Watch: Feasts of the Eighth Month?
This week in Nazarene Israel, we found ourselves asking,
“Why do so many Messianic believers seemingly want to keep the feasts of the seventh month in the eighth month? Do they understand and realize that they are seemingly recreating the sins of Jeroboam?”
Well, we talk about all these subjects and more here in this study.
One thing Yahweh is very clear about in His word is that we are not supposed to make up our own traditions and teachings. We are not supposed to do our own thing. Rather we are supposed to follow very carefully what He says in His word.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 4:2
2 “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, which I command you.”
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 12:32
32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”
In other words, we are not supposed to make up a bunch of fence laws, do not make up a bunch of Takanot and Ma’asim. We are not supposed to make up our own rules and practices. Yahweh is very capable of telling us exactly what He wants, He does not need us to add additional rules on top of it. He does not need us to interpolate things, we just have to read His word and do what it says. We understand that it is very important to read and study His word and do exactly what it says. So if we do not do that, we have big trouble.
Now, for those of you who are new to Nazarene Israel, in Nazarene Israel, the Original Faith of the Apostles study we explain how the Christians and Jews are basically estranged brothers in the covenant. That is what is called the mystery of the two houses. The prophecy says that the two houses, the Christians and the Jews, will come together in the last days, after the great tribulation and after the battle of Armageddon. However, before this can happen, both the Christians and the Jews are going to need to repent of their sins. Meaning, in context, they are going to need to repent of their Torah breaking. In this case, specifically, we are going to see the sins they commit in breaking the Torah, with regard to the calendar issues.
Another thing we need to talk about is Daniel chapter 7, verse 25, where we are warned about a spirit (which is manifesting as someone) called the little horn.
Daniel 7:25
25 He shall speak pompous words against [contrary to] the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change [appointed feast] times and Torah. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.
We talk about this in the Nazarene Israel study also, but the thing we need to understand here is that, effectively, there is a spirit involved in all this. So, when someone attempts to change the appointed feast times or the Torah, we need to be on the lookout for spirits.
Well, historically, to get some political background, King Solomon took too many foreign wives. The problem was not just that they were foreign wives, but that they were pagan wives. They did not convert to the worship of Yahweh, rather they continued worshiping their pagan gods, and this eventually led King Solomon into idol worship. In punishment for King Solomon’s idol worship, Yahweh then split the nation of Israel into two parts. One is with ten tribes in the north, which was called the Kingdom of Ephraim (the Kingdom of Israel). Then there were two tribes in the south, which is called the Kingdom of Judah, and these are the ancestors of the Jews as we know them today.
Well the ten northern tribes of the Kingdom of Ephraim (the Kingdom of Israel) became lost to history. But not to Yahweh! Yahweh and Yeshua knew exactly where they were. And that is why Yeshua says that he was sent for the lost tribes of the Children of Israel, meaning the lost ten tribes of the house of Israel. That is why His brothers in the southern kingdom of Judah did not receive him on the whole on His first voyage. He was only sent to those who were scattered and dispersed of the 10 tribes of the northern kingdom.
Mattiyahu (Matthew) 15:24
24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
We talk a lot more about that in the Nazarene Israel study.
But to continue understanding the political situation and to understand this chapter’s topic, there was a drama that took place. Within the northern kingdom, there was a new king, King Jeroboam. He realized that the place of worship was in Jerusalem, in the southern kingdom. And if the people continued to go up to Jerusalem in the southern kingdom for worship, very soon their loyalties would revert back to the king of the southern kingdom (King Rehoboam, son of Solomon). So then King Jeroboam of the northern Kingdom realized that the people would kill him and then go back to being loyal to King Rehoboam of the southern kingdom of Judah. Because well, kings were sort of high-risk for assassination and overthrows.
So, what is King Jeroboam going to do? He could either trust and obey Yahweh Elohim who anointed him as king. Or he could do things his own way. Well, let us look at what happened.
Melachim Aleph (1 Kings) 12:25-31
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel.
26 Then Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David:
27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their master, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!”
29 And he set up one [of the false gods] in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan [in the north, complete opposite direction from Jerusalem].
31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
This is exactly what the Catholic Church would later do when they made high places (basically steeples) and placed them on hilltops.
Melachim Aleph (1 Kings) 12:32-33
32 Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah [that is, the seventh month Feast of Tabernacles], and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made.
33 So he made offerings on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense.
Yahweh calls this the feast that Jeroboam had “ordained and designed in his own heart” because it was not exactly what Yahweh Himself said to do.
Now, one thing we need to know is that the mountains of Ephraim (or Samaria) in the northern kingdom are a little bit higher than the lowlands of Judea. Therefore, it is a little bit cooler, and the barley ripens about a month later, in the springtime. Therefore, it seemed to make sense to start their calendar a month later, which effectively pushes the feasts of the seventh month back into the eighth month. And the weather would be much nicer, and everything would tend to work out. But even though it made sense living in the northern kingdom, this is what Scripture calls the sins of Jeroboam. It is very clear that judgment was to come upon the northern kingdom because of it.
