THE SIGN OF YONAH (JONAH)

The Sign of Yonah (Jonah)

“It is the esteem of Elohim to hide a matter, And the esteem of sovereigns to search out a matter.” ~ Mishle (Proverbs) 25:2

MattithYahu (Matthew) 12:38-41 ~ “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from You.”  But He answering, said to them, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Yonah.  “For as Yonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of the great fish, so shall the Son of Aḏam be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  “Men of Ninewĕh shall stand up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Yonah, and look, a greater than Yonah is here.”

  

Arguably, “The sign of Yonah” is the single most important prophecy of Yahoshua’s ministry.  Yahoshua, Himself, seemed to imply as much when He made it perfectly clear that this sign was the only sign that would be given to "the wicked and the adulterous.”

Almost 2,000 years has passed since these words were spoken and for the most part the “Christian” church has erroneously taught us the sign of Yonah was the death, burial, and resurrection of Yahoshua.  Of course they could not even get this teaching right as they always insist on observing the tradition that the Messiah died on “Good Friday” and rose from the dead early Easter Sunday morning.

Yahoshua clearly stated He would be in the grave for three full days total and three full night total.  The clarity of this declaration that He would be buried in the tomb for a 72 hour duration left no room, for the vanity of the imagination, to believe, that He could have possibly meant anything else.  I will attempt to demonstrate, throughout the course of this study, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Yahoshua was indeed in the grave for a duration of 72 hours.  In addition, I will also demonstrate that His death, burial, and resurrection were in no way the fulfillment of “the sign of Yonah” to the audience He was addressing, but rather it was the commencement of “the sign of Yonah”.

This sign was to the wicked and adulterous generation, and not to those who believe by Heaven’s favour, through faith.  Therefore, it must be a readily apparent and visible sign which the condemned generation would recognize as indicting them for their unbelief.  I would like to propose that the wicked did recognize this sign, and they were indicted, and found guilty by it. It is for this very reason every effort has been made to conspiratorially conceal “the sign of Yonah” from being recognized by the believers in Messiah, Yahoshua.

When one asks of almost any well known date in history usually there is only one definable answer given.  If I was to ask, “What year did the united States declare it’s independence, from British colonialism?” everyone would rightfully answer, A.D. 1776.  In the exact same way if I were to ask, “What year was the second temple destroyed in the Common Era?” everyone would rightfully answer A.D. 70. 

So why is it, when it comes to answering the question, “What year did the death, burial, and resurrection of Yahoshua ha MaShiach transpire?” that seemingly everyone has a different answer.  Without any argument or disagreement Yahoshua’s death, burial, and resurrection are the most important and defining events in the history of the world.  Yet when you try to answer the question of what year did these events take place the answers you will find are A.D. 28, A.D. 29, A.D. 30, A.D. 31, A.D. 32, A.D. 33, and A.D. 34.

Yes, you counted that total right!  There are seven different answers, put forth by various sects of “Christendom”, to this most important date in human history.  Historically the number “seven” has been a number signifying perfection.  I think most of us can agree, based on the evidence, there is perfect confusion when it comes to establishing this great historical date.  Why is this?  I have come to believe it is because the year of our Messiah’s death is absolutely critical to understanding the commencement and the fulfillment of “the sign of Yonah”.

I am going to do something at this point that I have never done before in any study which I have previously written or shared with others.  I am going to go ahead and give away my conclusions right now and then I will give the entire body of evidence, I have amassed over the previous nine years, to justify the conclusions, throughout the remainder of this study.    

First I want to remind the reader of two great principles of understanding “The Scriptures” in their fullness.  First, our Heavenly Father has embedded every great eternal truth, which we need to know, in the true life pictures found in the five books of “The Torah”. 

YeshaYahu (Isaiah) 46:9-10 “Remember the former events of old, for I am Ěl, and there is no one else – Elohim, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, (i.e. The Torah) and from of old that which has not yet been done, saying, ‘My counsel does stand, and all My delight I do,’”

Abba is smarter than we are and that is why He spoke to us from the beginning in picture form.  He knew haSatan, (the adversary), this world, and our flesh would do everything in our power to screw up His purpose, and plan, via complex theological systems of understanding our Elohim.  Have you ever noticed we are always called the children of Elohim, throughout “The Scriptures”. We are never identified as adults or even the teenagers of Elohim? 

I believe this is because children need to understand things in simple concrete terms.  As a direct result of this understanding, I have come to the firm conviction, if I believe anything to be true from “The Scriptures” and I cannot explain it in picture form to a normal eight year old child then I must be wrong in my understanding.

Second, every picture is designed to reveal to us multiple correct and non contradictory understandings.  Once again, Abba is smarter than we are and therefore He is able to communicate multiple truths from a single picture whereas we as mere humans are limited to communicating one truth at a time.  In case you did not already know, 

The ancient Hebrew method of studying “The Scriptures” is known by the acronym PaRDeS.  This stands for the Hebrew words Pashat, Remez, Drash, and Sod.  The Pharisee Rav Shaul (Acts 23:6), (More commonly known as Paul, which is his Greek nick name, meaning short stature.), instructed us to study “The Scriptures” according to this ancient tradition in his first letter to the Corinthians.

But now, brothers, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you, either by revelation (drash), or by knowledge (pashat), or by prophesying (remez), or by teaching (sod)? 1Corinthians 14:6

Pashat ~ is the literal, plain meaning / understanding, or knowledge level of understanding “The Scriptures”.

Remez ~ is the hint or prophetic level of understanding “The Scriptures”, i.e. Yahoshua’s first coming.

Drash ~ is the hidden or revelatory level of understanding “The Scriptures”, i.e. Yahoshua’s second coming.

Sod ~ is the doctrinal or teaching level of understanding “The Scriptures”, i.e. the spiritual application that is only understood by Ruach ha Chodesh (the set-apart Spirit) instructing our ruach (spirit). 1Corinthians 2:12-16

Rav Shaul also alludes to these four levels of understanding in his letter to the Ephesians.

“That the Messiah might dwell in your hearts through belief – having become rooted and grounded in love, v.18 in order that you might be strengthened to firmly grasp, with all the set-apart ones, what is the width (pashat) and length (remez) and depth (drash) and height (sod), v.19 to know the love of Messiah which surpasses knowledge (pashat), in order that you might be filled to all the completeness of Elohim.” Ephesians 3:17-20  

   

Now let’s examine “the sign of Yonah” with the Hebraic mind set using the PaRDeS method of interpretation.  The Pashat level, (literal), picture reveals the following, 1) the duration of Yonah’s ministry was three days. (Yonah 3:3)  2) Yonah’s ministry was a call to return to Yahweh Elohim and His covenant or to be destroyed in forty days. (Yonah 3:4)  3) The entire population, from the king on down to the common peasantry, repented in sackcloth and humility and an entire generation was delivered. (Yonah 3:5-10)        

The Remez level, (prophetic), of this same picture reveals the combined ministry of Yahonan’s and Yahoshua’s cry for the people of Yahudah to repent was exactly three years.  The heart of the message of their ministry was “Repent for the Kingdom of Elohim is near”. (MattithYahu 3:2 & 4:17)  Exactly forty years was given for the nation of Yisrael (Yahudah) to return to Yahweh and His Torah, from the high priest on down to the peasantry, by the name, and the shed blood, of Yahoshua, before they would be destroyed.

