1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man[Greek Anthropos] Christ Jesus;
Aner:male *Gyne,woman
KJV-R (Webster) Acts 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man[Greek Aner] approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Etadam= Hebrew for Humanity,Ge1:27 Ish,man Isha,woman
Adam= first man,1Co15:45 (son)of God,Lk3:38
Children of Adam=sons of men,Ps4:2
Believers=children of God,Ro8:14,15;9:26
blemish(with spot/sin)=Jb4:18,19
*Unlike The idea of the Iglesia Ni Cristo
that he was a Human Being .
'Apostle Paul clearly taught that our Lord
Jesus Christ is man.He is different from God. He is not God, neither is He
God-Man. Rather, He is a man mediating between God and men."(GOD'S MESSAGE
/ July -September 1994).
Also will tell you that as a man(Pasugo Enero,1964
pahina 13 sinulat ni Emiliano Agustin)he needs salvation(in this this case
they speak true, all who has sinned[knows sin, has need of salvation]),but what
comes next is "Jesus being a man needed salvation(not a single verse can
be found to prove such claim) also and saved himself by the merits of his own
death, the same merits that saved others" which is totally unbiblical
· Believe Jesus is
not God only a man created by God: Manalo said Jesus was no more God then he
was.
· Believe that
Jesus being a man needed salvation also and saved himself by the merits of his
own death, the same merits that saved others.
Definitely unbiblical and not possible. How can Christ be having sin(needing salvation)and then saves himself from his own sin by his own blood after his death or before? He got baptized also.
now that's a contradiction on their part. The Bible tells us that the Christ never sinned.He9:14;1P1:18,19
The Will of God,He10:5;1Jn4:3
The Will of blood(Genealogy)of Flesh(Function), of Man(Choices),Jn1:13
The distinction, Distinguish, Difference that God Made
The bible express God(the Father)prepared a body for him. How Come? Mankind(even animals, fleshly expression of the bible)already has a prepared body, right?So why the repeat? Now there's that distinction! The creature and natural man(kind) need not be spoken of to be having flesh, but the one who has no flesh in his natural state.
You see a contradiction, the first of the Iglesia Ni Cristo ni Mr. Felix Manalo(we include the name because there are many church have the name Church of Crirst) See you next time
This would have been easier if their God is Allah, who neither begets nor is begotten, Surah 112:2,3
or if their God is not omnipotent
There is stiil the possibility that God has the ability to procreate if he wants to. The problem is they are still thinking of trinitarian God or Binitarian God or Unitarian God. They're are still worship the Unknown God,Ac17:23 and not the Living GodMt26:63;1Ti4:10He3:12
MV: that no flesh should glory,1Co1:25-31
Bib1Yr: Re20Old
Serpent
ITAMA ANG MALI
The Minister: He who does not know how to
swim should not go into deep waters. What good are principles if you can't stand by it.
The Minister: If you continue in these investigations, your life might be at stake.
The Minister: But He who acts indecisively
like a child will only result in tumult, and who will take responsibility in
the future.The book simply stated that there is a difference between courage and negligence.
The proverb: Abilities has limits. Don’t
aspire to be higher than your superiors. He who is a wise man is not a faultfinder and so judgmental.
But He who won’t correct those things that are done wrong by others and plainly
accepting it, is not the work of a dignified man. It should be that you must instinctively be aware of shrewd men who
want to put aside the truth and does nothing but accept those events that will happen.---Moon Embracing The Sun(Royal King)
luni solar calendar
Crescent moon;which crescent
"Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. . . . Those from among you shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight . . . .
(Isaiah 58:1, 12-13, NKJV)
The process of digging for truths long buried or forgotten under the rubble of error and tradition is a time-consuming process. It calls for much patience and careful, diligent searching for the gems of truth scattered abroad. Differences of opinion on some particulars are inevitable as the precious jewels of truth are found, dusted off, and restored to their rightful setting. Because the restoration of truth is a process, forbearance and Christian courtesy should be extended to all, allowing each individual the religious liberty to worship as convicted by his or her study.
Among those who wish to honor the Creator by worshipping on His holy Sabbath day, calculated by the divinely designed calendar of Creation, there are five basic approaches for determining the beginning of the month. These are:
Conjunction
First Visible Crescent
Horned Crescent
Full Moon
Jerusalem Time
There is a certain amount of overlap among the various methods as some who use Jerusalem Time may figure it by conjunction, and others by the visible crescent. Understanding the principles on which the various methods are based is important to having a solid foundation for one's own beliefs and is helpful when sharing with others. The calendar application designed for World's Last Chance can be used for any of these methods, but New Moons, Sabbaths and annual feasts are figured from first visible crescent.
Conjunction
One of the most widely used methods for determining the start of the lunar month is to use conjunction, or the "black/dark" moon. "Conjunction" occurs when the earth, moon and sun are in alignment. Because the moon is between the earth and the sun when in conjunction, the moon cannot be seen on earth because the illuminated half is facing the sun, away from earth. Many Gregorian calendars will give the primary phases of the moon and these can be used for gaining an idea of when New Moon day comes, regardless of the method used. However, it is important to understand that the "New Moon" as given on Gregorian calendars and in almanacs is what is known as the "astronomical new moon" or, in other words, conjunction.
Those who believe New Moon day should occur at conjunction have various ways of calculating conjunction. Some watch for the last visible crescent, and then begin their New Moon day when they can see no moon in the sky. Others watch for the first slender crescent and then proclaim the next day as being the first day of the work week. The main problem with the latter approach, is that it makes New Moon retroactive (being declared New Moon day after it has already past.) Such a technique observes "New Moon" as a two-day observance on 30-day months, or roughly half of the time.
Many sincere believers calculate the beginning of their months using conjunction. Two of the main arguments used in favor of this method are:
The seventh-day Sabbath aligns very nicely with the four phases of the moon: First Quarter, Full Moon, Second Quarter, Conjunction (Black moon).
A conversation recorded in 1 Samuel 20 where both David and Jonathan both acknowledge that the next day is New Moon.
Alignment with Lunar Phases
It is true that when conjunction begins the lunar month, the four Sabbaths approximately align with the four phases of the moon. However, this is not conclusive evidence that the Creator intended conjunction to be the starting point of His months (lunations). Lunar months are commonly said to be 29.5 days long. Technically, they are a little bit longer than that: 29.530589 days which is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds long.
