THE HOLY LAND CONNECTION - PART IX



God’s Calendar, the Feasts of the Lord, and Signs in the Heavens

There are four major types of calendars used today: 1. Linear (260-day count cycles used by Mayan, Aztecan, Guatemalan Highlands); 2. Solar calendars which are synchronized only for the tropical year or equinoxes of the sun (used by Gregorian and based on the Julian calendar derived from the Old Style Roman calendar); 3. Lunar calendars, based only on the lunar phases and does not synchronize on the tropical year (used by Islam); and 4. Lunisolar calendars which coordinate all three astronomical phenomena (used by Hebrew, Chinese, India). Lunisolar calendars take into account the rotation of the earth on its axis which = 1 day; the revolution of the moon around the earth which = 1 month; and the revolution of the earth around the sun which = 1 year. Within these 4 types of calendars there are upwards of 40 different calendars still in use today by various people groups. The most widely used is the Gregorian calendar which was put into effect on Oct 15, 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII after neglect of the Julian calendar that added to already known inaccuracies. Yet, even though people are tracking time and seasons on their calendar systems, God is also tracking time and seasons on his which we can see was established in the very beginning! Consider Genesis 1:14, “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for SIGNS, and for seasons, and for days, and years,” and Psalm 97:6, “The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory.”

Realizing this, the word “SIGN” in Hebrew is the word “Owth”, which in context means the sense of appearing (as a signal yet to come that is both figurative and literal) as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence; mark, or miracle sign, and token. God commanded Israel to follow The Feasts of the Lord for a reason. As we become more familiar with the Hebrew Calendar, we see that there are months and days that the Feasts of the Lord fall that connect to these signs in the heavens. In addition, as we become familiar with the Old Testament and the significant events of Jewish history, we realize how God may be working consistently to fulfill his plans according to his MOEDS / APPOINTMENTS or FEASTS. Remember the Feasts are the Lord’s, not some stuff that Israel came up with to do just for the sake of doing! And we, the Bride of Christ (both Jew and Gentile in Christ) are to be aware of and follow God and his customs, statutes, laws, precepts, feasts, fasts for the sheer purpose of delighting and loving Him and preparing our hearts for his second coming. This is a big deal! So much so that we should take note of what the Anti-Christ seeks to do in the future in Daniel 7:25, “And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws.” Remember, “Moed” means a fixed time or season and the Anti-Christ realizes that if the saints begin to function on God’s calendar and are aware of His appointed times revealed by the Feasts, it puts the Most High’s saints in “the know” and prepared for his second coming. In addition, God has proclaimed that the lights (sun and moon) of Genesis 1:14 will be the beacons that his second coming is very near. Acts 2:20, “THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.