Investigate the Benefits of a 'New Moon' Celebration.

Join with us in celebrating the next "New Moon": FRIDAY, APRIL 12 6002 (2002)

It should be easy to agree that God works according to PATTERNS - and has designed all of creation to conform thereto. We see everywhere how He operates in "cycles" of varying lengths. The weekly cycle - the Sabbath day of rest. And we all recognize the yearly cycles - we celebrate the same yearly & seasonal festivals and holidays. Why is it so hard to imagine that He has established a MONTHLY cycle for us, His children?
I will very shortly prove to you beyond a doubt that the New Moon is a monthly event that every follower of Jesus would do well to celebrate - THAT is not hard to do, the biblical injunctions and patterns are OVERWHELMING (to a thinking person). But more importantly, (and a more difficult feat) will be to prove to you that ***YOU*** WILL BE BETTER OFF if you will but follow the schedule that was established by A FATHER THAT LOVES YOU and only wants the best for you.

Please take a moment to review the 18 different references to the New Moon celebration.

The first issue that simply must be addressed are the words of our dearly beloved brother Paul/Saul;

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. Col 2:16

Of course, we have all been taught to believe that this verse means that you don't need to honor the Lord on the New Moon. We are told that Paul really meant that the old testament laws have been done away with and not to be followed or acknowledged at all... The only problem with this statement is that it is in VIOLENT DISAGREEMENT with the words of The Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth!

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." Matthew 5:17,18

I will not here debate on Paul's writings and ministry (alternative views of Paul are available). We need to simply decide whom we will believe - Paul or Jesus...
Can I just throw one off the wall idea by you? Could it be that the reason why Paul went out of his way to explain how "dead the law is" because he himself felt so "tweaked" by his upbringing about "the Law", that when he came into his later Christian years, that that is what he would question and discuss in some detail. From personal experience, I can remeber 20 years ago when I was first awakening from Catholic upbringing and I realized that Mary is not the God that she had been made out to be. At first I was ANGRY with Mary! I lashed out AT MARY (mentally). Then in time I realized that it is not her fault that people ever use her as a tool of deceipt. I believe the same here with Paul - he's talking about something that had previously been really tweaked for him. How did Paul's words get so distorted over the years? Be prepared for a shock here...

So back to the words of Jesus Christ;
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come to fulfill them.. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law"
And then there are the 20 verses in the gospels with Jesus being quoted as saying;
Follow Me
So what do you think? Should we really Follow Jesus? Since He lived the perfect life, should we do the same things that He did? Should we follow in His footsteps in every way possible (or only on those things that our leaders have "taught' us about Him?)
Just ask yourself; after looking at the evidence, is it likely that while on earth Jesus Christ honored His God and Father on the New Moon?

Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27

This corresponds perfectly with Ezek 46;
"This is what the Sovereign LORD says: The gate of the inner court facing east is to be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon it is to be opened. On the Sabbaths and New Moons the people of the land are to worship in the presence of the LORD at the entrance to that gateway. Ezek 46:1,3

The special enablement of the Lord is "opened" on the Sabbath and New Moon. It is YOUR CHANCE to get ALL that the Lord has available for you!! Why keep your back turned to Him in ignorance on the day of the New Moon when you can enjoy an extra measure of His presence - His enablement for the month to come.

Let's take a look at the 'associations' in the above verses - we should be able to discern the celebration by the company it keeps... In the above verses, the New Moon celebration is repeatedly mentioned with the Sabbath day of rest (4th of the 10 Commandments), and with the "appointed feasts" (Lev 23) .
Further analysis of these verses show that they were all mentioned together in the same verse and in the same context in 3 separate places: 1 Chronicles, Nehemiah and Colossians.
Again, Lev 23 is central location for information about "the appointed feasts". It was to be the blueprint for the generations to come to be able to conform to Gods will and schedule. The phrase that we see most repeated in Lev 23 (vss 14, 21, 31, 41) is; "This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live." In your observation, did the Jews to whom He spoke wind up living beyond the confines of Israel? Yes, they were dispersed throughout the nations of the earth in 70 AD. Do we continue to observe feasts like passover, firstfruits, pentecost, atonement and tabernacles? YES, they have "lasted to this day"... (although Christendom has chosen their own versions of these special days and added a few - Easter, Halloween, Christmas, etc)
Next we see that the New Moon is associated only with the "appointed feasts" alone on 2 different occasions: Num10:10 and Ezra. The New Moon is associated with the Sabbath alone on 4 occasions: 2 Kings, Isa 66, Eze 46 and Amos. Pretty strong company, eh? Don't you wish that half of the doctrines that you believe in had half as much evidence as this?
Oh, and "should we be celebrating it still to this day? From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD. Isaiah 66:23

But now, back to our main idea within this subject;

***YOU*** WILL BE BETTER OFF

if you will but honor your father, and obey Him who fashioned the patterns and injunctions in His word for our BENEFIT!!!

"`This is what the Sovereign LORD says: The gate of the inner court facing east is to be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon it is to be opened. Ezekiel 46:1

Are you one of those few people who SEEK the Lord? Do you desire to know HIM and be changed to His likeness? The bottom line here is that His SPECIAL ENABLEMENT is available to you ON THE ACTUAL DAY OF THE SABBATH AND NEW MOON! He says that during the six working days the "gate of the inner court" is to be shut, but on these two days, it is OPENED. This is your chance to "go up into the mountain" with (Moses and) the Lord Jesus Himself, the GATES ARE OPEN.
The "key" word here is ENABLEMENT - and who wants it... There is only a small remnant of people whom He expects to find diligently PREPARING, as a bride prepares herself for the arrival of her betrothed. Are you one of them? Then take the opportunity that your Father has given you - seek Him when He "opens the gates to the inner court"...
Really, it's a matter of respect. If you love and respect your Father, you will worship and honor Him according to HIS schedule - not your own, nor that of the church, nor the popes, nor ......

"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering." Luke 11:52

You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men." Matthew 15:7-9

Thank you for visiting. I pray that you are challenged to read on..

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