That amount of time is divided up into the four weeks which comprise each lunation. Each week is 7.4 (or 7.38264725) days long. That fraction of time left over at the end of each week accrues during the month. This means that at the end of the second week, 14.8 days have passed. At the end of the third week, 22.2 days have passed.
The fact is, nothing in the Creator's calendar, taken individually, perfectly aligns with any other individual element within the calendar. Lunar years are 354.367068 days long and do not perfectly align with the solar years of 365.242190 days.
All time must be accounted for - even the fraction left over. Thus, the Gregorian calendar has a leap day once every four years most of the time. (Once every few hundred years, there will be 8 years between leap days. The last time this occurred was in 1900. The time previous to that was 1600.) The Creator's calendar is so precise that even these fractional amounts of time are regulated by the moon. Thus, the approximate alignment of the Sabbath with the four primary phases of the moon is not conclusive evidence that New Moon should be kept from conjunction.
1 Samuel 20
In this chapter, Jonathan and David are planning a way whereby they may know King Saul's intentions toward David. During the course of the conversation, first David (verse 5) and later Jonathan (verse 18) state "Tomorrow is the New Moon." Those who believe New Moon coincides with conjunction claim that only when New Moon occurs on conjunction can such a definite statement be made. However, this is not true. Conjunction can span up to three nights of no moon. Because Hebrew months never had more than 30 days, any method of figuring the start of the month, when consistently used, will allow such assurance of when the New Moon occurs.
Heaven did not deem it necessary to provide a single chapter or even verse that explicitly explained the true calendar. Under such circumstances, the seeker for truth must rely upon the weight of evidence. Where Scripture is silent, historical records that do not contradict the Bible can be helpful. The overwhelming weight of evidence indicates that using conjunction for New Moon is a recent development, not known or used in Bible times.
First Visible Crescent
The World's Last Chance calendar application uses the first visible crescent of the moon for beginning the lunar month. The beauty of the Creator's calendar is that anyone can use the calendar strictly by observation. Once the first visible crescent is seen, the next day is New Moon day. While a certain amount of calculation is necessary for those who live where there are several months of night in winter and several months of light in summer, this can easily be done because of the dependability of the moon's movements. Even its "anomalies" can be calculated with great accuracy!
The accumulated weight of historical evidence supports beginning the months with the sighting of the crescent moon and not the "black" moon (conjunction) when no moon can be seen.
Sir Isaac Newton is most widely known for his scientific discourses. What is less well-known is that he was a theologian who wrote more on religion than any other topic. Regarding the beginning of the Jewish lunar month, he stated:
The month began on the new moon . . . not at the true conjunction, but at the first appearance of the new moon: for the Jews referred all the time of the silent moon, as they phrased it, that is, of the moon's disappearing, to the old moon; and because the first appearance might be about 18 hours after the true conjunction, they therefore began their month from the sixth hour at evening, that is, at sunset next after the 18th hour from conjunction. And this rule they called Jah . . .
I know that Epiphanius tells us, if some interpret his words rightly, that the Jews used a vicious cycle, and thereby anticipated the new moons by two days [that is, making the first of the month fall on the conjunction]. But this surely he spake not as a witness, for he neither understood astronomy nor Rabinnical learning, but as arguing from his erroneous hypothesis about the time of the Passion. For the Jews did not anticipate, but postpone their months . . . lest they should celebrate the new moon before there was any. And the Jews still keep a tradition in their books, that the Sanhedrim [sic] used diligently to define the new moons by sight: sending witnesses into the mountainous places, and examining them about the moon's appearing . . . (Isaac Newton, Observations upon the Prophecies," London, 1733, p. 161 as quoted in "Sir Isaac Newton on the Jewish Calendar, Year of the Crucifixion.")
The Karaites (or Caraites) were a medieval sect of Hebraic Jews who rejected the "fixed" calendar still in use by modern Rabbinical Jews.
The tenth century controversy between the Babylonian schools and those of Palestine over the calculation of the Calendar, aroused the Karaites, and other sectaries, who refused to acknowledge the existing Rabbinical form of Calendar. The Karaites declared for observation of the moon for the determining of the new moon day, and the state of the barley-crop for the position of the first month in the spring. ("The Karaites," Grace Amadon Collection, Andrews University, underline in original, italics supplied.)
It should be understood that the Karaite/Caraite Jews of today no longer abide strictly by the original calendar either. Beginning in 1780, the Karaites began a series of compromises with the rabbinical calendar. Today, they also follow a fixed calendar.
The great beauty of this calendar and mode of reckoning the beginning of the month is found in its simplicity. Anyone anywhere can know that they are looking at the New Moon when they see the first crescent moon in the Western sky after sunset. While it is true that some people on earth will worship on one Gregorian date and others on another, this should be no deterrent. Earth is a round planet and the Sabbath was created for a round world.
Furthermore, it is only the International Date line that arbitrarily waltzes back and forth across the Pacific that gives the appearance of some people worshipping on one day and others on the next day. When the luni-solar calendar is applied to Gregorian dates, New Moon day can have two Gregorian dates because of the International Dateline. However, when the Creation Calendar is used by itself, there is no discrepancy. Abib 1 is the same in Jerusalem as it is in Mexico. Only when the two different methods of measuring time are compared, does it have the appearance of two different dates.
Historian and chronologist Joseph Scaliger stated that the Hebrew calendar was "the most ingenious and most elegant of all systems of chronology." (De Emendatione Temporum, p. 108.) This beautiful, precise and extremely accurate method of time-keeping is the Creator's divinely designed calendar and it is why WLC has created a calendar that uses the first visible crescent for declaring New Moon day. Anyone, anywhere can know and follow Yahuwah's calendar.
Horned Crescent
By definition, the "horned" crescent is a slightly older moon. Depending upon the time at which conjunction occurs, the first visible crescent may be a horned crescent, but not always. When the first visible crescent is a thin thread, this is not accepted as the horned crescent that begins the month. Rather, the older moon of the second night after conjunction is the New Moon which begins the month.
There are some historical references to the High Priest having on the walls of his quarters at the temple the crescent moon which he used when examining the witnesses, so he could determine the height of the moon from the horizon, it's tilt and size.
