by John P. Pratt
Reprinted from Meridian Magazine (17 Nov 2004)
©2004 by John P. Pratt. All rights Reserved
The Jubilee Calendar is proposed as a restoration of an
ancient inspired version, with evidence that it is used by the Lord for
many sacred events.
Many sacred calendars have been described in earlier articles in
this column of Meridian Magazine. One of those was the Enoch Calendar,[1] which
divides the year into twelve parts, called months, very similar to our
modern Gregorian calendar. The Lord not only divides time into twelve
parts, he also divides it into seven parts. Examples are the seven-day
week, the Hebrew week of seven years, and the division of the history
of Adam's descendants into seven millennia of about 1,000 years each.
So the question arises, is there a yearly calendar which divides the
year into seven parts? The answer is yes, several ancient calendars did
so. This article introduces the Jubilee Calendar, which is an attempt
to restore what might have been the lost original inspired version.
Several examples of its apparent use throughout history are given to
show that it is indeed a good candidate to be a sacred calendar
actually used by the Lord.
 |
The Enoch Calendar divides the year into twelfths.
1. The Jubilee Calendar
Those who have researched the calendars of ancient Israel have found
that anciently the Israelites used a calendar which divided the year
into seven parts. Let us consider the main features of the principal
example which has survived, to see if we can deduce what an inspired
original version might have been.
1.1 Pentecontad Calendar
The great Hebrew scholar Julian Morgenstern was one of the foremost
experts on the calendars of Ancient Israel. He concludes there is
strong evidence that such a calendar, called the Pentecontad calendar,
was used in Palestine during the time of Moses, and more likely even
earlier, at the time of Abraham. While many of the details of this
calendar have long been lost, he describes a similar calendar which has
been used by modern Christian Palestinian peasants.[2]
The calendar is described as dividing the year into seven seasons of
50 days each (350 days) with two extra weeks inserted at the middle and
end of the year. Most scholars have dismissed this early calendar as a
primitive attempt to track the year, which was replaced by the more
sophisticated Hebrew calendar of today. But to me it was intriguing
that it appeared to be an excellent candidate to be a bona fide sacred
calendar that the Lord might employ. The following table summarizes the
names of the seasons and activities prescribed. The nominal value of 50
days for each season was sometimes adjusted in order to start on the
Festivals indicated.
| Beginning Day |
Length
(days) |
Julian |
Activity prescribed |
|---|
| Easter |
50 |
|
harvest lentils and vetches |
| Pentecost |
50 |
|
harvest barley and wheat |
| Festival of Elijah |
50 |
20 Jul |
harvest grapes |
| Festival of the Cross |
50 |
14 Sep |
harvest olives |
| Tabernacles Week |
8 |
|
|
| Festival of St. George |
50 |
3 Nov |
plowing, sowing |
| Christmas |
50 |
25 Dec |
winter rain |
| Lent |
50 |
|
|
| Passover Week |
7 |
|
|
| TOTAL |
365 |
|
|
Table 1. A modern Palestinian version of the ancient Pentecontad calendar.
Read the rest here...
