Hillel, Babylonian Intercalations and the Temple Calendar (No. 195C)

Introduction

God spoke through the prophet Zechariah and He said what He would do in relation to the Worship of His House.

Zechariah 5:1-11 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll! ²And he said to me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits, and its breadth ten cubits." ³Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land; for every one who steals shall be cut off henceforth according to it, and every one who swears falsely shall be cut off henceforth according to it. ⁴I will send it forth, says the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name; and it shall abide in his house and consume it, both timber and stones." ⁵Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, "Lift your eyes, and see what this is that goes forth." ⁶And I said, "What is it?" He said, "This is the ephah that goes forth." And he said, "This is their iniquity in all the land." ⁷And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the ephah! ⁸And he said, "This is Wickedness." And he thrust her back into the ephah, and thrust down the leaden weight upon its mouth. ⁹Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings; they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between earth and heaven. ¹⁰Then I said to the angel who talked with me, "Where are they taking the ephah?" ¹¹He said to me, "To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it; and when this is prepared, they will set the ephah down there on its base."

These people who thieve and swear falsely by God‘s Name and use the system of worship of the House of God are punished and cut off.

This transfer into the Babylonian Mystery Cults has happened and in the 20^th century it took over the Churches of God with the Hillel Calendar.

We have seen this done in Judah and in the last days in the 20^th century in the Churches of God. We have seen it established among God’s people and their ministry have lied to them and their people love to have it so.

We will now explain how that Babylonian system was placed among the people of God.

This paper deals with the false doctrine of the Hillel Calendar as used by the Modern Jews and the WCG offshoots.

These are the questions that any serious Bible Student or follower of God and the Bible should ask and then answer.

When did the Hillel Calendar come into effect? On what is it based?

Why are its intercalations different from the old Temple Calendar system according to the conjunctions and also the Church of God determinations of the Lord's Supper in the 20^th century?

How do we know for certain that it was never in use during the Temple period?

When were its last modifications made and by whom?

What are the punishments according to God’s Law for keeping the Hillel Calendar or any other system not according to God’s law?

There are specific and definitive punishments for keeping the Hillel or Modern Jewish Calendar and it will cost any member of the Church of God the First Resurrection for doing so and it is that important!

A year in the Hebrew Calendar is normally twelve months beginning from Abib or Nisan. The months are Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, Elul, Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Sh'vat and Adar.

In the Modern Jewish Calendar the year begins in Tishri and the Babylonian Rosh HaShanah is observed in Tishri contrary to Biblical Law.

The Temple Calendar (and the Calendar that CCG follows) has a calendar of normally twelve months.

Adar II, the extra month, is intercalated in seven of every nineteen years.
Years: 2,5,7,10,13,15,18.

The years 2, 5, and 13 are the very earliest possible and that means the 7th month will be as early as 31 August, or 1,2,3 of September.

There are 17 times in 100 years (2 Jubilees) that this intercalation happens. The Jubilees are in years 27 and 77 of the Current or Modern Era; hence 1927, 1977 and 2027.

These are the 17 years:

1929, 1932, 1940, 1948, 1951, 1959,
1967, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1989, 1997,
2005, 2008, 2016, 2024, 2027.

These are the years from March to March. In these years the Hillel Calendar is ONE MONTH later than the Temple Calendar and that which CCG uses.

The following is information from a typical Hillel Calendar. They actually use the word POSTPONED.

Once the date of the Molad of Tishrei (or Tishri) has been calculated, some additional considerations must be taken into account to determine the actual date of Rosh HaShanah (the New Year of Tishrei). These considerations may cause the actual date of 1 Tishrei to be postponed from the date of the Molad Tishrei. There are four such postponements:

First, if the time of the Molad of Tishrei is later than 18 hours from the beginning of the day, Rosh HaShanah is postponed to the next day. This probably accounts for or is based on the fact that the young moon could not have been observed until the next day.

Second, for common years only, if the Molad of Tishrei falls on a Tuesday and is later than nine hours and 204 halakhim from the start of the day, Rosh HaShanah is postponed to the next day. This rule prevents a situation in which the postponements for the next year would require the year to be 356 days long.

Third, for years following leap years only, if the Molad Tishrei falls on a Monday, and is later than 15 hours and 589 halakhim from the start of the day, Rosh HaShanah is postponed to the next day. This rule prevents a situation that would require the previous year to be only 352 days long.

