To believe that we could be wrong about something-
almost anything- is unfortunately a very
ego-shattering experience for some (if not most) human
beings. The exposure of ... myths and biases can be so
psychologically disruptive that it is tantamount to
complete ego destruction. When the security blanket is
gone, so is the particular niche of comfort into which
we can conveniently creep when some challenging new
thought comes along to disturb our mental processess.
We do have our first line of defenses against truth,
and they are far more effective than any radar set or
military advance-early warning missile system. They
unfailingly tell us that all is not wrong, but right
after all!"...

..."Most people STUBBORNLY RESIST ANY NEW TRUTH with a
whole series of first line defenses and several
back-up systems to boot! But when truth finally
exhausts all their defenses, they are forced to retire
to that one-andonly tired old excuese: 'Just who do
you think you are? Where did you get your authority
from?' If all else fails, people tend to fall back on
this put-down'" (Unknown Evangelist).

Here are some quotes from R.A. Eckert in his 130 page
research document on "The New Moon Observance and the
development of the calendar". {My comments & points
are in these brackets}

In MessiYAH,

Zakariah Todd Daniel

So why the "New Moon"? isn't that being "picky" with
scripture? Not when we realize that ALL of YHWH's Holy
Days are based on a proper understanding of the new
moon - what it is and WHEN it occurs.

One might ask- does'nt any dictionary define the "new
moon"? And what about scripture? As we will see, there
is great controversy surrounding this subject. For
example, the term "new moon" is defined as:

"New Moon - (1) The moons phase when it is in
conjunction with the sun so that the dark side is
towards the earth; also: the thin crescent moon seen
shortly after sunset a few days after the actual
occurence of the new moon phase (2) the first day of
the jewish month marked by a special liturgy"
(Websters Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary", G. & C.
Merriam Co., Springfield, Mass., u.s.a., 1971).

Now we have a problem! Is the DARK OF THE MOON the
"new moon" or is it the FIRST VISIBLE CRESCENT? By
definition there can be from ONE TO THREE DAYS
DIFFERENCE between THE TWO! Could it be something
else? Is it important? Doing some very basic research
into the defintion, other dictionaries were used. The
following facts came to light. Under the word "Moon"
we find:

"Moon - (1) The time from one new moon to another; a
lunar month. + USUALLY WITH REFERENCE TO THE AMERICAN
INDIANS' METHOD OF COMPUTING TIME." (A Dictionary of
American English on Historical Principles" edited by
Sir William A. Craigie and James R. Hulbert,
University of Chicago Press, 1942)"

Under the term "New Moon" in yet another dictionary we
read:

"New Moon - (1) The moon when first seen as a slender
crescent shortly after its conjunciton with the sun.

(2) The time when the new moon appears; also astron.
the time at which the moon is in conjunction with the
sun. (b) THE FESTIVAL celebreated by the ancient
Hebrews at the time of the new moon (cd. neomenia).

"Neomenia - (new moon) In Greek and Jewish antiquity
the time of the new moon, the beginning of the lunar
month; also, THE FESTIVAL held at that time...some say
the Jews reckoned two kinds of neomenia, or new
moons." ("A New English Dictionary on Historical
Principles", edited by Sir James A. H. Murray, Oxford:
at the Clarendon Press, 1888.

Now we are finding several things: 1) that the new
moon is either the dark of the moon, or 2) the first
visible crescent, which occurs several days after the
conjunction, 3) that a month is computed originally in
the U.S. the way the Indian month is figured, and 4)
that the Jews possibly had two seperate ways of
figuring a new moon. A "month is called a "LUNATION".
what is a "LUNATION"?:

"LUNATION" - the period of time averaging 29 days, 12
hours, 44 minutes and 2.8 seconds elapsing BETWEEN TWO
SUCCESSIVE NEW MOONS." (Websters Seventh New
Collegiate Dictionary", G. & C. Merriam Co.,
Springfield, Mass., u.s.a., 1971).

It is not quite that simple. The dictionary just
referred to was printed in 1971. There is another
definition of LUNATION:

"LUNATION - The period of return of the moon (luna) to
the same postition relative to the sun; i.e. FROM FULL
MOON TO FULL MOON. Its duration is 29.5305884 days."
(Encyclopedia Brittanica, 11th edition New York,
Encyclopedia Brittanica Co. 1910.)

This was written in 1910. Could it be that definitions
change over time, and meanings become lost?

YES!

What about the Bible? Since we are concerned with the
Biblical definition, should'nt we let scripture tell
us what a new moon is? Indeed, does it define the new
moon? Contrary to many preconceived ideas, YES IT
DOES, and very clearly if we look for it! Remember,
the first day of the month, the "new moon", was a
FESTIVAL DAY, and we will find out just when that is
in the course of this research...

... The United States was isolated from the rest of
the world until late in history, and was somewhat
protected from the corruption of the Babylonian
influence. It was not totally protected due to the
origin of some of the Indian tribes, but for the most
part remained safe until the European migration
brought corrupt concepts to the Eastern shores, and
Spanish influence from the early explorers coming up
from Mexico.

So what was here and in use as a calendar system
before "christianity" came?

The American Indians had an interesting system of
worship, including their calendar system.

The American Indian historian John D. Hunter lived
with and oberserved the Indian systems. In his work on
American Indian lore titled 'Manners and Customs of
Several Indian Tribes Located West of the Mississippi'
we find:

"Their mode of reckoning time is very simple. Their
year begins about the vernal equinox, or at the
lengthening of the days: THEIR MENSTRUAL PERIODS ARE
RECKONED FROM ONE FULL MOON TO ANOTHER; and their
diurnal, or rather nocturnal, for they count nights
instead of days, from sunset to sunset...The Seventh
Month is called the HARVEST MONTH because it is that
in which the corn is gathered." p.312

It should be noted that 'menstrual' here does not mean
what we think of today. According to Websters
Unabridged Dictionary it means "monthly, as in time."

Hunter continues:

"In respect to the origin of their religion, the
Indians themselves are altogether ignorant. It is
certain, however, that they acknowledge, at least so
fas as my acquaintance extends, one supreme, all
powerful, and intelligent Being, viz. the Great
Spirit, or the Giver of life, who created and governs
all things. They Believe, in general, that, after the
hunting grounds had been formed and supplied with
game, that He created the first red man and woman, who
were very large in their stature, and lived to an
exceedingly old age; ...Gave them laws to be observed,
and taught them how to take game and cultivate corn:
but that in consequence of their disobedience, He
withdrew from, and abandoned them to the vexations of
the Bad Spirit, who had since been instrumental to all
their degeneracy and sufferings.

"They have no particular days set apart for devotional
purposes, though they have particular times; such, for
instance, as the declaration of war, the restoration
of peace and extraordinary natural visitations. They
also have rejoicings, which assume something of the
pious form; such are their harvests, and the return of
the new moon....

"At the ingathering of the corn, they observe general
rejoicings; at which all who are able, join in
appropriate dances, songs and feasts and in thanks to
the Great Spirit, for His munificence towards them. On
these occasions, as also at the new moon, at the
commencement of hunting buffalo in the spring, lamps
constructed of shells, and supplied with bears' grease
and rush wicks, are kept burning all the night
preceding and following these joyous festivals; but
for what particular purpose the practice is kept up,
or from what circumstance it originated, I could never
learn; and it is probable the history is lost, as the
Indians themselves only conform to it in obedience to
usage." p.226

In reference to these customs, let us not forget that
the New Moon to the Indians is the FULL MOON. Also,
the corn was harvested after the 7th FULL MOON was
sighted. As to the custom of the lamps, this is a
DIRECT result of the practice of the Levites
requirement to burn the oil lamp in the temple service
all night. (Exodus 27:20,21)

Schoolcraft, in his massive work on the American
Indians, had much to say, but can be summarized as
follows:

In vol.1 pg.271 of "Indian tribes of the United
States" (6 volumes) he states:

"48. they believe that The Almighty, or the Great
Spirit, created the universe, and all things just as
they exist.