Using a horned crescent makes it very easy to calculate, because the horned crescent is never looked for until the second night after conjunction. The third day after conjunction is then accepted as New Moon day. However, using the horned crescent requires a knowledge of the horned crescent and a willingness to wait for it past the first visible crescent which sometimes appears before the moon is old enough to present a horned crescent.
Full Moon
People who begin their months on the full moon base this practice on a text found in the New King James Version of the Psalms:
"Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, At the full moon, on our solemn feast day." (Psalm 81:3, NKJV)
The King James Version renders the text: "Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day." (Psalm 81:3)
The words translated "time appointed" come from the Hebrew word keeh which means "fullness or the full moon" which is full in the middle of the lunation. The belief that New Moon falls on the full moon is based strictly on the New King James Version's mistranslation of the text.
The "appointed time" mentioned in Psalm 81:3 is a time appointed for worship, but it is not the New Moon. It is a different time appointed for worship that comes in the middle of the month. In the first month, Abib, Passover occurs on the 14th with the first day of Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 15th. These sacred events mark the beginning of the religious year: the cycle of annual feasts.
Seven months later, on New Moon day of the seventh month, occurs "Feast of Trumpets" when trumpets were literally blown to announce the approach of Day of Atonement, the holiest of the annual feasts. Feast of Tabernacles begins on the 15th of the seventh month. The fifteenth is not only a weekly seventh-day Sabbath but also the middle of the month when the moon is full.
Various other translations help to clarify the correct meaning of this text:
"Sound the ram's horn at the new moon, and when the moon is full, at the day of our feast." (New International Version)
"Blow the trumpet at the new moon, and in the fullness of our festival day." (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia)
"Sound the shofar at Rosh-Hodesh [new moon], and at full moon for the pilgrim feast." (Complete Jewish Bible)
"Sound the ram's horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast." (NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament)
"Sound the trumpet at the new moon, and at the day of our festival, when the moon is full." (Psalms for Today: A New Translation from the Hebrew into Current English)
In these Hebrew-based translations, it is easy to see that New Moon is a day that is different from the Full Moon, which occurs later in the month. The various translations of Psalm 81:3 which show that New Moon and the day of the full moon are two different days is a good illustration of why no sound Biblical doctrine rests upon a single verse of Scripture. Rather, all of the evidence needs to be gathered together and examined. The interpretation which carries the weight of evidence without contradiction is the true interpretation.
Jerusalem Time
The belief that New Moon day should be determined by Jerusalem's new moon is from the fact that Jerusalem was the holy city, set apart for Yahuwah's glory. This practice is supported by texts such as the following:
But unto the place which . . . [Yahuwah your Elohim] shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, . . . And there ye shall eat before . . . [Yahuwah your Elohim], and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein . . . [Yahuwah your Elohim] hath blessed thee. (Deuteronomy 12:5-7, KJV)
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of . . . [Yahuwah], to the house of the . . . [Elohim] of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of . . . [Yahuwah] from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3, KJV)
Scripture states that in the earth made new, everyone will gather together to worship the Creator on Sabbaths and New Moons.
"And it shall come to pass, That from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me," says . . . [Yahuwah]. (Isaiah 66:23, NKJV)
It is possible that figuring the New Moon in the new earth will be from Jerusalem. At the very least, those who go to worship, will worship on the day that it is Sabbath at that location, as people today who cross the international date line worship on the Gregorian date as it falls at that location.
One benefit from worshipping by Jerusalem's new moon is that it unites the world on the same day of worship. This is also how modern Jews calculate their annual feasts. They look for the crescent moon from the Temple Mount.
The Jews set aside the Biblical calendar in the 4th century C.E. and no longer use it for the weekly Sabbath. However, they use a modified version for calculating the annual feasts.
Modern Jewish calendation is based solely on calculation, using a point of conjunction from which to calculate when they expect to observe the first crescent:
The "molad" is the conjunction between the sun and the moon, when the moon is centered between the sun and the earth, and cannot be seen. However, the Torah says that... the moon... [must be] spotted by witnesses, and this only occurs hours later, at the beginning of the moon's first phase. This stage is referred to as "chiduso shel lavana" -- the renewal of the moon's cycle. . . . Today, the calculation determines the (average) molad, not the actual crescent. (Rabbi Yaakov Bernstein, Torah.org.)
Maimonides and most other Jewish chronologers agree that the modern Jewish calendar is based upon the "mean motions of the sun and moon, the true [calendar] having been set aside." (Maimonides, Kiddusch Ha-hodesch, Tr. Mahler, Wein, 1889, emphasis supplied, cited in Calendar Fraud, p. 9 by eLaine Vornholt & Laura Lee Vornholt-Jones.)
Having set aside the ancient calendar of Creation, and observing Sabbath on Saturday has necessitated the adoption of Dechiyot, or four rules of postponement. These rules are not necessary when the original calendar is used because Yahuwah designed the moon's anomalies to harmonize the divine time-keeping system. If for no other reason, this alone should be convincing evidence the modern Jews should not be held up as The Authority for when to worship.
The problem with using Jerusalem time for finding New Moon is that it requires access to the Internet or some other modern means of communication to learn when the New Moon was observed at Jerusalem. The Creator designed a precise time-keeping system that allows each person, no matter where he is on the earth, to observe for himself the New Moon. This is the beauty of the divine calendar.
Dawn and dusk
Throughout time, various cultures have begun and ended their days at different points in time. The Romans began their day at midnight. This custom has come down through the Roman Julian calendar to the modern Gregorian calendar that still begins the day at midnight.
The ancient Greeks began their day at sunset, which practice later came to be adopted by the Jewish Pharisees in their attempt to "guard" the law of Yahuwah by adding to it numerous other "traditions of the elders." (In the time of Yahushua, the region around Galilee and its surrounding towns, including Nazareth, still began the day at dawn. It is of interest that when the Saviour asked, "Are there not 12 hours in the day?" [John 11:9] no one argued with Him.)
The modern understanding of a date beginning precisely at 12:00 a.m. midnight, has influenced those who begin their Sabbaths at sunset. A specific point in time is looked for: the instant the sun slips behind the horizon, be it 7:39 p.m. or 4:13 p.m. The true beginning time for the day, however, is dawn and the "day" ends at dusk. These are not points in time, but a process which requires that the "edges of the Sabbath" be carefully guarded.
