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If any man desires to do God's will, he will have the needed illumination to recognize, and can tell for himself whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking from myself and on my own accord.  John 7:17 

How the Biblical Lunar-Solar Calendar Works

 

How is the day determined? 

The day starts at sunset and ends at the following sunset.  The first example to be cited is from the book of Leviticus which tells us the Day of Atonement is on the tenth day of the seventh month.  "Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement" (Lev. 23:27). 

In Leviticus 23:32 we are told the beginning and the ending of the time to observe this day.  "It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your soul:  in the ninth day of the month at even, from even [the previous evening of the ninth day at sunset] unto even [the evening at sunset of the tenth day of the seventh month], shall you celebrate your Sabbath" (Lev. 23:32, emphasis added).  From the sunset of the ninth day of the seventh month until the sunset of the tenth day of the seventh month is when this day is to be observed, and all the days of the Biblical Lunar-solar calendar are to be observed in this manner; from sunset to sunset.

The yearly feast days were referred to as Sabbaths even though they did not fall on the seventh day of Biblical Lunar-solar week. "The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation ['And it was the preparation (day) of the Passover, and about the sixth hour' (John 19:14, emphasis added). It was not the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath.], that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and they might be taken away" (John 19:31, emphasis added).  The annual feast days were referred to as a “Sabbath day” and as “an high day.”

The second example to be cited is from the book of Genesis; the story of the creation of this earth, so it could be inhabited, is given.  Let us look at Genesis 1:5 and see what is said there.  "And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.  And the evening and [then] the morning were the first day" (Gen. 1:5).  "And the evening" at sunset with "the darkness He called Night" was followed by "the morning" at sunrise with the light called “Day.”  The Night comes first beginning at sunset and then follows the Day at sunrise with the light.  Together, they composed “the first day.”  This is repeated for each day of the Creation week. 

The third example is found in John chapter twenty.  Here we can see the darkness preceded the light and both periods are referred to as "the first day of the week."  "The first day of the week comes Mary Magadalene early [in the morning], when it is yet dark [before sunrise], unto the sepulcher, and sees the stone taken away from the sepulcher" (John 20:1, emphasis added).

"Then the same day at evening [before sunset], being [still] the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Yahushua" (John 20:19, emphasis added).  It was the first day of the week while it was still dark, and it was still the first day of the week before sunset that evening.  The night preceded the day! The first day of the week began at sunset and ended at sunset the following evening.

The fourth example is found in the book of Nehemiah.  In this book, Nehemiah gives a command that the doors to the city of Jerusalem are to be closed at a certain time before the Sabbath begins.  "When it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath" (Neh. 13:19, emphasis added). 

If the Sabbath does not begin until sunrise, as some contend, then it would begin to be light before the Sabbath and not "began to be dark" as it tells us in the book of Nehemiah!  At sunset in the evening when the gates "began to be dark" was when the Sabbath was going to begin.

The fifth example is found in the books of Leviticus and Exodus and furnishes evidence the day begins at sunset of the previous day.  In the book of Leviticus we are told "in the fifteenth day of the first month is the feast of unleavened bread unto Yahuwah: seven days you must eat unleavened bread" (Lev. 23:6). 

In the book of Exodus we are told "in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even [sunset], you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even [sunset]" (Ex. 12:18, emphasis added).  Even though the Feast of Unleavened Bread did not begin until the fifteenth day of the first month as we are told in Leviticus 23:6, one was not to eat leavened bread from the evening [sunset] of the fourteenth day of the first month.  The seven-day feast of unleavened bread began on the fifteenth day of the first month (Lev. 23:6).  There are many who contend the Biblical day does not begin until sunrise.  If that is so, then why does the fifteenth day as shown in Exodus 12:18 begin "on the fourteenth day of the month at even?" and the seven days end on "the one and twentieth day of the month at even?”  Even though it is a seven-day feast, eight days are mentioned from the fourteenth to the twenty-first.  Just as we saw the Day of Atonement began at sunset on the ninth day of the month preceding the tenth day of the month, so does the seven-day feast of unleavened bread begins at sunset on the fourteenth day of the month preceding the fifteenth day of the month.

From all five portions of Scripture we can see the night, which begins at sunset, precedes the light, which begins at sunrise, and both portions make up one single day. "What therefore Elohim hath joined together, let no man put asunder" (Mark 10:9).  While Yahushua is speaking specifically about marriage in this verse, the principle remains true in all instances where He joins two objects together.  He joined the Night and the Day to make up one Biblical calendar day.

