New Moon

Richard T. Ritenbaugh:  When studying a biblical topic, it is always helpful to begin with a plain, unambiguous statement that provides a fundamental understanding of the subject. ...

Richard Ritenbaugh asks us to consider how we would discipline a recalcitrant, obstinate child, examining a repertoire of techniques from harsh to indulgent, reminding us that good parents should have a whole quiver of solutions, not just a carrot or a stick. The children of Jacob have throughout history behaved like spoiled brats, perennially earning God's wrath and discipline. Yom Teruah, the Day of Trumpets, pictures a shout of warning, a time of gloominess and dread, the Day of the Lord in the valley of decision, the great tribulation when God's wrath will be poured upon mankind, a curse they bring on themselves. Sadly many in God's Church will also ignore the warning, reaping the consequences of their lack of submission. God is full of grief that it has come to this sad state of apostasy. Our worship on the Day of Trumpets should constitute praise and worship, extolling the attributes, blessings, and promises of God. The Feasts of God establish God's statutes, laws, testimonies, ordinances, and rulings. If we would keep God's Feasts properly, we would be in sync with God's noble purpose for us, defending us from falling into apostasy and idolatry. God tested physical Israel and is continuing to test spiritual Israel, the Israel of God. We dare not imitate the rebellion of our forebears on the Sinai who fell into idolatry, but rather must hallow God and keep His Commandments.

A recent phenomenon among some Sabbatarians is something called the "Lunar Sabbath," counting the weekly Sabbath from each month's new moon. Charles Whitaker argues that the Lunar Sabbath idea is unbiblical and unworkable, asserting that the traditional weekly Sabbath, observed every seventh day, is correct and in line with God's Word.

Kim Myers, focusing on Jude 3-4, which cautions us to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints, warns that there are many false teachers who would attempt to turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. Most of us in this fellowship were brought in under the tutelage of Herbert W. Armstrong, instructed in the proper keeping of the Holy Days, clean and unclean meats, divorce and remarriage, and dating outside the faith. After the breakup of our previous fellowship, some of the splinter groups have experimented with sacred names, new moons, and interactive studies rather than sermons, and adopting a very casual form of dress, not even appropriate for a swap meet. The Sabbath is a holy convocation called by God; we are to respond to God's invitation with respect rather than sloppiness. We are to cease from our worldly concerns on the Sabbath and devote extra time to study, prayer, and getting to know our Heavenly Father, calling the Sabbath a delight. Compromising with little things leads to compromising with big things and could take us right out of the Way. God has given us all the tools we need. He gave us His Son, His Holy Spirit, and our calling. We need to reciprocate by keeping the faith once delivered from the Saints.

John Ritenbaugh reiterates that if God had accepted the calendar for 1600 years, it would be presumptuous for one living at the end of days to call it flawed. This calendar issue had surfaced during the tenure of Herbert W. Armstrong's apostleship and was thoroughly studied and systematically resolved. God assigned the tribe of Judah to be the caretakers of the calendar (as part of the oracles; Romans 3:2) The real issue in this controversy is faith in God's sovereignty and His faithfulness. The church does not exist in a vacuum, but as a subset of, subject to the ordinances of the Commonwealth of Israel (and Judah), with whom the Covenants were made. The need for precision, consistency and predictability censures any misguided attempts at establishing home made calendars.

John Ritenbaugh takes issue with those who feel that the perennial calendar controversy was never understood, investigated or resolved by Herbert Armstrong. After a lengthy study in the 1940s, he concluded: (1) there are not enough rules in the Bible to establish a calendar. (2) God had given no authority to anyone outside the Bible to establish a calendar. (3) The oracles of God had been committed to the Jews (Romans 3:1-2), and nobody else. The issue is not mathematical or astronomical, but instead a matter of trust in God's faithfulness, authority, sovereignty, oversight, or ability to govern. If we did not have revelation (including the provision of a calendar) from God, presumptuously trying to establish a calendar independently has led to, and will continue to lead to chaos and confusion.

