How The ETERNAL Measures Time.
How The ETERNAL Measures Time.
What are the ETERNAL's appointed times of
worship, and how can you know for certain?
Heaven's Holy Days.
Moses took a tent and pitched it far outside the camp of Israel. He called it Tent Mo'edim [The Tent Of Meeting]. This was not the tabernacle in the midst of the camp. That sanctuary had not yet been built. Tent Mo'edim [The Tent Of Meeting], was a common ordinary tent set aside for a special purpose: meeting the CREATOR at His appointed times:
(Exodus 33:7-11)[1] (NIV) 7Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it The Tent Of Meeting. Anyone inquiring of the ETERNAL would go to The Tent Of Meeting outside the camp. 8And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the ETERNAL spoke with Moses. 10Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. 11The ETERNAL would speak to Moses face to face*, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
*It is claimed in (John 1:18, and John 6:46) that no man has seen the face of the ETERNAL. Maybe they should take a closer look at scripture, and stop blindly believing everything they are told, while they are playing attending church.
Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it The Tent Of Meeting. Anyone inquiring of the ETERNAL would go to The Tent Of Meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the CREATOR spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. The CREATOR would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Mo'edim is translated as: appointed time, congregation, assembly, days, sign, synagogue, season, and feast. This list of words does not capture the full meaning of the Hebrew word, however. Mo'ed is used in a broad sense for all religious assemblies. It was closely associated with the tabernacle itself. The CREATOR met Israel there at specific times for the purpose of revealing His will.
Of the various meanings of mo'ed, 'appointed time' is the most basic. Because the Creator is very specific about which times are appointed for worship, He created a time-keeping system, a luni-solar calendar, visible in the heavens, by which His 'appointed times' [mo'edim], are to be calculated:
(Genesis 1:14-19) (KJV) 14And the CREATOR said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; 15and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16And the CREATOR made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17And the CREATOR set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and the CREATOR saw that it was good. 19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
The lights in the heavens were designed to measure time by their movement. Without movement there is no time measurement. The sun was given to measure days and years. The moon measures months, or lunations, as a part of a year.
The [lunar] month starts with 'New Moon Day', followed by six work days and the 'Seventh-Day' of rest. This smaller seven-day segment of time, which there are always four of within the [lunar] month, was established at Creation.
The luni-solar calendar of Creation, was designed to restart the monthly cycle with each 'New Moon Day'. Thus, every time a date is given for the True Scriptural Seventh-Day Sabbath, it is always the 8th, 15th, 22nd or 29th day of the lunar month. For a deeper study on this topic, see the article: "The Lunar Calendar Of The Scriptural Sabbath".
The Almighty CREATOR, and SOVEREIGN of the universe, designated the moon specifically for announcing His 'appointed times' [Mo'edim] of worship: He appointed the moon for 'seasons' (Strongs #H4150 'mow-ed'), (Psalm 104:19). In other words, He created the moon for mo'edim, His appointments for worship.
Scripture lists nine appointed
times for worship:
1. New Moon Day (Psalm 81:3).
2. Seventh-day Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3).
3. Passover (Leviticus 23:4-5).
4. Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:5-8).
5. Wave Sheaf (Leviticus 23:9-11).
6. Feast of Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:12-14).
7. Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:23-25).
8. Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26-32).
9. Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-36).
(Leviticus 23) (NIV).
These divinely appointed times can only be found on a calendar that uses the moon for time measurement. (Leviticus 23) quotes the CREATOR as saying that the Seventh-Day Sabbath and the yearly feasts are all His mo'edim, His times appointed for worship.
And the ETERNAL spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts [appointed times] of the ETERNAL, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts [appointed times].
The Creator's Scriptural Calendar, Showing Sabbaths
On The 8th, 15th, 22nd, And 29th Days Of The Month.
(Click image to enlarge).
Biblical Lunar-Solar Calendar.
Every time a date is given for a Seventh-Day Sabbath in Scripture, it is always the 8th, 15th, 22nd or 29th of the lunar month: 'Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the ETERNAL in all your dwellings.
'These are the feasts [appointed times] of the ETERNAL, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times [mo'edim].
'On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the ETERNAL's Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread [And the priest] shall wave the sheaf before the CREATOR on the day after the Sabbath.
You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath that you bring the Wave-sheaf, seven Sabbaths. They must be complete. Then after the seventh Sabbath, you shall count fifty days, when you shall present a new offering to the Everliving. For a deeper study on the Feast of Firstfruits, see [Pentecost] in the article: "Objections To The Lunar Sabbath".
'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. Also on the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you. 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the ETERNAL. 'These are the feasts [appointed times] of the ETERNAL which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations [in addition to] the Sabbaths of the ETERNAL'.
(Leviticus 23) firmly establishes that the Seventh-Day Sabbath, and the yearly feasts, are all mo'edim: times appointed for worship. They are all precious gifts, calculated by the Creator's designated luminary, the moon:
(Genesis 1:14) (KJV) And the CREATOR said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.
(Psalm 104:19) (KJV) He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.
In addition to being the measurement of time, the Creator assigned the heavenly lights to function as a 'sign of loyalty' which separates the obedient from the rebellious. The CREATOR's Scriptural luni-solar calendar system, is the main 'sign' that separates the Children of Light from the Children of Darkness:
(Exodus 31:13) (KJV) Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the SOVEREIGN that doth sanctify you.
Throughout all eternity, the universe will unite in pledging their loyalty to the Creator by worshipping Him at His 'appointed times', His [Mo'edim]:
(Isaiah 66:23) (KJV) And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the ETERNAL.
Do you want to pledge your allegiance to your Creator? Why not join with His faithful and loyal followers, in heaven and on earth. Worship the Almighty CREATOR, and SOVEREIGN of the universe, at His appointed times, calculated by His Scripturally ordained time-keeper; the moon.
Footnotes:
[1] [a]All scriptural links point to the Bible Gateway, A Searchable Online Bible In Over 100 Versions And 50 Languages, located at "BibleGateway.Com", a vast biblical resource containing all the major texts and reference materials useful for in-depth bible studies. Most scriptual quotations are from the (KJV) of the Bible, however versions noted in (parentheses) should also be consulted. [b]All Strong's scriptural references point to the Blue Letter Bible Lexicon, located at "BlueLetterBible.Org", another vast biblical resource which has over 4,000,000 links available, pointing to more than 165,000 pages of concordances, lexicons, dictionaries, commentaries, images, and several Bible versions.