OPINION (Charisma) – This week on April 6, we celebrate the beginning of the Jewish sacred year. The Lord Himself specified that the sacred year would begin in the spring at the time of the Exodus (Ex. 12:2). In Egypt, the new year had begun in mid-July when the bright star Sirius rose in conjunction with the annual flooding of the Nile. By moving the new year to the beginning of spring, God wasn’t just differentiating His people from the Egyptians; He was restoring the year to its ancient parameters. Even before the flood of Noah, Enoch’s calendar begins with the spring equinox.
This calendar is contained in the book of Enoch, which was quoted in the New Testament and is a part of the Ethiopian church Bible. There is strong evidence that portions of the book may have actually originated with Enoch, including the fact that his astronomical observations come from an area far north of the Holy Land, perhaps from the Black Sea, which scientists admit was “recently” flooded under saltwater and could have been Noah’s home. In addition, Enoch’s calendar was made by observing the sun’s position on the horizon and was used in such ancient structures as Stonehenge and New Granage, but not in the historical Near East. For more information on Enoch, we recommend Dr. Randy Delp’s book, The Impact of the Book of Enoch on Christianity and Other Religions. READ MORE
