Why Does the Church of God Use the Hebrew Calendar? Part 1

The Church of God has investigated concerns regarding the calendar many times, as early as 1940. In fact, in a Good News article in 1940, M. Strong wrote, of the thorough study of the Bible, of the Hebrew calendar, of history, and every angle, after going into the matter with all Eugene brethren and other brethren who have made a special study of this question, we have unanimously agreed that the Hebrew calendar has been preserved correctly by the Jews.

The United Church of God, the Council of Elders, since early in its formation in 1996, produced a paper entitled the Hebrew Calendar Study Paper, which is on our website.

And then a year later, in 1997, made a further study, in further details, entitled Summary of the Hebrew Calendar, which has also an appendix attached to it with various calculations, according to a number of years that the Hebrew calendar, around the time of Christ, would fall. So brethren, the outcome of those studies, and also the outcome of other major Church of God fellowships, have all agreed that the Hebrew calendar is what we should use to determine God's holy days. Any calendar study is by nature very complex and highly technical. And because of that, most of the brethren, in fact many brethren, find it complex, confusing, and there are so many references, many of them are contradictory, that people get overwhelmed by the twigs and lose sight of the trunk of the tree.

Why do people reject the Hebrew calendar? There are many reasons. Let me just mention three. One is because they see in history that there were religious power struggles in the Jewish community during the first centuries. Secondly, they see that in the year 358, the calendar rules were so-called introduced by the leader of the Sanhedrin of the Ettag, Hilo II, and that was following a decision which was made at their last meeting before they were banned to meet again by the Roman authorities.

And thirdly, people believe that the calendar needs to be determined merely by observation. The result of this, brethren, has been various independent, defined versions of a calendar. So there are various interpretations of a calendar. Most of them around the observation-only method, so they don't believe, don't think that one observation is applicable to all. They are different ways that people observe, or different little disagreements, which will see some. And therefore, for them to do the observation, they appoint somebody as the authority, the trusted observer, to proclaim when the holidays fall.

Secondly, the other possible result or reason why there are disagreements about the calendar is that some people agree in the Hebrew calendar, but only in the calendar, but without its postponement rules. So they accept part of the Hebrew calendar, but not all. So indeed, the result, brethren, is a state of disarray and a source of division amongst many people and a potential division in the Church of God. Why do people have different interpretations? Because they have different arguments based on different premises. Some have this biblical evidence, others have that biblical evidence, based on little scriptures that they prove and use as proof points.

Some are based on human quotations or secular quotes. And brethren, this disarray is indeed what Paul was referring to when he wrote to Timothy, saying that, let's be careful, as he said in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 4, not to give heed to fables and endless genealogies which cause disputes rather than godly edification, which is in faith.

Paul, later on in the same letter, says in chapter 6 verse 4, many have become obsessed, quote-unquote, with disputes and arguments over words. And yes, we see that in the calendar disputes. And then in the further letter, 2 Timothy, Paul then in chapter 2 verse 17 says that these disagreements spread like cancer. Brethren, in the end, the fruits of these disagreements, the fruits of the vision in the Church and even in families, is not something that Christ looks at very, very nicely.

He doesn't like that. If you and I remember, he said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7 verse 20, you shall know them by their fruits. And these fruits are not good, brethren.

I once met, many years ago, somebody that did intensive searches on the calendar as well.

And he told me privately the following, quote, I wish I had not started this issue because once one deviates from the Hebrew calendar, which variant of the calendar does he follow?

Once we deviate, which variant are we going to follow? Brethren, what does God want? What does God want? Isn't that what you and I search for?

God surely wants unity and peace amongst the brethren.

And particularly as it relates to God's early days, because they define, the calendar, define the rules of determining when is God's early days. Otherwise, we're going to worship God, basically God's early days, which point to the plan of salvation on different days.

And so we have to be very careful that we're not permitting this division.

Clearly, what we found is that people have come out of their own ideas, through self-appointed or their own trusted advisors or their own internet sites, and that gives them authority to decide when God's early days should be. Is that what God wants?

Brethren, it is not our role. Really, it's not our role to appoint and sanctify a holy day. Indeed, deviating from the Hebrew calendar, people have, albeit unknowingly, they have effectively decided upon themselves when to sanctify a day as holy. Yes, they've defined for themselves when to proclaim a holy day, a holy convocation. And this indeed opens, let's put it in these terms, a can of worms, a real opportunity for Satan to have a field day. Satan, that serpent of old, as it says in Revelation 12 verse 9, which is called the devil and Satan, and he sees the whole world.

He then uses this to create a vision in the Church of God.

And ultimately, his goal is not just a vision, he's to destroy you and I. So brethren, you and I need to prove all things.

