Dark New Moon and the Paths of Light
First off, I apologize if the length of this article looks long and daunting. I think I managed to address every excuse I’ve heard for not observing the New Moon and the appointed times that hang on it, and for not accepting the dark New Moon. I’ve heard so many excuses, and address them here, but I may have still missed one. It’s worth the read. No more excuses, only scriptural evidence.
What provoked me to begin searching out the possibility of a conjunction New Moon was when someone came to me asking if it was possible we were in error in going with the first visible crescent (FVC) as the New Moon. Afterall, we had been following the Karaite Jews and Nehemiah Gordon with the observation of the FVC and barley to begin a new year and month. She reasoned that, because Nehemiah Gordon and the Karaites reject Yahusha as Messiah, they are blind, and when we follow them, we’re letting them lead us into a ditch.
What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written:
“YHUH has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.”
And David says: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always.”
I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not!
BUT THROUGH THEIR FALL, TO PROVOKE THEM TO JEALOUSY, SALVATION HAS COME TO THE GENTILES. Romans 11:7-12
For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Romans 11:25
You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Matthew 23:24
For those who guide this people mislead them, and those they mislead are swallowed up. Isaiah 9:16
Yahusha also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? Luke 6:39
I assured her that we were not in error, and then my reply to her began to annoy me. I began to think that maybe I should consider this possibility of a dark New Moon that she was asking about, and not go at it with the attitude of trying to PROVE MYSELF TO BE RIGHT, but simply take it to YHUH in prayer and search the matter out, testing everything with scripture as a Berean, and certainly I should consider the possibility that I might be in error! How arrogant it would be of me not to?!
In the Beginning…
So I took it to YaHUaH in prayer, asking Him to teach me about which phase of the moon is HIS New Moon, when the beginning of a month is, and He answered me, “If you want to understand MY TIME, go back to the beginning.” Well that made sense, because the word, beginning, is the beginning of TIME. When I came to Torah, it was suggested that one should start in the beginning, in Genesis, to understand the Bible, and it’s Messiah, not at the end of the book. A few scriptures came to mind to support the answer I heard from YHUH, to go back to the beginning to understand His time. The spoken word always confirms the written word. If not, it’s not YHUH’s voice we’re hearing:
“In the beginning was the Word…” John 1:1
“Declaring the end from the beginning…” Isaiah 46:10
“…hath it not been told you from the beginning…” Isaiah 40:21
“…which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in Aluhym who created all things through Messiah Yahusha…” Ephesians 3:9
“…all things continue as they were from the beginning…” 2 Peter 3:4
“Remember the former things of old…” Isaiah 46:9
“Ask for the old paths…” Jeremiah 6:16
So I went back to the beginning, to Genesis, which means, “in the beginning…”, and I read:
In the beginning Aluhym created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of Aluhym moved upon the face of the waters. Gen 1:1-2
Rosh Chodesh of the First Month of the First Year
So, in the beginning was darkness. Right away, I understood, this was Rosh Chodesh, the head, or beginning of the month, the first day of the first month of the first year in time. Time began in darkness.
When I first saw this dark New Moon, I was still observing Saturday as the seventh day Sabbath. At this point, I was still blind to the New Moon day being separate from the creation week, and weeks in general. About 12-13 months after I learned that the dark moon was the New Moon, I came to the truth about the luni-solar Sabbath, which helped me understand that the New Moon day is a day separate from working days and the Sabbath day (Ezekiel 46:1), and that the first day of creation week, was when YHUH created the light, and separated it from the darkness. I eventually began to see that the FVC (first visible crescent) is how we see the beginning of this separation of light from darkness on the moon, after the month begins, on the first day of the week.
| Gen 1:4 | And Aluhym saw the light, that [it was] good: and Aluhym divided the light from the darkness.
Remember, it was the first DAY of creation WEEK, not the first day of the month, that light was divided from darkness. Light and darkness were JOINED TOGETHER – IN CONJUNCTION – until the first day of the week began, when He DIVIDED them. On the second day of the moon/month, which was the first day of the creation week, light was divided from darkness. The previous verses tell us that before the first day of the week, there was darkness, New Moon Day, the first day of the first month of the first year. |
The Hebrew word for darkness in Gen 1:4 is:
Strong’s H2822g’s H282
חֹשֶׁךְ
choshek
1) darkness, obscurity
- a) darkness
- b) secret place
Notice how close the word, choshek, which means darkness or secret place, is to the word chodesh.
Psalm 91:1 states: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
Notice the word, shadow, in Psalm 91:1. A shadow implies darkness, and the context here is protection, hidden, in darkness. In Hebrew it reads:
יֹשֵׁב בְּסֵתֶר עֶלְיֹון בְּצֵל שַׁדַּי יִתְלֹונָֽן׃
The Hebrew word for “secret place” in Psalm 91:1 is sether/cether סֵתֶר
1) covering, shelter, hiding place, secret
- a) covering, cover
- b) hiding place, shelter, secret place
- c) secrecy
The first letter, samech, of this word, sether, means to protect. Tav, the second letter, means mark, sign, signal, and resh, the last letter, is a word picture of a head of a man and means first, top, beginning. Do not all these letters in the word picture here point to the New Moon being a mark in the head of the month, a sign for appointed times, which we are commanded to protect or keep, and we will find a secret hiding place of protection and shelter if we do it?
The words in Psalm 91, secret place, shadow, to me, are hinting that we can meet with Him or dwell with him or abide with him at his New Moon, Sabbaths, and feasts, according to His calendar, determined by the New Moon. All the information here seems to be pointing to a concealed, covered, hidden, secret, protected, canopied moon. Nothing appears to be pointing to or suggesting a crescent or full moon.
The Hebrew word for “divided” in the verse in Genesis 1:4 I mentioned previously is:
Strong’s H914
בָּדַל
badal
1) to divide, separate
- a) (Hiphil)
1) to divide, separate, sever
2) to separate, set apart
3) to make a distinction, difference
4) to divide into parts
- b) (Niphal)
1) to separate oneself from (reflexive of 1a2)
2) to withdraw from
3) to separate oneself unto
4) to be separated
5) to be excluded
6) to be set apart
Gesenius’s Lexicon explains this to mean to separate, disjoin, as two places with a veil, fence, wall, things previously mixed together…so, in the beginning there was darkness (Rosh Chodesh), when light and darkness was mixed together, but then on the first day of creation week (the second day of the month), THEN came division between the two, and there was light.
