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Robert-James
Advanced Member
uSA
353 Posts |
 Posted - 08 May 2004 : 19:24:22
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Greetings;
And there appeared a great Wonder in 'heaven' {our mind?] a Woman...clothed with the Sun, and the moon, under Her Feet, and upon Her Head...a Crown of twelve Stars.
Ahem, the MOON was under Her Feet. |
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True North
Advanced Member
USA
163 Posts |
Posted - 08 May 2004 : 23:07:25
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That said, this;
Come, enter your rest ...
Many of this forum have entered His rest\Kingdom
Keep searching and as you go know the Kingdom is nigh
TN |
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lawrenceb
Junior Member
Philippines
20 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2004 : 16:56:45
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THE TIMES AND THE SEASONS
When the Lord created the cosmos, Genesis tells us that the moon was the instrument with which man was to calculate the Sabbath. Ironically, the various groups that place a great emphasis on the Sabbath (such as the Seventh Day Adventists) are all in error when they arbitrarily devote every 7th day to a time of rest. Such sects insist that the Sabbath consists of Friday evening and the day part of Saturday.
Conversely, the mainstream Protestant denominations (to say nothing of Catholicism), observe a Sunday Sabbath. These are also stumbling in darkness. Adherents to Judaism also "err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God" (Matt. 22:9) as they keep a Sabbath on Friday evenings (to say nothing of the Jewish rejection of Christ). Other evangelical Christian groups tend to emphasize the New Testament freedom in Christ that is articulated in Colossians wherein Paul writes:
"...respect of an holyday, or of a new moon, or of the Sabbath days... are [but] a shadow of things to come." (Col. 3:16,17)
Regardless of the position held by the believer in Christ concerning his or her duty (or lack thereof) to keep the Sabbath, virtually all have missed a huge understanding of the Sabbath cycle and how it relates to Bible prophecy. It might be useful at this juncture to mention that having explored each of these positions at one time or another, years ago I transitioned from a "Sunday" Christian, to a Sabbatarian (one who chooses to rest on the Sabbath). Incidentally, I have never been a Seventh Day Adventist, nor a member of any Sabbath keeping assembly, but I simply came to the conclusion that the concept of the Sabbath rest is Scriptural. I still rest once a week.
I'm interested in understanding "the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory." (I Cor. 2:7) Furthermore, just because all the various groups of Christians do not presently have the complete truth does not mean that no one ever will. I believe the Lord is "a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a reveler of secrets." (Dan. 2:47) In the realm of prophecy, I seek to be "filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." (Col. 1:9)
At the risk of redundancy, with these observations it should not necessarily be assumed that I am pressing the reader to observe a lunar driven calculation of the Sabbath. I am exploring this subject because, even if these statutes are not binding on the believer, God never does anything by accident. There are no unimportant parts of His program. Indeed, we have repeatedly learned that the things of antiquity have application to the cycles in the end of time. Thus, as the Lord's revelation unfolds in our time, we look to the past for the answers concerning the future.
When God established the present order, the heavenly lights were placed as "signs, and for seasons." (Gen. 1:14) These have been immutable, as the governments of man, in league with the rebel coalition of fallen angels, have never had the power to affect the sun and the moon. Daniel tells us that God is the only one who "changeth the times and the seasons." (Dan. 2:21)
When God established the Ten Commandments, it is clear that the observation of the fourth commandment, the Sabbath, was based on calculating that day of rest from the new moon. A close examination of the scriptural record will indicate that the first Sabbath of the lunar cycle did not have a 7-day basis as it was actually 8 days after the new moon.
Because the moon's present circuit does not conform to our present calendar, this means that the Sabbath eventually falls on every day of the week. It was the responsibility of the priesthood to do the calculations. This is a hugely significant fact, because it is foundational in terms of understanding why certain things have occurred. This understanding also has a profound relationship to end times prophecy.
THE NEW MOON
It is easy to establish that "six days thou shalt work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest" (Ex. 23:12), but the inauguration of that cycle is what is in question. Under the Old Testament system, any day that was not a holy day, or a "solemn day" (Num. 10:10), or a Sabbath day was a regular workday. Because the lifestyle pattern was triggered by a new moon, the way in which the Sabbath is calculated has been simplified by man -- but from the beginning, the system was counted from the lunar circuit. The new moon signified (remember, the moon was created as a sign) a new cycle was beginning.
The Bible says the day of the new moon was a worship day. In Ezekiel, we learn that the temple gate was to be closed during the "six working days" when the people were going about their business, but it would be opened "in the day of the new moon." (Eze. 46:1) It was on that day of the new moon that "the prince... [and] the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the Lord in the Sabbaths and in the new moons." (Eze. 46:3)
This plainly indicates that the new moon inaugurated a day that was not one of the six work days -- and it was not the Sabbath. For instance, Amos tells us about the greedy merchants who can't wait to get back to their commerce, "Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? And the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat..." (Amos 8:5) It's important to see that the Sabbath was not the same day as the new moon.
Thus, the six work days followed the day that signified the new moon. It's also instructive to recount the fact that each day was to begin with the 12 hours of evening, followed by the 12 hours of light -- thus the sighting of the new moon occurred in the first half of that "day" -- i.e. the dark part of that 24-hour cycle.
Once again, Genesis records that God stated the moon, one of the "heavenly lights," was placed as a sign in the heavens. (Gen. 1:14) After reviewing this information, we see the Lord designated that whenever the new moon appeared each month, it was a holy day and a day of worship in which the government and the people commemorated their relationship to God through offerings and ceremony. That new moon day was followed by six work days, and then the Sabbath. This means that the Sabbath, the 7th day after the six work days, was actually the 8th day after the new moon.
