God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" (Gen.1:14). The word "seasons" here is the Hebrew moadim and means "an appointment; a fixed time or season; spec. a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly; technically, the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting." The Torah, a modern commentary, translates this verse: "God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the SET TIMES -- the days and the years."
Here we see that God's calendar -- His set feast days and appointed times for religious meetings and festivals -- were to be based on the movements of the sun and the moon. This is God's simple directive -- His commandments. Nowhere in Scripture does God ever give permission to alter, deviate, or change from this basic underlying principle -- or LAW.

However, the simple fact is that today, the Jewish calendar is NOT based on the precise movements of the moon and the sun -- it is rather a mathematically fixed, rigid set of rules which MERELY APPROXIMATE the movements of the sun and moon in the sky! Once one studies into this issue, this fact stands out like a throbbing sore thumb! In other words, in 358 AD the mainstream Jewish communities, with a few notable exceptions, changed from God's calendar, based on the movements of the sun and moon, to a mathematical approximation, and replaced the truth with approximations thereof!

Admits Arthur Spier on his book The Comprehensive Jewish Calendar:

"In the early times of our history [Biblical times, that is] . . . The beginnings of months were determined by direct observation of the new moon. Then those beginnings of months (Rosh Hodesh) were sanctified and announced by the Sanhedrin, the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, after witnesses had testified that they had seen the new crescent and after their testimony had been thoroughly examined, confirmed by calculation, and duly accepted" (page 1).

Because the solar year is about 365 days and the lunar year (12 lunar months) is about 354 days, there is about 11 days difference. Since these add up to a 30 day month about every three years, an extra month -- a "leap month" -- is added. Says Spier:

"However, the astronomical calculation was not the only basis for intercalation of a thirteenth month. The delay of the arrival of spring was another decisive factor. The Talmudic sources report that the Council intercalated a year when the barley in the fields had not yet ripened, when the fruit on the trees had not grown properly, when the winter rains had not stopped, when the roads for Passover pilgrims had not dried up, and when the young pigeons had not become fledged" (ibid.).

With these facts in mind, it becomes clear that God never intended His calendar to become a FIXED, rigid, unalterable calendar, based on pure mathematics. Many factors were involved as to when an extra, "intercalary" month had to be added to the end of the year, the month before Passover. The barley had to be ripe enough to permit the offering of the first fruits for the wave sheaf offering during Passover week! If it wasn't, then an extra month had to be inserted creating a "leap year," which would delay Passover and Unleavened Bread one month. As Spier says, another cause for inserting an intercalary month could be very bad weather, which would cause roads to become impassable, thus not allowing people to travel to Jerusalem to keep the Passover.

The modern Jewish calendar, of course, permits of no such variations! It is rigid, and unchangeable, with intercalary months being added at unchanging years in the 19 year cycle, regardless of weather, regardless of the condition of the barley harvest. It has no real connection with the harvest cycle, particularly the barley harvest, so necessary for the observance of the "wave sheaf offering" which God commanded!

The True First Month

The modern Jewish calendar as we know revolve around the first day of Tishri, the so-called holiday of "Rosh Hashanah," or New Year. This holiday is celebrated by Jews the world over as the New Year's Day. "Rosh Hashanah" literally means, "Chief" or "Head of the Year." It begins the fall holy day season.

But again, is this really a Scriptural truth or viewpoint? Does the Bible anywhere called the 1st day of Tishri "Rosh Hashanah"? No it does not!

Incredible as it may sound, the Scriptures declare an altogether different day as being the true "Rosh Hashanah"! Notice it! In the chapter we often quote leading up to the first Passover, God says to Moses and Aaron: "This month shall be unto you the beginning [rosh] of months [chodesh]: it shall be the FIRST MONTH OF THE YEAR [HA SHANAH] to you" (Exodus 12:2).

In Exodus 13:4, God says, "This day came ye out in the month Abib."

"The Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). The true Rosh Hashanah, according to the Scriptures, is Abib 1 -- not Tishri 1! God says, "Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread . . . in the time appointed of the month ABIB; for in it thou camest out of Egypt . . ." (Exodus 23:15).

In the book of Leviticus, God makes this crystal clear: He said, "These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the fourteenth day of the FIRST MONTH at even is the LORD's passover" (Lev.23:4-5). Which month is this "first" month? ABIB! Not Tishri! As far as the first day of Tishri is concerned, this same chapter says: "In the SEVENTH MONTH, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation" (verse 24). Notice that this holy day is not called "Rosh Hashanah" in the Scriptures -- it is clearly identified as YOM TERUAH -- the "the day of blowing of trumpets"! Also, notice that Tishri is called the seventh month in Scripture -- never the "first" month! (see also verses 27 and 34).

