The Christian Letter, Volume One: Chapter 8
“He hath made everything beautiful in His time; also, He hath put an awareness of eternity in the hearts of man, yet no one can fully comprehend the work that Elohim hath done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
Whom do we love? Do we love our spouse enough to celebrate our marriage daily? Do we recognize special set times of closeness? What of He Who ought be loved more than a spouse? What of our love of Yahoweh? What of His set-apart times?
A very good question, as well as a common one, is, “What time is it?” Some people ask because they don’t know if it’s 9 or 10. Some are a little worse as they forget what day it is, others the week, others the month, and a few even the year. (Be honest, you’ve gotten the wrong date quite a few times.) However, there is a problem that you may not have guessed.You probably are wrong right now as to what time it is. At the time of my pen stroke it’s 5768 in Israel, but in the United States of America it’s 2008 A.D. Sure, we have different ideas of the hour all over the world, but this is a disagreement as to what year it is, which extends through thousands of years! Surely, the beginning and the end are known only by the Beginning and the End.
“And in all that I have said to you take heed. And make no mention of the name of other mighty ones, let it not be heard from your mouth.” (Exodus 23:13).
“O Yahoweh, my strength and my stronghold and my refuge, in the day of distress the gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, ‘Our fathers have inherited only falsehood, futility, and there is no value in them.’” (Jeremiah 16:19).
Do we love pagan idols so much that we desire to call out their names in worship every day of the week, and every month of the year? I don’t. I don’t like it. The days were originally just numbered 1 through 5, then “Preparation Day,” and then the 7th, which is called: Sabbath. (John 19:31 calls the 6th day, “Preparation Day,” and the whole of His Word calls the 7th day, “Sabbath”). Sadly, now, all the days have pagan names or are named after objects of worship. Sunday was named thus for the worship of the sun, and Monday for the worship of the moon. Tuesday for the Norse deity of war, a son of Odin named Tiu (or the planet Mars), Wednesday for Woden / Odin (or Mercury), Thursday for Thor, another son of Odin (or Jupiter), Friday was for the wife of Odin, Frigga (or Venus), and Saturday, was of course, named for Saturn. Many call out to them every day of the week, but refuse the Father’s Name, and often only speak the substitution of His Name one day a week in church. Is this righteous love?
I wonder how many today would awaken to the Truth if what is wrongfully marked as Saturday was rightfully marked as Sabbath. Indeed, I feel that even this one word, just one word from Yahoweh’s Word, upon our calendars, would awaken many. … It is likely that this weekly reminder was why men erased that one word, His Word, from their calendar.
Constantine is credited with coming up with the term Sunday, calling it, “The venerated day of the unconquerable Sun Mithras.” Around 321 he made it a law that no one was to work on the honored day of the sun, to give glory to Mithras. Refusal of this was punishable by death. Every morning these worshipers would assemble at sunrise and worship at the high places, which had an obelisk or steeple. Have we changed Yahoweh’s time for man’s? All of man’s history is written by conquerors. Do we believe we have conquered the Creator and Author of time?
We don’t say it’s the Year of the Dragon. I mean, Christians wouldn’t call the year by the name of a Zodiac, would they? So why call the days of the week by names of Norse deities? And what about the months?
The months are likewise named after goddesses and arrogant men. January was added later to “correct” the calendar, and was named after Janus, the alleged king of new beginnings and protector of all doorways; many pagan places have a huge doorway so their deities can get in. February was also added later and is named for the idol called Februa. The third month was named so for the idol of war, Mars. I have also heard it was called March because the Romans would march to war. April is the name for Venus or Aphrodite, a Greek fertility idol, which is nothing more than a play off Nimrod’s wife, the alleged queen of Heaven. May was for another idol named Maia. June is named after Juno, who was the alleged sister and wife of Jupiter. Father’s day (the sun in this case) was always held in this month on a day of the sun, since he had more power during the summer solstice. July is of course for the first emperor, Julius Caesar, who was referred to as the son of the Sun. August is for Augustus Caesar, for he changed his name to this to be like Julius before him; Augustus simply means awesome. September means the seventh, since, for a time, the first two months did not exist. October means eight, just like an octagon is an eight-sided orb; November ninth, and December tenth. Will we continue to call out to what was handed to us in ignorance, the names of idols and men, day after day, and forfeit the blessing of calling on the Father’s Name, or celebrating of His festivals? “No?” “Yes?” Or, “Who cares?” If your answer is, “No.” then your praise be to Yahoweh! If your answer is, “Yes.” or, “Who cares?” then your praise is to something not deserving of praise.
