I had to write about the Jewish and Christian calendars. Why? The short answer is that I care deeply about discipleship, and the calendar is one of the original discipleship tools found in the Old Testament.
It’s not quite as simple as that short answer, however. It’s been my experience that when Evangelicals speak of spiritual formation, we tend to speak in terms of practicing spiritual disciplines, or acquisition of information about God and the Bible, or we urge ourselves toward action such as service or evangelism. All are of great value in cultivating personal spiritual growth, but I found myself wondering as years went on about the way in which we in our local churches are being formed as followers of Jesus. I have been involved in programming worship services at a non-denominational church and at a Christian university, and realized that the calendar we used was forming both individual and corporate identity in those respective communities far more than we’d taken time to consider.
How the Calendar Shapes Us
In the non-denominational congregations of which my husband and I have been a part, the civil calendar drove our church life together. This calendar included space for some special, usually evangelism-based emphases during December for the Christmas season, as well as services for Good Friday/Easter morning. We have also been a part of Anglican and Lutheran congregations that have used the Christian calendar. Those years taught me that a different calendar was a part of what forged a different kind of practices and identity among these congregations.
I’d grown up being imprinted by the calendar: my Jewish upbringing had shaped me by the rhythms of the feasts described in Leviticus 23. This was the calendar Jesus knew, and it was the calendar from which the Christian calendar emerged. As my husband and I are both Jewish followers of Jesus – we each came to faith in him during our teens – we continued to maintain a modest connection to the Hebrew festal calendar as we were raising our children, as we hoped to give our children a connection with their Jewish birthright. I learned during those years that while connection to a calendar can be an important learning tool for families, it carries a different weight in a family when an entire community is formed by its rhythms.
I began wondering about how the Hebrew calendar Jesus knew became the church year calendar used by the church. After a trip to Israel, I began researching the topic on my own. I asked lots of questions because I valued both the Hebrew festal and the Christian calendars, and understood that both calendars framed time in terms of God’s salvation story – albeit in very different ways. These calendars do not exist so we can pencil in days of celebration and sorrow alongside our oh-so-important schedules. Instead, each calendar demands we prioritize our lives according to their rhythms, because their rhythms represent God’s saving work in our lives and in the world.
What does it mean to “inhabit time”?
The very first words of the Bible are “In the beginning…” The eternal God anchored the act of creation in finite time. Jesus promised his followers eternal life (in familiar, beloved John 3:16). While we step into this kingdom life here and now, there is also a fuller future dimension of this life: “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 22:5)
But here we are, living in finite time. Our own appointment calendars and schedules define our days, and describe our lives. To inhabit time is a shorthand way of saying that we can live with intention, that our Day-Timers don’t define us. The calendar described in Scripture – and the calendar developed by the early followers of Jesus – each present to us us a way to live at the intersection of time and eternity.
What is the biggest challenge for a 21st century Jewish follower of Jesus?
There are some challenges unique to Jewish followers of Jesus. Questions of identity and assimilation are true of all Jewish people. Jewish followers of Jesus are often viewed as traitors or non-Jews by the Jewish community. It is understandable that there is resistance from the Jewish community, as a lot of horrible things have been done to the Jewish people in the name of Jesus over the last two thousand years. There are also major challenges Jewish believers face in the church including pockets of anti-Semitism and some bad theology.
However, Jewish followers of Jesus face the same challenges as do their Gentile brothers and sisters. How do I follow Jesus faithfully every day?
How will reading Moments & Days change me for the better?
It is my prayer that the book will strengthen the faith and practice of readers, and the material will spill over into the lives of their families and faith communities. Moments & Days offers readers a look at each holy day and season in both the Jewish and Christian calendars, a discussion about how one emerged from the others, and practical coaching about how to reclaim your own calendar from the tyranny of the Day-Timer urgent so you can live with intention, discipled in time.
Learn more about Michelle and her work on her website.
I find history much more interesting as I get older. The edicts of Constantine to worship on Sunday have changed the early Christian’s obedience to the 4th Commandment. Then the Frech calendar eliminated bothe Saturday & Sunday worship by using a 10-day week calendar instead of 7. 3 weeks/30-day month, 12 months for 360-day/year. The extra days were set aside for agricultural “holidays”. This was the attempt to eliminate loyalty to any deity. The French Revolution was more successful in spreading the metric system. God is in control of time, but not bound by it.