Numbers 28:16 also speaks of Abib -- the month of Passover -- as being the "first month" of the year. And it is the "seventh month, on the first day of the month," that was to be "a day of blowing the trumpets unto you" (Num.29:1). Notice again that this holy day is Yom Teruah in Scripture -- NOT "Rosh Hashanah," as the Jews insist on calling it, today!

"Observe the Month of Abib"

We read in Deuteronomy 16:1 the plain commandment of Almighty God: "OBSERVE the month of Abib, and keep the Passover unto the LORD your God: for in the month of ABIB the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night."

This is the only place in Scripture where God commands us to "OBSERVE" a month! And what month IS it? The month of Abib -- in the spring! Nowhere does God ever tell us to "Observe the month of Tishri." But He does command us to keep -- observe -- guard -- watch for -- the month of ABIB!

The Hebrew word for "observe" here is #8104 in Strong's Concordance, the word shamar, which means: "prop. to hedge about (as with thorns), i.e., guard; gen. to protect, attend to, etc.: beware, be circumspect, take heed, keep, mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save, wait for, watch." The word is often used in regard to observing (keeping) God's statutes, holy days, commandments, and laws. It is a very powerful word.

Therefore, when God commands us to "observe" the month of Abib, He means to give it our undivided, clear-cut, full attention, and to pay special attention to keeping it properly -- at the right time, and in the right manner. Why is this SO very important? Because, as the Scripture says, in reality IT IS THE FIRST MONTH OF THE YEAR -- the month which truly determines all the following months of the year, and when they occur!

Therefore, the Jews again have departed from this basic, essential truth of God's Word, and have substituted "Tishri" as the month they "observe" and "watch for" in their substitutionary calendar, which revolves around Tishri 1 instead of Abib 1!

Several times God's Word commands us regarding the month of Abib. We read; "The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt" (Exodus 34:18).

Just what is "Abib"? Since we are commanded to "observe," and "guard," and "carefully watch" and "protect" this month, and "hedge it about," just what does it mean, anyway?

We read in Exodus 9, when Israel was still in Egypt, under the yoke of slavery, that God sent a mammoth plague upon the Egyptians of an immense storm with thunder and lightning and hail (vs.23-25). In the aftermath of destruction from this plague, we read:

"And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up" (Exodus 9:31-32).

Notice that during the time of this plague, the "barley was in the ear." The NIV has this verse: "The flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley had headed and the flax was in bloom. The wheat and spelt, however, were not destroyed, because they ripen later."

The word for "ear" in this verse, in Hebrew, is ABIB! Says Strong's Concordance, #24, abib; from an unused root (mean. to be tender); green, i.e. a YOUNG EAR OF GRAIN; hence the name of the month Abib or Nisan: -- Abib, ear, green ears of corn."

"Abib" therefore refers to young green ears of barley grain. It is the very NAME of the first month in God's holy calendar. God names things what they ARE. Therefore, for a month to be named, literally, "Abib," meaning "green ears," it must be the month when those green ears of barley OCCUR! Otherwise, it would be a complete misnomer -- a flat out "lie," or deception!

The month of "Abib," therefore, must be the month when the green ears of barely appear as the barley nears the time of harvest! If the month occurs at any other time, it is out of sync -- it is wrong -- it is a deviation from the true calendar of God!

This is important -- because under the modern Jewish calendar, the month of Abib (which they conveniently call "Nisan"), because of the fixed rules of intercalation of leap months, sometimes falls OUT SIDE the time of ABIB OR "GREEN EARS"! When that happens, the whole calendar is displaced by a period of a month -- and ALL the subsequent holy days are observed ONE ENTIRE MONTH LATE!

Let's understand. When grains are early in development, they are flexible and have a dark green color. As they begin to ripen, they become more yellowish in color, and become more brittle. The reason the barley was destroyed by the hail in Egypt was because it had developed to the stage called "Abib" -- forming young green ears -- and had become brittle enough to be destroyed by the hail storm. In contrast, the wheat and spelt had not yet become mature enough to form heads of grain, and were still flexible enough to avoid being damaged severely by the hail. The description of the wheat and spelt as "dark" (afilot in Hebrew) means they were still in the stage where they were deep green and had not begun to lighten. The barley, on the other hand, had begun to form ears, and was no longer "dark," and had begun to ripen. It was in the stage of abib.

Barley in the stage of "abib" is not completely ripe, but has begun to ripen, enough so that its seeds can be eaten parched in fire. Parched barley was a common food in ancient Israel. Many Bible passages mention it -- for example, we read of "If you bring a meal offering of first fruits to the LORD, you shall bring NEW EARS parched with fire, grits of the fresh grain, as your meal offering of first fruits" (Lev.2:14, Tanakh). The King James has this, "green ears of corn dried by fire." The NIV has it, "crushed heads of new grain roasted in the fire." The Hebrew word here once again is ABIB.