52. They compute the year from the budding of the
trees. The year they suppose consists of some
indefinite number of moons. They have no astronomical
knowledge of the length of the year. The Greeks
generally have no definite knowledge on this subject.

53. They have no idea of the length of the winter or
summer.

59. There are coincidences among them similiear to the
oriental system of computing time. They have an annual
"busk" which formerly embraced a period of eight days,
but now a period of four days; this time is devoted to
thanksgiving and fasting. It resembles very much the
year of Jubilee among the Hebrews. At the return of
this festival, all offences are cancelled. This
festival commences at the ripening of the new crops,
at which time a general purgation and cleansing takes
place. At intervals, singing and dancing are
introduced. On the first day of "busketau," there is a
general feast prepared, from the old crop, to which
feast all contribute".

It should be noted here that this eight-day feast is
identical to the Passover and Days of Unleavened
Bread, when no new grain could be eaten until after
the wave sheaf had been offered, and during which time
"cleansing" takes place in the form of 'putting sin
out' by removing leavening from our homes.

In volume 2, under the article "History and
Government", pg.177, he further shows that the Dacota
tribe was somewhat different and shows some signs of
Babylonian influence:

52. "How many moons or months compose the Indian year,
& The Dacotas count time by seasons- spring, summer,
autumn, and winter, which is counted one year.
Twenty-nine days or nights are counted one moon. They
can tell, pretty well, about what time the new moon
will appear."

In volume 4, pg.239, he shows that the white man
indeed sought to change their astronomical calendar to
the one "christians" had adopted, {including the
definition of the gregorian calendars faulty deduction
that a dark moon is a new moon and moving the Full
Moon as THE MIDDLE OF THE MOON/month!} if (as in the
case of the Winnebagos) they used the full moon and
did not use the crescent and equinoxes:

"The Winnebagoes reckon twelve moons for a year. They
do not keep an account of the days in a year, and have
made no attempt to compute a solar year. They divide
the year into summer and winter; and subdivide the
summer into spring, summer and fall. They call it
winter while there is snow on the ground. The season
between the time of melting of the snow and the
commencement of hot weather, they call spring. During
the continuance of hot weather they call it summer;
and from the appearance of frost to the falling of
snow, they call it fall. Spring is the commencement of
their year.

53. The Winnebagoes take no notice of the summer and
winter solstices, or of the vernal and autumnal
equinoxes."

While seeming confusing, this is acutally closer to
The Almighty's Calendar.

In volume 5, pg.183 he describes the Blackfoot
(Blackfeet?) tribal customs:

"The Blackfeet have words in their language to express
the general lapse of time; they do not count the
hours, but the days. They count time by winters, or as
they express themselves, by snows. They count their
years by moons, making them consist of twelve moons;
but after observing twelve moons, they add one more,
which they call the 'lost moon'. Every month, with
them, is an expressive name of the season...They call
October the 'travelling-moon', for at that season they
leave their dwellings, and go to their hunting-grounds
for the winter season;..."

Much has been said (and is not the subject of this
paper) about the possible origin of the American
Indian. Many have speculated and come to feel that
they may be one of the lost tribes of Israel. Could it
possibly be that they are of the tribes of Simeon
and/or Levi, who were prophesied to be scattered
because their cruelty? (Gen.49:5-7) Indeed, most
Indian tribes had a history of gross cruelty. It is
thought, and has no influence on this paper or the
subject one way or another.

The Full Moon came to be abandoned and replaced by
the two crescent moons:

From "The Crescent and the Bull" by Erich Zehren,
Hawthorne Books, New York, N.Y. 1962 it states:

"Soon two-hundred Bedouin were again working at Tell
Halaf. Many of them had been there before the war. The
salvaged sculptures represented a bull-hunt, A FIGHT
BETWEEN A LION AND A BULL, one between a man and a
lion, and other scenes. This theme, that of the sacred
tree - The Milky Way - and TWO CRESCENT MOONS, is
found all over the Near East and as far as India."
p.153.

Also:

"The Chief god of Ugarit was Baal. This word merely
means 'Lord' in the sense of proprietor or owner. The
modern world has learned to think of Baal as an evil
deity... "There is not such point in tracing the
process by which the benevolent Baazebut became the
wicked Beelzebub. It seems more important to consider
Baal of Ugarit as he was depicted on a stel in the
form of a man wearing a horned helmet. In his left
hand he holds the bole of a tree shaped like a spear.
he was a sky-god, therefore, provided with a staff
typifying the Milky Way.

"The star-goddess so often mentioned by the Bible in
association with Baal also appeared at Ugarit. An
ivory carving portrays her as a woman bare to the
waist but having a wide neck ornament. She seems to
carry a serpent in her hair. She holds a sheaf of
corn. To her right and left two horned beasts stand on
their hind legs. Thus THE STAR OF VENUS WITH THE TWO
CRESCENT MOONS - a symbol familiar ever since the time
of sumer - is here represented. An Ugarit text states:
'The virgin Anat turns to him (Baal) as the heart of a
cow goes out to her calf. As the heart of a ewe is to
its lamb, so is the heart of Anat to Baal.

Is there an analogy here between Baal and the Golden
Calf or the Lamb of YHWH, and between the star-goddess
and the Virgin? Baal does seem in fact to have been a
resurrected god, for the horns are significant of this
condition. The Israelite doctrine of YHWH must
therefore have come to terms with, OR PERHAPS AT TIMES
BEEN MERGED WITH, HIS CULT.

The Bible, however, does not refer to the question
insistently raised by the discoveries at Fennel Mound,
as to whether the conflict described in the Scriptures
between YHWH and Baal was not at bottom an argument
over the doctrine of resurrection, which the Gospel
eventually settled.

"Many other queries arise from the study of Ugarit.
They should not be answered excitedly. For knowledge
can make no progress in such an atmosphere.

"A third divinity was worshipped in the city and also
named in the Bible. This was El, meaning merely 'The
Mighty One'. The god EL was depicted on a stone stela,
seated on a throne AND HORNED. The scene is dominated
by a winged disc presenting the eight-pointed star.
Thus at Ugarit the same symbolism and view of the
world recur. It is often indeed the same picture, with
the planet Venus as a divine virgin bearing the horns
of the moon. The third god of the 'Trinity' appears in
the Near East as either the sun or some deified star
like Sirius or Jupiter.

"Such, approximately, was the message disclosed by
Ugarit. It ceased to be uttered about the time of
Moses, and can thenceforth, so far as Israel is
concerned, only be assimilated from the Old Testament
manuscripts, which it presents in a new light, that of
the sky, the extremey ancient religion of the stars.
The tradition has been hallowed ever since the most
remote eras of antiquity, the days of Sumer, Babylon,
Assur and Ur."(From "The Crescent and the Bull" by
Erich Zehren, Hawthorne Books, New York, N.Y. 1962
pg.184)

So here we find a (If not THE) 'trinity' involved with
the crescent moon before the time of Moses, and then
it ceased to exist! But it has been literally
"resurrected" again!!!

In the Encyclopedia Brittanica, 11th edition, vol. 25
pg. 138 we read:

"The tendency to centralize the powers of the universe
leads to the establishment of the docrine of a triad
consisting of Sin, Shamash, and Ishtar (q.v.),
personifying the moon, sun and the earth as the life
force".

The Trinity ceased to be mentioned about the time of
Moses. It started to rear its ugly head again in the
wilderness at Mt. Sinai, and the Israelites paid
DEARLY for it. How did this happen? Remember, THE
SERPENT WAS REPLACED BY A BULL WITH HORNS, and it was
a disguise to deceive the real symbolism:

"Behind the body lay a confused heap of bracelets,
beads, crescent shaped earrings, spiral rings of gold,
gold head ornaments and an amulet representing a glden
calf were found.

