God’s Calendar - The Month (New Moon) of Iyar 2022 (5782)

We celebrate what God has ordained on His new moon, on His biblical months, as we enter into the month of Iyar, which is the second month on God's calendar. We want to thank everybody for joining us, and those who are also watching on the replay, as we enter into this pivotal month — and pivotal it is, as we will see through the scriptures. It is a connecting month. It has a lot of great revelation, and a lot of great events happened in the month of Iyar — in the Torah, in the Prophets, and also in the Gospels. As we look at all the segments of the Bible, we are going to see great revelation that occurred and great things that happened in this second month.

It is a fascinating month and a very favorable month for the believers who are following God's ways. It is very favorable as we enter into Iyar, just like Nisan was with the Passover and the resurrection. We are in these months that are very favorable on God's calendar. Not saying the other months are not, but there are certain seasons on God's calendar that are very anointed with favor for the believers who love Him. It is all about being set apart. We start every new moon teaching with that: we do have a set-apart God, with a set-apart Son, who has a set-apart Spirit — the Holy Spirit — that has set-apart days and times that He wants all of us, believers, Jews and Gentiles, to celebrate as one new body, one new man, as we see in the Bible.

He has ordained these set-apart days: the Sabbaths, the feast days, or the divine appointments of the Lord. He has also sanctified the new moon as a festival for us to gather with Him. The commandment in Exodus was the new moon — in Exodus 12:2, He told Moses to look up. It was during the three nights of darkness, and the sliver of the new moon appeared, and He commanded Moses that this is the first month for you and the one new body and the one new man to count the feast days, to count the Sabbaths, to count all these beautiful things that He has ordained. The Lord Himself has ordained these things — which is pretty phenomenal when you think about it — that He wants to have an intimate relationship with us, and some of that, or most of that, is when He has ordained us to worship Him on His days that He has appointed, and not mankind's.

Thank you again for joining us. We want to jump into the subject of being set apart. We all want to be set apart to the Lord — but who is the one who sets us apart? It is Him, the Lord God Almighty. He has commanded us to be set apart from the world, and even from some of the teachings of the modern-day church as well. If you have your Holy Bible, we are going to skim through some areas, and I will try to slow down and let you find these passages so we can look at them together. Being set apart, friends, is not as easy as it may seem if we live according to the ways of the world or with the modern-day churches.

From the very beginning, He has wanted us to be set apart. He wanted Adam and Eve to be set apart. He wanted Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob — you name it — to be set apart from the rest of the world. We first find this in Exodus 19:6, which was at Mount Sinai — where we are journeying to by Pentecost and Shavuot. That is where the first commandment was given: He wanted to separate the one new body, the one new man, the mixed multitude — Jews and Gentiles — from Egypt. Remember, it was a mixed multitude; even Pharaoh's daughter was with them, the one who saved Moses. He wanted them to be set apart from Egypt, Jews and Gentiles, at Mount Sinai, with the giving of the Torah. He said, "You shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." That was the first time we see this in scripture — at Mount Sinai, at the great revelation, the original revelation of the Lord, which is the Torah.

He also confirms this in Deuteronomy, the book where Moses recounted the journey from Exodus and reminded them of all these things God had ordained. In Deuteronomy 14:2 he says the same thing: "You are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth." This is remarkable — that the Lord has ordained a certain segment of believers from the world to be His own people, His special treasure, the kingdom of priests.

In 1 Peter 2:7-10, in the New Testament, Peter confirms the same thing. He says that the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, a stone of stumbling to those who are disobedient, but for those who are obedient, He has chosen us to be a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people. So we find even Peter in the New Testament confirming what was given at Sinai, and what Moses said in Deuteronomy as well. We also see it in Revelation 1:6, where John confirms it as well — that He washed us through His blood and made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever, amen.

Throughout the Holy Bible, from beginning to end, He wants us to be a holy people, a treasure people, a kingdom of priests and kings, a royal priesthood. This is so important: to be set apart according to the ways He has commanded, and not mankind's ways. We have inherited, in the Gentile church — and I was born a Gentile — a lot of replacement theology. We have inherited the idea that Sunday is the Sabbath, or Easter instead of Passover, or Christmas in place of God's ordained times. That is replacement theology, in the kindest way possible to say it. God wants the original theology, the original revelation: Sabbath, new moon celebrations, the divine appointments of the Lord. He wants us to be a part of these things, and it is such an intimate walk with Him. If you have been on His calendar and His divine appointments, you know what I am talking about — it is very intimate with Him, not just head knowledge, but the Holy Spirit communing with you, with the Father, with the Son, on these special days, these anointed days that God has ordained.