CLEARLY, the month of ABIB is defined by its very name as the month of NEW EARS of grain -- barley grain! The month of Abib is therefore the month which commences after the barley has reached the stage of Abib. This can only be determined by examination of the barley crops near to Jerusalem. Careful examination of the progress of the barley plants, as they mature and begin to bring forth green ears, determines the month of Abib.

Therefore, Jewish "barley inspectors" go out, in the month of Adar, to determine the progress of the barley, which was planted. Careful inspection is made in the closing days of Adar. If it is seen that the barley has begun to become abib, then the next month is declared to be the month of ABIB. If the barley is still immature, and not very close to the ABIB condition, then the next month is declared to be an intercalary month (a 13th month), or Ve-Adar (Adar II).

The Barley Harvest and Passover

This is how God originally intended His calendar to be sequenced. The barley MUST ripen during the month of ABIB, and the barley harvest must be ready to BEGIN right after Passover, which occurs in the middle of the month (Abib 14-15).

Notice what God commands, concerning the barley harvest, and its profound connection with Passover:

"In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between
the evening times, is the Lord's passover. And on the fifteenth
day of this month is the feast of unleavened bread to the Lord;
seven days shall you eat unleavened bread. And the FIRST day
shall be a holy convocation to you. . . .

"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of
Israel, and thou shalt say to them, When ye shall enter into the
land which I give you, and reap the harvest of it, then shall ye
bring a sheaf, the first-fruits of your harvest, to the priest; and he
shall lift up the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you.
ON THE MORROW OF THE FIRST DAY the priest shall
lift it up. . . .

"And ye shall number to yourselves, from the day after the sabbath,
from the day on which ye shall OFFER THE SHEAF of the heave
offering, seven full WEEKS: until the morrow after the LAST
WEEK ye shall number fifty days . . ." (Lev.23:5-16, LXX).

Notice carefully! The barley crop harvest has to begin with the offering of the FIRST-FRUITS of barley, offered to the Lord, on the day after the first day of unleavened bread -- the Annual Sabbath! That holy day occurs on Abib 15. Therefore, the wave sheaf offering is made to the Lord on the following day -- Abib 16. Then seven WEEKS are counted off, till we come to the end of the seventh week, or 49 days -- and the very next day is PENTECOST! Editor's note: As will be seen later, the Karaites (and some Messianic believers, this editor included) see the sabbath of Lev 23.11 as the weekly 7th day sabbath, not the yearly Aviv 15 sabbath. This makes Shavuoth, or Pentecost, fall each year on the first day of the week. Look to Lev.23 for yourself and see what the text says in its context and decide for yourself. Take no man's interpretation to yourself unless YHWH testifies to it in your spirit through his Word.

How vitally important it is then that the month of Abib really fall during "ABIB" -- the forming of the green ears of barley at the beginning of the month! How could the children of Israel perform a first-fruits of barley offering, as God commanded, if the month of Abib was TOO EARLY and the barley was not ripe? Or how could they obey God's commandment if the barley harvest has already started BEFORE the month of Abib arrived?

Notice further proof! In Deuteronomy 16, God commands: "Observe the month of Abib [green ears] and celebrate the Passover of the Lord your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by night. . . . For six days eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the Lord your God and do no work. Count off seven weeks from the time you put the sickle to the standing grain. Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks" (Deut.16:1-10, NIV).

Now consider! How could they put the sickle to the barley harvest, to begin the harvest, if it had already started? Or, how could they begin the harvest, if "Abib" had not yet occurred, and the barley wasn't ready? Plainly, then, the month of Abib MUST BE at the proper time for the barley to begin to be harvested -- and not too early or too late in the year!

Yet the modern Jewish calendar does not even take this into consideration! It ignores completely this Biblical injunction and command! God's commandment is very clear. But the modern Jewish calendar basically IGNORES this literal commandment of God completely! It pays no attention to the barley harvest in Israel at all. Perhaps soon the rabbis will repent of their inaccurate, and fraudulent "fixed" calendar -- which has been "neutered" like a "fixed" dog or cat -- and return to the calendar God once delivered to His people. I surely hope and pray that they will. Editor's note: Is this a part of the faith 'once delivered to the saints?'

Definitions Are Important!

In the book of Psalms, we read: "He appointed the MOON for seasons [moadim]: the sun knoweth his going down" (Psalm 104:19). "The moon marks off the seasons," says the Moffatt and New International Versions. Remember, the word "seasons" is moadim and also refers to the festivals, appointed times, feast days, holy days, when convocations were commanded for worship purposes.