Hundreds of years before the time of Ezekiel, when a grieving mother planned a trip to see the prophet Elisha, her husband said "Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? It is neither new moon, nor Sabbath." (II Kings 4:23) This verse indicates that it was the custom to see the prophet, the Lord's representative, on those days as opposed to regular work days.
Many generations before Elisha's time, we see that "...when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall..." (I Sam. 20:25) 500 years later, in Ezekiel's time, we see a very similar rite where the prince of Jerusalem was to stand by the "post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings" when the new moon appeared. (Eze. 46:1)
There are actually many proofs in scripture dealing with this subject, but I'll cite one more before moving forward. In several portions of scripture, we find the Sabbath being pinpointed on the 15th day of the month. These are found in Exodus 16, Deuteronomy 5, Numbers 33, and so forth. Under the existing Roman calendar, it is impossible to have the Sabbath on the 15th day for two months in a row. The only way the Sabbath can consistently fall on the 15th day is to calculate it from the new moon.
Furthermore, it is evident that this knowledge was still prevalent during the Christian era, for the Apostle Paul references those that would "judge you... in respect of an holyday, of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days." (Col. 2:16)
THEY HAVE PROFANED MY SABBATHS
It is clear that the Lord's displeasure with backsliding Israel was commonly due to their recurring refusal to conform to His ways. In this regard, we see many verses where God punished Israel because they ignored His statutes. The concept of the Sabbath rest was a significant part of those discarded statutes.
For instance, during the Babylonian captivity of Judea, Daniel wrote that "I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said... We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments... Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws..." (Dan. 9:2,4,5,10)
What is interesting here is that Daniel recognized in Jeremiah the actual calculation that his people were to be judged and held in captivity for seventy years. Jeremiah wrote that "...this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years." (Jer. 25:11) This is a very precise figure of time, and it should be obvious that the period was derived by the Lord from a specific calculation that He produced.
Several theorists have suggested this period was related to Israel's failure to give the land a Sabbath (letting it lie fallow every 7th year) as commanded by the Lord in Leviticus: "When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a Sabbath unto the Lord. But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of rest unto the land, a Sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard." (Lev. 25:2,4)
This would indicate that Israel owed God seventy Sabbaths, and He therefore brought them into a captivity that would ensure the land had a "rest" for that period. Incidentally, this was certainly not the only reason that God judged Israel, for the Bible tells us that Israel committed many abominations -- including the fact that they "caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger." (II Kings 17:17)
However, the prophets repeatedly stated that the repudiation of the Sabbath among Israel (and Judah) was a regular element of their backsliding. For instance, when Ezekiel carried the word of the Lord against Jerusalem (there referred to as "the bloody city") (Eze. 22:2), in fury and righteous anger, the Lord said, "Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my Sabbaths." (Eze. 22:8) This is a consistent theme throughout the Scriptures.
Another point might be made in this regard. Since the LORD plainly stated that Israel and "her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart" (Jer. 3:10) in regards to their continual profanation of the Sabbath, we have a point of contention.
In the Gospels, it's clear the Sabbath was still being honored by the Pharisees, for they sought to reproach Jesus for healing on the Sabbath day. It's theoretically possible that the Jews had already moved to the more convenient 7-day cycle to keep the Sabbath rather than conform to the more difficult lunar driven system that continually placed the Sabbath on different days.
-- J. L.
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Owenbrittont
Advanced Member
USA
86 Posts |
Posted - 30 Nov 2004 : 15:24:00
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I had a very interesting weekend... I met with an Indian tribe that believes they are descendants of the lost tribes of Israel.
To get to the point... they have charted their law on Hebrew and Phoenician Greek writtings and traditions... and records of this tribe in N. America pre date Imanuel's birth.
They chart everything by the moon, including their day of worship. |
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legalbear
Senior Member
USA
55 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2004 : 13:44:23
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quote:
If men have got the sabbath wrong, then what have they? Then what claim upon being obedient to the commandments do they really have?
Seriously, they merchandise books and tapes allegedly declaring the good news on what they call their Sabbath and after they finish attending services patterned after the “Mother of Harlots” church on the same day the “Mother of Harlots” church boasts about having changed the Sabbath too; then, after the service, they head on out to the local eatery where they eat unclean foods and tip the waitresses so lousy that evil is spoken of them.quote:
I know what the Holy Spirit tells me and what the words on paper tell me, and both are in agreement. Neither Saturday nor Sunday are the sabbath day. It behooves those who hear that call to find out what this means and how to truly keep the day holy. Only G-- can show this, and only by obedience are we pleasing to Him.
I too was once worshipped on SUNday in an offspring of the “Mother of Harlots” church. Then, I moved to a Sabbath that fell on SATURNSday because I thought the worshippers of Saturnalia (the Jews) must surely have the truth about when the Sabbath was. Then, I read Revelation 2:9 and learned, “…how [they were] abused and reviled and slandered by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” And read and pondered Revelation 3:9 that there were, “…those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie…” I pondered who these people were today and I concluded that when they deny that Jahshuwah was the Messiah because they have been blinded in their minds by the god of this world; because they did not love the truth they were given over to a reprobate mind that they should believe a lie. I concluded that since they believe lies there must not be much I could learn from them on any topic. In confirmation of this, I noticed that Stephen really nailed them on what they were all about in Acts:
quote:
42 But Jahuwah turned [away from them] and delivered them up to worship and serve the host (stars) of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: Did you [really] offer to Me slain beasts and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness (desert), O house of Israel? 43 [No!] You took up the tent (the portable temple) of Moloch and carried it [with you], and the star of the god Rephan, the images which you [yourselves] made that you might worship them; and I will remove you [carrying you away into exile] beyond Babylon.