"The golden calf must therefore have been known and
worshipped by Abraham's forebears in Ur. Five hundred
years later it was still worshipped by the children of
Israel on Mt. Sinai." (From "The Crescent and the
Bull" by Erich Zehren, Hawthorne Books, New York, N.Y.
1962 pg.127)

Notice the reference in Exodus 32:4-6:

Exo 32:4 He received what they handed him, and
fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it a
molten calf; and they said, "These are your idols,
Israel, which brought you up out of the land of
Egypt."

Exo 32:5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before
it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, "Tomorrow
shall be a feast to Yahwah."

Exo 32:6 They rose up early on the next day, and
offered burnt offerings, and brought peace-offerings;
and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose
up to play.

By reading the rest of the chapter we can see that
three thousand people died that day as a result of
this sin. Why did Aaron say that this calf had brought
them out of Egypt unless they had come out of Egypt at
the time of the crescent moon?

But the deception did'nt stop there! It also had a mix
in the symbol of the ram. Notice the deception - how
evil appears as good. And remember, in this context,
the two goats on Atonement:

"When the vassal-kings of Thebes ceased to build
pyramids and transferred their funerary chambers to
the rocky gorges of the Valley of the Kings and the
Valley of the Queens adjoining it to the south, they
prayed to a new god named Amon. This deity of course
no longer represented the moon, BUT WAS NEVERTHELESS
HORNED, the horns being those of the ram.

"In view of the obscurity of the immediately preceding
period various theories may be held to account for the
rise of this divinity. But Amon in one respect was
most noteworthy. He was the god of the poor, the first
in the history of the god- like Pharaohs. His highly
surprising appearance at Thebes may have perhaps been
the work of democratic theologians who considered that
a god was need more urgently by the poor than by kings
and wealthy people. Amon was the lord of the beyond,
of peace and of silence. A memorial tablet declares:
'Thou art Amon, ord of the silence that comes upon the
voice of the poor man.' Another inscription refers to
'Amon, Protector of the silent, Saver of the poor'.

"Nearly two thousand years before the birth of Messiah
a religion of the poor arose under the symbol of the
ram, precursor of the Lamb of YHWH. Amon had also, as
representing the Beyond, to enter inot association
with the sun. For it was in sunlight, not in a dark
underworld, that the realms of the blessed la. It is
therefore intelligible that the new god soon came to
be called 'Amon-Re'.

"Amon-Re, as a popular god, knew how to char the
hearts of those who believed in him. He was, for
instance, the first god whose union with an earthly
queen resulted in a daughter, who entered Egyptian
annals as fathered by Tuthmosis I and later became
Queen Hatshepset. According to Egyptian inscriptions
the mother, Ahmose, chief wife of Tuthmosis I, had
been chosen by the gods to bear the future queen of
Egypt. It must be added, at the risk of telling a
story remarkably similiar to far later legends of
Greece and other countries, that Amon-Re deliberately
sought out the queen for the purpose of mating with
her. Accordingly, he assumed the form of Pharaoh
Tuthmosis I and 'the majesty of the god did all that
he would with the woman'. In particular Amon-Re
informed the queen that the daughter just procreated
should bear, in addition to several subsidiary names,
that of Hatshepset, meaning, the 'first of beauties'.

'Such, then,' said he, 'is the name of this my
daughter, laid in thy womb...she shall come to rule
this land in happy state.' It almost seems as though
only a god of the poor could be such a
benefactor.("The Crescent and the Bull" by Erich
Zehren, Hawthorne Books, New York, N.Y. 1962 pg.304).

There is great deception here! Remember that the sheep
will be on one side and the goats on the other. (Matt.
25:31-46) Also, we can see that Nimrod (Amon-Re) and
Ishtar are symbolically resurrected and looked upon as
GOOD!

Deception is slow, insidious and powerful. Deceit is
subtle and happens over time. ALL NATIONS have drunk
of the wine of the fornication of Babylon, and they
drink of a cup that is symbolic of the cescent moon!:

"Rathjens also gave an account of the most frequent
ornametnation of the lids and rims of ancient
receptacles of the all kinds found in southern Arabia.
This decoration took the form of clay images of bulls
with the head thrown back, SYMBOLS OF THE HORNED god
OF THE SKY, THE MOON.

"This luminary and the planet Venus were the chief
deities in all the ancient kingdoms of southern
Arabia. The high antiquity of the lunar cult is proved
by the large representations of bulls' heads which
appear on the sacred buildings of the archaic period.
A second holy animal, however, the ibex, is also
represented in decorations. It is everywhere found in
combination with the bull .- in Mesopotamia a fish is
added - and also with the crescent moon and the
Venus-star. The blend of the two animals is
occasionally expressed by a bull with the horns of an
ibex. The two forms merge into each other and are
eventually accompanied by vine-branch and wavy-line
motives. In Arabia, as in every country of the world,
the innumerable symbols of the lunar cult unite in an
obscure medly of shapes. " (The Crescent and the Bull"
by Erich Zehren, Hawthorne Books, New York, N.Y. 1962
pg.341).

The blending of religion (or mixed worship) was
deliberate and slow.

"The numbers 8 and 64 were sacred to the sky-queen or
Venus star, not to the moon. It was clear that the
ancient Arabs had already begun to blend the ideas of
the former and of Bilkis the Queen of Sheba, though
the religious symbols of the moon and Venus were also
confused. For the excavations proved that the
sanctuary of Bilkis had been dedicated to the
moon-god. At this point in the complexities of the
ancient Arab religion before the advent of Allah and
his Prophet the question arises how Bilkis was really
regarded by the Arabs, since they thought of both the
moon and the morning star, Attar, as masculine. Did
Bilkis, in short, when she visited King Solomon at
Jerusalem, bear about her person the insignia of a
horned animal and accordingly represent a moon-goddess
such as the Egyptians worshipped under many different
names?

"After Solomon had built his famous temple at
Jerusalem about the middle of the tenth century B.C.
the rumor of his wisdiom reached the Sabaen Queen and
she came, as he bible somewhat enigmatically remarks,
'to prove him with hard questions'. What sort of
questions these were can only be vaguely conjectiured
today. Their nature and cunning could only be
appreciated if we possessed a whole range of knowlege
which was at that time understood even by the children
who could neither read nor write.

"Phillips reports that in the whole of southern Arabia
not a single inscription relating to the Queen of
Sheba was discovered, not even in Marib, the capital.
The question at once arises who King Solomon's vistior
could really have been...

"There was nothing of the goat about Queen Bilkisof
south Arabia, neither horns nor hoofs. As a sky-queen
she was associated with golden bulls, or ibexes, goats
or lambs, fish and serpents. They were her 'fingers'.
But she was not herself in any of them, not a lunar
figure. She was Venus, the Biblical Ashtoreth. It is
therefore no accident that in the following chapter
(IKi.11) of the Bible Solomon is expressly said to
have 'gone after' Ashtoreth, the goddess of the
Zidonians'. It was she who 'visited him, appearing to
him in the guise of the Venus-star which fascinated
all men, the beautiful queen of heaven who looked down
upon Solomon's work on earth with admiration. Such was
the answer to the riddle with whih her visit
confronted him" ("The Crescent and the Bull" by Erich
Zehren, Hawthorne Books, New York, N.Y. 1962 pg.344)

The "fingers of Ashtoreth" need some explanation:

"The coffer in which the king kept his more important
correspondence was a dilapidated clay chest slightly
under two feet long and slightly more than two feet
high. A passage in one of the letters, apparently
written by an Egyptian general, reads: 'All that thou
hearest write to me from thence, that I may understand
it. If the finger of Ashirat sho itself, I would wish
to take heed of it and obey. And do thou report unto
me the sign and the matter thereof'.

"The reference to Ashirat is puzzling, even if
allowance is made for an obscure translation. What
could be meant by the showing of her finger?

"The 'finger' of YHWH is a familiar phrase and the
finger which wrote on the wall of the royal palace at
Babylon is also well known. But where and how could
the 'finger of Ashirat' manifest itself to King
Ishtarjashar?

