Feast of Trumpets Oct 10-11, 1999
Does it really
matter when we celebrate God's holy days? Do the rabbis
have the authority to change the calendar and manipulate when the
days
of the month fall, or has God already done this and shown us in
the
Bible how and when we are to worship Him? What are the oracles of
God?
There are many different tools Satan uses to divide the Body of
Messiah;
doctrine, greed, lust for power and worship of a man just to name
a few.
Most people look at this and say it is men "playing
Church" or "games".
Well it isn't, it's Lucifer attacking us with his divide and
conquer
tactics. The men involved are only his puppets, not the
instigators.
The Encyclopedia Judaica says the current calendar was forced
upon the
Jew's in the fourth century by the Roman Government right about
the time
that they forced Sunday on the Christians. That's right, I said
the Romans
instituted it not the Jew's.
Let's examine the true calendar given to us in the Bible free
from man's
rules and corruption. This is the calendar that Yeshua kept as
our
example, the calendar that the disciples taught to the converts.
Let's
look at its origin, how it works and it's purpose. God appointed
certain
times of the year as holy. He made an appointment for us to
observe these
holy convocations. He made a covenant with man and said these set
times
were a sign to the world that whoever belonged to Him would
observe these
days (Exo 13:3-9, 31:12-17). If we are going to observe them we
must do it
on the right day or we're covenant breakers, not keepers.
PURPOSE OF THE CALENDAR
The first thing we have to understand is the purpose of the
calendar
that God gave us and how it works. The best source for that is
the
Bible. Gen 1:14, "Then God 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." Did everyone catch
that? God made
the lights in the heavens (the sun and the moon) for days and
years. There
is another verse we need to read. Psa 104:19, "He appointed
the moon for
seasons; the sun knows its going down."
God made the sun and the moon to determine when the seasons are.
Are you
beginning to understand? He intended us to have a calendar that
was
governed by the sun and the moon so we could tell the day, the
season and
the year. The reason we need to know this is so that we can
determine when to celebrate God's commanded holy days. A quick
look at
Leviticus the 23rd chapter shows us that God commands us to
worship Him on
certain days of specific months. In order to do this He has given
us a
visible sign (the sun and the moon) so we know when these times
occur.
Why do we have to know these things? Don't the rabbis take care
of this
because it's part of their duty? Let's look at one of the most
effective
smoke screens ever devised by Satan on this subject. It kept me
from
learning the truth for over a year from the first time I heard
the
argument.
The first time I was told we were supposed to determine the
months by
the sighting of a new moon I asked a few questions and was
informed that
the Jew's control this because they were given the "Oracles
of God" and
was cited Romans 3:2. I looked it up and sure enough there it
was. I
didn't know what the oracles were but it sounded pretty important
with
God's name beside it.
Unfortunately, most of the people who cite this verse don't know
what it
means either. It's a deceptive tactic used by a minority of men
who want
to manipulate us into doing what they say, not God. I believe
they know
better. Let's examine this verse and see what it says and more
importantly
what it means. Rom 3:1-2, "What advantage then has the Jew,
or what is the
profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to
them were
committed the oracles of God." What does the word oracles
mean? It is
Strong's number 3051 (log'-ee-on) an utterance (of God). Does
everyone
understand that? It is an utterance of God. What does this mean?
First of
all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God."
What are the oracles of God? It's so simple! It is the
preservation of
the scriptures, God's words or utterances. This has absolutely
NOTHING
to do with the calendar! Now, do you see why I call it a smoke
screen?
The Jew's were to preserve God's words for the world and they did
that.
They did not have the authority to change or alter them, they
could only
preserve them.
ROME FORCES CALENDAR CHANGE
I used to think that it was the rabbi's idea to change the
calendar in
358 A.D. I said that no man could change God's laws; not the Pope
nor
even a Jewish rabbi named Hillel II. God gave us a visible
calendar to
observe and He told us how and when to observe it in the Bible.
It's not
confusing or complicated like some people want to believe. It's a
little
different, but so is everything else associated with God, from
keeping the
Sabbath and the holy days, to tithing. God tells us to "come
out of
Babylon" to be different.
Little did I realize that the calendar I was attacking was pagan
to the
core and directly from Babylon.
Let's look and see how the Romans forced a corrupt calendar on
the Jews.