As it's written in Jude chapter 1 verse 3, we need to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered for the saints. As Titus 1 verse 9 says, let's all fast to the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able to by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. By sound doctrine, brethren, it's not by twigs and confusion and quotes of secular quotes and interpretations, yeah, and interpretations there. Let's be diligent, as Paul wrote in Timothy 2 Timothy 2 verse 15, to present ourselves a proof to God, a worker that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Yes, indeed, but we have to rightly divide it, rightly, correctly, not be moved by all these different winds of doctrine. As Paul in Hebrews 4.12 says, any pervasive or persuasive argument against God's truth, we must use the word of God, the living and powerful word of God, which is sharper than any two-edged sword, to prove these points. So, yes, we have to prove all things. And so, brethren, putting together two sermons, this one and another one, and in these two sermons, in this one, my intent is to give some technical background to some of the calendar issues, show some difficult areas, and thereby show why we use the Hebrew calendar. The goal, brethren, is unity and peace in worship. In the following sermon, I will show why we believe the Hebrew calendar represents correctly what was in use at the time of Jesus Christ. Even though the calendar has gone through turbulent times, let's not hide the fact it is true, but it will show from the Bible that postponements were in use at Christ's time. Brethren, many have spent many hours studying the meaning of words, the historical data, sections of the Talmud, astronomical calculations, computer-generated programs, and the result of their searches being either they became more confused than when they started, or they decided to go with this calendar or that calendar, the other calendar, which therefore caused division, or even some have got so confused they deviated from the truth and became ignorant of God's righteousness and tried to follow their own righteousness. So, a study of the calendar, as by some degree as I mentioned before, got a bit technical, but I'm trying to strike a balance so that those that are not technical can also understand it.

And because of that, for some, I may not have sufficient technical information, but I'll try to have enough. Enough to support the conclusion of the various Church of God assemblies that the Hebrew calendar, with whatever imperfections people may find, it gives us, it is the way that God has committed to us when His Holy Days fall.

And granted, there will be a time, as we read in Acts 3.21, there will be the time of restoration of all things. And yes, there'll be a time that God may change things in the heavens again. We know there's going to be a time of heavenly signs, and who knows what's going to happen that time. But the point that I pray and I hope is that after studying together with me these issues, we may be able to prove that using as far as I need to prove, to ensure that I've tried to prove to the best of my ability all things. And beyond that, beyond that, we are prepared to walk in faith, trusting God that He is the head, that Christ is the head of the Church, and that He is guiding the Church. And also, remember that Christ in Luke 10 verse 21 said, when He prayed, He said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you've hidden those things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to babes, even so, Father, so it would seem to good to you in your sight. Indeed, brethren, babes need to be able to understand. It's not this technical stuff that God has kind of given to each member of the Church to dig in and prove.

That's not what Christ said. He said, He's revealed them to babes.

So let's start with the first point here is, why is the spiritual meaning of God's allidase so important? In fact, it should be first in priority. So if you turn with me to Genesis chapter 1 verse 14, Genesis chapter 1 verse 14 says, 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. Let them be for signs and seasons. Seasons is the Hebrew word, mo'edim, which represents God's feasts. And in second degree of importance for days and years.

So we can see in this moment that the heavenly bodies have been put in such perfect working capabilities, the sun, the moon, the tilting of the earth, the seasons, everything so perfect to support physical life. Really, it is amazing. It is beautiful. But beyond that, it's also, as it says here in verse 14, for signs and seasons. In the seasons, mo'edim represents the feasts of God, mo'edim. So spiritually, signs and seasons comes first. In fact, if you read in Leviticus 23, Leviticus 23, in verse 4 says, these are the feasts, mo'edim, of the Lord, holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. Now, here's an important point also, that you shall proclaim. You see, the Sabbath has been proclaimed by God at creation when it is. But the annual Sabbaths, the Holy Days, are to be proclaimed by Moses and the priesthood that God allocated under Moses. Not for individual lay members of the church to do that. We don't have that ecclesiastical authority. So, these lights of the firmament are therefore seasons, and using those seasons, God's appointed priests under Moses were to proclaim the annual Holy Days.

On the other side, the church today has also a responsibility. And if you read in Colossians chapter 2, verse 16 and 17, it says, let no man judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival. Here was one of the Holy Days and the feast days. Or the new moon, which I believe, in this case, it very probably represents the day of trumpets, which is used to calculate the rules of the Holy Days. Or the Sabbaths. So, it's not just the feasts, as we see, but the Sabbaths, because not every Sabbath, not every feast day is a Sabbath, annual Sabbath. So, the Sabbaths, plural, which are a shadow of things to come. In other words, they point to the plan of salvation. A shadow of things to come, that we know. And therefore, so let no man, let no one judge you in these matters, let no man make decisions in these matters, but the body of Christ, as it should read. In other words, but the church of God. So, the church of God does have a responsibility to make judgments in these areas. But we are not creating a new calendar, because that's been given to the Jews.