"Well, Ashirat was known to be the star-goddess of
Canaan, analogues to Ishtar and Inanna. Consequently
her 'finger' could only be looked for in the sky,
where a 'finger' may be considered visible in the
shape of the crescent moon towards the end of the
month. The Egyptian general's letter accordingly,
indicated a date. When the finger of Ashirat apears,
that is to say, when the crescent moon approaches
Venus, he will expect a report. The communication,
then, was a perfectly ordinary request for action by a
certain time. Its unfamiliar phrasing need not suprise
us. One has to remember that at that period no
calendar, in the modern sense of the term, was in use.
All dates were identified from the state of the
heavens. The men of those days, deeply religious as
they were, spoke of the finger of their great
star-goddess when they meant a time just before or
just after the new moon." ("The Crescent and the Bull"
by Erich Zehren, Hawthorne Books, New York, N.Y.
pg.191)

There is a GREAT significance to this, especially in
regards to the Israelites leaving Egypt at the right
time of month, as we will see:

"The natural fact on which all the customs in question
seem to rest is the apparent monthly increase and
decrease of the moon. From this observation men have
inferred that all things simultaneously wax or wane in
sympathy with it. Thus the Mentras or Mantras of the
Malay Peninsula have a tradition that in the beginning
men did not die but grew thin with the waning of the
moon, and waxed fat as she neared the full. Of the
Scottish Highlanders we are told that "the moon in her
increase, full growth, and in her wane are with them
the emblems of a rising, flourishing and declining
fortune. At the last period of her revolution they
carefully avoid to engage in any business of
importance; but the first and middle they seize with
avidity, presaging the most auspicious issue to their
undertakings. Similiarly in some parts of Germany it
is commonly believed that whatever is undertaken when
the moon is on the increase succeeds well, and that
the full moon brings everything to perfection; whereas
business undertaken in the wane of the moon is doomed
to failure. This German belief has come down as we
might well have anticipated, from barbaric times; for
Tacitus tells us that the Germans considered the new
or full moon the most auspicious time for business;
and Caesar informs us that the Germans despaired of
victory if they joined battle before the new moon. The
Spartans seemed to have been of the same opinion, for
it was a rule with them never to march out to war
except when the moon was full.

"In this respect the Greeks were on a level with the
negroes of the Sudan, among whom, if a march has been
decided upon during the last quarter of the moon, the
departure is always deferred until the first day of
the new moon. No chief would dare to undertake an
expedition and lead his warriors before the appearance
of the crescent. Merchants and private persons observe
the same rule on their journeys." (The Golden Bough, A
study in Magic and Religion", by Sir James George
Frazer, MacMillan and Co., New York, N.Y., 3rd
edition, 1914)

The Egyptians were no different, as the letter from
the Egyptian general showed. The Egyptians would not
have pursued the Israelites AFTER a full moon! But was
such the case in the Bible? Was Passover on a full
moon? Probably not, as we will see later.

Moon worship was not unknown to the Patriarchs, and
even they had to "come out of her":

"And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had
spread his tent...and he erected there an altar
(Gen.33:18-20).

"A sacred oak grew at the spot. Jacob hid under the
tree certain idols, 'all the strange gods which were
in their hand' (not otherwise described), and also
'earrings' (Gen.35:4) which were probably, like so
many of their prototypes at Ur, for instance, of
crescent moon shape. The words used indicate that in
this case, too, the celestial model of tree and
crescent is referred to in this obscure
narrative.("The Crescent and the Bull" by Erich
Zehren, Hawthorne Books, New York, N.Y. pg.195).

Was all of this pagan worship stamped out for good? Or
did it appear again from age to age? Why is Paul so
concerned about "science falsely so called", and tells
us NOT to become involved with the philosophies of the
world?

"O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust,
avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppostitions
of science falsely so called: Which come professing
have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee.
Amen." (1Tim.6:20,21).

Col 2:8 Be careful that you don't let anyone rob you
through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the
tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and
not after Messiah.

Philosophy is HUMAN reasoning, and YHWH does not rely
on human reasoning. Here is one instance of why:


"Head-worship and head hunting have of course been
recognized in many parts of the world right down to
modern times. But it seems as though the origin of
such customs is to be found at the Jericho site. The
question why, about eight or nine thousand years ago,
the heads of corpses were cut off and buried
separately, has to be asked. And we must not shrink
form the answer.

"Was this habit due to a celestial example? For the
moon's head is also cut off, quite gradually, day by
day, until the whole head or face vanishes. There are
in fact too many memories on earth of the idea of a
beheaded or mangled moon for this possibility to be
left out of consideration. A ballad of central
Germany, even today, remarks of the new moon that its
light increases 'at the quick'.

"The reason why human beings beheaded their dead in
imitation of the process by which the moon's head
faded may lie in the fact that the lunar head is
reconstituted. If the moon, therefore, begins a new
life, why should not its perpetually repeated
resurrection not also apply to mankind" ("The Crescent
and the Bull" by Erich Zehren, Hawthorne Books, New
York, N.Y. pg.208).

Philosopy and moon-worship and the crescent moon in
particular led to the practice of head-hunting, and it
originated at JERICHO, which YHWH ordered destroyed!
What does the word Jericho mean?:

3405 - Yeriychoh - its month: from 3394

3394 - yareach - the MOON

Jericho was a pagan, head-worshipping, crescent-moon
observing society, and YHWH wanted it destroyed! They
began their months by the visible crescent moon, which
was a carry-over from Babylon and other pagan
societies. It was an abomination in YHWH's eyes! With
this information, could there be more significance
than we have realized as to why the Israelites marched
around the city SEVEN times? But that is a question
for another time.

Note that this is the ONLY place where RAMS horns are
mentioned, and specified as such. In Joshua 6 the term
"rams horn" is even questionable, as can be seen by
looking up the two words in Strongs Concordance (3104
and 7161). The reference leans more to "silver
trumpets" than rams horns. The rams horns were a pagan
symbol, and YHWH could have ordered them used this
once to mock the people of Jericho, OR to use their
own idolatry as the instrument of their own
destruction. On the other hand, the silver trumpets
could have been used as showing the true instrument
overcoming the false pagan symbol.

Ancient history is clear as to the origin of the
crescent moon and its involvment with the calendar.
But what about recent history? How could there be no
clear cut record in relatively modern history (just
prior to the time of Messiah) of calendar preparation
and observance?:

"About the middle of the second millenium B.C. the
scribes of the Near East discovered that was possible
to write on wood, leather and papyrus, using ink. They
soon found this method to be quicker and more
convienent than using a cuneiform stylus on moist clay
tablets, which had afterwards to be dried, stamped and
wrapped up so as to make them as durable as possible.

"The cuneiform characters then developed into cursive
letters, viz. written sounds. But the more popular ink
becam, the worse it was for the modern archaeologist.
For almost everything written on wood, leather or
papyrus proved impermanent on exposure. The fabric
rotted, mouldered, and at last crumbled to dust. Even
when lay tablets were inscribed with ink, atmospheric
moisture, over a long period, obliterated the marks
made.

"Thus philologists lost nearly all the literature of
the Near East for the vital concluding millenium B.C.,
except in Egypt, where the dry climate preserved a
good deal. Only cuneiform tablets and inscriptions cut
in the stone monuments survived.

"It follows that very much more is extant from the
earlier epochs of Sumerian and Akkadian history than
is available for the era from Moses to Messiah...

"The decisive last thousand years before Messiah thus
provide little material for research. Yet it was a
time during which the old star-worship throughout the
world must have changed, till in the Bible it is
hardly recognizable; though even at that date it had
not lost its spiritual power over mankind.".("The
Crescent and the Bull" by Erich Zehren, Hawthorne
Books, New York, N.Y. pg.324).

The author of this fascinating book has a clear-cut
warning for us today regarding the ancient
moon-worship:

"One fact in particular should be remembered. History
has significance in an order of magnitude almost
beyond our comprehension. It is capable of turning
back upon itsel".("The Crescent and the Bull" by Erich
Zehren, Hawthorne Books, New York, N.Y. pg.196).