The single day and what we would call the twenty-four hours of the solar calendar is according to the Bible composed of the nighttime that is divided into four periods called "watches" and the daylight is divided into twelve hours as determined by the sundial. 

Some will still contend Yahushua said there are twelve hours in the day (John 11:9), but it is clear from the evidence seen in these five portions of Scripture the Biblical day begins at sunset and ends at the following sunset. Yahushua was referring to the time in which He was allotted to work for the Jews before He would be crucified and not to what many contend to be a Biblical calendar day.  Clearly, the Devil is deceiving the whole world (Rev. 12:9) and even those who are beginning to understand the Biblical Lunar-solar calendar!  The Devil will do anything to discredit Elohim's truth by attaching errors with Biblical truth in order to bring confusion.   

How is the month determined? 

To begin with, there are at least three lines of thought on how individuals are determining when the month begins.  I am going to share with you what I practice based on what I have observed, prayed about, and found in the Scriptures.  I have added an additional portion to the end of this section that gives the best Biblical evidence for what I believe and practice.

I have followed what you are about to read for thirteen years (since Jan. 2010).  I have changed from following the first visible crescent to the full moon and fine-tuned parts of that during that time. 

The one verse of Scripture used to sustain, not only my position, but others use it as well to sustain their position, is Psalm 81:3.  "Blow up the trumpet [These were to be the two silver trumpets described in Numbers 10:2, 10.] in the new moon, in the time appointed on our solemn feast day" (Ps. 81:3). 

The problem is not apparent in the KJV but in two other translations, we see differences which are used to support two separate opinions.  "Blow the trumpet at the New Moon, at the full moon, on our feast day" (Amplified Version, emphasis added).  When using this translation we find evidence the new moon is when the moon is full.

When another translation is used, we read the following:  "Sound the ram's horn [Incorrect - should be two silver trumpets (Num. 10:2, 10).] at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast" (Ps. 81:3 NIV, emphasis added).  This translation indicates that the New Moon and the full moon are two separate occurrences, but not necessarily. 

This is the problem I find with this translation.  The ram's horn was not to be blown according to what we find written in Numbers 10:10 on the full moon. It appears the Jews were not following the instructions given them in Numbers 10:10 where they were to be blowing the two silver trumpets on the New Moon and were instead blowing the shofar (Strong’s Concordance #7782) according to the NIV and KJV translations.  The translation of this verse in this version also concludes by saying "on the day of our feast," which indicates this is talking about a singular day and not two separate days.  We find nothing to support the different views from what we read in Psalm 81:3 except the full moon is possibly the new moon according to the Amplified Version and others.  There must be at the very minimum two witnesses on which to base a doctrine.

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read the following:  "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour" (Matt. 27:45).  This darkness had been foretold by the prophet Amos.  "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Yahuwah Elohim, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon [the sixth hour on the sundial], and I will darken the earth in the clear day" (Amos 8:9).  How did Elohim darken the day on which Yahushua died?  For three hours?  By a solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse can only occur during the conjunction phase of the moon. It lasted for three hours because Elohim has the ability to make the sun and moon stand still just as He did during the Old Testament times. “And spoke Joshua to Yahuwah in the day when Yahuwah delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.  And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies . . . So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, [and the moon stood still also] and hasted not to go down about a whole day.  And there was no day like that before it or after it that Yahuwah hearkened unto the voice of a man: for Yahuwah fought for Israel” (Josh. 10:12-14, emphasis added).

At the time of the crucifixion, the sun and moon were stayed until Yahushua had defeated Satan. “And I will put enmity between thee (Satan) and the woman (Elohim’s people), and between thy (Satan’s) seed and her (Elohim’s people) seed; it (the crucifixion of Messiah) shall bruise thy (Satan’s) head, and thou (Satan) shall bruise His (Messiah’s) heel” (Gen. 3:15). One was a deadly wound and the other was a temporary wound.

