New Moon Days
Page 3
At first Greg was thoroughly puzzled, but slowly his focus was drawn to the “continual” week of the Gregorian calendar. He had grown up in this system of time-keeping and had never questioned the existence of a seven-day week. Creation week and the seventh-day Sabbath solidly anchored a seven-day week in the Scriptures. Occasionally he had puzzled that there was no naturally occuring seven-day cycle backing the week, but always he assured himself that Yehuveh protected His Sabbaths and, therefore, the existing calendar must be right. [He never connected Daniel’s statement of changed “times and laws” to this matter of the week. Daniel 7:25.] Now suddenly all this confidence unraveled and he was astonished at what was opening to him.
Both the Gregorian time-keeping system and Yehuveh’s Time System have counted seven-day weeks, which allows both to appear to be in harmony with the Scriptural command to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. However, in the Gregorian system these seven-day weeks follow one another in a ceaseless and unbroken sequence, literally “continually,” without any regard to the movements of the sun or moon. By contrast, according to Genesis 1:14 every aspect of Yehuveh’s time-keeping system is foundationed in the movements of the sun, moon, and stars. Even the seven-day week, therefore, must be connected to cycles of the moon.
Greg was puzzled; what was he missing? After further prayer and reasearch, Yehuveh began to open the matter to his mind. Yehuveh’s Time System is foundationed on a very simple and regular moon-established month of an average of twenty-nine and a half days. This could not synchronize with a continuously counted week in any fashion, but if the month is understood to be four counted seven-day weeks followed by a two- or three-“evening-morning”-day adjustment time every aspect of the matter is resolved. Suddenly he clearly understood what the New Moon days were all about! These two or three days at the beginning of every month synchronize Yehuveh’s counted seven-day weeks with the moon phases every month! When the first crescent moon is sited, this adjustment is complete and a new month begins. Yehuveh designated these “extra” days as Sabbaths; they have no part in the “working days.” These monthly Sabbaths provided the same opportunities at the beginning of each month that weekly Sabbaths provided weekly. Ezekiel 46:1-3.
One problem still mystified Greg. Leviticus 23:15-16 states: “Ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto Yehuveh.” How could he count seven Sabbaths or seven weeks, include these adjustment days, then add one more day, and still come out with fifty days? This time spanned three months and would include at least two and potentially up to four “extra” days. The only resolution Greg could come to was that in Yehuveh’s way of marking time these adjustment days are counted together as a single transition time and spoken of singularly in Scripture as the New Moon day (the first day of the month). See full Scriptural support for counting the adjustment New Moon days as a single day in Uncounted Days.
The New Moon day serves two profound purposes. First, it provides an adjustment time every month to keep mankind’s activities and Sabbaths synchronized with the astronomical movements. Secondly, as a monthly Sabbath it provides for additional rest, re-evaluation and planning, and instruction from Yehuveh. This monthly interlude in the counted seven-day week cycles is an exceptional blessing to humanity, keeping us in active relationship with Yehuveh and in balance with natural forces and influences.
Why would humanity want to turn from this simple natural time-keeping? That question started Greg on a bit of research which utterly astonished him. The primary motivation behind the “continual” week was economic, the second separation from Yehuveh. Yehuveh’s Time precludes planning far into the future since the timing of the following month is not established until the crescent moon is sighted. This decidedly limits long-range economic activity and expansion, as contrasted to the continual week which permits men to make their plans almost infinitely into the future. Additionally, when the leaders of ancient human governments wanted to turn attention from Yehuveh’s laws to their own, they found that removing the New Moon days by establishing the “continual” week disconnected men from Yehuveh’s true Sabbath instruction and from all His ways!
Gael Bataman
Originally Written: 28 August 2005
Latest Update: 12 November 2009
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