I first want to say that I approached this theory with a very open mind. I hold no emotional ties to any of the “moon theories”. I do not care one bit if my
King wants me to calculate the months off the conjunction, the crescent, or the full. I just want to follow Him. If it means that I am the only person doing
something a certain way, then so be it. But unlike many, I do NOT want to be “peculiar”. I want to follow my King’s (YHVH) instructions (Torah) and that
makes me peculiar. I am looking forward to one day when everyone is following His instructions!
I have read many papers and articles for the full moon theory. Most of the info that I had read were people saying a whole bunch stuff that will make a good
sermon, but will not make good evidence in a court room. For instance, some will say something like, “The crescent moon shows up next to the sun and the full
moon shows up opposite to the sun and we know that God is anti-sun worship, so it makes sense that the correct calendar will be a calculated off the moon when
it shows up opposite to the sun”. They also find about every verse in the scripture that mentions darkness and light and take it out of context and tell
their readers to flee from the darkness (dark moon calculation) and run to the light (full moon calculation). This method of getting people to believe a
doctrine is somewhat effective and very deceptive (and probably has deceived many). Many people see all the scriptures that they use to support their theory
and think they must be correct, even though they are off point and out of context with the scriptures. There are many of those types of “sermon statements”
for the full moon, crescent moon, and conjunction moon theories. But if you are like me, you want hard evidence, not nice little sermons.
Below, I will refute all the best evidences that have been thrown my way from several people, papers, and websites that support the Full Moon = New Moon
Theory:
Argument #1. (Fact) There are a lot of pagan ties with the crescent moon, (Opinion) God would never have us calculate off something that He knew would end
up being a pagan thing.
Answer: This is not really good evidence that one could use in a court case, but I will refute it because it is one of the biggest arguments that the full
moon supporters use. R.A. Eckert, (which has been a huge influence in the full moon calculation) spent most of his 130 pages of his paper linking crescent
moon with pagan worship (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RepairTheBreachByUncoveringDeception/message/17). The fact is, there are MANY more pagan ties with
the full moon than the crescent moon. I went to several pagan/wiccan sites and found MUCH information about the holidays that are calculated off the full
moon and just about nothing linking pagan holidays with the crescent. Below are taken from a couple of sites
(a. – dd. From http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/exeter/870/moonholidays.htmland ee. - jj.
from http://www.joellessacredgrove.com/Holidays/sabbats.html
a. Artemis, The Feast of (Greel)- On the full moon before Midsummer Artemis, the Goddess of fertility and of the hunt, was honored in an all-night gala that
involved many fertility rites.
b. Anthesterion (Greek)- This three-day festival of wine takes place on the full moon closest to the Spring Equinox. It was once a festival of fertility
and, like Bealtaine in modern Witchcraft, celebrated the sacred marriage of the Goddess and God.
c. Baba Yaga, The Feast of (Russian)- Baba Yaga was a crone Goddess who has become, in modern times, a wicked old witch whose image is used to frighten
errant children. At one time she was honored for her wisdom and healing skills at the full moon of November.
d. Cituua (Native South American)- A spring fertility festival celebrated at the full moon nearest the Autumn Equinox.
e. Ciuateotl, The Night of (Aztec)- The full harvest moon of the Aztecs was a time to appease the Goddess of strife, misfortune, and labor whose name means
'the great bath of sweat'.
f. Disirblot (Norse)- The full moon following the Autumn Equinox once began the Nordic New Year, an attribute later given over to the solar date we call
Midwinter. On this night, great family feasts were held which featured foods sacred to the Autumn deities.
g. Easter (Christian)- Based upon Middle Eastern and European Pagan rites, this holiday, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, falls on the
first Sunday after the full moon after the Spring Equinox and retains much of the Pagan symbolism upon which it was built.
h. Edfu (Egyptian)- The full moon after Midsummer is the date of the Feast of Hathorn-Tiamet, one of the most widely known and worshipped Goddess of the
Egyptian pantheon. She arrives at the communal feast site by boat and is celebrated in a joyous ceremony venerating her fertility, beauty, and power over
romantic love.
i. Full Moon (Australian Aboriginal)- The Aborigines have many very old observances, most of whose meanings are still not clear to outsiders. Their season
circles around the moons of their year. Like other natives peoples, they named their moons and held feasts and dances in their honor.
