Message re-posted from The True Sabbaths And New Moons Group:
From: "yahwehcommunity" <YahwehCommunity@webtv.net>
Date: Wed Mar 30, 2005 7:28 am
Subject: Neither Green Ears Nor The Equinox Is Mentioned In Gen 1:14
Neither Green Ears Nor The Equinox Is Mentioned In Gen 1:14
Sent to us by "Kevin"
Shalom brethren,
This year has brought some interesting discussion concerning the first
Scriptural month. Many believe that the first Scriptural month can not
begin until after the vernal equinox while many believe it can, but at
the same time many on both sides say that the equinox has nothing to do
with determining the first Scriptural month.
I sent out a short note to some which stated I believe I can prove
without doubt that the first Scriptural month can begin before the vernal
equinox and the expected response was, Show me Scripture & verse that
states such! I wish it were as simple as listing a Scriptural verse
which states such but it's not. Those who claim that the new year cannot
begin until after the vernal equinox do not have Scripture & verse
stating such so why do they expect those who say that the new year can
begin
before the equinox to have Scripture & verse stating such? The simple
fact of the matter is that we have to do some reasoning of our own to
figure out what the Scriptures are saying, and the simple fact of the
matter is that spring begins before the equinox. It is a man made rule
that says spring begins at the equinox but it is evident from nature
that things begin to spring back to life from the dead of winter before
the equinox.
Genesis 1:14 is often used to say that the new moon which is after the
vernal equinox is the first month of the year, but the vernal equinox
is not even mentioned in this verse of Scripture. Also, Genesis 1:14 is
used to say that the new moon that occurs when the green ears of barley
appear in Israel is the first month, but green ears of barley is not
mentioned in this verse of Scripture either. However, with reasoning,
both sides make some good points. One side will point out how unreliable
it is to use green ears of barley to determine the first month of the
year because of the ability to manipulate the growth of crops these days
so the crops can mature earlier and earlier and the other side will
point out that there is not one mention in Scripture that the equinox is
used to determine the first new moon.
Personally, I believe that because neither green ears nor the equinox
is mentioned in Genesis 1:14 that both sides are vulnerable to error
when determining the first Scriptural month, because it is true that man
is manipulating the growth of crops, but I also believe that it can be
proven that by example in Scripture that the first Scriptural month can
begin before the equinox. However, it will take me some time to put
that information together. Yahweh willing, by next year I will have that
put together, but for now I will leave you with some info that also has
helped me to conclude what I have concluded, that the first month of
the year can begin before the vernal equinox.
Many are familiar with the works of Josephus. In relation to when the
Passover is to be observed he wrote,"In the month of Xanthicus, which
with us is called Nisan, and begins the year, on the 14th day by lunar
reckoning, the sun being then in Aries, our lawgiver, seeing that in
this moon we were delivered from bondage to the Egyptians, ordained that
we should year by year offer the same sacrifice..." (Josephus,
Antiquities 3:10:5, quoted from the book The Festivals and Sacred Days
of Yahweh
pg 219/220. Their web site is: http://www.yahweh.org)
Also found in the book The Festivals and Sacred Days of Yahweh
concerning the beginning of the year it is stated that "Anatolius
points out
that the more ancient Jews (i.e. those under Sadducean authority) and the
conservative Quartodecimans both observed the same reckoning for their
first month of the year. Anatolius points out that among those who
correctly began the year were the eminent third century B.C.E. priest and
scholar Aristobulus of Paneas, the second century B.C.E. book of Enoch,
and the first century priests and writers Philo and Josephus.