As time continued Yahweh sent a number of prophets to get the northern kingdom to turn back from the sins of Jeroboam, and to go back to the original calendar. But the northern kingdom continued to disobey Yahweh’s Torah, adding, and subtracting rules, and the calendar was already changed, they did not come back to Yahweh’s Torah.
The punishment for this was that the northern ten tribes of the house of Ephraim (Israel) would be scattered out into the nations (like seed) for some 2,730 years. And as we explain in the Nazarene Israel study, this 2,730 years ended somewhere between 1996 CE to about 2000 CE. However, even though the time has run out, the northern house of Ephraim (Israel, that is, the Messianic) are still committing some of the exact same errors that got them sent out into the dispersion to begin with.
So, what do we do? Well, we are commanded to speak the truth in love. So we are going to speak for those who have ears to hear. On our YouTube channel and also on the website, we have a study series called Establishing The Head of The Year. In this, we explain how we are to properly establish the head of the year, and what some of the common mistakes and errors are that people make in establishing the head of the year.
What we explain, both in the video series and in the book transcripts, is that the new Hebrew year properly begins when we have two things.
1. We need to have the first crescent sliver of the new moon, seen from the land of Israel.
2. We also need to have enough aviv (medium dough) barley to offer the very first wave sheaf (omer) of barley, 15 to 21 days later, on the day of the Wave Sheaf Offering (Yom Hanafat HaOmer).
In other words, when we have enough aviv (medium dough) barley to offer the very first wave sheaf, then when we see the first crescent sliver of the new moon, that is when the new Hebrew year begins.
Now, one of the things that is important to know, as we explain in the study, is that it has to be the very first available sheaf. Because this Wave Sheaf is symbolic of Yeshua. And this is what most of the Messianic forget. We understand why the Karaites do not see Yeshua in the wave sheaf, because the Karaites do not believe in Yeshua. But what we do not understand at all is why so many Messianic cannot seem to understand the symbolism of Yeshua in the wave sheaf. Because everything about Scripture witnesses to Yeshua. And the problem is, if we do not use that very first sheaf, as we are going to see in the balance of this study, we are going to end up celebrating the feasts in the wrong month. And that is why we have so many Messianic keeping the feasts of the seventh month in the eighth month.
Qorintim Aleph (1 Corinthians) 15:20-23
20 [Shaul tells us] But now Messiah is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Messiah all shall be made alive.
23 But each one in his own order: [first] Messiah the firstfruits, [and then] afterward those who are Messiah’s at His coming.
Is very important this order. First, we see Messiah the firstfruits, the singular Wave Sheaf Offering, the very first of the firstfruits. And then, afterwards, we have a general harvest of those who are Messiah’s at His coming. First, we bring the Wave Sheaf, then that clears the way for the rest of the general harvest. Let us look at what Josephus says in Antiquities of the Jews.
…they offer the first-fruits of their barley, and that in the manner following: They take a handful of the ears [not a whole field], and dry them [it has to be young and still green (slightly wet), not dry and brown], then beat them small, and purge the barley from the bran [they grind it into flour]; they then bring one tenth deal to the altar, to God [sic]; and, casting one handful of it upon the fire, they leave the rest for the use of the priest. And after this it is that they may publicly or privately reap their harvest.
[Josephus: Antiquities of the Jews, Book 3, Chapter 10, verse 5.]
[First, we bring the Omer [symbolic of Yeshua], then we can harvest our crops.]
So, Josephus’ writings witness the same pattern. First, we bring the Omer, symbolic of Yeshua. And that clears the way to bring in the rest of the harvest.
Now, we explain the topic fully in our studies, Establishing the Head of the Year, specifically in “Aviv Barley Simplified”, and in many other studies. But Yahweh tells us plainly in Leviticus chapter 14 the specifics of offering a grain offering.
Vayiqra (Leviticus) 2:14
14 “If you offer a grain offering of your firstfruits
[bikkur, bikkurim (plural)] [בכורים] to Yahweh, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits green [i.e., young] heads of grain roasted on the fire [אביב קלוי] [and/or] grain beaten from full heads [גרשׂ כרמל].”
[We discuss what beaten grain from full heads refers to in our other studies].
The point is, if we bring firstfruits, it must be green heads of grain. No, we are not talking mature grain, we are talking barely mature grain. In the following images, you can see how the barley head has begun to turn a golden brown, but there is still a tinge of green to it. And you can see that the grains there still have a greenish cast to them, and they are very easy to cut with the fingernail. we are not talking hard we are talking tender young, green heads of grain.
Well, we want to look these terms up. Because that is what we love to do! Let us come to Strong’s Hebrew concordance.
H1061 (בכור); bikkuwr (bik-koor’); From H1069; the first-fruits of the crop:
KJV – first fruit (-ripe [figuratively]), hasty fruit.
H1069 bakar (baw-kar’); a primitive root; Properly, to burst the womb, i.e. (causatively) bear or make early fruit (of woman or tree); also (as denominative from H1061) to give the birthright:
KJV – make firstborn, be firstling, bring forth first child (new fruit).
