Thanks for that link.

I browsed a little of Isaac Newton's book on The Chronology of the Ancient Kingdoms, Amended published in 1728 a year after his death and found at page 209 that he was persuaded that Noah followed a solar-lunar calendar with 12 months of 30 days. Rather than intercalating the 4 days that are required in the AB, Newton suggested 5 days were used based on an ancient Egyptian calendar which although more recent than Noah's, he thought might reflect Noah's method of intercalation. (The Egyptians of course were not a nation until many years after the flood.)

When Newton wrote this he seems to have been unaware of the AB which was not translated into English until about a century after his death. But it is worth noting that he concluded that the calendar of Noah was not lunar.

Rosangela, I noticed today that there is a serious problem with my proposal of how the AB was used to calculate the feasts. The problem is that if the 364 day year always started on a Sabbath, it would mean that several of the dates in the Bible when work was done fell on Sabbaths and that is not possible.

So I'm looking at other explanations - the first day of the week, Sunday, as the start of the year; all dates being lunar but the 'set feasts' being solar; all dates including the 'set feasts' being lunar, but duration of time being solar etc.

I looked up some more statements by Ellen White, Rosangela, on the moon. She says in a few places that the Passover was kept when the moon was almost full, so that is another good reason to doubt that the feasts were set according to a solar AB calendar.

The remaining option seems to be what I suggested earlier - the lunar part of the AB calendar was used to set the feasts, but time was reckoned by the AB solar months.

One of the main reasons I liked the idea of the feasts being set in the solar calendar is that is seemed to offer a good explanation for her statement that the sheaf was waved on the second day of Unleavened Bread. If the second day of Unleavened Bread can be a normal weekday as the modern rabbis say, then maybe the Karaites are mistaken that the day before Pentecost must be a 7th day Sabbath. The text they rely on that day 49 must be a Sabbath may instead suggest a ceremonial sanctity is attached to it since it is the seventh seven of the 50 day period. The same kind of ceremonial sanctity attaches to all 50 days of counting, but the seventh seven more so.

One of the reasons that Adventists and other Christians have struggled with the apparent contradictions regarding the Thursday vs Friday Passover in the four gospels is what I suggested above - the assumption that we have to choose one date over the other. But let me give another reason why both may be right.

I suggested in earlier posts that it would have been difficult if not physically impossible to slaughter hundreds of thousands of Passover lambs in the confined space of the inner court which is where all sacrifices took place. That estimate of the range of numbers is reasonable because if I remember right, some of the ancient historians tell us that the number of Passover pilgrams in Christ's day was well over a million. Two million is what I remember, but I could be wrong, and it that is so, above 200,000 lambs were offered.

The other thing to remember though is that we do not know all of the innovations that King David introduced to the ritual that supplemented the Mosaic law. We know some - the organization of the priestly families into 24 courses that served in rotation, the organization of the Levitical choir etc. But some innovations are quite startling given that there is no Mosaic precident. One of the best examples is the elevation to the line of David as Priest-Kings. We have hints of this in different passages, such as where David wore the linen dress of the priest, sat in the Holy place, ate the showbread, but the clearest evidence that this tradition was passed on to his posterity is in I Kings 9

quote:

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9:25 And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that [was] before the LORD.

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What is remarkable about this passage is that under Mosaic law, not even the Levites could come near the golden altar in the sanctuary to offer incense. This was strictly reserved to the Aaronic priesthood. For Solomon to have done this tends to confirm what most all scholars acknowledge - that King David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote out some innovations in the sanctuary service. So this is one reason why we cannot rule out the possiblity of some provision for a staggered, two day Passover.

I should also note that the line of David apparently never had authority to offer incense at any other time of the year. The passage I quoted indicates it was only at the three feasts that Solomon did this. God smote Uzziah with leprosy apparently for attempting to offer it at other times and refusing to desist when warned by the priesthood.

Here is another passage confirming the fact that the sacred service rituals were supplemented by King David. In reading this today I also learned that the prophets Nathan and Gad also added some instructions regarding the temple ritual.

