ABIB BY EQUINOX

By now the dust is settling over the Abib 2005 controversy. It appears this Abib caught many by surprise! This places more emphasis on the words of Yahshua when he said:

"Take you heed, watch and pray: for you know not when the time is. It is as when a man, sojourning in another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, to each one his work, commanded also the porter to watch. Watch therefore: for you know not when the master of the house comes, whether at even, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning; unless coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." Mark 13:33-ff

Does this mean just watch for the end of the age when Yahshua is expected to return? No! We should be watching at every season.

"But you watch at every season, making supplication, that you may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." Luke 21:36

In order to determine time, we must watch and be very observant. The problem with calculations is this; many of the scientific calculations are of recent origin. I am convinced that somewhere along the line, time was not exactly recorded correctly and I will tell you why. Science now has determined that one day equals 24 hours. But, is this exactly correct?

LENGTH OF A DAY AND YEAR ON EARTH

Each day on Earth takes 23.93 hours (that is, it takes the Earth 23.93 hours to rotate around its axis once - this is a sidereal day). Each year on Earth takes 365.26 Earth days (that is, it takes the Earth 365.26 days to orbit the Sun once).

As you can see from scientific data the day is .07 minutes short of exactly 24 hours. The 24 hour day is rounded off.

What is the circumference of the earth?
The circumference of the earth at the equator is 24,901.55 miles (40,075.16 kilometers).
But, if you measure the earth through the poles the circumference is a bit shorter - 24,859.82 miles (40,008 km). The earth is a little wider than it is tall, giving it a slight bulge at the equator. This shape is known as an ellipsoid or more properly, geoid (earth-like).

So the calculation for the day is based upon the earth's rotation. One complete cycle equals one day, or does it?

Now concerning days, months in time relationships. One day is 23.93 hours long. One week is consisted of seven days. 23.93 X 7 =167.51 hours. One lunar month consists of 29.5306 days. 29.5306 X 12 =354.3672 days. One solar year is 365.24965 days. As you can see the lunar year is 10.88245 days shorter than the solar year. Now if you extend this to compensate for the difference (in say three years) you have 10.88245 X 3 =32.64735. So! Where am I taking this? As you can plainly observe, we are already at an imbalance with the necessary embolistic or intercalary month equations needed to balance the cycles.

In application the Jewish calendar deals with 19 year time cycles. Intercalary or leap years as we call them are designated to be the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th years. This totals to seven correction times overall. But! Is there anything wrong with this formulation? Yes, there is! Time is not always an exact science. There are possibilities of change. If we consider the eliptical course the earth takes each year to reach tekufaw/tekufas. Can we say with absolute certainty that each year is exactly 365.24965 days long?

And you shall observe the feast of weeks, even of the first-fruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end. Exodus 34:22

END: H8622  תְּקֻפָה תְּקוּפָה  teqûphâh teqûphâh tek-oo-faw', tek-oo-faw' From H5362; a revolution, that is, (of the sun) course, (of time) lapse:—circuit, come about, end. 

YEARS: H8141 שָׁנָה שָׁנֶה  shâneh shânâh shaw-neh', shaw-naw' (The first form being in plural only, the second form being feminine); from H8138; a year (as a revolution of time):— + whole age, X long, + old, year (X -ly). 

Brown-Driver-Briggs: H8622  תְּקֻפָה / תְּקוּפָה  teqûphâh  BDB Definition: 1) coming round, circuit of time or space, a turning, circuit 1a) at the circuit (as adverb)

The scriptural calendar year begins with the month ABIB, Deut. 16:1 The Jewish people determine the Feast of Trumpets to be the beginning of the year. The Roman calendar has January as the start of the year.

Now consider the variables that present themselves here. The time is determined by Father Yahweh only! If He determines the year to differ from the calculations of the Jewish calendar for instance, where does that leave us? Is the yearly circuit going to be exactly as the scientific community determines? Is the year going to align itself with the calculated calendar used by the Jewish community? There is no one on earth or in heaven except one, that can determine the exact times! Observe the following passage.

And he said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father has set within His own authority. Acts 1:7

The measuring of time as an exact science is of recent innovation. Prior to this, time was measured by ancient methods of astronomical calculations. Can we say these calculations were or are exact? Roman time places us at 2005 CE. The Jewish dating for 2005 is 5765-66 years from creation. Can this be proven? If you follow some of the above data, you will find that exact year dating will be off by a substantial margin.