So it says that it is the first fruit of the crop. Very important. The Messianic and the Karaites seem to have forgotten the whole definition of what firstfruits is. They have got some completely wrong definition that pushes the feasts back from the first month into the second month, and then likewise, the seventh month into the eighth month.
Now the birthright goes to the oldest male. We are talking, again, about the very first child. The very first offspring. This is why the King James version translates it as firstborn, firstling, the first child. The new fruit, that is what firstfruits means. And again, it just seems like the Karaites and the Messianic have missed the boat. They have lost their way on what it means to be firstfruits. As we are going to see later, they have a completely different definition of firstfruits that pushes their calendar back, on average, at least a month, sometimes more.
The other term we need to look up is the aviv barley that Yahweh tells us we can roast and bring to Him. Let us again look at Strong’s Hebrew Concordance.
H24 אָבִיב ‘abiyb (aw-beeb’); from an unused root (meaning to be tender); green, i.e. a young ear of grain; hence, the name of the month Abib or Nisan:
[We are looking for the very first sheaf of barley that is still tender, green, and young, just like Yeshua was the first among many brethren.]
So, we are looking for the very first sheaf of aviv (abib) barley, and again, it is not huge fields, it is just a sheaf (just a handful) of barley. And it must be tender, young, and green, that is what qualifies as firstfruits. And, as we are going to see, the Karaites and some of the Messianic groups use a totally different definition which delays the calendar and pushes the feasts of the seventh month back into the eighth month.
Let us take a look again at this image.
We can see how this particular piece of grain is still tender, it can be cut with the fingernail. It still has a tinge of green to it, and it is still young. It is not hard, it is not dry, it is not brown with a shattered head falling to pieces.
The following is a close-up example of other aviv grains. Do you see how they are still tender, green, and young grain? The starch content is all there. But it is effectively still wet, which is why Josephus tells us that it had to be dried in the fire.
Well, a lot of these Messianic and Karaite groups have come up with completely other definitions. And they believe that they can justify this by cherry-picking verses and twisting things from the Torah. And we understand why the Karaites do not get it, but we cannot understand why the Messianic do not see. We are talking about the very first sheaf, symbolic of Yeshua. Yeshua was the very first, singular sheaf that was ready to be offered up, and the rest of the harvest would come later. But again, we are going to see that the Karaites and the Messianic doing something else. Why can the Messianic not understand when Yeshua Himself expounded to His disciples how the Scriptures spoke of Him?
Yochanan (John) 5:39
39 “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; but these are they which testify of Me.”Luqa (Luke) 24:27
27 And beginning at Moshe and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Think about that for a moment. That is a lot of things. The whole point of Scripture is that Yahweh is raising up a Proverbs 31 bride fit for His Son. That is the whole point of the exercise. So, everything in Scripture points to Yeshua, because that is what Yahweh wants. To create a bride who is focused on His Son, who is fit for His Son. So, everything speaks of Yeshua. Why cannot the Messianic understand that the Wave Sheaf is symbolic of Yeshua? There has to be some correspondence to Yeshua’s example.
For example, Isaiah chapter 53.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 53:2
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.[Not a hard, dry, brittle, brown, and shattered plant].
Again, it speaks of Yeshua.
Well, 2021 has been a very interesting year from a calendar perspective. We have been teaching on the truth, and there has been a lot of resistance to it. But there is a Messianic sister (Becca Biderman) who lives in Poriya Illit, Israel (Galilee region). And Becca has been doing her best to witness accurately to the barley conditions in the land of Israel. So on February the 6th, 2021, a month and a half prior to the spring equinox, sister Biderman found aviv barley in a field near Poriya Illit, one week before the new moon was seen. This is what you look for when you look for the first available sheaf of aviv barley in the wild.
The field is still basically green, but you will have one or more patches that are starting to turn that golden brown. You cannot declare it based on the color, you have to actually inspect the grains and make sure that they are full of starch. But they are still tender, young, and green, just like the Strong’s definition. That is what sister Biderman did. She was very helpful to us; she gave a very good witness in that regard.
But now the plot’s going to thicken here. Some of the Messianic groups and some of the Karaites teach that you do not need just a single sheaf (symbolic of Yeshua). Instead, they teach that you need whole fields of barley ready to bring in for the harvest by the day of the Wave Sheaf Offering (Yom Hanafat HaOmer). Some of the Karaites have published a study called, Harvestable Fields Are Required By Yom Hanafat HaOmer. We talk about this in our video and in the study Establishing the Head of the Year, in the chapter “The Error of the Harvestable Fields”. In the study, we show what the problems are with the harvestable fields doctrine. But again, we can understand why the Karaites would not understand this because the Karaites are blinded to who Yeshua is. We cannot understand why the Messianic do not get this, because what Scripture tells us is that the Wave Sheaf needs to be the very first sheaf. That is what firstfruits is, the very first. And then that it also needs to be tender, green, and young barley, just as Yeshua was a tender, young plant. And because we are looking to Yeshua, we should be looking for the very first sheaf of tender, young, and green barley.
