JEWISH CALENDAR

THE JEWISH CALENDAR, PLUS DAYS AND TIMES

The calendar that God gave Israel to use is much different than the calendar in common usage today. This calendar is built around cycles of nineteen years. It is a lunar calendar, meaning each month begins with a new moon.

It consists of twelve months of 29 or 30 days each. Seven times each nineteen years, a thirteenth month is added, which is called ADAR-2. This extra month is added the third, sixth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth, seventeenth, and nineteenth year of each cycle. The average Jewish year will have 354 days, but by adding an extra month seven times in the nineteen year cycle, their year averages about 365 days. Because seasons are determined by the earth’s relationship to the sun, these adjustments are necessary in order to keep the feasts occurring in their proper season. To know what year it is on the Jewish calendar, subtract 1240 from "now" and add 5000. Example, l999 minus 1240 = 759. Now add 5000 = 5759.

The Jewish day begins in the evening when three stars become visible. The month of Nisan is the first month, the beginning of spring. The month Tishri is the seventh month, the beginning of fall. In the Scriptures, when we read the sixth hour of the day, it means noontime. The ninth hour is 3 p.m., and the eleventh hour is 5 p.m. The time difference between New York and Jerusalem is six hours, depending on daylight-saving time.

THIS MONTH SHALL BE UNTO YOU THE BEGINNING OF MONTHS: IT SHALL BE THE FIRST MONTH OF THE YEAR TO YOU-Ex 12:2. We might well expect that God’s calendar will be in effect on the earth during the Millennium. We have noted THAT EVERY ONE THAT IS LEFT OF ALL THE NATIONS WHICH CAME AGAINST JERUSALEM SHALL EVEN GO UP FROM YEAR TO YEAR TO WORSHIP...AND TO KEEP THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES-Zech 14:16. It would seem necessary to use God’s calendar to know the date.