Genesis 1 speaks of two great lights: "the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night." (Verse 16.) The day begins, then, with the very first coming of light and it ends when it is dark enough that the sun is no longer "ruling" (by providing sufficient light by which to see.) Those who live far North or far South of the equator know that the sky grows light over an hour before sunrise. The light is already ruling well before the sun itself is actually above the horizon. Likewise, twilight lingers long after the sun has set.
The nighttime took the date of the daylight hours that went before it. For example, the Passover was kept the evening of the 14th and all were told to stay in their houses until morning. (See Exodus 12:22.) The next day, the 15th, the Israelites rested because it was a seventh-day Sabbath. This was when "the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men." (Exodus 12:33, KJV)
It was not until the sacred hours of the Sabbath were over and it was dark that Yahuwah led His people out at night. Notice the date and time-of-day recorded in Scripture for the Exodus.
They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. (Numbers 33:3, NKJV)
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to . . . [Yahuwah your Elohim], for in the month of Abib . . . [Yahuwah your Elohim] brought you out of Egypt by night. (Deuteronomy 16:1, NKJV)
In order to carefully keep the Sabbath day holy, all who love the Sabbath and the Creator will be vigilant to guard these times of transition from dark to light and light to dark that begin and end each day.
Day of Atonement
The plan of salvation encompassed much more than gifting repentant sinners with eternal life. It was to salvage the human race: to restore into the human soul the very nature and character of the Creator Himself. In order to do this, more needed to be done than just forgiving past sins. The very mind and soul of the individual needed to be cleansed and re-created into the image of the divine mind. This is the work that is done in the human heart on Day of Atonement.
The purpose of the atonement is at-one-ment. The fallen human nature, bearing the image of Satan, is to be brought back to being at-one with the Father. This plan was of such importance that it is the last prayer given by the Saviour recorded in scripture before He entered the Garden of Gethsemane where He was betrayed. Yahushua knew the time for His death had come. He wanted His disciples to know of the high destiny awaiting all who will surrender to this act of re-creation.
Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, . . . I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me . . . I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one as You, Father are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me. (John 17:1, 6, 20-23, NKJV)
One-ness with the Father and the Son! This is the high calling of everyone who will accept the invitation to come and be forgiven, cleansed and restored. On the Day of Atonement, the sins that have been transferred to the heavenly sanctuary by the blood of Yahushua shed in our place, are removed. The sinner may stand before Yahuwah Elohim as though he had never sinned.
Moreover, the damage that sin has done to the brain, is healed. Complete recovery from sin is the plan for Day of Atonement. The importance of the heart-work done in the days leading up to Day of Atonement is understood here. Only sins that have been confessed and forsaken will be blotted out on Day of Atonement. No cherished sin, clung to because it feels good and no one will ever know anyway, will be blotted out.
The blotting out of sins is a most precious gift. It recreates the neural pathways of the brain to what they were before the individual became addicted to that beloved pet sin. The person may be tempted again, because grace must always be tested. But in the mind that has been cleansed and restored, there is no driving emotional need to engage in the old habits and behaviors. The power of sin has been broken in the life and the person is restored to where he or she would have been had the sin never been indulged in the first place.
Romans explains this process. Sinners, enslaved to Satan, are freed from the chains of inherited and cultivated sin through faith in the Son of Yah. The love of the Almighty for sinners is seen on the Day of Atonement as He, against whom all have sinned, embraces, forgives, cleanses and restores His repentant child.
What then shall we say to these things? If . . . [Elohim] is for us, who can be against us? . . . Who shall separate us from the love of . . . [Yahushua]? . . . For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of . . . [Yahuwah] which is in . . . [Yahushua HaMashiach our Master.] (Romans 8:31, 35, 38-39, NKJV)
Feast of Tabernacles
It is a strange but sad commentary on sinful human nature that the happiest celebration out of the entire year should be the first to be laid aside. But it is true. The Israelites, who were ever prone to slip into idolatry on the one hand, or try to work their way to heaven on the other, missed the divine purpose of Feast of Tabernacles and soon no longer observed it.
It is said that "only by love is love awakened." Yahuwah knew this. And yet love that is unrecognized for what it is, will not awaken love in the heart of the receiver. Such a one will selfishly take that love for granted and never be transformed by its power. It was to generate trust in the heart of His children that Yahuwah instituted Feast of Tabernacles. As they reviewed the preceding year, they were to recognize and recount the many times their loving Father had provided for them and met their needs. This would lead each individual to trust in Yahuwah and His nurturing love.
The feast was a seven-day long feast, beginning on the 15th day of the seventh month (a weekly Sabbath) and ending on the 21st, a preparation day. Because the very next day was also a seventh-day Sabbath, the celebration lasted for eight days. (See Leviticus 23:33-43.)
Feast of Tabernacles was not just for the Israelites. It is a thanksgiving celebration for all people through all time. "You shall keep it as a feast to . . . [Yahuwah] for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month." (Leviticus 23:41, NKJV)
There are references in scripture to the early Christians keeping the feasts, Acts 18:21 being only one example. Apostolic Christians, those who had direct spiritual descent from the apostles, kept all the feasts, including the Feast of Tabernacles, for centuries. Both Polycarp of Smyrna, (who was taught by John the apostle himself)*, and Methodius of Olympus taught that the feasts were still binding on Christians.
Only as paganism entered the Church in Rome, and began extending its baleful influence, did the feasts come to be set aside by the Church of Rome. Anti-Semitism played a big part in the rejection of Yahuwah's holidays by the paganized Christians. John Chrysostom, a "saint" in the Roman Catholic Church, stated in A.D. 387:
The festivals of the pitiful and miserable Jews are soon to march upon us one after the other and in quick succession: the feast of Trumpets, the feast of Tabernacles, the fasts. There are many in our ranks who say they think as we do. Yet some of these are going to watch the festivals and others will join the Jews in keeping their feasts and observing their fasts. I wish to drive this perverse custom from the Church right now. . . . Now that the Jewish festivals are close by and at the very door, if I should fail to cure those who are sick with the Judaizing disease. I am afraid that, because of their ill-suited association and deep ignorance, some Christians may partake in the Jews' transgressions; once they have done so, I fear my homilies will be in vain. . . .
If the Jewish ceremonies are venerable and great, our[s] are lies. . . .