So, not to be dissuaded, but these other Messianic and Karaite groups effectively have a doctrine which we would call an anti-sheaf (anti not meaning against, but rather as a substitute sheaf, and in place of). And what the Messianic and Karaite groups are saying is that we need whole fields of barley that are hard, dry, and brown, and basically completely ready for the harvest. And this is not symbolic of Yeshua, this is symbolic of the main harvest.
Let us compare.
Here, in the image below, we see that the barley is basically tender, green, and young, but has patches that have begun to turn golden brown and yielding up aviv (medium dough) barley.
And then, in the following image, we can see how the harvestable field of barley (the Karaite and Messianic version) is much harder, drier, and brittle.
In order to get that much advancement in the barley, you must wait another month. This is why the feast of the first month slid into the second month, and why the feast of the seventh month now slid into the eighth month. Because now it is doing something that is not commanded in Torah. Now it is adding to Yahweh’s word.
Now, what happens if we take a look at this at the spiritual level? Well, there are real problems with it, because they are effectively witnessing of an anti-Messiah. This is what the anti-sheaf is all about. As we understand it, first, you present the Wave Sheaf (symbolic of Yeshua), then you can bring in the rest of the harvest later, just like what Josephus says.
But what we see the Messianic and the Karaite groups doing is, they are waiting specifically until it is time to bring in the whole of the harvest. And by that they mean, they wait until the true firstfruits have already broken, shattered, and fallen to the ground. Then they are waiting for the harvest. And then they are going to bring a false sheaf of that hard, dry, and brown harvest. Effectively, an anti-sheaf. It is a deception-sheaf, basically. And this speaks of how, first, Zionist Judah came back to the land of Israel in 1948 (which they would consider to be the harvest). And then, now, they are looking to find an anti-messiah. Basically, the fulfillment of their anti-sheaf. So, it is no surprise that this is how the Karaites would do it because they are blinded to who Yeshua is. We just do not understand why the Messianic groups cannot see through the lie for what it is.
Well, there are some other errors that come into play. Just as King Jeroboam did things because they were more convenient in the northern kingdom, there are a lot of other Messianic and Karaite groups who want it to be spring, because it is more convenient. You are going to see this again whenever you watch Karaite or Messianic reports. They are going to claim that it has to be spring. But we have to understand what spring means because now we are looking for signs in the heavens. When something is spring, it means that it is either on or after the spring equinox of March 20th (Gregorian Roman Calendar). But notice, Yahweh never talks about spring. Yahweh never says this. In fact, Yahweh does not use the word equinox, nor does He ever even describe the concept of an equinox. So, to use the concept of the equinox is to effectively add a term and a concept. The term was first discovered by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus of Rhodes. In other words, the equinox people, your lunar Sabbath people, your Messianic and your Karaites, are all effectively adding Greek concepts to Scripture. And that is specifically prohibited in the Torah.
Okay. So, what is an equinox? Well, this is a brief review, but if you want more information, we do a detailed study in the study “The Equinox Error”, in Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume Two. Also, we have a video study “Where Is The Equinox Commanded?”. So please check those studies out if you want more in-depth coverage of the topic. But briefly, in the northern hemisphere (which includes Israel) you have the summer solstice when the days are the longest and the nights are the shortest. Then another quarter of a year goes by, and you come to what is called the fall equinox, when the day and the night are of equal length. Equi (equal); nox (night). Equal parts night, equal parts day. You can also call it an equilux (equal parts light, equal parts dark).
Now, there is one particular Messianic teacher who talks about the equilux being different in the equinox. Well, he does not know what he is talking about. We will talk about him later. But you give it another quarter of a year and here it comes to what is called the winter solstice, when the days are the shortest and the nights are the longest. And then you give it another quarter of a year, and it comes back to the spring equinox, with again, equal parts night and day. That is what that is all about.
Here is a depiction of how the Jewish Hillel 2 calendar works out.
What they typically call the Jewish calendar (the Hillel 2 Jewish calendar) is a pre-calculated calendar. It was brilliant in its day for what it was designed to do. We explained it in “Where Is The Equinox Commanded?” and also in “The Equinox Error” in Nazarene Scripture Studies, Volume Two. But basically, by definition, the Hillel-2 Jewish Calendar will not allow the Pesach (Passover) to take place before the spring equinox. And because the feasts of the seventh month take place six months later, the feasts of the seventh month take place after the fall equinox. Because of this, the rabbis incorrectly call the feasts of the first month the spring feasts and then the feasts of the seventh month the fall feasts. It is very easy to fall into these terms, I was trained this way and I use these terms until Yahweh showed me the difference. We have since gone back and corrected because we do not want to be guilty of practicing Greek concepts in what is supposed to be a pure calendar designed by Yahweh.