So what, if anything, can we see from the history of
the calendar so far? What are the FACTS, without any
speculation or any personal opinion or conjecture?

FACT: The crescent-moon IS a symbol of Satan, the
serpent.

FACT: The crescent-moon IS the symbol of Nimrod,
Astarte, Ishtar, every pagan- Babylonian concept which
The Almighty despises.

FACT: The crescent-moon IS the symbol of the CUP which
the great whore of Revelation and all nations drink
from.

FACT: The crescent-moon IS symbolic of the golden calf
which Aaron made.

FACT: The crescent-moon IS the way by which the
Babylonians started their months. It was a pagan
"new-moon".

FACT: The crescent-moon IS seen as having overcome the
full moon and replacing it. It IS symbolic of Satan
overcoming The Messiah.

FACT: The crescent-moon WAS and IS part of the
"trinity", which was eradicated about the time of
Moses, but was "resurrected" again AFTER the death of
The Messiah.

FACT: There is a precedent for using something other
than a "visible new crescent" as a new moon.

FACT: Everywhere the Babylonian system went, the SAME
method of calendar configuration was established.

FACT: Satan had a counterfeit passover in the spring,
on the first full moon after the equinox, when a pig
was offered and eaten and it's blood consumend.

FACT: The golden calf was counter to the Lamb of YHWH,
and Ishtar was counter to Mary.

FACT: Jupiter took over as the ultimate moon-god!

FACT: Only one day a year Jupiter was honored.

FACT: The statue of Jupiter Olympus was allied with
the crescent moon. Pig blood was spilled on the altar
in the Holy Place (Temple) and it was on a full moon
when the pig was sacrificed and the flesh and blood
consumed as being part of a deity.

FACT: Satan HAS OVERCOME the saints by deceiving them
into following a FALSE religious system based on a
FALSE calendar!

FACT: The crescent moon observance IS the cup which
ALL nations drink from in committing whoredom with the
great whore, and we are told to come out of her!

{FACT: If Lunar Sabbatarians use the dark or crescent
moon as the "new moon" they are using both phases for
a false new moon and false sabbath with the last
visible crescent as the last false sabbath on a
falsely so-called 29th of the moon! When the true New
Moon is when the moon is at it's fullest and the
sabbath then is found on the 8th,15th,22nd & 29th
according to the New Full Moon Scriptural computation
of time.}

FACT: The Indian {The Native American/Israelites}
method of counting a lunation (month) was from FULL
MOON to FULL MOON, and NOT crescent to crescent. {And
NOT dark to dark}

We can see that ALL of the calendars we have looked at
so far have been of Babylonian origin in some respect.
The Babylonian calendar has OVERCOME the way of
computing times and months and seasons everywhere it
has gone, ending with the American Indian calendar in
the last century. Today time is figured by the
Babylonian method in EVERY NATION ON EARTH!

The Alarming thing about what we have just read is
that the very calendar we use today to determine ALL
of the Holy Days on is of Babylonian origin! The
Babylonian system of determining days, months, years
and seasons! Everywhere this system has gone it has
dominated and overthrown every single system in use.

So what option do we have? Certainly we have shown
that if nothing else there is GREAT confusion
surrounding the calendar. Did YHWH intend for us to
not have an answer from His Word? Would He leave such
an important concept to conjecture, speculation, or a
Babylonian system? IS the crescent-moon to be our
beginning of the month? Believe it or not, the answer
is simple and in the Word of YHWH. The Problem is to
get past our tradition and let YHWH show us what HE
intended. We need to do this thoughtfully,
prayerfully, and with our Bibles open.

Is the moon important to YHWH, or are we making a big
issue out of nothing? Here is what YHWH says:

"Thus saith YHWH which giveth the sun for a light by
day, and the ORDINANCES OF THE MOON for a light by
night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof
roar; YHWH of Hosts is His Name: IF THOSE ORDINANCES
DEPART from before Me, saith YHWH, then the seed of
Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me
forever". (Jer.31:35,36).

Also:

"Thus saith YHWH; IF My covenant be not with day and
night, and if I have not APPOINTED THE ORDINANCES OF
HEAVEN AND EARTH: Then will I cast away the seed of
Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take
any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham,
Issac and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to
return, and have mercy on them". (Jer.33:25,26).

"He appointed the MOON for seasons: the sun knoweth
His going down". (Psa.104:19).

YHWH defines things in His Word. He leaves NOTHING to
chance, speculation, "common sense", or philosophy.
Lets look at some definitions in Strong's Concordance
And The Bible:

The term "new moon" in the Bible is "chodesh", and in
Strongs it is:

2320 - chodesh - the new (moon); by impl. a month:
from

2318 - chadash - a prim. root, to be new;

To be totally honest with The Word, it has nothing to
do with the moon at all! THAT was a meaning that was
ADDED, and it confuses the issue at hand. It HIDES
what YHWH intended. The word moon in Hebrew is
yareach, and Strongs says:

3394 - yareach - the moon. From 3391

3391 - yerach - a lunation.

The name for the moon has nothing to do with chodesh,
but is an entirely different word, "yareach"! As Mr.
Frick, in his paper, stated, chodesh is figuratively
translated "new moon", but should be "new month"! The
only problem now is to determine WHEN a new month
starts. The answer MUST come from the Bible! The
vernal and autumnal equinox are nowhere mentioned in
the Bible. The moon was appointed for seasons! What is
a 'season'?

4150 - mowadah - appointment, fixed time or season,
synagogue, assembly, place of meeting.

Now let us ask another question. How was Passover
determined? It was NOT determined by figuring out what
full moon was closest to the vernal equinox. It WAS,
and still should be, determined by the green ears of
the spring crop to be harvested (which is said to be
barley). After all, Abib, the first month, means:

24 - Abiyb - to be tender; green; i.e. a young ear of
grain So how does all this tie in with "new moons"?
What does the Bible say about this subject? Does YHWH
define WHAT the 'New Moon' is? Remember the
translation of the "New Moon" we looked at earlier?
The name of the moon has nothing to do with chodesh,
but is an entirely different word, "yareach"!
"Chodesh" is figuratively translated "new moon", but
should be "new month"! The only problem now is to
determine WHEN a new month starts.

Is the new moon important? Is it considered to be a
Holy Day? It is not listed with the other holy days in
Lev. 23, but it IS listed with the Holy Days in
Numbers 28 & 29. In Numbers the sacrifices are listed
for each day, but there is a MAJOR difference between
the Holy Days and the New Moon day.

The ONLY time of the year on which the new moon is a
solemn assembly, a day when work is forbidden, is the
Feast of Trumpets, the first day of the seventh month.
This is NOT to say that there is not to be an assembly
on the new moon, for scripture says there definitely
IS to be an assembly on that day. (Eze. 46:1-6)

But WHAT is the day of the new month on which we are
to assembly? What constitutes the first day of the
month? Again, YHWH is the One who defines it, NOT MAN!
Lets look at what has been traditionally labelled as a
scripture defining the Feast of Trumpets, Psalms 81:3
:

"Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time
appointed, on our solemn feast day." (Psa.81:3)

What we have here is one specific feast day mentioned.
It does NOT say 'days', plural. It is a new moon, or
month. It is a solemn feast day. When we look
carefully at this verse we can see an interesting
definition.

A new month begins with the 'first day', obviously.
the word "first" does not just mean the numeral one.
It means, in Hebrew:

259 - echad - united, i.e. one ( or first), etc. from

258 - achad - to unify, i.e. collect, go one way or
other

So the first of the month is a time that unites
something, something that could go one way or other,
or equal parts! For example, this word is used in :

Gen. 1:5- evening and morning were the first day

Gen. 1:9- waters gathered into one place

Gen. 2:24 - two shall be one flesh

In these cases the words "first" and "one" were the
same word in Hebrew! WE will see what the first day of
the new month unites in a few minutes. But first back
to Psalms 81:3, Some use this verse to say that it is
talking about either Passover or the Feast of
Tabernacles. If it is a day in question between those
two days, YHWH would have clarified it. It is a solemn
feast day. NOT DAYS! What does "solemn" mean?