Mixture and Separation
Just as YaH will eventually completely separate us from those we were mixed together with, eventually we will be separated from darkness, we will be light separated from darkness, but we begin in darkness, in the world and in sin…not only will He separate us, but in the meantime, he hides us, like the conjunction moon, we are hidden amongst the nations. He will choose the time for the Sons of Aluhym to be revealed. Romans 8:19
The “New” Moon and Patterns of Light and Darkness
I did a study on the word chodesh, which means to rebuild, renew. When light grows on the moon, it is rebuilding, renewing the month. As light diminishes, the month is dying, being torn down, being brought to an end, and the process begins again moments later with conjunction. The word, month, comes from moon. When the light disappears, the month disappears, when there is new light growing on the moon, a new month has already begun. This is one of many reasons I no longer use the FVC (first visible crescent), nor the full moon, as the New Moon (NM). To look at a moon that has increased in light since yesterday, and say, “Oh, look, there’s the new moon, it’s the beginning of a new month!” when it is in the same lunation it was in yesterday, it has the same light on it that it had yesterday, only more, makes no sense. That’s like looking at the sun at high noon, and saying, “Oh, look, there is the sun, it’s now morning and the beginning of a new day!” Likewise, it doesn’t make sense to call the FVC the “New” Moon, because we know that “new” light has already been building on the moon since conjunction for 1-2 days by the time we can see the FVC. Just because we can’t see the new light yet, because of limitations, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. There must be a period of darkness, a division, between days and months and years, in the form of night, New Moons, and Winter, this is the process of renewal with light and darkness in these segments of time. These are patterns of light and darkness that teach us when to rest and when to work, and when to “go up” to worship YHUH.
YHUH showed me that His paths have no darkness in them. You start on the path in darkness, where you are standing, at the New Moon, it represents where we are before we start our journey we call life, whether that be spiritual or physical. The path begins on the first day of the week when you begin to work, that’s the time of the First Visible Crescent (FVC), your sign to walk, to work, because now you have light. Six days you work, then on the first quarter moon is your first Sabbath. (Isn’t it interesting that we always call the FIRST quarter moon, the FIRST quarter? Hint, hint, His ways aren’t difficult.) Work six more days until the full moon, in the middle of the month. Work six more days until the last quarter moon, then six more days of light on the moon until the last Sabbath, then conjunction and the moon/month is renewed, when you press pause for worshipping YHUH again.
The cycle of the moon mirrors the day. You wake up in the morning with the morning light increasing and get to work, solar noon is the middle of the day, just as full moon is the middle of the month, you work until the light decreases and you rest/renew in darkness. This pattern is the same with the year. Seedtime and harvest is in the summer, when you work and do your labors in the field. In the winter, which is the dark period of the solar year, the land rests.
Life cycles and Lunar Cycles
There is so much meaning in the Hebrew words, and each letter gives meaning to the word. The main meaning I found for Chet in Chodesh is life, like in Chai (Hebrew word for life). The word picture for the letter Chet was of a wall and can also mean fence, sin (darkness), divide, half.
I found it especially intriguing that Chet means life. When does life begin? Does it begin when one is born, when the baby comes forth, or does it begin at conception, while still hidden in the womb? Birth from the womb is just one phase of life, not the beginning. Death leads to life. The sperm dies in the seed of the woman before the baby begins to form. When the moon light fades with the last crescent, it’s almost dead, the end of the cycle. When the light is gone, it is dead, but it is also alive. Death is intermingling with life. We must die to ourselves, our flesh, to be truly “born again”. Life is intermingling with death just as light intermingles with darkness at the beginning of the day and the beginning of the Sabbath and millenial reign, and at the beginning of creation (life).
YaHUSHA DIED and resurrected that we may also have LIFE. Life begins in the womb, hidden in the dark. It grows as the phases continue, waxing light, and then waning as it grows old, and then that eventually dies, only so it can begin again, renewed. We believe in YaHUSHA’s death, burial, AND resurrection, not just the resurrection. The dark moon is symbolic of YaHUSHA in the tomb, in a dark place. (No, I’m not saying Yahusha was in the tomb on the New Moon, I’m talking about the symbolism of the New Moon.) As light increases on the first day of the week, it is a sign of the resurrection. (Still speaking of symbolism, not saying there was a FVC when Yahusha rose. I once considered that possibility when I briefly observed the full moon as the New Moon, but YHUH pointed out to me that is not what Genesis 1 teaches about the beginning.) The resurrection does not come without death beginning the process of renewal.
When a woman is pregnant, about to give birth, the nurse or midwife checks her cervix as she gets closer to delivery. She is checking to see if it is “waxing”, opening, getting larger, to make room for the baby to leave the womb. LIFE, does not begin AFTER her cervix “waxes” or BEGINS to “wax”, or AFTER the child comes forth, but BEFORE, when the seed of the man (sun) and the seed of the woman (moon) come together in conjunction. The term “waxing”, is also used for the moon, as light grows on it, it is said to be waxing. The connection between life and the moon is notable. The woman’s menstrual cycle is the length of a lunation, and is even named after the moon. The life cycle and the moon’s cycle both begin in darkness. Creation begins in darkness, the day begins in darkness. Spiritually, we begin in darkness as we are born into sin, why wouldn’t the month begin in darkness? The beginning of Genesis does say that in the beginning there was darkness. Why would YHUH break this pattern that He has set from the beginning in Genesis? In Genesis is the account of the beginning of LIFE, and the beginning of TIME.
Going back to the Hebrew letters in the word chodesh, we talked about the chet, meaning life. Next is Dalet, the second letter in chodesh, is a picture of a door, and can mean move, hang, entrance, and fish. The door here can represent the entrance or door, which is YaHUSHA, the living TORAH that we may go through to get to YHUH, to His feasts, His kingdom, His peace, His rest, His Sabbaths. If we knock at this door, He will open. The beginning of the first day of the first month is the door to the beginning of His calendar. It is the door we go through to meet with Him.
Knock, and the DOOR Will Be Opened…
Shin, the last letter in chodesh, is a picture of a tooth, and can mean teeth, sharp, press, eat, two, peace, corruption, and falsehood. I’m getting a picture of YHUH’s Word here, His mouth, the double-edged sword, that comes to divide and cut and pierce even the soul. I’m thinking PEACE and TWO (sun and moon in conjunction) are interesting meanings here. We go through the door-the concealed moon, we enter His calendar, His feasts, His kingdom, Yom Teruah (NEW MOON), His Sabbaths, His PEACE…when the TWO light witnesses in the heavens become echad. When the door, the moon, is opened, then light begins to grow on the moon, leading you onto the path to the appointed times that fall in the month.
Psalm 81:3 and a Full New Moon?
The Halleluyah Scriptures words it this way: Blow the ram’s horn at the time of the New Moon, at the covering, on our festival day. Psalm 81:3
The NKJV interprets it like this: Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day. Psalm 81:3
So which is correct, or are they both wrong? Many are confused by this verse. The Strong’s Concordance didn’t help clear up the matter, at least, unless you look a bit deeper at what it has to say about it. The question is, is this verse saying we are supposed to blow the shofar on the New Moon, and is this verse saying the New Moon is the full moon? I once thought this might be what it’s saying, so for almost 6 months, I observed the full moon as the New Moon. However, it made no sense to have conjunction in the middle of the month, in the middle of the paths of light, and YHUH reminded me of Genesis 1, which said that in the beginning, there was darkness.
