Part 1
The Days of Teshuva are upon us. And they came quicker than expected. That’s because of a calendar shift on my part as I will explain in a moment.
If the Days of Teshuva are something that is new to you, I will apologize in advance. That will be explained in part 2. For now, I need to explain the calendar change. That may also be new to you. Even though we still live under the Gregorian calendar and the posts will be dated by such, the timing of things that happen through this Bible study will follow the Creator’s calendar as mentioned throughout the Scriptures. Having said that, the Creator’s calendar is not a step-by-step method for determining when a day, month, or year begins. All you have to do is perform a web search to see that there are varying opinions on what the Scriptures say about how to keep the days, etc.
I’ll keep this short by saying that this is the third time that I have changed my position on how to calculate the calendar based on new information and evidence. This time it was because of the writings of Josephus. Earlier this year, my understanding was to question how a new year could begin with the new moon that happened in March BEFORE the spring equinox. Passover is supposed to happen on or before the full moon AND AFTER the equinox. If the new moon was before the equinox, then how could you know for sure that it would be less than 14 days until the equinox so the Passover meal could happen after the equinox? There is a plausible mathematical and observational way to accomplish this, but it just seemed easier to wait for the new moon after the equinox to begin the year. Ergo, I added the customary 13th month and began the new year in April. Fourteen days later would be the Passover. However, about a week after beginning the new year in April, I read where Josephus wrote that the Passover always happened in the time of Aries.
“In the month of Xanthicus, which is by us called Nisan, and is the beginning of our year, on the fourteenth day of the lunar month, when the sun is in Aries (for in this month it was that we were delivered from bondage under the Egyptians, and law ordained that we should every year slay that sacrifice which I before told you we slew when we came out of Egypt and which was called the Passover;…)”
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 3.10.5
If you’re familiar with astronomy, or even astrology, you’ll know that the sun is in Aries from March 20 to April 21. The fourteenth day from the new moon in April this year would be April 25th, which would be outside of the dates for Aries. According to Josephus, I had missed the Passover. No worries. I celebrated the second Passover on April 25th and adjusted my calendar accordingly. And so, here we are at the Days of Teshuva that started at sundown on Saturday, August 7th.
I had a few issues getting the new website up so I’m a few days behind, but I’ll be caught up by the time Bible study begins on October 2nd. Stay tuned for part 2.