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12 apostles, 12 tribes... Hmm

That's pretty interesting. Ill have to look into it. The question that hits my brain first is how they were able to align the days of the week to the full moon? If they were beginning their calendar at the first of Nisan as the first day of the spiritual calendar, the 15th (High Sabbath) would have fallen on the Sunday it seems.

Did the Qumran's align with the full moon?
Interested in your thoughts
 
The Qumran calendar did not use the moon, it was a purely lunar calendar. Months were used, but the moon was not used to determine the time of the months. There are clearly intended to be 12 months in the year, but the moon does not line up accurately with the length of a year. Enoch and other ancient sources describe a 364 day year, our year is now longer than this. Personally, I believe that at the time of Creation there was a "perfect" 364 or 360 day year, with the moon perfectly aligning with these months, however over time this has become corrupted. For instance, if the theory that there was a high water vapour canopy over the earth pre-flood is correct, that then fell and contributed to the floodwaters, this would comprise a large mass moving inwards. Basic physics shows that this would increase the earth's rotation speed (if you spin on a chair holding weights at arms length, then pull your arms in, you'll speed up), increasing the number of days per year, possibly from 364 to 365.25. The world is decaying and imperfect, and every calendar is an attempt to deal with this imperfection.

The calendar is outlined in the first Qumran fragment on this page, see English translation below the fragment.
Your Arms To Israel has a webpage on this with many references, the page is messy to follow but it's got a lot of good explanatory charts and references.
A great explanation of the dead sea scrolls, and how the calendar doesn't just fit into them but is absolutely integral to every docucument, is in this lecture by Professor Rachel Elior - over an hour but very well worth listening to, lots of valuable information on more than just this topic:
The calendar relates every week directly back to the original creation. The initial creation week was seven days, with day 4 being the creation of the sun. If we assume the sun was created at the spring equinox (the first month Nissan is in spring, and ideal to start creation at the beginning of springtime), the fourth day of the creation week becomes the first day of the first month. Fifth day of week is second day of month, sixth is third, seventh day (first sabbath) is fourth day of month.
The Qumran calendar follows this pattern. Every year, the first month starts at the spring equinox. The first sabbath is the fourth day of the first month. And every sabbath then continues at seven day intervals.
This means that every single feast day, rather than floating around the week like it does on the Jewish calendar, is always fixed. The many debates that the Jews have about "what to do if X day happens to fall on a sabbath and how do we modify the required practices to observe this" are completely eliminated. These events never occur. Each feast day has a fixed day of the week, and the day works perfectly with every scriptural instruction regarding that feast.
Because the calendar only has 364 days, an additional 1-2 days are added at the end of the year until the equinox occurs, when the next year begins again. This means that the final week ends up 1-2 days longer than normal, to make everything align despite the odd length of the actual year.

It's a very practical calendar, it's simple to understand and follow. Anyone can follow it provided they can observe the equinox. It makes an enormous amount of practical sense. It seems to resolve many different issues with calendar dates. Whether it's correct or not, I couldn't say for sure. But it's certainly worth looking into.

There is a good chance that the Qumran caves represent the library of the exiled Zadokite priesthood, and contain much valuable information that has been supernaturally preserved and only revealed in the last days - when "knowledge will increase" as prophesied...
 
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That was a very interesting video. Very enlightening. Much of it I'd already studied but I can see its time for my yearly stroll through the Dead Sea Scrolls again.

The site that you linked to looks very interesting. The idea of beginning the year on the fourth day of the week will require more inspection before I could commit to it as being legitimate. He sure has a lot of articles.

One word of caution, I went through his chart on the first weekly sabbath that God commanded and compared it to Exodus 16:1-30 as he recommended, and found that he has grossly misrepresented the order of the days in that account.
They arrive on the 15th of the second month, God speaks to Moses and states that He will appear to talk with them that evening (the 15th). He gives them the commandment to gather an Omar worth of food for 5 days and on the 6th to gather 2 so they can rest on the 7th Day.