These are determined by the "moon." How so? Because they occur on set days of the month (except for Pentecost, which occurs 50 days after Passover, which occurs on a set day of the month) -- and it is the NEW MOON which determines the beginning of each month! Or, at least, that was indeed the case in Bible times, when the Jews observed the New Moons -- the first faint visible light from the new crescent of the moon -- and then declared that day to be the beginning day of the new month!

New Moons are very important to God! The prophet Isaiah says that during the reign of the Messiah, in the wonderful world tomorrow, "From one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me, says the Lord" (Isaiah 66:23, NIV). Does it matter to God whether we worship Him on the real day of the New Moon? Or is it all right if we are a day or two off? -- sometimes a day EARLY? often a day or two LATE? Editor's note: YHWH sets appointments for us to meet with him, and he ALWAYS shows up exactly on time! Where are we?

What do you think? By definition, the Hebrew word for New Moon and Month is the SAME IDENTICAL WORD -- the word chodesh! It is #2320 in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, which says: "chodesh, the new moon; by implication, a month: -- month(-ly), new moon." It is translated "month" 194 times in the King James Version. It is translated "new moon" 8 times, and "new moons" 11 times. Says The Torah: a modern commentary, regarding Exodus 12:2: "this month. vdj means the new (Hebrew chadash) month and also, by extension, the whole month. The spring month was Chodesh ha-Aviv (as in Exo.13:4; Deut.16:1), hence Aviv came to mean spring, (as in Tel Aviv, "Mound of Spring," Ezek.3:14). When the Jews took over the Babylonian calendar, they renamed the month Nisan (Neh.2:1, from an Akkadian word probably meaning "firstfruits")" (p.458).

What happened? Where and how did the Jews go wrong? Here is the intriguing story.

The Sadducees and Pharisees

The story begins with the Sadducees and the Pharisees. These were the two dominant religious bodies during the latter times of the Second Temple, from about 100 BC to 70 AD when the Temple was destroyed by the Romans. Will Durant in The Story of Civilization, vol.3, "Caesar and Christ," comments about these two groups:

"Within the Temple was the hall Gazith, meeting place of the Sanhedrin or Great Council of the Elders of Israel. Probably the institution arose in the period of Seleucid rule (ca. 200 BC), to replace the earlier council mentioned in Numbers (11:16) as advising Moses. Originally selected by the high priest from the sacerdotal aristocracy, it had come in Roman times to co-opt into its membership a rising number of Pharisees and a few professional Scribes. These seventy-one men, under the presidency of the high priest, claimed supreme power over all Jews everywhere, and orthodox Jews everywhere acknowledged it. . . . They could pass sentence of death upon Jews in Judea for religious offenses, but could not execute it without confirmation by the civil power.

"In this assembly, as in most, two factions fought for predominance -- a conservative group led by the higher priest and Sadducees, and a liberal group led by Pharisees and Scribes. Most of the upper clergy and upper classes belonged to the Sadducees (Zadokim), so named after their founder Zadok; they were nationalistic in politics and orthodox in religion; they stood for enforcement of the Torah or written Law, but rejected the additional ordinances of the oral tradition and the liberalizing interpretations of the Pharisees. They doubted immortality and were content to possess the good things of the earth.

"The Pharisees (Perushim, separatists) were so named by the Sadducees as meaning that they separated themselves (like good Brahmans) from those who contracted religious impurity by neglecting the requirements of ritual cleanliness. They were a continuation of the Chasidim, or Devotees, of the Maccabean age, who had upheld the strictest application of the Law. . . . For this purpose they added to the written Law of the Pentateuch the oral tradition of interpretations and decisions made by recognized teachers of the Law. These interpretations were necessary, in the judgement of the Pharisees, to clarify the obscurities of the Mosaic Code, to specify its application in particular cases, and to modify its letter, occasionally, in adaptation to the changed needs and conditions of life. They were at once rigorous and lenient, softening the Law here and there as in Hillel's decree on interest, but demanding the full observance of the ORAL TRADITION as well as of the Torah. . ." v.3, pages 536-537).

Hillel's decree on interest referred to the law of God in Deuteronomy 15:1-11, where God decreed that all debts were to be forgiven and written off in the Sabbatical year, the year of "release." In Hillel's day, he saw that Jews were not making loans to other Jews because they did not want to lose their interest and principal payments when the seventh year, or Sabbath year, came around. Hillel's solution? Abolish the divine Law of God! Thus Jewish "halacha" or tradition and Rabbinical rulings replaced the Torah in some cases -- overwrote them, and effectively rescinded them. It was this kind of Jewish "tradition" that Jesus Christ vehemently condemned as vain worship and transgression of the commandments of God through Jewish "tradition" (Matthew 15:1-14; Mark 7:1-23).