John Ritenbaugh focuses upon two sets of verses (Colossians 2:16-18; Galatians 4:9-10) which Protestant theologians have blasphemously charged that Paul was referring to God's Law, Sabbath, and Holy Days as weak and beggarly elements of the world. In both instances Paul was not referring to keeping the Holy Days at all, but instead an attempt by some in those congregations to syncretize Gnostic asceticism with the keeping of Holy Days, perverting their right use, in addition to bringing in superstitious lucky days, months, and seasons from pagan customs involving demon worship. In both contexts, Paul admonishes these congregations that the object of our faith must be Christ (including keeping His Commandments) rather than demons or human tradition.

John Ritenbaugh affirms that the way to be undefiled (to become sanctified, developing character) is to walk in the Law of the Lord (Psalm 119:1). We must do God's Word or it will never be a part of us. The Colossian Christians (Colossians 2:16-17) were criticized by Gnostic infiltrators for the way they were keeping the holy days. Paul admonishes the embattled Colossians not to let any man judge them for the way they were keeping the holy days. Contrary to some misguided Bible scholars, (1) keeping the Sabbath is not a doctrine of men; (2) what Paul condemns is a philosophy; God's word is not a philosophy. (Paul is concerned about the context in the way this philosophy was impacting on those keeping God's Word.) (3) Paul calls this Gnostic system (not God's holy days) empty, vain deceit, and (4) he names the authors of this Gnostic system and its recipients demons.

In order to justify not keeping the Sabbath, many use Colossians 2:16-17 as proof that Paul did not command it. Earl Henn exposes this conclusion as pure fiction!

John Reid uses the analogy of a minefield to illustrate Satan's diabolical obstacles to keep us from attaining our objective?the Kingdom of God. The Devil sets specific kinds of mines: a) the lusts of the world (greed, alcohol, drugs, sex, etc.), analogous to the Claymore mine, designed to kill individuals; b) doctrinal confusion, analogous to the Bouncing Betty mine, designed to take out, confuse, and destroy whole groups of people. He also suggests ways to help get out of the minefields, including calling out to God for help in tracing our route back to what led to our spiritual disorientation. To navigate safely through, we must ask for God's protection, maintaining humility, watchfulness, and diligence in our task of overcoming and walking in the footsteps of the Mine Detector (I Peter 2:21).

An exhaustive explanation of the Church of the Great God's belief concerning the Hebrew Calendar and its fitness for our use in the church of God. It also discusses observation versus calculation, new moons and postponements.

A concise explanation of what the Bible says about New Moons and what that means to us today. This article gives the CGG position on the observance of New Moons.

John Ritenbaugh suggests that people who opt for a fifteenth Passover do not do so from a pure motive for seeking the truth, but instead reflects an irresponsible grab for power. Unfortunately, major reinterpretations and alterations have significantly distorted the meaning of Passover and Unleavened Bread, blurring the distinction between the two events. Even major Protestant theologians realize the drastic changes which placed humanly devised practices on the same status as the commands of God. Beside rendering themselves blind to the true significance of Christ's sacrifice, proponents of the fifteenth Passover (old and new) unwittingly follow Jeroboam's precedent of leading his people into rank paganism.

John Ritenbaugh distinguishes worldly or carnal scholarship (based upon snobbish, oneupmanship esoteric elitism) from godly scholarship, characterized by an unassuming, childlike unconcern for status, seeking to impress God instead of other people. Using worldly scholarship to establish a late Passover doctrine on the basis of one isolated scripture (II Chronicles 35:10-11) both removes the incident from context and violates the simplicity of Christ, blurring the clear distinction between the original (domestic) Passover from the traditional (Temple) Passover. Unfortunately, reinterpretation and alterations have significantly distorted the meaning of Passover and Unleavened Bread.