The following is taken from an article on examiner.com by William Doehring.  "The ancient Christian writings . . . speak of a possible solar eclipse occurring at the death of Jesus, on the cross.  As it is written, 'And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land . . .’ (Mark 15:33).  Attempting to confirm a solar eclipse, ancient Christian writers such as Philopon[i] and Origen[ii] quote the Greek astronomer Phlegon Olympiads (written AD 138) in an attempt to account for the darkness of the crucifixion, through a "pagan" source [a pagan source would give an unbiased account].  Origen wrote:  "That heathen author, in treating of the fourth year of the two hundred second Olympiad, which is supposed to be the year in which our Lord was crucified, tells us 'That the greatest eclipse of the sun which was ever known, happened then; for the day was so turned into night that the stars in the heavens were seen.'

"To this account, Philopon suggested that a Roman account of the eclipse also existed, as he added: 'this is shown by the historical account itself of Tiberius Caesar.' Thus, we find two other possible sources, outside of Christian writings, verifying the occurrence of a solar eclipse, during the crucifixion of Jesus. 

"What may cause a problem for the Christian text is the fact that a total solar eclipse cannot occur during a full moon which would have been the case, if Jesus were crucified during Passover; as the text states:  'When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat . . . And it was the preparation [day] of the Passover.' (John 19:13-14).  Therefore a paradox arises with the text, when a full moon occurs simultaneously with a total eclipse of the sun, which is impossible.  However, one solution to this paradox may now be found in the writing of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

"James C. Vanderakam, the John A. O'Brien Professor of Hebrew Scriptures at the University of Notre Dame, has written extensively about the Dead Sea Scrolls community.  Set up approximately twenty years prior to the birth of Jesus, the Qumran community split off from the mainstream population of Judea, because the community believed the religious system at the time had become corrupted.  One crucial conviction of Qumran, was that the religious system had corrupted the calendar, thereby corrupting all of the Jewish Sabbaths and Holy days.  [This is the author’s opinion and may not be true.  He may have been basing his opinion that Qumran community’s records indicated they were following the full moon being the new moon and that conflicted with what the Jews at the present time use.]

"In Vanderkam's article, Calendrical Texts and the Origins of the Dead Sea Scroll Community, he reveals the Qumran community followed a Jewish calendar, which is different than the calendar that Jews use today.  More crucial to the paradox, he reveals that the Qumran community taught that the Full Moon began the month [I believe all the Jews followed the full moon as the new moon at the time of the crucifixion and did so until the fourth century AD.], which would mean that Passover, which occurs mid-month, would have occurred when the moon was dark [conjunction].  Thus, if Passover was celebrated within Ancient Judaism at the dark of the moon, rather than at the full moon, then it would be very possible for a total solar eclipse to occur, simultaneously to Passover and the Crucifixion of Jesus.

"Note:  Hillel II, the last president of the Sanhedrin, established the modern Jewish calendar, approximately three hundred and fifty years after the death of Yahushua (Jesus).  Other arguments have been made as to why the modern Jewish calendar may be corrupted as well."

[i] Philopon, De Opif, Mundi, 1, 21.

[ii] Origen, 210, Contra Celsum

Just believing or accepting that the full moon is the new moon by which the month begins does not resolve the issue.  When the moon is full, there are three nights in which the moon appears to be full to the naked eye.  How do we determine which one is the correct one?  Do we use the astronomical data from NASA to aid us in this?  By using their data we can find the precise time the moon is at its fullest lunation.  There is only one objection to using this method.  The people living in Biblical times were not privileged to have this information available to them.  They had to rely on observation by the naked eye.  I challenge anyone to pick from the three separate moons occurring on three successive nights at the time of the full moon, which one is full without using NASA's data.

The following is what I and others observe in determining when the New Moon, that is the full moon, occurs.  When the sun sets on the western horizon and is followed by the moon rising above the eastern horizon is how to determine when the moon is full.  This can be discerned wherever one has a view of the western and the eastern horizons.  It is the only way, as far as what I have been able to observe, to be a consistent method of determining when it is full when going by observation only.  As the time when the full moon/new moon approaches, the moon waxes fuller each night, and each night at sunset it is closer to the eastern horizon, thus giving advance notice the new moon day is approaching.

Another reason for considering the full moon being the New Moon is what is written in Genesis 1:16, 18:  “And Elohim made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night . . . And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness.”  One would think that as important a day as the New Moon day is in the Biblical economy, the phase of the moon would be somewhat dramatic and not subtle as in those who observe the first visible crescent or not even visible as in those who observe the conjunction.  When the moon is full it rules “the night” unlike when it is in the first visible crescent or in conjunction.  The moon in its full moon phase and rising after the sun has set is in the firmament throughout the entire night.  It truly rules “the night." 