And so, brethren, we can see that, as we read first in Genesis 1.14, the signs and seasons represent the calculation of the festivals according to the seasons. And also, the days and years, then, represents more the calculations of the calendar, which take second priority. So, we see that the meaning, the spiritual meaning of God's early days needs to take priority first. Secondly, let's look at some of the complications in having a calendar.

There are four units of measurement for a calendar. There's the day, the week, the month, and the year. The day and the week, no problem, is very clearly defined as creation. In fact, the Sabbath, the seventh day, is clearly defined as creation. But the problem comes in with the months and years. How do we know when a month starts? God's months begin with the new moon.

But the Bible does not define the term new moon. Oh, I know that some may disagree with that, and use some little scripture here to prove a point. But clearly, the Bible does not define it.

And the interpretation of when is the day of the new moon. It also varies amongst people.

And the problem is because the lunar month, as you may probably well know, it's based on the elliptical orbit of the moon around the Earth, and that itself varies in length. But it has an average, what they call a synodic month of 29.53059. And it was about 29 and a half days, or 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 2.8 seconds. And so half of the months in a year of 12 months would be 29 days. And another half of the months, another six months, will be 30 days.

So we then would have a year. One example of quoting a new month, a new moon, is found in Samuel 20 verse 5.

In their David is quoted as saying to Jonathan, tomorrow is the new moon. That I may hide myself until the third day at even. And so that's very clear that he's saying the third day at even. So today at even is not going to be the new moon, but tomorrow at evening is the new moon. You know, not today at sunset is not a new moon, but tomorrow at sunset, which is pointing at two days from today. So brethren, to me, that's very clear that had to be calculated, because otherwise, how did he know? Not tonight, but the following night, following evening, it'll be the new moon.

So the determination of the new moon by pure observation can be difficult. We can see that it was calculated at the time of David, but we'll talk more about that in a moment. Then the calculation of the year is also complicated, because, as you may know, a year is 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds.

But a year with 12 months of lunar months would only have 354 days. In other words, six months of 29 days, and six months of 30 days, as up to 354 days. So you'd be short of 11 days annually. And that means the year would drag behind, and therefore the calendar would fall out of its seasons. And so you have to add a 13th month.

Now you're getting to different arguments that may be at the time of the flood.

The days were exactly three days, and the year was 360 days. And you can get those arguments from Genesis 7, 24, and verse 11, and Genesis 8, verse 4. But the point is, that does not prove that at the time of Moses, the days were exactly 30 days, because things could have changed. For instance, at the times of Peleg, also could have changed. There's a time of Joshua, the long day. There's many other times. So we really don't know. And so we cannot make simple conclusions that, like that, oh well, at the time of Moses, the days were exactly 30 days. We cannot say that.

We know that instruction was given to Moses through the priesthood to proclaim when the Holy Days were. And so that, in a sense, implies that they had to proclaim. So there was not that regularity. And one would think that every month would be exactly 30 days.

And we also saw in Leviticus 23, verse 4, let me, in fact, turn to it again, Leviticus 23, verse 4 says, Leviticus 23, verse 4 says, These are the feasts of the Lord, holy of the convocations, which you shall proclaim at the reponded seasons, at the reponded times. So Moses and the priesthood had to a point.

Again, this was not like the Sabbath, which was a terminative creation, because our duty of the Sabbath is to remember it.

But for the Holy Days, the annual Holy Days, the priesthood had to declare when those days were.

The question that people have, and I think it's an important question, is what about at the time of Christ? Really, that's important. Well, during the time of Christ, in other words, that is, during the time of the Second Temple, from, say, around about 515 and before Christ till about 70 of the Christ when the temple was destroyed, the authority to proclaim God's feasts and therefore the respective annual holy convocations was vested in the Sanhedrin, that is well recorded, which was a group of authorized and ordained leaders whose chain of authority went back to the time of Joshua. So they were ordained all the way from the time of Joshua, in that chain of authority that was there. And in the book, The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar by Arthur Speer, which I have here, it says here in page one that says, A special committee of the Sanhedrin with its president, as chairman, had the mandate to regulate and balance the solar and lunar years. The so-called calendar council, Saad Heiber, calculated the beginnings of the seasons on the basis of astronomical figures which had been handed down as a tradition of old. So they did calculations for the beginnings of the seasons. Now, the beginnings of the seasons are particularly important because that applies to the first month and to the seventh month, which are the months from which the early festival days and holy days are calculated, and the months from which the latter holy days are calculated. As you know, Passover is on the 14th of the first month, and Even Bread starts on the 15th of the 21st, and during that first Sunday, during the days of 11 bread, that first day of the week, you count 50 to get to Pentecost. So those first few holidays are counted from the first month. On the seventh month, that's why I'm talking about the beginnings of the seasons. It's important to calculate because the seventh month is the day of trumpets on the first day, on the tenth day of the day of the tournament, on the 15th, at the beginning of the feast, and on the 22nd is the last great day. So those are the holy days, based all on the seventh month. So those were the important days for the feasts. Then continuing in the same book, it says, a little later, it says, also that they allowed postponements for various reasons. Huh! They allowed postponements. What are we the reasons they postponed? They had various reasons. At the time of Christ, at the time of the Second Temple, that's well documented. It says, when the barley in the fields had not ripened? All people say, yeah, yeah, of course, yes. But then it says, when the winter rains had not stopped, which meant the roads for possible pilgrims had not dried up. Interesting. The Council on Intercalation considered the astronomical facts together with the religious requirements. You see, the spiritual meaning of the feasts were important.

