A Shadow of Things to ComeThe New Moon Part 2Forward
When I first began to study the bible I was told by an acquaintance that the Catholic Church held many books of the bible that were not placed in the King James Version. I did not understand what he was speaking about nor did I really care. All I knew was the King James Version of the bible and maybe some translations that I had seen other people use. The Apocrypha { http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ } “Apocrypha means 'hidden things' in Greek. The Apocryphical books of the Bible fall into two categories: texts which were included in some canonical version of the Bible at some point, and other texts of a Biblical nature which have never been canonical.” {Wikipedia the free encyclopedia}As I began to study these books I realized that whether they were in the Holy Scripture or not I personally could find no reason not to use some of these as a reference or as an outside source to confirm certain conclusions that I may come to.I am writing this forward to my article because I normally do not use outside sources, but in this case I have no choice as you’ll see later in the article. The books that I will be quoting from may or may not be the inspired word of God, but neither is an encyclopedia, the newspaper, or any other source that is not ”the holy bible” but are still accepted as reliable resource materials.Anytime I quote from one of these books, I will, to the best of my ability, back it up with scripture from the new King James translation of the bible. For those of you who may be interested in the so-called lost books of the bible, The Apocrypha, simply follow the link provided below. www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/index.htm
The New MoonPart TwoIsaiah 60:19-20“The sun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory. Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended.”This is part two of the article entitled new Moon.In my last article we began to study what the bible calls the new Moon. I showed how I began this search because the new Moon is listed with the Sabbath and the Feast days throughout the bible, both of which are holy to God. So it seemed to me that if the Sabbath is holy and the Feast days are holy, and the new Moon is between them, it also must be holy. So I decided to study this new Moon more carefully.I learned that the Moon was one of two great lights that God had placed in the heavens.Genesis 1:16 “Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.The lesser light obviously being the Moon. It, the Moon, being one of the two great lights, seemed to show me that the Creator made the Moon for a great purpose.
Genesis 1:14“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons and for days and years.’ ”I showed how the Moon is used for signs, and that the new Moon is how we are to know the beginning of the new months. A new Moon is a new month in God’s calendar. This is good news, because God’s calendar is very important in keeping the proper Sabbaths and feasts days. I must repeat this from the last article. What the astronomers of today call the new Moon is not what the bible calls the new Moon. A Biblical new Moon is the first time you can see the Moon in the sky. What the world calls a new Moon is when the Moon is not visible. The first new Moon of Gods New YearNew Moon Abib 1 {March 12, 2013} at dusk over Washington DCExodus 12:1-2 “Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,’ This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.’ “For those who are interested in learning more about Gods calendar follow the link: http://www.thebodyofyahoshua.com/the-sacred-calender.php
So how important is the new Moon. Is it more than just an indicator to a new month?Genesis also states that the Moon is also to be used for the determination of season.Genesis 1:14“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons and for days and years.’ ”Psalm 104:19“ He appointed the moon for seasons; the sun knows it’s going down.”The word seasons as defined by Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible:Reference number 4150: Spelled mowadah; and pronounced mo-aw-daw: An appointment, a fixed time for season; specifically a festival, conventionally a year, also of signal, as appointed before hand, a place of solemn assembly,The Creator wants us to know His seasons, His calendar, and the way He keeps time. All things have their due season and their appointed time. This theme runs throughout the bible and the Moon is the way we are to keep God’s months and the seasons of the year.