After the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., the high priest was
without a
sanctuary. He was like a minister without a Church. The position
he held
could no longer be carried out without the temple. Instead of a
high
priest as their spiritual leader, the Jew's had a NASI,
pronounced
(naw-see). He was the head rabbi or chief leader, like the Pope
is the
leader of the Catholic Church.
In 351-352 A.D. the Jew's revolted against the Roman emperor
Gallus &
his commander Ursicinus and lost. After this, the Romans limited
the
power of the NASI and forced him to give up the authority to
proclaim
the new moon and the fixing of the festivals. Hillel II agreed
with this
to save his neck and sold out God's law. A calculated calendar
was
instituted and published with its rules in 358 A.D. (Encyclopedia
Judaica, Hillel II).
HOW THAT CALENDAR WORKS
According to Rosh Hashanah 1:3-8, during the time when Yeshua was
on
earth, the high priest would hold court in the Temple to
determine when
the new moon was. It was based on the testimony of three credible
witnesses who had seen the crescent of the new moon. Once a new
moon had
been declared fires would be lit on the Mount of Olives to notify
those
who were not in Jerusalem. According to the Mishna, six witnesses
were
dispatched with a hand-delivered message that the new moon was
sighted
over Jerusalem.
This was done because God designed a calendar for Israel to keep
and it
was their duty to follow and observe it properly. The high priest
had no
authority to hear testimony that the crescent of the new moon was
sighted
and then declare the month would begin one or two days later!
That would
have been a sin. That is in essence what happens today with the
Hebrew
calendar and that is why once we realize this, it can NEVER be
followed!
One of Hillel's rules is that no two Sabbath's fall
consecutively.
Therefore the calendar is manipulated so that Rosh Hashanah
(Trumpets)
never falls on a Sunday, Wednesday or a Friday. This keeps the
Day of
Atonement from falling on a Friday or a Sunday, which would make
two
Sabbath's in a row. There is no biblical authority for this. In
fact,
the Mishna contains rules for an altered service when this
happens. This
proves that the calendar Yeshua observed was not altered like it
is today!
In order to keep two consecutive Sabbaths from occurring, Hillel
inserted and deleted days which God has not commanded. The normal
year
which God commands us to follow has 354 days with a
leap-year-month
added seven times every nineteen years. The present Hebrew
calendar has
353, 354, 355, 383, 384 and 385 days! SIX DIFFERENT TYPES OF
YEARS! Hillel
took out or added days to different months in the year to change
which day
of the week all of the feasts fall on.
Do you see the problem with Hillel's calendar? It doesn't always
begin a
month with a new moon. God intended the month to begin with the
sighting
of the new moon crescent over Jerusalem. Why Jerusalem you might
ask?
Because that's the place He chose as His headquarters. The
temples were
built there and when Yeshua returns His kingdom will be there. It
is the
city of our appointed feasts (Isa 33:20). That is why the
calendar is
determined from the new moon crescent over Jerusalem! We can't
set it from
Texas, Pennsylvania, or anywhere else.
Some people want to pretend that calculating the new moon
calendar is a
complex and difficult thing. This couldn't be further from the
truth. God
designed a system that a child could understand. If Israel ever
lost track
of time, all they had to do was look up in the sky and when they
saw a
small crescent of the moon that just appeared, they knew it was
the first
day of the month. If you wanted to know what month it was, look
at the
fields. Was the barley green and ready for harvest? The month was
Nissan.
Were the fall crops ready for harvest? It was Tishri, the seventh
month.
Exo 9:29 And Moses said unto him (pharoah), As soon as I am gone
out
of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the
thunder
shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou
mayest know
how that the earth is the Lord's.
Exo 9:30 But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will
not yet
fear the LORD God.
Exo 9:31 And the flax and the BARLEY was smitten: for the BARLEY
was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
Exo 9:32 But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they
were not
grown up.
We know the True God delivered the children of Israel out of the
bondage
of slavery in Egypt on Passover. Nissan 14, the 14th day of the
FIRST
month. The time of the Barley Harvest.
Holeman Bible Dictionary tells us: The barley harvest (Ruth 2:23)
began
in late April or early May and preceded the wheat harvest by
about two
weeks (Ex. 9:31-32). At the beginning of the barley harvest, the
first
fruits were offered as a consecration of the harvest (Lev.