Does God hate their festivals and do you share in them? He did not say [reject] this or that festival, but all of them together. (John Chyrysostom. Homily I "Against the Jews," (I:5; VI:5; VII:2). Preached at Antioch, Syria in the fall of A.D. 387.**)
True Christians who did not apostatize under the great "falling away" warned of by Paul, adhered to all the Biblical feasts. One of Polycarp's disciples was Polycrates of Ephesus. When Victor, the Roman Bishop wanted to move the Passover celebration to the pagan Easter, Polycrates protested in a letter sent to Victor:
As for us, then, [the Asian churches] we keep the day without tampering with it, neither adding or subtracting. For indeed in Asia great luminaries have fallen asleep, such as shall rise again on the day of . . . [Yahushua's] appearing, when he comes with glory from heaven to seek out all his saints: Philip one of the 12 apostles, who has fallen asleep . . . John too, he who 'leant back' on . . . [Yahushua's] 'breast' . . . He has fallen asleep at Ephesus. . . . Moreover Polycarp too at Smyrna, both Bishop and martyr; . . . These all observed the fourteenth day for the Pascha [Passover] according to the Gospel, in no way deviating there-from, but following the rule of faith. And moreover I also, Polycrates, . . . [do] according to the tradition . . . . " (Second Century Christianity, p. 82, emphasis supplied.)
Polycrates soon sealed his convictions with his blood for, as quoted by Eusebius, he said, "Better people than I have said: We must obey . . . [Elohim] rather than men." (History of the Church, p. 172)
Feast of Tabernacles, the great festival of rejoicing and thanksgiving is specifically mentioned in Scripture as being observed in the New Earth. In a prophecy that foretells the earth made new, the Bible states:
And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, . . . [Yahuwah] of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. (Zechariah 14:16, NKJV)
Let all who would honor their Redeemer, gather at this time to keep the Feast of Tabernacles and give thanks to Him who laid aside His glory to die for sinners that they, repentant, forgiven and cleansed, could be one with Him.
* As Polycarp was a disciple of John, and kept the feasts, it is a logical conclusion that he learned to keep the feasts from John himself. In his formative young years, Polycarp was acquainted with several who had learned directly from Yahusha while He was on earth.
** Medieval Sourcebook: Saint John Chrysostom, Eight Homilies Against the Jews, Fordham University, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/chrysostom-jews6.html#HOMILY_I. It should be noted that Fordham University is a Jesuit University.
Feast of Trumpets
A trumpet has several different uses. It can sound an alarm; it can be a call to war; or it can draw attention to a special announcement or event. Feast of Trumpets is the first of the annual sabbaths which come in the autumn. It calls attention to the fact that the most solemn of all the feasts, Day of Atonement, is just ten days away.
Feast of Trumpets is the only yearly feast that falls on a New Moon day.
Then . . . [Yahuwah] spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.'" (Leviticus 23:23, NKJV)
Day of Atonement holds out the promise of a tremendous blessing, but only those whose hearts are prepared will receive that blessing. This work of heart preparation, while begun at Passover, really begins in earnest on Feast of Trumpets. It is a time of deep heart searching and repentance.
A good way to prepare for Day of Atonement is to spend each day from Feast of Trumpets to Day of Atonement in contemplation of the ten commandments. On Feast of Trumpets, one should prayerfully examine the heart to see where the principles contained within the tenth commandment may be being broken in the life.
The Comforter, received by faith at Pentecost, is given for the express purpose of convicting the individual of sin and then inspiring faith in the Saviour to forgive, cleanse and restore from that sin.
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. . . . When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew [show] you things to come. (John 16:7, 8, 13, 14)
Feast of Trumpets is the call to war against sin and self in the heart-work necessary to prepare for the great Day of Atonement.
Feast of Unleavened Bread
The Feast of Unleavened Bread, like all the feasts, contains deep spiritual lessons for Christians today. As an explanation for this feast, the Israelites were told:
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat - that only may be prepared by you. So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses . . . You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread. (Exodus 12:15-20, NKJV)
Leavening, or yeast, has great power to effect change. Added to a bowl of ingredients, it can turn a hard lump of dough into a large, airy mass, ready for baking. The leavening which permeates the entire batch of dough is used in scripture as a symbol for error or sin. The Saviour Himself warned the disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." (Matthew 16:6)
The act of removing leavening from the household is a living parable. It requires much careful searching to make sure that nothing with leavening power, no baker's yeast baking soda, or baking powder, remains in the house. Ingredients must be read, careful attention to detail is required in getting all leavening and leavened products removed from the home.
This act reveals the care all should take in the individual work of heart searching. Are there concealed areas of the inner heart, secret sins which, like leaven hidden in dough, will permeate the entire heart and soul of the person? One secret sin, cherished, will corrupt the entire life.
Of all the feasts, Unleavened Bread is the one that represents self-denial on the part of the believer. It is not an easy thing in the modern world to get all leavening out of the house and the diet for seven days. While none are saved by their works, yet obedience to the divine law requires self-denial.
Satan had accused Yahuwah of requiring self-denial of His creatures, but not practicing it Himself. Calvary was Heaven's answer to the question: Is there self-denial with the Almighty? By an infinite sacrifice, the answer was given: yes!
The self-denial required during the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a constant reminder of the self-sacrificing efforts that all must make who would deny self, take up their own crosses and follow the Saviour.
As the first of the yearly religious assemblies, the heart-searching encouraged during Feast of Unleavened Bread is a necessary preparation for the next feast, Pentecost. For those who are preparing for translation to the heavenly Canaan, the yearly feasts are a time of contemplation, recommitment and thanksgiving for blessings bestowed.
For more information on the Spring Feasts, Click here.
Feast of Weeks
"You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath that you bring the Wave-sheaf, seven Sabbaths. They must be complete. Then after the seventh Sabbath, you shall count fifty days, when you shall present a new offering to the EVER-LIVING [Yahuwah]. . . . Then there shall be a holy proclamation to the public on that day; it shall be Holy of Holies to you. You shall not do any labouring work. This is an everlasting Institution, in all your dwellings, for your posterity." (Leviticus 23:15, 16 & 21, Fenton Translation)
In ancient Palestine, there were two rainy seasons. The "early rain" in the fall was for the springing up of the newly planted seed. The "latter rain" (spanning the last and first months of the year) was for ripening the harvest. This was used in scripture as a metaphor for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in special power.