Ex.16:22. And it came to pass, that on the sixth day (the 21st) they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23. And he said unto them, this is that which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow (the 22nd) is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

That is the only article that I had a chance to read today but was quite disappointed with his lack of accuracy in it. Ill try to get some more gone through shortly. Hopefully it was an anomaly. (He stated that the sabbath was the 16th of the second month)

Something that I've noticed in teachings about the Resurrection count is the focus on the sign of Jonah to the exclusion of the words of Christ as listed in the other Gospels. Out of all these references below, only two reference his rising after the third day. Both times the word after is translated from the word meta, which can be translated as after but is most often (by a huge margin) translated as 'with'. I.e. With the third day. I also believe this to be the case in Marks Gospel with the phrase, meta the eighth day in reference to Jesus returning to break bread with His disciples including Thomas.

Matt. 16:21. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day

Matt. 17:23. And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.

Matt. 20:19. And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Matt 26:61. And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

Matt 27:40. And saying, Thou that destroyers the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

Matt 27:63. Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After (meta) three days I will arise. 64. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

Mark 8:31. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after (meta) three days rise again.

Mark 9:31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day

Mark 10:34. And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

Mark 14:58. We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.

Mark 15:29. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyers the temple, and buildest it in three days,

Luke 9:22. Saying. The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. (From the angels guarding the tomb)

Luke 13:32. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

Luke 18:33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again

Luke 24:7. Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

Luke 24:21. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

Luke 24:46. And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behaved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

John 2:19. Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20. . . . And wilt thou rear it up in three days?

Acts 10:40. Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;

1 Cor 15:4. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Also from the early centuries after Christ. earlychristianwritings.com

/text/hippolytus-dogmatically.html
And the apostles, when they came to the sepulchre on the third day, did not find the body of Jesus; just as the children of Israel went up the mount and sought for the tomb of Moses, but did not find it.
/text/irenaeus-book3.html
And we are witnesses of all those things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem; whom they slew, hanging Him on a beam of wood: Him God raised up the third day, and showed Him openly; not to all the people, but unto us,
/text/tertullian11.html
Thenceforth He preached the new law and the new promise of the kingdom of heaven, worked miracles; having been crucified, He rose again the third day; (then) having ascended into the heavens, He sat at the right hand of the Father;
 
As far as the calendar year goes, one guy I like to listen to (Chuck Missler) discussed another possibility. That Mars and Earth were on slightly different orbits than they are now. Its admittedly conjecture but there are supports to this. I'll see if i can find it and post a link here.

Found it. It's a short 9-minute clip that deals just with the Earth/Mars orbits and the change in days. There are other longer versions. I love his video that discusses the Gap Theory, that there's a whole lot that went on between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, and that the speed of light is actually slowing down. Cool stuff.
 
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Quote from YourArmsTo Israel
From these markers you can count every 7 days forwards or backwards for the Torah Shabbat!!! This only works if the ORIGINAL SHABBAT WAS AVIV 4!! There YOU HAVE IT RIGHT BELOW! Documented dates for the first 8 weekly Shabbats of each year, documented from Torah and the Dead Sea Scrolls! HALLELUYAH THE MATH DOESN'T LIE! If the calendar you use doesn't line the Shabbat up with these biblical dates it is not yet correct; more work awaits you! The true Shabbat never floats!

