BARLY REPORT

Nehemia Gordon from Jerusalem, Israel compiled the following Barley Report on March 30, 2006.

Aviv Found!

“Aviv has been found in Israel! We found fields of Aviv barley from all three types of barley that grow in Israel: 2-row wild barley, 2-row domesticated barley, and 6-row domesticated barley. Some of the locations we found aviv include: Mari a-Naja and Argaman (both in the Jordan Valley), Peduyim and Kisufim (in the Northern Negev), and Mordechai Junction (on the coastal plain). We found both volunteer barley and planted fields in more than sufficient quantities for the harvest to begin in two week’s time during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The searches were carried out on Tuesday March 28, 2006 (Jordan Valley) and Thursday March 30, 2006 (Northern Negev and Coastal Plain).

The following people participated in the searches: Nehemia Gordon, Devorah Gordon, Ferenc Illesy, Avi Ben Mordechai, Dina Marcus, Tim and Deb Amdt, and Clint Place.

The New Moon, which will be visible tonight (Mar 30), will mark the beginning of the Biblical Year! Chag HaMatzot (Feast of Unleavened Bread will begin on April 13, 2006 at sunset.”

For more information on the times of the Biblical Holidays please logon to: http://www.karaite-korner.org/holiday_dates.shtml

NEW MOON REPORT

Nehemia Gordon from Jerusalem, Israel compiled the following New Moon Report on March 30, 2006 for the beginning of the First Month on the Biblical Calendar, the month of Aviv.

New Moon of the Aviv Sighted

“On Thursday March 30, 2006 the New Moon of the Aviv was sighted from Israel. The moon was first sighted by Magdi Shamuel at 17:58 from Bet Ezra, followed by Eli Shamuel at 18:01. The New Moon was also sighted by a group of observers from Jerusalem, first by Lee Ware, Rivkah Alon, and Libby Moor at 18:09 and then by 11 other observers over the next two minutes. The moon remained visible for many minutes.”

Below is a photo of the New Moon taken from Jerusalem on March 30, 2006. It may be difficult to see in this print. The crescent light is in the center of the photo.

Passover/First Day of Unleavened Bread will begin at sunset on April 13 and end at sunset on April 14. The Day of the Firstfruits offering or the Wave Offering will begin at sunset April 14 and end at sunset on April 15. The Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread will begin at sunset on April 19 and end at sunset on April 20. Shavuot (Pentecost) will begin at sunset on June 3 and end at sunset on June 4, 2006.

Below are the projected dates (in raw data form) for the first days of the months for Biblical calendar for the coming year. The dates are near sunset when the moon is expected to be visible from Jerusalem. I have the percent of illumination of the moon to the closest whole number, and the degrees above the horizon also to the closest whole number (not broken down to fractions). These calculations are for the moon at 5 minutes after sunset. The date in parenthesis is the day included in the first day of the month (through sunset). Where there are borderline situations I have also listed a secondary possible date.

2006

March 30 (31) - 2% illum., 15 degrees above hor. (AVIV 1 - First day of 1st month) Happy New Year!!!

April 28 (29) - 1%, 9 deg. (somewhat borderline), possibly Apr. 29/30 - 4%, 22 deg. (First day of 2nd month)

May 28 (29) - 2%, 16 deg. (First day of 3rd month)

June 26 (27) - 1%, 10 deg. (somewhat borderline because of hot air temp), possibly June 27 (28) - 4%, 19 deg. (First day of 4th month)

July 26 (27) - 2%, 11 deg. (First day of 5th month)

August 25 (26) - 3%, 10 deg. (First day of 6th month)

September 24 (25) - 4%, 8 deg, (First day of 7th month)

October 24 (25) - 5%, 10 deg, with also a good possibility for Oct. 23 (24) - 2%, 4 deg. (First day of 8^thmonth)

November 22 (23) - 3%, 7 deg. (First day of 9th Month)

December 22 (23) - 5%, 16 deg. with a slight possibility because of cooler air temperature on December 21 (22) 1%, 5 deg. (First day of 10th month)

2007

January 20 (21) - 3%, 14 deg. (First day of 11th month)

February 18 (19) - 1%, 10 deg (First day of 12th month)

March 20 (21) - 3%, 20 deg. (Aviv 1 - First day of 1st month) Happy New Year !!!!!