Then, I had confirmed in an email that Jim Searcy sent to his Yahoo Group GJiGT with the subject line “Star of David OR Star of Lucifer?” what I had suspected all along:quote:
Moloch, Chiun and Remphan are all names for the star god, Saturn, whose symbol is a six pointed star formed by two triangles. Saturn was the supreme god of the Chaldeans.
No wonder these Jews who are liars in the Synagogue of Satan all get together on SATURNSday in places where six pointed stars adorn the walls.
Stephen loved the truth and spoke it out with regard to these people when he said in Acts 7:quote:
51 You stubborn and stiff-necked people, still heathen and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are always actively resisting the Holy Spirit. As your forefathers [were], so you [are and so you do]! 52 Which of the prophets did your forefathers not persecute? And they slew those who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, Whom you now have betrayed and murdered-- 53 You who received the Law as it was ordained and set in order and delivered by angels, and [yet] you did not obey it!
In addition to the above, here’s still more rational as to why I keep a Lunar based Sabbath:
James 4 says:quote:
13 Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city and spend a year there and carry on our business and make money. 14 Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air]. 15 You ought instead to say, If Jahuwah is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing].
We learn from Ezekiel 28:16 that Satan is involved in an abundance of commerce and that by his traffic (a commercial term) he increased his riches and power. See Ezekiel 28:5. In Revelation 18:3 we get further confirmation that the god of this world is heavily involved in business when the scripture says of Babylon, “…the businessmen of the earth have become rich with the wealth of her excessive luxury and wantonness.”
Jahshuwah himself commands us to avoid joining this commercial party in Matthew 6 when He says:quote:
19 Do not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal.
Verse 19 is the world’s way; Jahshuwah’s way is:quote:
20 But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal; 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 22 The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is unsound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the very light in you [your conscience] is darkened, how dense is that darkness!
Jahshuwah clarifies that the way to get an eye full of darkness is to get involved in commerce and start chasing money when he continues:quote:
24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve Jahuwah and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in). 31 Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear? 32 For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all. 33 But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.
You may be asking, why all this discussion about commerce in the middle of a discussion on the Sabbath? As you probably recall, Deuteronomy 5 says:quote:
12 Observe the Sabbath day to keep it set apart, as the as Jahuwah your Mighty Creator commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to Jahuwah your Mighty Creator; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, or your manservant or your maidservant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the stranger or sojourner who is within your gates, that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you. 15 And [earnestly] remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt and that Jahuwah your Mighty Creator brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore Jahuwah your Mighty Creator commanded you to observe and take heed to the Sabbath day.
This means that if you do not accurately ferret out when the Sabbath occurs you will end up working right across it and at a minimum the curse will come upon you and eventually death. See Romans 6:23; James 1:15.
Starting in Amos 8:5 we see the connection between the New Moon, Sabbath, deception and commerce; the merchants ask:quote:
…When will the New Moon festival be past that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath that we may offer wheat for sale, making the ephah [measure] small and the shekel [measure] great and falsifying the scales by deceit, 6 That we may buy [into slavery] the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals; yes, and sell the refuse of the wheat [as if it were good grade]?
Look what Jahuwah’s judgment is in Amos for wanting to buy and sell straight through the New Moon festival:quote:
Amos 8:7 Jahuwah has sworn by [Himself Who is] the Glory and Pride of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their [rebellious] deeds. [Ouch!!] 8 Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who dwells in it? Yes, it shall rise like the river [Nile], all of it, and it shall be tossed about and sink back again to normal level, as does the Nile of Egypt. 9 And in that day, says the Jahuwah the Mighty Creator, I will cause the sun to go down at noon [walking in darkness], and I will darken the earth in the broad daylight. 10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation, and I will cause sackcloth to be put upon all loins and baldness [for mourning] shall come on every head; and I will make that time as the mourning for an only son, and the end of it as a bitter day. 11 Behold, the days are coming, says Jahuwah the Mighty Creator, when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but [a famine] for hearing the words of the Lord.
When we meet with Jahuwah at the appointed times we will be given an opportunity to hear His voice; when we do not, we will experience a famine of hearing His Word.
I’ve been hanging out and learning from Deborjah Taylor and she has put a great deal of research into the topic of Jah’s Appointed Times. You can read those articles at a link soon to be placed on www.legalbears.com. I have been following her teaching on how to meet with Jahuwah at His Appointed Times and I have been getting a lot of revelation while doing so. This causes me to believe that she has figured it out.quote:
Amos 8:12 And [the people] shall wander from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of Jahuwah[inquiring for and requiring it as one requires food], but shall not find it. [They do not understand the relationship to meeting with Jahuwah at His Appointed Times and hearing His Word; it is as simple as showing up when He wants us to.] 13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst. 14 Those who swear by Ashimah or the sin of Samaria and say, By the life of your god [the golden calf], O Dan! and [swear], By the life of the way of [idolatrous] Beersheba, they shall fall and rise no more.