23:10).
We are at the identical latitude of Jerusalem. The Agricultural
extension service here was asked when the spring Barley Harvest
is,
and here is his reply: WE have harvested some barley for silage
in early
April. I would guess around the middle of May or just before
wheat. We
do not grow barley in this area as a general rule because its
feed value
is lower than other grains either in forage or grain.
It's not impossible to have a calculated calendar that accurately
predicts when the new moon will be over Jerusalem. The lunar
cycle is 29
days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 2.8 seconds. New moon calendars
exist
today and are available to anyone who requests them. Computer
programs
also exist that can determine when the new moon crescent will be
visible
over Jerusalem. These programs are accurate to within two minutes
over a
period of 4,000 years forward or backwards in time.
So why don't the rabbis who realize this correct this situation?
They
are no different than any other men. Just like the SUNday keepers
make
arguments for a SUNday worship, or Christmas observers make
feeble
arguments for a pagan celebration, the rabbis say it really
doesn't
matter and that it is too much of an inconvenience to have two
Sabbaths in
a row. SINCE WHEN IS THE SABBATH A BURDEN?
The truth is that this is now their tradition and the Jewish
people follow
this tradition even though it is not Scriptural.
What do you think God says about that? He tells us to use the sun
and
the moon to calculate dates and to let Him worry when they fall
in the
week. We can't tell Him we don't want the year to start on a
Sunday, a
Wednesday or a Friday for convenience sake because its easier to
worship
Him on days we choose rather than when He chooses!
MEN BLOWING MORE SMOKE
If you ask most organizations who sets the holy days they will
give you a
couple of false answers. Since God created the heavens and the
earth does
not God get final say on His appointed Feasts? Should not God
almighty
and Him alone determine the calendar? Do men presume to have such
authority? The rabbis will tell you that the head rabbi has this
authority, (and of course since they run the organization this
means them
and not God). THIS IS A LIE! It is the same lie that the
Catholics use to
argue that the Pope's authority is equal to Messiah's when they
substituted SUNday for God's Sabbath. The rabbis can only TEACH
others
about God's holy days, they have absolutely no authority to
sanctify one
day or the other.
The Jew's today celebrate the new moon every month at the
Synagogue but
not always on the correct date because sometimes Hillel's
calendar is off
by more than two days from the crescent over Jerusalem.
"Rabbi, because in the Hebrew calendar days are inserted or
deleted so
no two Sabbaths fall consecutively, Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets)
might not
fall on the day of a crescent. Does a man, even a well
intentioned
Jewish rabbi have the authority to change the day a Sabbath falls
on?"
Answer: "I don't know, I think so. But that's why we
celebrate them for
two days in a row, just in case". That's right. The Jewish
people
celebrate the annual holy days and the new moon for two days in a
row.
Look at any Jewish calendar that is sold in a Synagogue and you
will see
that the annual holy days, Trumpets, New Moons, etc., are
observed for two
days. In all fairness, this is not the real reason it is done.
This is a
practice that dates back to the dispersion. The bad part is that
it allows
people to rationalize the change in their minds.
The most important thing to remember is that Trumpets is the only
feast
that is celebrated on a new moon. That is why there was a Hebrew
Idiom
that Yeshua used to describe the Feast of Trumpets. The feast of
Trumpets
is the ONLY feast that "OF THAT DAY AND HOUR KNOWETH NO MAN,
NOT EVEN THE
ANGELS, BUT THE FATHER ONLY." In Yeshua's day that was the
most common
way of referring to the Feast of Trumpets. That should click in a
few
minds.
TWO EXCUSES NOT TO OBEY
There are basically two reasons Messianic leaders give for
following the
present day adulterated Jewish calendar:
(1) Matthew 23:2-3, The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
(2) Mat 18:18, The leadership can bind what it wants.
Lets look at the seat Moses sat in. Mat 23:1-3: "Then Yeshua
spoke to
the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: `The scribes and the
Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to
observe, that observe and do'".
Does this mean we should obey and follow whatever the rabbi's do
today? In
John 9:13-16, Yeshua was accused of violating the Sabbath for
healing a
blind man. He obviously rejected the Pharisees interpretation on
how to
observe the 4th commandment. In Matthew 15:1-3, the scribes and
Pharisees
said the disciples broke their tradition of washing their hands
before
they ate. Yeshua told them they broke the commandment of God for
the sake
of their traditions. In verse 6, Yeshua said the scribes and
Pharisees
violated the commandment of God with their traditions. They do
this today
with changing the calendar.