Still searching through this. As I mentioned above, the sabbath in Exodus 16 was not on the 16th & 23rd of the 2nd mon
th but on the 22nd & 29th. According to their own words that seems to disprove the original Shabbat on Aviv 4.
Also it seems that the difficulty of the extra day is simply disregarded as each year is reset to the vernal equinox. In that case, the "true Shabbat" proposed by them ALWAYS floats.
It looks like they have some good stuff/ ideas and history mentioned in their site. It just seems like they employ a method of circular reasoning for most of their ideas and proofs.
It was interesting to read about how they kept the days of the week by how they kept the menorah lit.
Something else that it seems is missing in these calculations is the influence of the moon and stars. Genesis 1:14 indicates that the combination of the sun, moon and stars are the indicators of the signs (owth) seasons (mow'ed) days (yowm) and years (shaneh).
BTW. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the feast days, the word for seasons is the word mow'ed. If you trace this through the OT it is very significant, especially in Lev. 23:3,4 it lists the sabbath as a feast (mow'ed) of the LORD. A holy convocation or dress rehearsal. If you want to follow this idea through the NT you are looking for a Greek word for time, kairos. Not just any time in general (chronos) but a specific appointed time.

I like the idea of the Enoch calendar and have been interested in it for some time. There have been issues that I have seen in the Jewish calendar as well as the Gregorian calendar. One of the main issues that I see most fail to resolve is the extra days and the reset. Most of the calendars have a method of correction but IMHO it is a coping mechanism, not a divinely appointed reason for resetting. I have looked at the Enoch calendar a little bit and have a few ideas on how it could be reset by mow'ed but Ill have to visit that another time.

Peace, Blessings and I'm off to the rat races.
 
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In Exodus 16, it is not clear whether the complaints of the people (v2-3) or YHWH's response all occurred on the 15th, or over several days following that date. So I am not sure whether counting days from the 15th is an accurate way to determine the sabbath at all. The 16th would have been a sabbath if the complaining and receiving an answer took a day.
 
As far as the calendar year goes, one guy I like to listen to (Chuck Missler) discussed another possibility. That Mars and Earth were on slightly different orbits than they are now. Its admittedly conjecture but there are supports to this. I'll see if i can find it and post a link here.

Found it. It's a short 9-minute clip that deals just with the Earth/Mars orbits and the change in days. There are other longer versions. I love his video that discusses the Gap Theory, that there's a whole lot that went on between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, and that the speed of light is actually slowing down. Cool stuff.
Interesting video. I would like to see his references on the astronomical calculations.

I have very little time for the gap theory to be honest, as it was only invented around 150 years ago in order to shoehorn scientific theories around the age of the earth into scripture, theories that actually don't stand up to serious scientific scrutiny anyway. It was only popularised in the Scofield bible a century ago, which was pushed in evangelical bible colleges, and ended up being training material for theologians in particular denominations like the Baptists. There is no scientific or scriptural reason to believe in such a gap, and it has serious theological ramifications. I do still consider theories involving it cautiously when they may assist our understanding of astronomy, but always with these wider ramifications in mind.
 
In Exodus 16, it is not clear whether the complaints of the people (v2-3) or YHWH's response all occurred on the 15th, or over several days following that date. So I am not sure whether counting days from the 15th is an accurate way to determine the sabbath at all. The 16th would have been a sabbath if the complaining and receiving an answer took a day.

I'm doing some more study into this. I got a chance yesterday to get into my book on the Dead Sea Scrolls by Micheal Wise, Martin Abegg Jr and Edward Cook. It's one of my favorite resource books, probably # 2 or 3 next to my Bible.
I am coming to realize that you may be correct in this perspective although I still have multiple reservations about it. Bear with me while I spend some time on it. Any further perspectives are more than welcomed.