He is the one who sets us apart. He is the one who makes us holy. We try to make ourselves holy, but we cannot — He is the one who makes us holy, and not mankind. In Psalms 4:3 it says, "Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself." In Leviticus 20:7-8 it says, "Consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. Keep My statutes and do them. I am the Lord who sanctifies you." The Lord is the one who sanctifies all of us. We do not have the authority to call holy what is unholy, or unholy what is holy. In Leviticus 20:26 it says, "You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine."

All throughout the scriptures, my friends, He wants all of us to be holy, to be set apart, to join hands with Him. As we will see in the millennial kingdom and in eternity, we will be celebrating the new moon — which is what we are celebrating today. The new moon celebration has been largely lost in the modern-day church. Only the Jewish people — the Orthodox and the Messianic communities — really keep the new moon celebration, and very few Gentile believers observe it. We are going to see in scripture how important it is in the millennial kingdom and in eternity when Jesus reigns for a thousand years on David's everlasting throne.

My friends, it does start with God's calendar. We have mentioned this so many times: if we understand God's calendar, we are going to understand a great deal throughout the Holy Bible that we otherwise would not — including eschatology, the return of Messiah, and what the prophets have spoken by the blessed Holy Spirit. The goal is to understand the calendar, because that is the calendar He is going to use for all of these prophetic events and also for the commandments He wants us to join with Him on. Understanding God's calendar means understanding the covenants, the everlasting covenants, and the divine appointments — the feast days. If we understand those three basic foundations of the Bible — the calendar, the feast days, and the everlasting covenants — the Holy Bible will read very smoothly throughout, and there will not be confusion or replacement theology.

We find God's calendar in Genesis 1:14-16: "Then God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years." This is a phenomenal passage. God made two great witnesses — the sun and the moon — and those are the two prerequisites His calendar must have. Most of us go by the Gregorian calendar, which is a great scientific calendar but based on the sun only. In Genesis 1:14, God establishes two great witnesses: the sun and the moon. He is going to use His calendar for all prophetic events and for the commandments He gives us to assemble with Him. The word for seasons in Genesis 1:14-16 is moed, which means a divine appointment — a fixed time established by Almighty God.

There are two calendars in scripture. The Genesis calendar — from Adam, starting in the fall in Tishri — is the civil calendar used for prophetic events and the timetable from Adam. The Exodus calendar — starting in Nisan, roughly April — is where Moses was commanded "this is your first month." Both work together. We will be speaking of the Exodus calendar for our purposes here. In Revelation 4:11: "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created." This is His calendar — He created the sun and the moon. And in Ecclesiastes 3:1: "To everything there is a season," or moed, "a divine appointment, a time for every purpose under heaven."

When you look at Genesis 2, there is a Tree of Life. When you get to Revelation 22 — eternity — you find that same Tree of Life, yielding fruit every month. Every month it is yielding fruit. So we will have a calendar in eternity, and it will be the biblical calendar He established. The tree producing fruit every month tells us we will not be in a timeless lapse; we will have order, because God is a God of order.

In Psalms 81:3-4: "Blow the trumpet at the time of the new moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob." This is a commandment, just like the first commandment Moses received in Egypt in Exodus 12:2. Some Gentiles say, "Well, that is just for the Jewish people." But Paul says in Ephesians 2:11-13 that we were once strangers from the covenants, but with the blood of Messiah we are in the commonwealth of Israel. Exodus 12:49 says, "One Torah shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you." There is not two ways to worship; there is one way for Jew and Gentile. And Galatians 3 says if you are a seed of Christ, you are a seed of Abraham and an heir according to the promise of the Abrahamic Covenant.

In Psalms 104:19-21: "He appointed the moon for seasons" — divine appointments. In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 the Apostle Paul says: "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, Peace and safety! then sudden destruction comes upon them. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day." There is a separation between the faithful church and the dead or lukewarm church. The faithful — those who are wise, watching, and understanding God's calendar and divine appointments — will not be caught as a thief in the night.

In 1 Samuel 20:5 we see how important the new moon celebration was to King David: "And David said to Jonathan, Indeed, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king." It was a festival, a feast to rejoice in and celebrate. Psalms 89 correlates the Davidic Covenant to the moon: "I have sworn to my servant David: Your seed I will establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations." And: "His throne shall be established forever like the moon, even like the faithful witness in the sky." The moon is the faithful witness in the sky. The Jewish people will endure forever — like the moon, they wax, diminish, and are renewed again. God's promises to them are unconditional, irrevocable, and unilateral, depending on His sovereign righteousness.

The new moon celebration is so important that the Lord put it in scripture for the millennial kingdom and for eternity. In Ezekiel 46:1 — part of the millennial kingdom chapters, Ezekiel 40-48: "The gateway of the inner court that faces toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened." In the millennial kingdom, that gate opens only twice per month: on the Sabbath and on the new moon. He equates the new moon equally with the Sabbath. And in Isaiah 66:22-24: "From one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says the Lord." Forever and ever — that is how important the new moon celebration is.

