The New Full Moon.
Then the CREATOR said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the
heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs
and seasons and for days and years. (Genesis 1:14)[1] (KJV).
See an animated moon image HERE.
The New Full Moon.
The full moon, is the new moon of scripture.
Observing the New Moon[2] is another way that the ETERNAL has chosen to separate those unto Himself who are obedient to Him. Many of us who came from the idol worshiping pagan world around us, our first separation from the world was to keep the Sabbath. At the start of our separation, we kept the Sabbath somewhat hesitantly, but now, we keep it as a treasured haven of peace with the CREATOR of the Universes.
Keeping the Sabbath makes us different, but we are not alone. There are Jewish folk, Adventists, and people from the various ex-Armstrong groups all seemingly doing the same thing; keeping the Sabbath. From that level of obedience, the ETERNAL moves us to another level of separation--keeping the Scriptural Calendar. If you accept the very clear evidence that the ETERNAL spells out in the Hebrew Scriptures - Old Testament or (Tanakh), you will know when the new Full Moon is and when the feasts and festivals are. However, only a very few people will see and understand the importance of keeping HIS feasts and HIS festivals at HIS appointed times.
I am sure we all understand that the people of Israel had a lunar calendar. The movement of the moon in the sky indicated the months and years. In that wonderful time before clocks and appointment diaries, the people of Israel knew when the most important events of their year were to take place. The Torah has clearly spelled out the beginning of the New Year. The New Year begins on the first Full Moon after the barley sprouts and is green and tender in Israel. The feasts and the fast are all determined by the Full Moon.
The Full Moon rises in the east. Why do you think, in Ezekiel's prophecy of the Third Temple (Ezekiel 46:1-12), the East Gate of the Temple will be opened on the day of the New Moon? The answer is because then we can watch through the Temple gate and see the Full Moon rise!
It is possible to tell in advance which day the New Full Moon will occur, so that we can prepare our celebrations (1 Samuel 20:5-26). Those who look for a non-moon (dark of the moon) or a pagan crescent sliver of light in the sky only know after the event that it happened.
Unfortunately, when the Jews fell into the error of looking for the sliver of light in the sky, people no longer understood how to determine the occurrence of the Full Moons and consequently the new year and feasts. By observing the sliver of light in the sky it required a committee to decide when the new month began, thus, setting themselves up as the authority. Today, rabbis are looked to as the authority on the New Moon instead of the ETERNAL. Even though, all through time, revelation of the ETERNAL's Will has been made clear and precise in the (Tanakh) and He has never authorized a mediator to alter His Word. Those who refuse to follow the ETERNAL's Way have fallen into a idol worshiping pagan life-style that does not conform to the ETERNAL's Instructions. We are required to listen to the ETERNAL and to obey the ETERNAL. Rebellion to His Word and Will is SIN.
Listen To What The Eternal States:
(Isaiah 1:14) (ESV) Your new moons and Your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
It is because the first day of their month is not established by the Full Moon; therefore, they are not keeping His Appointed Times. Furthermore, if any of us are not using the ETERNAL's new Full Moons to set His Appointed Times, then it is a burden to Him and He is weary of bearing it. Do you think that a person who takes the ETERNAL's Rules and twists them to conform to their own way is pleasing Him? Obviously, the answer is "NO!" The ETERNAL does not accept "a near miss" as being good enough. It does not please Him if we keep the feast but miss the appointed day by a few weeks or even just a few days.
It is not acceptable to the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE for us to have our own calendar, our own dates, and our own festivals. You read that already! He detests OUR New Moons and OUR appointed times. The ETERNAL expects our love, worship, and obedience. He will absolutely not accept anything less!
Gideon And The Crescent Symbol.
The story of Gideon illustrates the danger of the crescent moon fallacy. This is not a minor difference of opinion about the moon between consenting adults. This is no small thing! The decision to keep the correct New Moon is about choosing to be obedient to the ETERNAL CREATOR or sinking into idol worshiping paganism! (Judges 8:21-28) (AMP)
The Midianites (Ishmaelites) wore gold crescent moon symbols. Gideon took those symbols (above), and melted them down to make an ephod of gold turning those idol worshiping pagan symbols, into a symbol on the outer garment of the High Priest (below).
Even using the gold of the crescent moon idols to make an ephod became a snare to Gideon because all Israel played the harlot with it (by worshiping the ephod instead of the ETERNAL). This shows that the ETERNAL not only detests using the crescent moon to determine His Holy Convocations (Leviticus 23), He also detests these idol worshiping pagan symbols even if they are made into a righteous symbol.
The New Full Moon.
The New Full Moon, the luminary that dominates the night sky (Genesis 1:14-19), is the sign the ETERNAL uses to show us HIS Times. It is a sign of separation. Like Gideon, we who obey and are separated, will be few in numbers. We too will tell people who fear the ETERNAL to be separate and to go back to the One they came from. We will be open to the guidance of the ETERNAL and with HIS help we will prevail. In addition, we will not bend the knee to worship baal by observing the non-moon (dark of the moon) or the pagan crescent moon.
People who use the non-moon or the crescent moon as a symbol or as a means of calculating the days of the ETERNAL are in error. See: (Psalms 81:4), (Tanakh). They continue today in the fatalistic steps of the ancient Midianites by integrating the crescent moon into their lives and a modern innovation of using a non-moon is equally as bad.
Those of us who love and obey the ETERNAL will make His Ways our priority. We will prove all things for ourselves, determine precisely what the Scriptures say, and then conform to HIS Way.
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.
[2] The Full Moon IS The New Moon: (Psalms 81:3), (Tanakh).