Day and night are not exactly of equal length at the time of the March and September equinoxes. The dates on which day and night are each 12 hours occur a few days before and after the equinoxes. The specific dates of this occurrence are different for different latitudes.

On the day of an equinox, the geometric center of the Sun's disk crosses the equator, and this point is above the horizon for 12 hours everywhere on the Earth. However, the Sun is not simply a geometric point. Sunrise is defined as the instant when the leading edge of the Sun's disk becomes visible on the horizon, whereas sunset is the instant when the trailing edge of the disk disappears below the horizon. These are the moments of first and last direct sunlight. At these times the center of the disk is below the horizon. Furthermore, atmospheric refraction causes the Sun's disk to appear higher in the sky than it would if the Earth had no atmosphere. Thus, in the morning the upper edge of the disk is visible for several minutes before the geometric edge of the disk reaches the horizon. Similarly, in the evening the upper edge of the disk disappears several minutes after the geometric disk has passed below the horizon. The times of sunrise and sunset in almanacs are calculated for the normal atmospheric refraction of 34 minutes of arc and a semidiameter of 16 minutes of arc for the disk. Therefore, at the tabulated time the geometric center of the Sun is actually 50 minutes of arc below a regular and unobstructed horizon for an observer on the surface of the Earth in a level region.

For observers within a couple of degrees of the equator, the period from sunrise to sunset is always several minutes longer than the night. At higher latitudes in the northern hemisphere, the date of equal day and night occurs before the March equinox. Daytime continues to be longer than nighttime until after the September equinox. In the southern hemisphere, the dates of equal day and night occur before the September equinox and after the March equinox.

In the northern hemisphere, at latitude 5 degrees the dates of equal day and night occur about February 25 and October 15; at latitude 40 degrees they occur about March 17 and September 26. On the dates of the equinoxes, the day is about 7 minutes longer than the night at latitudes up to about 25 degrees, increasing to 10 minutes or more at latitude 50 degrees.

Now! Can we say with absolute certainty the ancients knew when the days were equal? No! The Talmud and Mishnah refer to equinoxes and solstices. They determine the Spring equinox to be: March 21 (20, 21, 22) Autumn equinox to be: September 23 (22, 23) Summer solstice June 21 (21, 22) Winter solstice December 21 (20, 21, 22)

Again, notice the variations on dates possible for each! Again, this was not an exact science with the ancients.

Using the Jewish configuration methods only allows Abib to fall within certain confines. Abib 1 can not occur before March 7th and no later than April 5th. Where do you find this in the Holy word of Yahweh?

Let me give you an example of today's technology at work. The scientific calculations charting the times for three years are as follows:

Vernal Equinox Mar 20 2003 8:00 PM EST
Summer Solstice Jun 21 2003 3:10 PM EDT
Autumnal Equinox Sep 23 2003 6:47 AM EDT
Winter Solstice Dec 22 2003 2:04 AM EST

Vernal Equinox Mar 20 2004 1:49 AM EST
Summer Solstice Jun 20 2004 8:57 PM EDT
Autumnal Equinox Sep 22 2004 12:30 PM EDT
Winter Solstice Dec 21 2004 7:42 AM EST

Vernal Equinox Mar 20 2005 7:34 AM EST
Summer Solstice Jun 21 2005 2:46 AM EDT
Autumnal Equinox Sep 22 2005 6:23 PM EDT
Winter Solstice Dec 21 2005 1:35 PM EST

Now, what is my point? Exactly this! The Bible, the Holy word of Yahweh is a simple book. Even a child could obey the contents. The human race has complicated this process. Let's look a a few passages of scripture.

And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be to you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Exodus 12:1-2

Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to Yahweh your Elohim; for in the month of Abib Yahweh your Elohim brought you forth out of Egypt by night Deuteronomy 16:1-2

Now, place these passages into the mind of a shepherd and tell him to observe them. How would this shepherd observe them without all of the scientific paraphernalia available to calculate the various times and seasons? By diligent observation. By learning the cycles of the land in which he lives he can determine the growing cycles. By observing the cycles of the heavens he can determine the new moons, the feast days etc. Remember, these scientific capabilities did not always exist. Have these chartings/calculations become a form of worship?

And less you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, should be driven to worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your Elohim ha divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. Deuteronomy 4:19

The ancient Babylonish society religiously charted the heavens. The same can be said of Egypt, the Mayan−Aztec−Inca and other civilizations down through history. Did they go beyond the simple and necessary observations?

I will end this part here and continue with more information on how complicated the simple process of visual observation has become.

Length of Day and Night at the Equinoxes