“Full Moon” (or, in the KJV “in the time appointed”) is actually “b’kece” in the Hebrew; (‘b’ or ‘bet’ meaning ‘in’) and “kaf-samech-aleph”(k-s-a), according to Strong’s; and they label it word H3677. While Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance translates “kece” as “full moon”; Gesenius’ Hebrew – Chaldee Lexicon questions that translation, saying; “The etymology is not clear to me, for it is not satisfactory to say that it is so called from the whole moon being covered with light. Verbs of covering are often applied in the sense of hiding and covering over, but never, as far as I know, to that of giving light”. While Strong’s Concordance says this word is spelled “kaf-samech-aleph” and translates it twice in the Old Testament as “full moon”; The Hebrew Scriptures (namely, the Stone Edition TaNaK & Chumash, The Shottenstein Edition Interlinear Tehillim and the Greene’s Interlinear Hebrew-English Bible) all show the word in Hebrew as “kaf-samech-hey” which corresponds to Strong’s word H3680, which they translate 147 times to mean “covered”, “veiled”, “clothed”, “hidden” or “concealed”.
When Moses’ face was shining, it wasn’t hidden, he had to veil it, cover it, hide it. This meaning corresponds also to Brown-Driver-Briggs and Klein’s Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language. Also, I’ve noticed most people ignore the Hebrew letter, lamed, before day, in the Hebrew, in Psalm 81:3. The Hebrew letter, lamed, is the letter l in English, and when used like a prefix, at the beginning of a word, is like a preposition, and means “toward”, or “to”, or “leading into”.
Now, with the proper understanding of the terms, we’re going to look again at Tehillim / Psalms 81:3. In the Hebrew, it reads; תִּקְעוּ בַחֹדֶשׁ שֹׁופָר בַּכֵּסֶה לְיֹום חַגֵּֽנוּ׃
Usually we read Hebrew right to left, but for some reason, MS Word flipped it around to read left to right when I posted it to this document. Now, we’re going to read it in English as it more accurately translates from the Hebrew.
Blow the ram’s horn in the renewing, in the concealment, toward the day of our feast. Psalm 81:3
So what does that mean, TOWARD the day of our feast, or chag? Some say the chag this verse is referring to, is the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because of the context of the rest of Psalm 81, being the time when Israel was delivered from Egypt. However, YHUH tells us the reason why we celebrate Sukkot in the seventh month, why we dwell in the sukkah, is to remind us that YHUH caused Israel to dwell in Sukkot when He delivered them from Egypt. Lev 23:42-43. All of the appointed times are connected in theme, back to the Israelites coming out of Egypt. Scripture even says that the reason we keep the Seventh day Sabbath is because He delivered us from Egypt on this day. Deut 5:12-15. The chag it’s referring to here, in Psalm 81:3, I believe, is Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. So, the New Moon previous to that, when you would blow the ram’s horn, in the time of concealment, or covering, announcing the coming chag/festival, is Yom Teruah, the Day of Trumpets. This appointed time falls on the first day of the seventh month, when the moon is hidden, dark, concealed.
On the New Moon, the priests are commanded to blow 2 silver trumpets. Judaism, Messianic Judaism, and Christianity suggest that the shofar is what is to be blown on all the New Moons, but not so, Numbers 10 specifies the 2 silver trumpets to be blown for the New Moons. So why does Psalm 81 say it’s a command for Israel and a testimony of Joseph to blow the shofar, the ram’s horn, and why am I saying this is about the Day of Blowing, which is a New Moon day? I believe, because this is a special New Moon day, the Day of Blowing, that the ram’s horn is called for here, in this month, to announce a time of repentance, a time of judgement, war, atonement, and the celebration with YHUH later in that lunar cycle on Sukkot. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, comes 10 days after Yom Teruah, 5 days before Sukkot, and is a day we are commanded to blow the shofar to announce the year of Jubilee. It is a day of humbling and afflicting ourselves, a day of repentance. We want to be right with YHUH, instead of facing judgement, so that we can feast with YHUH 5 days later, on Sukkot, the day of our Chag, feast. Yom Teruah is not a Chag, but does L’yom Chag, LEAD (lamed) us TOWARD (lamed before a word means to or toward, not on) the day of Chag Sukkot. Let’s read it in English again.
Blow the ram’s horn in the renewing, in the concealment, toward the day of our feast. Psalm 81:3
The Hebrew Word for Moon
I found the Hebrew word for moon is yereah, or yaryah.
יְרִיעָה
Yereah is the Hebrew word for moon. Strong’s H3394. Am I the only one that sees YAH in this word? Even the moon comes as a messenger in YHUH’s name. No wonder He singles it out as His faithful witness in the sky in Psalm 89:37. I encourage you to look up all the words in the Strong’s concordance that begin with yod, resh, and see if you see thematic connections. See if you can see how these words are related. Remember, the root words add meaning, and the letters in the word also add meaning to the Hebrew word picture. Yeria/Yaria, Strong’s H3407 means tent curtain, tent, curtain, shelter, dwelling. Jericho, yeriho/yarihu, Strong’s H3405, means moon city, because the Canaanite inhabitants of Jericho worshipped moon gods. Jerusalem, Yarushalayim, Strong’s H3390, means foundation of peace. There are several words beginning with yod resh that have to do with a foundation. Remember, Chodesh means to rebuild. Build on what? A foundation. The Tabernacle was set up on the New Moon, the first day of the first month. Exodus 40:2 Why did YHUH command the Tabernacle go up THAT day, on the New Moon of the FIRST month? To commemorate the day when He began to create upon the Earth, when He set up a tabernacle for us to dwell in – the Earth. Do you see the picture?
Scripture is Not Clear About the New Moon?
Some say that the Bible isn’t clear about which phase of the moon is the New Moon. I beg to differ. It’s there, it’s clear, it’s just hidden from most, like the New Moon at conjunction. Once you see it, it’s all over the place. It’s the New Moon’s nature to hide, even in the scriptures, lol. It is the glory of Aluhym to conceal a matter, and the honor of kings to search it out. Remember that scripture? There are many scriptures in the Old and New Testaments referring to secret and hidden things in the scriptures, that we can only see once our eyes are opened, and the veil removed from our eyes.