Some things that make me go, Hmmm.
1 While it has become apparent to me that the community that generated the scrolls obviously considered this date (2nd mo. 16th day) to be a very significant date, and these beliefs are obviously very ancient, the fact that an ancient sect believes something to be true does not equal truth. For example, they also encouraged celibacy (though if you were married and decided to stay that way it was ok) and prohibeted polygamy. Also I find the idea that because the Jews were the original recipients of the Law that it equals they understand it perfectly to be false. For example, Nehemiah records that in his day they re instituted the Feast of Tabernacles after not observing it since the death of Joshua. The Shemitah was apparently not observed since the death of Samuel and that's the reason given in Jeremiah for the captivity. I have also read (although I cannot recall the source at this time) that Ezra the Scribe was known as such because after the time of the First Temple's destruction the sacred books were not to be found, whether destroyed or hidden no one knows. Ezra (presumably under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) wrote 77 books which became the source of the post captivity biblical knowledge.
2 Though it was obviously recorded by this sect or whomever, the apparent date of their hiding would make me question if their views were even known, much less considered relevant or regarded as authoritative during Christs ministry.
3 If this group was the Essenes, which I tend to believe, there are multiple issues presented in their sectarian scrolls which Jesus corrected though I believe they were probably closer to truth in areas than the opposing sects.
4Through the course of my studies, I have become convinced that Jesus Christ, being God, would have known and fulfilled his assigned course perfectly though the people around him may not have initially understood what was happening. If in doubt about the Law commanded in the OT examine the life of Christ for clarity. If in doubt about why Christ did something a certain way in the New Testament, examine the Law in the OT.
 
For example, they also encouraged celibacy (though if you were married and decided to stay that way it was ok) and prohibeted polygamy.
Why do you say this? From the content of the scrolls themselves (ie the actual teachings of the authors)? Or are you referring to what others wrote about the Essenes, whom little is known about and may not have been the compilers of the library at all?

The Qumran library is a collection of many texts by many authors, not the particular sectarian teachings of a select few mystics. It contains every biblical book bar Esther, many known apocryphal works like Enoch... These were not the writings of one sect. Why would we assume the calendar was simply the work of a single sect also? It is a matter of historical record that the Rabbis "fixed" the Jewish calendar hundreds of years after Christ, but have not recorded what the changes were, so we know the earlier calendar was different in some way. Furthermore it is a suspiciously convenient coincidence that the Jewish sabbath coincides perfectly with the seventh day of the Roman week, Saturday, suggesting to me that the calendar may have been adjusted to fit into the surrounding culture.
 
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Interesting about the Roman seventh day.
I'll have to go back thru and find where I read that. I read so much that off the top of my head I don't remember which doc it was. Seems like I've seen references supporting that in multiple places. I'll just have to reread them.
 
Why do you say this? From the content of the scrolls themselves (ie the actual teachings of the authors)? Or are you referring to what others wrote about the Essenes, whom little is known about and may not have been the compilers of the library at all?

I was able to do some reading today and look at this a little better. By no means have I been able to go through all of the books I have read that have contributed to my perception on this subject, but I think perhaps this will suffice.
On the celibacy, I think my perception on this has come from secondary sources related to the Essenes.
As to whether or not they are the keepers of the library or the authors of some of the library, I don't think anyone knows. I tend to think that the Qumran community probably originated from Isaiah during the reign of Mannasah. There may be some connection between Esaias and the followers of Esaias, Esse'ene. Then again maybe not.

As to the prohibition of polygamy, in the Damascus Document (page 55 &56 in my edition) the author, who claims to be one of the 'sons of Zadoc', equates having two wives as fornication. Also in the Temple Scroll the king is restricted to having one wife at a time (the second is only permitted after the death of the first) pg 264.
They really don't deal much with the women in the community of the 'yahad'. I get the impression that they were restricted from the common meals, the assembly, the "pit" of the unlearned men, etc.
Interestingly enough, it seems that they utilize the Levitical prohibitions on the spousal qualifications. (Ez 44:22) It seems that a maiden was preferred, and upon consumation of the marriage was considered part of the community, where a man couldn't take the oath until at least 20 yrs of age. A widow could be married but only from within the community.

There is another passage in the Damascus Document that seems to allow a marriage exception to these Levitical rules. It states, Let no man bring [a woman into the covenant of holi]ness whom he knew to "do the deed" for a trifle or whom he knew [to "do the deed" while in the house of ] her father; or a widow who has had intercourse after she became a widow, or any [woman who has a ] bad [repu]tation while a virgin in the house of her father. Let no man marry such a one unless [she is examined by] dependable and knowledgeable [women] who are selected at the command of the Overseer who is over the [general membership; the]n he may marry her, but when he marries her let him do according to the re[gul]ation [and not] tell others about [her . . .]

