This is the first of six articles that will be discussing different aspects of the Hebrew calendar. These articles are all based on extracts from the book Delivered From Delusion, which covers this topic as well as using the information we can glean about the Hebrew calendar to make some pretty interesting predictions about what might be coming up in the next decade. This first part will consider the reasons why questions about the calendar are of importance in the first place, and will define a couple of important terms.

The first thing we will do is state unequivocally that the reasons for correctly understanding the Hebrew calendar are not for the purpose of observing the old covenant feasts. The New Testament is clear that those observances were signposts that pointed toward the coming Messiah (Colossians 2:16–17; Hebrews 9:9–10) and that once He had come, the feasts and so forth—which were shadows of things to come—were no longer legal requirements. Should a person wish to observe the feasts, that is up to them, and should a person not wish to observe the feasts, that is also up to them. As Paul says, “let each be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5).

So, why is it important that we correctly understand the Hebrew calendar? It’s because the first three feasts in the spring (Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits) were undeniably fulfilled by the Messiah at His first coming; the fourth feast (the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost) was fulfilled in the upper room when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the fledgling church; and there are many who expect that the remaining three autumn (fall) feasts (Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles) will be fulfilled at His return. Therefore, if we are to correctly watch for the signs of His return, we must be able to correctly identify the dates of these three remaining feasts.

Why are the dates themselves so important? Because we’ve been given two critical types of information. One is that the feast days are going to be signposts pointing towards the Messiah’s second coming. The second consists of several very specific day counts for events in the last days (1,260 days, 1,290 days, 1,335 days, 2,300 days and 2,520 days). If we make the assumption that major events are going to occur in connection with God’s feast days (which are literally moedim in the Hebrew, meaning appointed times), then knowing the exact dates of those feasts will allow us to calculate when those events can—and cannot—be fulfilled.

But in order to do this we need to be using an accurate calendar! That is, it has to be the same calendar that God uses. The Hebrew calendar is peculiar in that it is based on both the sun and the moon (both of which were given for signs and seasons—which is from the word moed again—in Genesis 1:14). Because of this, the Hebrew year can be 353, 354, 355, 383, 384 or 385 days long. Therefore, the period of time between any two dates that are several years apart will differ from year to year.

The next three articles in this series will be looking at the correct ways of determining when a day beings, when a month begins, and when a year begins. But before we get to that, we need to understand the meaning of the terms evening and morning. We’ll look at the term evening first.

Because Genesis 1 says “the evening and the morning were the first day” for the six days of creation, some claim that both evening and morning must therefore refer to the daylight hours, with morning being the time up until midday and evening the time after midday. That this is not the correct definition of the word evening is easy to see by looking at a few other passages where the same word is used.

Several verses clearly link the evening with the going down of the sun. Note that in all these scriptures when the word evening is used it is translated from the Hebrew word ereb, which is the same word used for evening in Genesis 1.

If you’re “unclean until evening” and clean “when the sun goes down”, then logically evening is when the sun goes down, not before. Here’s another passage where logic is not required as evening is explicitly described as being at the time of sunset:

Therefore, evening begins at sunset, not at midday or during the afternoon. In Exodus 30:8, “Aaron lights the lamps at twilight [ereb]” because that was when it was beginning to get dark.

However, the term evening would seem to apply, not just to the sunset, but to the entire night as well. For instance:

Jacob could only have mistaken Leah for Rachel if it had been very dark, so the evening must have included at least the first part of the night.

Although the word in the translation here is night it is the same Hebrew word ereb, and it is clearly being used to refer to the entire night until dawn.

If the evening begins at sunset, does it hold that morning also begins at sunrise? It would appear not. The passage we just read from Job, in particular, links the ending of the night with the dawn, which occurs well before sunrise. This is supported by other verses, for example:

This would indicate morning begins at the earliest light of dawn, while it is still largely dark, before there’s even enough light to recognise one another. This interpretation is held by the authors of the New Testament too:

According to the Bible morning begins at the first light of dawn, and evening begins at sunset. But does a day begin in the morning or the evening? We’ll address that question in part 2 of this series.