I have begun to call each day and month something different. It requires very little effort and only a little bit of love. So if you love the Father then try this, and see how many people you are given to share your hope with. At the time of this writing, it is Day 5, the twenty-second, of Month 5, or 5/22/08. I do not love calling out to pagan idols and arrogant men, but I do love His Truth. Try it. I think you will, too. It will take awhile to get used to it, but it’s worth it. It is easy to remember the numbers 1-12, and you no longer bear the burden of calling on the false names of days and months. After all, we don’t say it’s Zeus:TammuzOdin, we say it’s 3:45. It’s really no different.
What would we do if the president of the United States claimed to be a deity, and thus venerated the year after his name? From this day forth next year will be referred to as George W. Bush. The year after that will be referred to as McDonald’s, and the one after that shall be called Playboy. Everyone about you conforms, and you are expected to as well. Will you? The months originally were called 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, and, truthfully, even the names of the last few months give allusion to this. So, if in the future, you are expected to call the years by stupid names, my advice to you is to not call the 10th month by a name meaning 8th, or next year give praise to a company who bought the title of that year. So, if you are reading this in the year Pepsi on the month of Wal-Mart, please find out when it really is and start calling it by the actual date, instead of giving glory to a heathen or a corporation.
“But is our calendar correct? Should we switch to a Hebrew calendar?” I did for a short while, as I know our calendar is far from correct. Alas, with research, I have found the names on the new Hebrew calendar are mostly names they got from Babylon. Names of false idols and arrogant men. And so I just keep using the terms Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Preparation Day, and Sabbath. His Time is so much better than our time. I’d say 5768 is probably close for the actual year as the Hebrew calendar shows. At this point, though, I would have to say that only the Prince of Time knows the answer to what year it is, so I just go along with what the country thinks it is, while knowing deep down only Yahoweh does.
“And Elohim said, ‘Let lights come to be in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and appointed times, and for days and years, and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.’ And it came to be so.” (Genesis 1:14-15).
So when does the year start? Foremost, know that each day is a brand new gift and a brand new start! So happy New Day to you, and not a day late either! Rejoice and be glad in it! In everything, give thanks! Every moment in time is new. If you’ve never given your life over to Yahoweh in a way that you’d be willing to even set your watch by His, then now is a great time to do so. Start this day off right!
When is the New Year and why does it matter? The reason behind this is so we can celebrate the Festivals of Yahoweh. It is important to do our best to be on time. Try being a few weeks late, or even an hour, and see how your boss at work reacts. I know about Yahoweh’s forgiveness, and rely on it a little too heavily at times, but I’d rather not disrupt His company with my sin.
In modern Judaism (not the Jewish faith), the first of the year is the Feast of the blowing of the Shofar, but in truth (also known as Torah): “And Yahoweh spoke to Mosheh and to Aharon in the land of Mitsrayim, saying, ‘This month is the beginning of months for you, it is the first month of the year for you.’” (Exodus 12:1-2). (The first recorded Passover followed in 14 days.)
“Guard the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib, because in the month of Abib you came out from Mitsrayim.” (Exodus 34:18 and see also Deuteronomy 16:1). The Torah calls the first month, “the month of Abib”. Abib is not the name of the month, which is simply Month 1, but rather describes the character of the month. Abib is a word used for “ripe.” Barley grows every year in the Holy Land whether farmers intentionally cultivate it or not, even where barley has not been cultivated for some time. In a Sabbatical or a Jubilee year, there is no difficulty in determining the Abib, based on the volunteer barley. The barley must be from the land of Israel (Leviticus 23:10) and it must be Abib, or ready to harvest, as the definition for Abib can be seen in the description of the crops destroyed by the Plague of Hail in Exodus 9:31-32, Leviticus 2:14, and so forth. Why must the barley be ready? Without harvestable barley, there can be no First Fruits wave offering. The barley must be Abib for the month of Abib. What about the times when men could not get to Israel to see if the barley was ready for harvest? The answer, given in Scripture, will take keen eyes to see. Yahoweh Himself proclaimed the beginning of the year. These Feasts are kept by Yahoweh’s time. Would He set the stars as guides for seasons but be unable to set the clouds for the same?