“For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Luke 8:17
“The secret things belong to YHUH our Aluhym, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. Deut. 29:29
‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jeremiah 33:3
“It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.” Daniel 2:22
He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time.” Daniel 12:9
“But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Mark 13:32
“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. John 15:15
…that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints…Colossians 1:26
There are additional scriptures that blatantly tell us which phase is the New Moon. The problem is, many don’t consider them to be scriptures, even though the scrolls themselves claim to be inspired by YHUH, written by messengers and patriarchs of old. They were found amongst scrolls many others DO consider to be inspired. Their message has been hidden by the “powers that be”, but ultimately, by The Most High Power, YHUH, who has waited for the appointed time for them to be revealed. I speak of the scrolls found at Qumran, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and other books that confirm them found in places like Ethiopia. Many have claimed these scrolls speak of a solar-only calendar. They claim the Book of Jubilees, Enoch, Jasher, all of these books reject the moon. They claim that ALL of the scrolls, and the Bible, speak of a solar-only calendar, and that anything that appears to refer to the moon must have been added or changed. Really? I suggest these people are either very mistaken, badly misinformed because they haven’t read these books themselves, or intentionally trying to deceive YHUH’s people because they KNOW MOST people will not verify what they say and read the scrolls themselves, but rather, will believe what these people say about the scrolls because these people hold certain important titles such as, “Dr.”, “Professor”, or “Rabbi”. Let’s examine the evidence. Just do a search for Sirach and the chapters I mention, and you can verify what I say online. Here’s some pretty convincing passages from the scroll, Ecclesiasticus, also known as, Sirach, found at Qumran:
I HAVE STILL MORE in my mind to express; I am full like the moon at mid – month. Sirach 39:12
So much for the scriptures not being clear! Obviously, the moon is full at mid-month, according to Sirach. When is mid-month? If a moon cycle is on average between 29-30 days, and if we begin a month the dawn after conjunction, we should have a full moon falling the night before the 15th, but not always. Why does it vary? There are variations in the lunar cycle. The lunation slows down its speed of waxing and waning at conjunction and at the full moon, but speeds up at the quarter moon phases. Sometimes, the first half of the lunation will be longer than the second half, sometimes the second half will be longer. This can place the full moon on either the night following the 14th or the night following the 15th – either way, mid – month. Because the lunation slows down at the full moon, the moon may APPEAR full for about 3 nights, over the 14th, 15th, and the 16th. It is only 100% full, however, on one of those nights, usually between the 14th and 15th. Using the FVC moon will give you a full moon on a later date, and does not match the testimony of Sirach. The method of using dawn (nautical twilight) after conjunction to begin the month lines up with what Sirach says. Let’s take another look at Sirach to see what else it has to say about the moon’s role in the month and appointed times:
There is also the moon, marking time, an eternal sign of the changing seasons. The moon determines the holy days. Its light grows full and then grows dim. The month is named after the moon, marvelous to watch as it grows fuller each night, a signal light for the heavenly armies, shining out in the dome of the sky. Sirach 43:6-8
There it is, the moon determines the “holy days”. Is the Sabbath a holy day? Yep! Remember the command to keep the Sabbath day holy? If we could read the Hebrew, that would most likely say “appointed times”, instead of holy day. Lev 23, in the first few verses, with Genesis 1:14, establishes that the working days and Sabbath days are also appointed times. Sirach is a 3rd witness to Psalm 104:19 and Genesis 1:14 that the moon is for appointed times. This verse tells us the moon marks time. Not only is this verse another witness that the moon is for appointed times and that it is used in a month, but it is also another witness that the New Moon is conjunction, and the full moon occurs at mid-month. It mentions that the word month, is named after the word, moon. We see that in a woman’s MONTHLY MENStruation as well, menes. They are linked. How on EARTH does this sound solar-only? Talk about giving a false testimony! Some people are out-right LYING about these books! What about the scroll of Enoch? Don’t some people say it’s a solar calendar?
And on the first day she is called the new moon, for on that day the light rises upon her… On the side whence the light of the moon comes forth, there again she wanes till all the light vanishes and all the days of the month are at an end, and her circumference is empty, void of light. Enoch 78:12, 14
So Enoch says that on the first day of the month, she is called the New Moon, or Rosh Chodesh, because on that day, which is the day after conjunction (which either falls on the 29th or 30th of the month), the light rises upon her (whether we can see it or not). Enoch is also saying, when the moon has no light, the month has ended, and the next one begins. I feel like the defense should be able to rest here, but there’s more I’d like to share. Are you getting angry yet about all the false witnesses about these scrolls? Do you understand yet why so many people are discouraging us from reading these books for ourselves? Hasatan does NOT want us to discover this information! It’s been there all the time, available to us for years, but YHUH is in control, and is opening our eyes and ears now…
…Yeah, But the Pharisees Were Not Rebuked by Yahusha for the New Moon and Sabbaths They Kept…
Some people get hung up on the fact that the Pharisees weren’t rebuked by Yahusha for what New Moon or Sabbath they kept, so this is all confusing to some people. The Pharisees were keeping the right Sabbath at the time of Yahusha, because every time Yahusha performed a miracle on the Sabbath day, the Pharisees were right there to accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath laws. We are told by Judaism, and those that follow the rabbis, that this means Yahusha was keeping the Sabbath on the day we now know as Saturday, and that the New Moon he observed was the one Jews keep today, because that’s what Judaism and man’s history says happened back then. That’s simply not the case. See Lamentations 2:6 and Hosea 2:11. (The Book of Jubilees has a third witness that the New Moons, Sabbaths, and ALL the appointed times would be forgotten, in agreement with Lamentations 2 and Hosea 2.)
And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: YHUH hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest. Lamentations 2:6
I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. Hosea 2:11
But if they do neglect and do not observe them according to His commandment, then they will disturb all their seasons, and the years will be dislodged from this (order), [and they will disturb the seasons and the years will be dislodged] 2 and they will neglect their ordinances. And all the children of Israel will forget, and will not find the path of the years, and will forget the new moons, and seasons, and sabbaths, and they will go wrong as to all the order of the years. For I know and from henceforth shall I declare it unto thee, and it is not of my own devising; for the book (lieth) written before me, and on the heavenly tables the division of days is ordained, lest they forget the feasts of the covenant and walk according to the feasts of the Gentiles after their error and after their ignorance. Book of Jubilees 5:33-35
The prophecies say that YHUH caused ALL the appointed times to be forgotten when the Temple was destroyed, that the New Moons, Sabbaths – ALL the appointed times were forgotten. This did, indeed come to pass. YHUH said the way you know if a prophecy or prophet is true, is if it comes to pass. Because Lamentations, Hosea, and Jubilees, predicted this would happen, and it came to pass, this proves these were true prophets, true prophecies, and authoritative books of YHUH. The Sabbath the Pharisees kept in Yahusha’s time was by the New Moon, and not the NM they keep today, and when the Temple was destroyed, the Jewish people who survived assimilated and accepted the Gregorian week, which is divorced from the moon, and they created a calendar by calculation that has gotten off from conjunction and is no longer always in line with the lights in the heavens. It has gotten off and they admit it, but they refuse to move from their traditions. The Karait Jews are even further from the true NM. The Jewish people were allowed to keep a seventh day Sabbath when they went into the nations, but were pressured by religious and government powers to observe the seventh day when man said to. All those who would not assimilate were martyred. We are familiar with these verses in Lamentations 2, and Hosea 2 about the forgetting of the Sabbath, because these verses were quoted to us often to convince us we needed to keep the seventh day Sabbath, not Sunday, and that we needed to observe a lunar calendar of months for feasts, not the Gregorian months. However, we were given the old bait and switch. A counterfeit seventh day was fed to those who were waking up to the truth of the commandments and the Sabbath, and a counterfeit New Moon was also given. Because the Sabbath is a sign for those in covenant with YHUH (Exodus 31:13), Satan really doesn’t want us to start donning this commandment. He will do anything to get us to break the covenant. According to the Old and New Testaments, those even of Judah who would turn from His commandments would be “cut off” from the covenant. When you are cut off from the covenant, you lose the sign of the covenant, the Sabbath, mentioned in Exodus 31:13:
“Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am YHUH who sanctifies you. Keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Anyone who profanes it must surely be put to death. Whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from among his people. Exodus 31:13-14
Those who are cut off will need to be grafted back in, and when one is grafted back into the covenant, they again have the sign of the covenant, the Sabbath, restored to them. The Jewish people who have not yet put their faith in Yahusha are not yet restored to the covenant or it’s sign – the Sabbath. These verses in Hosea and Lamentations were witnesses against us testifying that we were in error and had forgotten the Sabbath and the New Moon. When we came to that realization, we were presented with a counterfeit from Judah who was also without the correct Sabbath, as they had abandoned YHUH’s Sabbath and adopted the Catholic Gregorian week. Saturday is no more the seventh day than Sunday is. Just as the Gregorian months and years were divorced from the moon, so also the Gregorian week is divorced from the moon. Lamentations is saying Judah and ALL of Israel forgot the appointed times, not just the Northern Tribes. Judah forgot the Sabbath, too, AND the New Moons, AND ALL the appointed times, including the Sabbath years, the Jubilee years, and even day the sheaf and loaves were waved. We know this because Lamentations say the forgetting of these times happens when YHUH destroys the Temple and destroys His places of the assembly. When Yahusha warned to beware the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, he was warning us in the last days, too. Judaism claims they never forgot the Sabbaths and New Moons. When they claim this, they are essentially calling YHUH, Hosea, Lamentations, and Jubilees liars. They claim the Sabbath was always Saturday. They claim they have always known when the New Moon is, that they never forgot it, again calling YHUH a liar. We know they forgot these appointed times in Exodus while in Egypt because YHUH had to again teach them the Sabbath with the manna and retaught them the beginning of the months and years in Exodus 12:2 when he said:
This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Exodus 12:2
Let YHUH be found true and every man a liar. So, can we get over what the Rabbis claim already? Can we get over the fact that YHUH has blinded them temporarily until the fullness of the gentiles comes in, like Romans 11 says?
There is a REASON YHUH tells us from the beginning, in the opening of Genesis, that in the beginning there was darkness. Remember, we are supposed to go back to the beginning for our answers, to the ancient path, not the commentaries of the Jewish religious leaders who are both physical and spiritual descendants of those who Yahusha said were the seed of satan, who is the father of lies. Remember, He said to avoid their leaven. They contradict themselves in their own writings. Like Yahusha says, when they read Moses from Moses’ seat, do what they say, but don’t do what they do. In other words, do what Moses says. If they did what Moses said, you could do what they do, but they don’t do what Moses said. Go back to Genesis, the beginning. Remember, Isaiah tells us YHUH reveals the end from the beginning, and Jeremiah said to ask for the old, ancient paths.
The Traditions and Leaven Concerning the New Moon
So, do the Orthodox Jewish rabbis have any scriptures for forsaking observance of the signs in the lights in the heavens, commanded in Gen 1:14 and Psalm 104:19, and forecasting the New Moon based on calculations only, for the Hillel calendar? I haven’t heard any yet. I don’t see such verses when I read Moses. They also don’t observe the molad, or conjunction, as the New Moon, on the Jewish calendar, though they claim to. Let me explain. The Jewish calendar they go by now, was calculated using the molad for every month, but it was done hundreds of years ago and then set in stone so that all the Jews would be on the same page as to when to celebrate the Feasts hundreds of years in advance, with no adjustments (other than postponements) since then. After hundreds of years, their calendar started becoming inaccurate, not lining up with the lights in heavens anymore, so that sometimes their New Moon will line up around conjunction, and other months it might line up at the time of the FVC. If the moon is a sign for the appointed times, and it is, then why are their signs in the moon not consistent with the beginning and end dates of the months? On top of that, if you ask a rabbi when the New Moon is, you may get several different answers. If you ask 3 rabbis, you’re likely to get 10 different answers. I’m not kidding, the joke is funny to some, because it’s true, it’s been my experience, too. Its sad, not a joke, they are as lost and confused as the gentiles. They say that until they have unity, they go by the calendar calculations they did long ago, unless you’re a Karaite Jew, of course.
Due to one phrase in Exodus, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you”, the Karaite Jews teach that when YHUH instructed “This month”, that YHUH was pointing to a FVC in the sky – even though scripture does not state that, this is their own imagination of what they want you to think happened – they are adding to Torah here, and we are commanded not to add our own words to what He said in the Torah.
Calculations are great, and are helpful for occasions when we can’t see the moon due to atmospheric, weather, or environmental conditions, but observance should always be used FIRST, with calculations being backup when necessary, or confirmation, or a second witness. The Jewish Pharisees of today are aware of this problem with their calendar not being in agreement with the light signals, and admit to it, and continue in it. Are these the people you want to follow? They are obviously blind and confused. If the blind follow the blind…well, you know what happens. Yahusha called them the sons of Satan, who He called the Father of Lies. Like kind produces like kind, and Proverbs says that liars breathe lies. Yes, the Jewish religious leaders who reject Messiah and the New Testament, breathe lies and try to convert believers to Judaism, convincing them to reject Yahusha as Messiah in the process. Would Yahusha want us to listen to ANYTHING they have to say, when He said to avoid their leaven, when Paul said, “What fellowship hath light with darkness and believers with unbelievers?”
I Can’t Observe a Dark New Moon
I know, some claim that you can’t observe the dark moon, because you can’t see it. Regardless, it IS a phase of the moon, and the moon is for appointed times, so we have to put the dark moon SOMEWHERE in the month, so why not as the New Moon, so you have your paths of light for walking, for working and resting – your weeks – in light? John 8:12 says that he that follows Yahusha shall not walk in darkness. His path is light, so that we don’t stumble. Where you are standing, before you begin walking on the path, you don’t need light, you only need light in front of you, to take that first step. So, on the New Moon, where you are at when you begin the month, you don’t need light, until the first step, the first day of the week. You have light until you get to the end of the month and start on the next path, or month.
You CAN predict the approach of conjunction, and not just with calculations, but also with observance of what IS visible, observing the waning crescent and the LAST VISIBLE crescent moon. This is the method David used to determine that the New Moon was the next day, in advance, in 1 Samuel. In the last week of the month, one can look in the east in the morning before sunrise, and observe the Last Visible Crescent (LVC) to determine if there will be one or two New Moon days. If conditions are right, one can see the LVC on the 29th in the morning, and know that the next day will be the 30th day of the month, and the following would be the first day of the next month. However, if one does not see the LVC on the morning of the 29th, and conditions are clear, then the next day is the first day of the next month, and there is no 30th day. Just to be sure, you can check for the LVC again the next morning, and verify with calculations you did earlier in the week or using online websites such as timeanddate.com, it uses local time for your location and we’ve found it very accurate.
