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The
Hebrew Calendar Testifies of Latter-day Events
by John P.
Pratt
Why
did Moroni Always Come on September 22nd?
When young Joseph
Smith pried open Moroni's hiding place and first beheld the ancient
Nephite records, he was carefully instructed by the angel Moroni
to meet at that spot again. "[H]e told me I should come to that
place precisely in one year from that time," Joseph later wrote,
"and that he would there meet with me, and that I should continue
to do so until the time should come for obtaining the plates" (Joseph
Smith History 1:53).
Why
did the angel Moroni meet the Prophet Joseph Smith at "precisely"
one-year intervals -- every September 22nd -- until the
plates from which the Book of Mormon would be translated were delivered?
Did the date itself have any significance?
Several
revelations imply that the timing of key events in religious history
is part of an intricate plan. One impressive example is the crucifixion
of the Savior. Centuries before Jesus was born, the Lord revealed
to Moses specific rituals or ordinances to be performed on holy days
(or holidays) on a lunisolar calendar similar to today's Hebrew calendar.(1)
Every year at the full moon of spring, the Passover lamb was sacrificed.
Later, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed at the very hour
as many of the Passover lambs. Thus, certain holy days on the Hebrew
calendar went beyond symbolic representation; they also marked the
actual date of the events symbolized.
Since the
Law of Moses was fulfilled by the coming of Jesus Christ, rites and
events on the Hebrew calendar may no longer seem important for Christians.
However, the Savior's mission is not yet finished. Evidence suggests
that the Hebrew calendar is still tracking dates significant to the
gospel plan.
It appears
that God may well have structured the Hebrew year to represent in
miniature the history of the world. In the Doctrine and Covenants,
the Lord indicates that the sum total of time on this earth is, from
His perspective, a single year. Referring to all the combined weeks,
months, and years of the planets, he states, "All these are one year
with God, but not with man" (D&C 88:44). If so, the opening events
of the year would relate to Adam and Eve, mid-year events would symbolize
the Savior's first coming, and closing events would represent the
latter days and the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The Hebrew
civil year begins and ends in the fall and contains two great festival
seasons. The spring festivities, which center around Passover, occur
at the midpoint or meridian of the year, apparently symbolizing the
first coming of the Savior at the meridian of time.(2)
However, the
larger celebration takes place in the fall and includes the Hebrew
holy days of the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the
Feast of Tabernacles. Interestingly, these fall feasts can be thought
of both as at the beginning and the end of the year. While they
start with New Year's Day, the Lord explicitly refers to them as
"at the year's end" (Ex. 34:22), perhaps because with the Lord "the
first shall be last, and . . . the last shall be first" (DC 29:30).
The
ancient Israelites opened the autumn festival season on the Fall
New Year's Day on 1 Tishri (Rosh Hashanah).(3)
Trumpets were sounded to herald the Judgment Day of God, calling
all to repentance. It is also believed to have been the day on which
Adam and Eve were judged before being cast out of the Garden of
Eden.(4) This Feast of Trumpets began a ten-day period
of introspection and repentance that culminated in the holiest day
of the Hebrew year, the Day of Atonement on 10 Tishri (Yom Kippur),
a day of fasting and reconciliation with God. The season ended with
the eight-day Feast of Tabernacles, from 15 to 22 Tishri. Both the
first and last day of that feast were designated as holy days on
the Hebrew calendar. The first day is often called simply "Tabernacles"
and the last day has been called the "Great Day of the Feast" (John
7:37).
Several
Christian commentators point out that these holy days could symbolize
three major events of the last days.(5)
The Feast of Trumpets corresponds to the voice of warning calling
the earth's inhabitants to repentance in preparation for the Second
Coming of Jesus Christ. LDS interpreters further recognize ties
to the Restoration and the truth of the gospel that will be preached
as with the sound of a trump to every nation, kindred, tongue, and
people (Rev. 14:6-7). Some evidence suggests that anciently at the
Feast of Trumpets seven priests each blew a trumpet in succession,
reminiscent of the seven angels who will sound the trumpet prior
to the second coming of the Savior (Rev. 8:6, D&C 88:92-110).
Christian scholars identify the Day of Atonement with the Second
Coming of the Savior and the Feast of Tabernacles with his Millennial
reign.