For those who do not know, Yahweh Elohim established the principle of the day for year typology, so we may correctly divide His Word, by the mouth of His prophets Mosheh and Yehezkel. (Bemidbar / Numbers 14:34 & Yehezkel / Ezekiel 4:5-6)

The Drash level, (hidden), of “the sign of Yonah” reveals that from the beginning of Yahonan’s ministry until the established Millennial reign of Messiah is exactly forty years of Yubilee. (40 x 50 equals exactly 2,000 years.)  The whole world has been given two millennial to turn to Yahweh and His Torah by the name, and the shed blood, of the Messiah or they too will be destroyed by fire, just like the unrepentant of Yahudah were in A.D. 70.

Pretty simple isn’t it?  Yahweh Elohim has always revealed His plan and purpose in picture form so that His children can readily understand the message He is conveying to us.  Now, that you know what the sign of Yonah reveals it becomes readily apparent why the enemy has worked so diligently to destroy this picture as well as those who have been, and will be, indicted by the fulfillment of “the sign of Yonah”. i.e. “The wicked and the adulterous.”  Now comes the difficult part.  Motivating these understandings from “The Scriptures” and from the historical record to all those who demand proof.

Given the controversy, of the varying years stated for the death, burial, and resurrection, it is quite surprising there are so many historical witnesses to the year Yahoshua died and / or the year the judgment of Yahudah, i.e. when the remez level of “the sign of Yonah”, commenced.  However, when considered logically, this should not surprise us at all.  According to the historian Yosephus, approximately three million people attended the Pesach annually during the early first century A.D.  If there were two to three million eye witnesses to the Pesach the year Yahoshua died it would actually be most alarming if there were no secular records of it.

Consider the facts, three men were crucified and hanging, on the day of Pesach, directly outside the wall of the city, easily observed by all those crossing the triple tiered bridge that spanned the Kidron valley. (Matt 27:38)  A supernatural darkness covered the land at noon. (Matt 27:45)  The great temple veil was destroyed. (Matt 27:51) An earthquake split the earth, (Matt 27:51), and sealed tombs were opened. (Matt 27:52) 

Surely, some record would have been preserved of all of these extraordinary events happening in the month of their solemn feast. (Mismore 81:3)  In 2003 when I began to research the topic at hand I was shocked to discover every, extra-Scriptural, witness, I could find, was in agreement that these events happened in A.D. 30.  In addition, the Yahudim have recorded many extraordinary events in multiple independent records that demonstrate the forty years of “the sign of Yonah”.

The following research has been compiled by, William F. Dankenbring.  You can read the original article, unedited, at the following link.

 http://www.ensignmessage.com/archives/mysteriousevents.html

Writes Alfred Edersheim in The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah:

“And now a shudder ran through Nature, as its Sun had set. We dare not do more than follow the rapid outlines of the Evangelistic narrative. As the first token, it records the rending of the Temple-Veil in two from the top downward to the bottom; as the second, the quaking of the earth, the rending of the rocks and the opening of the graves.., while the rending of the Veil is recorded first, as being the most significant token to Israel, it may have been connected with the earthquake, although this alone might scarcely account for the tearing of so heavy a Veil from the top to the bottom. Even the latter circumstance has its significance. That some great catastrophe, betokening the impending destruction of the Temple, had occurred in the Sanctuary about this very time, is confirmed by not less than four mutually independent testimonies: those of Tacitus, of Josephus, of the Talmud, and of earliest Christian tradition. The most important of these are, of course, the Talmud and Josephus. The latter speaks of the mysterious extinction of the middle and chief light in the Golden Candlestick, forty years before the destruction of the Temple; and both he and the Talmud refer to a supernatural opening by themselves of the great Temple-gates that had been previously closed, which was regarded as a portent of the coming destruction of the Temple” (p.610).

The Temple was destroyed by Titus in 70 A.D. Forty years before that date would be 30 A.D. - the year of the crucifixion!

Says Josephus, in his Wars of the Jews:

“Thus also, before the Jewish rebellion, and before those commotions which preceded the war, when the people were come in great crowds to the feast of unleavened bread, on the eighth day of the month Xanthicus [Nisan] and at the ninth hour of the night, so great a light shone round the altar and the holy house, that it appeared to be bright day-time; which light lasted for half an hour. This light seemed to be a good sign to the unskillful, but was so interpreted by the sacred scribes as to portend those events that followed immediately upon it. At the same festival also, a heifer, as she was being led by the high priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple. Moreover, the eastern gate of the inner, [court of the temple,] which was of brass, and vastly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a basis armed with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night. Now, those that kept watch in the temple came thereupon running to the captain of the temple, and told him of it; who then came up thither, and not without great difficulty was able to shut the gate again. This also appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy prodigy, as if God did thereby open them the gate of happiness. But the men of learning understood it, that the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies. So these publicly declared, that this signal foreshewed the DESOLATION that was coming upon them” - (IV,5,3).

In early writings of the church fathers, Jerome in a Letter to Hedibia relates that the huge lintel of the Temple was broken and splintered and fell. He connects this with the rending of the Veil. Says Edersheim, “it would seem an obvious inference to connect again this breaking of the lintel with an earthquake” (p. 610, op. cit.). The lintel was an enormous stone, being at least 30 feet long and weighing some 30 tons!

The Temple Veils were 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, and the thickness of the palm of a man’s hand, wrought in 72 squares. They were so heavy that we are told 300 priests were needed to manipulate each one. The Veil being rent from top to bottom was such a terrible portent because it indicated that God’s Own Hand had torn it in two, His Presence thus deserting and leaving that Holy Place.

Says the Jewish Talmud in Yoma 39b of the events which occurred in 30 A.D.:

“Forty years before the Temple was destroyed [i.e., 40 years before 70 A.D., or in 30 A.D.] . . . the gates of the Hekel [Holy Place] opened by themselves, until Rabbi Yohanan B. Zakkai rebuked them [the gates] saying, Hekel, Hekel, why alarmist thou us? We know that thou art destined to be destroyed...”

For the huge doors of the Temple behind the Veil to open, of their own accord, or in association with the great earthquake, would cause them to pull powerfully against the Veil, and with the lintel falling, at the same time, could have torn it in two from top to bottom.

