I love studying Biblical history and have been amazed—and saddened—at the realization of all mankind has altered over the years in respect to God, His creation, and Biblical history, customs and traditions. I think one of the adversary’s greatest tactics to deceive the sons and daughters of God is to create confusion, and one of the most notable changes that has created a lot of confusion in modernity is the calendar. Have you ever wondered why some celebrate the New Year in January while others celebrate in September—the Hebrew month of Elul? From earliest times we know the moon—or lunar calendar—determined seasons. The lunar calendar is recorded in the Book of Genesis—B’RESHEET in Hebrew—and was determined the source of our calendar by God. We read God created lights to divide the night from day—the sun was created to rule by day and the moon was created to rule by night. These were “for signs and seasons and for days and years” (Genesis 1:14-19)(Psalm 104:19). However, in 46 BC mankind altered the calendar. The new calendar followed the sun—a solar calendar. Mankind’s calendar became known as the Julian calendar in honor of its creator, Julius Caesar. However in AD 730, the Julian calendar was discovered to have some calculation inaccuracies and by 1582 the Julian calendar was off by ten full days. As a result, Pope Gregory XIII decided to transition the progressive world to the Gregorian calendar–a solar calendar with the addition of leap years. The Gregorian calendar is the calendar many continue to follow to this day. Yet, Scripture provides followers of Christ—Messiah in Hebrew—with the calendar the Creator of the heavens and earth established for His creation to follow which explains why many believers around the world will usher in the Biblical New Year of 5781 on the evening of September 18, 2020. D.I. Travel wishes all followers of Messiah a blessed New Year. May the sweetness of the New Year surpass our understanding.