j. Full Moon (Celtic)- The Celts honored the full moons as an integral part of their Wheel of the Year. A popular tree calendar was created in the early part
of this millennium, attributing a sacred tree to each lunar month.
k. Full Moon (Central African)- Most African tribes names the full moons and honored them as representations of either Goddesses or Gods. Each one calls for
a special type of ritual celebrated by the entire community.
l. Full Moon (Native North American)- Many Native North American tribes assigned names and attributes to the full moons and honored them-female or male-
accordingly, with rituals and magick appropriate to the season.
m. Full Moon (Polynesian)- The people of the south sea islands honor their full moon as a mother figure who can grant fertility to barren couples and bring
fish back to their shores.
n. Harvest Moon (Native North Americans)- The first full moon after the Autumn Equinox was the day on which the last of the harvest had to be gathered.
Later, feasting and dancing honored the Grandmother Moon.
o. Harvest Moon (Celtic, Early American and Canadian)- The harvest moon was the last full moon before Samhain (Halloween). It was considered a blessing to
have her light to see by, in order to work later into the evening to gather in the last of the harvest. This night evolved into a community celebration
involving the folksy customs of corn husking, quilting, and thanksgiving-style feasting.
p. Homage to Ch'ang-O, The (Chinese)- This moon Goddess has her festival on the full moon nearest the Autumn Equinox. The number thirteen, which represents
the number of full moons in a solar year, figures heavily in the symbolism of the holiday, which is celebrated with feasting, dancing, divination, and the
recitation of her myths.
q. Homage to Chung K'ui, The (Chinese)- On the full moon of the fifth month of the year, honor is paid to this God of protection, whose image is still used
to banish and ward off evil.
r. Homage to the Wealth Gods, The (Chinese)- The Chinese still make a pilgrimage to the shrine of their Gods of prosperity on the last full moon before their
New Year.
s. Hunter's Moon (Slavic)- The last full moon before the Summer Solstice is the night of the Hunter's Moon in Slavic Pagan traditions. In the not-too-distant
past this was the night to honor the Goddess of the hunt; hunting parties are out in search of fresh spring games for a communal feast.
t. Lantern Festival, The (Chinese)- This holiday takes place on the last full moon before the New Year. The festival involves the hanging of colorful
lanterns in every conceivable space. In the distant past this was an act of sympathetic magick intended to lure the waning sun back to the earth, much as
Imbolg is celebrated in modern Wicca.
u. Luna, Feast of (Roman)- A festival to honor the primal waxing/full moon Goddess of ancient Rome. Her temple on Aventine Hill was the site of worship,
feasting, and wild dancing orgies. The untamed character of those abandoned revelries was the source of our word 'lunatic'.
v. Mama Paca (Native South American)- The Indians of the Andes Mountains celebrate this earth Goddess on the full moon after the Autumn Equinox. This is the
start of their planting season, a time when the newly tilled earth has to be blessed and consecrated in her honor. As an act of faith in her benevolence, the
majoriy of foodstuffs remaining from the previous year are eaten in a communal feast.
w. Mother Moon Pilrimage, The (Maori)- The native people of New Zealand honor the full moon after the Autumn Equinox as the patroness of the coming harvest.
She is the power who can awaken and unite the sleeping Goddess and God of the earth and ensure the fertility of the island. The Maoris seek out the highest
mountain available and make offerings to her.
x. New Year for Trees (Canaanite-Babylonian)- The New Year for Trees was celebrated on the full moon of the fifth month of the old Babylonian lunar calendar
(around February). Both the calendar and the festival have been adopted into modern Judaism. The holiday is celebrated in Israel by the planting of new trees,
usually in memory of a person or to commemorate a happy event of the previous year.
y. Osiris and Isis, The Feast of (Egyptian)- The full moon of the twelfth month of the year honored the Underworld and harvest God Osiris and his Goddess
consort Isis.
z. Powamu (Native North American)- The Hopi Indians of the American southwest dedicated the full moon of the second month of their year to ceremonies
encouraging crop growth and honoring their grain deities.
aa. Purim (Jewish)- The full moon of the sixth month of the Jewish year commemorates the fall of Haman, the wicked Grand Vizier who advised his Persian King
to destroy all the Jews in the realm. The Jews were saved through the heroic efforts of the Jewish Queen, Esther. The holiday is celebrated with costumes and
candy, much like Halloween.