This same year, 30 A.D., the Sanhedrin had to abandon the Chamber of Hewn Stones, near the Holy Place in the Temple, which was its official seat or location. This was about 40 yards southeast of the entrance to the Holy Place. In 30 A.D. the Sanhedrin had to move to another location, called “The Trading Place,” farther to the east and a much less significant spot. To be forced to move from a beautiful, gorgeous, awesome location in the Temple to a spot much less beautiful, esteemed, and reverential, must have seemed a terrible “put down.” Says the Talmud:

“Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the Sanhedrin was BANISHED (from the Chamber of Hewn Stone) and sat in the trading station (on the Temple Mount)” - (Shabbat 15a).

Forty years before the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. is 30 A.D. - the very year of the crucifixion of the Messiah! Why was the Sanhedrin moved in the very year Jesus was crucified? Could it also have been forced to do so because of damage due to the earthquake associated with the crucifixion of Jesus - and be direct punishment for their complicity in handing Jesus over to the Romans? Was this evidence of God’s official displeasure with their actions?

Prior to the War with Rome, Josephus tells us that the Sanhedrin had to move once again. This time they moved to an area outside the Temple complex, in an ordinary part of Jerusalem - actually a place west of the Temple near a building called the Xystus (see Josephus’ Wars of the Jews, V,4, 2). What a come-down! Says Ernest Martin in his book Secrets of Golgatha:

“If an earthquake of the magnitude capable of breaking the stone lintel at the top of the entrance to the Holy Place was occurring at the exact time of Christ’s death, then what would such an earthquake have done to the Chamber of Hewn Stones (a vaulted and columned structure) no more than 40 yards away from where the stone lintel fell and the curtain was torn in two?”

“There is every reason to believe, though the evidence is circumstantial, that the Chamber of Hewn Stones was so damaged in the same earthquake that it became structurally unsafe from that time forward. Something like this had to have happened because the Sanhedrin would not have left this majestic chamber (to take up residence in the insignificant ‘Trading Place’) unless something approaching this explanation took place” - (p.230-231).

Martin is right! They would not have made such a humiliating move - voluntarily! It had to be forced upon them by circumstance. There is no record of the Roman government compelling such a move - they stayed out of Jewish religious life. Nor would Herod the king have been responsible - to offend the entire Sanhedrin would have been a disastrous political mistake. Only a “natural cause” which men could not remedy would seem plausible for causing such a move. Martin goes on:

“If this is actually what happened (and I have no doubt that it did), we then have a most remarkable witness that God the Father engineered every action happening on the day of Christ’s trial and crucifixion. It means that the judgment made by the official Sanhedrin against Jesus within the Chamber of Hewn Stones, was THE LAST JUDGMENT ever given by the official Sanhedrin in their majestic chambers within the Temple! It would show that God the Father demonstrated by the earthquake at Christ’s death that the sentence of the Sanhedrin against Jesus would be the last judgment it would ever make in that authorized place!” - (p.231).

But this is not all. The events of the year 30 A.D. are amazing, when viewed from the perspective of almost 2,000 years later. Why did so many anomalous events occur during that one single year? Why did so many “curses” begin that very year? Why was the Sanhedrin so obviously rebuked by God that year, by being forced to “relocate” to a much lesser station than that which they previously held? Writes Rabbi Leibel Reznick in The Holy Temple Revisited:

“Although this was the largest structure on top of the entire Temple Mount, the purpose and function of the Basilica is not recorded anywhere. The TALMUD tells us that when the Sanhedrin (Supreme Court) CEASED TO JUDGE CAPITAL OFFENCES, they MOVED from the Supreme Court chambers to the ‘shopping mall’ (Rosh HaShana 31a). This shopping mall was located on the Temple Mount (Rashi) ... Perhaps this shopping mall was located within the Royal Basilica. Because this area was built on Herod’s extension, it did not have the sanctity of the Temple itself, and commerce would have been permitted” (Jason Aronson, Inc., Northvale, New Jersey, 1993, p.69).

Notice! The year the Sanhedrin was moved was 30 A.D., the year Christ was crucified. This was also the year they CEASED to judge capital offences! This “authority” was thenceforth removed from their purview, denied to them - another withering rebuke to the sages of the Court which so injudiciously and intemperately MISJUDGED the Messiah Himself! Writes Craig Blomberg of this event:

“...the claim that the Romans retained the sole right of capital punishment (John 18:31) has often been termed a Johanine error, especially in view of the counter-example in the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58). But this right is strikingly confirmed by a passage in the Talmud, which says that capital punishment had been taken from the Jews FORTY YEARS before the destruction of the temple in A.D.70 (pSanh. 1:1,7:2). Stephen’s stoning reads more like mob action which defied technical legalities” - (The Historical Reliability of the Gospels, by Craig Blomberg, Inter-Varsity Press, 1987, p. 179).

It was the very year of the crucifixion that the Jews were denied the right to perform capital punishment by the Romans. When the members of the Jewish Supreme Court brought Jesus to Pilate, he told then “Take him and judge him according to your law.” But they replied, “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death” - (John 18:31). Yet they connived and pressured Pilate and stirred up the crowd to demand the crucifixion of Christ the Messiah, the Anointed One of God (John 18:32-40; 19:1-16).” ~ End Quotes

Ricky Scaparo also has written extensively concerning the “extra-Scriptural” witnesses to the forty year fulfillment of “the sign of Yonah”.  The following information can be found in it’s original, unedited, state at the following link.

http://endtimeheadlines.blogspot.com/p/signs-in-sun-moon-and-stars.html

“According to the Jewish Talmud (a book of commentary and discussions by Rabbis), in Yoma 39, there is mention of a number of events or unusual signs that had taken place before but that ceased and never again happened after 30 AD. Before 30 AD, during a 40-year period when a Rabbi by the name of Simeon the Righteous was serving as high priest there were a number of unusual miraculous signs that took place during his ministry as the high priest, that all ceased in the year 30 AD. Jewish history tells us that for this 40 year period when Simeon the Righteous was the high priest, prior to 30 AD, these positive supernatural signs took place, then ceased. 

What were the signs.
 

(1) The drawing of Lots. On the day of atonement, the high priest reached his hand into a box called the lottery and would pull out what some say was a stone, there being a white stone which had written upon it, ‘for the Lord’ and a black stone which said, ‘for azizel’. Then the high priest offered a goat upon the alter as a sacrifice unto the Lord and he laid his hands upon the second goat, called the scapegoat and spoke the sins of the people, which would then be sent into the Judean Wilderness, where it would die, being shoved off a cliff. For centuries, when the high priest reached into that lottery box, it always fell on ‘for the Lord’, which was the stone removed from the lottery box, until 30 AD, when for the first time it fell on ‘for azizel.’ That continued to happen for the next 40 years. The Jews believed this positive sign to mean that God’s blessing was upon them and that He had accepted their sacrifice, but then when ‘for azizel’ came up in the high priests right hand and kept coming up year after year, they took this to mean God’s displeasure upon the priesthood and Israel.

