The first visible crescent does NOT announce the new moon.

Starting the month wrong would be just as bad as keeping the wrong day as Sabbath. There is no text that explains what a new moon is, but there is nature (which is the first gospel). All nature screams the majesty of YHVH. History is also not silent on the matter. There is indirect information in Scripture that is supportive though. In Scripture, the only weekly Sabbaths that can be date identified are the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days of the month and they are regulated by the moon. The ONLY way for this to happen is if the dark of the moon is new moon. Reasons why the New Moon is not announced by the first visible crescentexplanation and evidence below... 1. This is originally a Babylonian practice, not Hebrew. The Babylonian calendar was a lunisolar calendar with years consisting of 12 lunar months, each beginning when a new crescent moon was first sighted low on the western horizon at sunset, plus an intercalary month inserted as needed by decree. The calendar is based on a Sumerian (Ur III) predecessor preserved in the Umma calendar of Shulgi (ca. 21st century BC). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_calendar The beginning of the month in the Babylonian calendar was determined by the direct observation by priests of the young crescent moon at sunset after the astronomical New Moon. http://www.friesian.com/calendar.htm The link, http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Egypt/ptolemies/chron/babylonian/chron_bab_cal.htm, leads you to this quote: The Babylonian calendar was a lunisolar calendar. The Babylonian day began at sunset, and each month notionally began with the first rising of the crescent moon; in essence, a Babylonian month was a synodic lunar month, represented as a 29 or 30 day month. Contemporary records show that the start of the month was actually determined by observation of the new moon wherever possible, or by prediction if not. The months began at the first visibility of the New Moon, and in the 8th century BC court astronomers still reported this important observation to the Assyrian kings. Thus, the Babylonian calendar until the end preserved a vestige of the original bipartition of the natural year into two seasons, just as the Babylonian months to the end remained truly lunar and began when the New Moon was first visible in the evening. The day began at sunset. . The Jewish adoption of Babylonian calendar customs dates from the period of the Babylonian Exile in the 6th century BC. http://www.ancienthistoricalsociety.org/CalendarsBabylonian.html Note: You might be tempted to say, SEE! But youd be wrong. These websites accurately record the events as history reveals them. It was the Jews who adopted the Babylonian calendar, including the days beginning at sunset (the days in Scripture begin at dawn), the months beginning with the first visible crescent, as well as the pagan names of the months and having eggs on the table at Passover (along with other pagan traditions). The Jews are not Israelites; they are Khazars (Edomites) who adopted Judaism in the 8th century A.D. (Ask for this evidence if you are tired of believing lies. The Jews ADMIT they are not Israelites. I have the quotes.) All the months in Scripture are by ordinal

numbers. The Israelites certainly apostatized and fell into the same or similar calendar corruption as the Jews, but there the similarities cease. 2. If the month is counted from the first visible crescent, the Sabbath will rarely be announced by the quarter phases. The quarter phases will almost always be seen after the Sabbath is over. Scripture says that the luminaries in the heavens will be for signs (the Hebrew word means signal or beacon). A signal or beacon (or warning) tells of the arrival o f something or an upcoming event. A signal after something is over is not much of a signal. 3. Scripture reveals three different categories of day, but if the month begins with the first crescent, these three categories of day cannot be distinguished in nature. A first sliver new moon day looks JUST like the work week, showing an illuminated moon, and the end of the last work week of the month will have 1 or 2 non-illuminated days. Friend, the sun tells you when the day begins; the moon tells you what day it is. Do you suppose that YHVH couldnt figure out how to separate the three categories of day and that nature needs improved upon somehow? There are three phases of the moon and three categories of day. There is the dark phase, and the illuminated phases, the 4 quarter phases which announce the Sabbaths. There are new moon days, work days and Sabbaths. There are 2 dark days and 28 days showing an illuminated moon in each whole (30 day) month. There are 4 seven day weeks each month for a total of 28 days. If the illuminated days announce the days work week, then the quarter phases will announce all 4 Sabbaths, that leaves the 1-2 dark days after the last Sabbath each month as new moon days. 4. There ARE two days of new moon celebration from time to time. The lunar cycle used to be 30 days every month, but was altered several thousand years ago to 29.5 days. That leaves more than one day left over after the 28 work days each month. If they are not days of the work week, then they must be new moon days. What does the second new moon day look like and when does it occur, before or after the first visible crescent? There is a two day new moon in the OT: It was on the 29th day of the month that David said to Jonathan, Tomorrow was the new moon. (I Samuel 20:5, Jonathan agreed in verse 18) David understood that there would be two days of feasting (Day 30 and Day 1) which is why he requested that Jonathan come into field to shoot the arrows on the third day (the day following the second day of the new moon celebration). David knew that the king would expect him for the two days in question, and he was right. The king ignored his absence the first day thinking him unclean or something, but was wroth when he was not there the second day - 1 Samuel 20:24-30. The underlying Hebrew in 1 Samuel 20:27, 34 where it says 2nd day of the month literally means the 2nd day of the chodesh or new moon (celebration) not the 2nd day of the month as translated. (I asked a Hebrew student). This man didnt just convince me by his answer. Nature did. Nature is the first gospel. There are sometimes one dark day after the last Sabbath of the month, sometimes two. Here is this calendar puzzle on paper. 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1