You see, calculations and postponements were used during the Second Temple time, during Jesus Christ's time. He did not object to that.

And in fact, if we consider when some of the Holy Days fell, and also consider when Christ died, and we take those years when the Holy Days fell, we can see that rules of postponement, as we have today in the Hebrew calendar, were in existence during the time of Christ. And that will be in my next sermon. Now, what happened is, there was a destruction of the Temple. There was rebellion amongst the Jews. There were changes that happened. And then there was a major revolt by the Jews, which then caused the Jews to be completely scattered around about the year 351 to 352. And that caused many Jewish communities to be destroyed. And a number of privileges and freedom of the Sanhedrin was curtailed, leading to, a few years later, in the year 358, that the Sanhedrin took a very important—that the Sanhedrin met, convened. In fact, that was the year before they were disbanded. To me, it means like Christ God inspired it so that those rules became known because the Sanhedrin was not disbanded. They were publishing year by year when the Holy Days would fall. And now they were disbanded. How could they publish it? So before they were disbanded, they were inspired by the Council. And they asked the chairman of that Council, which was Hillel II in the year 358. And it says, yeah, Hillel II took an extraordinary step to preserve the unity of Israel. This is an interesting point—the unity of Israel. In order to prevent the Jews scattered all over the surface of the earth—and therefore, brethren, by implication, God's church—from celebrating new moons and festivals and Holy Days at different times, because they wouldn't know when to do, because the Sanhedrin disbanded. They could not communicate this information in advance to the areas dispersed throughout the world.

So he made public the system of calendar calculation, which up to then had been closely guarded secret. So brethren, this is what some people object, because they say, oh, well, that only came out in the year 358. But you see, they had those rules before, as we saw. They just were closely guarding them as a secret.

The point here is that the adoption of this calendar made it possible for the Jews, and therefore, by extension, the little church of God, which was persecuted, wherever they were, to observe God's early days.

Oh, some say, oh, the Hebrew calendar came to be by Hillel II only 358 years, on the year 358. And it was done by people that run in believers. We can't believe that. But brethren, so what about the Book of James in the New Testament, that was only referred to as part of the New Testament, run about the same time?

Yes, run about the same time. The question we have is, can we trust God, that He has given us what we need for salvation?

Can we? And that's what we read in Romans. In Romans 3, chapter 2, and it says, much more in every way.

But prophets reduce a lot, because to them we've committed the articles of God. Now, some people have a problem with that, and I'll come to that in a moment, the articles of God. But let's continue. Let's continue reading in verse 3, because it's important. A lot of people stop reading in verse 2. We need to continue reading in verse 3. It says, for what if some did not believe? What if some people, some of the Jews that God gave these oracles through them, what if they were unbelievers? What if they were unfaithful men?

Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?

Verse 4, certainly not. Indeed, let God be true, but every man a liar. Brethren, we have to trust God, that He has given us enough His Word and how to keep His holy days, because He tells us to keep those holy days. He's given that to us faithfully, because that's important for our salvation. We're going to trust God that He's given us that. God doesn't...we saw, Christ says, He revealed it to babes.

So you don't need to have a degree in Greek and Hebrew and spend years delving into quotes of the Talmud and this and that and the other to prove these things. God must have given us something God must have given us something simple that babes can follow.

We need to trust in God's faithfulness that He has given us His Word and the instructions of when to observe the holy days in a clear and concise manner, which a child will be able to understand. Even though there are many twists and turns, let's call it that way, in those years by God.

Brethren, Christ did not even give God's Church the responsibility to calculate the calendar.

Yes, He's given us the authority to make judgments about that, as we read in Colossians 2 verse 16.

