The Restoration of All Things - The Light of Torah Messianic Congregation

The Restoration of All Things

Part Four

The Calendar, Part A

By Phyllis R. Reid, a Bondservant of Yeshua HaMashiach

February 26, 2025

In our day and hour, there is no shortage of calendar belief systems being used by the Messianic community. I will present four of the most popular, at least that I am aware of. The debate seems to be between a lunar calendar or a solar calendar.

1.) Our Creators Calendar (luni-solar)
2.) The Enochian Calendar (solar only)
3.) The Zadok Calendar (solar only)
4.) The Hillel II Calendar (lunar only)

The Hebrew Roots community tries very hard to keep the correct time, i.e. to not be late for The Fathers appointed times. In this vain, I have spent several months studying the aforementioned calendars and hope my research will be useful in your decision making process. My goal is to simply present information and to not dispute or debate calendar systems.
Malachi 3:6 – 7: “And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien—because they do not fear Me, says YaHaVah of hosts. For I am YaHaVah, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you, says YaHaVah of hosts. But you said, ‘in what way shall we return?’”
Ps. 119:89: LAMED “Forever, YaHaVah, Your word is settled in heaven.”
These two Scriptures tell us a simple truth. Whatever Our Creator has already established is as true today as it was centuries ago.
Num. 10:10: “Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months (Rosh Chodesh), you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your Yah: I am YaHaVah your Elohay.”
Ps. 104:19: “He appointed the moon for seasons (מוֹעֵד – – לְמוֹעֲדִ֑ים ) the sun knows its going down.”
2 Corin. 11:3: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Messiah.”
Ge. 1:14 – 16: “Then Yah said, ‘let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons (מוֹעֵד – וּלְמ֣וֹעֲדִ֔ים ), and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’ and it was so. Then Yah made two great lights: the greater light (sun) to rule the day, and the lesser light (moon) to rule the night. He made the stars also.” [The sun and moon were created and mandated to “work together” to tell The Fathers time]
The sun determines the days (365.242 days in a year) and years while the moon determines the appointed times. The appointed times are a type and shadow of Messiah and the ways of Messiah are simple.

The Moon

The Hebrew word for “moon” is יָרֵחַ. The numerical value of “yereach” is 218; 2 + 1 + 8 = 11. Eleven is a number that is connected to Yeshua, i.e. specifically the root word of Y’sha.

The first mention of the word “moon,” “yereach” is found in the story of Joseph, also a type and shadow of Messiah (Ge. 37:9).
The moon renews its cycle every 30 – 31 days.
Mt. 4:3 – 4: “Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘if You are the Son of Yah, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, it is written, ‘man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Yah.’”
A Torah precept recorded in Dt. 8:3.
Dt. 8:3: “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of YaHaVah.