Deuteronomy 28:14 says:
And you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
I have been shown that all we have to do to serve other gods, is to turn aside from any of the words he has commanded us. Look what they do in verse 14 above.
I’ve been keeping the lunar based Sabbath for quite some time now. Here is what it does for me:
1.) It has taken me completely out of this world’s system of commerce. The Sabbath now falls upon any day of the week depending upon when the New Moon is spotted. It has taken me out of this world’s mold with SATURNSday and SUNday off.
2.) It has provided me with opportunities to witness. I do have to explain to people what I’m doing taking whatever day the Sabbath falls on off.
3.) The world’s temptations that usually fall on the weekends are far lessened because a lot of the time the Sabbath doesn’t fall on the weekends.
4.) The concept expressed in James 4 is easier to do because it is really hard to plan commercial activity more than a month in advance because you cannot predict when the New Moon will be spotted and hence what day the Sabbath will fall on.
5.) I believe that the fruit of keeping a lunar based Sabbath has been increased obedience to Jah’s Word on my part and the resultant increase in blessings that come with such obedience.
6.) This is a big one for me; keeping a lunar based Sabbath has forced me to trust Jahuwah. At the end of the month, sometimes there will be a two to three day delay before the New Moon is spotted. During that time, experience has shown that Jahuwah does not bless money making efforts attempted during that time. While those days are not treated exactly the same way as the Sabbath, they are still days off of work. During those times it is a challenge to take no thought as commanded by Jahshuwah in Mat. 6:31. I’ve heard myself tell Jahuwah at times, “Since I’m doing what you commanded, you’re going to have to bless me for this.” It builds faith and patience to obey Him by not working while waiting for the New Moon to be spotted. |
Edited by - legalbear on 15 Feb 2005 15:04:12 |
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Oneisraelite
Advanced Member
uSA
833 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2004 : 07:20:14
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Greetings and salutations in the name of the King, brothers and sisters:
Peace be unto the house.
We find it intriguing that the phrase “new moon” does not show up in the Pentateuch or in Yob [Job], reportedly the oldest book of the Scripture. In the 1599 Geneva Bible the phrase “new moon” shows up not even once. In the Hebrew Names Version it does not appear until Numbers 29:6; and in the other versions we have it shows up in 1Shama’el[Samuel] 20:5.
We find the phrase “new moon” in the New Covenant [Testament] only one time and it is the Greek word noumenia, which in turn, we are told, is made up from the two Greek words neos [or neoteros] and men [pronounced mane]; the first meaning “new”, and the second meaning, “month”. The Greek word for moon is selene, not mane, thus the phrase “new moon” in the Greek, we perceive, would be nouselene or some variation thereof. And finally, if the “new moons” are so critical to our Maker we find it interesting that He would put these words, through the hand of Shaul, in His Book, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon [new month], or of the sabbath day…” We also note, in that verse, that even if nuomenia meant "new moon" that is mentioned separate from the sabbath just as it is at 2Kings 4:23.
Now, imagine with us for a moment, if someone who used the moon for their “religious festivals” and “for determining months” were to translate the Book of the Law [the Scriptures] and they discovered that the Hebrew word hadash or hodesh meant “month”. What do you suppose these people, who used the moon to determine their “religious holy days” and “for determining their months”, would translate that word as? And finally we ask, who had to translate the Scriptures for Yadah [Judah] while they were in captivity in Babylon when they could no longer understand the old language? We believe it was the Babylonians.
“Babylonian Calendar - Overview
The ancient Babylonians used a calendar with alternating 29- and 30-day months…”
The use of lunar reckoning began to prevail in the 21st century B.C.E. The lunar year probably owed its success to economic progress. A barley loan could be measured out to the lender at the next year's threshing floor. The wider use of silver as the standard of value demanded more flexible payment terms. A man hiring a servant in the lunar month of Kislimu for a year knew that the engagement would end at the return of the same month, without counting days or periods of office between two dates. At the city of Mari in about 1800 B.C.E., the allocations were already reckoned on the basis of 29- and 30-day lunar months. In the 18th century B.C.E., the Babylonian Empire standardized the year by adopting the lunar calendar of the Sumerian sacred city of Nippur. The power and the cultural prestige of Babylon assured the success of the lunar year, which began on Nisanu 1, in the spring… [Recognize that name, Nisan-u?]
The influence of the Babylonian calendar was seen in many continued customs and usages of its neighbor and vassal states long after the Babylonian Empire had been succeeded by others. In particular, the Jewish calendar in use at relatively late dates employed similar systems of intercalation of months, month names [See Nisan-u above – Ed.], and other details... The Jewish adoption of Babylonian calendar customs dates from the period of the Babylonian Exile in the 6th century B.C.E…
Nisanu, Ayaru, Simanu, Du'uzu, Abu, Ululu, Tashritu, Arakhsamna, Kislimu, Tebetu, Shabatu, Adaru [and Adaru II for the intercalated month] – Names of the Babylonian months
[Esther 3:7 In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month, that is, the month Adar. If memory serves us correctly this book was reportedly not found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, is it any wonder??? How did these blasphemous words ever find their way into Yahowah’s Law Book?]
During those years in Rome, for example, a Pontifex (priest) observed the sky and announced a new moon and therefore the new month to the king. For centuries afterward Romans referred to the first day of each new month as Kalends or Kalends from their word calare (to announce solemnly, to call out). The word calendar derived from this custom…
During the period when month lengths were not fixed, new moons were usually sighted after either 29 or 30 days. If clouds obscured vision on the thirtieth day, a new month was declared to have begun.