bb. Seventh Moon, The (Teutonic)- The seventh full moon of the year falls close to the time of Midsummer. Once it was probably a major Pagan festival time,
but from the late dark ages on it was considered a night for rampant evil, witches, and baneful faeries. Persons living in the Black Forest regions still
believe that venturing forth on this night is unwise.
cc. Virgin, The Feast of the (Italian)- This Christianized Pagan festival honors the Virgin Mary, who was believed to have appeared in the village of Carmine
many centuries ago. The celebration takes place at the first full moon in the month of July.
dd. Youth, The Festival (Southeast Asian)- This autumn celebration honors the living spirit of children. On this night they are given sole possession of the
powers of light. In honor of this responsibility parades are held, in which children carry lanterns they have made themselves. The festival occurs at the full
moon of the eleventh month of their year.
ee. Samhain, pronounced sow-en and called Halloween today, is the ending of the Celtic year. The Celtic new year actually begins at sunset on October 31.
This ritual is known as Ancestor Night or Feast of the Dead. Because the veil between the worlds is thinnest on this night, it was and is considered an
excellent time for divinations. Feasts are made in remembrance of dead ancestors and as an affirmation of continuing life. A time for settling problems,
throwing out old ideas and influences. This is either celebrated October 31, or the first Full Moon in Scorpio.
ff. Winter Solstice or Yule, occurs about December 21. This is the time of death and rebirth of the Sun God. The days are shortest, the Sun at its lowest
point. The Full Moon after Yule is considered the most powerful of the whole year. This ritual is a light festival, with as many candles as possible on or
near the altar in welcome of the Sun Child.
gg. Imbolc, February 1st or the first Full Moon in Aquarius, is a time of cleansing and newborn lambs. The name, Imbolc, comes from the word 'oimelc' or
sheep's milk. It is a festival of the Maiden in preparation for growing and renewal.
hh. Spring Equinox or Ostara, around March 21, is when light and darkness are in balance but the light is growing stronger. Ostara was not originally a part
of the Celtic year, and all of its associations were given to Beltaine until recent times. Because it was named for the Teutonic Goddess of Spring and New
Life, Eostre, it is assumed that it was brought to prominence in the Celtic world by the Saxons.
ii. Beltaine, is May 1, or the first Full Moon in Taurus. Other names for it are May Day or Lady Day. It is primarily a fertility festival with nature
enchantments and offerings to wildlings and Elementals. The powers of elves and faeries are growing and will reach their height at Summer Solstice. A time of
great magic, it is good for all divinations and for establishing a woodland or garden shrine. The house guardians should be honored at this time.
jj. Lughnassadh is August 1 or the first Full Moon in Leo. This is a preharvest festival, the turning point in Mother Earth's year. The last herbs are
gathered. It is a celebration in honor of the god Lugh's wedding to Mother Earth.
Eckert’s paper has influenced many to start the month on the full by linking the crescent moon to pagan worship. It was obvious that he did much study into
this, but he conveniently left out the fact that there are more links between the full moon and pagan rituals than there are with the crescent moon and pagan
rituals. This fact should throw up red flags to anyone reading his paper that this man is a deceiver. It doesn’t take much searching out to find so many
more links with pagan rituals to the full moon than the crescent. But, even if it was the case that more pagan rituals are calculated from the crescent
(which it is not), it still would not prove that calculating the first of the month on the full moon was the right way. Just like showing that there are many
links between the full moon and pagan rituals does not make a case for the crescent (or the conjunction), being the correct way to start off the months. Just
like the fact that the false god “Attis” (the god of reviving vegetation) was supposedly born of a virgin, died, and raised after 3 days does not mean that
our Messiah was not born of a virgin, died, and was raised after 3 days.
Argument #2 (Fact) The sun was darkened for 3 hours at the resurrection. (Fact) The only way to have a solar eclipse (by the moon) is to have the moon in
the conjunction phase. (Opinion) Therefore, the full moon must have been the first of the month and 14 days later was the conjunction (which made the solar
eclipse).
The sources that I was pointed to for the darkened sun were:
Luke 23:44-45
And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was
rent in the midst.