Thus in the eyes of the Pharisees, oral tradition had more legal weight than the Word of God -- the Torah -- itself! In the Mishnah itself -- the book of the Jewish Oral Law -- we read of this sheer effrontery and chutzpah of the Jewish rabbinical leadership. In the "Fourth Division: Sanhedrin," we read:

"3. Greater stringency applies to [the observance of] the Words of the Scribes than to [the observance of] the words of the [written] Law. If a man says, 'There is no obligation to wear Phylacteries' so that he transgresses the words of the Law, he is not culpable; [but if he said] 'There should be in them five partitions,' so that he adds to the words of the Scribes, he is culpable" (p.400).

Thus the Pharisees and the Rabbinate, their successors down through the ages since Temple times, place tradition and the oral law ABOVE the authority of the Scriptures and the Word of God itself!

What a strange, weird, bizarre state of affairs! What a "revolting development!" Editor's note: Reminiscent of Roman Catholic doctrine of inspiration and authority, ie; Church over scripture, oral traditions of men over revealed Word of YHWH.

The Diaspora History of Judaism

After the Jewish nation was destroyed by the Romans, in 70 and 135 AD, and the Jews were scattered throughout Europe, Africa and Asia, the teaching of the Law and Jewish tradition -- the "Oral Law" -- became cement that held the Jews together. After the rebellion of the Jews, under Bar Kochba in 132-135 AD and their crushing defeat by the Roman armies of Hadrian, stiff penalties were enacted against Judaism.

"Resolved to destroy the recuperative virility of Judaism, Hadrian forbade not merely circumcision, but the observance of the Sabbath or any Jewish holyday, and the public performance of any Hebrew ritual. . . . The Council at Jamnia was dissolved and outlawed; a minor and powerless council was permitted at Lydda, but public instruction in the Law was prohibited on pain of death. . ." (Durant, ibid., page 548).

During the centuries following the time of Christ, and the destruction of the Temple, and the banishment of Jews from Jerusalem in the time of Hadrian, the Jews began writing down their vast bodies of literature known as the Talmuds.

Writes Will Durant:

"In the Temple, the synagogues, and the schools of Palestine and Babylonia the scribes and the rabbis composed those enormous bodies of law and commentary known as the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds. Moses, they held, had left to his people not only a written Law in the Pentateuch, but also an Oral Law, which had been handed down and expanded from teacher to pupil, from generation to generation. It had been the main point of contention between the Pharisees and the Sadducees whether this oral Law was also of divine origin and binding
force. As the Sadducees disappeared after the Dispersion of AD 70, and the rabbis inherited the tradition of the Pharisees, the oral Law was accepted by all orthodox Jews as God's commandment, and was added to the Pentateuch to constitute the Torah or Law by which they lived, and in which, quite literally, they had their being. The thousand-year-long process by which the oral Law was built up, given form, and put into writing as the MISHNAH; the eight centuries of debate, judgment and elucidation that accumulated the two Gemaras as commentaries on the Mishnah. . . ." (The Story of Civilization, "The Age of Faith," vol.4, page 350).

Clearly, the Sadducees disputed with the Pharisees over the true meaning and importance of the "Oral Law," even as Jesus Christ disputed with them over the very same issues, as they applied to washings and cleansings, Sabbath laws, and the like. But after the destruction of the Temple, these "oral traditions" began to assume even GREATER meaning and importance to the Jewish people. While scattered and in the Diaspora, their very existence threatened seemingly on a daily basis, they clung with increasing desperation to their "oral traditions," as a means of maintaining unity and cohesion. Editor's note: Perhaps they'd have escaped this dispersion, had they kept to Torah, vice Talmud. This is, of course, speculation.

The Corruption of the Visible Christian Church

In the meantime, what was happening to the Christian Church? We don't have space to go into the sorry story here, but the Church itself -- like the Jews of the Diaspora -- also went into increasing apostasy and idolatry. The apostasy began even during the days of the apostles themselves (II Pet.2; Jude; II Tim.4).

Paul rebuked the Galatian church, saying, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel -- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion, and are attempting to pervert the gospel of Christ" (Gal.1:6-7, NIV). Later on he wrote Timothy, and declared, "You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me" (II Tim.1:15, NIV).

By the fourth century, and the Nicean council, in 325 AD, the visible church no longer represented the original, pristine faith at all. Will Durant says in The Rise of Civilization:

"Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it. The Greek mind, dying, came to a transmigrated life in the theology and liturgy of the Church . . . the Greek mysteries passed down into the impressive mystery of the Mass. Other pagan cultures contributed to the syncretistic result. From Egypt came the idea of a divine trinity . . . From Egypt the adoration of the Mother and Child, and the mystic theosophy that made Neoplatonism and Gnosticism, and obscured the Christian creed. . . . From Phrygia came the worship of the Great Mother; from Syria the resurrection drama of Adonis [Easter celebration]. . . . The Mithraic ritual so closely resembled the eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass that Christian fathers charged the Devil with inventing these similarities to mislead frail minds. Christianity was the last great creation of the ancient pagan world" ("Caesar and Christ," vol.3, p.595).