It says, let no man judge you in food and in drink regarding the festivals or the new moon or the Sabbaths, which are the shadow things to come, but the Church of God, the body of Christ, let no man judge you on these matters. Let the Church of God make decisions. The Church of God has made decisions in these matters, and let no man, individual, come out of their own ideas. That's what it says.

Christ, then, to tell us, in Matthew 28 verse 20, observe all things that have commanded you. That is the mission of the Church, to preach the Gospel unto the world as a witness to the whole world, and then the end will come, and also to teach people to observe, to baptize people, and teach them to observe the things I've taught you. That is the mission of the Church. That's what we in the Church need to be focusing on! Regrettably, brethren, calendar issues means religious control.

Many calendar controversies have arisen amongst Jewish groups throughout the years due to this very fact, religious control. The Encyclopædia Britannica, a new edition under Article Judaism, states, no wonder we find many quotes which have different views and are, at times, contradictory. The calendars of the various splinter groups who broke away from the mainline Judaism deviated considerably from the normal calendar. In other words, practically every splinter group in Judaism has been associated with the desire to manipulate the calendar according to J.B. Siegel, page 260, Intercalation and Hebrew Calendar Book. So, brethren, let's remember that God's calendar needs to follow the seasons. God's calendar must be in the proper, half-assed seasons. And to be in the proper, half-assed seasons, the calendar must take in consideration an average year length to approximate the year length to a solid year. So, adjustments have to be made because 12 lunar months are short of 11 days. You do another 12 months. You're short now of 22 days. You do another 12 months. You're short of 33 days. So now, basically, one month behind. So you need to add a 13th month.

Now, when you add a 13th month, which they call intercalating, which is a month of 30 days, we are automatically postponing the holy days. By one month, in other words, four weeks, and two days. Because seven times four, there's seven days in a week. There's seven days in a week. With four weeks, it's 28. Plus two days makes 30. So you've got four weeks later, plus two days. So if you had, for instance, trumpets on a Thursday, and we add a 13th month, the trumpets will now be one month later. And instead of being on a Thursday, we'll be on a Sabbath. Two days later. You see, by adding a 13th month, we have automatically postponed the holy days. We have to add a 13th month to keep the holy days in the seasons. But when we add a 13th month, people have different ideas of when to add a 13th month.

And therefore, that causes division. Because people have different ideas when to intercalate or to add this 13th month. So the calendar must be in its proper seasons. First are the early office seasons. You know, Exodus 12 verse 2 says, this month shall be beginning of the month. It shall be the first month of the year, which is the month of Abib, as it shows in the tronomy 16 verse 1. And so to declare when is the first month of the spring can also lead to complications. Why? Do we have the whole month in the spring or only God's feast days in the spring? How do you know? Can you prove it through the Bible? Is the first month before or after the spring equinox? In fact, is the equinox required? Some say yes, some say no.

What is the equinox? Equinox is the time when the sun crosses the equator, making the length of the day and night equal. So is the beginning of the month when the first green years of Bali are ready? Or is it when the Bali is mature for harvesting? See, all these are matters of concern and of division. Obviously, the Bali needs to be in a state of maturity because they were to harvest after the wave sheath. So it was not just the bunch for the wave sheath, but they were to harvest that day. That's why the wave sheath was on early on that Sunday, first day of the week to begin to work, to begin to harvest. And that's why Christ was offered right at the beginning. That's why Mary Magdalene, at the beginning of the day, could not touch Christ because the wave sheath represented Christ being accepted through the ceremony on our behalf, as you can read in Leviticus 23.11.

So then seven full weeks, seven full weeks of seven days, seven full weeks would be completed, completely completed. And then the next day, the following Sunday, 50 days afterwards, would be Pentecost. You see, the Hebrew calendar complies to these spiritual requirements.

Then let's look at the latter office. Exodus 23.16 says that the Feast of In-Gattering, Feast of Tabernacles at the end of the year.

Exodus 34.22 says to observe the Feast of In-Gattering at the turn of the year, according to the Derby translation says that, at the turn of the year. The Hebrew word yah at the turn is tekufa. In the Young's literal translation says, for that same word says, tekufa translates as the following, the Feast of In-Gattering at the revolution of the year. So the word tekufa means at the turn of the year, at the revolution of the year. The Holman Christian Standard Bible says, the Feast of In-Gattering at the turn of the agricultural year.

You see, the turning of the year is not a specific dialect. Some people want to say it's the equinox.

Granted, the word tekufa in latter years in the Jewish or rather in the Hebrew, it came to mean equinox. But it's not necessarily so in the years that the Bible was written. Words change meaning over the years. As you know, in English, certain words 100 years ago do not mean the same thing they are today. That you can prove that the word tekufa there meant a period of change by looking at different scriptures like 1 Samuel 1.20, 2 Chronicles 24.23, and Psalms 19. 6. So the Feast of Tabernacles will be around the time of this change of the agricultural year.

