CHAPTER I

Page 1 G-D'S CALENDAR

G-d reckons DAYS from SUNDOWN to 

SUNDOWN¹. Hence the day light hours of each day vary. Day and night watches were reckoned by two sets of 12 hours each; but the separation of one day to the next is from sundown to sundown.Consequently, the length of days varies through- out the year’s seasons as nightfall occurs either earlier or later. 

Weekdays, rather than being named after pagan gods as is common practice among the “Christian” nations, are simply called “first day/yom rishon” [Sunday], “second day/yom sheni” [Monday], “third day/yom shlishi” [Tuesday], “fourth day/yom revi’i” [Wednesday], “fifth day/yom chamishi” [Thursday], “sixth day/yom shishi" [Friday] and finally, “Sabbath day/yom Shabbath” [Saturday]. G-d sanctified the seventh day of creation after He had finished all His works², and established it for a sign between Him and His people, as stated in the fourth of the Ten Commandments^3/a. 

G-d never replaced the 7th day with another day. Man did! The Roman Emperor Constantine replaced the Sabbath with Sunday, which was the “day of the venerable sun god”, and made it the “day of holy repose” for Christendom. Mohammed replaced the Sabbath with Friday, and made it the day of “holy repose” for Islam. But in G-d’s calendar Sunday is merely the first day/yom rishon of the week, and Friday the sixth day/yom shishi. Neither of these days constitute any divine sign. Only the Shabbath does, the seventh day of the week, the divinely sanctified day of rest, as confirmed in all the Scriptures⁴/^b.

 

IN THE BEGINNING...IS THE BLOOD!
The (spiritual) beginning of the year is PASSOVER

Exodus 12:2⁵ ; Leviticus 23:5-6; Numbers 28:16 

In the 1st month, on the 14th day of the month. 

The festival of Passover  lasts one day, from sundown of the 14th of Aviv (which is now the word for spring, but the name of the month in which the Passover is held is Nisan) until sundown of the next day. The Passover’s significance is the slaying of the Lamb, a permanent statute established with Israel when G-d delivered His people from Egyptian bondage. The blood of the Passover lamb had to be found on the doorposts and lintels of the Israelite homes⁶.  And it was the blood, and the blood alone, that saved the firstborn Israelites from certain death. The angel of death did not even distinguish between Israelite and Egyptian, but rather between those whose doorposts had the blood of the Passover lamb and those whose doorposts did not^7.

Consequently, all - Israelite and Egyptian alike - who believed in the saving power of that blood, and applied it to doorposts and lintel, or sought refuge in a home marked thus, escaped the angel of death. Conversely, any firstborn - Israelite or Egyptian alike - who failed to apply the Lamb’s blood on his doorposts and lintel, was slain. 

Hence, Passover  signals the saving power of the blood of the Lamb irrespective of race or nationality. At the heart of the Passover Seder night (Passover Supper) is deliverance from death by virtue of the lamb’s blood⁸. 

 

  landmarks

G-d placed three very important “landmarks” immediately at the beginning of the new year. These landmarks are symbolized in the Passover  celebration: 

Landmark No. 1 - To emphatically underscore Passover’s importance, G-d commanded it to be kept in the 1st month, which represents the number one, and thus points to Himself, the Banner of Israel: “Hear, O Israel, the L-RD our G-d, the L-RD is ONE.”  As a cardinal number it denotes unity; as an ordinal it denotes primacy (see endnote "a"). Besides Him there is no other G-d, He is the Source of all living, He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Isaiah 44:6; 48:12; Revelation 1:17; 22:13). 

Consequently, it is the month of Nisan (April) which begins G-d’s Calendar⁹/^c and not any other. 

Landmark No. 2 - is the “Sign” of the blood of a lamb without blemish, which first became part of the household before it was slain^6*, foreshadowing the Lamb of G-d who shared in the human nature and life of Israel. By His blood alone does man escape the destroyer, whose power is sin and death. 

Landmark No. 3 - is the fourteenth day. This number is a multiple of seven, thereby denoting a double measure of spiritual perfection. In additon we see the number two indicated in the 2 x 7, representative primarily of division and separation (see endnote "a"). 

In a veiled but still perceivable manner, G-d announces that: 

a. true salvation and deliverance is worked by Him alone; 
b. He accomplishes this by way of the blood, for “in the blood is the life” and the atonement^8*
c. this salvation will bring forth a people of immortal nature and unblemished spiritual perfection. They will be separate from sinful, mortal men unto G-d. This will not be achieved by the strength of the flesh, or man’s wisdom and might, but by the Spirit of G-d. 

 

1  All graphics, except otherwise noted, are taken from the COREL DRAW ! book, by Corel Corporation Limited, Europa House, 3rd floor, Harcourt St., Dublin 2, Ireland. The graphics used by the author from the COREL DRAW ! book are by 3G Graphics, Inc.; Image Club Graphics, Inc.*, Calgary Alberta (*trademark of the Monotype Corporation); One Mile Up, Inc.; Totem Graphics Inc.

2 Hebrews 4:3

3 Ex 20:8-11; 31:13-17

4  Exodus 16:26; 20:8, 10-11; 31:15; Leviticus 23:3; Deuteronomy 5:14; Mark 1:21, 27-28; Luke 4:16; 23:56; Acts 13:14-15, 42-44; 16:13; 17:1-2, 17; 18:4;

5Ex :13:3-4; 34:18	6 Ex 12:21-22	6* Ex 12:3-6
7Exodus 12:13	8 Exodus 12:22-23	8* Leviticus 17:11

9 Exodus 12:2

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