2282 - chag - a festival, or a victim therefore: -
(solemn) feast (day), sacrifice, solemnity. from 2287

2287 - chagag - a prim. root, prop. to move in a
circle, i.e. to march in a sacred procession, to
observe a festival, ect.

At first glance this would seem to indicate Passover.
However, a sacrifice was offered on every Holy Day
(including the weekly Sabbath) and on the day of the
new month! So, to make Psalms 81:3 say that it was
referring to Passover or the Feast of Tabernacles it
would have to be specific! Remember, YHWH leaves
nothing in His Law or His Word to chance or guess. So
what is Psalms 81:3 saying?

"Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time
appointed, on our solemn feast day."

The trumpet is to be blown in the new month (or moon),
on A (singular) feast day in which a sacrifice is
given, and at the appointed time! There is only ONE
DAY a year all three of these requirements can be met.
Lev.23:23-25:

"And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the
children Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the
first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a
memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall
offer an offering made by fire unto YHWH."

It is not just coincidence that in all of Lev.23,
where ALL of the Holy Days are mentioned, the blowing
of trumpets is mentioned ONLY on this day. It is NOT
mentioned for any of the other days. This is NOT to
say that the trumpets were not to be blown on other
days. In fact, quite the opposite. Numbers 10:10:

"Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn
days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall
blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and
over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they
may be to you for a memorial before your Almighty One:
I AM YHWH your Almighty."

YHWH specifically states that these are separate,
distinct occasions! Are they seperate times in
Psa.81:3?

"Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time
appointed, on our solemn feast day."

NO! If it were, it should read:

"Blow up the trumpet in the new moonS (plural), AND in
the timeS (plural) appointed, AND on our solemn feast
DAYS (plural)."

But it does NOT read that way, and we do not dare
tamper with The Word of YHWH! So back to the question,
WHAT DAY is the first day of the new month? Is it when
the first visible crescent is sighted? Is it the dark
of the moon, which is the astronomical new moon? the
answer, believe it or not, is in Psa.81:3:

"Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time
appointed, on our solemn feast day."

The term here, "in the time appointed", is the missing
element in our search. In Strongs the term is:

3677 - keceh - prop. fulness or the FULL MOON, i.e.
its FESTIVAL. from:

3680 - kacah - a prim. root, to plump, i.e. fill up
the hollows; by impl. to cover, ect.

THERE is the definition of the first day of the month!
The FULL MOON, NOT the first visible crecent or the
dark of the moon!

Some try to use Psa.81:3 to say that this has to be
referring to the Passover or the first day of the
Feast of Tabernacles, because those two days fall on a
full moon as calculated at present. The problem with
that reasoning is, there is no scripture anywhere that
states these two days will fall on a full moon. In
fact, IF the first visible crescent is used as the
first day of the month, we will always be off from one
to three days in our observance of those two days on a
full moon. We have based two HOLY CONVOCATIONS,
appointed times, on assumptions, and even then we have
missed the mark!!! Is this YHWH's way? Can we afford
to be lax in our observance? If the Israelites had
been off by one or two days, their firstborn would all
have died on the very first Passover!

Is the "astronomical" new moon (the dark of the moon),
the proper new moon? Indeed, if that is used, the
Passover and the first day of Tabernacles DOES fall on
a full moon! The answer is NO! It (the new moon) is
something that can visibly be seen. In 1Samuel 20:5
where David is talking to Jonathan we find David
saying:

"And David said to Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the
new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king
at meat. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the
field unto the third day at even."

The word "behold" is an interesting word:

2009 - hinneh - Lo! behold, lo, see!

David SAW that the next day was the NEW MOON (month).
He was showing Jonathan something that the next day
was the new moon. If the next day was to be the first
visible crescent then how could he see the dark of the
moon and KNOW what was going to happen? The first
visible crescent CANNOT be seen until it actually
appears AFTER sunset, and then it is usually visible
for only about 12 to 15 minutes. Would YHWH base an
entire HOLY calendar system around a 12 to 15 minute
sighting of a vaguely visible crescent moon? The FULL
MOON, or even the phases of the moon as it grows
closer to being full, can be seen clearly for hours
even in the DAYTIME. It CAN BE SEEN! IT is a reliable
witness! So now back to Psa.81:3:

"Blow up the trumpet in the new month, at the full
moon, on our solemn feast day."

Nowhere are the silver trumpets commanded to be blown
on the full moon AND Holy Day at the same time unless
it is the Feast of Trumpets. Nowhere is the Passover
and Feast of Tabernacles said to be observed on a full
moon. Remember the definition of "full moon:"?:

3677 - keceh - prop. fulness or the FULL MOON, i.e.
its FESTIVAL. from:

3680 - kacah - a prim. root, to plump, i.e. full up
the hollows; by impl. to cover, ect.

The Full Moon has a festival? The ONLY possible
definition that will fit is that the new month (moon)
is the day of the FULL MOON, NOT the first visible
crescent which is the very symbol of Satan!

For another interesting scripture, look at Proverbs
7:20:

"He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come
home at the time appointed." (3677 in Strongs).

{If Pro.7:20 is speaking of the 15th of the moon (a
weekly sabbath btw) then YHWH would be condoning
travelling on a weekly sabbath day! WHICH COULD NOT BE
THE CASE! but you could travel on the day of the new
full moon! see Ezr.7 the term full moon and new moon
are interchangeable in the tanakh}

In the KJV (Cambridge) the margin renders this as "new
moon", yet the word is CLEARLY "full moon" in Hebrew!
The translators knew what they were doing. But was the
message and true meaning being hidden until those that
"searched the scriptures daily to see if those things
were so" would do just that?

We have covered much in the Old Testament, but what
does the New Testament say about the "new moon"? To
begin with, look at Col. 2:16 (Greek Interlinear)

Col 2:16 Let no3361 man5100 therefore3767 judge2919
you5209 in1722 meat,1035 or2228 in1722 drink,4213
or2228 in1722 respect3313 of a holy day,1859 or2228 of
the new moon,3561 or2228 of the sabbath4521 days:

Col 2:17 Which3739 are2076 a shadow4639 of things to
come;3195 but1161 the3588 body4983 is of Messiah.5547

In Strongs, "body" is:

4983 - soma - the body (as a sound whole), used in a
wide application, lit. or fig: body, bodily, slave

Is this important? What is Pauls warning just serveral
verses previous?

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of
men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after
Messiah.

Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of The
Almighty One bodily.

The word "fulness is:

4138 - pleroma - repletion or completion; what fills
or is filled; full, fulness. from 4137

4137 - pleroo - to make replete, to cram, level up a
hollow, fill up or make full, ect.

This is almost identical to 3680 in Hebrew, from which
"full moon" comes from. This is no mere coincidence:

3677 - keceh - prop. fulness or the FULL MOON, i.e.
its FESTIVAL. from:

3680 - kacah - a prim. root, to plump, i.e. full up
the hollows; by impl. to cover, ect.

It is also no coincidence that an astronomical new
moon or even the first visible crescent is empty,
dark, and based on tradition and philosophy. The
so-called "new moon" promulgated by the Babylonians,
used by the Egyptians and adopted by the Romans was a
time of deceit, and led the Jews to AGAIN adopt the
Babylonian calendar in the 4th century A.D., which is
still used by ALL Sabbath keeping groups today!

Could all Sabbath keeping people have been deceived?
Some say that Matthew 24 is saying that the true
people of YHWH can't be. That is NOT what it says!:
Matt. 24:24:

"For there shall arise false Messiah's, and false
prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders;
insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive
the very elect."

The words "it were" are in italics, and were added by
men! The verse should read, according to the Greek
Interlinear:

"For False Messiah's will rise up, and false prophets.
And they will give great signs and wonders, so as to
lead astray, if possible, even the elect."