Thus by the fourth century, Judaism wasn't the only religion in serious trouble, and undergoing a tremendous transformation, from its original form. Christianity, as the world knows and recognizes it, strayed from the original teachings of the church Jesus built, and became a catholic, worldwide bastion of neo-paganism. The truth of the Scriptures was buried under tons of pagan ritual and practice; the Scriptures were done away with, changed into metaphors and the commandments were claimed to be "nailed to the cross," and abolished.

The Church, in effect, rejected all Scriptural Law, and replaced it with "grace."

The Jews, on the other hand, went to the opposite extreme -- and institutionalized law, especially "Oral Law," and put it as more important that the Scriptures themselves. The Jews forgot the admonition of God, through Moses, "Do not add to what I command you, and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you" (Deut.4:2, NIV).

Supremacy of the "Oral Law"

Oral law, as we have seen, became of even more importance to them than Scripture itself! The oral law, which was supposed to be a blessing, in effect became a curse to the Jews! Originally, no doubt, many of its aspects were good and useful, interpreting the rules of sacrifices, rituals, offerings, temple duties of priests, and the like. But over time, with ever newer rulings and additions, it eventually became the "yoke of bondage" to which Jesus Christ and the apostles referred (Matt.23:4; Acts 15:10; Gal.5:1-4).

This oral law was composed of rabbinical decisions, rulings, opinions, and legal requirements added to the Torah, or Scriptures, and which even went so far as to nullify and erase the true laws of God in the minds of the people. Jesus put it very clearly when He declared, "Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition" -- that is, the great body of oral laws which had been added generation after generation (see Mark 7:9). He said they were "making the law of God of none effect through [their] tradition, which ye have delivered" (Mark 7:13). These oral traditions or laws were "delivered" from generation to generation, and got worse and worse, as the Jewish leadership grew increasingly distant from the Word of God.

Wrote Will Durant of this problem:

"The Talmud, so far as it is halacha, is also God's eternal word; it is the formulation of laws orally communicated to Moses by God, and by Moses to his successors; and its decrees are as binding as anything in the Scriptures. Some rabbis ranked the Mishnah ABOVE the Scriptures in authority, as being a later and revised form of the Law. Certain rabbinical edicts frankly VOIDED LAWS of the Pentateuch, or interpreted them into harmlessness. During the Middle Ages (476-1492) the Jews of Germany and France studied the Talmud far more than the Scriptures" (Durant, vol.4, p.353).

It was under these conditions and circumstances, then, that we come to the pivotal year of 358 AD when Hillel II and his compatriots nullified the Biblical calendar, ostensibly to preserve the rituals and holy days of Judaism, and their oral traditions, and reinterpreted it as a mathematical calendar with rigid, fixed "new moons," and the addition of new halachic "postponements."

They may well have been sincere, and well-intentioned, so far as that goes. But their actions constituted a lack of respect toward the Law of God, a lack of faith in the protection of God, and a distinctive lack of obedience to the Torah of God.

Rise of the Karaites

In the centuries following, the Jews became very numerous in the lands of Persia, Babylon, and Syria. They were allowed to be ruled in their internal affairs by their own exilarch and the rulers of their religious academies. In 658 AD, the Jewish rabbinical academy of Sura, in the Islamic empire, was freed from the rule of the exilarch, and given its independence. The leader took the title of Gaon, or Excellency, and the Gaonate ruled Jewry from the seventh to the eleventh centuries.

Then a fascinating event occurred. In 762 AD, the Exilarch Solomon died, and his nephew Anan ben David stood in line to succeed him. But the heads of Sura and Pumbeditha discarded the hereditary principle, and installed his younger brother Chananya. Bypassed and rejected, Anan fled to Palestine and rebelled against the established system, and founded his own synagogue, and "called upon Jews everywhere to reject the Talmud and obey only the law of the Pentateuch" (Durant, ibid., p.367). Says Will Durant:

"This was a return to the position of the SADDUCEES; it corresponded to . . . the Protestant abandonment of Catholic traditions for a return to the Gospels. Anan went further, and reexamined the Pentateuch in a commentary that marked a bold advance in the critical study of the Biblical text. He protested against the CHANGES that the Talmudic rabbis had made IN THE MOSAIC LAW by their adaptive interpretations, and insisted on the strict fulfillment of the Pentateuch decrees; hence his followers received the name Quaraites [Karaites] -- 'adherents of the text.' Anan praised Jesus as a holy man who had wished to set aside not the written Law of Moses but only the oral Law of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus, in Anan's view, had aimed not to found a new religion but to cleanse and strengthen Judaism" (ibid.).

