SHOULD WE KEEP THE NEW MOON TODAY? 

HOW DO WE KEEP THIS TODAY? 

WILL IT BE KEPT IN THE FUTURE KINGDOM OF GOD? 

WHAT IS THE CORRECT OBSERVANCE FOR US TODAY?
 
 

This is a very interesting subject, which we have known very little about. We have thought that this special day was done away with the old covenant rituals. But the new moon is mentioned many times in the Old Testament and a few times in the New Testament.

When is the correct time to keep the holy days.  Many people have many ideas as to how to calculate the correct days.  Why…… Many people have reams of writings on how and when these days should be calculated ,one has to have a degree in astronomy to have a vague idea of what all these writings mean.   Why all this confusion, when there is simplicity in Christ,  the holy days were meant to be observed by Gods people, God instructed us to observe, remember, and keep the Holy days.  This could not happen if knowing when they fall requires a university degree. 

Now lets look at what God says about His holy days.  The way we know when all the holy days fall is by the moon.

Gen 1:14  And God 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 new moon, falls on the 1st of the month, the Feast of Trumpets is on the first of the month and is on the new moon.

Lev 23:24  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. 

Psa 81:3  Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. 

The above scriptures show that the new moon falls on the first of the month, therefore all the holy days in any given month can be calculated simply by knowing which day is the new moon and counting from there.  The phases of the moon are available on the internet under the astronomical information put out by the government.
The new moon is simply the day that is stated by the government for that month.  There is no need to watch for crescents of the moon etc, the new moon is clearly stated to be on a certain day of the month, and that is the 1st of the month on Gods calendar. 

We need to take the time to look up the scriptures on this subject, check into things, have an open mind, and ask God to lead us and show us the truth. 
What does God tell us to do?
Do we believe the bible, and are we prepared to have a teachable attitude with regard to new truth.

All things will be restored in the end time. God will put new truth and restore all things to His end time church. Be prepared to change, examine and believe what God is showing us. This is important, God expects His firstfruits to be teachable.

Lets look at the verses about this special day in the bible, and let’s see what God says about these new moon observances.

SHOULD WE OBSERVE THE NEW MOON TODAY

NUM 10 V 10

10Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God. 

Notice these points, in the beginnings of your months {this is the new moon} we shall blow trumpets over our burnt offerings and sacrifices of peace offerings, for a memorial. We know that today we do not have burnt offerings or peace offerings, but these should be substituted by prayer to God. As per the following Psalm

PSALM 116 V 17

17 I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.

We do not blow trumpets today either, but they were used for many reasons in the Old Testament times, for a warning, for festive occasions, meeting of the leaders, meeting of the people, God meeting with Israel at Mt. Sinai. The trumpets were used to herald an important event. So this would indicate that the new moon is important to God.

The new moon was for a memorial. We must not forget these days. A memorial is something that has to be remembered.

2 KINGS 4 V 22-23

22And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. 23And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

We see by this verse that it was the custom to seek out the man of God on the new moon. However, it is not mentioned in the scriptures that the new moon is a Holy day, it is not a sabbath either, so on the new moon we need to spend a lot more time on bible study and prayer than we would on a normal day. If we have a few brethren living close by it would be appropriate to get together for a bible study. If we do not have this luxury, then we need to fellowship with God ourselves in prayer and bible study.

There is a good possibility that most of the new moons fall on a work day, so because it is not a commanded religious assembly, we need to spend a good deal of our time on that day in prayer and study.

1 CHRON 23 V 31

31And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD

We see here quite clearly that the new moons are mentioned along with the sabbaths and the feasts of God. So it is obvious that God wants them kept today. The sabbaths and the feast days are binding forever and we will prove in this article that the new moons are also to be observed by the people of God today.

2 CHRON 2 V 4

4Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual showbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel.

Again we see the new moon mentioned with the sabbath and the feast days, but notice the last line of the above scripture, this is an ordinance forever to Israel.