(2) The second sign was concerning a crimson strap. A red thread was placed around the neck of one of the goats and a red thread around the horns of the other goat. A third red thread or strap was attached to the door of the temple. When the scapegoat was shoved off the hill of the scapegoat in the Judean Wilderness, the red thread on the temple door supernaturally turned white.

Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

According to Jewish history that red thread on the temple door turned white consistently, every year, until 30 AD, after which it never turned white again from 30 to 70 AD when the Temple was destroyed.

(3) The third unusual sign was concerning the Candlestick or Menorah in the Temple. Every morning, the wick had to be changed, fresh oil placed in the Menorah and it had to be lit. During the time of Simeon the Righteous, they always lit the Menorah from the western end of it and then from it they would light the other six branches. What happened beginning in 30 AD, was the western branch went out and they were not able to light the other branches from it.

(4) The Alter of Sacrifice. During the time of Simeon the Righteous, only two logs were used for the entire sacrifice, they lasted all day during the sacrifices on the Day of Atonement. They needed no other logs for the sacrifices. In 30 AD that miracle ceased and they had to keep putting more logs on the fire to enable them to complete the sacrifices.

(5) The priest would eat a small amount of bread from the table of shewbread. History tells us that the priest was satisfied by eating a piece of bread the size of an olive. That also changed in 30 AD and the priest was no longer satisfied with that small amount of bread.

(6) There were doors to the Temple that opened and closed by themselves. In Yoma 39, a commentary on Zechariah 11:1, it teaches that the doors of the temple opened and closed by themselves. The scripture says,

“Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.”

All these positive supernatural signs took place until 30 AD, when they ceased and did not happen again for the next 40 years before the destruction of the Temple. Why? Many commentaries have said it was a sign of God’s displeasure upon that generation, or God’s displeasure upon the illegitimate priesthood appointed by the Romans over the Temple. Though that is true in the natural and the scripture does say that it is first the natural (as a type and shadow) and then the spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:46). But there is something else beyond those things. Hebrews 10:4-10 There were essential defects in these animal sacrifices.

1st.--They were not of the same nature with those who sinned, man.

2nd.--They were not of sufficient value to make satisfaction for the affronts done to the justice and government of God.

3rd.--The beasts offered up under the law could not consent to put themselves in the sinner's room and place. The atoning sacrifice must be one capable of consenting, and must voluntarily substitute himself in the sinner's stead: Christ did so and alone met all the conditions to be our substitute and the propitiation for our sins. Isaiah 53:11

First we have to remember that all these Temple sacrifices and rituals were only a type and shadow to point to Jesus, who was the reality and fulfillment of them.

(1) Why did the priests’ right hand always start picking up ‘for azizel’ instead of ‘for the Lord’? The scapegoat symbolically carried away the sins of the people, transferred by laying on of hands and confession. But this would no longer be needed because Jesus would ‘bare our sins’ upon the cross and we no longer would need a type and shadow of what He would do for us. Jesus carried the sins of the world. 1 Peter 2:24, Hebrews 9:28, Isaiah 53:11 Jesus became the replacement for the scapegoat, who would bare our sins outside the camp and die for us.

(2) Why did the red (crimson) thread (strap) on the Temple door no longer turn white after 30 AD? Simply because John 1:29 tells us that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 1:2-3; 2:17

(3) Why did the western candle on the Menorah go out, which they couldn’t re-light? It was a sign that Jesus was now the light of the world (John 8:12), that His light was now replacing the light of the Menorah for He was the Light of the World. John 1:4-9; 9:5; 12:35-36, Revelation 21:23

(4) Why did the logs that burned on the brazen altar for the sacrifices for so many centuries, need only two logs because they didn’t burn up and go out all day, then required many logs because they burned as normal wood? It was because the fire of the Holy Spirit was no longer going to be on that altar, but on a different one according to Matthew 3:11 and our body would be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:5, 2:2-4, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 12:13, 2 Corinthians 6:16

(5) Why did the piece of bread from the table of shewbread no longer satisfy the high priest? Because Jesus was the living bread that came down from heaven and we are told to partake of Him (John 6:35). Satisfaction was now in Jesus, not in physical bread or wine. John 6:48-51; 7:37-38; 4:13-14, Revelation 7:15-17

(6) Why did the doors of the Temple open and close supernaturally and then cease to do so? Because Jesus was now the way unto the father, the way unto salvation. Jesus said, “I am the door” (John 10:7, 9, 1-5). Ephesians 2:18, Hebrews 10:19-23

Rick continues with this interesting bit of information and insight,

This is a bazaar thing that most scholars don’t understand or think makes sense, but Josephus said that the red heifer, which was burned and used for ceremonial purification, gave birth to a lamb. In Numbers chapter 19 the red heifer sacrifice is a perfect picture of the crucifixion of Jesus. The scarlet, hyssop, cedar wood, the priest looking on, it was burnt outside the camp. Christ was crucified outside the camp, they put hyssop to his mouth, they put a scarlet robe on his shoulders, he was crucified on a wooden cross. Here Josephus said that before the destruction of the Temple, one of the red heifers gave birth to a lamb, which is biologically impossible. However, the red heifer was a picture of the crucifixion of Christ and Christ was the Lamb of God. These were strange supernatural signs to get the peoples attention.” ~ End Quotes

Without any reference or mention of the commencement and fulfillment of the Remez level of “The sign of Yonah” every single “extra-Scriptural” witness to these events all testify to the same time frame, commencing in A.D. 30 and culminating in A.D. 70, and the span of forty years leading up to the siege of Yahrushalayim and the destruction of the city and the Temple.  Altogether, over 1,000,000 Yahudim would perish during this siege.

The Messianic believers who followed Yahoshua ha MaShiach escaped with their lives because they heeded the words of their Messiah and did not return to Yahrushalayim after the Roman siege of A.D. 66. 

“And when you see Yahrushalayim surrounded by armies, then know that its laying waste is near.  “Then let those in Yahuḏah flee to the mountains, and let those who are in the midst of her go out, and let not those who are in the fields enter her.” ~ Luke 21:20-21

In A.D. 66 Yahweh fought on behalf of His people, believers in Yahoshua ha MaShiach, who were zealous for His Torah, so they could escape with their lives.  When Rome, unexpectedly,  left Yahrushalayim in A.D. 66 the Messianic community knew they could not return to Yahrushalayim.  This is why the author of Hebrews wrote every word that he did.  He purposed to encourage the saints that they no longer needed to return to the temple, nor go to the Aaronic priesthood to be righteous in the eyes of Heaven.

No one ever argues about the certainty of the year Yahrushalayim was destroyed so why does everyone argue about the year of Yahoshua’s death, burial, and resurrection?  Could it be to completely obscure the fulfillment of “the sign of Yonah” and to hold guiltless those who were indicted by it’s fulfillment? i.e. The 1,000,000 plus Yahudim who denied Yahoshua ha MaShiach and were ruthlessly slaughtered as a result?