What exactly is the Christian calendar? Is it one that observes holidays like Easter and Christmas which are traditionally pagan celebrations?
Hello my name is Debra I was wondering back in JESUS day or the days of Mary and Joseph did they go by the same 12 month in a year as we do today,I believe iheard a pastor (Gino Jennings) say Mary was pregnant with JESUS around the month of September,I’m very interested in learning more about this.Thank You and GOD Bless
The calendar YHVH established went by the moon & sun & He never changed it. Days begin at sundown. Months begin at the sighting of the new moon from Jerusalem. The year begins the new moon after the aviv barley.
The Hebrew calendar used today was created in 359 CE by Rabbi Hillel ll.
Amen, i am new to this and trying to figure this all out. do ppl in USA use the sighting of the new moon crescent i Jerusalm ? Or will 0ur Sabbath be a day before Jerusalam?
Hi there, the Jewish Calendar and Jesus Calendar as well the Mohammed which refers to the Arabic Calendar goes with the moon and it starts at sunrise during the day to the sunrise of the next day which is the equivalent of 24hours in our time that we currently use everywhere. History has a lot to offer and also correct!
So is the Gregorian calendar used today has the saturday as the Lord’s true SABBATH day?
Yes i was wondering the same because if days were changing before gregorian calendar how can we know that saturday is the sabbath for sure. My brother in Christ left the sunday service for a saturday service for obedience to the sabbath and keeping it holy.
Which sabbath days did Jesus follow?
the same as the zodiac both are the same
The Gregorian calendar and the Julian calendar differ on the Sabbath Day in these modern times.So which Day is the true Sabbath if we dont use the lunar calendar?Did Jesus use the Julian calendar or did He use the lunar calendar?….Does if matter which one we use as long as we work 6 days and rest on the 7th day? I am so confused.
Sabbath day is translated as Saturday ,Sunday is the first day of the week and Saturday is the seventh day.
The original Hebrew calendar that Christ used is the lunisolar calendar later the calendar was changed in 359 by rabbi Hillel ll due to Constantine‘s Persecution of the Jews
The Gregorian calendar,Julian and the lunar all differ on which day is the true Sabbath.WHICH CALENDAR DID Jesus use?
Julian calendar differ on the Sabbath Day.So which Day is the true Sabbath if we dont use the lunar calendar?Did Jesus use the Julian calendar or did He use the lunar calendar?….Does if matter which one we use as long as we work 6 days and rest on the 7th day? I am so confused.
check out GODS calendar…new moons, CREATORS calendar, all the WLC(worlds last chance) vidios on you tube. iam learning a lot….4 th camandment emember the Sabbath (satan messed with it- made are moderen calendars) to take GODS Sabbath out and put in HIS worpish day…Sad. SATAN HAS DECIEVED THE WHOLE WORLD….. NOT JUST FOR JEWS FOR ALL MANKIND 🙂
This is years later but……………
Worship YAHUAH/God in Spirit & Truth. I don’t think anyone knows what day is truly the sabbath. So you do the best you can and YAHUAH/God will honor it as long as it’s in Sprit & Truth.
If you’re in space then time doesn’t apply to you, thus you will live “forever and ever” like the stars in heaven. He was talking about space-time.
Check out World’s Last Chance videos on YouTube for the Creator’s calendar new moons all that stuff is awesome I’ve learned so much God’s peace
Excellent find!!
I agree. The Worlds Last Chance. Most thoughtful to scripture!!!!!!!!!!!!
our calendars……. not are i made a bobo
The devil has deceived the whole world he messed with God’s calendar the original calendar you can find that out maybe on YouTube World’s Last Chance you’ll learn about the new moons and the calendar God really wants used it’s not just for Jews God made the the Sabbath 4 man even though he was speaking to the Israelites he said for man that’s mankind
If God wanted the first day of the month to be the day of the full moon he would have stated it during creation. When God made the moon on the 4th day then He would have stated this day is the first day of the month.
Will someone please leave the answer for me to see? I know nothing much about planet’s or math and I’ve been trying to get out of the wrong day of worship. Pray for all of us.
This is years later but……………
Worship YAHUAH/God in Spirit & Truth. I don’t think anyone knows what day is truly the sabbath. So you do the best you can and YAHUAH/God will honor it as long as it’s in Sprit & Truth.
There is no wrong day to worship. We can worship whenever we want, that is the freedom we have in Christ.