I just recently read a book by Dr. Arnold David Coleman, Cohabitation and Polygamy, Never Banned by our Creator. In a discussion on Matt. 5 & 19 on divorce was that the two schools of thought in Jesus' day was by the Sadducees who believed in monogamy and divorce was for adultery only(who claimed to be the sons of Zadoc) and the Pharisees who were polygynist and believed divorce was for any reason. Dr. Coleman states that he believes the exception clause in Matthew was inserted by Erasmus partly because it is not listed in Marks account or Luke's and there is such astonishment in Matthews account to Christ's response. If he is correct, the phrase would be "even in case of adultery" instead of "except in case of adultery". In other words, Christ's response would have condemned both views. I am also fairly certain that Josephus records the Sadducees as being monogamist although if memory serves me correct, he makes a distinction between them and the Essenes as being two different sects.
Sorry I don't have the exact references available for the paragraph above. Just didnt have time to go back through all of it.
All of that being said, I'm not certain exactly how much authority to give to the Dead Sea Scrolls. They are an incredible resource filled with many gems of knowledge that has perhaps been lost or misunderstood. That being said, there are many things that I've found in the Scrolls that Jesus Christ corrected by his teachings. There are also many things that are apparently someone's interpretation of the way things should be. Like:
Young boys and women are excluded from eating the Passover
They observed a socialistic or communal economy
Prohibited sex with a pregnant woman
The handicapped were excluded from the common assembly, not just the Temple
The death penalty if you didn't read clearly enough to be heard in the assembly
You should not rest in a place near Gentiles on a Sabbath
A living person who falls into a body of water on the Sabbath could not be helped with tools, a rope or a ladder, but you could strip and use your garment to help him.
You could not have sex in Jerusalem
Any man getting married has to get the approval of the Overseer.
Penalties for laughing out loud, sleeping in church, speaking out of turn.

In short, I'm not certain that their beliefs on monogamy or polygamy really matter, unless you view them as being the true keepers of the faith and truth. I, personally, am not convinced that their beliefs really add up to the authority of Scripture.
 
Fascinating information, thank you. I think that we have to remember it is a library of many books, and each must be considered on its own merits. It is interesting that the Damascus scroll forbids polygamy. However the fact that it also prohibits so many other things in addition to Torah, such as sex in Jerusalem, make this particular document clearly the extra-biblical guidance of an extreme sect, not something we need to follow. The reason given is interesting though.
7 1 The builders of the wall who walk after law-the law it is which talks, of which He said: Assuredly they shall talk-are caught [by two] by fornication in taking two wives during their lifetime. 2,3 But the fundamental principle of the creation ‘Male and Female created He them.’ 4 And they who went into the Ark, ‘Two and two went into the Ark.’ And as to the prince it is written, 5 ‘He shall not multiply wives unto himself.’ But David read not in the Book of the Law that was sealed, which was in the Ark; for it was not opened in Israel from the day of the death of Eleazar and 6 Joshua, and the Elders who served Ashtaroth. And it was hidden (and was not) discovered until 7 Zadok arose: Now they glorified the deeds of David save only the blood of Uriah, and God abandoned them to him
They claim that Zadok had access to an ancient pre-flood book of the law, which had also been available at the time of Moses, but had been lost from Joshua's death.

However had such a book been available until the time of Joshua's death, and followed, Abraham, Jacob, Moses and Caleb would not have been polygamous. The fact that they were clearly polygamous shows such a book did not exist, or of it did was not regarded by them to be authoritative. So either Zadok found an old book that had previously been rejected as wrong and started following it, Zadok made it up and said he found it, or the writer of the Damascus document made it up as justification for their personal ultra-prudish opinion. The latter seems most likely.
 
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