JOSEPH W. TKACH
June 1988
Dear Friend:
Thank you for your question about the 19-year time cycle. A
brief comparison of the Gregorian and the Hebrew calendars will
help us understand this important subject.
The calendar commonly used today is of Roman origin. It is
based on the solar year. That is, it contains about 365 1/4 days.
And though the word "month" means "moon," the months are not
governed by its phases. They are of arbitrary beginning and
length.
On the other hand, the Hebrew calendar is based on both the
sun and the moon. The length of the year differs significantly,
and the months are directly related to the phases of the moon.
In the Hebrew calendar, 12 lunar months result in a year
that has about 354 days (about 11 days shorter than a solar
year). Such common years, as they are called, are regularly
balanced by leap years, which contain 13 months each. Leap years
are about 384 days in length (about 19 days longer than a solar
year). Notice how these lunar months are related to the solar
year.
Every 19 solar years the moon revolves around the earth 235
times. In other words, 235 lunar months equals about 19 solar
years. This remarkable astronomical relationship makes it
possible to combine 12 common Hebrew years (of 12 months each)
and 7 leap years (of 13 months each) together every 19 years.
This means that the solar (Roman) calendar and the lunisolar
(Hebrew) calendar very nearly coincide as the sun, moon and earth
return to their approximate position of alignment with each other
every 19 years.
Nineteen-year patterns can also be seen in history. For
example, ancient Israel spent 38 (19 x 2) extra years wandering
in the wilderness (Deut. 2:14; Num. 14:33-34).
We hope you will find this information helpful. If you have
any further questions, please let us know.
PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE DEPARTMENT
PASTOR GENERAL