Not necessarily equinox. Remember that equinox and solstices are part of the Roman view of seasons.

And even though it is closely linked to, obviously, the seasons, it's not the basis for the meaning of God's early days.

So the scriptural reason for God's early days, as we can see, around the harvest is because they have meanings for us spiritually, like the letter harvest representing trumpets, the return of Christ, and then Satan being put away, and the millennium, and the second resurrection on the eighth day, and the great white throne, and beyond. These spiritual meanings, brethren, are adhered to by the Hebrew calendar.

So what are some of the biblical requirements of a calendar?

Well, we know of a month, we know of the new moon, we know to be in sync with the seasons, but the Bible is not specific on some of the minor details which are important.

Bible is not specific on some of those terms. When is exactly the new moon?

Must the new moon be on the visibility of the lunar crescent? Must the first month of the year be in the spring or not? Well, I've had some people say to me, oh, well, that's not a problem. When is the new moon? We can see it in the sky the whole night.

Brethren, that regrettably shows a lack of understanding what the new moon is, because the new moon is when the moon is in the sky with the sun. And so it's during the day, not at night.

We cannot see the new moon from Earth except on the stirring moments of a solar eclipse.

And so some people consider that the new moon is when we get that first little waxing crescent. In other words, a few hours up to two days, so there is a gap of nearly of about a minute of about two days after the astronomical new moon. The astronomical is it technically when it's new moon and when that crescent first appears. And what is that?

What that is is that the moon and the sun are up in the sky together.

And then the sun sets because it's now the new moon is dragging a little bit beyond past the actual astronomical new moon, so it's a little bit beyond. So the sun sets and because the sun is set, there's this little twilight in the sky, this dusk. And you see a little bit of the moon, just a faint. And then the moon sets as well.

So, brethren, how do you see this crescent? How do you see this?

It can be seen by different people at different times.

There's a very unbiased report by the U.S. Naval Observatory, which has got nothing to do with religion. That's why it's unbiased because they're really talking about how can you observe, how can you see this crescent? And they write the following in the website under the Astronomical Applications Department. It says, although the date and time of each new moon can be computed exactly, wow! So what's wrong with calculations? The visibility of the lunar crescent as a function of the moon's age, the moon's age after that new moon, depends on many factors and cannot be predicted with certainty. During the first two days after the new moon, so there is this two-days window that God gives us after the new moon, the young crescent moon appears very low in the western sky after sunset. So it's the sunset and you can just see the new moon and then the moon sets as well. And it must be viewed through bright twilight because it's the beginning of the twilight. So it's still bright. It's not the darker part of twilight. It's the bright, the beginning of twilight. And it sets shortly and the moon sets shortly after the sun sets. So the sighting of the lunar crescent within one day of the new moon is usually difficult.

The crescent at this time is quite thin. It has a low surface brightness and can easily be lost in the twilight. An experienced observer might not lose it. That's the point. Now, generally, the lunar crescent will become visible to, let's say, suitably located experienced observers with good sky conditions. That means if there is haze, if there's a bit of pollution, you might just not see it. About one day after the new moon, so they'll be able to see it suitably located. So one day or a little less or so, as we see this, it talks about, will come to it. However, at the time the crescent actually becomes visible, varies quite a bit from one month to another. Naked eye sightings as early as 15.5 hours, so it's less than a day, less than 24 hours after the astronomical new moon, have been reliably reported, reliable reported, while observers of telescopes have made reliable reports as early as 12 hours after the new moon. So that could be a different day, you know, because it's only up there for a few moments and then it's down. So that means some saw 12 hours and then like at 13 or 14 hours it went down and those ones that did not see it, they only saw it the following day. That's why there's this agreement. Can you see?

The visibility of the young lunar crescent depends on sky conditions and location, experience, and preparation of the observer. So this trusted observer depends where he is, depends on the sky conditions, polluted or not polluted, or experience. He's experienced, he's seen it, he's done it year after year, he's very experienced, and how well prepared he is. Generally low latitude, that means the closer you are to the equator, and high altitude, that means you are on a tall mountain, observers who know exactly where and when to look will be favored. In other words, they will see it. They are favorite because they will see it first. For observers at mid-northern latitudes, it's further up from the equator near to the to the poles. Months near the spring of conoxal also favored because of the elliptic, because the elliptic makes a relatively steep angle to the western horizon during these months. So brethren, yeah, we can see there is disagreement between different people about which is the actual day of the new moon.

And so we can see there are concerns with the observation method. So a very experienced observer may see one day, another one may observe it the next day.