Exodus 9:5 “Then the Lord appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”Exodus 23:14-15 “Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty.”2 Samuel 24:15“ So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died.”Ecclesiastes 3:1“ To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.”Acts 17:26 “ And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.”The Moon is used for this purpose. The Feasts of God and his Sabbaths show his plan for our salvation and the appointed times for the event. I’m about to quote from the book of Jubilee, one of the so-called books of the Apocrypha. The numbers I use for the chapter and verse are simply numbers I have placed to make the reading easier. The text I am using comes from my web site; the link is located below:http://www.thebodyofyahoshua.com/the-book-of-jubilee-.php The original source material comes from the Internet Sacred Text Archives:http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/jub/jub16.htm
If you choose to go to the original source material at “The Sacred Text Archives” please remember the reference numbers used here are not the same numbers used in the original text; they are the numbers I use on my website.I am not using this book as the inspired word of God but it does explain the new Moon and its importance to God’s plan of salvation.We must put these next passages in its proper context. God through Moses, have led the Israelites out of Egypt. God has called Moses to the top of Mount Sinai:Exodus 24:17-18“ The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”While Moses was in the cloud, on top of Mount Sinai with God, the Book of Jubilee is one of the things that were taught to him. The Creator goes back to the beginning and teaches Moses all that has happened, from the time of the first day of creation, to the time the Israelites are at the bottom of Mount Sinai. According to scripture this is approximately 2500 years of time that Moses was learning about.Soon God begins to speak to Moses about the time of Noah. This is when Moses learns how to keep the seasons, days, months, and years, and why they are important. Let us pick up the story here:
The Book of Jubilee:5:23-24:“And on the new moon of the first month, and on the new moon of the fourth month, and on the new moon of the seventh month, and on the new moon of the tenth month are the days of remembrance, and the days of the seasons in the four divisions of the year. These are written and ordained as a testimony forever. And Noah ordained them for himself as feasts for the generations forever, so that they have become thereby a memorial unto him.” It seems we’re now getting somewhere. According to the book of Jubilee there are four new Moons to be celebrated. They are; the first day of the first month, the first day of the fourth month, the first day of the seventh month, and the first day of the tenth month, of Gods calendar. These four new Moons are to celebrated as a feast. They are to be memorials for Noah and for the generations to come. So let us continue to see why specifically, these new months are to be celebrated.I will also be cross referencing some of these verses that I use from the Book of Jubilee, with scriptures from the new King James Bible whenever possible. Jubilee 5:25. “And on the new moon of the first month he was bidden to make for himself an ark, and on that (day) the earth became dry and he opened (the ark) and saw the earth.”On the first new Moon of the first month two major events happen to Noah. On one new Moon He was told to build himself an ark, and an on another new Moon of the first month, after the rains had stopped, and the earth began to dry from the flood, he was able to see the earth. Compare this with Genesis 8:13:“ And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry.On the new Moon of the first month Noah was told by God to begin building the ark. After the rains had stopped, it was on another new Moon and on the first day of the first month Noah was able to see dry earth.The first new Moon, or the first day, of the first month {Abib}, of the year is to celebrate this event. This is God’s New Year’s Day. It is this event that we are to remember on the first day of the first month; of God’s New Year. The day when God told Noah to build an ark, and the day when Noah was able to see dry landGenesis 7:11‘In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”It began to rain on the 17th day of the second month. The months in Gods calendar are usually 29 to 30 days in length. The bible says it rained for 40 days.Genesis 7:17“ Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.”Therefore doing the math it rained for the rest of the second month, and most of the third month ending about two or three days before the beginning of the fourth month.Jubilee 5:26:“And on the new moon of the fourth month the mouths of the depths of the abysses beneath were closed. This event took place a couple of days after the rain had stopped. It seems God closed up the earth so that the waters would not drain. Noah and his family were on the ark for 150 days after the rain stopped. Genesis 7:24“ And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.”Genesis 8:2-3 “The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. This time, from the fourth month until the seventh month, Noah and his family was simply floating on the water. This can be compared to the Israelites crossing the Red Sea into the wilderness. It is a type of baptism, a time when we can escape from the sins of the past. It is a transition; we will explore this in much more depth later in the article. This is the event we are to remember on the new Moon of the fourth month. The day when earth was closed so that the waters could not drain.Jubilee 5:26“ And on the new moon of the seventh month all the mouths of the abysses of the earth were opened, and the waters began to descend into them. “ Genesis 8:3-4 “And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.”Once the rain stopped it took 17 days for the ark to rest on top of Mt. Ararat. It is in the seventh month that the ark is able to rest. On the first day of this month, the seventh month, we are to remember that the ark was able to rest from its journey. We also see that just as god rested on the seventh day Noah was able to rest on the seventh month