Now the logical rebuttal to everything I have put forth so far is, “If Yahoshua did die in A.D. 30  and you begin counting the forty years from A.D. 30 you will actually end up at A.D. 69.  So how can I say Yahoshua died at the Pesach in A.D. 30 if the all out Roman siege of the city, which led to the destruction of Yahrushalayim, started at the Pesach in A.D.70?  Wouldn’t that be 41 years instead of forty?”  Absolutely correct!

The answer to this seeming contradiction lies in understanding the dynamic of the feasts of Yahweh.  Pesach is the feast for personal atonement and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is the feast for the atonement of the nation of Yisrael.  All of the supernatural events testified to by the differing independent sources; testify cohesively, that all the supernatural events, for the good, cease to happen beginning at the feast of atonement A.D. 30, and conversely all the supernatural events which began to happen for the evil began at this same feast.

This is important to know for two very good reasons.  1) It demonstrates to us that Yahweh Elohim judged the nation of Yisrael corporately for their rejection of His Son Yahoshua, individually.  2) The Feasts of Yahweh are kept according to the agriculture season.  This calendar begins in the spring time. (Shemoth / Ex 12:2)  However, there is a second reckoning of time which Yahweh gave to count, and observe, the Shabbat years and the Yubilee years.  This calendar commences from Yom Teruah every year, however, it always commences on Yom Kippur in the year of Yubilee. (Way yiqra / Lev 25:9)

By understanding the reckoning of time by Yahweh’s civil calendar it becomes readily apparent that the destruction of Yahrushalayim began at the 40^th Pesach of “the sign of Yonah”.  The significance of this revelation is that everyone who personally rejected Yahoshua as their Messiah was judged with the entire nation who rejected their Messiah, Yahoshua of Nazareth.

Yahudim tradition teaches the entire nation of Nineveh repented and humbled themselves in sack cloth and ashes on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).  Till this very day the Yahudim read the account of Yonah every Yom Kippur.  I wonder why? 

Finally, every respected scholarly source, that I am aware of, teaches Yahonan began his ministry in the spring of A.D. 27.  When you add up the combined ministry of Yahonan and Yahoshua you will come up with a combined ministry that spans three years total.  Many would ask how can you combine the years of both ministries when Yonah was a lone preacher of righteousness?  The answer comes from the account of Yonah, itself. 

In Yonah 3:4 the first day of Yonah’s ministry is separated from the following two days.  This was done Providentially to help us to see the Remez and Drash pictures.  The main street of any ancient city was almost always known as “Straight” street. (Acts 9:11)  The reason for this is because almost every ancient metropolis had two main roads that were perfectly straight from one end of the city to the other.  These roads ran east-west and north-south.  Yonah more than likely entered into Nineveh on “straight” street on the first day of his preaching ministry.  “The Scriptures” testify of Yahonan, Yahoshua’s cousin, that His preaching ministry was to make “straight” the way of Yahweh!

    

“For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Yeshayahu, saying, “A voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of יהוה, make His paths straight.’” MattithYahu 3:3 (Mark1:3, Luke 3:4 & Yahonan 1:23)  The fulfillment of the Remez level of “the sign of Yonah” has been so marvelously fulfilled it is hard to imagine anyone could deny it.

Unlike the transgression in the wilderness, when the children, twenty years old and under, were spared the punishment of the generation before them (Bemidbar / Numbers 14), the generation of "Sign of Yonah" was completely destroyed, in the 40th year, according to the covenant of death they had cursed themselves with at the trial of Yahoshua ha MaShiach.

'And all the people answering, said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” ' ~ MattithYahu 27:25 

I have elected not to write on the Drash level of “the sign of Yonah” within the confines of this study because I have already covered it, in all of it fascinating, and intricate, detail, in the study, “The Numerical Themes and Patterns of Scripture”.

http://robertarthurmcduffie.blogspot.com/2010/05/numerical-patterns-and-themes-of-bible.html

Before I proceed with the remainder of this study I want to address the topic of rightly dividing the “Word of Truth”.

2Timothy 2:15 ~ “Do your utmost to present yourself approved to Elohim, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of Truth.”

   

It is absolutely true there are four levels of correctly understanding “The Scriptures” when there is a literal picture as a foundation to work from.  However, when the passage of “Scripture” is a literal, prophetic, “Thus saith Yahweh” there are only three levels of correct understanding instead of four.  The reason for this is the literal level and the prophetic level is now combined into one correct understanding.

For example: Daniel chapter 9:24-27 is a literal prophecy with a prophetic fulfillment and a hidden fulfillment.  Therefore, there cannot be a secondary prophetic level.  If we do not understand the rules of interpretation we will always succumb to the grievous error of privately interpreting “The Scriptures”. (2Kepha / Peter 1:19-20)   

  

Once you are absolutely convinced that the timing of Yahoshua’s death, burial, and resurrection is indeed A.D. 30 then you can easily establish the day of His death, well sort of…  If you reckon the first day of the New Moon from the first light of the crescent over Yahrushalayim then you will find that Yahoshua died on a Thursday, at the Passover, at 3 p.m.  However, if you believe the New Moon is by the conjunction, (When the moon is completely dark and in perfect alignment with the earth and the sun.), then the Passover falls on Wednesday, April 5th at 3 p.m.

These are the two choices we are faced with at this junction of our study.  Either we can hold to the “three days and three nights” foretold by Yahoshua or we can try to compromise His Words to make it fit with our belief that the new month begins with the first light of the crescent.  I have written extensively about the timing of the death, burial, and resurrection previously so I will not go into elaborate detail, concerning this topic, at this time.  However, here is the link if you are interested in further studying this very interesting topic.  

http://robertarthurmcduffie.blogspot.com/2010/11/passover-feast-whore-and-beast.html 

The research that follows establishes the dates when the moon was in conjunction over Yahrushalayim, the first month of the New Year, for the years A.D. 28-33.  This original, unedited, source of this information can be found at the link below.

http://www.ccg.org/english/s/p159.html

A necessary step is to establish the dates of the New Moons at Jerusalem over the period of 28-33 CE in order to examine when the dates of 1 Nisan and, thence, the Passover occurs in those years. It is then possible to ascertain quite accurately when a Wednesday or Friday crucifixion is possible, and whether such a view coincides with the biblical texts.

Her Majesty’s Nautical Almanac Office has supplied the dates on which the New Moons fell in the years 28-33 CE based upon the work of H. H. Goldstine (ibid.). The times are supplied from observation at Babylon (Baghdad) and thus 37 minutes must be deducted from the times to get Jerusalem civil time. Irregularities in the earth’s rotation give rise to small irregularities in times. The equinox is also earlier from the Julian dates, i.e. 20-21 March. The equinox can be as early as 20 March in the Gregorian system also. Dates and times can also be obtained from the U.S. Naval Observatory and adjusted to Jerusalem time.

