CHAPTER 8
WHY THE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE HEBREW DAY, WEEK AND CALENDAR?
The aim of this section is to make the reader aware that the Almighty God of Israel uses His own calendar as
the basis of His 'diary' to organise His work on earth; and that He has already appointed certain days,
seasons and years in it during which He will perform His mightiest deeds in the Programme of Salvation.
1) That the Almighty is about to draw universal attention to those appointed times by displaying signs in
the sun, moon and stars.
2) That the nation of Israel is still the chosen people of YHWH; and that believing Gentiles, by virtue of
their faith in Y‘shua HaMashiach, are grafted into the 'Olive of Israel' (Rom 11) and are thereafter
expected to express their faith in YHWH God of Israel by keeping His commandments.This section contains rare information concerning the appointed days on which divinely predicted signs in the
sun, moon and stars are expected; signs which will not only confirm the Holy Bible as the Word of YHWH,
but will cause all humanity to prepare for the Day of Judgment. With these opening thoughts in mind, let us
proceed.
Why the Need for a Calendar?
Pause a while and consider the civil calendar hanging on your living room or office wall and ask yourself
these questions. Why is it there? What is its true purpose? Where and how did the calendar originate? Is a
calendar essential?
Your response would probably go something like this. The calendar is there to help me, my family and my
fellow-workers keep track of time. Its purpose is to keep us in touch with appointments and events at home,
in the office and abroad. No, I have little knowledge of where and how it originated.
Before answering the next question, Is it essential? Try to imagine a world without a calendar, a world
without pre-numbered days, months and years. Could society operate in a world without a calendar? I
suppose it could - after a fashion, but it would be a crippled society at best. Why? Because planning further
than a few days ahead would not be possible. All official, social, religious and sporting appointments would
be extremely difficult to make; for no one would know on which day to meet. The entire legal profession, with
its millions of carefully dated documents, would also be thrown into a state of total chaos. The activities of
travel agents, airlines, hospital/dental surgeries and countless business organisations and clubs would slow
to a snail's pace; for no one would be able to organise events more than a few days ahead. Without a
calendar there would be no diaries, no long-term business, social or personal planning. Without question, a
world without a calendar would be a world of frustrating confusion. Yes, you may be sure that a calendar of
some sort is absolutely essential.
Currently there are several calendars in use throughout the world. Most are religious calendars used mainly
to identify the dates of religious festivals celebrated by the faithful of the world's many religions. Amongst
these is the sacred calendar of the YHWH of Israel, the calendar this section is about. The sacred
calendar is based on the movements of the sun and the moon. It is also linked directly to many Bible
prophecies which describe world-encompassing events shortly to take place. Bible prophecy clearly tells us
that there is coming a ―great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor
ever shall be‖. After the tribulation there will be ―signs in the heavens‖.
―Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give
her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken‖.
(Matt 24:29)The Gregorian Calendar
Besides the various religious calendars being used by mankind, there is the popular civil or Gregorian
calendar. This is the calendar that hangs on the wall of almost every office in the civilised world. The
Gregorian calendar takes its name from Pope Gregory XIII, who reformed the Roman calendar in the year
- Before that time the civil calendar was called the Julian calendar, after the Roman Emperor Julius
Caesar, who had also made some alterations to the calendar in the year 46 B.C. One of Caesar's
amendments was to pattern the civil calendar on the calendar of ancient Egypt, which was at that time the
only calendar in which the lengths of the months and years were fixed by definite rules. In other words, the