When month lengths were identical with lunations, only those that lasted 30 days were considered to be normal. This was probably because all months had previously been 30 days [or thirty “something”] for such a long period of time.
During this period in Greece, for example, months that consisted of 30 days were considered to be "full;" those that lasted only 29 days were said to be "hollow." Months containing 30 days were also called "full" in Babylon, but those containing 29 were deemed to be "defective."
After month lengths in the Celtic Calendar became fixed, those that had been given 30 days were termed "matos" (lucky) and those given 29 days "anmatos" (unlucky). This notion still exists today, months of 30 days in the Jewish Calendar are called "full" and those with 29 are deemed to be "deficient."
We find this the most fascinating statement from the above studies, “The use of lunar reckoning began to prevail in the 21st century B.C.E.”
fellowcitizen of the commonwealth of Yisra'el, NOT the STATE OF ISRAEL. |
Edited by - Oneisraelite on 05 Dec 2004 07:36:14 |
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Oneisraelite
Advanced Member
uSA
833 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2004 : 09:45:12
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Though we may be wrong in this, however, it would seem that if the “new moon” were in anyway connected with the sabbath remembrance, YaHoWaH would have given it at least an “honorable mention” in the Decalogue.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it set apart. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the YaHoWaH thy ‘Elohiym: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days YaHoWaH made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore YaHoWaH blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it [ordained it to be set apart]. – Exodus 20:8-11
It would also seem to us that if the sabbath was related to the “new moon”, YaHoWaH would not have had to tell Mosheh and the children [citizens] of Yisra’el, “To morrow is the rest of the set apart shabbath unto YaHoWaH”, they would have known it…unless of course, it had not been given to them [man] until that very moment, when they were brought of bondage and had sevened [#H7650 – shaba] themselves to YaHoWaH.
H7650 shaba#8219; shaw-bah'; A primitive root; properly to be complete, but used only as a denominative from H7651; to seven oneself, that is, swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times)
And who does Mosheh say survived the exodus out of bondage?
But ye that did cleave unto YaHoWaH your ‘Elohiym are alive every one of you this day.
Those who broke [did not “Remember”] the sevening [shaba] and did not honour their oath of adherence [allegiance], did not survive the exodus out of bondage. Why? Because looking to the machinations of man [the work of our own hands] for our salvation will not work; we will only find ourselves right back in bondage.
Wherefore if ye be dead with the Anointed One from the rudiments [teachings] of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, after the commandments and doctrines of men? (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using)
[Note: we put these verses back in their correct order for better understanding]
We see from these verses that we are not dead physically, but rather dead “from the rudiments of the world…[which are] the commandments and doctrines of men”
Shaul/Paul is merely reiterating what is found in the Word of YaHoWaH at Leviticus 18:1-5.
And YaHoWaH spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children [citizens] of Yisra'el, and say unto them, I am YaHoWaH your ‘Elohiym. After the doings of the land of Egypt [bondage], wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan [the land of traffickers, i.e. commerce], whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances. Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am YaHoWaH your ‘Elohiym. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am YaHoWaH.
We perhaps have "omitted the weightier matters of the Law'...while we 'strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel".
fellowcitizen of the commonwealth of Yisra'el, NOT the STATE OF ISRAEL. |
Edited by - Oneisraelite on 05 Dec 2004 10:02:37 |
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David Merrill
Advanced Member
USA
1147 Posts |
Posted - 05 Dec 2004 : 10:00:26
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Intrigueing!
I have a friend who told me recently he is not so much into "Satu-day" for the Sabbath now he is integrated into the Lunar Caledar. I will email him a link here and later ask if this Topic is in agreement with what he was taught. Otherwise maybe set up a lunch date so he can explain what he knows of it.
I was taught the methods put into practice from the ancient writings and probably agree with origins in about 2000 BC, were about the Daniel Cycle. The Daniel Cycle in mathematics and astronomy are encrypted in Week or Shavaout. It integrates Babylonian concepts of cycles so maybe it originated much later, I don't know.
360 days (360 degree full circle) is a Babylonian year but it may be that people thought so for a long while before we find it in Babylonian culture. Now supposing some kind of 'divine' guidance we find the Fibonacci Sequence prevails in astronomy too. That is to say Celestial Wobble or Precedence, the rotation of the "North Star" moves at one degree every 72 years. It is a little easier to make my point with the calendar itself.
Download both these free programs if you want effective tools to watch Biblical occurances to the very day: SkyGlobe and Luach. Luach is a mathematically produced calendar from Aish.com and you can move around in time and then check to see if the new moon was at that time on SkyGlobe. I think if you go back far enough though SkyGlobe quits displaying the moon phase. Of course the conjunction is clear so it doesn't matter.
We surmise if the farmers just stuck to the lunar calendar the crops would fail in a few years time. So the rabbis plug in a month every few years to compensate. The Week (360 X 7 = 2,520) is found throughout the rabbinical calendar and could have been observed by accurate astronomers quite early. If you mark where the sun, earth and moon are at any particular moment, they will be within a day either way of that relationship in 19 years. They will be within an hour each way every 315 years and every 8 of these cycles they match up perfectly; every 2,520 years. Now I have heard that for a long time, maybe since Talmudic times at least, the rabbis like to juggle this extra month around the 19 year cycle as a standard. To correct and keep the solar/lunar calendars in agreement.