Whereas when you observe the first visible crescent as the signal for the new moon, it is only in the firmament for a very short period of time. 

When the conjunction is used in determining the new moon, the moon is not in the firmament at all during the night and cannot be observed.  Even though NASA uses the conjunction for designating the new moon, it cannot be supported Biblically. 

One other issue with observing the first visible crescent is that throughout the earth the new moon day is observed on two separate days depending on your location, unlike when the full moon is used as the new moon.  It is full throughout the earth on the same evening meaning everyone is in sync with everyone else throughout the earth.  

Just how does one "observe" the moon when it is in conjunction?  You cannot.

In addition to all that I have previously stated about the full moon being the new moon, I want to include the following which is probably the most conclusive evidence in favor of the full moon being the new moon.  This is something I have just recently come to understand in my studies and so I am adding it to the discussion previously given showing the full moon is the new moon. 

When “Elohim said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night” He “made two great lights; the greater light [the sun] to rule the day, and the lesser light [the moon] to rule the night” (Gen. 1:14, 16, emphasis added).  He “made two great lights.”  He did not make just one light.

We see only one light in the sky at the present time, but this was not the way it was in the beginning and will not be that way when Elohim recreates the heavens and the earth.  “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth” (Isa. 65:17). 

At the present time, the moon is only a reflection of the sun’s light.  John who wrote the Revelation says this:  “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:  for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea” (Rev. 21:1, emphasis added).

Isaiah gives us some clarification of what the heavens will be like when the heaven is created anew in Isaiah 30:26.  “Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days" (emphasis added).  It is my understanding this is how the sun and the moon were in the beginning when Yahuwah Elohim Almighty “made two great lights.”

When the astronauts came back from the moon they brought with them rocks from the surface of the moon, that were igneous; rocks that had once been on fire.

Most of us breeze right through the story of Creation contained in Genesis chapter one without giving it much serious and prayerful thought, and by so doing, we miss subjects of great interest to the student of the Bible.  On day two of the Creation account “Elohim made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament:  and it was so” (Gen. 1:7).  Where are “the waters which were above the firmament” at now?  At the present time, they are upon the surface of the earth and are not above the firmament.  “And the windows of heaven were opened.  And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights” (Gen. 7:11-12).

What is being described in Genesis 1:6-7 is much different than what we see now.  Beginning at the Creation until the time of the flood “there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground” (Gen. 2:6).  It did not rain until the time of the flood.

This planet went through a great transformation at the time of the flood!  Let us just say the sun was seven times brighter and hotter than it is now and the moon was as the sun for brightness and heat as it will be when Elohim creates all things anew.  Can you imagine how much hotter and brighter it would be on planet Earth if that was so, unless . . . ?  

Did the water “above the firmament” that surrounded the entire planet act as a conductor of the heat of the sun and the moon and circulated that heat to all parts of the globe evenly so the climate in every part of the globe was a constant and comfortable temperature 24/7, 365 days a year. 

The firmament also would have diminished the brightness of the two heavenly bodies.  There were no polar ice caps at that time!  Elohim meant for the entire planet to be inhabited when He created it.

The account of the flood recorded in Genesis chapters seven and eight tells us from the “the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” . . . “and the waters returned from off the earth continually:  and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.  And [the day after] the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month” (Gen. 7:11, 8:3, 4).  At the time of the flood and probably since the creation account in Genesis there were thirty days in each month. 

This is why when the Biblical calendar is used in prophecies there are three hundred and sixty days in the year.  Thirty days per month times twelve months equals three hundred and sixty days.  Today, there are either twenty-nine or thirty days in each Biblical month as determined by the new moon and there are either twelve or thirteen months in a year.  There can be as many as three months with twenty-nine or thirty days in a row but there are never five consecutive months with thirty days in each month as is recorded for us in Genesis chapters seven and eight.  Did a shift in the axis and rotation of the moon or the earth occur at the time of the flood?  With all that water now upon the earth that had been above the firmament, the weight may have been unequally distributed for a time causing a shift. 

We know at the time of creation, the moon was a light itself and was not a reflection of the sun’s light.  When the earth is made new along with the heavens, the sun will be seven times brighter and hotter than it is today and the moon will be as the sun is today for brightness and heat.  See Isaiah 30:26.