(Anatolius, 3) Anatolius then writes:
'These writers, in solving some questions which are raised with respect
to the Exodus, say that all alike ought to sacrifice the Phasekh after
the vernal equinox in the middle of the first moon; and that this is
found to be when the sun passes through the first segment of the solar,
or, as some among them have named it, the zodiacal circle. But this
Aristobulus also adds, that for the festival of Phasekh it was necessary
not only that the sun should pass the equinoctial segment, but the moon
also...and since the day of the Phasekh is fixed for the 14th day of the
moon, at twilight, the moon will have the position diametrically
opposite the sun; as is to be seen in full moons.'" (Anatolius, 3f; pg
455/456)
With the understanding that the new year then was calculated by the sun
being in Aries then it becomes clearer what was meant in Gen 1:14 when
Elohim 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," The determining factor of when Yahweh's
moadim are has nothing to do with green ears of barley, although it is at
that time of year when the Passover is observed, being the first month
of the year, and when the first month of the year begins has nothing to
do with the new moon occurring after the vernal equinox, although at
times the first month of the year does not begin until after the vernal
equinox.
Now then, are we to still go by these very instructions to begin the
new year? obviously not, because if we were to still go by when the sun
is in Aries then Passover would veer further and further away from the
equinox, from the procession of the equinox, and further and further
away from the season which it represents, the barley harvest. So, what is
the answer?
The book The Festivals and Sacred Days of Yahweh goes on to say on page
456, "The first month of the year, therefore, is determined under the
Aristocratic system when the 14th day of the moon passes the spring
equinox. If the 14th day of the moon falls before this equinox, that month
is counted as part of the previous year."
I believe that there is plenty of evidence to support this criteria and
it is what I use for the basis to determine the first Scriptural month
of the year. However, I do double check the timing of when the Feast
of Tabernacles will be in this calculation because we are specifically
told in Exodus 23:16 that "...the feast of ingathering...is in the end
of the year..." And in Exodus 34:22 we are instructed, "And thou shalt
observe...the feast of ingathering at the years end." Some have
determined that the word "end" in this verse of Scripture is referring
to the
autumnal equinox. Although there is no Scriptural support that the
feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement be at the years end but
Scripture does state that the feast of ingathering (Tabernacles) is to
be at
the years end. Thus, if the feast of ingathering is not at or directly
after the autumnal equinox then I believe that the calculation of the
first month is in error.
With this evidence I believe that this year, 2005, the first month of
the Scriptural year should begin with the moon just prior to the
equinox, because everything falls into place. Passover will be
observed on the
first full moon that is after the vernal equinox, there would be green
ears of barley availible for the wave sheaf offering if we were to
still make such an offering, and by using the moon that is just prior to
the vernal equinox that puts the feast of ingathering right at the
autumnal equinox as instructed in Scripture.
Conclusion:
It is reasoned by many that because our savior is the savior of the
world, not just the Jews, then there must be some way for those who are
not in the vicinity of Israel to check for green ears of barley to
determine when Yahweh's appointed times are and I believe that there
is. The
sun, moon and the stars are given for our determination of Yahweh's
appointed times, if we only knew how to read them. (Gen. 1:14) I don't
proclaim to know how to read them as of yet, but history tells us that
the way some have determined the first Scriptural month was from using
the first full moon after the vernal equinox. By using this method one
does not have to be in the land of Israel to determine if there are
green ears of barley, but it is likely that there will always be green
ears
of barley by the first full moon that is after the vernal equinox in
order to have the wave sheaf offering.
Please note below that I have listed other sources that collaborate
with this info. Although some of the info listed below has to do with the
setting of the date for Easter, the date for Easter was established
from the date of the Passover.
I hope that this info will in some way help all who are determined to
keep Passover at Yahweh's appointed time.
Yahweh bless,
Kevin
From site:
www.alphalink.com.au/~sanhub/godstime.htmNote that errors of up to 2 hours are probable for 30 A.D. reckonings,
and therefore important implications are consequent as seen in the
table below which uses U.S. Naval Observatory astronomical calculations
obtained from the Internet.
(http://riemann.usno.navy.mil./AA/data/docs/SpringPhenom.html).