Wrong Christ didn’t come to change His Father’s rules and laws like we’ve been taught to believe. He doesn’t change. Christ came to show us how to fulfill them. He says what day the Sabbath is on. It’s the 4th Commandment. We just can’t worship Him any day we want. We worship Him on the day He tells us too. The 7th day. He is God and we are not. Read your whole Scripture.
Christ came to show us that we could NOT fulfill the law, but that he could. Otherwise, his sacrifice is meaningless and we can earn our own salvation. We quite clearly cannot. And the problem with a Saturday Sabbath being more literal is that you would start the Sabbath on one day and end it on another based on our current calendars. I have people insisting that you must keep the Saturday Sabbath and Sunday is somehow not good enough. God looks on the heart, we just seem to see the “rules.” The law is good, and the law is a teacher. And we need a savior.
We can meet together for praise and worship every day if we choose. Genisis decribes 7th day for all to rest and not work. It became jewish culture for men to meet at synagogue read and discuss scriptures from their ‘Good Book’, different to ours and our church services process. 4th commandmend does not at all say ‘Gods most loyal and faithful attend church service only on Saturdays’ and cramming Saturdays with as many church meetings as possible is not resting.
how to get a lunar calendar
Check this out! It has the explanation and the actual calendar and a download app to have on your phone. I have it and it’s awesome!
https://www.worldslastchance.com/printable-luni-solar-calendar.html
Hi from what we were reading last night ( funnily enough ) In leviticus. The Sabbath day did change and was not stuck to one day it floated around depending upon the celebrations of god. Think it was in leviticus 23 and 24 but we just read on . As I too am wanting to know the true sabbath days and when they fall. As the new moon alters through out the year 2019 example The first day of the month was the first day following the new moon as they only spoke of days as numbers rather than names. So day 1 is the new moon 8 days after ( seventh day is the Half moon, the same again is a full moon , then back to the half moon and then back to the new moon sometimes two . New Moon First Quarter Full Moon Third Quarter Lunation Jan. 6, Su 02:29 Jan. 14, Mo 07:46 Jan. 21, Mo 06:17 Jan. 27, Su 22:12 1188
Feb. 4, Mo 22:04 Feb. 12, Tu 23:26 Feb. 19, Tu 16:53 Feb. 26, Tu 12:29 1189
Mar. 6, We 17:05 Mar. 14, Th 11:26 Mar. 21, Th 02:43 Mar. 28, Th 05:11 1190
Apr. 5, Fr 10:52 Apr. 12, Fr 21:06 Apr. 19, Fr 13:12 Apr. 27, Sa 00:19 1191
May 5, Su 00:47 May 12, Su 03:13 May 18, Sa 23:11 May 26, Su 18:34 1192
June 3, Mo 12:02 June 10, Mo 08:00 June 17, Mo 10:31 June 25, Tu 11:48 1193
July 2, Tu 21:17 July 9, Tu 12:56 July 16, Tu 23:39 July 25, Th 03:20 1194
Aug. 1, Th 05:12 Aug. 7, We 19:32 Aug. 15, Th 14:31 Aug. 23, Fr 16:58 1195
Aug. 30, Fr 12:38 Sept. 6, Fr 05:11 Sept. 14, Sa 06:35 Sept. 22, Su 04:43 1196
Sept. 28, Sa 20:27 Oct. 5, Sa 18:48 Oct. 13, Su 23:10 Oct. 21, Mo 14:41 1197
Oct. 28, Mo 04:40 Nov. 4, Mo 11:23 Nov. 12, Tu 14:37 Nov. 19, Tu 22:13 1198
Nov. 26, Tu 16:07 Dec. 4, We 07:58 Dec. 12, Th 06:14 Dec. 19, Th 05:59 1199 I found the following very interesting : http://www.crowl.org/Lawrence/time/days.html
NOT TRUE! God allowed manna to fall from the sky 6 days and a double portion on the smith day because on the 7th day so we can remember His Sabbath. The 7th day Sabbath is not a floating day. It happens every 7th day no matter what calendar you use and it will be on the Same Day.
Worlds last chance has the down load for lunar solar calendar.
WHY DO PEOPLE SEARCH FOR A SPECIFIC DAY ON WHICH THEY CAN KEEP THEIR SABBATH?
People are searching for a so-called “true” Sabbath day, but they must just read God’s ORIGINAL WORDS in connection with it, not that which came afterward:
Exo 20:8-10 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. SIX DAYS SHALT THOU LABOUR, AND DO ALL THY WORK: BUT THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE SABBATH OF YAHWEH THY GOD: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days YAHWEH made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore YAHWEH blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
The six days of work are as part of the Law as the seventh day!
