The Moon is Sick
and other Silly Assumptions
Anyone can make up a calendar. Through the ages, many have done so with varying degrees of accuracy. A
calendar is simply a method of measuring time. Since the passage of time is measured only by movement, all
calendars are based on the perceived movements of the sun, moon and stars as seen from earth.
Christians have, in ignorance, used a pagan/papal solar calendar for over 1,500 years. In mercy, Heaven has
increased light on the subject of time calculation, showing that Yahuwah has a calendar that uses the combined
movements of the sun and moon. As sincere-hearted people turn to their Bibles and other ancient extra-Biblical
literature searching for truth, various theories have arisen on how the true Biblical calendar works. One
suggested calendar, a patriarchal/priestly calendar, uses the books of Enoch, Jasher, and Jubilees to form a
calendar that intercalates the time difference between the solar and lunar years every single year, rather than
every two to three years, as done on the luni-solar calendar of Creation.
WLC believes that Yahuwah’s calendar should be based on the evidence contained in Scripture, rather than
these other, extra-Biblical sources. The reason is simple: The Scriptures, written in their original glyphs
(characters), are available. On the other hand, texts of Enoch, Jasher, and Jubilees written in the original
glyphs are not available. Various fragments found among the Dead Sea Scrolls and other places merely prove
the existence of such books. They do not provide complete manuscripts, uncorrupted by many years of
transcriptions and multiple translations.
When Yahuwah confounded the world’s languages at Babel, He designed a very special language for those who
would be the depositaries of His law. Ancient Hebrew, unlike most modern languages, was a language of
verbs, not nouns.
Nouns name things: horse, apple, child.
Verbs, on the other hand, describe what the nouns are doing (to sleep, to grow, to run) or being (am, is, are, was,
were).
As technology advances, nouns are added to languages all the time. Ancient Hebrew, on the other hand, used
verb phrases to name things. The result was an extremely descriptive language – and one that is virtually
impossible to corrupt because movement/action and states of being remain the same. “To walk” is still
walking. “To sing” is still singing. It is languages that are based on nouns that have the most corruption over
time.
Many people assert that it is impossible to know which, if any, of the many Bible translations are correct.
Today, there are over 40 translations and paraphrases in English alone. However, with the aid of computers and
the internet, it is possible to get very accurate translations of the Old Testament. Websites such as mechonmamre.org provide texts of the Scriptures written in the original glyphs. With the use of computers, a word that
is used 400 times in the Old Testament can be analyzed in context to make sure that the definition is exact.
Yahuwah has preserved three witnesses that confirm the calendar of Creation to be a luni-solar calendar
consisting of 12 lunations with a 13th lunation intercalated every two to three years. These are: 1) the
availability of the original glyphs; 2) the accuracy of the science of astronomy; and 3) the written record of
history.
The extra-Biblical books of Enoch, Jasher, and Jubilees contain much information that is interesting, profitable,
and instructive. However, they lack the three witnesses which establish the calendar of Creation. An open
mind must be kept when reading any extra-Biblical source. Scripture is the sole standard, given among men, by
which to judge all other writings. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of Yahuwah, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of Yahuwah may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (See 2 Timothy 3:16, 17.)
When reading Enoch, Jasher, and Jubilees, the searcher for truth must take what is good and leave the rest.
Certainly they should not be used as definitive authorities on how to calculate the calendar. In order to
construct a “patriarchal/priestly” calendar from these extra-Biblical sources, certain improvable assumptions
must be made. Following are but a few of many:
Assumption One
One website that promotes a calendar supposedly based on Enoch, Jasher, and Jubilees, claims that the moon
has been “sick” since the days of Hezekiah and no longer works with precision. There is absolutely no evidence
to support this claim. It is, and can
only be, an assumption. It is
completely
inconsistent
with
Yahuwah’s revealed character to
require worship at a specific time
and then destroy His own method of
time-keeping or alter it in such a
way that it could not be depended
upon.