ISA 1 V 13-14-15

13Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 14Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 15And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

Some people might read this above scripture and think that the new moons are hated by God. This is not so, notice it says your new moons and your appointed feasts. That means that the people keeping them are not doing so in the right heart and spirit, these festivals and times are Gods when they are kept correctly. If we don’t talk about God on the Sabbath day amongst the brethren, if the sermons are weak wishy washy stuff with no meat and no meat in due season, if they are not truthful and only mans ideas and not Gods words, how can God be pleased with them. It is not the sabbath or festivals or new moons that God hates it is the way some people keep them that is upsetting to God.

The above scriptures state plainly that the new moon should be observed today.

HOW DO WE OBSERVE THE NEW MOON TODAY

1 SAM 20 V 5

5And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even.

Here we see that the king held a meal with family and friends on the new moon.

1 SAM 20 V 24

24So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. 25And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place was empty.

The above scripture indicates that it was also Davids custom to have a meal with family and friends on the new moon.

It would seem appropriate that on the new moon we have a family meal or a meal with brethren, if this is possible, also as stated above 2 Kings 4 v 22-23 it is also a time to consult a man of God, now as stated above if we cannot meet together on this day it is appropriate to spend the day with God in prayer and study. This is as much as possible if the new moon falls on a work day.

EZEK 46 V 1-3

Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened. 2And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate, and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. 3Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons.

This scripture indicates that the people will worship on the new moon at the door of the gate to the inner court. Notice that it is shut the rest of the week but on the sabbath it is open and on the new moon.

COL 2 V 16

16Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

The new moon is mentioned in the New Testament, so it would appear that the disciples observed the new moons.

It is plain that we should have a meal with family and friends and spend as much time as possible in prayer and study on the new moon.

WILL THE NEW MOON BE OBSERVED IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD

ISA 66 V 23

3And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

In the kingdom of God the new moons will be observed.

WERE THERE ANY MAJOR EVENTS ON THE NEW MOON

GEN 8 V 5

5And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.

Here we see that the first sighting of land, after the flood in Noahs day occurred on the new moon.

EX 40 V 2-3

2On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. 3And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the veil.

On the new moon the tabernacle was set up and the ark put inside. Notice that work is done on the day of the new moon thus proving that it is not a sabbath.

NUM 1 V 1-2

1And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls;

The Israelites were numbered on the new moon.

CHRON 29 V 17

17Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end.
The sanctification of the Lords house was started on the new moon. 

EZRA 10 V 14-17

14Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.

15Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. 16And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.

On the new moon all the men who had wives other than Israelite wives pledged to put them away.

NEH 8 V 1-2

1And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. 2And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

On the new moon the book of the law of Moses was read to all the people who could hear with understanding.This was the feast of Trumpets.

The following scripture shows the feast of Trumpets falls on the new moon, the first of the seventh month

Lev 23:24  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. 

We see quite plainly that the new moon was and still is important to God,

AMOS 8 V 5

5Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?

We know by other scriptures that the new moon is not a sabbath. This verse is talking about abolishing Gods calendar so business can be carried out on every day of the week. Remember that the moon is used to calculate times and seasons, so if the moon was not observed then Gods Sabbaths and Holy days would be lost in time by man

GEN 1 V 14-15

14And God 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: 15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

We see here that God sets the sun and the moon for signs, seasons, days and years. They are a method of telling the start of the day and the month. God has set them for us and for a light and warmth as well.

For today, it would be appropriate to have a meal with family and friends, do as much prayer and bible study as is possible and observe it from the moons rising to its setting. Also we advise to observe the new moon when our calendar tells us that it is the new moon.

There are many schools of thought on when the actual new moon is, but we have to follow our calendar as we do for the Sabbath.

As stated above the Government of your country should have a web site showing what time the new moon is.  In Australia the site is Australian Government Geoscience phases of the moon.  The times given for the new moon are in Universal Time {UTC} and time has to be adjusted for each locality.  For example we in Brisbane need to add 10 hours on to the time stated on the site to have the correct time of the new moon for us living in Brisbane.  Each person will need to check these times for themselves, we simply sent an email to the site and they responded happily with the needed information. 

We must be extremely careful to worship God and not the moon. The new moon is for a sign. It is God who we worship.