Finally, if Rosh HaShanah would fall on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday, it is postponed to the next day. In combination with one of the above postponements, Rosh HaShanah could be postponed by as much as two days. This postponement prevents certain holidays from falling on the Sabbath.

Those that were in the WCG system were all guilty of following the Hillel Calendar. So also the Nigerians associated with Dugger in Jerusalem.

Many didn't know, but they were still guilty. Now we all have a choice to make. Now we are beginning to know.

The Hillel Calendar determines the year from Tishrei the 7th moon.

However, doesn't Scripture say determine it from Abib/Nisan? Yes it does say that in Exodus 12:2 and Esther 3:7. The Babylonian Rosh HaShanah means “the head of the year” and is directly contrary to the Law of God.

No one has the right to postpone the days of God’s Calendar for any reason.

The Rosh HaShanah postponement rules are an innovation of the fixed arithmetic traditional Jewish Calendar that came in under Chief Rabbi Hillel II in 358 CE. It did not exist in Judah or the Churches of God or anywhere else until 358 CE.

They did not apply the observational lunar crescent calendar that was introduced by the Pharisees after the fall of the Temple in 70 CE.

Instead, the observational calendar varied the month lengths to be 29 days if the new lunar crescent was seen at sunset at the end of the 29th day, or 30 days otherwise.

On the other hand, the Talmud Bavli mentions in tractate Rosh HaShanah that the Court (Sanhedrin calendar committee from Jamnia etc.) used to intimidate visible crescent witnesses to withdraw or confuse their testimony or to disqualify them if otherwise Rosh HaShanah would be sanctified on Wednesday or Friday (see rule #1 below).

Likewise, the Chinese Calendar, based on astronomical algorithms for the longitudes of Sun and Moon, varies the length of months from 29 to 30 days depending on the computed moment of the actual lunar conjunctions.

The Modern Jewish Calendar has constant month lengths, but something has to vary to accommodate the non-integral mean length of the molad (representing the mean lunar cycle), which equals 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes 1 part (each "part" equals 3+1/3 seconds = 1/18 of a minute), and this is accomplished by adjusting the lengths of the two months after the previous month of Tishrei, that is Cheshvan and Kislev, according to the following four rules:

1. Molad Zakein: If the molad of Tishrei falls on or after noon then postpone Rosh HaShanah to the next day.

2. Lo ADU Rosh: If the molad of Tishrei falls on Sunday, Wednesday or Friday then postpone Rosh HaShanah to the next day.

3. If the molad of Tishrei for a non-leap year (12 months) falls on Tuesday on or after 9 hours and 204 parts then postpone Rosh Hashanah to Thursday

4. If the molad of Tishrei after a leap year (13 months) falls on Monday on or after 15 hours and 589 parts then postpone Rosh Hashanah to Tuesday.

The Visibility of the New Lunar Crescent on Rosh HaShanah

Rambam, in Hilchot Kiddush HaChodesh (literally translates as "The Laws of Sanctification of the New Month") wrote that the reason for the postponements has to do with the underlying nature of the mean astronomical calculations that are employed for the molad, in point 7 of chapter 7, vaguely suggesting that the postponements bring the date of Rosh HaShanah closer to the actual lunar conjunction.

In the next statement, however, he contradicted himself by hinting that the postponements increase the likelihood that the lunar crescent will be visible at sunset at the beginning of Rosh HaShanah (point 8 of chapter 7).

These attributes are mutually exclusive.

The actual lunar conjunctions precede the visible new lunar crescent by 1 to 3 days.

If the postponements were to bring Rosh HaShanah closer to the actual lunar conjunction then they would have to decrease the probability of observing the new crescent on the holiday.

On the other hand, if they were to increase the likelihood of observing the new lunar crescent on Rosh HaShanah then that could only be accomplished by delays relative to the actual lunar conjunctions. Astronomical analysis of the visible crescent frequencies on Rosh HaShanah will reveal which of these alternatives is correct, as follows:

Lunar crescent visibility varies with weather conditions, clouds, atmospheric dust and clarity (especially in the westerly direction), temperature, humidity, nearby and westerly light pollution, and local elevation with unobstructed view of the horizon.

Astronomically it depends on the apparent lunar size and brightness, elongation from the Sun, and altitude above the horizon at sunset.

Human factors include observer maturity, truthfulness, sanity, visual acuity and stereoscopic perception, iris pigmentation and pupil diameter, experience and preparation, and the use of optical aids such as telescopes or binoculars.