New Moon times are thus:

Monday          15 March 28 CE        @ 03:38

Tuesday          13 April 28 CE           @ 17:21

Friday               4 March 29 CE        @ 04:13

Saturday           2 April 29 CE          @ 20:43

Wednesday     22 March 30 CE        @ 20:59

Friday              21 April 30 CE          @ 12:48

Monday          12 March 31 CE        @ 01:29

Tuesday          10 April 31 CE          @ 14:45

Saturday         29 March 32 CE        @ 23:08

Monday          28 April 32 CE          @ 10:09

Thursday        19 March 33 CE        @ 13:41

Friday             17 April 33 CE          @ 22:12

From the New Moon timings, the beginning of the sacred year, or 1 Nisan, fell as follows using the standard rules of the New Moon nearest the equinox and the Passover, on 15 Abib, falling past the equinox and working on the standard Jewish day from dark on one day to dark, End Evening Nautical Twilight (EENT) the next day:

Monday          15 March 28 CE

Sunday             3 April 29 CE

Thursday        23 March 30 CE

Monday          12 March 31 CE

Sunday            30 March 32 CE

Thursday        19 March 33 CE

Thus, the Crucifixion would have been as follows:

Sunday           28 March 28 CE

Saturday        16 April 29 CE

Wednesday      5 April 30 CE

Sunday           25 March 31 CE

Saturday        12 April 32 CE

Thursday         2 April 33 CE

~ End Quote

Now, if you decide to dogmatically hold onto the start of the new month by the first light of the crescent then I would like to bring two “Scriptures” to your attention, for your prayerful consideration.

Luke 23:56 “And having returned, they prepared spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the command.”

Mark 16:1 “And when the Sabbath was past, Miryam from Maḡdala, and Miryam the mother of Yaʽaqoḇ, and Shelomah bought spices, to go and anoint Him.” 

The most obvious problem with any scenario, other than the literal three day and three night scenario Yahoshua foretold, is that without a non-Sabbath second day you are left with a major contradiction in “The Scriptures”.  However, if you take Yahoshua at His Word then you do not have any problem.  The woman followed the men to the tomb and then went home and rested on the high Shabbat on  the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. (Way yiqra / Lev23:5-6)  This would have been from sunset Wednesday till sunset Thursday.  From sunset Thursday till sunset Friday would have been a free day for ordinary commercial activities, and work, and then at sunset on Friday the weekly Shabbat would begin.

There are many other problems with a Thursday Pesach date which I will not bother to address at this time.  However, I would like to say that when I wrote my original study on this subject, back in 2003, I did not have a horse in the race, so to speak, and all I cared about was knowing the facts concerning the timing of Yahoshua’s death, burial, and resurrection.  At the time I researched the topic, and subsequently wrote out my findings, I did not give a care what the result of the outcome would be.  I certainly did not have any intention of keeping the feasts of Yahweh at that time in my life.  The conclusion of my research was that I was able to completely harmonize “The Scriptures”, with no contradictions, and prove the following,

1. The literal fulfillment of the words of Yahoshua, our Savior, that He would be in the belly of the earth for three days and three nights (MattithYahu / Matthew 12:40)

2. “The Scriptures” that claim that He rose from the grave on the third day (MattithYahu 16:21, 17:23, 20:19, 27:64, Mark 9:31, 10:34, Luke 9:22, 18:33, 24:7, 24:46, Acts 10:40, 1Corinthians 15:4),

3. That Yahoshua prophetically fulfilled, the 100 level, of significance of the first four of the annual “Set-apart Feasts of Yahweh” (Way yiqra / Leviticus 23) on the exact day and to the very second that the feasts were appointed to be fulfilled over a period of 55 "Scriptural" days (Bereshith / Genesis 1:5b).   

CAN WE PROVE THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH IS BY THE CONJUNCTION FROM “THE SCRIPTURES”?

Most Messianic believers are completely shocked to find out there is not one single  verse in “The Torah” that tell us when the new month begins.  Here are all “The Scriptures” concerning the new month from “The Torah”.

Bemidbar / Numbers 10:10 “And in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed times, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over your peace offerings. And they shall be a remembrance for you before your Elohim. I am יהוה your Elohim.”

Bemidbar 28:11 “‘And on the beginnings of your months you bring near a burnt offering to יהוה: two young bulls and one ram, and seven lambs a year old, perfect ones;”

Bemidbar 29:1-2 “‘And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you have a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work, it is a day of blowing the trumpets for you. v.2‘And you shall prepare a burnt offering as a sweet fragrance to יהוה: one young bull, one ram, seven lambs a year old, perfect ones,”

Furthermore, there is not one verse, in any of the modern translations, which tell us when the new month begins in all of the rest of the TaNaKh, (The Old Testament).

However, there is one single, solitary verse in “The Scriptures” that does tell us when the New Moon is to be observed when you go back to it’s original, pre-translation, meaning.

Mismore / Psalm 81:3 “Blow the ram’s horn at the time of the New Moon, At the full moon, on our festival day.” ~ “The Scriptures” translation, 1998

Mismore 81:3 “Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.” ~ The King James Version

In the original language the word that is translated “full moon” and “time appointed” respectively is kehseh.

The word kehseh (SHD 3677) is derived from the root at (SHD 3680) which is Kacah. That word is a pre- root meaning: to plump or fill up hollows and to cover for clothing or secrecy meaning to clad self, to close, clothe, conceal, to cover (self), to flee, hide or overwhelm.

It has nothing to do with the full moon but rather to a time when the moon is “concealed” from our sight.  Strong also falls into the trap of including full moon as a base meaning leading to appointed but specifically says it means appointed (rather than full moon).

However, it should be noted that the Hebrew word “kehseh” does not mean “at the appointed time”.  It means “when it is hidden”.

This is confirmed / proven in the Babylonian Talmud, page 13:

“It is written [Psalms, lxxxi. 3]: "Blow on the new moon the cornet at the time when it [the new moon] is hidden on our solemn feast day." 


Authors Note: Within the context of the rest of the surrounding verses this verse is speaking of the first day of the year in the month of Aviv and not Yom Teruah.  For more information on this topic please see the comment section below. 

Most scholars will agree the first usage of any word, (or the parent root word), in "The Scriptures" makes for a good base definition of that word.  With this in mind the first use of Kacah is translated as "covered" and is found twice in Bereshith 7:19-20 which reads as follows,

"And the waters were exceedingly mighty on the earth, and all the high mountains under all the heavens were covered. v.20 The waters became mighty, fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered." 

The context of the usage by the translators shows us two very important things.  First, the earth was completely covered over with water.  Second the covering water left the earth hidden in complete darkness beneath. Is this not an exact description of a hidden moon, concealed by the conjunction?  

Finally, here is the only other verse in “The Scriptures” which also translates kehseh (SHD 3677).

