CGG: Why is this Year 5768 in the Jewish Calendar?

Jerusalem

Those of us in the Living Church of God believe that God has a 7,000 year plan consisting of 6,000 years of human rule followed by a 1,000 year millennial reign of Christ on earth. We in the Living Church of God believe that the 6,000 years will be up fairly soon.

Many other Church of God groups, such as CGG, believe the same thing.

So, why then, do the Jews believe that this is year 5768?

This year (September 13, 2007, through September 29, 2008) is 5768 on the Jewish calendar because the Jews count their years from 3761/3760 BC instead of from the actual time of Adam’s creation.

Here is why according to what CGG teaches about this:

3761/3760 BC. That is the year of the commencement of the lunisolar calendar, not the year of Creation.

In the century following the fall of Jerusalem (AD 70), certain Jewish scholars took the date 3761/3760 BC and assigned it to the time described in Genesis 1 and 2. Thus, the Jews preserved the correct date for calendar calculation but mistakenly associated it with Creation week.

According to the best estimates, Creation occurred over two centuries prior to the beginning of the lunisolar calendar. The basic factor upon which the lunisolar calendar is based, the average length of the lunar month, would have taken more than two centuries of measurement and observation to determine.

The Jews celebrate their new year in the autumn on the first day of Tishri, the seventh month. The Bible refers to two different years, the civil and the sacred. In ancient Israel, the civil year began in the autumn, on Tishri 1. It is comparable to the fiscal year in the United States. It was more or less the legal year, which was used to reckon the reign of kings and other chronological events.

The true sacred year of the Bible begins with the first day of the month of Nisan (also called Abib), in the spring (Exodus 12:2). The sacred year portrays God’s great plan through the progression of Holy Days from Passover to the Last Great Day.

I should mention that according to the Bible, approximately 5,990 years (probably plus or minus 7) have passed since Adam was created (or possibly when he was put out of the Garden of Eden). And strangely, because the Jewish reckoning is not counting from that time, it has a different year.

For more information on the 7,000 year plan of God, please read the following:

Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? How many years does the Bible show have passed? When does the six thousand years of human rule end?
Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism? Was the millennium (sometimes called chiliasm) taught by early Christians? Who condemned it. Will Jesus literally reign for 1000 years on the earth? Is this time near?
Is There “An Annual Worship Calendar” In the Bible? This paper provides a biblical and historical critique of several articles, including one by WCG which states that this should be a local decision. What do the Holy Days mean? How do they reflect the plan of God for humankind?

Also, you can click here for the calendar of Holy Days.