Astronomers, according to Roger Rusk who wrote The Other End of the World, called this the Daniel's Cycle because it is the encrypted message in "The Writing on the Wall" in the Book of Daniel - Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. I can find the scriptures that prove "1000, 1000, 20, 500" are encrypted within the message but will do that later if you do not believe me or Rusk.
I know this does not really tie things together but I really have not made much sense out of all this lunar calendar subject matter. At least not yet. At least why it would take precedence over the days of the week; Saturday being the Sabbath.
But the Daniel Cycle seems quite accurate in prior knowledge psychometrics. Dr. Guiness predicted in the late 1800s that Palestine would be turned over to a Christian power in 1917 (2,520 years from 604 BC which was the beginning of Nebukudnezzar's invasion toward Israel) and there is an interesting story* behind the truth to that. My own experience had quite a few people thinking I was a Godly prophet when I had been telling to watch for violence on the Temple Mount on September 28, 2000 for two weeks prior, violence that would effectively cancel the Feast of Tabernacles according to Matthew 24:15.
http://ecclesia.org/forum/images/suitors/DanielCalendar.jpg
Regards,
David Merrill.
*Something about the British general's name meaning God in Arabic. So when he left a decoy force to the south and was circling around to acquire Jerusalem, the same path Joshua took, and the Arabs learned of this they distributed warning flyers by dropping them from an airplane. All the Arabs thought that a general named "God" was coming and turned Jerusalem over without a shot being fired.
Though I have my own opinions some of which differ with Roger Rusk, the book will answer a lot of questions you might have about this little sketch here.
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Edited by - David Merrill on 05 Dec 2004 10:22:32 |
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jambosas
Advanced Member
USA
101 Posts |
Posted - 13 Dec 2004 : 12:30:41
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| Hello I like berkano have proven to myself that saturday or any solar day is not the sabbath period. The periods of the month and week are determined by the moon when it rises. The moon rises 28 times every month to tell what period you are in. No calculations are needed to tell when a year, or month starts or ends. The first sabbath period of the month starts around noon and the third sabbath period starts around midnight. These are my ideas for thought. I have mapped out the last 2 years on observation of moon rise and am working on the next 2 years and so far it all works out. |
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David Merrill
Advanced Member
USA
1147 Posts |
Posted - 13 Dec 2004 : 13:07:02
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Thanks. That sounds like a very reliable schedule and all you need to do is look at the moon to stay on it.
However one resorts to the sun for crops in an agrarian society and moderate climate. For instance, the only use of a personal calendar is your personal schedule. I suppose you may share your calendar here and we can keep track too. We can be the only people on that same calendar. |
Edited by - David Merrill on 13 Dec 2004 14:25:28 |
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Cornerstone Foundation
Advanced Member
uSA
254 Posts |
Posted - 15 Dec 2004 : 14:55:45
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quote:
I know what the Holy Spirit tells me and what the words on paper tell me, and both are in agreement. Neither Saturday nor Sunday are the sabbath day. It behooves those who hear that call to find out what this means and how to truly keep the day holy. Only God can show this, and only by obedience are we pleasing to Him.
Most of all I want to serve God without fear and without doubt, for this is the state of mind that allows the gift of eternal life to grow.
Peace be with you,
-- Berkano
Berkano:
We appreciate your comments given in the quote above. We agree with much of that.
We would like to point out that there will be times in certian years when the Sabbath on the calendar Yahweh gave to our Hebrew ancestors does coincide with the seventh and first days (what some call Saturday and Sunday) on the Julian/Gregorian calendar.
For example ...it is our understanding that Yahweh's Sabbath on the ancient Hebrew solar calendar at this particular time coincides with a portion of the Gregorian first day of the week (some men call it Sunday).
If our understanding is correct at this particular time in this particular year when overlaid on the Gregorian calendar Yahweh's Sabbath begins on the Gregorian 1st day (what some men call Sunday) at 12:00 noon and ends on the Gregorian 2nd day at 12:00 noon (what some men call Monday).
When Yahweh's next year begins it is our understanding that no part of Yahweh's Sabbath will coincide with the Gregorian first day of the week (what some men call Sunday).
If we have explained effectively what we are attempting to point out you may agree with us that in reading Scripture it is very important to understand that "not all weeks are created equal".
Sometimes the Scripture appears to be referring to something that happened on a particular day of the week on the Babylonian inspired calendar, at others time the reference is to something on the Roman calendar and at still other times the reference is to the ancient Hebrew calendar that Yahweh established for our ancestors.
If, in a particular context, we do not discern which kind of week the Scriptural author is referring to, it could cause us to draw the wrong conclusion concerning what days certain events in history took place and also what days we are commanded to do or not do certain things.
Thank you for considering this as we help each other search for truth on this very important subject.
Marty |
Edited by - Cornerstone Foundation on 02 Jan 2005 12:51:43 |
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jambosas
Advanced Member
USA
101 Posts |
Posted - 16 Dec 2004 : 18:21:38
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| I must add that when I said month in my last post I meant lunar month. This lunar calendar does not in anyway alter the solar seasons and when they occur - the first day of the year is always around (after the equinox) the start of spring - in fact the same solar day ocuurs every 19 years. |
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jambosas
Advanced Member
USA
101 Posts |
Posted - 27 Dec 2004 : 21:55:36
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| You state that farmers crops would fail if they used a lunar calendar? Why if you use a lunar calendar would you not start a lunar day with its rising as you do with the sun? I dont get why there is a problem with saying a solar calendar starts with a solar event (midnight for some reason - not so solar but this is what you want to work with) and a lunar calendar must start with a solar event? If you follow a lunar period (study the moon) you will find no problems with farmers crops - and the sabbath periods. The moon is a clock and it is math perfect. The new testament warns about jewish myths. |
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Gold
Junior Member
USA
24 Posts |
Posted - 29 Dec 2004 : 14:36:40
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Hello
If you read Acts 7:42-43, 42 But God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: 'Did you offer to me slain victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 No; you took along the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan [also recognize as Saturn I..E. Saturday], the images that you made to worship[ so thy worship Saturday]; so I will remove you beyond Babylon.'