It is very, very easy to incorporate Greek, Roman, or Babylonian concepts and attribute them to Yahweh, but that is not what Yahweh says to do. He tells us to be very, very careful not to do these kinds of things. That makes it extremely important. The concept of spring is nowhere commanded in Scripture. Winter does not have to be over. You will hear this time and again, in this group and that group. They will assert that it can no longer be winter and that it must be spring. What they are saying is, it must be after the spring equinox. So they are relying on the rotations of the heavenly bodies, meaning, they are basing their calendar on the rotations and movements of the sun, the moon, and the stars, and the rotations of the earth around the sun (rather than doing what Yahweh says to do, which is to base the calendar upon the barley alone). And they will tell you:
‘But, but, but, but, but, but, but, no, it has to be the spring feast. We have to wait until the equinox, it cannot still be winter. Because we do not want it to be cold, we want it to be warm. Would Yahweh not want us to be warm and have an enjoyable time? It should be warm.’
Well, no. Yahweh tells us to base our calendar on the barley. Let us look at John chapter 18. Because even if you are a Karaite, and you do not believe in Yeshua, and you just believe that the renewed covenant is a record of what happened in the first century, then this gives a clear picture of when the Passover was held.
Yochanan (John) 18:18
18 Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.
Turns out, it was cold. Not so much a nice, warm, beautiful, pleasant spring day. If you are a Messianic believer, then why can we not understand that it was cold in the first century, when Yeshua was crucified as the Passover lamb? It does not have to be spring.
Do we take the renewed covenant at face value? Or do we not take the renewed covenant for what it says at face value? Well, let us go off some of the reports of the Karaites. Now this is from Devorah’s Date Tree. Devorah is basically a Karaite. She would protest and say that they are an interfaith barley and new moon search group. But she pushes Karaite theology and, what she is really doing, is she is trying to teach the Karaite version of the commandments to Christians and to other people of other faiths and persuasions. I need to be very careful what I say because of some things that she has said, but she is this Devorah’s Date Tree.
So Devorah’s Date Tree asks these rhetorical questions in the spring of 2021. There is such a thing as spring, just not such a thing as a spring feast. That is the difference.
Here Devorah is ridiculing the strictly-barley calendar, she is arguing in favor of including the equinox.
Devorah’s Date Tree (“Interfaith” Karaite barley search group):
Q: “Could the New Year begin next month?”A: As eluded [sic] to in my opening paragraph, it is still winter here, and it poured all of last week.
[Translates as: “It cannot be time to begin the new year yet, because the Spring Equinox has not passed, and so it is not yet Spring!”]
We believe she meant ‘alluded’, but in any case, she means that the Greek concept has not yet been met, and it is not yet past the spring equinox. So it is not yet spring, the weather is not warm, so therefore we cannot just go on the barley alone, we also have to pay attention (give service to) the spring equinox. Even though it is a Greek concept, not in Scripture, and never spoken of by Yahweh Elohim. But let us continue with Devorah’s Date Tree’s rhetorical questions.
Devorah’s Date Tree (“Interfaith” Karaite barley search group):
Q: “How was the weather?”
A: It was just starting to get warmer on our first day, but then on the second day of our inspection it got cold again. [Just as it was in the first century!][Translates as: “It must be warm (i.e., after the Spring Equinox), or the barley cannot be aviv, and the Passover cannot yet take place! Because we have to wait until the weather is nice.” Still have not found that in Scripture. Sadly, Devorah has not been able to answer us on where it is either.]
Notice the assumption? It has got to be past the spring equinox because it has got to be warm, or else the barley cannot be aviv and the Passover cannot yet take place. Because we want to have it warm, we want the weather to be nice. This is the concept they have gotten used to on the rabbinical calendar. And even though the Karaites will swear up and down that they do not follow the rabbis, if you read closely, they quote from the Talmud, use the Talmud justification, and actually do follow the Talmud, at least in certain senses.
So, in 2021 we had some extreme weather. It makes sense. We are coming into the end times, Yahweh is attempting to wake His people up, He is trying to shake His people and to wake His people up. So of course, we are going to end up with some extreme weather. He is going to allow extreme weather; He is going to allow famines. Because it is the same old thing, the same problem from ancient times. When things are too good, Israelites get lazy, and they forget about Him. And if we think everything is fine, why should we study His word? What need is there to study His word? We do not need to study His word because everything is fine. So Yahweh is going to allow things to get a little more and more uncomfortable to shake and wake His people up and to get them to pay attention, to fear Him, and to turn back to Him. This is what is happening, that is why these things are occurring.
In 2021, we had some very extreme weather. There were six weeks of what you would call unseasonably hot weather. It actually began in December of 2020, continued for four weeks of hot weather, carrying over into the first two weeks of January 2021. And so the barley began to grow, and then it got cold again, and the barley stopped growing for a while. Then it got warm again. So we ended up with what might be called two flushes of barley.
The first barley began to grow. And the thing with barley is, once it flowers, it’s committed. Before it flowers, it can hold. But once it flowers, it is committed to producing. Well, this barley already began to grow, to flower, and to commit itself to produce. You could say, at this point, it has to go for the gold. So, on February 6th, sister Biderman found what could be called an early flush of aviv barley in the Poriya Illit region of Galilee, Israel, a month-and-a-half before the spring equinox.
