Hi @ironshield and @lturner !! Shalom to you both!
I was asked about the calendar I follow and why I follow it from @hebrewhousewife last year. I thought it might be helpful to you both. Here is what I said:
When I started doing the feasts many years ago I had to decide which calendar made the most sense to me. I started following one but as time went on and then I met a local group to meet with I started following a different one and in fact it is the current Jewish calendar.
Here is a couple of the reasons I decided to go that route. First off we are told in scripture that the gentiles will drive Israel to jealousy. We as gentiles, so to speak, can't do that if from their perspective we have just made up our own calendar to follow. It made more sense to me to think that if I was a Jew and my family have been keeping the feasts for generations and now all of a sudden a "gentile" is now keeping them on the same day that would sure get my attention and I would want to know why.
The other reason comes from Genesis 49 where Jacob gives his last words to his sons. Verse 10 says..."The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people." Ok so what does this say? To me it seems clear that Judah will be the lawgiver until the Messiah comes. Around 359 to make sure Jews all across the world would celebrate the feast days at the same time Hillel II established a calendar that is still in use today. Now is it 100% accurate..probably not but according to this verse until the Messiah comes back Judah is the lawgiver. Seeing as there is no Jerusalem council anymore I am going to follow the calendar that they approved. What authority as I as a gentile, so to speak, to decide on my own calendar?
Ok with all of that being said we all still have to make our own decisions...I thought maybe sharing what I learned might help you. And please note that I am not saying that I am right and you are wrong, just what I am doing and why!
Thank you for the insight. It's easy to see why the Hillel II calendar would sort of be the "default" option. I agree there is a lot of pride associated with calendars... no matter what calendar we settle on, I hope we will follow it with confidence and humility, not wavering or belittling others.
Just seems to me that we would all be better if we were all on the same calendar and since Judah is still the lawgiver because Yeshua has not come back yet then I am going to stick with that calendar until He comes back and shows us all His calendar!
Either way I agree with you when you said...."I hope we will follow it with confidence and humility, not wavering or belittling others."
Shalom