Jonathan and David agreed upon the 29th day of the month. David was not at the Kings table on the 30th, nor on the 1st. Jonathan shot his arrows on the 2nd. When there are two days of new moon celebration, the second is always the first day of the new month. I can send you no verification other than to the Word itself. I have never seen a single study on this point, other than one in opposition to it. But here is the paper trail.... In Scripture, the months ALL used to be 30 days in length, for a total of a 360 lunar/solar year. The luni-solar year was originally 360 days long. Twelve 30 day months = 360 day year. Here is the evidence for this. Genesis 7:11 says that the flood began on the 17th day of the second month. Genesis 8:4 says the water prevailed upon the face of the earth until the 17th day of the seventh month. That is 5 months. Genesis 7:24 and 8:3 say that the water prevailed upon the earth for 150 days. 150 divided by 5 = 30. So there were 5 consecutive 30 day months in Scripture, which is not possible with the current relationship between the earth and moon. So, we have solid Scriptural proof that the months were all 30 days in length. The lunar cycle is now 29.5 days rather than 30 day in length. Which equates to some months being 29 days long, some being 30 days long. There are 4 seven day weeks in each month, which accounts for only 28 of 29 or 30 days. These other days are new moon days. It was not until YHVH dented His clock that there were 29 day months. I personally believe this dent occurred in Hezekiahs time. I also believe YHVH will correct His calendar in the near future, which means a return to a 360 day year with twelve 30 day months and TWO new moon days every month. The dark phase is new moon. The evidence for this is that MANY ancient and scholarly resources reveal that Israel observed the Sabbaths on the quarter phases of the moon. If you start from the first visible crescent, the Sabbaths will never line up with the quarter phases, being a 1-2 day(s) late every week. The only way for the quarter phases to announce the Sabbath is to count the new moon as the first day of the week. Problem... Ezekiel 46:1 tells us that the new moon CANNOT be counted as a week day, the gate to the inner court being shut all 6 working days, open on Sabbath and new moon. There are three other witnesses that attest to the work days being separate from the Sabbath and new moon, Amos 8:5, Isaiah 66:23 and II Kings 4:23. So the only way to count the lunar cycle and have the three different types of day be marked off with 3 different phases (AND have the Sabbaths announced by the quarter phases) is for the dark phase to be new moon. The illuminated phase to be for the work week, of which the quarter phases announce the Sabbaths. Count the month this way, and the quarter phase will announce the Sabbaths on the 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th days of each month. Interestingly, these are the only dates that any weekly Sabbaths fall on in Scripture. Sometimes there are 2 dark days after the last Sabbath of the month. The only way to ALWAYS have a one day new moon is for there to only be ONE dark day after the 29th day of the month. That single dark day would be the first day of the new month. Day 29 followed by day one. When there are two dark days (the moon is not illuminated) after the 29th day of the month, what would you do with them? They are not illuminated as the other week days are.

When there is only one dark day after the 29th day of the month, conjunction took place on the 29th, followed by one day of the dark phase of the moon. When there are two days of the dark phase after the 29th of the month, conjunction will have taken place on the day AFTER the 29th. Because conjunction splits a day in half (the first part being in the old month, the last part after conjunction being in the new month), what month does this day belong in? Old or new? Answer: It is part of the old month because it BEGAN in the old month. A day cannot be part old month and part new month at the same time. The moon is in an elliptical orbit, meaning that conjunction will never (rarely) take place at dawn, when a new day and a new month could begin at the same moment. So the first of two dark days is day 30 of the old month. This is exactly the scenario found in I Samuel 20. When it says 2nd day of the month, the Hebrew is second day of chodesh. The first meaning of chodesh is new moon (renewal), it only means month by implication. In Davids day, the clock had not yet been dented, so every month was 30 days in length. This is why Saul expected him for two days because every new moon celebration was a two day event. There is also a two day new moon in the NT: These going before tarried for us at Troas. And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. Acts 20:5-7 Paul took five days to get to Troas after the last day of Unleavened Bread, which is Abib 21. So he arrived on the 26th day of Abib then stayed 7 days. 1 2 9 16 23 2 3 10 17 24 3 4 11 18 25 4 5 12 19 26 5 6 13 20 27 6 7 14 21 28 7 8 15 22 29 8