Well, very suspicious circumstances, let me leave it at that. I need to be careful what I say and how I say it here, but some very suspicious circumstances. Because five days later, out comes the Karaite search organization, Devorah’s Date Tree. And they inspected the field and they said ‘No aviv.’ Why did they say no aviv? It is five days later; the barley would be even more advanced. They did not contact sister Biderman. They did not do anything like that. But what they said and the reason they gave as ‘No aviv’ was that they could not find harvestable fields. According to Scripture, all we need is one singular wave sheaf. And there was certainly that found on February the 6th, even though it was a week to go until the day of the new moon. But then on February 11th the Karaites came out and said ‘No aviv’ because they are looking for whole harvestable fields. They want to bring in the whole harvest first and then produce the anti-sheaf (symbolic of the anti-messiah). So we need to be careful when we are listening to the Messianic groups and to some of the Karaite groups. Be very, very careful, because they do not necessarily qualify their terms. I am going to leave it there.
We had the next example of aviv barley on February the 22nd. Becca Biderman (with her assistant Cindy) found aviv barley in Israel, down near Gaza. So, two weeks after the first find and still almost a month before the spring equinox. They found large quantities of aviv barley, easily a wave sheaf could be produced from this. They inspected it. (You cannot just go by color). They opened it up and they inspected it, it was full of starch, still wet, easy to cut with the nail, all these kinds of things.
Well, very interestingly (suspiciously some people think), on March 1st and 2nd 2021, here comes Devorah’s Date Tree coming in after Becca Biderman. And they inspected the same field. Now this original first flush of barley (circled in red), this golden brown, that was all now fallen on the ground and the second flush was going up through it. The second flush was green, so Devorah’s Date Tree said “No aviv”. Because they were looking for harvestable fields and so they ignored the first flush. They waited until the first presentable sheaf had already fallen to the ground and shattered. Just think about the implications of that with regard to Yeshua. And then ask yourself, why are so many Messianic following the Karaite lead in this? Why are so many Messianic waiting until the first fruits of barley have fallen to the ground before they are willing to declare the aviv? Just think and pray about the spiritual implications of that.
Then we talk about some of the Messianic groups, and it gets even more interesting. This particular brother has a website called Abib of God. I am not going to mention his name because I am praying for him. I am praying for him to repent and that he will, well, stop tying the millstone around his neck. Because it is very, very strange what he is doing. Effectively, he is mixing aspects of the rabbinic calendar and the Karaite (Sadducee) calendar. He is mixing them together and he is adding all sorts of things to Yahweh’s calendar. Once again, with the effect of pushing the feast of the first month back into the second month, and pushing the feasts of the seventh month back into the eighth month.
So, here is Abib of God’s calendar for March of 2021. He calls this “a typical March calendar”. He states that March 5th is the “Earliest possible date for a New Year”. How does he get that? Well, whether he admitted or not, he bases that on the spring equinox.
He says the “Eurasian Banded Doves” must be seen from March 5th to 15th. Okay. Is that Leviticus or is that Deuteronomy? Or maybe that Numbers? What passage is that?
He says, ‘Oh no, you have to have the “Fig trees from here to the 20th” ’. Once again, is that Leviticus? Is that Exodus? Where are we getting that from? First Additions? First Corruptions?
On the 10th, that is when you see your “Traditional white stork migration”. Oh, yes. I definitely see that is, Deuteronomy was it?
Let us see. Then you have the “Grapes from the 10th to the 20th”. Hmm, where is that commanded?
On the 15th you have the “Swifts always by now”. I think that is the First Abib of God, because I looked for it in my Scriptures, could not find it.
He has on the 16th and 17th what he calls the “Equilux”. This Abib of God brother teaches and maintains that the equilux is different than the equinox. Because the equilux he says is from Yahweh, whereas the equinox is from the devil. Now please pray for this brother. Because to me, equilux and equinox are the same thing. An equilux is equal parts light to dark, and equinox is equal parts night to day. 12 hours light and 12 hours dark for the one, and then 12 hours dark and 12 hours light. I cannot see the difference. Is there something I am missing? I do not think so, but this brother seems to think and teach that there is all the difference in the world. Because according to him, the equilux is from Yahweh and the equinox is from the devil.
Okay. Well, this brother also tells us that the “Passover minimum date” was on March 18th. We will notice that the rabbis tell us the “Passover minimum date” is on March 20th, or 21st in the leap year. He adds all sorts of things, or maybe the Rabbis add it in, I am not sure. But in any event, he adds all sorts of things to this calendar that Yahweh never says, and the vast majority of the Messianic go running after this brother. And they have no idea, they are just adding things to the calendar left and right. And the majority of the Messianic are like,
‘Oh Abib of God, yes! We have to follow their additions because they know so much! They sound so important! They sound so knowledgeable!”
Okay. Do not be doing that.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 4:19
19 “And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which Yahweh you Elohim has given to all the [other] peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage.”
