The beginning of the end

A question about the biblical calendar came up in a different post, so I thought I would make this its own post since it's a significant area of debate these days.

In summary: there are three ways to reckon the calendar:


1. Abib/Nisan begins on the new moon closest to the Spring equinox. This is how the modern Jewish calendar calculates the start of the year.


2. Abib/Nisan begins on the first new moon after the Spring equinox. This is the primary alternative view based on the premise that the whole month must begin in the Spring and the year should be Spring-Spring. There is extra-biblical evidence that in the earliest centuries some held to this view.


3. The days of the month must align with the days of the week. I.e., Abib 1 would always be a Saturday or Sunday. Iyar 1 would always be a Saturday or Sunday, etc. To be frank, this view is most definitely mistaken because it would result in incomplete weeks each month which violates clear Scripture.

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It all comes down to when the first day of the year should begin. According to Scripture, the first day of the first month is in the month of Abib (Ex. 12:2; Deut. 16:1).


Abib is the first Spring month, but there is debate about whether or not the whole month should be in the Spring.


The Rabbinical calendar uses the astronomical new moon closest to the Spring equinox to begin the month. Others suggest Abib 1 must truly be in the Spring, so the first new moon after the Spring equinox.


In the majority of years the debate doesn't matter because the closest new moon to the equinox is also the first new moon after the equinox. For example, the calendars matched in 2017, so the Rev 12 Sign fell on or right after the Feast of Trumpets on both calendars.


This year, however, the calendars do not match, so the Rabbinical/modern Jewish calendar has the Feast of Trumpets falling 9/6-8. Interestingly this overlaps with Labor Day.


The observable Spring calendar has Feast of Trumpets a month later, roughly 10/7-8.


There is a third way to reckon the calendars in which the days of the week align with the days of the month. In other words, the first day of the month would always be a Sabbath or Sunday. There are a number online promoting this as a "rediscovered, biblical calendar," but this calendar is definitely mistaken, as it would cause incomplete weeks at the end of every month and the weekly cycle is never broken per Scripture.


So the truth is one of the first two possibilities. I'm on the fence between them and keep an open mind about it.


Hope that helps.


P.S. Feast of Trumpets = Rosh Hashanah = Yom Teruah

Abib = Nisan = March/April