Scripture refutes the assumption that
the moon is “sick” and incapable of
marking time. Roughly 3,000 years
after Creation, David wrote, in his
psalm about Yahuwah as the
Creator: “He appointed the moon for
seasons: the sun knoweth his going
down.” (Psalm 104:19, KJV) The
word “appointed” comes from âsâh (#6213) and means “to do or make, in the broadest sense and widest
application.”1 The word “seasons” comes from the Hebrew mô’êd (#4150). It means:
-An appointment, i.e. a fixed time or season; spec. a festival . . . by implication, an assembly (as convened for a
definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting . . .2
The word became closely associated with all the assemblies for worshipping Yahuwah. Leviticus 23, which
lists the annual feasts of Yahuwah, refers to them by this same word. Psalm 104:19 is clearly stating that
Yahuwah created the moon for a specific purpose: the work of marking the times appointed for worship.
This thought is repeated in Psalm 89, which is a song extolling Yahuwah’s faithfulness. The psalm opens with
the divinely inspired words: "I will sing of the mercies of Yahuwah forever; With my mouth will I make known
Your faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, 'Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You
shall establish in the very heavens.'" (Psalm 89:1 and 2)
The moon is not “sick”! Rather, its predictable movements are used by inspiration as an example of how
dependable and faithful is the word of the Almighty One!
My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne as the sun before Me;
It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky. (Psalm 89:34-37, NKJV)
This sublime passage is comparing the unfailing faithfulness of Yahuwah’s promises to the sure and predictable
movements of the moon, going so far as to call the moon YAH’s “faithful witness in the sky.” The sure word of
Yahuwah leaves no room for the moon to become “sick” and unreliable for fulfilling its function to regulate
time and the assemblies for worship.
Assumption Two
It is assumed that Scripture contains no record of the 13th intercalary month that reconciles the shorter lunar
year to the longer solar year every two to three years. However, this is incorrect. A thirteenth, intercalary
month can be found in the book of Ezekiel where the prophet was told to act out a parable of the siege of
Jerusalem. He was told to lie on his left side for 390 days and, when he was through, lie on his right side for 40
days for a total of 430 days. Because dates are provided for when he received his instructions and when he was
finished, it is clear that he followed Yahuwah’s instructions during an embolismic year or he could not have
been back in his home as recorded in Ezekiel 8:1. (For further information, please read A Thirteenth Month??
The Divine Precision of the Luni-solar Calendar.)
Assumption Three
The assumption is made that time will be “healed” in
eternity because Revelation 21 states that the sun and
moon are no longer needed. This assumption makes a
wrong application of what Revelation records.
Revelation 21:23 and 24 states: “And the city had no
need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for
the glory of Yahuwah did lighten it, and the Lamb is the
light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved
shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do
bring their glory and honour into it.”
Scripture states that in the earth made new, the glory of
Yahuwah will flood the earth with rays of ceaseless
glory, making the sun and moon unnecessary as a source
of light. However, this does not mean they will cease to
exist in their Heaven-ordained roles as time-keepers.
Isaiah 66:22 and 23 foretells: “For as the new heavens
and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain
before me, saith Yahuwah, so shall your seed and your
name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another,
shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith Yahuwah.”
Assumption Four
To “prove” the patriarchal/priestly calendar, the claim is made that Yahushua kept a different calendar from that
kept by the main priesthood of His day. This assumption is easily proven false by the fact that when Yahushua
asked, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8:46, NKJV), they could not answer. Even Pilate, at
Yahushua's trial, declared, “I find no fault in this man.” (Luke 23:4, KJV)
The Jews favorite charge was that of Sabbath-breaking. Had Yahushua truly kept the Sabbath on a different
day than they, the priests and Levites would surely have tried to kill Yahushua on those grounds.
Assumption Five
It is claimed that Yahushua kept the Passover one day early in accordance with the Essene calendar. This is
false. All Scripture references to the last supper reveal it could not have been the Passover because Yahushua
and the disciples used leavened bread rather than unleavened bread.
In order to extrapolate a patriarchal/priestly calendar based on the books of Enoch, Jasher, and Jubilees, the
clear evidence of Scripture must be set aside. Additionally, the historical record must also be ignored.
Scripture is the only reliable standard for establishing doctrine. The calendar by which one calculates holy days
must not be based on assumptions and faulty conclusions. WLC continues to promote the luni-solar calendar of
Creation as the only heaven-ordained method of time-measurement.
1
Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, p. 92.
2
Ibid., p. 63.