Because conditions are not always favorable to observe the LVC and FVC, it can be useful to use online sources for the phases of the moon, and the percentage of illumination from one day to the next. To ensure an accurate beginning of the month, so that the phases of the moon lines up with the appointed times more closely, begin the first day of the month on the dawn (nautical twilight) after conjunction, and make sure your source is using your local time. Never follow a website’s calendar or app without verifying it with observation of the lights in the heavens and your own calculations. Use at least 2 or 3 witnesses. Even better to have other people observing the signs in your area and other areas for additional confirmation. There is strength/confidence in many counselors.
What about Josephus and Philo?
YHUH is showing us truth and YHUH doesn’t need Josephus or the Talmud or the Mishnah or the Pharisees or the Sadducees or the Karaites to reveal it to us. All we need is the Word of YHUH. We must stick with inspired scriptures that prophesy of the Messiah and exalt the Torah. Josephus is not inspired. Even those in Judaism will tell you it is only a historical document containing Jewish traditions of the Pharisees. Yahusha warned us to avoid the leaven of the Pharisees.
Judah Was Given the Scepter and the Law Goes Forth from Zion
Some say we should obey Judah’s interpretation of the law because Judah was given the ordinances of Yah, they were given the scepter, the rod, the staff, which is the Torah, and they were given authority to reign in accordance to Torah. I partially agree. They were given authority to reign in accordance to Torah-NOT Rabbinical LAWS! ALSO, Judah was ONLY given this authority with the law/sceptor UNTIL SHILOH (YAHUSHA) came. Gen 49:10. When Judah rejected Yahusha, they rejected the law/sceptor, because HE IS the law! Now the people are to obey Shiloh/Yahusha, who is the Lawgiver, and received His scepter back when He came and took away Judah’s Kingdom and destroyed Jerusalem, the Temple, and the priesthood. Gen 4:10
Yahusha is called Shiloh because Shiloh was the city among the Northern Tribes where the Tabernacle of YHUH was first set up when the Israelites entered the land. When the Northern Tribes rebelled, YHUH removed His presence from there and chose Jerusalem in Judah instead. Yahusha was to be called, Emmanuel, Aluhym dwelling with us, because He would dwell in Israel (believers) as a little Tabernacle WHEREVER Israel goes. Matt 1:2, Rev 21:3, Ezek 11:16.
Judah chose to forsake the Torah and they began to cling instead to their traditions and judge according to THEM, instead of Torah justice. They have been feeding us the lies of their father Satan, not the Torah truth of our Heavenly Father YHUH. They are in the synagogue of Satan, and when Messianic congregations decide to follow them, they graft themselves into the synagogue of Satan, which eventually causes them to reject Yahusha, their salvation. Please note that I am not anti-Jew, racist, or Anti-Semitic. On the contrary, my desire is for the Jewish people to repent, and receive His forgiveness and be grafted back in like Romans 11 says they will be one day, as I also repented of my sins and was grafted in. Those in Islam and Christianity will also need to repent and come out of Babylon, just as I have, to be saved. However, I have come to realize that, by following them, I will not lead them to Messiah. I, as a believer, am to LEAD THEM, to Messiah Yahusha. WE, believers, are the head, and not the tail. I am a physical descendant of Israel, and I am married to one as well, but we were both raised as gentiles, among gentiles in the nations, and had gentile pagan customs and had adopted falsehood and the lies of our fathers, as the Jewish people have, as well. We do not put our trust in genealogy, however, because we were all cut off at one time or another because of sin and rebellion, and must be grafted back in through faith in Messiah Yahusha, the Law Giver.
Zion is not currently in Jerusalem. After Judah rejected Yahusha, the glory of YHUH left, and the Temple was destroyed. Now He dwells within us, wherever we go in exile. The law goes forth from US – Zion, which means, grafted in. YHUH will bring us back into the land when this happens, and reestablish His glory in Jerusalem, when we are dwelling there again. A remnant is returning spiritually, even physically, but we are not all there yet, the fullness of the gentiles has not yet come in, there are still gentiles repenting before Judah’s veil will be lifted so that they can see again.
The Sun and Moon Were Not Created Until the 4th Day
Another reason some assert that the dark moon can’t be the New Moon, is their insistence that the sun and moon were not created until the 4th day. Some versions of the Bible do state that the sun and moon were “made” on the 4th day, in Genesis 1, but if you look at that word in the Hebrew, it doesn’t suggest they were “made” or created that day. It’s actually the Hebrew word, asah, which is more commonly and better translated as, appointed, or prepared. The sun and moon were appointed their roles for being signs for appointed times that day, they were not created that day. The word for created, like in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning Aluhym created the heavens and the earth”, is the Hebrew word, barah. Barah means to create from nothing, but if you look at all of the verses in the Bible where the word asah is used, it’s never speaking of something being created out of nothing. One instance where this word is used, is when the 3 messengers appear to Abraham outside of the tent in Genesis 18. Abraham orders that food be prepared for them, and it states that he took a tender calf and MADE it for food for them. The word, made, or prepared, is asah. So, are we to believe that Abraham created a calf? No, Abraham just took what already was and prepared it to be eaten, he made it into food.
So also with the sun and moon in Genesis on the 4th day. They were asah, not barah, on the 4th day, for their roles of ruling the day and night, and dividing light from darkness, to give light upon the earth, and appointed their role of telling time. Are not the sun, moon, and stars, part of the heavens? Yes. So when YHUH created, barah, the heavens, He created the sun, moon, and stars, at the same time He created the earth, in the beginning, in verse 1. That’s when He created the earth and the heavenly bodies. Creation week, when the first day of the week began, He began to create upon the heavens and the earth that He had already created. The first day of the week began when YHUH said, “Let there be light.” That was morning. Genesis goes on to say that the sun is for days, so for the first day of the week to exist, that suggests there was a sun. The same people who use Genesis 1 to say the moon can’t be used for the appointed times or Sabbaths because the SUN AND MOON weren’t made until the 4th day, these same people use the sun for appointed times and Sabbaths. That’s hypocritical. Think about that one for a minute. So I hope that helps those hung up on the 4th day thing, because a lot of people stumble over those verses.
