Bible Study Notes:
“AN ISSACHAR CALENDAR?”
Deep within the Calendar Controversy in the Churches of God is the belief that during the time of King David, there were some within the tribe of Issachar that were in charge of God's Calendar. The proof text that's given for this belief is the men of Issachar “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do,” I Chronicles 12:32.
With that verse comes the conclusion that the children of Issachar, one of the tribes of northern Israel, had knowledge of astronomy and knew the secret calendar calculations with the postponement rules that delay Holy Days. The belief, with the above scripture as the proof, is that all COG's must worship God with the Calculated Hebrew Calendar.
But, is that Truth? Or, could that be heresy?
In the book of I Chronicles 12 are 40 verses. Is the context of that chapter about the calendar? No, it is not. The context actually begins in chapter 10. A battle was raging between the Philistines and Israel. King Saul and his three sons died-verse 6 says the entire royal family was wiped out in one day. The Philistines cut off King Saul's head and nailed it to the wall in the Temple of Dagon. The Philistines were pagan people who had been fighting against Israel for many years. David and wives, and his 600 men and their families had fled from King Saul to live among the Philistines for 16 months prior to this battle (I Sam 2731).
At the time, Israel was without a kingSaul's reign had just ended. A short time later (I Chronicles 11) David became King of Israel. The first battle of King David and his small band of warriors was for the City of Jerusalem because the residents denied him access. The residents of that City, the Jebusites, did not recognize David as their King. The City was then taken by force and from that time forward, Jerusalem was known as the City of David, the capital of Israel. The Jebusites should have been removed at the time of Joshua but had been left there (Joshua 15:63 & Judges 1:21).
King David's small army then began to expand into a larger army. Men from Manasseh joined with David. Men from Issachar joined. In fact men came daily to enlist under David until he had a huge army-the “Army of God,” is what verse 22 of chapter 12, of 1 Chronicles implies.
So, was this a calendar controversy and the children of Issachar had “understanding of the times”, which meant a calculated calendar? The answer is NO. This has nothing to do with the calendar, but it has everything to do with knowing who is doing God's Work. The men of Issachar had understanding of the times they lived inthey now had a new king and they were subject to him. That is the context of that verse.
But, some will say, “What about the Issachar Calendar?” And what about the symbol of Issachar which is depicted on an Israeli stamp as the sun surrounded by stars in a form resembling the face of a clock. And, don't the Jews of today even believe in an “Issachar Calendar”?
A bit of history is then needed to understand this dilemma. From time to time, Israel was more pagan than Godlike. They were warned to not look to the nations around them and copy pagan rituals, but they always did and suffered for it. As in the example above when King Saul's reign ended, Israel experienced a change of leadership. Some of Israel's leaders followed God, some of Israel's leaders adapted to pagan ways.
In most recent history, the calendar controversy seems to date to 1940. It was at that time that Herbert Armstrong and Andrew Dugger had a disagreement about which moon phase began the calendar month. They both realized that without starting the calendar on the correct day, all of the Holy Days would be out of sync. They had different views and today there are still different views of the calendar.
Sifrei, a Talmudic source, claims that from the tribes of Judah, Levi and Issachar would come Sages that would determine how to apply the Law. Some present day Churches of God agree with Sifrei that these “Sages” were from God. In addition, some Jews teach that Issachar and Zebulun were joined in a partnership, Zebulun being preoccupied with trade and Issachar with Torah and each sharing in the profits of the other. But, there is no biblical evidence that the calendar was under their authority.
Ex 12:2, “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.” In Jewish tradition, the year begins in the Fall and this verse is used as a reason why the Jews find the 7th month, (after of course, adding their “Postponements), then count backward to find the 1st month! Their tradition views this as a change from God for when a year begins.
But, was it a change? Or, was it God reeducating the children of Israel who had been slaves for several generations and, as a nation, had forgotten many things. God had to regive them His Law at Mt.Sinai. Sometimes people assume that the Ten Commandments were something new, but all of the commandments existed prior to Mt. Sinai. The Sabbath was known to Adam and Eve. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8 seems to imply they had forgotten it. Cain murdered his brother and was punished. Abimelech returned Sarah to Abraham because he knew it would be adultery to have another man's wife (Gen 20). The giving of the Ten Commandments was then to redirect a nation of slaves to their roots, their heritage.
What does the Bible tell us about who was in charge of worship when Israel left Egypt? God chose the descendants of Aaron, a son of Levi, to be priests and the other sons of Levi were charged with temple service. See Lev 25, Deu 10:89. The Apostle Paul tells Titus, “to not give heed to Jewish fables” (Titus 1:14). Isn't the Talmud full of Jewish fables? God had not chosen Sages from Issachar or any other tribe. When the Northern Kingdom split off from the Southern Kingdom, many nonLevites were drafted into the northern priesthood and that's how these “Sages” became “authorities” for the people to follow. They had a counterfeit religion with a feast in the 8th month, golden calves to worship, and men who were not sons of Levi, became priests. See I Kings 12:2633.
But, did the year begin in the Fall and then change to the Spring? Probably not. On the 4th day is when God revealed two great lights (sun and moon) and stars to be for “signs and for seasons and for days and years”(Gen 1:14). Prior to that God had divided light and dark “and the evening and morning were the first day” (Gen 1:5).