Joel contains a prophecy of this special outpouring of divine power in the Holy Spirit:
Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in . . . [Yahuwah your Elohim]: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. . . . And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My spirit. (Joel 2:23, 28, 29)
The first outpouring of the Holy Spirit, or the "early rain," occurred on Pentecost, after Yahushua's ascension back into Heaven. The night before His death, the Saviour encouraged His disciples by promising to send them the Holy Spirit which He called the "Comforter":
And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth . . . for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. . . . The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. . . . When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me. (John 14:16, 26; 15:26)
Yahushua was thrilled at the prospect of being able to give such an immense gift to His followers. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, or Holy Breath (Strong's, #4151), the Saviour could be closer to each individual than when He was present with them! He urged, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send Him unto you." (John 16:7)
After Yahushua returned to heaven, He kept His promise: He did send the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. . . . And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1, 2, 4)
The disciples recognized in this event that the promised Comforter was the "early rain" foretold by the prophet, Joel.
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and heartken to my words: . . . this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith . . . [Elohim], I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:14, 16-18)
The power of Peter's sermon, uttered after he had received the "early rain" of the Holy Spirit was such that "the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." (Acts 2:41)
This is but a faint representation of the power of the "latter rain" when the Holy Spirit is again poured out before the close of probationary time to prepare a people for the Second Coming. At that time the whole earth will be lightened with the knowledge of the glory (character) of Elohim. (See Revelation 18:1.)
For an explanation of how to calculate Pentecost on the luni-solar calendar, click here.
First Fruits
And . . . [Yahuwah] spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before . . . [Yahuwah], to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. . . . You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your . . . [Elohim]; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.'" Leviticus 23:9-11, 14, NKJV
Before the children of Israel were to harvest their barley in the spring (the first month of the year), they were to bring a thank-offering which the priest would wave before Yahuwah in grateful acknowledgement of the One who had given them the harvest. Only after this ceremony of gratitude were they to harvest their fields. The offerings brought were not just limited to a sheaf of grain. Someone who had, the year before, sheared an abundance of wool from his sheep could bring a bale of wool as a thank-offering. Nor were the women left out. A woman could bring a piece of cloth she had embroidered or some other gift as an expression of gratitude to the great Gift Giver.
Yahuwah did not need the gratitude of the people. After all, "He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:45) This ceremony was for the benefit of the people. As they paused in the busy course of life to acknowledge the many blessings their loving Heavenly Father had showered upon them, their hearts would fill with gratitude. Yahuwah knew His people needed to recognize His goodness because only by love is love awakened. When, in gratitude, they saw His love for them, love would be awakened in their own hearts for Him and trust would lead them to depend on Him in whom was centered their every happiness.
First Fruits was also to inspire faith in the Promised One to come. While Passover pointed forward to Messiah's death, First Fruits pointed to His triumph: His resurrection! Had the Saviour in any way broken the divine law, He could not have been resurrected after His crucifixion, "for the wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23) The fact that He lived a perfect life and was the perfect sacrifice guaranteed His resurrection on First Fruits.
Paul clearly understood this concept when he stated: "But now . . . [Yahushua] is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." (1 Corinthians 15:20, NKJV) The Saviour was the "first fruit" of all who have died loving Yahuwah and who will be raised back to life at the Second Coming. Just as the harvest followed the First Fruit offering, so the multitude of the redeemed who have died will be the harvest at the end of the world. "But each one in his own order: . . . [Yahushua] the firstfruits, afterward those who are . . . [His] at His coming." (1 Corinthians 15:23, NKJV)
First Fruits also points forward to the 144,000 - those who, through full surrender, have the image of Yahuwah perfected in them through faith in Yahushua.
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's name written in their foreheads . . . These are they which follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first fruits unto . . . [Elohim] and to the Lamb. (Revelation 14:1, 4, KJV)
These are they who will be translated to Heaven without seeing death. They are accounted as "first fruits" because the mystery of Elohim is finished in this demonstration of divine grace: that fallen human beings, through faith in the merits of the Saviour's atoning blood, may be made partakers of the divine nature, transformed into the very image of the Creator.
Metonic Cycle
All calendars require some form of intercalation. This means that in order to keep the calendar months aligned with the correct seasons, additional time must occasionally be added in. In the modern Gregorian calendar used the world over, the extra time comes in the form of a "leap" day every fourth year when an extra day, February 29, is added in. The exception to this rule is the rare occurrence of a century year that is not divisible by 400. Thus, 2000 was a leap year, but 1900, 1800 and 1700 were not. In those years, there were eight years between leap years. The only other century year that had a leap day was 1600. (Prior to that time, the Julian calendar was used that did not exclude certain century years from being leap years.)
The Creator's calendar also requires intercalation. This is done by the addition of an extra month, a 13th month, in an "embolismic" year. A strictly lunar calendar, such as that used by Muslims, floats backward through the year. Thus Ramadan sometimes occurs in the fall, but a few years later in the summer, and a few years after that in the spring, and so forth. A luni-solar calendar, on the other hand, anchors the lunar months to some event within the solar year.
Some ancient cultures used the spring or fall equinoxes to anchor their year. Others used either the winter or summer solstices. Yahuwah directed His people to use the barley harvest in the spring so that they would ever be reminded of His care for them in providing the "latter" spring rains that ripened their harvests. These points within the solar year typically occur in the midst of a lunar month. Whichever method is used for linking the lunar-month cycle to the solar year, the old solar year must end before the next lunation begins the new solar year. In other words, those who used the spring equinox could not start the new solar year before the spring equinox had passed. They had to wait until the lunation was over within which the spring equinox fell before the next lunation began the new solar year. For the Israelites, this coincided with the lunation in which the full moon of Passover fell between March 8 and May 6 of the Gregorian calendar.
These embolismic years fell into a very predictable 19-year cycle. Meton, a Greek astronomer, is typically credited with being the first to discover this cycle. In actuality, he merely introduced to the West the astronomical principles discovered by Kidinnu (or Cidenas), a Babylonian astronomer from around the same time period.
There are seven embolismic years within the 19-year cycle. The pattern of common versus embolismic years is as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
There are never two embolismic years in a row, nor are there ever any more than two common years before there is another embolismic year. The extra month is always added in after the 12th month in the Spring.
