The following is a paper I found beneficial during the course of my research and studies. I hope you will find it useful also. ~NeorahYah Germaine Yisra'el~
New Moon Deception
“ ... the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”(1)
YHWH desires all men to be saved and come to knowledge of the truth (2.) He desires all turn to from sin and return to Him (3). In Scripture, sin is symbolized by darkness whereas righteousness, the opposite of sin, is symbolized by light.
Darkness and light are evocative words in Hebrew. Darkness evokes everything that is anti- God: the wicked ( Prov 2:13 ), judgment ( Exodus 10:21 ), death ( Psalm 88:12 ). Light is the first of the Creator's works, manifesting the divine operation in a world that is darkness and chaos without it. While light is not itself divine, it is often used metaphorically for life ( Psalm 56:13 ), salvation ( Isaiah 9:2 ), the commandments ( Proverbs 6:23 ), and the divine presence of God ( Exodus 10:23 ). In the first creative act, "God saw that the light was good" ( Genesis 1:3 ).(4)
Since it is YHWH‟s desire that all men return to Him, He shows the way. He does not hide the way to those who truly desire to return to Him5, but enlightens the way as a lamp lightens a path when we are walking in the dark of night.(6)
The path, road and way to return to YHWH comes from Light because it comes from Him who is Light (7). On the path we encounter darkness because sin is darkness and we must turn away from sin to return to Him (8). After turning from sin/darkness, the path of return to Him is progressively lighter as we learn to reflect more and more of His righteousness, just like the change from darkness to light that happens at the dawn of each new day (9).
Through the nation of Israel, YHWH chose to reveal the way to return to Him, because through Israel YHWH has given the instructions, the Torah – the covenant (contract, agreement, requirements) of the relationship. Israel‟s infidelity to the covenant relationship with YHWH exemplifies (10) all mankind‟s unfaithfulness to our Creator through sin/darkness, and through Israel we have been given His feasts (11) of covenant (relationship) renewal.
There is one Torah (12), one covenant, one way/door (13) to return to YHWH. The Messiah, the Light of the world (14), is the way (15) – He is the covenant renewal (16), the way to return to YHWH. Through these great truths, we see a pattern: LIGHT to DARKNESS to LIGHT
'Seek ye YHWH while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto YHWH, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our Elohim, for he will abundantly pardon.' ~Isaiah 55:6~
The Feasts of YHWH – Covenant Renewal
After the exodus from Egypt and giving the instructions of the covenant relationship, YHWH, anticipating Israel‟s infidelity (17), gave His feasts of covenant renewal. These appointments are given by YHWH, the Authority of the covenant relationship, to explain and make provision for the renewal of the relationship that is broken because of sin, unfaithfulness, infidelity to the covenant. YHWH‟s appointments are to be kept at specific times according to Leviticus 23. All YHWH‟s appointments fall on a day that is counted from the beginning of a month and as the cycle of the moon determines the length of the month, Psalm 104:19 states “He made the moon for appointed times”. One commentary explains:
'He appointed the moon for seasons. ~ Genesis 1:14-18~
That is, the moon, as well as the sun, is appointed to divide time; to determine its progress; to indicate the return of festival occasions, or appointed times to be observed in any manner. It is, in fact, the foundation of the division of the year into "months," and consequently the indication of all that is to be observed in the "months" of the year. (18)
In order to count to the appointed times we have to know where to start, so YHWH has given us the rosh of the chodesh – the head or beginning of the month. It is for the Rosh of the chodesh (19) that this paper is written.
__________________________ 12. Leviticus 24:22 13. John 10:7, 9 14. John 8:12 15. John 14:6 16. Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25 17. Deuteronomy 31:15 18. Barnes’ Notes on the Bible: http://bible.cc/psalms/104-19.htm 19. http://www.scribd.com/doc/44005302/YHWH-is-the-Rosh-of-the-Chodesh
YHWH’s Definition of the Head of the Month
Biblical scholars emphasize that the way a word is first used in Scripture helps define its subsequent use. With this in mind, and although all translations of Scripture have the influence of human opinion, assumption and tradition, it is striking to note the neglect of the use and meaning of the terms 'first' or 'head‟ of the month after the first 5 books.
The term 'first day of the month' is used 11 times in the first 5 books of Scripture, as either 'first day of the month' or 'beginnings of your months'. Every time Moses uses the term (6 times in the 5 books), the word translated as 'first' is the Hebrew echad (Strong's 259).
The first time YHWH uses the term in Exodus 40:2, He uses the word 'rishon' from 'rosh' (Strong's 7223 and 7218 respectively). The remaining four times that YHWH uses the term within the first 5 books, He uses 'rosh' twice and 'echad' twice. Rosh is also the word YHWH uses to define the 'beginning of months' (head of the year) in Exodus 12:2. Therefore, rosh seems to be YHWH’s preferred word to define the head/beginning of the month.
The words echad and rosh signify a whole and present a picture of fullness. In addition to the cardinal number, echad means united, i.e. One.