It also helps a lot to know exactly when and where to look, and then to actually look at the correct position in the sky!

When the new lunar crescent is very dim, it may be visible only to more light-sensitive peripheral vision, rather than the sharpest central color vision.

In such cases, it might be seen only when one looks slightly askance of its position, then away, then back again.

How much simpler is it to follow the Conjunction time. Note the purpose and symbolism of the conjunction.
The One True God is UNSEEN.
The NEW MOON is UNSEEN and then the waxing moon represents the revelation of God.

The probability of false sighting for a typical observer has been estimated at 15%; hence observational calendars that depend on a few positive sightings from a large number of observers will almost invariably start early by mistake.

False sightings can, however, be refuted if the Moon was actually below the horizon or ahead of the actual lunar conjunction at the moment when it is claimed the new lunar crescent was seen.

If the moment of the actual lunar conjunction is known to good accuracy (better than ±1 minute is easy to calculate), then testimony claiming a sighting less than 18 hours later is highly doubtful.

Note this paper on the effects of Hillel showing its error : Why Is Passover So Late in 1997? (No. 239).

This article was published in the Jewish Bible Quarterly, Volume 25, No. 1, 1997 and is reprinted with permission. The Jewish Bible Association maintains a website at http://www.jewishbible.org/.

Following the Hillel Calendar automatically makes you postpone. They postpone the Conjunction to the Crescent and even days later.

Being 'allowed' by some Rabbi to do that is far from having been given permission under Biblical Law. Obey God.

Temple Calendar Intercalation v Hillel

Here we list the years that the Temple Calendar intercalates as against the years that the Hillel Calendar intercalates and postpones in any one Jubilee. This will demonstrate the Babylonian Calendar versus the true Temple Calendar. Anyone keeping Hillel is keeping the Babylonian system.

Let us again list some "Rules/Observations."

Regarding the 19 Year Cycle for Intercalations of Adar2.

The 100 years of the two Jubilees from 1928 to 2027:
There are Five 19 Year Cycles plus 5 years in the Two Jubilees (100 years).

The 2nd, 5th, 13th years of each 19 year cycle are the earliest dates possible.

These dates separate the Hillel Calendar from the Temple Calendar by ONE MONTH.

There are 17 times these earliest dates occur in this period of 100 years.

For logical consistency, we numbered from the Jubilee in 1927 which was the 50th year.

1928------Year 1 of the next 50 years to 1977
1978------Year 1 of the next 50 years to 2027

There are 37 Adar2 or We Adar, when the 13th moon is added to intercalate.

Of these 37 years, 17 are of the earliest dates possible.

The First New Moon of the year on 1 Abib is never earlier than 7 March and was at that time in 1970, 1989. In 2008 it was 8 March and in 2027 it will be 8 March. In 1997 it was 9 March.

The Seventh Moon, 1 Tishri, is never earlier than 31 August, but it can be that early and was in 1970, 1989, 2008, and will be in 2027.

The New Moon of the New Year at 1Abib is never later than 5 April.

The New Moon of the Seventh month is never later than 29 September.

It is never in October.

The calendars from WCG since around 1968 show:
March 12 and September 5 were the earliest dates that WCG observed the 1^st of Abib and Tishri.

The New Moon of March 12, 1975, WCG observed on the postponed 13 March.
The New Moon of September 5, 1975 the Seventh month, WCG observed on 6 September 1975.

Any date before 12 March or 5 September, WCG observed one month later.

How do we know historically that the calendar that is kept today originates in Babylon, which was pagan?

Some basic research in the Judaic or other encyclopaedias will show that two Babylonian Rabbis in 344 CE brought the basis of the calendar to the Chief Rabbi and in 358 CE Rabbi Hillel II issued the Hillel Calendar. It was wrong when it was issued and they have played with it up until Maimonides in the Twelfth century.

When we study the matter of the intercalations of the Hillel Calendar we will find that the Babylonian system is the one that is used. That fixed intercalary system was made in the Sixth century BCE and that is a well known fact of history. According to the Babylonian Calendar this is the year 5776 which is the date that the Hillel system says it is. The Bible chronology shows that it is the Year 5988 from the closure of Eden thirty years after the creation of Adam in 4004 BCE.

This year (2015) the Seventh month is out by a day. That means Atonement is kept on the wrong day and the punishment is to be cut off from Israel. Some very few years and a Passover by a fluke are on the correct days (e.g. 2013/14). That will not occur again for some time.