ASPECTS OF GOD'S TIME
© Orest Solyma May, 1997
The Church of God in Williamstown
WEB SITE:
www.alphalink.com.au/~sanhub/index.htmTHE BIBLICAL CALENDAR
Genesis 1:14 tells us that the sun and moon [hence a solar-lunar
calendar] are for "signs and for seasons (mo'ed = time(s); season(s);
festival(s); assembly), and for days and years." The LXX confirms this
translation. Targum Neofiti [See the note following this paragraph]
has (Gen
1:14): And the Lord ['according to the decree of his Memra' [i.e.,
YHWH]] said: "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to
separate the daytime from the night, and let them act as signs and
(sacred)
seasons [times] and so that the intercalation of moons (and) months may
be consecrated by them." (The Aramaic Bible, (translated by Martin
McNamara M.S.C.); T and T Clark, Edinburgh, 1992). Another Aramaic Targum,
Pseudo-Jonathan, says: God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament
of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as
signs and as festival times, and for counting the reckoning of days,
and for sanctifying the beginnings of months and the beginnings of years,
the intercalations of months and the intercalations of years, the
solstices, the new moon, and the cycles (of the sun)." (The Aramaic Bible,
(translated by Michael Maher M.S.C.); The Liturgical Press,
Collegeville, MN, 1992).
It is accepted that these Aramaic Targums pre-date the apostolic times
and so are quite valuable in revealing the earlier Jewish understanding
of Genesis 1:14. The NEB has "as signs both for festivals and for
seasons and years." The NJB has "let them indicate festivals, days and
years."
Ps 104:19 supports Gen 1:14 with the remarkable statement that God
appointed the moon for seasons [festivals], which are agriculturally-based
and typify the harvests of God's saints (1Cor 15:20,23,24). The NEB and
the NJB translate 'festivals' for 'seasons' in Gen 1:14.
The month with the Passover, Abib, is specifically commanded by the
Lord as being the beginning of the year (Ex 12:2; and also see Ex 13:4;
23:15; 34:18; 40:2,17; Lev 23:4-6; Num 9:1-3; 20:1; 28:16; 33:3; Dt
16:1-3; Josh 4:19; 5:10; 1Chr 12:15; 27:2-3; 2Chr 29:3,17; 30:15;
35:1; Ezr
7:9 [see NIV footnote]; 10:17; Neh 2:1 [see NIV footnote]; Est 3:7 [see
NIV footnote]; Ezk 29:17; 45:18,21 [Ezk 45 has a millennial setting!]).
This beginning symbolises the redemption of the Israel of God from the
world's system (Gal 1:4; Rev 14:4), and the typology of the Passover
lamb foreshadows the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29; Rev 5:6-6:1; 14:1-4). Clearly,
the first month of the year symbolises what is first in the sequence of
salvation, and determines all that follows. The religious leaders of
Judaism, as described in the Gospels, rejected the Son of God (Jn 8:19;
16:3), and not surprisingly their spiritual ancestors determine the
calculations for the calendar from 1 Tishri (the day commemorating the
return of Jesus the Messiah (1Cor 15:51-53; 1Th 4:14-16; Rev 20:6; Lev
23:23-25), who is still not recognised.
"The observation of the autumnal equinox, i.e., 'the going out of the
year' (Ex. 23:16), and of the spring or vernal equinox, called 'the
return of the year' (1 Ki. 20:26; 2 Ch. 36:10 KJV), was important for
controlling the calendar and consequently the festivals. Thus the year
began
with the new moon nearest the vernal equinox when the sun was in Aries
(Josephus, Ant. 3.201 [better to see Ant. III.x.5]), and the Passover
on the fourteenth day of Nisan coincided with the first full moon (Ex
12:2-6)." (The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, J. D. Douglas and N.
Hillyer, editors, IVP, 1980; Article Calendar, Vol 2, p. 223).
The present Jewish calendar, often termed the Hillel calendar, is of
more recent derivation than generally known. There is no doubt that the
postponement system, according to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, was not
fully in place until the eleventh century and is not really the product of
Rabbi Hillel II from 358 C.E., even though it is commonly attributed to
him. We should recognise that we are confronted with either the
observance of God's Festivals or the observances of a calendar with
postponement rules based on rabbinical traditions. The intent of the
Catholic
calendar is to avoid agreement with the original Jewish calendar and the
current Jewish calendar avoids agreement with the almost universal
Christian calendar (the Eastern Orthodox churches excepted). For example,
the Catholic observance of Easter Sunday was 30th March, 1997, whereas
the Orthodox Easter Sunday was 27th April, 1997. The Jewish Passover was
on the night of 21st April. The Roman observance is based on the early
(Nicean) arguments which related to the avoidance of the original
Jewish observance:
"The Easter controversy raged in the early Church and still exists
between the Western and Eastern churches. The final conditions arrived at
in the West are that Easter must be kept on the Sunday after the paschal
moon (the calendar moon whose fourteenth day falls on or after the
vernal equinox), reckoned from the day of the new moon inclusive" (The
Encyclopedia of Religion, (MACMILLAN, 1987, ed. Mircea Eliade), Vol 10, p.