The 4th day then designated that the sun, moon and stars were for “signs, seasons, days & years” (Gen 1:14). It can not be that the calendar began on the 4th day because the “day” began with the first evening and morning. As the moon rotates around the earth, and the earth around the sun, and those rotate within the solar system, we have seasons. As the moon rotates around the earth, the sun's gravity pulls on the moon, as well as the earth's gravity pulling on the moon creating an orbit that varies. The moon is closest to the earth in the Fall and because it's closer, it looks bigger and we call it the “Harvest Moon.” In the Spring, it's the farthest away and appears smaller. The “dark phase” is longer in the Spring and shorter in the Fall because of the elliptical rotation. This may account for the light from the moon appearing on the 4th Day.
“The Moon's disk may appear to be full for several nights in a row if it is clear. This is because the percentage of the Moon's disk that appears illuminated changes very slowly around the time of Full Moon (also around the true New Moon, but the Moon is not visible at all then). The Moon may appear 100 % illuminated only on the night closest to the time of exact Full Moon, but on the night before and night after will appear 9799 % illuminated; most people would not notice the difference. Even two days from Full Moon the Moon's disk is 9397 % illuminated.” Quoted from U.S. Naval Observatory website under “Phases of the Moon and Percent of the Moon Illuminated”.
Then, what was the fourth day of creation week all about? Gen 1:2 refers to the creation week as a restoration of what had become “without form and void”. Day Four was when the light from the moon and stars appeared to divide the day from the night, for signs, for seasons, for days and years. The calendar had already begun on Day One with the first evening and morning. Since light and dark already existed and were separated on Day One, and since the day had already come and gone three times, most likely the Fourth Day was a tweaking of the solar system to get everything into sync. Maybe God had to adjust some of the rotations of planets? Did you know that even now, some planets and some solar systems rotate in the opposite direction of the earth?
Looking at the events just as they are, was Creation Week in the Fall or in the Spring? Most likely in the Spring. Light from the moon's orbit would take about 4 days to become visible from earth in the Spring. Time, as we know it, began on Day One of the creation week. Seven days make a week, one rotation of the moon makes a month and 12 or 13 moon rotations add up to a year based upon the “sign” of the equinox.
But, all the vegetation had fruit for Adam and Eve to eat so it must have been Fall says the Jewish tradition. It actually says the “seed was within” and that can mean a lot of different things. If everything were ready to eat by the first Sabbath, what would they have eaten six months later? Genesis 1:1112 states, the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding fruit after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit after his kind.” Even today there are plants that produce food in winter. Example: ripe olives are still being harvested in December. When naturally grown, food products are seasonal. For example: Barley is ripe in the Spring. Corn is ripe in the Fall. Within every seed is the genetic makeup for the next harvest-“the seed is within”.
The Talmud, a collection of Jewish oral laws, traditions, interpretations and myths, came into existence more than a century AFTER the death of Christ. And, Christ was always condemning the traditions and practices of the Jewish leadership of His day.
Ex 12:2 “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.” Is this a reminder to get back on track with God's calendar and leave the Egyptian calendar? Or, is it a calendar change from Fall to Spring? The evidence shows God was getting Israel back to His calendar that begins in the Spring. God had to get them back on track with Sabbath keeping and He even used manna to show them when to work and when to rest.
So, does the Bible direct the Church of God to go to the tribe of Issachar for information about God's Calendar? No, it does not. The Bible has plenty of evidence of when a day begins, when the Sabbath begins, when a month begins, and when a year begins. We need to stay away from Jewish Fables and not mix those fables with the Word of God that's Syncretism. God says that David was a man after God's own heart. Also, that Satan is our enemy. In recent history, as we all know, Satan has been attacking God's people from within.
If we were to take I Chronicles 12:32 and let that verse be a “calendar verse,” could we be missing something very important?
Yes! Definitely, yes.
Consider the parallel between King David, a man after God's own heart, and the return of Christ. King David's first stop was with his small army at the City of Jerusalem. Christ returns with a small army of Firstfruits (His Bride) to the same place. At the time of King David, the tribes of Israel-the people with understanding about the times, began to align themselves with King David. And, isn't that also what will happen when Christ returns. . .people will then, day by day, begin to have understanding of the end time and begin coming to Christ. The “Army of God” will then grow until the whole world is under the Kingdom of God.
What does that really mean? Could it be a fulfillment of the Parable of the “Watching Servants” in Luke 12:3540? Blessed are the men who are “waiting” for the master to come home “from” the marriage. The parable goes on to say that the Master will have the people who were “waiting” to sit at a table and the Master will serve them.
Was there ever an example of Christ “serving” those around a table? Yes, it was at the Passover with the foot washing ceremony. Could it be that the Army of God grows until the first Passover AFTER Christ's return and that is where Jesus will once again drink of the fruit of the vine (Luke 22:18, Mat 26:29) and preside over a Passover meal where He “serves” His Christian Soldiers?
Zech 14:1619 says that in the millennium the Feast of Tabernacles will be observed. More than likely, ALL the Holy Days will be observed with a more complete understanding of God's Plan for His children. And, all Holy Days will be calculated with the calendar that He gave creation week-God's Calendar. A Holy Calendar with the weekly Sabbath and the annual Sabbaths. ?
Sources of research for this study in addition to the Bible:
· http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.html
· http://www.originofnations.org/books,%20papers/Frisians(composite).htm
· http://britam.org/issachar.html
· http://www.israelofgod.org/twist.htm
· http://www.jewishgates.com/file.asp?File_ID=1169
· http://www.chabad.org/calendar/
· http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast11sep_2.htm
· http://www.space.com/spacewatch/040924_harvest_moon.html
· http://www.drdino.com/downloads.php
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