Our Creators Calendar

Ex. 12:1- 13: He instructs Moses in the following: “Now YaHaVah spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ‘this month shall be your beginning of months (רֹ֣אשׁ חֳדָשִׁ֑ים ); it shall be the first month of the year to you ( Israel). Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘on the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.’ [Yeshua entered Jerusalem for the final time on this particular day, commonly referred to as His “triumphal entry.” As our Passover lamb, Yeshua was in complete compliance with this instruction. This would be quite necessary in order to be recognized as the Mashiach.]
‘And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight (בֵּ֥ין הָעַרְבָּֽיִם – between the evenings).’ [The exact time of day Yeshua was placed in the borrowed tomb toward the end of the fourteenth day of the first month]
‘And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire—its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is YaHaVahs’ Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am YaHaVah.
Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood ( אֶת־הַדָּ֔ם ), I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. [ It is important to note that there was no calendar issue between Yeshua and the authorities. There was complete harmony as would be necessary for Yeshua to be recognized as the Pascal lamb]
Scripture identifies a second aspect to the Pesach instruction. This is the “aviv barley” ( Ex. 13:4, 23:15 and 34:18). FYI It’s important to note that the word “aviv” is NOT the name of the first month. The Father doesn’t use names of months, rather He assigns numbers. The first month is simply that, the 1^st month. The names of months came out of the Babylonian exile and, in my opinion, should be avoided.
The term “aviv” is an agricultural term used to define the time of year the 1^st month will occur. Aviv is defined as fresh, young barley ears, barley, month of ear-forming, of greening of crop, of growing green Aviv, month of exodus and Passover (March or April). It can also be referred to as “the month of green ears.”
“Aviv indicates a stage in the development of the barley crops.” The month of the Aviv is the month which commences after the barley has reached the stage of Aviv. 2-3 weeks after the beginning of the month the barley has moved beyond the stage of Aviv and is ready to be brought as the “wave-sheaf offering” (Hanafat HaOmer).”
In summation, barley which is in the state of Aviv has 3 characteristics:
It is brittle enough to be destroyed by hail and has begun to lighten in color (it is not “dark”).
The seeds have produced enough dry material so it can be eaten parched.
It has developed enough so that it will be harvest-ready 2-3 weeks later.
(www.nehemiaswall.com)
Scripture tells us that the very first Pesach was at this particular time of year. This time of year is extremely important to The Father as He was releasing Israel from 400 + years of Egyptian bondage. He was liberating them so that they could become His own nation wherein He would be their Yah.
Ex. 9:22: “And YaHaVah said unto Moses, stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.”
Ex. 9:31: “Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud.”
Todd D. Bennett in his Walk In The Light series says it this way, page 101 of his Appointed Times book, book number 10:
“Now if the issue were as simple as having 12 months, each beginning with the sighting of the new moon, there would likely be little dispute. The problem, as we already discussed, is that there are 365 days in a solar cycle and there are an average of 29.53 days in a lunar cycle. Multiplied by 12months this amounts to 354.36 days in 12 lunar months. This shortfall requires the occasional insertion of a 13^th month, known as intercalation. If you do not intercalate then you eventually end up celebrating winter in summer and vice versa.”
I submit to you that YaHaVah has already solved this issue when every few years a 13^th month is added to His calendar. The additional month solves the issue of solar drift found in most man-made calendars.

The New Moon

The question for us is how do we determine the New Moon, the Rosh Chodesh?

The Hebrew word for beginning is Rosh, רֹאשׁ. Rosh is defined as head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front or beginning.

Ex. 12 speaks to not only the beginning of a month, also it speaks to the beginning of the year. Pesach occurs at the beginning of each year and when observed at the appointed time represents our continued covenantal allegiance.
The Hebrew word for month is Chodesh, חֹדֶשׁ, which is defined as the new moon, month, monthly, the first day of the month or the lunar month.
Lets examine a few of the many Scriptures pertaining to the “New Moon,” the Rosh Chodesh.
Ez. 46:1: “Thus says YaHaVah Elohay: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.”
Is. 66:23: “From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares YaHaVah.” [ We can see that there is a need for the “New Moon” sighting to be restored because there are so many other ways believers are trying to adhere to other calendars. Is. 66:23 then is a prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled ]
Ps. 81:3: “Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.” [ If we fail to observe the Rosh Chodesh, the New Moon, we will also fail to observe the feast days that occur at the full moon ]
1 Sam. 20:5: “David said to Jonathan, ‘behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening.”
This Scripture needs to be unpacked a bit. In my opinion the conversation between Jonathon and David is taking place during a specific time known as the conjunction. The conjunction of the moon is a 2 – 3 day period of time of lunar darkness. A time when the moon does not reflect any light until the sliver of renewal can be seen, visually seen, and not calculated.
It’s a common practice to “anticipate” the day of the appearance of the Rosh Chodesh. I believe it’s possible that this is what David was speaking to; the Rosh Chodesh could be seen tomorrow. In any case, in another 2 – 3 days it would be seen and the feast would be observed.