What comes right after the six days of work, seven, and then you must use that day to worship God Yahweh Yahshua Messiah as a congregation. Thus, the interval between two sabbaths is important yes, you may not interrupt that sequence! Thus, why do some then interrupt the sequence when they change the sabbath from Sunday to Saturday (Saturnusday)? Do they think they do God a favor, or do they think that they please God in doing so, or do they falsely claim that they keep their Sabbath on the same day as God’s day of Rest, or do Saturnus shine a greater ‘effect’ (i.e. their 24-holy hours) over them on Saturday just as the idol worshipers believe?
God did not make six unholy days and only one holy day, all the days belong to God.
Nowhere does God specify the words “Saturday, Day of the week or a Special day!”
It is not the specific day that is important to God but rather what you do or omit to do on that day that comes after the six days of work which is important.
Why do people search for a specific day then?
It is mainly because they are under the false impression that their Sabbath day coincide with God’s day of Rest, which is clearly fálse according to evidence from Gen 1:1-31 and other places from the Bible.
Mar 2:27-28 And He said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is (G2962 – Controller, Supreme in Authority) also of the sabbath.
G2962
κύριος
kurios
koo’-ree-os
From κῦρος kuros (SUPREMACY); SUPREME IN AUTHORITY, that is, (as noun) CONTROLLER; by implication Mr. (as a respectful title): – GOD, Lord, master, Sir.
LXX related word(s)
H113 adon
H136 adonai
H136 adonai yehovih
H410 el
H430 elohim
H433 eloah
H1167 baal
H1376 gevir
H3068 yehovah
H4756 mare
H4911 mashal
H6697 tsur
H7706 shaddai
H7980 shelat aph.
H7989 shallit
Worship “days” are important, as shown historically and religiously. What was the Sabbath day to Jesus? He practiced it and lived it. He “worshipped” on Sabbath days according to scripture. Likewise, he kept God’s commandments. One of the Ten Commandments was to “remember the Sabbath Day” and keep it holy. At the core of this understanding is that God has given man “time”. Time was made by God to define the salvation of man … that is to give man a “period” of life, to test it against himself and against and with God, and/or Satan. A part of this is to understand that there are worship “days” in every religion. Why? Because within this war of superior beings (those belonging to Satan and those belonging to God in Jesus), they seek to pollute the sacredness of time. God defined one specific day as sacred. That was the seventh day. But, that was the seventh day rooted in the lunar solar calendar! That Calendar has moon days, and it has the six days of work and the one day of rest, The Sabbath, and has been so going back into Jewish history as far as one can search. That is the end of the story, right there. Jesus showed us the correct Sabbath by keeping it … i.e. The Sabbath of the lunar solar calendar used by the jews.
The Messianic Movement where both Jews and Gentiles worship in a Messianic Synagogues go by the moons.
Sabath is from Friday at Dusk to Saturday
at Dusk.
Hi Ken
The word Sabbath Hebrew means Saturday.
And if you look at the calendar the firt day of the week is on Sunday and the last day is Saturday.
I started following the Biblical Feast days and Sabbath. I left behind the holidays on the gregorian calendar because I serve only One God. The Creator. I began a serch looking to my Jewish brethren to help me understand how to follow the Biblical calendar. But what i found was the Hebrew Calendar called Hillel is also guided by babylon gods not The Creator’s Design. The Jews left Babylon and returned back to Israel, but they kept their names. At first i though Nissan and Tamuz and Rosh HaShannah were Biblical Hebrew names because they said it was a Hebrew calendar. Hebrew means crossed over like Abraham did. Leaving his fathers idols. I am not critizing any Chritians or Jews. I love them both but i Love Elohim our Creator 1st. I want to follow His Truth. Yahshua His son would never put another god before mentioning His Fathers Holy Days. He said I only come to do what The Father says. So what exactly is that Calendar and names He would have followed? I am Yahshua’s Disciple. The Father called His days and months by numbers. Is there a calendar that has removed gregorian and babylon gods names. ( Exodus 23:13 and Hosea 2, tells us not to mention their names on our lips). So is there a Simple Biblical Hebrew number calendar. ? If so please let me know. If not maybe you can start one.? Thanks so much for your article. Shalom. Mona.