Now Acts 7;53 You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it."
Remphan - (Acts 7:43; R.V., "Rephan"). In Amos 5:26 the Heb. Chiun (q.v.) is rendered by the LXX. "Rephan," and this name is adopted by Luke in his narrative of the Acts. These names represent the star-god Saturn or Moloch
Just food for thought. I think this passage goes hand in hand with the lunar sabbath
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Linc
Advanced Member
Canada
111 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2005 : 04:57:28
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I recently discovered the Lunar Sabbath. I printed out each copy of the Berean Voice and have been reading through them. I got through the first years issues of Berean Voice tonight, and am going to keep my first Lunar Sabbath on Monday. Wish I could find some fellow Lunar Sabbath keepers in my area.
When I went through the arguments for Saturday and Sunday, they BOTH made good points, but each side had some niggling discrepancies that couldn't be explained. Lunar month explains it beautifully.
It also answers the desert island problem. If you are in a coma for an unknown period of time and wake up, how do you tell when the Sabbath is? If you go by the moon, you KNOW... The devil can mess with our heads, convince us of all sorts of folly, but he can't change the course of the moon. God put the moon up there so we could ALWAYS find out the Sabbath, no matter where we are.
NOTE ON DEBORAH TAYLOR: This is intended as constructive criticism. Deborah does very good research. However I find her fear-mongering, ad-hominem, condemnatory style so offensive, I almost can't pay attention to the message she presents. The style is characteristic of the Churches of God, and those who came out of them, but it comes off as arrogant, unloving, and presumptuous. And I hate myself for having just used that same style in this paragraph. What other words could I have used?
Those who have posted on behalf of the Lunar Sabbath on this forum have been very polite and wrote in an engaging way that I enjoyed.
Roger Rusks book, "On The Other End of the World" is available at this URL: http://reference.reactor-core.org/other-end-of-the-world.html
Noone in the lunar sabbath camp has yet answered, why were the temple doors open on the fourth of the month? This is the only credible counter-argument I've seen to the Lunar Sabbath so far. |
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Linc
Advanced Member
Canada
111 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2005 : 05:29:31
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Actually, one more objection has come up, through a web search.
Wasn't the Passover supposed to be on a Sabbath? Why didn't Jesus observe it on the Sabbath?
That makes the second objection. I may have to call off my Monday observance until more information comes to light. |
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Walter
Advanced Member
USA
144 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2005 : 09:18:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Linc
Actually, one more objection has come up, through a web search.
Wasn't the Passover supposed to be on a Sabbath? Why didn't Jesus observe it on the Sabbath?
Hi Linc,
If you read through the Solar Calendar thread, in there I try to prove that the Passover is eaten on the night of Abib 15 - the Biblical day running from sundown to sundown - and that it is always a Sabbath, as are Abib 1, Abib 8, Abib 22 and so on. Under this structure, a Sabbath will never come in conflict with a commanded work day (for example Abib 10 when the lamb is selected, and Abib 14 when the lamb is slaughtered), contrary to a Satuday or Sunday "sabbath" system. I think it important to note that the work of slaughtering the lamb which is done "between the evens" cannot happen on the same day as the Feast which is a Sabbath.
As for Jesus' keeping of the Sabbath, I offer the information at this link: http://home.earthlink.net/~walterk12/Xian/Cal/ChristKeptPassover.html
Jesus kept the Passover at its proper time - Jesus HAD to keep it properly or else be in violation of the Law. The Pharisees kept it the day afterwards.
Walter |
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David Merrill
Advanced Member
USA
1147 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2005 : 13:33:57
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I believe throughout history there has never been a dispute about the day of the week. That no group of people woke up saying it was Wednesday and another saying it was Tuesday and they had to settle the debate somehow.
If my premise is correct then by downloading Skyglobe and Luach from Aish.com one has the tools to view the Passover event in that or whatever year accurately.
With Skyglobe see September 11, 3 BC to view the alignment of Regulus and Saturn. The "Heart of the Lion" would have been quite bright at that time and may have been the sign for the Magi to welcome the Messiah of God in the city of David.
It's been a while since I looked and I am on a little Pocket PC at McDonald's right now. But I think I recall the Passover that year was on a Wednesday. That agrees with "arising" on the 1st Day, Sunday and also the teachings of a Messianic Jewish synagogue I once attended. At least with some of the lecturers peripheral to it.
Regards,
David Merrill.
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Linc
Advanced Member
Canada
111 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2005 : 14:29:51
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quote:
Under this structure, a Sabbath will never come in conflict with a commanded work day (for example Abib 10 when the lamb is selected, and Abib 14 when the lamb is slaughtered), contrary to a Satuday or Sunday "sabbath" system. I think it important to note that the work of slaughtering the lamb which is done "between the evens" cannot happen on the same day as the Feast which is a Sabbath.