(KJV) Proverbs 7:20 He hath takenH3947 a bagH6872 of moneyH3701 withH3027 him, and will comeH935 homeH1004 at the dayH3117 appointed.H3677

(The Scriptures, 1998) Proverbs 7:20 “He took a bag of silver with him; He comes home on the day of the new moon.”

This verse is speaking of Yahoshua ha MaShiach at the Drash level of understanding.  Notice this time kehseh, the exact same word, is translated “new moon”.

If all of this evidence has not convinced you that "Kehseh" is in fact the hidden moon then I will leave you with one final thought about this subject.

There is another Hebrew word for the light of the moon "lebânâh" (SHD 3842), pronunced leb-aw-naw', from which we get our word Lebanon from.  Named such because of the snow white mountain peaks of that region.
 
From H3835; properly (the) white, that is, the moon: - moon. See also H3838.

This word is translated moon in Shir haSharim / Song of Solomon 6:10, YeshaYahu / Isaiah 24:23 & 30:26

My point is this, If the author meant full moon why didn't he just say so and use the Hebrew word "lebanah"?  As you can plainly see within the context of the authors usage there should be no confusion concerning this matter.

YeshaYahu / Isa 30:26 "And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that יהוה binds up the breach of His people, and heals the wound of His blows."

So far we have established the following indisputable facts. 

1) Yahoshua died in A.D. 30.

2) There is only two “Scriptures” in all of “The Word of Life” that tells us when the month is to begin and that is at the time the moon is concealed from our sight.

3) The oral Torah confirms the correct meaning of the new moon as being the hidden moon from Mismore 81:3. 

But wait there is more!  The following information was provided by James Trimm on his website linked here. 

http://nazarenespace.com/group/alternatecalendardebate/forum/topics/secret-of-the-intercalation-of

THE SECRET OF THE INTERCALATION OF THE HEBREW CALENDAR
by James Trimm

Part of the Oral Law that is the secret of the intercalation of YHWH's calendar.

"They shall not be in the council (sod/secret) of my people," (Ezek. 13:9) which refers to the council (secret) for intercalation. (b.Kettubot 112a)

The Midrash tells us that Moses receive the rules for the Hebrew calendar at Mount Sinai:

YHWH said to Moshe and Aaron... "This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months..." (Ex. 12:1-2)  At the moment when Moshe received this commandment, the Holy One blessed be He, transmitted to him the precise rules of calculating the new moon.  He made known to him the way to intercalate the year and establish the months, in order to fulfill the verse "Observe the spring month and offer a Passover sacrifice..." (Deut. 16:1) (Midrash Sod Ha'Ibbur)

For example, although the new moon must be sited, (This is James Trimm’s opinion.)  YHWH gave Moses on Mount Siani the length of time between one new moon and the next as part of the Oral Torah.  Maimonides records this information as follows:

The day and the night consist of 24 hours, 12 for the day and 12 for the night, in any season. The hour is divided into 1,080 parts. The reason for dividing the hour into this number of parts is that this number may be divided without a remainder by two, four, eight, three, six, nine, five and ten,
and with these denominations the fractions may again be divided into many other parts.

By these figures, the interval between two conjunctions of moon and sun according to their mean motion is 29 days and 12 hours of the 30th day, beginning with the night of this day, and 793 parts of the 13th hour. That is the time which elapses between one (mean) conjunction and the other, and that is the duration of the lunar month. (Maimonides Laws of Sanctifying the Moon 6:2-3)

793/1080 = .734529 hours = .03059 days

Therefore Maimonides says that a lunar month as preserved in the Oral Torah from Sinai and preserved by the Jews is: 29 days + 12 hours (.5 days) + .03059 days = 29.53059 days

This is EXACTLY the figure understood by modern astronomers in the FACTS ON FILE DICTIONARY OF ASTRONOMY by Ellingsworth; New York; 1985 p. 241 ~ End Quotes  

A good question to ask is, “Why would Yahweh give the exact understanding of the conjunction moon, to His servant Mosheh, if we are supposed to count the first day of the month from the sighted moon?”  How does this make any sense at all?

Think about ancient Yisrael from the time they wandered in the wilderness to the time the second temple was destroyed.  No one had electricity, television, etc.  No one had a day planner, a wall calendar or a desk calendar.  However, everyone kept the calendar of Yahweh!  How did they do it if not by the sighted moon?  Even the simple shepherd out in the field knew the month alternated between 29 days and 30 days. The moon would always be in conjunction on the 29^th or 30^th day of the month.  He would then begin counting the days of the new month regardless of how long it took for him to see the first light of the moon.

Many would argue the reason the new moon is supposed to be reckoned by the first light is because Bereshith 1:14 teaches the moon is supposed to be for signs and for seasons.

“And Elohim said, “Let lights come to be in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and appointed times, and for days and years,”

The Hebrew word for signs is Strong's H226 - 'owth אוֹת

1) sign, signal, a) a distinguishing mark, b) banner, c) remembrance, d) miraculous sign, e) omen, f) warning

2) token, ensign, standard, miracle, proof

The King James translates this word as, sign(s) 60, token(s) 14, ensign(s) 2, miracles 2, mark 1

The sod level (doctrinal) meaning of owth is most fully understood from the book of Revelation.

Revelation 1:8 ~ “I am the ‘Aleph’ and the ‘Taw’, Beginning and End,” says יהוה “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”  (Rev 1:11, 21:6 & 22:13)

The three Hebrew letters that make up the word “owth” in order are the Aleph, the Vav (which is always translated as “and”) and the Tav!  The conjunctive new moon is supposed to be a monthly reminder, exclusive to the nation of Yisrael, that our Yahweh Elohim is unseen.  The re-NEW-ed month, by the dark moon, is the sign He has given us to remember this by. By faith we must worship Him, who is the Aleph and the Tav, i.e. the owth (sign) of Yisrael, in spirit and in Truth!

The continued observation of the conjunction new moon makes perfect sense in the light of this understanding.  The light of the moon cannot be seen when the month begins.  In the exact same way the light of the Messiah cannot be presently seen in this world.  It is when we are in this present state of physical darkness that we have to accept the re-NEW-ed month by faith.  Likewise, it is when we are in a present state of spiritual darkness that we must accept the re-NEW-ed covenant by faith.

Just like Yisrael of old once we have begun by belief we begin to grow in the light and the warmth of the Messiah, who is "The Sun of Righteousness" who rises with healing in His tzit-tzits.  We become a light to the world in their present darkness.  However, just as the moon begins to wane when it reaches it's fullness, we too begin to wane spiritually when we become fully illuminated.  Pride almost always subtly enters in and then we continue on in a lifetime of a vicious cycle of waxing stronger in the spirit and waning weaker and weaker.  The cycle of re-NEW-ed-ness always comes when, in our darkest hour, we once again humble ourselves and return to the Messiah by confessing our sin and forsaking it.             