So what did Yeshua mean in Mat 23:3 when He said, "Therefore
whatever
they tell you to observe, that observe and do..." Is this a
contradiction?
Yeshua taught His disciples to disobey the traditions of the
elders when
it contradicted the Bible. He said some of their traditions
conflicted
with the law of God. The scribes and Pharisees do not have the
authority
to change God's laws.
What is Moses' seat? Moses had a different function than Aaron in
ancient Israel. The Levitical priesthood were descendants of
Aaron, not
Moses. Moses was in charge of the civil government (Ex 18; Num
11:11-17;
12:8; Deu 1:9-18). Moses was not a priest, his brother Aaron was.
(John
1:17; Ex 4:14-17; Heb 7:11). Moses' seat means the civil
governmental
authority, the scribes and Pharisees were in charge of the civil
government. Yeshua referred to the authority of civil government
in Mat
23:1-3, not the law of God. Most Pharisees were not priests, they
were not
the descendants of Aaron.
Yeshua compared everything they said with the Bible, and when it
disagreed with the Bible, He rejected it. When they added extra
rules to
Sabbath keeping, He rejected them too. This is what we have to do
with
their rules and traditions on changing God's calendar. Some
people think
Yeshua taught that we should follow the Pharisees; well the
Pharisees
rejected Yeshua as the Messiah, does that mean we should too? I
think
everyone understands that argument is without merit. Shaul said
that
everything he learned as a Pharisee he counted as dung (Phil
3:8).
Lets look at the other reason, in Matthew 18:18 Yeshua said what
the
Church bound on earth would be bound in heaven. Does this mean
that
Yeshua gave the Church leaders the authority to rewrite God's
law? NO!
So what was Yeshua talking about then? He was giving the Church
authority to make decisions settling grievances and problems with
the
membership. Read the verses before this. Matthew 18:15-17 talks
about
going to a brother with a grievance. Verse 18 is talking about
disfellowshipping, NOT the binding of an adulterated calendar
that
changes God's holy convocations!
Yeshua gave the Church authority to settle grievances in
accordance with 1
Corinthians 6. He gave the Church authority to decide things such
as
meeting in the morning or the afternoon, to rent a building or
buy one,
etc. Yeshua never intended for us to use His statements to
violate the law
by observing a corrupted calendar.
The Church does not bind the calendar, nor do the rabbis. God
determines
when we will worship Him. He did this when He created the sun and
the moon
to govern the seasons. For those who won't accept this, do you
refuse to
drive your car on Sabbath like the orthodox Jew's in Jerusalem?
Do you
observe Pentecost on Sivan 6? Do you worship God in a Synagogue
and not in
a Church? Do you observe the holy days in the Synagogue? Do you
SEND YOUR
TITHES TO A SYNAGOGUE!!!
(Lets see how long they continue this tune.) If not then you
don't believe
your own teachings. If the Pharisees are in charge of the
calendar, they
are in charge of everything else, too! You can't pick and choose
selected
teachings, if you are going to follow the Pharisees then follow
them on
everything. Join a Synagogue, that is where they are today!
The leaders who knowingly observe an erroneous system for
determining
God's holy days are guilty of the same sin that Jeroboam
committed in 1
Kings 12:32. He ordained a counterfeit feast on the fifteenth day
of the
eighth month at Bethel. Because of this sin, Israel was destroyed
and
taken into captivity.
THE JEWS WILL OBSERVE GOD'S CALENDAR AGAIN
Gershom Salomon, of the Temple Mount Faithful in Jerusalem would
tell
us that the Jews will revert back to the new moon calendar that
God gave
Moses. They will do it as soon as the temple is rebuilt. The
Sanhedrin
will be reestablished and they will once again hold court each
month and
take testimony from witnesses who have seen the new moon and
declare the
beginning of the month.
These rabbis are not stupid men. They realize that when God says
the
high priest is to enter the holy of holies on the tenth day of
the
seventh month; he better enter on the real tenth day, and not in
the
sixth or eighth month. They might not want to change today
because of
tradition, but they have already decided to abandon Hillel's
calendar
when the temple is rebuilt.