Nicodemus 8:1-2 and 7-9
And it was about the sixth hour, and darkness was upon the face of the whole earth until the ninth hour. And while the sun was eclipsed…
7-9 The centurion went to the governor, and related to him all that had passed: And when he heard all of these things, he was exceedingly sorrowful; And
calling the Jews together, said to them, Have ye seen the miracle of the sun’s eclipse…
This is an easy one to debunk from several different ways. I have been in a total solar eclipse. It only gets dark for a few minutes and then light again.
It does not stay dark for 3 hours. It is true that it takes roughly 3 hours for the moon to completely pass by the sun (relative to your position), during
about 2.75 hours of that time, it is not even as dark as an overcast day. The solar eclipse in “Nicodemus” as the governor put it was a “miracle”. Solar
eclipses happen about once a year. Even though is very unlikely that a solar eclipse would fall on a certain city, I wouldn’t call a solar eclipse a
“miracle” (as described in Nicodemus). I will easily concede that the sun was “eclipsed”, but it was NOT eclipsed by the moon. Below is a link that shows
all of the solar eclipses from 0021 to 0040. During this time, there was only one eclipse any where near Jerusalem and that happened on November 24, 0029.
This would mean that it was an impossibility that the eclipse at Passover was from the moon.
Argument #3 Psalm 81:3 mentions a full moon (in some versions)
"Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day." (KJV)
"Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon,At the full moon, on our solemn feast day." (NKJV).
I believe that it is this one verse that is causing so much confusion in this area. It is true that one could read that the verse to say that the this is all
talking about one event, the feast of trumpets (since the feast of trumpets is the only feast that lands on a “New Moon”. If this verse is talking about one
event, then the full moon (if the word was properly translated to full moon) is also at the “New Moon” (at the first of the month). The fact is, this verse
(reading the NKJV) can be taken at least 2 different ways. They could be talking about one event, or two, or several events. We are warned not to make up
our own interpretation, so we can not make up a doctrine from this verse alone.
2 Peter 1:20
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
Another piece of “evidence” that I was given for the full moon being the first of the month is that in John 18:3, it tells us that the soldiers brought with
them lanterns and torches to go find the Messiah. An argument would be that if it was a full moon during this time, they wouldn’t need to bring with them
lanterns and torches. It would be a much better argument if they could show the Messiah and his disciples walking around with lanterns and torches to get
around. It is true that one can easily walk without tripping over rocks or running into trees with the light of a full moon, but to recognize someone’s face
would be much harder to do. Also, they did not know that the Messiah would turn himself in so easily. Why else would they bring a whole band of men with
swords (the Greek word that was translated as “band” in the verse refers to about 600 men) if they didn’t know that the Messiah would give up so easily, of
course they would bring torches to look for him (and identify him) when searching at night.
Well, I would love to continue on and on…but really, these 4 pieces of evidence are the only pieces of real evidence that I have found. If you find others,
please send them to me (again, give me things that you could use in a court case, not just in a sermon. I have read through all of Eckert’s paper and this
entire article http://www.bayithamashiyach.com/Chodesh.html and found no more good evidence that is worth refuting that is not covered somewhere in this
article or in the links provided).
Evidence for the Crescent being the first of the month
Now, what about evidence that supports the crescent moon being the first of the month? I have heard two theories so far from full moon supporters about
Yahushua and Passover. One person told me that the Messiah and the Jews of the time were calculating the first of the month on the correct date and the
change came sometime after the temple was destroyed. The other one told me that the Messiah was incorrect on his calculation. I am not even going to bother
with answering if the Messiah knew what He was doing or not.
Another point is that the Muslims (who are descendants of Abraham and are much more zealous about their laws and traditions than most Christians and many Jews)
also keep the crescent as the first of the month. So if there was a change in the calendar, this change must have not only changed the Jewish calendar, but
also the Muslim calendar.
After reading Eckerd’s paper, I not only find his conclusion incorrect, but I also find him as a deceiver. He links the crescent moon with paganism, but he
purposely fails to point out that there are more links to full moon worship and paganism than there are with the crescent moon. I have also been referred
several times to another website (who also links to Eckerd’s paper) that is a promoter of the full moon being the first of the month. Again, with careful
study of their website, I also conclude that not only they are incorrect, but they are purposely trying to deceive people.
(http://www.bayithamashiyach.com/Chodesh.html ) Here is a quote from the page:
Some written words chosen for the chapters 73 and 78 of Book of Enoch speaking of the cycle of full moon to full moon: “....And her first phase in the east
comes forth on the thirtieth morning: and on that day she becomes visible (full moon)....all her remaining light disappears wholly on the fifteenth
(dark moon)....”