Further confirmation that this is the correct doctrinal understanding is found in four different passages of “The Torah”.  This same sign (owth) is found in the forehead and the hand of every faithful Yisraelite.  In every single instance this sign is completely hidden from human eyes, 

Shemoth (Exodus) 13:9 “And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that Yahweh's law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath Yahweh brought thee out of Mitsrayim (Egypt).”

Shemoth (Exodus) 16:13 “And it shall be for a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand Yahweh brought us forth out of Mitsrayim (Egypt).”

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 6:8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 11:18 “Therefore shall ye lay up these My words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.”

Once again, from the authority of “The Scriptures” alone, we witness the primary meaning of sign (owth) is not necessarily a visible sign, but rather a hidden one.

Furthermore, there is an obvious flaw in counting the feast days from the first light of the crescent that many people never seem to stop and consider.  If you keep the feast days from the first light of the crescent moon then by the 15th day of the month, when the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of The Tabernacles are scheduled to begin, the full moon has already passed and is beginning to wane.

The understanding that the hidden moon is the new moon of Yisrael is also supported by an ancient, well known, Yahudim tradition, which teaches that Yom Teruah, (The New Moon Feast of the Blowing of The Trumpets), was the first day of creation.  This day started (In the evening) in complete darkness and then Yahweh created light!  Seven times the prophet YeshaYahu (Isaiah) told us that Yahweh declares the end from the beginning.  In the very beginning the first day, of the first month, of the first year, began in total darkness!

The Brit ha DaShah (New Testament) teaches us to keep the feasts! (1Cor 5:8, Col 2:16-17)  Just like the Shabbat is kept from sunset to sunset on the very same day all over the inhabitable parts of the world the new moon should also be kept on the exact same day all over the world.  If we kept the new moon by the conjunction everywhere in the world, while we were in dispersion from the land of Yisrael, then we would have all been keeping the feasts on the same days.  

The first century Yahudite philosopher Philo, wrote concerning the Feasts of Yahweh and he too contended the month began when the new moon was in conjunction.

“This is the New Moon, or beginning of the lunar month, namely the period between one conjunction and the next, the length of which has been accurately calculated in the astronomical schools.” (Judaeus, Philo, The Special Laws, II, XXVI, 140, Treatise by F.H. Colson, Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA, 1937.)

It was not until the 2^nd temple was destroyed that the new moon began to be kept by the first light of the crescent.  Here is a link if you want to study Yahweh's calendar in more depth and detail.  There are many further articles linked within depending how deeply you want to explore the subject.  They are not Hebrew Roots per se', however, they keep the Sabbath and honor Yah's Set-apart feasts including the New Moon Sabbath.

http://www.ccg.org/english/s/p156.html

If all of this positive evidence, that the hidden moon is indeed the beginning of the month, has not convinced you then let me close by sharing a negative argument against keeping the beginning of the month by the sighting of the first light of the crescent.  It is a very well established fact that almost every pagan religion in the world has a sacred belief concerning the light of the first crescent of the moon.

The following information has been taken from “Fossilized Customs” by Lew White 

The crescent moon of Allah was the tribal symbol of Muhammad’s family.  The Arabic word for the crescent new moon is Hilal.  This is the same word found in YeshaYahu 14, which is translated as “Lucifer” in the KJV. (SHD 1966)  Hilal is the Islamic term for the sighting of the crescent moon, and is definitely associated with the Islamic moon-deity, Allah!

The crescent moon is a very ancient symbol, revered by Persia, India, Egypt, Islam, and Masonry.  At the highest levels of Free Masonry, the royal secret is revealed to the light seekers: that they worship Lucifer under various names one of which is Allah.  Masons seek “the light”. In order for a person to become a Shriner, he must go through all the degrees of Masonry, make blood-curdling oaths, worship all the various “gods” of Egypt, and make a blood oath of allegiance to Allah as his “god”, and Mohammed as his prophet.  The Shriner is then given a red fez with an Islamic sword and crescent jeweled on it.  This originates from 7^th century Arabia when the Moslems, under the leadership of Mohammed, slaughtered all Christians who would not bow down to Allah.  Allah is the tribal diety – “the moon god” – of Mohammed.  That is why every Mosque today has a crescent moon on the top on the top of its “dome”.  (FYI: A dome is a symbol of Hermes – the greek diety of wisdom – revered by Masonry).

The bull (or ox) with a white crescent moon on his shoulder is the Egyptian Apis.  It was believed he would emerge from a river and rise into the air when the Egyptians gathered around him with music and chanting.  Moon worship was the primary religious practice of the city known today as Jericho.  It is thought that the name is derived from the Canaanite name Yareah, meaning moon. 

The Crescent moon is associated with the Hindu deity Shiva.  Wiccans honor the “goddess” and the crescent moon is the primary symbol for “her”.  This deity has been worshipped under various names such as Diana, Artemis, Selene, and Libertas.  In ancient Syria, the moon-deity Sin was represented by the crescent moon.  In Ur, bread was baked in the form of a crescent to honor their moon-deity.” ~ End Quotes   

In summary:  The counterfeit is always in very close proximity to the original.  Every lie has to have “The Truth” as it’s foundation.  Just as the counterfeit of Sunday veneration always follows the Shabbat, so the first light of the crescent always follows the conjunction. 

As for me and my house we are pro- Yahoshua and His doctrine, The Torah!  It is for this reason I have freely repented and admitted I was in error about a good many things over the last nine years of my Hebrew Roots journey.  I will freely and joyfully continue to do so until our Messiah comes again.  In this study we have seen the three different ancient levels of interpretation, Pashat (literal), Remez (prophetic), and Drash (hidden), demonstrate the fullest realities of the “sign of Yonah”. 

This has only been revealed to our hearts, by rightly dividing “The Word of Truth” according to the Hebraic PaRDeS method of interpretation.  In addition, we have witnessed from history, “The Scriptures”, and the “Oral Torah” that the hidden moon is indeed the beginning of months.  Conversely, we have witnessed the pagan origin of the veneration of the light of the first crescent all throughout history.

I do not profess to be any kind of expert on the subject of the calendar.  I am truly open to hearing any additional information put forth by anyone else on this subject.  However, any further information must be filtered through the understanding that there cannot be any contradiction to “The Scriptures”.  “The Scriptures” alone must be our final authority!

"He answered them and said, “The reign of Elohim does not come with intent watching." ~ Yahoshua of Nazareth

Shalom Aleichem,

Sincerely and In Truth,

Robert McDuffie ~ YeshaYahu 1:19-20      

  

Ps The link below is to an article which demonstrates how anyone can easily determine when the next conjunction is.

http://www.ccg.org/english/s/p078.html       

Pps I was introduced to this video teaching after I had originally posted this teaching.  It is fair, balanced and very informative.  I hope you will watch it with and open heart and mind.

http://119ministries.com/time-our-creators-calendar