It's possible
that each feast has multiple meanings and fulfillments. Consider,
for example, the Feast of Trumpets. There are several scriptural
depictions of seven angels sounding trumpets. Seven plagues are
initiated by angels blowing trumpets (Rev. 8:7-11:15); seven trumps
begin the resurrection that precedes the Second Coming (&C 88:94-106);
and seven trumps announce that the secret acts during each 1000-year
seal will be revealed (D&C 88:108-110). Before these events,
the angels also sound their trumps saying, "Prepare ye, prepare
ye, O inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come"
(D&C 88:92).
Similarly,
the Feast of Tabernacles, could have more than one symbolic meaning.
While it probably represents the Marriage of the Lamb and other
occurrences after the Second Coming, it may also tie to preparatory
events, such as the gathering of Israel. The Lord has told us repeatedly
that "the field is white, already to harvest" (D&C 4:4, 33:3).
Another name for the Feast of Tabernacles is the Feast of Ingatherings,
when the final harvest is gathered in at the end of the year (Ex.
23:16).
Studying
the symbolism of the Hebrew feasts can also help us recognize key
words the Lord uses that we might otherwise overlook. For instance,
most of the angels who sound the trump do so with a short blast.
But one blast is designated to be "loud and long." This is the blast
at the resurrection of the just before the Second Coming (D&C
29:13, 43:18, 88:94). The words "loud and long" are also used to
describe preaching the gospel: "lift up your voice as with the sound
of a trump, both long and loud, and cry repentance unto a crooked
and perverse generation, preparing the way of the Lord for his second
coming" (D&C 34:6, see also D&C 124:75).
The Lord
has declared that the angel with the everlasting gospel has already
returned (D&C 133:36; 88:103; compare Rev. 14:6). The angel
Moroni, who figuratively sounds the trump atop our temples the world
over, delivered the sacred plates to the Prophet Joseph Smith on
Saturday, September 22, 1827 -- the very day of the Hebrew Feast
of Trumpets that year. Meanwhile, the date the angel Moroni met
young Joseph every year, September 22, was the mean autumn equinox,(6)
when days and nights are of equal length. In the year that Joseph
received the plates, the Feast of Trumpets and the autumn equinox
fell on the same date.
This year,
the Feast of Trumpets began on Saturday, September 11, 1999. The
Day of Atonement is Monday September 20th (with the fast
beginning the evening before), and the Feast of Tabernacles extends
from Saturday, September 25 through Saturday, October 2, 1999. The
ancient Israelites were commanded to have "holy convocations" in
Jerusalem at Passover in the spring and at the Feast of Tabernacles
in the fall. Today, these meetings correspond seasonally to our
spring and fall General Conferences at the "tabernacle" on Temple
Square in Salt Lake City. This year, the Saturday session of LDS
conference will occur on the Great Day of the Feast during the Feast
of Tabernacles. Understanding the symbolism of these Hebrew festivals
may help us to appreciate the Lord's calendar and the importance
of the timing of many of history's religious events.
About
the Author
Dr. John P. Pratt
specializes in applying astronomy to religious chronology, and has
published several papers on the subject, not only in the Ensign, but
in scientific journals. Most of his papers can be found on his web
site at http://www.johnpratt.com.
Notes
1.
Lunisolar
(luni = moon, solar = sun) means that each month begins with the new
moon while years are aligned with the seasons of the sun.
2.
Pratt, John P. "Passover: Was it Symbolic of His Coming?" Ensign
24, 1 (Jan 1994), 38-45, reprinted on the internet
at http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/passover/passover.html.
3.
The Fall New Year's Day fell on 1 Tishri, being the 1st
day of the 7th month (Lev. 23:24). Note that there are
two New Year's Days on the Hebrew Calendar, the other one being
the first day of the first month (Nisan) in the spring.
4.
Vayikra
Rabba 29:1, quoted as footnote 3 in Samuele Bacchiocchi, God's
Festivals in Scripture and History, Volume II: The Fall Festivals,
currently found on the internet at http://www2.andrews.edu/~samuele/books/festivals_2/2.html.
This is an excellent detailed summary of the Feast of Trumpets in
the Old Testament.
5.
An excellent LDS summary is by Lenet Read, "Joseph Smith's Receipt
of the Plates and the Israelite Feast of Trumpets," Journal
of Book of Mormon Studies 2/2 (Fall 1993), 110-120.
6.
The precise moment of the equinox usually falls on either September
22 or 23, but September 22 can be considered as an average value.
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