“Hear O Israel: YHWH is our Elohim, YHWH is One.” (20)
Echad is from achad (258), which Strong's describes as: “Perhaps a primitive root; to unify, i.e. (figuratively) collect (one's thoughts); go one way or other.” Some scholars also see a connection between echad and yachad (3161) which means “to be united” as in:
'Teach me Your way, O YHWH; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.' ~Psalm 86:11~
Rosh means head, as the top of a man's body. The ancient pictograph of the letter 'R', resh (21), is the picture of a man's head. The word rosh has the exact same spelling and meaning. As we would expect, rosh/head means authority, leader, chief, captain, first, foremost, summit, top, etc. Rosh is an exalted word for exalted things. The form of rosh used in the first verse of Scripture, reshith, is described by one author as “anything that is pre-eminent and that is worthy of the paramount task of testifying to the greatness of its Creator.” (22) YHWH Himself is rosh; 'head above all.' (23) The sum/rosh of His word is truth. (24)
___________________________ 20. Deuteronomy 6:4 21. http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/3_resh.html 22. The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet, by Rabbi Michael L. Munk 23. 1 Chronicles 29:11 24. Psalm 119:160 3
These two words, echad and rosh, are the qualifiers that YHWH has given to the word chodesh/month to designate the first day of the cycle. To ignore or reject these words is to take away from His Word (25).
From Head of the month to ‘new moon’
From the perspective of Scripture and original usage, the Hebrew word for month, chodesh (2320), has changed in meaning over time. As pointed out earlier, according to the KJV, every time chodesh is translated in the first 5 books, the translated word is 'month.'. The translation of chodesh to 'new moon,' does not occur until 1 Samuel 20:5 in the KJV; and in all translations the word chodesh is translated as 'month,' typically 90% of the time. As one fellow student explains, 'If you cannot use a particular word to translate every verse the Hebrew word is used in, even if it is a bit awkward, then that word cannot be used.'(26)
The translation of chodesh to 'new moon' was: 1. Not originally used in Scripture. 2. Does not consistently fit in Scripture. 3. Is translated as such only 10% of the time in Scripture. Although Strong‟s explains chodesh as: 'new moon, a month'; a concordance is not a dictionary.
The Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew gives this definition of chodesh: being new; renewing; month; renewal of the moon; thirty days. The cognate meaning: expand strongly.
Note that the term 'new moon' is not listed as a definition. There is a vast difference between our modern understanding of new moon (dark or crescent), and renewal of the moon. The renewal of the moon is its lunation; its full cycle, as defined in this encyclopedic reference: Lunation: the period of return of the moon (luna) to the same position relative to the sun; for example, from full moon to full moon. Its duration is 2 9.530588 4 days.” (27)
There is no dark new moon in Scripture. There is no 'yareach chadash' in Scripture. The closest thing in Scripture to a crescent moon is the Hebrew word 'saharon' (28) used only three times and never used in relationship to chodesh.
The modern concept of ‘new moon’ as dark or crescent is not supported in Scripture.
_________________________ 25. Deuteronomy 4:2 26. Is there a ‘new moon’ in scripture? http://www.wholebible.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=28 27. 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica: http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Lunation 28. Judges 8:26, 8:21; Isaiah 3:18 4
Renewal is a follow-on process. Regarding the covenant relationship with YHWH, renewal follows repentance and forgiveness. Renewal begins after the darkness of sin is confessed, repented of and forgiven; then begins the process of renewal and return.
YHWH does not change (29) nor is He a God of disorder (30). It is entirely consistent with Him that, as is true with the man, is true with the moon; as is true with the covenant, is true with the chodesh. Renewal is a follow-on process.
Rebuilding of the Moon, or the observable days of renewing, cannot begin until after its conjunction, midpoint with the Sun. Chodesh (rebuilding) begins at conjunction, but it is not the New Moon, rather it is the beginning of a process toward a New Moon. Renewing, by definition, implies that it is a follow on process, but follow on to what? The Moon must renew because the waning Moon phases returned the observable Moon to a dark Moon at conjunction; making renewal (Chodesh) necessary. (31)
In the above quote, the author uses the term 'new moon' to define the new month.
Through ignoring or rejecting the words echad and rosh as the qualifiers for chodesh/month, we have strayed from the true head of the month. Or rather, rejecting the true head of the month, we've been given over to deception.
The Doctrine of Lunar Sympathy and the Exodus
Did the Exodus happen on the full moon as traditionally taught? The 'doctrine of lunar sympathy' is a term used by one scholar to define the superstition to which most, if not all, ancient peoples adhered.
“... the doctrine of lunar sympathy applied also to the affairs of man ... 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. ... 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 out his warriors before the appearance of the crescent." (32)
If the Exodus was on the full moon, the Egyptians would have gone after the Israelites during the waning moon phase, which was considered a period of declining fortune.