Walter, I agree with you. But then why do all four of the Gospels say that Jesus was raised up after the last of sabbaths, toward one of sabbaths? (sabbatwn). I did read an article that made a good case that the Greek "mias" was used an an indefinite article "a", just as "ein" (one) is in German. How would that understanding affect the translation of the resurrection verses?
http://home.sprynet.com/~jbwwhite/HEIS_MIA.html |
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legalbear
Senior Member
USA
55 Posts |
Posted - 02 Jan 2005 : 16:22:32
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quote:
Originally posted by Linc
I recently discovered the Lunar Sabbath. I printed out each copy of the Berean Voice and have been reading through them. I got through the first years issues of Berean Voice tonight, and am going to keep my first Lunar Sabbath on Monday. Wish I could find some fellow Lunar Sabbath keepers in my area.
Linc: As you may already know, it is not possible to “believe” if you seek the praise, and glory that comes from men. See John 5:44 Amplified. You probably also recall that if anyone comes to Jahshuwah and does not have indifference to or relative disregard for his own father and mother and likewise his wife and children and brothers and sisters--yes and even his own life also--he cannot be Jahshuwah’s disciple. See Luke 14:26. Also, Jahshuwah said, “How is it that you fail to understand that I was not talking to you about bread? (I’m not talking to you about bread either.) But beware of the leaven (ferment) of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Then they discerned that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
The reason I’m saying these things is to remind you that when it comes to obeying Jahuwah, you never look around you asking, is anybody else doing this? As you know, broad is that path that leads to destruction and many there are that are on it. If you are the only one in your whole city or state that keeps a Lunar based Sabbath it should matter not. Like Jahshuwah, you should spend your time bringing others to the truth and blessing of keeping a Lunar based Sabbath. Remember, it’s the ones that both do and teach the least of Jah’s Commandments that will be called great in the Kingdom. Mat. 5:19. People to fellowship with on Sabbath will come around easy when they see you walking in the blessing.
quote:
Lunar month explains it beautifully.
Link, I feel like you went back on this because of the principles I’ve written above.
quote:
It also answers the desert island problem. If you are in a coma for an unknown period of time and wake up, how do you tell when the Sabbath is? If you go by the moon, you KNOW... The devil can mess with our heads, convince us of all sorts of folly, but he can't change the course of the moon. God put the moon up there so we could ALWAYS find out the Sabbath, no matter where we are.
After these comments, it sounds like you are getting it!
quote:
NOTE ON DEBORAH TAYLOR: This is intended as constructive criticism. Deborah does very good research. However I find her fear-mongering, ad-hominem, condemnatory style so offensive, I almost can't pay attention to the message she presents. The style is characteristic of the Churches of God, and those who came out of them, but it comes off as arrogant, unloving, and presumptuous. And I hate myself for having just used that same style in this paragraph. What other words could I have used?
You know what, if you are going to constructively criticize Deborah Taylor, you need to do it to her face personally. See Matthew 18:15 (Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.) Also Leviticus 19:17 (You shall not hate your brother in your heart; but you shall surely rebuke your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.)
Here are some things I know about Deborah Taylor as a result of having met her personally, talking with her on the phone, eating several meals with her, and having been to her house: 1) She is looking for every jot and tittle in the Father’s Word and seeking to obey all that she can find; including teaching the least of Jahuwah’s commandments; 2) As a result of her obedience to the Father as He leads her by the Spirit and as she has read and studied the scriptures, she is a very loving person; 3) The Father himself has confirmed her obedience by visiting her, eating with her, and dwelling with her as was prophesied by Jahshuwah in John 14:17 (for He lives with you constantly), John 14:21 (and whoever really loves Me …I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and
make Myself real to him.), and John 14:23 (If a person really loves Me, he will keep My word obey My teaching; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home abode, special dwelling place with him.); 4) Because she has been so obedient, the Father holds her to a higher standard like He did with Moses; 5) Because she has been so obedient, she has been extremely blessed.
She has some amazing and peculiar stories about Jahuwah and Jahshuwah visiting her. I know she’s telling the truth because I’ve had similar things happen to me.
She lives in Moab in the middle of the Utah desert. For a lady of her age, that the Father once instructed to live in a tent for a year, she lives in a very comfortable home. The grass was very green and the house was surrounded by huge trees that provided shelter from the baking Utah sun; sort of an oasis in the desert, if you will. She was driving a very nice, restored Ford truck with a newer camper shell. I’m sure that she is completely debt free. When my pastor friend could not receive her full color articles in a pdf format because of size, she cheerfully printed them out for him and mailed them at her own expense, explaining, “That’s why people give me offerings.” I’m sure you’ve bought ink cartridges and know what they cost. The package was quite large and I’m sure the postage wasn’t cheap. I celebrated part of a Tabernacles with her and she paid for the room, food, and other expenses without complaint and even without asking for an offering.
My point…is that she lives under the blessing. The same way the curses coming upon someone are a “sign” of their disobedience (Deut. 28:46), the blessings coming upon her are a sign of her obedience.
Maybe the reason you describe her as having a “fear-mongering, ad-hominem, condemnatory style” is because her standards of obedience are higher than yours resulting in you having a feeling of condemnation. After I read You Can’t Serve Jah and Mammon I contacted her and told her, “They’ll try and kill you for this.” I read her articles, and I’ve read most all of them, and almost always end up feeling like my life has been enriched. It delights me to see someone endeavoring with all zealousness to serve the Father and teach the truth as revealed from Jah’s Torah and prophets. |
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Lunar Sabbath