Then it depends where you live. Must it be from Jerusalem? And people say, yes, it must be from Jerusalem. Then let me ask you, was Moses in Jerusalem? No. Was Joshua in Jerusalem? No.

They only conquered Jerusalem during the days of David. So, well, there are certain challenges, aren't there? Can one person declare one Sabbath because this person saw it and the other one didn't see it and he saw it the next day? Can one person declare a Sabbath one day of the week and while other declares it the next day? Or because you are in a certain geographical area of the earth, you might see it on a different day because if you're further east or if you're further west, if you're further east maybe you don't see it, but if you're further west because you're lighter in the time of the moon age, as they call it, in other words, it's more hours after the astronomical new moon. So if you're further west, you might see it that day early.

Therefore, if you are in eastern United States or further even east in Australia, you may see it in one day, but in another geographical area like the western USA or Hawaii, you may see it a day earlier maybe. And do you think I'm ridiculous? I have personally met people, brethren, with these very types of differences in the visit point saying, well, you've got to do it in the area where you are.

And what if that declaration is for the first month of the year?

Could they, therefore, start the whole year one day earlier and the others start the whole year one day later? Brethren, don't you think that's confusing? And then what about if it is the day of trumpets that you are proclaiming, which is the first day of the seventh month, which is the only holy day that falls on the first day of the month? In other words, it's the holy, holy day that is on a new moon. So if you're looking at that for the day of trumpets and you've got to wait for the observation and then when people say, haha, it's now the day of trumpets, don't you have to prepare for a Sabbath? How do you prepare if you don't know if it's today or tomorrow?

And people say, oh well, but, you know, maybe you just keep it the next day, which I've had that as well. Well, you can't do that. You can't do that.

And now what if you lived in the times of Christ?

Or during the Middle Ages, and you were dispersed throughout the whole world, you had to sit in Jerusalem, wait for the observation, and have somebody with a cell phone telling you today's the day of trumpets? There was no cell phones a thousand years ago. The people were dispersed, poor people throughout the world. They were scattered God's people.

Even during the time of Paul, brethren, people had to travel. Remember, these are pilgrim feasts. People had to travel. Therefore, they had to know in advance to travel as pilgrims.

You know that time of Paul, he wanted to keep the feast in Jerusalem and things like that, and he was aiming to be certain days to travel. We know he kept the feast, and this was what he said. He did some things after the feast, and he was in gentile areas. And in those days, they do not have cell phones, so they did know in advance when the days would fall.

Brethren, there are many possibilities for disagreement when we take the observation approach. I'm just giving you a tip of the iceberg, brethren, just to give you a problem. But let me give you an example in this modern age of cell phones.

Several years ago, an independent church of God in the western United States sent a man to Jerusalem to observe the new moon and notify the group back home by cell phone. He sat on the side of a hill and called in his observation. The next day, half of the group said he was sitting on the wrong side of the hill and disagreed with his observation, creating a further split in that independent church of God group. Does this add more meaning to the spiritual intent of God's early days?

Brethren, don't we read in 1 Corinthians 14, verse 33 and 40, that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints? And further on in verse 40, he says, all things should be done decently and in order. And then who proclaims the holy convocation?

Who is that trusted person in one of the churches of God that says, all right, I'll declare when it is, and because he's of that church of God, then all the other churches of God would follow.

Could that become a point of saying, well, this is the true church of God?

I mean, Brethren, there's nothing new about these problems.

Even in the times of Israel, the northern kingdom, Jeroboam, king of Israel, devised a new calendar.

You know that. To celebrate the feasts at a different time than Judah. Why? To keep the people under his control. First Kings 12, 32 and 33.

In fact, as I mentioned before, and I quote from Intercalation and the Hebrew Calendar by J.B. Siegel on page 220, quote, there has scarcely been a single dissenting movement in Judaism that has not been associated with a desire to manipulate the calendar, end of quote. Brethren, it is biblically required to proclaim the annual Holy Days by those duly authorized by God.

It needs to be done timelessly so that the brethren can plan. It's not a matter of convenience, because that affected in the times of the programs, even in the times by God.

The Godly purpose is for us to assemble in unity of faith, to worship God, and to edify the body of Christ. Leviticus 23 shows that there is a pressing need for instructions to be handed down from Moses. Now some people say, oh well, but it's a matter of conscience. And they use Romans 14, verse 5 and 6, say one person is steamed one day above another.

But brethren, they omit to read the rest of Romans 14 and to read the context, because it says, he who eats, eats to the Lord, and he who gives thanks, and he who does not eat to the Lord, he does not eat. It actually is not talking about giving Christians authority to change the Holy Days according to their conscience, but it's talking about days of fasting when they individually decide to fast. Obviously, it's not talking about the Day of Atonement. It's talking about when you have your private additional fasts. So brethren, does God expect every member of the Church to decide for himself which calendar to use? Well, if that was the case, would that not be like the days of the Judges, Judges 21-25, in which everyone will be doing what's right in his own eyes?