For those who like to plan ahead for the holidays, the projected dates for the upcoming Fall Feasts are:

Day of Trumpets or Shouting (Yom Teruah or Yom Zicron) – September 24 (25).

Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) – October 3 (4).

First Day of Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) – October 8 (9).

Last Great Day (Shemini Atzeret) – October 15 (16).

Feast of Dedication or Feast of Lights (Hanukkah) – will most likely start at sunset on December 16 and end at sunset on December 24, 2006.

TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE UPDATE

The below article is from Arutz Sheva, Israel National News concerning the Solar Eclipse on March 30, 2006 as it appeared from Israel.

Solar Eclipse Envelopes Israel in Brief Darkness

14:20 Mar 30, 06 / 1 Nisan 5766 by Ezra HaLevi

“An 82% solar eclipse enveloped Israel in sudden darkness Wednesday. The eclipse began at 11:37 AM, peaked at 12:58, and lasted until 2:13 PM. The following are pictures from the eclipse (I am just showing the one picture below out of 14, which was taken through a red solar filter from Israel. To see the rest of the photos go to:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=101096).

“As Israel digested the results of Tuesday's election, the sky went dark, the sun was slowly blocked out, temperatures dropped and animals howled, barked and crowed across the Land of Israel.

An eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun during daylight hours, causing its shadow to pass across the planet. Viewed from inside the moon's shadow on Earth, the moon is exactly the right size to completely block the sun. From Israel, Wednesday's eclipse blocked 82% of the sun.

The moon's shadow began in Brazil, crossed the Atlantic, Ghana, Nigeria and Chad. The shadow of the moon then passed by way of the Mediterranean across southeast Turkey and continued until Siberia.”

I did have time to do a 107-year search on Solar Eclipses seen from Jerusalem to get somewhat of an idea of how rare they are. If I did not find any in the 107-year search, I would have had to do more searches, which could have ended up being a 2,000 plus year search. However, I did find two prominent solar eclipses that were visible from Jerusalem on the eve of Aviv (what a rhyme) in the Twentieth Century. They are a bit rare but not extremely rare.

On March 28, 1922 there was an annular eclipse of the sun as seen from certain locations on Earth. From Jerusalem, that eclipse appeared as a partial eclipse, with 83% of the surface of the sun being covered by the moon. It was very similar to the eclipse of March 29, 2006. Below is a simulation of the March 28, 1922 eclipse during its peak at 4:55 pm JST.

There was another partial solar eclipse as seen from Jerusalem on March 29, 1987. This was also seen as a total eclipse in other locations in the path of the eclipse. The sun was less than 33% covered by the moon as seen from Jerusalem during this eclipse as demonstrated below (4:41 pm JST).

There will be two more partial solar eclipses seen from Jerusalem of “the eve of the Aviv” in the 21^st Century. The first will occur on March 20, 2015 in which only 13 % of the sun will be covered. The second will occur on March 20, 2034 in which 77% of the sun will be covered, as shown below by an illustration from the computer program Starry Night Pro.

The sign of the crescent sun on March 29, 2006 may be seen by certain Muslim factions as a sign to escalate violence against Israel and the United States. It is known that at certain times when the crescent moon is near a bright planet that it is seen as a sign to attack their enemies by certain factions. This is interesting in light of the recent election results in Israel, both the Palestinian elections and the Israeli elections. It is the intentions of the newly elected Israeli regime to give large tracts of land to the Palestinians in trade for peace (which will never happen unless Israel totally leaves the country or Messiah returns and completely annihilates Israel’s enemies). It is against the will of the Almighty Yahweh for Israel to give its land away to their enemies. Repercussions are sure to follow on this road to Armageddon.

UPCOMING SEMINARS

Robert Scott Wadsworth will be teaching a three-part seminar on Biblical Astronomy at a Bible study fellowship in Oregon City, Oregon on the first three Tuesday evenings in May. Each Tuesday evening will feature a different Session. Session One will be taught on Tuesday May 2, 2006. Session Two will be taught on Tuesday May 9 and Session Three will be taught on Tuesday May 16. The teachings will start at 7:00 pm for each Tuesday evening. There is no cover charge but donations are warmly welcomed. The seminars will be held at:

14028 Conway Drive

Oregon City, Oregon

For further information call Tina Trux at:

503-557-6251.