30

Remember, new moon days are NOT week days. The only way for Paul to arrive in Troas on the 26th, be in Troas for 7 days and speak until midnight of the first day of the week ready to depart on the morrow is if there is a two day new moon. Day 30 and day 1 (the 2 days of a 2 day new moon celebration) would not be counted against the week. Look above and count em: 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 1, 2 (thats seven days) as he was going to depart on the morrow. The second day of the month (underlined above) MUST be the first day of the week in order for the math to work. This passage is a stumbling block for the Gregorian calendar as there is no way to create or force the end of the 7 day stay to fall on the first day of the week successfully. 5. Genesis 1:1-2 proves that the new moon days are dark days. This was the first day (a segment of time that occurred before the first work week) of the first month of earths history, and it was dark. If the 2nd month of earths history began with a new moon, and LAST month began with a new moon, then the first month of earths history did too. And as pointed out, the first new moon day was dark.

All the waxing gibbous moons seen above the red line below (the first 15 days of the month) are identified at sunset the evening BEFORE the numbered day in the box. All the waning gibbous moons seen below the red line (the last 14-15 days of the month) are identified at dawn OF the numbered day in the box. If you do not see the signal until after the Sabbath is over, that is not much of a signal is it? If you start the month after the first visible crescent, not a single Sabbath will be announced by a quarter phase moon, and Genesis 1:14 clearly says that the moon 1 would regulate the moedim, the Sabbath being the first moedim listed in Leviticus 23, see verses 1-3. Genesis 1:14 also says that the two lights would be for signs, the Hebrew meaning signal or beacon.
New moon Day

First Quarter

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Full moon

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Third Quarter

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Last Sliver

May or may not be seen

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The graph on this page shows how the lunar calendar works. Each quarter phase ends its respective week, announcing the weekly Sabbath (red font). All three categories of day are distinctly different. The New moon days (blue font) are not illuminated. The week days (black font), including the weekly Sabbaths ARE illuminated, but the quarter phases which are approximately 7 days apart are used appropriately for each Sabbath. If the dark days are recognized as a third category of day, and put in the place of the new moon days, suddenly each and every Sabbath is announced by a quarter phase moon. When the first crescent is 5 misappropriated as the new moon, not a single Sabbath is announced by a quarter phase moon

Dark moon

New moon Day

I hope you will ask more questions and examine the evidence. Nature does not lie. If you observe the first crescent as new moon, you will immediately notice that your Sabbaths are not announced by the quarter phase. Regardless of where you live all of us can see the first and third quarters of the moon, they are the same there and here. The days I call Sabbath will be your preparation day every week. The only way we will ever keep the same Sabbath is if you start counting new moon day as a week day (the first of your seven day work week), and as shown in Ezekiel 46:1, et al, new moon days are not week days. I do not use the Babylonian new moon practice; I use the one in Scripture. If you will call the dark days (whether one or two) the days of new moon celebration, then all your Sabbaths will be announced by the quarter phase of the moon, just as is recorded in Israels history. In this manner, the days of new moon celebration are distinctly different from the work week. The work week is illuminated (the quarter phases announce the Sabbaths), and the new moon days are dark. If you believe that the months begin with the sighting of the first crescent, I challenge you to look at the moon before each of your Sabbaths this month. Dont take my word for it, go outside and look. Look at sunset for the first two weeks of the month, and at dawn or as near dawn as you wake up the second two weeks. If you will do this, you will see your Sabbaths are not announced by the quarter phase moon, the quarter phases will announce your days of preparation, not the weekly Sabbaths. The graph on the previous page shows how the lunar calendar works. Each quarter phase ends its respective week, announcing the weekly Sabbath (red font). All three categories of day are distinctly different. The New moon days (blue font) are not illuminated. The week days (black font), including the weekly Sabbaths ARE illuminated, but the quarter phases which are approximately 7 days apart are used appropriately for each Sabbath. If the dark days are recognized as a third category of day, and put in the place of the new moon days, suddenly each and every Sabbath is announced by a quarter phase moon. When the first visible crescent is misappropriated as the new moon, none of the Sabbaths are announced by a quarter phase moon. If we are going to proclaim to the world that we observe the Sabbaths by the moon, or lunar Sabbaths, then our calendar should at least substantiate that claim. There are 2 dark days in a whole, 30 day lunar month, and 28 days when the moon is illuminated, 4 of which are the Sabbath. There are 2 days of new moon celebration in a whole 30 day month, and 28 days of weeks, 4 of which are the Sabbath. Does this seem like a coincidence to you? The sun tells you when a new day has begun, the MOON, however, tells you which day it is. Respectfully submitted, Troy Miller www.CreationCalendar.com