Yahweh is warning us,
‘Watch out! This is an easy thing to make the mistake of doing, do not do it!”
The term serve is very important. We discuss this in The Torah Calendar study, the term serve, all that means is that you take it into account. So when Yahweh tells us he is a jealous Elohim, and He wants us to worship and serve Him and Him alone, that means this. He wants us to take Him and His word into account and for this to be the only thing that we base our decisions on. He wants to be the only thing we base our calendar on. But if we are going to take the equinox, or the equilux, or the Eurasian banded swifts, or the white stork migrations, and a bunch of things into account that He never said to do, effectively that is what Yahweh says not to do. Because in His eyes, we are then worshiping and serving the Eurasian banded swifts, we are worshiping and serving the white storks, or the grape harvest, or the figs.
So please pray for this brother, there are a lot of things going on with that brother. And we have tried to communicate with him and also with the Karaites, we do not get what you would call a friendly dialogue. Let us just leave it there. But the point is, a lot of people are being led astray by these man-made doctrines.
We see the same kind of errors taking place in Scripture, not just Jeroboam but also Exodus chapter 32. Here is where Aharon (to paraphrase) told the people “Break off your golden earrings, I am going to make you something to worship.” so he throws it in the fire and out pops this golden calf.
Shemote (Exodus) 32:5
5 So when Aharon saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aharon made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to Yahweh”.
Aharon said “Tomorrow is a feast to Yahweh”, but Yahweh did not say to have a feast then. Aharon made things up, Aharon added things to Yahweh’s word. And Yahweh was so enraged that three thousand of the people had to die that day! That is how seriously Yahweh takes adding things to Scripture. If we do not want to fall prey to the corruptions of the little horn, then we need to be so careful not to add to Scripture. Because as Israelites, He chose the least. As Israelites, we are stubborn, stiff-necked people. We like to worship golden calves, we like to make fence laws, we like Takanot and Ma’asim. We like to do our own thing and consider that it comes from Him. We like to think that ‘our ways’ are more pleasing to Him than ‘His ways’. These things do not come from Him, these are the devisings of our own heart. He does not like them, so we should be careful not to do them.
Well, here is another one you hear from the equinox crowd, from the lunar-Sabbath people, and from some other folks. You hear all this misuse of Genesis 1, verse 14. Now, this is the New King James version, I am going to pick on it some. I use the New King James version a lot, but I am going to pick on it here. Because this is incorrect, this is one of the reasons why I correct the New King James when I use it in the publications.
B’reisheet (Genesis) 1:14 NKJV
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and *seasons, and for days and years;
What the people say is,
‘Oh, well, spring and fall. Those are seasons, right? So, spring and fall, those are implied in Genesis 1:14, right?’
No. Wrong. We take a look at the ISR version (Institute for Scriptures Research), this is the best all English versions that I know of.
B’reisheet (Genesis) 1:14 ISR
14 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 *Moedim [appointed feast times], and for days and years…[*Spring and fall are not mentioned! Only feast times!]
If you can follow all this so far, we are going to now look at some of the key calendar events of 2021. And we are going to see that this is why the feasts have been pushed back from the first month into the second month, and correspondingly from the seventh month into the eighth month. For different reasons than King Jeroboam, but nonetheless pushed back because of addition to Yahweh’s word.
We saw earlier that, on February 6th, sister Becca Biderman found aviv barley firstfruits in the land of Israel. And then five days later Devorah Gordon of the Devorah’s Date Tree came in and attempted to invalidate her testimony. Then on February the 13th we had the correctly timed Rosh Hashanah (the true head of the year) because it is based on the barley, not on the spring equinox. So then, on February 27 there was the Passover and the next day on the 28th was the correct day of the Wave Sheaf Offering. And there was indeed a sheaf of barley to offer that was still tender, green, and young. And it is very important that it happened in the right time because aviv barley, only stays in the head for a very short period of time. Once it becomes aviv you have got less than a month before it is going to be shattered and on the ground. You have got maybe a two or a three-week time frame in there, you have got to get that barley harvested. That is why it is so important to take the very first available sheaf.
Okay. Well, by March 6th (about a month after February 6th) the true firstfruits of the barley would have been shattered. That is why it was so important to offer the Wave Sheaf on February 28th.
But the Karaites and the Messianic groups were not happy with that. So on March 14th they declared their New Year. Notice, again, it is happening about the same time as the rabbis would do things. On March 20th that was the spring equinox (March 21st on the leap year, I believe. But do not quote me on that). So then the Karaites offered their Wave Sheaf Offering on April 4th. And it boggles my mind, but the very next day the Karaites sent out another post boasting that they found fields of barley that were shattered as proof that they offered their firstfruits at the right time.