____________________________________ 29. Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; James 1:17 30. 1 Corinthians 14:33 31. http://eliyahsmessage.com/time.pdf 32. Adonis Attis Osiris: Studies in the History of Oriental Religion, by James George Frazer
"The increase and full growth and wane of that satellite are the emblems of a rising, flourishing and declining fortune. No business of importance is begun during the moon's wane." (33)
Some scholars suggest it was only a three day journey to the Red Sea. (34) If the Exodus occurred on the full moon, Egypt would have been tempting disaster by immediately pursuing the Israelites because of the portentous waning moon. Based on 'lunar sympathy,' it is far more likely that the Exodus occurred on the dark moon, when YHWH executed judgment against Egypt's idols. (35) As previously stated, judgment is associated with darkness in Scripture. Two thousand years after the Exodus, at the time of the Messiah‟s death, the Spirit proclaimed judgment against the ruler of this world; (36) and when the Savior was being arrested after His betrayal by Judas, He reasoned with His captors:
'Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour-when darkness reigns.' (37)
There is no doubt that the Egyptians worshipped the sun, moon and stars – the hosts of heaven. This is what all nations apart from Israel were given over to do. (38) But because of rejecting YHWH as rosh/head, Israel was eventually given over to worship the hosts of heaven too. (39)
The Golden Calf and the Crescent Moon
During the time Moses received the first tablets of instruction; the Israelites quickly turned aside from Yah's way (40) and made an idol in the form of a calf. Scholars believe this idol was a symbol of the Egyptian moon god, whose horns represented the crescent moon. (41) Through this idol, were the people accrediting the moon god and the crescent moonwith their deliverance from Egypt? This is exactly the opinion of one scholar of archeology:
'It has more than once been suggested that the name Sinai is derived from that of the Babylonian moon-god Sin. So it appears natural enough that in the Bible narrative Mount Sinai, from which the Law was delivered, is closely connected with events concerning the Golden Calf. It was at this mountain, for instance, that the image was cast from gifts of gold contributed by the people.'
'Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: And they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.' ~Exodus 32~ __________________________________ 33. Moon Lore, by Timothy Harley 34. http://www.genesisfiles.com/Exodus_RedSea.htm 35 Exodus 12:12 36. John 16:11 37. Luke 22:53 38. Deuteronomy 4:19 39. Zephaniah 1 40. Deuteronomy 9:12 41. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_(mythology)
In other words, (they were saying that), the new light of the Crescent had guided the Israelites out of Egypt. (42)
Rejecting YHWH as Rosh, Replacing Him with Idolatry, Resulting in Deception
Scripture clearly teaches a pattern of rejection, replacement and deception. This process began in the Garden of Eden (43) and is repeated throughout history to this day. This is what Israel did through rejecting YHWH as rosh/head, (44) 'whoring' after false gods (45) and being deceived through, and into idolatry. (46)
When a marriage relationship is severed due to unfaithfulnesss, the character of the covenant relationship, the unity and fullness, the echad and the rosh, are lost. When YHWH is rejected as Rosh, the relationship with Truth is severed and religion (idolatry) replaces both the relationship and the Truth. The emptiness of religion replaces the oneness and fullness of the relationship.
The spectrum of man's religion runs the gamut from syncretism at best, to satanism at worst. The religions of Judaism and Christianity are the most illusory because they are a subtle blend of true and false teaching, whereas satanism is recognizable as blatant witchcraft.
Through religious tradition, YHWH's Name has been replaced with titles and names of idols and YHWH's Word has been added to, taken away from and ignored. Our rejection of YHWH as Rosh and replacement of Truth with syncretism and lies, leads to deception and darkness, emptiness and death.
YHWH's Feasts of covenant relationship renewal, point to the Messiah; and the Messiah points back to the Feasts to explain the covenant relationship. Judaism has the feasts but not the Messiah. Christianity has the Messiah, but not the feasts. Neither understands the full covenant relationship because YHWH, the Rosh of the relationship, has been replaced by religion/idolatry, and both Judaism and Christianity are deceived.
Judaism denies the perfection of YHWH's Word through dependence on the Oral Law, yet most look to Judaism for the Feast calendar, and they say: “Only through knowledge of the Oral Law is it possible to determine and proclaim the New Moon; which in turn, makes possible the determination of the festivals.”(47)
__________________________________________________ 42. The Crescent and the Bull, by Erich Zehren 43 Genesis 3:13 44. 1 Samuel 8:7; Isaiah 1:4; Jeremiah 15:6 45. Hosea 9:1 46 Hosea 7:11 47. The Wisdom of the Hebrew Alphabet, Rabbi Michael L. Munk
The truth about the covenant relationship that YHWH desires with us, and has provided for us through the Messiah, has been obscured through the deceptive, modern 'new moon' teaching. The process of renewal can only be seen in the head of the month, Full Moon Chodesh. The cycle that begins with full light, descends to darkness, and then is renewed to full light is the cycle that displays the spiritual reality of relationship renewal.
'Forever O YHWH, your Word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations!' (48)
To build the spiritual concepts of the teachings of Light, we have to come to the understanding of the principles of two forces of nature (light vs. darkness, life vs. death, love vs. hate, law vs. lawlessness, cleanness vs. uncleanliness, righteousness vs. wickedness, wisdom vs. foolishness, perfection vs. imperfection) as we see them daily in this world. Blessed are the chosen ones that build on the foundation of Light to eternity.