When the Muslims swept through the Middle East in the seventh century, they gave the Jews within their empire a measure of autonomy and self-rule, under a system known as the Exilarchate. Overnight, as it were, the Rabbinate turned from a more or less local Babylonian phenomenon into a widespread monolithic political power among Jews throughout the Middle East. From the 3rd to the 5th centuries, they had developed a body of religious laws known as the Babylonian Talmud, which were now imposed on Jews throughout the Muslim empire. Resistance especially in the east was severe and fierce. Eastern Jews had never heard of the "Talmud," and did not accept it easily.

In the eighth century, Anan ben David Hanassi rose up and fed the fuel of the fires of resistance. He organized Jews to resist the Rabbinate, and also lobbied the Caliphate of the Muslim empire to establish a second Exilarchate for those Jews who disagreed with the Rabbis and their authority -- that is, those many Jews who rejected the Talmud. His following later merged with other anti-Talmud groups, and became known as the "Followers of the Bible" -- Bnei Mikra -- which was later abbreviated into "Karaim" or "Karaites."

Anan ben David declared, "Search ye well in the Scripture and do not rely on my opinion." Sounds a lot like Herbert W. Armstrong, who said often, "Don't believe me, or any other man -- believe what you find in your own Bible!"

The Karaites, therefore, are a legitimate branch of Judaism. They trace their beliefs and practices back to the original Sadducees of the Second Temple period. They, like them, reject most of the "traditions" of the Jewish elders -- even as Jesus Christ did. They rejected also the wearing of "phylacteries" -- little boxes containing scriptures bound on the right wrist and on the forehead. They take Moses' admonition to bind the Torah to our right hands and foreheads as a metaphorical command, meaning to take them to heart and to apply them in all our activities (see Deut.6:4-8).

How close to the truth!

Reemergence of Karaites in Israel, Today

The ancient religious sect of the Sadducees, which was later identified as the Karaites, has once again been reborn in modern day Israel. A website on the Internet, identified as the "Karaite Korner," claims to be a modern remnant of the true form of Judaism, going back to the original Sadducees, who claim to be back to Moses and Aaron.

Like their predecessors, the modern Karaites disputed the Jewish changes to the Laws of God, and their many "traditions" and "oral law." They also observe the original Hebrew calendar, by observing the growth of barley around Jerusalem and nearby precincts, and have planted several crops of barley, in different places, to confirm the true "green ears" of the new barley every spring. They also visually sight the New Moon, every month, from the region of Jerusalem, and reject the modern Jewish calendar inaugurated by Hillel II. Like their predecessors, the modern Karaites are thoroughly Jewish, and also reject the Messiahship of Jesus Christ, and the authority of the New Testament. They, like the ancient Sadducees, also count Pentecost from the wrong day -- from the Sunday following the weekly Sabbath during the days of unleavened bread. Editor's Note: This is a matter of interpretation. Research Lev.23 and allow Ruach haEmet to instruct you.

Karaism has never been a monolithic movement, where everyone agrees with everyone else. Because the burden of interpretation lies with each individual, and not a central authority, one finds great differences of opinion on many subjects among different Karaites. This is looked upon as a strength, rather than a weakness, preventing Karaism from becoming bogged down with a given interpretation despite the obviousness of its error. Despite the diversity within Karaism, however, there are still basic underlying principles of doctrine which all Karaites hold as sacred. They all believe in One God, as do other Jews. They all believe in the divinity and authority of the 24 books of the Tanakh, but reject the Apocrypha, Pseudopigrapha, and the New Testament and the Koran. They also believe in the ultimate coming of a Davidic Messiah as described in the Bible (such as Isaiah 11:1). All Karaites reject Jesus Christ -- Yeshua Moshiach -- as the Messiah.

History Repeats Itself!

So once again, as in Bible times, we have the scene of two Jewish religious groups -- the descendants of the Sadducees and Pharisees -- battling it out over the "oral Law" and Jewish "traditions."

And once again, in the midst of the picture, we have true Christians -- true Messianic believers and followers of the Christ -- returning to the "FAITH once delivered to the saints" (Jude 4). We must weave our way carefully through the labyrinthine jungle of "oral laws," traditions, and commandments of men, and sort out the original, true LAWS OF GOD, as they are revealed and expounded in the Scriptures.

Once again, we see proved beyond any doubt that both Jews and Gentiles have gone astray from the truth of God.

"To the Jews" -- WHICH Jews?