It IS possible for the elect of YHWH to be deceived IF
they do not "search the scriptures daily"! Look at
1Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so
that you may openly speak of the virtue of the One who
has called you out of darkness into His marvelous
light."

But, like ALL nations, the body of believers too, HAVE
BEEN DECEIVED!

Where is the proof? Rev.18:4,5: (Greek Interlinear)

"And I heard another voice out of Heaven, saying, My
people, come out of her, that you may not share in her
sins, and that you may not receive of her plagues;
because here sins joined together, eve up to Heaven,
and YHWH remembered her unjust deeds."

Notice two things here: first , "My people", YHWH's
people, are involved in the Babylonian system somehow!
They HAVE been deceived! Also, verse three tells us
that ALL nation (including the HOLY NATION) have drunk
of the wine of her fornication! Secondly, how does
this system "reach up into Heaven"? The covenant
Elohim made was composed of the ordinances of the
moon! Satan attempted to (and succeeded to a great
degree) corrupt that ordinance. The word "heaven" in
these versed is:

3772 - ouranos - elevation, the sky, by extension
Heaven (the abode of YHWH).

The moon is in the heavens, and YHWH's festivals are
determined by the moon! Does the Babylonian system
ever tamper with it? YES! Speaking of the Babylonian
system in propehecy, Daniel 7:23-25 says:

Dan 7:23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the
fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from
all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and
shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

Dan 7:24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom [are]
ten kings [that] shall arise: and another shall rise
after them; and he shall be diverse from the first,
and he shall subdue three kings.

Dan 7:25 And he shall speak [great] words against the
most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most
High, and think to change times and laws: and they
shall be given into his hand until a time and times
and the dividing of time.

If the Babylonian system succeeded in changing times,
it also succeeded in changing laws. The laws of
correct Holy Day observance. The ordinance of the
moon!

Is it any wonder, when Messiah is referred to as
light, luminous and bright, when Messiah is referred
to as light, luminous and bright, and He bases ALL of
the Holy Days on a LUNAR calendar, that He commands us
to avoid all appearance of evil (1Thes.5:22) and that
He is calling us out of darkness and into His
marvelous light? (1pet.2:9) Also look at:

Act 26:16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I
have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee
a minister and a witness both of these things which
thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I
will appear unto thee;

Act 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and [from]
the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

Act 26:18 To open their eyes, [and] to turn [them]
from darkness to light, and [from] the power of Satan
unto YHWH, that they may receive forgiveness of sins,
and inheritance among them which are sanctified by
faith that is in me.

We have to come out of the darkness of the Babylonian
system to have forgiveness of sins, and as Messiah
said in Revelation, to not receive any of the plagues
that will come upon those involved IN that system. Is
it coincidence that sanctification is mentioned here?
Does that explain why the "new moon" was sanctified
and what it represented Look at:

2Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with
unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness
with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light
with darkness?

2Co 6:15 And what concord hath Messiah with Belial? or
what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

2Co 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of YHWH
with idols? for ye are the temple of the living
Almighty; as YHWH hath said, I will dwell in them, and
walk in [them]; and I will be their Mighty One, and
they shall be my people.

2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith YHWH, and touch not the unclean
[thing]; and I will receive you,

2Co 6:18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall
be my sons and daughters, saith the YHWH Almighty.

Notice that Messiah has NOTHING, not one single thing,
in common with Belial. Beliah means:

955 - worthlessness -; Belial is an ephithe of Satan.
from Hebrew 1100:

1100 - beliyaal - withouth profit, worthlessness, by
extens. destruction, wickedness: Belial, evil,
ungodly, wicked. from 1097:

1097 - beliy - prop. failure, ie.e. nothing or
destruction, ignorantly, ect. from 1086:

1086 - balah - a prim. root; to fail; by impl. to wear
out, decay,... consume, become (make) wax old, spend
waste.

LIGHT has NO communion with darkness. What is so
significant about this? Look at Jer.31:35,36:

Jer 31:35 Thus says Yahwah, who gives the sun for a
light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of
the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea,
so that the waves of it roar; Yahwah of hosts is his
name:

Jer 31:36 If these ordinances depart from before me,
says Yahwah, then the seed of Israel also shall cease
from being a nation before me forever.

Now look at some of the ords involved here. "Light"
is:

H216

àåø

'ôr

ore

From H215; illumination or (concretely) luminary (in
every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.): -
bright, clear, + day, light (-ning), morning, sun.

H215

àåø

'ôr

ore

A primitive root; to be (causatively make) luminous
(literally and metaphorically): - X break of day,
glorious, kindle, (be, en-, give, show) light (-en,
-ened), set on fire, shine.

This light is in direct opposition to "darkness":

H2822

çùÑê

chôshek

kho-shek'

From H2821; the dark; hence (literally) darkness;
figuratively misery, destruction, death, ignorance,
sorrow, wickedness: - dark (-ness), night, obscurity.

H2821

çùÑê

châshak

khaw-shak'

A primitive root; to be dark (as withholding light);
transitively to darken: - be black, be (make) dark,
darken, cause darkness, BE DIM, hide.

This certainly eliminates the astronomical new moon
from being the "new moon". Also, a "dim" moon, like
the first visible crescent, would not suffice. YHWH
would have nothing in common with the Satanic system
of reckoning new months! Messiah has nothing in common
with anything that Satan uses! To do anything contrary
to what YHWH says in His inspired Word is wrong! If
Messiah uses the SAME "new moon" to begin His months
as the Babylonian system and Satan do, then He
certainly HAS something in common with Belial, and it
makes scripture FALSE! Now look at the word "night":

H3915

ìéìä ìéì ìéì

layil lêyl layelâh

lah'-yil, lale, lah'-yel-aw

From the same as H3883; properly a twist (away of the
light), that is, night; figuratively adversity: -
([mid-]) night (season).

This is the same word used in Jer.33:20, in Gen.1:5,
14,16 and 18, and in Deut. 16:1:

Deu 16:1 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the
Passover to Yahwah your Mighty One; for in the month
of Abib Yahwah your Mighy One brought you forth out of
Egypt by NIGHT.

When YHWH brought the Israelites out of Egypt it was
not just between sunset and sunrise. IT WAS TOTALLY
DARK, BLACK NIGHT, with NO LIGHT to guide their way,
and, as the defiition says, WITHOLDING LIGHT! they did
NOT go out on a "full moon" as we have always been
taught! They went out at midnight, at mid-season,
mid-month, IN DARKNESS when the moon was WITHOLDING
light!

This fits totally with the record of history and
archaeology. The Egyptians would not venture into any
new military or business endeavor from the full moon
until the first visible crescent was sighted! IF, as
we have always been taught, the Israelites left on a
full moon, they would have a fifteen day lead on the
Egyptian army. But that was not the case! By comparing
Ex.14:1-9 and Num.33:3-8 we can see that on the THIRD
day of their journey the Israelites came to Pihahiroth
where the Egyptian army caught up with them, and on
the FOURTH day they passed through the Red Sea. So the
Israelites were only three days ahead of the
Egyptians. From the dark of the moon to the first
crescent is two days, inclusive. The timing,
historical record, customs, manners, superstitions and
religious practices of the Egyptians all fit with
scripture when the TRUTH of the "new moon" is known!
Otherwise things don't fit and we are left to
philosophy and mans reasoning as to how things
happened and why, and how the new moon is to be
determined.

Obviously, many will think this paper to be in error.
Valid criticism and scriptural proof of something
different is welcomed and even encouraged! If nothing
else, stop and do as scripture says: PROVE ALL THINGS.
Search the scriptures DAILY to see if what your
PRACTISE is FROM THE WORD OF YHWH, or if it is
actually from the pen and philosophy of man! WHY have
we always followed the customs of this world in
determining YHWH's Holy Days? Why do YOU do that now?
What does scripture say? Is the "new moon" a day in
which we are commanded to worship? Will we do it in
the Kingdom of YHWH? see Isa 66:23:

Isa 66:23 It shall happen, that from one new moon to
another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all
flesh come to worship before me, says Yahwah.