Water will once again be above the firmament as at the beginning of creation in order to shield the earth from the brightness and heat of the sun and the moon shining in all their glory and once again the entire earth will be inhabitable! 

There will be no phases of the moon as there are today and have been since the time of the flood.  There were no phases of the moon from the time of creation to the time of the flood because Elohim had “made two great lights” (Gen. 1:16); not just one.  The new moon is determined when the sun sets in the west and is followed by the moon rising in the east.  There is only one day each month that can happen.  It is the only night “the moon rules the night” because it is in the sky from just after sunset to sunrise (Gen. 1:16).  This is the way the new moon day was determined in the beginning, is the way it must be determined today, and is how it will be determined when the earth and the heavens are made new.

The new moon day is always determined by observation.  NASA’s calculations are spot on when showing the sun sets and the moon rises are in agreement with the observation of the sun setting in the west and the moon rising in the east.

For those observing the new moon day by the first visible crescent, there was no crescent moon when Elohim first created the moon as a light; it was a light itself (Gen. 1:16).  The crescent moon has always been associated with the goddess Semiramis from ancient Babylon, and we are told to “Come out of her [Babylon], My people” (Rev. 18:4).  It is the counterfeit Satan invented to take away from the worship of Elohim and was used by the pagans in opposition to the full moon used by the followers of Elohim from creation until the fourth century AD when Hillel II, the last president of the Jewish council, was forced to submit to Emperor Constantine who fixed the Sabbath to the seventh day of the Roman solar calendar (Saturday) and abandoned the Lunar-solar Calendar of the Bible.

Bring your proof from the Bible showing evidence from the Scriptures that the first visible crescent is what Psalm 104:19 is saying.  “He appointed the moon for seasons [mow’ed].”  The moon the woman, pictured in Revelation 12:1, is standing on is the full moon.  If it were a crescent moon, it would be how the goddess Semiramis is pictured standing on a crescent moon.

The fact the Bible states clearly when “Elohim said, Let there be lights [plural] in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night” He “made two [not one] great lights; the greater [the sun] to rule the day, and the lesser light [the moon] to rule the night” (Gen. 1:14, 16).  There were no phases of the moon and there was never a conjunction of the moon in the beginning, at the time of creation, until the flood when the moon was put out and the sun was reduced in output to one-seventh of its original strength.

When Yahuwah recreates the heavens and the earth and causes the sun to be seven times brighter and the moon to be as the sun, there will once again be a full moon at all times without any phases.  “Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days” (Isa. 30:26).

How is the beginning of the Biblical year determined?  

The calendation method used in the Bible is referred to as the Lunar–solar calendar.  Using only the sun and the moon, we can have a consistent method for determining when the Biblical year begins.

Some have chosen to use the barley harvest in Israel to be the determining factor.  Let me ask you how that would have worked when Israel was out in the wilderness unable to go into the Promised Land to see how the barley harvest was coming along in order to help them to decide when the new year was to begin?  Was there a barley harvest at the time of Creation?  But it is clear from what is written in Genesis 1:14 the barley harvest was not included as a determining factor.  “But Elohim 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 [mow'ed – the appointed times], and for days, and years” (emphasis added).  Also, what is written in Psalm 104:19?  "He [Elohim] appointed the moon for seasons [mow'ed]” (emphasis added).  No mention of the barley harvest involved in determining the seasons in either one, is there?

The calendar of the Bible begins in the spring of the year when everything comes back to life. "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months:  it shall be the first month of the year to you" (Ex. 12:2, emphasis added). 

As humanity is regenerated when we are born again, nature goes through regeneration.  What appears to be dead and lifeless comes alive once again.  “Thou sendest forth Thy Spirit, they are created: and Thou renewest the face of the earth” (Ps. 104:30, emphasis added).  A miracle of Elohim happens right before our eyes each year and tells us of His power to recreate man who is dead in "trespasses and sin!"  "And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1).  “Create in me a clean heart, O Elohim; and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10, emphasis added).

“For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead [Deity]:  so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20, emphasis added).  The change of the seasons illustrates to humanity the “eternal power” of Elohim.  Just as it takes the power of Elohim to bring life back into the works of creation, so it takes the Spirit (the power) of Elohim to bring life back into humanity who are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1).