Bob Wadsworth will be teaching a three-part seminar on Biblical Astronomy at Anaheim, California on May 6 and 7, 2006. The seminar will start at 7:00 pm on Friday May 5th, and at 10:00 am on Saturday May 6th. There will be no cover charge for the seminar but donations are warmly welcomed. Below is the address that the seminar will be held as well as contact information taken from the Orange Home Fellowship website at:

http://hometown.aol.com/mannagifts4u/myhomepage/faith.html

MAY 5 & 6, 2006

BOB WADSWORTH - BIBLICAL ASTRONOMER

2323 W. Lincoln, Anaheim, CA (714)538-8287

SPONSORED BY ORANGE HOME FELLOWSHIP, CROSS TOWER

MINISTRIES & MANNA GIFTS

If you plan to attend the seminar you may wish to check the above link for updated information.

This May will be the 10^th anniversary of Biblical Astronomy seminars by Bob Wadsworth. I did my first public teaching on Biblical Astronomy at the Atlanta Bible Fellowship in Atlanta, Georgia in May 1996. Since, I have had the privilege of doing seminars in over 35 cities throughout the United States. I have lived in Oregon City for close to 27 years and the seminar I am doing there in May will be the first for that city. It is also a first time for Anaheim (I just love those rhymes.).

The time is also coming up for the 10^th anniversary for the Biblical Astronomy newsletter. The first newsletter was published in July 1996. I am looking forward to more seminars and newsletters in the future.

Crux (the Cross)

Crux (the Cross)

The cross endured

Decan constellation to the sign Libra (also known as The Southern Cross).

Ancient names for this constellation

Adom (Heb.) – cutting off.

Tau (Heb.) – a mark; especially a boundary-mark, a limit or finish. The Hebrew letter Tau finishes the Hebrew alphabet. The letter was anciently made in the form of a cross.

Complementing scriptures to these constellation pictures

Daniel 9:26 (NKJV) – “And after sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;

It was in the midst of the sixty-third week, which was after sixty-two weeks that Messiah was crucified. After the sixty-third week there were 7 weeks unto Pentecost when the Comforter was received, first by the apostles and then by thousands on that day. This made a total of 70 weeks as written by the prophet Daniel.

John 19:30 – IT IS FINISHED!!! (emphasis mine).

Stars in the Crux and the meanings of their names

The names of the stars in this constellation have been lost to antiquity (except for the Almighty who created them still knows their names since he named all the stars). There are four main or brighter stars in Crux that form a cross.

At the time of Messiah’s crucifixion, the Crux (cross) could be seen from Jerusalem standing vertical above the southern horizon when it reached its transit. On the evening before and evening after the crucifixion, it was at its transit around 8:30 pm. Due to the precessional movement of the earth, the Crux disappeared below the southern horizon so that it was no longer visible from Jerusalem about 100 years after the crucifixion. Before that, the Crux was visible from Jerusalem (or the Jerusalem area) from the creation of Adam to that point in time, for about 4,000 years. It will not be visible from Jerusalem again for thousands of years.

Another ancient form of this constellation, which is from the ancient Egyptian Zodiac of Dendurah, is that of a lion with his tongue hanging out of its mouth as if in thirst, with a woman holding a cup out to him. The lion is also seen standing on an Egyptian hieroglyphic representing running water. The lion’s rear leg is bent down as though the lion is about to go down. As E.W. Bullinger writes in The Witness of the Stars, p.50 – “What is all this but ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah’ brought down ‘into the dust of death,’ and saying ‘I am poured out like water…my strength is dried up’ (Ps. 22:13-18): ‘I thirst’ (John 19:28): ‘and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink’ (Ps. 69:21). The Egyptian name of this Lion, however, points to his ultimate triumph, for it is called Sera, that is, victory!

The picture of the lion and the woman in Michele Abraham’s painting is after that of the Dendurah Zodiac. Michele did a wonderful job in giving more Biblical flavor to this picture. We see the lion and woman together above this constellation in the major constellations Arieh (Leo) and Bethulah (Virgo). Bethulah represents the faithful of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Another way to look at this picture is the faithful holding the cup out to receive living waters from the Messiah, who made this available through His death and resurrection. “For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of water.”

Biblical Astronomy

April 2006