The Creator's calendar is the most elegant time-keeping devise in the world. In the words of Joseph Scaliger, it is "the most ingenious and most elegant of all systems of chronology [time-keeping." (De Emendatione Temporum, Francofurt, 1593, p. 108.)
New Moon Day
The first day of every lunar month is New Moon day. After the crescent moon has been observed in the Western sky after sunset, the following day begins the new lunation and is in a special class of worship days. Numbers 28 lists the specific sacrifices required for work days, seventh-day Sabbaths, New Moon days and the annual feasts. Work days had the least number of required sacrifices, and annual feasts the most. New Moons had more sacrifices than for the weekly Sabbaths.
New Moon was a time of consecration. It was a time for rejoicing over the blessings of the previous month and dedicating oneself to the Creator for the upcoming month. While the seventh-day Sabbath prohibited any cooking (meal preparation was to be done the day before) New Moon days were a time of thanksgiving when families would get together for a fellowship meal. (See 1 Samuel 20:5-7, 18, 24-30.) Anciently, people who fasted for an extended period, never fasted on New Moons.
The biggest difference between the modern calendar and the ancient Biblical calendar is that the modern solar calendar has a continuous weekly cycle which is not linked to the lunar cycle. On the original luni-solar calendar, the weekly cycle restarted each month. Since New Moon was a worship day, the second of the month was the first day of the six-day work week. Thus, the seventh-day Sabbath always fell on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days of the lunar month.
Every time the Bible gives a date for the seventh-day Sabbath, it is always one of these four dates. Other passages of scripture supply contextual details which, by extension, also provide the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th as dates for the weekly Sabbath. For example, contextual evidence in Exodus 16 states that the manna first fell on the 16th day of the second month, which was the first day of the week. On the sixth day the manna fell (the 21st of the second month) the Israelites were told to gather twice as much manna because the next day, the 22nd, was the seventh-day Sabbath. Consequently, the other Sabbaths that month fell on the 8th, the 15th and the 29th. Because the first of every month is always New Moon day, a weekly Sabbath falling on any of the four listed dates, confirms a lunar calendar format.
Scripture reveals that in the earth made new, all of the saved will gather together to worship the Creator each New Moon.
"For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says . . . [Yahuwah], "So shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me," says . . . [Yahuwah]. (Isaiah 66:22-23, NKJV)
For an explanation of the five different methods for determining New Moons, Click here.
Observance of Crescent Moon
He appointed the moon for seasons [mo'edim].
Psalm 104:19
It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven.
Psalm 89:37
On the Creator's calendar, every month begins with a New Moon worship day. This is the day after the cresent moon has been observed in the western sky after sunset. The Sabbath was created for a round world and all may worship when it comes to them, wherever they may be on earth.
Sometimes the moon will not be seen in the extremes of the far North and South, sometimes including the southern part of Australia and Tasmania, until a day later. Those who live in such places may choose to coordinate their worship day with the rest of the world or to wait for when the moon is large enough for them to see it. Just as the modern Gregorian calendar has its own "international date line," the moon also has one. The dependability of the lunar movements, however, make calculation very accurate and none need be off on the day on which they are to worship."Conjunction" occurs when the moon rises with the sun and is thus invisible to earth. Generally speaking, it takes two days before the moon is old enough to be seen as the first visible crescent. For further information on crescent moon visibility and location, see Location of Crescent Moon and Crescent Moon Sighting Instructions.
Passover
Anniversaries are times when important events are remembered. Salvation history has anniversaries, too. Passover is the first of the annual feasts which highlight important events in the divine plan to save Man.
The last night the Israelites spent in Egypt, they were commanded to slay a lamb or a kid goat and paint its blood on their doorways.
For . . . [Yahuwah] will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, . . . [Yahuwah] will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. (Exodus 12:23, NKJV)
Their homes were thus protected by the blood of the lamb. They were further commanded: "You shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever." (Exodus 12:24, NKJV)
Yahushua, the "Lamb of . . . [Yah] which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29, KJV) came to earth to bethe true Lamb by whose blood repentant sinners may be "passed-over" and spared the condemnation of the law. Much more than a holiday just for the Jews, Passover is for all peoples throughout all time.
So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to . . . [Yahuwah] througout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. (Exodus 12:14, NKJV)
Passover commemorates the death of Yahushua on the cross.
Once the blood to the true Lamb had been spilled on Calvary, the blood of animals was no longer to be shed. Yet the feast as a sacred time of holy consecration was to continue. The evening Yahushua was betrayed, He instituted a new way of observing the Passover: He established the communion service.
And as they were eating, . . . [Yahushua] took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of . . . [Elohim]." (Mark 14:22-25, NKJV)
The blood of the Lamb, Yahushua, does more than provide a means for Yahuwah to pass-over the sinner and yet still be just. It also cleanses the soul from sin and restores the image of Yahuwah into the subconscious mind.
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (I Corinthians 5:7, 8, KJV)
When Yahushua started the communion service as the new way to observe the Passover, He said, "This do in remembrance of Me." (Luke 22:19) Passover was kept by all the early Christians for several hundred years. In the 4th century AD, Passover was set aside by the still-pagan emperor, Constantine, in favor of Easter at the Council of Nicaea. It is the privilege of all who love their Saviour to remember His death at this time.
Seventh Day Sabbath
In Scripture, Yahuwah states: I am Yahuwah, I change not. (See Malachi 3:6.) The Sabbath was instituted at Creation, not Sinai.
Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them were finished. And on the seventh day . . . [Elohim] ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then . . . [Elohim] blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which . . . [Elohim] created and made. (Genesis 2:1, 2, NKJV)
The Sabbath is for all people throughout all time. In the new earth, all the saved will join with the family of heaven and still keep the Sabbath holy.
"For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says . . . [Yahuwah], "So shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me," says . . . [Yahuwah]. (Isaiah 66:22-23)
This is a fascinating passage because it does more than establish the fact that the seventh-day Sabbath will be kept for all eternity. It also establishes the calendar by which the Sabbath will be calculated! New Moon days are not an integral part of the solar Gregorian calendar's format, and they certainly are not worship days.
