New Year Moon

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000066" FACE="Arial" ><B>Church of God, In Truth</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>   |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church of God, In Truth"><B>home</B></A><B> | </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Postponements and Hebrew Topics"><B>Up Level</B></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Why Count 177 Days Backwards?">Why Count 177 Days Backwards?</A>   |   <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dehioth: The Rules of Postponement">Dehioth: The Rules of Postponement</A>   |   <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Why was Passover a month late in 1997?">Why was Passover a month late in 1997?</A>   |   <A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Did You Take the Second Passover in 1997">Did You Take the Second Passover in 1997?</A>   |   <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Have You Robbed God of Holy Time?">Have You Robbed God of Holy Time?</A>   |   <A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Does It Matter to God?">Does It Matter to God?</A>   |   <A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Questions to Ask?">Questions to Ask?</A>   |   <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Building Gods Calendar!">Building God's Calendar!</A>   |   <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Postponements and the Mark of the Be">The Postponements and the Mark of the Beast</A>   |   <A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Which New Year do You Keep?">Which New Year do You Keep?</A>   |   New Year Moon   |   <A HREF="id204.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Man made traditions">Man made traditions</A>   |   <A HREF="id210.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The gray areas">The gray areas</A></div> <div>    |   <A HREF="id235.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Why Passover April 14th, 2003?">Why Passover April 14th, 2003?</A>   |   <A HREF="id255.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ten reasons why Postponements are wrong">Ten reasons why Postponements are wrong</A>   |   <A HREF="id379.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Question about Postponements">A Question about Postponements</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#0000BF" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <B>Church of God, In Truth</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Why Count 177 Days Backwards?">Why Count 177 Days Backwards?</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dehioth: The Rules of Postponement">Dehioth: The Rules of Postponement</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Why was Passover a month late in 1997?">Why was Passover a month late in 1997?</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id59.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Did You Take the Second Passover in 1997">Did You Take the Second Passover in 1997?</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Have You Robbed God of Holy Time?">Have You Robbed God of Holy Time?</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Does It Matter to God?">Does It Matter to God?</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Questions to Ask?">Questions to Ask?</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Building Gods Calendar!">Building God's Calendar!</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Postponements and the Mark of the Be">The Postponements and the Mark of the Beast</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Which New Year do You Keep?">Which New Year do You Keep?</A></div> <div> <B>New Year Moon</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id204.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Man made traditions">Man made traditions</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id210.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The gray areas">The gray areas</A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id235.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Why Passover April 14th, 2003?">Why Passover April 14th, 2003?</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id255.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ten reasons why Postponements are wrong">Ten reasons why Postponements are wrong</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id379.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Question about Postponements">A Question about Postponements</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>New Year Moon</I></div> <bR> <div> Church Of God, In Truth<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Kristen ITC" >                         </FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >                     </FONT></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> TEL: 909-737-0559</div> <div> P.O. BOX 2109 CORONA, CA. 92878-2109</div> <div> FAX: 909-279-7302</div> <div> E-MAIL: cogit@flash.net</div> <div> WEB PAGE:</div> <div> Http://home.flash.net/~cogit</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Feb. 13, 2002</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Dear Brethren,</div> <bR> <div> When does God's 2002 festival year begin?   The Church of God, in Truth has been asked the question, “Why do you keep the new moon nearest the “spring turn” or equinox for the first day of the new year?”  When other Churches of God want to keep the new moon after the spring equinox for the first day of the first month!  Some even “postpone” the day of the new moon by one or sometimes two days.  <B>Here is an example</B>: <I>“Using 6:00 p.m.</I> <I>as the start of a new day: make the sunset AFTER that conjunction DAY 1 of the new year (Day 1 of the 1</I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><I>st</I></FONT><I> month).  Do this consistently--irrespective of what day of the week that happens to be, and irrespective of what time of day the conjunction is shown to occur.  Examples: IF the conjunction occurs at 5:25 p.m. on a Monday, THEN make TUESDAY (which starts 35 minutes later at 6:00 p.m.) Day 1 of the 1</I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><I>st</I></FONT><I> Month.  IF the conjunction occurs at 6:33 p.m. on a Monday evening, THEN make WEDNESDAY (which starts Tuesday evening at 6:00 p.m.) Day one of the 1</I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><I>st</I></FONT><I> Month.' </I>“Calendar proposal Dec. 1999, A Calendar for the Church of God Today” By Frank Nelte, page 5. </div> <bR> <div> Confused?  The above proposal postpones the conjunction of the sun and the moon even more than the calculated Hebrew calendar!!  God inspired the Apostle Paul to say, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.  Let all things be done decently and in order”[1 Cor 14:33, 40].  </div> <bR> <div> Even while Israel was still in Egyptian bondage, God's instructions to Moses were crystal clear:  “This month [30 days] shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you”  (Exo. 12:2).    God, nowhere in scripture appointed vegetation [as at the time of creation], to determine the beginning of a day, month or year (Gen. 1:14).  Moses, when explaining to Israel about the first month of the year, called it “Abib” or “green ears.”   Moses had simply looked around and saw the barley crop was in green ears and said, “This day came you out in the month Abib” [Exo. 13:4].    </div> <bR> <div>            By keeping the new moon nearest the spring equinox [turn] for the first day of the first [30 day] month, we keep both Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread in the Spring season when green ears are still fresh and new.   God's inspired word reveals that after the terrible plagues and prior  to the Exodus 12 Passover,   “...The flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.  But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: <B>for they were not grown up</B>” (Exo. 9:31-32).     </div> <bR> <div>     According to the SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 1, page 539-540, commentary on Exo. 9:31-32,  “V. 31,  “<I>Flax”  Information concerning the crops that suffered indicates the approximate time of year in which the plague occurred.  The Egyptians cultivated flax because they preferred linen garments.  The priests wore nothing but linen.  “Was bolled”  Better, “was in blossom.”  This would point to the end of January or the beginning or of February.  “Barley” The barley crop was in ear about the same time, commonly being cut in March.  Barley was raised largely for the production of beer, a common beverage among the ancient Egyptians.  It was also used for horse feed, and was made into bread by the poorer classes.  V. 32, “Wheat” in Egypt the wheat harvest began about a month later than the barley harvest and continued until the early part of April.  “Rie”  Rye was not grown in Egypt and it is generally agreed that the Hebrew word here translated “rie” was in reality “spelt”, an inferior kind of wheat now ordinarily raised in Egypt as an after crop.  As the monuments show, it was grown more commonly in ancient times than it is today.  Being sown simultaneously with wheat, it would also ripen about the same time, in late March.  The remark that the flax and barley had been destroyed, but the wheat and spelt had escaped major harm, shows that the plague of hail must have occurred at either the end of January or the beginning of February.” </I></div> <bR> <div> This indicates while Israel was in Egypt [not Palestine], Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread could <B>not</B> have occurred at the end of April and continue into May,  as those that count from the first new moon <B>after</B> the spring Equinox contend.  That would make their holy days fall on  April 26<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >th</FONT> for Passover and April 27<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >th</FONT>  to May 3,<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" > </FONT> 2002 for the days of Unleavened Bread.   They are keeping the second full moon [second month] in this solar year.</div> <bR> <div> The wave sheaf offering was never kept for 40 years Israel was in the wilderness.   We no longer look to a wave sheaf offering except for the purpose of counting  Pentecost. Christ, the true wave sheaf, has been offered and accepted, once and for all time, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father.</div> <div> Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong said in his booklet “How Often Should We Partake of the Lord's Supper” page 7 & 8: “<I>This date, 14</I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><I>th</I></FONT><I> Abib, is calculate by the moon.  The first day of the new years always begins with the [</I>new moon<I>] day nearest the spring equinox</I>.” </div> <bR> <div> What was the weather like in the first month of green ears [Abib] at Christ' trial?    We will let three of God's servants answer that question for us, starting with Luke, who tells us Christ died in a month when it was cold.  “And when they had <B>kindled a fire</B> in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them” (Luke 22:55).   “And Peter followed Him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and <B>warmed himself at the fire</B> ” (Mark 14:54).  “And the servants and officers stood there, who had <B>made a fire of coals</B>; <B>for it was cold</B>: and they <B>warmed themselves</B>: and Peter stood with them, and <B>warmed himself</B>” (John 18:18).  As you can read from God's inspired word, Christ's crucifixion occurred during a period of cold weather.   In Palestine, a fire in the second month of the year is not necessary- especially if that month fell in late April or early May.   </div> <div> Here in Southern California, which closely matches the weather in Palestine [not Egypt where it is warmer and where Israel still resided prior to the exodus], the temperature is already reaching into the 80's and 90's during the last part of April and May.  All grasses in our fields and hillsides are turning brown, drying up and no longer in “green ears” as scripture requires for the first month of the year.  </div> <bR> <div> On page 40 of the February 2001, “Calendar” editions of the “Prove All Things,” states our beliefs that the new moon nearest the spring equinox begins the new year: “<I>By keeping the new moon nearest the spring equinox [with Passover </I><I><B>on or after</B></I><I> the spring turn], spiritual Israel will keep both the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles at the turns of the year and well within a [30 day] months boundary of the </I><I><B>turn.</B></I><I>   Meaning, we are not to go outside of the range of a 30 day month from the turn [equinox] for keeping God's Holy Days.  We are to keep the Holy Days at the turns.  These turns keep you in the proper appointed times, even when there is a leap year.</I></div> <bR> <div> <I>Some groups always keep the new moon </I><I><B>after</B></I><I> the spring equinox, some years they keep both the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles too late in the year!  </I><I><B>Some years as late as Nov. 1</B></I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" ><I><B>st</B></I></FONT><I><B> for</B></I><I> </I><I><B>the Last Great Day! 41 days passed the turn</B></I><I>.  When keeping the new moon nearest the spring equinox [with Passover </I><I><B>on or after</B></I><I> the equinox], we always keep the Holy Days within a months  [30 days] window of the turn of the year!  God strongly indicates that we should always keep Passover on or after the spring equinox and with the boundary of a month of days.  By keeping “</I><I><B>Passover on or after”</B></I><I> the spring turn--guarantees only one Passover per festival year.”</I>  </div> <bR> <div> God says the moon is for appointed times [seasons]!  “He appointed the moon for seasons....” (Psa. 104:19).  The equinox guarantee only one memorial Passover will be observed per solar year.  God's true calendar keeps the lunar and solar year harmonious and accurate and all within the limits of a 30 day month.  God's calendar, not only maintains the month in their seasons - at the turns, but also makes use of every sign that God has ordained in the heavens.</div> <bR> <div> When looking at history, we find that the Catholic Church changed Passover to Easter.  The true Christians kept Abib 14<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >th</FONT> for Passover.  The Catholic Church did not want to keep the Jewish time or date, so they changed Easter to the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox!  This dispute was known as “Quartodecimani.”   <I>“They were called  the “Quartodecimani” because they [</I>true<I> </I>Christians<I>] kept the true Passover celebration instead of Easter.”</I> Quote from: “A True History of the True Church,” by Herbert W. Armstrong, page 15.</div> <bR> <div> Also in the “96 Encyclopedia Encarta” under “Easter:”  “<I>Rulings of the Council of Nicaea on the Dates of Easter. Constantine the Great, Roman emperor, convoked the Council of  Nicaea in 325.  The council unanimously ruled that the Easter festival should be celebrated throughout the Christian world on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox; and that if the full moon should occur on a Sunday and thereby coincide with the Passover festival, Easter should be commemorated on the Sunday following.  Coincidence of the feasts of Easter and Passover was thus avoided.” </I></div> <bR> <div> It is plain from history and the early true Christians, that the Holy Days of God were always kept at the <B>first</B> full moon after the spring equinox - when the weather was on the cold side!</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> In Christian love,</div> <bR> <div> <I>James Russel</I></div> <bR> <div> James Russell, Elder</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> P.S. </div> <bR> <div> The Church of God, In Truth will be using the day of the moon and sun conjunction, March 13, 2002 for the first day of God's new year.</div> <bR> <div> Passover                                 March 26, 2002</div> <div> 1<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times New Roman" >st</FONT> Day of Unleavened Bread   March 27, 2002</div> <div> Last Day Unleavened Bread    April 2, 2002</div> <div> Pentecost                               May 19, 2002</div> <div> Feast of Trumpets                  Sept. 6, 2002</div> <div> Day of Atonement                  Sept. 15, 2002</div> <div> Feast of Tabernacles              Sept. 20, 2002    to   Sept. 26, 2002     </div> <div> Last Great Day                      Sept. 27, 2002</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Write, call, fax or e-mail us for the up-dated and revised booklet, “Postponements, Another Mystery of the Ages”</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>