In Genesis 1:14 we read that “the lights in the firmament of the heaven” were for determining among other things the “years."  Psalm 104:19 tells us, "He appointed the moon for seasons [mow'ed]."  The sun and moon are used in conjunction to determine the beginning of the night and the day, the beginning of the month, and the beginning of the year.  That is why it is called the Biblical Lunar–solar calendar.  Some have mistakenly included the stars in determining the beginning of the year just as some have included the barley harvest in Israel. It is the Lunar–solar calendar and not the Lunar–solar–barley harvest calendar or the Lunar–solar–star calendar.  See Psalm 104:19

When the children of Israel were leaving Egypt, Elohim told them the month they were leaving was the beginning of the year.  "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year unto you" (Exodus 12:2). 

There were no names given to the months of the Biblical calendar just as there were no names given to the days of the week.  All times given in the Old Testament used the numerical day of the month.  Somewhere names were given to the months.  Do you really believe Elohim gave the name of Tammuz, one of the triune gods of ancient Babylon, to a month of His calendar?  This was probably picked up while in Babylon.

The children of Israel left Egypt after the Passover was observed.  Exodus 12:3-14.  So using the sun and the moon how can we determine when the Biblical year begins?   And it must be able to be observed by the naked eye.

The spring equinox is what is used to help determine when to begin the New Year.  When the first new moon, which is determined by the full moon, occurs after the spring equinox, it is the beginning of the New Year. 

If the twelfth month of the year ends prior to the spring equinox then a thirteenth month is added (intercalated) to the previous year.  During a nineteen-year cycle, called the Metonic cycle, there are seven – thirteen-month years and twelve – twelve-month years.  The years listed below in bold black and underlined are the ones containing thirteen months.  The ones not underlined and not in bold black contain twelve months.  This cycle is repeated every nineteen years.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

“For astronomy and calendar studies, the Metonic cycle or Enneadecaeteris (from Ancient Greek: εννεακαιδεκαετηρiς, "nineteen years") is a period of very close to nineteen years that is remarkable for being nearly a common multiple of the solar year and the synodic (lunar) month. The Greek astronomer Meton of Athens (fifth century BC) observed that a period of nineteen years is almost exactly equal to two hundred and thirty-five synodic months and, rounded to full days, counts six thousand nine hundred and forty days. The difference between the two periods (nineteen years and two hundred and thirty-five synodic months) is only a few hours, depending on the definition of the year.

“Considering a year to be one-nineteenth of this six thousand nine hundred and forty-day cycle gives a year length of 365 + 1⁄4 + 1⁄76 days (the unrounded cycle is much more accurate), which is slightly more than twelve synodic months. To keep a twelve-month lunar-solar year in place with the solar year, an intercalary thirteenth month would have to be added on seven occasions during the nineteen-year period (235 = 19 × 12 + 7). When Meton introduced the cycle around 432 BC, it was already known by Babylonian astronomers.”  Wikipedia

For those contemplating and for those who are observing the new moon by the first visible crescent (fvc).  The first visible crescent is observed by Muslims and seen on the flag of many Muslim nations.  The first visible crescent is also associated with Semiramis, the goddess of ancient Babylon from the days of Nimrod, who is also known by other names in various countries.  Also when using the first visible crescent to determine the new moon there are two days involved depending upon which part of earth you live on.  There is not one single day for the observation of the visible crescent throughout the earth.  The moon the woman, pictured in Revelation 12:1, is standing on is the full moon.  If it were a crescent moon, it would be the goddess Semiramis standing on it.  Islamic Month Defined – Many Muslim communities make a calendar predicting the dates of Islamic months (like Ramadan and Dhul Hijja) based upon scientific predictions of when the moon/crescent should be visible.  The actual start and the end of the month of Ramadan is (just like every other month on the Islamic calendar) based upon the sighting of the moon.  Do not confuse the Islamic new moon, which is when the “new” moon is the first visible (fvc), with the ‘astronomical new moon’.  The astronomical new moon, as listed in newspapers and astronomical sites (such as the US Naval Observatory site), is when the conjunction occurs, and the moon is dark; the age of the moon starts from this point.  The Islamic new moon is when that first little sliver of the moon (the crescent or the ‘hilal’) is first visible.  That night starts a new Islamic month, and the following day would be considered the first day of the new Islamic month.”  Al Islam (The Official Website of the Almadiyya Muslim Community)

And from where did the Muslims get the first visible crescent?  From ancient Babylon during the days of Nimrod, and we are told to “come out of her [Babylon], My people!” 

To access the current Biblical Calendar click here.