Now that we have set the foundation, let us get into what the Lord has ordained during the month of Iyar: the tribe of Issachar, the Hebrew letter Vav, and the constellation Taurus. Last month — Nisan — was Passover, the Exodus, the crucifixion, the resurrection. Now we are on the counting of the omer journey toward Shavuot. The month of Iyar on the Gregorian calendar runs approximately from May 1 sundown to May 30.

Iyar is also called in the Bible the month of Ziv — Z-I-V — which means light, glow, radiant, and to blossom. You can find this in 1 Kings 6:1 and verse 37. It is the second month of the Hebrew calendar and a very transitional month. It is also the eighth month of the civil calendar. It is the journey in the middle, between Passover in Egypt and Mount Sinai, the giving of the Torah — the passage from physical redemption to spiritual revelation, from deliverance to revelation, 50 days after they left Egypt. This is why it is called the connecting month, the month of passage.

Shavuot or Pentecost is the only feast day where you have to count — every other feast day has a specific date. God wants you to go on a personal journey with Him for 50 days. He said in Leviticus 23 to count seven Sabbaths, and the day after the seventh Sabbath is your jubilee, your true liberation. The Exodus from Egypt was physical redemption; Sinai was spiritual redemption. Think about when they left Egypt after 215 years — they had inherited idolatry and were not purified. God had to do a work in them. On a personal level, I believe every year He wants us to evaluate ourselves from Passover, when our Savior was crucified, through the purification process, to the giving of the Torah and the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He wants us to count with Him. I have done this for several years now and the intimacy, purification, and revelation you receive is remarkable — it is so amazing that I am writing a book called The Cross to the Crown: A Spiritual Purification Journey on God's Divine Appointments.

The month of Iyar is known as the healing month. In Exodus 15, after leaving Egypt, the Israelites ran out of bread and water and began complaining. The Lord then sent manna and quail, and there He invoked the name Jehovah Rapha — God is your Healer. When you look at Exodus 15:26, the first letters of three key words spell Iyar. So this is a special month of healing. There is a special anointing on this month to pray for healing — spiritual, physical, or whatever it may be. Speak the word of God out loud about healing; it is sharper than a two-edged sword, and the word of God and the blessed Holy Spirit are your two great witnesses in the courts of heaven.

The next name He invoked during this journey was Jehovah Jireh — God is our Provider. Manna in the desert, water from a rock, quail — He provided for them. He was also disciplining and testing them, wanting them to cleanse and purify, because 50 days from Egypt they would receive God's commandments at Sinai. He was cleansing them from all the idols and uncleanliness of Egypt on the purification journey.

Right before they reached the base of Mount Sinai, Satan sent Amalek — the generational adversary of the children of Israel — to forbid them from receiving the original revelation of the Torah. Moses, with Aaron holding his arms up, and Joshua defeated Amalek. Not one Hebrew soul was lost, and they went on to Mount Sinai. That is where He invoked Jehovah Nissi — God is my Conqueror, God is my Banner. Whatever Amalek you are facing right now, pray into it in this season. I believe there is great deliverance, great healing, great provision, and great conquering because of the anointing of this month.

There is also a warning in this month because of the template of the children of Israel — they were murmuring and complaining. We have to be very careful about murmuring and complaining about our situations. God is purifying us, cleansing us, raising our faith levels higher toward the jubilee of the 50th day.

The month of Iyar is also when the Second Passover falls — Numbers 9:9-12. God said that if you were traveling or near a dead body and could not celebrate Passover on Nisan 14, He would give you a do-over on Iyar 14, 30 days from the original.

On Iyar 1 — in the second year of the Exodus — Israel began journeying through the desert with the Tabernacle in their midst and the glory of the Lord going with them. That is also when both Temples began construction: Solomon's Temple in 1 Kings 6:1, and the rebuilt Temple in Ezra 3:8.

The counting of the omer spans the entire month of Iyar — all 29 days are part of the omer. It is the only month where all of the days are included, which I do not think is by coincidence. Looking at modern events: Israel became a nation on May 15, 1948, which was Iyar 5. In 1967, Jerusalem was liberated in the Six-Day War on Iyar 28. Think about Amalek at the end of the journey, and now Jerusalem liberated on Iyar 28 — it is totally phenomenal how He anoints these seasons.

The Hebrew letter for the month is the Vav, the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The Vav resembles a nail, a tent peg, or a hook. The hook is Messiah Yeshua — He is the connector. The nail: who was nailed to the cross for all of our sins? None other than Yeshua the Messiah. He became the mediator, the connector between heaven and earth. God created man on the sixth day, the Vav is the sixth letter, and Messiah the Son of Man was on the cross for six hours. He is the Vav, the connector between the heavenly realm and the earthly realm, as we read in Hebrews 4. He is the one who tore the veil in two, giving us access to the Father through Messiah Yeshua, the divine connector.