Regarding my comments that the Passover may have been spread over more than one day, the latter part of this same passage gives another instance of when the capacity of the priests was overwhelmed by the amount of work. In this case, the total number of animals being offered was about 4,000, perhaps only a fiftieth of the numbers that were being offered at the Passover in Christ’s day, and yet the numbers of priests were so few that they had to call on the Levites to assist. Their solution was something for which there was no provision in the Mosaic Law. The chronicler however seems to approve and endorse the course of the priests as correct under the circumstances. Is this more evidence that both the synoptics and John’s gospel could indicate a two day Passover? I tend to think so.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">
29:25 And [Hezekiah] set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for [so was] the commandment of the LORD by his prophets.
29:26 And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets.
29:27 And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began [also] with the trumpets, and with the instruments [ordained] by David king of Israel.
29:28 And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: [and] all [this continued] until the burnt offering was finished.
29:29 And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.
29:30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.
29:31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings.

29:32 And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore and ten bullocks, an hundred rams, [and] two hundred lambs: all these [were] for a burnt offering to the LORD.
29:33 And the consecrated things [were] six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep.
29:34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the [other] priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites [were] more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests.
29:35 And also the burnt offerings [were] in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for [every] burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order.
29:36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was [done] suddenly. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

Edited to correct a miscalulation on the number of offerings. Oct 29/06, MS.

I noticed recently that the text below is translated quite differently in the NKJV when compared to the KJV.

"Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day." Psalms 81:3

In the NKJV instead of saying 'in the time appointed' it says 'at the full moon'. If that is a better translation, it is further support for lunar reckoning of all the feasts, both the New Moons and the fesitivals.

I still favour the AB calendar and although I may not get back to this for another few weeks, it still seems to me to be the best candidate for explaning the solar calendar in Genesis and the lunar feasts of the Hebrews. I hope to study Theile's book soon.

Rosangela you suggested earlier that there is no clearly defined calendar in scripture. It is true that the scripture does not give a complete description in any one place. But, IMO, like all Biblical truths, this one is revealed progressively in different passages.

One of the arguments in favour of a divine calendar is prophecy. It is structured with one day equalling a solar year but in the case of prophetic time keeping there are 30 day months and a 360 day year. When Christ says that ‘No man knows the day or the hour’ of Christ’s return, we have another indication of a divine calendar that accurately tracks human history to its close. He is saying that God Himself keeps a calendar that tracks time to the very hour. It seems reasonable to me that God would progressively reveal that calendar and that there would be a close and immediate connection between His prophetic calendar and the ancient Hebrew calendar. This is one of the main reasons I believe the AB calendar is Biblical: It is the only one that harmonizes the Hebrew calendar with the prophetic.

Today I found another interesting SOP quote that also tends to support the existence of a divine calendar.

quote:

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Not until [man] stands in the light of eternity will he see all things clearly.

Then will be opened before him the course of the great conflict that had its birth before time began, and that ends only when time shall cease. {Ed 304}

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How does the above quote support the existence of a divine calendar? According to Ellen White, time has a clear beginning and ending point, both determined by the councils of heaven. If heaven created time on a temporary basis, it stands to reason that the main purpose of time is to set a defined limit of something or some things, in this case sin, human history, the length of Satan’s opportunity to demonstrate the principles of his government, and human probation etc. These are some of the main purposes for creating time so as to put a limit on sin and its reign of woe. If God goes to such lengths to set the boundaries of sin, surely He has also decided on a calendar with the times and seasons, and since His will is to ‘do nothing except that he reveals his secrets to his servants the prophets’, Amos 3:7, it is very probable that His will is that we become informed regarding His calendar.

I don't know about you all, but I found that last quote to be fascinating. I suggest that Ellen White is supporting the view that time ends when sin ends but I haven't verified that with her writings. If I remember right that would mean according to her that time does not end at the second coming or at the end of the millenium. Instead it would only end when the last bit of sin is consumed in the person and existence of Satan in the lake of fire.

In a sense though, the keeping of some reckoning of time will continue after then:

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Quote: from Isa 66:22-23 NASB

"For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me," declares the LORD, "So your offspring and your name will endure. (23) "And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the LORD.

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Jeff