The intercalary calendar of the Babylonians does not accord with the Bible history and dating and that is why the Modern Jewish years are a couple of hundred years short of 4004 BCE which is the Bible date of the Creation of Adam (see the paper Outline Timetable of the Age (No. 272)).

For that reason the Babylonian Calendar intercalates in the wrong years and the Hillel Calendar is not only pagan, it also holds the feasts in the wrong month almost 40% of the time. The postponements add to the problem and that means that the Hillel Calendar is wrong almost all of the time and is correct only very infrequently.

The Hillel Calendar is pagan and those following it have been keeping the wrong calendar all of the time in WCG and the offshoots including LCG, PCG, UCG, COG awa, CGG, CBCG, Continuing COG, RCG and on it goes almost ad infinitum. CCG is the only COG that keeps the Ancient Temple Calendar correctly and keeps the New Moons as it was done in the Temple System and the earlier Churches of God.

Rosh HaShanah

Rosh Hashanah was the Babylonian New Year festival that began in the Seventh month. It did not enter Judaism until the end of the Third century CE just prior to the adoption of the Hillel Calendar. That is why the Hillel Calendar counts backwards from the Molad of Tishri contrary to the Law of God.

Rabbi Kohn states the time of the adoption of Rosh HaShanah in the 1894 work Die Sabbatharier in Siebenburgen (Sabbatarians in Transylvania CCG Publishing, 1998). The book was translated into English and published by CCG Publishing in 1998 in English.

Some of the Jewish apologists for Hillel try to claim that the council of Nicea abolished the Jewish Calendar which was a complete fabrication aimed at supporting Hillel in the Twentieth Century Churches. The Council of Nicea was concerned with regularising the dates of Easter from its own internal conflicts (as opposed to the Quarto Deciman Passover) and they resolved to place the authority with Alexandria. One such fabricated article actually claims that Nicea tried to “outlaw heavens calendar.” As the canons of 325 were all destroyed in 327 we have no real idea of what they resolved. The resolutions regarding Easter were all based on the worship of the god Attis whose festival went from the Friday when he was allegedly killed to the Sunday when he was allegedly resurrected from Hades by the goddess Cybele. Easter is a pagan festival name for the Goddess Easter or Ishtar and has nothing to do with Christ (see the paper Origin of Christmas and Easter (No. 235)). The effigy of Attis was paraded around Rome on a pagan sun cross. All they did was to resolve the problems in the calculation of Easter and not the Passover. The month was however the same month of the spring festivals.

As we said above Exodus 12:2 states that Abib/Nisan shall be the beginning of Months to you. It shall be the first month of the year.

Rosh HaShanah means exactly that and it comes from the Babylonian system and is a pagan festival that did not commence until the end of the Third century in Judaism as we see above.

The Church of God split with Rome in the end of the Second century over the Quartodeciman Disputes. These are listed in the paper The Quartodeciman Disputes (No. 277). The British Church was Quartodeciman until 664 after the Synod of Whitby at Hilda's Abbey.

The absurd claim that the calendar was based on the observation of two witnesses has nothing to do with the Temple Calendar.

We are also told that disputes arose with Samaritans who began lighting false beacons in conflict with Judaism after the fall of the Temple. The facts of the matter are that the Pharisees began introducing postponement and lighting the signal beacons around their postponements and false witnesses. The Samaritans had been perfectly happy over the entire Temple period because they and the Sadducees kept the calendar according to the conjunctions. The Pharisees and their creatures the rabbis forced the Samaritans to light beacons on the actual New Moons according to the conjunctions.

We know exactly how the Temple Calendar was calculated and it was based on the conjunctions of each New Moon which occurred on the day of the New Moon and they were determined in the Astronomical Schools. Philo’s historical notations on these aspects and the festivals are listed in the Special Laws and recorded in the paper God’s Calendar (No. 156). God condemned Judah and Edom and booted the Pharisees out of Judea and Palestine by 70 CE because of their disobedience. We have also seen these creatures of WCG claim that the Hillel Calendar was in operation at the time of Christ and we have even seen one creature claim that there was no Temple Calendar. May the Lord God of Heaven rebuke them.

Look also at the papers Distortion of God's Calendar in Judah (No. 195b) and The Calendar and the Moon: Postponements or Festivals (No. 195).

The truth is simple. Read the Bible. Keep Hillel and the Babylonian intercalations and you go to the Second Resurrection. The choice is yours. Do not blame anyone else.