What about you? Are you going to follow men and their tradition,
or are
you going to follow Yeshua, His disciples, the prophets and
Moses, and
obey God? You can't have it both ways; YOU MUST CHOOSE WHOM
YOU WILL OBEY!
The question is should we disobey God for convenience or just to
keep
harmony in the Church? Do the rabbis really have the authority to
have
the High Holy Days in the Sixth month according to reckoning
method God
instructed Moses to determine the month?
There are some people who get upset when this subject is brought
up.
They say we should keep quiet about the facts and not "rock
the boat".
Should we also keep quiet about the weekly Sabbath? If we did, we
could
all meet on Sunday in unity with our neighbors, and preach
soothing
doctrines that would assure the Church would be full. I DON'T
THINK SO!!!
We need to teach the truth and reach out to our brothers with
love, NOT
compromise our beliefs in an attempt to make ourselves more
appealing to
refugees and dissidents from other groups. I say since God is the
one who
created the calendar, follow it and let Him work out the
problems.
We should be keeping the Passover and the other feasts according
to the
heavenly calendar like Yeshua did. We should try to the best of
our
ability to be as accurate and as faithful as we can. As long as
we're
human we will never be perfect but that's not an excuse to
disobey God
now. Like all of our other shortcomings when we did them in
ignorance, as
soon as we learned the truth we went to God in repentance and
asked His
forgiveness. This can also be done with observing God's annual
holy days
at the wrong time. However, if you know the truth and continue to
disobey
God, you will suffer the consequences.
In other words, God expects nothing less than complete
faithfulness and
obedience. Pick up your cross and follow Messiah letting the
others bury
the dead. Like the song goes "trust and obey, there's no
other way".
Where does the Bible say we should hide truth? Where is one
example of
Yeshua or the disciples compromising God's laws to promote
harmony?
Yeshua lost 120 disciples because He told them something they
found
hard to accept. Shaul caused untold riots by preaching the truth
that
the leaders wanted to hide. It was because he refused to
compromise that
the people hated him so much that they beat him and tried to kill
him.
What is wrong with keeping the holy days with the same calendar
Yeshua
used? When Messiah returns will you have to tell Him you knew
that you
worshipped Him on the wrong day but it was more convenient? If
the high
priest entered the holy of holies on the wrong day God struck him
dead.
This is the God who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Jos 24:15, "...choose for yourselves this day whom you will
serve,
...But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
This year the high priest would be going into the holy of holies
in the
Sixth month according to how God instructed Moses to reckon it.
This year
everyone would get to know why that rope was tied to the high
priest's
ankle.
Most people will celebrate the Feast of Trumpets in 1999 in the
Sixth
month according to the time reckoning method for which God
created the sun
and moon and instructed Moses to give to the people of God.
In 1999 it is especially true that the feast of Trumpets is that
feast
that "OF THAT DAY AND HOUR KNOWETH NO MAN, NOT EVEN THE
ANGELS, BUT THE
FATHER ONLY."
In 1999 the feast of Trumpets, the Day of Judgment, Rosh Hashanah
is the
"no man knows the day or hour" festival, the
celebration where the "last
trump" is played; is October 10-11, 1999. Rosh Hashanah the
"day of
judgment" and "repentance." Many are saying this
is rapture time. For
those at ground zero when Russia cuts loose her nuclear subs off
the
American coasts, that is what it will be like.
It really should be
pretty easy to sort out. On Friday Shabbat, September
10, 1999 the new moon was duely certified in Jerusalem and
according to
the rabbis Rosh Hashanah began today at 4:48 p.m. at sundown in
Israel.
(4:48pm is 16:48 + 12:44 = 29.52 hours)
The lunar cycle is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 2.8
seconds.
Therefore knowing that they had Passover a lunar month early, and
ASSUMING the rabbis in Jerusalem could properly look at the moon.
That
would be October 9 plus 29.52 hours. Therefore Rosh Hashannah as
it was given to Moses by God to know when His Feasts were to be
observed by His peopel should be October 10 -11, 1999 as long as
there are 24 hours in a day.
Please let me know if you discern error in my calculations and
conclusions. I rather suspect that it could be most significant
in 1999
given the luciferian deception and confusion surrounding the
issue..