Long after the critics of Mark Biltz’s book, Blood Moons have been forgotten, the premise of his book will be changing how people view the Bible’s calendar. To be sure Biltz was not the first to show the religious calendar of the Bible must be understood within its Biblical context but it was his research that was the catalyst which raised awareness of the subject to the point where it can no longer be ignored.
In his book, Mark Biltz showed that our Creator set out “divine appointments” which he codified in the religious calendar given to Israel. Mr. Biltz demonstrated the early church’s belief that several of these divine appointments were fulfilled in Yeshua’s (Jesus’) death and resurrection. He went on to make a strong case for a future fulfillment of those Biblical holy days in events related to the 2nd coming of Yeshua.
Now I have read Biltz’s book on the Blood Moons and contrary to the assertions of some, he has not claimed the blood moons are a specific sign of the 2nd coming of Christ in 2014/2015. What he does claim is the blood moons are an important reminder to our generation that we should understand how our Creator reckons time. For those willing to listen, the blood moons remind us that the Biblical calendar is based upon both the cycles of the sun and moon. It is this lunar/solar interaction which makes our Creator’s calendar so unique.
Let me tell you why I believe Biltz’s premise concerning a Biblical calendar is controversial to so many. Simply put, it represents a fundamental shift in how we view Biblical “time”.
I’ll try to explain. If you pulled back the cover on your expensive wrist watch you’ll find different sized gears which allow your watch to keep track of seconds, minutes, days, weeks, months, and years. Each gear is a specific size which allows it to precisely measure “time”.
Our Creator’s watch works the same way only His gears are the Sun, Moon, Earth and Stars. This cosmic Rolex, if you will, measures time according to a standard He set in motion at creation. (Gen. 1:14) Our Earth in its orbit around the sun is the gear which gives us our year of 365.24 days. The moon is the gear which gives us a month of 29.53 days. The rotation of the earth is the gear which gives us our day of 24 hours.
Here is what makes the Biblical calendar extraordinary. 12 lunar cycles (months) of 29.53 days equals 354.36 days. This makes the Biblical lunar/solar “year” about 11 days shorter than each solar cycle of 365.24 days. If the Biblical calendar was not corrected every few years the months would “wander” causing them to move through the seasons. A good example of this type of wandering calendar is the lunar calendar of Islam. 
If Nisan (the 1st Biblical month beginning in March or April) was not fixed to the solar/agricultural cycle it would continue to move 11 days away from its starting point every year. In only eighteen years time Nisan would be celebrated in the fall. YHWH in his infinite wisdom did not intend for this to happen so when Israel left Egypt He instructed Moses to begin each new year in the month of the “Abib”. Abib is a term for barley when it is forming its ears of grain. Not to get lost in details but by linking the Biblical calendar to the solar/agricultural cycle of Abib, YHWH provided the Israelites a means to synchronize the lunar cycle of 29.53 days with the solar year of 365.24 days, thus preventing it from wandering in the solar cycle. In practical terms this synchronization was accomplished by adding a 13th month approximately every 3 years. In modern terms we call this an intercalation. (For a Biblical example see my article Ezekiel’s 13th Month)
Here is another way to look at it: The Biblical calendar can be divided into two parts. One part, as it relates to mankind’s day to day activity, is governed by the rising and setting of the sun. According to the Biblical example (first set by YHWH at creation) this day to day cycle is also grouped into 6 days of labor and 1 day of rest.
The other part of the Biblical calendar, as Mark Biltz so wonderfully demonstrates in his book Blood Moons, is governed by the cycle of the moon. Specific days in these lunar months are designated as “divine appointments”. When we look up into the night sky after a hard days work the lunar cycle is there to remind us of our Creator’s plan of reconciliation for all mankind through Yeshua. In the first month on Passover, Yeshua became the “lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world.” Not many days later he rose from the grave and became, “the firstfruits” of them that slept. If YHWH had not fixed the Biblical calendar to the solar/agricultural cycle Yeshua would not have fulfilled these Divine appointments.
If you’ve read my article on the The Messiah Factors you know it is no accident that lunar/solar cycles of the Biblical calendar are reconciled by a 13th month. This 13th month is the bridge which connects the side of the Biblical calendar which governs mankind’s struggle to survive under the curse of sin, with the side of the calendar which offers hope through the promised Redeemer.
For many today, Biltz’s book Blood Moons is an uncomfortable reminder that our way of looking at “time” has wandered from its Biblical foundations. Think of the implications this has for how we understand many of the prophetic passages in the Scripture. Have you ever wondered why the prophecies in the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation do not use the term “years” to designate the shorter time frames? It makes perfect sense if you realize the Biblical calendar “year” varies between 12 & 13 months. Remember years in a Biblical sense are based upon a certain number of lunar cycles. Those lunar cycles are then recalibrated every few years to synchronize them with the solar/agricultural cycle.
This explains why a 7 “year” or a 3.5 “year” tribulation period is never specifically mentioned in relation to the prophecies of the Bible. A “year” in the strictest Biblical sense is not 365.24 days but rather 12 or 13 lunar cycles. This is the reason the books of Daniel and Revelation so often use days and months instead of “years” to described specific end time events. So next time you’re reading a prophetic passage in the Scripture consider it in terms of our Creator’s calendar, you might be surprised at the insights you find.
I leave you with a final thought. No matter what you believe about the Blood Moons they are, at the very least, a spectacular reminder for us to look at Biblical “time” in terms of our Creator’s calendar not a poor man-made imitation.
In the words of king David:
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, {line: or, rule, or, direction} 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. Psalm 19:1-6
Related Articles:
The Jubilee Code
Ezekiel’s 13th Month
The Messiah Factors
Blood Moons: Message or Madness
Authors Note:
For those Berean’s interested in digging into this further the following chart shows the prophecies of Daniel & Revelation using a Biblical reckoning of time.
(Click on image to enlarge)