Now, see if you can get this. So on April 4th, Devorah’s Date Tree declared the Wave Sheaf Offering of their tender, young and green firstfruits. Firstfruits being the fruits that open the womb, so to speak. The fruits that open the matrix, the fruits that burst the womb. The firstlings, the hasty fruit, the first fruit. And then the very next day they boasted about how they found a whole field and how it was the correct decision to make to wait another month because they found whole fields of barley that were already shattered and on the ground. Can anyone understand that? I understand their reasons, but we explained to them many times. You cannot offer your barley firstfruits after they have shattered and fallen to the ground. What? Are you going to get out there with tweezers and take green spray paint to turn the barley back green again? Are you going to dunk it in the water to make it wet again? What are you going to do? Just too strange!
In our studies, we give all kinds of reasons why it was just impossible to keep the calendar the way they say to do it. But we have not gotten a positive response back from them. And again, we understand why the Karaites would not understand these things. But it is the Messianic groups, why do the Messianic groups not understand this? And some of the things that Abib of God teaches are so strange. Why do the vast majority of the Messianic run after Abib of God, who in turn run themselves after the Karaite data!? It makes no sense. Yeshua warns us to be aware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees (the orthodox rabbis and the Karaites). Yeshua specifically warns us to beware of their leaven (their false, wrong doctrine). It is just mind-boggling, some of this stuff.
To continue, Abib of God rejects any barley from any field coming from Alon Junction, Ain Mabu’a, Fatsa’el Junction, North of Wadi Firan, and North of Wadi Talkid. And they reject Jericho and Gilgal, because they say these places are too rocky, even though that is where Israel first entered the land in Joshua chapter 5. Abib of God rejects any barley from anywhere that there are rocks (which the whole land of Israel is like one big rock!) And then they reject it from any hillside, terraced or not. And again, Israel is a very mountainous region, the whole levant is very mountainous, it is basically one big, terraced rock. So they reject Gilgal. Even though this is where the children of Israel entered the land.
Yeshoshua (Joshua) 5:10-11
10 Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho.
11 And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day.[But Abib of God rejects all fields with hills or rocks.]
So, it is good enough for Yahweh, just not good enough for Abib of God? Abib of God rejects Bethlehem because it is too hilly and too rocky. Well, that is bad news for Ruth and Boaz.
Root (Ruth) 1:22
22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.[But Abib of God rejects all fields with hills or rocks.]
As we show in the study of “Did Ancient Israelites Qualify Their Barley Fields?”, this is Bethlehem Judea from the air 1931. It may be a little hard to see, but there are all the terraces.
This is Bethlehem Judea today. Again, there are all the terraces. This is where Boaz would have been growing barley, but Abib of God rejects all that. So, it is good enough for Boaz, and it is good enough for Ruth, but it is not good enough for Abib of God.
Abib of God rejects the Judean foothills in the Judean lowlands because, ‘No, no, no! This is not good soil! Cannot use the Judean lowlands. Nor can we use Ramallah in Samaria or Shomron.‘ Because they say that with little or no topsoil on the eastern Judean hills, rains either run off or soak down to bedrock, blah, blah, blah… this is not good soil. You can only use it for grazing.
Can you see all the terraces in the background there? And how this is country that has been used for farming for thousands of years, Abib of God says that you cannot do that?
Well, the Abib of God says that you must use barley from the valley, and not from the sides of the mountains. Let us look at Judges.
Shophetim (Judges) 1:34
34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley…
A whole number of passages like this. Well, I guess the children of Dan could not grow barley, because the Abib of God would not like that.
Okay. This is Gideon’s home in Ophrah (Taybeh). Again, it is rocky and hilly. Abib of God rejects all hills and rocks. For more information, I encourage you to watch the video “Did Ancient Israelites Qualify Their Barley Fields?”. We give you a full list of silly things that Abib of God adds to Scripture.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 4:2
2 “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, which I command you.”Devarim (Deuteronomy) 12:32
32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”
Yahweh is very specific on, in this case, not adding to His word, so that you are able to keep the feasts of the first month in the first month, and not have them pushed into the second month. And so that you can keep the feasts of the seventh month in the seventh month, and not have them pushed into the eighth month. Like so many of the Messianic are doing. That is why Yahweh says for us to be careful to observe whatever He commands us and not add or take away from it. Because if we add or take away from His word, if we change His calendar, we are no longer keeping His calendar, we are keeping our own calendar.
Daniel 7:25
25 He shall speak pompous words against [contrary to] the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall intend to change [appointed feast] times and Torah. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.
Remember, there is a spirit out there that intends to change the appointed feast times and the Torah.
Melachim Aleph (1 Kings) 12:31-32
31 He made shrines on the high places, and made priests from every class of people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
32 Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah [that is, the seventh month Feast of Tabernacles], and offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made.
Jeroboam pushed the Feast of Tabernacles from the seventh month to the eighth, just as the majority of the Messianic are doing this year. Jeroboam devised things in his own heart and was not being careful to do what Yahweh said to do.
This is our warning and our wake-up call. We are trying to speak the truth in love to those who are being lied to. And if you are one of these leaders and teachers who are teaching people to keep the feasts of the seventh month in the eighth month, we hope and we pray that you will repent of your evil and your wrongdoing, and pay close attention to Yahweh and His word. So that you are not tying a millstone around your neck.
He who has ears let him hear.