Num. 28:11: “At the beginnings of your months (וּבְרָאשֵׁי֙ חָדְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם ) you shall present a burnt offering to YaHaVah: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish…”

Dt. 16:1 tells us plainly “Observe the month ( שָׁמוֹר֙ אֶת־חֹ֣דֶשׁ ) of Aviv, and keep the Passover to YaHaVah your Elohay, for in the month of Aviv YaHaVah your Elohay brought you out of Egypt by night.”
To “observe” means to see visually, not to calculate. I am truly in awe of Our Creator as He maintains this significant event according to His own good pleasure. The Hebrew word for “observe” is one we will readily recognize. It’s the word “Shamar.”
The word “Shamar” means to keep, guard, observe, give heed or watch for. In Dt. 16:1 we can then deduce that the covenant people are enjoined to watch for, to visually see, the Rosh Chodesh.
It’s interesting to me that the first mention of “Shamar” is found in connection with the man formed in Ge 2:7. Recall his mandate was to “Shamar” the walled garden (Ge. 2:15).
This man was the first of the covenant men while we, as His Adat or Qahal, are also His covenant people.
The confusion between calendars seems to be a shift from the “observation” of the Rosh Chodesh to a man-made calculated calendar done a year in advance i.e. the Hillel II calendar. This confusion can be refuted by Mt. 24:36: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”
Intercalation: Intercalation or embolism in timekeeping is the insertion of a leap day, week, or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases. Lunisolar calendars may require intercalations of days or months. (Wikipedia)
Conjunction: In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse.
Consider Ez. 44:24: “And in controversy they (the Zadok priesthood) shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my Sabbaths. [Eddie Chumney is of the opinion that the Zadok priesthood have been given authority to create a new calendar but in truth, they will be required to judge only accordingly to The Fathers Torah which certainly included His calendar]
After all, Scripture tells us that we are not to add to or take away from His word “Dt. 4:2”. This principle is repeated in Revelation 22:18-19 as a warning to not tamper with the words of the prophecy in that book.
Ex. 24:3-4: “…When Moses came and told the people all the words and ordinances of YaHaVah, they all responded with one voice: ‘all the words that YaHaVah has spoken, we will do.’ And Moses wrote down all the words of YaHaVah. Early the next morning he got up and built an altar at the base of the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.”
In conclusion, the prophecy found in Is. 66:23 provides comfort to all covenant believers i.e. whatever The Father established in His Torah will be restored which certainly includes the Sabbath and New Moon calendar.
“The Jews have an ancient saying—that whoever’s calendar a man keeps, that is who he worships. If we will reflect on this saying for a little while, we should be able to see that it is true. In Scripture, a master tells his servant what to do. By the same, whoever a man willingly chooses to obey, that person is his master.” (The Torah Calendar by Norman Willis)
As always, we are all free to choose which calendar to follow. Like Joshua, We, i.e. Terry and I, will follow YaHaVahs luni-solar calendar. We believe that the first five books of Scripture, the Torah, are our foundation and are His truth.

A little something extra

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians provides this instruction; “So let no one judge you in food [ eating kosher] or in drink, or regarding a festival [ observing Yahs appointed times ] or a new moon [ Yahs calendar ] or Sabbaths [ Keeping the 4^th commandment ] , which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Messiah.” **The Apostle Paul is teaching the new converts the Rules of the Kingdom. He is teaching them to “come out of them my people.”

The Dead Sea Scrolls

In order to prepare your thinking for Part B, the following is an excerpt from The Dead Sea Scrolls, by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg Jr. and Edward Cook, A Readers Guide to the Qumran Calendar, pages 380 – 381.
“ The authors and readers of the scrolls differed from most Jews of their day in the importance they ascribed to the sun. The sun’s annual journey through the heavens was the basis for their calendar. Most Jews, in contrast, embraced a lunar calendar that was the primitive ancestor of the modern Jewish Calendar.
The difference in outlook was not absolute, but rather a matter of degree. The writers of the scrolls were interested in the moon; the other side perforce kept an eye on the sun. The lunar calendar of most Jews employed a system of intercalation (intermittent adding of months) based on the solar cycle. The dispute—and it was a bitter dispute, to judge from the polemics we read in the scrolls—was really about which heavenly body was more important. Logically, the more important body should rule, should govern time. Would the sun and its cycle govern the festivals of Israel’s sacred year, or would the moon have pride of place? The authors of the scrolls cast their vote for the sun.”