Knowledge of the true Sabbath and the ancient calendar instituted at Creation was lost during long years of apostasy and rebellion against Heaven. When precious truth is not valued, it is removed. Yahuwah Himself stated that He would cause the memory of the true Sabbath to be forgotten for a time: "I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her New Moons, her Sabbaths - all her appointed feasts." (Hosea 2:11, NKJV)
The work of the final generation is to restore to its original place of honor the true Sabbath. Isaiah 58 is a prediction of the Sabbath restored:
Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to dwell In. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of . . . [Yahuwah] honorable, and shall honor Him . . . . (Isaiah 58:12-14, NKJV)
The Sabbath contains the seal of Yahuwah, because it is the only commandment of all the ten that contains both the name and the title of the Lawgiver: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of . . . [Yahuwah your Elohim]." (Exodus 20:8-10a, NKJV)
The Sabbath, therefore, is the sign of loyalty which distinguishes those who serve Yahuwah from those who do not. All who love their Creator and wish to pledge their allegiance to Him, will worship on the day He sanctified and set apart: the seventh-day Sabbath on His luni-solar calendar.
Solar Calendar
All time-measurement requires movement. In Genesis 1, the Creator stated that the celestial bodies (sun, moon, stars) would be specifically for "signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years." (Genesis 1:14) The word "seasons" is mo'edim. This is the same word that is translated elsewhere as "feast." The heavenly lights were the Creator's divinely designed system of time keeping, His clock in the sky.
There are four basic ways to measure time, each with its own calendar:
The movement of the stars only. This is a sidereal calendar.
The movement of the moon only. This forms a lunar calendar.
The movement of the moon (for months) anchored to the sun for measuring years. This is a luni-solar calendar and is the most accurate of all time-keeping systems.
The movement of the earth around the sun. This type of time-measurement forms a solar calendar.
The three basic units of time that must be measured are
the day (based on the rotation of the Earth on its axis, the year (based on the revolution of the Earth around the Sun), and the month (based on the revolution of the Moon around the Earth). The complexity of calendars arises because the year does not comprise an integral number of days or an integral number of lunar months. ("Introduction to Calendars," United States Naval Observatory, Naval Oceanography Portal, www.uwno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications, emphasis original.)
In other words, the number of days required for a complete cycle of the moon does not equal the number of days required for a complete cycle of the sun. A solar year is 365.24 days long. A lunar year is 354.37 days long. This difference in the length between the solar and lunar years requires intercalation: an extra day for a solar calendar; an extra month for a luni-solar calendar.
While all ancient calendars were originally luni-solar, as that was the method of time measurement brought down through the flood, the Egyptians early on transitioned to a purely solar calendar. The modern civil calendar in use around the world today is a solar calendar. It was created in 1582 by the Jesuit astronomer, Christopher Clavius, for Roman Catholic Pope Gregory XIII. (Thus, the calendar's name: the Gregorian calendar.) Prior to that time, Europe had used the Julian calendar. This calendar was also a solar calendar and had been created at the behest of the pagan Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar, by the Alexandrian astronomer, Sosigines, in the first century B.C.
Reconciling the differences in the solar year to the seasons was done on the Julian calendar by adding in one extra day every four years. Initially, the Romans added in a leap day every three years due to their method of counting inclusively. This was resolved by Caesar Augustus who declared that no leap days would be intercalated in between the years 8 B.C. and A.D. 8.
Over the following millennium and a half, it was discovered that adding in one extra day (February 29) every four years actually added in too much time, so once again the months were drifting off the seasons. When the priest, Christopher Clavius, created the Gregorian calendar, he dropped ten days off the calendar to bring the months back into line with the seasons. This did not disrupt the weekly cycle as only the dates were changed.
At first, this calendar change was implemented only in Catholic countries, the Protestant countries viewing it as a purely Catholic innovation. By the time the Soviet Union adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1918, more than 300 years had elapsed and 13 days had to be dropped in order to bring the months back into alignment with the seasons.To prevent such seasonal drift from happening again, Clavius also instituted a little known "rule of exception" to the rule that an extra "leap" day is added every four years. The exception to the rule occurs on centurial years. At the turn of every century, there should be a leap year. However, so that too much time is not added in, only centurial years that are equally divisible by 400 are counted as leap years. If they are not equally divisible by 400, then there are eight years between leap years. Thus, the years 1600 and 2000 were leap years, but 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not.
Translation Day
The term "translation" day is an astronomical term. It refers to the day before the evening in which the crescent moon is observed. A luni-solar calendar is a calendar of lunar-based months (lunations) within a solar year. Because the lunations are 29.53 days long, every other month is usually a 30-day month. This day comes between the last Sabbath of the month on the 29th, and New Moon day (the first) of the next month.
The phrase "translation day" does not appear in Scripture. However, the existence of such a day may be inferred in the story of Saul, David and Jonathan found in 1 Samuel 19 and 20. After David fled for his life to Ramah, Saul sent several contingents of soldiers to arrest him. When these men failed to do so, Saul went himself, but "the Spirit of . . . [Elohim] was upon him [Saul] also, . . . and he also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night." (1 Samuel 19:23, 24, NKJV)
King Saul was restrained by the Holy Spirit in his maddened desire to kill David. David fled from Ramah and went to Jonathan, inquiring, "What have I done? What is my iniquity, and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?" (2 Samuel 20:2)
The two best friends than worked out a plan to determine whether or not it was safe for David to return to court.
So Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you."
And David said to Jonathan, "Indeed tomorrow is the New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third day at evening. If your father misses me at all, then say, 'David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.' If he says thus: 'It is well,' your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, then be sure that evil is determined by him." (2 Samuel 20:4-7)
So the two friends agreed to make Saul's reaction to David's absence from the next day's New Moon feast a test that would reveal whether or not David was safe from Saul.
The day on which David fled Ramah and met with Jonathan was the day before New Moon, Due to the strict parameters of Sabbath keeping in ancient Israel, it can be inferred that the day on which the two friends met was a translation day because David would not have traveled on the seventh-day Sabbath, which is the only other option of the kind of day to precede New Moon day.
While many people observe translation day as part of a two-day New Moon observance, the Bible is very careful to specify all holy days on which no work is to be done. If the 30th, translation day, were to be part of the New Moon celebration, Scripture would certainly have said so. Due to the lack of any such statement, translation day is a work day.