So all you have to do is go to Israel and check the barley. While I encourage you to go to Israel for festival and wisdom, others can check the barley. There are many groups easily found, both online and off, that do an honest checking of the barley. I go by these groups. There are also groups that sight the new moon each month. Yahoweh’s month begins with the first visible sliver of a crescent New Moon. “He created the moon for appointed times; the sun its going down.” (Psalms 104:19). The primary meaning of Hodesh (month) is actually: New Moon Day.
While I make a homemade calendar, sometimes there is an additional month as the barley is not ready when the new moon appears, and so there is actually a thirteenth month. Why? We wait for Yahoweh’s time. After the barley is ripe and the next new moon occurs, it is the first month and Passover is just 14 days away! In love, let us do our best, even if it means we have to work at it. I have left much of my study out of this. I hope you all enjoy studying this further to validate it and grow. To hear His Word is joy.
Genesis says the evening and the morning were the 1st day. Evening, which is after sundown, goes until sunrise (roughly 12 hours) the other 12 hours are daylight until the sun goes down. That together makes a full day as we see in Leviticus 23:32. This sometimes needs to be firmly laid down: “And it came to be, at the gates of Yerushalayim, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day. And the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares spent the night outside Yerushalayim once or twice, and I warned them, and said to them, ‘Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I lay hands on you!’ From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath.” (Nehemiah 13:19-21). Regardless, the new day (a period of time, as opposed to a light source) starts at sunset and goes until the following sunset.
I leave you with a warning from Paul to the Galatians, who were once pagan, and whom Paul feared would return to their old ways. “But then, indeed, not knowing Elohim, you served those which by nature are not mighty ones. But now after you have known Elohim, or rather are known by Elohim, how do you turn again to the weak and poor elementary matters, to which you wish to be enslaved again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, lest by any means I have laboured for you in vain.” (Galatians 4:8-11). Don’t fall back to the old ways, which is sometimes the current ways, but walk as the Rabbi walked. The Galatians were pagans, and were returning to those customs, rather than walking with the Saviour. Observe the appointed times the Messiah told us to rehearse. Forfeit mans’.
Many have called me nuts. Personally, I don’t think that’s very fair to walnuts. Alas, they still think I have gone way too far in this, or that it’s just plain silly. It isn’t legalistic to be careful about keeping Yahoweh’s commandments. Remember, Yahoshuah said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you tithe the mint and the anise and the cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Torah: the right-ruling and the compassion and the belief. These need to have been done, without neglecting the others.” (Matthew 23:23). Notice: He said that the weightier matters of the Torah are (as commonly translated): judgment, mercy, and faith and that we should perform the weightier matters without neglecting the finer points.It isn’t legalism to keep the finer points, it is expected that we do the finer points without neglecting the weightier ones. But let’s say they’re right for a moment, and I am just a nut. … I’m a nut who wants to be a step closer. Even if it is just a step, I want to be closer. I know you want to be more than a step closer. So do I. However, very often there are some big obstacles Yahoweh needs to jump us across, and had we been but one step closer before that leap of faith, we would have made it without us doubting. Many ask if the little stuff is worth it. My thought is: if it easily gets us closer to Him, how can it not be worth living by Yahoweh’s time? Oh, by the way … what time ya got?
Be Blessed and be a Blessing.
Shalom
-Valentine Thalken Billingsley
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Additional Scripture References:
Mark 16:42, Ezra 3:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:1, Job 24:1, 38:32-33, Jeremiah 5:24, Jeremiah 33:20-21, Daniel 2:21