This will NOT be a day bringing to rememberance the
PAGAN practices of Satan and Babylon, the day of the
first visible crescent!

The new moon was a time of special meeting in the old
testament, as we can see from the exapmple in

2Ki.4 where the woman took her son to Elisha for a
physical resurrection! Notice what the womans husband
says in ver.23:

"Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? It is neithe new
moon or sabbath. And she said, It shall be well."

Now we can put all of the pertinent FACTS together,
and do away with reasoning, philosophy, custom and
doctrine of men. Here are the FACTS of the new moon as
we have seen in this section:

FACT: The 19 year time cycle IS Babylonian, which the
Jews adopted and modified.

FACT: The Passover was celebreated in March in Syrian
Antioch between 328 - 342 A.D., which just so happens
to be close to the time of the Council of Nicea which
established the way Easter is figured.

FACT: The Holy Days were associated with the
AGRICULTURAL cycle, NOT the equinoxes!

FACT: The Jews Adopted the Babylonian custom of
watching for the crescent moon to begin a month.

FACT: Hillel II promulgated the present Jewish
mathematical calendar in the 4th century A.D.,
approximately 300 years AFTER Messiah.

FACT: The present Jewish calendar is NOT the one that
was in use during the time of Messiah!

FACT: According to the Jewish commentaries, they ADMIT
the present calendar system originated in Babylon.

FACT: The ordinance of the moon is part of YHWH's
covenant with Israel.

FACT: The MOON is for determining the seasons, NOT THE
SUN.

FACT: The "New Moon" is really the "New Month", and no
'visible new crescent' {or dark moon} phase of the
moon is mentioned in association with it anywhere in
scripture.

FACT: The ONLY phase of the moon mentioned in the
Bible is the FULL MOON, as in Psa.81:3.

FACT: The ONLY phase of the moon mentioned as being
associated with a "festival" is the FULL MOON.

FACT: The "New Moon", or first day of every month IS a
day of worship.

FACT: YHWH says we are to have NOTHING in common with
the pagan practices and concepts of the Babylonian
system. HE does not, And, as the Assembly of YHWH,
International so aptly pointed out, it is not a light
thing to say it doesn't really matter because "YHWH
will make all things right when HE returns". Remember,
Messiah said His Spirit will lead and guide us into
ALL truth!

{The following things can be determined by the Word of
YHWH as well as by nature see Psa.19}

{1.The BEGINNING OF A NEW Day is DETERMINED by
OBSERVING the TWILIGHT PERIOD at sunset where there is
a VISIBLE Change OF COLOR (dusk) in the sky BEFORE
complete darkness sets in to take the pre-eminence.}

{2.The New Moon is determined by OBSERVING the NEW
FULL MOON-light (which can be yellow and/or
golden/orange/red) a VISIBLE CHANGE OF COLOR (in
contrast from the previous day's waxed moon's white
color) occurs after sunset AND DURING and OR after
Twilight when the New Full Moon Rises. }

{3.The New Year (Abib) is determined by OBERVING THE
BARLEY (YOUNG GREEN EARS OF CORN). when this is
observed, The new year & first month of ABIB occurs
through observation. (tangible & visible occurences)}.

In the following illustration taken from "The Two
Babylons" by Alexander Hislop we can see how the egg
and the crescent ARE Satan's symbols, and how he
literally wraps himself around those two objects!

In the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica,
Vol. 13 p.178, we find the following under the article
"Hebrew Literature":

"Several indications favour the view of the connection
in the age of Moses between the YHWH cult at Sinai and
the moon-worship of Babylonian origin to which the
name Sinai points (Sin being the Babylonian moon-god).
We note (a) that in the worhsip of YHWH the sacred
seasons of new moon and Sabbath are obviously lunar.
Recent investigations have even been held to disclose
the fact that the Sabbath coincided originally, i.e.
in early pre-exilian days, with the full
moon."(Encyclopedia Brittanica, 11th edition New York,
Encyclopedia Brittanica Co. 1910.)

{Can we realize what they are saying? In
pre-Babylonian exile days that the Sabbath was FOUND
by the New Moon! WHICH indeed is The FULL MOON! }

In a footnote on the same page we read:

"While admitting that a special significance may have
been attached in pre-exilian times to the FULL-MOON
SABBATH, and that the latter may have been specially
intended in the combination "New Moon and Sabbath" in
the 8th century prophets (Hos.2:11, Am.8:5, Isa.1:13),
we are not prepared to deny that the instituition of a
seventh-day Sabbath was an ancient pre-exilian
tradition."(Encyclopedia Brittanica, 11th edition New
York, Encyclopedia Brittanica Co. 1910.)

"The concept of the "Trinity" which we discussed as
being composed originally of moon-worship objects is
also backed up in vol. 24, pg.138, and there is an
interesting comment:

"The name of Sin's chief sanctuary at Ur was
E-gish-shir-gal, "house of the great light"; that at
Harran was known as E Khul-Khul, " house of joys". On
seal cylinders he is represented as an old man with
flowing beard, with the crescent as his symbol."

Also, on the same page we read:

"Sin was Nannar, who was a long-bearded man whose
symbol was the crescent!".

Here we find symbolized "father time" of modern
nursery rhyme fame connected with moon-worship! YES,
it is STILL AROUND TODAY!

Now that we KNOW and have PROVED that the crescent
moon is THE symbol of Satan, the horned serpent, look
at 2 Cor. 11:3:

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds
should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Messiah.

Is there any proof anywhere in scripture that the
nation of Israel ADOPTED the calendar of Babylon, by
use of the same symbols? YES! It is through an
understanding of the symbols of the Babylonian system
that we can understand it. Remember, the symbol of the
serpent is the horned crescent moon, and it beguiled
Israel. Look at Amos 6:13:

Amo 6:13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which
say, Have we not taken to us HORNS by our own
strength?

What horns did they take to themselves? Just as Israel
opnely admitted burning cakes to the queen of heaven
and flaunted it in Jeremiah's face (Jer.44) so are
they doing the same thing here. Openly admitting
taking to themselves the very symbol of the serpent!
The word for horns here is 7161 in Strongs:

7161 - qeren (kehren) a horn, ect.

This is the SAME word used in Gen.14:5

Gen 14:5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer came, and
the kings who were with him, and struck the Rephaim in
ASHTEROTH KARNAIM, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim
in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

ASHTEROTH KARNAIM in strongs is a combination of 6252
and 7161, and combined are given the number 6255:

H6255

òùÑúÌøú ÷øðéí

‛ashterôth qarnayim

ash-ter-oth' kar-nah'-yim

From H6252 and the dual of H7161; Ashtaroth of (the)
double horns (a symbol of the deity); Ashteroth
Karnaim, a place East of the Jordan: - Ashtoreth
Karnaim.

Have we not learned what the symbol of the deity
(Ashtaroth) is?

IT IS THE CRESCENT MOON! The whore's sins, as
prophesied, HAVE reached up to heaven. ALL nations,
including the Holy Nation, have drunk from the cup,
the golden chalice that appears in the sky each month,
and establishes the Babylonian calendar! Is it any
wonder that YHWH says He HATES and DESPISES OUR feast
days? The ones we THINK we are keeping to YHWH? When
we keep the Passover on the SAME full moon that was
honoring JUPITER, the same time the body of a pig was
eaten as being symbolic of the flesh of a god, What
does YHWH think? YHWH brought Israel OUT of Egypt, a
land that practiced that rite on the first full moon
after the vernal equinox. He gave Moses a NEW calendar
system, and said, NOT to learn the ways of the
heathen, nor to practice nor remember their days of
worship. Would YHWH use the SAME DAY and just change
the symbol FROM A PIG TO A LAMB? What about the rest
of the Holy Days? Has the Assembly of YHWH based all
of the Holy Days on a FALSE "new moon"?

The conclusion is yours.