Here are those verses with a lot more context:
The Book of Enoch Chapter 73
4 And thus she rises. And her first phase in the east comes forth on the thirtieth morning: and on that day she becomes visible, and constitutes for you the
first phase of the moon on the thirtieth day together with the sun in the portal where the sun rises.
Notice that in the book of Enoch it does not put in parenthesis “full moon” after “she becomes visible”. This was put there by that website. But does “she
becomes visible” mean full moon? By looking in context, it actually means “crescent moon”. After going to the source, one can easily see that the people
that put this site together are deliberately trying to deceive people. The person writing that article can easily read the context of the verse and see it is
talking about the crescent, but he (or she) takes it out of context and tells you that it is talking about the full moon. Red flags should go up after
learning that these people are purposely trying to deceive their readers!
continuing at verse 8
....is invisible that night with the fourteen parts and the half of one of them. And she rises on that day with exactly a seventh part, and comes forth and
recedes from the rising of the sun, and in her remaining days she becomes bright in the (remaining) thirteen parts.
Also, if you read all of Enoch 78, you can see that they divided the moon phase into 2 parts (waxing and waning). This explains why all her remaining lights
disappears wholly on the fifteenth (15th day of waning). Here is the verse that they quoted with its context:
6And when the moon rises one-fourteenth part appears in the heaven: 7) [the light becomes full in her]: on the fourteenth day she accomplishes her light.
And fifteen parts of light are transferred to her till the fifteenth day (when) her light is accomplished, according to the sign of the year, and she becomes
fifteen parts, and the moon grows by (the addition of) fourteenth 8) parts. And in her waning (the moon) decreases on the first day to fourteen parts of her
light, on the second to thirteen parts of light, on the third to twelve, on the fourth to eleven, on the fifth to ten, on the sixth to nine, on the seventh to
eight, on the eighth to seven, on the ninth to six, on the tenth to five, on the eleventh to four, on the twelfth to three, on the thirteenth to two, on the
fourteenth 9) to the half of a seventh, and all her remaining light disappears wholly on the fifteenth.
Again, anyone reading the context can see that when they took that verse out of context, it totally changes the meaning to what they want you to believe.
And in Chapter 78 12-13a:
“...And on the first day she is called the new moon, for on that day the light rises upon her.”
(so she is called the "new moon" on the day "light rises upon her"....sounds like the crescent to me).
Continuing with 13b-15…
"She becomes full moon exactly on the day when the sun sets in the west, and from the east she rises at night, and the moon shines the whole night through till
the sun rises over against her and the moon is seen over against the sun. On the side whence the light of the moon comes forth, there again she wanes till all
the light vanishes and all the days of the month are at an end, and her circumference is empty, void of light.”
Here are a couple of more points for calculating the first of the month off the crescent moon:
1. There are 3 pilgrim feasts in scriptures:
a. Passover -14th day of the month (if crescent moon is the correct first day of the month, then we would be traveling near the time of a full moon)
b. Pentecost: 50-57 days after Passover which should be also close to a full moon
c. Tabernacles – 15th day (if crescent moon is the correct first day of the month, then we would be traveling near the time of a full moon)
2. “Chodesh” (translated as “new moon”) is from the root word: “chadash” which means:
1) to be new, renew, repair
a) (Piel)
1) to renew, make anew
2) to repair
b) (Hithpael) to renew oneself
Gesenius's Lexicon describes the word “chadash” with these phrases:
a. “to polish a sword”
b. “Etymologists have well observed that its primary sense is that of cutting or polishing”
c. “the signification of newness appears to proceed from that of a sharp polished splendid sword”
So let me ask you….does a full moon look like a sword? Or does a crescent moon look like a sword?
So many people are striving so hard to find “new truths” and striving so hard to be “peculiar” that they are too easily influenced by deceivers with their new
doctrines. I agree that there is a wide path and a narrow path, but the narrow path isn’t a tight rope. It is a very poor argument to say, “Christians and
Jews do it this way, so I am going to do it another way”. Both of those religions have thousands of doctrines. It is absurd to say that every single one of
those doctrines is incorrect (especially if you can’t prove that the doctrine is incorrect).