But in the meantime, what should we as God's people, do? Some say we should follow the modern Orthodox Jews in error and ignorance, simply because to do otherwise would be to "add" to the chaos and confusion over the calendar. Some say that since the "oracles" were committed to the "Jews" (Rom.3:2-4), we should accept the standard Jewish calendar, even with its postponements, additions, and changes.

Is this really true?

It is true that the apostle Paul stated that to the Jews were committed the "oracles" of God. But wait a minute. Just who are the "Jews"? And which Jews was Paul talking about? He did not say "Pharisees," or their successors. He simply declared: "What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God" (Rom.3:1-2).

The King James Version uses the word "oracles of God" here, but what are these oracles? The original Greek here simply means the WORDS of God -- that is, the Scriptures, and all that pertains to them. This could certainly include knowledge passed on by scribes, elders and priests by word of mouth from generation to generation, regarding the sacrifices, rituals, conduct of religious rituals at the Sanctuary or Temple, divers washings, and specialized knowledge concerning astronomy to be used as a "back-up" proof of the calendar New Moon sightings.

However, those who focus on this verse to "prove" we must follow the traditional Orthodox Jewish calendar overlook one vital point of this verse. Paul did NOT say "Pharisees" -- he said "Jews" -- and that would include ALL the religious elements of ancient Jewish society! In other words, both the Sadducees AND Pharisees and other Jewish groups in Judea, including the Essenes, were given the oracles or words of God -- not only the Pharisees. One of those groups was the Sadducees -- and their successors, the Karaite Jews!

The Karaite Jews, descended from the Sadducees, themselves rejected the calendar innovations created by Hillel II and his followers. When authentic Jewish groups disagree among themselves, about the calendar, then we need not "flip a coin" to decide which is right. In such cases, we must go to the "court of final resort" -- the Scriptures themselves -- to prove who is right and who is wrong.

As Paul himself wrote, "Will their lack of faith [and obedience] nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar" (Romans 3:3, NIV). The Karaite Jews and their modern descendants do not accept the revised calendar of 358 AD, and we certainly have no obligation to do so, either! The Word of God should be our supreme standard of authority -- not the traditions of the Jews!

Paul's comments in Romans 3:1-2 do NOT mean we must follow one particular branch of the Jews, at all times, on Biblical exegesis -- or follow the Jewish calendar which was adopted in 358 AD Not at all! As we have seen, the Jews themselves were in disagreement over that calendar and its changes authorized by Hillel II! The Karaite Jews, followers in the footsteps of the ancient Sadducean priests, totally rejected that calendar!

Clearly, when one group of Jews -- even the dominant group -- decides to CHANGE even the plain Scriptural RULES governing the calendar, the month of Abib, the sighting and observance of REAL "New Moons," and so forth, we are not obligated, of necessity, to follow them AT ALL!

As the apostle Paul would say, "God forbid!"

Should we follow the traditional Jewish calendar, even when we have PROVED it is in egregious error based on tradition rather than the Word of God? Of course not!

God forbid!

The Faith Once Delivered

Rather, let's get back to the faith -- body of doctrines -- once delivered to the saints. Let's observe the SAME CALENDAR JESUS CHRIST DID, and all the apostles, and the early Church -- BEFORE the detestable and hateful "postponements" and changes were made to the calendar in 358 AD!

The apostle Jude made it very plain. He wrote, "Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to CONTEND for the faith that was ONCE FOR ALL entrusted to the saints. For certain men, whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you" (Jude 3-4, NIV).

Anytime we come to see that we have been in error, in the past, should we cover it up, deny it, and go on as if nothing had happened?

Absolutely not!

Let's understand this! Human "TRADITIONS" made VOID the laws of God! Whenever there is a conflict between tradition, or oral testimony, or the opinions of rabbis, ministers, or scholars, and the LAW OF GOD, we must choose the LAW OF GOD!

Jesus Christ made it plain as day: He declared, twice: "It is written: Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matt.4:4; Luke 4:4, NIV).

Isaiah the prophet also made it plain:

"To the law and to the testimony [Scripture]! If they
do not speak according to this word, they have no light of
dawn" (Isaiah 8:20, NIV).

Likewise, Paul declared in clear and unmistakable language:

"ALL SCRIPTURE is God-breathed, and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for
every good work" (II Tim.3:16-17, NIV).

When we find errors in what we have believed, and assumed, in the past, what should we do? How should we handle them? I believe that the answer is crystal clear. The apostle Paul says, in ringing words:

"In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but NOW He
commands all people everywhere to REPENT " (Acts 17:30).

Jesus Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, declared plainly,

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for
they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is
spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and
in truth" (John 4:23-24, NIV).

Jesus also declared, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32).

How about you?

Are you still "chained" to Jewish tradition? Or will you follow God's truth?

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