Jubilee 5:27“And on the new moon of the tenth month the tops of the mountains were seen, and Noah was glad. “Genesis 8:5“ And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.”It is on the new Moon, or the first day, of the 10th month, that Noah was able to see the tops of the mountains. The Book of Jubilee says Noah was glad. Why would he be glad, because there was hope, he was able to see the mountain top. It is this event we are to remember when we keep the new Moon of the 10th month.Jubilee 5:28. “And on this account he [Noah} ordained them {the new Moons} for himself, as feasts, for a memorial for ever, and thus are they ordained.” It is very clear according to this book, the book of Jubilee, that the new Moons, the first days of the first, forth seventh, and 10th months, are to be celebrated as feasts so that the events of Noah and his journey from death to life may be remembered.These are the days of remembrance which the new Moon represents, but there still more that the new Moon is to be used for.Jubilee 5:23-24:“And on the new moon of the first month and on the new moon of the fourth month, and on the new moon of the seventh month, and on the new moon of the tenth month are the days of remembrance, and the days of the seasons in the four divisions of the year. These are written and ordained as a testimony forever.The new Moon allows us to know the division of the seasons. Speaking of the seasons the Book ofJubilee says in:Jubilee 5:29. “And they placed them on the heavenly tables, each had thirteen weeks; from one to another (passed) their memorial, from the first to the second, and from the second to the third, and from the third to the fourth. “There are to be thirteen weeks in each season and four seasons of the year. Each New Moon represents one season. The first being spring, then summer, the next autumn and the last being winter. Gods New Year begins in the spring when life begins anew; not in the middle of winter when everything is death. Just as the world says the new Moon is when the Moon is not visible so the world also says that the New Year starts in the middle of death {winter}, and a new day begins in the middle of night. Our eyes should tell us this makes no sense. God says Spring is when his New Year begins. It is when new life began. God says a new day begins at sunset and ends at sunset. God says a new month begins when the first visible sign of the Moon is in the sky. This is how we are to keep and know Gods years days and seasons.Numbers 9:2 (KJV)“ Let the children of Israel also keep the Passover at his appointed season.”Leviticus 23:4 (KJV)“These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.”The new moons tell us when each new season begins and as you can see God equates his season’s with his feasts.Let us return back to the New King James Bible
Exodus 12:2New King James Version (NKJV) “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.”We went through this earlier but I feel it needs to be reviewed. The very first thing God taught to Moses was the beginning of his year. Dropping down to verse threeExodus 12:3“ Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.’ “Exodus 12:18“ 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.”If Moses did not know the beginning of the month or the year he would not know when the 10th of the month or the 14th of the month was, he would not know when to keep the Feasts of God.Jubilee 5: 30“And all the days of the commandment will be two and fifty weeks of days, and (these will make) the entire year complete. “Jubilee5:32.-38 “And command you the children of Israel that they observe the years according to this reckoning-three hundred and sixty-four days, and (these) will constitute a complete year, and they will not disturb its time from its days and from its feasts; for everything will fall out in them according to their testimony, and they will not leave out any day nor disturb any feasts.”33. But if they do neglect and do not observe them according to His commandment, then they will disturb all their seasons, and the years will be dislodged from this (order), [and they will disturb the seasons and the years will be dislodged] and they will neglect their ordinances. 34. And all the children of Israel will forget, and will not find the path of the years, and will forget the new moons, and seasons, and Sabbaths, and they will go wrong as to all the order of the years. 35. For I know and from henceforth shall I declare it unto thee, and it is not of my own devising; for the book (lays) written before me, and on the heavenly tables the division of days is ordained, lest they forget the feasts of the covenant and walk according to the feasts of the Gentiles after their error and after their ignorance. 36. For there will be those who will assuredly make observations of the moon--now (it) disturbs the seasons and cometh in from year to year ten days too soon. 37. For this reason the years will come upon them when they will disturb (the order), and make an abominable (day) the day of testimony, and an unclean day a feast day, and they will confound all the days, the holy with the unclean, and the unclean day with the holy; for they will go wrong as to the Months and Sabbaths and feasts and jubilees. 38. For this reason I command and testify to thee that thou mayest testify to them; for after thy death thy children will disturb (them), so that they will not make the year three hundred and sixty-four days only, and for this reason they will go wrong as to the new moons and seasons and Sabbaths and festivals, and they will eat all kinds of blood with all kinds of flesh.This is how important Gods new Moons are to Him. He prophesied to Moses that his people would forget the new Moons, therefore forgetting the months, therefore forgetting the seasons, and therefore forgetting the Sabbath and the feasts.It is obvious through scripture and other sources that the new Moon is not just something that can be ignored. It is not just some trivial matter that God’s people can overlook. The ancient Israelites went in to slavery, into captivity, and forgot who they were, because they broke God’s Sabbaths and His Feast Days, and now we know it was also because they forgot the new Moon.So we have learned that the new Moon is for signs, days of remembrance, and seasons. The new Moons are to be celebrated as feasts. They are to be as days of rejoicing, gladness, and remembrance, but is there even more to this wonderful festival of the new moons? To find that out we must wait until the next article. So until next time my friends please take care and may peace be with you always.