| Psalm 27:5
Psalm (Tehillim) 27:5 “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock.” There are many layers of interpretation here. For one, He did indeed set us on a rock – the Earth. Of course, spiritually, the rock we are set on, is Yahusha, but I believe, also this has another hidden meaning, the moon. He shows us how to build our foundation, our faith, the appointed times, on the moon, which looks like a stone in the sky. I believe that the stone the builders rejected, does not JUST refer to Messiah Yahusha, how the builders rejected Him, but also, the moon, and how they reject the moon. When people try to divorce the moon from the days, appointed times, months, and years, as is the case with the Gregorian years, months, weeks, and holidays, they are essentially rejecting the chief cornerstone, the rock in the sky that we are to build years, months, days, and appointed times on. The term keseh or keceh, in Psalm 27:5, mentioned previously, is derived from the Hebrew root kacah, which means to “conceal, cover, or hide.” Yom Teruah, on the New Moon of the seventh month, is sometimes called Yom HaKeseh, or the Day of the Hiding, because it was hidden from us all. “Of that day and hour no one knows, only the Father.” Matt 24:36 However, at the same time, while it will come upon unbelievers suddenly, at the same time, YHUH does nothing without first REVEALING the SECRET to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7 Colossians 2:16-17 says that the New Moons and Sabbaths are SHADOWS of the things to come. They will teach about the Messiah and His coming. Also, see Ezekiel 32:8 and Ezekiel 34:12, Joel 2:10, Micah 3:6, about the coming dark day of YHUH. כָּסָה Kaf, samech, chet 1) to cover, conceal, hide a) (Qal) conceal, covered (participle) b) (Niphal) to be covered c) (Piel) 1) to cover, clothe 2) to cover, conceal 3) to cover (for protection) 4) to cover over, spread over 5) to cover, overwhelm d) (Pual) 1) to be covered 2) to be clothed e) (Hithpael) to cover oneself, clothe oneself How can keseh mean full moon if it comes from the root word kasah which means to cover, conceal, hide, clothe? Also interesting, in Psalm 81:3, keseh, interpreted, “in the time appointed” or sometimes, “full moon”, which we are seeing really is talking about the concealed moon, is also related to Strong’s H3678, Kisseh. Strong’s #3678: kicce’ (pronounced kis-say’) or kicceh {kis-say’}; from 3680; properly, covered, i.e. a throne (as canopied):–seat, stool, throne. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon: ּkissê’ / kissêh 1) seat (of honour), throne, seat, stool 1a) seat (of honour), throne 1b) royal dignity, authority, power (figuratively) Part of Speech: noun masculine Relation: from H3680 So what does this have to do with the new moon? Kisseh means throne, seat, authority, stool, royal dignity, power, covered, canopied. The new moon is covered, a canopy over the throne, seat of YaHUSHA, when He is given authority over His kingdom. Isaiah 66:1 says: “Thus saith YHUH, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?” KJV The Hebrew word for heaven here is Strong’s H8064, Shamayim. שָׁמַיִם 1) heaven, heavens, sky a) visible heavens, sky 1) as abode of the stars 2) as the visible universe, the sky, atmosphere, etc b) Heaven (as the abode of God) This is the same word used in Genesis, when YHUH created the heavens and the earth, and put the lights in the firmaments of the heavens. I’m thinking, it looks like the moon is YaHUSHA’s throne, if it is canopied, it will not give its light. Which reminds me of another verse: But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matt 24:29 We have been told the moon represents Israel, but sometimes, the moon seems to represent Messiah more so than it represents Israel. Israel makes YaHUSHA king. What I’m getting to is this, the hidden moon, Yom Teruah, the Kingdom, power, the thrown, a canopy, echad, it’s all linked. I Samuel ties it all together with what happened with King Saul (the King), Jonathon, and (soon to be king) David. David hides in a field. Representing Israel being hidden in the nations, Messiah’s identity being hidden, and the moon being hidden at the new moon. The events all happened during a New Moon feast according to the text, probably Yom Teruah, because there is mention of an annual sacrifice. The only annual sacrifice on the New Moon is Yom Teruah, the Day of Trumpets. David hides in the field until the evening of the third day, beginning the night before the new moon feasts with Saul started, and ending 2 evenings later. A hidden moon would ensure that David would not be seen out in a field at night. David is missing (hidden/invisible-like the moon) at his seat/thrown at the table. There is a lot of struggle between the king and soon to be king and the authority and power that goes along with that in this story. Do you see the thematic connections? (If you begin a date in the evening you will confuse the sequence of the events in the story with David, Saul, and Jonathon. Scripture teaches the day begins in the morning. While the observance of an appointed time begins in the evening, a date begins in the morning. See my article, The Beginning of a Day.) Day by Day They Utter Speech, Night by Night They Display Knowledge Another thing YHUH has shown me about His covered in darkness New Moon, is that the Heavens declare the glory of YHUH. Remember, it is the glory of YHUH to conceal a matter. After several years of observing the lights in the heavens and trying to understand His calendar and the New Moon, YHUH showed me a pattern in the heavens. All WEEKS OF 7 are in light, but the NEW MOON days are in darkness. It is not a co-incidence that there are approximately 28 days of light on the moon each month (7×4=28, with 4 lunar weeks in a month/moon cycle), and 1-2 dark moon days (the same number of New Moon days in a month) with the light appearing by the end of the daylight period of the third day. If you begin the month the morning after conjunction, the 29th always begins with a bit of light remaining on the moon, even if you can’t see it anymore. Conjunction might occur later that day, but that morning there is still light on the moon. Also, at the BEGINNING of the month, the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK comes with the appearance of the FVC in the evening. You always have the moon becoming visible to the eye either the evening before or the evening following the first day of the week. This is our light signal to begin buying, selling, and trading again, after the New Moon. Just as the sun is our light signal to wake up and begin the day working, so also the moon gives us our go ahead to begin the regular work week of “6 days you shall work…” New Moons Absent from Leviticus 23 Most are not aware of this, and I was not aware until a couple years ago, but many are still not aware that the 7th day Sabbath is listed in Lev 23 as an appointed time. Did you realize that Lev 23 ALSO mentions the 6 working days as appointed times? They are an appointed time to work. Remember, the lights in the heavens are signs for appointed times, that would include the 6 working days mentioned in Leviticus 23, in fact, they are the first appointed time mentioned, because after the New Moon, they are the first appointed time to occur in the year and in Genesis 1. Notice, the New Moon days are not listed in Leviticus 23 as appointed times. Why? They are hidden days, concealed, veiled. Yom Teruah, the Hidden Day, is the only exception, it is revealed in Lev 23. Grace I don’t know about you, but I can’t blame those who have been going by the crescent moon, or the full moon, for that matter. After all, I’ve tried both of those methods, and hey, we were just going on the information available to us from what we THOUGHT was reliable history and Jewish traditions. But, there is only one authority that does not err, and that is YHUH and His word, and as times approach, and as we learn to dig and search for Him, and His spirit leads us into ALL truth, we will find Him. We only need to let Him lead us, walk humbly with our Aluhym, and have a teachable spirit, study to show ourselves approved unto YHUH, hear all things and hold onto what is good, and come to Him as little children. Isn’t that all He asks for us to do for us to be able to inherit His Kingdom? I’m Too Busy to Study the Calendar, I’m Too Sick, It’s Too Difficult We all have times when we have a lot on our plate. We all have times when we don’t feel well, and some of us will die before we ever discover the appointed times. It’s worth studying out while you’re still alive, no matter how bad off you are. That’s when His grace is sufficient, when we do everything we can, and we fail to hit the