86). The 1997 spring new moon (Jerusalem time) was on the night of
8th-9th March.
"Since the majority of early Christians were Jewish converts, it is
understandable that from the outset the Christian calendar was governed by
the fact that the death and Resurrection of Christ had taken place at
the time of the Jewish feast, the Pasch, or Passover, celebrated on the
14th day of the month of Nisan, i.e., at the full moon following the
spring equinox" (New Catholic Encyclopedia, (McGRAW HILL, N.Y., 1967),
Vol 2, p. 1062). Please note that the larger groups observing the
Passover season follow the rabbinical traditions. Scriptures and
historical
support for non-rabbinical practice are denied.
THE CALENDAR OF CHRISTIANITY
It should be noted that there is a lack of postponement rules indicated
in the early Church (admittedly Catholic, but nevertheless pertinent to
our decision-making on these matters of determining what calendar
Christians ought to observe). The key postponement rule used by the
Catholic
Church is that Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the Paschal
(full) Moon.
A post-Nicaean letter from the emperor, Constantine I (306-337C.E.),
further illustrates the kind of calendrical problem we are confronted
with.
"Constantine, august, to the churches. ...
When the question arose concerning the most holy day of Easter, it was
decreed by common consent to be expedient, that this festival should be
celebrated on the same day by all, in every place. ... it seemed to
every one a most unworthy thing that we should follow the custom of the
Jews in the celebration of this most holy solemnity, who, polluted
wretches! having stained their hands with a nefarious crime, are justly
blinded in their minds. It is fit, therefore, that, rejecting the practice
of this people, we should perpetuate to all future ages the celebration
of this rite, in a more legitimate order, which we have kept from the
first day of our Lord's passion even to the present times. Let us then
have nothing in common with the most hostile rabble of the Jews. We have
received another method from the Saviour. A more lawful and proper
course is open to our most holy religion. In pursuing this course with a
unanimous consent, let us withdraw ourselves, my much honored brethren,
from that most odious fellowship. ... As it is necessary that this fault
should be so amended that we may have nothing in common with the usage
of these parricides and murderers of our Lord; and so that order is
most convenient which is observed by all the churches of the West, as well
as those of the southern and northern parts of the world, and also by
some in the East, it is judged therefore to be most equitable and
proper, and I pledged myself that this arrangement should meet your
approbation, namely that the custom which prevails with one consent in
the city
of Rome, and throughout all Italy, Africa and Egypt, in Spain, Gaul,
Britain, Lybia, the whole of Greece, the diocese of Asia, Pontus and
Cilicia, would be gladly embraced by your prudence, ... and to have no
fellowship with the perjury of the Jews. And, to sum up the whole in a few
words, it is agreeable to the common judgment of all, that the most
holy feast of Easter should be celebrated on one and the same day." (A
Historical View of The Council of Nice; with a Translation of Documents by
Rev. Isaac Boyle, D.D.; (T. Mason and G. Lane, New York, 1839), pp.
51-4).
This letter of Constantine reveals a high level of manipulation of
political power, propaganda, and religious coercion. Furthermore, roots of
anti-Semitism in Western culture are seen in the world government of
the day.
"It will suffice here to say that a decision seems to have been arrived
at in the Council of Nicaea, which, though it is strangely absent from
the canons of the council as now preserved to us (Turner, Monumenta
Nicaena, 152), is believed to have been determined that Easter was to be
celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon which follows
the spring equinox" (Catholic Encyclopaedia, 1913; obtained from
Internet: 'New Advent' Catholic Supersite
(http://www.knight.org/advent/cathen/03158a.htm#easter).