In this connecting month, have your petitions ready with a humble, repenting, broken, and contrite heart, and petition that the spiritual blessings — the verdicts in the courts of heaven — be connected down upon the earth through the Vav, through Yeshua.

The constellation of the month is the Taurus — the ox. Psalms 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God." We do not worship the created; we worship the Creator. But these are His constellations, ordained by Him, and unfortunately mankind has polluted them with worldly astrology. The prophets understood these constellations, as did Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The ox plows the fields, creating a new path — just like the journey from Exodus to Sinai: a month of passage, with the Rock, Messiah Yeshua, leading the way. In Numbers 23:22: "God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox." In Psalms 92:10: "But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil." I pray that over you right now — fresh oil poured over you, and for Him to plow the ground for you like a wild ox.

Last but not least is the tribe of the month — the tribe of Issachar. His name means wages. He was the ninth son of Jacob, and the number nine means completion and finality. This is the month that everything was completed on two great occasions: the receiving of the Torah at Sinai, and the pouring out of the blessed Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He was also the fifth son of Leah, and the number five means grace. I pray grace, mercy, and loving kindness over you.

The tribe of Issachar knew the times and the seasons and what Israel should do — you can read that in 1 Chronicles 12:32. They knew because they knew the seasons, the calendar, and the divine appointments. They were mighty warriors, very wise and knowledgeable about the Torah. They traveled together with Judah and Zebulun — Judah was last month, Issachar this month, and Zebulun is in the month of the Torah's revelation at Sinai.

In Genesis 49:14-15, Jacob said: "Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two burdens. He saw that rest was good, and that the land was pleasant; he bowed his shoulder to bear a burden." Think about it: Issachar is a strong donkey — and who else rode a donkey into Jerusalem? Messiah Himself. A donkey carries a messenger.

In Deuteronomy 33:18-19, Moses blesses Issachar and Zebulun together: "Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar, in your tents! They shall call the peoples to the mountain; they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness; for they shall partake of the abundance of the seas and of treasures hidden in the sand." Moses groups them together because Issachar studied the Torah and the seasons, while Zebulun financed them. Together they called the peoples to the mountain and offered sacrifices of righteousness. What a phenomenal blessing — pray into it personally throughout the month.

As we close this teaching, we want to give praise and thanks to the Lord of lords, the King of kings, for a new month. May this month be renewed in your favor — in your health, your finances, your well-being, and in whatever you are going through. May there be healing, provision, and conquering, all of which the Lord God wants to do for you.

In Psalms 148: "Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars of light! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created. He also established them forever and ever. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths; fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word; mountains and all hills; fruitful trees and all cedars; wild beasts and all cattle; creeping things and flying fowl; kings of the earth and all peoples; princes and all judges of the earth; both young men and maidens; old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven. And He has exalted the horn of His people, the praise of all His saints — of the children of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the Lord!"

We praise Him for everything — for the new moon, for all of creation, and for His Son Yeshua Messiah who sacrificed Himself for all of us. We give Him all the credit, glory, and honor forever and ever.

And we say the new moon blessing: "Praised are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who created the skies with His word and all the heavenly host with the breath of His mouth. He gave them appointed times and roles, and they never miss their cues, doing their Creator's bidding with gladness and joy. He is the true Creator who acts faithfully, and He has told the moon to renew itself. It is a beautiful crown for the people carried by God from birth, who likewise will be renewed in the future in order to proclaim the beauty of their Creator, for His glorious majesty. Praised are You, O Lord, who renews the new moons, through Yeshua the Messiah, who receives all the credit, glory, and honor."

And we count the omer together: "Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al sefirat haomer." Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us to count the omer. This is day number 17 — two weeks and three days on our journey to the 50th day.

My friends, I hope this has been helpful to you. Thank you so much for joining us tonight as we celebrate the new moon. If you have a shofar, blow it; or shout — the Lord will take it as a teruah. I hope you enjoy this month. I hope favor comes upon you, as it is a very favorable and anointed month. May it begin a new journey for you during this transitional month, from physical redemption to spiritual redemption, as we go through the purification the Lord wants for all of us. We pray for your healing, your provision, and your conquering by the Lord God Almighty. Friends, I appreciate you all being here. If you have any questions or revelation to share, you can email chad at faithfulperformance.com. As always, before we say goodbye: may God bless you, may He keep you, may His face shine upon you and give you His grace, may He lift up His countenance upon you and your family, and give you all His everlasting shalom. My name is Chadwick Harvey. You have reached Faithful Performance. We will see you very soon. We love you. Thank you very much.