Brethren, those that follow that approach are definitely not pleasing God.

One of the responsibilities of the priesthood and the Bousers was to announce, to proclaim, the new moons and festivals. Now this, as we know, and as I mentioned, is different than the Sabbath, because the Sabbath was appointed by God at creation, and the responsibility was to remember. But the annual Holy Days, it says in Leviticus 23 verse 4, as I read, you shall proclaim. They had to be proclaimed.

So people say, oh well, you know, because we mentioned, you know, we got to follow these, and therefore God has given the articles to the Jews. People get a little bit upset about that. And, you know, if you look here at the words, it says, to them we're committed the articles of God. And people say, oh well, that does not mean the calendar, and when are the Holy Days. Well, brethren, committed means entrust. And the articles, the Greek word is logoen, logion, logion, which means inspired sayings.

And it's a derivative from the root word of logos, which is very closely linked to verbal expressions. And most agree that the articles of God clearly are the Bible and the Sabbath.

But if it applies to the Sabbath, why does it not apply to the Sabbaths?

In other words, the annual Holy Days. Why, therefore, does not apply to the rules regarding the proclamation of the annual Sabbaths?

And as I mentioned before, it's because people think, oh well, those people were not faithful. Well, God says that every man be a liar, but God is faithful, and he worked through unfaithful people, unbelievers. He did.

So, brethren, the fact is, and that is, yeah, from the comprehensive Hebrew calendar, it says, a special committee of the Sanhedrin, which calculated the beginnings of the seasons on the basis of astronomical figures, which had been handed down as tradition of old. Page one. Brethren, those calculations had been handed down, and therefore we have a responsibility to follow Christ. During Christ's time, there was no dispute about the calendar, and we can believe, we can prove, and I'll show it in my next sermon, that postponements existed during Christ's time.

So, brethren, God is faithful. He's able to work through unfaithful man, even through the dark ages, and He's given us the rules for us to have His annual Holy Days.

The Hebrew calendar projects God's Holy Days and is a continuation of the seasonal guidelines given to Moses. Brethren, once you throw away the Hebrew calendar, which interpretation of the calendar are you going to follow? Because then you're going to follow some man. And who is given such a person the ecclesiastical authority to proclaim when it is God's annual Holy Days? And who would that be, that trusted observer, that all the fellowships of the Church of God and all the Jews would agree? Brethren, it's time for us to stop listening to the endless reasonings and secular quotes about when is the new moon or when is the new year begins, because many of these are contradictory and cause disputes. In the end, we can prove these things, we can prove all things, up to a point. Beyond that, it's a matter of trusting that God is faithful and submitting to those that are under Christ, that Christ has a put in authority to make the judgment in the Church of God, as we read. Christ gave his ministry the responsibility and authority to build, in other words, to edify the Church in the unity of faith and doctrine, to knit God's people together so they may grow in love towards one another. Brethren, God's ministry in the Church of God does not have the authority to create a new calendar, as we showed, or to proclaim when the Holy Days, but it does have the authority to make a judgmental decision on this matter. And the judgmental decision, since the days of the storm, strong and by all the major churches of God, has been to follow these rules as shown to us by the Hebrew calendar. And if that is the case, much less does an individual lay member of the Church can decide when the Holy Days should be. Brethren, you and I, as members of God's Church, have the responsibility to be taught by Christ and by his ministers. The Church of God ministry has therefore the God-given responsibility and authority under Christ to call the commanded assembly of the brethren according to the rules that he has entrusted to the Jews and been handed down to us. When individuals create and or choose their own private calendars and call their own assemblies of when God's Holy Days should be, number one, they do not have the ecclesiastical authority to do so, and they are causing the vision rather than unity in the Church of God. The Church of God as a whole has consistently decided to use the Hebrew calendar rules as preserved by the Jews. After all, brethren, it is a matter of faith. It's a test of our submission to God's authority in faith that he is faithful and that he will guide us. Let us now, brethren, please move forward by not neglecting the weightier matters of the law, which is justice. We've got to obey God's laws.

Mercy. We're going to show mercy and forgiveness upon repentance. And thirdly, faith. Have absolute trust that God exists, that he's a rewarder, and that he's faithful in giving to us what is required for salvation. These are the weightier matters of the law. Let us therefore, brethren, put on the mind of Christ, as it says in Philippians 2, which is one of humility and submission in faith.

And let us follow him as his disciples and focus on edifying the body, which is the Church of God in godly love, peace, and unity.