It is worthwhile and a little entertaining to see how the last larger
bastion of resistance, Britain, fell to the onslaught of calendrical and
further religious distortion. The British historian and bishop, Bede
[c.672-735 A.D.], in his The Ecclesiastical History of the English
People, especially in chapters 25-26 of Book III, has much to say
about the
synod and the discussions presided by King Oswy [612-670], particularly
between Bishop Colman and the Rome enthusiast, the Abbot of Ripon,
Wilfred, in the monastery of Streanaeshalch [i.e., the historic Synod of
Whitby of 664 A.D.].
"Bede makes it very clear that the calculation of the date of Easter
was not a merely technical or isolated issue. The movement of Easter was
one of the many things which argument in terms of symbols (as we would
say, but symbol is for us a limiting word, mysteries they would say)
showed to be loaded with significance. Easter had to be just at the
equinox, for the lengthening days represented Christ's triumph over the
powers of darkness. It had to be in the first month of the lunar year, for
this was the month in which the world had been created and in which it
ought to be newly created. It had to be as the moon was about to wane,
for the moon turns from earth to heavenly things [See Rev. 12:1; Mal.
4:2; Lk. 2:32; Isa. 60:1-3]. It was appropriate that Easter should
always fall within a space of seven days, for seven was a number of divine
significance. Considered from another point of view, Easter was to be
calculated in such a way as to fulfil both of the Old Law of the Jews and
the New Law of Christ. If it was celebrated at the right time, then all
was in harmony." (Introduction, p. xviii, by James Campbell, who
translated Bede's EH for The Great Histories Series by Washington Square
Press, N.Y., 1968).
Before quoting directly from Bede let us look at a footnote (no. 44,
pp. 400-1):
"Both the Celts and their opponents agreed that Easter was to be
calculated by reference to the full moon which came on or first after the
spring equinox. But the Celts held Easter Sunday to be that which came in
between the fourteenth day of the moon (i.e., the day of the full moon)
and the twentieth, both included. That is to say, that if the full moon
came on a Sunday, they made this Easter Sunday. The other churches
refused to make the day of the full moon Easter Sunday. Thus the system
which Bede used, and which became universal in the west, reckoned Easter
Sunday as that which fell between the fifteenth and the twenty-first
days of the moon. If the full moon on or next after the equinox came on a
Sunday, then the next Sunday was Easter Sunday."
This pattern of universal imposition of the dating and mode of
observance in the Passover/Easter controversy has persisted through the
centuries. The New Catholic Encyclopedia comments:
"Since the majority of the early Christians were Jewish converts, it is
understandable that from the outset the Christian calendar was governed
by the fact that the death and Resurrection of Christ had taken place
at the time of the chief Jewish feast, the Pasch, or Passover,
celebrated on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, i.e., at the full moon
following the Spring equinox. However, rather than literally follow the
Jewish Passover, since this would necessitate the commemoration of the
Resurrection on a different day of the week each year, Christian custom
(sanctioned by the Council of Nicaea I in 325; ConOecDecr 2-3, n.6) fixed
the anniversary of Christ's Resurrection on the actual day of the week
(the first day) on which the Resurrection had taken place. As a result,
Easter falls on the first day of the week (Sunday) after the first full
moon following the spring equinox, and thus can be as early as March 22
and as late as April 25" [which would make it the second full moon
after the equinox] (ibid., McGraw Hill, N.Y., 1967; pp. 1062-3).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (St Pauls, Libreria Editrice
Vaticana, 1994, Item 1170) says:
"At the Council of Nicaea, in 325, all the Churches agreed that Easter,
the Christian Passover, should be celebrated on the Sunday following
the first full moon (Nisan 14) after the vernal equinox. The reform of
the Western calendar, called "Gregorian" after Pope Gregory XIII (1582),
caused a discrepancy of several days with the Eastern calendar. Today,
the Western and Eastern Churches are seeking agreement in order once
again to celebrate the day of the Lord's Resurrection on a common date."
END.
END.
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