mark. It’s not too hard to understand, as even my children understand it. For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it too far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear and do it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear and do it?” But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. Deut 30:11-14 Do you believe this? His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Truly, He does not give us more than we can bear. When we make excuses, we call Him a liar. We are not believing His word when we say such things. I don’t care if you can’t read Hebrew, if you are legally blind, if you are deaf, if you are mentally ill, if you have a low “IQ”, if you are lame, if you have 8 kids or a demanding husband, boss, creditor, or slave master. It doesn’t matter, because where there’s a will, there’s a way. YHUH is the one who makes minds to understand, ears to hear, and eyes to see. He made us, He formed us in the womb. You never know, maybe your putting forth the effort to get to know Him and His ways will give Him reason to heal you and bless you. Grace is NOT an EXCUSE to Continue Sinning Just because His grace is sufficient, does not mean He is okay with you sitting on your hands. Study to show thyself approved unto Aluhym suggests that to NOT study is to show oneself UNapproved unto Aluhym. Once you study and acquire the knowledge, and know what you ought to do, you ought to do it. It is a sin to know what you ought to do, and then not do it. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:17 He knows our hearts, and He says our hearts are wicked. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 We assume our hearts are good, but we don’t know our own hearts. May our will change from making excuses to wanting to do everything in our power to get understanding of those things that please Him. The Call to Come Out Come out of her! Revelation 18:4 Take that first step! The more we WALK in the truth that we have already been shown, the more the path in front of us will be revealed. YHUH directs our steps. Proverbs 20:24 Don’t be afraid to take the first step. Israel left Egypt before they knew the who, what, when, where, why, how of going into the promised land. They took a step of faith. The great thing about paths, and the great thing about repentance, is that if you find you are going the wrong way, you CAN t’shuvah, repent, and turn in the right direction, as soon as you realize you’re on the path to destruction. Imagine what would have happened to Israel if they would have stayed in Egypt because they doubted. It’s called faith for a reason. It would do folks good to give it a try. Albert Einstein is said to have said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the a different result.” If you like your life and want to stay in Egypt, stay in Egypt. See what happens. YHUH is offering us something different, and I’m in. I Observe “Other” Sabbaths and New Moons for the Fellowship I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this. People tell me all the time that they agree with me on the timing of the New Moons and Sabbaths, but that they meet with others on “other” Sabbaths (Saturday, Sunday, etc…), New Moons, and appointed times, for the fellowship. Some have even admitted forsaking the Sabbath they believe in and keeping one they do not, for the sake of fellowship. I am 100% convinced that if each person who understands the moon is for the Sabbath were to stop meeting with others on Saturdays, and started keeping appointed times according to their own convictions, and meeting on those set-apart days ONLY, we’d have so much fellowship we would not have time to even THINK about what was going on down the street in the Saturday synagogues and Sunday churches! Broad is the way to destruction! Their leaven contaminates the whole lump. Just stay away. I’m hesitant to have fellowship with those who meet on “other” appointed times. That puts me on guard. Remember Jeroboam who set up the golden calves to be worshipped by the Northern Tribes in Dan and Bethel a month after Sukkot? I don’t want such idolatry to contaminate me, my children, or the other sheep in the flock. It caused the division of the 2 houses of Israel. It causes division now. It’s double-mindedness. That stuff is set-apart for destruction. When you leave Egypt, when you leave Sodom, don’t look back at the people and things you leave behind! Warn them and then run for your own life! You can continue to warn them until the day of destruction, but be like Abraham, not Lot. Don’t wait until the last minute to come out. Come out of her my people, lest you partake in her plagues, lest you share in her sins! Choose this day whom you will serve! He Took Away the Sabbath and New Moons, So He Must Want Us to Remain in the Dark I keep hearing people say, “We can’t know for sure when the New Moon is, we will just have to wait for Him to return to reveal that to us, since the scriptures just are not clear on the matter.” Ok, I used to be one of those people. When we say things like this, aren’t we just sowing seeds of doubt? Isn’t that what’s really going on there, just encouraging people to give up on seeking the truth, and settling for remaining in confusion? I no longer consider people who still cling to that attitude to be BELIEVERS. Why? Because they are not BELIEVING His word when He says, “If you SEEK, you SHALL FIND, if you ASK, you SHALL RECEIVE, if you KNOCK, the door SHALL be OPENED.” I praise YHUH, because HE increased my faith in these scriptures to BELIEVE. To be believers in His word, we need to believe His word. Do you BELIEVE the word when He says the spirit WILL lead us into ALL truth? Is the New Moon and the Sabbath an exception? Didn’t He reveal the Sabbath and New Moon to Israel before they entered the land? If you want to learn, come out of Egypt. Come out of the Babylonian assemblies. The Israelites were in slavery and ignorance until they left Egypt. If you want to remain in confusion, stay where you are at. If you want truth, join us in the wilderness, where YHUH teaches the Sabbath with manna from heaven, His Word. It is not the truth seekers, the lunar Sabbath keepers, the New Mooners, those who question the traditions of the rabbis, who are the ones causing the division. It is the forsaking of the commandments of YHUH for those traditions of men that causes the division, and those who follow men in an effort to bring a false sense of peace and unity in a confusing tower of Babel, that keep us divided and in exile. Falsehood hasn’t worked to bring unity for thousands of years, it’s not going to work now. Remember the definition of insanity? This is why you have so many different denominations and religions. Look at all the varying groups doing Saturday. Seventh Day Adventist, Judaism, Messianic Judaism, and so many sects within them. Are we to believe He would give a death penalty for not keeping His Sabbath, and at the same time, make it impossible to discern with His Word when the New Moon and Sabbaths are? Would He set us up for failure like that? Do you think He would command us to avoid the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, and then require us to disobey that command by requiring us to study and obey their writings and text books in order to find His Sabbaths and other appointed times in Lev 23? Do you REALLY BELIEVE? People say, “I don’t believe a loving Father would hide the truth of the appointed times from us like that, we shouldn’t have to seek.” Well, HE’s the Creator, not YOU! WHO cares what YOU think? Who are you but a fading flower, a withering blade of grass, a breath of wind, here today and gone tomorrow? Faith requires ACTION. It is HIS prerogative if HE wants to require it of you to seek. It’s His glory to conceal it from you, to show you how foolish you are, how blind you are without Him and His wisdom. He gives understanding to the humble. You are so arrogant to claim that He is not a loving Father, when He gave you life, that you won’t humble yourself before Him and admit that HIS ways are higher than YOUR ways? Why would He gift wisdom to such a proud person, that you would try to exalt yourself and YOUR understanding over the ONE who CREATED you? WOW! It is the honor of Kings to SEARCH OUT a matter, so be a King…ASK, STUDY, SEEK, KNOCK… |
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Lyndsey Sanchez Blog: https://pentecostcountdown.wordpress.com/ Aluhym created light out of darkness. Gen 1:1-3 |
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| And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:5
For Aluhym commanded the light to shine out of darkness. 2 Corinthians 4:6
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